Chapter Twenty: The Off-Season

…

Murkrow squawked in the sky while I glanced upwards at the summer sun, protecting my eyes with my hand.

"Urkrooow! Urkroow!" they cried.

One flew down to snatch a bagel a lady dropped onto the beach, her son chasing a ball tossed to him by his father.

I sighed, I should've visited Olivine City's beach earlier.

Something was odd about this beach. For some reason, I recognized a judge from a WCPL tournament, for some reason everyone here happened to be a trainer or previously competed.

Just why was that?

I had packed some sunscreen for the trip, Ino was chilling with his baby Bellsprout on a towel in the sand, and the sun was bright. A few folks were playing volleyball with a Machamp I think saw win Kanto regionals in a decently competitive circuit, and I was enjoying my time off from competition.

This funk losing to Dawn had put me in was honestly putting me in a bad state, and I knew I had to bounce back. So taking a short summer break was exactly what I needed.

My team was really enjoying themselves, Growlithe, despite being a Fire type, loved being in the water. He never strayed too far from my spot in the beach however, despite paddling around happily.

Vigoroth and Ursaring were wrestling and rough-housing in a small sand pit they built for themselves, a few nearby children watching them as they built their own sand castles.

The water was a clear crystal blue, I could see schools of Fish Pokemon swim together in the far distance.

I heard a small bell chime and a familiar girl in her twenties was wheeling a cart around, selling Miltank dairy products such as ice creams and ice cold milk of various flavors.

I wanted one, but quickly a line formed almost the instant she appeared from the beach nearby.

All the men, young and old, wanted to buy her products, even families of trainers and Gym officials visiting the beach.

I decided to swim with my Growlithe in the water for a bit to wait for the crowd to disperse and then later as I dried off, I approached the ice cream cart.

"Hello, can I - Oh. Hey Nico."

Being a teenager didn't have a whole lot of perks, but I had to keep the usual hormones that came with it under control when approaching the girl who had drawn a decent bit of attention from everyone at the beach. Whitney, Gym leader of Goldenrod city, was showing off her perfect skin, curves, and large bust in a white bikini with pink outlines that matched her beautiful hair.

"Hi there Whitney, can I have some." I cleared my throat, looking at the menu printed on the side of the cart. "Original flavored Moomoo Milk?"

"Sure, that'll be eight hundred Pokedollars please." she chirped.

Pricey, but smart, there was no snack bar, this was the only way to get any sort of drink or food on this beach. Goldenrod City owed a whole lot to the brand she created. I handed her the cash and Whitney opened the ice cream cart and handed me the ice cold milk.

The flavor was delicious and a great refreshment from the scorching summer sun, I then saw as my dog appeared then afterward.

"Taking a short break from training I see. How-" Whitney then yelped.

Growlithe dried himself from the ocean water by shaking himself violently.

She giggled, wiping some sand off her thigh. "Nice to see you too Growlithe."

"Arf!" he panted, smiling and wagging his tail as he sat in the sand next to me.

"You know, I didn't think I'd ever see the day a monk came to this beach."

"How come everyone here was or is involved with the Pokemon League in one way or another? It's been bothering me all day." I asked.

Whitney shrugged. "There a few other beaches around, but this one in particular was frequently visited by Olivine City's founder, a great trainer. Eventually, so many trainers came to the beach so often the town just made it a trainer exclusive zone. You weren't asked to show your Trainer's badge or any sort of ID for coming here?"

"No."

It actually made me a bit happy to hear Whitney's watery laugh. "Makes sense people know you that well now Nico."

"Thanks."

I turned back to the beauty of the surrounding and mildly popular beach around me in thought.

That always reminded me heavily of just how revered trainers were in the Pokemon world. Everyone wanted to be them, to the point where kids had to compete to become them from the sheer number of children trying to become just like Red.

It made perfect sense to me, that a world like this would even have a beach more or less exclusive to trainers alone.

I turned back towards Whitney. "Wait so, aren't you a gym leader? Why do you have to come to this beach yourself to sell ice cream and stuff?"

"Apparently whenever I sell stuff personally it does way better then when I'm not there." Whitney shrugged and even a subtle shake of her upper body was bouncy. "Guess being known as the Gym Leader of Goldenrod helps that much. And what brings you here?"

"I've kind of hit a rough patch after losing my first battle. Was hoping to clear my head and strategize for the upcoming season to win the rest of the Gym badges and make a go for the Pokemon League tournament itself."

Whitney smiled a bit. "A funk you say? Well I don't often run into those, but when I do, I go back to where I grew up."

"And where's that?"

"Moomoo farm of course. My family's actually visiting today, that's also why I'm here. I can talk to them to let you stay for a week or two."

I thought about for a second. "I think that'd be great."

"Alright." Whitney nodded towards Ino nearby. "How goes your monk training?"

"Same old same old. And running your Gym?"

She chortled. "Can't say any of you newbies have done as well as you have Nico. Miltank only needs about two minutes before she's sent all my new challengers packing."

"Ruff!" Growlithe sniffed the edge of her cart, smiling and wagging his tail when he sat back down.

"Right." Whitney took out a bowl and poured some milk for him. "I remember how much your Growlithe liked Miltank's milk during our last battle. That was actually really clever of you, you're a very." Whitney paused. "Unique trainer."

Growlithe lapped up the milk bowl placed on the sand happily, his tail still wagging happily the whole time.

"I keep being told so."

I saw another familiar face. "Excuse me for a second."

She had other customers. "Nice catching up with you."

"Same."

Ash was accompanied by two people I thought he wasn't going to be otherwise.

"Hi there Ash."

"Oh hey Nico, you're here in Olivine too?"

"Sure am, who are these two?"

"Misty and Brock. They're friends of mine from Kanto, Professor Oak said I could still be a part of his competition team so long as I kept in touch."

I was wondering, why this sudden change now?

I shook their hands. "Glad to meet you two."

"You've made quite the name for the Bellsprout temples in the League," Brock said kindly. "Think you could offer any particular tips for Pokemon breeding?"

"Not really. Why?"

"I've heard the monks of Takujimi breed their own Bellsprout, making them among the most well trained in the entire world. Is that true?" he asked me. "I've always wanted to know."

I shook my head. "Only really high ranked Initiates know the specific details of how to breed and raise Pokemon, every thing else I've had to learn on my own."

"Really? Because I thought-"

Brock stopped talking, all but running off towards Whitney's cart.

Misty sighed, holding her beach ball of her hip wearing a simple blue bikini. "I apologize for him, I'm looking forward to seeing you compete in Kanto too."

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Damn I know I just met this girl but I had to admit she looked good.

"Man, Brock's having a ball today." her friend from Pallet Town said dryly.

I thought being my age now Ash would understand, because I really couldn't blame him at all.

Just what I needed during my break from training, a reminder of my first defeat.

…

The day at the beach offered a perspective to me I hadn't realized until now.

My decision to remain in the Sprout Order was one I often wondered about. If it was the best decision, if it was the best path forward. And the truth was, that it still was.

Even being surrounded by hot girls, young women with long smooth legs, breasts of various sizes all clad in bikinis and round bottoms. I wasn't fazed by my decisions.

Granted, the Order was unclear to me if I was allowed to date or not, I still found it something I don't know if I was interested in yet. But it was a simple fact, that the beach was appealing to me.

And any other monk in the entire world would not be allowed to partake in such a pleasure, the oath to study the mythos and power of legendary Pokemon and their impact on the world was too much. It was a lifelong journey, one so deep and spiritual, that even after death, some monks were said to continue studying it.

"Interesting, isn't it?" I heard someone say right next to me.

The Espeon from my dreams was laid out, yawning, showing feline teeth as he relaxed next to the beach towel next to me.

"What're you doing here?" I said in my thoughts.

His forked tail waved in the air as he laid in the sand. "You aim to become a world champion, or discover Red, or find legendary Pokemon. All of which the Sprout Order has been unable to do for its entire history, and yet, you doubt them."

"I don't doubt them."

He licked his paw, rubbing the top of his own head. "You just wondered if the decision to stay with them was correct."

"No it's just, dating is a natural thing. A good thing. And the Order seems completely removed from it, they pretty much banned Inoru from dating during his years they made him walk across the planet between temples."

"Because attachment to the spiritual, is detachment from the physical."

I sighed. "Ho-Oh, Lugia, Mew and Celebi. The lake spirits. These are real, physical Pokemon, all of whom govern essential aspects of our existence. Why would admitting, real, physical, and natural things, be bad, or detach ourselves from worshipping them and respecting their sacrifices."

"Because the Mythical Pokemon are unique, they are spirits who maintain the balance of the entire world in order. Pokemon, that while physical, are so powerful, that they could both protect or destroy civilization if they so desired. The Sprout Order remained the protectors of all the knowledge about them and our dimension for thousands of years Nico, they're not mistaken on matters of love."

"So then, you're saying I could leave the Order and you could stay with me?"

The Espeon surveyed the ocean, its shimmering blue water with calm silver eyes, before I heard him sigh.

"I don't know, my duty is to guide you. To be Toji and Mew's paragon in order to help you protect the earth."

"Another thing, you keep acting like I'm supposed to be this big hero. And yet, I've never seen actual evidence the Legendaries would betray humanity."

"Then you haven't been paying attention."

"Then you've been concealing information from me, besides from Team Rocket, I've- Hey!"

The Espeon's image in my mind on the surrounding beach disappeared. Dick.

I looked around for him, thinking. "Espeon!"

"Sup dork," I heard a girl say, flicking a beach ball of my head. "How're ya?"

Annoying.

I turned, looking up from the ground at this girl, her excellent body hidden in a crystal blue and white two piece bikini showing off her great skin. I hadn't talked to her in a while, wondering if she ever went by Kris, instead of Crystal.

"Fine, actually."

"How've you been? Haven't seen you since World Champs."

"Honestly, I haven't had the best time as of late."

"Still upset over Dawn?"

"That's only part of it, you wouldn't understand."

Without even asking, Crystal smoothed out my beach towel and sat next to me. "Try me."

I sighed, actually grateful someone was taking the time to listen. "This is sort of a secret, but Ino and I are supposed to undergo a great deal of responsibility."

"I mean, yeah, you're monks who're supposed to battle. No one's ever done that before."

"Right, but I mean."

I looked at Crystal measuring whether or not I should tell her this, this girl was sweet, a bit of a klutz, I could even see her Crocnaw hidden in the sand, trying to hunt wild Murkrow unfortunate enough to land nearby it. But I saw her as trustworthy really.

"Look, the knowledge the Sprout Order has is supposed to be enough to help me do things no one's done."

"Such as?"

"Finding the Pokemon of myth, even if no one's ever seen them."

"To catch them?"

I was confused. "What, catch them? That's impossible, they're powerful enough to-"

"Then why go after them?"

These were basically gods in Pokemon form.

"I'm honestly not sure yet. But all I know, is if I'm supposed to do what I'm supposed to do. I'm going to need more help than Ino's."

"Are you asking for my help?"

I thought about this.

Crystal wasn't a bad trainer by any means, but I'd honestly be keeping her around in case I ran into Team Rocket or any other threat larger than them. But for all I knew, she could be a whole lot more useful than I imagined initially.

"I am."

Crystal appeared to think for a moment, and then stood up, wiping sand off herself. "I'll talk to Gold, maybe we can spare some time now that we're in the off-season of training."

"Thanks, Crystal."

"No problem Nico."

She smiled at me, which was honestly a nice feeling to see, and then she walked off. I didn't look off after her when she turned around, ignoring what I knew in my mind would be great to look at.

The hormones that came with being a teenager were not fun, I needed to cool off.

Which was convenient, there was a beach to swim in.

I saw someone's Buizel jet around underwater, and then, a bit farther off from the shore, I saw schools and schools of fish Pokemon swim about.

It was honestly shocking sometimes how I forgot. This world was teeming with Pokemon, there were supposed to be so many Pokemon in this world you couldn't look somewhere without seeing them.

In the skies, in the water, anywhere on land.

So many Luvdisc, Goldeen, and other fish Pokemon. Everywhere, their colors practically creating a light show beneath the crystal clear waves.

I was starting to run out of air, coming up to the surface.

The Buizel swam up to me from the coral reef below and chirped. I realized he was wearing a collar, one with a lifeguard symbol on it.

"Sure I can't swim out this far, or even farther?"

He refused, still ushering me back to shore.

"Fine."

When I dove underwater again, a familiar pink feline spirit appeared next to me.

"Oh great, it's you again."

"Don't grumble Nico, I'm here to help."

"For what?"

"Follow me."

I saw the ancient Espeon spirit float through the water.

I looked around for the Buizel, I was sure both him and his owner wouldn't be happy I was ignoring orders, but if Espeon had something to show me.

You bet I was going to follow him.

He led me far to the bottom of the ocean trench, right before a massive drop off and an undertow.

"You're going to have to jump."

"What're you crazy!?" I looked at him, bubbles escaping my mouth in surprise.

"This is the only way you'll see what I need you to. Jump."

I was practically running out of air already, but I highly doubted Espeon was going to have me killed. I trusted him.

Fine.

It was a very uncomfortable experience, and I'm sure the lifeguard was going to have a heart attack, but by the time the water was done tossing me into a current like a complete ragdoll.

Halfway through it I was scared for my life, terrified the undertow would smash me against rocks or just carry me out completely to sea where I'd drown, but Espeon stayed with me, and I was sure I'd be safe.

Then, I reached a beautiful, strange, and likely utterly hidden and secret sight. Of a kind of coral I'd never seen or heard of before. It was completely unlike the rest back near the shore, there weren't any Pokemon nearby, not even the odd Octillery.

The corals were all made of strange, glowing colors, and there was clearly a break inbetween them that led to what appeared to be a cave.

"Hurry." urged Espeon.

I obliged him, didn't have to tell me twice, it was starting to hurt how much I had to hold my breath.

…

I gasped for air when I came up, seeing the interior of what appeared to be a cave deep underwater.

"Where is this?" I asked aloud, not worried about people nearby anymore.

"I sensed some of Lugia's energy here, I believe this cave was hidden in the event someone sought him again."

I looked around, the rocks glowing and the cave appeared beautiful, but clearly ancient.

I needed to dive underwater one more time, and did so. The cave beneath was built into a sort of U shape, and when I came up, it appeared to be a dead end.

However, there was clearly a weaker part of the wall of the rock. I think I could use my Pokemon, but that ran of the risk of water starting to fill the bits of air I had left under here.

"If I tunnel through that wall, I won't die will I?"

Espeon shook his head.

I drew my hand into my pockets and clicked on two Pokeballs, expanding them. Then, I realized both Ursaring and Vigoroth, both of them completely confused at where we were.

"Hey guys, I need your help."

Their attention snapped to me.

"Think you two can break through this wall for me?"

I still was unsure of how HM Strength, or Rock Smash worked here, but my boys picked it up at least what I needed pretty fast.

With sheer brute strength, the Normal types practically had the walls of the entire cave shaking as they tunneled through. When I reached the other side, Vigoroth followed me, walking like a gorilla on two fists Ursaring looking about quietly as well.

"Oro." Vigoroth murmured in amazement.

"Trust me buddy, I hear you." I said.

The cave was something out of a fairy tale or a picture book. Something, or someone had crafted a silver statue of Lugia out of the wall of the cave, and the light glowing of the rocks created reflections that led to cones of light reflecting on one, tiny, beautiful feather.

It was the Silver Wing, or, its equivalent here.

Honestly I wasn't too surprised it could be hidden, in the Game a very rich radio tower director just has it, here you need a spirit to guide you.

"Sorry about this guys, you've both earned a snack later."

Before they could refuse or do anything else as I saw them nearing the Wing, I Returned both of my Pokemon.

I turned to Espeon. "Why show me this?"

"I'm afraid that what I warned you about is happening sooner."

"What warning?"

Espeon glanced at the cave. "What is present here?"

"The Silver Wing."

"No Nico, look deeper. Feel, close your eyes."

It took a moment, but after I tried connecting myself through silent meditation, it was clear. Lugia, Lugia had been here, or possibly a spirit they trusted to bring one of their feathers there.

And the cave was utterly brimming with Aura. So much so that I hadn't felt so much anywhere in my entire life.

I opened my hands, and walked forward, pressing my hand to the wall of the cave.

Through shaky and scratchy images, almost like a bad television broadcast, I saw images.

Of Rocket scientists around a huge computer, DNA data from what was likely every Pokemon in the world to comprise Mew's genetic signature. And in a massive vat tank laid what appeared to be an embryo, of a much more sinister version of Mew lying asleep as a baby, wires and a helmet covering its tiny head.

Then there was a second image, of a cave deep within the mountains of a Johto, a huge red bird rested, just from its wing span, likely one of, if not the largest Pokemon in existence.

When I saw Ho-Oh's eye flash open, angrily, frustratingly, it shook me awake.

It almost felt like Ho-Oh was looking right at me.

I gasped, tearing my hand away from the cave.

"They're they're real." I panted out.

"I told you they were."

"Ho-Oh's going to attack a city in Johto, aren't they?"

"Yes." Espeon said calmly.

"When? Where?"

"This isn't the only reason I brought you here Nico, hold the wing."

"What?"

"The wing Nico, grasp Lugia's feather."

I walked forward to the engraved platform where the Silver Wing rested, and I held it lightly within my right hand. Then, I felt all my worries, all my questions slip away.

I was trusting in Espeon's words, in Lugia.

It was a soothing experience, just holding and looking at the beautiful silver feather.

"Now, reach out, try to channel the Aura of the cave."

I had only basic Aura training before, or what amounted to it, but I closed my eyes. I could hear rocks moving, and tiny bits of water floating.

When I opened my eyes, rocks and a small ball of water from the other part of the cavern's U part, fell. I was levitating things.

"So the wing gives me powers?"

"No, your Aura already lies inside you. My guidance, your spirit and character, need to be so pure, so in line with the teachings of Mew. That you can activate these abilities. It's your connection to the great spirits Nico, this is what makes you able to do this. Remember, you are never the producer of the power of legendary Pokemon, merely its humble conduit."

"Thank you Espeon."

"Don't thank me yet, you still have a town to save."

"I'm still going to ask Gold and Crystal for help."

"By all means."