Chapter 17: Pins and Missiles

Tentatively making sure the camera was in focus, I run back behind the chalked white line. “Okay, now, Pin Missile!” With silent vindication, all of Hazel’s metallic pins turn green, all firing towards the crudely made, wooden target.

 

Even the ones on her ‘back’ make a course correction, all hitting and obliterating the efforts of a total 10 minutes.

 

Barely any is left—only the two pegs that once held the target. Satisfied, I walk over to the camera and stop recording, and, with a shameful amount of struggle, pull the camera off the tripod and make my way towards the patio.

 

After a mad dash to this rustic town, I promptly made my way to the Pokémon Center, rented a room, then got to work. Using my student account, I got Noibat on a linguistics course for Galarian, then, with the same laptop, started a full diagnostic on the arms. Leaving Robin, an armless Dratini, to watch over Noibat in the room, I went out back towards the practice fields. Another group was already using one, so I made sure that my experiment—I mean, practice wouldn’t interfere with them.

 

I had a vested interest in raising the capabilities of my team. For one, the next gym leader uses an ice and rock-type pokémon and a rock and dragon-type pokémon. My team has quite the weakness to all three of those, and I have nobody to blame for that except myself.

 

As such, Hazel is, once again, going to carry the team through this gym. She’s the only one without a massive weakness in this fight, and she’s actually quite defensive against almost everything. Rock is weak to grass and steel. Hazel is a Ferroseed and is grass and steel-type.

 

So, I’m testing Pin Missile. Looking back at the footage of the slow-motion camera I rented, I ponder. The pins explode on impact with the target; however, it’s only once the shell of the pins crack—they’re essentially seeds. The explosion isn’t one of fire, no; it’s one of pressure. The seeds are packed with such immense pressure that they explode once the hardened seed cracks, specifically the tip as the sides seem to remain in strips. They’re most likely tougher.

 

Hmm, they give off a glint in the footage…

 

I walk over to the wreckage, inspecting the fragments.

 

Ah. There it is: a pin missile shell. I pick it up and angle it towards the light. It has a dulled shine, similar to the zinc and galvanized steel I give to Hazel. Well, it appears that Hazel’s Pin Missile is inherently more powerful than a Chespin’s. However, I would prefer to have a different metal on the shells than what I feed to Hazel.

 

Thoughts… Ideas… Things I’ll need to ask Hazel to do… For a later time.

 

Next experiment!

 

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“Pin Missile!” The pins, once again firing from her back, fire forwards and towards the closest target, reducing every bit into shreds.

 

“Again!” This time, only the ones on her left and right fire, hitting two targets farther back, leaving half of the pegs behind.

 

“Final time!” Her front face glows, then the final array of pins fire, heading in an arc towards a target at the farthest point down the field. Only the target is destroyed.

 

Success. Repeated testing is required, but current evidence points towards my hypothesis being correct.

 

The move Pin Missile primes all pins on the user’s body to fire. However, I figured that it wasn’t required to fire them all at once…and likely not consecutively. As I said, further testing is needed. It does seem to make Hazel uncomfortable, which is strange for the usually unflappable Ferroseed, but I’d liken it to forcefully holding a sneeze.

 

Another object that I’m testing is the relation of distance to the power of the move. Now, I’m unsure how Hazel is able to correct the path of the pins mid-air, for she is neither psychic nor possesses aura, but I’m willing to chalk it up to Grass-type weirdness...for the moment. Back to the important matter: power.

 

The capsules/shells that are the main front of the attack are essentially biological pressure bombs. However, their main method of propulsion is also…pressure. Essentially, to propel the shells through the air to launch metal shrapnel, they have to lose some of their payload to move themselves.

 

So, if I need Hazel to use Pin Missile, then I need it to hit.

 

Also, another thing has been confirmed. If I ask her to do Pin Missile, then she can selectively shoot certain pins. This points towards being able to target multiple targets with the pins. At that point, it’s a trade-off between quantity of targets and quality of damage.

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I notate my findings on a scrap piece of paper; I’ll buy a binder later. Dang, pencil lead broke. Ugh, note to self: buy mechanical pencils, too.

 

“—me.” Huh? “Excuse me!” I turn around, almost face-to-face with a man…well, boy. 18 or not, he has quite the boyish face, with even the slightest hints of fat and dimples. He has generic brown, yet spiky, hair, blue eyes, and that look about him that say, ‘I’m going to be champion! Watch!’ Then, he’ll try and battle you with a Caterpie or something.

 

“Yes?” I intone with a slight raise to my eyebrow.

 

“Do you mind refereeing our battle?” He jerks his thumb back towards his companion—a girl.

 

“I’m sure you don’t need me to validate the integrity of a battle between friends.” With equal tone and disinterest, I try and carefully exit the conversation.

 

“Please! Just so we can know if our pokémon have fainted.” Heh, kid, puppy eyes are going to work on me. You’ll have to try—

 

“Please, won’t you?” A new voice joins, noticeably more feminine. The girl has joined, and sadly, my weakness is cute, adorable, or beautiful women.

 

Still, I steel myself like Hazel and prepare to let them down gently.

 

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“This will be a one v. one battle. Each trainer may only use one pokémon each, no substitutions. Each trainer will go until their pokémon are unable to battle,” I enunciate, making sure my voice reaches each corner of the field. I hold my arm at a 90-degree angle, waiting for the moment.

 

Hazel sits at my feet, staring forward at the Pokémon Center. I have a feeling that she’s internally sighing right now…

 

“And begin!” I swing down my arm, signifying the start…then, I mentally check out as I ponder other things. The battle just began, nobody has a fainted pokémon yet.

 

The boy—Joey—sends out a Raticate. The girl—Marie—sends out a Furret. Two absolutely normal, average pokémon. Nothing of note that needs any dication.

 

“Furret, Flamethrower!” Huh, did she teach it that?

 

“Raticate, use Tackle!” …This child.

 

Raticate essentially shoulder-charges Furret from the side, knocking it around and pointing the still charging Flamethrower towards…me.

 

The cross my arms and narrow my eyes with the best tired stare I can muster. The Flamethrower is released, and the blistering hot flame roars at me.

 

And I take one step to the right.

 

The inferno column charges right to my left and above Hazel, who is equally as unimpressed with their antics.

 

I wonder…if they had an accident, would anyone ever find the bodies?

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