Pokémon training requires a careful balance between hard work and proper rest. Pushing Pokémon through continuous training sessions will only result in diminishing returns and potential burnout.
After the intense battle with Scyther, Steven decided to take some time for reflection. He gave his Pokémon team several days off to recover and relax properly.
Unfortunately, his Metang and the two Beldum weren't exactly the most imaginative creatures when it came to entertainment. Meanwhile, Skarmory was still in the middle of molting, growing new feathers to replace the old ones. This meant there weren't many options for fun activities in the forest.
Steven sat with his notebook open, carefully planning out future training regimens for his team. That's when Skarmory, clearly bored out of its mind, wandered over and gently nudged his face with its metallic head.
"What's the matter, Skarmory?" Steven asked, looking up from his notes.
He turned his head and spotted Metang and the two Beldum in the distance. They were just... staring at each other. Actually, calling it staring wasn't quite right since they were literally floating there, eye to eye, completely motionless.
"Yeah, I guess that doesn't look like much fun," Steven admitted, scratching his cheek sheepishly.
What could he really do about this situation?
Back when it was just Steven and Beldum traveling together, they had spent most of their time mining for rare stones and minerals. Beldum would help him appreciate the natural beauty of various ores and gems, but there wasn't much actual playing involved in their routine.
After all, Beldum mostly just followed Steven's lead. Most of their activities were directed entirely by him, with little room for spontaneous fun.
As for Skarmory, it couldn't exactly go swimming in the nearby streams to pass the time. Getting its steel-type feathers wet would cause them to rust, which would be a serious problem.
"I guess things have been pretty tough on you," Steven said with a somewhat helpless smile, reaching up to gently pat Skarmory's metallic head in sympathy.
During these past two days of rest, aside from having conversations with Skarmory and foraging for berries to snack on, Steven had been completely absorbed in drafting new training plans for the team.
Metang would occasionally respond to Skarmory's attempts at communication, but that seemed to be the extent of their interaction. The Psychic-type just wasn't very talkative or playful by nature.
So these two days had truly been nothing but pure "rest" days in the most literal sense.
At least the injuries Metang had sustained had fully healed by now. The sword-like slash marks that Scyther had left across its body were fading quickly and would soon disappear completely.
"Well then, how about we go see the ocean today?" Steven suggested, closing his notebook with a decisive snap. He stood up and brushed the dirt off the back of his pants before looking down at Skarmory.
Skarmory had probably never seen the ocean in its entire life. But just going to stare at the water without doing anything else seemed a bit boring and pointless.
Steven rummaged through his backpack and pulled out some of Skarmory's previously shed feathers that he'd been keeping. He also found several slender branches and used his knife to scrape their surfaces until they were smooth and even.
"Metang, use Confusion to weave these branches together into a ball shape!" Steven called out to his Pokémon, who was still floating not far away.
"Metang!" the Steel-and-Psychic-type responded.
Metang activated its Confusion attack, using its psychic powers to control about a dozen branches at once. The branches lifted into the air and began intertwining with each other, forming a rough spherical shape under Metang's careful mental guidance.
This makeshift ball might not bounce as well as a proper rubber ball, but it should work well enough for a casual game of beach volleyball.
The western edge of Petalburg Woods bordered directly on the coastline. Since Steven was planning to look for a ship to travel on anyway, he didn't have to venture far to reach the vast, seemingly endless ocean just beyond the forest's boundaries.
"Let's go, Metang!" Steven shouted enthusiastically.
He took a running leap and landed on Metang's disc-shaped body. Using it like a surfboard, he slid down the steep slope leading out of the forest!
Skarmory couldn't fly properly yet due to its molting feathers, so it used its strong legs to run and follow Steven closely down the slope, its talons gripping the earth as it descended.
Within minutes, they reached the sandy beach below.
It was currently mid-afternoon. The ocean would look even more beautiful after sunset when the sky turned orange and pink, but this would do for now.
Steven used his foot to draw boundaries in the sand, creating a large rectangular playing area. He drew a line straight through the middle, serving as the dividing line between the two sides of the makeshift court.
After quickly explaining the simple rules of the game, it was time to form teams.
"Skarmory and I will be one team, and Metang can team up with both Beldum!" Steven announced, immediately dividing everyone up.
Metang and the two Beldum could communicate through their psychic link much more smoothly than the others, so putting the three of them together made the most sense.
"Think you've got what it takes to beat Metang?" Steven asked Skarmory with a grin.
"Skarmory!" his partner cried out confidently.
"Alright then, let the game begin! Metang, you ready?"
"Metang!" came the reply.
Steven decided to serve first. He tossed the wooden ball high into the air, then jumped up to spike it mid-flight!
"Oww! Time out, time out!" Steven yelped immediately, clutching his hand.
The impact of hitting the hard wooden ball had sent a sharp jolt of pain through his palm. He quickly called for a break in the game.
Metang, who had been positioning itself to receive the ball, froze in confusion. The wooden ball continued its trajectory and bonked directly against Metang's metallic forehead with a hollow thunk.
Steven hurriedly dug through his backpack and pulled out two sets of spare clothes. He wrapped them carefully around both his arms for padding, then put on his mining helmet for extra protection before signaling they could restart the game.
The wooden ball was nothing to these Steel-type Pokémon with their hard metallic bodies. Their natural defenses could handle it easily.
But for Steven, a regular human, it was definitely too hard to hit with bare hands.
With the added padding from the wrapped clothes, the pain from striking the wooden ball was significantly reduced to a manageable level.
At first, Steven and Skarmory were utterly dominated by the perfectly coordinated teamwork of Metang and the two Beldum.
Metang might not understand complex tactics or strategies, but it grasped the simple concept of hitting the ball back over the dividing line very easily.
Steven and Skarmory, whose coordination was completely lacking compared to the psychically-linked opponents, kept stumbling over each other and colliding while frantically chasing after the ball.
After crashing into Skarmory's metallic body yet again, Steven's head was spinning, and he was seeing stars.
"Why did I ever suggest we play this game?" Steven muttered, shaking his head vigorously to clear his vision. He was already starting to regret proposing this particular recreational activity.
"But now isn't the time to complain! Skarmory, let's show them the power of our bond!" Steven declared determinedly.
"Skarmory!" his partner cried out in agreement.
"Move to the right, jump up and hit the ball upward!"
"Excellent work! Now watch my spike!"
Under Steven's shouted directions, his team finally managed to mount a counterattack.
Although Steven's so-called "spike" was easily blocked by one of the Beldum without much effort.
Metang chased after the rebounded wooden ball as it flew backward, then with a backhanded swing of its metallic arm, sent the ball flying back across the net toward Steven's side.
The rules for their casual game were extremely simple: just don't let the wooden ball touch the ground!
Steven spun around and used his knee to bump the ball back up into the air. Despite the sharp pain that shot through his kneecap from the impact, Steven's first priority was calling out to Skarmory:
"Skarmory, jump up and spike it back over!"
Skarmory's intense gaze locked onto the wooden ball as it gradually descended from the sky. The Steel-and-Flying-type pushed off hard with both feet and leaped upward, using its curved, sharp beak to strike the wooden ball back toward Metang's side of the court.
The ball was still airborne when Metang's form suddenly shot up into the sky. Its metallic arm raised high above its head in a powerful striking pose.
It looked exactly like Metang was preparing for a devastating spike attack!
"Wait, wait, wait!" Steven shouted in alarm, desperately trying to verbally stop Metang's action.
If that ball came flying over with Metang's full Steel-type strength behind it, who would possibly dare to try receiving it?
BANG!
The wooden ball was struck hard by Metang's arm, but not downward toward their side of the court. Instead, Metang had accidentally hit it at the wrong angle, sending it flying far away from the playing area.
"Metang?" Metang made a confused sound, seemingly surprised at its own mistake.
Had it hit the ball wrong?
Steven and Skarmory simultaneously looked up, their gazes following the high arc of the wooden ball as it sailed through the air.
As the ball descended in the distance, it happened to strike a white bird-like Pokémon that was randomly flying past.
THUD!
"WHOA!!!" the Pokémon cried out.
As if it had been hit by a small meteor, that poor Pokémon plummeted straight down from the sky, crashing hard onto the sandy beach.
"..."
Steven definitely hadn't expected Metang's target to be some innocent Pokémon that just happened to be passing by!
This wasn't how you were supposed to gain experience points by defeating wild Pokémon!
Steven immediately rushed over to check on the fallen Pokémon's condition, feeling guilty about the accident.
Lying motionless on the beach was a fainted Wingull. Its small body occasionally twitched involuntarily from the impact.
The poor thing looked absolutely pitiful lying there.
"Hmm?" Steven noticed something unusual.
He crouched down and carefully grabbed the Wingull's foot, lifting it gently to examine it closer.
A small piece of paper was tied securely to the Wingull's leg with string. There were only two simple words written on it in neat handwriting.
"Little Wingy?" Steven read aloud, feeling stunned.
This Wingull belonged to someone? It was a trained Pokémon?
"It looks like I'm going to have to find this Wingull's Trainer and apologize to them first..." Steven said with a sigh, realizing the situation had just gotten more complicated.