In regards to the Chansey crisis, thank you all for reminding me of my mistake there. You're my best proofreaders here.
Jack1nthebox: Attract worked on Armaldo for 2 reasons. 1: they were allowed a free move, undefended. 2: Armaldo was a newer member of Steven's personal team and hadn't trained for odd techniques that most high-level battles won't have like Attract.
Cherrypicker: That's definitely one of the next steps that Goly needs to take, along with a few other surprises.
Rockfall & BJJPanda: Eris is going to be the true menace to society.
SimplySupreme: The goon squad is going strong here. Thank you so much for the support and for sharing my love of the concept of under appreciated Pokémon. I hope you have as much fun reading as I'm having writing!
Terastraza: I hope this doesn't come off as an excuse, but that arrogance is actually an intentional trait. If you have noticed, I have been modeling Pokémon battling off of real life professional sports. This comes from my own personal experience as a D1 athlete. In my experience, every athlete I have met who is world champion or Olympic class has an incredible amount of confidence in themselves. Without the borderline arrogance required to fully believe yourself to be capable of reaching the top of the world, they would never have made it there. This is why the people who are used to being around high-level Trainers don't hate his attitude.
Special Note!
This is going to be a short intermission chapter. I'm in the middle of a 2 week road trip around the U.S. East coast, so I only barely had the time to write even this much. Hopefully this tides you all over until we get some serious action next week!
'What an interesting kid.'
Steven watches the tall young boy with fascination as he weathers the storm that is Nurse Joy's criticism.
"Young man, I understand that difficult battles are bound to cause injuries, but how could you let your Pokémon get hurt this bad when you have a Gym battle scheduled in 3 days?" The usually kind nurse looks up at the tall boy before her with a combination of worry and disapproval in her expression.
"It was a battle we couldn't avoid," The recipient of her tirade remains unfazed. He appears to be entirely comfortable with and far too used to being lectured in this way. "All of my team agreed that they needed to experience the best."
"Even so, you challenged the Champion himself! You're only a rookie," Nurse Joy remains as incredulous as she was when they first teleported in. "You should have known that your Pokémon wouldn't be able to handle that battle yet. You're lucky that Steven was kind enough to go easy on you."
"Now, that's not entirely true, Nurse Joy," Steven decides to interrupt on the boy's behalf. "Young Reid proved himself to be an incredibly talented young Trainer. He made me pay quite dearly for underestimating him and giving him a bit too much of a handicap. By the end of our battle, Armaldo was forced to give everything he had!"
Both Joy and Steven turn their eyes to the young man before them. The nurse's face is one of shock and disbelief. No matter how impressive an up-and-coming Trainer may be, it is inconceivable that a kid with two months of experience could force the regional Champion to battle seriously.
As for Steven, his gaze is one of appraisal. He carefully watches the boy's expressions and how he carries himself. Reid's eyes are shifted away, not meeting the eyes of either Joy or himself. Apparently, despite his crass attitude and bold challenge from earlier, the boy still gets embarrassed in the face of direct praise. However, his back is straight and his stance is tall; displaying supreme confidence in himself and his abilities. This is not someone who will shy away from his goals.
"Wow, that's incredible, Reid," Nurse Joy recovers from her surprise and turns a wide smile on the boy. "Earning praise from Champion Steven himself means that you must be something truly special! I'll have to make sure that I make it to your match against Brawly."
"Thank you, but this battle told me that we still have a long way to go," Reid, once again, gives a humble answer that starkly contrasts the initial impression he gave Steven. "No matter who our opponent was, we lost in a three-against-one situation where we had several advantages and handicaps. My Pokémon and I all have a long way to go if we want to become something."
"I'd say that you're doing just fine," Steven interjects. "The strength that I have was built with over a decade of effort and dedication. Building such bonds with your Pokémon takes time. Don't rush and continue to build yourself up by gaining experience and keeping an open mind, and you will find yourself standing shoulder to shoulder with Trainers like myself before you know it."
"I appreciate the confidence you have in me, and I'm thankful that you took the time to battle me, but what you just said isn't enough for me," The young man finally looks directly at the Champion, and Steven can clearly see the burning ambition in his eyes. "Standing as your equal isn't good enough. I know my partners have enough talent and ability to reach that level, so long as they put in enough grueling effort, but that isn't good enough. To be truly special, to stand above you all, we will take every opportunity and advantage that we can find. Any opportunities that we can't find, we will just create. No matter how things turn out, we will reach a height that no other Pokémon team has. That's what I promised them, so there's no other option. We have to become the best."
That confidence, bordering on arrogance, has evidently been built upon the foundation of unimaginable training, studying, and hard work that the boy and his Pokémon have put in. Having put that same grueling effort into growing stronger himself, Steven can easily recognize that the boy before him has done the same. Reid Redwood shows all the signs of being a genius built upon unending effort: callused hands, rigid muscles, and a balanced gait, not to mention the meticulous care evident in the health and strength of his Pokémon.
"I see," Steven decides to change his treatment of the boy. He isn't just a rookie Trainer for the Champion to guide. "Then prove it, young Reid Redwood. Do what you must and greedily take everything that can possibly help you reach that lofty goal. Push yourselves until you reach your absolute limits, then push further beyond," He isn't just a rookie Trainer. He is the seed of a worthy rival: one that will possibly grow into the greatest challenger Steven will ever face. "Only in doing that, day in and day out, can you manage to crack open the door and take the first step towards achieving what you hope to accomplish. I will be keeping a close eye on what you do from here on out, so I truly hope that you can live up to your ambitions."
The impressive child doesn't respond to Steven's encouraging challenge. At least, not verbally. Steven silently notes how his posture turned more and more certain as he spoke. The Champion can almost see the illusion of a flame of passion burning in the boy's eyes. His hands have balled up into tight fists and his whole body practically vibrates with excitement.
Steven can't help but smile fondly at the boy. As much as Reid tries to appear unconcerned with the praise that he has been receiving, his mood has taken a 180 since the narrow loss against Armaldo.
At this moment, a bell sings from behind the counter and Nurse Joy bounces up.
"Oh! That must be Armaldo and Sableye! They were both healthy enough that a quick machine heal was all it would take. I'll be right back, but before I go," She smiles brightly and looks straight at Reid. "No matter what you both say, I wouldn't understand exactly what it takes to become the best in the world or anything like that. What I do know is that I think you are going to become something special! I just hope that you don't bring any harm to your Pokémon while you're chasing those grand dreams of yours."
The nurse walks away with a wink and closes the back door behind her. Steven is left standing somewhat awkwardly next to Reid. Having already given his big speech as the Champion, he's left feeling at a bit of a loss as to what exactly to talk about.
To pass the silence, he thinks back on their battle.
Reid currently has 3 Pokémon, which is pretty typical for a Trainer who is 2 months into their journey. All three of them proved themselves to be incredibly adept at three different battle styles.
This means that Reid has chosen the most difficult path to becoming strong, but also the most difficult style to counter. Most Trainers at the highest level have become experts at a certain type of battling. This can come in many different forms: Type experts, defensive battlers, speed blitz battlers, technical fighters, or more.
Not even champions are exceptions to this concept. Lance and Leon both adhere to the idea that an explosive offense is the best way to overwhelm any opponent. Diantha and Alder are veteran experts who manipulate any and all Trainers with their exceptional mastery over various techniques. Steven, himself, believes in using a combination of unbreakable defenses to create openings for perfectly timed counterattacks.
The only Champion who has truly mastered the path that Reid appears to be taking, the path of using a different style to suit each individual Pokémon's strengths, is Cynthia of Sinnoh. Her success in such an arduous path is a huge factor in why she is often spoken of in the same breath as Leon when people speculate upon who holds the title of the world's strongest.
However, Steven can't help but shake his head at the thought of Reid's Pokémon achieving such a level. Cynthia has something that she can rely upon that young Reid is sorely lacking.
Reid's Tropius used a large amount of offensive buffs to enhance an already powerful move. Such an ability to manipulate energy is impressive enough already, but Steven suspects that Tropius isn't truly trained for offensive means of battle. That last Leech Seed showed too much mastery to have been anything other than the result of endless training. Her true fighting style is much more likely to be that of a defensive staller. Against a Pokémon as powerful as Armaldo, such a defensive strategy would have no meaning, so they adapted.
Sableye's battle style was crass and showed a lack of respect for what most Trainers would consider the art of battle. Despite that, her maliciously manipulative status inflictions have a brutal efficiency to them. Attract is seldom used in battle, much less in high-level battles, but this battle has shown Steven the need to start training up countermeasures. The frustration that Sableye is able to induce in the opposing Trainer can break their tempo and throw their mind into disarray. Still, she is only meant to be a support battler.
As for his Linoone, this is where Steven has to admit some slight apprehension about making a judgment. Everything Steven knows about the species tells him that what Reid's Linoone did against Armaldo shouldn't have been possible. A fighting genius with impossible speed combined with incredible explosive strength. When he learns to fluidly mesh the two together, that Linoone will become a force that nobody in the world can afford to overlook. However, that alone still won't be enough. A limited move pool and low defenses mean that there will be situations that Linoone simply cannot handle alone. As a Steel-Type Trainer, Steven is certain of that fact.
What Reid lacks and Cynthia has is something very simple. Overwhelming force. A powerful Pokémon capable of brutally tearing apart anything in front of it. Reid is truly an impressive kid, but his team is missing a true powerhouse. Dragonite, Garchomp, Volcarona, Gardevoir, Charizard, and, of course, Metagross: every Champion has at least one powerhouse capable of producing monstrous force. Unless Reid acquires a teammate with similar capabilities, Steven simply can't believe that he will be able to reach the heights that the boy envisions himself reaching.
"Steven," Reid's inquisitive voice interrupts the Champion's thought process. "I have a quick question for you if you would. You're here studying the rocks and gems in Granite Cave, right?"
"I am," Steven confirms, curious about what the boy's interest is. "Amongst a few other research projects, I hold a particular fascination in various rare stones."
"My Sableye is a recent capture, and I heard that their diet in the wild is pretty much exclusively made up of gemstones," Reid takes on a slightly embarrassed expression as he pauses before continuing to speak. "I don't exactly have the money to be buying gems for her every day, so I wanted to know what you would suggest I do for her food."
"You have nothing to worry about there," Steven replies kindly. "I've studied the species before, and Sableyes don't actually need to feed on gems exclusively. To maintain good health, they only need about one or two gemstones each month, and the type only matters for taste and personal preferences. If you're struggling to afford it all, amethysts are a cheap gem that you can buy in bulk for her. Between feeding her the gems, it's best to give her whatever Pokémon food the rest of your team uses."
"Got it," Reid replies while writing notes into his Poketch. "Thanks for the help with that. I'd never give up the little shit, but I was worried she would drive me to bankruptcy!"
Steven cringes at the young boy's crass speech, but the back door swings open before he can reproach him. Nurse Joy appears while carrying a tray with a Pokeball and a Great ball on it.
"Sorry for the wait! These two are all good to go with just a bit of rest." Joy quickly hands each of them their respective Pokémon.
After both Trainers have thanked the nurse, she moves to return to the back rooms while promising to take care of Reid's other two Pokémon. She does, however, leave the boy with a final warning.
"Tropius and Linoone aren't facing any risks of lasting injuries, but their wounds are severe enough that they will take time to recover. They will need to stay here with me overnight, and you aren't going to be able to train physically with them at all before your Gym battle on Wednesday. You're going to need to trust that they are prepared for the battle already."
"That's alright," Reid, surprisingly, seems to be unbothered by this revelation. "The battle with Steven has done more for them than any amount of Training could. I'm certain of that. They will be ready."
"I hope so," Steven flashes a grin filled with boyish excitement. "I'd be disappointed if you aren't at your best when I watch you compete. Good luck, Reid Redwood. I'll be waiting for you."
With that final message, the Hoenn region's Champion walks out of the Pokémon Center. Left behind are two people, both feeling different types of intense emotions after the encounter.
Tracy Marks was having a day.
The Vigoroth pack that resides deep in the Border Woods has been expanding far into the outer regions lately. She, alongside her returned partner, has been pushing them back for a full week now. Most Pokémon would have relented against a trained team of much stronger Pokémon, but it's difficult to deter a family of Vigoroth under the orders of a Slaking.
This morning, she was woken up by Skarmory's screech, letting her know that enemies had arrived. The next 3 hours were spent fighting off over 30 enraged monkeys. The whole time, there wasn't a single moment where Tracy's ears weren't being assaulted by a cacophony of loud screaming and squealing.
By the time it was all over, she was ready to send in a request for a new post. Having already spent half an hour sitting down with her face resting on the table, she decided to do something to destress.
While thinking about what she can do without needing to stand up and use any energy, her favorite little brat came to mind.
She pulled up her favorite video with the wild child rolling around with the Zigzagoon pack and rested her chin on her hand as she watched it. She couldn't even tell you how many times she'd watched it, but it never failed to brighten her mood.
It had been a couple of weeks since she last called Reid, and he would never take the initiative to call her first. While wondering what the little freak was up to, she pulled up his official Hoenn League Trainer account.
Tracy was instantly interested. After all, his official record was now listed as 9-1. The rookie genius had lost.
She never expected the boy to remain undefeated forever, but she had thought it would take a lot longer than this. Reid may be a crazy little punk who wouldn't hesitate to challenge a much more experienced Trainer, but his talent is also undeniable. His battle with Wattson proved that much, and Goly's evolution would have only made him that much stronger.
"What kind of Beedrill's nest did he poke this time?" She mumbles as she clicks on his battle history.
Victory over Wattson Tessen (Gym Battle)
Victory over Jamie Randle
Victory over….
Victory over Franco Stern
Defeat against Steven Stone
"WHAT?!" Tracy's screech rang out through the forest and caused Skarmory to nearly fall off the roof outside.
She read the name again.
Defeat against Steven Stone
Yep, that's what she thought it said. It can't be though. It must be someone with the same name. She clicked the link to his profile.
Steven Stone
Hoenn Regional Champion
IT'S HIM!
She already had Reid's number dialed and her phone was ringing.
"This is Reid Redwood. Leave a message."
"Answer, damn it!" She jammed the end call button with violent force.
After Tracy called him two more times, Reid finally answered.
"Hi, Tracy." His voice sounded tired, but she had no concern for that.
"Don't you 'hi, Tracy' me! Answer your damn calls! No, never mind that. Why the hell does your League record say that you lost to Steven freaking Stone?" She started with her typical mocking greeting, but her curiosity didn't allow her to stick with it.
"That's because he beat me." Reid's tired voice took on a bit of a teasing tone.
"Reid, I'm serious here. How'd you fight the Champion?"
Tracy heard a heavy sigh through the phone before Reid answered her.
"It wasn't really a battle, I just forced him to fight me and to call it official. I fought his Armaldo with all three of my Pokémon, but we still lost. We were this close, Armaldo was down on his knee, but we didn't have enough. We're not even close to that level yet, but we... Hey, Eris! Put that down! We haven't bought anything yet and that one's way too expensive. Hey, hey, hey! No, please don't eat that diamond! Noooo! Damn it, sorry Tracy I gotta go. My Sableye just stole a Diamond. Bye. Eris you little shi…" The call cut off there.
Tracy just sat there for several minutes in shock as she processed all the information that she just received.
First, her little brat essentially forced the freaking Champion, of all people, into a battle.
Second, the Champion used a personal member of his team: his Armaldo.
Third, that brilliant little brat actually gave the Champion's Armaldo one hell of a battle, if his words can be trusted.
Fourth, Reid caught a Sableye.
Finally, that same Sableye may have just emptied the cheeky brat's bank account.
After Tracy Marks had finished processing all of that information, she did what anyone would agree is the most reasonable course of action.
She opened up the Ever Grande Conference Forum on the Hoenn League's official website.
Ever Grande Conference Favorites and Dark Horses
MarksMyWords:
Superstar rookie Reid Redwood shocks the world again by battling Champion Steven Stone's Armaldo and nearly bringing it down in a 3v1 single battle! This kid is going to win the Conference this year. Mark my words!
StatDelcatty:
Holy Arceus! This is real! Check Reid's account. He just had an official loss to Steven Stone!
LittleWooper:
Boom, name drop!
WeLoveParasSoYouDontHaveTo:
A first-year trainer won't win the Conference. I can count the times that's happened on one hand. I've got Tyson Randell all day. It's his fourth year and his Metang just evolved a month ago. He's got this.
KingKrabbyKid:
If this is true, it's insane. The kid just became a Trainer two months ago. Has there ever been a Trainer who became this strong, this fast? Leon?
MaxKnowsPokémon:
Really guys? How can you be this stupid? Even if Steven did battle Reid, it would only be to humble an arrogant brat. I admit that his Zigzagoon was incredible against Wattson, but that was only the fifth-badge level. There's no way he would be ready to even touch the feet of the Champion. The loss is real, the fact that it was close is a lie!
MarksMyWords:
HUH? EXCUSE ME?! Who do you think you are to call me a liar? Even just your username tells me that you're probably a stuck-up brat who thinks he knows everything about everything. I'm Reid's first fan, that kind of loyalty means I'm not allowed to lie about him. I'm the most reliable source of truth about him!
LittleWooper:
Ooooh! Drama! *munches popcorn*
ShedinjaGal:
Let's not fight. I'm a big fan of Reid too, but I also find this hard to believe. It's the Champion, you know. That isn't someone you can just challenge with one badge, no matter how cool it was when you earned that badge. Either way, the Dewford Gym schedule says he's battling Brawly on Wednesday. We can see how much better he's gotten then. Can't wait to see him! *squees*
MaxKnowsPokémon:
What are you, Reid's mom? That just makes you more likely to lie. You must not be very smart if you think we'd believe a lie that's so obvious.
MarksMyWords:
I'm not his mom! We'll see which one of us is stupid when Reid wins the Ever Grande!
HomelyHoenn: (Moderator)
Keep conversations civil and about the Ever Grande here. Personal attacks have no place in this forum. I'll leave it at a warning now, but further inappropriate comments will result in an account suspension.
LittleWooper:
And the big man brings down the hammer!
Blazikickz:
There's no point in arguing about this in the first place. Here are the facts: Reid's Zigzagoon had the most impressive debut victory of the year (maybe of all time) before evolving into a Linoone of unknown strength, Reid then went off the radar, only rarely accepting battles, Reid then picked up an official loss against the Champion, and he now has a Gym battle scheduled on Wednesday against his starter's only type weakness. Let's all just watch and see how good he is.
StatDelcatty:
But how did he get Steven to have an OFFICIAL battle with him? Wouldn't it usually be an unofficial battle if he was just trying to teach a newbie Trainer?
MarksMyWords:
Exactly! Steven Stone recognized that Reid's good enough to have an official battle, albeit with handicaps. It's official, so I'm not lying!
MaxKnowsPokémon:
It's probably so Reid wouldn't have any excuses. An official loss would make the lesson stick more.
WeLoveParasSoYouDontHaveTo:
Truth or lie, it doesn't matter. Steven saw enough potential in the kid to warrant battling him. That can't be denied. Whether it was to teach him something or to have a good battle isn't important. I'm just gonna agree with the sensible ones here and wait until Wednesday to make any judgments. That will tell me if he has a shot at winning it all this year.
MarksMyWords:
That's perfect, let's all watch then! I promise Reid will turn all of you into fans too!
LittleWooper:
Sorry, but I can't cheer for anyone who doesn't use a Wooper or Quagsire. It goes against my religion.
MaxKnowsPokémon:
When we watch, you will all see that, while Reid's a very impressive battler (even I can admit that), he is only around the 7th badge level at best.
Max Maple hits the escape tab on the keyboard with some extra gusto and steps back from the Rustboro City Pokémon Center PC.
"What's wrong Max?" Brock asks when he sees the miniature outburst.
At this point, all of the party members are looking at their youngest travel partner.
"Some people just don't know anything about Pokémon!" He laments. "Even when I try to teach them, they don't even believe in common sense!"
"What happened?" Ash Ketchum asks.
"Yeah, Max. What's got you so upset?" May chimes in with some mild concern for her little brother.
"Someone who clearly doesn't know anything about Pokémon battling claimed that a beginner Trainer almost beat one of the Hoenn Champion's Pokémon." Max snorts, showing clear disdain at the thought.
"What!" Ash spits out chunks of the fruit he had been eating.
"Huh, Champion of what?" May asks, looking around in confusion.
"That does seem a bit too far-fetched," Brock admits. "A real, regional Champion isn't someone who can be battled so lightly. May, the Champion is the strongest Trainer in the entire region. Every one of them can be considered as being in the running for the best Pokémon Trainer in the world."
"Yeah, May. As a Trainer, you should really know this already," Max asserts imperiously and May responds by blowing a raspberry at him and turning away. "His league record shows that he actually had an unofficial battle that he lost against Champion Steven, but it's absolutely impossible for it to have been close."
"No fair!" Ash cries. "Even I've never gotten to have a battle with an actual Champion!"
"Who is this Trainer?" Brock asks. "If he's battled with the Champion, I'd like to research him a bit. As a former Gym leader, I know that people in league positions don't have official battles lightly. If what you said is true, then this guy must be the real deal."
"His name is Reid Redwood," Max grumbles. "He's the kid who beat Wattson's Jolteon with a Zigzagoon."
"I watched that one!" May jumps in, excited to finally be able to contribute to the conversation. "Dad watched that battle a whole bunch of times. He said that Reid's Zigzagoon was even better than any of his."
"High praise from a Gym Leader as skilled as Norman." Brock supplies.
"Yeah, well I'm going to beat this Reid guy," Ash crosses his arms and Pikachu does the same next to him. "I'll challenge him to a battle as soon as I see him! Pikachu can handle any Zigzagoon, no problem!"
"Well, it's a Linoone now," Max deadpans. "And I don't know Ash. There's no way he can give the Champ a good fight, but Reid's really strong! He's already going for his second badge on Dewford on Wednesday. Even my Dad said that he wants to battle him, and Dad wiped the floor with you."
"What'd you say? I could totally have two badges already if I wanted to! I've just been taking my time and…"
"Ash!" Brock cuts him off. "Before we get so worked up, you need to focus on getting your first badge tomorrow. If you do that, we can take a boat to Dewford and maybe even arrive before Reid leaves. If he stays there until Wednesday, we have a chance."
"Yeah," Ash smirks at that. "Treecko, Taillow, and Pikachu will win our first badge in no time at all! We can catch up to him in no time at all! You better be ready, Max. When that happens, I'll show you what a strong Trainer looks like."
Reid Redwood
Badges: 1
Pokémon: 3
Goliath (Goly)
Linoone
Abilities:
Gluttony, Pick Up, Quick Feet
Moves:
Slash, Shadow Claw, Headbutt, Double Edge, Dig, Pin Missile, Iron Tail, Extreme Speed, Covet, Flail, Protect, Rest, Belly Drum, Double Team, Growl, Sand Attack, Tail Whip
Mirabelle (Belle)
Tropius
Abilities:
Harvest, Solar Power
Moves:
Magical Leaf, Sunny Day, Protect, Whirlwind, Razor Leaf, Gust, Leaf Storm, Leech Seed, Curse, Growth, Stomp, Sweet Scent, Wide Guard
Eris
Sableye
Abilities:
Prankster, Keen Eye
Moves:
Attract, Thunder Wave, Flatter, Sucker Punch, Shadow Sneak, Shadow Claw, Fury Swipes, ?, ?, ?
