One particularly wise nugget from the annals of history was that battles were won and lost before even being fought, an ode to the vital role of preparation in any kind of victory. And while Cassius Hargreaves was no great general preparing for a blood-soaked battle, the concept applied all the same. Following that principle, the first step in his own preparation was, naturally, taking inventory.
Cassius gripped three shrunken Poké Balls in his palm, idly rolling them about. Normally, he wouldn't have been able to tell which Pokémon was in which capsule, but the balls themselves had certain visual tells. Hyla's, naturally, was the oldest and most weathered. The Rookidee's capsule had a long scratch mark along the white underside, likely where it had clawed it with a talon when Cassius had unceremoniously hit it in an act of self-defense. Finally, the Sizzlipede's ball was entirely without blemish. For now, anyway.
He sat atop a small slope, a suitable perch for gazing upon the stretch of farmland in and around the outskirts of Turffield. The sight reminded him of Postwick, only much larger in scale. Pastures and stacks of hay and grazing Pokémon in essentially every direction. Though, if Cassius sharpened his gaze further, he could make out the larger buildings further inside the city, eventually leading to a massive stadium, flashing spotlight beams into the sky.
Was there someone battling at the stadium? Probably, Cassius surmised. Close to 120 sponsored combatants, he remembered hearing somewhere. Given the 30 days in September, and the fact that the earliest trainers likely couldn't schedule their battles and arrive in Turffield until the third day of the month at the absolute earliest, that meant around four or more battles a day. And that was only assuming the gym leader didn't have any built-in off-days.
Cassius couldn't even imagine it. Sure, it was only for one month in a year, but that was still an absurd amount of battling. Whoever that Milo person was, he must have either really loved battling, or was a little insane. Probably a bit of both.
And to beat him, Cassius would have to rely on three Pokémon in his possession. Cassius took a breath. Time to get to work.
Cassius clicked the seal on two of the three capsules, and out popped Hyla and the Sizzlipede. Hyla barked her greeting, while the Fire-type once again lifted its upper-body to look at him. The more Cassius saw it, the more he was convinced that the Pokémon did it as a means of looking at him directly.
But, first things first... "Dinner time." Hyla woofed happily, spinning in place in obvious excitement. Cassius pulled out two bowls from his travel bag, filling one with a familiar dry kibble and another with water. Hyla greedily dug in, almost inhaling the food.
Cassius then turned to the Sizzlipede, who had yet to move. "I don't know what it is your species eats, so for now, you'll just have to make do with what we have." The teen then procured a travel-size wrap of meat from his pack. "Hope you like Pokémon jerky."
Tentatively, Cassius unwrapped the treat and angled it toward the Pokémon. The Sizzlipede neared the food curiously, eyeing it with caution. After a moment, however, it revealed a set of fanged teeth and a jaw situated beneath its flat, thin face, taking a nibble of the jerky. Cassius let the Pokémon take the rest, watching as it took small, careful bites.
Though it was meant to be chewy, the Sizzlipede made quick work of it, finishing it in less than a minute. Cassius passed Hyla's bowl of water to the Pokémon, who took a few careful gulps. "So, you like jerky?" It didn't respond, obviously, but the empty wrapper was answer enough.
Next, Cassius pulled out his phone, opening the Pokédex app. He aimed the camera at the Sizzlipede, and let the database do the rest. "Sizzlipede, the Radiator Pokémon. It stores flammable gas in its body and uses it to generate heat, specifically in its yellow underbelly spots. It wraps prey up with its heated body, cooking them in its coils. Once they're well-done, it will voraciously nibble them down to the last morsel."
Cassius had already heard the explanation once before, but it was still a bit scary to hear. The Pokédex computed that his Sizzlipede had been registered and caught by him, and after another moment, continued its explanation. "This Sizzlipede is Female, and knows the moves Flame Wheel, Bite, Wrap, and Smokescreen. Its ability is White Smoke. Would you like an explanation of Sizzlipede's moves?"
So Sizzlipede was a girl. Cassius was guilty of thinking it was a boy previously. Disregarding his false assumption, he prompted the Pokédex to explain.
"Flame Wheel is a Fire-type physical move. The user cloaks itself in fire and charges at the target. This may also leave the target with a burn. Accuracy: 100%. Power Points: 25."
Pretty self-explanatory. Cassius was most surprised to hear that Sizzlipede could use the attack 25 times. That was a lot of rolling around.
Similar to Flame Wheel, the rest of Sizzlipede's moves seemed pretty telling based on their name. Still, Cassius ran through them all, just to get an understanding of their respective typings, potential secondary effects, and number of uses.
"Bite is a Dark-type physical move. The target is bitten with viciously sharp fangs. This may also make the target flinch. Accuracy: 100%. Power Points: 25."
"Wrap is a Normal-type physical move. A long body, vines, or the like are used to wrap and squeeze the target. Accuracy: 90%. Power Points: 20."
"Smokescreen is a Normal-type status move. The user releases an obscuring cloud of smoke or ink, lowering the opponent's accuracy. Accuracy: 100%. Power Points: 20."
He prompted the Pokédex to add an explanation of the ability while he was at it. "White Smoke; this Pokémon is protected by its white smoke, which prevents other Pokémon from lowering its stats."
Cassius wasn't going to try to put together a battling strategy on the spot—especially without the benefit of Hop or Gloria's extensive knowledge—but he was sensing a preference among the Sizzlipede's known moves. All the damage-dealing attacks were of the physical variety. Back in the mine, Cassius had witnessed firsthand the Sizzlipede using all four attacks to great effect. Not only was it comfortable with the moves it knew, but it seemed well-adjusted to battle.
He'd have to see if Hop would be willing to help run tests later, like he'd done for Hyla, but for now, the guess was that Sizzlipede was a physical-oriented battler that liked to utilize attack and speed. Cassius could only hope that it wasn't as much of a glass cannon as Hyla was.
Cassius shook his head. Her, he reminded himself, not it. Hyla wasn't an it, and for as odd as the Sizzlipede was, she deserved the same level of respect. And on the topic of pronouns and preference...
"We're gonna need a name for you," Cassius noted aloud, drawing Sizzlipede's attention. Cassius never understood the appeal of leaving one's Pokémon's name as is. It felt detached, and boring. He wouldn't ever voice as much to Hop and Gloria, who seemed against nicknames, but Cassius wouldn't feel really comfortable going around calling Hyla "Deino." And he suspected Hyla felt the same way.
But then that brought up the issue of what to call Sizzlipede. He wasn't one of those psychopaths that gave pets normal people names. "Samantha the Sizzlipede" felt gross. Alternatively, some over-the-top name like "Avalonia" or "Blessing" would be equal amounts of embarrassing.
A name had to be personal. And to mean something. A good name revealed something about the person or Pokémon. Hyla's name came from his grandmother's grandmother, who had first introduced her to Pokémon and the world of battling. There was history, pride, and love in her name.
Cassius couldn't muster anything that grand or enduring for a Pokémon he'd only met recently, admittedly. With what felt like a million other things to worry about and a looming time crunch, he'd have to let it come to him later.
He straightened his posture, eyeing his two Pokémon. Hyla had finished her food, returning to a spot beside him. Sizzlipede snaked her way over, perhaps looking to rest again on Hyla's fur. One more guest, and their party of four would be ready to convene.
He took another breath. Better to get it over with now than later. Enlarging the final Poké Ball, Cassius released its occupant, releasing the Rookidee into the clearing.
Almost immediately, the Rookidee got in a defensive stance, preparing for battle. "Woah, okay, okay! Relax!" Cassius quickly shot his hands up, signifying non-hostile intent. Hyla, wise to the Pokémon's attitude, quickly got in front of Cassius, growling. Sizzlipede, despite having no idea what was happening, sensed danger to her new friend and new trainer, slithering beside Hyla and making an intimidating clicking noise.
Barely a second out and the Rookidee was already raring for a fight. Awesome. "Just... calm down, okay? I just want to talk." After a tense moment, the Rookidee seemed to realize it was outnumbered two to one (three to one, if Cassius ended up involved again), taking a cautious step back but keeping the intense expression.
Cassius opted to be sure. "You're not gonna attack?" No response, naturally, but nothing else indicated that the Rookidee would try anything. That would have to do for now, Cassius supposed. "Good."
Cassius returned to his spot on the slope, attempting to show vulnerability by sitting down. "See? I don't want to fight. Let's chat."
He looked down at his other two Pokémon. "This also goes for you two, I guess." Hyla remained on her guard, but carefully returned to Cassius' side, Sizzlipede doing the same on his opposite side.
"I'm not gonna sugarcoat it," Cassius started. "We're—well, more like I'm in some shit. You three are just kind of along for the ride." He made absolutely sure that he wasn't being listened to by any eavesdroppers before continuing. "As you all can probably tell, I'm not much of a trainer. Frankly, I suck. Hop seems to think I've gotten better, but I think he's just being nice."
He directed the three's attention to the city on the horizon. "In about two or so weeks, we're gonna be fighting a gym leader. Apparently, he's strong. Very strong. I only just recently had my first trainer battle, so if I'm gonna stand any kind of chance, I'm gonna need to hunker down, study up, and train."
His gaze returned to the three Pokémon. "But I also know that I can't do this without you. All three of you." He received varying expressions, one decidedly less enthusiastic than the others.
"So, I'm asking you three for your help. We need to work together to make this happen." Maybe it was a little pathetic to be pleading to Pokémon, but he was well beyond caring at this point. "I really, really want this. And I'm willing to work for it, but without you three, it's meaningless. It's a bit obvious to say out loud, but a trainer is nothing without their Pokémon."
He felt a bit sheepish explaining how he felt, honest though it may have been. "I'd actually prefer for all of us to get along. I would hope that this partnership between us would be a little more long-lasting than just throughout the challenge. Really, I don't wanna call on any of you only when there's a fight to be had."
Cassius returned to his original line of thought. "There's gonna be a lot that goes into this. Essentially, we're gonna have to crash-course this thing as we go. And if it goes our way, that means we'll be at it for months. Things will probably go wrong at some point, but we're gonna have to push past it if we wanna win this thing.
"But," he paused. "If we can make it all the way, reach that peak... people will know who we are. They'll know who you are. We'll be respected the world over." And boy, if that last thought didn't ignite something in him.
He crouched down to around his Pokémons' level. "So, what do you say? Wanna help me win a battling competition?"
Hyla's answer was obvious, and her affirmative bark likely came as the Pokémon-equivalent of a "duh?" Sizzlipede also seemed to eagerly accept, wriggling around in excitement. Cassius still couldn't get a handle on what it was she wanted out of all this, but for now, he'd take her acceptance at face-value.
It was the third member he would, predictably, have trouble with. After a quiet moment, the Rookidee defiantly turned its head in obvious disapproval.
Cassius wasn't surprised, but he still couldn't help sighing. "Look, I know we don't like each other, but if you would at least give it a chance—"
He was cut off by the sound of feathers ruffling. The spot where the Rookidee previously occupied was now vacant, and Cassius saw its small form quickly retreating beyond the hill and into the trees.
Cassius groaned. "Of course." Recalling Hyla and Sizzlipede, Cassius gathered his things and followed the Rookidee into the small forest beside the Galar Mine.
They'd set up camp not far from where they were, so if the absolute worst came to pass, they'd be a quick jog back to Hop and Gloria. Though, Cassius hoped it wouldn't come down to that. After a brief minute of chasing, he found the Rookidee stopped in an open clearing, staring him down. Cassius came to a stop of his own, returning the small creature's stare.
Really, he should have known it would come to this. Hop had even mentioned it earlier—Pokémon didn't obey weak trainers. The Rookidee was no exception. Stubborn as it was, Cassius couldn't really fault it for simply acting upon its nature as a wild Pokémon.
That didn't mean Cassius had to like it, however. "There's really nothing I can do to convince you other than fighting?"
The Rookidee bristled at his proposal, warbling angrily as Cassius raised his hands up. "Okay, okay, fine. We do it your way. At least let me prepare first..."
Cassius took a breath, keeping a careful eye on the Rookidee as he reached for Hyla's Poké Ball. Just as he was about to release her, he noticed the Rookidee slightly favoring its right side. Taking a closer look, he saw a bit of discoloration along the feathers, which looked tousled and bruised.
"You're hurt," he said aloud. How had that happened? The last time she'd been released had been when they'd left Motostoke, after they'd... oh. Cassius almost smacked himself for forgetting—the Rookidee had finished off the Team Yell goons, and he hadn't thought to heal it afterwards. He hadn't even considered that it could have taken any damage from the bout, given its performance, but he'd been clearly mistaken.
There was a probable advantage to be had by pretending not to notice, and continuing on with the fight against the slightly-injured Rookidee. But as the thought permeated, his conscience wouldn't let him go through with it. If there was ever going to be a healthy relationship between the two, the groundwork of trust had to be laid—and what kind of endorsed trainer wouldn't heal their Pokémon?
So, resigning himself to the fact that he was probably making a big mistake (if not a morally correct one), he briefly returned Hyla's capsule and slung his backpack off of his shoulder. The Rookidee kept a wary eye on him as he fished through his bag, and eventually returned with a potion in hand.
Now came the hard part. "You're hurt," he repeated as softly as he could. The Rookidee seemed aware of this, yet continued to glare, attempting to hide its bruised wing.
Cassius wasn't buying it. "No point in hiding it. I'm sorry, I should have noticed it sooner." He raised the potion in his hand. "I can heal you. I doubt you wanna fight when you're not in top shape, right?"
He took a step forward, and the Rookidee took three small hops back. Still, Cassius inched closer, undeterred. The Rookidee stopped briefly, observing the human's form closely as he eventually came to a careful stop right beside the Pokémon.
Cassius ran through what to do in his head. "Can I, uh... see your wing?" The Rookidee didn't move initially, prompting Cassius to try again. "Please?"
He was beginning to think the Rookidee would hold staunch until he saw a faint flutter. Slowly, almost shakily, the Rookidee extended its wing for him, revealing more of the bruise. It was indeed discolored, with some of the feathers sticking out at awkward angles. A patch of skin revealed itself beyond the feathers as a small but ugly purple blotch. Though the Rookidee tried valiantly to hide its discomfort, its slight shaking and grimace couldn't fool Cassius.
While Cassius had plenty of experience bandaging Hyla up, the Rookidee presented a different challenge, considering its smaller frame and different variation of animal. He wasn't sure if making contact with the feathers would agitate the wound further. Delicacy was obviously needed. "Here goes," Cassius muttered.
Applying the potion was the easy part, as he angled the spray directly onto the discolored bruise. The Rookidee growled a tad, but was otherwise still. The hard part would be wrapping the gauze around the wing, as he pocketed the potion and pulled out some of the leftover tape. "I'm gonna wrap the wound now. Can you hold still for a moment?"
Thankfully, the Rookidee seemed beyond arguing at this point, keeping its wing extended for Cassius to work on. Carefully, Cassius grabbed the end of the wing to keep the limb still and supported, while his other hand went to work slowly wrapping the bruise. Minding the feathers, Cassius kept the wrap as tight as possible without causing excessive squeezing on the Rookidee's tiny wing.
After what felt like hours but was really minutes, Cassius finally sat back, admiring his work. Not the best job ever, and professional Pokémon nurses would probably dock him points for time and style, but it would do. Considering the Rookidee hadn't lashed out at him at any point, he'd take that as a win.
Speaking of, the Pokémon in question warily stretched its wing, observing the small lining of gauze around its wing. Cassius spoke up as it seemed to go through the motions. "Should probably let it rest for a while, just to let the pain subside and the bruise disappear."
The Rookidee didn't seem very pleased, but nevertheless obeyed. That left the two of them sitting before each other in silence for a moment.
"Oh, that reminds me," Cassius suddenly remembered after a while, causing the Rookidee to flinch. Cassius retrieved his phone and found the scanner in his Pokédex. "I still need to, you know, scan you and stuff. I still don't even know what gender you are, or your moveset." Remembering who he was talking to, he shrank a little. "Uh, that is, if you're cool with it."
Thankfully, the Rookidee seemed willing to permit that much, not without an annoyed huff. Taking his opportunity, Cassius scanned the Rookidee for the first time, listening intently to the built-in voice as it explained the Pokémon's biological and battling data.
"Rookidee, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. It will bravely challenge any opponent, no matter how powerful. Jumping nimbly about, this small-bodied Pokémon takes advantage of even the slightest opportunity to disorient larger opponents. This Pokémon benefits from every battle—even a defeat increases its strength a bit.
"This Rookidee is Female, and knows the moves Peck, Fury Attack, Hone Claws, and Power Trip. Its ability is Keen Eye. Would you like an explanation of Rookidee's moves?"
Yet another female on his team. He was compiling plenty of girl power already. "Yes, please," he answered the Pokédex, which provided a needed overview of Rookidee's moves.
Peck and Fury Attack seemed standard enough as attacks, though Cassius was somewhat interested in the potential behind the latter attack. He'd witnessed firsthand the speed and proficiency with which the Rookidee employed the move against the Team Yell hooligan, and it seemed to do a good deal of damage. Though, overuse of the move would probably tire out Rookidee just as quickly. He'd have to be careful not to abuse the move.
It was the latter two attacks that really intrigued Cassius. Power Trip was a Dark-type move that increased power the more the user's stats were raised. Hone Claws raised both Attack and Accuracy. In tandem, Hone Claws could greatly boost the base power of Power Trip. Though, he'd have to bank on getting enough time in battle to build up those stats. But if he could manage to use Hone Claws, even one or twice...
Rookidee's warble returned Cassius to the present. The Tiny Bird Pokémon seemed to be looking up at him, expecting something. Judgement on her potential, maybe?
"Oh, you're strong," Cassius immediately settled on. Which wasn't a lie by any means. "Sorry, I was just thinking ahead as to how we could utilize you in battle. From what I've seen, your speed seems to be an asset, so we can try to get you close in on opponents to keep them on their back foot. Also, there's a lot of potential with Power Trip, I think, so finding a way to—"
He froze. "I mean, that's if you decide to help me, after all. I'm not—well, I'm not gonna lie and say that I don't need you. You'd probably be the most battle-ready member of my team. But it's up to you, really."
No snarky Pokémon-retort from Rookidee, though her glare had intensified. Was she mad at him? Or sizing him up? She was hard to read, even compared to Sizzlipede.
In any case, he couldn't treat her like some disposable tool for him to use only in battle, Cassius reminded himself. He had to get to know her, make her feel comfortable with the thought of joining his team. That meant trying to open a dialogue and establish a rapport with her, difficult as it may have seemed.
To that end, he did have a question for the Pokémon. "Do you remember when we first met?"
The Rookidee cocked her head, seemingly put off by the question. Cassius elaborated. "I mean, when you fought Hyla and I. I've kind of wondered about that, the more I thought about it. We scared most, if not all the Pokémon in and around the area off. But when you popped up, it felt... deliberate. Like you were looking for us."
His Pokémon didn't respond initially. Cassius sighed, abandoning any pretense of subtlety. "So, uh, were you? Looking for us on purpose?"
Another lack of a response, and Cassius was fearing he'd have to pantomime his question, before Rookidee hopped toward him suddenly. Caught off guard, Cassius wasn't able to formulate any quick self-defense, breath catching as the Pokémon came to a stop right beside his waist.
No attack came from Rookidee, however. Instead, the Pokémon gestured toward the Poké Balls in his sweatpants pocket, forcibly pushing and releasing the capsules from his pants and directing her beak at one particular ball.
Cassius' eyes narrowed in confusion. "You... were curious about Poké Balls?"
Rookidee trilled angrily, tapping repeatedly at the Poké Ball she had gestured at previously. Cassius noted that it was Hyla's ball she seemed particularly interested in. "Hyla? What about Hyla?"
Rookidee puffed out her chest, attempting to make herself look bigger. An intimidation tactic, Cassius figured. Conveying a form of hostility and aggression at the mention of Hyla... "Did you want to fight her specifically?"
This time, Rookidee nodded, apparently somewhat peeved that she had to go to such lengths explaining something that was so obvious. Still, Cassius didn't find much in the way of reason behind her... well, reason. "But that doesn't make sense. Why would you focus on Hyla—"
A passage from the Pokédex suddenly came to him. "It will bravely challenge any opponent, no matter how powerful." Rookidee were inherently combat-oriented creatures, from what the Pokédex said. Any opponent would obviously include him and Hyla.
That line of thought begged the question—why Hyla? "You would have had to have seen Hyla in action to gather an interest in fighting her, I assume." But then, when would she have seen her in any kind of combat situation? Seeing her scare off a bunch of wild Pokémon on Route 2 wasn't much of an exhibition on her part, so then when else would she have seen her fight?
It came to him. "The Weald..." he whispered in realization. To drive it home, the Rookidee imitated what was probably an intimidating roar, copying what Hyla had done in stopping the stampede of Wooloo.
So that's what it was. "You saw Hyla keep that stampede from running through Postwick, decided she was strong and worthy of a fight, and tailed us until we were alone in the wild to fight her?"
Rookidee nodded.
Cassius leaned back, shaking his head in disbelief. "That's... psychotic, honestly."
Maybe Rookidee didn't know what that word meant, but her angry barrage of chirps conveyed that she at least understood the sentiment behind the word. Cassius quickly made to defend himself. "I don't know what you want me to tell you! Following around people for days on end for the sake of a fight? You're a stalker! That's a crime!"
Rookidee looked like she wanted to say more—even attack him, potentially—but in a rare display of restraint, instead huffed and turned her head to the side. Cassius exhaled the breath he didn't know he was holding. Maybe he'd been a little harsh, but it was fair to him, right?
"It's just..." he explained. "Hyla got hurt badly in that fight. The worst I've ever seen her. I didn't come out much better, either." Rolling his sleeve up, the scar that came from their altercation remained, clear in the light. Rookidee turned her gaze toward the wound, observing the cut closely.
Cassius sighed. "I guess I can't really blame your nature as a Pokémon for wanting a good fight. You saw what you thought was a strong opponent, and wanted to test yourself. I was... well, I was pretty pissed at the time, but I get it now. Kind of." Excusing it was a different story, forgiving it equally as unclear, but he understood the reasoning at least.
Sliding his sleeve back down, Cassius straightened his posture. "Look... saying we got off on the wrong foot might be an understatement. You probably still hate me. I... it'll probably take some time for me to warm up to you too. But the fact is, I need you for this challenge. I've seen what you can do—what you're capable of. My chances against Milo with you on my team are substantially better than without you."
He leaned forward. "You still want your fight against Hyla, right? I can give you that, before the fight with Milo, even. All I'm gonna ask for is a little time training together. I'll feed you, give you shelter, even help you get stronger. That's what you want, right? To get stronger, fight powerful opponents?"
The lack of an immediate rebuttal from Rookidee told Cassius he was right. "Give it a week or so training with me. Then, we'll have you fight Hyla. If you win, I'll let you do whatever you want. If you want to be released, then fine. If Hyla wins, you rough it out with me for the rest of the challenge." However long that was.
He extended a non-threatening fist for her to hopefully bump in agreement. "Deal?"
Rookidee eyed his fist closely. It took Cassius a second or two to realize that he was extending the same fist he'd struck her with when they'd first met. "Oh, uh, sorry. That wasn't on purpose."
The Pokémon rolled her eyes, of all things. Cassius was ready to argue with her again before the Rookidee hopped away from his fist, toward his waist, and clicked the capsule on her Poké Ball. The red light flashed, and Rookidee had disappeared from the clearing into her capsule.
"Oh," Cassius commented. That was a yes then, right? She hadn't flown away or attacked him, so it had to be. For having come up with an agreeable idea for the both of them on the spot, that could go down as a definite win.
All three of his Pokémon on board, then. At least for now. The easy part was over with—the hard part hadn't even started yet.
But, he'd at least given himself a chance. His lifelong partner, an overgrown bug on fire, and a temperamental bird that had almost maimed him a few weeks ago. There were certainly worse odds.
He stood up from his seat in the clearing, mustering as much resolution as he could manage. "Then, we'll start tomorrow."
Saying hello with a months-due chapter. A Slalem tradition unlike any other.