Capítulo 1221: 15
Trovita Island is one of those places you don't really expect. Part of this is due to its lack of population, part of this is due to its unique pool of Pokémon that call it home.
However, the main reason is due to its location.
Trovita Island is one of the smallest islands in the Orange Archipelago. In fact, prior to the formation of the Orange League, it wasn't even considered an island of its own. Trovita was a part of Mandarin South, the largest island of the Archipelago, located less than a quarter mile away from Trovita.
Not even joking. The only thing separating Trovita and Mandarin South is what is essentially a moat.
Due to their close locations, along with the fact that Mandarin South had a bad habit of trying to hold monopolies on many products, it wasn't unexpected that Trovita's situation used to be like this. That Trovita was also largely uninhabited, nobody cared.
That is, until the Orange League took shore.
The coalition of the Archipelago's leaders came together a while back and basically told Drake that he could have his four Gyms, provided that these Gyms were settled based on tourism levels.
Some islands, such as Kumquat, already had high levels of tourism, and to keep this level up they were given a Gym. Others, such as Mikan and Navel Island, had low tourism levels. These islands were host to small towns, not cities, and seemed more interested in self-preservation as opposed to looking good for strangers. These islands were given Gyms so that tourism could start to take root.
This strategy worked quite well. Mikan Island became well known throughout the Kanto and Johto regions for their pristine beaches while Navel Island became the dream of hikers.
And then there was Trovita Island.
The blunt truth of the matter was that Trovita Island was given a Gym not because it had high tourism or that the island could use tourism, but because it was located in the south. Kumquat is the northern-most island in the Archipelago, just as Mikan is the western-most and Navel is the eastern-most.
Trovita Island was given a Gym purely because Drake apparently had some major OCD and couldn't stand not having a Gym in each quadrant of the Orange Islands.
Originally, Mandarin South was to host the Gym. Similar to Kumquat, the idea was that the Gym would keep tourism levels high. The mayor at the time, however, rejected this proposal. He believed that the Orange League was a farce and would die out within the year, that building a gym would cost more money than it would create. After conflict started to simmer and the other islands began to get angry, he made a counter proposal: they couldn't build a Gym on Mandarin South, but they could buy land on Trovita Island and do whatever the hell they wanted there.
Drake surveyed Trovita then, with Robyn, the woman who was to run the Gym, and the pair found themselves quite happy, which led to the deal being accepted. The money became an issue, but Drake had a simple solution that nixed the issue in a matter of months. His Dragonite.
Apparently, his Dragonite is a seriously randy dude, randy and more than willing to shack up a Ditto for the sake of making eggs to sell. Drake went to breeders, bought like twenty of the transforming puddles of goo, and let his dragon go to town. That's actually how Drakes own Ditto became a pat of his team, it was the only one that would fight Dragonite off. He purchased the western bank of the island and built a gym on its coast.
And as Winter and I fly over the island, after a lazy trip between islands that took two days to complete, I could understand why Trovita worked out for the Orange Crew.
Trovita was unique even by the standards of the Orange Islands, separated by huge rock-formed spokes jutting out of its waters to the east and south and dangerous whirlpools to the north and west. Save for a thin river creek coming down its southern bank, it's legitimately impossible to reach by sea.
We landed in Trovitopolis City, the city that was perpendicular to Trovita Island. A genuinely massive city, it reminds me of New York. Buildings as far as the eye can see with a people as diverse as the buildings themselves are. This city had a Pokémon Center, a four-story building that was dwarfed by its skyscraper neighbors.
It was only a little past 4:00pm right now, but Winter had been flying for a while and I was relatively exhausted. Even though I could challenge the Gym right now, it didn't serve any purpose to rush.
.
"We hope to see you again!" Nurse Joy called out as I exited the Center, well rested and mediocrely fed.
The wind was pleasantly cool, the sun perfectly warm. Mandarin South had that dream temperature going on for it right now, completely unaffected by the winter season encompassing the rest of the world.
Damn am I gonna miss this when the Hoenn League starts up. Not only will the temperatures be vastly different, but the Pokémon Centers will actually have lines, I'll need to fight for food, and actually have to camp.
Of course, camping is certainly not a bad thing. On the contrary, it's far better to go camping here than on Earth! One of the best, more glorious thing I have come to find out about this world is something nobody else could possibly understand.
There are no mosquitos here. More than that, there are no bugs in general.
It's true! The only bugs in this world are Bug type Pokémon, similar to how the only fish are Water types and the only birds are Flying types. These folks don't understand the annoyance that is camping because it's not an annoyance for them.
But yeah, Hoenn.
Come to think of it, I never mentioned my plans for after the Orange League, did I?
Well, the Orange League isn't accredited by the Pokémon League, similar to the currently being built Battle Frontier. Even if I won the Orange League, and I have every intention of doing so, nobody will care in the grand scheme of things.
Hoenn though. Hoenn will give me my true test.
I could have gone for Kanto first, or Johto. I'm actually quite curious about Sinnoh and the other regions after Gen Three. Once more, I stopped playing the games with Fire Red and Leaf Green, and I stopped keeping up with the show halfway through the Hoenn seasons. The fact that I know nothing of those other regions and such by online rumor and word of mouth is actually quite exciting.
However, Hoenn was a strategic choice. Kanto and Johto were out purely because I wanted to keep away from the influence Lance held. I don't mind being associated with him, but the less possibility for it to occur, the better. The reason I didn't go to one of those regions I know nothing about, like SInnoh or Alola, is precisely because I know nothing about them.
Remember, I proudly accepted my bitch card in my previous Gym challenge. I want to avoid these regions until I have more experience under my belt, and the amount of experience I have on my own in this world sums up this last week.
Not nearly enough to go into a completely unknown area.
But Hoenn? Hoenn I know, if only a little. I played the games, but I know little with regards to the influences the anime held on it. I know enough, but that amount I know nothing about is in that sweet spot area.
In simpler terms, Hoenn's gonna be great.
Anyways.
I released Winter from his Poké Ball and mounted him. A short, five-minute-long flight brought us to the entrance of the Trovita Island Gym.
I returned him and ran the doorbell, waiting patiently.
Moments later, the electric door opened. A boy looking to be my age, possibly older came into view, dark eyes looking me over sleepily while running a tan hand through messy maroon hair.
"Yeah?" he yawned.
"Uh, I'm here for a match with Robyn."
Scratching his belly, the kid yawned once more, nodding slowly. He invited me inside and gave a quick tour of the Gym. By quick tour, I meant quick. The Gym was just that small. He brought me to what I assumed to be Robyn's office and kicked the door open, startling the woman inside who had been going through something or other on a computer.
Dark red hair, same as the boy's, rolled down from her scalp to the middle of her back in gloriously thick curls. Bright green eyes hidden behind thick glasses studied me, eyes belonging to a woman in an hourglass figure that many women I once knew would kill for. Dressed in a pencil skirt and a white blouse top, she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose in interest.
To put it simply, Robyn was a milf.
I seriously hate being ten right now.
And yes, I'm aware that I keep flipping between loving it and hating it. I take advantage of the opportunities my age presents me, but I also note the opportunities that my age prevents me from taking.
Messing with an adrenaline junky?
Perfectly good fun for a ten-year old.
Flirting with a milf?
Absolutely not going to work for a ten-year-old.
"Yes?" Robyn asked, her voice lilted and breathy. God, but that's a voice a phone operator would actually pay a fair salary for. Which is saying something.
"He's here for a Gym Challenge mum!" the boy at my side said, still rubbing at his eye.
She nodded loftily at him. "Thank you, Rudy. Do me a favor and wake your sister up. After that, cart the randomizer over."
He grumbled but complied without a word of further protest.
She turned her attention back to her computer, typing quickly. "Name?"
"Jon Snow."
She paused, shoulders starting to shake as she continued her work, chuckling under her breath. "You have no idea how glad I am to meet you so soon. Danny was raging to the rest of the Crew about you the other day. Cissy actually updated her rules too, banning flight and Teleport from her challenge in case you came by."
The ever-so-smug smile that sprouted on my face was unintentional in action, not that Robyn was looking at me. Her eyes were firmly glued to that screen.
"I do hope you'll continue to give the Crew a bit of a hard time," she continued, snickering.
"Does that include yourself?" I asked, eyebrows rising.
She shrugged, smiling lightly. "If you can, sure. This is my last season as the Trovita Gym Leader. After eight years, I've earned enough money to officially retire. Rudy will be taking over in my place; my Pokémon all like him and listen to him."
With dramatic press of her keys, she finished whatever she was doing and turned to me fully, smiling wide. "Just some random facts."
Well… I guess this is the Gym that specializes in randomness.
Rudy came back then, dragging a small cart with a curious machine one it while a little girl with his hair and big blue eyes follow along. Must be Mahri.
"Now," Robyn began, bringing the machine towards her person. "My challenge is simple, you've actually already passed the qualifier. My qualifier is to reach the Gym without the aid of a ferry. Just your Pokémon. Most trainers don't have a Flying type large enough to carry them, especially not in the Archipelago, and it's a legitimate challenge for Water types."
Mahri started to snicker.
"But you're here and I'm not complaining." Robyn fiddled with the machine, grabbing a plug and leading it to an outlet in the wall of the room. "My challenge is this: a three on three Pokémon battle. The gimmick is that you can't pick the Pokémon you plan to use."
She turned the machine on, a blue lit screen coming online. "This picks it."
I blinked. None of this computes with my memory of the anime.
Which is entirely reasonable. The anime showed that Rudy was the Gym Leader when Ash challenged it. It never even alluded to the existence of Robyn, which goes to show the effort of character building the show went into its side characters.
"What you do is place your Pokédex inside the machine, or manually type on its keypad if you don't have one, and input every Pokémon you've caught into it. The machine will then randomize the Pokémon you own and choose three. Should one be away, I will allow you time off to collect them. Depending on the type of Pokémon the machine selects, I'll try my best to mimic it. Say it selects an Electric type from your roster, I'll fight that Pokémon with an Electric type of my own. The winner of the battle is the one that wins two battles."
A little harsh to people that can't use the transfer system, but the gist is simple enough. I dug through my fanny pack and grabbed my Pokédex, casually ignoring the now combined snickers of Rudy and Mahri. Even Robyn looked at me in bemusement.
There was a small slot dedicated to the Pokédex with a keypad next to it. I placed my dex into the open slot, and watched as the machine cycled through a serious of noises, the screen shuffling through pictures both the Pokémon I own and the ones I've seen.
It let out a ding, and three pictures were shown on the screen.
There was a normal looking Charmeleon to start off with, which meant Drogon. I could totally work with that.
Next was a Gliscor, which meant Thoros. Good.
And finally…
…
…
You have to be fucking with me.
Magikarp.
.
I told Robyn that I needed to fetch my Magikarp and that it'd take a few days at least. I don't think she believed me, but seeing as it was a Magikarp, she likely took pity on me and gave me a week. If exceeded that time, she'd consider my challenge cancelled.
Yes, I lied straight to her face. Not my proudest moment, but I'm in panic mode.
My Magikarp, while a King and able to use Tackle, was still a Magikarp. Which means he's essentially useless in combat.
He can barely breathe outside of water, his movements are slow even in water, and he doesn't know how to use his bulk effectively. My intention was to slowly get him accustomed to improving all of these aspects of his personage, but that's obviously not going to happen.
So, we trained. It was a one-on-one circuit, with Baelish Teleporting him back into the water when he made mistakes. I tried my damnedest to show him what I wanted, tried to get him to an acceptable level. It wasn't to be. Even if I had a month to do this, no Magikarp would be strong enough to do proper battle.
At least in the process of training him I discovered his tell. Magikarp is a sucker for attention. He'll do anything if you give it to him. He's like a compliment whore from myspace.
I've just got to hope that Drogon and Thoros win their battles. If they don't…
Well…
Yeah, if they don't I'm pretty much fucked.
The Gym Battle between Robyn of the Trovita Gym and Jon Snow of Shamouti Island will begin soon!" Rudy exclaimed, stood on a platform in the middle of the battle arena Robyn and I were facing off at. "The rules for this battle are as follows. There are no substitutions for either battlers. Each trainer must use a Pokémon of the same typing. Once a Pokémon has been defeated, the opposing training must return their own Pokémon."
He eyed me lightly, returning his attention to the field. "The match begins when the challenger releases his first Pokémon."
I stood stock still.
I've had battles before. Against Liza and Claire's Gym Trainers and against Johnny Kenway. I have experience with this. But this is my first official battle, a proper one in which my loss results in consequences. The consequences are light, being that I just have to wait two weeks before challenging the Gym again, but still.
This would be an experience.
Grabbing a Great Ball from my belt, I released the Pokémon resting inside of it. Thoros appeared in a flash of light, the cry of "Scor!" echoing through the ring.
Robyn hummed, an Ultra Ball in hand. From it came a slate grey beast of a Pokémon, covered in thick armor with light red eyes and a drilled horn atop its head.
"The battle between Jon's Gliscor and Robyn's Rhydon will now begin!"
"Thoros!" I called out, my microphone making my voice echo. Genuinely didn't know that Gym Battles involved getting mic'd up. "Iron Tail! And don't forget the teeth!"
He obediently shot towards Rhydon like a bullet, swerving and rolling about in the air like the prankster he was, his tail alight in a metallic silver whilst his mouth was closed for once.
"Rhydon," Robyn stated blandly. "Stand your ground. When that Gliscor comes close, grab it by the tail."
Rhydon took a stance, legs wide and arms out, a menacing look in its eye.
Thoros got as close as reasonably could, just two feet outside of Rhydon's range, when he opened his mouth, revealing enlarged teeth shimmering in teal energy.
Even though I worked with Magikarp primarily, I didn't leave Drogon and Thoros hanging. Drogon primarily worked on the moves he knew, improving them in preparation. Thoros though, I had him pair up with Umber once more. I wanted him to get Ice Fang down, I really did.
And it was yesterday when it happened. He finally figured out how to summon Ice type energy, somehow learning how to do this when Umber got frustrated and just slapped him with an Icy Wind. The Ice Fang he was using was at half strength, more like a Frost Fang than anything, but it was a start.
Rhydon made to grab Thoros, arms flailing after the bat-like Pokémon, but Thoros was able to dodge well enough to plant an Iron Tail right onto its chest. The Rhydon winced mightily but recovered quick enough to grab Thoros by the tail just as he was retreating.
Thoros wasn't done though. While Rhydon held him, he twisted around and sunk the Ice Fang that had been charged up into the hand that held him. It cried out in pain.
"Rhydon," Robyn murmured into her mic, looking worried. Her gaze hardened quickly, words serious. "Ice Beam."
Shit.
Oh, wait. Shit. That might work.
My lips quirked. She did say I could mess with her. "Guano."
Even from here, yards away, I could see Thoros light up with the command.
Rhydon opened its mouth, a sphere of Ice type teal taking shape over its tongue. That was perfect, because Thoros just twisted around and fired an overpowered shit into its open mouth.
Rhydon's eyes went wide, hacking and coughing. It released Thoros so that it could claw at its tongue, actual tears falling. It started to hop around in its state of surprise, shaking the field with each movement.
I wasn't about to let an opportunity to go away. Thoros had escaped and was back in the air, where he belonged.
"Dark Pulse. Volley."
Thoros cackled, claws open as spheres of darkness took shape inside of them, inside his mouth as well. As one, he fired all three at the panicking beast, an explosion of blackness covering the field in a shadowy mist.
When the mist faded, I bored witness to Rhydon on its back, swirls in its eye and shit dribbling from its mouth.
"Rhydon is unable to continue the match, the first round goes to the challenger!" Rudy said, eyes wide at the state of the Rhydon.
I returned Thoros silently. Robyn was staring at Rhydon like she couldn't believe it, her glasses lopsided and her expression lost.
Then, that lost look went away, replaced with an angry sort of determination. She returned the Rhydon, releasing an unusually quiet Ninetails.
Drogon was up.
The golden Charmeleon came out with a roar, pounding on his chest. Rudy took him in with even wider eyes, shocked by his coloring. Robyn just kept her cool.
Shaking his head, Rudy returned his attention to field at large. "The battle between Robyn's Ninetails and Jon's Charmeleon will now begin!"
"Drogon, use Drago-"
"Attract."
"-n Rage!"
Wait, Attract? Fuck.
Drogon's tail flame grew in size, color turning green in a showing of Dragon type energy. Ninetails was faster, going from a quiet fox to a flirting mess. Sadly, Drogon fell for it. The flame of his tail returned to its normal size and color as he tried to follow her around like a puppy.
"Hyper Beam."
No!
"Drogon! Get out of there!"
Alas, he did not. If anything, it looked as if he thought that Hyper Beam was the secret to his getting laid. He took it with a smile on his face.
Thus, Drogon got KO'd in one hit.
…Shit.
I returned him, and with a sigh released Magikarp, the fish flopping around helplessly on the clay arena. His size caught the mother-son pair by surprise, but they were quick to suppress it. He was just a Magikarp after all.
On the opposite side of the field, a purple star with a red gem took the stage.
"The battle between Jon's Magikarp and Robyn's Starmie will now begin!"
Magikarp wasn't looking at me. If he was, I'm sure he would be heartbroken by how put off I seemed.
I just waved my hand, knowing how this would turn out. "Tackle."
Better to go out fighting than to just accept it.
He wobbled around like, well, a fish on dry land would, and made to jump at the Starmie face first.
He barely moved a few feet.
I stoically withheld my groan. Robyn did not, instead snorting out a laugh. "Better luck next time."
Yeah, I'd need it.
"Starmie, Thunderbolt."
Starmie began to rotate wildly in the air, its gem turning yellow as a bolt of electricity was shot towards Magikarp.
He cried. Not only was he crying in pain, but he was legitimately crying. Writhing in place, flailing as best he could, I felt so much pity. And even through the pain, even through the crying, I could see his eyes.
Magikarp was trying to take it.
Damnit.
I didn't want him in this kind of pain. I wanted him to slowly gain experience and to gradually increase his ability to take a hit. This was just cruel.
I raised my hand, Magikarp's Luxury Ball exposed, catching Rudy's attention. Just as I was about to announce my intention to forfeit to him, I found my attention caught by a flash of white coming from the field. I turned, and saw something amazing, something awe inspiring.
Something terrifying.
Magikarp was glowing.
He was evolving.
It was quick. He literally shot into the sky, his body thickening and snaking around the whole of the arena we battled on. When the light died down, the form of a titanic Gyarados was available for our viewing pleasure, probably three or four times the size of a normal Gyarados. This thing was like, a hundred feet tall.
And he was mad.
From his newly formed three-pointed crest that was situated between his eyes, looking more like a trident than anything, a familiar glow formed. Yellow energy coursed over the appendage, wild and matching the rage in his purple eyes, and with a savage roar that likely reached the city of Trovitopolis, he fired a Thunderbolt easily thrice the size of Starmies at the Psychic types form.
Starmie made a series of noises that seemed like a mix between static and the scream of a child. Gyarados let up after a little bit, what was left of his attack being a soot covered star flopped on the ground in a twitching mess.
It was an exceedingly rare event, though given the fact that this is a King gene, it might not be. Sometimes a Pokémon can learn a new move when it had firsthand experience with the energy that move produced. That's how Thoros figured out Ice Fang, Umber used Icy Wind on him until he got it.
This goes doubly so for evolution.
When a Pokémon evolves under the strain and energy of an attack, it is entirely possible for that Pokémon to gain knowledge of that attack in the process of changing form.
For a Gyarados to learn how to use Thunderbolt though, a Pokémon that had a duel weakness to Electric types by way of being both a Water type and a Flying type… Well, that was certainly unexpected.
Robyn returned her Starmie, staring at my Gyarados with unnaturally wide eyes. While he was distractedly looking himself over, she ran to Rudy and grabbed him, dragging the kid back inside of the Gym. I could hear the doors lock behind her.
Now, it was just me and him.
He seemed to be of the same mind, snaking his massive head down to stare me down. Holy shit, his tooth was bigger than I was!
Hesitantly, I placed my hand on his scales, rubbing the coarse ridges, hoping beyond all hope that I wasn't about to be eaten. Slowly, Gyarados closed his eyes, the rumble of a purr startling me.
Wait…
I wasn't dying?
Actually, Gyarados looked less likely to hurt me and more likely to beg for more attention.
He was acting like he did as a Magikarp.
…
I seriously lucked the fuck out with this guy.
"You did amazing," I told him, his purr increasing in volume. Compliment whore. Still, I wasn't embellishing anything. That statement was completely honest. "I thought you were going to do alright, but you did even better than that. And look! You evolved!"
He preened, butting his lip against my body, knocking me to the floor. I didn't let up on my petting, if anything, I increased it, bringing my other hand up.
And now that he was a Gyarados, a thought that had come to mind when I first captured him was racing through my head, unwilling to be forgotten.
"Y'know," I cooed. "I haven't given you a name yet. Not like the rest of the team. I'd like to, if that's okay."
If the Gyarados as tall as a skyscraper didn't want a name, then he would not get a name.
Fortunately, he did not give me a negative. Warbling, he nodded his head into me, pushing me into the clay painfully.
"You'll be called Nagga."
The name of the ancient sea dragon that the first Grey King of the Iron Islands battled. The beast whose very bones were used to craft the sea salt throne, bones used to create the crown of salt and stone.
Not that I intend to let my Nagga bite the dust and be used for crafting materials.
Now, there's only one problem left to deal with.
How in the hell am I supposed to feed this monster?
Winter/Pidgeot – Male
Moves: Tackle, Gust, Sand Attack, Agility, Double Team, Whirlwind, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Steel Wing, Twister, Fly, Hyper Beam, Sunny Day, Heat Wave, Attract, Rest, Sky Attack, Aerial Ace
Ability: Keen Eye
Valyrian/Skarmory – Female
Moves: Steel Wing, Wing Attack, Fly, Cut, Peck, Screech, Metal Claw, Metal Sound, Slash, Night Shade, Steel Wing, Icy Wing, Sky Attack, Iron Head, Attract, Dark Pulse, Aerial Ace, Iron Defense
Ability: Sturdy
Umber/Delibird – Female
Moves: Present, Icy Wing, Peck, Rest, Attract, Ice Beam, Hail, Blizzard, Sky Attack, Double Team, Aerial Ace
Ability: Hustle
Thoros/Gliscor – Male
Moves: Sludge Bomb, Slash, Poison Sting, Metal Claw, Dark Pulse, Dig, Guano, Attract, Steel Wing, Iron Tail, Sandstorm, Ice Fang, Crunch
Ability: Sand Veil
Drogon/Charmeleon – Male(Shiny)
Moves: Growl, Scratch, Ember, Ancient Power, Attract, Iron Tail, Metal Claw, Sunny Day, Bite, Flamethrower, Dragon Rage, Dragon Claw
Ability: Blaze
Rhaegal/Bagon – Female
Moves: Rage, Headbutt, Ember, Dragon Rush(Egg Move), Attract, Skull Bash
Ability: Rock Head
Baelish/Nate – Male
Moves: Peck, Leer, Night Shade, Calm Mind, Protect, Teleport, Flash, Confuse Ray
Ability: Synchronize
Nagga/Gyarados – Male
Moves: Splash, Tackle, Bite, Leer, Thunderbolt
Ability: Intimidate
Jon Snow – Male
Date: Jan 17
Badges: Sea Ruby Badge
Held Pokémon: Pidgeot, Skarmory, Delibird, Gliscor, Charmeleon, Bagon, Natu, Gyarados
Stored Pokémon: Dratini
Currency: 13,040
Estado de energía semanal
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