Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon
The truth will set you free or die trying. Either you or the truth- Stefan Gagne
As we pass through Accumula gate, I'm surprised by an X-transceiver call. Bianca and Cheren are right next to me, so who could this caller be? When I open it, I'm surprised that it's my mom, although I really shouldn't be. She's the only other person who has my number.
"Black! It's your mom! How are things? Are you and your Pokémon getting along and enjoying your journey so far? Look how far you've come already! Professor Juniper said that you were probably headed for Striaton city by now. When you arrive at the Pokécenter, there should be a delivery for you. They are known as running shoes. When you're wearing the Running Shoes, you can go anywhere in a flash! I bought these a long time ago and stashed them away somewhere. I found them when I was cleaning up. Guess it's good to clean occasionally. You understand that you're never really alone, right? You're with Pokémon, you have friends, and you're always in my thoughts. That's all right, then. Enjoy your trip! I needed to talk to you, so I called, but I'm going to hang up the X-Transceiver now."
Huh. That was odd. Bianca and Cheren both want to do some training, so we agree to meet up in Straiton city. It seems like I have a day to myself. Alright, it's time to train Kusanagi.
Enough is enough. The physical conditioning seems to be working out well, but it will take weeks to come into effect. Some trainers say that it can be measures in discrete EVs, or environmental values. There is no conclusive evidence either way, though. Still, there is a limit to how strong a Pokémon can be just from exercise- level is also very important. You can't precisely measure level, but there are machines that can sense approximately how strong a Pokémon is. Being at a higher level helps the Pokémon learn moves faster and is sometimes necessary to evolve. Strangely, defeating other Pokémon makes Pokémon stronger.
However, what is more important than power is moves. I attempt to teach Kusanagi leaf tornado. Leaf Tornado is a powerful grass type move that is also the precursor to its most powerful move, Leaf Storm. Sadly, we only manage razor leaf. We also had some success with magical leaf, but it is currently just as likely to fail as succeed. It also doesn't always track opponents. While disappointing, it is only to be expected. The level at which it is recommended to teach leaf tornado is 16, and Kusanagi is estimated by my Pokédex to be level 8. Still, it's important to record both my training regime and my teaching attempts. If nothing else, the professor will want them. Mega drain failed for similar reasons, although we did learn absorb. I guess there is nothing else to it- we'll have to train some more.
While defeating Lillipup, Patrat, Purrloin,and Audino is satisfying, only the last gives good xp. For some reason, some Pokémon help leveling more than others. No one knows quite why, but it is there. I've been training for four hours and Kusanagi is only level 10. I can't wait to get to Straiton- running shoes will allow me to battle Pokémon far more quickly. It appears I have no choice but to battle the other trainers on the route.
My choice seems to be a good one, because defeating them is both easy and rewarding. Their Pokémon are all merely stronger variations of the ones on the route. These are Pokémon we have already prepared strategies to defeat. They, on the other hand, have never fought a Snivy. They are quite surprised when their growls are counterproductive.
After that, Kusanagi and I are exhausted, so we take a bit of a breather and eat a late lunch. It's already 1:00. By the time we finish with our meal and, in her case sunbathing, it is 2:30. I guess it's time to get moving if we want to be in Striaton City for dinner.
It appears that we were closer to Striaton than I thought, because it is only 3:30 when I reach the gate. Bianca was waiting there- apparently she's been training, because she wants a rematch.
"Hey, listen! Let's have a Pokémon battle! Pleeeease? The Pokémon I caught have become a little stronger! B-both my Pokémon and I are going to give it our all! Ready or not, here I come!"
With that, she tosses out Shell's Poké Ball. In response, I release Kusanagi.
In an unexpected move, Bianca has Shell use water gun. As Kusanagi blinks in an attempt to see, I order a magical leaf. Luckily, it succeeds, but it isn't enough to stop Shell, which got in close and is using… razor shell! That isn't supposed to be learned until level 17! I guess she really is good at this.
That looks like it really hurt. Kusanagi was sent flying, and the landing didn't look too good either. However, we aren't beaten yet. Firing off a razor leaf, Kusanagi is ordered to stand still and attempt to gather energy. Then, we unleash our secret weapon- a half finished leaf tornado. Ordinarily this wouldn't be an issue, as it isn't significantly more damaging than the previous attacks. However, since the attack is incomplete, each hit sets off shell armor. This drains Shell's energy in an attempt to block critical hits. By the time the attack is finished, Shell is exhausted.
"Come on back. OK! This little one is up next! Go, Lily!"
Lily the Lillipup. How original. Still, I'm not going to risk her ire by saying that.
"Lily, start it with an Odor Sleuth!"
"Kusanagi, razor leaf!"
The leaves don't do as much damage as I am expecting. It must be the thick fur.
"Lily, now! Tackle!"
"Vine Whip! Stop it in its tracks!"
"No, Lily! Tackle once more!"
"Finish it off, Kusanagi! Scratch attack!"
"Aww... I couldn't win..."
Unsurprisingly, Kusanagi proves the victor in the engagement. She probably hasn't had Lily for very long. Still, that was way closer than I'd like. I'll have to do a lot more training if I want to defeat a gym leader.
"Woo-hoo! You're a tough cookie, Black. I'm gonna work hard on training my Pokémon so we won't lose anymore! OK, bye-bye!"
What am I doing here in the Striaton trainer school? I already know all of this. For that matter, so does Cheren. Why is he here still if its this boring? I guess the extra two years of schooling are useful. I can't even see the gym leader through the crowd, so it must be popular. As I get up to leave, I am stopped by one of the students, who is apparently the top of his class. After successfully answering his quiz he hands over a Persim berry. He says that he was planning on giving it to people who badly failed, but it looks like I won't need it. It takes me a while to parse that statement, but when I do I just shake my head. It's just a very backhanded compliment.
As I'm about to leave, Cheren talks to me. After confirming that I'm looking for the gym leader, he tells me the leaders were just here. They were talking about Pokémon types. He also wants to test what he learned. They were covering some interesting things before I arrived.
"Well, let's see how effective my items are… Or maybe I should test how well I can battle without items…? Anyway, this is an indoor match, so let's battle without getting too rough!"
"Flare! Ember!"
"Kusanagi! Block it with a vine whip!" Cheren looks momentarily confused before he gets it. "Oh, I understand. The vines are alive, so are full of water. A simple ember isn't enough to set it alight. Very well. Fire Spin."
I feel embarrassed. Of course Cheren would get it- he's not some random trainer, he's quite possibly smarter than I am. However, I think I know something he hasn't thought of.
"Use the vines to pinch its nose! Tepigs resist fire, so it shouldn't escape, but it will still do some damage! With your other vine, keep wrapping it up!"
"Flare! Try to break free!"
"Constrict!"
The battle continues like that for a while. Kusanagi squeezes tighter and tighter, while Flare tries in vain to escape. However, just as it seems like the battle is over, Flare manages to swallow his Oran Berry. Now healed, Flare is able to struggle free.
As I prepare of a repeat of earlier, Cheren has Flare use flame charge. He admits that, much to his chagrin, Flare was unable to learn heat crash just yet. However, it has succeeded in generating the flame, and it is more than enough to burn through the vines. Kusanagi can only dodge helplessly, with each attack coming closer than the last. I think desperately to come up with a solution.
All of a sudden, it hits me. "Kusanagi, leaf tornado (beta)! Send the leaves straight at him! Then, when Flare gets close, use scratch!
"Power right through and hit the Snivy!"
As Cheren predicts, the flame burns the leaves, causing the attack to be largely useless. However, it serves its purpose. The burning leaves obscure Flare's vision. This allows Kusanagi to get some good hits on for pretty much free. In addition, the leaves are on the outside, which prevents oxygen from reaching the oil. While they are also burning, they aren't as hot and produce a lot of smoke. This hampers Flare's eyesight even more. As Flare stumbles out, defeated, Cheren looks shocked. It takes him a while to get it, but when he does he's very impressed. "Moves that never miss and moves that can attack first… moves that are only useful in a single situation… There sure are a lot of different moves. It's also important to decide what item your Pokémon holds. Go, Felis!"
While he has certainly trained Felis more than Bianca had her Lily, it isn't a match for Kusanagi. It goes down surprisingly quickly.
"I see! Losing to you means that I still have a lot to learn. So learning to use items well is definitely important, then. Oh, here. Black I'll give you these Oran berries. If you give a Pokémon this kind of Berry to hold, it will eat it to heal up when its HP goes down in battle. But if you give it man-made items like potions to hold, they can't use them. Well, good luck then."
With that, I head over to my first gym battle. Hopefully it won't be nearly this tough.
A/N: Next Chapter is the gym battle. Do let me know if there are any problems with the fights. I've never done them before.