EXPEDITION 2.3

September 10th, 2022

I nervously stamped my foot, cocking a hip as I watched my opponent throw out his pokémon, a spunky little Alolan geodude who was clearly new to my much more experienced opponent’s team.

We had been sticking around in Noto for a week, challenging and battling trainers around the city. It had been Akari’s idea, she was pretty smart and said battling the veterans who hung around the Center was a good way to get stronger and get good advice from experts. Most competitive battlers in most cities had their territory around Centers, Gyms and local tournament buildings. While low-level trainers spent their time in minor city-sanctioned arenas, and were nowhere as competitive or as powerful.

We lost a lot, but we didn’t lose any money since the battles are considered off-records in some respect. A Trainer’s account had an app attached to it to allow a trainer to win a small amount of money off the loser, and it included everyone from amateur trainers to the most powerful Gym Leaders. Off-records was an option so there wouldn’t be needless transactions between two trainers training together and to stop strong trainers from bullying people and stealing their lunch money.

Most trainers didn’t make all their money by challenging random people, they earned their keep through tournaments with prize money pools and job requests from the Centers. Similar to certain mechanics from the games for the latter.

No distractions.

I threw out Jericho into battle, blazing light trailing behind him as his body took form and shape. A week has done a lot for the little bugger, and I marveled at the pace of growth pokémon had when trained by humans.

He had grown larger, and his horn had become sharper and more refined. Regular battles with wild pokémon and trainers had accelerated his growth nicely. Taking up a request for removing an infestation of ghastly had been a boon for growing his Power reserves.

Jericho let out a roar, and I could feel his excitement tinge the air with his power.

Jerry was a four badge trainer until he had joined the Aether Foundation, so he was a bit out of practice, and getting back into the groove with a new team member.

“Let’s start off with Thunder Shock!” His geodude scoffed at Jericho, and casually threw out a bolt of electricity.

“Deflect and punish.” I ordered, and psychic energy radiated from Jericho as he sent out a casual wave of Confusion. The electrical bolt was diverted by the wave of psychic energy disrupting its path, and my pokémon’s move didn’t slow at all as it struck the surprised rock-electric geodude. “Leer, draw him in, Confusion into Poison Kick.”

Jericho’s face became devious, an evil glint passing through his eyes as he glared down at the Alolan geodude. The rock-type flinched.

Confusion was shot at the rock pokémon like a bullet, and instead of dissipating, he kept it under his tether of control and pulled the arrogant pokémon into his range. He rammed into the surprised pokémon with his venomous horn, and pushed off of the geodude with a Double Kick that tore off flecks of rock and magnetic minerals.

Hustle increased his strength at the cost of accuracy so I had compensated by bringing his opponent as close as possible or making them into easy targets. His speed gave him a good edge too, I had clocked him at over a hundred kilometers an hour, though his maneuverability was nowhere as good.

“Rock Polish.” Jerry ordered with confidence, and I flinched. Oh fuck. Geokinetic energy scraped the pokémon’s rocky surface smooth, energy pulsing as his speed doubled in an instant.

The geodude retaliated with Spark on command, and Jericho was forced to duck and roll, narrowly avoiding the sparking charge.

“Use Charge—” The prideful rock pokémon refused and went right into a Rollout.

I was tense, sweat dripping down my face, but I knew what to do now. “Traverser Protocol 1.” Our opponent was newly acquired, stubborn, stupid and his pride was going to be his downfall.

Jericho sent out a new beam of Confusion, but directed it at the dry ground, creating a huge cloud of dust and sand. Blind and crash was the name of the game. The rock monster spun out of control, electricity sparking off of him in his rage.

A second Confusion kicked up more dust and brought the geodude into range of Jericho.

“Focus Kick, full power.” Two kicks to the face, their energy focused against critical points of defensive aura. Down and out in two strikes, and I felt surprised that things had gone so well.

“Return,” the fainted pokémon was returned to their ball with a red beam, Jerry sighing and shaking his head. “Geodude has been having a pretty good winning streak, and it was making him arrogant. Thanks for popping his ego, it seems the both of us need more training together.”

I shrugged my shoulders, hiding a bashful grin. “It was nothing, I'm getting a lot of experience battling with more skilled trainers.” I had gotten lucky enough to find an older woman with a powerful lopunny who had offered a couple of tips on having Mirko increase her potential. Items, training regimes optimized for her species, and moves that could help with their own aura flow to increase their potential.

I stepped back from the battlefield, and knew it wasn't going to be much longer now.

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“How much do you know about the Gym Circuit?” Akari leaned over my shoulders, hands folded behind her back.

“I know they’re divided into the Major and Minor Leagues. The Major League has eight Gyms while the Minor League has ten, all of them serving as the cores of the Gym Circuit,” I leaned back from making some feed for Jericho, a mash that was a mix of barley, oats, sweet potatoes, alfalfa, and peanut butter meal, and lentils. Plus salt.

Along with a range of herbs, stinging nettles, and poison ivy turned into a diced salad with pulped oran and sitrus berries, and diced tauros meat drizzled with diluted pokémon toxins and a mineral supplement saturated with ground-type energy to increase his type potency. That was along a range of vitamins mixed into his food to maximize growth.

Luckily the stasis properties of a Backpack made this shit easy to keep.

Akari offered a wild grin. “The Gym Circuit dates back to the Age of Exploration, which started just after the Battle of Rota, about a thousand years ago?” She shrugged. “The strongest warlords of this era created sparring arenas to bring revenue and entertainment and settle disputes without destructive mass-scale warfare. In the last few hundred years, those trainers had too many pokémon so they took on apprentices, and these became the first Gyms, the home bases of a region’s greatest warriors, the Leagues built to manage and regulate the sport and ritual of battle.” So like the difference between old-time gladiator sports and modern MMA.

“Mhmm, so we’re going the traditional route, aiming for the meandering circuit of the eight Major Gyms,” I rubbed my chin, and Akari nodded with a fierce grin. “Which means backtracking across multiple prefectures of Tohoku.”

Tohoku was split into six sub-regions, each of them with their own character, culture, climate and ecology. From Ushu, the northwestern prefecture of Tohoku adjacent to the Sea of Nihoh to Uto, the northernmost sub-region of Tohoku, with a vast coastline spanning north, east and west. To Michinoku, the largest sub-region and vast in scope and scale with snowy mountains, rich coasts, and even desert and arid climates. Suika was our current location, a land of fire and water, then Shiromiya with the greatest population and ending with the ‘hidden kingdom’ of Katayama.

I opened up my phone, opening up what I had written down on the core eight gyms of the region, with Akari offering her own knowledge as a native. It was placed down on a map of the region, each digital dot opening to a Gym Leader. I pointed to central Suika.

The first file was of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old young man, with messy but pretty black hair and pale gold eyes. He wore a dark crimson robe lined with gold patterns and pointed boots, his grouchy face visible to all, and a silly infernape gripping his shoulder to take the picture.

“Liu, the Fire Prince of Irori, he's young but strong, a bit broody but a nice guy.” Akari scratched her chin with an awkward chuckle. “You could call him the First Leader of the traditional gym circuit, he gives out a ton of badges but it's because he's good at beating his lessons into challenger’s skulls.”

The second file in the capital city of Suika opened to a blue-haired woman with red eyes and a tight, tight swimsuit I couldn't help but be drawn to as a useless bisexual. A milotic wrapped around her almost sensually, or at least visually stunning, shining scales sparking with rainbow light.

“Rei, the Siren of Kozukata, a master when it comes to using water-types and merciless even at her ‘low’ level. She’ll tear us apart at our current level, your threat system is still experimental, and you're an over-thinker. It’s why I win more often than not against you. The Second Leader.”

I nodded, and moved to the third file in Nakagawa all the way to Uto, some six hundred forty kilometers away or about a month away on foot. It revealed a short bald man, wearing a green jumpsuit and had goddamn doctor octopus arms on his back

“Mikron, Gizmo King of Nakagawa. The leader of the electric-type Gym, he isn't as strong in raw power but his Gym is a labyrinth and full of puzzles and challenges to solve with your pokémon.” He had a huge electivire, the powerful thunder ape sparking with immense power. “The Third Leader.”

I pointed to the fourth Gym in Shiromiya, one of two in the area. It revealed a young woman with a stocky build, with auburn hair, and positively a beefcake of a woman. She had a Sinnohan(Hisuian) arcanine, and three lycanroc, a midday form, midnight form, and dusk form.

“Rachel, Stone Bitch of Makiishi,” I choked at the title, and Akari kept talking. “She’s rude, strong, and awful with people but she takes in strays and is fair as can be when it comes to the challenge. Pretty straight forward as the Fourth Leader.”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“She likes dogs huh?” Akari nodded. “So the fifth gym is…” I opened the file hovering over the capital city of Shiromiya.

I opened and closed my mouth at someone who was like someone had taken MCU Tony Stark and turned him into a hot elf, plus a hundred gallons of edible glitter.

“Aubrey, the Fairy Investor of Taisen. Business genius, invests a lot in big ideas but keeps hands off besides adding some charm to attract more investments. Very eccentric, but he's not always at his Gym and usually has substitutes manning it. Unpredictable.” I could hear the disdain in her voice. “Yet he's the Fifth Leader.”

Substitutes were common weren’t they? Or was this something more specific?

“Err Michinoku?” Next gym leader please and oh hey cool.

The next Gym Leader was a black-haired woman wearing dark-tinted glasses, who was built rather curvy and busty, an arm flexing to reveal hard as steel muscle. A krookodile was mimicking her movement with ease.

“Vivian, the Blind Bandit of Michinoku,” Akari was sort of vibrating, excitement ringing her voice. “She’s another strong leader who wrestles in tag teams with her pokémon in underground tournaments. She's tough as nails and hits like a truck, and will pull the rug under you in milliseconds. The Sixth Leader.”

I smirked. “You’re a fangirl aren't you?”

Akari growled. “Shut up, I am not a fangirl!”

“Sure you're not, so that leaves two more?” I moved and I could see the gears turning in her head, she scowled and I smiled warmly. I opened the seventh image file for the seventh gym.

It was a young woman with very slightly tanned skin, spiky dark brown hair, and pale blue eyes, holding an ominous book, a gengar hanging in her shadow.

“Norma, the Witch of Katayama. A bit creepy but quite sweet from what I've heard, her Gym is more of a spiritual journey combined with ritual combat. Very cool.”

She opened the file herself on the offline map, revealing an older man in his 50s. He looked quintessentially Japanese, almost rat-like, or… based on his whiskers and his robust frame an eastern dragon in the form of a man.

She breathed out slowly. “Yoshi, the Dragon Master of Ushu. His power is every bit the equal of an Elite Four, and he's incredibly exclusive. He only takes high-level challengers, he’ll direct you towards a minor gym if he doesn't think you're ready to face him. One of them is owned by his four adopted sons. Raw power and mastered techniques.”

“So we’re definitely not ready for anyone like him.”

Her reply was blunt.

“No.”

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We were going through one last training session before the two of us would leave the city proper, putting into practice some of the more… totem-based forms of training in a small forest clearing.

Certain types of items could increase the potential of a pokémon, especially ones that contained or enhanced pure-type energy. Incenses provided an optimal environment for studying TE.

Evolution stones, elemental gems, or held items which merge into the body and alter their biology, often derived from the bodies of pokémon, preserved as totems and items of power. Thus they were amazing foci.

Now you would think that meant the rich and the strong would horde everything for themselves… that simply wasn't possible because finding random assorted items was a fundamental aspect of being a trainer. I had stumbled upon three Psychic Gems that I was letting Jericho use as a focus for his limited psychic powers. He wore them out one by one, but they increased his understanding of psychic-type energy.

Mirko had a new Silk Scarf I had taken off of a wild trubbish and cleaned up, and it strengthened her normal-type energies. She used it to gain a better understanding of her normal-type energy, using the item as an implement, a tool to better strengthen and cultivate her power.

The various tools and items of the trade were… a lot like training tools, they were important but not the end all be all of pokémon battling. Dumping a hundred items into your friend isn't going to make them a god of battle, and the power of friendship alone isn't good enough. In this world, it was a combination of things, of the bonds between humans and pokémon, of hard work and working together, of using the right tools and strategies to win.

Plus it helped that most of the basic stuff was cheap as hell, Elemental Gems were inexpensive, costing about one hundred pokédollars, or a single American dollar. They were used as foci, specially prepared items that make it easier for a user to perform a move. They were good tools for practicing and using new types and moves. It's a easy example of pure Type Energy for them to study and draw upon until they could transform their own energy into different waveforms, or into the specific shapes for moves.

Long-lasting type-enhancing items like Charcoal, Dragon Fangs, Polkadot Bows, and Miracle Seeds were more expensive but didn't wear out, and provided a solid example of their own energy.

That didn’t make it easy however.

“C’mon, learn how to channel your energy into Headbutt, it’s a strong move and plays well with using every part of yourself as a weapon!” I encouraged Mirko as she practiced the steps and exercises I had looked up online and in my phone’s local database.

Her strongest normal-type move was Swift, and her physical strength surpassed her special power in every circumstance. Headbutt was an excellent physical move, and the ability to cause an opponent to flinch was invaluable.

So increasing both her potential and her move pool was a good idea, though I was planning to slow down so Mirko wouldn’t get overwhelmed by so many options. Her current set would be refined into one of several Sets, standard strategies I would drill into her and my brain. Akari’s idea.

I looked at a basic stat file for Mirko, which had taken a few nights of studying to create a good model.

[Mirko]

Height: .6m

Weight: 7.4kg

Type: Normal

Species: Rabbit Pokémon

Constitution: C

Strength: C+

Toughness: C-

Power: C-

Resistance: C

Speed: B

All of Mirko’s stats were higher than the average buneary, making her far more powerful than one would expect at a glance. Which was a good thing, she was a little monster and I was happy to see her growing stronger under my watch.

There was a lot of trial and error, mainly by watching YouTube and looking up recommended teaching methods for tapping into the energies and katas of different moves. Headbutt involves infusing Normal aura into one’s head at the point of impact, smashing into a target with incredible power and enough concussive force to daze a target. The teaching method was…

Well headbutting a hard object like a tree, boulder or piece of metal and visualization of aura flow, though the latter applied to any pokémon move since it involved the invocation of Type Energy.

In Mirko’s case she was headbutting the hell out of a poor tree, focusing her aura and trying to get the right timing of aura flow at the point of impact. She was getting the hang of it, I could see a flash of pale light flashing every now and then, and it was a matter of timing now, reinforcing her power at the right time and place.

On the other hand, Jericho was working on learning Toxic Spikes and Dig. Toxic Spikes was a good arena trap, and Dig was a strong and easy to learn ground-type move. Toxic Spikes involved shaping poison-type energy into a physical form, and throwing them across the field, they were basically Czech hedgehog’s made out of toxins.

Ground-type moves would be a good counter against the fire-types of the Irori Gym. Like Mirko his potential was deep green, making him stronger than the norm. I opened up his corresponding file with a grin on my face.

[Jericho]

Height: .58m

Weight: 13 kg

Type: Poison

Species: Poison Pin Pokémon

Constitution: D+

Strength: B

Toughness: D

Power: D+

Resistance: D+

Speed: C-

Just like Mirko, Jericho’s power was greater than the average for his species at his age and current accumulation of experience. A combination of battling, training and his own experiences in the wild had done a lot for him. His strength was also far higher because of his ability, a good fifty percent stronger pound per pound.

He had managed to throw out a weak collection of poison caltrops, and was using a Ground Gem for a ready source of ground-type energy for him to learn about to use Dig.

Akari was training too, having set up an agility course out of miscellaneous junk, and was throwing objects for Happy to attack with Mud-Slap and Ember to improve his accuracy while Kirby was pushing a boulder about two and half times my 5’2 height in diameter. So he was pushing a boulder that was a solid hundred metric tons, and I was extremely concerned.

He hadn't even evolved yet, and Mirko wasn’t that much weaker than him though she did have less leverage. Then again I had seen my Starter leave craters using Swift that wouldn’t be out of place from an artillery blast. All pokémon used aura to fuel their feats, though using it to move thousands of tons was out of the question outside of high level pokémon who could destroy city blocks and carriers.

It was a matter of metaphysical leverage, using moves, using their full power focused on increasing their output of aura immensely, projecting it outwards into reality. It was tiring and expensive, so exercises like Akari’s were good at pushing them harder, which would amplify their combat power over time.

I got up from my resting spot, brushing dirt away from my shorts. They were a little tight on me, and I grinned goofily since they were a pair from two months ago. It meant progress. Fortunately most of my pants and shorts were of the stretchy variety. My hair was a few inches longer, and I just felt… good, relieved and yet…

I sighed as my heart hurt. It had been more than two months since I had been torn out of reality. I hadn’t taken time to process, time to grieve, rage, scream—

I almost drew blood, and let my shoulders untense before something unpleasant went down.

There was progress being made, Laven had said as much, promised me even.

I knew my family wasn’t perfect, and frankly I didn’t miss it like I should… hard to care when your family is toxic, broken and so damaged you could barely even cope without going mad. But there were still people I cared about, and I wanted to at least let them know I was alive and okay.

Did I know what would come after?

No. Not really.

But that didn’t matter, not yet, I would get there when I get there.

That would be all.