Top of the Dragonspiral Tower - Unova Region
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Alex, Marinette, and Adrien appeared just as quickly as they'd vanished, and saw Connor standing nearby. Looking around, they realized they were atop the Original Dragon's home. It was like an idyllic forest had been transplanted atop the massive structure, there were grown trees full of berries, lots of seeming wild Pokémon, and of course, the titanic white scaled and black under bellied form of the dragon himself. He inclined his ice-rimmed head at the four of them, as Alex and Connor led their wide-eyed trainees to the center of the top level. Here, was the masterfully created stone pagoda that had become a common meeting spot for those who kept things running within the Dragon Empire. Not every Governor was thrilled about their ill-gotten piles of currency becoming worthless, but they also begrudgingly had to admit that feeding all of the hungry people in their States was an undeniably good thing.
As expected, restaurants and other food chains had either closed, if their quality was below a Dragon Burger's, or had remained open and relatively unchanged, as dining out was actually a luxury. The free food machines had never been intended for people who could afford to frequent restaurants, and the Original Dragon's masterful implementation of the machines, not just in the Empire but in Japan, Rio, and the other allied regions as well, had kept chaos and panic to a minimum. The markets had, again expectedly, wildly fluctuated upon their release, but now things had calmed as panic gave way to the dragon's guiding claw, and calming baritone in the right skulls.
As the four approached the pagoda, it was surrounded by if not familiar, then very famous faces. Hilbert, who seemed more serious than usual, Rosa, who still had makeup on presumably from a movie she'd been shooting, and Nate, whose eyes kept shifting to Rosa rather obviously, at least until Alex and Connor arrived. Alex gestured for the pair to enter the center of the pagoda, which now lacked the fine mahogany meeting table Tao used for more mundane gatherings. Alex started, as the two teens reached their spot. "This is the first official meeting of the High Council. Our first order is the ascension of Connor Gladstone to our ranks. All in favor?"
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Rosa, Nate, Hilbert, and Alex raised their hands in unison, while for his part, Connor looked shocked, his mouth slightly open. Rosa spoke before he could, though. "Should we not wait for our future Empress?" She asked in Alex's direction.
He shook his head. "The Empress is busy. I can confirm her vote on this matter is the same as mine. Now the only question is…" He turned to his oldest friend, and strongest rival. "Will you join us?"
Connor, for the first time in a long time from Alex's perspective, seemed shocked. "I…I just became a Scale though. Surely this will be seen as nepotism?"
Alex shook his head. "Thanks to…certain prejudices from lower ranked Scales, your entry was delayed. If I had it my way, you would've been officially leading us during the war, as a General. If…or when, rather, we end up in a war again, you would take your rightful command. You're a Champion, bud. It doesn't matter that we're friends, you're as qualified as any of the other members gathered here. You've proven your skill by successfully training Adrien here, too, both in philosophy and your Martial Art style. What say you?"
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Connor pondered for a moment, rightly assuming that this High Council would function much as the one in the Pokémon Wars movies had. He tried not to smirk and imagined himself in that role. Could the younger Scales benefit from his wisdom? Could he lead them in war, and in politics? "Yes." He said, both to himself, and to Alex. "I assume I'm going to be in charge of the Kalos branch of our organization?"
Alex nodded. "You have similar potential to your sister, and it's long past time you learned how to use it. With Teleport, you'll be able to give Gar a rest from zooming over an ocean full of Pokémon who know Ice Beam. You've also faced Thunder Warriors in actual combat, and you more than any of us know what they're like."
Connor sighed, heavily. "There is a universe of difference between those you negotiated with…and those I fought. The Imperator's Children are reasonable. Rational. Good at politics. The War Hounds are something else entirely. They're barely classifiable as Human, from what I saw. Creatures like that will need a release, eventually. I will be there when they inevitably target Europa."
Alex smirked and nodded. "We're on the same page. I'd like for you to start helping us bring in Paldea, Italia, Polska, and Romani to the fold as well. These Regions also have many awakening psychics, and it would be better if we trained them, before people with dark intentions do so." His main concern was Italia's crime families, and the new levels of brutality they'd be able to reach with a trained psychic that lacked morals. It wasn't that such people didn't already exist, he just knew that within a few years, there would be a lot more potential psychic criminals. He also knew Team Rocket would eventually take advantage of them as well or try to. They needed to prevent that from happening, if possible, according to Tao.
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Connor nodded in agreement, and then took his place in one of the pagoda's remaining openings. "Is this like the…?" He asked Alex, and Alex nodded, before speaking in a more authoritative and serious tone aimed towards the two teenagers.
"Adrien Agreste. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You have proven your skills in Battle and with a plasma sword. You stood together, unafraid, when all of Europa was bathed in Shadow. You struck at its source and vanquished the darkness. You defend those without power with the power you have been given and have demonstrated beyond the shadow of doubt that you are worthy of it. Kneel." He said the final word, as he strode towards them, and ignited Lux. Marinette looked concerned, but Adrien, who had enough 'cultural training' to recognize what Alex was basing this on, did as instructed without hesitation. Upon seeing Lux wink at her, Marinette copied her boyfriend, and lowered her head.
It wasn't Alex who spoke next, but he did gently tap their shoulders, which Lux kept from being damaging, while Tao's thunderous baritone echoed in their heads.
"By the right of the Council. By the will of the Dragon. Rise, as defenders of the Empire."
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Alex stowed Lux with a flourish, and stepped back, as the two fresh Scales rose before them. Tao continued, and it seemed like his body was constantly rotating around the topmost level of the tower as he spoke. "You are charged with the defense of Europa, and her people. Until you are free to patrol the other Regions of Europa, you will be based in Kalos. Your Trainer Cards have been upgraded to certify you to raise as many Pokémon as you desire, and you are free to travel in all air spaces shared by the Empire's allies. You are also free to train apprentices of your own, with a Council member's approval." Then, the dragon ceased moving, his head aligned behind where Alex was standing. The pupilless golden eyes flared with power, and the dragon finished the ceremony with a smirk. "Well done."
The Council members clapped, and then broke, with the ceremony now finished. Nate and Rosa went off for a stroll, while Alex, Connor, Marinette, and Adrien met again. Marinette spoke first. "I'm not…super sure about my sword skills, honestly. I'm better with Tikki's weapons."
Alex smirked. "We never stop learning, Pada- er, Marinette. Adrien can polish your skills in that regard, and as far as Plagg's request goes, Adrien," The teen audibly sighed and facepalmed, which made Connor smirk as well, "You'll have to do what I did and bond a Rotom to an electric-based crystal and shove it into a hilt. Only a possessed sword can take the shape he wants you to have. It's a great idea, though."
Adrien just nodded, still facepalming and sighed again. He raised his head, then. "I'll…keep that in mind, I guess."
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As Adrien began explaining to Connor and Marinette just what Plagg wanted, Hilbert came up to Alex. "We need to speak, Dragon Emperor." Alex nodded, and the two Champions walked on the other side of the tower's garden, from Nate and Rosa. They were in silent agreement to let those two have a much-needed date.
Once they were alone, Hilbert started. "The Successor managed to successfully infiltrate the Dragonspiral Tower. He was here under a flawless disguise, for several weeks. His goal appears to have been corrupting Padawans to his rhetoric, but it seems that those he was in contact with were not swayed. We'll be keeping an eye on them anyway. Before he left, I Battled him. I wanted to stop and detain him, but Tao claimed that would have been pointless, for some bloody reason."
Just then, Tao's massive head joined them, rising over the part of the tower they stood upon. "I said your efforts would not change our Path."
"But you still just let him walk out of here? Without so much as an alarm?" Alex asked, somewhat incredulous.
Tao sighed, bathing them in Leaf scented smoke from his large draconic nostrils. "If we attacked him here, in the Capital, he would have used his powers, and likely gotten greedy enough to try forcibly kidnapping either innocent citizens, or some of our Padawans. My Future Sight foresaw this. The Successor takes advantage of such situations, always. Letting him go was the safest Path, and you were too far away and too busy to Teleport over and confront him, Alex." Tao's eyes pulsed with power, as he sensed his Champions still did not understand his actions or reasoning. "There will be a time and a place to confront the Successor. Our scientists must first learn to trap him, by disrupting Hoopa's portals. This will also keep him from randomly summoning Legendary Pokémon to aid him in said confrontation, which is another reason I did not provoke him. You and Arthur must both use your Spacium Beams, in conjunction, when he draws upon the majority of his power, and is properly trapped by our forces. That is how we slay him. Permanently. Trust my judgment, my Champions. This is the Way. Do what you have been doing, and when the time comes to face him, we will be ready."
Alex and Hilbert shared a look, as in retrospect, it did make sense not to attack a man with an unbound Hoopa in the middle of the capital. "Did you at least learn anything when you faced him?" Alex asked Hilbert.
Hilbert shrugged. "Only that he is quickly learning to take full advantage of modern Pokémon training supplies and is himself a decent Trainer. He may be pure evil, but his Pokémon trusted and obeyed him as well as any of ours."
Alex sighed, thanked Hilbert for his vigilance and his efforts at reconnaissance, and then rejoined Connor, Marinette, and Adrien.
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With their business settled, Alex bamfed them back to their campsite in Paldea, using Kalagon as an anchor. He released his team in a mad rainbow of light that was probably visible for miles. In the moment he'd transported them to Paldea, he'd also split a clone away to send with them, one that had all of his Pokémon with him, except for Magnus, and while it worked, it also had the unintended effect of sending his real self hurtling over the Unovan skyline, out of control.
Magnus beeped in panic and soared after him, but his body could only move so fast. Alex stopped himself with a burst of psychic power, finally, just before the Empire Building, and waved awkwardly at the crowds touring the building for a chance to see Castelia lit up at night. As Alex looked around too, waiting for Magnus, he could see why people, mostly couples, would come up here. It was the largest city on the planet, and as Alex waited, his eyes widened slightly, as his senses took in the general vibe of the human masses below, and their Pokémon. In searching for ill intent, he discovered that the people, his people, seemed…happy? Less stressed? There were still exceptions, of course. Some people, from what he sensed, were too prideful to let their government feed them, but overall, the mood was…significantly more positive than the last time he'd been in the city and listened to its mood.
When Magnus finally showed up, Alex recalled him, and then bamfed away from the tourists who'd kept photographing him the entire time he'd been waiting. Aspertia Town was closest to the Blueberry Academy, and though it was ten o'clock and anime time in Paldea, in Unova, it was still four in the afternoon. Plenty of time to visit the Terarium, for the remaining targets on his roster. First and foremost, was a Beldum, as he knew they had a large colony somewhere in the icy part of the undersea bio-dome, but anyone else he ran into on his way to that part of the Terarium was also fair game. He didn't intend to have more than sixty battlers though, as in six teams of ten, at least for this tournament. There was always the chance some would prefer not to battle by the next World Tournament, too. Others, like his Garbodor and the Eeveelutions weren't counted for his battle roster, as they preferred to enjoy existing and doing as they pleased, with minimal amounts of combat.
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When he arrived by Skarmory Taxi, he saw a pink haired female figure walking slowly towards him down the unnecessarily long walkway into the academy itself. Alex chatted with the cab driver, Kevin, who was mighty proud of his Skarmory. "They're fast, sturdy, and have a rather impressive Move pool. You can find them nesting in bramble bushes in the Terarium."
Alex nodded, indulging the man. Skarmory's speed was, at most, average, but it was defense heavy, flight capable, and versatile, if trained properly. He also liked the idea of making a spare sword from a shed wing feather. "I'll have to keep an eye out for one. Thanks for the ride, Kevin." The man nodded, seeing his liaison arriving, and the pair of armor birds took off again, as he got another request for transport.
Alex recognized the woman coming to greet him, as she was rather famous in Unova. The youngest Director of a major University in Unovan history, and the daughter of a Gym Leader to boot. The former Director, Cyrano, had insisted he could think of no one more suited to take over his academy, and Director Lacey did not disappoint him. Her main contributions to the school had been adding more high-level classes, and like Paldea's academy, taking in students of any age who wanted to advance in those fields. The Trainer courses were still, by far, the most popular but there were quite a few future scientists as well.
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Up close, Alex realized just how fine Clay's daughter actually was. He wasn't smitten or anything, but he could appreciate beauty when he saw it. She'd clearly taken the time to look that good or had one of her Pokémon do it for her, and he had a feeling an imminent visit from the region's leader might have played a part in that. Although, for all he knew, she looked this good every day when going about her duties. He gave her the same handshake he'd given her father though, as they exchanged greetings, and then she went straight to business.
"We appreciate your visit, Dragon Emperor. There are a few things I'd like to take care of before I give you free reign of the Terarium, however." She began, as they started the ridiculously long walk to the academy's entrance. "Firstly…we've been having more and more students manifesting…strange abilities, lately. And they're almost always our Trainers. We've been sending them to the Dragonspiral Tower so far, but their parents are pressuring me to keep them in a school environment, at least until they decide if they want to become Scales. Thus, I wanted to offer a compromise, as I understand the danger that comes with not training them. Champion Hilbert or Rosa could come here to teach them, or someone else you trust with the task if they're too busy, and their first task would be to train someone who could eventually take over their duties and stay on as part of our teaching staff here permanently. In time, I'd also like to develop courses for the various abilities we've been seeing. As you're probably aware, they're not just limited to Psychic Typed abilities."
Alex nodded, until the woman finally paused for his answer. "I could just train you, Director. You have the potential as well; I can sense it."
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She looked surprised, blinked several times, but otherwise her face remained controlled, her smile never so much as shifting from her mouth. "I see. That would expedite the process…and you would be alright with me training additional teachers?"
Alex nodded. "Tao and I are very much on board with working closer with the Academy, and the other schools across the States. Our only caveat would be that you take in potential students from all across the Empire, and if you need help accommodating them, we will gladly provide it. You have an ideal setup here for creating strong, competent Trainers and Tao wants as many of those as possible. If you're in agreement, I will have you train under Champion Rosa. I think you two have met already, and I'm sure she could learn a lot from a Trainer as skilled as you. When she deems you fit, you would then be cleared to train more Scales to act as teachers. Judging by your team's skill level, you probably wouldn't take too long to train."
The academy's Director paused in her walking and turned to face him. "I would like that very much, Emperor Redwood."
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Alex chuckled, as she formally bowed. "You can just call me Alex. I'll let Rosa know she has a new Padawan, and I'll leave scheduling training sessions to the two of you. Is there anything else you needed from me, Director?"
"Lacey is fine, if we're going to be informal. I did…actually have a bit of a…strange request. It's my Excadrill, you see…ahh, I'll just let him explain it. You can understand him, after all." She called out her starter then, and Alex could tell that while he appeared strong and steely at first glance, there was an inner and far more feminine radiance to him that he seemed comfortable with. His fur was purposely styled to be crazy, like an anime protagonist's hair, but oddly enough it worked with his spikes to make him by far one of the most visually stimulating Excadrill that Alex had encountered.
Alex gave him his standard 'Hello there', and the Excadrill began speaking in a haughty, but confident voice as his sharp eyes looked Alex over. "Hey hey hey. I'm Kamina. Hmmm. You're the real deal, aren'tcha. Listen, Dragonman, I have a little brother who needs some…Human encouragement, to reach his full potential, you dig?"
Alex slowly raised an eyebrow. "Your little brother? I guess I can help a familial relation, sure. What does he need, exactly?"
Kamina shook his steel horned head. "Nah fam, he's not a blood relative, but he might as well be. He's just a Drilbur I care about! My little bro! Believe me, he's got some serious power, but he needs a seriously powerful Human to, y'know, draw it outta him. Someone in tune with the Earth, and on par with a Champion. Lacey isn't quite there yet, and she doesn't want another Drilbur. He's down in the Terarium. His name is Simon (See-moan). He'll be the one with his head down, mindlessly digging away."
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Alex smirked. "My guy, that's what every Drilbur does. I'm going to need more than that if you want me to find him."
Kamina shook his head again, vehemently. "Nah man, the way Simon digs is different. Y'know what? Just meet me down there! In the Canyon Biome! You can see for yourself!" The powerful Excadrill flew away then using Drill Run to spin through the air, despite it being a ground type move. Alex watched, admittedly intrigued. If Kamina could fly by getting creative with Drill Run, in this case spinning so fast he floated, he could only imagine what this Simon could do.
Lacey watched him go with a frown. "I hope his request isn't too much. From what I can understand, he wants you to train his little Drilbur friend to his level, so they can…Drill Run into the sky together? Or something? He was hard to understand when he explained it, he was Very passionate about it though. Anyways. I suppose I'll leave you to it. The students have been instructed not to bother you, but ahh…El Primero was hoping to speak with you, if you have time. He's in the Coastal Biome. You'll see him when you get there." She gave him a smile then, that seemed more genuine. "Please enjoy the Terarium, and feel free to visit as you please from now on."
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Alex thanked her again, stowed his cape, and made his way down into the Terarium once the student at the desk confirmed his Trainer Card was legitimate, and asked for an autograph. As he took in the savannah before him, he also looked upwards, and gasped. To his eyes, the Terarium Core was a roiling mass of powerful energy. It seemed like Infinity Energy, but there was…more to it. Another kind of power that had been mixed in with the literally limitless potential of typed energy. He sensed two sources of that energy, one of which was a Pokémon. Terapagos, if he had to guess. The Legendary turtle had been discovered after his granduncle's efforts had shifted from researching legends to making kooky inventions spawned by his Leaf smoking sessions. Highdeas, he'd called them. Thus, his notes had lacked much information on the Terastal phenomenon, though there had been an interesting book with a fairy tale that seemed to incorporate what humanity today called Terastallization. The book had a cryptic note in the back of it too, now that he recalled it. Another note with a single word. Rakua. And the other one-word note had mentioned the Legend he now flew towards on his Charizard. The fact that there was a Terapagos sized hole in his granduncle's research was also strange, as he'd evidently been to Area Zero, and had seemed to think Terapagos had a greater tie to Arceus. As Alex spied its shell in the distance, he could understand why.
As he and Blaze approached the beach of the Coastal Biome, they saw the Legend, basking comfortably in the light of the Core. Alex saw one eye open and look at them, as they approached. Then, he noticed the human beside it. El Primero, if he had to guess. With a glance, Alex knew that Florian had trained this Terapagos thoroughly. Like Tao, he was at the peak of power that a Pokémon could reach, and it showed. He was living his best life, gleaming in the tropical light of the biome, and the Terarium Core.
There were students around, of course, as they tended to gather whenever Florian stayed in one place long enough, but thanks to his Legendary ride, he could easily escape them, and had often done so. He'd made it clear to his fans that he reserved the right to zoom away once he decided what his next target to catch or train was. Today though, he was just relaxing with Terapagos, as the Legendary Pokémon had informed him they would be having a fateful encounter today. Blaze landed with a small burst of flame not far from them, and then happily stretched his wings in the sun, and let out an empowered Flamethrower for good measure. He glanced at his Trainer, who looked back at him and nodded as he disembarked, and the Charizard shot into the air once more, probably to go and find somewhere to bask. Florian had one of his own, and it seemed the Victory Champion's was at or above their level. He resisted the urge to ask for a battle, for now. Nemona had taught him the importance of savoring an epic battle, and there was no greater stage than the World Tournament.
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Alex and Florian walked towards each other, and shook hands, as they came close enough. After they exchanged greetings, El Primero started the conversation. "Terapagos has been eager to meet you. From what I can tell, he has a request for you, and for the Original Dragon."
Alex raised a brow, and the titanic furry turtle floated over to them. Alex inclined his head politely, and the Terapagos did the same. As Alex heard its mental voice, it didn't thunder like Tao's or other Legends, it almost seemed…sparkly? Somehow? There was only a faint male tinge to it as well, and Alex had a feeling if it wanted to change genders, it probably could. Like most Legendary Pokémon.
"It has been eons since my power filled this land." Alex blinked, as the massive turtle shared rapidly flashing images of the past. A much different looking Unova, with crystal formations that seemed very similar to Tera Dens. "It was sealed. By your more foolish predecessors." Another image, this time of thousands of ancient Pokémon Trainers commanding Sigilyph, Bronzong, and Claydol. They were surrounding a massive crater in the Earth that reminded him of Area Zero, albeit much smaller, it had the same strange mist he'd seen while in Paldea's skies. A man in black and white robes guided their efforts, and raised a massive mountain where there was once a crater, heedless of the massive environmental upheaval they were causing as a result. He flinched, as he saw many base form Terapagos with blue-white crystalline shells caught in the eruption of earth, as a new mountain was forcibly created through psychic means.
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He felt the sadness from Terapagos as well. They had perished, then. Not for the first time, he cursed the method humans had for passing on political power. The antics of the previous Dragon Emperors popped up more and more the longer he was one. The image faded, and Alex met the ancient turtle's gaze as it continued speaking. "The power of my species grows, the less of us there are. I am…one of two. The only two left. Florian has helped me recover much of my strength…and now, I will again seed it across the world. Help me, Dragon Emperor."
Alex reached out to Tao, for his opinion. "Terastal power will open many pathways to our goal. It enhances your machinery and makes the Dreams of sentients a reality. It is a boon, by every measure."
Alex nodded again, mostly to himself. Then, he met Terapagos' eyes evenly. "Help make Tao's dreams a reality, and you may tap into your ancient source of power." He looked at Florian as well. "Have Paldea ally officially with the rest of the allied Regions. It will make accessing their land to spread your power more…palatable." He finished, thinking of Zigma.
Florian and Terapagos shared a look, and then Florian spoke. "I'll see what I can do. This alliance will take time to solidify, but once it does, we will require your aid directly, Dragon Emperor. Terapagos has foreseen it. Only your authority will ultimately allow us to spread Terastal Energy to Unova, and beyond."
Alex nodded again. "Then when the time comes, you shall have my authority to do whatever you need to do, so long as no people or Pokémon are harmed in the process."
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With that settled, Alex then asked Florian how one might find a white Beldum in the Terarium, and he responded by giving Alex a sandwich recipe, and directing him to a specific part of the Polar Biome. Thanking him again, Alex summoned Blaze from his nap, and they began flying across the Terarium once again, at the same speed as the other Trainers around them. Thanks to his size, Blaze got looks as they flew, and it seemed Hydreigon, not Charizard, was the most popular mount in the academy. He'd thought they were simply too ferocious to train en masse, but it seemed their resident Dragon Master had found the trick to training the Deino line. Instructor Drayton was, reportedly, a prodigy with dragon types, but had never had the drive to do more than teach the next generation about battling, which was apparently the only thing that could fire him up. Despite that, Alex recalled him declining the post at Opeleucid's Gym multiple times, before Nate simply stepped in, to Drayden's disappointment. He found Nate qualified, but he also thought the Champion had more important things to do with his time. Drayton, by comparison, did not have important things to do, as most of his time was spent relaxing, apparently.
As they arrived in the Canyon Biome, Alex didn't have to look long to find where the Drilbur line liked to hang. The walls were similar to an Aron nest, and indeed, he spied several Aron living in harmony on the ores that Drilbur's digging brought up. One Drilbur in particular was digging rapidly, tossing up ore like he had a nose for it to the hungry Aron and Lairon around the nest, and the Drilbur responsible finally surfaced near Kamina, whose fur made him stand out. He wasn't the only Excadrill around, but he was the one that was oozing the most charisma. He waved Alex and Blaze down, as he saw them.
"Yo! Dragonman! And friend!" Kamina called out, eyeing Blaze. The Charizard seemed a bit fidgety around so many rock types, but they seemed more interested in their ore than the fire type in their midst. "This here is Simon! My brother! Say hi, bro!"
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Alex walked up to the Drilbur, and noted that he was small because of his lack of level. For a Pokémon that low level, he had sure mastered Dig like a much stronger Drilbur. Kamina was correct, his little brother had potential. The Drilbur shyly greeted the human, and Alex just smirked at him. "Hello there. Your brother asked me to train you. I admit I was skeptical, but I agree with him. You do have potential."
"I told you!" Kamina shouted excitedly. "Believe in the you that I believe in! You're more than worthy Simon!"
The little Drilbur sighed. "I still don't know what that means…"
Alex chimed in then. "He's talking about the ideal you that he believes you can be. Thus, if you believe in the you that he believes in, you'll also be believing in your best potential self. Does that help?"
Kamina ran his dangerously sharp claws together in excitement. "Oh man, he really is a wise Dragonman! Simon! He totally gets it! I knew this was a good idea!"
Simon was still frowning as he tried to follow his brother's train of thought. "Believe…in the me that…ohhh Arceus, my head hurts."
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Alex and Kamina shared a look, and then laughed, loudly. "It's alright, Simon." Alex said, smirking. "You'll understand eventually. Now then. I only take on Pokémon who are comfortable with Battling, and who want to be the best. As in, the best in the entire world. With my help, I think you could get there, but it's not going to be easy. It'll hurt. It will take time, effort, and every day will test the limits of your endurance. What do you say?"
Kamina was shuddering with excitement, but Simon looked deflated. "The best in the entire world…?" He'd barely been out of his egg when he'd been let loose in the Terarium. His first day here, he'd found a patch of nutritious mineral-rich dirt to munch on by himself, and Kamina, who also happened to eat at that one, had shown up as he always did, and rather quickly befriended him, taking him on as a pupil, or at least trying to, anyway. At certain disparities in strength, sparring together did more harm than good. In terms of level, Kamina was in his upper nineties, while Simon was still single digits. Thus, the clever Excadrill had sought out a human. Only the best, for his little bro.
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"O-on one condition." The tiny mole declared, facing Alex with steel in his eyes that hadn't been there earlier. "Take my friends with me."
Alex stroked his beard slowly, before he said, "Who are your friends?"
"A Noibat, a Timburr, a Machop, and a Larvitar. They train together all the time. If I'm going to become the best, I want them by my side."
Alex nodded. "We'll speak to them, then. If they want to come along, they're more than welcome." He was a bit apprehensive about the Larvitar, only because he'd promised one of his earliest mentors that he'd train one of his offspring eventually. As it turned out, he ended up keeping that promise. One by one they met Simon's friends. The Noibat was eager for evolution, and Alex dubbed him Dracala, or 'dragon wing' also sometimes translated as 'winged dragon'. The fact that it was so similar to a certain famous vampire and being somewhat familiar with what their Mega Form looked like, was a total coincidence. Kel and Champ were previously owned, until their Trainer had washed out early from the Blueberry Academy Trainer courses and left them in the Terarium. They both eagerly jumped at the chance to attain their final forms, with a competent human's aid.
Lastly was the Larvitar, who as it turned out was with his father when Alex and the group of first stage Pokémon arrived in their territory. It seemed that after it was discovered that Alex had released 'his' Tyranitar back to the wilds, the local rangers had wrangled him into a temporary ball and moved him to the Terarium, where he'd proceeded to thrive in peace, undisturbed by the humans who'd been developing his mountain home. Most companies managed to mine these days without completely ruining the environment around them, but having a Tyranitar around was simply untenable, when every mining charge would send it into a costly rampage. Alex made good on his word and named the eager young Larvitar Tyranus. He seemed proud of how fierce the name sounded.
With five new faces, and Magnus, he made his way to the Polar Biome, and cooked up the sandwich Florian had given him. As it turned out, the weird gray sparkly herbs he'd acquired from his Tera Den were the key to this strange but effective method of drawing out elusive Pokémon. Even Terapagos had sagely nodded, claiming that sandwiches made with the 'mystic herbs' had strange and wonderful powers. Sure enough, after washing and feeding his gathered team, a swarm of Beldum and some Metang filled the snow-covered slopes of the isolated cliffside area, below which they seemed to have their nest.
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Since Beldum's claws were actually absurdly valuable in terms of Replication Machines, Alex gathered hundreds of them while Magnus trained the power of his Flash Cannon on steel types. For whatever reason, the mystical sandwich powers only lasted about half an hour, and he was fifteen minutes into his when from the corner of his eye, he finally saw his prize. He hurled Magnus's ball at the white Beldum, picking it out of the crowd easily, and after a Thunder Wave and a few weaker Flash Cannons, it went into the Luxury Ball that Alex was using on it.
He set up their camp again, letting everyone out, as they greeted their new member. The Beldum was largely unreadable as it's red eye scanned over each of them, before finishing with Alex. He joined their psychic network on his own initiative, and greeted them, and though his emotions were comparatively dull, he could see the Beldum growing more and more twitchy, as he sensed just how many powerful Pokémon were on his new team.
Once he was integrated, the eye focused both physically and psychically on his new Trainer. Alex was finding the more metallic cries some Pokémon made were harder to translate, but he made out the Beldum's intent. It was imagining a small blue candy in a wrapper, and Alex slowly pulled out one of the Rare Candies he had on him. It was, essentially, classifiable as Exp candy as well, it just guaranteed exactly one level, and that's when Alex realized it wanted to evolve. He offered it to the Beldum, and it let out a cry that rang through the area. Another white Beldum, the only other in the Terarium for the moment, appeared at the first's call, and they both bit into the candy simultaneously, as they, to Alex's perspective, purposefully used the burst of Infinity Energy to fuse their brains together, and become exponentially smarter.
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"At laaaaast…" Their voice rang out much more clearly to Alex's ears. They addressed him with psychic speech then, after taking about eight seconds to learn Common. "We- I had visions when I rested as a Beldum. Strong Future Sights that have given me insight to our destiny…we are, apparently, going to bear the entire world on our shoulders, as a Metagross, and beyond, and it seems you…Alexander Redwood…are the one who will get us there."
Alex smirked, and gently pet the steely white Metang. "Well with a premonition like that, only one name will do. I dub thee Atlas."
The Metang closed their eyes, and they glowed with intense blue aura, before they said, "Yes. Atlas. Quite fitting! We like it. Hopefully, the other two will be in agreement as well. We will become Atlas."
Alex's brows furrowed, slightly, as he had a thought. "To become a Metagross…you'd need two more Beldum, or a Metang like yourself, wouldn't you. The other blue Beldum here are too different to work, I assume?"
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The psychic sentient steel platform with rather impressive arms hummed an affirmative. "Our composition is akin to what you humans call Platinum. The other Beldum here were formed from lesser metals. In time, years, more like us will appear." The metallic creature stared into his Trainer's core, then. "I do not wish to wait years, Human."
Alex found Atlas's spot then, under his chin, presumably where the two brains linked. Their eyes turned happy as he scratched there forcefully enough for the steel type to feel it. "Nor will you have to. Steven Stone might be able to help us. He has a Metagross like you. A much older one."
Atlas was thrilled at the idea of meeting such a presumably wise member of its species, and after Alex set up a Pokénet connection to his ball like he had for Lux, Nox, and Psi, he recalled Atlas. With his goal achieved, just as night came to the Unova Region, Alex bamfed them all back to his true self in Paldea, and after a wake and bake at five in the AM, introduced them to the team.
They also had another unexpected addition, as somehow Magnus had attracted a Grubbin to latch onto his steely body when nobody had noticed. Too sleepy to bamf him back, and upon seeing his modest nature, Alex kept the small bug, and dubbed him Gauss. By his count, he was three away from his soft limit of sixty, and he wanted those slots open in case he found anything in Selva Muerta worth taming.
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The night was spent as it usually was, with copious amounts of Leaf, anime, and friends. They were getting towards the end of Shippuden now and had to skip massive filler arcs that the ancient writers had decided to shove in the middle of several epic battles. Alex was just glad he had the option to skip. In ye olden days, apparently, people had to wait for new episodes. Through the aforementioned filler. In the morning, their group of five entered Alfornada Cavern, and thanks mostly to Kalagon, the local Garchomp left them alone. Apparently when he'd eventually entered the cavern out of curiosity, he'd made several 'friendly' rivals, and the locals had come to appreciate his strength. So long as they avoided catching a Gible, they wouldn't be targeted.
Alex and Aria had the easiest time ascending, as he could fly, and she had a very friendly Jellicent. If she spent too long atop her amorphous head, she'd eventually slide off, but for short climbs, like the many they took through the cavern, it worked well. Adrien and Marinette had taken the longer route, with less cliffs, and more Pokémon nests, but by the sounds of things, they were hard at work training their teams.
Isamu had the most trouble, since his shiny light green colored Tangrowth was unruly, and when it did lift him, it was more like a throw. The Tangrowth begrudgingly followed after him every time though, though he had angry eyes the whole time. Alex eventually floated over next to him. "Having some trouble, bud?" The Tangrowth's angry eyes shifted to Alex, and from what he could tell, the creature regarded him as a threat.
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Isamu chuckled as he wiped his scraped, bloody nose, and said, "Oh…that's just Kuromuchi…he's always like that." Alex raised an eyebrow, and Isamu elaborated, "I uhh…inherited his ball. He's still understandably upset about having a new Trainer. Apparently, he was supposed to return to where he was captured after his Trainer died, but I'm not strong enough to go there yet. He holds it against me. It's my fault for being so weak."
Alex's face shifted to a frown. He floated down to the Tangrowth then. "Hello there. Isamu explained part of your situation. Might I ask where it is you were caught, exactly?"
The vines that comprised the Tangrowth wriggled in a manner that Alex assumed conveyed anger. His voice was a deep, angry gurgle. "I was stolen from my home. I do not know your Human terms for it."
Alex tried giving him a genuine smile, and Isamu was taking notes, very obviously fascinated. "I'd like to help you, Kuromuchi, if you'll let me."
The Tangrowth angrily shook and gurgled again. "I despise that name. It embodies my slavery. Call me Kuro, if you Must."
Alex nodded. "Kuro, then. Imagine your home for me, if you can. I'll see it in your mind."
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Within the sentient vine pile's mind, a massive, vibrant green forest cycled through in images. It looked like a generic forest to him.
Alex sighed softly and muttered, "Hoboy." Before he spoke louder, "Lux. Bring up a slideshow of the most forested areas in the world. The Central Imperium Republic, Selva Muerta, anywhere with a forest. Hopefully that will help our new friend here recognize his home." In short order, Lux had a slideshow of images rolling, and that at least seemed to alleviate his bad mood.
Alex floated back up to Isamu, and psychically caught him as he slipped, and his handholds broke off. "Thanks for the save." Isamu said, chuckling awkwardly.
"No problem." Alex said, guessing he was worried about what Kuromuchi had told him. "That Tangrowth of yours…who exactly did you inherit him from?"
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They walked as they talked, and in the distance, Aria was handily whooping a Dragon Tamer with her Jellicent, and Ice Beam. Somehow, the ghostly jellyfish had formed Night Shades cohesive enough to also use moves, and Alex felt Nox watching quietly with interest from his shadow. Nox didn't often battle himself, but like Alex, who had started the habit by copying Leon, he learned from every battle he watched, stole their techniques, and made them his own. Night Shade was weak in terms of power, even at a high level and with a type advantage, but if they could use moves, that made them akin to a ghostly Double Team.
After a moment, Isamu answered Alex's question. "He was a Pokémon Tamer from the Dark Times. He helped establish the Pokémon Leagues, with the help of the First Champion, and his Rhydon, or so I was told. He uhh…was part of an elite team of Tamers whose Pokémon lived on after their deaths. He's hundreds, if not thousands of years old." Isamu exposited.
Alex just sighed, deeply. "So, the forest he's looking for probably doesn't even exist anymore. In the time of the First Champion…we'd barely built any cities. Nature reclaimed much." Isamu nodded in sad agreement, and subtly exhaled, as he'd kept his secret safe and his oaths intact. Then suddenly, they heard a deep gurgle from behind them, as Lux and Kuromuchi had apparently found familiar flora. The Tangrowth effortlessly, and rapidly, pulled himself over to Alex and Isamu.
"Selva Muerta." Lux said, smirking in the possessed phone/Pokédex. "I win, Nox." Isamu gasped in shock, as the hand of a Gengar rose from Alex's shadow with a large, ripe looking Wiki berry. Alex caught his information device as Lux returned to his hilt and enjoyed his victorious noms.
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"Selva Muerta…" Alex repeated. "Yea, if Kuromuchi doesn't listen to you and the strongest you have is that Riolu…erm…Kanchi, then you're nowhere near ready. Even with your Zygarde Cores…well, maybe if you kept them on continuously. Without them, the local Pokémon would eat you alive."
Isamu chuckled awkwardly again. "That form does have a time limit, though it can vary…the Cores also have to find it necessary to keep together. You're right, I'm just not ready…"
Alex nodded. "If you went alone, or with Aria, you'd be right. You aren't." By this point, Aria, Marinette, and Adrien had exited the cavern, and Alex turned to Isamu, as Kalagon came over and asked to rest in his comfortable ball. "You said you wanted to join the Scales, right Isamu? You seemed interested at least, last time."
He nodded. "I wanted to…but then I realized I'm just…not good enough yet to join Champion Tier Trainers in actual combat situations. My…mentor…from back home suggested I enroll in Paldea's Naranuva Academy. It's made Kanchi quite strong, and I've learned a lot. Aced all my courses. My teachers say there hasn't been a new student with my GPA since El Primero joined."
Alex nodded sagely again. "But book learning will only get you so far. You need real experience to properly train your team. I'm going to train in Selva Muerta soon, and knowing Naranuva Academy, they'd send you off to another Region eventually anyway. I have an open spot for an aspiring Padawan, and it's yours, if you want it."
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Isamu's eyes went wide. Infamously, Champion Trainers rarely if ever trained others. Chairman Leon of Galar had done so more than most other Champions, even before he retired and that essentially became his job. The reason they didn't train others, was because of exactly what had happened to Leon. He gave his successor a strong starter, and within the year Victor had risen to Leon's level, and beyond. His Urshifu had made him unbeatable, but the rest of his team was no joke either, and he'd only trained up even more Pokémon since.
Thus, a Champion offering to train him blew Isamu's mind a little bit, especially the Victory Champion of the hardest League in the world's most populated region. The only other Champion of Alex's caliber he'd heard of training others was Ash, who would famously battle almost anyone, if they could find him, and Cynthia, who had trained Kohki once he'd beaten her and become worthy of the title of Sinnoh Champion. "I accept!" He shouted, louder than he meant to, and that made Alex smirk.
"Good. We'll train both my team and yours in Selva Muerta, and we'll depart once I have enough pieces for my Ceruledge's armor. Someone in a place like Rio should know how to forge it, and while I look that up, you can challenge Rio's Gyms. Maybe add to that team, a bit." It was at that point that Alex noticed he did in fact have ten Pokéballs, but he'd bring that up later. He had noticed Isamu was reluctant to mention something, regarding his Pokémon, but Alex didn't intend to force it out of him. He was honest to a fault, so there was likely a good reason he hadn't brought them out or mentioned what was inside them.
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Isamu accepted his challenge, and it was at the cave's exit, with Alfornada Town glowing in the distant darkness of the night, that their group split up. Aria didn't want the pressure of Alex at another of her Gym Battles, and she wanted the crowd focused on her, not him or his admittedly awesome Gallade. It was her Jellicent's chance to shine, and Marina had been looking forward to smashing through Tulip's team since they'd briefly met her in Mesagoza. She'd noted offhandedly that Marina was small, and since she had a bit of a size complex, the insult had stuck in her mind. She was not small. She was fun-sized.
Adrien and Marinette were also going to Alfornada, mostly to shower and eat a proper meal before heading for their next Paldean vista. Alex and Isamu meanwhile, searched together for elusive Polteageists, and eventually, found a nice flat plain full of the small, hard to see Pokémon. It was Nox's turn to get some training in, though he seemed more annoyed that he had to do it. His Night Shades easily smashed every single one they encountered, but once possessed, their cups and teapots became as special as their contents and would regrow by the time the Pokémon recovered and stopped hiding in its instinctually miniaturized form.
Alex was quiet, as the Polteageists reminded him far too much of Kashiji. Someday, when the Swords of Justice had recovered enough, he would tell them about the Light that they had extinguished while under Morgana's domination. Once they had more than enough shards, Alex put a hand on Isamu, and Teleported them to Rio. Cross-continent Teleports took a lot more energy and were generally considered 'bumpier'. Isamu looked slightly nauseous, but his stomach quickly settled as his eyes went wide. Once again, thanks to time zones, it was still daylight hours in Rio, the mid to late afternoon actually, and the colorful city astounded both new arrivals.
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For Alex, it was much different from what he remembered. The buildings had been repaired all around the palace, and pretty far down the continent's coastline, as far as he could tell. The music was different from the last time he'd been here, though he was distracted from it, by Isamu's growling stomach. Alex smirked at his newest Padawan. "Dragon Burgers?"
Isamu tilted his head, and then nodded. "A few of those would hit the spot, actually."
Alex's smirk widened slightly. "Good. First lesson, Padawan. I know you've trained with the Mind Sage, so use your powers to find the nearest Replicator Rotom." Isamu nodded, not put off by the somewhat mundane task, but rather eager to easily meet and surpass it, and demonstrate his skills.
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It was simple enough to find a bunch of dopamine filled minds surrounding a ball of ghostly energy. Isamu led them to one rather quickly, and Alex's somewhat iconic robe drew stares from the people. The areas around the food replicators had quickly gained a nickname among those who fully supported ending world hunger, and appreciated good tasting food that was also healthy and harmless to the environment. The term, across the western allied regions anyway, was Dragon Pits, and typically, they were just a large gathering of low-quality chairs plopped unceremoniously around the Replicator Rotom. Some struck a balance of being out of the way, but visible and free to use, while others routinely blocked roads and infuriated local police, who had to constantly move them after every mealtime.
"So, what else do you have on your belt?" Alex asked as he double fisted two Dragon Burgers. They weren't drowning in grease or condiments, which was a nice change from the burgers he usually had. Canis and Arthur popped out as well, and got some for themselves, which caused a stir around the dragon pit. Apparently, people hadn't realized their Pokémon could have free food too.
Alex shifted on the poorly made pool chair he'd taken since it was one of the few that was free as Isamu answered him. "A Klinklang, Hitmonlee, and a Torkoal. The rest are Cores."
It took Alex longer than it should have to do the math, but eventually he said, quietly but excitedly, "You found all five!?"
Isamu nodded, and finished one of his burgers before he said, "We should probably talk about this somewhere more private. But yes, I have them all, now. Using them all together is another matter entirely, though…"
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Alex nodded slowly, as he pondered. "Well, we can work on that while we're here. They probably cooperate together better without a Human, but bonding with each of them should help you with using them."
Isamu sighed. "I've been trying, but it's not like I can just feed them sandwiches. They absorb the Sun's light; they have no interest in eating together."
Alex lightly patted Isamu's shoulder. "We'll figure out a way." He looked up then as two guards in the same serpent helmed scaled cerulean armor they'd worn when he'd last been here approached them. The two finished their burgers, and Alex recalled Canis and Arthur, who had been getting Dragon Burgers for whoever wanted one, and transferring them into their Pokéballs. "Hello there." Alex said, as the guards stopped before them.
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A murmur went through the crowd as they spoke. "Emperor Redwood. Queen Iara and the Tamer of Zigma wish to speak with you in the palace."
Alex was tempted to say he had things to do, as this sounded like an optional meeting, but then, if anyone would know about turning Sinistea shards into armor, it was Rio's ruler. At the very least, he expected she'd be able to point him towards someone who did.
Isamu, meanwhile, seemed to be panicking slightly. As they walked behind the guards, two more flanked them from behind, and it soon became clear as to why. Cheers erupted from a rather large crowd of people in what seemed like one of if not the largest city centers in Rio. Alex gave them a wave as they walked, and the cheers grew louder. Apparently, all but ending hunger made one immensely popular with the masses.
Eventually, they made it through the city center, at which point Alex turned, smirked, and Shouted at them, "Enjoy your burgers!" This prompted more wild cheering, and Alex chuckled. The good mood in Rio today was infectious. For his part, Isamu had stayed quiet, and occasionally looked at his new teacher with genuine awe. He'd claimed, multiple times now to the many fans who approached them, that he wasn't actually responsible for the replicators. He'd really just greenlit the project and helped train the army of Rotom needed to operate them. The scientists deserved the credit, but Isamu, and Alex's fans, knew better. Ninety nine percent of other people would've monetized an infinite food generator into an infinite money generator as well. It took a special kind of person to ignore their greed, and feed most of the world. For free. The teen's eyes narrowed slightly. It was almost like Alex didn't fully comprehend what he'd done. Humility was good, but this was ending world hunger. It was a big deal. Barring a disaster, every subsequent generation of human would go without ever needing to feel hunger again. Obviously, some probably would, but the majority of the species now had their basic needs met.
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Eventually they reached the palace, at which an even larger crowd was crowded around the gates. Once again cheering erupted and quickly became deafening. Alex didn't remember seeing so many people the last time he'd been in the city. Almost as an afterthought, Alex said, "Ahh. Nearly forgot. Aevum! Why don't you join us?"
Isamu's eyes went wide as he processed Alex's words through the cheering, and then saw his Latios appear. "You almost forgot you have a Latios!?"
The cheerful blue psychic dragon jet circled and flipped around Isamu. "Greetings, newest Padawan. I am Aevum." He inclined his head for pats, and Isamu very gently stroked his short, fine feathers. Aevum floated behind them as they made their way to Iara's throne room. The water was now significantly lessened, replaced by a heavy darkness that covered the entire chamber. Iara smiled as she saw them and stood up from her throne. "Emperor Re-, err, Alex." She corrected, remembering what he preferred. "Thank you for coming. I know how busy you must be with the World Tournament's finale drawing closer."
Alex bowed, low, closed fist to open palm, and Isamu followed his lead. "Queen Iara. Always good to see you. And you as well, Zigma. Nelinha." He said, standing, and staring directly into the darkness behind the throne. Isamu tensed, and started to sweat as he felt what he could only describe as imminent death. His spine was tingling, his body was sweating more and more, and he fidgeted in the presence of the Guardian of the Dark Continent.
Zigma purred, as the darkness receded, and its effects went with it. Her glowing red eyes melting out of the darkness had unnerved Isamu, but it was what Alex had come to expect from Tao's counterpart. "Drrrragon Emperorrr. You have fed my people, for no price. You have sent your…Earthbenders…your Scales, to rebuild our ruined city. My home flourrrishes…by your will."
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She lowered her head by Iara, and Nelinha hopped off, her expression unreadable, hidden behind a smirk similar to Alex's. "Tell the Dragon. We agree to his terms of a more lasting Alliance. Our lands shall once more be bound in friendship and trust, as it was in the ancient era." Her massive lips pulled up into a feline smirk. "You have…imprrrressed me."
"You've impressed all of us." Nelinha chimed in. "I hope we meet at the World Tournament. I want to know just where my team and I stand compared to you."
Alex tried not to nerd out, as he realized he was, much like Red and N and Leon before him, a bar by which powerful Trainers now measured their strength. And how far they had yet to go. "I'd look forward to that as well, Nelinha. It would be a Battle to remember, for sure." The intense blue eyes shifted back to the Queen, then. "Did you require me for something specific, Iara? A problem with a Replicator, maybe?"
She shook her head and her wavy blue locks shifted like waves as she did. "Not particularly, no. I simply wished to impress upon you what your gifts to my people mean to us. Whatever you need while you stay here, we are happy to provide."
"Well…there are a few things I could use aid with. First and foremost, I believe my new friend here would like to speak to Eo, if he's around. And the little one, too, probably." Alex gestured as he spoke, and Aevum appeared from where he'd been invisibly skulking, genuinely shocking not just Iara, but also Zigma, with what he saw as recognition. He was starting to wonder just how much Aevum had gotten around, in ye olden days. And who exactly he had been.
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"It has been ages…it is good you have awakened, Aevum. The Successor has returned." The shadows parted around Zigma's form, and Alex's eyes narrowed. He'd been told Mew had helped Zigma recover from her encounter, but her body was still raggedly thin.
Aevum flew forward, concerned. "Alex mentioned that…once…vaguely…much has happened as we've traveled. Ahh, I see…this Shadow corruption…it yet lingers. Forgive me for this, Zigma." Aevum shone brightly then, and Alex's eyes widened, as he tapped into the realm of Light Energy. Since he was also a psychic, it did make some sense that, if he opened his own bodily energy network, he could also channel it, like Arthur did. Golden aura radiated off of him, and his feathers seemed changed in color as well, as he used a true Luster Purge.
Zigma was severely damaged by the attack, but the corruption lingering in her body like a festering disease was burned away in the Light of the Alpha. Aevum bestowed Life Dew on her then, and the Light faded, as the still rather young dragon became slumpy, his flight pattern wobbling. It was at that moment, that Eo arrived. He spoke only to Iara, and mentally, before carrying Aevum off to recover. Iara spoke then to Alex. "Aevum will rest here for a few days, if that is alright with you. He spent a lot of power, power his new form wasn't ready for…but that's just who he is. It's not the first time he's gone too far for a Guardian. It won't be the last, I'm sure. Do you know of his importance to the Latis?"
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"I do not." Alex said, but then he held up his palm with the strange silvery mark. "He did give me this when he hatched, though. When I channel my power through it, my moves become exponentially stronger."
"In that case, I will let him divulge his species secrets when he is ready to do so. I would advise speaking to him about the Successor. Now…what else do you require? It seems we are even more indebted to you."
Alex shook his head. "Let's forgo the concept of debts. I would've ordered him to Purge and heal Zigma myself if he hadn't done so immediately. There need not be a cost between allies. I only hope you and yours aid the Empire if we're ever in dire straits in return. Now then, I need armor for my Ceruledge, and uh…the helmet has to be very specific, for mine, for uh…reasons. Also…" He called out Noir, who yawned, and had been napping. His eyes widened, as he took in the enormous throne room, and Zigma behind it. The thin Guardian was already looking healthier by the second, though it would take time to recover what the Shadow had eaten away. "I was told that my friend here can attain a…divergent evolution, in Selva Muerta. I wish to know how."
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"A simple pair of requests, easily filled." Iara said with a smile. "We have many who are capable of forging Ghost Type Pokémon materials into useful items, usually weapons, but we do have several armor specialists throughout Rio as well."
Alex nodded. "I need the nerdiest armor specialist you have." He said, completely seriously, as he struggled not to smirk.
Iara chuckled though, seeing through him. "The…nerdiest? You'll want Ribeiro. Antonio Ribeiro. He's a perfectionist, and an artist, but his skills are legitimate, and have been honed by his family for…ages. He's the best smith in this part of Rio."
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Alex nodded, satisfied with that information, and then said, "And my friend here?"
Noir had padded towards Zigma in awe, and she seemed quite amused by the foreign-born son of the jungle. Iara eyed him for a moment, and then sighed. "Muertan Meowscarada…are very rare. And extremely deadly. Masterful night hunters, their leaves help them blend in perfectly with the jungle. There is arguably no other Pokémon that blends in as well as they do. They eat Humans, too. However, because they're so strong, Sprigatito and Floragato are often targeted while they're young, so they don't end up evolving. As for how…" Iara closed her eyes, and then shrugged. "You'd have to ask Professor Cashapona. He would be the one most likely to know."
Alex nodded, and kept Noir out beside him, as Zigma seemed to be communicating something to him. "I'll be back for Aevum before I return home." He informed the queen. She nodded gracefully, wished him well, and then he and Isamu were off again. He could sense Isamu was glad he hadn't been noticed, but Alex didn't pry.
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Once they were outside, he and Isamu walked and talked once the cheers grew quieter. "Stuff like that happens to you a lot, huh?" Isamu asked. "Just randomly being invited to talk by royalty and Legends?"
Alex pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Once I became Champion, the amazement faded pretty quickly. Being around Tao so much and see him rebuilding his ancient home blew my mind, but pretty quickly it just became work, as I recall." He purposefully left out what he and Jess had been doing while others had focused far more on the rebuilding effort.
Isamu stopped suddenly then, and Alex slowed to a stop as well, raising an eyebrow. "I hope…I hope you understand how big of a deal ending world hunger is."
"Well, it's not the whole world yet, and it's not just me-"
Isamu cut him off. "I know, I heard you telling people. It's the scientists, but you need to understand, every other world leader, both today and across our history, would've monetized these machines. You pushed them through the red tape and the greed before corporations even knew Replicators existed. And it is the whole world now. The Imperium accepted your Replicators yesterday." Alex and Noir stared quietly, as this was clearly something Isamu had wanted to say all day. "You just guaranteed free food for the entire Human race. For as long as those Rotom last. Which is basically forever. I don't think you fully understand just how big this is…only the Holder of Arceus did things like this…and he had the power of the Creation Trio to help him!"
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Alex and Noir shared a look. Then, still quiet, Alex said, "You're comparing me to the man who befriended and tamed a God?"
Isamu chuckled. "No, well, not yet anyway. I might once I see you in actual combat. But other people have started drawing comparisons. It's been all over Chatter."
Alex frowned slightly at the mention of the waste of time and effort that was Chatter. It had only grown worse since Elmo Musk took over. "I don't really care for social media. It emboldens too many wastes of DNA."
Isamu raised an eyebrow. "Really? I thought most famous Trainers talked to their fans on Chatter, or at least a Glaicebook group."
Alex made a face, and hid his guilt at successfully avoiding the main method fans had for interfacing with their favorite Trainers. "I usually let Lux handle all that. I used to let Nox do it, but…he kept mercilessly trolling people."
"You should interact more on there. Your fans would like it, I think." Isamu suggested.
Alex shrugged. "I might…if I ever get a minute. Right now, I have almost sixty Pokémon to train, so. Social media doesn't take priority."
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They made their way out of the city, and activated their aura shields as they walked to the short but still inhabited route to the Cashapona lab. It reminded Alex of the Coumarine Gym, mostly because it had been grown in and around a large tree. The Professor looked almost the same as he had when Nelinha had ascended as Rio's newest Champion and Tamer. Almost immediately he started admiring Noir.
"Such a fine coat…" He gushed, poking it gently. Noir's eyes narrowed, and his fur turned as sharp as needles. "Ohho! And sharp." The Professor smirked at Alex. "Let me guess, he doesn't like his Special Attacks, and he prefers using his vine to grow thorns and whip enemies until they faint."
Alex and Noir quickly shared a glance, before looking back at the aged Professor. He had wrinkled bronze skin and a slowly decaying posture, but the gleam of intelligence was still very much alive in his green eyes. "He and I agreed that would be a bit…much…for a Battle. Unless the opponent he's facing is a Lairon or something, which can take that sort of punishment and still be fine."
The Professor raised a gray eyebrow. "And you trust him not to strangle his opponents to death? He doesn't lose himself to viciousness?"
Alex shook his head. "He initially had urges to, right after evolving and learning to use his new Moves like this, but I've trained him to be better than that. The fact that he's well fed also helped."
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The Professor scribbled down some rapid notes on some paper on his cluttered desk, and then stood. "Well then Mr. Redwood, it seems you and young Noir are exactly the kind of pair that can achieve his alternate evolution, and master it enough to be used in Battle. Our last Champion had one as well, and he was quite ferocious." The old man's eyes gleamed. "I'm sure you'll use Noir to his full potential. To unlock it, you must journey to the abode of the Rain Sage. Within his area of influence is an ancient Grassy Rock, the kind Eevee evolves into Leafeon with, but this one is special. It radiates Dark Typed Energy as well…actually, being a psychic, you may want to send Noir in alone. It's powerful, and potentially damaging or corroding to those with a natural weakness to darkness. From what the last Champion told me, his Meowscarada did not rampage when it evolved, though he was very moody for a while, apparently some local Gatonip set him straight real quick."
Noir's tail swished eagerly at the mention of the plant, which was actually genetically related to Leaf, and had a unique effect on feline Pokémon. Alex nodded, promising to get him a steady supply of it, now that he realized just how much Noir seemed to enjoy it. Despite not being dark typed yet, he had a tendency to be aloof and a loner, a lot like Ictus. Alex had caught Noir and the large Drapion having many a conversation in the darkness of the spots in which they camped. Nox also sometimes appeared, but the Korian Gengar seemed to dislike being away from his Trainer's shadow for too long.
Alex thanked the Professor for the information, offered him decent seats in Unova's newest World Tournament stadium when he subtly asked for them, and then Isamu had a choice to make. The Professor gave out Torchic, Sprigatito, and Floatzel as potential starters. Despite them both being dark typed, Rio's Meowscarada were very capable of Playing Rough, and an Amazonian Floatzel was a force of nature unto itself. According to the Professor, not even the wild Meowscarada actively hunted the local Floatzel. Their groups had a bad tendency to hold grudges, and they were not above eating another species' eggs. It wasn't a common practice in the Pokémon world, and it was almost entirely something only dark types, like Mandibuzz, ever did, but even in a world with a surplus of berries, some Pokémon preferred the taste of eggs, as a leftover from the old Earth species Mew had copied and improved upon.
Alex's goal for Isamu was pretty simple: have him create a second team, and travel across Rio with them, while he trained. His first team was half Zygarde Cores, and while he would still feed and try to bond with them, Alex insisted he needed a team of his own that could battle and listen to him. Apparently the Klinklang, Hitmonlee, and Torkoal filling out his belt alongside Kuromuchi and Kanchi were all also shiny, inherited from ancient Trainers mysteriously connected to the first Pokémon Leagues, and didn't have a high opinion of Isamu. The one exception to this was his Riolu, who had apparently been so powerful as a Lucario in the ways of aura, that he'd been able to reincarnate as an egg when his body finally gave in to entropy. Even steel types died eventually, but the former Aura Guardian saw promise in Isamu that the others claimed he did not have. Kanchi had told Alex that he was positive they'd come around eventually, they always did, and Alex had a feeling that would be when Isamu proved he was worthy of battling alongside them after beating some gyms. They had established a psychic link, and Alex invited the ravenously curious youth to ask him whatever questions he wanted, any time but the four hours in which he slept. Judging by the eagerness in his eyes, Isamu would probably keep him busy with questions for quite some time, before he ran out of steam.
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In the end, Isamu had chosen Torchic, as having a powerful fiery fighter in a land full of grass types was, to him, a no brainer. He was also a huge fan of Blaziken Mask, and he liked the idea of a Pokémon who could, someday, keep up with him when he used all five Zygarde Cores in sync. He dubbed the spiky tufted Torchic Dynamight, after Alex suggested giving him a name, and the eager little boychick had affirmed that he wanted one. With the Padawan on his way to grinding levels and bonding with Pokémon who, from what Alex had heard from them, were sick and tired of being passed down from human to human, he made his own way into Selva Muerta, atop Shruikan this time. Only one Noivern had the cojones to test Shruikan's obvious might, and a masterful booming Thunder sent it hurtling down towards the forest floor as it reflexively shrank. Thankfully, when they were that small and dense, very little could hurt a Pokémon. Even a hundred plus foot drop.
Alex found a relatively isolated spot with fewer Pokémon minds, and those who didn't outright attack them, he was able to ask to move elsewhere, at least for a few weeks. Once he explained what a week was to them, they agreed to stay away until his frost exuding Aurorus was no longer in the area. Those who attacked, were simply driven off when they realized just how outclassed they were, and that the unfamiliar cold temperatures weren't going to just go away. The entire area Alex cordoned off was about four point two zero miles, which while rather large, was a blip compared to the size of the rainforest. Very quickly Gelauros had tired in the tropical climate, and Alex had a clone on standby with Ethers and Elixirs from his bag to keep his power consistently going. Just the act of constantly forcing the temperature to change was very good training, and it made their encircled area a lot more bearable in terms of temperature. A weak psychic barrier followed the earthbended circle, to keep out irritating and disease carrying insects that had not become Pokémon. It also hid them from an aerial view, though the frozen vegetation was a bit of a giveaway that an ice type that did not belong was inhabiting this part of the rainforest.
Once their spot was set up, Alex eagerly released his fifty plus members. "Well boys…we're finally here. It feels like it took ages, but we made it. This is the final stretch." He paced before them as he spoke, but his Words reached them all. "From this point on, our goal is Victory. We will face the opponents in the qualifying matches, Semifinals, and Finals without prejudice or favor. The only bar I will measure with is strength, and your chances of winning. We'll be facing the strongest Trainers on the planet. Not all of you will see action in this tournament, but there will be others. And other Battles besides. I will do my best as your Trainer not to neglect a single one of you. Now then…the assignments."
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He stopped in front of Terra, who was, of course, in the center of his team. Many of the newer members were chilling on his shell, but listening attentively. "Those of you who have reached your final evolutions, will begin working on truly mastering the Moves I've taught you with Unova's reusable TMs. It's one thing to know a Move well enough for Battle, it's another entirely to make it your own, and improve upon it. And that, is the name of the game boys. Not only will we overwhelm our opponents with our numbers, we will make full use of each and every single one of your Move pools. Once that is achieved, you will begin working on custom Moves. For the A Team, this is your primary focus, in between helping the newbies. Terra already showed you how it's done, with Curse and Frenzy Plant. I'm sure the rest of you can match him." His main ten nodded, confidently grunting in unison.
The rest of you will, for now, focus on traversing the jungle with your clone of me, and gaining Battle experience. You need to protect the clone at all costs. If something makes it break, you could end up alone out here with your ball lost. I could probably find each of you with our mental link, but that will take time, and if something that can break one of my copies is attacking you, time will not be something you have. If it does break, try to stick to the area, and defend your Pokéball. Shruikan and I will move quickly to recover you, and it, and make sure it doesn't happen again. Some of you may end up in groups, since defending me may not be your forte."
"Revan, Noir, and all the newbs from BBA will be with me, as I evolve them, and train them up against Rio's Trainers. For some reason, you guys are registering at a more than high enough level to evolve already…so once we sort out your Moves, that will be our goal. Arthur, since you're as ready as you're going to be, I want you overseeing their training. If a new custom Move idea hits you, you and I can go over it when the others are resting." The Gallade nodded resolutely, and smirked. Alex could tell he was excited. The best way to get new ideas for custom moves was to see how other species used moves, and adapt them. Since he was a master of type energy manipulation by this point, Arthur was eager to learn. In his head, he saw a kind of rainbow punch outline involving using every type, all together, all at once. With his Stellar Tera Typing, that would probably be devastatingly powerful while Terastallized.
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Alex clapped his absurdly large hands together, and the sharp sound made his partner's ears twitch as it echoed loudly through the area. "That's all for now, lads. Get to it and try not to damage the landscape too much." He split himself into a multitude of clones then and began pairing off with his team. Some of them wanted to battle one of their brothers immediately, while others were eager to test the ferocity of the world's most dangerous jungle at night. Alex had studied the general levels of the Pokémon here, what little records Rio had on them, and there were quite a few routes that stretched from Rio and well into the forest, despite them being mostly overgrown and filled with mortal peril that would do nicely for training. He'd also dipped into his rarely used bank account to give everyone who needed one a Lucky Egg. Thanks to the Replicators also being capable of item creation, making them was ease itself, apparently. Normal and fairy energy condensed into an egg shape that would greatly enhance the amount of Exp gained from their battles in the jungle.
Getting nearly half a hundred of them had left a dent in his supply of currency, but making more was as simple as calling his merchandise liaison, or sending a clone to PokéStar Studios. They paid ridiculous amounts of currency for famous cameos, and he'd already done a few, as well as made a series of poses that the Victory League's unofficial merchandise master had slapped onto shirts, shoes, backpacks, hats, anything that could be cheaply made and sold at a reasonable rate.
Finally, Alex prime split off a final clone, the one who would take Noir and Revan to evolve and train up the newbies once he did so. He levitated, sitting cross legged in the air, as he and Terra and the others weak to ice sat near Gelauros, and shivered. Even as the sun faded, the humidity stayed in the air for Gelauros to fight. After sitting around and shivering got boring, Alex set up his dex to project some anime, and together, they struggled to endure the cold as they watched the conclusion of the Fourth Great Ninja War.