On the way back to town Booth reviews his battle with the pokemon chieftain. No matter how much he thinks about it, there are some things that don't add up.
Granbull was a menacing foe, but its strength didn't match the pressure it gave off. After Booth got over his initial fright, he found there was more to Granbull's abilities than meets the eye.
Booth asks Ben about his recent suspicions. "Ben, is it possible for a pokemon to exert pressure using its power?"
"Oh! Is this about the Granbull fight." Ben raises an eyebrow.
"Yes." Booth nods.
"Now that I think about it, I did feel quite a bit more pressure than normal. If you want my opinion though, I think it's a feature that all experienced chieftain's have."
"How come?" Booth asks, interested.
"I mentioned before that pokemon chieftains are comparable to tier 2 trainers. With a good enough mastery over their power, suppressing the power of lower tiers shouldn't be a problem.
The Granbull didn't look experienced enough to do that though, if I had to guess, his ability, Intimidate, aided his ability to apply pressure." Ben says as he steps over a small creek.
"Alright, I think I got it." Booth states, remembering the information for later.
"Happy I could help." Ben replies.
---
After getting back from the hunt, Booth immediately went to the Tiered Trainer Center to try out the premium training rooms. Ben had already made contact with someone who could appraise the chieftain's worth, and had sent Granbull over to get a price.
Booth spent the next few hours testing the new equipment until he was familiar with most of the machines. Some of the equipment was too advanced, so Booth moved on to the more straightforward ones.
One of the simplest machines to use, and Booth's favorite, was a machine for target practice. The machine occupied half of the left wall of the room and spawned targets for the trainer's pokemon to hit. The machine places targets in different areas according to the range set by the trainer.
The feature that sold Booth on the machine was its ability to measure the strength, speed, and accuracy of attacks.
'The machine makes tracking improvement so much easier. Having a record of my results is great, but the machine's ability to measure the amount of power in a move is outstanding. With control being so important, a machine like this is a huge help.'
The amount of power in a move doesn't necessarily make the move stronger. When a trainer improves their control over the power organ, they can conserve much of their power.
'The more complicated a move is, the more power it uses. It's similar to the idea of power points in the games. Some moves like Fire Pledge have interesting additional effects, but have less power points and power than a simpler move like Flamethrower.
Thanks to the equipment here, I can train more than just my accuracy. There's machines to train reaction time and endurance as well. It's too bad the training pods are so difficult to use. I'm sure they will be great to practice techniques once I figure them out.
In any case, optimizing my moves will take time. In the meantime, I need to pick up an advanced Integrator. And if I could have Ben or someone teach me more physical control that would be great.'
Booth picks up his stuff and checks out of the training room. He heads back to his apartment at around 6:00. Booth finds Ben at the apartment and asks him about the Granbull.
"I got a deal for it faster than I thought. The final price was 2500 credits. Let me get your share." Ben takes out 1250 credits and gives it to Booth.
"Woah, this is half!" Booth says in shock. "Ben, you were the one who organized everything. I'm fine giving you a larger share." Booth tries to hand the credits back and urges Ben to take more.
Ben refuses. "It's cool. You played a pretty big role in the hunt. From your help driving away the wild pokemon to fighting the chieftain, it's really difficult to do alone. Besides, you paid for the lure."
Booth doesn't turn Ben down this time, and puts his credits in a plastic bag he's been using as a temporary wallet. Ben has a good laugh seeing this.
"You skinflint! It's people like you that make other trainers think we're all poor. At least put some credits into a new wallet." Ben says as he furrows his brow jokingly.
"I guess I could spend a few credits on a roll of duct tape for a new wallet." Booth chuckles.
Damon comes a bit later and congratulates the two on their successful hunt. When he hears their plans to shop for advanced integrators the next day he promises to go with them.
"Sounds like fun. I already ordered a new integrator with my discount card. It should arrive at the tiered trainer center tomorrow. If you guys want, we can figure out how to use the advanced integrators together at the center." Damon offers.
"Alright, I'm up for it." Booth accepts the offer.
"Me too." Ben agrees.
"It's settled then." Damon says finally.
The next day the three leave their apartment a bit later than planned. Booth and Ben slept in thanks to the busy day before. With plenty of rest today, Booth walks with Ben and Damon to the trainer store.
The sky is bright and sunny, and a soft breeze blows across the street. Booth is feeling quite eager to get his hands on the new Integrator. He can't stop thinking about testing the cool features and how the increased compatibility might feel.
The walk seems like seconds to Booth, as he enters the trainer store and quickly enlists the help of one of the employees. With the employee's help Booth and Ben make their purchases. Booth shows his discount card and takes out a couple thousand credits from his new duct tape wallet.
Ben looks at the ridiculous wallet and snorts softly while he pays for his own Integrator. Afterwards the three walk to the Tiered Trainer Center where Damon picks up the device he ordered.
They find a premium training room for the three of them and get started individually. Booth stops and looks at his old Integrator briefly. Booth isn't a very sentimental person, so he puts it down with his stuff and plans to give it back to Damon and Ben later.
Booth takes a look at the small box which contains his new Integrator. He quickly breaks it open and holds the device. The weight is a little heavier than Booth thought it would be. The Integrator itself is bright red and shares the same oval shape as most integrators.
Booth doesn't waste any more time and registers his two pokemon and himself. He starts with Magnemite and switches on the advanced Integrator for the first time.
The feeling is not completely different from his other integrator, but Booth can feel it's better. After moving Magnemite around, he notices many more small details. With his old integrator, he felt like things moved too fast. The advanced integrator makes his senses much clearer and easier for him to understand.
'It only been a few minutes, and it's already easier to control Magnemite's power. The integrator I bought boasted the best connection to a pokemon's power, and it delivered.
The advanced Integrator also makes it easier to differentiate your own senses from your pokemon's. Before it was hard to tell apart which was my arm and Pansear's. Now there's a vague tingling in every part of Magnemite, which makes even minor parts of the body more perceivable. I hadn't gotten very far with physical control up to this point, but at this rate it will be a breeze.'
Booth takes a look at Ben and Damon's progress. Damon is making his Morgrem walk around slowly, while Ben is doing the same. Booth is impressed quite a bit with their rapid improvement.
'They've had a headstart on physical control, but it's still surprising to see them pick it up so quickly. Well, there's no need to distract them while they're on a roll. I'll see what I can learn on my own for now.'
Booth starts with what he knows and controls Magnemites power without giving any direct commands. He uses the target machine to test his abilities.
Damon sees Booth's progress on the machine a little later and comes to talk to him.
"It seems like you are getting the hang of the advanced Integrator, Booth."
"Yeah, it feels much smoother. Although I still don't understand physical control very well."
Damon is as helpful as ever, and provides Booth with an explanation. "It's kind of hard to put into words. But with the integrator you aren't reacting with your body, you are reacting with your mind. You have to have a good understanding of what you want to move, and how you want to do it.
You should have felt it too. The advanced integrator doesn't just tell you where everything is. Each part of your pokemon is made clearer for you to command. You need to control it the same way you do with power. But instead of commanding the arm to send power for an attack, you want to command it to become the attack!"
Booth gives Damon a brief tutorial of the target machine as thanks, and ponders Damons advice.
Booth restarts his training with Pansear and focuses on what Damon said. With time, Booth improves and is able to walk almost ten feet without becoming unsteady. When Booth can move every part of Pansear without mixing them up, he finally celebrates.
'"Become the attack." It sounds a little odd, but I think I get it. I'm finally controlling the attack, and starting to put more than just power into each move. As Damon said, the reaction of the body is the will of the mind. The more I understand my abilities the better I can control my pokemon!'