Chapter 24 - Hoshiimo
Oldale Town - One and a Half Years Ago
"Littleroot Town will be about three hours from here by foot. You can always take the train, if you're feeling sick," Nurse Joy said.
Logan shook his head. "Nah. I prefer to walk." He shook the water bottle that he had been drinking from. "And I already bought all of my walking juice."
Nurse Joy shrugged. "I guess I'm just worried."
"I'll be fine," he exclaimed while putting his bag over his shoulder. "See you."
Logan walked out of the Pokémon Center and towards the route that'd bring him to Littleroot Town. It wasn't anything different than the routes that he had seen before. It was lined by trees and full of tall grass where wild Pokémon would be waiting for him.
"Here we go," he said to himself. He tried to take a step forward, but he felt a sudden tug on the back of his jeans. He looked down to find the wild Poochyena from before.
The Poochyena barked and smiled at Logan. His tongue dangled from his mouth as he waited for Logan's response.
"What? You want to come with? I think you should stay. Nurse Joy can take care of you."
Poochyena barked angrily before taking a step forward. He positioned himself in front of Logan while facing the wild route. He held his head up high but made sure to not make eye contact with the trainer.
Logan groaned. "Fine. Lead the way."
The Pokémon happily chirped while he started to trot forward. Logan watched the Pokémon, and he couldn't help but smile. He took one more swig from his water bottle and then followed closely.
Present Day
The group were continuing their journey to Cerulean City. As usual, Seshiru led the way, and as they got closer, she seemed to get more and more excited. She'd point out specific areas along the way and tell Logan and Yurie about her original journey through Kanto many years ago.
They currently were roaming along the beaches of Route 9, and the sun was beginning to set, meaning that they'd start preparing for camp soon. Logan pulled out the sleeping bags and laid them out while Yurie made a fire so she could start cooking. Since Seshiru was their guide, she was allowed to relax and fish. Nothing seemed to want to bite though.
"What'd you make for us tonight?" Logan asked as Yurie began to dish out the food.
"We're just doing a simple barbeque tonight," Yurie said. She gave Logan a bowl. "But for dessert, I bought hoshiimo!"
"Dessert?" Logan wondered. "Nice! What's hoshiimo?"
"It's a dried sweet potato," Seshiru explained. "It's delicious."
Logan's shoulders slumped and he sighed. "I was hoping it'd be a special kind of chocolate cake."
"We should arrive in Cerulean City tomorrow night. It's a bit bigger than Lavender Town was, so maybe we can get some shopping done," Seshiru said. She used her chopsticks to eat some of the barbeque. Yurie had served it on top of rice.
"Can you give me any advice on the gym leader?" Logan asked. "If it's anything like that psychic, then I'd like to know."
Seshiru smiled. "I'll only tell you, because she's my favorite gym leader. Her name is Kasumi. She's a Water-type trainer, and she's beautiful. She was the last gym I challenged, and let me tell you, it's not easy."
"Other than her being a Water-type gym leader and being strong, there's nothing about her I should know?" he asked.
Seshiru laughed. "I could talk about her for days, but if you're asking if she can read your mind, then no; she can't read your mind."
"I guess that it's a good thing Grotle joined your team!" Yurie exclaimed happily. "I'm excited to see her in her first gym battle!"
Logan nodded. "I was going to use Charmander again, but I don't want to put him at a disadvantage. The poor guy needs a win."
"Well, if I remember correctly, it's going to be three on three."
"So, Grotle and Electabuzz are a must. The third position will be a bit difficult," Logan said. He put some of the barbeque in his mouth and sucked on the succulent sauce before chewing away. He smiled before looking at Mightyena.
Nuvema Town - Four Months Prior
Logan sat in the backyard of Professor Juniper's lab. He watched his Pokémon all play with one another. While they had lost only a week prior in the finals of the Ever Grande Conference, they were still as energetic as ever.
Next to him rested Mightyena. Since he had returned to Unova, the Dark-type rarely, if ever, left his side. The two had grown almost inseparable over the past year. Mightyena rested his head in Logan's lap, and the trainer played with the Wailmer print towel that was wrapped around his neck.
"We're gonna leave for another adventure soon, Mightyena," Logan said. Mightyena's ears perked up, but he didn't open his eyes. "It'll just be me and you going. I want to give everyone else a bit of a rest."
Swampert and Emboar wrestled with one another. They were now in competition to be the strongest member of Logan's team. While the sparring was friendly, it was still very competitive.
"In some cases, a lot of rest."
Logan looked towards his newly evolved Slaking. Since her battle in the Ever Grande Conference, all that she had was rest and loaf around. She'd wake up for food, but even then, Logan had to pretty much beg her.
"I'm thinking we'll go to Hoenn first and ask Yurie to join us."
Flygon flew through the air. She had been playing tag with Incineroar and Crabominable, and she had the advantage of the air, something the other two were not happy about.
"And then what do you think about going to Kanto? New place. I'm sure not a lot of people have seen a Mightyena before."
Mightyena cooed happily in response.
Dusclops had drawn in a few of the remaining Pokémon around a campfire, and he told Logan's Pokémon ghost stories in their language. While Logan couldn't understand a single word that he spoke, Dusclops had seemed to have spooked the others.
"Let's go tomorrow."
Present Day
The trio were up early and back on their way towards Cerulean City. They continued along the beaches of Route 9 where they could see the sea. The cool winds of autumn were pulled in by the seabreeze, and Yurie shivered. She held Torchic close in her arms, getting as much warmth from the Fire-type as possible.
"You want to take a small break?" Seshiru asked.
"B-break?" Yurie wondered. She shivered. "I think w-we should k-keep moving!"
"What if we went inside?" Seshiru said as she pointed towards the distance at a massive tower with a light on top.
"A lighthouse?" Logan muttered.
It didn't take the three long to get to the lighthouse. It was a building made of stone and wood. It's two front doors were massive with hundreds of Pokémon designs carved up and down them. Seshiru approached it and used the metal door knockers to alert the people inside that they had guests.
"Who is it?" a voice buzzed, catching the trainers' attention. To the right, next to the door, was a speaker.
"An old friend," Seshiru said. "Bill, it's Seshiru."
"Oh!" the speaker exclaimed before there was a soft buzz and the doors automatically opened by themselves.
One by one the trainers entered the lighthouse. The inside was not what Logan and Yurie had been expecting though. It wasn't some kind of ancient castle of sorts or even a fancy lighthouse home like Yurie had seen on television. It was a Pokémon laboratory with multiple machines and computers scattered about.
"Bill?" Seshiru called.
"I'm here!" a voice called. A lanky man with long curly hair emerged from behind a large machine. He spoke with a Galarian accent, but he looked as though he had been born in Kanto. "Sorry. Didn't mean to surprise you. Don't get visitors very often."
"It's even more a mess in here than last time," Seshiru said quietly. "You need to clean up after yourself."
The man got closer to the group while he made his way through the machines, weaving and bobbing his head to make sure he didn't hit it on any metals. "I just get so caught up in my research, you know!" He stood up straight and looked at the three trainers. "You haven't grown a centimeter."
"I've grown ten whole centimeters," Seshiru snapped. "Bill, these are my friends: Logan Stephenson from Unova and Yurie Kawahara from Hoenn."
"Wonderful! It's nice to meet you!" Bill said as he vigorously shook Logan's hand. "I'm Bill! I invented the Pokémon storage system. I'm not sure if you've used it-I mean, every trainer uses it, so why wouldn't you-but it's what I'm in charge of!"
"My Pokémon stay with my aunt Juniper," Logan said. "But, I guess I've had to transfer Pokémon before, so I've used it."
Yurie thought for a moment. "I haven't used it, but thank you anyway!"
"Bill has done a lot more than that. He's an expert in so many different fields of study," Seshiru explained. "And one reason why I wanted to bring you here was so he could show you something in particular, Yurie."
"Me?" Yurie asked.
"Yeah."
"What?" Bill asked.
Seshiru smiled and held up her finger. "Yurie recently got herself an Eevee. I remember when I first met you, you taught me all about Eevee and its different evolutions. Maybe you could do the same for her?"
"I also gave you a water stone that day! I remember!" Bill said with a smile. "I'll be right back!"
Bill returned to his nest of machine and computers, disappearing into the mess.
"So, you two are friends?" Logan asked. He wasn't sure what to say while they waited.
"I spent a lot of time here because of the beach. Bill taught me a lot, and I think I helped him with some of his research," she explained.
"Sorry!" Bill exclaimed as he came back from the wires. In his arms was what looked like a dozen Poké Balls. He put them on a nearby desk, using some papers and boxes to make sure that they didn't roll away.
"Did you help him clean ever?" Yurie asked quietly.
"Okay!" Bill said as he stood up straight. "Eevee is known as the Evolution Pokémon! Do you know why this is?"
"I feel like I'm back at school," Logan muttered.
"I'm falling asleep already," Yurie added.
"It's because Eevee can evolve into a multitude of different Pokémon! But this isn't a simple split evolution like your Gloom into Vileplume or Bellossom. No! This is much more!" Bill said excitedly. He grabbed onto the first Poké Ball and pressed the button.
A blue Pokémon with a long tail materialized from the ball. It's body shook as it took its form, and then it stood up straight.
"Vaporeon, the Bubble Jet Pokémon!" Bill said. "By giving Eevee a water stone, it'll evolve into this!"
"I had a Vaporeon," Seshiru said.
"Vaporeon was originally discovered in Kanto," Bill exclaimed. He grabbed two more Poké Balls. "As were these two."
Two more Pokémon emerged. One was yellow with thick spikes protruding from its back, and the other was red with bushy fur making up his tail.
"Jolteon, the Lightning Pokémon, and Flareon, the Flame Pokémon!" Bill called. "By use of the thunder stone and fire stone respectively, Eevee can evolve into one of these two Pokémon."
"Wow," Logan said. "It can turn into three different Pokémon. Interesting."
"We're not done yet, Mr. Stephenson!" Bill said excitedly.
Logan lowered his head. "We're not?"
"In Johto, two more species were discovered many many years ago-they've always been around, but a lot of people didn't make the connection to Eevee for some time though-because these two are probably the most rare."
With that, two more figures materialized. One was purple with a slender body, and the other was pure black with yellow rings that glowed brightly. The purple Pokémon seemed confident, but the black one appeared shy. It immediately retreated behind Bill's legs and peeked out cautiously. Once it met eyes with Mightyena, it recoiled.
"Still shy, Umbreon?" Bill wondered. "Anyways! Espeon, the Sun Pokémon, and Umbreon, the Moonlight Pokémon!"
"They're so cool," Logan commented.
"These two Pokémon need Eevee to have a strong bond with their trainer. They evolve depending on what time of day it is. But, most people weren't patient with their Eevee back in the day, and they'd evolve them into one of the other three before they could build a proper connection."
"But they're gorgeous," Yurie muttered.
"Now, Ms. Kawahara, there have not been any evolutions of Eevee discovered in Hoenn, unfortunately," Bill said.
"Then, we're finished?"
"Nope!" Bill cheered. He grabbed two more Poké Balls. "In Sinnoh, our far off neighbors to the north, there happened to be two more evolutions discovered. The Eevee in the region needed to adapt to the lush forests and the cold environment."
He pushed the buttons, and two more Pokémon appeared. One of them was green and yellow with a long tail that appeared to be made from a leaf. The other was light blue and moved slowly. It had a dark blue crest on its head with two flaps that dangled down its face.
"Leafeon, the Verdant Pokémon, and Glaceon, the Fresh Snow Pokémon."
"Their classifications have gotten cooler as we've gone on," Logan said. He waved at the Leafeon.
Bill smiled. "I respect Professor Oak, but when you allow him to categorize Pokémon, you're going to get names like 'the Mouse Pokémon'." He snorted at his own joke, but no one else seemed to laugh.
"Mr. Stephenson, Eevee wasn't introduced to Unova until a couple of years ago, and because of that, there are no currently discovered evolved forms from your region," Bill explained.
Logan nodded. "That's right. For the longest time, the government was strict about letting in foreign Pokémon. For a while, you couldn't find something as common as even a Pidgey in Unova."
Bill grabbed the last Poké Ball. "But there is one more that was discovered in Kalos!"
The last evolved form appeared, and it was something that Logan and Yurie were familiar with. It was a light pink Pokémon with ribbons that dangled from a bow-shaped crest on its head.
"Sylveon," Logan said. "I battled against one of these in Hoenn." He thought for a moment. "And come to think about it, the trainer was from Kalos."
"So, you know of the Intertwining Pokémon, eh? It's pretty strong, if I do say so myself!"
"They're all so cool," Yurie exclaimed. She knelt down to get a better look at them. Umbreon had slowly come out from behind Bill's legs, and it was sniffing cautiously at Mightyena. Logan's Pokémon didn't seem to mind and kind of looked like he enjoyed the attention.
Bill perked up. "What do you say, Ms. Kawahara? If you'd like, I can supply you with the tools to evolve your Eevee-I mean, for some of them, it could take a bit more time, but I'm sure you can handle it-and I'll do it for free since you're a friend of Seshiru!"
"I-I'm not sure," Yurie muttered. She pulled Eevee's Poké Ball from her belt and held it firmly in her hand. "I haven't even put any thought into it. Any of them would be great."
"How about you think about it over lunch?" Bill asked. He rubbed at his belly. "I'm a bit hungry. Would you three care to join me? I have hoshiimo for snacks!"
Logan cringed while Seshiru and Yurie became excited.
The four sat together at Bill's large dinner table. It was a wooden table built hundreds of years ago and was meant for large parties of ten or more. Logan imagined that Bill looked ridiculous sitting at it alone every night.
"Say, Mr. Stephenson, I have a question about a Pokémon from Unova, if you'll indulge me," Bill said as he stuffed some stewed meat into his mouth.
"Alright."
"The Pokémon Vanillite, Vanillish, and Vanilluxe, what's their deal? I've never seen any Pokémon like that. I mean, evolving into something resembling a delicious dessert seems counter productive to survival of the fittest, don't you think?"
Logan shrugged. He looked towards the end of the table where Umbreon and Mightyena were playing with one another. "That's the form that they decide to take. I think it's to attract trainers, actually. Wild Pokémon don't understand ice cream and such, so I don't think it puts them in any kind of danger out in their natural environment. But, it does catch the human eye."
"You've seem to have put a lot of thought into this!" Bill exclaimed.
"Not really."
"Ms. Kawahara, speaking of thought, have you thought about what you want your Eevee to turn into?" Bill asked.
Yurie shook her head. "No. I want my Eevee to evolve whenever she's ready. She's still really young, and I'm not sure what her personality is just yet. If I can spend some more time with her, then I think I'll decide. Thank you for the offer though."
"If I had an Eevee, I'd try to evolve it into an Umbreon," Logan exclaimed.
Bill nodded and smiled as he watched the two Dark-type play. "This is actually the happiest that I've seen Umbreon in a very long time. It's very pleasant to see him up and moving like this."
The group were quickly finished with their dinner, and after Bill kindly gave them more supplies to take on their adventure, they were set to get back on their way to Cerulean City.
"Thank you for everything!" Seshiru said as she gave her old friend a hug.
Bill pat her on the head. "You have grown ten centimeters. Maybe even eleven."
Mightyena and Umbreon rubbed their heads together as a farewell hug before Mightyena returned to Logan's side.
"Mr. Stephenson, I was wondering," Bill said. He readjusted his glasses and looked at Mightyena. "You don't have to-because it's out of the blue, and I might be out of line-but I was wondering if you'd be willing to allow Mightyena to stay with me for awhile?"
"What?" Logan asked. He ran his hand over Mightyena's head nervously. "Why? Why do you ask?"
"I have a couple of reasons-and if you really need, I can go into detail, but I'm not sure if it's necessary-but the main reason is that I think Umbreon could use the company. You see, there aren't very many Dark-types in Kanto. Umbreon is a little bit lonely, and in some ways, I think that he thinks he's the black sheep. All of the other Pokémon have local friends, but Umbreon isn't very social, and he spends most of his days alone. Maybe Mightyena can help him come out of his shell a bit, I was thinking."
"I don't know," Logan muttered. He frowned and looked at Mightyena. He lightly tugged on the Wailmer print towel that the Pokémon always had fashioned around his neck. "We've been together for so long."
"Dah," Bill exclaimed. He threw his hands into the air. "I knew it was a long shot, but you know, you miss all shots you don't take. I'll respect your decision as his trainer."
Logan thought for a moment. Mightyena was currently the strongest member on his team. When he found himself in a sticky position, he knew that he could rely on Mightyena to pull him out of it. However, that could have been what was wrong with his team currently.
Nidorino was distracted by his rivalry with Mightyena to really focus on training. Snorlax understood that Logan always had a backup, so what reason did she have to listen? Charmander never felt the need to truly stand up for itself. Grotle was still new to Logan's style, and it could take the two a while to adapt. And, Electabuzz was nuts.
He knelt down and looked at Mightyena in the eyes. "What do you think? I think you'd get some needed rest, and right now, this Umbreon might need you more than I do. The choice is yours, buddy."
Mightyena let out a soft whine before barking. He looked away from Logan and towards Umbreon. The shy Pokémon lowered his head, and then Mightyena turned back to Logan. There was sadness in his eyes.
"If you choose to let him stay, I can send him to you any time," Bill said. "I invented the PC after all, so it'd take just one push of a button."
Logan nodded. "What do you say, Mightyena?"
Mightyena paused for a moment. He took in a deep breath before licking Logan's face and then getting in close for a hug. The two embraced one last time, and when Logan finally let go, he wiped away his tears. Mightyena slowly backed up and barked, and Logan stood up straight.
"That settles it, I guess. I'll miss you."
Mightyena barked once more.
"Love you too."
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
So, Mightyena has left the team. He'll be back when Logan needs him, but for now, it's probably best for Logan's team to develop without the overpowered Dark-type.
I kind of see Bill as British (Galarian). He speaks with the British accent in the anime, I think (if he doesn't, then whoops). I also wanted to use his English name, so yeah. My headcanon! I tried to find creative ways to make his dialogue seem rambly. He always came off that way to me in the games. I don't think it's even remotely grammatically correct, but I'll try to come back and fix it some day.
Next chapter: Logan's next gym challenge
REVIEWS:
pokemonking0924 - "Cerulean City has a lot to offer both in the anime and games, the trio have a lot to do there but hopefully they will also take the time to relax and enjoy the nearby sea. Logan has caught another problem child and Grotles first battle with him was great, Charmander really needs to get over his nervousness and fear. Looking forward to seeing what excitement is planned for the next few chapters." - Something that's coming up will be really good for the whole team, I think.
wisdom-jewel - "I do like how Logan would have to really work on his Pokemon. This would test his skills and see how well he would work with such Pokemon. And it seems you have your work cut out with so many battles that would be coming up. I'm guessing the group won't much rest between the three. I wonder if they do it around the same time. Like Logan have the gym battle prior to Yurie having her Appeals and Seshiru having her thing around the same time. Or the gym and the Frontier won't be open since both the gym leader and the Frontier brain are judging the contest." - I really like the idea of them doing all three at the same time, but I already have formatted it to be done separately. Oops. Haha
pokestets23 - "I love his team! I am a fan of Electabuzz, too! Love the choice of Grotle being added a chapter or two back as well." - I can't remember Drake's team in your story... but I think I vaguely remember an Electabuzz. Electabuzz is the coolest.