The weather was nice. Reiji got up early and prepared breakfast for the Pokémon.
While they were eating and he was about to fix something for himself, Skinny showed up at the villa bright and early—with breakfast in hand.
"Big Bro Reiji, I brought you breakfast!"
"Breakfast, huh? Then I don't need to cook." Reiji waved him over to the poolside table and dug into the milk, rice balls, and a few other odds and ends he couldn't even name.
After a quick bite, both the Pokémon's morning drills and the boys' own run began.
Poliwhirl, Krabby, Rhyhorn, and Farfetch'd circled the block and were required to use their speed-boosting moves while running; Reiji and Skinny jogged laps inside the courtyard.
Skinny's team—Poliwhirl, Breloom, the Wingull he'd just caught yesterday, plus Spinarak, Magikarp, and Wishiwashi—worked on move accuracy.
Butterfree and Slowpoke trained Confusion, and Pelipper practiced Rain Dance, sprinkling the yard with brief showers that never lasted more than a few minutes.
Just as they got into the groove, someone turned up at the gate—and was immediately surrounded by the four jogging Pokémon, who let out a piercing squeal like a pig being stuck.
"Skinny!, where are you? Get out here—if you don't, you'll never see me again!"
"Chubbs?" Skinny hurried out and found the pudgy boy hemmed in by the four.
"Sorry, Poliwhirl—he's my friend. He didn't mean to interrupt you." Skinny apologized to the Pokémon.
"Yobo, yobo." Poliwhirl bobbed, then trotted off, and the other three followed, leaving the terrified Chubbs to exhale in relief. Being ringed by four tough-looking Pokémon was more than a little scary.
"Skinny, are those four all that Trainer's Pokémon?" Chubbs asked.
"Yeah. Come on, I'll take you to meet Big Bro Reiji."
In the courtyard, Chubbs saw nine Pokémon all busy training, with Reiji still jogging. Since Reiji kept running, Skinny told Chubbs, "I need to finish my laps. Grab a seat and wait for me a bit."
Half an hour later, they stopped for water. Skinny beckoned Chubbs over and introduced him.
"Big Bro Reiji, this is the friend I told you about."
"I've heard. You want to learn how to raise Pokémon too?" Reiji asked, all friendly smiles; Chubbs didn't realize this was the "spider robber" who'd mugged him that first night.
"Yes! Can I call you Big Bro Reiji like Skinny?"
"Sure. Let me see your Pokémon."
"Okay, here they are." Not sure which Reiji wanted, Chubbs handed over both.
"Krabby and Wooper," Reiji said, opening their status with a glance.
[Krabby]
Type: Water
Gender: Male
Potential: 43.19%
Level: 25.62%
Ability: Shell Armor / 10.94%
Moves: …
[Wooper]
Type: Water/Ground
Gender: Female
Potential: 45.47%
Level: 18.59%
Ability: Damp / 5.38%
Moves: …
Average overall: mid-high potential, nothing special in level, ability, or moves. Definitely worse than Skinny's pair—looked like Chubbs's parents couldn't match the tavern grandpa's resources. Charging a tuition fee probably wasn't realistic.
Reiji let it go. He wouldn't take Chubbs's money, and he wouldn't hand over his deepest methods either—he'd give the straightforward "high Atk/high Def/high Spe" Krabby regimen and let Chubbs follow Skinny on the basics.
"Not bad. Train alongside Skinny. Ask him if you're unsure—if he doesn't know, come to me." Reiji returned the balls and waved Chubbs toward Skinny.
"Thanks, Big Bro Reiji! I'll work hard!" Chubbs said loudly. Reiji was already back to his jog and didn't respond.
If Chubbs ever wanted to compete, he'd need a Fire-, Ice-, or Flying-type for coverage—any one would do. Camerupt, Charmander, Swinub, and a dozen Flying-types were all fine choices.
Both of Chubbs's Pokémon were weak to Grass—Wooper four times so. Sure, they covered Electric, but that Grass weakness was magnified. Had his parents even considered that?
As for Skinny's eventual lineup, if he leaned into Fighting, then even if his third slot wasn't Fighting-type, it should at least have hands—and Electric would be perfect: Electric checks Water, Water checks Grass, Grass checks Water—forming a clean little triangle for early-game coverage.
Not that any of this was Reiji's responsibility. He wasn't their babysitter. Parents will arrange what they like; he had his own house to keep.
While Reiji jogged, Skinny started explaining how they trained.
"Chubbs, start by working on Water Gun accuracy with mine."
"Accuracy?" Chubbs looked around at the yard full of basic drills and frowned. "Can't you teach me the stuff from your three-win streak yesterday instead?"
"Chubbs…" Skinny sighed. How was he supposed to explain that the "one-vs-three" run yesterday came down to Reiji's tips and—above all—move accuracy? He figured Chubbs wouldn't believe it unless he saw it.
"Want a practice battle?"
"Right now?" Chubbs glanced at the busy yard—this felt like bad timing.
"Right now," Skinny said. You won't get it unless we battle.
"Fine—let's go outside."
They headed toward the shore with just Poliwhirl on Skinny's side. Chubbs sent out Krabby.
These days, Skinny could beat Chubbs two-for-two without breaking a sweat. Before, they were about even—Skinny only had the edge when he brought Breloom.
"I'll give you first move," Skinny said on the grass outside the villa.
"Krabby, Water Gun!" Chubbs seized the initiative.
"Krab!" Pfft pfft pfft— Three shots, three misses. Even if they'd hit, Water Gun wouldn't have done anything to Poliwhirl anyway.
From that alone, Chubbs screamed "didn't study." He clearly hadn't paid attention in class—or in any of their past battles—to be firing Water Gun at Poliwhirl.
Skinny sighed. "Poliwhirl, close in—Double Slap!"
Poliwhirl charged straight through the shallow splashes—taking the one or two stray hits without so much as a flinch—and smacked Krabby silly until it went limp.
Chubbs recalled Krabby, stunned. "Why isn't your Poliwhirl afraid of water? And what kind of battling is that?"
"Poliwhirl's ability is Water Absorb. Did you forget?" Skinny was speechless.
"Uh…" Chubbs had heard that once, but he'd never cared much about abilities—he'd beaten Skinny's Poliwag before with Water Gun.
Truth was, back then it wasn't Water Gun's damage but the impact that knocked the Poliwag out. He hadn't valued abilities since—until he tripped over the same stone again.
"Water Gun does nothing to Water Absorb—and it heals Poliwhirl," Skinny said patiently.
"Ohhh." Chubbs scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Again," he said quickly. "I won't be careless this time."
"Okay. Your move." Skinny kept Poliwhirl in; Chubbs sent out Wooper.
"Wooper, Mud Shot!"
"Poliwhirl, Mud Shot too." Skinny didn't even bother to dodge. He knew exactly where Chubbs's Wooper stood; even if Poliwhirl stood still, Wooper wouldn't land a shot. Better to turret up and fire.
Sure enough, Poliwhirl went three-for-three, and Wooper collapsed after the third hit. Wooper, meanwhile, didn't connect a single Mud Shot.
Chubbs gaped. Three perfect hits? When had Skinny's Poliwhirl become that precise?
If he hadn't believed it yesterday, he saw it clearly now: same move, same distance, nobody budging—and Wooper dropped in seconds.
So this was what Skinny meant by the importance of accuracy.
"Right," Chubbs muttered, remembering yesterday's battles. Both of Skinny's Pokémon had landed nearly everything. He had trained—Skinny hadn't been bluffing.
"See? That's the power of accuracy," Skinny shrugged. Once Poliwhirl's hit rate went up, battles suddenly felt simple. Tactics he never dared try before now worked cleanly—because the moves actually hit.
"I get it! Tell me how you did it!" Chubbs grabbed his sleeve, eyes shining.
"Come with me." Skinny, pleased with his little demo, led him back to the yard—now for the real technique.
Back inside, he had Poliwhirl show off: single-shot Water Gun on a moving target—one hundred percent.
Watching that, Chubbs's jaw dropped all over again. So Skinny's Poliwhirl hadn't even been going all out…
Realizing that, Chubbs's cheeks flushed, and he could only grin sheepishly.
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]