Chapter 38: Gearing Up!

Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Before we begin, I just wanna address something. This is going to be pretty long so feel free to skip. I recently got a review talking about how I'm sticking to close to canon and I wanted to say something about that. The review itself was posted on a much older chapter so I don't know if that person is even going to read this, but it's actually been something I've been worrying about for a while. While the point of this story is to be MHA but with Pokemon, I don't want it to just be that. I want to add my own creativity, but it's a little difficult to insert things that divert from canon here and there.

I've spoken about how I'm working on a completely original arc, but that won't take place until after Season 4 since by then, Deku will have all the Pokemon I need him to have. However, those of you who share the same worry won't have to be so concerned as this arc, the Provisional License Exam Arc, there's going to be a lot of original chapters featuring students we don't get to see so much. The only ones that are going to be the same as the anime are the ones that appeared in the manga, and even then I want to add my own extra twist to them. That means that the Yaoyorozu and Todoroki stories are going to be completely different too, so watch out for that.

Another thing I want to add is that next chapter is going to be an original chapter as well. That's just going to explain how what happens at the end of this chapter happens.

Finally, I'm going to start working on the Movies soon! With the new teaser dropping for the third movie, I wanna do the same thing I'm doing with the show for the other two: Two Heroes and Heroes Rising. I was wondering though, would you prefer to have them as a separate story or to be included here? They wouldn't be numbered chapters but rather just extras or maybe I'd call them "Movie Chapters" or something. Let me know!

That's it for now. Thanks for reading if you did and enjoy the chapter!

After everything was prepared, all the students moved into their respective dorms. Unlike other schools, UA used an individual room system, preparing 20 different rooms per class. Class 1-A even had a competition for the best room, with Rikido winning thanks to his cooking skills.

It was a big change, but it wasn't necessarily a bad one. It was fun being able to live with each other, even if some of them missed their families very dearly. Still, it wasn't like they weren't able to leave. Most of them took time out of their week to visit their families, so they were still able to stay connected.

Eventually, UA resumed their classes. Due to the training camp being cut so short, the school needed to work double time. Most other Hero courses didn't halt their activities, so UA needed to help the students catch up fast.

"As I told you yesterday, we're gonna focus on getting you the provisional licenses the training camp was meant to prepare you for," Aizawa said. "A license like that represents a big responsibility. Naturally, the test to obtain one isn't going to be easy. Even if it's just a provisional license, only about 50% of test-takers pass every year. That's why from today…"

Suddenly, Cementoss, Ectoplasm, and Midnight entered the room. "We'll have you develop your own ultimate moves."

Everyone was excited at the idea. It had been a while since they had done something Hero-like for school, so being able to develop their skills in a new and unique way was an idea all of them loved.

"Ultimate! Therefore, it should be a move that practically guarantees victory." Ectoplasm said. "You should be able to force your strengths on your opponent and take control of the battle." Cementoss continued. "Those moves represent who you are. It's not every day you meet a Pro Hero without an ultimate move." Midnight finished.

"Change into your gym uniforms and head to the Gamma Gym. We'll tell you more about it there." Aizawa said.

The Gamma Gym… a fairly new building in UA. It was also known as the Training Dining Land, or TDL. Inside was a huge mountainous area, perfect for training. It somewhat resembled the area the students trained in during the training camp.

"Thanks to some special materials here, some of our Pokemon can manipulate the terrain to make it perfect for training. That's what the 'dining' part means." Cementoss said.

Aizawa cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Anyway, onto the ultimate moves. You all know the job of a Hero is to save people, whether that's from man-made crimes, accidents, or natural disasters. Naturally, the provisional license test is gonna test you on that. Your information-gathering, decision making, speed, power, strategy, and bond with your Pokemon."

"Among all else, your fighting skills and ability to take control of a situation are some of the most important. Having an ultimate move will greatly affect your results, no matter how competent or powerful you are in a fight." Midnight smiled and crossed her arms. Cementoss nodded and stepped forward as well. "Think about it like this. These moves are gonna represent just how skilled you are as a trainer. It's what helps you stand out compared to others with similar Pokemon to you."

"An ultimate move doesn't have to be an attack, either. It's all about using your Pokemon's strengths in innovative ways." Ectoplasm said. "Take Iida's Lycanroc for example. In the Sports Festival, he used a move he named 'Accelerock Run.' By combining two of his moves, he achieved unmatched speeds that created a threat worthy of an ultimate move."

"It doesn't have to be a combination of moves either. Remember, we're trying to think outside the box. Take Kamui's innovative use of Ingrain. It's just a single move, but he uses it to restrain his opponents. Most trainers and Pokemon use Ingrain to heal themselves, but Kamui woods looked at the fundamentals and used them to practically create his own move." Midnight said.

Aizawa walked forward and looked at the students. "At the training camp, the original plan was to end by having you develop your own ultimate moves. Unfortunately, that never happened. At the same time, we don't have all the time in the world and I know all of you have multiple Pokemon. Fortunately, the license exam only allows every examinee to take one Pokemon into the building. To make up for it, for the next ten days or so, you'll be dedicating your time to helping one of your Pokemon create an ultimate move."

"Moreover, you'll likely want to speak to Powerloader. As you know, he's the head of the newly created Support division of UA. If I were you, I'd consider getting some equipment for my Pokemon. You'll need every advantage you can get." Cementoss continued.

Aizawa smiled and sent out his Malamar. "Is everyone ready?"

"Yes, sir!"

The task for the day was to decide on which Pokemon they were going to be using for the provisional license exam. While they didn't want to rush the process, they had very little time remaining.

Looking at his choices, all three of Izuku's Pokemon had valid reasons to be picked, but ultimately, Riolu was the one with the most experience. Still, he wanted to really test what each of his Pokemon were capable of when it came to developing ultimate moves.

And with that, their training began.

"Sceptile, use Leaf Storm as a shield!" Tsuyu shouted. By getting on all fours, Sceptile shot out a Leaf Storm from his tail and created a shield around himself. "I've been thinking about this for a while. If we can learn to move better while keeping this shield, we can approach the enemy without having to worry about their attacks."

Cementoss smiled and nodded. "I see. Very impressive, Asui. The only problem I see here is that Sceptile might struggle to move because of the shield. Perhaps he could spin his tail around while using Leaf Storm. This should let him move easier and also form a stronger shield."

Meanwhile, Ochako was showing off what her Meowstic was capable of to Midnight. "Right now, she knows Psychic, Shadow Ball, Disarming Voice, and Energy Ball. I'm not really sure what I can do with those to make an ultimate move."

Midnight placed her hand over her chin in thought. "Well, I've got an idea. Disarming Voice isn't very powerful, but it covers a pretty big area. Meanwhile, Shadow Ball is strong, but you to be precise with it. Since Shadow Ball is just made up of Ghost Energy, Meowstic should be able to charge one up and combine it with Disarming Voice to deal a lot of damage to a big area."

The girl looked at her Meowstic and nodded. "Okay! We'll try it out!" The Psychic-Type Pokemon began charing up a Shadow Ball in her mouth before yelling, releasing a Disarming Voice. A Pink spiral shot out that covered a wide area, with bits of purple energy seeping in. By the end of it, the Shadow Ball was still present, but it had gotten noticeably smaller to the point that Meowstic could just let it disappear.

"The technique isn't perfect yet, but once Meowstic gets better at controlling how that ghost energy forms, you should be able to master it."

Izuku watched in awe as everybody began already conceptualizing their ultimate moves. Meanwhile, he was still figuring out how to control All for One. In a sense, that power could be seen as an ultimate move, but he wanted an attack that wouldn't have to rely on using 100%.

Riolu hit the boy in the head, bringing him back to reality where he saw an angry Ectoplasm. "What are you doing spacing out like that?"

"W-Well, I've been thinking about what I can do. The problem is that I can't do anything too drastic since my limbs are pretty much like ticking time bombs. If I go too far, I won't be able to use them anymore. I can't really think of an Ultimate Move using what we have now."

Ectoplasm nodded in agreement. "Yes, I do agree that your injuries are a bit of an obstacle. If you can't focus on creating a move, focus on developing the strengths of your Pokemon for today."

Eventually, even All Might showed up to help. While he was a retired Hero, he didn't give up his job as a UA teacher. After all, no matter who he is now, he still had great advice for the next generation of Heroes. "This is the ultimate moves class, right? I'd love to see how this goes."

He looked up and for a brief moment, he saw Izuku struggling. He was about to call out to him to give advice, but he was quickly cut off by the sound of a loud explosion. He turned his head and saw Katsuki's Rillaboom use Drum Beating to summon vines from the ground and pushing Snipe's Mudsdale off the platform.

"He's strong…" All Might said. "Yeah, that kid's only gonna get stronger too," Aizawa replied.

As Rillaboom threw his drum right at Mudsdale and slammed it down, creating a shockwave that caught everybody's attention. "Woah! That looked strong!" Mina said as her Goodra created a veil of Poison over his body.

"Yeah… I guess Bakugo's got a lot of ideas for his ultimate move, huh?" Rikido said, his Heracross destroying a bolder and flinging the rocks forward with his horn like a catapult.

"I've been trying to get better at that move I used against Midnight at the finals. The one where Trubbish used Gunk Shot around Salazzle to create a pool of poison. I've been thinking about it since I was a kid." Minoru said. Denki laughed and nodded. "I mean, we've all thought about these kinda things, right? When I was a kid, I always thought it'd be cool if Raichu or Electivire could make a lightning sword or something."

That's right… everyone else already had their Pokemon way before Izuku got his. He's only had Riolu for just over a year now so he never really had the chance to come up with Ultimate Moves… what kind of moves could he do?

Once again, Riolu hit his trainer on the head and brought him back to earth. He placed his hands on his hips and pouted, annoyed at his trainer's lack of awareness. The Pokemon pointed behind him where they found All Might smiling. "Hey!"

"A-All Might! You're here!"

"Yup! I've got some advice for you." The man said. "You're thinking too much about One for All." He whispered. Izuku looked visibly confused. "H-Huh? What's the supposed to-"

"Anyway, Kirishima! I've got some advice!"

As All Might walked around giving the other students advice, he looked back at the confused Izuku. He couldn't just give the boy the answer he was looking for outright. That'd make him a bad teacher. No, for now, he needed to figure it out on his own.

Once the school day was over, Izuku headed straight for the support laboratory to meet with Powerloader. He couldn't really understand what All Might was trying to tell him, so for now, maybe having some equipment made for his Pokemon would help him make some progress.

It was actually quite amazing how far support technology had advanced. The reason most Heroes today didn't have any special equipment or gadgets was because back then, the equipment would've been far too heavy or cumbersome to carry around. Since then, many have discovered ways of making new types of equipment that can enhance a Pokemon's abilities without limiting their movement in any way. That's why the support course was eventually added to UA too.

Izuku's logic was that perhaps creating some kind of braces for his Pokemon to allow him to reach higher percentages of One for All could help him come up with an ultimate move… even with that power, 5% wasn't quite enough.

"So you're trying to improve your mobility?" Tenya asked as he and Ochako walked through the hallways. "Yup! I wanna have something that helps Meowstic move around. She doesn't have as much control when she uses Psychic on herself so I want something that lets her move around fast. How about you."

"I'm thinking of perhaps getting tougher claws for Excadrill. As it is, his attacks are strong enough, but tougher claws could help him drill through harder materials."

They eventually ran into Izuku standing outside of the development studio, writing something down on a piece of paper. "Hey, Deku! You're here too!"

Izuku turned and waved at his friends. "Ah, Uraraka! Wha-" Suddenly, a huge explosion blasted the door off and pushing Izuku to the ground. Ochako and Tenya panicked, completely confused as to what just happened.

"C'mon, you gotta be more careful when messing with explosives like that." They could hear Powerloader say as he coughed and ran outside of the room. "But failure is the mother of invention, Mr. Powerloader! Even if what I built doesn't work as intended, it doesn't mean it's useless!" From behind him, Mei Hatsume casually walked out and laughed. She was covered in dirt, though she didn't seem to mind.

Once the smoke cleared, she looked over to the boy who had been knocked to the ground. "Hey, when did you get here!" Izuku didn't respond. He only groaned as he pushed himself up and grabbed onto his head in pain.

Once Powerloader made sure everyone was okay, he forced Mei to apologize. "Sorry for that explosion! Long time no see! And you are… uh… I forgot your names." She said nonchalantly.

Izuku placed his hand on his head and smiled. "I-I'm Izuku Midoriya…" He said, still feeling his head spinning from the explosion.

"I'm Tenya Iida! You used my Pokemon as an advertisement in the Sports Festival!"

"Cool! Okay, I'm going back to work!" Without giving them a second thought, she quickly turned around and began walking back, only to be stopped by Izuku. "Wait! I wanted to talk to Powerloader about getting some new equipment for my Pokemon!"

A huge smile formed on Mei's face as she looked at the boy. "New equipment, you say? I got you!"

"Yeah, Eraser told me about you guys," Powerloader said as he walked out. "You wanna get some new equipment to help out with making some ultimate moves, right? Come inside, let me see what I can do."

Inside, the studio looked amazing. There were a huge variety of tools, most of which they had never seen before. There were also a few Pokemon there. Powerloader's Klinklang moved around helping its trainer, while Mei's Magneton seemed to be busy carrying around some heavy pieces of metal for Mei to use.

"Alright, lemme see your equipment permit. It should've come in your case. I've got a license to make support items, but our lab here is pretty small. It might take me a few days to get everything you need done since I'll have to order all the materials. For bigger requests, we'll have to fill out an application and get everything approved by the higher-ups, but they're pretty quick about it. It should only take about three working days at most." Powerloader took the pieces of paper the students gave and set them down on the table.

"Okay, so, did you kids have anything in mind?" The man asked. "I was wondering if there was a way to create some kind of brace for my Pokemon's limbs. Right now, we can't really go all out because of our injuries." Izuku said, sending out his three Pokemon.

Powerloader nodded and began typing on his computer. "Hm… Riolu, Combusken, and Eevee. Yeah, I can definitely work something out. Just give me a little time to work out a design and we should be golden."

Izuku and the others were about to celebrate, but then they noticed something. Izuku's Pokemon were gone! They looked around and couldn't spot them anywhere, then… they looked at what Mei was working on. "Powered Pokemon Armor!" She yelled. There, they spotted a panicked Combusken in a huge metal suit while Riolu and Eevee tried desperately to get him out.

"Mei! Get him out of there!"

Eventually, they managed to get Combusken out, though the sensation of suddenly being plopped into a strange machine definitely left the Pokemon a little shaken. "My bad!" Mei said. Tenya, to try not to alert the girl, sent out his Excadrill and got close to Powerloader. "I'd like to give Excadrill some tougher claws…" He whispered.

"Well, if that's what you want!" Somehow, Mei overheard him and strapped some kind of machine onto Excadrill's back. It was a huge claw that resembled that of a Copperajah's trunk. "N-No, I don't need another hand-"

"Activate!" Mei pressed a button and the machine began wildly swinging around, causing Excadrill to lose balance and crash into the wall.

After everybody had calmed down… again, Tenya returned the tired Excadrill to his Pokeball and sighed. "Excadrill can dig well enough without extra arms, you know?" Mei laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I know, but think about it like this. An extra digging arm helps improve what you're good at! It's the next logical step!"

Izuku stopped for a moment to think about what Mei had just said. Improve what you're already good at… the next logical step… thinking about what All Might had said. He couldn't possibly have meant…!

"I'm sorry, she can be really insensitive at times." Powerloader apologized on the eccentric girl's behalf. "But at the same time, if you're aspiring to be Heroes, I'd treasure your relationship with her. I'm sure she'll take care of you when you're Pros."

He smiled and pointed to a huge heap of machinery and metal. Some seemed finished, others not so. "That mountain of junk right there? Those are all of Hatsume's inventions since the start of the year. Even back then, when the school was closed, she'd come here and tinker with something. I've seen a lot of students in the support course, but Hatsume is really something else."

It had only been four months since school started, yet she had all of these creations sitting there. That was some true dedication that very few people had. Just looking at her, you could see how she and her Magneton truly loved what they were doing. There was always a big smile plastered on her face and at times, she just couldn't stop giggling.

"She's constantly experimenting and putting things together without being afraid to fail. Innovators aren't bound to existing ideas or expectations." Powerloader said as he sat back down at his table and opened the computer to fill in the application for Ochako's requests.

That was when Izuku realized it. Just what All Might had meant! It was the same thing Gran Torino was trying to tell him back during his internship too! Everything… it was finally making sense! "Deku, did something happen? You look pretty happy." Ochako said. Izuku shook his head and smiled. "No, it's fine. I just figured out what I need to do."

The next few days, everyone continued training to create their ultimate moves.

Many were moving quickly like Mezo's Grapploct who took Octolock to a new level and learned to sort of control the movements of their opponent. Another one was how by combining Tri Attack and Crunch, Fumikage's Hydreigon was able to essentially use Ice, Fire, and Thunder Fang at the same time with his three heads.

Everyone was starting to move at a fast pace, and on the fourth day, when training was just getting started, All Might showed up again and checked in with Aizawa. "There are some who are finally getting a good grip on new styles and others are trying to create new moves." He pointed to Katsuki who's Rillaboom was getting ready in front of a relatively big rock.

The monkey Pokemon took a deep breath before getting the signal from Katsuki. "Go." He said softly. Rillaboom quickly rushed forward and slammed his drum over the rock before using Drum Beating. However, this time, the roots of the drum wrapped around the rock. "Restraining Beat!" Katsuki shouted.

However, the rock suddenly began to crack and the top chunk fell. Even worse, it was rocketing toward All Might's head. "Watch out!" Katsuki yelled. The former Hero turned around, but by them, it was too late for him to react.

Fortunately, a Pokemon jumped forward toward the rock. It was a… Blaziken?! And it belonged to Izuku Midoriya?! All Might looked at the boy's determined face as he smiled and watched his Pokemon jump forward. It was a far cry from the boy he was when he first met him.

"Blaze Kick!" Flames covered Blaziken's foot as he rushed forward and struck the rock, shattering it to pieces before landing on the ground. All Might smiled widely as he looked at the Pokemon. The boy had figured it out.

Izuku smiled and jumped down to meet his Pokemon. All Might was right, he had been focusing so much on learning to control One for All that he had forgotten to just stop and continue developing the strengths of his Pokemon. It was so simple that he had never even realized it!

This was the next level. Combusken had evolved once more and become stronger. All Might looked at them with pride and nodded. "Good answer." He said.