Helix and Hooves: Trainers of the Future

by The Kelduo

Chapter 15: Grinding in the Mine

I was practically ditching Sonia and the Doctor, but I didn't give it any thought. They may be my friends, but I couldn't stop thinking about what Indeedee told me. I felt sorry for that Krabby who had its life energy drained, even more so for a dear friend who also had his life energy drained right before my eyes.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I stepped outside the Captain's Table, and I wiped them away before taking out my Rotom Phone. "Motostoke has the next Gym I need to take on. Should I hail a Flying Taxi to go there?"

"Not yet. Kabu isn't at Motostoke Stadium at the moment." Rotom brought up a map of the region on the screen, with a flag on a location just southeast of our current location. "My GPS detects his Rotom Phone in the second Galar Mine, so he must be training there."

"Galar Mine 2 it is, then! Prepare yourselves, team..." I made my way down the road to the mine. "...because we're gonna do some grinding!"

Dottler's Poke Ball started shaking, though, so I stopped and let him out. "Grinding? That term is unfamiliar to me. Can you please elaborate?"

"I'm pleased to hear that you want to know what grinding is." I tapped into my incredible video game know-how. "That's when you battle against several weak enemies for a reliable source of experience or items. It's something smart video-gamers do often so they don't end up fighting bosses while underleveled."

"I see." Dottler looked up at me, curiosity in his neon blue eyes. "But why did you wait to start grinding until now?"

"You didn't hear?" I showed Dottler the picture that the Doctor sent me from Hulbury Stadium. "Doctor Hooves' Thwackey already evolved into its final evolution Rillaboom, but Hotshot still hasn't evolved. I'm falling behind in terms of starter Pokemon, and I want to close the gap."

"Be at ease, Helix. I'm sure the only reasons for the Doctor's starter being overleveled are the strong Onix in the Wild Area and the Hulbury Gym, which he likely conquered with Thwackey and Spark Bark."

Farfetch'd burst out of his Poke Ball. "That may be the case, but that's no reason not to train. And if I encounter a particularly bulky opponent, I might even have the chance to become a true warrior." He brandished his mighty stalk. "This leek will be my sword, and with it I will slay evil just like the heroes from the Darkest Day! And besides..." He sneered. "...you wouldn't want to lose to a newbie, would you?"

"Newbie? That's kind of a harsh word. I think of him more as a... Trainer trainee. But you're right, Farfetch'd. The Doctor has only just begun his journey as a Pokemon Trainer, and I am a veteran. I would definitely be pretty disturbed to lose to a Trainer who didn't even know what Pokemon were about a week ago, so I intend to make sure you guys are the best you can be." I returned Farfetch'd and Dottler to their Poke Balls before proceeding. "Time for our next stop, Galar Mine Two!"

---

The second mine was similar to the first one, except there were no rails or mine carts. Additionally, there were colorful gemstones along the walls, and a body of water was in the first part of this mine. Instead of digging and rocky Pokemon, there were Shellos, Wimpod, Scraggy, and other Pokemon that live in damp caves. Because of the abundance of Water types, I was somewhat glad that I kept Nuzleaf in the party. However, my gut told me to deposit him, so I did so and withdrew Rev Rock via the Pokemon Box Link.

I sent out my Pokemon and gave but two commands to them: "If you can still fight, then show no mercy. Come to me when you feel tired, and I'll make sure you can keep going."

"Got it!" My team went right to work, taking on whoever they ran into.

I watched them with an affirmative smile, occasionally fishing in the water to do some battling of my own. If at any point one of my Pokemon got in trouble, I made sure to stop what I was doing and give them directions or heal them up. "A Shuckle that keeps using Sand-Attack? Dottler, try to confuse him then let someone else finish him off!" "Don't let Water-type moves from Shellos bother you, Rev Rock! Baffle him with your Steam Engine's speed!"

After a few minutes of training, I whistled. "Okay, guys, that's enough for now! You all did great!" I restored everyone's health and power points and returned them to their Poke Balls.

I turned right from the pond and ventured deeper into the mine. However, I didn't get far when I found the Psychic-type user Bede again. "You again, huh? Where's the horse you rode in with?"

I shrugged. "Probably gloating about his starter evolving again, but he won't be gloating when I beat him in battle. Speaking of which..." I narrowed my eyes. "I challenge you to a Pokemon battle! You've proven that you're a skilled opponent, so all the better to train my team."

Bede arrogantly scoffed, "Not a chance. I'm not in the mood to deal with weaklings like you and your colorful cast of colleagues. You're delusional if you think you can defeat me."

"So what if I am?" I put to use the psychology skills I learned in high school. "Think about it this way: If you accept my challenge and defeat me here and now, you won't have to crush me later."

"You pose a fair point, Gym Challenger." Bede gave it some thought. "Hmm... Very well. Prepare yourself to be utterly obliterated by me and my Pokemon!" Like in his battle against the Doctor, Bede led with Solosis.

"Time to shine once more before Motostoke Stadium, my four-legged genius!" I sent out Dottler, just like the Doctor sent out Charjabug. "We shall find out whose brain is brawnier: your Psychic-types, or my powerful pupa Pokemon!"

"If you insist. Solosis, use Psyshock!" Solosis formed several orbs of purple energy and threw them at Dottler.

"Set up a Light Screen!" Dottler created a mysterious barrier of light and completely walled the attack. "Now punish him with Struggle Bug!" He unleashed dark green energy that did massive damage to Solosis.

Bede scoffed. "Hmph, don't get cocky. You only caused a lot of damage because of my Pokemon's poor defensive stats. Allow me to show you real damage. Use Endeavor!" Solosis used its psychic powers to deal enough damage to make Dottler's HP equal to its own. "Follow through with Psybeam!"

"Take it like a champ, then use Struggle Bug once more!" Dottler did just that, and Bede's first Pokemon was down for the count. However, I noticed that Dottler's lights were beginning to flicker out. "That Endeavor really did a number on you. Do you want to take a break?"

"A break?" Dottler winced. "As much as I would like to stay in the battle and increase my level at least once, I have concerns about my low vitality. I will withdraw from battle for now."

"Alright, then. If you want to come back into battle later, feel free." I returned Dottler to his Poke Ball. "Now it's your turn, Rev Rock!" I sent out my Carkol.

"My next Pokemon has learned a new trick since we last met." Bede sent out Gothita. "Let's see how you deal with the new and improved Gothita!"

"New and improved? I wonder if she has made enough improvements." I exclaimed, "Rev Rock, get in the first strike with Flame Charge!"

Bede watched Rev Rock rush forward with his red-hot coals giving off embers. "A perfect opportunity to utilize Gothita's new skill. Impede his progress with Rock Tomb!" Gothita levitated several boulders and dropped them in Rev Rock's path, trapping him.

My eyes widened, but out of relief rather than fear. "Not bad, looks like you came prepared for Bug types! Good thing I switched out Dottler!" I lifted a wing to brush some dust off, but I realized it would be best to wait until after the battle because I'd be even dustier by then. "Rev Rock, it's time to show them the power of centrifugal force! Bust through the boulder blockade with Rapid Spin!"

"Alright, time to rock and roll!" Rev Rock spun around at such a high torque that it smashed every boulder it made contact with before barreling towards Gothita. The Pokemon didn't have enough time to react, so it got launched into the air.

I offered my body as a ramp. "Now bring her back down to earth with Smack Down!"

Rev Rock shot right up my body, but I barely flinched. He jumped off of my head and crashed into Gothita, sending her plummeting to the ground and finishing this round.

"Two Pokemon down?" I saw anger in Bede's eyes, but he looked like he was hiding fear. "Looks like you'll get to personally meet the first Pokemon I ever owned." He sent out his Hatenna. "Psybeam!"

"Dodge it!" Rev Rock tried to roll out of the way, but the psychic beam hit him in the face and knocked him onto his side. As a result, some coal fell off his back, seemingly weakening him. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to keep battling. Rev Rock, return." He went back into his Poke Ball with no complaints.

Dottler's Poke Ball rocked weakly.

"...You want to come back into battle already?" I hesitated. "I know you have high defenses and resist Psychic-type moves, but you almost fainted. Sure, that was from Endeavor, but..." I let out an exasperated groan. "Look, I have no clue why you're so desperate to gain experience right now. You know you could just stay in my party and gain some of the experience my battling Pokemon gain in Motostoke Stadium, right?"

Without warning, Dottler came out of his Poke Ball. "Don't you see? It's much less fun to just take out your Pokemon from its Poke Ball and watch it transform than to see it metamorphose during a battle. I want you to see me take on a whole new appearance while I do battle, and it's easiest to level up mid-battle against Pokemon you have a type advantage against. I am very close to the point of evolution, so this Psychic-type user may be my chance."

I was taken aback by Dottler's epiphany. He was very correct about the thrill of watching a Pokemon evolve mid-battle. "Wow, that just... wow. I never thought about it that way. Now I understand, Dottler. I didn't realize that you wanted me to feel the thrill of seeing my own Pokemon reach the next stage in its evolution line in the middle of a battle and unleash its new power then and there." I grinned. "Okay, show them what you've got!"

"We'll make sure your Pokemon won't have to worry about reaching the next level. Hatenna, use Psybeam!" Hatenna fired a beam from its antenna which Dottler was able to withstand, but something seemed off about him.

I took a closer look, and I saw that Dottler's eyes were unfocused. I brought my wing down in frustration. "You've been inflicted with confusion? Blast! I don't see a way out of this without you taking more damage..."

Bede smirked. "Good. Then we can take him down without any trouble. Finish him off with Disarming Voice."

I could only watch with regret in my eyes as the disrespectful non-STAB move made its way towards its target. Oh, Dottler, why did you have to do this to us? Just like Keldeo, you were so desperate to become stronger that you chose to fight a battle you can't win. You came back into the fray, even though you were drastically weakened by a well-timed Endeavor. And what is that going to bring us? Defeat...

"I have a request, Helix..." Suddenly, Dottler released a burst of psychic energy that dispelled the oncoming attack. In a distorted, cybernetic voice, he boomed, "Cease the pessimism. Your lack of faith disturbs me." He surrounded himself with the familiar blue light of evolution, causing me to change my attitude about the situation. The first change I saw during the transformation was a streak of light separating his shell in two. Then, his body became bipedal and fully emerged from the shell. When the evolution light dissipated, Dottler looked like a floating, miniature Transformer whose head was a ladybug's head and body. Having finished evolving, his voice was no longer distorted but was still cybernetic. "My full intellectual potential has been awakened."

"Your Dottler couldn't have chosen a worse time to evolve?" Bede scowled. "Pathetic. Hatenna, finish him off for real this time with Psybeam!"

Dottler's evolved form made a "go ahead" motion to me with one of his claws. "Do not hesitate to check my entry in your Pokedex. Now that I have evolved, I can take care of myself for the time being."

I did as he commanded, occasionally looking back at the battle to watch him expertly dodge attacks and inflict his own damage on Hatenna. "Orbeetle, the Seven Spot Pokemon. A Bug- and Psychic-type, it has a very high level of intelligence and incredible psychic powers, as indicated by the size of its brain. Rather than using its wings, it uses its psychic powers to lift its entire body, much like Alakazam."

"So, that ladybug-like part of your head is actually your brain? Then it is decided." I gave Orbeetle an approving grin as he defeated Hatenna. "Your nickname will be Cranium!"

"What a shame." Bede returned Hatenna to its Poke Ball. "If only you were at good at battling as you are at giving your Pokemon nicknames. You would've won before now. Unfortunately for you..." He sent out a Pokemon that caused my jaw to drop: a small equine Pokemon with a chalk-white coat, a mane and tail with the color and appearance of cotton candy, and a short black horn with a ring of white in the middle. "That isn't the case. The newest member of my team will put an end to your winning streak!"

I pulled myself together, at least enough to speak fluently. "My apologies, it's just that I wasn't expecting you to sic a unicorn Pokemon on me... The Galarian form of Ponyta, I presume?"

Bede was about to make a snarky comment, but Cranium interrupted him. "Exactly. Known as the Unique Horn Pokemon, they draw power from nature, so they live in forests such as the Glimwood Tangle. Galarian Ponyta's horn has the capability to heal slight wounds with a few rubs. Additionally, they can read the contents of one's heart by looking into one's eyes, making the saying 'the eyes are windows to the soul' quite literal. Should a wild Galarian Ponyta find any evil there, it will promptly go into hiding."

Bede's Ponyta approached me, to his and my curiosity. "Your heart... it's been through a lot, hasn't it?" Ponyta asked me, its voice revealing that it was a male, highly contrasting with its outward appearance. "Attacked by someone from your childhood, seemingly rendered by a colleague, shattered by the same colleague, put back together by a new friend, then restored to full health by a team of friends..." His ears folded back in sorrow. "It pains me to have to battle against a Trainer who has gone on an emotional Stow-on-Side Gym Mission, but it is my duty as Bede's Pokemon."

"It... pains me too..." I turned my head away in shame. "I swear, I feel like I'm committing a crime against a citizen of Equestria..."

"Equestria?" Cranium asked. "Can you elaborate?"

I hesitated. "I was unwillingly launched to this land called Equestria, which is located on the planet Equus. Equestria is populated with sentient equines known as ponies, and they live much the same way as the people who live here in Galar. I made some really good friends there, but now the citizens of Equestria are going to be threatened by a magic-absorbing centaur who goes by Lord Tirek. None of you are gonna believe this, but..." A look of nervous anticipation showed up on my face. "Doctor Whooves and I... we're actually from the past."

"From the past?" Bede scoffed. "That's ridiculous! Only Dialga and Celebi can travel through time, and I doubt a simpleton such as you would be able to get your wings on a Legendary Pokemon, let alone a Mythical Pokemon."

"The opposing Trainer has a point," Cranium told me. "However, it is still possible that you time-traveled here, albeit by other means. I recall you explaining to Chairman Rose that you and Doctor Hooves came here via time machine?"

"Yes, we did." I proudly proclaimed, "By utilizing and abusing some time-travel tropes, the two of us built a working time machine and used it to travel to the Alola region of this year and month. From there, we made our way to Postwick in the Galar region, where I started the Doctor on his first Pokemon adventure."

Bede looked at me like I had five eyes and two mouths. "...None of what you said makes any sense whatsoever. Did an Elgyem replace your brain with that of a Slowpoke?"

"No." I chuckled at Bede's mediocre attempt to insult my intelligence. "Were you so busy trying to understand what I was talking about just now to notice that my Orbeetle defeated your Galarian Ponyta?"

"What?" Bede looked north and saw his Pokemon lying against the wall. "How dare you keep my attention with your idle chatter! I would have won if you hadn't had the audacity to cheat like that!"

"I never cheated." I returned Cranium to his Poke Ball after summoning a small Leaf Tornado to blow away the dust that got on me during the fight. "I was stating a fact. You refused to believe my story, so you falsely thought that I was talking just to keep your attention."

"Fine, then. Pretend that you won." Bede begrudgingly gave me his League Card. "Here, something you can show off to fool people into thinking you beat me. I'm off to find more Wishing Stars." He stormed off without giving me a chance to ask about his search for Wishing Stars.

"The nerve of that Trainer!" The Doctor walked up from behind. "It was very clear that he lost, but he wouldn't even admit it. He may be an unfriendly rival, but somehow I take pity on him. A strange feeling, but most likely the right one. Why would he be gathering so many Wishing Stars, though?"

I thought back to Bede's conversations with the chairman and his secretary. "Maybe... they're not for him. Chairman Rose must have asked him to collect them. For what reason, I do not know. But there's a good chance we'll find out after some time." I remembered from the ceremony that Kabu was described as a Fire-type Gym Leader. "Fire-type Gym Leaders tend to lower your Pokemon's attack power via burns and the Intimidate Ability. I want my Pokemon to hit hard even after being burned or otherwise weakened, so I'll have to do some grinding here in this mine."

"Grinding? What's that?"

"I explained grinding to Dottler earlier." I pushed up my glasses. "It's when you battle lots of enemies in any given area in order to slowly but surely grow stronger. Your starter has obviously done some grinding, so I want to make sure my own starter gets some grinding in!"

"What's the matter?" he apologetically asked. "Are you still sore about my starter evolving a second time? That's just because he defeated that strong Onix and I used him to sweep the Hulbury Gym. I'm giving him a well-deserved break to give my other Pokemon a chance to grow."

"Makes sense, but my Pokemon still need to grow. Fire-type Pokemon are not to be taken lightly!" I hurried further into the mine, nearly leaving the Doctor in the dust.

The path quickly turned left in front of a second pool of water. It continued past a worker who was ready for battle. However, the corner was home to a half-buried container. I made the decision to approach the item.

But I hesitated. My intuition kicked in. "Hold up..." No such thing as too safe. I fired an arrow at the ceiling above the item, causing a chunk to break off. The chunk of rock fell between my talons and the half-buried item.

SNAP!

Two sets of sharp, jagged blades of metal jutted up from the ground, closing over the item and rock. "Humph, a false alarm..." When they opened back up, I saw that they were actually fins that belonged to a flat, fishlike Pokemon with a grayish-brown body. The item was actually its red and white mouth. It looked up at me with its oval-shaped eyes and grinned, bearing its sharp teeth. "Oh? Perhaps this wasn't a false alarm after all!"

"As I expected..." Looking over the Pokemon, the metal fins led me to suppose that it was most likely a part Steel-type. I took out a Poke Ball. "It's a Trap Pokemon! Nice try, Galarian Stunfisk..." I sent out Gyarados. "But you can't trick me with your trap!"

The Galarian form of Stunfisk shuddered when it saw my Gyarados. "I expected to jump a Pokemon... not a Pokemon to jump me!"

After a pathetic attempt to counter Waterfall with Revenge, Stunfisk fell to a second Waterfall from my trusty Water- and Flying-type. I decided to catch it to add another Pokemon to my Pokedex. "No doubt I'll find more of these sneaky Pokemon. And when I do..." I smirked at Gyarados as I returned him to his Poke Ball. "Free experience!"

I turned around to challenge the Worker, but he had lost against Doctor Hooves while I took down the Galarian Stunfisk. So I just went past him to continue along the path, collecting three Dusk Balls at the dead end near him and defeating a second Stunfisk near the southeast corner of the second pool of water and a third one at the southwest corner.

The path branched left, but the side path stopped at a body of water. I was forced to continue south, passing by the Doctor battling another Worker. By now, I wasn't surprised to see that he had learned a lot about type advantages; his newly-evolved Drednaw was taking care of the Worker's Rock-type Roggenrola at the moment. I skipped the nearby container because I didn't want to hog all the items. The next stretch was fairly long and quiet, having nothing but a fourth Galarian Stunfisk.

At the end of the stretch... was a pair of Team Yell Grunts. To my relief, however, they weren't trying to block me. "Excuse me, mister," one of them said. "Ain't you one of them Gym Challengers?"

"I certainly am. Name's Helix." I showed off my Dynamax Band. "What gave away the fact that I'm participating in the Gym Challenge, my Dynamax Band?"

The other one said, "That too, but mainly the fact that yer badge holder is sticking out of your coat." Eyes wide, I looked down at my Key Items pocket. I shoved the ring in deeper with a chuckle. "Anyway, if it's all the same to you, mind having a battle with us? Marnie told us about you, and we'd sure be honored to duke it out with ya."

"A battle? I'd be glad to." Taking out two Poke Balls, I heard the Doctor galloping our way. I gestured to him to stop. "Leave this to me, Doc. I think they want a Double Battle with me only, so I'll knock off the both of them myself."

"You got that right, mate!" the first one said. "We're not gonna let a horsey rain on our parade, are we? Keep outta the way, Mr. Horse, 'cause Team Yell is gonna make you scream!" The two Grunts sent out Thievul and the Galarian form of Zigzagoon's evolution, Linoone.

"Of course, more Dark types." I sent out Hotshot and Farfetch'd. "Go show them what for, my trustworthy darkness-slaying friends!"

As with the first battle against Team Yell, this one was quite short. Hotshot Double Kicked Linoone into oblivion while Farfetch'd struck Thievul hard with Rock Smash. Their first wave of Pokemon knocked out, the Grunts sent out the cunning Dark type Liepard and the rambunctious Fighting type Pancham. This time, Farfetch'd hammered Pancham with his leek and Hotshot roasted Liepard to a crisp with Flame Charges.

"Thanks for the experience, Team Yell." I withdrew Hotshot and Farfetch'd. "While you had no Pokemon to train my own team for the Fire-type Gym, they still gained experience in general. Now if you're done sharing your Pokemon's experience with us..." A ghostly aura emanated from my body. "...then I suggest you scram."

"Uh, r-right away, Mr. Helix! We may be Team Yell, but we leave quietly if we lose..." The two Team Yell Grunts turned around and did just that, one of them almost stumbling over a rock before catching up to the other.

"Dude..." The Doctor's Toxel, who had evolved into a bipedal lizard like the statue in Hulbury near the lighthouse, placed its purple and blue hand on my shoulder and sent a small surge of electricity throughout my body. "That was toxic, and coming from a Toxtricity, that's saying something..."

"You're just saying that because you were raised by the Doctor." Using sheer willpower to break through the paralysis, I pushed Toxtricity's hand off my shoulder. "I was just driving them off so I could continue my trek through the mine. If I wanted to be toxic, I would've tossed them into the air and used Spirit Shackle to give them a super wedgie."

"A super wedgie?" The Doctor returned Toxtricity to its Luxury Ball with a snicker. "I don't know what that is, but it sounds humiliating. Anyway, I haven't found Kabu yet. What about you?"

I shook my head. "Neither have I. He must be further into the mine, otherwise we would've found him by now. Let's go on together, starting from this point."

"Agreed."

We walked into a small clearing, where I decided to catch a Drednaw. This one put up more of a fight than most of the Pokemon I had encountered so far, but that's probably just because Gyarados had a strong type advantage against the Stunfisk. I had to use a Great Ball to snag the feisty Drednaw, which I kept in my Pokemon Box. Meanwhile, the Doctor captured a Noibat, a Flying- and Dragon-type bat with ears like speakers on a boombox. He swapped out his Meowth for it.

I found a hidden Star Piece near a gem-filled minecart in the clearing, but I let the Doctor take it because I already had plenty of currency; Star Pieces have no purpose other than being sold to shops for a high price.

After a clearing, we reached a fork in the road. To the west, a dead end with a fifth Stunfisk and a hidden bag of Soft Sand. I took down the Stunfisk and gave the Doctor the Soft Sand before heading east, where the Doctor challenged a Rail Staff worker. The Drilbur and Onix were no match for the Doctor's Drednaw. Just past the Trainer, we found TM 49, Sand Tomb. Until now, I didn't know a TM for Sand Tomb existed, so I took it.

Further south, we found another Stunfisk, who I allowed the Doctor to defeat. I took on yet another Stunfisk just a few meters later before we reached another clearing. In this one, an older Trainer in a red uniform just finished up a battle with another pair of Team Yell Grunts.

Upon further inspection, the Trainer appeared to be none other than Kabu. "While I appreciate your help with my training, you seemed rather distraught during our battle, Team Yell. Was something on your minds?"

"That's right, Kabu, sir. Y'see, not too long ago, there was this Trainer who blew right through our Pokemon without breaking a sweat! And..." The duo looked past Kabu and gasped when they saw me. "Crikey! That's him right there! Looks like Team Yell better scarper and go give someone else a morale boost!" Wait a minute... They must've been the same Grunts that challenged me earlier. They took off, neither of them stumbling this time.

"Hmm? What Trainer could they be talking about?" Kabu turned around, and our gaze met his and that of a Carkol beside him. "Ah, I recognize you two! If my memory doesn't fail me, you're Helix and Doctor Whooves, two of the Trainers endorsed by Leon, right?"

"We most certainly are," the Doctor replied. "Overhearing the conversation between you and Team Yell, I've come to the conclusion that you're here in Galar Mine 2 so you can train for our battle when we take on Motostoke Stadium. Is that the case?"

"Yes I am, Doctor. Milo and Nessa told me about how easily you cleared their Gym Missions and defeated them in battle, so I'm training as much as possible in order to guarantee that our battle will be fantastic!" Kabu put a hand up to the samurai symbol on his uniform. "As a Fire-type specialist, I find that the Water-type Pokemon here in Galar Mine No. 2 are excellent opponents to train against."

The Doctor checked his Rotom Phone. "As much as I'd love to challenge you today, I'm afraid it's getting late. Think you can accept our challenge tomorrow?"

"Of course." Kabu pointed west. "Just continue straight out of this mine, and you'll pass through Motostoke Outskirts and get back to Motostoke. Be sure to get a good rest at the hotel, because I want to fight you when you're at your best! I'll be at my best as well." Kabu looked at Carkol as they went towards the exit. "Let's go, Carkol. I'll make sure that you make it back home safely."

"So, that was the 'ever-burning man of fire'... I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of Gym Challengers simply give up due to being unable to beat him." The Doctor took out a Dusk Ball with a smile on his face. "But I'm not one of them! In fact, I'm even more determined! For a Fire-type user such as Kabu, I think it's time to train up this new partner of mine."

I looked at the Dusk Ball inquisitively. "New partner?"

"You'll meet him eventually. For now, we need to press on to Motostoke!"

Comments

[Erynaster]

This was a very enjoyable read... Your writing is so fluid and immersive that you really bring these characters to life!
Keep it up! I look forward to seeing the rest of the story progress.

[The Kelduo]

10639981
Glad you're enjoying it so far! I'll get right to work on the next chapter.