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Chapter 1 – New beginnings

 There was no great struggle before death. I just went to bed tired of a day's work and after I woke up. I couldn't recognize my surroundings anymore. At first, I had no idea what was going on. All I could perceive were spotty images in the form of human silhouettes infants have terrible eyesight."Congratulations! It's a boy""Chancy chance!"'Wait was that…?' it would take about a year for my vision to return to my previous level. In the meantime, I only had my hearing to accurately perceive my surroundings. My body was completely immobile it took about 6 months before I could even try to hold my head up. Not to mention the humiliation of not being able to control your bladder and bowel movements. 6 years later* "Gramps! I am going out to play!""Don't forget to pull off your shoes at the entry way before coming back in the house!"'Stupid old-fashioned rules!' Till this day I still can't figure out why mum left me and my sister to wallow in this part of Hoenn which everyone of note considered the boonies. Lavaridge town was a popular tourist spot for the abundance of natural hot springs that could be found all over the village. But we had very little actual permanent residents if you find any younger people in this town, they were most likely trainers participating in the league circuit here to challenge the gym. The population of this town was mostly made up out of retired old folks living out their twilight years. That's why as soon as I get my trainer's license I was getting out of here. The hot springs were pretty novel and all that but, this body was still spry with youthfulness not old and arthritic the health benefits of a daily soak were minimal.There were a few perks that come with living in Lavaridge though…"Here you go boy! Want a cookie?""Num Num!"The gluttonous yellow quadruped started chewing on my latest rake-off of the day one day away from getting stale lava cookies. Since no one was buying almost stale treats I could swipe as many as I wanted. Provided, I helped out manning the register whenever grandma was busy in the back. These cookies are a Pokémon favorite and a way healthier option than regular confectionaries made with my families' secret blend of fermented berries."Yes, Yes, grow nice and big and when we're older I am taking you with me out of this crotchety old town.""Num NUM!""Hey you! We told you to stop feeding that wild Numel it keeps pulling out old lady Greta's energy roots!""Quick! Numsy use smokescreen so we can ditch these old bags!"Before those slowpokes could get near us my bestest buddy showered them with something we like to call our getaway surprise."Oeugh... STOP! STOP!""Cmon Numsy! We have to get out of here before they whip out the hoses again!"We quickly made our way to the part of town where people wouldn't question the sight of a six-year-old walking around with a living flamethrower. Not that Numsy was dangerous mind you, Numel generally were very even tempered preferring to spend most of their day lounging around areas adjacent to or near volcanic activity. The hotter it got the less they needed to eat to keep up their internal body temperature and the areas around Lavaridge town are prime real estate for nearly every fire type Pokémon.The past month I've been trying to win over our town's latest little tourist successfully might I add. Head pats and Lava cookies did the trick quite well, but it would be a while until we actually got to training. The town's people generally didn't care what we did together with the exception of a few sticks in the mud but, it was illegal for me to attempt to train Numsy without authorized adult supervision not to mention training up a Pokémon that hasn't been caught yet."Okay, I think we lost them Numsy. Good job on the smokescreen.""Num Num"We neared a large traditional Japanese-style building with an open courtyard and tiled rooftop the walls surrounding the front gate built in the same style. The building itself was built into the slope of a semi-active volcano. The main gate was closed off though which could be a problem for us."Getting into trouble again Egon?"A childish high-pitched voice called out to me behind the closed off gate. The source of this grating sound came from the red headed delinquent of a child and my only age contemporary in this rinky-dink town."Flannie could me and Numsy crash at your place until the heats off? It will only be an hour or two before those old folks need to take their midday nap"."Num num""I told you to stop calling me Flannie! And sure, if you have readied this time's payment."She haughtily stuck her open hand out through the railing expecting a cut from my secret stash of emergency treats."Why should I share Numsy's food rations with you? Lava cookies aren't even meant for human consumption. They taste awful!""NUM NUM!""It's not for me you dolts! Grandpa brought in another stray, and he likes your grandma's secret recipe!""Ehm... fine."I fish out the last Lava cookie in my pocket and place it in her cupped hands. Having fulfilled our bargain, she messes around with the gate's mechanism until an audible click sound is generated. The gate swings open, and I get a full view of the gym's courtyard. Despite being the home turf of one of Hoenn's elite four Mr. Moore's gym had very little Pokémon running around. The only Pokémon within eyesight was a relatively small Torkoal who seemed intent on following Flannery around the compound. As soon as me and Numsy showed up though the little guy froze up and retreated into its shell."Is this the stray Pokemon your grandfather picked up?""Yep, Torkoal here was found in an abandoned coal mine, but since gramps is always on the move, he said it would be better if this poor little guy stays with us at the gym. Mom says that I get to keep him if I keep my grades up for an entire year.""Torkoal tor!"The turtle Pokémon enthusiastically pops back out of its shell and head punts against Flannery's pantleg."You are lucky, my grandparents will only allow me to keep Numsy if I earn enough money to afford a Pokéball."Working at the store only gives me an allowance of 15 Pokedollars a month at this rate I'd have to wait for a bit more than a year before I could even afford to capture Numsy. Having no guarantee that in the time I am saving up Numsy won't get reported and some ranger comes around and re-releases him back into some wasteland like the Fiery Path."Ehh that's lame.""So, I was wondering if I could leave my Numsy here with you during the times that I have to watch the store and at night? I am sure that a fire-type gym like this has plenty of Numel around so that my Numsy can fly under the radar while I save up some cash.""Numel Num""I don't know… for things like this I would usually need to ask my grandpa for permission. But we haven't seen him since he dropped off Torkoal and that was over a week ago.""Numsy use Charm!""Num Num!"My trusted compatriot rushed Flannery and rubbed her kneecaps with his head looking up at her face and crying cutely."But I can't…""Full power Numsy!""Num num!""Damn you ugh...!""Okay you guys win but if gramps notices I am blaming you Egon.""Thanks, Flanny! I knew you were our comrade."Afterwards me and Flannery played smoke circles with our Pokémon until it was time for me to get home for dinner.Walking back home my mind wandered back to the lingering questions I still had about this new world I found myself in. I couldn't just keep living day to day as I had been, befriending Numsy has already put me on the path of being a Pokémon trainer. Having already talked about this with him Numsy was seemingly enthusiastic about training to become stronger. Evolutionarily speaking it made sense. Survival of the fittest and all that, it made sense that in the wild stronger Pokémon were more respected and looked at for guidance and leadership. Fighting others in matches wasn't seen as cruel and Pokémon that disliked battling were the odd ones out in the group.How accomplished did I want to become doing this? The champion's seat had little appeal to me being responsible for the protection of this region's citizens and Pokémon was too much of a hassle. Not to mention all the political aspects the job entailed Champions weren't involved in the day to day running of the government, but they were expected to attend all sorts of diplomatic events and are the commander in chief in case war ever broke out.Becoming an ace trainer was more up my alley. All you had to do was make it to the top 16 in the Ever Grande conference and you could apply for a stipend from the league. But that also meant the elite four and the champion were your direct superiors. None of the current powers were interested in propagating war though. It made sense really, no one wanted to risk the wrath of a legendary Pokémon by destabilizing the current ecosystem.Having made up my mind I realize that I was already standing in front of my home. Sliding open the door I encounter my greatest source of joy in this life."Big Brother!"My 5-year-old half-sister was already waiting for me at the entrance. With our grandparents busy running the store I've become the default role model.In this world people had differing concepts on what good parentage looks like as long as someone is there to look after your progeny it was socially acceptable for parents to not be present in their child's life. In our case that would be our grandparents. Me and my sister share the same mother but have different fathers. I've never seen my father and from what I can recall he was some Unovan trainer that had a single night of passion with my mom after traveling with him during her own League circuit. My mother tried finding him again afterwards to inform him of the pregnancy, but he immediately left for his home country after losing in the finals of the ever Grande conference. My sister's dad is from some local tribe living it up in the sticks somewhere. I knew of him having met the guy briefly after him and my mom dropped my little sister off at her parents' house. Both of them were completely irresponsible useless parents. So, I've made up my mind to raise my little sister into a responsible adult.Our parents might be useless, but I will be a great big brother and will work hard to support my sister in any endeavour she might end up undertaking. In my previous life I was born as the youngest, so this is going to be a whole new experience for me."What are you standing around for? Come inside or your dinner will get cold.""Sorry, I was thinking about life and all that. How did your extra reading and writing lessons go?""It went fine I guess Mrs. Patterson says it won't be long until I catch up with the rest of the class.""That's awesome I knew my kid sister was a genius!""Not as smart as you humph…"I finished up trainer's school within 2 years of entering. As a former adult my grades spoke for themselves. Schooling in this world was free form you can graduate early if you demonstrate the required knowledge and skills. Classes were pretty interesting too. Besides the mandatory language and math classes you also got educated in wilderness survival, first aid and basic Pokémon physiology. I was too young to start going to classes with the teenagers and further schooling was optional. Not that I was interested in going back to the sweaty pubescent social nightmare that was high school."Don't fret it Lil' sis. Who in your class got highest mark this week for correctly identifying all forty berries that were brought to class?""Me.""Good now go brush your teeth and if your good I'll tell you a bedtime story."My sister has always been insecure about her literacy skills even though she's good with other subjects. Dyslexia has not been properly recognized as a learning disability in Hoenn but Mrs. Patterson the angel teacher recognized the symptoms and offered extra classes to help her keep up with the rest of class.Taking her upstairs, I prepare a futon (Japanese style bed) for her.After I heard gargling sounds, she came out of the bathroom, and I tucked her in."I want to hear another story about Zubatman!"I had a penchant for telling stories inspired by those from my home world but this time I felt like telling a local one."Maybe tomorrow night this time I'll tell you a story about big strong legendary Pokémon.""Long ago a great meteorite impacted on the surface of Hoenn, and natural energy poured out from deep beneath the earth.""What's a meteorite?""Meteorites are big space rocks that survived the process of entering our world's atmosphere without burning up.""And what's an atmosphere?""It's the air and natural gasses that surround a planet now hush and let me finish the story.""Two legendary Pokémon Groudon and Kyogre were attracted by this fount of energy. The legendary Pokémon fought amongst each other for ownership of this energy. Their clashes were destroying the environment and both Pokémon and humans suffered. During this time an ancient native tribe called the Draconids known for exclusively training dragon types prayed for salvation and received the attention of Rayquaza the Sky High Pokémon. They say the people's fervent wish allowed Rayquaza to assume a completely different appearance and with this newfound power it quelled the battle between the two legendary Pokémon and made them retreat back beneath the earth's surface and ocean respectively.""Wow Rayquaza is so cool! I want to be a dragon-type trainer when I grow up!""Well then you better eat all your vegetables and keep your room nice and clean. Dragon type Pokémon only like girls that listen to their big brothers.""Mouuu liar!"I tuck her further in and kiss her forehead."Good night big bro.""Good night, Zinnia."

Chapter 2 – Caught!"Zzzzz Zzzzz Zzzzz Clink* Zzzzz Zzzzz Clink* Zzzzzzz Thud!*""Grandpa…!?"...…. No wait he can just walk in.Trying to find the source of my sleep deprivation I open up my bedroom window and spot a redhead looking for another pebble to throw."Flannie… what are you doing?""We are going to get caught! Grandpa arrived today on his Rapidash. He came back early this morning and is sleeping off his saddle sores but, when he's rested enough to make his rounds, we'll be growlithe chow!""First of all… calm down. Did you have breakfast yet?""No, but…""Come inside and have breakfast with me and my little sister, but please keep it down Grandma works through the night making Cookie dough batches and she gets cranky when forced out of bed too early."I walk through the hallway and opened the front door letting Flannery in the house. Next, I entered the kitchen and started preparing for breakfast My sister was a heavy sleeper and my usual tactic to get her out of bed early was the smell of food. My secret recipe for baked banana oatmeal usually got everyone out of bed early. As the smells started drafting out of the oven, I noticed Flannery standing behind me with a wad of saliva dribbling out of her mouth."Hold on its not ready yet.""Gulp…!?""So, how's Numsy liking the gym? Has he already made friends with the other Pokémon?""Uhm… The situation has been stabilized mostly.""What has he been doing this time?""He's been flinging mud at the other Pokémon!""Oh, so he's been working hard even outside of our training sessions good.""What did you say!?""Ahem, I mean I'll be sure to give him a scolding when we go see him later today."Since my deal with Flannery last week, I've come to pick up Numsy from the gym's stable every day and working on his moves behind the local sand baths. I was trying to get Numsy to learn Mud-Slap, but it was a work in progress our accuracy and power was way off. Me and Numsy volunteered to shovel sand for the owner's customers and in the process, I hoped to familiarize him with ground-type energy. The owner's Quagsire figured out what we were doing and started giving helpful pointers to Numsy. With the guidance of an experienced fellow ground-type, I am sure we can pull it off in a few more days."Brother is the food ready?"Like clockwork the smell of food has lured Zinnia out of bed and into the the kitchen."Not yet, why don't you make nice with my friend Flannery? She's having breakfast with us today."The two just now seemed to notice the other's presence."It's a lie my brother isn't capable of making friends!?""Ooof!"'No mercy huh?' I wasn't the most socially adept guy out there even in my previous life, but I can totally make friends! Relationships are like houseplants that require constant upkeep or else they wither and die. I just don't have the time for them working in the store in addition to taking care of Zinnia and training Numsy!"You never told me you had a sister!? It's not possible with a face like yours being related to a cutie like her!"'Why are all the women in my life cruel and callous with their words?'"She is! Just you wait when I grow up all the women will be swooning over me! Stop looking at me with those pitying gazes!"At that moment the oven made a beeping sound notifying me the baked banana oatmeal was ready. After I fished the hot oven tray out and plated up the table Flannery immediately started devouring while the rest of us waited for our breakfast to cool."Uhmm… Flannie how come you are not getting burned?""This is hot? 'S nothing compared to some of the gym's slugma."Me and Zinnie watched her fascinated at the speed she consumed her scalding plate of food. Is she a fire-type? It does explain her bright crimson hair. No wait I am a red head myself and I get burned pretty easily. In fact, most of the people in Lavaridge are natural red heads Zinnia and a few migrants being the noticeable exception. 'Maybe it's due to environmental influences...?' As my mind is trying to wrap itself around this mystery I get pinched by my sister."Brother wake up you're spacing out again.""You are right sorry let's finish eating quickly. I'll walk you to school afterwards."While Zinnia showed Flannery her room. I packed up my little sister's boxed lunch for her to eat during recess. Leftovers from breakfast, a carton of milk and a whole banana. Our little group of three made its way over to the local trainer's school. Unlike me Flannery still had a year of compulsory education to undertake despite being one year older than me. Flannery was mostly homeschooled. Her grandfather hiring some fancy private teacher. The only time she had to physically show up at school was during exams and field tests.After dropping off Zinnia we make our way to the Lavaridge gym. Flannery obviously still nervous about the whole ordeal."It'll be fine Flannie if Numsy gets kicked out I'll just keep him somewhere else.""That's not the problem Egon! Grandpa might take away my television rights. I wanted to watch the next Ever Grande Conference.""Fine if Mr. Moore still hasn't noticed yet we'll smuggle Numsy out."This time we enter the gym through a side entrance Flannery has the key to. All the Numel and Camerupt are kept inside a picket fence enclosure to the side of the gym. Lowering the chances of us getting discovered even more."Numsy! Come here boy."A single Numel looked up from the herd and started racing towards me. The picketed fence wasn't high enough to be an obstacle, so Numsy jumped over it and crashed into my body."That's a strong body slam Numsy! And you are already getting bigger as well.""Num Num!""Unfortunately, Mr. Moore is back from his business trip, so we need to sneak out quietly this time, okay?""Num.""No need for that you can just stay here for a while."Me and Numsy jolted at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. While Flannery had a defeated expression on her face. We turn around and standing behind us is a bespectacled old man wearing traditional clothing."Good morning, Mr. Moore. Me and Numsy here heard about the great facilities you have for fire type Pokémon. After expressing our desire to witness the gym, Flannery here graciously agreed to give us a tour.""Num!""What a well-spoken youngster and I see you are already familiar with our Numel habitat. How about I show you the entire gym?"As I was conversing with Mr. Moore Flannery was trying to sneakily get away."Where are you going granddaughter? When inviting friends, it is important to personally ensure your guests feel welcome.""Yes, Grandpa…""You know gyms do have support staff running the facility especially when the leader is gone. My on-staff ranger told me we suddenly had one extra Numel in the compound. He noticed it while cleaning up the pens a week ago.""Sorry sir, I didn't want to lose Numsy, and we were afraid that a ranger would notice him and relocate him back into the wild.""Have you asked your grandparents for permission to catch him? I know them they're good people and wouldn't say no without a good reason.""They told me that I had to wait until I could afford my own poké ball. Since I am not old enough to get a job, I would have to save up my allowance for a year to afford a Poké ball."Mr. Moore had a contemplating expression on his face. At the same time Flannery was giving him the puppy dog eyes."Hmm… Okay, this is what we are going to do. I will personally catch this Numel with my own Poké ball and register him as a gym Pokémon. At the same time, you will work here part-time. If you show that you are responsible enough to take care of him, I'll fill in the paperwork to make Numsy your official starting Pokémon.""Thanks a lot Mr. Moore me and Numsy will work hard to meet your expectations!""Num!""Good, and as for you Flannery no TV for two weeks""Nooooo!"  A week laterWorking for a gym is not as glamorous as I imagined. Most of my time was spent cleaning up but not after Pokémon. Humans especially trainers that go hiking through the various ecological wonders in Hoenn don't tend to mind a little mud on their boots and often forget to clean up before entering the gym. Fire type Pokémon are actually really hygienic since they don't void their bowels in the traditional sense. They expunge any excess carbohydrates, fats and nitrogen in a cloud of ash and if they are active battlers they don't even have to, since most of the gym trainers liberally make use of moves like smog and smokescreen to keep challengers on their toes.One of my other tasks is to help feed the fire types that like to graze in the open field next to the gym. The gym had two species of Pokémon that liked to munch on raw plant fiber Ponyta and Numel. Of course, this wasn't enough because the Pokémon in this gym were used for battling purposes, so their feed got supplemented with berries and vitamin supplements. I wasn't allowed into the volcano yet for obvious reasons. The numerous Slugma and a couple of Magby were taken care of by the more seasoned personnel.There were two members of staff that were basically in charge whenever Mr. Moore was away on Elite Four duties. Keegan who was responsible for teaching the gym's younger Pokémon and trainers about fire hazard safety and Eli the local ranger on staff who patrols the surrounding areas, his job was very diverse ranging from rescue operations to being a liaison between humans and the local wild Pokémon. Numsy and me being new got to receive a crash course from Keegan."So, the first thing you need when practicing fire type moves with your Pokémon is flame resistant gear. The reason why you didn't start right away with these lessons was that we had none in your size. We have aspiring trainers undergo this test before letting them work with our fire-types. Because Pokémon can innately perceive intent from another living being. What this means in practical terms is that they understand what humans are trying to convey right out of the egg but also when overexcited trainers give out instructions the Pokémon might get confused and let their flame burn hotter than intentional causing fire incidents. Let out your Numel and order it to use ember at these practice targets the goal is for the flames to be cold enough not to set these hay bales on fire.""Okay Numsy use ember on the targets and try to make your fire as cold as possible."This exercise wasn't as much of a problem for me. On the inside I wasn't an excitable child. After the second try me and Numsy got it down squat. I could tell Keegan was surprised at our quick progress the man having cleared his work schedule for the bigger part of the afternoon expecting us to take a while. Afterwards I just shadowed him around for a bit. Keegan's work was pretty interesting his Magmar helped him out by flash firing hardwood in a pit kiln. The resulting briquettes would be sold to restaurants, herbalist shops and trainers for a pretty penny.Next me and Numsy went back to the sand baths. Numsy had taken Quagsire as his Master in ground type moves having perfected his Mud-Slap. We were eager to learn what move we would be able to learn next."Quaaaag""What did the master tell you Numsy?""Num Num!"Excitedly Numsy started rooting around in the sand."Ohhh he's going to teach you dig next!"I take out a paper bag filled with lava cookies."Please accept this offering for your effort in teaching no good disciples like us master Quagsire.""Quaaaagsire"Dig was a super useful if ever we decided to go spelunking in caves not to mention the battle applications being able to dodge moves in a pinch. The rest of the afternoon me and Numsy dug holes for customers to sleep in. 'Wait… were we being taken advantage of?'  After dropping off Numsy at the gym. I headed towards the local trainer's school to pick up Zinnia. While walking I was considering my plans for the future. The meteoroid that would head for our planet in a decade or so. In the games Zinnia got made lorekeeper of the Draconids after the previous one a girl named Aster died in a tragedy.Zinnia ended up doing all kinds of dangerous stuff. Infiltrating and providing team magma and aqua with the means to wake up the ancient Pokémon in a bid to lure Rayquaza back. Breaking into secure facilities and destroying a certain dimensional device and stealing keystones from powerful trainers.To avoid this future all I had to do was make sure that Aster didn't die prematurely. Her death was caused by the Devon corporation and the League association's hairbrained plan to capture Rayquaza and pillage the Draconids' stash of keystones. Aster didn't survive that confrontation. But she did designate Zinnia her successor before her death. So, at some point I was expecting my sister's biological father to return and invite her into the tribe within the next few years.'What a mess… too big for a boy and his numel to solve. Guess I'll have to become accomplished enough to make people listen to me.'The bell rang and school kids started pouring out of the school gates. Zinnia was leading a group of loveable ruffians. Whenever Zinnia entered a clique, she always somehow ended up being the leader. I guess that kind of natural charisma was what is required to train prideful dragon-type Pokémon."This is my big brother! Isn't he cool?""Not as cool as my big sister! She's already a trainer and has two badges.""Now now I bet his sister and me are both equally cool, how about you say goodbye to your little friends so we can go back home in time for dinner.""…I take it back your sister is probably cooler."'This brat…!'We got back home and after dinner I had her start getting ready for bed."Next week is bring your family's Pokémon to school day. But Grandpa and Grandma don't have Pokémon.""That's okay I'll let you bring Numsy with you to school. He's very well behaved and loves making new friends.""I know Grandpa used to be a trainer what happened to his Pokémon?"Oh dear, explaining the concept of death to a 5-year-old girl is not something I am mentally prepared for. Guess I'll have to do the copout move."Grandpa's old Arcanine retired to live at a farm somewhere in Johto. Now he gets to spend his time chasing around mareep and scaring off rowdy houndour.""Now how about another story?"Chapter 3 – Weeping MountainIt has been a year since I've started working part time at the gym, Numsy and I were not allowed to partake in battles, but we have learned much from our seniors at the gym. Mr. Moore was impressed by my work ethic, so he promised to sponsor me when I received my trainer's license at age ten. A sponsorship generally entails some stipend for food expenses and paid lodging when a Pokémon Center was not available or had run out of rooms. Additionally, when a trainer exceeded their carry limit any extra Pokémon were sent to a stabling facility usually maintained by said sponsor. In this case all my extra Pokémon would reside at the Lavaridge gym. Which was great for any trainer that intended to specialize in fire type Pokémon but otherwise it was fairly limiting. The active volcano and the heat tend to be hazardous condition for any water types or grass types, and generally was unpleasant for most other types of Pokémon. Starting out I wasn't really planning to specialize in any type but my time at the gym sort of made me a deft hand at handling fire types. I figured since most elite level trainers tended to specialize in one particular typing, they must be on to something.Today was one of the more somber days in our Household. Yearly my grandpa made the trip to Mt. Pyre to pay respects and grieve his old partner Arcanine. He kept his trips a secret from my sister just telling her he was out on a weeklong berry run, but this time he allowed me to come with him. The old grave keeper couple that lived at the top of the mountain were friends of his and since they had a granddaughter that lived with them my grandpa thought it was a good idea to bring me along.Normally I would refuse to ever go near any gravesites in my old life ghost stories gave me the heebie jeebies. Now in this world where ghosts are a factually proven existences all the more reason not to go one will find many tales of trainers getting dragged into the spirit world by wild ghost Pokémon. There were two reasons for me to go regardless of how I felt. Firstly I didn't want to disappoint my Grandpa, he took care of me and my sister when we got left at his doorstep and for that I am still very much grateful. I could tell he wanted some male bonding time and reminiscence over his old partner with me. Secondly Mr. Moore told me there are a skulk of Vulpix that live on the mountain in fact that's where he caught his own Ninetales whom is on his elite team. After a year of saving my allowance, I finally had enough to afford a poke ball and, since Numsy lived at the gym Grandpa and Grandma won't mind sticking to their old promise."Are you ready to go Egon?""Yes Grandpa. How are we getting there? I am pretty sure walking from Mt. Pyre and back takes longer than a week.""For older folk like me teleportation services are made available by the league association. We'll go to the Pokémon center and pay for the services of a baltoy. It won't be enough to take us all the way there, but at Mauville city there will be a stronger psychic type Pokémon who can get us directly to the foot of the mountain."We made our way to the Pokemon center and after my grandpa showed his senior citizen card nurse Joy took out a poké ball from under her in short order releasing the baltoy whom floated over the countertop. Afterwards my grandpa took out the money to pay for this service and, was handed the baltoy's poké ball. His payment was the equivalent to 10 years of my allowance. I knew he was being a cheapskate with my allowance! I should've figured it out manning the counter to their store every morning."We at the league association know you had many options to choose from and, we thank you for choosing us.""Okay Egon just hold onto one of baltoy's arms and we'll be in Mauville before you know it."I tentatively hold onto the baltoy's arm the surprisingly gritty texture feeling rather comfortable to hold on to."Baltoy Toy!"I blinked and the surroundings looked different than before we were still inside a Pokémon center but a far larger one with way more people inside it. Grandpa and I joined the line in front of the counter."You see Egon psychic type Pokémon like these can be rented out for their ability to use the move called Teleport. For the move to be used the Pokémon must be familiar with their intended destination. Usually this means places where they spent a lot of time in."We finally made it to the front of the line and my grandpa handed over the poké ball with the baltoy in it to the nurse joy at the counter."Thank you""So how are we going to get from here to Mt. Pyre?""Well usually we'd have to travel the rest of the way there on foot but, my friends have sent out their old Xatu to teleport us the rest of the way."We made our way outside of the Pokémon center building and just like my grandpa anticipated a Xatu was perched on top of the center's roof. My grandpa made a series of handgestures toward the Pokémon, and both seem to arrive at a mutual agreement."Okay Xatu is going to perch on your shoulder and teleport us to the base of the mountain. My old friends live at the top, so we'll still have to walk all the way.""How come Xatu won't bring us to the top directly grandpa?""Tradition they say the journey to the peak helps young trainers self-reflect."At those words the bird Pokémon landed on top of my left shoulder and held out its wing for Grandpa to hold onto. And just like last time the surroundings suddenly shifted where previously we were standing in the bustling streets of Mauville city now we found ourselves standing in front of a massive mountain."Xatu Xa"The bird looked pretty wiped out after having to teleport the both of us all the way over here. Feeling generous I fished out a lava cookie out of my pocket crushed it into small pieces and extended my open hand to Xatu. The Pokémon looked at my offering for a while but eventually decided to indulge me by pecking from my hand."Good, isn't it? it's my grandma's secret recipe.""Thank you for the offering human."!? Suddenly hearing a voice in my head, I made a very unmanly sound but, quickly realized the origin of this telepathic message."Hey that's pretty awesome I forgot psychic types could do that. Can you also read my mind? Like say I have a number in my head between one and a hundred...""Only for more cookies."I fish out another lava cookie out of my travel bag."twenty-seven""Rad you're a very cool Pokémon Xatu.""I know""Ahem Egon my boy stop being distracted by Xatu we have a mountain to climb. Now you'll notice the stalls here sell specialty items specifically for pilgrims that come here to bury their partners`. ""Outside the mountain they have stalls filled with incense, soothe bells, talismans and any number of items to placate the lingering spirits that make this mountain their home. Now before we go see my old friends, I am going to visit my partner's grave in the meantime go look for an item that you like if Xatu says you've been good I'll pay half the price."Not needing to be reminded twice me and Xatu make our way to the various stalls while grandpa left to visit his old Arcanine's grave. I looked over the various stalls recognizing some items from the games. One stall sold all sorts of incense another sold talismans and all sorts of miscellaneous items I walked up to the latter. I went over the stall's displayed inventory and was kind of surprised seeing all the variety. They had dusk stones, spell tags, ring targets and something I would recognize as a reaper cloth. I couldn't even begin to imagine how they got a hold of that last item. Sadly, I wasn't a ghost type trainer so none of these items were all that useful to me."Excuse me do you have any items in stock that wards off wild ghost type Pokémon? I have to climb up the mountain later with my grandpa to visit some old friends.""Well, hello there young man and in fact yes we do have such items this cleanse tag will make ghost type Pokémon subconsciously ignore you but it will fail to work in front of particularly determined or powerful ghost types in any case we are not responsible for any injuries or deaths."Hearing that sales pitch from the seller didn't do much for my confidence in the quality of her products. In any case grandpa will pay half it should still be worth it."How much?""1000 Poké dollars ""Do you give discounts to young aspiring trainers like me? If this tag works for us, I'll refer any trainers working with ghost types to your stall.""No not really, we just say that last part to avoid arguments from people that are haunted by a powerful entity and hope that our tags can solve the issue. Kid if a ghost is specifically targeting you, I recommend seeking out an expert spirit channeler. However, we do let kids pick out a souvenir from our gift basket."The saleswoman pulls out a woven basket from under her stall and showed me its contents. Inside I could spot signed wooden plaques, keychains, rage candy bars, a mega stone and teacups with Mt. Pyre slogans on them. .....!"Excuse me miss but where did you find that funny looking rock with the swirly pattern?""Oh that? I found it buried near the graves on the summit during one of our guided tours for new visitors.""Okay! I'll take that rock along with the cleanse tag. And do you also sell those rage candy bars separately?"After concluding my transaction, I walked away with the cleanse tag a shiny new mega stone and a box filled with rage candy bars. I felt bad for the proprietor so I bought as many candy bars as my strap on wallet would carry. Hopefully grandpa will reimburse me on the cleanse tag purchase because as of now I was flat out broke."Human I sensed your sudden excitement when looking at that rock. What makes it so special? ""Oh this? It is called a mega stone when certain Pokémon species hold this rock while their trainers carry one complementing keystone a state of temporary evolution is unlocked. It will be a while until this becomes common knowledge.""You speak the truth what an interesting human you are.""Thanks buddy you are interesting too. Hey, can you tell me what kind of Pokémon live on this mountain?""Seeing as you have shared your knowledge with me freely, I shall do the same human. "Sometime later*According to what Xatu told me the mountain holds two kinds of ghost-type Pokémon barring any that trainers bring in themselves. Those of the duskull and shuppet line are endemic. You can also find wingulls and vulpix that make their home on the mountain's adret. The mountain's spirituality also attracts a few psychic-types. Chimecho like to hang themselves on the human-built shrines and meditite seek further training by honing themselves in the low oxygen environment of the summit. I currently do not know what type of megastone this is but logically it should either be a Medichamite or a Banettite given its place of origin. Not one of the Pokémon I was planning to catch but maybe I can trade the stone away to someone who has one of those Pokémon.Grandpa eventually came back and gave me half the cost of that cleanse tag."A wise purchase one of the most common ways for young trainers to expire is being led around the nose by a mischievous ghost getting lost and eventually running out of supplies. Great thinking grandson. Those rage candy bars are your grandmother's favourite. When we get back make sure to share some of those with her.""Grandpa are we going to meet those friends of yours now?""Yes, Xatu can show us the quickest way to the summit. Don't worry about any ghost type Pokémon Xatu here can handle any ghost that comes our way."We started to make our way up top and as we did so I spotted all sorts of people visiting the gravesites. Mediums, Channelers, younger people in all black reading out depressingly bad poetry their Pokémon seemed to like it though. All the people you would think specialize in ghost types. We went completely unmolested not a single wild ghost in sight If that was due to the cleanse tag, I kept safe in my satchel or the presence of Xatu I don't know.In the meantime, I kept my eyes out for any wild vulpix. Xatu assured me that you could only spot them outside on the mountain slope, but I wasn't taking any chances. The atmosphere wasn't as sombre as I thought perhaps because the existence of souls wasn't in question. Dead people and Pokémon sometimes turn into ghost types, and you regularly hear about souls coming back out of the spirit world to settle unfinished business maybe that's why the afterlife industry is booming here.Sadly for me, we didn't come across any Vulpix but we did make it to the summit relatively safely. The peak of the mountain was enshrouded by a thick fog, so it was actually hard to see further then a couple of feet in front of you. Xatu had no such issues though."My task is done I will leave you two with my master as I return to my roost and slumber."Me and grandpa waved Xatu off as he flew off to do his own thing.This blasted bird still acting all formal and distinguished if I ever catch a psychic type, I'd rather have a fun-loving adventurous one."Ralph my old pal you've made it! And I see you've brought your grandson with you as well."Ralph? No wait that's grandpa, I got so used to thinking of him as grandpa I forgot he had a first name.The man finally got close enough that I could see him through the fog. He was accompanied by an old lady and a teen girl with flowers in her hair.They all looked tanned and dressed lightly so I guess it got warm on the summit.`"We have much to catch up on. Let us go drink some tea and let the young ones get acquainted."The old people departed the scene with my grandpa and left their granddaughter behind. How am I supposed to entertain a teenage girl? The girl in question looked about two to three years older than me she kind of looked familiar to me."Hello squirt, the name's Phoebe.""My name is Egon nice to meet you as well."I fish out a poke ball from my satchel and release my friend inside."And this is my partner Numsy.""Ohh what a cutie!""Okay, I'll introduce you to my partner as well."Her shadow which seemed unnatural because there was little sunlight coming through suddenly started spasming erratically and out floated a little cloaked figure wearing a grim reaper mask."Duskull Dusk!""That's pretty cool this is my first time seeing a ghost-type Pokémon."Phoebe and Duskull seemed kind of disappointed that they couldn't get a scare out of me but quickly got over it."So, you're one of those hard to prank types huh? Don't worry at the end of this week we'll turn you into a believer. What do you want to do?"Believer in what? Now that I had a better look at her she kind of resembles that ghost type specialist elite four member of the games. It was common knowledge that ghost type trainers were of the eccentric variety."Nothing much, I want to explore the sunlit side of the mountain. I heard from Xatu that's where you can find wild vulpix you don't have to come along, if that sounds too dangerous to you.""We'll catch our second partner on this mountain Numsy!""Num!"This year Numsy made great strides in his training aside from dig he also learned mud bomb and our secret special weapon for catching vulpix Yawn attack. Master Quagsire started teaching us this move only after we made a promise to take over half his workload. Usually, the master utilizes this technique to put to sleep customers who suffer from insomnia. This move is what the sand bath owner used to get an edge on her business competition. In regard to his fire type moves we had the knowledge but not the strength of body to perform those yet. The lavaridge gym training made it pretty clear that the only method to perform those moves was having Numsy gain enough battle experience which we were not allowed to do because I haven't earned my trainer's license yet."Sounds like fun! I know this mountain the best and if I am with you the wild Pokémon that live here will leave you alone for the most part. I have one condition though. Duskull noticed you are carrying one of those cleanse tags the stall lady sells we would like you to leave that item behind because it messes with his perception.""Only if I get prank immunity while were looking for vulpix. I don't want to get jump scared while on a steep ledge or something.""Phooey spoilsport"Chapter 4 – Foxy friends Me and Phoebe made our way towards the eastern slope of the summit since it was still early in the morning the sun rising would be in clear view after we got away from this nebulous mist. As we were walking, I had her clear up some misunderstandings I had about ghost types."What so you are saying drifloon don't kidnap children?""Well… they do but only those who are abused by their caretakers. The accumulated negative energy is very nutritious for younger ghost types. Those children don't get eaten or anything, what usually happens is that eventually a ranger finds them, and the abused child gets reassigned to foster care.""Usually huh…""Don't think I can't tell what you are thinking! Would you get angry at an ekans for eating rattata?""So, ghost types need negative energy or whatever you call it?""For sure! That's why ghosts prank people all the time it keeps them from having to take more drastic measures to satiate their appetite.""And do they still need to eat berries and stuff?""Of course, they also need the lifeforce that's inherent to all living things to not slip back into the spirit world. Some wild ghost types who are anchored to old ruins or abandoned mansions can be dangerous to both humans and Pokémon since they never get a chance to eat. To them living beings that enter their domain are a walking buffet of life force and negative energy. It's part of the job for seasoned channelers to exorcize such spirits before they can do any major harm.""Okay so don't enter dilapidated buildings or ruins and you're safe?""Generally, but some of the more seasoned ghosts have invented creative uses for the move hypnosis to trick travelers into thinking the buildings are well maintained."Having her explain ghost types to me cleared up a lot of my misunderstandings. They still give me the creeps but understanding lessened my innate fear of them significantly."You must have already caught lots of ghost types being so knowledgeable.""You'd think so but so far, I've only caught two my Shuppet and Duskull and I am really wanting to catch a Sableye in granite cave. Too bad there aren't a lot of ghost types in the Hoenn region.""What about Shedinja and Froslass?""I am not training up a Nincada just to have it evolve and catch its shell to use on my team. All Pokémon deserve to be caught by someone who believes in their potential. And as for Froslass so far, the only trainer known to have one in Hoenn is Glacia of the elite four and she is not sharing her secrets. ""That's easy just catch a female snorunt and have it evolve with a Dawn Stone.""Are you serious!? For it to be a stone evolution. I haven't heard of this so-called Dawn Stone, and it must be female you say?""Well yeah? There are a handful of Pokémon that have evolved forms based on gender.""Wait is it normal for trainers to keep information like this hidden?""Usually yes when a trainer discovers something that is not known they keep it a secret to give themselves a competitive edge. Most sponsorship clauses stipulate that the trainer signing it shares any relevant discoveries with their sponsor but, independent trainers are not required to divulge sensitive information like that."Damn! Again, living in a hick town has screwed me over. The only places that keep computers with pokénet access in Lavaridge are the Pokémon center and the Gym but, those were reserved for licensed trainers only."Uhm can you not tell people that you got that information from me? I don't want to get hassled by an angry Elite Four.""Sure, whatever Egon. I don't think Glacia is going to bother an eight-year-old like you for spilling the beans on a secret she wouldn't be able to keep for long anyway."We finally exited the blinding fog and basked in the sunlight warming up our bodies. Numsy jumped out of my embrace and started walking on his own hooves. He'd been too stubborn to get back into his ball and demanded to be out with me. Numel generally get lethargic when the surrounding temperature is too cold. Carrying Numsy had been a workout especially for my prepubescent body. Numsy's weight averages out at around 50 lbs.(23kg) that would've been impossible for any regular eight-year-old to carry in my old world. Maybe it was something in the food, but humans over here are generally hardier and live a bit longer too. Still, it had been an odorous task carrying him all the way out here."Oof! Just make sure not to get any bigger or, I won't be able to carry you around anymore Numsy.""Num Num!""This is why ghost types are superior! No need to carry them around when outside their balls they can just hitch a ride in your shadow.""Sure sure. Do you have any idea where we should begin searching?""Well, I don't but Duskull lived on this mountain before I caught him. Dusky can you show us the way?""Dusk dusk"We followed the floating Pokémon further into the approaching canopy of tall grass.The games didn't get it wrong wild Pokémon will seek to challenge trainers passing by their territories. Unlike Pokémon trained by humans wild Pokémon had to spent most of their time foraging for food, maintaining their shelters, and tending to their young. They didn't have the advantages of specialized training and carefully maintained diets so on average they were weaker than trainer owned ones. Acknowledging this they will seek to hone themselves against trainers given the opportunity or search for a skilled trainer to catch them after testing them in battle.Duskull led us to a small clearing within which was a tree stump with a blurry figure outlined atop of the trunk.Phoebe quickly pulled out a device that looked like a futuristic version of an old Gameboy advanced handheld device.Medicham the Meditate Pokémon. Medicham is able to harness psychic powers through yoga. Being at one with nature, it can make itself vanish completely. Through a combination of food deprivation and meditation, Medicham gains the ability to see its opponent's aura."Wait you already received your Pokédex!""I am eleven years old dummy I got mine last year.""Unfair I want one too! Hey scan my Numsy next!""You do realise that I am not a sponsored trainer, right? We don't have to collect data for some bozo in a lab.""This is a man's romance!""Ugh… fine weirdo."Numel, the Numb Pokémon. Numel is so complacent that it does not even notice when it is stuck. This Pokémon's body is filled with hot magma, which, when cooled in water, further slows its movement. Numel is also unable to bear hunger."That sound about right to you Numsy?""Num num!""Oh yeah… that time Keegan forgot to stock up on the Gym's supply of Chesto berries. The perfect match for a sleepy head like you.""Num!""Can we focus on the situation at hand! This Medicham is clearly in an intense training session and probably would like for us to be as quiet as possible.""Dusk duskull""Cham Medi"Duskull and the Medicham starting animatedly communicating with each other."It sounds to me like these two know each other already.""It's plausible. Duskull used to be a wild Pokémon that lived on this mountain."The Medicham in question turned its head towards us while his/her eyes glowed blue."Young one if determined you are to make one of those foxes your partner seek audience with her ladyship. She rests in the alcove overlooking the abandoned gravesite."Darn another serious type? Hopefully this is not a trend with all psychic type Pokémon. Higher intelligence than other types doesn't mean they'd have to be a stick in the mud."You heard that Phoebe?""Yes, me and Duskull know where it's located. This ladyship must be the Ninetales that lives on this mountain."Before we leave, I decided to fish out another lava cookie from my satchel and place it in front of the Medicham."Here when you are done with your fasting try this. They're delicious and help Pokémon recover from negative ailments."Me and Phoebe left for the alcove and there were no more surprises along the way."Where did you get your Pokédex from anyway? Since you apparently didn't get it from Professor Birch.""You can just order a Pokédex on the pokénet everything is pretty simple when your family is made out of money.""Really? I didn't know gravekeeping was such a lucrative industry.""Generally, it's not. Gravesites like these that are safe for the public to visit are pretty rare. But my family have always been experts when it comes to dealing with ghost types. People are free to visit the graves without disturbance during the day, my family's Pokémon make sure the newly formed ghosts know the rules.""Heh, that's pretty impressive.""Now hush I can see the alcove."The alcove was positioned in such a way that it caught the natural light of the sun for as long as possible standing near I could feel the waves of heat emanating from the cave system. "Hello is anyone home? We got told that I had to ask for permission first before trying to capture a vulpix.""Idiot! Don't be crass.""What? I think it would be more respectful to be as direct and truthful as possible."A quadrupedal canine Pokémon appeared covered in golden-white fur and nine long tails with pale orange tips darting out from its backside. Trailing behind the Ninetales are two of her kits one who by the look of it was recently born and sporting white fur similar to their mother with a distinct lack of extra tails, the other and presumably the older one was sporting a crimson coat and adorned with a vulpix's signature number of tails."Nine""Duskull dusk"Duskull floated over to Numsy and prodded him forward. My best guess was Numsy had somehow become the de facto ambassador for my future company of ragamuffin Pokémon. He always seemed a bit hesitant to involve himself with more experienced and powerful Pokémon such as this Ninetales. Eli explained during one of our training sessions that Pokémon instinctively knew when another of their kind is more powerful than them. In the wilds this was a necessary defense mechanism."It's okay Numsy she is just going to ask you some questions. Just be honest and you'll do fine."Numsy having made up his mind gave me a determined nod and walked up to the older Pokémon."Num num!""Nine nine"They went back and forward like that for a while until Ninetales looked up at me and gave me a curt nod. She bit the older Vulpix by the scruff and placed the kit in front of us."Egon, I think you have her permission to try and catch that Vulpix."The vulpix in question looked at its mother with a betrayed expression and made some yipping noises."Vul vulpix""Nine!"Defeated she turned around and faced me and Numsy after giving us a long drawn out stare she finally gave us an affirming nod."Vul!""Okay Numsy! This will be our first battle so let's show this Vulpix what were made of!""Num Num!"Ninetales and its other kit made way for us and took a seated position on a slab of rock. While Phoebe and Duskull also made some space for us.Start with growl shake up her resolve!Numsy commences to produce an ear piercing sound. Vulpix started to noticeably stagger being disoriented by the screeching sound. At least until her eyes started glowing blue and for a seemingly inexplicable reason Numsy stopped growling and gave me this confused look as if he's forgotten how to make a sound."Vulpix used her disable attack Numsy! you have temporarily forgotten how to use that attack. We'll go on the offensive use tackle!""Num!"Numsy charged forward to deliver the blow and Vulpix being as agile as she is managed to dodge it with a well-timed quick attack to the side."This isn't going to work Numsy use Mud-Slap!"Mud is hurled in our foe's face Vulpix unsuspecting of this type of attack got hit with perfect accuracy. And started rubbing its face with her front paws in order to get the mud out of its eyes."Great! Now go for the finisher mud bomb! "Unlike mud-slap mud bomb was a more hard-packed glob of mud and it did actually hurt getting hit by the projectile head on. Its accuracy was not the best though but since Vulpix was still blinded I figured we could give this move a shot. Numsy pelted her with the move and being a ground type move this was enough to blast Vulpix on her side."Now use our super-secret finisher!"Numsy let loose a cloud of white gas from its mouth that hit the struggling Vulpix in its face.Vulpix in response fired of an ember attack that was surprisingly accurate and hit Numsy on the side of his head. It was easily shrugged off though Numsy doesn't mind heat all that much I even saw him dip his toe in lava once which barely got a reaction. It all comes to this… my single poké ball should be enough to capture Vulpix while she is in this state. I grabbed the ball that was hanging by my waist and throw it at the struggling Pokémon.One shakeTwo shakesOn the third wiggle a sound that I was all too familiar with was produced, one that I had not heard since I last played on my handheld all those years ago. The surroundings went eerily silent while I walked towards the object that was lying in the grass.Picking up the poké ball a strange sensation befell me and a sudden urge to do something I've seen done multiple times but never had to chance to participate in myself."Numsy it's time."Twirling around I struck the pose."I caught a vulpix!""Num numel num!""This kid… when we walk the streets together you are not allowed to tell people that you know me.""Sorry I've always wanted to do that. Where I am from there's this famous trainer who always does that when he catches a new Pokémon.""Good then I already don't know him either.""Nine"Ninetales made an affirming sound as if agreeing with Phoebe."Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to train one of your children I promise to take good care of her."I released Vulpix out of her ball and she was still sleeping from the effects of Numsy's yawn. Figuring this would probably be the best way to wake her up I fish out a lava cookie and held it in front of her nose. The effect was immediate she woke up drooling and took a bite from the delectable treat."Vul""There there you were quite the fighter especially for a young and untrained Pokémon. Don't worry me and Numsy have been training up for about a year now with your talent catching up will be a cinch."I pat the little fox on her back and start wiping off some of the debris and mud that now cling onto her. Finer than Numsy's own short matted bovine hide. This level of fluffiness…! while being surprised at the softness of her fur I start scratching behind her ears. "Vul!?""Don't mind me. Just admiring your fur coat. It's so glossy you must take great care of it.""Pix!""Do you want to spend the rest of our time here with your mom? Me and Gramps will be staying at the mountain's summit for a couple of days."She looked at me for a few short seconds and gave me a small nod."Vul""When were ready to depart, I will come get you."Three days later*Lodging with a family of grave keepers was quite the experience and with experience I mean bad for my heart. At any moment one of the family's ghost types were out of their balls pranking the living daylights out of me. Their favorite method? Jump scares unoriginal and childish but effective. Unlike Phoebe's Duskull the other Pokémon of the family were all veteran mischief makers. The worst offender was a particular Misdreavus. While I am sleeping, eating, or playing with Numsy Misdreavus would come out of the walls or up from the ground and let loose piercing wails. It got so bad that I decided to keep Numsy in his ball for the rest of our stay here at least that way we both didn't have to suffer. The family had become desensitized by virtue of being around these pranksters twenty-four seven making them unattractive targets in the eyes of their Pokémon."Miss mis mis""I swear to Arceus one more prank and you'll unleash the dragon. Then we will see who scares who!""Are you threatening my grandmother's Pokémon?""No Phoebe this shining ball of joy and I are best of friends. Sometimes we exaggerate a little during our bonding sessions don't we Misdreavus?""Misdreavus mis mis""Hmm… I've never seen anyone attract as many ghost type Pokémon as you do. You should really consider catching one for your future team.""No thank you I'd like to be able to sleep at night.""Ghost types are the best! When you finally give in and catch one, you'll have to do anything I tell you to!""Please, Fire types are obviously better whenever you decide to join the winning team you will have to acknowledge their superiority!"Phoebe gave me a once over before finally nodding to herself."Okay I've decided you will be my rival! "'Wait what...?'"My standards for a rival are high though. I've been planning my career for a long time, and I won't settle for anything less than a position on the elite four. By the time you're old enough to join the circuit you will have some catching up to do.""Bring it on! Me and Numsy won't ever lose to some sheltered mountain princess who can't spot the difference between a Pikachu and a Mimikyu.""That was just you cheating at Pictionary! Alola hasn't opened up its borders yet how am I supposed to know every foreign ghost type!""Says the girl who wants to be an elite four!""Num num!""Wait when did you get out of your ball!?"Occupied by our argument we didn't notice the seniors sipping tea on the engawa(Japanese porch) animatedly watching us."Ahh youth.""And you have to feed Vulpix twice a day. Three times if you want to start training her earlier.""I know Grandpa who do you think makes breakfast for Zinnia every morning before she goes to school don't worry, I can handle this.""Just like how you handled the Pokémon of our gracious hosts?""Those things aren't like any regular Pokémon! They clearly had an agenda into helping me in an early grave.""Don't worry Vulpix here is a sweet little princess loving kind and a great family Pokémon.""Vuuul"This was going to be good for Zinnia's development. I already had plans to make my sister take care of Vulpix in her off time. Giving Zinnia a taste of responsibility would help her be prepared for a future Journey.In any case now she could at least bring Vulpix with her to show and tell. Wait… I totally forgot something.Hey Vulpix, would you like a name? That way you can stand out from all the other vulpix something uniquely yours."Pix""Okay hmm… how about Swiper? It's a name belonging to a popular fox character on a kids tv show infamous for stealing.""Ouch! Oh, sorry yes something more fitting for your noble and conscientious temperament.""How does the name Rena sound?"She gave me a look and after a tense period of waiting finally gave an approving yip."Vulpix!""That's great! From now on you are Rena the Vulpix."Chapter 5 – Hello Unova! Two years have passed since I caught Rena. Today I become eligible to receive my trainer's license. Officially marking me as an adult in this society and allowing me to participate in the Evergrande conference. Strangely enough even being an adult legally didn't allow me to buy cigarettes or alcohol not that I was planning to. I have spent months planning out my journey calculating out expenses for food, survival gear and transport costs. If all goes according to plan, I should have no problems providing for my own needs and that of my team. And the first step to becoming an accomplished trainer begins here the Slateport Pokémon center."Excuse me nurse Joy I am here to receive my trainer's license.""Congratulations on becoming independent! Could I have your name and date of birth please?"What followed was an exchange of personal information. Generally, to qualify for a trainer's license you had to attend a half-day training session and take a written test. The test was not designed to evaluate the examinee for competency but for moral character. The league didn't want their trainers mistreating Pokémon if possible. Luckily you could take your training and test early else it would have interfered with what I was planning to do today."Here you are Egon from Lavaridge town. You turned ten years old two months ago and have already undergone the mandatory training and examination. Please wait a moment while I retrieve your license from our archives."The nurse Joy left through a backdoor and while she was gone, I started stroking the single tuft of hair on Numsy's head."This is it buddy you ready for our first big adventure?""Num Num!"I left Rena at home with my sister and made the journey towards Slateport city with only Numsy at my side. It was more economical this way and I need to pinch every penny if somehow, I don't end up winning my first few battle wagers. My grandparents can transfer Rena back to me once I have my license and am allowed to use the center's transfer system.Over these last two years Zinnia had gotten attached to my Vulpix seeing her playing and taking care of the young fox I determined her ready for her own Pokémon. Sadly, they don't sell dragon-types at the local pokémart. To get one you had to either catch the Pokémon yourself or somehow prove yourself to a specialized breeder. And I am pretty sure that a specialist who breeds dragon-types for a living won't sell within the means of a part-time gym trainer's salary. The former and most certainly deadlier option is too crazy even for me.Climbing Meteor falls to catch a juvenile bagon was a sure-fire way to get yourself eaten by its parents. Dragons tended to respect powerful trainers and me and Numsy had gotten plenty strong in my opinion but winning a battle against a Salamence to earn the right to catch it's offspring was out of the picture at this point in time. I could've just gotten her a Swablu or something but that felt like a cop-out move. More than anything I wanted to prove that I could take care of her on my own without the help of her derelict father and his backwater tribe."Here you go young man, a license officially recognized by the Pokémon association."I briefly looked at the plastic card she gave me it had my face plastered on it along with a few choice details: name, date of birth and trainer service number."This license grants you access to our Pokémon center's services at no cost. This includes lodging, computer access and use of the Pokémon transfer system. Would you like us to register you for the upcoming league circuit?""Thank you nurse Joy but that won't be necessary. However, would you happen to know the location of the Unovan embassy?" Nurse Joy's directions had been precise enough for me to locate the ambassador's building it was placed right outside the Slateport market. Since Slateport was the biggest city and the hub of all trade flowing through Hoenn it is also the home of all the embassies from different regions. I walked up to the front door and rang the bell. After some time, the door was opened by a portly gentleman."Hello sir, I have an appointment Egon from Lavaridge town.""Yes, we've been waiting for you come into my office so we can discuss further."As I was following the man, I noted that this building wasn't large at all basically only enough for the ambassador and his family to live comfortably. Unexpectedly I did spot a Mincinno cleaning the living room couch. The chinchilla-like Pokémon giving me a short wave before continuing with cleaning. We got into the man's office, and he waved for me to take a seat while he did the same."So, how can the Unovan embassy help you Egon?""I want to apply for Unovan citizenship.""You do realize that it takes at least five years of continuous screening? And even than our ruling body may decide to cancel out your application."Grabbing my satchel, I fish out an old photo of my biological father. We didn't have any pictures of him at home, but it wasn't hard finding a photo of an Evergrande conference finalist even though it has been ten years since. Like me he had red unruly hair and grey-blue eyes luckily, I inherited most of my good looks from my mother."This is my father the only two things I know about him is that his name is Ranga and that he used to be a finalist during the Evergrande conference ten years ago. It was to my knowledge that the process would be a lot swifter if you're an immediate relative to a Unovan national."I handed over the picture to the ambassador and briefly his eyes lit up from recognition. He took his time switching to look in-between the picture and my face before he handed the photo back to me."Would you mind letting a psychic-type Pokémon verify the truth of your claim?"I was kind of surprised by the third degree. This guy must be pretty up there in terms of social standing if they deem it necessary to verify my claim to such a degree. Making the finals to any league championship tournament meant you were a skilled trainer regardless."Uhm yeah sure if you think it's necessary."He swiftly pulled out a Pokéball from his belt and released a floating green blob that kind of resembled a cell in biology textbooks."Soool""Now don't be alarmed Solosis here will not invade your private thoughts. She can discern the truth of spoken words based on the difference in brainwaves a person emits when they know that they're speaking the truth or lying. First, she will have to establish a baseline.""What color is my desk?"It was a mildly unnerving couple of minutes, but I pulled through eventually. Once the ambassador was satisfied, he stood up and let me know he would have to start making a couple of phone calls leaving me alone with this green blob of adorableness."Hey there if you wouldn't mind can I touch your membrane Solosis? I am curious as to how it feels.""Soool sis"She floats near my hand indicating to me that I could pet her body. Deciding to act quickly before her offer could be taken away, I slowly rub the surface area of her membrane like skin. If I must describe the feeling on my hand, it would be rubbery but at the same time not like rubber at all. The plasma like filling having a gel like consistency."You are such a cutie you know? and soft too.""I know.""Who earned a cookie for doing such a good job?""I did."While the ambassador was taking his sweet time making phone calls me and Solosis were having a good time. She completely blew the stereotype of rigid and serious psychic type Pokémon out of the water. Unlike phoebe's family Xatu this Pokémon wasn't afraid to discuss deep topics"So, what came first the Pokémon or the egg?""Logic dictates the Pokémon came first of course but, many religious texts state Lord Arceus emerged from an egg in a place where there was nothing, then shaped the world."While I was vibing with Solosis for a good hour or so the ambassador finally came back sweaty as if he'd just ran a marathon."My superiors have agreed to extend an immediate probationary citizenship to you."He started fishing inside his drawers before finally pulling out a set of papers. Filling them out before he handed them over to me."This document gives you the same rights and duties of an ordinary Unovan citizen. You will need to visit a lab in Unova where a blood sample will be drawn. If you are matched to the DNA profile we have in our database a permanent citizenship will be bestowed upon Egon of Lavaridge town.""That's fine and all but you look beleaguered sir. I have some bottled water in my satchel if you need it. ""Soool"After finishing up at the embassy I was escorted outside the building. The first step of my masterplan is complete now all I have to do is catch a boat heading for the Unova region. During my studies I figured out Hoenn is really a terrible place for any aspiring fire-type specialist to start his journey. This region is basically an archipelago with one really big island being the mainland and even that island finds itself mostly below sea level. There are only five known species of fire-type Pokémon native to Hoenn. That wasn't even enough to make for a full team. Mr. Moore started his first journey in Johto because of this problem. Considering my options deeply I concluded that starting my first circuit in Unova would be for the best. As for whoever my father was it doesn't really matter much to me. I will make my own way in this world not hang on some rich guy's coattails. My impression of him wasn't the worst he seemed like a typical irresponsible parent to me, and I already had one of those.The next step of my plan is to head towards the city's harbor and look for any ships heading towards Unova. Slateport was the biggest harbor city in the world so it shouldn't be too hard. Convincing a ship's captain to let me catch a ride for some manual labor would be the most difficult part of my plan."So, you want to sail with us towards Nuvema town squirt?""Yes sir! I have the appropriate documents and am a skilled cook and I won't complain about doing any manual labor."He gave me a once over."You are a trainer, right? Do you have any strong Pokémon on ya? Ones that would be useful when we catch the attention from a nest of Gyarados?""Well, no… I mainly specialize in fire types, and I am just starting out on my journey.""First rule of the sea kid. Make sure to have strong Pokémon to protect yerself and the cargo. No one wants to become sharpedo bait.""So… I can't come with you?""Didn't say that we couldn't use you. Our chief cook puts too much salt in the food and my deck is always in need of a good swabbin'. However, none of that sir or mister from you. The name's Capt. Nelson or just Captain. We set out tomorrow morning at six. So, make sure to have all your affairs in order by then.""Thank you si… ehm I mean Captain!""It's nothing kid."Finally! Tomorrow will be the first day of my journey. For now, I still had one thing left to do before I slummed it at one of the center's bunkbeds. Being a licensed trainer, I could make use of the center's amenities which included their transfer machine and phones."Big brother?""Heya sis can you tell grandpa to transfer Rena to the Slateport city Pokémon center? Everything came through so I am heading towards Unova in the morning.""…do I have to?""Don't worry me and Rena will call you every day if you want us to. And I will catch an amazing Pokémon for you as soon as possible.""Promise?""If I lie, I will swallow one thousand needles as compensation."That evening I received Rena from nurse Joy and went shopping for supplies. Pokechow tailored specifically for fire-types and a heap of sweet and dry flavored berries. Chesto for Numsy and Pecha berries for Rena. Even though the chow tasted pretty good even I would get sick of eating the same thing repeatedly and I feel confident that Capt. Nelson would allow me to store the berries in the ship's freezer. I went to sleep that day with Numsy lying on my feet and Rena resting on a spare pillow. Come morning I was standing at the docks both my companions balled up. Fire types and large bodies of water don't mix Numsy especially had developed a phobia for the stuff, unsurprising since he was also part ground-type. Cleaning him took a lot of elbow grease, a steel wool brush and lots of sand. I spotted the captain and gave him a hearty hello."Steward's assistant Egon reporting for duty Captain!""At ease son, Rico here will show you your cabin and introduce the crew. The voyage will take us about a month so after you've settled down, we will begin drilling you on safety protocols."The SS. Mayweather is a small cargo ferry transporting luxury goods between Unova and Hoenn. Their cargo compromised mainly of poké balls manufactured by the Devon corporation. All seven types of Devon brand poké balls are here on the ship from nest balls to the extremely expensive luxury balls. So, I wasn't surprised that the crew mostly consisted of experienced trainers who all had a circuit or two under their belt. The captain's partner a gigantic lanturn kept the boat safe from wild ocean Pokémon a few quick flashes and a confuse ray or two were enough to discourage rowdy challengers. It's powerful discharge and thunder are reserved for more determined threats.Three weeks passed by relatively fast doing busywork certainly kept my mind occupied. Every member of the crew taught me something cool. The first mate showed me how to tell which direction is north based on the position of the stars and the chief cook gave me tips on how to make rations last longer. Captain Nelson taught me how to remove binacle from a moving ship. Binacle cling onto passing ships to find better nesting grounds. Ships that bring these Pokémon into harbour get fined because they tend to multiply explosively in human trafficked waters.The most amazing thing happened about three weeks into our voyage."Egon move up on deck!""Yes Captain!""You are very lucky that you get to see one of the sea's wonders right on the start of your very first Journey."Getting closer to the ship's railing I noticed shimmering red lights emanating outwards from the sea's depths. The source of the light too deeply submerged to clearly see its origin."Captain what are those…?""Staryu, they live off the coast from Undella bay but sometimes they migrate when the shore's water gets too cold. This phenomena messes with the ship radios that's why Undella bay is exclusively a tourist hotspot and not used for commercial purposes. You see that rainbow colored light?""Yeah.""Those come from a starmie unlike their first stage siblings a starmie's jewel organ shines in seven different colors.""Seeing them now means we are not far from the coast. Make sure to pack up your things we are docking the ship in a few hours."Going back to my cabin I catch Rana and Numsy trying to pull apart my last box of rage candy bar. The room was a mess empty cookie boxes, unwashed sheets not to mention all the shed vulpix fur."Guys it's time to clean up the room. We will be arriving at Nuvema town in a couple of hours.""Vuul!""Num Num!""And please don't tear up our last box of candy bars you know we might need them for something later on."I started packing up. Both of these rascals got bored during the voyage and while understandable my room became so messy from them roughhousing that I completely gave up cleaning it after the first week. Vulpix walked up to me with an empty milk carton in her mouth."Pix""Thank you, princess, for being a teamplayer."It didn't take long to clean up the garbage from our messy room. I returned both Numsy and Rena to their poke balls and left the cabin. The captain and crew are already standing on deck. The silhouette of the Nuvema harbor becoming clearer by the minute."Hey, kid it's been fun having a young whippersnapper like yourself running this vessel with us. When it's just us adults the Mayweather becomes too quiet for my tastes.""This has also been a great learning experience for me Captain! I now know a lot more about water-type Pokémon.""We will be rooting for you youngster. It's extremely rare to see a kid from Hoenn like you attempt the Unova circuit with those restrictions in place and all."Giving my final farewell to the crew I ran off the boarding plank and made my way into town. Immediately I noticed the change in environment Hoenn was warm year-round we have a rainy season and a dry season. Unova has a more temperate climate with all four traditional seasons. Judging by the snow piling on top of the roofscape this would be the middle of winter.'Okay first order of business obtain a winter coat because I am freezing. Second order of business locate Professor Juniper's lab.' There weren't many people on the streets due to the cold, but I managed to find a couple who helpfully directed me to the local clothing store. The familiar sound of a bell ringed as I opened the door. The salesclerk waiting behind the counter surprisingly isn't a human being."Leavanny!""Uhm hello… so I was looking to buy a winter coat."Leavanny came up from behind the counter and started taking my measurements but as opposed to measurement tape the Pokémon instead used lengths of silk string. Halfway through the measuring a middle-aged woman came out of the backdoor."So, what are you looking to buy young man? The clothes you are currently wearing are more suited to summertime.""Just a regular winter coat and a pair of gloves. Something that can withstand the wear and tear of necking it in the wilds.""Heh so you are a new trainer then. Looking to make it in the circuit this year?""Yeah, among other things I still need to visit Professor Juniper's lab to settle some paperwork.""Don't you worry Leavanny here has an eye for fashion. The clothes she picks always look great in front of the camera.""Leaa!""What kind of color scheme are you looking for?""Anything fire-themed "Being a Pokémon trainer didn't involve just catching and training Pokémon for tournaments. It is also important that you looked good in front of the cameras with the ultimate goal of attracting offers for sponsorships. Companies weren't interested in just the skill of the trainer. Being marketable is also important. Especially to me since I no longer received my income for part timing at the gym.I leave the clothing store with warm and comfy clothes and a hole in my wallet. The nice lady gave me directions to Professor Juniper's lab it was just at the edge of town bordering a large radio tower. The lab itself was huge three stories tall and even has an additional greenhouse probably for Pokémon and flora that can't stand the cold. I walked up to the front door and knocked after waiting for a while the door got opened by a dark-haired bespectacled lady with a flower ornament in her hair."Yes, how can I help you?""The name's Egon miss. I was supposed to get some bloodwork done before I start out on my journey?""Oh, you must be the young trainer from Hoenn we were expecting. My name's Fennel I work as an assistant here at the lab. It will be a while until Professor Juniper gets back from fieldwork so make yourself comfortable in our waiting room."She guided me to their breakroom and left me there after offering me some hot chocolate and a tray filled with pastries."Come on out Numsy and Rena."I released both my Pokémon and they quickly took a seat on opposite sides of the couch. Figuring that this would take a while I also pull out my grooming kit and give them quick once over starting with Numsy. Rena's grooming took a bit longer though."No Numsy don't eat the entire platter save some for other guests!""Num num."