Chapter 25

Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

On our way back, Elekid kept trying to pull me toward the power plant with his clumsy little hands, and I kept having to tell him that I wasn’t going to go there.

“What do you even want in there? The electricity? I don’t want to get in trouble,” I told him.

“Elekid! Ele!” He yelled.

“Man... you’re a strange one.”

Frillish looked at our new member with disdain, while Togetic was trying to make friends in her own strange way. She kept trying to play with Elekid’s plug-like horns, looking at them like she was fascinated. It was in these moments that I realized that even though she had evolved, Togetic was still just a baby.

At some point, I ended up having to recall Elekid to his ball because of how adamant he was about getting to the plant. I walked back to the Pokemon Center and gave him to Nurse Joy for a check-up since I had just caught him. Since we had been slacking on our training a little bit, I decided to make Togetic practice her Extrasensory, while Frillish continued to work on Water Pulse. Togetic was slowly working her way up in what she could lift, and I could actually notice the attack now whenever she used it. It was as if an invisible force that distorted the air around it surrounded an object, and after that, she could move it however she pleased. I was confident in her lifting light Pokemon, but heavier ones would be a no go for the tournament. Meanwhile, Frillish had completely mastered Water Pulse. I rewarded him with one of Floaroma’s famous berries, but Togetic whined, and I ended up giving her some too. There was no way I could ever resist her sad stare. Hex was trickier. The only way to practice the move was against living beings, so we weren’t able to try to learn the move very much. I decided to put it on the back burner for now.

I was getting used to spending more and more time with my team out of their Pokeballs, which was honestly a welcomed addition. Denzel already did the same with Eevee, and a lot of trainers simply never recalled their Pokemon unless they were forced to. Plus, seeing as how chill Elekid was around me, I’d probably be able to do the same thing with him. Not only would it accelerate the pace at which we bonded, but I’d be able to learn his body language— how he thought, moved, and his behavioral cues. When I picked him up from the Center, I hurried back to my room and released him there.

“Hey, it’s me again. I wanted to talk to you with my team here,” I said.

Elekid crossed his arms and stared right into my eyes.

“I caught you, but I want to make sure you know what you’re in for. I’m a trainer participating in the League Circuit. That means that I travel, battle other trainers, and we get stronger together,” I explained. I gauged his reaction, expecting him to be confused, but he seemed happy. Excited, even. “We have a little less than a year to get as strong as we can, then we’ll compete against the most powerful trainers in the region. Are you fine with joining us?”

Elekid flexed his arms and began rotating them. Sparks of electricity flew in between his horns. “Kid!”

I didn’t have to speak Pokemon to realize that was a yes. “Well, now it’s truly official. Welcome to the team!” I smiled. “Oh, and we’re also traveling with another human friend and his Pokemon, but we can get you introduced later. For now, I’ll start training with you to measure your strengths and weaknesses, and I’ll also have you observe during tomorrow’s tournament— oh, I forgot to even tell you about the tournament!”

I explained everything to Elekid. I wasn’t going to have him fight yet, obviously, but it’d still be nice to have him see how trainer battles worked. He was seemingly bummed out about not being able to fight, which surprised me. I was slowly getting a hold of his personality, and he seemed to be hyper all the time, but also a battle junkie. Maybe his life in the wild had made him this way, but it was still peculiar to look at.

Anyway, after finishing our conversation, I took a shower, and we headed outside toward the edge of town. It was annoying to be doing this back and forth between outside and the Pokemon Center all the time, but what could I do? My standards had been ruined by Jubilife’s quick public transport.

I rechecked my Pokedex to make sure I hadn’t missed any of Elekid’s moves. Thundershock and Thunder Punch meant that he’d be useful both at a distance and in close range, which was a boon. Swift was extremely useful as well, being a move that homed in toward your opponent. All in all, I needed to assess what level he was at with those moves until I even thought about teaching him anything else. I directed Togetic to practice her Extrasensory on any object she could find lying about, and I told Frillish to stick with her to make sure she didn’t get lost. Her new flying abilities had seemingly made her increasingly likely to just float off somewhere as soon as something grabbed her attention. Fôllôw new stories at novelhall.com

“Okay, Elekid, let’s do it. use Thundershock in the sky,” I started. “Keep it going for as long as you can.”

Elekid grunted and began to spin his arms around. Electricity sparked, and then gathered above his head before flying off into the clouds. He kept it going for around eight seconds before tiring out.

“Good job!” I said with a smile. Elekid grunted in between heavy breaths. “Eight seconds... y’know, I should really start taking notes about you guys’ progress. I feel like I’d be able to track your growth better with a spreadsheet.”

Elekid looked at me like I was speaking gibberish, but he yelled anyway as if he understood. I was glad his movements were so telegraphed. This was nowhere near how hard getting to know Frillish had been. Probably something about ghosts.

I pointed toward a tree. “Can you use Swift on that tree?”

“Anyway, what about... well...” I trailed off, realizing it’d be rude to just talk about Budew like she wasn’t there.

“Oh, Budew still hates me, but she’s taken a liking to Eevee. Progress is progress, right?” Denzel said, bending down toward the big Budew. She released spores at him, making him cough and fan the air in front of his face.

I just about screamed for Nurse Joy before he stopped me. “Don’t worry, they’re nonlethal, I’ve already had this incident before, and I checked with a doctor. It’s just something that she does if I’m being annoying.”

“How extreme,” I said, side-eyeing the grass type. “How will you deal with the tournament? You still can’t battle with her, right?”

“Bud!” Budew screeched.

“What in the world does that mean?” I said in a cautious tone.

“She’s saying no, obviously. And I’ll just use Eevee. If he loses, I’ll forfeit. I know I’ll be at a disadvantage, but the majority of participants probably won’t have a badge, so I’m hoping to at least get the third place money.”

“It’d be fun if we fought again. It’s been a while,” I said.

“True, it has been. Looking forward to seeing you out there, Grace. I’ll make sure to turn our score into a 2-0.”

“Be cocky while you still can, I’ll make you eat your words,” I joked.

I recalled my Pokemon and Denzel did the same while we went to eat in a restaurant. It was an early dinner, but the food was excellent, and all plant-based.

“I’m surprised you caught an Elekid,” Denzel said before taking a sip of water.

“Why?” I asked.

“Well, because they’re one of the few Pokemon that we don’t know how to evolve, right? Well, Electabuzz, I mean. The only trainer that has an Electrivire in Sinnoh is Volkner, and I doubt he’ll ever spill.”

“Well, obviously I know that,” I said. “But when I looked into his eyes when he asked to come with me, I couldn’t refuse. We’ll make it work,” I said confidently.

Even with today’s knowledge, some Pokemon evolutions were unknown to the public. Electabuzz, Magmar, Dusclops, and Haunter were all examples I could come up with at the top of my head, but there were more. Only a few trainers owned their evolved forms, and they hogged the knowledge like gold.

After digesting dinner, we went for a run. I had Elekid with me and Denzel had Eevee. Elekid was actually surprisingly fast, which was something I hadn’t expected with his two little legs. He was faster than me and Denzel, but the problem was he tired extremely easily, which is why I had him on this run in the first place.

That night, I fidgeted in my bed until sleep finally claimed me, but of course, the nightmares came back.

TEAM:

Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory

Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse

Elekid - Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Lee