Storm Sworn
Aric Fisk's Team:
Tynamo (Vita)
Veluza (Ascalon)
Prinplup (Vorpal)
Red Tropius (Nami)
Silver Magikarp
Skrelp (Rosaria)
Nessa Rurina's Team:
Drednaw (Archelon)
Toxapex (Vinny)
Starmie (Pupil)
Milotic (Quintessa)
Goldeen (Queenie)
Barraskewda (Quiver)
Lombre (Phage)
Note: big late but uh happy new year's~ back to updating once a month, hopefully.
- [ᛊ] -
The gang of teen boys gaped at the revealed young man. For all they cared about Nessa, Raihan was the person they idolized the most, collectively, it seemed. Or perhaps, he was a much bigger figure than I presumed? One of the boys had even tried to emulate his whole wardrobe by the looks of it.
I would've noticed earlier if I've seen Raihan more than twice, okay?
And behind him, the disguised Nessa stood with a cute redhead. None in the group even seemed to notice Nessa in her puffy hat and thick framed glasses. The Superman effect was real here too, I guess...
I hadn't quite realized it yet, but said redhead was the young woman from the photoshoots. In person and looking natural without a camera, the curly redhead was gorgeous and in her element as she watched with visible sparkles in her eyes. Her focus was on my clingy eel in particular, I felt...
"Epic battle, lads!" Raihan's grin revealed his battle-hungry glint. "Ya won't mind if I ref?"
Reacting first, I shook my head. My hands went to replace Vita, but she tensed and coiled around me, seamlessly, and wordlessly asking to stay out. And, of course, I let her easily.
It would do her well to experience more trainer v trainer combat. Maybe watching from the sideline would do well to put things into perspective, like why or when I would call for a move or another.
Vita was no stranger to the dangers of the wild, moving past it with a cheerful nonchalance that I wished to emulate one day.
The other boys only regathered themselves when the taller man jogged to usurp the ref position, as if he expected no one to complain. The shaking of their heads came much too late for the rest of the semi-exasperated onlookers.
The durag-clad boy, having found the will to snap out, smacked both of his now slightly flushed cheeks and mustered a rather fierce expression my way (he was at least four years too early to look anything more than cute). His hands balled into shaking fists, and he now stood before me with all the seriousness he had.
"I can't lose out now, ya hear? Especially to folk like you!"
I stopped petting Vita to return his words, falling onto the 'Butler' image they had of me. "I hope to be a great opponent."
I would be testing a new command style for Vorpal here. If he lost here, it should get him into gear to train better, hopefully. And if he won, it'd cement the decision. Ascalon would then follow if Vorpal fell.
Raihan raised the hand closest to the boy. "On one side, we have the Hammerlocke native, James Fordham!" Then to me, "The Sea Survivor and Nessa's apprentice, or something—" he and I ignored Nessa's frosty glare. I certainly had nothing to do with him! "—Aric Fisk!" He certainly was a showboat, soaking in the attention, good or bad (just Nessa's). Either way, I hadn't realized our ref knew both of our names. "Good luck, trainers! Release your first Pokemon!"
I immediately locked back in, recall my plans for this fight and willed myself to ignore everything else. All so I could change my actual battle plan depending on the Pokemon released by my opponent.
"Break the ice, Vorpal!"
"Let's sour the mood, Wilds!"
My Prinplup let out a resounding cry, waving his blue wings in exertion slightly. On the other side, his opponent was a... an oversized apple?
I knew apples existed. I would have to be blind to not see the trees during my treks with Tropius around all the farmlands. However, I hadn't come across any apple Pokemon. Maybe I should've studied up more on Galar-based Pokemon.
A lot of the studies into Pokemon were self-founded and started from scratch oftentimes. Thus, information was mostly redundant and repeated in mass whilst scratching the surface on topics because they all wanted to be the sole perpetrator for their discoveries. My original Earth.. we had long past that era for research and discovery. It was strange that despite all their advancements, the Pokemon world remained like this..
Perhaps fortunately, Galar was the smallest victim for such folly. Outside of that, the cases that were the exception were all lab assistants to the Master tier of Pokemon Professors. However, tons of their papers were diluted for the public or locked behind Trainer Tiers/badge count.
It didn't matter too much, given I could draw upon Nessa and her father's knowledge (assuming I could get over myself to ask in the first place) and, truthfully, I only needed to focus on getting down the basics anyway, which were freely available.
Getting to know things like how egg groups dictate behavior to some degree (to help raise Rosaria, Vita and Veluza) and how to interact with them whilst protecting yourself (Empoleon had sharp feathers and Skrelp's poison was very dangerous), how Pokemon's weaknesses affect them and how to minimize the dangers to such exposure, or how certain Types or egg groups mature properly in a more general sense...
I'm still so behind, but I'm pretty confident with my team and then willingly following me with Nessa to play advisor for the next year or so.
And as if to follow my initial train of thought about the apple, Vorpal clanked his yellow beak at the fruit as well in slight confusion. We had eaten at the Rurina household already. While he enjoyed the occasional fruit or berries, wasn't this supposed to be a battle?
My battle phrase for Vorpal doubled as an announcement for the purpose of his summon. And so, for all his lack of brains (in comparison to his brawn), he didn't let the confusion settle long and moved to close the distance between him and his opponent with a swift Aqua Jet.
We had the same idea, it seemed. The different command style coming into play immediately. Vorpal was both prideful and liked to think for himself. And other than underestimating Vita (a single Tynamo was easy and delectable prey in most cases), he was quite good at thinking for himself amidst battle. Especially having gained the skills with his moves to use them properly.
The younger boy merely smirked to himself before shouting, "Withdraw and Defense Curl!"
The Aqua Jet connected with a rush of water, easily swallowing the apple-like Pokemon. It rolled back a few feet but had neither any bruises nor scratches. And amidst the roll, the fruit Pokemon gained a sheen. It originated from Defense Curl, I presumed.
The apple had taken the attack without much trouble. That was surprising. Vorpal was my second-strongest Pokemon, physically. I'm not sure how Vita's new evolution would fare, but shrugging off a mostly mastered Aqua Jet as a novice was devious work.
Nami could only shake it off due to her own Grass-Typing and scales—It's a Grass-Type Pokemon! It was fucking obvious with the fruit motif, you dumbass, me!
Though, that wasn't a terrible matchup for my oversized penguin with his diverse moveset. So, I matched my opponent's grin with a fearless one of my own, getting over myself promptly.
"Just like we practiced, Vorpal, spin!" My Pokemon cooed happily in reply and shifted into a squat.
"Interrupt with Sucker Punch!" I heard from across the field. The apple suddenly rushed forward, coated in a dark energy. However, it came too slow. Either the lack of visible eyes wasn't helping, or it didn't have the greatest handle of the move yet.
A bit of both, I assumed, with a young trainer.
Vorpal leapt high. The moving apple didn't bother getting off the ground. In part, it probably lacked mobility to contest an aerial Prinplup.
Then, having reached an apex, Vorpal fanned his wings out to cut his momentum and to gain a better look of the field. His eyes narrowed, locking onto the inconspicuous apple. With another flair of his wings, he turned the momentum of his powerful leap into immense potential energy, and the dive commenced but with a spin.
Drill Peck.
I had merely copied the little I recalled from the anime and had Vorpal emulate it. It took him a few days to get it right, but it has quickly joined the compact list of his favorite attacks.
He mastered the basic form in a day once he got a proper execution. I only say basic form cuz there were some improvements or potential 'tech' I could see increasing power and/or speed.
For example, my opponent yelled for another Defense Curl in the time it took Prinplup to land the attack. If he could master his Water-Type mastery, Drill Peck propelled by Aqua Jet could've easily bypassed that and done some serious damage.
But that was for the future. I had my own novice and battle maniac wannabe to lead. And based on the lack of urgency on the boy's part, the apple had the defenses to tank it.
A loud crash signified Vorpal connecting the diving attack, just like we had practiced. Tar and dirt clouded the impact. I made the first move, instead of waiting for the air to clear.
In doing so, I completely forgot about adapting it for the new style.
"Icy Wind!"
The expression of my opponent soured, but he didn't say anything. The slight pause continued for a lil longer before Prinplup was sent flying out of the cloud.
Either he hadn't heard me or didn't make sense of the command.
"Vorpal, lower the temperature!"
I got a loud caw in response as the air shifted slowly at first. Then, cold bloomed and rushed at the dirtied apple in brittle blades of ice, hiding within the harsh gale. It was still weird that Vorpal didn't quite understand immediately when I would use the names of his moves directly. But, we just have to adapt and move forward.
"Dodge with Rollout, Wilds!" A rocky exterior coated the fruit just before it zigzagged away. Given his buddy's usage of First Impression, this Rollout was his answer to his in-friendship rival.
It was a shame Vorpal didn't favor Icy Wind due to it being a ranged attack. However, he had the move to break through the defensive Pokemon before us.
"Aqua Jet!" The penguin had no issues following his favorite move. He launched himself forward with his specifically trained legs, water coalescing around him from his beak first before he gained another surge in speed from the water embracing him. "We're going to close in with a sword claw!" I hoped he understood because as it stood, the defenses on this Pokemon would outpace us if Vorpal couldn't enhance his own attack power.
I could only suck in a harsh breath as he finally entered melee range.
Vorpal's left wing gained a silver glare. A Metal Claw! He understood my intent here! It crashed down into the rolling Pokemon, making a large crack in the tar.
Uh-, I don't have a pokemon to fix that, but that was for after the battle to fix...
Vorpal stared down at the pokemon beneath him in equal parts excitement and curiosity. Two tall eyes had popped out of the top of the fruit, swirling in near unconsciousness, and a tail laid limp from the bottom. He had never seen a Pokemon like this.
"Wilds!" its trainer cried. "Wake up and show them your power!"
The Prinplup glanced over to said trainer with a raised eyebrow. The Pokemon was obviously unfit to spar further. The thing had put up valiant defenses, but it was too slow to attack unless it caught him off guard like it did in the dust cloud.
His deep blue eyes trailed back to the limp tail. That dark-aura move had swung at him pretty strong. Still, the Grass-Type Pokemon couldn't call upon it like he could with Aqua Jet.
And so, he "sheathed" his wing by releasing his grasp on Steel Aura and turned to his current "Leader" to await further command on how to proceed. He hoped his next opponent would clash better with—!
His eyes widened upon seeing the Eel around their Leader. That was Vita, right?! He had completely missed that before!
And despite the "control" he prided himself in, his beak curled into a smile as he padded forward, ignoring the man in the middle of the battle, calling out something along the lines of "Wilds is unable to battle."
Well, obviously...
"Prin!" he congratulated his comrade and current lieutenant. He stood fearless at the admittedly slightly intimidating figure of Vita. Though she couldn't compare to the likes of the grizzly Empoleon that his dad had been.
"Eel..!" she thanked primly, withholding her own excitement.
I cut into my Pokemon's chat, withholding my own gushing. "Vorpal, we got one more to take on. Don't get cocky!"
I said it more to myself than him to be honest. The feeling of succeeding at something nearly overwhelmed me. It was an odd feeling; not one I was sure settled into me properly.
Nessa had mentioned I was rather good at battling for a novice. It was a little hard to believe when she trounced my team and I in every bout. Her team was simply faster, bulkier, and stronger. However, I took solace in contrasting it against myself from the ship.
I was far less nervous. Had a greater command over myself and those who joined me. I didn't shake like a fucking leaf in the wind at the smallest of mistakes. Nor was I lacking in the physical capabilities to stand beside the team that chose me. I couldn't—wouldn't let the lost souls at sea be in vain.
…I just wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do in this fantasy world. If Ash did exist, would I really have anything to do? That was a dumb question, but—
The clapping from the redhead at Nessa's side brought me back to the openness of this field. I had completely ignored my surroundings—more than I intended at least, amidst my short-lived spiral. And as if to add onto my embarrassment, the redhead glanced down to her moving hands then everyone else while slowing her movement. Having noticed she was the only one, she blushed shyly and pretended to dig into her purse for something.
Nessa puffed out a sigh to hide her own laughter and clapped lightly as well. "Refocus on the match," she mouthed all the while.
Her friend seemed to have pulled out a small, red object with sparkles in her eyes and drew Nessa into a fast conversation.
Nonetheless, I nodded in both acknowledgement and thanks. I do hope that the redhead doesn't lose her naive cheer, though. Still! There's another battle for Vorpal to win. He and I had made more mistakes than normal, but it was mostly within calculation with the new command style.
"You fit to continue, Prinplup?" There was a shocked squawk from him. He turned around annoyed and flapping his wings. "Sorry sorry, Vorpal, you think you can continue?"
He huffed and nodded. He really was attached to his new name. It was sorta cute in a way if I ignored his overalls-like design. It would go away in due time. I would own a friggin Empoleon eventually! The thought hadn't quite settled within me even after all these weeks.
I'm basically living out my childhood dreams...!
That was all the time my opponent gave us. "Punch em out, Faust!" He didn't seem to be offended by Vorpal's continual presence.
Faust was a small dragon, covered in oversized scales. It thumped onto the tar. It held its large, round head high as it tested the ground with all four of its feet.
"Mo-o!" it roared cutely, though trying its hardest to sound fierce. It certainly took after its trainer in the voice department.
Vorpal cried out his challenge in return. I stoked the roaring whirlpool within him using my next line.
"Beak and shield, but first dance!"
Due to his final evolution, his training consisted of a ton of Steel-Type practice. I'm not totally sure if it was the proper thing to do. Nessa hadn't commented on it, nor had I come across information against or for preparing the Pokemon for their future secondary typing.
Of course, his mastery wasn't nearly as great as his Water affinity (which wasn't that great either aside from his two water attacks), but it was close for the two moves he did have currently. The earlier Metal Claw for offensive. Then, Steel Wing for defense.
Since Vorpal had (sorta rightly) underestimated "Wilds," he hadn't bothered to power up with Swords Dance. I wouldn't make that mistake for his following fight. The small dragon just... had a feeling about it.
Vorpal did huff a sigh but followed the command, shuffling in place methodically. He enjoyed the power boost Sword Dance offered, however, he had yet to get a handle on the proper dexterity and memorization. It would come in time; I was fairly certain. And I knew he knew it as well.
My future Emperor Penguin was just embarrassed to do a poor job amidst battle. Normally, Vorpal didn't mind mistakes, but it's been so long since he has had an opportunity to bathe in attention that wasn't with the rest of my team or Nessa's.
The redhead young woman gasped in surprise as Nessa replied in exasperation; I couldn't quite make it out with the distance. However, she had seen my attempts to help Vorpal get a proper handle on the move. I wasn't the most limber, but she had taken pity on me and helped show him the ropes.
Her starter had joined too. Apparently, his body was just as stretchy and flexible as his neck...
It was one of the few times I didn't mind the help either. Vorpal and the rest of my team deserved the assistance and so much more for getting me back to civilization in one piece.
"Noble Roar!"
The cute roar following my opponent's command was too cute. However, the light red aura that gathered around the lizard was undeniably intimidating—
"Iron Defense!"
Oh, he wasn't done.
Vorpal, however, was done with his dance by now. A shriek echoed as the Prinplup leapt into the air again. This time, he didn't go as high and didn't wait to spin. He made a short arc, moving to bury the Pokemon half his size.
It seems he finally realized he didn't need to jump so high. As much as we did practice jumping, that practice was meant to get him used to his longer legs in a way running couldn't and to extend his melee burst range. And NOT to jump high every time like a showoff.
The Drill Peck slammed at the dragon, however Vorpal was stopped dead in his tracks, much to my horror. My opponent merely grinned.
I'm sure Vorpal shared it—
"Counter!"
The red glow intensified around the mini dragon's head.
"Block!"
A part of me knew that Fighting-Type moves crumpled Steel, but it would be better than taking it without any sort of interference. Right now, Vorpal was a sword-user class with little actual close combat abilities. This was a flaw I hadn't realized until now. My aim was pointed into the far future to deal with opponents who could distance themselves and outrang—
A pained squawk refocused my mind.
The Counter came in the form of a headbutt that shattered the Steel energy coating. However, because Vorpal was not an Empoleon yet, his flipper wing was made from flexible, water-repellent, scale-like feathers. It helped divert some force, but it physically hurt to watch some feathers break or tear off as Vorpal hopped back to nurse his flipper.
This was the first major hit on Vorpal. Meanwhile, the Sucker Punch from earlier barely left a scratch and merely ruffled the feathers figuratively. My Sinnoh Starter could take a hit from sharp things, like my Veluza's blades, but blunt force was something I had completely overlooked.
Huh. Nessa had probably taken advantage of it. However, I had been too busy trying to get my Pokemon's "stats" to a similar level quickly and master their moves...
Still, with this showing, I saw no point in holding back. Vorpal was my strongest duelist for most battles, I think. "Vorpal, let loose! We have a proper opponent despite his size!"
Though, with Vita's unique evolution, that may change, but I wouldn't hold my breath. The Eelektross line were only viable long term, Nessa shared one day. She was cautious and trying her best to not upset me that evening, referencing that their actual training began with their final evolution.
I hadn't been offended in the slightest. The Gym Leader-to be may trounce me with ease, but she hadn't seen Vita and her family weathering the Sharpedo and Gyarados-infested ocean...
Either way! I should refocus—
Such a small dragon could pack a major punch, y'know despite the lack of arms. Water attacks weren't going to do much damage to a dragon either. My eyes hadn't missed the oversized scales that seemed to emulate layered plating—maybe it's the reverse in this world?
That only reminded me of a funny weakness, which was definitely helped along by the Dragon Typing of his opponent and gave me a new idea. "Summon your cyclone!"
This was the only ranged attack Vorpal loved thus far. He returned the command with a sharp chirp before narrowing his eyes to focus and throwing his head back. Water ballooned out of Vorpal's small mouth rapidly. It even surprised me. It was far faster than we've practice.
Man's must be fired up...!
Soon, a large whirlpool darkened the battlefield, taking only a third of the time it took for Vorpal to do Swords Dance. Everyone took a step back at the massive cone of rushing water. The small dragon seemed to wilt under it. His trainer was lost for words.
My penguin didn't really act like a Water Pokemon with his distinct lack of variety moves. And while that would normally impact his reserves and output, he made up with the amount of practice he put into Whirlpool and Aqua Jet. It paid off immensely, whereas forcing him into mastering things like Water Gun or Pulse would be a waste of time with Vorpal dragging his webbed feet. Eventually, I would trick him into mastering other Water techniques, alongside Vita, Ascalon and Rosaria.
Ascalon's Aqua Cutter (Nessa told me the proper name) would be right up my Prinplup's alley.
I might not be the most confident in myself. However, I was no wide-eyed novice. Not after the S.S. Cactus and surviving in the isolated wild. And I definitely wouldn't just take any sort of bullying laying down. Not in the Pokemon world, where my team would do the "talking" for me. These boys were lucky I was a future gym trainer and not some... I don't know, team rocket member?
Maybe Aqua and Magma would be more relevant. Team Rocket had fallen into obscurity about six years ago. Though, Giovanni was still a Gym Leader...
"Now!"
My yell drew my opponent back into the battle. He barked out his response, trying his best to withhold his nervousness.
"Dragon Breath! A-Aim for the bottom! You can collapse it there, Faust, just trust me!"
Somehow, I managed to hear it over the massive whirlpool. He was pretty smart to think of that on the fly.
Either way, the Whirlpool was mostly for show. Because, once again, despite being a solo Water Type at the moment, Vorpal was every bit of the Empoleon he wanted to be, in all but a secondary Type. He was swift on his feet or in the air, and almost at the point he mastered his "sword/shield" combo.
Upkeeping Steel Wing and Metal Claw was still too strenuous for anything more than a counterattack of his own at the moment though...
Whether the Whirlpool succeeded or not, it would throw the opponent off their momentum and soak the dragon, flooding into the crevices. Then, I would lead Vorpal into step two.
A high-pitched cheer from over my shoulder momentarily drew my attention. I almost took my attention off the field to pet my starter, who had been restless as she wrapped around my torso. Fortunately, she never tensed hard enough to hurt me, and the unconscious shocks I could feel didn't actually hurt much.
Still, I planted a hand at the front of her major fin (or would that be her dorsal fin...?), rubbing slowly. From the corner of my eyes, I watched as her eyes fluttered close.
The Whirlpool wasn't to be stopped; fortunate for me and not so fortunate for Faust. The purple fires were washed away, almost immediately deflected by the Whirlpool. And credit to the young Pokemon, it tried to keep the Dragon Breath up until the rushing water engulfed it. It simply lacked the raw power to do anything.
It definitely seemed like they focused much on the small lizard's physical aspects. Vorpal would've been the same way if Nessa wasn't
"Get ready, Vorpal." My partner for this bout nodded in complete seriousness and regained his breath as the dragon was comically dragged around, crying out in confusion and sputtering water all the while. Honestly, I was more surprised the boy hadn't forfeited his Pokemon yet. He knew Vorpal also held Icy Wind up his sleeves. Although, I doubt he knew what I was up to.
With one final ride, the small dragon slammed into the black field with an exaggerated splat. Even then, it rose to its shaking legs with the grimmest expression it could muster (it was very cute, objectively). I gave an honest smile and a small nod.
"Finish it with a freeze." I nearly ended that with a please, something I offered during our training. Vorpal liked the politeness of it? Something like that. However, it felt wrong here and while I wanted to teach these boys a small lesson (just because they got their license to travel and battle freely, they shouldn't just challenge anyone, nevermind speak down to others), I didn't want to offend more than I already have or traumatize them...
I heard a pained squeak from the redhead as the other boys tried to cheer on their friend.
My opponent, meanwhile, had watched with wide eyes. On another day, I would've used Rosaria against my current opponent, but I didn't want to let this opportunity go for Vorpal.
My toxic seahorse may have been a little too tricky for these guys, regardless of their own surprises. New trainers and their Pokemon couldn't quite handle toxins in their systems well either. So it was probably for the best that I didn't go around potentially scarring them for life...
Big and flashy—Vorpal and Vita could do that easily. Rosaria was technically recovering and didn't have greatest control over her leakage. The local Nurse Joy explained that my Skrelp should have the proper control, as Poison-Type Pokemon instinctively gained command over it past their infancy days.
Rosaria was an endurance monster with seemingly endless amounts of poison. I have yet to see her run out despite her tiny frame. Although, we haven't specifically tried reaching it...
The Icy Wind quickly intensified into something more with this "better" command and modified field. It was far from a proper Blizzard, but the extra moisture in the air helped drop the temperature very rapidly.
One day, I hope to see a proper Ice Beam or Blizzard from the headstrong penguin.
Raihan from the side merely raised a brow. Nessa and the redhead huddled close, the former taking protection from behind the redhead's long coat. The group of boys tried their damnedest to remain tough and hide their shivering but failed spectacularly.
From behind them, a tall, thick masculine figure rose over them. He also had red hair, but it was in thick curls, framed around his baby face. Man's had the thick body of a bodybuilder as well. Funnily enough, he was freely shivering as he approached the group of boys. He was all smiles, chatting up to them and giving them a hard time, like an older friend would.
"Blimey! It's cold!" he exclaimed loud enough even for me to hear.
I refocused back on the match with the worst of the attack out of the way.
By the end of the mountainous gale, Vorpal stood with his head high, pride radiating. He didn't seem to have push himself for that in tandem with the massive Whirlpool. Hopefully, this situation also reinforced why Icy Wind and other "special" moves were a good thing to train when his physical strength wasn't enough. His flippers weren't quite sturdy enough to throw around his strength freely. We had to rely on his Steel-Type moves until then. And with the Fighting-Type attacks making the Steel-Type its bitch, Vorpal had to adapt.
The stubborn idiot was waiting for a more proper moment to evolve, not that it was even on the table any time soon. I couldn't blame him after I shared a plenty of stories where evolution kicks mid-battle. Recounting the anime with my Pokemon helped the nights go by quicker.
Honestly, it was amazing what I could drudge up despite all the years I went without it.
I spied the semi-frozen dragon. It was quite the beast, but it definitely couldn't handle the cold. I mean, me too, heh! Still, it remained mostly steadfast, as was his trainer.
"S-Shed the armor with S-S-S-Scale Shot!"
His group of friends were up in arms, disagreeing with the attack. They had a visceral reaction with various shouts. It must be one of those egg moves that the young Pokemon wasn't prepared for.
Like Ascalon with Stored Power and Tropius with her Dragon Hammer. Well, no matter, we will be ending this battle now.
"Sword," I called simply.
Vorpal's beak curled, hinting at his battle lust. His feet made a rapid patter. His left wing gained a silver gleam. And once in leaping distance, Vorpal threw himself forward to... gently tap his Metal Claw against the back of the dragon's head.
It wasn't the first time we've frozen another Pokemon; Veluza sometimes wouldn't stay down without it. The two were pretty big rivals. Vorpal also saw no point in knocking out opponents, especially if they could go back to sparring. He'd then immediately help chip at the ice. But here, having learned from locked battles with Nessa, he knew better. So, the penguin allowed himself to give some words of encouragement to the younger Pokemon. Probably something haughty or arrogant with a backhanded compliment.
Ascalon wouldn't lose his cool on a dime after all...
Vorpal then swiveled my way, expecting something.
"Good work, Vorpal. The training is really paying off." A memory of his first battle in Vita flashed in me. "I recall you're still struggling to fight Vita, heh."
If he was embarrassed, he didn't show it but remained expectant.
"Oh, that's all the fighting for now, I guess?"
To make sure, I glanced past him and around. Nessa was being held back by her friend as she tried to butt heads with the macho redhead, who simply grinned widely as can be. The brightness was a bit intimidating...
The boys stood around unsure, glancing between the pair, then back and forth to their defeated friends. Raihan on the other hand just watched on with a widening smirk, hands in his pockets, and enjoying the show.
As if sensing my gaze, the muscle-man then caught my eyes and beckoned me over. It drew Nessa's attention as well. In doing so, her friend's grasp relaxed, and she leaned against Nessa with a tired sigh and a shake of head.
My future boss and current mentor spoke first. "Could you tell this pickled jock that you're my hire?" She ended the not-quite demand by thrusting a finger in the guy's direction.
Is that really worth such a powerful response from her?
"Nes—"
"Ah ah ah!" He cut me off, stepping up to me. I had to look up to him more and more as he did so. "The name's Milo, Milo Yarrow! Good Pokemon you got there, mate!" He passed a hand for me to shake. As he shook me vigorously, he continued, speaking.
If I was able to, I would've watched his freckles do funny things, but I was too busy getting jostled like a toy in a toddler's hand. My Pokemon may have made much progress, but as always, I was falling behind. Though, unlike my other life, I wasn't satisfied with just that.
I doubt I'll ever have a body like Milo's, but eventually, I'll have a body my Pokemon would be proud to call their trainer.
"Ya know, I'd welcome some water in my yard. They and Grass do work better than people think."
"I beg your pardon?"
Nessa made to interject, but her friend cut her off. "He's—" she failed to hold back a snicker, "inviting you to his Gym as a Gym Trainer."
The man scratched at the back of his head with a boisterous laugh. "The quicker I can finish this, the faster I can return to the fields. The League—"
"Says. He's. With. Me." Nessa's frosty voice and death glare were on full display.
This was new sight for me. I never thought she could even get like this. Putting her side-by-side with her calm, collected person, the difference was day and night. But, I guess, no one's perfect.
A tap to my arm drew my attention. It was Nessa's friend, who approached me with a wry grin and one part of her watching the dispute, probably ready to restrain Nessa again.
"Hey, Aric, right?" At my nod, she put out a hand to shake, only to withdraw. "Ah, wouldn't want to abuse your hands further," she laughed. It was a lovely sound, full of life and fun.
From up close, her aqua eyes, magnified by her rectangular glasses, were just as sparkly as I spied from the field, which was kinda cool. In her slightly curled hair, she had a couple pins of various things; a Pokemon or two and a heart. Both her bag and her blue and black boots had hearts adored on them. She was rather the cutesy type, huh?
Well, she was very pretty cute, too...
These dumbass hormones, making all the pretty ladies... more perfect. I hope I don't come across any of my Pokemon crushes before I get a proper handle on this shit...
"I'm Sonia Magnolia, by the way. A good friend of Nessa's."
"Aric Fisk."
At my name, her eyes actually dimmed, but that could just be the clouds covering the sun. "I uh, couldn't find any records of you, Aric." She didn't seem to notice my confusion. "The Fisk lineage had fallen away decades ago. Perhaps, they migrated to Unova or Kalos."
Her babbling continued about my supposed ancestry for a little while longer. But I didn't know what to make of it.
"Lup," my Pokemon commented. His battle lust calmed slightly. In its place, his slight awe at the word vomit replaced it.
I didn't quite understand the simple stuff with Vorpal since he'll do and say the same thing for wildly different things. Still, I nodded and patted. Vita joined me, shocking him once or twice.
Vorpal took it in stride (by twitching twice) before stepping away and issuing what was obviously a challenge to my starter. I had to bite back a laugh at this. He had yet to win any of their battles.
As a small Tynamo, Vita was too slippery and lacked proper counters if my eel elected to remain at range. A fault of his own making really, but based on this battle, it seems he was ready for Ice Beam and some other moves. Either way, my starter's electric attacks were enough to take on any physical moves Vorpal could dish out. They essentially pierced any defenses he could muster.
Apparently, not even Ground Types are immune, haha...
Though, their battle with Vita's new form would definitely go differently. Based on the way she flickered, I doubted Vita would stay at range. She wanted to test her form to the fullest for certain.
The redhead paused from her info barf and blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry 'bout that."
I smiled, appreciating the effort, nonetheless. "Thanks for trying so hard, Ms. Sonia."
"Didn't amount to much in the end, but you seem to be alright." I followed her gaze that shifting to Nessa and Milo. They looked as if they were gearing up for a battle themselves. "Them on the other hand..." she blew out a sigh, "it always ends up like this. Milo's everything seems to just get Nessa in ah tiz."
She shook her head and addressed me again without the accidental accent, "you're, what, a month into owning them proper?"
"I did a few sessions while stranded at sea." I tried my best to ignore her frown. "But right on the dot practically. Nessa's been my training partner, so most of my growth can be attributed to her."
Almost all the eyes locked back onto me. Was Nessa's earlier words not a confirmation of themselves?
"...We don't train together that often, Aric."
"W-Well, I don't really train with anyone else."
Both Milo and Raihan's gaze seemed to intensify.
The former held up a shaking fist with pride. "Another self-made man then? I'll give you all the freedom you'd wa—"
"That's it!" Nessa's disguise had fallen apart at this part. The naked anger and annoyance bubbling up from nowhere, seemingly. "We're battling here! I'll shut that bloody face of yours!"
" "...Hey, what's wrong with freckles?" " This time, Sonia had joined the muttering with Milo.
That knocked the sails from Nessa's rage. "N-Nothing! He's just walking over me again!" she had thrust a finger his way. "Just because you've been upgraded to Gym Leader, doesn't mean you'll best me!"
Milo planted his fists into his hips with a boisterous laugh. "Best you again, you mean!"
Sonia stepped back with a sigh and gave up on mediating. "The worst part is it's not even intentional on his part!"
To the boyish farmer's side, the group were watching with wide eyes and agape mouths. However, at the call to battle, excitement shocked them to life. They looked at one another and immediately went to cheer for Nessa. Milo faltered slightly but recovered by puffing up again.
Given her lack of reaction, the model was all too used to it. She hadn't even glanced at the boys. Though that could be due to her current argument. And based on the shouts of the boys, this didn't seem too out of pocket for Nessa? I could only blink at that. She was quite the spitfire apparently? What the fuck did I even know about her then?
Noticing my late gobsmacked reaction, Sonia stifled a giggle into her hands. "Galar loves it when she loses her cool. It's not exactly rare and thankfully never terrible, but it's refreshing to see such raw humanity amongst the famous...? Something like that." Her voice then lowered slightly as she started just a little harder. "It's been a while since she's gotten riled up like this. It's good to know Nessa had bounced back right as rain..."
My eyes had focused on the various band aids on her hands and fingers as I took in her words. The redhead noticed before I realized myself.
"Oh these? I was helping my grandmother rehabilitate some Pokemon. Just an especially difficult day yesterday, which is why I'm taking a break today!"
"That's... pretty cool." I meant it. I could only scarcely recall Ash doing it in the anime. However, knowing that some people would dedicate time out of their lives to do it for, what I assumed were, Pokemon that wasn't even their own? The humanity here shined too brightly.
"You a-, actually meant that?"
"Of course!"
"Sorry sorry!" She waved her hands, frazzled. "I'm quite the accomplished trainer, having reached third place in my last two circuit runs, before they shut down. Don't you think this is a waste of my time?"
I furrowed my brows in confusion. Why does that have anything to do with rehabilitation?
And so I flipped a question onto her. In the suddenness of it all, I fell back onto my usual speak.
"Do you blame Nessa for giving up on being a Nurse or whatever?"
Sonia shook her head immediately and went to speak, but I cut her off.
"She'll do good as the Gym Leader in all but name. Might be doing more good than if she was just a vet right now. But, she had wanted that with all of her being, I'm sure you know." I received a slow nod. "Being a Leader wasn't even on the radar. And now, all that effort is pointed to being a good gym leader—o-or well, after this... coming 'vacation?' E-Either way, it's not lost time that she had tried. Just now it's time she could put into reinforcing her Gym Leader hold."
I turned away slightly with a short, awkward laugh. I had spoken a lot more than I intended and wasn't even sure if I got my point across. "I think I said that badly."
"No." The seriousness made me turn back to Sonia. She stared back at me with a slightly watery smile. "I get ya. Thank you profoundly, Aric." Profoundly? "I forgot you can't exactly recognize my surname either."
"Oh no, I did." A lot of the research I could scramble up were restricted to Galar or Unova, so a certain Professor Magnolia showed up a whole lot.
Either way, I shrugged and explained, "I had a lot of catching up to do. It was a mess, but your... grandmother had a hand in trying to link certain things together. But I can't say I understand why your surname matters?"
Oddly, that only made her eyes sparkle. "Oh, a fellow researcher?"
"N-Not quite?"
"Other than their favorites or the forced studies in classes, most children and upcoming trainers don't even bother to find my grandmother's papers, y'know?"
"Uh...?" I had no idea where she was taking this.
Sonia promptly ignored me, muttering aloud and digging into her decorated handbag, "I know the perfect person to give this to then!"
She whipped out a red rectangular device and cast a slight glare at her bickering friend. "The Legendary Twins know Nessa wouldn't bother to record much." Her gaze fanned to Milo and to even Raihan, who merely sent a flirty wink in reply. "Them even less. They don't understand the importance of consolidating information and gathering as much of it. But you! I know your type, Aric!"
She held the friggin Pokedex between us. "You understand, right? I can feel it!"
Holy shit, when she gets excited, it's kinda sexy—I could feel my cheeks flush as my eyes tried their hardest to retreat down from her face to the rest of her body. I'm not fucking teenager again!
"Y-Yeah. Putting it all onto one place would've cut down my self-studies by at least thirty? Maybe 40 percent."
That wasn't an exaggeration. It was actually that God-awful, even if I was trying to be as thorough as I wished to be.
"Exactly! So this here, the Pokedex, is supposed to do just that—" she flooded Vita and I with the history of the device and how it worked.
However, at some point, the bickering between two (1.5?) Gym Leaders reached a climax.
"—And if I win, I get first dibs on an egg from his... Nami, she was called, yeah?" Milo's unbridled confidence cut through the atmosphere. I could sorta understand the disdain a bit now...
"Just shut up and lose already!" Nessa called out, throwing out a hand palming an enlarged PokeBall. It was a cheesy ass trainer challenge but real...
Welp, I just had to hope Nessa would win. And, hopefully, in a grand sweep. I was sorely unprepared to defend my own "honor" myself against a gym leader, unfortunately. I know Nessa wasn't quite one yet, but the Galar League wouldn't just hire anyone to fill in their numbers. Especially after all the corruption that was uprooted.
The scene between Nessa and Milo had even stopped Sonia, who had sighed heavily. She shoved the device into my hands and held it there tightly. "My grandmother left me in charge of looking for trainers to do what my friends couldn't. They're not exactly traveling anymore like you are. Just be sure to scan them and record your own notes at your own digression. I have a battle to ref lest it gets out of hand."
She glared at Raihan, who held his hands up as if to say, 'what can I do?' "'Cause a certain someone is keen on watching this play out." Then, return her attention to her friend, "I should be able to get it down to a 2v2..."
Sonia jogged in between Nessa, Milo, and their Pokemon. And without waiting, she called the match. "Another 2v2, between Gym Trainer Nessa Rurina and Gym Leader Milo Yarrow!" There was a sly smile at their titles, which only incensed Nessa further, but she merely twitched and tightened her hold on her pokeball.
"Release your first Pokemon!"
"—Yo!" Raihan stood before me with an almost wicked grin. "You got another battle in you before y'all go?"
I glanced down to Vita who stared back blankly and then down to my six pokeballs. It would be a lil unfair to Ascalon, Nami, and Rosaria to be without a battle of their own. All the same, this would be against some powerful trainer. I didn't know exactly who he was, but Nessa seemed to respect him well enough.
Speaking of her, my eyes trailed back to her battle. Her Toxapex, Vinni, versus an Exeggutor. This would definitely be an uphill battle for my boss. As a Water/Poison type, Vinni was weak to both of Exeggutor's types.
I returned my attention to Raihan. "You'll probably stomp me just as bad Nessa does, but my Tropius and Skrelp do deserve to shine too."
Ascalon was fine either way and wasn't nearly as battle-hungry as other Pokemon, despite his sharp appearance would suggest.
"Just what I want to hear!" He pulled out three balls of his own from both of his pockets. "I wouldn't worry too much about Milo. He'll at least ask for permission, and I got some young ones prepared."
I blinked at that. That was a big relief.
"Let's just go to the other end."
I followed him easily.
And in the end, Nami and Skrelp lost. Raihan had seemingly used a pair of his weaker pokemon, so it wasn't too one-sided. My dino had really gotten to show off just how much she's mastered her Flying and Dragon moves. Skrelp cheered her idol on the entire time with Vita. However, it was no match for a Noivern, who could pierce through anything Nami threw and her defenses, on top of the rapid movement of the darn thing.
My toxic seahorse had tried her best to battle out of water. She was no match for another dragon who had no issues. Despite her size, she put up a valiant fight against a rather agile Dratini. The Shed Skin ability was a massive counter to our main strategy.
Ascalon managed to live up to his name by eeking out a win over a Drakloak, which recently evolved. It was such a cool idea for a Pokemon. A Dragon/Ghost Type that I've never seen before. Apparently, it was an offspring of his Dragapult; whatever that was, I could scarcely imagine it being something cooler than the Drakloak we fought.
Nessa and Milo were still battling by the time, we finished up.
And by the end of it, my guide, mentor, and boss was the winner. She didn't gloat, but she did drag Sonia and I to a fancy restaurant to celebrate.
It was actually fun, aside from nearly getting swarmed on the way to the restaurant. The pair of young women were quite famous to say the least. But it was hard to remember when they were pretty normal whenever I looked at them. Y'know, other than being gorgeous in their own ways.
Just two diligent women seemingly figuring out their place in the world on the public stage.
Me too though, but on the sidelines hopefully—
Getting to the plane for Unova was the hardest part of the trip a couple days later. Nessa had reschedule our flight due to some League business and some kind of exam? It was all she would say on the matter, looking worse for wear.
A crowd of people went to see off their top model and future Gym Leader. Thankfully, we had both a security detail, built of both people and Pokemon (go figure; I also spied one or two Officer Jenny's), to guide us through. Getting past that, a much smaller crowd awaited us. Or well, Nessa. Her parents were both teary eyed and Nessa tried her best to pretend she wasn't.
A trio of friends watched on with a small smile, more than patient. Sonia, Raihan, and Leon. The latter two were in a hushed but heated conversation.
I awkwardly watched the entire scene, unsure where to look exactly. I felt a bit like a pet, but nowhere near as cute or ignorant. For better or for worse.
"Psst!" Sonia's grin widened at my attention as she bent forward slightly. "Don't forget to scan as many Pokemon as you can!" She pulled out a pamphlet. "Here are the basics and just send me a message through the device if there's any questions. Unova's infrastructure should let it through... I'm fairly certain..."
"Got it." I tucked the folded booklet into my jacket pocket on the inside.
"It goes without saying to, y'know, keep watch over Nessa, yeah?"
"Yeah.."
Not being a people's person was a trait I still couldn't shake loose. I haven't nor planned to. However, even I wasn't ignorant to how dry I was. What could I even say more..?
"...When you return, we'll show you around Galar proper. Nes would probably be swamped with work, as usual."
"Oh, thanks. I've been busy, too, catching up and all..."
Sonia merely hummed. And the silence stretched on, until Nessa shoved away from her parents, pink in the face and still looking strong, mostly. It was a bit of a humorous sight watching her mother having to hold back her husband from chasing.
I didn't begrudge him. The last time she went on a trip, she had nearly died.
"I'm going, Sonia," came Nessa's tired voice as she approached. Probably tired with dealing with her dad.
"Cheers, Nes."
"C-Cheers, Sonia."
"Come're you!"
"Not again..!"
I stepped back and looked away. The redhead was quite the hugger, and the two girls were quite gifted with beauty that it almost felt like peeping. Still, I couldn't help the slight smile on my end. Nessa hadn't tried to back away from the embrace.
She either resigned herself to her fate or didn't actually mind all that much. It has basically been the same with Elesa. Though, I had no idea what it would be like with the blond now..
An arm settled around my shoulders, making me jump. "It's just me," laughed Leon, before correcting himself, "well, my brother too." A young teen boy peeked out from behind the promised Champion of Galar. "Come, say hi, Hop."
Oh, he was one of the boys from that group who had challenged me. He looked too young to own his first Pokemon. His dark purple hair, yellow eyes, and lavish eyelashes were unmistakable, but he was now dressed... normally and not in some half cosplay.
"H-Hi again, mister."
Either, he had gotten thoroughly reprimanded or had been dragged along for the ride as a passive bloke. Still, kinda funny both ways you spin it. I would cut him some slack here. That whole thing wasn't really that much trouble, and I had gained a lot from it.
My entire team was reenergized like mad. Myself as well, but I feel theirs was actually contagious.
Vita had evolved. I discovered a proper way of commanding Vorpal. Nami had good enough control over her wind, so her issues with flight was something more biological or physiological. Skrelp needed more training but that was fine, since she was the youngest member. Watching Ascalon win his fight had also led to the seahorse opening up to the team more, aside from my Tropius.
"Hello again, Hop. How are your friends?"
From the corner of my eyes, both Raihan and Leon stepped forward to chat up Nessa as well.
The younger boy immediately brightened, "they learned SO much yesterday! M-Me too, actually! Like, Vi's been training to keep mobile, working on Agility, which should come easy due to First Impression. And then, and then, you've help convince Faust to train up his fire power! The plan James had come up would've worked in that case. The Whirlpool wasn't actually that strong."
I hid a grimace. I knew it firsthand, having been on the receiving end of Nessa's Pokemon matching or overpowering Vorpal's Whirlpools. He really loved the big look of it, not quite realizing he was losing much steam in doing so. It was pretty intimidating if you weren't expecting it though.
"Our bro, Raihan, had said so!"
My eyes narrowed on the older teen at that. And somehow, he felt it, glancing over lazily, his eyes were as sharp as ever. Catching my gaze, his lips widened into a sharp smile as well.
He seemed to.. challenge my look?
I merely looked back to the gushing boy.
"—so I think when it comes down to it, I'll pick Sobble!"
"Huh?"
"It's one of the Galar starters, the water one! I'm pretty smart and my brother wouldn't let me live it down if I couldn't at least start out like him..."
The way he deflated hinted at some extra drama or context. I hoped it was just growing boy pains, so to speak. Leon seemed like a chill guy, so I don't think he do much more than some teasing, but this is my second time meeting the guy.
I tapped his shoulder with a fist—completely ignoring how I was only just a head taller than him. "Your starter will choose you, don't worry so much."
I bit down on my tongue, so I didn't end off with "kid." I was still working on being sixteen again. I would like to say I was seventeen, but being a complete novice at that age is.. frowned upon if I were to be a trainer.
Seventeen was the age most trainers would give up on being a "champion" and move into actual jobs alongside their Pokemon. On this side on the world at least. On the west (ironic given Japan was "Eastern"), working with Pokemon was heavily regulated, but trainers were far more numerous as a whole and a far more viable job. To be fair, their trainers filled in a lot of dirty work, it seemed. The Leagues there functioned a bit like overarching guilds with job listings on massive bulletin boards. Whereas Galar, Unova and Kalos simply had specialized workers with their Pokemon.
On this front, Sinnoh was the exception on the East side, breaking for a middle ground. I assumed it had something to do with their long-drawn history. I didn't really look too deeply into it because I don't plan to travel there any time soon.
...and Cynthia wasn't champion yet, so I lost interest. She was, however, working alongside Kantonian Trainers with their fossil research for some reason. Otherwise, I couldn't find out much. International information was only for boring international matters, like trading resources, unfortunately, and networks rarely merged like they had for Unova and Galar.
"Aric?"
I jumped for the second time. "Yes, boss?!" A bit of my old life returned with my shock.
She sent me an odd look but shook her head. "We're going now." The lithe, dark-skinned woman stepped past me with a packed suitcase rolling at both sides. Vinni was pulling along the rest with his thick "hair." Though, he paused to smile at me.
"Tox-ah!"
"Hi again, Vinni."
It helped distract me from my distractions. We were finally off to Unova. I would be going on a proper journey and get my special condition some special help.
.
..
- [ᛊ] -
..
.
I probably should've asked beforehand, but it was a short flight. Like, I felt like I had just fell asleep. Although, I had spent the first ten or so minutes playing with Vita and Skrelp. The former was just small enough to be considered a companion partner for most planes. It didn't really matter as Nessa had booked us a private jet from the Huuro Family.
Public planes ran once a month as foot traffic between the regions wasn't so common. It was an especially rare sight when the Unova League Circuit was gearing to start. And since we missed the original flight, a private plan was necessary if we wanted a proper start.
"Your Huuro Captain here, the winds were on our side today, and we have arrived ahead of time."
I shared a glance with Nessa, who shrugged before turning back to play with her Lombre, Phage.
As with our liftoff, Vita and I watched as Unova came into view. First, it was trees that fooled the horizon, the natural barriers between civilization and wilds. Then, tall, towering buildings peeked up. We were nowhere near them, but their presence was wide. Smaller cities came to view, but we curved away.
"...enjoying the view?" Nessa spoke from behind me. When she left her section, I have no idea, but I flinched all the same. Neither of my Pokemon did as they continued to stare down Unova.
"There's little water.."
She smirked at that. "Yeah, it's probably why Water Types aren't too heavily favored and why it's sharing a Gym. They only have two ports and rely on airborne trade."
"Planes out of necessity?"
I think I remember the triple Gym. It was the first one, due to the proximity from the start of the Unova games.
"Probably." She promptly returned her Lombre, who draped herself across her lap, completely relaxed. "We'll be landing soon."
I stole a glance back to the window. We were now practically among the treeline. The pair of Flying Pokemon escorting us were also closer. We were minutes away from stepping onto a new region
- [ᛊ] -
Aes (A/N): A bit more insight into Vorpal; I like to equate him to Arthur from Fire Force, haha.
Hopefully, you all noticed how much Aric's changed. Lots of background world building as well! Blink and you'd have missed it! Hopefully, it didn't interrupt or make the battling a complete snoozefest (I tend to skim over battles, personally; not sorry). If you'd like to tell or ask what exactly was revealed, do feel free to join this discord with the join code: "V54pcwA". I'd love to hear them. There's plenty of other writers and readers there too, if you're looking for more chatters! Though, I've retired from being an idol...
It's a bit weird to introduce a bunch of characters from Galar before we follow MC and Nessa to Unova, probably, but again, that was the plan again haha... There was another chapter actually planned before the trip, but I rescinded it so as to not push Aric's team into another power Nessa is mostly right as rain on a cloudy day. There's more to come about her and hers.
Next Chapter: Nessa's recap since her last interlude, covering all the events from then all the way to stepping into Unova for an unexpected meeting.
Edits: mostly
Words: [10,453]
Vorpal: Stand proud. You are strong, Jangmo-o.