Disclaimer: I, Bombadeus, hereby declare that I do not own the rights to the pokemon franchise. I only own my OCs and this story.

Chapter 10: Knowing is Half the Battle

Extra Notes:

"Human Speech"

"Telepathic Speech"

"Thought Speech"

[Pokemon speech]

As Jared walked into professors Rowan's lab, he pondered on the thought of joining the pokemon tournament. "Fighting type only… which form should I take? Obviously can't use my Zoroark form, so I'll use-"

But his train of thought was suddenly disrupted from a water bucket that fell on his head. He fell to the ground face first from the impact, a little angry that someone played one of the oldest tricks in the book on him. He could hear Daryl laughing hysterically from across the room. "This was your doing, wasn't it Daryl." Jared said.

"Hahahahahaha, yeah… it was me. And that's not the only prank I'll play." Daryl replied with a devious grin.

Jared got up and brushed himself off. He removed the bucket from his head and threw it in Daryl's direction in an angry manner. Daryl caught it and laughed again, he then said, "It'll take more than that to get your revenge."

Jared just sighed and walked over to everyone at the end of the room. "You're right," Jared replied. "Oh and your shoe's untied."

"What?" Daryl looked down only to get flicked on the nose. "Yes!" Jared yelled. "Victory is mine!"

"Ow… seriously dude?" Daryl said.

"Yep," Jared held a proud expression. "Got you with one of the older tricks, so now we're even."

"Fine, but you do know this means war don't you?" Daryl got all up in Jared's face.

"Yeah, I do," Jared pushed back with his own face. "And this is getting very awkward."

"Excuse me boys," professor Rowan interrupted. "But we don't have much time right now, I've got to get back to my research." The two separated and paid attention to Professor Rowan.

"Good. Now anyway, I've heard that you, Jared, requested a pokedex correct?" Jared nodded.

"Then I have terrible news: The money we've had for research is all used up, that means we don't have the funds to get you a pokedex right now."

"Well that's not really a problem." Jared said which raised a few eyebrows in the room. "There's a pokemon tournament with a million dollar prize. If I were to win, I could give you the money and I could get a pokedex, right?"

"Ah yes I've heard of the tournament, but you need a fighting type to enter. Do you have such a pokemon?"

"Yes I do." Jared half lied.

"Hey Jared," Zach spoke up. "You don't have-" He was quickly silenced by Jared's hand on his mouth and was dragged off to a corner.

"I'll just enter the tournament myself as a fighting type." Jared whispered.

Zach removed Jared's hand from his face and whispered back, "but you'll be killed! Dark types are weak against fighting types."

"True, but I'm going on a theory: If I were to transform into one of the pokemon I have the DNA of, I might have their type."

"That might actually work. Emphasis on might."

"Only one way to find out." The two walked back to the group. "Well," Jared said. "I'm gonna get some training in before the tournament, which was when?"

"Oh, well it's about to start… at 4 o'clock." Answered Professor Rowan.

"And what time is it now?" Jared asked.

Rowan looked at his watch. "Ten."

"Good, then I'm gonna go and get a few things before training." Jared ran out of the lab, leaving everyone else thinking on if he's going to win.

"Hey Zach," Gem said. "Do you think Jared could win?"

Zach pondered on the thought and then gave a sly smirk. "He beaten a Steelix before he got his powers, I'm sure he's gonna win."

"You're right," Gem gave a soft smile in assurance. "Let catch up to him to help."

"Good idea." Zach and Gem ran out too in hope of catching up to him, only leaving Daryl, Dark and the professors left in the building.

"Well I'm going to examine the strange stones from the Kalos region that professor Juniper gave me," Professor Rowan said. "So I'll be in the back while you two can catch up."

"Good idea Rowan," Juniper replied. "So what kind of stuff is new with you Daryl?"

Daryl thought about all the interesting things that happened to him that he didn't tell Juniper. But Dark tugged on his shirt to get his attention. "Can I return to my pokeball, I feel a little tired."

Daryl nodded and returned Dark so she could rest. He turned back to Juniper, having the perfect story to tell her in minded.

At Jared's location…

He was walking around, looking for a pokemart to get his supplies, till he heard a familiar voice in his head and one right behind him.

"Jared," Gem called out. "Wait up."

"Where you going in a hurry?" Zach asked.

"Hey guys," he spun around to greet his friends. "Where's Daryl and Dark?"

"They're still at the lab." Zach answered. "So where exactly are you going?"

"I'm gonna get some TM's from a pokemart." Jared replied.

"What for?" Gem inquired.

"For the tournament," he replied. "If I'm gonna enter, I have to look legit, as if I was really a fighting type. So come on, let's find the pokemart."

In an hour or two, the three found the pokemart. It was stocked full of the usual stuff you could find in the game, such as potion, repels, pokeballs, and just about any other kind of item. But unlike the game, you could find every kind TM, elixir and a few rare candies which were way expensive. Jared only bought four fighting type TM's, mostly because there were only four of them available. They include: Brick Break, Bulk Up, Low Sweep, and Focus Blast. After the item shopping, they got lunch, and then walked all the way to the edge of town and into the forest to test out the new TM's.

"So uhhh, how exactly do I use this?" Jared asked. "I mean, it's a disk. Aren't disk used on a computer or something?"

Zach stuck out his hand and said, "here, hand me the TM and I'll show you."

Once Zach got ahold on the TM Focus Blast, he planted it on Jared's head. The TM glowed a bit but broke just as fast, leaving Jared wide-eyed and staring at his hands. "I-I know how to use Focus Blast! This is awesome!"

He raised his hands to his sides and twin orbs of chi energy appeared, although they were a little small. He smashed them together and they fused into a bigger version of the previous two. "That's better." He said.

He shot the attack forward and it crashed right into a tree, leaving a solid crater in it. Happy with the new found powers, he eagerly learned all the TM's and experimented with them to find any combos. With everything learned, only one question was left on the table, "What should I transform to?" Jared thought.

"Well guys, any suggestions on what pokemon I should be for the tournament?" he asked.

"What do you plan to transform into?" Gem asked back.

"I have three choices in mind: A Gallade, a Blaziken, or a Lucario." He answered. "Plus I've got a theory that might work."

"Well what's the theory?"

"If I transform into a pokemon with the same DNA I have, then I may have their type as well."

"Really?"

"Only one way to find out." Jared brought out a coin from his pocket. "I'll flip the coin. If it lands on heads, then Zach can choose the transformation. If it lands on tails, then Gem can choose."

"Okay." Both of them agreed.

The coin lands on heads. "Alright Zach, which transformation should I choose?"

Zach contemplated on the idea on Jared's transformation and what he chose was, "Lucario, transform into a Lucario."

Doing as he was told, Jared transformed into the fighting/steel type jackal. Though something felt a little off, actually, something felt right, really right. Almost as if he was meant to be in this form. But Jared just shrugged off the feeling, thinking it was him just being in the same form too long.

"You feel all right?" Zach asked.

"Yeah," Jared replied. "Just feeling a little… better, I guess. Anyway, time to test my theory. Gem?" She looked towards him.

"I want you to hit me with your best shot, no holding back!" This got her really surprised.

"W-what?! A-are you sure?" Jared nodded in assurance.

"If I'm still a dark type, any psychic attack you throw at me won't hurt. Plus I want to see how strong you are, we didn't get to see your strength during your fight with Daryl's pokemon."

"Well, if you're okay with it." In truth, Jared expected a small push from Gem's confusion attack. But what he got was a full on psychic blast that sent him flying twenty feet into the forest, tearing down every tree that was in his path clean off. Meanwhile, Zach was just standing there with his jaw dropped and mind blown from the fact that Gem had that much power.

"When in the reverse world were you this strong!" He yelled. Gem thought back to her earliest memories to find the answer to Zach's question.

Flashback…

Her mind wondered to her younger years, around one to two years after her hatching. She was playing with a chuck of rock, using her psychic powers to make it float and fly. Behind, her parents were a few feet away, happy to see that their daughter mastering her powers at a young age.

[Oh look at her go,] said her mother, Gardevoir. [She finally can use her powers!]

[Yes, she such a prodigy, much like her mother.] Gallade said, giving a flirtatious hint to his mate.

[Stop it you!] Gardevoir pushed him playfully, both laughing at his endeavors of sweet talk.

Gem turned around, curious to why her parent were laughing, all the while keeping the rock afloat. Her parents stop laughing when they noticed their daughter stopped playing. Then, Gallade had the idea to play with her.

[Over here young one. How about we play a game of catch.] Gem smiled widely and nodded.

When her father was ready to catch the rock, she use psychic to throw the rock as hard as she could. It blasted forward, invisible to everyone, until it hit Gallade straight into his… face. The rock fell off, leaving a red mark and a surprised expression, before he fell to his knees and fainted.

[Honey?! Honey?!] Gardevoir yelled, trying to wake Gallade up.

End of flashback…

Gem just shrugged in response to Zach's question. Zach just sighed and said, "Let's just get Jared out of the forest."

When they got to Jared's location, he was covered in a pile of dirt and trees. A single hand of his was sticking out of the mound, a little limp but had no scratches on it. Gem asked, "Are you okay Jared?"

Zach turned to Gem and said "How is he supposed to hear that, he's under a heap of dirt and trees and-" He was interrupted by something tapping his shoulder. He turned again to see that it was Jared's hand that tapped him. He gave a sort of thumbs up in response to Gem's question, and then pointed up as to say to get him out. Zach and Gem nodded and started to dig Jared out, Zach using his claws while Gem using psychic powers to move the dirt out of the way.

In a few minutes, the two finally got Jared out of the dirt pile. He was coughed a few times because of the lack of oxygen in dirt, but he was alright. When the coughing fit was over he said to Gem, "I never knew you we're this strong, wished I knew that sooner." He laughed heartily while Gem just blushed and nodded.

After his laughing, he said, "Right then, I believe it's time to get Daryl and apply for the tournament."

"What about your injuries?" Zach asked.

"We'll just get some potions from the pokemart, but these bruises are nothing right now. Let's just get out of the forest." They all nodded in agreement and started to walk back to town.

Back at Daryl's location…

"And that's how I got my third legendary." Daryl proudly said.

"Wow," Juniper was amazed in her cousin's collection of pokemon. "So do you plan to catch all the legendaries?"

"Nah, only the ones that want to come with me." He replied.

Just then, Jared came through the door in his human form, following by his side were Gem and Zach. He had a big smile on his face as if he was ready for anything. "Hey Jared, how was training?" Daryl asked.

"It went great! I feel like I can take down a Machamp with my bare hands!" Jared flexed his arms to show he was pumped.

"But you aren't gonna be in the tournament, your pokemon is, right?" Professor Juniper interjected, which got Jared a little nervous.

"Oh right," he thought. "I forgot that I didn't tell her I'm part pokemon. And if she found out, she and the other professors might perform harmful experiments to see how I tick!"

"Heh, heh, oh yeah I forgot…" Jared lied.

"So can I see your fighting type?" Juniper asked.

"Oh fuck!" Jared started to panic. "Umm, uhhh…"

Suddenly, an explosion boomed from the back of the laboratory. The door that separated the back to the main room had smoke pouring from any crevices it had. The door was pushed forcefully open, and coming out of it was a smoldering figure of Professor Rowan. He was coughing violently, his hair and beard was singed, and it looked like the rest of the lab in the back was covered in a thick layer of smut.

"Are you okay Rowan!" Juniper asked with a concerned expression.

"It's…*cough cough* it's nothing to worry about. Just some *cough* experimentation with the *cough* stone's evolutionary effect on pokemon." He replied.

"Come on, let's get you some water." Juniper said while leading Rowan to a sofa to rest, then going to the sink to get him a glass of water.

After drinking, Rowan asked Jared, "shouldn't you be applying for the tournament by now?"

Jared looked up at the wall clock, realizing it was three fifty-five. "Oh crap! Daryl, Gem, Zach, we got to hurry!" He ran out the door, following behind him was everyone he mentioned.

Rowan sighed, remembering his days of youth, running around like no tomorrow. "Juniper, can you get my box of rage candy bars in the top cabinet please?"

Juniper opened the cabinet but said, "There isn't any more in here."

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

At the tournament arena…

The tournament was held in the middle of town, in a small stadium that's meant to hold town celebrations or contests. The group was just outside, running like hell before the doors to the contestant applications close. By just a few seconds left, they made it to the desk for sign-ups.

"Hi," said a young lady behind the desk. "Are you here to sign up for the tournament today?"

"Yes," Jared huffed out, still tired from sprinting to the arena. "My friend Daryl says he'd like to sign up his Lucario."

Daryl gave him a questionable look but Jared told him telepathically, "I'm the pokemon that's gonna fight you know, just pretend to be my trainer while I go find a place to transform." He ran off to find that hidden place.

The front desk lady looked towards Daryl for recognition, which he quickly nodded to. "And where would this Lucario of yours be exactly?" She asked.

When Daryl turned around, he noticed a Lucario had appeared. Believing it was Jared, he moved aside and said, "This is my Lucario."

"And does it have a nickname?" The lady asked.

"His name is… Jared."

"Alright, just sign here and you can be on your way." Daryl nodded and then signed in. With that said and done the lady pointed towards a door for contestant pokemon and their trainers.

Behind the doors was a waiting room were multiple trainers and their pokemon had been getting ready for the fight. At the back of the room a poster had been set up to see who fights who. Only eight pokemon had been signed up for the tournament, meaning there will be about three rounds: the preliminary rounds, the semi-final rounds, and the final round. Yet strange enough, there was only seven contestant pokemon there, including Jared himself.

"Where's the last contestant?" Daryl spoke out loud, also noticing only seven contestants there.

"The last contestant is the all-time, undefeated champion." A buff, middle age man walked up and lifted his hand for a handshake. "The name's Nikolai, but please, you can call me Nick."

"Hello Nick," Daryl shook his hand, unfazed by the large man's appearance. "My name's Daryl and this is my Lucario, Jared. The Zoroark and Kirlia are my friend's pokemon, not mine, just so you know. Anyway, who is this undefeated champion you speak of?"

"Yes, the champion. It's the tournament owner's pokemon. They travel around finding the strongest of the strong, hoping to find a powerful pokemon and their trainer to test their own limits."

"Are you the owner then?" Daryl asked.

"Hahahahahaha, oh no, Arceus no I'm not. If I was, my pokemon and I would be behind the champion door." He motioned his hand to the extravagate door at the end of the room.

"Have you seen the champion?" Nick shook his head.

"Unfortunately, no. At the final round, the champion always wins in a hooded robe. No one knows what it looks like."

"Then we'll be the first ones to reveal the champion's hidden identity."

Suddenly, a ding broadcast through the entire room, followed by a women's voice. "The tournament is about to begin. May the first two contestants please come to the stage."

Daryl looked back to the poster to see Jared and a Hitmonchan are the first to fight.

"Are you the one we have to fight?" Daryl asked Nick.

"Oh no," Nick replied. "I have a Machamp, not a Hitmonchan. But we may have to fight each other soon." He pointed to the poster to show he is in the second preliminary round.

"Good luck, my friend." He said.

"You too." Daryl replied. "Ready Jared?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I am."

"Holy shit you have a talking pokemon!" Nikolai yelled.

To be continued. Sorry, I had planned to make this longer, but it would be like six thousand words, too long I think. Though some people like stories that are long. Any who, the next chapter may be earlier than expected. I usually make things up as I go, but I already have chapter eleven written down, just not typed. So, if you find any spelling mistakes and such, just PM me. If you like the story, then follow, favorite, and review if you already haven't. Have good life, see ya later!