Many thanks to a random passerby for a good critique that I needed to hear. It's the only worthwhile feedback I've ever received. This chapter will, unfortunately, have to be necessary filler for the time being. The next two chapters will set up preparations for the plot to finally be more concrete and laid out which is embarrassingly long overdue.
It was close, but Kurishimi had gotten Chad to the hospital just in time to save his leg. His skin was horribly mangled but was healing properly after surgery. Chad was also put in a cast to help in the healing of his ribs. While Kurishimi watched over the boy throughout the day, Akuma rushed out of the hospital early on.
Four days later Akuma hadn't come back, but Chad had woken up. He was grateful that his friends had gotten him medical help as soon as they did. He was curious as to where Akuma had gone, but Kurishimi couldn't tell him anything since she had been left in the dark just as much as he was. On the fifth day Akuma finally returned, allowing Kurishimi to leave the hospital to resume her training with her own Pokémon while he had a talk with Chad.
"The mysterious man returns," Chad said when he woke up and saw Akuma sitting beside his bed.
"Yeah, I'm back. You and I have a lot to talk about as well," Akuma said cryptically.
"Before you get into that I wanted to thank you for helping me here. Kurishimi told me I almost didn't make it in time."
"She's right, you were lucky. In fact you'll probably be released today or tomorrow at the latest."
"You're kidding! From what I heard I had to stay here for a few more weeks."
"And if I hadn't come back you probably would be waiting that long. For starters, I need to know how well you can keep secrets."
"Pretty darn well if I do say so myself. I've been keeping my Pokémon a secret from you as best I can since we first met."
"In that case I'll tell you how you'll be healed, but you are never to tell anyone how this happened. Are we in agreement?"
"What about the doctors here?"
"Tell them I used one of my own Pokémon to treat your wounds for a fast recovery. I couldn't heal you last week because you needed gentler treatment before that so I went out to get that Pokémon manually. My personal storage was down for a while so I went to where they were being stored by myself and brought it back here to finish your treatment. If they ask what Pokémon it was, tell them it healed you while you were sleeping so you don't know."
"Done. I'll do anything to get out of here. I've only got half a week left before my time limit for training is up anyway. I can't afford to be lying down all this time."
"Very well then, your solution to the pain is right above you."
Chad looked up but saw nothing. "I don't see what you-"
"Wait for it," Akuma said, cutting him off with a hand gesture.
Chad continued watching until a small pink Pokémon appeared. He recognized it immediately as the creature Kurishimi had shown him on her pokédex in Saffron City, Mew. The little Pokémon floated down to sit at the foot of Chad's bed and began to glow a soft blue. Shortly after it began Chad could feel his wounds mending slowly and comfortably. He breathed a contented sigh as his pain gradually began to fade.
"Mew's healing will take some time because of the damage you received. While that's going on we can have a talk."
"I'll say. I have a lot of questions for you," Chad said with a relaxed tone.
"Hold your questions for now. I can guess at a number of them and give you some answers so that you can rest. To begin with, after you were brought here I did go out to search for a Pokémon that could cure your wounds. Unlike the time when I was in the hospital the damage you took was much more severe and not so easily cured. If I had brought Erika and her Pokémon out here they wouldn't be able to do much for you other than slow infections. You needed no less than complete and instantaneous healing. While I searched for a proper Pokémon I found this Mew again. We seem to run into each other quite frequently so I requested its help in curing you. Luck played a huge part in my finding Mew. I really couldn't have found it otherwise. You may be left with some slight scarring on your leg but since your entire leg would be a scar through natural healing, if not totally unusable, I'd say this way is much more preferable. It's been a hassle trying to get the two of us back here without being spotted and we had to take an extra day in our return to do so."
"Well you're right; you answered all the questions I had."
"Now I've got a question for you. What do you plan to do with the Gyarados you captured?"
Chad grimaced at the thought. "I haven't thought about it. I'd just as soon not use Gyarados and leave it in storage where it can't hurt anyone else. I can't set it free because there will almost definitely be another incident like what happened to me. I can't train it either because I doubt I could control it as well as my other Pokémon."
Akuma tapped a finger on his chair while he thought. "I think you should know something. I watched your entire battle against the Gyarados. I had planned to step in if things got too intense for you but I was late. My point is that I know all of your six Pokémon you used in that battle. Four evolved and you had a Mankey as well. During the entire battle you were able to sufficiently command all six Pokémon and keep them under your control. None of your Pokémon acted out of turn on their own will. When you gave them an order they obeyed those directed to them instantly and stayed under your guidance the whole time. This continued after your Pokémon evolved. In most cases when a Pokémon has evolved it can be tougher to maintain control, but they all listened to your every command. I assume you also caught Mankey recently which shows that you have a natural control over even the most problematic Pokémon. All things considered, I believe you can control the Gyarados as if it were a natural member of your team. If nothing else, you will have at least earned its respect by capturing it. I'd highly recommend making it a regular among your team members as it would greatly increase your battle strength. You don't need to decide now, but you should consider whether the risk is worth the taming."
Chad silently thought about the Gyarados. It didn't seem to be more than a destructive power when he was battling it, but it was really just another Pokémon like all his others. Granted it was a Pokémon with a very bad reputation that could cause Armageddon at a whim, but still a Pokémon. Akuma let Chad think in silence for a moment, until Chad looked up at him.
"I hope you don't mind my asking, but would you have any objections if I chose to raise Gyarados?"
"I suggested it to you, didn't I?"
"I know that, but I'm not asking about strategic advantages. I'm asking if you'd have any personal problems with me raising a Pokémon with dragon characteristics."
Akuma narrowed his eyes at the boy. Of course he would have a problem with it. He hated dragon type Pokémon and those closely related to them. Gyarados was easily no exception, all things considered. In the interest of helping the boy become stronger however, there was no better option than to encourage him to raise it. Chad hadn't asked him about that though. He had specifically asked Akuma if he would have any personal problems with him doing so. He was certainly more considerate than Akuma would have been.
"Yes, I would be very put off if you decided to raise the Gyarados," Akuma admitted. "However my opinion shouldn't persuade you to raise certain types of Pokémon no matter how much I might favor one over the other. You could be perfectly compatible with Gyarados, or simply use it when no other Pokémon could help you better. You may even find another Pokémon type to be more of an effective battler for you than a Gyarados would be. I do believe that if you learned to use Gyarados in battle it would become the backbone in your selected team, but again, this choice should be completely up to you."
Chad sighed at the clear yet unhelpful answer Akuma had given him. Then he remembered that it might not matter to Akuma soon whether he raised Gyarados or not. By next week he could be traveling on his own without Akuma or Kurishimi to help him.
"Hey, how much longer do I actually have before my training limit is up?" he asked.
"Only a few days," Akuma stated, "however it doesn't matter anymore. After watching your battle against the Gyarados I've decided not to wait until the designated time before choosing whether to train you on a long term basis or not." The color in Chad's face drained as Akuma went on. "During that battle I watched as all of your Pokémon were overpowered by a single opponent. You exhausted all of your battle strength in order to bring down one threat that was much more than you could handle. You knew that you were outmatched and still you continued to fight without admitting defeat and retreating. By the end of the battle your Pokémon were drained and exhausted too much to continue despite their added battle strength upon evolving and in greater numbers. It was an almost exact recreation of the battle you experienced on the day we met. It only took one Pokémon to bring down all the fighters you brought forth and you could only do minimal damage with each one."
Chad cringed at the harsh words Akuma was saying. The outcome and progress in that last battle had been almost exactly like the battle when he met Akuma. The only difference was that he'd fought with six of his strongest at the same time, but even with a handicap the battle would have ended in a loss. He was only saved by the added capture power of the net ball he'd used.
"However," Akuma continued, "if I were in your shoes I'd have done the same thing." Chad refocused his now teary eyes on his senior. "You fought the Gyarados to protect the city and you gave those people on the beach enough time to escape. If you had stopped fighting and chosen to run to the city for protection Gyarados would have run you down and possibly destroyed the city while killing you along the way. You chose correctly in fighting with all six of your Pokémon since your opponent's power far outmatched your own. Because it was not an official Pokémon battle but rather a state of emergency, what you did was the best choice. Do you know why all four of your Pokémon evolved at the same time?" Chad shook his head. "They felt your determination and resolve to win the battle. Because of the bond with your Pokémon they felt your leadership and true nature within that battle; your feelings to fight in order to protect the city. They had the same resolve, but also wanted to protect you. Whether they knew it or not, your Pokémon evolved by sheer willpower alone. Ponyta just recently learned fire spin, Elekid was still a baby when you received it at Bill's lighthouse home, and Bulbasaur evolved faster than any starter Pokémon I've known. By all rights your Pokémon were still too inexperienced to receive that level of growth in their lives yet they all evolved. In fact the only two who did not evolve were Mankey, who was still new to the team and thus still incompatible with you, and Nidorino, who requires a moon stone to evolve to its third and final stage. If it was not for these limiting factors I'm sure they would have also evolved. Chad, you didn't fail in that battle. Instead you exceeded my expectations from the young trainer who was on his knees in defeat no more than three weeks ago. Your growth and potential is astounding. Just like your Pokémon, you also evolved and grew to the next level in your skills from that battle. I will not be accepting you as my apprentice, instead I'd ask you to reaffirm that you wish to tutor under me. I believe the honor is more mine than yours."
Akuma's face was as serious as ever as he spoke. Chad on the other hand was too busy staring to pick his jaw up off the ground. Mew tilted its head wondering why Chad hadn't moved then gave an inquisitive response to Akuma.
"I'm not sure. I think he went into shock," Akuma told it. "See if you can wake him up."
Mew used a burst of psychic energy to bring Chad's brain back up to speed. Chad shook himself awake before addressing Akuma. "Are you serious?" he asked.
"I have no reason to make jokes since any laughter would hurt you at this point I believe," Akuma simply said.
Chad stared with a dumbfounded expression, just before his eyes began to glaze over. "I'm going to pass out now, okay?" he said right before he fainted.
Akuma chuckled to himself while Mew continued to work its healing power until Chad had fully recovered.
The next day Chad was released from the hospital by some very confused doctors who wanted to know what miracle Pokémon Akuma had used to cure him. Kurishimi was also curious, but Akuma kept silent about Mew and told her it was another secret he wouldn't want to reveal. Chad stuck to the story about not waking up during the healing and played at confusion impressively. The two of them were able to escape most questions except for one very pushy doctor who refused to let Akuma leave the hospital until he knew the secret despite the hospital staff's insistence that he leave them alone. Akuma's Ariados had to tie up the doctor and hang him from the ceiling before they could finally get away. Kurishimi normally disapproved of Akuma's rough treatment of civilians in this manner, but she actually suggested it this time and walked out the doors with a mischievous smile.
That morning Akuma had secretly gone back to the Vermillion gym and acquired the thunder badge. As he'd done in Saffron's gym he asked Surge to keep the battle a secret and off the records so no one would know he'd been there. Chad had thought about going to the gym sometime during his stay in the city, but after his Pokémon evolved he decided it would be better for the group if he and his Pokémon got acquainted to their new forms first. Since there seemed to be no further reason to stay in Vermillion City the three of them went to the Pokémon Center's rec. room to discuss where they would go next.
"Akuma," Kurishimi asked before they got started, "where's Totodile? I haven't seen him since the day I had my gym battle."
"Totodile decided that it had potential to be strong so it has begun its training."
"With you or did you let it go?" Kurishimi pressed.
Akuma held up a plain poké ball with the water element emblazoned above the button in response and gave a brief grin from one corner of his mouth. Kurishimi also smiled; glad that Akuma finally caught a Pokémon he'd been wanting.
"In any case, we should decide where we're going next," Akuma said as he replaced the poké ball to his straps. "We can head to the east for training, pay for a boat ride to the south, or go back through Saffron City to get to Celadon City. If we go south our stops would be Fuchsia City, Cinnabar Island, Pallet Town, or we could do harsh training at the twin Seafoam islands. Heading east would eventually bring us to Lavender Town or if we stayed on the road for a week we could walk to Fuchsia City instead. For starters I want to know if we should continue sticking together or split up for personal training for a while."
"I'm still new at traveling so I'll pretty much just follow wherever you go," Chad told Akuma.
"I don't really have anything in mind at the moment," Kurishimi said after a moment's thought. "What's available at each of those spots you mentioned?"
"Cinnabar is a volcanic island populated mostly by fire and poison Pokémon," Akuma explained. "Points of interest on the island include a Pokémon gym and a science museum. The gym is said to be hard to find and specializes in fire types. The museum is mostly a scientific research building but works with the Pewter City museum in fossil research and resurrection. If we should ever be lucky enough to find Pokémon fossils we can take them to the island and have them resurrected there, and no, I do not know or care how it's done.
"The Seafoam islands are a couple of islands out in the ocean. There's nothing of significant interest out there unless you want to catch ice type Pokémon or learn how to survive in extreme weather conditions. Personally I never plan to go there for no other reason than I detest cold weather. There is probably a lot more to them than I've mentioned but I haven't had enough interest or purpose to learn anything more than that.
"Fuchsia City is by far the best of the lot. In addition to a Pokémon gym they also have a Pokémon reserve where you can see rare Pokémon species. Pokémon captures in this area are forbidden, but there is also a Safari Zone with equally rare Pokémon where you can pay for a timed capture buffet of sorts. If you're perseverant, and have enough money for a few times through, you could find some rare species there. It's where I caught my Scyther and Dodrio a few years back. If you don't take a boat it can be a harsh road there, but I say the attractions for trainers and tourists alike is worth the effort.
"Pallet Town, I would say, is not worth the trip. Professor Oak has his lab in that area but that's about it. It's a small town with great scenery I will admit, but still too small to enjoy, much less plan a trip there unless you're only passing through. At least the people are friendly."
"What's in Lavender Town?" Chad asked when it seemed Akuma had finished.
Akuma tapped a finger on his knee for a moment while he thought. "There is a Pokémon graveyard for one thing."
Chad turned two shades whiter at the thought.
"Pokémon Tower is a dangerous place where ghost types can be found. I tried climbing to the top over a decade ago, but only made it halfway. The higher you go the stronger the wild Pokémon become."
"Anything else?" Chad probed.
"Only places of interest to me. There's nothing else you'd want to do there."
Chad and Kurishimi exchanged a look and decided not to ask any more.
"I may go to Lavender Town soon though. I have some things to take care of and there's someone I need to talk to. However I don't know if either of you would be allowed to come with me so I'm hesitant to bring you along."
"Is Lavender Town really that dull?" Kurishimi asked.
"It's a slum," Akuma simply told her. "It's more low class than where I caught Ariados when it was a Spinarak."
"That's… pretty bad," Kurishimi said to herself. "Are there any other places of interest around Lavender?"
"There is an abandoned power plant up north, but you would have to go over a mountain or through Rock Tunnel to get there since a recent landslide blocked the paths to the river. We might go in the future if one of us wants an electric type. That's all I can think of unless you want to go south for a popular fishing spot."
"What did you mean by us not being allowed to come?"
"That's personal business and I would appreciate it if you would forget about me having mentioned it to you."
"Ooookay then I will. How important is your business there anyway?"
"It's fairly important but not urgent. I don't know if it would take a few hours or a few days though."
"In that case we'd better go as soon as possible. Besides, we probably won't be in a more convenient place to get there for a long time and Chad needs to reacquaint himself with his 'new' Pokémon. When would we head out?"
It seemed that Kurishimi had decided for the group that they would be going to Lavender Town. After a brief discussion they chose to leave tomorrow afternoon. While Akuma was looking forward to taking care of business, none of them were pleased about the destination.
Up to this point I was only writing a story for the sake of writing a story. This will not be the case anymore. While I enjoyed writing this much of the story as a hobby it isn't fair to expect other people to read nearly 30 chapters before things start happening. Fun though it may have been for me, it's unacceptable to expect others to enjoy it to the same degree which I openly and shamefully admit to having done. I'll update the story a little bit faster over the next month or two to finally get the plot moving in the direction it should have already gone and most people would have finished by now.
