Rebound's progress is slow today as well. Booth is patient when it comes to training, but his new Art tests him a bit. Unlike Rebound, Snakebite was easy to understand when it came to the techniques. The difficult part of Snakebite was applying the Art. To overcome this problem last time he just battled with the Art.
Booth decided to copy the same method for Rebound. In order to do that quicker, Booth visits a Poke-Chain to pick up some supplies.
'Practical experience seems like the fastest way to train with Rebound. So far, Rebound functions more like a move than the "technique" kind of Arts like Snakebite. While it's not totally different, learning Rebound has been like learning a new move from scratch.'
Booth scans through the aisles. Not long after, he finds the lures and examines each of them. The lures are generally sold in small square bags, while some are sold in cylinders. The Chieftain lures are sold individually.The common lures are arranged by quality and are mostly sold in bulk.
'I could use a couple lures for when I go hunting. Emmet and I didn't bring any lures with us to Redwater. Because of that we spent more time looking for pokemon than I would have liked.' Booth reflexively frowns after he checks the prices. 'I guess there is some merit in searching for pokemon on your own...'
He picks them anyway and takes them to the counter. Booth buys two different kinds of lures. One made locally, and another bag made as a universal lure for attracting pokemon.
'Woodruff is as good a place as any to test these out. Hopefully I can get something going with Rebound too.'
Booth drops the lures in his bag and sets off.
---
Woodruff Forest is plentiful as ever. And just as difficult to walk through. The weather is still hot and the wind does nothing to help him cool down.
Out of curiosity Booth had checked the calendar for this world and learned a couple things. He found this world was called Kuhl. It seems he arrived in Kuhl in the first month of summer. The months are about the same as Earth's. With about a day less for each month.
Clanton City is close to the center of the continent. The area gets a few visitors and tourists who come for the area's lake and resorts. Compared to other areas, there are not as many high leveled pokemon. The area makes up for this with the large volume of pokemon it has.
Booth bought lures so he can attract pokemon in mass. It turns out this is a common method among tiered trainers in the same situation.
He ignites the lure after getting far enough into the forest. The scent from the lure quickly overpowers every other smell in the area. The scent spreads through the forest and starts to influence the pokemon.
The lure brings the first pokemon wandering by in just a few minutes of walking. Booth calls out his Magnemite and switches his Integrator on.
As his new senses come pouring in, a Lickitung comes into sight. It seems rather casual until it notices Booth. It snaps out of its daze and gets ready for a battle.
Booth stores up power and prepares his first move. He doesn't wait for the Lickitung and advances first.
Magnemite moves in from above and gets ready for a basic tackle. Booth still has trouble combining moves with his Arts, regardless he activates Rebound. His power gradually becomes thicker. And as if being pulled out, Rebound's power tries to exit Magnemite as quickly as possible.
Booth stops most of the power from flowing out in time, then spreads it across Magnemite for his attack. He flies downward building momentum with his descent. The Lickitung is confident in its weight and counters with a Slam.
"Pop!" Magnemite recoils a little, but it's clear that the Lickitung loses the exchange.
Rebound breaks through Slam with ease and sends Lickitung stumbling back. Slam is no match for a highly concentrated attack like Rebound, which causes the Lickitung to be knocked into the ground. Lickitung slowly gets back on its feet, and looks at Magnemite with both confusion and frustration.
'Magnemite took a big attack with Rebound and still won. The strength of Rebound is impressive as always, but its power nearly dried out with one attack.'
Lickitung sucks in its giant tongue and runs towards the Magnemite. Booth pulls his Magnemite back and charges a Spark. Lickitung lunges forward, which causes Booth to move his Magnemite to the side. Lickitung spits out its tongue.
"Huh?" Booth ducks out of the way in a hurry.
'Fuuum!" The tongue misses its target by about a foot.
Booth holds onto the lure and realizes the Lickitung's true goal. 'That half-witted Lickitung! It's really going for the lure at a time like this.'
Lickitung retracts its tongue back into its body, looking a little discouraged.
'Seriously. There's an order to these things. You can't just take the reward without doing the work. Fortunately for you, I'm in a giving mood.'
The Red light on his Integrator turns on, which causes Booth to smile. Feeling generous he administers a full charge of Spark to the poor mannered pokemon. Lickitung, who is hit from the side, trips over its feet.
The Lickitung whines in pain. It picks itself up and tries to retreat with Rollout. Booth reacts faster and gathers power for a Gyro Ball. Booth's Gyro Ball catches up to the injured Lickitung in seconds.
Magnemite moves at a startling speed as Booth prepares a Fluid power up. He activates Rebound a second time and adds the Fluid power up. The thick power softens and a great strength flows through Magnemite. Magnemite moves along Lickitung's trail and leaps up.
Booth's Rebound tackle crashes into the Lickitung. A hard thud sounds as Magnemite's thick metal body rams the Lickitung. Lickitung is launched into a tree and finally faints.
Unexpectedly, Rebound's power subsides and returns to Magnemite's body. Rebound is still running, but it gives a portion of power back regardless. Booth's link is active during this, which allows him to feel the change very clearly.
'I'm sure that hasn't happened yet. Normally when power is distributed to a move, there's no way to get it back.' Booth studies his Magnemite for as long as his link lasts. After a few minutes he finishes his theory.
"From what I studied on the Art, this is one of Rebound's features. When the last strike went through, I could recognize something coming from Rebound. This feature seems like some kind of reward for hitting an opponent.
This is my first time getting a proper hit with Rebound on an opponent. And I have to admit, it feels pretty good. When a hit goes through smoothly you can both see and feel the results. Haha, this feeling may be a feature as well.'
Booth takes a short break, then continues his hike. The lure does its job, spreading its scent into the air. After handing the lure to his Pansear, he keeps watch for wild pokemon.
Things stay quiet for a while, until a soft buzzing reaches Booth's ear. Magnemite is still in good condition so he sends it back out. He calmly slides the switch up on his integrator, and waits.
The buzzing persists, but he can't find anything. He looks around another time. In a bush, he notices something hiding. A dull white object peers from underneath the green bush.
'Is that it?'
Booth silently maneuvers his Magnemite facing the bush. He fires a string of lightning into the bush, causing the hiding pokemon to cry out.
"Groooh!" A Cubone grunts and moves from its hiding place.
Suddenly the buzzing gets closer. The sound becomes more clear as it gets closer, Booth looks up. A Yanma appears above. It doesn't waste a second and swoops in.
"Pansear, dodge! Don't let it have the lure."
Booth collects half of his Solid power ups to improve the next move's longevity. He starts running Rebound and simultaneously adds Solid power ups. The two powers combine beautifully at first, but the amount of power ups are more than Booth can handle.
Rebound's power grows thicker than ever. At the same time, the strength from the power up increases the flow speed. Booth struggles trying to get the power under control. When he finally puts the power under his command, the Cubone is back on its feet.
He attacks at the Yanma first. Yanma's senses pick him up in time, and it flies out of the way.
Booth uses a bit more power to boost his Magnemite into the Yanma. Like a silver bullet, Magnemite shoots into the Yanma.
"Crunch!"
Yanma takes a direct hit. Magnemite is supplied with a bit of power from Rebound, after landing a successful hit. Yanma smacks the ground hard and screeches loudly in pain.
Cubone comes in right after and uses Bone Club. Magnemite defends with Rebound, but is still pushed back by several feet.
'What's with that power? One swing pushed me back this far.' Booth stabilizes his power once again and prepares himself.
"GROOAH!" Cubone roars and turns to the Yanma. Booth sees the action, and immediately gets a weird feeling.
He keeps it in mind as he retaliates against the Cubone. He avoids its club the second time and bashes the Cubone. The attack doesn't land completely, which lets the Cubone shake off most of the damage.
Booth charges a move for a follow up, but a Quick Attack strikes him from the side. He flinches for a second.
'I thought something was off. But after the battle with the Lickitung, I'm not surprised. They're teaming up!' Booth completes his move and fires a Thundershock at the Cubone. The Cubone is zapped with no time to defend.
The ground type doesn't completely resist electric types in this world, so the attack takes a big bite out of Cubone's stamina. Cubone glares at the Magnemite angrily after being caught off guard twice.
Right as Booth is about to mock the opposing pokemon for fun, a Spinda comes from over the hill. Booth quickly puts those thoughts aside and calls out to his Pansear.
"Pansear, put out the lure!" Booth makes a motion with his hands to make sure it understands. Pansear quickly catches on. It extinguishes the lure and waits for orders. The third pokemon is already here, but putting out the lure should at least stop any more pokemon from joining in.
Two of his opponents are teaming up, while the third pokemon examines the field. The lingering scent from the lure is still present, which makes it easy to find. It sees the lure in Pansear's hand and stares at it greedily.
Booth keeps an eye on the three pokemon, doing his best to stay focused. 'Looks like things are getting interesting.'