Chapter 86 – Zap and Flash

Chapter 86 – Zap and Flash

After a series of embarrassing wipeouts atop Mantine the two of them had to leave to make it in time for their other obligations. Marlon had to meet up with the teleportation Pokémon waiting for him at the center who had already been paid to transport him to the Lilycove Airport. While Roxanne was off to route 127 to avoid most of the heat coming her way from revealing Regirock to the public. Before leaving Roxanne assured me that she would take breaks in between swimming atop the many tiny islands populating the route easing my worries somewhat.

The next day me and the team got up bright and early to catch the rare early morning class at the Rustburo trainer’s school. Orin had been acting out the day before and even tried to solicit passing trainers into battling us. That being said I didn’t want my little guy to spend any extra time recovering at the Pokémon center seeing as all of the trainers in Sootopolis had at least one or two water types on hand. The time a Nurse Joy has to spend reigniting a fire type’s core after a series of battles against spray happy water types was a lengthy one and not a good use of our training time.

The plan was to get a practice battle in with any one of the course takers before heading on off to the Rustburo gym to earn ourselves an Armor Badge. Victini, having grown very familiar with all the best teleportation spots on campus, had no compunctions teleporting us into an empty bathroom stall.

“A bathroom stall, really?”

“Vi Vi!” “It is hard to find empty places at this time! Our secret spot inside the daycare is filled with teachers and students leaving their Pokémon friends with Paige.”

Opening up the stall I double checked if there were any other people inside the other stalls before opening the bathroom door and walking out. The first bell hadn’t rung yet, but the overachieving students were already crowding the hallway looking to get themselves front row seats in their upcoming classes. This early in the morning none of them had the energy or free time to start chatting with me which left me with an adequate amount of time to get to our destination unimpeded. Having resumed my journey, I didn’t have any lectures scheduled for today, but I did know that Banya the battle course instructor did. Which led me to enter the school’s battle facilities where I could already see the Ace trainer preparing for today’s class.

“Hey Egon! Congratulations on earning that Rain Badge that was a good battle. Especially Houndoom’s Counter. I haven't seen you use that one before.”

“We have to keep some of our tricks under wraps for the conference. Not many people know that her line can learn Counter.”

“I ain’t arguing, me and mine have a few things we don’t teach to others as well. Have to keep up our ranking on the Ace rankings to receive our end of the year bonus.”

“Your bonus is conditional on your performance outside of work? That’s…”

“On my own request. We need that extra bit of motivation to truly shine on the battlefield.”

“Oh, that’s alright then. Say Orin has been acting a tad frisky lately. Are there any students who can give the little guy a proper challenge?”

“Your Litwick? Hmmm… there’s this one Kanto girl Camie who transferred over from Pokémon Technical Institute. She claimed to have already picked out an evolutionary stone for her Pokémon. That Pikachu who is always riding on her shoulders must have already evolved by now.”

“A Raichu… if Orin is looking for a tough fight that would certainly do it. From what year did she transfer in?”

“Second year.”

‘A sophomore that means she’s at least the same age as I am give or take another year. It also guarantees that Camie is about as skilled as a four-badge trainer. It all depends on how battle seasoned her Raichu is.’

Pokémon Tech was the only institution inside Indigo which is authorized to substitute badges with earned credentials. Their average freshman being somewhere at the level of skill between a first or second badge trainer and earning the equivalent’s worth of two badges each year. Graduating allows their students to forego earning badges entirely and directly enter the Indigo Plateau or Silver Conference. This was an attractive option for wealthy parents who feared for their children’s safety, but it also produced trainers who had difficulty overcoming hardship. None of their alumni could claim to have attained any impressive successes in their careers as trainers. In addition to that their dropout rate was fairly high more than half of them eventually quit to go earn badges the traditional way after getting trashed by trainers following the traditional method.

The school’s bells started chiming marking the beginning of another day of learning for the student body. As the battle facility which doubled as a classroom filled up, I could already see the teenager Banya had been talking about. Camie the Pokémon Tech dropout was not like I imagined her to be. The girl was the opposite of tall which was around my own shoulder height, brown eyes with bright blonde hair and for some odd reason the girl was wearing a straw hat while indoors. The Pokémon which Banya had speculated to have become a Raichu was still a Pikachu albeit one adorning a cute pink flower ornament.

‘Could this be…?’

“Yellow?”

“Huh?! Who are you? And who told you my friends’ nickname for me?”

“It’s just… your hair color combined with the straw hat. You seemed like a Yellow to me. Anyway, the name’s Egon I freelance as a guest lecturer for the yet to be licensed students. You wouldn’t have heard of me because I usually attend the late afternoon classes.”

“Oh? Okay!”

To my relief the girl quickly accepted my explanation without a fuss. With her Pikachu doing much the same.

“You know this girl?”

‘Not personally but her being old enough for a license does bring into question a multitude of other pressing matters.‘

“Say you wouldn’t happen to be from Viridian City?”

“Yes! That is my hometown. How did you figure that out?”

“Wild Pikachu can only be caught inside the Viridian Forest. Also, this one looks sharper than the ones who are bred to become some little girl’s household pet, so I put two and two together.”

“Pikaaa!”

The heart shaped tailed Pikachu started paying more attention to the conversation once her species’ name was dropped. Loudly acknowledging my assessment of her capabilities with an intimidating war cry that coaxed out many Aww’s from Yellow’s fellow students.

‘Damn, these things are cute, no wonder everyone I know is smitten with them.’

It wasn’t just in my original world that Pikachu was highly adored. The electric mouse was popular across all regions. In Hoenn Pikachu consistently beat out Plusle and Minun in the official Pokémon Fanclub cuteness charts only narrowly losing to its own pre-evolved form Pichu.

“She’s not cuter than me!”

‘Of course! Victini are the cutest Pokémon around, all our female friends think so too!’

While I was busy pandering to my now insecure psychic rabbit the students finished taking their respective seats on the bleachers surrounding the classroom battlefield. Marking the start of Banya’s lesson.

“It’s nice seeing all of you are so excited for another lesson! Camie, I thought that Pikachu would have evolved by now?”

“Ehmm… Sorry! Chuchu doesn’t want to evolve. She wants to grow stronger as a Pikachu, not Raichu.”

“Chuu! Chuuu!”

“There’s nothing to apologize for! Lots of Pokémon don’t want to evolve until they feel like they’re ready to make that step. It is our job as trainers to not pressure them into doing so. Pay attention to this class! Forcing a Pokémon to evolve when it is not ready, especially through stone evolution will have a severe impact on their mental and physical wellbeing.”

While Banya was busy lecturing the class I took this opportunity to satisfy my growing curiosity by whispering questions to my new seat neighbor.

 “It has always been a minor dream of mine to travel to Kanto and meet the world-famous Professor Oak. He’s the one who gave you a trainer’s license right? What’s he like in person?”

“Professor Oak’s world famous!? Umm Chuchu wasn’t given to me by Professor Oak. My uncle Wilton caught her for me. One day he found Chuchu gnawing on our power lines and stuff happened…”

“Chuu…”

‘That must be one embarrassing story, better not ask for more information.’

“Making it as a Sophomore at Pokémon Tech is no small feat. You must be an impressive trainer with lots of different Pokémon partners.”

“Well, umm… there’s Dody and Chuchu…”

“Dody is a Doduo?”

“You sure are smart Egon!”

“No, well… the naming scheme kind of speaks for itself. You never thought about catching more Pokémon? This is a battle class, you know?”

“I am not licensed to catch any of the wild Pokémon in Hoenn. Also, Uncle Wilton doesn’t want me traveling on the routes.”

‘That makes sense she’s still a Kantonian national after all. That uncle of hers sure is overprotective of his niece though. A trainer like Yellow should have at least four trained Pokémon at this point.’

“Not all Pokémon in the surrounding routes are native to Hoenn. Route 116 is a half hour’s walk away and filled to the brim with Kantonian Pokémon.”

“Really!? Which ones?”

“Abra and… Now that I think about it, it’s just abra that live over there. They are known to be very selective in their choice of trainers. You wouldn’t be psychically gifted, would you? That tends to win them over straight away. Otherwise, you might get lucky and find a stray geodude that’s rolled down Rusturf Mountain.”

“Me?! A human psychic? That’s absurd!!”

Her sudden outburst didn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the class, but it seemed like the girl had a reputation for acting goofy because it took only a handful of seconds before the students’ focus was back on the instructor.

Yellow didn’t seem to be the kind of trainer that forcefully captured her Pokémon so I wouldn’t advise the straw hatted girl to bring along a Pokémon that could force an abra to stay put without teleporting away. 

“Yellow is psychic?”

‘From what I can remember Yellow is able to heal and sense the emotions of others, but Camie here could be a totally different version from the girl I originally read about.’

Banya finished giving out his introduction to today’s lesson program and motioned for the first battlers to enter the battlefield, those being me and Camie. The girl seemed startled at being called out to battle until her Pikachu boinked the frazzled girl on the top of her head to get things moving along. The embarrassed girl covered her face as she walked towards her own place on the battlefield.

“Alright! I want to see a clean battle. No illegal moves, no battle items. The battling stops when I call it.”

“Yes, Sir!” “Yes, Sir!” “ ”PIkaaa!”

“For this battle I choose Chuchu!”

“Come on out Orin!”

My own ball opened up revealing the little ghost Pokémon in front of the crowd of students. Who seemed intrigued by the appearance of a Unovan Pokémon. Orin ever the ambassador suppressed his battle lust for a short while and waved at the spectators earning him and by extension myself some good will. Despite the reputations that ghost types had, most people would lower their guard at an innocuous waving little candle Pokémon.

“Are you ready for a tough battle? Don't underestimate those two, that Pikachu looks like a seasoned battler.” 

“Lit!” 

Orin’s eyes were glinting at the prospect of finally facing off against strong opponents. Without further ado Banya announced the start of the battle.

“Begin!”

“Thunder Wave!”

“Protect!”

Camie’s Chuchu jumped into the air and released a series of electric pulses which headed into Orin’s direction. We were ready for it though Orin’s crystalline shield formed up before those rings of electricity could touch him.

‘Her Chuchu is too fast. As we are now, I’ll have to gamble by trading blows.’

“Thunderbolt”

“Fight on through! Will-O-Wisp!”

“Liiiiit!!”

Wisps of guided blue flames were launched from the top of Orin’s wick as he was struck head on by Chuchu’s electric attack. The sky lit up briefly as my little candle Pokémon tried his level best to struggle through. Camie’s Pokémon didn’t get off scot free as the seconds it took to build up the charge was long enough for Orin’s flames to make contact. The fire type energy receded into Chuchu’s body and would intermittently flare up burning the electric mouse’s body.

‘The power of that Thunderbolt was disproportionate. Orin’s trembling, he’s already been paralyzed from just taking that single move. We’ll have to play defensively.’

“Electro Ball!”

‘She’s already noticed the paralysis but Good luck trying to hit us!’

“Haze into Minimize!”

“Lit!”

This was a new strategy we had been working on and as a ghost type Orin was already pretty stealthy if he wanted to be. The trick was getting Orin’s wick to stop burning which he could only do naturally while in a near comatose state and using any sort of fire moves would give away our position.

Orin’s wick expelled a copious amount of dark smog enveloping a large part of the battlefield. As the Electro ball was shot fruitlessly into the dark. The lack of sound confirmed for me that Orin managed to dodge the attack with the Electro Ball fizzling out without finding its target. Ghost types like Orin had no problem navigating the dark which gave us a clear opportunity to counter attack.

“Hex!” 

Ghostly energies spontaneously formed around the Pikachu flooding their system. The attack being far more powerful than it would normally be due to Chuchu’s burning affliction.

“Pikaaa!”

“You can find them! Chuchu use Shock Wave!”

“Liiit!”

Arcs of electric type energy shout out into all directions inside of the artificial fog bank blanketing the field. Orin who had so far been successfully hiding himself could not escape, being shocked, his startled cries giving away our position.

“These little zaps mean nothing. Orin, you can do it!”

All of a sudden Orin’s entire form glowed bright enough to temporarily blind everyone inside the facility. Even the haze formed fog bank could not contain the brightness and was steadily being driven out by this new source of energy.

‘This is?!’

Orin’s waxlike body melted and reassembled itself into a form most resembling a lampshade. His stubby little appendages elongated to become fully functional wavy arms and as if the pull of gravity no longer had any effect on him his body started floating just a few feet off from the ground. Unlike Phoebe’s Lampent Orin’s center flame now boasted a stunning lilac coloring and his eyes turned from neon green to sky blue.

“Laaamp!”

“You did it Orin! You’ve become a Lampent!”

“Congratulations Orin! Now we can have flying adventures together!”

‘I almost never get to do this anymore since moving back to Hoenn. Let’s see what Dexter has to say about Lampent.’

Lampent, the Lamp Pokémon, a ghost fire type and the evolved form of Litwick. 

Rarely, Lampent can be found leading people and Pokémon to the Ghost World while stealing their life energy. This Pokémon appears just before someone passes away, so it's feared as an emissary of death. It hangs around hospitals waiting for people to pass on. 

‘Wow! That is dark. I hope nobody else heard Dexter recite that.’

As I was looking around the room my hopes were dashed as I saw the students slowly inch further away from the battlefield. The only ones that didn’t seem to be affected being Camie Chuchu and Banya.

“Alright! Let’s show these two your new aerodynamic moves! Flamethro!?”

“Hold it!!”

It was at that moment that Banya saw fit to intervene in our battle.

“As the acting battle judge I hereby end this battle into a draw. Please make space for the other students.”

“Why?!” “Lamp?!”

“It is best to have Lampent here get checked out at the nearest Pokémon center. Evolving while under the effects of paralysis can leave behind chronic health issues. In fact, Pikachu isn’t looking so hot either. Both of you get packing to go see Nurse Joy, Camie you are expected to come back straight afterwards.”

“Alright…” “Yes!”

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Standing in line at the Pokémon center*

“Thank you for the Rawst berry, Chuchu especially likes those.” “Pika!”

“It’s not a problem. A traveling trainer like myself always keeps medicinal berries on hand.”

“Being a traveling trainer, discovering new places and Pokémon we haven’t seen before…” “Chuuu…”

“Camie, you want me to talk to your uncle for you? It is obvious to everyone that you’d much rather participate in a circuit than be stuck in fancy finishing schools like Rustburo’s trainer school or Pokémon Technical Institute.”

“No! Uncle Wilton works extra hard at the farm so that I can get the best education possible. We’ll complete our three years and make him proud.”

“Ah, okay then. But I do think that you could make it far as a traditional trainer. Your Chuchu is the toughest electric type we’ve met so far, and your theoretical knowledge must be superb if you managed to transfer in as a sophomore with no roadblocks.”

“Pikaaa!” “…You think so?”

Chuchu nodded her head agreeing with my poignant observations. At which point the Pikachu dabbed its trainer on the forehead, obviously displeased by Camie’s lack of confidence.

“What does your Uncle do for a living anyway?”

“Uncle Wilton is a rice farmer and also rears water type Pokémon as a side business.”

“He farms and is a Pokémon breeder at the same time?”

“The water Pokémon protect the fields from parasites and wild Pokémon looking for a meal. It is a very efficient system.”

“What kinds of water Pokémon?”

“Goldeen mostly but also a couple of poliwag.”

“Really? Can’t trainers just fish for their own?”

“My Uncle’s goldeen aren’t bred for battle. Wealthy collectors from all over the regions come to him because Uncle Wilton’s goldeen have the brightest color patterns.

As we talked the two of us managed to become first in line. Camie handed over her Pikachu without returning it to her Poké ball first which got an eye raise from me before she quickly explained to the Nurse Joy manning the counter that Chuchu was an outside Pokémon. Which wasn’t uncommon for electric types in particular since being confined didn’t mesh well with their hyperactive personalities. After Camie finished her business it became my turn to explain my Pokémon’s unique situation.

“Nurse Joy my Lampent has just evolved while in battle but did so while paralyzed could you take a closer look at him?”

“The full works? We don’t get many ghost type Pokémon from Unova… I will have to consult my cousin twice removed who works at a Nimbasa City Pokémon center. Do you mind the running of our diagnostics taking a little bit longer? Say an additional hour perhaps?”

“That’s alright. Please take good care of him.”

I handed over Orin’s ball without hesitation before finding myself outside of the center’s main gate with Camie at my side.

“We have an appointment over at the Rustburo City gym. But before I go, would you like to exchange numbers?”

“Ehh?! A boy asking me for my number?”

“Don’t read too much into it! I just like to keep up with promising trainers! I’ll need someone from Kanto to show me around once I get the green light to go visit there.”

“Okay.”

After an awkward exchanging of numbers I left her at the center’s doorstep and went off to earn myself that Armor Badge. Orin had accomplished plenty today so I was sure he wouldn’t mind skipping out on a major battle. I was scheduled for a four versus four Pokémon battle with standard gym rulings and I felt quite confident at winning. Our opponent’s team would be entirely comprised of steel type Pokémon which according to all logic would fare quite poorly against my fire types.

With a skip in my step, I navigated myself towards the gym led by Mrs. Stone. The wife of the most influential man in Hoenn and perhaps the world. I just counted myself lucky that the Rustburo gym was only a ten-minute walk away from the Pokémon center.

‘Orin has long been unhappy about being excluded from the more important battles. Now that he’s evolved, he can fight alongside the rest of the team. This will surely raise his self-esteem.’

“Hmm Hmm! Unlike you wearing that jacket.”

‘So, you noticed the new jacket? My old attire was starting to accumulate too many gashes and holes to still remain presentable. I’ve gotta look good for any potential sponsors. Not doing so is the same as throwing money away.’

“So, this is why you went out wearing that fancy looking jacket today.”

“It behooves me to look at my level best when meeting a personage of such high esteem as leader Stone.” 

“Stop talking like that!”

“This is how those high society types communicate. Besides, Mrs. Stone sponsors Roxanne. If I leave a negative impression that could reflect badly upon our mutual friend.”

Word sparring with each other was an activity we both engaged in when I was stuck doing mundane things like cleaning dishes or setting up a sleeping tent. In this the mundane activity I was currently occupied with was walking further along these crowded streets.  Good conversation often helped time pass faster so it didn’t take long until I found myself standing right in front of the gym building.

Walking past the automated gates I was again greeted by the overly opulent interior. This time the guest hall was crowded with all sorts of trainers standing in line hoping to get their last badges before the start of the Ever Grande Conference. Unlike them I had the freedom to skip waiting in line entirely.

‘It was a great idea to book our match two weeks in advance.’

The same receptionist from last time was manning the counter looking exhausted from having to micro manage all the visiting trainers. Upon seeing me her face quickly cleared up and the woman motioned me to come closer blatantly ignoring the trainer who was standing at the front of the line.

“Egon! It is good that you made it on time. Are you ready for your gym challenge?”

“Yes, uhm… where am I supposed to go?”

“There have been some changes to our battlefield rostering since your last visit. Upon Mrs. Stone’s request your challenge will now be held in a more private setting away from the public audience.”

‘Have my seventh gym badge without an audience? Oh well, as long as there’s a recording of it online for my fans back home.’

“…We don’t have fans.”

‘Oh really? If I go back now, you’ll find that my grandparents have every single one of my major gym battles on recording.’

“Family doesn’t count!”

“Ahem! Miss, will you be the one escorting me to the battlefield?”

“Yes, and please call me Cindy. Our private battling arena is all the way in the back. Please follow me.”

I gingerly followed the pretty desk lady through the backdoor ignoring the looks of chagrin from the other trainers who had been patiently waiting in line. Feeling a tad awkward about this unusual set of circumstances I tried initiating some small talk.

“Is it usually this crowded at the Rustburo gym?”

“Not by half. Ever since word got out that one of our trainees managed to capture a Regirock we’ve been swamped by press members masquerading as trainers to get an inside scoop from the gym. Seriously Roxanne should’ve at least given us a heads up. Mrs. Stone has all but locked herself up making it clear the gym is not willing to entertain any of those rumormongers.”

“So… Mrs. Stone insisting on a private battle is due to the press attempting to mix in with the spectating crowds?”

“Strangely no, this change in battlefield registration happened a week before the news sprung on Roxanne’s new partner Pokémon.”

With that revelation out in the open the both of us continued on walking deeper inside the opulent halls until finally reaching our destination. The battle facility’s interior most closely resembled a factory warehouse in stark contrast to what the rest of the gym looked like. The battlefield had a number of oversized obstacles strewn about; giant gears, steel springs, bolts and nuts.  The only thing that set this place apart from your runoff the mill steel mills was the lack of equipment and the large battlefield itself. Sitting alone next to a side table was Mrs. Stone elegantly sipping from a cup of tea while being attended by presumably her own Mawile.

“Mrs Stone, I've brought your next challenger as requested. Do I have your leave to vacate the premises?”

“Go ahead Cindy, you won’t be needed for what comes next.”

‘What comes next? This lady is giving me some bad mafioso vibes.’