Chapter 16: Mastered! Quick Attack!
While their Pokémon were busy with their lessons, Kenji and Leo didn't just sit around. They made their way to another part of the gym: the Battle Area.
"Whoa, this is the first time I've ever seen a real gym battle in person!" Leo exclaimed, leaning excitedly against the railing overlooking the various battlefields below.
Kenji stood beside him, his own eyes shining as he watched the matches unfold. On one of the fields, a Pidgeotto belonging to a gym staff member was locked in combat with a challenger's Boldore.
"Pidgeotto! Use Air Cutter!"
"Boldore! Use Protect, then Rock Blast!"
...
"If you guys want to keep watching, feel free," Melody said, having joined them for a moment. "I'm going to take Charmander for some more training. You have the black card, so you can go anywhere you want in the gym."
Kenji nodded. "Thanks."
After Melody left, Kenji and Leo spent the rest of the morning watching battles, soaking in the experience.
Around noon, they returned to the training halls to pick up their Pokémon.
Beedrill (3-Star)
Gender: ...
Moves: ...
With his system's data-scanning ability, checking his Pokémon's progress was simple. Kenji saw that "Quick Attack" had not yet appeared in Beedrill's move list, but he wasn't disappointed. Even a basic Normal-type move wasn't something a Pokémon could master in a single day. If it were that easy, TMs wouldn't be such a hot commodity.
After feeding their Pokémon and grabbing a quick lunch for themselves, they returned to their respective training routines for the afternoon.
Inside one of the training halls, a yellow-and-black Beedrill zipped through the air, expertly weaving through a series of pop-up obstacles and projectiles.
"Wow! Beedrill is so fast! I can't believe it's been in there for so long," Leo commented from the observation area, his Pidove perched on his shoulder.
Kenji stood with his arms crossed, not responding to the praise. His eyes were glued to his Beedrill, a look of deep satisfaction on his face.
Three days had passed. Beedrill had only gained one level, bringing it to level 12, but its move proficiency and overall combat awareness had improved dramatically.
The training hall was filled with all sorts of artificial obstacles. Devices were mounted on the walls, constantly firing small, colorful paintballs from every direction to test a Pokémon's reaction time and speed.
"Kenji, your Beedrill's been going for fifteen minutes straight. My Pidove could only last five," Leo said, glancing at his watch. The paintball launchers were programmed to increase the frequency and velocity of their shots over time.
"Pido! Pido!"
As if on cue, the Pidove on Leo's shoulder flapped its wings, then covered its chest with them, putting on a very human-like expression of being hurt by the comparison.
"Hey, no, you're doing great too, Pidove! I didn't mean anything bad by it," Leo quickly backpedaled, trying to console his Pokémon.
"Pido! Pido!" Pidove continued to sulk, ignoring him completely.
"Look out!" Melody, who had been watching alongside them, suddenly cried out.
Kenji's heart leaped into his throat.
On the field, Beedrill was completely surrounded. A dense barrage of paintballs was closing in from all sides. At its current speed, there was no room left to dodge.
Just as Kenji thought it was over, a brilliant white light flared in Beedrill's crimson eyes. The buzzing of its wings intensified dramatically. Its translucent wings flashed, and in an instant, it vanished, reappearing as a yellow blur streaking across the training hall.
"Was that...?" Melody gasped.
"Quick Attack!" Kenji's eyes lit up. He recognized the move instantly. It was the technique his Beedrill had been working on for the past three days.
He instinctively pulled up his Beedrill's status panel. Just as he'd expected, "Quick Attack" was now listed among its moves.
However, having just mastered the technique, Beedrill's control over the sudden burst of speed was still clumsy. A moment later, a stray paintball clipped its wing. The system registered the hit and the launchers powered down. The paintballs were harmless, designed only to leave a colorful mark.
"Bzzzt!"
Beedrill flew out of the training area and hovered in front of Kenji. Kenji took out a clean towel he had prepared and carefully wiped the paint off its body.
"Great job, Beedrill," he praised, patting its somewhat round abdomen.
Beedrill buzzed happily, waving its stinger-like arms in the air, clearly pleased with the praise.
Nearby, Leo cradled his Pidove, his face a picture of envy.
"Only three days, and it already learned Quick Attack," he murmured, then looked down at his own Pokémon. "Come on, Pidove, we have to work harder, too!"
"Pido! Pido!—" Pidove cooed, its fighting spirit rekindled.
"Kenji, your Beedrill learns so fast! It's almost as quick as my Charmander," Melody said, stroking her Pokémon's head in amazement.
Kenji just smiled and gave a vague reply. "Just lucky, I guess."
In truth, after two star-fusions, Beedrill's potential had already been raised from the initial F-Rank to D-Rank. It was naturally going to learn faster than Leo's F-Rank Pidove. It still couldn't compare to Melody's B-Rank Charmander, however. The rapid learning was more a combination of Quick Attack being a good fit for Beedrill, its higher level, and its own diligent and hardworking nature.
For the next few days, Kenji had Beedrill focus almost exclusively on mastering Quick Attack. He didn't push it too hard to learn Venoshock. His attitude was that if it learned the move before the exam, great. If not, that was fine too. For Beedrill's fighting style, Quick Attack was the far more crucial skill to master.