Pokémon Trainer Hero
Chapter 24: Old Problems, New Solutions
The office was a buzz with loud conversation and shouting! Everyone was utterly shocked and frantic by what happened only an hour prior! The media was a buzz yet again and the internet had exploded within minutes, while the phones at UA had to be unplugged just to get some kind of silence! Everyone seated around the huge office table was getting increasingly louder and louder as they tried to talk over one another or get some kind of point across in panicked confusion! Nezu and Midnight were the only two people trying to regain some form of peace in the chaos and failing to do so. The only people remaining calm in all this craziness were Gar and Aizawa.
Both of them were seated next to each other with Persain laying his huge long body across both of their laps and napping peacefully in the loud noise. Mimikyu was there as well, doodling in its own little world, completely unaware of the increasing volume and rising tensions in the small room. Aizawa was keeping himself calm by drinking from a juice pouch while Gar chewed questily on some gum.
Gar eventually blew a very large bubble with his gum that made a decently loud pop when it finally burst. Although it was a small pop, it was enough for everyone to stop dead in their panic and turned their now silent attention to the older teen, who was slurping down his gum remnant into his mouth. After retracting the gum back to his mouth, he spat the wad into a nearby bin and clearing his throat he addressed the group of heroes.
"Is everyone done panicking and screaming like a bunch of frightened Wooloo?", he asked rhetorically, only to get silence in response and intense eyes. "Yes? Then maybe we should just get down to the point of this meeting."
Suddenly the school's guidance counselor, Hound Dog, jumped from his seat while slamming his hands on the table and growled in his face, "You're damn right we should you two timing, serpent tongued, lying, bastard! GURRRR!", before he could even react, Gar quickly took a pokeball from his belt and threw it directly at the dog man's head! "OW!", Hound Dog yelped while rubbing his forehead. "For the thousandths time, I'M NOT A FREAKIN POKEMON! RUFF!", he barked at him while crushing the pokeball in his hand.
"Then why are you growling and barking like one.", Gar shot back with an equal bite in his tone.
"Hound Dog please watch your language, and calm down. This is a meeting, not an interrogation.", Nezu firmly instructed him.
Hound Dog slammed his hands on the table again and barked, "It should be after what we all saw today! He's a liar and a conspirator! I knew he was untrustworthy from the moment I smelt him! RUFF RUFF RUFF!"
It's true that the day Gar popped into their dimension, Hound Dog didn't trust him for reasons unknown or stated very vaguely. While the other teacher took a fondness of Gar or simply tolerates him, Hound Dog did everything to throw any amount of shade towards him.
"Calm down Hound Dog. Before we all start pointing fingers and playing the blame game, maybe we should let Garfeild explain. If this really was his doing, he wouldn't be here by his choice. We all know he has that kind of power.", Midnight interjected into his angered outburst.
"Thank you Nurime. I guess.", Gar said while narrowing his eyes at her last statement. He cleared his throat and addressed the group, saying, "Ladies, Gentleman, unknown.", he joked while looking at Thirteen, who giggles at the joke. "Now I know all of you have many new questions about what happened today, and hopefully I have answers for you all. So why don't we go one-by-one and ask the main point questions to satisfy your curiosity.", at this offer, Hound Dog immediately raises his hand from his seat. Gar sighed loudly at seeing this and regretfully called him, "Yes, Hound Dog?"
"Who the hell was that guy you fought?! How did he know your name!? RUFF! And why didn't you tell us your world also had quirks!? ARWOOOOOOOOOOO!", Hound Dog demands in a howl while banging his fist on the table hard enough for it to shake!
"Hound Dog, sit!", Midnight commands the dog man! And oddly enough, he listens and sits back in his seat silently, like a trained dog.
Gar rubbed his head and sweat dropped while saying, "Well that plane went up in flames quickly."
"How about you explain why that guy had a quirk. And moreover why you lied to us about this.", Snipe said as a statement more than a question.
now it was Gar's turn to slam the table and demand loudly, "That's an allegation, not a question!"
"Don't change the topic.", he shot back calmly.
Car slapped both of his hands on his face and gave out a loud exacerbated moan. After peeling his hands away he explained, "Okay, for one I didn't lie to you. I just...didn't tell you."
"And why is that?", Ken asked curiously.
Gar whipped his head to him so fast, it looked like it would fall off, and he exclaimed like it was obvious, "WHY?! Because I didn't think it was important or needed information to share, that's why? I thought I was the only one from my world in this one! A case of 'I knew I should've taken that left on Alberkerky'. And surprise! It turns out I'm not! How do you think I'm reacting to all this!?"
"Alright, alright, let's settle down and take a step back.", Nezu calmed him down, and shortly after the older team sat back down in his chair. "Why don't you explain this man and why he has a quirk?", the animal asked him nicely.
"He doesn't have a quirk, no one in my world does. He's just…..different.", this explanation garnered more than a few curious, confused, and unconvinced expressions from everyone at the table. Gar saw this and sighing he said, "Look, it's really hard to explain. There's this whole thing with genetics and human evolution that I really dont wanna get into."
"Then how about the short version?", Aizawa asked him.
Gar rubbed is templates and taking a deep calming breath he said, "Alright, but strap in cause what I'm gonna tell you will blow your mind.", everyone at the table leaned in their chairs suspensefully as the older teen compose himself and then explain, "Long Long ago. Far before recorded human history, there was a time where both humans and pokemon were indistinguishable from one another. So much so that they would live, eat, and well….you know, together."
Just then Present Mic cut him off mid-story and exclaimed, "Wait wait wait wait! Hold the phone! Are you saying that humans committed beasility?!", he asked as his face turned green with a look of disgust.
Gar looked at him weirdly and then answered back, "What? No no no no! You're missing my point altogether. A long time ago, people were pokemon! We both came from the same ancestor. Until Humans diverged so much and became an entirely new species altogether. I mean, if you were to put my DNA next to say, I don't know, a Magikarp, it would be nearly identical.", he explained a little deeper.
"So all pokemon in your world are what apes are to us? Strange.", All Might noted.
"We developed so far from pokemon that we lost all ability to use moves in exchange for bigger brains, thumbs, two legs, self awareness, and civilization. But that gene didn't just 'disappear', it remained dormant.", he explained with an air of vagueness and mystery. "Except for some, who have it active. 1 in every 1 million people on the planet have the poke-gene active. It becomes expressed in the body in anything from greater strength or enhances senses. And then there are the Physics, who are the rarest. They are able to lift small objects like pokeballs, read minds and emotions, or in very few cases can lift themselves.", he explained as everyone nodded or looked on in understanding.
After all, telepathic or telekinetic works weren't too uncommon in their world so this wasn't something totally out of the ordinary.
"And then there's the even rarer ones.", he said with a bit of shaking in his voice. Making everyone even more curious. "People with abilities more closely related to pokemon than anything else, and only 1 in every 100 million have this pure poke-gene. They can do things you'd expect only pokemon could. Elemental abilities, nature control, poison production, flight, or even things that seem more 'magical' in essinats, I guess you could describe it. Bayo, and the rest of his group, Team Freak, all have these powers.", he explained while getting a little more louder and the shaking in his voice growing more obvious, as he tried to calm himself by petting Mimikyu.
"Now explain this Bayo man and his Team Freak?", Nezu asked while emphasizing the weirdness of the team's name.
Gar calmer down a bit more and with a slight chuckle he explained, "Trust me, I didn't pick the name. Bayo did, and it does kinda fit with their goals and theme. Also Bayo isn't a man, he's actually no older than the students of 1-A.", this news made everyone gasp in shock!
Expecting this reaction, Gar said in an understanding tone, "I know. Shocking, isn't it.", Gar gave a heavy sigh as he leaned back in his seat for a moment and then leaned forward again while explaining, "I've known him since I was 16 and have been battling him and his group since. For over 5 years now."
Yet again Mic stopped him in the middle of his explanation and exclaimed flabbergasted, "Hold on there! Are you saying that this kid has structured his own evil organization and has been your main enemy….since he was 11!"
"Yes.", Gar replied like it was normal.
"A child?!", Mic shouted a little bit, causing his quirk to leak out.
Gar covered his ears and curled his toes and he replied back quickly, "Yes. I started my own pokemon journey when I was just 10. So who's to say that someone of the same age can also create an evil team?"
Mic opener his mouth like he was gonna fight back, but then he stopped as soon as he breathed in air. He tapped his chin and thought for a minute before repeating the same thing as before, stopping as soon as he opened his mouth. He then scratched his head and did the same thing as before.
Seeing no end to this, Ken piped up and asked, "Anything else we should know? What's their goal anyway?"
Gar looked down with a shadow covering his eyes as he dryly licked his lips and said with the quiver returning to his throat, "Perhaps I should give a visual aid with this part. Rotom, if you'd please.", the phone pokemon popped out of the teens pocket and set up a holographic projection with what looked like a police record with a mugshot of Bayo.
Gar looked up from the table and stared directly at the photo for several seconds with a blank expression on his face. As if he were reminiscing some old thought brought up by the sight of the picture. The tension between Gar's gaze and the photo was so thick it was palatable. Eventually Gar snapped himself out of his staring when he felt many tense eyes fall on him at once, all looking for answers.
He cleared his throat to steady himself and finally spoke up, explaining, "Now this is Bayo. Like Is said before he's 16, the leader of Team Freak, and has the power to control darkness and move through solid matter, similar to that of a ghost pokemon.", everyone hummed and murmured to one another at this, while Gar licked his lips and began to curl his knees to his chest. "Despite his age he has the mind of a genius; a high level tactician, schemer, and espionage master. Not only getting into your organization and taking it out from within, but also your mind. He's also a seasoned trainer, and by no means a slouch just because of his role as a leader. With a silver tongue he knows how to draw people in and make them follow his lead. And this has gained him a small army of about several dozen individual grunts and five Admins. And speaking of which, all members of Team Freak are extremely versatile trainers that use Ghost, Dark, and Poison types.", he explained in full as the shaking in his voice grew ever more present.
Everyone murmured again as Gar's other knee was already tucked into his chest. Aizawa noticed this and continued to monitor the teens steadily worrying additude, waiting for the time he should stop this conversation from going any further. Even Persian stopped napping at Gar's rising tension.
As everyone was softly speaking to one another and taking down notes as Rotom flickered through all the Admins, their pokemon, uniforms, and so forth: Gar was looking more and more uneasy at the heroes current additude. As if he were expecting some other reaction to everything that was being said. As if this wasn't what he wanted them to act.
So Gar immediately changed the somewhat peaceful atmosphere to a much more tense one as he shot up from his seat, banging the table and getting everyone to look at him, as he exclaimed in a panicked tone, "If you meet any of them, do not, and I mean DO NOT engage them! They are extremely dangerous with or without pokemon!"
The fear and stress in Gar's voice was now perfectly visible for everyone to hear and see on his pale, shaking, sweating face! Everyone looked rather turned off by his sudden shift in attitude and tension filled confusion quickly flooded the small office. Gar just stood there over the table, body stiff, hands white knuckling the table, body arched forward and shoulders hunched without taking his gaze off the heroes. Who stared back extremely uncomfortable and unable to make a move or say anything just from the teens intense and near crazy looking gaze alone.
It was Mimikyu who diluted the tension that kept the room stopped. When the small pokemon stretched out one of its long arms and wrapped it comfortingly around one of the teens hands gripping the table to death. This actually seems to do the trick as Gar immediately begins to relax, falls into his seat and scoops up the small pokemon into his arms. Hugging it like an emotional support item.
"I know we all should take what you're telling us as the full truth, but I find it hard to accept this all with a grain of salt. Just how can a child of all things possibly be so dangerous in your eyes?", Vlade King was the first one to speak up after the tension had dropped and Gar looked far more able to continue on with the decussation.
Gar gave a heavy sigh as he answered in a shaky tone, "I'm sure I've told some of you know about a society that was similar to yours in my world? The one that was a living hypocrisy and hanging on by a string till it all came crumbling down?", everyone around nodded as Gar gave another heavy sigh and spoke with a shaking tone on the verge of a break down as he continued saying, "Bayo was the one holding the blade that cut the string.", this made everyone in the office gasp! "Him and his whole team are...well….how do I put this?", Gar droned out while trying to think with his buzzing brain.
"Anarchist?", Midnight asked.
Gar immediately changed from shaking break down to semi normal as he exclaimed, "What?! No no no no! Not that! He wants to disassemble and build back up a new society from the old broken one. He doesn't want to obliterate it altogether.", Gar went silent again as he thought over how to explain it and he finally said, "He's trying to make the world change in the most direct way possible. He wants people to see that ugly dark truth of the world they live in, and make them change from it. Weather by force or other unorthodox methods."
"But why does he do this? Why would a child want the world to change?", Ectoplasma asked.
Gar looked up to the ceiling and reminisced about it, saying, "You see, back when I met him 5 years ago, there was this region where pure poke-gene people were in the highest quantity. And unfortunately, they weren't treated very kindly in this region. More like a monster than humans. Things….happened to them, bad things I don't wanna say, and no one knew about it or chose to ignore it.", Gar continued to look up at the ceiling with a self disappointed sigh and said, "Me included.", this only made the heroes stare more tentatively at the older teen as he continued on with his story. "Then Team Freak rolled in and started to shake up everything. And before I knew it….mass destruction on a regional scale happened.", Gar closed his eyes while still looking up and hugged Mimikyu a little bit tighter as he stammered out in a tearful tone, "...and I was powerless to do anything. And for the first time in my life I saw the bad guy...win. And in some ways….he was right. The more I look at it, the more I see he was more of the hero than I…..the hero who was willing to do dirty things for the betterment of all."
"What?! How can you say that he was 'right' or 'the hero'! He's a villain!", Hound Dog shouted accusingly, while slamming his hands on the table!
"Tell me something.", Gar said to the dog man in a low tone that held great weight. Even though the sound of his voice was a near whisper, it made the hero stop his anger and go limp with silence. "When changes desperately need to be made, do people go out of their way to do them? No they dont. They let them sit and fester because 'everything is fine right now' or 'nothing is really wrong' or even 'it's not affecting me'. Then something catastrophic happens, like death, and then everyone finally starts to pull their weight around. Then they all learn.", the heroes didn't want to admit it, but the teen was absolutely right. So many times in their career they saw change happen only because of the direct result of something terrible happening. None of them said a word in protest and continued to listen to the teen speak out.
"And that's exactly what Bayo did. He wanted people to know what was happening, he wanted to show them that no one was beneath you, or you were never higher than the world itself, he wanted to show society how wrong it was for its hipcocty. He wanted to make people learn.", Gar's tone was starting to shake with sadness again as he continued, "And to do that, he brought down an entire society.", Gar held back a sob as he puffed out a forced breath to steady himself. "But in the end, everyone learned, everyone changed: their views, their thoughts, their governing, everything got better for everyone…...but it all came at such a garve cost that could've been so easily avoided.", Gar took another, this time, more determined breath as he looked down at the heroes and said with a serious tone that bordered on dread and warning, "And now he's planning to do the same with your world if we don't stop him!"
"We?", Thirteen questions.
"YES OF COURSE, WE!", Gar snapped at the hero, making her and everyone else in the room jump in their seats! "I'm not gonna stand by and let that insane kid go on the loose like last time! I know him better than all of you. I know how he operates, how he plans, how he fights, his admins, everything! You need me for this! And I'm not going till he's either gone or behind bars."
"The way you say 'leaving', it almost sounds like you can leave earlier than expected.", Snipe asked suspiciously.
Gar made a face realizing what he said and then made a face like a blob fish to try and hide it, but to no avail as the cards were already on the table.
Seeing no reason to hide it, Gar caved and awkwardly admitted, "Well….I may have had a plan B for leaving this place."
"And that would be?", Aizawa asked with the friendliest tone that anyone at the table could say after hearing the prior info.
Gar looked to the side, then to Rotom and waved a hand signal. The pokemon brought up another hologram of three different and extremely strong looking pokemon. Two of them looked like dragons while the other looked like a devilish genie.
"There are...other pokemon that can travel through the space time continuum. Dialga, Palkia, and Hoopa to name a few. If I can get any of them before I grab Nebby or Lunala from my PC, then I can go home. But now that I know Bayo is here, with his whole posse no doubt, I just….can't leave…..not now.", he explained in a serious tone.
"Then I guess we'll need to work together and trust each other even more than ever before to subdue this new threat.", Nezu finally pipped up in all the talk.
"And with all that being said.", Gar said aloud in a low tone, getting everyone's attention yet again. "If the attack on the USJ wasn't reason enough to cancel the Sports Festival, then Bayo's appearance should be!", he exclaimed in a firm tone.
Nezu crossed his paws on the table and calmly explained, "Your concern is appreciated, but in everything's best interest to ensure that the public is keep calm, we must proceed with-"
"Nezu.", Gar's voice was cold and quick as it cut the principle train of thought off. "I don't think you get it. So let me tell you this up front. The Sports Festival is like dangling meat in front of a starving Guzzlord. If there's one thing that Bayo loves, its large condensed crowds. Lots of eyes. The attention of the masses!", he exclaimed to him and the whole office. "If he's gonna make a statement, then it'll be there with hundreds of thousand people in the crowds and millions more watching from home. Bayo wants his message to be heard by anyone and everyone possible. It'll be too easy for him.", he explained with a dark look in his eyes that made everyone shudder.
The dark look disappeared from Gar as he sighed to recompose himself and then said, "I may have not known it before, but the reason he attacked the city earlier today wasn't because he wanted to freeze several city blocks and decimate several more to ground zero just because he wanted to introduce himself. It's because he was sending a reality check to everyone. He wanted to remind everyone that they're still human, still soft, still….vulnerable.", Gar rubbed his hand through his hair as everyone continued to listen to the teens words. "You have to admit it, with superhuman abilities in your society, everyone thinks they're some kind of superpowered god. They forgot they are still ruled by the laws of nature."
The heroes also couldn't really deny this fact either. Ever since quirks started to pop up in society, life has become far simpler in many regards. Things that the world would have taken centuries to fix were made obsolete within a decade. And due to this, then future generations became more and more fat with pride.
"Well be sure to double security, implement new features for greater defense, and add some tracking features to find any traces of Bayo or any of his team's pokemon. We still need this to go on no matter what, but we'll keep an even sharper eye out for any threats. That much I can promise.", Nezu stated in an assured and serious tone that held his composed calmness.
"A promise can only be true if it's held to its full standard. Which is why I stopped making promises.", Gar said out of the blue, which shocked a few of the teachers by the teens' intelligence and worldly awareness. Gar signed exhausted but caved in acceptance of Nezu's statement and said with a deep warning, "But if you say so Nezu. Just don't say I didn't warn you. Bayo. is. tricky!"
Soon everyone flowed out of the office after all was said and done. Gar was the last one of the last to leave as he sat in his chair turned to the window and gazing out soulfully with a blank expression. Aizawa, Nurime, and Ken also stated behind on behalf of worry for Gar's current state of being. Eventually Mimikyu was too one to snap Gar out of his trance and the older teen shook himself back to reality. He picked up the small Pokemon without a second word and began to head out with the other three teachers in tow.
"Ah young Garfield.", Nezu called out to the older teen, just before he left. "Would you mind holding back for a minute?", Gar looked at the principal and then walked to him without a word of question.
The other three teachers looked like they also wanted to stay back, but with a quick glance of Nezu's scared eyes, it was obvious for them to leave. The three left the room with only Gar, Mimikyu, and Nezu behind.
After Gar took a seat, Nezu shuffled some papers while saying, "Shota had told me you wanted to speak to me about something?"
Gar looked at him confused for a moment, but then remembered he asked Shota earlier today about Nezu. So he must've blabbered and told him. At this point Gar didn't feel like saying anything and expressed that to the principal
"I did, but...now I don't wanna suggest it with Bayo around. I gotta prepare myself for whatever he throws at me!", He said slightly awkwardly while rubbing his head.
Without looking up from the papers, Nezu inquired, "Was it about the Festival?"
Gar looked at the animal in complete shock as he asked back, "How'd you know?"
"It's an animal thing.", Nezu giggles while finally setting the papers down.
Gar sweat dropped awkwardly, knowing that wasn't the truth, but still agreed with him anyway, "I guess that's true. I wanted to ask about implementing pokemon into the Festival.", Nezu perked up his ears at this and attentively listened. "I know people have been kinda….turned away about them since the meeting with the government officials, and especially now, so I wanted to show everyone that they aren't as bad as they seem. That pokemon are just as kind as they are dangerous."
"Why young Garfeild, I wish you had said this sooner!", Nezu suddenly shouted so joyfully with excitement running across his animalistic face. It was so suddenly that it actually caused Gar to jump in his seat and Mimikyu to go on the defense!
After taking a moment for all to calm down, Nezu adjusted himself and continued on saying, "You want to ensure protection for everyone and show people the wonders of Pokemon through the festival. While I need to grab more security and bring something new into the festival. This may sound bold of me, but I do believe we may have had a compromise all along."
Gar's golden eyes sparkled with as much joy as Nezu only moments prior, and the older teen stated, "Principle Nezu, if you were ever a pokemon, you'd be a physic type."
"Thank you child.", Nezu thanked the teen with a chuckles and coy paw wave." Now then, we have two weeks to plan and prepare so I suggest we get started now.", he stated while pulling out a thermos of tea.
"With two weeks to work with, that means I'll be able to pull out even more pokemon for use in the festival.", Gar thought aloud.
"Oh boy, not again! Buzzt.", Rotom exclaimed in dread from Gar's pocket!
"So tell me Garfeild. What did you have in mind?", Nezu asked the teen while pouring himself some tea with a smiling Gar and happy Mimikyu.