We spent the morning moving the fence. A neighbour had complained that we were reaching into his land. Daddy didn't want to start a fight over it, so we had to shift the stupid thing a couple of feet to the east. People could be so silly sometimes. Half the posts were starting to rot in any case, so we took the opportunity to replace them.

  After lunch, Darren jumped up looking more excited than I'd seen him before.

  “Okay. It's time. Now that we all have our Pokémon, let's have a battle.”

  Sunny looked delighted by the suggestion and pretty soon the three of us were gathered with our Pokémon in the same field Auri had for breakfast. My entire family had come out to watch too. Stoutland was minding the younger generation who were thrilled to see their first, real life Pokémon battle, while our parents had their ‘let's see what the kids have come up with now’ faces on. Grandma leaned on Blissey looking unusually serious. For some reason, they had their old Nurse Joy hats on.

  I wasn't as motivated as my companions. It wasn't that I didn't want to battle, it was that I was keenly aware that all of my Mareep's most powerful attacks were going to be completely useless against two ground Pokémon. Darren and Sunny were battling first, so if I was very lucky, Hector and Auri would be tired by the time they fought Mareep. They faced each other and Daddy stood to the side as the referee.

  “Alright, Auri. Like we planned.”

  Auri toddled over to her side of the field. Sunny palmed the pokeball Hector was resting in.

  “Let's go, Hector. We’re winning this,” she said, clicking the pokeball open. Her Wooper appeared on the field in a flash of red. Seeing it reminded me that I hadn't technically caught Mareep yet. I'd ask her formally if she wanted to join me after the battles.

  “Ready, and begin,” called Daddy.

  “Hector use Water Gun,” said Sunny.

  A jet of water rushed out of Hector's mouth, but Auri was already moving. She started by using Rock Throw to break up her opponents attack while dodging to the side. While Hector was reorienting himself from his attack, Auri was rushing forwards in what looked like a Tackle.

  “Mud Shot,” shouted Sunny. “Don't let her get close.”

  “Payback,” said Darren. It was the only thing he had said so far in the match. Auri understood his intentions well enough. She powered through the ball of mud. It stuck to her, slowing her slightly, but by the time she made it through she was glowing darkly, and directly on top of Hector. She crushed into him with the full force of Payback despite Sunny's desperate calls to dodge.

  “Water Gun!”

  “Dodge and Bite.”

  Hector tried to aim at Auri but he was still dazed and she sidestepped easily. Her jaws snapped over his head. She kept his face pointing away from her nullifying any possibility of a counterattack. After a few moments of shaking him around like a ragdoll, Daddy called an end to the match.

  “Victory goes to Darren and Auri,” he said. Sunny rushed forwards to pick up Hector, but Auri wouldn't drop him until Darren told her to. When she did, she roared happily and waved her stubby arms around.

  “Yes, yes. Well done,” said Darren rubbing her head affectionately. “That was perfect.”

  Sunny was a lot more worried. Her Pokémon had bite marks all along the top of his head and he was too weak to stand up straight.

  “Shoo, out of the way,” said Grandma. Blissey crouched before Hector and waved her arms. A soft pink glow washed over the Wooper and seconds later, he was wooping as healthily as ever.

  “Hector,” said Sunny, clutching him close. “Thank you so much.”

  “Don't thank me girl. Thank Blissey,” said Grandma.

  She did, and Blissey accepted her thanks haughtily. She returned to cradling Hector. Her face was pale. Her loss seemed to have drained all of her confidence.

  “Good battle,” said Darren. He stretched out his hand. Sunny shook it limply.

  “Yeah, good battle. I panicked a bit,” she said.

  Sunny wasn't in a state for another battle just get, so I would be facing Darren next. My fingers trembled as they scratched the back of Mareep's neck. It was our first battle and clearly Auri would be a tough opponent even without the type disadvantage. Still, I tried to focus. Mud Shot had hurt Auri more than she let on, and even after a Heal Pulse from Blissey, mud clung to the gaps between her armour. She was going to be slower than before. I could take advantage of that.

  “Okay big girl, when I call out a move, you use it. Just like we practiced.”

  Mareep looked up at me with her large, round eyes and maaed. I really hoped that meant she understood me.

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  We walked out onto the field and Daddy called the start to the battle.

  “Agility,” I said.

  Mareep visibly relaxed, her muscles loosening up, and her hooves falling lighter on the grass. That was good, it meant she was listening to me. What wasn't so good was the intimidating aura Auri was suddenly giving off. I was pretty sure it was Scary Face, and it made Mareep tense up all over again.

  “Keep Agility going, don't let her get to you.”

  My Mareep was the best because she began to prance around her side of the pitch, speeding up as she did so.

  “Auri, let's switch tactics, Rock Throw.”

  Fist sized rocks rained down on Mareep, but she was nimble enough to dodge them all. Auri didn't let up, though, as more and more stones flew across the field. I flinched when some of them almost reached my feet causing mud to splatter over my shoes. Gritting my teeth in irritation, I told myself to concentrate.

  “Keep dodging, and use Cotton Spore.”

  Clods of wool burst out of Mareep’s coat. Some were intercepted by rocks, but enough made it through and clung onto the Larvitar. Rock Throw finally ended as Auri struggled to move with all the padding she had accumulated. Mareep could dance in circles around her by this stage, but Darren looked unfazed.

  “Shake it off, Auri,” he said.

  “Don't let her. Get in there with Take Down.”

  Mareep smacked into Auri, barely budging her. She jumped back creating distance again while shaking her head. The attack had probably hurt her as much as it hurt Auri. It was so unfair! None of our electric attacks would work, and Tackle was barely any better. I growled like a LiIlipup.

  “Again.”

  They collided once more, and then again and again after. Auri wasn't unscathed, but she seemed more annoyed than anything else. Darren wasn't giving any commands though. Even with the recoil Mareep was receiving he couldn't be expecting her to tire before Auri. The Larvitar roared the next time Take Down slammed into her.

  “Steady,” said Darren. “Timing.”

  Auri calmed instantly, all her aggression melting away replaced by an expression of intense focus.

  “Mareep, stop!” I cried, but I was too late, or she didn't hear me. As she rushed into the Larvitar again, Auri's jaws snapped around her leg.

  “Get her off!”

  Mareep shook her leg in an attempt to dislodge Auri, but her opponent held on like a vice-grip.

  “Tackle her,” said Darren.

  Still holding onto the leg, Auri surged forwards, knocking Mareep over. Electricity sparked from Mareep's wool and Auri stiffened. My breath caught, if Auri was paralyzed we might still have a chance. Then her red eyes glowed. She rammed Mareep again and a crack ripped through the air.

  “Mareep!”

  I rushed forwards. Mareep’s leg, still in Auri’s mouth, was bent at a repulsive angle.

  “Get away,” I screamed, at the same time Darren, eyes wide, told her to let go. My eyes blurred up and I launched myself kicking and screaming incoherently at Darren. He didn't even try to defend himself.

  “I'm sorry,” he was saying. “I didn't mean to.”

  I wasn't listening though and Daddy had to pull me off him.

  “Calla, calm down,” he said, restraining me until I stopped struggling. I looked over to where Grandma was fixing an impromptu splint onto Mareep. Blissey was helping her by washing the wound with water generated by Life Dew.

  “I really am sorry,” said Darren. “I didn't expect that to happen.”

  “Young man,” said Grandma. “You’ve trained your Pokémon well, but you’ve trained her as a warrior, not as a tournament battler. There are friendly matches, that means that part of your job is to minimise the risk of severe injury. Keep that in mind going forwards.

  “Calla, Pokémon battling is a violent sport. Accidents happen, and they are going to happen more than once. If you cannot control your temper when they do, you're better off giving up right now.”

  “But-“

  “Calla Greyberry.”

  I shut up.

  “Mareep is going to be just fine,” continued Grandma, only then getting up from tending the injury. “Under Blissey's care, her leg will be fully healed by the time you leave. Next time an accident happens, you would do well to check the state of your Pokémon rather than attacking your friend. And Darren, while it's good to apologise, the mistake is not yours alone. Look at Auri, you're scaring her. She just did what you taught her and doesn't know what she did wrong. You need to explain to her exactly what happened so that it doesn't happen again.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” said Darren. I wiggled out of Daddy’s arms and rushed to Mareep’s side. I buried my face in her wool mumbling apologies to her. Grandma turned to heal Auri next. Just as she had said, the Larvitar looked frightened. She kept turning her head from Darren to Grandma to me. She didn't seem to know what all the commotion was about and Darren was only now besides her.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up,” said Grandma. Blissey used Life Dew again to clean her. “You're going to have to learn to control your strength, young lady. Especially when,” she paused and looked at Darren. “Guts is her ability?”

  He nodded.

  “Then make sure to teach her to control the surge of strength she gets when she's afflicted with a status condition.”

  “Yes, ma'am.”

  ***

  I spent the rest of the day sticking close to Mareep, even taking my dinner outside to eat with her. She was resting in a shed next to the house. We lay in the musty smell of hay and each other’s warmth, and Edward and Lily took turns accompanying me throughout the day. Neither spoke much sensing that I wasn't in the mood for conversation. I was alone eating dinner, though, and it was getting cold.

  As I was finishing, Sunny entered the shed with a blanket.

  “Hey Calla, how are you doing?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said.

  She sat down next to me, draping the blanket over my shoulders.

  “And Mareep?” she asked. She got a soft maa in reply.

  “Do you think I'm not ready to be a trainer?” I blurted out. She blinked in surprise and laughed bitterly.

  “I don't think I'm the one to ask. I'm not sure if I’m ready. You saw me out there, Hector could have won if he had a better trainer, but I panicked and couldn't make good use of all the advantages we had. Your battle, well, it ended badly, but until that point you were really impressive. Despite being at a complete disadvantage, you had Auri cornered. Honestly, it was a little humbling, but…”

  “But I lost my temper?”

  “Not that,” she said. “When Auri bit Hector's head, I thought I was going to collapse. And Hector was fine! I think I could improve at battling and not panic, it was my first battle after all. But I don't know if I could stand watching my Pokémon get hurt every time. I don't know if I want to. That's the real reason I don't know if I want to be a trainer after all, and it's why I don't know what to tell you. I think you're a capable battler, and as someone who's just coming out of being a teenager, I can assure you you'll learn to keep your emotions in check. But if you can stomach your Pokémon getting hurt, or even hurting others - you'd never guess Darren won two battles with the way he looks - I don't know. I can't answer that.”