After an uneventful patrol and report to Oliver, David set about his morning task – rearranging his backpack.
It was much easier now that he could leave the majority of his camping equipment in the tent. Only two people used the grove, and Oliver had no need for his budget gear. David placed three items off to the side to be packed last. The healing Potion, herbal poultice and a small pink token. These three items would form the basis of his battle strategy over the next few weeks.
He shouted a goodbye to Oliver as he left, but there was no response. The old farmer didn't speak much after the morning report either. Whatever had bothered him yesterday hadn’t cleared up overnight. David didn’t know if it was related to whatever scheme Oliver was running with his son and Jacob's vacation or if it was something to do with council and the errand to the south side of the city.
Either way, it wasn’t his problem.
-.-
The training group met up as usual but this time they came prepared for battle.
Tulia had switched back to her heavy waxy overalls and carried a bucket with a mix of sand and water for acid spills. Like David, both Danny and Sarah had brought Potions. Martin and Terry had chipped in together to buy berries and bandages. Sarah cooked and baked some of those berries into nutrient balls, specifically designed to give Pokemon a perk up after a long battle.
They all hoped there would be no need for any of these preparations.
Healing items were expensive but an avoidable cost. They all had licenses and access to the Pokecenter, but the one free treatment a week that badgeless trainers were entitled to didn't stretch far. It was best to save that benefit till the end of the week. If something went badly wrong, they all wanted that safety net. A Potion worked, but it was no substitute for Pokecenter healing. The group discussed this at length, plotting and planning strategies about how to limit damage to their companions while making the training as realistic as possible. It was an illuminating discussion for David.
This was when membership of a training group really shined through. They could pool their money to replace any Potions used and fund the recovery snacks. What could be a horrific loss for one trainer was only painful to a group.
He had to explain just how broke he was when the subject of money came up. His contribution of a Potion and poultice as well as the promise of incoming wages prevented any issues, but he still felt a little guilty.
When it became time for Pokemon to be sent out, not as much changed as David expected. The battles were similar to the training matches but longer and bloodier. Both the trainers and the Pokemon were still familiar with each other. Instead of jostling for an advantage it became more about endurance and willpower. Most of the battles' outcomes didn’t change at all from the training matches.
David and Pidgey’s fight against Tulia and her Bellsprout ended a few blows later than it usually would. In the end Bellsprout was left sagging from one nasty gash across its stalk and another cut down its head from Pecks. Pidgey smarted from a retaliation blow that struck her eye.
It was a wake-up call for everyone on the pitch but David and Pidgey in particular. For David, he'd expected the Pokemon to behave differently for actual battles. He didn’t know why, but he thought they would have been warier and hesitant to get hurt or to hurt another Pokemon they knew.
They weren’t.
Sure, neither Pokemon had come closer to killing the other but neither held back. Their blows were powerful and aimed to hurt and incapacitate. He was uneasy about the force used before Bellsprout accrued a jagged tear through its stalk. When Pidgey left the gash down Bellsprout’s head and the flower Pokemon retaliated with a Vine Whip across Pidgey’s eye he had stepped forward involuntarily. But no one called the battle until Tulia withdrew her Bellsprout. David didn’t continue forward out of his designated space. Pidgey didn’t fly away like she could have. He continued to guide Pidgey's actions. Even as his heart twisted at the cries of pain that didn’t seem to affect anyone else, human or Pokemon. Even the spectator offered no complaint.
For Pidgey, it was a reminder that even with her type advantage, no Pokemon was to be taken lightly. She grew overconfident after gaining the initial advantage and suffered for it. If she'd played it safe she could have baited or out maneuvered the wounded Bellsprout. Holding back would have given her an opening for a clean attack with Peck. Instead, she barreled forward and took what could have been a literally eye-opening blow in different circumstances.
After the battle he gave Pidgey her deserved congratulations. His own reservations about it all couldn't get in the way of that. She puffed herself up and preened under the attention, which didn't help with his guilt. He carried her off the pitch and took his place on the sidelines, but for the first time there was an inkling of doubt within himself about becoming a trainer. Pidgey had been hurt before, but always out of necessity. Never like this.
Then it was time to suffer under one of the side effects of changing to a battle format – long periods of waiting between your turn. Until now, the entire training group was active each match. David needed to watch closely, ready to debate whether an exchange tipped the balance to win the ‘advantage’ based matches. Now the spectators had no say in when battles were over. They could only offer thoughts and advice to the trainers after the fact.
This free time led to boredom. Boredom led to more questions for Danny and himself. The questions usually came from Sarah, but Martin contributed one or two. Terry and Tulia were satisfied with listening and enjoying their responses or Sarah’s response to their lack of answers.
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He contributed as much as he could to the conversations, but he was ignorant and had secrets to keep. Danny answered as few questions as he did. This helped hide his lack of responses to some basic questions he had no clue of. Eventually the questions tapered off. The four locals came to the same conclusion as Fred that they were from a settlement.
It grew a curiosity of his own around Danny. If he was going to keep up this act up and use a settlement as a backstory, it would help to learn more about what a settlement was. Who better to help with that than someone who was from one herself. Who was this other stranger to Celadon, this woman with a Bulbasaur and secrets of her own?
From the way Danny inspected him, she too had questions for him.
As the questions died, the conversation turned more general. Famous trainer matches, events, food, hobbies, likes & dislikes. Again, David stumbled with most of the questions, discussions on people and topics he’d never heard of. One thing he found fascinating was that people trained Pokemon for sports outside of battle. Some of the sports weren’t all that different from battling, like wrestling, but others like racing or hauling were a category of their own. In a way it was similar to the contest mechanic he remembered from the games. A way that Pokemon could excel outside of battle. He wanted to see it for himself.
David fought one more battle on the day. It was against Sarah and the temporarily christened ‘Royal’ Rattata. Sarah was starting to run low enough on names that she needed to explain them. Royal fought viciously against Pidgey. David couldn’t be sure if that was because it liked the name that emphasized its lovely purple coat or Sarah’s frustration with his lack of answers.
Rattata’s Quick Attack evasion training was paying dividends. It wasn’t perfected yet – they would Quick Attack towards Pidgey or slightly to her side rather than evade completely. That wasn’t much of an issue however, when Rattata's target was a flying Pokemon. Quick Attacking along the ground left Pidgey soaring over Rattata instead of the two Pokemon colliding.
While Ratatta wasn’t able to attack Pidgey either, not being able to fly, it lost little energy with occasional dodges. On the other hand, Pidgey’s constant flight was intensive.
As Pidgey grew more tired, Rattata was able to catch her with a Tackle before she could gain enough height and escape. After that David reluctantly called for Pidgey to land. They were losing the stamina battle. It was best to take a chance and get some experience with a slog on the ground.
Pecks were met by Quick Attacks. Pidgey’s defensive Tackles were met by Rattata’s offensive Tackles.
It ate at him, but David didn’t call it until Pidgey started to flag. He recalled her when she didn't pull herself back up after a bad Tackle and signaled his defeat.
Danny and Martin took over from them as Sarah and Royal celebrated their victory. He released Pidgey and sat with her as she ate one of Sarah’s perk up balls, and he cleaned her wounds. She would have bruises and had lost or bent several feathers, but she chirped away happily to him like normal. It was like she didn't feel the pain.
Danny and Martin’s battle was the last for the day. The group decided not to train further either. All their Pokemon were in need of rest and recovery. Instead, they sat in an unused section of the field and had a conversation about training techniques. Which led to a surreal moment for David.
“So when Pidgey and Sandshrew aren’t around to help, you run after Rattata and throw things at it?” He asked again.
“Usually stones.” Sarah confirmed cheerfully.
David looked around at the rest of the group. This had to be a bad thing to admit. Back home it would have a clear example of animal abuse. Chasing an animal and throwing stones at it? You'd get you arrested if you were caught.
“How do you keep up with Rattata? He must be faster than you?” Danny asked curiously.
Terry was listening intently. Martin and Tulia, whose Oddish and Bellsprout were a lot less mobile, feigned interest.
“We do it inside or in a small pen. He can’t escape that way,” Sarah revealed with a sage look.
Danny and Terry nodded with appreciative hums.
David slumped. What was this world?
-.-
The next day went about the same.
Oliver remained distant. The bloody battles continued. Pidgey’s half healed wounds were exacerbated, or she gained new ones. He asked her twice if she wanted to continue. Once in the morning before any battle and once after a painful fight against Danny and Bulbasaur. She could not be dissuaded. It made his guilt less heavy. Not gone, but less.
The day only differed in one way. That evening Pidgey reached a new milestone in her training.
She swung her wings forward, and thread after thread of lavender spiraled away from the tips of her feathers. The spirals flew out in all directions and left sharp slices in the trees and ground. A branch or two fell in the next few seconds
He cheered and stepped out from behind his tree. First, it had been consistency with Pidgey forming at least one spiral. Then it had been volume, with Pidgey needing to put more energy into each swing to get more spirals.
Pidgey hopped off the stump and made her way over. Her wings trembled, but she loudly chirped with pride and puffed her feathers up. David smoothed down her ruffled feathers and eyed the scarred clearing. Next was control and accuracy. Then the Move would be ready.
But that would have to wait. Pidgey couldn’t spam the exercise without end. Normally this would be time to move to Tackle training, but she was starting to plateau there. There were only so many seconds you could shave off, and training time was limited. At a certain point it was better to dedicate the time to other things.
Instead, they made their way back to the campsite. David pulled out ‘Sea for yourself’ and began to read to Pidgey.
Leer can be learned by three of the four Common 11 water type lines. The outlier is Tentacool which is believed to be related to how it augments its vision with sonar. For the three lines of Magikarp, Horsea and Krabby which heavily rely on their sight, the move is essential to their hunting strategy.
In an ocean full of Pokemon with strong defensive capabilities, the ability to hinder a Pokemon’s natural and energy defenses can make the difference between life and death, starvation and a full stomach.
Warning: Training this move can be distressing and frequent breaks are recommended to clear any build up of its effects. A rest period is required before allowing a target of the move to engage in another battle.
Step one is channeling Normal Type energy to the Pokemon’s eyes.
Step two is directing your Pokemon to target weak spots on their target.
Step three is the use of the move while the target moves followed by the user moving themselves.