"I guess I have the luck of a protagonist," I chuckled out, disbelief all over my face.

"Hahaha, it would seem you do, my friend," Prof. Sycamore heartily laughed. "Though, maybe not so lucky that you receive free power-ups and powerful allies. You did miss the tournament"

"Yeah, don't remind me," I replied wistfully. I was really looking forward to battling and getting more experience, not to mention the possibility of a Pokémon.

"I really don't think you would've had too much trouble ranking high up in the tournament, so you didn't miss much there," the Professor said nonchalantly before growing serious. "However, you managed to survive something that a team of Veteran trainers couldn't. Serena managed to kill the demon, though the fact that she had any trouble at all is a testament to how powerful it was."

I nodded in agreement. That thing was stupid strong.

"I was lucky to survive its attack," I said.

"Yes, but you did. The only one other than the Elite and Champion-level trainers that took care of the demons that came out several portals. A portal appearing right in front of an inter-dimensional stranger in the middle of a park in a large city is a coincidence. That same stranger being the only non-Elite trainer to survive an attack from an unknown enemy that came out of a similar portal, well, call me crazy for believing it's not by chance."

"And here I was hoping I would be able to just live a life filled with exciting battles and fun moments with my Pokémon," I said in resignation.

"Haha, don't we all. You should take the next few days to recuperate with your Pokémon. I'm sure Malamar and Ferrothorn would love to do so," the Professor said warmly. "The League will contact you sometime over the next week, most likely about the incident with the portal and the otherworldly being."

Prof. Sycamore was about to continue, but he paused for a moment before shaking his head.

"A lot of things are happening, Marco. Though you may be involved in the future, I don't think you should be concerned with the portals and whatever comes of them right now. You would be of no help whatsoever. At least, if you want to be out in the frontlines. If you want to help, your best bet would be to do research in a lab. Mine could always use some different perspectives, if you are willing to join."

That is something I have to think about. What do I want to do? The question everyone asks themselves.

"I don't think I'd feel right if I had the ability to do something and do nothing while others are dying. I also want to just enjoy my time with my Pokémon, battling and getting stronger together," I answered his hidden question. "I guess that means I'll be joining the frontlines. But not now. I'm too weak."

"As am I, my friend, though I don't plan on going out and fighting the good fight."

We simmered in the silence. I wasn't sure what Professor Sycamore was thinking about, but I was anxious about the future. Only three, almost four months in and I had been left at death's door.

"Professor, what's the best way to increase the strength of my Pokémon? We've been training and seeing good results, but the training we are doing has its limits and that seems to be the level of strength used by those around the fifth and sixth gym badges. I doubt that it comes close to the Elite Four, let alone the Champion."

"Well," he said, his face showing a look of serious contemplation and hesitance, "your training consists of a lot of strength training and body conditioning, a very important part of a Pokémon's strength. What they lack is proper stimulation of Pokémon energies. While I'm sure you have your Pokémon practice with mock battles, that is nowhere near enough.

"By facing strong opponents, your Pokémon are forced to enhance the quality of the energy they use for their moves. That is what they need. From what we've been told by the agents following you, you seem to also be able to harness that energy in some way, though exactly how is yet to be understood."

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"I see," I replied, though I was surprised why he hesitated to say that. "Is that something that's available to the public?"

"No, it's not. There is a lot of information that is withheld from the public. It's used to incentivize people to join the League and earn League Points through missions and public services," he replied with a sigh.

That… That did not sit well with me. It made sense, but they were deliberately lowering the average strength of the region just so they could have their own army at their disposal. Damn, the entirety of Pokémon is a stratocracy. But they were doing a damn fine job of keeping everyone safe and happy.

"Professor, what would the League say if I wanted to venture on my own for a while, training and exploring this amazing world."

"I would imagine they would have someone go with you to make sure you aren't causing trouble, if they let you go at all. I imagine they think you still may have some connections with these portals," he replied with a sigh. "I honestly think they think too much of you, no offense."

"None taken, it's true," I replied with a small smile.

"I think we can get them to agree to you starting some field work for them with a League affiliated partner."

"That… would be nice, actually," I said, grateful that Professor Sycamore was such a kind man.

"Ok, you rest up. I'll ask around if there are any League trainers willing to join you. I'll be in touch," Prof. Sycamore said with a warm smile before walking out.

I had a lot to think about. But none of that mattered at the moment. I could finally remember my family from my old life, but I had a new family to take care of now. I stood up from the bed. Tetsu/Ferrothorn jumped into my arms and I held her as I thought.

"Ok, Nautilus, Tetsu. We're going to go look for someone who wants to join our family."

"No, you're not," an annoyed voice sounded from the entrance. Nurse Joy was back. "Get back in bed and let your wound heal. Look, it's opened up again!"

She grumbled as she changed the bandages, though she took a little longer than last time.

"Your wound is healing up a lot faster than I thought. You'll be free to go in a few hours," Nurse Joy said. "But don't aggravate your wounds!"

She walked out, leaving me alone in the room. I looked at Nautilus, who was floating near the window, looking out. I strained my neck to look outside as well. There were several trainers battling each other. I could also see a few Pokémon playing together outside.

"Nautilus, wanna go outside?" I asked him.

He turned to look at me for a seconds before looking back outside and nodding. They've been stuck in their Pokéballs for a while. I wonder if I can let them roam around on their own.

"Tch, I should make more friends. I doubt the Professor has time to babysit."

A nurse, not Nurse Joy, walked into the room. He checked something on a clipboard before telling me he would bring me lunch, my choice. I asked for a sandwich of any kind before asking if there was someone who could take my Pokémon out for a stroll or battle.

Apparently, PokéCenters hire trainers to battle the Pokémon of bedridden patients. I could post on the Mission App and someone would hopefully pick it up. I did exactly that, getting a ping about someone taking the task on after a few minutes of waiting. Normally, I would wait for those few hours so I could do it myself. I could see Nautilus getting very antsy just standing there, so I decided to let them go out for a bit.

Within 10 minutes, a young woman opened the door. Pale skinned, dark orange hair tied up in a ponytail that stopped just above her waist, dark green eyes, wearing a flower-themed white tee, blue jeans, and white slip-ons. She looked almost exactly like one of my exes, except her hair was much darker and her eyes were green, not an icy blue.

"Umm, did you post that mission about taking Pokémon out for a bit?" she asked, her clear but soft voice a bit deeper than I expected.

"Oh, yeah, I did. Sorry for staring, you look like someone I know. Um, here are Nautilus, the edgelord of a Malamar over there-" I quickly responded. Malamar glared at me when I addressed him.

'A what?'

"And Tetsu, the lovely Ferrothorn."

"Ferro!" Tetsu bounced happily at her introduction.

"Oh, okay. So, do you want me to just take them for a walk?" she said as she squatted down to play with Tetsu.

"Yes, please," I told her. "I'll take them out for some battles once I'm out of here. The two have been stuck here for five days, so I want them to get out for a bit and play with others while we wait."

"Got it. Any tips or quirks I should know about?"

"Er, not that I'm aware of. Though Nautilus here has been a bit grumpy."

"Alright, I'll bring them back in an hour or two," she said with a smile. She left with the two in their Pokéballs. Now that I think about it, I probably should have checked her Trainer profile to make sure I could trust she wouldn't run off with the two.

I got my phone out and began my detective work. Let's see, Araceli Frye, a 21 year old Ace Trainer. She graduated from a Trainer School in Unova and specialized as a Fire-Type Pokémon Breeder. She has completed 12,334 missions, earned an average of 8.6 out of 10 in ratings, and works for Professor Sycamore.

I can't believe this much information is posted on the League and Mission Apps, fucking wild. I feel like a stalker now. But she works for the Professor. I wonder how many trainers I've battled work for him or other professors.

Oh, it seems as if she participated in the tournament and got… Holy crap! She got third place. She must be strong, I wonder if she'll be down for a battle. I started watching some videos of the tournament, deciding this was how I wanted to waste my time. Most of the trainers were not very strong. Well, their Pokémon weren't very strong.

I saw the kid whose Helioptile I almost killed participated in the tournament. He did pretty well, getting 20th place. If he got the 20th spot, most of the others were pretty weak. However, the top 16 were different. They used some very clever strategies or were just wrecking through their opponents with overwhelming strength.

The battles between them were very exciting. Araceli used a Monferno, Darumaka, and Fletchinder. I could already see how far she could go with those, if their game counterparts were anything to go by. It would definitely be good to battle her.

Soon enough, she came back with gleeful Ferrothorn and a very content-looking Malamar. I knew getting outside would help with his mood. Araceli looked happy as well.

"I was watching some battles from the tournament and saw you did very well. First off, congratulations. Second, do you mind having a battle with me at some point?" I asked.