Obviously, I don't own Pokemon.

[=-CHAPTER 8-=]

- (Izan) -

Izan held his chin as he looked over the details about Nidorino and Nidoran's condition.

Despite taking most of the attacks, Nidorino was the one with fewer injuries due to his evolution over Nidoran. Even if it wasn't for her brain injury, Nidorino would be the smarter choice for battling every single time.

For one thing, Nidoking had a higher offensive prowess than Nidoqueen. And even if he disregarded their innate abilities, this specific Nidoran would be at least somewhat averse to battling.

While Nidorino valiantly protected his sister, said sister was mercilessly beaten until unconsciousness.

His choice of whom to use was obvious.

Though, there was still one thing he had to deal with first.

"You think I can talk to Nidorino yet? If he's already good enough to bust through walls he should be good enough to hold a conversation, right?"

"Yes, but I would be careful about my words if I were you. Unlike other Pokemon, Nidorino has become even more aggressive after being awakened. It still could be trying to understand things and is just confused, but I have a feeling that's not the case."

"That's fine. I think I have an idea of what to say to him."

If shonen anime held any truth to them, he knew Nidorino wouldn't listen to him even a little bit until he showed he was trustworthy with actions rather than words.

He wasn't a shonen protagonist, though. It might be a low blow, but he knew exactly what to say to push Nidorino's buttons into action.

"Follow me, then." She stood up and began to walk away.

He looked over to his only willing Pokemon. "C'mon Sandshrew, let's g-"

Abruptly, an average-looking guy with brown hair wearing a dark blue hoodie, a red shirt underneath, and a bookbag appeared. He was rudely clearing his throat while staring at both of them.

Nurse Joy paused in her step, turning around and watching the exchange.

"…Yes?" Izan said after a while of just staring at him.

"Excuse me for interrupting, but are you Izan Richter?" He said, holding a notice out with a smile on his face.

[F+ Class trainer with a 100% Mission Success…]

Blah blah blah, he knew what his own notice looked like. Besides the fact that he'd crossed out 'level five' and replaced it with 'level ten', nothing about it had changed.

"No, that's not me." Izan firmly answered.

"That's a relief… wait what? You're not Izan Richter?!" He glanced over to Sandshrew who was happily eating and ignoring them. "…Are you sure?"

Izan snorted. "I think I'd know my own name, jackass- ow!"

Nurse Joy had lightly hit him on the head. "Don't be an ass, Izan."

He frowned at Nurse Joy, but sighed and put his full attention on the random guy.

Truth be told, he didn't like the fact this random guy came up and interrupted them out of nowhere. Though, from an outside perspective, it might've looked like they were done interacting.

'And why is this guy smiling so confidently? It makes me want to bully him.'

"Yeah, I'm Izan. What's up?"

The guy's smile widened even further. "The name's Joel, but most people just call me Joe. My friends and I wanted another person to help us out with a C-Rank mission we're gonna be doing in a few days, and seeing as you've completed one before…"

"You want me to help out." Izan dryly finished.

"Yep! And with the mission having a low risk of battle, we figured you would be a good trump card, y'know?"

Izan squinted at him like he was stupid. Because he was. A C-Rank mission having a low risk of battle? The qualifications for a mission being C-Rank was literally that 'battle was expected'.

He opened his mouth to decline. There was no way he was going on a mission with this irritating guy.

But he paused as something popped into his head.

'Decision-making…'

Wouldn't the best way to get better decision-making skills be to put himself in a situation in which making split-second decisions are commonplace?

Where, if he made a wrong decision, it would have grave consequences.

It was risky, to travel and do a mission with someone he didn't trust with his safety, but being a trainer, in general, was risky.

"And what exactly is this mission?"

"Ah." He rummaged in his pocket, pulling out a crumbled-up piece of paper and laying it on the table. "You might not've known but there have been a few outbreaks of Diglett attacks for some reason. So…" He gestured to the paper placed on the table.

Izan read it and then read it again.

It was worded in a way that made it seem like a battle wouldn't be necessary, but to anyone who just thought about it for a second, it obviously would happen.

It was a scouting mission in order to find out the cause of the reason Digletts have been coming out and attacking in public. From witness reports, they've been unusually pissed off and have been indiscriminately stealing food and just raiding houses.

That explained the incident with the Nido siblings, at least. And it made sense why it was only a C-Rank instead of a B-Rank.

Instead of asking to suppress the Diglett population back into the caves, it explicitly said just to find out why they were so angry. And the fact that it was a mission issued by the local ACE trainers meant that part would be restated if anyone asked for a rank increase.

'…Cheapskates. They just don't wanna pay for a B-Rank.' He grumbled internally.

"I assume we'd be splitting the reward equally but you said you had friends who were joining. How many friends, exactly?"

"Just two others. Oh, but we can have introductions after you're done with… whatever you're doing."

Izan frowned. 'Four people means I'd get 2,500 at most and 750 at minimum. That's… not really worth it.'

But doing C-Ranks had other benefits than simply money. It would be beneficial to do C-Ranks even without any money if he looked at it from a certain angle.

He let out an explosive sigh. "Alright, I'll join. But yeah, I need to go take care of something first with Nurse Joy."

Joe's smile threatened to split his face. Izan wasn't sure if he was always this happy of a guy or was just acting.

"We'll be in the lobby for a while so take as long as you want. See ya!" Joe walked away without another word, meeting up with two girls.

Izan stared at them for a moment, his mind and face blank.

That guy gave him a weird feeling. Like they were connected on some esoteric level.

Then again, that same feeling persisted when he interacted with most Pokemon. Maybe the guy just reminded him of a dog or something?

The thought bubble popped when Nurse Joy poked him in the nose. His eyes locked onto the offending finger.

"Hello? Izan? Are we going or not?" She pouted. Somehow, her pout didn't look unnatural.

…Weird ass anime world.

He waved her finger off. "Let's go, then. Sandshrew?"

Sandshrew jumped on his shoulder immediately, having licked her bowl clean and put it away already.

He put his hands in his pants as they followed Nurse Joy into the back room. There were a ton of machines he'd never seen before in either life just sitting around.

In the middle of the room were a few glass units with one of them holding Nidoran inside. She, along with the Nidorino on the outside of the glass, was awake.

The moment they walked in, Nidorino stood up and jumped in front of the glass, growling and hissing directly at Izan.

*pbfttttt*

Sandshrew, in response, blew a raspberry at him.

'I sorta expected that reaction to me.' He shrugged.

"Nido~!" Nidoran seemed happy to see him, at least. He gave her a soft smile in return.

He leaned over to Nurse Joy first, whispering behind his hand. "Don't freak out about what I'm gonna say, I won't actually do it."

She raised an eyebrow at him, but still nodded and gestured for him to proceed.

Izan took a breath and then crouched to Nidorino's level. "Hey there. How ya been?"

Nidorino growled, showing its teeth as a warning.

"Yeah, that sounds about right. I take it you know what a trainer is? And that I'm your trainer?"

More growling ensued, and Nidorino's eyes emanated what he could only describe as killing intent. It made Izan shudder involuntarily.

'Was that [Leer]? That's sort of subtle for what it actually does.'

"Oh, so you don't want to be my Pokemon… That's fine. I'll release you back to the wild when you get all healed up. That sounds good to you?" He replied calmly.

Nidorino paused its hostility, looking at him in confusion. After staring at him for a few solid seconds, it calmly nodded.

"But if I can't get you to battle for me…" A wicked smile grew on his face, alerting Nidorino.

"I guess your sister will have to suffice, won't she?"

Nidorino's eyes widened in understanding. Its pupils constricted in rage.

Nidorino pushed off the ground in a sprint, enraged, attempting to tackle Izan and prick him with its fatal poison.

Sadly, it was still injured. It winced at the pain, tripped, and fell on its face. Izan expected this, putting up his hands in mock surprise and submission.

"Woah, Woah, calm down Nidorino."

Nidorino growled in response, looking up at him with disdain even as it sat there on the floor.

'Let's get this started, then.'

"I get it, you're angry, but let's look at this with a calm mindset. Do you really think I'm gonna hurt your sister?" He reasoned.

Nidorino doubled its efforts to stand up, outright snapping its jaws and occasionally flickering with energy. It was too hopped up on drugs to really fight, though.

"Oh c'mon, now you're just being ridiculous. I mean, look at my Sandshrew here. She's in pristine condition and you don't see her complaining. Why would it be any different than with Nidoran? Or with you?"

Momentarily, Nidorino paused. Its eyes flickered to Sandshrew who was busy sticking her tongue out at him. Seeing that she got some attention, she started to flex and make bodybuilding poses.

'Who even taught her that? Did she get it from watching me? …Cringe.'

Nidorino calmed down at the sight of her, but its deadpan eyes didn't seem impressed. "Rino." It huffed.

'Credibility wasn't enough, but at least it calmed it down. Maybe emotion?'

"That's not enough for you? I don't even really see why you distrust me. Am I not your savior? Technically? You'd really maul your savior to death in a fit of paranoia?"

Nidorino's eyes gained a killing intent so sharp Izan almost assumed it somehow learned [Glare] instead of [Leer].

'Alright, I can already tell emotion isn't gonna do shit. Logic it is.'

He sighed. "Well, if that's how you're going to be… I'm sorry but I lied. You only really have two choices here."

Nidorino narrowed his eyes.

"When you woke up, you've been oddly 'aware' of things, haven't you? Like you're only truly seeing things for the first time, right?"

It tried to hide its surprise, but it was unsuccessful as Izan was watching its expression carefully. Nidorino nodded.

"That is called awakening. Sadly, a Pokemon whose awakened is too dangerous to be let loose. There are others like you in the wild who are awakened, but they did so on their own. They are old and have years of experience. They can make smart decisions."

He pointed at the rabbit-like Pokemon. "You, however, are not old. You have barely any experience. Human rules state that you cannot be released in the first place."

This time, Nidorino didn't even try. Its eyes widened after hearing Izan's words.

"Now, I'm not saying you can't go back to living without seeing another human in your life. I'm just saying that if you really want to do so, you'll have to live in an enclosure. One that's monitored by humans, whether you see them or not."

"So you're at a crossroad. You can either stay with me, the guy who saved you, and become stronger, battle, or train. Or you can go live in an enclosure monitored by unknown people. Surrounded by a society of equally 'aware' Pokemon. You'll be at their mercy, too." Izan concluded.

It was the truth, of course, but it wasn't the whole truth. By enclosure, it meant there was an entire archipelago that was held behind a barrier.

Izan even had a theory it was the place where the Mystery Dungeon games took place. Besides the elements, it was a relatively peaceful place.

But either way, it was the choice itself that was to Izan's advantage.

It was the choice between being in the hands of some unknown force or trusting the guy in front of you.

Besides the most basic persuasion tactics that Izan knew of, using logic, emotion, and credibility, he also used one of the most common fears known to man.

The fear of the unknown.

Nidorino looked down and then looked to his sister who was watching everything with an oblivious face. She just seemed happy to be there.

It seemed indecisive.

Izan stood up, dusting off his pants. "Well, I'll give you a few days to think about your choice. It's not like you can train in that state anyway, much less battle."

"Nido…" Nidorino muttered, contemplative.

Turning around, Izan walked out the door, calling out behind him. "Thanks again, Nurse Joy. I have something to talk with you about later."

"Mmm." Nurse Joy hummed, noncommittal. She didn't seem too happy with him at the moment.

Or maybe she was in shock? He couldn't tell with her blank expression.

Either way, it didn't matter whether she approved or not. It wasn't like he was hurting anyone. Plus he was gonna put both Nidorino and Nidoran on a timer.

If they didn't trust or like him by a certain point, then he'd release both of them to that island. He wanted his Pokemon to be partners. Friends. He couldn't trust his back to someone whose waiting for an opportunity to stab him in it.

He may have acted like it, but he wasn't that much of a bastard.


"Why exactly do you keep looking at me like that? Do I know you?"

"Huh?" Izan said, stunned. "Oh, sorry, you just… reminded me of someone."

The girl lightly rolled her eyes and looked away. She was a plain girl all things considered with her white hoodie and black jeans. Well, her face was plain. Her features, that being her golden eyes, blonde hair, and freckles, were all pretty distinct.

He'd been looking at her with disgust since he sat down. She looked like the spitting image of Rachel from Tower of God.

She was polite though and didn't deserve that comparison or his disgust.

Staring for a little more, he shook his head. "Sorry, can we start over? I wasn't really listening."

The other girl sighed, shaking her head. "This guy seems hopeless, Joe, do we really need him?"

She was a redhead with green eyes and also wearing a brown hoodie. Now that he thought about it, they were all wearing hoodies.

[Image]

Then again, pullover hoodies are a superior form of clothing. He couldn't complain.

Joe sighed. "We talked about this already. Yes, we need him. Even with Lora's 'failsafe' Diglett's cave is still dangerous. He's the highest level trainer we could work with for extra protection."

"Are you sure? He doesn't exactly look like a strong trainer."

"And what does a strong trainer even look like, Robin?" He argued, looking at her like she was dumb.

"I don't know, but it ain't him!"

Izan looked down at his skinny body. 'I mean, she's not wrong but…'

"You know I'm still here, right? Comments like that hurt people's feelings, ya know."

Robin, the redhead, glared at Izan for a moment but just let out an explosive sigh when he didn't do anything but stare blankly back at her.

Joe clapped. "Look, how about we just do introductions again? I'll start. My name is Joe and I'm an F-Class trainer. I've got three Pokemon, three Meowth, all around level six."

'...Three Meowth? Is he doing a Pickup team or something?'

All of them looked toward Robin who looked at all of them for a full three seconds before deciding to reply.

She crossed her arms and sat back in her seat. "Robin. No shit I'm an F-Class like you lot. I've got two of the little fuckers. My Tyrogue is level seven and my Pidgey is level four."

"Oh, you're a generalist?" Izan asked.

She scowled. "Yeah, what it's to you?"

"I was just curious, is all. And you?" He moved on to the Rachel-lookalike. There was no point in antagonizing the rude one.

She gave him a courtesy smile. "It's nice to meet you, Izan. My name is Lora, as you've heard, and I but one Pokemon."

She snapped her fingers and a green ball of a bird appeared on her head.

"Natu here is still level five, sadly." She finished, scratching under Natu's chin. Despite its expression not changing one bit, he could tell it enjoyed the affection.

"I'm Izan. I've got two other Pokemon but it's… complicated. Sandshrew here is level ten-"

"Ten?! I thought you were an F-Class trainer?" Robin blurted out.

"I… am? She's only two levels higher than your Pokemon." He answered confusedly.

If she was doing normal workouts a day without much battling, that'd take only a few weeks to catch up.

Both girls' stares were heavy and calculative. Joe was just staring at all of them, confused by the sudden change in atmosphere.

"…Right. Well, what's the plan?" Izan said after a moment of awkwardness.

It was awkward for him at least. Whatever they were thinking didn't matter to him.

Joe took the opportunity to speak instantly. "There's not really a plan, to be honest. We're just gonna go there as a group and find out the cause. If it gets dicey, Lora's Natu can teleport us away. That's actually why you're here. It takes a while to charge up [Teleport] so we needed Pokemon that can take a hit to stall for time."

Izan himself was planning to ask Nurse Joy to borrow her , having the same idea. With that out of the way, he needed just a few more things in place before going.

The girls, however, were still silent, blatantly staring at Izan. The awkwardness from before came back full throttle.

"…I see. Well, if that's all." He took out a piece of paper from his backpack and stood up. "Call me when it's time to go."

Walking away, he waved over his shoulder at the quick 'See ya, then.' Joe sent him.

Now that he and Sandshrew had been fixed up, they had a bit more training to do.


As Izan sat Sandshrew down in the middle of the clearing, he thought about his reason for the training he was about to do.

Battling was clearly something he sucked at.

He should've expected that he'd have a hard time transitioning to real-time battles. To have a Pokemon battle in the games was completely different than the real thing.

There was barely any thinking time in between attacks. Moves could be used in creative ways or used in the simplest ways possible. There were a billion different things he could think about at any given moment, from the terrain to the habits of the Pokemon present.

When a battle started, he didn't even know what to pay attention to.

For someone who had to rediscover how everything Pokemon worked, it was daunting. Especially since he only had a few months to figure it out.

It was why Aurora was so much faster in her commands during battle. She knew what she wanted her Pokemon to do the moment they were on the field. If it weren't for Sandshrew's higher level, he likely would've lost. Badly.

There was probably a way for Sandshrew to win against Glaceon. But with his slow thinking, it would take a million years to figure out.

The only thing he was even remotely good at was training. And even then he wasn't the best.

That was until he had a thought.

Why did he, the trainer, need to have a battling style? To pay attention to and watch every little thing? At higher-level battles, his eyes would have a hard time keeping up either way.

…If he simplified things into commands instead of moves, couldn't he battle the same way he did back on Earth?

Instead of calling out move after move in a flurry of combinations, it was possible to just train Sandshrew on good fighting skills. And then he'd only have to tell her things like 'keep up the pressure' instead of 'use [Night Slash] mixed with [Fury Swipes] and after you get in close with [Agility].

'Wait, is that combination possible? …Questions for later.'

With enough teaching and a healthy amount of tacit understanding, she would already know what to use without him having to explicitly say it.

And it would be good for unofficial battles as well. He wasn't planning on sitting on the sidelines so he needed her to be able to take care of herself.

He needed her to be an Assassin. Not only in her skillset but in her thinking as well.

Standing a few feet away from Sandshrew who was patiently waiting, he spoke up.

"I noticed something during our battle with Aurora. You are a fierce, powerful Pokemon with a tenacity that is monstrous compared to most. To put it simply, you're talented."

Sandshrew put her hands on her hips and puffed up her chest in pride. She faltered when he spoke again.

"So I'll ask you one last time. Are you sure you want to stay as an Assassin? All of that talent you have, whether it be your temperament or your willpower are built to become a Warrior."

She had no talent for assassination. At least, she didn't in his eyes. She wasn't especially fast or sneaky, and her personality was loud and demanded respect.

Sandshrew, however, nodded at his question. For some reason he couldn't understand, she seemed resolute.

He didn't understand it completely, but it was her path. He wouldn't ask again. He'd just support her choice with everything he had.

"Understood. Then today, we're gonna be working a fundamental skill for assassins. Well, it's fundamental in my opinion. I don't know how real assassins do things." He explained, shrugging.

That said, he pointed to the treeline without another word. Being unconditionally obedient, Sandshrew looked over and squinted her eyes.

There was nothing there, however.

She looked utterly confused, squinting even harder to look for what he was pointing at. After a few seconds, she gave up, turning back to Izan.

Only to find out he wasn't standing there anymore.

Her eyes widened and she couldn't even comprehend what just happened until a voice startled her, coming from the treeline she was just looking at.

"That was the ability to vanish. The ability to disappear the moment your opponent averts their eyes: Stealth."

It was something he'd picked up when he was but a wee little chunnibyou. Unlike others who were trying to practice magic or something similar, he genuinely thought he could be like Batman.

So he tried doing the same things Batman did, despite being nowhere near his intelligence or wealth.

And that's how he ended up with a plethora of useless skills at his age. Like the basics of Judo, using a quarterstaff, and how to aim throwing weapons.

…Or, of course, how to disappear as Batman does.

He was such a cringe kid back then he even named it. Albeit not a creative name, it was simply known as 'Silent Step'.

For some reason though, he could feel that energy within him stir when he did the Silent Step. It itched, but he didn't know how to scratch it.

He ignored it, for now.

The cogs in her brain were almost visible as she stared at him in shock and confusion. And then all at once, stars shined in her eyes as she damn near exploded with awe.

He chuckled. "I know, I know. Cool, right? And that's what we're gonna be working on.

To walk silently, you have to keep your center of balance low while stepping with the front part of your feet first and then slowly putting down the back part. Be sure to pay close to attention to how you're shifting your weight. Though, I'm not sure if it'll be the same for you since we have different bodies."

Looking up his smile became strained as Sandshrew stared back at him with a dumb eye smile on her face. She didn't understand a single word, did she?

'Kinesthetic learner, right.'

He sighed. "Just… just copy what I do."

- (Sandshrew) -

She contemplated in the midst of night as her master snored soundly beside her.

Sandshrew once again gained profound insight under the teachings of her master. A saying that she didn't understand before now made perfect sense.

'Be careful what you wish for.'

But if someone wishes for something, how could the result be bad? She assumed it was a foolish thing that buffoons said because they didn't understand true ambition.

And then her master began to finally take her training seriously. Something she so earnestly wished for.

That wish was a mistake.

First, it was the Gems of Power. An artifact that he obtained for her that would boost her further. All she'd need to do is endure pain and she'd become more versed in her inner energies.

It was great! The pain was minimal and she now knew many different techniques thanks to them.

She still hadn't pushed her energy to the next realm, but sincere training would eventually bear fruit.

And as her master sometimes said, 'No pain, no gain.' Truly, he was a fountain of wisdom.

But then… he kept training her.

There was the elixir that allowed her to keep training, and while she was grateful, its taste was abhorrent.

And then, there was the torturous device that pushed her body to its limits just by walking. Every muscle in her body screamed with each minuscule movement.

That was exactly the type of training she was looking for.

But each new thing he added to their training it only confirmed her thoughts about her place in the world.

She had much to learn if she was to fulfill her potential. To become the greatest.

Especially with the last thing he was teaching her. The Silent Step technique. It was really 'kicking her ass' as the master would say.

But once she mastered it, she could perform the higher levels of the technique, just like him!

It was startling to see if she was honest. One moment he was just walking normally and the next she had to squint to make sure he was actually standing there.

His presence just sort of vanished. The breaths he took were so minimal that it looked like he wasn't even alive. She was sure that if he sat down like that in the middle of a forest, her gaze would gloss over him like he was just a rock or a blade of grass.

Well, that wasn't wholly true. She'd notice him even if he was a blade of grass. He was her master, after all.

None of that was important, though.

There was a reason she had woken herself up in the first place. To do what she had done before. Secret Training.

She rolled off the bed, landing with an audible thump.

It was time to train even more. She would master this technique, and any others he taught her.

And in the end, all her enemies would be defeated in one fell swoop! A single strike!

She took a step.

*thump*

She cursed. Another step!

*thump*

The third time's the charm!

*thump*

Third? She meant fourth!

*thump*

Fifth!