A lesson learned in time

With robin coello

It was Tuesday. Which meant it was time for a little community strengthening.

Gwyar stood at the wide open gates of the Mossdeep Community Stadium, smiling brightly at each and every arrival. Each was greeted by name, even as the number of attendants dipped past the double digits and threatened to go into triple digits.

As he finished chatting with an old married couple, Gwyar raised his gaze and smiled, finding another familiar face.

"Ah, Ms. Coello." He said, holding out his hand. "So good to see you again. Have you come to join us?"

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TL;DR:

A lesson learned in time

With robin coello

"Same as ever." Gwyar said simply as he smiled down at her, turning his gaze back to the stadium's insides. "Pokemon self-defense."

Not quite pro-battling— but the lessons translated well. Having a solid grasp on the basics never hurt anyone.

"More specifically though, today we'll be focusing on functional & practical movesets." He said simply, before bringing his gaze back to her.

"So! Have you been well, young miss?" He asked, lightly tilting his head.

It had been a bit since they had last fought— he was glad she was there, but was curious as to why she had come then, if not before.

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TL;DR:

A lesson learned in time

With robin coello

The young lady opened up— and it occurred rather quickly, her temper flaring briefly whilst he cocked his head and stared, curious.

Mauville... Josh Devlin's gym?

He hummed thoughtfully, before dismissing the line of thought. He reached out, clapping her shoulder firmly.

"All gyms have their own rules, and their own ways of doing things." He said simply. "Gym leader Devlin should hopefully learn from this experience and better the vetting processes of his gym. As for you."

He smiled sardonically.

"It's a tough pill to swallow, but it's lesson we all need to learn one day— read the fine print."

It went both ways— Gym Leader Devlin's vetting process shouldn't have allowed her challenge to continue with a prohibited pokemon— but she should've read the rules carefully from the start, too.

His smile turned more genuine next, nodding down at her.

"Still— You triumphed at Dewford's gym." He reminded her. "Navy is a strong trainer, more than worthy of both his station as Elite 4, and his Champion title. So be proud. You certainly had to battle right to win there."

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TL;DR:

A lesson learned in time

With robin coello

Gwyar snickered, uncharacteristically.

"I believe our dear sheriff would protest the notion." He mused, imagining Navy as he said 'but that's the point!'. The blonde gave the young woman a mischievous smile. "But yes, he does."

At her question and mentioning of Greyson Connors, Gwyar lightly cocked his head, shaking his head with a smile.

"Defeating Elite 4 Connors..." He said, gesturing for her to follow. "You've certainly cut out your work for yourself."

Targeting any one specific E4 was missing the forest for the trees, but it wasn't bad to have a lofty goal.

"First off—" The gym leader intoned as they reached the center of the stadium, turning to face the people.

Many folk were sitting around the center in groups, surrounding a platform in an uneven, growing circle. Gym trainers and the occasional off duty officer were going around, handing out little photocopied manuals made of recycled newspaper parchment.

The original had clearly been written by hand— a rather deft hand at that.

"Let's begin with the most important segment of any discipline— the fundamentals."

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TL;DR:

A lesson learned in time

With robin coello

The fundamentals of move set building were universal rules that started not with particular strategies, be they overarching offensives or types of weather control, but with purpose.

It started with the question.

"What is the pokemon's purpose?"

A pokemon's moveset was built from questions upon questions, what ifs and perhaps that served as building blocks towards one's goals.

Even if of the same species, a family pet and guardian was not equipped with the same tools as a competitive Battler.

Gwyar kept it in simple language on the pages, endeavored to build upon the text with his words as he looked over the many folk present, his eyes finding Robin's occasionally and smiling.

People were allowed to question. To posit their own theories based on what they were hearing. To show off their own knowledge, in the case of some of the more experienced trainers present.

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TL;DR:

A lesson learned in time

With robin coello

Gwyar turned his gaze to the first person to speak— Robin, of course.

He smiled gently.

"In a cosmological sense, perhaps. Yes— but I was not being philosophical there." He said, before reaching for his belt.

A Alolan Sandslash came out of the poke ball, it's icy spikes shimmering beneath the flood lights as stood there and looked about at the crowd.

"Let us take a look at my dear Ridelle, for example." He said, gesturing with his hand at the pokemon. It fixed its posture, arms gathering before its belly as it bowed politely before the crowd. "As Ms. Coello said, there's no true concrete purpose she must adhere to— the same is true for any of us, really."

He turned about as he spoke, making sure he was looking at all surrounding the podium.

"But for which purpose did I choose to specifically train her?" He asked, before answering it himself.

"The answer, of course, is Gym Battling. I trained her be a powerful obstacle to challengers, and to introduce them to the basics of weather control strategies."

He smiled at her, crouching besides her and gently petting at the crook of her neck.

"Thus, her ability, moveset and the many strategies for both single and double battles I have revolving around her were built around that simple concept."

He rose back to his full height, smiling at the group.

"The answer to the question can vary, as well as come with numerous different factors and circumstances." He said. "One does not train their pokemon in a vacuum, specially at the higher levels of pokemon battling, be it pro or self-defense."

It was important for a pokemon's moveset to have synergy with itself— but it was just as important for it to have synergy with other pokemon in the team, for one.

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TL;DR:

A lesson learned in time

With robin coello

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"If their purpose requires them to be." He said simply, nodding at her.

His hand slid over Ridelle's icy spikes.

"The purpose you choose for your pokemon has as much to do with your needs as it does with their capabilities." He said simply, turning his gaze back to Robin briefly, smiling.

"You wouldn't choose a Snorlax as a racing pokemon, would you?" He said, before turning about to look at the rest of the people present. "Nor would you try to make them into a speedy attacker."

Pokemon had their obvious strengths and weaknesses. The occasional exception came from within a species, but by and large, a trainer needed to know what their pokemon's natural strengths were, and work with them.

They also needed to know their weaknesses, and plan for them— be it with other pokemon intended to cover for them, or by reaching into their movesets to prepare for such eventualities.

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