Chapter Two: Training
"So we'll need to go northwest from here," Eve said to Hannah and Basil, scanning her map. "If we move at a steady pace, we should be there in two days. And even if we go slow, it'll take no more than three days. Then we'll be at Violet City, and I'll be able to take my month-long pokémon summer school class. Sound good to everyone?"
~Are you sure you're okay for traveling?~ Basil asked. ~When you changed the bandages on your arm this morning, the wound still looked kind of bad. Those beedrill's stingers can be pretty damaging.~
Eve fingered the bandaging wrapped around her arm. "That's nothing. As you yourself said, it's shallow. And I don't need my arm to travel. It still stings a little, but I'll get over it. But you didn't answer my question: does everyone agree with the route we're taking?"
Basil twitched his ear, not completely satisfied that Eve's wound was completely okay. Nonetheless, he tried to shake the thought from his mind as he looked at the map in Eve's hands. ~But aren't we supposed to follow that little line?~ He asked from Eve's shoulder, using his long tail to point to the route that Eve normally took when heading back and forth from Cherrygrove City to New Bark Town.
A purple vine extended from one of the buds on Hannah's neck as she reached up. ~Hey! I want to see where we're going, too!~
"Alright, alright! Just hold on a minute!" Eve said, stopping and crouching so she could lay the map on the ground where everyone could see. "Most people would normally follow the regular routes like you said, Basil," Eve explained, knowing that Hannah probably couldn't even read the map she was so eager to see. "But I don't meet nearly as many new pokémon if I stick to the paths. Besides, it's faster if we walk straight there."
Hannah withdrew her vine unhappily as Eve rolled up the map. ~But we don't have time to be talking to other pokémon along the way. I've got to start training as soon as possible, so we've got to hurry to that school thing in the other town.~
"No matter how fast we go, classes still don't start for five days," Eve said. "But if you're so eager about it, I don't see why we can't start training now, along the way. Speaking if which, if you're going out of your way to get stronger, do you want to take on the gym challenge?"
~Gym challenge? What's that?~ Hannah asked.
"Well, there are these eight buildings called 'gyms' scattered around Johto in different towns," Eve said. "You pretty much battle other trainers inside of them, and if you beat everyone – including the gym leader, who's really good at battling – then you get a badge. It's supposed to be a good way to test your strength. When you have no badges, the first gym is supposed to be easy, but then they ramp up their strength the more badges you get. So do you want to try it?"
Hannah pranced back and forth excitedly for a few moments as she looked up at her trainer. ~Sounds like a great way to battle! I'd love to try it. But I'll have to get way stronger first. We need to start training right away!~
"Hmm… But if we're going to try to take on the gyms, I'll need at least one more pokémon to start out with. Basil, do you want to train and get stronger, too?"
~Totally!~ the pichu replied excitedly, wagging his tail back and forth. ~I mean, I don't care for battling as much as Hannah does, but I can't wait to evolve into a pikachu, like my parents! And maybe I could even evolve past that…~
"But didn't you say you could evolve into a pikachu whenever you wanted to?" Eve asked. "Both of your brothers did years ago, at the very least. I remember that much. And I'm pretty sure pikachu don't evolve into raichu based on power alone… They need a special stone, or something."
Basil jumped nonchalantly onto Eve's head. ~That's true, but I've been waiting for just the right moment to evolve, and I don't want to evolve until I'm strong enough to feel like I deserve it! Plus, wouldn't it be even sad if I was a pikachu and I still couldn't take out those beedrill from yesterday? So I've got to get stronger by myself, even if I don't have to in order to evolve.~
"If that's how you feel about it, then I'll try to help you train, too." Eve replied. "So if we have that all worked out now, why don't we start our traveling training right now? I'm no great trainer, but I think I do have a couple of ideas to at least get us going. Let me start with Basil, since I know his abilities better."
~Okay… What do I have to do?~ Basil asked.
"Firstly, you're going to stay on the ground, rather than ride on my shoulder all the time. I bet that will improve your stamina a little bit," Eve said. "And secondly, you should work on your electric attacks. Why don't you try keeping a steady electric current going through your body as you walk? It doesn't have to be powerful… just consistent. Does that sound possible?"
~I don't like the fact that I have to stay on the ground all the time,~ Basil said as he jumped off of Eve's head to the ground. ~But if you think it'll help, I will. And the electric thing will take some practice, but I bet I'll be able to do it if I keep trying at it up for a couple hours.~
~What about me?~ Hannah asked as small sparks started to fly around Basil's body. ~What would you suggest I do?~
Eve twirled her braid around a finger. "I don't really know what you can do yet, so I'm not quite sure, to be honest. Can you show me some of your attacks?"
~Sure! Here's the vine whip that the professor was talking about,~ she said, demonstrating by extending one of her vines out about five feet and whacking it against a nearby tree trunk.
Eve watched critically, then asked, "Can you only hit stuff with it? I remember watching shows when I was a kid where grass pokémon used their vines to pick things up."
Hannah hesitated. ~I can pick things up,~ she confirmed. ~But if it's much heavier than me, I become unbalanced and fall down. But I can learn to compensate for it; I did when I battled the other pokémon I was around back at the lab. Though if something's too heavy, then no matter how much I practice, I have no chance at lifting it.~
"That's understandable," Eve responded. "Besides, just being able to grab small things should be really useful. And what about the length of your vines? Is that the max of how far they go, or can you stretch them to make them longer? And what about multiple vines?"
~I'm not sure about the stretching, really. I've never thought about it. What I just showed you is as far as I can go right now, but I bet if I practiced it more I could get them to extend more. And as for multiple vines…~ She extended one vine from both the left and right sides of her neck to demonstrate. ~This is about all I can manage well. Each bud on my neck can be used as a vine. But the more of them I use at once, the harder it is to concentrate on keeping the movements under control.~
Eve nodded. "Okay, so what other moves do you know?"
~Watch the leaf,~ Hannah said as she started to accumulate a purplish powder that matched the color of her leaf. ~That's poisonpowder. I can use the leaf to power it through the air a little ways, though I won't right now so that I don't poison some pokémon around here without meaning to." She slowly let it disperse as she walked; Eve hoped that the trail of poison would be diffuse enough that the pokémon in the area really wouldn't have anything to worry about.
Then, once the poison had been completely scattered, Hannah continued. ~I can also use razorleaf, though I'm still getting kinda used to it.~ She swung her leaf rapidly around, sending a razor-sharp leaf zooming forward with each rotation. Eve marveled, wondering how she did it: was her main leaf growing back so quickly that, whenever she sent one off, it never appeared that her leaf had left? Or did that main leaf have many layers with the ability to separate from each other?
Another nice attack, Eve thought as she watched the leaves cut cleanly into a bush ahead of her. No wonder she wanted a good trainer… I just feel bad that I can't live up to that expectation as well as she'd like.
As if to prove Eve's point, the bush that had been hit by Hannah's leaves shuddered, and a grumpy-looking pink pokémon emerged, growling. It was only about two feet tall, with big, floofy, almost tubular ears and short, stubby appendages. It also had a light-blue sort of ruff and some similarly colored polka dots. Even though all this together gave it a rather comical look, it's angry expression and strong-looking mouth made it look to Eve like a formidable opponent. Certainly not someone she wanted to mess with when she was just starting out on her journey.
"I'm so sorry, snubbull – we didn't mean to hit the bush you were in. Hannah just got carried away," Eve apologized, hoping to calm the snubbull down some.
~It's her fault if she's going to be hiding in a bush all day,~ Hannah grumbled.
The snubbull came closer, her ears raised threateningly. She looked ready to attack, and so Hannah and Basil instinctually placed themselves in between Eve and the possible threat. ~That's my bush!~ the snubbull growled. ~You can't just start attacking it! I'll teach you!~ the snubbull suddenly charged forward, straight towards Hannah.
~Basil, back off! This is my battle!~ Hannah said. Basil obliged and moved closer to Eve just as Hannah took the tackle attack. The chikorita dug in her feet and managed to stay standing; aside from her leaf, she and her opponent were about the same size, and appeared to be on about even ground in terms of strength.
~Do you have any battle directions?~ Hannah asked Eve frantically as she tried to put some distance between herself and the snubbull.
"Oh! Um…" That's right, I'm supposed to be her trainer! I can do this… I hope. "Uh, let's try a vine whip!"
Hannah extended both vines and began beating the snubbull with them; the snubbull, unable to move forward and attack, ran away a few feet to place herself out of the vines' range.
~Good idea!~ Hannah said. ~It doesn't look like it can attack with anything other than it's body! That means that ranged attacks like vine whip and razorleaf should work really well.~
The pink pokémon growled her defiance. Hannah shuddered involuntarily. ~That's growl attack, Eve,~ Basil explained. ~Now Hannah's attacks won't do as much damage.~
"What?" Eve had barely managed to ask the question before the snubbull charged forward again, her mouth opened wide. Without waiting for an order, Hannah used razorleaf to try and halt the rushing pokémon, but the snubbull ignored the attacks and continued blindly charging. Caught off guard, Hannah was unable to dodge and the snubbull bit tightly down at the base of her oddly-colored leaf.
~Ouch ouch ouch!~ Hannah yelped, tossing her head around to try to shake off the snubbull and get the pink pokémon out of her face. The snubbull just bit down harder, determined to keep her hold.
This is why pokémon need trainers to really battle, Eve thought to herself as she desperately tried to think of something that Hannah could do. No matter how smart or strong Hannah is, it's difficult for her to strategize when she's in a bind like this.
Finally, Eve had an idea. It probably wasn't the best idea, but it would have to do. She waited for just the right moment in her chikorita's frenzied turning, then said, "Stop, Hannah. Don't turn anymore, and instead charge straight forward!"
Hannah did as she was told, though she was stumbling more than charging; the snubbull wasn't touching the ground at all, and so her weight made the chikorita very unbalanced. Even so, the plan worked relatively well. Hannah couldn't see where she was going thanks to the snubbul in her face, and so she crashed head-first into a tree. Or, rather, she crashed snubbull-first. The impact was enough to make the snubbull lose her grip, and the pink pokémon dropped to the ground.
When the pink pokémon got up again, it stance still seemed tense, and yet it had also lost much of it's aggressiveness. ~I know when I'm beat,~ the snubbull said. ~Though I still can't say that I appreciate being disturbed in my own den. So what are you going to do now, little human who can understand pokémon? Are you going to try to capture me with those things that people carry around? Because if so, then I'm going to do my best to run away right now, just so you know.~
"No, not at all!" Eve said as she sat down and reached into her bag, pulling a spray-type bottle out of an outside pouch. "In fact, I've got some potion right here. It's something that helps pokémon wounds to heal faster. Once I'm done treating Hannah here," she said as she put the chikorita in question in her lap, "then I'd be happy to treat you, if you want. It was our fault that we disturbed you, after all. Hannah, you should say that you're sorry."
~But I'm not!~ Hannah protested, though she kept her head still as Eve very expertly applied the medicine to her leaf. ~I was just practicing my attacks! I've got a right to do that wherever I want.~
Eve frowned. "No you don't. If it's this snubbull's home, then we shouldn't be disturbing her. Doesn't that make sense?"
~I guess…~ Hannah replied without even trying to sound sincere about it.
~I'll have to decline your offer for treatment,~ the snubbull said, interrupting the argument. ~With a crowd like this around, no one would ever let me live it down if I was pampered by a human.~
Eve blinked and looked around, noticing for the first time that quite the crowd of pokémon had gathered to watch the battle. Some fluttered their wings or scratched at the ground in the pokémon equivalent of blushing as Eve looked around; others took it as their cue to let their comments fly.
~Wow, that was a great battle!~
~I haven't seen old lady snubbull here get beaten in a while, that's for sure.~
~You must be pretty strong for a grass pokémon," one pidgey said, causing protests to rise from the numerous grass pokémon below him.
"If I might ask, why are you out here in the wild, snubbull?" Eve questioned, ignoring the flurry of pokémon voices and motion around her. "I mean, I'd always heard that practically all snubbull were domesticated."
The snubbull began to smooth out her fur as she replied, ~You're right. I used to live in the city. Even had a human that took care of me for a while. But then she died in a car accident. I lived on the streets for a while after that, but it was tough. Eventually, I just came out here. But that was years and years ago; I doubt I could even find my way back to the city now.~
"Sorry to hear about your human," Eve said sympathetically. Then, moving quickly from the subject, she said, "Are you sure you don't want me to treat those cuts from the razorleaf attack?"
~No, I'll be fine in a day or two. Thanks for the offer, though,~ the snubbull said, now perfectly amiable. That was one of the biggest differences between humans and pokémon that Eve had always noticed; whereas humans would either hold grudges or not show their true emotions, pokémon switched from feeling to feeling as often as a zigzagoon changes directions.
Eve stood up and put the spray bottle back in her bag. "If you're sure about it, then I'm afraid that we'll have to head out now," Eve said. "It was nice talking with you!"
~Same here,~ the snubbull said contentedly. ~And little chikorita, I'd suggest you listen to your human's advice and be more careful with your attacks. Otherwise, you might find yourself face-to-face with a pokémon you can't handle.~
Hannah waved her leaf haughtily and did not respond. The snubbull didn't press the issue anymore as Hannah and Eve walked away.
"Basil, are you coming?" Eve called back when she noticed that the pichu wasn't immediately separating himself from the group of sentret he was talking to.
~Yeah! Sorry!~ Basil said, running to catch up. ~I was just trying to figure out if there were any mean pokémon in the area that we should avoid. If we keep walking the way we're going, we'll apparently run straight into a beedrill nest.~
A pidgey fluttered down from a tree nearby and landed on Eve's head. Basil's fur sparked in annoyance, but since he was banned from being carried for the sake of his training, he decided not to make a big deal about it.
~We could help you get through the forest for a ways, if you want,~ the pidgey said, gesturing with his wings to the small flock of five or six pidgey that was flying from tree to tree, keeping pace with Eve as she walked through the forest. ~We fly all around here, anyway, and roost wherever we want. Besides, we've never met a human that could talk to pokémon before. Not even in the city. We're sorta curious.~
Eve smiled. "That sounds amazing, if it's not too much trouble."
~But I need to train,~ Hannah complained.
Basil playfully tackled Hannah. ~You know, for someone who had absolutely no self-confidence yesterday, you certainly can be whiny today,~ he joked. ~Maybe I'm not so glad that Eve chose you… Even that stuck-up totodile might've been better than this.~
Hannah flicked her leaf back and forth, agitated. "Oh, don't get your vines in a tangle," Eve said before Hannah could make a comeback. "Both you and Basil can still train, even if the pidgey come along. I'll observe you and talk to the pidgey at the same time. If you're already feeling better after that battle, then you can start right now. For your training, Hannah, I first want you to stretch out two of your vines to full length." Hannah did so, albeit unhappily. "Okay, now as we walk, I want you to touch things along the way, first with one vine and then the other. Logs, trees, bushes, I don't care what you touch, just make sure that it's not someone's home first."
The upset chikorita kept her vines extended, but let them drag along the ground in her frustration. ~But what's the point in that? It sounds so boring.~
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure training isn't supposed to be fun, exactly," Eve said patiently. "Keeping your vines moving while fully extended might help increase their length; tapping things over and over again as precisely as possible should help with dexterity. If it's too easy just using two vines, then try using three at once. Does it seem less pointless now?"
~Fine, whatever. I'll give it a try,~ Hannah said, shaking off most of her bad mood.
Eve grinned happily. "Glad to hear it." Then, immediately turning her attention to the bird pokémon in the trees around her, she asked, "So pidgey, what's up in this neck of the woods?"
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
By the end of the second day of traveling, Basil and Hannah were both exhausted. Their improvised training drained more energy than either of them had been expecting, when added to their moderately paced hike through the forest.
Yet, to Eve's amazement, the impromptu training methods seemed to be working. Basil's thundershock attack was stronger than Eve had ever seen it in the nine years since he'd first hatched. That being said, it had never been strong at all to begin with, and both Basil and Eve recognized that it still needed improvement.
This fact was made all the clearer whenever they ran into unwelcoming pokémon; even with the pidgey's guidance, the group inevitably stumbled upon pokémon that didn't want a human anywhere near them, even one that could communicate well. When a pair of spearow attacked, even Basil's new-and-improved thundershock wasn't enough to knock them out. And though Eve didn't know a lot about battling, she did know that bird pokémon weren't supposed to be able to stand up to electric-type attacks. That incident just increased Basil's determination to get stronger.
Hannah, too, was rapidly developing her skills. After two days of training, her vines had increased in length from five feet to six, and she was on the verge of mastering the use of three vines at once. Aside from the miraculous comeback in the fight with the snubbull, Eve proved time and time again that she was rather hapless at battling. Despite this, though, Hannah's obviously successful training was enough to keep her relatively respectful towards Eve.
When they started out on their third day of travel, however, Hannah finally couldn't keep herself from pointing out Eve's shortcomings. ~You could be practicing, too,~ the chikorita said harshly. ~You don't seem to know how to battle very well.~
~You don't have to be so rude about it,~ one of the pidgey guides said. ~Besides, didn't you guys say that she's going to learn more about battling in the city you're going to? Can't she wait until then?~
"I'm okay with learning more right now," Eve said, ignoring the snide tone in Hannah's voice, though she was inwardly thankful to the pidgey for defending her. "I just don't know how. Did you have some idea?"
~You've attracted plenty of attention from the pokémon in the area,~ Hannah said, gesturing with her vines to a teddiursa, two hoppip, and some ledyba that were temporarily tagging along. ~Why don't you ask them to show you some of their attacks? That way you can start learning more about what kinds of pokémon use what attacks.~
Eve toyed with the thought for a few moments. "That's an idea," she said. "But it would slow us down even more. We're already on our third day of traveling when we could've been there yesterday."
~Didn't you say that we're not really in a rush, since your class doesn't start for another couple of days?~ Hannah pointed out. ~Besides, both your map and the pidgey say that we'll be there in the next couple of hours. Can't we take an hour or two more so that you can learn some things?~
Eve twirled her braid around her finger for a few moments, easily feeling the difference between her own greasy red strands and the long lock of silky wartortle hair. While she'd never been particularly picky about grooming (playing with pokémon all the time had long ago taken care of that), she did really want to get someplace where she could shower sometime soon.
Even so, she couldn't deny that what Hannah said was true; both she and Basil had been working hard these past few days, and all Eve had done to help was give them pointers. Turning to the wild pokémon, she said, "Well, if you guys are up for it, it'd be great if I could learn something from all of you."
~It sounds fun to me,~ the teddiursa said, his eyes wide as he licked his paw.
The group of ledyba rushed forward. ~Ooh, let us go first!~ the most energetic of them said. ~We'd love to show off our skills if it'd help you, even if we aren't all that strong.~
"Thanks," Eve said, not at all resentful that she wasn't going to get to take her shower as early as she'd wanted. In fact, she added rather cheerfully, "Let's go ahead and get started!"
So the morning progressed with all sorts of demonstrations of attacks interspersed throughout. After each species of pokémon showed off its repertoire of moves, the entire group would start walking forward again while Eve asked questions about how the attacks worked, and which skills each pokémon preferred.
Aside from the techniques that Eve had heard humans give names to, she really didn't know how to refer in human-speech to the attacks that the pokémon used. She was forced to refer to them as "that windy attack", "the attack where you drained energy from the other pokémon", etcetera. Despite the vagueness, however, the pokémon always knew exactly what she was talking about. Though Eve had always found it difficult to explain to other people, pokémon communication was much more instinctual than human speech. That was the reason why pokémon didn't really need to name something to know who or what another pokémon was talking about; they just knew.
When midday came around, Eve gave Basil and Hannah some pokéblocks that she had brought for the journey, while she helped herself to a modest no-cook meal. This was one more thing that she didn't exactly enjoy about being on the go; the food really didn't have much taste to it, nor was it very substantial. Thankfully, the pokémon of the area were more than willing to spare a couple of berries for the trio of travelers, which gave more flavor and variety to their meal.
The sun was already beginning to set when Eve said goodbye to the wild pokémon and finally entered Violet City. Though the day had gone fast thanks to her efforts to learn, she was still very glad to be nearing their destination.
As they started reaching the outskirts of town, Eve said, "Once we're in the main part of town, I doubt I'll be able to have you two outside of pokéballs… At least, I'm pretty sure Violet City has leash laws, and I certainly don't have any leashes with me."
~Well, that's fine,~ Hannah said. ~Though it's been nice to be out as we travel, I'm used to being in my pokéball. I suppose it can't be helped, if other humans are so picky about it.~
"Basil? Are you okay with it?" Eve asked, the concern obvious in her face.
Basil flicked his tail back and forth. ~I suppose there's a first time for everything. I don't see why I can't try it, at least. But Hannah, would you tell me what it's like first?~
~Wait, what? You haven't been in a pokéball yet? But I thought you were Eve's pokémon!~
Eve shrugged. "As far as it matters, he is. I mean, I've been with him almost nonstop since he hatched. But he's never really needed a pokéball before."
~So what's it like?~ Basil asked again.
~Well,~ Hannah said, still recovering from her surprise. ~It's like sleeping really, really deeply, I guess. You're not really comfortable or uncomfortable or anything like that, because you don't really think about it. And you're always dimly aware of your surroundings. You don't really know what's going on outside, and yet you know what to be ready for as soon as you're released from the pokéball. And even if you're in there for hours and hours, it never feels like any time has passed.~ Then, as an afterthought, she added, ~Though even if you don't realize time has passed, you will be hungry when you come out, if you haven't eaten in a while.~
~That doesn't sound too bad. Let's go ahead and try it then, Eve,~ Basil said.
Eve rummaged through her bag and pulled out one of the small, ping-pong ball sized pokéballs. "Okay, here goes nothing." Eve tapped the opening mechanism to Basil's forehead. His entire body glowed red for a moment, and then in another moment he disappeared into the pokéball. Eve looked at the red and white sphere for a couple of seconds, and then continued to walk towards town.
~Oh, hey! What about me?~ Hannah asked.
Eve shrugged, still looking intently at the pokéball. "I'm just waiting a few minutes, then letting Basil back out. Once I'm sure he's okay with this, then I'll return both of you to your pokeballs until I get a chance to let you out again."
When two or three minutes had passed, Eve pressed the button to enlarge and open the pokéball. "So how was it?" she asked anxiously as the pichu reappeared.
~Fine,~ Basil said, giving himself a shake. ~How long was I in there?~
"A couple minutes."
~Really? Hannah was right, I really can't tell that any time went by. It's sort of like I just blinked,~ Basil said. ~Anyway, you don't need to worry about it. I'll be perfectly fine. I guess I'll see you in a bit!~ And with that, he touched the button of the pokéball with his tail, sending himself back into the sphere.
With a wondering look on her face, Eve put Basil's pokéball away and took out Hannah's. "Well, I guess I'm off to find my dorm now. Wish me luck, Hannah."
As soon as the chikorita was back in her pokéball, Eve paused for a few seconds. "You know," she said to herself, slightly troubled, "It sure is a lot quieter without any pokémon around." Then, brightening, she continued, "But maybe I'll meet someone interesting here. After all, people can be a whole lot more entertaining than pokémon, sometimes. Even if they're more difficult to understand." She sighed, then got out her city map and continued on, both anxious and excited about what was to come.
Okay, sorry if it was sort of a slow chapter. I was trying to get some characterization down, as well as detail Eve's ability (or lack of it) for battling and training. Also, sorry if a couple of those battle paragraphs got confusing at all... I had three people/pokémon that could be referred to as 'she' (the snubbul, Hannah, and Eve), so I'm afraid it might have gotten confusing. I normally try not to call a pokémon 'it' in a fanfic like this, but in the future, I may start doing that. You have been warned.
Also, this came out in less than a week, as you may have noticed. I did this partly because a friend of mine wanted to read more, and partly because I want to get some more exposure here in while I'm still early in the story. There will still be another chapter coming out on thursday, and I WILL go to only every Thursday after that. So yeah. Please review if you like the story, or even if you don't like it!
