"The match will consist of a one on one battle. No substitutions are allowed. The match will end when one side concedes."

Daichi, acting as the referee, quickly went over the rules while Bugsy and I set ourselves on opposite sides of the "arena" (the backyard behind the shop). Since there wasn't a good spectating spot, Maizie reluctantly stayed inside with Vespiquen to watch from the window.

"When one side concedes?" I asked. "I'd heard you normally carried on until your pokemon couldn't fight anymore?"

"Normally, that's how it works, yes," Bugsy said. "Right now, though, the machine we use to heal pokemon is broken. We've been passing out potions to make up for it, but the more severe cases are all being handled by a single Chansey, who's run ragged already. Because of that, we won't really be pushing the limits here."

I nodded, vaguely remembering the nurse I'd met when I first arrived. "Got it."

"All right, are you ready?" Daichi asked. Bugsy agreed, and after making sure Oddish was prepared, so did I. "Begin!"

Bugsy held out a pokeball, and a moment later Oddish was facing a Metapod.

"Okay, Oddish, use..." Actually, I had no idea what Oddish knew how to do. "Use some kind of attack, and we'll see how it goes."

It wasn't much of an order, but Oddish went right to it: a thin stream of green wisps were pulled from the Metapod and sucked in by Oddish.

"That's called Absorb, by the way," Bugsy said. "Metapod, tackle!"

How Metapod could even move was unclear, being shaped like it was, but somehow it managed it, rushing forward and slamming into Oddish, who fell backward with a squeak.

I frowned. Metapod seems fine, but Oddish is already looking a bit dazed after one hit. Absorb isn't strong enough to win with. "If you have another attack, Oddish, use that!"

Clambering back to their feet, Oddish nodded. It puffed itself up, then spat a gob of purple spit that struck the Metapod across its torso. The difference between this and Absorb was obvious-smoke rose off where it had hit, and the Metapod quickly scrambled away looking worse for wear.

"That would be Acid," Bugsy commented. "Fairly effective. Metapod, Bug Bite!"

Metapod spun on a dime, its retreat turning into a dash toward Oddish.

"Oddish, dodge!" I said-entirely too late, as Metapod had already latched onto Oddish's leaves with its teeth, shaking them around like a dog might. A moment later, it let go, and Oddish fell to the ground, looking decidedly woozy.

This was bad. Metapod was weakened, after that last attack, but Oddish was too far gone already. Another hit, and I'd have to concede. There was no way Oddish would be able to dodge a hit, either-the Metapod was too fast. How, then...?

Just as it looked like Bugsy was about to give his next order, I spoke. "Oddish, spray Acid on the ground in front of you!"

Staggering to their feet, they complied, producing a thick puddle between them and Metapod, which began to emanate smoke.

Bugsy aborted whatever he had intended to say before, instead saying, "Metapod, circle around!"

Metapod darted along the side of the puddle, looking to reach Oddish without touching the acid. Pleased that my guess had turned out right, I said, "Keep spraying Acid between you and Metapod, Oddish!"

Despite how quickly the Metapod could run, Oddish kept up easily, spewing purple blobs to block its path. No matter how it tried, it couldn't find a way through, and shortly thereafter, a moat of acid surrounded Oddish, completely separating them from the Metapod.

"Well played," Bugsy said, shaking his head. "Metapod can't attack at range, short of using Electro Web, which I haven't taught it; nor can it cross the divide without getting too injured and forcing me to concede. Meanwhile, your Oddish can attack at a distance easily, such that it will eventually win. The match is yours. Good job, Leonard."

"Match over. Leonard wins by concession!" Daichi said, rather unnecessarily. "All right, now that I'm done pretending to be a referee, I'm going to head back in and man the counter, all right?"

"Yes, that's fine," Bugsy said. "Thank you, Daichi."

"Well done, Oddish!" I said. "Come over here-ah." I hadn't realized it, but Oddish was actually trapped by the moat. Thankfully, it was an easy fix. I just pulled them into my pokeball, then released them next to me.

"So, how do I clean that up?" I asked, gesturing to the moat.

Bugsy passed me a potion, then sprayed another across his Metapod. "Don't worry about it, it will evaporate in a few hours. By the way, how did you think of that strategy?"

"Well, I thought I needed to keep your Metapod away, and while I was thinking about how to do that, I remembered us getting trapped in Ilex by those walls of powder. So, I decided to try something similar." I rubbed Oddish's head as I sprayed them down, then passed them a poffin, which they happily grabbed in their mouth.

"Ah, I see. You know, Oddish actually evolves into Vileplume, so you could have done the exact same strategy."

"Do they really?" I looked down at Oddish. You're going to be very smelly when you grow, aren't you...? Well, I'll worry about that when I get to it. "For now, I think I've decided on a name: Max. It'll be Maxwell if you turn out to be a boy, or Maxine if you're a girl."

Bugsy grinned. "Naming your pokemon? Good. Not all trainers do, but I think it's a good choice."

"Um," I said, "Not to be rude, but it seems like you haven't...?"

"Unfortunately, most of the pokemon I care for are passed to me by trainers who don't want to care for them anymore. By that point, it's too late to change what they're called by."

"Oh." That was sadder than I'd expected his answer to be. "Sorry, I didn't know."

"Well, it's not your fault. Just take good care of Max, all right?"

I nodded, resolute.

"Glad to hear it. Now unless I'm mistaken, you're not actually on the clock. Want to see if Daichi minds me bringing you along on patrol?"