36 The Journey Continues.

[Espeon

Type: Psychic.

Level: 22

Potential: Violet

Stage: Intermediate Stage (Mid)

Blood Bond: Alan Salvador

Ability: Magic Bounce (Hidden Ability)

Innate Skill: Psychic (E)

Moves: Tackle (A), Tail Whip (A), Growl (A), Charm (A), Baby-Doll Eyes (E), Fake Tears (A), Sand Attack (A), Helping Hand (A), Quick Attack (A), Bite (A), Copycat (A), Wish (A), Stored Power (A), Mud-Slap (A), Double Edge (A), Confusion.

IM: Meteor Shower (I), Acid Rain (I).

TM: Protect (A), Shadow Ball (A), Rest (A), Agility (A), Work Up (A), Dig (A), Iron Tail (A), Rain Dance (A), Sunny Day (A), Calm Mind (A), Light Screen (A), Dazzling Gleam, Hyper Beam]

'I still can't believe her Baby-Doll Eyes reached Expert rank unlike the rest which were still stuck at Advanced rank of move mastery," said Alan as he looked over the moves Eve had mastered, 'and then there is Psychic. It was at the threshold of breaking into Expert Rank, and the Psychic orb was the final push it needed.'

Alan was really shocked when he saw that the move to reach Expert rank in move mastery was Baby-Doll Eyes than Eve's innate talent: Psychic.

He had different theories as to why this could be possible.

For one, Psychic was a lot harder to use and control than Baby-Doll Eyes. The amount of focus and control Eve needed was intense, and hence the move was harder to master even if it was an innate talent.

But he also had another absurd theory that could be another valid explanation; of course, under certain circumstances.

That was: Eve not only had a high talent for Psychic energy but Fairy energy too.

True, she had Psychic as her innate talent, but what if...what if her talent for Fairy energy was just as high and the only reason Psychic appeared as her innate talent was because it won by a small margin?

The reason he was so desperately looking for Dazzling Gleam or any other Fairy-type TM was so he could test this theory. If the rate at which Eve learned a move like Dazzling Gleam was similar or close to her innate talent Psychic, then his theory would be proven right to some extent.

But for now, he was happy by the levels Eve had gained from the previous fights.

'Violet potential is no joke,' thought Alan as he looked at Eve, who had easily gained two levels. Even the moves she used were being tried for the first time, and she could proficiently use them in a battle. 'Her levelling speed would remain the same till we hit the soft cap; that is when the real trouble would begin.'

Same for Shin, who was even more monstrous than Eve when it came to potential. He was just level 8 when they started from Pallet town, but now, he was stronger than before, quickly learning his moves and gaining levels.

[Kubfu.

Type: Fighting.

Level: 11

Potential: Deep Violet.

Stage: Beginner Stage (Mid)

Blood Bond: None.

Ability: Inner Focus.

Innate Skill: Close Combat.

Moves: Leer, Rock Smash, Endure, Focus Energy, Bulk Up.

IM: None

TM: Protect, Mega Punch, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Quick Attack, Agility.]

Not only had Shin gained two levels within a day, but he also broke through a small barrier of Beginner (Low) to Beginner (Mid).

"This is why I wanted to go on a journey as soon as possible; there is only so much you can do within a training room," he said while shaking his head before he picked up Fearow's Pokeball, "with all the training we did, we could only push our moves mastery to Advanced Stage while we needed 'something' else to break into the Expert rank."

"Stop complaining," said Eve from within the Pokeball as she saw Alan lament over a few things, "at least we get to fight to our heart's content now."

"Were you not resting?"

"I am fine."

She, too, felt the same way as Alan did and deep inside, she was a bit jealous at how fast Shin had levelled up after constant fighting, and his levelling would be faster than her in the earlier stages due to the constant fights he would go through. Something she could not afford due to the rules set by The League and The Pokemon Alliance, which prevented new trainers from entering wild areas.

As they both talked, Alan used pokeballs to catch all the Spearows with good potential.

On the other hand, Misty treated her pokemon while occasionally glancing at Alan, who was enthusiastically collecting the Pokeballs.

Shin just stood there, on guard against any sneak attacks.

"Are you Alan Salvador?" unable to hold her curiosity, Misty asked as she looked in Alan's direction.

"Yes," he said with a soft smile, "it's nice to meet you once again, Misty."

"So you remember me?" she asked, surprised by it. She herself took some time to remember who he was, and that was still a guess on her end.

"Your orange hair is a big giveaway," he said with a soft chuckle before he looked at the Gyarados, which was looking at him fiercely, "that must be your real Blood Bond pokemon?"

Misty nodded her head, "her name is Gyara; this is Staryu, my second pokemon."

Alan nodded his head, not surprised that Misty had two pokemons even before starting her journey.

"What brings you here, and how did you end up provoking these guys," he asked as he was curious at how someone would be fool enough to provoke a group of Fearows and Spearows.

"It was not me, but Ash," replied Misty with a hateful look, "he tried to catch a Spearow but failed at it and ended up provoking a whole bunch of these guys. He ran away while I, who happened to be fishing for some water pokemon, was caught up in a mess."

"We are close to Viridian City, and it will be night soon," said Alan as he looked at the sky, which was gradually turning dark, "how about walking to the city together?"

"Sure," she readily agreed.

"And you don't mind me keeping these right?" he asked while pointing at the pokeballs which had Fearows and Spearows.

Misty shook her head, "it would be ungrateful of me to even think about it, plus you defeated them, and hence you get to keep them."

Alan returned Eve and Shin to their pokeballs, and Misty did the same with her pokemon.

"Are you taking part in Indigo Conference?" asked Alan as they walked towards the Viridian City.

"No, I want to build my team before I do that. Since I will only train Water-type pokemons, I will be at a huge disadvantage against others who might have a variety of pokemons," she explained while looking at the Pokeball tied to a necklace on Alan's neck, "your Espeon is really strong."

She could tell that Eve had recently evolved, judging by how Alan tested her moves. But the Psychic Pokémon fought toe to toe with Fearows at a level higher than her.

'The Espeon must have recently received a boost in potential, but how are they almost the same level as Gyara and me? Gyara was born with Light Violet potential and is very close to reaching Violet, but the Espeon could keep up with her. It, too, must have been born with very high potential. But wasn't he from a 'not so good' family background?''

She had not slacked during the six years; the amount of hard work she had put in was more than she would have if she did not attend the training camp.

One of the reasons for it was none other than Alan.

She saw him fight in the tournament with people stronger than him, yet he shined just as much as Cynthia and her Gibble.

He had inspired her to work hard, catch up with her peers and not be left out by those in the same generation.

Though he could not hear them, Alan could easily understand Misty's thoughts.

Sensing the quiet atmosphere, Misty decided to change the subject and ask another question.

"Are you going to participate in Indigo Conference?"

Alan nodded his head, "I have one year to train. I might not win, but it will be a good experience for me and my pokemons as we will fight strong people."

Misty nodded her head.

No one had won a conference on their first try. The age limit for taking part in the Conference was 16 to 35 years, which meant that those older than you had the upper hand over those with lower age since they get to train their pokemon a lot more.

Regional Conference was not a joke; you could not expect to win after training your pokemon for just a year. The power levels of those closing into their last years were not something a new trainer could handle.

Hence, Alan wanted to use these tournaments to train himself before taking part in the Elian Conference. It would take place after seven years, a short time, but he wanted to set it as his goal to try his best in winning it.

"What about the rookie tournament?" asked Misty with a hint of interest.

"You mean the one which is exclusive to the new trainers?" asked Alan as he heard about it. It was something very new and was rising a lot in popularity.

This was also an excellent way to distinguish between the talented and non-talented people in their generation. There were also things called New-Gen Lists which ranked all the rookies within each region once they had signed up for a rookie tournament.

"Are there any good rewards?" he asked. Unless it were something good, he would not waste his time with it.

"Hoho," Misty gave a small laugh before she sent a friend request to Alan, which he quickly accepted, followed by a link.

Alan opened it, and it explained everything about the rookie tournament. At the very end of the page, the rewards were listed for the tournament winners.

Alan paused in his steps when he looked at the reward for first place.

"Royal Pokemon."

Alan was surprised at how generous the reward was for the winners. Misty, who saw Alan, knew he would take part after reading the prize for the tournament's winner.

"Where do I sign up?" he asked as he looked at Misty with a slightly excited expression.

"The same link I sent you, it should be at the top," she guided him into a signup process, and it only took a few minutes before he was sent a confirmation number.

"Take this to the nearest Pokemon Centre, and the Nurse Joy there will help you with the last part," she said, and both once again resumed their walk.

Before long, they both reached the gates of Viridian City.

Just as they had entered, they were stopped in their tracks by a police squad. An Officer Jenny walked up to them before she asked for their Ids.

"Stop, you need to show us your Trainer ID before you can enter the city."

"Woof."

Officer Jenny said while her Growlithe barked to intimidate them, Alan only found it cute.

"May I ask why were are being stopped," asked Alan as he handed his Trainer ID, and Misty did the same.

Officer Jenny checked their IDs and matched their records before handing them back, "there have been many cases of a group called Team Rocket stealing other trainer's pokemons. We are making sure that those who enter have clean records so we can pin them down."

She explained the recent stealings that were taking place and warned them not to stay out at night if possible to avoid the same happening to them.

"Team Rocket?" said Misty before she asked something as well, "is it the same Team Rocket which is an underworld organization?"

"Yes, and we believe that they are slowly and steadily trying to spread their influence more than it is. They have been looting PokeCentres or anything related to pokemons to create commotion and make a name for themselves. It is also a way for them to publicize their name and have people join them," she said before she got a call.

"I will have to leave; you both take care," she hurriedly left after she received the call. Few officers followed after her while the other few stayed to check for more travellers entering the city.

"Let's head to the Pokemon Centre first," said Alan and Misty agreed.

Alan thought about his memories with Cynthia and Sabrina during the Viridian City Festival six years ago. A warm smile appeared on his when he thought about the two.

However, his thought were disturbed by a loud music playing on one of the screens atop a building.

"Super Super SuperChampion...Keeper of the justice Champion..."

"Its that annoying kids show," said Alan while shaking his head. He was forced into watching it by his sister who loved it more than anything.

'I don't think she has ever missed an episode.'

"You hate it too?"

"Who doesn't?"

They both laughed and talked while walking towards the Pokemon Centre.

It took them a fifteen-minute walk before they reached the Pokemon Centre in Viridian City. The duo entered the building before walking up to Nurse Joy behind the counter.

"Hello, I am Nurse Joy; how can I help you?"

"My pokemon need to be healed," said Misty as she handed her pokemon to the Nurse Joy.

"And I want to finish signing up for the rookie tournament," said Alan before he showed his confirmation number to the Nurse Joy.

She took Misty's pokeballs and placed them on a cart which a Chansey strolled away. She then helped Alan finish the signing up process.

"Anything else?" she asked after she had helped them both.

"We need a place to stay," said Alan as he was going to stay here for the night and so would Misty.

"If you have Tier 6 privilege or higher, it will be free else, you will have to pay accordingly," she said.

Alan who had Tier 5 privilege handed his Trainer ID to Nurse Joy who was surprised at first but then helped Alan sign up for a room followed by Misty who also had a Tier 5 privilege.

'Hoh?' Nurse Joy was surprised since new trainers rarely had privilege higher than Tier 9 or 8.

"Let's get something to eat," said Misty before the duo walked towards the cafeteria.

Nurse Joy on the other hand took a picture of Alan and sent it to the Nurse Joy group on Pokegram.

[Nurse Joy: (Attachment) A handsome boy in my PokeCentre.]

She giggled a little, waiting for different responses from her sisters.

Alan and Misty on the other hand sat on their table waiting for their food. They both talked with each other about different things before Alan saw Misty change her face's colour and anger took over her entire being.

She stood up at once and stared daggers towards Alan's back. He turned around and realized why Misty was behaving this way.

"YOU FREAKING ASSHOLE!" she roared like an angry Gyarados before she ran towards Ash who was walking around the PokeCentre.

Everyone in the PokeCentre, dead or alive, heard Misty's roar and Ash who saw who it was lost all the colour on his face.

"I am really sorry," he tried to apologize but Misty did not care one bit for it as she sent a punch straight towards his face.

"How dare you leave me surrounded by Spearows and Fearows that you provoked," she held Ash by the collar before she looked him straight in the eye, "if it weren't for Alan, I might as well have been dead by those freaking bird."

Ash who heard Alan's name tried to look for him, but Alan just ignored him. He did not want to help Ash one bit for this; travelling was not a joke and Misty had every right to be angry since a mistake from Ash had almost led to her death.

One needed to learn to take responsibilities for their mistakes and not run from them.

While Misty was giving Ash a harsh beating along with curses, a certain group of people made their way towards the Pokemon centre.

They were ten in total and they wore black coats with black hats which covered their faces.

As soon as they reached the PokeCentre.

*BANG*

They kicked the glass door, destroying it to pieces and also gaining everyones attention. Including Misty and Ash who were busy fighting.

"Knock, Knock," said their leader before they removed their coats and hats revealing their identities.

They wore black clothes with R drawn at the front.