The Heaviest Timber Was the First Thing Timburr Rejected

On the morning of the second rest day, Magby walked into the shop on its own.

It no longer let Yan carry it. After entering, it drank some water, then finished an entire soft cake. As usual, Indeedee checked its temperature, breathing, and the soles of its feet, then drew three circles on the record board.

Yan watched closely. "Can it move around a little today?"

Xia Che flipped over the lesson board by the door. "It can walk from the front hall to the backyard."

"And then?"

"Walk back."

Magby had already completed the trip. It poked its head out from the backyard, seeming to find the arrangement rather undemanding.

"Ba-bei."

"I heard it. It said it could still walk," Yan said.

"I only heard one sound," Xie Yue said.

Hu Liena handed Magby an empty cup. It took it, slowly carried it to the water basin, and returned without flopping down. It was indeed much livelier than yesterday.

Indeedee still added half a day after the line that said no running or soft-pile training.

Seeing that, Yan had no choice but to put away the training wristbands he had prepared.

Before noon, a small flatbed cart stopped outside the shop.

The man pushing it was a weapons repairman from Spirit Hall's training grounds, surnamed Shi. He was already past fifty, but his shoulders and back remained broad, and his apron was covered in wood shavings. Three square timbers of varying thickness lay in the cart, along with a weapon rack with a broken crossbeam.

"I'm not here to fix your door," Master Shi said to Xia Che first.

Xia Che had just glanced at the door hinge. "What a pity."

"The training grounds need soft piles, weapon racks, and protective gear moved every day. I'm getting old, so I want a partner willing to do carpentry with me."

Rotom passed him an application card. "How long will it carry things each day, Roto?"

"Two hours in the morning, two in the afternoon."

"What about breaks?"

"When I rest, it rests too."

"Will there be sharpened weapons on the racks?"

"The practice grounds only have wooden weapons. The real ones are handled by someone else."

He answered quickly, clearly having considered all of this beforehand. But when he reached the section asking what kind of partner he wanted, he wrote: The stronger, the better.

Xia Che tapped that line with his pen. "Be specific."

Master Shi thought for a while, crossed out his original words, and changed them to: Willing to lift timber, and willing to stop upon finding cracks.

Only then did the application card light up with a green border.

The shadow inside the selection device soon stopped moving. A dull thud of wood hitting the ground came from behind the Encounter Room door, followed by two more knocks.

Master Shi's eyes lit up. "Sounds strong."

Yan looked in that direction as well.

Magby sat on its cushion and immediately pushed his face back toward the record board.

"I'm not training," Yan said.

The little one continued staring at him.

Inside the Encounter Room, a small gray Pokémon was bracing a square timber. Several raised ridges stood atop its head, its nose tip was reddish, and its hands tightly gripped a square piece of wood longer than itself.

Rotom displayed the Pokédex. "Timburr, Fighting type. It always carries square timber to train its body through hauling, and it is also very skilled at observing lumber, Roto."

Master Shi circled it halfway around. "Is that piece of wood from the shop?"

Timburr hefted the timber onto its shoulder and warily took a step back.

"It's its own," Xia Che said.

"I'm just looking."

Timburr took another step back.

Master Shi withdrew his hand. "Fine, I won't touch it."

Only then did it stop.

There was no weightlifting arranged for their first meeting. Master Shi carried the three square timbers from the cart inside and laid them on the floor in order.

The first was the thickest and heaviest. The second was thinner, with an old nail hole along one edge. The third was of moderate length, freshly sawn timber.

"These are the kinds commonly used to repair racks at the training grounds," he said. "Pick one, and we'll mend that broken rack."

Timburr walked toward the thickest piece first.

Yue Guan had just entered the shop. Seeing this, he stopped. "Small body, big appetite."

Timburr squatted down and tapped along the surface with its knuckles several times. When it reached the middle, the sound suddenly became muffled. It turned the timber over, revealing a fine crack hidden underneath that had already stretched half a foot along the grain.

The smile on Master Shi's face faded somewhat. He crouched as well and scraped at the edge of the crack with his fingernail. "It wasn't this long yesterday."

Timburr picked up a charcoal pencil, drew an X at each end of the crack, then pushed the heaviest timber aside.

"Not choosing this one?" Yan asked.

"No matter how heavy it is, it can't be used to replace a crossbeam," Master Shi said.

Timburr glanced at him and nodded.

It also circled the old nail hole in the second timber. That spot would not break immediately, but it was unsuitable for enduring repeated impacts. Finally, it chose the third piece of fresh timber, laid its own square timber beside it, and compared their lengths and right angles.

Master Shi took out an ink line. "You know how to check measurements?"

Timburr did not know how to use his ink line, but it could press the two timbers tightly together. It held down one end and gestured for Master Shi to mark the other.

For the first time, one man and one Pokémon worked together, neither trying to seize the other's tools.

While sawing, Timburr was responsible for keeping the wood steady. Master Shi stopped every dozen strokes or so, letting the sawdust fall away and allowing it to switch hands. Whenever it noticed the saw cut drifting slightly, it tapped the wood with a fingertip. Master Shi adjusted the direction according to its reminder, and the crossbeam was soon cut even.

Xie Yue stood outside the safety line with Pawniard. Pawniard's blades could easily slice through wood, but it did not step forward to save them the process.

"Wouldn't it be faster with it?" Yue Guan asked.

"If we rush it, we won't know where it's likely to crack," Master Shi said.

Pawniard nodded at him.

After the new crossbeam was installed, they still had to carry the rack from the front hall to the backyard for testing. The passageway was narrow. Master Shi was used to carrying it alone on his shoulder, but the moment he lifted it, half his vision was blocked.

Timburr tapped one of the rack's legs with its own timber.

"Lift this side?"

It nodded.

Master Shi lowered the rack, and the two each lifted one end. When they reached the doorframe, Timburr stopped first, and he stopped with it. The weapon rack turned slightly, its crossbeam passing close to the edge of the door without knocking down the lesson board hanging above it.

Xia Che looked at the intact doorframe. "This one is a very good fit."

"Are you talking about the rack or me?" Master Shi asked.

"Timburr."

Master Shi was not offended. He set the repaired rack down securely, then marked the two problematic timbers respectively with only for propping and awaiting replacement.

Timburr picked up the charcoal pencil and drew a circle after awaiting replacement as well.

"A three-day trial period," Master Shi said. "Two hours a day, repairing only wooden racks for now. Come if you're willing. If not, you can stay at the shop."

Timburr looked at him, then at the cart. It placed its own square timber on the cart but did not climb aboard immediately.

Indeedee brought over a trial-work card. It showed the sun rising and sinking halfway down, with a water bowl and rest mat marked in between.

After reading it, Timburr tucked the card beneath its own timber.

It jumped onto the cart and sat amid the three pieces of wood.

"Does that count as agreeing?" Master Shi asked.

"It agreed to go have a look today," Xia Che said.

"What about the three days?"

"Ask again after today is done."

Master Shi nodded and pushed the cart away.

Xie Yue followed them for a trip. He knew the route to the training grounds well, and he also wanted to see whether the repair shed truly had the rest area listed on the application card.

The repair shed stood beside the practice grounds. Its doorway was wide enough, and there were no scattered blades on the floor. Fresh water, a bench, and an old wooden box stood against the wall, the box filled with removed blunt wooden parts.

Timburr jumped down from the cart and first hoisted its own square timber back onto its shoulder. Several young Spirit Masters who were putting away protective gear immediately gathered around.

"Can it lift an entire weapon rack?"

"Have it try that stone lock."

Someone else reached out, wanting to touch the raised ridges atop its head.

Timburr turned sideways to avoid the hand, placing its square timber between itself and the reaching hand. It did not swing at them, merely forcefully snorting through its red nose tip.

Xie Yue stepped between them. "Today, it's repairing racks. If you want to watch weightlifting, go watch Yan."

"Yan isn't training today," one person said.

"Then don't add an extra session at the last minute either."

The crowd had no choice but to disperse.

Master Shi pushed the newly repaired rack into the shed. One corner of the floor sloped slightly, and the rack gently wobbled once it was set down. Timburr crouched to inspect all four legs, then ran back to the cart and pointed at the timber with the old nail hole.

"This one can't be used as a crossbeam," Master Shi reminded it.

Timburr indicated a very short length.

Master Shi understood. He sawed off an intact piece from beyond the old nail hole, shaved it into a thin wedge, and tucked it beneath the shorter rack leg. The rack immediately stood firm.

The timber that had been crossed out was neither wasted nor put to an unsuitable use.

After working for an hour, Master Shi wanted to continue repairing the second rack. But Timburr set down the charcoal pencil, walked to the water bowl for a drink, then lightly tapped the bench with its square timber.

"Is it break time?"

It pulled the trial-work card out from beneath its timber and pointed to the water bowl symbol in the middle.

Master Shi looked at it for a moment, then set down the saw in his hand. "All right. We'll continue after we've rested enough."

Xie Yue did not wait for the full two hours. Before leaving, he saw one man and one Pokémon sitting side by side on the bench, each clearing wood shavings from their hands and from the square timber. Neither stood up early just because another broken rack remained beside them.

When the cart returned to the shop entrance in the afternoon, the trial-work card was still tucked beneath Timburr's square timber. It jumped down, flipped the card to the side showing the sunrise of the second day, then looked at Master Shi.

"Coming again tomorrow?"

Timburr nodded.

"I'll pick you up on time."

Only then did it shoulder its square timber and return to the Encounter Room.

Magby followed them to the doorway and watched the cart turn the street corner. Yan thought it wanted to go out too, and was already preparing to explain that it could not help on its rest day.

But the little one merely brought back the unfinished cup of water by the door.

It returned to its cushion, hugged the water bowl, and slowly drank.

The heaviest timber remained in the corner of the cart. The one that truly proved useful today was the piece without cracks.