Disclaimer: Do not own. This will be the only disclaimer I place in this fic, so be warned.
"What makes a pokemon strong? Power and skill. They are two different metrics, each of which is as important than the other. A master samurai wielding a stick and an idiot with the strength of a machoke are both equally ineffective in a fistfight."
-Indigo Champion Lance, in an interview for Goldenrod Radio.
=o=
To the casual passerby, Maximilian Wolfe appeared to be an ordinary person. He worked as a full-time clerk for Celadon's department store, working from eight in the morning to about six in the afternoon. Afterwards, he'd wander around for an hour or two, before heading back to the orphanage, making it in before his nine-o'clock curfew.
Today was an especially trying day for Max, as his co-worker, James, had fallen ill and left him as the sole clerk for the entire bottom floor.
What I'd give to be able to get out of this hell.
As his thoughts grew ever more depressing, an older woman dressed in a fancy fur coat walked up to the counter, her high-heels clacking on the tiled floor. Maximilian looked up at the noise, snapping out of his thoughts, and cringed internally. As a general rule of thumb, social elites tended to be rude and snobbish.
"Excuse me, young man, do you know where I could find some accessories for my pokemon?" As expected, she looked down at him, her tone clearly one of impatience.
"Fourth floor, general accessories. Fifth floor for contest pieces. We hope you find our selections satisfactory." Thousands of repetitions had him speaking the phrase, as if on autopilot. Now go fuck off and leave me alone, thank you very much.
"Hm. You look a little young to be working here." With that parting comment, she turned on her heels, her small, red leather purse dangling from her arm.
And you look like a glorified prostitute, but I didn't say anything, now did I?
While it was true that Maximilian had reached the first majority age of sixteen last month despite working at the store for three years, and that it wasn't common practice to hire minors, he'd managed to impress the staff at his interview enough to land a part-time job; diligence and not missing more than a day without notice had earned him a promotion to full-time clerk at one of the higher floors, and then eventually head clerk when the position had opened up due to the previous clerk had moved to Johto to assist in the store's opening of a branch in Goldenrod.
Truthfully, the store was much better than the orphanage. He could earn his own money without having to rely on the meager allowances granted by the institution. Furthermore, since he'd refused a foster family, he'd been one of the older kids there, and dealing with (in his opinion) a bunch of snot-nosed brats was a sure way to go off the deep end at a young age.
Regardless of which situation he found better, the day dragged on, with the usual plethora of morning and early afternoon customers coming in. At around two-thirty, Max quickly went and grabbed himself a tall glass of coffee from the employee lounge, draining the whole thing quickly. He returned three minutes after he'd left and started to prepare himself for the afternoon rush.
As soon as the clock struck three, the first of the after-office rush swarmed in. Max plastered on his best false smile and started to assist the various people.
At around six, Max's shift officially ended. His partner wasn't there, though, so Max had to wait another hour before the next shift showed up. At seven, Max finally was granted a reprieve when Joe showed up.
"Yo, you can head home now. Sorry 'bout the wait, my car broke down," explained Joe.
"Thanks, but I gotta talk to the boss. I'm planning on quitting, and Arceus knows this place would sink without me." Max fired back quickly.
"I'd be inclined to agree with ya there. You're the only competent day-clerk we have so far."
"Well, Emily can take over. I know she definitely deserves it, she's worked hard. I'll put in a word for her with Smith. You'll back me up, right?"
"'Course! She'll probably even manage to whip John into shape." Joe chuckled.
"I couldn't do it in three years, what makes you think she'll have any luck?" Max rolled his eyes and started to head towards the managers' office.
"The ways of women are as mysterious as the forests above the Kanjo forests, my friend." The two of them laughed at that, before Max slipped into Smith's office.
Joe smiled, before returning to work. A few minutes later, as he was helping a trainer check out some general items, he heard a shout from the manager's office.
"You're planning on doing WHAT!"
=o=
Max left with a paycheck and a slightly rattled eardrum. Smith hadn't received the news well, and had thought Max's two-week notice had been a joke. He'd calmed down a bit after Max recommended Emily for the position, and had handed the teen his paycheck, along with a requested letter of recommendation.
Immediately, Max made a beeline for the Celadon Gym, forgoing his usual stroll for today.
Most trainers received their licenses from an official Pokemon League administrative office. For Celadon, the Gym was multipurpose, serving as a perfume shop, the aforementioned office, and the Gym. As such, any person from Celadon would have to apply to the Gym for their license.
Max pushed open the double doors confidently, letter still clutched in his hand. Immediately, he was assaulted by quite possibly the most noxious odor he'd encountered in a long time and gagged.
Why does the Gym smell like a garbodor took a shit and died in it?
"First time, eh?" An accented, feminine voice called out, though Max still wasn't sure if the voice sounded off because of the gas in the air. "Erika's facing a challenger now, and the ventilation can't clear out her Gloom as quickly as we'd like it too."
Max swallowed down the rising bile in his throat and plugged his nose, taking in large gasps of air through his mouth.
"I'm here to register for a license. Here's my letter of recommendation." He walked over to the counter and thrust the paper in the person's face.
"Oh, wait, I remember you. You're the one from the orphanage, right?"
He scowled as memories of his last visit a couple months back resurfaced; specifically, the one of the official telling him that he needed a letter of recommendation from someone who wasn't their legal guardian, and so the whole affair had been moot.
"Just hurry up, please. I have to be home by nine." He snapped, scowling.
"Right. Well, since I still have your form, it'll just be a minute." The attendant typed away at something, before a beeping noise was heard.
"Here's your pokedex, and its linked to your account like you'd requested. Your ID and everything should be in there, please check to see that it is."
Max opened up the device and pressed the on button. Immediately, letters popped up and started flashing before text flashed onto the screen.
Trainer Maximilian Wolfe:
Rookie- 0 badges.
Current pokemon: N/A
ID: ILCEMAXIWOLF
"Looks good. Thanks, and sorry for snapping at you earlier." Max apologized. He hadn't meant to lose control, but being reminded of his state of family affairs left him recalling even worse memories.
"It's alright. I'm the one who should be apologizing, I shouldn't have brou-" The attendant started, but Max cut her off.
"Nah, it's fine. Anyways, I've gotta head home. Thanks for the ID." With that, Max left the odorous building.
=o=
Dinner at the orphanage was always something Max could look forwards to. Generally, they either had a choice of mac and cheese with mashed potatoes, fried Magikarp, or Miltank burgers.
Max almost always went with the first option, finding comfort in the warm pasta and the potatoes.
It's like how mom used to make them.
That brought back memories he didn't like to mull over, and his face darkened. The orphanage's caretaker, Mabel, noticed the shift in Max's mood, and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Max, are you alright?" Her voice was kind, and Max looked up from his food, letting out a heaving sigh. While most of the kids in the orphanage had been abandoned at a very young age, he'd been six years old when it happened.
He might not remember much from that age, but he'd never forget the horror on his face when he'd watched the building explode from the school window, nor would he forget the tears streaming down his face as the police officer told him that he'd never see his parents again.
They'd moved him to Celadon after than, so he wouldn't have to see the place where his parents had died every day.
He shook his head, returning his thoughts to the present.
"Yeah. I quit my job. With how much money I have saved up, I should be able to get myself a decent starting pokemon," Max took a large bite of his dinner, before swallowing and continuing, "and I got my license and pokedex today."
Mabel stiffened at the reminder that Max was going off on his pokemon journey. Being a trainer was a dangerous profession, with one of the highest fatality rates. Though she'd signed the waiver as his legal guardian, she'd never really wanted Max to be a trainer. However, it was his choice in the end, and Mabel also knew Max wasn't happy with his former department store job. She wasn't the only one. Most of the other kids looked up to Max, especially since he embodied many of the virtues that Mabel had drilled into them.
"Make sure you call in from time to time, ok? I know we're not your blood family, but you're still one of us."
"Right."
Mabel patted his shoulder a few times, before taking a seat at then end of the table.
After swallowing the last of his food, he headed off to his room. His roommate, a younger child by name of Sam, had already gone to sleep, and was snoring contentedly. Max took the other bed, placing his pokedex in his nightstand's drawer, along with his other possessions.
Tomorrow was, hopefully, going to be his big break.
=o=
"Hello! You've reached the Stone Estates. How may I help you today?" Max took a deep breath to calm himself when he heard those words.
"Is this Joseph Stone? I believe I called a few weeks back, about your beldum, and how much you were asking for one." There was a pause after that, and Max worried that he'd been disconnected. With bated breath, he waited, praying to Arceus that the man on the other end would talk back.
"No, I'm not Joseph Stone, but I'd be happy to negotiate a deal. Currently, we're asking for two hundred twenty-five thousand poke for a beldum. May I know who I'm speaking with?"
Max sighed in relief.
"I'm Maximilian Wolfe."
"One moment, please."
On the other end of the world, Steven Stone placed his hand on the receiver to block any noise he made.
"Dad! There's a kid asking for you. Says he talked to you a few weeks ago. Goes by Maximilian Wolfe." Steven yelled out.
"Ah, so he scrounged up the money for a beldum? I'm busy, you can deal with this one."
"Isn't it your responsibility to manage the estates?" Steven was getting somewhat frustrated. His dad's lassiez-faire attitude towards managing multiple businesses annoyed him to no end, and today was no exception.
"You try running two corporations!"
"I'm the Champion! I run this whole region!" Steven fired back, before removing his hand from the receiver. "Considering you're a minor, we can go down to one-hundred seventy five thousand. Does that sound acceptable?"
Back in Kanto, Max raised his eyebrows. Beldum were certainly expensive pokemon, considering they were almost impossible to find in the wild and the only breeders for their species was the Stone Estate, which specialized in steel and rock types.
"I was given an original estimate of a hundred twenty five thousand for a beldum."
"Right, but these ones are special. I assume you understand how lineage can affect a pokemon's capabilities?" Steven paused, before continuing. "Well, these beldum come from m-Champion Steven's Metagross. I assure you that there's certainly a good reason for the price hike."
Max raised his eyebrows at the slip-up. Recalling an old newspaper he'd read about the new Hoenn Champion a few years back, he came to a conclusion about the identity of the person on the receiver.
"So these beldum are special because they came from your metagross. Alright, but the most I can pay is one-hundred fifty thousand." Max replied.
"Are you sure you can't go up to one-hundred sixty?" Steven fired back.
"Yes."
"And you really don't have any more?" Steven asked, before placing his hand on the reciever and yelling upstairs again. "He says he's only got one-fifty grand!"
"Then give him the beldum!" Joseph yelled back, causing Steven sigh in annoyance. One day, he was going to have a conversation about pokemon lineage and breeding with his father.
"Yes." Max rolled his eyes.
"Fine. What's the delivery address?"
Max winced.
"Can you just deliver it to the Celadon pokemart, and I'll pick it up from there?"
"Ok. You'll have to pay an extra hundred dollar fee though for shipping, since its an international delivery. Expect it within five to ten minutes."
"Alright. Thank you."
"No problem. Pleasure doing business with you." A click signalled that Steven had hung up. Max put the phone back on the table.
"Cool! You're getting a beldum!" Simon had been silent during the entire conversation, but he'd clearly been listening.
"Yeah. It's certainly worth getting a stronger pokemon, especially since you don't know what you'll run into out there." Max replied, before pulling on a jacket.
"Can I come with you? Please?" Simon's eyes looked at Max pleadingly. The older boy chuckled and ruffled his roommate's hair.
"If Mabel says you can, then sure, I don't see why not."
With a squeak of joy, Simon rushed out of the room. Max took the time to pack some things into his backpack. Once he was finished packing, he placed the bag at the foot of his bed.
A few minutes later, Mabel walked in, Simon in tow.
"What's this about you getting a beldum? Last I heard, the market price was two-hundred grand."
"I cut a deal and got mine for three-quarters the price." Mabel narrowed her eyes at that. She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Max's pokedex pinging.
"Looks like its here. Gotta go!"
Max slung his pack over his shoulders and quickly slid past Mabel, motioning for Simon to come along. Mabel quickly grabbed Simon's arm, though.
"You're staying here. The last thing Max needs is for you to go scampering off while he gets his pokemon."
Simon pouted, but he knew not to argue with Mabel.
=o=
Celadon City's pokemart was unique in Kanto, as it wasn't its own separate building, and rather was part of the Department Store.
Max stood in front of the large edifice, before walking in and heading over to the counter.
"Hey! Max! I've got a delivery for ya. Says its from the Stone Estates. Whad'ya order?" James had seemingly recovered from his sickness, though his nose still was red and his voice was weaker than Max remembered it being.
"My starter. I'll be taking that, thank you very much. How're things holding up?"
"Certainly not the same without you." James smiled, holding out his hand. Max handed over his pokedex and watched as James hooked it up to a machine. A few moments later, the pokedex pinged, and James handed back the device.
"Make sure you drop by, ok? I know you'll be off traipsing across Kanto, bu-" Max cut off his friends spiel with a half-hearted glare as James reached over the counter and fondly ruffled his ex-coworker's hair.
"Mabel already gave me the talk. Last thing I need is you soaking up my precious time. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a train to catch."
=o=
Max leaned forwards, staring at the ball held tightly within his hand. Taking a deep breath, he pressed the button, releasing his starter into the empty booth for the first time.
The red light materialized into a beldum, hovering three feet above the floor. It looked at Max expectantly, and he felt some form of pressure on his mind.
Name. A voice echoed within his head, making him quickly look around as he tried to identify the source.
Me. The same voice echoed within his head, followed by a vague image of a blue-ish gray. Max stopped his frantic searching and looked at the beldum.
Name. It repeated, a little more forcefully this time. Max quickly realized what it was asking for.
"Alright, I know this doesn't fit you just yet, but I was thinking of calling you Titan."
A feeling of acceptance washed over Max.
Beldum, the Iron Ball pokemon:
This beldum knows the moves Take Down, Iron Head, Iron Defense, and Zen Headbutt.
Max smiled at that. They'd obviously have to train a little bit, and hopefully Max could teach it Metal Claw before they got to the Pewter Gym.
"Oh, a beldum!" The voice shook Max out of his reverie. He turned to its source, a girl with a small charmander sprawled on her head like a hat, fast asleep. She pouted at Max. "You're so lucky to have one!" The girl quickly took the seat opposite Max, before continuing with a smug grin. "Of course, Ash could probably beat that thing with his hands tied behind his back."
The charmander lazily opened an eye at the mention of its name, and let out a small puff of smoke at Titan.
"Well, how about you put your money where your mouth is? Let's battle when we get to Viridian." Max challenged.
The girl looked surprised at that, clearly not expecting to be called on her bluff. At that moment, the train started to slow down. Both trainers looked out the window to see the train slowly pulling into the Viridian Station.
Both trainers grabbed their packs and got off the train. Exiting the subway, the two trainers looked surprised at the size of the city.
"Man, Viridian is a lot larger that Celadon." The girl muttered, causing Max to turn his head.
"Wait, you're from Celadon as well?" Max asked, surprised.
"No, I'm from Saffron, but I was staying with my uncle for a few months in Celadon." She turned to Max. "You know, I don't think I ever got your name. I'm Samantha, but most people just call me Sam."
"My name's Max."
"Well, anyways, we should get going. It's almost one o'clock, and I haven't had lunch."
Max rolled his eyes, but followed Sam into the city.
=o=
The pokecenter's food court was bustling with trainers. Max quickly located a small Unovan barbeque stand and started walking in that direction, only for Samantha to drag him off in the direction of a Kalosian cafe. Max blanched when he saw where Samantha was headed and immediately started struggling.
"Sam, I don't have that kind of money!" Max hissed. That much was true. Kalosian fare was generally considered high-end dining and was notoriously expensive, and Max had blown most of his funds on Titan.
"You have a beldum, don't you? Those things aren't cheap!" Sam raised an eyebrow and Max grimaced. Most trainers got their starters as gifts from their parents, who bought the pokemon in question from a breeder. Very rarely did a trainer go out and capture a pokemon on their own as a starter, and if they did, it was usually one of the common pokemon found in the forests: rattata, pidgey, nidoran, spearow, or occasionally a pikachu.
"Well, why do I have to come along?"
"Is there something else you'd rather eat?" She raised an eyebrow, her tone implying as if it was unfathomable to eat anything else.
"I saw this barbecue joint, so I thought I'd get some food from there." Max responded, yanking his hand free from her grip.
"You'd eat that stuff?"
"Why not? It tastes good!"
"Fine. I'll get a table for us." Sam huffed, then walked off. Max rolled his eyes, before walking back to the barbecue stand. The man running the counter was large, easily topping six feet.
"Whad'ya want, kid? Today's special's Miltank ribs with a side of either slaw or mac. What'll it be?" His voice was gruff but not unkind, and he seemed quite friendly.
"I think I'll take an order of ribs, a side of mac, and do you have any lager?" he replied.
"I think I have a few cans of Coronet Light in the back. Of course, I'll need an ID for that." Max placed his pokedex on the counter, and the man scanned it in, before humming and handing it back. The one advantage to being a trainer was that they were counted as legal adults in the Indigo League.
"Everything checks out. I'll be right back." Max watched as the man walked into what was presumably the kitchen. After about a minute, he walked back out with a tray of food, handing it over to Max. The tray was large, but he gripped it with both hands and thanked the man, who nodded.
Max then turned around and started looking for Sam. As he did so, he noticed several trainers also had their pokemon out and were feeding them parts of their meals.
"Yo, Max! Over here!" Max turned around to find the voice, and quickly found Sam waving at him from a booth. Ash had taken one look at Sam's food and snorted derisively before curling up and taking a small nap next to her on the seat.
Max walked over and gently placed his tray of food down, before grabbing Titan's pokeball and releasing the beldum. Titan looked at Max's tray and chirped happily.
Can. The word was accompanied by a sense of hunger.
"Ah, one sec, Titan." Max popped open the tab of the can and chugged the entire thing as Sam stared at him, her jaw hanging. He then placed the empty can next to Titan's hovering form, watching as the beldum crushed the can and started taking bites out of it.
"So, what'd you get?" asked Max, pointing to Sam's bowl of soup.
"I got some onion soup. What about you?"
"I figured Ash might want some meat, so I got a half-set of Miltank ribs, and a side." Ash perked up at his name, letting out a low rumble. Max tore off two ribs and handed them to the charmander, who began tearing into the meat excitedly.
"Traitor." Sam muttered, and Ash paused to look up at his trainer guiltily, before turning back to his meal. Max really couldn't blame the small reptile, either. The ribs were tender and juicy.
"So, where're you-" Max paused to take a bite of his macaroni and cheese, before swallowing and continuing, "-headed from here?"
"I'm going to Pewter City to start the circuit. What about you?"
"Same, actually. Since we're headed to the same place, what do you think about us traveling together for a little bit? Last thing I wanna do is go through Viridian Forest alone."
Sam seemed to perk up at that, and nodded excitedly.
"That'd be great!"
"Well, that's settled. Want a rib?" Max offered, holding out the piece of meat. Sam looked at it, and sighed.
"If it makes you happy, I guess I'll try one." She hesitantly took a bite out of the rib. "It's not bad, actually."
Max rolled his eyes at her response.
"If you don't like it, give it to Ash. He'll be quite happy."
Sam responded by taking another bite, pausing to enjoy the succulent flavors of Unovan barbecue, following up with another few bites, until, eventually she'd finished her rib.
"That was pretty good," She quickly realized that Max was wearing a smug smirk on his face and hastily added, "but not as good as this soup."
Ash clearly disagreed and blew a small puff of smoke at her.
Sam frowned at her starter, sticking her tongue out at the charmander, before grabbing both their trays and placing them in a stack of used trays. Max stood up and stretched, before turning to Sam.
"Alright, I need to make a quick call. Can you get us a room for the night? I'd like to get a little bit of training done today so that we can leave for the forest tomorrow."
Sam nodded and headed over to the nurse's station while Max pulled out his phone. He quickly punched in the number to the orphanage and started to pace around the lobby, waiting for the call to connect. Almost immediately, a voice picked up on the other end.
"Mabel? It's me, Max. I'm here in Viridian City." Max waited for the response.
"Alright, glad to know you're safe. It might take you a week or two to get to Pewter City from where you are, so I would certainly suggest trying to find a trainer or two who you can tag along with." Mabel replied after a little bit, before her tone softened up. "How're you feeling? Viridian Forest isn't a walk in the park, after all."
"Actually, I'm not too worried about that. I met this girl named Sam on the train, and she's got a charmander. We're heading out for the forest tomorrow."
"Sounds good. Give me a call when you reach Pewter, okay?"
"Mhm. Talk to you later, Mabel." With that, Max cut off the call and started heading towards the training facilities.
=o=
"Alright, Titan. I want you to test out your moves. We're going to be headed into Viridian Forest soon, and so I want to be prepared." Max had headed directly to the training facilities that the pokecenter offered. The facilities itself were large. In the back, there was a small training field complete with psychic barriers. Various weight machines and other fitness equipment dotted the field, all of which were surrounded by what appeared to be a multi-lane jogging track. Several other trainers had clearly come up with the same idea.
Yes. The word was accompanied by a feeling of understanding, though the feeling was less emphasized than before. Max looked around the field, before spotting a large sandbag hanging from the ceiling.
"Titan, I want you to use Take Down on that sandbag there." The beldum looked around for a second, before following Max's finger to the large mahogany-colored bag suspended from the ceiling with thick iron chains.
The beldum chirped, before hurling itself headfirst at the offending object. The sandbag swung back slightly, before coming back down like a pendulum and smacking into Titan. A feeling of annoyance washed over Max and he chuckled.
"Keep on doing that. I'm going to work out a little bit as well, if that's alright."
Titan chirped in an affirmative tone, before going back to mercilessly attacking the sandbag. The beldum had also clearly learned from its first attack, rolling out of the sandbag's return swing each time.
Max headed towards the track around the training facility, before he started lightly jogging around the track, taking occasional glances at Titan and noting the pokemon's progress. Titan seemed to be moving a little faster, though Max couldn't be certain of that. What he was certain had improved was Titan's impact force; each time the beldum slammed into the sandbag, it flew back further and further.
About an hour later, Max had slowed his jogging to a brisk walking pace. Titan had by this point slowed down in his harassment of the sandbag, clearly tired.
"Max! There you are! I've been looking for you." Sam ran up to him, before noting his current state. His shirt was damp with sweat and he probably didn't smell like a patch of fresh roses. She grimaced, before handing him a small key. "I got us a two-bed room for tonight."
Max nodded gratefully, out of breath. Several other trainers were jogging around them, clearly annoyed that they were blocking the track.
"Thanks. I'll be up in a few minutes." With that, Max ran off to get Titan.
The sandbag looked quite damaged. Titan was only slightly better off. The moment the beldum caught sight of Max, it stopped slamming into the sandbag, slowly floating over to Max's side.
"Yeah, I think that's enough training for now. We can work on your other moves on the way to Pewter City."
Understood.
Max recalled Titan and walked out of the training facility and back into the main lobby. It was now considerably less populated than it had been during lunch, and so there wasn't any line for the nurse's station.
"How may I help you today?"
"I'd like to have Titan healed, please." Max quietly handed over his pokedex and his beldum's pokeball. Nurse Joy raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.
"Shouldn't take more than two minutes. Please wait here, I'd rather not have to use the intercom." She quickly scanned his pokedex, and then handed it back to him. Max smiled gratefully, before heading over to an empty lounge chair. The TV was playing one of the Brycen-Man movies he'd watched as a child with his parents, and a melancholy mood set over him.
I'll make you proud, Mom and Dad.
"Max? Your pokemon's been healed up!" A voice sounded throughout the lobby, and Max immediately got up, stubbing his toe on one of the lounge chairs. Holding back a string of curses and sending a half hearted glare at the now chuckling nurse, Max limped over and grabbed Titan's pokeball. He fished out his room key, noting the number 214 engraved on the key's handle.
"Ma'am, where would room 214 be?"
"Second floor."
Max nodded and walked over to the stairs.
=o=
Sam had clearly marked which bed she'd be using for the night, having unloaded her backpack on the bed. Ash lay curled up at the foot of the bed, occasionally letting out a puff of smoke. The sound of a running shower gave Max a general idea of where his roommate was currently.
Max settled into one of the couches, releasing Titan and letting him float around the room, and pulled out his pokedex, deciding to get some extra information on Titan and his evolutionary line.
In the wild, beldum are considered omnivorous creatures. While they do not hunt for meat, they will certainly attack other wild steel-type pokemon, such as aron or magnemite, for their metal exteriors. Once the shell has been consumed, the beldum will often leave, either in hunt for another steel-type, or back to the colony, leaving the meat for other pokemon to feast upon. However, beldum will occasionally consume meat, often after somewhat serious damage has been sustained. The reason for this behaviour is yet unknown. Generally, however, these pokemon do not hunt humans and only attack when provoked.
All beldum are able to create rudimentary psychic links. At first, they are generally only capable of sending basic emotions, as well as positive or negative responses across the psychic link. Through training and use, a beldum is often able to pick up more complex emotions. A beldum is close to evolution when it is able to send neutral or nuanced messages through the psychic link (often by sending a positive or a negative, followed by a more complex emotion), has mastery over the moves Metal Claw and Zen Headbutt.
Beldum fall into the category of psychic pokemon which are unable to teleport. However, metang are capable of teleportation (though few bother to learn the technique). Only during its time as a metang is it able to learn teleport. Metagross, for some unexplained reason, are incapable of learning the move.
Like the vast majority of steel-types, beldum require a high-metal diet. To provide this diet, recycled metal ingots are often sold at many pokemarts.
Max was interrupted by the sound of Titan chirping repeatedly. He glanced up from his pokedex in annoyance and noticed Sam looking at him expectantly.
"Well, what're you waiting for? You stink! Take a shower!"
Ash, who had woken up to listen to Sam's tirade, chortled before falling back asleep.
See if I ever give you my food again. Max grumbled, before grabbing a spare set of clothes from his backpack and walking into the restroom, locking the door behind him.
=o=
A few minutes later, Max walked out of the bathroom, freshened up from his hot shower. He took a glance at the clock. It was about three o'clock. Sam and Ash were taking a small nap, and so Max looked at beldum.
"Titan. I know we just got done training, but do you think you can get some more training in today?"
Yes/No.
Max blinked at that response. Rather than either a yes or no, Titan had sent both at once. It was also obvious that the beldum had no idea what it had just sent, as it was now sending off visible feelings of confusion.
"Titan, calm down. Are you capable of doing some light training?"
Yes.
"Okay. What about some heavier training?"
No. Titan let out a small whine. Max leaned back in his chair.
"So if I ask you a vague question which returns contradictory responses based on how I further the question, you respond with both answers, right?"
Yes.
"Rather than respond with both, could you ask for clarification?"
Titan stopped bobbing in midair for a second, causing Max to frown in worry for a little bit, until the beldum resumed bobbing up and down.
Yes.
"Alright. Back to the first question, then. Do you think you can get some more training in today?"
Perhaps. Further clarification on training required.
Max chuckled. It seemed that Titan's vocabulary had also expanded slightly.
"That's all for now. Would you like to return to your pokeball? I'm going to take a small nap."
Titan hummed thoughtfully for a moment. Yes.
In a flash of red light, Titan went back into his pokeball, and Max curled up and fell asleep in his bed. The clock read four o-clock, so Max had set an alarm to go off in an hour and a half.
As he dozed off, he thought about the two weeks or so he'd spend in the forest. The thought made him shudder and curl up even tighter. Viridian Forest was a tomorrow problem, not a today problem.
AN: Please, leave a review and, if you feel so inclined, follow this story or something. It certainly helps encourage us as writers when you do so.
Also, I am looking for a beta for this fic, seeing as the last thing I want is to post steaming piles of shit under the guise of "chapters".