After a brief rest and a light meal at the nursery, Marie and Yuri said goodbye to the shopkeeper. With the dazed little Toxel in Yuri's arms, the two girls hit the road once again.
"Hey, I remember reading online that there's a lake somewhere around here where Farfetch'd like to hang out."
Yuri said this out of nowhere, glancing at a fork in the path.
Marie immediately understood what Yuri was hinting at. She nodded and said, "There have been a few sightings. If you're curious, we can take a small detour and check it out."
"Hehe, thanks Marie! I've always thought Farfetch'd was really cool! Training day after day, pushing through the struggle, and finally evolving into a noble knight... isn't that kind of romantic?"
Yuri's statement was a bit one-sided and not entirely accurate. No Pokémon's evolution came easy. Many even required special items and still struggled for ages to complete their transformation.
Still, Marie didn't bother correcting her. It was true that evolving a Farfetch'd into a Sirfetch'd was notoriously difficult. But for those who managed, the result a Pokémon with sharp, refined swordsmanship was undeniably impressive.
"Romantic or not, just be careful. If you tick one off, it might treat you like a training dummy to hone its blade skills."
Marie teased, recalling an old rumor about an unfortunate trainer who ended up bedridden after getting smacked around by an angry Farfetch'd.
"Uhh... that won't happen... probably. Ahaha…"
Yuri scratched her head and laughed awkwardly. It wouldn't be the first time she'd gotten into trouble with wild Pokémon.
Chatting as they walked, the two eventually reached the lakeside. To their surprise, there were even a few vendors set up nearby, selling camping gear and snacks.
After greeting one of the merchants, Marie found a spot not far from the lakeshore and began setting up camp. Since Yuri wanted to try her luck finding one of those legendary Farfetch'd, it was clear they'd be here for a while.
The lake stretched out like a crescent moon, wide and sweeping. The surrounding grassland and wooded areas made it hard to spot a single Pokémon, especially one as elusive as Farfetch'd.
Marie, however, had other plans. She wanted Baru to continue practicing different types of moves. The Fire-type techniques they had trained earlier hadn't come in handy during their last Gym match, but the training wasn't wasted.
Baru had a wide variety of skills under his belt, and it would take time to fully master them all. Building a versatile moveset was key to battle strategy. Now that they were near a lake, it was the perfect opportunity for Baru to work on the move Dive.
After setting up the tent, Marie patted the Pokémon who had come over to help.
"Thanks for the help, everyone."
"Rawr~ (No problem at all~)"
Baru let out a few cheerful roars and spun midair twice, gracefully flipping his body. In the process, Kosa and Koyu were sent flying as usual.
"Nyaa! (So fast-!)"
"Nya~! (Hahaha~!)"
Marie, still unable to comprehend the joys of the Dragapult species, shook her head and gave Baru's tail a firm pat.
"Baru, since we're near water, let's focus on your Dive practice today."
"Rawr! (Got it!)"
Baru accepted without hesitation, patting his belly with his claws to show he was ready to train hard.
Marie then reached out to grab the tip of his semi-transparent tail, which had been swishing back and forth in front of her face.
"Say, Baru, what made you decide to learn Dive from a TM in the first place?"
"Rawr rawr~ (Oh, that! Back then, Kosa said she wanted to go swimming. I remembered you told me we had a Dive TM lying around, so I dug it out and learned it.)"
"I see..."
Marie nodded, unsure whether to laugh or praise him. Learning a Water-type move just to take the kids swimming was... surprisingly thoughtful. But on the bright side, if he'd already been swimming with them, maybe he'd gotten decent at it?
"Wait, Baru, that means you should already be pretty good at Dive, right?"
"Rawr rawr! (I guess I'm alright. I've never used it in battle though, so I don't really know how strong it is.)"
Baru answered honestly. After all, he had only picked it up for fun, never expecting to use it in a fight. He always canceled the move before the energy buildup finished, so its power was untested.
"Alright, I got it."
Marie nodded again. The move's power didn't matter too much. What mattered was getting Baru comfortable operating in a water environment. Sure, battling Water-types underwater might be a terrible idea, but if used creatively, pulling an opponent with poor swimming skills into the lake could flip a fight in her favor.
"I'll help him practice."
Before Marie could say anything, Ee-chan had already stepped forward. Not that she had many other options. Among Marie's Pokémon, the gap in strength was pretty stark Ee-chan and Baru were both powerhouses, while Sii-chan and Little Chirp were still growing and hadn't even reached their final evolutions yet.
Thankfully, Sii-chan and Little Chirp could spar with Yuri's Pokémon.
But as for Ee-chan and Baru, they could only train with each other. No other team members could handle the force of even one of their casual moves.
"Do your best. Once we reach Waterleaf Town, I'll help you learn a couple more moves."
Marie stroked Ee-chan's head before letting the two powerhouses head off for their training. As for the new moves, she'd already asked Sonia to keep an eye out for some TMs. They weren't particularly rare, so they shouldn't be too hard to find.
Ee-chan's moveset wasn't all that broad, unlike Baru who had learned a whole slew of them. But Ee-chan trained every move she did have to perfection.
Lately, she'd been focusing on Iron Tail and Toxic, both of which were shaping up nicely. And with the team slowly expanding, it was time to give Ee-chan a few more tools so they could start practicing coordinated tactics.
The first step would be Baton Pass and Work Up. That would add a lot more flexibility to their future battles.
Even if they wouldn't be useful in Gym matches right away.
Marie glanced toward the lake where Baru and Ee-chan had gone off to train. She sat down on the grass, carefully flattening her skirt, and waved Sii-chan over, pulling her close to sit beside her.
"Sii-chan, take the afternoon to rest. Meditate to recover a bit."
"Kirlia~ (Got it~)"
Sii-chan leaned against her and stared off toward where Ee-chan was. It didn't look like she planned to start meditating right away.
"Chirp? (What about me? What about me?)"
Marie looked up at Little Chirp fluttering above her.
"Stop squawking and get down here. If you keep talking, I'm canceling your massage today."
"Chirp-! (Wait, no! I'm sorry! Marie!)"
Little Chirp immediately started wailing her name shamelessly, then folded her wings and plopped down in a soft, round ball on Marie's lap.
"If you make any more weird noises, I'm telling Sii-chan to dunk you in the lake."
"Chirp! (Mouth shut!)"
Little Chirp zipped her beak shut and tilted her head to the side, fully prepared to enjoy her massage in peace.
It was technically part of his recovery routine, so although Marie pretended to grumble, she still gave him the usual careful attention. He was her Pokémon too, after all. The threat earlier had only been to scare him a little.
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