It was a beautiful day in Unova. Ryan took his Pokémon up to an open field, a perfect place to do some training. And they were psyched.
Over their journey, Ryan and Ryder made some new friends. A Cubchoo named Slick and a Linoone named Dash. They've been big helps on their journey, helping take out gym leader after gym leader. They were like an unstoppable team.
Slick and Tsunami were sparring against each other. Slick had an unusual method of fighting. Whenever he dodged, he did it dancing. It was the main reason Ryan named him Slick. He was almost impossible to hit when he got moving. They've been practicing with a lot of different strategies for his particular set of skills. One in particular was creating an ice rink with his Blizzard and swiftly skating around his opponent.
Dash was sparring with Techno. A Linoone is known for their incredible speed. The main issue is actually turning. However, Ryan has been training him to make sharp turns by ricocheting off of walls, rocks, trees, etc. It made him great at nicking away at his opponent's health bit by bit.
Ryder and Jade were sparring with each other. They may be a couple, but they made a mutual agreement about letting that affect their battles. In battles, they turned into rivals.
"Slash!" His claws glowed and he charged her, throwing a swipe at her.
She ducked under and kicked him in the stomach. "Electro Ball!" The electric orb formed on her tail and she flung it at blank point range.
Ryder was knocked into the air and crashed into the ground. When he saw her charging him, he flipped up and fired Flamethrower in her face. She jumped back and fired Electro Ball a second time. He smirked and held his hands out. He pushed against the attack as it pushed him. His training with her has taught him to resist Electric-Type moves bit by bit.
He threw it down, dispersing the electricity, and ran at her. He did a sweep kick and knocked her off of her feet. He prepared to throw a punch down on her, but she was prepared. She blocked the punch and caught herself on her tail. She kicked him in the shoulder and got to her feet. She ended the battle by grabbing her arm and throwing him down on his back.
He tried to get up, but she pinned him down with a smirk. "I believe that's 250 for you and 251 for me."
He rolled his eyes and smirked back. "I let you pin me down."
She chuckled and kissed him. "Sure you did," she said sarcastically.
She helped him up to his feet just as Ryan clapped his hands. "Alright gang, that's enough training for now. Time for lunch."
Slick ran over to him and jumped into his arms with a happy smile. "(Can I have a treat?)"
When they first met Slick, he wasn't too motivated by battling. But one thing did motivate him. Snow Treats, little poffin shaped cookies that were a delight to Ice-Types. He couldn't get enough of them. He only got them if he was being good and did his training as requested.
Ryan chuckled at the smiling Cubchoo. "Alright, you earned it." He set him down and reached into his bag. He pulled out two Snow Treats and tossed them over to him. He squealed in delight and started nibbling on them. He chuckled again and reached for everyone's bowls pouring their food into them. "Come and get it, gang!"
They ran over and each received their bowl. They sat in a circle and ate together. Ryan smiled at them before grabbing his bag and heading into the woods. Every so often, when they would stop for a break, Ryan would go into a secluded area and do some training of his own. What kind of training, they didn't know.
Ryder was the most curious. He has known Ryan for a few years since they started traveling and the temptation to just follow him and see what his training was like burned deeply within him. He promised not to disturb him by any means, but it has been becoming harder and harder with each passing week. He was almost ready to burst.
"So, I was thinking of some new strategies for our next gym battle!" Ryder snapped back into focus. He zoned out of their conversation some time ago.
Tsunami groaned at the Cubchoo. "For the last time, we are not learning how to ice skate! Some of us can't even learn Ice Beam, so how can we even make an ice rink?!"
Slick pouted. "Well, I can set it up for all of you."
"That still would be a serious waste of time."
"No! It's great for evading your opponents!"
"For you, not us!"
"I agree with him, Slick," Dash spoke up. "Slippery ice and I don't mix very well."
Jade rolled her eyes. "Guys, quit picking on him." She smiled at Slick. "I think it's a lovely idea." He smiled brightly at her.
Techno chuckled as he ate. He didn't get into conversations like these. He was an engine of logic. He uses numbers and science to win battles. Even when he offered his opinion, it came across as snarky and blunt. That was a problem he had. He was a little too open with his opinions. And too honest.
He glanced at Ryder, who was looking off in the direction Ryan left. He threw some food at his face, gaining his attention. "What?"
"If you really want to see what he's doing, just go."
He rolled his eyes. "Easy for you to say. I gave my word that I wouldn't disturb his training."
"And that is why you are a loyal team member. But come on. Isn't it driving you nuts that you can't watch what he is doing right now?"
"…maybe a little."
He laughed. "Well, get up and do it!"
"I said no!"
"Actually," Jade spoke up, gaining their attention. Apparently everyone was listening to their conversation. Well, they weren't being quiet, that's for sure. "I've also been a little curious about his training. I feel like he keeps getting stronger after his sessions."
"But if that's the case, why doesn't he teach us?" Slick asked. "I mean, if he is getting stronger, wouldn't it be beneficial to us?"
"Probably the same reason he refuses to teach any of you how to speak English," Ryder suggested. "It took us a week just to get the basics down for me. We were both tired after that."
"Maybe…" Dash mumbled. "But still, we have a right to know! We're his friends! His family! He shouldn't just keep us in the dark like this!"
Tsunami stood up. "Well, let's go see." They all began to stand up.
Ryder got in front of them. "Now hold on. What kind of friends would we be if we just went against him like this?"
Jade chuckled. "Don't try hiding it, Ryder. We all know you're just as curious."
"…" He really wanted to counter her argument, but she was right. He wanted to see just as badly. Ryan stated that he didn't want to be disturbed. On the other hand, the only thing standing in his way was a group of Pokémon that can easily gang up on him. He sighed and face-palmed. "Let's go…"
"Woohoo!"
They began walking through the woods, looking for any sign of Ryan. They kept an ear out for his voice, but they didn't hear anything. They doubt he left. He wasn't the kind of trainer to abandon his Pokémon.
Dash sniffed the ground, tracking his scent. "Let's see…ah, here it is!" He ran ahead, leading his friends to chase after him.
They ran for a few minutes before stopping behind a bush. They could hear Ryan's breathing. They nodded and peeked through the bush.
Ryan stood on one hand with his eyes closed. He had his jacket off, which was hanging on a tree branch. He was balancing three rocks on one foot. This wasn't that different from his usual training, so what was so special about this?
"What the heck?" Ryder whispered.
"This is why he needs privacy?" Tsunami questioned.
"Aww…I was hoping to see him smash trees," Slick whined quietly.
Jade chuckled. "He's strong, but I don't think he can…"
She stopped when he suddenly dropped the rocks and flipped to his feet. He breathed steadily and faced a tree in front of him. "Focus everything into a single point…" He pulled his opened hand back. He stared intensely at the tree.
"What's he doing?" Techno questioned.
Ryder narrowed his eyes. Something was up with his hand. He couldn't tell what it was, but he just knew something was surging through it. Something…powerful.
Ryan continued to stare down the tree before shouting and slamming his palm against it. The group had to contain their gasps to the best of their ability because, next thing they know, splinters were sent flying right out of the base. A clean hole was made through the tree from the strike. The leaves were even disturbed, flying off the branches they were attached to.
They stared in shock. Words couldn't form. They were stuttering like idiots. If Ryan was able to do this with one palm strike, they worried about their next training session.
Ryan stretched his arm. "Impressive, huh?" There was no response. He sighed. "Don't bother. I know you're here." They slowly walked out of the bush with sheepish smiles. "I thought I said not to bother me."
"Sorry…we were just curious." The others nodded. "How did you know we were here, anyway?"
He looked around and sighed. "Well…you just saw what I did to this tree, so I might as well. Come on." He placed his jacket back on and his stuff before leading them out of the woods.
As they walked, he explained. "What you saw back there was me harnessing my aura."
"Aura?" Ryder questioned. The others murmured in their native tongue.
He nodded. "Aura is life energy that surrounds all living things. I have aura, you all have aura. The reason I saw you was because I could sense your aura. That's how I was able to find Techno back at the mountains in Kanto."
"I see…but what about the thing with the tree?"
"Ah, that. Well, aura is much more than just having aura sensitivity. Let's take Lucario for example. Their Bone Rush attack is concentrated aura, forming what is known as an aura construct. Aura Sphere is basically concentrated aura that forms into a powerful attack. And aura can be used to increase a Pokémon or human's strength, speed, agility, endurance, stamina, senses, etc.
"My grandfather trained with aura guardians and his Lucario back when he was younger. However…when my parents…died, he had to focus all of his attention on me."
"(Wow…)" Jade awed.
"How come you didn't teach us this?"
"Well, for one, it would be considered cheating in Pokémon battles and some of you in particular would misuse that kind of power." He eyed Techno and Tsunami, who deadpanned. "Secondly, training is incredibly difficult. It requires physical and mental training, which some of you aren't ready for."
"Some of us?" Ryder asked.
Ryan kneeled down and placed his hand on his shoulder. "When I felt your auras, yours was of higher quality. Tell me, did you feel a strange presence when you saw me using my aura?"
The Charmeleon scratched his head. "Y-Yeah…kind of. I felt a tingly feeling. For a moment, I thought I saw wisps of blue energy in your hand. A strong amount."
He smiled. "That was my aura." He stood up. "Ryder…I believe your sensitive to aura."
His eyes widened. "Really?"
He nodded. "All living creatures are, but some can't see it. Those who can have the potential to become aura masters."
He stumbled back in surprise. "W-Wait! Where are you going with this?!"
"Ryder…would you like to become an aura user?"
Learning to speak, now being offered to learn such an amazing power? This was incredible. He didn't know what to say. Well, obviously he shouldn't say no. but words couldn't come out. The offer was so amazing that he nearly stopped breathing.
Jade rolled her eyes and shook him. "(Ryde, wake up!)"
He shook his head and looked around. "Huh? What? Who?"
"(Oh good, you're not dead,)" she joked lightly.
"(Dude, you should do it!)" Techno encouraged.
"(Yeah! It'll be so cool!)" Slick added.
"I-I-I don't know…"
Tsunami patted his back. "(Don't tell me you're chickening out of this.)"
"N-No…I'm just…"
Dash shook his head. "(Ryder, come on. You saw what he did back there. Wouldn't that be awesome?)"
It would be kind of nice. Plus, it might come in handy. More often than they expected, they've encountered more Team Rocket grunts. They still haven't figured out who their boss is, but they intend to find out. They've saved the Pokémon they would capture and have them taken to jail.
If he could learn to use aura like Ryan, he could get the advantage over them. He wanted to protect his friends, especially Jade. With her being a shiny Flaaffy, she was a higher target for capture. Good thing she can defend herself. He remembered how she knocked the wind out of one of the grunts when she kicked him in the stomach. He almost felt sorry for the guy…almost.
Learning to use aura was incredibly tempting. And Ryder did love training. Most of his training sessions were a lot more advanced than the others. He was able to move through the trees almost as quickly and quietly as a ninja. He could lift a fairly sized boulder, not for long though.
He scratched his chin in thought. His friends think he should do it. They were being supportive of him. Well, he can't disappoint them now.
He looked up at Ryan and smirked. "Alright, I'm in!" His friends cheered.
Ryan crossed his arms and smirked. "You sure? This won't be easy."
He nodded. "I'm positive. Give me everything you got!"
He chuckled. "Very well. Training starts…now."
The others went on with their day while Ryder began his training with Ryan. They were in the trees, meditating. Though, he didn't really have the patience to be sitting here.
"Ugh…seriously? Sitting is the first lesson?!"
"Not sitting. Meditating."
"Meditating, sitting, what's the difference?"
He sighed and opened his eyes. "I told you, aura is not just physical training. Being able to train your body to handle a massive surge of aura is key to training. But first you must be able to activate it. You need to learn to heighten in, channel it. And the best way to do it is to sit and concentrate."
"But how?"
"It takes time. Could take us hours…days…weeks…possibly months."
Ryder groaned. He didn't like the sound of that. He needed action. He needed movement. He needed SOMETHING to do. Sitting and breathing didn't match any of that. Still, he had to focus and trust Ryan's judgment. He has been doing this for longer than he has. Besides, if he kept complaining, training was definitely going to get cut short.
He sucked it up and got into a meditation position. "Don't try and force it. Let it flow naturally." He nodded slightly and tried to match Ryan's breathing.
Nothing happened for five hours. Ryan did say this took time. Ryder tried to keep from getting frustrated. He couldn't let his nerves get the better of him. He won't be able to focus if he got angry.
One more hour passed before Jade called them over for dinner. Her experience on the farm taught her some useful skills. She prepared a vegetable stew for everyone, which they thanked her for.
She sat next to Ryder and nuzzled him. "So, how was sitting on your rear for six hours?" she teased.
He rolled his eyes. "Haha…very funny."
She chuckled. "Kidding, I'm kidding. Bur seriously, how did it go?"
He groaned and rubbed his face. "Well…the only thing I felt was me wasting my time."
"Okay, so Ryan's training isn't your typical style. But you can't just give up after one go."
"I know…but what if I don't learn how to use aura? Not only would that be disappointing, I would have ended up wasting my time for no reason."
She rubbed his back. "I can see where that would tick you off. But maybe you aren't doing it right."
"What do you know about aura training?"
She shrugged. "Next to nothing, really. But, from what I've been hearing, you need to be in a state of peace. I've been watching you up there and you did not look happy, Mr. Grumpy Face." She bopped his nose, make him chuckle a bit. "Maybe you should think of something that makes you comfortable."
"Such as?"
"Well, you know, hanging out with your friends, taking naps…me," she teased, tickling his sides.
He laughed and pushed her off. "Hey, knock it off."
She giggled. "If you want to advance in your training with him, you need to stop focusing so hard and just…go with the flow?" She chuckled. "You know what I mean."
He put his arm around her. "Yeah, I do." He sighed. "You're right…I focusing so hard on just trying to get it over with that I'm losing my patience." He smiled and kissed her cheek. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." She smiled. "Also…" He started tickling her sides.
She laughed and tried to push him off. "Hey, quit it!" She tickled him back, resulting in playful fits of laughter.
He took Jade's words to heart. He stopped trying to force the aura to activate and began relaxing. He had to meditate all week. But he didn't give up. He made sure to eat and take a break every so often, to keep himself at peak condition.
Ryan has been noticing his aura getting stronger with each passing day. It wouldn't be long until it fully awakens. That's when the hard part comes into play.
They sat in the grass, facing each other, and meditating. Ryder has slowly grown more comfortable sitting with his legs crossed. He hasn't moved for the longest time. Ryan almost assumed he fell asleep during training. But no, he was still fully aware of his surroundings.
Over the week, they've been upping the difficulty to keep him in that state. He asked his Pokémon to bug him nonstop so he can break. He fell for it ten times, once punching Techno in the face for scratching him. The cat was alright, of course.
All and all, he was fully able to block out all distractions.
As they sat there, slowly breathing, Ryan could sense it. No, he could see it. Ryder's aura was expanding. Not by much, but enough for it to awaken. It was developing into a blue flame of wisps. Ryder didn't seem to realize.
"Ryder?" He got no response. "Ryder?" Still nothing. He rubbed his chin, then snapped his fingers. There was one thing that always made the Charmeleon wake up. "Hey Ryder, there's a wild Pokémon flirting with Jade."
His eyes snapped open and he punched his fist into his palm. "Where is he?!" His eyes widened a bit when Ryan started laughing. He deadpanned. "I hate you so much…"
He patted his back. "Hey, look on the bright side, your aura has finally developed."
He smiled. "Seriously?" He nodded. He looked at himself, but he didn't see anything. "Uh…"
"You can sense it, can't you?"
"A little."
"Well, we only got it to develop. Now we need to mature it."
"How?"
"With…some training."
Ryder smiled. Finally, some action!
Ryder trusted Ryan. He never doubted him for a moment. He always believe in his pal and never let doubt cloud his judgment…
…but when you're asked to place a blindfold on, you know something horrible is going to happen.
"Alright Ryde, welcome to Day 1 of aura training!" he heard Ryan say from his left.
"Don't you mean Day 8?"
"Oh trust me, that wasn't aura training. That was just basic prep. This is the stuff you need to worry about."
Oh joy…
"Where are we, anyway?"
"Back in the woods. The others are going to help me with this part."
"And…that would be?"
"We'll be training your senses. You see, you can heighten your senses to the point where you develop a sixth sense. This will allow you to gain a mental image of the surrounding area and be able to react accordingly to whatever danger you might be in if you were blind."
"What do you mean by danger?!" Ryder shouted. Okay, Ryan was up to something.
"You'll be find, buddy," he heard Techno shout from behind. Though, he could hear him chuckling. Actually, they were all chuckling. That was never a good sign.
"Just relax…and be careful." Oh crud… "Three…two…one…GO!"
He didn't expect it at all. Something heavy and large rammed into his side from the right and knocked him into the dirt. He immediately took the blindfold off. He was in a ring of swinging logs!
"WHAT THE HECK?!" Ryder screamed furiously.
Ryan chuckled. "I told you to be careful."
"BUT YOU NEVER MENTIONED THE LARGE LOGS COMING AT ME!" he retorted back.
He shrugged in response. "If I told you they were logs, you would have used Flamethrower on instinct."
He wasn't wrong. Still, as he watched the swinging logs over him, he saw how tight the space he had was. It was nearly impossible to dodge any of them. One wrong misstep could result in another pain in his side.
After a while, they finally stopped swinging. The Pokémon grabbed them and pulled them back to reset the ring. Ryan helped Ryder up. "This will take time."
"Time?! You expect me to dodge all of these with a blindfold on?!"
"Well…yeah, in due time."
He crossed his arms. "No way! Impossible!"
He frowned at his partner. He sighed and took the blindfold from him. "Stand back." Confused, he did as requested. He stood in the center of the ring and breathed steadily. "Release when ready." Tsunami pulled the vine supporting his log and sent it at him.
Ryder was expecting it to nail him, forcing him to the ground. He just can't see how anyone can dodge so many obstacles coming at him at once…
…then he saw it. Ryan swiftly dodged the log with a quick sidestep. It was so fast and fluid, he had to blink to make sure he wasn't seeing things. The other logs came swinging at him. He made quick sidesteps and movements, allowing him to avoid each of the logs without a scratch. He even did some flips and handstands to avoid them, only adding to how much training he obviously received.
The logs eventually stopped swinging, prompting him to stop. He took the blindfold and bowed to the Charmeleon, whose jaw was dropped. "If you think that was impossible, you aren't going to like the other parts of my training."
Oh crap… Ryder thought.
"Next part of training. Augmentation."
Ryan had found a large boulder in the woods, which was perfect for the trained. Getting it hear was the tough part, but it was worth it. Ryder couldn't quite perfect the first part of his training, so they had to move on to the next step just to get things moving.
"Here, you will be heightening your strength and other attributes. Not as simple, but not difficult."
"Okay…so what do I do?"
Ryan held his hand up. "Just concentrate your aura into a specific part of your body. By concentrating it into your fist, you'll be able to summon a great deal of strength. Basically, the same thing I did when I obliterated that tree."
He nodded. "Okay, seems simply enough." He walked up to the rock and pulled his fist back.
The others watched from a distance. Tsunami ate some Poke food. "So, how many want to bet he hurts his hand?"
Techno snickered. "If it's anything like the logs, this should be fun to watch."
Jade rolled her eyes. "Knock it off, you two. Sure, he didn't do well with aura sensing. But try and be more supportive."
"Yeah!" Slick shouted. "Big bro is going to nail it!"
Dash shrugged. "Personally, I'm doing both. I want to support him. However…"
Ryder glared at the rock as he tried to charge his fist with aura. He thought he could feel the aura building up around it. He felt like he was getting stronger. He could feel the overwhelming power. Yes, he can do this! He was going to reduce that boulder to dust. He threw his fist, with full on confidence guiding him.
His fist collided against the rock. While it did result in leaving a small crack, that was about all he could do. Starting from his hand, a tingling sensation washed over him before turning into full on pain. "OW!" He recoiled and fell on his back, holding his hand. Unfortunately, his drive to smash the rock tricked him into thinking he was building up aura.
The group sweatdropped. "…you never get something right on the first try," Dash finished.
"Yikes…" Jade commented with cringe. She glared when Techno and Tsunami fell over laughing. She groaned and pinched down on their arms, making them cringe and yelp.
"Let go! Let go! Let go!" they pleaded as it grew worse. She let them go, allowing them to rub the sore areas.
Ryan looked over Ryder with a sheepish expression. "Okay, not the best place to start with augmentation." The Charmeleon was not amused.
Over the course of two weeks, Ryder continued with his training. He still couldn't master aura sensing, but augmentation was a different story.
While strength augmentation wasn't going along well, he picked up on speed augmentation pretty well. Originally, he could not keep up with Dash in a foot race. But now, he was able to run side by side with him with relative ease. Endurance training, while not perfected, was going along pretty well too.
They've tried everything to help him sense aura, even having a live target try and fight him. Each resulted with him getting soaked, frozen, scratched, bruised, and slammed onto his back. It was not a thrilling experience.
That was the thing about Ryan's type of training. He trained his Pokémon hard. Everything was done with great difficulty and was almost crazy. But now, that training looked like a cake walk. Ryder was fighting blind, punching boulders, and straining himself to use his aura. If Ryan wasn't such a kind hearted person, he would have considered this abuse in some way.
He sat under a tree. After the injuries he sustained, Ryan decided to hold off training until he fully recovers. These were the moments he looked forward to. Just sitting under a tree and taking a nap.
He heard someone walked up to him. The footsteps were too light to be Ryan or Jade. He opened one eye and saw Slick with his dinner. He opened his eyes fully and sat up. "Thanks." He took the dish and sat it in front of him.
"You're welcome!" he said cheerfully. "How are you feeling, big bro?"
He chuckled. Big bro…it was a fun little nickname for him. Slick admired Ryder. While he was motivated with Snow Treats, he was inspired by him to give battling a chance. And, as it turns out, he enjoyed it just as much as dancing. He admired him so much that he started calling him 'Big bro'. It was pretty adorable.
"I'm doing fine, little buddy." He sighed and rested against the tree. "My body is sore."
"You have been training pretty hard. I was almost sure you were about to collapse from all of that training."
"You and me both." He rubbed his head. "Man, who knew this would be so hard?"
He smiled. "Hey, it's not over yet. You just need to get better and keep trying!"
"As motivational as that sounds, I'm not getting anywhere anytime soon."
The Cubchoo sat down next to him. "Well, if it makes you feel better, we're all supporting you. Even Techno and Tsunami."
He smiled. Those two always liked poking fun at him. It was nice knowing everyone thought he could do something. It was nice having such amazing friends. He felt like he could achieve anything with them around. Which is why he refused to quit until he's done.
"Thanks, Slick."
"No problem!"
Ryder glanced at him, then blinked. It was faint, but he could see a yellow aura around Slick. From what Ryan has taught him, aura took many forms. While everyone has their own unique aura, they can emit an aura that reflects their mood. Slick's yellow aura represented his cheerful mood.
Slick looked at him and tilted his head. "Something wrong?"
He blinked and rubbed his eyes. He didn't see the aura anymore. He narrowed his eyes a bit and concentrated. Almost instantly, he could see the aura again. He smiled. "Just fine, Slick. Just fine."
"You sure about this, Ryder?"
Ryder was wearing his blindfold and standing in the ring of logs. While he couldn't see aura like Ryan, he could well enough to try the obstacle one more time. This was his tenth attempt at it today. Each time, he got nailed. Though, he did slowly improve over each try. He felt confident about this one. Tenth time's the charm, right?
"Let a rip, Ryan!"
The trainer sighed and signaled his Pokémon to release the logs.
Once they were let loose, Ryder got into position. He concentrated carefully on the surrounding area, not thinking with his five senses. No, he was using his aura. The blue outline of a log could be seen in the black void surrounding him. He expanded his range. He could detect his friends as well. He could detect all the logs. He could see them.
He took a step back and let one harmlessly swing past him. He detected another coming from behind and one from his left. He turned on his right heel and evaded them both. One came at him just as he turned. However, he reacted by ducking under it.
He moved fluidly through the swinging logs, almost like he was walking through air. His friends had to blink and make sure they weren't imagining everything. He almost looked like a blur with his movements. Ryan crossed his arms and smiled. He was improving greatly.
The logs eventually stopped. Ryder sighed before taking his blindfold off. He could still see everyone's aura, but he deactivated his aura vision soon after. "So, how'd I do?"
His trainer chuckled and clapped. "I'd say you passed with flying colors."
Jade nuzzled him. "(Nice work, doofus.)"
"(Never doubted you for a minute!)" Tsunami stated.
"(I did,)" Techno said bluntly.
Ryder chuckled. "Thanks guys."
"Don't get too comfortable," Ryan warned. "There's still more training ahead."
Ryder looked toward him and bowed. "I am ready for training, master," he said with a respectable, yet obviously joking tone. Ryan laughed.
After gaining more control over his aura, Ryder has far exceeded Ryan's expectations. He was able to punch through solid stone with ease. Not enough to turn it into rubble, but enough to leave a deep hole in it. He was able to augment his endurance and stamina as well, giving him plenty of energy to endure a plethora of attacks. But now things were getting interesting.
They've beat the Icirrus Gym recently and decided to do some much needed training in the snowy mountains. Slick was obviously happy to do so. He was playing in the snow the moment they got there.
Ryan, decked out in his snow gear, turned towards the group. "Alright gang, we will have time to play in the snow later. For now, Ryder and I have some training to do. We might be staying here for a while." With the exception of Slick, they groaned. He rolled his eyes. "We'll stay at the Pokémon Center, don't worry." This cheered them up.
They settled down with a warm fire nearby. Ryan and Ryder faced each other from a distance and bowed. "Alright Ryde, now we're getting to the difficult part of your training."
He deadpanned. "So the other stuff was easy? Joyous…"
He chuckled. "Okay, so maybe you're training has been pretty difficult recently. But I'm serious. This is the hardest part of our training. Manifesting aura into a physical form."
Ryder raised a brow. "Say what?"
He nodded. "A Lucario is special for their ability to manipulate aura into a physical form, most notably with their Aura Sphere. I've mentioned this a while back. Aura can take many different forms. You can create constructs, control the elements, even create an astral projection of yourself."
Ryder recoiled in shock. "Seriously?!"
"Yes! Aura is much more expansive than people believe. An Aura Master, who has trained their aura to the fullest extent, is considered godlike. It's an amazing power."
"Whoa…"
"However, how you use this power is the dangerous part. Aura has its good parts, then it has its bad ones." He kneeled down and grabbed Ryder's wrist. "If I wanted to kill you right here and now, all I'd have to do is touch you and I can drain you of your energy, leaving you weak and helpless. Or even dead." He pulled his arm away from the trainer with a fearful expression. "But I'm not going to teach you that. Even I refuse to learn it out of fear of harming someone."
He sighed in relief. "Thank goodness…"
"With that said, you can transfer your own aura energy into someone else. Allowing them to gain strength or to even heal them. If someone as inexperienced as you did it, you will leave yourself weak afterwards. So I hope you'll never be in a situation like that."
He nodded. "Right. So, when do we get to the training?"
"In due time. First, I need to teach you how to manifest your aura into the physical plain." He stood up and breathed steadily. "Observe. Dash! Can you come over here for a minute?"
The Linoone ran over and stood on his hind legs. "(Yes?)"
He clenched his fists and flared his aura up. For a moment, nothing happened. Ryder could clearly see it, but Dash was at a loss. That is, until it erupted around Ryan, shocking the Linoone and knocking him off his feet. The Charmeleon jumped back and covered his face as snow was sent flying.
The others dropped their jaws, seeing the magnificent blue aura radiating off their trainer. They were just as shock as Dash and he had an up-close look at it.
Ryan's aura died down and disappeared. He sighed and smiled. "Thanks Dash, that's all I needed."
"(S-Sure…n-no problem…)" He slowly got up and walked back to the others with a stunned expression.
Ryder blinked, then looked at the human. "Wouldn't have been just as effective showing me?"
"Yeah, but I like scary people when I do that," he admitted with a small snicker. Ryder rolled his eyes. "Anyway, this requires immense concentration and power to perform. But, after much practice, it'll be as natural as breathing."
"Alright! Where do we start?"
Ryan sat down and closed his eyes. The Charmeleon smiled. He's grown quite use to meditating at this point. He sat down next to him and meditated as well. The key was to manifest his aura into the physical world. Seems impossible, but that live demonstration proved otherwise.
As usual, Ryder didn't get it down on the first day. But, he has learned not to beat himself up over it. Rather, he just accepted it and went on with playing with his friends. It was a refresher to have some fun after meditation.
The gang soon got into a snowball fight with Tsunami, Techno, and Dash on one side and Ryder, Jade, and Slick on the other. Ryan stayed out just because the teams would be uneven.
Ryder's team ended up winning for having the advantage. Slick was too hard to hit. He froze the ground and started skating across it, while easily dodging snowballs and even throwing some back. Jade, caught them off guard and took them from the air. Ryder used his aura training to dodge the snowballs with Slick placing Hail up. Ryan couldn't help but laugh at their fun. That's when he saw them all aiming snowballs at him and knocking him off the rock he was sitting on. He sat up with snow on top of his head and laughed along with them.
A few days have passed. Ryder kept focusing on summoning his aura into the physical plane. It was difficult, as expected. But he was getting close. Blue sparks would occasionally fly off his palm. That meant he was getting close.
"Come on, Ryder! You're almost there!" Ryan cheered on.
He glared intensely at his hand as more and more sparks flew off. Almost there. Almost there. The others, except Ryan, couldn't see the massive amount of aura building in his hand. He was going all out with this.
Ten minutes of nonstop surging finally paid off. His hand erupted in blue, flame like energy, making him fall over in surprise. Ryan laughed and helped him up. "Nice, buddy!"
"(Woo, that looks cool!)" Tsunami commented.
"Thanks…now how do I get rid of it?" He waved his hand as the aura would not disappear. They just laughed at him.
Eventually, he did get it together. Now he was practicing manifesting it again and again. Soon, it became a lot easier to use. Still felt weird, though. It was like he was holding a wildfire in his hand, yet it didn't give off heat.
Once he gained full control over it, Ryan went on to the next lesson. "Alright, now try and manifest it into an orb. Like this." He held his hand out and formed a ball of aura in his hand that soon expanded. It disappeared soon after. "Now you try."
"Right." He held his hand out and concentrated. He formed the aura in his palm and tried to mold it into a sphere. But that was easier said than done. He tried to mold it into a sphere, but it only unraveling into a mess. And even when he got it into a sphere, it exploded right in his face. He stared with unamused eyes.
Ryan snickered lightly. "I never said this was going to be easy."
"As you have mentioned…" He shook it off and tried again, resulting in another explosion to the face. Again and again, he kept forming the Aura Sphere, each resulting in a harmless blast.
He practiced for roughly two hours before finally giving up out of annoyance and exhaustion. Ryan was impressed he managed to hold out for that long. He gave up much faster when learning to use Aura Sphere. It wasn't a fun afternoon for him.
The gang decided to call it a day and headed back to the Pokémon Center. Ryder got healed up and met everyone in their room. Ryan was reading a book while the others were doing their own thing. Slick was jumping up and down on Ryan's bed, Dash was messing with a pencil he found, Techno was messing with a calculator, Tsunami was sleeping in his shell, and Jade was just lying in the bed parallel to Ryan's.
Ryder walked over and sat down next to her, immediately plopping his head down on the pillow. She laid down next to him. "Rough day, huh?"
"Oh yeah…"
She turned onto her side to look at him. "I'm really impressed with how much you have improved since you first started. Really shows how much potential you have."
"I guess…" He sighed.
She narrowed her eyes in concern. She turned his face towards hers. "Ryder…are you okay?"
"I'm fine. It's just…" He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't know. I want to keep learning how to use aura, but I'm not sure how much longer I can take it. I can't even make a simple Aura Sphere."
"These kinds of things take time. So what if you can't make an Aura Sphere? You can still throw a pretty mean punch."
He chuckled. "I guess I can…"
She wrapped her arms around him. "Maybe you should take a break from aura training for a while. I don't want to see you getting overly frustrated."
He smiled. "Have I ever told you how amazing you are?"
"Yes, but say it anyway," she said playfully.
He laughed. "You're amazing." He gave her a light kiss.
She giggled. "Why thank you."
Ryder looked back up at the ceiling. "I guess you're right. Too much training isn't good for my health. Maybe we could do something together in the morning."
"I'd like that. But if you so much as think about doing more training, I'm going to smack you upside the head and chain you down in order to get you to relax."
He laughed again. Her 'threats' always put a smile on his face. "Okay, okay, I will." He gave her a goodnight kiss. "Goodnight."
"Night." They got comfortable and fell asleep. They weren't aware Ryan was listening in on them the whole time. He smiled before going to sleep as well.
A few days have passed. Ryan was okay with Ryder taking an extended break from aura training. In fact, they all needed a break. So Ryan decided to on a little get together. And he was inviting a special guest.
"Hey gramps!" Ryan greeted over the video feed.
Hank smiled at his grandson. "Hey kiddo. I've seen you've grown quite a bit. How old are you now? 18?"
He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. My birthday was a month ago."
"Now I feel obligated to get you a gift," He joked. He waved it off. "Anyway, how've you been?"
"Pretty good. I've gotten seven gym badges so far."
"Seven, huh? What, you couldn't get ten yet?" he asked with a smirk.
"Haha, very funny," he retorted jokingly.
The old man chuckled. "Well, I'm proud of you."
Ryder propped himself up. "Hey Hank!"
"Ryder, how are you doing?"
"Personally, a little tired."
Ryan chuckled and explained, "Ryder took up an interest in aura training. I've been running him ragged lately."
"You don't say? Well, good luck with that, bucko. It's no easy task."
"I've been told…" he sarcastically muttered.
"So, any reason you're calling me?"
"Actually, there is. You're in Unova, right?"
"Yeah, I've been…busy, as of late. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I want you to meet all of my Pokémon. So, I figured you should join us for lunch later. I'll send you our location if you're interested."
Hank rubbed his chin, considering the offer. "Well, I don't know…" He looked at his grandson and starter Pokémon. They were both giving pleading looks. He laughed. "Oh, alright, I'll come. Just send me your location and I'll be there in…hmm, give me an hour."
"Great! See you then!" They hung up and smiled. "This is going to be awesome!"
"Yeah!"
They left to the restaurant fifty minutes later. Hank hasn't arrived yet, but he would be there soon. Currently, they were waiting in a line. Some people were growing impatient, but Ryan and his team waited calmly.
"(Ah, delicious ramen!)" Tsunami stated happily. "(Haven't had that for a while!)"
"And for good reason," Ryder pointed out. "Last time we went out, you were the reason our bill was so large."
"(That wasn't MY fault!)"
"You ordered fifteen bowls!"
"(…that proves nothing.)"
He rolled his eyes. Techno chuckled. "Well, it's nice to eat some after so long."
Slick sat on Ryan's shoulder excitedly. "(I've never had human food before! Does it taste good?!)"
Jade chuckled. "(Oh yeah. It's delicious. Though, unlike some people, I try and limit the amount I eat.)" She directed her words at Tsunami.
"(Oh, so when Dash eats a lot, he's fine. But when I do it, suddenly we have a problem!)"
"(Hey, don't drag me into this!)" Dash shouted.
Ryan looked down at them. "Guys, calm down. People are already getting angry. We don't need to give them more reasons."
Ryder sighed. "Sorry." They nodded in apology.
"It's fine." He looked forward. "Hey, does anyone know how long we've been standing here? This line looks like it hasn't budged."
Techno raised his hand. "(I'll go check.)"
He walked toward the front of the line, to take a look at what the holdup was. He couldn't see anything through the crowd of people. But he could hear fighting going on. A lot of fighting. Suddenly, without warning, the crowd dispersed when a purple blob charged out and rammed into him, sending him flying into a tree.
"Techno!" His friends shouted.
Ryan looked at the purple blob. "A Swalot?"
Suddenly, a pudgy looking man ran out. He wore a mask and a black hat. He had a five o'clock shadow and wore black clothes a generic criminal would wear. Slung over his shoulder was a bag that was bulging, packed with rounded objects.
"Hahaha! All too easy!" He whistled, calling for his second Pokémon to join him. A Hitmonchan punched his way through the crowd, knocking them off their feet. He punched his fists together, challenging anyone else to come and face him. Obviously, the entire crowd started backing away. "Good work, Hitmonchan."
Ryan growled. While his Pokémon attended to Techno, he confronted the man. "Hey! What's the big idea?!"
The man's eyes widened briefly in surprise before cackling. "Ooh, looks like we got a hero among the crowd. Run home to your mommy, little boy. This isn't a place for children."
He clenched his teeth and reached behind his back. "You're gonna regret saying that."
"Hoohoohoo, I'm so scared!" He would have laughed longer, but he froze in shock when something nicked him arm. He looked behind and saw a kunai embedded into the ground. He looked at his arm. A thin cut was made into it, with a trickle of blood leaking out. He looked back at Ryan, who had his arm extended out.
He pulled his arm back. "That was strike one." He clenched his fists. "Either you give back those Pokémon or I'm going to slam my boot into that big potbelly of yours."
The thief narrowed his eyes and took a step back. "I see…Swalot, Toxic!" Swalot fired a cluster of poison that nailed the ground and turned into harmful gas, forcing the crowd to scatter. He placed a mask on and disappeared into it.
Ryan ran over to his Pokemon and looked Techno over. Fortunately, he didn't suffer serious injury. He was just a little dizzy. The trainer stood up and glared. "He's not getting away from me." He prepared to race after him when the sound of his grandfather filled his ears.
"Ryan!" He ran over, slightly out of breath. "Don't go after that man!"
"I have to, Grandpa!"
"No, you don't understand-"
"I'll be fine, don't worry!" He looked at his team. "Split up into teams! Dash and Slick, cut him off!" They nodded and ran ahead. "Tsunami and Techno, you'll chase him!" They nodded and gave chase. "Ryder and Jade, catch up to them through the trees!"
"You got it!" They leapt into the trees and followed from the branches.
"Ryan!" Hank pleaded.
"This won't take long, don't worry!" Before his grandfather could get another word out, he ran in the direction the others were heading. He groaned and rubbed his temples.
"I swear, he gets his stubbornness from his father." He shook his head and ran after them.
The thief laughed as he looked back. There was no one in sight. They must have outran them.
"Good work, you two! We've managed to steal all those Pokémon without too much trouble." He glared a little as he rubbed the cut on his arm. "That kid was crazy. He was carrying weapons on him." He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. There's no way they can catch up to me now."
The thieves laughed, but stopped when a tan and blue blur ran pass them. It stopped right in front of him. Slick hopped off of Dash and got into a fighting stance, thought it looked pretty goofy. The Linoone shook his head and got into his own battle stance.
The man stepped back. "Okay…minor setback." He turned around and stopped again when he was being blocked by Techno and Tsunami, the former of which had his claws unsheathed. "Grr…you have got to be kidding me."
They tried to make a beeline into the woods, but nearly fell over when Ryder and Jade jumped down in front of them. The Charmeleon smirked. "Going somewhere?"
The thief tried running in the opposite direction, but Ryan was already there. In his hand was a Bo staff. He spun it around before resting it on his shoulder. "You're under arrest."
The thief clenched his fist. "Do you know who I am? Because you'll be making a big mistake if you try and fight me!"
Ryan smirked. "We'll see."
He growled, then snapped his finger. "Hitmonchan, Mach Punch!"
Hitmonchan's fist glowed and he pushed off the ground, throwing a fast punch at Ryan. But he didn't dodge. He used his staff to misdirect the attack, letting fly over his shoulder. With the Pokémon in close range, he kneed him in the stomach, sending him skidding back to his master.
"Hitmonchan!" the thief shouted. He slowly pushed himself back up. He growled and punched his fists together. "That's more I like it! Use Sky Uppercut!"
He charged at Ryan again, but he didn't do anything this time. Tsunami withdrew into his shell and rammed into the Fighting-Type with Rapid Spin. He growled again and threw the attack at the shell, sending the turtle flying into the air.
Tsunami popped out of his shell and fired down Hydro Pump. Hitmonchan crossed his arms over his head and blocked it to the best of his ability. But he was wide open for Slick to use Blizzard. With the added water soaking him, he froze in a block of ice.
"Hitmonchan!" The thief clenched his fist and pointed at Swalot. "Don't just stand there! Use Sludge Bomb!"
He saluted, then fired off the explosive poison. Techno charged at him. His movements were swift, almost looking like a blur when he dodged the attacks. Ryan knew his defenses weren't the best, so they focused most of his training around boosting his speed. And it paid off immensely.
He smirked. "(This is for ramming into me, you whisker faced glob!)" He used Night Slash and slashed him across the face.
Swalot staggered back, but took it with ease. He sucked in some air and expanded. Ryan glared. "He's using Stockpile." He looked at Techno. "Be careful. He can use that two more times to increase his defenses."
He nodded. "(Don't worry. This guy is going to need those defenses.)" He ran at Swalot again. He narrowed his eyes as he eyed specific spots on his blobby body. "(Try and block this!)" He jumped and came slashing down.
Swalot used Stockpile again, but didn't expect to feel a sharp amount of pain shoot throughout his entire body. Techno managed to slash a weak spot on his body.
The thief gasped, then glared when Ryan started laughing. "Techno has a keen eye for detail. Once he gets a good look at his opponent, it's only a matter of time before he finds their weak spot. His precision and accuracy can break through any form of defense when given enough time."
Techno continued to slash the weak spot on the Swalot's side. He cringed with each slash. He growled and wrapped his whiskers around the cat's ankle. He lifted him in front of his mouth. "Uh…timeout?"
Swalot opened up his mouth, releasing a beam of light. Techno screamed as he was sent flying into the air. Swalot's expanded body soon returned to normal.
The cat flailed his arms as he was coming closer to the ground. Dash ran toward the trees and ricocheted off them. He caught Techno in midair and landed safely. "You would think a cat like you would know how to land on your feet."
"Oh shut up…"
Swalot used Stockpile, increasing his defenses again. The thief recalled his frozen Hitmonchan. "Very well. Hitmonlee, get rid of these pests!"
He threw out his Hitmonlee, who was already in a fighting position. Dash, Techno, and Slick didn't look too happy fighting another Pokémon with a type advantage over them.
Tsunami raised his fists. "(Ha, I can take on this clown!)"
Jade narrowed her eyes. She never fought a Hitmonlee before. She closed her eyes and smiled. "(Don't worry, Tsunami. I got this.)" She walked in front of the kicker with her arms crossed.
The thief chuckled. "A Flaaffy? You really think a Flaaffy will stop my Hitmonlee?" He broke down into maniacal laughter. "How ridiculous!" He then noticed Jade's unusual coloring and smirked. "But look at what we have here. A shiny Flaaffy. Now that would be perfect to sell to some clients of mine." It took all of Ryder's willpower not to nail this guy in the jaw. He could just to end this, but he wanted Jade to have some fun. She wasn't a helpless girl, after all. "Hitmonlee, use Blaze Kick and set that little sheep on fire."
Hitmonlee jumped in the air and flew down at the shiny Flaaffy with his foot ablaze.
Jade opened her eyes a bit to see him coming closer. She smirked and flipped onto her hands. She kicked the kick away from her, shocking the Hitmonlee. "(You aren't the only one who can use kicks.)" She spun on her head and kicked him multiple times in the face, leaving his cheek red.
He staggered back and hopped on one foot, prepping himself to use Close Combat. Jade got back to her feet and mimicked his movements.
Ryan smiled. When he first took Jade on his travels, he quickly learned she self-taught herself some fighting techniques. While she can throw a decent punch, she can throw a powerful kick. Not enough to shatter rock, but enough to incapacitate a Beartic and an Ursaring. Maybe he should give her aura training in the future. It might come in handy.
She and Hitmonlee glared down at each other. They ran at each other and started throwing kicks, expertly blocking each other blow for blow. Hitmonlee threw a kick at her side, but she blocked it with her arm. With a tight hold on it, she slammed her elbow on his kneecap. If it weren't for the fact his legs were spring-like, that would have been extremely painful. Speaking of which, he used his springy leg to toss her high in the air, leaving her open for a Hi Jump Kick.
Jade flailed her arms as she tried to regain her balance. She gasped when the Kicking Pokémon's knee slammed into her stomach. She clenched her eyes shut, enduring the pain to the best of her ability, then opened them into a glare. She grabbed his leg and pulled him into a well-placed kick to the face.
They freefell back to the ground, but Jade wasn't going to be taking to full force of the ground. She kicked off his body, sending flying down even faster, then activated Electro Ball. Hitmonlee smashed into the ground, but that wasn't the end of his pain. Jade spun down like a buzz saw and fired Electro Ball almost at blank point range. The resulting blast reduce her impact enough to land safely.
Ryder ran over and helped her up. "You okay?"
She dusted herself off. "I'll live." She flinched a little when she walked. Her leg was pretty bruised up. Thankfully, her ankle wasn't twisted.
The thief gasped at his Hitmonlee, who was buried deep into the ground, completely knocked out. He returned him to his Pokeball and looked at Swalot. "Are you ready?"
Swalot was completely expanded, having used Stockpile a couple more times. He was prepared to fire another Spit Up when ready. He nodded at his master to confirm this.
"Good." He pulled out another Pokeball. "Get rid of all of them, Salamance!" He released the mighty dragon, who roared down at his opponents.
Ryan got into a fighting stance. "Salamance, huh?" He looked at his Pokémon. Jade and Techno weren't in top condition at the moment. But he had a perfect team for Salamance and Swalot. "Ryder, you and Tsunami take care of Swalot." They nodded. "Slick and Dash, you'll handle Salamance."
"You won't survive! Salamance, use Dragon Claw!"
The dragon roared and flew down at the two with green glowing claws.
Dash looked at Slick. "(You distract him!)" He ran away to gain some distance.
Slick watched the dragon fly closer before smiling and jumping out of the way. He spun and used Blizzard, freezing the ground under him into an ice rink. Salamance made a u-turn and came flying back. But he soon learned it became difficult to hit the ice cub, as he was skating around on his rink at blurring speeds. He tried slashing him, but he just hit an afterimage.
Slick chuckled. "(You're fun! Want to play Hide and Seek!)" He formed a ball of ice in his hands and threw it in the air. Gray clouds rolled his as chunks of ice fell from the sky.
Salamance growled as they nailed him for a moment. He shook his head and looked down again. Then his eyes widened. Slick was everywhere! No, he wasn't exaggerating. Afterimage after afterimage, Slick skated around like some sort of ghost. On top of that, his speed on the ice made it impossible to tell where he'll pop up or which afterimage was real. It was almost dizzying.
Ryan chuckled. Slick loved ice skating. So much that he has learned to increase his speed in the ice. The reason he named him Slick was because of that reason. When Hail was activated and his ice rink was set up, coupled with his Snow Cloak ability, he was nearly impossible to hit or even find.
Salamance continued to get pelted with ice. He growled and decided to do the obvious. He fired Flamethrower down on the ice rink. Even if he didn't hit the cub, he can at least get rid of the ice rink.
But it didn't work. He did melt it, but it froze up just as quickly as he melted it. Slick was spinning and freezing up the ground. The dragon clenched his eyes as the cold started hitting him pretty hard. He continued firing Flamethrower at him, angrily trying to burn the cub.
While he was distracted, Dash started lining himself up in the trees. Slick was doing as planned. Keep Salamance in one spot and focused on him. Now it was his turn.
He ran through the trees until he was in position. He jumped and started ricocheting off the trees, keeping as much of his momentum as possible. Once he was high enough, he jumped off a tree and used Slash across the dragon's back. He wailed angrily. Dash grabbed his leg and threw himself onto his back. He blasted Shadow Ball multiple times on the wound. He didn't apply too much power into the attacks, just enough to make him fall from the sky.
Slick saw them coming down and smiled. He spun and used Blizzard, but this time fired upwards, creating a tornado of snow. Dash jumped off in time to see the dragon freeze up in ice and crash into the ground.
The hail let up, allowing the thief to growl at what they did. He recalled Salamance. All he had left was Swalot. "Swalot, dispose of them!"
Swalot fired Toxic at Slick and Dash. The Linoone threw the cub on his back and ran away from it.
Ryder and Tsunami jumped over the attack and kicked the blob in the face. He glared and fired Sludge Bomb. They jumped back and fired Flamethrower and Hydro Pump. Swalot crossed his arms and blocked it. All three Stockpiles were still in effect. He could take as much punishment as possible.
The Charmeleon glared. "We're going to need a new plan of attack."
Tsunami nodded. "(Any suggestions?)"
He smirked. "Just one. Follow my lead!" They charged at Swalot.
He glared and fired a volley of Sludge Bombs at them. They dodged them with ease and punched him in the stomach. It didn't much with Stockpile still in effect. Still, they kept hitting him with as much force as possible.
Ryder used Slash and swiped at where Techno attacked him earlier. His weak spot.
Swalot wailed and shook them off. He growled and opened his mouth, a blinding light forming inside.
Ryder narrowed his eyes. "There we go. Tsunami, get ready!"
Swalot exhaled and fired a mighty beam of energy right at them. They jumped over it, feeling the force of the attack pass right under them. The glob's body deflated.
"Use Rapid Spin!" Ryder ordered. Tsunami did so. Ryder held his spinning shell in his hand and, applying aura into his arm, flung Tsunami with tremendous force. Swalot couldn't react with Stockpile in time as the attack rammed hard against his face, knocking him out cold.
The thief gasped. "Oh no!" He turned to make a break for it, but stopped when Ryan was right in front of him. He growled and pulled a knife from behind his back. "Out of my way!" He thrusted the blade forward.
Ryan backhanded the blade out of his hand and twisted his wrist. The thief screamed and dropped his sack, letting Pokeballs roll out. Ryan pulled his fist back. "You're under arrest." He slammed it right into his jaw, knocking him out.
Just as he did, Hank finally arrived, along with the police. His eyes widened at the damage. Ryan did a number on the place. And his Pokémon looked alright. A little worn out, but nothing serious.
The Police picked up the thief and recalled his unconscious Swalot before placing him in their truck. "Good work, son. You did a fine service today," one of the officers praised.
He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "It was no big deal. It was just a common thug."
"That was no common thug." He turned toward his grandfather. "Ryan, do you realize what you just did?"
"Uh…no." He looked at his Pokémon with worried glances.
"Ryan…that thief has alluded the police for nine months, stealing Pokémon under people's noses. He has sent many of his offenders into intensive care. And you just knocked him out!"
Ryan and his Pokémon's eyes widened. "Say what?!" Ryan and Ryder shout, with the others shouting in their native tongue.
After returning the stolen Pokémon, Ryan was rewarded with a free lunch. He tried to deny it, but the restaurant insisted. He just gave up and allowed it.
They sat in a booth far from the other patrons, as requested from Hank. He had some things to discuss with Ryan.
"Ryan, the fact you managed to take out a national thief is amazing on its own. The police had trouble tracking him because he always managed to escape."
He shrugged. "Well, I just applied the things you taught me and trained my Pokémon accordingly. We work as a team." They nodded in agreement.
Hank nodded. "Ryan…you're full of surprises. Even after everything I taught you, you've managed to improve upon those things." He sighed. "I'm getting too old for this stuff…I need someone to take over for me…" He sounded like he was talking to himself mostly.
Ryan and Ryder looked at each other in confusion. "Uh, Gramps…what are you talking about?"
He looked at his grandson right in the eye. "Ryan…do you know why I came to Unova?"
"Um…business meeting?" He wasn't really sure what his grandfather worked for.
He shook his head. "No…I was looking for that thief." He lowered his voice. "Ryan…I work for the International Police."
The trainer's eyes widened and he shot up. "WHAT?!" He blinked when he saw everyone staring at him. "Uh…" He picked up a menu. "Just looking at the special! Hehe, what a deal!" He chuckled nervously. Fortunately, everyone went back to their meals. He sighed and sat down. "You work for the International Police?" he whispered.
"Yes. I'm one of their leading members. However…" He held his arm. "I'm getting too old for spy work. Not good for my bones." He looked back at Ryan. "That's the reason I've been giving you that training. I know how much you love helping people, so I figured I get you ready."
Ryan's eyes widened. "Are you asking me to join the International Police?"
He nodded. "You are old enough. And I have given my boss a background check on your accomplishments. Not to mention you've encountered Team Rocket on several occasions from what you've said."
Ryder narrowed his eyes. "Yeah…we have."
"We've been doing recon missions on some of their projects. We thought they were just an organization bent on capturing all of the world's Pokémon. But we've been given much intel that there is many secrets within their walls. We fear they may be experimenting on Pokémon."
"You can't be serious," Ryan said with a surprised expression.
"Unfortunately, I am. When we rescued some Pokémon from one of their hideouts, they were horribly ill. They were covered in scars and many wounds. They were even malnourished, nothing but skin and bones. It was a horrifying sight." He clasped his hands together. "We need to bring that organization down at all costs before they do something worse. Many Pokémon were nearly on their deathbed."
Ryder was horrified. "Does anyone know about this?!" He made sure to keep his voice low, but he was angry.
"We can't divulge this information to the public for obvious reasons. It could send everyone into a panic. We're not even sure if all of Team Rocket knows of these activities. Some of the grunts we captured were clueless."
"So there's secret activity going on in their ranks?" Ryan concluded.
"Exactly. Ryan, we need your skills to help us with our missions."
The trainer looked to the side. "I don't know…I mean, what about the Unova League?"
"This kind of responsibility will take a lot of time out of your journey." He sighed. "You don't have to do it. But consider the amount of lives you could save by doing this. Don't you want to make the world a safer place?"
Ryan leaned back in his seat and looked up. He still wanted to travel. But then again, becoming a spy would give him that opportunity. Traveling the world to fight evil. He lost the Pokemon League four times. He was certain he could win this one. With all the training they've been perfecting, it was almost guaranteed. They've beaten hundreds of trainers ever since they came to Unova.
But now…was that really important?
He was about to ask his grandfather when Ryder slammed his fist on the table. "I'm in."
"You are?" Ryan asked.
He nodded. "I want to stop Team Rocket from harming anymore Pokémon. Even if that means getting myself into danger, so be it."
Ryan knew he had a great hatred towards Team Rocket ever since their encounter in Johto. It was no surprise he would be taking up this offer so eagerly. He smiled. Well, he was his partner after all. If Ryder wanted to do it…
"Count me it as well," he finally said. His Pokémon nodded in agreement.
Hank smiled. "Thank you." He pulled out some papers and handed them over. "We'll be placing you in a special division of the International Police, one that should suit your skills quite nicely. While it is hard work, there are some advantages to it that you might take interest in."
Ryan looked over the papers before looking at his grandfather. "Hold on. If I'm taking over your position, what will you be doing?"
He waved it off. "I've talked it over with my boss. I'll be helping with the tech division to research new experimental weaponry."
Techno's eyes widened with glee. "(Experimental weaponry, you say?)" He rubbed his hands together.
"Uh…what's he thinking?"
Ryan laughed. "Ignore him." He looked over the papers. "So, what is this special division I'll be working for?"
"A task force known as…the Shadow Agents."