Chapter 7 – Arguing Evolution and Exploring Experience 0

Before getting to the chapter, I must confess that I've made a terrible, unforgivable mistake, one which is too late to correct now, and which I completely failed to realize I was making while writing earlier chapters. The mistake: Rattata are supposed to know Tail Whip at level 1, NOT Growl.

So I guess Rattata in this universe will simply know Growl instead of Tail Whip. Not a major change, but it's there and it wasn't intentional. I'll try to be more careful, but I can't guarantee perfection in future chapters. If you notice any problems, I can usually change it before it's too late, so please keep an eye out.

Ex and Amber embarked on Route One, prepared to make some progress – Amber on distance, Ex on items, and Ex's brain on Experience.

Which is why, before Ex could give any orders to his team, his brain butted in. I have a way to improve our Pickup/Poaching, it said. So hear me out before you send them out.

Can I actually use your 'improvement' this time? Ex asked with a fair amount of skepticism, remembering certain suggestions that were made without realism in mind – like trying to have a Pickup Party going with a fainted team, for example.

Oh, you can use my advice, his brain assured. Or rather, Charmander can.

I'll be the judge of that.

His brain rolled eyes that it didn't really have. First and foremost, it began in a lecturing tone, since Charmander can't Pickup items, we should have her hunting for food and Experience at all times.

Ex gave a mental nod. Reasonable, he thought. Is that it?

Not even close, his brain declared in a deadpan. She also needs to employ Ember as an opener, since she can 1-shot and out-Speed most Route 1 enemies at this point, I think.

'You think'? Ex repeated the phrasing.

Up until now, Ex thought that his brain was supposed to be able to figure out, in advance, the damage his pokémon could do. His brain had bragged about it enough times when he was hunting wild pokémon yesterday: So long as it knew...

the stats and species of the pokémon being commanded,
the move being used,
and the pokémon it was being used against,

...his brain claimed it could provide the possible percentages of health that would be taken away from the opponent.* Even if it didn't know the exact Stats or Nature of the opposing pokémon, it could provide damage ranges based on the highest possible and lowest possible Stat values of that species at that level.

But now his brain no longer seemed so confident.

Shouldn't you 'know' if she can one-shot?

Hey, his brain complained in a combination of indignation and warning, some of my predictions have been wrong, so my battle algorithms might not work here. This time, I'm just going off of what we saw her do in that Horde Battle. Example is exemplary, after all.

Ugh, Ex groaned. Don't remind me.

Why not? His brain gave the impression of a tilted head. We won the battle, didn't we?

Not from any plan, Ex objected. It was all improv and emotion. I wasn't in control of the situation at all.

You seemed pretty in-control to me, his brain pointed out. You targeted the weakest enemies in order, made the right calls, used the best move. You followed my advice to a tee. How is that not the very definition of 'in control'?

Ex was tempted to retort, but he didn't exactly want to continue this conversation.

He wanted to say he wasn't in control because he was reacting to a bad situation instead of preventing it from happening in the first place. He wasn't in control of Prime before he fainted, he almost wasn't in control of whether Prime survived, and he was in complete control afterwards – of his decisions, but not the emotions fueling them.

Can we not talk about this? Ex explicitly thought instead of articulating any of that.

Fine, shrugged his brain. But I won't drop it the next time it gets in the way of my analyses. Speaking of, do you remember where I left off? I hate to repeat myself.

You... said Charmander should be hunting at all times, Ex recalled, his short-term memory aided by the desire to switch topics. And she should use Ember as an opener.

And Scratch as a finisher if the enemy is in the red, his brain continued. Hidden Power as a finisher otherwise, or if Charmander's Attack has been lowered by Growl. But if the opponent is on a sliver of health, it doesn't matter which is used.

Ex again gave a mental nod, though he was unsure if his brain could... pick up... on that gesture, so 'out loud' he thought, Okay.

At the end of the day, our primary goal is to exhaust all Ember PP with one-shots. And Hidden Power, since they should be doing the same damage if she's not in Blaze territory.

What about after she out of Ember PP? Do we just have her stop battling?

If she runs out of Embers, switch to Scratching only, his brain said in an approving tone, as if it was pleased that Ex was thinking that far ahead. And make sure she isn't using Growl. At all.

Anything else? Ex asked.

Yes. We should stop giving her Oran Berries; if she can one-shot, she doesn't need them anymore, even to get flawless victories. And she should hunt on her own if we want more battles, because I've noticed wild pokémon tend to stay further away from the path.

For a moment, there was a stretch of mental silence.

Are you done? Ex asked impatiently.

I think that's it, his brain answered. It then took on a tone of over-exaggerated deference. So, o mighty judge, was any of that 'useable' enough for you?

Ex scoffed at the sarcasm, then considered the suggestions. He watched the tall grass sway slowly in the wind as he thought about what might happen if he followed the advice. Charmander could take damage, but he could always give her an Oran Berry. She might encounter a Horde Battle, but that shouldn't be a problem any more. She might encounter a trainer, but caught pokémon couldn't be captured, and his pokédex would alert him if she got low on health. Even after considering the possibilities, he didn't see how it could go wrong now that Charmander knew to avoid Long Grass, and was fast/powerful enough to escape or beat Hordes even if she didn't.

We can use your strategies, Ex eventually decided. But I'm going to personally oversee Charmander's first few battles. I'm only sending her off on her own once I know she knows what to do, through and through. And you don't get to give any more suggestions until then.

Fine, no more suggestions, his brain agreed. But a reminder isn't a suggestion: the Pickup Party needs to be running in the meantime, in case you forgot.

Leave it to his brain to exploit technicalities, even verbal ones. But it was a well-timed technicality, so he didn't complain.

Ex took care of his Meowth first, sending them scouting before calling out to Charmander. She was exploring the Tall Grass – not for foes, just for fun – and came running at the sound of his voice. He gave her his brain's new set of instructions in poké-speak, having Amber confirm that she understood afterwards.

But knowing something in theory is different from knowing it in practice, so he proceeded to spend the next half-hour directing her in battles.

Amber and Ex walked side-by-side that early morning, occasionally slowing down when her Bulbasaur or his Charmander encountered another Rattata, or when a member of the Pickup Party brought something back.

Amber was still new to all this, but she was beginning to... pick up... on a few things. Bulbasaur and Charmander were no longer fighting battles together, so she could no longer simply mooch off his pokémon's Experience.

Instead, she was mooching off of HIS experience - that his, his learned experiences, not his Exp. points.

But Ex was fine with that. More than fine, actually; it made him proud that he was training another future exploiter.

Amber was now spamming Tackle commands (as all beginners should), no longer using Growl (probably thanks to his orders to Charmander earlier), and saving Leech Seed (after Ex had remarked that it only had ten PP).

She even asked Ex for battle advice at one point.

Ex had told her that she should use Vine Whip the moment Bulbasaur learns it. He told her that she shouldn't use Leech Seed until her Bulbasaur was on low health. (He needed his Oran Berries and Potions for his own team and didn't plan on sharing.) When she did use Leech Seed, she should drag the battle out as long as possible with Growl. This would allow Bulbasaur to get maximum health recovery for each use of Leech Seed. On her own, she had added 'Dodge that attack!' to the mix of Growls. According to Amber, she learned that tactic from watching pokemon battles on her home TV.

Ex's brain was divided on the advice it had helped to give. These tactics would drastically cut back on her number of Flawless Victories, but they made more efficient use of her pokémon's move pool. Ex's brain was not, at this point, sure that this was the optimal Exp-farming route for Amber to take, or if Bulbasaur would have gotten more Experience simply by Leech Seeding whenever it took damage.

Ex had told his brain that she was still learning, that more battles were better for her experience as a trainer, even if they gave less Pokémon Experience apiece, and that this way, his Meowth wouldn't have to hunt for lunch at all.

At the rate they were going, Bulbasaur and Charmander were fainting enough Rattata to feed the entire group, with leftovers for dinner.

Arguing Evolution

For his own battles, Ex barely even paid attention as he ordered optimal moves; it was mostly just 'attack with Ember' or 'attack with Scratch' if the opponent didn't immediately faint (which only happened once).

Ex yawned on the inside, even as Charmander was battling an enemy. This is actually pretty boring, he thought, catching his brain's attention. I take back what I said earlier. Suggestions are back on. Got anything?

Yes. Before our Meowth start battling today-

Why would we have our Meowth battle today? Ex interjected before his brain could even properly begin. They don't need to. Not any more.

Maybe he shouldn't have interrupted, but he had actually been looking forward to dedicating his Meowth to Pickup all day, since it meant less work on his part. He might like grinding in the games, but in real life it took more effort, both for himself and his pokémon – him because he would have to spend a while teaching the right tactics, and his pokémon for obvious reasons.

We should get them to the point where they can learn Pay Day, his brain thought, with only a slight tinge of annoyance in its tone. That way, we can earn more money passively. And they'll need to be fast enough to run away from wild encounters in future Routes, meaning we need them to have a higher Speed stat. Route One has only had pokémon that reward Speed EVs so far, so we're good on that end. More importantly, more levels means more Speed. Not to mention more HP and defenses. The tone of voice changed slightly. Don't you want them to be safer when they're on their own out there?

Ex paused, in mind if not in motion. That last point was an appealing line of reasoning, but...

In a flash of insight, Ex realized what his brain was doing. Ex knew that his brain didn't care about his party nearly as much as he did, and that it was only talking about their safety to push through its own Experience-earning agenda. So Ex decided to retaliate in kind with a hypothetical.

Suppose I did have them farm for levels, Ex offered. What if they eventually gain TOO much Experience?

How would that be a bad thing? his brain asked with heavy skepticism.

Ex might not have an encyclopedic knowledge on Pokémon, but he at least knew...

If they Evolve into Persian, they'd lose their Pickup Ability and get Limber instead, Ex observed, which would mean no more Pickup Party. And we might not even be able to predict when that will happen, since we aren't playing the games. We haven't ACTUALLY seen any pokémon Evolve yet, so we don't KNOW that it will happen at a set level. Maybe this world will be more like the anime, where Evolutions happen for thematic reasons, not statistical ones. The safest way to prevent that from happening would be to get them no Experience at all.

THIS line of reasoning seemed to give his brain some pause. It was logical – seductive for his brain in the same way that its emotional argument had been seductive for him. But his brain quickly thought of an alternative.

Just prevent them from Evolving, it said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

In the games, you could mash the 'B' button to stop an Evolution before it happened. But...

We don't have a B button.

Then just order them to stop, said his brain. Probably the same thing. Or see if there's a function on the Pokédex for it.

What if it doesn't even work here in the first place? thought Ex. Were there any TV episodes that talked about pokémon not Evolving?

Every single episode with Pikachu, ever, his brain answered without a ounce of hesitation, but with every ounce of exaggeration.

Besides Pikachu, I mean.

Pikachu's lack of Evolution could be attributed to any number of reasons beyond real-world rules.

Ash and Pikachu often suffered from protagonist-itis, which lets main characters do things nobody else can do simply because it makes for a 'better' story. When Pikachu and Swellow were having a Double Battle against Liza and Tate in Hoenn, Ash at one point orders Pikachu to use Thunder on itself while riding on the back of Swellow in mid-air. Rather than resulting in a fainted Flying type, an impact crater, and a bruised (if not also fainted) Pikachu, this nonsensical move gave Swellow and Pikachu lightning armor and made them more powerful.

Because. You know. Reasons. And because the TV series is more realistic than the games. Obviously.

Nintendo needed their mascot to stay the same, so 'reasons' could just as easily have justified Pikachu's Evolution dilemma. Even if he didn't want to Evolve, which was the thematic excuse, being faced with a Thunder Stone should have removed all choice from the matter. But instead of events taking their natural course, the Thunder Stone's electricity went into Pikachu's cheeks, giving him a power boost without actually Evolving him.

Sure, this might be plausible enough by 'real-world' logic, and it could even explain where Light Balls come from. But it's just as easily explained by franchise marketability and merchandising necessity. It's entirely possible that Pikachu's lack of Evolution in the face of a Thunder Stone had nothing to do with what would have actually happened if a similar scenario played out here.

Just like Ex couldn't imagine Thunder really giving armor to a Flying pokémon in this world, even an ally, he couldn't imagine giving a Thunder Stone to a pokémon that needed one to Evolve and not have it Evolve, even Pikachu. It was just too much of a stretch.

Ignoring Pikachu, Ex amended, are there any episodes that involved pokémon NOT Evolving when they should have?

Yes, his brain answered instantly. It's mental voice then took on a monotone, robotic quality, as if it had forgotten it was in the middle of an argument. In episode one-two-two of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, Dawn's Piplup stops himself from Evolving. Multiple times. He then remains a Piplup for the rest of the season.

Ex had not remembered that particular fact about Piplup when he had asked his question, and it lessened the impact of the point he'd been about to make.

Meaning, his brain continued, its voice regaining its usual personality, that we should be able to do the same: prevent our pokémon from Evolving.

But even now that it was being promoted to conscious thought...

Piplup didn't Evolve in that episode because HE chose not to, Ex thought, vaguely remembering the plot. It wasn't DAWN's choice, he continued as more details came to mind. She was initially excited Piplup would be Evolving. So far, we've seen that stopping Evolution has nothing to do with trainers. In order for our Meowth to do the same, they would ALL need to share a desire to not Evolve. It takes considerable effort on the pokémon's part to stop Evolution from occurring, according to those anime scenes. And a trip to the Pokécenter afterwards, to restore their energy.

Not to mention that this might have been another instance of main-character-itis. Piplup was a staple of Dawn's team at the time.

Then just order Meowth not to Evolve if or when it starts to happen, his brain said simply, and have Potions on hand. Or give them Everstones.

Ordering them to stop might not work, and they might not even be near me when they Evolve, Ex thought. Plus, if they Hold Everstones, they wouldn't be able to Pickup more items.

Then give them the order to not Evolve beforehand, his brain realized. Then they would know to halt the Evolution process whenever and wherever it occurs – level twenty or otherwise, near us or not.

That... might actually work, Ex realized.

With a solution found, his brain declared, Problem solved.

But there was still a problem.

Problem NOT solved, Ex thought, because it's their choice, and I'm not going to take that away from them.

His brain did not seem to be expecting this particular response. Um... what?

When they're smart enough to understand, Ex said, I'll explain Evolution to them – how it REALLY works, along with the upsides AND the downsides – so that they know what they're getting into and can make an informed choice. But that's it. From there, they get to decide for themselves if they want to Evolve.

This might not have been the optimal position to take in a setting where he might eventually want to exploit certain high-level, unevolved pokémon. But it was the right position to hold in a setting where pokémon could think for themselves.

Their free will deserves at least that much respect, now that they're becoming their own people. I'll tell them what I would like, but if they make a different choice, so be it.

Ex might not have made such a decision two days ago, but he had just spent most of yesterday readjusting his moral compass, and all last night thinking about pokémon sapience. This morning's incident in particular had made him realize that he wouldn't be able to treat his pokémon as thoughtlessly as he could back when they were just pixels on a screen.

In battles?

Maybe he could be a little heartless.

But outside of them?

Maybe he couldn't.

So whether our team of Meowth Evolves or not is out of our hands, Ex finished, outside of how much Experience we want them to gain in the first place.

His brain didn't have a response to that.

It still wanted his party to gain levels, Ex could tell, but it knew that it couldn't change Ex's mind on something like this. It also was no longer sure that keeping the Pickup party going would be as easy as it had first assumed.

Ex decided to ease up on the pressure of personality he was exerting.

With all that said, I am going to level them up in the future, just maybe not today. They do need to be able to defend themselves, like you said. And who knows? Maybe they can still use Pickup even after they Evolve. This is a real world of pokémon, and in the real world, you don't lose the ability to pick things up just because you get bigger.

This reminded Ex of why he liked arguing: even if you don't actually end up agreeing on anything with your opponent, there's a lot you can learn.

Then again, maybe their paws change shape as they Evolve, removing their ability to grip things. But if a Meowth can Hold a Nugget in its mouth, then so can a Persian.

Hm, his brain paused, considering. Two Abilities at once. I like the sound of that.

And his brain had obviously learned a few things, too.

But then why are you opposed to getting Experience today?

I'm not OPPOSED to it, exactly, Ex thought. I was just looking forward to relaxing on Route One.

Well, that had been his initial objection. But now, the main thing was...

Other than that, I don't like being manipulated.

He did actually want his Meowth to gain a few levels, same as his brain, but he didn't want to be coerced into the decision. He only argued back in the first place because of that emotionally disingenuous 'think of their safety' line. He knew his brain didn't care about them beyond practical purposes like he did.

I guess I can live with that, his brain sighed. And at least you're thinking about it. I a-p-o-l-o-g-i-z-e f-o-r f-r-a-m-i-n-g t-h-e a-r-g-u-m-e-n-t t-h-a-t w-a-y.

The apology came out in a somewhat static monotone. But Ex felt that it was genuine, somehow, despite any lack of emotions that had been put into it. Ex knew how hard it was to apologize - to truly apologize - and he couldn't blame his brain for getting out the apology any way it could.

Maybe I'll change my mind and have Meowth do more than Pickup today, if that ends up being boring, Ex offered as a concession.

He didn't like being a dictator, even if that's basically what he was in their relationship. It's not like he had a choice about it; the only thing his brain could do without his help was nag at him, except for those rare moments where his brain seemed to, independent of his will, take control.

Ex couldn't remember anything before two days ago, so he couldn't remember what his life was like before then.

Did he always have this thing in his head that he was currently calling his 'brain'?

He hadn't thought much of it initially. The situations of REAL LIFE POKEMON! and I'M NAKED! had done a better job of catching his attention. The urgency of that second one had worn off as soon as he solved it, but even the first one was beginning to lose its novelty and become the new norm.

Now, the things he had taken in stride two days ago were beginning to demand more attention.

'Is my brain actually a different person?' was one of his biggest questions, but others included 'What is it?' and 'Why does it seem so alien, even if it's so familiar?'

Ex and his brain seemed to agree on most things. Even now, they agreed that his Meowth would be needing Experience. They had similar goals and similar methods.

It was like looking in a fun-house mirror, where his own features were being warped and shaped into something new, but still being reflected. What Ex thought were major concerns his brain thought were minor, and vice versa; even if they both agreed the thing was concerning in the first place, they had different agendas. Their lists of priorities were mirror images of each other, i.e. reversed, though the lists shared all the same bullet points.

The biggest differences between Ex and his brain, at least for now, were
(a) the presence and/or complete lack of empathy, respectively, and
(b) the vaguely accurate vs. completely photographic memories, respectively.
And, of course, (c) who was in charge.

I'm still open to arguments, Ex began his final point.

Regardless of the ultimate decision, Ex now had a better picture of the situation, both within his head and with his Meowth.

Then his mental voice took on a threatening undertone. But the next time you try to use emotional arguments instead of logical ones, I might refuse on principle, even if it's a good idea.

But even if new insight was a reason for appreciating arguments after the fact, it wasn't Ex's primary motivation for beginning them in the first place.

Leave the emotional exploits to ME, he concluded.

With phrases like that, one might wonder just who, exactly, has the empathy here.

Got it?

The main reason Ex enjoyed arguing was, of course, winning.

You're the boss, said his brain.

Which was fun.

You'll keep emotions out of your arguments from now on?

Conflict resolution was somewhere in the nebulous space of 'other reasons to argue'.

Unless the emotions are fundamentally built into the argument, said his brain. Like all the moral ones yesterday. Or unless I'm joking. I have to get my Naughtiness off my chest SOMEHOW, right?

But arguing didn't resolve conflicts often enough for that to count.

Fine, Ex allowed. But you'll stick to logic otherwise?

Or at least, he felt that it shouldn't.

Yes. If I'm being serious, I'll stick to logic.

Arguments here did seem to have a better track record than what he seemed to implicitly believe.

Good, thought Ex. I'm glad we got this out of the way.

But maybe that was just... in his head.

And I'm satisfied, Ex's brain thought back, with the fact that you actually listened to me this time.

And it was over.

His brain seemed less concerned with victory and more concerned with the secondary goal: that the end result is a net positive of increased understanding, regardless of outcome. It didn't mind, as much as Ex would have, that it hadn't won.

Though he could tell it was still annoyed that it had lost.

Like looking in a fun house mirror.

Exploring Experience Part Zero – Memorized Multipliers

Now, thought his brain, I need to get back to my ORIGINAL point – the one I was trying to make before I was interrupted the FIRST time.

Um... which time was that?

I thought the words 'before our Meowth start battling today-' and you interrupted, said the part of him with a photographic memory.

Oh. Right. Sorry.

ANYWAY, his brain said with a simulated eye roll, I need to figure out what Experience systems are in place, EVEN IF Charmander is the only one who does any battling today.

Why?

So I can optimize our future Exp. earnings, his brain said in a tone one might use when explaining something simple to a simpleton. And Amber's, too, if she's up for it, it added as an afterthought.

Sounds good, Ex thought. But how do you plan to do that?

His brain, which had kept track of everything it had seen in the pokédex so far, instructed Ex on where to find the information it needed.

Go to the 'Battle Statistics' of Charmander's battle with Squirtle, was his brain's first command.

Ex looked at his pokédex, which was currently recording Charmander's battle with a wild level 4 Rattata.

He wasn't giving orders, but Charmander was acting exactly the way Ex might have commanded if he were in charge of her moves, though there wasn't the delay it would have taken for him to say orders out loud. It was like she could read his thoughts.

The Rattata hadn't fainted to Ember - surviving on almost half health - and had used Growl on Charmander.

Charmander, rather than use Scratch, used Hidden Power.

This ensured the Rattata fainted in the second hit.

Give me one second, Ex thought to his brain.

"Human, hugh human. (Okay, that's enough.) Human. (Good job.) Human human man human man. (You can go out on your own now.) Hume hume human human man. (Faint as many as you can.) Human hume human man human. (Make sure to bring back their bodies.)"

Ew. And ugh. It sounded a little gross and morbid when he put it like that.

But Charmander didn't seem to mind the phrasing, turning on her heels and running off into the Tall Grass to collect more lunch and levels.

Now that Ex no longer needed the pokédex to keep track of battles – or rather, now that the pokédex wouldn't automatically track every battle Charmander started – he could switch functions to find other features. There was probably a way to disable that, but he didn't need to worry about it right now.

Why did you want to see this battle again? he asked as he tabbed through 'Records' and 'Trainer Battles'.

Not the battle itself, his brain said.

Ex's finger, which had just clicked 'Trainer Ex vs. Trainer Gary' and was about to click 'Battle Recordings', hovered motionless in the air.

The statistics.

Ex's finger hit the 'Battle Statistics' button instead.

I want to see if the Pokédex records Experience gains, his brain answered. How much did Charmander-

FIVE HUNDRED Experience?! Ex mentally exclaimed as his eyes saw the number. Charmander got five hundred Experience from beating a level five Squirtle? HOW?!

'Flawless Victory!' his brain answered by reading the description next to the number. The base experience might be different here, but the most you can ordinarily get from the first rival battle is 70 Exp. points.

This particular fact didn't come from any memorized algorithm, but from witnessing all rival battles first-hand.

During a time when only his player characters' names were Ex and not his real one, he had played through each version of every main series game at least once, each time with a different starter, gender, and team. Every generation has at least three versions (Red Blue Yellow, Gold Silver Crystal, Sapphire Ruby Emerald, etc.), meaning he knew how much Experience every one of the three possible rival battles should yield. At level five, Squirtle, Totodile, and Piplup all yielded seventy Exp. points in Gens One/Three, Two/Four, and Four, respectively.

But a total of seventy Exp. points was no where close to five hundred.

We don't know how much the Flawless Victory mechanic impacted our gains, his brain continued. Did it double Experience gain? Triple it?

Wouldn't the Flawless multiplier be times seven or something? Ex asked, doing a bit of rough math by ballparking five hundred divided by seventy.

As it stands, I have absolutely no idea! his brain declared dramatically. And excitedly.

That was helpful.

But x7 seems unreasonable, his brain continued. Most multipliers don't go higher than x2 in the main games.

His brain then promoted a few facts to common memory.

Traded pokémon – that is, pokémon originally caught by other trainers – earn x1.5 normal Experience.
Starting in generation 4, Internationally Traded pokémon earn x1.7 Exp.
Trainer battles give x1.5 the Experience of Wild battles.
Having your pokémon Hold a Lucky Egg, which can be acquired from wild Chansey, also multiplies Experience earned by 1.5.
Starting in gen 6, if you prevented a pokémon from Evolving at the level it was supposed to, it would start earning x1.2 Exp every time it battled until you allowed it to Evolve on one of its level-ups.
x1.2 was also the boost to pokémon with 2 hearts of Affection or more – another gen 6 mechanic.
The Experience "O-power", yet another gen 6 mechanic, actually could reach x2 Experience earned, but it only lasted minutes at a time. The weaker versions were only x1.5 and x1.2, also only lasting a few minutes.

And don't even get me started on all the Let's Go Experience multipliers, his brain thought. I don't think our team's Experience values will be influenced by how well you can throw a Pokéball, so I'm not going to include them.

Ex considered the numbers for a moment. None of them seemed to apply to Charmander's initial battle except the Trainer multiplier, and maybe the Traded condition (even if it didn't apply to Starters in the games). But the seventy Experience Charmander was supposed to get, according to the games, already took the Trainer Battle multiplier into account, and even the Traded condition could only boost that to 105 Exp (or 119, but he didn't think professor Oak would get Charmander from another region), meaning that the Flawless Victory boost would still have to be at least x4, maybe x5.

That list of multipliers is all well and good, Ex thought 'out loud'. But...

But what about Flawless Victories? his brain completed the unasked question. That's not a mechanic from the game, which is why we need to do the mental legwork ourselves. We need to figure it out. We need... his brain trailed off dramatically. To. Do. The. Math.

* All damage calculations will be based on the Pokémon Damage Calculator at calc(d)pokemonshowdown(d)kom. Replace the k with a c and the (d)s with periods. IVs and EVs don't have too much of an impact at low levels, but for wild pokémon assume they're at 15 out of 31 and 0 out of 252 - completely average. I might make them higher or lower if I want something unusual to happen, like a level 4 Rattata surviving an Ember from a level 8 Charmander and still having enough health to tank a Growled Scratch; if Charmander had gone for a Scratch, that is.

Or you might not care at all about the background calculations; I know I didn't when I read a similar fic in a different fandom. But I did appreciate that they were being done in the first place then, and maybe you'll feel the same way now.