Alright, so let's keep moving on as Cal at last reaches Cerulean City.
Really can't think of much else to say other than maybe one or two things.
Yes, Staraptor can indeed learn Close Combat.
Whatever other Pokémon Cal will get has already been decided BUT I don't mind other suggestions that may be used for other characters who can use them.
So you can continue suggesting them but I'm gonna do a gen cap.
I'm not overly familiar with a lot of Pokémon after generation 5 so if you are going to suggest new Pokémon to be used for future characters, stick within the confines of Gens 1 to 5 for the most part.
This story's trajectory has been more or less decided upon and as well as other elements of Star Wars that will eventually come into play.
Hmmm, anything else… nope, that's all that comes to mind.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.
Pocket Monsters Chapter 7: Be Like Water
"Cerulean City." Cal murmured to himself, looking around the town he found himself walking within.
From his initial approach, it was easy to gauge upon the size of this city being proportionately larger than the last.
And there appeared to be more paths to travel down.
From his approach on the eastern route to Cerulean, there were three other diverging roads to the North, West and South respectively.
Once he stepped within the city, the Padawan looked around, figuring out what to do next exactly.
The Force, as it was ever present, wasn't really making any nudges or inclinations as what to do here.
Perched upon his shoulder was his Arc and standing by his side were his Kaiju and Hopper respectively.
"Hmmm, what do you guys figure?" Cal asked aloud. "Quick stop at this place's Pokémon center then we explore?"
The resounding sounds and feelings of agreement were easy to pick up on for the young Padawan.
Soon enough, he was in the familiar building of a Pokémon center with him having recalled his Pokémon in their poke balls for him to hand over to the Nurse Joy behind the counter.
'Seriously, there's no way they're not clones.' Cal mentally shouted.
He still just couldn't fathom how these Nurses were cousins, aunts, nieces, sisters and apparently mothers who all looked the same.
Maybe it was a Force thing.
'Yeah, a Force thing.' Kestis internally told himself. 'Let's go with that. It's worked so far with everything else here on this planet.'
The Padawan knew it was a false hope in not wanting everything on this planet to be Force related. But by this point he already knew this belief and want to be pointless.
So he may as well just go with it by this point.
Not much else he was able to do.
He got his Pokémon all healed up and stood outside the Poke Center and…
Cal was rather at a loss as to what to do right now.
"Huh…" He said to himself as he looked around the town and watched people and Pokémon idly walk about, doing their business.
His Pokémon were currently in their own Poke Balls he had strapped to his belt and were well rested.
He'd rather not call them forth and disturb them from their sleep.
They've earned that and more after accompanying him on this strange new journey.
A journey he was still trying to understand as to why he was on it.
The Force kept nudging, pushing and guiding him in taking forth on the path he was already undertaking but again he found himself asking a question that has been plaguing his mind for time now.
Why?
What was the point of it all?
The words of his fallen Master was to trust only in the Force. A sentiment echoed from all the Masters of the Jedi Order.
But…
His Master had told him the Clones who he viewed as close friends and comrades turned against him. Against the order.
What did that all mean?
What had happened for the soldiers of the Republic to turn on the Jedi like that?
He never got any answers.
Only tragedy.
A constant thought that plagued his mind was if there were even any other Jedi left. He would assume that a few would have at least made it but then he recalled the meditative trance he had and the overwhelming feeling of death that accompanied it.
Cal shuddered and felt a cold sweat beginning to-
"Excuse me, are you alright?"
The Padawan blinked and looked over to see a girl that appeared slightly older then him but not by much.
She wore short shorts and a mid-riff baring tank top with orange hair tied into a ponytail.
"Huh?" Was Cal's response.
"I asked if you're ok." The girl said in a calm manner. "You looked really stressed out there for a moment."
"Oh." He rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I was. Sorry for worrying you."
The girl had an easy going and understanding smile in place.
"That's alright." She waved off. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok."
She then squinted at him slightly, hand atop her chin. "Say~ are ya new around here? Haven't seen you in Cerulean City before."
Cal nodded. "Yeah I'm just passing through here. I was honestly told to come here cause it was a place of interest."
"Really now? And what makes it that way?"
"Something about a Pokémon gym." Cal stated.
The girl blinked. "Are you here to challenge the Pokémon gym then?"
"Um…" He crossed his arms in thought. "Not entirely sure to be honest with you. All I'm going off of is what I've been told more or less. Not sure what challenging the gym leader would bring me other than experience."
This was certainly a surprise to hear for the girl judging by the reaction on her face.
"You're not here to challenge the gym?" She asked just to make sure he wasn't pulling her leg.
Cal shrugged. "I mean… I don't know honestly. I'm not really sure what to do right now.
The girl hummed aloud, trailing down slightly to get a good look at the boy. She spotted three Poke balls strapped to his belt and-
…
She blinked to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
"Um, excuse me." She spoke up, regaining his attention. "Is that a Pokédex you have there on you?"
Cal paused slightly, glancing down to the rectangular device he had on his hip and pulled it off his belt to hold it up.
"You know what this is?" Cal asked.
"So it is a Pokédex." The orange haired girl said in slight astonishment. "Red told me they were rare but I didn't think I would see someone else with it so soon after."
"Wait, what?" Kestis grinned slightly. "You know Red?"
"Yeah, he and I met before Mt. Moon and traveled together here." The Girl said. "I'm Misty. I take it you're a friend of Red's then."
"You could say that." The Jedi admitted. "We haven't known each other for long but he's been a real help to me since I came here. Cal Kestis, by the way."
"Pleasure to meet you." Misty said politely, shaking the boys hand. "And what do you mean since you came here? Like, are you not from around Kanto?"
Cal chuckled slightly, feeling strange that he was already getting a sense of nostalgia in talking about this.
"Yeah, I'm from a place extremely far from here." He said. "So far in fact that where I'm from, nobody has ever seen a Pokémon."
That last tidbit of information actually startled Misty with her jaw dropping slightly.
"N-Never seen Pokémon?!" She stammered in disbelief. "What kind of place is this?"
The Padawan sighed as he knew that her reaction to his statement of not knowing Pokémon was going to be an all too common occurrence here.
"That's… really hard to explain." Cal stated.
"Huh…" Was all Misty said in response.
That was certainly a surprise, not one she was expecting to hear today.
A place where there's no Pokémon?
What kind of region did he come from?
"So… I take it then that you're relatively new to Pokémon then?" She asked seeing him nod in confirmation. "I see you have three Poké Balls there. Mind if I see them?"
"Oh, uh… yeah, sure." Cal unclipped the three spheres, each one expanding to their full size as he called out all three of his Pokémon.
His Larvitar, Wooper and Starly all appeared before Misty with Kaiju appearing to be napping, Hopper jumping up and down excitedly and Arc instantly fluttering up to perch himself onto Cal's shoulder.
"Well now, this is certainly a surprise." Misty said, hand on her chin with a small grin directed at the Water-Type Pokémon happily staring up at her. "A Wooper eh? This little guy is more common in Johto. How'd you get him?"
"I was… guided to him, so to speak." He answered, kneeling down to pat his most hyper active Pokémon on the head. Hopper preened at the attention before jumping around the two humans.
"He's excitable." Misty remarked with a laugh.
"That's putting it mildly." Cal said, smiling down at his jumpy Pokémon. "Hopper can barely stand still for long."
The Wooper continued jumping up and down and around his trainer with him making happy sounds.
The Cerulean City native then looked down at a now awake Larvitar who was rubbing his eyes and looking up at Misty curiously.
"And what's this little guys name?" Misty asked politely, pleasant smile in place. "I've seen this type of Pokémon before but I never got a name."
"This is Kaiju." Cal introduced, the aforementioned Pokémon stepping up with his chest puffed out. "He's a Larvitar and my first Pokémon."
His greenish Pokémon appeared to beam with great pride upon hearing his trainer say that and it was easy for Kestis to pick up on the feeling through the Force.
He laughed lightly, placing a hand atop Kaiju's head with his Larvitar grinning up at him.
"Your Pokémon seem to trust you a great deal." Misty noted with a small smile at the interaction.
"I trust them too." Cal stated without even thinking about it. "They've helped me get used to this whole place."
His three Pokémon were practically radiating with pride, joy and a sense of smugness that elicited a laugh out of Misty.
"You liked hearing that, didn't ya?" She asked with an amused grin, patting the top of Hopper's head. "So then Cal, since you're in my hometown, what do you plan on doing here?"
Kestis was silent in this regard, crossing his arms in thought.
He had come here simply because of Professor Oaks suggestion in coming here on top of continuing his efforts with the Pokédex.
"I… I don't know." Cal admitted, going down onto one knee whilst scratching the back of his Larvitar's head. "Maybe I'll challenge the Gym Leader but I'm not too sure."
Misty hummed in thought, cocking her hip to the side as she gazed down upon the ginger haired boy with a thoughtful expression.
"You know what you need, Cal?"
"Hmmm?"
"You need someone to show you the ropes." She declared, making the Padawan blink.
Misty laughed at his expression as she gestured for him to stand back up.
Doing so, she then ushered for him to follow after her which he did and the two walked through the city, heading North specifically.
They arrived at the northern entrance/exit to Cerulean and up ahead was a bridge with several people on it.
'Wait… are they stationed there or something?' Cal internally thought to himself given the placement of the people on the bridge. They went in an almost zig-zag like fashion with an equal measure of space between each person.
"This is Route 24 and 25 is not far down the road here." Misty announced, holding her hand out in the direction of the bridge. "This here is the Nugget bridge. Don't know when these people got here but since their arrival, they've served as a challenge of sorts to any and all trainers that come by here."
"A challenge you say?" Cal parroted while his eyes stared ahead at the five individuals he counted that were on the bridge.
"Mhmm." She nodded. "I want you to take them on."
His head snapped in her direction, his Pokémon now gazing up at the girl curiously.
"Wha-Why?" The Jedi stammered out. "What's the point in that?"
Misty crossed her arms, holding up one hand with her index finger pointed up.
"You're still clearly a novice in all this in being a Pokémon trainer." The orange haired girl declared with a tone that brokered no arguments. "You've got potential and talent with this despite being a novice. I'm fairly certain that someone as renown as Professor Oak wouldn't just give something like a Pokédex to just anyone in Kanto. He must see something special in you. So I'm gonna help ya bring it out."
"By battling?" Cal said in bewilderment.
"Of course." Misty said without reservation. "Sure everyone has different ways of forming connections with their Pokémon and all but the way I see it, there is nothing more pure than facing adversity with your Pokémon together. Pokémon battles are the best way in going about establishing a bond of trust and faith that can become unbreakable."
"But going out of a way for a battle…" Cal murmured in an unsure voice.
As a Jedi in training, he was taught that it was his duty to actively avoid conflict and work to find alternative paths to peace and resolutions. The path with the least amount of damage and physical conflict so to speak of.
Of course being in a war seems counter intuitive to the role of a Jedi in the galaxy and galactic Republic.
In fact, that's something that he never stopped to consider really.
If he was a Jedi, if all those he knew in life growing up in the temple on Coruscant were Jedi… why would they participate in a war?
What purpose would war serve other than needless bloodshed and destruction, the exact opposite of what a Jedi is supposed to represent.
They were keepers of peace, their objective was to utilize violence as a last resort. For there to be war…
"Hello~~? Is anyone in there?"
Cal blinked upon realizing that Misty had been waving her hand in his face for several seconds now.
"Huh? What?" He said a bit dumbly.
Misty gave him a bemused expression. "You alright there Cal? You seem a bit spaced out there."
Cal felt his cheeks heat up slightly, laughing sheepishly at ignoring her entirely.
"Er, yeah, sorry about that." The Padawan remarked. "Just have a lot on my mind."
The teen girl sigh, lip twitching upwards into a small smirk.
"Must be something important for you to just blank out on me. Did you even hear a word I said after unbreakable?"
The Jedi let out an apologetic chuckle which in turn caused Misty to sigh though her smirk remained in place.
"Alright rookie, I'll make this quick and easy for ya." She stated, patting his back. "I figure with you still being a novice and all, you at least have some semblance of Pokémon battle yeah? Otherwise you probably wouldn't have made it this far."
Cal nodded at the statement with Misty humming in approval.
"Alright then so it's time for more practice." The orange haired girl proclaimed. "This bridge of trainers will be a perfect test for you. Each one of them is a Pokémon trainer so you have to beat all five in one go."
Cal jolted at that, looking back and forth between the bridge and Misty.
"All of them?" He asked with clear hesitation.
"Yeah, I think you can do it." Misty declared confidently. "When I was with Red, he told me about participating in the open gym challenge in Pewter City. Since you came from that direction as well, did you participate in it?"
Kestis blinked before reaching into his pocket and pulled out the proof of victory over Brock.
Misty's expression instantly brightened both into surprise and recognition.
"Ya see?" She said, a glint of approval in her eyes. "You may still be new to all this but you've got potential. A natural affinity to this so with the right training and guidance, who knows what you can accomplish."
The Padawan felt a strange feeling of bashful pride swell within his chest, laughing a bit at the praise.
Kinda made him feel light actually.
His thought process came to an end upon hearing Misty clap her hands together.
"Alright then, so, are ya ready?"
"Wait, we're gonna do it now?" Cal asked in surprise.
"Well duh." Misty said, lightly poking his forehead. "I just saw you by the Pokémon center and your Pokémon are all good to go from what I saw. Besides, do you have anything else to do?"
His mouth opened and closed several times over until realizing that he really did indeed have nothing better to do since his arrival here.
"I… guess so…"
"Great." Was her chipper response. "After reaching the end there, you can check out Routes 24 and 25. Maybe you can encounter new Pokémon there for you to catch."
Cal only hummed with a growing sense of anticipation as he stared out at the Nugget Bridge in front of him.
"Once you're done with these two routes, swing by my home at the southern end of Cerulean. You can rest up there for the night if need be."
"Huh?" The Padawan looked at the orange haired girl in surprise. "No, I can't do that. That would be imposing."
"Ah, come off it Cal." Misty said with a wide grin. "One can always use company, specially people our age. It's important to have friends."
"But-"
"Alright, I'll leave you to it." She said, abruptly turning around to head back into Cerulean City. Good luck and have fun Cal."
"Wait, Misty-"
"If need be, head back to the Pokémon center if you're Pokémon get tired." She called back out to him with a wave. "Make sure to keep yourself and your team at full strength."
"Misty-"
"See ya later Cal."
With that, Cal was on his own again.
Human wise.
His three Pokémon, having still remained out of their Poke balls were around him, all looking up at their trainer patiently and expectantly.
Letting out a sigh, Cal looked ahead at the Nugget Bridge, eyeing the trainer closest to him.
He was still unsure as to going through these battles but a stray memory from his time under his Master drifted through his mind.
The Padawan recalled standing in the training room that was made for him in the Venator he and Master Tapal commanded during the war.
"One of the greatest skills that a Jedi must master, above many other abilities, is the aptitude of adaptability." His Masters words were heard clear as day within his mind.
"To adapt and change regardless of circumstances is what sets apart Jedi and those who play at being one. You must be ready or at the very least be willing to adjust yourself to the environment and conflict you find yourself in. It is through those trials where you will be able to find your path and equilibrium as a Jedi, young Padawan."
Kestis' brows were furrowed in deep thought, taking a moment to look at his three Pokémon individually before making up his mind.
Squaring up his shoulders and releasing a steady, calming breath, Cal marched forward onto the bridge towards the first person there.
The person was a kid in an oversized straw hat and bug net on his shoulder.
"Hey there, this is the Nugget Bridge." The kid greeted in a challenging manner. "We were brought together here to challenge trainers like yourself. If ya reach the end, ya get a prize."
Cal simply nodded whilst, without saying a word, mentally nudged Kaiju to be up first.
His Larvitar stepped forward with a ready stance that gave a hard stare at the trainer.
"Guess you're taking on the challenge than." The kid proclaimed and quickly pulled out his own Poke ball and tossed it forward.
From it came a small green Pokémon with a red antenna.
A Caterpie.
"Alright then." Cal murmured, getting into a shoulder length apart stance. "Kaiju, you're up first."
His Larvitar let out a small "reh" as a means of pumping himself up before walking forward with fierce stare directed at his first opponent.
"Go for a String Shot Caterpie!" The trainer shouted, his little green bug immediately going into action.
"Dig Kaiju!" Was Cal's instantaneous response and like that, the Pokémon battle was underway.
It didn't take long for Kestis to device a quick strategy in defeating his opponents team, making quick work of virtually all he had sent out against him.
He was given a small payment of his victory, something that surprised the Padawan before being told to go on ahead.
The Jedi was confused about all this at first as he didn't think the whole winners fee would apply outside of sanctioned battles within Gyms.
Turns out he was wrong.
So with that, Cal went on to engage the next Pokémon trainer on the bridge and this battle went about as smoothly as the first.
Quick and decisive.
It was basically rinse and repeat for the next three, being able to take down any Pokémon thrown at him with relative ease as he utilized his quick thinking and personal experience from the war to device instant and effective strategies that put basically every Pokémon he faced out of commission.
He surprised himself by how much he was starting to get into it.
Cal felt a growing sense of thrill at engaging in these battles and joy at seeing his Mons triumph.
He could feel their jubilation and pride in winning for their trainer and standing tall over their opponents.
It was such a strange experience but not an unpleasant one.
And thus he found himself at the end of the bridge and standing at the exit was a man in a trench coat with a black beret and a wide grin.
"Kid, let me tell ya, that was somethin' impressive to look at." The man proclaimed aloud. "I ain't never seen anything like that in my life. You practically manhandled all those kids in front of ya. Yer a rare talent, I can tell ya that much."
Cal was a bit thrown off by the praise yet had a slightly bashful smile on all the same.
"You think so?" He asked politely. "I'm still new to all this to be perfectly honest with you."
"You're new and you're that good?" The man said with growing excitement, walking right up to Cal and going into his pockets. "Then kid, you really are something special."
The man then pulled out a golden marble and flicked it towards the Padawan.
"Catch." The beret wearing man said.
The Jedi easily caught the marble and looked down at it curiously.
"What's this for?"
"That is a quick profit buck you can have cause that little nugget there is pure gold. Worth 5000 at any poke mart or shop."
Cal's eyes widened considerably at hearing this.
"Wa-wait, I can't take this." Kestis said, holding out the marble back to the man. "I didn't do anything to get it."
"Ah, ah, ah." The man countered with a wag of his finger. "That's where you're wrong kid. Don't you know what this bridge is called?"
Cal briefly looked back to the bridge in confusion. "Um… the bridge of… trainers?"
He chortled at the response, shaking his head. "Nice one kid. This here is the Nugget bridge. And on the bridge, if you beat all the trainers who stand in your way, ya get yourself a golden nugget."
"Oh…" Cal glanced down for a second. "Still…"
"Look kid, I ain't losin' any sleep by givin' that up to ya. You earned it fair and square. Beating five trainers in a row ain't no easy walk in the park, I can tell ya that much."
"Are… are you sure?"
The trench coat wearing man waved him off.
"The organization that I work for got a dime a dozen of these nuggets. Most members actually get some whenever they do something of real worth."
"Whoa." Cal murmured, taking a look at the sole golden marble he had in his palm.
"Wanna join it?"
That was certainly a surprise.
"Wait, what? Join you?"
The older man nodded. "Yeah, you'd be a shoe in for us. You'd make one of the top guys in a matter of months with how good you are. You can only get better."
Kestis was about to open his mouth when he stopped midway and paused for a moment.
'The Force.' Cal mentally thought to himself with a frown now marring his face. 'I feel… I feel some kind of disturbance. Is it a warning?'
It appeared that his abrupt silence didn't go unnoticed as the man who had rewarded him stared at him strangely.
"Uh kid? You alright there?"
Cal blinked upon realizing he hadn't said anything and shook his head.
"Sorry about that." Kestis remarked. "Had something on my mind."
"Could see that." The man stated. "Everything alright?"
Rather than answering straight away, Cal took a moment to focus on the shift in the Force he had felt and figure out what it had meant.
The way he came across it was like a warning.
A warning from…
Cal's eyes trailed back onto the man in front of him with a more wary gaze.
"Excuse me sir." He said in a respectful manner. "This organization you work for… what's it called?"
The beret wearing man blinked slightly before chortling.
"Team Rocket." The man proudly proclaimed. "We're an organization that spans all of Kanto."
And like that, Cal took an instant step back with his hand hovering over both his Poke balls and lightsaber.
"Team Rocket." The Padawan said aloud with a far more guarded expression. "The same team that blew up a Poke center in Pewter City?"
"Oh, so you heard about that."
Hearing his casual tone startled the Jedi though he found himself incensed a moment later.
"I was there." Cal revealed. "I saw the damage your organization brought upon innocent people. You bombed a place of healing and stole people's Pokémon."
The man appeared completely unbothered by what he had just heard and only shrugged.
"Running a criminal enterprise ain't meant to be clean, kid." He casually said. "It's messy and people who are in the way get hurt."
This only served to anger the young Padawan who was now glaring at the man.
"Look kid, I'm offering you a big chance here." He said with his arms crossed. "Someone like you shouldn't be wasting your time walkin' around doin jackshit. Join us, join Team Rocket. Anything and everything you can ever want can be given to you in a moment's notice."
Rather than answering him verbally, Cal opted for his lightsaber and held it to his side.
"You're out of your mind." Kestis spat. "Why would I ever join a Team like that?"
This question appeared to anger the man, an annoyed face coming over him.
"Hey, you better watch who you speak with you little punk." The Rocket member angrily said. "Team Rocket ain't an Ursaring you wanna be pokin' oh so callously. You better think carefully about rejecting people like us."
Kestis' eyes narrowed now and he gave a glare at the Rocket member in front of him.
"Sorry, but the answer is no." Cal proclaimed.
The Rocket member now openly scowled as he reached for the back of his belt.
"Look kid, this is your last-"
"I said no!" Cal exclaimed and without even thinking of his actions, threw his hand forward in the direction of the man he now labeled to be a threat.
At first, this gesture from the Padawan bewildered the Rocket member until he felt an unseen force come over him.
Letting out a startled cry of surprise and fear, the man was sent hurtling back threw the air.
He could only flail about until he stopped, bashing his head against a rock he had flown right into and flopped down to the ground. The Rocket member lay there without moving whatsoever with Cal only gazing at him with a nervous look in his eyes.
Moments later, the boy snapped out of his daze and stiffened upon realizing what he had just done.
He ran right over to the man and immediately wince upon seeing a small pool of blood forming. Quickly checking the man's neck, Cal sagged in relief when he felt the pulse of a heartbeat.
Kestis lightly adjusted the head and breathed out at the shallow cut he saw. It appeared the beret the Rocketeer wore absorbed some of the impact.
Looking at it, Cal picked it up and felt the fabric, surprised at how thick it was.
Glancing back down at the man he had knocked out, his nervous disposition was replaced with a deep frown.
He knew he couldn't leave a guy like this lying around here. Regardless of him being a criminal, it felt wrong and antithetical to being a Jedi in leaving someone he had knocked out to just lay out here.
Criminal as he may be, who knows what could happen with him.
So with great reluctance, the Padawan moved to get the man back to Cerulean.
-Scene Cut-
Misty was on her way over to the cities Pokémon center with a bit of a rush.
She was in the middle of checking up on her Pokémon when she had received a call from Ceruleans police force of an unconscious man being brought in by a boy with ginger hair and a Larvitar by his side.
Said man was also a member of Team Rocket.
So, suffice to say, this demanded her attention.
"Rocket." The Orange haired girl said with a deep frown and low voice. "They got some nerve comin' to my town like this."
She reached the Pokémon center after a few minutes of stomp walking and entered rather dramatically with her pushing both doors open at the same time.
Her entrance made several people turn their heads towards her, including several officers and a young man she had met just a short while ago.
"Misty." One of the Policemen greeted instantly. "Sorry to pull you away from your responsibilities."
"Don't mention it." Misty waved it off, glaring down at the unconscious Rocket member that was placed upon a stretcher with his head wrapped in a bandage. "Dealing with low life scum like these guys is part of my responsibility."
The officer simply nodded as the young girl then turned her head to the boy closer to her age gazed up at her.
Misty let out an amused sigh, shaking her head at the Padawan standing in front of her.
"You Pokédex holders are just a magnet for trouble, aren't you?" She asked, chuckling slightly.
Cal sheepishly smiled, feeling a tad guilty on having caused such a stir when he came back into town with an unconscious man bleeding from his head.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Kestis said, scratching the side of his head. "It's just I knocked him out after crossing the bridge and I kinda didn't know what to do next. So I came back here."
Misty shook her head, patting the young Jedi on his back. "Not to worry. It's a good thing you came back. Not only can he be treated properly but we can also question him afterwards before booting him in prison."
Kestis frowned slightly at the mention of the Rocketeer going to jail. Not that he was adverse to it. It just made him wonder about this Team Rocket as a whole considering what Professor Oak told him about them.
That they were spread across the region.
"Misty…" He spoke up, garnering her attention. "What do you know about Team Rocket?"
Misty crossed her arms and closed her eyes to think about that question for a few seconds.
"Well I know they're vile and do some heinous experiments to both people and Pokémon."
Cal felt a pit forming in his stomach.
"What kind of experiments?" He hesitantly asked.
A darker look came over the orange haired teen with her features becoming far more sharper and angrier.
"Fusion, forced evolution, genetic tampering." She listed off, growing more furious with every word. "They're a disgusting, sick Cancer that needs to be removed from Kanto entirely. I hate knowing they're going to do more damage to so many more people before they get brought down."
Cal recoiled slightly as her tension and anger was palpable through the Force. It made him greatly uncomfortable as he was still not entirely used to such strong negative emotions.
Then again, when he thought about what happened with his Master and the Clones he once called friends…
"What… what did they do to you?" Cal found himself asking her as he figured this vengeful side of her must have stemmed from somewhere.
Misty glanced at Cal, realizing that her small rant had unsettled her new acquaintance and she mentally berated herself in doing so.
"They kidnapped one of my Pokémon recently." Misty quietly revealed to him, the Padawan's jaw dropping slightly. "I went out to try to find and rescue him but it was too late. My Magikarp was forcibly evolved and was on a rampage."
"Forcibly evolved?"
The teen girl detected a hint of confusion emanating from Kestis, making her clarify herself.
"See, when Pokémon evolve, it's usually and I mean usually one of three methods." She said, holding up three digits for emphasis before lowering two. "The first and most common one is natural growth. Be it through age, combat or experience, a Pokémon triggers its own evolution to become a stronger version of themselves."
Misty then had two fingers up.
"The seconds is a sort of necessity or circumstance based Evolution. See, out in the wild, there are stones out there that are composed of the elements themselves. Fire stones, water stones, lightning stones, all stones made by the typing of a specific Pokémon that could almost be described as the needed boost to help them attain their next stage in evolution." Misty then pulled one of her Poke balls and Cal was able to make out what he would describe to be a double starred Pokémon with a ruby gem at its center.
"My Starmie here, for example, is Pokémon I evolved by getting a Water Stone that triggered its evolution from Staryu." She cheerfully said and Kestis tilted his head at seeing the Starmie inside its ball shake about, appearing to be proud of its evolution.
"Huh, interesting." Cal muttered, rubbing his chin in thought. "And the third way?"
Misty's demeanor fell back into her more solemn and anger tinged mood from before.
She let out a sigh as she ran her hand through her hair whilst clipping her Starmie back onto her belt.
"Ya see, I could call the third one a sort of double-edged sword."
Misty saw Cal tilt his head at that with her taking a moment to contemplate on how to explain it.
"Ok… so I just told you about how the first means of evolution revolving around a natural sort of growth, right?" She inquired, seeing Cal nod. "The third means is kind of like… what was it called again? Shock Evolution? Pressured? Something that kinda forces the Pokémon to undergo Evolution when it's not really their time to."
"Shock Evolution?" Cal parroted.
"I heard the term coined by Professor Oak." She said. "It was a lecture he gave and he spoke about the many ways Pokémon evolve and shock evolution came up. Basically, if a Pokémon is put under stressful or extreme situations like life or death, a sort of fight or flight evolution takes place if they have the capacity to pull it off."
"Sounds… unpleasant actually." Kestis admitted.
"It's what happened to my Pokémon." Misty said dejectedly. "Except it was worse. He was forcibly evolved through chemical and physically induced stress by Team Rocket. They turned him into a raging Gyarados that wasn't prepared for such a change. He rampaged for a while until Red caught him and managed to calm him down."
The orange haired girls shoulder slumped in self-disappointment. "Some trainer I turned out to be."
The Jedi Padawan frowned at seeing his new friend like this and wordlessly placed a comforting hand on her back.
Misty blinked at the gesture yet smiled appreciatively a moment later.
"Thanks Cal. And sorry about that." She sincerely said. "Didn't mean to make you see my ugly side like that."
"It's alright." He assured. "We have our moments."
"You're sweet Cal." Misty remarked, laughing at the embarrassed blush she produced from the Padawan. "Daw, look at that. Little bro isn't used to being complimented I bet."
"Sh-shut up." Cal childishly said, swatting her hand away that ruffled his hair.
The two fell into a moment of comfortable silence until Misty turned her gaze back to the Team Rocket member that had been brought in.
"Hmmm." Misty rubbed her chin in thought as she looked between Cal and the direction of the bridge which led to routes 24 and 25.
"Say Cal."
"Yeah?"
"I know this is sudden but I need a favor from you."
The Padawan looked at Misty in confusion. "A favor? For what?"
Misty cocked her hip to the side, one hand place there with the other thumbing at the unconscious Rocketeer.
"See, there's been rumors about Team Rocket activity around Cerulean and this guy being here confirms it." Misty stated. "I've been meaning to find them and take care of them but then my Pokémon got stolen and I had to leave Cerulean for a while to get him back. But since you're here and have experience in handling them, think you can check out Routes 24 and 25 and see what you can find?"
"Are you sure it should be me?" Cal asked a bit nervously.
Misty had a reassuring smile in place, patting the young Jedi on the shoulder.
"You brought him in right? And beat all those trainer prior to seeing him." Misty reminded him. "Plus, you've got a Pokédex. I've seen what Red can do and judging from the time we spoke with Professor Oak, the old man doesn't just hand these things out to anyone. You've got potential. He saw it and so do I."
Well Dank Farrick, when one would put it like that, it sure is hard to deny the bashful feeling swelling within the young Jedi at the praise.
"Ok then." Cal said in a more determined expression. "I'll check it out."
"Thanks a ton, Cal." Misty happily said. "Rest up and get some items from the Pokemart just in case. These Rocketeers aren't exactly prone to playing fair with other trainers. Don't take any chances."
"You got it." Cal stated, fist raised as a silent gesture of reassurance. "I'll be on my… uh Misty?"
"Yeah?"
"I know this kind of comes out of nowhere but… why'd the officers call you first when I came back?" He inquisitively asked.
It was a stray thought really but one he felt needed to be asked.
Misty blinked at the question, laughing it off a second later.
"Well of course they'd call me." The orange haired girl said as if it were obvious. "I'm Cerulean City's Gym Leader."
Cal's jaw dropped slightly. "R-Really? You? But you're not even that much older than me."
"Goes to show you my skillz." Misty jokingly bragged. "But come on, you shouldn't be slouching on yourself either. Red showed me his Boulder Badge from Brock and you came from Pewter City. Did you challenge Brock too?"
Cal nodded and wordlessly reached into his pockets to pull out the same badge Red and Blue had won.
"Ya see?" Misty snatched the badge out of his hands so that he can look at himself. "This is proof that you're more skilled than most other trainers. We just gotta help ya achieve your potential."
"Right." Kestis murmured, his Boulder Badge being dropped back into his palm. "So, same routes as last time right?"
Misty bobbed her head up and down as confirmation.
"You found that crook at the end of the Nugget Bridge but who knows how many other Team rocket members are north of Cerulean." The Gym Leader said. "When you do see them, be sure to take them out and bring them here if you can. If not, call on me and I'll get the authorities needed to take them away. I won't have them sticking their dirty mitts in Cerulean."
"You got it." Cal resolutely declared.
Been a while, yeah?
Meant to get this out way, way sooner but life and other stories took up my time.
Yeah, this ain't the most popular of my works but I guess a bit of my motivation was killed when this story reached the top of this niche crossover.
But recently, been watchin' a lot of old school Pokémon vids and content about my favorite generations and with everything involving Star Wars, got a reinvigorated drive to return to this one.
I wanna do so much here and it would be wrong of me to just leave it to rot.
Gonna keep it going to for more engagement, how's about this.
In the reviews, leave your favorite Pokémon and favorite teams you've used in every Generation.
And for pairings, whether or not there should be any and if so, who do you think would be a good match for our Jedi Padawan in the future as he grows up in the World of Pokémon.
So until then folks, thanks for being so patient with my story.
Current Roster.
Larvitar(Kaiju)
Moves: Leer(Normal), Tackle(Normal), Rock Throw(Rock), Payback(Dark), Bite(Dark), Take Down(Normal), Dig(Ground), Headbutt(Normal), Skull Bash(Normal)
Wooper(Hopper)
Moves: Tail Whip(Normal), Tackle(Normal), Water Gun(Water), Rain Dance(Water), Mud Shot(Ground), Mud-slap(Ground).
Starly(Arc)
Moves: Growl(Normal), Tackle(Normal), Quick Attack(Normal), Wing Attack(Flying), Double Team(Normal), Peck(Flying), Seismic Toss(Fighting).
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.