Chapter 43: Gym Battle Training

Ark had started the three's training. In order to get a grip of Shellders current strength, he checked his system to have a look at the types of moves and ability distribution.

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Shellder

Male

HP: 29

Atk: 11

Def: 15

SpA: 10

SpD: 13

Spe: 16

Moves:

-Water Gun

-Icicle Spear

-Tackle

-Withdraw

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He was impressed by the range of attacks Shellder already had, though it made sense since Shellder grew up in the wild so it had to be strong enough to survive. One move in particular caught arks attention, 'Icicle Spear' was a move that he did not expect at all. Of course, he was excited and grateful, but he wondered why the Shellder did not use that attack against the berserk Seaking.

With this new information on hand, Ark decided to test the power and accuracy of Shellder.

"Shellder, your strength looks good on paper, but I need to see how well you do in person. I want you to attack me with 'Water Gun' until I say stop. Attack me like you mean it, no holding back."

Shellder stared at Arks face for a while before it nodded and hopped away from Ark. Once it was ready, it began the attack.

Concentrated torrents of water shot towards Ark, only to be swiftly dodged by him. Without a moments rest, Shellder continued firing 'Water Guns' toward Ark, yet none of them managed to hit.

Aggravated at constantly missing, Shellder sped up it's shots into a rapid fire. Alas, it was to no avail.

"Ok stop Shellder. I have seen enough. Sylph, give Shellder a drink please"

Sylph who had been meditating on the sidelines responded to Ark by using its 'Confusion' to lift a bottle of water and pour it into a bowl. When it was full, it changed its target from the bottle to the bowl and slowly lifted it to Shellder, trying not to drop it.

"Thank you Sylph, carry on meditating, it seems your psychic control is improving nicely. As for you Shellder, your attack strength is good and is a force to be reckoned with if it hit. However it seems your attack speed and accuracy still needs to be worked on."

Shellder listened to Ark as it drank the water. It should be known that Ark was still moving within the bounds of a normal human, thus if it had been a speed orientated Pokemon, Shellder would have been in an even worse state.

"Luckily our next opponent does not have any speedy hitters, so we should prioritise your accuracy while slowly building your attacks speed and increasing your attack strength."

With this, Ark decided that he should have Shellder focus on hitting stationary targets first and add movement later.

"This time Shellder, I am not going to dodge. You need to hit me once and I will reposition myself somewhere else. Remember, we are focusing on 'Water Gun' right now"

As nice as it was for Shellder to have other moves, 'Tackle' and 'Icicle Spear' will do negligible damage against Brocks Pokemon. Besides, if Shellder improved his accuracy with 'Water Gun', it will greatly assist it's other long range moves.

The three continued training for a couple more hours.

Ark had started changing the way he stood to make his surface area smaller, meaning Shellder needed to fire more accurately. Sweat ran down Arks cheek as a torrent of water crashed into the side of his leg sending him falling onto one knee. After about two hours of training, Shellder had started hitting 90% of its shots without having to lead them. This was a great improvement from the start, however it was a very painful process for Ark in particular.

Sylph had spent most of the time training its 'Teleport'. Ark had the idea of using 'Teleport' as a form of movement attack rather than an escape move. Therefore, he instructed Sylph to try and run whilst using 'Teleport' so that it could produce an effect akin to jumping across space rather than it being a static location transfer.

"Right time for lunch guys, come have a rest before we restart training"

Ark laid out some food and water for the two before taking out a set of sandwiches for himself. Resting his slightly aching body, Ark sat down with the two Pokemon on either side of him and thought about other ways to train. While it looked as though Ark was not training himself, he was using himself as a target of Shellders 'Water Gun' for the sole reason of increasing his water resistance.

After a few minutes of rest after they ate, Ark jumped up and addressed the two sated Pokemon.

"Time to get back to work. This time, Shellder I want you to start changing positions as you shoot. I do not want to see you shoot from the same place back to back. Sylph, you need to keep up with the 'Teleport' training. Trust me, this will help us a lot in the long run and may become the backbone of our future battles."

He maintained a bright smile as he spoke to the two Pokemon that sat patiently as he explained their next instructions. Not a hint of reluctance was shown in their behaviour.

With their instructions known, everyone started training once again.

Shellders accuracy dropped again when it started incorporating its own movements into its attack patterns however that was to be expected as it was only their first day of training. The water Pokemon continuously shot 'Water Gun' without rest as it hopped about with a surprising amount of maneuverability changing the angles it shot from, sometimes high, sometimes low.

On the other side of the clearing, Sylph was running back and forward whilst using 'Teleport' midway. It seemed to get the initial timing right and was able to teleport whilst moving however it had encountered a new issue. When it reappeared, it had a severe drop in its movement, effectively making it an easy target to be sniped or it's path to be predicted and a trap to be sprung. Thus, Ark made Sylph continue training with more focus on its recovery in hopes that over the next few days, it would be able to maintain its momentum as it teleported about.

Finally, just before the sky started to turn dark, Ark made Sylph and Shellder battle against each other for 30 minutes. He realised that while it was good that they were training to improve on their weaknesses, the three of them were still new when it came to Pokemon battles. As a result, he decided that they will do a mock battle at the end of every day so that they can familiarise themselves with battling an actual battle. It also served as a reference for Ark as he would be able to spectate the battle and look for any weaknesses whilst bolstering his knowledge on actual first hand battling.

Some may say that Ark should be overly knowledgeable about the Pokemon world by now as he spent his early years purely studying and with the Professor, however that is only theory. In terms of theory, Ark could be said to be a professional, however he severely lacks the prowess that can only be accumulated from years of battling and surviving those situations. This was the biggest point Ark had learned from the Scyther event.

After their mock battle, Ark returned the two to their Pokeballs before heading back to the Pokemon Center. Once he managed to drag his tired body back, he handed over his Pokemon to Nurse Joy so that they could get the best rest possible after a hard days work.

"You look very tired Ark"

Nurse Joy received the Pokemon and handed them to Chansey. A smile remained on her face as she saw the fruits of his efforts in his rugged appearance.

"Yeah, we spent the whole day training. It's a lot more intense than I've ever done before and my body is battered. It makes me want to laugh at my old self that felt it had done substantial training"

Ark smiled derisively as he recalled the Ark of a week ago. It had only been a week, however the constant reality checks he had received, drilled his naivety into him.

"Well I am sure your training will pay off. As for right now, go and take a well deserved rest with a shower. "

Ark nodded at her words before turning to go to his room. Despite his tired body, a blazing fire of determination burned in his eyes as he thought about the coming week.