The Wilderness

This a long chapter, being 2200+ words. Enjoy.

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???'s POV:

As we touched down in the forest, I hopped off and began to observe my surroundings.

There were towering trees everywhere, and I could hear the cries of the nocturnal Pokemon of the forest. I was in Santalune Forest, the place where I'll start my mission.

I looked over to my elder. "You won't regret this, Chief! I promise I'll retrieve the Mega Stones. As the next Lorekeeper, I won't disappoint you."

My superior looked over to me at the top of her Salamence. "I hope. Remember, the fate of your people and many more are at stake here."

I gained a new sense of motivation. I wouldn't let everyone die in peril, that's for sure. I'll stop this threat!

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Alain's POV:

As the sun rose over the horizon, I got up immediately. Today was my debut as a trainer and, most importantly, the first day of my Research Task.

I took a shower before getting dressed in my clothes.

Today, I was sporting a pair of baggy, gray pants, a black leather jacket, black boots, a blue shirt with a white undershirt, and a pair of fingerless gloves. That, along with my favorite blue scarf.

I went downstairs with my bags and Poké Balls. There, my parents were already waiting for me.

"I wish you good luck on your journey, kid. Hope to see you in the Rookie Cup. Make the Schneider name proud," Dad said, hugging me. Mom also joined in, hugging me. I hugged them back with both of my arms.

After that, I made my way out the door, before looking back. Mom, Dad, and Aquacorde Town, this really is my home, and I was now leaving it a second time. Goodbye Aquacorde, and welcome to the wilderness.

After a short walk through Aquacorde Town, I finally made it to the exit of the small town. I looked back one more time before leaving the town and heading onto Route 2.

I grabbed both of my Luxury Balls, and after some black lights shone on the ground, Gible and Charmander were there.

I told Charmander to stay behind me, and Gible to stay in front of me. I didn't want to get attacked and mauled by some random Pokémon. I have no qualms about ganging up on wild Pokémon.

Route 2 was a relatively short route. It housed many Pokémon and was also home to a lake called Aurora Lake.

It was a lake of great history, as there was a myth that 2,000 years ago, a strong Pokémon once lived here and guarded the lake from humans. Now, in the present, that was believed to be a Gyarados.

Walking through the Route, the ground in front of me began to crumble. I stepped back in panic, and a pack of Bunnelby hopped out.

Charmander and Gible jumped in front of me, ready to fight. Both groups of Pokémon, not wanting to back down, made me get serious. I guess my first fight as a trainer will be against 6 Bunnelbys.

"Charmander, use Flame Burst, and Gible, use Dragon Breath," I ordered my two reptilian Pokémon. I wanted to keep the bunnies at a distance.

A raging ball of fire formed in Charmander's mouth, and when I nodded at my lizard, it burst into 5 streams of fire.

Gible, at the same time, shot a multi-colored blast of blue and purple at the bunnies. Both of the attacks were heading towards the horde of Pokémon.

Three of the Bunnelbys responded quickly, digging a hole in the ground to avoid the blasts from my Pokémon. The other three, however, got in the blast zone of both my Charmander's Flame Burst and Gible's Dragon Breath. As the dust cleared, all three were knocked out.

I told my Pokémon to stay focused, as the Bunnelbys could pop up anywhere. "Charmander, use Slash if they come close. Gible, you use Scratch."

I guess my predictions were right this time, as one Bunnelby emerged right next to Charmander, only for the lizard to react immediately and use a barrage of Slashes on the poor bunny.

Another one came out of the ground, about to attack me, only to be intercepted by Gible and got knocked out by a critical hit Scratch.

Gible was distracted, as the last one of the bunnies hopped out of the ground towards it, outlined in Orange Energy. This was the move Take Down.

Fortunately, the Bunnelby was intercepted by Charmander, who collided with the bunny shrouded by blue flames. In other words, he used Flare Blitz to protect Gible. After that, Charmander recoiled in pain, the price of using Flare Blitz.

Now, all the Bunnelbys were knocked out, and that means I won my first battle, or battles if you care so much.

I got down and reached into my bag. Pulling out a Hyper Potion, I healed Charmander from the recoil even though it was a little. It was only one spray, and I still had a lot stored in the Hyper Potion. Sycamore

really hooked me up, that's for sure.

Gible thanked Charmander for protecting her. She was happy, and I was even happier, happy that my Pokémon didn't have some beef.

We then started to walk again, my Pokémon back in their original positions. We had no problems for the rest of Route 2, but right before I went into Santalune Forest, I took a detour to Aurora Lake.

I wanted a strong Water type, and I decided to fish up one now. I know it sounded greedy, but I wanted the strongest fish in the lake. Luckily for me, I knew a way to get a strong fish. First, I had to get ready.

I reached in my bag and pulled out a small stick. It didn't seem like much until I extended it to its full length, and it was a fishing rod.

Next, I reached into my bag again and pulled out the long black case Grant gave me as a graduation gift. I opened it up, and inside were 18 gems, each of them corresponding to a different type.

I grabbed out the light blue gem, that being the Water Gem. I hooked it to my fishing rod before dangling the rod above the water, not in the water like normal.

In this universe, gems were quite peculiar. There were gems imbued with the different typings of Pokémon.

The inner energy of the gems could be absorbed by Pokémon, and they'd have their benefits. In studies, the Pokémon shown to learn to control and use moves of the gem's type that the Pokémon absorbs.

The gems were adored by humans, but they were put on a higher pedestal with Pokémon. Pokémon fiend for the gems of their respective primary type and lesser secondary type.

Me dangling the Water Gem above the lake was basically inviting all the Pokémon in the lake to come take it. The strongest Pokémon in the lake would emerge faster than anyone and take the gem, which I'd then catch.

It didn't take long for the effect of my plan to come into action. I heard many fish swimming to the front of the lake, just for a chance. That's when...

A Goldeen shot out from the far end of the lake, but it wasn't towards my Gem. It landed on the shore. At first, I thought it had just overshot, but it happened again. A Magikarp launched out of the lake, this time closer, onto the ground as well. Both of the Pokémon were knocked out.

That's when the shocking truth hit me. Something was knocking these Pokémon out of the lake, and it was coming closer. What kind of Pokémon does that? The strong one does, that was certain.

More Pokémon got launched out of the lake by the unknown fish Pokémon before the beast finally jumped out and bit onto the fishing rod, trying to get the Water Gem.

With all the strength I could muster, I got the fish out on the shore.

It was a Magikarp, but this one was quite different. It was bigger than all the others by a large margin. Its coloration was quite different, as the Magikarp was redder than any other of its species.

The fins of the Magikarp were longer than average and had intricate patterns rather than straight lines of the fins. The patterns looked ancient in a way, making me further interested in the Magikarp. On its back was a three-peak fin, resembling a crown, only this time it actually felt like a crown to me.

The barbels on this Magikarp, the two stands on each side of the Magikarp's face, were long and exuded wisdom. This Magikarp was insanely talented, and I could tell just by looking at it.

The Magikarp couldn't take the Water Gem before I pulled it onshore, and the fish wanted the gem.

Charmander and Gible were right by my side, ready to battle the ancient-looking fish. Magikarp decided to make the first move.

Magikarp, flopping on the ground, bounced over to some of the other knocked-out fish onshore and launched them towards my Pokémon with its back fin.

My Pokémon and I managed to dive out of the way, avoiding the fish projectiles. Using other fish as a projectile was insane, more testament to Magikarp's strength.

"Charmander, use Dragon Dance, and Gible, cover for Charmander with Dragon Breath," I commanded the two of them.

Charmander's body was shrouded in dragon energy as he stomped the ground he was standing on, doing a dance. After that, his attack and speed would be greatly enhanced.

Gible, being told to cover for Charmander, unleashed another purple blast towards the ancient fish, ready to knock it out.

Magikarp dodged by bouncing on the ground, still flopping on the ground. All fish Pokémon could stay on land and breathe air on land instead of the normal fishes back in my old life.

Gible couldn't let me down, so she fired another Dragon Breath towards Magikarp, even without my command. It was alright, as that was what I intended to say next.

This time, Magikarp couldn't fully dodge the blast zone of Dragon Breath, so it got hit by the explosion caused by the move.

Magikarp was stunned for a moment. I decided to command Charmander. "Charmander, use Outrage."

Charmander's body became surrounded by a red aura, and his eyes began to glow red. Along with the enhanced speed from Dragon Dance, he rushed over to the Magikarp and slashed the fish a few meters away.

Charmander was good, not affected by Outrage. Here in this Pokémon world, using Outrage gives a slight chance for the user to become confused and go mad for a moment. I got lucky this time, but I won't always be.

Magikarp decided to retaliate towards Charmander. Shrouding itself in water, it flew over to Charmander. The move the fish was using was Aqua Jet. It was confirmed, this was not just every other Magikarp.

It connected the hit, sending Charmander flying towards me again. I would have to end this battle quickly.

"Gible, use Dragon Breath, and Charmander, Fire Burst," I commanded the two of them. I didn't care that Fire Burst wouldn't do much. I just needed to stun the fish so I could throw my Poké Ball. Speaking of that, I grabbed an empty Luxury Ball, ready to catch the fish.

The lizard and the shark both let out their respective blasts towards the majestic fish Pokémon. Magikarp dodged Dragon Breath but couldn't dodge the multi-streams of fire caused by Fire Burst.

As I saw Magikarp stunned by the fire, I threw my Luxury Ball at full speed towards the fish. It hit the fish hard, and before the fish could react, it got sucked in by the obsidian-colored light.

The ball shook for a little bit before it stopped completely. What followed after was a "ding" noise, signifying I had captured the fish.

I pumped my fist up in the air, happy I caught it. Walking up to the Luxury Ball, I grabbed my PokéDex. I scanned the Luxury Ball, and after a few seconds, it was completed. The screen of my PokéDex read:

[

Species: Magikarp(A)

Level: 8

Type: Water

Ability: Swift Swim, Rattled

Gender: Male

Height: 3'10

Moves: Tackle, Aqua Jet, Bounce, Knock Off.

]

What a powerful Pokémon! It was definitely not a normal Magikarp. The longer I leave Magikarp in the ball, the more it won't listen to me.

I clicked on the Luxury Ball, letting Magikarp out. At first, it wanted to fight again, but I kneeled down with the Water Gem in hand. "Here, Magikarp, it's yours."

Magikarp flopped towards me before making contact and began the process of absorbing it. After it was finished, the Gem wasn't light blue; it was just dull. I pocketed the Gem after that.

I then pulled out a Hyper Potion, spraying it on the fish. "There's more to this world than this lake. With me, we can travel it together. What do you say, Magikarp?"

Magikarp contemplated what I was saying before jumping up and down with a smile on his face. I had recruited another member into my ranks, and I was happy about it.

I scanned the area around me. Santalune Forest was just right there, and it'd be better to go now than later. I returned Magikarp to its Ball and made my way to Santalune Forest.

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Say your thoughts in the comments.