"Ralts, Hypnosis."
The next day Vance put the Ralts out on the field, facing several Caterpie.
Her first real fighting had begun.
"Ralts—"
Hearing the order, the Ralts sent Hypnosis at the several Caterpie, and under her power they swayed about on their feet and could not hold themselves upright.
"Confusion."
"Ralts—"
The Caterpie were taken hold of by the Confusion, lifted into the air, and stopped moving there.
"Ralts—"
The Ralts turned her head and looked at her Trainer for what she ought to do next.
"Over there. That rock. You can do a great deal of damage with that."
Vance gestured, pointing at the rock over there.
"Ralts—"
The Ralts heard him out and did it at once, holding them with the Confusion and slamming the Caterpie hard down onto the stone.
They fell from the rock with their eyes spinning, and were already out of their senses.
"Ralts—"
Beating Pokémon with her own hands was a new sort of thing to feel, and the Ralts was very much stirred by it.
Winning the fight gave the Ralts something good to take from it.
Vance waited until she had finished cheering before he spoke.
"Those were only Caterpie, the weakest thing in the forest. You must keep working at it, Ralts."
"Ralts—"
The Ralts nodded in earnest.
"Good. Now let's talk about the things to watch for in a real fight. Just then, when you had them held with Confusion, the first thing to do was to throw them where they would take the most damage — sharp rocks, hard ground........."
Vance was passing on to the Ralts some of what is needed in a fight, as they went along; it was what she still wanted.
"Ralts—"
The Ralts nodded from time to time to show that she had it.
"Come along. Let's go and find you some other opponents."
And Vance took the Ralts on, to go and challenge other Pokémon.
Gym-class and Elite-Four-class Pokémon are hard to find; Rookies and Novices there are heaps of, past counting.
Deep in these hills and old forests, well away from where people go, you can pick them up by the handful.
Hidden behind them, the Alakazam nodded in great approval. It thought very well of Vance's way of going about it.
Just as it had believed: put a Trainer in charge of her, and the Ralts had grown a great deal. She could beat four Caterpie now. She really was growing up.
The Ralts's progress was a comfort to it, and with its own injury mending as well, its spirits were uncommonly good.
Ahead of them the Alakazam swept its vast Pokémon energy over the ground, found no threat there, and followed quietly on.
The Ralts spent the whole morning in fighting.
And through it all she was very stout about it, never flinching. Whatever Vance said, she did.
And Vance of course arranged it properly, and would not let her run herself dry or anything of the sort.
"Very good, Ralts. Come and have something to eat and rest."
"Ralts—"
The Ralts came running over delightedly and squeezed in with the Gyarados and the others to eat.
"Roar, roar—"
"Blaziken, Blaziken—"
The rest of them were cheering her on as well, praising her courage and how she was coming along.
Though the Pokémon she had beaten were, in their view, weak as could be.
"Ralts—"
The warmth of them all made the Ralts bashful, her face a little pink, and without thinking she looked round at Vance.
Vance gave her an encouraging look and did nothing further.
The Ralts still had to find her way into this large family and become one of it.
"Ralts—"
The Ralts took a piece of something sweet in both hands, went up to the Blaziken and held it out to him.
"Ralts—"
"Blaziken!"
The Blaziken took it, very pleased and rather overcome by the honour, and put it straight into his mouth.
"Blaziken—"
The Blaziken made the sign for excellent.
It was a bit sweet — mm, not his favourite — but it had come from a new teammate, and whatever else, one had to do her the courtesy.
"Ralts—"
The Ralts went back to her own place, and pushed the food in front of her, under the Gyarados's great eyes, along until it was in front of him, and called up at him.
"Ralts—"
"Awooo—"
The Gyarados felt that his gentleness had been noticed at last. It was a wonderful feeling.
"Roar, roar—"
The Gyarados laughed, and gave the Slaking a smug look.
"What are you looking at? How childish."
The Slaking rolled his eyes at him. This Gyarados was the same wretched creature as ever.
Then he shook his head. It was he, the Slaking, who was the mature and steady one, forever studying the art of war in his dreams and raising his own state of mind.
While he was thinking it over, the Ralts set her food down in front of him too, calling softly up at him, putting out her friendliness.
"Thank you, Ralts. This is mine — you can have some of it too."
The Slaking said it pleasantly, and shared with her.
"I'm not like certain Pokémon. I know how to share."
"Roar, roar. Slaking, why don't you just say it's me."
The Gyarados said it loudly.
"Oh. Then it's decided that it's you, Gyarados."
"??? Decided?" The Gyarados felt he had been insulted. He looked about, found his opening and said smugly, "Hmph. You're not as popular as I am. You got one piece. I got a pile."
"A pile. It takes a glutton to eat that much."
The Slaking said it under his breath.
"What the—!!"
The Gyarados froze. When you put it that way, it did rather seem so.
"Ralts, Ralts—"
The Ralts explained herself, saying that she had not meant that at all.
"Blaziken, Blaziken—"
The Blaziken explained it to the Ralts, and then drew her aside, and the two of them watched quietly.
The Ralts watched the pair of them sniping at each other; but from the feeling that came off them both, they cared about one another.
Which the Ralts thought curious, and the more she watched the more entertaining it became.
"That'll do, that'll do. Eat first. This afternoon it's the two of you."
Vance spoke up, and only then did the Gyarados and the other leave off scuffling.
There was a feeling about it all that the Ralts had never known before: gladness, harmony, ease.
That was the feeling the Ralts came to. This large family — she was one of it now.
In the afternoon the rounds of fighting went on, honing their moves, raising their strength and their levels.
While the Blaziken and the rest fought, the Ralts sat on Vance's shoulder or in his arms, both eyes wide, watching these old hands at work.