Chapter 3. The Mighty Oak

Professor Oak sat at a table slowly sipping coffee while reading the report that Steven had written. Steven could still not speak, even when he tried his hardest no sound would escape from lips, so he had to write anything down that wasn't a yes or no question. Every couple of minutes the professor would stop reading, stare at him for a little bit and then continue perusing the article in his hands. Finally after what felt like a millennia he finally spoke," Young man" he said as he slowly put down the paper he was reading," I have read this three times but I am still unclear about your origin, however you have what it takes to become a trainer." Stevens' eyes lit up and he became earnest once more, shaking his head fervently as if to say 'yes I want to become one!'. Oak looked at the eager young man and decided that he would give the young lad two tests to determine if he was truly worthy of becoming a trainer. Oak leveled him with a glare," Even though I do not know where you come from, your compassion has seen through to me, your quick thinking and intuitiveness has intrigued me and your character has spoken to me. I will allow you to become a pokemon trainer, on two conditions that will show me whether you have what it takes."

Steven looked at the man before him with hesitation, these tests had not been a part of the main game and he was very nervous. What if professor Oak asked him to do something that was so difficult that he would never pass his tests? Where would his adventure be, what he craved for so long would just be gone down the drain! As Oak stared at him, he continued to get more and more anxious but after a bit of thinking he resolved himself to do whatever it takes. Not just for himself but also for ralts, he had made his promise that he would wipe out their entire team, and this was something he would not give easily. To him, even when playing the games he always hated team rocket, this time it would be different and he would be the catalyst that set it all off. With a more determined mindset, he took a deep breath and stared back into the professors eyes with determination.

The professor had watched him grow more and more anxious and then all of a sudden stevens gaze leveled out with his own, this was the look of someone who could shake the world, and the professor wanted to know what kind of person this young man truly was. "You may not know this, but my lab is where a lot of young trainers such as yourself start their journey, and where they receive their first companion to grow stronger with," Oak said as steven gave him a quick nod to indicate he understood. " As you have stated you are only 14 years of age and the minimum to start your journey is 15 years according to league rules," oak said and then his voice turned serious, " However, in order for me to see just how serious you are i am going to give you tests."

Steven looked at Oak and shook his head to indicate that he was ready, he would face the challenges ahead.

Oak continued," I have pokemon here that never get to go out and stay sheltered for their whole lives, and I would like you to train one of them for one year,'' Oak said as he saw the joy the boy had in reaction to his first test. "The second test is a mystery to me as well honestly and ive tried a lot of different things, but this one is hard even for me, so I won't fault you for not being able to do it. The mystery in question is an egg" Oak said as he stood up and walked over to what looked to be a storage container with lights in it. He lifted out an egg in a glass and metal container a little bigger than Oak's head. "This is an egg I received a while back from a fellow professor from another region of the world, he doesn't know what it is other than that it's an egg. If you pass my first test to an acceptable level i will permit you to take the pokemon you have raised from me on your journey as well as some starter goods such as pokéblocks and camping supplies for yourself, however if you do manage what i could not with the egg i will fully endorse you under my name as a professor. How does that sound?"

As soon as he stopped speaking, Steven hurriedly got up and started shaking Oak's hand and bowing to respect such an astute and caring man. Oak looked at him with care but also worry because for him this was a bit of a gamble and only time would tell if this was a good decision or not. Oak guided him over to a table with three pokeballs on it and released all three pokemon.

Oak looked at the three pokemon and smiled because each of these pokemon had the potential to become great companions and then he looked at steven," these are pokemon that i give to new trainers, starting from the left going right, you have bulbasaur, squirtle and charmander." Oak said as he pointed at each pokemon as it corresponded to the names he was saying.

Steven couldn't believe it, in front of his eyes were the starters he had always known and loved and he would get to pick one of them as a companion. Then a thought struck him, what if this is a test from oak? What if this is something he did to test the boy's skill and also reaffirm his character? Plus he wasn't doing this to be the very best of them all, no he realized he wanted to do something for the broken pokemon like the ralts who are persecuted and hunted for sport and money. Then he did something he himself was not expecting and wrote on a nearby piece of paper, "are there any injured pokemon here at your facility? I want to help those who are broken. That is my dream". He looked at what he wrote as the professor stood over by the pokemon looking curious as to what he was doing. He then handed Oak the paper and held his breath.

Oak looked at the paper and smiled genuinely for the first time since Steven got here. " My boy, I have a lot of pokemon that would love the opportunity!" He said happily as he guided him through a hallway after returning the other three into their balls. They walked down a corridor as Oak said " We are now passing the back ranch area, look at the pokemon here and tell me if one of them catches your eye, although if I believe it to be too high level for you I wont say yes".

Steven looked around the ranch area and gazed in wonder at all the pokemon here, yanma, marrill, and even ponyta all living happily. Then his wonder stopped, he felt as if something was tugging at his vision, he looked around but couldn't find it and he slowly walked around the ranch. Oak looked on as Steven walked around seemingly randomly and then he started to get closer to a pokemon that even oak had forgotten was here.

Steven looked at the corner of the ranch and saw an orange looking dog huddled in a corner, shivering and whimpering. He looked down at the poor creature and realized the state the poor thing was in. His front right leg was missing and he had a huge scar over his left eye. Oak walked over as Steven looked at the poor creature who he currently had locked eyes with. Right as Oak was about to speak, Steven looked at him and pointed at the creature with a determined look.

Oak looked at the pokemon and then back at Steven " This Pokemon is much like a starter right now i will admit to you but he has seen some gruesome horrors in his short life. He witnessed his father and his father's trainer get murdered by a thief and he was beaten by humans. When he arrived here we had to perform emergency surgery which cost him his leg. He is a broken pokemon just as you have asked for and gaining his trust will not be easy, do you still wish for him to be your companion?"

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Steven looked straight at the pokemon and then looked back at Oak with a determined look. Steven nodded his head and Oak then said to him,Well then you can use the cabin near the edge of the village on the west side for training, you have one year to show me results, I look forward to what you will bring me. As for you little one," Oak said as he looked at the pokemon with compassion in his voice," I hope you are able to live a fruitful and wonderful life, growlithe".

Edit author note: I never realized I didn't upload the correct 4th chapter. Oops. Here is the actual 4th chapter, just combines with this one now. Sorry for the confusion!

After Stephen was done talking to Oak and picking out his starter Pokemon, he went over to the medical Bay and went to see how Ralts was doing. Luckily the Ralts was not too heavily injured so it did not need emergency surgery, but he would be in the hospital in the professor's lab for about two to three days. His horn would still be broken as that was something the chancey simply could not fix with her healing ability. Ralts was awake and was sitting on the bed staring nervously around it, not knowing where it was and what was going on. Ralts saw Steven come into the medical bay room and noticeably breathed a sigh of relief upon his entry into the room.

Ralts looked at Steven, 'human steven, i appreciate your bringing me to this shelter of healing. If it had not been for your quick thinking, the chancey informed me I would have likely perished under my ailments.'

Steven pondered this for a moment before thinking to the ralts a response,' I know you most likely do not want to be captured and have anything to do with humans' he thought to the ralts with a serious tone,' however i have a proposal for you.' The ralts thought about this statement for a moment and then nodded for Steven to continue. ' I have not been granted a pokemon adventurer license yet as i have to be 15 years of age and i have only just turned 14 only a few weeks ago' he thought to ralts, recalling what Oak had told him, ' so my proposal is this, allow me to train you and my starter pokemon growlithe for a year until i start adventuring, if by then you wish to set out on your own for revenge i will release you and we will part ways.'

Ralts was stunned and he knew that this was a very serious matter to consider but… his instincts were telling him to follow this person. His father had told him that as a physic pokemon and as well as a rarer male of his species on top of his coloration his instincts should be top of the line and that most of the time he should follow it. This was one of the last things his father had taught him before their demise. The lesson could be said to be one of the most important from his father, for the instincts of his race were very high and this is the reason they were so prosperous despite being called a rarer species by the humans. Ralts stared at Steven and thought to him,' Although I do not know your leading abilities, your commanding abilities, your training methods, or really any of your main ideals, my instinct is practically screaming at me to accept your request, so I shall.'

Ralts hopped down from the table and walked up to Steven and took a knee in front of him. Steven was taken aback by this seemingly abnormal behavior from his new friend. Ralts paid no mind and continued,' My lord, by the instincts that guide me, i swear to train with you in times of peace, serve you on the field in times of battle and protect in times of crises, it would be an honor to be by your side,' ralts thought to Steven who was getting slightly emotional from grand display of allegiance ' please, my lord, bestow upon me a name worthy of my dedication.'

Stevem smiled and thought back,' I accept your oath and my feelings are the same. As for your name, I thought of it long ago upon hearing your story,' he said as he tossed a pokeball at ralts. The ding of a successful catch rang out in the room. Steven picked up the pokeball and released the ralts who was still motionless in the bent knee position,' welcome to the team, Prince'

- 2 days later -

The last 2 days had been hard and easy for Steven. After moving into Professor Oaks shed home he had moved the growlithe and the egg into it, and immediately started to gain the trust of the young fire hound. He put the egg near the resting area of the growlithe as he knew fire types had excellent egg hatching abilities from his time egg breeding in the games over the pokemon series. Although his growlithe did not trust him at all. It was very obvious that the growlithe had a severe distrust of humans. Now as the last 2 days had passed he had sat across the room on blankets to show the growlithe he would not get near it unless it engaged first. He would feed growlithe by putting his pokeblock in a bowl and setting it next to the young pups water bowl and then sitting next to the egg while watching the pup as he gently stroked the egg. This was a strategy he had personally come up with to gain the growlithes trust, first he would show him he would not attack him and second he would show that he cared for the young and he cared for him even if the feeling was not mutual.

Steven woke up this morning and looked down in shock at what he saw, the growlithe was laying around the egg! He had curled into a ball and was warming the egg with his body heat. This touched the young trainer's heart as this was the first time the young pup had shown any sign of affection and was not actively hiding away from his sight or trying to seem as small as possible. Steven took this as a sign of good things to come and proceeded to walk over to Oaks to check up on Prince and see if he was well enough to begin training and to introduce him to growlithe.

Steven walked into the medical bay and saw ralts sitting on the table in a very happy mood. It was very apparent that he had gotten some good news. Steven asked him why he was so happy and ralts had confirmed that he had indeed completely recovered and that Oak had cleared him about 20 minutes ago and he had been waiting for Steven to show up. Steven wasted absolutely no time and went with ralts to a small training field where he took out a pokedex Oak had given him a day prior when he asked Oak what the moves, Iv's, and Ev's on the Growlithe were. What was weird about that conversation with Oak was that Oak had absolutely no idea what IV or EV was and looked at him with a confused expression. Steven had decided not to press for answers and simply asked for equipment for growlithe. Then oak had given him a pokedex, although Steven had decided to not scan growlithe until he started training with himself and Prince.

Pokedex entry: Ralts

Egg move: Will-O-Wisp

Moveset: Growl, Confusion

Gender: Male

While this was indeed helpful in knowing what ralts' moveset was currently, it did not tell him a good chunk of information that he really needed to know for proper training. This worried him as not only on top of EV and IV training, he didn't even know what ralts' nature was. He thought about it for a minute while ralts looked around the training area. He quickly surmised that it was possible that either these things did not exist in this world, the pokedex either couldn't tell or didn't know, or the people of this world hadn't discovered it yet. This would hinder his plans a bit but he knew almost every pokemon's move set by heart so he could teach them whatever move he needed to cover for his losses in these areas.

He turned to Prince and thought to him,' I hope you have looked at the area well, this will be our main training area to hone your powers.' He said and Prince nodded in confirmation. ' I believe that a trainer should train with his pokemon so i will be exercising and working out while supervising your initial training. My pokedex says you know the moves growl and confusion so you already know how to use your psychic power. However I can pretty much guess that it's not as powerful as it should be, so for your first 2 weeks of sessions what you will be doing is a combination of practical application training.' He explained to a confident looking ralts,' everyday we come here and you will switch between an hour of meditation where you will focus your psychic power and two hours where you will take the power you are growing through meditation and unleash it as confusion attacks. Although this method has not been tested, I believe this will be helpful in training your psychic power to monstrous proportions! Now! Let us begin our first session of training!'