Creation began on 03-24-21
Creation ended on 11-11-21
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Knock us down, we'll just get up again
Thud! Korrina's Mienfoo fell after taking a direct hit from Leo's Fire Fang.
"Foo…" It groaned, fainting.
"Way to go, Shinji!" Toji cheered.
"His Litleo's one tough Pokémon," said Kensuke as he filmed the epic beatdown.
Originally, Shinji was saving Leo for last with either his Eevee or Fletchling serving as the final combatant after his Gogoat was defeated by Mienfoo after defeating Korrina's Machoke, but after seeing the second Pokémon of his opponent in action, he had to rethink his original strategy and use Leo second, with either one of his other Pokémon serving as a last resort against her third and final Pokémon, Lucario.
"I must say," went Korrina as she recalled her Mienfoo into its Poké Ball, "you're a lot stronger than I anticipated you to be."
"Likewise. The stronger your adversary is, the more effort that is required to win…and the greater the results are to be."
"Eevo!"
Kaji had to give Shinji more credit than he had expected himself to give in this match for his next gym badge. The young man was much stronger than he was in the previous gym match for his second badge, and his Litleo was a lot more powerful than it had demonstrated. Maybe a little too powerful, even.
"It's not always Pokémon being powerful that gravitate towards Shinji," he was told by Kensuke. "It's Shinji's conviction to train them and see in them their potential to become stronger that makes them so powerful. I've seen him turn Pokémon that others believed to be weak into powerhouses in their own right. One time while we were in the Johto Region, we went to this island where these Pidgey were so overweight due to the lack of predators and lack of needing to flee from danger, he ended up attracting the interest of four Pidgey that saw his Pidgeot and, despite the island being a preserve, he ended up catching them. Now, they're one evolution away from being Pidgeot themselves and flying like bullets like his Pidgeot."
"Let's do this!" Korrina declared as she had released her Lucario onto the field. "You can't win against us, Shinji Ikari!"
"We'll see about that!" Shinji replied, and Leo roared at her Lucario.
-x-
Antonio had to admit that Electrode was becoming more and more impressive as he studied it, finding that, once it had absorbed enough electricity as a source of nourishment, it could levitate in the air and reduce its weight. It was very remarkable. Even Palkia had to admit that the man's new fascination with the Electric-Type Pokémon was no different from that of a curious child asking a question of their parents. What really seemed unusual about Electrode was that it had a mouth…but didn't require food to eat like most organic Pokémon did, stemming from its origins as an artificial Pokémon.
"Electrode," it uttered, floating in the air above Antonio like it was rolling on the floor. "Trode! Electrode!"
"Would you look at it go?" Antonio expressed, and then looked over at the screens on the panels showing Shinji and the others at the Shalour Gym, seeing a bright light. "Huh?"
"A Pokémon has gained enough experience and has shown conviction in its determination to persevere," said Palkia.
"It's that cat Pokémon of Shinji Ikari's," one of the workers informed.
-x-
It wasn't unheard of for Pokémon to evolve, but it was unexpected for Leo to be evolving so soon. He had only been with Shinji for a little while, but was already demonstrating how strong he was after taking a Power-Up Punch and getting back up, not once but thrice, and from a Lucario that was now a Mega Lucario!
"Whoa!" Toji gasped as Leo grew larger and his glowing body became more mature.
When the glow ceased, Leo had grown from a Litleo…into a mighty Pyroar.
"RRRRAAARUGH!" He roared at Lucario, making the ground tremble.
"Lu…" Mega Lucario growled back, somewhat intimidated.
"Oh, my…" Hikari shuddered.
"That is one big cat," said Hanmyo, and her cats hid behind her.
Shinji took out his Pokédex and identified his new Pyroar.
"Pyroar," it went, "the Royal Pokémon. Inside the pride, the male Pyroar with the largest mane is the dominant leader. Pyroar's fiery mane will get larger the more excited it becomes."
But Shinji noticed something about his Pyroar that was different from the one depicted in his Pokémon; the mane on his was larger and had some jagged edges, and was much bigger than they were supposed to be.
"I don't like this," said Hyuga to them.
"He's basically got a lion of his own," went Shigeru. "Who wouldn't like that?"
"Lucario, attack with Aura Sphere!" Korrina ordered her Mega Lucario to do.
"Leo, use your Flamethrower!" Shinji countered, and his Pyroar spat out a large stream of flame at the Aura Pokémon.
"Lu!" Mega Lucario gasped; the Aura Sphere it was preparing to launch wasn't fast enough, and its body was bathed in flames. "Lucario…"
Then, it fell to the ground, incapacitated from the burns it got, and reverted back into a Lucario.
"Oh!" Asuka, Maya and Korrina gasped; it appeared that Leo was at a higher level than they had expected him to be.
Maybe more powerful than Shinji himself could manage right now.
Lucario tried to get up, but fell back down; the burns were much more intense than it had believed just a moment ago. Try as it might, it didn't have the strength to rise up again.
"Lucario," Korrina uttered, saddened by her Pokemon's defeat. "It looks like we faced someone just as strong as the previous trainer we hung with."
"Rrraurgh!" Leo roared again, proud with his victory, and then he turned to face Shinji. "Grr!"
"Leo?" Shinji uttered, just as the Royal Pokémon slowly approached him. If he's at a level higher than the number of badges I currently have, I may not have much control over him. Leo could misbehave and hurt someone.
His Eevee got in front of him and stood in defense of him as Leo stopped in front of her.
"Eee," she went, and Leo frowned at her. "Eee."
Leo bared his fangs at her, trying to intimidate her.
Misato did feel intimidated by him, but she refused to back down in front of him and Shinji. As the primary Pokémon in Shinji's life, she had authority over most of the other Pokémon he had ever caught in the years they've been together. It wasn't something she abused, but when it came to misbehaving Pokémon or Pokémon that were in a dark place due to their own power or past experiences with others or in the wild, she would enforce the fact that she was the beta in Shinji's…pride, pack, menagerie or whatever it was that humans chose to call a group of individuals from other places that lived together. She would keep the order if Leo couldn't keep in line until he had taken the time to straighten out.
Leo growled at her, trying to get her to back off, but she wouldn't, despite him being of greater size and strength than her now.
"Eevo!" She raised her voice, causing him to flinch. "Eevo!"
And with that, the newly-evolved Leo had to back down. The Eevee had stood her ground and wouldn't step down before him. She was the beta of this pride, not him…and he wouldn't be the alpha just yet.
"Leo?" Shinji asked him, slowly approaching the Pyroar. "Are you alright?"
Maybe he would be alright after Shinji obtained the Shalour City Gym badge. Or maybe Shinji would have to obtain his next badge from the next gym. Either way, he would have to be careful with Leo until he was more manageable.
"I'm guessing that your new Pyroar is stronger than you expected, hmm?" Korrina asked Shinji.
"It's…nothing I'm a stranger to," he explained; he had experience with a dozen Pokémon that were often difficult to train if they were stronger than the trainers were half the time. "You've seen it once, you've seen it twice, you've seen it many times every now and then."
"Hopefully, this badge will help you manage their behavior."
Korrina had presented Shinji with the Rumble Badge, proof of his victory against her gym.
"Thank you, Korrina," he praised her, accepting the badge. "Three down, five to go."
"You should try the gym in Coumarine City, but you should probably head to Mega Island off the coast of Shalour City first."
"Mega Island? Why?"
"Eee?" Misato expressed, also wondering why.
"According to my grandfather, that island has Mega Stones that allow Pokémon to Mega Evolve. I've heard that you were able to somehow get your Pokémon to do so without the stones, but you should probably gather whatever Mega Stones you can find there. You should have this, too." Korrina explained, and then took something out of her pockets.
It was a small, marble-like object, rainbow-colored and had a strange shape in its center.
"What is this?" Shinji asked her.
"It's a Key Stone, needed to help facilitate Mega Evolution," she answered, and placed it in his left hand.
"Thank you very much."
-x-
"Why do I get the impression that Shinji will need one more badge to ensure that newly-evolved Pokémon of his doesn't go out of line?" Antonio asked Palkia.
"I wouldn't know for sure," Palkia expressed. "A Pokémon Trainer is met with troublesome factors that make gaining the respect and loyalty of their Pokémon difficult, requiring them to either adapt, swim, fly, or sink, fall and bite the dust. Shinji has been doing this for over four years in the Pokémon world, while he has only been absent from this world for a few months. It still shows his commitment and conviction to his profession as a Pokémon Trainer; despite the long road ahead of him, he doesn't stray from the path he's taken. He doesn't seek the easy way out of his situation or let others do what he should."
On the monitors in front of Antonio, Shinji and the others present with him, once they had left the Pokémon Center to get his Pokémon tended to in Shalour City, were looking out an ocean in front of them, and Shinji was pointing towards something in the distance.
"You really think that this Mega Island is worth going to for some stones you have needed to evolve your Pokémon, Shinji?" They heard Asuka say to him.
"It never hurts to have some," he had responded. "And who knows for sure, we might end up seeing some Pokémon there that I haven't caught yet. Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution."
"He currently only has two Pokémon in his party that are capable of Mega Evolution, Asuka," they heard Toji say to the redhead, reminding her that his Charizard nicknamed after her and his Shiny Gyarados nicknamed after Rei were able to evolve temporary to much stronger states without the aid of these Mega Stones that people required. "And I don't think it would be a bad thing if any of us were to have a few of these stones. I mean, even if we do go back after we wake up, we should still have the stones when we return, right?"
"That's a possibility," said Kensuke to them. "Remember when we got stuck here for an extended period when we were in the Unova Region? We still had everything Shinji got us when we returned once we had physically recovered from the induced comas."
"Charizardite X and Y," Maya had listed some of the Mega Stones that existed to Mega Evolve Pokémon, "Aggronite, Gyaradosite, Metagrossite, even Tyranitarite. Professor Sycamore would probably appreciate it if he were presented with several of these stones and the Pokémon that can evolve using them."
Then, Shinji threw out one of his Poké Balls and released his Gyarados into the water.
"Rrrrraaurgh!" She roared.
"Shall we?" Shinji asked them.
-x-
"…Something wrong, Ash?" Serena asked as she noticed her childhood friend looking up at the sky.
"No, just an odd feeling," he responded; he just got the feeling that something happened to shorten the distance between himself and this Shinji that he had yet to meet. "It's nothing."
They were on their way to the next town before reaching the next Pokémon Showcase for Serena to participate in. Since it would be a while before they would reach Snowbelle City and Ash would be able to obtain his eighth and final badge.
"What kind of feeling?" Bonnie asked him.
"Pika?" Pikachu wanted to know, too.
"Just…that something different is about to happen somewhere," Ash explained.
-x-
"…Are those Lapras?" Shigeru gasped, pointing to some Lapras traveling a few kilometers from where Shinji's Gyarados was as she transported them across the ocean to Mega Island as it came within viewing range.
"Very perceptive," said Shinji as he smiled.
"So beautiful," went Hikari as she wished she had a camera, thankful that Kensuke was filming the group of Lapras.
Splash! Something white jumped out of the water and back into it.
"Dewgong!" Toji gasped, pointing to the Pokémon that had jumped out of the water. "Dewgong!"
It was followed by Seel, Seaking, Wailmer, Carvanha and Mantine.
"So awesome!" Hyuga expressed.
"You can say that again," added Asuka.
"Rrrraaurgh!" Shinji's Gyarados roared as he and the albino girl of whom she was nicknamed after looked up ahead at the island they were heading towards.
"Is that a Wailmer, as well, Shinji?" Rei asked him, pointing to a larger Water-Type Pokémon in the ocean away from them.
"No, that's a Wailord," he answered. "They're among the heaviest of Pokémon ever recorded in history, weighing anywhere up to more than two tons. They weigh just as much as a Snorlax."
The Wailord then jumped out of the water for a moment, creating a large splash that showered everyone atop the Shiny Gyarados.
"Ah-ha-ha-ha!" Everyone laughed; it was a mild shower of seawater, but seeing some Pokémon in the wild made it worth it.
-x-
Fuyutsuki sighed upon his return to the Geo-Front. He could've gone over to the facility where Palkia was housed and enjoyed an induced coma while spending time in the Pokémon world, but decided against it because now wasn't the time to take a short vacation away from NERV. As he entered Central Dogma, he found Ritsuko having just sank into a nearby chair, looking exhausted.
"How goes the MAGI?" He asked her, getting her attention.
"All lights are in the green," she answered him. "Virus-free, except for the Porygon-Z that was wandering around in it for four hours."
"Except Porygon-Z isn't a virus. It's just a Pokémon that the Giovanni Corporation managed to bring into our world and have let loose into our digital network for the purpose of seeing how many they can bring without harming them. From what we know from Shinji and Aida, Porygon-Z has a physical body, but because it spends all of its time in cyberspace, it doesn't really have much of a purpose outside of wandering around the Internet. But it's never done anything wrong, so I don't see the harm in it wandering around the MAGI."
"Nothing's wrong, it's just annoying that it wanders around in it. How is it that people in that world were able to create artificial Pokémon…and then lose control over their creations?"
"Nobody's perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. Even the Voltorb were a mistake, but the people responsible for them have since paid for their mistakes and Voltorb are an issue resolved for the most part; people catch them, train them, keep their numbers in check and some Pokémon experts research them to understand them better and find new ways to manage their volatile behavior. Now, I hear that Antonio Giovanni has an Electrode, an evolved Voltorb. Crazy."
"Beyond crazy. How goes the dealings with the UN and Committee?"
"Several more Evas have been built and are in development. They have stressed how they don't want a repeat of any of Ikari's bad acts and decisions. The fact that the Angel is still locked up in a spatial rift allows for a lot of people to take advantage of the time they have on their hands. How is the Angel?"
"Still where it's been since it got trapped. The additional rifts keeping it in check have been very helpful. Of all the Pokémon currently in our world, Palkia is the most advantageous one to know of and have helping us whenever we need to face another Angel…if it ever shows up, that is."
"Pray that it never does show up. People are looking at, hearing about and talking Shinji and Pokémon like he's an upcoming star…and it wouldn't hurt to let them believe that he is. Just let them have some hope that he'll return and that some Pokémon can return with him and can help this world recover."
Ritsuko sighed as he walked away. Hope was something everyone needed, but NERV wasn't really synonymous with words like "hope". But…if by some miracle, no other Angels did show up, it was a possibility that NERV could become synonymous with "hope".
-x-
"Whoa!" Kaji gasped as he saw a wild Tyranitar and Salamence. "They're huge!"
"Uh, Shinji," went Misato to her ward as he took out one of his Poké Balls, "please, tell me that you have Pokémon that can face these two?"
"I'll be honest right now," he told them as he prepared to throw the ball. "I don't have any Salamence, only Bagon and Shelgon…and the Tyranitar nicknamed after Toji. I caught a handful of Larvitar during my time in Johto, but it never hurts to catch another Tyranitar. Here goes!"
He threw the ball out into the air…and released his Charizard.
"Grrraurgh!" Asuka roared, and then her body glowed, signifying her Mega Evolution into one of the two forms she had access to.
When the glow ceased, a Mega Charizard X was flying in the air.
"Fire Blast!" Shinji commanded, and she fired a large wad of flame at the Tyranitar, covering it in major burns.
"Rrraagh!" Tyranitar roared, and then cringed under the pain of its burns…and fell to its arms and knees, weakened.
Shinji threw a Level Ball at it and watched it turn into red light being sucked into the ball, dropping to the floor. It shook for a bit until it stopped with a pinging sound, signifying that the Tyranitar was now caught and in Shinji's possession. And then, it disappeared, transported to Prof. Oak's lab in the Kanto Region, due to Shinji having six Pokémon already.
"Rrrrraurgh!" Salamence roared in anger at Shinji, and fired a beam of light at his Mega Charizard X, striking it dead in her abdomen, knocking her back a little.
"Grraurgh!" Asuka grunted; the attack was strong, but not too strong, as her durability was heightened enough to mitigate the damage it would've caused had she been in her previous state.
"Use Swift!" Shinji told her.
Kaji, Misato, the Bridge Bunnies and the teens watched as the Mega Charizard X spread her wings and released a shower of stars at Salamence, knocking it to the ground.
Smash! It crashed onto the ground with enough force to shake it.
"Rrrrraurgh!" It shrieked, loud enough to reach for miles. "Rrrrraaurgh!"
"Oh, no," Shinji expressed, taking a step back on the ground.
"Eee," his Eevee added in agreement with him.
"What?" Rei and Hikari asked him.
"It just called for help," he explained.
"Help?" Kensuke questioned. "Maybe now would be a good time to let out your Gyarados and double the defense, Shinji."
Shinji wanted to, but his Gyarados needed a while to recoup after traveling between Shalour City and Mega Island. He had his other Pokémon, though.
"No, she still needs rest," he responded, holding out another Poké Ball in his left hand. "I'll use Otona and Komadori; they need more experience."
Flash! Shinji's Gogoat and Fletchling were released onto the ground and the two faced the Salamence; it was a fearsome Pokémon, but it was more fearsome to turn tail and run.
"Gogoat!"
"Fletchling!"
Stomp! Several heavy footsteps came soon after, and the teens saw some Pokémon coming from afar in the obscurity of the trees nearby.
"Camerupt!" One of the Pokémon went as they came out of the woods.
"Sableye!"
"Abomasnow!"
"Oh, man!" Toji gasped, seeing three Pokémon, followed by three more of the same type…and then four other Pokémon that looked like large bugs. "It's an ambush waiting to happen!"
"Every Pokémon on this island has one thing in common!" Shinji stated what Korrina informed him. "They're all capable of Mega Evolution! There's gotta be over thirty of them here, which means that there are a lot of Mega Stones buried here."
"Something tells me you're going to have a field day with them," Asuka told him. "Why not use your Pyroar against them?"
"You really think I want to risk letting Leo out and he misbehaves again?"
The redhead had to consider that Shinji was being smart about Leo not being let out and causing trouble. If Shinji having a number of these badges helped to enable him to keep his Pokémon in check, then it was likely Shinji would need to have a few more of them, just enough to keep Leo in line. Her understanding of Pokémon and badges was still limited, but from what she did understand, the more badges a trainer had, the more they were able to control their Pokémon if they were too strong. After hearing about how some Pokémon were often too strong for their trainers to control, and how the disobedient Pokémon came close to actually harming others because the trainers lacked the necessary badges to keep them in line, Asuka had to give Shinji credit for being responsible on keeping Leo out until he was sure that he could control him. It was easier for him to command his other Pokémon because they were either with him for a long time, were willing to follow him, he was able to handle them without fail, or he had enough badges to keep them in line, just like his Charizard and Gyarados.
"Are you sure this was a good idea, Shinji?" Misato asked him, wanting to run from the approaching Pokémon that were capable of Mega Evolution, but couldn't because they had no trainers or access to the power of the Mega Stones.
"Hey, this is trial and error," he told her. "We get knocked down, we just have to get up again. Nobody's a beginner here."
"Eevo!" His Eevee expressed.
This was true; Shinji was no beginner. After being here for so long, he was a veteran, still learning how to face his opponents in battles, but wise enough to know how to be strategic and not make careless mistakes.
"How do you manage not to get terrified of Pokémon that seem dangerous?" Kaji asked, seeing three Pinsir coming their way.
"Oh, honestly," he responded, "I'm too terrified to run from Pokémon I've dealt with before. Terrified…and committed."
-x-
"He's terrified and committed?" Antonio questioned, confused by Shinji's admission to Misato and Kaji as he stood to face the wild Pokémon on the island.
"Pokémon Trainers react to fear in different ways, don't they all?" Palkia asked him. "I mean, when fear takes root within us, we respond in whatever way we understand that makes us feel less afraid of whatever's in front of us. We try to run, we try to scream, we try to hide, we try to fight back, to confess about something…"
"We lie, we hurt others, we act like bastards, we isolate ourselves from others."
"We drink," said a man sitting at the console.
"We smoke," a woman added.
"Humans," Palkia sighs, "not entirely bad…but not entirely good, either. You exist in the gray. But, yes, you react to fear in many ways, good and bad. Shinji's reaction to fear is most peculiar in this case, though. Instead of trying to run, he will stand and fight if he can."
"Electrode!" Electrode went.
"Translation, please," Antonio told Palkia.
"It said that a man that can't or won't run is a man that can't or won't admit that it's possible to be taken down a level."
-x-
"What new Pokémon did Shinji catch and send back today?" Tracey wondered as he and Prof. Oak were looking at the Poké Ball that was just transported from Shinji's possession due to him having six Pokémon already. "A Level Ball? He must've caught something strong enough to require this type of Poké Ball."
The ball opened up and revealed a large Tyranitar with burns.
"Rrraaurgh!" It roared at them.
"I guess one wasn't enough for him," said Prof. Oak.
"Jynx!" They all heard Katsuragi as she came over and stood in front of the Tyranitar. "Jynx! Jynx! Jynx!"
Tyranitar growled and couldn't believe that this Pokémon was instructing it on how to act around them! It wasn't caught in a ball no more than five minutes ago, and now it was someplace far from where it used to be, and was being ordered around by a creature that had been caught by the same human that caught it!
"We're all friends here, Tyranitar," Tracey told it. "The guy that sent you here, he has another Tyranitar. You should meet him."
Katsuragi led the Tyranitar out the lab and out onto the Pokémon habitat where a lot of other Pokémon were.
"I can't believe he caught a Tyranitar in the Kalos Region," Prof. Oak stated, looking at the information of where in the Kalos Region Shinji caught this Pokémon. "Whoa. It says here that Shinji caught it on…Mega Island."
"Mega Island? I just started reading about it. It's a location for where Mega Stones can be found. Why would Shinji be there? Could he be looking for Mega Stones to Mega Evolve his Pokémon instead of how he's able to do so without them?"
"If so, Prof. Sycamore may find him to be more interesting with the stones than he is without them. But that's only if he can find some stones firsts."
Zap! The Poké Ball transfer device lit up again and received another Poké Ball…with more than six other Poké Balls in transit.
"It seems like Shinji Ikari has met with some Pokémon on that island that were impeding him from finding the stones," Tracey suspected.
-x-
"Would you just look at Serena!" Bonnie cheered as the showcase continued and Serena and her Pokémon were performing.
All Ash could do was smile and clap his hands. It was days like this that he could find himself not thinking about the Kalos League right now, just focusing on the present like what was in front of him right now. There weren't any gyms, rivals, obstacles or concerns at this moment. There was just Serena trying her best to win the three Princess Keys so that she could enter the Master Class and try to become the new Kalos Queen.
-x-
"Whew," Shinji sighed as he sat against a tree with his Eevee. "That was intense."
"Eee," Misato agreed with him. "Eee?"
She suddenly started digging beside the tree they were sitting against.
"What is it, Misato?" He asked her.
While his guardian and the others checked a nearby cave, the Pokémon Trainer was resting after facing and capturing the wild Pokémon that came their way. If they found any Mega Stones, they were theirs until Shinji found some of his own. How they would transport them once found was another thing altogether. But all Shinji could think about was just finding the stones and then getting them to specialists that could fashion them into whatever equipment for the Pokémon they were compatible with to wear on themselves; after seeing how the stones were able to be worn on Pokémon like how humans wore accessories, it'd be interesting to see the aesthetics of how the stones would accommodate each Pokémon.
"Eevo!" Misato chirped as Shinji came over to see the hole she dug. "Eevo!"
Shinji looked at her find and couldn't believe his eyes. Halfway dug up by the Eevee was an uncut Mega Stone! It was a shade or purple and grey and about the size of a small box or storage container. As Misato continued to dig it, Shinji helped her.
"I can't believe you found one so close, Misato," he praised her as he grabbed the sides of the exposed stone and pulled with all his might, freeing it from the ground and bringing it up into the air. "You rock!"
"Eee!"
"Yo!" They heard Toji as he came running to them. "Shinji! We think we struck a motherlode in the cave! You gotta come see this! Whoa! What's that?!"
"Misato here found this."
Toji led them to the cave and down the tunnel, taking a right and two lefts before coming to a stop where there were lights in place. In front of where everyone else was, a large crevice in the cave wall showed several stones, both cut and uncut, of various colors and sizes.
"How many do you suppose there are, Shinji?" Hyuga asked him.
"My best guess?" He replied. "Just enough."
"Do you think we can carry all these with us?" Asuka questioned.
"I can always rent a storage locker someplace if there's something I can't carry."
Maya went over to the pile that was halfway onto the ground in front of them and picked up an uncut piece of stone.
"We might need a raft for these," she suggested.
-x-
The one thing about Pokémon that Ritsuko wasn't so certain of was their ability to restore an environment if ever unleashed onto it. At least any environments in this world. Sure, she had seen some unusual phenomena while temporarily stranded with Misato and the others during their time with Shinji in the Unova Region, but there was a difference between what had been done over there…and what could be done over here. While Shinji had caught some rather-amazing Pokémon, including some rare and powerful ones, like the colossal Dragonite, the Tao Trio, the Lake Guardian Trio, Regigigas, the master of the Legendary Titans Trio, Rayquaza, the master of the Weather Trio, even a Mewtwo and Mew, he still needed to capture rare and powerful Pokémon that were yet to be his, such as the Legendary Titans, Groudon and Kyogre, and these other Legendary and Mythical Pokémon that were believed to be capable of changing the world. And if they could be brought here and could restore the world, however they were capable of doing so, it would be a miracle from the Pokémon world.
As she drank her third cup of coffee today, she sighs as she wondered how much longer it would be before such a thing as normal would be forever shattered by the changes that were recent and few. If even one more thing were to be recent and new, it would be insane to her.
"You look terrible, Akagi-Sempai," she heard a voice behind in Central Dogma, and turned to see Maya present.
"Ibuki," she greeted. "When did you get back?"
"Just now. You missed a lot of excitement in Kalos."
"Oh, really?"
"Another one of Shinji's Pokémon evolved into a strong lion of fire, but Shinji had to bench him because he had become too strong to be controlled by him for the time being. After that, we went to this island where Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution, what Shinji can make his do without the stones needed to facilitate it, lived, and found a lot of Mega Stones after he caught some strong Pokémon. By the time we had to leave, we had returned to Shalour City with the stones and Shinji contacted Prof. Sycamore to store them away until we could find a way to transport some of them here."
"Mega Stones? Those spheres that look like marbles?"
"Yeah, but they're quite impressive."
"I take it that Shinji found some that were necessary for any of his Pokémon that could do it without them?"
"He found one with his Eevee, but since we don't know which stones accommodate which Pokémon, he can't use them with his Key Stone yet. It's likely that by the time we go back, he and Hanmyo will be in Coumarine City at the Coumarine Gym facing the leader over there for his fourth badge, which we hope will enable him to control Leo with more ease."
"Is Leo that much of a troublemaker to him?"
"It's hard to say for certain, but it did seem like Leo was having a difficult time listening to Shinji until his Eevee stepped up."
"In any group, there's an alpha and a beta and the lessers, a pack, a pride, and the alpha's the shot-caller with the beta being the second-in-command. In this case, it would appear that the Pokémon Trainer is the alpha and the Pokémon they train the most or choose to be their second is the one that takes precedence after them, keeping the other Pokémon in line, one way or another. It doesn't seem that size is an issue."
"Some Pokémon are limitations onto themselves, like his giant Dragonite. He can't use that one in any match he's in because of its great size. His other Pokémon, though, they can be used within reasonability due to their meeting whatever requirements there are that exist for them. But I think his Dragonite, Nirvana, heh-heh, is quite content with him. If you believe in the beliefs and rumors regarding Shinji."
"That he may be affiliated in some way with or even the reincarnation of a previous Pokémon Trainer that existed over a thousand years ago? As unusual as that would be, it would be odd to believe in reincarnation."
"It wouldn't be that odd, Akagi-Sempai. A lot of people believe in reincarnation and past lives. Even when you're not the same person you were once in the past, you're still the same person that you have always been…unless you decide to change."
"How was Shinji before you guys left?"
"He was thinking about making sure that he could deal with Leo before he goes up against the gym leader at Coumarine City. It's because the gym there specializes in Grass-Type Pokémon."
"And Leo is a Fire-Type, which means he would have an advantage against Grass-Types."
"But it's also a matter of level and obedience; if Leo can't follow Shinji's commands unless Shinji has enough badges to keep him in check, then he can be a danger to others around him. That makes it challenging for Shinji. He needs his Pokémon to trust in him as he needs to trust in them in order to be a team."
They had seen this with Kensuke and his Machamp; despite the boy not being a Pokémon Trainer, he needed his Superpower Pokémon to trust in him in order for him to have control. And there was trust between the two, right to the point where it was clear that even the Machamp exhibited some of the boy's behavioral quirks.
"How many stones did you find?" She asked Maya.
"About eight of them," she revealed.
"How about Katsuragi?"
"She took ten of them. Kaji got five. Asuka took twelve and Rei took three. I honestly don't know why Asuka felt like she needed twelve stones; she doesn't even have any Pokémon yet, and it could be a while before we know what type of stones we got and which Pokémon they'll accommodate after they're fully evolved."
"How many Pokémon can Mega Evolve?"
"Over thirty of them."
-x-
For the umpteenth time, Shinji felt like he could barely sleep, even though he wanted to. It wasn't just two hours that he tried to make sure that he could manage Leo now that he had evolved into a Pyroar…and two hours ago, he learned that Leo had proven to be difficult to command in even the slightest degree. Even as he had made the smart move of staying in the Pokémon Center for the night until the next morning, he had to confirm if Leo could be managed. The fact that he couldn't right now made keeping him on his roster a risk.
"Eee?" He heard Misato say to him as he turned around in the bunk bed to face her laying on the pillow. "Eee?"
"Leo's not manageable yet," he responded. "I need to improve my standing with him before we reach Coumarine City."
Meanwhile, inside his Poké Ball inside Shinji's coat, Leo, contemplating the level of his trainer's power, felt like he could barely follow the young man due to himself having become stronger because of his efforts to bring out his true power. But he still had faith in Shinji due to his ability to bring out the true strength of his other Pokémon and the fact that he wasn't constantly relying on previous Pokémon that were stronger than he probably was right now. There was something in between his ability to follow Shinji and putting his power to use in achieving their individual goals, and until it was resolved, there would be difficulty.
To be continued…
A/N: Well, Shinji has been met with difficulty before in the past, and he perseveres in order to overcome the obstacles. Looking at the Bulbapedia helps to keep in sync with the obstacles Shinji has to meet and overcome in order to become stronger, and the number of badges will help Shinji in controlling the Pokémon he has recently caught and trains. Until the next chapter, everyone. Stay safe, healthy and sane. Peace!