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Pokemon: The RPG Chapter 3 - A Trainer's Beginning
🕑 Added 2025-01-27 18:26:56 +0000 UTCAuthor's Note: Changed Rockruff's name from Cavall to Koromaru in order to avoid confusion with Director Clavell later on down the line. Already edited this in Chapter 2.
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"Let's start this off with a Mach Punch, Pawmi!" Nemona cried, and I barely had the time to curse mentally before the orange rodent picked up speed and took a leap straight at Koromaru with a fist gleaming with bright blue energy.
"Paw-MI!"
Neither of us properly reacted in time to our first true threat in battle, and my partner took a direct hit to the dome, making me flinch as he let out a pained cry, his head snapping back from the force. At a moment's observation, it was clear to see the difference between this and the weak-ass Tackles he'd taken fighting against the wild Pokémon earlier. Those were more like accidentally bumping into someone on a busy street, while it was clear that this punch had hurt.
It was the first time I'd witnessed a Super Effective move in action, and it was just as devastating as expected. The only silver lining was that Nemona's Pawmi must've genuinely been something she only recently caught, because Koromaru didn't get completely obliterated by that singular attack.
Of course, that didn't mean I wasn't once again cursing my miserable luck that I had to go up against such an opponent, mere hours into my Trainer career. To add insult to injury, this was technically easier than the game's version of the same event, where Nemona could've used either Quaxly or Sprigatito, both of whom had STAB Super Effective moves that would've been boosted even further by Torrent or Overgrow when their HP got low.
'Arceus damn it! Of course that little furball has that specific Egg Move!'
While the Pawmi line wasn't one I'd done a lot of breeding with back in my playthrough, I did remember that they got Wish, Sweet Kiss, and of course, Mach Punch as Egg Moves. I think there was one more as well, but I for the life of me I couldn't recall what it was.
The mysterious fourth one aside, pretty much all of Pawmi's possible Egg Moves were annoying, especially in a more realistic setting. I wasn't exactly sure how the mechanics behind Wish translated to reality, but at the end of the day it was still a fairly powerful healing move, especially if it still worked as well in team manipulation tactics as it did in the games. Then there was Sweet Kiss, a pain-in-the-ass move that caused confusion, only limited by its lower accuracy rate compared to moves from the same category like Flatter. Only, that accuracy problem wasn't as much of a roadblock IRL when all the Pokémon needed to do in order to make the move hit was initiate physical contact with their opponent.
Last, but not least, there was Mach Punch. Much more straightforward than the other two, and already proving itself to be a pain in the ass.
And of course, that was the one I now had to find a way to survive against. My initial plan had been to maintain the same battle style we had been practicing so far, using Sand Attack to blind opponents before striking at them with Tackles. While Sand Attack didn't cause a permanent accuracy drop like in the games since the move had a physical effect instead of a more mystical one, it was still good enough to work with my scheme.
Although that didn't mean much when Pawmi was able to cut off Rockruff from even using Sand Attack in the first place with a priority move. I needed to get the momentum back somehow, or it would be curtains for us- so I made my first call of the battle, right as Nemona made another move.
"Pawmi, use Mach Punch again!" she called, a wild grin on her face that was completely unlike the pained grimace on my own.
"Koro, dodge!"
The Rockruff, bless his little heart, didn't hesitate at all to follow the command even though he was clearly still feeling that earlier Mach Punch and immediately flattened himself against the ground, causing the Pawmi to be carried right over him by his own momentum and crash into the earth in front of me.
For a split second, the little rodent was stuck, its fist buried in the dirt. And of course, I took full advantage of that.
"Tackle from behind!"
"Ruff!"
Spinning around on one paw, my canine companion charged right at the struggling Pawmi and rammed it in the ass, making it squeak as it tumbled forward on its face from the strength of the blow.
Was this the turn-around we needed?
I opened my mouth to have Rockruff land another tackle while Pawmi was in that state, but Nemona wasn't exactly willing to let me press the advantage any further than that.
"Great move, but we're not done just yet! Pawmi, Quick Attack!"
"Paw!"
The orange Pokémon immediately responded to its Trainer's call, having barely righted itself. It then proceeded to speed towards Koromaru, its body glistening with white light.
"Dodge, buddy!" I called, and while he tried his best to follow the order this time around as well, Quick Attack was simply too fast and managed to clothesline him, though the Normal-Type move didn't do nearly as much as the Fighting-Type one from earlier and merely left a slight scuff mark on his shoulder.
Which begged the question; why had Nemona gone for Quick Attack here? Mach Punch was clearly the better option, being Super Effective and all. It's what I'd have done, for sure. Which meant there was something I wasn't seeing, because there was no way I was somehow a better Pokémon Trainer than Nemona just because I beat her in the games.
But what was it…?
The answer was on the tip of my tongue, and I was sure it was the key to winning this, but I simply didn't have the time to think properly because this game wasn't turn-based and I didn't have an infinite amount of time to plan my moves.
'Damn, so this is where the Intelligence Stat really comes into play.' I realized. Having more Intelligence meant I'd be able to think faster during battles and plan better strategies. I hadn't realized the importance of this back when I was deciding my Stats, which was why I'd ended up making it one of my dump Stats alongside Dexterity.
My bad, I guess.
Well, since that problem really couldn't be fixed until I found a way to improve my Stats, right now I could only try and buy some more time to think.
Which was why…
"Koromaru, use Sand Attack!" I called, and he slammed his paws on the ground, sending a spray of sand towards Pawmi.
"Nice try! Pawmi, dodge and use Thunder Shock!" Nemona happily called in response almost immediately, and the bootleg Pikachu strafed to the side before furiously rubbing its cheeks and letting out a tiny tendril of electricity that struck Rockruff head-on.
To his credit, Koromaru took the hit like a champ once more, though I could tell he was starting to flag, his coat covered in scratches and his tongue lolling as he panted. The Rockruff line wasn't really that good defensively, both because of their Stats and their Type- it was one of the reasons why the Midnight Form was considered the worst Form of Lycanroc. This little guy was clearly a trooper at heart, but that could only carry him so far thanks to his own natural characteristics.
For the little puppy's sake, I needed to find a way to wrap this up.
"Leer!" I commanded, and the canine proceeded to do exactly that with dimly glowing eyes, causing a faint aura to appear around Pawmi as its Defense dropped.
Of course, in what was becoming an annoyingly common occurrence, Nemona made another terrifying call before I could follow up.
"Ok Pawmi, let's finish this with Mach Punch!"
"Paw-mi!"
There was truth in her words. If Koromaru took that Mach Punch, it was game over. I may not be able to see health bars or anything, but it was a gut feeling. I doubted he could dodge either, considering the failure to avoid the Quick Attack from earlier, and I didn't think countering with Tackle was going to work due to the Rockruff's poor defensive profile.
However, as Pawmi triumphantly moved towards its injured opponent, one of its front paws beginning to glow with light blue energy, I had an epiphany.
'That's it!' I thought, my frankly constipated expression flipping right around as I saw the winning strategy.
"Sand Attack upwards, trust me!" I cried, and Koromaru let out a determined bark, his fighting spirit still going strong despite my poor performance as his Trainer. Again he slammed his paw into the ground with what was becoming practiced ease, but what came up and struck the Pawmi just as it was about to launch its attack wasn't sand- it was mud.
Both Nemona and I widened our eyes in shock as Pawmi took a Mud-Slap right to the face, causing it to cry out in pain and lose the energy it had been channeling into Mach Punch.
No active thought crossed my mind, but on sheer instinct, I opened my mouth and made a call.
"Koro, Tackle!"
"Ruff!" he barked, his eyes sharpening, and he dashed forward toward the stumbling Pawmi before ramming his head into its flank and sending it reeling.
This time, I didn't give Nemona the opportunity to break the combo, taking a gamble with the sudden stroke of luck we'd gotten.
"Sand Attack, do it again!"
Nemona's poor Pokémon didn't even get the chance to get back on its feet before it ate mud once more as a result of Sand Attack's transformation repeating itself, and actually flipped over from the force with a pitiful squeaking sound before falling to the ground in defeat.
"Mi…"
And that was it, the conclusion to our first battle. Perhaps, from an outside perspective, it didn't seem like much. Neither Pokémon was throwing around massive elemental attacks and crazy physical moves with intricate strategies behind them, which was only natural since they were both low-level 'Mons with barely a fraction of their Movesets unlocked.
However, if one was to take a look at me in that moment, it wouldn't have seemed that way at all. Beads of sweat ran down my temple, and my heart was pounding so hard it was ringing in my ears like a drum. Lightning coursed through my nerves, carrying with it the sense of euphoria at my first true victory as a Trainer. It had been really close, and had even taken a bit of luck at the end there, but it was unquestionably our win.
This was because while Koromaru learning Mud-Slap had cemented Pawmi's fate, my original strategy hadn't depended on something so convenient at all and still could've brought the match home.
You see, I happened to notice that Pawmi was a quadruped as it charged towards my partner with its third Mach Punch of the fight.
Why was that important?
Well, because you couldn't exactly expect a four-legged animal to be able to properly punch something, now could you?
Pawmi had to do a little jump in order to launch its Mach Punches because of its body structure, something I'd gotten an inkling of when Koromaru had instinctively ducked the second one after I asked it to dodge but hadn't actually consciously realized until I saw it charging up the third punch. It was also because of this that Nemona had made the call for Quick Attack instead of the more obvious choice back then, because at that moment Pawmi hadn't been in a good enough position to properly land Mach Punch. So, instead she had it use a move that did a tiny bit of damage in the process of its true purpose- repositioning Pawmi so it could properly launch another Mach Punch and finish the battle.
I'd made the call to shoot Sand Attack up high to exploit this weakness, hoping to disrupt its concentration and give Koro the opportunity to finish it off with another Tackle or two.
However, my guy had gone above and beyond, somehow learning Mud-Slap on the fly and nailing the Pawmi with Super-Effective retribution of his own.
Although, on second thought, perhaps it wasn't so random after all.
The area where Koromaru had struck the ground to use Sand Attack was where Nemona's Tauros had been dripping water onto the ground before she had recalled it into its Pokéball earlier. Perhaps it had turned the dirt at that area into mud, which caused Sand Attack to completely change into Mud-Slap, which honestly was a pretty similar move all things considered.
'Wow.'
Even if I'd known this intellectually beforehand, it was still surprising to see just how many factors actually went into Pokémon battling in 'real life'. Outside of Typing and Stats like in the games, there were things like environmental effects and body structures that also heavily influenced the outcomes of a fight. And I was sure there were even more factors that I wasn't aware of simply because I was still at the level of a Youngster as far as my Trainer career went.
The realization was… humbling.
"Rooo!"
I was broken from my momentary reverie when Koromaru howled his victory to the world, standing proudly despite his injuries. While my own contemplation had kind of stomped down any sense of accomplishment I felt, the same did not go for my more simple-minded companion, who was super excited to have won his first truly challenging battle.
It was enough to bring a smile back to my face as I returned him to his Pokéball to get some much-deserved rest.
bzzt
"Hm?"
Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my pocket, and I realized that it must have been the rewards from my battle just now. I was kind of eager to see what they were, considering that this had been a much harder fight than any of the battles from earlier, meaning the returns from it were also much better.
However, just as I was about to reach into my pocket, my hand was snatched out of the air by someone else's and pulled into a rather forceful handshake. Predictably, I nearly screamed out loud when I realized that Nemona had somehow recalled Pawmi and then crossed the distance between us within the span of a couple seconds.
"Wow! Not bad at all, Florian!" she exclaimed, and I flinched back at the sheer excitement in her eyes. "Say, do you want to go again? I have a new strategy that I want to try out! C'mon, just one more time!"
'…Was winning this battle actually a good thing?'
Mentally shaking away the idle thought, I instead focused on how to diplomatically turn her down. I was ok with it on a personal level, because I'd learned a lot from our short fight and I was sure to learn more from the true blue Pokémon Master in front of me, but Koro couldn't go on without a break. He'd been pushed significantly harder than he had for all the battles fought under me, nearly facing defeat, and needed a break. He was a living creature, not a combination of art and data that I could just keep throwing out there to fight by running up and down in the tall grass.
I knew that I would have to be a little tougher on him, thanks to the restrictions of Legendary Mode forcing me to have to battle significantly more than the average Trainer in order to compete, but that could come after giving him time to build up stamina.
Besides, I was kind of terrified that her 'new strategy' might involve Terastallization, which would ruin us even if she only had a Tera Electric Pawmi like in the games.
"I'm sorry." I began, my mind racing to put together the proper words. "But Koromaru's too tired to continue. I only caught him a couple hours ago, and we spent a lot of that time training against the wild Pokémon around here. Uh, but I don't mind battling some other time if you're down for it!"
Nemona looked a little disappointed at my refusal, but her eyes brightened again when she heard the rest of my statement.
"Really?! Then you've got even more potential than I thought!" she said happily, and I couldn't help but feel a bit of relief- not at the fact that she bought it, but rather at her approval.
Despite having Gamer powers literally forced on me by God, deep down I was kind of unsure whether I was really cut out for the task of becoming a powerful Trainer. I was pretty good on the competitive side of things back on Earth, which I'd really gotten into in the short time I experienced the franchise for myself, but that was completely different from being what was essentially a real life Tamer Class character.
Even this battle didn't give me too much confidence because of how we'd ended up winning, so it was gratifying to know that I did have the chops to complete the mission I was given, even if I had to work my ass off for it.
"Say, why don't you join Uva Academy?" Nemona asked. "I think it would be easy for you to pass the Recommendation Exam if you keep up the good work!"
'You're just looking for an easy to access battle partner, aren't you?' I thought exasperatedly, even if this worked to my benefit.
"Recommendation Exam?" I still asked, hoping to better understand how the Academy worked in the real world. I knew Uva/Naranja Academy had really lax standards compared to universities from my world, considering they took in applicants from a variety of different backgrounds and even ages (I swear there were some guys old enough to be my parents) without batting an eye, but there's no way the management would've been able to run the place without some kind of framework in place.
"Well, there's two main ways someone can be admitted." she said, holding up two fingers as if to illustrate. "One is the more common method, which is just submitting an application and paying the school fees. Pretty easy, especially because the Academy is willing to accept just about anyone, but the problem is that it's kind of a first-come first-serve type of thing. Even though people our age have some reserved slots, since the school year just started only a few weeks ago there aren't any left."
Hmm…
"The second method is a little harder. You need a Recommendation Letter from either a Champion-Rank Trainer, a Professor, or a League Sponsor and then have to pass a special entrance exam. It's not without its benefits though, because you can join this way at any time and for free!"
'Kind of giving me MHA vibes here.'
I guess that made sense, though, or maybe my capacity for accepting strange things had just drastically increased thanks to recent events. You've got to have some kind of talent to overcome those conditions, and talented students were free publicity for any Academy. From my point of view, the logic of wanting to keep them around by essentially giving them full scholarships made sense.
'Wait a second.'
"Um, I'm not sure I know anyone who fits the conditions to give me a Recommendation Letter." I admitted.
I wasn't sure what a 'League Sponsor' even was, none of the Champion-Rank Trainers were ever directly mentioned barring Geeta herself, and the Professor was likely six feet under at this point- while there was a possibility I could maybe get AI Turo to write me one, it was still kind of a stretch.
"Oh, don't worry about that!" Nemona said dismissively, waving me off with a strange smile on her face. "Just leave it to me!"
I blinked. Nemona was a Champion-Rank Trainer, yes, but could a Recommendation Letter for an academy come from a student of said academy to begin with? That didn't sound right…
Still, I decided to just take her word for it. For all I knew, Nemona had way more influence than I was giving her credit for. Not questioning it was for the best, because it gave me more time to focus on the stuff that really mattered.
"Ok then." I said. "So what do I need to do for this test?"
"Battle, of course!" she said, lighting up with greater excitement as if the mere word was enough to stoke her passion. "I mean, it depends on the type of recommendation you get, because Uva Academy raises a lot of different talents, but in this case it's definitely gotta be a battle against one of the teachers!"
Right. That meant I had a lot of prep to do, because while I doubted the teachers would send out the team they used in the Academy Ace Tournament in the post-game against me, I didn't think it would be as easy as fighting a Pawmi that couldn't properly use the most devastating move in its arsenal.
"Understood." I said, nodding my head as my eyes narrowed, considering the different steps I would need to take in order to pull this off. I needed to be a student of Uva Academy, if only for the resources it would offer me, and I wouldn't waste an opportunity that had literally fallen into my lap.
"Oh, but don't worry, I'll help you train!" said Nemona, pointing to herself triumphantly. "Just give me till tomorrow to make the arrangements and we'll battle till you're ready!"
'Your true intentions are leaking a bit there, Miss Nemona.' I sighed silently. 'But I'll bite. Please forgive me for taking advantage of your kindness.'
"Well, thank you." I said, bowing, stomping down the mixed emotions in my heart. "I look forward to learning from you."
I had no way of knowing whether I actually did something right, just had enough Charisma to pass some kind of hidden check, or if this was just Nemona's canon character traits expressed at their finest. Even so, while my heart recoiled at the thought of depending on someone like this without being able to give anything back in return (even if it was kind of hypocritical on my part), I was literally stranded in another world on my own. I needed all the support I could get.
"Oye, no need to thank me!" she laughed, waving it off. "You've got what it takes to become a great Trainer, and I want to see you reach your potential! Besides, I'm sure the Academy would have noticed you anyway after you had a badge or two under your belt, so I'm just speeding up the process!"
I had no way of confirming whether that was actually true, but the logic once again seemed to check out. Gym challenges were essentially different checkpoints that determined the power level of the region's Trainers, so it made sense that the League Administration would be watching. And it just so happened that the Top Champion was also connected to Uva Academy…
You know, for a world that seemed to throw common sense out the window, there were a couple things that seemed far too rational.
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A couple minutes later, I sighed and finally leaned against the trunk of the tree where I'd been resting with Koromaru earlier.
Nemona had just left, taking off on her Tauros once more after extracting a promise from me to meet up at the Lighthouse tomorrow afternoon. While I wasn't sure whether it was considered private property or not because it was technically the roof of Professor Turo's laboratory, I didn't really care enough to point it out.
Of course, she had thrust a small CD in my hands before she took off, saying 'I almost forgot! Here's a small prize for beating me, it'll be great for your Rockruff!'.
I let out a small chuckle at that. As much as Nemona's intensity wore me down, I couldn't help but think that she truly was a nice person. Obtuse and insensitive, sure, but kind in her own way. Or maybe it was only because she'd marked me as her potential rival like in the games. Could honestly be either.
Speaking of which…
Finally, I took out the Arc Phone, eager to see what rewards I had gotten out of this whole shebang. And, by Arceus' Beard, it didn't disappoint.
[10 BP]
[Congratulations! You have formed a Bond with Nemona Milizia! The Fated Rival Perk has been unlocked!]
[You have received a new Mission!]
That 10 BP was glorious, because it meant I had 23 points now, which was enough to buy the Scan Skill.
'Not to mention, the Bond and Mission tabs on the Menu should be unlocked now…'
First things first, I navigated over to the Skills and Perks tab.
[Owned Skills: None]
[Unlocked Skills: Scan (20 BP), Empathy (30 BP).]
[Perks: Fated Rival.]
Curiously, I tapped on 'Fated Rival', and blinked in surprise at what I saw.
[Fated Rival: Increases BP gain when fighting against the same Trainer multiple times. Degree of reward gain corresponds to the number of times fought, up to a certain limit.]
That was actually… kind of broken in its own way. I thought that since it was associated with Nemona, it would only work for her, but it apparently functioned for any Trainer I battled a certain number of times. It was a shame that it didn't work for EXP gain, but I suppose the main challenge of Legendary Mode wouldn't have really held up if I got a Skill that would invalidate it within a day of of being a Gamer.
But what made the difference between Perks and Skills in the eyes of the System? Perks didn't cost BP unlike Skills, but there had to be a catch somewhere, and I just couldn't figure out what that might have been.
Well, that wasn't really a pressing issue, so I just decided to drop it and purchase the Skill I'd had my eye on.
[Scan (20 BP): Allows one to analyze anything within their field of vision. Certain restrictions may apply depending on the target of the Skill. The maximum Rank of this Skill is proportional to the Intelligence Stat.]
So it really was another version of the legendary 'Observe' Skill. That cinched it then, because I needed that more than anything. I didn't even care what the Empathy Skill did, because there was no way whatever utility it had could surpass Scan even if it costed more.
Without a second thought, I bought the Skill, and it was with great satisfaction that I watched it move to the 'Owned Skills' section of the screen, with the suffix 'Rank 1' being added next to it.
Before I could go experimenting with it though, there were two more things I had to check out- that is to say, the new functions of the System I had unlocked.
First, I checked the Bonds tab.
The whole thing was nearly empty, but Nemona's name took up a single slot, with 'Lv. 1' right next to it.
I tapped on it, and it expanded. A small description was beneath it, but my attention was drawn to a cute little drawing of a chibi Nemona pumping her fist up in the air with a speech bubble that read 'Let's Battle!'.
Shaking my head, I turned to the summary.
[A strange Trainer you encountered by chance. Despite using a weak Pokémon in your battle, it is clear that she is much stronger than she appears to be. Nemona thinks that you may be the key to solving the problem that has been gnawing at her, and as such wants to help you become stronger.]
"…"
Did Arceus forget that I'd played the games or something? Why was it written like that? I knew who she really was and what her problem was, there was no need to be all mysterious about it.
Well, no skin off my back I guess.
I exited out and opened the Missions tab of the Menu, only to happen upon a sad little list with only a single entry at the top.
[Active Missions: That Student Life!]
Seeing that the name of the Mission was glowing, I tapped on it, causing it to expand.
[Mission: That Student Life!
Summary: Through luck and a new friendship, the opportunity to enter the prestigious Uva Academy is now at your fingertips! Prepare well, and prove that you have what it takes to make it in!
Objectives: Obtain a Trainer ID and pass the Recommendation Exam.
Bonus Objectives: ?
Rewards: Admission into Uva Academy, 5000 PD.
Bonus Rewards: ?]
Now this was more like it! A true blue Quest, even if it was a little bit on the humble side. It was a little weird that there was no option to refuse the Mission, but I wasn't the type to turn them down in the first place so I guess it was fine.
However, my smile faded as I realized that I had a serious problem. One objective of this Mission was to obtain a 'Trainer ID,' which was probably the Pokémon equivalent of the legal ID I had been wondering about earlier.
I had no idea how to get one without exposing my situation and getting thrown in a mental hospital, if not worse. Sure, there must have been some kind of illegal way to get one, but I was just an ordinary high-schooler with a love for videogames, not a criminal or a spy who knew how to effortlessly change his ID and slip into another country.
'How do I do this? I don't think Nemona can really help me here, not without drawing the direct attention of someone like Geeta.'
Now, the few people I knew to be part of the League were trustworthy and nice, but I felt like it was a completely different ball game to tell them I was an alien given a quest from their god to become the strongest and have them believe that.
For a few moments, I thought hard about it, before I had an idea.
'Penny!'
If I could get in touch with Penny and help her with some Team Star stuff, she could probably create a fake ID for me and put it in the system. She was, after all, the only person in Paldea capable of effortlessly hacking into the League's systems and canonically wasn't the least bit afraid to do so for her own goals. There was the question of how I could properly pose that request to her, but I feel like just saying I was an illegal immigrant would fly for the most part, because there wouldn't be any evidence to the contrary.
Yeah, that sounded like a plan. I wasn't sure how to meet up with her, especially since my encounter with Nemona hadn't exactly been the same situation as the game's version, and I had no idea what the timeline currently was except that it was before the canon events of the game considering Nemona didn't have a rival.
'I either have to stake out Mesagoza to try and find Team Star harassing her, which seems like a stretch, or…'
I needed to take down a Team Star Base in order to get her attention. She'd likely started keeping an eye on her friends after her return to Paldea, so taking down one of their Squads would definitely be a huge signal flare.
Judging by the order you're meant to fight them in the games, that meant I needed to set my sights on either Giacomo or Mela. Giacomo was the weakest canonically, but while Mela was slightly stronger I had the type compatibility on my side once Koromaru learned a STAB move or two. Of course, that would still take some time; they both had Pokémon in the 20s, and Koro was only 6. Not only would it take a lot of work, but I also had no idea when the Level Cap that was mentioned in the Legendary Mode description would start to kick in… or what I had to do in order to get it lifted. I couldn't find any information on the Arc Phone about it, so I was essentially flying completely blind in that regard.
One thing I knew for certain though; I needed to train hard. And that didn't just mean fighting against wild Pokémon repeatedly. Koromaru needed some conditioning, in a sense, and I needed to figure out some strategies that he could use with the moves he had.
Fortunately, Koromaru's arsenal was on the verge of expanding.
[1. Koromaru
Species: Rockruff
Gender: Male
Level: 6 (480/2540)
Friendship Level: Rank 2
Ability: Own Tempo
Stats:
HP - E (10%)
Attack - D (20%)
Defense - E (15%)
Sp. Atk - E (5%)
Sp. Def - E (10%)
Speed - D (30%)
Moves: Tackle, Leer, Sand Attack, Fire Fang (Locked)
Traits: Ace Pokémon]
As it turned out, Koromaru hadn't actually learned Mud-Slap during the fight, which made sense because it was really just a stroke of luck that let to its Sand Attack working differently. That didn't dishearten me though, because I knew that Rockruff could actually learn Mud-Slap, and I had a pretty good theory on how to get him to learn it.
The real kicker though, had to do with the silver-colored CD that Nemona had given me before she'd left.
"Scan."
[TM 104 - Iron Defense: A Technical Machine that teaches the Steel-Type Move 'Iron Defense'. Place on the Pokéball of a compatible Pokémon to use.]
As expected of a Rank 1 Skill, it didn't say much. However, I was glad that it at least told me what move the TM taught, because I had no idea how to check that. Sure, the TM serial number was inscribed on the disk itself unlike the in-game versions, but from my knowledge, those numbers had changed throughout the Generations. Iron Defense, for example, used to be TR 46 in Generation 8 according to Bulbapedia.
I guess ordinary folk just used the internet or something.
Following the instructions given by the Scan, I fitted the CD onto the button of the Pokéball.
'This looks ridiculous.'
But apparently I shouldn't have been doubting the magic, because the disk actually began to glow and spin in place, rotating rapidly for a good ten seconds before it just spontaneously disintegrated, the light seeming to seep into the Pokéball before fading away.
I opened up the Arc Phone in my other hand and checked Koromaru's entry, only to find Iron Defense added to its move list as advertised.
There were no words that could describe how befuddled I was. It almost seemed more fantastical than the superpowered flora and fauna that populated this world.
Yet I didn't have the time to dwell on it, because I needed to craft some battle strategies- and how I could teach Koromaru the moves it was on the cusp of learning. To that end, I opened the Notepad app on the Arc Phone, and began to type away.
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"So here's what we're going to do, Koro." I said, about an hour and a half later.
"Ruff!" barked my companion, tails wagging and eyes shining. Clearly, his first victory was still fresh on his mind, and he was on top of the world.
It made me feel a little bad that I had to burst his bubble, but only because I wanted him to know that the road ahead was still vast and there was much room to improve.
"You did great back there, but Nemona and her Pawmi almost had us." I said, choosing my words. While I didn't think the Rockruff could understand what I meant 1:1, he could likely understand the intention behind my words; and while I wanted him to keep pushing forward instead of growing complacent, I didn't want to rain on his parade either. Even if the deciding factor for victory had been pure luck, Koro had fought hard.
"Of course, that was only our first battle, and we still have room to grow. So let's keep improving together, as Trainer and Pokémon, ok?"
For a second, I wondered if maybe my lines were getting a little too cheesy, but it was clearly the right thing to say because Koromaru let out a determined bark, his eyebrows slanting in determination.
I smiled at that.
"First, let's focus on getting you to learn Mud-Slap." I said.
"Roo?" Koro replied, confused.
"What you used at the end there in the battle wasn't actually Sand Attack, but a similar move called Mud-Slap that you were able to use because of the ground being wet." I explained patiently. "It's stronger than Sand Attack, so I'm going to help you learn it. It'll help a lot against Electric Type Pokémon in the future."
Well, until it eventually got replaced by a genuinely good Ground-Type Move the Rockruff line could learn like Bulldoze or Drill Run, but there was no need to mention that now.
"Ruff!"
As I'd theorized, Koro seemed to get the gist of it and barked in what seemed like affirmation. I hadn't really gotten a good read on his full personality yet, but it looked like he genuinely did have the drive to get stronger, and that was great.
"So here's what we'll do." I said, and gestured over to a fresh green coconut on the ground. Picking it up, I tipped it over onto a patch of exposed dirt, soaking it in the seawater that I had filled it with. The ground immediately started turning darker and became muddy thanks to the liquid poured onto it, which was exactly what I wanted.
"Try using Sand Attack right there in that spot first."
Koromaru obediently trotted over and followed my instructions, and as I'd expected, 'Sand Attack' had become Mud-Slap once more.
"Great job!" I called, smiling.
That was the first step. Now things were going to get a little more… abstract, or rather, here's where I had to gamble on the nature of Pokémon themselves.
"Now keep doing that again, and try to remember the feeling of the ground beneath you as you use the move!"
For all I knew, I could've been speaking absolute nonsense, but there was clearly a supernatural component to Pokémon moves. It couldn't be a 100% product of biology, because the entire Ghost and Fairy Types wouldn't exist if that were the case.
This was all just a theory of course, but I still needed to try.
For the next half hour, I watched Koromaru diligently practice the move without any visible results. I even had to fill the coconut with seawater again a few times to create more mud for him to work with, though I didn't mind; it was a relatively small thing to do a bit of walking when Koro was doing the lion's share here.
But then, I saw it.
The Rockruff's tail suddenly stiffened after one particularly big Mud-Slap, and he let out a low growl before turning around and walking towards me, trying to communicate with his big blue eyes that something had clicked within him.
"Think you've got it? Then why don't you give it a try over there?"
He obliged, and his paw struck the dry dirt with practiced ease, faintly glowing brown- and a thin stream of mud shot up.
It was small, it was weak, but it was most definitely Mud-Slap.
I grinned widely, kneeling down in front of Rockruff to rub his head.
"Great job, buddy!"
"Rock-Ruff!"
Pulling out the phone, I saw much to my satisfaction that Mud-Slap had indeed been added to the list right next to Iron Defense.
Perfect.
'Guess I'm on the right track then.'
Of course, that didn't mean I'd suddenly broken through the realm of amateur Trainers. This method only worked because Mud-Slap was a relatively simple move in concept- I still had no idea how I was supposed to teach him something like Fire Fang, which was still locked in his entry…
Perhaps Nemona would have a few ideas?
Anyways, now that he had Mud-Slap officially down, it was time to move onto the second objective.
"Ok Koromaru, we'll practice Mud-Slap some more later, but first I want you to try using your other new move. Why don't you use Iron Defense?"
"Ruff!"
My partner focused for a few seconds as if searching within himself, before letting out a short bark as his body suddenly began outlined in silvery energy, causing his fur to take on a silvery sheen. Curious, I reached out and tapped his coat, only to withdraw it in surprise as I found the texture to be much harder and rigid than it was before.
If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought Nemona had given this particular TM as a joke. After all, if Koromaru had known Iron Defense we probably wouldn't have had such a hard time with Pawmi- the damage he would've taken from Mach Punch could've been severely reduced.
Regardless, it was still a good move to add to his arsenal. While he was and always would be a glass cannon, Iron Defense was a good method of raising his survivability on the physical side of things.
Now, we just needed to work on getting it up faster, because in the heat of battle I doubted that Koromaru would get the luxury of those precious seconds, especially against those pesky priority moves.
And perhaps I could help him learn some other moves using it? The success of the Mud-Slap training had given me a few ideas. I may not have had an answer for Fire Fang, but there were a few moves my partner could learn that were akin to extensions of his current kit, especially with the newest addition. I'd already jotted down a few plans since I used the TM earlier, but those were more like idle thoughts than actual plans because I hadn't wanted to invest time into something that might not have worked.
I opened my mouth to speak, but was cut off as Koromaru suddenly looked upwards and began to bark in alarm.
"Ruff! ROCK-RUFF!"
Suddenly feeling a burst of panic myself, I whirled around and tried to spot whatever had set off my little canine companion.
My eyes widened when I finally saw it—a purple figure in the sky slowly gliding downward to the beach below. Unlike my partner however, the sight of it filled me with sheer excitement.
"C'mon Koromaru, let's go check it out!" I said, and nearly burst into laughter as Koro looked at me with wide eyes, clearly thinking me a madman.
And it was entirely possible that he was right, but not in this specific case. This was one of the events of the story I was looking forward to the most, as it was essentially the key to everything.
'It's time to go nab me a motorcycle dragon.'
