Chapter 4

"Joey, I don't think we're supposed to cook the chocolate bars with everything el-."

"Back off, Lou. I know what I'm doing. Trust me and let yourself get pampered for being THIS close to finishing the circuit."

"Thanks, man, but are you serious about the escort back home? You still have your rematch with Mr. Blaine?"

"Nyeeerh…details. That's a me problem, but I want to see you off right before you go off to Viridian. Next time I see you, I'm going to be getting my eight bad-."

*RUSTLE!*

"What was that?"

"So, you heard it too?"

It was eavesdropping on the two humans that landed on the shores of his home that started it all for him. How he had grown past being the simple runt of his father, the King's very own litter of his brothers and sisters, to becoming…much more than he and even his whole home could ever possibly imagine.

Two strangers landed on their island, one bearing blonde hair and another bearing black hair.

And in his curiosity to seek out what the new arrivals brought to the island, revealed to them his entire clan. Much did his father, the King, heavily voiced his adamant displeasure in his foolishness amongst his much stronger elder siblings. So, he was forced to reveal the location of the two strangers to their island's best warriors to run them out.

…Except…

"Watts use Thunderbolt!"

"Lenny use Energy Ball!"

They were more of a threat than any of them could have ever prepared for. The strongest Warturtles and Squirtles that he had ever seen and enviously yearned to be despite his own lacking size and power were wiped out in a matter of minutes.

Such power…

Like that his entire world was shaken and even reinforced when his own father, King Blastoise stepped up to defend his fallen warrior and their honor, only to be faced with another of his kind. Another Blastoise that seemed less experienced, but just as rugged as his own father.

"Alright! This will be a perfect mid-boss battle for me and Raph before going back to pound Old Man Blaine's butt! You just sit back and enjoy the show, Lou!" The blonde human excitedly grinned and pumped his fist in the air in tandem with his Blastoise.

"Okay. Good luck, you two." The Black haired one tiredly smiled and observed a couple of feet away from the battle.

And what a battle it was. Never before has he seen someone actually overpower his own father's Hydro Pump lest shrug it off. The human's Blastoise was even able to move with blinding speeds despite being shucked into his own shell that it had managed to clobber the King before he could even react.

Was this…was this the power earned from pokémon training alongside humans?

C-Could he also be strong like them?

After the conclusion of their match with the blonde human and his Blastoise as the clear victor, we deferred to them as is custom for any who could best the strongest on our island, King Blastoise. Thankfully, the victors were as a kind as they were wise for not holding any ill intentions as they simply requested shelter and some respite.

Something that the denizens of his island were glad to give to them as they learned so much of the humans and their pokémon.

Pokémon that breathed flames and can fly.

Pokémon that could shatter mountain cliffside with just their fists.

Pokémon that could move faster than the eye could see.

And terrifying pokémon that influence your emotions by wrapping their feelers around you without detection.

There was just so much to process, and he knew that each and every one of them exhibited power the same as that blonde human's Blastoise.

The world was so big beyond the island, and he wanted to see and experience it with his own eyes. That was why despite the worried and astonished grievances heard from his tribe, he bowed his head and begged either of the two humans to take him with them. No matter how shameful it was, he decided such shame was leagues better than forever being the tiny runt that could barely do a respectable Water Gun.

And so he begged as though his life depended on it.

And his response.

"Nyeeeeh…sorry, squirt. But I already have myself Raphael here, so it feels pretty redundant to just carry another one of your line…hm…oh, hey what about Lou here? He could use some more water pokémon."

"But Joey, I already have a water pokémon. Remember, Tempest."

"Right, allow me to rephrase that. He could use some more "normal" water pokémon."

"…"

"C'mon, Lou. Don't tell me you can say no to that face."

He would never admit it to save his pride, but at that moment his shame urged him to look as pitiful as his small stature would suggest.

"…Fine. Not like I'll say no anyway. Here, let's shake on it. Nice to meet you, Squirtle. Hey, how do you feel about the name of Leonardo? It's a valiant name for one who exemplifies true turtle power."

And like that, he, Leonardo was inducted into the party of his new trainer, Luke Ketchum. Saying farewell to his home island and promising to return stronger to his father, the King much to his steadfast belief and his siblings' mass disbelief, Leonardo took off the island with his new trainer to take part in the battles ahead.

Sadly, he could not take part in the final Gym battle due to his experience, but it did not make the training that he was subjected to any less grueling.

Time and time again, the other pokémon that his trainer carried would be shining examples of power that he strove to one day personify. Which is why he threw himself ten times harder into his training, even risking severe injury to be a tenth of what they all were.

It didn't take until he was almost beaten to mush by the overtly battle hungry, Angry One that his trainer deemed it necessary to further stall training until when he was officially sent out into his first battle.

Loathe was he to accept being put on the sidelines for an indefinite period of time, but the warmth of the human's hand on his head and the gentle promise hidden behind those exhausted brown eyes washed all of his apprehension away.

"Leonardo. Asch is Asch. Macaque is Macaque. Thor is Thor. And you are you. You may not see it, but you're way stronger than you think you are. Especially in comparison to before we started. When choosing a pokémon, no matter the species or their disadvantages, it's always my mission to find your strengths and emphasize upon them. Your disadvantages can also prove to be advantageous when placed in the right circumstance. It's my job as a trainer to bring that out of you and make you the best you that you can be. So don't let me catch you willingly be Macaque's punching bag again. You're my investment, and I'll never abandon you. Got it?"

Those words still stuck to him to this day, and especially day when he was called out into his first battle. A very important battle that he still relished and despaired over when he was called out.

Across from him, his opponent was worn down by the countless battles before his arrival, and now he was the final one chosen. Though despite it's weathered state, his opponent still carried the undying will to finish this prolonged six on six battle for good. The intense stare it shot at Leonardo matched the blazing pyre of flames it released from his head as their fists furiously beat against their chest.

Quite intimidated by the ferocity of the challenge, he faltered until he heard his trainer's voice and the painful snapping of his goggles being placed over his dreary eyes.

"Leonardo, let's go."

Right. This was it. His chance to finally see if all of his hard work had been worth it. If he was more than just the runt of the litter and was capable of being more.

And thus, the battle commenced.

And much to his, the crowd's, his opponent, and his opponent's shock. He actually managed to hold his own against the scalding blaze of his simian opponents incredible combat prowess. His small size and enhanced speed from grueling training had made him an extremely difficult target to hit. Plus, his natural affinity against his opponent's fiery nature made it easier to whittle him down to be taken out.

He was doing it. He was actually capable of standing against an opponent beyond the likes of father and on the same level of Asch, his trainer's Ace.

…Sadly, it was during the peak of their battle that he realized that fighting an opponent of such caliber even when exhausted after weathering through countless battles before it that it didn't mean that he was capable of defeating them.

All it took was one Mach Punch to defeat him, and that was that.

The shame of loss was only mitigated by the round of applause given by his trainer and fellow pokémon. Save for the Angry One, who still refuses to acknowledge him to this day. Whether it was for his general loss in the Finals when their trainer selected him instead of Asch as his final sixth pokémon, or for the fact that he himself could not defeat the one enemy that felled remainder of Luke's party.

To this day, he still couldn't get a clear read on the Angry One's feelings but was warned off by his new Master not to worry about it, and to focus on developing his own potential to its fullest.

These days, he was now focused on achieving new heights and one day wiping the shame of his defeat out of his mouth and to further hone his skills.

He was a runt.

That was a fact that he would proudly proclaim to those that once picked on and looked down on him. Why? Because this runt was just as capable, no, far more capable than what they and even himself can possibly imagine, thanks to the belief and trust of trainer and comrades.

And so, as he stood at the ready at the bottom of the Rocky Area's mountainous terrain, his mind cleared as the world around him shook and steadily darkened.

"Scizor!"

His master's words rang out through his head and resonated with his heart.

"What is it that you see beyond your shell? Beyond yourself?"

The answer to such a question would have alluded had it been asked before he was taken to see the world.

But now…

He sought improvement.

He CAN grow strong.

And he CAN prove to be a worthy combatant that can face experienced battlers who have seen fiercer battles in a week than he has in his whole starting career as the newbie amongst his seniors/peers in his trainer's party.

So right now, what he currently saw beyond himself was path.

He didn't need to be as big and intimidating as his older siblings to be strong.

He can be just as powerful the way he was.

After all, it might have been his trainer's duty to make him the best him that he could be. But that doesn't mean he couldn't pitch in with the extra work to get there.

"Squi-Squirtle!" Almost by second-nature with a well-practiced swing of his empowered tail infused with the energy of a raging storm, he cleaved the massive boulder thrown at him in twine.

Also, he figured out the "beyond his shell" that his master proclaimed about.

Readying himself for another go, he grew back in his stance, awaiting the next obstacle to be sent hurtling towards him. Patiently closing his eyes, and choosing to wait then listen for the opportune moment to then strike once more.

…He was ready.

"HEY, ITS MY BOYS!"

"Squirtle?" He blinked at the loud hollering echoing from below the small plateau where he stood, to glance below to spot none other than his trainer. No matter how slobby he looked, it was always such a joy to see him come to visit them or be taken to his home to partake in his and his mother's cooking.

Besides, compared to when he first taken in, he'd never seen his trainer be so lax and genuinely happy. As if, the burden of some duty was taken off of his shoulders. Leonardo could tell, after all he's seen the same thing happen to his father, the King, whenever matters were peacefully resolved.

"KAMINA! LEO! I'TS SO GREAT TO SEE YOU TWO AG-!" Feeling compelled to respond, Leonardo began to wave back, only to catch himself once the blurring shadow of his master zoomed past him.

R-Right, he was supposed to follow formality as his master instructed.

Leaping off the high plateau with the skill and agility that wasn't normally found in your average Squirtle, he landed perfectly (he might have stumbled a bit) next to his stoic master. One a knee and bowing his head to pay respects to their trainer.

"Scizor" "Squirtle."

"Okay, c'mon you two. Quit it with all of this nonsense. You don't have to bow every time you see me. Especially you, Leonardo." Never. A true combatant must always show steadfast loyalty and honor toward their trainer. Master said so, and he's one of the strong ones amongst his seniors.

"Sheesh, stubborn as a tauros, huh?" N-No, he has to maintain this posture. Don't pick him up and make his well-practiced display end up looking shameful in front of master? …Though he was happy to be in the tender petting hands of his trainer.

His trainer looked to his Scizor with an unimpressed gaze. "I was all down for you training him, Kamina, but you didn't have to infect him with your steadfast willfulness."

"Sci-Scizor." His master simply nodded, which drew an exhausted sigh from his trainer, who shrugged it off, and gave the two of them an impressed smile.

"Well, not that I don't like that about you two. You are training hard as ever, and I believe that requires some good old rest with some added polishing to top it off. What say you two?"

Leonardo excitedly crooned its agreement while his master stoically deferred to their trainer's offer with a silent nod (so cool~!).

"Good. You two just stay there while I return with the supplies… I know that Mrs. Mary kept it somewhere around here..."

Awaiting their "reward", Leonardo absolutely buzzed in place before realizing that he should resume his earlier pose alongside his master. Though being in too much of a rush to copy the Scizor, he overdid while hurrying to kneel, that he fell on back and struggled to roll over and back onto his own feet.

He could hear his trainer's worried cries as he rushed back to help him up alongside his master's exasperated sighing.

He was Leonardo.

And he still had quite a way to go…

XXX

The Rocky Area of the Sanctuary was the obvious area where Rock pokémon and the other more rugged pokémon came to bask in the hot sun or ram themselves through the rocky terrain. You wouldn't be remiss to hear and feel the constant tremoring of Golem crashing from above or Geodudes banging against each other.

And for being in an area that's always steeped in dirt and dust, the pokémon breeders and lab assistants always kept such top-notch polishing supplies nearby to give the rough pokémon some much needed care. After all, a well-groomed pokémon was a happy pokémon.

The metallic shell of Kamina's crimson skin glistened under the radiating sun's rays and nearly blinded me after I was through giving him a thorough rubdown.

And as usual, the serious steely bug type fell to a knee and deeply expressed his gratitude to me.

I rolled my eyes at the whole display. At first, I was kind of into it since…come on, Scizor was practically a ninja. Scizors were a cool species of pokémon that I just couldn't ever get in my past life because I was always to cheap to buy another game and trade it amongst myself. That and I didn't trust GTS to not gyp me from having some stranger not trade it back or cut off the connection as soon as they got it.

So you could bet that I caught a Scyther the moment one crossed my path and trained it well until he was ready to evolve.

Still…the appeal to all of the "Master-Retainer" thing sort of reached it's mark a long time ago.

He was too stubborn and loyal to stop now, so it was pretty much a loss cause to even get him to stop.

"Okay, your turn, Leo." I chuckled and sat on a nearby flat top of rock once the turtle pokémon shucked himself back into his shell for me to polish it.

Now I have to worry about this earnest little one following in his "master's" footsteps.

So, right about now, I was in the middle of doing patrol around the sanctuary with Daisy, who was absent for the moment. After surveying a couple of the sites and stopping a rather hostile fight between a senior sponsored trainer's Ursaring and…ugh, Joey's Wigglytuff, Bubby.

We really had to step in before it was too late, that Ursaring was down to it's last leg by the time I had Sylvie there to settle the infuriated Balloon pokémon.

The combo of her emotion-manipulating ribbon feelers plus Attract was a real winning solution for absolving many of the ranch's conflicts. Which is why, I left her with Daisy while I came over to check in at the nearby Rocky Area. I told Sylvie to be on her best behavior and defer to Daisy's judgement while I was gone.

Hopefully, those two…no, hopefully Sylvie can behave herself and finally get along with Daisy.

We promised to meet back up at the Forest Area that was just near the Lake of Fury to meet Tempest. So, it won't take too long until we see each other again.

Hope they're fine.

XXX

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The collective cries of Tauros filled the fields directly leading toward the Meadow Area of the Sanctuary, which were left untrampled upon due to the "cooperative" efforts of Daisy and Sylvie.

"Sylvie! Wait, come back here! You only attracted about half of the herd away! Hurry, they're gaining up on Valentine!" Daisy hysterically called out on the back of her fleeing Arcanine.

And in response to the panic of her trainer's close friend, Sylvie used of her feelers to snatch a Pecha berry from a nearby bush and used the other to gayly wave at the distressed brunette and pokémon running for their lives.

"Sylveon~!"

"Oh, you little bit-!"

XXX

Nah, I'm sure they'll be fine.

I breathed out a sigh of relief as I walked under the thick brush of the Forest Area of the Sanctuary after traversing past the sunny, rocky terrain where I found my two chuuni goobers here. Right about now, it's been like 2 hours since we started this patrol to reach the Lake of Fury, and travelling on foot made the experience that much slower.

Luckily I found both Kamina and Leonardo when I was nearing the end of the rocky area.

Especially when entering one of the more densely populated areas of the sanctuary. In here, you'd run into a bunch of Bug, Grass, and some Normal pokémon. Heck, you can even find some odd types in here as well. This area was one of the more basic settings for pokémon to craft their homes/territories without being disturbed.

Which is why when they are disturbed, you'd best be prepared, otherwise they'll get super aggressive. Doesn't matter if they're a trainer owned pokémon, you cross them, and they'll make sure you won't be pestering them in the future. Which is usually why the Breeders from the lab need to at least carry some pokémon with them or be accompanied by someone who's competent enough to protect them.

No stray branches on the dirt path.

Trimmed bushed and trees.

And healthy soil plus fertile grass for miles around.

You can definitely tell that compared to the wilds, this forest was well-maintained by the Professor, his staff, and the pokémon who live here.

Which makes me relate so hard to the creatures being pissed if their peace is in someway disturbed. I like keeping my room clean and somewhat messily organized to my tastes. As long as I promise to make sure it's not a pigsty, then I can do whatever I was, as mom warned me when I was getting too exasperated with her barging in to arrange everything and fold every pair of underwear in my drawer.

So when given that freedom, it's only natural for me to get angry whenever Ash decides to borrow something in my room and sloppily put it back to the way it once was.

Or whenever Princess decides to laze about in my room and leave Persian hair everywhere for me to clean up.

Some people and pokémon deserve their space, and there's nothing wrong with th-.

"ARIA!"

"Whoa!"

Soon an intimidating red blur descends and I'm not face to carapace with a menacing looking "face". The clicking of my ambusher's mandibles threateningly filled the air until it received a high-powered wave of pressurized H2O to the face. Sending the trouble-starting Ariados flying into the forest.

I breathed out a sigh of rel-no, no, that was a yawn…

I yawned and waved to the treetops. "Thanks for the assist, Leo!"

"Squirtle!"

"Scizor!"

"Sq-Squirt…"

I laughed as the enthusiastically pleased Turtle pokémon was admonished by Kamina for responding back while they were supposed to be silently protecting me from the shadows. I honestly wanted to enjoy walking around with them, but they were insistent on playing their part, and I honestly couldn't stop them if I tried.

It was a little hilarious whenever Leonardo fell from the treetops onto his back, and whenever I tried to help him. He was always gratefully bow at me before remembering that he shouldn't be seen by me before scurrying up the tree to join Kamina as my vigilant shadows of protection.

And not to knock what they're doing since they are mad efficient.

That wasn't even the first Ariados to pounce on me since I came through here. Kamina made sure that the swarm that tried to cocoon me in webs wouldn't attempt that again by decimating the webs scaring them off. Especially now that I'm gonna report that to Professor Oak that they're starting to get a little too territorial in the area.

Can't imagine the kind of danger that the Lab Aides and the Breeders would have gone through if they got blindsided like that.

A series of Beedrill buzzing past me did try to start something, but backed off and scurried immediately after getting a good look/whiff of me.

It's also a great sign that Dartz is doing fine if the other Beedrill are still cautious enough not to start trouble.

He's probably busy at the moment, so I'll check in on him later.

Besides, he's not the more troublesome lot that requires an immediate check-in.

"Hey, Kamina." And in a single blink, my Steel/Bug type was by my side bowing with Leonardo clumsily doing the same while out of breath. I sighed and just rolled with it. "How's Macaque doing? Is he…still-?"

"Scizor." The gruff grunt and nod from the stoic pokémon earned another tired groan from me.

"For me to be disappointed, I'd have to be surprised. Also, I'd have to be insane since he's basically been like this for months." I tiredly pinched the bridge of my nose and sharply exhaled.

"S-Squirt…" Ah, no. None of that, Leo.

I placed my hand on the guilt-ridden Squirtle's head. "Leo, you've done nothing wrong. You've fought in your first real battle with pride as any of the others would in the Finals. Don't mistake Macaque's hatred with losing for him hating you. It makes no sense for him to be mad with you for losing to an opponent that not even he could defeat."

Which was the honest truth, and made it so stupid that I had to beat this into that stubborn berserker's head. It's okay to lose and reflect on it. Not throw yourself into training yourself like a lunatic as if you can go back in time and change the result.

*SIGH!*

I'll make it up to him, but he needs to get over it and move o-.

I grunted as something cold and wiggly wrapped itself around my waist. I looked down and saw that it was a vine. A super, long and thick vine.

"Dang it, can I at least finish my thoughts without getting interrup-whooooa!" I yelped in fright as I was dragged through a thick wave of bushes. The pain I felt as branches and some stray bug pokémon batted against my dragged form furthered my repetitive vocal grunts of pain.

Until I was finally dragged into the tangly, thick arms of a giant mess of vines that joyously lifted me up into a spine-crushing hug that threatened to squeeze all the air out of my lungs. Even as I quite literally felt my life begin to bleed out from getting Constricted, I just couldn't help but happily greet my big, old lug.

"Nice to see you too, Lenny. How are you doing?"

"Growth! Tangrowth!" The jolly, simple giant hopped up and down while shaking me in his arms.

"Y-Yeah, I missed you too…" I wheezed out. "Also, could you put me down?" My pleas for release were met with more jolly dancing as my Tangrowth decided to really enjoy our reunion (it wasn't even that long since we last saw each other) by hugging me tighter.

Ah, so this is how I die…again.

"Hm, Lenny? Did you find something-? Oh, my goodness! Luke! Are you okay!?"

"Saur! Ivy! Saur! Saur!" Thankfully my saviors came in the form of a heavily admonishing Ivysaur and one of the lab's local breeders, Mrs. Mary Geller. The pair were quick to pry me out of my pokémon's strong arms before I saw the pearly gates…or whatever constitutes as an afterlife in this world. After some more admonishment from the Ivysaur, I was now petting the overly emotional Tangrowth that kept his head to the ground spewing a constant stream of apologies to me.

While I comforted my big dope, I turned and gave my thanks to my rescuers while giving a mental dirty look at Kamina for not stepping into action just because my "assailant" was my very own pokémon.

"Thanks for the save, Mrs. Mary. You too, Venus."

"No need, I'm just glad that you're not hurt." Mary sighed in relief.

"Ivysaur!" Venus, Daisy's starter, happily nodded a "me too" to me.

"Don't worry. This technically isn't my first time almost getting crushed by Lenny like that before. I've managed to keep conscious for like a whole five minutes after my circuit because of it."

"That's not something to be proud of, Luke. Please don't say that around Miss Delia, she'll get a heart attack."

"Will do…" I yawned and kept petting my crying Tangrowth, who just kept blustering apology after apology like a guilt-ridden child. At first the display was comical, but now it was getting a bit too much for my taste.

"It's okay, buddy. I'm okay. I know you didn't mean to hurt me…like last time." I threw in. "But this is why we have to teach ourselves self-control. We don't want you hurting anyone else by accident, right?" I felt the mess of vines shake their head beneath my hand. "Good. Then let's try to be better this time, okay? Before hugging someone, never pull them in unless they give consent or when it's in battle, so as to not create more trouble for the future, alright?"

Lenny nodded once more.

"That's my big guy." A vine extended from one of the pails of berries that Mrs. Mary carried and handed me a Pecha Berry. "Thanks, Venus." Rousing the big pokémon up, I gave him the berry to cool down and continued comforting him until he was eating the berry with glee.

Mrs. Mary and I laughed at the display while Venus rolled her eyes at the simple Vine pokémon before trotting over to lay next to him. Awww…

"So, Mrs. Mary, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know…" She raised her pails filled with berries. "Planting more berries to offset the recent loss of another berry tree."

"Wait, already?" But didn't you guys just plant a new one last month?" I blinked in surprise.

"We did, except for some apparent reason, a couple of the pokémon that fed off that one tree were displeased to find it empty and knocked the whole thing. Since there were no signs of it having a shortage yesterday, then whoever took all of the berries did it today."

"Weird. I wonder who managed to do that." And why do I have a bad feeling all of a sudden.

XXX

"Oh my goodness, Kidd! I'm so glad you're here! Please, Sylvie won't help, so we can really use your help to-!"

"Gen-gen-gengar!"

"Huh? Hey, Kidd, where are you going? Why are you sitting down next to her, and where did you get all of those berries? Hey! HEY!" Daisy cried out in mixture of panic and fury as the Gengar took out a popcorn tub of berries and shared them with the Sylveon that was relishing in her and her flagging Arcanine's misery.

"Oh, you two pieces of-!"

XXX

Probably nothing again.

"So, do you need help, Mrs. Mary." I knelt beside her and grabbed the nearby pail of water she had on her. "I can water the flowers while you pick out the seeds to plant, or we can do it vice-versa."

"Oh, that would just be wonderful, Luke. Thank you, so first we-."

And that was how I wrangled myself into helping the nice older woman get her job done while being vigilant that some wandering pokémon wouldn't steal from the berries that we kept in the bucket, nearby. Thankfully, we had Venus and Lenny to act as the upfront deterrents while Kamina and Leonardo took care of the riff-raff from the tree-tops.

Venus and Lenny weren't an odd sight to see together since they're pretty much the active help for anyone who crosses the Forest Area. Venus was sufficiently strong and smart to keep things under control while Lenny was…

I'm not going to call him dumb, but…he's just a little slow and extraordinarily strong. You can just imagine how difficult it was to train him after all the effort it took to teach him Ancient Power while collaborating with Brock.

He helped me with understanding the fundamentals of Rock pokémon, and I help him figure out a super-secret way to evolve his starter Rhydon in time for the Indigo League. Ugh, I had to spend so much time battling trainers and entering tournaments for money to be able to afford all of the ludicrous priced rocks over the web that may or may not be authentic rocks from Mount Mortar.

The amount of phonies that I bought until I managed to get a huge lump of the material was in the 30s range at about 5 million pokédollars in total.

Thankfully, one of the phonies came with a pack of some authentic stones. Like fire stones, water stones, thunder stones, and a leaf stone. I sold the first three for even more pokédollars, not even to get back what I put in for the "Protector", but enough to get me by. The Leaf stone? I just gave it away to Daisy and even gave a "hinted" nudge about how similar it was to the other stones responsible for Eevee evolutions.

Oddly enough, she didn't use it for herself and actually gave it to the new, up and coming Gym Leader, Erika. Kanto's second youngest trainer to take up the mantle of Gym Leader. The youngest to become Gym Leader at the age of 9 (which was bizarre and dangerously telling of her skill) was her, but she's no longer an issue to even consider.

I guess you can say that girl shenanigans ensued, and now their BFFs that are now closer together with Daisy accepting her small sponsorship.

Still makes me wonder why she's not getting flooded with requests from so many professors about her evolved Eevee. But…I guess it's probably because she didn't debut her rare and unknown pokémon in an internationally broadcasted League tournament.

…So that aside, the only thing I really kept was the small stone filled with dazzling light that seller wrote off as a simple crude material. Boy was he wrong because it became pretty handy for me down the road, all things considered.

Eventually, we were able to get the work done after 45 minutes of choosing the perfect area where pokémon gather without placing the new seeds in any established territory that a pokémon could violently claim as their own when it fully grows. So to avoid drama, we placed it where anyone could get at it. With the job officially done, I said my farewells to Mrs. Mary, Venus, and Lenny.

The Tangrowth wanted to give me another hug, but got nagged by Venus in the process to simply wave goodbye to me.

"Bye guys, stay safe!" I called out as I continued onwards to the Lake o Fury. "Oh and tell Mr. Gabe and Rachel that I said hello!"

"Will do! Thanks so much for the help, Luke, and please relocate your Gyarados when you're able to. It's causing a-!"

"Bye, Mrs. Mary!" I drowned her out once I was far enough. Hmph, there's nothing wrong with Tempest, they just don't appreciate a real sea monster doing his thing. Kamina and Leonardo decided to walk with me since there were no trees to hide them in the shadows and because Leonardo was on the verge of passing out from all the tree climbing and treetop hopping that he had to do.

Luckily for the little guy, reaching the Lake of Fury took us about 10 minutes to reach by foot. Oh, and it looks like Daisy managed to beat me here too. Funny, Sylvie being here was a given, but why was Kidd here. Also, why's Daisy and her Arcanine covered in swe-?

Connecting the dots, I rationalized that the best course of action for the sake of my own well-being would be to just act as if everything was fine. "Hey, sorry for being late, guys!" I called out as we rushed over to them. I sheepishly laughed as Sylvie dashed over to nuzzle against my leg for attention while Kidd rudely stuck his tongue out at me and pulled down his eyelid as a style of greeting (you know classic Kidd behavior).

I turned to Daisy, who was on her knees trying to catch her breath.

"So, you okay?"

"N-No."

"Oh…" I blinked. "You wanna talk abo-?"

"No. Ju-Just give me a moment to c-catch my…dear Mew…" Daisy blustered between heavy breaths. There there… I knelt down next to her and gently rubbed her back to help ease her exhaustion. I noticed a distinct growling sound beside me. Curious, I turned to find Sylvie giving me a bright smile.

Weird…

I turned back to aid Daisy, who's face was starting to get a little redder…

Sheesh, was she really that tired?

"Hey, you sure that you're okay?"

"Y-Yeah. Just…thanks." Daisy shakily breathed out.

"Don't mention it." Please don't. I don't want to spend more time apologizing for whatever hijinks my pokémon put you through.

The growling I heard earlier did persist until we both got on our feet and looked out to the expanse of the Lake of Fury. Sylvie yet again chose that time to nuzzle up against me. I gave her a delicate petting and looked back to see how my other pokémon were doing.

"Gen-Gen-Gengar."

"…"

"Squirt…"

Looks like a standoff between Kamina and Kidd was happening as my Gengar was fiercely wielding a pair of black markers. Makes sense, Daisy's Arcanine was covered in demeaning marks and writings while the frantically worried Leonardo's shell had a silly looking smile written over it. I bet the poor Squirtle doesn't know that he's been tagged.

While Kamina's deadly insistent on not getting his sleek armor defiled by the ghost pokémon.

Heh!

Looks like they're having fun.

Turning back to the Lake, I looked to Daisy, who was looking at me expectantly. What?

"Now that we're, Luke. Do you see anything that's…the issue?"

"Not really. Everything seems peaceful here." I scratched the back of my neck and shrugged.

"Exactly."

"So, what's the issue."

"You just said it."

I blinked in confusion before raising my eyebrows upon realization. "Ooooh…" A lake full of Gyarados should never be equated to the term "peaceful" or "serene". Ever.

"Yeah…" Daisy groaned.

"But it's not Tempest's fault. Maybe they could just be in the middle of mating season."

"Still too early, it's March, and summer doesn't start for another two months. Plus, if that was the case, then we wouldn't even be feasibly able to be this close to the lake." Daisy nonchalantly tossed a huge rock into the lake. The #1 thing should never do since it can trigger any nearby Gyarados to emerge and go on a rampage. With no violent emergence of any Gyarados that took that as a slight, I could immediately tell that things were a bit serious here…

"Alright, I'll call him up here." I groaned and placed to fingers to my mouth and blew as loud as I could. The sound was immediately drowned out by the sudden emergence of the colossal shadow that blotted out the sun around everyone present. Ah, I can't help but get a little nostalgic as those rage-filled red eyes cold and calculatingly glanced at each of us.

The sudden silence was the perfect moment for me to just gush over the memory of how far my little Guppy has come. I'm a firm believer that a trainer should always capture and train up their pokémon by themselves. Not purchase them from Breeders or anything like. But Tempest was the sole exception.

Could you believe it? Some schmuck vendor from Vermillion City was honestly about to sell him for only 400 pokédollars. That was just an absurdly low price to expect to pay for a perfectly healthy Magikarp. Which is why I paid him 3,500 pokédollars for the Magikarp. The sucker was in disbelief as I strode off with my new Water pokémon gasping for air in my arms.

Now you can call me silly, but I didn't really do that for the LOLs or because Tempest was secretly some shiny pokémon or whatever. My team was clearly lacking a water type and I chose to make sure to get my money's worth for my purchase. Motivation and my desire to see a Magikarp become a kick ass sea monster was what led to the monstrously huge beast of a pokémon in front of us all.

Her, Koga, and Mr. Blaine can sure attest to that when it was time for Tempest to step up.

"Hey, Tempest! It's nice to see you again!"

"…" Ah, yes, menacing silence. So glad that he's taken that foreboding lesson of unsettling your prey to heart. Such a good boy~!

"C'mere! Let me check on ya and make sure that the others in the lake haven't been scuffing your scales up." I happily bounded up to the Sea Serpent pokémon, who quietly conceded to my desire and calmly closed their eyes and pushed their massive head into my diminutive hands. "There we go…let me just…ah…good. That's great. You're just as well groomed as the last time I saw you! I'm so thankful that the others haven't been giving you trouble! Have you been a good sea monster?"

"…" Tempest nodded.

"Who's a good sea monster?" Silence was my only response, but I recognized it as the affirmative silence from my old friend. "Yes, that's right, you are the best sea monster around! No one can ever top you! Decimation and destruction are your bread and butter. Whole oceans are yours to claim and terrorize as you lie in wait to obliterate anything that crosses your path." I darkly laughed and comfortingly rubbed the visibly shaking Gyarados.

"Good…good…keep that anger in ya until the time is right and use it as a fuel to bring low your enemies. You are the Tempest of the seas, and any who faces you will know true terror…"

Patting his head a couple of times, Tempest pulled back and remained upright. Returning to look at everyone while I joined him to spot how my fellow Lake visitors were doing. "See? Everything is a-okay, so-. Hey, where did Kidd run off to?"

"…"

"Sylvee~."

"…"

"…"

Everyone looked like they saw a ghost, well, it was hard to tell from Kamina since the Scizor has always been like that, and Sylvie was just giving me a more intense form of the look that she usually gave me. For some odd reason, Leonardo was resting in his shell. While Daisy and her Arcanine were frozen stiff and pale as ghosts.

Have no clue what they're so frazzled about, it's only Tempest.

Oh, and speaking of why we're here.

"Hey, Daisy do you have Tempest's pokéball?"

"Y-Y-Yeah, let me ju-just…" She coughed, composed herself and pulled the familiar ball out of her jacket.

"Thank you." I received a squeaky "your welcome" as a response before turning to face my Gyarados. "Okay, Tempest, we're just here to confirm something. If things go right, then I'm letting you out immediately. If not, well, everything's going to be fine so don't worry, okay?"

The serpent nodded his consent.

"Great. Return." A translucent beam of red light emerged from the spherical device in my hand and placed Tempest back in stasis.

"Thank goodness that's over…" Daisy released a heavy sigh of relief along with her Arcanine and Leonardo, who decided to crawl out of his shell.

"Okay, time to prove that Tempest isn't the probl-." Not even a second later, countless geyser and the emergences of a gaggle of much average sized Gyarados began rampaging through the lake in a flurry of roars and growling. Some Gyarados attacked each other while others furiously swam around. It was the picture-perfect example of a Lake that personified fury.

"…" I blinked at the scene and looked from my pokeball and back at the active lake.

"Told you so." Daisy chimed in from beside me.

"…This is just a coincidence, look, I'll return him back and things will be just as hectic." I raised the pokéball up. "Time to come back out, Temp-!"

*SPLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

"-est?" I blinked in horror while Daisy failed to restrain the snort and laughter that crept past her lips. All at once, every Gyarados in the lake submerged in panicked haste. How-? Why, I don't-.

"Told. You. So." Daisy whispered and happily gloated to my face.

My response to that.

"PBBHHHHT!" I blew the loudest and messiest raspberry in her face, and she took exception to that.

"Gross!" She screamed and pushed me into the clear drink of the Gyarados infested lake beside us.

Worth it.

"Whoa!"

*SPLASH!*

And for once, I'm glad Sylvie retaliated by pushing her in after me too.

XXX

Fishing ourselves out of the dangerous habitat and warming ourselves up at the lab to dry, we ate lunch with borrowed clothing together with the professor and any of our available pokémon. It was nice to get together like this, but it was getting late, and it was about that time to pick up a pair of twerps from school and return home.

Obviously, I had to take Sylvie back home with me and give the professors a break. Professor Oak insisted that she could stay for a while more, but the other Lab assistants practically pantomimed for me to take her already. Heh, seeing the famous professor and first Champion of the Indigo League (not the Kanto League nor Johto League) pout at the prospect for not being able to study the rare pokémon.

At that, I tried suggesting that he could go back to studying Lenny. But he dashed the idea, and found nearly getting hugged to death five times in a row required a good enough break.

I then suggested that he could then study Thor. He responds that he's already have plans to visit the Town's local Power Plant just to do that, but wanted to space things out and catch up with any other pokémon that he's yet to adequately observe and record from.

I held my tongue and stopped suggesting other pokémon of mine to him since he's probably gotten a full enough case study of Jubilee already. Unlike Sylvie, my little sweetie was cooperative enough to be seen to by the Professor already. Wonder how she and Mom are dealing with the café by now.

Thoughts for later, I chose to leave Epona to do her thing and walk the whole way to Ash and Gary's school with Daisy in tow. So after saying goodbye to Kamina and Leonardo, while also balling Gengar, we left the comforting confines of the professor's lab for the typical dirt roads of Pallet Town.

2:30 was quickly approaching, but we were only 15 minutes away at this point, being there at the exact time won't make a difference.

"So, don't forget, speak with Dockmaster Aaron whenever you have the chance."

"I know…"

"Because simply leaving Tempest there without some warning can really disrupt the flow of commerce and the wild-life that lives around the port."

"I know…"

"Also be sure to change your underwear, Delilah." Yes, mom.

"I kn-wha-?" Hold on, what!? "Oh, screw you, Daisy." I sputtered. "And never call me that again."

"But it's you're middle name." Daisy giggled.

"And it's in the middle for a reason. To be forgotten and never mentioned in conversation again." I groaned.

So long story short, mom wanted a daughter to name after her old grandmother and sole caretaker, Delilah. Then I was born and turned out to be a boy, so she chose to give me the middle name in memory of her. End of short story. Good. Let's never bring this up again, please.

"Alright, Lucas…" Daisy rolled her eyes with a good-natured smile and bump of her shoulder to my own.

Honestly, this girl…

I yawned and smiled as we neared the pokéschool.

Soon I'll be reuniting with my bed…after getting a stern talking to from mom for all of her broken china. Sometimes life just really loves to kick you in the balls.

"You know, there's word that the Elite Four challenges are going to start soon." Daisy carefully brought up.

"That's nice." I tiredly scratched my head in disinterest.

"Y-Yeah, a whole lot of people are really looking forward to it. Most are excited to see the challenger get…creamed this time around."

"People always want to see that regardless of whoever wins the League." I shrugged.

"No duh, but…not as badly as they do this time around…" Daisy trailed off.

"Okay, what are you trying to say, Daisy." This little run around was starting to get old.

"Just wanted to know how you feel about some of the animosity that you're opponent from the Finals is facing right now." Daisy sighed. "Some people were pretty mad that you lost to someone like them, and feel as though…"

"The result shouldn't count just because they're from a bordered off region?" I dryly supplied for her.

"Pretty much."

"Well, I don't really feel any sort of way about it. I lost, he won and we go on with out lives. Yeah, it was a surprise to face a trainer from an unknown region with unknown pokémon. But trying to deny the result just because the trainer from the local region of the league lost is just stupid."

I sharply exhaled in frustration.

Honestly, the whole point of the Indigo League was to unify the opposing regions of the Kanto and Johto Leagues as one and cease any further conflict. But surprise, surprise, you have competition where trainers from both regions compete to be the Champion for the "united" regions. So, if one region's trainer defeats the League and the Elite Four plus their Champion, then you'll have outrage from the opposing region and vice versa.

Hoenn is a special exception because of the extra connections and contributions that it brought over to the Indigo League. Though you won't be faulted for hearing someone from Kanto or Johto refer to that outdated region as the "boonies" for their want in connecting with nature.

Except this time around, both the Kanto and Johto region was generally up in arms about the surprise challenger from a region that's bordered off from ours. In their minds, he brought over his secrets from his region to get the jump on the competition in this one. Which was absurd since that doesn't guarantee success. My metaknowledge helped, but it didn't get me the win despite neither Asch or I really wanting to field him in the Final's battle.

As for me, I actually kind of found it hilarious once I returned home after the final ceremony. After all, I ended up being born as the titular main character's older brother, so facing another big brother was quite the surprise.

"Instead of wishing for his downfall, the polite thing to do is acknowledge the guy's efforts and wish him the best. After all, they're insulting me by saying that my best effort was dashed because of a fluke." I deadpanned.

"I-I guess… Yeah, that's true." Hey, look me in the eye. Don't tell me you thought the same way too.

I sighed and shook my head. "Besides, there might be another stupid uproar soon. Specifically, from our side. Since the victor of the Indigo League from four years ago has yet to officially schedule his own Elite Four challenge."

"Wait, seriously?"

Seriously. I was surprised to learn that our current Elite Four and Champion were a little bit different than the game's canon Elite Four. Right now we have Pierce (Ice), Bruno (Fighting), Agatha (Ghost), Walker(Flying) for our Elite Four, and Muramasa for Indigo League Champion. At first, I thought it was odd that this was the current selection it did make sense that a couple were missing since everyone's still pretty young compared to their canon selves. Plus, things were bound to be different than you'd expect.

After all, Flint is still the Pewter City Gym Leader and for the case of the Cerulean City Gym, Cassidy Torrent. That second one was a surprise to me because I've never heard of the Cerulean sister plus Misty having an Aunt. But at least they're managing for a while, I had to step in for the whole Flint thing and I'm happy with the results for helping but also hate the results.

…I really have to keep watch of mom, she doesn't know how dangerous she was when around other grown men. Also, I have to take note for Ash's future because…yeah…if all the shipping names that I remember were actually a thing and even all of them, then he's gonna have some problems too.

After all, I'm starting to notice the signs for myself…

"Ahem!"

"What?"

"Nothing, so just be on the look out for any signs of the past League Winner when the current Elite 4 Challenges begin." I scratched my cheek.

"Well, okay, if you say so… I think I remember his face, but he hasn't been that relevant or made any appearances lately, so his name doesn't really stick. Do you know?" Daisy asked.

"Yep, his name's La-."

*Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring~!*

The sound of the school's bell tolled and the wave of children escaping from the hell that was education flooded out to freedom.

And at the forefront were none other than our two siblings, who scurried over to hug us.

"Bro! Bro! Bro! Bro!"

"Yes? Yes? Yes? Yes?" Ash bounced around in my arms while waving his white, chalky hands in my face.

"I had to spend all day writing "I will not sneak pokémon into class" on the chalkboard for every period! My hands are bleeding! See! See!"

"All I see is chalk."

"No, it's blood. You have to really look at it."

"Okay…"

All I still see was chalk, and also…

"Laaaaaugh…" I licked his hand.

"Eeergh!"

"See just chalk…" I did my best to hide my grimace because that disgusted look on his face was priceless.

"That's gross!" Ahahaha, that's what you get for breaking the dishes, little squirt.

"Oh, sis, you're here to pick me up?" Gary drily said.

"What kind of reaction is that? I took the time to see you and that's all I get?" Daisy heatedly scolded.

"R-Right, sorry! Thanks for picking me up, sis."

"You're welcome~!"

Not even Mr. Cool can stand up to his big old sister.

"Say, Luke about that other League Winner what was his name? You didn't fini-."

"Hey, Gary let me borrow your shirt!"

"Gyaaaaaa! No! Don't rub your chalk on me and…wait why's your other hand wet!?"

"Oh, Luke licked it, so don't worry there's not as much chalk on it!" Ash laughed, completely missing the point.

"WHAT!?"

"I-I'll tell you later." I laughed in exasperation as we broke up the two boys from their escalating squabble. The walk back home was just so relaxing as the evening winds batted against us as we reached short crossroads between our homes.

"Bye, Gary! Bye, Big Sis Daisy!" Ash excitedly waved at the daughter-brother pair, who waved back.

"Bye, Ashy-boy! Bye, Luke!"

"Have a wonderful night, Ash! And I better see you up and actually wearing clothes tomorrow, Luke!" Wow, rather cold way to say goodbye, Daisy.

"If I feel like it!" I grinned in victory as I heard her groan from all the way here. "Also, smell ya later, Gary!"

"…Y-Yeah, you too, Luke… Why does he always say that when we say goodbye, sis?"

"I dunno. Just don't try to pick up his habits, okay? I can only deal with one of him at a time."

And like that we parted ways and approached home. And on the way, Ash decided to regale me about everything that he experienced at school.

"ItwasocoolhowyoucalledEponaoverlikethat!Everyonewentsowildwerushedoutandhadthefunnestrecessever!Theteachersweresupermad,butitwassoworthit!Hey,canItrycallingEponatomorrowduringRecess!Oh,canyouteachmehowtocallEpona!?Wealsohadmaccaroniandcheesetoday,ItradedGarymypeasforhisapplesaucethen-!"

It was as loud and long-winded as you'd expect from a 7 year old.

But thanks to my past life and this life's experience as an older brother, I already know how to handle it.

All you had to do to keep it going was smile and nod…smile and nod.

Until you remember that you should probably not do that since you want to keep things quiet and on the DL otherwise, you'll bring attention to yourself from your mother, who's probably already back from work by now and has seen the little note that you left this morn-.

"LUCAS DELILAH KETCHUM AND ASH REGINALD KETCHUM!" I stood ramrod still as the front door was loudly swung open to reveal none other than our furious mother, Delia Ketchum. "Why is ALL of my fine china smashed apart AND thrown in the garbage with such thin plastic bags that could have cut you!"

"Well, you see mom, Ash, Kidd, and I…" I patted my little brother's stiff shoulders and pulled out Kidd's pokeball to release him. "Can explain everything once we're insi-."

"Gen!" After taking a hesitant glance at the furious Matriarch of the Ketchum household, Gengar slapped the button to his pokeball and returned himself.

"Oh, you little bast-!"

"Language!"

"Swear!"

Ugh! I just lowered my head in defeat while doing my best to ignore the amused huff given by my lazing Charizard, who was watching all of this with one eye open. Lucky bastard. I want to stay in bed all day too!

"Explanation. Now!" Oh, she was mad-mad, and when did she get so clo-?

"Gagh!"

A familiar pain that every child in their life experienced wracked my form as mom decided then to drag both myself and Ash into the house by the ear.

"Agh! Hold on, wait, mom, I didn't do anything this time! Kidd was acting out and Ash-!" The

"Ouch! Wait, I'm sorry! Please don't pull so hard, mom! I promise not to play around in the morning anymore! I promise!"

The sound of our desperate cries fell on deaf ears as punishment was swift and hardly fair.

…But this was to be expected for this family.

Hopefully, she'll be merciful tomorrow and let me sleep in.

Fingers crossed.