Ch 39. Learning new things

A few days after the battle with Erika and having received his fourth gymbadge, Ares had decided to visit a relatively well known pokemon herbalist, one that had offered trainers a lesson in herbology, to ensure they could handle themselves in the wild, assuming something unfortunate happened.

Arriving rather late, as Clefairy had been playing with another trainers pokemon in the dinning hall a bit too enthusiasticly, Ares stood in front of a wooden cottage. Shrubbery was growing on the roof and walls, making it blend in with its surroundings. Flowers grew around the house, giving of a refreshing sent. The cottage looked rather old, but well taken care of.

Around the house were but a few people, most of them looking relatively young. Around them were parents, who overlooked their children. Besides the parents and their children, there were also some trainers with their pokemon on their side, patiently waiting for the herbologist to arrive.

Not minding them, Ares waited a bit to the side. As usual, Lucario and Umbreon were at his side, keeping a close eye on their surroundings. Their casual glances scared of some of the more timid people, with only a small child walking towards him.

Girl "Mister. What kind of pokemon are they? I've never seen them before."

The small girl, looking barely ten years, had stepped towards him as her eyes were brimming in curiosity. A bit farther away, Ares could see the girls mother looking at her in desperation, her eyes switching back and forth between her daughter and him. She appeared to be debating if she should step forward or not. Not all pokemon trainers were kind to others. It was natural for the woman to be worried.

Ares "They are known as Lucario and Umbreon. Now that you have your answer, you should hurry back."

Not expecting a cold reply, the girls eyes widened. A bit startled, she backed away a bit but still politely stated her thanks with a small bow and ran back to her mother. Safely in the presence of her mother, the girl continued to stare.

Ignoring her, Ares turned his gaze to the cottage, the door creaking open on its old hinges as an old woman had stepped outside of it. Her pokemon partners, an Parasect and a Ninetails followed her closely. They were observing the trainers and other people with intense eyes. Waiting patiently behind their trainer, Ninetails and Parasect leisurely settled down.

Trudy "Welcome everyone. I am Trudy, a herbologist as well as a survival expert certified by the pokemon league to inform and teach trainers and future trainers. As you have come here, I expect all of you to listen well and take to heart the lessons you learn today. They might save your life in the future."

Looking at all of them once, Trudy nodded as she gestured to a small campsite a bit behind her cabin.

Trudy "Then let's start."

What followed were basic lessons on how to start a fire, how to recognise medicinal and poisonous plants, how to find a water source, as well as how to make a temporary dwelling in different habitats. Added to that were the general alliances of the commonly known berries, such as Pecha, Cheri and Oran berries.

While the younger generations were busy doing that, the parents that came along, as well as the people who were or were about to become pokemon trainers, followed Trudy to another place.

Trudy "Now then. I will teach all of you how to create medicine for yourself and your pokemon from items that can be found in the wild."

The materials Trudy used were a bit fascinating, as the general items such a Pecha berries, were used as but one of the many components in the medicine. Other plants such as Energy root and everyday herbs such as rosemary and ginger were added to the medicine as well, enriching the flavor and enhaced the speed it took to take effect.

The variations were many, as were the effects given to the end product.

Taking notes, Ares would not shy away to ask about the many uses of the materials. It was a surprise to hear that even the honey of a Gloom had a use of enhancing the restorative ability of a Oran berry. And that was only one of its uses.

Thinking of the many other possible variations, Ares couldn't help but think of the Gloom and Weepinbell he had to catch earlier that week. No wonder the grass type pokemon were popular here. They seemed to have many uses besides perfume.

Maybe there were other ways to use the materials gotten from pokemon? What if he used other things like the spores from a Paras or the pollen from a Jumpluff? It was exciting to think about the effects they could have. That would apply to poisonous plants as well, naturally. It would definitely come in handy if he found himself in a difficult situation.

Still, besides medicine, he was even more interested in increasing the food he made for his pokemon. While human food wasn't all that bad once in a while, it would still be best for his pokemon to take more of a liking to pokemon food. Pokemon food had more nutritional values than normal food.

Thinking up to this point, Ares stayed with Trudy for the rest of the day, taking notes about her experiences, as well as her own recipes for certain types of pokemon. If he continued on this track, he would surely make food that all of his pokemon liked.

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The next day, Ares had woken up early. He quickly finished his normal daily routine, cleaning himself up, eating breakfast, as well as feeding his pokemon. Now that he had done all that he wanted to do in Celadon city, it was time to move on again. The next city he was going to was Fuchsia city, a place where his next gym would be.

Checking once more if everything was fine, observing the Abra egg for any oddities (there weren't), he soon left towards route 16. The latter half of the route was a cycling road that was near a place called Sunny town. With the help of the bridge connected to that, he would be able to reach Fuchsia city within the week if everything worked out.

Hiring a bike, Ares leisurely traveled across the cycling road. On his way to Sunny town, he saw a few pokemon, but none that caught his interest. It was a rare moment he was completely on his own, as Lucario and Umbreon had decided to stay in their pokeballs. Even Lucario, as he hadn't gotten all the sleep he needed.

The only one present was Mew, who was soundly asleep in his jacket. It was a whole new experience for him, one that felt odd but nice.

Leaving his bike at Sunny town at the rental shop, Ares continued on foot towards the mountains. It was densely populated by trees, but somewhere in the far distance of the forest was Fuchsia city. Supposedly there should be a road for traffic, but the chances he would find rare pokemon would decrease if he took the road, so traveling through the forest it is.

The forest was quiet, with the only sound being the crawling of bug pokemon and the rustling of leaves.

Taking it easy, Ares continued on, slowly moving up the mountain.