It was her first visit to Dewford with a goal in mind for the day, and Lucia was ready to make good on a suggestion made by somebody back during the tournament. She had been doing her best to train her team for the ongoing struggles, but with two very big problems not listening to her commands.

Fortunately, there was somebody that she had a feeling could offer some help. Eris Halla, the other kid around her age (somewhat) that had invited her to visit the gym if she wanted to become stronger. And so did the small trainer roam towards the town.

Lucia came within Eris' vision while the younger girl searched around for her. She had looked a bit roughed up since their last encounter with one another. Still timid, but her hands held numerous bandages and with a scratch or two across her cheek. Her clothes had a tinge of flame to them, but otherwise appeared in good health.

Once the girl had spotted Eris, Lucia quietly walked forward and did her best to not seem too pathetic.

"U-Um, hi. Eris." She held a hand up as a greeting before dropping it and remaining quiet while trying to fish around in her head for what she wanted to ask.

"I was thinking about what you said. Back during the tournament. I want to be strong, l-like you said."

Eris Halla

☉

"What? No, I...Huh?"

Lucia was flabbergasted by the sudden and blunt nature of Eris' answer, although she had been far too tired to really fight against it any. The younger trainer let out a frustrated whine and walked beside her before flopping onto the ground herself.

The slightly too large coat around her covered everything but the tips of her fingers and acted as a makeshift blanket around her to keep the chilled winds from interrupting her warm covers.

"I've been trying to train a team up for the Gym Challenge. I caught a bunch of really strong pokemon, but the Gyarados and the Charmander I caught from the Safari Zone don't listen to me. I've been trying all day and they just either refuse to listen or attack me."

Lucia's head went to look towards Eris in some hope she might have some sage advice or wisdom.

"I don't know what I'm doing wrong and nobody seems to know either. I might have to let them go if they won't listen..."

Eris Halla

☉

Lucia seemed shocked by the sudden information presented to her by Eris. The younger of the two said nothing while Eris went into a brief detail about how what her problem could have been. It was all so obvious now, although she couldn't exactly face that aspect of herself so easily.

"I'm trying everything and still...I don't know what to do." Lucia said, turning away from Eris. "How do you get stronger than you already are? Even at the tournament, everyone else that beat me had way better Pokemon and everything. Hero was barely able to win three times, too..."

She was whining out loud, but at least it wasn't bawling like she was prone to do. Lucia crossed her arms in front of her position and just pouted while hoping that Eris would have all the answers she was looking for. The older girl seemed like she had a better grasp on things than her.

"Please help me. I'll do anything...J-Just help me train so I can be a Master for my brother..."

Eris Halla

☉

Once again, the sudden questions asked of her had taken Lucia by surprise. Her team, while small, hadn't really been asked about what they had preferred. She hadn't been mistreating them, but she would be lying if she said the thought never crossed her mind.

"Not really..."

Eris, conversely, had little trouble taking down such strong Pokemon in the tournament unlike Lucia. The topic of it was enough to make the girl puff out her cheeks in an envious pout. Just one more thing that somebody had that she lacked. It was enough to drive a kid like her to drinking soda until she had a stomachache.

Eris looked like she had an overabundance of knowledge depsite how young she was...actually, how much older was she than her? Lucia had thought the age gap couldn't be more than two or three years. She was still young, but had been around the block when it came time for actually getting serious when the time called for it.

"My role as a battler?" Lucia asked. She leaned her head to the right, taking a moment to ponder her answer. "I'm supposed to watch the Pokemon battle and think of what's the best course of action, aren't I?"

Eris Halla

☉

Lucia made a mental note to ask her Pokemon about stuff they wanted to do or whatever the case may be. She wondered if it would be enough to help her gain control of those Pokemon she was struggling with. Eris seemed to know what she was talking about.

"I mean, I think? You mean like when something interrupts the battle, right?"

Usually battles were more direct, weren't they? She didn't really understand why a Pokemon would go about ignoring a trainer's command outside of not respecting them so freely. It was kind of an enigma to the girl, though battling and such weren't exactly her kind of forte to begin with.

"Do they get scared or just think that they know a better way to do something? Isn't it a good thing that they don't do what we tell them sometimes?"

Eris Halla

☉

There was a lot to digest here. Lucia never once looked away from Eris as she gave her thoughts and guidance on the difference between humans and Pokemon taking charge and performing in battle. Her eyes fell down to the pokeballs resting on her person. If what Eris had been talking about, she had only recently caught the Charmander and the Magikarp that became a Gyarados. Maybe she was pushing them way too soon?

At least, that's what it sounded like.

"So, like, you're saying that Hero gets me because we've been together for so long and we're more in sync with each other?" she asked, trying to recall the lesson provided to her. "At least it's one of the reasons why he listens. So if I slowly get to know my team and stuff, they'll be sure to listen to me more? What about me though? Should I try and work on myself more? What did you do when things like this happened?"

Eris Halla

☉

"Wow, you sound like one of those old kung fu masters in the movies that my brother used to watch! You must be like 200 years old with all the stuff you know."

It was quite the information dump that she had sat through and absorbed from the older kid. Lucia had found herself figuring out some ways of what to ask her team depending on their needs. Hero was easy enough considering how long they had been together, but everybody else probably could use a little refresher in terms of what they wanted to do and see with her.

Maybe with this, Vulcan wouldn't use FLAMETHROWER on her every time he was called out. It was a slow beginning to gaining his trust, one that she would gladly go if it meant gaining a powerful Pokemon.

"Thank you for the help, Eris. Is there anything else I should know?" she asked, sitting up and beaming at the other girl. Lucia had been drawn out of her shell, little by little, and hopefully seemed normal enough to Eris. "Is there anyway I can pay you back? I know some Paldean food that my Mom used to show me how to make."

The flinch, that soft, sudden blink Lucia made at the mention of her mother was hopefully unnoticed.

Eris Halla

☉