Dining hall - private dining cabin of the I.L Carmine

Elisha didn't speak to me much on the way down through the ship. He had to swap out his Machamp for a Lucario dressed in the same attire—a black security polo and a black hat. The hallways were too narrow and short for a seven-foot-tall monstrosity to fit through.

As I sit in this small plush cabin, I steal a glance at the absolute unit of a Pokémon that is his Lucario. What it lacked in stature, standing at five feet tall, it made up for in presence. It was almost suffocating to be near as it stood there with its arms crossed against its chest, and yet Elisha acted like it was nothing as he calmly ate his breakfast, which consisted of poached Pidgey eggs, Oinka bacon, and a bowl of oatmeal mixed with berries.

I stared at my food with lingering hunger, but the oppressive aura of his Lucario was making it slowly disappear. Pushing the plate away, I took in the rest of the cabin. It was tailored to look old like a wooden ship with mahogany floors and walls covered in old ship relics and ancient-looking cartography maps of the Kanto and Johto seas, along with a bigger map including the Hoenn region. The room itself was small enough to sit two people comfortably in the center with an old mahogany dining table and chairs. Surprisingly, the chairs were comfortable considering they were bare of any kind of cushion.

“So, I can imagine you are wondering why you are here.”

Elisha said as he dabbed at his lips with a napkin before throwing it on the plate and snapping his fingers. A small three-foot-tall golett shimmered into existence next to the table, picking up the plate. The creature looked like a golett but instead of having the typical blue and yellow earthy visage, this one was the opposite. It was a mixture of dark blue and light blue hues that were constantly in motion, and its body was more fluid than solid. Once it picked up the plate, it shoved it inside its body before shimmering out of existence, leaving a floating plate and napkin in the air as it moved away and out a hole in the wall.

“I brought you here for a formal introduction. You already know my name, but I haven't told you my expertise. You see, I specialize in dealing with peculiar and extraordinary situations. Situations that generally involve high-class VIP targets such as yourself.”

I swallowed hard as he took his hat off and placed it on the table, running a thick and calloused hand through his red hair. Sitting this close to him, I could see the beginnings of graying hair speckled in with the red. The thin wrinkles on his face and surrounding his sharp hazel eyes only seemed to accentuate the business-like facade he had set up for himself. He couldn't fool me, though. I could see the danger he imposed in the way he carried himself. The calm, collected pose that he held, hands clasped together, only sought to scare me further as I remembered Lysander pouncing like a Persian at a poor, unsuspecting grunt, slamming his face into the desk repeatedly before flinging him across the ground. Then Lysander proceeded to calmly sit down and fix his suit before asking another grunt for a cup of tea. Yeah, this man, he absolutely reeked of the same kind of danger Lysander did.

“But Blue didn't give me the contract. No. He gave it to my daughter behind my back. How do you think I felt when I found that out? Hm? Just a tad irked. So, I, being the sensible businessman that I am, bought the contract off my daughter - my only child in this world, mind you - so I am now in charge of your safety.”

The same Golett look-alike came back, filling the air with the strong aroma of coffee as it placed a cup in front of Elisha. He pulled out a gold coin from one of his inside suit pockets and flicked it towards the aquatic ghost before it disappeared. Taking a sip of the coffee, he closed his eyes and smiled for a moment before placing the cup back on the table.

"Where was I? Ah, yes. Your safety. I know Blue has this grandiose idea of us watching you from afar, but in my line of work, that usually leads to more corpses piling up than necessary. Mind you, I know he's quite competent, but I like doing things my way. We'll be watching you rather closely and will only intervene should your life or the life of your companion come to any kind of lethal danger. That being said, I have a proposal for you that will come to be a little costly, but it won't be from your pockets. How about you and your companion train under me? Now. It won't be an immediate thing. I, of course, need to see if you're both worth the hassle. Can't go around training weaklings. If you two can muster two badges up on your own, then we can proceed with the plan.”

He stopped talking and waited for my answer, continuing to drink his coffee as his Lucario glowered at me from his side. The way he spoke was so matter of fact that it caught me off guard. Was he serious? Could he really undermine Blue like that? Was he that powerful? Looking at his Lucario again, I could see the battle scars crisscrossing his body in areas where patches of red fur were missing. One of its fox-like ears was ripped in several places, it's snout had a long jagged scar running down the sides as if it had been snagged by a crawdaunt claw. If I'm going to get stronger, then why not take advantage of what was being offered.

“I accept your offer. Two badges and I'll train under you. However, I can't speak for my traveling partner. I'd have to-”

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Elisha raised his hand to silence me with a wide grin on his face, passing the coffee to his Lucario who took it and finished off the cup.

“That's quite alright. Next order of business is to go talk with your partner. Call her up and get her to meet us on the observation deck. I just thought of something fun for the three of us to do to get better acquainted.”

That…

That definitely did not fill me with a lot of confidence in what was about to transpire.

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

Observation deck, battleground plot 3 12:00 PM

“Erembour, why are we here? I know you told me to get ready and all, but…”

She trailed off as she saw the growing crowd of people around our plot. Meredith looked just as uncomfortable as I felt dressed in her blue and green workout attire.

I had taken to nursing a few cans of Pikachu’s Power Brew canned coffee and an Oran Muffin that I scrounged out of the dining hall. My stomach was still rumbling from hunger and I was feeling exhausted from not sleeping, but I was forcing myself to pull through. Honestly, I wish I had an answer to give her, but I had no idea what Elisha had in store for us.

“Professor Oak sent me a message earlier today that he enlisted the help of a Pokémon Coach for us to learn from. His name is Elisha, he's supposed to be meeting us here in a few.”

A Slowbro popped out of the surrounding crowd and waddled its way over to us, but the closer it got the more I realized it was different. It was covered from head to toe in red training gear and its tail was missing the tell-tale shell. It carried the white shell in its left hand like a white spiky kite shield and its tail took on a more thick and long appearance with a fist like appendage at the end. It's usually pink skin took on a more tan complexion, its plump body was lean and muscular, built for speed and power. The scariest change of all was the fact that its dopy look had become an intense gaze of focused determination and intensity.

Rotom flew out of my pocket and scanned the Slowbro variant just as it stopped on the other side of the battlefield.

“Blitzbro

Category: Warrior Pokémon

Type:Water/Fighting

Description:

Blitzbro, the Warrior Pokémon, showcases its combat expertise with the muscular tail and fortified Shellder shell that define its evolved form. This Pokémon's evolution is a testament to its dedication to martial training.

Signature Move: Hydro Punch

Harnessing the power of water and fighting spirit, Blitzbro's signature move, Hydro Punch, combines a swift punch with a burst of aquatic energy. The reinforced Shellder shell amplifies the impact of this move.

Habitat:

Found in coastal areas and underwater training grounds, Blitzbro diligently practices its martial arts moves, utilizing its enhanced tail and Shellder shield for both offense and defense.

Behavior:

Blitzbro's evolution is triggered by intense training and battles. As Slowpoke seeks challenges and faces adversaries, the symbiotic relationship with Shellder evolves into a powerful bond. The Shellder willingly transforms its shape, providing Blitzbro with a reinforced shell that becomes an integral part of its combat style.”

A slowpoke… Evolved into that? I looked at it again and it was smiling. Smiling like my sensei at the dojo used to smile when he was preparing to give an ass kicking lesson in sparring. It can't be.

“I see you've both made it and right on time, too.”

Elisha came up slowly behind the Blitzbro wearing red shorts, a red tank top and red shades to match his fiery hair. His outfit showed nothing but pure lean muscle wherever you looked. Was it some kind of unwritten code that all trainers had to be in tip top shape?

“Is this the guy you were talking about? He looks like a weirdo.” Meredith whispered in my ear as she got close enough for me to smell the vanilla spray she uses. Something stirred in me and I immediately cleared my throat and walked ahead looking straight at Elisha.

“Hey Elisha! You didn't say anything about there being this big of a crowd. What do you have planned?”

“Like I said earlier, I need to see how well you and your traveling companion can handle yourselves. If you want to train with the best, I need to establish a baseline to work with. Blitzbro here is going to gauge how well you two can do. Come on now, don't be shy. Call out your strongest Pokémon and let's get this electrode rolling. Don't mind the crowd, pretend they don't even exist.”

He chattered on with a big grin on his face as his Blitzbro walked forward to the center of the field, its tail smashing into the floor as it made a come hither motion towards us.

I looked back at Meredith who looked back at me questioningly before I nodded towards her and let out a resigned sigh, pulling Champ's ball off my belt. She took one of hers off as well, a deadpan look on her face as she stepped forward next to me.

I released Champ out into the field and he immediately took his boxing stance once he saw the crowd and the opposing Blitzbro. He quickly glanced my way with a look of hesitation, but quickly shook his head and focused on his opponent. His stance was a little shaky as he grounded himself more, leading with his right hand now that his left arm was gone. I could tell he was nervous, possibly even doubting himself, but this would serve to be good practice win or lose.

Meredith sent out her Pineco who rolled around Champ in a lazy circle as it gathered a small bit of speed and momentum. I looked over to Meredith with a raised eyebrow and got a smug smile from her in response.

“It's a bit of a strategy I worked out with Piney. If we're in a double battle, he serves as the defensive wall while he builds up momentum and goes on the offense. Pretty solid strat, right?”

I nodded dumbly, it wasn't a bad idea. Not the greatest, but solid enough like she said.

“H’oh? You sure you want to lead with your Tyrogue? He looks more like he's one push away from being in the retirement pasture. I mean, damn. Shouldn't you have given him at least a prosthetic? You want him to go out losing from the gate?”

I felt my eyebrow twitch at Elisha’s taunt, blood swelling into my face. I know it was his way of pushing us off balance and to get us angry. I know the proper response is to ignore it and yet.

My hands balled up into fists at remembering how much effort Champ has done to get this far. It wasn't his fault that he lost his arm, it was mine. It wasn't fair.

Life isn't fair, child. You're the one that said you can make your meager weakling of a fighter into a strong champion. Now you'll have to swallow your words and face your epic failure. Why don't you just give up and go find a stronger -

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” I roared at the top of my lungs, silencing the voice inside me and everyone else with my outburst. Shit. I said it out loud even Champ is looking at me with worry. Fuck it, time to capitalize. Taking a deep breath, I stared Elisha in the eyes and held my ground.

“I'll prove to you and everyone else that Champ isn't a weakling. We'll win this damn fight, no matter what!” I growled at him with all the ferocity that I could muster.

Champ's body glowed with the aura of Bulk Up as he let out a confident “ ‘Rogue” and faced his opponent.

Elisha’s grin grew broader as he lifted his shades to reveal his piercing hazel eyes.

“Well I'll be damned. You have a backbone after all. This should be good. Let's see what you got.”

The six of us tensed our bodies as we got ready for the battle that was about to begin.

I won't lose this battle. I won't.