In Redwater valley where strong pokemon can be found at every turn, three trainers trek boldly. Each of them scans the surroundings for danger on their own. In one of the trainer's hands a sickly sweet scent spreads through the air from what appears to be an incense stick. As the lure burns, wild pokemon slowly begin to stir.
From ahead, two creatures approach with an arrogant gait. The creature's eyes meet with Booth's team. A wide grin comes from the pokemon on the left. It raises its paw and beckons them forward. Its taunting is recognized by the trainers, who decide to play along.
"Hey Booth, me and Ben will take these two." Damon says.
"Ok, go ahead."
Although such an action would have been a bad idea the day before, the group has raised their proficiency with power by a great amount from yesterday to today.
A tiered trainer's control of power directly relates to the strength they can put out at any time. In many ways a trainer's control is like an airplane. The amount of fuel doesn't change, but the more they modify their plane the faster and farther they can go.
A trainer's control of power is referred to by most as proficiency. The test Booth took at the Tiered Trainer Center was for measuring proficiency.
The trip to Redwater has allowed Damon and Ben's proficiency rating to reach 20.0 without power ups. Their rating is already double the average trainer's. Their improvement certainly shows in battle as well.
Damon easily maneuvers his Morgrem around the opposing Nuzleaf's Razor Leaf. The Nuzleaf hurriedly responds after its first attack fails.
Nuzleaf swings a Sucker Punch, but Damon is a step faster. He stops Nuzleaf's arm with his left hand. Nuzleaf uses its other hand but is once again caught by Damon's right hand. Although he has no free hands, Morgrem's hair shapes into a drill. Damon fills it with power and stabs Nuzleaf with Bad Company.
Nuzleaf breaks free with a bit of its power, but he has already been injected by Bad Company's power. With Bad Company's power on an opponent, Damon can either use it to weaken the opponent or make one of his attacks stronger.
Seeing its teammate is in a bind, the Prinplup launches a Whirlpool to separate the Morgrem and Nuzleaf. A swirling stream of water successfully creates some space between the two. Prinplup turns to the side and finds that its own opponent moves in faster than it expected.
Ben managed to prepare a move with his Galarian Linoone and cross over 20 meters in the short time Prinplup was distracted. Prinplup brings up its defenses by coating its arms in a thick power as hard as steel.
Ben's Headbutt rams into Prinplup, doing damage past its guard. Although the Prinplup takes damage, it doesn't remain stunned. It digs its foot into the ground and pushes off strongly. Prinplup spins into a Drill Peck bending the air around it.
Ben stays cautious and retreats after the hit, but because his familiarity with Linoone is low he stumbles while he's creating distance. Prinplup's Drill Peck digs into Linoone's skin and causes Ben to cover his side.
Ben jerks away. A two inch hole is poked into Linoone. Blood starts to seep out, but is stopped by some force. Despite his wounds, Ben is able to sprint away.
'A 20 in proficiency isn't just for show. Ben recovered from that hit at an amazing speed. Not only was he able to run away, but he did it while stopping his wound from bleeding too. Ben has always had a good reaction time, but he frequently gets too focused on one thing. It's good to see that he has learned to multitask a bit better.'
Booth has increased his proficiency along with the rest of the team, but his greatest improvement appears even without the use of an integrator. Booth's senses have developed significantly.
Booth's ear twitches suddenly. It's faint, but something catches his attention. He clears his mind, turning his senses outside of the battle in front of him. He listens closely and hears a steady rhythm of steps getting closer.
He looks in the direction of the sound and finds the source. A sleek black body with a large crimson mane. The mysterious pokemon leaps forward with each step choosing the perfect stride for maximizing it's speed.
'Fast!' The pokemon's pace reaches a speed faster than any pokemon Booth has seen.
Booth quickly whips out his Integrator and throws out his pokeball. Cubone exits the ball and lands on the ground softly. Booth's already sharp senses double as he slides up the switch on the Integrator.
Booth raises his bone club to stop the incoming attack.
"Crunch!!!"
Booth feels as if his bones creak under the heavy impact. However, now that the creature has been stopped Booth gets a good look at his opponent.
The speedy opponent is a Zoroark. The pokemon is nearly three times as tall and multiple times heavier. Zoroark's cunning eyes stare down on Cubone's, but Booth is unfazed.
Zoroark pushes Cubone back, taking full advantage of its superior body and weight. Booth circulates the power in Cubone as a response. Booth gains a sudden surge of strength and pushes the Zoroark off him. With the strength still active, Booth kicks off the ground and starts battering the Zoroark with his bone club.
The rapid thumping of each hit makes Booth's heart beat fast in excitement. Zoroark blocks each blow, but retreats after feeling the force of the attacks.
Booth runs Rebound as soon as he gets a moment of relief. Power vibrates from his core and spreads outward. Booth captures the power and prepares for another clash.
This time Zoroark is ready and slashes left and right with a move like Night Slash, but with the ability to last for multiple strikes. Cubone's bone club swings right back, stacking up damage on both sides. Booth takes more hits than the Zoroark though, and struggles to keep up. It's his two pairs of eyes on the fight that helps him last a little longer.
Zoroark divides its attacks between Cubone and the bone club to minimize the damage it takes. Because Rebound is active in full force, about 1 out of 3 of Booth's strikes successfully get the rebound effect. Each time the effect activates Booth either gets an extra strike or the chance to reposition himself. Booth's link establishes itself in the short period of time when the two pokemon finally separate.
Each pokemon is proving to be a difficult opponent for each other. The Zoroark's speed lets it get more hits. While Cubone's sturdy body and Booth's relentless orders manage to create a stalemate.
'I feel like I just need one good push to turn things in my favor. The problem is that Zoroark can get in at any time. While I have trouble getting in on Zoroark. My attack speed is fine, rather my range is the problem.'
Booth quickly thinks over his options. Failure for him may not mean death, but he could be seriously injured by the Zoroark before he gets another pokemon out.
He checks the area and picks a spot for his plan. The spot he chooses is slightly sloped down. He moves down the slope and spends more than 60 percent of his power to inject into his bone club. The Glide power up Booth gained from the Mismagius is also combined with his power.
Zoroark chases after Cubone preparing a Foul Play to punish Cubone for amassing so much power at once.
The clever creature is taken by surprise in the next few seconds. Booth grabs the bone club and pulls it from each end. The bone extends each way and quadruples in size. The weight also increases quite a bit, but with Rebound's power still running through him Booth manages to swing the club with the same degree of dexterity as before.
At this point Zoroark can't stop itself, so it goes all in. It's Foul Play collides with the massive Bone Club.
"Thwack!"
Booth's first swipe is repelled. He activates rebound's effect and takes one step back. He twists his body forward and leans into his next strike. The second strike overpowers Zoroark and causes it to stagger back.
Cubone's position on the slope seems bad at first, but his position actually lets him hit his attacks anywhere from below while Zoroark has trouble reaching down to hit Cubone.
Booth's third strike lands into Zoroark's right side. Zoroark growls in anguish. Controlling the massive power in his hands becomes quite difficult for Booth as time goes on. Feeling desperate, Zoroark makes a risky move.
Zoroark gives its all to jump over Cubone, hoping to get into a more advantageous position. Booth's mind relaxes a bit at this moment. Booth swings the bone club towards Zoroark's head with all of his strength.
"Pop!"
Zoroarks body follows the bone club's path. It's head crumbles to the ground, clearly the impact finishes the Zoroark.
An influx of 3 Sharp power ups appear all at once in Booth's head. Booth closes his eyes and breathes in for a second.
"Alright!!!" Booth smiles and lets the power he's controlling go.
Cubone looks disappointed as it's bone club shrinks back to its original size. Booth laughs and turns off his Integrator. After seeing that Damon and Ben are done with their battle, he thinks over his battle.
'That was a great battle. It helped me test and overcome my current limits. I couldn't have dreamed of such a battle a week ago. I'm happy to say that this trip has been tremendous for my progress as a trainer.'
Ben walks over with Damon and takes a look at the Zoroarks body. Ben shivers seeing that Zoroark's head is flatter than it should be.
"Brutal! That last hit made me shudder." Ben gives Booth a thumbs up.
"Well done on your end, Booth." Damon adds.
"Thanks! You guys finished pretty fast as well." Booth holds up his lure. "Do you guys want to keep going?"
"No, I think I'm good. I've got pretty much everything I could out of this trip." Damon says.
"I want to get a little more experience with my Linoone. Let me have some more of the battles on the way back." Ben asks.
"Sure. Let's go." Damon declares.
The group packs up some meat for the way back and says their goodbyes to Redwater Valley.