"Cubone, Bonemerang!"
"Cubo!"
With a sharp cry, Cubone hurled its bone club with force.
The club spun through the air, slammed into the target up ahead, then rotated mid-air and flew straight back into Cubone's hand.
Clap clap clap clap clap~
Haruki couldn't help but applaud from behind. Cubone's progress over the past weeks had far exceeded his expectations.
Especially mastering Bonemerang, it finally made Haruki consider exploring Rock Mountain.
"My Cubone is amazing!"
Haruki walked over and praised it generously.
Cubone looked unmoved, but beneath the skull… its little face had already turned a faint shade of red.
Haruki didn't mind. After spending so much time together, he knew exactly what kind of personality Cubone had.
Being "unmoved" was already the best reaction it would give.
Pokémon grew rapidly in the early stages. In just a month and a half, Cubone had grown 10 centimeters taller and its strength had improved significantly.
Though it hadn't yet reached Skilled tier, at this rate it could attempt a breakthrough within a month.
----
By the time training ended, it was already midnight when Haruki returned to the ramen shop.
The clients and staff were all gone, but faint sounds of training could still be heard from the backyard.
Captain Christopher might love making ramen, but when it came to training, he was just as committed.
"You're back. Staying out this late… did you finally master Bonemerang?"
"Yeah, Cubone worked really hard."
Haruki smiled, then added, "Boss, I want to go explore around Steelrock Town tomorrow, and let Cubone try a real battle."
"Go if you want, just don't go too far. Be careful."
"Got it. Thanks, boss!"
Haruki responded, though he felt a bit sentimental inside.
After working together for more than a month, Christopher rarely made any demands outside of occasionally checking Haruki's intel. Most of the time, he let Haruki do as he pleased.
It was clear that Christopher's heart wasn't really in Team Rocket… maybe the ramen shop was his true passion.
---
Early the next morning, Haruki packed up his gear and officially set out for Rock Mountain.
Cubone followed close at his side. Its small figure somehow gave Haruki a great sense of security. This Cubone was no longer the same as before.
They passed through a sparse forest at the mountain's base, and the bare rocky slope of the mountain gradually came into view.
True to its name, Rock Mountain was nothing but a bald mass of rocks.
Looking up, it seemed fully exposed, but Haruki remained highly alert.
Because just ahead on the right, two ordinary-looking rocks were actually Geodude curled up in place.
If you didn't look carefully, they were completely blended into the surrounding terrain.
"Cubone, use Curse!"
When non-Ghost-type Pokémon use Curse, the effect becomes a simple self-boost. It raises Attack and Defense but lowers Speed.
And for Cubone, Speed didn't really matter anyway.
Cubone lowered its head and began drawing circles with its bone club, its little mouth muttering who-knows-what.
Moments later, red and blue lights flickered across its body. Curse had taken effect.
"Good. Let's approach slowly."
Geodude wasn't very strong and was weak to Cubone's type, making it a perfect opponent for Cubone to build confidence in battle.
Sensing vibrations in the ground, the Geodude immediately noticed Cubone approaching.
Eyes locked.
The short-tempered Geodude didn't hesitate. It curled up and rolled straight toward them.
Move: Rollout.
"Next, use Bone Club!"
Over a month of training had paid off. Though neither had been in a real battle before, Haruki and Cubone showed no signs of panic when facing their enemy.
Cubone ran ahead of Haruki, took position, held its bone club horizontally, and waited for the Geodude to slam into it.
Rollout gained power the longer it continued. At its peak, it could be more terrifying than Giga Impact… maybe.
But in the beginning, Rollout wasn't even as strong as Tackle. And Cubone's real specialty was…
Defense!¹
The rolling Geodude crashed straight into the hard bone club, pushing Cubone backward about two centimeters… and that was it.
Curse's Defense boost, Ground-type resistance, and the bone club's indirect damage absorption. What looked like a powerful strike from Geodude barely harmed Cubone at all.
In the next instant, Cubone swept its bone club horizontally, knocking Geodude back slightly, then followed through with a practiced downward swing.
A clean Bone Club attack!
Thunk!
A heavy, dull strike echoed.
Cracks visibly spread across Geodude's body. Its hardened head split open, and its eyes spun in circles. It was completely knocked out.
One-hit KO!
Curse-boosted Attack, type advantage, and one often-overlooked factor: Cubone or Marowak holding a Thick Club has its Attack doubled.
With all three factors in play, it wasn't surprising that a fellow Beginner-tier Geodude was taken out instantly.
"Cubone!"
With its first victory secured, even the usually aloof and proud Cubone couldn't help but shout in excitement.
Though the cry wasn't exactly fierce, more like... cute.
The other Geodude, seeing its companion fall, panicked and tried to escape. Haruki, who'd been watching closely, immediately spotted its movement.
"Bonemerang! Don't let it get away!"
Geodude had "social" tendencies. If one got away, Haruki wouldn't feel safe returning to Rock Mountain any time soon.
The first victory had boosted Cubone's confidence significantly. Hearing Haruki's command, it threw the bone club without hesitation.
Thunk!
Another heavy strike. This second Geodude met the same cracked-head fate.
Without wasting time on the downed Geodude, Haruki and Cubone stepped over them and continued heading up the mountain.
Though their injuries looked bad, Geodude could recover slowly just by eating a few rocks. As long as their core wasn't damaged, they were remarkably resilient.
And when they woke up and realized Haruki and Cubone were gone, revenge wouldn't be their first thought… recovering themselves would be.
Meanwhile, Haruki and Cubone kept climbing. More Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon began to appear.
Geodude were by far the most common, but for Cubone, most were one-hit defeats, no pressure at all.
Occasionally, an Onix would crawl slowly in the distance. Haruki would quickly hide with Cubone rather than engage.
Onix was still too much for Cubone at this stage.
Every now and then, a Sandshrew would dig its way out, but it would quickly tunnel away again, extremely skittish!
As for other Rock- and Ground-types Haruki remembered, like Diglett, Gligar, or Phanpy. He hadn't seen any of them at all.
Rock Mountain was too close to the town. The outskirts had probably been cleaned out countless times already. Any rare Pokémon were likely long gone.
It was only after coming here that Haruki began to understand why the League promoted Trainer journeys.
To maintain ecological diversity across regions, not just exploit one area; and to create more possibilities for the Pokémon world.
So, on a mountain like this... could a Shiny Metagross really appear?
.
.
.
¹Cubone Def stats: B95 - Min175 -Max317 | Marowak Def stats: B110 - Min202 -Max350