Chapter 4—All things superficial—
A little after I had gotten Toxel acclimatized to people and Pokémon, I decided to go back to training. I knew Milo's words in Turffield were true: Nessa was a hotshot with water Pokémon, which meant my options for what I could use to exploit her Pokémon's' natural weaknesses were limited… I could use grass or electric, but that was about it… Oddish certainly was shaping up to be a great grass type, but Toxel was my only electric Pokémon, so I knew I'd have to start raising him up as well.
I went back to Route 5 and sent Toxel into battles, only to switch him out as soon as they started so he could gain experience. Oddly, that didn't last for very long, though—there were some Pokémon that were weak to Toxel's poison attacks living on this route that he could soon stand up to and even defeat! I was shocked at how quickly he was coming along… he was a high potential baby indeed. I raised up Toxel until training him was no longer productive, and yet he still didn't know a strong electric move… I was starting to get worried about when he'd learn one. But then I remembered: the Technical Record I'd found! It was a Technical Record for an electric attack! That might be enough to turn this situation around… the next time I went to a Pokémon Center and handed Toxel off to be healed, I looked through my backpack and took the Technical Record out… I looked on the front to see which move it was… and saw it was discharge! How convenient! I put the record away before I waited and soon Toxel and my Pokémon were returned to me before I took Toxel and carried him back out to Route 5.
When we arrived, I went ahead and set him down on the ground before I got down before him and he said: "Toxel?" Before I said: "You've been doing a great job, Toxel. I'm really impressed at how much you've grown in so little time." "Toxel…" Toxel said in a flattered fashion before I said: "You've really become so strong. But are you up for becoming even stronger? I have something with me that will teach you how to use a strong move that will make you even more powerful than you already are." "Toxel?" Toxel said before I removed the Technical Record from my backpack and said: "This is what's called a 'Technical Record'. It's a single-use device that can teach a Pokémon a new move. This one teaches a move called 'discharge'—it's a strong electric attack. So how about it, Toxel? Are you up for learning it?" "Toxel!" Toxel said as he nodded and I smiled and said: "Great. Thank you, Toxel. Then I'll need to put it over your head so it can teach the move to you. Hold still…" And I did so before the Technical Record started to glow before it stopped and snapped into two halves before they fell to the ground. I picked up the pieces before I said: "Looks like it worked! Let's try it out on a wild Pokémon, shall we, Toxel?" "Toxel!" Toxel said before I picked him up and carried him across the bridge to a pond… we waited for a water Pokémon to come out… and then we saw a Magikarp flop onshore! Magikarp were like big orange fish Pokémon with white fins on their side and tailfin and yellow fins on their back and stomach. This Magikarp had yellow whiskers too and white eyes with little black dots for pupils. It was taller than you'd guess, but still short overall. Magikarp were also known for being one of the weakest Pokémon alive—some of them couldn't even defend themselves. "Karp…" The Magikarp said before I said: "Okay, this is your chance Toxel! Try out your new move on that Magikarp! Discharge!" "Toxel!" Toxel said before he caused a massive storm of lightning to discharge from his forehead and it zapped the Magikarp! It covered a wider area than I guessed, though… some nearby Pokémon desperately fled to avoid getting zapped! "Karp!" Magikarp said before he fell back into the water! "Great attack, Toxel! Now that we know your new move is in working order, we can really start to adventure and push forward!" I said before I picked him up… but Toxel actually looked upset…
"Toxel? What's wrong?" I asked before Toxel said: "Toxel… Toxel, Tox." I was hoping he would make it obvious, but since he couldn't speak in a language I understood, I suppose that was a fool's idea… I'd just have to guess what he was upset about… but eventually I had an idea… "Are you unhappy because I made you attack that Magikarp when it didn't attack us first?" I asked and Toxel nodded before I said: "Aw, I'm sorry… but we needed to see if it would work against a water type Pokémon, because that's exactly what we'll be using it against." And then I went on: "Even so… I'm sorry, Toxel. I suppose that was insensitive of me. I'll be more careful about making you do that in the future." And Toxel smiled and said: "Toxel." And he hugged me before I hugged him back and we backed out I said: "Still, you have a really gentle heart. The fact that you felt that way really says a lot about your character. I'm impressed, Toxel." "Toxel!" Toxel said before I said: "Now let's get back to Hulbury. We've got some exciting work ahead of us now!" And then I carried him back, but I was amazed at that experience… thinking back on it… I suppose that really was insensitive of me to make Toxel do that. I hadn't tried to anticipate his feelings at all… Pokémon were such amazing creatures. That was all the reason I had to try harder!
When we were back in Hulbury, I decided to challenge the stadium, but before that, I knew I'd have to optimize my team for battling water Pokémon. I added Oddish, Eevee and Corvisquire (leaving Toxel in my team) before I headed to the stadium and entered it. I saw there was a somewhat long line in here too, as well as a doorman… I walked towards the line, but as I did, he said: "Welcome to Hulbury stadium! I take it you've come to make a challenge, miss?" "That's right. I wanted to have a battle with Nessa for a water badge." I said before the man said: "Excellent. Then allow me to explain the rules of Nessa's challenge: before you can face Nessa, you'll have to go through a maze of paths where some are blocked by flowing water from above and others aren't. Fortunately, there are plenty of valves around this maze to turn off any water that's obstructing your path, but beware: turning off water in one spot makes water start flowing in a different one! If you make it to the end of the maze, you'll be ready to face Nessa. Should you successfully do so, Nessa will fight you in a 3-on-3 single battle and Dynamaxing is possible in this stadium. And that's it for the rules. Are you ready to go?" "Yes. I am." I said before the man said: "Excellent! Then best of luck to you, challenger!" And I got in line.
Having to wait was a little tiresome, but Toxel made it more fun than it had been last time. When it was my turn, I went in and saw the maze the doorman had spoken of, which was basically a series of passageways with some pipes overhead that spilled water in the way… there were also some gym trainers in here too, which kept things interesting. I went through the maze and successfully managed to reach its end before I proceeded further in and arrived in the pitch, with bleachers surrounding it, just like in Turffield's stadium… I also saw a female staffer in the way, but she only healed my Pokémon before I went further in and saw a pool in the center of the battlefield… and Nessa before me…
Nessa was known as a beauty, which went hand in hand with her work when she wasn't working in the gym… as a model. She wore a black and orange tube top and white and blue shorts with a yellow-orange stripe around her waist. She had white open-toe sandals and gold earrings that were big and circular. She had dark skin and black hair with sky blue streaks that fell to her waist. She was fairly tall and had blue eyes too. When she saw me approach, she said: "Ah, welcome to Hulbury's stadium, challenger. I'm Nessa, the gym leader here. Who are you?" "I'm Abby. It's nice to meet you." I said before Nessa said: "Abby… okay! I look forward to our battle—I always love the thrill of a battle and the chance to show my strength to the crowd!" When I heard this, I couldn't respond… she certainly had a lot of confidence, but… "My water Pokémon and I have grown strong from so many battles! We'll take whatever you have and pull you under! After so many wins, there's no way we can lose!" Nessa said. By now, I was already starting to feel sick of her… I decided not to respond, just to see what she'd do next. And then she said: "This is going to be great! Now show me what you've got!" And I still didn't respond before Nessa said: "Uh, Abby? Are you still there?" "I'm listening. I just wanted to see if you'd top yourself." I said before I went on: "What hospitality… any gym leader who would be so thoroughly overconfident and who would look down on their opponent before the battle even starts… couldn't possibly be a competent one. I know you have a reputation as a stronger gym leader, but now I'm wondering if those rumors were even true…" "You can see for yourself! Come on, let's go!" Nessa said before I said nothing and backed up a bit before Nessa did the same and took out a Poke ball before she said: "Go, Arrokuda!" And I put Toxel down and said: "It's your time to shine. Go for it!"
And Toxel crawled up to the center while Nessa called out a Pokémon like a small fish that appeared in the pool… it had a pointy brown body, looking almost like an arrow. It had a yellow jaw and a brown forehead with white eyes that had little black dots for pupils and white stripes on its sides. It had white fins on its back and the front and back lower ends of its torso and a yellow and brown tailfin. It was short. "Arrokuda, aqua jet!" Nessa said before Arrokuda said: "Arro!" And burst forward at a speed that was so fast it disappeared before he reappeared in front of Toxel and slammed into him, knocking him over. Arrokuda quickly flopped back into the pool before Toxel got back up and I said: "Toxel, zap him with discharge!" And Toxel said: "Tox!" and he created another lightning storm that zapped Arrokuda hard… and he suddenly stopped swimming and just started floating… it looked like he had been paralyzed by that discharge! Now he was going to have trouble moving! "Arrokuda, can you bite it?!" Nessa said before Arrokuda shook his head and I said: "Toxel, finish it off! Acid spray!" I said before Toxel spat green acid out of his mouth that hissed as soon as it made contact with Arrokuda… and he rolled over on his side and stayed in a floating position… "Okay, come on back, Arrokuda!" Nessa said before she called him back! And then she said: "Go, Goldeen!"
And she called out another fish Pokémon in the pool… it had a white body and orange patterns on its back and fins. It had three big fins on its back that were unusually pretty and more pronounced circular pink lips, as well as a white horn on its head. It had white eyes with blue irises and black pupils and was very short. And then Nessa said: "Goldeen, attack with water pulse!" And Goldeen said: "Goldeen." And she spat a blob of water at Toxel, which exploded. "Toxel, go for it! Discharge!" I said before Toxel said: "Toxel!" And he attacked with it again, but Goldeen took it hard too! "Goldeen, keep going! Water pulse!" Nessa said before Goldeen attacked with it again and I said: "Take her down, Toxel! Discharge!" And Toxel attacked with it before Goldeen sank down and floated back up… and she couldn't keep going!
Nessa called Goldeen back before she said: "Go, Drednaw!" And she called out one just like Matt's! Even though he had done so well, I could see Toxel was starting to look worn out, so I said: "I can take a hint. I'll withdraw Toxel from this battle and have it count as a loss before I call out my next Pokémon." And then Nessa said: "Hey, no fair! You didn't even let me—" And then I said: "He's just a baby. How could you be so ruthless that you would object?" "Ugh… true. Well alright, but since you were the last one to act, you have to let me act first after you call out your Pokémon—I get your concern for your Pokémon, but this is a gym battle and I won't let you take advantage of my generosity." Nessa said before I frowned and said: "That's fine. I can handle you going first anyway." And then I walked up to the center before I got in front of Toxel (and he held his arms up as I picked him up) and I said: "Great job. You did so well in your first gym battle!" And I carried him back before I switched to holding him in one arm and I took out Oddish's Poke ball and said: "Go, Oddish!" And I called him out and he said: "Odd!" before Nessa called her Drednaw back into its Poke ball and her Dynamax band began to glow and Drednaw's Poke ball enlarged before she dropped it and it opened… and Drednaw came out at a gigantic size! "Toxel?!" Toxel said, sounding panicked before I held him and he put his face into my shoulder before I said: "It's okay. It won't hurt you." And then Nessa said: "Drednaw, show them what we've got! Max rockfall!" And Drednaw said: "Dreeeed!" And he conjured a giant block of stone before it fell directly on Oddish and then bounced off the second it made contact—as though it were a cartoon—before it crumbled into dust… and Oddish took it pretty hard! And then a sandstorm started blowing in the stadium!
I had to admit, for such a big talker, Nessa knew how to play her cards well when she was backed into a corner—now that the sandstorm was blowing from her using Max rockfall, because her Drednaw was a rock Pokémon, he was going to take half damage from attacks that were considered "special" attacks… the kind that Oddish knew. At this point, I doubted we could win if I didn't Dynamax Oddish… although now that I had to hold Toxel… I didn't think I could hold on to the Dynamaxed Poke ball once it enlarged with just one hand… I set Toxel down before I said: "I need to put you down for a second. Just stay still and wait, okay?" And Toxel nodded before I called Oddish back into his Poke ball and used the power of my Dynamax band before Oddish's Poke ball grew large and I dropped it and it opened and Oddish came at a massive height! I went over and picked up Toxel before I stepped forward and said: "Oddish, get Drednaw! Max overgrowth!" And Oddish said: "Oddish!" And made tall grass start to grow all over before giant seeds sprouted around Drednaw… and they exploded in a blast of energy from nature! Drednaw took it hard too!
The sandstorm was still blowing as vigorously as ever… and Oddish actually flinched from the bite of the sandstorm after he attacked. But it all stood to reason… after both Pokémon act, all non-rock, non-ground, non-steel Pokémon are hurt by the sandstorm for a minor amount of damage. Of course, that meant that Drednaw didn't take a lick of damage from the sandstorm he had made… but at least Oddish looked relieved after that because of the grass he had created with his Max overgrowth healing him. Unfortunately, Drednaw was restored by it too—terrain effects apply to all Pokémon that are grounded. "Drednaw, keep it up! Max darkness!" Nessa said before Drednaw conjured two strands of jet-black energy that flew forward and converged on Oddish, forming a giant dome of darkness that engulfed him! The dome faded away after Oddish was hit, but Oddish looked rattled by the attack… "Oddish, use Max overgrowth!" I said before Oddish attacked with it again. Then the sandstorm battered Oddish before he and Drednaw were once again healed by the grass.
By now, both Oddish and Drednaw were looking worn down… one more hit would definitely do Drednaw in, but I was a little nervous about Oddish… "Drednaw, squash him! Max rockfall!" Nessa said before Drednaw attacked with it again… thankfully Oddish could keep going once the attack ended! And then it got even better: Drednaw shrunk down to a normal height again! "You've got him, Oddish! Max overgrowth!" I said before Oddish said: "Dish!" And attacked with it again before Drednaw said: "DredNAWWW!" And collapsed before Nessa called him back! Oddish shrunk down to a normal size before he said: "Oddish! Odd!" And Toxel clapped his hands twice and said: "Toxel!" And I smiled before I walked up to Oddish and said: "Great job, Oddish! Even after Drednaw hit you first with that massive attack, you really turned that around! That was an amazing comeback!" "Odd!" Oddish said happily before I heard Nessa say: "Argh… that really wasn't a very good showing…" And I looked up at her and saw she was looking at me before she said: "But you've got to lose sometimes. It comes with the territory of being a gym leader. So here you go! One water badge!" And she handed over a small blue badge before I stuck it into my badge ring.
And then Nessa said: "And hey, take this too—it might help you on the way!" And she gave me a small, blue-colored disc… another Technical Machine. And then she went on: "That Technical Machine is for the move whirlpool. It not only damages the target—both at the time of use and over time for a temporary period—but also immobilizes them, making them a lot easier to hit! Depending on how you use it, it could give you a huge advantage." "That does sound useful. Thank you." I said before Nessa said: "Sure. Now as for the next gym that you have to beat…" And then she went on: "Well, you already know where it is: Motostoke! The quickest way back is to go through the second Motostoke Mine—located in eastern Hulbury, conveniently enough—and go through it to its southern exit. From there, Motostoke is just a hop, skip and a jump across another bridge before you're almost directly in front of the stadium. The gym leader of Motostoke is Kabu, who uses fire Pokémon. That said, I could easily take him myself, but you can too if you prepare the right Pokémon."
And I said nothing as she continued: "You sure were a good challenger. I hope I'll see you on the pitch this year… especially since then I'll right this wrong and beat you there!" "We'll see. In the meantime, I think I've heard enough. Excuse me." I said before I called Oddish back to his Poke ball and left the stadium. Once I left, I immediately headed to the Pokémon Center, but I couldn't help feeling a sour taste in my mouth… In all honesty, I didn't really want to see that Nessa again… she was so shallow and arrogant, wrapped up in so many things that were unimportant in the big scheme of things… she certainly had external beauty, but she was thoroughly lacking in internal beauty, that was for sure…
After I healed my Pokémon and bought some supplies, I took Toxel and went into the second Motostoke Mine, as Nessa had advised… when I entered it, I saw the lighting wasn't as good as in the first Motostoke Mine… there were some overhead lamps, but not very many; most of the light came from shining purple crystals. There were lots of Pokémon in here too, so between the reduced visibility and the indigenous Pokémon, it was important to pay attention… especially when I was carrying Toxel. When we arrived in the mine, I took the precaution of switching out my Pokémon again… I added Sobble, Bonsly and Oddish before I proceeded further in…
Travelling through the mine was easy enough—Bonsly was really helpful against the bug typed Wimpod that sped through here and Oddish helped a great deal against the water and ground type Pokémon that lived here. Eventually, I had made it a long way in… I actually saw moonlight shining in the distance… it looks like I was at the exit! But I also saw two male Team Yell members here… and Hop!
I hurried in before I heard Hop say: "Hey, you lot! Get out of the way! This mine is for everyone, not just that challenger you fancy!" And then I heard one of the Team Yell members say: "Watch it, boy! That big mouth of yours must have one heck of a way of getting you into trouble, if you catch my drift." And Hop said: "I'm the brother of the champion! You two don't stand a chance against me!" And then the two Team Yell members laughed before the other one said: "Ooh, are you gonna page in your big bro? Ha! Somehow I think the champion's got better things to do. Besides, your lineage doesn't mean a thing, because you're involved, not your big brother… and it's two-on-one!" And then I said: "Not anymore, it's not! Hop!"
And they all turned to me before Hop said: "Ah, Abby! What excellent timing. These Team Yell stooges here are blocking traffic and creating a huge inconvenience for everybody. Lend me a hand in getting rid of 'em, will you?" And I stepped forward before one of the Team Yell members said: "Hmph! Fine, we can handle that. Don't be Yell-ow when you lose!" And then he said: "Go, Dwebble!" And the other Team Yell member said: "Go, Cleffa!" And Hop said: "Go, Wooloo!" And I said: "Go, Bonsly!" And we all called our Pokémon out… the first Team Yell member's Pokémon was like a weird, but cute little hermit crab… it had a dark gray rock-like shell and an orange head with two orange pincers and orange legs. It had two black stalk eyes that had white pupils and was very short. And the other Team Yell member's Pokémon was adorable! It had a star-shaped body with pink fur and two hands and two feet that were attached directly to its torso. It had two triangular dark brown ears on the sides of its head and a pink circular puff tail and a springy tuft of pink hair on its forehead. It had black eyes with white pupils and was massively short… it looked less than a foot tall!
"Bonsly, use rock throw on Dwebble!" I said before Bonsly said: "Bon!" And she conjured a rock before she sent it flying at Dwebble! The rock smacked Dwebble and it said: "Dwebb!" It looked like it worked well! "Dwebble, attack Wooloo! Smack down!" One of the Team Yell members said before Dwebble said: "Dwebble!" And she conjured a medium-sized rock before she sent it flying at Wooloo and it hit him! Wooloo recovered before the other Team Yell member said: "Cleffa, use pound on Wooloo!" And Cleffa said: "Clef!" Before she ran up to Wooloo and smacked him. "Wooloo, attack Cleffa! Tackle!" Hop said before Wooloo said: "Woo!" And he smacked into Cleffa.
"Dwebble, attack Wooloo again! Bug bite!" One of the Team Yell members said before Dwebble skittered up to him and bit him! Dwebble skittered back as Hop had Wooloo attack Cleffa with tackle again and I had Bonsly attack Dwebble with another rock throw. "Cleffa, use sing on Bonsly!" The other Team Yell member said before Cleffa started singing in a soothing voice… but Bonsly was unaffected. But that gave me an idea…
"Bonsly, copycat Cleffa! Sing right back to her!" I said before Bonsly said: "Bons!" And then paused before she started to sing at Cleffa… and Cleffa fell asleep! "Argh… the irony of this is just sickening…" The Team Yell member said before Hop said: "Good one, Abby! Wooloo, double kick the Dwebble!" And Wooloo hurried over to Dwebble before he turned around and kicked her with his hind legs, then he did it again! By now, Dwebble was starting to look worn out before her trainer said: "Dwebble, use sand attack on that annoying Bonsly!" And Dwebble stuck her claw under the dirt on the floor before she flung it up at Bonsly and it got in her eyes! Now Bonsly was going to have a harder time aiming…
Nonetheless, Hop and I defeated Dwebble on the next turn, before Cleffa ever woke up. The Team Yell member called her back before he said: "Go, Scraggy!" And he called out a little humanoid Pokémon… it had a yellow head, a white jaw and a white torso with a red scaly underbelly and yellow legs that had thick skin that looked like baggy pants. It had red crests at the top of its head and two little black dots for nostrils, as well as white eyes with black irises and white pupils. It was short too. And then Hop said: "Wooloo, tackle Cleffa!" And Wooloo did so before one of the Team Yell members said: "Scraggy, low kick Wooloo!" And Scraggy said: "Scrag!" before he ran up to Wooloo and tripped him with a sweeping kick! Wooloo fell over and didn't get up, so Hop said: "Good work, Wooloo! Come on back!" And he called him back before the other Team Yell member said: "Cleffa, sweet kiss Bonsly!" but she merely kept dozing… "Bonsly, finish Cleffa off! Rock throw!" I said before Bonsly said: "Bonbon!" And she conjured a rock before she sent it flying at Cleffa… thankfully she aimed correctly and smacked Cleffa before Cleffa collapsed forward in her sleep! And then the Team Yell member called her back… but then Bonsly suddenly looked energetic and said: "BON!" And she started to glow with a white light and change shape!
When the process finished, I saw she had evolved into a Sudowoodo… she looked like a walking tree, with two legs and two thin arms that had three green circles connected to the ends that looked like vegetation, but they were actually rocks. She had a Y-shaped rock bauble growing on top of her head and had black eyes with white pupils. She had tiny yellow spots on her stomach and was pretty tall too—she was about as tall as me! "Alright, Sudowoodo! You did a great job and evolved at just the right time!" I said before she said: "Sudo!" and one of the Team Yell members said: "Great… she evolved… and right when we were about to—" and then the other Team Yell member said: "Quiet! So what if she got stronger? We both have Pokémon that are strong against her, remember?! Like this one!" And then he went on: "Go, Drilbur!" And he called out a Pokémon like a little mole… it had black skin with a blue Z-shaped stripe on its torso. It had black feet that were attached directly to its torso, black arms with long white claws at the ends and a white face with a pink nose and white eyes with little black dots for pupils. It was very short. And Hop said: "Corvisquire, go!" And he called out a Corvisquire of his own… so now Hop had one too.
"Scraggy, topple Sudowoodo! Low kick!" One of the Team Yell members said before Scraggy low kicked her… and she fell over. Sudowoodo got up (but looked noticeably more hurt) before I said: "Sudowoodo, you low kick Scraggy right back!" And she did so (which Scraggy took a little hard) before the other Team Yell member said: "Drilbur, use rapid spin on Corvisquire!" And Drilbur said: "Dril!" And he spun at very high speed before he crashed into Corvisquire. But then he looked energized… "Corvisquire, use pluck on Scraggy!" Hop said before Corvisquire said: "Cor!" And he flew at Scraggy and pecked him before he flew back, which Scraggy took hard!
"Sudowoodo, get rid of Scraggy! Low kick!" I said before Sudowoodo ran up to him… but she stopped early and performed a sweeping kick at nothing. I guess that sand must still be in her eyes from Dwebble's sand attack… "Klutz!" The Team Yell member yelled before he went on: "Scraggy, attack that Corvisquire! Headbutt!" And Scraggy leapt at Corvisquire and headbutted him before he ran back and Hop said: "Corvisquire, take out Scraggy! Pluck!" And he did so before Scraggy collapsed! The Team Yell member called him back the other Team Yell member said: "Drilbur, hone claws!" And Drilbur scratched his claws together, as though sharpening them, before the Team Yell member went on: "Now! use metal claw on Sudowoodo!" And Drilbur ran up to Sudowoodo and his claws shone with a metallic luster before he scratched her with his claws… and she collapsed! But then Drilbur looked emboldened…
I called her back before I said: "Go, Oddish!" And I called him out before the Team Yell member said: "Go, Zigzagoon!" And he called out a little monochromatic racoon Pokémon… it had four legs and a bushy tail. Its body was purely white-and-black striped in alternating stripes—its front legs were black with white toenails and its back legs were white with black toenails. It had black star patterns around its eyes (that were connected by a black stripe) and red eyes with black pupils. It had a black nose and a pink tongue that it was letting hang out of its mouth. It was short. But this Zigzagoon… it was a Zigzagoon found around here in Galar. There were Zigzagoon that were just normal types found in Hoenn (and that were actually cute, unlike our Zigzagoon), but our Zigzagoon were dark and normal typed.
"Drilbur, attack the Corvisquire! Rapid spin!" The Team Yell member said before Drilbur did so and looked even more energized before he went on: "Now, use fury swipes on Oddish!" And Drilbur raked Oddish four times with his claws before he said: "Do it again! Fury swipes on Oddish!" And he did it again, this time swiping three times… Oddish had taken a substantial amount of damage from all his attacks! "This is getting out of hand! Oddish, use mega drain on Drilbur!" I said before Oddish said: "Odd!" And he drained whitish-green energy out of Drilbur which he took hard (and Oddish looked a little revitalized after the attack) and Hop said: "Back up Oddish, Corvisquire! Pluck Drilbur!" And Corvisquire did so. Drilbur looked heavily damaged now, but he still got up… "Scraggy, headbutt Oddish!" The other Team Yell member said before he did so…
After that, Drilbur attacked Oddish with a fury swipes (it landed two hits) before he collapsed. I called him back and said: "Go, Sobble!" And called him out before the Team Yell member said: "Drilbur, get Sobble! Crush claw!" And Drilbur ran in before he performed a downward swipe with his claws that hit Sobble hard! After that, he said: "Drilbur, get Corvisquire! Fury swipes!" And he attacked Corvisquire with five hits before Hop said: "Corvisquire, get rid of that pesky Drilbur! Pluck!" And he attacked him with it… and then Drilbur finally went down! And on top of that, Sobble looked energetic before he said: "Sob!" And started to glow with a white light and change shape!
When he was done, he was taller, but still short. He was humanoid now and walked on two legs and had a white stomach, a cerulean body with yellow-green hands and feet and a coiled tail with a dark blue end. He had a dark blue hair and a purple hair directly next to each other on his head that went down over his forehead and dark blue circles on his cheeks. "That was perfect timing, Drizzile! Now keep fighting!" I said before Drizzile said: "Drizz!" And the Team Yell member called Drilbur back and I said: "Drizzile, attack Zigzagoon! Water pulse!" And Drizzile hit Zigzagoon with an exploding blob of water before the other Team Yell member said: "Scraggy, take down Corvisquire! Headbutt!" And he did so… and Corvisquire fell to the ground… "Great work, Corvisquire!" Hop said before he called him back and the Team Yell member said: "Go, Carkol!" And he called out a Carkol, like the ones I had seen in the first Motostoke Mine… it had a gray rock body like a mine cart and black rock wheels. It had a circular black rock head with white eyes, black irises and white pupils and a ton of coal stacked up inside of it that was red-hot… in fact, it was red in between the coals! It was fairly tall, all things considered. And then Hop said: "Go, Thwackey!" And he called out a monkey Pokémon that had a yellow-green body with brown arms and a brown tail, dark green bracelets, orange hands, an orange mouth, brown ears and three dark green leaves growing at the top of its head like a mohawk. It had yellow eyes, brown irises and white pupils and held two sticks and was short overall. But this Pokémon was the evolved form of Grookey… he certainly had been training him since I last saw him!
"Thwackey, attack them both! Razor leaf!" Hop said before Thwackey said: "Thwack!" And conjured a flurry of leaves before he sent them flying into Zigzagoon and Carkol. "Drizzile, take out Carkol! Water pulse!" I said before Drizzile did so… and Carkol collapsed! The Team Yell member called him back before he said: "Urgh… that's it for me." And he backed up before Hop said: "Alright! Now this is looking up!" And the other Team Yell member said: "Zigzagoon, use snarl!" And Zigzagoon snarled loudly at Thwackey and Drizzile and they both looked subdued after the attack, but they had no problem finishing him off next turn!
The remaining Team Yell member called Zigzagoon back before he said: "Tch… the kids won. I guess that's how you turn out when you have a brother you can actually depend on." And then the other Team Yell member said: "More like his little girlfriend there… she's the one who actually helped him." And then he went on: "Fine! We can take a hint! I was getting tired of loitering in this dark, stuffy mine anyway!" And then they ran off before Hop yelled at them: "That'll show you!" But my attention was on something else… Sudowoodo and Oddish had been defeated in the course of that battle… that was half of my team. I knew I'd have to take action to heal them and Drizzile…
I took out Sudowoodo's and Oddish's Poke balls and called them out before I said: "Great job, everybody! Now you'd better take these… we've got to get you back on your feet quickly!" And I healed them with potions before Sudowoodo and Oddish looked much better and Sudowoodo said: "Woodo!" While Oddish said: "Oddish!" Even Drizzile looked satisfied before I said: "Good! I'm glad to see everyone's feeling chipper again. Go ahead and take it easy in your Poke balls the rest of the way, through—you've earned it!" Before I called Sudowoodo, Oddish and Drizzile back and Hop said: "I like the way you think, Abby. I'd better follow your example!"
And he called out his Wooloo and Corvisquire before he healed them up. When he was done, he called them back and said: "Whew! That was extra-important for me…" And then he turned to me and said: "Truth be told, Thwackey was my last Pokémon, so that worked out nicely. Thank you for your help, Abby… looking back on it, I don't think I would have won if you hadn't been there." "We all need help sometimes, Hop. Given how his Drilbur attacked, I don't think I would have won alone, either. But I have to say, that was fun. We haven't even had the chance to do a multi battle like that yet. It looks like we haven't lost it when it comes to teamwork." I said. "Yup, I agree! But even so, that taught me I have a lot of work to do if I'm going to be strong enough to be the champion. I need to keep working until I can beat people like that without your help—" Hop said before I chuckled and said: "There you go again, being so competitive. There's nothing wrong with becoming stronger, but there's nothing wrong with working together either, Hop." And Hop grinned and said: "You're still so easygoing, Abby! Just like at the start of our adventure!" And then he went on: "But seriously, thank you. Now I—and all of us challengers—can get through this mine again!" And then he continued: "Next stop: Motostoke, for my third gym badge! It's as good as mine! See you around, Abby!" And he ran off… I chuckled before I stepped through the mine and out into the moonlight… it was such a beautiful moon tonight… but I could see the Pokémon around me were very different than the ones in the mine… I decided to switch my Pokémon out again. I added Raboot, Oddish and Eevee to my team and headed out across the grass.
It looked mostly clear out here… but then I heard a: "Koffing!" And turned to see a Koffing, a poison type Pokémon, floating towards me. They were like purple basketballs covered with holes to discharge poison gases. They had white eyes with black dots for pupils, a mouth and a manila skull-and-crossbones pattern beneath their mouth. They weren't very tall. It was continuing to approach me, so I took out Eevee's Poke ball and said: "Go, Eevee!" And called him out before Koffing said: "Koff!" And spat up sludge at Eevee and hit him with it. And then Eevee looked sickened… he had been poisoned by the attack. Now he was going to lose health at the end of every turn… "Eevee, get him! Swift!" I said before Eevee said: "Vee!" And conjured star-shaped rays before he sent them flying into Koffing, which worked surprisingly well, even though they weren't effective against poison. But then Eevee recoiled from poison damage… Koffing responded by spitting more sludge at Eevee before I had Eevee use swift again… and then we did it again. By now, Eevee was looking worn down, but Koffing was still in mediocre condition… and yet Eevee was fighting so aggressively, despite his injuries.
I took out his Poke ball and said: "Okay, Eevee, come on back! You can leave the rest to—" but then Eevee said: "Eevee!" And shook his head… I couldn't fathom why he wouldn't want to be called back when he was in such bad condition… but he needed to go back to his Poke ball now, so I knew I'd have to guess… soon I said: "Eevee, stop trying to be so tough! Your safety is important and this is just one battle! Even if you have to switch out, I won't be disappointed—I never am. You always work so hard and I'm grateful. I know I can count on you. So stop being so hard on yourself. I accept you and I'll never stop believing in you, so come back and rest now." And yet when I said this, Eevee's head rose and he looked inspired before he said: "EeVEE!" And he started to glow with a white light and change shape!
When he was done, he had a black body with yellow rings on his forehead and hips, as well as yellow stripes on the middle of his ears and tail. His eyes were red with black pupils and he was taller than before, but still short. But now… he was an Umbreon. Umbreon were dark type Pokémon that only evolve when they share a very close, meaningful bond with their trainer. It made me happy that Umbreon felt that way… all our training seems to have paid off! And then Umbreon said: "UmBRE!" And I smiled and said: "Umbreon… you evolved." And then I went on: "Well you sure have perfect timing! Now show that Koffing your true power! Snarl!" And Umbreon snarled loudly and menacingly at Koffing, which worked pretty well! Umbreon recoiled from poison damage before Koffing spat more sludge at Umbreon… but it didn't work nearly as well this time! "One more time, Umbreon! Snarl!" I said before Umbreon snarled at Koffing and the force of his attack knocked him down! And then Koffing turned around and floated off!
"Um!" Umbreon said before I came up behind him and said: "Excellent work, Umbreon. Thank you for fighting so bravely. It makes me happy knowing I have such a dependable protector." And then Umbreon turned around… and he looked weirdly happy before he said: "Umbreon!" And he jumped on me and knocked me on my back! "Wha—UMPH!" I said before I hit the ground and Umbreon nuzzled me before I said: "Okay, that's enough! You still need treatment from that poisoning!" And I got up before I got out a spray medicine aptly known as an antidote before I sprayed him… and he looked like he felt a lot better. I also treated his wounds with a super potion while I was at it.
"Um!" Umbreon said before I said: "There. Now you're ready to keep going. We've still got a ways to go before we reach Motostoke… shall we, Umbreon?" "Umbreon!" Umbreon said before I took out his Poke ball… but this didn't feel right. If carrying Toxel everywhere had taught me anything, it was that it was nice to have my Pokémon outside of their Poke balls. I actually really liked the idea of having a Pokémon walk with me. "Umbre?" Umbreon said before I said: "Actually, no. Forget that. Walk with me, Umbreon. From now on, I'm going to walk with a Pokémon at my side." And Umbreon looked happy before he jumped from side to side and said: "Umum!" And Toxel clapped his hands and said: "Toxel!" And I said: "Thank you both for helping me see. Now come along, we still have a whole bridge to cross." And then we headed to the bridge connecting Motostoke to the second Motostoke Mine before we went down it…