Ethan learned very quickly that making Grayhaven’s primary roster did not mean Coach Reyes suddenly became nicer.
If anything, she became worse.
“Again!”
Houndour sprinted across the training field.
“Hound!”
“Faster!”
“HOUND!”
Ethan ran beside him.
That had seemed like a good idea for approximately twelve seconds.
Now his lungs disagreed.
Marcus was several meters behind them with Pancham.
“This—” Marcus gasped, “—is supposed to be Pokémon training!”
Coach Reyes stood near the finish line.
“And yet you’re the one falling behind your Pokémon.”
Marcus looked toward Pancham.
Pancham looked back.
Then accelerated.
“Traitor!”
Ethan laughed.
That was a mistake.
He immediately started coughing.
Chloe passed both of them at a steady pace.
She wasn’t fast.
She just hadn’t started like an idiot.
Budew bounced beside her.
“Bud!”
Ethan watched them go.
“That feels insulting.”
Marcus nodded.
“Extremely.”
“Less talking!” Reyes shouted.
They stopped talking.
Mostly.
The first week after roster selection had been different from Foundations.
Foundations had been about proving they belonged there.
Now Coach Reyes trained them like she expected them to represent Grayhaven.
That distinction mattered.
The sixteen students were divided between twelve primary Trainers and four reserves.
But Reyes made one thing clear immediately.
“Primary does not mean guaranteed match.”
Several rookies had looked confused.
Marcus had actually raised his hand.
Reyes pointed at him.
“Ibarra.”
“If we’re primary, why wouldn’t we battle?”
“Because I choose the lineup.”
Marcus lowered his hand.
Reyes continued.
“Opponent.
Matchup.
Current form.
Pokémon condition.
Training performance.
Reliability.” She looked across the group.
“All of those matter.”
Ethan frowned.
“So we can make the team and still sit out?”
“Yes.”
“That sucks.”
“Yes.”
Ethan blinked.
He hadn’t expected agreement.
Maya stood nearby with Furret.
She smiled.
“Making the team was the easy part.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You said tryouts were hard.”
“They were.”
“Then how is that the easy part?”
“Because now you have to keep your spot.”
Oh.
Ethan looked around.
Ryan Cole was training with Lillipup.
Reserve.
But Ryan wasn’t acting like someone who’d lost.
Neither were the other three reserves.
They trained with everyone else.
Same field.
Same drills.
Same Coach Reyes yelling at them.
Ethan suddenly understood.
Primary wasn’t permanent.
That was probably intentional.
After conditioning came command drills.
That was better.
Slightly.
Coach Reyes arranged moving targets across the field.
“Accuracy first.
Power second.”
Ethan stood beside Houndour.
“Ready?”
“Hound.”
The first target moved.
“Ember!”
Fire crossed the field.
Miss.
Ethan stared.
Houndour stared.
The target continued moving.
Marcus laughed from the next station.
Ethan pointed at him.
“Worry about yourself.”
“Pancham hasn’t missed.”
Pancham punched a stationary target.
Ethan looked at Marcus.
“That one isn’t moving.”
“Still hit it.”
Chloe sighed.
“Why do I stand near you two?”
“You like us.”
“No.”
“That’s hurtful.”
“Good.”
The target crossed again.
Ethan focused.
Houndour’s Ember was fine when the target wasn’t moving.
Moving targets were different.
“Wait.”
Houndour held.
Closer.
Closer.
“Now!”
“Hou!”
Fire shot forward.
Hit.
Ethan grinned.
“Yes!”
“Again!”
Coach Reyes ruined the celebration immediately.
Another target moved.
Ethan reset.
Across the field, Lucas and Growlithe were doing considerably better.
Not perfectly.
But better.
Growlithe’s Ember struck two moving targets in succession.
Then missed the third.
Lucas adjusted.
“Lead it more.”
Growlithe fired again.
Hit.
Ethan watched.
Maya noticed.
“Don’t compare too much.”
Ethan looked at her.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Ethan frowned.
Lucas had a Normal-grade Growlithe.
He’d had Growlithe for about a year, and that year had included private facilities, good resources, experienced family members, and structured training.
Ethan had Houndour.
Beginner Grade.
Yellow Potential.
And far less experience.
That didn’t mean Ethan couldn’t catch up.
It meant he wasn’t going to do it in a week.
Maya pointed toward Houndour.
“Beat yesterday first.”
Ethan looked at her.
“That sounds like something Coach Reyes would say.”
Maya smiled.
“Terrifying, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
The next drill was movement.
No attacks.
That sounded easy.
It wasn’t.
Reyes placed markers across the field.
“Your Pokémon should not need a paragraph every time you want them to move.”
Ethan frowned.
He felt personally attacked.
“Left!”
Houndour moved.
“Forward!”
Houndour accelerated.
“Right!”
He turned.
“Back!”
Houndour stopped.
Ethan blinked.
“That wasn’t back.”
Houndour looked at him.
“Hound.”
“Back.”
Houndour stepped backward.
“Good.”
Reyes walked past.
“Too slow.”
Ethan sighed.
Of course.
Chloe was better at this.
Budew wasn’t fast, but Chloe’s commands were short.
“Left.”
Budew moved.
“Hold.”
Stopped.
“Back.”
Moved.
“Angle.”
Budew shifted.
Ethan watched.
“How does she know what angle means?”
Chloe looked at him.
“Because I taught her.”
“Oh.”
That was annoyingly reasonable.
Marcus pointed at Pancham.
“Angle.”
Pancham stared at him.
“See?
Doesn’t work.”
Chloe closed her eyes.
“You have to teach him first.”
“Seems inefficient.”
“That’s training.”
Marcus considered that.
“Still inefficient.”
Coach Reyes heard him.
“Ibarra.”
Marcus immediately straightened.
“Yes, Coach?”
“Twenty more laps.”
Marcus stared.
“For what?”
“Efficiency.”
Ethan turned away before Marcus saw him laughing.
By Wednesday, Ethan understood something important.
Grayhaven’s Battle Program wasn’t teaching them secret techniques.
There wasn’t some magical lesson that suddenly made a Trainer good.
Most of it was boring.
Movement.
Accuracy.
Conditioning.
Recovery.
Commands.
Watching recordings.
Repeating mistakes until they stopped making them.
Then repeating the correct thing until it became normal.
Ethan had expected more battling.
They did battle.
Just not constantly.
Coach Reyes explained why after Marcus complained.
“Battles test what you’ve trained.”
Marcus frowned.
“So?”
“If all you do is battle, you spend most of your time repeating habits you already have.”
Ethan looked at Houndour.
That made uncomfortable sense.
Reyes continued.
“Training is where you build better habits.”
Marcus sighed.
“Can we build them while battling?”
“No.”
“Worth asking.”
Thursday brought controlled Singles rounds.
That improved everyone’s mood.
Reyes stood between two training fields.
“Three-minute rounds.
No need for knockouts.
I want clean commands, controlled attacks, and immediate stops when time is called.”
Ethan smiled.
Finally.
Reyes started assigning opponents.
“Crowe.
Brooks.”
Hannah Brooks stepped forward with Flaaffy.
Ethan looked at Houndour.
“Hound?”
“Let’s go.”
They entered the field.
Hannah smiled from the opposite side.
“Ready?”
“Yep.”
Reyes raised her hand.
“Begin!”
“Flaaffy, Thunder Shock!”
Electricity flashed.
“Houndour, move!”
Houndour jumped aside.
The attack struck dirt.
“Close!”
Houndour sprinted.
Hannah reacted.
“Back!
Keep distance!”
Flaaffy retreated.
“Ember!”
Fire crossed the field.
Flaaffy moved.
Miss.
Ethan frowned.
Moving accuracy.
Again.
“Don’t chase straight!
Cut left!”
Houndour changed direction.
Better.
Flaaffy tried to retreat again.
Houndour was already there.
“Bite!”
“Hound!”
He lunged.
Flaaffy twisted.
Bite caught wool.
“Flaa!”
“Thunder Shock!”
Too close.
Electricity erupted.
Houndour yelped and jumped back.
Ethan winced.
“Shake it off!”
Houndour did.
Not happily.
Hannah smiled.
“Again!”
“Move!”
The round continued.
No knockout.
No dramatic finish.
When Reyes called time, both Pokémon were still standing.
“Stop!”
Ethan immediately raised his hand.
“Houndour!”
Houndour backed away.
Hannah did the same.
Reyes looked between them.
“Brooks controlled distance better.”
Ethan frowned.
Hannah smiled.
Then Reyes looked at her.
“Crowe forced you into close range three times.”
Her smile weakened.
Reyes looked at Ethan.
“Your moving accuracy is still poor.”
Ethan sighed.
“Yes, Coach.”
“Your movement commands improved.”
He smiled again.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t look so happy.
They’re still slow.”
The smile disappeared.
Hannah laughed.
Ethan pointed at her.
“You’re next.”
“I already fought you.”
“Eventually.”
Lucas’s round came later.
Growlithe faced Ryan’s Lillipup.
Ryan was a reserve.
That didn’t make him easy.
“Lillipup, Tackle!”
“Growlithe, move!”
Growlithe shifted.
Lillipup missed.
“Ember!”
Fire struck.
Ryan immediately changed approach.
“Circle!”
Lillipup moved around Growlithe.
Lucas followed carefully.
“Don’t chase.
Watch him.”
Ethan noticed that.
Lucas normally liked attacking.
Today he waited.
Ryan tried another opening.
Lucas didn’t take it.
Then Lillipup moved too close.
“Now!
Bite!”
Growlithe lunged.
Hit.
Ryan recovered.
The round continued.
When time was called, Lucas had clearly performed better.
But Ryan had made him work for it.
Reyes wrote something down.
Ethan looked at Ryan.
Reserve.
Still improving.
Maya had been right.
Nobody’s place was permanent.
Friday was worse.
Video review.
Ethan discovered that watching himself make mistakes was significantly more painful than making them.
Coach Reyes paused the recording.
On screen, Houndour was chasing Flaaffy.
Reyes pointed.
“Crowe.”
“Yes?”
“Why?”
Ethan stared at the screen.
“Why what?”
“Why is Houndour chasing directly behind Flaaffy?”
“Because Flaaffy was running away.”
Several students laughed.
Reyes didn’t.
Ethan reconsidered.
“Bad angle?”
“Yes.”
She resumed.
Then paused again.
“Here.”
Houndour changed direction.
“This is better.”
Ethan leaned forward.
On screen, Houndour had moved diagonally instead of following directly.
He’d forced Flaaffy toward the edge.
Reyes continued.
“You don’t always need to be faster.” She looked across the room.
“You need to make the opponent run where you want them to run.”
Chloe immediately started writing.
Marcus looked at her notebook.
“You actually take notes?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Chloe stared at him.
Marcus nodded.
“Right.
Stupid question.”
Saturday morning brought something different.
No conditioning.
No running.
No moving targets.
Coach Reyes gathered all sixteen Trainers on the main field.
“Today is evaluation.”
Ethan immediately became interested.
“Again?”
Reyes looked at him.
“Yes, Crowe.
Again.”
Marcus whispered.
“She remembers everything.”
“Unfortunately.”
Reyes continued.
“Northgate Academy.”
The field became quiet.
Even Ethan knew Northgate.
One of the stronger schools in the district.
Good facilities.
Good Battle Program.
Several successful Trainers over the years.
Their school teams were taken seriously.
“We have an interschool meet scheduled in five weeks.”
Marcus smiled.
Lucas straightened.
Chloe became very still.
Ethan felt something tighten pleasantly in his stomach.
A real school competition.
Not tryouts.
Not internal training.
Another school.
Coach Reyes looked over them.
“Do not get excited yet.”
Too late.
“Northgate has more experienced students than most of you.” Her eyes moved across the rookies.
“You are not ready.”
Marcus raised his hand.
Reyes stared at him.
He slowly lowered it.
“Good decision.”
Maya stepped forward with Furret.
Reyes looked at the rookies.
“Today, you’re going to understand why experience matters.”
Ethan frowned.
That sounded threatening.
It was.
The first demonstration was Lucas.
Growlithe versus Furret.
Lucas looked confident.
For approximately forty seconds.
“Growlithe, Ember!”
“Furret, Quick Attack.”
Furret vanished.
Not literally.
It just moved fast enough that Ethan’s eyes struggled to follow.
Growlithe’s Ember hit nothing.
Furret struck from the side.
Growlithe stumbled.
“Turn!
Bite!”
Furret was already gone.
Lucas adjusted.
“Wait!”
Better.
Furret approached again.
“Now!”
Growlithe snapped.
Missed.
Furret twisted around him.
Another hit.
Lucas frowned.
Ethan watched carefully.
Growlithe was Normal Grade.
So was Furret.
But they didn’t look equal.
Not even close.
Maya barely spoke.
Short commands.
Sometimes none.
Furret seemed to know what she wanted.
Lucas and Growlithe weren’t bad.
Maya and Furret were simply better.
Reyes stopped the battle after two minutes.
“Enough.”
Growlithe was breathing hard.
Furret wasn’t.
Lucas recalled him.
He didn’t look embarrassed.
Just thoughtful.
That was probably healthier.
Chloe went next.
Budew versus Oliver Grant’s Wartortle.
That went badly for different reasons.
Budew had the type advantage.
Wartortle had the Grade advantage.
And experience.
Chloe tried to control distance.
Oliver didn’t let her.
“Wartortle, Rapid Spin!”
Wartortle broke through the setup.
“Budew, move!”
Too slow.
The attack knocked Budew aside.
Chloe recovered.
“Stun Spore!”
Oliver reacted immediately.
“Water Gun!”
The water scattered the spores before they reached Wartortle.
Ethan blinked.
“That works?”
Maya stood beside him.
“Apparently.”
Chloe tried again.
Different angle.
Different timing.
Better.
Still not enough.
Oliver didn’t overpower her carelessly.
He dismantled what she tried to do.
Reyes ended the round.
Chloe recalled Budew.
She looked irritated, which for Chloe meant her mouth was approximately two millimeters flatter than normal.
Marcus whispered.
“She looks mad.”
“She always looks like that.”
Chloe turned.
Both boys looked away.
Then Ethan heard his name.
“Crowe.”
He looked at Reyes.
She pointed toward the field.
“Maya.”
Ethan looked at Furret.
Then Houndour.
Then Furret again.
“No.”
Several people laughed.
Reyes raised an eyebrow.
Ethan sighed.
“Fine.”
He walked onto the field.
Maya smiled.
“Ready?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“You’re all terrible.”
Houndour appeared.
Furret stood opposite.
Ethan knew the Grade difference.
Houndour was Beginner.
Furret was Normal.
The experience difference was worse.
He wasn’t winning this.
Fine.
Then he needed to learn something.
Reyes raised her hand.
“Begin.”
Ethan didn’t attack.
Maya noticed.
Furret waited.
Ethan waited.
Marcus whispered from outside the field.
“Do something.”
Ethan ignored him.
Maya smiled slightly.
Then—
“Quick Attack.”
“Right!”
Houndour moved.
Too slow.
Furret clipped him.
Houndour rolled.
“Up!”
He recovered.
“Ember!”
Fire shot.
Furret dodged.
“Again!”
Another Ember.
Miss.
Ethan frowned.
Maya wasn’t commanding every dodge.
Furret was doing it.
That was the difference.
“Close!”
Houndour charged.
Maya waited.
Waited.
“Now.”
Furret moved.
Houndour missed.
“Scratch.”
Furret struck.
Houndour stumbled.
Ethan clenched his fist.
He couldn’t match Furret’s speed.
So stop trying.
“Back!”
Houndour retreated.
Maya raised an eyebrow.
Ethan pointed.
“Ember!”
Fire.
Furret dodged.
Another.
“Ember!”
Dodge.
“Again!”
Maya frowned slightly.
Furret moved.
Ethan smiled.
There.
“Left!”
Houndour cut across instead of firing.
Furret changed direction—
and found Houndour closer than expected.
“Bite!”
Houndour lunged.
Furret twisted.
Not fast enough.
Houndour’s jaws caught Furret’s tail.
“Fur!”
Everyone reacted.
Marcus shouted.
“Yes!”
Maya’s eyes sharpened.
“Quick Attack.”
Oh.
Furret exploded forward.
Houndour lost his grip.
Then Furret came back.
Hit.
Houndour rolled across the field.
Ethan winced.
“Okay.”
Reyes raised her hand.
“Enough.”
Houndour pushed himself upright.
“Hound!”
Ethan smiled.
“You got him.”
Houndour’s tail moved.
Maya looked at Furret’s tail.
Then Ethan.
“Once.”
“Still counts.”
“It does.”
Ethan liked her.
Afterward, Reyes gathered everyone again.
“You lost.”
Marcus raised his hand.
“We didn’t all battle.”
Reyes looked at him.
“You would’ve lost.”
Marcus lowered his hand.
“Fair.”
Reyes continued.
“That is the point.” She looked toward Lucas.
“Grade matters.” Then Chloe.
“Matchup matters.” Then Ethan.
“Experience matters.”
Ethan nodded.
Furret had been stronger.
Faster.
Better trained.
But Ethan had still touched him.
Once.
That mattered too.
Reyes crossed her arms.
“Five weeks.”
Everyone became quiet.
“That is how long you have before Northgate.”
Marcus smiled.
Reyes noticed.
“Do not interpret that as five weeks to become better than our experienced students.”
His smile weakened.
“Interpret it as five weeks to become better than you are today.”
That sounded more achievable.
Still difficult.
But achievable.
Training ended early.
Ethan walked toward the gate with Marcus, Chloe, and Lucas.
Marcus stretched.
“I could’ve beaten Furret.”
Lucas looked at him.
“No.”
“You didn’t see Pancham today.”
“I’ve seen Pancham before.”
“Different Pancham.”
“You’ve had him for two weeks.”
“Transformative two weeks.”
Chloe shook her head.
Ethan looked at Lucas.
“You got destroyed.”
Lucas looked at him.
“You also got destroyed.”
“I landed Bite.”
“Once.”
“Still counts.”
Lucas stared.
Then smiled.
“Fine.”
Chloe looked ahead.
“Northgate in five weeks.”
Marcus grinned.
“We’re winning.”
“You don’t know if you’re even battling.”
Marcus’s grin disappeared.
“Why would you say that?”
“Because Reyes literally said it.”
“That felt unnecessarily personal.”
Ethan returned to Bennett Orchards that afternoon.
Arthur was checking irrigation lines.
Ethan found him near one of the berry fields.
“We’re fighting Northgate.”
Arthur looked up.
“When?”
“Five weeks.”
“You?”
“Maybe.”
Arthur nodded.
That wasn’t enough enthusiasm.
Ethan frowned.
“Northgate.”
“I heard you.”
“They’re good.”
“I know.”
“We’re going to beat them.”
Arthur returned to the irrigation valve.
“You don’t know if you’re battling.”
Ethan stared.
“Why does everyone keep saying that?”
“Because it’s true?”
Ethan hated reasonable adults.
Houndour rested nearby.
Ethan crouched beside him.
“We need to get better.”
“Hound.”
“Five weeks.”
“Hound.”
“Moving Ember.”
“Hound.”
“Movement.”
“Hound.”
“Stamina.”
Houndour looked at him.
Ethan paused.
“And rest.”
Houndour immediately lay down.
Arthur laughed.
“He understood that one.”
“Apparently.”
That evening, Ethan opened his notebook.
He wrote:
NORTHGATE — 5 WEEKS
Underneath:
HOUNDOUR Moving accuracy Faster directional response Stamina Bite timing Don’t chase faster Pokémon Use terrain Recovery
He stared at the list.
Then added:
Beat yesterday first.
Ethan frowned.
“That still sounds like Coach Reyes.”
From his bed, Delcatty opened one eye.
“Mrow.”
“I know.”
She closed it again.
Ethan looked back at the notebook.
Making the team had felt like winning something.
Now he understood.
It had only earned him the chance to keep going.
Five weeks.
Northgate.
Ethan smiled.
Good.
He had work to do.