ã€ŠPokemon: Childhood Dreamsã€‹


 Chapter 1 - The Egg

    It¡¯s finally time. I¡¯ve been waiting 14 years, though the first couple were sort of muddled. It¡¯s time to get my first pokemon. This is something I¡¯ve been wishing for since my first childhood.

    I still won¡¯t be a full trainer until I''m 15. New trainers are given their pokemon a year before they can start their journey to ensure they are strong enough to survive traveling.

    Well, I only have one choice due to the family I was born in. Woe is me, right?

    WRONG! I was lucky enough to be born into the Ortiz family, otherwise known as the caretakers of Charicific Valley. Being the son of one of the main family, I¡¯m allowed my pick of the charmanders in the valley. If they agree to go with me, of course.

    This is a huge boon! Needless to say, the charmander line at Charicific Valley is the best in the world. If I was born to an average family, they¡¯d have to spend a lot of money to get a good pokemon, both in terms of pedigree and species. I¡¯d probably have to settle for a more common species without any special heritage.

    There was a chance of getting the Indigo sponsorship for a starter, but it was a lucky draw from the highest scoring students of Indigo. It was frowned upon for someone in a wealthy family to apply for the sponsorship, but I was happy with my charmander.

    Speaking of my charmander¡­ ¡°Drako!¡± I yell as I run out of my house towards the charmander rearing section of the valley. I sprint full speed towards the enclosure, which was mainly to protect the charmander from unruly charmeleon or charizard.

    Stopping at the gate, I put my hands on my knees and breathe deeply to catch my breath.

    *BANG*. Heh, looks like someone else is excited as well.

    I open the first gate and can see my charmander at the inner gate bouncing on his feet.

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    Drako looks marvelous, with his gleaming orange scales and robust body. I catch a flicker of his tail flame, which is shooting up over his head.

    <hr>

    You see, I kind of cheated with Drako. Last year, in hatching season, there was an egg that was slightly bigger and darker than the rest. When I picked it up I could feel it in my gut that this was supposed to be my partner. We would go through thick and thin, always looking out for each other.

    Then the panic hit me! I wouldn¡¯t be able to choose a starter for a year! What if someone wanted my partner!?

    I knew that I wouldn¡¯t be able to Blood Bond with charmander until I turned 14, it could be hazardous to the health of both of us. But another factor was that when blood bonding with your first pokemon, it was better to use a pokemon under 6 months of age. This was because when you formed a Blood Bond with a pokemon, both of your energies mesh and enhance each other. If the pokemon is too strong it can overwhelm the trainer causing injuries or death.

    All of this flashed through my mind as I held the yet unnamed Drako¡¯s egg. I thought about hiding the egg and raising him in secret, but knew that wasn¡¯t going to work. Furthermore, my mother raised me lovingly and the extended family had only helped me. I didn¡¯t want to spit on their goodwill.

    Calming myself, I put down the egg with care and decided to ask my grandpa. My grandpa was the eldest member of the clan and knew the most about pokemon. I briskly walked to his house and knocked on the door.

    ¡°Grandpa! Grandpa Ozai!¡± I yelled.

    ¡°What is it, you coot, Orick! Waking me up in my midday nap!¡± He yelled as he swung open the door. Behind him I could see his behemoth of a charizard resting, looking at me with one eye open.

    ¡°Sorry, Grandpa. It¡¯s just that I ran into a problem.¡± I said with a sigh as I made my way by him and laid down with my back to his charizard.

    ¡°Alright, spit it out¡± He said as he closed the door and sat on a chair.

    ¡°Well, I was cleaning the charmander eggs in the main room when I saw one that stood out. I picked it up and it felt like we had a connection, almost as if I could feel the emotions pouring from the egg. Desiring greatness and power, but also friendship and love.¡± I start rambling. ¡°I¡­I know this is the charmander for me. But I won¡¯t be able to bond with a pokemon until I turn 14¡­¡±

    ¡°Huh, in the main room huh. Those are all the eggs from untested pedigrees. Are you sure you want to choose that one?... You know, I haven¡¯t told anyone yet but Elise here is pregnant.¡± Grandpa gestured to his charizard and she snorted some flame. "Her egg should be laid and born in time for your Blood Bond Ceremony.¡±

    My mouth gaped. Elise was one of the strongest charizard in the valley. Any progeny of hers is sure to be astounding. My thoughts were whirling in confusion as I considered my options, but sure enough rising to the surface was the feeling I got while holding that charmander egg.

    My face set with grim determination. ¡°If you¡¯re asking me which I want to choose, that means there is a way to keep the egg I found.¡±

    ¡°Haha! Always a smart one. Yes, there is a way. But it hinges on two conditions. First, if the charmander accepts you as a partner without the bond, this will lower the damaging aspects of the Blood Bond.¡± He said.

    ¡°And what¡¯s the second condition?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Whether you are able to handle a lot of pain.¡± Grandpa Ozai said with a mad grin.

 Chapter 2 - Pain?

    After I decided to stick with the egg I had found in the main room I was immediately buffeted by wind from Elise¡¯s wing which sent me tumbling across the floor.

    ¡°Heehee! Ha! Serves you right for rejecting her egg while resting against her.¡± Grandpa chortles with glee.

    As I picked myself up, I contritely looked at Elise and then kowtowed to her directly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Elise, I¡¯m sure your child will be an extremely strong charizard. But my heart is leading me to this egg.¡±

    After a minute of holding the position, Elise gives a forgiving snort.

    Phew. I didn¡¯t want to be on the bad side of Elise.

    ¡°Well, get going Orick. I have a feeling you didn¡¯t finish with your cleaning of the main egg room. For now, you can take ¡°your¡± egg to your room with a spare incubator.

    ¡°Thanks, Gramps.¡± I said as I rushed back to the egg room. While the eggs were in the egg room, they had the perfect conditions to grow and hatch. If I was going to remove my egg, I would need the incubator to simulate the conditions.

    In a hurry, I finished my chores in the room and quickly left with the egg in an incubator. As I held the egg, those emotions flared up in my mind brighter than before.

    <hr>

    Two weeks passed by in a flash. Partially because gramps put me on an exercise regimen that seemed like it was for elite soldiers. Leaving me tired and repeating similar actions by day and falling asleep quickly at night.

    Today, I had a rare rest day as charmander¡¯s egg was about to hatch. I needed to be present for it to hopefully imprint on me, so that we can grow closer as partners even before the Blood Bond. Everything depended on the outcome of today. If the charmander was too unruly and didn¡¯t get along with me I wouldn¡¯t have a chance at blood bonding with it. And I¡¯m sure Elise would not be okay with me choosing her offspring as a second choice.

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    I tried to clear my mind as I meditated while holding the egg on my bed. After some time, where I totally didn¡¯t fall asleep, I was startled by a cracking sound. I confusedly looked around and then my eyes settled on the egg on my lap with spreading cracks.

    Holy Shit. What do I do! What do I do! Calm down, breathe Orick. This is only the most pivotal moment of your life. As I tried to order my thoughts, the egg broke bit by bit and an orange snout stuck out the top.

    I froze as the rest of the head erupted from the egg and our eyes met. As we stared into each other¡¯s eyes, I could see the determination in the baby pokemon. This sparked something within me and I stared determinedly back. This caused a feedback loop where we both ended up with our eyes blazing with determination. Seriously, I felt I could drill run straight through the heavens!

    Our mutual pumping up ended with a cute ¡°Char!¡± As charmander broke off his stare to begin eating the pieces of his shell. I slowly came back from my heightened sense of desire and purpose. I knew then that we would have a great friendship.

    <hr>

    The past year has been spent training Drako and myself to the bone. Myself to ensure I survive the Blood Bond and Drako to make him the best fire spitting lizard ever.

    Once, after a couple of months of my hellish training, I smiled at Grandpa Ozai because I was getting used to the pain of doing all the exercises and told him that I think I¡¯ll be able to handle the pain he mentioned if I wanted to Blood Bond with Drako. He actually fell on the floor laughing.

    ¡°This pain is nothing! Heh! The pain I mentioned will occur during the Blood Bond Ceremony.¡±

    Needless to say, this scared the crap out of me. I decided to duly try to ignore that I would have to go through an extremely painful ceremony. For Drako, I thought, as I pulled myself up to continue training.

    <hr>

    *BANG* I was pulled out of my thoughts by Drako headbutting the inner gate. I smiled as I opened the gate and Drako jumped into my arms.

    Ough. Drako¡¯s getting a bit heavy for me, but I don¡¯t complain because he won¡¯t be able to do this when he becomes a charmeleon. Right now, Drako stands head and shoulders above the rest of the charmander which are further in the enclosure. Although he is one of the oldest charmander in the enclosure, there are others that hatched at the same time as him. His scales are also a darker shade of orange than his peers, both naturally and hinting at his upcoming evolution into charmeleon.

    Drako has been suppressing his evolution for a couple of months now, because he knew that we needed to complete the Blood Bond Ceremony while he was a charmander.

    After swinging him around a bit, I plopped Drako down and we both were sort of jumping in anticipation.

    Then my phone rang.

    ¡°Orick! You know today is a special day! Come and get ready!¡± My mom shouted at me once I picked up.

    Right, there¡¯s a bunch of stuff I have to do to prepare for the ceremony at noon.

    ¡°See ya soon, buddy.¡± I say as I pat Drako on the head.

 Chapter 3 - Pain!

    The preparations for the ceremony were mostly just tradition. I had to wear a special orange outfit and eat the ceremonial meal before meeting with the family at noon. The ceremony was held at a large natural amphitheater which allowed all the family and any pokemon that wanted to attend. The ceremony was performed every year on the summer solstice.

    This year there were two family members of age to attend the Blood Bond Ceremony; Myself and my cousin Obediah (our family has a thing for names that start with O). We weren¡¯t exactly friends, but we weren¡¯t antagonistic towards each other. I just didn¡¯t really enjoy playing childish games since I reincarnated and we never really reconnected when we got a bit older.

    Grandpa Ozai stood on the ¡°stage¡± and beckoned both of us forward.

    ¡°Today, we welcome Orick and Obediah to their Blood Bond Ceremony. This is a tradition that has been passed down from our ancestors, to better acclimate to the blood bond.¡± Gramps recited as he waxed poetically about the ceremony. Really, the most important part was the elixir we drank to enact the blood bond. Normally, the trainer and pokemon would just imbibe the other¡¯s blood. The elixir we have incorporates the blood of both the trainer and pokemon, allowing for the Blood Bond to form more easily.

    From some experiences passed down from other family members¡­ It seems like the elixir contains a mild psychedelic¡­

    Hopefully I don¡¯t do anything embarrassing.

    Grandpa finally finishes his speech as Drako and Elise¡¯s daughter are brought before us.

    Drako rushes up to me and I pat him on the head. Meanwhile, Elise¡¯s daughter slowly walks up to Obediah and nods at him. We both lead our charmander to our respective area, prepared for the Blood Bond Ceremony.

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    When we are each in our place, Grandpa draws a circle around each pair. ¡°Now, after drinking the elixir, no one can interfere until the Blood Bond Ceremony is complete!¡±

    He hands us both the elixirs for us and our pokemon. The moment is here, what I¡¯ve been working towards madly for over a year. My childhood dreams in both lifetimes are about to be realized.

    ¡°Begin!¡± Barks Grandpa.

    Thoughts of the horrible pain I''m about to face race through my mind. With one last look into Drako¡¯s eyes, I drink the elixir while feeding Drako his portion. Bottoms up!

    After chugging the elixir, I resume staring into Drako¡¯s eyes and I can feel it starting to work. There is a heat in my chest and I can see that Drako is feeling it too. He starts to cry out ¡°CHAAAR!¡± And looks like a mini super saiyan, with aura lines radiating off his body.

    I don¡¯t remember when I started screaming but my voice melds with his as I start to see apparitions behind Drako. Charmeleon and charizard, his evolutions look to be projected behind him. Both screaming out as well in a roar. That picture of his monstrous evolutions framed behind Drako seemed to be burned into my retinas. Then there was black.

    <hr>

    When I woke up it was dark outside, but my immediate area was lit up by Drako¡¯s tail. But¡­it seemed to be bigger. I focused on Drako and saw a charmeleon!

    ¡°YOU¡¯RE UP! Thank Arceus!¡±

    As I looked around I saw my mom rushing towards me to encapsulate me in a hug.

    ¡°Ah¡­I''m okay, Mom¡­ but you¡¯re squishing me¡­¡±

    ¡°Hahaha! What did I tell you! Of course he would complete the bond successfully.¡± Grandpa boasted, but seemed to grow meek at Mom¡¯s stare.

    ¡°So, what happened during the ceremony¡­?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Well, Obediah¡¯s ceremony went pretty normally and he woke up in the evening.¡± Mom began, ¡°But you! I should have never let you talk me into this! You were screaming so loud¡­¡± She sniffled. ¡°And then Drako started evolving and¡­you kept screaming¡­¡±

    She released me a little to look in my eyes, ¡°Please, never put me through something like that again.¡± She said with tears in her eyes.

    There were tears in my eyes too as I nodded.

    Thwack Drako¡¯s tail hit my back in what I felt from him to be his attempt at consoling me. He must not know his own strength right now. Wait¡­ The bond! I can feel Drako at the edge of my¡­mind? Or my senses? Anyways, I could tell what Drako is feeling! And the bond would only grow better over time, letting us communicate with each other.

    I pulled Drako into the hug my mother seemed deadset not to let go of. ¡°You might as well join in too, Gramps!¡±

    ¡°Heh, twerp.¡± He replied as he came into the group hug.

 Chapter 4 - Charmeleon Brawl

    There are two months until my 15th birthday. Two months until I get to travel to my heart¡¯s content. And boy do I have plans for then.

    Currently, I¡¯m training Drako with some of the charmeleon in the Charicific Valley. There are five charmeleon including Drako and they¡¯re all engaged in an all out brawl.

    Due to Drako¡¯s size, he stands out, and is being teamed up against by two charmeleon while the other two duke it out. One of the charmeleon gets in close to slash at him while the other prepares a dragon breath.

    Although Drako could probably bull through and win, that¡¯s not what I¡¯ve been teaching him. He snorts a small amount of smoke before getting serious and releasing a humongous smokescreen. While under the cover of the smoke, he slips around the melee charmeleon and knocks them out with two well placed slashes that are almost dragon claws, courtesy of Elise''s tuition. Although Drako is big for a charmeleon, I still wanted to teach him proper tactics. One thing we trained was being able to hear his opponent while in a smokescreen.

    The ranged charmeleon doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s happening in the smoke but lets out a dragon breath anyways. After a few seconds the smoke begins to clear, showing a prone Drako charging up his own dragon breath. He jumps up and fires the much larger dragon breath at the ranged charmeleon, knocking it out.

    After dealing with his two opponents, Drako turns to the last remaining charmeleon. The charmeleon lets out a small flamethrower, sending out a challenge to Drako. Drako accepts and they both begin charging their flamethrowers.

    Releasing at the same time, both flamethrowers look about even, buffeting against each other in the middle of the pokemon. But slowly, the opponent¡¯s flamethrower starts to shrink while Drako keeps up a steady stream. Eventually, the opponent is worn down and Drako puts a little oomph into his flamethrower to explode it forward. Due to its previous injuries, the charmeleon is defeated.

    Drako raises his maw and roars at the heavens.

    While Drako relishes in his victory, I quickly heal the downed pokemon. As I go from charmeleon to charmeleon, I can¡¯t help but think that Drako is a beast. I mean, that last charmeleon was 3 years old, and Drako is only 2.

    I know that blood bonded pokemon grow more quickly and more powerful than their non-bonded counterparts¡­but still, Drako was only winded slightly from that fight. I¡¯d say he has around 60% of his energy left and he was undamaged.

    I shook my head. I can¡¯t start getting complacent. I¡¯ve barely faced any other bonded pokemon. Also, Drako¡¯s size could hinder his flying as a charizard. So far, on the ground he is faster than the other charmeleon. Hopefully, he becomes adept at flying. If not, he still has a stronger attack than typical pokemon of the charmander line.

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    Speaking of Drako¡¯s evolution, it should be imminent now. He¡¯s started showing signs this past week. I hope he evolves before I set off for my journey, getting around with a flying mount would be way easier.

    I start walking back to the main compound with Drako walking beside me. As we approach my house, I see Obediah at a training area with his charmeleon, Estoria. Being the daughter of Elise, my Grampa¡¯s charizard, Estoria is a prime example of a charmeleon. Although, she was newly evolved around a month ago.

    Estoria is practicing her ember to develop it into flamethrower. As we pass by, suddenly Drako stops and stares at Estoria. I just facepalm as I basically see hearts flying out of his eyes.

    ¡°Hey, how¡¯s it going Orick?¡± Obediah greets me as Estoria takes a break.

    ¡°Not bad, just got done training with some of the charmeleon in the valley. How¡¯s Estoria¡¯s progress?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s doing really well! She should have flamethrower down in less than a week!¡±

    As we¡¯re talking, Drako walks up to Estoria and tries engaging her in conversation but she just huffs out a small flame and looks away. Although Drako always tries to flirt with Estoria, she never reciprocates and tries to ignore him when she can. I think that she¡¯s jealous of Drako¡¯s progress, even though he is older than her. Sometimes when I¡¯m practicing with Drako, I can see her sneaking glances at him.

    ¡°Well, we should get going, my mom has dinner ready.¡± I say. ¡°C¡¯mon Drako.¡±

    Drako lowers his head in sadness as he catches up to me.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry about Estoria. I think she secretly likes you.¡± I whisper to him, causing him to perk up.

    ¡°Mom, we¡¯re home.¡± I say as I enter my house.

    ¡°Come in the kitchen, dinner¡¯s ready.¡± She calls from the dining room.

    We quickly enter and start scarfing down Mom¡¯s heavenly cooking, while she looks at us fondly exasperated at the rate we¡¯re eating.

    ¡°Slow down, it''s not going anywhere.¡± She says with a laugh.

    ¡°Well, we only have two months to enjoy your cooking.¡± I say with a smile. But mom slightly frowns at that and takes a moment to recompose herself.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll manage. And if you¡¯re really craving it, you can come home.¡± She says wistfully.

    I mentally slap my head. Why did I have to lower the mood like that? I know that Mom has had some troubles during her journey, and seeing how she no longer has any pokemon, I can guess somewhat what happened to her. If you lose all of your bonded pokemon, it¡¯s almost impossible to form a bond again.

    As well, your first six bonds would always be the deepest. While you can only have six bonded pokemon at a time, if one was lost you could replace the bond. Many trainers never made it to a full six bonds, quitting after two or three.

    Mom never liked talking about her past, though I knew she was a trainer who started with a charmander. She would always try to focus on me while I was growing up. Now that I¡¯m about to leave, I¡¯m worried about how she¡¯ll cope with me gone.

    In my past life, my parents weren¡¯t horrible. But they never really cared for me like Mom. They just neglected me unless there was trouble with my grades or school. With the love and care that Mom¡¯s showed me in this life, I consider her to be my real parent.

    After finishing my meal, I got up and did the dishes. When I was done, Mom was still sitting at the table, staring into space.

    I came up to her and gave her a big hug. ¡°I love you, Mom. I¡¯ll make sure to come back home as much as I can.¡±

    ¡°No, no. You should enjoy your journey¡­they could be some of the best years of your life.¡±

    ¡°I will be enjoying my journey. Besides, with Drako here I should be able to fly around quite fast.¡± I say.

    ¡°Chaaar!¡± Drako says as he sidles up to Mom on the other side. Drako really bonded with Mom over the years¡­mostly due to her exemplary cooking and the treats she made him.

    ¡°Oh, just make sure to always get home safe.¡± She says with tears beading down her cheek.

    ¡°I promise!¡± ¡°CHAaar!¡±

 Chapter 5 - Growth

    There¡¯s just two weeks left until I leave for my journey. Unlike the Blood Bond Ceremony, which is only on the summer solstice. I get to leave home on my 15th birthday when my full trainer license is issued. Obediah still has a couple of months until his 15th birthday, so I¡¯ll be setting off alone. Which is what I planned, but the only problem is Drako hasn¡¯t evolved yet.

    He¡¯s so close, I can feel it through our bond and see it in his appearance. Charmeleon in the valley usually evolve by fighting other charmeleon and proving themselves superior. But for Drako, he can easily mop up all the other charmeleon in the valley. The only other bonded charmeleon in the valley is Estoria, but she is a bit younger and not a match for Drako.

    Through the bond I feel Drako¡¯s irritation and desire for a real challenge. To this end, I came to Grandpa¡¯s cabin.

    ¡°Grandpa!¡± I say in greeting as I find him lounging on the porch with Elise.

    ¡°What¡¯s the problem now, squirt?¡± He says while eyeing me up.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°You always come to me with the same tone when you have a problem, ¡®Grandpa! Grandpa!¡¯. So, what is it now?¡± He says with a mocking tone.

    I sigh and begin explaining Drako¡¯s situation to him.

    ¡°So, I thought that maybe he needs a fight with a charizard to really push him!¡± At my exclamation, Elise perks up. ¡°Well, maybe a newly evolved charizard¡­¡± And Elise goes back to napping.

    ¡°Hmmmm¡­¡± Gramps mumbles while thinking. ¡°Maybe him¡­no, her, oh wait this is perfect!¡± He says while sitting up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have the perfect opponent for Drako. Meet me at the main battlefield tomorrow at sunrise.¡±

    With that sentence and a creepy smile, Gramps shooed me away.

    <hr>

    Waking up while it¡¯s still dark, I got in a light workout with Drako before heading to the main battle arena. This was where any major battles between the charizard in the Charicific Valley took place, or where disputes between family members were settled.

    As we neared the venue, I could actually see a small crowd of family members in the stands as well as a large amount of charizard and charmeleon on the surrounding rock faces and cliffs. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder which charizard we were going to battle against.

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    ¡°Orick, I will be refereeing this fight to make sure there are no major injuries. When you enter your trainer box, I will call the charizard down to fight you.¡± Grandpa said as he ushered me to a trainer box. ¡°This charizard has been bullying the newly evolved charizard and I figured getting beaten by a charmeleon would put him in his place.¡± He quickly said as he left me at the foot of the trainer box.

    Ugh, why does grandpa have to do this to me. I asked to battle a newly evolved charizard, not their bully! No matter. I shake my head. Drako can handle this.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got this, Drako. Remember our training.¡± I say to Drako before taking my spot in the box. Drako stood at attention in front of me in his designated spot, raring to battle.

    A series of sharp whistles sound out from Grandpa, prompting one of the charizard in the surroundings to jump up and land on the opposite side of the arena. After landing it shot out three flamethrowers in separate directions.

    Okay, so Gramps didn¡¯t totally screw me over, it looks like this charizard has only been evolved for around six months. The flamethrower display it did shows that it¡¯s cocky, wasting energy before the battle.

    Drako snorted, producing a little smoke and stared at the charizard with a determined look in his eyes. Through our bond I could sense his anticipation for a challenge.

    Gramps raised his hands and eyed both pokemon, making sure they were ready.

    ¡°Begin!¡± He shouted as he thrust his hands down.

    At his signal, the charizard took to the skies and started circling Drako while sending out air slashes. Drako kept his eyes locked on charizard as he weaved and danced around the attacks. I¡¯d previously told Drako not to bother with the smokescreen as charizard could just blow it away from a distance. The key to this fight was patience and timing. Drako¡¯s tempered patience versus the charizard''s lack of patience.

    Minutes passed as Drako continued to dodge the air slashes. Though he was able to evade most of the attacks, he was getting clipped here and there. The damage was slowly piling on, though the charizard seemed to be wasting a lot of energy in its attacks while Drako was conserving his by dodging only as much as needed.

    The lack of major damage to Drako seemed to agitate the charizard and it swooped in closer while preparing a dragon breath. Drako tensed up, waiting for the charizard to attack and right as the charizard started releasing his dragon breath Drako jumped straight into the attack.

    This was a strategy I devised on how to have Drako beat charizard or other flyers that he couldn¡¯t target easily with ranged attacks. Most flying pokemon tend to slow almost to a stop when they release large attacks. This would especially be apparent in charizard, who only recently gained the ability to fly. Using this knowledge, Drako would have to tank one of their attacks while jumping towards them to latch on and cause some damage to hopefully ground the pokemon.

    Drako soared through the air like a cannonball as he shot from the ground. He was partially obscured as the dragon breath enveloped him but a second later the dragon breath was abruptly cut off as Drako smashed into charizards neck with a dragon claw.

    Drako wasn¡¯t done as he grabbed onto a wing and continued using dragon claw with his other hand. The charizard was startled at first, but quickly chose to divebomb the stage. Drako was smashed into the stage by charizard, suffering major damage. This caused a bunch of dust to go into the air.

    Through our bond, I rallied on Drako¡¯s spirit to push through his pain and finish the fight. Charizard had disengaged from Drako after its dive, and was slowly regaining its senses. The recoil from its dive and the dragon claws from Drako left it looking hurt.

    Meanwhile, Drako was at the bottom of a mild crater partially obscured from view due to the dust.

    The charizard finally snapped back into the fight, and resorted to its quickest flamethrower. But as the flames reached the dust cloud, a huge blue dragon breath erupted from the centre pushing back the flames and quickly reaching charizard. This was the largest dragon breath Drako had ever formed. As the light from the attack died and the dust cleared, Drako was visible on four limbs breathing heavily. Opposite him was the knocked out Charizard.

    Slowly, Drako got to his feet and let out a primal roar that echoed through the valley. Partway through the roar, the light of evolution engulfed him and he began to grow.

    I watched with a pleased smile as my best friend became a charizard.

    A childhood dream realized.

 Chapter 6 - Setting Off

    I woke with a yawn and looked over to Drako, snoozing on his pad in the corner. Naturally, all the housing in the compound were accommodating to charizard. Even though Drako is a little above nine feet tall, there are charizard in the Charicific Valley that reach around ten feet. The tallest is Grampa¡¯s Elise at just shy of 11 feet. But Drako is still a juvenile and has some growing to do.

    After getting up and doing our morning exercise, Drako and I headed for breakfast.

    ¡°Excited, kid?¡± Gramps asks. He had joined us today because today would be the day I set off on my journey. 15 years in this world, and I was finally going to set out. I had been preparing for this day since I learned to read in this world.

    Obviously, one of my first questions in this world was if any meta knowledge I had from my old life would be useful. I scoured the internet for any information that would corroborate my meta knowledge and found that it was hit and miss. A lot of locations and events that I looked up matched up with what I knew, but there were a lot of things about this world that were different. The world itself is a lot bigger and more populated than depicted in the anime or games. There were also things like Blood Bonds and elixirs in this world which I had no idea about before.

    Nevertheless, I was able to determine some things from my meta knowledge that rang true. While others could not be confirmed over the internet. Boy, am I glad I spent those hours in my past life compiling a bunch of pokemon knowledge for that forum about being isekai¡¯d to the pokemon world.

    ¡°Kid?¡± Gramps repeated, snapping me from my thoughts.

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m excited to finally be able to travel.¡± I said. Up until this point in my life I had only been to Violet city and the Charicific Valley. ¡°I have a lot of plans.¡±

    ¡°Chaar!¡±

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    ¡°Yep, all that flying training we¡¯ve been doing is going to pay off.¡± I say to Drako. Recently, we¡¯ve mainly been training Drako¡¯s aerial mobility with some help from Elise. Unfortunately, you need a license to fly on a pokemon so I haven¡¯t been able to ride Drako yet. To simulate my weight, I tied a rock to his back as he flew around.

    ¡°So, I guess that¡¯s your first stop? Violet City to get a flying license?¡± Mom asked.

    ¡°Uh huh.¡± I say between mouthfuls.

    After breakfast, I head to my room to make sure I packed everything. Being sponsored by the Charicific Valley, I received everything I could need for my journey. A tent, food, water, medicine and all that good stuff were neatly packed into my spatial backpack. I would also receive a stipend of $5 000 each month for expenses. Though it sounded like a lot, caring for a pokemon costs a lot of money in food and supplements. So I would have to supplement my income during my journey.

    I joined Mom, Gramps and Drako outside and they led me to the entrance of the valley. Once we reached the gate Mom crushed me with a hug.

    Once she let go she retrieved a pokeball from her purse and handed it to me. ¡°I wanted you to have a special pokeball for Drako. Happy birthday!¡±

    The pokeball she handed me was black with a stylized image of Drako on the top half. I could tell that the charizard was Drako due to the pattern on his forehead which looked like a star.

    ¡°Thanks, Mom.¡± I said as I moved to hug her again.

    Gramps then came up to me and handed me five regular pokeballs and a saddle for Drako. The saddle was collapsible and automatically strapped onto Drako with the touch of a button.

    I didn¡¯t get a pokedex because those were outdated. When I was 14 I got a phone that was a model that could function as a pokedex using an app. My phone is a little old now, but had all the features I needed like solar panels for charging like a calculator. It could also hold a charge for around a week without sunlight.

    ¡°I also got you a gift.¡± He says as he hands me a TM. ¡°You always need to be wary of the weaknesses of your pokemon and try to compensate for it. This TM contains brick break, which will help against rock types.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Gramps.¡±

    ¡°Alright, off with you.¡± He says as he makes a shooing motion.

    After one last hug with Mom, I turned to Drako with his pokeball in my hand. ¡°Ready, buddy?¡±

    ¡°Char!¡± He replies in the affirmative and I tap him with the pokeball. He¡¯s instantly caught and I release him. Previously, I didn¡¯t need a pokeball as Drako could accompany me anywhere in the Charicific Valley.

    With one last look at the picturesque valley, I start my journey towards Violet City.

 Chapter 7 - Flight Unlocked

    As I made my way to Violet City, I rejoiced in the feeling of my body quickly running down the route. One thing I didn¡¯t really emphasize is the impact Blood Bonds have on the trainer. Well, it¡¯s sort of similar to the impact they have on pokemon. Humans¡¯ bodies are strengthened all around and have an increased growth rate. Basically superhuman. I¡¯d estimate that having four or five strong bonds would make you equivalent to Captain America.

    Right now, I am sort of at the olympic athlete level. I would change between 20 minutes of running with a 10 minute walking break. Drako would fly over me every once in a while, checking in after his exploration of the area. I knew he wasn¡¯t roaming far because I could sense his location with the bond. This route wasn¡¯t very dangerous, but Drako would still be able to reach me if I needed help.

    Soon, we made it to the outskirts of Violet City and I recalled Drako to his pokeball. Large pokemon weren¡¯t allowed to be out of their pokeball in the city.

    ¡°Sorry buddy, just take a nap for now.¡±

    ¡°Charr.¡± He whined before being recalled.

    I had already booked a test online that included a mandatory lesson beforehand which would take place in an hour. To pass the time until then I decided to visit a restaurant that served both pokemon and humans. But before that I made a quick stop at the Sprout Tower to pick up some items.

    I chose to eat in the outdoor venue, since it was a nice day. Releasing Drako, I asked what he wanted to eat.

    ¡°Char! Charizard!¡±

    Which I shouldn¡¯t have bothered with since he chose to have steak as usual. I decided to get the same thing since it was a specialty of the restaurant.

    The meat is not from pokemon, but is from normal animals that are kept on farms. There are still some in the wild, but they were usually in isolated areas where certain pokemon kept them as livestock.

    When the food came out, there was a humongous steak for Drako with a standard one for me.

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    As we ate, I looked at the pokemon of the other patrons. Most were at the first or second stage of evolution, but there was a nidoking and nidoqueen at one table with a bearded man. Those two looked powerful.

    Even though Drako is large and powerful, he would probably lose to either of those pokemon. Drako is still young and inexperienced after all. That just means we have to keep working hard to surpass them.

    <hr>

    After eating, I returned Drako and made my way to the licensing centre. I quickly checked in and made my way out to the field where the lesson would take place.

    The instructor was there in uniform with a large pidgeot standing beside her. There were also three other trainers with two smaller pidgeot and a fearow. Looking around the field I saw that there was an obstacle course set up with metal hoops and bars. Too bad that the obstacle course was only for the advanced flying class.

    ¡°You must be our fourth student, you can let out your flying pokemon and saddle them. We¡¯re just waiting on one more.¡± The instructor said as I reached them.

    I released Drako, which caused a bit of a stir with the other trainers, though the instructor was unphased because I had registered for the class with a charizard. I attached the saddle to Drako easily through the automatic nature of the saddle. Drako shook himself to make sure it was firmly attached.

    ¡°Cool charizard.¡± The trainer with the fearow said as he looked Drako up and down. I complimented the guy¡¯s fearow as well, it looked to be well trained.

    After a couple of minutes, the last trainer showed up and released a pidgeot of their own. Pidgeot were typically the pokemon most caught to serve as a flight pokemon.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get started. I¡¯m instructor Lisa and I¡¯ll be helping you to learn how to fly. First off, all of you get strapped into your saddles so I can make sure you¡¯re secure.¡± The instructor said, then went around checking if everyone was strapped in correctly. She made some adjustments here and there, tightening straps.

    ¡°Okay, now that everyone¡¯s strapped in we¡¯ll be taking off one by one to fly a circle around the field.¡± She said as she strapped onto her own pidgeot.

    One by one she helped the other trainer¡¯s to fly around the field and giving them advice for a smooth flight.

    Finally, it was my turn. ¡°Let¡¯s do this, Drako.¡±

    ¡°CHARR!¡± He bellowed as he flapped his wings taking flight. I smiled in exhilaration as the wind blew over me. Drako didn¡¯t seem to be weighed down by me at all and started to fly around the field.

    Lisa was hovering nearby and gave some pointers to make the ride more smooth, and her pidgeot seemed to converse with Drako and soon the wind buffeting me became a lot milder. It seems Drako was learning to use his flying energy as sort of a windshield.

    Soon enough we were all in the air doing laps of the field, with Lisa occasionally giving advice to a trainer. We weren¡¯t doing any maneuvers, just practicing a smooth flight and take offs and landings that Lisa would instruct us to do. The hour quickly passed and it was time for our test.

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time for the practical test.¡± Lisa said. We all had already passed a written test which was required to attend this lesson. Basically like the rules of the road, but for flying.

    ¡°The test is simply to complete three laps of the field, taking off and landing with each lap. I will be judging your flight stability as well as the damage you do when taking off or landing.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t worried at all, and Drako proved himself by passing the test easily. All the other students were able to pass as well, it wasn¡¯t really a hard test, just proving you and your pokemon''s ability to fly safely.

    I was issued my license and quickly made my way to one of the designated areas to take off and land in the city. It was time to go catch my second pokemon. It was time to head to the orange islands.

 Chapter 8 - Second Pokemon

    I left violet city on Drako¡¯s back, heading to the orange islands.

    I still had two months until the league season started and I had two pokemon that I wanted to bond with before that.

    Drako flew quickly through the air towards the south. We took breaks when needed for Drako, at which time I would do some exercises so I didn¡¯t fall out of practice. During the flight Drako was getting better at shielding the wind and making us more aerodynamic. Before nightfall he would fly as fast as he could, exhausting his energy.

    We didn¡¯t run into any unruly pokemon as most of the flying pokemon were wary of the large charizard.

    Partway through the second day, we reached the coast and Azalea Town. I decided to stay in town for the night to make sure Drako was well rested for the flight over the ocean. Drako descended to the landing area in the town, after which I returned him, which he was actually glad for since he can nap.

    I made my way to the pokemon centre and checked into a room. Although trainers had to still pay for lodging, it was subsidized by the Pokemon League of each respective region. I decided to get Drako checked over in case there were any problems from the long flight.

    As I waited in the pokemon centre, I watched an Ace trainer match that was playing on the television. Ace trainers were the top 999 trainers in their region, barring the champion and elite 4 who weren¡¯t in the ranking. Gym leaders were also excluded from the ace ranking but would surely rank in the top 10.

    This match was a challenge issued by an ice/water type specialist against a ground type specialist. In this world, specialists were common due to the ease in which they would be able to train their pokemon¡¯s moves, diet and battle strategy. Though a lot of people specialized in two similar types.

    Although blood bonds were able to share and boost aura between trainer and pokemon, it did not share type energy as that could be fatal for humans. Therefore, there was no benefit in only bonding with one type of pokemon other than the ease of training.

    I had spent a lot of time researching on the internet to be able to train the six pokemon I planned to have on my team. Though, I might be swayed if I see a pokemon that catches my eye that isn¡¯t on my planned team.

    As expected, the ice/ water type specialist ended up winning the battle. She had a strong lapras that basically swept the last three members of the opposing ground specialist¡¯s team.

    ¡°Orick Ortiz, your pokemon is ready for pickup.¡± I heard over the speaker system and made my way to the front desk.

    ¡°Your charizard is perfectly healthy, though he has some muscle soreness.¡± The nurse told me.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said after retrieving Drako¡¯s pokeball.

    I considered going to the local Battle Arena to get in a battle, but decided to just turn in early so that we could leave at dawn.

    <hr>

    After another two days of travel we finally made it to our destination, Trovitopolis. Having had to rest on one of the other islands on our way. Now I just had to find the pokemon I was looking for. Through research on the internet I was able to find some sightings to confirm some of my anime knowledge. Hopefully I can find it and convince it to join my team.

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    Donning some waterproof clothes, I made my way to the sewers. The sightings were usually in the north side of the sewers so that¡¯s where I started, surreptitiously slipping through a manhole. Due to the ease with which pokemon can dig, the sewer was quite spacious and I was able to let Drako out.

    ¡°Alright, Drako, I know it smells horrible in here so you can choose to stay in your pokeball.¡±

    ¡°Zard!¡± He says, shaking his head.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re here looking for our second teammate. It¡¯s a little bigger than average, like you. Just look out for any green vines.¡±

    ¡°Char. Char?¡±

    ¡°I want it to be a surprise, you¡¯ll see when we find it.¡± I said. Which made Drako huff, letting out some smoke through his nostrils.

    ¡°Alright, alright. We¡¯re looking for a bulbasaur, one of the Kanto starters just like your species.¡±

    To make the search easier, I had bought some stuff from the Sprout Tower who specialized in grass/poison types. A couple of incense sticks that made a scent that grass/poison types found irresistible and some treats for grass/poison types. Hopefully this will work, I think as I light the incense over Drako¡¯s tail fire.

    With the lit incense in one hand and a flashlight in the other, I made my way through the sewers.

    <hr>

    Several hours later, we had found nothing other than some grimer and muk who stayed away due to the intimidating presence of Drako. I was on my last incense stick and decided to try something different.

    ¡°Drako, I think maybe your presence is scaring off the bulbasaur. I¡¯m going to recall you for a little while to see if they¡¯ll approach.¡±

    ¡°CHARIZARD!¡± Drako complains.

    ¡°Just because they¡¯re cautious of you, doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re weak. First of all, they¡¯re a grass type and weak to fire types like you. Secondly, you¡¯re on your third evolution compared to their first.¡±

    ¡°Chaaar.¡± He replied, nodding his head sagely.

    I couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the image of Drako acting with a wise demeanor.

    ¡°Zard!¡±

    ¡°Sorry, sorry! You¡¯re very wise, Drako. I¡¯m going to recall you now.¡± I said as I did just that. The loss of the light from Drako¡¯s tail caused the sewer to darken dramatically. Only my flashlight lit up the dark.

    I continued to wander about the sewer, making sure to avoid the muk and grimer.

    Hearing a splash behind me, I turned to look when suddenly the incense stick in my hand was yanked out. I quickly adjusted the flashlight and caught sight of a vine wrapped around the incense stick retreating into the dark of another tunnel.

    I dashed after the vine, trying to keep up. I thought about calling out Drako but didn¡¯t want to scare the bulbasaur. As I ran, I hastily unwrapped a treat from the sprout tower and shouted, ¡°Bulbasaur, wait! I have a treat for you!¡±

    As the vine was about to leave my vision it stopped. Not wanting to scare it, I stopped as well and held the treat on my raised palm.

    I hear slow steps approach the intersection where the vine was, then the vine hesitantly reached for the treat in my hand. I let it take the treat, and waited patiently. Soon, I heard the sound of chewing and the steps started approaching again.

    I took out another treat and this time I slowly approached the intersection while talking in a calming voice. ¡°It¡¯s okay, bulbasaur. I don¡¯t want to hurt you. Here, I have many more treats like these with me.¡±

    I finally laid eyes on it, when the bulbasaur peaked around the corner. I crouched down a little, to get to its eye level and offered it the treat.

    ¡°Saur?¡± It said, and even though I wasn¡¯t bonded to them I could tell that it was questioning why I was doing this.

    ¡°I want to be friends with you, bulbasaur. I want you to join me on my journey.¡±

    ¡°Bulba! Saur, saur!¡± They barked at me, giving me a stare. Though I couldn¡¯t figure out what they were saying I knew someone who could.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to release my Charizard, Drako. You might have seen him earlier, he can help me talk to you. Is that alright?¡± I asked.

    Bulbasaur was a little wary and backed up but didn¡¯t run. I took that as a sign that I should release Drako and proceeded to do so.

    ¡°Drako, this is the bulbasaur I was telling you about. Can you help me understand him?¡±

    ¡°Char.¡± He said to me, then turned to the bulbasaur. ¡°Zard?¡±

    As they conversed with each other I picked up a feeling of abandonment and rejection from my bond. Though, slowly as they talked it eased up. Finally, bulbasaur turned to me and said, ¡°Saur!¡± which I interpreted to mean ¡®Why me?¡¯ through my bond with Drako.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re special, bulbasaur. You were abandoned and then rejected by different people that feared you, but you never gave up. You¡¯re a survivor and you showed them that you¡¯re worth something by growing so strong.¡± I said, as I slowly approached bulbasaur. ¡°Me and Drako are a team, inseparable. And I want you to join that team, what do you say?¡±

    I crouched in front of bulbasaur with my hand outstretched, waiting with bated breath.

    Finally, bulbasaur¡¯s vine enclosed my hand and he walked up to me. ¡°Bulbasaur!¡±

    Feeling ecstatic, I patted the large bulbasaur on the head.

    ¡°Welcome to the team.¡°

 Chapter 9 - Bonding

    After explaining the mechanics of a pokeball and that they could be aware of the outside world while in it, I caught bulbasaur and brought them out of the sewer. As I headed to the pokecenter I got some weird looks as I smelled and was filthy, but I didn¡¯t care and entered the pokecenter with a big smile.

    ¡°Can I get a room please?¡± I asked the attendant at the front desk.

    They wrinkled their nose and laughed. ¡°Of course, it seems like you could use a shower.¡±

    After paying, I hurried to my room, entered the bathroom and released bulbasaur. Earlier I had scanned their pokeball and found out that they were female among other information.

    ¡°Bulbasaur, what do you think about a name? I don¡¯t want to just call you your species name.¡±

    ¡°Bulba!¡± She responded in acceptance.

    ¡°How about Hellenbore? The first part means sunlight, but also alludes to the hellebore flower that is hardy and looks like the flower of a venusaur.¡±

    ¡°Saur! Saur!¡± She said happily, after thinking for a moment.

    ¡°Alright, and I can shorten it to Hellen.¡± I said, ¡°Now, I don¡¯t want to be rude, Hellen, but we both need a shower.¡±

    <hr>

    After cleaning myself and Hellen, I went to the public shower for large pokemon and carefully cleaned Drako. Then we made our way to the cafeteria for dinner. I still had to buy the ingredients for the food that I would feed to Hellen, but the standard grass type meal would do for tonight. Meanwhile, Drako got food created by the recipe the Ortiz family used for the charizard in Charicific valley.

    Once we were finished with our food, we headed to our room to sleep. Drako was quick to start snoring as I laid in bed thinking about how lucky I was to have Hellen join the team.

    Tomorrow we will form our Blood Bond. The second bond is not as hard to form as the first, because the trainer would already have a boosted aura from their first bond. That being said, it would still be straining on the trainer, just in a different way. The first bond had the most chance of physically harming a trainer and pokemon, but every bond after that increased the mental strain as the trainer would be connected to more pokemon.

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    It is recommended that a trainer grow used to their latest bond before attempting another one, with the minimum recommended time between bonds being one month. I had no worries on this part since my bond with Drako was rock solid, and I had sufficient time to become accustomed to it. But I worried about the third pokemon I was planning to recruit. Would I be able to bond with them before the league season starts?

    One small worry I had was that I hadn¡¯t known Hellen for long. Usually trainers would work with their pokemon for a while before performing the Blood Bond, to make sure they were a good fit for the team and to ensure the bonding process went smoothly. Despite that, all my interactions with Hellen showed me a personality I instantly vibed with. Drako also seemed to approve after his conversation with Hellen.

    I was pulled from my thoughts by a gentle tapping on my leg. I looked over to see Helen had left her bed and was looking at me with a questioning face.

    ¡°What is it, girl? Can¡¯t sleep?¡± I asked.

    She looked to the side sheepishly and said in a low tone, ¡°...bulba?¡± While tapping at the empty spot next to me on my bed.

    ¡°Of course you can sleep in my bed.¡± I said with a smile. Luckily, the beds at pokemon centers were rather large so they can accommodate pokemon.

    She jumped up nimbly for her size and plopped down next to me. I started to pet her head. I was sure we would form a solid bond in no time.

    <hr>

    The next morning, I quickly shopped for the ingredients to Hellen¡¯s food. It was a recipe I had developed based on my research. The best recipes for pokemon were usually held secret by certain families or clans so I had to develop my own through painstakingly analyzing any data I could find online. Even though I was confident in my recipe, I would still experiment with what Hellen likes best and try to improve the formula.

    I made breakfast for us three and luckily Hellen didn¡¯t complain about her food, though she wasn¡¯t in love with it like Drako was with his. No matter, I would experiment with some berries to find a flavour she likes.

    After eating, I rented a private training room in the pokecenter to perform the Blood Bond with Hellen. I explained the concept in detail yesterday, though most pokemon know that a Blood Bond with a human is possible, Hellen being no exception. I just clarified the method we would use and how it would likely feel.

    Releasing both Drako and Hellen into the training room, I took on a serious look.

    ¡°This is an important occasion, as is the creation of any blood bond.¡± I looked at Drako fondly. ¡°This is a commitment we make to each other, that we will always have each other¡¯s backs and always be a team. But personally, I like to think of us as a family.¡±

    ¡°CHAAR!¡± Drako roared, and Hellen looked to be intrigued.

    ¡°Though we haven¡¯t met for long, I already feel a connection to you.¡± I said as I locked eyes with Hellen.

    ¡°Char! Char!¡± Drako said in agreement.

    ¡°Are you ready for this bond, Hellenbore? If you need some-¡±

    ¡°BULBASAUR!¡± She cried, interrupting me. She approached and leveled a determined gaze at me. ¡°Saur!¡±

    I smiled at her. ¡°Let¡¯s begin, then.¡±

    I took out two syringes designed for forming a blood bond and proceeded to collect a small amount of my and Hellen¡¯s blood and added them to some grass/poison type elixirs. The elixirs weren¡¯t specifically designed for a bulbasaur, like my previous elixir was for charmander. But I was lucky enough to get a grass/poison type elixir from the Sprout Tower, instead of using one of the common grass type elixirs from the Pokemart. Not that I wouldn¡¯t have used a specific elixir if I had access to it¡­

    Once done mixing the elixirs, I crouched down and drank my elixir while feeding Helen hers.

    After a moment, I felt the bond forming as I stared into Hellen¡¯s eyes. Unlike when I bonded to Drako, I wasn¡¯t screaming in pain so I could feel as we were linked with aura. My body did undergo some heavy strain, but it was manageable. Slowly, a new awareness formed at the edge of my mind until it finally locked into place.

    I sat down quickly to catch my breath. Once recovered, I looked up to see Hellen and Drako standing over me.

    A grin broke out on my face and both my bonds radiated happiness.

 Chapter 10 - Money Making Schemes

    The rest of the day was spent training with Drako and Hellen.

    Drako practiced brick break, trying to fully comprehend the fighting type energy so that he can use the move more fluidly. Though the TM gives a pokemon the general information needed to perform the move, practice was needed to make it their own.

    Meanwhile, I worked with Hellen to see what moves she is capable of and how developed they are. She started with showing off her vines by whipping a practice target causing it to crack, each training room included some concrete targets with the fee. Then she proceeded to lift herself off the ground and walk around like she was on stilts.

    I was duly impressed by her vines, ¡°Great job, Hellen. Do you know razor leaf, or leech seed?¡±

    She responded by sending out some sharp leaves that embedded themselves in the same target about half an inch deep. Then she shot a seed out of her bulb that landed in one of the cracks and started to grow, small vines latching on to the cracks in the target.

    Hellen turned to me with a smirk, ¡°Bulba!¡±

    ¡°Nice work! How about any powders?¡±

    At that she got into a wide stance with a determined look, ¡°Saur!¡± She cried as a small mushroom cloud of spores came out of her bulb and settled at her feet.

    She looked away shyly, ¡°...saur.¡±

    ¡°Hey, look at me. That was a good attempt, Hellen. It just means we need to work on those moves.¡± I said as I smiled at her.

    She also had the usual tackle and growl. As well as the beginning of growth. Growth doesn¡¯t increase a pokemon¡¯s size, but rather increases the power of their body for a short time and results in a period of weakness afterwards.

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    I worked out a training schedule for Hellen that would work on physical fitness as well as work on her various moves. I didn¡¯t want to overwhelm her, so the rest of the day was working on physical fitness along with her vines and razorleaf. She would run laps and attack the targets with alternating attacks.

    Once Hellen was set on her routine, I started to workout myself. Occasionally providing some encouragement or advice.

    <hr>

    The next day, I woke up to a vine wrapping around me and the snores of Drako. Once I moved to get up, Hellen woke and stretched out on the bed like a cat.

    ¡°You can sleep in, I¡¯m just going to get ready for the day.¡± I say as I pat her head.

    She curls up on the bed as I start to take a shower.

    Once I was ready for the day, I woke up my team and we all had breakfast. As for the goal of today? It was to make some money! Already, I was getting low on funds after buying the ingredients for Hellen¡¯s food. If I wanted the best for my team, be it TMs or expensive ingredients, I needed money.

    I could go to the local Battle Arena and win some battles, but the amount of money I would get is chump change.

    The method I decided on was to get a rare pokemon and sell it at the annual Pre-Season Auction which would take place in about a month. Obviously, one of the rarest pokemon I could get would be the cystal onix! Variant pokemon are highly sought after and fetch a high price when sold. Especially with this being such a beautiful pokemon.

    I personally don¡¯t want onix on my team and the sale of onix opens up an opportunity to buy a pokemon at the auction. I really need a psychic type to protect my mind. If I start to make waves with different discoveries, I might find some unsavory people after me. Finding a good psychic type pokemon in the wild is incredibly difficult due to their ability to detect minds from far away and the ability to teleport that most have.

    Though dark types can perform a similar function. It depends on what is available at the auction. Usually there are many well bred and high potential pokemon.

    There is a part of me that wants to find Blastoise Island to report a group of starter pokemon unknown to the League. I would be able to get a lot of money for the discovery, but I planned to do it after I have some sort of defense against psychics. Similarly, I could report the discovery of Dragonite Island to the Blackthorns. There wasn¡¯t really any other option as the Blackthorns have a tight rein on the dratini line and are legally given the rights to wild breeding groups. Though the discoverer does get monetary payment or equivalent value in items or pokemon.

    I¡¯m not being too blackhearted by exposing these groups of pokemon. They would get discovered eventually, and they are not treated badly. The offspring that want to battle will be available to be given to trainers. Along with food and protection, it¡¯s not that bad of a deal.

    Anyways, I quickly buy a couple of heavy balls before I set out.

    Time to find the crystal onix!

 Chapter 11 - Cave Hunting

    We made it to Sunburst Island by the afternoon and I urged Drako to land on the smaller connected island. The place was uninhabited and featured a forest with some large hills. Unluckily, I couldn¡¯t just fly around on Drako as there was plenty of tree cover to obscure a cave opening. I knew it wouldn¡¯t look so apparent otherwise people would have found the crystal cave already. Though the crystals aren¡¯t worth that much, there are a lot and they would still fetch a fair price.

    I let out Hellen and let her and Drako know what we were looking for.

    ¡°In this cave is a special onix. One that I want to catch in order to have enough money to support our team and potentially a new member.¡±

    ¡°Char?¡± ¡°Bulba?¡±

    ¡°Well, since I am only able to support six bonds I have to choose my bonds carefully. Although this onix is special, I¡¯m not sure if I want to bond with it.¡± I say. ¡°But we¡¯ll make sure it gets a good home, with someone who¡¯ll cherish it.¡±

    At the auction, a seller does have the ability to veto any purchaser. Although, it doesn¡¯t happen often because all the buyers are checked out beforehand and it is seen as a huge snub to the prospective buyer.

    ¡°Once we find the cave and the onix, we will likely have to battle them because they are very aggressive pokemon.¡±

    In this world, defeating a pokemon puts them at your mercy. In the wilds, pokemon will often fight to the death for resources. If a trainer defeats a pokemon and then heals them, they are likely to gain some goodwill from the pokemon.

    I was lucky to be able to receive Drako as an egg which hastened our bonding, as well as bribing Hellen to be able to talk with her. Most encounters with pokemon are not amicable.

    ¡°CHAR!¡± ¡°SAUR!¡± They both said, affirming their willingness to fight.

    ¡°Alright team, let¡¯s find that cave!¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°Finally, that damn cave¡­¡± I say as I spy the opening behind a vine curtain. Hellen was the one who found the cave by using her vines for tactile feedback along the cliff face.

    It¡¯s been five days since we got to this island and we¡¯ve been searching in a grid pattern since. Though we did stop for breaks and training.

    Drako has a good handle on brick break now and has kept up his practice of his other moves. Including aerial ace which has become stronger due to all the flying Drako has done. Even though he¡¯s been honing his draconic energy since he was a charmeleon, he is still working on acquiring the difficult dragon dance. This boosting move is similar to growth in that after the boost, the pokemon becomes weakened for a time. Drako is having trouble in directing the unruly draconic energy resulting in the boost being shorter and weaker, but I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll have it down soon.

    As for Hellen, she has continued to hone her physical body, whips and razor leaves. Along with that, I¡¯ve had her trying to speedily shoot ¡°blank¡± leach seeds, that don¡¯t have the energy to sprout, so that she could develop bullet seed. Though the most focus has been on developing her sleep powder and poison powder.

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    After testing Hellen¡¯s powders on some wild rattata when she was up close, I concluded that they were potent enough. She just had to work on her dispersal to increase the affected area. While we were traversing the forest, I had her follow a bit behind as she practiced producing sleep powder and then poison powder. Through her efforts, she was able to increase the size of the moves along with developing a more concentrated squirt sort of like pepper spray.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s be careful going down as the onix is likely to be aggressive. Drako will lead, followed by me, with Hellen guarding the rear.¡±

    ¡°Zard.¡± ¡°Saur.¡±

    We filed into the cave that led deeper into the earth. After some time, I noticed some crystals sprouting off the walls and became elated. This was the right cave! My bonds picked up my excitement and we continued with renewed fervor.

    Finally we reached a large open cavern teeming with crystals and a lake at the end, this had to be the main resting area of the crystal onix. We slowly surveyed the cavern and saw a couple of tunnels branching off. There was no sign of the onix, so far. We wandered into the cavern while on alert, checking out the other tunnels. But there were no clues as to the onix¡¯s whereabouts. As we neared the lake at the far end, I had a suspicion borne from the anime.

    ¡°Drako, flamethrower on the top of that lake. Hellen, stay and protect me.¡± I gave out orders.

    Drako approached the lake and let out a flamethrower that heated up the surface of the lake. After a few seconds, SPLASH, a humongous form came out of the depths screeching, causing a wave to splash over Drako¡¯s legs and startling him to stop the flamethrower.

    Once the steam and water cleared, I could see the beautiful crystal onix. This creature could not be done justice in animated form. It glistened even through some of the grime covering it.

    ¡°Onix, I challenge you to a battle!¡± I shout out so the pokemon could hear me.

    ¡°ONIX!¡± It screamed as it approached Drako.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got this, Drako. It¡¯s weak to fire.¡± I say as I retreat with Helen and let Drako get to work. The crystal onix in the anime resisted water and was weak to fire, unlike normal onix.

    Though Drako was now a charizard, he didn¡¯t forget his training as a landbound charmeleon. Letting off a barrage of embers that exploded against his foe, slowing it down. He then got into stance and readied his fighting type energy. With a quick pivot, he smashed onix with a brick break diverting it down and to the side.

    This sent some rocks flying my way, but Hellen intercepted them with her vines. ¡°Thanks, girl.¡±

    Though Drako did take some damage from the onix¡¯s slam, he quickly recovered and let loose a humongous flamethrower on the onix¡¯s head.

    The onix let out a cry, but quickly swept out horizontally at Drako trying to get him in a bind. Drako narrowly dodged with a jump and he used his wings to float at the top of the cavern. Drako continued to roast the onix as it slid by and as it readied for an attack, it finally gave out from all the super effective attacks. I approached and threw a heavy ball at the hurt and fatigued onix, which quickly captured. Hell yes! Now to indoctr- Ahem- I mean convince it to be auctioned. First a quick scan which shows that it¡¯s female.

    I release the onix away from me, with Drako and Hellen in between us. The onix is conscious but in no shape to fight.

    ¡°Onix, we defeated you in battle. Now let me heal you. I know there are a lot of people out there that will marvel at your grandeur and beauty.¡±

    Onix raises her head at this.

    ¡°I promise to find a good trainer for you. They will take care of you, providing food and shelter.¡±

    Onix snorts with a deep rumble.

    ¡°I know you have food here, but they would give you far better food than these crystals. The new food and some buffing will have your crystals glistening!¡±

    At this the onix seems interested.

    ¡°Yes, look at your crystals now, though they shine I¡¯m sure once all the grime is off they¡¯ll be like never before!¡±

    ¡°Onix.¡± It replies after some deliberation. Through my bonds with Drako and Hellen, I can tell that she has acquiesced. I slowly approach and apply some potions and burn heal.

    Using Drako to communicate I could gather that she was the only onix in this area.

    After assuring her that when she was next out she would be getting fully healed, I returned her to her ball.

    Now I just needed to hand her over to the auction house.

 Chapter 12 - Appraisal

    I woke up the next day in the pokecenter on Kumquat Island, which I had flown to with the remaining daylight of the day before. Onix had been kept for overnight care, while Drako and Hellen were returned after a quick exam and treatment.

    I headed downstairs to collect onix after my morning routine.

    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m here to pick up my onix.¡± I said to the nurse at the front desk, handing her my trainer¡¯s license.

    ¡°Well, you have a beautiful onix there.¡± She said as she checked my license. ¡°Never seen one like it. Luckily the physiology is mostly the same and she¡¯s almost fully healed. She just needs to refrain from strenuous activity for two days.¡±

    I thanked the nurse after receiving my pokeball. I wasn¡¯t overly concerned about poachers as only the nurses had seen onix and pokecentres have strict rules about confidentiality. But it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry, so I let out Drako and resumed my journey to Saffron City. The quicker I got this pokemon to the auction appraisal, the better.

    <hr>

    Three days of flying got us to Saffron City, with the usual stops for training and breaks. Drako was getting used to long distance flying and riding the air currents to reduce his energy use.

    Upon arriving, I beelined to the auction appraisal centre where you had to apply in person to register a pokemon or item to be sold. They didn¡¯t allow just any pokemon or items to be sold at the Pre-Season Auction in Saffron City, they were the cream of the crop. Luckily I had made it with a couple days to spare, as the auction house stopped taking items to sell two weeks before the auction to make sure they can authenticate their wares.

    I entered the building and got into the small queue for appraisal. Each client was talked to by an appraiser in a private booth and if needed they were escorted to a larger room, so I couldn¡¯t tell what items they were bringing to be appraised.

    After some time, it was my turn at one of the booths.

    ¡°What will we be appraising?¡± The appraiser asked in a routine matter.

    ¡°I have a variant onix.¡± I replied.

    ¡°Ah, the green variation?¡± He questioned with some intrigue.

    ¡°Well, maybe it¡¯s best I just show you in the private room.¡±

    ¡°Very well then.¡± He said and led me to a larger room which had bright lights.

    Once inside, I moved to the centre and released the crystal onix. She formed while coiled on the floor, and slowly rose up. Her crystalline frame glinted in the lighting.

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    ¡°Ooonix.¡±

    ¡°Oh my, that is quite the specimen!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°Though she could use some buffing.¡±

    ¡°Nix!¡± She said as she raised her head up.

    ¡°Not that you¡¯re not beautiful, but with our pampering before the auction you will just shine!¡±

    After that we just had to work out the details and sign the paperwork. I informed him of my thoughts on the crystal onix being weak to fire, and that she was residing in water when I first found her. He was curious at my anecdotes and said that they would look into that while doing the usual testing for pokemon to be auctioned.

    When putting a pokemon up for auction, the auction house takes 7% of the earnings. Part of which are used to cover the expenses of the comprehensive testing and pampering that the pokemon got before they were auctioned.

    After asking, I was able to get a credit of $4 million to use at the auction as they were sure the crystal onix would sell for more than that.

    I happily signed the papers and gave him onix¡¯s pokeball. $4 million would definitely be enough to buy a pokemon that catches my eye at the auction.

    With about two weeks until the auction, I had some down time. So, I booked a room in a pokecenter and was excited to finally get some battles for my pokemon.

    <hr>

    ¡°Alright team, we¡¯re going to the Battle Arena!¡± I say as I let Drako and Hellen out into our room.

    ¡°CHAR!¡± Drako was fired up to have some battles after so long.

    ¡°...saur.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Hellen. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do well. Remember the strategies we came up with on the island?¡± I try to allay her fears. ¡°And it doesn¡¯t matter if you win or lose, we¡¯re just trying to get some experience.¡±

    ¡°Bulba!¡± She says as she perks up. To be honest, I think she¡¯s going to do fine. Back when we were training on the island, she was able to hone her technique and she was already plenty strong.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± I say as I return them and head to the Battle Arena. The Battle Arena in Saffron is a large stadium with many arenas. There was a main open area with ten stages for battles that weren¡¯t too destructive and there were two separate stages for higher level or higher stakes battles.

    Upon entering, I had to register at the front desk with my trainer ID. They would track each player¡¯s wins and losses, automatically adding or deducting money to their account accordingly while taking a percentage. The minimum bet was $200, though the trainers could raise it as they pleased.

    The way trainer¡¯s were matched up was through a ranking system that took into account your number of badges, team composition, as well as your wins and losses. There are five major divisions in the rankings:

    Class S - Elite Trainers

    Class A - Ace Trainers

    Class B - Advanced Trainers

    Class C - Seasoned Trainers

    Class D - Rookie Trainers

    Currently, I was a rookie trainer and to become a seasoned trainer I would need to get some badges and some wins. Since it was the off season and I couldn¡¯t get any badges yet, I could only work on getting some wins.

    I joined the crowd of trainers in the stands and looked over the field. There were ten stages in a five by two grid. I could easily see the closer five stages from the side I was on, but the further ones were a little small. Luckily there were large screens showcasing each of the stages, with some information about the trainers battling. Most of the battles involved rookie trainers, with only 3 showing seasoned trainers.

    Most advanced trainers battled in the two separate enclosed stages, and sometimes didn¡¯t broadcast their fight. That is, if they battled at the Battle Arena at all. A lot of them just stuck to tournaments. Currently, there were no streams of the enclosed stages.

    As I waited for my match, I watched the current rookie battles. Most of the trainers had two pokemon, with a few having one or three. They also usually had one stronger pokemon that had evolved and a weaker first evolution pokemon. I saw an oddish being trounced by a pidgeotto, a machop beating on a geodude, and even a bellsprout outplaying a rhyhorn. Among the rarer pokemon I saw were a bayleef, wartortle and a magmar.

    The battles were quick, usually lasting under ten minutes. So after twenty minutes my phone alerted me through the Battle Arena app that my match was up, as well as one of the televisions showing me and another trainer as the next to battle on stage six.

    I grinned, tapping my pokeballs as I made my way to the arena. Time for my debut battle.

 Chapter 13 - Debut Battle

    I stood in one of the trainer boxes for stage six, looking at the touch screen in front of me. The screen displayed the opposing trainer¡¯s information which had the usual win/loss record as well as their team composition. Since trainer¡¯s could only bond to six pokemon, there was no point guessing what pokemon they would use as it would always be their six bonded pokemon. Or in the case of rookies, their one to three bonded pokemon.

    It is frowned upon to battle with a pokemon that you have not bonded with, though it happened on occasion when some trainers wanted to field test their pokemon before bonding. Though it didn¡¯t usually go well for them as an unbonded pokemon is usually weaker and of lower intelligence compared to bonded pokemon. Not to mention that they lacked the synchronicity that bonds provided, that allowed trainer and pokemon to communicate as quick as thought. This allowed the trainer to provide strategic inputs during the fast paced battle as well as potentially suggesting a direction to dodge.

    My opponent is a 15 year old named Jack Hampton and has two pokemon, a female nidoran and a graveler. He has two wins and one loss. I tapped on the betting section, confirming the minimum bet of $200. The opponent can either accept the minimum bet amount or suggest a higher amount which I would be able to accept or deny.

    In a minute, Jack entered the opposing trainer box. He accepted the minimum bet amount and I slotted my two pokeballs into a device on the counter in front of me. This device allowed the easy release and recall of your pokemon without having to point at them. This can help you recall a pokemon to avoid a major injury. Pokemon deaths are very rare in trainer battles and only happened when there was a major difference in the strength of the pokemon which would never happen at a place like the Battle Arena.

    I had slotted Hellen into the first slot, which would automatically release her when both trainers were ready. There were no switches for rookie matches. I hit the ready button, as did Jack, and our pokemon were released. Hellen, the giant bulbasaur, appeared at the same time as the opponent¡¯s nidoran.

    Hellen looked around observing the arena before her gaze settled on the nidoran.

    ¡°Bulba!¡± She yelled out and the nidoran looked apprehensive at her large size.

    A couple of seconds later a countdown started from five, both on the screen and from a speaker that let out a female voice.

    I focused on my bond with Hellen, confirming our strategy for the fight. I had already informed her at the pokecentre of how the matches were set up and to be ready to start fighting at the beep.

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    For this fight with nidoran, we would be using a stationary turret strategy where Hellen conserves energy by standing still and using her razor leaves as offense and vines as defense. I knew we couldn¡¯t effectively poison the female nidoran, so poison powder was out. Sleep powder could still be used if nidoran was too tanky since it resisted grass type moves.

    Though resistances and weaknesses exist in this world, they weren¡¯t like the game where it was half and double and so on. Things are a bit nuanced depending on how much of an attack is type energy versus physical. The physical part of the attack will have an effect as well as the type energy imbued in the attack which is the part that can be resisted by corresponding types or be super effective against them.

    I tuned back in to the countdown.

    ¡°...2, 1, BUZZ.¡±

    Hellen whipped out some razor leaves, which nidoran began dodging while advancing. Nidoran was quite nimble and able to dodge the first few leaves, but as she approached Hellen she was starting to get grazed.

    I assumed the nidoran was closing in to deliver some fury swipes, since poison sting wouldn¡¯t be very effective and would cause the nidoran to be hit as she prepared the move.

    Soon, nidoran was in range of Hellen¡¯s vines and Hellen did a horizontal sweep with one vine forcing nidoran into the air, at which point her other vine whipped in smacking the nidoran on the face. Nidoran tumbled through the air and hit the ground. As nidoran began to recover, she was hit with several razor leaves and collapsed. After a few seconds, in which I urged Hellen to wait, it was apparent that nidoran was knocked out.

    Jack recalled nidoran and released his graveler. Again, the countdown played. For this fight, I opted for the same strategy to start and depending on how the graveler fought I could adjust.

    ¡°BUZZ.¡±

    Graveler immediately entered a rollout, charging towards Hellen. I signalled to her with our bond and she prepared by resting her vines on the ground while rapidly firing razor leaves at the huge target. Right as graveler was about to reach her she sprung into the air using her vines, sailing right over graveler. While in the air she did not relent with her razor leaves, turning and firing at the graveler as it tried to course correct.

    The graveler continued to use rollout, picking up speed. It zoomed back towards Hellen who launched herself into the air again. This time the graveler screeched to a halt by digging its arms into the ground. As it stopped, Hellen was already shooting it with razor leaves from the apex of her jump. The graveller used the rocks and earth it had scooped up to pelt Hellen with four rock throws.

    Hellen quickly stopped using razor leaf and whipped the first incoming rock with both her vines, using the momentum to try to dodge the rest. Unluckily, she was clipped by the last rock sending her spinning but she was able to land safely using her vines to stabilize and soften her landing.

    At this point, the graveler was breathing deeply and looking pretty hurt, with a bunch of leaves embedded in it. Upon landing, Helen immediately let out a trio of razor leaves which impacted the graveller in the face, knocking it to the ground. It did not get back up.

    ¡°Bulbasaur!¡±

    I sent feelings of pride over to Hellen as she basked in her victory.

 Chapter 14 - Typing Weakness

    Since I won the battle I had the option of staying on the stage and getting another match, re-entering the queue so we could take a break, or exiting from the matchmaking services. I chose to stay on the stage using the touch screen before quickly running to hug Hellen.

    ¡°You did great, girl.¡±

    ¡°Saur.¡± She replied happily.

    Then I got up and went to shake Jack¡¯s hand as was customary for pokemon battles.

    ¡°That¡¯s a huge bulbasaur you have there.¡± Jack said wistfully, ¡°They really pack a punch.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. Nidorina was really agile and graveler took a lot more damage to put down than expected.¡± I replied.

    After that, Jack left back to the viewing stands and I returned to my trainer box with Hellen. The rock throw barely hurt her, but she was feeling fatigued and couldn¡¯t use many more razor leaves. I gave her many pets and scratches as I told her how proud I was.

    In a few minutes, the touch screen was updated with a new opponent. Michelle Pearce, with a team of ponyta and pidgeotto. Both pokemon would have a type advantage against Hellen.

    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re up for this?¡± I ask. ¡°I could send in Drak-¡±

    ¡°SAUR! Bulba.¡± She was adamant about getting more experience.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s the spirit!¡± I say recalling her to her pokeball as Michelle approached the stage. We agreed to the minimum bet and got ready for the battle.

    Our first pokemon were released, Hellen on my side and pidgeotto on the other. I knew this would be a hard battle, but I had prepared an anti-air strategy against flyers.

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    ¡°...3, 2, 1. BUZZ.¡±

    Pidgeotto took to the air as the battle started, speeding toward Hellen. Hellen kept her vines on the ground, ready to dodge, while building up an attack. Her razor leaves would be easily dodged, so we didn¡¯t bother. Pidgeotto abruptly stopped, using her momentum to release a strong gust. Hellen jumped to the left and used her vines to evade. Once landed, she released a burst of seeds towards the pidgeotto who dived down to dodge. A couple of seeds hit the pidgeotto in the back causing minor damage.

    Now that pidgeotto was closer, Hellen attempted to whip them with her vines. But pidgeotto deftly avoided them and got back out of range. Pidgeotto then built up speed while circling Hellen, moving too fast to target. The bird was starting to create a twister.

    Hellen was not idle and launched herself upwards with her vines and sprayed a concentrated stream of poison powder in the path of pidgeotto. Though some of the stream was diverted due to the rising winds, pidgeotto flew through the concentrated powder and began to fly erratically while coughing.

    As Hellen fell back to the ground, pidgeotto began to recover and pushed past their pain to release a gust. Hellen was struck head on and tumbled to the ground, landing hard.

    Now that the pidgeotto was poisoned, it was a matter of time until it fainted. Hellen had quite potent poison due to having cultivated it during her time in the sewer with the muk and grimer.

    Hellen got back to her feet, bruised but not too heavily injured. My big bulbasaur could take a hit. Pidgeotto was looking sickly and attempted to create a twister again. But before it could build up speed Hellen shot some bullet seeds, causing pidgeotto to dodge and lose speed. This was only possible because pidgeotto was accelerating slower than the start of the match due to the poison and fatigue.

    Pidgeotto tried to send a few gusts, but Hellen was playing defensively and was able to dodge. After some time, pidgeotto became too sickly to maneuver properly in the air and Hellen shot at them with some razor leaves. Before they could impact, pidgeotto was recalled.

    In the bird¡¯s place came a ponyta. This horse-like creature had well defined muscles and a healthy flame running down their back. Ponyta looked like they were nearing their evolution due to their size. I could tell that this was the starter of the opposing trainer, Michelle.

    Hellen was looking tired and a little beat up, but she was raring to battle as she stared down the fire type. Soon, the countdown played and at the buzz ponyta blitzed across the field.

    We knew that most of Hellen¡¯s moves would be ineffective against ponyta, so we elected to use wine whip to try to trip up ponyta. When ponyta came in range she whipped out her vines, hoping to catch ponyta the same way she caught the nidoran. But the ponyta jumped over the first vine and initiated a flame charge to dodge the second, rushing straight towards Hellen.

    Hellen quickly sprayed a stream of sleep powder towards ponyta¡¯s face, but ponyta issued a flamethrower that burnt up the majority of the powder. With the rest burnt up by the flame charge. Determined to get in some damage, Hellen met ponyta¡¯s charge with a tackle.

    Hellen was overpowered and tumbled backwards, where the ponyta engulfed her in a gout of flame.

    I recalled her, rather than let her suffer in the flames. She could probably get back up and do some damage, but she was outsped and would soon be defeated.

    ¡°You did great, girl. No need to push too hard.¡± I whispered to the ball and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s time to introduce Drako to the world.¡±

 Chapter 15 - Drakos Introduction

    Drako appeared on the field with a loud roar which caused the ponyta to cower a little, before regaining its courage. We prepared for the buzzing noise, which is designed to be heard by all pokemon by layering different frequencies.

    BUZZ.

    And Drako was off into the air sending air slashes at the ponyta, who was zipping around the arena trying to evade. Ponyta built up speed with agility, while Drako was having trouble using his air slashes on a moving target as we hadn¡¯t trained for that.

    I signalled for Drako to present an opening. Which the ponyta took like expected, but I hadn¡¯t expected them to jump up using bounce and attempt to stomp. Luckily, Drako reacted beautifully with a dragon claw sending the ponyta into the ground. He followed up with a dragon breath, during which the opponent recalled their pokemon.

    ¡°Chaaaar!¡± Drako bellowed, and I sent him feelings of pride and joy.

    ¡°Good job buddy, do you want to try a match solo?¡± I said as I walked up and patted him on the neck. He gave a determined stare and a short nod.

    I disengaged to give the opposing trainer a handshake. She was a short, brown haired teenager who was in awe of Drako.

    ¡°Wow, your charizard is so cool and powerful looking!¡± She said after we shook hands and Drako preened while standing behind me.

    Before I could thank her, she continued. ¡°I wanted a charmander as a starter for a while, but didn¡¯t get lucky with the draw. So I know that your charizard is larger than average and well built. But I¡¯m perfectly happy with Marianne and Annabel. Marianne to roam the lands, and Annabel to roam the skies.¡± She said with a starry and far off look in her eyes, like she was imagining travelling far off places.

    ¡°Thanks for the compliments to Drako. He really appreciates it since he works hard for his muscles.¡± I said, as Drako was clearly soaking up the compliments and posing. ¡°Your pokemon did well. Pidgeotto was quite fast, along with ponyta surprising me with that bounce.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. Anyways, I should go to clear up the field.¡± She said while waving and walking back to the stands.

    I quickly went back to the box and used the touch screen to indicate I would wait on the stage for another match. While waiting I applied some medicine to Hellen that would help in the time before we could go to a pokemon centre. She would have been fine just waiting in the ball, but this would relieve some pain, so I deemed it well worth the time and cost for the wellbeing of my pokemon.

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    After finishing applying the medicine I returned Hellen and started to pet Drako who was leaning into the trainer box. I scratched him just under the horns and around his head, exactly where he liked. Finally, there was a beep indicating that a challenger was found. A blonde haired teenager who had two pokemon, a flaaffy and a luxio. It looks like they are an aspiring electric type specialist. I wonder if they dyed their hair to match, or did they choose electric type because of the hair. Probably just a coincidence.

    I select the minimum bet amount and wait for the trainer, resuming my petting of Drako. This matchup was tough for Drako, but doable. We could go for brute strength, while getting hit in return. I¡¯m sure Drako would win. But I think it¡¯s time to bring back some tactics from his charmeleon days.

    To my surprise, when the trainer reaches his trainer box he raises the bet amount to $1000. I could refuse, of course, but a grin splits my face as I accept the challenge. Drako looks just as eager when I return him to his pokeball, following protocol for these automatic matches. We both ready up and our pokemon are released. Drako takes the field and he leads with Luxio. My mind almost melds with Drako¡¯s as we go over our strategy. It¡¯s something we¡¯ve been working on using his flying type energy.

    BUZZ.

    At the buzz, Drako releases a humongous smokescreen imbued with his flying type energy to quickly fill the arena. Luxio is engulfed while trying to approach him. I can¡¯t see anything in the arena, but that doesn¡¯t matter as through my bond to Drako I am able to sense the battlefield through sound and differences in air pressure.

    Drako takes off which alerts luxio. Using his flying type energy, Drako is able to make the smoke linger on the battlefield while concealing his movements in the air and confusing the enemy. Faking an attack with his manipulation of the air and smoke causes luxio to dodge right into the path of a dragon breath which batters the pokemon into the ground not giving them a chance to retaliate and quickly knocking them out.

    Once luxio is recalled, Drako slips back into the smoke. The second round with the flaaffy goes almost the same as the first. Except the flaaffy did get off an extremely low powered thundershock which tickled Drako.

    With the match over, the air in the field was automatically replaced and filtered through a fan system. When the air cleared, I walked out to congratulate Drako and shake hands with the opposing trainer, but after patting Drako I couldn¡¯t find him and assumed he left.

    ¡°Charizard. Zard.¡± Drako expressed his desire for a proper battle, and not the weaklings we had faced.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get a big head, Drako. You have an advantage being in the third evolution. In time, these opponents we faced will also evolve. That¡¯s why we have to keep working hard, to keep getting stronger and becoming better fighters.¡±

    ¡°CHAR!¡± He agrees.

    ¡°And don¡¯t worry we only have three wins right now. The more matches we win, the more difficult the opponents will get.¡± As I mention this he gets a glint in his eyes. Uh, we might be here for a while.

    <hr>

    The next two matches weren¡¯t anything special. Both were minimum bets, with the opponent having two pokemon. The first trainer had a butterfree and a gloom and the second trainer had a tangela and a weepinbell. Drako demolished them with flames, burning away any spores or powders.

    The matches really showed how dominant type advantage could be in the lower levels of pokemon battles. But the sixth match of the day was looking to be a good one. It was the trainer with the magmar I had spotted earlier, Courtney Wilkins. She also had a houndour and a vulpix.

    Drako was looking excited to fight the magmar. He was still in good condition, and had a bunch more stamina and energy.

    When the opposing trainer arrived, I was a little dazzled by her looks. She wore a stylish red dress, hat and earings. I snapped out of it when Drako let out a ¡°Char,¡± and I hurriedly recalled him so the match could start.

    The pokemon were released with the familiar Drako and a surprising magmar. She had led with magmar instead of trying to weaken Drako with her other pokemon. It seems she wanted a good battle as well.

    Well, Drako and I will gladly deliver.

 Chapter 16 - Charizard VS Magmar

    BUZZ

    Drako leapt forward into the air towards magmar, furiously pumping his wings to build up speed. Drako didn¡¯t want to play keep away with air slashes and I agreed that he could let loose. Magmar had begun sprinting towards Drako, but was met halfway there by a dragon claw to the head.

    Magmar was still able to retaliate with a thunder punch that caused Drako to land, tearing up the ground with his claws. As Drako slid back, he released a dragon breath that caught magmar directly. Though magmar quickly dashed into melee range while charging up a thunderpunch. Drako cut off his dragon breath, expertly pivoting to slip by magmar¡¯s punch and deliver a nasty whip with his tail. Magmar was looking injured, but fit to fight, as they recovered from their tumble.

    ¡°Char!¡± Drako spoke to the magmar, challenging them to a contest of flamethrowers.

    ¡°Magmar!¡± Came the spirited response and flames erupted from both of them.

    The flames clashed beautifully in between them, holding steady for a couple of seconds. But then, magmar¡¯s flames slowly decreased in strength while Drako kept up the pressure. As the seconds ticked by, Drako¡¯s flame was getting closer and closer to the defiant magmar who fought back with all his strength.

    Right when Drako¡¯s flame truly overpowered magmar¡¯s and was rushing towards them they were recalled. To my surprise, the opponent forfeit immediately after. Courtney quickly exited her box and left with a displeased expression on her face.

    I wanted to race after her to see why she was angry, but decided it would be creepy and unwanted. She wanted to be left alone judging by her actions. Drako picked up on my misgivings and gave me an inquiring stare.

    ¡°Nothing, buddy. Why don¡¯t we grab some food, we¡¯ve been here a while.¡±

    At that, he perked up and I returned him and retrieved Hellen before exiting from the matchmaking service. I went to the pokecenter nearby to have them checked out and after dropping them off, I noticed Courtney sitting in the waiting room.

    She was clearly avoiding looking at me, so I sat down and kept to myself. Putting headphones on, I occupied my time with my phone watching some videos compiling some standout rookies. Any battles in the Battle Arena or other authorized arenas were broadcast and uploaded on the internet. You could have private battles in one of the enclosed arenas, but it cost extra to not upload the fight since the videos brought a lot of revenue. In this world, entertainment is almost synonymous with pokemon. With pokemon battling being the dominant form of entertainment.

    I was able to find some compilations featuring a couple of interesting new trainers. They would be the people I compete with at the end of the upcoming season since they separated newcomers from veterans at the Indigo Plateau Conference. This allows people on their first circuit to stand out on the national stage instead of just being dominated by Ace trainers. It was different from most tournaments which were separated by trainer ranking, though to make it to the conference you would have to be a Class C - Seasoned Trainer at worst.

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    The trainers I found were dominating their local battle scenes. Some of their aces were a burly monferno, a sturdy marshtomp and a ferocious gyarados. I didn¡¯t bother remembering names yet as the season hadn''t even started yet and no one had their full team.

    ¡°Orick Ortiz, your pokemon are available for pickup.¡± I heard over the speakers, causing me to approach the front desk.

    I was told by the nurse that my charizard was fit for battle and that my bulbasaur would need to wait until tomorrow to battle. I thanked them and went to an expensive restaurant to treat my team for their hard work.

    I let out Drako and Hellen, once seated at the restaurant. We had a private booth big enough to fit everyone.

    ¡°Char.¡± Drako said as soon as he was released.

    ¡°Yeah, I know. You want a humongous steak.¡±

    ¡°Zard!¡± He smiled at me.

    I looked over to Hellen and found her hunched over.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Hellen?¡± I ask as a walk up to her with a concerned expression. The bond assured me she wasn¡¯t hurt physically, but she was feeling a maelstrom of emotions. Mainly guilty, jealous and discouraged.

    ¡°...bulba¡­¡± She muttered without meeting my eye.

    ¡°Hey girl, why are you feeling down? You did great today at the arena.¡±

    ¡°Saur.¡± She says dismissively.

    ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth. You took out three pokemon, one with a type disadvantage. You should be proud.¡±

    She finally looks at me and lets me know what¡¯s really going on through our bond. She feels overshadowed by Drako. Seeing him go through several matches and come out undefeated made her question her worth.

    I lean in and hug her. ¡°Hellen, you¡¯re a part of this team no matter what. Even if you hadn¡¯t beaten a single pokemon, we would be proud of you because we know you did your best.¡±

    ¡°Char! Char!¡± Drako reaffirms my point.

    ¡°And you don¡¯t have to worry, once you¡¯re a venusaur you¡¯ll be an unstoppable monster like Drako. You¡¯re already showing signs of being close to evolving to ivysaur.¡±

    ¡°Saur.¡± She says as she nuzzles against me.

    Drako also comes over and gently pats her bulb. ¡°Charizard! Zard.¡± He compliments her battling prowess.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get ready to order! I know something you¡¯ll love, Hellen.¡±

    <hr>

    Back in our room at the pokecenter, I called Mom. I had called a couple of times before, during my journey for some idle chat. She was practically gushing when she was introduced to Hellen, promising to learn and make some treats for her.

    ¡°Orick! How are you?¡± She says happily as soon as we connect.

    ¡°Great, Mom. How are you? How was your day?¡±

    ¡°Good, good. Especially since you called.¡± She replies and begins telling me about an ornery charmeleon she had to deal with. Sometimes I worry about Mom being lonely and am glad she took on some extra tasks to keep busy.

    ¡°How was your day?¡± She asks when finished with her recollection.

    ¡°It was great. We got to Saffron City today and had a bunch of battles in the Battle Arena. You could check them out. But before that, I had a pokemon appraised for the Pre-Season Auction. It was a variant onix I caught in the Orange Islands and they gave me a $4 million credit I can use at the auction!¡± I say excitedly.

    She gapes at me but then breaks into a smile. ¡°That¡¯s my boy. You make sure the onix goes to a good trainer, alright?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Mom.¡±

    We spend some time talking about what I would want to get at the auction before saying goodbye. I¡¯m eager for these two weeks to pass.

 Chapter 17 - Prelude to the Auction

    The two weeks leading up to the auction were a whirlwind of battles and training. With the appropriate rest and pampering for the team, of course. We went to the Battle Arena three more times after our first debut, with days in between to rest and train.

    Our second time at the Battle Arena, Hellen held a type advantage against the first two opponents. A rock specialist and ground specialist. She was able to beat their teams while sustaining minor injuries.

    The third opponent had a growlithe and vileplume. Hellen was able to injure the growlithe, but I withdrew her when she was caught with a brutal firefang. From there, Drako swept the opposing team. And the next. And the next. But then we ran into trouble against a strong electabuzz. Drako was already tired and had taken some hits from the previous matches, but he gave his all and ended up with a double knockout.

    The next day was a rest day and the following day was training. For training, I decided not to try to learn new moves because I was planning to splurge on TMs after the auction. We worked on their known moves as well as physical training. Improving their power, speed, toughness and agility.

    What we worked on the most for Drako was aerial dodging and attacking. Meanwhile, Hellen was focusing on defensive battling and holding her ground using her vines and leaves. Though she could use her vines for movement right now, I knew when she became a venusaur she wouldn¡¯t be able to move as nimbly.

    The third time at the Battle Arena was similar to the first two. Though Hellen was knocked out in the second battle and Drako only had the energy to beat two more teams before we decided to leave. The opponents were getting stronger.

    Our fourth time at the Battle Arena was special. Hellen plowed through a team of grass types and we were on our second match. The opponent was a bergmite who was hurling out ice shards while stationary. Hellen was battering him with her vines while dodging, though she was having trouble doing any visible damage.

    She was struck by an ice shard and became enraged, wrapping up the bergmite with her vines and struggling to lift it. With a loud shout of ¡°SAAUUR!¡±, she began evolving and was able to lift and slam the bergmite over and over until it was knocked out. I recalled Hellen who was tired after the energy burst from evolution and let Drako take care of the following piloswine.

    We left right after to get Hellen checked out at the pokecenter to make sure everything was fine after the evolution to ivysaur. After her clean bill of health we celebrated with Hellen choosing a concert to attend. With rapping jigglypuff and wigglytuff. It was surprisingly good even though they could only say their species name, though according to my pokemon the lyricism was outstanding.

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    After Hellen¡¯s evolution, we stuck to just training so that she could get used to her new body which had grown magnificently. She quickly picked up seed bomb while working on her other seed attacks, so I was having her try to mix in seed bombs and leech seeds while rapidly firing seeds.

    Drako was mostly working on his control of fire and flying type energies. Using both of them to increase the heat of his flamethrower and embers. Though we kept up with our other training of their moves and physicality.

    Now, it was finally time for the auction.

    <hr>

    I dressed up in a charcoal grey suit and made my way to the auction. It was scheduled to start at 10 AM, but I decided to arrive early to see the pokemon. The catalogue of what was being auctioned had already been released and there were some pokemon that I was interested in. I decided to get a psychic type for the ability to teleport among its other qualities. I am most interested in the abra raised by Gym Leader Sabrina, though the beldum from Steven Stone and a solosis with magic guard are appealing. I decided to see them in person to determine which one would fit the team best.

    I entered the lobby and was let into the pokemon showcase area after showing my ID. There were hundreds of pokemon up for auction, but a lot of them were together in their rooms if they were from the same seller.

    I looked up the location of Sabrina¡¯s pokemon and made my way over. One of the reasons I want abra is because there is a single abra up for auction that is descended from Sabrina¡¯s two bonded alakazam. This abra is sure to be a powerhouse.

    Entering the area with Sabrina¡¯s pokemon, I¡¯m greeted by an auction worker sitting to the side.

    ¡°Hello, I can provide any information you require on the pokemon here. Which species are you interested in?¡± Says the young woman wearing a blue uniform.

    ¡°I¡¯m interested in the abra.¡± I say.

    ¡°Follow me.¡± She stands up and leads me into a room, ¡°We have four abra that will go up for auction. Three are the offspring of some powerful alakazam bonded to gym trainers at the Saffron Gym. The fourth is the son of Sabrina¡¯s own pair of bonded alakazam!¡±

    Through some glass I can see the abra playing using psychic energy.

    The employee continues, ¡°This is the first of their children to be auctioned. The previous child was given as a gift.¡±

    As I watch, the abra are levitating different cubes and balls. It''s easy to see which abra is the child of Sabrina¡¯s alakazam, he is easily lifting triple the amount of objects as the others and with steady control. I watch, mesmerized, as he loops and orbits the objects around him in a captivating pattern.

    ¡°Sir? Do you have any questions?¡± She asks, snapping me out of my trance.

    ¡°What kind of trainer does the son of Sabrina¡¯s alakazam want?¡±

    She smiles at me, ¡°He wants to battle. To one day best even his parents.¡±

    I grin back. I think I¡¯ve already chosen my third partner. But to be sure, I look at the beldum and solosis that are up for auction but none of them really inspired me like that abra did. I¡¯ve got to get him in the auction. His starting bid is $1 million and I hope it only goes up to around $2 million.

    The crystal onix I submitted to the auction has a starting bid of $4 million. Shiny pokemon, or variant as they are known here, are worth much more than pokemon bred for battle due to their rarity which catches the eyes of rich collectors. With the crystal onix being unique among onix so far and being so beautiful, she would definitely fetch a high price. I visited her earlier before walking to the beldum and she was sparkling.

    The variant pokemon were auctioned after all the others, so I only have essentially the $4 million credit to buy the abra. Since my own money wouldn¡¯t even be enough to increase the bid once. It should be enough¡­Right?

    I hope it¡¯s enough.

 Chapter 18 - Auction

    I was given a booth on the balcony due to my contribution to the auction. As I sat waiting for the auction to begin, I looked over some of the other people seated on balconies. I couldn¡¯t recognize most of the people, but I did spot Courtney, the fire type trainer, from the battle arena. She was sitting beside a stern man with a black suit.

    ¡°Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the Saffron Pre-Season Auction!¡± Came the female announcer¡¯s voice, as she strolled onto the stage seductively.

    The lights dimmed, highlighting the stage. ¡°Without further ado, let¡¯s get started!¡± She said as the curtains were opened revealing two dratini who she began regaling with praise.

    They were both males from the Blackthorn Clan and despite the adulations poured upon them from the announcer, they were clearly not the best of their dratini which they reserved for clan members. That¡¯s not to say these pokemon weren¡¯t capable of greatness, resulting in final bids of around $2 million.

    And on it went. More and more rare or talented pokemon went up for auction. It was grueling to watch, since I wanted all of them and it brought up the memories of when I found out I could only bond to six pokemon. I was devastated, and still am sometimes. But that just means I need to make the six bonds count.

    The next pokemon brought me out of my funk, it was time for the auction of the son of Sabrina¡¯s alakazam. We all had touch screens assigned to us which we could use to bid for the auction. When the bidding for abra started I waited until there was a lull at $1.7 million and raised the bid by the minimum amount of $100 000. Almost instantly, I was outbid. Nervously, I continued to increase the bid as the other buyer did the same.

    When we crossed $3 million I began to pray to Arceus. The bids kept coming, but finally at a bid of $3.7 million I was able to secure the purchase.

    Phew. I was sweating so much since I was nervous. Now I can just relax and see how much the crystal onix will sell for.

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    More pokemon were brought out and sold. One thing that caught my eye was Courtney seemed to be arguing with the man in her booth during the auction of a particularly large numel. She seemed to have won the argument and the numel judging by the bidding afterward.

    Finally, the crystal onix was brought out to the stunned crowd. The spotlights made her dazzle and gleam. This wasn¡¯t just a small colour change variant, it was unique. The announcer gave out information from their tests, including the weakness to fire and neutrality to water. Though I think mostly people would want her for her looks.

    The bidding started out fierce and didn¡¯t let up. There were multiple interested bidders until $7 million, at which point two bidders duked it out until one won with a bid of $8.3 million.

    I was ecstatic, thinking it would go up to $6 million at best.

    Soon, after some more variant pokemon were bid on, the auction for pokemon ended for a lunch break until the item auction. I quickly made my way to the auction¡¯s showcase area, where the pokemon were brought back to. First I went to the crystal onix, to make sure the buyer was suitable.

    It turns out the buyer was an employee of Steven Stone¡¯s, who bought the onix under his instruction. This guaranteed the crystal onix would receive the best care affordable, so I bade her farewell and the exchange was concluded.

    Afterwards, I made my way to Sabrina¡¯s abra, finding the same employee who seemed to be conducting the exchanges. She told me that Sabrina approved online after looking at my Trainer ID and information, so I was able to get abra registered to me without difficulty and accepted his pokeball.

    I hurried to a private room so I could meet abra. I took out his pokeball, which had a pink bottom and purple top, and released him.

    ¡°Abra.¡± He said stoically.

    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Orick Ortiz. Is it alright if I let out my team?¡± I ask to which he nods, prompting me to release them. He seems a little in awe of my pokemon that are larger than most of their species.

    ¡°This is Drako, and this is Hellenbore.¡± I say, pointing them out.

    ¡°Zard.¡± ¡°Saur!¡± They say, introducing themselves to abra.

    ¡°I bought you from the auction but that doesn¡¯t take away your choice, do you want to join our team and go on a journey with us to get stronger?¡± I ask him.

    ¡°Abra.¡± He says. I can pick up a sense of acceptance and then a picture of Sabrina flashes in my mind. Through my bond with Drako and Hellen, I am able to understand that he accepts Sabrina''s judgement and is willing to bond with me. Apparently, since Sabrina approved the purchase she approved our bond.

    I¡¯m happy that he is accepting of our bond, but hope that we become a bit friendlier before we perform a Blood Bond. Before we can talk more, an announcement comes saying the item auction will begin in five minutes.

    ¡°Alright team, I have around $4 million and I¡¯m hoping to get some good items for all of you. We¡¯ll talk right after.¡± I recall the team and make my way to my booth.

    Maybe if I get a good item for abra he¡¯ll soften up?

 Chapter 19 - X

    At the item auction I ended up buying a type-infused item for each of my team of pokemon. Each of the items is saturated with type energy and can be used by pokemon to further their mastery of the respective type energy and deepen their reserves. For example, I bought a type-infused seed which has both grass and poison type energy since it was nurtured by a powerful venusaur and this seed can be used by Hellen to further her mastery of those types.

    The caveat though is that pokemon can only utilize these items after they have reached their final evolution. Otherwise, it will provide a boost to the pokemon but will hinder them from reaching their full potential. The reasoning behind this is that large amounts of foreign type energy can negatively affect evolution.

    So that means only Drako is able to use his item for now. Since his fire type energy mastery is well developed and he has shown an affinity for dragon type energy, I got him a dragon fang infused with mostly dragon type energy and some flying type energy from an elderly dragonite. I got a spoon used by Sabrina¡¯s stronger alakazam for abra and for Hellen I bought the previously mentioned miracle seed. For them, I wanted to further their strengths. All together they cost $2.5 million, leaving me with around $1.5 million for TMs, training equipment and prime ingredients for food.

    I decided to stop by a megastore before heading to my room at the pokecenter to talk and relax with my team. After buying the necessary ingredients for abra¡¯s food I bought some objects for him to levitate. I also bought some weight vests for Drako and Hellen that I couldn¡¯t afford before, along with some toys. I¡¯ll buy TMs tomorrow after figuring out abra¡¯s strengths and weaknesses. I got a readout from the auction, but I preferred to talk it over with him and determine his fighting style.

    Once in my room, I release them.

    ¡°Alright team, I was able to get an item for each of you.¡± I say and show them the items.

    ¡°Char!¡± ¡°Ivysaur!¡± Drako and Ivy exclaim. After which, I explain their items to them.

    I look over to abra who hasn¡¯t said anything.

    ¡°This type-infused spoon was nurtured by your father, and when you become an alakazam you can use it on your journey to surpass him.¡± I say to him.

    ¡°Abra.¡± He says while maintaining a stoic demeanor and from my bonds with Drako and Hellen I can glean that he¡¯s pleased.

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    ¡°Would you like a nickname? I don¡¯t want to just call you abra.¡± I ask, to which he nods.

    ¡°Hmm, well there is this one powerful psychic I¡¯ve read legends about named Xavier.¡±

    ¡°Ra.¡± He says with a shake of his head.

    ¡°Okay, no Professor X. Well-¡±

    ¡°Abra!¡± Interrupts abra with the most emotion he¡¯s displayed yet.

    ¡°Professor X?¡± I ask and he begins nodding. He seems to respect the title of professor.

    ¡°Alright, Professor X. Can I call you Prof as a nickname?¡±

    He thinks for a moment and then nods.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just eat and relax for a while before we go do some training.¡± I smile as I make food for everyone.

    As we¡¯re eating, I have time to look over Professor X and can see that he is close to evolving to kadabra. There are the beginnings of a mustache and his head is pretty large for an abra. For his species, the larger their head is the stronger their psychic powers.

    After we finish eating, we head to a training room. Once there, I bring out the toys. There¡¯s a blue ball around the size of a basketball for Drako, a trio of smaller green ones for Hellen and a trio of brown ones for Prof.

    ¡°These balls are bouncy and extremely durable. They¡¯re designed for physical force, so no burning Drako.¡±

    ¡°Zard!¡± He cries in protest.

    I then take out a plethora of balls, prisms, pyramids and cubes.

    ¡°These are not so durable, but cheap. So you can have fun with these but try not to destroy too many.¡±

    ¡°Char!¡± Drako decided to smack his ball with his tail, sending it into the reinforced wall. It rebounded and Drako sent it back with another whip of his tail.

    Seeing this, Hellen decided to imitate him using her vines to whip a ball at the wall and get into a rhythm keeping it aloft.

    Meanwhile, Professor X grabbed a bunch of the toys and was levitating them around himself in orbits.

    I let them have fun while I did a warm up routine and stretched. By the time I was done, Hellen was juggling all three of her balls against the wall with her vines.

    ¡°Zard.¡± Drako gave me a look with pleading eyes while holding his single ball.

    ¡°Alright, you don¡¯t need to learn baby-doll eyes. I¡¯ll get you some more balls to play with.¡± I say as I pat him on the back.

    ¡°Charizard!¡± He says, a bit peeved at my joking but pleased that he¡¯ll get more toys.

    ¡°Hellen, come here girl. Let¡¯s start some physical training for you and Drako.¡±

    Hellen deftly grabs the three balls out of the air with her vines and trots over.

    ¡°Here, I bought these weighted vests for physical training. They¡¯ll distribute the weight evenly across your bodies using psychic type energy.¡± I say as I help them strap on the vests. Hellen¡¯s goes around the bulb while Drako¡¯s is around his chest.

    ¡°And the weight can be easily changed using these knobs.¡±

    ¡°Saur!¡± Hellen cries out as she turns the knob to the maximum setting and promptly falls on her belly.

    ¡°Easy girl. Let¡¯s take it slow.¡± I say as I lower the weight of her vest.

    ¡°Ivy¡­¡± She says sheepishly. But quickly gets to work as she notices Drako has already started to work out.

    I turn to Prof who is still sitting and seemingly meditating while hordes of objects loop and intertwine around him. It¡¯s time to go over Professor X¡¯s moveset.

 Chapter 20 - Move Testing

    Contrary to the pokemon games, in this world abra can learn more moves than just teleport. From the information given at the auction, Professor X knows confusion, psybeam, reflect, light screen and teleport. All of which involve manipulating psychic energy, which is what he focused on with Sabrina. He also knows some basic telepathy, being able to send images and concepts to other minds.

    ¡°Hey Professor X, how¡¯s it going?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Abra.¡± He says with an even tone.

    ¡°Is that the maximum amount of objects you can control at the moment?¡± I ask, seeing that there are still plenty of objects on the floor.

    ¡°Ab.¡± He responds with a curt nod.

    ¡°Well, soon enough you¡¯ll be able to control all the ones here and I¡¯ll have to buy some more.¡±

    ¡°Bra.¡± He sends me an image of the weight vest Drako and Hellen are using and then an image of the objects he¡¯s controlling.

    ¡°You¡¯d rather have heavier objects instead of more?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Ab.¡± He nods.

    ¡°Alright, I can get some. In the meanwhile let¡¯s test what the maximum weight you can lift with your psychic energy is.¡± I say, pointing to the set of weights that are available in all training rooms.

    ¡°Abra.¡± He says as he stacks the objects he has been lifting into a mock cityscape and right as he lets his psychic hold on it dissipate he knocks them over with a quick confusion.

    I laugh. ¡°Is that your ambition, to be strong enough to knock down a city in one blow?¡±

    He turns his head away from me and scoffs.

    ¡°Sorry, sorry. That laugh wasn¡¯t meant to belittle you. It was from surprise and joy. I¡¯m happy that you have such grand ambitions.¡±

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    He looks back at me and questions, ¡°Abra?¡± While sending an image of us two and a blood drop.

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t we bonded yet?¡± I ask, to which he nods.

    ¡°Well, a Blood Bond is a heavy commitment that lasts for life. We only met today, and even though I feel a connection to you I think that it¡¯s prudent that we communicate and deepen our relationship a little before performing the ceremony. I believe that a good relationship and state of mind during the ceremony helps the bond solidify and strengthen.¡± I explain as he nods and looks inquisitive.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we finish with our tests and then we can play a game with the team?¡±

    ¡°Abra.¡±

    ¡°First, how much weight can you lift?¡±

    He quickly wraps four twenty kilogram plates and lifts them for a total of 80kg. Then he slowly lifts a 5 kilogram plate alongside the rest but they all start wobbling before he sets them down.

    ¡°Good job.¡± I pat his shoulder and offer some water. During his breaks, I worked out by myself.

    Once he was recovered, we tested his range and damage with confusion and psybeam. Psybeam was much more concentrated and powerful, though it took more time to charge up and was more easily dodged. Confusion was mildly spammable and had a wider attack radius making it easier to land the attack.

    For light screen and reflect, I only asked him to demonstrate the moves. These moves reduce the amount of damage certain attacks do by absorbing some of the energy. Light screen for special moves, and reflect for physical though there is some overlap.

    Finally, Prof demonstrated that he could rapidly teleport up to five times by himself at short distances. For longer distances he would need some time to prepare the move. As well, he could only teleport a maximum distance of 1 kilometre alone and 500 metres with a person. Though he explained that he mostly focused on the short distance rapid teleports in training since they were more applicable in battle.

    Prof took me along for one of the teleports, taking me from one side of the training room to the other. It was my first time teleporting and it left me queasy for a couple of minutes afterwards. It felt like extreme motion sickness. Apparently it gets easier the more times you teleport.

    After we finished going over his moves, I called a break for the team. I helped Drako and Hellen out of their harnesses and they both plopped down on the floor. They looked like they were working really hard so I praised them.

    ¡°Good job team. Drako and Hellen, you did a good job pushing yourselves in physical training. And Prof, you put your all into each test of your powers.¡±

    I pull out some treats tailored to each of the team. ¡°Here are your rewards.¡±

    ¡°Ivysaur!¡± ¡°Char!¡± ¡°Abra!¡±

    Hellen grabbed her treats with her vine, Professor X grabbed them with his psychic powers and I took pity on Drako and brought his treats over to where he was lying down.

    We all recuperated and refreshed ourselves before I clapped my hands, ¡°Alright, team. Let¡¯s play a game.¡± I introduced a bastardized version of handball to them.

    ¡°The teams will be myself and Prof versus Drako and Hellen.¡±

    ¡°Zard!¡± ¡°Saur!¡± They were pumped to win.

    ¡°Abra?¡± Prof questioned me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re going to win.¡± I said as I explained my plan.

    What followed was a hard fought game using all our advantages. Drako used his wings to buffett and move the ball around. Hellen used her vines to great effect in both defense and offense. But with my solid defense and Prof¡¯s psychic manipulations we were able to pull out a win.

    Teleporting the ball past the defenders seems to work quite well.

 Chapter 21 - TMs

    After the game of handball, we had a good night''s rest. The following day, after eating breakfast, we were relaxing in our room.

    ¡°Professor X, I was thinking of having our Blood Bond Ceremony after shopping for some TMs because it will exhaust me a bit. What do you think?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Abra.¡± He nods.

    ¡°Great.¡± I say, ¡°So are there any moves in particular any of you want to learn?¡±

    ¡°Charizard! Zard! Zard!¡± Drako says while spreading his wings, wanting to learn more flying type moves.

    ¡°Ivy. Ivysaur.¡± Hellen says a little shyly, wanting to learn more poison type moves.

    ¡°Abra.¡± Prof says, wanting to learn shadow ball so he can try manipulating ghost type energy.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll buy those along with some others I think will be useful.¡± I say as I recall the team and head to the TM store.

    In this world, pokemon can learn through practice the moves they could only learn by TM in the game. As well as some moves that they couldn¡¯t learn at all in the games. TMs only serve to quicken the process of learning a new move at a cost. As well, you can¡¯t just load up a pokemon with TMs right away, you have to wait around a week between each TM use. The process of learning from the TM takes around six hours, so it¡¯s usually done overnight.

    Also, there are no TMs of boosting moves as they are too complicated to form into TMs. This results in boosting moves being rare as they are extremely hard to learn. Another limit of TMs, is that they don¡¯t grant power just the knowledge on how to perform the move. A blast burn from a charmander won¡¯t be that powerful.

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    Even though a pokemon can learn more than four moves, that doesn¡¯t mean that every pokemon has a humongous amount of moves because it''s better to be proficient with a smaller set of moves than to have dozens. Most trainers focus on training around eight to ten moves.

    I plan to get reusable TMs of moves that I¡¯ll teach to the whole team like Protect and Sleep Talk. While picking up one time use TMs of moves for individual members.

    Once I got to the store, I couldn¡¯t really control myself as I bought a plethora of TMs for my team. This put a significant dent in my remaining funds but I think it¡¯ll be worth it. I also picked up the toys that my team wanted.

    <hr>

    When back at our room I let everyone out of their pokeballs.

    ¡°Professor X, I think that it¡¯s time that we form our Blood Bond. If you¡¯re ready?¡±

    ¡°Abra!¡± He says immediately. Projecting feelings of acceptance and confidence to me using his psychic powers.

    I grin as I get everything ready for the Blood Bond. Carefully, I prepare the elixirs for us both using our blood. Once everything is ready I kneel down in front of Professor X and look him in the eye.

    ¡°Professor X, with this bond you will be forever a part of this team. Where we all have each other''s backs and we care for each other like a family.¡±

    ¡°Char! Char!¡± ¡°Ivysaur!¡± Drako and Hellen reaffirm this.

    ¡°So, are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Abra.¡± He nods, and we both ingest our elixirs.

    Slowly, the bond forms and I am becoming exhausted. I can feel my mind adapting to the new bond and my first impression of Prof¡¯s mind is that it is vast. I am able to stay kneeling this time, but I have to close my eyes to handle the mild headache that encompasses my mind as it adjusts.

    I open my eyes to see Prof still in front of me, though now I can sense the contentment radiating off of him. Drako is peering over Prof¡¯s shoulder with Hellen on the other side. Seizing the opportunity, I lean in for a group hug.

    Soon enough, Drako grumbles and makes it clear that being bent over like this is uncomfortable for him. So we end the hug and I collapse on the bed.

    ¡°Professor X, since it¡¯s the day of your blood bond, what would you like to do today?¡± I ask, while lying down.

    ¡°Bra!¡± He says and I get the impression of singing balls of pink.

    ¡°The rapping jigglypuff?¡±

    ¡°Abra!¡± Apparently he heard about them from Hellen and wanted to hear them live.

    ¡°Okay, give me ten minutes to rest and then we¡¯ll go.¡±

    ¡°CHAR!¡± ¡°IVY!¡± Drako and Hellen roared their approval.

    It¡¯s a good thing that they have 24/7 shows at that club. I¡¯m a little sad that I don¡¯t get the full experience, being unable to understand the jigglypuff and wigglytuff. Hmmm¡­maybe if I bond with one¡­

 Chapter 22 - Training for the Tournament

    Now that Professor X is settled in, it¡¯s time to get back to training. This time with a new goal, an upcoming tournament. The Debut Tournament is open for entry to all trainers who are about to attempt the Indigo League for the first time, though it has an age cap of 18. It takes place in the three days preceding the opening of the Indigo League and is where a lot of new trainers make their ¡°debut¡± as indicated by the name of the tournament. All in the hopes of getting a sponsor. Personally, I¡¯m not in particular need of a sponsor but I wouldn¡¯t turn down a reasonable offer.

    In the three weeks we have to prepare I plan to only teach the team two TMs each for the first two weeks, giving them a week to familiarize themselves with their moveset and fighting style. For Drako, aerial ace and shadow claw. For Hellen, toxic and venoshock. For Prof, shadow ball and future sight.

    Since the whole team will be learning and practicing new moves, we won¡¯t be going to the Battle Arena before the tournament. This also serves to give any opposing trainers less information about my team.

    I shared my plan with the team, getting excited cries from Drako and Hellen. Along with a deep nod from Professor X.

    And so the training montage began.

    <hr>

    I sat atop Drako¡¯s back as we flew into Indigo Plateau, the location of the tournament.

    Yeah, as it turns out they use the giant stadium venue for tournaments other than the Indigo League Conference during the year.

    We landed and I returned Drako as I checked in to a nearby pokemon centre. Or tried to. And was pointed to another centre that wasn¡¯t fully booked.

    Once settled in I let out my team. Hellen bounded up to me and started nuzzling my knees, Drako just yawned and found his bed, while Professor X got into a meditative pose cradling his spoon.

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    That¡¯s right, Professor X has created his utensil of doom! His evolution wasn¡¯t in the heat of battle, but happened during one of his meditation sessions. I was training with Hellen, when he burst into light.

    The instant the light disappeared, Prof teleported in front of me and expressed his urgent need for silver. Luckily, I was prepared and quickly took out a brick of silver from my bag. Prof used his psychic powers to form his spoon and they¡¯ve been inseparable since.

    I pat Hellen on her head and settle in for sleep. Tomorrow, the tournament will begin.

    <hr>

    After a light warmup in the morning, I made my way to the tournament desk to check in. It was a quick process as I had already registered online. I was assigned the number 137 and told to wait in the main stadium. There were hundreds of trainers already in the stadium and as I walked in I could see that the stands were only around a quarter filled. Most people waited until the final day for the top 32 trainers to compete.

    I didn¡¯t see anyone I recognized in the throng. Not that I knew many people¡­ maybe I should socialize more. Anyways, I found a nice unoccupied wall to lean against and wait for the opening announcements.

    Around 20 minutes later, an announcer came onto the stage and gave a speech about how any of us trainers could be one of Indigo¡¯s new rising talents. And though many of us would not make it to the third day, that perseverance was one of the top traits of Elite Trainers.

    He went on to tell us the prizes for the top three contestants which included an option to choose a starter pokemon of any region along with monetary prizes.

    He ended his speech saying that the first matches would begin in half an hour and that our pairings have been released online.

    As everyone rushed to get out of the main stadium, I decided to wait until it cleared out. I brought out my phone to check my matchup. I was matched with a trainer named Aoko Tanma scheduled in three hours. After searching his name, I found some videos of his battles. His team included a machoke and houndour from what I could see. He might have a third pokemon now though, since the videos were a little old.

    I put away my phone and exited the stadium. I decided to join the spectators and saw as the staff transformed the arena into six smaller stages using different ground and rock type pokemon. There were also other stadiums that were being used during this preliminary phase of the tournament. My match would be in one of the smaller stadiums in a couple of hours.

    The maximum number of pokemon on a team for the tournament is three, and even the preliminaries allow the use of all three pokemon. Though there is a 30 minute time limit at which point the judge will decide the outcome of the match based on the remaining pokemon and their conditions.

    There are no switches allowed. So once you switch, that pokemon is retired from the battle. This is only for the preliminaries and in the top 32 you are allowed two switches.

    I settled into my seat, with a bag of popcorn I got from a vendor.

    My first tournament! This is going to be fun!

 Chapter 23 - Preliminaries

    This was decidedly not fun.

    I had expected to see some hard fought battles and to maybe learn a trick or two. But most of the trainers were mediocre and the few good trainers were holding back so their techniques wouldn¡¯t be discovered. Now I know why people mostly show up for the top 32.

    Two hours had passed and I was growing bored. I was about to leave to get ready for my own match when I saw a huge bolt of electricity released on the second stage.

    When I looked closer I saw a proud and grinning electabuzz opposite a smoking crater. The opponent quickly recalled his pokemon and released a graveler which instantly used earthquake, knocking out the still grinning electabuzz.

    The electabuzz¡¯s trainer released a machoke which engaged the graveler in a brawl. It was a one sided beatdown with the machoke being victorious.

    I¡¯d have to keep an eye on that trainer. But first, it was time to get to my own match.

    <hr>

    I arrived at the trainer box and slotted in my pokeballs. Professor X would be going first so that he can get more battle experience. He hasn¡¯t fought any trainer battles yet, only sparring with Drako and Hellen. Nonetheless, he is a menace with his teleport and psychic abilities.

    My opponent arrives and slots in his pokeballs, giving me a nod. He is around the same age as me, with sandy hair.

    I look to see what pokemon he registered for the battle. The expected machoke and houndour are there, with the addition of a cubone.

    We both wait for the match to start and finally the referee simultaneously releases our first pokemon. Cubone takes the field opposite my kadabra, Prof.

    For this tournament, there is only a countdown for the start of the battle after the first pokemon are released. After that, the pokemon can attack right when they are switched in.

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    The referee starts the count. ¡°3¡­2¡­1¡­Begin!¡±

    Prof lets out a barrage of low powered psybeams that hinders cubone as it rushes toward him. Cubone seems to be having trouble evading and is slowed down considerably. Right when cubone reaches Prof and is about to land a headbutt, Prof vanishes in a teleport to the other side of the arena. Cubone is thrown off by missing his target and before he can reorient itself is slammed into the ground by a powerful psychic blast that rips up the ground into chunks.

    Professor X had set up a future sight on his own position. When the dust cleared, cubone was revealed to be knocked out in the small crater.

    The opponent grit his teeth, returning cubone and sending out his houndour who looked to be close to evolution. This could be a tough match for Prof since we didn¡¯t have many answers to dark types yet.

    Prof had teleported back to my side when cubone was returned and began levitating rocks in an orbit around himself. When houndour appeared, Prof started to hurl the rocks at it. But this houndour was nimble and was able to dodge the projectiles.

    I sent a plan to Prof through our bond and felt his agreement. Prof started to slow his rate of fire as if he was becoming tired and gave the houndour an opportunity to counterattack with a dark pulse. But the pause in its movements caused by its attack was its downfall.

    Prof neatly dodged the dark pulse by teleporting behind houndour. The orbit of rocks around Prof sped up and he intersected the orbit with houndour¡¯s head. In rapid succession, all the rocks Prof had control of hammered into the canine pokemon¡¯s skull. By the sixth rock, it was knocked out and Prof stopped his assault.

    At this point the opposing trainer was stunned and had to be reminded by the referee to recall his pokemon and release the last member of his team.

    The battle against machoke was lacklustre due to the type advantage that Professor X had. He won with some well placed psybeams.

    After the match, I congratulated Professor X for his deft control of psychic energy. He remained stoic, but I could feel his pleasure through our bond.

    <hr>

    I fought two more matches that day that weren¡¯t anything special. Hellenbore was able to sweep one and Prof the other. Though they received minor injuries. The following day I had another 3 matches. This time Hellen was knocked out in one match by a feisty growlithe, but Prof finished the match. The other two were similar to the first day.

    I chose not to use Drako in the preliminaries unless needed, so that the opposing trainers couldn¡¯t plan around him. They could plan for a charizard, but Drako wasn¡¯t just any charizard.

    Finally, I was done with the preliminaries. In two hours the top 32 would be announced. They were chosen by using a point system that took into account your wins and losses along with how many pokemon you had remaining. I was guaranteed a spot with my record.

    I hung out in my room with my team, where they were enjoying some treats for their great performance. Even Drako, since it wasn¡¯t his fault he didn¡¯t get to battle and he was being a good sport about not being able to fight yet.

    ¡°Char. Char?¡± ¡°Saur. Ivysaur¡±

    ¡°Kadabra.¡±

    As I lay in bed surrounded by my team who were discussing their battles so far, I felt extremely peaceful and at ease. Without noticing, I nodded off to sleep.

 Chapter 24 - Top 32

    I woke up feeling well rested and refreshed. I carefully made my way to the bathroom so as not to disturb my pokemon. Prof opened an eye and gave me a nod anyways, but it was almost impossible to remain undetected by him! He has been training diligently with his ability to sense the surroundings using his psychic power and is able to keep a low powered version active at all times.

    I made it to the bathroom without waking Drako and Hellenbore and I took that as a win. After my morning ablutions, I returned to my room to find a snoring charizard and cute ivysaur sleeping upside down on her bulb. Prof was meditating on a cushion in the corner.

    I tiptoed up to Hellen and tickled her stomach causing her to wake up and scramble her feet wildly in the air trying to find purchase. When she finally shook off her grogginess, she simply used her vines to right herself. Then she pounced on me, bringing me to the ground and licked my face ferociously.

    ¡°Okay! Okay! Mercy!¡± I pleaded, ¡°In the future, I¡¯ll wake you up with kisses not tickles!¡±

    After my declaration, she graciously got off me and lifted me to a standing position with her vines. Her eyes were suspiciously innocent and pure. Luckily my physique has been bolstered by my bonds, so I didn¡¯t just get squished by a giant ivysaur.

    ¡°CHAAaArr!¡± Drako whined that we were disturbing his rest.

    ¡°Cheer up, big fella. You might get to battle today!¡± I said.

    At the mention of battle, there was a fierce glint in Drako¡¯s eyes. But he quickly reigned it in and replied, ¡°Zard, zard. Char.¡±

    ¡°Eh, you¡¯re right. We didn¡¯t see many good trainers so far, but the best have risen to the top. Maybe the first match won¡¯t be that hard, but surely the top 16 match will be difficult. Right?¡±

    ¡°Char? Zard.¡± Drako replied, his eyes filled with hope.

    <hr>

    ¡°CHARIZARD! ZARD, ZARD.¡± Drako bellowed out in the private training room I rented after my two victories today. Letting out his frustrations about not getting to fight yet. After spewing some flames and more bellows, he calmed down and sighed, ¡°Char.¡±

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    I walked up and patted him on the head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Drako, the quarterfinals tomorrow will definitely test us. If you want I can just send you out first?¡±

    He blew some smoke out of his nose. Indicating he had no intention of fighting the weaklings.

    While I consoled Drako, Hellen and Prof were chattering amongst themselves and preening at their respective sweeps. The first trainer was a water type trainer, and the second was a fighting type trainer.

    Hellen sweeped the first without even having to bring out toxic, and Prof crushed the second with his overwhelming psychic power.

    I felt kind of bad for those trainers, but I would never hold back in an official battle. It would be insulting to the opposing trainer.

    After Drako cheered up, we did some light training and went to bed. Tomorrow would be the quarterfinals and semifinals. I was eager to face a strong opponent.

    <hr>

    After getting ready and having breakfast, my team gathered around me as I brought up the profile of the trainer I would be facing in the quarterfinals. Her name is Andrea Becker and she is a steel type trainer. Her profile reveals that she is sponsored by the steel type gym in Olivine. After looking through the videos of her past battles I can say for sure that she is a formidable foe.

    She has a lairon as her starter as well as a magnemite and onix. The onix seems to be the latest addition but is in no means weak. The magnemite is proficient in electric type attacks and packs a punch. Meanwhile her starter is a heavy bruiser, taking hits and dishing out devastating blows in return.

    ¡°This could be an interesting battle.¡± I say as I turn to my team, but all I receive are grins. Ones matching the grin on my face.

    <hr>

    ¡°Are the trainers ready?¡± The referee asks.

    I nod in reply, as does my opponent.

    ¡°3¡­2¡­1¡­Begin!¡±

    ¡°Go Drako!¡± I shout as the giant charizard takes the field.

    The opponent released magnemite, which I expected since it was resistant to Hellen and Prof while being supereffective against Drako.

    As for why I released Drako first? Well, before the match I asked if Drako wanted to try for a sweep of his own. Of course, he agreed as he didn¡¯t want to be outdone by his younger siblings. He even declared he would get the fastest sweep.

    Just as Drako materialized, he took off like an arrow towards the magnemite. Magnemite had just begun charging up a thunderbolt when Drako released a point blank flamethrower at it. After roasting it for three seconds, the magnemite fell out of the air and thudded on the ground. In under five seconds, Drako had knocked out his first pokemon.

    The crowd roared in response and the opposing trainer, Andrea, was looking a little shocked. Nonetheless, she regained her composure and recalled magnemite. She then released her onix, probably hoping that its resistance to fire would help her out.

    Sadly, it did not as Drako unleashed a powerful series of brick breaks knocking it out.

    Lastly, she released her lairon who was a stubborn pokemon. He would not go down to a few measly brick breaks which angered Drako as he was trying to be speedy. This resulted in Drako hastily smacking the lairon with all its four limbs and tail covered with fighting type energy as he flew above. Eventually it succumbed, though it did moderately injure Drako as he recklessly attacked towards the end.

    After lairon was knocked out, Drako landed heavily on the field and released a humongous flamethrower towards the sky followed by a deep roar.

    All in all, the match took less than five minutes. I looked fondly at Drako''s antics, I guess he will be able to keep face with his little siblings.

 Chapter 25 - Finals

    The quarter final match was pretty simple, as we were matched against a poison type trainer, Kent Hess. Kent¡¯s pokemon weren¡¯t that powerful but he used poison to defeat his opponents while stalling. Needless to say, he wasn¡¯t able to poison Hellen as she was part poison type. Hellen defeated two of his pokemon before losing to his last pokemon and then Prof took over and easily knocked out the last poison type with a super effective psybeam.

    After some healing and rest we were ready to take on our next opponent in the semi finals, Courtney Wilkins. We had fought once before in the battle arena in Saffron city. Drako defeated her magmar, which resulted in her hasty retreat. Her team consists of the aforementioned magmar, a speedy vulpix and a large numel.

    I stood in my trainer box, ready for the battle to start. I would send out Hellen first so she could have some experience fighting fire types. If Courtney led with vupix or numel, Hellen would have a fair shot of winning and if she sent out magmar Hellen could poison it.

    ¡°3¡­2¡­1¡­Begin!¡± Came the referee¡¯s voice.

    Hellen appeared on the field and across from her stood a numel. Immediately, Hellen let loose a flurry of razor leaves and rushed toward her opponent. The numel used incinerate just before the leaves reached him, burning them all up. But just as the flames receded, Hellen arrived and hit him with a take down which knocked him on his side. At this point Hellen peppered numel¡¯s feet with leech seeds binding both pairs together.

    Hellen then began to strike the numel with her vines. Just when it looked like numel would be knocked out, Courtney gave a verbal command.

    ¡°Full power!¡± She shouted as the numel released a huge lava plume which spread quickly. Evidently the numel had not been idle and was gathering energy for this attack.

    Hellen jumped backwards, trying to evade, but was caught by the blast and sent flying. She crashed into the stage, skidding along the ground for a bit before stopping. After a couple of seconds, she used her vines to stabilize and right herself. She was looking injured but was still able to fight.

    Luckily, the numel seemed to have used all its energy in that last attack and fainted so they were unable to capitalize on Hellen¡¯s brief incapacitation.

    Courtney quickly switched out numel for vulpix who dashed towards Hellen. Hellen sent out some razor leaves, but vulpix nimbly dodged them. I gave Hellen the outline of a plan through our bond and she began to prepare, sending out the occasional weak razor leaf.

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    When vulpix came within range it dodged a razor leaf and paused for a moment as it prepared to release a flamethrower. At that time, Hellen released a concentrated stream of stun spore that she had been building up which successfully hit vulpix. Though vulpix became paralyzed, it breathed out a flamethrower at Hellen which knocked her out.

    I recalled her and sent out Prof who made short work of the paralyzed vulpix, as its speed was reduced.

    Finally, courtney sent out her magmar. Prof played a game of keep away using teleport and pelting magmar with psybeams. The magmar became increasingly frustrated and angry, affecting its concentration. This lowered its accuracy as it tried to release its attacks quickly to catch Prof, letting Prof dodge some of the attacks without needing to resort to teleport.

    After a long while of chipping away its health, Prof emerged victorious. He had a few burns from some close calls but was mostly unharmed.

    ¡°Victor, Orick Ortiz!¡± The referee declared.

    Just one more battle, I thought to myself.

    <hr>

    Rather than being held on a normal stage, the battlefield for the finals is larger and resembles a clearing in a forest. With some sparse trees, grass, dirt, rocks and even a pond.

    My opponent this time is a generalist like myself named Chase Suarez. His lineup includes a pupitar, wartortle and quilava. Chase is the son of a rich businessman, evidenced by his lineup of pokemon. Although I come from a rich family, I only received my starter from them. The rest of my team were obtained through my own means. Though I do have the benefit of metaknowledge.

    The stadium is packed with a screaming crowd as I wait for the referee to start the match. I plan to send out Drako first since he hasn¡¯t battled much in the tournament. The matchups aren¡¯t too bad and I have faith in Drako.

    ¡°3¡­2¡­1¡­Begin!¡±

    Drako appears at the same time as a pupitar. He flies towards the pupitar as it starts to launch rocks at Drako. Drako gracefully dodges the rocks while steadily approaching his opponent. The pupitar increases the amount of rocks thrown, but Drako isn¡¯t on a time limit so he evades the rocks until he is close enough to initiate a dive. In the middle of Drako¡¯s dive, the pupitar launches the largest rock so far. Instead of trying to dodge, Drako slices the rock in two using a dragon claw and then proceeds to smash the pupitar with brick break sending it flying.

    Proving its durability, the pupitar is not knocked out by the super effective attack and manages to soften its landing with compressed gas that it shoots out of the holes in its body. Drako does not relent and rushes to attack pupitar. After dealing with another large rock, Drako is able to land a decisive blow which knocks out pupitar.

    With a roar, Drako ascends back to the skies. Chase then releases the obvious choice of wartortle. It¡¯s just too bad it met Drako. By evaporating any water attacks with his powerful flames, Drako is able to close in and attack wartortle with multiple dragon claws. Resulting in a knocked out wartortle.

    At this point, Chase¡¯s face is full of disbelief as he recalls his pokemon and sends out quilava. The battle is quicker than the last. Chase recalls his pokemon, leaving a roaring charizard on the field. Drako does a few laps in the air and then lands in front of me and lowers his head.

    I stroke his head and give him a good scratch, as in the background there are thousands of screaming spectators.

    ¡°You did it, buddy.¡± I say.

    Drako butts his head into my palm and growls.

    ¡°Alright, alright. We did it.¡± I say with a smile.

 Chapter 26 - Tournament Rewards

    I fully take in the moment of my first tournament win. Drako made it look easy to defeat three pokemon in a row, but I could see the damage on his body. Nonetheless, his eyes were burning with intensity, ready to fight another three.

    After basking in the adulation of the crowd for a moment, we are ushered to the podium by some tournament staff.

    Third place was occupied by Courtney Wilkins, second by Chase Suarez and first by myself.

    What followed was a bunch of pomp and ceremony that I didn¡¯t really enjoy. Especially the media interviews in which I gave concise and short answers to make sure they couldn¡¯t misinterpret my words. I really need to learn how to deal with my public image, for now I can only be aloof and mysterious.

    Finally, we got to the good stuff! Loot!...I mean rewards. Yes, rewards. Anyways, the winners were given their monetary winnings electronically and the top three were invited to an office to meet with the tournament organizer to discuss getting our starter pokemon.

    ¡°Congratulations, you three have earned the privilege to adopt a starter from the main breeding facility. You have up to a year in which to use this privilege, though you may use it as early as tomorrow. The details are in these pamphlets.¡± Stated the tournament organizer as if reciting lines, as he handed us each a pamphlet.

    ¡°Any questions?¡± He queried, with silence as the response.

    We were promptly dismissed and I began to make my way back to my lodging while fantasizing about the new addition to my team.

    ¡°Orick!¡± A familiar shout interrupts my daydreaming.

    I smile as I am wrapped up in the loving arms of my mother. Over her shoulder I can see Gramps, giving me a toothy smile.

    ¡°We were only able to make it to the finals and we wanted to surprise you.¡± Mom says to me, ¡°You were wonderful, I¡¯m so proud of you.¡±

    At this declaration, my eyes started to tear up a bit. In my past life, the approval of my parents was something I craved in my younger years. Hearing Mom¡¯s praise seems to have dredged up some suppressed feelings.

    I blink away the tears, ¡°Thanks, Mom. It means a lot to me.¡±

    Gramps slaps me hard on the back. ¡°Alright, we have reservations to attend. Only the best for our little champion!¡± He says, punctuating his sentence with a laugh.

    <hr>

    The next day I headed to the breeding lab bright and early. I wasn¡¯t surprised to see the runners-up arriving at the entrance before they opened. I gave them a nod before leaning against the building.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Soon enough, the lab was opened and we were escorted to a reception area. Here we were met by three individuals who would help us in choosing our pokemon.

    The assistant assigned to me quickly introduced himself, ¡°Hello, Orick and congratulations. My name is David and I will be assisting you today. Do you have an idea of which pokemon or type you would like to see?¡±

    ¡°I would like to see the water types available.¡± I answer.

    He nods and prompts me to follow him. The other finalists chose grass and fire, so we split up to the different environments.

    ¡°Is there a particular species you want to see?¡± David inquires as we walk closer to water environments.

    ¡°Froakie, mudkip and totodile are the main contenders.¡± I respond.

    He nods and leads me into a room that resembles a lounge, with the far wall being glass and overlooking a courtyard.

    ¡°If you¡¯ll just wait here for a moment, I will arrange to bring in each group separately as we feed them. Please make yourself at home.¡± David says before hurrying out.

    <hr>

    I deflated as I sagged into the comfortable couch.

    I had just finished assessing the mudkip that were brought in and was a little disappointed. Similar to the froakie and totodile, there weren¡¯t any standout pokemon. Maybe I¡¯m being too critical, but I think it''s justified if you look at the team I have currently. They¡¯re all monsters.

    Not to say there was anything wrong with the pokemon I saw, I just didn¡¯t feel like they would fit on my team. There was one froakie that was extremely agile, but I witnessed it bullying the other froakie and decided not to incorporate them into the team.

    ¡°David, are there any other pokemon of the previous species that I haven¡¯t seen?¡± I inquire. ¡°Possibly something like an outlier?¡±

    At my question, David scrunches his face and replies. ¡°Well, there are some others that weren¡¯t shown but unfortunately they are not available for adoption.¡±

    ¡°Is there anything I can do to change that? Is it a monetary concern?¡± I ask.

    ¡°I apologize, but it isn¡¯t really a question of money.¡± David says.

    I sigh internally as I decide to use a piece of information that I was hoping could be exchanged for more. ¡°What if I were to tell you that I know of a breeding group of the squirtle line that I found in the wild?¡±

    David perks up, ¡°How many pokemon were there in this group?¡±

    ¡°Around 100, I couldn¡¯t get a good count.¡± I reply.

    David¡¯s eyes light up, ¡°I¡¯m going to have to consult my boss.¡±

    David left for a few moments and returned with an elderly man with white hair.

    ¡°You better not be lying about the new breeding group.¡± The man said, with a disgruntled look. Behind him, David was looking at me apologetically.

    ¡°I assure you that I am not lying. I have video evidence and the coordinates.¡± I state evenly, not really bothered by the questioning.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see it.¡± The old man said.

    I looked at David and said, ¡°I thought this was supposed to be a deal, yet you haven¡¯t even shown me any pokemon that suit my preferences. What if you don¡¯t have a suitable pokemon?¡±

    The elderly man looked a little offended, but quickly schooled his features into a neutral mask. ¡°FIne, show him all the pokemon at the first evolution stage that he wants. He can have any of them for the information.¡± He said to David and then abruptly left.

    ¡°And who was that?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Sorry about that, Mr. Clerry is the head of the breeding program and tends to be focused on breeding the best pokemon. He doesn¡¯t care much for etiquette.¡± David explained. ¡°Let me take you to where we keep the pokemon reserved for staying at the lab to breed.¡±

    I followed David deeper into the lab, through several security checkpoints and that¡¯s where I met Mongo.

 Chapter 27 - Mongo

    David led me deeper into the lab. We passed through a security checkpoint with two guards who had an arcanine and a houndoom out alongside them. It took 20 minutes and I was sniffed thoroughly before being let through.

    As we came to the end of the hallway it split into a left and right path. To the left I could see another security checkpoint, but this one was more heavily guarded. There were four guards in front of a steel door that looked like a bank vault.

    ¡°It¡¯s this way to the high quality breeding pokemon.¡± David says as he began to walk down the right hallway which led to a far more normal door than the other side.

    ¡°What¡¯s through that checkpoint?¡± I ask as I point over my shoulder, still standing at the middle of the two hallways.

    David turned around and said, ¡°Well, that¡¯s where the experimental breeding groups are kept.¡± He beckoned me toward him. ¡°There¡¯s a really speedy froakie that we kept for further breeding, I know you had your eye on that other froakie.¡±

    I started walking in his direction but came to an abrupt stop as an idea blossomed in my head. ¡°David, could I take a look at the experimental pokemon?¡± I ask, knowing he¡¯ll probably refuse.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but those pokemon groups would need a higher clearance¡­¡±

    ¡°Like Mr. Clerry?¡± I interrupt. ¡°Didn¡¯t he say to show me any first evolution stage that I wanted, and I can have any of them?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure he didn¡¯t mean¡­¡± He replies.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we ask him?¡± I say as I lead him to the security checkpoint.

    David quickly calls Mr. Clerry. ¡°Sir, regarding the winner¡­¡± He began to say but was interrupted by a loud shout through the phone that even I can hear.

    ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt me again! I¡¯m at a critical stage in my experiment. Isn¡¯t it just giving him a first evolution pokemon!? How hard could that be!?¡± Mr. Clerry shouted before immediately hanging up.

    David looked chastised at first before he got a dark glint in his eye. ¡°Alright, Orick. You heard him, let¡¯s go. There may be some viable pokemon available.¡± He said to me as he led us to the security checkpoint.

    Since the guards had heard Mr. Clerry through the phone, our clearance was easily granted. We were searched again and I was required to leave the pokeballs of my team behind. I quickly explained to my team before putting them in the required lockbox.

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    Finally, we were allowed through the metal door and David led me to the water pokemon that were involved in the experiments. It turns out there were only two species of water pokemon that were involved in the experiments run by this laboratory, squirtle and totodile.

    David explained that they are trying to breed a second type into both species. For squirtle they are trying to make it gain a steel type in its final evolution of blastoise so that it would be water/steel. To promote this, blastoise were bred with empoleon and reared in environments full of steel type energy. Due to the nature of this experiment, the newly bred squirtles need to be trained into blastoise before any potential results would be seen. There were a few promising squirtle in the first batch, but they were quickly absconded to a different facility for training.

    Similarly, for totodile they are trying to introduce a dark typing to the final evolution of feraligatr. To achieve this they are breeding feraligatr with greninja, but they also have a group of feraligatr breeding with krookodile, as ground/dark type. Apparently, this was a controversial decision but eventually was passed through for a trial phase with a small group.

    ¡°...the theory was that their shared crocodilian nature would promote the passing down of traits. Well, we¡¯ve arrived at the enclosure for the feraligatr/krookodile pairing. Their eggs are supposed to be hatching any day now.¡± David said as he swiped his ID card to open the door.

    The inside was like a dark, cool cave that gave me goosebumps as I entered. I assume that was because of the prevalent dark type energy permeating the area. As we walked a bit further in I was able to make out a fenced area with a man in a lab coat exuberantly shuffling around a group of small pokemon.

    ¡°Saul! So, have the totodile hatched?¡± David called out.

    ¡°Yes, yes. It¡¯s so exciting.¡± Replied Saul as he continued to document the totodile around him. There were nine totodile scampering around the researcher as he took measurements and collected data using some high tech handheld device.

    David and I stood at a respectable distance and let the man work. After 15 min, Saul made his way over to us, closing the fence gate as he left.

    ¡°This is amazing, three of the totodile show a proclivity to dark type energy! Five exhibit normal signs, but the last one is the most interesting as it exhibits a proclivity to ground type energy!¡± Gushed Saul. ¡°Of course this data is meaningless unless one of their evolutions actually changes their type. They are all still water type¡­for now.¡±

    ¡°Well, maybe I can help you with that. You see, Mr. Clerry gave me the all clear to adopt any first evolution pokemon in the facility and if I were to adopt a totodile they would be able to evolve faster, giving you quicker results.¡± I say, trying to smooth over the adoption process.

    Though I tacitly had Mr. Clerry¡¯s approval, if he found out I was adopting an experimental subject I¡¯m sure he would object. So, I hoped to quickly adopt a totodile to avoid any complications.

    Feraligatr were a favourite pokemon of mine when I was younger, but as more and more pokemon came out I guess I forgot about the ferocity of feraligatr. In Gen 2 my feraligatr carried me through the game. With a potential secondary typing, feraligatr should become even more beastly.

    Saul looked over to David who nodded his head. Seeing this, Saui said, ¡°Well, in that case why don¡¯t you look over my notes and assess the totodile. But you have to sign an agreement that allows us to research them when they evolve.¡±

    I hurriedly nodded my head and took his notes. I quickly read through them, paying the most attention to their type energy readings. Then I began to examine the totodile in the fenced area. They were all prime specimens of their species, but I could see that some of them looked different. They all had the usual blue base but there were three grouped together playing that were a little skinnier and wiry looking that had black bellies and back ridges instead of the usual cream and red. There were five that looked like normal totodile, albeit very robust for their species.

    But the last one was a real chonky boy, easily dwarfing the others which were all rather large. He had a dark red belly and back ridges that had a black stripe going through them horizontally similar to krookodile. He was in a corner by himself where he had dug a burrow and was in the process of expanding it. I could see the ease with which he used ground type energy.

    I pointed at the chonky boy, ¡°I would like to meet him to see if he would like to join my team.¡± I told Saul and David.

    They acquiesced and I was let through the gate. I made my way up the totodile with black stripes and started my speech. I waxed poetically about how we would grow stronger together and take on the world. After five minutes of my impassioned speech, the totodile just looked at me blankly.

    Then I took out a berry and he glomped my hand happily, refusing to let go. That was how I met Mongo.

 Chapter 28 - Family

    A couple of days later I performed the blood bond ceremony with Mongo and something unexpected happened¡­

    Detected sufficient power¡­ Initializing System¡­ Pokemon Master System Unlocked!

    ¡°What the hell? I said in a daze.

    Scanning Host and Host¡¯s pokemon¡­

    .

    .

    .

    Data compiled.

    Name: Orick Ortiz

    Pokemon Team:

    Charizard (Alpha) (Low Champion Talent)

    Ivysaur (Alpha) (High Elite Talent)

    Kadabra (Mutated) (Top Elite Talent)

    Totodile (Mutated Alpha) (Mid Elite Talent)

    ¡°...¡± I stood slack jawed, until a sharp ¡°Char!¡± woke me up.

    ¡°This is going to change everything.¡±

    .

    .

    .

    Open Novice Package?

    .

    .

    .

    ¡ª

    April Fools! None of the above occured in our timeline.

    ¡ª

    I hastily left the breeding centre after signing a bunch of documents, with Mongo in tow. His name came to me immediately when I saw him, and from what I can tell he¡¯ll probably just accept it.

    I made my way to my room at the pokecenter and released my team, sans Mongo and said, ¡°Alright team, we¡¯ve got a new member.¡±

    ¡°Char?¡± ¡°Saur!¡± ¡°Bra.¡± Replied my pokemon. Drako asked if they would be strong, Hellen was just happy to have another friend and Prof said he would wait to comment until he had assessed them.

    I chuckled and looked at Drako, ¡°They¡¯re going to be a menace to you in particular when they¡¯re fully grown.¡± Before releasing Mongo. It wasn¡¯t even half a second before Mongo honed in on my hand and lunged with all his might, only to be frozen mid air with a psychic hold from Prof.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, release him.¡± I say, while grabbing Mongo and giving him a hug¡­ which ended up with him biting my shoulder. Luckily I already have three fairly powerful bonds with pokemon which have strengthened my body. Otherwise, I shudder to think of having Mongo as a starter.

    I carefully peel off his jaws and directly dumped out a huge bowl of food tailored for water pokemon. I had prepared some for the potential water pokemon I would choose today, but would have to customize the recipe for the totodile line with some influence from the mudkip line to account for his potential ground typing.

    Mongo dug in ravenously, quickly clearing the bowl.

    I filled the bowl.

    He ate.

    I filled the bowl.

    He ate.

    Finally, he flopped onto his back with a quarter of the bowl left. His face showed a look of pure ecstacy.

    I walked up and patted his round belly and gave it a rub.

    ¡°Diiile.¡± He sighed out.

    ¡°Everyone, this is Mongo ¡­ if you¡¯re fine with that name?¡±

    ¡°Toto.¡± He sat up and adopted a pondering pose. After a moment, he shrugged and gave a nod.

    ¡°Alright. Mongo, this is Drako my starter.¡± I gestured towards Drako and Mongo gave him an appraising gaze as Drako snorted some flames and looked away. I guess Drako was sensitive about me saying Mongo would be a problem for him. This should give him some motivation to continue improving quickly.

    ¡°Hellenbore, my second bond.¡±

    ¡°Ivy! Ivysaur!¡± Hellen greeted Mongo warmly, extending a vine to shake Mongo¡¯s hand. Judging by the small grimace that Mongo was hiding, Hellen used too much power and needed to work on her fine control.

    ¡°And Professor X, my third bond.¡± Prof just nodded.

    ¡°Dile! Dile! Totodile!¡± Mongo declared, posing with his head held high. Prof told me he said he would be stronger than all of them.

    His moment was interrupted when he was grabbed by Hellen¡¯s vines and lifted high into the air. His mouth was wrapped and he could only wiggle inefectually.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough Hellen.¡± And like a switch Mongo was now in a basket of vines that imitated a merry go round. Mongo quickly adapted and cried out in glee, ¡°Toto!¡±

    ¡°Alright, welcome to the family Mongo. Time to go meet Mom and Gramps.¡±

    ¡ª

    ¡°He¡¯s so cute!¡± Squealed Mom as she hugged Mongo. She had already given a hug to each other member of my team. They all loved her and sometimes I wondered what she puts in those snacks¡­ No, no, Mom is great! The secret ingredient is love!

    ¡°Why are you looking at me with that weird face, Orick?¡± Oh no! Mom caught me!

    ¡°Nothing, Mom.¡± I hastily reply.

    She narrowed her eyes, ¡°Every time you make that face you¡¯re thinking about some outlandish theories or conspiracies. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know, I raised you.¡±

    The jig is up! I quickly tried to rise but my arms were locked tight by Gramps! Mom quickly approached and they smothered me in a group hug.

    A moment later we all laughed and broke apart, with a confused Mongo still being held by Mom.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you still have some childish spirit!¡± Mom said with a smile, ¡°I was worried your travels would be hard on you¡­¡± She looked away, her smile turning a bit sad.

    ¡°Everything¡¯s been pretty smooth sailing actually¡­¡± I said.

    I thought over my life since I became a trainer. Truly, I had been playing on easy mode since the start with Drako. Which steamrolled into the strong team I have now and some financial security.

    Though Mom worried I would have it rough, I worried about the opposite. I may have had it too easy. A flower in a greenhouse may be beautiful but it won¡¯t be tough, since it hasn¡¯t had to struggle. If I was targeted by a criminal element we wouldn¡¯t duke it out through a bunch of 1 vs 1 battles.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot!¡± Gramps said as he whacked my head, apparently sensing my thoughts. Can he read my-

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t read your mind it¡¯s all over your face, learn to control your facial expressions if you don¡¯t want to give away what you¡¯re thinking.¡±

    It was at this point when Mongo leapt from my Mom¡¯s arms and bit my head¡­

    In a playful manner of course.

    With the totodile faceshield I was free to brood over my worry free life. Damn these teenage hormones.

    I plucked Mongo off my head and proceeded to enjoy my time with my family.

    Though in the back of my head I was making preparations. Just in case.