Chapter 31: Onwards & Upwards
A/N: Please do fill out the poll on my profile when you get a second, I really am interested in hearing what you guys think. Leave a review if you want to give more detailed feedback on that or on anything. Updates scheduled and on target (so far), feel free to follow or favorite if you like the story. (Retconning & general repairs/cleanup update to come packaged with either the next update or the one after). Alfa19
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Stone walls rose up around me, shrouded in darkness as they approached the ceiling of the cavern. A roaring waterfall dominated the background. I looked around, uncertain of where I was. A rough stone platform extended up to the small lake where the waterfall came crashing down, spray falling over the edges.
I stepped closer to the lake, looking down at it. The waters were dark, not quite murky, but the blue was deeper than any I'd seen in the Hoennian waters. The roaring of the waterfall drew me closer as I began to see a blurry shape rising slowly from the deep waters in front of me.
'Are you prepared?' A voice sounded inside my head and out of it, echoing throughout the chamber. Deep, harmonious tones that sank into the depths of my mind, clutching it and holding me still as I lowered my guard. A faint melody filled the background of my head, tugging at my heart as I stepped ever closer to the pool of water, the deep, deep, pool of water.
'Will you fight for Johto? Are you prepared to defend your homeland?' The voice sounded once more, freezing my in my footsteps again as the blurry shape rose from the depths, sending water everywhere. Rising into the air with glowing eyes, a massive white avian creature breached the surface of the water, every flap of its wings sending tidal waves across the lake and blasting gusts strong enough to hurl boulders against the walls as it drew me closer.
'Are you prepared to stop Johto from burning to the ground?' Lugia's voice almost roared as I fell headfirst into the lake, sinking deeper and deeper into the water. Bubbles trailed from my mouth as the world darkened around me. It's voice sounded once more as I sank through the water, everything turning black as the pressure pushed inwards on my skin.
'Watch the ones you trust, before they become your ruin.' Suddenly the water pressure burst outwards in green and blue spray as I felt myself flip upside down, gravity itself changing and propelling me out of the water and into a solid sheet of ice.
Instinctively I brought my arms in front of my face and torso, bracing to slam into the ice wall, but it never came. I opened my eyes and I stood in Goldenrod City, atop the Mag Lev tracks. The wind was still blowing like a hurricane, yet I was somehow anchored to the train tracks, steady, but unable to move.
Poised atop the Radio Tower's roof, next to the main parabolic dish was a regal beast with thick brown fur waving in the wind. The heat radiating from its shackles legs and heavy body reached me even a hundred feet away as Entei met my eyes.
'Do not give your trust lightly; open your eyes.' In a flash, Entei bounded over head, making me twist and turn to see the other side of the track from where a train came rocketing towards me. The impact felt like a gentle blow from a pillow, knocking me into a cloud, and when I emerged on the other side, I was standing in the Olivine Harbor, in the Murkrow's Nest of a ship, watching the ocean.
'Open your eyes!' Raikou stood atop the next mast, its cloud like mane thundering as a storm brewed, forcing me to turn my eyes to the ocean. The silhouette of one ship, then three, then a dozen. A single canon ball sailed through the air with a high pitched whistle before the entire armada fired, the impact sinking the ships and leaving me falling to the water.
As I hit the surface of the water, it felt like I was sinking into an Ariados's web, getting more and more stuck with every motion before I opened my eyes and I was at the end of a row of large houses. I was in the middle of a small green patch in a cul-de-sac. Flowers and hedges decorated, with a white stone bench I was sitting on. A small pond filled with water reflecting the sky blue of above dominated half the space in the middle of the cul-de-sac park, with a large marble fountain at one end spouting water into it.
I blinked and the last of the trio stood in the water, its ribbon like mane and purple cloud drifting in the wind as it looked at me with something akin to sorrow. The gentle breeze picked up and droplets of water began to pour as the storm brewing earlier broke out, leaving me facing Suicune in the rain.
'Open your eyes.' The north wind's voice was gentle, much softer than the other two, carrying centuries of sorrow and emotion.
'Open your eyes.'
I sprang up and gasped as the sound of barking and growling roused me from my sleep. The temperature in the room increased as I did so, the heat unpleasant under the blanket. I sat up in bed as Typhlosion continued barking trying to grab my attention. I reached over to the lamp with one hand and fumbled around in the dark until I found the switch, turning it on and squinting as the light spread around the room, illuminating Typhlosion and the egg.
The Egg. My eyes snapped open as I spotted the crack near the top of the shell as the egg wobbled in the Pokemon bed, supported by Typhlosion's body and paws. I half fell out of the bed, crawling over to where Typhlosion was and sitting next to it as I watched the egg. Typhlosion's eyes were fixed to it as the shook again and another crack form at the top of the shell.
I sat cross legged and continued to watch as the cracks formed on both sides of the egg, where legs and arms would go on a bipedal Pokemon. The top of the egg seemed to be cracking much more than the rest. Snap.
The top of the egg cracked open and pieces fell to the sides as a cream colored spiky head poked out of the top of the shell, filling the gap. Large black eyes and a small mouth made up its face as the cracks on the sides of the shell gave way for small stubby hands and feet to break out of the shell. It sat there for a moment, looking at me with curiosity as the pieces of the shell which had broken off fell to the ground.
"Priii." The small Pokemon made a high pitched noise as I examined it with a gentle smile.
Most of the white shell with red and blue shapes around it stayed on its body however, confusing me. More of it should have hatched by now. I fumbled about the side table and pulled my Pokedex off, scanning it quickly as it looked up in curiosity.
Togepi, the Spike Ball Pokemon. Togepi is a fairy type Pokemon. Togepi is the only Pokemon which keeps its egg as part of its body when it hatches, maintaining it until it evolves into Togetic. It is the base evolution of the Togekiss line. Togepi can release poison from the spikes on its head, and retracts into its shell when sleeping. Togepi is typically a joyful Pokemon and thrives in happy environments. This Togepi is female, and knows: Pound, Life Dew, and Extrasensory. It's ability is: Serene Grace.
"Togepi, huh." I reached out carefully with one finger, palm up, and watched as the young Pokemon reached over to try and grab it with both hands. "Welcome to the family. I'm Ethan, and this is Typhlosion."
The fire type released a soft growling noise and Togepi twisted to look up at the Pokemon providing it warmth, half burying itself in Typhlosion's fur. I smiled carefully reached out to put a hand on its shell. The surface of the eggshell was warm, and Togepi turned around again, looking up at me.
"Priii!" Togepi waved both arms up at me as I slowly reached out with both hands and picked her up, holding her carefully. I brought her closer, up to eye level for a moment, before cradling her. The young Pokemon was maybe a foot tall at best, and weighed around three pounds, so it was a novel experience. Larvitar was old enough to hold his ground, and Lucario was naturally a fighter, so when he'd hatched, he'd taken right to our lifestyle. Typhlosion had been in the Elm Lab for a few weeks being cared for by Phloe and other Typhlosions as a Cyndaquil.
"Hey there girl. I hope you like it here with us." I smiled gently and kept a finger out for the young Pokemon to pull on with its tiny hands. "We're usually a pretty happy bunch. Specter can be a little bit of a prankster, and Rhydon's still a bit quiet, but we're all here for you."
Typhlosion growled and put a paw against the incubator, gesturing to me.
"Yeah, I guess we should put that away." I looked down at Togepi absentmindedly, the young Pokemon still playing with my finger. "Let's go to the nurse's station and just make sure everything's okay. Here, hold Togepi for a moment." I carefully set the little tyke down with Typhlosion on the Pokemon bed.
Once my hands were free, I yawned again, sticking the incubator in my bag and tossing my blanket over my t shirt. I had gone to sleep wearing sweat pants and a plain white crew neck, and it was chilly outside the room, not to mention I had woken up drenched in sweat. Once I had both things and put my keys in my pocket, I picked Togepi up again and walked forward. Typhlosion stood on his hind legs and opened the door slowly, letting us by before coming out the other side and pulling it shut so that it could lock.
Walking as quietly as I could, I made my way down the corridor, Typhlosion ambling along by my side. The nurse at the counter was a middle aged woman with brown hair cut in a bob, sitting with a magazine open.
"Hi. This little girl just hatched, and I was wondering if we could have a general check up?" I wearily handed my ID to the nurse and held up Togepi.
"Aw! She's so cute. Of course we can! Have you gotten her a pokeball yet?" The nurse put her magazine down and leaned forward to fuss over Togepi.
"Oh. No. I mean she literally just hatched. It wasn't the first thing that popped into my head." I admitted sheepishly as Typhlosion walked around the side of the counter.
"Alright, come with me." She removed a pokeball from behind the counter and put a small sign up on the desk, walking around to the back and stepping out. "This way." She went down the corridor next to her desk, leading me to a generic examination room, like where we had been when the nurse had examined Rhydon in Mahogany.
"Alright, how about we come here Togepi." The nurse gently lifted her from my arms and took her to the counter, setting her down carefully and pulling out a pair of gloves. She washed her hands quickly and put on a pair of disposable gloves.
She pulled a stethoscope out of the drawer and put it on, holding it to Togepi's chest as she played with Togepi with the other hand. I sat close to Togepi, trying to keep its attention and keep it occupied while Nurse Joy went over a general inspection of the young Pokemon.
"How did you come by her egg?" The nurse asked me, inspecting Togepi's back.
"A friend thought I should raise her and gave her to me." I replied, smiling and letting Togepi play with my fingers. The little one was excited to have more than one of my fingers to choose from.
"Ok. Well. It looks like Togepi is healthy and doing well." The nurse smiled and put her stethoscope away, having run auxillary scans with long range sensors on Togepi.
"Priiii." Togepi's trills weren't overly sharp, which honestly, I really appreciated for this time of night.
"Could you give me any advice about raising her? I'm honestly a bit lost. I haven't trained a Pokemon from this young since most of my Pokemon were…. weaker sounds bad, but that's kind of what it is. I'm a trainer, and at this point most of the rest of my team is ready for the Silver Conference." I admitted, looking at the nurse a little bit helplessly.
"It's alright, most trainers who raise eggs run into this problem eventually." The nurse sat down on a stool as I picked Togepi up, holding her close and playing with her a little bit.
"So for a few weeks you'll want to just keep raising her as is. No training. Then maybe a month or so in, you can look at starting training slowly, with battles with weaker Pokemon. A good idea is to take her to the local Pokemon school wherever you are. Teachers usually understand and let older students come in to get their young Pokemon started. And then from there you can see how it goes."
"Okay, thank you. I'll make sure to keep that in mind." I replied, standing up.
"See if you can stop by the Viridian Gym tomorrow and talk to Blue Oak. He knows a lot about raising Pokemon from eggs, and he might be able to give you some more advice." She opened the door for me and let me out. "Have a good night."
"Thanks, you too." I walked over to the PC with Typhlosion and the spare pokeball. I looked at my team for a moment before putting Scizor, Samurott, Pupitar and Electabuzz away for the time being, keeping Typhlosion, Lucario, Specter, Knight and Rhydon. Once I had opened my item storage and put away the incubator as well, I turned to Togepi, who was sat on the ground next to Typhlosion.
"Hey girl, so I'm going to give you a pokeball. Don't worry, this won't hurt, and it'll be super fast." I smiled and tapped the pokeball to Togepi's head carefully, watching the red light absorb her form as the pokeball clicked, confirming the capture.
Immediately, I released Togepi again, setting her down right where she had been sitting. She looked around in wonder and then at the pokeball again.
I picked up Togepi again after getting the key to the room in my hand and began walking back down the hall to the room. Typhlosion had his hands again the door, ready to push it open once I stuck the card in, carefully managing it while holding Togepi.
Inside, I closed the door and set the fairy type down on the Pokemon bed, allowing Typhlosion to go and lie down with it. The young Pokemon looked comfortable against the warmth of the fire type's body, and it was probably going to be good for a while for Togepi to sleep with Typhlosion, or one of the others. I set my now much emptier bag down, and put the pokeball on my sidetable, looking at the digital clock next to the lamp. One thirty in the morning. Well. At least she was healthy.
"Typhlosion, buddy, I'm just going to take a quick shower. Take care of Togepi." The fire type nodded as I gathered a fresh shirt and towel and went off to the showers, running the hot water and cleaning myself up before returning to the room. I lay in bed and switched off the lights, staring at the ceiling with Typhlosion's breathing in the background.
'What was that? Kalos already attacked. We already beat them down. We're watching our oceans constantly now. And the radio tower? What was that about? At least I know those two places… Where the hell was that place? That park bench?'
Unsettled, I looked over at the two Pokemon laying peacefully on the Pokemon bed. Typhlosion was sleeping comfortably with Togepi laying against his fur and resting. The baby Pokemon had fallen asleep quite quickly, maybe due to the warmth of the fire type's body next to it. Whatever it was, they were comfortable. Sighing internally, I put my head back on my pillow and looked up.
A low rumble caught my attention and I looked over, seeing one of Typhlosion's eyes open in the dark, looking at me. I raised an eyebrow as the fire type carefully used its legs to slide the Pokemon bed over to me, doing so slowly so as to not disturb the sleeping Togepi.
"All right." I smiled gratefully and reached down, carefully picking up Togepi and putting her on the bed. Once she was up, Typhlosion clambered on as well, half on my legs, half in the space between myself and the wall. I put Togepi next to Typhlosion and lay back down on one edge of the bed, the weight on my legs and the soft sound of Togepi's breathing calming me slowly. "Good night."
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I woke up in the morning to a still sleeping Togepi, but Typhlosion was awake, just laying there. Carefully, I removed my legs from under him and got out of the bed, going to wash up and change. Once I had returned, Togepi was awake, and playing with Typhlosion. I picked up the fairy type Pokemon and set her down on the ground, allowing Typhlosion to get off the bed as well now that he didn't have to try and stop Togepi from falling down off the bed.
"Do you know how to walk?" I smiled, holding Togepi's hands is tried to stand on its own feet, attempting to take steps slowly as I guided it. "That's alright, take your time. Up we go for now." Once I had collected my belongings, I picked up Togepi, letting Typhlosion walk by me to help with doors and the like as we checked out of the Pokemon center and walked out, emerging into the cold, crisp air.
Greyish skies dominated the view above us, making the color in the town pop as we walked around, eventually reaching the gym. I stepped in through the automatic glass doors and walked up to the counter, where a receptionist in a pink blazer was standing, organizing a few things.
"Hi, could I see the gym leader?" I asked politely, looking at her.
"Are you here for a battle?" she asked, smiling when she saw Togepi in my arms.
"No, I just wanted to ask Blue some questions about raising pokemon." I gestured towards Togepi with my head. "Professor Oak told me to come here."
"Alright. Can I get a name?"
"Ethan Photon."
"It looks like Blue isn't occupied at the moment, so let me just page him." She pulled a small device off her waistband and pressed a few buttons on it, quickly turning back to her computer.
I stood in silence for a few moments, keeping an eye on Togepi as Typhlosion ambled about the reception lounge, looking at the TV and the digital fireplace with curiosity. I cast a glance at the time in the bottom right corner of the news report as I waited. Nine thirty. Not too bad.
"Marcelene, you paged?" The same man from the news interview I had been watching at home all those days back turned up, his auburn hair messy and spiked up. He was even wearing the same coat and trousers as he walked in from the main battleground of the gym.
"Yes, this young man was looking for you with some questions about raising Pokemon. He says the Professor sent him here?"
Blue turned and looked at me for a second, eyes rapidly taking in everything he saw before he walked up to me.
"I'd shake your hand but you look like you've got them full." He grinned and settled for a nod. "Blue Oak. My gramps sent you here?"
"Yeah, Professor Oak told me to come talk to you when her egg hatched. My name's Ethan. Ethan Photon." I nodded in return as Typhlosion padded up and stood on his rear legs, looking at Blue. "And this is Typhlosion."
For maybe the first time, it kind of sunk in that standing up, Typhlosion was quite tall. He'd grown up a good bit, and he was maybe half a foot shorter than me. For a Pokemon that spent most of its time on four legs, that was pretty good. Most of the team were quite big at this point.
"Yeah, for sure. What do you want to know?" Blue crossed his arms and cast a glance up at the TV with a frown before turning back to us.
"Any advice would be appreciated." I shrugged and looked at him helplessly as Togepi tugged my collar.
"Alright. Let's start from the ground up. She should try walking maybe twice a day until she gets the hang of it. Help her with it, hold her hands, and keep an eye on her. If you have another Pokemon that's smaller who can physically help her better that works too. She should grow into her shell a bit more, you can see it's not loose, but it's not snug either." Blue pointed at Togepi's body, smiling a bit as the fairy type tried to grab his finger. "It should take up to two weeks for her to get the hang of that. I'd suggest that you keep her out with you just for bonding and carry her around while you travel. She's not particularly heavy, and it'll win you points with the ladies."
I laughed a little as Blue smirked, looking at Togepi again.
"You want to just let her grow up for a few weeks before you start training her, in the classical sense of the word. Areas with weak wild Pokemon like the region around here, or New Bark and Cherrygrove in Johto, both are a good bet to start out, because she'll probably develop enough to be comparable to a starter Pokemon in a few weeks' time. Another good place to check out is whatever the local trainer school is. They're usually open to helping people raise new hatchlings even if you're not a student. The lazy option is to go to a daycare center."
"Right, okay. What signs should I watch out for as she grows up?"
"So Togepi never really gets a moody adolescent phase. She'll tend to be a happy Pokemon all the time if you raise her well. When her body is fitting really tightly against her shell, that's when you know she's ready to evolve. Walking is definitely something Togepi needs to learn how to do, but its not like she needs to walk everywhere all the time. When she evolves into Togetic, she'll prefer flying anyway."
"All right, I'll keep that in mind." I made a mental note of it.
"She should be able to get about her day within your campsite comfortably, or within a building without stairs, but she doesn't need to be capable of walking everywhere with you like your Typhlosion might." Blue explained, "Another thing to know is that Togepi's evolution into Togetic isn't as dependent on strength and development like most pokemon's are. It is necessary both for Togepi to mature, and to get a little stronger of course, but mostly Togepi will evolve into Togetic if she's raised in a happy, loving environment. It's kind of a blossoming moment. When she's a Togetic, that's when she can take battling seriously and where you can properly begin to integrate her into your team. Until then, just have fun and enjoy her baby stage."
"Okay, that is definitely unique compared to a lot of Pokemon." I replied, looking at Togepi with a smile and putting one finger down for her to pull on.
"It's not super different to a Riolu." Blue shrugged.
"Oh, really?" I tilted my head. "I had no idea."
"Oh yeah, Riolu evolves into Lucario when it's happy in its environment. It kind of doesn't sound like it fits Lucario's nature to be reliant on emotion, but Riolu really thrives in that environment. Of course, for a fighting type like Riolu physical development is a lot more involved, but if its not in a happy life, its not going to evolve."
A little bit of warmth blossomed in my chest as I remembered Lucario's evolution in Norman's gym. I guess it meant I knew how to do something right.
"All right, thank you so much Blue."
"No problem. Come back here for a battle when she's evolved and trained up a bit. I want to see how she does." Blue nodded and started walking away. "We can even have a proper battle with the rest of your team."
"I'll make sure to do that." I nodded and walked out with Typhlosion, continuing until we found a nearby park where we could sit in the grass with Togepi.
"Priiiiiiiii." Togepi waved her arms about, shuffling about on the grass.
"Having fun?" I smiled as Togepi trilled again, reaching for Typhlosion.
I picked off another pokeball and released Lucario, watching the aura Pokemon settle onto the grass calmly as Togepi's attention immediately turn towards the new Pokemon in the group (for it).
'Hello little one.' Lucario let me pick up his voice as he reached out to Togepi with kindness in his eyes. Maybe it was to do with the innate aura nature of how Lucario communicated and empathized with other creatures, but Togepi half crawled, half waddled right into his arms, settling down in front of his crossed legs. 'I see the egg hatched.'
"Yeah, Togepi's our newest family member. I smiled as Lucario played with the little Pokemon, acting like a natural parent as he brought up little flickering lights made of aura, communicating heart to heart with Togepi. "I'm going to start bringing out the rest of the team, and I also need to recall Togepi today so we can fly. Can you keep talking to her and helping her understand things?"
'Of course.' Lucario picked Togepi up carefully, bringing her up, then back down as the two of them played. I fumbled with my pokeballs in the cold, checking the others I had with me. Rhydon was around, as was Specter, and Knight.
Rhydon was a little bit out of it these days, and I kind of wanted to introduce her to Togepi after finding a Protector in Pewter City if I could find one. Otherwise, I would just introduce the two there. I had a sneaking suspicion that the older Pokemon would be motherly with Togepi as she was with Larvi- sorry, Pupitar. Shaking my head, I released Specter carefully and turned to the ghost immediately.
"Behave. We have a new family member. No pranks or scaring her until she's grown up a bit." Specter's grin immediately turned into a frown as the Gengar attempted to cross its stubby arms, glaring at me.
I returned the frown with equal intensity, keeping my eyes on the ghost type. "I mean it Specter. It's not going to be good for Togepi when she's this young. When she's grown up a bit and has become a Togetic, you can start playing jokes, but until then, play nice."
Specter's glare died into a bit of sheepishness as he scratched the back of his head and nodded, walking up to Lucario and Togepi. The aura Pokemon watched over and helped communicate as Specter made a few funny faces for Togepi's entertainment, as one might with a baby.
Last but not least I released Knight. The titanic dragon's form coalesced a dozen feet away on the grass, standing upright as it took in the scene slowly.
"Knight, we have a new family member." The big orange dragon peered down in front of Lucario, his eyes lighting up as she spotted Togepi. "Be careful with her, she's still small. She hatched last night."
Togepi turned around as Knight's shadow fell over the Pokemon sitting on the grass, looking up in wonder. She hesitantly tilted her head back to look at the Dragonite, eyes wide. Knight slowly lowered his body to the ground, bending until hear head was almost at ground level.
With Lucario's encouragement, Togepi took a brave step forward, taking reassurance in Knight's lack of movement. She slowly took a few more steps as Lucario held her sides, helping her walk forward. Knight crooned softly, the pleasant sound warming my ears as he lowered his head. Togepi took another step forward before touching her head against Knight's temple, immediately relaxing in the company of the friendly dragon.
"That's sweet." I smiled as Knight carefully picked Togepi up. The small Pokemon could easily be held in one hand by the large Dragonite, but Knight took extra care, cradling her with both hands and talking to her as Togepi reached out and tried to touch Knight's mouth.
"This is nice." I sighed and leaned back, recalling Typhlosion and Specter.
'Indeed. It is odd to have a youngling with us. Even the stone eater is slightly older.' I snickered at Lucario's nickname for Pupitar, watching the larger Pokemon play with the younger one.
"Alright, can you… I don't know, communicate with Togepi? I need to recall her so that we can fly to Pewter City. I don't want to lose daylight that we could spend searching for the Protector."
'Of course. Come here little one.' Lucario spent a few minutes with Togepi before nodding to me. I took Togepi's pokeball from my belt and slowly tapped it to Togepi, letting the Pokemon get recalled into the pokeball.
"Alright, thank you Lucario. Knight, let's go." I recalled the fighting type and equipped Knight's saddle, taking to the air quickly on top of the dragon.
We rose higher and higher until I could see all of Viridian City below me, finally turning so that we could begin the flight North. Knight followed my guidance, which was pretty simple to begin with. The route took us over dense forests and trees, flying for an hour and a half until we crossed the next gatehouse at the North end of the Viridian Forest, emerging atop Pewter City.
The locale was packed between mountains and rough terrain, walled on most sides by the natural rock formations. The valley between the mountains had been flattened, making way for the City of Pewter. All the roads were paved stone, and were almost universally a few feet lower than the buildings, the sunken road network providing a place for the water to sit and not flood people's houses since it couldn't escape the valley easily.
"Right there Knight." I guided Knight to an empty park, using my hands and knees to guide his flight path as we slowly glided down, settling down in the empty garden. "Thanks pal, I'll see you again in the evening." I recalled him as he crooned pleasantly, catching the attention of a few passersby. Swapping pokeballs, I released Togepi again, picking her up and carefully scratching her head between the spikes.
"Let's go girl. We've got some shopping to do."
"Priii!"
"You like shopping?" I laughed holding her up so she could see the city and the sun. "Well, we'll spend some time looking around.
"To, To!" I smiled as the first sound that wasn't "Prii" came out of Togepi's mouth.
We wandered around the streets of Pewter together, drawing a few looks from the citizens as I tried to find a market. I had the Blackthorn staff strapped to my back as well, which was probably drawing some attention. My mind drifted for a moment as we walked, back to my father's staff. Steven had dug it out of his storage when we had arrived at Mossdeep and given it to me without saying much else, and I had carried it for a while over there, but right now… it felt a bit wrong. I hadn't earned it. I was uneasy carrying it, so it was in my storage, where I could easily access it, and the Blackthorn staff was now strapped to my back.
"You know, its kind of relaxing talking to you and just roaming about without training." Togepi looked up at me with curiosity as we continued on our way. The young Pokemon was slowly learning to understand what I was saying, so some of it might have been going over her head. "Even if we're not training or battling, if we're just traveling together, all of us, that's really nice."
"Pri." Togepi reached up and poked my cheek.
"Hey, come on now." I grinned and adjusted the position I was holding her in as we ambled down the cobbled streets of Pewter City. A few open air markets were set up in plazas, but most of the ones we had passed had been produce markets, or clothing items and other things. We passed by the Pokemon center and I made note of it, trying to keep track of where we were. I could always just ask for directions, or at worst just fly up with Knight to spot the red roof.
I climbed up the steps to a new plaza where a large marquee or tarp of some kind sheltered the marketplace from rain and snow. A few merchants were trading herbs and spices for Pokemon, and others were selling more traditional products like Calcium and Zinc supplements.
I walked around with Togepi in my arms, looking at each merchant's table to get a sense of what they were selling and see if I could spot what I was looking for. There was an entire table of evolutionary stones, lined up in a display case that a merchant with a fine mustache had set up on his table.
"Get your stones, get your evolution stones right here!" He called out right on cue, looking around the market.
I stepped over to his table and cast a look over the case of stones. It was quite impressive, almost as impressive as Steven's collection of stones. Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of a glimmering stone with a bright, shiny yellow spot in the middle of the cloudy crystal.
"Hey, do you have any other evolutionary items?" I asked, looking at him.
"No sir, I only carry stones. But some of the traders a few tables down might have what you're looking for."
"Thank you, have a good day."
"Are you sure you don't want any of these marvelous evolutionary stones? I've got everything! Fire, water, thunder, leaf, dusk, dawn, even the shiny stone you'll need for your Togepi my boy!"
I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at the trader's table again, casting a glance across the display case as the man carefully removed the stone with the yellow spot from the inside and put it on the top of the case. Nestled on a purple cushion, it was easier to see than before. I stopped to think for a moment before it hit me that I could probably by one for much less from Steven, or better yet, find out which cave networks I could possibly find one in.
"I think I'm good for now." I nodded politely and continued down through the marketplace with Togepi. A few tables down, I spotted a woman selling other evolutionary wares. I almost missed the table, only spotting it because of the razor fang lying near the front of her display.
"Hey, do you have a Protector?" I stepped up to her table, looking around the items, casting a glance around the table.
"Hm… A protector… I don't think so. Let me check." She ducked down, rifling through a box of goods while I looked at the tabletop and the other evolutionary items lining it. Countless objects occupied the display case, each of them with their own flair.
"Sorry kid, doesn't look like I have one of those. You see anything else you like?" I took a look at the table, scanning over the rows of items.
"What's the red thing over there?" I gestured towards the side of the case. A red cube sat near one wall, each side slightly different from the rest. The top was flat, but one side had slits in it, making a grill in the wall filled with a very light, hazy smoke. The front was grey instead of red, with a hole smack in the middle. A glowing orange light burned deep inside it, leaking out.
"That's a Magmarizer. Magmar needs it to evolve into Magmortar. Very rare and hard to acquire. They make them over at the Fuego Ironworks in Sinnoh. Do you want it?"
"No, I don't have a Magmar." I shook my head. "Is there anything like that for Electabuzz though?"
"Ah yes, an Electirizer!" She reached into her case and pulled out a similar yellow cube, with slits in one side, and a kind of rough outlet shape on the other side. "This one's a little cheaper, since they're produced locally. Four thousand p."
"I'll take it." I precariously removed my wallet from my pocket while holding Togepi and handed over the cash, accepting the small paper bag with the Electirizer in it and holding it in my hand since I couldn't exactly put it away at the moment. "Have a good day."
"Well Togepi… This was a good catch, but not what we were looking for." I sighed and scratched behind Togepi's ear, walking out of the tent covering the marketplace and continuing down the road.
"Pri?"
"Yeah, we still haven't found a Protector. Rhydon needs it. You haven't met Rhydon yet." I walked through the streets until we happened upon a small table out near the edge of town where a man was selling dream catchers and a few other handicraft items.
"You want to check this out?"
"Priiii!" I climbed up the steps off the street and onto the patch of land where an old man had set up his table. Handwoven dreamcatchers and other trinkets were lying all around the table. A few had colorful feathers woven into them, some were entirely string and beads, and other things. There was a handmade Rubik's cube lying in one corner of the table, and next to it lay four, heavy, clay like tiles in a row.
"Excuse me sir, could I look at that?" I asked him, gesturing towards the object with my head.
"Of course lad." He picked it up and sure enough, the joints between the tiles fell right into place, forming a small hut of sorts.
"Is this a Protector?" I asked, him, examining it in the light.
"Yes yes, I bought one a long time ago, but never had the chance to use it." He looked at the item fondly, taking it back from me.
"How much?"
"I'll give it to you for two thousand p, and I'll throw in this clear feather necklace. The feather is said to have come from a rare bird." He held up a string with a clear feather as large as my hand attached to one end.
"Thank you!" I took the money out of my wallet and handed it to him, accepting both items and making my way to the Pokemon center hurriedly. The red roof was visible down the road, a straight shot from where I stood.
Once I stepped inside, I carefully put Togepi down on the couch and organized my things, putting the Electirizer and the clear wing necklace in my backpack and making sure I had the protector on hand.
"All right Togepi, I need to recall you for a little bit so I can speak to some doctors." I patted the young pokemon's head and returned it, swapping for Rhydon's pokeball and walking up to the Nurse's counter.
"Hi, I need to talk to a doctor about a surgical procedure for my Rhydon. Here's the Pokemon, and the information should be in her medical file. Its an issue to do with an everstone and an injury."
"Alright, please fill out these forms and take a seat." The nurse handed me a clipboard with multiple pages and accepted Rhydon's pokeball, scanning my ID and handing it back to me so I could fill out the forms. I hurried over to a couch with a small table in front of it, sitting down and opening the pen so that I could write.
Running through the papers, I quickly filled out all the information it asked for: my registration, name, things like that, as well as Rhydon's registration number and general details. More of the forms were to do with her general health, asking all sorts of questions about how she had been and how long I had been with her, and what the injury was. Filling out the last line, I stood up with a sigh and handed it over to the nurse, returning to the couch.
Maybe ten minutes later a middle aged woman with brown hair tied up in a bun and a surgical mask around her neck stepped out from the corridor behind the counter, looking around with the clipboard in hand.
"Mr. Photon?" I raised my hand and stood up, walking over to the doctor.
"Hi."
"Come along and we'll discuss your Rhydon's health issues." She turned around swiftly began walking down the corridor. A plain white linoleum floor reflected the bright lights in the roof, gleaming as thought it had just been polished. I followed the doctor until she stopped and opened a tan door with a small window in it, holding it open for me.
"Thank you." I stepped in and looked at the large room. The center was wide open with a large memory foam pad spread out across it, big enough for a Metagross or for Rhydon to lay flat on it. Surgical lighting and equipment surrounded it, and it was only because one of the lights was on that I realized it was all behind a partition, kept sterile by the plastic wall in between the two sides of the room. Where we had entered, there was a counter, a computer, and two stools.
"Sit down." I made my way to one of the two seats, waiting for the doctor to speak again. "So I've been looking at the file that the Pokemon Center up in Mahogany Town compiled for you. I'm going to need to see Rhydon for myself, but yes there is a surgical procedure that could help with the implementation of a Protector. Could you release her onto the surgical foam pad?" She handed me back the pokeball and sprayed her hands with sanitizer, donning disposable gloves as I released Rhydon onto the giant pad in the center.
"Hello there Rhydon. Can you lay flat on your stomach for me?" As a nurse came in and helped the doctor, the two of them guided Rhydon to lay down so that her back was parallel to the ground, the old injury visible with the porous everstone shards filling it up.
I sat down on the stool, locking eyes with Rhydon as the doctor scraped a small sample of the everstone out and handed it to her nurse for a quick analysis, inspecting the wound with various lights and acoustic measuring devices.
"So it looks like we can go through with the procedure that was mentioned in Mahogany town. It should heal the wound, but Rhydon won't be able to evolve going forward either way." The doctor sighed and pulled her glassed off, coming over to me. "Would you like to go through with it?"
"I think if it'll be healthier for Rhydon to have the injury healed we should go through with it." I nodded, crossing my arms and looking over at Rhydon.
"Alright, here's the paperwork, and we're clear right now, so I'll just round up my team." She handed me a clipboard with maybe twelve pages of paper, leaving me to sit and fill it all out with Rhydon.
"So pal, you should feel better soon. I think it'll be easier on your back once we've dealt with this everstone thing as much as we can." I talked while I was writing, eyes on the clipboard.
Rhydon grunted from the large foam pad, tilting her head up to look at me.
"It'll be quick girl. I'll be as close as possible the entire time." I looked up at her as well, taking a break from writing. "I'm sorry that you won't be able to evolve."
Rhydon's expression shifted slightly, difficult to make out without other body language as she lay down, her eyes blankly staring at me for a moment before she nodded quietly.
The doctor came back in as I finished filling out the paperwork on the clipboard and handed it to her nurse, watching the remainder of her crew file in until there were two nurses, an anesthesiologist, a Chansey, and the doctor.
"Alright Ethan, why don't you stay here until Rhydon is out, then I'll have to ask you to depart for a bit."
I nodded sitting as close to the barrier between the clean room section as I could, so that Rhydon could see me as the anesthesiologist gave her a mask and slowly her eyelids began to droop. I sat watching until I could see her back rising with every breath, peacefully unconscious. Standing up, I brushed my trousers off and moved closer to the door.
"We'll call you in before she wakes up. She's in good hands Mr. Photon." The doctor smiled behind her surgical mask and stepped through into the clean room section, donning a pair of gloves so that she could get to work. One of her nurses carried the protector over and set it down on table, ready for use when they reached that point.
Closing the door behind me, I left the room and took a deep breath, slumping against the wall. The lights seemed a little harsher, a little bit more sterile than before. Once I had regained my composure, I returned to the waiting area at the front of the Pokemon center and released Togepi, setting her down in front of a couch so that we could practice her walking skills.
"Hi Togepi." I gave her a small smile, holding her hands and guiding her around as she did her best to walk on two feet.
"Priiii."
"You know, some of the family have nicknames." I picked her up and pulled her onto my lap, playing with her. "Do you want one?"
"Priiiiii!" I laughed and lifted her up into the air before bringing her down quickly.
"Hmm… How about… No not Lily. I'm not having two Lily's. One's enough of a handful." I laughed, looking at the slightly confused Togepi. "Lily is my little sister. You'll like her." I smiled and patted her head.
"How about Sunny?"
"Tooo." Togepi shook her head, trying to sit up. I helped her balance on my knees as I mulled over it, trying to think about another name for her.
"What about Rina?"
"Priiiii." Togepi jumped up and down, trilling happily as I laughed and held her hands, keeping her steady.
"Alright. Rina it is." I picked her up again, walking around with her in my arms. She wasn't particularly heavy (as Blue had so rightly pointed out). "It's a nice name."
"Priiiiii." Another hour or so passed in the waiting room as I played with Rina and alternated between a bit of walking and a bit of talking. She was just nice to be around, even if I was mostly just carrying her around while I paced.
"Mr. Photon." I looked up to see one of the nurses coming out of the corridor. "You can come back now."
Quickly setting Togepi down and returning her, I hurried down the hall after the nurse, stepping back into the room where they had been with Rhydon. The air was cold and crisp, the air conditioning ensuring that stale air was cycled out and replaced with fresh cold air immediately so that the closed off sterile section wouldn't become swelteringly hot and be the right condition for any infection to fester.
She lay asleep on the pad, and there was a balm on her back where the wound had been. One of the nurses peeled the cover off a large band aid like pad and carefully applied it over the paste, sticking it down and then wiping it with a cloth. The doctor gestured to one of the stools and I sat down, waiting while they cleaned up and stepped out of the clean room section.
"The procedure went smoothly. Rhydon's injury should be healed over, and she should be good for all sorts of activity in three days or so. You should bring her back for a checkup in three days, but beyond that you're free to go home with her." The doctor opened her computer, logging the details on it as she spoke to me. "She should just wake up in a few minutes."
"Alright, thank you so much doctor." I sat and waited, eyes on Rhydon as she slumbered away, her breathing slow and gentle.
Maybe ten minutes passed before Rhydon's eyes began to open and her red irises slowly focused on the world around her, taking in the sight of everything in the room, including me sitting opposite her. Most of the medical crew had filed out of the operating theatre and left us alone to catch up after this was over.
"Hey pal. How are you feeling?" I smiled and waved as Rhydon grunted softly, staying on her stomach a bit longer. "Take your time. The doctor says you should be back to normal activity in three days. That's not long! I was thinking we could stick around Pewter City and talk to Brock, the gym leader here. He trains rock type Pokemon. I wanted to take you and Pupitar to his gym."
Rhydon tilted her head up to look at me with a soft gaze. She seemed a bit more content in her demeanor. That might have just been the anesthesia as it wore of though. Waiting a few more seconds, she slowly used her hands to raise herself off the ground and onto her haunches, sitting down and looking at me.
"And we've got a new family member. Another girl. The egg hatched." I smiled and held up Rina's pokeball, showing her. I figured Rhydon would develop some attachment to the newborn as the only other female on the team, and having been there when we got the egg from Silver. "She's a Togepi. Her name's Rina. You two will get to meet soon."
Rhydon grunted and slowly stood up, walking carefully as a massive smile broke out on my face, mirrored by a cautious one on hers. I recalled her through the operating theatre barrier and stepped out of the room, walking out to the front desk so I could fill out some more paperwork. Honestly, with the fact that Pokemon medical care was free for trainers, I was happy to fill out all the paperwork they gave me.
Once I was through with it, I checked in and got us a room, heading over there to out away my bag since I would be here three days as it was. The sun was beginning to set over the mountains ringing Pewter, and its light was scattering off their snow capped peaks. The small window in the corner of the room had a view of the northern mountains, where there wasn't much light coming in, but what could I do.
I took my wallet and ID, walking back down the hall so I could find one of the training rooms in the Pokemon center where I was allowed to have more of my Pokemon with me at once. Logging in with my ID card, I gained access to the room and stepped inside, closing the door.
This one didn't have the full window walls that some other Pokemon centers had in their training rooms, although that was most likely due to the fact that we were in the middle of town and it would have been kind of awkward, as opposed to say, Blackthorn, where it was up against a mountain, or Mossdeep, where the room was near the beach.
I logged into the PC and quickly withdrew my remaining Pokemon releasing Typhlosion and Lucario first. The duo greeted each other with Typhlosion casually bumping his head into the fighting type's back.
"Alright you two, I'm going to release Togepi next, who's we've decided on a name for. Well, for now. I mean you two shed your old nicknames along the way, so what can I say. Anyway, she's Rina now. You might have guessed, but I'd like your help with introducing her to everyone. I don't want to overwhelm her."
'Ethan-gold, I will do my best to empathetically tether the hatchling to you, at least right now, so that you might have a more direct communication with her.' Lucario nodded to me and I smiled appreciatively, releasing Rina.
The hatchling immediately ran over to me, hugging my leg before noticing Lucario and Typhlosion. She extended her arms and Typhlosion nuzzled her, letting Lucario pick her up as his eyes lit up with a solid glow.
Warmth flooded my chest and a sparkly feeling over joyousness invaded my mind as I reeled in shock, letting the empathetic link Lucario was trying to hold steady sink in. Colors seemed brighter and every little movement in the room illicited some response. Contentment in the warmth radiating from Typhlosion, wonder at the new room, confusion, undoubtedly about the influx of emotion from me to her as I tried to keep calm. Rina's eyes were wide as Lucario spoke to the both of us softly.
'Listen little one, and be heard.' Lucario set her down as she stood still on the ground, unsure of what to make of everything.
"Come here Rina." I opened my arms and smiled, hoping that the warmth filling my test was tangible for her and that she could better understand my emotions. Moving slowly, Rina did step over, accepting the hug and relaxing into it as she felt the unfiltered rush of happiness from me, settling into the communication.
'I do not think I can maintain this level of link for very long between you two, so let us get the rest of the team out, and once she is acquainted I will break this off and merely communicate myself.' Lucario nodded at me, watching Rina waddle over to Typhlosion again.
"All right." I picked more pokeballs off my belt, readying myself. "Rina, we're going to meet the rest of the family now." Lucario gave me a slight nod to indicate that the overwhelmingly positive emotions and happy memories I associated with the team were tangible for her as I took a breath.
Going with the ones she had already met, I released Knight first, and then Specter, who was still behaving. Once those two were out, I readied myself and released Samurott. The young Togepi looked over at the water type, wonder filtering over to me as well as she processed Samurott for the first time. I let the two of them interact, helped and supported by the other members of the team, before releasing Scizor.
The bug type met her calmly, but was a little bit more detached than the other Pokemon, perhaps due to the different nature of its species ecology. I wasn't particularly sure, but the two of them seemed to be okay with each other.
"All right, next is Rhydon. She's just come out of her medical procedure, and she's getting better quickly." I pointed a little farther back and pressed the button releasing Rhydon onto the ground.
The hulking stone type formed out of bright white light, her drill horn spinning for a moment as she oriented herself to the surroundings, taking in the room and its occupants.
"Rhydon, this is Rina. Rina, this is Rhydon." Rhydon's red eyes lowered until they met Rina's black ones, sitting still for a few moments as Rina simply looked at Rhydon. A small pang of fear shivered down my spine as Lucario reassured Rina, gently guiding her to Rhydon. Once the two were close together, Rina stopped moving, just staring up at Rhydon hesitantly. Even sitting down, Rhydon was much taller than the Togepi.
Slowly, her thick tail came around, gently moving Rina close enough for Rhydon to pat her on the head and nod with a quiet grunt. A little bit of relief was palpable in the back of my head, both from Rina, and a bit of my own.
"All right, we're almost done." I released Electabuzz, who nodded from a distance and then sat down, before finally releasing Pupitar. The floating rock type was mostly silent, but met Rina with a quiet nod. "And that's the family."
Lucario's eyes dimmed a little and I felt the presence of Rina's emotions dim from my mind and heart as she took in the sight of all the Pokemon in the room before Knight pulled her closer, sitting her down and holding her close. She seemed happy to be sheltered by the big dragon, and from the previous couple of minutes of introductions, wasn't entirely overwhelmed, but was slowly settling into the large family.
"It's taking longer and longer to get everyone acquainted here." I shook my head and chuckled, looking over at Pupitar. "Hey pal, I know we never got around to it properly, but I think I've got a nickname for you if you want it?"
If Pupitar had actual eyebrows instead of a hollow line in its shell, I would have bet that at least one would have gone up, but instead, I just got the rock type bobbing up and down slightly in the background. I laughed a little bit and then took a moment to regain my composure.
"So it fit your Larvitar form a bit more than Pupitar, but I think you'll really come into it with Tyranitar." I put my hands together and grinned. "How about Nero?"
'It is fitting.' Lucario had a small smile as Pupitar continued to bob up and down, looking at me with a determined look.
"We're going to make it to the top together." I nodded as the newly renamed Nero continued to float, interacting with some of the other team members a little bit.
"All right, more generally speaking, we've registered for the Silver Conference, and we're currently in Pewter City. We'll be here a little bit longer, and we'll probably stop by their gym to visit their Gym Leader too. I don't really know what we'll be doing battling wise, but that's about it for the next few days." I unclasped my hands and tucked them into my pockets. "There'll be training, and there'll be teaching Rina to walk, but that about sums up what I've got planned so far. Lets just hang out for a bit before dinner." I shrugged and sat back against the wall, smiling as the Pokemon slowly began to mill about and talk, catching up with each other and discussing whatever they fancied.
Eventually, Lucario came and sat down by my side, watching as Rina got tons of attention from other members of the team. Scizor sidled over as well, taking up station on my other side.
"You know, we made some more friends along the way to the Indigo Plateau, and honestly I'm kind of happy about that." I smiled and gave Rina a small wave as she ran over. I opened my arms for her to climb onto my lap and began playing with her as I spoke.
"We've met quite a few people along the way, but I think most of them we haven't really seen again or interacted with that much. I mean we ran into Lyra, and Megan, but I already knew them. All the Ace trainers, they're friendly, and I think I would get along with Cassian or Ben or even Aaron, but the time with them was more training I suppose."
'I agree. It is only a good thing to have met more people and made more friends who you may count on later in life.' Lucario nodded, taking Rina from my arms and playing with her.
"Yeah, I mean, who all did we meet along the way. There was Klaus and Anita, then Calahan, and Michelina, and then I think we met that Julius guy in Victory Road before meeting Klaus again. It was nice to talk to people." I shrugged. "We met Clara and Victoria and Blake, but that's the extent of it otherwise, although I guess the crew on the H.S. Katherine counts. We'll definitely get to know them more as we go on."
'Indeed, we are moving forward.' I smiled at Lucario's comment, watching the whole family just have their fun.
"Onwards & Upwards, like dad used to say." I checked my watch briefly, spending another hour just sitting with the team and hanging out with them. I headed over to the Pokemon center cafeteria on my own, getting a quick meal before heading back to the room I had checked into. The entire thing was a small narrow strip with a window at the end, a twin bed to one side and a desk to the other.
Sighing, I sat down at the desk and pulled open my phone, sending a quick text to Blake given it was too early in Hoenn for me to be calling right now. I tapped at the screen repeatedly, trying to navigate back to the home screen after a misclick that took me to my contacts. My finger brushed against the screen and it scrolled abruptly, coming to a stop in front of Blake's name, and a few others contacts – a few other contacts, including the one with no phone number, no email, no social media, nothing. Just an address.
I opened Anita's contact, staring at the address she had scribbled on my arm. I had put it away in my phone for a while. Staring at it for a moment, I picked up the pad of paper lying on the desk and dug a pen out of my bag.
'Dear Anita,'I scratched it out, putting the back of the pen to my chin. It was too formal. Hey Anita, I stopped, unsure about what to even write next. How was I supposed to write a letter to someone I'd spoken to once? Why was I writing a letter to someone I'd spoken to once.
'I mean. I was saying earlier that it would be nice to have more friends.' I put my head on the table and sat there, unable to see the paper or the pen. I thought I'd write a letter and stay in touch. I struck it out again, groaning exasperatedly. 'This is annoying. Ugh, I'll just write this later. I don't have to send it tomorrow. I have until I leave for Hoenn to put this in the mail.'
Putting my face in my hands for a moment, I leaned back. Creaaaaaak. I felt the chair groan beneath me as it fell backwards under my weight and before I knew it I felt the back of the chair collide with floor, and subsequently my spine. Looking around in a daze, I climbed out the chair and onto the floor, standing up slowly and wincing as I felt the spot where the chair had hit my back the hardest. I straightened the chair out and put it away, quickly changing into nightclothes. I peeked under my bed, spotting the standard Pokemon bed and pulling it out for Typhlosion and Rina.
Fumbling about with my pokeballs, I released the two of them, yawning and waving goodnight before climbing into my own bed and shutting the lights. Typhlosion occupied most of the Pokemon bed, but left enough space for Rina to climb on and comfortably settle in against the fire type's warm fur for the night.
'Yeah, I'll finish writing that letter before I leave for Hoenn.'