Chapter 18

Looking at the stats of the sleeping Steelix, Jax noted that it was Gold grade! Even the grade was neither too bad nor too good, Jax knew that if he could get the egg, he wouldn't have any trouble raising its grade up at all.

Not only did he go to a rich and famous school who could provide him with endless resources, his own family was rather well off.

Doria was an accomplished trainer in her own right and had won many competitions. Although she no longer competed as often as back then with motherhood taking up most of her time, they did still have a bunch of royalties from all the commercials that she used to star in.

While Jax was lost in his thoughts, the sleeping Steelix noticed a presence within her surround vicinity. Waking up from her slumber, she locked eyes with a silver haired child.

Although she deemed him of no threat, the Nidorino by his side was different. With two opponents before her, one could easily distract her while the other napped her unborn child.

Also, if they fought, she knew that either of their abilities could spread to the surround which would either damage the cave and cause it to fall on her egg, or the moves themselves could stray off in its direction. Taking a deep breath, it looked towards the boy again before speaking.

"For what reason have you come to my abode, child of man?"

"Hmmm? Are you talking to me? I didn't think you would come off with an approachable atmosphere. I thought we would immediately fight."

"Although your intrusion is rude and I would love to tear you apart, I fear for the safety of my child. Should we battle, I don't think I will have the time to protect it and fend you off before one of you snatches it away."

Hearing the mother Steelix talk, Jax fell back into contemplation. Although he would love to have another strong pokemon by his side, he didn't want to be made out to be a kidnapper! Jax pictured his own mother and remembered how worried she had been the first time he didn't come back home right away when he was being chased by the swarm of Beedrills. Being the best trainer is more than just having the strongest pokemon. If that was all it took, Jax would have already taken Ally's Dratini! No, the best trainer in the world is someone who fights only when they must and only because they have something more important to protect. With that thought, Jax turned towards the mother Steelix but before he could give his answer, a blinding light appeared all around him!

Shocked at the sight, Vioarr thought it was all a ploy of Steelix's to make them lower their guard so that she could attack them! About to rush off towards Steelix with fighting intent, Jax called out to him and told him to stop.

"STOP! This isn't Steelix's doing. I don't know what's happening, but this definitely isn't one of her moves. Plus, this light is too comfortable for it to be an attack. System, do you know what's happening?"

"Ding! Host has finally acknowledged system's presence. System deems host to only notice system when he wants something. System will not answer."

"C'mon, you know that's not true! If you weren't only in my head but by my side, I would have treated you out to yummy foods! Alas, since you're only in my head, I have no way of doing so."

"Ding! System has taken host's words into consideration. Initializing…Ding! System has deemed that that is a possible option. With host's permission, System would like to activate Protocol 00. Does host grant his permission?"

"Ummm. Yeah, sure as long as you tell me what's happening to me right now."

"Ding! System has been granted permission by host to initiate Protocol 00. Per the contract, system will now answer host. System has deemed that hosts thoughts were in line with the Guardians' thoughts. System believes host is being granted permission to join their ranks. System has answered host. As per the contract, system will now initiate Protocol 00. Initializing…Initializing…Completed! Time taken to complete Protocol 00…T minus seven days…System will be inactive for seven days…Host authorities will still be active…Goodnight, Host."

With that, the system became eerily quiet. Although Jax may or may not have ignored it every now and then, knowing that no matter how much Jax ask and won't be getting an answer from its robotic but rather feminine voice was a little sad.

"Wait? So I'm becoming a Guardian? An Aura Guardian? I'm going to be like Sir Aaron? Yes! I always wanted to shoot my own Aura Spheres!"

After the intense light show, Jax looked at his body. Although nothing really changed, if you looked at his eyes, you would notice that they had a golden hue to them now. An aura user uses their eyes most of the time to see the different colors of the world so it made sense that his eyes would be the first to be changed once he became an Aura Guardian. Do you guys remember earlier on in the chapters when Nidoking was talking about Guardians and Psychics? What was the main source of their powers? The heart! If someone cut Jax open and looked at his heart, they would notice that instead of the pinkish red fleshy color a normal human's heart should be, his heart also had a similar golden hue to it!

"Mhm, I don't feel any different. Let's test out my new aura then." Concentrating, he noticed that it was far easier to enter his trance like state to observe the surround auras. Not only that, he noticed that he could start to perceive emotions! Vioarr was in a state of shock and joy so his aura took on a combination of yellow and purple. Taking a look at Steelix, Jax noticed that aside from her usual grey colored aura, there was also a mix of green?

"With my new aura powers, I see that you're happy. I mean, I'm happy that you're happy, just confused. Why? You were still apprehensive about us just a moment ago."

"Haha. I'm happy that you've become an Aura Guardian, why else?"

"You're genuinely happy for me?"

"Of course! An Aura Guardian, like its namesake, is a guardian. They protect the world from its own injustice and ensure the safety of all who lives within Kalpotron. Meaning, you and I no longer need to fight since I know you don't want to take away my egg anymore!"