"Roserade, use Magical Leaf!"
Luther froze, caught off guard. Magical Leaf, a Grass-type move, shimmered through the air, but Jumpluff, being a Grass-and-Flying-type Pokémon, would hardly feel a scratch from it. He couldn't fathom what Professor Rowan was planning.
In the heat of a Pokémon battle, losing focus was a rookie mistake. With no orders from Luther, Jumpluff took the full brunt of the Magical Leaf. It spun around, casting a bewildered glance at its Trainer, the faint sting of the glowing leaves prickling its fluffy form.
The crowd murmured among themselves, intrigued by the opening exchange. It was an odd spectacle, one side unleashed a move that barely scratched the surface, while the other stood idle, absorbing the hit without a counter.
Professor Rowan's brow furrowed. With his years of expertise, he could tell Luther's mind had wandered from the moment the battle began.
Luther wrestled with the storm of thoughts swirling in his head, desperate to tune out the crowd's whispers and center himself for the fight ahead.
After a tense pause, Professor Rowan barked another command: "Roserade, use Toxic!"
As the venomous mist erupted from Roserade, Luther finally snapped back to his senses.
"Shake off Toxic and hit back with Frustration!"
The Toxic struck Jumpluff square on, but the Pokémon didn't flinch. Instead, it barreled forward, charging Roserade with fierce determination.
Professor Rowan called for a dodge, but it was too late. Frustration slammed into Roserade, launching it across the field in a flurry of petals.
"Unbelievable power!" Luther blurted, astonished.
Frustration, a Normal-type move, drew its strength from the bond, or lack thereof, between Trainer and Pokémon. Unlike Reversal, its damage spiked when friendship was low, making it a wild card in battle.
"Why didn't Toxic faze Jumpluff?" Someone in the crowd muttered.
"Must be its Leaf Guard ability," Another replied. "Without weather moves in play, it depends on the battlefield conditions. With this sunny day, Jumpluff's immune to status effects."
Luther barely registered the chatter as Professor Rowan recalled Roserade.
"Leaf Guard, eh? Let's see how you handle this!"
Professor Rowan's next Pokémon, Golbat, swooped onto the scene, its wings slicing through the air. With its Poison-and-Flying typing and diverse moveset, it posed a serious threat to Jumpluff.
"Jumpluff, use Stun Spore!" Luther called.
He'd begun to piece together Professor Rowan's strategy. Roserade had revealed two moves: Magical Leaf, a Grass-type attack that was little more than a breeze to Jumpluff, and Toxic, nullified by Leaf Guard. Luther figured Roserade's other moves were likely useless against Grass types or blocked by the ability.
Jumpluff, as the lead Pokémon, had already scoped out vital intel on Rowan's team. Now, it just needed to keep digging for more.
Stun Spore glittered in the air, a tactical move that could paralyze Golbat and set up an advantage for Luther's next Pokémon if it landed.
"Golbat, use Air Slash to scatter the Stun Spore!" Professor Rowan countered.
Luther's eyes widened. This was the gap between battling in games and real life. In actual Pokémon battles, moves clashed and intertwined. When you made your play, your opponent could respond in kind, disrupting your strategy. Accuracy wasn't just numbers, it hinged on a Trainer's instincts, a Pokémon's experience, and raw power.
Trainers on both sides sized up the battlefield, calling their moves based on the ebb and flow of the fight.
Success hinged on reading the rhythm of the opponent's Pokémon, its movements, and its habits while staying in tune with their own Pokémon's condition and tempo. The trick was to blend those rhythms, spotting the perfect opening to strike with the upper hand.
That kind of instinct took years to hone: a deep well of experience, a mental Pokédex of every species' quirks, and a bond with their own Pokémon strong enough to pierce through an enemy Trainer's commands and expose the flaws in their strategy.
This wasn't some button-mashing game for kids. No wonder so few Trainers rose to greatness in a world brimming with challengers.
Air Slash tore through the air, scattering the Stun Spore and barreling straight for Jumpluff.
"Dodge it, then fire Bullet Seed!" Luther called.
He was starting to see why Ash swore by three key moves, dodging, recovering, and healing. Those basics were gold in a real battle.
Jumpluff sprang lightly to the side, unleashing a volley of Bullet Seed mid-flight. Luther picked the move for its precision in live combat; the rapid, relentless barrage gave room for error and still packed a punch.
As predicted, Bullet Seed sprayed wide a few times before clipping Golbat, despite Professor Rowan's order to evade.
But the Grass-type attack barely ruffled Golbat's Flying-and-Poison feathers, it shrugged off the hits like they were nothing.
"Air Slash," Professor Rowan commanded coolly.
Luther glanced up, meeting the professor's steady, knowing gaze.
Experience trumped all. Rowan had already clocked Luther's plan to scout his team with Jumpluff, and Golbat wasn't about to spill more than Air Slash.
"Counter with Bullet Seed, block that Air Slash!" Luther didn't expect to bait out Golbat's full moveset with endless dodges anymore; he just wanted to shake things up.
The clash was lopsided, Bullet Seed met Air Slash head-on, but the slicing gusts overpowered the seeds, sparking a small blast in the field's center that flung Jumpluff back.
Professor Rowan pounced on the opening, ordering Golbat to swoop down with a Wing Attack.
"Stun Spore!" Luther shouted.
The sudden shift threw him off balance. He was all-in on Stun Spore now, a desperate gamble.
Golbat's dive landed the Wing Attack clean, dusting Jumpluff with a powdery haze as the impact sent it tumbling once more.
The crowd roared, electrified by Golbat's slick, powerful strike.
Yet amid the chaos, Jumpluff wobbled to its feet on the scarred battlefield.
Sachiko, the referee, raised her flag, eyeing Jumpluff closely before signaling the match to press on.
Luther's mind spun out of control. He knew Stun Spore had hit, but had he blundered? Should he have told Jumpluff to dodge instead? Doubt gnawed at him, crumbling the confidence he'd scraped together.
But as he wrestled with himself, his gaze fell on the bruise marring Jumpluff's side. Guilt and frustration surged. Sure, the Pokémon Center would patch it up after the battle, but he couldn't shake the sting of his own shaky leadership.
Golbat's next Air Slash closed in fast. Luther stood frozen, lost in a daze until he saw Jumpluff plant itself firm, waiting for his call despite the pain.
"Dodge it!" he yelled, voice cracking with urgency.
But it was too late. Air Slash slammed into Jumpluff, hurling it back in a swirl of dust that clouded the arena. Sachiko squinted through the haze, unable to tell if Jumpluff could still fight.
"Do you really deserve a Pokédex?"
Professor Rowan's sharp voice snapped Luther out of his spiral. He turned slowly, meeting the professor's steely glare.
"If this is how you battle, you don't deserve a Pokédex. I've told you before that only Trainers recognized by the Research Lab earn that honor. Your stubbornness got you this far, and gave you a shot at this match, but your heart's not in it. Your Pokémon's put near-total trust in you, a stranger with no battle know-how, and how do you repay that faith?"
Rowan's words hushed the battlefield; the silence was deafening, every whisper swallowed by his reprimand.
"What do you even want a Pokédex for? I asked you once, and you claimed it was to become a top-tier Trainer. But to me, you're not worthy. You're just chasing it to use Pokémon as a crutch for your own fears, treating them like tools to fix yourself!"
Under the weight of nearly a hundred staring eyes, Luther withered as Professor Rowan tore into him. The crowd's burning gazes made his head swim, he'd always hated being the center of attention.
He tried to steel himself, to stand tall, but the buzz of judgment around him was suffocating. Past or present, Luther felt stuck, like he hadn't grown at all.
Just yesterday, he'd been brimming with resolve to change. Now, he already wanted to shrink away.
It stung, a bitter mix of defiance and powerlessness. He couldn't muster a word to counter Rowan.
But then, gasps rippled through the crowd, cutting off his thoughts.
Through the settling dust, Jumpluff rose once more, unsteady but upright.
No one had demanded it give everything for this fight. The Research Lab staff had only asked it to pair up with Luther, a total novice. Two fumbled commands had left it battered, it could've tapped out, and walked away from the chaos.
Yet there it stood. Sachiko, poised to call the match, hesitated and lowered her flag.
Luther gaped at Jumpluff. Its eyes locked onto his, fierce and unwavering.
'So what if they're whispering about me? Fine, I'm green, I'm a rookie! Sure, I stumble over crowds and carry a weight that drags me down, but I'm not ready to quit! You're trusting me, Jumpluff, so I'll give it everything I've got!'
"Jumpluff, hit it with Bullet Seed, keep it coming!" Luther's mind was a mess, but his voice rang steady, calm washing over him.
The chatter faded, and the prickling stares dissolved. His focus zeroed in on Jumpluff's movements, tracking them against Golbat's to find his next play.
Bullet Seed peppered Golbat in a flash, catching even Professor Rowan off guard. Air Slash had rocked Jumpluff hard, yet here it was, digging in its heels.
Golbat absorbed the barrage, Rowan too stunned to call a move.
"Professor, don't zone out mid-battle!" Luther quipped, then belted out, "Jumpluff, use Mega Drain!"
The glowing tendrils of Mega Drain struck true. The move sapped Golbat's energy, barely denting it but channeling a trickle of vitality back to Jumpluff.
"Sludge Bomb!" Rowan barked.
But Golbat twitched, rooted in place.
"It's paralyzed…" Someone murmured.
The crowd buzzed, reeling from the twist, paralysis meant opportunity.
"Mega Drain, again!"
Luther pounced, not missing a beat. The repeated hits kept Jumpluff in the fight, leeching Golbat's stamina bit by bit. These small jabs could stack up, wearing Golbat down over time.
(End of Chapter)