The platter was picked clean by the time Fennel came back from whatever she was busy with. Numsy somehow managed to eat himself into a food coma and I was not looking forward to cleaning up the ashes left behind in his wake. He will eventually wake up to a sugar rush and literally burn up the extra calories filling the room with smog. Rena lost her appetite after seeing Numsy go to town, so she was scouring the waiting room taking in her new surroundings."Sorry for the wait I just got word from Professor Juniper that she will be back in about an hour.""That's okay my team was stuck on a boat for three weeks, this is a luxury compared to that.""Are you planning to enter the circuit with those two Pokémon?""Yeah, me and those two go way back. Numsy the Numel is my starter Pokémon. I met him when I was seven years old, he kind of becomes uncontrollable around food. Rena my vulpix has been around since I was eight, she's real responsible and likes it when you brush out the tangles in her fur. "Fennel kept looking at both my Pokémon with undisguised interest. While clinging onto the hem of her lab coat."I never had the chance to examine either a vulpix or numel before. Would you mind if I log their characteristics in my journal?""I guess that would be okay as long as you don't pull on Rena's tails, they're really sensitive."Fennel pulled out a ruler a notebook, a few measuring devices a hand-held infrared Thermometer and a blood pressure monitor. Rena got nervous observing all the strange equipment being pulled out of the closet and jumped on my lap."Vuuul"Fennel, seeing that Rena was getting nervous tries reassuring her. "It's fine, see? Let me demonstrate on Numsy first."Numsy still sleeping off the food coma barely reacts as Fennel measures his limbs and checks his temperature. She was about to stick her measuring tape inside his crater when I quickly put a stop to her probing."Numsy has boiling magma inside his body. He can erupt when someone puts something inside his hump the conduit is extremely ticklish.""Really!? This is why I became a scientist the natural world has endless possibilities!""Okay… So, what's working as a professor's assistant like?""Amazing! this lab has any equipment a burgeoning professor might need. And all the trainer owned Pokémon are darlings! The professor I intern under is gone most of the time though. His field of study is distribution and biology, so we do a lot of fieldwork."While Fennel was busy pokehandling Numsy, she answered my questions with enthusiasm. Seemingly Fennel took care of most of the busy work around the lab. The current professor, a man named Cedric Juniper, has a flighty personality and tries to spend as much time outside of civilization as possible. Leaving almost all the administrative duties to his assistants."We do have a skulk of vulpix and ninetales living in Unova near route 14 but the region doesn't have any numel or camerupt living here. So far none of our sponsored trainers have managed to catch a vulpix for us to study.""I caught Rena on Mt. Pyre. Mr. Moore my sponsor, told me that vulpix usually reside near places of high spirituality and I wanted to try my luck. Numsy just decided to walk into town one day. Where I come from numel are one of the more common Pokémon.""You are directly sponsored by an elite four from the Hoenn region? What impressive feat did you perform to get his attention?""Well… I couldn't afford a poke ball to catch Numsy so his granddaughter let Numsy crash at the Lavaridge gym for a while. Afterwards he offered me a job at the gym, and I guess we made a good impression. ""Num!"We made some small talk. Fennel clued me in on the ins and out of the Unova circuit which areas hold Pokémon dangerous to humans. Rena was finally comfortable enough to let Fennel take some measurements but was adamant that she was not to touch her tails, so I had to do those myself. Finally, during the late hours of the afternoon professor Juniper showed up at the lab. He was a jovial fellow with dirty blond hair and a goatee his eyes forming a permanent squint. After having a quick word with Fennel, he walked up to me and offered his hand in greeting."Hello there young man and who might you be? Most of our new trainers have already started their journeys this circuit."Shaking his extended hand, I replied. "The name's Egon professor I just arrived in the Unova region.""We didn't expect you to arrive so soon. Word of you came in about a month ago. Let me tell you young man your application for citizenship caused quite the commotion with the pencil pushers at immigration."His eyes darted across my face seemingly wanting to find something."Hmm the resemblance is uncanny.""Excuse me professor?""Ah never mind that. Now according to the letter, I received from the higherups they want me to conduct a paternity test on you. Would you terribly mind parting with some of your mucous membrane so we can run some tests on it."The professor started digging into his desk drawer until he found a test tube and cotton swab. Handing them over to me expectantly."Now just swipe your inner cheek a couple of times and deposit the collected material inside the test tube. Me and my trusty assistant will convey you the results in the morning."Doing as the man said I swabbed the inside of my mouth and handed over the filled test tube. Seeing as the professor would be busy for the rest of the day me and my team retired to the nearest Pokémon center, applying for the league circuit entry while there. The nurse Joy behind the counter was visibly surprised that someone was entering the competition this late but made no comments and quickly registered me and my team. After dinner me and my team decided to immediately use my new license to for a free overnight stay at the center and promptly went to sleep. The following morning, we had a quick breakfast before doing some simple exercises to get the blood flowing. Exercising sort of became standard routine while working at the gym. All the gym trainers and Pokémon are required to do so according to the gym's guidelines, because not every gym Pokémon gets to battle daily, and Mr. Moore wanted to make sure we didn't get lazy resting on our laurels. This Pokémon center had a single gym equipment room with some of the basic machines, nothing fancy like back home at the gym, but we could make do. My Pokémon both being quadrupeds just needed some basic cardio to get the day started. After completing our morning minutiae, we headed towards the professor's lab. I rang the doorbell and was met with a familiar wizened face."Egon come inside; we have much to discuss."I was being led into the building by a somewhat jovial professor Juniper. We quickly skipped past the reception hall and entered what looked to be the professor's private office, the sides of the walls decorated with diplomas and certifications."Now I don't know how to tell you this, so I am just going to be straight with you and say it. You are indeed the son of a Unovan national. However, your biological father has been missing for a few years now which is not unusual him being an active trainer and all. Your extended family however is still very much present in the region and one individual in particular is a prominent league official. Since in the eyes of the law you are officially an adult, we can't share your private information with the rest of your family without your express permission. How would you like us to proceed from here?"This seemingly innocent question posed quite the conundrum for me. This could prove to be the solution of all my financial problems, not to mention having someone high up in the league vouching for me would turn into boon when I start acting on a few of my plans.'Should I really start riding on another's coattails when I have already resolved myself to get to the top on my own merits?'"Would it be possible to keep my new family in the dark for now? When I set out on my journey I decided to try and make it on my own. Gaining preferential treatment even indirectly would go against my principles."I couldn't help but notice a newfound respect gleaming from the professor's eyes. Clearly my declaration surprised the old codger and why wouldn't it? Not many trainers would say no to money and political power."That's very admirable Egon and certainly I will try to keep quiet about your newfound status. However, that ambassador was quite forthcoming to his colleagues after having met you in the Slateport embassy. Your grandfather has probably already been informed that he has another grandchild.""Is my fraternal grandfather that involved with the newest bureaucratic gossip? that he already knows about me before I was even told I had an extended family?"Professor Juniper stands up and scours his wall of memorabilia before finally finding the photograph he was looking for and hands it over to me."This photograph was taken during the inauguration of Unova's current champion thirty years ago the man who's hand I am shaking is your grandfather.""…""You are joking right?"Shaking his head, the professor's mouth turned upwards showing his amusement and mirth at my expense "No I am not, Alder our reigning champion is your grandfather.""Oh! Now I get it! This is one of those shows with the hidden camera crew hiding behind a fake wall. You pranksters can come out now, you almost got me."One of the poké balls strapped to my sides suddenly started shaking and with a distinctive popping sound Rena materialized onto the chair next to mine. She quickly proceeded to leer at me promising future punishment if I didn't quickly calm down."Vuuul!""Oh my, what a fine specimen she is. The fur on her tails is quite lustrous and well-groomed no tangles at all."Rena spared the professor a glance and gave him a small huff to acknowledge his clearly accurate observations. Before turning around and giving me her full attention. She and I both disdained dramatics and when my grandparents turned on their old rickety TV to watch Gallade's daughters we both couldn't get out of the house fast enough. Numsy loved watching that show. The loveable scamp being too slow witted to recognize the poor-quality writing for what it was.Realizing I was acting hysterically very much like those poorly compensated kirlia ranchers. I quickly regained my composure and gave Rena a look of appreciation. "Thank you, Rena, for being the voice of reason that leads us hotheads.""Pix!" she replied as the fox settled down on my lap.I never really considered my familial relations having any kind of impact on my career as a trainer. 'Should I revise my plans? Some of my schemes will be tougher to pull off under scrutiny.' Thinking about what to do I came up with my request."Is it possible to keep Champion Alder in the dark about me coming to Unova for now? I kind of want to take my shot at the gym circuit unmarred by expectations. The most battle experience my team has been from watching at the sidelines inside the Lavaridge gym.""Yes, I see you have already acquired a sponsor. This will help out immensely during your early career, but I am sorry to say the Unovan league association has set the minimum age for competing in the League conference at 12 regardless of your legal status. You could still partake in the circuit but would be barred from entering the tournament. There have also been talks about raising the age requirement to 14 in a couple of years so Unova would be a poor starting place for a younger trainer like you."'Dang there goes my secondary objective of making it big in Unova, but this could also be helpful in my goal of going unnoticed by the league.'I doubt league officials monitored lower-level badge matches. I was still planning on winning a couple of badges while here. The wager fights from a gym challenge are typically extremely lucrative for challengers to encourage successful trainers to keep participating in the circuit."That's okay I guess… the main reason for us coming here is to find some more fire-types to join the team. Hoenn's landmass is mostly below sea level so, there are precious few fire types despite the tropical climate.""Hmm fire types huh… being the region's professor naturally I am an expert when it comes to all sorts of Unovan Pokémon. Especially when it comes to distribution, that's my specialization."Professor Juniper ruminated for some time before finally giving me a resolved look."Okay! I've made up my mind. How about while you are in Unova you work for me gathering data on fire type Pokémon in the region?""Really!? But I am already sponsored by the Lavaridge gym any Pokémon I capture past my trainer carry limit is to be taken care of by the gym.""It's fine. I am mostly interested in any data you will manage to acquire on the natural habitats of the Pokémon you plan on catching. A lot of the time I am required to be stuck in this lab, so I have not had much chance to venture out and observe those habitats myself. Additionally… I would like to acquire more data from this vulpix and any other Hoenn native fire type you carry with you."The rest of our conversation was very fruitful. The nature of my "employment" was as follows: I provide him with detailed reports on any fire type Pokémon I encounter, and the lab would pay me a modest sum for any new information or leads I could provide to them. It was more of a freelance gig since the lab didn't provide me with any guaranteed income. However, I did walk away with a certain piece of specialized equipment all the prospective lab trainers received. "Behold Rena! The most vital tool in a trainer's arsenal.Now let's see what Dexter has to say about you."Vulpix, the Fox Pokémon. It controls balls of fire. As it grows, its six tails split from their tips to make more tails. This Vulpix knows the following moves: Ember, Tail Whip, Quick Attack, ???, ???, ???"Geez. The professor wasn't kidding about the lack of information on foreign Pokémon. This job might be easier than I thought if their database is so starved for information.""Vul!""Yes, extra snacks for you tonight as thanks for attracting Professor Juniper's attention."This Pokédex is a technological wonder. It automatically records data on all my registered Pokémon with their weight and height listed together and their recommended nutritional intake. The device also came with a habitat list although incomplete the list was handy for trainers that were searching for the more commonly encountered Pokémon. Finally, it also doubles as my ID.Me and my crew made one last stop at the Pokémon center to fulfil a promise I made to my sister before setting off. The obligatory long distance calls every time I got situated in a town with adequate facilities. This would be the first time I could use a center's payphone for free.Smartphones are not widely available yet, so people still have to use computers for this sort of thing. Luckily the center isn't too far away from our home, so it takes little effort from our nurse Joy to let Zinnia know her brother was calling. After waiting for a bit my sister appeared on screen with an exasperated look on her face."Hey big bro! You finally decided to call me after three weeks?""You know I could've been stranded in the middle of the ocean or eaten by a school of Sharpedo right? Aren't you happy to see your brother again after all this time?""You? Hmpff… how is Rena? You better hope you've taken good care of her fur during the voyage! Nurse Joy told me sea air is bad for a Pokémon's coat of fur, especially so for fire types!""We are both doing fine, the professor in Nuvema town gave me this." I wave my newly acquired Pokédex in front of the screen."No way for real? They must have really run out of competent Unovan trainers to allow a foreigner to walk away with a Pokédex free of charge.""Legally I am not a foreigner since that deal concerning my dad came through. Also, the Professor Juniper hired me as a freelance trainer. So technically this nifty gadget here still belongs to the lab. Anyway, since I am officially recognized as a Unovan citizen it won't be much of a hassle for me to catch Pokémon in this region."At that news my little sister's face lit up. "Really!? Could you please catch a Pokémon for me too? You caught Numsy when you were seven, I am eight years old now and totally mature enough to have a Pokémon of my own! I'll even pay you back for the Poké ball promise!""All right All right, you remember the list of Pokémon I gave you before I left for Slateport? Pick any one of those and I'll make sure to catch one for you."I did try my best to remember all the native dragon types in Unova before I left and compiled an arguably short list of potential wild dragons I might encounter on my journey. It has been a while since I played the games of course so the list might not be all that accurate. I left a few of the dangerous ones off the list I don't care how talented a trainer my sister is I am not getting her a Deino as her starter. Those things chewed on everything including their naïve trainers."Dei…"I scowled "No! those Pokémon are dangerous and aren't even on the list, pick something more realistic please.""Uhmm… maybe an Axew or a Horsea? I would also really love to have a Dratini!"By the sound of her voice, I can somewhat judge which one of those she would prefer to have. Horsea is an ocean Pokémon you could find in any region. Most seafaring fisherman know intimately where the local Seadra spawning grounds are on the grounds of having to waste money fixing their broken nets any time they venture too close.Axew were localized inside the Mistralton cave system and the ones looking for a worthy trainer live on the upper levels challenging travellers and their Pokémon. This was a problem for me since my sister wasn't here to prove herself worthy. Full on dragon types are prideful and most of those Pokémon wouldn't accept merely being caught as gift for someone's baby sister.And finally, Dratini arguably the dragons with the most easy-going temperament and probably wouldn't mind at all being caught as a gift. The problem lay in the fact their line has parents who will not let their juveniles out of sight. Forcibly catching one is almost impossible due to this and their nesting grounds are shrouded in secrecy. When it becomes known to them that humans managed to figure out where they raise their young, they'll split the scene and relocate. If the games are anything to go by there should be a colony inhabiting the lake surrounding Dragonspiral tower.I already checked out those places on the pokénet. The tower and its surroundings are off limits to any trainers without at least six badges or those who have received special permission from league personnel.I was preparing to catch a starter for my sister for a long while and trying to remember as many details of my past life as possible. This was the moment I could put all that knowledge to use. Even thinking about all the hurdles, I would have to cross in order to catch a Dratini for my sister gave me a headache. By the time I could catch her one she will have been waiting for months. The more logical option would be to catch her a Horsea and maybe poke my nose around Dragonspiral tower later when I am a more established trainer."I'll see what is available. Do mind that two of those Pokémon need large bodies of water to swim in Zinnia. Our town's hot springs won't be enough in the long run."She made a cute frumpy face "I know! Before your next call I will find a way to accommodate aquatic dragons."The rest of our conversation was very enjoyable talking about when grandma is finally going to pick a successor to the shop, since both of us have made up our mind on becoming Pokémon trainers professionally. How master Quagsire might be able to help her set up some sort of pond in our backyard. Only to receive some disturbing piece of news from her side."I got a letter from my dad telling me that he and mom will come visit us next month. And you never guess what Pokémon delivered the letter?""A Pelliper?""No! A Noivern and a big one too! She almost shattered our windowpane with an awesome screech attack just to get my attention."I gave her my best deadpan expression. "Dragon otaku.""Stop calling me that! Otaku only means passionate and yes, I do admire dragon types."Outwardly I was joking, but inside I almost had a panic attack. Now of all times did her father decide to interact with his daughter!? After I am gone and unable to stop him from planting dangerous ideas inside her head. I am pretty sure he was going to try and talk her into joining their Rayquaza worshipping cult. If she accepted, I would lose contact with my sister until she came of age and started her own journey. Getting her a starter Pokémon just became my top priority. If only in an attempt to dissuade my family by marriage from enticing her with a dragon of her own."Something just came up lil' sis and big brother has gotta run. I'll call you back within the week. Bye love you!""Hold up! What's the sudden ru…" Click*Numsy popped out of his ball and gave me a questioning look. "Num?""It's going to be okay little dude no way some old fogies are going to upstage her big brother." We rushed our way into route 1 being one of the safest travelling areas for trainers starting their journey if they stuck to the route of course. Rangers made no guarantees of safety for numbskulls who left the established paths. This place also had a direct connection to the ocean. And according to the residents in town is also an estuary the place where salt and freshwater meet. Perfect for catching a wide selection of water type Pokémon. Now I had no fishing rod on me, and my fire type Pokémon and I had no intention of swimming in those deep waters, so the plan was to find a fisherman and ask for help with my predicament.I made my way to the shores of this route spotting passing the occasional Patrat and an adorable group of Lillipup being watched over by a grumpy looking Herdier. Any other time I would have loved to interact with these unfamiliar wild Pokémon, if only to get some training battles in now that I was allowed to do so, but I came here with only one goal in mind.It didn't take long before I spotted a blue haired teenager fishing on an old rock groyne. He had a Pokémon floating next to him, a marine colored Frillish, one look at their appearance and I knew that I had my guy."Uhmm… excuse me? You wouldn't happen to be a knowledgeable fisherman, would you?"
"Sshhh you are scaring the water Pokémon away. Wait until I pull in my next catch before you start talking to me."
Finding no counterargument to his solid reasoning I sat down next to him and stared at the churning waters. His Frillish seemingly content to do the same. Normally I would never get close to any ghost types however, my pressing need overrides any compunction I have for the irksome specters.
We just sat there and stared at the open ocean for what seemed to me for like a half hour or so. I took my time studying his equipment. Water type Pokémon are way smarter than the standard fare aquatic life in my previous world, and none could be deceived by simple bait. The lures in this world are very colorful in order to stand out against the pale blues of the sea and have no hooks on them. Fishermen had the option to get scented baits, but at the end of day that was all just fluff. For water types lures are just an open invitation to a trainer battle, and maybe running the risk to be captured. The Pokémon pulling on that bait used the ensuing battle to measure the trainer's potential, and generally didn't mind getting caught.
Suddenly the line grew taut, and a vague fish shaped shadow formed on the surface of the water. The teenager's Frillish immediately stood at attention ready for the upcoming battle. With a splash the water's surface breaks, and out appears a shabby looking fishlike Pokémon with old man liver spots. I was mildly excited even in Hoenn the native feebas are pretty rare only being found in the Fortree river. This teenager must be feeling extremely lucky hooking in such a rare Pokémon. Contrary to my expectations the teenager gives a resigned sigh in response to this amazing discovery.
I couldn't help myself and pulled out my Pokédex to analyze this maritime wonder.
Feebas the Fish Pokémon Feebas's fins are ragged and tattered from the start of its life. Because of its shoddy appearance, this Pokémon is largely ignored. It is capable of living in both the sea and in rivers.
Despite the Pokédex' harsh remarks about its appearance the Feebas still gives a hopeful look to its prospective trainer. The situation remained static tension filling the air. After a while I nudged the guy in the direction of the waiting Feebas.
"Feebas are pretty rare and this one obviously wants you to be its trainer no battling necessary. Why don't you capture it?"
In response he gave me a resigned nod and pulled out one of his poké balls. Accurately catching the fish in a cyan colored dive ball. The Frillish picked up the floating ball and brought the item back to its trainer.
"Great catch friend! I am betting that Feebas is going to be winning you many a competition in the future."
He gave me a certain look to see if I was being serious or not. Being completely genuine about my opinion, I offered a hand in greeting.
"The name's Egon from Lavaridge town."
He shook it back "Marlon from Humilau city. How come you are so excited about a Feebas? Don't get me wrong all water type Pokémon are great but, Feebas isn't a Pokémon most people get excited about. Even your Pokédex is of the same opinion."
"It's true that feebas start out weak but it can learn way more moves than your standard fare magikarp, and if you manage to evolve it, the effort you put into training it will more than repay itself."
"Evolve it!? I come from a long line of water type specialists, and I am pretty sure no such further stages have been discovered. My family does appreciate the line because they keep our aquariums free of lichen and pond scum, but they are not suited for use in competition."
"You know Wallace from the Hoenn region, right?"
"His ace Milotic evolved from a feebas. Wallace managed to keep it a secret so far, but I was able to figure it out in addition to the method he used to evolve her."
'The bait has been set now to see if I've got a bite.' With my complete inability to catch a Horsea on my own this was a golden opportunity for a trade of equal value. So far none but Wallace has managed to get a milotic on his or her team. 'Sorry Wallace bro but this is for my sister's sake.'
"Oh, that's far out man so what's the secret? A Milotic would for sure bring extra foot traffic to Humilau's future walk-through-aquarium."
"My dad calls it the Marine Tube. It's supposed to bring new life to Humilau's declining tourism. So, we can finally beat those uppity Undella townsfolk. He says it's to commemorate the friendship between our two towns, but I just know as soon as the tourists arrive in Humilau they won't ever want to leave."
"Hey, you're an expert on water types, correct?"
"The best! except for maybe my dad."
"You wouldn't happen to know where a trainer might be able to catch a Horsea around here? My sister is old enough to receive her starter Pokémon and Horsea is one of her favorites. I train fire types myself, so I am kind of out of my element here literally. Any assistance is appreciated."
"A Horsea huh...? Your sister has great taste that's an excellent starting Pokémon for beginners. They can be found around route 17 and up. You can get there in like 5 minutes with a water Pokémon. The best way to catch them would be to use a fishing rod like mine. The male Seadra in the area are very protective of their offspring so diving for them is not the smart thing to do. If a Horsea comes up voluntarily though you are free to catch them."
'I have to admit he is really knowledgeable for what I assume to be a 12-13 year old. No wonder he eventually becomes the gym leader of Humilau.'
"Okay so here's the deal, you help me catch a Horsea, and in return for your help, I'll tell you all about the super-secret method to evolving your Feebas."
"You've got yourself a deal Egon. I am all about helping beginner trainers start off with an awesome water type."
He gets up stretches for a bit before pulling out one of his poké balls and throwing it in the ocean. What surprised me was the Pokémon that materialized out of the ball.
"It's really rare to see a wailmer around these parts. That must've been one lucky catch."
"Wailmer here beached in front of our home one day. It probably got separated from its pod during their annual migration to warmer waters. This one is my starter Pokémon. Now hop on he is big enough for the both of us to ride."
Cautiously I tried putting my feet on Wailmer's back to test out the surface tension. Its smooth skin making it kind of difficult to find perch, but eventually I managed to get the hang of it. The whale Pokémon happily shooting jets of water out of its blowhole as it took off in the direction Marlin pointed at.
"Say I've been wondering how do most wailmer trainers deal with the possibility of evolution? I mean at any point this ball of sunshine can balloon up to more than 7 stories tall. Too big for most competitive fields."
"They mostly don't. Wailords usually get released back into the ocean by irresponsible trainers who didn't think ahead. Their diet is manageable at that size because their species mostly lives on zooplankton but that takes long periods of time in the ocean, so their trainers are waterlocked. My dream is setting up an official gym in Humilau city with a waterfield large enough, so me and Wailmer can still do battle even after his evolution."
"That's an amazing dream I am sure you can pull it off."
'Marlin seems like a responsible fellow who can be trusted to keep a secret. No reason to believe those Sootopolis snobs will believe a fire type specialist like me figured it out.'
"Can you keep secret the fact that I told you how to evolve feebas? Any maybe limit the amount of people you share such information with? I would prefer trainers not overcatching the already low quantities of wild feebas in their natural environment.
"Absolutely we from Humilau know the important role each and every water type has. Without feebas in our rivers a lot of other water Pokémon would suffer as well."
Having been reassured I decided to tell him the truth regarding Feebas' evolution.
"Regarding evolving feebas, there are two ways. One is done by acquiring a prism scale and slipping it between Feebas' scales. Prism scales are expensive though since they can only be produced by milotic. The other way is helping your Feebas produce its own prism scale. This can be done by putting your Feebas on a diet consisting of pokéblock or poffins made with dry-tasting, blue-colored berries. Some sort of compound in those berries acts like an antioxidant which has a beautifying effect on Pokémon. Those properties make them popular for use in the contest scene. This is how I believe Wallace managed to unknowingly evolve his starter since he is also a master class coordinator."
I admired Wallace for his grit, after learning about his story. He went from being a poor no name coordinator that wanted to prove any Pokémon can be beautiful, to one of the most successful trainers in Hoenn. The gym leader of Sootopolis took him on as an apprentice, shortly after he found success with his newly evolved Milotic. The method of evolving feebas remains a well-kept secret. Feebas is already a rare Pokémon in the wild. When trainers begin to figure out the true method to obtaining a Milotic the species will probably be caught en masse. Wallace never did share his secret not even to his colleagues at the Sootopolis gym.
We finally arrive at a clearing where the seawater is shallow enough. Luckily, I bought a pair of rubber boots as part of my explorer's kit keeping my socks and cargo pants dry. Route 17 was almost all water and the currents are unnaturally strong going from one place to another in a chaotic pattern. My guess is that this was the doing of some of the stronger local Pokémon that live in these waters. Marlon and his wailmer parked at a spot where the water level was just below our knees.
''Well alright then apprentice fisherman! You are lucky I always carry a spare rod with me just in case. Now tell me everything know about fishing.''
What followed was a long Q&A session with a very passionate teenager.
"Did you know that while fishing in a sea route like this it's required by law to wear polarized sunglasses? When the sun's glare reflects off the water you won't be able to spot the Pokémon you are reeling in. This route being part of the open ocean means you have the real chance of hooking in a more dangerous water type like Gyarados or Sharpedo. Seeing those Pokémon before they break the water surface might save your life."
And on he went giving out fishing details left and right. Not that I couldn't appreciate his enthusiasm, but I scorn all water related activities even in my previous life where I was forced to go to the beach by my parents every weekend. The sand got everywhere, you can cut yourself on jagged coral, and it was a pain to get all that salt off your skin and hair. Were it not for my sister's needs I'd be half-way across Striation City already.
Finally, after some setup we cast out our fishing lines his tackle soared into the moving currents. The spot I picked out was near a moss-covered rock formation I figured a younger horsea would not be able to withstand the rapid currents of these open waters.
"Aside from horsea these waters are best known for wild alomomola but if we're lucky we might also spot some qwilfish or finneon."
"Are you looking to catch any of your own?"
"For sure I have just started my own journey and my dad has given me express permission to catch as many water types as I want."
'As many water Pokémon as he wants? Damn, I am lucky that I won't be competing this year. His dad must be loaded being able to feed and house that many.'
The conversation slowly quieted down after that. Each of us focused on catching our own quarry. When suddenly his line started to wiggle, and the teen quickly caught on what was happening and expertly reeled in his catch. What sprang out from the water's surface was a Pokémon I was not unfamiliar with. I quickly pulled out my Pokédex in order to confirm my suspicions.
Finneon, the Wingfish Pokémon. Because of its twin-tail fins that flutter like wings when swimming, Finneon has been called The Beautifly of the Sea. The line running down its side can store sunlight. It shines vividly at night.
Marlon cheered. "Amazing I haven't caught a finneon yet pay close attention this is how water type Pokémon do battle. Go Frillish! let's show them our strength."
To my estimation both Pokémon are in the beginning stages of their development. Making Frillish have an overwhelming advantage especially if it has developed the water absorb ability. Fishlike Pokémon in their earlier stages rarely have more than two moves in their arsenal. I was expecting to see Finneon lose the battle being unable to do much of anything and I wasn't disappointed.
Finneon took the lead by firing off a watergun Frillish didn't even make the effort to dodge that attack and seemingly enjoyed being doused confirming my suspicions on its ability.
"Frillish grab Finneon and use absorb!"
The ghost floated over to the fish and grabbed hold of it using its appendages. It tried to escape for a while but was unable to struggle out of Frillish' grip. Blasting water guns and using pound with its fins is completely ineffective. At some point even Marlon was beginning to feel sorry for the drained fish and ended it. A well-practiced throw with a poké ball ended the foregone conclusion of this battle.
I decide to give him some commentary on his battling skills.
"You know it feels kind of unsportsmanlike winning a match like that. Finneon wasn't experienced enough to have learned other move types."
"It's fine Egon, Finneon wanted to be caught, and I won't mistreat it. Some Pokémon prefer to live with humans it frees up their schedule from having to compete for food sources and territory all the time."
We spent the rest of the afternoon fishing in that same spot. Marlon had all the luck eventually catching another two water type Pokémon an Alomomola and a female Frillish the latter one he didn't even need to battle. The Pokémon gave one glance to his male Frillish and decided to capture herself immediately. As far as frillish go his seemed to be a very handsome one in terms of the species' standards. With each successful capture my mood plummeted. Hoping I haven't wasted my time by coming all the way over here. 'Maybe it's my fate to be a lousy fisherman? All my time spent around fire types must've rubbed off on me somehow.
"Again...?" 'Give me some of your luck! If not a Horsea any water type will do. Just give me a sign that I am not cursed lord Arceus.'
"Horsea!" as he called out that name a little seahorse Pokémon popped out of the waves.
'Look at those stunning red eyes and that cute little dorsal fin. This would've been the perfect gift for Zinnia! too bad I wasn't born with a blue thumb like this guy.'
Marlon is looking at me "go on catch it."
Hope started blossoming within me.
"Are you for real!? This is your catch, isn't it?"
"I can come back here at any time to catch myself a Horsea. Go on prove yourself in battle against this little one."
'This guy….! I take back all the things I thought about you behind your back. But firstly…'
Horsea, a Dragon Pokémon. In this unique Pokémon species, thousands of Eggs hatch every spring, and then the male raises them himself. It makes its nest in the shade of corals. If it senses danger, it spits murky ink and flees.
As soon as Rena materialized in the shallow depths of the shoal we were standing on. I knew that I screwed up.
The water might only be knee length for humans, but it was deep enough to completely envelop the little fire type. I quickly scooped her up and put her to rest on wailmer's back. She gives me this damning look promising swift and brutal payback for my transgression.
"Uhmm Marlon buddy. Can my vulpix use your Wailmer's back as a platform for this battle? She does not like the water at all, being a fire type."
"You only have fire types on you? If so, I guess Wailmer and I could help you out for this match."
"Thanks, you are the best Marlon!"
"Sea sea!" Now the Horsea is also giving me flack wearing an impatient look on its face as if I should hurry up and bring out a Pokémon that can battle already.
"Sorry! Be prepared to become my little sister's first partner!"
Immediately Horsea shoots a watergun in the direction of my Vulpix. Rena, having prepared for the beginning of this encounter, expertly dodges. Wailmer might not be the biggest Pokémon but with a diameter of 7ft (2m) it still gives my Vulpix enough space to dodge incoming attacks. Now considering Horsea is a water type and we're standing in the middle of the ocean fire attack will be even more ineffective than usual luckily that's not all we have up our bag of tricks.
Rena's eyes glow blue and a wave of energy envelops Horsea's body who was at the time readying another potshot in our direction. Suddenly Horsea acts startled unable to fire off another attack. Not taking this chance for granted we use our final trump card.
This time multicolored energy shoots out in a hypnotic pattern in short but concise pulses. I had been surprised that my Rena knew this egg move unrefined as it was. We had put in a lot of effort until she could use the move effortlessly, I knew her line is inclined towards psychic abilities despite not having the typing, so its efficacy was nothing to scoff at.
As expected, the Horsea falls in a deep slumber, and slowly sinks back into the deep sea. Before Horsea completely disappears, I throw one of my cheaper regular plain old poké balls at it. All the time I spent practicing throwing potshots with rocks is finally paying off. The ball hits Horsea right on the head and sucks her inside. The Horsea hadn't taken any damage but was still sleeping making the capture rate as good as if we had weakened it. The ball begins steadily shaking in the water and after the third shake makes that all important sound.
"We did it! I caught a Horsea!"
"Perfect Rena you nailed that mid-air twirl."
Marlon and his Pokémon started giving me this weird look. 'What is that about? Everyone knows you strike a pose when you capture a Pokémon.'
"Really thanks a lot, Marlon. You just made my little sister really happy. If you ever have a need for obscure information about Pokémon, I am your guy."
"It's nothing, friend, just an afternoon's work for me and my Pokémon. Let's get to shore and get something hot to drink. First rule with winter fishing in low tide is to make sure to keep your core temperature up."
We travelled all the way back to route 1 and stopped at Accumula town's Pokémon center. The nurse Joy in charge gave us an earful about traveling in the dark, but the both of us were determined to sleep in a soft bed tonight. The next morning, we exchanged contact information, and he left town to fish some more in our old spot.
"Don't worry Horsea my sister is going to be a way better trainer for you than me."
Me and the newly caught Horsea are having a conversation. I get that in his view I was the one who rightly caught him. So, the need for this conversation before I send him off to my sister in Lavaridge.
"C'mon don't be like that. My sister is going to be a future dragon master. She'll help you evolve all the way into a mighty Kingdra."
"Yes, she knows how. So, like I said a way better trainer and she is as cute as a button. Look here's a picture of her. Ain't she the cutest? A big brother worries you know? I can rest easy if she has a strong and dependable Pokémon like you looking out for her."
At those words Horsea puffs up and gives me a nod in assent.
"Perfect. I'll let the nurse Joy know to get the transfer machine ready."
And now to make my obligatory call to Zinnia. She won't be expecting the nurse Joy at the Lavaridge center to have a little surprise for her.
Ever since big brother left for his journey a month ago, Lavaridge has become so boring there's no one to play with me after school. Grandma is running the store and Grandpa keeps telling the same old stories. My brother always has a new story to tell. Like those Exeggutor in Alola, who live under sunlight so strong they grow freakishly tall and become part dragon type!
'He already gets to go on his journey it's not fair! I don't even have a Pokémon yet. When he comes back from his journey, I am going to surprise him with all the cool dragon-type Pokémon daddy will let me have when I move in with him and mommy.'
Thanks to my brother I've already made up my mind which Pokémon I am going to catch for my team. Brother says catching legendaries is a no no unless they're jobless. Lord Rayquaza protects our planets from crashing meteorites and space aliens. But he didn't say anything about not catching the eon Pokémon living on Southern Island.
The doorbell rang and I rushed up to greet our visitor. Not many people come over and grandpa's wartime buddies only come on Sunday to play cards. I opened the door and there stood nurse Joy.
"Hello Zinnia sweetheart your brother is on the phone back at the center."
"It's about time hmmpff! That knucklehead should've called yesterday."
I followed auntie Joy back to the Pokémon center. While we were walking, she had a suspicious expression on her face like she was hiding something.
'People underestimating me just because I am younger, I'll show them all when I become World Champion!'
We entered the center and Auntie led me to the closest center booth. My brother's stupid face is already plastered on the screen.
"Heya Lil' sis sorry for the late call I just woke up its morning here."
"Did you catch any new Pokémon yet? Knowing you it's probably going to be a fire type."
"Well, I made a new friend over here he's a trainer who specializes in water types.
Met him on route 1 and he helped me out with a special project of mine. His name is Marlon and if the topic is on catching Pokémon with a fishing rod, he's an expert."
"What's your special project? C'mon you can tell me; I can keep a secret."
"What's that behind your back Zinnia?"
I turn around and I see nurse Joy standing there holding up a Horsea with a gift ribbon wrapped around its body.
"He's so cute! He's so cute!"
"Now now young lady, that's not how we introduce ourselves to new Pokémon in this center."
"I am sorry nurse Joy. Can I please hold Horsea now?"
She gave in to my request and I get to hold him. "You are my very first partner Horsea. My name is Zinnia and I'll take good care of you from now on."
Horsea blows a couple of celebratory bubbles in my face to let me know he is excited too.
Chapter 8 – Red-hot Comrade
It is truly a wonderous sight, seeing my little sister receive her first Pokémon. She couldn't contain her happiness, and she was showering Horsea with affection. Nurse Joy was secretly taking photos of this happy moment. We wordlessly communicated with each other, and I knew that I could count on her to save those pictures for my scrapbook collection.
"Calm down Zinnia we still need to go over the details. Since you are not ten years old yet, Horsea will remain registered to me for the time being. Since you are my family member the league won't make a fuss about it. It's kind of like I did with Numsy and the gym. When an official asks you about it just tell them you are watching over your big brother's Pokémon for a while. Once you turn ten, I can officially register Horsea under your name."
She nodded to let me know she understood. Horsea oddly mimicking her gesture. 'These two already started bonding right away, good.'
''Now Horsea is a water type, so you will need to find a big enough area for him to swim in for at least 6 hours a day. Seek out our old master he has much wisdom to share, and being a water type himself he will know all the best spots for swimming around Lavaridge town."
"…Why did you start talking funny Egon? And no way can the sand baths owner's dopey Quagsire teach me and Horsea anything useful except for sleeping on the job."
'This bratty… no wait calm down she is just ignorant of master's teachings like any new initiate.'
"Are you sure? Master Quagsire has a lot to teach new disciples like yourself. He is a proficient in the arts of icy wind and water pulse not to mention his ultimate technique the rain dance. Of course, it's up to yourselves to prove worthy of his teachings."
My sister seemed conflicted. On one hand learning those moves could be a boon for when she starts her journey. On the other hand, there is a disbelief in my master's skills. To make her decision easier I decide to sweeten the pot.
"If you follow my master's training diligently, I will keep an eye open for any dragon scales. I come across during my circuit run."
"Really!? You are the best big brother!"
Over the course of the past four years or so, I have been teaching Zinnia everything I know about Pokémon that the researchers haven't discovered or disclosed yet. Including the existence of the fairy type. Set to be rediscovered by professor Sycamore in about 10 years from now. Honestly how a whole new typing flies under the radar for this long is a mystery to me. At least my sister knows all her types by heart unlike the rest of these sheeple.
After going through Horsea's dietary needs with Zinnia, and the very knowledgeable nurse Joy from Lavaridge, we ended the call.
'I am sure that she's not planning to do anything reckless.'
There is a reason why kids that young are usually not allowed to have Pokémon on them. Property damage being a chief concern.
'No, it's fine you practically raised Zinnia on your own she is a responsible girl.'
"I know, I should stop worrying. Let's get to Striaton City and win us our first badge!"
Route 2 is like most other early digit routes, extremely safe. The league made sure that novice trainers didn't have to deal with any dangerous Pokémon while they are still inexperienced. The rangers pulling double shifts to make sure only harmless Pokémon live on these routes. According to the map getting through this route would take about 2 days on foot, and that's without any flying or riding Pokémon on hand. The wild Pokémon inhabiting this trail are also some of the weaker and common ones. You have your standard variety lillipup and purrloin mixed in with flocks of pidove and scurries of patrat. It is rumored you can also find a colony of wild wynaut and wobuffet on this route. In any case, none of these Pokémon are on my capture list.
What this route lacked in biodiversity it compensated for with inexperienced trainers. This late in the season the trainers that got washed out of the circuit either went back home or remained in the routes to train some more and try again with the gym leaders. This was the perfect route for me to earn some cash on wager battles.
"Scraggy dodge it! Follow up with a low kick!"
As scraggy was closing in on us trying to punish the lower accuracy move, he suddenly stopped midway and fell asleep on the ground.
"What's happening!? Are you cheating? No way your fire type learns sleep powder!
"No, but he does learn the sleep-inducing move called yawn. Didn't you notice the gas Numsy expelled in Scraggy's direction? Whatever, Numsy use bulldoze!"
"Wait wait! We give up here's your prize money."
The battle ended in our favor as usual. The chumps on this route haven't put much effort into being serious Pokémon trainers. Treating their journey as a vacation from their schoolwork and parents. With that kind of attitude, no wonder they couldn't hack it.
Wager battles are kind of interesting the amount that goes into a bet usually depends on how many badges each trainer has. There are no obligations to bet more to match a trainer who has more badges than you. However, an accomplished trainer would never waste his time challenging rookies for easy money. At our current level we are only winning around 20 poké dollars per win. A negligible amount for someone trying to expand his team. Even with food and lodging covered my team will need evolutionary items, technical machines not to mention potions and antidotes for when it gets scruffy here in the wild.
Winning 5 matches barely gets me a bargain bin potion from the pokémart. Hence the need to start earning badges and find more skilled opponents.
I got distracted from my rumination by my partner Numsy.
"What is it boy? Something bothering ya?"
Over the years me and Numsy have gotten close, so even though I couldn't understand pokéspeak it was easy for me to recognize his tells and it was clear something was making him anxious.
"You worried about the lack of real challengers?"
Don't worry we have been together for the last 3 years. We have way more experience than anyone that walks around in this area just you wait till we get to the gym for our real challenge.
Striaton City is the first big city we encountered; the aesthetics are completely different from cities in places like Hoenn. The place was actually built like a metropolitan city, in Hoenn the buildings are all built with interlocking pieces of wood no iron or steel whatsoever, Striaton is all brick and mortar. What is surprising is that the city is way cleaner than any of its counterparts in my old world. No garbage littered the streets and side alleys.
'When you have native Pokémon like trubbish and garbodor whose staple diet consisted of eating people's trash your cities will stay sparkling clean. Who knew?'
No Pokémon with an external temperature higher than 50 °C / 122 °F are allowed outside their poké balls.
This sign had the image of a crossed out Slugma.
This sign confused me at first since we have slugma coming and going all around the town of Lavaridge, throw a rock in a random direction and you have a good chance of hitting one. Until I remembered that the streets of Lavaridge are made of mountainous rock and/or crushed up seashells. Striaton's streets are all made out of asphalt. Asphalt pavement can start to melt just from the sun's rays alone.
Even in this life I have a bit of a rebellious streak just because of that sign I am letting Numsy out of his ball. His insides are filled with piping hot magma, but that's all-internal heat. His skin and fur are actually pretty low temperature for a fire-type.
'Let's see if any officer Jenny dares to impede on our rights'.
"It's nothing Numsy I just wanted to show you the city. Look at all these different kinds of people and Pokémon this is not something you can witness in Hoenn that's for sure."
"HEY! you kid with the numel!"
Me and Numsy both get startled while a loud red headed blur smashes into Numsy's side. Upon closer inspection it's a kid about my own age maybe a year or two younger with a candid pansear on his shoulder.
"Where did you catch this burning competitor stranger?! This Numel is smoldering with potential you've gotta share some of your secrets!"
As the boy was grappling my Pokémon hints of volcanic ash started floating out of Numsy's back. He was on the verge of blowing up, and the rambunctious kid had no idea he was about to get sent to the burn ward.
"Uhm… firstly I would advise against spooking my Numel like that. He tends to erupt when people he doesn't know get all up into his fur."
"Ah sorry trainer. But seeing a numel is such a rare occasion they are an extremely rare species to find here in Unova."
"That's okay, but there are better ways to show your burning passion for fire type Pokémon."
The crimson red hair and the Pansear on his shoulder gave me a pretty good guess as to this kid's identity. As a fellow fire-type specialist I completely understand his fervid temper.
As we were talking Numsy seemed to calm down smoke no longer billowing out of his hump.
Deciding to confirm my suspicions I went ahead and asked this excitable fellow for his name.
"And what might your name be fellow fire-type enthusiast?"
"My name is Chili, and this is my partner Pansear."
"Nice to meet you two. My name's Egon from Lavaridge town and this is my starter Numsy."
"Lavaridge!? Have you ever met Elite Moore?"
"That old man? Me and his granddaughter are childhood friends his gym is sponsoring me for my first league circuit."
"Amazing! So, you have met his ace Blaze the Typhlosion?!"
Chili kept following us on the way to the Pokémon center. I learned a lot about him during our conversation. He is the same age as us but being in Unova he is not allowed to compete until he's 12. So, he spends most of his days out of school just wandering around and helping his parents run their successful restaurant.
"Yes, it sucks dude. I already obtained my trainer's license in Hoenn and was planning to come to Unova to catch some new fire types and compete, but Professor Juniper told me about the age restrictions a few days ago. Now I can challenge gyms, but not much else I am not qualified to participate in the grand conference or any other tournament that's being hosted by the league."
Chili gives me a puzzled expression. "So why don't you go back and compete in Hoenn?"
"Because there aren't enough naturally occurring fire types in Hoenn to form a diverse team. Even Mr. Moore caught most of his team in Johto. It's whatever, I guess… I'll just catch me some rad fire-types over here, do some gym challenges and then go back."
We arrived at the center, and I recalled Numsy back in his ball before handing him and a balled Rena over to the nurse Joy behind the counter. Usually check ups will take about 10 minutes Pokémon centers mostly relied on machines for diagnostics before the personnel performed any medical treatments on the Pokémon. Battling being the favorite past time and being in a big city like this the nurses have almost no time to spare doing it the old-fashioned way.
"By the way do you know the way to the Striaton Gym? I still have to make my appointment for a match."
"My parents run the gym out of our restaurant. I can introduce you and schedule an express match if you'd like. The season is already half-way done so there will be no scheduling issues."
'Arceus bless generational nepotism for making my life easier.'
Gym ownership tended to stay in the family, because being a gym leader is a real cushy job. I've gotten a glance at Mr. Moore's bank statements and his income from being a gym leader is way higher than what he is getting paid by being an elite four member. Winning wager battles against unprepared youths is nothing compared to his league salary. The league association has to since gyms need to constantly replace their older Pokémon to adjust for each badge level.
I turned back to my excitable new friend.
"That's perfect let's go after this. We haven't had anything to eat yet either does your place also sell meals for Pokémon?"
"That's a given, our tamato berry ratatouille is a fire type Pokémon favorite!
The Striaton gym is this huge posh building with marble pillars on the outside and a glass topped roof. 'Seriously, these people have the strangest sense of aesthetics.'
The outside is a bit gaudy, but the inside was what you would expect from your typical restaurant. The interior is partitioned into three sections with open drapes separating each corridor. In the chamber all the way in the back of the restaurant I could spot a battlefield filled with rocky outcroppings and coarse terrain.
Chili and I separated once we walked into the building, he went in the back to ask his parents about the possibility of me skipping appointment procedures. Whether he is successful or not did not matter to me and my team, and all we could think about is filling our stomachs. We haven't eaten since this morning and with the number of battles we had on the way over here my team deserved to eat something other than vitamin supplements and food pellets. I signaled a waitress to let her know I was looking for a table and she promptly guided me to an empty table to take a seat.
"Come on out Rena Numsy!"
My partners materialized on the table.
'Luckily, they're still smallish right now so it is possible. Once they've evolved, I can't do stuff like this anymore.'
"Chili brought us back to his family restaurant which also doubles as a gym. Before any of that though let's get something to eat with all the money we've earned. You guys deserve it."
The cute looking waitress came back with the menu and to take our drink orders.
"We'd like to have a whole pitcher of Moomoo milk please."
Moomoo milk is almost nothing like the regular milk from my previous life. It tasted better, was more nutritious and helps Pokémon recover from fatigue. Naturally it didn't come cheap, but I was prepared to order as much of it as my team liked this is their special day.
"As for our meal whatever the chef recommends for two very hungry fire-types and I'll have the basculin chowder with greens on the side."
Most people in this world are avid vegetarians given the humanlike intelligence of many Pokémon species, but I hold no sympathies for basculin. They are the Unovan equivalent of kanto's zubat population you can find them in every river or body of water in the region and they have no mercy in their hearts for people or other Pokémon accidentally finding themselves in their territory. They've become such a plague that other water types get displaced from their homes if the basculin population in that area reaches critical mass. They also hate each other for some reason getting into fights with schools of the opposite color. Maybe that's nature's way of keeping their population down when they become too numerous.
'It has been a while since I've eaten any sort of meat and I kind of missed it. This won't become any sort of regular thing but if it's available I won't deny myself a taste.'
Chili reappeared again this time wearing a snaggy looking butler uniform. Without much fanfare he immediately spots the table I am sitting at and takes a seat opposite to mine.
"No way Egon you also have a vulpix!? You must be the luckiest trainer ever!"
I try my best to douse his enthusiasm. Rena unlike Numsy really can't deal with energetic fellows like Chili for very long. She was already giving him the evil eyes after his outburst.
" "Have" is sort of a strong word. We met on top of Mt. Pyre in Hoenn. Rena's mother after some vetting approved of me catching her for my team. She is kind of prickly towards strangers though especially loud ones."
"Oops… sorry Rena I was just so excited this is my first time seeing a vulpix outside of a textbook or television. They are extremely rare to see in Unova."
"Really? Professor Juniper told me Unova has a skulk of them living near route 14. Vulpix and Ninetales usually pick places with high ambient spirituality to make their burrows in. Tell me is there some sort of special shrine there or a cemetery?"
"Ahh! There is. We call that place the abundant shrine. Channelers worship something they call the embodiment of fertility there."
"That must be it then. If you are looking to add a vulpix to your team, I would begin my search around that shrine. Make sure to ask one of those channelers to guide you through the area. Places like that attract wild ghost types like moths to a flame. Also, if you spot any vulpix alone it would be best to ask for permission from its parent first before attempting to catch it. Wild ninetales tend to be very old and powerful given the rather long lifespan of the species. They are not above cursing someone they feel has disrespected them."
We continued talking about fire types, methods for raising them and their known locations in Unova. Until the food and drink arrived. The ratatouille was a big hit with Numsy but not so much with Rena. She was a very selective eater and loath to try unfamiliar food. I shared some of my chowder with her and she seems to prefer that over the purely vegetarian dish. The moomoo milk was a big hit with her though. She couldn't get enough of the stuff it got so bad that at the end she had milk dripping out of her nostrils. I fished out one of the restaurant's napkins and started wiping clean her face. While we were enjoying our meal Chili seemed content with just watching my Pokémon eat.
"So, what did your parents say about scheduling an early match?"
"They can do it, but it will take place at the tail end of today's opening hours. You will have to wait for a bit."
While I was busy with grooming Rena and Numsy, Chili and I talked about all the fire types we were planning on adding to our team. The kid had ambition instead of taking over the family gym and running it with his brothers, he wanted to strike out on his own, and run a gym exclusively for fire types.
"Egon how are planning on dealing with the gym? Striaton gym's challenge is uniquely difficult for trainers like us that specialize only in one type. My mother will most likely field one of the gym's panpour against you in this upcoming battle."
"Don't worry about how I am going to deal with it. Me and Rena have a strategy in place for water types. If it's only a 1st badge level Pokémon we can handle it. We just have to make a good showing for ourselves."
All gym matches are recorded and put on the gym's website in order to connect sponsors and promising trainers. Battling wasn't all about how skilled trainer and Pokémon are in battle, looking good in front of the camera was a big bonus towards your marketability value for companies. Seeing as I had two sponsors that didn't give me any monetary compensation this could be my big break. Naturally I wasn't expecting anything to come of this, sponsors usually didn't watch 1st level badge matches, but a guy can hope.
"Let's stop talking about the match for a second. How are you planning to get closer to your goal Chili? I get that you still have to wait another 2-4 years before you can start your circuit run and make a name for yourself."
"Uhmm… just that I guess I can't start catching more Pokémon until I qualify for my trainer's license. In the meantime, I just help my parents run the gym together with my brothers."
I decided to help my new buddy out with his predicament I can remember how I was at that age waiting another four years basically doing nothing of note must be really stifling to him.
"That is true, I guess. However, I can put in a good word for you with Mr. Moore. Now that I am no longer working at the Lavaridge gym they're short-staffed and could use an intern. You would be learning all about taking care of different kinds of fire types."
"Really!? No wait I still have trainer's school."
"Don't they let you graduate early if you finish all your coursework?"
'This kid sure is a handful.'
"Okay so, whenever you finish up doing that just let me know and I'll give Mr. Moore a call."
We exchanged contact information. I gave him my home number from grandma's Lava cookie store, and he gave me the number of his Xtransceiver. I told him to use that number only if it is for something important, I can't have granny acting like my secretary for social calls. Buying an Xtransceiver suddenly rose to the top of my to-do list. The wager money I can win from this gym will help a long way towards that goal.
A mature looking woman walked up to us going by her facial features I could tell she was chili's mother.
"Yes, that'd be me ma'am."
"We are ready to commence your gym challenge. As per our gym's traditions you first have to complete our in-house quiz before facing me the gym leader in a Pokémon battle."
In the games this gym was all about learning the type matchups, so I was expecting this development. I wasn't worried at all about passing their requirements their standards can't be too high for rookie trainers. She led me to their examination room unlike in the games this Striaton gym tested new trainers with a quiz machine.
Excadrill is a steel/ground type what move types would be super effective against it?
Elektross is an electric type what move types does it resist or is completely immune to?
A dozen questions later and I was done with their test. As expected, an extremely basic overview about resistances and super effectives attacks, but with a trick question here and there. I walked out of the testing area and was greeted by Chili's mother.
"Congratulations for passing our test. You scored a 93%."
"93%!? Wait I am sure that I was supposed to receive full marks."
"On the tenth question regarding moves which would be super effective against a druddigon, you filled in fairy-type. I didn't know you were also a fan of professor Sycamore's work, but his research hasn't been validated yet by peer review. As such I cannot deem that answer as correct."
"Still to know about professor Sycamore's work are you Kalosian by any chance?"
"No, my mother is from Hoenn and my father is Unovan. I just like to keep up to date with scientific research. Say, being a gym leader have you never had a chance to test out professor Sycamore's research yourself? A generalist gym like this must have an alleged fairy type or two in reserve."
"No, I haven't had the pleasure, no native Unovan Pokémon so far has been determined to be of the fairy type by professor Sycamore. Importing nonnative Pokémon isn't allowed by the gym's charter since I am not permitted to use those for gym battles. Trainers in the circuit earning their gym badges need to be familiar with the Pokémon they're facing."
Feeling like throwing her a bone I pass her a nugget of information.
"Actually, I have heard rumors in the scientific community that cottonee and whimsicott have a good chance to be of the grass/fairy type."
She gave me an imperceptible nod.
"Now that is something I could investigate. We have two of their line in the gym, and my eldest Cilan likes to play with them from time to time. If I can help professor Sycamore in any way, I'll be glad to do so. He might even accredit me as a contributor to his research if this pans out. I am Kalosian born you know? Most of this restaurant's dishes and decorations are based on my home region."
"I am sure professor Sycamore would be very appreciative of any help offered."
"You are very mature for your age, unlike my youngest Chili. He could use a good friend like you looking out for him."
Talking with Chili's mom was pleasant she was very knowledgeable and had a quick wit. We headed towards the gym's battlefield I knew my chances to win are pretty good. Most 1st level badge fights revolved around the very basics, and my years observing Lavaridge battles more than prepared me for this match.
"Chili dear why don't you act as the referee for this battle? It's your friends very first gym battle you know?"
Chili like a whipped dog took his stand to the side of the field and readied his referee flags.
"Attention for our last battle today in the Striaton gym it's Egon from Lavaridge facing off against Katarina the gym leader. Only two Pokémon each the challenger may substitute his Pokémon once while the gym leader may not. The match is over if both the leader and/or the challenger's Pokémon are unable to battle."
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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