Being led through another door inside the tent, Arthur, Lena, and the three Pokémon emerged from the princess's bedchamber into what appeared to be a small grassy plain, complete with a sky, clouds, and sunlight.
Though it was obviously an illusion, the sensation was strikingly real. He could feel the gentle breeze, the warmth of the 'sun' on his skin, and the earthy scent of nature as if he were truly outdoors. Yet, he knew he was still inside the portable tent—evident from the edge of this miniature grassland, where an incomprehensible swirl of vibrant color stretched out into a void. The shifting hues were like the reflection on a lake's surface. Near the boundary of the grassy plain, an invisible wall halted any approach to the void, a boundary marking the limits of the compressed space.
This space is brimming with research potential! Arthur's eyes sparkled with interest as he gazed at the void, eager to absorb every detail for his Poké Ball inventions. His mind raced with ideas for improving them, particularly to craft a Luxury Ball.
Ponyta and Butterfree had already darted off, exploring with their usual curiosity, while Beedrill coolly hovered in place, observing the surroundings without moving, though its occasional glances toward the void showed a clear interest.
As Arthur jotted down notes in the notebook he had pulled from his waist bag, Reden approached with a smile, pushing up her round glasses. "Interested? I can provide you with related research papers on space magic and elemental theory."
His pen halted, and he lifted his gaze to meet the early twenties woman standing beside him with casual grace. He spoke with caution, his tone wary. "That would be helpful, but what do you want in return?"
Reden placed a hand over her mouth, giggling softly. "My, my... there's no need to be scared of me."
You're the scariest person here! Arthur thought to himself, though his expression remained neutral. He stood firm, his voice resolute. "Please state your terms."
Her giggles grew a little louder, clearly entertained. "You shouldn't act so serious at your age, or you'll grow into one of those stuffy, uptight old men—by twenty, no less."
Arthur said nothing, maintaining his stoic silence.
Reden smiled, then sighed, "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. I only ask that you get me one of the Pokémon."
Arthur considered her request for a moment before nodding. "Fine, but you must promise me you'll treat it well. No experiments," he added, raising his voice to ensure Wentia and Rosaria could hear him. That way, they could keep an eye on Reden and ensure she wouldn't cause any harm to Pokémon.
He had already planned to gift Pokémon Eggs to both Wentia and Reden after this. For Reden, he'd ensure Rosaria was present when the egg began to hatch. This way, the newborn Pokémon would imprint on the person holding the egg, but would also be familiar enough with Rosaria to seek her help if Reden didn't respect his wishes.
Reden's smile softened, and she gently patted his head before producing a luxurious wooden staff from seemingly nowhere. She tapped its tip on the ground three times and, in a solemn tone, declared, "I hereby swear, in the name of the Windazen Family, that I will care for my Pokémon as though they were my own children."
Though Arthur didn't fully understand the noble custom, hearing her swear an oath using her family name eased his concerns considerably. And with Rosaria herself witnessing the vow, he felt confident it would be fine.
Arthur noticed Wentia's fierce expression betraying a hint of hesitation as she listened to their conversation. In the end, she remained silent, saying nothing. He guessed it was because she also wanted to ask for a Pokémon but had more discipline and pride than to be the first to ask.
Once he was satisfied with his observations of the void, he walked back toward the clearing, which was large enough to serve as a Pokémon Battle Arena.
Lena was deep in conversation with Rosaria, both of them clearly enjoying each other's company as they laughed together, their bond already beginning to form in such a short time.
"What are you two talking about?" Arthur asked as he approached, curious about how they'd managed to become friends so quickly.
Smirking, Lena shot him a teasing smile. "Obviously, I'm sharing all your childhood embarrassing moments!"
Arthur paused in his tracks, furrowing his brows as he tried to recall any embarrassing moments from his past. He couldn't think of any... except that one time he successfully created his first Pokémon Caterpie and started laughing maniacally like a madman in the middle of the night.
Seeing his perplexed expression, Lena laughed and gave his shoulder a reassuring pat. "Relax, I was just joking. We were talking about Pokémon, mainly about Ponyta."
That made sense. Since Lena had been as much Ponyta's original Trainer as he had, they probably had plenty to discuss.
Rosaria joined in with a smile, "From your sister's story, it sounds like I'll need to raise the stablemen's salary or hire more of them. Otherwise, they might quit the very next day!"
Arthur couldn't help but wonder if those court stablemen even had the option to resign on their own. He doubted it, but decided not to voice his thoughts.
He smiled and added, "If possible, could you also renovate the stable and use fire-resistant materials? Unless you plan to keep her in her Poké Ball all the time."
"I will," Rosaria nodded seriously as Reden made a note of it.
Arthur then clapped his hands softly to get their attention. "Alright, before we battle, let me explain why a Pokédex is necessary."
He pulled the familiar device out of his waist bag and handed it to Rosaria.
Like the Poké Ball, Wentia first examined the Pokédex with her Danger Detection before passing it to Rosaria.
Arthur began his explanation. "The Pokédex serves as a comprehensive database for Pokémon, allowing Trainers to track the Pokémon they've seen and caught. It provides access to information about their abilities, moves, stats, and evolutions."
"Another essential reason why Trainers need a Pokédex is to determine which moves to keep and which to discard. Unlike wild Pokémon, which, when they learn a new move, can't choose which one to forget and must randomly discard one after reaching the maximum limit of nine moves."
This limitation was one of Arthur's greatest sources of frustration. Unlike real Pokémon, which weren't restricted by the number of moves they could learn, his creations were limited to just nine moves at most—without a full breakdown of their genetic structure. Any more than that and they would suffer severe consequences: their genes would collapse and they would die, or worse.
On the bright side, he had managed to increase the move limit to nine, rather than the four moves in the game version, which was a small victory, though it barely satisfied him.
He could only hope to improve it in the future, but for now, this was the best he could do.
In reality, there were ten move slots available, but the tenth slot had to be reserved for a specific move required for the evolution of Pokémon that weren't Bug-types. Without using that particular move, Arthur couldn't find any other way to evolve non-Bug Pokémon. However, it was still in the testing phase, and he wasn't sure if it would work as intended. If it didn't, he would have to come up with a different solution.
As for wild Pokémon needing to randomly discard a move, that was half-true and half-false. Pokémon could influence which move they would forget, thus increasing the likelihood that a less useful move would be forgotten. However, compared to using the Pokédex as an external tool, which provided a 100% success rate in helping both Trainers and Pokémon decide which moves to keep and forget, the wild Pokémon's RNG method was far less efficient.
This was the challenge of having limited move slots—one he was still trying to solve.
As everyone, including Lena, gathered behind him to listen to his explanation on how to use the Pokédex, Arthur patiently spoke.
When he's done, he handed the Pokédex to Rosaria.
Recalling Arthur's instructions, Rosaria pressed a few buttons and then aimed the device at her Ponyta, who had been eagerly waiting to battle her friends.
The Pokédex immediately scanned for the registry codes of both Ponyta and her Poké Ball, confirming that this was indeed Ponyta's Trainer. This was to prepare for when the Pokémon learned a new move so the Pokédex could issue an alert in a timely manner. Without it, the process would be as random as it was for wild Pokémon.
"Beep!"
[Ponyta]
[Types: Fire]
[Ability: Run Away]
[Level: 12]
[Ponyta is very weak at birth, so weak that it can barely stand up. This Pokémon however becomes stronger by stumbling and falling to keep up with its parent. It is known to run fast and jump high. It allows humans to ride on its back occasionally. However, if angered, it may choose to burn its rider by igniting its back. Although its mane is made of flames, it will never burn a Trainer it trusts.]
[Base stats: -Redacted-]
[Moves: Growl, Tackle, Tail Whip, Rest, Ember, -empty-, -empty-, empty-, -empty-]
Rosaria's gaze lingered on Ponyta's description for a while, memorizing it in her heart before carefully reading the ability Run Away, causing her to gasp in surprise.
[Run Away allows the bearer to flee a battle with a wild Pokémon without fail]
"Does this ability work outside of wild Pokémon?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
To be honest, even Arthur wasn't sure, so he gave an uncertain answer. "The effect would be weaker, but the probability of escaping would still be slightly higher as long as you tell Ponyta to run and the opponent isn't too strong. You can try it out once you get back to the capital city."
"Even if it's not a guaranteed escape, just increasing the chances slightly is invaluable..." Reden commented seriously, pushing her round glasses up. Her words earned nods from both Rosaria and Wentia.
For nobles and royalty, having such an ability on their mount was akin to having a second chance at life.
In a real-life situation, it might even prove more valuable than Ponyta's other abilities, Flash Fire and Flame Body.
"The more I learn about Pokémon, the more fascinated I become," Rosaria admired with a long sigh, clearly marveled.
After discussing for a while, Rosaria moved on to the moves, reading each one carefully.
To Arthur's surprise, she placed great value on Growl and Tail Whip. But after thinking it over, he understood. Most debuff spells in this world weren't stackable, while Pokémon could stack such debuffs up to six times, reducing the opponent's strength and defense to just 25% of their full power.
At that point, the opponent might as well give up, unless they were far stronger. But if that were the case, you wouldn't waste time stacking debuffs and would instead try to escape as quickly as possible.
The move Rest was also highly valued, a potential lifesaver in battle.
They would be even more surprised if they know about Sleep Talk, Arthur thought, slightly regretting not teaching Ponyta that move. But then again, he feared Ponyta might accidentally destroy his house after falling asleep.
Sleep Talk was easy to teach, but incredibly difficult to control.
After learning the basics about Ponyta, Rosaria was ready to battle. However, she hesitated for a moment and asked, "Are you sure about this? Ponyta still seems so young... isn't this a bit dangerous?"
Arthur smiled, pointing at Ponyta, who was already giving them an impatient gaze. "Don't worry, most Pokémon actually love battling. It's like play for them."
"Then I'm relieved," Rosaria said with a smile, before asking, "What are the rules for a Pokémon battle?"
Arthur explained patiently, "First, no interference from the Trainers. We can only command them to attack, use moves, dodge, or the like.
"Second, since you only have one Pokémon, we'll do a 1v1 format. The first Pokémon that's unable to continue fighting loses.
"Simple enough, right?" he added with a grin, excitement bubbling up for his first real Pokémon battle.
Rosaria nodded in understanding. "I understand."
She then turned to Ponyta and gently brushed her fiery mane. "Are you ready?"
"Ta~!" Ponyta neighed, smoke billowing from her nostrils, clearly ready for the battle.
Meanwhile, Arthur stood a little farther away with his Pokémon and his sister, Lena, alternating between the two Bug-type Pokémon.
"Hey, bro. Which Pokémon are you choosing?" Lena asked. Though she'd always been afraid of insects, she somehow mustered the courage to stand near the two Bug-types. She was genuinely interested in the Pokémon battle and wanted to watch it up close, though she was doing her best to suppress her fear.
"Hmm..." Arthur mumbled, deep in thought. In the end, he decided to leave it to his Pokémon. "Which of you wants to fight Ponyta?"
Beedrill turned its head away, clearly uninterested in fighting. But as his Pokémon, Arthur knew that Beedrill actually didn't want to hurt Ponyta. Though it often acted annoyed by Ponyta's presence, it always made a conscious effort to avoid accidentally hurting her with stingers.
"Free~!" Butterfree, on the other hand, was eager to fight.
"Alright, I'll choose you then!" Arthur rubbed Butterfree's head, then called out to Rosaria. "We're ready!"
Looking at Butterfree, who slowly flew to the center of the field, Rosaria thought for a moment before asking, "Can I use my Pokédex to scan your Butterfree?"
Though it was more of a sparring match than a true battle, Rosaria wanted to take it seriously. The more she understood her opponent, the better her chances of winning.
Arthur didn't mind at all and nodded. "Go ahead."
[Butterfree]
[Types: Bug, Flying]
[Ability: Compound Eyes]
[Level: 15]
[Because of their water-resistant wings, Butterfree can often be found fluttering about in the misty upper levels of rainforests. However, the high moisture is not necessary for their survival; they are simply highly tolerant of it, so they are also found in drier forests as well, often flying in small swarms to search out locations where honey is abundant. They sometimes compete with Cutiefly for territory.]
[Base stats: -Redacted-]
[Moves: String Shot, Bug Bite, Harden, Gust, Supersonic, Confusion, Poison Powder, Sleep Power, Stun Spore]
To be honest, Arthur could have discarded String Shot, as his Bug-type Pokémon could still use it even without the move in their slot. However, for a specific reason, String Shot had been enhanced for Bug-types as long as the move was actually part of their moveset. Not only did it reduce the target's speed by three stages at once, but it also made it significantly harder to break free from.
As Rosaria, along with Wentia and Reden, peered over her shoulder, reading Butterfree's level and moves, her face grew increasingly sour. "Hey, this isn't fair! Your Butterfree is three levels higher than my Ponyta, and you've got nine moves! And the effects of those moves… you're cheating!"
"Also, Ponyta! Drop the apple! Otherwise, that Butterfree might snatch it away with Bug Bite!" she added after noticing Ponyta still munching on an apple, puffing her cheeks cutely.
Arthur's Butterfree had six moves that could inflict status effects. Rosaria hadn't seen them in action yet, but she already imagined how frustrating it would be to fight such an opponent.
Arthur chuckled and replied, "It's not as bad as it seems. You're new to Pokémon battles, so you don't understand yet, but Bug-types are weak to Fire-types!"
"Bug-types are weak to Fire-types?" Rosaria repeated, recalling Ponyta's move, Ember.
Wait, no, no! Maybe this is a trap set by Arthur! He wouldn't lie, but he might be trying to lead me into using Ember! Rosaria thought to herself, suspecting that Arthur was up to something.
But Arthur wasn't scheming at all. It was genuine advice.
Seeing Rosaria remain silent, lost in thought, Arthur teased, "Got your strategy figured out? Shall we begin?"
Her thoughts snapped back to the present, and her face hardened with determination. "Let's do it, Ponyta!"
"Ponyta~!" Ponyta cried out, reluctantly dropping the apple before hopping to the center, facing Butterfree.
"Lena, can you give us the signal?" Arthur turned to Lena, quickly scribbling something on a small piece of paper before handing it to her.
She nodded eagerly and moved to the side near the center. Raising her hand, she declared the words written on the paper: "The historic moment of the first-ever Ocasia Region Pokémon Battle shall now begin in 3... 2... 1…
"Battle!"
As Lena shouted the start of the battle, both Trainers immediately ordered their Pokémon.
"Ponyta! Ember!"
"Butterfree! Supersonic!"
Rosaria, determined to catch Arthur off-guard, decided to bite the bullet and used Ember as her first move. She thought it might surprise him since his advice had likely made her second-guess using it first. It seemed like a clever strategy to counter his potential tactics.
However, because of this, just as Ponyta unleashed the Ember, it was struck directly by Supersonic.
Ponyta trotted back and forth, clearly disoriented, trying to shake off the confusion.
Arthur, who hadn't been scheming anything with his earlier advice, was genuinely caught off-guard by the Ember. He had anticipated Rosaria would take a more cautious, defensive approach before shifting to offense, wary of Butterfree's powders and spores.
He had planned to have Ponyta dodge the Supersonic and then use Confusion to gamble for the confusion effect, but instead, both sides had gone for a direct exchange of moves.
"Free!" Butterfree cried out as Ember struck, its weakness of Fire-type move causing it to take heavy damage. Its health dropped to nearly half, but thankfully, no burn effect occurred. Now, the advantage tilted in Arthur's favor.
As Ponyta stumbled, still fighting off the confusion, Arthur quickly ordered, "Butterfree! Stun Spore, followed by Gust!"
As soon as the command was given, Butterfree unleashed the Stun Spore, which quickly spread across the battleground. The Gust of wind from Butterfree's wings stirred it further, covering more than half the area with the sticky, paralyzing spores.
On the other side, Rosaria anxiously shouted, "Ponyta! Quickly, get out of the way!"
But Ponyta, still under the effects of confusion, stumbled in her attempts to dodge. She tripped on her own legs and was hit directly by the Stun Spore. Her body stiffened as the paralysis took effect, but she at least managed to shake off the confusion.
Now, with Ponyta paralyzed, Rosaria was left with no choice but to shift to a more defensive strategy. Her only hope was to try and attack from afar and hope for a breakthrough.
"Ponyta! Use Growl!"
"Ponyta!" she cried, letting out a loud growl.
However, it was a misplay on Rosaria's part.
It wasn't entirely her fault—she still hadn't grasped the difference between Attack and Special Attack. Butterfree, who relied mostly on Special Attack, wasn't affected much by Growl in the way Rosaria had hoped.
Arthur silently apologized, feeling a twinge of guilt for Rosaria's misplay. He didn't want to exploit her inexperience, but this was a battle, and mistakes like these were part of the learning process. He promised himself he would explain the nuances of Attack and Special Attack to Rosaria after the battle.
What followed was a one-sided beatdown.
Ponyta took hit after hit from Butterfree's Confusion, each one landing squarely. Despite her best efforts, Ponyta retaliated with Ember, but Butterfree gracefully dodged every attack, as if it were a dance.
In the end, Ponyta failed to use Rest at the critical moment, hindered by both her paralysis and the newly inflicted confusion. Her strength waned, and she collapsed, unable to continue the battle.
Lena, who was watching her first Pokémon battle, was so entranced by the action that she forgot her role for a brief moment.
With an embarrassed cough, she quickly raised her hand, glanced at the paper, and declared, her voice filled with excitement, "Ponyta is unable to battle. The winner is Butterfree!"