~{Author's Pre-Notes}~

Heyo, *takes deep berath* welcome back to another episode of a 15-year-old boy on steroids traveling by himself for the sake of being the very best that no one ever was while meeting lovely ladies to interact with *phew!* This time, we take a look at who exactly is trying to wreck Victor, and see how the boy takes care of the situation with his pokemon! I don't know if I should be doing these prenotes before each chapter, since I know that some people find them annoying but hey, I got no complaints so far so I'm sure I'm good. Just wanted to say thank you to all of you reading this and that your comments give me the light and confidence to keep on writing!

Now to these answered comments and back to the story!

Comment Answers:

Guest: Well yes, I'm planning to Victor to have an electric type. Which he will meet as his next pokemon!

GumballDia, Ignis18: Thanks for your feedback!


"Defog."

Victor produced strong winds from his hands that blew away the clouds of dust surrounding him.

What he saw was several males and females with menacing grins all staring at him. Every one of them wore a black outfit consisting of black shirts, pants, and caps. Along with this were big gray boots and gray belts where these people had their pokeballs attached.

But what was the most eye-catching about their outfits were bright R's on their chests shining with a rainbow color.

Victor's eyes widened in a mixture of fear and confusion, "Wait, aren't you guys-!?"

He didn't even get to finish as three of these attackers didn't hesitate to command their pokemon.

"Beedrill, use Pin Missile!"

"Crobat, use Air Cutter!"

"Garbodor, use Sludge Bomb!"

The three pokemon unleashed their attacks directly at Onix's head where Victor stood.

"Whoa!" Victor and his pokemon all jumped off while Onix just glared at the group and use Iron Tail, swinging his massive tail and swiping it through all three attacks easily.

"Good thing Onix's Iron Tail has an advantage against all three of those attacks." Victor thought as he landed on the ground.

"Hydro Pump!"

"Wait, hold on!" Victor shouted as he ducked under an intense stream of water from a Starmie

"These pokemon aren't from this region!" Victor realized as he took note of the pokemon attacking him.

"Scor! Scor!" Ace kicked a small ball of fire right at a Beedrill and directly hit it, yet that just seemed to make the pokemon pissed. The rabbit pokemon struggled to jump and dodge several pokemon coming at him, not even able to counteract.

Twilight flew in the sky, dodging several projectiles and beak attacks from other flying pokemon, but visibly struggling as the already evolved flying pokemon were faster than him.

Midori was still clutching Victor's arm, looking somewhat nervous. He actually hadn't even fought in an official trainer battle yet, besides blasting Team Yell's pokemon away, so this type of spectacle was overwhelming for him. He didn't know what to do besides holding onto Victor as he jumped around.

Even the Onix was having trouble against several of these pokemon that were aiming all their attacks at his massive body.

"Onix!" The large pokemon once again, using Iron Tail to swipe at several incoming attacks, but a Hydro Pump hit him directly and caused him to tumble back.

Victor grit his teeth as he slid to a stop on the ground, noticing how much trouble his stage one pokemon had against so many already evolved pokemon.

"Fine." He growled.

He jumped out of the way of a Flamethrower, peeling Midori off his arm while in the air and placing him on the back of his head.

"Hold on tight buddy, I'll take care of this."

Razor Leaves, a Shadow Ball, and another Flamethrower came at him the moment he landed on the ground.

To which he raised his arms up, "Protect!"

A barrier formed in front of him and took all these attacks, protecting Midori and himself as the boy took a deep breath and planned ahead.

Once letting the barrier die down, he got into a crouching position while glaring at the pokemon ahead.

"Agility."

He vanished on the spot.

The group of attackers were shocked, "Be careful, he-!"

The male didn't finish as multiple flashes of light occurred, and the next thing they group new, a chunk of their pokemon were on the ground in pain.

Victor then appeared on top of one of these unconscious pokemon. Midori held onto his head in a piggyback fashion, while his trainer held a bruised and tired Ace in his arms.

"Scor... Scor..." Ace panted.

"You alright?" Victor asked him.

Ace nodded, relieved that he got some help against that large group.

Midori then jumped off Victor and onto the ground, looking up at him with a newfound spark to fight, no longer looking conflicted on what to do.

Ace struggled in Victor's arms before jumping off and landing to the ground, still looking pumped up to fight.

"Are you sure?"

"Scor! Bun!" Ace mimicked boxer punches, still eager to knock something down.

One of the attackers growled, "Tsk! This kid really is a monster!"

"I take offense to that!" Victor shouted angrily as he pointed at that member.

"Rooki-!" He heard his pokemon cry in the sky.

Victor glanced up and saw Twilight get knocked out of the air by a Crobat's Air Cutter, making him spiraling down towards the ground.

"Take care of each other!" Victor shouted to Ace and Midori as he got into a sprinters stance.

"Agility!"

He once again disappeared from speed, running past several pokemon and even kicking a few on the way of saving his Rookidee. He then appeared under his falling pokemon, catching him in his arms.

Yet Victor was panting hard, feeling his body shaking.

"Damn... Any stat pumping move really takes bigger chunks of my stamina... I guess that's why pokemon can't repeatedly use the same stat changing moves during battle."

"Go get them!" The leading male attacker shouted, prompting the flying pokemon in the sky to dive down after Victor.

The boy snapped out of his thoughts and looked up, narrowing his eyes and holding Twilight in his arm while placing his other palm on the ground.

"Gravity."

A black wave of aura spread around the area, to which the flying pokemon visibly shook in the air before all of them were forcefully dragged to the ground, each of them crashing down and kicking up dust.

Victor then stopped, seeing that it also affected him and his pokemon to feel heavier.

"Phew, that could really strain my body... Humans aren't really suited to suddenly take increases of gravity compared to pokemon..."

He then placed Twilight down on the ground, checking if he was able to stand. "You alright?"

The proud pokemon ruffled his feathers looking rather angry, "Rookie! Rookie!"

Victor didn't look amused. "Suuuuuuure, you had them."

"ONIX!"

He turned his head and saw Onix cornered by several water types, damp spots all over his body from taking many water type attacks but still looking as furious as before.

"Distract the remaining pokemon here!" Victor shouted as he blasted off towards Onix.

Ace continuously kicked balls of Ember and Midori blasted Disarming Voices at the remaining pokemon, while Twilight tried to take flight, but fell as he was unable to fly from the pain in his wings.

His two friends made sure to stay close, fending off any assailants that came near.

"Rooki... Rooki."

"Scor, Scor!" Ace smiled at him.

Meanwhile, Onix glared at the water type pokemon as he raised his tail, panting as he tried to get over the considerate disadvantage he had.

"Slowbro, Water Gun!"

"Starmie, Hydro Pump!"

"Toxipex, Scald!"

All three pokemon blasted water right towards the Onix, the large pokemon preparing to take it.

Instead, Victor leaped into the air and his arms started shining in a bright green color that covered them.

"Leaf Blades!"

He started spinning rapidly in the air like a top, getting right in the concentrated path of the water attacks and dispelling them away while heading directly towards the attacking pokemon.

After a few more flashes of white with the sound of slicing, Victor was now behind the water pokemon with them scattered on the floor.

He took a deep breath, then turning to the Onix.

"You alright?"

Onix just swung his Iron Tail and heavily smacked away a Starmie and Raticate. "Onix, Onix!"

"Aw, you're welcome!" Victor happily returned.

He then turned to a large number of remaining trainers with pokemon beside them.

The glowing green colors around Victor's arms slowly faded away before his hands changed into the purple glow of Shadow Claws.

"Looks like if I wanna ask any questions..."

"GET HIM!" the leading attacker shouted desperately to the others.

Victor formed a glare with his face partly shadowed.

"I'm gonna have to get rid of the obstacles."


~{Turffield-Cake Shop}~

"Good to see you on such short notice, Sonia."

"It's good to see you too, Nessa!"

"Shhh! Not too loud! I don't want to be chased out by fans again."

Sonia sat across one of her childhood friends, Nessa, the beautiful and popular Water-type gym leader and professional model. She was currently in disguise in a small, Milcery themed cake shop in Turffield, wearing extra items such as a black cap, sunglasses, and slightly baggy gray sweater to hide her appearance.

"Heh, heh, sorry." Sonia rubbed the back of her head with a smile.

Both were digging into some rather sweet cakes while catching up on their life so far.

"How's it been, Sonia? It's been a while since we've met up like this."

"Yeah, sorry. I've been studying a lot more than usual to become the pokemon professor. Sometimes I tire myself to the point where I end up sleeping in the lab." Sonia joked.

Nessa rolled her eyes, "Take more care of yourself, Sonia, don't overdo it."

The ginger beauty pouted, "And what about you? Balancing being a gym leader with modeling, you've been getting tired recently, haven't you?"

"Nothing I can't handle." Nessa confidently answered, yet from the way she stabbed her fork into her cake, it looked like she was somewhat stressed out.

"Suuuuuure." It was Sonia's turn to roll her eyes.

Nessa ignored her friend's eye-rolling. "But speaking of work, why are you here in Turffield? I was pretty surprised to call and find you near here."

Sonia smiled as she took out a small notepad of notes. "I've been researching a new project! Some friends from Postwick said that they encountered some never-before-seen pokemon in the Slumbering Weald! You know, that dangerous forest I've told you about?"

"Never before seen pokemon?" She grinned, "Is it a water type?"

"Actually, Victor said that there were two of them, and we don't know what typings they are." Sonia said as she looked through her notes.

Nessa raised a curious eyebrow. "Who's Victor?"

Sonia smiled as she glanced back up at her, "He's someone that's been in Postwick ever since we were taking the Gym Challenge ourselves. But he's never actually been out of his house. At least, not until recently when he decided to take the challenge himself."

"Oh? Did you finally find yourself a boyfriend?" Nessa grinned.

Sonia just had an unamused stare at her friend.

Nessa flinched. "Er, what?"

"He's fifteen, and I just met him recently..." Sonia answered with an unamused sigh, spinning her fork with her fingers. "I don't need you saying stuff like that too."

Nessa tilted her head, confused. "Wait, 'too?' Did someone else suggest that he was a boyfriend?"

Sonia leaned back on her chair, "Not exactly... It's more like someone is encouraging me to make it like that..."

"Oh? Who?" Nessa was rather curious.

"His mother..." Sonia sweatdropped.

"PFFT!" Nessa sprayed out a mouthful of coffee to the side, bursting out laughing. "Hahahahaha!"

"Hey! It's weird, you know!?" Sonia pouted.

"Haha... Phew... well, at least you have her blessing." Nessa giggled, wiping her mouth with her napkin and apologetically gazing at a janitor who came to clean up her spill.

"Oh, goody." Sonia remarked sarcastically.

Nessa calmed her stomach from laugh, taking a bite out of her cake. "But really? His mother is actually trying to pair you up with him? I've always heard people confess to you, not try to pair you up with someone else."

Sonia disappointingly nodded, "Yeah... I met Victor's mother in the Pokemon Research Lab when I was ten. She was looking for any books about pokemon and the Galar Region. At the same time, I was also there looking for the same books to help me out with the Gym Challenge. So, of course, she and I ended up talking at one point."

"Huh!? Since you were ten!?" Nessa basically slapped the table. "I have so many questions! So you knew about Victor for ten years but never even saw him, you only just met him recently, and his mother is encouraging you to go out with him!?"

"Yes, yes, and yes." Sonia casually answered. "She's brought Victor up pretty much every time we've been in the lab. And now she thinks that I'm gonna 'accept' her son or something."

Nessa calmed down and took a sip of her tea, "What made her take a liking to you exactly?"

"I don't really know... Maybe-" Sonia smiled and winked with a peace sign. "-even she was caught up by my good looks?"

"Or maybe-" Nessa interjected, "-she knew you'd end up the way you are now. Alone and obsessed with your research without anyone to take care of you. She might've seen her son as a good match for you."

Sonia sighed, "I repeatedly told her that I'm not interested... He really is a nice kid and all, but I'm really trying my best to becoming a professor. I think a boyfriend would just get in the way of that."

"Oh? So if it weren't for that, you'd go out with him?" Nessa teased.

"I didn't say that." Sonia quickly corrected her with a glare.

"So, what's the real problem then? His age? I think you mentioned he was five years younger than us? Is he not good husband material? How does he look anyway?"

"Hm... Well-"

"Actually, let me guess how he looks." Nessa interrupted with a halt of her hand. She put a finger on her chin and looked up as she thought about it. "You said he was taking the Gym Challenge too, right?"

Sonia nodded, "Yeah, he's aiming to become the champion like everyone else."

Nessa punched her own palm with a grin, facing Sonia with a conclusion. "Was he that brown-haired boy with brown eyes at the opening ceremony? The one hanging around Leon's little brother?"

Sonia looked surprised. "Yeah, he was. How'd you figure that out so fast?"

Nessa leaned back in her chair rather smug, "Just a feeling. As a roaring fighter of the waves, I can tell when someone has the fighting spirit to sail through any storms thrown at them. He seemed special, especially sticking close by Leon's little bro, so he was the first one that came to mind."

"Well, your intuition was on point." Sonia nodded.

Nessa was somewhat satisfied with quickly figuring it out. "He seemed to show the fighting spirit that I think even Bea would like. Speaking of which, that girl has a battle against Leon coming up, doesn't she? An exhibition match if I recall."

"She does? Sorry, but I haven't really been paying attention to any of the news or battles of Galar. Like I said before, I was just focused on my research." Sonia embarrassingly admitted.

Nessa waved it off, "It's all good. I know how busy and absorbed you can be in your work. I just hope Bea doesn't do anything rash if she loses..."

"Rash? Does she really hate losing?" Sonia placed her fork down and wiped her lips with a napkin.

"More than you know. I wonder how she'll react if little Victor beats her? A majority of the trainers can't beat her after all."

Sonia stared down at her cup of tea and an ear-to-ear smile instinctively formed.

"I don't know how strong Bea is since I never got to challenge her, but... I have a feeling that Victor can beat her."

"Oh? I've never seen you get so- What's the word? Trusting?- In someone before. Even with Leon, you never thought he'd actually become the champion." Nessa pointed out.

"Hey now, I never said that Victor would become the champion, I just know he'll get far, maybe to the end of the challenge." The young adult looked back at her friend.

"So, you think he can get through me?" Nessa smugly smiled.

"Definitely!"

Nessa's head hit the table. "Your immediate response hurts me..."

Sonia just laughed, "Even if you lose, I'm sure you won't feel that bad about it! He seems like an amazing kid, I would know, since his mother bragged about him to me all the time!"

"Bragged about things like what?" Nessa raised her head curiously.

"He cooks, cleans, and is a very hard worker. But his mother also mentioned that he's strong, confident, very honest, considerate, and some more." Sonia recalled. "You'll really like him, he's a very charming boy."

Nessa then mischievously grinned, raising her head back up. "Well, if you really think I'll like him that much, then I may just take him." She giggled.

Sonia stared at Nessa with a blank expression.

"It was a joke, please don't look at me like that." Nessa sweatdropped.

Sonia sipped her tea, staring rather suspiciously at her friend.


~{Rolling Fields: Clear Weather-1:54PM}~

Victor was covered in dirt, glaring at all the assailants that he had successfully taken down with help from Onix and his pokemon. Ace laid on his back while taking deep breaths, Twilight was upside down and breathing deeply, and Midori held his now throat in pain from using Disarming Voice too much.

All of the men and women were tied up from vines that Victor was able to produce from the ground. The group all looked rather nervous as Victor brushed the dirt off him, all the while Onix glared at them from above.

"Phew... I'm really sorry about bringing you into that Onix, I didn't expect people to come after me so soon." Victor apologized to the large pokemon.

Onix growled with his tail raised and visibly twitching, as if eager to slam it down upon these assaulters.

"Now then..." Victor turned to the group. "Since we're done with all the fighting and all that, I wanna talk to you guys."

"Tsk! We've got nothing to say to you!" The leading male spat for his dozen other members.

Victor looked unamused. "Oh, okay then."

He turned around and started walking away, "Onix, do whatever you want."

Onix's eyes dilated as he raised his tail and it glowed like metal. "ONIX!"

"WAIT! WAIT! ALRIGHT!" The male leader immediately shouted in fear as he felt the natural aura of killing intent from Onix.

Victor immediately appeared in front of the male leader with a smile. "Thank you for your cooperation!"

Onix stopped as he saw Victor appear in front of him, visible frustration on his face. He then slammed his tail behind him instead to let out some steam, sent large amounts of rubble flying as he fumed.

"So then..." Victor crouched down at the male and stared at his uniform. "I read about you guys... You're Team Rocket, aren't you?"

"We're not just Team Rocket! We're Rainbow Rocket!"

Victor raised an eyebrow, "What's the difference? You're still an evil organization that wants to take over the world, aren't you?"

"Tsk, so you do know about us..."

"To some degree. Online rumors and sightings of the sort." He formed a glare. "But never anything about you guys coming here."

The Team Rainbow Rocket Grunt grinned, "You know why we're here. Well, other than profiting over some pokemon, of course."

"So they really did come for me... So it was the right call to use my powers in front of them."

Victor maintained his threatening glare.

"But why are you guys called Rainbow Rocket now?"

"Hmph, nothing special. Our organization just grew big from a variety of people joining, that's it." He grinned, "Strong people."

"Hm..." Victor stood up. "Who is your boss?"

The Grunt turned his head away. "I... I can't say."

"Oh, okay then." Victor glanced up at Onix, who was already raising his tail once again.

"W-WE REALLY CAN'T SAY!" The grunt suddenly shouted. "I-If there's one thing we would never do, it's reveal our beloved leader's identity! I-If any of us said anything, then we'd be as good as dead! Much worse than dying to you here!"

"Hm..." Victor could feel the resolve of these people, raising a hand to stop Onix from venting his anger. "So loyal... Just what kind of leader-?"

*Never gonna give-you-up! Never gonna let-you-down!*

Victor blinked and stared down at the Grunt's pants.

*Never gonna run-a-round and, desert you!*

He reached down into the Grunt's pocket while everyone stared with blank expressions.

*Never gonna make-you-cry! Never gonna say-good-bye!*

Victor pulled out a phone. "Nice ringtone."

The Grunt turned his head away.

"Sh-Shut up... I'm proud of it."

Victor answered the call, keeping silent and waiting for the person on the other side to speak first.

*Hello, Victor.*

Victor's eyes dilated as he felt an instant chill in his spine.

"Wh-What..." His hands shook. "Why...? Wh-Why is this v-voice sound so... familiar?"

*It's been such a long time... To think you managed to escape all the way to the Galar Region. I was in a real shock, you know?*

"Wh-Who-?"

*You don't recognize me? Hmmm... Perhaps it's better that way then.*

Flashes of different rooms went through his mind, each image containing a tall, shadowed man grinning in them, but unable to recognize him.

His grip tightened on the phone.

"Who, are, you?"

He heard him chuckle.

*Hmm... So you really don't remember? I'm crushed. I've really missed you, you know? I was looking so forward to working together with you in order to change the world... But to think your mother ended up stealing you away even without a pokemon, I was so distraught.*

The phone shook in Victor's hands as his breathing increased in pace.

"Don't act like we're friends! And my mom saved me so I could have a normal life, she didn't try to keep me and rob me of that life!"

*Now, now Victor, let's not get too hostile. I actually do want to become 'friends.' You're the only one of your kind with the abilities to help change the world after all.*

"Hmph, yeah, until you use me to make more." Victor spat.

*And what's wrong with that? We've been using pokemon for our benefits for years. But now we have the chance to use them to evolve humans instead, to create warriors as mighty as yourself. We need those powers to help make and rule our ideal world.*

"To make your ideal world. And I don't wanna hear any convincing from you! No matter what you say, I won't join you guys!"

*Even if your mother's life depends on it?*

Victor's eye twitched, but he took a deep breath and calmed down.

"You won't touch her, mom is being protected by one of the strongest pokemon I know, with the addition of an army of friends." Victor actually smiled a bit as he said that.

He heard the man start chuckling again.

*I should've known you would've made so many pokemon companions already. Well, it doesn't matter anyway. We actually still don't know the exact location of your mother... Despite our eyes and ears in several places, we were unable to precisely locate her, which is rather odd.*

Victor curiously stared up, "I wonder if Sensei had an influence on that?"

He then asked another question, "Does mom know who you are?"

*Of course not. She wasn't officially part of Team Rocket at the time nor did I ever trust, her I would never reveal myself to her.*

"Dang it..." Victor sighed.

*But even without your mother, there may be other ways to bring you here... How are those other children that you've been enjoying the company of?*

"If you so much as touch them, I won't hesitate to wipe all of you out." Victor said with his hand tightening into a shaky fist.

*Oh? How touchy. I see you really do care for them... Hmmm.*

"Don't you even think about using them to threaten me." Victor hissed.

*Hahaha! Don't fret Victor, I have no interest in taking weak children, as much of a good idea that would be too bring you here. I actually wish to see you fight, see just what kind of warrior you've become. I won't have any necessity to go after them. Unless... If you've shared some 'unnecessary' information to them about you. It would be really troublesome to suddenly have others protecting you because of this knowledge. And it'd be a shame if we had to eliminate them because of that.*

"We both know that I don't want others to know about my powers. I don't want to be treated differently as some sort of other being. I don't want different people coming from everywhere just for reasons involving my powers."

*Well said, it's good that you understand. But I also hope that you don't spend too much of your time around them either. I wouldn't want my men clearing them out just to get to you.*

"I'll be alone a lot. It's the best way for me and my pokemon to get stronger after all."

He heard the man laugh.

*Oho! So very true indeed. That was the way that I grew up, perhaps we're more alike than you think?*

"Shut it, don't compare me to you. Let's just come to a mutual agreement, don't come after my friends, and secrets stay secret."

*Oh, how that hurts me, heh. But very well. However, keep in mind that although I won't instruct my men to directly take down your friends, that won't mean that they won't attack them on their own terms.*

"Then I'll be sure to take care of them together."

*Hm, good. And I hope you can show me just how strong you've gotten over the years. I can't wait to have you working with us soon enough.*

"As if."

*So cold. Hehe. Oh well, you'll see soon enough that you were meant to join us. And as for those Grunts in front of you, you may do whatever you wish with them. They won't speak any secrets about you or me.*

"Hold it. I've got something else to ask."

*Oh? What could it be?*

The man had an ear to ear grin in his room, already having a feeling of what he would ask.

Victor took a deep breath, lowering his head to the point that his eyes were shadowed.

"Were you the one that killed dad?"

Victor's pokemon felt a chill coming from their trainer, not just because they didn't know that he had lost such a family member, but because they could feel a new, dangerous feeling coming from him.

"S-Scor? Scor?" Ace nervously walked over to Victor and tugged his leg.

There was silence on the other side of the call, the wooshing of the wind being the only noise heard as parts of Victor's hair lightly blew with it.

He heard the man sigh.

*Ah yes, the Doctor... It was a shame to lose him, he was my best researcher...*

"Did you, or did you not, kill my dad?"

There was a brief pause between the two before he heard the man let out a deep sigh.

*Unfortunately, I did indeed have to take his life.*

Victor's shaking stopped.

*Not like I had much of a choice. He threatened the order of operations we had after all and knew how I was. If only he had just listened to me until the end... Such a waste of talent.*

Victor's heart started beating faster.

"I... see..."

Twilight, narrowed his eyes at Victor, feeling the dangerous pressure coming from him grow.

The Team Rainbow Rocket Grunts that were staring at Victor suddenly formed expressions of fear. Each one started instinctively shaking while beginning to sweat.

Victor's pokemon backed up as they heard their trainer chuckle.

"Well, then... Then I'd just like to warn you..."

His hand balled into a fist.

"I don't know who you are, or where your base is, nor am I gonna ask where it is just to charge straight in. Me and my pokemon are going to get stronger, strong enough to take on anything. And when that happens..."

He raised his head, and the moment he did, his pokemon and the Grunts all felt an aura of murderous intent erupted from him, causing all of them to be overwhelmed by the pressure he gave.

"I'm will find you. And-I-Will-End-You."

Victor crushed the phone in his hands, ending the call.

"EEK!" All the Grunts squealed, picturing that phone was one of their heads.

The boy then opened his palm and dropped the crushed device onto the ground.

"Now then..." Victor turned back to his pokemon with an innocent smile and bright aura, "What should we do with these bad guys?"

"S-Scorbun! Scor!" Ace nervously shivered.

"Huh? I looked scary? Oh relax, you guys will always be fine to me. I won't ever hurt you guys."

He turned to the Grunts with a glare. "Them, on the other hand, if they don't cooperate with me, then I guess I'll have to-"

"WE'LL COOPERATE!" The Grunts all bowed despite each of them being tied up.

"Thank you for understanding!" Victor beamed with a sparkling smile.

"O-Onix..." Onix nervously told Victor's pokemon.

They all nodded in agreement.

"Hey! I'm not that scary!" Victor pouted.

His pokemon had blank faces at him.

"W-Well, I mean..." Victor sighed, looking down in some shame. "I really try not to get mad... I've been told before from mom that I can get pretty scary. Sorry... Let's just call Leon about these guys."

He pulled out his Rotom phone and called Leon, then raising it to his ear.

After a few rings, the champion picked up.

Victor was greeted by the sounds of intense winds and screaming.

*HEY VICTOR! HOW'S IT GOING!?*

Victor had to move the phone away from his ear so his eardrums wouldn't burst.

"Leon!? What the hell is with the screaming!?"

*WHAT!? I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I'M ABOUT TO JUMP OFF A PLANE!*

Victor turned black and white. "What the hell do you mean you're going jump off a plane!?"

*WHAT!?*

Victor's eye twitched as he took a deep breath and shouted.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?"

*OH! I WAS OFF TO THE CHAIRMAN'S OFFICE AND ENDED UP AT A SKY DIVING CAMP! THESE GUYS OFFERED TO FLY ME TO HIM FOR FREE ONCE THEY SAY ME!* Leon explained through the furious roaring of winds.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET LOST ENOUGH TO END UP IN A SKYDIVING CAMP!? THEY HAVE THOSE HERE!?"

*I KNOW! SHOCKING RIGHT!?*

Victor facepalmed.

He then started screaming again. "JUST DROP OFF BY THE EDGE OF ROLLING FIELDS AND DAPPLED GROVE! IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT!"

*REALLY!? ALRIGHT! I'M COMING! I'LL SEE YOU SOON!*

He then hung up the call, leaving Victor with a hoarse feeling in his throat.

"Ugh... Water..." He pulled out a bottle and started drinking, not even noticing the completely blank stares of the Grunts and the pokemon.

"Was the hell?" They all wondered.


~{Few Minutes Later}~

"Heeeeeeeeeeey Victoooooooooooor!"

Victor was sitting on the ground rather unamused as he watched Leon gracefully falling from the sky with his parachute already out. Most of the Grunts were asleep by now, using the chance to catch on some rest that they missed while always working hard for their organization.

Onix had already left before Leon arrived, having enough human contact for one day while Victor's pokemon did exercises related to their strong points, such as Ace stretching and jumping to train his legs and Twilight flying as high as he could before coming back down fast.

Leon landed on the ground and unclicked the parachute, then taking off goggles and pulling out a bag that had his cap and cape.

"Phew! That was fun! I'll have to call the Chairman and let him know I'll be late though-!" It was then Leon noticed the tied up group of Grunts while Victor impatiently pouted at him.

"Um... What happened?"

"That's what I should be asking you!? How did you end up on a plane just by heading to the Chairman!?" Victor snapped.

"Er, sorry... Just me being me, I guess." Leon awkwardly laughed.

"Don't just shrug it off!"

Victor then took the time to explain the situation to Leon, of course not all of it. He only said that Team Rocket, or in this case, Team 'Rainbow Rocket', was now in Galar and seemed to be looking to cause trouble. He didn't mention their leader calling him but did ask Leon what he knew about him, which was nothing. Of course, he also didn't say that they were mostly aiming for him, nor did the Grunts mention anything about Victor's abilities out of respect for their beloved leader. Both sides just seemed to treat the story that they saw a 'vulnerable' kid and went after him.

By the time Victor was finished, some of the Pokemon League Staff had arrived in a few vehicles.

Victor raised an eyebrow, "The Pokemon League Staff? They serve as the police too?"

Leon rubbed the back of his head, "Well, not exactly. This is a special case. The League Staff work under Chairman Rose himself and are called in for situations like this, where it isn't common crimes occurring, but for more serious manners. I've only heard about Team Rocket briefly, but I know that they're dangerous. But good job catching these guys Victor, I can see your pokemon are growing already!" He gave him a thumbs up.

"Yeaaaaaah." Victor averted his eyes while his pokemon stared at him, knowing fully well that it was mostly him.

The champion looked rather serious now, glaring at the Grunts getting taken away. "But... For this many of them to ambush just a child-?"

"Er-! There was a powerful Onix with me! So-!"

"Oh! And you just went to stop them from capturing it! I see!" Leon concluded with a grin.

"Something like that."

"Well, thank you for that, Victor! Give me another call if something like this happens again! But for now, shouldn't you be heading for Turffield for your first gym battle? I'm sure the staff can give you a ride."

Victor turned to his pokemon, who all stood proudly.

"Hm... I guess so. But we want to continue on foot so we can continue training on the way." He smiled.

"Great! Then I'll be on my way!" Leon tossed Charizard out of his pokeball, then climbing carefully onto the proud pokemon. "Good luck Victor! I'm looking forward to your growth!"

Charizard then flapped its wings and took off to the sky.

Victor watched as Leon left, following the departure of the Pokemon League Staff taking away the Grunts in their vehicles.

"Ralts, Ralts?" Midori questioned his trainer.

"Oh, right... You guys don't really know my past, or my deal with those guys." He reached down and picked up his backpack, then adjusting his beanie and turning to his pokemon. "I'll explain on the way out of here..."

They started walking.

"So... You know how I have powers, right?"


~{Route 3- 3:45PM}~

"I didn't think we'd meet up so soon..."

Gloria's eye twitched with a forced smile as she stood right in front of Marnie. Both had ended up encountering each other right at the entrance of the Galar Mines. It was rather odd to find each other so fast after just separating on their journey to get stronger.

"E-Erm... Hello again." Marnie politely said.

"Hey..." Gloria weakly waved. She paid close attention to her Marnie's looks now that she had the chance. Her goth/punk-like appearance didn't at all match her timid nature, her smooth and pale skin, the partially shaved hairstyle that she was surprisingly able to pull off while still looking cute, and just the overall warm feeling she gave being around her.

"This girl is dangerous... I can't leave her alone with Victor. What if she's actually trying to trick him?" She narrowed her eyes.

"U-Um..." Marnie nervously rubbed her hands. "I-I'm sorry!"

"Eh?" Gloria blinked.

"Ya look really mad at me! I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry!" She bowed.

Three arrows comedically punctured Gloria's heart, "Urk! Oof! Gah!" then causing her double over on her knees.

"Eh!? Are ya okay!?" Marnie rushed over as Gloria shivered.

"SHE'S JUST GENUINELY NICE!" Gloria thought in defeat.

Morpeko was beside Marnie staring rather unamused at Gloria, waiting for her to realize what incorrect thoughts she had of her trainer.

Marnie got to one knee and help lift Gloria back to her feet.

"Wh-What happened to ya!?"

Gloria turned to Marnie and saw her flushing cheeks, clearly, the girl wasn't really used to these situations with others.

"S-Stomachache..." Gloria lied.

"Oh! I have somethin' for that!" Marnie quickly reached into her small bag and pull out a bottle case of pills, then using both hands to offer them to Gloria. "H-Here, just take one of these!"

Receiving the capsule while watching Marnie's genuine expression of worry made Gloria's heart squeeze again.

"Urk..." She grabbed her chest in comedic pain.

After a few minutes of repeated heart squeezes, Gloria was able to calm and speak to Marnie.

"Thank you... Sorry, I didn't mean to act so cold towards you... I just had some things on my mind..." Gloria answered, rather ashamed.

Marnie let out a breath of relief, although still looking somewhat nervous. "Oh, okay... I was worried that ya didn't like me..."

Gloria took Marnie by the hand. "Don't worry! I'll never say that!"

Morpeko nodded beside Marnie like she had been expecting this.

Marnie had a blank expression, yet there was a bright aura around her, indicating that she was pretty happy.

"Th-Thank you..." Marnie looked down rather timidly.

"But she's still dangerous for Victor..." Gloria stared.

"Eh!? Wh-Why are you making that face again!?" Marnie stammered in confusion.

"I'm sorry!" Gloria responded.

Morpeko rolled her eyes at the cycle.


~{Route 4- 3:47PM}~

"Sky! Use Peck!"

"Rookie!" Hop's Rookidee dived down, and his beak impacted with a Galarian Meowth.

"Me-OW!" The pokemon was sent flying into tall patches of golden grass, to which it shook its head and used the chance to escape.

"Good job, Sky!" Hop grinned as he stuck his arm out and let his pokemon land on top of it. "We're getting stronger already!"

His Rookidee proudly raised his head with closed eyes. "Rooki!"

"Nice! Turffield is just up ahead!" Hop pointed with his other arm. Turffield was at a visible distance away from Hop, although looking actually far, he still claimed that it was 'just up ahead.'"

Sky took flight to examine the area up ahead as Hop tossed Conga and Wooloo out of their pokeballs.

"Look over there, boys! The place where my skills will first be demonstrated to the world! Are you ready to stick with me all the way to the top!?"

"Baaaa!" Wooloo smiled.

"Grookey! Grookey!" Conga smiled.

"Alright! Then let's go! Onward to become the be the very best, that no one ever was!" He shouted to the world.

However, his shouting caused several Meowths to pop out from several hiding places in the golden grass with mischievous grins.

Hop flinched. "Uh, oh."

"Meow!" Several Meowths cried in sync as all they all dived right at Hop.

Hop's eyes widened as his pokemon got battle-ready.

"SHI-!"


~{Route 3- 5:43PM}~

*The moment you reach out your hand to the fu-ture,*

*I hope that you will loooove every memory that you make,*

*long, hope, philiaaaaa!*

"Scor?" Ace raised an eyebrow.

Victor stopped mumbling and glanced down at Ace as they walked along the clear path.

"Hm? Oh, just a little song I remembered."

Midori tilted his head curiously as he sat on Victor's backpack while Twilight flew over them. Many large patches of grass had pokemon such as Growlithes and Gossifleur curiously eyeing Victor as he passed. Occasionally one would challenge him, be shocked that he can understand them, and then proceed to battle one of his pokemon only to be defeated. This pattern continued as Victor made his way through Route 3.

"Ralts? Ralts?"

"Hm? What's wrong with letting those pokemon know about my abilities? Telling pokemon is different from telling humans. One, pokemon can't really tell humans about what I saw, and two, I want pokemon to know what I can do so they would come to me for help sooner."

"Rooki!? Rooki!?" Twilight called from above them.

"I'm sure I can trust them! They don't have any reasons for telling anyone anyway nor can they!" Victor called out to Twilight while making sure others weren't around.

"Rooki!"

"Foolish!?" Victor repeated, rather insulted.

"Growl!?"

"Pan!?"

Victor stopped and turned around to see a Pancham and Growlithe rushing over to him, both of them visibly hurt and panting.

"See? Help needed already!" Victor ran to meet up with the pokemon.

"Pancham!? Pan!?" The Pancham asked Victor desperately.

Yeah, I'm the one that can talk to you guys. You need some help?" Victor asked, already used to the signs of trouble from helping so many pokemon in the Slumbering Weald.

"P-Pancham!" The Pancham nodded.

"Explain on the way!" Victor immediately answered with a new serious expression.

"Growl!" Grothlithe turned around and started bolting forward to lead them with Pancham beside him.

Victor followed from behind with his pokemon beside him.

Soon, they came upon a small area where a group of Rolycoly were repeatedly Tackling another Pancham.

"Oi!" Victor suddenly blasted forward in a sprinter run with rather intense eyes at the group.

The Rolycolys turned to see Victor dashing at them, but just seemed to scoff as the group of five started charging at the boy, then jumping to ram into him as they got close.

"Midori, Disarming Voice!"

Still on his trainer's rectangular backpack, Ralts opened his mouth.

"RAAAAAAAA!" He sent waves of sound and struck the front Rolycoly, ending up in him being sent back and crashing into the others. They scattered in the air just above Victor as he approached.

Victor pulled his arm back, and his hand started glowing rapidly red as he kept his fingers straight in a karate-chopping position.

"Brick Break!"

He jumped up at the Rolycolys.

"Hi-YAH!" He comedically chopped the front one on the head, knocking him down to the ground.

"Hi-yah! Hi-yah! Hi-yah! Hi-yah!" He repeatedly chopped at each other Rolycoly, sending them down with spirals replacing their eyes.

They all fell to the ground rather dizzy from taking super-effective hits.

Victor then landed on the ground right in front of the hurt Pancham, his hand still steaming from striking so many pokemon at once.

The Pancham and Growlithe that had asked for help looked dumbfounded.

A few minutes later, the Rolycoly's were lined up while shaking as Victor's pokemon applied some potions and berries on the two injured Panchams and the Growlithe.

"That Pancham was stealing your berries?" Victor raised an eyebrow.

"Roly..." The Rolycoly all nodded.

Victor turned to the Pancham. "That true?"

The Pancham looked down in some shame, "Pan..."

"Oh, I see..." Victor then went over and karate chopped each Rolycoly on their heads. "But that doesn't mean that you guys have to go that far in beating him!"

He turned around and karate chopped the Pancham on its head, "And you! Stealing is bad!"

"P-Pancham!" He whined.

Victor sighed. "Food for your friends, huh?"

The other Pancham and Growlithe looked rather touched.

The trainer rubbed the back of his head looking sympathetic.

"I get it... It's tough to live in the wild... isn't it?"

The pokemon all looked down at the ground.

"But sometimes there are times where you just go too far... Just remember that."

Victor reached into his bag and pulled out his camping kit, then smiling. "How about I make something for everyone?"

All the pokemon stared up at him, surprised.

"Let's eat while we work everything out. Although... I don't want to camp in the middle of the path, is there a camping area near here?"

"Pancham!" The Pancham excitedly jumped and pointed in the distance.

"Oh? Right outside the Galar Mines up ahead? Perfect! Let's go, it'll be dark soon! And bring any berries you got left with you!" Victor grinned.


~{Route 3 Camp- 6:01PM}~

Victor set up a red tent as he happily hummed away while his pokemon set up a pot over a cooking stand with a small fire underneath.

"I still don't get how all this camping gear was able to fit in such a small place..." He wondered as he hammered down the stakes to keep the tent up.

"Alrighty, now then-" He turned around and saw his pokemon, along with the group of Rolycolys, Panchams, and Growlithe, all staring at him anxiously with stars in their eyes.

Victor chuckled as he pulled his sleeves up and dug into his leather backpack, then pulling out a Tin Of Beans.

"Mom gave me a few ingredients to help me make something. Just gather up the berries in one pile and let me do the work!"

The pokemon listened and gathered a variety of berries as Victor set up a foldable table and a case of cooking utensils.

"Now, let's get started."

The pokemon all watched as Victor chopped up berries, opened up Tins of Beans, and started making the curry paste right there.

The sun was slowly setting in the horizon as bubbles appeared in the pot Victor was using, now stirring up the brown paste while whistling.

He added some chopped up berries and continued stirring.

"Smells really nice!" He thought proudly to himself.

Victor then heard some movement in the bushes, prompting him to turn his head with an eyebrow raised.

He saw a variety of pokemon staring at him, front Machops, Zigzagoons, Vulpix, and more. It was obvious what they were interested in and Victor didn't want any aggressive tension, so he quickly thought of something.

"Here's the deal!" He pointed to the pokemon at the grass, making them flinch. "There's clearly not enough for everyone, but I can make more if you guys go and catch plenty of different berries! And I'll also need a small favor out of all of you afterword, alright?"

Victor's own pokemon noticed that they were surrounded by curious pokemon, all of them taking cautionary stances.

The curious pokemon turned to each other, letting out small cries to communicate, before then turning around and retreating in the grass.

Victor shrugged it off and continued cooking, staring at his curry while his pokemon now kept an eye out for anything suspicious.

"Alrighty! It should be done!" Victor pulled out a ladle full of curry and grinned.

"Scor!/Ralts!/Pan!/Roly!/Growl!" All the pokemon besides Twilight energetically cheered on sync.

Victor pulled out a small stack of small plates, "Keep in mind there aren't enough plates for each one of you, s you're gonna have to share some. I'll keep filling them up, so be sure not to fight."

He poured curry and rice onto the plates and passed them out. "With those berries and beans, I made some Bean Medley Curry!"

The pokemon all started digging in.

Victor watched them all as he sat down on a rock and ate his own curry, feeling oddly satisfied with his cooking skills.

"Not that close to Sonia or Gloria yet, but I'm getting there."

He then heard some rustling from the bushes again, making him turn around with an eyebrow raised.

He saw a small Zigzagoon run over to him while struggling to hold a few berries in its mouth.

"Oh?" Victor smiled.

Then one by one, more pokemon started coming out of the bushes with berries and surrounded Victor, each one offering them to him.

"Is this what being feeling popular feels like?" Victor asked with proudly closed eyes and comedically falling tears.

Ace rolled his eyes.

"But anyway! Alrighty! I'll get started on another batch!" Victor's eyes flared up in determination.

All the pokemon cheered.

Victor's arms moved in blurs as he did repeated steps of slicing up berries and stirring the pot,

This went on for quite some time, resulting in the sky turning dark and causing several pokemon to cuddle up with one another feeling completely full of food after eating.

When all was said and done, Victor was lying on the ground with a tired smile on his face and a part of his soul leaving his body.

"Well... That was a thing that happened..."

He forcefully turned his head to glance at all the pokemon sleeping together.

"I was gonna ask them a few things... but I guess this is fine."

He grunted as he sat up and realized that he had to put the supplies away, especially the dirty plates.

"Man... This is gonna be annoying... My arms are sore enough as it is..." He yawned. "I guess I'll do it tomorrow..."

He looked around the groups of sleeping pokemon, finding his three main companions sleeping together on top of a pile of Zigzagoons.

Victor smiled and walked over, careful not to step on any other sleeping pokemon as he did so. He then carefully picked up his three pokemon and carried them over to his tent.

"There shouldn't be anyone threatening around, so I'm sure we're safe for the night. But from then on, we might have to take shifts..."

Victor got inside his tent, where he had set up a yellow, zip-up sleeping bag. He carefully sat down and placed his pokemon beside him, then covering each of them up with a blanket.

"And now... to become a potato."

As he said this, he removed his beanie and zipped himself up into his yellow sleeping bag, only exposing his face as he snuggled in it.

"Tomorrow is another big day guys, good night."

He got soothing mumbles in return.


~{Author's Post-notes}~

Aaaaaaand scene! What do you guys think? It turns out that Victor's enemies aren't just a small organization, but something much larger and more dangerous! I wonder who he'll meet in Rainbow Rocket? And before any of you think that Victor did most of the work in the battles against the group, keep in mind his pokemon haven't evolved and they're fighting against already evolved pokemon, a lot of them. But anyway, I hope you guys are doing well during these lonely times cooped up. Thanks for reading and until next time. (Flies away) ZYOOOM!"