The solitary red eye shone amidst the monotone green of the forest. It locked onto Patrick’s group, sending shivers down their spines. The air filled with an otherworldly smell, reminiscent of greenery but not quite.

  Whether out of excitement or nerve, Patrick’s body shook. He took a deep breath calming the rattle and got out the Pokedex. He ignored the notifications of the duel and pointed it at Trevenant.

  “Trevenant, the elder tree Pokemon. Using its roots, Trevenant connects itself to trees and monitors every corner of its forest. It uses curses to drive intruders away, yet Trevenant is very kind to Pokemon living in the forest. It doesn’t even care if these Pokemon take up residence in the greenery on its head.”

  We’re kind of living in the forest, aren’t we? Can’t it cut us some slack and give us a branch to-go?

  Patrick surveyed the scene around him, analyzing his chances. Linoone and Thievul had quite the advantage, with Linoone being their ace. Dark had the upper hand against Ghost and Normal was immune to it altogether. That just left the Grass type moves.

  The dirt beneath them rumbled as a hump approached them with the pace of a running Skwovet. Patrick wobbled out of the way using his cane, his pace excruciatingly slow. Whatever was approaching was upon them and Patrick wasn’t even half the way out of its range. Air got sucked out of his body as something slammed into his back. He tumbled forward, throwing the cane away, lest it stabbed him as he fell.

  The dirt exploded as numerous roots emerged from beneath, thrashing at nothing. Patrick would’ve been dead meat without Linoone’s tackle. He glared daggers at his bandaged leg, knowing full well that this ruined leg would torment him for the rest of his life. An image of that blue serpent popped into his mind and he cursed it for eternity as well.

  Pancham extended its arm to Patrick and helped him up by propping him with his cane.

  “Pancham, do you know any Dark-type moves?” Patrick asked as he got up. Pancham shook its head. “You’re on support duty. Use Taunt and whatever non-damaging move you’ve got. Just keep throwing them at Trevenant, your Tackle and Arm Thrust are literally useless, it’s immune to both.” Patrick glanced at Linoone and Thievul on each side of him. “Snarls. Keep up the Snarls.”

  Patrick found himself walking forward a bit, towards Trevenant, before he remembered that he wasn’t the same person. He couldn’t add much to the fight now, not anymore. Grass crunched beneath his healthy barefoot as he retreated slightly, putting himself out of harm’s way to not be a burden like just now.

  Waves of red and black sound emitted from both Linoone and Thievul, yet Trevenant’s sole red eye was locked on Pancham who was shaking his bottom at it in a Taunt.

  The Snarls caught Trevenant with a thud and shook its thick wood. Leaves swayed in the air as it dropped from the many bushes covering its body. Large blue, jagged lines befitting its size drooped around it as Pancham’s eyes glowed white. Sounds of sharpening came beside Patrick as Thievul’s claws glowed white using Hone Claws.

  “Thievul, rush forward and use Knock Off at one of its arm branches. Linoone, keep up the Snarl barrage.” Patrick nodded at himself. He had loads of options. Fighting Ghost-types was their forte.

  Trevenant’s arm glowed grassy green as it contorted into a horn. It used Horn Leech, and if it caught Thievul, all of their progress would be undone as it leeched back the damage.

  “Thievul, abort. Even if you don’t get the Knock Off in, just don’t get hit.”

  Linoone’s Snarl connected and rattled Trevenant, throwing off its aim. The Horn Leech missed Thievul slightly, but Trevenant corrected course at Thievul again. Thievul ducked, dodging with lithe grace. Its hand glowed like a black and red meteor as it slashed the branch arm.

  With a sickening crack of splintered wood, a thick, gnarled branch shaped perfectly as a cane flew off to the side. Patrick’s eyes shone with a glint.

  “Thievul, back! Switch roles with Linoone. This time use Lick, Linoone.” He glanced at Pancham who was pouting. “Keep up the Leers, Pancham. They’re the only reason those two are afflicting this much damage.”

  Pancham puffed its chest and saluted. Blue, wriggly lines drooped as both the Leer and Snarl connected. Creaking came from the forest as the Trevenant crumbled, slowly but surely. A huge ghostly projection of a tongue Licked the Trevenant from feet to crown as the Trevenant teetered, on the brink of falling onto its back.

  A thud shook the dirt beneath them as Trevenant slammed its roots back deep into the ground and steadied itself. It shone a ghostly purple, readying a full body attack…then it disappeared. That behemoth, the size of a forest, was gone. Patrick’s heart leaped into his throat as he threw his head everywhere, searching. A chill settled over the party, and they all shook with fear.

  The temperature dropped a bit more as Trevenant reappeared. Its entire body was still glowing the same ghostly hue as it slammed into Linoone. Linoone stood there and tilted its head, seeing the Trevenant just phase past it. It did nothing, Linoone was immune.

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  “Thievul, use Beat Up, let’s end this whole farce.” He glanced at Pancham. “You’ll join the fun, go.”

  Thievul’s entire body glowed black and red as it pounced onto the Trevenant. The other two Pokemon shone with similar hues as Pancham’s mouth cut its face wide open with a smile. The three battered Trevenant, thuds emerging with the sound of meat slamming on wood before the giant fell. The ground shook with a quake and Trevenant was felled.

  “Trevenant is very kind to Pokemon living in the forest…”

  They took it down. The guardian of the forest. Patrick winced but kept moving, wobbling over to the spot he saw the gnarly stick fly off to.

  The stick was the perfect height. It went up to his wrist when he drooped his arms. The branch was shaped into a cane with an obvious end made like a handle. A sense of wisdom and antiquity emanated off the cane and into Patrick, like remnants of an age that has passed.

  He took a few steps with it and found himself walking faster, wobbling less. His hand was much more comfortable, no splinters and encompassed with much needed warmth from the branch itself, like it had innate heating and was alive.

  The Pokedex shook in his pocket and he checked it with the past two notifications:

  Training sparring concluded: draw! | EXP Allocated:

  Zigzagoon has leveled up!

  Level 19 —> Level 20

  Stats: +4 HP, +2 ATK, +3 DEF, +1 SpA, +3 SpD, +3 SPE

  Zigzagoon has evolved!

  Pancham leveled up!

  Level 11 —> Level 15

  Stats: +10 HP, +9 ATK, +6 DEF, +5, SpA, +6 SpD, +4 SPE

  New move: Circle Throw.

  Circle Throw:

  The target is thrown, and a different Pokemon is dragged out. In the wild, this ends a battle against a single Pokemon.

  Patrick shook his head. That seemed more like a hassle than a benefit. Now onto the good stuff.

  Pokemon defeated: Trevenant (Lvl 36)! | EXP Allocated (Underdog Bonus Applied!):

  Linoone has leveled up!

  Level 20 —> Level 25

  Stats: +14 HP, +8 ATK, +8 DEF, +6 SpA, +8 SpD, +12 SPE

  New moves: Fury Swipes, Rest.

  Fury Swipes:

  The target is raked with sharp claws or scythes quickly two to five times in a row.

  Rest:

  The user goes to sleep for a while. This fully restores the user’s HP and heals any status conditions.

  Thievul has leveled up!

  Level 18 —> Level 24

  Stats: +17 HP, +9 ATK, +9 DEF, +14 SpA, +12 SpD, +13 SPE

  New move: Assurance, Nasty Plot

  Assurance:

  If the target has already taken some damage before attacking, this attack’s power is doubled.

  Nasty Plot:

  The user stimulates its brain by thinking bad thoughts. This sharply raises the user’s Sp. Atk stat.

  Pancham has leveled up!

  Level 15 —> Level 22

  Stats: +19 HP, +14 ATK, +9 DEF, +9 SpA, +8 SpD, +8 SPE

  New moves: Low Sweep, Work Up.

  Low Sweep:

  The user makes a swift attack on the target’s legs, which lowers the target’s Speed stat.

  Work Up:

  The user is roused, and its Attack and Sp. Atk stats increase.

  Linoone had no luck with its moves and Patrick rejected both, but the other two were quite the opposite. He replaced Hone Claws for Nasty Plot instantly, utilizing the naturally higher Special Attack of Thievul, but left Assurance on the table as Knock Off just offered more. And Pancham replaced Leer for Work Up, and Arm Thrust for the strictly better Low Sweep.

  Even high level behemoths can be defeated with the right type advantages and strategies.

  Bushes rustled to the side. Linoone and Thievul bared their fangs while Pancham squared up. It wasn’t a Pokemon who emerged, though, but a human kid, roughly Patrick’s age. She had a neon blue and black dress with frilly edges. A scabbard hung on her belt and rattled as if it was weightless. Her hair was cut short into bangs that shaped her circular face. But what stood out the most was her eyepatch that covered her right eye.

  “Wow! Wow!” she exclaimed, her arms wide open. “That was incredible! You defeated the wild, strong guardian of the undead forest that spans Dappled Grove’s edge. Saving the forest and freeing the whimpering spirits of the dead. You’re surely part of the Shadow Order, aren’t you? Especially with that getup!”

  Nothing was condescending about her look or tone; in fact, she looked quite stoked about his appearance. Her eyes hovered mostly on his bandaged leg as she placed a fully bandaged hand on her chin. Her bandages were pristine, white, and unmarred, while Patrick’s were a dirty, reddish mess that covered his misshapen leg. Her eyes widened as a smile painted her face.

  “You’re the best!” She looked back at Patrick and saw his eyes fixed at her eyepatch. “Oh…are you interested in my seal of destruction and chaos?” She placed a hand on the patch and trembled it forcefully. “It’s used to lessen the overwhelming power that flows through my body.”

  Patrick sighed. This would be quite a pain in the neck.

  What is the canon height or weight of a Pokemon that you absolutely do not accept?