Chapter 14 - Digging for Greatness

"What do you think, Delia?" Celeste asked.

The trainer carefully took a potato chip from a plate and dipped it in the hot green sauce. She then held the chip in front of her slowpoke. The pokémon blinked once… twice… and, midway through the third blink, he jumped on the food with gusto.

Celeste giggled as she watched Patrick munch on the chip. He was frustrating sometimes, but also way too endearing.

"I think this sandwich is the best one I've ever had," Delia answered as she carefully wrapped her leftovers.

When she woke up this morning, Delia didn't expect to see her friend up and about. She also didn't expect her to have brought sandwiches and chips, and she most definitely didn't expect her to be talking non-stop about her failed date and new Paldean friends.

"Not the sandwich, the napkin." Celeste gestured to the table.

With a deep breath, Delia reached for the napkin and unforded it to read what her friend wrote.

Aria - Tackle, Growl, Swift, Quick Attack and Sand Attack.

*Gift from the flamigo guy: Dig TM! (Sweetest person ever.)

Patrick - Water Gun, Tackle, Growl.

Yawn and Disable. (Need to figure it out)

Powder - Powder Snow and ?

"You got a TM?"

"Uh-huh!" Cee said. "After Rey left, I became friends with the restaurant staff. Apparently, he always acts like a jerk to all of them."

"Soo… they gave you a bunch of food and a TM?" Delia asked again.

Celeste shrugged. "They wanted to help me stand a chance or something. And then they said that in Paldea no one goes out to train without a sandwich. But enough of that. What do you think I should work on? Dig is a given, right?"

"I told you I'm not good at battles either," Delia said as she reached for the chips. Patrick was suspiciously staring at the hot sauce. "Do you really think Rey can get me fired?"

"I don't want to find out… Olga seemed to like you, though."

"We can keep an eye out for other jobs," Delia concluded as she looked at the napkin again. "It will be nice for Aria to learn Dig, but I think your focus should be on getting a handle on Powder and Patrick's moves."

Celeste nodded to her friend. And almost on cue, a loud cry startled them both. They turned around to see the slowpoke running in circles with his snout covered with the hot green sauce.

"Oh, buddy…" Celeste said, holding her laugh. Who knew a slowpoke could run so fast? "Let's get you cleaned up before we head out, ok?"

Delia laughed. "Good luck with training, Cee."

—*—*—

One Island had three main training spots. Treasure Beach, Kindle Road and Mount Ember.

Treasure beach was the easiest to reach. It was the beach their lifeboat had crashed a few days back, and just a short hike from the city. But Celeste was way too tired of beaches at this point. Mout Ember, of course, was out of the question. The pokémon there were supposed to be strong, and she was being pragmatic today. She was focusing on moves and strategy. If she got a handle on that, she would try battling a wild pidgey or something. Not some giant onix living in a volcano.

That left her with Kindle Road.

According to nurse Joy, Kindle Road was the main trail to Mount Ember. There were some caves and woodlands around it, and depending on the tide, some parts of the road got submerged. Regardless, it was a popular training spot, so it was well maintained and there were always people around.

With their destination set, Celeste and Aria left the city.

As they hiked, the city pavement became sand, and the path got narrower as the ocean took over the scenery. Until, finally, they reached a rock wall with some wild flowers creeping in through the cracks. After a moment of looking around, the trainer found an opening.

When the pair got through, the environment completely changed. There were hills and woodlands all around them, and that alone would have been a breath of fresh air. But it was the sheer impact of Mount Ember that truly left them out of breath. Even though it was still distant, the volcano imposed itself on the whole place. They could even see the faint glow of lava in the distance.

Celeste considered her options for a moment. Further towards the volcano, the terrain seemed more barren and rockier. That would be bad for learning Dig. In the woodlands, however, there would be more wild pokémon.

Wild pokémon shouldn't be a problem for any trainer. And yet here I am… Celeste thought bitterly.

"Okay team, time for a meeting," the girl said as she released the other two pokémon. She stopped for a moment and studied each of their expressions. Powder was excited, as always. Pat looked like… a slowpoke.

"Aria," Celeste started, "do you remember when we met Powder, in Mount Lanakila?"

The eevee nodded slowly, as she glanced to the little vulpix who only tilted her head.

"That was when she hatched… not that long ago. But somehow a lifetime away." Celeste crouched by the vulpix. "Back then… things got bad, and scary… and we made a promise. We promised we would get strong. That we would never feel that powerless again."

Powder nuzzled her trainer's leg.

"It all started because I was angry with mom and dad… and after everything that happened, I told them I was taking control of my own life," Celeste turned to Patrick, to offer him a vague explanation. "Maybe I was a bit too harsh and hotheaded to them. But we had a fight, then I stormed off. Then we ran into some poachers, and into this boy with a fire cat."

She closed her eyes. She had been so scared back then, she couldn't even remember the poachers' faces, only the red R in their shirts.

"Things got bad, Pat, and after Powder's m—." The trainer looked at her baby vulpix, still nuzzling her leg. "After we met Powder, we decided to leave my parents' never ending expedition to have our own adventure."

The girl reached the slowpoke's snout and petted it gently. She didn't know why he got into her pokéball. But he was part of the family now.

"I left to become a strong trainer, so I wouldn't feel powerless anymore. So that I would have some control… and yet, all I did so far was get us attacked and lost. And I've been afraid all the damn time…" she looked at Aria now. Her best friend, always laughing when things went crazy and always there for her. "I want to feel strong and brave. But surprise, surprise. Strength, courage and skill don't just come to people. Who would have guessed, huh? "

Powder tilted her head, Aria giggled and Pat stared.

"Look, I still don't know what my 'dream' is, or what is the best way forward. But I think we need to pick a direction." Celeste looked at the road ahead. "What do you think about training extra hard to win against Rey… and then, once we are back in Kanto, we can try the gyms."

The girl looked at each member of her team.

"We are a team, and we take decisions as a team. So, what do you guys say? Rey, gyms, other trainers. We keep going, keep fighting and don't give up. Even if things are scary or difficult, we always support each other."

Celeste's heart started racing. Even more so when the slowpoke actually jumped on her with his wiggling tail.

"Poooke," Pat said with his slow voice. He was on board. All of her pokémon were, Celeste realised as they joined in for a hug.

They were ready. Now they just needed to keep moving.

—*—*—

"Okay, let's do this, Aria!" Celeste said as she fiddled with the TM device.

TMs were one of the new technology wonders Silph Co. was marketing hard the past few years.

'It was the machine that would replace move tutors and revolutionise battling for ever.'

Of course, that was cheap propaganda. TMs were a technology as old as the radio, and the only thing Silph did was make it cheap and breakable. Planned obsolescence taken to a new level. If revolutionising training was the aim, they would have invested in something affordable and durable.

And yet, as horrible as Celeste thought Silph Co. was for making something so crappy, she couldn't be happier that Aria would learn Dig.

"When I press this button, you will get the instructions on how to do the move," the trainer explained as she adjusted a dial with the pokémon species. "You have to pay attention, okay?"

The pokémon nodded as Celeste placed the small metal device on the grass by Aria. The trainer could not hear any sound from the TM once she pressed the button, but looking over to Aria, it seemed she could. Another cheap trick from Silph. They would argue that the move's instructions should be reproduced in a frequency that would optimise the pokémon's understanding. Conveniently, that frequency was never on a human's hearing spectrum.

Celeste turned around to her other pokémon and studied them for a moment. Pat was dozing off and Powder was placing some leaves on him. Was she trying to make him more comfortable, or was she playing?

The trainer twirled her hair as she considered how to actually train them. Should she just command them to use moves over and over until they were good enough? Should they have an actual workout?

There has to be more to it than that…

Battles are supposed to be about strength, but also strategy. It made sense that training should also be about it. They only had a few days to figure out how to beat Rey. That meant she needed to be smart about how to train.

Celeste needed a plan. Well, she was awesome with plans, right?

"Okay guys, you two are training together," Cee said loudly, awaking the slowpoke. "Hear me out. The plan is simple. We will start with Pat's water gun. While we keep working on it, Powder will try to freeze the water with her Powder Snow. The challenge here is that the stronger the water gun is, the harder it will be to freeze it."

Powder wiggled her tail and got into position. Celeste giggled. Her pokémon was adorable. It was almost criminal to make her battle.

"Okay buddy, show me your water gun," Celeste asked her slowpoke. He blinked and tilted his head at her, but did nothing. "Come on, Pat…"

Another few painful seconds passed until Pat opened his mouth and let a very weak stream of water out. On cue, Powder unleashed her Powder Snow move, and the gust generated made the cold water drizzle on their trainer.

That was underwhelming.

Celeste glanced at Aria, who was still very focused on the TM. Hopefully that would turn out okay.

Then she turned to the slowpoke and asked for another water gun. Again, Patrick took a few seconds to produce yet another weak stream of water. The problem wasn't generating water. He seemed to do that just fine. The problem was he needed to increase the pressure…

"Pressure, huh…?" the trainer said, bringing her arm to her abdomen. "Pat, I want you to breathe with me."

The pokémon, as usual, stared blankly at his trainer, who sat down by him. "Powder, will you help us out?" she asked as the vulpix joined them. With a smile, she closed her eyes and let in a deep breath, which she held on for a few seconds. Then, almost mischievously, she exhaled at once with a loud 'ha', that made even her slowpoke jump.

Celeste laughed.

Pat can be quick when he wants, huh?

She would have to figure out how to get rid of his lagging at some point. But for now, they were doing the breathing exercise.

"I want us to do it together. Inhale and then you scream to let the air out. Pat, I want you to pay extra attention to how your body moves when you let the air out, okay? And every time you scream louder."

On her count, the trio started breathing. It was cute to see the sharp noises Powder let out. And Patrick… well, his idea of screaming wasn't all that different from yawning. But he seemed to be more forceful as they kept going.

"How did it feel to breathe like that?" the trainer asked after some minutes.

"Piiiix." Powder kept running around energised. But the slowpoke was just staring as usual.

"I want you to do it once more, Pat. This time, you will use the water gun when you let the air out."

Celeste pointed to a nearby tree. "Inhale," she said, doing so herself. She waited a few seconds and yelled, "Water gun!"

A stream of water left the pokémon's mouth and hit a low-hanging branch of the tree. It still needed a lot of work, but was much better than before, for sure.

"Again," Celeste commanded with enthusiasm, pointing to another branch. "Let's see if you can break that one. Inhale… and Water Gun. Powder, you go too, try to focus all the energy of your Powder Snow on the water."

Once more, the slowpoke complied. This time, without the delay. The stream of water hit the branch perfectly, but was still not enough to break it. Powder seemed more focused, too. She didn't freeze a lot of the water, but some small shards of ice formed on the edges.

"One more time, inhale," the trainer said, even more enthusiastically. She pointed to a somewhat small twig, partially hidden by the leaves. "I know you can do it. Put all you have into the attack and break that one. Water gun and Powder Snow."

And snap. Celeste looked proudly at her pokémon. He did it. Patrick broke the twig. Powder got a little better too. She was sure they would keep improving as they kept training.

THUD.

"Huh?" Celeste looked around. That sound was too loud for a little piece of wood falling down.

Of course…

On the ground, by the broken twig, there was a spearow. And it didn't look too happy.

She was bound to fight wild pokémon at some point, wasn't she? Celeste just needed to keep her cool and battle the wild bird.

"P-Pat, use Water Gun on the spearow."

The slowpoke, in response, blinked emptily.

"W-what? Not now, buddy. You were doing so well." Celeste said under her breath. Then she turned to the vulpix. "Powder, attack it!"

The vulpix let out her Powder Snow, but the bird flew up and dodged. She still didn't have any other move to work with.

Celeste needed Aria.

The girl looked around for her eevee, but she couldn't see her anywhere. She gritted her teeth and looked at the angry bird pokémon once more.

A white glow enveloped the spearow's beak as it ascended up on the air. Once it was high enough, it stopped and glared down at the trainer and two pokémon by her side. Before Celeste could do anything, the spearow started its descent, now quickly spinning its body in a screw motion.

Shit.

Just as the bird was closing in, she felt a rumbling on the earth beneath her feet. There you are!

The trainer took a deep breath. "Use Swift as soon as you are out."

She wouldn't reach a flying pokémon when she got out of the earth, but she would have the element of surprise.

Before the bird could get any closer, a hole appeared in front of Celeste. From it, Aria emerged, triumphantly shooting the star-shaped rays. She wouldn't miss, obviously. But the surprise meant the spearow couldn't brace itself either.

As Celeste watched her opponent being hurled back to a tree, her heart started racing. That was usually the point when things got horribly wrong… wasn't it? When she thought she got to safety, but then was dragged into the water again by a crazy tentacool.

No.

She wanted to feel in control, didn't she? So she was taking fucking control. No way she would let Aria loose again.

"Let's not give it a chance to retaliate. Use Sand Attack!" the trainer commanded.

Before the spearow could get back up, the eevee tapped her back paws continuously on the floor until a large cloud of sand had engulfed all of them. Celeste couldn't see anything. Which was perfect. The spearow also wouldn't. She only needed to remain calm and trust in her pokémon and in herself.

Somewhere among the sandy cloud, Cee spotted a whitish glow. The spearow was getting ready for another attack.

"Aria, Quick Attack, as fast as you can!"

Celeste heard a shriek.

Then a thump.

Then nothing.

She held her breath as the sand cloud cleared. Fearfully, she moved closer to protect the two pokémon at her feet.

But there was no need to worry.

Celeste saw Aria panting, with the fainted spearow in front of her.

They won. Aria finally won a battle!

A/N: I really wanted to do two chapters last week, but well. Life happens. I'll try to post more next one. :)

Thanks again for all the comments and for all the people who are following.

NEXT CHAPTER: The Hooting Menace.