Bella recalls Juu. "Dusk's a good spar partner too, he can be gentle. Branch and Rachis aren't quite smart enough, Zag gets overenthusiastic, Fireflower gets indignant."

"You wanna spar with Dusk too, bud?"

"Ta, ta!"

"Let's do it." She scratches Feume affectionately. "I'm liking him more by the second. This is a good day."

"I'm glad you like him!" And she tosses Dusk and provides instructions.

Feume is already learning. He holds back better this time, dodges quicker, and starts making use of time when he'll inevitably be hit to position himself for counterstrikes. He's definitely got a personality suited to a tournament-grade 'mon. Excitable.

"I got you a good one, even if it turns out you can only have one you should be safe to go anywhere civilization-accessible except the water when he's trained up a bit farther."

Feume stamps happily at the praise, and Walta giggles.

"I think I could do two, maybe three."

"You can't always tell till you try it. The safe way to check is to rent them until you can't add another, then give the rentals back."

"Sensible."

"You could check right now and then plan out what else you'll want? It's good to have a blend of types, they have strengths and weaknesses. Fire's defensively weak against ground and water and rock, and a fire move'll hit weaker if the other 'mon is rock, fire, water, or dragon type. And water is really common so you want something that can handle that, maybe grass, grass is also good against ground and rock. But not dragon or fire. There's a chart, the rental place will probably just have free charts lying around..."

"Yeah, I had a look at the chart in milliways... Grass and if I get a third maybe rock or steel, I think. For flying types. If I can somehow manage a fourth, I don't know."

"Some 'mon have two types. You don't want a flier? It's faster to get around that way."

"Flying would be nice - is there a fly-grass or fly-rock or fly-steel?"

"The Hoppip line is grass/flying but they'd be really awkward to ride, they're kind of too round. Tropius would be easier to sit on. And they grow fruit. Uh, Skarmory's steel and flying. I can't think of any flying rocks off the top of my head."

"Tropius sounds neat. Flying grass means they won't even be weak to electricity, right? I might shoot for one of them when I'm more used to Feume and have a job. Are they rare?"

"They're a little hard to find? I think they have them in Great Marsh, and you can catch stuff there but there's weird rules and you have to use their balls and pay to get in."

"Something for later maybe, then. I'm not in a huge rush now that I have Feume."

"Makes sense."

"You know... I haven't asked what you get up to yet, besides that you seem like a serious trainer. I mean stuff like, I read stuff or poke at machines when I have free time, my goal's probably going to be to start making walkers with local tech."

"I hunt for legendary 'mon. Haven't gotten anywhere yet, they might not exist."

"That's what legendary means, yes?"

"Kinda, yeah. But if they exist they're very important because they're immortal."

"So they can... Oh. You want the secret, if they exist, and are."

"Yep."

"That's a very grand ambition! Maybe I can help you with it in a few months when I'm used to this world. Even if it's not traveling with you, making gear or something. I guess milliways didn't have anything good about them...?"