章 9: The PokéManiac

(Route 24, Nugget Bridge.)

Noah had spent the past thirteen days continuously training his Pokémon. He had trained them in their control; accuracy; and execution of their moves, but the main thing he focused on was their ability to dodge efficiently.

Any Pokémon can dodge an incoming attack given the right circumstances, but only those who have a vast amount of experience can dodge using the least amount of effort possible whilst simultaneously returning an attack of their own. Noah used Scyther and Horsea do demonstrate this concept to his team – the two had instinctively picked up on what he was trying to explain and offered their services.

Noah ordered Horsea to use Water Gun and told Scyther to dodge whilst firing a Vacuum Wave next to her. As the spiral of water streaked towards Scyther, he suddenly flew up and allowed it to pass underneath him.

Before the attack had even reached its intended destination, Scyther crossed his arms as light-blue wind appeared around him and then opened them again, firing the wind from his body in a form of a shock-wave directly next to Horsea – who couldn't move since she was still attacking.

To say that his Pokémon were shocked would be an understatement, their eyes marvelled at the thought of catching the opponent off guard and getting a free attack off. From that point onwards, his team had dedicated most of their training sessions to learn the concept and Noah made sure to put in all his effort to help them achieve it.

After they had completed their training, Noah decided to head off to the Nugget Bridge on Route 24 to have his Pokémon experience a few battles, but to his disappointment, the trainer's strengths were slightly higher than that of beginner trainers.

He had reached the last trainer on the bridge and was surprised that he introduced himself as a hidden recruiter for Team Rocket. The guy had asked him to join, but after Noah's firm refusal, he became aggressive and sent out an Ekans to 'convince' him – which led to his current predicament.

"Ekans, hang in there and use Wrap!" The recruiter shouted frantically.

"Bagon, finish this off with Dragon Claw," Noah ordered with disinterest.

"Baee." Bagon roared as a light-green draconic aura formed around his hands, the aura moulded itself into the shape of claws as he dodged the Ekans tail and struck twice, causing it to lose its consciousness.

"Good job their buddy." Noah crouched down and scratched under the chin of his starter.

"Baaeeg." Bagon's voice rumbled with happiness before a bright-white light erupted from his body.

Noah backed away in awe as he watched as his first ever Pokémon evolve. He felt a torrent of emotions flood him, but he made sure to watch every bit of the evolution, regardless of how bright the light was.

It wasn't long before the light died down and what stood in front of Noah was a quadruple Pokémon that had bone structures covering its body, which formed a shell with two openings and three ridges on the top – this was the evolution of his starter, Shelgon.

Shelgon opened his two yellow eyes and looked around in confusion before he remembered something and frantically began to look around. Noah saw this and immediately broke out of his stupor, he ran up to Sheldon and wrapped his arms around him.

"It's okay buddy, I'm here." Noah soothingly spoke as he gently rubbed his newly evolved Pokémon to calm him down. "You've just evolved, that's why your body feels uncomfortable but that will pass soon."

"Shee?" Shelgon looked into his eyes for a moment and nuzzled his head into Noah's chest in gratitude. He then looked up and began to run around the area before he pummelled his head into the golden bridge in excitement.

Noah watched Shelgon with warm eyes for several moments before he took out his Pokedex and scanned him.

[Shelgon, the Endurance Pokémon. Inside Shelgon's armor-like shell, cells are in the midst of a transformation to create an entirely new body. This Pokémon's shell is extremely heavy, making its movements sluggish.

This Shelgon is male and knows the moves: Rage, Ember, Bite, Dragon Breath, Headbutt, Dragon Dance, Crunch and Dragon Claw. Its ability is Rock Head, which protects the Pokémon from recoil damage.]

'From this evolution, his base Attack and Defence should have increased exponentially, but his speed would stay the same as it was before he evolved. However, Dragon Dance should make up for the lack of speed and would further increase his attack stat.' Noah rubbed his chin in thought as he planned out Shelgon's future training and battle style, but was interrupted by the Team Rocket recruiter.

"With your ability, you'd become a top leader in Team Rocket." The recruiter said as he returned his unconscious Ekans, but didn't dare retreat as Shelgon turned around and kept his glare at him. "Come on, think of the opportunity! Don't let this chance go to waste."

"Yea… No. I'm afraid you'll have to stay here whilst I give the local authorities a call, wouldn't want Team Rocket to prey upon unsuspecting trainers now, do we?" Noah chuckled as he sent a direct message to the Officer Jenny that escorted him out of Mt. Moon.

"Huu…" The recruiter slumped down on the ground and sulked in defeat.

…

(Route 25.)

Noah handed the Team Rocket member over to Officer Jenny and received three Great Balls as a reward. As he made his way through Route 25, he continued to meet starting trainers, but this no longer bothered him as their battles allowed Shelgon to quickly adjust to his new body.

Once Shelgon began to tire, Noah would send out his other Pokémon to cover for him and he kept this routine going until he reached a house at the end of the route. Noah saw the door was wide open and opted to check out what's inside, but he decided to knock on the door first to see if anyone was around.

After getting no response, Noah wandered in and realized that the interior of the house resembled that of his grandfather's lab due to its pristine whiteness and random machinery. He looked around the lab for signs of its owner, but he was met with a small Clefairy.

Noah told Shelgon to not scare the little Pokémon off and knelt in front of it. Although it caught his interest – Clefairy were notoriously rare in the Kanto Region, only found in the depths of Mt. Moon, whoever brought it here would frown upon his attempt to capture it.

"Shelgon, do you smell anyone around here?" Noah asked his starter as he kept his eyes on the Clefairy.

"Sheei." Shelgon sniffed the around before gesturing to the Clefairy.

"Besides the Clefairy." Noah rolled his eyes. "Are there any humans around here?"

"Sheeeii." Shelgon looked at him and kept gesturing to the Clefairy.

"The Clefairy?" Noah mumbled in thought before he remembered a certain event from the game. He gave his starter an apologetic glance and turned to the Clefairy. "By any chance, are you Bill?"

The small Clefairy's head shot up in surprise and stared at him with wide eyes before it spoke. "Who are you? How did you know?"

"About that," Noah stood back up as he contained his own surprise and fabricated a story without so much as blinking an eye. "My grandfather spoke of your research when I was younger and it piqued my curiosity enough for me personally look you up. Knowing that this lab belonged to you and of your research, combined with the oddly tame Clefairy led me to conclude that the two of you somehow merged or something."

"Your deduction was spot on." Bill's eyes flashed with interest. "I was conducting an experiment with a transporter, but it somehow changed me into this Clefairy."

"Is there a way to change you back?" Noah asked despite knowing the answer.

"Yes," Bill replied and pointed to a desk at the corner of the lab. "See that computer over there?"

"Yeah," Noah said after he turned his head and saw a small console.

"There's an icon on the screen that has the word 'Activate' underneath it. When I get into the transporter and close the door, I want you to press the button."

Noah nodded as the Clefairy clumsily walked into the large machine and when the transporter's hatch smoothly closed, he found the icon and double clicked it. Noah covered his eyes as the machine began to glow a brilliant white light.

Once the light died down, Noah warily looked at the transporter as a bit of smoke seeped out of it but it seemed to have fizzled out after a moment.

Noah watched in fascination as the other transporter's hatch opened, revealing the form of a scrawny man with messy green hair and a pale, thin complexion. He wore an expensive looking suit and looked to be very reserved, definitely different from what he had expected him to look like.

"Thanks for getting me out of that form," Bill said as he stumbled out of the transporter. "I was afraid that I would be stuck like that until one of my acquaintances came back."

"No problem," Noah said with a smile as he looked at his now bored Shelgon. "Anyways, I should probably get going. I have quite the walk to get back to the Pokémon Centre and it would be better to leave before it gets dark."

"Of course, don't let me keep you. But before you leave, here's a reward for helping me out." Bill said as he dug around into one of his pockets and pulled out a crumpled ticket. "I was sent this by one of my friends in the League, but I have no interest in it so I'll give it to you."

"What is it?" Noah asked as he took the ticket and looked at it.

"That is a ticket to the S.S Anne, a luxury cruise that sails the world. It's going to be stationed in Vermillion City in two months' time, so you should head down that way if you're interested."

"Thanks, this will help out a lot." Noah smiled and made his way to the entrance of the house. "I'll see you around, Bill."

"Yea, see you around," Bill replied as he watched the trainer walk out of his house before he slapped his head and shook his head. "Ahh, I forgot to ask about his grandfather."