Corvisquire Level: 18 Ability: Keen Eye Hidden Ability: Big Pecks
Traits:
Clever — Highly perceptive and quick-thinking; becomes a resourceful battler, especially under pressure.
Steel Feathers — Has awakened its Steel-type energy ahead of schedule, making its feathers unusually dense and tough. Defense is greatly increased, but Speed and Evasion are reduced.
Moves: Brave Bird (Inherited), Rock Smash (Inherited), Tailwind (Inherited), Defog (Inherited), Roost (Inherited), Peck, Swagger
Training Notes: Acquire TMs to expand its moveset. Focus on developing its Steel-type energy and training both Defense and Special Defense.
Evolution marks the start of a new life. The wounds and fatigue from the earlier battle had faded completely, wiped away by the change. The freshly evolved Corvisquire rolled its shoulders, feeling the weight of its new form settle around it — and found that it felt good. Strong. Ready.
It spread its wings and pushed off the ground, climbing into the air, already gathering power for another Brave Bird.
But Nova was not going to let it have a second run.
"Arno, Thunderbolt!"
A jagged bolt of lightning cracked through the air and shot toward the rising Corvisquire. Even with the speed boost from Tailwind still fading, the Corvisquire had no chance of outpacing electricity. The bolt connected cleanly, dealing double the usual damage thanks to its Flying-type.
The newly evolved Pokémon dropped from the sky like a broken glider, trailing a faint wisp of smoke.
But it didn't crash.
The paralysis from the electric shock lasted only a moment. Corvisquire shook itself back to awareness mid-fall, its wings — still buzzing with the numbing aftereffect — beating furiously until it managed to slow its descent and land without slamming into the ground.
Nova hadn't expected that.
Thunderbolt was a solid move even without type advantage, and Arno's exceptional Special Attack — sharpened further by its natural traits — made it hit noticeably harder than it had any right to. The fact that Corvisquire had taken that hit and stayed conscious was a clear sign of something. Strong willpower. A stubborn refusal to go down.
This is probably its first real battle, Nova thought. And it's already fighting like this.
He had seen enough. Corvisquire was nearly spent — pushing a Pokémon this hard against an opponent thirty levels above it was already asking a great deal. He had what he needed.
"One more, Arno. Use Psychic."
Arno's eyes shifted, the irises briefly flushing a pale pink. The air in the valley seemed to press inward, and an invisible force slammed into Corvisquire before it could react. The attack struck hard and fast, and with a quiet cry, Corvisquire went limp.
Nova was already moving. He pulled a Poké Ball from his belt and threw it in the same motion, catching Corvisquire in a beam of red light before it could hit the ground.
The ball landed in the grass and rocked once. Twice.
The light went still.
Nova let out a breath. He had a second Pokémon.
One step closer to actually starting his journey.
With Corvisquire secured, there wasn't much left to do on Purple Lychee Mountain. Nova climbed onto Arno's broad back, and the Nidorino carried him at a steady gallop back toward Goldenlight City.
Goldenlight City is one of the major cities in the southwestern part of the Norlandia Alliance, but it looks nothing like most large cities. There are no endless rows of glass towers or concrete streets. Instead, the city has a natural, unhurried quality to it — wide lawns and patches of forest are woven throughout the urban area, and the buildings feel less like they were built on top of the land and more like they grew out of it.
This deep connection to nature is no coincidence. It comes from the city's pride and centerpiece: the Luma Gym.
Among Grass-type Trainers in the Celestial League, the Luma Gym is considered one of the most prestigious. Its Gym Leader, Charlie Tucker, is said to hold strength comparable to an Elite Four member. That reputation was exactly why Nova had traveled so far from his hometown to come here.
At the moment, Nova was active in Goldenlight City as an intern at the Luma Gym.
Gyms in the real world are quite different from how they appear in games or on TV. In those stories, gyms are essentially badge-dispensing facilities — checkpoints that test whether a new Trainer has what it takes to enter a regional tournament. Simple as that.
Real gyms carry far more responsibility. They nurture and guide new Trainers within their territory, distribute resources, protect their regions, and post missions for local Trainers to take on. In that sense, a city's gym functions something like a guild — not for mercenaries, but for professional and amateur Pokémon Trainers alike.
One of Nova's main reasons for coming to Goldenlight City was to make use of the Luma Gym's policy for promising new Trainers. Interns who performed well during their placement could receive a Grass-type Pokémon egg, provided directly by the gym.
In Nova's view, any Trainer setting out on a proper journey needed at least one Grass-type on their team — not for battle reasons alone, but for survival.
No Water-type? You could avoid rivers and lakes, or carry your own supply. No Fire-type? A portable stove and some matches would do. No Flying-type? You walk.
But no Grass-type? Traveling through large, uninhabited wilderness became significantly more dangerous. Grass-type Pokémon were essential for navigating wild terrain, finding safe rest spots, and handling countless situations the wilderness threw at you without warning.
The idea of a ten-year-old setting off alone with a single starter Pokémon — the kind of thing you saw in the anime — would be outright reckless in reality. Potentially fatal.
Unless you were genuinely built different and could shrug off a 100,000-volt shock to the face with no lasting damage, it was best not to try.
For all of Nova's drive and ambition as a Trainer, he was surprisingly careful when it came to planning. His real journey wouldn't begin until he had his Grass-type. That was the rule he had set for himself.
It was nearly sunset by the time Nova left the Pokémon Center in the city center.
Arno and Corvisquirehad both been fully healed. Nova had no errands to run, so he set off on foot toward the gym, hoping to make it to the cafeteria before dinner service ended.
His finances were tight, which made getting around Goldenlight City more complicated than it needed to be.
A taxi was out of the question — one ride would eat through an entire day's budget. Arno was too large to run on the city streets without causing a scene, so Nova had no choice but to walk.
Four kilometers. Not a short distance, especially after the day he'd had. He was already tired, and he was mentally rehearsing how to slip into the cafeteria quietly and find something left over from dinner when he noticed a figure sitting near the Oddish statue at the gym's entrance.
The headache arrived before he even reached her.
"Nova! Where have you been? I've been out here looking for you for half an hour!"
She was about his age — tall, with a lean build and fair skin. Her light purple curly hair was perpetually a little disheveled, pulled this way and that by her own constant movement. A faint scatter of freckles crossed the bridge of her nose, giving her an air of cheerful mischief.
To most people, she probably seemed quite likable.
To Nova, she was simply exhausting.