Chapter 59 – Ability Power

After successfully scheduling a reservation at the Lilycove city gym me and the gang resolved to make our way back to Mt. Pyre but before leaving we first had to make sure that Victini acclimated herself to a point of return. Teleporters have to at least spend some amount of time in places they intend to anchor themselves to. In our case we had a perfectly serviceable lighthouse which was located right next to the gym. Victini, having grown up inside a lighthouse during her childhood, was eager to compare this building to her old home. Sadly, one look at the no trespassing sign outside of the building shut down our visitation plan real fast.

“Vi!” “Let’s go in anyway!”

“This lighthouse is still being used, Tini. If we break something, we’ll be in a heap of trouble. How about you go and join those Wingull sunbathing on the railings of the viewing room? I am fairly sure the sights will be amazing.”

“Vi! Vi!” “Fine! But the best part of any lighthouse is the basement”

Victini floated off invisibly to the top of the lighthouse to take in the view but also to scare the living daylights out of a few unsuspecting wingull. While I took this opportunity to sit on a nearby bench just content to enjoy the ocean view with the only one on the team who could appreciate the peace and quiet.

“Nitan.”

“I am sorry… I didn’t know she would run off like that. That Tangela was a bit heavy handed but at least this way she’s learned an important lesson about wandering off while on private property.”

“…”

“From now on you may veto any decision I make in relation to Halo’s well-being.”

My concession seemed to have assuaged Glove’s worries somewhat seeing as the fire type went back to enjoying the view with me. It was a joy seeing the local wailmer and staryu population happily swimming along together with the tourists. I wasn’t much of a fan of going to the beach but playing with wild Pokémon was one of my all-time favorite hobbies. Regrettably since my entire team had a natural aversion to large bodies of water, I couldn’t justify spending my time frolicking about with the rest of the beachgoers.

We sat there like that for what seemed to be around an hour. The monotony only broken by an adventurous krabby looking to beggar food scraps off of us. Naturally the crustacean’s bravery earned him half a lava cookie. I was about to fall asleep when Victini gave me the equivalent of a brain dm to let us know she was done sightseeing. I turned around and noticed Glove had already fallen asleep, so I silently returned him to his poké ball.

My little gremlin wasted no time grabbing me by the collar and teleporting us off to Phoebe’s home. We reappeared right outside the front gate. Somehow or another it was a complete hassle for her to teleport inside the castle. Victini likened it to jumping in a vat of grease; she could do it but with no sense of accuracy or finesse. We walked inside but not before calling out to whoever might be currently present inside the castle’s hallway to let them know it was us.

“We’re back!”

“Vi! VI!”

We heard a quick series of shuffling pawsteps before a red blur launched itself into my arms.

“Pix! Pix!”

“I’ve only been away for a single day. Did you miss me that badly?”

“Vuuul!”

“She did what!? Never mind… is dinner served? We’re starving.”

Before exiting the hallway, I took off my hiking shoes first and slipped on a pair of comfortable indoors slippers. It was actually quite uncommon to uphold this archaic practice since most households keep Pokémon who eventually trek dirt on their clean floors anyway. This wasn’t the case for Phoebe’s fancy castle since ghost types mostly just tended to float from location to location. She “accidentally” forgot to tell me during my first stay here. That's when I found out those servitor ghosts could prank with the best of them.

On the way over to the dining room Rena started yipping all about how she’s so lucky to have me as her trainer and not to ever leave her alone with Flannery and her little brother again. She got so affectionate that I started wondering if it would be a good idea to have all my Pokémon be looked after by Flannery for at least one time. Although I could sympathize with Rena having to deal with her smaller brother’s snarky comments while being under the direction of the hyperactive redhead.

Entering the dining room, I noticed Flannery, Phoebe and her grandparents were already there waiting for us.

“Welcome back! How’d it go?”

Instead of telling them I pulled out the feather badge which up until this point was securely stowed away in my front row pocket. Unlike all the other trainers this circuit, who started off with a league issued complementary badge case, I kept all of my earned badges in my backpack or sometimes my pockets if I was planning to show off in front of other people.

“Congratulations Egon! Now you’ll just have to earn five more to qualify for the Ever Grande conference. Let’s eat!”

All the people at the table acknowledged my accomplishment before starting dinner and while I regaled them with the play by play of my match with Winona. Victini happily zipped around stealing choice morsels off of everybody’s plates. I released some of my partners while I was busy with my regaling of today’s events so they could eat with the rest of us. Everyone aside of Numsy had a free pass to come join us during mealtimes which I was sure to make up for with an extra full plate once we got back to quarters that were more accommodating for his size and weight. When I got to the part about our secret stalker the grandparents became alarmed. Phoebe’s grandfather shared some of his insights on the matter.

“Hmm… this is troubling news. And Victini couldn’t sense this person beforehand?”

“Yes, usually she notices right away when a wild Pokémon or person comes up to us.”

“I’ve heard rumors of some dark type specialists slowly becoming more immune to being perceived by the mental senses of psychic types alongside their growth as a trainer. Hiring the services of such an individual couldn’t have come cheap. To not have opted to try and capture Victini right away tells me that this must have been an on the book assignment. Hiring a private investigator to track you down is considered perfectly legal as long as that same person doesn’t come back another day for a repeat performance. Still… I’d advise you to forego traveling through the routes from now on.”

“We still have five badges to earn, that isn’t going to work.”

“Victini is capable of teleporting you to most cities. You just have to use your gym winnings to hire teleportation services to the towns she hasn’t visited yet.”

“I don’t know, maybe…”

I was a firm believer that traveling on the routes was what made a journey memorable. If one just teleported between cities to finish up their circuit a lot of that valuable experience would be lost. As I am ruminating on possible alternatives Flannery took this opportunity to speak up.

“Grandpa wants me to come back. If Egon is no longer able to travel I guess it would be time for me to head on home. Oooh! I can’t wait to introduce you to grandpa’s ninetales!”

Flannery’s Vulpix who was busy dozing off on her lap pulled one eye open and gave a short mewl to confirm he heard his new trainer before falling back asleep again.

“Egon, can I borrow Victini tomorrow pretty pleaseee?”

“What for!?” “VI!?”

“She can teleport me all the way to Lavaridge in one go right? Phoebe says her Grandpa’s Xatu can only get me as far as Mauville city.”

‘Can you? That’s pretty far away.’

“Vi! Vi!” “Of course I can!”

“Do you want to?”

“Vi… Vi!” “…Four berries! And it has to be ones I haven’t tried yet.”

“Why four?”

“One for a single teleport, two because it’s extra far. And I also need to get back so it’s four!”

That last bit she didn’t deign to share with the rest of the people at the table so I helpfully conveyed her demands to Flannery.

“Four berries she hasn’t had before?! Hmmm can you give me a list? The gym’s pantry should have what I need.”

“It’s fine you can just let her in, and she’ll pick out four of them on her own.”

I avoided telling Flannery that Victini wasn’t above grabbing a few extra berries while there but it was implied. Most Pokémon couldn’t control themselves around food especially so in the face of rare berries. Market prices strangely correlated to how irresistible berries were to an individual Pokémon. Luckily for her Victni had a limited amount of berries she could nab with her on the way back due to the limitations on the move teleport requiring the user to be in touch with the being or object. Although I was curious about one aspect of Victini’s strange request.

‘How come you aren’t asking for four Custap berries. I know you have that sweet tooth.’

“I kept thinking about it and I was inspired by a very special Pokémon.”

“You don’t mean that Wailmer?”

“Yes! His brave story inspired me to set out to accomplish goals of my own! From now on one of my minor dreams in life is to have tasted every single berry that’s out there!”

“I am happy for you Tini.”

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The following day*

After we had woken up the following morning, I wasted no time to serve my team their breakfast meals. After which Victini zipped off to Flannery’s guestroom to bring her back to Lavaridge town. While she was away me and the team were set to go back to the mountain’s summit to resume our training. I had gotten some new ideas after battling with Winona which I was eager to try out but first I had to deal with another problem, this one shaped in the form of a crazed childhood friend.

“Egon! This is the second day in a row Victini’s not available for our practice spars. What are you going to do about that?”

“Uhmm… she should be back before midday. If you are still around, you could ask her to spar with you then. Or we could do so in the evening.”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Just like a machoke in the gym, Phoebe was determined to keep making those gains. I’ve seen for myself just how much her team has improved by facing the overwhelming force that is Victini. At this point my partner had to put in serious effort to keep defeating the ghost type specialist’s Pokémon. Facing off against Phoebe helped us learn to deal with all manner of tricks the competition might throw at us at the conference, so it was a mutually beneficial situation.

“I can’t! Me and Glacia are having a scrimmage match in just a few hours. Don’t think you’ll get off scot free though, this goes on your tally! Tomorrow, you’ll owe me two extra sparring sessions!”

Finished, saying what she had come to convey Phoebe stormed off probably to cajole her grandpa’s Xatu into teleporting her to that supposed meeting place. Phoebe had been more irritable as of late and with the end of the season coming closer, she’d have to work extra hard to get into the top four on the ace trainer rankings.

I was about to ask my own psychic type Pokémon for a lift to the mountain’s summit when I realized that Victini had gone with Flannery.

“…Screwed myself, didn’t I?”

“Vuuuul…?”

Making sure Rena was on time to soak up all of the sun’s rays was paramount. One missed opportunity would add at least another two days’ worth on her schedule. Time we couldn’t afford to lose. I wasn’t planning on abusing Phoebe’s family’s hospitality for any longer than I had to.

“It’s okay I’ll just have to sprint to the top to make it in time before the sun rises. How bad could that be?”

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Mountain top*

“Ufff Huffff..!”

The silhouette of the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, and I wasted no time to release all my team members out of their respective balls. Within a moment’s notice I had my entire team surrounding me eager to hear about my new training plan for our last week’s stay here. Somehow or another the little Wynaut who had taken to living in the castle had followed me all the way up here keeping pace with my frantic running. The blue sneak had taken quite well to training, even though my focus was on strengthening up my own Pokémon, it was often with him as a practice target. Wynaut’s reasoning remained a mystery to me other than the fact that the friendly Pokémon just liked being part of a group.

“Ah! Wynaut you’re here that’s good. This next part of my training plan also involves you.”

“Wyy?”

“Okay everyone let’s huddle up!”

I got low to the ground while the rest of my team joined me in a semicircle.

“Okay our last match with Winona has taught me that we should really be working on mastering our innate abilities. From sixth badge level and up the gym Pokémon will be proficient in the use of their own abilities and to stay ahead of the game we should match in that regard.”

“Rupt?”

“Yes. Now I’ve compiled a list of known and unknown abilities each of you could theoretically learn how to use. For the most part I will be reserving the right to choose which ability you will be working on unless their worth in battle is about equal. Of course I will take into consideration your personal preferences.”

“Ruff!”

I pulled out a piece of printed paper showcasing images of Pokémon abilities at work. To more accurately illustrate to the team how learning to use such an ability would be beneficial to them in battle. While they went over the printed images I addressed my oldest and most trusted partner first.

“Okay Numsy, your species can develop three separate abilities. Magma Armor, Solid Rock or Anger Point. Let’s go over them one by one, Magma Armor makes it so a fire type Pokémon’s internal temperature which is usually way hotter in the core can be more evenly spread around the body. Making it almost impossible to get encased in ice from moves like Ice Beam or Blizzard. I’ve also heard that it helps Pokémon develop faster while still in the egg.”

“Came?!”

“No! I am not going to rent you out to breeding facilities! If we are that strapped for cash, I’ll take a second job. Anyway, the second ability Solid Rock cuts the power of super effective moves on you by roughly a third. To develop this ability, you’ll have to work up your tolerance against such moves.”

“Rupt!?”

“Yes, every day preferably from a strong water type.”

The rest of the group gave Numsy looks of pity. With all of them being fire types they could well imagine how arduous that type of training would be.

“Anger point… I refuse to actively participate in helping you develop this ability. Not a single responsible trainer would agree to do so.”

“Came?”

“It requires one to take on debilitating blows while building up one’s anger to the one which has inflicted said wounds on you. Pokémon with this ability are usually the victims of an abusive trainer. The body learns how to build up hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol at an astonishing rate. When this ability is triggered your physique’s potential for violence is maximized.”

My description of this ability quieted down the rest of the group. My team understood the serious nature of the topic I was discussing with them.

“I am not saying all Pokémon with this ability have such a background. You occasionally hear stories of some Pokémon willingly undergoing… the process. Pokémon living in the wild could naturally obtain this ability. Tauros frequently lock horns especially during their mating season. Them accidentally goring each other is not an uncommon occurrence. In any case… have you made your decision Numsy?”

“Rupt!”

“A solid choice ha! See what I did there?”

My brief attempt at levity seemed to have pulled the rest of the team out of their ponderous stupor. With a gleam in their eyes, they were ready to hear the rest of my training plan.

“Rena is already working on her ability, Glove already has his activated so that leaves us Orin, Raven and Halo.”

“Lit?”

“Tini’s ability is too esoteric; it might already be in use, and we wouldn’t know. Let’s talk about your own options. It would be either Flash Fire, Flame Body Infiltrator or… Shadow Tag. I am going to be honest here and tell you that I’ve no idea how to work on infiltrator. The first two are quite easy to train up. Flash Fire converts another’s flames into your own core boosting the fire power of your moves. You can imagine how that would be trained up. Flame Body is to leave a lasting burn on an opponent after he or she makes physical contact with you, again it also helps with hatching eggs. Shadow Tag is the signature ability of the Wobuffet line. It prevents the opponent from leaving the battlefield or running away in the wild although ghost type Pokémon are inherently resistant to any attempts at locking shadows with them.”

At my mentioning of Shadow Tag’s origins the rest of my team turned around to look at Wynaut who had huddled up with the rest of us listening on as I explained my training plans.

“Wick…?”

“Naut!”

“Yes, I have no idea how to train up Shadow Tag, but Wynaut might know. Even if he didn’t develop the ability himself, he’s been living with the wynaut colony on mirage island. There are very good odds of him knowing how.”

Orin and Wynaut were having a back and forth between themselves. With Victini absent I had trouble figuring out what they were talking about. In the end the two of them seemed to have come to some sort of understanding.

“Lit!”

“What was that?”

“Vuuuul.”

“Oh! So, in exchange for Wynaut teaching Orin his family’s secrets he wants us to find a capable trainer for him.”

“Naut!”

‘Not many trainers would be willing to put in the effort of training a Pokémon who can only defend and redirect. They’d have to be smart… smart enough to see the inherent value Wynaut possesses.’

“How about this… After our gym battle at the Lilycove city gym our next destination is Mossdeep city. There, they are well known for training psychic type Pokémon. Your best odds of finding a good trainer is to look amongst them. We can bring you along with us and when we arrive you can go looking for a trainer on the island.”

“Wyy!”

Deeming my offer acceptable, Wynaut used his armlike ears to grab a hold of Orin and hauled him off to one of his secret hiding places. The blue goblin had a penchant for setting up little hidey holes all over the mountain. Where he could privately engage in one of his all-time favorite hobbies, watching people and Pokémon go through their daily activities.

“Okay I guess that’s settled then. Halo you’re up next.”

“Vess!”

“Unlike the others you should not feel the need to worry overly much on attaining an ability. You are still not quite fully grown so there’s no pressure.”

“Laar?”

“I have knowledge on two possible abilities for your species. Either Flame Body like what I previously proposed to Orin or Swarm. Swarm is an ability exclusive to bug type Pokémon it boosts the power of your bug type moves in a pinch. I personally don’t know the training methods that would allow you to achieve this state. We could start working on Flame Body now or you’ll have to wait a bit and when we get home I’ll look up more information on the topic.”

“Vess!”

I couldn’t quite understand Halo’s poké speak but this sounded like she was eager to get to work right away. Implying that Flame Body was her preferred option.

“Alright then that’ll be our target goal for now though I’ll need you to start working on the move bug bite. You’re still a bit off from properly channeling bug type energy to form an attack. So for now it’s best if you start your abductor and adductor muscles a workout. When you can chew through this piece of rope that I brought along we’ll know you’re ready for the next stage.”

“Vess!”

The little bug type enthusiastically grabbed the rope I brought along and started the long and arduous process of giving her mandibles a workout. By my estimate it would take her about a week to chew through that rope. After which she’d be ready to attempt a real Bug Bite.

I now gave my attention to the last Pokémon who was in need of figuring out which ability to train up.

“Raven, you’ll have it the easiest out of everyone on the team. There are two primary abilities your species can develop. Flash Fire or Early Bird. The latter of which we haven’t discussed yet. Early Bird allows you to have some self-control when facing off against opponents who try to force you asleep. Whether through hypnosis, a lullaby, sleep-inducing dust or a gas move like yawn. It’ll allow you to shake off these effects quicker and resume battling. Naturally to do this you’ll have to work on your body’s circadian clock. I set up the alarm on my Xtransceiver, you go to sleep and try to wake up at the exact moment the alarm goes off. This training method gives you severe acute insomnia, but the results speak for themselves.”

“Arf!”

“You’d rather not?”

“Ruff!”

“Beauty sleep? Okay then I guess we’ll be working on Flash Fire.”

‘I never figured Raven to be a Pokémon that concerned herself with appearances. Well, you learn something new every day.’

Each of my team members now had something to work on. Rena was eager to help her fellow canine Pokémon by starting her off with mild doses of intermittent Ember showers to slowly work up Raven’s tolerance. Orin was still away with Wynaut and Glove kept watch over Halo to make sure she wasn’t overdoing it with the rope. That left me with my old buddy who was less than eager to start his training.

“It's probably best that we start off with a shallow pool of water and work our way up. Let’s head on over to the travelers’ shrine and ask Chingling if he knows any good places.”

The two of us made our way over to the shrine. I made it a point to always come visit the place at least once a day to switch out the stale growing lava cookies that we’ve left on the altar. By this point Victini and I had mostly accepted that a visit from one of the eon duo was not in the cards for us. At least Chingling and his parents were always happy to see us come visit and we had become very familiar with the happy family. The father and mother made use of their ample free time by taking up hobbies. Daddy Chimecho wrote chōka, a form of poetry that had become fairly popular with the older demographic in Hoenn and his partner spent most of her time growing herbs to be used for tea. Naturally since they didn’t have hands, they used telekinesis for almost everything.

“We’re back!”

“Chimeeeeee!”

“That sound… as always it’s a pleasure.”

“Came….”

“The couple seemed frantic about something as they waved their smallish stubby arms around. It didn’t take long for me to figure out what had happened. The empty altar was more than enough to fill us in.”

“That’s great news! And did they like it?”

The duo bobbed their heads up and down. By this point I was starting to get exasperated by our difficulties communicating with each other.

“You can link minds with me. Victini is off bringing the red-haired girl who filled in for me yesterday back to her hometown.”

Victini made it a point to make it clear to all psychic type Pokémon that my mind was off-limits. The little rabbit being gone for the moment I found no issue with having the loving couple connect with me telepathically. The foreign mental presence of what I suspected to be the female Chimecho brushed up against my surface thoughts.

“Pertaining to your earlier question, yes the offered tribute was much enjoyed.”

“Did you ask what it would take to have them come visit more often?”

Victini and I have gone over many hypothetical scenarios with the couple over tea. It was to all of our best interests to somehow persuade the Eon duo to come visit the shrine more frequently. Having their duties as shrine watchers become important once more was a step up from their current situation.

“This one was a first-time visitor no more than fifty cycles old. She said that she’d be delighted to come visit each full lunar rotation if we keep a supply of similar tasting tributes prepared.”

“Excellent! My grandma’s cookies are the best! Do Phoebe’s parents know?”

“My mate has just now informed his bonded human. We are all very excited and are now currently discussing renovation plans for the shrine.”

“That reminds me, is Chingling available? We are currently looking for a water source. Numsy will be undergoing resistance training.”

“Rupt…”

“Our little one is currently visiting all his playmates who live nearby. Most likely bragging about our good fortune.”

It was at this moment that I felt another presence connecting with my mind space, this one feeling like it belonged there.

“Egon… Who is this other Pokémon!?”

‘Wait! I can explain! Just read my short-term memory.’

Chimecho quickly disconnected. Not eager to invoke eight pounds worth of fiery wrath. Victini was about to teach me what’s what until she properly processed what just happened, her anger completely forgotten.

“Yay! I’ll finally be able to meet another like me!”