I released my Milotic from the luxury ball as I sat in the trainer room waiting for what was the most important match in the seventeen years of my life up till now. While I was cautiously optimistic about my chances of winning the Indigo Plateau Conference, the final minutes of waiting could be grating on anybody’s nerves. As Milotic cooed under my headpats, I began to think of the day my entire perception of the Pokemon World had been dramatically altered.

I was born the eldest son of William Waterflower, the Gym Leader of the Cerulean City Gym, and the older brother to Lily, Daisy, Violet and Misty Waterflower. While I would like to believe I was always a mature child, the first ten years of my life, I had been like any other ordinary child… I rejoiced at the birth of my sisters, played with and fed the gym pokemon, watched the television shows and pokemon battles, reluctantly went to school, all the while waiting for the day I would turn sixteen, so that I could embark on my journey as a Pokemon trainer. 

On my tenth birthday, three months after my mother passed away giving birth to my fourth sister, Misty, I awoke with the memories of a different life where the entire Pokemon World was a game series and television show. Although I didn’t remember much of the personal details of that life like the person’s identity and family, I remembered this person living as a computer data analyst in a world without pokemon and how he lived his monotonous life, finding joy in video games and anime. Like any child, I freaked out. 

With the recent death of my mother and the general solemnity that encapsulated the home and the gym, the first conclusion I came to was that I was having a mental breakdown due to grief. I wanted to run to my father and ask him for help. In hindsight, I was very lucky that my father had been going to the gym early the last two and a half months…maybe he was overworking in an effort to hide his grief or avoid dealing with it in front of us. Not wanting to alarm my sisters, I forced myself to calm down and think rationally. 

At the time, it was no doubt a monumental task. I needed to rationalize those memories and do it fast. Out of the dozens of theories I came up with in that hour, the only one which prevented me from going into an existential crisis was that the other set of memories were those of my previous life. This theory implied that both worlds were real, I was sane, and gave me hope that my mother may also be living happily in another world right now. Don’t get me wrong … I still have dozens of more questions that I want answered but I have come to accept that it is best to let sleeping growlithe lie.

Over the next month, I tried to go about the same routine like attending school and playing with my sisters (who were similarly heartbroken over mother’s passing) while assimilating and understanding the new memories I had. The Other Me… as I had taken to call my previous life, at least in my head, had been a casual fan of the Pokemon games and anime. He knew there was something called the Pokemon Manga but besides knowing that it was about some grimdark version of Pokemon World, he knew next to nothing about it. 

His knowledge about pokemon primarily came from the games, a webpage on their version of the pokenet and the anime which followed a kid named Ash Ketchum, the eldest son of Flint, Brock, and most importantly my kid sister, Misty. 

Now, this was where things got disturbing…Neither me nor my father were shown or discussed at all. The Cerulean Gym was a shell of what it was at the moment and my three younger sisters gave away badges without battling and let three weak criminals, who destroyed part of the gym and tried to steal our pokemon, escape. 

Yes, the world showcased in the anime was perhaps the most similar to my current one. Pokemon could definitely learn more than four moves and in battle, trainers did not wait for the other side to execute a move before attacking again. However, there were also a number of differences. When you consider that the anime was made for children, I guess I can understand why they oversimplified the entire Pokemon World.

Although I will be honest…I still can not believe or accept the version of events surrounding the Cerulean City Gym. The implications were just too much to handle. It meant that either my father and his pokemon had died or gotten lost and I had amounted to less than nothing, died, or did not exist in that reality. I would like to believe that I did not exist in that version… for that was far more preferable to having been of so little significance that my existence was not even mentioned by my own sisters. 

No, I had to believe that I did not exist in that version. That little part of my brain that kept whispering that I would still amount to nothing and be forgotten in the annals of history just like I was forgotten on the show was completely mistaken. Thus, everything I had learnt about my world from these memories, I had taken with a grain of salt. 

Moving on, after a month of performing similar activities and going about the same routine, I woke up to find a note from my father asking me to meet him at his home office after freshening up. Understandably, I was caught off guard as he had never asked for a meeting like this before. The worst case scenario was that he had noticed something different about me or that he had somehow become aware that I had memories of a different life. Yes, the Pokemon World did have human hospitals which treated mental health issues and while I was pretty sure my father would not admit me to such a hospital, if any of the information I had received from Other Me had a sliver of truth…that was definitely the worst case scenario.

Disregarding all the unnecessary thoughts, I knocked on the door of my father’s home office and entered. My father, William Waterflower, was a tall and imposing man with aqua blue hair and sea green eyes. Sitting at his desk in a high back chair, one could see why he was so respected and widely considered the strongest Water Type Master of his generation. 

When he lifted his head from the papers at his desk, he tried to smile at me but I could still see the pain and grief in his eyes. I guess I should be grateful for the whole Other Me business keeping my mind busy. I sat down opposite him and did my best not to fidget and show my nervousness. 

“So how has school been treating you lately?”, asked my father in an attempt to start the conversation. 

“It's been good, nothing too difficult…just boring.”, I replied. 

Now that I think about it, he had never spent so little time with me and my sisters since I could remember. Our housekeeper, Amanda, would spend time with us, take us to school, and take care of us but over the last four months she had been solely taking care of both me and my sisters as well as the baby. 

With the newfound understanding from the memories of Other Me, I guess I could understand how painful it must have been for our father as we were likely painful reminders of our mother.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been spending time with you and your sisters”, he started, “I hope you guys know that I am and will always be there for you whenever you all need me but lately with the numerous meetings and the increased gym duties, I just haven’t been able to be there...”

Wanting to prevent him from feeling too guilty I stopped him and said, “Honestly Dad, I understand and it's fine.”

After a brief awkward silence, he continued, ”So, it's regarding those political meetings that I called you here today.” Hearing this, I sat up in interest as he never really included me in these political talks. “The chairman of the Indigo league, Champion Pryce, Professor Oak, the Elite Four and the Gym Leaders of Both Kanto and Johto were all present during these meetings and the main issue that was discussed was lowering the minimum age to become a pokemon trainer from Sixteen (16) to Twelve (12) in order to stave off the decline in the number of trainers after the War.”

I could hardly contain my excitement at the news and was so engrossed that I almost missed the mention of War. They did not cover any recent war which happened in history class.

“Wait a minute, what War?”

“That’s not important….The vote was yesterday and the bill passed. From this season onwards, the minimum age will be lowered to twelve.” 

It was a very unsubtle way to change the subject but it worked. Instead of waiting for six more years, I had to wait just two more. I could already envision myself winning the Indigo league, demolishing the Elite Four and dethroning the Champion. I would become the youngest Champion in the history of Indigo. They would have to include me in the annals for that. I would definitely not be forgotten.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

My musing and fantasies were cut short as my father continued, “ Yes, it is all very exciting. However, as you know, you are an heir to this gym of our forefathers. There is a lot I have to teach you. Originally, I and your mother had planned to have you homeschooled when you turned twelve and begin teaching you family secrets and what you need to know as an heir to the gym. However, with this new development, this has to be accelerated. Instead of what I had planned to cover over four years, we will have to do so in two. It will be difficult but I have faith you will be able to rise to the challenge.”

I couldn’t contain the smile that broke out on my face and my dad reciprocated. To be honest, it was the first time since mother’s passing that his eyes seemed full of life.

“We will do all the formalities of withdrawing you from the school later. Let's begin the lessons now. Do you know what the speciality of our gym is?”

“We are the water type gym.”

“Yes that we are, but what I meant was which pokemon is exclusive to our family and the gym?”

“Kingdra”, I answered excitedly at where this line of questioning was heading.

“Correct. Since our family joined the Kanto League centuries ago at the time of its formation, we are one of the four gyms including Pewter, Celadon, and Fuchsia, who have more privileges and rights than the other gyms. You could even say that our position is higher than the Elite Four. Can you tell me the three most important of these rights?”

“First, the league has no say in who is given the position of Gym Leader ensuring that the position stays in the family and the Gym cannot be sanctioned or shut down by the league.

Second, We have a say in the governance of the city and have the right to veto any law passed by the City Council that we feel may be to the detriment of the city.

And finally, we can register up to five pokemon evolutions and their method of evolution, that are previously unknown or undiscovered, as exclusive to the family and gym. This would mean that no research can be conducted legally on these and we have the right to protect this secret using any force we feel necessary.”

I could not contain my joy and laughter after I finished saying these rights. They were really excessive. My father also joined in the laughter.

“Yes, I know these give us a lot of leeway. The league hates these privileges that we were given. You have to understand that at the time, the Kanto league was nowhere near as powerful as the Indigo League is today. Between the four families, we controlled nearly half of Kanto. By banding together, we forced the league to compromise if they wanted us to join the league. However, this also means that there is always a target on our back to either learn the family secrets or just end our line. So to ensure that we can protect ourselves, we have to be strong. 

The first and most important lesson I will teach you is that Strength is Everything in this world.”

That effectively sobered the mood. The scene of the weak Cerulean Gym flashed past my eyes. I remembered the anime depicting Clair and Lance Blackthorn both having Kingdra. Yes, there were no such rights in the anime and all the evolutions were publicly available but the question “what if” echoed in my mind.

My father continued, “ The rights you described are generally correct. However, you should also note some additional points. Even if the League cannot interfere in the selection of Gym Leader, it is tradition that the Gym Leader should be an Elite rank trainer.

Every Waterflower who has become Gym Leader has been an elite and I’m sure you will continue to uphold the tradition. Also, although the law prevents research on the registered pokemon evolutions, this does not make it illegal for another trainer to own a Kingdra. He or she can just claim that she caught one at the bottom of the ocean and as unlikely as it is, we will have to accept it. However if he or she tries to make the knowledge of how to evolve a Seadra public, we can bring all our fury on the trainer. Do you understand?”

I nodded my head in acceptance.

“Continuing on, what are the other pokemon registered as exclusive by the other three gyms in Kanto?”

After thinking for a moment, I recalled, “The Fuchsia Gym has registered three: Crobat, Nidoking, and Nidoqueen while the Pewter and Celadon Gyms have registered Golem and Tangrowth respectively.”

“Good. Now, what I am going to tell you has been passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth only. Never tell anyone, Never write it down. Even your mother did not know this. Do you understand the seriousness of the matter?”

This was the moment of truth. The memories from Other Me had given me the evolution methods of so many pokemon. Hell, it showcased so many regions from Kanto to Sinnoh, Unova, Galar, Paldea. The only regions I had been taught about and knew the existence of were Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh.

I had deduced that the other regions were either made up to produce more episodes and games or the war my father had casually dismissed earlier had many far reaching consequences like those regions shutting their borders down. This was the moment where I could determine if the knowledge I got from the Other Me was reliable at all or just useless. 

Seeing me nod seriously, he began, “The first step is to ensure that Seadra is strong enough. Only the strongest and most determined Seadra are eligible for evolution. You can judge if Seadra is strong enough if it is very proficient in Hydro Pump, Dragon Pulse, and Dragon Dance. Then the most important step and the reason no one has been able to just figure out Seadra’s evolution to Kingdra. The Seadra has to defeat at least five other Seadra consecutively on its own without any instructions from the trainer. The final step is to touch a dragon scale to Seadra in the presence of these defeated Seadras. I am not sure how it works but somehow, the Dragon Scale in addition to the respect and acknowledgement from its defeated kin triggers the evolution. This is also why we keep a shoal of Seadra and Horsea.”

I sat there processing the words and committing them to memory. From what the web page Other Me read, Kingdra evolved from Seadra when traded while holding a Dragon Scale. 

So while not entirely accurate, the information was somewhat reliable. Maybe trading the Pokemon instead of the real method was introduced for monetary reasons or maybe trading would also work. So maybe all the evolutions in the web page which stated trade could instead use this method of the defeat and acknowledgement of the Pokemon’s kin.

This opened huge possibilities for me. I knew which Pokemon were more suited as special attackers, which had a large health pool, the various strategies used in the anime and games, and the numerous possible moves the pokemon species could learn and the exact function of the move. While there were no such things as Technical Machines yet, the pokemon should be able to theoretically learn the specific move from other means. 

Seeing me lost in thought, my father brought my attention back to the lessons. After repeating the explanation and assuring me that he will be there to supervise when the time comes for my future Seadra to evolve, we continued our lessons. 

The lessons my father taught me in those two years opened my eyes to the reality of the world. I learnt that the Pokemon World was not nearly as kind and friendly as the anime depicted. It was honestly more like the world Other Me lived in.

People would betray each other and take advantage of others. Instead of just money like in the other world, Money and Power were the two most important things. There was intrigue, alliances, and politics. Maybe it was the memories from Other Me or the crash course my father taught me but I had become much more mature than the average kid my age. 

I mean technically I had lived in a similar world and been reduced to a mere cog in the industrial machine. I had dealt with low level office politics and had some of my friends try to take advantage of me. Unlike a kid, I understood the importance of the lessons my father was imparting and I took to them like a Magikarp to water.

With most of my pokemon metaknowledge being confirmed as reliable, I was salivating at the prospect of training all of my and Other Me’s favorite pokemon. I loved the possibility of owning a Charizard, Salamence, Milotic, and others. At the time, I wanted to be a Generalist. I wanted to catch whatever Pokemon caught my eye and make them a force to be reckoned with. 

However, it all came crashing down when my father revealed exactly why almost all the Elites were Type Masters. It had to do with the methods to teach Pokemon the high level moves, expenses, and aura attunement. 

He explained this is in very simple terms. If a generalist was able to figure out and teach his pokemon a move like Thunder or Hydro Pump, only that pokemon would benefit. However, if an electric type specialist was able to figure out how to teach a Pokemon Thunder, the same could be replicated with most of his other Pokemons increasing his strength by a considerable margin. 

The time constraints of having to figure out the high level moves of each type for the benefit of just one Pokemon was just not feasible. The most convincing part was that as a Water Type Gym for centuries, we had figured out and recorded the ways to teach moves like Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Surf and even Hydro Cannon. If the benefits of Other Me had only included the knowledge about Pokemon and not the life experiences, I am sure I would have been stubborn and tried to take on the unnecessary challenge. But I realized just how beneficial my position truly was and how lucky I was to be born in my family. I made a promise to myself to never take my family for granted and use these advantages to stack the deck in my favor as much as possible. The second reason was expenses. To raise an elite level Pokemon team, you need specialized Pokemon food, grooming kits…

“Excuse me, sir”, said an attendant breaking me out of my recollection. Milotic glared at him for disturbing me and interrupting the headpats she had been enjoying.

“Everything is ready for the match. The commentator will announce you in a minute and you are to enter the arena then. Good luck and I hope you win”, he said, smiling at the end.

I looked at the clock showing that over twenty five minutes had passed since I started my musing. I gave Milotic a last head pat, told her to be prepared for the match, and recalled her to her pokeball.

I stood up and walked towards the exit of the dugout. My nerves were calm, my mind was focused, and I felt ready to take on the world. It had been five years since I began my pokemon journey and I was already the youngest Indigo Conference finalist and one match away from becoming the youngest Indigo Conference champion in history. All my effort, hard work, blood, sweat and tears…all culminating to this moment.

Hearing the commentator announcing my name, I walked out to the cheers of the crowd. As I looked at the fans and the faces of my family sitting in the audience, I knew that no matter what I will win this. I will etch my name in the annals of history and today… Well, today will be the first step in my journey to Greatness. 

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