Young Writers Society

‘Does anyone care to venture a guess as to the subject of today’s lesson?’ Mr Kana asked once everyone has settled down. He looked at each of his students in return, but only received blank stares. Well, except from Minerva, of course. When Mr Kana looked at her, her expression was one of concentration and frustration. She was not the kind of mon who was used to not answering a question.

‘I would guess, sir’ she responded finally, ‘but with two out of the three bowls empty, I can’t.’

The Medicham smiled. ‘Very well, I shall fill the second bowl as well.’

He strode over to one of the neatly stacked boxes on the shelves behind his desk and removed a cobalt phial containing an icy blue liquid from it. He then emptied the phial into the bowl; though it was the simplest of actions, the theatre of it was astounding: white mist flowed over the rim, afterwards creeping across the desk and over its edge, dissipating before reaching the floor. It was mystical and wonderful to behold, for the students had never seen anything like it.

‘Judging by your wide eyes and enthralled expressions, I take it that did not enlighten you much. Am I right, Minerva?’

The Vulpix blushed. Had Darren not been sitting beside her, he would not have noticed her mahogany cheeks darken ever so slightly to carnelian.

Mr Kana returned to the box from which he had produced the phial of dewy liquid (which was still causing mist to overflow the bowl’s rim) and produced a metallic contraption quite unlike the elegant potion. It was crude and simple and looked like some Steel type’s toy – a boring, metal box with a few knobs and levers, as well as two antennae at the end. Said antennae had balls which were the colour of an Ampharos’ wool on their tips and which resembled the balls at the end of an Ampharos’ tail. Mr Kana placed the contraption in the third bowl, pulled one of its levers, turned a dial, and stepped back as the device fizzed and spat. After a few seconds, a continuous stream of electricity appeared between the two antennae.

So, the subject of their lesson would be a clump of lush grass, some portable fog, and a rudimentary representation of a Magnezone’s inner circuit board (or whatever served as their power source). Darren wasn’t sure what any of that had to do with Strategy & Tactics, but the three bowls’ contents were probably connected in some obscure way he was too slow to comprehend.

‘Grass, Ice, and Electric…’ Minerva mumbled under her breath. ‘Grass, Ice, and Electric… Sleep, freezing, and paralysis? No, there would have been Fire and Poison as well if that were the case… It can’t be an attack, since Ice, Electric and Fire exist in such combinations…’

‘Any idea?’ Darren heard Tyler whisper to Aiden.

‘Not a clue,’ the Growlithe replied.

‘I shall relieve you from your suffering,’ Mr Kana said, smiling slightly. ‘The content of these three bowls represent moves that are closely linked. While it may be unfamiliar terrain to you now, the point of this lesson is to rectify that.’

Minerva looked more confused than ever, but Aiden’s eyes lit up. ‘Of course!’ he whispered to no-one in particular.

‘As Aiden here seems to have finally deduced,’ Mr Kana announced, ‘today’s lesson will be about the three terrain moves, namely Grassy Terrain, Misty Terrain, and Electric Terrain.’

A collective gasp escaped the mouths of everyone but the two beside Darren; Aiden grinned, satisfied, while Minerva scowled and spat a few orange embers out the window after Aiden stuck his tongue out at her.

‘The first of these terrain moves, Grassy Terrain, is supportive in nature, since it gradually heals all who are affected by it and reduces the damage received from attacks such as… Why is Minerva the only one writing this down?’

The class suddenly filled with the sounds of rummaging and books being dropped onto desks. Darren himself quickly wrote down what the teacher had said, for Mr Kana was patient, so he’d wait for everyone to start writing, but once he began his explanations, he rarely stopped until he had finished with a section.

‘Now, as I was saying, Grassy Terrain also halves the damage received from attacks such as Earthquake, Bulldoze, and Magnitude. The reason for this is that the energy that created the terrain cushions the blow received from these attacks. As such, it is ideally used on teams that benefit from the mitigation of Ground moves, teams that contain Electric or Fire Pokémon in them, for example. However, Grassy Terrain also doubles the damage done by Grass moves, for reasons I don’t need to explain. Therefore, Grass and Fire Pokémon on these teams would work well in tandem, especially in a double or triple battle.

‘The next terrain move is Misty Terrain, which is protective in nature. This move is, despite what you initially believed, not Ice-based, but Fairy-based. It prevents those affected from being afflicted by any non-volatile status conditions and removes any non-volatile status conditions already applied. Rest will therefore fail, and Yawn will make the target drowsy, but it will not fall asleep. If only that were in place now, Duncan might actually write this down too.’ Tyler turned around and poked the Drowzee with his pen, waking him up. ‘Misty Terrain also has the benefit of halving the damage of Dragon-based moves.

‘The final terrain move, Electric Terrain, is disruptive by nature, seeing as it increases the power of Electric moves by half and prevents those afflicted from falling asleep. Yawn and Rest are affected the same way as when Misty Terrain is in effect. It can be used on a team with predominantly Electric Pokémon or against teams that regularly employ sleep, such as Grass teams. This is especially useful if both cases apply, since the added damage may negate Grass’ resistance to Electric-based moves. Is everyone still following?’

‘More or less…’ Nicole replied.

After a minute passed, Mr Kana repeated the question, but that time, the response was positive. ‘Good. Now, there are several subtle similarities between these moves. I could hand them to you on a metaphorical platter, but I want you to tell me what they are instead. When you’re done with that, bring your books to me so I can mark it. After half an hour, I shall have one of you read out the answer so the others can copy it. You may begin.’

Darren looked at what he had written down and tried to find the pattern. Obviously, all three moves caused the terrain to be altered, but Mr Kana specifically said to look for subtle differences. After a few minutes, he realised that none of the terrains would affect those in the sky, but that was probably too obvious as well. Why did Mr Kana’s instructions always have to be so difficult?

‘Do you have any idea what the differences are?’ Tyler whispered to Aiden.

‘No discussing, please,’ Mr Kana said from behind his desk, gazing sternly at Tyler. ‘If I had wanted this to be a collaborative effort, I would have said as much.’

Darren had wanted to ask Aiden the same question, but he was glad he had decided not to. However, Aiden did seem to know, for after another minute, he took his book to the Medicham, who then sent him back with a nod of approval. Aiden flashed a smile at Minerva, who huffed in indignation and scribbled furiously away. She then shook her curls out of her eyes and took her book to Mr Kana too, who gave her the same nod. She pulled a face at Aiden and then also returned to her desk.

Twenty minutes later, only Malcolm had also found the same similarities. Tyler and Seamus had taken their books forward multiple times, but they were sent back each time. Darren simply sat there, occasionally writing something, just to scratch it out a moment later.

Five minutes before their time had elapsed, Darren finally saw it. If you regarded the moves together, instead of apart, three common effects emerged: the moves of a particular type were either doubled or halved, and non-volatile status conditions were negated. Two of the moves negated the status conditions, two halved a type’s move-damage, and two increased it by half.

Triumphant, Darren wrote them down and took his book to Mr Kana, who looked it over critically. ‘Well done, Darren,’ he said, nodding. ‘Since the time has elapsed, you may read your answer to the class.’

Darren happily did, resulting in many frustrated sighs (and a single snore). After Darren returned to his desk, Mr Kana explained to them how each of the moves also affected moves like Nature Power, Secret Power, and Camouflage. Darren had just completed his writing when the bell went.

‘Have a pleasant day, everyone. You are dismissed.’

The students happily hurried out of the class, but Aiden approached Mr Kana instead.

‘Sir, have you ever seen any of these terrains being used in a battle?’

‘I recall having encountered it once or twice during a tournament in my youth,’ he replied, emptying the bowls and packing them away. ‘It is not often used, but it can nevertheless swing a battle in the favour of its user. I therefore also advise that you be prepared against it, once you become a Trainer. I once almost fainted because of a Charge Beam amplified by an Electric Terrain.’

‘Why didn’t you faint?’ Aiden enquired curiously.

‘This.’ Mr Kana reached inside a box and produced a violet sash.

‘You wore a Focus Sash?’ Tyler asked, intrigued. ‘May I touch it?’

‘Of course.’

Tyler happily took the silken cloth and stroked it lovingly.

‘You know, Darren, Manectrics can learn Electric Terrain. I know you plan on following in your mother’s footsteps, but it has more uses than just for battling. I believe your mother once used it to supply power to the village when our battery broke.’

‘Really?’ Darren looked thoughtful. He had never thought that his mother could be capable of knowing any miscellaneous moves.

‘You should ask her to show you sometime. But now, you three must be off. I’m sure you have enough homework to do.’

‘Sure thing, sir!’ Aiden agreed. ‘See you on Giraday!’

He bounded out of the room, with Tyler following close behind. Darren followed slowly, lost in his thoughts. He knew his mother was special, but there really was more to her than he thought.