AN: Yo, here's the next chap.
Some of you asked me about time skips, and I'm just going to say it's complicated. At first, I'm going to be speeding up the timeline gradually for Jake. Time in the Harry Potter world will gradually go by faster in order for them to grow up and get to other parts.
I still plan to show the first year in a bit more detail and set the stage for some plot points I have going for the Harry Potter world.
For Kyle, the first year will be a bit slower as I have to get through more poke world points. And only then can I begin speeding things up.
So don't be to thrown off if I start diverging the time for Jake and Kyle's stories. I promise to make it connect later on. If it's needed, I'll put the time period at the start of any character change.
As much as I want to enjoy a slow story, I'm aiming to keep things moving. Hopefully.
I have plans for the exact power sets and tools for each character. I'm not nerfing them; I'm just being realistic and trying not to hand them every goddamn cheat code so they can dues ex everything. Everything that does not come easily can become a learning experience.
Fanon has really poisoned the minds of readers from canon facts. Not that I care for canon, but don't believe that things made in fanon are 'the way things have to work'. This is all made for fun, not to state a fact or make money.
Hope you all enjoy.
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Disclaimer: I don't own HP or Pokemon. Sadly.
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Chapter 7: Progress Comes One Step at a Time
The first two weeks of classes passed in a blink of an eye to some, and like a millennia to others. Jake was somewhere in the middle of that group.
He was ready to get right into things and yet each class was teaching only theoretically knowledge. Even Snape in potions class had them just copying down the recipes for first year potions along with their properties as ingredients.
Nothing was done. No magic. No casting. And no happy Jake. NOTHING.
But he persisted and did what he had to do, just as he buckled down in his non-magical studies when he first arrived in the world.
The teachers drowned the first year students in homework and really put a damper on his ideas of free time to explore. But thankfully, if what the upper classmen said was the truth, it only lasted the first two weeks before things kicked off in full, whether you were ready for it or not. Future years don't have to wait so long before practical work.
Which makes sense as for first years, most have likely never cast magic before. You need something to work with before you can just jump into practical application.
Astronomy was kind of cool even if the tools were ancient. Ancient but enchanted telescopes, so that was fun.
Charms, Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, and DA were all theoretical work. History was dry as chalk with ghost Binns as teacher.
Why they still allow someone to sabotage history of the magical world to students is beyond bazar to him. In his early studies, he was reading up about some of the big events in the magical world during the last millennia, and all the teacher focused on was the goblin wars.
There were some incredibly stimulating events in magical history. From Ancient Egypt and Greece before 100A.D., The Founders Era in 900 A.D., The Medieval Era up until the 1400's A.D., even the events that led to the Statue of Secrecy going up in 1700 A.D.
So much was being ignored that it left Jake greatly disappointed, even if he expected it. Whatever the reason for the sabotage was, Jake doubted logic participated in the decision making process.
The first flying class was fun, but it was quite similar to any middle school gym class in a way. You followed instructions, got to mount and hover on a broom, and then had to follow the teacher in single file line around the quidditch pitch for an hour.
And that was it. No fancy flying and getting a spot on a quidditch house team. Fun at first, much more dry as it went on.
Nym was practically blowing steam out her ears in annoyance and Jake had to play interference to cool her down. It didn't help when a Slytherin boy tried to antagonize her and she tried to take the kids head off in a swing.
If jake didn't stop her, the kid really might have broken his neck. Nym's punches were not light after their time in the gym and their practice as Metamorphagi.
Speaking of the gym, Jake didn't want to mess with his physical routine and had gone to Flitwick's office to ask for permission to put up a bag in his room.
Flitwick was happy to accept as the old warrior he was, and even took it a step further with Jakes idea and offered to set up an old classroom into a boxing gym.
Jake was rather flattered by the short man's enthusiasm and quickly accepted. Nym and him greatly enjoyed the place made from a mix of charms and transfiguration. Just because he was the Charms professor didn't mean he couldn't use the other branches of magic.
It had a ring, a row of heavy bags, a row of speed bags, and matted areas to spar.
The gym was open to all students and had a notice posted in common rooms but other than a curious glance, no one stuck around for more than a minute or two. The kids inside the magical world scoffed at the muggle hobby, and the muggleborns never trained in a boxing gym and were either already accustomed to joining the wizards in scoffing at muggle stuff to fit in or were too lazy to do it as wizard culture corrupted them.
So for the most part, it was just him, Nym, and two tag along's.
Cedric Diggory, the famous guy who died in his seventh year, was dragged in by Nym from her house. And Jake was surprised to welcome Penny Clearwater from his own house.
In her words, 'A healthy body supports a healthy mind, so I will train my body. Now how do I train?' She spoke with a slightly bossy but more logical voice. Like a librarian in a way.
Jake was quite amused by her frank approach and gave her the introduction. He learned later on that one of her reasons for joining was because the two were the only real muggleborn students of their year in Ravenclaw and she didn't want to be alone. The others were born with at least one parent from the magical world and grew up in it.
Cedric's reasons for joining were more vain but understandable. He saw super fit guys in magazines and wanted to have a body like them, not to mention his dreams of playing quidditch. Jake couldn't fault the guy for his desires, and he wasn't a bad guy to hang around. Their conversations were frank but comfortable and Jake was happy to have a bro in the gym to chill with.
The four of them quickly becoming good friends in a manner of days. Not that there was much time to enjoy together as the homework was stupidly insane. Just repetitive stuff to hammer into their heads until it sticks. Most of such stuff Jake already knew!
If it wasn't for the gym addition, Jake might have joined Nym in trying to take someone's head off. At the very least, at the end of the first week, Jake managed to accomplish his first goal of the year.
After dumping a large bucket of water mixed with ink in front of the entrance to the History classroom, he quickly went to Filch's office and knocked on the door.
The door was yanked open and Filch's balding scrunched up face looked down at him with a scrutinizing gaze. "What do you want brat?"
Jake met his gaze and spoke clearly. "I was told by an upper classmen to come tell you that there was a large spill in front of the History classroom. I didn't know if there was a different way to tell you other than just knocking."
Filch groaned and waved his hand. "I'll take care of it; you did fine brat. Get out of here." He shut the door in his face and Jake shrugged and walked off before turning sharply and hiding behind a suit of armor.
It only took a few minutes for Filch to re-open the door holding a mop and bucket and stalk off with curses on his breath. Jake gave it a few minutes to be sure he wasn't coming back and dashed off for the office door.
A quick tap of his finger on the lock opened the door and he rushed in and shut it behind him. His eyes scanned the office and he felt a bit of adrenaline pumping through him.
It wasn't exactly slaying Voldemort but it was the first risky thing he did so far. He quickly moved over to the desk and found a large, locked cabinet on the left side. The same spot the Weasleys said they found the map in.
Another tap of his finger had it sliding open. 'Thank god he's a squib. I don't have the skill to do more than just unlock stuff at this point.' Using physical contact shortened half of his casting time for a Charm.
The cabinet was a large mess of random shit. Toys, prank items, condoms, a ball gag, Jake even saw a couple flip open cellphone in there. 'Probably muggleborns.'
Thankfully, the map was clearly the only parchment in there, pushed against the wall of the cabinet. Jake quickly checked it and saw it was a folded up blank parchment. But at the very bottom was a symbol of four iconic animals. 'Found it!'
Jake wondered if he should keep snooping around to see what else Filch had horded away but decided against it. 'I can just come back when I'm more skilled. I got what I came for, time to go.'
He shut the cabinet, relocked it, and made for the door. But just then, a certain voice stopped him cold.
"Meow." "!"
Jake stifled his verbal respond and spun around in surprise to see the ultimate boss. Ms. Norris, the cat.
She was looking at him with narrowed eyes while licking her paw and Jake was well accustomed with felines to know that it was a look of malicious intent.
But Jake wasn't known as a man without a plan. Most of the time.
Very slowly, and very carefully under a piercing gaze promising pain, he reached into his robe and grabbed something from his inner pocket.
Ms. Norris put down her paw and stalked forward menacingly. "Easy great one, I bring offerings for safe passage." Jake placed his sacrifice down on the desk.
The cat paused, obviously taken off guard by a hooman with higher knowledge. Her eyes turned from the boy to the item offered, and her pupils shrunk into thin lines.
Her front legs bent low, and her back legs rose up as her butt began to wiggle.
Jake held his breathe and inched toward the door slowly as Ms. Norris leaped and pounced with claws outstretched onto the poor unsuspecting toy stuffed mouse.
*Squeak!* an obnoxious noise resounded in the room from the mouse trapped between the felines jaws.
Jake reached the door and waved a hand. "Thank you for accepting my gesture, I hope you enjoy. Oh and, I was never here."
The cat stood tall with the toy dangling from her lips proudly and waved a paw imperiously as if to say, 'You may leave,' and Jake didn't waste another second in doing so. The door was relocked behind him with a map secured in his robe and he took off for the opposite path to where Filch had gone.
A man who would soon learn the true terror of their favorite pet having a squeaky toy.
Once safe in the throngs of students moving through the halls, Jake internally sighed in relief. 'Step 1 complete.'
Getting the map was imperative to his future movements, but just having it didn't mean he had the free time to make such movements. Which is why it still took another week of repetitive mind numbing classes to get a chance to actually use it.
On the second weekend of the year, Jake got out the map and used it to get to the seventh floor unseen.
Finding the painting of the dancing trolls was something he did the previous weekend. But without a way to actually make sure no one saw him enter or leave, he wasn't about to give away his best advantage.
He walked in front of the wall and repeated three times in his head. 'I need a comfy chair.' And lo and behold, the door appeared like…well… magic.
Before, during, and after the appearance of the door, Jake couldn't tell a damn thing with his senses. The walls were soaked in mana and everything felt the same to him. 'Something I should work on.'
The room he entered was nothing but a large circular chamber with a simple comfortable leather chair inside it. Jake plopped down on it in satisfaction. 'This IS a comfy chair. I need to find this thing wherever it is in the castle.'
To jakes memory, the room only worked based on what already existed inside the castle. It didn't move anything here but conjured a copy of it. Whether it be a book, piece of furniture, or enchanted item. Which is why nothing made inside the room could leave the room.
"Well, enough testing, time for the real thing." Jake hopped back out and changed his request. 'I want clear instructions on how to use the room… I want…'
When the door reappeared next, Jake entered to find a thin roll of parchment on a pedestal waiting for him. What he read however was not what he was expecting.
[Room of Requirement – private room and creation of Rowena Ravenclaw.
Congratulations on finding one of the four rooms of the founders of Hogwarts! This message was not left by Professor Rowena but a student taught by her during her time as Professor. She wasn't the most… word savvy for leaving such a message.
Each of the founders left behind their own room in the hopes of benefiting future students who possessed their houses greatest qualities.
Each room has multiple clues hidden throughout the castle to guide a student to them. As only a student can ever access them. Where they may be I have no idea. You must find them yourself if you can brave their challenges.
Remember, each founder embraces their best quality. Just as you likely found this room thanks to the clues in the Hogwarts library. Best of luck junior.
How to use the Room of Requirement:
-….]
Jake was floored by what he read for all of twenty seconds before he grew excited. 'I knew it! I knew there had to be rooms for Gryffindor and Hufflepuff! Ha! Take that you fucking reddit critics! Choke on dick you fucks!'
Jake laughed like a lunatic for a few minutes before calming down. His old pain of hours spent arguing with reddit warriors left deep scars.
"It says there is supposed to be hints in the castle but how the hell do I find them? Ravenclaw values intelligence and made a room that could quite literally be the best teaching aid with access to knowledge your looking for and the ability to conjure anything inside the castle in unlimited amounts.
Slytherin values cunning but I have no idea how his chamber is supposed to help with that. Maybe there are other secrets down there?"
In canon Harry only faced the Basilisk and left. In fanon there was always a secret office filled with Slytherins private collection and or a magic portrait of him left behind. It might be just his perception that only a Parselmouth could enter it. 'Maybe there are other more 'cunning' ways of reaching the chamber?'
"Gryffindor values courage. I have no idea how that's supposed to help me. The forbidden forest perhaps?
Hufflepuff values loyalty….yeah. I got nothing there. Maybe I'll ask Kyle and see if he has anything."
Jake quickly shot off a text his way with the information but didn't wait for a response.
"As useful as this knowledge is, it doesn't really help me now does it? Wait…" Jakes eyes lit up and he looked around. The room.
He quickly ran toward the door and put his palm against it. The instructions stated that you didn't actually have to leave the room to make it change. Just put your hand against the door and repeat what you want in your head. The room will respond to your will and change.
It was quite fascinating to watch honestly as the room vanished and conjured various things before his eyes. 'Magic is awesome.'
Soon enough, his request for 'Clues about the founders secret rooms' ended with two dozen book shelves. Quickly grabbing the first book shot down his fantasies of an easy solution.
"This is just a fantasy book!" He threw the book at the ground and it vanished. It was just a tall tale about a man claiming to have found the legendary chamber of secrets. And then go on to talk about fighting a magical anaconda in the forbidden forest.
Jake went and skimmed through a few more books in hope but his hope quickly dried up. "Alright, no easy win here. Maybe I should just focus on my main objective for the time being."
He went back over to the door and made a new request. The various book shelves vanished and were replaced by a new one of a much smaller size.
Jake went over and picked up the first volume on the shelf.
[An Introduction into Occlumency]
"Finally." He had hoped to learn it since his arrival in the world, but no book store he searched in Diagon Alley had a thing about it. And asking the clerk in the store got him a weird look as he was only eleven. Safe to say he was turned away.
No money and no adult body means no progress.
But just having the book wouldn't lead to immediate results. Jake was long since disillusioned to his initial power fantasies.
Occlumency would be a long term project. One of few he was willing to start this year as he had a very full plate.
It was important for memory retention and recollection, emotional control, and most importantly, mental protection.
Jake had been cruising along happily but that didn't mean he didn't think about the dangers around him.
What kind of Dumbledore did he have? When and would Snape throw out Legilimency probes? And any number of others. The mental arts were most likely known to the noble houses at least even if the common public didn't know much of them besides word of mouth.
There were plenty of risks, and Jake was trying to keep his head down and fortify himself while he had time. So Occlumency was necessary.
And just as importantly, it was necessary for his magical progression. Jake might seem advanced thanks to his years of studying, and he really was. At least theoretically.
For three years, before getting access to a wand, Jake couldn't perform a single spell. No matter what he did, he couldn't get his mana to exit his body.
In one particular accident at the age of nine, he mangled his hand badly in an attempt to compress mana into it and push it out. The trip to the magical hospital was not fun for him despite his uncles quick actions.
He couldn't get mana to leave his body for some reason, and therefore was limited to just his natural Metamorph powers and his mana sensitivity.
Accepting to be patient was hard, but he pushed through and focused on what he had. He trained his Metamorphagus powers to the best of his ability while studying animal and human anatomy in science textbooks.
The more he knew of what exactly he wanted to turn into, the less the mana expenditure involved. And the more he knew, the more he discovered limits and walls that couldn't yet be overcome.
He could not shrink or grow himself beyond the range a few inches, and he was stuck to organic material. So he couldn't turn his skin into metal or some other element.
But as long as it was organic, all he needed was will, mana, and knowledge to make it happen. It's just that his mass would not greatly change depending on what form he took.
He could in fact increase his mass but doing that and changing was a whole different ballgame. To perform more complex transformations, he needed a stronger mind. That was the first reason he needed occlumency.
The second was because when he finally got his wand, there was no big fanfare or magical feeling. Jake actually theorized that the 'magical' and 'whole' feeling that wizards described on their first use of a wand was that it was the first time mana consciously exited their bodies in their lives.
That's right, Olivanders wand shop is home to the location where every eleven year old witch and wizard in magical Britain for many, many generations had their first magical climax and exploded out with it.
Gross stuff. Jake confirmed his theory when Nym also didn't feel very different. The two of them had mana already inside the hand holding the wand, so the wand didn't have to pull anything from their core. It was the equivalent of 5 seconds of foreplay rather than a climax.
Which also led to a tricky situation of him and Nym being compatible with a lot of wands since the lazy sticks barely had to do anything to help them.
But just using a wand was the key Jake was missing for years. The wand showed him what he was doing wrong in making mana leave his body. It was about control, not power.
He had to control the mana and shape it very finely without letting it leak as if he were creating a tube and extending the tube out of his finger into the open air where the mana could be released like a cloud and take shape.
With a wand, the mana is condensed into the wands 'core' and then shot off. That was the crutch that wizards used their whole lives and crippled themselves in the process.
Their channels would never grow more robust, their mana would never be refined, and all their spells would be 'filtered' by a secondary mana core from an external source before they could cast magic. Then again, Jake had no idea how hard it would be for a wizard to actually circulate mana throughout their body like he could do naturally. For all he knew, a wizard couldn't do such a thing.
"Well, maybe some could." The Animagus form of McGonagall came to mind as he did in fact sense mana circulating through her body. But it was odd. It was as if it followed a specific pattern and was set in stone. Almost like a magic rune branded rather than a free flowing circulation like he and Nym had. 'Another thing to research at a later time.'
Anyway, the second reason he needed occlumency was to cast magic. Despite his 'advanced' usage of casting silently and wandlessly, he was still a novice.
The only charms he managed to teach himself to cast between the time he got a wand and the start of Hogwarts were the light on, light off, locking, unlocking, silencing, and the intruder charm.
Specifically speaking: Wand-Lighting Charm, Wand-Extinguishing Charm, Locking Spell, Unlocking Spell, Silencing Charm, and the Intruder Charm.
And he managed all that even with his Charm debuff. As far as he could tell, it just seemed like Charms were harder to perform. They took longer to form, took more mana from him, and sometimes came off sloppy if he wasn't paying attention. That's why each time he cast with his finger; it took him multiple seconds to cast a single first year grade charm with the cost of three of such charms.
It wasn't fun. Transfiguration and Potions was where he really shined. With transfiguration he already had a brain hardwired for it thanks to his natural abilities and practice over the years, so he was able to alter the environment very slightly around him with a point of his finger. Nothing drastic just yet but he was making tiny amounts of progress every day.
Such as raising stone pillars to function as a door catcher.
And potions spoke to him thanks to his mana sensitivity. Jake could get a sense for how the potion was twisting and turning as the mana of various ingredients interacted like a three dimensional puzzle.
Aunt Andy told him he was a prodigy in the art, but he knew he wasn't. He was just incredibly sensitive to mana. The ingredients didn't speak to him as she said they did to her. He had no idea how to make a new potion, but following a recipe? He could do that easily.
He could even get a sense for when an ingredient wouldn't work because most of it's internal mana was expired. Jake was actually quite excited to see if Snape would make any comments his way because of it.
But only if he could defend his mind! He didn't need to be able to defend against a true attack just yet but just passing probes.
When Jake asked Bellatrix about it, she scoffed and said any wizard worth their salt wouldn't attack children with Legilimency probes. Apparently the laws are really strict when it comes to the safety of minors. More so than Jake thought previously.And since it's not uncommon for a wizarding home to send a child with a minor teaching of occlumency to Hogwarts, it's easy for someone like Snape to screw up and probe the wrong mind.All it takes is one child telling their parent, and Snape would see the inside of a jail cell for life once proved guilty in court.
So Jake wasn't going to say he was evil incarnated just yet. "The fanfiction community truly painted the man with plenty of shit but just because they made him that way, doesn't mean he would really be that way in real life."
It was a fifty-fifty situation. Jake had no idea until something happened.
And with all the talk of Snape, it led Jake to the second book he wanted.
The cover was faded with Jake barely able to make out the words 'Advanced Potion Making' on it. But he ignored it and skipped to the last page. [The Half-Blood Prince.]
Jake smiled wide at the sight and shut the conjured copy of a book hidden in the massive Hogwarts library.
'That's number two on my list.' The book was a young potioneering genius's personal notes on all the potions in the Hogwarts curriculum and some extra's. If Jake were going to grab anything he could start studying in his first year, it would be this book.
'It will take me years to understand it all, best to start early.'
The final book he aimed for this year was titled simply. [Wandless Magic]. Jake didn't know how others casted magic without a focus and wanted to read up and see if there were real techniques to do it.
There were four other books he wanted to look into, but not this year, not yet.
With the three books in front of him, the practical applications of magic beginning in his classes come the following Monday, and the new challenge of finding the final two founders secret rooms, Jake would have his work cut out for him.
'Not to mention keeping Nym happy, continuing my boxing routine, and….' His eyes rose up to look around the room as he spoke aloud. "And rob this place blind of everything valuable in the lost things junk pile."
Jake was a poor moneyless muggleborn. It was time to make his fortune. Even if he had to sort through a millennia of trash to do it.
It was going to be a long year.
*Line Break*
Kyle – Pokemon
{Welcome to Sandgem Town! The Sandy Town Connected to the Ocean!
Distance: 5km
Population: 143}
"Interesting Slogan…" Kyle said with a raised brow before shrugging and turning back to the overlook on the hill near Sandgem town.
Sandgem was quite a beautiful sight. Everything was organized neatly with clean paved streets, evenly spaced houses with square shaped lawns, and flowers and tree's decorated the area until the south of town where a long stretch of sandy beach was met by the ocean waves.
'It's nice. I wouldn't want to live in civilization myself, but this would be a nice option between a private life and a large town.'
Kyle enjoyed the view for a minute longer before taking off for the final stretch. Loki was tuckered out in his ball after the few fights they went through and won.
He tried to jump back on his perch to rest, but Kyle could see how tired he was. He wasn't really injured and he didn't need a trip to the Pokecenter, so rest would do the trick. Aura was quite amazing like that.
While the eevelutions on the ranch were willing to play with him, none really sparred with him. They were either retired, not fighters, or way out of his league to really spar with.
So four novice matches and Loki was out like a light. Not that Kyle minded, he was proud of his partner and enjoyed his joy, even if he himself found things… less than exciting.
'Maybe it's just because it's novice matches. A couple gym badges and I should be in higher leagues to fight.' Kyle assured himself as he walked on and circulated his aura to focus on his pokeball chain, sending his rudimentary version of Helping Hand to his partner. It was a waste of aura with how crude it was but if it sped up Loki's recovery he was happy to help.
And perhaps it was just Loki's unique physiology or his long time bond to Kyle, but the ice attributed aura he sent was being absorbed directly rather than being converted to Normal type energy. Kyle didn't know it worked in specific but he was taking notes.
The town was small and cozy, one of those towns where everyone knows everyone. As Kyle walked through, random people sent a friendly wave his way and he nodded back at them. Children, adults, and elderly going about their lives with few teens in sight.
Warm, Quant, Soothing. Those were the impressions he got as he walked along. The sight of colorful homes and flowers, the sounds of people going about their days, the smells of food cooking in homes, the feeling of the warm sun on an early autumn day.
It was a civilized peace. Not what he preferred, but still pleasant.
He didn't need directions to the lab, the view from on top of the hill gave a clear view of Professor Rowans lab at the far side of the town. It was a bit away from the closest homes, having its own little hill to settle on.
It was a beautiful design for a building. The main part was a triple floor layered cake style design of metal and glass, a tasteful ancient-styled stone corridor extended from the metal to the left of the cake, and it ended in what looked like a solid piece of stone shaped like a lighthouse, but with a windmill instead of a light.
'I'll never get used to the strange architecture of this world, but damn if it's not a fine sight for the eyes.' It was like looking at a sculpture that you couldn't help but appreciate.
Kyle enjoyed it without pausing his steps as he approached the glass sliding doors, stepping into air conditioned lobby and onto the clean smooth tiled floors.
The walls, floor, ceiling, everything was a smooth metal in different cuts, with other fixtures livening up the place. 'Wow, can't help but wonder how much this all cost. How much easier is it to build stuff like this with Pokemon who can manipulate elements to their will?'
The desk in the lobby was empty but there was a bell. Kyle studied it, then looked around, then studied it again and shrugged.
*Ding!*
The sound echoed but there was no response. A minute later and still nothing.
*Ding* *Ding*
The sound was louder, and yet still no answer. Kyle's brow twitched. 'Very well, I have yet to show my final form.' He cracked his fingers and unleashed his fearsome A-B skills from years of playing Pokemon on Gameboy.
*Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding*
Kyle found no shame in admitting that he couldn't stop from pressing it a dozen times before a loud shout from beneath the desk stopped him.
"Ah! Shut the hell up!" An angry woman with heavy bags under eyes launched up like a bloody loony tunes character.
*Ding* Kyles hand slipped. She looked at him with murder in her eyes. "Aha…ha… I'm sorry?" Kyle tried to laugh it off.
"What . Do . You . Want." Her voice was measured. Calm. Intense. And she was barely over five feet tall.
'The shorter they are the louder they are. Probably since they have to shout to reach the ears of normal people…' Her eyes narrowed dangerously and Kyle quickly went on before she did that female thing and somehow read his mind.
"*cough* Right, I'm Kyle Silvers, I have an appointment to see Professor Rowan today." He got out with a calm tone. The girl was obviously stressed but Kyle lived and worked for Iris and Aster for three years, she had nothing. Not to mention being around Cynthia right after she unlocked her aura. A cold drop of sweat went down his spine at the memory of those few days. 'Never again.' He wasn't planning to attempt to help someone unlock their aura for a long time. If ever.
The woman visibly seemed to calm down and pulled out a tablet. "Kyle Silvers….Kyle Silvers….Kyle Silvers… Ah, here it is. All right, I'll go get the professor." She walked around the desk with a clear sway and Kyle couldn't help but ask. "Are you sure you shouldn't go back to sleep? I can go find him."
The woman scoffed and steadied herself against the wall. "Please kid, sleep? What is that? Can I eat it? Researchers don't sleep. We pass out or die moving!" She yelled at the end with enthusiasm that only gave her three steps of energy before she sagged again and shuffled off. Leaving Kyle standing there awkwardly.
"I see…" He didn't. But then again, he went through that phase in early college where he slept one day a week on occasion.
There wasn't really anywhere to sit so he just took the chair behind the desk that felt like it was never used before and waited while meditating, circulating his aura faster and sending more to Loki's ball now that he didn't have to focus on moving.
It only took ten minutes before a pair of footsteps reached his sensitive hearing and he looked up to see the familiar face of Professor Rowan hurrying down the hallway.
"Kyle my boy! It's been too long." The old man quickly approached with a hand outstretched and Kyle got up to shake his hand. "Professor, it's been a while."
The old man made a grunt sound with a very small, almost unnoticeable smile beneath his glorious V shaped mustache. Kyle complimented it on their first meeting and might have won himself a lifelong friend with just those words alone.
"My, you got here faster that I thought you would. How was the trip? Few take such a route to town and I feared you might run into a Combee nest, it's nesting season this time of the year." The old man looked at him with slightly worried eyes and Kyle waved it away. "Nothing to be concerned about professor. I'm pretty sure every Combee in a fifty mile radius of the farm knows that big sis Aster is their one true queen." And that's half a joke since Kyle has caught Combee following her around doing things for her without her even saying anything with a fed up look.
"Hm… you might just be right!" He chuckled and slapped Kyles shoulder good naturedly. "Come, come, I'm sure you eager to see your dragon horde. I must say, some of my colleagues were quite generous."
He led Kyle down a hallway with an eager look in his eyes despite his calm expression that Kyle couldn't help but smile wryly at. "I was a bit surprised as well. Somehow, I feel like Professor's Elm and Kukui are a bit out of touch with human communication. They seemed to take my pause in conversation to mean they should increase the price." Professor Rowan gave a grunt of acknowledgment at that. "I believe you there son. I always tell people, it's not the champions of a region one should fear, but their professors! Once something gathers our interest enough, there is no stone we shall not uncover in pursuit of knowledge."
Kyle tilted his head at that. "I feel like that's a curse more than a blessing. The world isn't that friendly to being poked." The older man choked on his amusement for a second before nodding briskly. "Indeed. Wise words from one so young but expected coming from you. Sometimes my boy, the dangers are worth the risk. Others, well, professor assistants change quite quickly over the years for a reason. You must be bold, brave, and prepared to face the unknown. But most of all, lucky." He gave Kyle a knowing look and Kyle couldn't help but rub the back of his head sheepishly.
The professor wasn't blind and knew very well that Kyle wasn't intentionally trying to make Sylveon evolve into her typing. It was a stroke of dumb luck, but the man wasn't thrown off by it at all and seemed to be pleased with it.
The two made idle chatter as they walked through the lab with Rowan pointing out what various machines do to Kyles curious eyes. Some of which were fascinating, others however had him questioning Rowan's sanity while his well buried OCD issues cropped up.
Rowan pointed to a wall with two incredibly high tech futuristic designed machines that Kyle wouldn't be able to make heads or tails of. "This right here is a personal invention of mine. It's an energy scanner for Pokemon during evolution and can quantify their readings into base numbers and elements."
Kyle looked at him in admiration. And then the professor pointed to the second one with a near identical look. "And this is my soda fountain machine." Kyle's admiration died.
"…" He waited. He waited an entire minute while the professor stood there proud and silent for him to say it was a joke. But nothing came. "Why in the name of Arceus do you have a near identical looking soda fountain on the same wall as your prized evolution energy reading machine?" Kyle was proud of how calm he got the question out. If the cold seeped into his mind to help with that, no one would notice.
Rowan proudly answered as if was a matter of common sense in his usual gruff tone. "Because I like to enjoy a cold soda while I work." He nodded righteously and walked away while Kyle followed. "I see…" He didn't.
For an older man with white hair, he was quite energetic and quick paced, if gruff and very direct in his words and actions. Soon enough the duo reached an inner office with a large desk full of papers, around three various computer monitors, and a sitting area with a couch and table.
Professor Rowan coughed into his hand and got right into things. "Now, I was informed by Iris in advance that you would be receiving a Poketech watch, is this correct?"
Kyle nodded. "Yeah, right before I left." Rowan grunted in response and went behind his desk. "Wonderful, please place it on my desk, I will update it with the latest banking application. Much easier to transfer funds electronically these days. Your watch will be usable as a payment method in most of any store, restaurant, or business within a registered town or city of Sinnoh. If other trainers have access to a device with the app as well, you can exchange payment through it. Otherwise, I advise keeping a minimum of five hundred poke dollars on your person at all times."
He finished his explanation as he began typing on some screens and Kyle was quick to hand over his Poketech watch. He had heard about the banking app becoming popular from Iris and Aster but most didn't have access to a Poketech watch. Most used the basic PokeGear or PokeNav devices. They were not bad but each excelled in different areas and had issues in others.
The Poketech watch was the best of both worlds without most of those issues. And it's performance was higher rated. Still, the older models get the job done and more people are seen using them. The novice trainers on the road were still too fresh to invest in one. It's usually the tier 2 Apprentice trainers that start looking into investing in one.
The old man began to work on Kyle's watch after hooking it up to the monitors, meanwhile he pointed to the coffee table where a package was waiting. "This will take me a few moments, why don't you go see your payments in the meantime."
Kyle's eyes zeroed in on the package and practically teleported over to it much to Rowans gruff amusement, but Kyle didn't care.
He had been looking forward to this moment since he made the deal with the professors months ago.
'Finally.' He pulled out the utility knife he keeps on his person from one of his pants many pockets and tore into the packaging, quickly opening it up and examining the contents. Inside the package, lay three different items.
The first was his official trainers license, the second was a pokeball, and the third which Kyle pulled out was what looked like a weekly vitamin case for the elderly and a letter.
It was made of metal and had seven sections in a row that could be opened individually. Each of the seven had a corresponding initial on the top of each section. From right to left, Cal, Car, Iron, Ice, P, V, Z.
Kyle smiled wide as he held it and opened the letter.
[Dear Kyle,
I can't help but thank you for your major interest in my line of work. The study of breeding is often overlooked for the flashier paths of study, but few truly know how fascinating some of the subjects I study can be!
I'm glad you enjoyed my books, my time writing them were some of my life's greatest memories.
Your great interest in my work was very flattering and I was determined to do my best to fulfill your request. It wasn't easy I might add, but I greatly enjoyed the challenge it proposed.
Within the case you will find one hundred vitamins for each section. All personally made using my own advanced recipes and studies into Pokemon. The first six were the most neutral typed I could make them, but with the overbalance I used the ice typing at your request to factor the vitamins in that direction.
The final one, the 'Ice' element vitamin, was highly tricky to synthesize but using my own machines and a process of extraction and synchronization, I used concentrated doses of the nutrients from Rawst and Aspear berries to produce it and I'm proud with the result. Unfortunately, the league is incredibly stingy on my supply of true natural berries rather the common synthesized versions they love using for potions, so I will not be able to produce any more for the near future.
I wish you the best of luck my young friend!
P.S. Remember the warnings, no more than two categories per Pokemon, no more than one vitamin a week, and watch carefully for your Pokémon's physical limit. Failure on any of the three points can lead to significant injuries. I am trusting you as one breeder to another considering your years working for your sisters who I am sure taught you what you need to know. Your Pokemon will need to truly work to make the most of these vitamins.
P.S.S Don't let humans consume them! Highly dangerous!
With best wishes,
Professor Elm.]
Kyle chuckled at Elm's enthusiasm but took his words to heart. 'We already went over this over video chat a few times.'
Elm was an interesting character, but he was very wary about what he gave to others, knowing the potential risks of his work on the world.
As the leading figure on Pokemon Breeding, Elm is the leading expert on vitamins and chemicals that can affect a Pokemon during growth and reproduction.
The vitamins that existed in the games, Protein, Zinc, Carbos, and so on. The ones that boosted a specific stat of a Pokemon in the game world, actually existed in the real world.
Professor Elm was the one who brought the area of research to life, having traveled the regions and spoke to numerous elders, tribes, and towns, gathering information and resources on natural remedies from long standing traditions, and finally creating the sort of vitamins you can find in high end department stores.
Vitamins are highly sought out, in low supply, and at expensive prices. Usually purchased by the rich for extravagant reasons or the serious trainers out there.
But that's just what Elm chose to release to the public. He didn't release his better recipes in fear of humans abusing them, overdosing their Pokemon, and creating numerous health issues across the regions.
And he was smart to do it since even with the basic recipes for vitamins he released, trainers have been caught and jailed for abusing them and leading Pokemon to overdose. Any Nurse Joy that catches sight of it must report it immediately, and their machines can tell when a Pokemon is suffering from an overdose.
Competitions also restrict the usage of it. It's within limits if your Pokemon is healthy, but an unstable Pokemon showing obvious signs of overdosing leads to immediate repercussions. The leagues were very heavy with their punishment system.
Humans in this world live in a very careful balance between humans and Pokemon. The leagues often supply various areas of Pokemon that can't be relocated with food to keep them away from attacking towns and cities. Thankfully, Pokefood is relatively easy to make and cheap in comparison to PokeBlocks.
So humans have a prominent level of respect for Pokemon, and overdosing is the same as abusing in most eyes. Hunting specified species for food on the other hand is not abuse but a simple fact of life. Pokemon when hungry enough will hunt a human, and humans hunt Pokemon when necessary, but only specific species. It's the cycle of life.
And Kyle can personally testify to seeing what happens when a Pokémon's inherent aura is too weak. A Pokemon who's aura was too weak at birth leads to a Pokemon who has nothing above a base animals intelligence. It's a reason pack animals like Eevee always huddle around their eggs, to make sure there is enough aura to 'warm' the egg.
These unintelligent Pokemon can barely use Pokemon moves, and act more on instinct than thought. Not to say they are inherently violent, but they stand somewhere between an intelligent Pokemon and a wild animal. Their aura locked like a humans with how weak it was and lacking the ability to grow it.
Humans rarely ever hunt an intelligent type of Pokemon, it's easy to tell by body language alone. But for the wild ones, they became an accepted source of food in the cycle when other options are not there. And if they have the capability to hunt them at all.
Professor Elm knew numerous ways to alter the basic recipes of his vitamins to more efficient one's with higher restrictions, but he rarely trusts others who can't prove themselves.
Aster and Iris come from an extensive line of breeders, and personally knew and spoke with Elm in the past on their respective fields, and the man has a high respect for the two women. 'Probably a crush too with the way he couldn't stop flushing over the video chat when they came into the room.'
He gave Kyle a few personalized tests to get an idea of his character and time spent caring for the Eevee for the better part of three years and went over his information on how Sylveon came to be before accepting Kyles request.
Kyles request was for his payment to be in the form of Elm's personal styled vitamins to bring the most out of his future Pokemon team.
Protein – Raise Attack, Calcium - Raise Special Attack, Iron - Raise Defense, Zinc - Raise Special Defense, Carbos - Raise Speed, Vitality - Raise all around health/vitality, or as Kyle understood to be increasing base aura amounts, Ice – Raise strength of ice elemental forces.
The store bought ones would be expensive, hard to get in decent numbers, and supply minor boosts. While Elm's personal ones came as a package and gave major boosts.
It wasn't as simple as something like steroids. It was taking the concentrated nutrients packed into a Berry, usually used to supply the energy needed for the instant heal like effect of the fruit and using it to boost a single factor of the physical body.
The vitamin sent a program into the energy of a Pokemon, what Kyle knows as their aura, and the aura would focus heavily on that specific factor of the body to increase growth.
A Pokemon couldn't take more than two of any vitamin because it would cripple their aura, or internal energy as Elm puts it, because it spreads itself too thin, trying to do to many things at once.
Once the aura boosts certain elements of the body, it can't do it again as it's tailored to that specific area.
For example in game terms, if a Pokemon has 10 stat points in all six main categories, the vitamins help to skew their growth into adding more to two specific categories and send less to the other four while they grow older.
It doesn't stunt growth in the four lesser areas but helps to build specific types of builds for a Pokemon and can be tailored to their natural abilities from birth.
Some Pokemon are naturally faster than others of their tier and species, others are stronger, more durable, and so on.
No Pokemon is identical to another, despite how they look, they are individuals, just as humans are. Loki for example is predominantly focused on his strong body for defense and attack rather than a speed build. It might change with evolution due to his species, but it usually stays the same according to his sisters.
And furthermore, to truly use the vitamins to the best, they would have to push their bodies, breaking their limits, and only then will the vitamins show their worth, by supplying the body with the needed nutrients to recover twice as strong and keep going.
It was no miracle medicine in the short term, but the effects long term would be incredible.
Kyle happily pulled off his bag and put the case in a secure pocket. The case had the same digitalization tech that allowed for exactly one hundred vitamins per section.
'I've been waiting for this for a good while.' Kyle had been forced to read heavily into breeding and nutrition by his sisters to be able to work full time on the Eevee farm. He had to know how to care for any issues that cropped up among the young Pokemon, and where to adjust diets, seek medical care, or otherwise home remedies.
It led to a lot of focus on the nutrients parts of research, and he greatly enjoyed Elm's books. He didn't understand all of it, but enough to know what he was doing, and how much a genius the man was in his field.
"Truly a heavy gift you received there. Professor Elm is quite stingy on who he gifts his prized vitamins to." Kyle blinked in surprise at Rowans form standing behind him. 'How the hell did he sneak up on me? Was I that distracted?'
"Yeah, Professor Elm really put me through some tests before accepting." Rowan stroked his mustache and nodded. "Hm… yes, well, to be honest it was mostly due to your sisters that he accepted. The tests were for you as well, but he frankly would ignore most who could pass them in the first place. I do not know what you two discussed, but his interest in Ms. Drake is something of an open secret in breeder circles."
Kyle chuckled and gave a shrug in response. "That's up to them to figure out." 'And for Elm to grow a spine. I can't tell if it's for Iris or Aster but either one is a draconic fox in human skin. RIP professor.'
Rowan showed a small wry smile beneath his mustache and handed back Kyle's watch. "Indeed, indeed. Here is you watch; I programmed the application and updated the all-around software free of charge. I also included my contact details, please connect with your personal account and I will transfer the amount."
Kyle nodded and did so. "Thanks professor."
"Your welcome son." Kyle quickly put in his information. Iris helped with his account when he first arrived, having transferred the funds his mother left for him to a new account under his name, and let him reconfigure the security information.
Quickly signing in, he connected with Rowan and the man transferred the funds. His bank account went from 5,000 to 20,000 Pokedollars.
Three thousand from his mother, two thousand from his sisters for working on the farm for three years, which is really just the bare maximum he would accept from them when including everything else they gave him free of charge, and now fifteen thousand from Rowan.
It was a surprise to him when the deal was first made, but it seems being the 'first' to have data on a rare type of Pokemon has its benefits with the right people. Like selling specific items to poke maniacs in the games. He could make potentially hundreds of thousands selling the data to the public, but he would never do that.
Kyle sighed at the numbers. "I still can't believe you offered this much." Rowan stroked his mustache and gave Kyle a look. "It's not much for a man of my position, and I would have offered more if it were not for that specific item you asked for, which I might add I am still looking for. Don't look down on the value of your data."
"I know, it's still a lot for me. Most trainers at my stage are struggling with two thousand." Kyle scratched his cheek awkwardly as he spoke.
The world wasn't exactly a friendly place for trainers, and most kept close to cities without ever leaving them, so the price of living for trainers was mixed.
Pokecenter's offered five free nights a month to stay. Health care was free for humans and Pokecenter's had quota's for how often you get free basic health services for Pokemon based on your tier or badge count.
A regular meal can go for eight to ten dollars, and a room at a hotel can go for anywhere from twenty dollars and up to hundreds depending on the establishment.
Meanwhile, a basic Pokeball is a massive one hundred dollars. Made to show young trainers that you can't go throwing pokeballs at every and any Pokemon and waste your money. Pokemon cost money to raise and care for, not to mention that a regular pokeball only ever works on a weakened Pokemon, so a trainer with a rare Pokemon for their first is very uncommon.
Throw a pokeball at a bad tempered Pokemon without a defender and you won't live past the hour. The league wants more trainers, but they don't want kids to run into danger and die.
The world of trainers is a pyramid, and the ones who don't play things smart fall by the wayside. So even with parental support, two thousand for a year of a novice trainer is normal. You won't see a novice trainer buying TM's for their team considering the weakest TM can go for two thousand.
Even with a mostly friendly human community, it's still a world where the smarter and stronger move up and gather resources while the less planned and weaker ones lose what little they have. It may be cruel, but it keeps more people alive and away from pissing off a horde of Pokemon.
Rowan walked over to lay a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Never compare yourself to others Kyle, all life has unlimited potential for greatness, Pokemon or human. Whether it's skill or luck, take what comes your way, use it to better yourself, and walk your journey with pride and joy. Life is far too short to waste on silly concepts of inadequacies." He stepped away to look out the window with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Our world is vast, and our species small, a tiny speck in the world around us. We live in a strange harmony with the Pokemon that make the much larger world their home. One of respect and balance, a constant scale that is tipped back and forth by the individuals amongst both of our kinds. For good and bad, we can control little in the grand scheme of things.
I believe in potential. I study evolution because it fascinates me with the endless possibilities. With the potential of life, to go from something so small and weak, and blossom into a fierce and mighty being of power.
Some use their power to fight, others to bring joy, and many more to live their own lives their own way." He turned his gaze back on Kyle and spoke with a fire in his eyes.
"So young Kyle, step forth into the world, face the challenges that come, overcome them, grow stronger, and never let fear or inadequacy keep you down. Live with pride in who you are and die with a smile knowing you did all you could.
It is never easy, but this is how I choose to live my life. And I hope to see you become the fine man I believe you can become, no matter what path that may be."
Rowan spoke with a strange charisma Kyle believed a gruff and wise grandfather would use while passing on their life wisdom to the younger generation and couldn't help but feel his words ring true inside himself.
He nodded to the older man. "I will. Thank you professor, for everything." Kyle bowed his head in thanks to the older man and felt his hand pat his shoulder.
It was strange how easily simple words could ease his mental worries, but perhaps it wasn't just words. It was the weight of Rowans life and experience, his soul, put into his words. Making it deeper and more valuable than simple empty words.
His sisters had already given him a speech, and Rowans could be seen as redundant, but it wasn't. In a way it was more profound than emotional as it came from such a wise older man who experienced more, in another it was because the older man wasn't family, and lastly, it was because Kyle just got his Poke Professor speech as if his journey was officially started.
So it was a motivated Kyle who walked with his back straight and head high who left the lab not long after.
Fifteen thousand dollars richer, with advanced vitamins made by a masters hand, an official trainer's license for age eleven, and a new partner safely tagged on his belt and awaiting their first summon.
He had the wind of the world at his back, and he didn't plan to slow down or waste his potential any time soon.
Next stop, Lake Verity. It was time for a little training time with a new partner, and hopefully, with a new catch on the way.
Kyle's potential list had a few options in the lakes waters.
Chapter end.
AN: thoughts? It's possible someone else wrote similar concepts, but I was trying to be original with a few common tropes.