Pokémon Court
Chapter 24: Swablu’s first fight

Morning.

Under Mt. Chimney.

Swablu was perched on Terrance’s head, who was dressed in casual attire, curiously observing everything around.

For a newly hatched little creature, everything outside was a novelty.

As the one who had been by Swablu’s side from the beginning, Terrance held a special place in its heart. Even without the binding of the Poké Ball, Swablu regarded Terrance as its sole family.

The moment Terrance gently placed the just hatched Swablu on his head, their connection was destined.

When a Trainer captures a new Pokémon, the initial expression displayed by the Pokémon is often one of confusion and docility.

But the gaze Swablu directed towards Terrance was one of intimacy and reliance.

Terrance’s smile never left his face as he gazed at the Swablu, theoretically his first captured Pokémon. This extraordinary little creature would be closely tied to his future.

“Chirp~~~~~~~”

Welcoming the rising sun, Terrance gently stroked Swablu. Swablu seemed to enjoy the touch, comfortably lying on Terrance’s hair, exuding a hint of laziness.

“This won’t do.” Terrance smiled lightly and spoke.

With the month-long test deadline in front of him, it wasn’t leisure and vacation awaiting him and Swablu. During this month, they would go through continuous battles, training, and honing.

Only in this way could Swablu’s potential and foundation be fully unleashed!

It had been just over ten days since leaving Fallarbor Town, and Terrance had already met Master Victor and become a Junior Breeder. Not only that, he had also possibly obtained a second Pokémon that he was extremely satisfied with, even pleasantly surprised. This filled Terrance with hope for the future.       

To live up to Master Victor’s expectations and rightfully become Swablu’s Trainer, Terrance was determined to make the most of the remaining month. Even if it meant enduring hardships and exhaustion, in order to obtain Swablu and enter Crown Academy, he believed that all the efforts made during this month would be worthwhile. Furthermore, if he couldn’t handle this little bit of hardship, how could he expect to make a name for himself and give a better life to everyone at Old Green House?

When Terrance was coming here, he had already marked the safe places, so the places he and Swablu passed by weren’t too dangerous.

“Rustle~ Rustle~~”

As Terrance and Swablu moved forward, the sound of rustling grass reached their ears.

Quickly glancing over, Terrance’s heart filled with joy. “Found it!”

There, a creature with a body made up of red and white, a small bug with sharp spikes on its red back, crawled out slowly, its eyes fixed on them.

Terrance naturally wasn’t wandering without purpose. To understand Swablu’s situation as soon as possible, it needed an opponent. However, this opponent couldn’t be too strong. Swablu had just been born, and despite its great potential, its current strength was very weak.

So, Wurmple, a Pokémon at the bottom of the food chain, naturally became the best choice.

However, there weren’t many Wurmple around Mt. Chimney, and it took them quite some time to replace one. This unfortunate fellow before them was the one.

At this moment, it had no idea that it had become the “practice partner” in Terrance’s eyes.

Having previously raised a Wurmple to evolve into Beautifly, Terrance was well aware of the characteristics of this common Pokémon. Overall, Wurmple’s strength wasn’t considered very strong. However, when pushed to a life-or-death situation, they would unleash toxins from the spikes on their rear end and fight fiercely to the end.

Therefore, if someone doesn’t provoke them too much, they can be good targets for bullying.

After all, Wurmples only know a few moves like Tackle, String Shot, and Poison Sting. With a bit of caution, Swablu should not have a problem dealing with it. Although Swablu isn’t their natural enemy, being a bird-type Pokémon gives it an inherent advantage against Wurmples. 

Moreover, Terrance was prepared with an ample supply of basic items. He had Potion and Antidote in sufficient quantities.

“Alright, this is our first battle on the path to becoming stronger!” Terrance encouraged Swablu. As a Trainer, with personal strength, one can sometimes suppress certain Pokémon, but the most important thing is to command your Pokémon in battle. Terrance is the controller of the situation, a participant but not directly involved in the fight.

After a night of adaptation and growth, Swablu is now able to fly on its own. Although it may not appear entirely graceful, Terrance was already quite satisfied with the progress it had made. With a few more days of practice and further development of its wings, Swablu should be able to fly through the air with even greater ease.

Even though Swablu has just been born and it may seem a bit earlier, it still carries some fighting genes in its blood. So, this novel concept of fighting was intriguing to Swablu.

It could also feel the energy contained within its body.

Some basic moves seem to be ingrained in a Pokémon’s memory.

Under Terrance’s command, Swablu flew towards Wurmple, seemingly wanting to show its might. Wurmple, realizing the approaching threat, didn’t turn tail and flee, which relieved Terrance.

“Swoosh…”

A string shot out from Wurmple’s mouth, surprising Swablu. Additionally, without Terrance’s command, Swablu fell victim to the attack right from the start.

“Find a solution,” Terrance calmly observed. While Pokémon rely on their Trainer’s commands, they also need a certain level of “instinct” when it comes to basic things like dodging attacks, replaceing openings for attack, and capitalizing on the opponent’s mistakes.

One could call it “battle awareness.”

These things need to be experienced by the Pokémon from the beginning. If a Pokémon develops its own style, it’s too late to try and change it.

Swablu, entangled in white silk, cried out in pain as it fell to the ground. However, upon hearing Terrance’s words, it immediately adjusted its posture and used its sharp beak to peck at the silk on its body.

“The first move, Peck attack.”

Terrance muttered to himself. Peck Attack was Swablu’s most basic move, nothing extraordinary when executed. However, at this moment, a faint white halo shimmered around Swablu’s sharp beak, indicating a slight improvement in the potency of the Peck Attack.

To perfectly utilize Peck Attack, most of the energy should be concentrated in the beak. Swablu still has a long way to go to achieve that level.

“Peck, huh? It seems like I need to come up with a training plan for this move.”

Having extensively studied the knowledge about breeding Pokémon, Terrance knows that many Trainers make a common mistake, i.e. they tend to overlook moves that are considered “weak” or “impractical” in battles. However, little did they know that these moves, although they might not hold significant tactical value in battles, play a crucial role in stimulating a Pokémon’s growth and affect their overall development in subtle ways.