Back to me. Last time we're doing this.
Team Rocket showed up again...with a giant stadium that looked vaguely like a Wailmer. Anyway, they tried to suck up all the Pokémon in the Village, so we ducked into the cabin to shield ourselves. Bulbasaur then got up on the roof and used Vine Whip to smack the hose away. Ash and I then proceeded to get our birds to take them out.
"Spearow! Get rid of that hose with Steel Wing!" I declared. Spearow gave a mischievous chirp, and used...not-Steel Wing. In fact, it looked a lot more like-!
"Where did you learn Aerial Ace?!" I asked in astonishment after he sliced off the Rockets' hose. Spearow just angled a wing at Pidgeotto, who was whipping up a Gust attack that sent the Rockets flying. ...Although, it had a tornado involved, so I almost thought it was Twister instead.
So Spearow learned Aerial Ace from Pidgeotto. That's actually pretty good, since that means he now has a move that is a third again stronger than Peck. Plus Aerial Ace is a never-miss move, so that's always great. It kind of makes me wonder if I can get Pikachu to teach Nidoran Thunderbolt or something.
Anyway, right after that, Bulbasaur challenged Ash. That went about as you'd expect, and Bulbasaur was caught.
When Ash scanned Bulbasaur again though, something was weird.
"Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon. A strange seed was planted on its back at birth. The plant sprouts and grows with this Pokémon. For some time after its birth, it grows by gaining nourishment from the seed on its back. This Bulbasaur is Male and has the Ability Overgrow. He knows the Moves Tackle, Vine Whip, Sweet Scent, Razor Leaf, and Seed Bomb."
...Why did Bulbasaur know five moves? Misty explained the whole move limitation thing to me a while ago, how wild Pokémon only have four moves, but because trained ones didn't need to worry about the kind of stuff they do in the wild, they can learn more at once. Bulbasaur having more moves is a bit confusing.
Although, I do have a theory. According to Melanie, Bulbasaur distrusted Trainers. And during the giant Pokémon episode, he was the only one to suggest that the Trainers had abandoned them. I think Bulbasaur was abandoned by whoever his previous Trainer was. At least, that's what makes the most sense to me.
Anyway, I guess that's it! We're all ready to leave. Brock's leg has healed enough that he can walk, just don't ask him to run. Let's see, what's next on the agenda? Oh right, Drill Run. I think what I should try next is-.
My thoughts were interrupted when a giant heli-tank of some sorts buzzed overhead. This wasn't in the show! "Oh great, now what?!" I said in an exasperated tone. The cockpit untinted its windows, revealing two figures: a male, and a female. ...Also, the heli-tank looks kind of beat up. I wonder what happened to it?
"We've found it, the Hidden Village of Pokémon!" the male declared.
"And not only that, but we've tracked the source of the other warp signature straight to here!" the female added. Warps? ...Oh no. I involuntarily flinched at that. Damn it, Arceus! Whatever you did to bring me here was traceable!
They unfortunately noticed that. "So, you're the cause of the warps, are you?" the male falsely surmised.
"I don't know about any warps, but who are you people?!" Ash demanded. God question. Although, something about them seems familiar...
"Who are we?" the female repeated. And then they started off with a motto, of course.
"We are the Pokémon Mystery Club!"
"We investigate the mysteries of the world!"
"And there's a Pokémon at the bottom of every mystery!"
"I'm Ken!" the male introduced.
"And I'm Mary!" the female added.
"And we are the Pokémon Mystery Club! P! M! C!" they shouted.
"...So, you're Team Rocket ripoffs, got it," I nodded. Yep. Makes perfect sense to me.
"Don't compare us with those idiots!" Ken angrily spat.
"Once we capture you and find out what world you come from, another clue to this mystery about 'A' will be revealed!" Mary announced. ...I have no words.
No, wait, yes I do. "You guys can kiss my ass! No way I'm telling you anything!" I yelled at them.
I could feel the disapproving glare Misty was giving me, but I didn't really care. I needed to vent.
"Regardless, if you won't come willingly, we'll have to capture you by force!" Mary declared.
"Mary, the cannons haven't been repaired from our encounter with that kid with the Mawile in Saffron," Ken hissed. Huh?
"Who needs them? We have the claws and we have our shield!" Mary retorted. She hit some kind of switch in their heli-tank. Two claws sprung out of it, and the whole thing was covered in a green aura similar to Safeguard. Then, the claws lashed out and-YIKES!
I dove to the side as the claw came crashing down on where I had been standing a moment before. I guess these guys aren't kidding around...but they said they didn't have weapons, so they should be defenseless!
"Spearow, get rid of those claws with Steel Wing!" I ordered, sending out the Tiny Bird. Spearow chirped in reply, zooming forward with a fusion of Aerial Ace and Steel Wing.
"Hah! Is that all?!" Ken said incredulously, hitting another switch. 6 more claws forced their way out of orifices on their heli-tank. Spearow sweatdropped at that, but did his best to combat with them. But there were too many for him to keep track of, and the rest came zooming towards me!
"Yikes!" I yelled, as I leapt away from the grabbing things. Seriously, where did these clowns come from anyway?!
Apparently, Ash had enough of this. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" he declared. Pikachu did just that, shooting off the powerful electric attack at them. But it bounced off their Safeguard-colored shield. ...Which makes no sense, considering that's not what Safeguard does, but oh well. Regardless, Ash and Pikachu were both shocked (emotionally) by that.
"...Oh, so you're going to help him, huh? If that's the case, then we'll deal with you too!" the PMC idiots declared in unison. Their claws immediately went after everyone, and we all went running for cover. Melanie and the local Pokémon all ducked back into the cabin, while the rest of us had to deal with the stupid claws.
"Woah!" Misty yelled as she ducked under one. We'd bring our Pokémon out, but there's no time! Spearow's the only one up there trying to deal with them! ...Wait a sec, they've been ignoring Ash.
Ash realized this too. "Pidgeotto, I choose you!" he declared, getting Pidgeotto out as fast as he could. "Help Spearow with your Aerial Ace!" he ordered.
"Pid-jo!" Pidgeotto acknowledged, flying after the heli-tank with her own Aerial Ace. Her wings also started glowing metallic...wait, that's-!
"Spearow must have taught Pidgeotto Steel Wing in exchange for learning Aerial Ace!" I realized, even as I leaped over another claw swipe. With both Flying-types after the case of the PMC machine, they managed to divide their attention. Small nicks started forming at the base of the claw-arms. This was also taking a toll on it.
"Mary, we aren't fully repaired! The shield's weakening!" Ken said frantically. But just when things were starting to go our way, something happened.
"Gh!" Brock groaned in pain, collapsing to one knee. His leg injury hadn't completely healed, and he was forced to stop due to it.
The PMC realized their chance. "You won't get away this time!" Mary yelled, sending a claw straight at him.
"Brock!" we all yelled in horror. Just when it looked like it was going to grab him...
"Geo!" Suddenly, Geodude, who forced his way out of his Pokéball and was holding back the claw.
"Like one Geodude is going to stop us!" Ken declared, increasing the power to maximum. The force of the claw grew even greater, forcing Geodude's arms back.
But I saw Geodude. He wouldn't give up. He couldn't give up. He would defend Brock to the end of eternity. I couldn't quite explain why he was the only one who came out, but I didn't have time to think about it.
Because that's when it happened. A certain familiar blue light enveloped Geodude. Everyone froze at this, because we all knew what it meant.
Geodude was evolving.
The change swept over him. His body grew larger, he gained legs and an extra pair of arms, and became more craggier. The light burst off into sparkles, revealing his new form. "Graveler!" he roared, tearing the claw apart.
"AHHHHHH!" the PMC idiots yelled in fear, holding each other. Brock was in pain, but he took immediate action.
"Graveler, use Rollout!" he declared.
"Grav!" Graveler yelled, curling up into a ball and rolling at the heli-tank. He used an incline to fly through the air and hit them directly. Warning alarms started blaring all throughout the machine.
"We've lost the shield completely!" Ken said in horror. Indeed, the green Safguard-like glow was gone from the machine. Graveler bounced off of the machine and halted to a stop right next to Brock, helping him up with his upper right arm.
Meanwhile, Ash, not one to be outdone, decided to contribute as well. "Pidgeotto, use Steel Wing!" he declared.
Ah, why not? "Spearow, use Drill Run!" I added.
"Pid-jo!" Pidgeotto declared, slicing through the claw arms and cutting a deep groove through the machine. Meanwhile, Spearow spun up into his attack, firing himself off directly at the heli-tank. Wait...should I have told him to do that?
"I think it's time to make a hasty retreat!" Mary said in fear, trying to fly themselves out of there. But Spearow was fed up with them. So he pushed himself to do the one thing he had been struggling with.
"SPEAR-ROW!" he yelled, turning to match their flight vector and drilling a hole straight through them, causing the whole machine to go unstable.
"Spearow, you finally figured out how to steer Drill Run!" I exclaimed in shock. Ash ignored me, seeing the opening.
"Pikachu, finish them with Thunderbolt!" he declared. Pikachu was all too ready to comply.
"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUU!" he yelled, shooting off the Thunderbolt and shocking the hell out of those two idiots. The heli-tank exploded, and...well, what else do you think would happen with one of Pikachu's Thunderbolts?
"Bon voyage from the PMC!" they yelled as they blasted off, disappearing into a twinkle of light like the Team Rocket people they've ripped off.
I couldn't help but sigh out a breath of relief. That sure was hectic. Didn't see that coming, that's for sure. Spearow immediately flew down and landed in front of me. Well, I know what to do right now!
"Great job, Spearow! You finally learned to steer Drill Run! That's awesome!" I cheered.
"Spear!" Spearow preened. Suddenly, the blue light of evolution overtook him as well, much to my own shock. I guess those idiots gave him enough EXP to make it to Level 20...just kidding. I knew what was coming now. The elongated beak, the larger wings, the headcrest. The light cut off, revealing not Spearow, but Fearow in a crown of sparkles! Even he seemed to be shocked at his own evolution.
"Course, evolution is even more awesome in its own right," I murmured, not able to say anything else. I brought out my Pokédex.
"Fearow, the Beak Pokémon, and the evolved form of Spearow. Fearow is recognized by its long neck and elongated beak. They are conveniently shaped for catching prey in soil or water. It deftly moves its long and skinny beak to pluck prey. Upon evolution, Fearow learned the Moves Mirror Move and Drill Peck."
"Fear-row!" Fearow cawed to the world. He had been taken aback, yes, but after it sunk in, he was feeling on top of the world, I know it!
"Today's been so hectic, hasn't it? Return, Fearow. I'm going to get you something nice to celebrate, that's a promise!" I declared, returning him to his Pokéball. Before putting it back on my belt, I looked at it. My first evolved Pokémon. What's this feeling I feel? ...Yeah, way to be redundant. But...I think I recognize it now. It's joy.
"Graveler, the Rock Pokémon, and the evolved form of Geodude. Graveler grows by feeding on rocks. Apparently, it prefers to eat rocks that are covered in moss. This Pokémon eats its way through a ton of rocks on a daily basis. This Graveler is Male and has the Ability Sturdy. He knows the Moves Tackle, Defense Curl, Rock Throw, Rock Tomb, Rollout, Dynamic Punch, and Magnitude."
Blinking, I turned my head to see where that was coming from. As it turned out, Ash was scanning Brock's newly-gained Graveler, who was helping Brock stand with his upper right arm. Hoo boy...two evolutions in 5 minutes. Don't think I've ever seen that.
"Hey, Brock, how are you feeling?" I greeted, walking over to them.
In response, he just gave me a grin. "I'm fine, just someone won't stop being a worrywart," he shot affectionately at Graveler. Graveler simply rolled his eyes and ignored that.
"Anyway, congratulations on Fearow's evolution," he told me.
"Same to you and Graveler," I returned amiably. That...wasn't supposed to happen in canon. ...But then, I guess this isn't canon, is it? At least, not the way I remember it. And after all, I'm here. That's probably messed things up, as evidenced by those PMC morons. ...Although, come to think of it, I think they were originally in the show as well. But I'm pretty sure they weren't in Kanto.
Speaking of them, Ash was wondering about them. "Who were those guys anyway?" he asked.
"I'm a bit more interested in what they were talking about. Chronos, what did they mean by "warp"? You obviously know something," Misty pointed out as she walked over from where she had taken refuge near the river.
I sighed. I didn't want to tell them, at least not this early. But it looked like there was no way out of this. I had given myself away with that. There was no way for me to deny it. At the same time though..."Let's wait until we're on the road. I'll explain everything then," I decided.
Looks like I'm coming clean...well, mostly.
"Another world?!"
"Pi-ka?!"
"Yeah," I nodded. "I'm from another world, not this one."
"So...does that mean you're technically a-?" Ash wondered.
"Yeah, I'm technically an alien. I'm as human as you guys are, but I'm not from your planet, assuming we're even from the same universe," I shrugged.
"I'm guessing Chronos Rivers isn't actually your name then?" Brock questioned. I stopped walking at that. I'm fairly sure that we've passed by Saffron completely without even entering it and are now on Route 6, but Ash continues to insist we're on Route 24. ...Which is north of Cerulean. Ash Ketchum: soon-to-be skilled Trainer, and horrible map reader. But that wasn't why I stopped.
"Chronos Rivers...what a pretentious name," I sighed. "No, it's not my actual name. It was just the name I gave to a character I wrote in a story a few years ago. Wasn't really a good one though."
"So, what is your name?" Misty asked. I shook my head at that.
"My name doesn't have any meaning here. Nobody would recognize it, nobody would really care. Chronos Rivers is a pretentious name, but it'll do. I guess." I sighed again. Never leave me alone with my thoughts, I get angsty. Anyway, we started walking again after that.
"So how do you know so much about Pokémon?" Ash wondered, walking backwards along the path.
"Hm? Oh, my world doesn't have Pokémon as creatures, but we still have them in media. Games, anime, manga, you name it. I've played the Pokémon games a lot, so if it's about a Pokémon from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, or Kalos, I know a lot about it." Yeah, I'm not telling them about who is the star of the Anime. That would just swell his head up.
"Say, just how did you get here, anyway?" Brock questioned. Suppose I should tell them.
"Well..." I trailed off when I noticed a certain rock and a certain Lizard Pokémon sitting on it. "Hey, isn't that a Charmander," I pointed out. The other three were immediately distracted by that. I didn't really mean to do that, but if I had to be honest, I wasn't in the mood to deal with their questions right now. I'd answer them later.
Anyway, since Charmander is here, that means a Pokémon Center is just up ahead. Meaning, I can do something I meant to do in Cerulean, if we had ever actually stopped by the Center there.
I can call Professor Oak.
I'm a bit hesitant about just leaving Charmander on the rock like that. Things have already butterflied, what with those PMC morons popping up. I was a bit distracted by the fact that Ash managed to translate what Pikachu was saying. How did he do that? I've barely begun to understand what Eevee is saying, and that's only for certain words. That was a fluid translation! ...Maybe there's more to those theories that N is related to Ash in some way than I thought. ...Or maybe I'm just overthinking it, there's always that option.
Anyway, Ash gave me Professor Oak's number, but considering that he likely has no clue who I am, I told him to call the Professor for me, and then I'd introduce myself.
"Alright, he's ready to talk to you," Ash told me, scooting from the vid-phone.
"'Kay. Thanks, Ash," I said, sitting in the seat. Well...there he is, on the screen. Professor Samuel Oak himself. ...I don't really know what to say. Although, the Professor himself had a look of recognition on his face when he saw me.
"Well well, I was wondering when we'd meet again, Chronos Rivers," he said, with an amused look on his face.
I blinked at that. "We've...met before?" I asked in confusion. That's funny...Wait, was there actually a real Chronos Rivers from Celadon and I've taken over his body?! Oh no...that's not good...ohcrapohcrapohcrap...
Meanwhile, Oak nodded. "Yes. About 40 years ago, and in about a year from now," he explained.
...Huh? Wait, how could we have met 40 years ago? And a year from now? What does that-?
...Oh. OH! "The thing with Celebi!" I realized.
"Shh! Not so loud. But yes, we first met, at least for me, during those events," Oak confided. So I'm going to keep traveling with Ash at least up through 4Ever...that means the rest of Kanto, the Orange Islands, and the first part of Johto. Yikes. That's really only one year?
Hang on a sec though... "Hold on, how did you know that I'm me? It's been 4 decades for you since our last meeting. Did you really remember what I looked like?" I asked in curiousity.
"Well, no. But your letter told me when you would first call me," Oak explained, holding up a sheet of paper. It was an old piece of paper, one well-creased. He'd obviously read it a lot.
"Letter, huh? Let me guess, I told you not to open it until this year, didn't I?" I said rhetorically.
"Why, yes? How did you guess?" Oak asked in surprise.
"Because I likely got the letter thing from a movie I like. A similar thing happened in that," I said. Back to the Future, you never let me down. Speaking of...
"By the way, I don't suppose you can tell me exactly what the letter says, can you?" I questioned. Oak shook his head. Yeah, I figured.
"Sorry," he apologized. "But you specifically wrote me to tell you not to do that." I would totally do that. Need to preserve the timeline and all, the less I know the better. That way my reactions won't be contaminated.
...Still annoying though. Right, time to get to what I wanted to ask. "By the way, the reason I called you is because of something regarding my Pokédex," I explained.
"Well, what seems to be the issue?"
"The thing is, I first activated it in Viridian Forest. And I heard that people with a Pokédex who catch more than 6 Pokémon have their seventh transported to where they activated their Pokédex," I hashed out.
"I see. Well, it's a bit more complicated than that, but I assume the reason you're asking is that you want to have it reprogrammed to send your Pokémon to me, is that right?" Oak asked, just to be sure. At my nod, he continued. "Well, I understand from your letter that you're due to drop by Bill's place on Route 6, correct? I do need to talk with him about something regarding the transfer system, so I could easily stop by and adjust the programming there," Oak offered.
I sighed a breath of relief at that. Now I don't have to worry about stuff like that. "Thanks, Professor," I said in gratitude. Something else struck me though, but I took it out of mind. Obviously he wouldn't be curious to know how I knew of when I'd meet him again if I'd written him a letter.
"Don't mention it. I'm actually curious to talk to you a bit in person to discuss something. Oh, and Charizard says hello!" With that said, he hung up. ...Charizard says hi? ...Right, he had a Charmeleon with him in 4Ever, probably his starter. Obviously, in 40 years it would have become a Charizard.
Well, that settles that! My business here is done, now I just need to get cracking on the rematch with Misty. I got up from the phone booth, and as soon as I did, I heard obnoxious laughter from the center of the Center, near the giant fire.
...Him. Damian. I unconsciously gritted my teeth and my fist upon seeing him. I'm half convinced that most of Charmander's attitude problems as Charmeleon and Charizard is because of this asshole.
I hate hate hate haTE HATE HATE HATE HATE him!
And I'm not going to put up with him if he starts his crap.
The next day...
Well, it's another day, and we continued on our way to Vermilion. Charmander got picked up without hassle, which is great, since I was worried about that. Speaking of Charmander...
"Charmander, the Lizard Pokémon. The flame that burns at the tip of its tail is an indication of its emotions. The flame wavers when Charmander is enjoying itself. If the Pokémon becomes enraged, the flame burns fiercely. This Charmander is Male and has the Ability Blaze. He knows the Moves Flamethrower, Metal Claw, Dragon Rage, Heat Wave, and Smokescreen."
That is a great movepool for a Charmander. And when you consider Damian had problems? That must mean he plain sucks.
There's just two things on my mind right now. First, obviously, is what Professor Oak needs to speak to me about. The second is, well...
"Why are you guys all the way over there?!" I called out to Ash, Brock, Misty and Pikachu. For some bizarre reason, they're walking like 30 feet behind me, and are giving me wary looks. I honestly can't think of why. All I did was give Damian some stern words. ...Okay, I did punch him in the face too, but he had it coming.
"You know why!" Misty yelled back my way.
"Are you really getting this way over some strong words?"
"Strong is an understatement. It was like watching Cinnabar Volcano erupt in front of us!" Brock denied.
"Yeah, I bet they could hear it all the way in Pallet!" Ash nodded.
Seriously? "My temper is not that bad!"
"Says you!" they shouted back in unison. Y'know what? Forget it, ignore them for now. With that out of the way, I took my phone and my earbuds out of my pocket, turning it on and going to the music player. I put the earbuds in my ears and then hit Shuffle to see what came up in my music collection.
...Well, there's irony for you. Alive a Live, the Opening Theme of Kamen Rider Ryuki, and also sung by Ash...no, Satoshi's VA, Rica Matsumoto. That reminds me...does Kamen Rider even exist in this world? Because I just realized I'm missing episodes of Drive. Eh, whatever.
I still need to get Fearow a present for evolving. And work on my PokéSpeak. I've gotten better at least. ...Okay, so all I can say are attack names. That's still better than where I was at earlier! Currently, I'm trying to see if there's any pattern between similar sounding words in English...or whatever I'm speaking right now (I thought Kanto was in Japan?) and Pokéspeak. I think there is, but don't hold me to that.
I can patchily understand certain phrases of Eevee's at any rate. It's just like the miniscule amount of Japanese I picked up from watching Kamen Rider. Certain phrases transcend languages, and you can instantly recognize them. Anyway, Eevee was able to tell me that Poliwag needs some encouragement. I'm going to do just that. See, the guys know I have a Poliwag, but they don't know what his Ability is. I can catch Misty off-guard with Water Absorb, then use Hypnosis to put her Pokémon to sleep. Simple.
...I still need to decide on when we'll have our rematch. Considering the stop at Bill's Lighthouse is the last thing before Vermillion, it has to be then or earlier. ...Come to think of it, isn't Squirtle's episode about to happen soon?
Later...
Gkh...Squirtle's capture has come and passed, but for whatever reason I have a ginormous headache. Can't quite explain it...
Speaking about headaches, Squirtle apparently knows Aura Sphere. Something is up around here, and...I can't think straight at all. Which is why we've stopped for a bit on our way down Route 6. We've let all our Pokémon out, and they're all talking about things. ...Well, actually, Misty went to go train for a bit, so her Pokémon aren't here.
"{Alright, everybody, I know we haven't gotten much time lately, but let's give a warm welcome to Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, and Poliwag!}" Pikachu declared.
"{And a congratulations to Fearow and Graveler for evolving!}" Eevee chimed in. All of the Pokémon cheered at that. Bulbasaur just rolled his eyes, Charmander and Poliwag looked a bit uncomfortable, while Squirtle just ate it up. And as for the newly-evolved Pokémon, Graveler nodded, while Fearow puffed out his chest in pride.
"{So, I've been meanin' to ask you two. Just how was it like, evolin' and all?}" Nidoran wondered.
"{The evolution itself? It's like a rush of energy that changes you inside and out. Everything's different, but at the same time familiar. It's just hard to describe,}" Fearow shrugged.
Pikachu nodded, closing his eyes in remembrance. "{Yeah...I remember when I evolved from Pichu. It was kind of like that, but at the same time, I was also focused on how much I loved my parents.}"
"{Well, for us Bug Pokémon, evolution isn't really the same as it is for most Pokémon. I didn't really feel anything,}" Butterfree commented.
"{I didn't really feel anything either. All I could feel was how much I needed to protect Brock, by any means necessary,}" Graveler interjected.
"{Speaking of, I'm surprised neither of you two went out there when that happened,}" Pidgeotto commented, looking at Onix and Zubat. Brock's other two Pokémon looked at each other for a bit, before Onix spoke up.
"{We would have, but we don't have hands. Now, I could have gone out there, but my size might have messed things up for Brock even more. Geodude-no, Graveler was the best pick for the job.}"
"{Hey, speaking of, Pidgeotto, what about your evolution experience?}" Pikachu wondered.
"{Hm? Oh, I don't really remember. I evolved not that long after I hatched, for some reason or another. Like I said, I don't remember,}" she explained.
Eevee had a pensive look on her face at all this talk of evolution. Everyone there took notice.
"{Eevee? What's up?}" Nidoran wondered.
"{It's just...all this talk of evolution is making me wonder about my own evolution, when I get around to it. Us Eevee have so many options to choose from, you know?}" she sighed.
"{Well, why don't you just pick one?}" Zubat asked.
"{That's the thing. I don't know which one to pick. Should I really be worrying about this so soon anyway?}"
"{If you ask me, you should pick the Water-Type one!}" Squirtle declared.
Bulbasaur snorted. "{Of course, you'd say that.}
"{Course! I'm the badass leader of the Squirtle Squad, and don't you forget it!}" Squirtle declared.
"{But, um, you're not in the Squirtle Squad anymore,}" Poliwag pointed out. Squirtle immediately froze at that. It had actually slipped his mind.
"{Uh, yeah, good point. Sorry about that. I get a bit overenthusiastic sometimes,}" he said sheepishly.
"{Evolution sounds awesome though! I can't wait to evolve!}" Charmander cheered.
"{Well, keep going at it, and you will. Eventually,}" Pidgeotto encouraged.
"{You guys can count me out of that. Personally, I'd rather not evolve,}" Bulbasaur stated.
"{Well, evolution is usually a choice. If you don't want to evolve, then don't. We won't think any less of you for it,}" Pikachu pointed out.
As the talk continued, Eevee continued to think to herself. She just couldn't get it out of her head.
'What am I going to evolve into?'
*COUGHCOUGH* Eeeyuck...
"Are you sure you're fine? You sound like you're coming down with something," Brock said in concern.
"I'm f-f-f-f-fine." My stomach...
"Your teeth are chattering," Misty said dryly.
"Oh, s-s-s-s-shut up! I'm just cold!"
The day's coming to an end, and Ash had rushed ahead to go catch Krabby. ...Well, okay, he didn't know that, but still. But for whatever reason, I'm feeling horrible. Suddenly, I realize why I've never done this camping thing before. At least, assuming I did catch a bug or something. I may actually just be cold. ...A guy can dream, right?
It took a lot longer than we thought to get to the lighthouse. I mean, it looked like it was right there when we saw it on the beach. The door itself had Pokémon pictures engraved all over it. The doorbell was kind of creepy as well. I couldn't help but tense up alongside the others. The door slowly groaned open, revealing-!
"Oh, hello everybody," Professor Oak greeted. Ash immediately faceplanted at that utter mood whiplash.
"Professor Oak?! What are you doing here?!" he asked, quickly leaping back to his feet. Oak glanced at me for a second, and I minutely shook my head to signal that I hadn't said anything.
"Well, I had some business with the lighthouse's keeper. I must say, Ash, I didn't expect to see you all here," Oak smoothly said. Which was a complete lie, as he did expect to see us here. Makes me wonder what else was in that letter I wrote him, but I'm probably not going to find out until I actually have to sit down and write the letter myself.
Anyway, the Professor motioned for us to step inside, so we did so. Soon as we did, I stopped shivering quite as much as I had been. I told you guys I was just cold...
Course, that was when something struck Ash. "Wait, if you're here, then how am I supposed to know if Krabby's alright?!" he panicked.
"Oh, you caught a Krabby, Ash? Congratulations! And while it's true that I'm not at the Lab, you didn't honestly think I didn't leave somebody to watch over the place, did you?" Oak said rhetorically, going over to a nearby vid-phone. Which had a Bellsprout for a receiver. That's kind of weird...
Anyway, the Professor dialed up his Lab's number. The phone rang twice, before somebody picked it up on the other side. I was a bit surprised to see who was on the other side, as I was expecting Ash's mom, Delia Ketchum.
"Hi, Grandpa!" the young woman spoke from Oak's Lab.
"Hello, Daisy! How's the Lab been?" Oak questioned. Yep, it was Daisy Oak alright, the older sister of Gary. I didn't expect her to exist in the Animeverse...but like I've been pointing out to myself, this isn't the Animeverse. Or at least, not the one I know.
Anyway, Misty was a bit taken aback by the fact that Oak's granddaughter was also named Daisy. Course, Daisy is a common name, so I doubt that it really matters. Anyway, Ash butted in before Daisy could say anything. "Hi, Daisy!" he said with a dopey grin. Okay...what's up with that?
...Wait, didn't the Electric Tale version of Ash have a crush on Daisy (called May in that)?
...No way. We're talking about Ash here, he can't actually have a crush on someone, can he?
Anyway, disregarding that, Krabby was fine and Ash was reassured. One thing I'm wondering about is...well, never mind!
A certain someone came from further inside the lighthouse. "Ah, Bill, there you are," the Professor greeted.
"Hello, Professor. Thanks again for getting me out of that costume," Bill said sheepishly. ...Funny, I could have sworn his hair was green in the Anime. It's his normal brown like in the games here. ...Not like it matters. Maybe a bucket of paint fell on his head or something.
"Oh, no trouble at all. But how did you get stuck in there anyway?" Oak wondered.
"Err...you don't want to know," Bill grimaced.
"Hey, Professor, who's this?" Ash wondered.
"Ah, yes. This is Bill, one of the co-creators of the Transfer System used to transfer Pokémon from place to place." Makes sense. The games' Storage System likely doesn't exist. Even Paul doesn't keep his Pokémon in boxes, and he'd be the type to do so if it was a thing. The Transfer System is the next best thing.
Anyway, introductions were made, blah blah blah, etc etc and all that. Brock offered to cook, which Bill agreed to, saying that he was sick of eating only tofu, no matter how much he liked the stuff. He also stressed not to use anything with milk in it, since he was lactose-intolerant. I think I remember that from the Fame Checker...
Anyway, the others went on ahead, while Professor Oak asked if he could use Bill's workspace to adjust my Pokédex. So we went over there.
"Your Pokédex is in your phone?" the Professor asked in surprise.
"Err, yeah. Is that going to be a problem?" I wondered in worry.
"Oh, no, that means this'll be easier than I assumed," he waved it off, hooking my phone up to the computer. He quickly typed some stuff together and...
"Huh...that's peculiar. According to this, your Pokédex is already set up to transfer Pokémon to my Lab." Huh? Judging from his own confused look, Oak had no idea himself. That's strange...
"Well, that was a waste of time," I grumbled.
"Well, we couldn't have known unless you had caught more than 6 Pokémon. At any rate, this give me more time to talk to you about that thing I mentioned," Oak stated, going over to what looked like a mailbag or something. He had brought it with him from the Lab. He reached into it an pulled out...
"An Egg?" I asked in surprise. It was indeed a Pokémon Egg, within one of those sealed containers they're usually in in the Anime. The Egg itself was brown in color, with a white pattern on the top.
"Yes. This Egg is rather special. As such, I need to give it to you," Oak declared, attempting to hand me the Egg. My only reaction, however, was to backpedal away from him.
Just...huh?! What did I possible do that would make Professor Oak give my an Egg?! I don't want to be some ridiculous Marty Stu!
"Oh, would you quit that? If you don't take that Egg, we're going to run into even more problems than we're already in."
Huh? What was that voice that sounded in my head? ...'More problems than we're already in'?" What does that mean?
"But...why me? I can't take care of an Egg!" I protested.
"Young man, you've told me that you're older than you appear. Are you really saying that a 19-year-old can't take care of an Egg?" the Professor asked with a raised eyebrow. ...Damn it.
"Why me though? Why would you entrust me with an Egg that you of all people are claiming as special?" I continued to protest.
"Your letter did mention that you'd be skeptical, but you didn't mention how much you can protest something," Oak mused to himself. ...Oh, no, don't tell me that-?
"Your response to this, that you told me to say, was...'Spoilers'" the Professor quoted. ...Damn it, I knew it. There's timey-wimey stuff involved. Whoever the Pokémon inside this Egg is, they're going to play a role in 4Ever. Meaning that I have to take the Egg. I don't have any choice.
I sighed. "I don't have a choice, do I?"
"No, we always have a choice. You don't necessarily have to take the Egg now. And there are certainly a number of ways to get around the, err, 'spoilers'," Oak corrected. True, but...
I shook my head. "Better safe than sorry. I'll take the Egg. Sorry for freaking out, Professor," I apologized, taking the Egg from him.
"It's alright. You're still young. It's to be expected," the Professor said with all the wisdom his age and experience has granted him.
I stared at the Egg. Whoever you are, in there...I'm going to take as best care of you as I can, regardless of Stable Time Loops, or whatever dumbo things are involved.
That's a promise.
So we spent the night at Bill's Lighthouse. And now I feel much better. I told you guys I was just cold! ...Anyway, something a bit surprising happened.
That giant Dragonite that Bill had come here to look for didn't show up. As a consequence, neither did Team Rocket. But that's a bit worrying. Things butterflied enough that the giant Dragonite didn't show up. If that didn't happen, then what else might not happen in the future? And what if they were supposed to be important?
Anyway, regardless of that, it was time for my rematch with Misty. Going into this, I've been doing two things while we've been traveling. First of all, Poliwag only knew offensive Water-type moves when I caught him, so I taught him Double Slap, which is a simple enough move to learn. The second was getting him used to using Hypnosis almost instantly after I called for it.
As a side note, I also asked Fearow to reverse-engineer his Steel Wing and teach Eevee Iron Tail. Since those moves are similar enough, I'm pretty sure it can be done. But I'm not liable to use any Steel-type moves today, since Water resists Steel and all.
Now, since we weren't at an official arena recognized by the Pokémon League, we needed the backing of two officials certified by the League to have an official qualifying match. Fortunately, we did. Bill was certified because he made the Transfer System, and the Professor is...well, he's self-explanatory.
So...there we were on the beach. I was on one side, Misty on the other, the Professor taking the role of the Referee, and Brock, Ash, and Bill watching from the sidelines.
"Misty calls Staryu!"
"Poliwag, it's show time!" And with both of us saying that, our Pokémon were out there and ready. This time, I'm going to wait. No way I'm getting blindsided by Analytic again. I bet her Starmie has it too...
Waiting...waiting...eventually, Misty gave up. "Water Gun!" she snapped.
Booyah! "Charge straight through, then use Hypnosis!" I countered. Poliwag did just that, ignoring the Water Gun like it wasn't even there, much to Misty's shock. He got close to Staryu's gem, then immediately fired a Hypnosis pulse into it. The gem dimmed, and Staryu fell over, asleep.
"Wait a second! Even if Poliwag is a Water-type, he should have been at least somewhat injured by that Water Gun!" Misty protested.
"Ordinarily, he would be," I agreed. "But Poliwag's Ability is Water Absorb! Now, Poliwag, use Double Slap!" Poliwag did just that, slapping Staryu back and forth with his tail.
Back and forth, back and forth...this is getting kind of monotonous. I know it's a legitimate strategy and all, but this is honestly kind of boring. Note to self, after this, don't use the Hypnosis thing that often.
"Staryu, come on! You gotta wake up!" Misty pleaded. Poliwag continued to slap Staryu silly for about 10 more seconds, before suddenly its gem lit up!
"Heya!" Staryu cried, launching into a Rapid Spin that knocked Poliwag away from it. Poliwag bounced a couple times before landing on his feet.
"Poliwag, you alright?" I asked in concern. He nodded his head in acknowledgement. Alright then...let's see how this goes now.
Staryu got back to its legs...well, two of them. It is a star, after all. But just as soon as he did that, his gem started blinking...and he fell over with a faint "He-ya..."
"Oh no! Staryu!" Misty cried in shock. ...Okay, didn't see that coming!
"Staryu is unable to battle! This round goes to Poliwag!" the Professor declared, waving with those referee flags.
"Yes! Great job, Poliwag!" I encouraged anyway. Poliwag beamed at that and cheered. Looks like his confidence has sky-rocketed.
Suddenly, a familiar blue light enveloped him! That was fast...or not, considering I have been using him for a while to boost his confidence up. I used him during the Squirtle Squad thing, and then there were those trainers we fought on the road between picking up Charmander and getting Squirtle.
I guess it's because Fearow didn't evolve that long ago himself that I feel this way. Maybe? I don't know. What I do know, is that Poliwag is evolving!
He grew larger and lost his tail, the spiral on his belly flipped (wait...aren't those his internal organs?), and he grew hands. Those are always good. The blue light exploded into sparkly light, revealing Poliwhirl!
"...Awesome!" I cheered, bringing out my 'Dex.
"Poliwhirl, the Tadpole Pokémon, and the evolved form of Poliwag. The surface of Poliwhirl's body is always wet and slick with an oily fluid. Because of this greasy covering, it can easily slip and slide out of the clutches of any enemy in battle. Upon evolution, Poliwhirl learned the Move Ice Punch."
"Ooh, Ice Punch. That'll be handy," I mused.
"You know, I'd ordinarily congratulate you here. But remember that this is a Gym Battle, even if we aren't in a Gym! It's not over yet! Misty calls Starmie!" Misty declared, sending out Starmie.
Hm...decisions to make...should I keep Poliwhirl out there? He's not too badly injured by Staryu's Rapid Spin. But...yeah. I owe it to her. "Poliwhirl, return for now!" I decided, calling him back to his Pokéball. "Eevee, you're up!" I declared, sending her out there.
Meanwhile, Ash couldn't help but comment. "Hey, why did he withdraw Poliwhirl for Eevee?" He was asking Brock, but I heard him and couldn't help but respond anyway.
"Evolution isn't everything," I retorted. Upon my saying that, Eevee looked down for a second, before getting back up in her ready position.
Now why'd she do that? All I said was that evolution wasn't...wait a tic. Eevee are the Evolution Pokémon. Obviously, evolution means a lot more to them, or at least her, than it does normally. ...I must have upset her by saying that. Sorry, Eevee...
"Alright, Starmie, use Tackle!" Misty declared. Starmie spun into action, going after Eevee with a vengeance.
"Dodge with Quick Attack!" I ordered. Eevee immediately sped off, running away from Starmie's attack. Starmie didn't let up, and continued to chase after her. Okay, how are we going to get out of this one? Starmie's not going to give an opportunity, and all, so...
...Got it! "Eevee, use Iron Tail!" I called. Eevee concentrated at that. Her tail glowed...then cut out. It glowed...then it cut out. Okay, I guess she hasn't perfected it yet...
But on the third try, the Iron Tail shone into life. Eevee immediately used her speed to pivot around. "Eeeeeeeeeee-vui!" she declared, whacking Starmie directly in the gem and forcing it to fly across the beach. It's not very effective, true, but the force Eevee was using combined with Starmie's speed made it hurt.
"Grr! Water Gun!" Misty ordered.
"Dig!" I countered. Eevee immediately dug into the sand, Starmie's Water Gun passing over the hole. There was a tense moment as we waited for Eevee to resurface.
The ground behind Starmie shifted, and unfortunately, Misty noticed. "Behind you! Water Gun!" she declared. Starmie immediately turned around, blasting the emerging Eevee with Water Gun and knocking her near the water.
I grimaced. Gotta think fast! Sand Attack won't work, so-! "Baby-Doll Eyes!" I yelled. Eevee immediately widened her eyes as cutely as she could. D'aww...okay, this has got to stop! Regardless, that got Starmie to hesitate just enough that we were able to press forward. "Quick Attack!"
Eevee immediately sped forward and bashed into and through Starmie. She then skidded behind, and attacked with Quick Attack again. This was too much for Starmie to take, thanks to Eevee's Adaptability increasing the power of the Quick Attacks.
Starmie fainted.
...Wait, that means we won. YES! Finally!
"Starmie is unable to battle! This round goes to Eevee, and the match goes to the challenger!" Oak declared.
"Yes! Great job, Eevee!" You too, Poliwhirl. I'm going to get you guys something nice as well. Eevee cheered at the victory, but...
"Hey, Eevee? Why did you get upset earlier when I was talking about evolution?" I asked, leaning down so nobody else could hear me. Eevee's cheer evaporated and she looked off to the side and mumbled something. My PokéSpeak lessons still aren't going as planned, but I swear I heard "Don't know" in what she said.
"Don't know? You don't know...what you want to evolve into?" I guessed. At Eevee's nod, I sighed. An exasperated sigh, but one in good nature.
"Silly," I teased, rustling the fur on her head. "If you don't know, why didn't you say so from the beginning? We'll find out together. We're bound to come across different Eeveelutions as we travel, right?"
Eevee smiled for a bit, before she pounced on my face and started licking it! "H-Hey! Cut that out! That tickles!" I laughed. I'm kind of surprised I haven't gotten allergic by now. I'm kind of allergic to animal hair normally. Then again, Pokémon World. And Arceus might have done something.
"Hey!" Eevee and I paused in our little struggle to see Misty standing overhead. She was a bit amused, and was also holding the...oh, right!
I immediately got back to my feet at this. "Well, think you've earned this now?" Misty teased, showing me the Cascade Badge.
"Yeah. This time anyway," I grinned, taking it from her. And upon doing so, I immediately decided to rip off a certain someone who had been watching behind.
"Alright! I got the Cascade Badge!" I declared, spinning around and holding it up in the air.
"Ee-vui!" Eevee cheered next to me. Naturally, a certain Ketchum was upset by this.
"Hey! That's my pose!" he yelled.
"I don't remember you copyrighting it!" I shot back, before bringing my arm down. I stared at the Cascade Badge. A bit late, but I've finally got my second Badge. Next up is Vermillion, where I can hopefully get Badge Number 3.
You're not going to keep anything from me after that, Arceus. I swear it!
That was a whopper. I've gotten an Egg, those PMC guys attacked, I explained to Ash and Company about my origins, and I've gotten the Cascade Badge. Yeeesh...