Morning came and Longwei got up from bed. He went downstairs to the cafeteria together with Luxio for their morning meal, but there was a problem.
"What is this filth?!" Longwei calmly said to the overworked hotel kitchen worker, his voice as soothing as the touch of freshly made silk. He then pointed at the bowl of kibble on the counter. "Junior, you dare expect me to feed my disciple this poison!?"
The man looked up at Longwei with a vacant expression. "Huh?"
"Proper nutrition must be provided for my growing disciple!"
"… Do you mean, like, the natural meals?"
"I would not feed my disciple anything I myself would not eat!"
"Uhh, okay. Yeah we do that, most just get the pokéchow though. One moment…" He took the bowl of kibble and went back to the kitchen.
Longwei snorted when the man returned with a proper meal. "Kowtow and slap yourself thrice, only then will this honorable elder forgive you!"
A great look of complete and utter apathetic despair overcame the overworked employee who was almost certainly not being paid enough for this kind of shit. Seeing that the old man wasn't budging, his very soul sighed in tired defeat. He stepped back from the counter so the customer could see him clearly, then he knelt on the ground. His hand raised to the side of his own face, and he slapped himself once. Twice. Three times.
Longwei scoffed, then took the food and returned to his table, placing Luxio's meal on the ground where she could reach it. "Remember to feel the energies, disciple." he said before eating his own meal with refined grace.
The rogue cultivator sunk into thought as he ate and strengthened his spiritual base. He was currently facing a dilemma, one that he had not faced since the first time his cultivation was reset on Yongyu. 'I have almost no money left.'
The first time Longwei had been forced to start again as a mortal was awful. It was a struggle just to survive long enough to begin cultivating again. Ever since then, Longwei had begun hiding caches of wealth for use in an emergency. They weren't of much worth to a cultivator, but they were enough for a mortal to live off of. Thanks to these, he always had an easy time re-ascending to immortality whenever he lost his cultivation — all he had to do was reach the nearest cache.
Something he could not do presently, as he had no caches hidden in this world.
His journey by train had been halted due to his lack of funds, and now he couldn't even afford another night at a hotel. Of course he could stay for free at a pokécenter, but that was out of the question since it would only make him easier to find. 'I suppose I am left with no choice. I have to do that again.'
"I'm telling you man, he's lost!" Blair shout-whispered to his bro Gomez. The two teenaged thugs were squatting outside an alley that was close to a bad part of town, but not quite there yet. They'd been eyeing up potential marks for the last 15 minutes or so, looking for some sucker with more money than sense that they could take advantage of.
"Nah man, he's probably just getting his exercise in." Gomez whispered back, airing out his matching black t-shirt. "Besides, you saw the glare he gave us when he got close the last time he circled around. He probably thinks we're street thugs, and we ain't gonna trick him without some basic trust."
Blair tch'd. "Look, here he comes again."
The guy was easy to spot in the small crowd. His white robe and long white hair stood out like a uniformed cop in a back-alley bar, and even when hunched over he was the same height as most other pedestrians.
He walked past them slowly, a hobble in his steps and a hand over his walking cane that was shaking just as much as it did before.
But something was different this time. The old man was looking around much more than he had before, and there was obvious confusion in his face.
He came to a stop not too far away, then tilted his head with a hand held to his chin. After a brief pause, he walked into one of the alleys.
Blair looked at his bro. They were both thinking the same thing.
They waited a moment, knowing how suspicious it would look to the other pedestrians if they followed an old man down an alley. Once they were sure the people who saw him go down it had passed by, they got up and followed after him at a relaxed pace. They weren't concerned in the slightest that they'd lose him thanks to how slow the old man was walking.
Especially since the old man took a turn that lead him to a dead end and out of sight from the street.
Tall buildings that blocked direct sunlight towered over them on all sides, and the two thugs knew well that nobody would be watching from the few windows that overlooked the area.
Blair eyed the man's purse as they followed him further in, the old coot somehow not noticing the dead end ahead of him or the two guys behind.
It was fine by them if he went in deeper, less chance for them to be noticed that way.
The old man came to a stop when his cane touched the wall. "O-o-oh myyy. Deary me…" He turned around sedately, and looked to the two of them with gentle white eyes that were level with them even while hunched over. "I seem to be lost."
Something felt off to Blair, but he dismissed it. They'd sized up the old man while he was walking his laps, so they knew there weren't any pokéballs hidden in or under his robe. That only left his purse, which was far too thin to hold a pokéball.
Blair shared a look with Gomez, and the two smirked.
"We can help ya out, mister." Gomez said in a friendly tone, casually walking over and wrapping an arm over the old man's shoulder, careful not to put too much pressure on him. "Where were ya headed?"
A stupid smile slowly formed on the old man's face as he tried to remember what he was doing. "Ohhh, I was, I was going back to the um, the home. It's bingo night you see!"
Gomez chuckled. "I see I see. We can walk ya there, no problem!" He wrapped his hand around the purse strap carefully, making sure the old man didn't notice anything. He then gently nudged the old man forward to walk, and in the same motion began to slip the purse off. "Let's bring you on over there."
Blair turned around and lead the way to keep the calm atmosphere going. They'd ditch the old man at the turn anyways. His bro would have the purse by then and—*thud*
Blair whipped around and saw Gomez lying on his back, lights out. The old man's hunch was gone and he now stood at an intimidating height.
The old mans white eyes shone with malice, and a terrifying pressure washed over Blair.
Blair's eyes went wide and, by reflex, his hand went to his belt to release his poochyena. At the same time, the old man's hand went into his big white beard and came out with a pokéball, releasing an angry luxio.
Poochyena's ears folded back immediately, greatly Intimidated by the significantly larger luxio.
Blair's heart beat furiously. He examined his options, yet none of them looked good. His poochyena was weak, there was no way it could beat a middle-stage pokémon!
But then Gomez's pokéball shook, and his bro's cacnea released itself behind the old man. '2v1 might be doable, we could—!'
Cacnea, seeing its trainer unconscious on the floor, ran at the old man from behind with a furious cry. Blair's blood went cold. 'If the old man gets hurt we're fucked! Even if we beat the luxio, the heat aint worth it!'
A crazed look entered the luxio's expression when it turned its head and saw Cacnea leap at the old man. 'Never mind the police heat, if we don't win after the old man's down then that luxio's gonna maul us both!'
The old man turned around right as Cacnea's spiky arms shone black. Time seemed to slow.
Blair's heart pumped the first half of a beat. The old man's hand shone light blue. Cacnea's arm swung down towards the old man's head.
Blair's heart pumped the second half of its beat. The old man's palm thrust out, catching Cacnea first. Cacnea was rocketed back, smashing into the alley wall and forming a small crater. It then fell out of the hole it formed, landing face-first onto the ground.
Time returned to normal, and Blair could only look dumbly at the unconscious cacnea. He didn't register the luxio Snarling madly at his poochyena, instantly scaring it into submission. He barely noticed the old man walk past Poochyena and up to him. He didn't even feel the swift chop to his neck.
Longwei withdrew his bag of holding from the inside of his beard and returned it to his hip where it belonged. He placed his decoy purse and cane inside, then scooped up any valuables the downed thugs had.
'A decent haul.' he thought to himself after counting the money. There was enough for him to make it about halfway to Pastoria, or all the way if he went with economy class. But a sad soul leads to sad cultivation, so he would afford no less than the luxury cabins he purchased previously.
Luxio rumbled a threatening growl as Longwei approached, but it was not directed at him. "Now," Longwei said, looking down at the target of Luxio's ire, "what to do with you?"
The shaking poochyena shrunk back under Longwei's glare, it's tail curling underneath itself even closer than before.
Longwei had noticed the poochyena made no move to attack during the ordeal, which was reason enough to show mercy. He also knew the beast was no threat to him; the spirit sight he used earlier had only detected two almost-powerless mortals and two weak spirit beasts. Even at his current cultivation level he could have handled all four of them alone and still have plenty of Qi to spare.
The humans were almost-powerless because despite having no spiritual system, they still had lightly reinforced bodies. He felt it was strange how light their reinforcement was, but he chalked that up to their spirit beasts reinforcing their bodies for them. It was common for spirit beasts and cultivators alike to reinforce things they treasured, even powerless mortals at times.
"Shall we have Luxio render you unconscious?" Longwei said, eliciting a growl from Luxio and a whine from Poochyena. "It would be the simplest resolution, and make it seem as if you had fought alongside your friends."
A defiant spark entered Poochyena's eyes at the word friends, but it faded with a whimper when Luxio threateningly stomped a paw to the ground.
Longwei paused. He recognized that look. It was one he had seen many times before, even on himself.
It was the look of a disciple who hated their sect.
He examined the spirit beast for a moment more. Then, he walked over to the second of the fallen thugs, took the pokéball from their belt, and let it gently roll from his fingers towards Poochyena. It bounced twice before coming to a stop at Poochyena's feet, the beast flinching unnecessarily from the gentle impact.
Longwei approached Luxio's side. Poochyena's eyes darted between them and the ball.
"You can continue down your current path," Longwei gestured a hand to the downed thug, "and in doing so surrender to your fate."
"Or you can defy fate…" he placed a hand on Luxio and gently caressed the top of her head, the action doing little the lessen the glare she was giving to Poochyena, "and walk a new path entirely."
Poochyena looked down at his pokéball with a heavy expression, his opened eyes and mouth clearly conveying the immensity of the decisions being weighed in his mind.
"The decision is yours, Poochyena. Now… choose."
Pokéballs can withstand all manner of abuse, ranging from the crushing weight of the ocean depths to the crushing impact of a 50 mile drop. They can be frozen in ice and submerged in lava. They can even withstand attacks from powerful pokémon for a brief moment, or longer if there is a pokémon inside to improve its cohesion. All of this to say, they're not easy to break.
However, there is a fundamental weakness in their design. One that has never been overcome— and certainly not for lack of trying. This weakness comes from the same mechanic that enables them to contain a living being in the first place: synchronization. While pokéballs can endure immense punishment and come out with only chipped pain, they're extremely vulnerable to assault by the pokémon they're synchronized to.
Of course, Longwei knew none of this. He was simply going with the flow and offering Poochyena a more symbolic and profound way of leaving the life of banditry behind.
Which was why it was a simple matter for Poochyena to scoop the pokéball up into its mouth and break it into many pieces with a single, strained Bite. The inert red and white shards flew out in all directions, and Poochyena spat out any that remained. Poochyena then looked up, its head still hung low in submission.
Longwei's eyes softened. "Your soul has spoken."
Poochyena dared to wag his tail slowly.
"Unfortunately, I do not have a pokéball for you."
His wagging stopped and his jaw dropped.
"Luxio, carry this pup for your elder."
Poochyena's heart sank as the large lioness approached, looking at him with only marginally less disdain than before. She then bit into the scruff of his neck and picked him up like a newborn pup.
Poochyena closed his eyes and hung limply as Luxio walked back to one of the thugs. He had just found a new path, and he wasn't even given the dignity of walking it!
(~)
Longwei took the pokéball containing his newest disciple from the tray. "My thanks for your continued service, Nurse Joy."
"It's our pleasure! Enjoy the rest of your day!" she replied with a smile.
Longwei subtly glanced about the room to make sure no one was listening. "Forgive me, but there is something I must know. I have heard this city was residence to a master in the field of cultivation?"
She tapped a finger to her chin and thought for a moment. "Hmm… I'm not exactly sure what that means, but there are a couple things that might fit the bill. Perhaps you mean the professional gardener who cultivates the city's public gardens? The place is quite relaxing!" Longwei shook his head no. "There's the Sandgem Gym, which cultivates Psychic potential?" Longwei again shook his head no. "Hmm… Maybe the region's expert on evolution, Professor Rowan?"
Longwei nodded. "Yes, that would be the one. Where can he be found, and how would one go about meeting him?"
She began typing on her computer. "Well, as one of Sinnoh's top professors he can be quite busy, so you might not get a meeting with him straight away. I recommend going to his lab, which is located here," she turned the computer screen slightly towards Longwei, letting him peer over the counter to look, "and speaking with his assistants to get that arranged." Nurse Joy said, then turned the computer screen back to its original facing once Longwei looked away.
"Thank you once more. That shall be all." Longwei clasped his hands and gave a slight bow. She smiled and nodded.
Longwei then left the pokécenter with Luxio by his side and Poochyena in his new pokéball. He still had a little over half the day left, and intended to use it to seek out a master's knowledge.
(~)
The lab was both impressive and humble at the same time. Situated on the northern outskirts of the city, it was surrounded by grassy fields and forests. A single road lead to the lab itself, which was a very modern concrete and metal structure. Attached to the lab was an older brick structure, one that even had a windmill that dwarfed the modern structure by a significant margin.
Just like the Jubilife Gym, the lab allowed complete strangers to just walk right in, so walk right in Longwei did. He stepped through the sliding glass doors and immediately approached the front desk, which was currently manned by a scientist typing at a nearby computer.
Longwei knew the best course of action with masters was to be direct, so he stated his desires plainly. "Excuse me," the scientist startled and looked up at Longwei. "This senior wishes to meet with Master Rowan. Is this where the Master can be found?"
The scientist readjusted his glasses. "Uhm, meet? With Professor Rowan? He's not here, at least not presently. Oh, but he should be here tomorrow!" the scientist said, pointing a finger up for emphasis.
"Then the meeting shall occur tomorrow. When will Master Rowan be available?"
"O-oh, uhm…" He turned to his computer for a moment and clicked a few times. "He doesn't actually have any openings listed for tomorrow, but uhm, if it's important I'm sure he could make time for it? What reason do you have for meeting him?"
"This one wished to exchange insights and, perhaps, form a lasting friendship." Longwei said with a scholarly aura.
"This one?" The scientist glanced down at Luxio. "Um, what do you mean? Has your luxio discovered a new move or ability?"
Longwei shook his head, then held out a palm facing upwards. "No." Longwei channeled raw Qi to his hand, making it shine light blue. The scientist re-adjusted his glasses and was suddenly taking this a lot more seriously than before. "I speak of my own insights. My disciple is capable, yes, but her understanding of heaven and earth is still in its infancy."
Longwei flexed his spirit, and the light coalesced into a sphere above his palm. A raw ball of opaque blue Qi hovered in the air for a brief moment before dropping back into his palm, its energy being re-absorbed by his spirit.
There had been much improvement in his cultivation over the last couple days. The Dao of Nutrition has done wonders for his dantian, and he'd almost finished converting what's left of his meridians. There was still a long way to go if he wished to use more complicated techniques, but he was powerful enough to use basic techniques and defeat hundreds of non-cultivators.
However, his power was not balanced. His dantian was still not even a billionth of the way to being filled, which meant his reserves were pitiful. On top of that, there hadn't been enough time for him to permanently reinforce his body with Qi, which made him fragile while not actively circulating Qi throughout his body. This was why he wouldn't let the Qi from such a simple demonstration go to waste: he needed his reserves to be as filled as possible to ensure his own safety.
He felt like a paper tiger leading a dragon by a leash. His own top disciple was many times stronger than him! What's more, her cultivation had experienced a strange spike in growth recently and he had no clue why! She had not eaten anything special, nor was her understanding of the Dao deeper than his, so what could it be?
The scientist muttered something under his breath before shaking out of his entranced state. "You, you wanted to meet with Rowan?" he said excitedly. "Certainly, that can be arranged! Give me one moment!" He then picked up the phone and quickly dialed a number.
It rang for several seconds before it was answered. "Yes, hello this is— yes, it's me. There is something that demands your immediate attention! … Well, no, it's not urgent, but it is important! … Yes it can wait for the next day but— … Understood, Professor." There was a beep, and the call ended.
He set the phone down with a defeated expression. "I'm sorry, but the Professor won't be able to meet with you today. But!" An idea came to him and the life returned to his eyes. "Perhaps I or another of the researchers could help you?"
"I suppose that depends. There is one simpler topic I wished to discuss." Longwei considered for a moment. "Are you or your others knowledgeable in growth of the spirit? My disciple here," Longwei gestured to Luxio, who was currently pressing the top of her head against a wall and praying for them to hurry up, "had experienced a surge of growth recently, and I wished to discuss the intricacies of such phenomena with the Master."
"A surge of growth you say?" His eyes flicked around and he brought a hand to his chin. "And you do not mean evolution, correct?" Longwei nodded. "Has she competed in any challenging battles recently? Such experiences usually push a pokémon to grow considerably in a short time span."
Longwei nodded again, feigning awareness of battles directly causing growth. "Yes. Are any of you experts on the exact phenomena that causes this?" The scientist paused to think for a moment before raising a finger and turning to his computer, searching for something.
Longwei considered what he just learned. He already knew battles were helpful for cultivators. Harsh ordeals could bring the body, mind, and soul into a harmony that could help the cultivator overcome heart demons or bottlenecks. This was partially why so many cultivators were exceptionally violent: they believed that violently venting their frustrations was the key to cultivation, and sadly they were not entirely wrong.
But Luxio had no heart demons, and bottlenecks were fairly obvious to notice— almost as much as pokémon evolutions. It made little sense that her cultivation base had improved so much, especially since he knew she had only ever eaten what he had eaten and that her Qi control was subpar compared to his.
However, all of this was based on logic utilizing the old Qi of Yongyu. This new Qi was much different it. Once he considered that it could have much different principles beyond its efficiency in food or its method of travel, the pieces of the puzzle began to come together.
'Then perhaps…' Longwei looked inwards and examined his own cultivation base. It was difficult to notice, but it was there. A small, almost insignificant amount of growth. 'Hmm. That cacnea was defeated rather easily. It was nothing compared to the ordeal Luxio went through in Jubilife. I will have to seek out greater challenges to accurately judge combat's effectiveness on me.'
The scientist faced him with a frown. "I'm afraid I can't find much on the topic. Only general mentions that, as a pokémon battles, their Aura grows stronger. Nothing available to me goes into the hows or whys."
Longwei nodded in understanding, cataloging this new term into his mind. "I understand. Then I shall return tomorrow when the Master is here." Longwei turned and began to leave. Luxio's ears flicked when she heard him move, and she immediately ran from the wall to wait for him by the exit.
"W-wait! Perhaps there was something else we could help you with?"
Longwei stopped and spoke, but continued facing the exit. "There will be much to discuss tomorrow. Perhaps it will once more be I who is the teacher." he said with a profound sagely aura, stunning the scientist silent.
They left, and made their way back to the city. Longwei made sure to stay at a different hotel that night.
Blair woke up several hours later with a nasty headache, a hole in his wallet, and a shattered pokéball on the ground. He wasn't sure if he got off easier than Gomez, who at least got to keep his cacnea but also woke up with a deep gouge in the back of his leg.
Gomez's wound had already been wrapped by the time Blair woke up. The old man must have bandaged him after his luxio presumably got some payback. But Blair was a cheeky bastard, so he took credit for bandaging his unconscious bro and saving his life.
Blair later felt that was a mistake. Gomez, furious that the old man had intended to leave him for dead and even took his bro's pokemon, marched straight to their home turf and right to their boss in spite of the wound. Blair had no choice but to follow him, even though Blair wanted to be nowhere near the boss after losing the poochyena he was given.
Even in the dirty room's dim light, their boss' large form of both fat and muscle was clearly visible. He was sitting on the gang's throne, a cushy sofa chair, and was wearing the gang's uniform: black shorts that showed off his thick legs, a black t shirt he kept unbuttoned that had their gang's signature pokémon on the back, and sandals without socks. They all wore this same uniform, and no one questioned it. Most of them kept their shirts buttoned up, but there was one other major difference between the goons and their boss: the boss got a honchkrow on his shirt, while everyone else got a murkrow.
"So this old coot attacked two ah my loyal goons, knocked em cold, cut em open, took their money and even their pokémon?" He crushed the can in his hand. "Where's this bastard now? I gots some bidness wit em."
Gomez spilled everything he knew about the old man. It wasn't much, but it was enough for the boss to cast out a net.
They got a quick response from one of their feelers, but it wasn't certain. The old man hadn't returned to the hotel he was staying at, and he hadn't bought an extended stay. The boss kept one of their guys near the hotel in case he returned, and let the search continue.
After half an hour, another thug rushed into the room. "Boss, we found em. We know the hotel he's staying at tonight."
Their boss grinned deviously, then got up from his padded throne. He cracked his hands and neck, then walked towards the room's exit. With a casual-but-sure gesture, he invited his many goons to follow him out. His unbuttoned honchkrow t shirt billowed as he stepped out into the night city.
"Time ta show that old bag why ya don't mess wit da Krow gang."