AN: Yo, chap 8 is here. Here we see how reality differs from fanfiction for both Jake and Kyle. For Jake, everything requires work and limitations can be turned into a beneficial lesson if used the right way. For Kyle, a lesson in humility is taught. The 'cheat codes' are not so cut and dry.
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Disclaimer: I don't own stuff.
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Chapter 8: Limitations, Reality, and The Consequences of Arrogance.
"Oh come on! That greasy bastard is doing this shit on purpose!" Nym roared into Jakes ear as they walked up a flight of stairs.
Jake sighed and rubbed his ear while giving Nym a pointed look. "Ah, sorry." She quickly hugged him in apology and Jake chuckled and rubbed her head. "It's fine, just be careful. And as for Snape, as much as I don't want to take his side, he's not exactly wrong."
Nym shot him a betrayed look. "He called me a dunderhead and said my potion failed!" Jake poked her forehead and turned a corner on the sixth floor with Nym following. "And why do you think he did that?"
Nym crossed her arms and looked away. "Because he's a bastard." Jake gave her another look and she pouted. "Ok! Ok, maybe I messed up."
Jake nodded with a smile. "I was at the desk next to you Nym, you messed up on the order of ingredients. Aunt Andy always did say you tried to rush your potions too much." Nym huffed. "Stupid bestie, you lose bestie points."
Jake chuckled and pulled his favorite girl into a hug. "I'm always here for you Nym. Why don't we work on the potion on our own and I'll guide you through it all right? Snape won't say a thing to you if you do it right." Nym melted into the hug and grumbled. "Fine, you better help me get it right."
"I promise. Now come on, the coast is clear." He rubbed her head and pulled her into the wall as they seemed to melt into it from an outside point of view. But in reality it was a cleverly hidden secret passage, one of hundreds throughout the castle, and it led from the sixth floor to the seventh.
Nym always lit up in such places. "I wonder why these even exist." Jake shrugged as he walked up the stairs. "Hell if I know. All I care about is that it's convenient."
Nym poked his side. "Boo~, where is your sense of curiosity?" Jake deadpanned at her. "It's too busy working to keep yours in check so that three very frightening women in their own rights don't murder me. And that's with them being merciful."
Nym chuckled nervously and scratched her cheek. "Ha...ha...ha...um… oops? Love you bestie!" She finished with a hug and even sprouted some cat ears to wave in Jakes face. He quickly crumbled under the temptation. "You evil girl, I fear for my future." His hands ran through her hair and enjoyed the fluffy ears.
Nym purred under his actions and hugged his side. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you forever." Jake internally sighed.
'I seriously can't tell if this girl actually knows what she's saying or not. I'll deal with it later.' Aloud he simply said "Sure, take care of me. Let's hurry up, we only have two hours today."
"Mn." She nodded but left her ears out. It was easier to hear farther with them. The two left the secret passage after Jake checked the map and made it to the room.
Once inside, the two dropped their guard and stretched. "Guuhh~, seeing this sight every time is exhausting. I feel drained without even moving."
Jake was of the same mind but didn't voice it. "It's fine. Step by step we will get there." Nym groaned and finished stretching. "I still say we should include Cedric and Penny. This would go a lot faster with two more pairs of hands and wands."
Jake thought about it for the dozenth time and shook his head. "I'm really tempted to say yes, but I don't trust them as much as I trust you just yet. I don't want to risk this without being sure." Nym shrugged but had a wide smile on her face at his words. "Whatever floats your boat. Finders keepers and all that. I'm only mad it took you so long to invite me in."
Jake waved a hand. "I just wanted to be safe, after all…" Nym cut him off with a roll of her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, the big three slicing you up and stuff." Jakes eye twitched at her nonchalance. "I feel like I should worry that you just said that so casually but I can't seem to bring myself to care. Why is that?"
Nym shot him a shiny toothed smile with an enlarged thumbs up that twinkled on the thumb tip while her eyebrows became thick bars. "Because you love me~."
Jake felt his eyes being violently assaulted and rubbed at them. "Gah! I should have never pulled that move on you!" Nym laughed loudly. "Revenge is soooooo~ sweet."
"Come here you!" "Catch me if you can~!"
The two messed around for a few minutes before settling the score with Jake tickling her into a laughing mess and then they got to work.
Work on what you might ask? Well, the answer would be the massive towers of trash that occupy the 'Come and Go Room.' Or the 'Room of Lost Things.' as some house elves refer to it.
The week after Jake got to the room, he came back and tried every command of which he could think.
"Give me all the money in the lost things." "Give me all the bed frames in the lost things." "Give me only books from the lost things." "Only show me enchanted items from the lost things."
No matter what command he gave, the results were the same. Just a giant warehouse sized room full of massive piles of junk. Nothing he did organized it or changed it.
Oh sure, he could have the room conjure up copies, but they couldn't leave the room. Which meant that he only had one real solution to organize the physical objects.
Do it by hand.
If Jake wanted his fortune and lost priceless artifacts, he had to do things one step at a time with his own two hands. And he raged for all of five minutes before throwing that useless shit aside and diving right in.
Problem is, he was:
A: Magically a first year student.
B: Physically a first year student.
And C: Not an appraiser.
Problem C was solved quite easily. He just had to ask the room for a book on whatever it was he was looking at, and it provided a bookshelf of conjured books.
It also helped that he could actually sense the mana in items. It helped to differentiate between enchanted stuff and not enchanted stuff and saved loads of time. Plus helping keep him in one piece and not touch a cursed object.
Cursed stuff had an entirely different feeling to it than non-cursed items. If regular mana was blue, sweet scented, free flowing, and positively emotional, then cursed items were purple, sour scented, twisted, and hateful.
It's not so clear and cut but that's the best way he could put it. When a wizard or witch enchants or curses an item, they leave their magic inside it. Magic that was formed from mana tainted by their emotion and will.
So it left behind clear marks on the items in question that shined like beacons to his senses. Not that all items survive the ages as some could clearly be felt by him to have once held magic at some point but didn't anymore.
So search and appraisal? Not too hard.
It was A and B that became the problem. A problem that Jake decided to turn to his advantage. What did he need more than anything? Practical experience with physical and magical work.
Physically, he needed to learn how to adjust his body as the situation calls for. Strengthen which muscles, become more flexible in what parts of his body, increase his mass where.
There was an incredible amount of work to be done, and nothing makes him learn better than practical work. Of course, with previous knowledge on human anatomy mixed in, otherwise he would quickly run out of mana like Nym.
The girl who pouts because she doesn't know how things work and wants to just force it to work at the expense of mana.
It makes her mana core stretch and grow quickly, but it doesn't change the fact that she is spending ten points of mana for something Jake can do for two.
Human anatomy is a subject he planned to drill into her head at some point when he wasn't so busy. She had the basics down from previous work, and could manage with animal parts, but she still brute forces things too much.
The switch to practical work in classes freed up a descent chunk of his free time, and he actually got to progress on stuff in his class's, easily getting top scores for himself. Scores that were actually well matched, if on a slightly lower level, by Nym, Cedric, and Penny.
The four had study sessions now and then and helped each other along. Jake had the most theoretical knowledge on the subjects with Penny catching up, absorbing things with a fervor worthy of the Ravenclaw house. Nym had the most practical as Aunt Bella personally taught her in private, and Cedric had his own experience from home.
The four led their year in points and grades, much to the annoyance of the other two houses. But they were kept busy by each other. As even a common enemy wasn't enough to make Slytherins and Gryffindor set apart their differences.
Their own houses didn't mind as they didn't reject helping them when they could. They didn't do anyone's work for them, but they answered questions and referred books that could help.
Potions and Transfiguration were his top classes. Nym's were Transfiguration and Charms. Cedric actually had a descent thumb for Herbology and Transfiguration. And Penny was all about Charms and funny enough, Astronomy. The girl seemed fascinated by ritual style magic, and Jake was happy to encourage that.
After of course warning her to not ask others about it if she could help it. Most rituals, even the simple beneficial ones, were marked dark by the British Ministry despite very few nations following their example. When Penny asked why they were outlawed, Jake could only guess and say corruption.
Most likely the corrupt nobles not wanting those of 'lesser blood' to get ahead of them. But back to the point, Jake was doing great in his classes and growing. The curriculum still challenged him. He wasn't ready to jump to year two material with only a few months of work, but he was slowly getting better and better.
The efforts he put into studying in advance with the help of his uncle were bearing fruit. And his efforts with Latin helped him learn silent casting well. The more familiar the language, the easier it was to mentally 'speak' the word and focus on its meaning.
Wizards speak spell words and perform wand movements because it acts as a focus for the 'will' aspect of magic casting. The more a wizard believes the word and movement lead to a specific effect, the better their spell will come out.
Later on, one would have to un-brainwash themselves and re-learn the material if they wanted to learn how to silently cast without a wand movement. Jake was learning them side by side, which was a struggle for his time but helpful in the long run.
The search for the founders rooms was a lost cause. Jake had nothing. He searched high and low for days with nothing for his efforts. Well, not nothing.
Jake found a few locations he personally found great. Not beneficial to anything but just really fun or cool.
The Hogwarts Wooden Bridge to Hogsmeade. It couldn't be crossed past the halfway point due to the wards as he was only a first year, but he could enjoy the half on the side of Hogwarts.
It was old, derelict, but full of mana and encased in its own charm. Jake loved just hanging out in it and reading a book.
The second spot he found was the balcony on the top of the Astronomy tower. Something about facing the winds up there boiled his blood and captured his attention. Jake made a point to watch as many sunsets as he could up there. Nym especially loved to join him and cuddle up, using the inside of his robe as if she were a rabbit finding a warm nest.
Jake was glad the robes refit to the size of their wearer so he didn't choke when she borrowed HIS robes collar to stick her head through.
Another spot was the kitchens. Recalling the Hogwarts kitchen's location by tickling a pear, he explored inside and met with dozens of wide eyed house elves. Facing them, he threw on his trademark, not very trademark, smile and complimented their work for fifteen full minutes.
Safe to say, he became their favorite student quite quickly. No one ever appreciates them in wizard culture, even Nym didn't really care until Jake showed how they had feelings of their own and weren't robots.
And if Jake just so happened to pass them some muggle cookbooks he 'just so happened' to bring from home, no one would say anything. Jake didn't want to be eating greasy food for seven years. If it weren't for magic, every wizard and witch would be a balloon with heart problems. They would thank him when the menu started getting spiced up, even if no one knew it was him.
Well, almost no one. The house elves answer to the headmaster first and foremost and if something like the menu suddenly changes, he will probably ask questions.
But the one time he caught the headmasters gaze after it happened, he felt no pressure against his novice mental shields and the old man only raised his goblet with a smile and went back to his 'new' meal with joy.
Safe to say, if they don't realize it's 'muggle food' everyone can enjoy good tasting food. And it's not like things changed drastically but just that a few extra dishes appeared on the tables during meals.
There were a few other spots around the castle he came to enjoy, but most of them were just cozy windowsills and places with interesting designs. Nothing specifically nameable like the first three.
His progress on Occlumency has been coming along well. A few months in and he was already developing novice grade shields. The books main focus to start was meditation, something Jake had been doing for years before he was reborn.
His past lives mother was a 'spiritual' type and well, at the very least he learned to enjoy meditation. Even if Kyle poked fun at him for it. Jake could be a very wild guy at times, so for him to be calm and sit still was something that always amused his closest friend.
With the meditation out of the way early, he could begin focusing on what he needed to. The next step was to get a 'feel' for the magic around his mind and learn to enhance that feeling.
Step two was easy for someone like him. He felt his mana daily all around his body since day one of his new life.
Step three was where he currently was. There was no such thing as a 'mind palace' as many fiction stories spoke of. The trick was to flow mana into your brain, create a metaphysical barrier around said brain, and shape the barrier in a way that feels best to you.
Most of the defense and offense parts of the mental arts seemed to be more to do with becoming sensitive to mana and using it internally and externally with just your mind.
Not that he understood the offensive type beyond curious gazes into the books. The tricky part for him was the memory retention, recollection, and emotional control.
Increased mental processing speed was not a thing as far as any book spoke. In fact, he saw parts that spoke of it like an urban myth.
There were rituals and enchanted items that could do such things, but Occlumency did not increase your comprehension or processing speed.
The most it did was help clear the 'gunk' of your mind to free up your 'CPU' from being overloaded. That's the simplest way Jake could explain it. The book used a lot of technical terms and old English so it was hard to translate. But he could understand how to do it in practice.
The external defense? He was making great progress. The internal improvements? That was taking a lot of work.
While the idea of a 'mind palace' was a myth, there was a 'mental space' the mind would create. It was the manifestation of his mind, using mana, to connect to his soul rather than his body.
He couldn't build a tower in there, organize his thoughts like books, or do such things in this space. But what he could do was learn control of his mind.
Half the book of occlumency speaks of monks who trained for years sitting in silence to master their minds. You had to learn to accept all of yourself, let go of the things that bother you, and cleanse your own mind. The more scars you have, the worse your occlumency becomes.
The way this benefits you is that by clearing the 'gunk' of your mind, you can much more easily remember memories and recall them in clear detail without your 'pipes' being clogged up.
The more he read, the more his misconceptions and power fantasies from fanfictions cleared up. There was more work to be done, and things wouldn't be handed to him.
So he got to work.
Accepting himself is harder than it sounds. It means accepting your faults as well as your strengths. Admitting your weakness's and facing your fears. And in the mind, fears become much more clear.
Jake didn't see himself becoming some monk without any concerns in life. Snape was a master of Occlumency and he was still a spiteful man. You didn't need perfection to be strong. But the closer you get, the better the effects.
At least, that's what he understood anyway. It's possible things changed with more advanced stages. For now, he had to work on clearing the 'gunk' of his mental pipes and forming his defenses.
Snapes potion book had already shown it's worth. Jake took three weeks in between other things to fully copy the book using a special copier quill into his personal enchanted journal.
Using the quill was a pain in the ass as it required conscious control and he had to read along while it wrote. There was a spell for copying books, or specifically speaking, there was a spell for copying things, but it was beyond his current abilities.
The Doubling Charm, or Curse, depending on who you ask, was a spell that effectively doubled what you cast it on, and it could be cast with the intention of duplicating endlessly, creating an endless loop of 1 becoming 2, and 2 becoming 4.
The weaknesses of the spell were:
It can only keep multiplying if it's supplied with mana.
It can only remain in existence for a limited amount of time without a supply of mana.
It cannot duplicate magical effects.
The spell/curse was a short term effect type of spell that was best used for objectives that only took a few hours. Such as duplicating a form to hand out or casting a curse on an object for security purposes.
And the spell was a seventh year level Charm, not something he was close to accomplishing. The difficulty aside though, the spell has a fascinating history. Jake found it to be an interesting read while fuming over not having an uncomplicated way to copy books.
The Doubling Charm was invented by a pair of reclusive twin witches, Helixa and Syna Hyslop, who used it to create duplicates of every item inside the mansion, in which they lived together their whole lives. After their deaths, their relatives finally learned of this practice, discovering two, duplicated sets of hand-written instructions for the spell, one left by each twin. Shortly after their death, the entire mansion began to rot and fall apart.
Interesting history aside, Jake still didn't have a book copying spell. So he worked with his slower methods.
His enchanted journal was becoming the most important thing on him as he slowly filled it with priceless information on potion recipes, ingredients, combinations, and all the little corrections Snape personally discovered.
Not to mention his occlumency methods, knowledge from his years studying at home, and everything he picked up while learning under each of the Black sisters.
The wandless magic book was actually a bit pointless for Jake. The vast majority of the book went into great detail of how a wizard must go from complex to simple spellcasting.
Meaning, forget everything you learned, here is how to cast magic without a wand. But by this point, your mana pathways are atrophied and you have the mana sensitivity of a tadpole. The book was quite descriptive on insults and arrogant posturing with the authors writing. The man was very proud of his ability to levitate his cup of wine without a wand.
Besides for a few interesting tips in how to shape the mana leaving his body, and how to alter the depth of weight behind the mana he uses to make a spell overcharged, he didn't find anything useful and dropped the subject. If there did exist a real book on the subject, it wasn't in the school.
"Jake! I found something cool!" Jake was broken from his trance of working while thinking by Nym's call echoing throughout the warehouse sized room. The two were working through pile #2 of the existing fifty-eight pillars of lost things. the damn things were tall enough to form hallways in between them.
Walking over, Jake rose an eyebrow at what Nym stumbled on. "Are you summoning demons now Nym?" The girl was standing over a satanic looking magic circle with what looked like fifty two black candles arranged over it. "Oh yeah, I always to give it a go you know?" Nym responded with a good deal of sarcasm.
Jake chuckled and came up beside her. "You never know, what with Aunt Bella being your role model and all." Nym huffed and slapped his shoulder. "Don't be silly, Aunt Bella is cooler than any demon."
Jake conceded the point and examined the circle. "So, what is this?" Nym shrugged. "I don't know, I moved a big box and this was underneath. Any ideas?"
Jake hummed at that and snapped his fingers as a thought hit him. "Ah! I think I know what it is. You remember the rumor about the DA teaching position being cursed?" Nym tilted her head in thought before her eyes widened. "Oh yeah! Some upper year was trying to spook us with the boring story. Telling us that something bad always happens to the DA professor at the end of the year. Which is why there is a new one every year."
Jake nodded and pointed his finger at the ritual circle. "Exactly. There are fifty-two candles here. I'm assuming that means one for every week of the year the teacher is inside the castle. If my guess is correct, this is the source."
Nym blinked and looked at it. "So, what do we do with it? Tell a teacher or something?" Jake shrugged and picked up a rotten book. "Or something." He tossed the book at the circle and knocked over one of the black candles.
Like a chain reaction, the lit candles began winking out and melting into wax. Nym shot him an incredulous look as he deadpanned. "The reason magic circles are not used often is because they will only work as long as the formation is in order. An inch out of place and it falls apart. This shit is ancient." Jake might have used meta knowledge to predict it's use, but the knowledge about magic circles was something he read up on before during his time in the world.
Nym looked back and forth between him and the circle before bursting out laughing. "*Pft*, hahaha that was so anticlimactic! I wish I could see the face of whoever set this thing up if he saw that!" Jake laughed lowly as well as he moved his finger and levitated the piles of black wax. "Me too Nym, me too."
'I guess the curse wasn't attached to the diadem like I originally thought.'
The wax was deposited with the rest of the trash they found. In the vanishing hole.
Jake asked the room for a few things to help with their long term scavenging project. A set of tools to help take broken things apart. Safety gloves and goggles. A clear area to work and sort stuff. A sealed giant safe (that couldn't leave the room) to hold what they find. And finally, a giant hole in the wall leading to a space of nothing that the two collectively called the vanishing hole.
The room could make all of that, as it was inside the room.
Eighty percent of everything they found so far went into that trash hole as it was vanished from the world. Jakes scavenging to get rich project came in three parts.
One, hard currency. Any currency they found, magical or mundane, went into one pile.
Two, enchanted and cursed objects. They went into two clearly defined piles.
And finally, broken stuff. This was the category most commonly found. If Jake found a broken broom, he would take it apart for valuable pieces of metal, wood, or anything else before throwing the trash into the hole.
As for stuff without any value? Trash.
All the valuable things went into the giant safe just in case someone came into the room when they were gone and would be organized at the end of the year.
However, that didn't mean the two of them couldn't have fun. One time they found working brooms and raced around the room. Another time they found a crate full of magic paint changing balls and had a snowball fight full of colors. The two mixed work with pleasure and played with fun things as they came around.
But the work itself was the main part of the job. Half the time, they would use their bodies while altering parts of themselves to move things around. And the other half they would be casting the levitation charm to move things around.
The constant variations in weight, size, distribution, and mana costs were doing wonders on them. Only three months into the work and already they were showing large improvements.
Nym couldn't lift more than her body weight physically before, and now she can almost double that limit. Jake was trying to teach her about human anatomy to know what area's to reinforce and how.
The stuff she didn't know was fixed by her mana for higher costs, but she was getting better the more she actually practiced using it in action.
And for lifting things magically, she at first struggled with lifting anything more than a bucket with just her wand but could now manage a thick chair without it. With it, she could manage a full table.
At least in short bursts anyway. Sort of like taking the stairs one at a time while holding something heavy.
Jake was much better at the control aspects but the girl was overtaking him in sheer mana. Her constant drains were stretching her mana core through sheer effort. Jake was falling behind a bit on that. Nym was more talented at recovery by nature then him, meaning she refilled her core faster than him. So Jake worked on control and knowledge to surpass her.
At the end of each day, he exhausted his core before bed to make sure it kept growing. He couldn't afford to do it during the day with his schedule.
One hour occlumency practice in the morning and a second at night while draining his core.
Six to eight hours for class's.
One to two hours for homework.
One and a half hours for boxing.
One and a half hours for eating and bathroom needs.
Six hours for sleep.
And one to three hours for free time, self-study, group study, entertain Nym time, and RoR time. If he had the free time in his day, he would head up to the Astronomy tower for thirty minutes to watch the sunset.
He was already down to six hours of sleep, and simply didn't have enough hours in the day for everything. The last three hour window of his days were often different from each other.
It was only on the weekends when classes were gone that he had enough time to really get some work done and could waste an hour or two on occasional tasks like searching for clues to the founders rooms. Every day had to be adjusted based on what went where and what the day held. Even meals sometimes were had while on the move thanks to befriending the house elves.
Jake was on the warpath, there were no power fantasy cheats besides what he already started with. Every step he took he would have to earn. And he was fine with that.
It didn't hurt to have Nym along for the ride as she inadvertently got pulled into his flow and improved along with him. Working hard was fine but doing it with another multiplied the feeling of joy and motivation to do it. Challenging each other, making things more enjoyable to push through, and all around driving the other up the wall for amusement.
So it wasn't much of a surprise to them when they both came to realize they were referring to each other as 'theirs' in their minds and speech at all times. Not that either would point it out. It was all harmless friendship at the moment no matter what the future would hold. For now they would enjoy their youth, and in the future…well, it's best to leave that for then.
They had a long journey ahead of them after all, there was no need to rush the little things.
*Line Break*
Kyle – Pokemon
Lake Verity, one of three lakes said to hold a mythical spirit in the Sinnoh region. The lake specifically designated to the legend of Mesprit, the Spirit of Emotion.
A lake of wonder, beauty, and to Kyles senses, true emotion.
Kyle stood on the lakes grass and stone lined shore, Loki looking on from on his perch with his head rested atop Kyle's own silver hair, as the two looked on at the waters shining surface.
Crystal water that you could see a dozen feet into filled the massive crater said to have come from a meteorite striking the earth in the very location.
'Spirit of Emotion huh?' Kyle thought as he observed the lakes waters gently lapping at the smooth stoned edge. To his empathetic senses, the very water itself seemed to exude emotion like a living being.
Peace. Serenity. Harmony.
The water practically radiated it and was most likely why the Pokemon in and around the lake were some of the more docile ones among the surrounding area. Well, docile enough for young beginner trainers to come and fish for a partner without losing their life anyway.
'At least until the future when everyone starts getting a capture boner for legendaries and tries to capture the peaceful spirits.' It was one thing Kyle simply felt disgusted at with his species. The incessant need for someone to rise and be greedy enough to endanger others by risking an entire region, country, continent, or even world for the sake of some misconception of power.
The only true power is the one you build for yourself. Forcing others to your will might work in the short run, but the rebound effect will always happen eventually. Doubly so when those your forcing against their will have the potential to be a being of mass destruction. 'Few tyrants go down from a natural death.'
It was one of the reasons Kyle wasn't exhausted by Jakes murder hobo tendencies.
The light reflecting off the waters gleaming edge broke him from his dreary thoughts and filled his mind with its emotions.
Peace. Serenity. Harmony.
Kyle sighed. 'Yeah, thanks for that.' He sent back a feeling of gratitude.
"Come on buddy, let's set up camp and meet our new friend. We're going to be here for a good bit." Kyle turned around to find a good camping spot and scratched Loki's fluffy head with a better mood. The lake uplifting him and making him want to pamper his partner. "Ee." The large fluff ball playfully batted at his head as he enjoyed the contact.
The two laughing as they walked, unnoticing of the gaze that landed on them. For Kyle misunderstood the meaning of the lake and sending it an emotional message was the same as knocking on the door.
For better or worse, a curious gaze landed on the young human and Eevee's back as the two walked around the lake's edge.
~A few hours later.~
Getting camp set up was easier than the time before. A bit more familiar and a bit more knowledgeable, Kyle was on his way to being an expert camper. In a year or so.
They found a nice and small secluded clearing between a few boulders that opened up to the lakes view and protected their backs from wind, rain, and anything else.
The tent was set, his sleeping bag and mat laid out, the fire pit made, and Loki standing guard over him rather than heading out to scavenge for wild edibles.
It was time to say hi to their new partner.
Pokeballs were interesting contraptions. Human science seems to always come right up to the edge of the mysteries of Aura, but never crosses that final line.
Kyles senses allowed him to know something few ever did. A pokeball was just a metal technological ball with almost no durability to its name. The things were actually quite fragile to be said.
But then it catches a Pokemon, and the aura from the Pokemon becomes the fuel for the ball. Creating a unique comfortable environment tailored to the Pokemon in question. A pokeball adapts to all eighteen types of Pokemon and heats up, cools down, electrifies, or any other thing needed to comfort its inhabitant because it's absorbing their personal aura.
In insignificant amounts of course, the drain is negligible outside of the first time you capture them when it adapts to the capture.
So the Pokemon inside the ball could potentially rest for years without being bothered. They could choose to pay attention to the outside world in limited amounts, at least Loki semi-explained so as he could hear Kyles voice just fine. But inside the ball, they were at rest and comfortable.
So even though Kyle didn't summon out his new friend from the start, the little one shouldn't be to bothered.
"You ready?" "Ee."
Kyle took a breath and hit the release button before tossing it up a bit. A beam of red light shot out and landed on the ground before him.
Luscious fur as white as snow, sapphire gem colored eyes, pointed adorable and twitching fox ears, a big tuft of soft fur on its forehead, and six elegant fluffy tails extended from its back.
"Vuulll~."
An Alolan Vulpix had joined the team.
The fox Pokemon looked around curiously before it's eyes turned Kyle's way and narrowed slightly but still held curiosity.
Kyle smiled and knelt down. "Hey there Vulpix, my names Kyle Silvers and I'm hoping to be your friend if you will let me." He extended a hand half way while circulating his cold aura and waited without approaching.
The Vulpix looked at his hand warily as it's emotions showed it was a bit frightened. But a certain fluff ball came to the rescue. "Ee!" Loki made his presence known from atop Kyle's head, standing tall and proud like a knight atop it's horse.
Kyle's brow twitched as Vulpix looked back and forth between the two as it's emotions calmed a bit from the humor. It's lip twitched upwards a bit and it stepped forward to sniff Kyles hand.
It blinked in surprise for a moment at whatever it smelled and leaned it's fluffy head into his palm, which Kyle took as a sign to scratch it gently behind its ear, and the adorable fox melted into his hand.
"Vulll~." It purred against him and Kyle held back an inner heart attack at the diabetes inducing sight. He just released more aura and let it speak for him.
Kyle sent his emotions down the connection and tried to welcome the smaller Pokemon.
Welcome. Friend. Joy. Affection.
They were not all specifically emotions, but aura empathy was interesting that way. It was more about emotional intention then just pure emotion alone.
The fox blinked up at him with it's clear blue eyes and as Kyle's hopes and dreams soared, ready to open his arms and accept the fluffy embrace, the small fox narrowed its eyes, turned it's snout up regally, and turned around to show him it's back.
"Ehh…."
Vulpix didn't move away, but it didn't look at him and seemed to be huffing at him for some reason. Even Loki looked bewildered by its actions.
Kyle stayed there kneeling like a frozen statue, unsure of what just happened. 'What just happened.' His brain unfortunately supplied the answer. Vulpix ignored him. 'Ok, that's what happened. WHY did it happen?' His brain shrugged in reply.
Kyle turned brokenly to Loki and sent him a questioning look.
Help?
Loki looked back at him and shrugged before walking closer to Vulpix.
"Ee. Eev?"
Vulpix side eyed him and huffed. "Vul. Vulpix."
Loki tilted his head in confusion. "Ee?"
Vulpix seemed annoyed and huffed more, stamping her little paw down with force and leaving a patch of frozen grass as a result.
Loki turned back to the patiently kneeling Kyle whose eyes held hope. 'Bring me good news oh great one!'
Loki shrugged and Kyle despaired. 'That tells me nothing!'
Loki pointed a paw at Kyles waist where the pokeball chain hung. "The balls?" Loki nodded and pointed a paw at the sky. "The sky. The weather?"
Loki shook his head and pointed at the sun. "The sun…day? Time? The time?"
Loki puffed up proudly as if to say 'good hooman' and then made an annoyed face. "Annoyance. Ball, time, annoyance. Vulpix is annoyed because we waited?"
A smug look adorned Loki's furry face as he had the expression of teaching his Pokemon a new move. Kyle's brow twitched. 'I'll deal with you later.'
Kyle leaned in a bit closer to Vulpix. "Hey, I'm sorry about that little guy, we wanted to…" "Vul!" "Little girl." "Vul."
Vulpix's tail slap to the face was understandable and quickly corrected before he suffered further fluffy justice.
"Well, we just wanted to wait to give you a better place for all of us to meet. We will hopefully be together for a long time, and I didn't want to just have our first meeting on the side of the road. A mighty fluffy being like yourself wouldn't want to have such an unfitting setting for a grand reveal right?" Kyle spoke half serious and half-jokingly to the little female fox as he could see an internal struggle going on inside it's great fluffy mind.
Vulpix tilted her head back and forth while her tails followed her heads movements and Kyle had to hold himself back from glomping the adorable creature. Eventually, the internal debate was won and Vulpix turned back to him and held out a paw.
"Vul."
Forgiveness. Foolish.
Kyle couldn't help but laugh. The fox was just precious. He held out a hand and shook the furry paw. "Thank you Vulpix, and welcome to the team."
"Vul~." She sang lightly and walked forward to butt her head against his chest as he was still kneeling. Kyle quickly got the message and began pampering the girl with head pats and scratches as she purred and melted into it. "Ee!" Loki wasn't one to be left out and practically leaped on top of Vulpix while pawing at her playfully.
The two foxes were quick to start yipping at each other and play biting and pawing while using Kyle's body as the fortress of victory and head pats. Kyle found himself laughing genuinely and falling back on his butt as the two played.
'I got an actual Alolan Vulpix and she's beautiful. I have to send Kukui a thank you.' He reached over to pull the two up by their scruffs. "Give her a break for a sec Loki, let me have a good look at you girl, make sure nothings bothering you." She yipping and play bit his finger, but her teeth left a coating of ice on his fingers that chuckled at.
Vulpix seemed to think he was one of her own after his greeting of ice aura since she didn't care about leaving ice on his bare skin.
Pulling on everything he knew of the Vulpix line, and the Alolan breed specifically, he checked her over making sure she was in top health.
Every possible member of tier one capture list had been extensively studied in his time on the ranch.
Vulpix seemed to enjoy the pampering and a few minutes later Kyle was satisfied. "Good, your perfectly healthy. Two feet tall, around twenty pounds, great claws and fangs, and no weird skin marks. Congrats on being a beautiful Vulpix." Kyle cooed at his new teammate and got a paw to the forehead. "Vul." She rolled her eyes as if to say {Of course I am}.
Kyle laughed and rubbed her ears. "Well, now that you're on the team, how about a name? Or do you prefer Vulpix?" "Ee."
She looked up with curious eyes and listened to whatever Loki said before nodding at Kyle. "Hm… let's see. How about…"
The two went back and forth for a bit, Kyle using different variations of things related to cold, until one stuck in.
"Aurora it is then. Once more, welcome to the team!" "Eevee!"
Aurora yipped happily and bounced a few times before her stomach growled. "Haha, it's almost dinner time. I'll introduce you to my hand made PokeBlocks. Ask Loki, I made them for ice types in mind but the big fluff ball loves eating them."
"Ee." Loki nodded proudly and Kyle ruffled his head a bit. "Alright, Loki, do your thing. Aurora, you can stick around and rest or join Loki in scavenging for food, if you join him you might learn a thing or two."
The two talked for a moment while Kyle got out the cooking supplies before they took off into the bushes.
Kyle smiled at the sight. 'Looks like those two are off to a good start.' He was a bit worried about meeting Aurora on the walk to the lake, but thankfully thinks turned out for the best.
Dinner was soon underway with a crackling firepit lit and a pot of boiling water set over it. The two returned with a few forest vegetables and some edible plants that grow near bodies of water. Loki explained, in a manner of speaking, how the forest was full of stuff and he was pumped to go back and get more before Kyle stopped him.
"Respect the wild buddy, we should only take what we need for the day." Kyle patiently explained and Loki sullenly nodded before Aurora play tackled him and he was sufficiently distracted.
The two foxes were just full of energy, and he was an eleven year old, almost twelve, boy speaking.
Kyle's birthday was in October, and the gym circuit for Sinnoh begins on September 1st. Jake wasn't far off with his birthday being November 1st, just shy of a week from Kyle. He let the bastard know who was superior by age this time constantly considering Jake was older by a month in their old life and rubbed it in.
"Come on little ones, dinners ready." Kyle called out and filled some bowls with the vegetable soup. The two bounded over with happy smiles and dirty fur. He shot them an annoyed look. "You two are getting brushed before entering the tent." The two had the nerve to nod imperiously as if it was expected.
The three sat and silently ate, watching the lake's waters lap against the shore, hearing the sound of the crackling wood, and enjoying each other's company.
Kyle just had the soup while he set out PokeBlocks alongside the soup for his foxes. They could eat enough from the soup but the blocks would make sure they had enough nutrients to keep growing healthy and strong.
Despite being close to their target size as an unevolved species, Pokemon could still keep growing before they evolved. There was no set limit universally as each Pokemon was different but some could reach double the size of their species before evolution, others reach double the elemental proficiency, and there were even others who were smaller than average but more skilled.
Pokemon were individuals just as humans, and it was up to the trainer to find their teammates strengths and weaknesses and work on them.
They stayed there long after dinner, long after Kyle brushed the dirt from their fur, just enjoying the serenity as the sun set and the sky was painted in an ocean of stars, reflecting off the lakes surface. Aurora looked on mesmerized right alongside Kyle and Loki.
Kyle at some point began unconsciously circulating his aura, sitting on the ground with his back to his log, and gazing up without any real thought. Loki and Aurora curled up half on his lap while he stroked their fur and rubbed their ears.
The three in tune, their aura's circulating, Aurora's new one joining the familiar duo of Kyle and Loki. Under their guiding influence and welcome, her own aura entered their cycle.
The three breathed as one, exhaled as one, and felt their emotions connect. It was deeper than words, needed no great length of time for Aurora to become familiar with them, and beyond time.
An exchange of energy from the soul, the purest expression of communication.
So it was close to midnight when the flames died down into glowing lines of scarlet that Kyle's gaze came back into focus with his two partners with their heads fast asleep on his lap.
The sight was so perfect, he couldn't help but snap a picture and send it to Jake and Cynthia.
He smiled gently at the image and lifted the two in his arms, heading for the tent and his sleeping bag, all the while unaware of the ice and frost that covered the log he sat against, or the curious gaze looking between him and the ice.
~The next morning~
"Good, good, let's move on to the next one!"
"Vul!"
Aurora flared her tails out and a burst of frigid air was released from her body, forming a cloud of snow that was then directed by a wave of her tails in a straight line, smashing into a tree, pushing it back by the force of the wind, covering it in a thin layer of ice, and piling snow around it.
Aurora panted tiredly and Kyle walked over to ruffle her fur unmindful of the freezing air she was still releasing. "Great job girl, I think I have a full idea of where you're at for now. Why don't you go rest for a bit while I write it down."
"Vul~." She nodded and rubbed against his leg before moving over to the tree surrounded by snow and fell on her side with a purr of content.
Kyle shook his head with a chuckle and finished his notes on Aurora. Loki was raised from young so Kyle had to work with him to build up his routine and move set without allowing for bad habits.
Aurora was in excellent physical condition but had her area's to improve in. She obviously favored her element and speed more than Loki who preferred strength and defense more.
He marked out his notes, noting where to collaborate with her on her weak points and strengths. 'I should make sure she can take a few hits so she doesn't become a glass canon, and that she knows how to use her body when needed, but otherwise she should focus on dodging, keeping distance, and using her elemental advantage. Not to mention her other move.'
Aurora currently knew five moves. Four from growth and one from her egg, and Kyle was very happy with her egg move.
The Vulpix line was a very interesting one. It is said to have strong ties with spirits and the afterlife, with some even being seen before to have left their body behind and lived on as a ghost.
They are not ghost types, and yet can learn ghost moves. They are not psychic types but can learn psychic moves. They exist somewhere in between, a line very few others can claim.
So when he found out Aurora knew Hypnosis from her egg, he was ecstatic. Hypnosis was a very powerful status move that had enormous amounts of use when paired with her elemental powers.
Ice and snow work very well to set the stage, turn things to their advantage, and effect their foes.
Just with using her first move, Powder Snow, Aurora can change the field to her advantage, slow down her foes, and cold damage on top of the moves already existing damaging qualities of being his with the equivalent of a freezing air hammer.
Her third and fourth move were less useful but still great to have. Tail Whip and Baby-Doll Eyes. The first lowering the physical attack exertion of her foe, and the second lowering their attack even further. The eye attack was much more effective than Tail Whip, but it was less effective on same gender Pokemon, meaning Tail Whip was still useful.
Her last move was another great one, Confuse Ray. It was less a 'ray' and more a slow moving ball of light that could only be launched in a straight line. They would have to work on an effective way to incorporate it into their strategies.
But overall Kyle was very satisfied. A strong psychic type move, a strong Ghost type move, and all wrapped up in an adorable ice fox shaped package.
He wrote it all down, working out a training schedule for the future. Loki was already working on his own schedule, making progress with each days effort.
'Hm, best to get them started early on those vitamins.' Kyle's thoughts went to the vitamins in his bag from Elm.
There were seven stat area's he could focus in, and each member of his team could only have vitamins for two areas, permanently.
Kyle wasn't sure why that was so, but he was willing to trust the expert on this one. 'I'll probably be able to see it myself once we use them.'
Kyle wasn't blind to the sheer aura emanating from those vitamins. It was heavy and condensed in a way he couldn't truly understand.
Back when he was first starting out, Kyle had asked his sisters about how the medicine in Pokemart's were made. How the Potions, Super Potions, and such things worked. And the answer he got back then was that he would have to study more, and study he did.
It took him almost all three years to reach the part he wanted to know.
Berries were SPECIAL in this world, with capital letters.
Kyle had once held a real Oran Berry, and the thing was like an aura bomb of condensed energy.
In the world of Pokemon he lived in, there are 10 Berries that deserve the true capital 'B' in their name. These Berries were effectively known as Oran, Cheri, Lum, Leppa, Aspear, Rawst, Pecha, Chesto, Perism, and Sitrus.
These ten Berries could not be cultivated, grown in captivity, or farmed. They were gifts of the natural world with almost magical effects to humans and practically instant effects.
Humans had been trying to figure out a way to cultivate them for many years without success, and Kyle knew it was because of aura.
The fruits condensed aura naturally, had an incredible amount of nutrients packed into a small package, and when eaten they followed the 'program' of the aura to use all its fuel of nutrients to instantly execute the 'program.' With each fruit having different effects.
Humans couldn't cultivate them because they didn't have the aura to feed them to grow. They grew in natural spots heavy in natural aura.
And in most cases they attract strong individual Pokemon or herds/packs/groups of Pokemon that live around the tree's.
The leagues can't do anything about it and therefore have a limited amount of true Berries. But what a scientists of the past discovered was a way to create synthetic versions of the Berries. These berries with a lower case 'b' lacked the aura of the true kind but used science to create a 'program.'
Common medicine such as the Potion, Super Potion, Antidote, Awakening, Burn Heal, Ice Heal, and Paralyze Heal all are made using the concentrated juice of these synthetic berries.
Thanks to them, the world ushered in a new age of medical advancements and humans and Pokemon alike were able to benefit from them. In humans, doctors developed very delicate versions of these medicines that could work on weaker humans who didn't have the aura that Pokemon had.
Without the natural aura of real Berries, synthetic berries can actually greatly poison humans who lack aura if taken at the same concentration that Pokemon do. So the same potion that could heal your Pokemon could be taken by a human at 1/20th of the concentration to heal them.
The more advanced medicines such as Hyper Potions, Full Restores, Full Heals, and Max Potions are all made using the juice from real Berries. These medicines are highly expensive and in short supply. They are highly controlled by the leagues and usually unavailable to the public outside emergencies.
It takes the champions permission to allow anyone outside the league allowance to receive such potions from Pokecenter's, who keep a few bottles in reserve.
Thankfully, potions made from real Berries have a lifespan in the decades, compared to synthetic potions that last only a few years.
Professor Elm's advanced vitamin recipe used real Berries to produce their effects. The man really went all out for Kyle and he was greatly thankful for it.
It wasn't particularly that Kyle was special but that Elm is a man who takes his deals very seriously and gives his work his all. When he finally accepted Kyles request for advanced vitamins, after testing and with potential help from his crush on one of his sisters, the man gave him the best he could manage with the supplies he had.
So now Kyle had one hundred vitamins of all seven types and they were supposed to last him through his entire six Pokemon team. Maybe even himself as well if his suspicions on them were correct.
Deciding to follow his plan, he called for his partner. "Loki! Come here for a sec."
Loki looked up from where he was working on his aim with Swift and ran over to play tackle him looking for affection. Kyle welcome his partner with a hug and rubs before getting to the topic. "All right, all right, back off for a sec. Remember I told you about that special medicine we would be getting?"
Loki tilted his head for a moment before nodding. "Ee."
Kyle picked up the case from his bag and showed it to him. "Well, we got them now and I wanted to get started." Loki looked at the case with curious eyes and sniffed it before tilting his head in confusion. "Haha don't worry, the cover keeps the vitamins secure so nothing leaks. You can smell it when I take one out. We need to make a final choice on your future."
Loki sat down and focused seriously while Kyle used a stick to draw symbols in the dirt. Aurora walked up in the meantime and joined them as Loki talked to her and explained something.
"Hey girl, in case Loki left anything out, we are talking about future development. Where you want to grow stronger than other areas. You won't grow weaker in other area's and can still develop them; this is just to set your fighting style in place and give you a boost in your growth."
He explained a bit more on the details until Aurora nodded in understanding, she was quicker to get it then Loki did the first time Kyle tried to explain it. 'Maybe it's just a girl thing being better at the mental stuff.'
He pointed his stick at the first symbol. "We spoke about this in the past Loki, and Aurora this is new to you but pay attention.
First we have your Physical Attack. This path will help you physically use greater force, giving more power to your physical body if you like getting close and personal with your foes. Your body will develop more muscle and flexibility to allow for development in this path."
Loki looked interested and put a paw forward while Aurora scoffed. Kyle noted it down and pointed at the second.
"Second we have your Physical Defense. This path will help physically tank more physical attacks from foes. Your body will grow strong, your bones dense, and organs more shock resistant. It helps do be able to walk off physical blows. Loki, I know you're interested in this area."
Loki nodded happily and put a paw forward on it while Aurora declined.
Kyle nodded at them and noted it down for Loki. He knew very well that physical defense for a Pokemon wasn't as simple as the laws of physics because of aura. The reason an Onix can't turn most Pokemon into a meat pancake is because the Pokemon have aura defending themselves.
Once their aura is depleted, they will usually faint, and in such a state they are vulnerable to damage.
If a Pokemon works on physical defense, it's through physically enduring hits enough for their aura to become more resilient and their body to physically grow stronger. The stronger their body, the more their aura can boost.
"Third we have Special Attack. This is using your various energy related moves rather than physical ones. For you Loki, this would be Swift, Tail Whip, Sand-Attack, Growl, and even Helping hand.
For you Aurora, this would be all your moves.
Focusing on this area can be highly beneficial for you if you don't wish to physically fight another Pokemon."
Loki looked interested but shook his head in the end while Aurora put a paw forward in interest. Kyle marked it down and moved on.
"Next we have Special Defense. This is developing your body to endure energy attacks like the ones we just spoke of. The higher your defense here, the less such moves can affect you."
The two looked interested but neither put a paw forward so Kyle moved on.
"Fifth we have Speed. This path means you will grow in a way to become faster, more agile, harder to hit, and able to hit others faster.
Sometimes speed is what decides a battle and can be your greatest ally. While I do not intend to stop training you in all areas, focusing on speed will most likely weaken your defense as your body develops itself toward being faster and leaner."
Loki hesitated but otherwise kept his peace while Aurora put a paw forward and Kyle marked it down. Aurora had her two spots but he still kept going to see if the others interested her.
"Sixth we have Vitality. This path is about growing your base aura. Loki you know this, and Aurora you felt it last night, but that was our aura's mixing together.
Every day, we meditate together and let our aura circulate our bodies, letting them breath with the world and expand. Every day we train to let our aura grow bigger, deeper, more robust, and more powerful.
Aura is the fuel for everything you can do. It enhances your senses, it allows you to create the ice and snow you love, it empowers your body, and it's the energy behind your various moves.
If you take this path, your body will naturally work to grow it's aura faster. The difference between this and taking the other five paths is that instead of your aura working to grow your physical body in a specific direction, it works to build itself. Meaning there is less for your aura to empower, and less improvements in that area.
The more aura you have, the longer you can fight, the more moves you can use, the faster you can recover, and the longer you can live.
Again, all of this can be developed in time, it's just about what you want to specialize in for many years."
Loki and Aurora listened attentively and the second he stopped talking both put a paw forward. Kyle laughed and noted it down.
"Lastly, we have a special one. For lack of a better term, it's ice type affinity. This path will help to grow your connection to ice type aura. Enhancing your connection, making it cost less aura to use the type, making your ice type moves more effective and stronger, and giving you greater benefits in the area."
The two both put a paw forward and Kyle noted it. All of this information was supplied to him by Elm when they spoke over video chat weeks before Kyle left on his journey.
"All right, Loki is interested in Attack, Defense, Vitality, and Ice. Aurora is interested in Special Attack, Speed, Vitality, and Ice.
You both need to choose two out of your four choices. We can focus on the other two during your daily training, but the main two will determine your future fighting patterns and large growth improvements."
The two thought hard about it and Kyle gave them time to think, while also thinking about the possibilities of himself taking the vitamins. If what he observed looked safe, he would try it despite Elm's warnings.
Loki was first to step forward and Kyle looked on to see him point his paw at Defense and Vitality. "You sure buddy?"
The two long time partners met gazes and Kyle didn't question him further, knowing how his partner felt.
"Aurora, take a bit to think on it, I'll get Loki started in the meantime." She nodded her head and laid down, thinking hard and watching them from the side.
Meanwhile Kyle opened up the 'V' section of the vitamin case and removed one of the vitamins. It wasn't all that large, had a smooth oval shape for easy swallowing, and blazed to his aura senses, almost making him drop the case. Thankfully, the case was designed in a way to only allow one vitamin to be removed at a time so Kyle didn't spill anything.
He held out the vitamin to Loki. "Elm said only one a week, so let's focus on Vitality first." Loki nodded and licked up the vitamin, quickly swallowing it.
The two waited for something to happen, and as the seconds ticked by them they wondered if something would happen at all, until they both felt it.
Loki's aura blazed up in a highly active state and Loki looked very uncomfortable at the feeling. He growled slightly as his aura flared and from what Kyle could sense, it seemed to begin bloating outward like a balloon filling with water.
The process wasn't long, taking a few minutes, and Loki's uncomfortable expression faded. He blinked and looked around weirdly before his eyes landed on Kyle and he smiled. But as he went to take a step, he faltered and looked wobbly.
Kyle quickly caught his partner and laid him down. "Calm yourself buddy, meditate for now and rest." "Ee." Loki nodded and curled up while Kyle put him on his lap. The two circulated their aura's and fell into sync in seconds.
Their aura's turning like whirlpools inside them and connecting at the edges. Kyle focused his mind and tried to sense deeper into his partner to understand what happened.
His senses peered over his partner whose aura he was intimately familiar with by this point.
'His aura… it seemed to have swollen up like a balloon with the extra 'water' being foreign to Loki's own. Not harmful but not his. And…hm… it's trickling into his own as he circulates his aura with a minor amount leaving the balloon and going away from him.'
Kyle focused on the process for the next thirty minutes, seeing the same thing repeat over and over before opening his eyes once more.
'So a Vitality vitamin converts all nutrients into fuel for aura. But the aura is not ours from the start and we have to integrate it into our own. The small bit leaking away was the excess that Loki isn't able to absorb at his current level. That must be what Elm meant by having to work for it or the nutrients would be wasted.
Furthermore, the dangers of overdosing are lethal here as expected. Far more than basic vitamins. If Loki takes a second Vitality vitamin in a row, his aura could expand beyond its strength and become crippled for life.
I don't even want to imagine what could happen with a crippled aura. Loki could lose his mind and revert to a base animal.'
Kyle shivered a bit at the thought. He would monitor it carefully and make sure not to overdose any of his teammates.
'But I didn't see any reason I couldn't take one myself.'
Elm had explained well that humans got incredibly injured when taking the advanced vitamins, saying their bodies violently rejected them.
But Kyle knew how rare aura users were. What were the chances one of the very few human trials Elm did involved an active aura user?
He was interested in finding out the answer himself. He wasn't one like to gamble with his life, but he knew how hard the path of aura was.
It was a steady progression but in only three years, he had gotten only so far. It's true his body was still young, but a Pokemon could go from a baby to a champion level in a few years. Aura's growth wasn't limited to physical bodies, but it was limited by potential and mentality.
Kyle had immense potential, but not a Pokémon's potential. Their very minds were hardwired differently.
"Vul~."
Aurora came up and butted her head and tails against Kyle while looking worriedly at Loki. Kyle smiled at how quickly she became a part of the family. The aura bonding helped a lot with deepening their affection.
"He's fine girl, just needs to meditate off the worst of it and then he will have to work his butt off to get the rest of the benefits. How about you? Did you decide?" Kyle brushed his hands through her cold fur and she purred against his touch before nodding.
She pointed with a tail at the symbols on the ground.
"Hm… Special Attack and Speed? You sure you don't want Vitality or Ice?" Kyle asked curiously.
Aurora nodded and pointed a tail at Vitality before pointed a second tail at him. Kyle rose a brow. "Well you're not wrong, I will spend at least a few hours every day working on our aura. It won't grow as fast as Loki, but it will still keep growing."
Aurora nodded and pointed at Ice before pointing at herself and Kyle laughed when he got it. "Haha, your precious. Your saying your Ice abilities will grow naturally huh? Well, you're not wrong, your evolution form is said to be able to freeze people solid with just the ice that falls from their fur."
Aurora nodded imperiously to that and Kyle couldn't deny it. Aurora's race is to ice what the fire Ninetails is to fire.
They are incredibly in tune with their element from birth. Aurora knows she needs no help with her connection to ice as it will grow along with her at a high rate. And with Kyle around to always help grow her base aura, she would rather focus on her personal strengths.
She prefers distance fighting and being fast, so that's what she went with. 'It makes sense as well since the Ninetails line can learn a few diverse types of attacks aside from their main element.'
During his research, Kyle found that both types of Ninetails could learn moves from the Ghost, Psychic, Dark, Normal, and poison typing. It was only a few specific moves rather than the whole type but it was still great diversity. And the Alolan brand could also learn a single water move and fairy moves.
So for Aurora to choose Special Attack over Ice is a wise decision.
"All right girl, you win. Which one do you want to start with first, I recommend speed as your body will take time to adjust."
She nodded so Kyle popped out a vitamin for speed and let her gobble it up. The same thing with Loki occurred, except in an altered form.
Her aura flared up and swelled, but then instead of remaining in her aura like a balloon, it hovered over her legs in a green glow and seemed to weigh her down a bit as she fell onto her stomach.
Kyle was quick to scoop her up and hold her, not feeling any physical weight increase. "Quick girl, circulate your aura like we did last night, I'll help you."
"Vul." She nodded and closed her eyes as her tails curled in and began to try to emulate the night be fore's circulation. Outside of fighting types, most Pokemon don't naturally know how to circulate and grow their aura. Using it is instinctual but circulating it like Kyle and Loki do is active manipulation.
Loki learned from Kyle, and Kyle had been doing it from the start as his aura was awakened on his entry into the world. He could feel it from the start, and did what felt natural to him, listening to his senses, as well as pulling on memories of cultivation stories and other fiction.
Kyle guided his own aura whirlpool to gently touch upon Aurora's and help her spin it along, increasing its speed and potency.
Kyle, Loki, and Aurora connected once more through their aura, speaking in a way without words and without conscious thought.
It took another thirty minutes to get her settled as her aura was seeping into her bodies legs and body.
Kyle tiredly sighed at the effort to support the two. It wasn't easy to do what he did. He looked up at the sky and rolled his neck. 'It's so much easier to zone out and connect with the world. Trying to actively use my aura and helping another is exhausting. But still, I wouldn't care if it knocked me out if I could help my team.'
He mused as he looked at the two meditating foxes with a small smile. His team was his family, and his family was closer than blood.
Loki was already there and Aurora was on the way. It might take a few months but as their aura's intermixed, they would learn to trust each other unconditionally.
Kyle looked back down at the vitamin case and made his choice. 'I saw how it affected them, felt it, and I've been working on my own aura for three years. I can do this.'
Kyle popped out a Vitality vitamin and put the case back in his bag before looking around. It was late afternoon at this point and with the campsite secluded and blocked off, he had little to worry about from land based beings and nothing came up from the lake within the last day.
He set himself comfortably leaning against the tree trunk nearby, gathered Loki and Aurora on his sides with their heads in his lap, and took a deep breath. 'Down we go.' He swallowed the vitamin.
At first nothing happened, it was just like taking a normal Advil or something similar. And then suddenly, he felt his heart beat loud and deep in his ears like a gong.
His jaw locked and his face flushed as his blood began to rush like he had just sprinted a marathon. He couldn't even make a sound beyond a groan in his throat as he felt the world change.
Or rather, his perception changed. The world flashed like a kaleidoscope, colors, shapes, shades, shadows, and intentions of everything around him.
One second he was there, unaware of the passage of time as everything turned to noodles in his blurry vision and he felt trapped in molasses, and the next he was suddenly floating in a void, looking down at a glowing river of golden light.
He couldn't move, couldn't speak, could barely think, but he could see the river, and it branded itself deep in his mind.
It was aura. Aura in its purest form. The energy of life. The energy from which all eighteen types branch off from.
NormalFireWaterGrassElectricIceFightingPoisonGroundFlyingPsychicBugRockGhostDarkDragonSteelFairy
The energy of each was clear before him, coming off in branches of light as it diverted from the river of aura, his eyes automatically identifying them before his brain could process them.
It was overwhelming him, drowning him, suffocating him. He was dying. Some part of him knew, this would have killed a man in a second, he was only witnessing this sight so long because of his training, and even still, he was dying.
How long would he last? Five seconds? Ten? Kyle couldn't know. He could barely think. And time was lost to him.
At least it was, until a pair of eyes appeared in the void and a voice, soothing like a melody, spoke in a young female, yet ancient, tone. "Hehehe~, silly human, trying to jump before you can walk. Here, take this and wake, your soul is too pure to die so young, take it as thanks for a greeting I haven't felt in many years."
Kyle couldn't see anything beyond those pair of soft glowing eyes as a gentle stream of pure energy broke from the river of aura, a tiny and small speck of the mighty river resembling a strand of hair latching onto his chest and seeping into him.
Kyle gasped at the warmth, the life, and how full he felt. The voice rang in the void once more with a giggle like tingling bells. "Hehehe~, wake young one, and don't come back until you're ready, it shouldn't be long~."
His conscious faded from the void as the pair of eyes was suddenly joined by two others. The ancient voice of an old scholar spoke out. "Was that wise?"
An ancient voice of what sounded like a time old warrior answered. "His will was strong for one so young."
The old scholar responded. "His voice is older than his body, it happens from time to time."
The warrior hummed at that. "He is worthy."
The old scholar seemed to grumble. "He is human."
The young female yet ancient voice broke in with a giggle. "Hehe~, I like him. His mind is open to me."
The other two met gazes and seemed to shrug. "How rare. Very well, do what you wish." "This is her area and she is a good judge of character."
The two sighed into the void and closed their eyes, vanishing from the area. The last and first pair seemed to look curiously at where Kyle stood and back to the river, where a branch of ice type energy had been moving closer.
'I wonder what would have happened there.' She was curious and the other two didn't notice, but it was almost as if ice was acting to save him. In the end she seemed to shrug and twirl in the air happily. 'It doesn't matter, he wasn't ready, it would have been too late.'
The eyes closed from the void and opened to the world as it looked down at Kyle's form. Smiling at the bond of strong emotion burning the very air from the human and his two friends. 'I gave you a chance, let's see how far you can go.'
A translucent form twirled in the air happily and plopped into the lakes waters without a single ripple.
Emotion had spoken, and it favored Kyle, saving his life from a moment of childish folly.
Chapter end.
AN: Hope you all enjoyed. I freestyled with both worlds a bit, but I liked the way I went about it.
