Chapter 29:

Deerling Diary

Location: Driftveil Pokémon Center

I am happy to confirm that Cheren was healthy enough to take on Clay! Sure his voice sounded a bit weak and his nose was stuffed, but this was the first time I had seen him in his usual blue jacket for a couple of days.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to have a battle with Bianca," I told him. "Then, I'm heading straight outta Driftveil."

Cheren adjusted his glasses, then got out a tissue and blew his nose. "Good luck," he said. "I'll stay one more day here to heal up; I should be right as Rain Dance by tomorrow."

I put my thumb up. "I'll see you soon my friend!"


Location: Driftveil City

I eyed Driftveil City for what would be the last time for a little while. Hey, I didn't have anything else to do, aside from of course the battle with Bianca. I promised I would meet here on the road out of Driftveil, so I walked to that point.

At that point, Charles came up riding on his Motorcycle. "Hey, thanks for what you did the other day! Not just talking about the SecretPotion, but Team Plasma. This might come in use to you."

Charles gave me a HM!

"What does this include?" I asked.

"It's Fly. Teach it and a Pokémon of yours can fly you to any City or Town in Unova that you've already been to. It saves one on your legs! Okay, stay safe and stay outta Rotation Battles! Seriously, they suck."

With that, he revved his engine and raced off the in the opposite direction.


I got to the road that lead out of Driftveil where Bianca was waiting.

"Berty!" she said. "Oh, sorry. Hilbert. Forgot!"

At least she got it right this time. If she started calling me that back in Elementary School, the bullies would have found quite the weapon to use on me.

"So, let's not wait anymore. It's time to see how strong we've become!" I yelled. "You're on!"


Hilbert Vs. Bianca

"Herdier, come on out!" Bianca shouted.

"Scraggy, go!" I replied. "Let's start with Brick Break!" Scraggy ran up to Herdier and chopped it. It didn't do a lot, but that's because Herdier's Intimidate lowered the Attack of Scraggy.

"Herdier, Take Down!" Herdier came charging into Scraggy. It was still in close range, so it kept running with Scraggy in front of its head. Eventually, it crashed into a hill. Scraggy was left hanging.

"Scraggy, Brick Break again!" Scraggy chopped on Herdier's head. Critical Hit! It was finished.

"No, Herdier!" Bianca yelled. She recalled it. "Okay Pansage, you're up!" Bianca's Grass Type was sent out. "Seed Bomb!" Pansage fired multiple seeds at Scraggy. Upon impact, the seeds exploded. Scraggy was finished.

"Good job Scraggy. Okay Tranquill, you're up!" Tranquill flew out. "Use Air Cutter!" Tranquill flapped its wings and fired streaks at Pansage. Pansage backflipped out the way.

"Pansage, Torment!" Pansage started shouting at Tranquill. Great. It wouldn't be able to use Torment for another turn.

"Okay Tranquill, Detect!" Tranquill's eyes started to glow.

"Pansage, Bite!" Pansage jumped at Tranquill, its white teeth gleaming. Tranquill swiftly dodged.

"Now Air Cutter!" Tranquill flapped its wings and fired the streaks at Pansage. This one was a direct hit. It was also a Critical one, knocking out Pansage.

"Okay, stay calm Bianca." She recalled Pansage. "Come out Musharna!" Bianca sent out her recently evolved Pokémon.

"Okay Tranquill, use Quick Attack!" Tranquill sped into Musharna, but it didn't do much.

"Musharna, Lucky Chant!" Musharna summoned multiple stars that circled around it. "Lucky Chant prevents Critical Hits, so don't even try your Critical Hit strategy."

Knowing this, I switched into Drilbur. It was still off the heels off its victory with Excadrill, so its ambition to battle was probably the highest I had seen since I caught it back at Wellspring Cave.

"Musharna, Psybeam!" Musharna fired a colourful beam at Drilbur. Drilbur took it, then from the air, multiple rocks fell.

"Hey, Rock Slide! Nice one Drilbur!" Musharna flinched, but it would take more than one Rock Slide to take out Musharna. It's HP was through the roof. "Okay Drilbur, Hone Claws!" Drilbur sharpened its claws and raised its Attack and Accuracy.

"Musharna, Psybeam!" Musharna fired another beam at Drilbur. It did quite a bit, and Drilbur couldn't take another one. This would be its final move.

"Drilbur, Dig!" Drilbur went underground.

"Musharna, Defense Curl!" Musharna curled up into a ball, and its Defense was raised.

"Now Drilbur!" Drilbur came above ground and attacked Musharna. It brought its health down to half.

"Psybeam!" Musharna's Psybeam would be the last that Drilbur would see for that battle. It fainted.

"You did good Drilbur. Okay Gothita, you're next!" Gothita was sent out and danced about.

"Awwww, cute!" Bianca yelled. "I wanna give that wibble thing a hug!"

"Focus Bianca!" I yelled. "Gothita, Faint Attack!" Gothita appeared from behind Musharna and attacked it.

"Musharna, Psybeam!" Musharna fired the beam at Gothita, which it wasn't very effective against.

Suddenly, Gothita started applauding Musharna. Musharna blushed, but then got confused.

"Well, Musharna looks flattered," I said. "Maybe because Gothita just learned Flatter! Nice!"

Musharna hurt itself in its confusion. "No!" Bianca shouted.

"Faint Attack again!" Gothita ran up behind Musharna again and hit it. One more would do it.

"Psybeam!" The beam that was fired was stronger than before and did a surprising amount to Gothita. That's because Flatter also raises Special Attack. It's like Swagger in that sense.

"Faint Attack once more!" Gothita attacked Musharna for the last time, ending its time on the battlefield.

"Pignite, you're my final hope!" Bianca yelled. Her muscly Fire Type entered the fray.

"Gothita, Psyshock!" Gothita fired psychic balls at Pignite for Super Effective damage.

"Pignite, Flame Charge!" Pignite covered itself in flames, then charged into Gothita. It was finished.

"Dewott, finish this off!" I yelled. With Pignite already haven taken lots of damage, I could deal with it in a single blow. "Water Pulse!" Dewott fired a ball of water at Pignite. It was down.


"Nice!" Bianca said. "But we still have a long way to go."

Cheren arrived. "Just wanted to see you off before I have my battle," he said. "I saw what transpired. Here, let me heal you both up." Cheren took our Pokéballs and healed our Pokémon. "This will save you a Center trip!"

"Thanks," I said, as we fist bumped. "Okay Bianca. Let's make our move. To Mistralton City!"


Location: Route 6

A river ran beneath the multiple wooden bridges as Fisherman waited with their rods in the water. The lush green grass felt, well I don't know because me and Bianca were wearing shoes so we can't exactly describe that.

"We've left late so maybe there will be a place to stay the night at a halfway point," I suggested.

Bianca nodded. "Sounds good. Until then, there's so much to do! Come on, let's get a move on!"

As we walked into the tall grass, I found a Pokéball on the ground. "Hey, an item!" I went to pick it up, but it moved. Suddenly, the Pokéball jumped up to reveal something white underneath it. It had stubby arms and a stubby pink mouth.


Foongus (タマゲタケ)

096

Grass/Poison Type

Mushroom Pokémon

0'08" (0.2 m)

2.2 lbs (1 kg)

For some reason, this Pokémon resembles a Pokéball. They release poison spores to repel those who try to catch them.


"Tranquill, go!" I shouted. "Quick Attack!" Tranquill darted into Foongus. It was a Critical Hit and took away half its health. Foongus then shot a beam at Tranquill, healing a bit of HP. It was Mega Drain. "Another Quick Attack!" Tranquill darted into Foongus again, bringing it down to red health. Then, Foongus used Faint Attack. It came up behind Tranquill and attacked it. "Okay Ultra Ball, go!" I threw it, and Foongus went inside.

"Will it stay?" Bianca asked.

The Pokéball wobbled. It wobbled once, twice, three times.

"Will it do it?" Bianca asked?

It clicked shut. I caught a Pokéball!(?)

"Congratulations!" Bianca yelled as Foongus's Pokéball teleported off to the PC. "Foongus will come in real handy against Water, Rock and Ground Types!"


We walked across a bridge and saw the Basculin swimming below us. It's here we took a break. I got out my Town Map and read up on Chargestone Cave.

"Chargestone Cave has a special magnetic force circulating through it which causes rocks to float with mysterious, blue energy. Because of this, the cave has become popular with Electric and Steel Type Pokémon. Some Pokémon from other regions can evolve due to the magnetic field within." After I read, I saw the sun was halfway behind the cliffs. "Tomorrow is the last day of Fall. We better get moving. The days have been getting shorter as is."

We got up and walked through some tall grass, and I came across a Pokémon. It was blue with a black round face and a blue horn.


Karrablast (カブルモ)

094

Bug Type

Clamping Pokémon

1'08" (0.5 m)

13 lbs (5.9 kg)

These mysterious Pokémon evolve when they receive electrical stimulation while they are in the same place as Shelmet.


"Okay Drilbur, come out!" Drilbur entered the ring. "Rock Slide!" Drilbur made rocks crumble down from the mountain. They all fell on Karrablast. It barely survived and came back with a Headbutt. "Okay Drilbur, finish with Slash!" Drilbur leapt forward and swiped at Karrablast, knocking it out.

"Someone's on a roll today!" Bianca said as she looked up at the cliff. On top of it was a large grey Pokémon with a white beard. "Hilbert, what's that?"

I rummaged through the bag for my Pokédex. But by the time I got it out, it had gone.

"Wow. This reminds me of the time back in Pinwheel Forest." I said.

Bianca was all ears. "Really?" she asked.

"Oh, no," I replied, remembering Virizion's promise. I clearly couldn't keep one, so I work to preserve the other. I tried changing the subject. "Hey look, a Lab!"

There was a big building made of steel with multiple Scientists outside.

"They might have a spare room," Bianca said. "Come on!"

Running over to the Lab, we saw the Scientists were with two Pokémon, five of each but looking different. One was small, had a flower on its head and was freaking adorable. They had different coloured backs. One was pink like a tree's blossom, one was green like a tree in summer, two were orange like a tree in autumn and one was brown like a bare tree.


Deerling (シキジカ)

091

Normal/Grass Type

Season Pokémon

2'00" (0.6 m)

43 lbs (19.5 kg)

The turning of the seasons changes the colour and scent of this Pokémon's fur. People use it to mark the seasons.


The other was large and brown. Each had different antlers. One had blossom, one had healthy leaves, two had withered leaves and one had white twigs.


Sawsbuck (メブキジカ)

092

Normal/Grass Type

Season Pokémon

6'03" (1.9 m)

203.9 lbs (92.5 kg)

They migrate according to seasons. People can tell the seasons by looking at Sawsbuck's horns.

Deerling -Lv 34- Sawsbuck


"So, these must be all the forms," I said. "All in one place. How is that possible?"

The Scientist noticed our interest and told us why. "We kept these in different environments to see what happens. For the Summer, we kept it in a hot environment. For Winter, we kept it in a cold environment. The extra autumn ones are wild, see for yourself."

We got a good look at their horns. The Deerling's back was darker than the other orange Deerling and the Sawsbuck's antler leaves had almost all gone, showing the white horns like the winter one.

"So, you're trying to look into the biology of what seasonal changes they go through," I said. "Listen, it's been a long day. Mind if we crash here?"

"Sure!" the Scientist said. "We can heal up your Pokémon. There's a PC in there to!"


Me and Bianca went in. Sure enough, there were four chambers. One was like a grassy plain, one replicated a beach, one resembled a forest in autumn, and one has snow inside.

"We don't have a bed so I'm afraid you'll have to sleep in a chamber each with a Deerling and Sawsbuck. They won't mind."

"I CALL DIBS ON SUMMER!" I shouted with Bianca.

"It's fine," Bianca replied. "You won the battle earlier, you can have the Summer chamber. I'll take the spring, it's my favourite season after all."

After dinner, I went to the PC and took out Foongus, replacing it with Tranquill. I knew having a Flying Type in a cave full of Electric Type would be recipe for disaster.

"Come out Foongus!" I shouted, as my new friend was sent out. It jumped up and down happily. "Wanna join us for a bit?"

"I want one!" Bianca said.

"You already have Pansage!" I told her. "Train your own Grass Type!"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry!"


Today was pretty wild. I learned some new moves, caught a new Pokémon, saw a potential Legendary and generally made great progress. Chargestone Cave is coming up, and tomorrow, I'll try out my new friend Foongus in some battles!