Learning in real life was nowhere near as fun as learning in the lab or from a book. For one, it involved a lot more physical exertion. It's not that Ethan was out of shape, he ran a lot, and was fairly athletic, but he wasn't used to not being able to immediately eat and sleep in a real bed after he was done exercising. It seemed that that played a greater role in the process than he would have imagined.
"Field work is the worst work," Ethan grumbled, trying to resist the urge to get Cyndaquil to burn a path through the forest.
"Whiner," Kris mocked.
"Yes," he agreed, still dour. She laughed and skipped ahead, easily avoiding the Spinarak webs and protruding tree roots that littered the 'path' they were on. They could easily have been in Violet city by now, but Kris was making Ethan do all of the trailfinding work. It took him a while to realize that just going 'northwestish' would not actually get them to where they were going. She explained that you also had to look at where you were and where you were coming from, because going northwest from one point would not give you the same path as going northwest from some other point. A fairly simple concept, but one that was often overlooked. Most of the things she taught him were simply things that should be noticed, not particularly difficult concepts in and of themselves, just required repetition to make them automatic so one wouldn't have to constantly consciously think about them.
"Try not to think about directions in terms of left and right. Instead think in terms of north south east west," she instructed, snatching some Pidgey eggs for their brunch (she still hadn't managed to make him into a morning person).
"How am I supposed to know that without a compass?"
"The sun and stars will tell you."
"And if it's overcast?"
"Well, most grass type pokemon tend to root facing north. Once you get in the habit of it, you'll just always remember," she shrugged.
"That's not really very helpful," he grumped. She shrugged again and returned to frying their breakfast.
Mewtwo woke up, but remained perfectly still. His eyes didn't open, his heart didn't speed up, no physical indication of his alertness given; one of the perks of being such a powerful psychic. He probed around him with his mind, getting a sense of the type of place he was in.
"No need to be shy," came a voice, slightly amused. Mewtwo grimaced and opened his eyes, looking around him.
He was in a cave or cellar of some sort, dusty slabs of grey and brown stone made up the floor and walls. Half the ceiling was metal struts with strips of lighting hanging from them, while the other half was in shadow, but seemed to be packed dirt and tree roots, gradually scaling down to the cave floor. A Parasect stared at him unblinkingly, occasionally making a soft chittering sound with its mandibles. The lightened side of the room was separated into two sections, one being nothing more than what looked like a giant generator, a Magneton lazily spinning inside a chamber, and the other a medical station. Mewtwo shivered with memories and turned his attention to his captor. He sat up from his prone position, the mattress he had been laying on situated in the middle of the room against the back wall, leaving half in face in shadow, half in light. His captor smiled at him, eyes hidden behind a pair of polarized sunglasses. The two stared at each other for a while.
What do you want with me? Mewtwo asked.
"Like I said, to wake you up. But I suppose that requires some clarification, doesn't it?" the… man, smiled, sitting back comfortably in his chair, "Forgive me if I answer you with a question, but what is it that you want?"
Mewtwo was silent for a while as he contemplated his answer.
I see no reason why I should tell you. he finally replied.
"I see no reason why you should not," the man countered, his smile widening in a sort of feral glee as he leaned forward, excited.
You might prevent it from happening.
"I might also aid you."
I do not feel quite comfortable receiving any 'aid' from you. Mewtwo replied, in a tone that would have been dry had he understood the concept of such.
"Allow me to reiterate. I might not prevent you from attaining your goal, which I most undoubtedly will should you not enlighten me."
There was silence for a while as Mewtwo digested this information.
I want to be strong enough to destroy my enemies.
"Well, that's difficult, now isn't it? Seems like it relies more on your enemies than you. Maybe there's a better goal to be had? There's no need to… evade the truth with me. Or yourself."
This time the silence dragged on for much longer.
All in all it took over two weeks to get from New Bark to Violet, and Kris had said that the only thing left Ethan could do was just practice. He was rather pleased with himself, though he tried not to let on. The first thing they did was go to the Center, resting up and checking on the egg (still no change). Ethan immediately took advantage of this rare opportunity to sleep on a real bed and passed out, protectively clutching both Cyndaquil and the egg. Kris and Walter shared a chuckle and left to go visit Sprout Tower, where they often stayed, being friends with Elder Li, head of the order of monks that lived there. It was a still and peaceful evening, the building hardly swaying against the backdrop of the setting sun. The chants and prayers of the monks were a gentle susurrus, a steady background hum as she slowly made her way up the tower, admiring the carvings and panels set in the wall as she always did. An odd growling squeak caught her attention. A golden leafy pokemon was prancing happily around a pensive redhead, the large leaf on its head shaking in excitement, while a typically malicious looking Gastly hovering over his shoulder. Her eyes widened, recognizing him as the kid who had robbed the Lab.
"Hey you," she growled, blocking his path. He looked at her, his thoughtful face quickly being replaced by a scowl, "What do you think you're doing?"
"Leaving. Is there a problem with that?" he spat. The Gastly cackled and the other pokemon, she couldn't remember what it was called, began to growl menacingly at her. Walter growled back and began chomping his teeth in agitation.
"Kris," said a smooth gentle voice. She turned and saw Elder Li come walking up behind the redhead, "He is under my protection. Do not hinder him."
"But he's a criminal!" she cried, not moving. Silvers face instantly became a carefully schooled neutrality, the girl going from annoyance to threat in an instant. His hands came out of his pocket, fingers ready to snap.
"I am aware of his… past," the old man said. Silver looked back at the man, wondering at the suspicious pause in his voice. The sage had never let on that he knew anything at all about him.
"But he was my student, for however brief a time, and he is under my protection while in this tower. Please let him go," the old man's eyes were calm and steady, boring into Kris's. Walter began to look uncertain, looking around at everybody for some clue as to what was happening. Finally Kris stepped aside, and Silver hurried past. Even if the old man wouldn't say anything, the girl certainly would. He would have to disappear fast.
"Why'd you let him go?" Kris demanded, following Elder Li back to the top of the tower.
"As I said, he was a student. All my students have my protection, at least within this tower."
"What do you mean your student?" she asked.
"He came to me, asking penetrating questions. He was searching for something. I fear for him."
"Why? Cause he's going to jail? Falker needs to know about this."
"They will not catch him I think. He is too careful for that, too well versed in all the wrong things."
"Master, you know I love you, but if you don't stop being annoyingly vague I will bite you," she threatened. The old man laughed.
"You are right. Please forgive me. I am too far in the habit of philosophy and abstraction. Allow me to elucidate."
They were on the top floor now, just a large empty room, with mats on the floor for meditation. Two healthy looking Bellsprout were rooted in a large basin filled with dark earth, and a Hoothoot roosted upon a stand. The three sat down on the mats.
"As I said, he came to me, searching for something. It was hard to tell at first what his goal was, as I said, he is very careful. He asked about certainty, about truth. While he never showed it, I sensed that some of my answers were frustrating to him. He wanted definite answers. He desired to know how to know something. I explained to him about the philosophy of incompleteness. That is when he lost it. He was furious and began ranting. He was searching for power, or rather a way to overcome it. He wanted to find a way to see every outcome, and be able to pick the one that would be most successful. In that manner, it didn't matter how powerful his opponent was, he would always be able to have a strategy for victory."
"Um Master? What is the philosophy of incompleteness? Why did that make him so angry?"
"The philosophy of incompleteness shows us that if we try to have an unswerving belief in one truth or group of truths even, then we will never be able to find all other truths by logical thought stemming from those beliefs. There will always be things that are true, but that cannot be found with our beliefs. As such, our understanding of truth will always be incomplete."
"I don't understand…"
"It showed him that he can't always pick the best path just by thought alone. That sometimes luck or divine revelation or just a gut feeling will be the only way to discover certain things. He did not like that."
"Why?"
"Because then he can lose. Even a possibility of failure is too much for him. He desired a way to be victorious one hundred percent of the time, and no such way exists outside of sheer luck. He is wise enough to realize that he is fallible, but not wise enough to have accepted that he will eventually fail. It is a dark road he is on."
"Well forgive me if I don't exactly feel sorry for him," she grumped, crossing her arms and pouting, "You know he stole that pokemon?"
"I know," the sage smiled gently and patted her on the back. She raised an eyebrow.
"How did you know?"
"The roots of a Bellsprout run deep and wide my dear, and hear many things."
She became intimately aware of the building swaying back and forth, and recalled the old legend that the pillar in the center of the building was once a giant Bellsprout.
"Ah."
AUTHORS NOTE: Look up Godel's Incompleteness Theorems for the real life version of the philosophy of incompleteness (I tried to put a link to the wiki in here, but it didn't like it).