Expedition 2.7
September 29th, 2022.
Several days after both Akari and I earned our first badges was a pokémon catching day, along with the next several. Professor Laven had tasked us with catching certain pokémon native to the Kanran-ishi Wildland, most of which was considered a 1-star area so we wouldn’t have Rangers barring us entry, though the caverns were off limits due to their subterranean lakes and rivers being home to a regional variant of druddigon, a powerful dragon-water type that would almost certainly slaughter us all at their level of power. We needed a 3-star ranking at the bare minimum.
Honestly the area we could enter wasn’t too different from the Montane Forest that made up the bulk of Route 302, aside from being stronger and wilder in some respects, and of course lacked druddigon due to no caves. I was planning on catching several stantler because of their dimension manipulating abilities
Species wise the montane forest was dense with pokémon to catch, I had already scanned multiple pachirisu, rattata, and even togedemaru and pikachu.
Akari had been tasked with catching a few woobat because the species had originally evolved as a normal-flying type around ten thousand years ago, and became psychic around two to three thousand years ago. Laven wanted to see if their Type Energy had any special properties, and if traces of their normal-type genes were still lingering.
But for now…
I marched with Jericho and Mirko keeping a watch out for wild pokémon while Akari was busy catching a small colony of woobat a hundred something feet to my left.
I was walking over to a nice stream, chatting my pokémon’s heads off.
“We’re searching for a new teammate, a strong water-type will offer us a lot more options when it comes to certain types like say… fire, ground, and rock. Plus it’ll give us a better idea of how to fight in the next Gym.” It’ll also add more cost when it comes to our food bill, but that was a price I was willing to pay.
Pokémon-grade food items were somewhat cheaper than human-grade, mostly because their stuff involves all the… less aesthetically-pleasing products that were thrown away in my world and were instead sold for pokémon or low-income families and individuals. Mirko loved the lumpy misshapen apples, while Jericho enjoyed two-headed carrots. Along with a wide variety of berries of course.
Food was one of the main limiters when it comes to having a lot of pokémon, fortunately I had figured out a good system, I had bought a blender built to sort out the various ingredients, along with a good quality premix composed of micro-ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, and other stuff, and the mill device was simple and easy to use. Mirko eats about two cups of food a day or seven hundred fifty pokédollars worth of food per week while based on my current calculations Jericho now eats about five cups a day or about one thousand eight hundred seventy five pokédollars out of my wallet each and every week. In terms of calories, Mirko goes through about a thousand while Jericho goes through three thousand.
Fortunately my sponsorship covers the cost pretty easily, it wouldn’t be until I have a full team that it would really bite into my income. My match with the Gym netted me about five thousand pokédollars which in hindsight isn’t that much.
Of course then you have to take into account food, general enrichment, and medical costs which while far longer with Pokémon Centers wasn’t zero when accounting for keeping them in good health with grooming, potions, dental care and other minor expenses. That would become closer to thirty thousand pokédollars a month with two relatively small pokémon. Six pokémon with the same cost would eat up ten percent of my budget… same cost being a keyword.
Anyways…
“Once we have a moment to rest we’ll be working on increasing your potential with some items I purchased on the GST.” I had already been increasing their potential using Gems as a foci for poison and normal TE, packing their food full of ability-enhancing vitamins, which were some type of concentrated byproduct of pokémon battles, and Mirko’s Silk Scarf was a good source of controlled Type Energy.
“The stream is right over there, which means we can get on with catching a new teammate.”
I jumped over a log, glancing over at the stream. I could see a few pokémon already, multiple river magikarp and goldeen along with ten times their number in lesser pokémon.
Unfortunately river magikarp were barely above Domestics when it came to evolving, they simply lacked the resources and will to evolve into gyarados. While I liked magikarp, they were hard to train and I wasn’t going to pretend I was good enough to up their potential that far. Basculin was just as difficult to evolve, and goldeen aren’t very competitive either.
Maybe a psyduck would make a good and strong pokémon—
“Mar?”
My train of thought was derailed by the pokémon that emerged from the water, a round ball of blue fur with a white belly standing at knee height striding on short legs buried under the very round configuration of fur, and round medium sized ears like a mouse. A long but thin delicate tail held a large round store of fat and nutrients, and the pokémon smiled almost smugly though content might be more accurate.
“Ill? Maru?” She seemed to be asking something to my pokémon, perpetually smiling the entire time. Why did I feel like she was being sarcastic?
The Marill line, Oleocauda aqua, were lagomorphs, though they were closer to pikas (don’t think of Pikablu…) they were still considered basically mouse-like rabbits. I had a water-fairy type in front of me, and I was almost suspicious until I recalled that I hadn’t been exactly quiet with my conversations with my pokémon.
Without anyone around, volume control was out of the question. Marill was a good pokémon, a fantastic one even with access to several useful abilities that develop based on climate conditions. Northern populations develop a greater layer of Thick Fat to protect against freezing temperatures, the temperate populations have Huge Power reinforcing their muscles while the tropical natives can Sip Sap to metabolize Grass moves.
While Huge Power was the most useful in terms of battle, the others had their uses and all three could create a real monster.
“Hey there? Were you listening in on us?” The marill blinked slowly at me, her tail swishing back and forth almost nervously.
She churred at Mirko, gesturing to me with her short arms. Mirko raised an eyebrow but nodded, while Jericho shifted his gaze back and forth, ears swiveling to catch their conversation.
Interesting.
Mirko seemed slightly annoyed at the questions Marill was throwing at her, who seemed to shift from foot to foot without a care in the world. Kind of familiar…
She shifted her attention to me, dark eyes gleaming with curiosity and interest. “Mrrr?”
“So Mirko has filled you in on the fact we’re looking to add a new member to the team? Are you interested?”
She beamed, arms swaying back and forth in the air. “Mar mar!” Mirko gave a thumbs up to tell me she was interested but…
Marill had taken a stance, and her sweet expression became more excited, more manic almost, all while retaining a lackadaisical attitude. It was actually somewhat disturbing, but fairy-types were some crazy motherfuckers from what I remember even if they’re not as malicious as the fey of Earth myths.
“You want a battle first then to prove myself?” Marill nodded with her entire round body, and I agreed. She slapped her paws against her cheeks, and I decided to pick my chosen pokémon on the spot.
“Jericho? Let’s show Marill we’ve got what it takes, if that’s alright with you?” Mirko was considered my second in command as the Starter, and had some priority when it came to decisions, think a captain of a soccer or well fútbol team.
She’s responsible for the actions of her team, and keeps them in check where I can’t, a mediator between human and pokémon.
She rolled her eyes, and took a few hops back, gesturing to the field between us and the stream. Jericho jumped into her space, the soft ground protesting his seventy pound weight, horn gleaming in the noon sun.
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Marill just smiled, and I took a deep breath, in and out.
“Hone Claws into Poison Sting.” I began, and the battle exploded into motion. He sharpened his claws as he skidded along the ground, and tried charging into Marill.
She smiled, and rolled out of the charge and changed direction with the propulsive force of a Water Gun, and launched herself forward, her tail swinging with the full force of a Slam attack. The single blow launched Jericho into the air, and he righted himself at the last second.
A Bubble Beam was fired out of Marill’s mouth, and Jericho dodged with a clever use of Dig, diving into the ground and leaping back out with a second Poison Sting stabbing into Marill’s stomach.
“Focus Energy into Fury Attack,” he responded like I expected, jaw opening widely to release a roar. He concentrated his energy into a disciplined and dense form, and jabbed his horn into Marill, three hits striking in the span of seconds before he got a blast of Water Gun to his face. A second Slam was blocked with Double Kick, bouncing the two off of each other in the process. “Trap her, don’t let her set the pace.”
Toxic Spikes was activated soon after, restricting Marill’s movement if she wanted to keep from being poisoned. Jericho responded with a powerful wave of Confusion, picking up Marill and throwing her into the caltrops. Her face practically turned green as the poison began its work of eating through her aura and stamina, and Jericho barked a war cry.
She spat a Bubble Beam, and he tanked the attack and charged into a second Fury Attack, his horn doing a number on her defenses, and she launched her tail for another devastating Slam that he deflected with Confusion, then tackled her and swung a Poison Sting into her stomach.
Marill couldn’t get away, and Jericho finished her off with a Fury Attack, her body dropping to the ground in exhaustion but not quite knocked out into full fainting.
There was a moment of awkward silence as Jericho slipped off of Marill, and I coughed.
“So… I bought a Dive Ball for the occasion, if you want?”
Her blank stare was all the reply I needed from Marill.
“And you don’t know what that is…”
…
I’m just going to ask her what she would like to be caught in.
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I released Marill back into reality, and she blinked up at me with a wide grin that was more nerve wracking than merely cute. I offered her a sitrus berry, and with a shiny gleam in her eyes she tore the berry into juicy chunks with her teeth.
“So, welcome to the team! Do you already know my name or…?” Marill pointed to Mirko with a gesture, ears flicking happily. “That’s good, then you know our goal is to gain all the Gym Badges and learn as much as possible about this world of ours.” I placed my hands on my hips, being as welcoming as my literally autistic ass could manage.
“I’m gonna check your health for a quick second, and we can start on more introductions and stuff.” Marill looked confused but didn’t say no as I opened my dex-phone for her data taken from the sensors in her ball.
Shared Characteristics
Species: Marill, Aqua Mouse Pokémon
Type: Water-Fairy
Egg Group: Water 1, Fairy
Classification: Animalia - Chordata - Lagomorpha - Leporidae - Oleocauda
Wild Threat Level: Slightly Harmful. Not actively dangerous and friendly to humans, but can injure very easily with their play and games.
Growth Rate: Fast
Suggested Diet: Omnivore. Aquatic plants, algae, berries, fish.
Personal Characteristics:
Name: Marill
Holder: Brandon “Brandy” Red
Age: 14 years
Abilities: Huge Power (Strength massively increased), Thick Fat (undeveloped)
Physicality Analysis:
- Heavy fat indicative of potential for developing Thick Fat,
- Mature female, high accumulation of power.
- Height measured at 42 centimeters and body mass 9.4 kilograms.
- Minor fighting-type affinity.
Potential: Green
Tips: Increase potency by mastering fairy and water-type moves and use of element-infused items and fey rituals.
Known Moves: Tackle, Water Gun, Bubble Beam, Slam
“Interesting, I think I can see areas of improvement here and there.”
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I clapped my hands together, getting the attention of all three of my pokémon.
“So! Since we’re out here, we can begin a new training session with our new member and start expanding upon both our strategies, moves and abilities. I haven’t focused too much on abilities, mainly been focusing on upping your potential and move sets, and coming up with basic strategies and acronyms for the moves used in those strategies.”
Marill’s face twisted into a grin, as did Mirko’s while Jericho offered a very poor attempt at a thumb’s up.
“Mirko, your general role is an all-out lightning bruiser, you hit like a truck and your ranged moves are focused on keeping obstacles out of your way. But your moves aren’t diverse enough to deal with every opponent, so we’ll work on teaching you the Elemental Punches, Jump Kick and… Return.”
Return was an esoteric move that relied on the bond between pokémon and trainer, the connections between man and monster, drawing on them for power, like a Familiar bond. At the greatest peak of power it was stronger than moves like Heat Wave, Ice Hammer and Earthquake. But I’m not sure how strong our bond was, how much power would Mirko be able to draw from our connection?
Anyways…
“Jericho, we’ll be working on Toxic to increase your poison affinity so you can develop Poison Point, and Poison Jab to have a physical move with a strong STAB.” Same attack bonus did exist, moves were amplified by the Type of a pokémon if they were of the same Type. Jericho cracked a toothy grin, and I placed my hand against my chest with a nod.
“Marill, nickname not yet given, since you’re the newest member we’ll start with physical conditioning and mastering your current movepool, so that they can be performed with the most accuracy, power and speed as well as figuring out your role in the team.” She was slower than Mirko, but her ability made her hit like a train, and as an azumarill not even a fully evolved Jericho would be able to match her. At the moment she was slightly weaker, but increasing her potential wasn’t too hard, it wouldn’t be much longer before Mirko and Jericho would reach Light Blue.
“Did you all understand that? Because I want to start as soon as possible.”
“No more bunnies, huh?” I shrieked at the voice coming from above me, almost having a heart attack when Akari dropped from fifteen feet up without a scratch on her, holding a rather happy looking and large togepi in her arms.
“Akari what the fuck?”
“What?” She responded innocently despite leaping out of a tree and ambushing me, holding a very cute togepi in her arms.
“Nevermind, did you finish your research task already?”
Akari nodded. “I did, I’ve caught a total of seven woobat, defeated ten of them, and seen them use various psychic and flying type moves.” Any use of pokémon energy was scanned by our devices, and that made sense for Laven’s area of research and study. “I see your protest about catching more bunnies was hollow.”
“Shut up,” I growled and she laughed and I got angrier. “A better question is where you found a togepi in the middle of a montane forest of all places.”
She turned a bright, bright shade of red that started from her cheeks and went down to her neck, the odd white and red marks on her face turned pinkish and deep red respectively and I almost laughed out loud.
That was adorable.
“That’s what I thought,” I placed my hands on my hips for emphasis, harrumphing at the same time. “So are you open to helping me train up my team? At least when it comes to battling? I’m working up a schedule and goals to work on when it comes to their progress.”
Akari snapped out of her embarrassment. “Of course, you know this means getting you into shape is going to be important. The healthier you are, the better your bond can strengthen your pokémon.”
I patted my belly with a shrug, which had gone down a bit as fat was moved towards my hips and chest at a rather slow but consistent rate. She wasn’t wrong at least, and the slight up and downs of my body weight were helping distribute
the changes faster.
“Ill? Maru?” Marill blinked up at me again, having hopped over to me, her tail swaying back and forth in an almost hypnotic pattern. She also swayed her arms back and forth, eagerly churring at me.
A name came to me in a spurt of inspiration.
“I’m gonna call you Llayda if that’s okay? I think it’s a good name to have.” Marill’s eyes widened, and she bounced in the air with the equivalent of a nod.
“I think she likes it.” Akari pointed out with a cheeky grin. “She’ll make a good member of your team, the marill line can grow into powerful fighters and their typing and abilities gives them few type-weaknesses. Though their attitudes can make them difficult.”
I pointed to Mirko as she bullied Jericho into submission, the poison rhino-rabbit has gotten more uppity with his Evolution, but Mirko… was creative when it came to keeping him in line.
“Fair enough,” she pursed her lip. “We’ll have to go deeper into the forest to find any stantler, and convincing them will be a problem.”
“I’ll have to try won’t I?” I responded back, knowing it was going to potentially take days.
But that was time I was willing to contribute as a sponsored trainer under Laven, as being under the aegis of the League both provided me resources and protected me from the overzealous Interpol. I didn’t want to be used as bait for Ultra Beasts, and with my pokémon and Akari I could have a relatively normal pokémon journey.
…
I hope I didn’t jinx something.