Pokemon Heroes: Sinnoh Saga [Book 1]

Chapter 6

"As a trainer, it is essential to battle other trainers. It's not only a good way to help make your Pokémon stronger, or get them to evolve, but it's also great for the bonding relationship between trainer and Pokémon.

In a Pokémon battle, a trainer must learn to trust in their Pokémon, and must have complete confidence in them. A trainer and Pokémon must act as one, and both must learn to keep a level head.

We learned this on our own, and over time, but it started on the day we decided to challenge each other to our first battles ever..."

* * *

The group yawned in succession as they stretched out on the cool spring grass.

They had stopped on a shady hillside for their morning break and were enjoying a bit of relaxation after walking for hours.

Alyssandra had a Poké Ball in her hand and raised it up to the sky above her and stared at it. "I can't believe it. I caught my fourth Pokémon! This Pachirisu was so cute, I just had to!"

"Looks like we'll need to start catching more to keep up," joked Sam. "Of course, you know we'll need to start making decisions about which Pokémon to carry with us and which to leave with Professor Rowan."

"What do you mean?" asked Alyssandra.

Jeremy sat up and stretched. "He's referring to the Pokémon Trainer rules. We learned them back in Trainer School, remember? One of the rules of being a Pokémon Trainer is that you can only carry a maximum of six Pokémon with you at a single time."

"Does that rule still apply to Pokémon Coordinators?" asked Alyssandra.

"Unfortunately, it does," answered Sam. "The only person that doesn't apply to is me, since I've got a Pokémon Breeder's license. I'm able to carry more than six Pokémon at a time, though I doubt I will. Carrying around all of those Poké Balls would weigh be down after a while."

Alyssandra frowned. "But how do I decide which Pokémon to keep with me and which to send to Professor Rowan?"

Jeremy laid back down and stared at the clouds. "You just do. Pick which Pokémon you like best, and those are the ones you keep. The catches that mean the most to you usually."

"Or if you pick the Pokémon that are going to be most helpful to what you need to accomplish," added Sam. "As a trainer, type coverage is important, so you need to make sure you have the type coverage to challenge the gym leaders and Pokémon League. If you're a coordinator, you need to know which Pokémon work best for battling but also appeals. You can always swap out Pokémon as needed along the way."

"I see," said Alyssandra. "That's kind of helpful. Do I have to decide right now?"

"No, not now," said Sam as he stood up and brushed the grass off him. "But soon. There's a Pokémon Centre just up the road, maybe you can decide then."

"Oh, thank goodness!" cried Jeremy. "I love camping, don't get me wrong, but nothing quite compares to a mattress and pillow."

Alyssandra and Sam laughed. With that, everyone stood up and prepared to keep walking.

"You know, that reminds me," said Jeremy as the three of them reached the bottom of the hill and started back on the road. "I want to battle you guys. Seriously, we haven't had proper trainer versus trainer battles yet, and I think now is a good time to start."

Sam thought for a moment, and then responded. "I agree," he said. "That'll be a good way to bond with my Pokémon, and it'll give me a chance to show you guys who the better trainer is."