Bab 6: Bullied Starter
Right, I almost forgot to try that power.
Sidney finished reading the description of Deino.
He was still waiting for his brother to select his starter when he suddenly remembered something.
He concentrated his thoughts on his Pokeball to see if it would work. What came next did not disappoint him.
He was originally wondering if it could work through objects, but it turned out he was worried about nothing; such concern was unnecessary.
"Owner?" The little Pokemon inside the ball became confused as soon as he felt a presence in his head.
It slipped cleanly and smoothly through the ball he was nestled in and entered his mind with ease.
Deino was understandably taken aback.
"Owner? Is that what you guys call your new trainers?" Sidney said after a brief search of Deino, where he quickly discovered some details that he had been looking over out of curiosity, such as the fact that this Deino was male, just as indicated by the report when Sidney left the lab with some papers.
Typically, these were functions rather came with updated Pokedexes, as Professor Oak mentioned, so this information was provided ahead of time to children who wanted to know or cared about this type of thing. The Pokemon were available in multiple copies, allowing them to choose which one they preferred.
"Yes," Deino responded innocently, then said with a curious tone, "Owner, are you responsible for what happened to me? I now have control over my blindness and the ability to choose not to be blind; I also feel stronger. You sound unusual and can even talk in my head… I can even see a projection…" He was much more friendly and more docile than Sidney could have imagined.
He also knew unusual words—but Sidney wasn't surprised. The previous owner of the body had already been taught at the Pokemon school that Pokemon, even babies, were smart and understood humans, and that based on their behavior, scientists assumed that genetic information related to vocabulary was passed down to their offspring.
They didn't have the life related memory of their parents, but got a lot of useful things.
When they emerged from their eggs, they even sometimes inherited the moves of their parents.
"Yes, but we can talk about it later. For the time being, call me Sidney; that's my name, which you should have heard inside your Pokeball if you weren't asleep?" Sidney replied in a cheerful tone.
He was actually smiling at Deino, despite the fact that he appeared to be the same on the outside. His telepathy abilities were stronger than he realized. He could project his face inside the minds of Pokemon or around objects.
"Yes… Can I actually call you Sidney?" Deino was much more of an innocent baby than Sidney had imagined. It appeared that they needed to discuss a variety of topics together.
Sidney smiled and said, "Yes, you and I will be great friends, and now family if you want?"
He was wondering if he knew his parents when the Pokemon responded, "Family? Of course, no problem!" Deino wasn't finished, though, and Sidney was giving him a warm smile when he said, with a subdued but resonant sense of curiosity, "But Sidney, are you going to make me a strong Pokemon? What are your goals as a trainer? You sound quiet and circumspect, unlike the other children around you."
Deino sounded literate and clear, but his voice sounded no older than that of a preschooler.
Sidney found it rather amusing.
The latter said naturally, "That's because I'm a little more experienced, perhaps." He didn't explain that he was a transmigrator from another planet and simply stated, "My goals, of course, include becoming a very powerful trainer before anything else. As my starter, you will undoubtedly be a very powerful existence. Is this your goal? To become a Hydreigon?"
"Yes!" Deino was brief and short, but his intentions were clear.
He sounded like a determined Pokemon who knew what he was after.
"Then that will be our first goal, you and I! Let's make sure that happens!" Sidney stated. He saw no problem with that goal, which was very much in line with his own.
Who doesn't want a strong starter?
He left his mind space and the Pokeball, which contained a cheered and excited Deino who was more determined than ever to make his dream a reality.
Telepathy with Pokemon was intriguing; you didn't have to go through as many difficulties as Ash to find out what your team members' goals were—as with Rockruff and so many other Pokemon that Ash used to have and which caused hilarious trouble.
Not to mention that this conversation between him and Deino appeared to be very long, but it had only taken a second.
The power was far greater than he had anticipated, and exchanging thousands of words with Pokemon in a matter of seconds was a breeze.
It appeared to be able to become even stronger if he used it more, experienced more changes, or trained.
Thinking about that night-time fight club though, where Rockruff fought wild Pokemon, that one wasn't such a bad idea... It sounds like something I should let happen if it ever does.
I don't need an angry, irritable Rockruff, but I do like strong Pokemon who enjoy training hard.
Sidney had a sudden thought as a smile spread across his face. His thoughts were short-lived as three people emerged from the lab carrying Pokeballs.
He was a little filled with doubt, especially seeing Ash holding a Pokeball. He frowned slightly before asking curiously as the three approached, "What Pokemon did you get, Ash?"
"Ash?! Really? Are you going to ask Ash first?" Gary had a smug smile when he first came out, clearly ready to show off and talk a lot, but when he heard Sidney, his face soured dramatically.
Sidney loved his relationship with his new brother. Gary was entertaining to frustrate and perturb, even when he didn't mean to.
Unless they bragged, it was troublesome to guess what Pokemon kids had because they were not permitted to be released near the lab. They needed to get out of the hilly green yard in front of it first.
This world was similar to the games in many ways, but Palett Town was also different—it was not a hick town with low security because everyone trusted and knew each other. People had doors and gates, as well as walls around their homes and buildings.
The current Palett town had thousands of residents and was not small.
The world was vast and expanding in unseen places, and the ideas were far-reaching. Paradox Pokemon and small wild dimensions had already been discovered and studied by some.
There was no such thing as a parallel or a mirror dimension or anything like that, but some Pokemon seemed to come out of crazy places and disappear when chased, not just legendaries.
Sidney himself had seen a video of Red attempting to enter a wild dimension to catch Pokemon.
This world was filled with myths, not just mythical Pokemon.
A certain crazy Pokemon professor from modern-day Hisui even proposed the idea that there were places with different historical periods.
The community rejected it as nonsense.
Ash did not respond and appeared hesitant, which drew the attention of Sidney, who frowned.
Ash was holding his Pokeball strangely when Sidney said, "What's wrong? It's unusual for you to have the cat get a hold of your tongue."
When was this guy ever so calm, and why was he looking so strangely at his Pokeball?
Ash also did not fail to capture the attention of the people around Sidney, which meant Green, Elaine, Leaf, and Gary.
They looked at him strangely when he finally noticed and apologized for no reason, "Sorry guys, It's just that I'm not sure I made the right choice... I had in mind to get a Charmander or Squirtle like Red or Blue, but something told me to get that guy... I picked Pikachu."
Sidney smirked internally as he said, "Pikachu? That's a good option because it can evolve into Raichu. What's wrong with your look, though; you don't regret your decision, do you?"
"I sort of do, actually..." Ash responded with a bitter smile. "I'm not sure, but something tells me I could have made a better pick."
Everything is going to be fine as long as you don't stop your mouse from evolving when the time comes… You can even get Alolan Raichu.
Sidney sneered slightly inside. He didn't express his sudden thoughts aloud, though.
He was concerned for Ash, despite the fact that in this world, evolution and even evolution direction occurred and could be manipulated by the trainer without the use of any items or skills. For all Pokemon.
One only had to wait for the right time for the Pokemon to evolve, which was personal to them. Once that happened, even a Pikachu could toggle between two evolution paths based on the trainer's desires.
In the case of Ash, the trainer's desires could be the issue, though... Evolution could also be cancelled as many times as necessary.
Gary was not like Sidney or the other three caring and gentle girls around here, who told Ash he could change his mind this afternoon and tomorrow.
He sneered and mocked his self-proclaimed childhood rival, saying, "I thought you were picking an electric Pokemon to imitate me, but it turns out you're just stupid?" He laughed and said, "Well, at least you didn't get Voltorb, but when you can have Shinx, who would want a Pikachu?"
"What did you say! Did you call me stupid?" Ash regained his high and fiery spirits quickly, despite the fact that the method used to return him to normalcy was harsh.
"What? Are you deaf, or do you want to fight?" Gary sneered proudly as he spoke, refusing to back down when Ash got close and nearly pressed his forehead against Gary's.
Sidney interrupted them, finally showing interest in his brother, saying, "You chose Shinx?" It was one of his favorite types of electric Pokemon, so he was drawn to the name.
Honestly, if Deino hadn't been in the room, he would have made that pick.
Gary pushed Ash away and proudly stated, "Yeah, I told you I wanted an electric type." He was a smart kid, so he didn't go into more detail about him knowing, thanks to Daisy, that there was no Elekid or Alolan Geodude.
He was a bit upset and bummed because of this earlier.
"That's a good pick, bro," Sidney couldn't lie. He asked, turning his gaze to the more discreet and restrained Elaine, "What about you, what was your choice?"
Nobody here, not even Sidney, could be considered a calm child, but in comparison to Ash, they were all mild-mannered and reserved.
Elaine said, pleased to be the center of Sidney's attention, "I still want your help, but I wasn't as confident as you were—I didn't make the hard choice, and I went with a Charmander… To be fair, I expected more people in our group to choose it."
Elaine was slim, with fair skin, very light brown hair in a ponytail, and very light brown eyes. She was wearing a red and white baseball cap with the Pokeball logo, as well as a black and white t-shirt.
Her outfit was made up of blue-green shorts with an orange pale waistband, as well as orange and white sneakers with yellow lace. She was carrying a light brown backpack over her shoulders.
"Right, now that you say it," Sidney was suddenly reminded that Green and Leaf chose Bulbasaur and Squirtle, respectively. In a nutshell, nobody in their group would have chosen Charmander if Elaine had not done so.
Charizard was kind of a dragon, especially his Mega Evolution X, so Elaine had made a fair pick. Even if Mega Evolution was a distant dream.
Beep—
The three girls were discussing the topic, having fun using the Pokedex on their starters, when he suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, Ash, what are your plans? Do you want to skip town with the five of us in a few days, or are you doing the journey thing alone?"
This guy had an older brother to catch up with in this world, so he wasn't going to embark on the journey alone, was he? In this world, Brock and Misty were not as free, and they were strong, so Sidney doubted he would meet them on the way and get to travel with them.
"No, thank you for the invite, but if I want to have a chance at Red, and not necessarily be like him, I have to do this on my own." Ash had other worries, but he thanked Sidney and added, "Plus, Gary and I are like fire and water; we might kill each other along the way."
Sidney was surprised, not disappointed. He was surprised by Ash's self-awareness, not as for what came regarding Red, but of his relationship with Gary.
Gary looked at Ash and smirked after a sneer. He couldn't claim Ash was lying. The reason he chose Ash as his rival was most likely because Ash has some sense at times.
Sidney did not stay long around here and returned home with his brother to feed their Pokemon and discuss their future, goals, and how to approach the journey. Their parents, as well as Daisy, appeared to have prepared surprise gifts.
Despite their immense wealth, they were not the type of family to spoil and ruin their children's personalities.
Sidney and Gary's parents had little interest in Pokemon, but just like Daisy, they each had prepared a gift before lunch for them.
It was two newborn Pokemon and a few items that could help them begin their journey. Sidney and Gary both received one Pokemon and some items.
Sidney, who was just waiting for the next chance to get a new prompt and a new entry, couldn't be happier. Having a high-income family that loved you and was supportive of you proved to be helpful no matter which world.
He had little time before Blue arrived and performed a strange show in town, so he made the most of it. He immediately decided to look at the new prompt, but not before doing a few things with his handheld device.
Beep—
As usual, he was more concerned with the on-screen details.
**Cacnea (Grass-type)**
**Species:** Cactus Pokémon
**Pokédex Entry:**
Cacnea is a hardy Pokémon that thrives in dry environments, conserving water with its spiny body. When it rains, Cacnea absorbs moisture through its body, restoring its vitality. Cacnea is frequently found in areas where rain is scarce, waiting for the occasional downpour to replenish its energy and unleash its powerful Grass-type moves.
**Known Moves:**
- **Absorb**: Drains energy from its target, restoring some of Cacnea's vitality.
- **Growth**: Gathers sunlight to boost its attack power, preparing for a more powerful assault.
- **Needle Arm**: Strikes with a sharp spine. Potentially making the opponent flinch.
**Ability:**
- **Water Absorb**: When hit by a Water-type move, Cacnea recovers 25% of its maximum vitality, making it more resistant to such attacks.
The newborn Pokemon he had received was nice, albeit not high-profile.
It was similar to Gary's new grass type Cacnea, which had the "Water Absorb" ability—good coverage. With it, Gary's Shinx received even better coverage when combined with Water Absorb in the context of a Rain team. Sand Veil was unnecessary because it only covered a Shinx's ground weakness. Grass was already good against ground types.
Sidney's sudden second Pokemon came from elsewhere, but it was available in the Palett Town lab. It was an Aron.
**Aron (Steel/Rock-type)**
**Species:** Iron Armor Pokemon
**Pokédex Entry:**
Aron has a sturdy steel body that it constructs by consuming iron ore from the mountains. Its armor-like exterior is extremely tough, allowing it to withstand devastating attacks. Aron seeks out rocky environments where it can absorb minerals to build and strengthen its armor. Despite its small size, Aron is surprisingly strong, using its hardened shell as both a defensive and offensive weapon in battle.
**Known Moves:**
- **Tackle**: Aron charges forward, using its steel body to strike opponents with great force.
- **Harden**: Reinforces its metallic body, making it more resistant to physical attacks.
- **Metal Claw**: Aron slashes at opponents with its sharp, steel-tipped claws, both to attack and to sharpen its growing armor.
**Ability:**
- **Rock Head**: Aron is protected from taking recoil damage when using moves that would normally harm it, allowing it to fight without fear of self-injury.
It was good coverage against ice and fairy types in particular.
Sidney's sister Daisy had considered such aspects, so she gave her brothers Pokemon that could cover glaring weaknesses.
This world was a little too similar to the games in the best ways, so thanks to certain trading machines, rich people could obtain and ship Pokemon over and items far too easily, even in smaller towns.
Daisy had apparently learned about Sidney's pick from a colleague working for Professor Oak in the lab just a few minutes earlier. Based on that, she chose the surprise gift that had been planned with her parents for days.
However, Sidney was unexpectedly confronted with an early issue. Although Aron did an excellent job of covering for a Deino, the fighting type's weaknesses became even more obvious.
Deino was a dragon, but also a Dark type. Aron was of the Steel and Rock types, with a quadruple weakness to fighting moves. Daisy had already advised Sidney to get a flying type as soon as he left town. Those were not hard to find.
Things like Psychic and Fairy were harder to find. Poison and Bug were resistant to fighting types, but Sidney required more than just damage resistance; he also desired strength against fighting types.
He agreed with his sister's advice, but he felt that if he truly wanted to cover against fighting types, he needed a ghost type. A ghost type with no other typing on it.
He still intended to get a flying type, but he needed that second layer of assurance.
Even outside of that, Aron was four times weaker against ground attacks. He had another quadruple weakness.
Sidney was suddenly a little envious of Gary with his Cacnea.
Putting such thoughts to the back of his mind, Sidney studied the new prompt.
[Pokemon: Aron—Would you rather?]
[Your Aron reduces super effective damage by 90%]
[Aron ignores opponent stat-enhancements and cancels healing, and his mere presence on the field causes a severe poison condition in the opponent, regardless of their abilities or typing]
[Aron's defense, special defense, and vitality all triple with his first step, and his vitality and any status condition heal by 90% with each subsequent step he takes on the ground]
Was this even a choice?
Sidney wanted to praise the system for making it appear as if the other options were also respectable this time. He was almost tempted by options 1 and 2, particularly option 2. But he suddenly felt like Deino was being bullied because he was a starter.
He had not received such a good prompt when it was his turn.
Was curing blindness so costly?
Well... It seemed right.
Sidney sighed and stopped thinking about it. He'd find out with more Pokemon.
If this world was like the games, he wouldn't consider option three because it would be meaningless. In the games, battles worked on the principle of turns, and Pokemon floated or remained motionless.
Aron was slow, but taking a few steps imperceptibly was as simple as drinking water.
He only needed to dance and shake a little; he didn't even have to walk.
He wasn't a Slowpoke with brain damage who spent 90% of his time thinking about 5 seconds ago and couldn't register pain quickly enough, so Sidney didn't need to think about it.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone