The early morning sun cast long shadows across the backyard as Gladion stood facing his Machop. Months had passed since Grandpa Maren's funeral, and the young trainer had thrown himself into training with renewed vigor, honoring his grandfather's memory with every step forward.

"Alright, Machop," Gladion called out, a determined glint in his eye. "Let's start with some warm-up exercises!"

Machop nodded enthusiastically, its muscular body tensing in anticipation. But instead of beginning a standard routine, the Fighting-type Pokémon suddenly struck an exaggerated pose, flexing its muscles and flashing a blindingly bright smile.

"Machop- chop!" it exclaimed, giving Gladion a thumbs-up that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.

Gladion blinked in confusion. "Uh, Machop? What are you doing?"

The Pokémon didn't respond verbally. Instead, it began a series of rapid-fire poses, each more flamboyant than the last. It flexed its biceps, struck dramatic stances, and even attempted to balance on one foot while giving a double thumbs-up.

"Ma-CHOP!" it shouted, its voice filled with an inexplicable passion. "Machop

-chop -chop!"

Gladion couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous display. "Machop, have you been watching those old ninja shows again with Gwen?"

As if in response, Machop suddenly dropped to the ground and began doing one-finger push-ups at an incredible speed, all while maintaining its impossibly wide grin.

"Oh boy," Gladion chuckled, shaking his head. "You know, when I said we should train hard, this isn't exactly what I had in mind."

But Machop was on a roll. It sprang to its feet and began running laps around the yard, leaving a trail of dust in its wake. Every time it passed Gladion, it would strike a new pose and shout, "MA-Chop" which translated into "YOUTH!"

By now, Gladion was doubled over with laughter. "Okay, okay!" he gasped between giggles. "I get it! You're fired up and ready to go!"

Machop skidded to a halt in front of its trainer, still beaming and giving an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

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Wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, Gladion patted Machop on the head. "Alright, you bundle of energy. Let's channel some of that enthusiasm into our actual training, shall we?"

For the next hour, Gladion and Machop worked through their usual routine of strength training and combat exercises.

Gladion knew that both physical strength and endurance was very important in his journey to become a Pokemon trainer. Even though he was a powerful Psychic, he still needed to fight in close range if required, have stamina to travel large distances and have enough speed to dodge lethal Pokemon moves.

Because in the wild, there were no battle rules and everything goes. And for a Pokemon trainer, the weakest link is the trainer himself. Well, if that trainer did not have special aura or psychic powers.

He knew that the world was not safe. In fact while the most common profession was to become a Pokemon trainer and go on a journey at fucking 10 years old, the casualty rate was 8 percent. This is when Team rocket was still growing.

Eight percent of all the ten year old kids that go on a journey die every single year and yet it was the most sought profession.

He knew that a stray Pokemon attack can seriously injure him if not outright kill him. He did not have to worry about such things if he went on route throughout his journey.

But he was planning to go offroute and go to pretty dangerous areas to get his future team mates. He did not want to be a glass canon who only relies on his Pokemon to fight.

As they finished up, both trainer and Pokémon breathing hard but satisfied, Gladion couldn't help but smile. "You know, Machop," he said, "your silly warm-up actually got me pretty pumped up. Maybe we should start all our sessions that way."

Machop's eyes lit up, and it immediately struck another pose.

Gladion laughed, holding up his hands. "Whoa, easy there! I was just kidding. Once a day is plenty!" As Gladion said that, he saw Larvitar who was watching them train, was now currently trying to do a push up.

Gladion was unable to take his eyes off his new Pokémon, it was just so damn adorable. When the Larvitar got tired, it moved towards Gladion.

It nudged Gladion's hand affectionately as Gladion laughed, stroking its smooth shell. "You and I are going to make an incredible team," he told it. "I can't wait to see what we can accomplish together."

As if in agreement, the Larvitar's eyes glowed briefly, and Gladion felt a surge of shared determination flow through their bond.

"Let me tell you how I met you." Gladion said as Larvitar looked curiously at him.

"You know," he said softly to his new partner, "my Grandpa Maren gave you to me as an egg. He was an incredible trainer and an even better person. I wish you could have met him."

He told him the rest of the story about how Grandpa Maren got the egg and how he hatched.

The Larvitar made a soft sound, and through their bond, Gladion felt a wave of comfort and understanding.

"Yeah, I miss him too," Gladion continued, smiling sadly. "But he believed in us, you know? He knew we'd be something special together. And I promise you, we're going to prove him right. We'll become the strongest team out there, and we'll use our strength to help others, just like he did."

Larvitar's eyes shone with determination, and Gladion felt its agreement resonate through their connection.

It then jumped straight and started running while shouting "Tarrrrr"

Gladion was confused before he came to a realisation that it was copying Machop and was shouting Youth just like him.

"Little guy, don't go too hard on yourself. You are just a baby right now and baby Larvitars tend to take longer to grow big enough to train." Gladion told him who whined but stopped as Gladion patted him.

"Although, I think you are special. You might be able to start training early."

Gladion had researched about Larvitar and has found out that the average fully grown Larvitar is 3' 11" in height while his Larvitar was already at that height or was pretty close to it.

'The king or the alpha gene or whatever it is called here must be present in this one. Dad said that the mother Tyranitar was one of the strongest Pokemon on Mt.Silver for a reason and it seems it passed on to my Larvitar.' Gladion thought

'If that mother Tyranitar knew this, she probably would not have given me his egg. But why do I have these Psychic powers and now a strong Tyranitar as a starter. Is it just my luck or something else or rather some Pokemon deity is doing all of this to me for a purpose?' Gladion thought