Patrick jolted upright, rising suddenly off the grassy ground. His head instantly slammed into a thick, low-hanging branch. A wave of pain pulsated through his head from his forehead as his vision cleared. A forest stood in front of him with the wind whistling through its leaves. Nickit was curled in a circle beside him, peeking through one eye as it went back to sleep. Zigzagoon was already up and about dropping an Oran berry into the pile it was collecting. Patrick’s mouth’s edges crept up as he silently thanked Zigzagoon’s lineage for the ability Pick Up.
Behind him, in the same sandy clearing, knelt Haxorus who assumed a meditating position. A pool of congested blood remained in front of it, absorbed into the sand. It deflected all light as it maintained its darkness. Pancham was nowhere to be found. A pang of worry nagged in his mind, warning him that Pancham could’ve gone back to duel the Haxorus once Patrick slept. The blood pool was too old, Pancham was alive.
Patrick dusted the dirt off his shorts as he picked up a few Oran berries and ruffled Zigzagoon behind its ear.
“Let’s go, we don’t have time to worry about others.” Patrick scratched his chin. “What were we doing before this whole detour?”
Zigzagoon bounced around, barraging Patrick with an onslaught of unintelligible sounds.
The message got through though. “Ah, training you two. Yes, I remember, the Bunnelby.”
All around them were hordes upon hordes of Axew. The way they treated each other yesterday told Patrick that they won’t try to rescue each other if the going gets tough. A single Axew sat on an upturned tree’s log, watching over the others as it nibbled on an Oran berry. Patrick pointed his finger at it and both of his Pokemon switched their glares towards it.
The Pokedex showcased that Axew evolve at level 38. This whole fight could be a gamble and a half with such a wide range. Patrick shook his head and walked the other way, veering away from the Axew herd, the risk was too high.
Near the shore of the island, amidst the high grass, something glistened yellow with the rays of sunlight. A Dewpider conversed with another Dewpider.
“Dewpider, the water bubble Pokemon.” The Pokedex spoke. “It forms a water bubble at the rear of its body and then covers its head with it. Meeting another Dewpider means comparing water-bubble sizes. They normally live underwater. When they come onto land in search of food, they take water with them in the form of a bubble on their head.”
With the way they gestured, they were in the midst of comparing bubble sizes. They evolved at level 22. That was the maximum, they could handle one in the worst case scenario, but two…Patrick’s wit reached its end and he pointed at the Dewpider with the smaller bubble. Surely it had something to do with their hierarchy. The type chart popped into his mind’s eye as he remembered that both of his Pokemon were weak to Bug types. Quite the bad matchup he was going into here, but that’s without counting him in the equation.
Patrick beckoned his Pokemon to stay in their spots as he walked towards the two conversing bugs. His foot slammed between the two and they didn’t scatter off. In one swift motion, he lifted the Dewpider with the smaller bubble on his foot and hauled it in the air. Water covered his foot from the bubble. Feet clattered onto the dirt as the other Dewpider descended into the lake, away from the predator attacking its fellow.
Zigzagoon’s eyes emanated a white light as it used Leer. Blue lines drooped around the blue Dewpider. Nickit glowed white for a split second as it disappeared and slammed into the Dewpider in the air with a Quick Attack. The Dewpider got sent back as it flailed its green legs around. The blue oval inside the bubble scrunched up in an attempt at anger. Patrick’s smile widened as he spiked the Dewpider to the floor like a volleyball. It whimpered with the blow, the bubble losing its shape and contorting. The water splashing onto his palm. Zigzagoon awaited the Dewpider at its landing location and unleashed a ghostly imitation of its tongue as it used Lick.
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The Dewpider flailed around in the air until it locked eyes with Zigzagoon. A green glow emitted from its mouth, coloring the bubble in an olive shade. It spat a single, small stinger. Zigzagoon ran in glee, dropping its guard for a second. The stinger stuck into Zigzagoon’s side as it continued running with not a whimper. Patrick winced with the entry of the stinger but then shrugged with the reaction of Zigzagoon. He walked over to the Dewpider to spike it once more but stopped.
A red glow painted the grass around both Nickit and Zigzagoon. Nickit bounced off the ground in a roar as it slashed the Dewpider. In a second, Zigzagoon teleported to Nickit’s position and swiped at the Dewpider until they both landed on the grass with a thud.
The Pokedex shook in Patrick’s body and the fight was over.
Patrick whistled to this Pokemon and got the Pokedex out to inspect the notifications. He found a few ones he forgot about there from his fight with Amber.
Pokemon defeated: Sobble (Lvl 10)! | EXP Allocated (Underdog Bonus Applied!):
Zigzagoon has leveled up!
Level 8 —> Level 9
Stats: +2 HP, +1 ATK, +1 DEF, +1 SpA, +1 SpD, +1 SPE
Nickit has leveled up!
Level 7 —> Level 8
Stats: +2 HP, 0 ATK, 0 DEF, +2 SpA, +1 SpD, +1 SPE
Patrick pressed on ‘Yes’ immediately.
Leer won us a lot of battles. Tackle is a must have with it sharing Zigzagoon’s typing. Lick is Zigzagoon strongest attack right now, especially with its 30% paralysis rate. That leaves Sand Attack, which I myself could use with a throw of dirt or a kick, Patrick thought.
The same process repeated itself with Patrick replacing Nickit’s Tail Whip with Hone Claws. He used the Pokedex to read the move entries of both new moves:
Snarl:
The user yells as if it’s ranting about something, which lowers the Sp.Atk stats of opposing Pokemon.
Hone Claws:
The user sharpens its claws to boost its attack stat and accuracy.
He then inspected the latest fight’s notification.
Pokemon defeated: Dewpider (Lvl 12)! | EXP Allocated (Underdog Bonus Applied!):
Zigzagoon has leveled up!
Level 9 —> Level 11
Stats: +4 HP, +2 ATK, +2 DEF, +2 SpA, +2 SpD, +4 SPE
Nickit has leveled up!
Level 8 —> Level 10
Stats: +5 HP, +2 ATK, +2 DEF, +2 SpA, +3 SpD, +3 SPE
Patrick smiled with fervor as he realized how much stronger these two moves and level ups made his two Pokemon. Zigzagoon, for some reason, kept itching continuously, digging deeper wounds as blood dripped from the spot the stinger landed.
“Okay, Zigzagoon, Nickit, good job! But…Zigzagoon what’s wrong with—”
A creature hopped out of the forest beside them. It stared down Zigzagoon, its leaf moving around in its mouth till it landed in a comfortable position. It growled, its brows scrunched in an attempt at intimidation.
Pancham roared—or at least attempted to—as it charged Zigzagoon.
As always, Patrick placed the types in his mind and compared them.
“Noo!” Patrick shouted. Pancham was a Fighting type. Fighting was not only two times effective against Zigzagoon, it was four times effective.
Zigzagoon sat still, scratching the absolute life out of the spot the stinger landed on. Pancham’s whole arm glowed rusty red as it neared Zigzagoon. Patrick remembered one sentence in Pangoro’s Pokedex entry.
“It lives for duels against Obstagoon.”
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