Five days later.
"Weedle, Insect Bite!"
In the training ground, Weedle suddenly lunged at a well-developed Squirtle, biting down hard on Squirtle's tail.
"Squirtle!"
Squirtle yelped in pain, tears almost streaming down.
"Stop!"
With a shout from a Trainer, Weedle quickly released its grip and scampered back to Natsuhiko's side.
"That's all for today. Your Weedle is outstanding; it's the best Weedle I've ever seen. Thank you for the training." The Trainer recalled Squirtle and said to Natsuhiko.
"Thank you."
Natsuhiko nodded and crouched down so Weedle could climb onto his shoulder.
"I didn't expect the Weedles at the Silver Pokémon Battle Club to be so strong. No wonder it's the biggest club in Goldenrod City."
The Trainer remarked and left the training room.
This was today's client for Natsuhiko, the target for training.
The young Kenji had to attend school, so he's there during the day, but occasionally other club members would pick him for training.
But most people chose him because, in their impressions, Weedle was considered a weak Pokémon.
It wasn't until they battled with Natsuhiko's Weedle that they started to change their minds.
"Woo!" Weedle raised its little head.
He said I was the best Weedle.
Natsuhiko smiled and flicked its head, "Don't get too cocky. He only said you were the best because he hasn't seen many other Weedles. You still have a long way to go from being truly strong."
Giovanni's Beedrill left a deep impression on him.
"Woo~~"
Weedle had grown used to the fact that whenever it felt proud, Natsuhiko would remind it not to be overly arrogant.
Similarly, whenever it felt down and blaming itself, he would comfort it.
As a Trainer, Natsuhiko and Weedle faced many Pokémon and Trainers, not every Weedle could handle them with ease, and losses and failures did happen.
Every time they lost, Natsuhiko wouldn't blame Weedle, but before resting every night, he would analyze the reasons for their failure and its shortcomings with Weedle, striving to avoid these issues in the next battle.
However, most Trainers who chose Weedle for training were not very strong, so most of the time, Natsuhiko and Weedle would win more than they lost.
"Your Insect Bite was a bit stiff in execution, and the power didn't reach its strongest level. This is a shortcoming that needs further reinforcement." Natsuhiko recalled the previous battle and commented.
"Woo woo~~" Weedle nodded, looking at him with eager eyes.
"You..."
Understanding its intention, Natsuhiko chuckled and scolded lightly, taking out a crystalline Energy Block from his pocket and handing it to Weedle.
"Woo!"
Weedle joyfully chirped, its tail wrapping around the Energy Block as it munched away, occasionally humming a tune it seemed to have heard somewhere, looking quite self-satisfied.
"Eat up, when you're done, if there are no clients, we'll continue training."
As Natsuhiko spoke, he walked to the corner and picked up the thick "Insect-type Pokémon Skill Development and Combat Skill Connection" to read.
In his impression, the skills Weedle could learn weren't many. Apart from Spinning Silk, Poison Needle, and Insect Bite, there was one most difficult—Power Grid.
This move, how to train Weedle until it learns it, has frustrated Natsuhiko for a good while.
Currently, Weedle could only weave a web from the silk it spun, yet it couldn't touch the Electric type's attribute energy.
Having an Insect-type and Poison-type Pokémon to develop an Electric type move was indeed quite challenging.
"Take it slow," Natsuhiko quietly told himself, "the focus now should still be mastering existing skills. Currently, Weedle's Spinning Silk and Poison Needle are nearly at mastery level, while Insect Bite is only proficient."
Through reading, Natsuhiko learned that Pokémon's skill proficiency and combat skill connections are divided into several stages.
Acquired, Proficient, Mastered, Skillful, Expert.
A Pokémon's energy is limited; there's a vast array of moves it can learn and comprehend. It's impossible to train every move to the level of an expert.
So, it's the Trainer's responsibility to select from many moves those that are most compatible with the Pokémon's traits and battle style.
Once a move reaches mastery level, it can about be effectively unleashed in real battles.
Luckily, Weedle didn't have the worry of having too many moves; it couldn't learn many moves anyway, so every one of them needed to be trained and mastered.
Besides.
After these training and battles, Natsuhiko confirmed that Weedle's trait is "Run Away," and not the commonly seen "Scale Powder," which is a hidden trait.
Traits are special abilities each Pokémon possesses, similar to passive skills in many games.
In PM games, Run Away has limited function, merely ensuring a 100% escape from wild Pokémon encounters.
But here, the Run Away trait gave Weedle a noticeable speed boost.
It's considered a pretty good trait, albeit the speed boost isn't massive.
...
...
Night fell.
Natsuhiko and Weedle saw off the young Kenji and his Bulbasaur.
Before leaving, Kenji continuously emphasized the need for him to make time in two days to join him for an adventure in Dense Wood Forest.
After five days of training and honing in battles, Natsuhiko and Weedle's momentum and strength had improved significantly, and with Dense Wood Forest already under the League's control, there shouldn't be too much pressure.
Natsuhiko readily agreed.
Just when he was preparing to take Weedle for one final training session before bed, Anai, responsible for reception and arranging training tasks, found him.
Over the past few days, Natsuhiko had interacted with Anai quite a bit, and their relationship had become somewhat familiar.
"Training so late, huh? You're quite the fanatic."
Anai entered the training room, seeing Natsuhiko and Weedle both drenched in sweat, the admiration in her eyes intensified.
She had seen many strong Trainers, but ones as diligent as Natsuhiko and Weedle were rare.
Natsuhiko paused, wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"Anything up?"
"This is your pay for today." Anai handed over a stack of bills.
Thanks to Kenji's support and occasional training tasks during the day, Natsuhiko's daily earnings these days averaged around 400-500 Alliance coins, over five days he saved over 2,000 Alliance coins, just enough to keep replenishing Weedle's Energy Blocks.
But it was still a little tight.
"Thanks." He wiped his hands on his clothes, accepted the money, and kept it carefully.
"One more thing, something quite important, handed down by the manager. It might be an opportunity for you," Anai said.
"Oh?" Natsuhiko was a little surprised.
Then Anai explained, "Two days ago the club received a task from Goldenrod City's Els Pokémon School, hoping our club can send some people to clean up Dense Wood Forest outside Goldenrod City. As the difficulty isn't high, the manager decided to let junior trainers do it."
Natsuhiko's expression turned somewhat strange.
Dense Wood Forest?
Anai seemed not to notice the change in his expression and continued:
"The manager means for each of you to oversee a region, clearing out potentially dangerous and aggressive Pokémon within. You'll be carrying a special filming device, and the club will count the Pokémon you defeat and drive away."
It seemed she hadn't mentioned the most crucial point, and she opened her mouth again, "This task is likely linked to your junior trainer title promotion. If you want to earn more, make the most out of this opportunity."
Is this the method for title promotion?
Doing tasks for Silver Pokémon Battle Club?
"Dense Wood Forest is under the League's jurisdiction, the Pokémon within aren't strong, so you needn't worry."
"Got it," Natsuhiko nodded.
It seemed an opportunity to earn double in Dense Wood Forest?
"Also, this is the map of Dense Wood Forest and your assigned region." Saying that, Anai handed over a document.
"Thank you." Natsuhiko accepted the document.
"By the way, inside there's an evaluation of you and your Weedle. You might want to take a look; it could help. Rest up early today, the task starts tomorrow morning."
With that, she turned to leave.