Erik made good on his promise as he chased his newfound dream of becoming a hero, he studied as much as he could to raise his grades enough to get into a good hero school. He was not alone as his Pokémon joined him on his journey, Erik was not sure at first because he was willing to do what's right but he did not want to force his friends to be in danger for his sake. Immediately, all his Pokémon threw back that they would not leave their trainer to fight alone, at least that was what Mimi made clear as the leader of his Poké team.

So, with the help of Rotom, Erik trained his Pokémon to battle, while it was early days, a pecking order was quickly established amongst his Pokémon. Mimi took the lead as his partner, second was Gastly and lastly was Phantump, they all took to their training as best they could, surprisingly for all of them it was Phantump who trained the hardest. Erik had asked the young Pokémon why he tried so hard and the reply he got warmed his heart.

All Phantump wanted was to protect his family, so he would get stronger.

While he trained with his Pokémon, Erik had begun to look into some forms of self defence training, it would not do for him to solely rely on his Pokémon, just in case some prevents him from using them. His parents helped by looking into some fighting classes and any dojo that could take him, although his mother had another idea about how Erik should fight as she brought him to the theatre in order to train him.

"Erik, there is one thing you have to learn about being a hero in order to become a great one." Annabelle said clearly, seating her son as she walked into the centre of the theatre's dance studio.

"What is that, mother?" Erik asked, brimming with curiosity.

Annabelle smiled before spinning on the spot, stopping suddenly to point as she stood in a dramatic pose.

"Stage presence!!"

Erik blinked for a second while his mother kept the pose for a second longer before standing normally, Erik was both confused and understood what his mother was talking about, he knew from a his early years what it meant for a performer to have a presence on the stage, to exude their character's energy and fill a room with it. Yet, he was unsure how it would apply to hero work, as he tried to understand how that tied together, Annabelle had gone to the corner and pulled along a wheelie desk with a tv, when she moved to be beside Erik, he finally snapped out his thoughts.

"I can see your confusion, that's all alright, Erik, I'll explain what I mean." She said before turning on the tv, a video quickly played on the screen, the was video footage from a disaster, Erik felt it was vaguely familiar until he heard those words.

"Everything's alright now, why?" Called out a booming voice as a hulking figure stood atop a fallen bus, his back and arms carrying a shocking amount of injured civilians, his smile shining in the dark and his blonde hair standing proud.

"Because I am here!"

A cascade of feelings washed over Erik as he heard those words and watched the No1 Hero, All Might make his debut, despite it being an old video, it filled Erik with a sense of awe and wonder, he felt both safe and bolstered at the sight of the smiling hero, if he was more of a fan, he would have cried at the sight.

"Do you see it, Erik?" Annabelle asked her son, who snapped back to his current place and time and looked at his mother with a sheepish smile, but Annabelle continued with a warm smile.

"This is the stage presence of a hero, look at how All Might carries himself, how he speaks, how he portrays himself in front of the people." Annabelle explained, the realisation of what his mother was talking about quickly sinking in.

"His presence has an effect on the people, it makes them feel safe, that the danger is no longer a threat." Erik said aloud and his mother grinned and gave him a small clap.

"Yes, that's exactly right, All Might creates a presence of hope and safety, he is the symbol of hope for a reason, whenever he steps on the stage, his presence fills people with hope and it fills villains with discouragement." Annabelle explained further, going through similar clips to illustrate her point and helped Erik understand better.

"However, presence can also be used in another way, watch this."

Annabelle skipped onto the next clip and both watch as it played out, it was footage of a villain attack on a store, the villain in question was a large muscular man with some form of strength quirk as he caused chaos and grabbed as many registers as he could, it was quite a scene until the villain turned around and froze. The camera turned to show an even larger figure standing before the villain, his piercing blue eyes narrowed in contempt at the villain, his mouth in a permanent scowl, the flame on his face and costume increasing his intimidating appearance.

It was like night and day for Erik, he was now drenched in an aura of intimidation and awe, it was the same for most watching as the people almost seemed to pity the villain who was rightfully unnerved when facing the number two hero, he made a move to get away only for a lightning fast fist to embed itself in his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him and making him drop the registers. Without a word, Endeavour dragged the villain outside to the police, not before gruffly declaring it was safe as he left, his intimidating air lingered as people were glad to be safe, but waited until the police entered to leave.

"Do you think you can explain this one?" Annabelle asked Erik who nodded before taking a moment to find the right words.

"Endeavour's presence was a lot more intimidating, it was like a weight that crushed everyone, yet you could also be in awe at his presence as he carried himself with determination." Erik explained as best he could, earning another clap from Annabelle who was pleased by the in depth answer from her young son.

"That's right, but it did not affect everyone the same, the people could feel the intimidation, but they were not afraid because they knew they had done nothing wrong, however, the villain was worse off as he felt the full weight of Endeavour's presence." Annabelle pointed out, getting enthusiastic nods of understanding from Erik.

"Now, the thing you need to remember is that both All Might and Endeavour's presence were only as effective as they were because of one thing, they based it on who they are."

Annabelle paused to let that sink in before she continued.

"While, I don't know them personally, you can tell who both heroes are by their mere presence, All Might is kind, caring and protective, ready to do what he can to save everyone, while Endeavour, is determined, unfazed and relentless, he will go through any obstacle to reach his goals."

Erik absorbed every bit of information, he could tell how important this all was.

"So, Erik, what you need to do is look inside yourself and find who you are, it will take time, but I know you'll find your own presence and we will all bask in its awe."

It hadn't even been a week since his father shaped his world with his worlds before his mother did the same, every day from this moment, after each session they shared together, Erik kept asking himself what was inside himself as he worked to master his presence as well as continued his studies and training for hero.

This went on for a year, Erik's focus never faltered as he did all he could to try and find the hero he wanted to be, it also seemed that his classmates decided to distance themselves the young man, something that did not surprise Erik that much, he had hoped that once he entered elementary school, things would be different, alas this was not the case as he was once again the social outcast. He assumed it was no small part to the fact that some of the kids from his Kindergarten were there as well and had spread rumours about him, he also hated to admit that he felt the mask did not help things, while he did not wear it as much as he did before, there were times he would put it on and he had been seen a few times.

Erik took this in stride, he knew people would struggle to accept him for who he was and so he felt that focusing on his training was best, that and the performing arts, it was clear his upbringing influenced him a lot as he enjoyed both drama and music, and practised both as much as he could. He was often alone in music room where he would practise both artforms, the irony was also not lost on him or his parents, they were well aware how ironic that a boy named Erik had taken to music and performance like a duck to water, the mask certainly did not help and it was not lost on the school who had taken to nicknaming him, "The Phantom", it went on into his second year.

It was exactly what was being jeered at him as they entered the museum, the school was having a field trip to a museum of history, in the hope of getting the students more excited in learning new things, Erik did enjoy the exhibits on display.

"Ha! That guy looks like a monkey." declared one of the students when they passed the cavemen exhibit, Erik shook his head at the less than clever joke.

He merely observed the exhibits before they were brought to a large room where a number of artefacts were sealed inside glass cabinets, they all seemed to be from some sort of royalty, but the true gem sat at the back in a cabinet, Erik and every other student were mesmerised by the sight of the crown. While it looked aged, the gold still glittered so brightly and contrasted the intricate design that incorporated a couple of rubies, barely anyone paid the guide attention as he spoke about the crown.

"I see you are enjoying our most prized piece, you children should be honoured as you are the first people outside of the museum to gaze upon this crown." He casually mentioned, further putting the children in awe of the artefact, but one boy put his arm up to ask a question and the Guide signalled for him to speak.

"How expensive is it?" he asked.

It was a simple question and the guide chuckled before he answered.

"Well, it's in excellent condition despite its age and is made of gold with rubies embedded in its design, I'd have to say it's worth a lot." The guide answered.

Before long, it was time for lunch, Erik was sat away from his class as he ate his bento, while it irked him to watch how some of his classmates acted as some dropped litter on the floor, he did feel a bit left out as he wished he could be a part of a group, while he pushed that want away and reminded himself he had his Pokémon.

Movement on the ground quickly caught his eye, he shifted his gaze to the floor and was quite delighted at what he found, a small, light blue, robot like thing picking up the litter and running off to the bin, Erik could make out the yellow lights that glowed from it and its eyes as well as the blue stone diamond on its chest with a glowing spiral. He instantly knew this was a Pokémon, no one else had noticed it and Erik was about to reach into his bag to get Rotom when more movement caught his attention, he looked again and was amazed to find more of the same Pokémon cleaning the mess his classmates were making, he watched as they snuck around and cleaned like a well oiled machine.

He was so in awe, he almost missed the old man standing off to the side with an amused smile on his face, Erik was confused until he followed the line of sight and realised the man was watching the compact golem like Pokémon, a surge of excitement rushed through Erik as a thought entered his mind. Quietly, he packed his things and walked up to the old man who noticed his present and offered him a welcoming smile.

"Hello, young man, enjoying the museum?" he asked.

"Y-yes, it's really amazing, I was just wondering, what are you looking at?" Erik asked the old man, taking note of the outfit he was wearing, it was a janitor's uniform, the old man chuckled at the question as he regained his amused smile.

"Oh, watching my friends make my life easier." he said quietly, Erik was vibrating at this, he steady himself and he wanted to be sure.

"Who? And how?" he asked, his heart racing as he hoped he found someone similar to him.

"The sprites, of course, I can't see 'em but I can see how they clean the place up, I give them treats for the hard work before I head home, I never see the litter move, it just vanishes."

Erik's disappointment was large as he realised that the janitor could not see the Pokémon, but he could see them moving things. He chided himself for getting his hopes up and was going to leave before the janitor tapped him on the shoulder.

"Sorry if that wasn't what you were hoping for, young man."

"No, it's okay, my quirk allows me to see them and I thought you could too." Erik replied with a half smile, but the old man appeared shocked at this response.

"You can see them, can you please tell me what they look like, I've always wondered." He asked, excitement in his eyes.

Before Erik could respond, his bag shook and out popped a familiar floating phone as Rotom appeared before the two, startling the old man who stared at the strange device Pokémon with awe.

Nzzt, Allow me! User Erik! I can take a picture for you using my camera.

Rotom explained before turning his camera to face the Pokémon running around and snapping a quick picture, he then floated towards the old man who blinked before he focused on the image in front of him, while the man seemed taken in by the image, Erik had a question to ask his Pokémon.

"Rotom, what Pokémon are they?"

Nzzt, Scanning now….. Golett, the Automaton Pokémon, a Ground/ Ghost type, Ancient science fashioned this Pokémon from clay. It's been active for thousands of years.

Erik was once again amazed by the Pokédex entry as he wondered how some ancient civilisation could create a Pokémon and what for, he quickly glanced at Rotom as he felt it must have been similar to how he was created before he dismissed it as Rotom had explained before that the phone houses his body, it was more akin to possession.

"Hey, kid, thank you." Said the janitor, getting Erik's attention as he saw the appreciation in his eyes.

"I've worked here for many years and I alway wondered who has been helping me, knowing what they are, means a lot to me." He said softly before he grabbed his broom and started cleaning.

"Take care, kid, thanks for making this old man's day."

Erik felt a smile grow on his face, happy to know he made someone happy today, it was worth the disappointment from before, he waved goodbye to the janitor before returning to his classmates as they moved into another part of the museum.

It was then that Erik became visibly excited which disturbed many of his classmates as they had wandered into the ancient history which had a exhibit on european theatre musicals and operas, Erik eyed each piece as he absorbed all the knowledge he could, he almost fainted when he came across the costume and props from the earliest runs of Phantom of the Opera. It was a dream come true and he hated when it had to end, as they were being led out of the wing, a red light started to flash and an alarm sounded, frightening everyone in the room.

"Children, please stay calm and stay with your teacher, it appears there's an emergency happening, I'm going to find out what's happening." Explained the guide as he pulled out his radio and called someone, he moved away so no one could hear, but it was a quick conversation as he came back, looking pale.

"A villain has entered the museum, the heroes have been called, so we need to stay here and out of sight until they do."

The class panicked at the news of the villain before becoming excited at the news of the heroes, some were still, understandably, fearful, but the hope that the heroes would come shone through, they listened to their teachers and quickly hid toward the back of the wing, splitting behind different exhibits. The air became tense once sharp scraping filled the air as it got closer and closer to the room, Erik could hear everyone trying to control their breathing and he was no different as the door to the room was broken and someone walked inside, from where he was hiding, Erik could see the intruder. A lanky man with a black leather coat, his face was gaunt and his hair dirty, he wore jeans that were shredded at the ankles, but what Erik noticed most, was the crown in his hand, the same crown that they were shown.

"Hmm, an empty wing, strange, I heard that there's supposed to be a class in here, I figured they'd make good hostages!" He snarled aloud, as he eyed the area, clearly speaking to get a reaction.

"Oh, looks like I was right." He said as he knelt down and picked up a small flag, Erik froze as he recognised it as the flags they were given for free.

The villain frowned as he looked around and saw no sign, he growled like an animal as his legs and arms transformed, becoming beast like with sharp claws that dragged across the ground, with a furious swipe, he smashed one of the exhibits, sending everything flying, to Erik's dismay it was the european one, but he did not stop and smashed the lights in his fury.

"Enough games! Get out here now or I'll rip you all apart!!" He roared into the air, triggering whimpers from the terrified children, Erik could feel his heart beating at an insane rate, he was terrified, he knew the last time he ever felt this afraid, but Mimi was not here, today was his Pokémons rest day and he knew he was not allowed to use them because of the Quirk law.

The sharp claw villain stomped forward, straight to one of the class' hiding spots, Erik's mind raced as he wanted to help them, he kept trying something out, but time was running out as he got closer to his classmates, the villain raised his claws to tear apart his obstacle, when a broom flew through the air and hit him on the back of the head. Erik turned to see the janitor standing back towards the entrance of the wing and it was clear he had thrown the broom at the villain, who seemed unfazed as he turned around to glare at the janitor and quickly walked over to him, Erik panicked as he watched the villain grab the janitor by his throat and lift him into the air.

"What's this? Some fossil trying to be the hero, I'd think you'd make a better hostage." He said before laughing menacingly, as the janitor tried to struggle free to no avail.

Erik felt so helpless, he was so close and yet there was nothing he could do, it hit him like a brick as he realised something, how could he be a hero if he could not save this one person, someone most would ignore, someone who he made smile and now he could not save him because he was just a kid, he had no power to stop this villain.

"Golett."

Erik flinched and look to his side and saw a single Golett standing beside him, while Erik could not understand the Pokémon language, he could tell that this Golett was worried about the janitor, Erik looked again at the scene and noticed all the Goletts who stood around looking, they were frozen too, they wanted to help, but like Erik, alone they could not do a thing. He blinked as an idea came to mind, he would get in trouble, but it was skirting the line of the law so thin so he should be alright, he turned to the Golett to get its attention, the small automaton walked over to Erik who got close enough to whisper.

"I know you want to save your friend, I have a plan but I need you to get your friends for it to work." He explained to the Pokémon who nodded before Erik continued to tell him the plan.

The villain kept the old man close as he waited, he was lucky the old fool had come because he needed a hostage badly, he was furious that he overlooked the kind of security this museum had, sealing him inside, he chuckled as he had the best room for a quick escape, this wing had two large windows, which kept the room lit and barred when the alarm sounded. He bet his quirk could rip them apart quickly, but he needed to distract the heroes with a hostage, to buy him some time, he also knew those brats were in here too, so he had plenty of leverage.

"No one will take Clawthorne, alive." He said with a smirk.

Suddenly, he heard movement to his side, he snapped his head and saw nothing, but the broken glass from the display case he broke, he froze for a second as he looked closer and realised something, there was something there before, he was about speak when he heard something unfurl, he looked up to see clothe falling over the windows, enshrouding the room in darkness. Clawthorne struggled to see, regretting his earlier rampage, but he did not panic as he simply raised the janitor higher as he had a feeling on what was going on.

"I know you're there, hero! Cut the crap and come out or I rip this old man apart!!" He declared into the darkness as the air turned freezing, he heard nothing for a moment as he tried to look into the darkness, he saw something small moving, before something hit his eyes.

He roared in pain as he was blinded for a moment, quickly shrinking to clear his eyes, releasing the old man by mistake, he quickly realised and went to grab him, only to see that the janitor had vanished, Clawthorne growled as he frantically looked around for a way out but the darkness seemed to grow, he was about to run for the direction of the door when he felt his legs give out from under him. He groaned in pain as he tried to quickly recover only to look in front of him and froze as he saw a figure standing before him, it was taller than him and seemed draped in darkness itself, the only thing he could see was the bone white mask his wore and the glowing purple pupils that judged him.

He said nothing as he chose to lung at the figure, claws outstretched to rip him apart when the masked figure opened its mouth and and ungodly shriek erupted from it, hitting Clawthorne, the force knocked him back and he cried as his ears rung from the screaming, tried to focus on the figure before it flew forwards like a ghost and struck him again, even harder than. Clawthorne was panicking as he looked around for the figure and could not see anything, he knew this was not a hero, this was something else.

"You have disturbed us, by taking this." came a voice so soft and light, it seemed unnatural.

Clawthorned looked and saw the figure standing in the distance, holding the crown he had stolen, he gasped and looked to see he truly had lost it, he looked back to the figure who stepped backwards, Clawthorned snarled and refused to believe his fears as he stood up and glared at the figure.

"You think you can scare me! You're just some two bit vigilante, that's it!!" He shouted before leaping at the figure who stepped into the darkness, with a quick swipe he felt his claws hit the wall and nothing else, he blinked before he was struck by an invisible force, sending him crashing to ground.

Clawthorned could hear his heart pounding in his ears, it was going so quick, his eyes darted to every shadow for any sign of the ghost, he tried to crawl away, he needed to get away, he could make out the door and desperately crawled towards it, he was going to escape.

"Tell me."

His heart stopped as he looked up and saw the figure standing in the doorway, looking down on him with those haunting eyes before two gloved hands came into view and a ball of dark energy that seemed to seep from the darkness itself formed in his hand.

"Are you scared now?" he said softly, yet it hit Clawthorne like a heart attack as he screamed and scrambled to escape, he crawled away, pleading for mercy and forgiveness as his back soon hit a wall and he watched as the ghost came closer and closer with the ball of death in his hands.

Clawthorne shut his eyes from sheer terror and prayed it was over quick, his heart beating like crazy and his body frozen as he waited for the end, he kept waiting and waiting, yet he felt nothing, he dared open his eyes and was blinded for moment, the light had come back into the room. He looked around and saw no sign of the ghost, he let out a breath of relief before laughing as he felt the fear leave his body, he slowly stood up and began to make his way to the door to just leave, happy he made it out, until he look on the ground and saw words painted in blood.

I will always be in the shadows.

"Always."

The police had arrived at the scene along with some pro heroes, they had managed to get the security shutters opened when someone who look alot like the suspected villain ran out straight at them, he collapsed before the police and heroes and begged them to take him away, he begged profusely, it was a baffling sight. Shortly after arresting him, police and paramedics entered and helped the injured personnel as well as located the class who had come for a field trip, thankfully they had been hiding in a secure part of the museum, away from the wing that the Villain had reportedly entered after stealing the crown. Although, much to the surprise of the heroes and officers, the crown was sitting in its broken casing, as if it was returned, they chopped it up as the actions of a deluded criminal as he had been raving about a ghost the whole time before he was secured in the transport vehicle.

As Erik and his class were being checked over by the paramedics, he felt his heart racing as he struggled to listen on what the police had found inside, he half expected them to piece together what happened and tell him off for using his Quirk, even though he technically did not as he simply spoke to the Goletts and did not capture and use them as his Quirk specified. That was another thing that made him shake, what he managed to do with the help of the Goletts, a lot of them had so many moves, Erik just told them what he needed to happen and they did it as best they could, getting him the Phantom's cape and mask and then using their moves to sell the idea that he was ghost. He thought he would be more frightened but like before the mask kept him steady as he performed his little heart out, all while getting his class away from the wing without Clawthorne knowing.

"Hey kid." Called a familiar voice.

Erik jumped before looking to see the Janitor sitting on a gurney, he waved for Erik to come over and he did so, wondering what he would want to talk about, the Janitor seemed alright although his neck was covered by a brace that made Erik feel a bit guilty that he did not act sooner.

"I just wanted to say, that ghost sure came in the nick of time, I thought I was a goner for sure." he said with a smile that Erik returned.

"Yeah, he did, I'm glad he stopped that villain." Erik said, keeping the facade going.

"I'm sure he'll be glad to know that our friends cleaned up the mess, so he shouldn't be bothered." He said as a knowing smile appeared on his face while Erik adopted one of surprise, the man gave some quick glances to the ground which confused Erik before he looked and was surprised to see one of the Goletts standing underneath the ambulance.

"I asked him to tell his friends to clean up when the police came, he seemed really eager." The Janitor explained while Erik gave him a grateful smile in return.

"They were just as eager to help the phantom, they all really care about you." Erik said softly which made the Janitor's eyes water slightly before he blinked it away.

"Aww shucks, I guess they liked my treats more than I thought!" He joked in return, before the paramedics returned to put him in the ambulance, he waved for them to stop for a second before he leaned to Erik's ear.

"Tell the phantom, he'll make a great hero one day, and to keep out of trouble."

With that, the Janitor was carted into the ambulance and was gone, Erik smiled as he felt touched by his words, while he knew he should not have bent the rules, he was happy he saved someone, it was proof if any that he could be a hero, especially since he found his presence in that museum. Erik looked down at the Golett who looked back, with a smile he knelt down to speak to him, pulling out Rotom at the same time, Erik quickly hushed his Pokémon when he was about to blurt out about what he did before he asked him to translate.

"Golett, Gol, Golett, Golett."

Nzzt! Translating… done! It said, "Thank you, young knight, for saving our friend!" Nzzt it seems very grateful.

Erik smiled at the response.

"It was nothing, you guys did the hard work, I just played a part." He said with a modest smile, but the Pokémon shook its head before speaking again.

"Golett! Gol, Golett, Gol! Golett, Golett!"

Nzzt! It said, "No!! You led us! You helped us save our friend, I would like to help you save others!

Erik was taken aback by this and marvelled at the vigour of this small Pokémon, he smiled as he held out his hand to shake.

"If you want then let's both work hard to be heroes." He said with confidence and a determined look.

"Golett!" replied the small automaton as it shook Erik's hand, he did not need a translation for that to know he was a new member of the team.

"Gol! Golett, Golett, Gol?"

Nzzt! Um, it said, "Oh! By the way, do you know this Pokémon, he helped out?"

Erik blinked at that before he noticed Golett pointing behind him, turned around only for something to land in his hand, he looked and realised it was a Pokéball, he was even more confused until he looked in front of him and his jaw dropped because floating before him was a form he was very familiar with.

"Shuppet, shup~?" said Shuppet who gave Erik his signature smirk.

He said, "Is that offer still open?" Nzzt!

Erik left the museum that day, with two new members in tow, feeling his purpose event more solidified as he vowed to be the best hero and trainer he could be for his Pokémon, it was also funny to see his mother's reaction when Shuppet was floating behind him, he may not have many friends, but he had his family, that made him the luckiest boy alive.