Except for a very short period of travel time, which can be considered relaxing and enjoyable, most trainers and Pokémon are engaged in tedious training and intense battles.
They smiled at each other, communicating without words.
"Ding~" Tetsuya's watch beeped, startling him.
This couldn't have been a reminder from Nurse Joy—he had only just sat down.
Then who could be messaging him?
Curious, Tetsuya opened his watch and began reading the message.
After a moment, he raised his head in understanding.
The message was from Professor Rowan. The full text was long, but the gist of it was clear: Tetsuya was being asked to temporarily teach younger children at an elite school near Cerulean City as a trainer.
He had expressed concern about not yet having a breeder's certificate, but Professor Rowan waved it off, assuring him that under his recommendation, no such credential was necessary.
During their week of discussions aboard the ship, Professor Rowan had come to admire Tetsuya's skill and dedication to learning. When he later spoke with Professor Oak about Tetsuya, he strongly recommended him for the role.
Professor Oak, already familiar with Rowan's judgment, needed only a brief introduction to Tetsuya before readily agreeing.
Tetsuya didn't know the specifics of how it all came together, but one thing was certain—this was Professor Rowan looking out for him.
After all, with Professor Oak's reputation, a single request for a breeder would have brought in droves of willing applicants—many of whom might not even be qualified enough to assist.
Expressing his heartfelt gratitude to Professor Rowan, Tetsuya knew his schedule had just become even more packed.
Now, he had to prepare a solid teaching plan for this responsibility.
As for whether there would be any compensation, he hardly thought about it. Teaching children wasn't something to charge for—they were the future of the Pokémon League. Was he the kind of person to ask for payment?
He shared a brief conversation with several trainers from different regions, such as Sinnoh and Hoenn, exchanging stories of their travels and broadening their perspectives.
The diversity in culture and customs between regions was striking—it was no wonder many trainers felt compelled to explore the world.
Some wonders could only be appreciated by experiencing them firsthand. Before, Tetsuya had only known that Sinnoh was split by Mount Coronet and that Gastrodon changed form depending on its habitat—blue in the east, pink in the west.
But because of the distance between regions, he had never seen this phenomenon in person.
A Sinnoh trainer enthusiastically showed off his team—four different forms of Shellos and Gastrodon.
He explained that he had no particular interest in other Pokémon; he simply loved them.
Watching the way he interacted with his Pokémon, the deep bond in their eyes, Tetsuya couldn't help but marvel at how Pokémon had created so many incredible relationships in this world.
A trainer from Hoenn shared breathtaking footage of his homeland's diving islands.
Watching the clips, it was impossible not to be awestruck by nature's splendor.
Time passed quickly, and as the trainers retrieved their recovered Pokémon, they left one by one, until it was finally Tetsuya's turn.
After bidding farewell to the remaining trainers and hoping to continue their conversations in the future, he took his three Pokémon back to his room.
The evening feeding routine went as usual. Once his Pokémon settled in for the night, Tetsuya returned to his studies.
Trainers, aside from their families and Pokémon—who were often more like family than anything else—lived a lonely yet occasionally social life.
Few had teammates they trusted enough to journey with, like those specializing in doubles battles.
His room's light remained on, giving the illusion that it had never been turned off.
"Blaziken, use Fire Punch on its torso!"
"Blaze!"
With a sharp cry, Blaziken's flaming fist landed cleanly, and the Scyther on the other end let out a pained screech.
However, Scyther—known as the warrior and ninja of the Bug-type world—had remarkable resilience. Despite the super-effective hit, it refused to go down.
It grit its teeth, enduring the pain, and launched a Double Hit.
It couldn't understand why this unfamiliar Pokémon—one it had never encountered in the forest—was so fast, dodging its most skilled techniques with ease.
After two failed attempts, Scyther's extensive hunting experience told it one thing—this battle was a lost cause.
But the warrior's pride in its heart refused to let it back down, pushing it to keep attacking.
Quick Attack, Double Team, Slash, Brick Break, Double Hit…
It unleashed a flurry of attacks that would have overwhelmed most opponents. Yet, its blows barely grazed Blaziken. Worse, the opponent's speed kept increasing, making its strikes miss entirely.
Blaziken calmly countered with Thunder Punch and Fire Punch, intercepting Scyther's attacks one after another before delivering two devastating hits to its body.
Scyther, already battered, couldn't withstand the blow and finally collapsed.
Yet, even in defeat, it held itself upright, refusing to fall to the ground.
Tetsuya sighed in admiration.
It wasn't that Blaziken had landed a fatal hit—Pokémon battles followed strict rules, and this Scyther had simply reached its limit.
If a trainer continued attacking beyond this point, they risked serious injury or death. Few trainers ever chose such cruelty.
As for the deadly battles between wild Pokémon, those were left untouched. It was a law of nature, refined over countless generations.
What truly made Tetsuya pause was this Scyther's unrealized potential.
Given its solitary life, physical condition, and battle experience, it was likely an exile—perhaps ousted from its swarm after losing a leadership challenge, much like an old wolf cast out from its pack.
Despite its aging body, its mastery of technique was extraordinary.
Its reactions and strategy were leagues ahead of Blaziken's.
There were several moments in the fight where it should have been able to turn the tables—but its deteriorating body simply couldn't keep up.
Blaziken only won because of its Speed Boost ability, yet even then, it had been forced into making several unnecessary mistakes due to the Scyther's precision.
After a moment of thought, Tetsuya stepped forward and carefully moved the fallen Scyther to the side.
After simply spraying some medicine on Scyther, Tetsuya told Blaziken to keep an eye on it.
Tetsuya asked Pidgeot and Ishimaru to remain on guard and then began preparing lunch.
There's no way he could do more. He wasn't some kind of humanoid Jigglypuff. Spraying medicine on a wound in the wild was already a solid way to treat injuries.
Most wild Pokémon wouldn't survive if they lost their ability to fight, so this was mercy.
This was why he had always wanted a Pokémon that could use wide-area healing moves like Heal Pulse or Grassy Terrain. As long as the Pokémon had decent potential, he didn't insist on it being of a particularly high level.
If you wanted to survive in the wild long-term, endurance was essential. If a Pokémon's support time was too short, efficiency dropped, and more importantly, safety couldn't be guaranteed.
For example, he currently had to return to town almost every half a day just to restore the condition of three of his Pokémon, which severely reduced his efficiency.
Unfortunately, large-scale healing moves were rare and difficult to master. On top of that, very few Pokémon could learn them. Training a Pokémon with good aptitude to make it viable for endurance battles was extremely challenging.
Otherwise, the Joy family wouldn't have nearly monopolized the market on Pokémon healing.
It was rumored that the Joy family had a secret method that allowed Chansey and its evolutions to quickly learn moves like Heal Pulse, Life Dew, and Healing Wish, but no one had ever confirmed it.
While Tetsuya was preparing lunch, he kept thinking about the need for a dedicated healer in his team.
Strangely, most Pokémon that could learn the water-based recovery move Life Dew were either Psychic-types or specialized Pokémon like Pachirisu and Chansey.
Among Water-types, only Corsola, Milotic, and Lapras could learn this skill.
Unfortunately, obtaining any of the three was highly unlikely for Tetsuya.
Corsola was out of the question. Other than possibly learning Life Dew, it had too many weaknesses. A Corsola that could use Life Dew was something he could only dream about.
As for Milotic, he knew that Feebas evolved through beauty or the use of a Prism Scale, but he wasn't entirely sure about the former.
The latter was basically monopolized by the Sootopolis Gym, and they had outright stated that they had secured a large supply of the scales.
Many people were curious about why the Sootopolis Gym hoarded these seemingly useless, purely decorative scales.
A few even collected them in secret, refusing to sell, convinced that the scales had some hidden purpose and frantically studying them.
Tetsuya knew the truth, but speaking up would only bring trouble.
Besides, even if he somehow got a Feebas, finding one with high potential was about as rare as catching a strong Magikarp—it was a long shot.
Lapras, in every sense, was an excellent choice. It had strong offensive coverage, great potential, and impressive strength. On top of that, its gentle nature made it the number one choice for sea travel among trainers on the forums.
Unfortunately, due to excessive illegal poaching, Lapras was now critically endangered, and the Pokémon League strictly prohibited its breeding to ensure its protection.
The restrictions in the Alola region were particularly severe, and no one knew what the long-term outcome would be.
Tetsuya sighed. In the end, Grass-types were still the best option, which was why he had chosen to specialize in them.
Pokémon from Kanto and nearby regions—like Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Hoppip, Treecko, Seedot, and even Oddish, Paras, Turtwig, and Snivy—all had the potential to learn Grassy Terrain.
Compared to other wide-area healing moves that only a handful of Pokémon could learn, this was by far the most practical choice.
After feeding Pidgeot and Ishimaru, Tetsuya grabbed Blaziken's lunch, along with an extra bowl of Pokémon food and a few energy cubes, and turned to Scyther.
"If you wake up, you should eat something too."
"Scythe~"
Scyther slowly opened its eyes, sensing that the human in front of it wasn't particularly hostile.
Blaziken casually took the extra food bowl from Tetsuya's hand and handed it to Scyther without hesitation.
It was no fool. Even though it was still young and lacked battle experience, it could tell that Scyther had been awake for a while.
Its trainer had noticed as well but hadn't said anything. Since Scyther hadn't moved, there was no need to force a confrontation.
Blaziken also had respect for the older warrior before it.
In terms of raw power, it was probably stronger, but when it came to battle instincts and precision, it was completely outclassed.
"Scythe..."
After a brief hesitation, Scyther accepted the food from Blaziken.
It wasn't because of the smell. It had lived in the wild for years, eating all kinds of fruit and food—it wasn't easily tempted by mere taste.
No, the real reason was that it knew it wasn't getting out of here anytime soon. With Pidgeot and Ishimaru watching it like hawks and Blaziken still focused on it, escape wasn't an option.
Might as well see what this human wanted. No harm in getting a free meal in the meantime.
Scyther set the bowl on the ground, picked up an energy cube with its scythe, and took a bite. Its eyes narrowed.
That taste... It was familiar.
This was the same kind of food it had once stolen after leading its swarm to defeat a trainer. It had savored the spoils for days.
Unfortunately, trainers carrying food of this quality were rare. Even after leading multiple hunts, it had never found any again.
Tetsuya, maintaining a safe distance, started eating his lunch while calling out to Scyther.
"Scyther, interested in teaching my Blaziken some combat techniques?"
With Pokémon, you had to be direct. Beating around the bush was pointless. That was one of the reasons he liked them.
"Scythe?"
Teach... the chicken? Scyther was confused.
"Blaze!"
Blaziken, still eating, raised a hand. "That's me."
Scyther nodded in understanding. So this was Blaziken. What was a 'chicken'?
Questions swirled in its mind, but it didn't stop eating.
"You're saying yes? Great!"
Tetsuya was surprised. Scyther had agreed so quickly, without even needing persuasion.
"Well then, I'll come here every other day when the sun is at its peak. You can train Blaziken, and I'll handle your meals then and again at sunset."
Scyther blinked, about to protest. When had it ever agreed to that? This human was making decisions on his own—
But then it heard the last part.
More free meals?
Scyther's stance shifted immediately.
Maybe this wasn't such a bad deal after all.