Chapter 5 : Saffron Gym

[A/N: I'll be honest guys. The next few chapters are a build-up to Orion's own power. They don't involve Pokemons much. Read this chapter as it'll give you an idea as to what Orion's strength and abilities will be. If you don't want to read about how he trains and want to directly skip to the part about capturing Pokemons, you can directly skip to chapter 13 (though I'd recommend at least skimming through the chapters). If you want to directly skip to where he starts his journey, skip to volume 2. At some point in the future, you could read through these build-up chapters as something equivalent to a prequel. Anyways, I'm doing a mass release. Enjoy.]

The next morning, as soon as the morning bell rang, one kid woke up and screamed, "Yahooooo! Finally! This day has arrived!"

His screams woke up his roommates who were extremely irritated. Orion got up and looked at the top bed on the bunker next to him and muttered, "This brat."

The boy quickly jumped down and said loudly, "Get up everyone. We will be visiting the Gym today!"

Another kid complained, "Oh shut up Aiden! You have been shouting about this for 1 whole month!"

Aiden shouted back, "Stop being lazy Bryan. Let's go! You too Orion. Don't keep staying in the library all the time."

Orion didn't bother replying. He knew how full of energy and enthusiasm Aiden was. Getting into a debate with him would make him bug you for the entire day or perhaps even a week.

Of course, even without his insistence, Orion was excited to visit the Gym for more than one reason. He got up while thinking, 'A shame that we are just going for a field visit and not to see Sabrina fight. Though she isn't at the top of this world, she is very close. It would have been fun and informative to see someone like her fight. Oh well, the trip should still be very helpful.'

Aiden and Bryan were the ones who shared the room with Orion. They had a 4th roommate, but after the incident in the playground, Amelia told them that he was adopted by a family while they were at the hospital.

Aiden and Bryan were happy for him but jealous at the same time. As for Orion, he just let out a sigh in secret. He understood what the truth was. Since the city was relatively peaceful, no new orphan was taken by the orphanage and hence their room only had 3 people.

Orion along with most of the orphans freshened up very quickly. Though not everyone was as loud as Aiden, they were excited about this visit. After all, Sabrina was the most famous trainer in Saffron City and was treated as a Hero.

They quickly grabbed breakfast from the canteen and lined up for the bus. The caretakers took attendance and seated everyone on the bus. Excitement and anticipation buzzed through the air as the children eagerly boarded the bus, eyes sparkling with wonder.

However, Orion noticed something odd. He looked around and realized, 'Why are only 5-year-olds going for this visit? I thought that the others would come in different buses, but I didn't see any other bus following us.'

As the bus reached the Gym, everyone began looking out of the window to see the magnificent Gym. The children were in awe of the sight. On the other hand, Orion was shocked. He thought, 'What the fuck? Why the hell is the Gym so fucking gigantic?'

The Gym was freaking huge. The size of the Gym was larger than any Olympic stadium he had seen. The extravagance was completely incomparable to what he remembered watching in anime. Orion wondered, 'Is the size so huge because of the Pokemon tides? Is this supposed to act as some sort of final defence?'

The bus stopped in front of the Gym's main gate and the children got out of the bus. In a couple of minutes, an old man, with white hair and beard, walked out of the gym. He talked with the caretakers before finally looking at the children and said with a smile on his face, "Welcome to the Saffron Gym. I am Cedric. I will be your guide. Follow me."

Everyone immediately followed him inside the Gym while the caretakers tried to ensure some discipline. Orion followed with a confused look on his face. He thought, 'This old man feels weird for some reason.'

After entering the Gym, every child noticed that the Gym was extremely silent. It was as if no one lived inside the Gym. The other thing that surprised them was the greenery. There was a garden inside the Gym, forming a ring around the Gym. And despite the Gym being covered, the plants in the Gym grew normally.

Since everything was so quiet, the children also became quiet. Cedric looked at their expressions and said, "Don't worry about it. The Gym is constructed with materials that absorb sound. So you won't hear much noise. As for the gardens, they are called the Meditation Garden. We meditate here to improve our abilities."

The children were fascinated to learn about materials that absorb sound. Bryan muttered, "If we have such material in our orphanage, then does that mean I won't have to hear Aiden's loud noise?"

Aiden was immediately offended. He complained loudly, "Hey! I don't speak loudly."

It immediately earned him several stares, including one from Cedric! He became nervous and went quiet for once.

Cedric said, "Follow me. I'll take you to the fun part."

The group walked inside. Cedric first showed them the canteen inside the Gym and said, "This is where our food is made. After we complete the tour, we will have our lunch here."

In addition, some staff members handed some sweets and snacks to the children. Cedric continued giving the children a tour of the Gym.

He first showed the children the bunkers that were constructed under the Gym. He and other staff gave them proper instructions on where to hide if something bad was happening outside. Of course, they didn't say what that 'bad' could be.

Orion was quite impressed with the size and capacity of the bunkers and the protection they provided.

Next, Cedric guided them to an art gallery. It had pictures and statues of a lot of Psychic Pokemons. In addition, it also held information about the previous Gym Leaders. Cedric took the opportunity to impart a lot of knowledge in regard to Psychic Pokemons.

They spent a few hours in the gallery. Aiden was very vocal during this time and asked a lot of questions. As for Orion, he lost interest quickly as Cedric only provided the basic information. He was aware of most of the information even before he arrived in this world. The rest he had acquired from the library.

Finally, Cedric said, "Now, we will visit what you all want to see."

The kids were excited. They all wanted to see the Pokemon Arena, where the Gym battles were held. As they walked towards it, Orion read the tag on a room. His eyes widened. It was what he wanted to see.

He quickly pointed with his hand and asked, "Sir, what is that place?"

The kids around him were surprised. It was very rare to see Orion talk. Cedric looked at Orion and thought, 'I see. So this is what this kid has been looking for for so long.'

He smiled and answered, "Behind that door is the training facility that provides training to become a Psychic."

Orion's eyes sparkled. He asked innocently, "Does that mean that we can use Psychic powers like Pokemon as well?"

Cedric replied, "Of course."

He grabbed a couple of marbles from his pocket and stretched his palms ahead. The children all observed with curiosity. A blue light appeared around Cedric and the marbles. Soon, the two marbles began levitating in the air.

The kids were shocked. A few softly said, "Wow!"

Some exclaimed loudly, "That's cool!"

Orion wasted no time in asking, "Can you teach us how to become Psychics?"