A/N

Hooray, plot advancement. And to that guest that left a nice review but was worried about me not talking about the environment being affected by moves, don't worry. In all the battles so far, no moves were used that really could affect the environment. Obviously dig did, but eh.

And as for burn out, don't worry. If I do get burnt out I'll say so and take a break for a week or two. I'm more concerned with finally getting this story off the ground. Another 5k this time, complete with shenanigans.

Enjoy it if you want.

I looked at the Hoothoot currently having a conniption. All it did was take one look at me, but suddenly it just started freaking out. I'm… not sure what to do about this.

"Uh, are you okay there?" I ask, raising one eyebrow as I keep looking at it.

"You- what- how-" She sputters, red eyes rapidly twitching. Wait, aren't Hoothoots used in that one episode to see through illusions? Something about Foresight usage? If that's the case, it explains why one's freaking out while looking at me.

"Well, it all started when I was born at a very young age." I lightly joke, smirking when she glared at me for this.

"How do you even exist? What are you?!" She demands, eyes flashing a deeper red before almost instantly turning back to the normal shade. Hoothoot shook her head to clear it for a moment and then continued to glare. I guess it stopped trying to use Foresight before it got a headache.

"Well, that's rather rude. You haven't even introduced yourself and yet I am expected to?" I say, shaking my head slowly as my smirk gets bigger. It really is too much fun messing with people who were like this. I could hear Alonso snicker behind his wing.

I noticed her feathers rustle and her body language scream "attack" so I finally relented before Alonso rushed to my defense and attacked the Hoothoot.

"Okay, I'm actually a Zorua. I just happen to have an amazing illusion. You're probably partially seeing through it or something, and it's messing you up." I explain offhandedly, shrugging my shoulders a bit. It was fun to mess with the Hoothoot but it really wasn't my problem. Now that I explained it I was losing my interest already.

"I have no idea about what that is or what you are!" The Hoothoot exclaims, and like that my interest has returned full force. I see the opportunity, and I'm going to take it. It still hasn't turned back on Foresight...

"Oh, I'm basically a rare and dangerous Pokemon. Can make illusions and hide myself as other species, including Humans. I can also steal their moves and abilities if I touch them, taking them forever." I explained with a sharp grin, focusing for a moment on the Hoothoot in front of me. I finally learned how to transform into something if I had a visual reference and really focused. Feeling the tell-tale tug in my gut, I shoo Alonso off of my shoulder for a second. The next moment, a purple energy flashed around me briefly before I outwardly looked like a Hoothoot. Exactly the same as the one in front of me, specifically.

She squawked in surprise and flapped her wings, lifting off before settling back down.

"See what I mean?" I ask in her voice, which was a bit trippy but also fun to mess around with. I only really learned how to do this with extensive practice on changing to look like Alonso over and over.

It took an entire week of travel, exclusively working on Illusion rather than my moves, before I could do it effectively. On the plus side, it was really easy for me to look like a Murkrow now. Other things take some more effort though, which is why I needed to focus on the Hoothoot for a few seconds.

"G-Get away from me!" The Hoothoot cried as it flapped away. I hold in my laughter and turn Human again, straightening my coat as I hold in my laughter. Alonso alights on my shoulder yet again, snickering louder than before.

"Don, did you really have to go with the stealing moves and abilities trick? That was just cruel to the poor sucker." Alonso says, trying to reign in his snickering to no avail. I finally crack too, and lean over a bit as I laugh.

"Okay, okay. It might have been over the top but she made it too easy. She turned off Foresight and didn't even bother to turn it back on when I changed into her!" I cackled out, holding my stomach a bit. It really was a ton of fun to mess with people using illusions. I totally agree with other Ghost and Dark Type Pokemon that are tricksters.

Getting myself back under control, I continued on with a raised spirit. Not often I get someone that has that sort of reaction after all. I straighten my cap and glance at the canopy to look at the time. Judging by the light… about 19:00 to 20:00 I'd say? Plenty of time to keep traveling.

LINE BREAK

I was extremely glad that my clothes couldn't be truly damaged. I have no idea what sort of super material they make clothes out of here to avoid constantly replacing their clothes. It might be partially my fault, considering that I was cutting through the woods to shorten my travel time. I found out why no one really does that, by the way. Not because of hyper-aggressive Pokemon like you would think, no. It's the hyper-aggressive plant life.

It doesn't try to eat you or anything, it's just that everything is overgrown to ridiculous extents. Thorn and bramble walls go on for ages, and you just have to Cut your way through them if you want to do it safely. Sadly, neither me nor Alonso knew that move so I resorted to using Dark Pulse to tear my way through them. It was draining and probably slowed me down enough to make it not a shortcut, but at least it was good practice.

Alonso got tired of getting his feathers snagged and his careful grooming ruined, so he began just flying over them. Tragically, brute forcing it also means that my clothes got caught on random bits and pieces hanging from the sides. The snagging was awful, and occasionally I would get cut or poked even through the thick semi-illusionary coat. Even with Foresight it can't be properly seen through, so I have no idea what I'm actually making this thing out of.

I really want to know, to see if I can recreate it and turn Illusion into a Transformation with other things as well. It has so many applications! Battlefield tactics, pranks, creating counterfeit money, scams, magic shows, etc. Truly, a world of opportunities opens if I manage it. For now though, I must be satisfied with my Human form.

Wow, that line sounds ominous now that I think about it. Oh well, anyways.

Also, I really need to avoid getting too damaged in this form. Whenever I turn back into a Zorua to use Dark Pulse, I can feel the cuts and scrapes still exist. So, if I ever get gravely injured in Human form it will carry over to Zorua form.

On the positive side, I can apparently still use extremely weak versions of moves as a Human. My fingernails count as a valid target for Scratch to be used on, so I'm never unarmed. On testing on an innocent tree, I could still scour about half an inch from the tree including bark. Not exactly impressive, but used on someone attacking me? It's like I had a knife in each hand that can't be taken from me easily.

Leer just turns into a slightly unsettling gaze. Counter I can't really test, but it's likely just a wicked counterpunch. Dark Pulse is more of a magic trick, all it does is make me puff a bit of black smoke out that tastes awful. And Detect? I think we all know how that works now.

Overall, I do think that I'm stronger than I was a week or two ago. Not by a significant amount, mind you, but I could probably beat the me of Azalea Town easily.

On second thought, let's not get overconfident now. Azalea me could probably get one good Counter in and I'd be toast still.

I could tell I was getting much closer to civilization now, because the thickets were thinning and I was seeing more and more signs of steady foot traffic. Now hopefully I didn't misjudge what direction I was going too much. Mt. Silver was a very recognizable landmark after all, and New Bark Town lay at the bottom of the mountain chain near the ocean. It's not a perfect way of directing myself, but it won't get me turned around so I'm using it.

I sigh, seeing a new wall of briar thickets finally begin to crop up ahead of me. It wasn't one clean hedge, that'd be too easy. Instead it's a mess of overgrown and overtaken loose briars, that I'll have to stand here and blast at multiple times to actually clear a path. I take a few steps forward and take a deep breath in. I roll from the tips of my toes to the heel of my foot a few times, rocking slightly as I prepare myself.

Alonso suddenly squawks in warning from his place flying overhead, giving the agreed upon signal to be in human form. Blinking in surprise, I look up for a moment before snapping to attention and looking around sharply. That means someone is around that could see me, and I wanted none of that thank you very much.

I quickly spotted someone walking down the other side of the Briars, as it was thick enough to stop your movement but not your sight. He was currently looking down at his notebook and sketching or writing something, so he wasn't looking. But a Dark Pulse coming from me would have probably changed that, and he looks the type to recognize a shiny Pokemon if he saw it.

I nod up to Alonso thankfully, before returning my gaze upon the man. He was weedy looking, with a lab coat on. The pockets of which were stuffed with random items, because I could see them poking out of the holes. He looked pretty young, but also had a few wispy hairs on his chin. He seemed… familiar? Where the hell do I recog-

Oh, well shit. This is Professor Elm, what a coincidence. He hasn't even spotted me yet, he keeps glancing at the briar before writing notes and muttering to himself. He almost trips a few times, since he isn't watching the ground where he is walking and there are plenty of roots around this place. Well, time to put my best foot forward.

"So, come here often?" I ask through the briars once he reaches my position, enjoying myself greatly when he yelps and takes a step backwards… only to get caught on a root and trip backwards and fall on his ass. A bunch of his random pocket junk scatters over the ground.

"I'll… take that as a no?" I jibe, peering through the thicket. Professor Elm quickly scrambles to his feet before turning and facing me, looking slightly embarrassed as he dutifully ignores the stuff laying all over the ground.

"Who are you and what are you doing here? People are never out this deep into the woods!" Professor Elm says dramatically. I raise an eyebrow and point to myself, smiling.

"Weeellll… I'm not sure exactly where 'here' is, but I was told to head towards Professor Elm's laboratory. I didn't get turned around did I? I decided to take a shortcut through the woods. Be really embarrassing if I went in the wrong direction considering I could see Mount Silver the entire time." I say, acting a bit innocent. I totally wasn't, but he didn't have to know that.

Blinking a few times in surprise, he gets his bearings and grins. "Well, you're in the right place! I'm Professor Elm, the Pokemon Professor of Johto!" He states proudly, pointing his thumb at himself.

"Great… so where's your Laboratory? All I see around here are trees and more trees." I act innocent again, preparing to pull the rug out from under him. I never told him my name, so hopefully he hasn't put it together.

"Oh! Well it's in this direction. I walk along these thickets and briars every once in a while. Some of the local Pokemon like to put their eggs inside of them and I want to be able to study them!" He explains jovially, before remembering I was on the other side of the briar.

"Er… well if you head to your right eventually you can get around this one." He now says in a sheepish tone.

Perfect.

"Oh, don't worry Professor. These barriers aren't any problem for me at all." I say nonchalantly. He blinks in confusion and opens his mouth. At that moment, I turn back into my Zorua form and prepare a Dark Pulse. I hear a gasp come from the good Professor before I unleash the move. Discs of purple dark energy explode from my mouth, forming a chaotic and vague chain as it clears through the briar with pure brute force. Some stragglers are left dangling, but that's fine. I move through them in Zorua form and reach the other side with no problem.

Professor Elm is just gaping like a fish, his finger that he raised curled up next to his slack face as he just stares at the new hole in the briar. Occasionally he turns to me and then back to the briar. I do a good stretch in Zorua form, before turning back into a Human and giving the professor a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Professor Elm. My name is Grimm. What way did you say that lab was again?" I ask with a cheerful smile that has a hint of shit eating grin in it. The Professor doesn't respond for a minute, but I rock on my feet slightly and wait patiently. I don't think I've ever broken someone like this before.

Suddenly Elm rushes the small distance between up and grabs my arm and prods at me a bit, muttering up a storm. I let him have his moment before coughing pointedly, raising one eyebrow at him while he was inspecting my arm's locomotion and touch matching perfectly with a human's.

He seems to come out of his daze, and then realizes what he's doing without me saying anything. As if touching something that was burning, he dropped my arm immediately and took a step away. I roll my shoulder for a moment before returning my smile to my face.

"Lab?" I ask again. He immediately begins to nod frantically, running off in what I assume the direction of his lab is. He completely forgot all of the stuff that fell out of his pockets…

Oh well, not my problem. I do reach down and grab the notebook that he was writing in, however. I should probably return this for some free goodwill after my stunt. I give out a small whistle to let Alonso know to keep close, and begin to jog after Elm. I wasn't going to be running when he is leaving a breadcrumb trail of items from his pockets like he currently is.

Seriously, how deep are this man's pockets that after all that there's still junk being thrown out of it?

LINE BREAK

After a solid half an hour of jogging and following spare pencils and pens, a massive metropolitan city came into view. Well damn, the trend continues I guess. Also… I gave Elm far too little credit. If nothing else, the man is a natural cross-country champion. I don't think he even slowed down the entire way. The spare pocket bits eventually ran out, but considering the direction of the trail hadn't changed it was fine. Alonso spent some of it on my shoulder, but found the bounding and bouncing to be too much for him and so he hopped off to fly along instead.

This was a whole metropolitan center. Another proper city instead of the rinky dink 3-4 building 'town' in the games. I don't remember what New Bark looked like in the anime though, so no comment there.

Stopping for a minute to get some rest, I found a public bench to sit down on. Gladly claiming a spot on the row, I sling my arms onto the back of the bench and look up at the sky. It was a nice cloudless day, and looked to be… about 3 or so? Somewhere around there.

Alonso landed beside me and took a break. He didn't really need it, but if he didn't have to do something he wouldn't. He claims it's because he "can't protect the Don if he's all tired" but I just think he doesn't want to have to work hard. And honestly? Don't blame him. Never do work you don't wanna do if you don't have to.

After a few minutes of relaxing in the sun with my eyes closed, a shadow suddenly blocked out the light I could see even with my eyes closed. Opening my eyes in a squint, I see an imposing figure looming over me.

"Uhhh… can I help you?" I question slowly, looking up at the Dragonite looking at me critically.

"Hmm? But I thought I was the one helping you Grimm." A familiar voice says from above me. Professor Oak hops off of the back of the dragon he was obscured by, with an amused smile on his face.

I'm naturally about to react, but turnabout is fair play so I suck it in and lay my head back down onto the backrest of the bench.

"Hey there Professor. I didn't expect you would come in person. Aren't you supposed to be super busy, like, constantly?" I ask.

"Well, I found something out but didn't mention it when you called. The important information you gave was more pressing at the time. I need to be present in person in order to get you that last item on the list you needed." Professor Oak explains with a neutral face, but I can tell he wanted to try and get some kind of reaction out of me.

I nod thoughtfully and stand up from the bench, pushing on my knees while standing then stretching my lower back with my hands.

"How'd you know I was in town? I doubt you were just patrolling and waiting for lil ol me to wander in." I inquire, wondering just how he actually did know. It isn't like he had a Pokemon that could use Psychic Type moves on me, I'm a Dark Type.

"When my old student ran inside and freaked out about how he left you behind, I volunteered to find and fetch you. Why didn't you stay close to Elm, my boy?" Oak responds, raising one eyebrow at me.

"Are you kidding? I'm constantly low energy, and have you seen the man run? There's no way I was keeping after him. I just followed the trail of pens and other items until I made it here. Oh, here's the notepad he left behind by the way." I say, striding over and handing over the mentioned item.

After a moment, I turn around and look back at the bench. Alonso apparently fell asleep on the bench, and didn't wake up from the commotion. Sighing, I walk back towards him and lightly poke him a few times.

"Oi, wake up. We're getting a move on. You can nap on the way." I say in a deadpan as Alonso slowly rejoins me in the waking world. He finally wakes up enough to gain some awareness, and I move him onto my shoulder so at least he can just ride along. I feel his feet grip my shoulder and I nod satisfactorily. Turning back to the Professor, I give him a small smile.

"So, to the lab we go?" I ask, ignoring the large smile present on his face as he looks at my Murkrow.

"Indeed. And I take it that's the mentioned companion you are traveling with?" Oak responds, turning and walking down the street. His Dragonite follows behind him, still looking at me warily.

"Yep, this is Alonso. He's been assigned as my bodyguard and shares my dream a bit, so he wants to be on my team." I explain, looking around at all the sights of the town with minor interest.

"Well, take good care of him. I dare say he shall prove a most useful member. Are you planning on being a Type Specialist or a Generalist?" Oak continues. Most people in the streets we are moving through give us a large berth. First at the Dragonite that's out of its Pokeball, and then a wider one when they notice who it's Trainer is.

"Mm. I'm thinking of becoming a Dark Type Specialist, with maybe a dip into a Gengar. Not sure, but I'll need to think carefully if I'll only have 5 available slots for team members." I explain offhandedly.

"Oh, already considering your Starter there a permanent slot?" Oak asks with interest, looking him over again.

"Oh, no that's not what I meant at all. There is a permanent slot on my team that is being used, however." I say with a satisfied and happy smile. I think he'll pick up on it quite soon, whether he approves is a different matter.

"Hmm… oh! I see what you mean, my boy. I don't believe that it is wise, but it could head off some other problems." He says in a non-committal way.

"I don't believe that team member will get much time in the spotlight however. Maybe if the stage was big enough they'd come out?" I say conversationally, letting the conversation die naturally as we walked through the streets of New Bark Town.

Soon enough, we rounded a corner to see a large building sitting slightly separated from the nearby buildings. And as we made our way directly towards it, a familiar face came running from the front yard to the building.

"Professor Oak! Grimm! I'm so glad he found you! I'm sorry for running off without you…" Elm cries out, waving his arms above his head like he needs to grab our attention. It's a mostly empty street and we are walking right towards him, so I'm not sure why he's doing that. Maybe just worried? I give a small wave back and come to a stop once the man reaches us.

"Professor Elm, maybe we should move this conversation inside? I doubt everyone wants to hear us talk loudly in the middle of a public street." I say with a slightly joking tone, but I was serious about going inside.

"Oh! Of course, follow me." He says before about facing and running back to the building he just came from. I turn quickly to Professor Oak who is just shaking his head good naturedly.

"See? How am I going to keep up with that?" I ask him rhetorically before walking off after Elm. I can hear both Oak and Dragonite walking behind me, with Oak talking quietly to his Pokemon. I didn't listen to the actual words, though. Don't really need to eavesdrop on that.

I reach the front doors to the facility, and stare at them for a moment. Those are rather large doors. Maybe to move large machines and Pokemon through them? Shrugging, I walk through them only to be greeted with a familiar sight. Notes, research objects, mugs, binders, and other such things are strewn about the place. This was… depressingly similar to my environment both in work and in my personal life from my last life.

I was followed closely behind by Oak, who gave the sight a look of both understanding and disappointment. I follow behind Elm, who is running from table to table gathering sheets. He's definitely off in his own world, so I turn and look up to Professor Oak.

"So, what are we doing that is going to get me a citizenship?" I ask the man. He reaches into his bag and pulls out a rather large book. He sets it down on top of some clutter, as there's no free space, and opens it up to a bookmarked page. Clearing his throat, he reads off the contents.

"As for a reward of distinguished office, either perceived or determined from a lord or a ranking retainer of such, an unknown Human or Pokemon may be granted each and all privileges and liberties afforded to the lawful human equivalent up to, and including, a fief, citizenship, and ability to hold office. These rewards shall be meted out till the recipient can no longer continue office or a dishonor is placed upon the lord or retainer of such. Any offense against the recipient of this renders treatment as would they insulted both the issuing lord and the recipient."

My eyebrows shoot into my hairline at this, and then I squint and look at the book. "Is… is this even considered valid legal code? How old is this, even?" I ask incredulously.

"Oh, only about… 756 by my reckoning. And yes, I checked many times over. The contents of this law has never been stricken because the last time it was invoked was about 500 years ago. Even if once we use it they decide to strike it, it can't be done retroactively so you'd still have citizenship." Oak says, slipping into teacher mode.

"Okay, but who do we know that this counts for? I don't think the regions have lords anymore." I ponder.

"Oh, they don't. But during the shift from then to now, a lot of the positions that comprised a Lord's court were just given name changes and separated from the Lord. For example, there was a very clear change of 'Advisor of Magical Creatures' to 'Pokemon Professor'. And that position happens to be considered valid for this law." Oak explains, sounding happy near the end of his explanation.

"So, in return for a service rendered I can be made into a retainer of a Pokemon Professor which was previously known as an 'Advisor of Magical Creatures'. And then, I can be granted citizenship?" I double check, which receives a happy nod.

"Sooo… is it you or Elm that I'm going to swear to? Johto law doesn't say I have to be a citizen of Johto." I ask.

"Oh, you will be swearing to me since you already agreed to write down your experiences in aid of my research. Oh, and an important note. You will be the only legal citizen of Indigo alive. This law makes you a citizen of Indigo, which is the united region of Kanto and Johto." Oak claims with that same smile still on his face.

"...How am I going to get a legal citizenship ID card for Indigo if it's a defunct entity?" I bite the question, knowing it was a leading one. Not like I had much of a choice. Giving a grin that encapsulates the cat that caught the canary, he reaches into his bag again and pulls out a purple Pokedex.

"A Pokedex of course! Oh, and I don't suppose you'd mind asking the Pokemon on it to verify the contents?" Oak asks. It was an obvious demand, but he didn't want to be rude about it.

I didn't care about that, I mainly cared that yet another purple item was being put into my possession. It may be my favorite color, but this is getting a bit much damnit. I graciously accept it and slip it into my pocket for later. Professor Oak reaches into his bag again and pulls yet more things from it.

First is a collapsed and folded up black satchel bag. Pretty obvious.

Second, was a pair of Pokeballs. One normal, one a Luxury Ball.

I very cautiously grab onto the Pokeballs, giving him a questioning look.

"The luxury ball is for yourself, the other is for your Murkrow. Don't worry, they are both unregistered to any trainer. Once you click them to prime them, they will register to you." He explains, before handing me a card.

On it was a picture of me standing there, Human form of course, in my outfit. It also had various bits of data as well, such as my birth location. That was, correctly, listed as Azalea Town. My birth date was flubbed, but then again I never told anyone that. It happened to stay consistent with the date, however, and listed me as 10. Look out for June 1st I guess, at least I don't have 2 birthdays. It listed Brock as my official sponsor. Trainer ID Number 14923699.

"So… I'm officially a Trainer now?" I ask in slight disbelief, raising one eyebrow.

"Well, you technically were as of this morning. I got everything sorted out with all of the relevant authorities yesterday. Coincidentally, that law I just told you about is considered Null and Void as of today as well. Thankfully, it didn't require me to specify if you were an 'unknown Human' or a Pokemon so your cover is intact. Please don't break it too early, I'm under no false pretense it will last." Professor Oak says seriously, patting me on the shoulder.

"You sly old-" I mutter as I prime the Luxury Ball and get Alonso off of my shoulder. He woke up around when the law was being read, but never got off due to the clutter. Cutting my mini tirade off, I set the ball onto the ground and change into Zorua form. I cautiously touch the ball, as if it would burn me, and it cracks open to turn my world into a red light. I feel myself get extremely light, as if weightless, and then nothing as I hear a 'click'.

A/N

There we go, it only took a grand total of 9 chapters for Grimm to become a legal Trainer. Now, this is where the fun begins.

Prepare for a battle maniac awakening in Grimm, now that he feels comfortable in partaking in Pokemon Battles for gain. He can now earn money in Trainer Battles by betting too, so expect him to take advantage of that.

Also, I commissioned some cover art for this fic so hopefully that turns out well.

Peace

-Taldor