Wingull's First Battle

Professor Birch was afraid Zeno would get bored stiff staying in his room all day. It was only an entry-level Breeder exam. Professor Birch felt he was making too much of it.

It happened to be time for the research institute's big purchase again, so Professor Birch had Gu Yan and Sapphire take Zeno along. It was the peak season for berry harvests, and Littleroot Town's streets were especially lively.

Thanks to Professor Birch, the townspeople never lacked berry seeds. The local environment was also perfect for growing berries, and after more than a decade of development, Littleroot Town had become a well-known agricultural town in Hoenn.

As the three wandered around, they suddenly spotted someone familiar.

"A-Lu, what are you doing here? Does your family live in Littleroot Town too?"

It was the Bug Catcher they had met in the woods. Zeno had thought his family lived in Petalburg City, but unexpectedly, he was selling berries here.

"Zeno, do you live in Littleroot Town too?"

A-Lu remembered the three of them clearly. After following their advice last time, his Ninjask had shone brilliantly and won several battles in a row.

"Yeah. Are these berries grown by your family?" Zeno picked up a Pecha Berry and examined it closely, finding that its quality was quite good.

"Yeah, they're great, right? Want to buy some? They're cheap." A-Lu was very open and showed no embarrassment, even remembering to promote his family's products.

"You're selling things at such a young age? Where are your parents?" Seeing that A-Lu was alone near the stall, Zeno could not help feeling curious.

"There's a lot going on at home, so my mother couldn't get away. My father used to be a miner in Rustboro City, but he had an accident while mining at Meteor Falls." Perhaps because he considered Zeno a friend, A-Lu did not hide his family situation.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's fine. I got over it a long time ago, so don't worry about it."

"We happen to need quite a lot of berries, and yours all seem to be good quality. How about we buy them all? That way, you can finish work earlier too." After saying that, Zeno looked at Gu Yan. "Senior Brother, is that okay?"

"Sure, but this isn't quite enough."

"Really? Thank you so much!" A-Lu was thrilled. He normally could not sell this much in half a month. People in Littleroot Town did not lack berries, so he could only hope passing Trainers would buy more.

"Oh, right. I recently caught another Surskit. I have three Pokémon now."

"Huh? Didn't you only have one Ninjask before? What's the other one?" Sapphire was curious. Hadn't he said he had three Pokémon?

"Shedinja?" That question did not stump Zeno.

"Yeah. When Nincada evolved before, one suddenly appeared. It scared me so badly—I thought some wild Pokémon had run over from somewhere!"

"What do you mean? One Pokémon evolved into two?" Although Professor Birch taught very diligently, Sapphire had always studied rather casually.

"Yes. Nincada are very unusual Pokémon. Among all known Pokémon, they are the only kind that can evolve into two Pokémon at once. Scholars generally believe that Shedinja is the shell Nincada sheds, given new life by Ghost energy during evolution."

"You really know a lot, Zeno. I only found out after asking Nurse Joy. Luckily, Shedinja didn't mind and kept following me." A-Lu was a little embarrassed as he spoke. Fortunately, Shedinja had not looked down on him for being ignorant.

"Oh, right. My Wingull recently hatched. Interested in having a battle?"

"Sure, sure!"

"It's still young, so let's keep it light."

"No problem!"

The two went to a nearby park and found a relatively open space. Since it was just a friendly spar between friends, there was no need for too many rules.

"Surskit, go!"

"Wingull, today is your first battle. Have a good experience!"

Though it was young, Wingull was not careless when it got serious. Its sharp gaze remained fixed on the water strider before it. If this had been an adult bird, Surskit might have been a little afraid.

"Surskit, use Sweet Scent."

"Wingull, fan your wings and blow all that scent away."

Wingull had not yet learned any Flying-type moves, but as a seabird, it naturally knew how to wield the power of wind.

"Surskit, use Bug Bite."

A-Lu had originally intended to lower Wingull's evasiveness before attacking slowly, but he had not expected Zeno to always come up with unexpected tricks. This was already Surskit's strongest move at the moment. Even if it was not very effective, he could only give it a try.

"Quick Attack, dodge."

Seeing Surskit's attack get evaded once again, A-Lu realized that Zeno's command of moves was truly impressive. Even with a Pokémon that had just been born, he handled things with ease.

"As expected of you, you really know your stuff! In that case, let me show you our special technique! Surskit, use Water Gun on the field."

"Wingull, stay alert."

"Surskit, use Quick Attack while skating across the water."

"Wingull, fly up and evade."

Using its special technique, Surskit became far more agile. Despite Wingull's quick reactions, it was still accidentally hit.

After looking at Surskit's feet, Zeno noticed a thin layer of oil coating them. That allowed it to glide more easily over wet surfaces.

"Not bad. Wingull, Aqua Ring."

"No way, it even has a move that restores stamina?" A-Lu was truly at a loss with Zeno's dirty tricks. Surskit was already barely scratching Wingull, and it actually had recovery too.

"Haha, sorry. How about we finish with a Water Gun showdown and see whose is stronger?"

"No problem!"

Hearing their Trainers' conversation, both Pokémon gathered their strength and fired Water Guns with all their might. The two streams collided, appearing evenly matched. After holding out for a while, Wingull gradually began to lose ground.

"Surskit, that's enough. Ease up!"

"Wingull, stop too."

Zeno felt that A-Lu had a real talent for being a Trainer, though he lacked theoretical knowledge. Thinking of the three Pokémon he currently had, Zeno could not help feeling curious.

"A-Lu, are you planning to specialize in Bug types in the future?"

"Yeah. I became a Bug Catcher because my family was poor and I had no choice, but whether it was my first Nincada or my current Surskit, I truly like them from the bottom of my heart. People always say Bug-type Pokémon are weak, but I think there are no weak Pokémon—only incompetent Trainers."

Even Gu Yan was somewhat moved by those words. He had not expected such insight from someone so young.

"You're absolutely right. Aaron, one of Sinnoh's Elite Four, specializes in Bug types. Keep it up. I believe you'll definitely become a Bug-type master someday."

"Really?" A-Lu did not even know much about Hoenn's Elite Four, so how could he know that Sinnoh had a Bug-type Elite Four member?

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll definitely work hard!" Zeno's words gave A-Lu a great deal of confidence.