Feebas: Female
Ability: Swift Swim
Moves: Tackle, Hypnosis, Dragon Breath
I perked a brow at the last two moves. Hypnosis and Dragon Breath? On a Feebas?
Perhaps her parent had actually been a Milotic and not a Feebas, if she had both Hypnosis and Dragon Breath...
I wouldn't complain. At least I didn't have to deal with a one move Feebas. I knew they were pretty weak but that might have been really hard on me in the long run.
My newest pokemon looked up at me expectantly as I scanned her and I idly ran a hand against her scales.
I had never pet a fish before. Feebas seemed naturally wet and the sensation was pretty strange… but I'd get used to it.
"Fee," she said happily, leaning into my touch.
"Not bad, Feebas," I muttered, genuinely delighted at having somewhere to start.
To be honest, I was expecting Feebas to be completely useless until evolution… but this would help alleviate some issues.
I'd have to make a Feebas impressive, so that my future Milotic would become a monster. The better a pokemon was in their first form, the more impressive it would be in its evolutions.
This was especially the case with Pokemon that evolved with specific conditions, like stones or items... or beauty?
That didn't mean pokemon who evolved naturally didn't benefit from it as well. Neither Chikorita, Zorua or Feebas were anywhere near close to evolution, so I'd put in as much work as possible with them to make them as impressive as I knew they'd become.
...Just as soon as I managed to get a proper plan going for Feebas.
Milotic were incredible pokemon that warranted how rare they were. The sea serpents were known for having high durability, incredible regeneration and plenty of power to dish out devastating attacks…
Wallace's Milotic in particular, was known to be quite the force. It was the main reason the man was so heavily considered a candidate for future champion in the Hoenn region.
But that was as Milotic. Feebas didn't have any of the advantages Milotic had.
No, the little fish was a rather frustrating pokemon to own.
At least with Magikarp, they became a Gyarados with a moderate amount of training involved… No one knew how to evolve Feebas except for a stark few trainers and all those gatekeepers were firm believers that Milotic was a pokemon that only few trainers deserved.
Combined with how lackluster the first form of the incredibly rare water type was, the few trainers who did manage to catch Feebas, very quickly gave up on them.
I guess Wallace and Cynthia had a point. If they didn't wanna tough it out with Feebas, they didn't deserve Milotic. It was a marathon, not a sprint.
Though, I doubted they'd deem me worthy of it if they knew who I was.
Worthy trainer this, worthy trainer that... they could both go fuck themselves. I already knew how to evolve Feebas into Milotic and no one was going to stop me.
"Not bad girl," I praised with a gentle smile… that probably still looked like a smirk on my face. "I'll make you strong… it might take a bit for you to catch up to Chikorita and Zorua but it's a marathon, not a sprint."
Feebas gazed up adoringly at me and nodded rapidly at my words.
Adorable. People were way too rude, Feebas weren't even that ugly.
In the video games, the way to evolve Feebas into Milotic, was by increasing its beauty or trading it with a Prism Scale.
You did the first method by feeding Pokeblocks that increased its beauty stat from contests… The second was finding an item I wasn't quite sure existed yet. Didn't Feebas themselves grow Prism Scales? If that were the case, they might not exist...
But things like beauty levels, stats, physical/special split, probably didn't work like that in this world.
This wasn't a video game. This was real life now and stuffing my Feebas full of Poke Blocks until it evolved into a Milotic, was probably not the right way to go about things.
No, the right way was to treat my shy, nervous Feebas like a queen of course until she thought she was a queen.
Chikorita and Zorua were currently being treated by the Nurse Joy, which left me and Feebas and just off of our brief meeting I could tell a few things.
Feebas had very little confidence in herself and because I showed so much interest in her, she absolutely loved me.
No, seriously. I wasn't exaggerating.
She latched onto every single word I said, looked like I gave her the world on simple compliments and loved every single time I pet or just kept contact with her.
It was admittedly, a little adorable that she adored me so much.
I don't know if all Feebas acted like this, but at the very least, I'd boost her confidence levels up and evolution would be my reward!
A win-win in my books. I felt a personal kind of accomplishment making reserved people come out of their shell. I used to be rather reserved myself.
Training would be hard but like I said, this was a marathon, not a sprint.
I was playing the long game and I would reap my benefits later rather than sooner. The idea of my final team, was enough to motivate me to put up with this nonsense for now.
Hm… I suppose the best thing for me to do was just train up Feebas' fundamentals, power output and sturdiness.
Teaching her new moves would be difficult… That's why TMs were so useful.
Hm… TMs… Yeah those were likely my best bet to helping Feebas out before evolution. She'd always be fairly weak in comparison to others, but you didn't need to be strong to win.
I could look into nabbing a few. It's a shame I didn't stay in Lilycove. I'm sure I coulda stole something from that tourist city because I was damn impressive.
Slateport was another option... I would be headed there after my journey here so I guess I could...
Didn't Mauville have a game corner too? I was headed through that city so maybe I could look into seeing how guarded it was. Security in this world was very lax and I had no idea why.
Man, I really was trying to become Hoenn public enemy #1…
But what if I didn't become their #1 enemy?
My eyes glinted maliciously at the ideas I was brewing and I nodded to myself before focusing on Feebas again.
...I wonder if I should nickname my Pokemon. Jasmine's entire team was nicknamed and I suppose maybe I could do the same?
But I was terrible at naming things. I hardly ever nicknamed my Pokemon in games either…
I'd have to consult my team later and see what they liked. I already had some ideas cooking if they agreed. I had things in my previous world that the people of this world probably had no clue existed, so I had practical exclusive naming rights!
That could wait for later though. For now, I would continue my operations in this region.
Since I captured Feebas, it was time for me to get out of Fortree. This mission was the most legal thing I was planning on doing here so disguises were now a must…
And I knew just the thing. I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner actually.
"Fee?" Feebas called me, snapping me out of my musings.
I was currently in a booked room of the Center and Feebas wanted to spend time with me instead of in the fish tank, so I accommodated her.
But it looked like she wanted back in for now.
I lifted her up and placed her in the tank, much to her delight and even despite the glass acting as a barrier, she still remained as close to me as possible.
This fish was winning me over already and I already wanted her.
She reminded me of...
"You ever considered catching a Feebas? They remind me of you," I messaged Jasmine.
It didn't take me long to get a message back and I snorted.
"Silver, I really dislike opening my messages and seeing you insult me without reason... Are you implying that I look like a Feebas?"
Oh, I could see how she took that the wrong way.
I shrugged. "I was talking about personality… but I kinda see it now."
"You are a terrible person. Can't you say something nice for once?"
I blinked, before deciding to throw her a bone. "...Why do you want to hear something nice from me? Someone as cute and famous as you must always get compliments. You know damn well you don't look like a Feebas."
Despite the message being immediately read, Jasmine took a solid minute to respond and I snorted to myself.
"N-Nevermind, please continue being mean instead."
"How the hell are you stuttering over message?"
"...Goodbye Silver. I need a break from you."
I shrugged and didn't respond.
It was a legitimate question.
----------------------------------------
"Are you actually planning on traveling out there alone at this time again?"
I regarded the same Nurse Joy I spoke to the other day with a raised brow and pocketed the pokeballs she handed to me.
"Is this your way of inviting me to your room?" I replied curiously.
She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Nice try but I'm not a cradle robber, kid. I already warned you about the dangers of traveling at night."
"…" I frowned at that and rolled my eyes as well.
The Nurse Joy sighed. "Look. You're very talented kid and I won't knock that from you at all. You managed to beat a Sharpedo with a Zorua and a Chikorita and somehow you caught a Feebas of all pokemon. I'm no expert but I can tell you've got a bright future... But you are extremely reckless," she stressed with a deep frown.
That was a nice way of putting it. If she had any idea what I planned on doing next, she'd have me put in a ward.
"In the first place, you shouldn't have fought that Sharpedo," she chastised me, glaring firmly at me. "Route 119 rains often, if it had been raining do you have any idea what would have happened to you? Your life is not a game."
"This arrogance of yours isn't necessary, dumbass. Are you trying to prove that you're talented to someone? I get that you don't care enough about your life, but don't drag your team into it."
A great burst of anger suddenly filled me and I scowled at the nurse who just raised a brow in return.
"So Mr. Hardass actually does care about things to react like this? That's good to know at least," she mocked.
"Fuck off," I growled with narrowed eyes. "Don't act like you know anything about me."
Joy rolled her eyes at him. "I've been in this business for years and I've met all kinds of people, kid. Look at how defensive you just got… someone's got a chip on their shoulder and it's causing you to be a complete fool."
My brows furrowed in a bit of confusion, as my anger bated a bit.
...Why was I getting so defensive? I wasn't the type to let anyone's words get under my skin. I was very confident in my abilities and very nonchalant otherwise… so just why were her words pissing me off?
...Because they struck a nerve with my other half of course. The original Silver. The half of me that was assimilating more and more into the one who hijacked his body.
At this point, I was merely referring to him as my other half out of respect of who this body used to be.
I schooled my expression and pondered.
This nurse was worried in her own ways… and well, since I was doing what I planned on doing, I guess I could relax for the night.
She gazed at me with a satisfied smile and handed my key back to me.
"I like you kid, that's why I'm looking out for you. A talented kid like you should reach his peak without a tragedy happening," she said, sounding the kindest she's ever been.
So this was just the innate kindness all Nurse Joys seemed to have...
"You're way less of a bitch then my mom is so I'll listen this once," I said offhandedly.
A chill shot through my body as soon as those words left my mouth and I froze completely.
Nurse Joy shot me a sympathetic smile that filled me with more irritation then I'd ever felt.
Without saying another word, I stiffly walked away and headed to my room for the night.
"Hey… I didn't know your family situation was rough. I wouldn't change what I said, but I understand why you're like this," Joy called out to me, catching a few more people's attention (I didn't realize people were watching us).
"Stop talking," I scoffed, leaving the lobby fully.
As I sat on my bed, I released my 3 pokemon and pursed my lips in confusion as I got ready for bed.
…I wasn't the one who said that. The comment about the mom? That wasn't me.
I don't remember her anymore, but my mother was a great woman. No nonsense but kind and caring. I'd never even imagine calling her a bitch.
But when I thought of the word mom... I only saw the color red and felt disgust...
Just who the hell were my parents in this world? Considering I didn't have either of their contacts and never received a call from them as well… it was very likely they didn't even know my number.
…
The longer I stayed in this world, the more I became Silver to the point that I was calling the other part of me my other half, instead of seeing it as his body. I don't remember being older than 12, I don't remember any other name…
In fact, besides knowing that I wasn't the original person in the body… Everything else about me seemed Silver dominated.
As time passed, it seemed like I was becoming more Silver than me… At least subconsciously, I was positive Silver had more control.
But as long as I kept my mind, I was fine with that. If I knew that at one point I wasn't Silver, then that was fine with me…. But as long as I was in control and fully aware of it, I don't care.
I showed no sign of making it back to my world and I didn't have time to focus on going back, so right now my loss of memories, while an issue, was not anywhere near my top priority.
In fact, Silvers memories were probably more important now.
Despite losing memories of the little details in my previous life, none of Silver's memories became clearer to me in the process besides vague feelings and sensations. I wasn't gaining anything from the loss… just the memories I was currently in the process of forming.
I sighed, prompting Zorua and Chikorita to crowd me in concern. Feebas gazed at me in her tank and I glanced at them rather fondly.
"It's fine guys, just a lot on my mind," I assured, shooting a smile at them.
I don't know what the end result of my memories were going to end up like… but at the very least the ones I had since waking up in this world were completely intact.
I needed to stop thinking about this. It was clear that I wasn't one or the other so it was just best for me to treat myself like an entirely new person.
Better than having an identity crisis nonstop. It was weird that I fully acknowledged that I was Silver, but I knew I that I wasn't the Silver I used to be…
In the end, I just needed to come to terms that I was both.
...Yeah, that train of thought spared me from the worst headache so I'd stick with it.
"Let's sleep. We're heading out early tomorrow," I muttered, shutting my eyes as I forced myself to get some rest.
I was hoping to cross a great amount of distance during nighttime but that idea was shelved, so I'd just go nonstop tomorrow morning.
"Hmph, the Joy thinks me traveling at night is dangerous. Wonder how she'd react if she knew this wasn't even close to the most dangerous thing I planned on doing."
----------------------------------------
"Alright," I yawned, rubbing my eyes as I contemplated breaking my Poke Gear.
Unfortunately, I was too coherent for that and instead, the alarm was shut off with just a press by a grumpy me.
Slowly, I pushed myself up and glanced at Zorua, Chikorita and Feebas, who had also begun the process of waking up.
Chikorita was terrible at waking up early. My grass type was practically dead on her feet and whined in annoyance, pleading for me to pick her up with her gaze alone.
Feebas was still sleeping, somehow having not heard my very obnoxious alarm (that sounded suspiciously like the original Pokemon song) and remained so still in the tank, I feared for her life.
Zorua woke up as easily as I did, gazing at the other two with amusement as he began stretching.
I lifted Chikorita up with an amused smile and she began purring in my hold.
"Let's bathe and then eat… then we can head out," I announced to them both.
Zorua and Chikorita nodded, before the little fox began following after us.
I rolled my eyes. I don't know when it happened but I began bathing these two bums every time I bathed myself and it had become routine to start my day with them.
I don't know if this would remain routine when they evolved… considering they'd be way bigger, but it wasn't terrible at the moment so I wouldn't say no to my spoiled team.
"Fee!"
...
Feebas was looking at me, wide awake with a pleading expression.
"…"
Are you kidding me?
I went over to the tank and grabbed her out of it, grimacing at getting wet before my bath.
"Fine, all 4 of us can bathe," I sighed, rolling my eyes and carrying the 3 to the bathroom.
They were lucky I liked them.
----------------------------------------
"Hey."
My eyes narrowed slightly and I paused in my gait.
After bathing and eating my breakfast for the day, I double checked all my provisions and decided it was time to vacate Fortree City.
I already stayed here longer than I intended, I did not want to waste anymore time or god forbid, run into the Gym Leader.
What was her name? Fiona? No... Winona that's it. You would think the leader of Forttree was a Grass type but she instead uses Flying types.
Running into another Gym Leader, was something I was very invested in avoiding. Considering I'd be going through about 2 other cities with them, it's best if I make myself scarce.
That was the reason why I was leaving a 7 am. No sane person woke up this early and cared about the people around them.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" I asked with a raised brow, adjusting my hoodie as the morning breeze carried the heat onto me.
Ugh, Hoenn was so damn hot all the time. This was ridiculous.
"I'm off duty," Joy said simply, dressed in a simple black top and jeans.
I narrowed my eyes. The only reason I could tell this was the Joy that I spoke to at night, was because of her lazy expression and the fact she clearly sought me out.
They seriously all looked too alike. Though Joy here did happen to be taller than her sisters... or cousins... or aunts... or nieces?
"Figured you'd be leaving this early. You seemed eager to get outta here," she shrugged.
My silver eyes stared into her soul without a hint of trust in them. "That's impossible. Even with a hunch, you wouldn't know exactly what time I left. Are you stalking me?" I asked dangerously.
Did I slip up? It's not like my misdeeds were only shown in Johto… It's just a region like Hoenn had literally no reason to pay too much attention to things like that.
That wasn't good. Would I have to cut my Hoenn journey short before catching my next two teammates?
"Relax Silver. I'm not about to bite your head off," Joy said slowly, holding her hands up in a placating manner. She almost looked awkward and I furrowed my brows in confusion.
Why the hell was she acting like this? I didn't speak to her much but this was out of character of her.
"I was just pulling your leg. I saw on the system that you turned your keys back in and decided to check up on you one last time before you vanished to who knows where," she informed me.
...Check up on me? Who did this lady think she was, my mother —
Ah.
Seeing as I wasn't keen on saying anything, the Joy sighed.
"Look, I don't know much about you or what you've had to deal with… but you're not a bad kid. I won't make any assumptions, but at the very least, I'd be worried if something bad happened to you… so just be careful out there, alright?" She said gently, a hint of worry in her gaze.
…
What was it with people opening up to me so easily? Everyone in this world needed to learn to be more guarded. Trust wasn't something you should hand out so easily.
I sighed.
Maybe I needed to hear those words, considering my previous lifestyle but I wasn't quite the same Silver anymore now was I?
I may have been 12 but one half of me was already secured and assured. I knew what I wanted, I knew what I needed to do. I was not conflicted, I was merely confused about what the hell this world wanted from me.
It was cute that she was trying to help what she thought was a troubled kid, but I knew full well what I was doing. Her words of reassurance weren't going to change my plans.
No doubt about it, I was definitely troubled... but my issues did not lie in something like family issues at the moment.
My issues lie in something Joy probably would never understand... considering she wasn't two people.
But… it was sweet of her to go out of her way to do this. She didn't have to seek out an, in her eyes, troubled kid and I did appreciate that.
Guess she really was a Nurse Joy at heart.
"Thanks for that. I'll try to be more careful…" I responded, just wanting to leave the city now.
I did not need someone trying to take up a pseudo motherly role because of a single offhand comment.
I don't know either of my moms. I don't know either of my dads and for the moment, I just didn't care because it didn't concern me yet.
My parents weren't a detail that was affecting me as much as she thought it must have been. She just happened to evoke a reaction out of me.
It might have been before I got put in this body, but not anymore. I had more things to concern myself with…
Like catching the next two members of my team.
"I need to make sure you're actually careful," Joy suddenly said, pulling out a Pokenav. "Your number. Give it to me. I'll occasionally do a checkup on you and make sure you're taking care of yourself."
I scowled at her. "No way. I thought you weren't a cradle robber. I'm not giving you my number."
She let out a barking laughter, utterly nonplussed by my reaction. "You have a cute face so use it on someone your age. I can't guarantee you'll take care of yourself, so I'll remind you."
"...No," I said bluntly.
I liked her but I had no interest in adding anyone else's number to my pokegear.
Joy's eyes narrowed at that and I gazed back at her with a fearless expression.
"Don't be such a recluse. You're too young for that. Your number, give it here. If you don't, I'll bother and hold you here even longer. I'm even capable of causing a scene if you'd like."
How the hell did she know me this well? This was ridiculous. No one wanted me to be antisocial in peace.
Couldn't I just have Jasmine as my only friend?
Apparently not.
"Fucking fine," I scowled, snatching her Pokenav out of her hand. I gazed at the strange device and punched my number in.
The Pokenav didn't look much like a Pokegear but there were some similarities at least.
She smirked at me and grabbed my Pokegear, easily putting her number on it. "For someone who had so much fun checking me out, you sure aren't eager to write down my number. Nurse Joy's don't just hand out their numbers to people you know? Unprofessional."
"I'm so honored but you should have kept the professionalism," I grunted sarcastically, pocketing my device. "I only checked you out once by the way. You were the first Nurse Joy I met so I took in your appearance. You just happen to be good looking so you took it as me checking you out."
For a moment, Nurse Joy's smirk vanished the moment I said she was the first Nurse Joy I ever saw, but it was back before I could properly register it.
"Right." Her voice came out dry and amused.
"I expect to hear about you in the future. I don't know why you have no gym badges, but you've got potential to be a great trainer… you already care more for your Pokemon than most trainers so that's a step in the right direction."
I smirked at her praise, pleased to hear that someone thought I could be strong, before a look of confusion crossed my features.
"Is it a big deal that I'm caring for my Pokemon?" I asked curiously.
Joy let out a barking laugh. "You'd be surprised how much the little things matter. Most kids aren't into doing things like bathing their team or tending to them and making sure they're completely healthy. It's a thing mostly breeders and people who do contests focus on but the trainers? Good luck getting them to think of anything besides battling and eating," she snorted.
I tilted my head at that.
That, was oddly immature of them. Maybe it's because I had a pet in my previous life, but tending to my Pokemon seemed like common sense…
Wait, hold on. Why not care for them even more? These were my little soldiers. They should be in top condition!
Yeah… there was probably way better ways to care for Pokemon than what I was currently doing. Better food, quality of life for their bodies, hell maybe I could look into seeing if Luxury Balls and Pokeball transfers were a thing here… there were levels to this and I must have been doing the bare minimum.
I'd have to look into it later. Zorua and Chikorita ate their standardized Poke Food… but there must have been something much healthier for them both.
Yeah, there definitely was. Training Pokemon wasn't just about teaching and honing moves. These were young monsters growing up under my care and there was a proper way to raise everything.
I needed to make sure I was doing it right...
"See? That's why I think you have potential," Joy praised genuinely. "Look at that look in your eyes. You were already doing good but you still aren't satisfied after what I just told you."
She pat me on the head and ignored my glower. "A team is only as good as its leader and you're shaping up to be a pretty damn good one."
The off duty nurse began walking away. "Whatever you plan on doing, know you have a fan in me, Silver. So don't go disappointing me by dying early."
I watched her go and took in her words with a confused expression.
I'm not sure what I did to impact her so much but cool I guess.
What person didn't want a cute girl rooting for them? I wasn't going to complain.
"And you say you aren't like the other nurses. Coming all the way out here just to give me a pep talk… that's so sweet of you," I mocked.
"I'm way too tired to banter with you right now and Blissey gets antsy when I'm gone for too long… so shut the hell up and let me go home in peace. I'll check up on you tonight to see if you're dead," she retorted, not looking back at me.
I snorted and turned away, walking off. "Sure whatever you say. Nice outfit by the way. Didn't think you knew anything besides that nurse outfit."
"Pervert. Stop staring at my ass."
"That's not what I meant. I'm genuinely impressed that you know another outfit."
"Sure."
I shrugged helplessly. I wasn't gonna try to defend myself.
There were bigger things to worry about and the biggest one was making it through this gigantic route at good speeds.
Getting her number wasn't what I wanted but at least she was cool.
I wonder how embarrassed she'd be when I brought up the fact that she actually attempted to take a motherly role with me.
A snort left my mouth.
How ridiculous.
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As I began placing my roller skates on my feet, the rustle of footsteps caught my attention and I went stiff, hand immediately dipping to release Zorua and Chikorita.
I turned my head to the side and watched the Absol freeze up once more, poised to run off.
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"Why do you keep stalking me if you're gonna run away the moment I notice you?" I asked in some frustration.
The Absol gazed at me, red eyes wary as it saw something only it could see. This was how it always looked at me when I noticed it, before it turned tail and ran off.
I scowled. This was insanity. Was it keen on stalking me the entire time?
"Are you gonna attack me?" I asked after a deep breath.
Almost like it had whiplash, the Absol shook its head in denial and I was stunned to see fear on its face.
Fear? Zorua and Chikorita weren't even out! What was it so afraid of? Was it afraid of me?
Alright since it was actually answering my questions, I may as well try to dig deeper.
I had been doing research on Absol since it was so keen on keeping an eye on me so I knew a thing or two.
"...You can sense when a crisis is about to strike, right?" I continued, getting a slow nod out of it. "You've been following me for a few days now yet disaster never struck... what's the deal with that? What are you trying to tell me?"
The horn on its head, could allegedly sense disasters and Absols would warn people about it... but why was it approaching me? It had been days since my encounter with Registeel and Absol and nothing had happened to me barring the Sharpedo.
Disaster never failed to strike the spots Absols showed up at, so why exactly had disaster not struck yet?
What was it warning me of...
"Absol," Absol said warily, pointing its disaster sensing horn at me.
I pursed my lips at that.
"Are you saying... I'm the crisis?" I asked slowly. "Am I the disaster? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"
Much to my dread, the Absol nodded without hesitation.
I gazed at the dark type and mulled that over.
"So it's not about Kyogre and Groudon," I sighed in relief.
That was good. I was getting worried that the plot really was moving without me being ready but I still think I had a lot of time.
"Are you gonna kill me?" I asked curiously. "It's your job to warn people about upcoming disasters, yet you're telling me that I'm the disaster. So are you warning me about myself?"
The wild pokemon actually pursed its lip at my question and I marveled at its intelligence.
Pokemon were incredible, it was a wonder they hadn't thought to overthrow us.
I warily watched it approach me, for some reason able to tell it meant no harm, and watched as it placed a gentle palm on my chest.
"Sol, Absol..." it said, stressing its palm.
My chest...
"What's inside me?" I guessed with a frown.
It nodded, pleased with my correct guess despite the fear I could see roiling off it.
I was beginning to paint a picture and I had an inkling it had to do with that foggy fortress inside my head that Bronzong mentioned.
"Are you saying it's whatever is inside me that's cause for a disaster?" I asked gently.
Absol looked as if it were about to say yes to my response, before it paused.
Taking a step back, I watched it draw one line... and then it drew another.
...What?
The Disaster Pokemon sensed my confusion and approached me once more and placed its palm on my chest again, before tapping twice.
Two lines... two taps to my chest...
Two...
Oh fuck off.
"There's two things inside of me? Not one?" I asked it just to confirm.
Absol nodded solemnly, as if my existence was a tragedy and I scowled deeply.
Was Absol even speaking about the foggy fortress? Bronzong didn't mention a damn thing about some second energy. Was it residue from touching Registeel?
Before I could further question it, Absol fully seized up and shuddered.
It gazed at me... no that's not quite right, it gazed through me and I realized it was looking at something only it could see.
And whatever that something was, it scared Absol something fierce.
The feline took a single step back before turning on a dime and dashing back into the forest.
"Hey wai... never fucking mind," I sighed with a shake of my head.
Absol was actually being helpful to me... such a shame that whatever my deal was, scared it shitless. I was getting the best answers of my life from something that couldn't even properly communicate with me.
Two things inside of me... I hazarded a guess that the foggy fortress protecting me was one of them but I couldn't even begin to tell you what the second thing was. Bronzy made no mention of anything else besides the fortress so I didn't really have a clue.
Ah well. No point stressing about it. I had a strange feeling that whenever I got close to finding an answer, whatever scared the piss outta Absol would rear its head again.
So I'd just let the answers come to me instead of seeking them out. They'd come in due time.
For now, there were more important things to focus on.
But still.
"Whoever you are, whatever you are... you're really annoying," I thought to myself.
----------------------------------------
The roller skates were very fun to use.
No seriously, even though a bike would be objectively faster, skating through Route 119 was really fun.
Besides, with all the foliage here, navigating with a bike would be annoying. I'd have to stop frequently and adjust my course.
But with the skates, I was able to move way more flexibly.
I couldn't go as fast as I wanted though because of all this rain.
From the moment I had stepped onto Route 119, a heavy downpour had befell the route that completely contrasted the scalding heat I fought Sharpedo in.
I was beginning to realize that Hoenn was a very annoying region. If it wasn't boiling hot, it was raining.
Way to exert your presence Groudon and Kyogre. Really subtle.
At the very least, it wasn't that sticky heat like it normally was and I had on a hoodie that was doing a surprisingly good job at protecting me.
That didn't mean it was doing a great job. I was still soaked and grumpy and my hair was practically rooted to my skin and my blue hoodie was practically rooted to my hair and I was in a really pissy mood because I'm pretty sure I looked like a grumpy cat.
Despite my mounting annoyance with Hoenn, I would never lie about how gorgeous the region was. The amount of foliage and nature dominating the region, made me regret not choosing this as the one I'd travel through first.
Maybe second. I definitely planned on coming back here… with less heat capturing clothing too... along with something to protect me from the rain.
But the goal remained the same. Go to Kanto and verify where exactly I was, and journey through that region while letting the heat I was going to acquire in the Hoenn region, vanish.
I wanted to battle trainers but walking around the region with a Zorua and Chikorita was just asking for unwanted attention, not to mention the incredibly rare Feebas too.
I wasn't sure about the rules of battling in this world but eye contact = battle, was definitely not the law around here.
No, when making eye contact, it did seem to initiate a conversation between two trainers but you could always deny the chance for battle. You were not obligated to accept any battle and it was actually illegal to leave a trainer with all fainted pokemon in the middle of a route.
Would lead to unfortunate things happening to a defenseless trainer. Like death. Death was very not cool so yeah, trainers needed to have at least one pokemon well rested.
I was rather fortunate that so far, the trainers on Route 119 asked me how many badges I had and when I replied 0, lost interest in battling me.
Perfectly fine by me. Incognito was my style at the moment.
I could become a battle junkie in Kanto. I'd battle everyone there and get way stronger.
For now, training and catching was my goal.
Heh, battling my first badge with almost a full team of Pokemon not from Kanto, was funny.
Was there even a Kanto pokemon I wanted to catch?
Venusaur was my favorite pokemon from that region but I had Chikorita already and I loved the little dinosaur so I wouldn't dream of replacing her.
I was also a big fan of Eevee… but Eevee's were popular with everyone.
Finding one in the wild was practically a pipe dream. They were seriously too popular and also insanely rare. If a wild Eevee was encountered, even if the trainer didn't want one, it was getting caught.
The best way to find an Eevee, was to get them from a breeder and that was that.
If I really wanted an Eevee, I could really just steal an egg in the future. Buying one wasn't cheap whatsoever. In fact, Eevee's were one of the most expensive Pokemon sold in the Kanto region.
Yeah, stealing was the way to go. It'd probably be as easy as breathing but that was for way later... I'd have to do some research probably.
I wasn't actually sure there was something in Kanto I wanted to really catch.
Hm, I guess Togepi would fill out my sixth slot for now while I figured out who else would join the team.
As for Kanto… yeah, I don't know if I'd be catching anything there but I'd definitely be on the lookout. I wasn't expecting to love Chikorita or Zorua but here we were.
Speaking of which, my Pokemon were in their respective balls while I traversed Route 119 but I had them in arm's reach in case something tried to ambush me.
It didn't look very likely though. The Pokemon in this route were very relaxed.
Hell, a giant and old looking Tropius, had caught me staring and offered me one of the bananas around its neck!
The giant grass sauropod was just such a surreal sight that I couldn't help but stare. Good thing it didn't take offense to that and instead offered me the fruit! It was pretty damn delicious.
I shoulda asked it to give me a ride to Mauville… maybe it would have said yes.
Alas, I just hesitantly pat it on the head, shuddering at the deep rumble of content it let out and continued my course.
That was awesome. I never cared for Tropius before, but now I thought they were cool.
But man, Route 119 was massive. I had been skating for the better part of an hour now and I was showing little signs of tiredness.
At least skating wasn't as exhausting as biking or running on foot. I could keep up this pace for a while.
And that's what I did. I followed the map I memorized and just continued skating through the route with a single-minded focus.
Kudos to the like 3 trainers in this route that I encountered in the midst of my skating, who were just as miserable as I was.
We just nodded to each other, finding kinship in the misery and headed our respective ways.
I was as envious of their foresight to have umbrellas or rain coats, as they were of my owning of roller skates.
"This sucks," I sighed, moving my matted hair out of my eyes and scowling as it plopped right back into place. "3 hours and the route looks the exact same."
I looked at the time and frowned.
10:13… I wasn't feeling very hungry and I could honestly keep going for way longer, but I should check up on my team and see how they were hanging in there.
Alright, yeah I'd do that.
I found a nice cover of trees and entered it to get some protection from the rain, before slowly blinking at seeing a Bellossom and Breloom in the spot I had just claimed as my own.
We had a slight stare off, before I decided it was not worth causing an altercation with two fully evolved Pokemon.
I had enough of battling fully evolved Pokemon with babies. I wasn't that crazy to actively seek it out. I was just crazy enough to understand I might run into them in my shenanigans.
"My bad," I apologized, turning on a heel and leaving the spot.
I was not in the mood for that. I just wanted out of this route.
"Bell!"
I paused at that noise and turned around to regard the two grass types with a raised brow.
The Bellossom was beckoning me over with a kind smile, patting the fairly dry floor with an inviting expression.
The incredible display of intelligence was ignored by me (I was way too used to pokemon displaying human gestures) and I accepted the offer.
I sat down and regarded the two pokemon with searching eyes, a disarming smirk on my face.
Alright, I'd let out my Pokemon later. Letting them out now, wasn't the smartest thing.
Why?
I'm fairly certain these two belonged to a trainer so I'd just play this break off as eating a quick snack and then skate some more until I reached Route 118…
I should be there soon. It would take me maybe a few more hours at my pace if I just focused on it...
"Oh! A trainer out in Route 119 is rare!"
Yup. Damn I was getting good at this.
"Ah so you're their trainer," I said, rummaging in my bag and pulling out a sandwich.
As I gazed at my sudden company, I tried to keep the annoyance off my face.
Black attire from the neck to the legs, a red-orange jacket, boots and hat… with a rope around their waist.
A ranger. League sanctioned trainers that protected the environment.
Not quite as dangerous as an Ace Trainer, the top brass of League foot soldiers, but still very annoying for a criminal like me to run into and disastrous, considering I was still new.
"Yeah! I've had Bellossom and Breloom forever now," he grinned, holding out his hand. "I'm Jackson, a Pokemon Ranger. I was doing some rounds before coming back when I saw you!"
I stared at the hand with a cool expression, chewing my sandwich in contemplation.
After a few seconds, I grabbed the suddenly awkward guys hand for a brief moment before immediately releasing it.
"I'm Aqua," I introduced, glad that my general appearance was mostly hidden. "Just wanted to grab a quick bite before heading off again," I said shortly.
If Jackson was put off by my attitude, he didn't show it. The black haired teen just laughed and sat next to his two grass types.
"I get that a lot. Since I'm one of the few who doesn't actually mind all the rain, I get stationed here often," he explained with a relaxed attitude.
I raised a brow. "Must be nice."
The cold ham sandwich didn't take very long to finish and I immediately stood up to leave.
"Nice talk but I'll be heading out now," I said bluntly, turning on heel and getting ready to actually leave.
"Already?" Jackson asked in confusion.
"Yeah, I'm in a bit of a rush and I'm tired of getting wet," I grunted, making sure my skates were well enough to keep going.
Shoutout to these skates. What a steal (heh). They were damn impressive, really durable and resistant to many of the bizarre things in the Pokemon World. Hell, it could even skate on the rocky floor of caves... or wet dirt and floor.
In the 3 hours I had been skating, the rain had not let up once. It was making me miserable and this was from someone who enjoyed the rain because it helped me sleep easier.
Clearly, Jackson wasn't keen on letting me go just yet.
"Wait kid, where are you headed? To Fortree?" He asked in curiosity.
I looked at the slight worry on his face and contemplated lying but realized I could potentially get something out of this.
"Mauville," I informed him. "And don't call me kid. I already told you my name," I added harshly.
His eyes widened at that and he completely ignored my biting tone.
"You're headed to Mauville? That'll take another day or two at least and it's gonna be raining the entire time!" he told me.
"I'll survive," I said with a roll of my eyes. "I've already been going for 3 hours and I only stopped for a quick snack. It'll be easy enough."
He really didn't like what I was saying.
God being a kid sucked. I don't even remember how old I used to be anymore and I don't actually remember being older than 12 but I had to have been because being treated like a child was insanely annoying.
Or maybe this was a thing all kids hated.
Wasn't it weird knowing at one point you were older than 12… but now you can't remember being anything else but 12? What a conundrum.
This body combination was so weird. No one told me it would be so difficult, most times it was rather seamless.
"…" The ranger looked conflicted. "Alright, how about I let you ride my Tropius to Mauville? Free of charge. It wouldn't sit right with me letting a kid who isn't prepared for this route travel it."
Oh I wanted to punch this asshole in the face so badly… but I wouldn't... yet. Jackson was his name right? Yeah if he was still alive by the time I came back here, I was going to remember him.
Instead, I raised a brow. "I won't say no to that… but you don't plan on coming?"
Jackson shook his head. "I'm not on break for long. I had Breloom and Bellossom look for a decent spot for me to eat in peace before I scout out the area."
I nodded in understanding.
"Alright, I'll accept that offer… thanks," I said reluctantly.
This was too perfect to let up. It would speed up my travels by a whole lot and I could skip Route 118 and the rest of this route.
Jackson smiled at me good naturedly and I resisted the urge to scoff.
I missed Joy, everyone in this world was too nice for their own good.
----------------------------------------
"Alright, normally I should be with you, considering you've probably never flown before but Tropius is an expert. Never remove the harness until the flight's over and you should be fine."
I nodded, glancing at the harness like it were a strange entity.
It never occurred to me that I'd need to use a harness to ride a flying Pokemon… but it made sense. Someone probably fell off their own flying type and died like an idiot for not having a harness.
Pft.
Despite my neutral expression, I was excited to try this… riding an actual flying type? What an exciting experience!
Who knows when I'd get to experience something like this again. Probably not for a very long time.
Hell yeah I was gonna enjoy it.
I kept my grip firm on the hardy Tropius as it flapped it's grassy wings once and took to the skies.
I glanced down as the grass type began ascending off the muddy ground with wide eyes.
"Tropius head straight to Mauville and drop him on the outskirts then come back, we'll be doing routines as normal!" Jackson called out.
"Trop!" Tropius nodded seriously.
"Thanks for the help I guess," I said begrudgingly.
Yeah, thanks for helping my terrible lifestyle easier. Great job accomplice. I'll make you proud by completing both my remaining missions.
"Don't mention it, Aqua! It's the least I could do," the ranger waved at me, as Tropius took off into the air.
"!" My eyes widened as the rush of wind and rain hit me and my startled yell was drowned out by the downpour.
Tropius wasn't the fastest, but it still flew at enough speed to stun me!
Holy shit! This… was awesome!
I didn't even realize I was grinning wildly as Tropius soared over to Mauville City because the sensation of flying was one of the coolest things I ever experienced.
For once, I felt like the giddy little kid I actually was and I felt a real grin form on my face as the rain vanished, making way for a warm breeze that would have messed up my red hair, if not for my blue hoodie being matted to my head.
Flying like this, so freely with the air brushing against you… a plane could never replicate a feeling like this.
The ground beneath me shifted in a blur as I clutched the grass type and I marveled at how fast we were going, compared to the day and a half the original trip would have taken.
I wonder how fun flying would be with a faster pokemon. Tropius weren't well known for their speed…
In fact, despite how exciting this was… as I got used to the sensation, I realized that this was one I had felt before.
...I guess I had gone flying on a Pokemon before and it was yet another memory I couldn't remember.
Hm… Ah well. I'd have my own Pokemon fly me around eventually. Not anytime soon, but eventually.
After about 30 minutes, I began rummaging through my Pokedex again.
Fun fact, you know how in the games, whenever you entered a new route there would be a little indicator at the top telling you what area you were in?
Well, that was actually a feature of the Pokedex. It was a neat little thing that came with the map, as well as the option to download a map of the region you were in.
I already had Kanto and Hoenn downloaded (Johto was the default download), so whenever I entered a new area, my Pokedex would vibrate and that same indicator would pop up.
It was nice how this world was trying it's best to logically translate the oddities of the video games to here.
Like how there were no random giant boulders or trees that would block your route until you got an HM.
HMs didn't even exist in this world! The moves still did, but they weren't gated by such things like unforgettable disks. That would just be stupid now wouldn't it?
But I digressed. Since I still had some time left, it was time to review my notes and improve on them for what I was doing in Hoenn.
I caught Feebas, my shy and lacking in confidence fish and Zorua and Chikorita already got along well with her. She was going to be a great addition to the team and I grinned wildly at how… somewhat smoothly that part of my plan went.
Now… I already mentioned how this wouldn't really compare to my next two goals so I wouldn't lie and say it got easier from here.
First, I'd cut through Mauville City, head to Verdanturf and go through Rusturf Tunnel so that I could make it to Rustboro City where I could begin my first goal.
What was that? Well, it was making an enemy of the Stone Family, of course.
How? By getting myself a nice little Beldum.
It was no secret that the Stone Family had a monopoly on the Beldum family. Why would it need to be secret?
The Stones ran Hoenn. This was practically their region in terms of business because of how much the region benefited from their inventions. Even other regions benefited greatly from them.
They were like the Silph Co. of Hoenn due to the massive success of Devon Corporations.
Not to mention, they didn't just run it business wise… the heir to Devon Corporations, Steven Stone (apparently he was no longer heir), happened to be the strongest trainer in the region and was Hoenn's champion to boot.
Needless to say, the Stone family were not to be trifled with and no one even thought twice about outwardly messing with the business and battle savvy family… until now at least.
Where did all their success come from?
The behemoth known as Metagross.
The steel type pseudo, was clearly not given justice by the video games because in this world being better than a supercomputer, having ridiculous psychic powers and wielding incredible physical strength by virtue of being a steel type, was kind of a big deal.
Metagross were titans and somehow, the Stone family had a majority of them. They offered the Steel types protection from people who would love to get their hands on them and they in turn offered the Stone's their power.
When you were formidable and being protected by someone just as formidable, poachers would find a hard time getting their hands on you so there we almost no attempts.
I sighed.
First time for everything. I was really trying to set a precedent.
Why was I going through all this trouble to get Beldum? Potentially making an enemy of all of Hoenn?
Well, I wasn't a person who wanted a lot of things but when I wanted something, I'd do a lot of things to get it…
And Metagross was my favorite Pokemon. There was no world, where I wasn't going to attempt to get my favorite Pokemon of all time.
So yeah, I'm not moving from this stance no matter what. I would be getting a Beldum one way or another…
As for my final Pokemon… let's just say the reason I was potentially making an enemy of all of Hoenn wasn't because of just Beldum.
Heh, turns out in this world, there used to be people who ruled Hoenn way back in the past.
Draconids were their names.
Now, I didn't know a damn thing about Draconids… but apparently they were a fierce group of savages that loved Dragon types.
Go figure.
Wanna guess who their favorite dragon to use was?
Yeah… it was Salamence.
Wanna guess what dragon type happened to be my favorite?
…
Yeah… it was Salamence.
Metagross, Salamence and Milotic were my 3 favorite Pokemon from my favorite region. Pokemon Emerald was probably the game I loved the most growing up so it was only natural I'd love some of the main hitters… but goddamn why did two of them have to be guarded by such important people?
I actually contemplated capturing a Trapinch instead. Flygon was also very cool and it would be much easier to capture than a Bagon... but Silver, and by virtue me, really, really hated Flygon.
Just the mere thought of catching the Ground type filled me with a nauseating amount of disgust.
Actually, I didn't seem to want a single ground type pokemon. I thought I liked em but guess not.
Even Mamoswine who I had liked earlier, was suddenly not something I wanted.
Guess it's a good thing I caught Feebas, Swampert was part ground after all...
I was getting off-track. Focus.
As you can imagine, getting a Bagon wasn't going to be a cakewalk either. After raiding the Stone residence for a Beldum, I'd immediately move North to Meteor Falls and set up camp there for a bit until I managed to snag a Bagon.
If I managed to piss of some Draconids? Eh, who cares. Apparently they didn't even have much of a standing in Hoenn anymore so their word would be empty nothing. They just skulked about in Meteor Falls, gate keeping Bagon and whatever other dragons they had their hands on.
I sighed again at how protected some of these pokemon were.
What this world just didn't seem to get, was that I would be getting what I wanted. I refused to settle for anything else. Once I set my sights on something, I'll do everything to get it.
But it wasn't all bad. If things went bad, I already had a plan to get myself out of it.
...After all, I already had the two perfect suspects to frame.
I smirked wildly and glanced down at my all blue outfit.
Poor Team Magma and Aqua, making an enemy of the Draconids and Stone Family before you could even debut. I bet they'd be real confused about this in the future.
But what were they gonna do about it? I'd love to see the villains plead their cases about how they were being framed.
This way, if they did plan on starting their scheme early when I wasn't ready, people would be wary of them from the jump.
A criminal org doesn't just start from thin air after all.
Now… how I was possibly going to play off having a Beldum? It's not like the Stone Family had a monopoly on all Beldums. They weren't exclusive to the Hoenn region but this was their preferred region.
Hm… There were trainers out there with Metagross that they probably didn't get from the Stone Family. They weren't very common, but I could pass off as one.
...I pursed my lips and nodded to myself.
I could throw people off my trail using the Magma/Aqua design long enough but to truly avoid getting exposed, I needed to remain completely anonymous.
No face, no features, hell not even a Pokemon to trace back to me.
I cursed myself for using the Pokemon Center in this region but it was fine. Kanto should be able to hide my steps well enough and the fact that Pokemon of all kinds could be in any region, worked out great for me.
Well, I'd figure out the complicated details in the future after completing my goals. For now, I'd need to put 100% focus into actually getting them.
No time for anything else.
Beldum and Bagon would be mine no matter what.
----------------------------------------
"Thanks Tropius," I said kindly to the Tropius, shooting it a thankful smirk as it dropped me off at the outskirts of Mauville.
Hey, asshole I may be… that was only to humans! Being unnecessarily dickish to Pokemon, was no better than hating a dog for no reason.
Unless they deserved it of course. I wasn't that nice now.
Tropius rumbled deeply at me and nodded before wasting no time in heading back to his trainer.
I watched it go into the air and vowed to fly way more when I got the opportunity to do it on the regular.
The flight reduced the day walk, to just two hours and I grinned in satisfaction at how much time was saved.
Maybe being nice to people would do me favors. If my less than stellar personality was giving me a Gym Leader and a Nurse as my only friend, along with a free ride to the city...
...But I didn't want to be nice. It was annoying and a lot of these people were inherently annoying too. I had no intention of being nice to any of them.
Yeah forget that noise, I'd reserve my pleasant side for my team. They could have all the niceness and that would allow me to be an unabashed asshole.
Sounds like a good enough deal for me.
The rainy weather of Route 119 was gone, replaced by the familiar heat and sea breeze that I was now associating with the Hoenn region.
Honestly, it wasn't even terrible, so long as I wasn't dressed in my preferred long clothing.
I sighed in suffering, as I completely hid my striking red hair and made my way to Mauville from Route 118.
Unlike my previous thoughts from earlier, I wouldn't stop at the Game Corner to steal some TMs. I had more things to focus on than unnecessarily risking myself.
I was actually getting very confident in my talents that I lost and I was sure I could nab a TM and get away with it… but I've had enough of unimportant detours.
No more until I completed my mission. It was time for me to fully lock in.
Mauville City completely dwarfed Fortree in terms of size. The area looked more akin to the Mauville in Generation 6, being an indoor city and it was very impressive how they managed to handle it.
The two cities were complete opposites to each other. Whereas Fortree had fully immersed itself with the nature around it, Mauville fully embraced the technological aspect of humanity.
Everywhere you looked, you'd see something powered by electricity. Hell, electric types lingered around the area as well. My eyes widened in visible interest at seeing a seasoned trainer walking around with an Eelektross of all things.
What a cool pokemon. I wouldn't have complaints if I ever caught the Electric eel.
Too bad I wouldn't even be staying even a day in the city but I already rationalized it with saying I'd fully explore Hoenn in the future.
This was just a sneak peek for me.
Every crevice of the city was packed to the brim with people and pokemon alike and I bit back my scowl of annoyance as I rudely pushed through the crowds.
If Mauville was this bad, I'm glad I didn't stay in Lilycove. This was aggravating.
After pushing and shoving for what might have been 20 straight minutes, I let out a sigh of relief as I finally reached the corridor that would take me straight to Route 117.
The Route connected Mauville and Verdanturf to each other. It wasn't nearly as big as some other routes, so it wouldn't take me long at all to reach the next city if I just ignored everyone and kept it pushing.
117 was rather unassuming, with it's most notable feature being a Pokemon Day Care that nursed Eggs into Pokemon or took in abandoned ones.
It didn't have the same features as the one from the games which made sense. Trainers just abandoning their Pokemon to a daycare sounded fairly inhumane and would probably get your trainer license revoked.
There were also way more Daycares in general over in this world. It was a staple for Pokemon Breeders who made their living off selling young or abandoned Pokemon to a new home.
Chikorita had actually been hatched in a Daycare. All Professors had a link to one that specialized in hatching the starters for their trainers.
But I had no business with a Daycare at the moment. I already had an Egg anyways.
The buzzing of Volbeat and Illumise dominated my hearing for a bit and I gazed at the swarm of them with uninterested eyes, making my way through the route.
While not as much as Mauville, there were still a healthy amount of trainers out here.
While the seasoned trainers understood my haste as me not wishing to battle… Not everyone was as intelligent.
"Hey! Wanna batt —"
"Not. In. The. Mood," I said harshly, moving past the eager kid with a stern frown.
That had been the fifth person to ask me and by now I was getting seriously fed up with it.
While I did want to battle more to increase my experience, I simply had more things to prioritize at the moment and I did not need to reveal my team to random strangers just yet.
I'd have to make do with battling wild Pokemon and training for now.
I saw the person flinch, caught off guard by my tone but I ignored it completely and kept my pace.
Verdanturf wasn't too far. Another five minutes and I'd make it there, then I could head straight through Rusturf Tunnel before arriving to Route 116.
Honestly, I could probably get a Beldum by the end of the night if I kept this pace…
Yeah a night infiltration would be perfect for me. I worked best in the night.
With that, I continued my quick pace to Verdanturf and continued the draining task of rejecting battles.
Note to self, invest in headphones and find some type of music I could enjoy here. I hope it wouldn't be too cringe inducing listening to what the people of this world made.
Oh just wait until I became an active battler. I'd make people think twice about challenging me for the hell of it.
But that was for later, for now it was time for me to briefly take in the views of Verdanturf and continue speedrunning Hoenn.
Verdanturf was a quaint town, far smaller than both the cities of Fortree and Mauville which thankfully meant way less people.
I sighed in relief at that.
"Should I eat a quick snack? Nah… I'm not that hungry," I thought to myself.
One thing I noticed is that I could weather my hunger very well. Even if I was a bit hungry, it wasn't really noticeable unless I went hours without eating.
Why a 12 year old like me could weather his hunger so well? I wasn't sure but I could hazard a few guesses.
Weathering hunger was something you did when you were in college and struggling to get by.
Silver was not in college.
It was probably his upbringing.
I'm beginning to think I had been attempting to get away from my abusive parents. It would explain why I had none of their contacts.
I suppose it wasn't too surprising. A kid attempting an act of thievery at 12 on something as important as a Pokemon Lab, couldn't have possibly been raised right.
But whoever did raise me gave me balls of steel. I had to salute myself for getting one of my very first Pokemon from a lab…
Praising myself was weird but eh, someone had to do it. My skills from the first first heist to now, were night and day. I had been honing them since I landed here and it was paying off well.
If I attempted the heist on Elm's lab again, I'd be in and out without making a single noise. I'd probably be halfway to the next city before anyone realized anything went amiss.
Hard work really did pay off. Helped that I was innately talented too.
It was time to truly put my skills into action.
----------------------------------------
Rusturf Tunnel was the first cave I was entering since landing in this world and thankfully, it wasn't as massive as caves like Mt. Coronet or, the soon to be entered, Meteor Falls.
No it was a fairly small tunnel that was simply used to connect the east and west sides of Hoenn to an incredibly effective degree.
Imagine if I had to go through Slateport, take a ship to Dewford, then take a ship to the outskirts of Petalburg and finally walk my way to Rustboro.
I'd be in Hoenn forever at that point. Might as well have done the Gym Challenge because I'd have visited 4 cities with gyms… 5 if I decided to take a break in Petalburg.
Thankfully I did not have to do all that. I could just take this tunnel to Rustboro then take it back and head to Slateport so I can sail to Kanto.
Seemed full proof.
Seeing as I was finally in an isolated area, I found a nice little spot and sat down in the tunnel, before releasing my team.
Three flashes went off and I regarded my team with a small smile.
"Sup guys," I greeted, pulling out a sandwich that I was planning on scarfing down later.
They all greeted me with excited noises and I felt my smile widen a bit.
"We're almost at our first mission you three. Since I want to prioritize stealth, it'll be Zorua and I for the job alright?" I informed them, pouring up a bowl of food for them all.
I wanted to learn their best diets soon. After my realizations, I wanted to give them the optimal options for their kind.
Maybe that's why the team limit was set at 6 (fun fact, there was no way to actually enforce this. Trainers just had a lot of integrity). Raising Pokemon probably wasn't cheap… that would also explain why people were type specialists. Just easier all around to raise.
It made a lot of sense… but man was that boring. I much preferred variety in my life.
"Zor," Zorua nodded in affirmation, scarfing down his food quickly.
"Ko," Chikorita grumbled in agreement, not looking too pleased but understanding why.
"Bas," Feebas agreed easily.
We had given her the rundown and she didn't seem opposed to it… but did Pokemon raised in the wild really even understand things like that?
I doubted it. Feebas was probably content to do whatever I asked of her.
"Are you fine outside of the water?" I asked her curiously.
"Fee!" my water type nodded vigorously.
In the water, Feebas were actually pretty fast but out of it? Yeah, it wasn't really anything impressive.
Just the fact she was able to operate outside of it, was enough for me though. She did not need to be fast or anything, just needed to take a hit and dish it back.
I'd figure it out soon enough. For now, I'd let them eat and discuss tactics with Zorua.
But first…
My Pokemon watched me stand up with curiosity and I began the process of removing my mostly dried blue clothes.
Folding them neatly, I placed them to the side and pulled out an all red outfit this time.
Long pants, red shoes, red and black gloves... complete with a hoodie that hid my face fairly well and was, you guessed it, red.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the color red… but all red? Damn these guys were ridiculous.
Placing the entire outfit on, I gazed down at the mock Team Magma design and nodded in satisfaction.
It probably wasn't a perfect 1 to 1, but the dominating color of reds was all that really mattered.
Perfect, the hoodie was protecting my peculiar silver eyes as well.
I looked at the time and pursed my lips.
6:29 P.M… The walk to the other side of the tunnel would take about 40 minutes and from what I learned about Hoenn, it typically got dark around 8.
Alright, it's showtime.
I ate two sandwiches that filled me up good enough and deposited my discarded clothes and the food bowls of my Pokemon into my bag.
Then, I returned Chikorita and Feebas (I had to promise Chikorita that she'd be apart of the next heist... whenever that was) leaving just me and my starter.
Zorua's relaxed features (it was a far cry from the first day I saw him… I'm glad I was making him more comfortable) sharpened to something far more serious.
It kinda reminded me of myself.
"Remember the plan?" I muttered to Zorua, opening up my coat a bit and allowing him to jump in so he could hide until it was time.
We had been running through it for a while now and his presence would be invaluable.
"Rua," Zorua nodded easily.
"Good. In and out with a new teammate. Stealth is a priority. If we get spotted, we're probably captured in an instant," I smirked, body thrumming in anticipation.
There was just something intoxicating about this rush. I wasn't the type of guy who committed crimes because that was too troublesome and the risk wasn't worth it.
Who knew the adrenaline could be so addicting?
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The Stone Family owned a gigantic acre of land that resided in the dense forests of Route 116. It was fairly close to Rustboro City, where Devon Corps primarily operated and the leader of the corporation, Mr. Stone himself, lived.
Gigantic might have been putting it nicely. They were utterly loaded and it showed. I must have just reached the entrance and I didn't know where it ended.
Night had fallen by now and I sat on a tree branch as I inspected the outskirts of the Stone residence…
Maybe I should call it the Stone Territory. That seemed more fitting.
Despite the night sky hiding my features, I still opted to put on a mask that fully hid my features.
The piece of black porcelain was rather comfortable and probably not intended to be used for the purpose I was using it for but hey, I wasn't fact checking that.
There was a gate that served as the cutoff between Route 116 and the Stone Territory and it was almost as tall as the branch I was sitting on.
Keyword, almost. There was a reason I chose this tree.
Without any hesitation, I deftly leapt atop the gate and balanced myself on it, before landing on the stone beneath me without making a noise.
Odd seeing the grass just get replaced by stone but I wouldn't question it too much.
Zorua, who was tucked in my coat still, took place atop my shoulder and immediately wrapped me in an illusion as I swiftly began moving forward.
I wasn't quite sure what I was looking for but I'm sure the deeper I went, the more clear my answers would be…
And clear they were.
My eyes widened in awe as I made it deeper into the territory and saw loads of Beldum and Metangs just mingling about, doing whatever it was they did.
Night time didn't seem to hamper the Steel types at all as they moved about.
This was perfect! It was almost like Christmas came early!
As I gazed at them, eyes glinting in clear interest, I noticed that they weren't all the same size.
Makes sense. Chikorita had been growing bigger by the day so it made sense that not all Pokemon were the exact same size.
The Pokedex entry on weight and height must have been the average for the mentioned Pokemon.
I wonder if Chikorita's sudden growth were signs that she was going to evolve soon?
It was a thought for later. For now, I needed to think about how I was going to approach this.
There was no way I could handle all the steel types in a fight and even though their numbers certainly played a big part… the biggest reason I had zero interest in a direct altercation, was due to the single lone Metagross looming in the back.
Glowing red eyes peered through the darkness and roved over the area, glancing past my spot without indicating it noticed me here. It was impossible to tell what the behemoth of a pokemon was thinking but I just admired it.
God, Metagross was so cool. That's why I needed to do this. I wonder how many of the fully evolved steel type were in this area?
The main building to the Stone Family was a lot further ahead, to the point where I could only see the lights of the, probably, massive building.
I wonder just how many Beldums resided here? Considering they could probably breed with each other, probably a lot.
Perfect.
If I'm right, this was probably some type of line of defense. There were more Metangs here than Beldums and that single Metagross looked rather formidable (even a freshly evolved Metagross would crush me in seconds).
I didn't make a noise, as I snuck past the first line of steel types with silent steps that I had been working very hard to achieve.
It was working out well because the psychics didn't even glance at me.
Dark types were amazing. It was no wonder criminal teams used them so often. Zorua's illusions (and the fact he was on me) was naturally filled with dark type energy and that not only hid me from the eyes of people, it hid me from the mind of psychics too!
"...But it's not smart for me to stay in one area… wouldn't a psychic be confused if it couldn't feel a certain place? Does it even feel the environment around it? Food for thought…"
At the very least, that train of thought wasn't biting me just yet. The Metagross hadn't stared at any spot I was in for long and I thanked the stars for that.
As I traversed the mix of grass and pavement, I noted that there seemed to be more than just Beldum here. It was dark so I couldn't quite make it out but I did see some sleeping silhouettes.
A cold thought went through my body.
"What if Steven Stone is here?" I thought in horror.
But as quick as the thought came, it left and I shook my head.
If the champion of the Hoenn region were here, I think I'd have gotten caught before even entering the area.
I even planned for this somewhat. Steven Stone visited Rustboro very rarely. The only time he visited apparently, was after exploring Meteor Falls.
Considering he was the champion of Hoenn, he didn't have much free time either. I doubted he would spend his free time visiting this place and from my other world knowledge, I knew he had a private home in Mossdeep so he likely stayed there in his free time.
If there was one thing I understood from this world, it's that everyone was far too naive.
Maybe naive was too harsh… the best way to explain it was that, they didn't have the same amount of pessimism and paranoia as my other world and maybe that was for the better.
Yeah that's the best way I could put it. Despite being much darker than I expected it to be, there was still a level of naivety that the people of this world seemed to naturally have.
It was like watching a movie and questioning where the common sense was, but I lived in the movie now and I was the only one wielding said common sense.
Even Joy was naive in a way despite being an asshole.
Guess that worked out well for me.
It must have taken me 10 minutes of exploring and walking past a plethora of the Beldum line, to finally find what I was looking for and I grinned wildly, as a predatory gleam entered my eyes.
There, all by its lonesome in a part of the forest, was a bright blue Beldum, red eye gazing at nothing as it did… whatever Beldums did?
I didn't know the average size of Beldums but it looked pretty small (was it young?).
I felt an immediate rustling in my coat, as Zorua locked in on his opponent, before climbing out of my outfit and landing silently on the floor.
Without even waiting for my orders, Zorua cloaked himself in dark energy and rocketed off with the effects of Hone Claws on his red stubs.
I smirked proudly as Beldum let out a startled noise from the Pursuit, right before my starter began clawing into him.
Like the assassin I was raising him to be, the stealth attack was over as soon as it started and I snorted at how anticlimactic Zorua made sure his battles were.
He was swift and efficient, having a no nonsense stance as soon as he got into it.
Serious right as soon as battle started… weren't dark types supposed to be the opposite?
I shrugged. Whatever, this was the perfect outcome for me. If Beldum had put up a fight, can you imagine what would happen to me? The more unaware everyone was, the better for me.
Beldum never even knew what hit it and the super effective attacks from Zorua, swiftly knocked it unconscious.
Without any hesitation, I grabbed the Great Ball I stole from Elm's lab and tapped it against Beldum, watching the red light absorb him, while glancing around to see if anyone caught that.
I wasn't sure if the Beldum's could communicate with each other but if they could, Zorua should have stopped that before it could start.
It was perfect.
The Great Ball shook heavily and for a moment I thought disaster was about to befall, as I remembered how infamously terrible Beldum's catch rate was.
But thankfully it settled down after a minute and pinged in success.
Catching a pokemon was actually pretty easy. You just had to beat it into submission and knock it out and it was practically a free catch!
Was that fucked up? Everyone else did it, I wasn't gonna suddenly have morals to question whether it was right or wrong.
I gazed at the Great Ball and delicately grabbed it, before placing it gently on my belt.
Zorua's stance loosened and he leapt back into my coat, smiling up at me and immediately cloaking me in his dark energy again (I think? I couldn't see).
I affectionately ruffled his tuft all while swiftly evacuating my spot. Those few seconds Zorua was off me, could have gotten me sensed by any of the pokemon there.
Did I ever mention how much I loved Zorua? He was the perfect starter and I'm glad I had him.
I headed directly north with the illusion wrapped around me, ensuring no one was on my tail or suspicious of my actions.
It was all done without a hitch. I just raided the residence of the most prominent figures in the Hoenn region and captured one of the strongest non legendary Pokemon.
I grinned madly the moment I finally made it off the Stone Residence and let out an almost delirious laugh after an hour of finally holding it in.
HELL YEAH! I WAS AWESOME!
After the absolute disaster that was New Bark Town, where Zorua saved my ass, I made a vow to my pride that I would hone my skills until I was better than Silver originally was.
I wasn't sure what the measure really was… but I think this is better than anything he had done before so I'd take it.
I just snuck past an army of psychics and took one of them right under everyone's nose… and no one was the wiser.
It was likely they'd eventually find out, Metagross was an incredible pokemon and Beldum's in large clusters tended to be in a hivemind kind of thing… but for now, I was in the clear.
And now, it was time to finish my journey in Hoenn with one more capture.
"Good shit, Zorua," I said affectionately, grinning at the Dark type who was looking at me with wide eyes. "Just one more and we can go to being regular trainers."
Zorua nodded before hesitantly climbing my shoulder and placing his head on my cheek.
I gazed at my starter and raked a hand against his fur.
"C'mon, let's head to our next location. I wanna tell Chikorita and Feebas the news."
"Zor!" Zorua nodded.
Once I had stepped out of the forests of Route 116, it put me directly into Route 115. If I just continued walking north, I'd eventually make it to Meteor Falls.
Much like previous things I encountered, there were no convenient obstructions that blocked early access to Meteor Falls until far later into the journey.
No, you could easily head there from Rustboro City and that was the plan.
I grinned violently, full of confidence as I marched towards Meteor Falls.
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