“You abandoned us…”
“You don’t deserve to be alive.”
“COME BACK!”
“TRAITOR!”
Daniel found himself in the middle of a dark forest, running for his life. Familiar voices and faces passed by, each piercing his heart like a blade. Trees grew jagged and lacked foliage, just thorns that pierced his flesh. A bloody moon hung above, casting a cold light that didn’t provide any comfort.
Ragged breaths escaped him as he took unsteady steps. His clothes were torn to shreds. All his Pokeballs cracked and dulled. Still, he did his best to jump above roots and duck under branches.
“WHY DID YOU ABANDON US!”
The voices were catching up. A flurry of steps behind him slowly approached, but he didn’t dare to look behind. Wings fluttering and buzzing just outside of his visual field.
“WHY DID YOU COME HERE?!”
Joey’s partially melted face appeared just behind a tree. Thousands of hands extended and trapped Daniel. They soon enveloped his entire body, leaving only his eyes uncovered. The face melted into a skull marked by Giratina’s visage.
“YOU DON’T BELOŅ̷̛̛̜̠̖͇̭̱͂́̚͠ͅG̷̞̬̲̫̜̽̆́̍͊̚͝ ̸͕͇̣͔̙̝̩̈́̍̈́̒͛͊́Ḧ̶̪̗́̋E̶̢̘͇̱̖̽Ŕ̷͚̣͙̘̙͚̓̎Ě̴̹̬̠̟͔̾̇̐̈́̑!̷̡̢̘̤̽͌̕"
[Master!]
Daniel suddenly opened his eyes. He was lying on a strange bed, under an unfamiliar ceiling. His heart was beating fast, and his body was drenched in sweat. He desperately tried to look for the danger, whipping his head around. Aura circulated under his skin, ready to-.
[It’s ok, Master! There’s no danger!]
Rodan’s voice came again, drawing his attention. The bird was outside, looking through the window. He looked concerned, and his aura confirmed that. As he regained his clarity, his breathing evened. His tight muscles relaxed, and his aura slowed down.
“I’m inside my room. My team is okay. I am okay,” He recited his father’s mantra, one he always used since they were children. “Don’t fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Let it pass through me and away. I’ll remain.”
A pounding headache assaulted him, almost making him collapse again. A gentle psychic grip from Rodan held him, letting him slowly lie down again. Lily burst into the room, followed by Mothra, Elizabeth, R2, and Donald. He could spot his bigger teammates having to wait outside.
The Audino examined him, using her feelers to listen to his heart and check his temperature. Mothra climbed to the wall and fanned him with her wings, trying her hardest not to blow any scales his way. Elizabeth just fidgeted beside the bed, jumping from one foot to the other. His “digital” Pokemon orbited around him, trying to assess if they needed to call emergency services.
“I’m fine guys.” A burst of pain made him clench his teeth.
“Au!” Lily disagreed with him.
With a pulse of energy, she used her heal pulse. As the psychic energy interacted with his, he could feel his pain and tiredness going away. With a small groan, his aches disappeared completely.
“Thanks, Lily.” He smiled and patted her head.
“Audino!” She smiled proudly.
“Vooool” Mothra climbed down from the wall and approached him from the other side, looking for attention too.
“Yes, you silly girl, you thank you too.” He rolled his eyes and scratched her behind her mandibles.
“Vol!” She let a happy cry, buzzing her wings and tapping on the floor.
“What time is it?”
Donald glowed and projected a screen in mid-air, displaying the time.
“3 am…”
He knew he wouldn’t go back to sleep anytime soon, so he went to jog to clear his head. Elizabeth would go with him since she was the most enthusiastic about some physical exercise at this unlordly hour. His outfit was plain: a white sweater, black joggers, and white sneakers.
The rest of his team went back to sleep, except for his ghosts. Casper would follow him while invisible and R2 would enter his glasses. As he put them on, the orange tint faded, and the frame ‘disappeared’ from his field of vision.
“R2, did you and Donald screen the list?” He asked while stretching with Elizabeth.
[MASTER. CHAMPION IRIS SENT A SIMILAR LIST ALONG WITH A MESSAGE. SHOULD I FORWARD IT TO YOU?]
“Huh, information goes around fast.” He huffed in surprise and shook his head. “Yeah, screen both lists and send it to me.”
His vision flashed orange as the list appeared in front of him.
CANDIDATES
POTENTIAL
NAME
AGE
POKEMON
BADGES
POTENTIAL RISK
[EXPAND]
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
NO POTENTIAL
[EXPAND]
GOOD POTENTIAL
Reece Simon
13
Sandile
0
Thomas Joy
13
Solosis
0
Amelie Smith
14
Cottonee
Swadlon
1
Linda Joy
14
Duosion
Pidove
1
Kiran Joy
15
Musharna
Woobat
Blitzle
2
EXCEPTIONAL POTENTIAL
Valerie Schemmel
14
Drilbur
Ferroseed
Klink
0
Nate Wayland (☆)
15
Emboar
Lucario
Arcanine
Simisage
Kabutops
Gliscor
8
[NOTE: Nate Wayland MATCHES WITH ‘AGE OF HEROES’ DATABASE]
He completely ignored the ‘possible risk’ category. Those were full of people who had infractions lodged against them by the law or had concerning comments about their psyche. The ‘no potential’ list was the longest and had trainers who were too old without any major accomplishments or gym badges. He paid more attention to the bottom lists, reading their Bios and comments about them.
“I knew that name was familiar.” He finished his stretch with a crack in his back. “He’s quite good…” Nate, the only one marked as ‘exceptional,’ was another case.
While reading about him, both he and Elizabeth departed. There was nobody else outside, giving the compound an eerie feeling. The sky was clear, letting him see the waning moon. The chill was enough to make his breath visible, but it didn’t bother him.
“So, he’s the one that stopped Plasma a second time…” He thought to himself while reading his file from the alternate future. “Fought Black Kyurem to a draw without losing any Pokemon and captured Ghetsis right after. Mew, what a little monster.”
Fighting against Legendary class Pokemon was always an ordeal. To safely subdue Legendary class Pokemon, several teams would employ ‘fusillade tactics,’ which involve bombardment from G-max moves and Z-moves. ‘Black Kyurem’ wasn’t at the top of the scale, but it was still a threat that required utmost caution.
“I think I can take it on, still-”
A sudden yank startled him. Before he could protest, he noticed the lamppost he narrowly missed thanks to that. Elizabeth stood with a disappointed stance to the side, still holding him by the sweater.
“Thanks, girl.” He chuckled and petted her head. “I’m getting too distracted for my good.”
“Gaaant.” She sighed, shaking her head.
“R2, send messages that I want to see everyone from good and above. Make it for next week to have time to prepare.”
[UNDERSTOOD]
He tried not to get distracted the rest of the route. Still, he had to be saved two more times before they returned home. The first from a parked car and the second from a mailbox. Elizabeth confronted him with a disgruntled stare, and even Casper briefly appeared to give him a ‘disappointed mom gaze’ as well.
He did his best to appease them, saying it would not happen again and bribing them with treats. With narrow eyes and full bellies, they didn’t make a big fuss about it. It still made him consider moving up ‘getting a therapist’ a couple of spaces on his to-do list.
“R2, send a message to Professor Juniper that I want to meet her.” He remembered Drayden’s recommendation, and she seemed the best considering his circumstances. “Delay that until 8 am.”
[UNDERSTOOD]
He took a shower and went back to his room to sleep. Thankfully, there were no nightmares this time around. By 9 am, he was up and having breakfast with his team. Rose answered with subtle questions about the amount of “approved” clan members. Daniel had to maneuver enough not to insult his ancestors’ talents but still make his point. Separately, Iris profusely apologized for not giving him a heads-up but was more than happy their request was not outright ignored.
After some coordination, he would see both groups by the middle of the week. “That’s about five days to prepare. It should be enough.”
He still needed to think about what to teach them and how to do it. General tips and tricks were something they would eventually discover by themselves. Alternative evolutions and battle gimmicks were out of the table until he got the ‘go ahead’ from the League. Aura training depended a lot on their patience, and he didn’t expect a lot from teenagers on that front.
“I’ll have to play it by ear.” He absentmindedly finished his breakfast. “And I’ll eventually need to get new team members.”
And that was a can of worms to open later. Things were still too raw. After grieving a bit more, he would consider it again. But as time passed and their reality sunk in, that was something he would need to do. If he wanted to operate without any restrictions, at least.
“That or becoming part of the international police. But I had enough of crime fighting for a while.”
He looked down at his arms, seeing his scars crossing them. All painful reminders that his job was dangerous. All the times he got cut, burned, shocked, tossed around, almost lost limbs…
With a shaky breath, he pushed those memories away. It was enough to fight for a lifetime. Now that he had time to settle down and not think about the world ending, cutthroat competitive environments, and traveling the world every week, he could seriously think about his future. Maybe even have a family.
Still, such a drastic change would affect not only him but also his team. Teaching now for money was one thing, doing it permanently was another. That would mean not training like he used to. It scared him by disappointing his team, his only family now.
Rodan picked up on his feelings. The Braviary nudged his face, making him look up.
[Master, you’re losing focus again]
“I’ve been doing that a lot, I know.” The man whispered, hugging the giant bird.
[I have noticed that you seem excited about teaching. I approve of that] The bird rubbed his cheek with closed eyes. [And I think the rest of us do too. Maybe El Santo would have had a problem with that, but… sorry, Master.]
“Don’t worry. I miss them, too.” He sighed. “But yes, it sounds like a good idea.”
[YOU HAVE (1) UNREAD MESSAGE FROM: PROFESSOR AUREA JUNIPER]
His eyebrows rose as he read it, feeling some conflicting feelings about its contents. “Well, that was quick.”
The professor seemed more eager than Drayden implied since she was about to arrive in less than an hour to visit him. She asked if she could bring her assistant, but he saw no reason to refuse on his part.
“Get the others to look presentable, Rodan. We have visitors.”