AN: I noticed that the hyphens that I used to change a scene haven't been showing up in the finalized doc, so sorry in advance for the last two chapters for those who were confused by the sudden shift!
As I promised, this chapter is longer than before, so I hope you enjoy this action packed chapter. We'll finally see how strategic Gedeon can be in battle!
"So do you always train so early?" A tired voice came from Hilda as she saw Gedeon and his pokemon working out.
"That's right. It'll keep us in shape and healthy as well." Gedeon answered as he finished doing his last set of push ups.
"I see." Snivy and Oshawott both went in front of Gedeon as Hilda approached. The young trainer raised an eyebrow.
"Stop being overprotective.." Both pokemon groaned as they resumed their training. "Those two are...unique."
"I...noticed. I'm a girl myself so I can tell those two like you a lot."
"Interesting...so, what do you plan on doing? Catch another pokemon?" Hilda groaned at the question, getting Gedeon to laugh lightly.
"I don't know who I want next." Gedeon knew that feeling of uncertainty.
"Well you have a Tepig, who's weak to water, rock and ground types...I say catch yourself a grass type and you'll cover those weaknesses." Gedeon informed his companion.
"Oh! You're totally right! Thank you so much!" Gedeon scratched his nose as Hilda hugged him tightly.
"It's nothing much..."
Another day passed and both trainers reached Nacrene City, home of the second gym and fossil exhibits. Gedeon and Hilda had their sights set on the gym, but Gedeon wanted to check out the exhibit while Hilda did her gym challenge.
"So I'll be seeing you later?"
"Mhm! That's right! Me and Tepig are gonna win for sure!" Hilda was pumped up, thanks to the training that Gedeon had put her and Tepig through, there wasn't an option for losing.
"Right, good luck." Gedeon watched as Hilda ran off in a hurry. She sure was an energetic individual. In the corner of Gedeon's eye, he saw a running raptor like pokemon scurrying about.
"That's..." Gedeon used his dex to scan the pokemon in front of him. "Archen! Wow, seeing it up close...it's even cooler than I thought. What're you doing out here?"
"Che!"
"I get it...you wanted to explore eh...come, I'll take you around town." The flightless fossil pokemon beamed a smile and jumped onto the teens shoulders. "Let's get going."
"Did you enjoy yourself?" The Archen perched on shoulders hummed with a smile, getting Gedeon to feel better.
"We're back..." Gedeon looked at the opening doors of the exhibit. It's bony exterior was a clear giveaway that it was the exhibit.
Gedeon walked himself inside only to see three people holding a type of bomb. They wore those stupid suits so the trainer knew who it was.
"You buffoons again? What're you doing?" The three weirdos, by Gedeon's term, turned their attention to him.
"What does it look like! We're gonna destroy this place." Gedeon narrowed his eyes and noticed Archen did too.
"That's stupid...like your suits as well, imma assume your brain is smaller than a Dunsparce." Gedeon mocked with a straight face.
"Shut up, kid! This is not a game!"
"Yeah it isn't, feels like I'm watching dumb and dumber three." Gedeon mocked again, this time the two male weirdos gripped their pokeballs and threw them, out came a small meerkat looking pokemon named Patrat.
"Shut your trap! We'll beat you up! In the name of liberating pokemon!"
"Pfft." Gedeon tilted his head and began to laugh, getting everyone to look at him as if he was crazy.
"What's funny!"
"What's funny is that...you're seriously calling this liberation...that's plain false. This is merely mindless destruction...and to be frank, I'm gonna kick your asses." Gedeon called forth his Snivy and Oshawott, who were both feeling ready to fight. Archen watched at the event closely.
"Ivy, Mera, let's end this quickly!" Snivy and Oshawott looked at each other before nodding.
"Use Hyper Fang!" Both Patrat ran towards the two starter pokemon, their fangs glowing bright and growing a bit.
"Ivy! Use Leaf Tornado while spinning! Mera! Use an Aqua Jet!" The two starters nodded. Oshawott became cloaked in water before rushing off at the opposition. Snivy began to spin her body before releasing her attack.
Gedeon smiled as the leaves spun around Oshawott. Both Patrat watched in horror as they were struck by the combination attack and sent hurling into their trainers' stomach, sending all four of them crashing.
"You two are worthless." The female 'commander' said in a disappointed tone, she sighed as she released her pokemon, which was a Liepard. It was a rather large feline with purple fur and yellow spots.
"That's even stronger..." Gedeon's frown became a confident smirk at the odds he was now finding himself in.
"Night Slash!"
"Mera! jumped back and used a Water Gun! Ivy! Use Twister!" The Liepard wasn't fast enough and was caught by the twister that Snivy created with a swing of her tail; it was also combined with a Water Gun, giving it much more power.
"Gah!" The feline crashed on her trainer, the loud noise from it echoed. Everyone around was amazed at the display of moves and the swiftness that the trainer had.
"That's all she wrote." Gedeon yawned boringly, these goons weren't even much of a problem, merely an annoyance, like getting bit by a bug and the itchiness that it leaves behind.
"Thanks for the help!" A female voice called out.
"It's no worries, happy to help." Gedeon replied back to the one they called Officer Jenny. She was tall as he was, and that's an impressive height at five feet seven inches.
For his age at least.
"We learnt that these guys are named Team Plasma...my cousins in other regions dealt with weirdos like these before." Gedeon chuckled hearing the officer call Team Plasma weirdos like he does.
"I'll be keeping an eye out as well, as far as I'm certain, they have a bigger brain and by brain I mean a rather sly leader."
"What makes you certain?" The officer asked, wanting to know the young trainer's reasonings.
"Well one...they want to liberate pokemon-"
"So the pokemon won't be confined in those contraptions called a pokeball!" The female grunt butted in.
"Oh? I can get the sentiment, but are you sure the right way is by exploding buildings?" Gedeon questioned with his gaze fixated on the female Team Plasma member who met his stare back with hers.
"It's no matter, not like you would understand."
"Hmph. Anyway, Officer Jenny I must be off, I'll have to return this Archen back to the facility."
"Right, once again, thanks for the help."
"He's always been able to escape our grasp." One of the scientists sighed as he watched Archen run up a tree in the facility.
"He wants to be free...simple as that. No bird should be caged, especially a beautiful Archen." Gedeon turned around and began to walk away.
"Wait a minute." Gedeon halted and looked back at the scientist. "You should keep it."
"Are you...certain?" The boy had the right to be a bit hesitant, for all he knew, the scientist could be setting him up.
"Positive! It's clear it likes you, and as you said...no bird should be caged." Gedeon nodded his head. The Archen jumped from it's branch and onto Gedeon's left shoulder.
"Very well. Thank you very much." Gedeon, with his new pokemon, Archen left the exhibit.
Outside, the sun was still bright and covered the region in its brilliance. Gedeon held a blank expression as he took in the sunlight. Now that the ordeal at the exhibit is over, he can challenge the second gym.
"I WON!" Gedeon knew that overly optimistic voice anywhere.
"I had no doubt, Hilda." Gedeon and Hilda exchanged a high five. It was then that Hilda saw the now revived fossil perched comfortably on his left shoulder.
"IT'S SO CUUUUTE!" The young girl pulled Archen's cheeks as if they were rubber, much to the bird's dismay.
"Ch..." Archen gave a groan.
"So Hilda, how was the battle? Anything I should know?" Gedeon wanted to be prepared for any situation.
"Lenora used an annoying trap strategy. Her pokemon had a move named Retaliate. It was super tricky to get around, but Tepig managed to pull through."
"That's great to hear. I'm gonna get ready to head in by myself." Hilda smiled and gave a nod.
"Right! Good luck!"
"That's a Dragonite skeleton? Looks amazing..." The mesmerized tone came from Gedeon, he was now in what's supposed to be a gym.
"Correct! You seem to know your stuff about history and bones." The new voice caused Gedeon to turn around and look up.
The source was a tall dark skinned lady with puffy cyan hair that was afro style. They wear a striped headband, with a white shirt with a white ribbon on her neck, as well as orange flats, teal pants and a khaki apron with orange pockets.
"I'm gonna take a gamble and say you're the gym leader?"
"You're the first to point me out right away, my name is Lenora." The tall lady introduced herself, a smile etched on her face.
"Gedeon Alexander...so do I have to do some special test?" Gedeon didn't want to waste any time here, he had to prove himself to Darkrai.
"There is none, I'll let it slide this time. Follow me." Gedeon nodded and followed the gym leader further into the library-like building.
"This will be a 2v2 match! Substitutions are allowed. Is that satisfactory?" The gym leader queried, she knew the trainer in front of her was able to assess and spot when something is amiss.
"That'll be acceptable." Gedeon complied. He didn't have any reason to argue with the rules. He still kept what Hilda inquired to him before, speaking of, said girl was in the bleachers with her Tepig resting on her lap.
' I'll just use Zangoose as a trump card here, I want to see how strong Archen is. '
"Herdier come forth!" Lenora called.
"Thragg!" Gedeon summoned his Archen, who gave a cry as it immediately took a battle stance.
Herdier and Archen stared each other down.
"Let's begin! Herdier use Take Down!" Lenora ordered.
"Use Acrobatics!" Gedeon was hoping to counter with agility instead of power.
Archen or now named Thragg, successfully countered Herdier with his agility. However, that speed helped it prevail in the first bout.
Gedeon knew of Archen's major flaw.
The ability.
It's ability will make Archen practically as useless as a newborn pokemon if it reaches that point, that's why Gedeon hoped to end this fairly quickly with no time to waste!
It's either strike or fall, those words were what the boy now lived by. It was like his self-esteem if you will. A bit of a weird comparison but that's how he views it. Lenora was a gym leader, an obstacle. Nothing more than that. Gedeon didn't care about what her character was and what she would think of him.
It was a battle, nothing else mattered but victory. Gedeon clenched his fist as he watched Herdier gain the upper hand and bite down on Thragg, his Archen. This was most likely it's first battle yet something drove Archen.
Primal instinct.
It was one of the first birds, the father, the ancestor, the god. It had it's pride on the line to only seek victory no matter the cost, like Gedeon himself. It's why the boy admired the small yet strong willed bird.
Suddenly a grin formed on Gedeon's face as he came up with a strategy that could benefit towards his win!
"Archen!" Called Gedeon.
"Use U-Turn!" To see the rather startled expression crawl upon Lenora's face gave Gedeon a huge boost in confidence. It was painstakingly obvious that Lenora wanted to utilize her tactic of roar and trapping pokemon with her ace, Watchog.
Now it came crumbling upon her like an eruption. He was in control of where the huge chunks of molten lava would land.
As Archen returned, Gedeon sent forth Zangoose. The main offense of the team and so far his kindred spirit, his ace, his partner. It was bizzare to him that he would come to appreciate Hoenn Native, or well, he was supposed to have a dragon type as a partner.
However, he couldn't appreciate the teachings of one man.
"Let's strike with Brick Break!" Gedeon ordered.
"Use Thunder Fang!" Zangoose and Herdier quickly met at the center of the stage, swinging his right hand. Zangoose missed his target by a margin, but was quick enough to dodge the dangerous jaws of electricity.
Zangoose rushed and went for another strike, but was met with a sudden halt as Herdier evaded its assault.
Gedeon knew this wasn't gonna be easy, not at all, it made the battle more entertaining. He heard Hilda cheer for Zangoose, getting both of them to smile.
"Thunder Wave!" Zangoose gave a cry as it shot the status move, causing the dog pokemon to become shrouded in electricity, paralyzing it.
Gedeon commanded Zangoose to use this chance to use Brick Break, which it obeyed and slammed it's left hand onto Herdier's back.
It was a beautiful display to Gedeon, brutal yet swiftly done. He noticed that the attack has done more than it should, which means it was one of those fabled critical hits Gedeon thought was fake.
Herdier was out for the count, thanks to Archen weakening it a bit. Zangoose was feeling his morale raise as it had definitive results. His trainer was everything it could've asked for.
Lenora revealed her ace to be a Watchog, as suspected.
Watchog stood tall and proud with a menacing glare. It was a meerkat-like Pokémon with large cheeks and a single, pointed incisor sticking out of its mouth. It is mainly reddish-brown with beige cheeks and neck. There is yellow striping on its chest and tail. Its hands, feet, and tail tip are white. Its red eyes have small black pupils and a yellow stripe. Black markings accentuate the eyes at their outer ends.
Gedeon and Zangoose looked at each other and nodded. They both knew it was time to strike or they'll lose. Gedeon was sure Archen wouldn't be able to manage a victory over Watchog, so a thought crossed his mind.
To Lenora's shock, Gedeon returned the Zangoose and sent his Archen again, who felt out of place in front of the glaring and stoic Watchog.
"Acrobatics!"
"Retaliate!" Gedeon watched as Archen was barely able to land it's attack, the next thing he knew, Archen was spinning around and crashed into the wall behind him.
Gedeon was NOT prepared for such an ordeal like that. Retaliate was a problem, but that could only mean it was Lenora's ace move.
Right?
Well anyway, Gedeon smiled as he called back Archen. It lost, yes. But it gave him a winning strategy.
With Zangoose returning, Gedeon knew he was gonna win this match. It wasn't overconfidence, it was a fact. A very painfully obvious fact. If one didn't pride them on their strength, then they're nothing more than a weakling.
If you didn't have the drive to fight, then don't. It was simple.
"Brick Break!" Lenora went for Retaliate again, getting Gedeon to rethink his options.
Zangoose and Watchog were on equal footing, both attacks cancelled each other and pushed each other back. Zangoose used its best weapons, its claws and stabbed them onto the concrete floor of the arena to stop him from moving any further.
Watchog stood back up in it's strict, leader-like position, it dealt with many types of pokemon, yet the Zangoose was a much better opponent.
Gedeon was feeling the pressure with this battle, it went down to the wire, a 1v1. If he lost now that'd jeopardize his future plans of becoming the strongest in Unova, or to some in the region of Sinnoh, Isshu.
Even worse, Darkrai wouldn't appear before him!
"You're remarkably strong, it's as if you're already a seasoned trainer, one who fought countless battles." Lenora complimented with her eyes closed and her features loosening up a bit.
"I acknowledge you were a strong gym leader, it would seem that just because you're seen as the second in a region or maybe the last, doesn't mean I should take you lightly." Gedeon gave his thanks, in monotone.
Gedeon ordered his next attack, in hopes of finishing this battle once and for all, however the new trainer realized that Zangoose was working on a new move, one that'd win this.
Lenora looked on as the Zangoose took a sudden stop in it's movement, completely still as a nightly breeze. She didn't know why but this was her chance.
She ordered for her ace to wrap it up with Hyper Fang, the second strongest attack in her Watchog's arsenal. It should be enough to conclude the battle.
Gedeon was strong, yes. Certainly, but she was taking this victory here and now.
Zangoose surveyed its surroundings and took note of a standing stone in the ground. It was like training in practicing that move.
Thankfully his trainer knew what he was thinking. With a slight wince at the pain from Hyper Fang, Lenora was sure this match was over, but what totally crushed her morale was Zangoose releasing a large amount of physical energy.
It was visible!
"Revenge!" Gedeon muttered low enough for Zangoose to curve it's lips into a grin, showing off its fangs and slam all the pent up rage it held into one strike, hard enough that Watchog's eyes went blank.
Gedeon sighed in relief. He won. A sense of clarity washed over him like a tide in the moonlit sky.
- Pokemon Center -
"That was ridiculously close." Gedeon left off an exhausted breath, staring at his new badge.
"It's amazing that you completely thwarted Lenora's tactics the way you did. Are you sure you're a new trainer." Hilda asked in a tone of sarcasm and seriousness.
Gedeon merely gave his female companion a rare toothy grin, one that Hilda hopes to see more in the future.
"I am! I just did a lot of research and planning ahead of time, patience is a virtue that is overlooked." Gedeon answered as he watched Thragg and Susanoo talk about in whatever way they could.
Archen seemed to chirp a lot with Zangoose nodding without letting out any sort of noise. A clear difference in their nature was apparent.
"So we head to Pinwheel Forest tomorrow?" Asked Gedeon who wanted nothing more than to challenge the next gym. Who he learned was a bug type expert.
"Mhm! We can just relax for now and start bright and early tomorrow."
Gedeon wanted to protest and train but he had to be mindful that even he was drained from all the battles recently. He was on his way to being the strongest in Unova, it was only a matter of patience.
Lots of patience.
- Morning -
Gedeon and Hilda woke up extra early to set out to Castelia City. Pinwheel Forest will take an hour or longer if they follow the man-made path, but of course there are longer routes in the forest.
The young trainer felt right at home, back in the clutches of nature and vines. Hilda was bewildered to see that Gedeon was familiar with swinging on the vines. She then recalled the conversation they had about him being raised in the wilderness.
She thought it was a joke, but now that was completely faux! Gedeon seemed to prefer being on the branches as opposed to the concrete she walked on.
"Can you see the exit of the forest from there?" Hilda didn't need to shout as Gedeon somehow could hear her as clear as day from up in the trees.
"Yeah! It may take another thirty minutes..." Gedeon answered back, getting a sigh from Hilda.
- Castelia Bridge -
"Well that was something, you manage to catch a Swadloon." Gedeon hummed, getting a grin from Hilda.
"It's just so..."
"Cute." Gedeon finished for the tongue-tied girl.
"Yeah! And it'll help my Tepig too!"
Gedeon was impressed by the progress they both took to get here. They were no longer just new trainers, but intermediate trainers. Gedeon knew he had much more to learn but that wasn't gonna deter him from accomplishing his grandfather's dream.
The boy seemed to sport a dry look as he recalled the word, dream. He doesn't have a dream, no, none at all. It wasn't puzzling to him for not having one, although others would say the opposite. He didn't really care what others would think.
He had a well stacked team, not that any of them was on his dream team, well, maybe Zangoose now. The Cat Ferret seemed to match his persona like sprinkles on ice cream, you just can't go wrong with that combo. Gedeon came to the conclusion the Normal type was his life long partner.
He hasn't found much use for his other pokemon aside from Archen, so he made a note that once he makes it to Castelia City to send his pokemon to the professor.
He wasn't abandoning them, not at all, he just felt like they wouldn't help right now, at this moment in time. In the future, he could see that happening.
He looked out to the open ocean with a mixed look. He didn't take in the sights of the bridge like his companion, but he had to admire the beauty and calmness of the ocean. It can be melodic at times and completely destructive the next.
It was like him, calm yet fierce. It was a trait he had since a young age after all. It was only natural for something like that to stick with him.
- Castelia City -
"I hate this place." Gedeon quickly expressed.
"I could probably see why. But you gotta admit, the stuff here is on another level!" Hilda had sparkly eyes as she looked at the various buildings, and the port, the PORT!
It looked like a giant hand! What's not to like about that!
"Hm. I'm just here to fight the gym leader, although I have some things to do at the Pokemon Center. What will you do?"
"I think I'll take a look around-"
"EEEEEEEEEE!" A shriek echoed.
"What the hell-GA!" Gedeon couldn't finish as he was bombarded by a mob of, well, fangirls.
They weren't for him, but for something else entirely. Hilda sighed and picked the fallen boy up.
"I swear..." Gedeon wanted to go up to the mob and berate them all, each and every single one of them.
"We should probably go see what the deal is." Hilda suggested, getting Gedeon to nod in agreement.
"I really hope this was worth getting ran over by some stupid fangirls." Gedeon was vocally and visibly frustrated at getting literally stomped on.
It was like getting plowed by a herd of Tauros. Not that he ever wants to test that out. He was sure to die, or in some other universe or timeline, he'll survive a battle of legendary Pokemon.
'Why did I just think that?' Gedeon thought in a daze.
"No way!" The voice of Hilda snapped Gedeon out of his musing and looked in the direction of his companions eyes.
What shocked him as well, was the person. A grin formed on his face. The source of this person was none other than...
"Alder! I challenge you to a battle!" The man named Alder was a tall man, about 6'3. He had wild and untamed red or auburn colored hair. His outfit was strikingly related to those of natives. 6 pokeballs were over his neck thanks to some sort of rope.
"Oh! I'm surprised someone wants a battle instead of an autograph, but who am I to refuse! What's your name." Alder chuckled lightly.
"My name is Gedeon Alexander." Alder raised his eyes a bit hearing the last name. The man closed his eyes, a smile forming soon after.
'So this is your grandson, old pal? He does resemble you a bit too much I might add. If he's here, that means, you're resting well in the pure world.' Alder didn't let his inner turmoil show in front of the crowd.
"Very well! As you know, I am Alder, champion of Unova! This will be a 1v1!" Gedeon beamed a toothy grin as the champion accepted his challenge.
This was it, to see how far he's actually come as a trainer. Gedeon blocked out everyone's murmurs and only tuned his and Alders, as well Hilda's voice.
Gedeon sent forth his Zangoose, which caught the eyes of the crowd. Alder held a neutral expression but felt compelled to respond in kind.
"I normally wouldn't use this pokemon unless it was a league match... however I can feel the bond you and your partner share!" Alder could see it, the one who'll eventually defeat him. And no less the grandson of his own friend! (1)
Gedeon and Zangoose prepared themselves as Alder summoned a giant moth with six wings. Gedeon almost mistook this pokemon for the sun itself!
"Volcarona!" Gedeon knew for sure, he wanted one for his team. The aura this pokemon exerts when it's present radiates divinity almost! Most would falter under the pressure, but not Gedeon nor Zangoose.
"Let us begin!" Alder cried out.
"Susanoo, let's use Slashfirst!" The Zangoose didn't utter a noise as it ran quite fast at the Volcarona.
"Evade!" Was the simple command of Alder.
Zangoose swung his vicious right claw with elegance, however failed to hit his target as it flew to the side, however the Zangoose wasn't finished as it tried several times to connect, swinging both hand claws.
"Heat Wave!" Alder ordered, which his partner complied with.
The Volcarona's wings fluttered as it caused an intense wave of heat to brew. Gedeon told his partner to spin around using Quick Attack, something Alder thought was fascinating.
Gedeon sighed in relief as Zangoose managed to successfully avoid the damage.
Barely.
Volcarona was experienced, so it had the upper hand in almost everything. Power, resilience etc. It was the champion's pride and most powerful in his arsenal. How does one beat that? Gedeon wasn't sure yet, but he wasn't about to go down without putting in some work!
"Quick Attack!" Zangoose rushed in quickly.
Alder wasn't sure what was happening either but kept on smiling, this was an enjoyable battle, even Volcarona seemed excited at having a worthy fight.
"Volcarona, let's use Hyper Beam!" Gedeon didn't give any sort of order or command, only watching his Zangoose charge straight into the destructive blast with complete recklessness. Zangoose was then covered in a shroud of white, which confused Gedeon himself.
BANG!
….
Alder and Gedeon stared at the dust cloud which faded immediately. Gedeon saw Zangoose standing there, standing tall, the bruises on its body were shown, however it seemed to cling to the fight.
Fainting while standing proud.
- Minutes later -
Gedeon didn't expect to get praise from the crowd, he thought he would get ignored. That wasn't the case in this situation. He was flooded in praise. Mostly by the girls and some boys asking for his training regiment. He could only blink at the attention.
He was thankfully saved by Hilda. Who so happened to get called a witch for stealing Gedeon away from them. Gedeon couldn't help but shake his head at the petty ordeal.
'Girls are so strange...' Were the simple thoughts of Gedeon.
"That was a mighty fine battle, I could even feel Volcarona's excitement." Gedeon noticed that Alder had a very peaceful aura to him, similar to his grandfather.
"I didn't expect to battle the champion so early, but I'm not complaining, I'm glad I did." Gedeon looked over to now fully recovered partner. Who so happened to be talking with Volcarona.
' He always somehow befriends everyone. ' Gedeon chuckled inwardly.
"So I have to ask, what did you learn from that battle?" Alder asked in a more stoic tone. Gedeon felt the shift and matched it.
"That I shouldn't rush things, or be reckless either. I was hoping to get Zangoose to learn Double Edge or Knock Off in the fight. But that came out prematurely." The answer seemed to get a hum out of Alder.
"Then you learned well. You see, I accepted your battle because I felt some arrogance in your voice to battle me, however it does seem your arrogance comes from the fact you believe in your pokemon to do well."
"I'm not sure I get it..." Gedeon scratched his head.
"In simpler terms, your trust in your pokemon breeds arrogance. Overconfidence almost. But you're humble in that regard." Alder explained further.
"I see...sorry if I came off as rude or disrespectful, you see. I don't have a dream or goal, I'm simply using my grandfather's goal as my own for now." Gedeon closed his eyes, feeling some animosity for his parents to stir unexpectedly.
"Is your grandfather by any chance named, Dagan?" Gedeon snapped his eyes open.
"Yes..."
"I see. He was a good friend of mine, we met a very long time ago. However after his partner pokemon died, he isolated himself and stood away from everyone." Alder could see that this was all new to the young Alexander.
"I didn't even know that...so that's why he always wanted me to start my journey." Gedeon covered his eyes with the palm of his right hand.
"If that was the case, he wanted you to experience the joy of traveling the world that he hated, the loss of a partner is the most painful. I lost mine as well, which made me restart my journey." Alder sported a sad smile.
"Everyone takes things differently. Your grandfather isolated himself because he thought that was best, I went on a journey a second time because I thought that was best. It all depends on the person, Gedeon." Alder didn't look, but he could tell that Gedeon was hiding the tears streaming down his face.
"You're a fine trainer, if I may compliment, much better than me or your grandfather when we were your age. I can see it. You're the one who's gonna take my champion title from me, in the near future, I'll be happily waiting for the day. If it's a year or even 10 years!" Alder cheered, which definitely got the results in cheering up Gedeon.
"Heh, you bet! Susanoo and I will be properly trained for that day, just don't lose to anyone else!" Gedeon beamed a smile, feeling his morale boost.
- 1 Month later -
A month has passed since Gedeon battled Alder. He was still training, but much more strictly. Of course he takes breaks often since he didn't want his pokemon to think he was an asshole who only cared for the strong.
Gedeon also changed up his team in the last month. Now he has four pokemon.
His Zangoose, Archen, the newly added Krokorok and Eelektrik. He was gifted Eelektrik by Elesa who he met again in the sandy route that leads to Nimbasa City. (2)
The Krokorok was bullying people into taking another route, which he found the reason to because none of them were worthy of passing. Of course Gedeon wanted such a pokemon to join his team.
Hilda decided to part from him because she wanted to get much stronger, Gedeon understood the reason and gave her a list of his regiment, in hopes of having an all out battle in the future. (3)
So now Gedeon travels alone, at least for now. He did like being on his own but having a friend could be so much better, he came to value friendship thanks to Alder. Honestly he didn't expect to change that quickly.
"Heh, can't believe the time to challenge Elesa would come so soon." Gedeon had a grin on his face, showing off his spikey tooth.
Gedeon walked into the amusement park with his face becoming serious. Gedeon wore a different set of clothes.
The young trainer sported a brown and black striped compression shirt, along with raven black workout shorts with matching colored tights underneath and also matching colored shoes.
To say the least, the young teenager felt great. He was halfway through the gym challenge and at the pinnacle awaits his biggest rival, Alder!
The boy continued to waltz until he found the gym, but to his surprise. Elesa was outside, wearing a simple yellow crop top showing off her midriff, matching colored skirt and black high heels.
Gedeon shook his head with a slight chuckle. If she wanted to blend in, she should just wear something that doesn't scream, 'I'm obviously Elesa the gym leader!' or something.
"So you finally made it!" The older girl seemed much more vibrant now that he appeared before her, he didn't know why. (4)
"I told you I wouldn't keep you waiting, you puntrifying girl."
...
"You did NOT just say something totally electrifying!" Gedeon murmured something about how annoying the gym leaders stupid puns can rub off on others.
"I didn't! That was an accident!" Gedeon argued back.
"Mhmm, sure. Just admit, my puns are not terrible!" Elesa seemed to take advantage of the young trainer's situation, getting him to grow a tick mark.
"Whatever, anyway. Why are you outside?"
"Well, I've been hearing rumors of some stupid group trying to liberate or whatever." Gedeon face palmed himself, knowing full well what group Elesa meant.
"I know who it is, Team Plasma. They want to separate pokemon from their pokeballs in the name of liberating. I get the motive but it's just so stupid at this point." Gedeon was already irritated, now he has to deal with the weirdos.
"I see, say would you like to assist me on this?"
"I suppose so, I already promised Officer Jen I would help." Gedeon replied with a smirk, getting Elesa to smile.
"You changed." The pun loving gym leader noted, getting Gedeon to scratch his nose.
"I guess I have, although not much. I can say you still like making cheap puns." Elesa merely gave him a pout and walked faster, getting him to smile knowing he was on point.
Now to deal with those weirdos.
END!
(1) - Yes, Dagan and Alder were rivals, traveling friends etc. Alder doesn't have much history to him outside of the fact he lost his partner pokemon and restarted his journey. I wanted Dagan to be the opposite to Alder, having isolated himself and wanted nothing else to do with Pokemon. As for when he isolated himself, it was before Alder became champion so imma say about 20 years back.
(2) - A lot can happen in a month and so I really needed an excuse as to why Gedeon has Eelektrik. And the fact I love the Tynamo line.
(3) - I mean, I would feel jealous that my rival was able to keep up with the champion and decide to take a different route etc.
(4) - Gedeon is 15 and having grew up with his grandfather in semi isolation, he isn't much experienced with the opposite sex and their ways. Don't worry he's not stupidly dense.
I know, Zangoose has been getting a lot of screentime, with Archen getting some in this chapter as well. Next chapter will kick in the crime aspect of the story, it's gonna be a bit bloody and a bit crazy as well.
Zangoose (M)
Moves - Quick Attack, Slash, Brick Break, Thunder Wave.
Learning/Locked - Double Edge, Crush Claw, Knock Off
Archen (M)
Moves - Quick Attack, U-Turn, Rock Throw, Acrobatics
Learning/Locked - Tailwind, Rock Slide, Crunch
I wish you all a good day or night! Be safe, the world is cruel and see ya next chapter! Let me know if anything is amiss, grammar, punctuation, misspelled words. I'd like to improve as I continue this story!