After the high emotions of the moment faded, I managed to wriggle my way out of Mable's hug and hop down. It was still rather disconcerting, being hugged by someone so much larger than me. I had been trying to adjust to interacting with others despite the discrepancy in size, but I still felt most comfortable when I transformed into larger Pokémon forms. Maybe I will be able to not feel so out-of-place in my natural form at some point, but for now physical contact from humans in my natural form still felt like I was dealing with a mythical giant at times.

Mable seemed to sense my discomfort, and just smiled down at me. "Alright, alright, no more hugging for the time being. I'm just a little overwhelmed, that's all." She stood up and moved across the kitchen, going for the surprisingly old-style phone mounted to the wall. Seriously, it was hard to believe that she was still using a landline phone, even if it fit the slightly rustic feel of the pasture's house. Shouldn't everything be handled by high-tech Pokégears and such by now, though?

A thick, yellow-paged book was dug out of a drawer near to the phone, only reinforcing the sense of technological stagnation. I don't remember the last time I had ever even seen a physical phone book. Mable flipped through it until she found what she was looking for, speaking over her shoulder to me as she began to punch in the numbers. "I'll call over to the Pokémon Center now and see about getting an appointment for your check-up. It's nothing out of the ordinary for a trainer to want to have a new acquisition to their team assessed and ensure they're as healthy as they can be. Since we're not after any sort of specialized treatment, it shouldn't be much of a wait. We might be able to get you in today, so don't run off too far. Oh, actually, go and find Bibi for me!" Whoever was at the Pokémon Center must have picked up, as she broke off anything further to me to direct her attention toward the call.

Mable sure seemed full of energy after I had made the decision to agree to join her team. She just up and dropped everything to get started on the favor I had asked her for in the first place. Though, I suppose it would only benefit her further as well if I was able to gain access to new forms sooner, particularly those with healing abilities. It was like getting a first aid kit to keep around the house, you wanted to have it taken care of and available well before anything actually went wrong, after all.

I obliged her request and let myself out the back door of the house, looking around the pasture. Bibarel wasn't in casual eyesight, and while I could transform into another form to try and travel through the pasture faster to find him, I wanted to save my energy just in case we were going into town today. Not only because I wanted to be in top form if I was being examined by the Pokémon Center, but also in case there were any battles along the way. A tense sort of excitement bubbled up in me at the idea of having my first proper battle.

I had been in spars, true, and even genuinely dangerous fights, but those weren't what I saw in my mind when I thought about Pokémon battling. I pictured the well set-up arenas, an officiated contest between two trainers and their Pokémon. I doubted my first showing would be anything worth remarking on, and possibly even worth remembering, but this felt like what I originally craved when I realized I had the opportunity to join this wonderful world of Pokémon. Admittedly, it wasn't in the role I expected, but that did little to dampen my enthusiasm for it regardless. If I can't be a Pokémon Master, then by Arceus I'm going to be a master-battler Pokémon some day!

Bounding along and enjoying my little anticipatory daydreams, I headed toward the pond and the dam, assuming that Bibarel would be around the area. When I arrived, I saw him with a small number of the Bidoof paying rapt attention to him at the water's edge. All the Bidoof being addressed seemed to be some of the older ones of the pack, as they were slightly larger and their buck teeth were actually properly worn-down.

It may seem an odd way to pick out the older and more responsible members of the Bidoof gang, but it was the easiest way to do it. The younger Bidoof had a habit of neglecting the importance of gnawing properly and for sufficient duration, often losing themselves in playing or naps. This meant that their teeth grew larger too quickly without being worn down from constant use, and were often rather unwieldy to gnaw back down to a usable and useful size again. Sometimes they would have to have their teeth ground down with Mable's assistance, which was the only reason I knew of the issue in the first place.

The group being addressed lacked this problem, and their slightly larger size combined with the ability to sit still and focus long enough to listen to Bibarel as he addressed them marked them as the older, more responsible examples. Rather than interrupt, as there was no need for haste until Mable had arranged an appointment time, I plopped myself down on the grass alongside the group and watched the discussion.

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Bibarel spoke up, his slow, placidly drawling voice carrying out over the group. "Starting to get a feel for the flow of water-type energies is the sign that you are growing closer and closer to evolution. One of the most basic uses of water-type energy is the simple Water Gun attack. When you're trying to learn how to begin to practice your Water Gun, you need to be very careful. If you use the ability improperly, you can choke yourself on your own jet of water. You need to focus on launching with sufficient force in order to avoid the water from entering your own throat. You need to produce enough water to create an offensive spray, but not so much water that you cannot handle it, as that can also cause the same problem."

I saw Bibarel in a different light as he diligently tried to warn and instruct the younger, pre-evolved forms on how they could begin to feel out water-type energy and grow more accustomed to it, as well as different pitfalls they needed to watch out for. With his goofy voice and the fact that he always spoke with a slightly prolonged extension of his words, I had rather rudely and seemingly incorrectly assumed that he wasn't particularly bright. In this instance, however, he was being exceptionally well-spoken and thorough with his lecture. It seemed to at odds with the goofy, lazy demeanor I had often seem him display. I suppose there was nothing wrong with slacking off when there wasn't work to do, I just hadn't ever seen him acting in a mentorship role to any of the Pokémon on the pasture before.

Bibarel turned toward the pond and drew a deep breath, before arcing a firehose-like blast of water in a gentle arc that crossed over the halfway point of the small pond as a display of Water Gun. A few lily pads seemed to drift over toward the shower of water, then lifted up slightly to show the eyes and yellow bill-mouths of the Lotad beneath them peeking upward with a pleased squint. They seemed to enjoy a few long moments of relaxing under the raining water. When the attack drew to a halt, the three Lotad milled about aimlessly, as if they weren't sure what to do now that the water had halted.

One of the group seemed to decide that if the water wasn't going to rain on its own, it was going to do it itself. It tipped backward and shot a jetting Water Gun of its own up into the air to arc back down. Following the lead of the first, its fellows followed suit. As Bibarel faced his Bidoof audience again, the Lotad cluster took on their best impersonation of a park fountain, spouting jets of water into the air to fall down upon themselves and each other. It made for an interesting to watch backdrop, at the least.

As I wasn't as invested in the lesson as the Bidoof were, I let my attention shift primarily to the Lotad. I wondered what it would be like to float around on the water without a care like that. Bibarel looked like he was in the middle of something rather important, and it didn't seem to be wrapping up in a hurry. I know I wanted to be in my top form in case we went to town later, but... a little dip in the pond can't hurt, right? My willpower held, and I resisted the impulse to shift into a Lotad immediately and hop in the water... briefly.

One of the Lotad had shifted the aim of their Water Gun sprays lower, impacting the lily pad of one of their fellows and sending them spiraling and pirouetting across the surface of the water in an uncontrolled spin. A high-pitched laughing escaped the attacker, and a chirped "Gotcha!" mingled with a protest of "Stop, stop, you're making me dizzy!" from the victim. When the gush of water stopped the Lotad from spiraling in aimless circles across the surface of the pond, the Lotad in question was certainly looking a little spiral-eyed. After a brief shake of their head, they retaliated against the first Lotad in kind, starting a game of seeing how long they could sustain their Water Guns and spiral their companions in dizzying spinning across the pond.

That just... look, it looked like fun! Too much fun to pass up! I shifted into a Lotad, though I immediately felt the weight of the heavy lily pad leaf atop my head trying to squish down atop me as I did so from the water's edge, rather than in the water. While I was able to move under the weight of it, it wasn't pleasant, and I immediately felt intensely parched. Right, Lotad was a Pokémon that really wasn't designed to be out of the water in most circumstances. I dragged myself laboriously into the pond's embrace, and sighed in relief as my new natural buoyancy relieved me of the weight of the head-leaf. It left me dangling my body in the water and feeling almost weightless as I hovered on the surface of the water.

I didn't get to enjoy the floaty sensation for long, however. None of the Lotad had really paid mind to one more entering their midst, but as they were all happily Water Gun blasting each other around the pond, I was unceremoniously included and was left spinning around the pond. The impact of the water didn't hurt, it was more of a firm pressure, and it honestly felt a little bit refreshing. I wondered if I was being 'fed' as the plant portion of my new form absorbed the water to some degree, while the rest washed off my body as it pushed me about. When it drew to a halt, I was laughing as earnestly as any of the other Lotad. "My turn!" I cried out with excitement, drawing a deep breath and retaliating in kind.

I should at least keep an eye out and watch for when Bibarel was done with his little lecture to the younger ones, right? I was committed to glancing over now and again to keep an eye out... at least until another Water Gun impacted me and sent me and my thoughts spiraling off all over again. Ah, whatever! Even if Bibarel is finished, there's nothing pressing going on. I'm just going to enjoy goofing off for a bit and unwind!