Wally’s view on basic moves was that they could pave the way toward mastering more advanced moves while also playing a crucial role in a Pokémon’s growth.
For example, Wally had once read an article in a newspaper about a Trainer who was particularly fond of Charizard.
The Trainer had been raising two Charmander at the same time.
One had excellent potential and improved at an astonishing rate.
In less than a year, it had successfully evolved into Charizard, and before long, its outstanding talent allowed it to learn Dragon Claw.
The other Charmander, however, had always stuck to the most basic training.
Starting with the most fundamental move, Scratch, it gradually learned Slash and Metal Claw, practicing them diligently.
When this Charmander eventually evolved into Charizard, it too learned Dragon Claw naturally under deliberate guidance.
Moreover, its Dragon Claw surpassed that of the other Charizard in almost every respect—the strength of its claws, their sharpness, and the smoothness with which the move was executed.
After conducting some research of his own, Wally came to understand that basic moves weren’t nearly as useless as people imagined.
Take Scratch, for example.
During a Charmander’s training, practicing Scratch could effectively strengthen its arms, sharpen its claws, and improve the strength of the bones along its back.
All of this would provide considerable benefits when it later learned moves such as Metal Claw, Slash, and Dragon Claw.
Likewise, the development of its claws would contribute to the strength of its arms and even its wings after evolution.
Therefore, most basic moves had their own value.
Ignoring them simply because they lacked obvious tactical value in battle would be a classic case of sacrificing something important for a minor benefit.
As Wally pondered this, Swablu flew toward Wurmple once again.
Now that it knew how Wurmple attacked, Swablu easily dodged the incoming String Shot.
It flapped its wings and glided to a position diagonally above Wurmple, a faint light appearing at the tip of its tender beak.
It was using Peck again.
However, Swablu’s body was still somewhat uncoordinated while flying.
When it dove downward, Wurmple hurriedly dodged the attack.
Swablu tried to pursue it while it had the advantage, but Peck only lasted for a very short time before the move’s effect disappeared.
“It’s not just power.
Duration—the control of your energy—also needs to be trained.”
Wally had noticed something new.
If Swablu could properly control both the duration and energy expenditure of Peck, then it would be time for it to learn Fury Attack.
At that point, Swablu would be able to use its beak to launch multiple consecutive strikes.
The current situation, where its energy dissipated halfway through the move, would no longer occur.
However, that would require a long period of practice.
Wally once again observed the two Pokémon.
The moment Wurmple realized that Swablu had stopped attacking, it didn’t hesitate.
It immediately turned around, curled up its body, and charged forward at high speed.
Seeing this, Swablu became extremely flustered.
It hurriedly flapped its wings, trying to take flight.
But Wurmple wasn’t far away.
In its panic, Swablu failed to escape successfully.
What surprised Wally, however, was that although Swablu failed to take off, the moment it began flapping its wings, numerous white, cotton-like feathers fell from them.
They surged forward and wrapped themselves around Wurmple.
“Cotton Guard?”
No—
“Feather Dance!”
Wally almost blurted it out.
In theory, Swablu shouldn’t have been able to use—or even learn—this move.
However, based on Professor Birch’s analysis, Swablu, which possessed the combined bloodlines of Pidgeot and Altaria, had a very high chance of inheriting this move.
At this moment, Wally believed that theory.
He had already seen Wurmple become entangled in the cotton-like feathers.
Then, after recovering from its initial panic, Swablu finished the battle with another Peck.
Wurmple lost consciousness and could no longer continue fighting.
Having defeated Wurmple, the little Pokémon awkwardly flapped its wings and flew toward Wally.
It chirped happily all the way, as though proudly showing off its achievement.
“Well done.”
Wally smiled.
Swablu had only been born a short while ago.
Although its opponent had been extremely weak as well, winning its first battle was still an impressive achievement for such a newly hatched Pokémon.
This was only the first step.
Wally believed that with the two of them working hard together, Swablu would become stronger and stronger.
As a reward, Wally gave Swablu some snacks that bird Pokémon particularly enjoyed.
Swablu’s mood instantly brightened, and it even became eager to have another battle.
Wally smiled and told it not to rush.
He then took out some simple healing medicine and cleaned Wurmple’s wounds as well.
Its injuries weren’t serious, but since Wally was grateful that Wurmple had battled Swablu, he wasn’t stingy with his supplies.
After recovering, Wurmple gave a small nod before hurriedly disappearing into the grass.
At the same time, Wally began searching for a relatively safe temporary shelter where he and Swablu could spend the coming month.
Water was indispensable for surviving in the wilderness for an entire month.
However, areas around water sources were also gathering places for Pokémon.
Wally didn’t want to disturb them.
Therefore, he needed to find a place that was relatively close to a water source while also being secluded enough to serve as a home for him and Swablu.
Wally had brought a tent and some common traveling equipment with him, so as long as he remained careful, there shouldn’t be any major problems.
After surveying numerous locations, Wally found three water sources in total.
This world was different from Earth.
The wilderness didn’t have the frightening assortment of tiny creatures found in his original world, and overall, the environment was quite pleasant.
The water sources were relatively clean as well.
But that didn’t mean Wally intended to use them directly as drinking water.
He had already brought enough drinking water for his daily needs.
The water sources were mainly for ordinary necessities such as washing.
They would also solve Swablu’s thirst.
Most of these water sources had already been occupied by Pokémon.
Given a Pokémon’s physiology, drinking from these natural water sources wouldn’t normally make them sick.
As for humans, the worst that would probably happen would be an upset stomach or something similar.
After boiling the water, however, there would basically be no problem.
After carefully comparing his options, Wally chose a location on the edge of a mountain range.
The terrain there was relatively flat, and he had also discovered an extremely secluded corner.
As a temporary shelter, it couldn’t have been more suitable.
With the shelter settled, the next issue was food.
Although Wally had brought some essential supplies, he didn’t have much that could actually be used to fill his stomach.
What he had wouldn’t even last three or four days.
Most of the provisions were actually nutritional supplements that Professor Birch had prepared for Swablu.
That meant Wally would have to enter the forest himself to gather Berries, wild vegetables, mushrooms, and other edible foods.
At Wally’s request, Birch had also prepared some cooking utensils and flint for him.
In other words, Wally would have to cook his own meals from now on.
Fortunately, this wasn’t something Wally was unfamiliar with.
He had done it plenty of times in the past, so he was quite comfortable with it.
With Swablu accompanying him, he quickly found several suitable places where he could gather food to supplement his supplies.
After sorting out the things that were difficult or unsafe to eat, the two quietly returned to their original location.
The external problems had been dealt with, and the temporary shelter had been arranged.
Now Wally could finally focus on the real task—
Training Swablu.
Although Professor Birch had repeatedly emphasized that Swablu’s potential was exceptional, Wally acknowledged the importance of potential without becoming overly obsessed with it.
Potential was something difficult to define and impossible to physically grasp.
Although it might reveal itself during a Pokémon’s growth, Wally still placed greater faith in acquired effort.
Talent combined with hard work—that, in his eyes, was the perfect combination.