Slateport city. Serena smiled. It had been a long road to get here. She wasn't gonna lie, it hadn't been easy going at first. Aside from how strange it had been to be travelling alone, contests were different from showcases.
They focused so much more on the pokémon. While Serena's pokémon had always been well trained, it hadn't been easy for them to carry the show all on their own at the start. And it had been even harder for Serena to step back and let them. Actively giving too detailed of instructions was frowned upon by the judges, the less detailed the cues and more independent the pokémon, the better the score, as it meant the pokémon was better trained. It had taken a while for both Serena and her pokémon to get used to the reduced level of direction.
At the start, she'd lost so many contests that it was starting to look like she might run out of contests to even try to get enough ribbons from. In the end, she pushed through with a razor thin margin, sweeping the last five contests of the season and securing her entry into the Festival.
"Coordinators and company, we will be docking at the Slateport Passenger Terminal in five minutes. At this time please collect any and all belongings from your quarters and prepare for disembarking."
She heard some of the less experienced travellers start running across the deck and giggled. Two years ago that would've been her.
Another girl joined her at her spot by the gate. "Hate it here that much, huh?"
Serena turned to see a brunette wearing dark sunglasses, a wide brimmed black hat, a belted black dress with two lines of blue and gold piping running down it, and slick black silk gloves.
"I just can't wait to get to Slateport!" She beamed. The brunette laughed.
"It was like that for me the first time too. Congratulations on qualifying. I saw your last few contests. You're pretty amazing. I look forward to facing you in the finals."
Serena looked at her, trying to figure out why she looked so familiar. "I'm sorry, do I know you? I didn't see you at any of the contests I was at. And I was at every contest in Hoenn this season," she scratched the back of her head, a bit embarrassed at that admission.
The brunette smiled. For all the imposing look the outfit gave her, she gave off a genuinely friendly vibe.
"You wouldn't have. Invitational competitor." She tapped her brooch, which Serena now saw was a tiny replica of the Johto Ribbon Cup.
"Wait, that means you must be…"
The girl pulled down her sunglasses flashing her face at Serena and put a finger over her mouth.
She lowered her voice a bit. "Trying to keep a low profile. Every pap in Hoenn is in town. Even if the headlines can be hilarious, I'd rather not be in them."
She pulled a magazine out of her bag and chuckled.
Champion Lance on vacation to Hoenn with new boy-toy?
Serena's eyes widened. She'd recognize the picture anywhere.
"Ash?"
"You know Ash?" May looked at her surprised.
"We traveled together in Kalos! We parted ways when he lost the league…" It was hard to keep the wistfulness out of her voice. Of course, the blush from trying was the real giveaway.
"Sounds like Ash," May giggled. "Maybe there is something to this headline. It'd explain a lot, that's for sure."
Serena's mouth opened but words wouldn't come out.
The motorized gangplank finished extending to the dock, and the gate opened.
"Well, see you around." She strode off the boat leaving Serena to her speechlessness.
~ ⁂ ~
"So, have you decided who you're using for the conference?" Lance asked.
"Uhhh, gimme a moment," Ash replied sleepily. He swallowed the bite he had in his mouth. "Obviously, Pikachu."
"Obviously," Lance concurred. "I meant less obviously."
"Alright, Charizard, Gliscor, Infernape, Noivern, and Talonflame."
"Alright, Ash, think about that list for a moment. Do you notice anything about the types of those pokémon?"
"Um, not really, why?"
"What happens if you go up against a rock-type trainer?"
"I guess I bring out Infernape?"
"Ok, Infernape takes out two of his pokémon and the rest sweep the field with you."
"Wouldn't an entire party of rock types be a problem of its own?"
"Does it matter? He probably won't win of course, but you're still out of the conference."
"So who do I take? I mean, if I had Greninja, rock types wouldn't be a problem."
"But you don't." Lance thought for a moment. "My thoughts would be Pikachu, Charizard, Infernape, Torterra, Noivern, and… Dewott."
"I don't have a Dewott though?"
"You do have an Oshawott though. One who is, knowing you, very well trained and experienced. It wouldn't take much to evolve him." Ash looked at him.
"I guess… I mean, if we're talking about evolving my pokémon, why not bring in Gible?"
Lance sighed. "Time. Even if we could train Gible to the point of becoming a Garchomp, he wouldn't have time to get used to his new form. As for Oshawott, quite frankly, I wouldn't try and get him to become a Samurott anyway."
"Huh? Haven't you been pushing me to evolve my pokémon all the way?"
"Not necessarily. It's a trade-off. And of course, something you need to consult the pokémon on," he nodded towards Pikachu. "Samurott's quadruped form makes it significantly less maneuverable in combat than Dewott. A Dewott who's spent most of his life being an Oshawott would probably struggle to adapt his fighting style, and even then probably wouldn't enjoy his new form."
"What about the other change, Torterra instead of Gliscor?"
"Torterra is a tank. His shell protects him from most damage, and his only weaknesses are things you already have covered. Against a particularly strong opponent, Torterra could easily win simply by tiring him out. And of course, from what I saw of the Lily of the Valley Conference, he's not bad on the offence either."
"Huh? Torterra lost both fights in that conference."
"The first time he lost because of a surprise upset by a doubly super-effective move. The second time he lost because you were an idiot. Did it occur to you that Drapion evolves from a Bug-type?"
"No…" Ash admitted.
"If you miss these things not only will you lose. You're also letting your pokémon take a painful beating because of your own mistake. Pokémon love to battle, it's true, but if you were a fire-type, do you think you would enjoy a hydro pump to the face?"
"No."
"It's your job as a trainer to give your pokémon the best fighting chance they can have. That's how you win, and it's also how you avoid your pokémon getting hurt in battle any more than they have to, even if they do manage to eke out a win through sheer power."
Ash hated to admit that Lance had a point. He'd always more or less ignored type matchups, trusting in his pokémon to be strong enough, but he was starting to see there was a fine line between trusting in his pokémon, and hurting them unnecessarily.
"That party composition could in theory be improved, but not with the pokémon you have, and more importantly, not with the fighting style you prefer. You'll notice that a lot of the best trainers are specialists. I specialize in Dragon types for example. As a trainer, you find things that work for you. In your case, that seems to be fast, agile pokémon which can dish out damage. What some people refer to as glass cannons. Torterra is an exception to that rule, but a necessary one. Deviating too far from it however risks wasting the very thing that makes you great: your talent."
Ash nodded. At least one of Lance's lessons was something he actually liked, rather than grudgingly agreed with.
"Alright, let's call Professor Oak and get him to send those pokémon over, and then we can start training."
~ ⁂ ~
Ash stared in awe at the battlefield. Imagine having your own battlefield on your roof!
"Alright, shall we? I'll go first. Aerodactyl, come on out."
"Come on Pikachu, let's do this."
Lance shook his head. "Good choice, but no. You've got a strong bond with Pikachu, but you need to let some of your other pokémon take the spotlight sometimes, especially during training. If this was the conference, that would've been the right choice, assuming he hadn't already been knocked out."
"Pika-pi…" the electric mouse pouted.
"Sorry Pikachu," Ash said, patting him on the head. "Alright, Oshawott, I choose you."
Lance, nodded.
"Alright, Aerodactyl, let's start off strong. Hyper beam."
Ash smiled. What was it Lance had said about his style again? Agile.
"Oshawott, dodge into the air with an aqua jet!" There was a loud explosion as the hyper beam grazed the water around Oshawott, the steam explosion propelling the otter pokémon even higher into the air, so high Ash could barely see it.
Aerodactyl panted, recovering from the tiring move. Before it could though, Oshawott came flying down on it directly from above, slamming it into the ground.
It screeched.
Time to hammer it in, maybe Oshawott could get another hit in before it recovered.
"Alright Oshawott! Razor shell!"
"Agility." As Oshawott took a swipe at the ancient pokémon, all of a sudden it wasn't there anymore. Ash and Oshawott both looked around trying to figure out where it was.
"Hurricane." As the gale-force winds began to buffet the entire field, it immediately became clear. Aerodactyl was high above the field where it was difficult for Oshawott to get it.
"Oshawott, hit him with a hydro pump!"
"Giga impact."
"Osh!" The torrent of water blasted into the air…
and missed. And before Oshawott even finished the attack, Aerodactyl came slamming into him.
"Wott…" After an attack like that, there was no chance of the little pokémon even being able to stand.
Lance pulled out another full restore and healed it. "You did well, Oshawott."
He turned to Ash. "So, what do you think went wrong?"
"When Aerodactyl got so high into the air, there was nothing Oshawott could do to hit it…"
"That's right. Any hit you landed would've been super effective against Aerodactyl, but it doesn't matter if you can't hit."
"So what should I have done?"
"Well, for starters, if Oshawott evolves into Dewott, that form's greater musculature will make this less of an issue. Would you like that Oshawott?"
"Oshawott!" The pokémon replied happily.
"Actually, I'm pretty sure Oshawott's always wanted to be a Dewott. He's seen a couple before and acted a bit jealous," Ash commented.
"Perfect! Now, until that happens, remember, Hydro Pump is a very inaccurate move at range. You would've been better off telling Oshawott to fire it off into the ground to propel him into the air before trying an Aqua Jet or Razor Shell, rather than trying to shoot it into hurricane-force winds.
"Also, on the topic of telling Oshawott to do things, have you noticed a difference in the way I command my pokémon compared to you?"
"Um, a lot of times you just say the move name kinda boring-like."
"Very good. Pokémon aren't stupid. When an attack is hurtling towards them, you don't need to tell them that they need to dodge. Telling them how is more than enough. Elaborating too much is showy, and makes you look good, but it's entirely unnecessary and takes valuable time. I'll admit, when facing a weaker opponent I'll often indulge the audience that way, but remember, we're trainers, not coordinators, we're fighting to win a battle, the audience is irrelevant."
Ash nodded.
"I can't fault you for that one. It's a habit which is way too common and a lot of trainers pick it up before even getting their first pokémon just from seeing it in battles all the time. Look at what happened with the hyper beam. Sure, it turned out fine, but if you'd taken a fraction of a second longer to announce that command, Oshawott would've been hit with its full force.
"Also, pay attention to your wording. You said 'Oshawott, dodge into the air with an aqua jet.' Oshawott had no idea what move to ready until the very last word of the sentence. Ditch his name, he knows you're talking to him, unless it's a double battle and both pokémon know the same move. 'Aqua jet into the air' gets the information across more efficiently, and in order of importance."
Ash nodded. This was all useful information, and at least it wasn't Lance tearing apart his whole training style.
Lance turned to the otter pokémon, "Wanna go again, Oshawott?"
They spent most of the rest of the day focusing on Oshawott, though from there on out, Lance tended to call the battle before either pokémon fainted.
"A battle doesn't need to go all the way to a total black out for a pokémon to gain valuable experience. As the conference gets nearer we'll start doing that to simulate the actual conditions of the tournament, but there's no reason to torture both our pokémon if it's not necessary." Lance had said. Ash had a feeling it also had to do with the cost of using so many full restores, but he decided to not to comment on that.