At one point or another, children don't want to do what the parents tell them they need to do. I was no exception. I didn't see the point in learning Fighting-type moves, as my psychic abilities were clearly sufficient to fend off any creature foolish enough to attack me. I just thought that my parents didn't know how powerful I really was... or didn't wish to admit it. "I don't need to learn those moves! My psychic abilities..." "For the 10th time, your psychic abilities may be powerful, but relying solely upon them is a recipe for disaster!" It was three months after I had first opened my eyes, and I had quickly learned the meaning of many words as well as being able to tell when my father was using an expression. "If that's true, then prove it!"
My father sighed and shook his head. "We didn't want to have to do this, but... Comet, we need to show her exactly why it's a bad idea for her to rely only on her psychic abilities. Can you find a Houndour nearby?" "Mew... mewmew!" A few minutes later my mother was back with a Houndour. I'd learned a bit about the species and was pretty confident that this would be no challenge at all. The gleam in the eyes of the Hounddour should have warned me... but I was too overconfident of my abilities to even notice. I'll save you the time as anybody who's familar with the basic traits of Dark Pokemon knows exactly what happened... I was soundly defeated without even scratching my opponent. The Houndour just shook its head and walked back into the forest surrounding the lab and the clearing around it.
"How... how is this possible? That Houndour took all that damage and still managed to beat me." "The Houndour didn't take any damage. Houndour is a Dark-type, and Dark-type Pokemon are immune to psychic power. In addition, Dark-type moves are strong against Psychic-types like yourself." "Mew!" "So that's why you want me to learn other types of moves?" "Especially at least one Fighting-type move... Dark-types are weak against them." I learned more than just the limitations of my psychic abilities that moment; I also learned that if one becomes overconfident in their seeming invincibility, that's exactly when they are the most vulnerable. It was a lesson I would never forget.
In the following weeks, I learned about Pokemon Trainers, Pokemon Breeders, Pokemon Battles, and the Pokemon Leagues. "So these Gym Leaders give out these badges to those trainers who defeat them in battle?" Yes, that's right. Furthermore, a trainer must acquire all of the badges for a League to participate in the League Championship." "Why would trainers and their Pokemon go through all that trouble?" "Some do it for fame, some do it so they can travel and see the world, and some do it for fun." "For fun?" "Yes... the problem is that fun can mean many things... and sometimes that means trouble for their Pokemon."
My father would not say anything more about that, no matter how much I asked him. "You're not ready to hear such things... when you're older I'll tell you." "You promise that? You promise you'll tell me when I'm older?" My father looked at my mother and said sadly: "We'll HAVE to tell her, won't we Comet?" "Mewwwww..." I didn't understand why my parents were so sad at that moment... and sometimes I wish I never had found out why.