“Wake up, boy. We’ve got shit to do.”
I jumped up, scared shitless from my father's wake up call. Instinctively, my hand reached out towards him and he stuffed the coffee he was holding into it. Our morning routine during the weekdays. Old me and new me rejoiced at the first sip.
“How was your first day with it?” Brody asked. I knew it took all he had to stay away from me the previous day. He always loved the beginning stages of training pokemon.
I jumped out of bed and started getting dressed. “He, and his name is Hashirama.” I corrected. “We trained until he got tired, which was a long, long time. He doesn’t know when to quit.”
I threw a black shirt on and belted my pokebelt and knife to my dark blue tactical pants. I looked up to see my dad, with a grin on his face, and looking like he was stuck in a flashback.
“Thinking about the good ole days?” I asked, recognizing the look.
“Yea, junior was the same way as a ralts. He slept so much back then.” Dad said snapping himself out of it and facing me. “Is he strong?”
My answer came quick. “No, but he will be.”
And then I am out of here. I thought resolutely.
“We need to talk.” I told him as we exited my room and headed down the stairs for breakfast.
“Yea, we do. Not in front of your mother.” Brody told me just as we entered the kitchen.
“Why not?” The woman in question asked. She was standing in front of the stove, taking off the bacon and eggs that Brody and I ate every morning. I mentally wondered what bacon was made of in this world, and what species did the eggs come from.
“Trainer talk, Jane. Men stuff.” Dad said to her, expecting her to overhear.
She shot him a look that said ‘I know that joke and it wasn’t funny the first thousand times.’ I took a moment to look at her, and memorize her face. Soon I would leave this place, and go to Arceus-knows where to begin my trainer journey.
She was a beautiful woman, and I was lucky to inherit my facial structure from her. Her dark blue hair, completely natural by the way, ran down to her shoulder blades in perfect curls. She was a native of the island, and lived in Dewford Town all her life. Although she had traveled with dad whenever the occasion rose. Shot glasses from different cities littered the cabinets as proof.
I inherited her dark blue hair also. Actually the only thing I got from my father was my build, and mentality. All I could think about before the events in the cave was fighting, and the thrill it brought. Now my mind, changed by the ‘merge’, wanted to fight, but not for the sport.
I wanted to win. To conquer, if you will.
Conquer what, you might ask. I thought. I still don’t know the answer yet, but soon I will have direction. Just need to get Hashi trained up.
The pokeball on my waist was suddenly heavier now that I thought of my starter. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I had always wanted a makuhita, and eventually a hariyama. I didn’t care about the bias against single evolutionary lines, it never mattered.
In fact, a need to prove their effectiveness lingered in the back of my mind. I knew I wouldn’t specialize in type, but what about specializing in other ways? Like the previously mentioned single evolutionary pokemon. That would be spectacular.
All of the current champions' main pokemon were double evolutionary pokemon. Lance, with his monster of a dragonite, Cynthia and her garchomp, Steven with his shiny metagross. Leon’s charizard, Iris with haxorus, and finally Diantha and her monster of a gardevoir.
Then to see a hariyama come through and fuck all of them up? Legendary.
The thought further increased the nagging in the back of his mind, and I was sure that my mind was already made up. But could I build a well rounded team with the options available?
“Brawly?”
I snapped out of my internal thoughts to see that I had finished my plate and brought an empty fork up to my mouth. My mother and father just looked at me like I had grown a second head.
“Sorry, lost in my thoughts.” I said.
“Ready to go to work, squirt?” Dad said as he stood up and made his way to the door. Normally I would have grumbled about not being a squirt, but I was too lost in my thoughts.
“Go easy on them today, honey.”
----------------------------------------
I walked into the same training room as the day before, with Hashi hot on my heels. I was keeping him out of his pokeball as much as I could at the gym.
It was recommended to keep your pokemon out of their pokeballs as much as you could. There were a few studies about how it sped up the physical growth of your pokemon, although by a very marginal amount. I was more focused on his mental growth for now.
The main reason was so that he could sit in the stands and watch the battles as my father fought the traveling trainers. I needed him to see a goal to strive for, even if the battles were mostly only two badge level. It was still much higher than what he was currently capable of.
I had spent all day doing chores around the gym. Cleaning mainly, while also making sure to feed and maintenance Dad’s main team. Junior helped me a lot, as he always did. I mentally made a note to prioritize a psychic pokemon.
I pulled out my pokegear and saw a notification that hadn’t been opened up. I went through some stretches that my pokemon copied as I opened the notification up.
‘Move data scan: Complete.’
My eyes widened, as I saw the missing information from the pokedex the day before. I guess it took it a moment to finish analyzing the data? This world kept throwing me for loops.
I dropped down the information page of my starter and looked to see the move list.
‘Tackle.’
‘Focus energy.’
The list was short, but double what I had discovered yesterday. I berated myself for immediately jumping into training before testing Hashirama further. Focus energy was a decent boost, but I suspected it had deeper uses.
I clicked on the ‘Focus Energy’ tab. It pulled up a description of the move, and it was completely different to what I expected.
‘Focus Energy’ is a normal type, energy harnessing move that normal type pokemon use to boost their bodies. It is mainly used by younger, weaker pokemon to make up for the strength differences in the wild. Eventually discarded because of evolution, or rise in strength.
I frowned. Didn’t it have something to do with critical hits in the games?
As soon as I asked myself the question, I face palmed. Of course there is no such thing as a ‘critical hit’, I’m not in a fucking game anymore. This must just be the basis of energy manipulation for pokemon who can use it.
“Alright, Hashi. You know how to focus your energy don’t you?” I asked my starter as we finished stretching.
“Mak!” Hashi said with an enthusiastic nod. He didn’t even need me to ask, and he dropped into the stance I taught him the day before.
It took a few moments, but eventually an orange-yellow ish glowed around him. It seemed to emanate from his fists first and then spread from there. It made sense, considering almost all of hariyama’s moves incorporated fists somehow.
Wait, could that be the start of ‘Focus Punch?’ One of the most powerful moves out there? I wondered. Even Junior hasn’t mastered that yet, although he makes it up with hyper beam.
Obviously it would be a long, long time before we would even attempt to pull off focus punch. But that day would come.
“Good job, Hashi!” I told him, keeping up my encouragement from the day before. The makuhita’s breathing was a little labored. Obviously he needed some training with the move.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“Now let’s go over the stuff I taught you yesterday.” I said as I pulled out the same machop pokedoll from before. “Tackle.”
Hashi moved forward just as the word left my lips. I focused on his movements the entire time. His leg movement while running was not perfect, but it was leaps and bounds above where he was yesterday and his speed showed because of it. In my other life, being taught how to run, sometimes lessened the gap between yourself and the ones who were naturally fast.
The take down was absolutely flawless, and so was the mount that Hashi moved to immediately when hitting the ground, just as I had taught him. Three punches later, and I called him off of the doll.
I made a mental note to ask my dad about a certain theory that I wasn’t sure was proven.
It seemed to me that pokemon grew at fast levels because their bodies and brains were suited to building muscle memory, which I was also lumping energy building into. That’s why most trainers just had their pokemon spam moves and work on accuracy. Their minds remembered the mindset and energy required the more they did it.
It was the same theory with how dad had taught me to throw a proper punch. Or how I learned a bit of jiu jitsu in my other life. Except pokemon didn’t need years to master the ‘muscle memory’ like humans did. They really were broken.
“Hashi, that take down was perfect.” I told the pokemon truthfully while pumping his head up. Soon, I would be able to get a little harder on him when his confidence was up. “Now let’s try it again, but this time I want you to use focus energy before you attack.”
Hashirama nodded to me and took up his position across from the doll again. “Attack.” I commanded simply, since he knew what was expected.
He didn’t move for a moment, not until the same glow from earlier emanated from his hands. I did a hasty count, and got to six seconds before anything happened. Then he moved to attack, and when he hit the pokedoll, it flew back further than before. He was on top of it and threw three quick and powerful punches that sunk into the doll further than before.
“Fuck yes.” I whispered as I did a mental jump of joy.
“Alright, partner.” I said to my starter. “We need master focus energy, because we’re going to abuse the shit out of this.”
----------------------------------------
I carefully opened the door to my house with my foot. It was hard to maneuver with the surprisingly heavy makuhita in my arms. It was made even worse by the fact that it was passed out, exhausted from the training of the day.
I tiptoed through the house and was about to go up the stairs to my room for the night. My parents had probably been asleep for a long time, considering it was well past midnight.
Be careful. Junior, my father's Gallade said in my mind.
I won’t drop him. I thought back to the pokemon I knew to be behind me. Either he was there all along, or he teleported in to see who the intruder was.
Be careful, with training, Brawly. You’ve seen what happens if we battle craze. Junior's response came quick. Or do you not remember…
“Of course I remember!” I told him, kicking him out of my mind. I hadn’t done it in a long time, on less than five occasions. It was frowned upon to do it to a powerful psychic, especially if it was the one who taught you how. Kind of like a spit in the face.
Flashes of fire, and the most intense pokemon battle I had ever witnessed raged in my mind before I beat it back to the recesses of my memories instinctively.
I haven't addressed all of my memories apparently. I thought, unwilling to delve in the memory. Old habits are still here.
“Sorry, Junior.” I said, for kicking him out of my mind.
I can tell you will not listen, as your father did not. I will do what I must, as I have before.
Junior's presence left me at the foot of my stairs then. My mind tried to process the ominous warning he left me with.
I couldn’t concentrate on it because fire raged in my mind once again, and then the tell tale sign of a hasty teleportation followed by a ten foot wide and tall beam of light. I steeled myself and walked up the stairs to a restless night.
----------------------------------------
‘Mega Evolutions.’
I pressed the enter key on my pokegear, prompting the search engine to fire up. The results were almost instantaneous.
There was not a single article on the topic of mega evolutions. Instead there were some of the more popular articles from various professors around the leagues about basic evolutions and what they meant for pokemon.
There were absolutely zero matches for both of the words ‘Mega’ and ‘Evolutions’. My suspicious and conspiratorial mind didn’t accept the answer at face value.
Does it not exist? It did in the games and anime. Have we just not found it yet? I asked myself while also pondering on the concept.
It immediately propelled pokemon into a different category, as in pseudo-legendary category. Now that I thought about it, that was fucking nuts. Why would they allow such information online, even if it did exist? Everyone and their mother would be looking for the stones necessary for evolution.
Then what if they succeeded? More pseudo-legendaries walking around the world? Wild Charizards were notorious for bringing fire and death to territories it claimed as its own, regardless of the existing ecosystem. Then add on a significant power boost to something like that?
Obviously, the pokemon needs to be trained to reach mega evolution. But what if it got out of control? No, that wouldn’t do. Now it made sense as to why there wasn’t any information about it online.
I closed the search bar and deleted the history. I knew it didn’t actually delete it. One could find it if they really wanted to, but it made me feel better.
I put my pokegear back into my pocket, and noticed my dad walking close on his way to his office in the back of the gym.
“Hey, dad!” I called out.
His head and body turned to address me. “Yes?”
“I have a couple questions about training.” I told him as he got closer.
“Fire away.” Brody said. It was his duty as a father and a gym leader to instruct the next generation. So when I had a question about training, he always obliged.
“I taught Hashi some basics of fighting the other day. Simple things, like how to throw a proper punch, and body movement things.” I said and paused, unsure of how to ask the question. I actually kept starting and stopping my next sentence.
“Any day now.” He joked. “What about it son?”
“Well, he picked it up so fast! I taught him once or twice and then we practiced the movements. But the next day when we trained it again, he performed it perfectly! Like I literally couldn’t find a flaw.” I told him, finally forming the words properly. “Is that normal?”
My father smiled, obviously pleased that I was even bringing the topic up. “Yes, that’s normal. Pokemon, especially when young, are suited to rapid growth and adaptation.”
“That seems ...incredible.” I mumbled, unbelievingly. I actually didn’t think that my theory from the previous day would be correct. In fact, I still expected Hashi to mess up in training later today even after that confirmation.
Brody laughed loudly. “Yes, I know. Remember son, they are not like us, no matter how much we resemble each other. They can go much further, but only with our help.” He told me wisely. “Keep up the good work, squirt.”
And then he turned to leave. “Wait!” I called out.
“Real quick, what do you think about single-evolutionary lines?” I asked quickly.
That made him pause for a moment. “Your starters potential worry you, son?” He asked, jumping to conclusions.
“Not really!” I answered. “I know that any final evolution can be powerful in its own right. But can it reach the top tier level, like Dragonite or other pseudo-legendaries.”
His face hardened for a moment at my mention of the special class of pokemon. I knew he was wondering where the question came from. Who would willingly challenge such a beast?
The answer was simple: me.
My license transfer sheet had a lot to do with the question too. It was my hint to the man, for when I eventually left the shelter of his wing. An eventuality that was rapidly approaching.
“There has been a lot of debate about, son. There is no doubt about that.” Brody said to start. “Some would say, and I would agree with this group, that their potential is lower to start. But with proper training and enough struggle, I think they can rise to the top. After all, gyarados is one of the most feared pokemon in the world, and they start from the absolute bottom of the food chain in the sea.”
He paused for a moment and I was about to speak to agree with him before he continued again. “Nothing ever worth it, is easy son. I think it’s even more so for pokemon. The hardest to train, will eventually be more rewarding and stronger for it.”
That did it. That single, last statement is what made my mind up.
“Then that’s what I’ll do.” I stated resolutely. There was no wavering in my voice as the words left my mouth.
“I’ll prove to the world, that single-evolutionary pokemon can rise to the top. A single team of single evolutionary pokemon, to slap some sense into the world.”
My father gained a strange look in his eyes as I finished talking. At first, pride at the statement, then it changed to an appraising look, like he didn’t know who I was.
“The top.” Brody mumbled and his eyebrow frowned. “Is that where you’re going?”
None of the words were meant for me, I suspected.
“Brawly.” He said. “You’ve obviously changed your mind since the last time I asked, so I would ask you again. What is your purpose son?”
That was something he had always asked me growing up. And my answer was always the same or similar: ‘Be like you dad’ or ‘Be the best fighting gym leader.’ I thought about whether or not to tell the truth. Eventually I decided that I wouldn’t hide everything from my father. He had helped me too much for me to do that to him.
“To conquer.” I told him truthfully. Relief seeped from my pores as I said it out loud and manifested it into the world. My very being spiked for a moment, excited by the prospect.
That’s when my father knew I wasn’t the same kid from a couple of days ago. I wondered if he would draw the conclusion that the Granite Cave changed me. He really had no idea how much. I knew how important it was to have a purpose. A happy and successful life revolved around the idea.
Now that I told him, I knew I was about to spill my guts. “The most unsettled land.” I continued, letting him know my plans fully.
“You plan on going to the indigo plateau?” Brody asked with as serious of a look on his face than I had ever seen. “And you plan on going to the top?” Both were questions, but were rhetorical as he was figuring everything out himself. Then he finished the line of thinking with hints I had dropped throughout the conversation.
“You want to conquer what no one else has, don’t you Brawly?”
I smiled.
“You want Lance.”