Feather Dance?

Terrance believed that basic moves could help Pokémon learn advanced moves while also playing a vital role in their growth.

For example, Terrance had once read an account in a newspaper by a Trainer who was particularly fond of Charizard. The Trainer had been raising two Charmander at the same time. One had good potential and grew stronger very quickly, evolving into Charizard in less than a year and soon learning Dragon Claw thanks to its outstanding talent.

The other, however, had stuck to the most basic training, starting with Scratch and gradually learning Slash and Metal Claw through diligent practice. After that Charmander also evolved into Charizard, it naturally learned Dragon Claw as well, with deliberate guidance. Its Dragon Claw surpassed the first Charizard's by a considerable margin in claw strength, sharpness, and the smoothness of its execution.

After looking into the matter, Terrance came to understand that basic moves were not as useless as he had imagined.

Take Scratch, for example.

As a Charmander practiced it, the move could effectively train its arm strength, sharpen its claws, and strengthen the bones in its back.

That provided a considerable boost to Metal Claw, Slash, and Dragon Claw when it learned them later. Likewise, the growth of its claws also contributed to the strength of its arms and wings after evolution.

Most basic moves, therefore, had their own value. Ignoring them because they seemed to have no tactical value meant sacrificing something important for a minor gain.

While Terrance was thinking, Swablu flew toward Wurmple again.

Now that Swablu knew how Wurmple attacked, he easily dodged String Shot this time. Flapping his wings, he glided to a spot above and to the side of Wurmple. His young beak glimmered faintly; he was using Peck again.

But Swablu's body was not very well coordinated in flight. As he dove, Wurmple hurriedly dodged his attack. Swablu wanted to follow up, but Peck lasted only a very short time before the move's effect vanished.

"Not just power, but duration too. In other words, energy control needs practice." Terrance had noticed something new. If Swablu could control Peck's duration and energy well, that would be when he learned Fury Attack.

By then, Swablu would be able to rely on Peck alone to strike repeatedly, and his energy would no longer dissipate halfway through as it had just now.

Even so, that would take a long time to achieve through practice.

Terrance turned his attention back to the two Pokémon. Seeing that Swablu had stopped attacking, Wurmple turned his head, curled up, and charged straight at him without a second thought.

Swablu panicked at the sight and hurriedly flapped his wings, trying to take flight. But Wurmple was not far away, and in his haste, Swablu failed to get away. To Terrance's surprise, though Swablu had not managed to take off, a great deal of white, cottony fluff came loose from his cotton-like wings, swarmed forward, and tangled around Wurmple.

Cotton Guard?

No-

It had to be Feather Dance!

Terrance nearly blurted it out. In theory, Swablu could not use or even learn the move, but according to Master Katsumune's analysis, a Swablu with both Pidgeot and Altaria bloodlines had a very high chance of inheriting it.

Now Terrance believed that conclusion, because he had just seen Wurmple, tangled in the cottony feathers, lose consciousness under the Peck attack of Swablu, who had recovered his composure.

Having dealt with Wurmple, the little fellow clumsily flapped his wings and flew toward Terrance, chirping happily as if asking for praise.

"Good job." Terrance smiled. Swablu had only hatched a short while ago, and although his opponent had also been very weak, his first victory was still a remarkable achievement. This was only the first step, and Terrance believed that, through their combined efforts, Swablu would grow stronger.

As a reward, Terrance gave Swablu some snacks that bird Pokémon loved. Swablu immediately became delighted, so much so that he could hardly wait for his next battle.

Smiling, Terrance told him there was no rush. He took out some simple Potions and treated Wurmple's injuries as well. Though Wurmple had not been badly hurt, Terrance was not stingy, in thanks for his battle with Swablu.

Once Wurmple had recovered, he nodded and hurried off into the grass. Meanwhile, Terrance prepared to find a relatively safe temporary shelter where he could spend the coming month.

Living in the wild for a month, he would need a source of water, but such places were also where Pokémon gathered. Terrance did not want to disturb them, so he could only find a relatively secluded place near water for himself and Swablu to stay.

Terrance had brought a tent and some common travel supplies, so as long as he was careful and attentive, there would be no other major problems.

After surveying quite a few places, Terrance found three water sources in all. Unlike Earth, this world's wilderness did not have the terrifying little creatures of his old world. The environment was generally very good, and the water was relatively clean, but that did not mean Terrance intended to drink it. He had brought some drinking water for everyday use; he had looked for water sources only for ordinary things like washing up.

And to quench Swablu's thirst. These water sources were all more or less occupied by Pokémon, and their bodies would not fall ill even if they drank from natural sources like these. As for humans, the worst they would probably suffer was an upset stomach or something similar, but if the water was boiled, there would be little problem.

After careful selection, Terrance chose a spot on the edge of a mountain range. The surroundings and terrain were relatively flat, and he had also found a very well-hidden corner. It could not have been better suited as a temporary shelter.

With the question of shelter settled, food was next. Although Terrance had brought some necessities, he had very little to eat-not enough to last even three or four days. Most of it consisted of nutritional supplements Master Katsumune had prepared for Swablu, so Terrance would have to find Berries, wild vegetables, mushrooms, and the like in the forest for his own meals.

At Terrance's request, Katsumune had also prepared some cooking utensils and a fire starter for him, so Terrance would have to cook his own meals in the days ahead.

Fortunately, Terrance had done this sort of thing plenty of times before and knew his way around it. With Swablu accompanying him, he soon found several good places to supplement his food supply. After sorting out the things that were hard to eat, they quietly returned to where they had started.

The external issues had been resolved, and the temporary shelter was set up. Now Terrance had to consider the real business at hand: Swablu's training.

Although Master Katsumune had repeatedly stressed that Swablu's potential would be good, Terrance acknowledged such things without being particularly interested in them. Potential was difficult to define or grasp, and though it might show itself as one grew, Terrance placed greater faith in effort after birth. Talent combined with hard work was the most perfect pairing.