It takes a few minutes before Mrs Reed gets the class back in order, mostly because she’s making sure her Golem is taken care of properly, but finally everyone is sitting or standing ready for the lesson we’re supposed to have.
“Now that that’s over with…” our teacher gives me a glare “we can continue with the lesson as planned. Everyone form groups of three or four and find one of the school Pokémon to join your group. Same thing as every week, you’re gonna stick with this group until Friday so find someone you haven’t worked with yet, if possible. And before everyone asks Zoe to join them this week, she’s gonna stick with me for a battle review before choosing any group she wants to join for this week. Let’s get to it!”
My classmates start to mingle and match, all three of my friends joining a separate group. The trio around Sven also splits up. Looks like all the normal friend groups mix merrily in these lessons, just like I remembered. After all, this pattern is something I told the security corps about to improve their training. Working with many different people and Pokémon is a wonderful way to prepare for many different situations.
I join Mrs Reed in a corner of the pasture, her Golem sitting meekly behind her. Lulu lies down next to him and they start talking quietly with Lili sometimes joining in. Mrs Reed smiles at them before turning to me.
“So, what did you think about the battle?” she asks.
“Lulu was mostly just showing off,” I begin, “It wasn’t really a fair match, even with the Type disadvantage. Golem is much faster than many of his species but Smack Down into Rollout is a very risky combo if you don’t have anyone covering for you. You shouldn’t use it unless absolutely necessary. Rock Throw or Sandstorm would have been much better options after seeing how easily Lulu dodged that Bulldoze. Try to find a place for Rock Polish and you might be able to catch her with Rollout down the line. Your best option, in my opinion, was going for a Double Edge. Golem barely feel the recoil, if at all, and it’s a decently fast Move that’s difficult to punish.”
My teacher smacks her lips and glances at her Pokémon.
“Right. I didn’t expect to have my strategy analysed. Normally I want the student to guess how well they’ve done… Still, thank you for the tips. We haven’t gotten Double Edge to the point we’re comfortable using it in battle.”
“Oh. Sorry. Um, yeah. I think we did well enough. I got Lulu to start off with a Confuse Ray after her Intimidation and then play keep away with Snarl to abuse the lower Energy defence of Golem. If necessary we could’ve added a Scary Face after dodging the Smack Down but… yeah. In the end, I just let her show off.”
“Okay. That’s good. Tell me why you didn’t use Liligant.”
“She’s a muscle brain. She doesn’t like fights that are easy. She would’ve been teaching Golem rather than battling him. And she was busy taking care of Gligar.”
“Right. How long do you think Golem would’ve been able to stand against her?”
“At most two hits. If Lili goes all out, he dies in one.”
“Go…” the Pokémon in question gulps and looks at my Grass Type.
“I’m serious. Sunny Day into Solar Blade is an incredibly dangerous combination, even more so when boosted by Victory Dance.”
“Zoe… have you killed Pokémon?”
I meet Mrs Reed’s eyes. She’s looking grim.
“Yes. In self-defence. It was a different time back then. I’ve never had to after the first five years, though we came close twice. At some point, the Pokémon started to respect our strength and worked out territories humans would and wouldn’t go to. Pretty sure those are the cities and the main Routes of Sinnoh, nowadays.”
My teacher’s eyes soften a little.
“I see. You must’ve had it hard. I’m glad you made it back, Zoe.”
“Thanks.”
“In light of your understanding, I can’t see any reason to deduct points. You’ve got a perfect score for your battling exam. I’ll be watching you today especially. Maybe I can find some questions for Care and Nutrition that’ll throw you off.”
“It’ll have to be something specific to a Pokémon I haven’t worked with all that much, which excludes 242 species.”
“Huh. How about an oral examination, then? I’ll get some questions together by tomorrow. Maybe we can fit in some more exams with that.”
“Sure. I don’t mind.”
“Right. Then get back to it. Find yourself a group and work with them, just like we always do.”
“Um… What would that be exactly? I remember faintly, but…”
“Sorry. It’s really been 20 years for you, hm? We have everyone share their experiences in taking care of their Pokémon and showing others how to work with them. Then it’s a group effort to work with the school’s Pokémon of your choice. If you have any questions or problems, Chansey or myself will help you out. Got it?”
“Yep. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
I turn and let my eyes wander over the groups of students and Pokémon. There are a good few species here I haven’t done extensive research on. I can get a group with at most two unfamiliar Pokémon but nowhere will I know everything. Even that one group with the Quilava. He won’t be evolving into the same Pokémon my Ty was, from what I know. The Ghost-Fire-Type Typhlosion seems to be almost completely unknown. Maybe I’ll be able to find the reason?
Plus, Jane and her Teddiursa are there. The little bear is staring at me with huge eyes and I give him a smile as I walk over. The other two with her are the boy with the Quilava and a girl with a Pachirisu. The School Pokémon they’ve chosen is Aron. I am looking forward to working with him as well.
“Hey,” I greet as I get close “Mind if I join?”
Quilava-boy stares at me and flaps his mouth but Jane just rolls her eyes and gives me a grin.
“Not at all. You know Marv and Anne? We were just getting started talking about our Pokémon.”
“Hi, Zoe,” Anne smiles “Did you really climb Mount Coronet?”
Lulu bumps me from behind and I reach back to rub the side of her nose.
“Yes. I hope you’re not thinking of going there yourself?”
She snorts.
“I’m not suicidal. Eight-Badge-Trainers died up there. I heard there’s a huge Thunder of the Gible line.”
“Like that’s true,” Jane says “Everyone knows the only place you can find Gible is Wayward Cave.”
“Do you want to catch one?” Marv asks.
“I mean, it’d be cool but I don’t know…”
“You’ve got a good start with Teddiursa,” I say “He’s going to be strong enough to keep a Gible in line if you train him well.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Zoe, but everyone knows Ursaring can’t keep up with Garchomp. I need to get a Fairy Type first.”
“Ursaring can’t, sure, but Ursaluna can. You just need to find a Peat Block and wait for a full moon.”
“What’s an Ursaluna?” Anne asks just as Marv mutters “Ursaring evolves?”
“How do you know that?” Jane blinks, then stares at Lili who is petting a slightly uncomfortable Aron.
“I’m a bit of a specialist.”
“Is that how you got to be a Lab Trainer?” Marv asks.
I nod. Looks like everyone knows about that tidbit already…
Sitting down, I beckon Aron who happily uses the excuse to get some distance from Lili and trots up to me.
“So, wanna talk about your Pokémon first?” I ask.
The others share a glance before shrugging and sitting down as well.
“I was just talking about Teddi here,” Jane begins “I give him a rather heavy diet to build muscle. Lots of meat and carbs, with a Berry whenever I can get one. We’re training a lot to make sure all that food goes into his muscles and stuff. I think he’s close to evolving with all the bulk he’s starting to build recently. I make sure to wash him once a day or let him bathe in a river at least.”
“Urs!” the Pokémon smashes his fists together.
“Right,” Anne says “I’m not really interested in competing and neither is Pachi so we’re just happy to play around, mostly. I give him something hard to nibble on with his big tooth, like hard candy. He’s fine with water but we don’t wash him more than once every two days.”
“Paa…” the little white-and-teal squirrel pats his Trainer’s leg and gets a quick hug in return. Anne completely ignores the few sparks that fly between her and her Pokémon.
“Anyone that’s not used to electricity should use gloves when touching him. Or if he doesn’t like you. But in that case, it’s better not to touch him at all.”
I smile and glance down at Aron who already fell asleep in my lap. He’s a bit heavy but it’s so cute I don’t even care.
“It’s my turn, then,” Marv says “Quilava is an energetic little rascal. He loves running around and being chaotic.”
“Quil!”
“As for food, I mostly go with a balanced mix of everything. He certainly hasn’t complained.”
The Pokémon in question nods at my look and I give him a smile.
“Yeah. That’s all I got. I don’t really need to wash Quilava ‘cause he just burns all the filth off. I do need to brush him, though. It gets the bigger clumps but if I use too much force I take away all the ash which isn’t good.”
“Huh,” Anne looks the Fire Type over “That’s interesting. Come to think of it, yours looks darker than what I’d expect.”
I nod.
“Most Quilava don’t really bother but keeping their fur covered in ash makes it easier to activate their flames. It can also help with camouflage.”
“Any weird evolutions you know about for him?” Marv asks with a grin.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“Yes. I don’t really understand how it happens though. There’s definitely a Typhlosion that’s a Ghost-Fire Type. I kinda want to figure out how that happens. The Professor thought it might have something to do with being in or near the Coronet Highlands…”
“I was joking!” he complained “Do you know a secret evolution for every Pokémon?”
“Nope. I know like twenty-ish? That aren’t known to Professor Rowan, at least.”
“That’s still a ton,” Jane says with awe in her voice.
“Well… maybe? I don’t really have a feeling for it… Anyway. Onto my Pokémon!”
That makes the other three focus and even their Pokémon sit up a little straighter.
“So, this is Lulu. She’s a Luxray, what I know as an Alpha. A particularly large specimen usually found deep in the wilderness. She needs a ton of exercise but gets most of it herself if I just let her run. Her favourite Berries are Sitrus Berries, but other than that she mostly eats meat.
“Then there’s Lili. She’s a Liligant, a Grass-Fighting-Type variant. She’s my strongest Pokémon and she’s an absolute muscle brain.”
The Pokémon in question chirps in protest.
“Yet, underneath that is an impossibly soft heart,” I add with a grin “She likes Oran Berries but she doesn’t eat much. Most of her sustenance comes from photosynthesis, so she spends a lot of time in the sun. Oh. She also taught me how to fight.”
“Wha…?” Marv stares.
“And then there’s Gligar.”
I shift slightly to let him peek out from behind my back a little more.
“He’s the newest addition and still has a lot of training until he can keep up with the other two but I’m sure he’ll get there. He also likes Oran Berries, but won’t say no to pretty much anything as long as it’s food.”
“Gli…” he waves shyly.
“As for cleaning, Lili takes showers or baths on her own, so does Lulu most of the time. I tend to help them out if needed. Gligar needs a little more care since his carapace often collects dirt in the joints which I remove with a soft brush. Some natural fat to protect it and that’s just about it.”
I look down at Aron. He’s completely fallen asleep for some reason. I carefully poke his metallic shell. It’s hard and a little cool to the touch but he doesn’t react.
“And then we have this little fella,” I say “Let’s see… Aron is a Steel-Rock-Type. He’ll probably need a diet of rocks and ores for the most part. He should be okay with water but I wouldn’t use more than a wet rug to clean him. Rubbing him down with sand might be a better option… As for exercise, he probably doesn’t need much but it would do him good.”
I grab the Pokémon and lift. He’s quite heavy for his size but nothing I can’t handle. His underside is a dull metallic dark grey but it almost feels more like stone. Aron shifts in my hands and yawns. I take a quick glance in his mouth and see the typical sturdy spiky teeth of Rock and Steel Types that eat primarily stone or ore. There is some slight chipping on them. He probably needs a more iron-rich diet.
Aron turns his head to look at me and I meet his eyes.
“Good morning, little guy. Sleep well?”
He glares and I feel the ground shift. With a loud crack, a bunch of rocks rise slowly. I carefully keep an eye on Aron while channelling some Steel-Type Energy. He humphs and slams the Rock Tomb into me. The others cry out a warning but it’s too late. I shift my arms and break the rocks holding me down with a bit of Fighting TE and some effort. That makes Aron blink and I quickly set him down.
“Are you alright, Zoe?” Jane asks with a waver in her voice.
“No problem here. Sorry for scaring you, little guy.”
I make sure to dissipate the Fighting TE before reaching into my pack for some iron ore and holding it out to him.
“Here. Have some of this.”
Aron watches me for a moment before carefully sniffing the ore. Then he snags it with his mouth and retreats a few steps to chow down at a safe distance.
“Gli…” comes from behind me.
“Did you get out in time?” I ask Gligar.
He nods as his eyes rove all over my body, looking for injuries.
Marv clears his throat.
“Zoe? What just happened?”
“I annoyed Aron so he attacked me. Stuff like that isn’t uncommon with wild Pokémon. He was taking it slow at first so I could react but when he realized I could take it, he just shot off his Rock Tomb.”
“Are you hurt?” Anne asks.
“No,” I laugh “Thank you for worrying but I barely even felt it. He was very gentle.”
Aron groans. It’s a sound almost like gargling rocks.
“Everything fine here?” a voice comes from the side.
“Mrs Reed. Yes. Nothing happened. Aron just got a little upset but I gave him some ore to calm him down.”
“I see. Good. If you need anything, just ask.”
“Well… he’s not had enough iron in his diet, I think. Not by much but his teeth are starting to chip.”
“Are they? Come here, Aron. Let me take a look.”
The Pokémon obediently trundles over and lets himself be picked up. Mrs Reed pokes and prods him a few times before nodding.
“Astute observation, Zoe. I didn’t even notice. You need to tell us when something’s wrong, Aron. Even if it’s annoying, we will figure out how to help you.”
He groans again, but eventually gives a nod.
“Good. Then get back to it, kids.”
Jane rolls her eyes at Mrs Reed’s retreating back while Aron carefully trundles up to my side. He looks at me for a minute before deciding to close the last of the distance and starting to poke my satchel.
“Want some more ore, do you?” I ask.
“Aron.”
“Alright, here you go.”
I fish up another two pieces of ore just a little smaller than his head and lay them out. He starts happily chomping down.
“You really know a lot about Pokémon,” Anne comments.
I wave my hand.
“There’s a lot of standard knowledge that applies to most Pokémon of similar Types and bodies. Aron here has a lot in common with Steelix and even the Rhyhorn and Geodude lines. They have similar needs and live in similar environments so if you know about one, you’ll be able to apply that knowledge to the others.”
“Ron!” Aron complains.
“Of course, there will always be differences. Like Rhyhorn having a flesh-and-blood body covered in rock while Geodude is almost purely stone. But the gist of it is the same.”
“Which is why many Trainers specialize in a single Type to be successful,” Jane nods, “But that’s boring.”
“I don’t know about specializing… I had plenty of time to learn about all kinds of Pokémon. Some people are just lazy.”
“I dunno…” Anne says, “Lazy is fine by me.”
I shrug.
“To each their own. Wanna brush Lulu?”
“Oh,” her eyes light up, “Can I?”
My Pokémon lays down and gives her a nod.
“You’re familiar with Electric Types so it should be fine,” I say, “Hold on, let me just…”
I dig in my satchel until I find my brush. It’s made from a few layers of pearl holding thick Arcanine bristles. The rocky hair is great at getting dirt out of large Pokémon’s fur.
“Here, use this.”
“Oohh! What a pretty brush!” Anne grins as she steps up to Lulu.
I leave them to it while I turn to Marv.
“I’d like to take a look at Quilava, if that’s okay?” I ask.
He shrugs and pats his Pokémon’s head. It doesn’t hesitate and zips over to me.
“That means I get Pachirisu and you get Teddi,” Jane tells him, “Let’s get to it!”
“Ursa!” Teddiursa pumps his fist. Marv gives him a careful glance as I turn to Quilava who is almost vibrating next to me.
“Gligar, you stick with Lili and Aron for now, okay?”
He nods and I’m left to look at the Fire Type more closely. Rather than trying to hold him down, I get up and start jogging.
“Come, let’s move around,” I call and he follows me with a yip. I keep a relaxed stride while Quilava zips circles around me. He runs into other Pokémon or students now and then but I warn him with a whistle whenever he’s about to hit someone and he quickly learns to look where he’s going when I do.
We run a full three rounds around the pasture before Quilava starts to slow down. I decide to push him a little more.
“Come, stick with me now,” I say and accelerate.
He takes a moment to line up and then we’re running side by side, slowly getting faster. At the end of the fourth lap, I pull into a final sprint and pull a full five steps ahead before slowing down. Quilava jumps at my back with a cry and I turn around and catch him. It only takes a moment and he’s settled in my arms, panting heavily. His eyes are half-closed as he’s trying to catch his breath while I carry him over to the little pond area.
“That was some good exercise,” I say when he’s paying attention to me again, “Did you have fun?”
He looks puzzled for a moment before giving me a quick nuzzle.
“Quil!” he says, “Quilava.”
“Right. Let’s get a moment of rest.”
I sit down a few steps from the pond, a good bit away from any of the other students, and pull out a water flask, letting him down. He puts his head on my leg as I start to let him drink. Even though they’re Fire Type, Quilava still need water. Their body mostly has a normal biology. I let my eyes run over him, following the defined lines of his muscles as he’s drinking. He looks to be very healthy and well-developed. I can’t really see any differences to my own Ty when he still was a Quilava. Or any of the others that evolved into the Ghost Type variant. Even back then, Professor Laventon was confused how the divergent evolutions happened. Other than the hypothesis of environmental factors we never had anything that made any real sense.
Quilava has sated his thirst and looks back up at me. I give him a pat on the head and pull out an Oran Berry and a knife from my satchel. His eyes quickly snap to it. I start cutting off small pieces from it and feeding them to him, occasionally eating some myself. The sweet taste is great after a bit of exercise.
Seeing him eat lets me get a better look at his face, especially his mouth. I don’t see any issues there, either. He’s as good in shape as any Quilava should be. His teeth and gums are healthy with normal signs of use and he doesn’t have a dry mouth caused by a lack of water.
It doesn’t take long and he’s relaxed enough to start looking around. I put away the flask and knife and stand up.
“Let’s do some control exercises,” I say and he tilts his head.
“I want you to feel for your Fire TE. Go for an Ember but don’t shoot it. Just let the energy cycle through your body. Here, I’ll demonstrate.”
I shift into a loose stance, feet apart and knees lowered and start moving. My arms push forward, then pull back. I take a half-step while turning and make a half-circle with my hands. A small bit of Fire TE flows through my limbs and a flame flickers to life between my fingertips. When I push my arms forward again, the flame follows lazily, only to revert course when I pull my hands in again. I glance down at Quilava who is nodding to himself and starting to move. It takes him a little to find a rhythm but when he does, I slow down my own movements and let the Ember sputter out.
Quilava turns and steps around me in a slow dance, guiding his Ember more with his snout than his hands. It moves a little harshly, instead of the lazy and relaxed form that shows full control of the Move. I simply keep watching while letting my Fire TE run out naturally. The few sparks flying from my fingertips soon follow along Quilava’s Ember and I exert my control over them to challenge his control of the move. Not by much, but enough that he has to pay a little more attention to the flame.
It takes a few minutes before his Move fizzles out and he snaps back to the present. I squat down and rub the side of his head, getting some ash on my fingers.
“That was good,” I say, “For a first attempt.”
“Quil!” he complains.
“Yup. If you have to think about it, you’ll learn more quickly. That’s why I contested control over your Ember. You were just letting it fly where it wanted to go. You need to tell it where it wants to go. That’s how you make a Move truly yours.”
He tilts his head.
“Quilava?”
“No,” I giggle, “But the environment will make a move act a specific way. For example, Water Moves often like to flow downhill. A Water Type has to tell the Move where to go instead. Fire Moves want to have fuel to burn, so they latch onto flammable things like wood and paper, and if they can’t find any, they go to where the air is freshest. I think it has something to do with oxygen? Could be wrong, though…”
The Fire Type nods thoughtfully and turns to the pond. He rears up a little and I lean back just in time to avoid the blast of fire from his back. A much larger Ember forms in front of his snout and he shoots it off with a “Quil!”. We watch it impact the water and go a hand width below the surface before being snuffed out.
I smile.
“Just like that. Your Move ran out of energy, there. Something stronger will more easily go through water. But if the water is made or even just controlled by a Water Type, you’ll have a much harder time pushing through, so be careful with that.”
“Quil, quilava,” he says and I laugh.
“Yeah, that’s probably smart. Want to get back to the others?”
He scoffs and shakes his head.
“Quil!”
He turns back to the water, blasting another Ember into it with enthusiasm. This time it goes a little further. I grin and sit down next to him as he practices. Whenever he has problems, I give him some tips which he happily absorbs. We barely even notice the passage of time as my first school day in over two decades reaches its end.