PokeWild

Revealing Pidgey’s new Move to the group was a lot of fun, but didn't go as smoothly as David hoped.

The match against Danny and her Bulbasaur started like any other. Pidgey took to the sky. Bulbasaur darted back to the edge of the pitch and used Growth. A couple of days ago this would have been a foolish decision and left Bulbasaur a sitting Psyduck. However, Pidgey wasn’t the only one who had improved. Instead of the thin slithers from last week, an aura of beige grew on the ground around Bulbasaur as it absorbed energy.

“Cannon.” David ordered with a smile on his face. It didn’t matter how many Growths Bulbasaur got off. Flying type was super effective against Grass. One Move would be enough to gain a considerable advantage and end the match.

Across the way, Danny’s eyes narrowed. She held her hands loosely to her sides, as if ready to charge out on the field herself.

“Growl and dodge,” She ordered.

What happened next surprised them both.

Instead of spreading her wings out wide, Pidgey tucked them in and dived.

David’s eyes widened. What was she doing? They had spent the morning working on ‘Cannon’ and not once had she… Ah.

Pidgey spread her wings wide as she landed and was met with a shimmering haze of beige as Bulbasaur Growled. She shivered but remained unaffected as Danny ordered a Tackle. She orientated herself to Bulbasaur and prepared herself.

One powerful flap later, Bulbasaur was covered in cuts and the match was called.

Pidgey hopped over to him chirping happily. It was a good moment. The first time they’d used the Move in a match.

David could only rub his tired eyes and offer a half-hearted congratulations.

Over the last week they’d trained the Move into the ground. Or more accurately, from the ground.

Not once had they tried the Flying type Move from the air. Or any other Move for that matter. David hadn't thought it necessary - Pidgey had just been able to use Peck from the air. The only other Move she knew was Tackle, and he'd never called for that mid-flight. What was the point of a defensive Move where nothing could reach her?

The rest of the group were a little confused at Pidgey and his 'tactics' when they met at the sidelines. David sheepishly explained the issue and was met with laughter and congratulations in equal measure. It turned out that the Move had an official name, ‘Gust’ which rang some bells in his mind.

Danny was less impressed but not in an angry way. Bulbasaur didn’t need any major healing, but she wouldn’t be battling again today either. None of the three Grass type trainers said anything, but David knew they were reassessing their tactics.

This was confirmed half an hour later when Tulia bowed out of a match against him.

“There’s no point,” She said with a shrug. “All Bellsprout has at range is Acid, and she can’t throw that all that far yet.”

He offered to not use the Move, but none of them liked that idea. Pidgey needed practice with the Move and no one wanted a half-hearted match.

Tulia fought Martin instead and David skipped a round to wait for Sarah.

It wasn’t the end of the training group, but it let them know it was coming. David didn’t join the practice after training, instead heading back to the Grove early to try to get some extra in-air practice before his patrol.

He considered switching to the official name of the Move but decided against it in the end. Information was valuable during a match and keeping your opponent guessing was part of the game.

-.-

David was late to the meetup the next morning.

A wild Pidgey had taken up residence in the Grove and refused to leave. After an hour of chasing it through the woods, Pidgey and he finally cornered it, only for the Pokemon to faint after one Peck and Tackle.

Pidgey became immediately disinterested in the knocked out Pokemon. She took to the air and began weaving through the trees, leaving David to slowly approach the creature.

The wild Pidgey didn’t seem to be badly hurt. It had lost some feathers and had specks of blood down its front but nothing he’d consider serious, even for a human. It still wasn't nice seeing a Pidgey lying still on the ground.

He was stuck with the awkward situation of needing to get the Pokemon to leave, but not being willing to chuck its unconscious form over the fence into the next field and call it done. He settled for carrying the Pokemon to the fence and waiting nearby for it to wake up.

After another hour of waiting, the Pokemon burst awake and took to the skies in fright. Pidgey cawed after it.

David met a grumpy Oliver and an excited Michael at the outskirts of the Grove. When David hadn’t shown up for breakfast, Michael had slowly worn Oliver down until he agreed to launch a search party.

David thanked both of them and explained the situation. He ended up with a cold breakfast anyway. On the other hand, Pidgey received a Spelon berry, which was blatant favoritism in his mind.

Danny and Terry were mid-match when he arrived at the stands. In David’s opinion, the two were the best match up from the group. Their battles were just interesting to watch.

Sandshrew as a Ground type was at a natural disadvantage against the Grass-Poison Bulbasaur, but it made up for that by being tricky. Defense Curl, Sand Attack, Mud Slap and the occasional Poison Sting kept Danny and Bulbasaur on their toes.

Today it looked like Sandshrew was going to win. Given how easily it was shrugging off a Vine Whip, Terry and he were able to stall for long enough to prepare several Defense Curls. Vines that would have cracked scales now only left scrape marks.

David pulled his attention away from the Pokemon and back to the sidelines. It was time to gather some information. He sat down next to Michael.

“Are you calling this?”

“Nope!” Tulia replied smugly instead, not looking away from the match. She sat in front, right at the edge of the lines marking the pitch.

Martin rolled his eyes at her back.

“Great. Look, how should I go about challenging someone to a battle?”

Martin smirked. “You skip out on the courses when you were younger? Or do they not do them where you’re from?”

They did not in fact. No one back home even knew that courses for challenging trainers existed. David didn’t say that of course.

Instead, he rolled his eyes. “They do, but we don’t have what do you call them - Predators? back home. I figured you’d know how I could challenge someone without being an asshole about it.”

“That is a fair point,” Tulia said and began to tut. “So quick to think the worst of people.”

Martin glared at her. “Focus on the match.”

Tulia reached back and waved him away, not turning an inch.

David was starting to think the two of them had something going on. It was nothing overt, no public displays of affection, but they spent a lot of time playfully bickering. They left together a lot too which wasn’t a sign in itself but…

Martin sighed and focused on David. “It’s not hard, just be upfront about your Pokemon and badges.”

“Right...” That was not very helpful and far too little information. “So any amount of Poke is fine then?”

“Ehh...” Martin shrugged.

Martin was really unhelpful today.

“Match! Sandshrew wins,” Tulia shouted.

The two Pokemon returned to their balls in a flash of light.

Tulia turned back to Martin. “Remind me never to ask you for help.”

“What?” Martin complained.

Tulia scowled at him and looked at David. “Anywhere between 50 and 150 Poke is standard. You won’t find people wagering more at our level. No matter who wins the battle, both Pokemon will need some medical attention which is expensive. If someone wants to wager more, something's off.” She paused. “This isn’t about yesterday, is it? When I said that I didn’t mean that you should-”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just been on my mind,” David said quickly. Yesterday had sped up his thinking but money, training and battling was always on his mind these days.

“Always double check their license,” Sarah added before it could get awkward. She had been quiet during the discussion so far, poking at the ground and not paying attention to Danny and Terry’s match. It seemed that whatever it was, she’d made up her mind. “You want to fight some battles today then?”

David half shrugged. “Yes? No? I’m considering it. Pidgey’s got a handle on Gust mid-flight now and there’s nothing else we’re working on right now. No game changers anyway. I’m not sure what I’m waiting for.”

Gust, or Cannon for Pidgey, was not yet as strong from the air as it was from the ground, but it worked and was accurate. Pidgey had trouble syncing the Move up with her actual wingbeats and steadying herself after the Move, but both could be fixed with practice.

Sarah nodded in understanding. She bit her lip before standing up. “I think you’re right. I might try a battle today too.”

“Great,” David said, taken aback.

Tulia cheered. “Go team! I won’t battle today but I’ll cheer you on.”

Martin cleared his throat. He wagged his pokeball at Tulia.

“After my match against Martin of course.”

David and Sarah let Terry and Danny know before leaving the group. Both of them were interested in finding battles themselves tomorrow.

Sarah seemed to have a destination in mind and David was happy to follow.

“Why double check the license?” He asked as they passed another pitch by.

“Hmm? Oh, some people hide the gym stamps with dirt or stickers.” She snorted. “It’s one thing to lie, but people go to such lengths to cheat. And when the match has started there’s very little you can do.”

David really needed to pay more attention to his license. He didn’t even know it opened until Fred had showed him the trick.

“You could forfeit.”

Sarah scoffed. “Then they can argue you lost and refused to pay. It’s much easier to prove that a match started than it is to prove someone lied.”

“Right,” David said like he understood it but he didn’t. If he did mess up while picking a trainer to fight, he would be withdrawing Pidgey before she got hurt. If people could lie about how many badges they had, he could lie about how much was bet. “I’ve a Potion in my bag if you need it.”

Sarah bounced a smaller bag of her own. “Me too.” She gave him a smile. “Let’s hope we don’t need it.”