I thought carefully about what Blue had been trying to say after he left.
I'd always thought of myself as the weakest battler in any given room. I had a few tricks to help me gain the upper hand and turn things around, but not enough to make me truly strong.
But that didn't seem to be the way that Blue viewed things.
From his point of view, I was genuinely strong. I probably gave off that impression because of the experience I had from my last life, but to the others around me... Talent was the only reasonable explanation for my sudden battle skill.
Well, it was true that I intended from the very start of my second life to stand on the same stage as people like Blue and Red, but I'd assumed that I'd do so by leveraging every trick I'd ever come up with. The idea that I would ever have the capacity to rival them through legitimate strength seemed almost laughable.
But Blue believes I can.
As I was considering how I felt about that nugget of information, the young black-haired girl who'd been travelling with me for some time now sat down by my side, gently rubbing her gloved hand over my cheek.
"Hh-." I inhaled sharply in response to the sting of the bruise.
Are you alright? The silver eyes of my companion asked compassionately. I watched as her pupils flittered back between meeting my own gaze and checking the bruise repeatedly.
"I'm alright Chee." I answer softly, pulling her hand away from my cheek. "Thank you for checking on me."
Chee puffed her cheeks out with indignation. Honestly that Blue! How dare he punch you like that! Next time, I won't let him get away with that!
I couldn't help but chuckle at that response combined with her cheeks, filled to the brim just like a Lickilicky trying to hide it's tongue.
"Thanks Chee." I smiled, placing a hand on her head and rubbing it gently. "But you don't have to force yourself. I can tell that you don't handle it well when Blue gets angry..."
Her gaze fell as I said that. That's... Different. Her hands curled into fists in her lap.
I dusted off my pants and stood back up, turning my attention back to Yeller. "For now... I'm going to finish training for the day, then we'll head back."
...
Despite training for most of the day, I found that Yeller's level still didn't increase. As I returned to the Pokemon Centre, I continued to hear Blue's words ringing in my ears.
"Ruin your growth for all I care."
...Does he know I'm struggling to raise Yeller's level at the moment?
I felt a tap on my shoulder as I struggled with my thoughts, and returned my attention to the girl in front of me. I'm heading up to our room.
"...Alright. I'll catch up with you in a minute. I want to talk to someone."
The young girl puffed up her cheeks and put her hands on her hips, giving me a disapproving glance. Young man, you're not planning to get into any more fights, are you?
"Pfft-" I couldn't completely suppress the urge to chuckle. "No mother, I shan't get into any more fights, I promise."
Chee gave me a cheerful smile as the air left her cheeks. Good to hear it! I'll see you later~ And with a spring in her step, she leapt all the way up the stairs in a single hop and skipped out of sight.
Looks like she's back to normal. I smiled to myself for a moment, before shaking away the thoughts. Carefully, I found a secluded seat in the Foyer and sat down, giving Yeller a small pat as the rodent curled up in seat beside me to wait.
My conversation with Blue had convinced me that I was doing something wrong, but Chee didn't seem to have any idea what, and Blue was probably still angry at me. I wasn't eager to provoke him. I could try asking Oak, but I didn't want to inspire any doubt in my sponsor. That left me with only one other person I could consult.
Guardian. Are you there?
There was a few seconds of painful silence, but eventually I received a message.
[Guardian:
I always am.]
Good, I want to ask you about-
[Guardian:
You're an idiot.]
I reeled backwards before I could even finish the thought. Must you always insult me?! I'm doing my best over here!
[Guardian:
You haven't got enough fate points. I insult you. Balance is maintained.]
I blinked a few times at that response. ...Do you have to insult me in order to tell me things?
[Guardian:
No. It's just more fun.]
I repressed the urge to slam my head into the table and let out a small sigh instead. Whatever. Can you tell me what I'm missing? Why is Yeller's level going up slowly?
There was a short silence.
[Guardian:
I can answer that question, but it will require consuming a Fate Point. Do you really wish for me to do so?]
I hesitated in response. It was true that I was struggling on this front, but it didn't seem impossible that I could figure it out. Compared to that, I'd barely scraped together a few fate points in the entirety of my journey. Even so, every moment until the Tauros Invasion counts... Maybe I should-
[Guardian:
It doesn't matter. I'm refusing to answer your question.]
Well, that was one way to settle the issue. Then, can you give me any advice for growing stronger? Any secret training techniques for Yeller that would help him grow thrice as fast? I'll take anything. Hard work isn't an issue.
[Guardian:
I would only be able to offer battling advice if the system deemed me to be an even weaker battler than you. I'm not that pathetic.]
There was a very short pause before a second message appeared.
[Guardian:
I didn't expect I would be allowed to say that.]
I glanced at the two messages in turn, a frown growing on my face. A weaker battler than me... Does that mean you're also a battler?
The silence stretched on for several seconds before an answer finally came through.
[Guardian:
I cannot find a way to answer that question that doesn't cost Fate Points.]
Something about the pauses was beginning to bother me, although I couldn't quite put my finger on what or why. Alright... Thanks anyway Guardian.
[Guardian:
Gather more fate points. I will be more helpful to you then.]
I let out a sigh as I stepped away from the chair and stretched my legs. A final window opened in front of me.
[Guardian:
Please.]
It's too late to act polite now... I sighed, dismissing the system and leaving the Pokemon Centre's foyer.
Upon returning to my room, I realised it had been a while since I had an organised review of the system. Particularly, I hadn't checked Completion ever since we arrived at Cerulean City.
Status.
[Cyan Hughs
Status:
HP: 30/33
Atk: 17
: 1
Def: 21
Sp. Def: 10
Spd: 20
Stat Points (0)
Skills:
Eye to Eye
Regression System
Pokemon Status Lv 2
Bonds System
S.T.A.B.
Noctowl Vision (Lv 2)
Type Proficiency 42% {Tap to Expand} ]
[Normal Proficiency: 331% {VIEW REWARDS}
Fighting Proficiency: 0%
Flying Proficiency: 5%
Poison Proficiency: 0%
Ground Proficiency: 0%
Rock Proficiency: 0%
Bug Proficiency: 0%
Ghost Proficiency: 0%
Steel Proficiency: 0%
Fire Proficiency: 0%
Water Proficiency: 3%
Grass Proficiency: 111% {VIEW REWARDS}
Electric Proficiency: 5%
Psychic Proficiency: 0%
Ice Proficiency: 0%
Dragon Proficiency: 0%
Dark Proficiency: 309% {VIEW REWARDS}
Fairy Proficiency: 0%]
There wasn't much progress on the Type Proficiency side of things either, even with the contributions from Chee's battle against Violet. If I had some more type proficiency rewards, maybe that would give me the edge I need to defeat Misty...
I paused at that thought, pursing my lips. I might gain strength that way, but was it really my own? If I'm only strong because of the system, isn't it the strength of the Regression System, rather than my own strength?
[Guardian:
Does it matter?]
I ignored the window that appeared by my side and uttered the next word on my collection. Completion.
[Cerulean City Completion:
- Clear the Cerulean City Gym's Hardest Difficulty
- Investigate Nugget Bridge (Complete!)
- Uncover the Secret of the Sensational Sisters and ?
- Take part in one of the Underwater Ballets
Reward: 5 PokeStatus Points, Type Proficiency: Normal +60 Points, Water +60 Points, Ice +60 Points]
Although I was already doing the hardest Cerulean Gym Difficulty, it was mildly reassuring to see that the system was encouraging me to the same thing. Although as usual, the completion for the actual cities was a bit beyond what I was able to do on a short visit.
Quests.
[Quest Log:
Main Quests:
Prevent *&*?#?/
Complete Tutorial (4/6)
Optional Quests:
-EMPTY-
Guardian Quests:
-EMPTY-
Completed Quests: (Tap to Expand)]
I expected as much, but my quests window was still empty. Even as I felt conflicted on using the system as a power source, it didn't seem like it was offering me a way to overcome the Gym Battle with Misty anyway.
No... It's better that we overcome it with our own power anyway. There will be much more dangerous battles than this one in the future. I thought as I dismissed the system menu.
I closed my eyes, letting the determination drift over my body. We just have to train even harder.
...
Day 65:
I continued to ponder over Blue's words all through my morning of training with Misty-She even commented that I seemed a bit vacant today.
In the afternoon I thought about battling against some more random trainers, but I decided not to until I could figure out what I needed to do-So I trained by fighting some wild Pokemon instead.
Blue didn't join us in the morning, and I only saw him in passing as Chee and I returned to our room in the evening.
As I flopped back onto the bed, I couldn't help but feel frustrated. Frankly at my current pace, I didn't see any way for me to defeat Misty before the end of the month-If I even made the cut by then.
"I must need a new strategy." I mumbled to myself, turning to glance at the black-haired girl who was cheerfully humming to herself while drawing simple pictures in the corner. "There's got to be some trick I'm missing..."
I recalled now how Chee had defeated Brock-I still hadn't managed to decipher how she'd done so. Supposedly she'd built her strategy based on the ideas I'd taught her, but I couldn't see how. Perhaps the clue to a winning strategy against Misty lay in Chee's strategy against Brock.
"Hey Chee... You never explained what you did in the Pewter Gym. How did you and Ivysaur manage that improvised attack?"
I still remembered the way the vines had constricted, firing off the pellets covered in powder and effectively defeating the Onix in one hit. I just didn't see how it was even remotely possible.
The girl glanced over her shoulder at me, placing her pointer finger to her chin. I just used the tricks you taught me.
I shook my head. "I don't understand. Can you break it down for me?"
She tilted her head with a frown for a moment, before flipping over the page of her drawing book and scribbling something down quickly. After holding it up to herself and nodding, she stowed the pad under her arm and waltzed over to sit down next to me.
Look. She pointed to the pad, which showed a simple list of words with a simple doodle next to each phrase.
Vine Whip - The doodle was of a Cannon, with the end tied with a string
Leech Seed - The doodle was a cannonball
Vine Whip - The doodle showed two arrows pointing to each other
Sleep Powder - A doodle of a pile of powder
Vine Whip - A doodle of two sets of arrows pointing to each other.
I glanced down at the pad for a few seconds, trying to visualise how this array of moves could possibly lead to the result I'd seen in the Gym Battle. For the life of me, I didn't see it.
Chee's smiling face dropped in front of my own, her eyes sparkling. Do you get it?
"No, I still can't picture it." I shook my head apologetically.
The black-haired girl rubbed her forehead a few times before retrieving her Pokeball from her bag and pressing the button on it's front. In a flash of white light, the form of her partner Bulbasaur appeared on the floor in front of us.
"Saur!" The quadruped exclaimed excitedly, leaping up at Chee and vigorously rubbing it's head against her legs. She reached down and gave it a rub, causing it to push it's face even harder into her hands. After a moment of appeasing it's affection needs, the young girl gently gripped it's face by both sides and looked into it's eyes.
There was a long moment of silence as they stared at each other, until the Bulbasaur abruptly nodded it's head and jumped back into the centre of the room.
Alright, watch this. Chee turned her head my way enough that I could make eye contact again. Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!
The Bulbasaur grew two long green vines and raised them into the air over it's head, swinging them gently back and forth like long wriggly limbs.
Now cancel it! Her eyes sparkled.
A half second later, the vines stopped moving entirely, freezing in place. I raised an eyebrow as we stared at the frozen vines. "...So what's this?"
He cancelled the move. Chee tilted her head at me. See?
"No but, the vines are still out." I countered pointing at the vines. "The move is still ongoing."
Exactly! Chee clapped her hands together excitedly. So you do get it! She turned her attention back to the Bulbasaur for one moment. Leech Seed!
Without the vines flinching, the Bulbasaur gently fired a Leech seed out of it's back. Vine whip again!
And the Bulbasaur's Vines started swinging again, one of them arching through the air and snagging the seed before it hit anything.
I stared at Chee for a few moments before sighing and patting her on the head. "Thanks Chee."
You're welcome! She beamed back at me, retrieving the Bulbasaur back into it's Pokeball. As she went back to drawing on her pad. As I watched her leave, I dropped back onto the bed.
So running over what she'd said, I could now more or less understand how her Vine Cannon worked. By forming a barrel with Vine Whip, cancelling the move while leaving the vines in place, using Leech Seed and Sleep Powder, then using the Vine Whip to pressurise the existing vines like an air cannon.
Unfortunately, I didn't see how to apply that principle to any of the moves Yeller currently knew. In fact, I'd never heard of anyone doing anything like what she'd just shown me. It was almost like she was using two moves at once.
...Two moves at once...
That gave me an inkling of an idea, but it was one that would take a lot of time and training for Yeller to learn. If I had a few weeks maybe...
I sighed quietly to myself. "It's better than nothing."
...
Day 66:
When I awoke the next morning Chee greeted me with enormous bags under her eyes. I wasn't sure why, but apparently she hadn't even tried to sleep. I wanted to investigate further but I had to train with Misty.
When I arrived at the Cerulean Gym however, Misty apologised and told me that she wouldn't be able to train me because it was a weekend and the Gym closed for the weekend to focus on the Underwater Ballet.
In the end I found myself babysitting Chee until she finally fell asleep in our hotel room shortly after lunch. Now that I was free to act, I decided to go train in the field behind the Pokemon Centre.
"Ah."
By the battlefield behind the Pokemon Centre I encountered a young man with brown hair and silver eyes-Although I'd seen his eyes turn sapphire more than once. I expected him to greet me with a scowl or a frown, but instead he grimaced for a moment before turning away.
"I've calmed down now." Blue said, looking the other way.
And then, as if forcing every muscle in his body to obey by sheer force of will, he craned his neck back to look at me.
"...Sorry for punching you." He spoke calmly, although his expression was rather contorted. "That was too far."
"...It's alright, I've had worse." I answered almost instinctively. A part of me still remembered Red's training from hell... I greatly respected Red, but I wasn't blind to the amount of pain he'd forced me through in order to meet his requirements.
"I apologise for punching you, but I don't take back anything I said." Blue continued, barely a hint of the anger of a few days ago still lingering in his voice. "I still think you're going about battling with Yeller wrong."
"Yeah, I figured." I sighed, then I turned aside from him and began to train with Yeller in the corner. Practice for the new idea that I'd come up with the night prior.
After about 15 minutes of Yeller stumbling about and failing, I felt Blue's eyes looming over me once again.
"Oi." His voice rang from behind me like a morning frost. "The heck are you doing?"
"We're practicing." I answered stiffly.
"Are you trying to solve your problem by inventing another trick?"
"...I don't see any other alternative."
"Are you ignoring my advice?" Blue growled slightly.
I felt a resentment bubbling up beneath my skin, but I managed to suppress it. Blue had acted similarly arrogant before, but I didn't have anyone else to turn to. Like it or not, Blue was a genius, and he was probably better at explaining things than Chee was.
...Hopefully.
"No, I just couldn't figure out what you meant." I replied gently, finally turning to look at Blue. "I think you can tell that I've been stalling lately, but I don't know why."
There was a pause as Blue studied my eyes for a moment. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times before finally answering.
"That girl with the Oddish. Was she a difficult opponent for you?"
I shook my head. "No, that was a pretty easy battle."
"Then why did you use Quick Mode?"
I froze for a moment, considering his words. "Because it's strong."
"You could have won that battle with a single tackle." Blue countered me. "You didn't need to use Quick Mode. And by using Tackle instead, you would have preserved Yeller's energy for more difficult battles later. Yeller would be able to train against more opponents."
There was a long awkward silence as I stared at the floor.
"Do I have to spell that out for you too?" Blue asked, his words were arrogant, but his tone was oddly soft and understanding.
"No, I get that much." I nodded, chewing over his words. "Pokemon grow stronger by winning battles. If I'm not spending all of Yeller's energy, he can do more battles and grow stronger even faster."
Blue smirked at me. "There it is, your brain finally started working."
I took a deep breath and resisted the urge to snap back with an aggressive comment of my own as the brown-haired prodigy walked past me.
"Well, if you ask me the way you're using Quick Mode is wrong to begin with. Do you want me to show you what I mean?" He asked, pausing by my side.
As a former soldier, I'd already had to learn to swallow my pride and listen to people I didn't like. Blue being a child did make it particularly humiliating, but I still managed to answer. "Yes please."
...
On one side of the field stood Blue, his chestnut hair wafting gently in the soft winds that blew across the field. On the other side I stood with Yeller at the ready.
"Alright, come on out Squirt!" Blue called out, tossing his Pokeball into the open field. The ball burst open with a flash of bluish white energy pouring out and congealing into the form of a bipedal turtle.
I was expecting the same light-blue turtle that I'd seen back at Oak's lab, but to my surprise the creature now looked notably different. It still resembled it's previous form, but the blue had turned to a deeper shade, and it was now adorned with new fins where it's ears should be. It's tail had also doubled in length and become an incredibly pale bluish white.
"Has Squirt... Evolved?" I asked, mouth agape. "Already?!"
Blue fixed me with a disapproving look. "That's hardly the point, Cyan."
"Sorry, I just didn't expect... No, you're right. I need to focus." I turned my attention to Yeller. "Alright Yeller, first we'll use Quick Mode and-"
"Slow down." Blue interrupted me. "You're forbidden from using Quick Mode for now. I'll tell you when you can."
I paused for half a moment, then nodded. "Alright. Yeller, start off with Quick Attack!"
Yeller charged up with a wave of Yellow Energy, then rapidly accelerated across the field towards the Wartortle.
"Squirt, use Bubble!" Blue countered, and the bipedal turtle reeled backwards as Yeller slammed into it's body. A moment later, it regained it's balance and fired a bubble of water at Yeller, which floated through the air.
"Yeller, get some distance!" I ordered, and Yeller obeyed, jumping away from the bubble before it could get close.
"Water Gun!" Blue commanded next, and the Wartortle summoned a condensed ball of water at it's mouth, before firing it at my companion, who barely dodged out of the way.
"Yeller, next use-"
"Alrighty." Blue clapped his hands. "We're pausing there."
I blinked for a few moments, and both Yeller and Squirt stood still while giving us looks of surprise. "Oh, uh... Sure?"
"Cyan, it's been a while since you did a battle without using Quick Mode right. How does it feel?" Blue asked. At first I thought he had to be kidding, but there wasn't even a hint of humour in his voice.
I stood there thoughtfully for a few moments, replaying the events of our battle in our mind. "...It feels... Fine I guess?"
"I'd like to draw your attention to a few things, but first and foremost... You haven't lost yet." Blue tightened his eyes on me. "Even without using Quick Mode, you were able to land a Quick Attack, and Squirt hasn't managed to hit you."
There was a long moment of silence as I chewed on those words.
"Secondly... Cyan, for as long as I've known you, you always fought with dirty tricks." Blue let out a sigh after that sentence. "I can't say that I approve of that, but it's the way you battle. Despite that, you haven't used your misdirection technique even once since I started watching your battles. Only Quick Mode."
"Ah-" I wanted to contradict Blue's words, but I found that no response came to my lips. Maybe he was right, even. Since I was jumping straight to Quick Mode, I was ignoring the more mundane strategies until it failed to work. The last time I resorted to using move deception was when I battled Bronze, I hadn't even tried to use it on Misty. "...Yeah. You're right."
"Third... Did you feel the 'tempo' of that battle?"
"Tempo?" I frowned at Blue. "What do you mean by the 'tempo'?"
Blue opened his mouth, then shut it again after a few seconds. He rubbed his temple for a few moments as if I'd said something aggravating. Without answering, he began to snap his fingers, once every second. Then he took a breath and finally spoke.
"Battle begins." He snapped his fingers. "Quick Attack Lands." He snapped his fingers again. "Bubble fired." He snapped his fingers once more. "Yeller Dodges." He snapped his fingers a fourth time, then looked me straight in the eyes. "That was the tempo of our battle. Because you weren't using Quick Mode, the back and forth was relatively slow and relaxed."
He held up a single finger. "In essence, every move Yeller or Wartortle use takes a single beat of the tempo. A single turn, if you will. Given that, what does Quick Mode do?"
It only took me a moment to catch on to what Blue was saying. "...Quick Mode lets Yeller use a move in half of a turn."
Blue nodded. "That's right, it breaks the tempo, but there's more than that..." He smiled at me, but I didn't feel reassured by it. "Well, let's resume the battle and I'll show you. The ban on Quick Mode is released."
I nodded. "Yeller, Quick Mode!" I wasted no time giving the order, and my companion lit up with a trail of white energy as he streaked across the field and collided with the Wartortle, flying back through the air and landing a safe distance away.
"Tail Whip Thrice!" I ordered next, swinging my arm as Yeller streaked forwards again, but...
"It's too late." Blue cut in, his voice completely calm although his eyes shone with a deep azure hue. "Squirt has already adapted to the new Tempo."
And just as he said, the Wartortle twisted it's head out of the way, evading the first tail whip. When Yeller looped back for the second, it retreated into it's shell, dropping to the ground and avoiding the second, before popping back out and hopping out of the way of the third.
"...H-how...?!" I stood practically speechless. "How can Wartortle dodge Yeller's Quick Mode like that!?"
Blue sighed. "Because he's fast. It's pretty tight, but once he gets used to Yeller's new Tempo he can dodge-And Yeller's attacks have gotten pretty predictable now."
Smoothly and calmly, Blue raised his arm, pointing to Yeller. "Aqua Jet."
The Wartortle drew it's arms in close to it's chest, bracing as water washed over it's entire body, forming a ball a bit larger than the Pokemon itself. The ball crashed against itself with waves spiralling in all directions-Until they tightened in, all the water flowing from the point in front of Squirt's head.
And Squirt flew off, accelerating rapidly after Yeller. "Dodge it with Quick Attack!" I commanded, and Yeller trailed white energy as the water-type Pokemon trailed rapids behind it. The streaks of blue and white continued for a few moments, no end to the chase in sight.
"Alright Yeller, counter with Quick Attack instead!" I ordered, deciding to try taking the attack head on. Yeller pivoted and converted all of his speed into a daring Quick Attack, clashing with the roaring waves of Wartortle's attack. For a moment they both seemed to be pushing each other back, but there was a clear power difference, as Yeller's attack was forced to an end and he was sent spiralling across the field to land painfully in the dirt.
"Yeller! Are you alright?" I asked.
The Rattata shakily got back to it's feet and shot me his usual thumbs-up. I'm hanging in there boss!
I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Jetstream." Blue commanded next.
The turtle Pokemon once again surrounded itself in water, but instead of accelerating to speed, it took off like a Rocket. A thin trail of blue water led straight from his starting point directly to the place Yeller was now standing.
I'd seen something similar many times when battling with Yeller. It looked almost eerily similar to the trail Yeller left whenever he used Quick Mode.
"BITE SHIELD!" I ordered desperately. Nothing else had any chance of defending against the attack on such short notice.
Just in the nick of time, Yeller managed to summon a pair of Purple jaws to receive the brunt of the damage for him-Although he was still sent skidding backwards against the dirt, the jaws fading away.
"Again!" Blue snapped.
"Block then Counter with Quick Attack!" I shot back.
Yeller summoned the jaws once more as the Squirtle blitzed towards him, but as I gave out the order to Yeller, I glanced over at Blue's eyes, and for the briefest of moments, I felt like I knew exactly what he was thinking.
He fell for it. His shining sapphire eyes boasted.
"Cancel." Blue smirked, his smile almost devilish. "And use Bubble."
The Wartortle dismissed the swirling torrent of water coating it's body, coming to an abrupt stop without ever colliding with the still-forming jaws of purple energy. Without missing a beat, Squirt reared it's head and fired a bubble, which slipped past the jaws just as they disappeared again, both Yeller and I panicking as the attack approached like a slow moving bomb.
"Yeller! Don't attack, use Quick Mode to-"
But it was too late. There was a loud pop as the bubble burst, hitting Yeller for a good deal of damage and sending his wet body tumbling across the battlefield.
"And that..." Blue's walked over to me, leaning down and shoving his arrogant expression in my face. "Is how you should be using Quick Mode."
He gave me a pat on the back and walked off without turning around. "Come on Squirt. If he can't figure out the rest from here, then he really is a loser."
As I stared blankly at the battlefield in front of me, still processing what had just happened, it began to rain.
...
Frustrated by my loss, I spent until a decent way into the afternoon reviewing everything I could from my battle with Blue. His attitude aside, he had brought up a few points I couldn't refute even though I wanted to.
I just wish he wouldn't be such a jerk about it.
I shook away the thoughts, running over the notes one more time. Keeping them in mind, I organised myself a new training regime. Making a particular point of using Quick Mode less so that I could do more battles with Yeller.
Alright. Let's do it.
And so I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening training with Yeller, and by the end of the day, Yeller had reached Level 13.
Day 67:
With Yeller reaching Level 13 he learnt a new move, and his strength increased by a noticeable degree. I spent a short morning teaching Yeller the basic tricks with the new move, but I kept Blue's advice close to my heart.
Tricks were most useful if the foundation was strong.
So I spent the rest of my day fighting trainer battles and wild Pokemon as efficiently as possible while avoiding any encounters with Area Bosses. To my surprise, by the time the sun set that day, Yeller's level had increased once again.
Maybe I really have been focussing on the tricks too much...
It was the way I'd always fought, but Blue's advice was already giving me results. I suspected from the start that he was correct, but a small part of me had hoped I could prove that what I remembered of Red's advice was superior.
I still had faith in Red's advice of course, but I realised now that the advice was probably catered to who I was when I met him-A Soldier who had already been battling with his Raticate for quite some time. Perhaps Red would have given me the same advice as Blue if I had asked him for help right now.
That evening Chee and I went over my notes together-Both on the battle advice Blue gave me as well as notes I'd made about Misty's team and her Pokemon. By the time we went to bed that night, we'd already come up with a strategy for my challenge against Misty.
"Alright... Tomorrow." I announced to both Chee and Blue, who had wandered in halfway through our planning and watched us from the corner, only contributing to a few minor parts of the strategy. "Tomorrow, I will challenge Misty's Gym again, and this time I'll win."
Chee nodded excitedly. You can do it! Her eyes gleamed.
"About time." Blue scoffed. "Well, you seem to have taken my advice seriously, so maybe you can actually pull it off?" Despite his tone and demeanour being those of disinterest, his eyes were glowing a bright Sapphire as they sometimes did. As far as I was concerned, that was a sign that he was excited as well.
Day 68:
After my usual morning workout at the Pokemon Centre and a quick stop by the store, I stood face-to-face with Misty at the entrance to the Cerulean City Gym. Blue and Chee trailed not far behind me, and my partner Yeller sat on my shoulder with his arm resting on my neck to stay steady.
"Oh, Cyan! You're late for our training, I thought you weren't gonna show up!" Misty exclaimed. It was almost 9 in the morning now, so she must have been waiting for about an hour already.
"I'm going to challenge the Gym again." I answered with bravado, and I saw Misty's expression deflate like an exhausted jigglypuff.
"Oh... Are you swapping to another course? I suppose that makes sense, the Gyarados course is pretty-"
"I never said that." I cut her off. "Misty, I will defeat you today."
Misty paused, blinking a few times before a wide smile covered her face and filled her with Glee, before rapidly shifting to determination. "Alright! Let's see if you've grown enough to beat me!"
As the sliding door closed behind us, I walked forward with determination. At the very least, I was sure I was much stronger than last time.
After all... Yeller levelled up twice, we've spent more time practicing fighting without Quick Mode, and most importantly...
Yeller finally learned Pursuit!
Author Notes:
New chapter is finally here! Hope the length of this one helps to make up for the long wait/short length of the previous chapter. (This Chapter was 5.5k Words, the last chapter was about 2.5k, I normally average 3.5-4k.)
I thought about uploading a smaller piece of this chapter last week but I decided I definitely wanted to wait to post this chapter until Cyan was about to challenge Misty.
Truth be told, I did about half of this chapter in the last two or three days, somehow. I really miss being able to drink Coffee all the time, hopefully I'll be able to again soon and I'll start writing more as a result. I was struggling with the ending to this chapter and had a coffee anyway, so I managed to finish it off last night.
Next Time: Cyan's Rematch with Misty!
I hope you enjoy the chapter! See you all next week or so!