The End of the Trial

Meanwhile, having gradually adapted to life in the wild, Terrance began a new round of training with Swablu.

Fundamentals, moves, real combat, theory, tactics, emotions...

To prepare for the final assessment ahead, Terrance was doing everything he could, working hard alongside Swablu in every way possible.

And just like that, nearly a month had passed since Terrance entered Mt. Chimney.

More than twenty days together had also brought Swablu and Terrance much closer. The forest held so much of the sweat and laughter they had shared.

"Splash."

Marill leaped out of the lake, kicking up a spray of white water.

High in the sky, Swablu spat out a stream of blue breath, knocking Azumarill straight back into the water and bringing the battle to an easy end.

"Well done!"

Terrance caught Swablu as it flew at him, a satisfied smile on his face.

The month-long trial was almost over. He had seen Swablu's progress for himself, and along with a sense of accomplishment, he felt happier and happier for it.

After another twenty days of training, Swablu's strength had undergone a tremendous transformation.

Swablu was no longer the timid little creature it had been at birth. It was even several levels stronger than many of the starter Pokémon given to newcomers.

Swablu had now entered the fastest-growing stage of its life. It had mastered two Egg Moves in succession and had also learned Roost as a result.

With Feather Dance as a foundation, Swablu had successfully mastered Cotton Guard.

Swablu could now also use Agility at a basic level, without losing control of its movements as it had before.

Terrance regretted, however, that Swablu had yet to master the powerful move Dragon Rush. As Master Katsumune had said, even he couldn't be certain about inheritance skipping a generation, but that slim chance was well worth pursuing.

In other respects, as its body entered its growth stage, Swablu had become increasingly adept at sound-based moves.

As for Peck, Swablu could now easily pierce and shatter a large wooden stake, having reached a high level of proficiency.

Terrance had abandoned Natural Gift, a single-use move, some time ago. The trouble it involved was one reason; the other was that as Swablu grew stronger, it would gradually rely less on Natural Gift.

None of that was the most important thing, though. What mattered was that, during these past few days, Terrance and Swablu had helped an injured Nuzleaf. To Terrance's surprise, the leader of Nuzleaf's group had sought him out to repay them and given him a great deal of help.

One of those things was teaching Swablu a move.

Hidden Power.

At the time, however, Swablu still found it difficult to learn a new move. In theory, all but a few Pokémon could learn this move, and its effect varied depending on the individual.

But Shiftry was a patient teacher, and Swablu was perceptive enough. After a full day of practice, Swablu could finally use the move freely.

Much as Terrance had guessed, the type of Swablu's Hidden Power was Dragon, possibly because of the strong Dragon-type bloodline within it.

Swablu couldn't control the move very well right after learning it, just as it had initially struggled with Agility and Peck. But now that he had a lead, Terrance kept looking for a solution.

In the end, Terrance decided to try combining Natural Gift and Hidden Power, using the Dragon-type power in a Haban Berry to help Swablu adapt to its Dragon-type Hidden Power.

He didn't know whether it had worked, but Swablu could now use Hidden Power with ease. The move had also become its greatest trump card.

"Do you want to keep battling?" Terrance asked. Recently, Swablu seemed to have grown very fond of battling. Aside from the few Pokémon in the area that were too strong, it had fought most of the others at least once. With Terrance, a breeder, handling the aftermath, no major conflicts had arisen; instead, they had made quite a few friends.

"Chirp~~" Swablu gave a cry of confirmation, displaying a strong desire to battle.

"Chirp~~chirp~"

Huh? Terrance was taken aback.

"You want to challenge Seviper?" Terrance paused, recalling the promise he had made to Swablu at the very beginning: once it grew up, it certainly wouldn't be weaker than Seviper. He hadn't expected Swablu to remember it even now.

"Want to give it a try?" Terrance smiled. Seviper was probably a higher level than Swablu, but with a trainer directing it, Swablu should be able to give it a shot. It had improved a great deal.

"Chirp~chirp~"

The sun blazed overhead, but Terrance and Swablu never seemed to tire as they traveled back and forth through the forest.

Their encounter with Lotad hadn't been the last time they faced Seviper. In this forest, encounters with all kinds of Pokémon were unavoidable, but when they ran into Pokémon like Seviper, Terrance and Swablu usually chose to avoid them.

On several other occasions, they had witnessed battles between Seviper and its archrival, Zangoose, in different places.

But the most frustrating experience for Terrance and Swablu had been Swablu's battle with a Geodude on Mt. Chimney.

At the time, Swablu hadn't yet learned Hidden Power, and they had only one Cheri Berry left for Natural Gift. No matter what move it used, it did next to no damage to Geodude. In the end, Swablu and Terrance had no choice but to give up on the fight and slink away.

With the assessment nearing its end, Swablu was eager to battle Seviper, and Terrance didn't want to leave any regrets behind either.

So, after returning to where they were staying and making some preparations, Terrance took along supplies that included some medicines he had made himself, ready to give it their all against Seviper.

"Let's go!~" Once equipped, Terrance and Swablu set out to find Seviper. Its whereabouts were unpredictable, but they often traveled through this area and had encountered it several times, so they had more or less figured out where it stayed.

There was still plenty of time before sunset, enough to search for Seviper. Though they still had to tread carefully in the forest, Swablu and Terrance now had some confidence in facing danger.

Two hours later.

"Rustle~~~~~rustle~~~"

"Rustle~~~~~rustle~~~"

The sound of grass rustling reached their ears, and a long figure immediately caught their attention.

"Found you, Seviper!" Two hours was no short time, and Terrance and Swablu had grown a little tired from searching. But the moment they saw Seviper, their spirits lifted.

"Cha~?~" Seviper's fierce eyes widened. It didn't understand why Terrance and Swablu hadn't run away this time.

Battling Seviper wasn't nearly as troublesome as battling other Pokémon. Before Terrance had even issued a challenge, Seviper had already taken an attacking stance.

Terrance stepped back, leaving the stage to Swablu.