It was interesting to observe Claire, as she went from exuberant and chatty to quiet, with the sudden realisation that we were now in the wilderness. Not that the wilderness was really wild that close to town, but I noticed her flinching and fingering the Pokéball at her hip with each rustle in the trees, even if it was only the wind.

Trying to get her to calm down, I gave her a poke to the side, causing a squeak as she jumped away from me, only to drop the Pokéball she had tried to open.

“You don’t need to be that tense.” I grinned, an eyebrow raised. “It will only make you more tired. Remember, Pokémon don’t actively hunt to attack us, they hunt to fight and gain additional energy.” I gently reminded her, watching her angry glare soften a little.

“Tell you what, I’ll take care of the first threat to appear.” I offered, acting utterly confident. It was only half-feigned, I was confident that my partners would be able to take care of things, I only worried that I’d let them down. And determined not to do so.

“Thank you.” she nodded, picking up the ball and placing it back in her belt.

For the next hour, we simply continued forward, steadily walking as the air around us was slowly warming up, thanks to the sun shining through the sparse, budding leaves of spring. Finally, I noticed a peculiar flapping-sound, far stronger than any bird inhabiting these woods should have. It was one of the signs Robert had told me to watch out for, as it signalled an approaching avian Pokémon, in our location, most likely a Starly.

Holding up a hand, I stopped Claire, taking out a Pokéball.

“We’ve got incoming.” I warned her, pushing the button to send out Vio.

Once again, Vio looked around for a moment, hiding behind my leg, before her head focused in the direction I could hear the flapping from.

“This one’s for you, Vio.” I told her, gently giving her a pat on the head. The change was almost instantaneous, she rubbed her head against my hand for a moment, the teal, grass-like hair tickling me a little, before stepping out from behind me, taking up a position in front.

“It’s going to be a Starly. Faster than you, but it’s got to come to you. Open up with your Growl, to distract and weaken it. Once it’s almost upon you, side-step and use your Disarming Voice.” I quietly explained, making sure that my partner knew what I had in mind. Once we had some battles under our belt, I would be able to rely on short, simple commands but for now, I wanted Vio to learn the sound of my voice and the commands associated with the words.

The Starly came flying through the trees, just as expected. The brown-feathered avian, maybe half a metre in wing-span, with a small, chubby body immediately lined up it’s attack on Violet. As it’s wings were shining with a soft, white glow, Vio was already acting, sharp, high-pitched shrieks sounding out, causing me to flinch, even if they weren’t directed at me. The Starly, at which Vio was directing the sonic energies, faltered for a moment, but stayed the course, even accelerating its attack.

“Step!” I called, just before the Starly struck Vio and Vio reacted perfectly, to the point that I wondered if the command had even been necessary. As Vio stepped, she also stopped shrieking, instead letting out soft, calming sounds that made me want to listen more, a siren’s song that was even more alluring, due to the painful shrieking earlier.

The Starly, having missed its attack and getting a full dose of Vio’s sonic attack, faltered in the air, but it looked very much like it wasn’t done just yet. The white glow of an attack surrounded it, and it took me a second to realise it was trying a Quick Attack.

“Duck, Growl!” I barked out, my command just in time. Vio reacted instantly, dropping on her back and letting out the earlier, shrieking sounds, striking the Starly that had moved in a blur of speed, only to strike empty air, where Vio’s head had been a moment before.

The disorienting shrieks did their magic, the Starly faltered, trying to shake off the effect, only to crash head-first into a tree it had failed to see in its distraction.

“Finish it, Disarming Voice.” I ordered, deciding that I had no interest in catching the Starly, even if it was defeated.

Vio hopped to her feet,walking up to the prone and stunned Starly, her voice vibrating with cruel delight, continuing the sonic assault until the Starly stopped moving, its energy utterly spent.

“Well done, Vio.” I complimented her, as she rushed back to me. I knelt down, in order to receive her, once again petting her head.

“Why don’t you take a rest, and digest that tasty snack you just had?” I suggested, affectionately rubbing her head, before calling her back into the ball.

Once my partner was comfortable, I briefly checked that the Starly hadn’t taken any critical damage but didn’t try to touch it. A part of me hated to see the defeated Pokémon but as sad as I was to see it downed, I knew that the only way for my own Pokémon to thrive, was to defeat others. The Starly would recover on its own and would likely even benefit from the experience, possibly allowing it to win the next battle. Until it, too, could rise in level and ultimately evolve into a Staraptor. The cycle of battle and evolution would always continue turning.

“Let’s continue.” I told Claire, who looked at me with slightly wide eyes.

”You made that look easy.” she grinned, only for me to shake my head.

“It was not me who did the work. I only guided Violet, she was the one doing the heavy lifting.” I gently caressed the Pokéball holding my partner.

“Why don’t you take care of our next foe? Take care of your partner and your partner will take care of you.” I repeated the words Cynthia had told me, on more than one occasion.

Leaving the defeated Starly, we continued on the Route, not venturing into the forest around us. That was for more seasoned Trainers, who also made sure that none of the more powerful Pokémon pushed onto the lower-levelled Routes, mostly to allow humans to travel in relative safety. High-level Pokémon simply didn’t bother with attacking Pokémon far below their level. Not due to compassion, but because it simply wasn’t worth the effort. Even their weakest attacks would utterly obliterate a lower-levelled foe, leaving little energy to recover afterwards. Humans though, we threw that system off-balance, as humans had almost all the same P-Energy signature, with a few exceptions who had enough p-Energy to register.

It didn’t take long, until I heard another sound that stood out, the scraping of something against wood.

“There’s a Bidoof nearby. Be ready, just in case.” I warned quietly and suddenly, the scraping stopped and I heard rustling.

Stepping back, I let Claire take the lead and she took out her Pokéball, having noticed the rustling sounds, too.

Moments later, the round form of a Bidoof came trundling out of the undergrowth, moving far faster than it’s stubby legs should be able to carry it. While a part of me wanted to laugh at the chubby form, Robert’s voice warning me to not underestimate any Pokémon was still sounding in my ears. Even if it looked more akin to a fluffy ball of brown fur, with short, stubby legs and a large, black nose sticking out, it could be a danger.

Regardless of how it looked, that Bidoof had enough strength to chew through trees with ease and even crack concrete, if it was motivated. Breaking bones or tearing flesh was simple with its strength.

“Go, Twiggy!” Claire called, her partner appearing in a stream of light. Twiggy, her Turtwig, was similar in size and stature to the Bidoof, though it didn’t look as ridiculous. Compared to the Bidoof, it had far longer legs, it’s green body mostly covered in a brown, nut-like shell with a pair of leaves coming from a twig-like antenna on its head.

Just as I had done earlier, Claire set out her strategy, while the Bidoof was making its approach.

“Twiggy, block it’s first strike by withdrawing. Once it bounces, you can tackle it against a tree.” she ordered, pointing her Twiggy to position itself near a sturdy-looking tree.

Not a bad tactic, at least to my understanding. There was simply only so much to be done with limited attacks and strength.

Just as expected, the Bidoof started to accelerate, glowing white, and right before it hit, Claire called out. On her command, the soft parts of her Twiggy seemed to disappear, becoming very much akin to a rock, sitting solidly on the ground. The Bidoof’s attack hit, but Twiggy’s low centre of gravity meant it’s shell was mostly pushed into the ground, with very little effect. It also meant that the Bidoof was sitting above that shell, just as Twiggy started to glow white and tackle, trapping the Bidoof between a shell and a tree.

I felt myself flinch a little from the sound of impact. It sounded brutal, even if I knew that the Bidoof would be fine. Eventually.

For now, Twiggy did it’s best to knock over the tree, using the Bidoof as a cushion to protect himself from the impacts. Finally, the light went out in the Bidoof’s eyes and it sagged.

“Well done, Twiggy. Come back and have a rest.” Claire called out, looking so very proud of her partner.

“Well done. It’s just like Cynthia told me, ‘Take care of your partner and your partner will take care of you’.” I told her, her face beaming at the success, while she applied a spritz of potion, making sure that her Twiggy could recover its energy comfortably.