Even though we blasted right through that rockfall and managed to arrive a week prior than we needed to for the Floaroma City contest, our housing situation ended up being no big deal. Those vouchers Miles handed us? Turns out they could be used to waive lodging fees up to a certain price point. Rangers were supposed to be outdoorsmen and women, who were comfortable sleeping on a bed of branches with a blanket of moss if necessary and all, but that didn't mean that every single task they had to accomplish was in the wilderness. There were times when cities had emergencies, and not every city had a ranger base. Rather than forcing them to sleep on the street, and to give them some privacy in what could be a very public and at times unpopular job, judging by that angry crowd the other day, rangers could basically waive the fees that it would normally cost to stay in a hotel. These vouchers wouldn't cover a beachside villa or anything, but they'd get you a decent place.
Floaroma Town didn't have beachside villas or even hotels, one because it was nowhere near an ocean, and two because of the will of the people. This town was a tourist town even without hosting an event like a major contest, with big attractions like the flower fields and the Valley Windworks windmill farm. The locals here prided themselves on staying natural, and that meant a giant hotel to accommodate tourists and travelers was a no go. Instead of that, the city had built a bunch of log cabins of various sizes that could be rented out. They essentially serve the exact same purpose, but I will admit that they do give off a much more naturey, 'our whole town is powered by wind and hydroelectricity' sort of vibe than a Jubilife City style skyscraper. Those vouchers were for a one week stay, and while we did have to shell out a little bit of money to cover the entire cost, it was well worth it, considering we all get our own rooms, a full kitchen so we didn't have to get takeout every day, and so Ursula could use some of those gifted berries to come up with tasty new poffin recipes, plus a backyard complete with a sand pit that was perfect for training in.
Of course, most of the time was ceded to Ursula so she could work on contest combinations with Surskit and get Gible up to speed on battling. That didn't mean my time was going to waste, though, since Charmander had a new battling partner, and Oddish had managed to get down Moonlight, though she was still giving me attitude using it under the sun, to the point I felt comfortable moving onto Moonblast. I knew Glaceon wouldn't appreciate it if we didn't at least try to make this customized Ice Shard work, so I decided to take out two Pidgeys with one Stone Edge and hit the flower fields.
"Alright, use Ice Barrage!"
It hadn't rained at all, but I had managed to find us an alternative so we could still practice. Why the people of Floaroma town insisted on using sprinklers to water their fields of flowers when they could teach a Water-type Pokemon Rain Dance, I don't know, but I'm not exactly a gardener. Having a Grass Pokemon is technically the first step towards that profession; the only issue is mine is kind of the opposite of a normal plant.
On my command, Glaceon freezes the spray of water, sending it back towards a crudely drawn target on a nearby tree, shredding the already ruined cardboard with a barrage of frozen droplets. We walk over to survey her handiwork, seeing that she is consistently hitting the center bullseye with the attack. I scribble down to work on expanding the hitbox, squeezing it in on the margin of the paper that has all of my plans for Glaceon. I feel like this process is the same one as when freezing rain is created, but being able to this attack, and eventually transition into using Ice Shard in the same manner is the tip of the iceberg, literally. If Glaceon could master this, then there'd be no end to the things we could try.
In theory, we could use it offensively and defensively, like crystallizing the moisture into an ice shield to block attacks, and maybe even get to the point where we could send large chunks of ice crashing down onto an opponent, in our own version of Icicle Crash. Of course, the morons who designed Glaceon decided that it shouldn't learn Ice Beam naturally, and we were a long way from using Blizzard, so I figure that this would be the best way to train until I could manage to track down a TM for either. In the games, I would just spend a bunch of money for coins at the casino to get the TM, but that's probably not a good idea here. While I'm decent at blackjack, I've never had much luck at the slots.
I was just about to praise Glaceon for an excellent training session when someone's voice called out in anger.
"Hey, no battling or training in the flower fields! How many signs do we have to post until you trainers listen to us!"
"Oops," I mutter under my breath, recalling my Pokémon with an abrupt "well done" and taking off away from the voice before they see my face. I run for about a mile, down row after row of flowers, of all different species, colors, and sizes, before I stop to catch my breath, looking back to see if anyone had followed me. It doesn't appear so, which calms my rapidly beating heart, though it starts pumping again when I notice, amongst all the colorful flowers, something metallic that does not belong.
Team Galactic sure isn't subtle, I think to myself, crouching and inching towards them, attempting to eavesdrop and find out what they were up to. The chrome on their outfits hurts my eyes to look at, reflecting the bright sun straight back in my face. The only words that I can make out from their conversation are "honey" and "hordes of Pokémon." That sounds like a whole lot of nonsense, but I guess that it could be another get rich quickly scheme. Maybe these two grunts are part-time bakers, and they want that honey to make sticky buns to sell and feed lots of Pokémon!
Yeah, right. If I was part of Team Galactic, and I wanted to catch a bunch of Pokémon really quickly, I'd just ditch the outfit and head to the Safari Zone. The Pokéball quality might be terrible, to keep you coming back to try and catch that rare Pokémon you saw that one time, like how I used to waste so much time trying to find and catch a Skorupi in the Great Marsh. But if it's quantity you're after? The Safari Zone is like a Pokémon buffet; all you could catch for five-hundred bucks until you ran out of balls.
Hmm. No wonder all the leadership in the villainous teams told me in-game that I could have made admin if I joined up. It seems that I have a mind for this type of stuff.
They start to move away, and I have to play the irritating game of trying to stay close enough so I don't lose track of them, thankfully made easier by their ridiculously conspicuous outfits, and far enough away that I'm not spotted. Unfortunately, my stealth skills are not up to par. I'm just glad it's Lucas who finds me and not another Galactic Grunt.
"You saw them too?" I ask, as we poke our heads out, above yet another row of flowers.
"It's hard not to," he says back. "I was out here to buy some honey from this famous vendor before I spotted them. Any idea what they're up to here? Oh blast, they're going."
We mimic their movement and duck down when they finally stop. "That's a weird coincidence, because all I heard from them was some blathering about using honey to catch a bunch of Pokémon. What are you guys planning on doing, creating a giant sticky trap or something?"
That gets a chuckle out of him. "Not exactly. There are certain trees that have a specific scent, and you can smear honey on them to attract Pokémon that enjoy feeding on it."
That sounds familiar. Ash caught a Pokémon like that, right? We tiptoe through the next row of flowers before I remember what Pokémon it was. "What, like Heracross?"
"Not just Heracross, though that is a famous one." He takes a peek at the grunts before ticking some names on his fingers. "Combee, Burmy, Aipom, Wurmple, and even Munchlax if you're lucky, are some of the Pokémon that might be attracted to the honey."
Oh, those honey trees. How lucky did Barry have to be to manage to get a Munchlax plus a Heracross from those things? The best Pokémon I ever got was an Aipom that turned into a Technician Ambipom. Regardless, Lucas's intentions are becoming painfully obvious. "All of those Pokémon either evolve based on a certain condition being fulfilled or have diverging evolutionary trees."
"That's right," he says stiffly, and our conversation falls into an awkward silence. It seems everything has not yet been smoothed over, despite our tag-battle victory. Hopefully, another one would solve our issues. We continue to shuffle forward, following the grunts until they finally stop next to a middle-aged man by a large tree, who must be this famous honey seller.
Had the idiots just paid him, I'm sure they could have left here with some honey, but knowing Team Galactic, they are probably going overboard, demanding this man give them his entire supply of honey for free. Lucas and I nod to each other and start making our way towards the three men as the grunts start to get animated, their voices getting louder and louder.
"Enough debate!" the first one orders, jabbing a finger at the man. "Hand over that sweet honey!"
"Do as we say, and you can leave here unharmed!" the second one shouts. "We will have that honey! The two of us will use it to attract Pokémon in great numbers and capture them in order to prove our skill! Then, the commander will be forced to acknowledge our talent, and she will endorse our capturing process throughout all of Team Galactic, earning us unlimited rewards and a swift promotion!"
The more I hear from these guys, the more it sounds like Team Galactic is their actual job rather than some villainous, outside-the-law gang. Do these guys have to like, submit a resume and a cover letter, and then actually interview for their position as a Team Galactic Grunt? You'd think an evil team would hire just about anyone who's willing to break the law.
The honey man spots us behind the two grunts badgering him, and his face breaks out into a relieved smile. That gets their attention, and the grunts spin around to confront us. These two basically look identical to the two that were accosting Professor Rowan in Jubilife, but I assume that they aren't the same, because they don't make any sounds of recognition. I'm still calling them Grunt one and Grunt two until they come up with some way to distinguish themselves, though.
"Hey, these kids were watching the whole time! That makes them witnesses!" Grunt one calls out. He looks to his partner for directions. "What should we do?"
Grunt two looks at his cohort like he's an idiot, which, to be fair, is probably accurate. "Send them packing, obviously. We can't have these brats running back for help. So we've gotta make sure their first trip is straight to the Pokémon Center. Go ahead and initiate battle strategy one."
"I hate battle strategy one," the first one complains, looking like he's not yet comfortable being ordered to beatdown out a couple of kids, but he sends out a Pokémon, nonetheless. It's small, covered in fur, and yellow, with four legs and four eyes, two of them large and two of them small, located above the larger two. Grunt two doesn't even bring his hand towards his belt, where his Pokéball is stored. This isn't going to be a double battle?
"I'll handle this. Go, Chimchar!" Lucas shouts before I can do anything, sending out his starter.
"Ugh, of course he has a Fire-type. Why can't I face someone weaker?" Grunt one grumbles, more at his partner than at us. "Joltik, use Leech Life!" The electric bug leaps at Chimchar, revealing some nasty looking fangs.
"Fire Spin, quick!" The fiery vortex forces the spider to stop its attack and dodge hastily. I'm really hoping that the flower patrol guy who chased me off won't wander in here any time soon. He'd have a conniption with how these flowers were being treated.
"Partner! I said, 'use battle strategy one'!" Grunt two orders, doing something with his ears.
"Fine! Screech attack!" Grunt one orders, copying his partner's actions. Joltik releases a horrid sound from its mouth, like it was scratching at a microphone, and we had our heads right next to the connected speakers. Everyone puts their hands to their head, barring the two grunts. Grunt two smirks at me, turning his head so I could see the orange earplugs that he had just put in.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
"Alright, now use Thunder Wave!" Joltik finally stops pounding our eardrums and begins charging electricity. Lucas either reads his lips or manages to hear him, because his eyes widen in alarm.
"Interrupt with Taunt, then use Ember!" Lucas orders, as Thunder Wave is being prepared. Chimchar's eyes glow, and it does a mocking dance with its tongue out. Just like the Stunky from a few days ago, Joltik sees red and is sent into a frenzy. Only it doesn't leap at Chimchar like the skunk Pokémon did, instead releasing all the electricity it had stored in an attack, probably Thundershock, though it doesn't collide with the incoming Ember. Both attacks instead connect, with the super-effective Ember peppering Joltik until it is smoldering and fainted, while the electric one zaps Chimchar painfully.
Chimchar still shakes it off, jumping and cheering at his victory. "Great work, Chimchar!" Lucas congratulates, before a flash of light draws his attention away. "Huh?"
Instead of a fainted Joltik in front of Chimchar, now the Pokémon is a perfectly healthy Raticate, only this one has black fur instead of tan, and is quite a bit chunkier, especially in the face. Grunt two's Pokéball is in his hand. "Get ready kid. This time you're going down!"
I grab a Pokéball and get ready to substitute in, but the glare Lucas gives me freezes me in place, as if an Articuno had descended and used Blizzard. "Don't interfere. It's still one-on-one, and we got this." He has so much conviction in his voice that I bow my head and put my Pokéball back, though I'm not sure about Chimchar's chances against a fully evolved Pokémon, even if it is only a Raticate.
The two grunts are having their own pre-battle conversation. "How come I'm always the one who has to weaken the enemy so you can finish them? I'm going to be stuck as a grunt forever!" Grunt one whines, recalling his Pokémon.
"You should be thanking me. This way, they won't dock your pay even though you lose all the time."
"Can't we switch places at least one time? So the commander knows that I can win?"
"If I go first, I'll win straight up, and you won't even get your participation award!"
The second grunt cuts off his admittedly funny conversation and looks down at Chimchar, chuckling ominously. "Hehehe. You've got no chance, kid, since my partner went ahead and softened you up." With that, he takes the first move, making it a familiar one. "Taunt it!"
"Chimchar, you do it first!"
In the end, both Pokémon get taunted, though neither of them go completely feral and launch themselves at the enemy. It seems like a properly trained Pokémon like Chimchar retains enough of their self-control to listen to their trainer's commands. As long as that command is to tear the enemy to shreds, that is.
What's most concerning is that this grunt's Raticate is the same way. It seems Grunt two wasn't bluffing being a capable trainer, albeit it probably being inflated by the way he lets his partner paralyze and weaken the enemy beforehand. He hasn't called for an attack, which is an interesting and worrying strategy. It's not like these Galactic Grunts to not punch first.
I don't know if Lucas notices, though I suspect he does. "Chimchar, use Fire Spin!" He calls cautiously, finally getting a reaction out of our opponent.
"Do it."
Chimchar breathes in, and right before he's about to attack, Raticate strikes in a blur of black, moving far faster than its chubby appearance would make you think. It lashes out like a coiled up Arbok springing to life, with a headbutt right into Chimchar's gut, knocking him back so Chimchar only produces a weak flame that Raticate easily endures.
Had I blinked, I would have missed it. I don't even know what kind of attack that was. Luckily, this Galactic Grunt likes to crow about his achievements.
"How do you like our Sucker Punch, kid?"
Sucker Punch, the move that lets you hit first if your opponent is planning on attacking? Combined with Taunt, the move that forces your opponent to attack? This looks like a really broken strategy if you ask me, and Grunt two's expression tells me he's quite proud of it.
"Chimchar, use Fury Swipes. Try to get some hits in when it closes the distance with you!'' Lucas commands, a note of desperation creeping into his tone. His starter obeys, but Raticate again remains motionless until Chimchar is committed to the attack; as the Sinnoh starter leaps forward, the evolved Pokémon strikes with startling speed, meeting Chimchar midair and knocking away the smaller Fire-Type, who swings wildly at nothing but air with his extended claws.
"I can't believe I get paid to beat up kids and their Pokémon. This job has to be a thousand times better than sitting in a cubicle all day." An idea strikes Grunt two. "Hey, I bet when I bring back this Pokémon attracting honey to the commander and tell her that I beat back some enemies of Team Galactic while doing it, she might even grant me an extended vacation! I've always wanted to go to Lavaridge Town, and sample the hot springs. Maybe I'll even meet Flannery while I'm there, and she'll fall for my devastating good looks and my exceptional battle skills, and-"
Talk about delusion. Forget the sauna, you're going to need an ice bath once I'm through with you. I'm pretty sure priority moves allow you to bypass Sucker Punch, so I guess Glaceon is the optimal choice for me, since Oddish will likely get Taunted so I can't call for Stun Spore or Moonlight.
Finished with his fantasy, Grunt two returns to ridiculing Lucas. "Go ahead and run on home with your girlfriend, kid, and let this be a lesson. Don't you ever stick your nose into Team Galactic's business again."
Lucas doesn't back up an inch, and neither is Chimchar, who gets on his feet despite being battered and bruised from two consecutive battles. "We aren't going anywhere! No matter how many times we get knocked down, we won't stop getting back up!" He yells back with the utmost determination. Somehow, I think this isn't just about this one battle.
Chimchar proudly stands upright and shouts, in total agreement with every single word Lucas uttered. The Fire-type stares down the much larger and fully evolved Pokémon with not even a hint of fear. Then his whole body starts glowing a brilliant white.
No. Way. No way!
"That's not enough to save you! Raticate, use Take Down!"
The rat charges Chimchar while he's evolving, but as if instinctually, the Fire-type puts up his arms in an X, to block the attack. This time, as he grows taller, to double his previous height, and as his limbs extended and strengthened, Chimchar digs his heels in, and with his newfound power manages to only skid back a few paces instead of being sent flying. The light finally starts to fade, revealing a new Pokémon, one with blue markings on his face, and a raging fire on a newly grown tail that was twice as strong as the previous one.
Monferno smiles at the stunned Raticate, lowering one arm and giving it a blindingly fast, retaliatory gut punch, sending the rat flying backwards. How quickly the tables turn. He's a Fighting-type now! I could laugh out loud. This Galactic grunt is fucked!
Lucas is in absolute awe of his newly evolved Pokémon, so I call out to him to break his trance. "Go for Mach Punch!" I yell, knowing exactly what attack Monferno learns upon evolving.
He shakes his head to clear it. "Right!" Lucas punches out like a boxer. "Use Mach Punch!"
"Not so fast! How soon you forget! Raticate, use Sucker Punch!"
Raticate charges forward again as soon as Monferno's fist begins to glow, but this time, it can't even close half the distance before the fire monkey races ahead. If Lucas's punch was a jab, Monferno's is a haymaker, the super-effective attack blasting Raticate back before it can even react.
"What?!" Grunt two roars in confusion.
Now it's my turn to use Taunt. "Sucker Punch doesn't work if your opponent is faster and can attack before you," I mock, sticking out my tongue as the grunt's face starts to grow red from rage.
"Raticate! Use Hyper Fang! We'll win this battle with your most powerful attack!
Lucas doesn't give him any chance. "We're the ones who are going to win this! One last Mach Punch, Monferno! Make it count!"
Monferno's fist glows white once again, and before Raticate even has a chance to bare its fangs, it's punched straight into the honey tree, face first, with such force that the branches quiver and leaves are shaken to the ground, before Raticate slides down the trunk to the base, facedown and unconscious.
That. Was. Amazing! The way Lucas inspired Chimchar to evolve mid-battle, and the way Monferno totally turned the tables on his opponent? Unbelievable stuff.
The second grunt recalls his fainted Pokémon in a numb haze. "Damn it all! My dreams of rewards, and promotions, and getting a second Pokémon, and going on vacation! A kid smashed all of them!"
Grunt one looks at his partner in concern. "This brat is good. Like, really, really good! Gooder than I can put into words, and I know a lot of words!"
I think the word you're looking for is better, actually.
"We're done here," Grunt two admits. "Let's just go back before anyone gets too angry at us." With that, they run off, something shiny falling out of the second grunt's pocket in their haste to get away.
The honey man picks it up. "It's a key. They sure were in a hurry to run away…" He inspects it a bit closer. "it's a Works key. It must be for the Valley Windworks! Well, I don't have any use for it." He hands it to Lucas, who looks over it before passing it to me.
The man grins at us, but especially at my friend and his newly evolved Pokémon. "Wow! You surely saved me! Those goons were trying to talk me into handing over all my sweet, delectable honey. They sure were weird though. I mean, you saw how they were dressed. What they were saying didn't make a whole lot of sense either." He taps his chin before a lightbulb goes off in his brain. "Oh! Take this jar of honey as my thanks for helping me out of that sticky circumstance, hahaha."
This man sure likes to talk about honey, judging by how he prattles on and on about the virtues of the stuff, like how it's better for you than sugar, how it helps prevent coughing, and even telling us that it's supposedly almost as good as Rawst Berries at healing burns. I just want to know if this stuff can be consumed by people, or if it's only for Pokémon. He does at least include one tidbit that it can take up to twelve hours for a Pokémon to appear when honey is slathered on a tree, which makes Lucas's eyes twitch, knowing that we only have a few days left until the contest, and then we are going to hit the road again. We apologize hastily and leave before we can get roped into another lecture about honey, leaving similar to how the Galactic grunts did right before us.
I nudge Lucas as we make our way back to our temporary home through the flower fields. "Great battle. And Monferno, congrats on your evolution!"
The fire monkey does a handstand, before flipping back onto his feet, clearly excited at his new body and wanting to test his new limits. Monferno does wince as he lands, demonstrating to both of us that he was still feeling the effects of the damage that he had taken as a Chimchar before evolving, so Lucas returns him to his Pokéball to rest.
He turns the ball over in his hands, as if he still can't believe it himself. "Thanks. And uh, thanks for staying on the sidelines, I guess." He clenches a fist and looks away.
I wasn't going to bring that up, but since he already had… "Did you know that Chimchar was close to evolving? Is that why you insisted on going solo?"
My researcher friend looks at the ground as we walk. "I knew Chimchar was getting close, yes, but that isn't the reason. I genuinely thought we could win as Chimchar. I didn't expect the evolution, though I couldn't be happier that it happened."
He fixes his scarf before he talks again. "I told you that I was planning to catch a team of Pokémon that evolved in different ways, right?"
"Yeah, I was the one who gave you that idea."
"Right. Well, that's not all of it. I'm supposed to be writing a research paper on the subject of evolution."
"Isn't this kinda early for that? You're only sixteen, right?"
"Not really, because I've been working for the professor for over two years. Besides, there are far younger people doing incredible things. Liza and Tate, the Gym Leaders of Mossdeep City, took over the Gym when they were ten."
Gym leaders at ten years old? I can't even fathom that. I've lived twice, and I was still trying to sneak cake icing out from the fridge to my room when I was ten this time around. Forget running a gym.
"But that's not the point," he continues. "The reason why I liked your idea is that the paper needs to be on a specific type of evolution-"
"So you figured you'd catch a whole team and see which one interested you the most or something." I finish his statement for him. "Don't worry about that too much. Your luck will change eventually, and I'm sure you'll catch a Pokémon at some point."
He blinks. "I don't know if you intended that to be motivating, because it wasn't at all. But yes, that is the plan. Ideally, I would like to discover a new type of evolution, rather than rehashing a subject that has already been explored, unless I absolutely have to, which is why I'm so desperate to catch something, to get a start on this. I suppose you could say I was feeling the pressure to not fail again, which is why I was adamant on winning the battle to at least feel good about something."
Ok then, let's try these for some words of encouragement, shall we? "Well, you've already proven to me that you're an evolution expert today."
He raises an eyebrow. "How do you figure that?"
"I mean, you totally inspired Chimchar to evolve mid-battle. You gave that amazing speech about not backing down, and then he evolved into Monferno because he took those words to heart! You should write your paper on how to inspire your Pokémon to evolve. I'm sure that one would make you famous."
"Fame isn't why I'm doing this. And actually, Monferno is known for its acrobatics while fighting, so I knew that he was getting cl-"
I cut off his scientific explanation to heap more praise. "Whatever. I still think it was the speech. Plus, Monferno learned Reversal as well as Mach Punch, because you two completely blew that grunt away post evolution." I mime blocking a punch while throwing a hook to emphasize.
He finally gets a clue and doesn't argue anymore. The denizens of Floaroma Town take pride in planting their flowers to create patterns and images that are best seen from above, and while we don't get the full experience, we still take some time to admire them. All of this is done in near silence, but it's a calm, relaxed silence, rather than a tense, awkward one.
Lucas strikes up a different conversation as we enter town and head towards our cabin.
"Are you going to go to the Valley Windworks?"
"Yeah, tomorrow morning. I hear it's a day trip, and I always planned to see the windmills. If Team Galactic's actually there, then I'll just have to channel my best impression of you and kick their butts. Unless you want to come with?
"Ah, probably not. Monferno needs some rest, and I really want to learn everything about my new Pokémon once he's out of the Pokémon Center. Although you are right. I've beaten four Galactic grunts to your zero, so if you aren't back by tomorrow night, I'll come and rescue you."
"What do you mean four? Charmander was the one to take out that Stunky!"
"Yeah, after I stopped their Poison Gas attack, remember? Chimchar was also the one to taunt it into attacking."
I could say that I stopped the Disable from Drowzee, but I let Lucas have this round. It's his day to celebrate after all.
Here's to many more.