Chapter 18: Preparing for a Cool battle
"Hey guys, I'm back. Just had to go see the kid again. Boy, you wouldn't believe how strong his pokemon is! It's like his parents got him a level 20 starter or something! But I think they hoped he wouldn't notice he's got an unfair advantage, since it was a common species. I tried telling him the truth so he doesn't go out and accidentally wreck some poor kid's Rattata, but hey, you try getting a human to understand poke-speak. Am I right guys?"
The Cooler Crew immediately jump on Jessie, clamoring for him to do something about the new threat.
"Woah! Hey now, one at a time, please!" They are neither calm nor are they speaking one at a time, but Jessie manages to get the gist.
"...So, that Tentacool swarm is gonna be sending over some fighters? Okay, no problem!"
"Well, one problem. As you can probably tell, I got one of my tentacles ripped off... No worries! They grow back! It doesn't even hurt!"
*10 minutes ago*
"AAAAAAAA!"
-"AAAAAAAAAA!"
-"SEEEEENTRET!"
"...I won the fight by the way. But this injury means I won't be able to compete against those guys when they do come. So instead,
I'm gonna train, let's see... Aurum!"
-"Karp?!"
"Diver and Fallen!"
-"G-gol?!"
-"Goldeen!" *smacks their battle partner eagerly*
-"Gol..."
"Emperor is probably out doing his own thing, gathering supplies for our fight against The Warband, so my fourth pick is..."
*splash*
-"Remoraid."
"Oh hey, Loafy. When did you get back?"
'So things weren't going so well. The gang is eager enough, if a little nervous about fighting without me, but they've got heart! Plus, they're not all as weak as they seem to think they are.'
'I've got Aurum working on using throwing techniques, something of a specialty of mine~ Corsola has generously supplied us with a few of her branches to use in battle. They're a bit brittle, but sharp! With a bit of training, we can turn this flailing small-fry into a flinging fiend!'
'The twins are working on their moves. A combo attack from those two is gonna hurt, especially if they can get the timing down pat.'
'Diver is pretty physically strong and is practically able to turn on a dime. Great power, great mobility, but not so great endurance. So I've taught them how to dodge at the last second to avoid wasting energy... thank fuck for healing berries. Their partner, Fallen, has amazing speed and good defenses. Even if they do get hit, they can come back swinging! Not that great on the attack department though. I'm teaching them how to use that horn to attack swiftly and use water techniques to support their teammate.'
'Lastly-'
"Please stop eating our supplies. Didn't you say you were on a diet?"
-"Raid raid..."
"Oh, so the rangers who treated you put you on a diet, I get it now."
-"Rem." *smacks another berry out of their maw*
-"Rem-raid!"
"IF THEY PUT YOU ON A DIET THEY HAD A GOOD REASON! No overeating!"
'It's hard to wrangle him and his voracious appetite, but I'm putting my one good tentacle to good use. He's high level though, that much can't be contested. I'm pretty sure if I weren't literally poisonous, he might still try to eat the food I'm keeping away from him. And maybe me to if he thought he could get away with it without a tummy ache.'
'But I gotta say, he's probably our dark horse in this fight. I saw the guy wrestle four other fish in training. Barely took any hits and gave way worse than he got. I wonder if this guy might be a former trainer's pokemon from how good at battling he is. If only I could get him to focus.'
'All in all, I like our chances! Still, wouldn't hurt to get a heads up on what our enemies can do.'
"Guys! I know you three can't choose sides, you're on the sidelines in this fight and going to join with whoever wins. I get it. But can you tell us anything at all to help our chances?"
The pack of jellies temporarily joining us all look between one another before someone steps up.
The Tentacool swarm is likely gonna send out four members of their own, all the same species obviously. They fight in a similar way, but one of them focuses more on status ailments. Another on grappling and slowing enemies down. One for ranged attacks and one for close range. Together they make up one of the more successful hunting parties in the swarm.
"Okay, sounds like a pretty balanced party. Looks like this battle is gonna come down to a mix of strategy and cooperation. Alright, let's get working on those combat drills! They won't know what hit em!"