Pokémon: Global Invasion

Chapter 6: Rollout

“Shashasha~”

“Sandshrew, I’m fine. It was just a fight. Even though there were two of them, your master isn’t afraid of them!”

“Hmph, daring to mock my Small Pokémon—what a joke!”

“Shashasha~”

“It’s okay, Sandshrew. There’s no need to apologize. I know you were probably bullied by that Sandshrew before, but believe me, as long as I’m here, no one will bully you!”

“Shashasha~”

Sitting on a large rock behind Yukimura Village, bruised and battered, Ryoma sat next to Sandshrew.

At this moment, Sandshrew felt very downcast. Seeing Ryoma get beaten up because of it made Sandshrew feel terrible.

“Sandshrew, you really don’t need to feel inferior.”

“Let me tell you, I come from another world where Small Pokémon like you—those with different colors—are called shiny Small Pokémon. They’re not flawed!”

“Sha?”

Hearing Ryoma’s words, Sandshrew’s eyes glimmered with a strange expression.

“Sandshrew, I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“If you’re willing to accept my special training, I’ll prove to you through actions that you can become strong too!”

“Do you want to give it a try? It won’t take long before you can defeat that Sandshrew that bullied you before!”

Seeing the change in Sandshrew’s eyes, Ryoma’s own eyes narrowed slightly. Defeating an opponent once thought to be strong is the best way to regain confidence!

“Sha~”

Sandshrew squinted its small eyes, showing hesitation on its face, clearly contemplating Ryoma’s words seriously.

“Trust me, Sandshrew. Do you always want to be called trash and bullied by your kin?”

“Just think, if you can become a powerful Small Pokémon, your kin will surely accept you!”

Sandshrew’s expression changed once again, and then it suddenly opened its eyes, a look of determination on its face, clearly accepting Ryoma’s proposal!

“Congratulations on making the right choice!”

“Trust me, I’ll help you become a powerful Small Pokémon. Our first target is that Sandshrew that bullied you!”

“Shashasha!”

“Hahaha, great! So now, let’s head home first.”

“Have some food, take a good bath, and sleep well. Tomorrow, we start training!”

“Shashasha!”

Sandshrew nodded excitedly—food was its favorite thing!

Wait, a bath?

Fear!

Bathing is deadly for Sandshrew!!!

......

The next day.

Ryoma got up early, which was a rare occurrence.

Beside him, Sandshrew was curled up, still fast asleep.

“Sandshrew, wake up! Wash your face, and let's get started with training!”

A grin appeared on Ryoma’s face. Thinking about giving Sandshrew a bath last night still brought a smile to his lips.

“Sha?”

Hearing Ryoma's words, Sandshrew groggily opened its eyes.

But upon hearing the word “wash,” it suddenly leapt off the bed, looking at Ryoma in terror.

Wash hands, wash face, take a bath...

Now, just hearing the word “wash” made Sandshrew tremble involuntarily all over.

“Relax, just like last night. I’ll just use a damp towel to wipe your face!”

Reluctantly, Sandshrew let Ryoma wipe its face with a wet towel, leading to yet another chaos-filled scene...

After helping Sandshrew wash up, it was time for its favorite part of the day—eating. A delicious meal was Sandshrew's biggest motivation for enduring washing!

After cheerfully finishing breakfast, Ryoma told his parents that he was heading out and then quickly left, jogging towards the hills behind the village.

The night before, Ryoma had developed a basic understanding of the moves Sandshrew currently knew, which unsurprisingly were limited to its innate Scratch and Defense Curl.

As for inherited moves, Ryoma wasn’t sure yet. In games, once a move is inherited, it can be used immediately, but reality is different.

In the real world, even if a Small Pokémon inherited a move, it would need certain conditions to activate it.

It’s like some hereditary diseases, where possessing the gene doesn’t mean it will manifest immediately. The gene might stay dormant for a long time, potentially activating the next moment or remaining hidden for a lifetime!

Given this understanding, Ryoma had to train Sandshrew’s moves personally, and to do that, he ventured to the hills to find a suitable slope for Sandshrew to practice “Rollout.”

Since the move is called Rollout, rolling is the key!

He distinctly remembered how in the anime, Whitney's Miltank from Goldenrod Gym trained Rollout in a similar way!

After some exploration with Sandshrew in the hills, he found a pit with steep slopes on either side, perfect for Sandshrew's Rollout training.

“Sandshrew, use Defense Curl, then roll down from here!”

Following Ryoma's command, Sandshrew curled into a ball, used Defense Curl, and rolled down the hillside.

Sandshrew's body is naturally suited for Rollout. Leveraging inertia, it rolled rapidly down the hill, reaching the bottom of the pit and then slightly up the opposite slope before stopping.

“Shashasha!”

The excited Sandshrew found the exercise incredibly fun.

“No need to be so pleased. Your Rollout is literally just rolling; a real Rollout is a Rock-type move, and it should logically involve enveloping yourself in Rock-type energy while rolling.”

“Get back and roll again.”

Pouring cold water over Sandshrew's excitement, Ryoma’s demand left Sandshrew’s expression frozen.

Soon, Sandshrew climbed back up from the pit and attempted the Rollout move anew per Ryoma's direction.

“Looks like to help Sandshrew master the Rollout move, it needs to sense Rock-type energy first!”

Watching Sandshrew finish its slide down the slope as part of its training, Ryoma felt exasperated while pondering the possible issues.

“Sandshrew, return for now. Next, I’ll take you somewhere you can sense Rock-type energy.” Having identified the crucial element, Ryoma called Sandshrew back and led it to a stone quarry.

This quarry, once an active site, had been closed for environmental reasons and had been abandoned for some time.

He figured that if there was a place abundant in Rock-type energy, it would be here, with rocks scattered all around.

The results didn’t disappoint; after some time sensing the area, Sandshrew indeed picked up on the Rock-type energy and excitedly began rolling down a slope, practicing its Rollout move.