Chapter 27 - Surprise after Surprise
“Just a bit more heat Litwick.”
“Lit!”
The little candle Pokémon’s flame started burning more intensely, finally producing enough heat to boil the water inside the pot.
“That’s it, this will make enough morning tea for everyone thanks Litwick.”
“Wick!”
Why did I request Litwick’s help with cooking while this house had a perfectly serviceable stove? Preparing food together was an activity me and Numsy have come to enjoy and since then I’ve seen it as a helpful bonding exercise.
It was still a bit too early in the morning for my team to wake up, so I got myself started on preparing breakfast. Victini’s antics from last night emptied my expensive berry supply significantly so this first meal of the day was somewhat cheaper compared to the standard fare I made for my Pokémon. We finished breakfast preparations just before the rest of my team woke up. Glove was still sleeping soundly but a quick shake to let him know that it was time to eat did the trick. I made some toast for myself with the oran jam I found in one of the cabinets. complemented by a glass of freshly squeezed cheri berry juice.
“This is nice… wait what the!?”
The Cheri juice I had just poured for myself froze over just as I was about to drink it.
‘The only one in the house with an ice type on her team is…’
“My pranking immunity expired last night, didn’t it? You can stop hiding yourself, Froslass I know it was you.”
“Lass Lass Lass!”
‘It is said that Snorunt can survive by only eating snow and ice. I don’t know how much of that is true but in any case, I don’t want to get on the bad side of this femme fatale that’s for sure. Maybe if I…?’
I picked up my frozen cheri juice dumped it in a bowl paired it with some whipped cream out of the fridge stuck a spoon in it from one of the drawers in the kitchen and presented it to Froslass as a sort of peace offering.
“Here you go you must have been hungry too, right?”
Luckily it seems Froslass was pining for a frozen treat of her own because she let me off with a simple nod, before taking my gifted peace offering into her hands and flying off. With a bit of pride for handling the situation like an expert I resumed eating my breakfast pouring myself another glass of juice.
“Litwick and Rena are you two ready for today? Kira’s Chandelure is going to teach Rena the basics of will-o-wisp and Litwick you’ll get to watch them. This’ll be a great learning experience for the both of you.”
“Lit!”
“Pix!”
“Now there will be people coming over throughout the day to observe Litwick so don’t mind the spectators. For a large part of this morning, I’ll be going sightseeing in the settlement. I didn’t get to visit the psychic academy yet and I am hoping to score a psychic type technical machine from them. That way Tini will also have a new move to work on.”
“Num…?”
“I am sorry Numsy, aside from our general exercise routine I don’t have anything new to teach you for now. When we get back to Hoenn I’ll ask Mr. Moore to teach us some of the more powerful fire type moves, but don’t let that stop you from experimenting with new type energies. I am fairly certain you have grown powerful enough to try your hoof at rock type energies.”
“Glove, how's learning confusion coming along?”
“Dar…”
“It’s okay we all have our difficulties learning something completely new the first time. You know how to perform belly drum right?”
“Dar.” The blazing Pokémon gave me an affirming nod.
“Switching to zen mode with the use of that move should be doable. Learning to use confusion after switching forms is probably less demanding, and after you have figured out how to do so in zen mode performing the move in your regular form should be the next step. I’ll make sure to set aside our remaining oran berries for you to use to replenish your endurance. Now we just need a volunteer to feed you the berries while you are petrified…”
“Quill!”
“You’ll help out? That’s really generous of you Tranquill.”
“Glove, do you mind me walking with the egg alone while you train? It’s been a while and professor Elm’s studies have shown that trainers walking with their eggs makes them hatch quicker.”
Glove now showed a contemplating expression. On the one hand he would like to see the royal Pokémon be born as soon as possible and on the other he probably feels that leaving the egg alone is the same as neglecting his duties.
“Don’t worry we’re strong enough to protect the egg from any thief or bandit isn’t that right Numsy?”
“Num num!”
With today’s planning decided on, each member of my team went forth to complete their assignments. Numsy and Victini being the only ones to come with me to scout out the psychic academy. Phoebe, not being a morning person, was committed to staying in bed until the guests arrived. Apparently, Kira’s younger sister was a big deal in the ghost rearing community, so my wayward friend was incessant on meeting her.
“Tini, do you want to get into my backpack? Kira did give us a warning that you should avoid getting seen by the headmistress.”
Victini who was getting used to being able to openly interact with people living in the villa was a tad reluctant of going(to go?) back to avoiding the public eye but in the end, she grudgingly complied with my request.
“When we get there, I’ll try and see if we can find Beheeyem again. I’ve been wondering if you are able to learn the move teleport. I know that only certain species of Psychic type Pokémon can actually use the move, but it would be pretty cool if you could.”
“I don’t know… I never tried it before.”
“I am not really expecting to be able to buy any of their technical machines since we have to save most of the money for our return trip home. In any case this’ll give us something to shoot for. I can’t wait for you to try my grandma’s freshly baked Lava cookies. They are way tastier than the preserved ones. She also takes special requests if you want to try specific kinds of fermented berries.”
“Even liechi berry?”
“That berry… finding it in the wild is such a rare occurrence. I’ve told you about mirage island, right? People have spent their whole lives looking for that special place. The only location in Hoenn with just the right environmental factors which allow this rarest of berries to grow in the wild. Even Hoenn’s premier berry master can’t get it to grow in his state-of-the-art greenhouses. Maybe with you by my side we’ll have better luck finding it. My theory is that a colony of wobuffet and wynaut are hiding the island’s location just like those baltoy from the desert resort. If we can find that island, we’ll get to taste those elusive berries, and bring enough back home for some truly special Lava cookies. Those berries are just the right mix between sweet and spicy perfect for a sweet tooth fire type like yourself.”
“Sweet AND spicy!?”
“Num!”
“Numsy you wouldn’t like that berry, it's too sweet for your taste palette. If we ever get the chance to visit the berry master’s gardens, I’ll pick out a Belue berry for you. It is said that they taste very sour but with a hint of spiciness.”
As we were daydreaming about uncommon berries, I didn’t notice the time passing by. As a result we were standing in front of the entrance to the Psychic academy without having registered our arrival. Numsy, being the most observant of us three poked my trouser leg with his snout to let me know that we had already arrived. The school building looked the same as any other trainer school I’ve seen passing the numerous towns and cities in Unova.
Seeing as there were no people standing outside and the gate was open (so?) we let ourselves in. Inside instead of a person manning the reception desk a perky looking Gothorita was swiveling on the desk chair. Obviously the Pokémon got bored and decided to goof off for a bit.
“Excuse me?”
“Rita?”
“Yes, I am here to observe an ongoing class. I’d really like to see what a typical lesson looks like for psychically gifted school kids.”
I felt the familiar sensation of a psychic type Pokémon looking to connect with my mind but before Gothorita had a chance to, she was mentally rebuffed by the rabbit Pokémon stuck in my backpack.
“No more squatters!”
Gothorita, unprepared for any form of retaliation was surprised when her comfy swivel chair suddenly rotated a whole lot faster than she was used to. Like a carousel out of control the chair kept spinning and at the end of it all Gothorita was thoroughly disorientated while making googly eyes.
‘No Tini that’s bad! I thought we agreed to keep a low profile. Gothorita wouldn’t know that I already have you with me so you shouldn’t be that harsh on her. Now hopefully she forgives us otherwise we have to hightail it out of here.’
“We are very sorry Gothorita! My psychic type partner really doesn’t like it when others enter my mindspace and she acted out. Can you please forgive us?”
“Goth…”
‘What did she say Tini?’
“She is speaking gibberish, it doesn’t mean anything.”
‘What do we do!? Maybe we should come back another time when another Pokémon is working the reception desk.’
“You there! young man. What are you doing harassing our staff!?”
A professional looking woman marched towards me obviously having noticed Gothorita’s dazed condition. She was wearing a black pencil skirt and white blouse combination, telling the world that she took her job very seriously.
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“Uhmm it was an accident…?”
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10 minutes later*
The woman named Jasmine turned out to be the headmistress of this academy. Who after introducing herself took me to her office for an immediate scolding.
“So, you are telling me that you wanted to come take the school’s universal offer to see one of our lessons being held and when Gothorita tried to touch minds one of your partners took offense and gyrated her office chair so fast that she almost fainted.”
“Yeah… that’s basically what happened. Not many psychic types assume that I already have a Pokémon poking around there and she gets upset when her space gets invaded.”
“Hmm… your explanation seems plausible enough and no permanent harm was done by making my assistant woozy for a couple of minutes. Your partner must be quite skilled to get a leg up on Gothorita like that. Are you perhaps looking to enroll in our fine institution?”
“I don’t think I have the gift like some of your other students ma’am. I was just looking to learn some general information about training psychic type Pokémon, and I thought I could accomplish that by attending one of your lessons.”
“Yes, there are indeed many parallels between training human psychics and Pokémon of the psychic type. Pray tell of what species is your partner Pokémon?”
‘I knew it would come to this… I hope I can lie convincingly else we need to get out of here. I should’ve brought Glove with us for a plausible excuse even though he can’t even use psychic moves at the moment.’
“A Natu but she’s very shy so she won’t come out of her Pokéball.”
Her eyes flash briefly with what I believe to be disappointment before she stood up and opened the door going out of her office.
“Follow me then. I’ll show you what a typical day looks like in this place of learning.”
As we walked along the corridor, I noticed most of the classrooms were completely empty. I was expecting to see a bunch of kids my age running around. ‘A tad wasteful having such a large building without anyone being able to make use of the facilities.’
“Humans who are psychically gifted only compromise about 0.2% of the population. We work hard trying to fill up these classrooms young man.”
“Eh!? Did you read my mind?”
“I didn’t have to. Just understand that these classrooms aren’t empty by choice. Each year we only have a limited number of students enrolling. Our staff members scour all of Unova for gifted children which is hard without violating any privacy laws concerning the sanctity of a person’s or Pokémon’s mind. If we do find children of a suitable age to enroll, we also have to receive parent’s permission to move them into the settlement.”
“Hmm indeed that would make it fairly hard to find students. May I ask how many children are currently enrolled at this academy?”
“Eleven… The children that study at this institution get a full ride. Housing, an allowance for food and recreational activities and private tutoring by qualified personnel. If they happen to fall behind in their general studies. After they have finished their coursework, they are also awarded with a trainer’s license and the academy is responsible for finding them their first partner Pokémon. Naturally we raise the finest psychic type Pokémon around.”
Just like that she guided me towards the only classroom which was in use while extolling the benefits children get for enrolling at her school. To be fair even I was tempted to resume my education here after getting a full overview of what this academy had to offer.
“How does the academy determine if an individual has psychic potential?”
“Naturally parentage plays a big part. Children who are born into families with psychic abilities tend to have them as well to a greater or lesser degree. It is also possible for one to develop this potential even if there is no such relation through a random mutation, although such cases are very rare. Finally, a regular person may develop some minor psychic potential through long lasting relationships with psychic type Pokémon. In the latter case those individuals are limited in what they can do and end up at the same level as those carnival fare workers. You know the ones… bending spoons and reading tarot cards. As for how to tell for sure if one has the gift. It usually involves putting a person through severe mental distress. We stage a fake dangerous situation with the parents’ permission of course.”
“I see…”
“Let’s get out of here, this lady seems dangerous!”
‘Just a bit longer let’s take a look at the students first before arriving at any conclusions.’
“These are the children under my care. They are studying math at the moment so you are free to observe them.”
The classroom we stopped at was filled with a handful of teenagers. The atmosphere seemed the same as any other school environment I’ve come across except for one notable difference. Each of these students had a psychic type Pokémon out seemingly helping them with their coursework. The Pokémon in question were all native from Unova.
Gothita, the Fixation Pokémon. Gothita watches Pokémon and Trainers with an intense stare. Its bow-like feelers amplify its Psychic powers. Even when nobody seems to be around, Gothita can still be heard making a muted cry. Many believe it's speaking to something only it can see.
Solosis, the Cell Pokémon. A membrane filled with fluid surrounds Solosis's body which allows it to live anywhere. It defeats its enemies using its formidable Psychic-type powers. Many say that the special liquid covering this Pokémon's body would even allow it to survive in the vacuum of space.
Munna, the Dream Eater Pokémon. Munna can eat the dreams of people and Pokémon alike, and then project those dreams by emitting Dream Mist from its body. The mist is pink when it's eating a good dream, and black when it's eating a nightmare. Late at night, it appears beside people's pillows. As it feeds on dreams, the patterns on its body give off a faint glow.
This was the first time I’ve seen so many psychic types gathered in one place. Naturally my first instinct was to play with them. I repressed my desire to get to know these new Pokémon mostly because of Victini's jealous streak and since they were in the middle of receiving lessons.
As I was watching outside the class window the headmistress noticed my use of a Pokédex.
“One of the lab sponsored trainers then? Aren’t you a bit too young to have already received your trainer’s license?”
“I earned my trainer’s license in Hoenn where any ten-year-old can undertake the examination. My license is recognized by the Unovan league association, but I am not allowed to compete in tournaments. Something about setting a bad example. In any case the professor pays me a small sum if I uncover things that are helpful to his research, while I am on my journey.”
“Tell me… since you seem to have some form of relation with our regional professor. Are you aware of the discovery of a previously unknown Psychic type Pokémon in Unova? My contacts have told me Cedric Juniper’s daughter is working on something big.”
My heart was about to come out of its chest until I realized she probably wasn’t talking about Victini but the newly discovered Darmanitan form.
“Ahem yeah. They discovered that Darmanitan has an ability that allows it to switch typing from fire to dual fire and psychic. I was actually there when they made the discovery, and I caught one of those Darmanitan for my team. He’s been having a rough time learning psychic type moves though, but I am sure he’ll get it down pat with some further training.”
There was no need to elucidate the headmistress on my more direct role in this discovery. The less attention she directed towards us the better.
“Fascinating, might I see this Darmanitan of yours? This irregular Pokémon would be perfect for an impromptu guest lesson.”
“I would show him to you but he’s back at Kira’s place practicing confusion.”
“That is not a problem. I am familiar with all the places inside the settlement we can teleport from here to her villa and back again in but a moment’s notice.”
“Ehm maybe? He’s not the type to show off as much and I don’t know how teleportation will affect my egg.”
“Tell you what young man if you let my students study this Darmanitan of yours I will recompense you for the time and effort.”
The word recompense nabbed my attention.
“Recompense as in maybe a technical machine?”
“We do actually pay money to guest teachers you know? Also, we aren’t by any means a poor institution. If you want your Pokémon to learn a particular psychic type move, we have a couple of short courses on offer.”
“I was just wondering because I figured that a technical machine could really get my partner Pokémon started and we have to leave for Hoenn at the end of the day.”
The headmistress looked miffed probably under the impression that I didn’t have enough faith in the school’s services but ultimately, she relented.
“Fine, we do have a couple in stock for the types of Pokémon who have a learning disability: simple minded woobat, slowpoke and the like. You can pick one from our catalogue after showing off your Darmanitan in front of the class.”
“Right away ma’am! I’ll go get him, it's only a ten minute walk.”
“Hold up a second young man. I can have my Beheeyem teleport you over.”
“No thank you. I need the exercise. I'll be back in no time!”
Before she got the chance to stop me, I already made a beeline back to Kira’s Villa. With Victini still in my bag I didn’t want to risk being discovered during the teleportation.
“This is it, Tini. If everything works out the way I hope it does, we might be able to snag ourselves a teleportation technical machine! No more standing in line like with the rest of the peasants, we’ll get those Castelia cones before anyone else does!”
“For the sweets!”
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Back at the villa*
“So, I would like to show off your zen mode in a classroom setting and in return we’ll get to pick a technical machine from the academy.”
We made it back to the villa in good time. Glove was using the courtyard to train and since he used belly drum to enter his zen mode state, communication was slow going.
“Tini what does he say?”
“Glove doesn’t mind… he successfully got confusion to work while we were gone.”
“That’s amazing Glove! When we get to Mistralton you’ll get to pick the restaurant we dine at.”
I recalled Glove inside his pokéball but before I got the chance to leave. A certain bird pokemon perched on my shoulders.
“Quill!”
Oh, hey Tranquill thanks for looking after Glove for us. You can take all the leftover berries in my backpack for yourself as a reward for a job well done. Do you want to come with us? Or would you rather explore the surrounding area some more?
“Tranq! Quill!”
Tranquill lifted off most probably to stuff herself full of berries.
“Me too?”
“No, you are on a diet. Besides you and the team ate most of my berries last night. We’ll have to resupply once we arrive in Mistralton.”
As we were surveying our surroundings, we noticed a crowd of people gathering on Kira’s lawn. Kira herself was seated on the edge of her porch and standing on her lap was my worrisome Litwick. Inclined to avoid the crowd I sent the little guy a silent prayer before darting out the front door. I would have dropped by just to give words of encouragement to Litwick, but I still needed to keep a low profile while in Unova. I was one hundred percent certain Rena would keep an eye on the little guy and make sure none of those invited would get overly touchy with my Pokémon.
“Let’s get back before Darmanitan reverts back to his regular form.”
I didn’t know how long it would take for Glove to recover its stamina and exit zen mode, but I knew I didn’t want him using belly drum again. Repeated use of that move in a single day has sent a good number of users to the Pokémon center for an extended stay. We made our way back to the academy. This time I didn’t want to chance someone accidentally discovering Victini by snooping in my bag so, we both decided it would be best that she stay in her poké ball for the remainder of the lecture. At the entrance of the school headmistress Jasmine was already waiting for us.
“You have returned, are you ready to present your Darmanitan to the class?”
“Yes ma’am. Glove won’t really be able to interact with the class, since in his alternate state his body becomes petrified. However, I can talk about where I found him and the peculiarities of his ability. IF that is okay with you?”
“That’ll do. Be sure not to overly excite the students lest you lose control of the topic of conversation. I will introduce you and give the sign when it’s okay for you to walk in.”
With that we returned to the classroom’s entrance and the headmistress walked inside the classroom.
‘This is the first time Glove will interact with a large group of people since I captured him. Hopefully everything will turn out okay.’
“Just keeping close to the egg will be enough for Glove.”
“And with that I’d like to introduce you to Egon from Lavaridge Town and his recently captured Darmanitan.”
She gave me the signal to come into the classroom.
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Nearing the end of the lecture*
“And that’s how I captured Glove. Once I got to know him better things just worked itself out. He’s still adjusting to modern times. The first time we entered a city the sights left him completely stunned. Back then the most populated place was the relic castle and that place doesn’t even come close to the size of Nimbasa City.”
Ä girl with pigtails named Tammy raised her hand.
“How come the Darmanitan didn’t die of old age? I have heard no mention of Pokémon being able to live that long.”
“A good question. My guess is that being stuck in Zen mode halted the ageing process for Glove and his fellow guard Pokémon. And I am speculating that after a while the mind just shuts down to protect itself from going mad. So, he didn’t really realize how long he’s been stuck in that state. Next question please.”
This time one of the boys excitedly asked a question foregoing the raising of the hand.
“Are we going to see you and Glove competing in this year’s Ventress Conference?”
“Sadly no, I am set to return to Hoenn so maybe you’ll get to see me competing in the Evergrande conference.”
The teens acted just like any other kids their age. Being able to move objects with their minds or glimpse the future didn’t really have any effect on their personalities as far as I could tell. Being able to do these things as a human must not feel all that special if any psychic type Pokémon could do the same but better. After the asking of questions died down somewhat I unlatched Glove’s ball from my belt.
“Now it’s time for some showboating. Strut your stuff Glove!”
My Darmanitan materialized in front of the classroom still stuck in his zen mode. The students were notably impressed by his figure. I was hearing Multiple Ooh’s and Aaah’s
“Now as you can see this is how a Darmanitan looks in its zen mode state. Notice the petrified blue fur and the arms that have receded into his body? He is still aware of what is going on around him with his psychically heightened senses. It is just that he has trouble expressing himself while in this form.”
I pat Glove on the back.
“He’s been with me only for a short while, but I’ve met no other Pokémon more dutiful and of staunch character. Now to return him to his regular form he only needs to recover his physical stamina. This can be done faster by feeding him or using a recovery move. In fact, let’s hear what the Pokédex has to say about Glove. I am pretty sure the scientists at the desert resort have had ample time to update the entry of his species.”
Darmanitan, Zen mode. A Fire and Psychic type. When Darmanitan is injured in a fierce battle, it hardens into a stone-like form. Then it meditates and sharpens its mind. Through meditation, it calms its raging spirit and hones its psychic powers.
“The entry may seem complete but there’s still a lot of stuff missing like average size and the moves it can perform while in this state. Since there aren’t many of these Darmanitan around. Researchers are going to have a blast learning all there is to know about Zen mode. If any of you want to touch his fur to experience what his petrified form feels like you can do so now. Just remember to be gentle, he still has his sense of touch.”
The students needing no more encouragement lined up to touch Glove’s rocky exterior. While the class was busy, Headmistress Jasmine took me aside for a quick one on one conversation. Judging by the mellowed expression on her face she was impressed enough with my teaching skills to forgive me for that little mishap in the morning.
“What a wonderful lesson you barely had to put in effort to keep the class’ attention on the lecture. Your Darmanitan is an exemplary specimen of its kind. I would very much like to acquire one for this Academy. You say the expedition only managed to unpetrify one other who is currently under the care of Lenora from Nacrene city?”
“Well, so far at least. I’ve only seen five Darmanitan stuck in their zen mode outside the excavation site. There could be more buried deep within the sand though. The expedition is currently waiting for a batch of ragecandybar ordered directly from Jhoto. The only reason the scientists managed to figure out that these Darmanitan weren’t just statues was because I had two of those candy bars with me in my backpack. It’ll probably be another week and some change before the scientists can unpetrify more Darmanitan.”
“Thank you, Egon, that’s all I needed to know. This Academy still has quite some pull with the league association. I’ll do my best to convince them to allow me a chance to capture one.”
After class was over and the students were heading out for their lunch break Jasmine motioned for me to follow her to an isolated part of the school building where the technical machines were kept. The archive room seemed dusty, like it hadn’t been used in a long while.
“This is also the place where we keep student records and the like, so we only need to use the room once every so often. You need only to pick one technical machine from that shelf over there, if you feel like you can’t make an informed decision just ask for help, I am an expert when it comes to battling with psychic types.”
‘Teleport Teleport Teleport!’
“Calm down Egon!”