Chapter 7: Training and Healing

Ash woke up with a groan, the bright sunlight shining right onto his face through the open flap of the tent. He was just about to sit up when he found himself weighted down. Looking down to his chest, he was surprised to see the Princess laying her head there. When the Princess woke up, she was just as flustered.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry! I hope I wasn't too much of a bother."

Ash chuckled and waved it off.

"Nah, it wasn't a problem. Was I at least comfortable?"

May laughed, relieved he wasn't upset.

"Very much so, but unfortunately we can't sleep all day."

"Agreed, so what's on the agenda today?"

"Well, I've already sent a messenger to alert my father about Yesterday's attack. They should be back with reinforcements tomorrow, but until then I'd like to stay here and make sure everyone is alright."

Ash nodded in understanding. After quickly adjusting themselves, the two exited the tent to grab breakfast. Steven saw them, and waved them over.

"Ash, Princess, good morning!"

"Good morning, Sir Steven. How is the rebuilding process coming along?"

"Very well. Luckily those brutes didn't do too much damage to the homes themselves."

"That's good. I'd hate for my subjects to lose their homes to those monsters."

Steven nodded in agreement.

"So, how long do you plan on staying?"

"Until my father can send more troops. The messenger should have reached Petalburg by now, so hopefully within a day."

Steven nodded, then turned to Ash.

"Well then, since you'll be staying for a little while, perhaps I can offer some training?"

"Training?"

"Yes, for your Pikachu. I noticed he's got a good range of long ranged attacks, but he seems to be a little lacking in the short ranged department."

Ash paused to think about it for a moment. He hadn't thought about it before, but he did tend to rely on Piachu's long ranged attacks in battle. Not out of preference per say, but it's just how they battled. Perhaps that's why Team Rocket was able to steal Pikachu so frequently.

"I happen to know a move that will be perfect for Pikachu. If you're willing to let me teach him, that is."

Ash turned to his partner.

"What do you say, buddy?"

"Pika!"

Ash nodded in understanding, and turned to Steven.

"Yes, please!"

"Excellent! I promise you won't regret it."

After breakfast, Steven led Ash and Pikachu to a wide open grassy field just outside of the village.

"Lairon, come on out!"

Ash watched in awe as another Pokemon he hadn't seen before. It was a medium sized, quadrupedal creature with gray, rocky skin.

"Alright Ash, Pikachu, you see that large boulder over there?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Lairon, use Iron Tail!"

Lairon growled before charging right at the boulder, his tail glowing a steely white. Before Ash and Pikachu's eyes, Lairon turned the boulder into tiny little pebbles with a single swipe of his tail.

"Wow, that was…"

"Amazing!"

"Yeah! How did he do that?"

"Iron Tail, it's a steel type move that focuses all of a Pokemon's inner strength into their tails, allowing them to attack with crushing force. Pikachu may be an Electric type, but a good hard thwack with this move will send even the mightiest of foes to the ground."

Ash then turned to his Pikachu, the two of them sharing a look of excited determination.

"Alright buddy, let's give it a go! Iron Tail!"

"PIKAAAAAA!"

Pikachu closed his eyes, allowing energy to build up in his tail as it glowed. But no sooner did it start glowing did the glow fizzle out, much to his and Ash's disappointment.

"Pika?"

"I don't get it, what happened?"

Steven stroked his chin, contemplating the events before he gave his answer.

"Perhaps your Pikachu's tail isn't strong enough."

"Hey, my Pikachu isn't weak!"

"Pika Pika!"

"I didn't say he was, but there's more to it than that. Steel Types tend to be very strong and heavy built, so steel type attacks tend to require a lot of strength. Not just inner, but also physical strength. So when a Pokemon that isn't a Steel type tries to use a Steel Type move, they struggle with the extra effort needed to pull it off."

Ash nodded, not fully understanding what was said but realizing that it made sense.

"Don't worry, even my Lairon had trouble with it at first. Luckily, I know just what to do…"

Back in the village, May was helping tend to the injured Pokemon abandoned by the Aqua grunts. At the moment, she was wrapping a bandage around a Taillow's wing.

"There! Now you just need to keep off it for about a week. If you'd like, I'm sure the people here will let you stay until it's healed."

"Taillow!"

"We appreciate your help, Princess, but you don't need to."

But May shook her head.

"I don't need to, but I want to. My father always taught me that the best way to understand your subjects is to be right in the thick of things, and to experience what they go through. That's why I'm staying until reinforcements arrive."

"Well, you sure do have a knack for first aid!"

"This is nothing. You should see Torchic in the castle!"

The aide giggled, and went to fetch more bandages. After setting down Taillow, May was just about to move on to the next Pokemon when she noticed another one sitting all by himself. It was the same Poochyena the leader had abandoned yesterday, covered in cuts. But every time someone approached him, he would snarl menacingly, and they would back off in fear.

"What's wrong with him?" She asked one of the healers, who just shrugged.

"We don't know. We've tried to heal him, but he refuses to let anyone near him. The poor thing, I can only imagine what he's been through."

May was silent for a moment before she got up and walked over to the Poochyena.

"Princess, wait!"

"I'll be fine."

The Poochyena growled as she approached him, snapping a few times to try and scare her away. But May refused to back down, surprising him.

"It's alright, I promise I won't hurt you."

Poochyena stopped moving, but continued to growl at her.

"You've been hurt before, haven't you? I get it, it's hard to trust people after all of that. I can't imagine what those horrid brutes did to you. But while I can't erase the hurt they've inflicted on you, I'd like to help you heal. If you'll let me."

Poochyena stood still for a moment, letting May's words sink in. At last, he stopped growling and sat down, allowing May to begin working on him.

"I promise, you won't regret it."
And so she got to work, gently cleaning his wounds and applying potions where necessary. Poochyena whimpered at the sting of it, but May calmed him down with some gentle strokes to his back.

"There you go! That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Poochyena yipped, and licked her face as a thank you. May smiled, and patted him on the head.

"You're welcome! Would you like to play with my Torchic?"

"Yena!"

"Alright, but try not to put too much weight on your right foot."

Poochyena nodded, and May released her Torchic. The bright orange fire type twittered happily before chasing Poochyena around the field, the two Pokemon having a great time while May watched with a smile.

Back with Ash and Steven, the two were finishing tying a small boulder to Pikachu's tail.

"I don't get it, how will this help?"

"We need to build up strength in Pikachu's tail. That way, he'll be used to the extra weight of a Steel type move."

Once they were done, Pikachu flexed his tail up and down. It wasn't easy, but he managed to move it with some effort.

"Alright, now do 10 tail curls."

Pikachu nodded, and proceeded to do so. The extra weight proved to be a bit of a challenge, but he managed to do it.

"Excellent. Now we'll try it with more weight."

Steven grabbed a larger rock and replaced the current one with that. Pikachu's tail sagged from the weight, but he managed to keep it up.

"This time, only do five tail curls."

Pikachu grunted, straining under the extra weight, but through sheer determination he accomplished the task.

"Great job, buddy!"

"Pika!"

"Yes, well done. Now, let's do it one more time."

This time, he got an even bigger rock and tied it to Pikachu's tail. The rock was so heavy that it sent Pikachu to the ground, the little rodent struggling to his feet.

"Just one tail curl, and you'll be done."

Pikachu grunted, trying to force his tail to move, but the rock weighed so much all he could do was shake.

"You can do it, buddy! I believe in you!"

WIth Ash's encouragement, Pikachu powered through, raising his tail up with one last "PikaCHU!"

"Yes! You did it!"

Steven then untied the rock, Pikachu gently rubbing his tail to soothe the pain.

"Alright, now try it."

Pikachu nodded, and concentrated all of his energy into his tail. Once more it began to glow, but this time is kept glowing. Looking at the rocks that had previously been tied to his tail, Pikachu swung it hard into them, crushing them into dust in an instant, much to Ash's amazement.

"You did it buddy!"

Pikachu smiled, and jumped into Ash's open arms to give him a big hug. Steven smiled, impressed by their bond.

"Thanks so much, Steven. Pikachu is even stronger now, aren't you buddy?"

"Pika!"

"Of course, Ash. After all, if you're guarding the Princess, your Pokemon should be at their best."

After thanking Steven again, Ash and Pikachu returned to the village, where they found May playing with the Poochyena.

"Hey, isn't that the Poochyena from yesterday?"

May nodded before throwing the stick she was holding, the Poochyena chasing after it with his tail wagging.

"Yep! It took a while, but I got him to warm up to me."

"I'm not surprised! You're really good with Pokemon, you know?"

May turned away, trying to hide her blush.

"Heh, thanks. So how'd it go with Sir Steven?"

"Great! Pikachu is super strong now, right buddy?"

"Pika Pikachu!"

May giggled, and scratched Pikachu's ear, making the Electric type purr.

"Seems like we've both had an eventful day."

Ash nodded, but before he could say anything their stomachs growled.

"Heh, looks like we worked up an appetite too. Let's go get some food!"

"Sounds good to me!"

Just as May predicted, Norman's troops led by Brendan arrived the next day to help speed up the repairs. Confident that the town was in safe hands, Ash and May crafted some more Pokeballs before heading out to explore more of Hoenn.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay longer? I don't mind."

"Brendan and Wally can handle it. Besides, you just have to see Dewford Town! The beaches are ever so lovely this time of year."

"Wait!"

Before they reached the edge of the woods, Steven ran up to them, the Poochyena from before following him.

"Sir Steven, is something wrong?"

Steven gestured to his companion, who walked up to May with big pleading eyes.

"I think your little friend has really taken a shine to you."

"Is that true, Poochyena? Do you want to be my Pokemon?"

"Yena."

May smiled, and took out an empty Pokeball.

"Alright then, welcome to the team!"

May gently pressed the Pokeball to his head, absorbing him before clicking to confirm his capture.

"Alright, I just caught a Poochyena!"

"Congrats, May!"

"And Ash, I have something for you too."

Steven took out his own Pokeball and handed it to Ash. Confused, Ash opened it to reveal a Pokemon that looked like Metang, but smaller.

"This here is Beldum, a pre-evolution to my Metang. I rescued him from a cave-in a few weeks ago, but I don't have the room for another Pokemon right now, so I've been looking for someone to raise him right. And after seeing your bond with Pikachu, I have a feeling that you're the right trainer for the job!"

"Wow! What do you say, Beldum? Do you want to come with me?"

Beldum gave a happy look, floating about Ash while repeating "Dum Beldum!"

"Well, welcome aboard! Thanks Steven, I promise to take good care of it."

"Of course, Ash. Safe travels!"

And so, with two new friends in tow, Ash and May set off for Dewford Town, excited to see what new adventures awaited them next.