Chapter 52

As Pallet Town got bigger it gained more businesses and it eventually built a port. You could finally travel by sea from Pallet Town to reach the Cinnabar Islands.

Leon, Mark, and Woody met up at the Pallet Town port to depart for the mission. The high-tech ships made the travel time short; it only took them two hours to reach the Cinnabar Islands.

While they were traveling on the ship, they noticed that most of the passengers were Pokemon Trainers. "They must have taken the same mission as us," Woody whispered. No tourist would probably head to the island knowing a Pokemon Horde was about to happen.

When the ship arrived and they got out of the port they were greeted by a group of Pokemon Trainers. These trainers seemed to belong to The Cinnabar Island Pokemon Gym.

"Welcome everyone, on behalf of Cinnabar Island's inhabitants we sincerely extend our heartfelt gratitude to those who responded to our requests in our time of need, especially when we had lost all hope," the group of Pokemon Trainers did with a ninety-degree bow. Their actions made the Pokemon Trainers who landed feel embarrassed. Sure, some of them wanted to help the people on the island so they accepted the request. However, most of the trainers here accepted it because of the benefits it gave. This made the rest of the trainers feel guilty and secretly swore to themselves to do their all during the battles including Mark and Woody.

Leon saw through the façade; he was able to sense the speaker's actual intention using his psychic abilities. They were guilt-tripping the majority of the Pokemon Trainers so that they would work harder. Leon just kept silent and decided to keep it to himself. He understood that desperate times called for desperate measures. He would do his part anyway so it did not affect him.

The participating Pokemon trainers were given free accommodation and food. Once they had placed their belongings at their designated inns, they were instructed to wear their battle gear inside the Cinnabar Island Pokemon Gym within an hour. Time was of the essence. The Pokemon Horde was getting bigger and more powerful and could attack at any time.

Upon arriving at the gym, Leon saw Mark and Woody approaching from a distance. Woody was wearing a Tauros Series Tactical Suit. It looked like modern tactical armor made up of Tauros hide. It had a pelted hoodie that came with a mask that covered the lower half of the face. Woody also carried a rapier that looked like it was crafted from a large Tauros horn.

Tauros Series Tactical Suit (A+) – made using the hide of a Tauros.

Passive: Increases the strength of all normal-type moves by 10%

Active skill:

Double Team – increases the user's evasiveness

Tauros' Wrath (S) – A rapier made from refining and compressing a Horn from a powerful Tauros.

Passive: Increases all normal-type damage by 15%

Active skill:

Giga Impact - The user charges at the target using every bit of its power; which greatly lowers the weapon's durability and may break the weapon if used in succession.

Thunderbolt - The user attacks the target with a strong electric blast that may paralyze the target.

The stronger Leon became, the more sensitive he became to other people's natural affinity. He noticed that Woody had a natural affinity for the Normal type while Mark was more attuned to Steel and Water. Like pokemon people who had natural affinities with a certain type would be able to utilize that energy better than others. The stronger and more talented ones could use the energy directly but those weaker needed a medium to manipulate that energy properly. The effects are evident when the person uses equipment made from the same energy type.

In contrast to Woody's modern-looking armor Mark on the other hand was donning a flashy medieval-type heavy armor that if you looked closely enough had feathery contours all over the armor. Three golden horns on the helm resembled a crown, and the overall color scheme resembled an Empoleon. It was also equipped with a long, blue cape that covered the entire body. Mark's weapon of choice was a spear. The tip seemed to be crafted from the wings of an Empoleon. Mark looked like an imposing Emperor of old.

Master of the Waves (S) – heavy armor made from merging the steel feathers of a powerful Empoleon.

Passive: increases the strength of all water and steel type moves by 15%

Active skill:

Sword Dance – increases the user's attack.

Aqua Ring – slowly heals the user over some time.

Emperor's Pride (S) – Spear crafted from the wings of a powerful Empoleon.

Passive: Increase all damage by 15%

Active skill:

Liquidation – Coats the spear with water and uses a powerful blast to attack the target. It

has a 20% chance of lowering targets' defenses.

Flash Cannon – gathers all its light energy and releases it all at once. 10% chance to lower special defense.

"A cape in this day and age?" Woody teased, clearly jealous of how cool Mark looked. "Touch the cape," Mark snickered as he removed his helmet and placed it on his side. As Woody and Leon tried to run their hands through the cape, their hands passed right through. They felt as if they were trying to grab water. "Cool!" both of them exclaimed in unison. They were no longer afraid of getting caught in something by accident because of the cape, which worked like floating water. A certain fashion designer would have been pleased, Leon thought.

Mark and Woody then looked at Leon's lack of battle equipment. He was only wearing his school uniform. Although they too had an excellent defense, they lack the means of attack and he was supposed to be on the front lines. Leon understood their stare and he activated battle mode.

In less than a second, he was already wearing the Monarch's Might Set. Mark and Woody were left in awe. They had never seen that type of technology before. As Leon shrugged, "Perks of having Prof. Oak as a guardian." Mark simply smiled but was affected. Woody was frustrated and he thought about buying more stylish gear next time. After their friendly banter, they headed straight to the meeting area and waited for the briefing to begin.