After finding a bench to sit down on, Hitori let Whismur out on the best next to her to heal her. Whismur hadn't needed any more than a single spray of potion to help her bruises heal. Whismur let out a pleased cry that nonetheless was at the volume of a whisper once the brief stinging of the medicine was over. "There there, you did well Whismur," Hitori quietly told her partner while patting the Pokemon's head.
After a minute or so of making sure the potion did its work, Hitori had taken her phone out and began to bring up the attack-dex. She scrolled through the attacks that a Whismur could learn. Between Stomp, Howl, Screech, Supersonic, and Uproar, Hitori decided against Uproar right off the back. She was already too worried about getting in trouble for Whismur's noise. Then she discounted Stomp because according to the site it was recommended once they started unfurling their ears which her Whismur hadn't.
Leaving her with Howl, Screech, and Supersonic, Hitori flipped between the pages for the moves. She had read through them more than a few times already when she first found the site. Screech was probably out as according to the site most Whismur learned Screech after getting used to raising their volume through Howl, which left just Howl or Supersonic.
Howl was simple to learn and would get Whismur more accustomed to intentionally raising her voice, as her Echoed Voice was closer to just crying out loud. Supersonic meanwhile is harder to learn as it requires more fine control over her volume, but that control would start allowing Whismur to direct sound in a way that didn't cause everyone's ears to risk damage.
Not that it made sense to Hitori's understanding of how sound worked. But it was true, she's seen it on the live broadcast of some of the Gym battles, Pokemon would use Screech, and other than visible waves of sound it wasn't picked up by the microphones at all. Unless they were somehow editing the volume out and she was just mistaken.
"Ah, Whismur Howl or Supersonic? Is there one you'd prefer?" Hitori eventually asked her partner who at that point was fully recovered and just clinging to Hitori's side. Forgetting her question for a moment Hitori just smiled happily at her partner and pet her head some more, Whismur usually huddled together whenever outside their cave. Something that Hitori empathized with. "Whismur," Hitori said this time getting the Pokemon's attention.
Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the headphones plugged them into her phone, and placed one of the speakers by Whismur's ears. "I'll show you both, okay?" Hitori said. Whismur gave her a nod and Hitori pushed the button to start playing through videos of other Whismur using Howl. Her Whismur stared at the phone and listened to the Pokemon using the attack. Then she did the same for Supersonic.
At this point, Hitori figured she'd be teaching both moves to Whismur in preparation for the Gym Challenge. It was just a matter of which one to teach first. While Whismur listened Hitori could see it already, covering the battlefield in smoke while also ringing out supersonics that further disorientate her opponents. No one would even be able to hit Whismur while she was free to fire off Hyper Beams. Okay maybe not that, but it would make her free to use whatever attack. Add in Icy Wind's chilling effect and Hitori was already imagining her Whismur taking down all sorts of opponents.
Before Hitori could let herself fall further into that daydream Whismur let out a whispered cry as she gently poked at the phone. "Huh? Oh did you pick?" Hitori asked, snapping back to attention and looking at her phone. The current video was of another trainer Whismur using Supersonic. Whismur nodded and gave another whispered cry.
"Okay, let's try by trying to go as high-pitched as you can," Hitori suggested. Whismur nodded and Hitori realized a second too late that she should have put the earphones on before Whismur began to cry out loudly. Hitori flinched as her ears were assaulted and fumbled to get the headphones on. Once they were on, she was able to listen to what noise got through. "Aha, maybe I should just start keeping the headphones around my neck all the time. It does look cool after all," Hitori commented more to herself than to Whismur or anyone else.
It was good that the park was largely empty as the cry continued for a few more seconds. As Whismur closed her mouth she turned and looked at Hitori expectantly. "Ah, that, wasn't it. I'm sure your pitch needs to go higher, like this," Hitori said as she quickly took her phone and swapped to a video of someone going from too low to high. Showed the video to Whismur to explain it rather than even attempting to embarrass herself by trying to do it herself.
Whismur stared at the phone for a short while before starting to let out a low hum which slowly rose both in volume and pitch until it was a sharper scream. Ending it shortly after and once again turning to look at Hitori for her feedback. "I don't think you have to start so low, try just doing the high part. Alright?" Hitori asked.
Another nod and soon Hitori and Whismur fell into a pattern of working on training Whismur's voice. It was easy enough to get the Pokemon to shriek in a high-pitched tone, but that was just the first aspect of the move that needed to be learned. Which by itself still took the better part of an hour to do. By the end of which Hitori did feel a slight headache from the constant high-pitch screaming, she was next to, it even dampened through her headphones.
"Alright Whismur, I think that's enough for now. Ah, this probably counts on working on Howl as well," Hitori said initially to signal a break for her and Whismur. But as the idea struck her she turned to Whismur. "Okay first let's try one other thing, Not as high pitched but louder, and try and use that feeling of when you're using pound," Hitori explained.
She wasn't an expert by any means on how Pokemon moves worked but most of them seemed to utilize some kind of energy. It was what made the difference between Whismur ramming into a wall and using pound on it. Probably whatever gave Whismur's body that glow when using it. So maybe teaching Whismur to use other moves would mean getting her to use that same energy, whatever it is.
Whismur inhaled for a second, closing her mouth, and looking like she was focusing. Taking an additional second before yelling out the loudest she had yet. Hitori was surprised when it wasn't the usual loud crying but something closer to a proper yell. She was both surprised and a bit intimidated by the cry, jumping up off the bench when she was hit with the sound. It only lasted a second before Whismur stopped, once again turning to look at Hitori with a smile on her face.
"A-ah, good job Whismur! You did it! I'm not sure if it's Howl, but you did well!" Hitori immediately praised her partner. Crouching down to pet Whismur's head. "We'll compare to the video alright? But first want to get something to eat?" Hitori offered. They had been at it for a while by now. At least both she and Whismur were already used to spending hours practicing so she probably wouldn't have to worry about Whismur's motivation throughout her training. Apparently, it was a problem for newly caught Pokemon to find training that wasn't battling boring rather quickly.
As for getting food, she barely had to leave the park to come across a convenience store, Whismur following along, hiding behind Hitori's legs. Something Hitori felt just a bit jealous of, she'd love to have someone she could hide behind while they did the shopping. Already she could imagine it, her Whismur having evolved into an Exploud being the one to approach the cashier. For now, however, Hitori walked hesitantly into the store and pointedly not looking at the cashier as she entered.
Hitori could feel the eyes of the cashier on her, or maybe more accurately at her legs where Whismur was. That was right, just because the park was empty didn't mean Whismur's voice couldn't carry outside of it. Was she being a bother? She must have been a bother, she's sorry for being less than a Wimpod. With such thoughts, Hitori quickly shuffled into the aisle and out of sight. Only then could she start looking through the selection of largely snack foods.
As much as Whismur liked to eat, the social setting was enough to have the Pokemon more interested in clinging to Hitori's leg than looking at the options. Battles were one of the only things that Whismur was able to get past her skittish nature. "Whismur, i-is there anything y-you want?" Hitori whispered as quietly as she could to hopefully both give something for Whismur to focus on other than the cashier and to hopefully start to make it up to the cashier for being such a nuisance.
Whismur first looked up at Hitori before moving over to look at the different snacks that were lined up on the shelves. After a short deliberation, Whismur pulled off a bag of watmel berry candy off the hook and held it up with a whispered cry. Hitori accepted the bag grabbed a few other berry-flavored snacks and slowly made her way to the cashier. She did her best to try and not do anything weird as the cashier scanned the items.
In the end, it was no trouble for Hitori and Whismur to pay and leave with her goods, neither of them getting too startled and making a scene. From there they made their way back to the same bench they were training at. Once seated, Hitori opened the plastic bag and pulled out the bag of candy Whismur had picked out. Ripping it open she held out the berry for Whismur who quickly snatched it out of Hitori's hand and shoved it into her mouth.
Hitori watched Whismur chew happily for only a second before she swallowed and looked on expectantly for more. Her partner had worked hard so Hitori was happy to keep feeding the candy one piece at a time, knowing that if she left Whismur with the bag she'd eat them all at once without taking any time to savor it. As she watched she took a piece for herself and popped it into her mouth. It was very sweet and tasted close to the melon soda she had back at the café.
The two continued their break eating not just the candy but the other snacks Hitori had bought. It wasn't the healthiest lunch to have but it was okay once in a while, right? As they ate the nearby trees and bushes began to rustle. Normally Whismur's sensitivity to sound and Hitori's own skittish nature would bring their focus over to it, but the snacks were enough to distract them.
From the bushes a Pokemon emerged, small with a bushy tail that was curled in on itself. A Skwovet, he slowly approaches the bench that Hitori and Whismur were sitting on, eyes laser-focused on the small pile of berry snacks that were between them. Once he was able to cross roughly half the distance between his cover and the bench he looked back and let out some quiet chittering, a signal to those behind him.
More Skwovet emerged from the bushes and trees and into the open. They exchanged glances at each other before inching closer and closer towards the bench. Cautiously, one of them saw and took their chance lunging forward and onto the bench to grab as much as he could. Immediately Hitori and Whismur let out surprised yelps and moved back away from the sudden Pokemon.
In the next moment they processed what was going on but already one after another more Skwovet lunged forward to grab what they could. Hitori huddled up unwilling to confront the Pokemon, while Whismur, facing the loss of her snacks relied on her instincts and began to cry. Loudly unleashing an echoed voice out in every direction.
Most of the Skwovet flinched back and tried to cover their ears with their paws. Hitori attempted much the same with her hands, only a second or two later reaching for the headphones. Though the first of the Skwovet was resilient enough to grit his teeth and after a moment leapt and slammed his body down onto Whismur.
The sudden attack quieted the whisper Pokemon for a second as she was knocked back a bruise already forming on her body where she was hit. Hitori blinked as she saw her partner get knocked back and for a moment all of the anxious thoughts that were swirling around in her head came to a stop. "Whismur! I-icy wind," Hitori spoke out in a shaky voice.
Hearing her trainer call out her name, Whismur adjusted herself to land on her feet even as she was now off the bench and amongst the gathered crowd of Skwovet. Opening her mouth wide she bellowed out the teal-hued wind around with enough force that the grass began to frost over at once. While it was enough to catch and push back a number of the other normal types.
A few of the Skwovet, however, were undaunted as they pushed back against the wind towards Whismur now thoroughly angered. With a noticeable exception of the first who ignored Whismur and was shoving whatever he could grab with his tail, eyes locked not onto Whismur but on Hitori as if daring her to try and stop him.
"W-wh-wh, p-p," Hitori tried to stutter out a command to Whismur. Even the one Skwovet staring at her so intensely was enough to break what bit of confidence she had built up. So, she just watched as her food was scooped up by the Skwovet. 'It's fine just let the Pokemon take it. Whismur is too busy trying to keep the others away' Hitori thought as she looked over at where her partner was still bellowing out the icy wind, constantly turning to push back a different Skwovet and thus was unable to help her.
"Thunder-shock! Quick Attack!" A voice called out. Two seconds later a bolt of lightning flew forward and nearly hitting the Skwovet that had been staring Hitori down. The attack may have missed but it was enough to spook the Pokemon into dropping its pilfered snacks and turning to face the source of the attack.
Meanwhile, an Eevee rushed forward slamming their body into a Skwovet that had leapt to attack at Whismur's back.
"Hitori are you okay?" Kita called back. By her side, a Pikachu was lowering the voltage and ending the attack she had unleashed.
"K-ki-kit," Hitori tried to call back both in confusion at her appearance and in relief at someone coming to help deal with, well everything that was going on so suddenly. Before they could talk more, the Skwovet had already begun to regroup and now looked at the two new Pokemon angrily.
"We'll talk after let me help you out," Kita explained. "Another thunder-shock! Eevee, Helping Hand," She followed with a set of orders to her two Pokemon. Eevee sprinted back away from the group towards Pikachu and with a cry began to cheer on the Pikachu as the electric mouse began to gather electricity up for her attack.
"A-ah, W-whismur P-pound," Hitori got out as she tried to follow Kita's lead. Despite not actually specifying which of the Skwovet she wanted Whismur to target, Whismur stopped her icy wind long enough to jump up and tackle the Skwovet that had been staring Hitori down. Whismur hit her mark though rather than knocking the Skwovet away like Hitori hoped, the other normal type managed to hold his ground, only being pushed back a couple of inches.
The Skwovet had a glint in his eye as he retaliated by biting down on Whismur. It was harsh enough to make Whismur let out a pained cry and step back, though at the same time, the dark-type attack caused Whismur to become agitated. "I-icy w-wind, b-be ready to m-move to dodge," Hitori ordered as she did her best to push as much of the snacks into a bag and back up.
Yes, she understood it wasn't worth it to battle so many wild Pokemon for what was left of their lunch. But even she could get angry at them for attacking her partner. Near her, the thunder-shock from Pikachu fired off with more force than the last one. This time it hit its mark the poor Skwovet was hit by the attack letting out a cry before falling over with a dazed look in their eye and faint burn marks on their body.
That attack was enough to get some of the Skwovet to turn tail and run unwilling to continue their attack anymore. While the ones that didn't were turning their attention fully onto Kita and her two Pokemon. With little prodding, they began to rush forward looking to attack as a swarm. Kita however kept her cool more or less and gave her orders "Thunder wave! Sand attack!".
Pikachu responded first gathering electricity in her tail for a second or two before swinging her tail in a wide arc toward the group of Skwovet. Lightning flung forward in a growing arc. As it passed the group of Skwovet the electricity was enough to startle and stun them even if it didn't have nearly the stopping power that an attack like Thunder-shock would have had.
Meanwhile, Eevee had turned around and began to rapidly kick with his legs digging up and spraying dirt and sand out into the group further disorientating them and blinding a few of them for the moment. "Alright, Now another thunder-shock! Eevee, Quick attack any that get too close!" Kita ordered with some more cheer now that she was seeing it work.
Whismur had been blowing out her icy wind at the Skwovet and dodging from side to side as the stand-out Skwovet continued to try and bite at her all while taking the brunt of the ice-type attack. However, as another bolt of electricity hit another and another of his pack, he turned away from Whismur and leaped up in the air suddenly.
"K-kita, Sk- watch, watch out!" Hitori tried to call out in time. Eevee was the first to respond, blurring forward with a quick attack, ramming into the Skwovet. However, the force behind Skwovet's attack was stronger and pushed Eevee back instead. Pikachu who had been more focused on directing her electricity only could gasp as the normal type landed on her with enough force to slam her into the ground with a pained cry. "Pikachu are you okay!?" Kita worriedly cried out.
At the same time, the remaining Skwovet had taken the opportunity to once again change targets. With their leader battling the two, they could turn towards Hitori and Whismur with their bag of food. "I-icy wind," Hitori immediately stuttered out upon feeling their gazes on her.
Whismur inhaled for a moment to get enough of a breath before letting out an icy wind over the remaining Skwovet. Now that they were grouped so that she only needed to worry about one direction and with the height from the bench, her attack was free to sweep over the other normal types. With a good few already knocked out from Pikachu's attacks and the horde of Skwovet already weakened from the earlier use of icy wind, a few began to fall in a daze from the attack. With a few more finally breaking away to run.
"Q-Quick attack please!" Kita hurriedly asked her Eevee. Who with a cry blurred forward and rammed into the leading Skwovet. Who this time jumped back off of Pikachu to avoid the attack and watched as Eevee accidentally collided with the knocked-down Pikachu.
The Skwovet looked over at his group, by now the rest had run or were on the ground knocked out. Skwovet began to loudly and angrily cry out at the Pokemon who so rudely attacked his pack fully unbothered by the fact that he was the one to start this whole mess. As he complained, he was soon enveloped by a bright white light. His body shifted slightly as he grew to twice his previous size. As the light dissipated, he was a Skwovet no longer but a newly evolved Greedent.