Here you go, complete with backstory. Thank you guys for the replies!

NovaWars: Your replies are always a joy to read! I appreciate your comments.

Magical fan18: When he will meet Ash? I wonder?

n0mster: Once again, thank you for taking the time to help me grow as a writer. I understand your impression and why the story feels as if Gimult is without motivation or agency. That is a fair opinion to take. The plot is going somewhere, though, and I hope that the story has been at least enjoyable thus far.

A Second Journey

Chapter 15:

The Influential Type

The Single Powers. That's not a name that you heard in the anime, was it? I don't blame the creators for it, there were so many things that just didn't get included. One of those things was the existence of the Pokémon farms. Food had to come from somewhere, right?

Another existence like that was the Single Power. The name seemed pretty self-explanatory in retrospect, but I could see how it would be confusing. A Single Power, in essence, was a person with enough influence and sway to decide the politics of the world on their own.

The obvious candidates for this would be the Champions. As the leaders and the strongest of the Masters of their region, becoming a Champion of a major region meant that you held considerable control over global politics.

Another kind of Single Power was the Pokémon Professors. Being knowledgeable about the very dangerous beings that inhabited this world with us made you pretty important. Jumping ahead in both technology and Pokémon ability made your country stronger and, thus, your word became pretty important.

The last kind of Single Power would be the leaders of the nations. These people were political leaders elected to office. These kinds were rare, not many people lived in regions without a Champion. The few that did, like Alola, lived under the rule of their elected officials and such.

And then, of course, existed the outliers. Those rare beings who could do things outside of such obvious positions. People like Madeline Joy, the current matriarch of the Joy Clan, could not be overlooked. With a single word, she could recall the entirety of her family, essentially shutting down higher health care and plunging the world into a disaster that could only be related to the Black Plague. The death toll from such a decision would number millions, and as such her good graces were to be kept to.

Of course, the Joy Clan seemed to be naturally benevolent, so their closely guarded secrets were still available.

Another outlier would be Bill Montgomery, who revolutionized the Pokémon world practically by himself. Thanks to him, new Trainers weren't stuck to their original team. Pokéballs no longer had to be locked after the sixth capture.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we had Samuel Oak— the leading Pokémon Researcher and foremost scientist on Pokémon biology. Thanks to his contributions, relations with not only Pokémon care, but Pokémon training have exploded ahead in the half-decade or so that he had served in his role. Professors of other regions all cited him as their inspiration, and only one other man could truly call themselves his academic equal.

But the less to be said about Professor Rowan, the better.

Of course, these weren't the only outliers. The term Single Power was more unofficial than not, and though these people held this title, it didn't officially grant them any power. If you knew them, however, you just knew that they could do more to you than you could to them.

I didn't ask to be included in their ranks. I didn't ask for my moniker, either. One day, however, both accolades were thrust upon me, and once they were there, they did not typically leave.

I leaned forward as well, bringing myself much closer to the Pokémon Researcher than I ever intended to be. I looked the man in his eyes, willing a defiant glare to the fore. Unfortunately, Bill Montgomery was not a man to be intimidated. He rubbed elbows with men every bit as impressive as me and had even forced some of them to back down.

He could not face me in a battle but, honestly, he would never need to. I used his technology just the same as everyone else. Unless I killed him, he could potentially cripple me by cutting off all access I have to things that became commonplace in my life. And if I killed him… well…

… let's say that even I couldn't bear the brunt of the entire world hunting me down.

"What are you researching here?" I asked. My question seemed to amuse him. His smile widened as he sat back in his seat.

"Is that all?" he asked. "I didn't take you for the academic type. Saw you more as a… hands on kind of guy."

I shook my head. Bill was childish at heart, but he was still an adult and CEO. He knew how to use his words. I would not let him unsettle me.

"Leave the King Dragonite alone," I said. My tone was grave, but it did little more than dampen his smile.

"I would ask how you know that I am researching it here," he said. His hands rubbed together. Was that his nervous habit? "But I have no way of getting the truth out of you. Instead, I will simply reply by saying no."

He rose from his seat, apparently done with our conversation. Unfortunately for him, I was not. I rose with him, and in two short steps I was in front of him once more.

"Montgomery," I said. "You are no idiot. You know the dangers of interacting with a King Pokémon. Their powers are beyond what you are capable of dealing with."

"I disagree," he said. His hands holstered into his pockets. "Records say that the King Dragonite of these waters is indifferent towards humans. If I could simply get a few words with it—"

"Do you think you are talking with a person, Bill?" I asked. I could not hide the incredulity in my voice. "You know as well as I do, perhaps even better, that Pokémon do not operate like humans. Just because it chooses not to attack you doesn't mean that it never will. If the King Dragonite has us in its good graces, you could ruin everything by forcing it to interaction!"

I had hoped my impassioned words would be enough to sway him. I was wrong.

"King Pokémon are different than normal ones," he said. "Most are ancient, having lived hundreds, even thousands of years in order to get to the size and power they have attained." He gestured around, pointing out the paperwork that littered the floor and pinned every section of available wall. "They have shown to have gathered more intelligence, more sense. I can talk to this one, Gimult. It has proven to understand human language. Don't you understand what kind of breakthrough it would be to make the first steps in understanding the language of Pokémon since Psychic-Master Umbir—"

"Is that all this is to you?" I asked. I shook my head. "An accolade? Another trophy for your wall? People's lives are at stake, here. The fury of a Dragonite is unlike anything you know of—"

"I have dedicated extensive research to the strongest specimen of Dragonite we have available. Including, but not limited to, Lance's and Oak's."

"And they're nowhere near as powerful as a King," I replied. Bill seemed unfazed. He waved off my comment as if it were no more than a passing fog. He walked away from me and, of course, I followed.

"Do you know how long the nature of a King Pokémon has baffled researchers the world over?" He asked. "Since before my time. Since before even yours. Since before Lance's time. Since before even the venerated Oak's."

Bill made his way over to a large stack of papers. He swept most aside, revealing that the stack once used to be a bed. From the clutter, he pulled a single sheet of paper and presented it to me.

"Most King Pokémon shy away from civilization," he continued. He held his paper aloft when I didn't take it. On it, a diagram of an Eevee was presented next to a hypothetical King Eevee. The King was much larger. "They're smarter. They have the intelligence to avoid the machinations of a collective power. Any attempts to corner one are met with loss and the King moving its home elsewhere."

He returned the paper to his bed, and I had to wonder how he slept, if not there.

"No King responds to the call of any Trainer. No ball can contain their power. Because of this, no studies have been made into their nature. Are they more violent? Less? Any proto-study shows them reacting to similar stimuli in the same way a normal variant of their kind would, only to a bigger extreme. Yes, everything about a King seems to be bigger, and as such…"

I held up a hand. "I didn't come here for your thesis, Bill."

The man turned to me, eyes unfocused as he tried to comprehend my words. A sudden bout of clarity overcame him, and he was pulled back to reality.

"Oh," he said. "My apologies. I get into research mode rather easily, don't I?" He chuckled. I did not share his enthusiasm. "Either way, my research is important. It could help us respond to any potential King Pokémon that may become hostile in the future and—"

"You are not prepared," I said. I grabbed his arm. He didn't seem impressed. Still, I pulled at him, forcing him to look me in the eyes. "Trust me, the power of a King is beyond what you could handle. One wrong move, a single misstep, and you could wipe either Cerulean or Vermillion off the map."

Bill huffed. He yanked his arm out of my grip and walked off.

"The Sisters or Surge could easily hold it off until the Champion arrived."

"That you think so shows how little you truly know."

Bill looked at me. I decided that I did not like the look in his eyes. His smile turned wry, turning up on only one end, and even then, just a little.

"Right," he said. "There is only one person who encountered a King Pokémon and won. It was the start of your legend, wasn't it?"

It wasn't technically just me. It was me and Marissa, along with the rest of the crew.

"We barely made it," I said.

"But you did," he replied. He walked over to me, the gleam in his eye so obvious that I could pick it out in a crowd. "If you would care to tell, you could advance my research enough that—"

"No," I said. "I didn't tell Oak. I'm not telling you. If the Pokémon Professor of Kanto could respect my wishes, it shouldn't be too hard for you to do the same."

Bill didn't look like he was swayed by my argument. He continued to stare at me through his bottle-rim glasses, calculating eyes dissecting every part of me and looking for the knowledge I had within.

My eyes glowed blue. Just a little. Bill decided that he wasn't getting anything out of me.

"Very well. Keep your secrets." He waved at me. "It is your right to refuse, after all. But just the same as you could refuse to share this information with me, I can refuse to pull out. I'm getting my research data, one way or another."

He turned from me, content after saying his piece. Since he turned, he could not see the way my fist clenched, or the way I restrained my temper.

This man was putting not only himself, but thousands of people at risk because of a curiosity. Curiosity killed the cat, but in this case the cat was committing a genocide.

"I could… tell you some things," I offered. I didn't want to say anything about the King Gyarados encounter. I would rather it have faded into the annals of my memory. But if this was the only way to save lives, then…

"No," Bill said. He didn't even turn to address me. "I've decided that I do not want second-hand information anymore. I can get what I want and have it be more accurate."

My teeth grinded. "You're making a mistake."

"No, Adventurer," he said. Bill finally turned to me. "I'm making yet another great decision. My mistake was thinking that you could provide me with any help." He gestured to his door. I didn't turn to look at it. "If you have nothing else to say, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

We stared at each other, neither of us willing to bend. Our wills clashed— two invisible titans pushing at each other with neither relenting. His hand fell back to his side when I didn't move, and a Pokeball was fished out of his pocket.

"I wouldn't recommend it."

"I will not take orders from you in my own house."

The ball opened, and a rather large Clefairy emerged. It looked around, its natural jovialness showing, and I was hit with the knowledge that this was probably the Clefairy that he accidentally fused himself with in the game.

We didn't get a big impression of it, then. I was certainly getting a good impression of it now. With a single look at its trainer, it understood the situation. It turned to me, a cute smile on its gentle face, and pointed its fingers in the air.

It waved its fingers, preparing a Metronome.

It was slammed into the ground. Outside the window, I saw an Allergy Season fall like snow.

"You're making a mistake," I repeated.

To his credit, Bill was unfazed. The barest hint of worry crossed his face upon seeing his Clefairy being slowly turned into a pancake from Mimey's Gravity, but he quickly reset.

"No," he said. "You're the one making a mistake. Leave, now, or things could get messy for you."

"Are you threatening me?" I asked. I felt a laugh rise in my chest. "I hardly think your Clefairy would be enough to do anything."

I looked back at the pink blob. It was whining softly into the tiles.

"No, she probably can't do anything. But kill her, and the League will descend on you like flies on a carcass. That's an offense, no matter who you are."

He was right. Single Power or not, you were still subject to the laws of the region you were in. I sent Mimey a thought, and the Gravity lessened. Not all the way, but just enough to give the Fairy room to breathe.

"You sent Clefairy to use a move on me."

"You refused to evacuate my property."

"You refused to listen to me."

Bill's smile made me nauseous. "Last I checked that was not a crime. Unless you want to have the entirety of the Kanto region against you, I'd suggest you leave."

To be completely honest, I was tempted to challenge him anyway. But even I didn't want the entire might of the Elite Four and the Champion bearing down on me. I sent a thought out, and the pressure keeping Clefairy pinned to the ground disappeared. The pink puffball fluffed back up, but its whines didn't stop. Upon feeling the room return to normal, Bill ran to his Pokémon and tried to tend to it.

It was fine, all things considered. Clefairy were a hardy bunch. That didn't stop Bill from glaring at me.

"I told you not to," I said. It didn't lessen his glare any. I didn't mean for it to. I turned from him, anger still floating on the tip of my tongue, but there was nothing left for me to do here. I tried.

I slammed Bill's door harder than I needed to. A psionic shield acted as a filter for Free's very potent spores, so I disregarded them as I made my way over to my team. Free, Boy, and Mimey were looking at me, and they all seemed as if they were ready to take on an army.

I waved them down. "We're done here. There's nothing to gain." I continued walking, and none of them made to stop me as I walked away from the lighthouse. I could sense their confusion, but I was too charged to care much for it right now.

I continued walking, my feet naturally taking me towards Vermillion. As an afterthought, I looked back at the little cottage. The brown of the wood was sparkling from Free's move. If Bill came out now, he would be debilitated for at least a day. If he waited that day before coming out, the spores would disperse on their own.

Either way, the man was trapped inside. It was his choice on how he wanted to spend that time.

"Come," I called. "It's time to go."

The Boy yipped as he trotted along behind me. Free followed because he had nothing better to do. Mimey, however, tried to reach me. I kept him out. I didn't want him to feel me like this. Keeping a steady eye forward, I made my way towards the most important port city of Kanto: Vermillion City.

It was time to blow off some steam. Luckily, I knew a very good person to help with that.

XxX

Vermillion City was the city that most tourists saw when they arrived in Kanto. Sometimes people touched down on Cinnabar, and sometimes they even touched port in Pallet. But, usually, the first place that people saw was the bustling Vermillion City. As such, it was a hub for trade, diversity, and productivity. All of anything important passed through this place at some point. Good things like medicine, produce, and other local trade options were usually unpacked from crates on cargo ships in the morning.

Things like recreational drugs, weapons, weaponized Pokémon, and other such… undesirables were brought through these docks in secret at night.

Needless to say, Vermillion was hardly lacking in resources. As such, its buildings were made of constantly maintained stones and its streets were expertly paved. Its buildings ran high and numerous, and almost every aspect of its life was related to its port life.

Vermillion wasn't anywhere near as big as Saffron, and it certainly didn't even come close to the behemoth that was Celadon, but it besides those two Vermillion was probably the largest city in the region. With its numerous shops of many different walks of life and regions, Vermillion was the place you went when you wanted a taste of the city life and no more.

Had its Leader not been who he was, it would be my favorite city. Unfortunately…

"What are you doing here?" a Trainer called. She had short, buzz-cut blond hair and an impressive rigidity in her stance. She wore military fatigues, though she couldn't have been old enough to train for the military as of yet. That only left one option.

"Last I checked," I asked. "It wasn't illegal for me to enter any cities."

The Trainer scowled, though she didn't more to intercept me. "Perhaps not, but Leader Surge has given me express orders not to let you enter."

My eyebrow raised. "And did he then give you instructions on how to stop me?"

From the way that the Trainer guarding the front gate was shaking, I could assume that Surge did not give the girl a way to actually stop me. Typical. Surge was a very weird kind of leader. He was prone to training his adepts a certain kind of immensely strict way. At the same time, however, he preferred to let his students do as they pleased when not directly under his supervision. It was some weird philosophy about wanting to empower his trainers to be as autonomous as they could be in the most efficient way.

I didn't understand it. Honestly, I didn't agree with it. But whether I agreed with it or not meant little. The truth was, Surge output the most Trainers every year with the most consistent skill level. They were, of course, nowhere near as strong as the apprentices that Sabrina had taken on, or as knowledgeable as Blaine's understudies, but the sheer number of skilled trainers that Surge released every year was astonishing, if not a little boring.

The girl released a Pokémon, the light of the ball fading to reveal a small white squirrel with a blue line running along its back and tail. Its cheeks were tinted with a small yellow circle, and it had one protruding tooth with a black line in the middle.

Believe it or not, the buck tooth of a Pachirisu isn't a pair. It is one with a black line in the middle. I don't understand it either.

The people backed away as the Trainer that served as more or less entry customs released her Pokémon. Other Trainers, likely also from Surge's little army, approached. Their balls were in their hands, but they did not yet release their monsters.

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," the Trainer said. I chuckled. Her words were big, but the way that her legs were shaking betrayed her true feelings. "You don't have to do this."

"No," I said. "I feel like I do. I have done nothing to prevent me from entering Vermillion. I am entering, whether you like it or not. Boy!"

"U-boi!" my Boy called, jumping out from behind my legs. He stopped a few meters away from the Pachirisu, before chirping at it. The Pachirisu looked unnerved. Pokémon had a way of sensing power, and it was rightfully disturbed when he looked at my Eevee.

It looked back at its Trainer, hoping for a way out of this. The girl looked unsettled, but the bias towards my small furball was giving her a bit of hope. It was this hope that blinded her from the pleading eyes of her Pokémon, and she willed it ahead against its best interests. With a sigh, the Pachirisu complied.

I sent it a pitying glance. It met my eyes and nodded.

"Patchy!" she called. That was a rather unimaginative name. Though, considering my own, I didn't have much room for criticism. "Use Nuzzle!"

Electricity jumped from its cheeks, skittering across its fur as it ran towards my Boy. It was so straightforward and slow that I didn't feel the need to command him. Both the Boy and I watched as the Pachirisu nimbly bounded over. He watched as it closed the gap, and refused to move until it was upon him.

When it was, the Boy's tail glowed. An Iron Tail hit the squirrel's body in a flash, and the poor thing went skidding across the ground, making small divot. It twitched in its hole in the ground. It did not move.

The Boy and I stared at it, then turned as one back to the Gym Trainer. She looked at her defeated Pokémon, then rubbed at the bridge of her nose.

"I'm not going to ask," she said. "Just let it be known that I tried. Go on through."

I chuckled, then waved at the Boy. He chirped as he fell in step with me. As I walked away, I could hear the Gym Trainer return to normal as she turned back to the line of people waiting to get through customs.

"Alright, people! That guy got lucky, but don't expect the rest of you to be able to copy him!"

A flash of light came out, and a much bigger Pokémon emerged. The girl's Electabuzz roared, the sound akin to a generator starting up.

"Stay in line!"

I smiled. Surge's Trainers were definitely quick to get back on their feet.

XxX

Fun fact, I said that I never challenged Surge. That was true, and very intentional. Surge had a habit of picking up any interesting Trainers he saw and training them. I did not want to fall into Surge's school of military brats.

Don't get me wrong, I could always refuse. This being said, Surge was a stubborn man. Deny him once, and he would hound you for the rest of your life. No matter where in the world you fled to, Surge was sure to have a way to contact you.

No, I did not know how the man had more connections than some Champions. He was not a socially adept man. He was stubborn, hotheaded, and very narrow-minded. This isn't to say that he was a bad person, just very abrasive. In terms of strength, he was probably the fourth or so strongest in the region, and he took his roles very seriously. He protected the main immigration entry into the region with a zeal that was impressive, and there wasn't a single person in his entire city that hadn't heard his voice or felt his presence.

This being said, he rarely ever left Vermillion, so that he could find a way to send me a note all the way in Kalos was insane. I didn't even know that he knew where it was.

So, knowing all of this about the Lightning American, I avoided his city like a plague.

He found me in Lavender.

I'd rather not talk about our encounter. He was a new Gym Leader then, having just accepted it after retiring from the military. I knew about him from the game. He fulfilled most of my expectations.

I don't believe for a second that he actually expected that Trainer to keep me out. I don't even expect that he wanted her to. Now that we battled, however…

"Brat," Surge said. He approached me, his Zebstrika not panting in the slightest for how fast it had to run to get here from the Gym in the short time it took for me to beat that Pachirisu. His Zebstrika was… okay it was huge. I don't think I came up to its flank. It wasn't quite a King, but if there were specimens that existed just one step below that, it would be this Zebstrika.

Considering that it carried Surge, whose chest crested the top of my head, it had to be huge.

"Surge," I responded. I stopped walking well before grabbing distance. Seeing as the man was nearly eight and a half feet, it was quite a far distance.

The two of us stared at each other, neither of us betraying our intentions.

"Go, Electavire!"

"Boy, at the ready!"

My Eevee ran forward, his entire body puffed up in preparation for a fight. On Surge's end, a vile amount of light blinded the clearing, before revealing an Electavire that could rival Surge's mass.

One of its bulky arms was probably thicker than a tree trunk.

I had never challenged Surge. Rather, he challenged me. It was as we were leaving Lavender Town. I had lost. It was early in my career. I couldn't have possibly defeated him.

After that, however, my group's adventures really picked up. We got stronger in immense ways, one of such ways being some integral additions to our teams. When I showed up to the Indigo League with Giovanni's badge in hand, well…

… Surge had taken it a bit personally.

"Who would have expected the lamb to walk directly into the lion's den?" Surge asked. On his face was a manic grin— one that was impossible to miss given the enormity of the man's face. His Electavire snarled its agreement, and where that Electabuzz was a generator, it was the entire damn Power Plant.

"U-boi!" my Boy called. His grin showed his tiny fangs. They glinted in the light being given off by the still sparking behemoth.

Surge looked at my Eevee. He snarled. "You still refuse to use your A-team?"

"I only have one team," I responded. I won't lie, the smile on my face was just as large. All of my previous battles have been either major stomps or careful battles of precision.

With Surge, however, I could just let loose.

"Boy! Go!"

"Electivire! Thunderbolt!"

The two Pokémon went at it in the middle of the street. Civilians evacuated as the fight ensured. Trainers, the braver ones, stayed at a respectable distance.

I turned to Mimey. He nodded, then put up a few Barriers around the two.

"How far is he?" I asked.

It took Mimey a few seconds to home in on the disaster magnet. When he did, his eyes glowed.

"I sense the Child a few days away from here," he said. His psionic voice echoed in my mind. "Near a Pokémon Center between the two cities."

So he was probably getting his Charmander then. There wasn't much danger there. Well, besides Team Rocket. It wasn't as if every failed operation that the Idiot Trio got into was a disguise. The kid would be safe for a while.

Convenient. I could use some time for myself.

"Boy! Swift!"