Disclaimer: I Pokémon own not

Chapter 2

Of Balloons and Eggs

Mom's lecture ended up lasting through most of the morning… she actually didn't go to work to hammer in the finer details and make sure the lesson stuck. It didn't, but I'm surely impressed by her dedication!

Of course, officially she didn't go to work to look after me due to my graceful passing out in the middle of the road. I'm touched, really… but I'm good as new now! Fit as a fiddle and ready to enact vengeance on a certain weed with delusions of grandeur. Except I can't, because I'm grounded and I'm supposed to be studying history.

Ugh, I know. Disgusting.

I lay back in my chair and look out of the window. It's a beautiful day outside. The temperature is just right and the sun isn't too strong. A couple of clouds move lazily in the sky carried by a gentle breeze.

Hmm… seems ideal for sniping.

The chair creaks as I stand up abruptly. A grin on my face as I make a few simple calculations.

8…10… maybe 12.

Yep, I should still have a dozen of those. Now, time to find out where my target is.

Another glance out of the window and my target is spotted: Roselia, smug as ever, sunbathing among the medicinal plants.

The next step is to look for the one who can and will foil my plans if I'm not secretive about it.

Codename: Mom.

She isn't in the garden, so she must be inside the house or in the shed. If she is in the house and I get out of my room to go anywhere but the bathroom though… I'd be in trouble. Real trouble.

Time to use my powers for something useful then. I breathe in and out. Again and again. It should be easy, but even minor uses of telepathy make my stomach clench in worry. Forgetting myself in someone else's head is far too easy for me to be relaxed about it.

Am I irresponsible for doing so right after the incident I had yesterday? Absolutely. Am I going to live in fear of my powers and most importantly let Roselia get off scot-free? Not a chance.

I focus on the headache that is already building once again in my head. It's not at the level of a nasty Zubat yet, but give it a couple of days and it will be.

My mind is closed to the outside world by an imaginary lock and key. A way for me to avoid reading the mind of anything within two kilometres of my position. Unfortunately, limiting my powers in such a manner is what causes the massive headaches.

I basically have to choose my poison. I either renounce my identity as a person or get a nasty headache. Unfortunately, the headache is the only option I am willing to take.

With a turn of the imaginary key and a slight opening of my mind towards the outside world and I can already feel the stream of thought coming from my mother. The headache lessens and I am barely myself anymore.

It's easy, oh so easy to know with absolute certainty that mom is in the shed… or rather, her personal laboratory. She is mixing herbs and grinding berries to a pulp in the act of creating a new batch of medicine. Her feelings of worry about what happened to me early are laid bare for me as if they are my own. Her focus is on her work although every once in a while she gets distracted by random thoughts. She prepared this medicine so many times that it is almost automatic and her mind tends to wander.

In the background, other consciousnesses make themselves known. These thoughts and feelings aren't human. No, definitely not: they are too vague for that being the case. After all, I can read the minds of Pokémon too.

I can feel myself crawling on the ground looking for a tasty next leaf to munch on in the shoes of a Wurmple. I can feel myself sunbathing and soaking in the peaceful atmosphere of the garden as Roselia always does. I can even feel myself fly up in the sky without a care in the world as feathers replace skin and wings replace arms.

The feeling of flying almost makes me forget myself before I forcefully shut the connection down. I close my telepathy once again behind lock and key and breathe a sigh of relief.

Time to enact my plan.

Knowing mom isn't capable of hearing me leaving the room I open the door and dash into the corridor. Descending the stairs two at a time I head for the kitchen, and more specifically, I head to a cupboard in the corner. A couple of minutes of rummaging through it and I make my escape with my prize.

What's the prize? A box of unused balloons, of course!

There are still a dozen of them inside from my ninth birthday party. We didn't use all of them because it was just mom and me… and the house isn't all that big that it needs too many balloons to decorate.

I climb the stairs quickly and head to the bathroom. Once there I open the tap and start filling the balloons with water. I have to be quick about this or mom might come back and notice I'm up to no good…

It takes a few minutes but I'm back in my room without a hitch… and with a bunch of ammo ready to use.

Oh, yes! Revenge is great!

I open my window as slow and silently as possible, aware that Roselia might notice something.

Okay, maybe going at it with such paranoia is a bit overkill. Roselia isn't that good. Still, it helps set the sniper mood.

At first, I have half a thought of chucking the balloons with my arms. Then, I regain my sanity: my arms are basically noodles and Roselia is too far. I think that perhaps I would have better luck using the toy sling I got for my eighth birthday… still it's not strong enough and I made the balloons too big.

I guess I should use a bit of telekinesis then…

Telekinesis is something I can do without much consequence to myself but using it always leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Telekinesis was the ability that made other kids treat me as a Pokémon. I remember vividly all the times people ordered me around. I would have refused… except I couldn't. I had an even more feeble grasp on telepathy then, and would always mistake the desires of other people for my own. Couldn't really help it.

Then the incident happened and… I used telekinesis then too, didn't I? Daniel had that Pokéball… I got scared… and…

Nope, nope, not going there. Not getting into my trauma today.

I shook my head and plastered a grin back on my face. Only revenge now, no flashbacks.

With a mere thought, the balloons started floating out of the window and floated in a single line for me to control my aim more easily.

Sniping time is on.

Roselia doesn't know what hit her as a balloon crashes down from above at high speeds and soaks her entirely. She cries out, startled, and starts to look around to find the origins of the projectiles. I quickly close the window and fall to the floor to hide. I also will the remaining balloons to move under the roof in hidden, strategic positions.

I can't suppress my laughter as I slightly open my mind and thoughts of confusion and not-so-rightful anger trickle in. I shut it again and peek out of the window. The weed is looking around the garden enraged like a very grumpy Primeape. She doesn't see anyone so she stomps her way to a bunch of bushes, certainly thinking that whoever played the prank is hidden by the vegetation.

With another thought, I command a balloon to fly behind Roselia and fire again from there.

Splash.

Roselia is now murderous and is looking in the direction from which I threw the second balloon. That is when yet another three balloons try to hit her but this time she is ready. From her body leaves unravel and flutter around her in a flurry of movement that makes me dizzy. They circle around her in a circular formation that resembles a whirlwind, protecting Roselia from further pranking.

"Already using [Magical Leaf], uh?" I mutter under my breath as my three balloons pop under an assault of magically sharpened leaves.

If my old classmates are to be believed and I'm basically a pokémon, this has now turned into a Pokémon battle…

I shake my head. No matter. I literally have the high ground in this battle!

I remember mom explaining Roselia's moves to me when I was little. She has access to [Magical Leaf], [Synthesis], [Poison Sting], and [Sweet Scent]. Now that I think of it, her move set seems awfully good at sniping targets from afar…

Lure in prey with scent, snipe with leaves, and sting if they get too close. Synthesis is her being lazy.

No matter. If she doesn't realize it's me she can't snipe me!

Now, onto more pressing matters…

[Magical Leaf] is a Grass-type move that never misses. Once those leaves are sent after a target, you cannot avoid them. Well… that gives me something to work with. While she is using them as a shield the leaves haven't found a target yet.

Sooo….

SPLASH. SPLASH. SPLASH.

Haha, Take that, Roselia! A whirlwind-like shield protects from projectiles thrown from the side, not from above!

Roselia is livid. I see her smugness has all but evaporated as she is dripping wet with red and blue rubber stuck on her thorns in such a way that she looks like a particularly angry Christmas tree.

I still have four balloons left though and she doesn't know my position yet so I still can…

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Dammit.

She figured it out.

Those thuds are in fact the sound of leaves hitting the window. Roselia wouldn't purposefully destroy the window… but being detected also means that she can send her leaves through the chimney if necessary.

I look out of the window one last time and see Roselia staring right back at me. I do the only sensible thing and scream like a little girl before chucking the remaining balloons at the overgrown weed.

Roselia stops the first two with her leaves, dodges the third, and punches the fourth with a poison sting… making it explode right in her face. The shriek of indignation reaches me even in my room as I turn tail and run for the hills… Or rather, the bathroom.

In the corridor, I come across a swarm of leaves out for my blood but I manage to flop on my stomach and roll out of the way, prolonging my demise even if just by a bit. The leaves keep zooming in on me right until I reach the bathroom door and close it behind me.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

The sound of leaves stuck in the doorframe is like music to my ears. I did it. I'm probably going to live the rest of my life in this bathroom but I did it!

Revenge is fantastic!

I spin in place and make the peace sign to celebrate my victory because it feels natural to do so.

My celebration lasts for a full two minutes before reality comes knocking. Or rather… bubbles up from the toilet seat.

Today as I watch with horrified fascination as a swarm of [Magical Leaves] fly out of my toilet with the intent to murder me, I learn one of the truths of this world. Grass-type Pokémon apparently aren't totally weak against Water types.

"Shouldn't have used water balloons," I whisper.

And upon realizing such fundamental truth, I scream like a lady being stabbed repeatedly in the shower as I face my doom.

A Psychic's Journey

The good news is that mom didn't find out about the small prank war with Roselia. The bad news is that Roselia roughed me up quite a bit. She didn't actually hurt me that bad… but certainly scared me to death.

A couple of weeks have passed since then, and I am finally able to avoid history and head outside once more. I did take the history test in the end… and actually passed. Barely passed but still passed.

I'm not grounded anymore though mom still insists on having me help her out with gardening often. She says it's to tire me out so that I don't get any strange ideas.

Foolish mother, you can't stop my genius!

This particular afternoon I am helping her with disinfestation.

"Raiden, you have to spray it more on the pokédoll. It won't last much otherwise," mom says patiently.

"Alright… I'm still not sure how this is actually working."

Mom sighs and replies, "have a bit more faith, won't you? It's been working 'till now."

I give the garden a skeptical look. It's rather neatly organized with rows upon rows of bitter medicinal herbs on one side and a bunch of curative berries on the other. Most of these plants can also be used to heal Pokémon since there is an inevitable overlap with human medicine. And there lies the problem we are currently facing.

Pokémon like to come and eat our hardly-grown berries during the night… or even in the middle of the day if they feel bold enough. It's mostly the Wurmple, Starly, and Bidoof who do this, though I've also seen a couple of Kricketot once.

We don't have a problem with the herbs because their bitter taste is something Pokémon hate with a passion. They usually munch on them once and run for the hills because of the taste.

Mom wants to grow a batch of berries though… and that is something that attracts wild Pokémon like Magikarp to a Lanturn. Roselia helps in keeping pokémon away but even she can't be on the job all the time. That's why mom came up with a plan to keep them away while avoiding dousing the berries with chemicals.

The plan sounds stupid… yet it kinda works?

Basically, she decided to buy a bunch of Spearow Pokédolls and set them around the garden. Spearow are notorious for being extremely territorial and aggressive which just by itself would keep most things away… then mom decided to spray them with repellent.

"Why not spray the repellent directly on the plants? This seems overly complicated," I ask mom as I spray yet another Pokédoll with repellent.

"I already told you. Spraying it directly can weaken the berries' natural properties… and it's more fun this way."

"You just wanted a reason to put pokédolls everywhere," I deadpan.

"They're so cute though," mom replies. "Of course, you'll be taking them inside every time it rains because of what you did to the lawnmower."

"But mom! You already grounded me, remember?"

She has the gall to smile, "That was because you weren't studying. This is because you don't value things enough. You almost broke the TV yesterday just because-"

"Fine, fine! I get it… but only until you get the new lawnmower."

Silence falls between us for a few minutes as we work. It's not uncomfortable, and the situation feels somewhat nice even though I generally dislike chores.

"We had them even in Johto… the dolls, I mean," mom says all of a sudden.

"Really? Is this some crazy ritual passed down in our family?" I ask I spray yet another doll. "Because it certainly does seem like we are trying to summon a Fearow god here. What's next? We start sacrificing Woloo?"

"It's more effective if it's pokédolls! Don't joke about such things!" Mom says scandalized by the mere thought that her creepy dolls might plunge our family into ritualistic sacrifice.

"And I think that's something you just came up with."

There are a few moments of silence before mom speaks again. This time her tone is more subdued, "It was your father who came up with it first, actually. We had this little balcony in our flat back in Cianwood filled with Cheri berries. He used to put a little Spearow doll outside to keep the Pidgey away. It worked like a charm"

"So dad was a nutcase too? That explains so much!"

Mom sighs at my remark. I try to stay serious but fail horribly at it. I make the noise that sounds suspiciously like an engine failing to start up and end up devolving into a hearty chuckle. "I'm joking. I'm joking."

Mom's gaze softens, "He would have known why your mind-reading behaves like that."

That does take the wind out of my sails and my laughter fades quickly. My father is a bit of a sore topic for my mother. Apparently, he was a Psychic too… and worked on TV as a stage magician. Just like any good entertainer he never revealed his tricks… which apparently weren't tricks but were straight-up Psychic powers. People just chalked it all up to him being a very good illusionist.

"There is still no news of him?" I ask.

"No. It's been ten years, Raiden. I have made my peace with it," mom replies.

I ask nothing more. I know all there is to know on the subject. Dad just straight up disappeared one day ten years ago around Viridian City in Kanto and has been missing since. The police believe a wild Pokémon might have attacked him on the road. He didn't own any pokémon… so he couldn't have put up much of a fight.

We keep working in the garden for a little while before mom deems her little project concluded. I head straight to the bathroom to take a sorely needed shower. My back hurts from bending low and moving stuff around but luckily my head isn't hurting all that much.

It still hurts, mind you. The headaches are something I have been living with for years… but it is bearable. It's mostly thanks to something I've been doing every day since my sniping session on Roselia.

I've been opening up my mind for a couple of minutes once or twice a day. Not a full-blown mind reading everything two kilometres around me… but a more controlled mind reading that doesn't leave me catatonic.

It's hard… as hard as walking a rope hanging on a never-ending abyss… yet it relieves the pressure.

I try it even now in the shower as I think about my father. He would use mind-reading to know which card someone picked out of a deck. People wondered about the trick he used… except there was no trick. He just knew how to control his psychic powers, unlike me.

I wonder if I can be as adept as my father was at reading thoughts…

I breathe in and out a couple of times and turn my mind outward.

Mom is preparing dinner downstairs. Her mind is serene and happy after a good day's work. Roselia is lounging in the living room as she inspects her spotless leaves for any microscopic amount of dirt she may have missed. There is also a certain hunger in her thoughts since it is almost dinner time. There is a Hoothoot nesting somewhere beneath the roof. It has hatched recently and is currently awaiting its parents that have gone hunting.

A Wurmple is making its way to a place it found yesterday. It's a garden full of berries and yummy leaves. It crawls on the ground quickly to reach it as soon as possible but it finds that getting there might not be the best idea… a smell, pungent and gross makes Wurmple sick. It comes from the garden with berries and it already has the Bug Pokémon's appetite wane. Wurmple then sees them. Bird Pokémon perched around the garden, ready to turn it into a snack!

As silently as possible, it turns away and flees. Wurmple certainly doesn't want to get eaten tonight. Its dream is to turn into a beautifly and fly high into the sky. It crawls over stones and around bushes, over sticks and under bushes… it got away… it is saf—

Noctowl is returning to its nest. Wings flapping silently in the dead of night. It moves like a ghost, unseen and unheard with a dead Wurmple as its catch. Its little Hoothoot will certainly love the snack. It is slowing down to enter its nest built in a hole under the roof. Hoothoot is opening its beak and—

The connection stops.

I am on the floor shivering. That… was intense. The hot water from the shower is still trickling down upon my body but I pay it no mind. With shaking knees I head to the toilet seat and vomit bile. It tastes revolting in my mind as if I tasted Wurmple itself…

I… I experienced death. I experienced eating something with which I shared a mind.

Mom is knocking on the door. I hear her distantly. She is asking me if I am alright.

I'm not but I assure her I'm fine anyways.

I vomit some more and once I'm out of the bathroom I tell mom I'm not hungry. Who would be after that…

I try not to think about it for the rest of the night and once I manage to fall asleep my dreams are filled with huge Noctowls eating into my flesh and gross smells coming from living dolls.

A Psychic's Journey

"Hey there, my dear irresponsible sister! Missed me?"

THUD

I turn my head from the documentary on Kantonian ninja clans I'm watching and look at mom. The doorbell had just rang and mom had gone to see who it was and opened the door. A second later she had suddenly slammed it shut. I could already see her eyebrow ticking in exasperation.

"Is it the warranty guy again?" I ask her, turning my eyes back to the tv. One of the ninjas is talking about their secret transformation technique… which I guess now isn't a secret anymore.

"No… worse," mom replies.

"Aaahh, it's Uncle Chuck then."

"Indeed."

We both choose to ignore the frantic knocking on the door and the manly screams of, "Please, let me in! I'll be good" coming from outside.

Uncle Chuck is a Gym Leader back in Johto and specializes in the fighting type. I have to remind myself of this fact because there is nothing Gym-Leader-like about him now as he whines out of our door to be let inside.

"Shouldn't we invite him in?" I ask.

"Let him stew for a bit," Mom sighs as she sits beside me and quickly gets engrossed in the documentary too. I just accept it and try to tune out the noise coming from our front door as I focus on the television.

The interviewer, a good-looking woman sporting a flawless hair bob, is now trekking in a village full of masked people. Her voice is clear as she talks about the various clans inhabiting the Kanto region and their culture. She may be a bit long-winded at times, but regardless, she makes for a compelling if overly dramatic commentary on the life of ninjas.

"The hidden villages of Kanto are one of the best-kept secrets in the world. Here ninjas are born, trained, and sent out on missions. Their missions may vary, but any ninja will say that even on the most mundane of missions death awaits."

After a quick slideshow of the village, which is still somehow secret despite being on camera in this documentary, the scene cuts to the interviewer and a ninja side to side.

"We heard that ninjas can run up walls and transform their appearance in the blink of an eye. Is this true?" says the interviewer, holding the microphone out for the ninja.

"Hnn," says the ninja. He is a teen with spiky black hair resembling a Ducklett's butt and black eyes. He also looks like he would like to be anywhere else but there.

"I see," the interviewer continues. "And that tānto you hold? Is it something passed down from your master?"

"Hnn…"

"Oh, that's wonderful! And do you already know any secret techniques from your clan?" the interviewer asks conspiratorially.

"Hn."

At that I turn to mom and ask, "Is it just me or the guy is just grunting?"

"Might be some sort of code or ninja technique," mom replies seriously.

I shrug and keep watching. Perhaps I'll start to understand what the ninja is saying as the interviewer seems to be able to. At least he looks cool while grunting!

In the meantime, the knocking and shouting out of the door continues. We ignore it, mostly, and it's after a whole lot of begging from uncle Chuck that mom finally decides to open the door and let him inside.

"Geez, Meera, you've grown into a hag in your old age. Keeping your poor brother outside… starving!" Uncle Chuck says.

"And your stupidity has grown as much as your belly since the last time we saw each other, Chuck. I already told you not to treat this house as some sort of impromptu hotel. Couldn't you have called and told me you'd visit?"

"Harsh," Uncle Chuck says. "I just wanted to visit—"

"My kitchen," Mom finishes for him.

"I wouldn't put it that way but since you're offering…"

The sibling banter is interrupted by a low growl that could have probably belonged to a wild Pokémon. Instead, the source of it is none other than uncle Chuck's stomach.

Mom shakes her head in exasperation, "Fine, I'll go prepare something."

As mom vanishes into the kitchen, uncle Chuck turns towards me. He is a burly man with heavy steps and an even heavier presence. He always tends to stand out with his energetic and somewhat egocentric personality. His usually well-kept short brown hair is currently rather dirty and I swear he has a twig stuck within his big moustache. He is also shirtless for some reason… but Uncle Chuck seems generally allergic to shirts. His brown eyes are looking at me expectantly and his muscular hands are open expecting a hug.

Pfft, as if.

"Uncle Chuck, you've grown fat," I deadpan.

Uncle Chuck takes it in stride, "HAHAHA! A warrior must know how to use weight to his advantage!"

I smile, "I guess. Still not hugging you unless you put a shirt on. You are all sweaty and gross."

"Nonsense! Sweat is proof of my hard work! HAHA."

He tries to go for a glomp but I evade him quickly. "So… are you on a training Journey or what?"

Uncle Chuck doesn't desist and tries to hug me again as he responds to my questions. In truth, this is a game we often play whenever he comes visiting. "Yes. I went on a training trip to Hoenn this time. Let me tell you, the Meteor Falls currents are as strong as they are rumored to be!"

I falter in my step as I hear him speak, "You… didn't swim in them… right?"

Unfortunately for me, uncle Chuck takes advantage of my hesitation and glomps me in a sweaty hug. Yuck.

"I did and it was wonderful! Great training for both mind, spirit, and body! Next time I'll take you with me!"

"Unless you were reciting your multiplication tables while probably being crushed by gallons of water I fail to see how you were training your mind."

"Meditation is key, my adorable nephew!"

"Riiight… if you say so…"

I don't reply to his offer of going on a trip with him. Truthfully, I would like to go. A Pokémon Training Journey is something I would like to do… but it is also something I'll likely never be able to accomplish. Not if visiting towns comes with such an intense backlash due to my mind-reading abilities.

We settle down again after that, the documentary still running in the background even though nobody is paying attention to it. Uncle Chuck is instead regaling me of his adventures in Hoenn and how he fought many trainers there. And by fighting… I mean straight up drop-kicking them himself.

Yes, Uncle Chuck somehow thinks that being able to smash boulders with his fists directly translates to his prowess as a trainer.

Can't really argue with that logic. I'm not a trainer so I wouldn't know… and the thought of my uncle trying to drop-kick random people in caves is quite amusing to me.

He tells me about the different kinds of Pokémon that live in Hoenn and about the almost sacred bond people have with nature there, which results in digging tunnels bare-handed to avoid startling Pokémon and building entire towns on trees. Uncle Chuck also visited a city built within the crater of a volcano! The crater itself is filled with water after the volcano itself went inactive.

Mom joined us later on with food. And quite a lot of it. Uncle Chuck took it gratefully and continued his tales between one bite and the next. The sibling banter continued, of course. Mom and uncle Chuck have always liked bantering. They never mean anything by it… It's just their weird way of communicating as siblings. They may call each other "hag" or "Fatso" but when it matters they always have each other's back.

"So, are you ready Raiden? You are almost ten year old by now!" Uncle Chuck says.

"Ready for what?"

"Well, your Pokémon Journey, of course!"

"Ah…"

"I'm sure you'll have plenty of adventures of your own. Perhaps you'll even show the old one-two to a couple of trainers! HAHAHA!"

Uncle Chuck's head falls back as he laughs heartily. I don't join him. My heart isn't into it.

"I… I'm not going on a journey."

I see mom's eyes lowering to the floor. She knows that I do want to go on a journey with all my heart. She tried hard to find a solution for me by reading hundreds of books about Psychic powers and came up empty-handed. She blames herself even if she shouldn't.

My eyes are stuck on the floor too. I don't want to admit it… I hate to admit it. I can't do something as simple as travelling because of my condition. I'm really hopeless, aren't I?

Uncle Chuck is taken aback at first. I don't look at him but I know he is trying and probably failing to understand the reason for my refusal.

"You don't want to go on a Journey?! But I thought…"

I stop my uncle in his tracks. I need to be straightforward about this or he won't understand. "It's not that I don't want to… It's that I can't"

My eyes are stinging. Something probably found its way into my eye so I wipe them and suppress the sudden need to sniffle. Nope, definitely not crying. Nu-uh.

Mom seems to be about to say something but I stop her with a look. This is something I have to do by myself. Saying it out loud is the first step to acceptance, isn't it? Recognizing the problem and all that?

"My mind-reading… it got worse. I can't get near towns anymore. People's thoughts… are suffocating. It feels like drowning. I can't go on a journey if I can't deal with something as simple as buying groceries…"

He knows about my mind reading. Of course, he knows. He was the first one to tell me that it could be an invaluable ability for a martial artist to read an opponent's mind.

"I see…" Uncle Chuck says and then grows silent.

There is an invisible tension in the air as I wait for his reaction to my admission. Will he get angry? Will he get sad? Uncle Chuck always spoke of me visiting his Gym in Johto or travelling together to foreign regions. He wanted to help me catch my first Pokémon. He wanted to be some sort of mentor figure in the world of Pokémon training.

Did I rob him of that?

Am I really that defective?

It takes a few seconds before he gives an answer, and when he does, it is one I do not expect.

"Well, Raiden, I may not be the smartest person around but if it feels like you are drowning… it just means you need to learn how to swim!"

It's a simplistic answer that doesn't solve anything. It's stupid… he may as well be saying a homeless should buy a house to not be homeless anymore. Yet… Why do I suddenly feel a bit of hope at not being discarded? Why do my lips curve in a small smile?

"I don't have much time since my Gym needs me back to keep things running smoothly… but this just means we'll just need to work harder!"

I lift my gaze and find my uncle standing with a smile on his lips and warmth in his brown eyes.

"Come with me, Raiden. Come with me and I'll teach you how to swim!"

Seeing that I can't help but reply, "Please, Uncle, teach me how!"

And thus my training to control my psychic abilities begins under the watch of a martial artist.

Nothing can go wrong with it, right?

A Psychic's Journey

As it so happens… everything can go wrong with training psychic abilities under a martial artist.

Damn you uncle Chuck and your anime protagonist speeches!

"Come on Raiden, I've seen Slowpokes run faster than that!"

My lungs burn as I gasp for air. My legs protest every step and feel like they are on fire. My spleen has probably decided to quit its job because I kept ignoring it aching. My heart is hammering in my chest and I hear only its frantic beating as I concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. It's hell.

And yet… I keep running.

Uncle Chuck is beside me, jogging at slow speeds without breaking a sweat. He keeps encouraging me to go past my limits… he says it will help me with controlling my powers. I want to believe him. I must believe this is possible… otherwise, I would just give up.

"Alright, we're stopping here for today."

I barely hear him as I stumble and fall to the ground taking mouthfuls of sweet, precious oxygen to keep my body from fainting.

"No, don't rest yet. You need to do a bit of walking or you'll faint! Lower that heartbeat before resting, ya know?"

I manage to croak the most coherent answer I can, which is basically, "Uh?" before uncle Chuck grabs me and puts me back on my feet. He accompanies me as I walk around the house perimetre and I'm grateful for it. I know that I wouldn't be able to do it by myself.

"I… still… don't… get…. how this… helps," I manage to say between one gasp and the next.

Uncle Chuck grins, "It's very simple. People often say that the ideal is having a healthy mind in a healthy body. You, my child, ignore your body!"

Okay. That makes zero sense. Why am I listening to my idiot uncle again? Why is mom letting this nutcase train my potentially lethal psychic powers?

I wait a few minutes to let my heart calm down before saying, "This training is very different from what I thought it would be."

"Why? What did you think we were going to do?"

"I don't know… maybe put me in front of a feather, let me say a few words with perfect pronunciation, and send the feather in orbit with my mind powers?"

"..."

"..."

"That's dumb"

"Hey!"

"No matter, nephew! Putting aside your weird ideas, my method is 87.3% foolproof!"

"Did you just invent that statistic or—"

"No time! We must do 100 laps in the pool!"

"But Uncle Chuck, we don't have a pool!"

And so my days pass in a horrifying mockery of a cartoon training montage. Apparently, the fact we don't have a pool doesn't stop a Gym Leader with a Poliwrath from creating it in a couple of hours.

I wake up every morning at six and jog on the narrow paths slithering through the hills in full bloom. I then have to do a series of hellish exercises such as push-ups, sit-ups, and Squats until it's time for online classes. After school uncle Chuck kidnaps me and makes me learn nonsensical katas until I drop… then he throws me in the pool for swimming. I then end the day with a relaxing meditation session.

Yes… this is hell. Help me. I have never done much exercise in my life and this is too much too soon.

Luckily the hell regime lasts for only one week because uncle Chuck needs to get back to Johto.

"Raiden… your training has ended and I can already see the results!" Uncle Chuck says as he points at my arms.

I look at my arms too and don't really see much change. Actually… none at all. Still noodle-arms, still incapable of lifting pretty much anything heavier than the remote to switch channels. The only thing that's changed is that they hurt like hell.

Uncle Chuck might have missed my skepticism because he continues in a solemn tone, "And now it's time for the final trial!"

I try to discreetly slip away before my uncle can explain whatever he wants to do to me now. I've developed sharp instincts when it comes to my uncle's dangerous ideas this past week, in fact. Unfortunately, he grasps my arm before I can make my escape.

"You'll deadlift this!" he shouts, beaming in maniacal glee as he points at a black, menacing kettlebell in the corner. I'm not even sure I want to know how my uncle got it all the way here or how that ball can weight eighty kilograms… but may Arceus strike me where I stand, I'm not lifting that.

Unfortunately, I cannot escape my fate. Uncle Chuck has me cornered and I suddenly find myself in front of the kettlebell. Oh, well… I'll just try. This thing is way heavier than me.

I stand in position, bend my knees, and pull. Obviously, I can't lift it. I look up, ready to say 'I told you so' to my uncle because one week of training simply isn't enough to develop much strength at all and I see a worrying sight.

Uncle Chuck is mumbling to himself terrifying things like 'it usually works for Gym recruits' and 'perhaps I should stay longer.' I shiver when he says 'this time I'll have him spar with Poliwrath.'

My danger instincts are flaring and so I do the only thing that can save me. I lift those eighty kilograms and smile. Well, I do it with subtle use of telekinesis but uncle Chuck doesn't need to know that.

"HAHA! I knew you could do it, Raiden! How does it feel to be more in control of yourself?"

"I feel… like it hasn't helped? We haven't trained my mind-reading, at all."

"Are you sure about that? Haven't you noticed anything different during your morning runs? Lifting this weight is only a bonus, you know? the real improvement lies elsewhere!"

I stop. Wait… I've been running all around the place. All around… I've actually passed close to town a lot. Not into the town… but at the borders. The headache was there, yes… and yet there hasn't been a repeat of my meltdown.

What changed? Is it my body? No, that's stupid. It's…

"I've been focusing on myself. All my focus was on my body… on how hard the exercises were… I was distracted from the minds of others."

"Right in one, Raiden! As you can see, through training you can overcome this obstacle of yours!"

"This also means… that I could have just meditated!" I pierce my uncle with an angry stare.

"Well… yes. Still, seeing you incapable of even holding your own against a Machop was painful…"

"Uncle Chuck…" I say evenly, "People usually don't spar with Fighting-type Pokémon for sport!"

"And that is why most trainers are wimps," Uncle Chuck says.

Well… if the Gym Leader says so…

"Anyway, since you completed your training, it is time for the final prize."

He rummages in his bag and takes out a capsule as big as mom's mixer. An egg sits inside it. It's as big as my head and covered in green spots on its yellowish surface. I'm surprised by this. It's not every day that you see a Pokémon egg.

"This was given to me by a trainer in Hoenn. She was retiring and couldn't take care of it. I would have kept it, but I think you would take better care of it," my uncle winks.

I'm left speechless, "B-but why?"

"Why? Because you'll be turning ten in a few months! and this egg shall be your very first companion."

"I'm about to argue but Uncle Chuck keeps speaking as if reading my mind.

"Maybe you won't start your adventure at ten. Maybe it will take you years to master your powers… but when you do, you'll have a companion on your side. And I… Well, I'll be waiting for a visit to Johto! HAHAHA."

At this point, I can't stop myself. To hell with my imaginary tough kid reputation, I want to hug my fantastic idiot uncle. He returns the hug and as the capsule stands among them, I swear I can feel a hint of happiness coming from the egg through my mind reading.

At this very moment, I think the world, for all its faults, is a beautiful place.

As always I hope you enjoyed. Review if you feel like it. I'm always eager to know what you think of this. Most Pokémon on Raiden's team are still undecided so if you want to see a particular Pokémon do tell me. Just make sure at least one of its typings is psychic!

For now that's all, adios!