Chapter 14

"Right then," exclaimed Rex as he used a finger to move my chin up so he could look me in the eye. "You're basically a blank slate. Teachin' you about different Pokémon will be easier this way. There are seventeen different Pokémon types you need to know about."

"Eighteen," intruded Joleen. "Just after Team Plasma took over, my mother had enough time to receive word of an eighteenth type which had been discovered in a faraway Region called Kalos. They were planning to research more about it before Plasma shut down the center and banned her from interacting with Pokémon. I don't remember what the type was supposed to be called, but she might if we can meet up with her."

"Huh," grunted Rex. "It seems I stand corrected.

"Anyways, most Pokémon appearances tend to align with their typin'. Most Fire-types 'ave live flames sprouting from them or can create fire, and most Grass-types sport some form o' plant life. Wha' you really need to know is wha' type the Pokémon you face is, and wha' types it is strong and weak against. We'll start by teachin' you the Electric type as that's the type of the only Pokémon you currently 'ave. Would you mind releasin' Raikou from its Master Ball for part o' this lesson?"

"Okay," I replied, feeling slightly overwhelmed, but quite willing to keep learning.

I removed the Master Ball from the inner pocket of my jacket and tossed it into the air as it grew. Raikou appeared before me in a flash of white light. It shook itself a little before yawning widely and fixating its bright red eyes on me.

"Rair?" rumbled the Pokémon as it approached me.

"Hey there, you," I murmured as I reached a hand out towards it.

In response, the little tiger jumped up so both its paws were on my chest and it could reach my face with its tongue. It managed to get in a scrape before it knocked me backwards onto my bag.

"Hey!" I exclaimed while trying to fend off the tongue making quick work of my face. I couldn't help the stammering giggles that escaped through our struggle. "Enough! I need to be able to breathe!"

"Chris?" asked Joleen in hesitation. I paused in my attempt to get Raikou to stop licking me to glance up at her. "How long have you had this?"

Raikou got in another slurp before I could sit up properly. As I sputtered, my eyes fell on the red rectangular object she was plucking from my open bag.

"Is that?" asked Rex in a mix of horror and excitement.

I fixated on the Pokédex in her hands before answering her. "My mother gave it to me. She said it was old."

"It's just what we need to help you learn about all the Pokémon you could come across!" exclaimed the girl as she began pressing buttons and the second screen was revealed. "This changes everything. This will hold all of the research they had up to the point of Plasma's takeover! Better yet, this one has been upgraded to a National Dex. It has records of all the Pokémon found in Unova and also Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh! Oh, this is perfect! Your mother was a genius for saving this. Here, I can use it on Raikou to find out everything we need to know. It'll tell you what moves it has and its nature, ability, everything! This device is a priceless treasure of lost knowledge for our generation!"

My eyebrows seemed to have been permanently stuck upwards as I stared at her. Joy shone from her face as her fingers went crazy with the device.

"I didn't think it was that special," I muttered while absently placing a hand on Raikou's nose.

"Are you kidding me?!" exclaimed Joleen. "There was a time when almost every travelling trainer in Unova had one! They were connected to a network of pooled data on every Pokémon they discovered, including all their experiences in raising them. It was a marvel before Plasma destroyed it. Or at least said they'd destroyed it! From this device, it looks like I can still get into the database! It's survived. Somewhere in Unova it's still going even after all those years. This is going to make things so much easier for you! We'll use it to help teach you about all the Pokémon you come across! There's so much for you to learn about!"

I continued to stare at her in shock over her outburst. I returned her overjoyed grin with a faint one of my own as most of what she was jabbering about was new information to me.

"Rex?" asked Joleen as she finally glanced up from the device. "Are you alright?"

I shifted my glance past her and onto the man just beyond Raikou. He was standing stock still and didn't appear to be breathing much.

"I-Nothin'," grunted the man as he shook his head. "I jus' thought I'd recognised that Poké-device from somewhere. I was clearly mistaken."

"Oh," Joleen mumbled before returning her full attention to the red Pokédex in her hands. "Okay. I'll set this thing up so I can pull up everything we need to know about Raikou."

"'Ow is it you know 'ow to operate one o' those?" asked Rex as he dispensed of the last of his disbelief with the question. "If it's as rare as you say it is, 'ow do you know 'ow it works?"

"I've always been good with machines and pieces of technology," replied the girl without glancing up. "I'm particularly good at figuring out how things work. Perks of knowing Professor Fennel and her family. There, let's see what we can learn."

She finished fiddling with the device and aimed it at the Raikou now lying sprawled across my lap. A calm female voice sprouted from the machine as it had once before.

-"Raikou, the Thunder Pokémon. It is said to have fallen with lightning. It can fire thunderbolts from the rainclouds on its back."-

"Right," muttered Joleen while her fingers began flying again. "Yes, helpful. Stats please. Here we are!"

-"Raikou.

Type; Electric.

Gender; Unknown.

Ability; Volt Absorb.

Nature; Modest.

Origin; Johto.

Approximate Level; 15.

Moves; Bite, Leer, Thundershock, Roar.

Weak to; Ground.

Resistant to; Flying, Steel, Electric."-

"It can tell all that?" exclaimed Rex while running a hand through his rough black hair to move it out of his smoldering gray eyes.

"When used correctly," mumbled Joleen as she handed the device back to me. "We can start with teaching him what all of those mean, and I think it might be a good idea to have a small battle against my Blaziken while we do so. Unless you have a Pokémon with you that you've been hiding." The girl stared pointedly at the man.

He shifted his stance and scratched the back of his head. "I acquired two since Plasma took my original team."

"Great!" exclaimed Joleen with a bright smile. "We'll teach him together with a battle. Doing is a much better teacher than listening. It'll be good experience for both Chris and Raikou."

A/N: brace yourselves for a huge teaching chapter coming up ... It's probably a lot of things you, as Pokemon fans, already know, but its necessary for part of Chris's development. Not to worry, Chapter 15 will be the ONLY major teaching Chapter we'll have to go through. There will be other things he'll be taught once he meets more Pokemon, but nothing this major.