"Why do I have so many of the same outfits?" I thought in annoyance, stifling a yawn as the morning sun attempted to blind me.

It was about 7 in the morning and the only reason I knew that, was because I had pulled an all nighter doing some studying.

I was expecting to be more tired, but I was doing fairly well for myself.

Currently, I was rummaging through my bag and trying to get a feel for things in there. Not only that, I was sorting all the items as well in this technologically impossible bag.

While sorting everything out, I came to some pretty logical conclusions.

A lot of these things I owned, were not stolen by Silver. Based on my account, I was just really well off for the time being.

Based on my heavy amounts of research last night, many many notable trainers had a sponsor. Whether it be a clan, like Lance or a professor, like Gold and Crystal, exceptional trainers were normally being supported by someone that saw their potential.

Naturally, there were exceptions. Pokemon Trainers were not a dying breed. Almost everyone became a trainer because quite frankly, it was the dream career.

But not everyone had the talent for it. Those who didn't, could still go on journeys of course but they very likely didn't get sponsored and had to rely on their own resources to make do.

Now the differences between being sponsored and not being sponsored weren't that big… the gap just widened depending on what your benefactor chose to do for you.

If you were born into a wealthy family, you were practically sponsored from birth. They'd get you just about any pokemon you wanted, fund all your travels, make sure you're always stocked up…

It was pampering. Too pampering. Trainers born into wealth, typically became strong but they never became exceptional.

The money would help them reach a high level, but they often lacked natural talent.

Rich kids didn't have much respect around here… it was kinda funny.

There were exceptions but this tended to be the norm.

Some people got sponsored by gym leaders. This was typically preparing them for joining the Pokemon League as Ace Trainers or becoming a Gym Trainer for them.

Hell, some were even outright planned to be successors for the Gym. It was mostly aspiring specialists who got sponsored by Gym Leaders and truly exceptional ones, even got scouted by the Elite 4.

Professors like Oak and Elm, gave their sponsors one of the vaulted starter pokemon and some provisions to get started off, then took a largely offhand approach.

From what I gathered, you could find the starters in the wild but they were fairly rare and tended to prefer specific areas.

Not to mention, the starters given out were specifically bred for trainers. They were often better than their wild counterparts and raised in an ideal environment to boot.

Finally, there were cases like Champion Lance Wataru and Steven Stone. The two strongest trainers governing the regions I was currently interested in.

Kanto and Johto were actually heavily into clans. It wasn't as common as back in the days but I didn't really care about the past to search that up and just knew that it simply died out as time passed.

Something about a war. Maybe I'd look into that… but probably not. I didn't have time to search up history when I barely knew what was happening in the present.

But I digress, Lance was still apart of a rather prominent clan called the Wataru Clan, that resided in Blackthorn City, and had a good relationship with most dragons, the most prominent being of course, Dratini.

When you had rule over dragons, it made sense that they were still a clan.

Naturally, Lance had been sponsored by his clan and as the most promising trainer of his generation, it was natural they gave him one of their prized Dratini.

Cue, dominance.

Not only was Lance given one of the best starts a trainer could ask for, he was genuinely a talented trainer so it was natural he took over the region with nary a problem.

Steven Stone wasn't apart of a clan, but he may as well have been. He was born under the biggest corporation in Hoenn and Devon Corps practically ruled the region on the business side.

Not to mention… just like how the Wataru Clan had quite the stranglehold on most Dratini… the Stone Family practically had a monopoly on the Beldum line.

That must have been the reason why you couldn't find any Beldums in the wild when playing the Hoenn games.

The only one you get, is because of Steven himself handing it over.

Steven was sponsored by Devon Corps and his father ran the corporation too. I didn't need to say anymore.

Cynthia Shirona, was one of the trainers who hadn't gotten sponsored by anyone of note. She had an average start and clawed her way to the top of the world with sheer skill alone and a hungry little Gible.

Fitting for the boogeyman of most Pokemon players life.

Now why did I explain all of that?

Because I'm pretty sure Silver was sponsored at some point by someone of note. I'm not sure what the story behind it was, but I was almost certainly sponsored by a person and for reasons I didn't know, I abandoned that position.

I didn't know who it was… but I was way to well off in a way that thievery just wouldn't solve.

Hell, the reason I came to that conclusion was because I had a portable stove! I was currently munching on a breakfast burrito and the heat was doing a great job of burning my tongue and keeping me awake.

Off to the side, Chikorita and Zorua were chowing on their own food I had prepared for them.

I stared at them in contemplation.

Looking at it from the perspective of my revelations, it made sense that I had Zorua now and he was so talented. My sponsor must have given him to me but Silver was a greedy bastard and wanted more.

Respectable. If he had the skills, might as well abuse em.

That begged another question. Did my sponsor not know who I was? Why did they become my benefactor? Was Silver even good at pretending to be in a person's good grace?

I doubted it. I was barely able to hold a civil conversation with that middle aged woman yesterday. Trying to do it for a prolonged period was hell.

So my sponsor was likely someone who knew and cultivated my bad habits and if they did that, it made sense that I eventually decided to escape from them.

Was it that masked man from the mangas? The one who kidnapped Silver and Green?

No... I don't think so. Whenever I thought of someone, my body would instinctively react if I knew them and thoughts of the Masked Man brought up nothing.

That must have meant it was Giovanni and Team Rocket...

I would have only thought it was just Team Rocket but I harbored a hate (and fear) for Giovanni too so he was involved in some way.

So Giovanni himself took a vested interest in me and became my sponsor? That had to have been the only explanation.

It would explain everything but it made me feel kind of bad for Silver if it was true. He does become a better person later on in media, so maybe he had always been a good person but got turned into a piece of shit.

But why Silver? Was it because I was born in Viridian?

I was missing something important here... But Silver was gifted so it's not that surprising that people were interested in him.

Hmm. I didn't have anything cluing me in except for emotions but surely there was some information somewhere? With this knowledge, it would probably be wise for me to avoid Kanto... but I wanted some answers because I was tired of being confused.

Well, I'd dwell on it later. The only reason I had even started this train of thought, was because of how many convenient items I had in my bag that improved my livelihood.

Food, a tent, clothes… Hell I even had things for bathing… though unfortunately, a portable shower did not exist.

Still, Silver was very prepared.

I couldn't get over how this bag just defied the laws of physics with how many things were stored in here. The most egregious thing about it, was the fact that the weight didn't even register on my back.

It was pretty neat. It even had a compartment for storing Pokemon Eggs.

Thanks whoever dunked me into this world. I had no interest in walking around 24/7 holding an incubator.

"Zorua, Chikorita. Let's train until it's time to go. We won't be able to for a bit until we've gotten to Olivine so let's put some effort into this one."

My two pokemon barked affirmatively and got to work, while I cleaned up our temporary base.

No news of Mr. Pokemon had gotten out yet, which led me to believe that he was still unconscious but that wouldn't be for long.

With any luck, if they made the connection with Elm's lab, they'd suspect that I was heading through a pretty linear route through the Johto region.

It would give me more then enough time, considering Olivine was so far away.

Gold and Crystal still hadn't reported me and I was beginning to think they wanted a crack at me themselves so they could bring me to justice or whatever nonsense.

I frowned at that as I slipped into my workout routine.

The fact of the matter was, Gold, Crystal and I were the trio of the Johto Region that started their journeys at the same time.

That meant we'd always be relative in skill. Not only that, Silver was on the back foot because unlike Blue, he didn't become Champion before his rival.

I don't even know if Silver competed against the Elite 4.

Sure, Silver and Gold were far more relative in the Manga but I was beginning to think the only thing Manga related, were the characters we were.

Coupled with the fact the both of them seemed competent? This wasn't the Johto games, where the main character is a prodigy of a trainer, while the other gender is largely useless.

No, in this one Gold and Crystal seemed like they knew their stuff. I don't know which of them is in the position of main character status but knowing my luck, I was in a nightmare scenario where both of them were relatively equal.

Two future champion level trainers hunting me down… it didn't matter if I became a champion level trainer, 2 on 1 was still 2 on 1.

Leaving Johto was for the best. I may have gotten my win against Gold now, but who knows what could change.

The only thing somewhat reassuring, was the presence Team Rocket had in the Johto region. It was a fair amount but the criminals operated in mostly Kanto.

What did this mean for me? We probably weren't in the video game timeline.

At the time of Gold and Crystal's journey, Team Rocket should have no influence at all in Kanto, while operating dominantly in Johto due to being disbanded.

No Team Rocket meant I was probably dealing with a version of those two that weren't directly ripped from the video games which was especially ideal.

Game version of Gold and Crystal = Instant game over for me if we ever meet again.

That's why I was so set on leaving Johto. I don't know which universe of this world I'm in but I'm beginning to think it's some weird mash of various forms of the media.

I saw some things that supported this being the game world, saw even more things supporting this being manga. Hell, maybe those new locations I learned about came from the anime.

I froze completely.

Oh no… The anime.

Was the reason that Red did not exist in this world… because of the actual existence of Ash Ketchum?!

Oh no no no. Personal grievances for that dumbass aside, Ash Ketchum's world was horrific.

This world already proved to me that it had no qualms showing me the darker side of Pokemon that only the manga deigned to show. If they applied that to the anime, everyone was in for a lot of trouble.

After all, Ash Ketchum was a legendary magnet and I for one, did not want the thread of life and death, being decided by some idiot.

Chosen one my ass. If I was hesitant to go to Kanto before, it was gone. If Ash Ketchum existed, I needed to monitor and make sure my goals of staying alive, were maintained.

Maybe I wasn't in a world with him. Maybe Ash Ketchum doesn't exist and in this timeline, Red is just starting his journey at the same time as me for whatever reason.

I'm 12 in this timeline instead of 10 like in the games… maybe he really didn't exist.

I let out a suffering sigh.

Oh who am I kidding? Ash Ketchum totally exists in this world doesn't he?

----------------------------------------

After brooding for a while with the knowledge that I probably existed in a world with both Ash and Gold (I don't even know where my hate for Gold came from, I actually thought he was fairly cool back in my own world but now I can't stand him… somewhat), I decided to stop being emo and got back to work.

I didn't really fancy meeting Legendary Pokemon, but if I wanted to decide my own life, I probably needed to make sure whatever life ending event Ash causes, doesn't affect me.

Besides, a Legendary probably dropped me in this world. The most logical guess would be some twisted teamwork between all of the Sinnoh legends for some reason.

How would I even garner an audience with Arceus? What would I even learn? Would I even want to go back?

No point thinking about it right now. Maybe far into the future but by then, I imagine most of what I knew about my old world would be gone, considering I was assimilating with Silver.

Legends were a trip and now I was in a situation where I probably knew what disasters they'd cause, so I'd have to try and stop them.

I couldn't help the small shudder when I thought about the calamities known as Groudon and Kyogre.

Hopefully, the timeline was kind to me and Hoenn's catastrophe was not about to start anytime soon. That one was probably the one I wanted to happen the least.

At the very least, in this world… Legendaries were just that, legends.

There was no recorded trainer with a Legendary Pokemon. I didn't know if that was true, but I imagine a trainer holding a legendary, would make waves around the world.

For now at least, no trainers like Tobias or the Pyramid King, Brandon, who still existed in this world mind you, were waltzing around with legendaries.

Good. Normal Pokemon were already dangerous. I had no clue how powerful legendaries were, but something told me the gap between them and a normal pokemon, was a lot larger than the games or anime made them out to be.

I was currently camped out in the forests like usual. People didn't go off route, like at all. I assumed it was because of the more dangerous Pokemon that hid in here, but besides that grumpy Victreebel (that had given me a scare of my life), the stronger Pokemon were content to leave me alone.

I doubted they'd be as friendly to me, if I were in a forest that wasn't right outside a human settlement.

But this was good. It was building experience. I was already getting used to camping out and I imagine it was something I was going to have to get increasingly familiar with.

I sighed. My life really wasn't easy right now. I'm just glad I actually had preexisting knowledge on this world. I had been quite the fan as a kid.

Hell, the reason I wanted to go to Kanto was because I played those games enough times to wear out the cartridges.

If either Kanto or Hoenn of all regions confused me, I was doomed to navigate this world with misinformation that could screw me harder than not knowing anything.

But if they didn't, I could give myself quite the advantage.

I huffed and wiped the sweat off my forehead, checking the time in the process and seeing that it was 9.

I still had a good bit of time to kill and I wasn't really interested in going into Cherrygrove, so I might as well go even harder with training.

"Chikorita, Zorua. Spar with each other," I decided. "Try to utilize your new moves. Afterwards, let's talk tactics and plans moving forward."

My two pokemon looked a bit surprised by that but recovered admirably, stopping their respective training in order to prepare.

"It's a friendly spar and don't worry, I have potions. Since Chikorita won't be battling another trainer for a while, she should get experience with you," I explained to the two.

Zorua and Chikorita both o'd in realization, before nodding to me and getting in their stances.

"I'm not giving out orders. I don't want you guys to solely rely on my orders. Especially you, Zorua. Since you'll be all about trickery, having me announce all your moves would be stupid. In the future, your judgement will be just as important as mine."

It was gonna take a lot of work, but it could be amazing if it worked like I wanted it too. Mixing in fake orders with real ones, raising paranoia… based on what I was catching, Zorua was probably not going to be my strongest Pokemon but damn it if I don't make him one of the scariest to face.

Zorua and Chikorita squared off with competitive gazes. They assessed the others and no doubt, were running through plans on how to best approach this.

I watched with clear interest. Zorua and Chikorita got along pretty well with each other.

Chikorita was indirectly encouraging the dark type to be more relaxed around me and she also respected that he was my first Pokemon too.

It was odd to see them glaring challengingly at each other.

"Begin," I said calmly, narrowings my eyes in preparation to analyze the battle.

Chikorita wasted no time summoning razor sharp leaves that she launched at her opponent.

Zorua's eyes narrowed slightly and he deftly moved to the right to avoid the Razor Leaf, before shrouding himself in dark energy and lunging forward at incredible speeds.

Chikorita had no time to react to the attack and she let out a squeal of surprise as Zorua bashed into her with Pursuit.

The few seconds it took her to recover, let Zorua leap back and he dodged a wild swipe of her vines.

He began dancing around the vines attempting to grab him with surprising dexterity.

"Zor, zor," Zorua said mockingly to her, causing Chikorita to growl in annoyance.

Without even realizing she had been caught in the rudimentary Taunt, Chikorita began shooting out an admirable amount of Razor Leafs that Zorua deftly dodged.

So caught up in her annoyance, Chikorita didn't notice that Zorua got clipped by a Razor Leaf without any reaction.

She soon found out why, as the dark type banished his illusion from his position behind her and leapt with that familiar black energy.

The pursuit slammed into Chikorita once more and she yelped, tumbling across the ground before getting up and growling.

"That's enough," I said, pondering the rather one-sided affair with a thoughtful expression.

I could already see how that was going to turn out. Zorua was much faster than Chikorita was and she could barely react to him. He was just going to keep repeating that until Chikorita couldn't keep up anymore and fainted.

It would have worked too. Chikorita didn't have the answers yet to deal with a style like that but she would have it eventually.

Chikorita looked a little put out that I called the match but I put a hand on her head reassuringly.

"Don't worry. What I saw was enough for me to help you guys improve," I muttered with a contemplative expression.

She nodded hesitantly and I decided to show her what I meant by pointing out her issues first.

"Chikorita, you're too slow," I said bluntly. "You react slowly, you move slowly and Zorua took advantage of that. On the bright side, you can take a hit but fast opponents will eat you alive if we don't work on that now."

She flinched back at my assessment and I felt a little bad for her.

"Hey, don't worry. We probably won't be able to make you really fast, but if we can improve your reaction time and the speed of your vines, you can slow them down. In the first place, I want you to control the pace of the fight so their speed won't matter when I get you where I want you," I reassured.

The Meganium line weren't know for their speed and were rather slow up until they actually reached their final evolution and even then, it wasn't super impressive.

I didn't want to focus on her speed though. I just needed to make sure she could react to opponents that did focus on speed and then neutralize them while weathering all the blows in the process.

It didn't matter how fast you were when there was nowhere to maneuver or no way to hit their opponent.

"I want you and Zorua to train together sometimes. Just try and catch him while he's running full speed, alright?" I asked.

This would incentivize Zorua to get even faster as well and then Chikorita would want to capture that faster version. It was a win-win that would help them continuously grow with each other.

Chikorita pondered that, before nodding in determination.

Satisfied, I turned towards Zorua. "You did good," I praised the dark type with a contemplative expression.

"We need to work on your power output because its lacking. Just waiting for evolution isn't satisfying enough. I want you to be strong before it, so that evolution enhances that."

I have no idea when Zorua was going to evolve but I believe that I would begin to see signs when the time was coming.

But that didn't mean I couldn't get started early. If Zorua got strong as a Zorua, he'd be ridiculous as a Zoroark.

Simple maths.

Now the best way to increase his power output, was to increase how much dark type energy he could use.

How to increase his storage? It was like training muscles. Wear it out completely and let it rebuild!

That was the same with all Pokemon actually. It was actually pretty fascinating and I vowed to research some more later.

"Alright you two, I want you to use your moves until you can't anymore. While you do that, we can start talking boring stuff," I decided.

We still had about 4 hours and 30 minutes left, best to make it worth it.

"Alright, let's talk about you twos roles on the team first," I muttered.

----------------------------------------

At about 12, we bathed, cleaned up camp and I returned the exhausted Zorua and Chikorita to their balls.

I yawned tiredly, as I made the trek to Cherrygrove. Not even bathing in that cool water had much effect besides a temporary shock.

Seems like the effects of pulling that all nighter, were catching up to me and I slowly trudged back to the town with a lazy expression.

I scratched the visible parts of my red hair (the rest was stuffed under a hat right now) and marveled at the unique color.

I still didn't understand the specifics of this body takeover, but I was beginning to suspect that it wasn't a full takeover like I had initially thought.

To be frank, I was too comfortable with everything Pokemon related in a way that didn't fit how long I've been in this world.

Not to mention that stunt from yesterday, the one where I realized I subconsciously saw myself as Silver and it had leaked into my actual thoughts.

I was beginning to think I was some weird mix of whoever I was before and Silver. It was getting increasingly easier to apply the things I could do in muscle memory the more I practiced.

It almost felt like I was relearning skills that I forgot. A slow process but much easier than I was expecting.

As I walked into Cherrygrove, I headed straight to the small dock of the city.

Chatter and people filled the entire town, afternoon heat being amplified by just how many individuals were bustling about.

I scowled as someone bumped into me and shot them a ferocious glare.

The annoyed person, who looked like they had been about to say something, shut their mouth and briskly walked away, getting a scoff out of me.

Good to know that I wasn't the only one who thought these silver eyes could be unsettling. Silver had a great set of features for intimidating people, that would only get better with age.

At my pace, I made it to my destination in around 10 minutes and couldn't help but sigh at the salty breeze. It wasn't one I was used to but nice all the same.

Though, I would probably get tired of it real fast.

I approached the burly sailor there and flashed my ticket without any hesitation.

He grabbed it out my hands and inspected it before nodding.

"Room 302. It'll take half a day to make it to Olivine," he said simply, beckoning me forward.

I nodded and walked past him. Stifling another yawn, I gazed at the ship I'd be boarding with an impressed expression.

It was big. Much bigger than I was expecting it to be too be honest but I supposed most things were bigger to accommodate Pokemon and what not.

The white ship with a flexing Poliwrath designed on it, might have been one of the corniest things I'd ever seen but I wasn't going to judge... more than I already had.

The main deck was nice and spacious, but I didn't take long to admire it, opting to head straight to my room instead.

"300… 301…" I muttered, barely sparing the people on the ship a glance.

I nearly let out an audible sigh of relief as I saw my room and wasted no time entering it.

The room was very spacious, able to probably house a team of 6 as long as multiple were not above human size.

I took my sneakers off and placed them to the side, before leaping on the comfortable bed without any hesitation.

Before the lull of sleep could claim me, I let out the worn out Zorua and Chikorita and they blinked at the feeling of being on top of a mattress.

"Make yourselves comfortable," I muttered, yawning and shutting my eyes. "I'm going to sleep. If you aren't sleeping and I am when we arrive to Olivine, wake me up."

Zorua nodded after a bit, while Chikorita squealed and leapt into me, getting comfortable herself.

The dark type watched the two with an exasperated expression, before trotting along the bed and joining them.

----------------------------------------

"What do you think of Silver?"

Chikorita perked up at that question and regarded Zorua with a tilted head.

They were both laying next to the slumbering body of their trainer, when Zorua had randomly sprung that question to her.

She liked Zorua. He was playful but had enough sense to be serious and he was nice to her too.

"Silver's awesome!" Chikorita gushed eventually. "He's nice to me and he actually picked me before Toto and Cynd! I never thought that would happen!"

Zorua wasn't so sure it was intentional that Silver picked her, but after seeing the other two… he also agreed with his trainer that Chikorita was for the best.

"What about what we do?" He asked curiously. "You really don't have a problem with it?"

"I don't really care," she admitted. "Silver's nice to me so I'm satisfied! If he wants me to do something, I'll do it!"

Zorua pondered her response.

Yes, Silver was nice to her. Silver was nice to the both of them… but that wasn't how Silver used to act.

His trainer was cold, cruel and didn't show 20% of the things his current Silver did.

Current Silver was far more open with his emotions and while he was still cold and rude, that didn't apply to Zorua and Chikorita anymore…

It was strange. His personality hadn't done a complete 180, but it had done enough for Zorua to understand something had changed within his trainer.

There were many times when he could see glimpses of the former Silver… but it was never directed towards them.

He wasn't as talented as the old Silver and he seemed to realize that too, working on reaching that similar level.

Who was he?

He smelled like Silver, he looked like Silver… he acted like Silver, he was Silver… but he wasn't Silver.

Zorua looked at the sleeping redhead with a confused expression.

"What about you Zorua? You've been with him for a long time so what do you think of Silver?" Chikorita asked curiously, burrowing into his body and getting their trainer to grumble a bit, before he rested a hand on her.

The grass typed sighed in bliss, preparing to fall asleep.

What did he think?

…Truthfully, Zorua much preferred this version over the other Silver. He had a better personality and was improving in the skills he lost, quickly.

Not to mention, when giving them advice and training them… that was when he was most like Silver but it didn't feel bad at all…

"I think he's a great trainer," Zorua said eventually, making his away atop the teen with a pleased expression. "With him, we'll get really strong."

"I think so too," Chikorita said sleepily. "Next time, I'll beat you," she muttered, falling into slumber.

Zorua snorted and closed his eyes too.

If Silver remained like this, Zorua would have no complaints.

----------------------------------------

Olivine City looked far more like a port city then the games made it out to be.

By that, I meant the port itself was gigantic. If someone told me it took up half the sizable city, I'd wholeheartedly believe them.

My ship was just one of many coming in that day. Boats of all sizes were everywhere. Some went in, others went out and I couldn't keep my awe down at seeing just how much there were.

Some ships completely eclipsed the one I had rode here and I wasn't even sure ships this size existed back in my old world!

The trip from Cherrygrove to Olivine hadn't really been eventful at all.

I spent the majority of it sleeping and when I woke up, I grabbed food, headed back into my room and continued doing a lot of research on this world while Zorua and Chikorita lazed about.

There was just so much foreign info about this world but at the same time, I couldn't help but be fascinated by it all.

After all, my world didn't have supernatural creatures fighting each other as sport. Pokemon Battling was the most popular sport on this planet by a landslide and its only real competition were Contests.

This world revolved around Pokemon and everything, and I mean everything, involved them in some way or another.

It's no wonder Silver was able to break into the lab. People relied so much on Pokemon simple little things like security cameras, were not the norm.

Why use a camera when you could use a psychic type. Why Elm didn't use one himself? I didn't have the slightest of clues. Maybe it was the typical naivety and lack of common sense most fictional worlds had.

I wouldn't be surprised.

Whenever I had free time, I usually spent it researching more on this world and honestly, I think my Silver half was playing a huge part here because I was understanding and retaining it all fairly easily.

It felt like I was jogging my own memory and I was very thankful for that, else I'd have yet another difficulty in my already hectic life.

I sighed as my ship docked into the city and wasted no time getting off. Scowling a bit at the annoyance of it all, I headed straight into the building that handled traveling and made my way to the counter.

A pretty girl stared boredly as I approached. Her eyes perked up in interest and she stared at my face for a while, before coming to a realization and losing whatever interest she had.

I paid it no mind. I knew I was good looking and that was that.

"Are there any boats headed to the Hoenn region?" I asked bluntly.

She blinked, either caught off guard by my straight to the point attitude, or the contents of my question.

"One second…" she pondered, gazing at her computer. Her fingers deftly began moving across the keyboard and she pursed her lips.

"There's a ferry scheduled for Hoenn in 3 days time. That's the closest we have," the lady informed me after a moment.

3 days… that wasn't great but it was way better than I expected.

"How much?" I asked.

"5000 Poke," she smiled at me.

I rummaged in my bag for the necessary amount and pulled out the funds, before handing it to her and accepting my ticket.

The fantastic thing about this world, was that travel was fairly cheap. It wasn't in high demand because any trainer worth their salt, could travel by flight or water with a Pokemon.

If their prices were ludicrous, people would just stick to Pokemon. I read around that you could even pay some trainers to surf, fly or hell, even teleport, with their Pokemon.

Though, teleporters were usually sanctioned by the Pokemon League. It probably didn't stop illegal teleporters from running their business, but teleporting could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

Ferries were pretty damn cheap and considering how far the trip was, 5000 Poke wasn't bad at all.

I didn't really know the currency conversion, but I know for a fact 5000 Poke was not 5000 dollars. It was way less. Like 50 bucks?

The girl typed some more on her computer before nodding.

"Show up in 3 days before 11 am. You will be given the necessary lodgings on the day you're boarding and the trip should take another 2 days," she informed me.

So 5 days in total… Great. Even more studying.

I sighed. Time to use these 3 days to train since we'd be cooped up in our room the entire time.

"Alright," I said, turning away and heading out the building.

As I made it to the doors, I noticed a pile of maps, that highlighted the more notable places of Olivine and grabbed it.

Smart. Put a map for anyone who lands here so that they could milk you of money.

The salty breeze hit me as soon as I walked out, but I ignored it in favor of inspecting the map.

"I should stock up on provisions."

I had plenty of Potions and Poke Balls from my trip in Elm's lab and considering I wasn't comfortable enough to enter a Pokemon Center, it was a good thing I did.

Pokemon Centers… I had yet to actually step in the incredibly important building, huh. I hadn't really battled anyone after my fight with Gold so I wasn't pressed and entering a Center could be very risky.

Not to mention if they saw Chikorita… Yeah, it seems I'd be waiting until I landed in Hoenn to enter a Pokemon Center.

Which meant taking it easy. We would focus on training up our fundamentals and current moves in the meantime.

Learning all these new moves were cool… but this wasn't the games. I couldn't just tack on a new, stronger move and life was sweet.

No, this world wasn't as static. Mastering the moves they knew, could allow them to get full value out of it and have an easier time learning new moves as well.

So for now, I'd have Zorua and Chikorita learn the moves I designated for them, then they could work hard to master them.

It would help with conserving and expanding their stores too. The more they mastered, the easier it would be to use, the less energy they would spend using it.

Hopefully this was the way to go. I was just basing this on theory and that one quote about being more afraid to face that one guy who practiced one kick 10,000 times over the dude who practiced 10,000 kicks.

Fundamentals were important in everything. I doubted it would be different here and training was actually really effective.

So more training, more studying, more ships… I found myself cringing in discontent.

I needed to make it to Hoenn quickly so I could fill myself with some excitement.

After all, my plans there were pretty crazy.

But if it worked… if it succeeded!

On the topic of Hoenn… I just realized I was in a port city and I'd definitely need something for one of my specific goals.

Gazing at the map in renewed interest, I found the location of what I was probably looking for and headed there with renewed vigor, realizing I probably needed to buy even more stuff than my original goal.

----------------------------------------

One thing I needed to get used to, were my capabilities.

My mind was just not used to the skill I could exert at times and it showed while I was ransacking these stores.

I was very cautious and paranoid, second guessing myself a lot...

But the doubt was very much not needed. I possessed unreal athleticism and prodigious skills in espionage.

After about the third store, I realized that they weren't letting me get away with stealing... they just simply did not notice my efforts, even when I got particularly bold.

It... was kind of ego boosting as hell... With the help of Zorua (who was hiding in my jacket), I was taking things almost effortlessly in their faces and I was steadily getting more and more confident as I built up my daylight robbing skills.

My abilities were swiftly improving and I attributed that to the fact that my and Silver's minds were steadily melding further and further.

Despite the events of Newbark, I operated this body like it had always been mine. There was no discomfort at all and my skills had been picking up at speeds that indicated I simply forgot how to do things.

Case in point, the fact that I was comfortably stealing from these places.

The only problem was that, as mentioned before, part of my mind and body weren't matching very well. The part that lacked the psychotic levels of confidence to steal a Pokemon from a well respected figure with no disguise on, then walk around the entire region without a care in the world.

No, I was a lot more cautious then Silver had been and it must have reflected in the way we operated our more nefarious dealings.

Silver wouldn't have knocked out Mr. Pokemon was my bet. He would have slunk around the whole house arrogantly, while stealing right under the man's nose.

But I immediately went and knocked him unconscious, not willing to even risk his suspicion.

I supposed as I reached the skills that this body used to have, I'd reach that level of arrogance... because Silver's personality was seeping into my own without me even realizing.

As time went by, it did seem as if I was becoming Silver himself and I wondered if there would be a day, where I fully acknowledged myself as the original of this body.

It was strange. Despite still clearly being influenced by Silver, it wasn't invasive or uncomfortable... half the time, I didn't even notice my other halfs influence, but it was fairly prominent and seemed to only grow more prominent as time passed.

Did my other half have an active thought like mine? Was I stifling him?

...I don't think so. I don't know what happened to Silver but if we truly did merge... he probably didn't exist anymore.

No... that probably wasn't true.

He was just probably me and I was him... I wonder if these thoughts weren't just mine. Maybe they were ours.

This was awkward to think about and a little strange too... I should go clear my mind.

I had finished getting all the provisions I needed in preparation for Hoenn and the constant buzz and popularity of Olivine was a little insufferable so I was going to go find a spot to relax and train in.

Hopefully something out of sight. I didn't want to be bothered at all during my stay here.

----------------------------------------

"Oh... I didn't expect anyone to be here!"

I wiped the sweat off my brow at that and stood up to inspect the person who said that.

Chikorita and Zorua were a ways away to train without killing me unintentionally and I narrowed my eyes slightly, thankful that they weren't in the immediate vicinity.

Why?

Because this goddamn person I was talking too, was probably able to very easily capture me if I raised even a little bit of suspicion.

"Who the hell are you?" I said loudly, making sure my two companions could hear me.

I said it mostly for them because I already knew who this was… at least I think I did.

Long brown hair, a teal dress and a large ribbon covering her chest…

Wasn't this the gym leader of Olivine? Probably one of the more forgettable gym leaders in the franchise.

But I knew her though. This was Jasmine. Of course I knew her because she was the first steel type gym leader introduced and Steel happened to be one of my favorite types.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be rude," Jasmine said with a flushed expression, bowing to me politely.

Now you're probably wondering why I was convinced she'd capture me in a split second…

"I'm Jasmine, the Gym Leader of Olivine and this is Empy! It's nice to meet you."

...The 6ft tall Penguin glaring down at me in a superior manner, was the reason.

To make matters worse, 6 Poke Balls were nestled neatly on her waist and I imagined she was waltzing around with an Empoleon because Steelix was a bit too noticeable.

...What the hell was my luck? I wasn't even in the city. Give me a break.

I was in a secluded area of Route 40, just training up a bit before getting ambushed by the strongest person in Olivine.

I resisted the urge to scowl and gazed at the teen (she didn't look much older than me) with a raised brow.

"Jasmine? The Gym Leader? What are you doing here?" I asked curiously, frowning at having my area invaded upon.

She smiled at me, contrasting her Empoleon greatly and I eyed the thing with an unimpressed expression, refusing to allow myself to be intimidated.

I had seen scarier.

...Wait, I had?

For some reason, my lack of fear seemed to satisfy it and it's glare lessened considerably.

Guess it was a respect thing. Neat.

"I have no challengers scheduled for today, so I decided to go for a walk. I like to come here because it gives a beautiful view of the sea and Empy really likes it," she explained politely.

I pondered her response with a stern frown, mulling over it.

"Don't you normally hole yourself in the lighthouse? I heard you practically live there," I asked, beckoning Zorua to my position.

Chikorita made sure to stay put but I needed to do this before she got curious and found my grass type.

Jasmine nodded and gazed at Zorua with affectionate eyes, taken by the cute guy. "A lot of ships came in today… and I don't do good with crowds. Not many people know about this spot and I even made it a little harder to find, so I'm surprised to see someone else here."

Not many people? This spot had been so easy to find and I had chosen it because of how it had no on here… What was she talking about-

Ah… I get it now. This spot actually wasn't easy to find was it... and my skills blinded me from that.

Damn it all. I invited this didn't I? Sure the timing was convenient, but it made perfect sense.

"Ah so this is your special spot... my bad," I muttered, brows furrowed.

Being somewhat courteous was probably the best course of action here. Wouldn't be good to make a gym leader suspicious of me right before freedom.

Jasmine waved her hands frantically. "Please don't apologize! It's my special spot but... I don't mind company really!"

"She's way too nice," I thought. Maybe that's why the Empoleon was with her, so no one could take advantage of this nice girl.

"Don't sweat it, I get needing to be alone for a bit," I grunted, raking a hand against Zorua's tuft and placing him on the floor. "I'm just about done anyways so have at it recluse."

Zorua trotted away and I idly watched him go, keeping my eyes on the gym leader all the while.

Empoleon spared my dark type a single glance before rolling its eyes and heading to the source of water, deeming me a nonthreat.

If only it knew… I'm fairly sure I could strike and knock her unconscious before she could summon another Pokemon.

But that was unnecessary. Gold still hadn't reported me yet so she didn't have a reason to be suspicious of me.

Zorua had wrapped an illusion around the ball I had given him and now Chikorita was secured firmly in her ball.

Now I just needed to get this conversation over with and go to an area that did not have a gym leader just randomly visiting it.

"Wait!" Jasmine said rather frantically and I paused in confusion.

She must have noticed the strange look I shot her, because a blush of embarrassment made its way to her face.

"Sorry it's just… it's not often that someone speaks so normally to me… I didn't want the conversation to end because it was a little pleasant," she explained.

I blinked before understanding dawned on me.

Right. Gym Leaders were actually massive celebrities in this world. In fact, they were probably the most popular group of people in each region, barring the Elite 4.

Popularity surely varied but Jasmine was a cutesy girl with a sweet personality so she must have been quite popular with the people of this world.

It was natural that Jasmine probably didn't have normal conversations. She may have not been very popular in my world, but that probably didn't translate very well here.

Even now, I didn't really feel that same awe. It was moreso the fact that this was a character that existed in fiction that I was able to see…

But I wasn't really the fanboy type. It was kind of annoying and embarrassing.

"...What do you want to talk about?" I said after a short while, cursing myself for being friendlier than normal.

I should have just been a dick as usual but I didn't feel like getting assaulted by a giant steel penguin and the knowledge that I was leaving Johto soon, had eased me up a bit.

Note to my future self, be an even bigger asshole than before. It had been working out pretty well for me before.

"...I'm not sure. I don't really have personal friends. I really only have my pokemon and Amphy," she admitted embarrassingly.

"...I'd call you a loser but I don't have any friends either," I snorted.

That would explain why she was so awkward.

The gym leader smiled shakily at that, still a bit at a loss on what to say.

It was getting to the point where I was silently rooting for her to think of something because this was just bad.

"Oh! Are you a new trainer?" Jasmine asked curiously.

I resisted the urge to clap for the socially lacking girl and decided to throw her a bone instead.

"Yeah, I recently started. It's just me and Zorua," I replied easily, hoisting up the little guy and putting Chikorita's invisible poke ball in my pocket at the same time in one smooth motion.

"A Zorua… I've never actually seen one before! They typically inhabit Unova but it's so far off," Jasmine awed, gazing at the dark type with interested eyes. "I've always wanted to raise a Ferroseed from that region because they are rare anywhere… maybe I should look around."

I couldn't resist the snort this time.

"As soon as the topic became about Pokemon, all your awkwardness flew out the window. It's actually pretty adorable how much of a dork you are," I pointed out with an amused smirk.

She reminded me of a socially awkward little sibling.

Jasmine's eyes widened at that and she began stammering with a red flush.

"U-Um… what about you? Why are you in Olivine? Do you plan on challenging me?" she asked curiously.

I shook my head in denial. "I'm going to leave in a few days."

She looked a bit disappointed by that but nodded. Before she could ask another question, such as my where I'd be heading, I decided to speak up.

"You got a little too comfortable with me don't you think? Are you that desperate for a friend?" I asked.

Her flinching was the only reason I realized my question was asked a bit harshly.

"Well um… how can I put this," Jasmine muttered. "It's… I've never really spoken to anyone who acts like you and it's refreshing," she admitted.

Zorua and I blinked owlishly.

"What?" I said slowly.

The gym leader was very clearly getting more and more embarrassed. She looked like she was going to die on the spot and it was such a surreal sight.

I was too curious to tell her to stop explaining though... so if she died, oh well.

"You're… really blunt and kind of rude too," she told me. "So far you haven't really held back your words at all to not hurt my feelings… It's different. Everyone else is really nice to me but it's like that because I'm the gentle gym leader and they don't want to hurt me."

"...It's just nice being treated like I'm not made of glass... it makes the conversation feel more genuine," Jasmine finished, ducking her head low to hide her face.

It's a good thing she did that because I was looking at her like she was absolutely insane.

Did this girl just open up to me 10 minutes after meeting?

"I really am in some type of fictional world because this isn't natural. Where did this trust come from?" I thought in disbelief.

"So you want to be friends with me… because I'm a dick?" I asked incredulously, raising a red brow. It was a little hard for me to digest her words because it wasn't making any sense to me at all.

What type of sheltered life did she live, where someone like me, was making this nice and reserved gym leader feel good? That wasn't supposed to be how it worked. She was supposed to be wanting to get away from me at all costs.

She flushed at my crude language and flushed deeper at my question. "Well, when you put it like that… you make me sound really weird."

"That's because you're really weird," I said bluntly, sighing at the trainer that was a dozen times stronger than me currently.

It was odd that I was having a conversation with a gym leader. To be honest, I didn't spare them a single thought because they weren't on my radar at the moment until I got to Kanto.

I especially didn't think about the Johto Gym Leaders. All of them were lackluster except for that one girl with the Miltank.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The crybaby. Wait, weren't there two crybabies in this region? The dragon girl threw a tantrum when you beat her too didn't she?

Losers. I should come back just to put them in the dirt and see the tantrums live.

Here I was, chatting it up with one of the strongest Gym Leaders of the region and she wanted to be my friend.

If only she knew.

"If you wanna be friends, sure I really don't care… but I'm not staying here and I'm not a good friend to have," I stressed with a shrug.

I didn't see the problem denying her request. I was leaving the region anyways so we probably would not see each other again. This friendship was just an honorary thing —

"You have a Pokegear or Pokedex, right? Let's exchange numbers!" Jasmine smiled at me.

…

I seriously don't even know what I expected. God was I a dumbass sometimes. I really needed to actually starting thinking more before coming to decisions.

"Yeah yeah yeah," I sighed, rummaging through my pocket and pulling out my Pokegear.

"I'm still a gym leader you know. You don't have to look so disgusted… I also like helping new trainers out so I can give you tips!" Jasmine said, pouting a bit at my grumpy look.

"The thought of interacting with other people, naturally fills me with disgust. It's nothing personal," I grunted, recording her number and glancing at her own Pokegear.

We chatted for about another hour and Jasmine took the chance to show me her team.

Magny, her Magnezone. Bronzy, her Bronzong. Fortry, her Forretress. Skarmy, her Skarmory… and Rusty, her Steelix.

I gazed at all the steel types with wide eyes, soaking in their appearances with hard to hide awe.

The pokemon I've seen so far, looked relatively normal despite clearly not being normal.

These Pokemon were anything but. They were so different from normal animals that I couldn't help but stare.

Skarmory was the only one that really looked like an animal but it was also fully decked out in steel armor that shone in the sun.

They were honest to god monsters.

"You're naming scheme is very original," I commented idly, gazing at the gargantuan Steelix with a bit of trepidation.

Yeah there was no way seeing this thing through a screen was enough to prepare you for actually looking at one.

The Steelix peered down at me, before smiling in, what I imagined, must have been gentle in its eyes, but was actually very unsettling in reality.

It was so massive, I had to stamp down the instinctive urge to shudder.

Still looked cool as hell though. Steel types were awesome.

"Please don't make fun of me," Jasmine requested with an embarrassed expression.

"Where's the fun in that?" I retorted calmly, gazing at the Bronzong in particular.

This was the pokemon that looked the most bizarre. The giant blue bell thing stared at me and it was impossible for me to tell what was going on through its head… considering I couldn't really make out its expression.

It hadn't taken its eyes off me yet and I stared back in clear interest, wondering just why it refused to take its eyes off me.

It was surreal. These guys were a lot more enthralling now that they weren't just pixels on the screen.

"Is there any steel type you're interested in?" Jasmine asked me curiously.

Oh you bet there was.

"I'm not sure. I don't really know what I want to catch right now but a steel type would be nice," I lied through my teeth.

I knew exactly which one I wanted… but I wouldn't reveal that to Jasmine because it would be incredibly incriminating.

Jasmine beamed and nodded. "If you ever need help with one, you can just ask me! Steel types are what I specialize in."

"I wouldn't have been able to guess," I said sarcastically. Forretress was currently floating way too close to me and I inspected the bug type, idly noting that Bronzong was still staring.

This whole thing was so surreal. I was just here to train and somehow, I made friends with someone who had Pokemon that could crush me by accident and not even realize it.

Jasmine's team was strong. There wasn't a hair out of place (even though none of them had hair) on their bodies and their steel armor was practically glowing in the sun.

As someone who hardly paid mind to the sixth gym leader of Johto, it was humbling to know that someone I ran through without fail every single time, was suddenly way stronger than I ever expected them to be.

"This is my main team," Jasmine explained. "You probably already know, but I use different Pokemon depending on how many badges a person has…"

They change teams depending on badges? That makes sense… it's not like everyone would start in the beginner town and make their way through the region exactly like the main character.

I raked a hand through Zorua's fur as the guy finally let his guard down and began dozing off in my hold.

"So what's the percentage like?" I asked curiously, watching as Empy finally decided he had enough of swimming to meet up with his team. "Do you get trainers with 5 badges the most?"

Surprisingly, she shook her head no.

"According to the League… Claire and I have the highest percentage of trainers with 1 or no badges challenging us," she revealed.

I blinked in confusion.

"What?"

Her and Claire? The sixth and eighth gym? They were challenged first?

Jasmine sighed in slight disappointment. "Steel types are a difficult type to deal with. Even trainers that are just reinstating their badges to reenter the Silver League, find me troublesome to deal with. New trainers typically battle me as early as possible, to deal with my weaker teams."

Her chocolate brown eyes peered at me curiously. "It's why I was so surprised you didn't want to battle me… my eight badge team uses at least one member of my main team, I only tend to get battled by specialists that counter steel," she explained.

I nodded my head at her explanation. "So are you the strongest gym leader in the region or is it Claire?"

Jasmine waved her hands frantically. "I don't think I'm anywhere near the strongest! Claire, Buggy, Whitney, Morty… Pryce… Chuck, Falkner…" she mumbled.

My silver eyes glared unimpressed at her. "Stop being so damn humble, idiot," I scowled.

She just listed all the gym leaders and she happened to have the type advantage over half of them!

The gym leader flinched back with wide eyes and her Pokemon perked up, staring suspiciously at me.

I rolled my eyes.

"Grow some backbone. Who do you really think is stronger than you? Be honest."

Jasmine stared at me for a while, clearly unsure if she should be saying this aloud and I sighed.

Great, now I was trying to make a meek and timid girl a bit more confident.

"We're the only ones here. Don't be so reluctant. Say what you really think," I pressed calmly, gently bullying her into doing it.

She wilted a bit under my gaze and I was starkly reminded of my silver eyes. I thought they were pretty cool but they could definitely be intimidating.

"I think… I can beat them all… though Claire would probably beat me more often then not… Pryce's Mamoswine is also a force to be reckoned with and gives me a lot of trouble, but I can beat his others fairly easily. Chuck has a type advantage and more experience… but my pokemon are stronger than his… and I fight smarter too so I think I can beat him... the others would rarely get a victory over me except for maybe Morty," she quietly revealed.

My brow raised at that and I couldn't help the small smirk. "Was that so hard?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Yes," she answered truthfully, staring hard at the floor.

I sweat at that.

"So you can confidently beat 6 of the other Gym Leaders… that's pretty impressive," I praised truthfully.

So Jasmine was way stronger than I gave her credit for. Maybe she could give me good pointers in the future.

But for her sake, I probably wouldn't message her much. She was a nice but naive girl and she was also setting herself up unknowingly to be my accomplice.

I was an asshole, but I wasn't that big of one. I'm not the type to get such a naive person wrongly incriminated.

"You should be a little more confident in yourself… you're doing your Pokemon a disservice by downplaying what you can do," I shrugged.

Jasmine reeled back at my words, eyes wide in a bit of shock before she began nodding to herself.

"...I wasn't expecting to get advice from a new trainer… but you're right. I should try to be a bit more confident in myself," she nodded in determination.

"Yeah, it's more enjoyable when you're not getting walked over," I told her.

"I-I wouldn't call it getting walked over… but thank you…"

The gym leader's eyes furrowed in confusion, before going wide in horror.

"I never asked for your name!" She gasped in genuine horror. "Oh I'm so sorry! That's so rude of me!"

I shrugged uncaringly. "Silver."

Might have been a mistake to tell her my name... but oh well. Getting exposed by Gold and Crystal was already the end of my slightly normal life so it lay in their hand.

"Okay, Silver! I have to go now… I stayed way longer than I expected," the gym leader told me, looking a bit saddened at that.

"Sure. See ya Ms. Seventh Strongest Gym Leader," I waved.

She flushed at that. "You're the one who told me to be more confident… why are you also teasing me?"

"Because it's fun."

Jasmine sighed in exasperation. "This is what I meant. You're so rude."

I smirked. "You're the one who wants to be friends. Haven't changed your mind yet?"

She shook her head immediately in denial. "I'll be busy these upcoming days and I imagine you'll be gone soon… so I'll send you messages or just call you… if that's okay! I can give you pointers and tips on your journey if you want."

I listened to her ramblings with a thoughtful expression.

Eventually I nodded and said, "Do whatever you want. Maybe I'll come visit one day when I get stronger and give you a good battle."

She lit up at that and I sighed.

I wonder if I had any younger siblings in either world because Jasmine very much gave me little sister vibes, which was probably why I felt the need to encourage her in my own ways.

It was satisfying to see people come out of their shell. Maybe that's why I had gone and messed up this badly.

Jasmine waved at me and her team nodded their head in respect at me, before she walked off.

"Ah... you have finally lowered your defenses slightly, Moon Eyes. You are truly strange but I thank you for assisting Jasmine all the same."

I jumped at that and blinked in confusion, jostling Zorua in my grasp and making him jump awake.

"Rua?!"

What the hell was that...? What was that tiny and broken whisper in my ears?

"It is nearly impossible for me to continue responding while you have your defenses up... but I am the one known as Bronzy."

I peeked up at that, gazing at the Bronzong floating away with wide eyes.

Defenses? What the hell was he talking about?

"While I appreciate your assistance of Jasmine, I must wonder. Just what are you? I have spent this entire time trying to understand and prod you to very little success. Just this current connection we have is incredibly fragile and requires intense concentration on my part."

What… What did he mean by that? What was he talking about?

"It would be ideal if you did not respond. You are not normal, Moon Eyes."

I furrowed my brows. There's no way I'd be unable to respond after being told I'm not normal.

"What do you mean by that?" I replied back slowly.

For a second, Bronzong completely froze up and shuddered, before it resumed its movements.

"Just the action of me communicating with you, is utterly draining. You responding in turn, is even more detrimental. If you'd so please, allow me more access so that I may enlighten you on my inquiries as quickly as possible."

More access? Was I… blocking out psychics?

...How?

I frowned and scratched my head.

How could I even give it more access? What did I have to do? Did I even want to do it?

"Try relaxing. I believe delving deeper into your mind would end up with me breaking and I do not desire such an outcome so remaining on the surface is fine with me."

I grunted and let my guard down just a little.

"That is sufficient. Now, Moon Eyes, you likely are not aware, but you are filled with otherworldly energies that makes gleaning into you, next to impossible."

My eyes widened in disbelief. Huh?

"Your mind is almost completely inaccessible. It feels as if I'm navigating through thick fog and it seems you are not even aware of the walls setup, Moon Eyes. Not only that, your voice is utterly unbearable for me and likely other psychics as well. I find it hard pressed to identify you in the same vein as Jasmine."

"I can no longer maintain a stable connection. Goodbye."

Without even letting me question it, Bronzong abruptly stopped speaking and Jasmine returned it to the ball with a somewhat confused look.

I stared at the spot it was at in disbelief, unable to process what it had just told me.

Otherworldly energies? Moon Eyes? Hard pressed to identify me in the same vein as its trainer? Was he saying I didn't seem human?

My mind had a wall that was preventing psychics from peering into it? I thought when Bronzong mentioned me not being normal, he saw glimpses of my mixed body… not this.

"What the fuck…" I muttered in concern.

What legendary had tampered with me? That was the only explanation as to why my mind seemed to have a foggy fortress protecting it.

Why couldn't I just get straight answers? This was so stupid.

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"Welcome to the Politoed Express! Here is your room and if you have any questions, one of our staff will be pleased to help!"

I grunted at the man and inspected my room with appraising eyes, nodding in satisfaction and throwing my bag on the bed.

Shutting the door behind me, I released Zorua and Chikorita immediately and collapsed on my bed with a victorious sigh.

I had finally escaped from Johto. Right now, I was headed straight to Lilycove City in the Hoenn region and I could finally begin my plans in earnest.

Despite what she had said about being busy, Jasmine found excuses to visit me twice more before I had to actually go.

Considering I had nothing better to do in Olivine, I accepted her offers to meet up and they weren't... awful.

I didn't realize how deprived of human interactions I had been until we sat down and talked.

I learned more about her and her Pokemon in the process and I actually thought she was pretty okay.

All of her team (I couldn't really tell with Bronzy, he completely stopped communicating with me) actually liked me, which was a little surprising. Empy especially, seemed to get along with me and my blunt attitude the most.

They must have appreciated my attempts to make her more confident. Most of the time, I was telling her to stop being such a pushover and to stand up for herself.

It was sort of working. She was at heart, just too nice of a person which made our friendship all the stranger, considering I was basically her opposite.

Jasmine probably had no intention of cutting me off though, despite how belligerent I tended to be. She really appreciated the fact that we were having normal conversations without me gushing over her status as Gym Leader.

That was never gonna happen. Not for anyone. I don't care if Lance himself dropped by to greet me, I wouldn't debase myself by doing something like fangirling.

Have some respect.

I found out that she was an only child who lived with her Grandfather and that her first pokemon was an honest to God Onix, followed by a Magnemite.

She was 16 years old and became a trainer when she was 12, before becoming a gym leader at 14.

Learning about the steel trainer put it into perspective, that these were real people now. Jasmine was not a fictional character anymore whose job was to throw out a mediocre team to get stomped by the people.

No, she was a competent trainer who won the Silver League at 13 years old with a team of steel types.

That increased my respect for her by quite a bit. Steel types were awesome.

I sighed for the umpteenth time and glanced at my Poke Gear, seeing one new message.

"I fought a trainer today with 4 badges! I was so surprised by that but he wasn't very happy when I took out his Machoke with Magneton. I imagine he was expecting it to do all the heavy lifting because afterwards, I beat him with little issue."

That was another thing. In this world, gym battles were a lot more challenging. Pokemon Battling was a competitive and extreme sport that very quickly weeded out people who were not skilled enough to be trainers.

Anyone could be a trainer, but not everyone had what it took to remain a trainer.

It was rather exciting to think about. I definitely wanted to try my hand against Gym Leaders so I'd keep up the training until then.

Still though, if Jasmine wasn't meeting up with me, she was texting me and it was a lot. It was hardly ever important and I tended to not send much replies… but she appreciated it all the same.

What a weird friend I made. Seems like she really needed this and this would help me not become a psycho who only speaks to his pokemon... so why not.

"Nice. Did you tell him to get good?" I replied shortly.

"No, of course not! Why would I say something so mean?!"

"Because he's trash?"

"...You are a terribly rude person."

I snorted and pocketed my Pokegear.

Hopefully the poor girl didn't realize I was a criminal. Her first friend being a thief and assaulter? Yeah she'd probably take some mental damage, especially considering her meek mindset.

Maybe we both had bad luck.

But hey, she chose this. It was on her. I doubted Gold would keep it secret forever. If he never found me, he'd probably report me.

That didn't matter to me anymore though. While Johto and Hoenn had good relations, there was no way they'd ever suspect me going there.

When I went to Kanto is when I should be concerned, but this world was largely incompetent when it came to reigning in and figuring out criminals.

It had been years and still no one knew who the leader of Team Rocket was. Not to mention, Magma and Aqua seemed to have just started up too but they weren't being suspected as criminals. I just caught glimpses of them subtly promoting themselves through anonymous accounts.

Right now, there were simply little innocent posts going around about how there's not enough land or how we're polluting the seas but nothing too radical or egregious.

They were just testing the waters so to say.

Good. I could ignore them for now. Once they became a threat, I hoped I was strong enough to deal with them. I didn't really feel like being some hero, but these idiots were messing with my new livelihood.

But I digress, I would have gone more incognito considering Gold knew who I was, but it was clear he's the type of stubborn idiot who wants to bring me in himself.

Crystal was the more worrying of the two but she did seem to defer to Gold. I doubted he would ever reveal me, but if she talked in his ear, it might make things difficult.

Here's to hoping they kept this info to themselves for the foreseeable future. I needed them to keep this up until I could defend myself.

Which meant I needed to get strong as hell. Which meant… it was time to get crazy.

Wanting to travel Kanto first wasn't the only reason I was opting to not stay in Hoenn. The reason I wasn't just choosing to travel Hoenn right now… was because the full effects of my insanity, was about to revealed.

"Alright guys," I muttered.

Chikorita and Zorua perked up.

"I don't know how long we're staying in Hoenn for, but we're catching three new teammates. Once we get them, we're outta here to the Kanto region."

"Rita!" Chikorita nodded in confirmation, pleased to go with whatever I said.

I loved this little grass dinosaur. She was a gem.

"Zor?" Zorua was a bit more questioning, proving his cautious state by wanting to glean into my head.

"You wanna know more? Sure."

I pulled out my Pokedex and showed them the three members I planned on catching. "First we're headed straight to Fortree City from Lilycove. It won't be long to reach there but our mission may take a bit. We're gonna camp out in Route 119 until we complete our mission and then we'll head down until we reach Mauville City, cut through Verdanturf and head to Rustboro from the Rusturf Tunnel. After Rustboro, we're gonna head straight up to Meteor Falls and then we're done. We'll take the first boat back to Kanto after reaching Slateport."

They both peered at my Pokedex with clear interest in my eyes, digesting my word vomit with more intelligence than some people I knew.

Finally, Zorua nodded in satisfaction and I smirked at him.

"You're both gonna be important for this. We'll be training the whole time, alright?" I informed them.

The two barked in affirmation and I pat them both on their heads.

Then, my expression turned tired.

"Time… for more studying," I sighed in despair, flipping to another page on my Pokedex.

Thank god for this device. It made studying tolerable. It was practically a minicomputer.

I knew I was right to steal one. It helped out so much.

I didn't really like studying but on the bright side, this was actually interesting information.

The downside was that, I was randomly searching things up. I didn't have a set guide on what to study so I just read popular documents or answers to questions that popped up in my mind.

Currently, I was reading a document from the Pokemon League about the conduct of a trainer.

In this world, age of requirement to become a trainer, had been increased to 12. It used to be 10 but that was quickly discarded due to the ramping criminal activities in certain regions and the age limit of 12 was widely accepted and changed for just about every region.

There were naturally some different age limits. I read that in Orre (I have no idea what region this is but it did sound familiar), the ramping crime there was so bad, that you were encouraged to have a Pokemon from as early as 9.

That region sounded like it sucked.

But I digress, that means I just became a trainer. My birthday was December 24th and it was currently January 18th.

I estimated that my trip would take about a month if I followed my plan to a T. I wouldn't be enjoying the sights of my favorite region just yet, but I'd definitely go and explore it, when it was time for me to personally deal with Magma and Aqua.

Yeah, there's no way I could let Magma and Aqua thrive in the same world as me. I don't know what the hell Ash did in Hoenn and I didn't know if the main character of Ruby and Sapphire existed (they probably did... May was one of them right?)… but there was no shot I was letting them go unchecked and I refused to put my faith in someone else.

Their goals were the most dangerous to me because they actually succeeded and caused untold mayhem by summoning Groudon and Kyogre.

And that was in the kid versions. I could only imagine what was going to happen in this world.

After I dealt with that crisis in the future, I'd go deal with that Cyrus guy next... Though letting him succeed might be in my best interest because I would want an audience with those legendaries.

Hopefully they didn't smite me on the spot.

A sigh left my lips as I thought about it all.

I wasn't a hero but these guys were threatening my life with their insane actions. I didn't trust anyone to get the job done so I'd have to do it myself…

I would just do things my way.

But like I said, that was for later. The goal was still to head to Kanto and have a proper journey so I could get a feel for this world.

Kanto was basic, simple and the region I knew most about. It would be smartest for me to glean the changes of Generation 1 and work from there, while getting stronger with limited problems... Though with my revelations about Team Rocket, I should be careful.

I sighed again.

So much to do. At least I had some prior information.

"I'm bored. What are you up to?" I messaged Jasmine.

It instantly went to read and I snorted.

"I have another battle soon but she only has one badge so it will probably be done fast. What do you want to talk about?"

"Dunno. Think of something."

"...But you asked me to talk?"

"Yeah. I did. Talk. Give me some tips on training or something."

"...I'm beginning to think you are a terrible person, Silver."

"You didn't think that before? How sweet of you."

Might as well get some pointers on training from an experienced trainer. This technically wasn't even procrastination!

I even got to torment her in the process.

A complete win win for me.

"Unbelievable… I think it would be best if I called you for tips. It would be inconvenient if I typed it all."

"...Do I have to answer?"

"You're completely unbelievable. I'm going to call you."

I sighed as my gear began ringing immediately after.

Look at her acting so assertive.

I would almost be proud, if I wasn't at the receiving end of it.

----------------------------------------

It was honestly impressive, how I could stay rooted to one spot for so goddamn long.

I had been cooped up in my room for practically the entire trip to Hoenn. The only time I left, was literally to get food.

Zorua and Chikorita had been hard at work practicing molding the respective energies they could utilize, while I balanced working out, studying and replying to messages.

On the bright side, I was actually beginning to appreciate the friendship I had with Jasmine because it allowed me to distract myself from the sheer amount of words I had digested.

At least I basically had the full idea of how this world worked. I was confident that I learned most of the important things. Naturally, it wasn't everything but I'd get more comfortable as time passed.

"Good afternoon passengers! In approximately five minutes, we will be arriving in Lilycove City, the city where the land ends and the sea begins. We hope you enjoy this hot tourist spot!"

"Shut up," I groused to the speaker, shutting my Pokedex and getting up.

I yawned and stretched, letting out a groan of satisfaction at the popping noises.

"Alright guys, we're almost in Hoenn. To save time, I'm gonna put you guys in your balls," I called out to Zorua and Chikorita.

The two of them glanced over at me. They had been having a little bit of fun with their training it looked like.

Chikorita was summoning some sharp leaves and tossing them to Zorua, who used his shoddy psychic abilities Extrasensory granted him, to stop them. Then, he covered them in illusions and had tossed them at Chikorita randomly, helping her with her senses and speed.

It was utterly genius. My Pokemon might have been smarter than me…

They had been training religiously these past couple of days and I joined them whenever I wasn't studying or sleeping.

I like to think we were all making amazing progress. The two were using their moves far easier now and I was genuinely fascinated at watching them visibly improve.

It seems like the perfecting foundations was rather smart. Zorua had demonstrated Snarl very easily and it had to have been because of how well he was molding his dark energy. He could use Pursuit on command now and it drained very little energy from him.

Hell, I even had him begin practicing cloaking himself in the energies of Pursuit and just maintaining it until he couldn't anymore.

As for Chikorita, she had managed to unlock a watered down version of Synthesis at the moment and was struggling a bit with gathering the necessary poison energy for Poison Powder. Her Razor Leaf was looking deadly and she seemed to enjoy it to a rather malicious degree.

I should get her started on Magical Leaf eventually…

All things considered… I hadn't fought a trainer since Gold but my Pokemon were still improving by a lot because training was actually really effective and I just had them battle each other.

Honestly, I don't know if I'd be fighting a trainer in Hoenn either. I couldn't waste time and the less people who knew me… the better.

That's why the past few days at Olivine I went… shopping.

Hey, I didn't steal everything I got. But I stole the things I didn't feel like paying for.

Like the foldable bike and the roller skates. Why the hell were they so damn expensive? There was no way I was going to pay for that but I needed to quickly travel through the Hoenn region and this was the easiest way.

I was only going to steal the bike… but I was curious about the skates and it got the best of me and I'm pretty sure I have unknowingly become a serial stealer.

Look at it from my perspective... I could probably use them in more areas than the bike. It would be far more universal for me!

Not only that, I stole a mask too (didn't want it to be traced back to me on the off chance someone saw it) and bought a couple of disposable hoodies and hats with actual money.

My red hair was tucked neatly away and I had on a black bucket hat, as I watched the boat dock.

Not wasting any time, I waited for the ship to dock and merged with the crowd of excited people exiting the Politoed Express.

As I departed, I took in the sights of Lilycove and resisted the urge to whistle.

Tourist spot was accurate. Lilycove was stunning. The sun was gone, moon taking its spot and the lights of the city shone in a dazzling display.

Tall buildings littered the city but I couldn't specifically pinpoint what was what and I wasn't waiting for the sun to come up to figure it out.

I glanced at the downloaded Hoenn map and nodded to myself. 3 am was a good enough time to start the day.

There were a bunch of areas and cities I didn't know existed in Hoenn. The only place that had interested me, was this place called the Valley of Steel but it wouldn't have what I wanted and the pokemon in there were known to be lethally aggressive.

I wasn't sure if they actually were mentioned in the media but I didn't care to find out.

No I had only one thing on my mind.

Everyone has favorite Pokemon. I was no exception and it just so happened that 3 of my favorites, were in Hoenn.

It was great. The only problem? Getting them was not so great.

Landing in Lilycove was the best case scenario for me. Slateport wouldn't have been bad either but this way, I could seamlessly move to my destinations without many detours.

And it started first in Route 119. The route right next to Fortree.

What was in Route 119? If this world was a little faithful to the game, Route 119 should be the home of Feebas.

Yep. The first pokemon in Hoenn I wanted, was Milotic, my favorite water type followed by Swampert.

I had to pick one and I liked Milotic more so that's who I'd go for. Besides, if I wanted a Mudkip, I'd have to rob another lab again (and I imagine the starters were already distributed) or find a "beautiful beach".

Swampert typically made their nests deep underwater near beaches and they were extremely territorial. If you tried to catch a Mudkip or Marshtomp, you'd run into mama Swampy and you would die if you weren't prepared.

I wasn't keen on dying and I had no method to go underwater either.

As for Feebas… well, Feebas had no recorded locations in this world. To be completely honest, I wasn't half sure if people knew how to actually evolve it into Milotic.

I'm sure at the very least, Wallace knew. But according to an interview he said, "Only a trainer who understands true beauty, will be able to garner the notice of a Milotic."

And that was that. He never revealed where he found one. Didn't reveal a damn thing about it besides those cryptic words.

What a gatekeeper.

Apparently his words had resonated with Champion Cynthia and Tower Tycoon Palmer, two of the only other trainers with a Milotic, and they also kept hush hush about it.

The amount of unity in this world was crazy. Anyone who knew about how to properly evolve Feebas, kept quiet about it. I'm sure more people knew how to evolve it but no one said a thing.

Unluckily for the them all, I didn't abide by those rules. I knew exactly how to get a Milotic so they could suck it.

Feebas in this world, were treated even worse than Magikarps. Not only were they largely useless, they were exceedingly rare. You can imagine that combined with the fact that not many people knew how to naturally evolve them, people had no interest in torturing themselves trying to find the elusive water type when there were so many others.

I was not as weak as those people. I was already going to do some pretty insane things in Hoenn… looking for a Feebas and evolving it into Milotic was nothing.

Milotic was a pokemon I wanted so I'd get it and that was that. But since this world didn't have a documented location for it… I'd rely on game knowledge and pray that it was in Route 119.

Now, I wasn't a person who wanted a lot of things, but when I did want something, I would stop at nothing to get it.

But I digress, catching Feebas in the games was always a bitch and a half and the fact that they were exceedingly rare in this world too, gave me hope that they were in a similar area.

After all, Wallace and Cynthia both had Milotics. It aligned well with Feebas having the same stupid method of fishing in a certain spot for both regions.

I pursed my lips as I pulled out my bike and mounted it, before beginning the trek through Route 121.

Fishing for Feebas was so annoying. They made it better in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, but in the original games it was hair pulling.

Knowing my luck, it'd take quite a bit but hopefully not too long. Littleroot was a little too far for me to commit a heist on the lab and it would completely derail my plans and increase that month long journey, into something excruciating.

But I was still pretty shocked by the rarity of Milotic. Not many trainers at all had the beautiful pokemon so information on them was scarce.

But they were insanely popular and well beloved by many people.

No surprise. It was my favorite water type for a reason.

I idly release Zorua after pausing for a bit and placed him in my black jacket, leaving his head poking out of top.

Well, I'd focus on it more after I caught it. For now, I'd bike towards Fortree city.

Route 121 was useless. The most notable thing about it, was the Safari Zone and while I was vaguely interested, I remember Hoenn's Safari Zone being infamously bad.

There was also the path that lead to Route 122 and Mt. Pyre... the location where the Red and Blue Orb were held, but I wasn't interested in those yet and I doubted I could reach them anyways.

A Ghost would have been pretty neat. Dusknoir was super cool but I needed to focus and it wasn't high priority like my others.

No detours. With this bike, I'd make record time to new areas. Whereas a walk would take me close to an hour to make it to Route 120, with this bike it was only 15 minutes.

I thanked the people making the routes so trainer friendly. Even with the fact that it was night time, some Eco-friendly lights, helpfully kept me from staying blind, as well as the ever familiar paved roads.

Route 120 was just as unnoteworthy… is what I was about to say until I remembered a very, very startling detail.

Remember how I said no detours? Well, this would be the only one. Promise. Maybe.

My plans never perfectly worked out as you could tell.

I gazed at my map with a furrowed brow and turned left at an intersection, heading up a flight of stairs and continuing to walk.

Movement from the corner of my eyes stopped me and my silver eyes darted to the right as I heard Zorua growl. Despite the darkness, I could make out white fur and once my vision settled, I saw myself staring into the red eyes of a Pokemon.

Was that... an Absol?

The moment it caught my eye, the dark type seized up, before sprinting away from me with urgency.

…

Weird... very weird. Why was there an Absol here?

Ah shit. Weren't those guys a sign that a disaster was happening? Was I the disaster?

Well, who believed in shit like that. Not me, that's for sure.

Now as for why I was here…

I glanced up at the giant rock with a curious expression.

If anyone knew what resided in here, I doubt it'd be exposed so freely to the world. After all, one of the three golems of Hoenn, Registeel, was sleeping in here.

I wonder if that stupid ass method of using a Relicanth and Wailord were still needed.

...Yeah, I wasn't going to catch either of those Pokemon so Registeel could stay asleep for all I care.

I don't really like the Regis. The only one I really liked, was Regigigas because he was an awesome mon that got sabotaged by its ability.

As for the others? Yeah nothing. Registeel was pretty decent though by virtue of being a steel type but I hated Regirock and despised Regice even more.

Out of curiosity, I got closer to the tomb and placed a palm against the smooth rock.

Did it really need a puzzle? Why not just break it ope —

LONG DID WE LIVE HERE IN THIS CAVE.

ALL THANKS TO THE POWERFUL POKEMON LIVING ALONGSIDE US.

YET, WE SEALED THAT POKEMON AWAY, ALONE IN THE DARK.

WE FEARED IT.

IF YOU HAVE THE COURAGE, IF YOU STILL HOLD TO HOPE,

OPEN THE DOOR. FOR BEYOND IT THE ETERNAL POKEMON WAITS.

I shouted in distress, stepping back and holding my head as images began pouring into me.

"Zor?!" Zorua barked in concern, jumping out of my jacket to regard me. He began nudging me but I barely registered it in wake of these sensations.

What was that? What was that?! What was that voice? What was that sudden pressure emanating from the cave all of a sudden? What were these images?

What was this pounding headache?!

I backed far away from Registeel's prison quickly due to the ominous weight on my shoulders and turned away, before collapsing after a few steps.

UNBREAKABLE. HOLLOW. METAL. PRISON. SIBLINGS. CREATOR. STEEL.

"We need to go," I hissed, unable to take this pressure anymore and trudging away with a concerned Zorua right on my heels.

Finally, the pressure on my skull abated and I collapsed on the floor, sweat dripping from my features.

I warily glanced back at the tomb housing Registeel and let out a shaky breath.

What… was that? Now that I didn't have a mind splitting headache (why did it just vanish?), I could actually think about what just happened.

Registeel had somehow imposed its presence onto me. That was the best way to explain it. I heard thoughts that weren't my own, saw perspectives that weren't mine… felt sensations that I never felt.

It was horrifying. Why the hell wasn't this place sealed off?

Wait a minute… why wasn't this place sealed off? Surely with what I just witnessed… the league understood what this rock entailed right?

...Right?

Oh god. Please don't tell me that experience was exclusive to me. Please don't tell me I was practically the only person that understood that there was a fucking Registeel just chilling in here.

Please don't tell me that for whatever reason, this Registeel guy decided to only mess with me.

...Damn it all, I was the only one that knew Registeel was here wasn't I?

What did this world want from me…

"Zorua, you didn't feel that?" I asked reluctantly, hoping that he said yes he did.

But to no surprise at all, Zorua shook his head. He just kept looking at me with those big concerned eyes.

I resisted the urge to scream in frustration and scowled instead.

Great. Just fucking great.

A psychic called me weird, I was trapped in a body that was not mine but was quickly becoming mine and now I got reached out to by a random goddamn legendary.

I already reluctantly accepted the fact that I'd be getting rid of the world ending evil teams because I kinda had to… Now an imprisoned legendary pokemon was flash banging me in my mind.

If I didn't have proof that I got tampered with by a legendary before, this was something impossible to ignore. I'm assuming whoever did this to me, made me more sensitive to them and wasn't that just fantastic?

"I'm fine Zorua, let's go," I grunted, rubbing him on the head and placing him back in my jacket.

Ugh, this was the worst. What was even worse, was the fact that even from this distance, I could feel the lingering presence of the titan.

Curiosity killed the cat never felt more apt here.

At least I was more confident on the routes having taken inspiration from the games…

----------------------------------------

I don't know the general consensus of wild Pokemon battles… but I didn't give a damn what they were.

"Chikorita! Hold it down with Vine Whip! Zorua, Pursuit to get behind then on its back!"

I was jumping if I saw it fit. No one on ones here.

A Poochyena had decided to get funny with me and I decided to let Chikorita get some battle experience by wrecking the feisty guy with a nice Vine Whip.

Unfortunately, Mama Mightyena didn't appreciate that very much and made an attempt to tear me apart specifically.

Needless to say, Chikorita had exploded in anger at seeing the Dark type nearly kill me and decided to pay it back in blood…

Unfortunately, this Mightyena was actually quite strong.

Turns out, I'm still a new trainer. Not even a single gym badge to my name… so a fully evolved Pokemon, no matter how mediocre, would still prove challenging in the long run...

If it were one on one.

Cue, Zorua jumping in without hesitation as Chikorita took a particularly vicious bite.

Now they were double teaming the furious mother to a very effective degree and I smiled at their teamwork.

A battered Chikorita growled angrily and summoned two sets of vines, before having them lunge forward to hold down the dark type.

At the same time, Zorua used the speed boost of Pursuit to lunge behind the Mightyena.

The wolf pokemon tried to turn to react to Zorua, but found that it was impossible with the vines wrapping around its forelegs, bringing it down.

Zorua, who had already channeled hone claws at the start of the battle rammed into Mightyena before jumping right on her back.

"Scratch. Don't stop," I commanded ruthlessly.

He didn't even hesitate. My first Pokemon's claws elongated and he began battering the Mightyena with unrelenting force.

Mightyena tried to fight back but the growls from Chikorita and the mounting tiredness, made it fruitless.

Eventually the onslaught by Zorua proved to be too much and the wolf let out a defeated whine, collapsing on the floor with some blood.

I sighed, clutching my bleeding arm with a frown.

Those claws were sharp. I barely dodged the attack but it still drew quite a bit of blood.

Pokemon were no joke, just a grazing hit managed to cause this much damage.

"Good job guys," I called to my bruised teammates.

"Chiko," Chikorita sighed, collapsing on the floor and nursing her wounds.

"Rua," Zorua grunted, leaping off Mightyena's back and approaching me with a look of concern. He had sustained the least injuries but the wolf managed to hit the fox with a fierce tackle.

"I'll be fine. I wasn't planning on it, but guess we'll make a stop at Fortree," I replied, rummaging through my bag for a gauze that I swore I saw.

Chikorita looked up and trotted over to me with determination on her features.

Then, she opened her mouth and released a Heal Pulse that hit both Zorua and I.

I gazed in fascination, as the size of my wound diminished slightly. It was still bleeding, but the cut had gotten a bit smaller.

The display completely rewired my interest in Heal Pulse and I gazed at my grass type in fascination.

This move had the potential to be insanely good. If Chikorita got really proficient in it…

Yeah, mastering Heal Pulse suddenly became a goal I eagerly awaited.

"We'll still head to the Pokemon Center for you both but thanks a ton girl," I smiled, hoisting up Chikorita and petting her leaf.

I recently found out that she loved getting the leaf atop her head pat. My second pokemon immediately melted in my grasp and I snorted.

Zorua glanced in appreciation at her, losing his slight limp and I returned the two of them.

After my experience with Registeel, I focused solely on making it to Fortree and didn't allow anything to distract me, up until that Poochyena.

The city was no more than 5 minutes away after 20 minutes of peddling (I was so glad I stole this bike) and thankfully, there were no Kecleons blocking the path.

Even if there were, the route was so wide it was impossible to get completely blocked off unless it was intentional.

Hooray for no video game plot obstructions.

The moon still shone above me, when I arrived to Fortree and I took in the sights city under the night light, in awe.

It was amazing in a way different from Lilycove. Lilycove was a tourist spot and the few buildings I saw embraced that aspect. There were tall buildings everywhere, a museum, a contest hall, the dock…

It was a city that I wouldn't be surprised to see in my old world but it hit different because of the incorporation of pokemon.

Fortree was nothing like that. No, they were complete opposites with the only similarities being how they embraced pokemon.

There were trees everywhere and they were so tall. I actually wished it were day time, so I could really bask it all in.

The buildings were incorporated into the trees and the homes of the people were made of wood too. They were connected by rope bridges and it allowed for ease of travel through the entire city.

The way it was so immersed in its own nature, was rather mesmerizing. I don't even know how they made it work but the fact that they did...

It was beautiful in a way my previous world would never have been able to replicate.

I nearly tripped over a snoozing Nuzleaf and barely managed to avoid waking it up, as I made my way to a set of wooden stairs and climbed it.

No video game would ever be able to capture how captivating this city was and I found myself taking in everything, only visible with the night lights.

It was such a shame I didn't plan on staying here longer. This place was incredible…

Ah screw it. I was feeling tired so let's call it a night. It was about 4:50 am so I'd book a room (they were free!) and wake up in a few hours.

Unlike the rest of the city, the Pokemon Center was almost as modern as the one I saw in Cherrygrove and Olivine, though it did incorporate Fortree's aesthetic into its design.

One thing I never mentioned, was just how the Pokemon Center looked and functioned.

They did not all look the same. In major cities, the Pokemon Center's looked more akin to hotels and Fortree was no exception.

I had never been in a Pokemon Center and I idly shivered as the cool air conditioner, contrasted the hot weather of Hoenn (even at night, I could feel the heat).

The lobby was largely bare with a lone Nurse Joy at the front desk. Her only company was a Blissey that gazed at me with a small smile.

She was reading a magazine with a bored expression and I inspected her features.

Pink hair, fair skin and blue eyes.

Certainly fit the cutesy look. If they all looked like this one, it was no wonder Nurse Joys were popular.

But did this world really have a family of people that just all looked identical and decided to be nurses? What would happen if a Joy was born a male? Were they like those Amazons in stories where male babies were either killed or enslaved?

Did all Joy's have a stranglehold on every Pokemon Center? Would I walk into a Pokemon Center and just see a Nurse Joy every single time?

Talk about nepotism. Some things never change regardless of what world you're in.

As I contemplated the oddities of this world, I moved my body to the front of the desk and waited for the Nurse Joy to say something.

Her eyes flickered over to me, before instantly honing in on the tear in my outfit and the red stained gauze covering my somewhat healed skin.

"Were you traveling at night alone?" She asked bluntly, beckoning me to follow her.

I raised a brow and did as told, trailing behind her quick steps. "Yeah. Got attacked by an angry Mightyena."

Nurse Joy pursed her lips at that. "How many Pokemon do you have?"

I pulled the two balls out and showed her. "Two. They got a little beat up but are in better shape than me."

The nurse pushed open a door to a comfy looking medical room and handed Zorua and Chikorita's balls over to Blissey, before sitting me down rather forcefully.

"Rude," I thought idly, staring strangely at her.

"You're a new trainer traveling at night? You must have a death wish," she commented with an annoyed sigh.

"Don't you just have a sunny personality?" I remarked idly, watching her push the sleeve of my jacket back.

"Night shift is for the nurses that don't feel like smiling 24/7. I happen to be one of them. Why were you traveling at night? You should have at least had a guide," Joy chastised me.

I shrugged, kinda digging the nurses rude personality and allowed her to peel the gauze off. "I didn't get attacked by anything besides the Mightyena and that was because I beat up its kid."

She hummed and gazed at my injury, before reaching for a bottle and summarily spraying my arm.

I bit back the hiss at the stinging feeling… before blinking as it quickly went away and the mark on my arm vanished.

"You managed to beat a Mightyena with those two babies?" She asked, looking impressed. "Not bad. I guess with pokemon so competent, it makes up for your arrogance."

"Fuck you," I replied instinctively, before realizing what I said and blinking. "Oh, my bad. Your shitty personality forced an instinctive response out of me."

The Nurse Joy raised a brow, looking somewhat impressed by my statement. "You have a terrible personality yourself. You haven't stopped scowling yet, even when you were checking me out."

"That's my resting bitch face," I replied easily.

That made her snort. "Most of the kids would be freaking out over an injury like this but you're not half bad… maybe you aren't as stupid as I thought," she complimented.

"I think I know the reason you work night shift now," I fired back with a smirk. "If anyone spoke to you for more then a minute, this place would get shut down for bad reception."

The pink haired woman shook her head and stood up to leave. "I've been speaking to you for 5. What does that say about your personality?"

"I'm a ray of sunshine," I retorted dryly.

"Bliss!" The round pink pokemon called out, trotting over with two balls and handing them to the Joy.

"I can tell," she replied with an amused smile. "You want a room or are you hellbent on going back on your little suicide trip?"

"Room. Is traveling at night that bad?" I asked curiously.

"One of the highest mortality rates for trainers, is getting attacked at night by a ticked off Pokemon," Nurse Joy listed like she had done so a thousand times. "That's why it's so encouraged these days to travel in a pair or group if you plan on camping in the routes. Either that or invest in Repels to ward them off."

"Huh, go figure," I said to myself. Was it really that bad? I even slept in the forests where all the stronger pokemon tended to reside in.

Besides the Mightyena and the Absol stalking me, it really wasn't terrible at all.

Actually now that I thought about it, I didn't get attacked very often.

Hm… a traveling partner…

"I don't suppose you wanna travel with me?" I asked the odd Nurse Joy.

What? She was cool. I didn't really want a travel companion at all but I could see the benefits of having one.

Though… there was no point getting one here. I wasn't staying in Hoenn anyways.

Nurse Joy burst out laughing at that. "Maybe if you asked a few years earlier, I'd say yes but I think I'll pass kid. You're not half bad but I actually like my job."

I shrugged. "Sucks. That was your chance to prove the Joys aren't a cult."

She rolled her eyes, amused smile still there, and dropped a card in my hands. "The keys to your room. You and your pokemon should be fine. Try to avoid traveling at night unless you're close to another city."

"No promises."

I heard her snort again and headed to my room.

A traveling companion… considering I was a criminal, the thought of having one never even once occurred to me.

I couldn't really go looking for one now. There were too many reasons finding one in Hoenn was a terrible idea but the main one, was that I planned on going to Kanto.

So I should consider looking for one in Kanto…

It wasn't a terrible idea. I didn't have any reason to commit criminal acts in Kanto so I may not be discovered…

But I didn't want to just travel with anyone. There was a 90% chance I'd hate them anyways.

...Should I attempt to travel with Ash if he really did exist?

I snorted loudly.

Not a chance in hell.

----------------------------------------

Fortree during the day was as gorgeous as I expected it to be. The way the trees glowed in the sun, how high they reached, the way they integrated themselves with the Pokemon in the area.

Tailows, Swellows, Beautiflys, hell I even saw an Altaria. They mingled in Fortree and no one tried to bother them at all.

It was pretty cool.

Too bad I wasn't planning on staying in the city for too long. I had already given my keycard to the kind Nurse Joy at the desk.

Lame, I already missed the asshole Nurse Joy. She was cool. This one was almost sickeningly sweet.

But that was already behind me.

It was time for me to finally begin my goals in earnest and start hunting down a Feebas.

Route 119 was sweltering hot, to the point that I immediately took my jacket off and remained in just a black tee.

Hoenn in general had a sticky heat but this was unreal. The tropical rainforest of Route 119 tended to rain more often than not and I really wish this was one of those times.

I huffed and swiped the sweat off my forehead, as I headed to a specific source of water with Chikorita happily following me.

It didn't take me long, considering the body of water stretched to practically the entirety of the massive route.

That was another thing. This route was already pretty big in the games but here, it was gargantuan.

Even with my bike, traveling from Fortree to the end of Route 119, 118 and Mauville, would take me about a 2 days if I didn't stop at all. Throw in stopping for breaks, eating food, tending to Pokemon, potential battles... the days would quickly add up.

That was insane and it didn't take into account traversing through the muddy floor with a bike...

At least the dense foliage and nature was a sight to behold. Looks like I'd be enjoying it for the upcoming days.

The beautiful and natural sights were very much welcomed by me, as I took a seat and pulled out the star of the show.

A Super Rod.

Back at Olivine, I realized that since I was in a port city, they'd probably sell the rods and I wouldn't have to rely on some freak of a fisherman resonating with me and giving me one for free.

That's not to say I didn't get this one for free. I definitely did.

What?! I was only going to use it once! Why would I spend 80,000 Poke on it?

I wasn't made of money here.

I idly released Zorua and he immediately went over to Chikorita's side so they could do light training.

They made me so proud. Seriously, I didn't deserve such great Pokemon.

"Look alive. Take turns fighting whatever I fish out," I muttered to the two.

They both nodded in affirmation and I smiled.

Feebas was an annoying pokemon to encounter and I dearly hoped it was nothing like the games. If I had to fish in a specific spot to catch this thing, I was gonna lose my mind and my temper.

But just in case, I was currently in a nice little spot, directly near a bridge and my line was resting under that bridge.

In the Gen 3 games, you needed to find a specific tile that had taught me the definition of patience.

In the Gen 6 ones, you just needed to fish under the bridge.

Hopefully, I could catch this thing and be to Mauville quickly.

My line twitched and I perked up, before an intense struggle began between the pokemon and I.

Now, I had never gone fishing before. It wasn't something that was readily available to me and I wasn't going to go out of my way to do it…

Maybe I should have tried it at least once.

I watched in disbelief, as whatever I caught, escaped from the line and my Super Rod went limp in my grasp.

"Chiko…" Chikorita snickered.

"Zor, zorua," Zorua chastised her, failing to hide his smile.

"Shut up," I demanded, slowly reeling the line back in and placing it next to me.

How… how embarrassing.

Now I had to live with the knowledge that that very well could have been a Feebas on the line and it got away.

Ah dammit.

"Hey Jasmine, how do you fish? I have no idea how to use this thing."

As expected, my message went to read immediately but I didn't get a reply until a few minutes later.

"I'm sorry. I was doing something… Why exactly are you asking me how to fish?"

"Because I don't know how to fish and you were born in a city right by the sea."

"It's very impolite to place such stereotypes on people, Silver. Just because I was born in Olivine, does not mean I automatically know how to fish. I'm a steel type trainer."

"So… you don't know how to fish?"

"...Yes, I know how to fish. One second, I'll call and explain it to you… and please, wipe that smirk off your face. Your ignorance doesn't deserve to be rewarded."

I did not in fact wipe the smirk off my face. If I did, it'd be replaced by embarrassment because I actually lost a capture…

And my Pokemon were commenting on it too.

I sighed as my Pokegear began ringing.

At least Jasmine was too nice to make fun of me for messing up.

----------------------------------------

Turns out, she was capable of making fun of me. Jasmine actually laughed at me when I explained what happened and tried to assure me that it was okay to mess up.

I made sure to shut her up by swearing such a vicious storm, that she began stammering in disbelief and stopped speaking immediately.

Good. I was proud that she was growing a spine and was so comfortable with me (honestly I thought it was too quick but hey) but I was still fuming over not knowing how to fish.

"You're terrible, Silver," she complained, face a bright red in horror.

"I know, I'm the worst," I agreed, launching the line back in the water with a look of concentration.

"Remember to set your hook after the Pokemon starts biting the bait. Don't get too eager. That was my mistake when I was younger."

I nodded my head.

In the video games, you could fish up many water types with a Super Rod. Even the ones that should be impossible due to their weight, were nothing for game logic.

It seems my world was doing its best to apply logic to things like that.

The Super Rod was made with advanced technology, that gave it its own power when fishing. You, as the user, rarely had to expend any strength. The Rod was able to lift upwards to 500 pounds, before it began showing strain and it even showed you the weight of the Pokemon you were about to reel in.

Most of the strain would come from the struggling pokemon, but the Super Rod helped heavily with the weight issue so I had to deal with the struggling.

As I followed Jasmine's instructions, I suddenly felt a tug on my line and narrowed my eyes as I locked in.

This Feebas was mine.

What followed, was a pretty intense struggle that lasted the better part of 30 seconds, before I came out the winner!

"Get over here!" I shouted with a victorious grin.

That grin was wiped off my face, as I saw the pokemon staring me down with a glare on its face.

So earlier, I mentioned how the Super Rod registers the weight of whatever was on the line. It was to help you get a good idea of what you were catching.

If I had checked the weight, I probably would have just let this capture go. I blamed my inexperience and never wielding a Super Rod.

"Good job Silver!" Jasmine praised, face lighting up on the screen as she began clapping for me. "What is it? What did you find?"

"Jasmine," I hissed. "I'll call you back in a bit."

That confused the gym leader before horror crossed her features. "Silver, are you using a Super Rod?!"

"Yes," I replied without hesitation, backing away slowly. "Zorua, Chikorita. Get ready for battle. We're jumping it. This is my spot and I'm not leaving until I get what I came here for."

"Silver! Are you crazy?! You plan on fighting it?! What are you even fighting?! HOW DID YOU GET A SUPER ROD?!"

"Now's not the time to be asking me questions!" I replied, waving my hands at my two alert pokemon. "I'll call you back!"

"Wait! At least tell me what it is!" Jasmine requested frantically.

"Oh… it's a Sharpedo," I informed her as casually as possible.

"A WHAT?! SILVER YOU'RE A NEW TRAINER DO NOT FIGHT A SHARPE —"

I hung up the phone and dashed backwards as swiftly as possible. "Chikorita, Growl! Zorua, Leer!"

"Sharp!" Sharpedo snarled loudly and coated itself in water, before rocketing out the water at tremendous speeds.

"Aqua Jet?" I thought in shock.

The Shark Pokemon crashed into Chikorita with no hesitation, making the grass type yelp as she was launched through the air.

I balked in concern, before watching her get up with a deep glare.

Two vines snaked out of her and launched at the Sharpedo, wrapping around its fin with admirable accuracy that she did not have earlier this week.

"Zorua, taunt and torment! Don't let it use Aqua Jet again!" I barked, watching the water type heave Chikorita, who was still attached by vine, through the air.

Zorua growled in affirmation and glowed with dark energy, before barking loudly.

Sharpedo let out a noise of annoyance and gazed at Zorua with murderous intent, forgetting Chikorita for a moment and honing in on my starter.

Perfect.

"Chikorita, hang tight and get on its back then keep using Razor Leaf! Zorua, get tricky. Use Leer and Snarl whenever you get the chance," I ordered with narrowed eyes.

They both barked in affirmation and got to work quickly.

Sharpedo tried to close the distance with Aqua Jet, only to growl in confusion at being unable to, then it looked as if it tried to activate some stat move, before the dark energies of Taunt came into effect and prevented that too.

Needless to say, that pissed it off something fierce.

It didn't help that Chikorita had followed my order to a T and landed on its back, before barraging it with a litany of wince inducing Razor Leafs.

One thing I learned about the grass starter… was that she had a mean streak.

The water type howled at the super effective move slamming into him repeatedly, remembering about Chikorita finally and he began bucking with such force, that it was only a matter of time before he successfully dislodged her.

I noticed Chikorita wincing before realization hit me.

"Rough Skin," I frowned deeply.

Zorua let loose a Snarl, that directly connected with the water type and only proved to further annoy it.

"Chikorita, use Poison Powder then jump off of it. Zorua, don't make direct contact with it if you can help it."

Chikorita concentrated deeply and opened her mouth, before coating Sharpedo's skin with the purple powder.

Then she leapt off the shark and dashed away to the best of her ability.

Sharpedo didn't let her get away scot-free though.

The bloodied shark snarled furiously, glowing with dark energy before it concentrated it on one of its pectoral fins.

With dreadful speed, he slammed the Night Slash into Chikorita's side and I balked in horror at the direct hit.

A red line formed on her side and I watched her tumble to the side with a squeal.

A surge of terror coursed through my body, as Sharpedo opened it's maw, revealing serrated teeth that could probably carve through metal. Dark energy began coalescing around its mouth before it surged forward to clamp down on Chikorita.

I was already reaching for the Poke Ball but I would be too slow and that thought chilled me.

Zorua growled furiously and lunged forward with pursuit, slamming head first into the Sharpedo and knocking it off course enough to make it miss.

I let out a sigh of relief and aimed the Poke Ball at my grass type, only to blink in confusion as Chikorita shakily got up and glared at me.

"Chikorita?" I questioned in concern.

"Chikorita!" She growled, fluorescent green aura beginning to surround her.

"What is that? Synthesis?" I thought to myself.

No, Synthesis used a different shade of green… what was this?

"Chiko! Chikorita!" The grass type demanded, glaring deeply at the Sharpedo.

Her green aura only got more pronounced, as she saw Zorua take a harsh Aqua Jet to his side that sent him tumbling. He lay there limply and the vicious shark turned its focus onto Chikorita.

Sharpedo had been slowing down tremendously from the poison in its bloodstream and it looked like the shark was getting desperate to end the fight and tend to its wounds.

Chikorita was clearly desperate to inflict as much pain as possible on this troublesome thing.

My mouth opened in surprise, as Chikorita began shooting out a massive barrage of Razor Leafs. The sharp leaves came out stronger than anything I saw her shoot yet and it had my brain wracking at what that green aura was.

The poison was clearly doing wonders because our opponent had no time to react, as the sharp leaves began slamming into it over and over again.

"SHAR!" It roared its pain to the world. It glared furiously at the glowing Chikorita but she was undeterred.

She began glowing in a much more familiar green and I watched the red gash slowly close up from the effects of Synthesis.

Sharpedo growled and charged the grass type, maw open wide to take a bite out of her…

Only to let out a confused noise as he chomped on Chikorita and met nothing but air.

Two giant vines slowly snaked out from the shrubbery and lunged forward, latching on the Sharpedo's fin again.

I watched in awe as the real Chikorita let out a mighty yell, before heaving the shark, that eclipsedher in size, into the air and slamming it down.

"SHARPEDO!" The pokemon cried out, before it went limp on the floor.

The limp body of Zorua faded away and my first Pokemon trotted out the giant shrubbery, panting in exhaustion as he threatened to fain. There was a nasty bruise on his side and he looked real beat up.

Chikorita trotted out right after him, green aura still covering her body. The anger in her eyes had vanished, replaced by exhaustion even deeper than Zorua's and she whined.

"Holy shit," I muttered, relief flooding through my body at seeing them well. I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a Super Potion, before tentatively spraying the both of them.

They both let out sighs of relief as their injuries began healing, but it didn't cure their exhaustion.

"You guys did incredible," I praised genuinely, patting them both as I glanced over at Sharpedo's prone body.

Now that the adrenaline was gone, I could finally pinpoint what exactly Chikorita had done.

Overgrow. Her ability. The grass type equivalent of Torrent and Blaze.

It made the pokemon 50% stronger when low on health. On paper it was useful, but you didn't utilize it often because you'd like never activate it before fainting and the starters tended to have more useful hidden abilities.

But here? With the Chikorita I was planning on turning into a tank?

Not to mention… it didn't vanish after she used Synthesis…

I was already working on making Zorua master his ability… why not do the same with Chikorita? If she could master Overgrow… the potential was endless.

So many ideas. It was actually really exciting thinking of what I could achieve.

Things were so much more fun then learning a new move with levels or competitive breeding.

It was more authentic this way.

"That Sharpedo was nuts… if we didn't fight so smart, we would have gotten destroyed," I muttered with a sigh, warily glancing at the shark.

First Mightyena, then Absol and now Sharpedo? Dark types needed to chill out. At least the Absol hadn't attacked me. I periodically saw its white fur and I wasn't sure if it was a different one, or the same one but none of them liked me at all.

Well whatever it may be, it needed to keep its distance. I had no interest in catching Absol. There were at least 10 dark types I'd prefer over it and I already had one of them.

"You guys alright? Need a trip to the center?" I muttered to the two.

They pondered the question and shook their heads.

A vine snaked out of Chikorita and she pointed at the water again, Zorua nodding next to her.

"You want me to keep fishing?" I asked slowly.

They nodded.

I blinked.

"Huh… well, let's take a break first," I said, not sounding too sure of myself.

Were… my pokemon as nuts as I currently was?

Just how much did I show for them to get this influenced by me?

...It was kind of awesome. It made sense that the Pokemon you raised up would be partly influenced by you.

The ringing of my Pokegear went off and I distantly realized it had been going off this whole time.

Oops. Well, Jasmine was a nice girl, she'd understand.

----------------------------------------

I should stop jinxing things. She did in fact, not understand.

"How could you be so stupid, Silver?! You used a Super Rod, fished up a Sharpedo and fought it? What are you thinking?!" Jasmine berated me, brows furrowed in concern.

"A Super Rod's technology is really advanced! When the line is put into the water, it emits a specialized smell far stronger than the Good and Old Rods! It's why stronger pokemon tend to be attracted by it! You should have at least checked the weight of it!"

I scratched my head (I scowled as I realized I still had the bucket hat on) and listened to her chew into me with a bewildered expression.

"Where did you get this backbone from?" I asked in confusion.

"Don't you even think about changing the subject! You are a new trainer! You should have fled as soon as you saw what you were up against! No, scratch that. WHY ARE YOU USING A SUPER ROD?!"

I winced at the volume she was taking. For someone who had become my friend about a week ago, Jasmine sure was concerned.

"I wanted to use the best choice… and I won," I retorted lamely.

"You're completely missing the point! You could have died!" The anger in her voice was gone, replaced by genuine worry.

Story of my life. Maybe I should be a bit more careful then…

After Hoenn.

"My bad, Jas. Look on the bright side… I probably won't be using the Super Rod again for a long time," I assured her.

"Oh thank goodness! You shouldn't risk using it this early on! When you have more badges and a further fleshed out team you can use it but for now, please buy an Old Rod! I'll even give you the money for it and you're fishing right now aren't you?"

"...Since when do you know me so well?" I asked, eyes gleaming in joy as I gazed at my catch.

Jasmine had been chewing me out for quite a while now and I got bored to the point where I just started fishing again.

Luckily for me… Sharpedo seemed to be the most problematic person in these parts of the water and whenever I did potentially get something that the weight checker warned me about, I just released it from the bait.

I had fished up a Barboach, three Magikarp, and a Tentacool while she took the time to tear into me.

None of the Magikarp wanted to fight so I let them go but I had Chikorita beat up the Barboach, while Tentacool was dealt with by Zorua.

It was after I threw my line near a pretty huge boulder, did I finally reap the benefits of my completely reckless actions.

"Silver, you are unbelievable. What is wrong with you? Why are you filling me with so much anxiety?" Jasmine asked in resignation.

"One of my enjoyments in life is tormenting people and I find it especially fun to torment a person who can wipe me out as an afterthought," I replied in delight.

Jasmine sighed in defeat."I worry for you Silver. Did you at least find what you want? Is that why you're not going to use the Super Rod anymore?"

"Yep," I popped the p, gazing at the Feebas on my line with a wild glint.

It certainly was shabby like the Pokedex mentioned, but being largely ignored by everyone because of it, was just an over exaggeration.

Sure its natural appearance made it look unhealthy but allegedly, Feebas had quite the vitality.

"At least that issue is solved. I don't know why you are so eager to put yourself in danger… I have a meeting that I postponed because I thought my friend was being mauled by a Sharpedo. Now that I know you're fine, I'll call you later."

I nodded and idly gazed at the face of the girl on my screen. "Sure. If those people ask why you're late, say fuck you that's why and then show them Empy."

The instant swap from worry to horror was fascinating. I didn't know someone's expression could change so quickly. It was a good thing the Pokegear allowed video calls. I thought that was a Unova exclusive thing.

"I'm not going to do that Silver! Empy! No! We are not doing that! You need to stop cursing so much," Jasmine complained, hanging up the phone as I heard the Empoleon snicker.

Good to know Jasmine's team still liked me.

Now, to focus on my prize.

Feebas was staring at me warily, eyes flickering between the alert Zorua and Chikorita. It was very quickly coming to the realization that it was in a terrible situation.

"Hey there, Feebas," I greeted easily, catching its attention. "I've been looking for you."

"Fee?" Feebas asked in confusion.

"What? Surprised that someone was actually looking for you?" I asked, crouching in front of it with a smirk.

It nodded slowly, content to just observe me once it realized I had no intention of destroying it in a battle.

Good, I was glad I didn't have to beat it up. Would have felt like bullying and I didn't want to bully this weak little fella.

"I want you to join my team," I said bluntly, gazing at it with clear interest. "I figured I'd give you the choice instead of forcefully catching you so that we can get along easier."

If it said no I wasn't gonna just catch it. It was imperative that at least one of the Pokemon I captured in Hoenn joined willingly because well…

I wonder if I could get it to like I dunno, call one of its other siblings interested in traveling. Surely there had to be a bunch of Feebas down there, unless Sharpedo was snacking on them.

I did not feel like fishing up another Sharpedo. I was suddenly glad that it wasn't raining like it normally does in this route because that would be a nightmare.

Feebas blinked in clear surprise at my words, not quite believing I wanted it on my team and I frowned at that.

Just how harshly were Feebas treated in this world? Kind of unnecessary especially considering people knew it evolved into Milotic. No wonder not many people succeeded in evolving it, it didn't suddenly become a whole new person once evolved.

After a moment, the fish glanced over at Zorua and Chikorita.

I watched the three begin conversing with each other, before Zorua glanced up at me.

"Zor, Zor," he said to me.

I blinked.

"Why do I want Feebas?" I asked slowly.

All 3 nodded.

"Because I like you. I came here specifically for you and I think you'd be a great addition," I replied bluntly.

I don't know what was so profound about my statement, but Feebas' eyes widened, before it looked at me and nodded vigorously.

Huh, that was easy.

"So you want to join me, right?" I asked in slight excitement, as I pulled out an empty pokeball.

"Fee!" It replied, glancing at me in adoration.

I smiled at that and tapped the water type with my ball.

I had never actually caught a Pokemon before. I already had Zorua by the time I took over and I kidnapped Chikorita, so this was my first time seeing the process.

I watched in fascination, as the pokeball opened up and a red light consumed Feebas, before dragging it inside the capsule.

The ball shook once, before clinking shut, signifying a successful capture.

Just like that, Feebas and my future Milotic were secured… and it only took me getting taught how to fish, fighting a strong fish, nearly losing a Pokemon and getting chewed out by my only friend who reminded me of a little sister…

Totally worth it.

"Alright, let's go get you guys healed up at the center. I've got a lot of ideas cooking and we can prepare to go to Mauville next," I grinned excitedly, extremely pleased by the events of today.

In the grand scheme of my plans, Feebas was actually the easy part and it went relatively smoother than I expected. The hardest part of catching a Feebas was not knowing if it were actually here... and evolving it into Milotic in the future.

Now…

Well things were going to get a lot harder.

After all if things went wrong on my end, then the crimes I committed in Johto would pale in comparison to the target on my back from what I planned on doing in Hoenn.

----------------------------------------

"Ah? Is Ash not here yet?"

Professor Oak glanced at the three aspiring trainers there and frowned at the lack of one.

Of course the one year that more than three people qualify for a starter, one of them doesn't show up.

Gary Blue Oak snorted at that, rolling his blue eyes. "Idiot probably doesn't even realize that today's the day we get our official starters. Happens when you don't even own a Pokemon before that."

A tired sigh was let out almost as soon he finished speaking.

"All these years and you two still have all this bad blood?" Leaf Green muttered, shaking her head. This was why she couldn't hang out with them anymore. It was just too tiring dealing with all that arguing and it caused the childhood friends to fall out.

"What?" Gary said defensively, holding his hands up. "Everyone's here but him! He's just wasting our time! I bet even you're tired of waiting, Green!" the young Oak exclaimed.

"Whatever you say, Gary," she muttered.

Ash and Gary used to be such great friends when they were all younger but one pokeball managed to do this to them?

Green couldn't wait until their journey's started. She couldn't even peacefully speak to one of them without the other accusing her of picking sides.

"Um professor, have you been alright?" Mason, the third trainer there, asked nervously. "Have you gotten attacked recently? I heard Elm was attacked just yesterday..."

Professor Oak, who had just been observing the trainers with an amused expression, smiled politely at the boys concerns.

Truthfully, Mason wasn't going to make it very far as a trainer. He didn't have the drive or the passion but he had scored enough to be qualified for a starter and perhaps Oak would be proven wrong.

"I'm fine. Believe it or not, I was quite the formidable trainer back in the days so I doubt many people would be able to successfully attack me," Oak reassured.

Nothing was known about Elm's assaulter but they had taken a Chikorita for themselves. For reasons unknown, they had left the other two but in the long run that was a smart decision.

Narrowing down a thief by a single Chikorita, was very difficult to achieve. The best way to pinpoint them, was by observing the state of the Chikorita for signs of abuse.

But those were Johto affairs for the time being. Once he distributed the starters, he'd fly over to check on Elm himself.

On that note...

"I believe we've waited long enough," Oak said, gesturing to the pristine pokeballs being presented to them on the pedestal.

"Before you are the three starters. Bulbasaur, the grass type. Squirtle, the water type. Charmander, the fire type."

The three 12 year olds felt their eyes widen as they gazed at the balls in awe.

"Seeing as two of you got perfect scores on the qualifying tests, Green and Gary can decide who would like to select their starter first," Oak stated, gazing at the two.

Green smiled and beckoned for the eager Gary. "He can go first. I don't mind waiting a little longer!" she beamed, just as excited to finally get started on her journey.

It's not like he was going to pick her choice. Gary made it very clear he was getting Squirtle no matter what.

As expected, Gary swaggered right up to the pokeball of the water type and picked it up without any hesitation, smirking cockily as he released the water type to observe it.

Green stared in slight interest at the Squirtle but wasted no time walking up to select her own starter.

She grabbed the pokeball of Bulbasaur without any hesitation and grinned as she released it out of the ball.

"So cute!" She gushed, gazing at the serious looking Bulbasaur with a bright smile.

"Now normally, Ash would be next to select his starter, but seeing as he is not here, that leaves you, Mason," Oak announced, gazing at the final trainer.

Oak had prepared a Pikachu for him but it appears Ash would have to accept it.

He watched the trainer eye the final pokeball with wide eyes, before finally releasing the Charmander from the ball.

"Now that that's settled, here is a Pokedex for you all," the professor finished, handing it over to them. "They have a variety of functions but the most notable, is the ability to record and register pokemon you've encountered."

They listened with rapt attention, gazing at the prized invention with fascinated eyes.

"On your journey, you'll discover many things about yourself and make many mistakes, but all of these are crucial in becoming a better trainer. Some of you may even discover a new passion along the way!" Oak informed them with a kind smile.

Gary snorted at that, blue eyes condescending as he sneered at Mason, who could only flinch back.

Green nodded happily, mischievous green eyes glowing in anticipation as she threatened to bolt out of the door.

Oak decided against boring them with anymore talks and just waved them off.

"Now, that's all from me! Run along now!" Oak waved, before his expression turned serious for a moment. "And do be careful of Team Rocket."

The three nodded, before finally departing from the lab, though at the last second, Oak did hear Gary shout about battling Green.

Hopefully Gary matured in this journey. His grandson was rude and cocky but there was a good heart under there.

And hopefully none of them encountered Team Rocket. Oak himself would show his former status as Champion, if anything happened to his selected trainers.

Team Rocket... the criminal organization were surprisingly elusive. Grunts knew nothing about the higher ups besides names and even then, they were just tasked with doing their job.

It was very likely that they had gone and attacked Elm as well... but why would they only take one Pokemon?

Team Rocket were the type to take everything, not just one... but conveniently, only one had been taken which left two for Elm's trainers to get their own starters.

On that topic...

Oak heard the sound of a phone ringing and went over to pick it up.

"Ah Elm! I was just going to Teleport over on Alakazam to visit you! How are you?" The old man asked.

"I'm recovering quickly. Thankfully, my life wasn't in danger by the time I arrived to the hospital and I was quickly patched up..." Elm informed him, a sheepish smile on his face.

Oak sighed in relief. "I'm glad to hear that. If you're life had been in danger... thank goodness it hasn't come to that."

"I don't believe the person who attacked me was attempting to kill me! I heard a child's scream before entering the lab so they must have been panicked and lashed out."

Panicked? Childish scream? But for what reason? Were they not the ones robbing Elm?

...

"Are you certain? You don't have any lingering head injuries?" Oak frowned in contemplation.

"I'm sure of it. I remember hearing a child scream and when I went to investigate, they must have hid themselves right before I was struck on the side of my head."

Oak's frown deepened at that. So the person willingly struck Elm but besides that, didn't lay another hand on them.

Not to mention the blow hadn't been fatal. Most of the damage Elm had taken, stemmed from all the objects falling atop him.

How curious... a child had invaded the lab and stolen a pokeball... after screaming?

"Do you think they were perhaps, forced to do such a thing?" Oak asked curiously.

"...It might be strange to hear from me... but yes, I do. I think whoever did this, is in a situation where they are in urgent need of protection and likely didn't want to do this," Elm replied with a deep frown of his own.

"What makes you say that?" Oak asked curiously.

Based on his own thoughts, it did seem likely that the one who had stolen Chikorita, had done so without much consent on their end... but this was all theory.

"Well they only stole one of the Pokemon when they had ample opportunity to take all three... and it's not as if they didn't have time, because they also grabbed a Pokedex, pokeballs and many healing ailments... I didn't lose any important documents, any lab equipment... they simply took everything necessary for becoming stronger."

Oak's expression turned contemplative as he heard that and the aged former champion began painting a story with that information.

He did not like the picture.

If what Elm was saying was true and the child truly was forced to do this... it was a terrifying scenario to think about.

What would make a child risk robbing a renowned professor, for essentials? What had pushed them to this...

Team Rocket most likely. This child was very likely being targeted to some degree by Team Rocket.

What a terrifying prospect to stomach.

"It seems you've come to the same conclusions as I have," Elm stated warily. "It may not be correct, but at the very least I'd like to meet the culprit and speak to them."

Oak nodded along with him. "A child being targeted by Team Rocket... they might have gone to drastic measures to try and secure their safety. But why not ask for help?"

"Perhaps they have no choice. We don't have all the answers and I'd like to get them before something happens to them..."

The professor of Kanto sighed at that. Elm was truly kind and even he found himself sympathizing.

That's if this was all true though.

"If he is found and apprehended, I have enough influence to ask for an audience with them. If this truly is the story, I doubt they will be sent to prison," Oak said.

It would be an insult to the league, to imprison a victim when they just needed to be helped from a terrible situation.

"Thank you, Oak. Now, that's not quite why I called you. I just wished to inform you of some things about my two trainers, Gold and Crystal."

Oak blinked.

Gold and Crystal? Weren't those two also scheduled to get their starters today?

They were both incredibly competent trainers. Crystal especially, had a good head on her shoulders that would do both her and the far more brash Gold, many favors.

"What is it that you wanted to inform me of?" Oak asked curiously.

"They want to travel through the Kanto region and complete the gym challenge there! I was hoping you could help them out sometimes," Elm explained with a sheepish smile.

Oak blinked dumbly at that.

"What?"