Chapitre 15: Smoke and Mirrors
Following the morning breeze I was once again on the road with my sight set on first meeting up with Gurkinn's friend somewhere in route 11. What mostly occupied my mind however was the prospects of touring our family's island where I planned to catch another Dragon type for my team.
The Island piqued my interest from the first moment my father mentioned it being a habitat to several species of strong Dragon type Pokémon. Even considering the dangers it became a must-go destination in my travel plans as I'm more than confident to handle the local inhabitants with my team.
Although my current situation does not help in making my journey quicker as Route 11 is a rocky forested terrain that mostly follows through the paths laid on the mountains ascending and descending slopes.
What makes this route more of a problem to traverse was the several false pathways which were the trails created by wild Pokémon making their way through the area. This trails is known to confuse most travelers causing a large number to lose their way. It is also known that a few of the unfortunate ones that followed the trails for days before realizing they lost their way which made Route 11 tiring for most people to traverse.
Luckily that's all it was, tiring but unlike them I have little fear of getting lost with the Travel Gizmo. After months of venturing by foot in the wilderness I came to understand how Ash and his companions from the show always seem to get lost even with a map as the path constantly converges to different detours such as towns or landmarks and keeping track of it all is a challenge all on its own. The upside of being in a new route though is the possibility of seeing a new Pokémon right around the corner.
(Their are even rumors of a colony of the Nido line living in the area which I really would like to see since it was a very memorable Pokémon when I was a kid using it in every Kanto-based Pokémon game even though I have no plan to catch any of them right now.)
Unlike the other routes, there was no other large settlements between Shalour City and Geosenge town however a Pokémon Center stands on the other side of Reflection cave which would provide a place for trainers to rest.
Since I was still near Shalour city there were a ton of trainers around who came here to train which allowed my team to get some battles. The battles themselves are not much of a challenge for the older members of my team but it was a good experience for Gible since it provides a way to refine his mastery over his newly learned attacks.
On that note, the baby shark was finally able to learn the move Metal Claw as the training he got with Milotic truly showed results in helping Gible get a feel for Steel-type energy.
Steel-type moves are truly one of my Dragon type's bread and butter in terms of defense against the bane of their existence Ice types and the still yet to be identified fairy types.
Milotic's training in learning whirlpool however continued as always which is now showing positive results as she has begun to create a meter in diameter swirls of water akin to that inside of a washing machine which was not much but overall a good start.
Zweilous on the other hand still had little progress with infusing Dragon-type energy into his other moves but it was clear he is not gonna stop trying. His mastery over Steel wing has progressed to a adequate degree which will certainly serve as his main source of defense.
This improvement was made possible by the constant battles Zweilous have with both Milotic and Steelix however since both Milotic and Steelix know Ice-type moves it's quite a challenge for Zweilous which greatly developed its moves like Steel wing to combat its weaknesses.
(Still gotta respect his guts as even without the defensive measures we put in place he still stood his ground against the two from the start.)
Whilst taking a break near a river bank, taking a bit of well-deserved rest from the long walk it gave a chance to let my Pokemon enjoy the new location without the stress of battles or training.
Milotic and Steelix always enjoy taking in new places specially those with a substantial body of water where they can take a dip.
Zweilous on the other hand is once again venturing the near by scenery of the forest terrorizing and scaring away the native Pokemon population while being followed by Gible like an adorable henchman.
Its not a strange behavior for the two as its a way Apex dragon type species mark their territory or even places they use as resting spots to make sure no interlopers would disturb them.
It only takes the Dragon types a few minutes to fully inspect the perimeter of our camp before returning expecting for their meal to be prepared as a reward for their hard work.
(Sure enough the time a Dragon type Pokémon does not want to be interrupted is when its eating.)
The river flowed calmly through the forest with roaming Magikarps and even a flock of Psyducks happily playing in the clear water. Since its about to be noon I decided to prepare our lunch.
With every one having their specified Pokémon food blend their overall growth and nutrition is not of any concern as long as I don't run out or forget to resupply Zweilous's special pink Poffin that satiates his appetite or in that note Poffin any of my Pokémon likes there wont be any problem.
.... A few days Later ....
After three days of making my way through the mountainous terrain, I realized that I have reached the more secluded part of route 11. It was apparent due to the lack of trainers around with the last trainer I passed by was around two days ago.
While continuing on the area I was stopped in my tracks by a peculiar sight . A girl running towards my direction like a Linoone overdosed on Carbos supplements.
"Yes! Finally another trainer! Hold it right there!"
"Can I help you miss?"
The girl stopped right in front of me out of breath. Upon seeing her face up close I was surprised as she looked as if a 15 year old Ariana Grande from my past life did not take the pop star route and became an athlete and drunk 3 cups of coffee every morning to start the day. In short, she was an overly hyper teen girl who needed a chill pill.
"Give me a minute , haaaa, I've been going around this forest for a week to catch a Nidoran until I run out of food two days ago ..... so any chance you could spare a pretty lady some food?"
"If I meet a pretty lady I'll be sure to spare some food."
"Come on ....."
"I'm joking I have some to spare"
"Really! Thank you I was worried I had to eat my way through my teams Pokémon food! Can you imagine that a refined lady like me had to go through to consider resorting to such means!"
"No and ..... Here"
I Gave her a sandwich which I have a dozen of stocked in my bag which she ate within a second, its like I blinked and the sandwich suddenly disappeared.
(Magic?)
'....'
Although it was certain that that one sandwich was not enough as she stared at her empty hands as if experiencing great loss before setting her sight on me giving a look as if saying 'Please sir I want some more' like the child from that one old English movie.
"Here's more, this time eat slowly or you might choke. "
I gave her four more sandwiches and without missing a beat she started munching on the food albeit in a more human speed.
"Thank you! thank you! thank you! I'm Anita by the way "
"I'm Al"
"Then Al how can I repay you for giving me some of your supplies"
"I don't know ..... I did not really expect anything back to be honest. "
"Don't be shy were trainers and all that"
"Then ....."
"No dirty thing though I'm preserving myself till marriage"
"Was not considering it from the start. "
"..... Just saying its not in the table"
"Again I'm not thinking of ....."
"Okay you pulled my pretty leg I'll give you a kiss"
"I said I don't need ..... hey hey back away that's my personal space!"
I managed to back off before I got smothered.
"Hmph! ....."
"Why are you pouting! A Pokémon battle will do!"
"Such a shy kid then if a battle is the only thing you want then there is a good spot nearby."
"Fine, but take a rest first you just ate five sandwiches"
I followed her and after a few minutes we arrived at a river bank with a large rocky and sandy clearing. We took position several meters apart in the area finding suitable spots for us for a battle.
"Al are you fine with a 2 v 2?"
"No problem here"
"If that so then lets begin come out Quilava!"
'Quilava!'
Anita called out her high ace rank Quilava of 6th badge level a Pokémon that looked like a porcupine but instead of quills it has fire continuously a blaze on the top of its head and lower back. Its pre-evolve form was one of the three starter Pokémon I liked most in the anime as compared to the other seasons they were each shown to posses funny personalities.
"A Quilava, that's a rare sight to see here in Kalos"
"I know right? I got it from my grandma a few years back and let me tell you, this little cutie just love getting cuddled."
'Qui Quilava'
"I see then let me introduce the new cutest member of my team, Gible prepare for battle!"
'Gible?! Gib Gible!'
Gible as if irritated of being described as cute sent out his complaints which just made the little dragon more adorable to everyone watching.
"A Gible? did you catch it in the Lumiose Badlands?"
"I did, a few weeks ago actually."
"Lucky! I stayed two whole weeks there and found nothing not even tracks! Even when we went for a vacation in the Sinnoh region catching one is impossible as their is always a Garchomp near by on the watch but I did catch my ace there so it was not a wasted trip .... also the food was great so yeah can't say I did not enjoy it."
"Yeah, I know the feeling. Experienced the same thing but I was indeed lucky as several passing trainers gave me a clue on where to find one."
"Well what ever, maybe in the future I'll be able to catch one too but don't expect a type advantage to easily get you a win. Then let me start us off, ladies first and all that. Quilava use Flame wheel!"
'Quilava!'
'Swoosh!'
Quilava set itself a blaze before rolling its way towards Gible in breakneck speed like a tire on fire traveling down hill. Her Quilava who is a step away to being at an Elite rank is stronger than Gible who is at low ace rank of the 4th badge level but our type advantage could hopefully make up for the power difference.
"Gible use Bulldoze and send that fire ball back!"
Bulldoze can be seen as a weaker version of Earthquake both on power and effect as instead of being spread in the whole area it instead sends a single shockwave directly in front of the Pokémon, hitting everything in its path until it reached its target.
'Wham!'
'Brrrrr brrrrrrrrr!'
"Quilava evade!"
'Qui Quilava!'
'Swoosh!'
'Boom!'
Gible punched the ground sending a shockwave that headed straight towards the incoming Quilava who was trying to maneuver it self to dodge but it was too late as Quilava got close enough to Gible making evasion difficult thus it was hit by the attack, blasting it away and dealing heavy damage to the fire type.
"Quilava a frontal assault is not gonna work so back away and use Smokescreen!"
'Quilava!'
'Puff! whoosh' 'Smoke spreading'
'Gib? "Sniff"'
'Gible, Gi!, Gi!, Gible! .... Gi! Gi! Gible!' 'coughing'
The surrounding was covered in a thick layer of smoke that greatly lowered visibility of the field while also causing Gible to cough repeatedly greatly irritated by the smoke.
"Gible get away from the smokescreen!"
'Gible?' 'Looks arounds'
Not knowing where to go to escape the cloud of smoke Gible ran around failing to find an exit.
"Now Quilava Jump up and use Flamethrower"
'Whoosh!'
As commanded Quilava jumped up above the layer of smoke and as it located its target, Quilava released a blast of Flamethrower straight to Gible.
"Gible dodge it use Dig!"
'Gible?!'
'Wham!'
Unable to see from which direction Quilava was attacking from the only choice was to go underground but Gible was unable to follow the command fast enough still disorientated by the smoke and was hit by a direct Flamethrower to the back sending the land shark tumbling on the ground.
'Gibbbllllllleeee!'
'Fshhh'
(Burn? That's unfortunate but two can play the hide-and-seek game.)
"Gible use Dig!"
'Gible Gib!'
The move Dig was the most mastered move Gible has in his arsenal and with training, we were able to supplement one of its most glaring weaknesses which was the hole left after using the move. The hole itself serves as a clear target for those smart enough to know that it leads straight to Gible and to remedy this I taught Gible to collapse the passage way behind him starting with the hole itself then in several more intervals after creating several barriers of soil to hopefully stop or slowdown would-be attacks aimed to make use of the entrance however earthquake is still the one thing we were not able to think of a solution to.
'Quilava ... Qui'
Quilava waited for Gible to show itself however Gible had a different plan in mind. Diving a few feet directly beneath Quilava, Gible made used of its favorite strategy.
"Gible now use Bulldoze!"
'Gible Gib!'
'brrrrrr brrrrrr!'
"Quilava, dodge!"
'Quilava?!' 'Runs around'
'Boom!!!'
It was a devastating attack as even thought Quilava tried to evade by running in circles it was no use as whilst underground Gible sent a barrage of shockwaves all over the place to cause several landmine-like explosions to occur in a radius around where Quilava is standing on. It also did not help its situation that the bombardment also sent out rocks and soil flying everywhere causing additional damage to the fire type.
"Quilava the ground with shake in the locations where their attacks will land on, Anticipate it to dodge!"
When used from underground the move Bulldoze causes the area it would hit to shake. Realizing this Quilava was able to dodge a few of the attacks but still took several direct hits.
This was due to the faints Gible started sending out, small burst of Bulldoze too weak to deal damage but enough to shake the ground while also popping out in random spots to show its fin above ground from time to time making it harder to discern the safe areas Quilava could could use to escape the bombardment.
Gible did not send out faints from the start as part of our strategy. Away of giving the opponent false hope before cutting of their escape.
"How do you like the taste of your own medicine?"
'Gible! Gib Gible!'
'Fssssh'
'Gible!'
Gible as if to answer for Anita's stead, popped its head out the ground and gave several taunting snuffs even though its still affected by burn.
'Quilava Qui'
Quilava was able to stood up but was clearly heavily injured by the attacks with its legs shaking violently.
'Quilava can you go on?'
'Quila .....va'
'Plak'
In the end Quilava only forced its self to stand back up as a last hurrah against Gible's taunts but its certain that the damage it took was just to much and as such Quilava once again fell down and finally fainted.
"Good work Quilava take a nice rest, Return. You actually beat my Quilava but don't get on your high Rapidash as you'll never win against my next Pokémon. Take the stage, Princess!"
'Lop Lopunny!'
Anita called out her next Pokemon and to my shock it was a type of Pokemon I've seen only once before in this world.
(A shiny! A true Shiny Pokemon like Milotic similar to what I remember in the games and its also at an mid Elite rank to boot.)
"That's a very pink Lopunny, very on brand of you to have another cute looking Pokémon. Is that the Pokemon you caught in the Sinnoh region?"
"Right on the money, but don't lets its looks fool you as it's not only cute you know. You might have not realized but my Princess is an Elite level Pokémon of the 8th badge level. I doubt you have anything that can go against her. Also if your wondering her fur is not dyed it all Na~tu~ral."
"Well, It's true that Gible will have a hard time winning against an Elite level Pokémon but sorry to rain on your parade but I hope that Lopunny of yours can at least put up a fight against what to come, Gible return. Zweilous, stand by for battle!"
'Zweilous!'
Upon coming out Zweilous immediately gave out a mighty roar all to Lopunny and Anita's Dismay. A state of shock and terror evident from from their expression.
(Trainers reaction when first seeing Zweilous never gets old. If people look with awe upon Milotic and Steelix its the other side of the spectrum with Zweilous. The sight of a large tall two headed Dragon type could induce enough fear to make people question their life choices that led them to face such a creature.)
Even after evolution, Zweilous growth never slowed from 2.5 meters he has grown to 3.2, a whooping .7 m growth in the span of two years with no sign of stopping. I could only be so grateful for the existence of the Pink Poffins which is effective in satiating Zweilous's proportionally ever growing appetite in addition to his specialized Pokemon food.
"An Elite level Dragon type!? I mean that's a pretty big Dragon you have there but that's not gonna faze us one bit. Isn't that right Princess?"
'Lopunny Lopu Lopunny!'
"Lets see about that Zweilous Work up!"
'Zwei Zweilous!'
"Princess show them what it means to not skip leg day, use Agility followed by Quick attack and transition to Double kick!"
'Lopunny!'
'Whooosh!'
(That's rare, another trainer that actually knows how to use combination moves but we have ways on stopping such simple advances.)
"Zweilous use Hyper voice!"
'Zweiloooouuuuuuuuuus!'
'Wham!'
'Lo Lopunny!' 'Sent back'
Even with Lopunny's greatly enhanced speed it was still sent to a swift halt with Zweilous's Hyper voice while also sending it tumbling back due to the damage it received from the attack.
"Now use Dragon Pulse!"
'Zwei Zweiloooouuuus!'
'Swooosh!'
"Princess dodge and use Dig!"
'Lopunny!'
'Boom!'
Not wasting the opportunity to attack Zweilous sent a barrage of Dragon Pulse towards Lopunny's direction however with its greatly enhance speed it was able to swiftly evade the attacks before burrowing into the underground when it had seen an opening in Zweilous attacks but upon further inspection a smile grew on my face.
(They did not block the passage!)
"Zweilous use Dragon Pulse on the hole!"
'Zweiloooooouuuus!'
'Swooooosh!'
"Princess get out and use Protect!"
'Pak'
'Looopunny!'
'Shin!'
'Swoooooosh!'
A spot in the ground a few meters away from Zweilous suddenly collapsed followed by sudden pink blur jutting out of the ground before forming a clear barrier which it directed towards the hole it exited from just when a blast of purple energy came blasting out on its way towards Lopunny.
'Boom!'
With the well timed Protect, Lopunny was able to disperse all the damage from the Dragon pulse away before doing a flip into a graceful landing uninjured from the exchange.
"Now Princess use Quick attack again into Close Combat!"
'Lopunny!'
'Whooosh!'
(That's a speedy jail bait rabbit but this battle is getting real fun!)
"Zweilous use Hyper voice!"
'Zweiiiiii ....'
"You think that will work twice? Princess use Bounce"
'Lopunny!'
'Boing!'
'iiiiiilooouuuuuuussssssssss!!!'
Just as Zweilous let out a loud roaring attack toward the quickly closing in Lopunny, its target suddenly blurred and disappeared from view.
"Zweilous its above you! use Steel Wing to defend!"
'Zwei Zweilous'
'Shing!'
"Princess show them, your grace. Use Close combat!"
'Wham!'
'Wham!'
'Wham!'
'Boom!'
Lopunny slammed into Zweilous Steel Wing from above and then continued on its offense by transitioning into Close combat which broke through Zweilous Steel Wing barrier knocking the two-headed dragon away and dealing heavy damage to Zweilous.
"Zweilous are you okay?"
"Zwei Zweilous"
(Training with both Milotic and Steelix truly made Zweilous a tank that can take a lot of hits but it would be best if we try to avoid getting hit with super effective attacks in the first place.)
"Good because now we're going all out, use Draco meteor!"
'Zwei Zweilous 'blushing' ... Zweilous?'
"Princess use dig!"
Lopunny used Dig to escape the incoming attack however to everyone's surprise it never came as Zweilous was standing statically in position with one of its heads seemingly acting strange while the other head is trying to pacify it.
(What's happening with Zweilous? Why is one of its heads dazed staring at Lopunny? Wait ..... this effect, I know it well it's infatuation! But how? Lopunny did not use Attract unless it's ..... Cute Charm! I remember now, that Lola Bunny wannabe has the Cute Charm Ability like Milotic! That caused one of Zweilous's heads to get Simpified!)
"Zweilous snap out of it and use Dragon Pulse on the hole!"
'Zwei .... Zwei, Zweilous!'
'Swoooooosh'
'Pak!'
'Zwei Zweilous?!'
'Boom!'
The dazed head of Zweilous was still out of it however the second head was actually able to proceed with the attack ignoring its infatuated counterpart but when the second head started using a move the infatuated head slammed itself to the other causing the attack to redirect causing it to miss its mark.
"Princess even that Dragon fell in love with your cuteness. Make it clear that your out of its league by giving it the Cold shoulder, full power Ice punch!"
'Lopunny!'
(It knows Ice Punch? Then I can't risk commanding Zweilous to dodge or defend against Lopunny as he might not follow my command due to infatuation so I first need to get rid of the status effect but how? Ohh yeah switch!)
"Zweilous return!"
'Pak!'
'Whooosh!'
'Lopunny?'
Just as I recalled back Zweilous, Lopunny with a fist clad in an Icy blue light smashed out the ground a meters behind the location where Zweilous was formerly stationed at. Lopunny not being able to locate Zweilous then became confused as to where it disappeared to.
"Come out Gible"
'Gible Gib!'
'Fssshhh' 'Burn is still in effect'
"That's some mighty quick thinking but you only delayed the inevitable. Princess use Quick Attack to Ice Punch!"
'Lopunny!'
'Whooosh!'
"Gible use Dig!"
'Gible!'
"Follow it in!"
"Ohh, no! Gible use Metal claw!"
'Gib Gible!'
'boom!'
Gible tried to escape by using Dig however it was chased after by Lopunny who also dug its way after it and was caught. Even though Gible tried to counterattack with Metal claw a move it recently learned it was unfortunately overpowered and was blasted out of the ground fainted unable to tank as direct hit from the Ice punch.
(I have taught Gible Metal claw as a defensive option against both Ice and Fairy types however as a Ace rank Pokémon it can't be helped that it'll have a hard time defending against the power outputted by an Elite Rank Pokémon.)
"Gible return!"
"Now we're one each, better call out that absolute unit of a dragon of yours so we can finish this."
"Zweilous come out!"
'Zweilous! Zwei Zweilous!'
Zweilous came out with both heads angrily staring towards Lopunny. It seems it did not took the fact it got infatuated to well and must have hurt its pride.
(Good, his not Infatuated anymore.)
"This is round two, Zweilous use Draco Meteor!"
'Zweeiiiiiiiiilooooouuuuuuus!'
'Swoooooooooosh!'
'Pak!'
"Princess use Dig followed by Ice Punch!"
'Lopunny!' 'Digs'
'Boom!'
'Boom!'
'Boom!'
Lopunny dug underground to dodge the Draco meteor and once more made its way toward Zweilous.
(She's good, like really good. I could honestly say that the way she handles her Pokemon in a battle is at the same skill level as Siebold. Her personality made me not take her seriously at the start but it clear now that I can't underestimate her.)
"Zweilous use Dragon Pulse in the hole then feel for Lopunny's location when it pops out use Incinerate!"
'Zwei Zweilooous!'
After firing a blast of Dragon Pulse in the hole Zweilous started sensing the ground vibrations and was able to easily locate Lopunny's movements underground.
'Whosssssh' 'Ground surface breaking'
'Swooooosh!'
"Lopunny use Endure and the use Ice punch!"
'Lopunny!'
'Tak!' 'takes defensive pose'
'Boom!'
''Lopuuuuuuuuunny!'
'Whoosh!'
'Zweilooooooouuuuuuuuuuuus!'
'Wham' 'Impact'
Lopunny instead of defending against the attack coming its way from behind it used Endure to take on the full blunt of the attack and used it as an additional propellant to rocket itself out the ground towards Zweilous who immediately countered with a Incinerate but due to the close proximity and the extra force it got, Lopunny had enough momentum to blast through the flames and hit Zweilous back with a ice clad fist.
'Spshhh'
'Boom!'
'Tik! .....'
A mist was formed from the collision of Lopunny's Ice Punch and Zweilous's Incinerate which blocked everyone's vision making the current state of Zweilous unknown.
"Zweilous can you still go on?"
'Zweilous! Zweilous Zwei?!'
(Since Zweilous could still reply he still not out for the count. A direct hit from Lopunny's ice Punch would have surely greatly injured Zweilous. This may as well be out final stand.)
The mist quickly cleared up and a shocking sight laid bare.
'Zweilous! Zweilous Zwei!'
Lopunny's Ice Punch seem to have also caused Zweilous to be frozen in a block of ice with only its two heads popping out from the base of the neck looking like a Grape flavored Double pop - pop sickle for every one to see.
"Not good! Zweilous break out by using Fire Fang!"
'Zwei! Zweilous!'
Having enough experience with being frozen in Ice from battling both Milotic and Steelix, Zweilous did not panic and started using Fire Fang to thaw out the ice.
"It's amazing that your Dragon can actually take a direct hit from Princess's Close Combat and Ice Punch and still remain standing but time to end this, Princess use Close Combat!"
'Lopunny!'
'Whoosh!'
Lopunny charged toward Zweilous who was still in the process of melting the layer of ice. Zweilous seeing the Lopunny getting closer and closer to it, both heads stopped using Fire Fang and instead used all its remaining energy in a last attack to halt his opponents advance and hopefully put it down.
'Zweiloooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuus!'
'Zweiloooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuus!'
With a thunderous roar a blast of concentrated purple shockwave spread everywhere with Zweilous as the epicenter even breaking the Ice incasing him.
'Whaaam!'
'Boom!'
Lopunny who was only a meter away from Zweilous was hit by the shock wave and was blasted away.
(Hyper Voice? But that color! Zweilous finally succeeded in applying Dragon type energy into Hyper Voice!)
"You did it Zweilous!"
'Zweilous!'
"Lopunny! get up!"
Still unable to get its wits together from the attack Lopunny tried getting back up but the damage it took from Zweilous head on attack was all to much leading it to fall back down fainting.
"Return Lopunny, you did Amazzzzzingly fantastic to take a rest."
"We won? We won! Zweilous your incredible! Fantastic even!"
'Zei Zweilous Zwei!'
"I know double Poffins for the next few days!"
'Zweilous! Zwei Zwei Zweilous!'
Zweilous happy about his victory and prize started dancing about but the damage it took from the fight was also not to be put aside as such the Dragon lay down after a few seconds of doing its victory dance. Seeing what happened I immediately called him back.
"Relax for a a bit Zweilous, you've earnt it. Return."
"That was a good battle. That last attack really done us in, Can't say ya'll did not deserve the win it was overall one of my best battles."
"Thanks, same here. You were also amazing, had us hanging on a tread thought the battles."
"Yeah but next time I'll take the win, so where ya headed now?"
"I'm off to Geosenge after doing a small stop along the way"
"Cool, I'm visiting a relative myself after catching a Nidoran but since I already ate through my supply I'll need to head back to Shalour city to restock on food before continuing on."
"I doubt you could make it back to Shalour City without food on your way there. Here its enough to last you a few days until you reach Shalour City."
"Really? Won't this cause you problems if you give away this much of your supply?"
"Trust me it won't even put a dent in my scheduled afternoon snack time."
"I guess I owe you again, you sure you don't want that kiss?"
"I'll pass, just pay me back in the future if we ever meet again"
"That's hopefully ambiguously but okay, its a promise! But I still feel bad leaving you with nothing"
"I'm not really leaving with nothing as my Zweilous was able to finally succeed in learning a move we were training on for some time now and even allowed us to take the win."
"Then take my congratulations for both of you. I'll continue on looking for a Nidoran after restocking on supplies. I've been going around this area for some time and the last place I have not checked out was northern grass lands beyond the forest and if I'm correct that must be where the Nidoran line lives."
"Ohh, I heard they can be found here but I did not see one at all so that's where they are, well they are known as grazers at they're early stage so make sense they live in a wide grass lands.
"Wait they do? I did not know! Then I should have started my search there! Could have saved so much time and resources! ... Well no point crying over spilled milk, do you also plan on catching one?"
"Nah, I just hoped to see one in the wild really besides I just caught Gible not too long ago so I plan to get it up to par or close to the rest of my team before catching a new team member but I'm still hoping to catch a full team of six Pokémon in the near future."
(I already plan to add another two Dragon types on my team so I rather catch my next Pokemon in the Island where there are tons of them, though if I encounter something rare I will most likely catch it whether or not its Dragon type.)
"Ahh, wait! I know a very valuable information only I know that I'm sure you will be very interested in."
"Really? Wha ....."
"My three sizes are ....."
"Nope not interested see ya!"
........
After meeting the lively trainer Anita I continued on my way southward to the Reflection Cave, still very exited about Zweilous recent progress.
(Battles truly are one of the most effective ways of unlocking a Pokémon potential.)
After testing the move against Milotic and Steelix in several practice battles I found that it actually has a chance of applying a paralyzing effect on its targets aside from just dealing damage.
"Zweilous let's call your new attack Draconic Bellow"
'Zweilous Zwei Zweilous'
"I know it's straightforward, that's the Idea"
'Zweilous?'
"What's next? One step at a time we need to first train up and master that new move of yours and even do a bit of test to fully understand its inner workings."
With our weeks of training finally bearing fruit, I proudly made my way closer to Reflection cave.
I was finally able to reach the first landmark of route 11 after another day of walking which was evident by the crystals sprouting out of the mountain face near a cave entrance.
"This must be it."
Entering the cave I was reminded of the place where I caught Steelix when he was still an Onix in the Orange Islands as the Reflection cave also has several small openings leading outside which allows light to pass through effectively illuminating the place while also causing the crystals to slightly glow by reflecting said light.
The Crystals here are unlike the ones from the orange islands which were Clear. The Crystals of Reflection Cave like name suggests act more like a mirrors.
(In the anime, it showed that the crystals here can connect to alternate parallel universes in repeating cycles every few years. I wonder ...)
'Tried touching the mirror'
"..." a few second later
(Nothing happened)
"That's anticlimactic but I guess it's not connected to another world or not now at least."
(If it had worked it could have been a funny situation considering the fact that I was reborn in another world and was able to travel again to another separate world. It would have been a full on Isekaiception.)
"Ohh yeah, Steelix might like this place. Steelix, come out."
'Steelix! Steelix?!'
'Sniff'
"Hey, Steelix what do you think of the place ...."
'Steelix!'
'Chomp!'
'Chomp!'
'Chomp! ...'
"And you're already munching on the crystals .... good for you, just don't eat too much or we may get in trouble ..... or not I've heard that the inhabitants of this place also dine on the stuff in a regular basis and it also respawns like mushrooms due to the energy released in the area."
(Well something must have been powering the ability of the crystals to connect to parallel worlds. I just wonder what's strong enough to be capable of such feats.)
I also called out the rest of my team to enjoy the scenery of the cave but it was clear that both Milotic and Zweilous were not interested as first they had already been to Steelix cave in the orange islands which was more dazzling and second point being Zweilous is somewhat blind and crystals don't smell much of anything from what I can tell.
'Gib? Gible!'
'Chomp!'
Unlike the rest of the team however, Gible was having a field day copying Steelix in munching down crystals but soon after immediately lost interest as he noticed that the more he ate the less shiny the cave becomes.
'Gible Gib Gible'
Gible stared at the rest of the uneaten crystals around him as if mesmerized. It was clear that it found that watching the crystals was better than eating them so he just stared at the varying sizes of glimmering crystals we came across, unlike Steelix who only stopped when he had his fill a third way through the cave.
(I really hope we don't get in trouble for this but Steelix already ate the evidence so ... )
Half way through the cave I was able to encounter its inhabitants. The cave was home to several species of Pokémon with the most common being Woobat and Roggenrola. What caught my eye however was the Carbinks that hopped its way through the place.
(I recall Carbinks has a hierarchy with a Mythical Pokémon Diancie acting as their leader. It is even said that a Diancie is a Carbink that mutated and evolved I wonder if it's true. In the movie Diancie is also able to create an infinite number of diamonds, with that alone it can make anyone richer than ..... me? Well they can dream.)
(If I somehow manage to meet a Diancie I may not even want to battle it since it's a Mythical Pokémon known to have the same power as some Legendaries. Catching a Mythical Pokémon is a task I'm not yet prepared for and to add to that half my team is weak against Fairy types.)
"I'm not too confident my dragons can take a super effective move from a Fairy Rock princess that chucks pinks diamonds at its enemies."
It took only two hours to get through the cave which could have been quicker if our big Metallic snake had not eaten its way through at the beginning.
Just a distance away from where I exited the cave was the only Pokémon center in the entire route.
(Finally made it!)
"Hello nurse joy, I would like for my team to get healed and is their any available room for tonight?"
"Theirs still rooms available, just place your Pokémon's Pokeball on the tray and I'll have them checked and healed up lickety-split. I'll call for your name so please leave your trainer Id on the counter."
"Thankyou so much and by any chance a package was delivered here for Albert Ryuma?"
"Their is, it arrived a few days ago. Lets see, this box here."
The day before I left Shalour City my My father sent a message informing me about that the next supply of Poffin to be dropped off will arrive early as it includes a folder containing information about our family Island the might come in handy. I put away the Poffins together with the folder to read in a later time.
"Their is also a letter here that came along with the package"
"A letter? Lets see ..... its from Dad, why not just call or even message he does remember he gave me a phone right?"
After reading the letter I understood its purpose which was to share some good news on the new advancements my fathers company had in term of technology. They developed a machine that allows changing a Pokémon's Pokeball to a new one as long as said Pokeball is registered to the trainer.
(It seems that the reason father decided to send the news via letter was all theatrics, saying that a spectacular news needs a all so spectacular way of deliverance but I fail to see how putting it in a piece of paper make it better but I digress.)
Its not much in the grand scheme of things but as my father usually say 'Any advancement as small as it may be is a sign of progress to success and it does not hurt to do it in style.'.
After advertising the machine the League was fast to request one to be installed in the Lumiose Pokémon center as a trial run to see the demand in a months time.
My father informed me about it thinking that I may consider changing the Pokeball currently in use of some of my Pokémon and let them be one of the first few to use it before it goes public. Which in the matter of fact I do.
(My dear Milotic and Zweilous deserve more than a regular Pokeball of the plebian variety. They need at least a Premier ball or even a Master ball at most if it had been already developed. Would it be a waste of a Master ball? Yes, but is my Pokémon worth it? Also yes, if they are purple in coloration which Zweilous is ..... in the belly.)
The company even procured several types of Pokeballs available on the market such as the Premier ball, Luxury ball, Heal ball and Timer ball to use to use for the machine. The Pokeballs each cost five to tens time that of a regular Pokeball but compared the the ones made by Kurt it could be seen as a steal.
(Its not strange really as Kurt is seen as the living Picasso of the Pokémon world when it comes to custom handmade Pokeballs especially when one consider the fact that he is the only remaining Pokeball creator that uses Apricorn in the Johto region.)
There are currently three juggernauts when it comes to dealing with Gadgets and Pokeball mass manufacturing and creation; Silph Co from Kanto (Luxury ball, Premier ball, and Great ball.), Devon Corporation from Hoenn (Timer ball), and Pokétch Company from Sinnoh (Heal ball) All of which are in an arms race to one up one another however it is all so clear who is in the lead.
Not to make the timing even better it is rumored that Silph co. is planning to release a new type of Pokeball in the following year with a catch rate higher than that of a Great ball.
Many doubt the authenticity of said rumors but I'm certain that its true and I expect it to be the Ultra ball. There was an ancient version of both the Great ball and Ultra ball made of Apricorn but it a lost technology with no recorded schematics of it remaining.
After getting my team healed I called home to inform my father that I would like to have some of my Pokemon to get their Pokeballs changed.
I made way to the Pokemon centers teleporter and using the machine I was able to send both Milotic and Zweilous to my father's company.
It only took a few minutes before both my Pokémon were sent back in all new Pokeballs. Milotic now have a bedazzled Premier ball and Zweilous is chilling in a brand new Luxury ball.
The bedazzled Premier ball was something my fathers company specially prepared for me using one of the shiny Prism scale I left home which they acquired from that time.
I once gave my parents a few shiny prism scales in the past as mother once asked for a dozen to make jewelries out of sending them to my fathers company to be made. Since Milotic kept on sheading shiny Prism scale every other month my supply only keeps growing as such I have no reason to refuse. They must have a few remaining tucked away from the dozen I gave them at the time.
A Premier ball is a perfect Pokeball for Milotic as its a Pokeball used for special occasions and our meeting is something worth commemorating. The changes made in the Premier ball was not subtle but very tasteful, the white background of the Premier ball was encrusted with purposefully positioned, shimmering with the colors of prismatic gold from the shiny Prism scales.
(It's a Pokeball fit for my Starter.)
Even after a night of adoring the new Pokeballs, I was still able to wake up early and do my morning exercises followed by my teams training regiment as I decided to halt my journey to make use of the day training my Pokémon specially on helping Zweilous master his new move. This was a well needed specialized training for Zweilous since he could only successfully use the move once every five or so tries.
Zweilous success in creating and learning a new move was a great inspiration for Milotic as I also had her train up on her Whirlpool some more and by the end of the day the size of the Whirlpool she was able to generate increased threefold.
Steelix's training was different from the rest as he have no new move he needs to master so his training focused more on mastering our combination moves with the exception of the ones involving earthquake due to our proximity to the Pokemon center.
The newest member of the team Gible is training to master his Metal claw. His battle with Lopunny greatly motivated the ground dragon to increase his proficiency on defending against Ice type attacks.
The day ended with plenty of improvements for my team and as such after another check up on the Pokemon center we continued on Route 11 the very next day.
After two days of walking I found myself in the very next landmark of the route, Kalos Canyon. A river is said to have once carved its way through the land creating crisscrossing waterways that long since dried up creating the deep maze like canyons used as a pathway by travelers today.
Due to the strong wind currents that weaved their way through the canyon, it became a hot spot for flying-type trainers to train and its apparent as all the battles I had were with flying-type specialists.
My team had several experience fighting flying type Pokémon or flying opponents in general so the battles weren't that much of a challenge, all except for Gible. It was an infuriating experience for Gible as his only means of attacking from a range was with dragon breath and in one of his fights his opponent, a Talonflame grabbed him by his fin and flew off dropping him from a scarily high altitude but with the baby sharks quick thinking, Gible used Dragon breath downward to slow his descent and greatly weaken its fall.
Gible was never the same since and his love for the ground or to be precise being underground waned and thoughts of soaring the wide sky filled its head. To someday hunt down the feathered opponents that made a fool out of it in the past.
Hiking through the Kalos Canyon only took about a few days even with it having similarities with the Lumiose Badlands with rocks, sand, and the added danger of falling boulders from above, it only stretched for a fourth of the distance in comparison.
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Line break llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
POV. Drasna
It's already been close to three months since Alberts's journey and several things had already happened that caused me and my husband to be worried and it's all because our son somehow got access to Mega Evolution.
Just after my son started his journey he was already able to achieve amazing things that I was only able to do after a year in my travels.
Catching a Gible with a color mutation is surprising but it was fine as when looking at the wider picture it was the most normal Pokémon in his team.
Helping law enforcers battle against evil mind controlling tentacled psychic invertebrates, Sure keep at it. Can't say I'm against saving people since it is also a part of my job.
However battling against Gurkinn and also Ramos and with their Mega evolve Pokémon to boot? That's where I draw the line of having birthed a genius too bringing into the world the wonderchild of the century.
Albert lost against Gurkinn which is not really a surprise as his Pokémon is all at an Elite level and his Lucario when Mega evolved was once known for being at a champion level but due to its age is now only at an Elite four level. Although Albert is actually able to win against Ramos Mega without a Mega of his own and from what I know Ramos Mega Venusaur is also at an Elite four level!
I was proud of his achievement as a trainer but worried deeply as a mother. Gurkinn blurted out everything that had happened in the past months to the leagues top brass which made thing more complicated than it should be.
Can't really blame the old coot as its included in his job description, well its also in mine. Having a close eye on talented trainers and their greatest achievements. They are to be guarded but not to the point of negatively affecting their potential as trials and tribulations is needed for growth. This is all stop other regions from scouting or right out taking their talents.
(I can understand as I'm a Sinnoh native myself and the day I manage to take a Elite four seat in the Kalos region sent the Sinnoh region into a frenzy with the its top brass feeling both pride and pity.)
The fact that a new recognized Mega evolution trainer popped out already calls for it to be discussed amongst the leagues Elite four but considering that the person in question is only ten it was immediately added in one of our monthly league meeting which includes the Champion himself who precede over the discussions.
The three other Elite four present were: Hanzo a Bug type specialist from a ninja village hidden somewhere in the region, Bella Whitlock the head maid of the battle Chateau a Dark type specialist, and Hennessy Gamp of the Gamp noble knight family which is known as Steel type specialists.
The current Champion of the Kalos region is a sixty year old man named Roderick Mortimer who is considered one of Kalos strongest trainer to ever hold the Champion position. Roderick does not specialize in a single type and has a varied team with his ace a jet black Tyranitar named Brutus he was able to decimated every opponent he faced and his team was feared even in other regions.
It was especially true in the Johto region where both Roderick and his black Tyranitar were banned from ever entering but the reasoning was due to a black Tyranitar from long ago that nearly destroyed half the Johto Region in its rampage. It seems that both Roderick's Tyranitar Brutus and the Black Tyranitar from several hundred of years ago have similar peculiarities aside from the Black pigmentation which was their abnormally strong hide that seem to give them full resistance to every type.
The final nail in the coffin that a few people know was the fact that Brutus the Black Tyranitar is capable of Mega Evolution. The jet white hue it takes in its Mega form give rise to fear and awe and is forever engraved in the minds of those who witness it.
This all leads to my current situation, Sitting in a round table together with my colleagues to discuss the matters of the Region which includes my son and his shenanigans. Each one of us having a copy of a file pertaining several subjects to be discussed but in the very front of it all was Albert and his activities.
(The leagues information network is truly amazing, I can't believe they have information about my son that even I don't know. I never realized Al like seafood.)
"As everyone is accounted for, we can now begin. First on the agenda as most of you might already figured out pertains Drasna's son Albert Ryuma."
The Champion Roderick started the meeting and was quick to the point at subject at hand which was my son.
"So news of Drasna's son being the pop star true?! Drasna, you must get me an autograph no get me four my daughters are all big fans."
The Old Maid Bella was exited as it was a well known fact that she is a fan of Al's songs.
"Lets put that aside for now miss Bella, what made Albert Ryuma worth including in this months meeting is the fact he was deemed worthy by Gurkinn to wield Mega evolution."
"Hmmph! let talk later Drasna."
"Will do Lady Bella."
Roderick not wanting the meeting to shift its course set it back to the right track all to Bella's disappointment. A video of Alberts battle against Ramos and Gurkinn was then played one after the other which included a short clip of variant Steelix Mega Evolving in the end.
All the scene they saw shocked the people present even though they have read about the report seeing it actually happen and watch how Al fought the well known Elite level trainers left them staring at the screen until the end.
"Your telling me this kid started his journey two and a half months ago?"
Hanzo the middle aged man wearing a Camo ninja gear was first to escape from his stupor and ask the question everyone had on their mind.
Even the Champion Roderick was visibly shaken and thought way back when he was Albert Ryuma's age and how well do he compare with the child who has but started his journey.
"He defeated Ramos and his Mega Venusaur but lost to Gurkinn's Mega Lucario although he did remarkably well, far from what I could ever have achieve when I was that age."
"Lets be honest we can call it his win considering if my dear son fought while also having access to Mega evolution he would have a high chance of winning from my point of view."
Hearing about Roderick's perspective of my son Al, I also gave my opinion not as a mother but a member of the Elite four.
"Isn't he a little prodigy, haha and here I thought that Drasna was exaggerating."
The man heavily clad in armor Hennessy Gamp laughed haphazardly remembering the days that Drasna talked non stop about his son in the past.
"I concur and his only 10? Are we certain that it's safe to let a child hold that much power?"
Lady Bella had a change of expression after watching the battles. From aloof excitement into a stoic indifference not allowing anyone to know her state of mind.
"If you're asking that question then why do we even allow trainers to start their journey to begin with? We are not to block the younger generations path of progress due to our own fears, its better guide them on how to properly utilize the power they have in their disposal."
Hanzo the ninja was quick to assert his denial of Bella's statement as he was one who support those who strive to surpass the preconceive notion of the norm and reach new heights.
"I see your point considering he passed Gurkinn's challenges on the tower of mastery, we have no right to question his ability. However it does not take away the problem it presents but we could at least trust that Drasna raised his son well."
Lady Bella was clear on sharing about the worries she has on the topic.
"This fact only makes me want to battle him even more now haha"
A strong passion burned hot inside Hennessy wanting to put to match his own Steel type Pokémon capable of Mega evolution, Aggron against my son's Steelix.
"Don't mess with Rookies no matter how strong they seem, its best if we leave the kid be for the moment and allow him to enjoy his journey same with which we all had at one point or another."
""""Agreed""""
Hennessy although agreeing on not personally seeking out Albert for a battle, thought of away for the kid to travel his on his term to battle him.
"Drasna's any chance your son want to try challenge the Battle Chateau? If what I am reading about is true then he should have a chivalrous heart worth inviting to the arena of nobilities."
"Not in the present moment but at his rate, if he challenges the Chateau he might reach the rank of Duke and take your spot in under two months time."
"If its meant to be then let it be but one things for certain a glorious battle will be fought that day and trumpets will cry out a cheer for the victor."
"Your gonna hire a marching band again aren't you?"
As the head maid of the Chateau Lady Bella asked worriedly.
"On Gurkinn's report Albert Ryuma is on his way to meet Granny Mabel this will most likely be a good learning experience for him."
""""....""""
The champion Roderick gave the details of Al's next destination which caused everyone including myself to feel a sudden chill, resurfacing memories of the past when I first set foot on the Kalos region and our encounters with a certain old lady filled my mind."
"Granny is still kicking around huh. Well she'll most likely outlived us all since she's from that place haha."
"Being a champion seventy years ago its no surprise she's still standing strong. Her generation is what unified our region which allowed it to become what it is now."
"I still remember tales of Granny's seemingly immortal Mawile and how It defeated countless Elite four level wild Pokémon that once ruled uncharted areas which opened several new routes connecting the towns and cities."
Hanzo looked longingly as is recounting his childhood. It was all to understandable as it is not hard to pick up that his hidden village was one of the many isolated from the rest of civilization due to the dangers that once roamed the pre-existing routes and areas.
"Even now Grannies Mawile maintains its Champion rank power behind its calm demeaner unaffected by age whatsoever due to the blessing of the life giver."
(Xerneas ..... one of our regions three Origin rank legendary Pokémon. Granny is one of the few that have gained Xerneas' trust and blessed her Pokémon with its power which made her a important pillar in maintaining the peace in the region.)
Origin rank legendary Pokémon are those who existed before the immemorial at the time after the Alpha Pokémon is said to have finished the creation of the world and spread beings that governed over Time, Space. and Anti matter which is followed by knowledge, emotion, and willpower.
Many contradicting legends exist on how the Origin legendary Pokémon came to be in each region of the world but one thing is the same for all of them is that they possess the ability to fundamentally alter the very land they inhabit and wield power beyond human understanding going so far to be capable of creating other legendary Pokémon which are evidently weaker than their creators.
"Now a vote is in order, A young rookie just achieved an amazing feat isn't it right we award it?"
""""Agreed"""""
"But what do that kid even need? I bet his dear mother here already spoiled that child."
"Truly, a question for the ages what to give a child that already has everything?"
"Then how about a Regional Pass? It will allow him to travel to regions were in partner ship with as a trainer fully skipping the two years requirement."
"I see that may be a good incentive then for the vote"
""""Agreed""""
"Then it is settled"
"Now for the next agenda, The Poacher guild was sighted a few weeks back and seems to be in search of something."
"The crime syndicate from Johto? They're quite far from home, what are they after?"
"It is unknown but we must be diligent, we can expect them to be up to no good so we better not let them run amok. My retirement is fast approaching I hope it will finally happen this time so I can leave all this trouble behind."
The champion looked on longingly knowing that his defeat from a younger generation will still remain mostly a dream thus the only way for him to retire is to willing step down without a proper replacement.
.....
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
Thesilentwooper
Thesilentwooper Once again feedback on mistakes and possible improvements is greatly appreciated. I decided to finaly post this since I noticed that the chapter I was writing reached 20k words so I cut it, this is the first half. I don't know when the next half will come out so don't wait up :D.
This chapter need grammar checks so feel free to leave a comment. Writing hasn't been as free compared to when I first graduated college, work ate up alot of my time and private matters took the rest but its part of growing up so best I can do is ride the waves but I still hope to finish this story to the end I had planned for it but at this rate it will take a very long time.
— Un nouveau chapitre arrive bientôt — Écrire un avis
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone