Learn and Grow

It took longer than any of them thought, but Yugi and his friends finally made it to Violet City. On the way to the Violet gym, they stopped at a trainer's school where small children could learn to be Pokémon trainers. One of the teachers of the school was Ms. Priscilla, a woman with dark blue hair and brown eyes. She also had a black sweater vest over a sky blue dress. She was teaching her children the different kinds of Pokémon. Yugi and his friends thought they could learn something at the school and perhaps even teach some of the students what they already knew.

To help the students get a better understanding of Pokémon, Yugi and his friends released them from their Pokéballs and introduced them. All of the children were excited and like most small children, they didn't know how to handle Pokémon carefully. But the Pokémon were careful not to hurt anybody.

In the distance, a small tower stood in the middle of the city. It was known as the Sprout Tower. Ms. Priscilla was taking her students there for a field trip today. Yugi and his friends wanted to come along and see the tower too and asked if they could join the class. Ms. Priscilla explained that it was known as Sprout Tower because there was a beam in the middle that swayed back and forth like a Bellsprout's body. Many people thought that it was unsafe and unstable, but the Tower didn't collapse. Another reason behind the name for the Tower was that children becoming trainers were like sprouts beginning to grow and coming to Sprout Tower was like a coming-of-age trial where they could gain their first experiences as a trainer.

Well, if this was going to be like a rite of passage, then Emily wanted to take it to show the students what it would be like to become a trainer. So she decided to demonstrate to the children with a Pokémon battle. Joey wanted to help too, so he agreed to be Emily's opponent. He chose Totodile while Emily chose Sylphid. Totodile made the first attack and launched his Water Gun. Sylphid rolled to dodge the attack. He tried to charge with a Quick Attack, but Totodile caught Sylphid by his tail with his jaws and tossed him across the field. Syphid slid on the dirt, but got back on his feet. He tried attacking from afar with Swift, but Totodile blocked it with Water Gun. They charged at each other and hit their heads together. Feeling dizzy with headaches, the Pokémon decide to call it a draw. Joey and Emily agree and shake hands.

"There's an important lesson in this battle," Yugi was telling the children. "Pokémon battles aren't about winning or losing or proving who the strongest opponent is. It's about how a trainer can learn and grow with their Pokémon."

"Just like a sprout," said Joey.

"And at the end of every battle, friendships are made," Emily added. "So don't feel upset if you lose one battle. There's a good chance you'll win the next. And sometimes, a draw is always fair game."

Maybe the children wouldn't understand right away; at least, not until they had become trainers. But they felt it in their hearts that the lessons of the battle at Sprout Tower would take them far.

When they returned to the trainer's school, Ms. Priscilla thanked Yugi and his friends for helping out today on behalf of herself and her students. Yugi and the others agreed and said they learned just as much; that it takes time when it comes to learning and growing. That made Emily decide to take this time to prepare for her gym battle.

She and her friends went to the outskirts of the city to do some training for the rest of the day. Once again, Emily called on Shade and Sylphid. "All right, boys, I know we've been working hard a lot since we've started our journey together. But things are going to be a little different. We're going to be facing the gym leader of Violet City tomorrow and I want us to be prepared."

"We'll do our best for you, Emily," Shade promised. "With my cunning and Sylphid's speed, there's no way we can lose."

"Well, let's do what we can tonight and we'll see what happens tomorrow," said Emily. So she and her boys begin to work on their training. It was true that Sylphid was the fastest of his siblings, but Emily had to work on building up the speed of the rest of her Pokémon also. Shade was cunning and sneaky like a ninja, but he couldn't yet catch up to his brother. So to help, Shade decided to run some laps. Sylphid decided to build up his defenses by learning to block attacks. There were certain attacks that couldn't be dodged and that's why they say the best defense is a good offense. So Emily threw soft balls and Sylphid used his paws and tail to throw them back.

With the day finished, signs of progress were showing with good results. Not only did Shade become faster, but he also learned to use Confuse Ray. And seeing how much Sylphid had grown, Emily figured it was time. "Sylphid, could you come here?"

He does as told and approaches Emily. "What's up, Emily?"

"Well, I've been thinking, and…" she stops and reaches into her bag and takes out a stone.

Looking at the stone she's grasping, Sylphid recognizes that it's a Thunder Stone. Ms. Priscilla gave it to Emily before they left the school. His eyes shine with anticipated happiness. "Oh, Emily, this is the moment I've been waiting for!"

"Does this mean-?"

Sylphid nods. "This is what I've been training for; to get stronger until I was ready to evolve."

"It's what I've wanted too. I just wanted you to be sure if you were ready."

In answer, Sylphid places his paw against the Thunder Stone. His body glows and begins changing. He had grown larger and the fur on his body turned yellow and the fur around his neck turned white. Some of it also stuck out like sparks. He was now a Jolteon.

Shade approached his older brother and congratulated him. "Way to go, big brother!" And they slap their paws together.

"Thanks," Sylphid said in appreciation. "It's what I've always wanted. Now I know you and I can win tomorrow's battle for sure."

Emily agreed. "Come on. Let's get back to the Pokémon center and rejoin the others." Sylphid and Shade agree and return to their Pokéballs. They couldn't wait for tomorrow's battle, but they were also looking forward to a healthy dinner and a good night's sleep after all that training.