Part 60: With a One, Two, Three… This Poké Ball Will Grow Gigantic!
Update 61: With a One, Two, Three… This Poké Ball Will Grow Gigantic!
(Quick question before we go in.)
(Hmm?) (Do you think Avery can detect our bond? Maybe… I dunno, mess with it? Just to make sure.) (With psychic powers? No. The bonds my sister and I create are unrelated; they are connected to the natural energies of this land, instead. We can only form them with those who have lived here for many years… Have we not discussed this before?) (Nope. Wait, like Galar radiation?) (… Most likely, yes. I would venture that Galar particles are present in small amounts throughout the island and are absorbed by those who live here…) (… Which causes them to admit trace amounts of Galar radiation, which you can then manipulate… How?) (I do not know. It has always worked on an instinctual level. But if we bring this to Sonia and she can suss out the logic behind it -)
(Put a pin in this conversation?) (Agreed.)
Defeating you will grant me the secret armor… Then I will at last have what I need to become a Psychic-type Gym Leader! No matter what it takes, I refuse to accept anything but a complete and utter victory... 
All right, you two, take your places.
Battle! Avery - Pokemon Sword and Shield Remix
Weird Terrain is an environmental effect that boosts the power of all Psychic-type moves substantially as long as it’s active – and yes, I missed that screenshot. Avery activates it here the moment the battle begins. He should not be able to do that. It doesn’t turn out to have mattered much.
My plan for this fight is very simple. Even though his Pokémon are now level-wise competitive with mine, their teeny movelists and monotype make them a lot less of a threat than they might otherwise be. Instead of trying to counter them individually, I just Dynamax Mr. Blobby and have him smash his way through Avery’s first three Pokémon.
Three turns of Dynamax, three Pokémon down. His last Pokémon is a Slowbro.
(At no point during this animation does he actually touch the Pokéball.)
(Pictured: the only time Avery looks cool.)
It may not be worth that introduction, but it’s not exactly worth dismissing out of hand; that Poison typing is there to trip up anyone who tries to power through using neutral elemental moves (which I did when I was new to Pokémon and couldn’t remember types).
It’s not exactly a slouch on the attack, either.
But it’s just one Pokémon. For all its virtues, it’s not that much better than the rest of his team and it goes down pretty quickly. I understand the fight is FAR different if you come to it at a different part of the game:
Explopyro posted:
I did say it's literally only interesting if you come here early. The scaled-up version isn't going to be dangerous because the only thing that's been increased are the levels, they don't get new moves or anything. But if you're on par level-wise and have a team that isn't yet fully evolved, etc, it gets interesting…
… Galarian Slowbro is surprisingly fearsome that early in the game. Its stats are balanced around it having no speed, but its Quick Draw ability is a free built in Quick Claw (so the RNG can occasionally just tell you to get fucked), and its signature move (Shell Sidearm) automatically becomes physical or special to hit whichever of your defences is lower, which makes it really tough to switch in on, and punishes pokemon with imbalanced defences. I don't know if that physical-special switch still happens if it's dynamaxed, but I think it might? Anyway, this battle is designed to show it off and it's pretty good at it.
(I think the other thing here is that Avery's team, aside from Slowbro, still isn't fully evolved. Klara has a Galarian Weezing, which is significantly more dangerous: it's pretty bulky and early in the game you're not likely to be able to hit its weaknesses well, it's only weak to steel and psychic.)
It's probably a combination of the pokemon available early in the game limiting the direct countermeasures you have to what they bring, or being fragile due to being unevolved, etc. I'm not saying it's the hardest fight ever, but it's a fight you can lose if you're unprepared or not thinking (I definitely lost to Klara a handful of times), and that's a rare thing for me in a Pokemon game.
I'm probably talking this up more than it deserves, honestly, but that's why this fight impressed me. It's a shame it loses most of its teeth if you come here in the postgame, but so do most things (at least Mustard doesn't).
And there you go.
The other students cheer.
Oh, well done! You both gave it your all! It appears...I have lost.
I don’t think young, capable children like you can understand how I feel. For crying out loud. … You asked for my life story earlier, and I’m not prepared to give it to you. But… I am just an average man who gave everything he possibly could.
After the less-than-reputable things I did, I’m likely to be expelled from the dojo. Gloria, you are free to tell the master about the awful things I did. What horrible things?… I beg your pardon? Look, it’d be one thing if I thought you weren't sorry or trying to weasel out of punishment, and I definitely wouldn’t be saying that if you were digging in. But… As long as you’re willing to actually put in the effort, I’m willing not to hold it against you. Not forgotten, by any means, but forgiven. Wh-what are you saying? But I turned to the shadows like a Dark type to try to win!
You know when to stop. I guess? Just… I’ve seen a disturbing amount of people burn out or turn into monsters because they pursued their goals at any cost, and I’ve known plenty of people who thought they abandoned their dreams only to find something a lot more fulfilling. You have to be sure that they're serious about it – if they’ve gone too far, you have to stop them – but it’s better to help someone flow around an obstacle than let them try to force their way through it. Surety and flexibility in perfect balance – what an excellent approach for a martial artist! I should apologize on Avery’s behalf, too, as his master.
… It was partly my fault as well. I let his training lapse and his attention drift. I could have found ways to challenge him at any point, and if I had, this never would’ve happened. I can only offer my apologies.… But the weight of your decisions rests on your shoulders, Avery. As for your punishment, you’re going to look after the Pokémon in the dojo for six months...by yourself!
That certainly is a great deal of work, but… I will accomplish it with style.
It’ll take some time to prepare, so I’ll go ahead and get things sorted. And that’s all, gang! As you were!…
Since you’ve completed all three trials…I give you the secret armor of the Master Dojo!
'Ullo mate, I –
I know... I know... It’s tiny... But raise it with diligence, and it’ll become strong enough to see you through any battle, just like a suit of armor. No opponent will be able to get past it!
So I was thinking, Gloria!
So take good care of Kubfu, ’K? It’s in your hands now!
Well, lad, what say we head off and get stronger together, ey?
Kubfu is ours
And now, with THAT settled, we are free to explore the island again.
And, as a reward for making it this far, we can have our Pokémon accompany us around the map! Pokémon Yellow’s legacy comes full circle. This function is mostly cosmetic, as far as I can tell:
… It lets us show off the weird Pokémon we’ve collected to NPCs that don’t care…
… And cuts out the animation at the beginning of every encounter where we throw our Pokéball out. It will also have plot relevance in just a little bit, but I decided to hold off, because next time – we get into the multiplayer.