Chapter 9: More Pokémon Lessons
"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Kevin said, picking up the Pokéballs off the desk. Kevin had visited the Pokécenter after his battle to heal Cevan and the rest of his Pokémon, and now was ready to set off. Placing the Pokéballs in his beltbox, he walked out the door.
So far, so good, Kevin said to Duo-Cevan. We've passed through two cities and haven't been discovered yet. Next up, Azalea Town.
Hmm… have a guess as to what the trainer there specializes in? Duo-Cevan asked.
We'll figure it out when we get there, Kevin said, leaving the boundaries of the city. However, he didn't get further than that when a sharp pain pricked his mind. Once again, the melody's volume had increased, but this time, even Kevin felt that it had doubled.
Kevin gripped his head. Gahh! he shouted in his mind. This is almost worse than the helmet!
However, Kevin kept his cool. Trying the best he could, he suppressed the enchanted melody enough with his Psychic abilities to keep his mind planning. It was enough to have Kevin gain the ability to hear Duo-Cevan snarling in his own mind.
Duo-Cevan! Get a grip! Kevin shouted.
Duo-Cevan seemed to snap out of another reality and stopped snarling. Whoa… Duo-Cevan began. That was scary… I almost was beginning to panic. I couldn't talk to you for a moment.
Well, as long as we keep a cool head, we should be able to talk to each other. But keep a cool head even if we lose contact through Psychic. I don't want us to do something stupid in this one body of ours.
Kevin decided that he should head to the next town in a Scyther disguise. Unsheathing Diamond Blade, Kevin used agility to the next area. However, Kevin didn't realize how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten since the morning of the day, and only got so far before his hunger actually began to overpower his stamina.
Wow, I'm just about starving myself. I don't think I've ever done that before! Kevin commented.
You haven't fed your Pokémon lately, either, Duo-Cevan stated.
Kevin removed his disguise and called out his Pokémon that he had on his belt. Pulling out a plastic jar of his food designed for all types, he began feeding them, Cevan last. It was mostly for the other Pokémon to feel important, even though they knew Cevan was Kevin's unsurpassed favorite. After tending to those, he wielded the blades again to look for food.
* * *
"Hmmm…"
A man stood behind some bushes, seeming to be looking around for something in particular. His trusty Pokémon, red in color, stood behind, watching his back.
Suddenly, a Scyther walked immediately into view of the man, what he thought to be 40 feet away. However, the Scyther seemed to be looking for something itself.
"Must be hungry," the man determined. It was confirmed when the Scyther, seeming to find something edible, slashed it off a low branch and began eating it with eagerness. After watching the Scyther a little longer, the man turned to his Pokémon. "Masamune, approach that Scyther but do not attack until it does. I want to know if it is wild or not. It may be an interesting addition to train with."
Complying, the Pokémon took off toward the trees in a flash. Leaping from tree to tree, the Pokémon got closer and closer to the Scyther.
However, as the man watched, the Scyther was aware of the approaching enemy. The man's Pokémon suddenly dove from the trees right at the Scyther. Surprising the man, the Scyther suddenly did a backflip, but halfway through the jump, the Scyther opened its wings and flew straight at its enemy, crashing into his Pokémon in midfall with a hard Quick Attack.
Bouncing back from the attack, the Scyther suddenly spoke to his enemy, who had quickly gotten up from the attack. "I don't know what you are, but you've got some nerve approaching me like that!"
"Great trees of the forest! That Scyther must be trained if it is capable of speaking!" the man said to himself. He stood up from his hiding position and began yelling at the Scyther. "You there! Who is your trainer?"
The Scyther suddenly looked at the man. "Does this… Pokémon belong to you?" it asked with a pause.
"Yes, that Pokémon whom you attacked is Masamune, my Scizor," The man responded. "But you never answered my question. Who is your trainer?"
"My name is Kevin," the Scyther said, "and I am the trainer." Kevin deactivated his Scyther disguise and sheathed Diamond Blade. "What was your reason about sending your…"
"Scizor?" the man finished for him. "I was determining whether you were a wild or trained Pokémon. Apparently, I got something a little more than bargained for." His eyes scanned Kevin. "Isn't it against regulation to fight others as yourself?"
"In most cases, yes. That's if you're human, though," Kevin replied. He looked over at the man's Pokémon. "Scizor, huh? I haven't gotten that far in my studying. Perhaps I could do some at your home?"
"'That's if you're human, though?' Are you saying that you're not a person in disguise?" The man asked.
"We can debate over that at your place. I'm currently traveling to Azalea Town, and would appreciate it if I had a roof for shelter than the forest tonight," Kevin stated.
"In your state, I would think you would be traveling by night than by day," the man said. "But you are welcome to come to my place. I'm sure the students would like to know about you."
As the man began walking away from where they stood, Kevin thought in curiosity. "Students?" He asked.
Could be a school, Duo-Cevan suggested.
"Sir, could you wait a moment? I must retrieve my Pokémon," Kevin said.
* * *
"Whoa… it is a school," Kevin said, looking at the massive structure. "It resembles some of those more ancient ones that I saw used for schools back in my time. Strange how they all seemed to disappear while in hiding."
"Yes, the old style is beginning to fade, but not as much as Kanto has already," the man said. "Besides, I prefer this style than modern ones, as it has some form of authentic nature."
As they walked into the main courtyard, Kevin noticed students doing battles with each other, practicing battle techniques and devising strategies. A few seconds later, all the students had turned and faced Kevin and the man next to him.
"Greetings, Master Muramasa," the students said, bowing to the man.
"Thank you, my students," Muramasa said. "Please, resume your training."
Kevin looked at Muramasa. "Muramasa, huh? Nice name," Kevin commented. "Nice kids, too. But 'Master' Muramasa?"
"It's a sign of respect," Muramasa replied. "It also humbles the student to learn."
"Well, I'm glad you've had a good experience with it," Kevin sighed. "Heard of Team Rocket before?"
"Yes… Didn't it have to do with something involving that explosion of the Viridian City Gym?" Muramasa asked.
"So, it made headlines, huh? Actually, that was my doing because it was run by the boss of Team Rocket himself," Kevin answered coldly. "I created bombs of pure energy, holding shards of rock for maximum effect. I at first wanted it to completely be decimated, but then I realized that if I caused it to collapse, they'd have to remove the rubble first before it could be rebuilt again."
"And now you're a fugitive?"
"No. No one knows who did it, save for you now," Kevin said. "But I was a little angry with Team Rocket. They imprisoned me in a power suit, and I was forced to serve them as a Pokémon for two weeks, calling their leader, 'Master!'" Kevin gave a snarl. "I would rather give my Pokémon to good trainers, including my Scyther, before I ever served their cause again!!"
"Quite a bold statement," Muramasa said calmly. "So that provoked you to destroy the city's center of attention?"
"Actually…" Kevin thought for a moment. "Yes, I would guess so…" he remembered back to the moment of placing the bombs.
However, he felt there was something odd about it. Duo-Cevan, was that actually me that planted those bombs? Kevin asked.
Yes, I can remember it clearly, Duo-Cevan answered. But it felt like a force was pulling you. Possibly it was your anger.
"Yeah, I guess it was my anger that caused me to do that," Kevin said to Muramasa. "Or, at least, that's what my other mind tells me."
"Ahh… Well, rage does have it's own power," Muramasa said. "But come. Night is approaching and I haven't introduced you to my best student yet."
Approaching the main building, another student came out carrying something to his side. He approached Kevin. "Hello there, master," the student said, "I see you've pulled in another one. May I ask what your name is?"
"Kevin," Kevin answered. "How about yours?"
Instead of answering, the student sat down and began typing on his computer. "Let's see… Kevin…" he muttered. He looked up at Kevin. "Strange… not even a first name showed up on here. Are you sure that's your name?"
"How far back does that computer data go?" Kevin asked.
"Five years."
"So of course I wouldn't show up in there," Kevin said. "I haven't been at Indigo Plateau for nine years! If you know this name, I'm the Lost Trainer Kevin."
"Whoa! You mean you are the legendary Lost Trainer?!?" The student said, almost knocking the computer off his lap.
"The one and only," Kevin answered. "I only came to Johto because I'm trying to find someone. Now, your name is…?"
"Shingo," the student answered. He typed in his computer and a name popped up. "Strange that no one else came up under your name, but it's no wonder I didn't find you… I have you under 'L!'"
"I thought your computer only went back five years," Kevin said, looking at Shingo strangely.
"Well, I get my data from the Indigo Plateau itself," Shingo said, scratching his head. "They have a museum in honor of you, and they also have information provided by computers explaining strategies that you used."
"Great… I'm a publicity model," Kevin groaned.
Muramasa walked up to Shingo and looked at him. "Weren't you finished with that computer?" he asked.
"I'm just using this to gain knowledge about strategies," Shingo said. "That way I can learn the possible decision and maybe make a counter strategy for it."
"Not a bad move," Kevin complimented. "However, that's probably not the best idea, either. After all, there could be an infinite number of strategies and an infinite number of counter strategies. I just used my strategy because it worked the best for me, plus no one expected my Scyther's power. Even those who did a rematch against me still had trouble, although a few caused me to alter my strategy a little."
"Many of the students actually came from that museum… they say that you were the unbeatable trainer," Shingo wondered.
"Well, of course that's not true," Kevin said. "I was the unbeatable champion, not the unbeatable trainer. I made some dumb mistakes when I was younger, such as misjudging Cevan's strength over his weakness when I went against Blaine. The second time I fought him, though, I changed my plans and beat him without losing a single Pokémon."
"Apparently you've had quite a few matches that have ended in your favor that way, too, using only that Scyther of yours in champion matches," Shingo added, looking at Kevin's profile on the computer. "Too bad you didn't know of Scizors back then… your Scyther could've used the additional strength."
"I don't see how adding a Scizor would help, but I'll take your word for it," Kevin said, "considering I know very little about one. I haven't gotten that far in my studying."
"I wasn't talking about adding a Scizor, I was talking about evolving your Scyther," Shingo said. "If you hadn't noticed yet, Scizor is an evolution of Scyther."
That caught Kevin completely off guard. "Scyther has an evolution?!?" he said, startled.
"Yeah. See?" Shingo held up the computer to Kevin so that he could see what was on it.
Kevin read the information, then looked at Shingo. "Does your computer have data on all the Pokémon of Johto?"
"Every one of them," Shingo beamed. "And the resources I get it from are just full of information."
Jackpot! Duo-Cevan yelled.
"If you don't mind, I would like to read on what you have on your computer before I sleep," Kevin asked. "I need to study some more Pokémon than what I have read on my Pokédex, and I think your computer might have some additional information that I need to know of."
"Well, I really don't like people that I really don't know of using my computer," Shingo said in a reluctant tone. "However, I could probably get some of the basics onto your Pokédex, if it has enough memory to hold it all."
"It can hold more than that, just try it," Kevin said, pulling out his Pokédex and handing it to Shingo. "Fill 'er up!"
Shingo looked at the Pokédex. "You're using an older model? No wonder—" he began.
"It's a modified version that I made, using the older model," Kevin interrupted. "I added memory to put in voice recognition, but I added far too much space and now I don't know what to do with it all."
"All right, I'll try adding any information that you don't have," Shingo said. He began working intensely on the computer. Ten seconds later, he looked up and handed back the Pokédex. "Wow, you're right… there is more memory than necessary. It still has room and I gave it everything the computer had that was new."
"Thanks. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some studying to do."
* * *
"I still don't understand… how did Kevin manage to acquire a human form?"
Patrael paced back and forth across the Psychic's study. Meanwhile, the Psychic pondered on his desk. Swieten sat perched on Patrael's shoulder, "enjoying the breeze."
"It must have something to do with his hybrid state," The Psychic suggested.
"It's the only explanation," Patrael agreed. "But with that head of his, how can he keep a human disguise?"
The psychic stood up. "I don't think you quite understand," he said calmly. "You mentioned that he can harness metronome, correct?"
"Yeah… so what?" Patrael wondered.
"Then maybe… maybe he is capable of performing transform."
Patrael stopped his pacing. A light seemed to come on in his eyes. "Of course! I have seen a Clefairy transform into a Charizard once, but its eyes didn't change. That would explain about his eyes!" Patrael slapped himself on the forehead. "Oh, I am such an idiot! Why didn't I think of that before??"
Even the most simple facts can be overlooked in an investigation, Swieten said. Don't feel bad… Master here does that sometimes, too!
"I certainly haven't overlooked the fact that you're capable of having flying lessons without wings, Swieten," the psychic said, glaring at the Murkrow.
Swieten glanced over his shoulder. Guess I've forgotten the simple fact that you get irritated too easily, he said. Really! Live a little, master.
"We could play catch," The Psychic said to Swieten. "I could use the exercise."
On second thought…
Patrael looked at the Murkrow on his shoulder, then at the Psychic. He sighed. "And me being the middleman…"