Joe walked into one of the countless fields with the mountain as a backdrop. He couldn't see anyone. Perfect. He had to begin training straight away. Both for tonight and the future. Raikou wasn't going to save itself, and Joe was nowhere near strong enough to help it.
He looked around. Saw the occasional wild Pokemon. Decided to leave them alone. He was going to train Cyndaquil. The hedgehog was still in his arms. He poked its nose. It squirmed.
"Okay, buddy. You ready for some training?" Joe listened to it squeal in excitement. It rushed out of his arms. Jumped onto the ground. Being eager was good. His phone flew out of his pocket. If there was going to be combat, then Rotom would assist.
As Joe considered how exactly to train, Rotom scanned Cyndaquil. Rotom could've scanned Cyndaquil in the lab, but it had been taught well. Don't overload a beginner Trainer with information unless they ask for it. A short break to let the previous information settle before it spoke again was useful for learning.
"Cyndaquil. The Fire Mouse Pokemon. It protects itself by flaring flames on its back. The angrier it gets, the hotter the fire burns."
#0155 Cyndaquil
Gender: Male
Height: 1' 10" (Above Average)
Weight: 8.3kg (Above Average)
Moves: Tackle / Leer / Ember /
Ability: Blaze
Fire burns hotter and brighter.
Joe eyed Absol. "Rotom, show me Absol's moves please." The phone flew in front of Joe. Pulled up Joe's personal PokeDex. Opened Absol's entry and switched to the 'Moves' tab. Joe was after something fast. The screen scrolled a little. He saw it. "Absol, can you show me Quick Attack?"
Absol demonstrated the move. She wrapped herself in white light and darted around the area. Zigzagged at unusual angles and ended up back in front of Joe. That was perfect.
"Okay, that should work. Absol, when you need to, use Quick Attack. Cyndaquil, we're going to try and hit Absol as she moves."
Both sides understood their assignment. Absol trotted some meters ahead and turned to face her foe. Cyndaquil ignited the fire on its back. No sputtering start up. The flames were at full power instantly. Joe could feel the heat from his position a couple of feet back. Rotom hovered around the bottom right of Joe's field of view and showed him what Cyndaquil was capable of. Joe had a decent memory. The moves had been read off to him moments ago. But he'd take any advantage he could get.
Joe figured it was pointless, but he started with Tackle. Cyndaquil charged forward at a decent pace. Absol jumped aside. Joe gave command to keep up the pressure.
Cyndaquil landed. Spun on a foot and directed himself at Absol before Absol had even landed. She hit the ground with Cyndaquil closer than expected. She kicked out again, this time her strong legs taking her further. Cyndaquil ran through air. He stopped and turned to face Absol.
"Not bad. Looks like you're going to have to try harder than you expected, huh, Absol?" Joe saw how she took a couple of seconds to think it through. She barked and lowered herself a little. "Good. Training is pointless if you're not taking it seriously. And you need to know the capabilities of your teammates."
Absol's eyes widened just a little before settling back into a stern expression. Joe was right. If Absol took this seriously then they all benefited. This wasn't just about Joe learning to command Cyndaquil in combat.
Joe scratched his cheek. Hoped he wasn't being too preachy. He just assumed Absol wasn't used to having others around that would back her up. She was part of the team too. He wanted Absol to fit in.
Joe turned his thoughts back to battle. Cyndaquil stomped the ground. He was ready to fight. Unfortunately it was cute, not intimidating. Joe opted to use Tackle again. They had a back and forth, with Cyndaquil inching closer and closer to hitting. When Cyndaquil was close enough, Absol started using Quick Attack. Then it truly was impossible for Cyndaquil. That speed was too much for a simple running pace.
Time to change tactics. If close range was out of the question, then it came down to long range. Cyndaquil opened his mouth. Created fire at the back of his throat until he was satisfied with the size and temperature. This took just a moment. He shot a fireball forth using Ember. The idea was to overwhelm. Just one hit against Absol would do. As soon as Cyndaquil used Ember once, Joe told him to use it again. Keep up the pressure. There were three fireballs racing towards Absol at all times. Absol had to use Quick Attack from the start.
Joe thought about strategy. It was a stalemate unless he did something. He got Cyndaquil to fire Ember at greater angles. It forced Absol to cover more distance. Cyndaquil was a stationary turret while Absol was tiring herself out by running around at top speed.
To mess with Absol, Joe got Cyndaquil to mess with timings. Stagger attacks. Feint by changing the target at the very last moment. Five minutes passed. Joe was amazed that Cyndaquil was still going strong. The little fire hedgehog could back up his eagerness with action. He had energy to burn. That was good to know.
Joe paid close attention to Absol. She always moved a certain way. Joe could predict where she would go next. In theory, he could land a hit. He pointed even though Cyndaquil wasn't looking back at him. It was done to spook Absol, and when she briefly stopped at the location Joe pointed to, it indeed shook her.
Another minute passed. Joe started giving more precise orders as Absol tried to mix up her pattern. Joe wanted Cyndaquil to land just one hit. A couple of fireballs got close to Absol. Arguably a hit as they singed the tips of her fur. But it wasn't good enough. Joe wanted a direct hit.
More time passed. Joe timed it in his head. It had to be perfect. Absol was in the center. She moved left. Not as far as Joe expected. That meant she'd go right. She did. That was when Absol made an error. Instead of following her, Joe aimed the complete opposite direction. There were trees in the distance. He lined it up. Ordered Cyndaquil to aim further left, third tree along. Cyndaquil fired, trusting his Trainer. Absol zipped left. Right into Cyndaquil's Ember. She saw the attack, but it was already right in front of her. She couldn't avoid it. Ember struck the long tuft dangling from her neck. Energies collided. The fireball burst, creating a small puff of smoke.
Cyndaquil stopped firing. The smoke was quickly swept away. Both Absol and Cyndaquil were panting heavily. Joe gave a smug grin and Absol returned a wry smile before laying down to catch her breath.
Joe crouched down beside Cyndaquil. Stroked his head. "Good job, buddy. You did well." Hearing that, Cyndaquil let out a squeak and lay down too. The fire on his back sputtered and disappeared. "You both earned a rest."
Joe couldn't ask for better training. Both sides had pushed themselves to the limit. That was what it was all about. During both his working out and his martial arts, Joe knew he couldn't just safely and happily persist with what he was capable of already. He had to push to see if he could do more. Training wasn't meant to be comfortable. If either himself or his Pokemon walked away from training completely fine, no sweat or tiredness, then they hadn't truly put any effort into it.
Joe had to admit, he'd gotten into the battle more than he expected. He assumed he'd treat this as a means to an end. Just training to help people. But he could feel his adrenaline pumping and a smile cross his face as he worked to pinpoint where Absol would appear next. Seeing Cyndaquil land a hit was satisfying not just for the Pokemon but for the Trainer too.
Joe picked up Cyndaquil. Walked over to Absol and sat next to her. Put Cyndaquil on his lap and stroked him. Pat Absol's side a bit too. She barked in response, raising her head. She'd already recovered and was laying there casually, breathing under control. Seeing as he'd stroked two of his three Pokemon, Sprigatito on Joe's shoulder demanded attention too. He gave her some.
Absol was happy Joe understood limitations. She still wasn't sure about having a Trainer, and was especially reluctant to receive his affection. She lay down fully again, chin on her front legs.
It took longer for Cyndaquil to recover, but when he did he started grumbling. Joe peered down. Saw wrinkles around the hedgehog's eyes.
"Hey, what's up?" He picked Cyndaquil up. Held it out in front of him. Cyndaquil looked away.
Rotom, still being a Pokemon, could understand both sides. The floating phone responded to Joe. "He's upset it took so long to land a hit. He feels like a disappointment."
Joe placed Cyndaquil on the ground and stroked his head before sitting up straight. "Training shouldn't be easy, Cyndaquil." The Pokemon refused to look at Joe. "You're still young and have plenty of time to grow. It took ten minutes this time, but you'll improve and it'll show. I guarantee it'll take nine minutes next time, then eight, then seven. No one is strong from the beginning. You need to earn your strength. You'll get there one day, I promise. I'll make you strong."
Cyndaquil finally looked Joe in the eyes. "And you know what? You surprised me. I didn't think you'd last that long. You have stamina. Always use what you have to your advantage. Don't worry about what you can't do. Focus on what you can do."
Wise words from some of Joe's martial arts teachers. Joe was a big guy. He wasn't as flexible as others. He couldn't perform expert techniques. But what he could do was dish out a beating. Boxing ended up being one of Joe's better fighting sports because of this.
"You're going to be a real menace in the future with all that spare energy. Keep that in mind when you train."
Cyndaquil's expression softened and its mouth opened. Seconds passed as he formulated a response, but finally he jumped for joy and full body hugged Joe's leg. Joe smiled and stroked the fire hedgehog. Cyndaquil soon climbed into Joe's lap to rest some more.
Cyndaquil's goal had been to find a human that would be happy to have him. It's why he appeared in the guest room. It's why Cyndaquil had more energy than normal. He'd been putting serious efforts into training at Elm's lab. Cyndaquil had been passed up by a dozen beginner Trainer. He had started to doubt himself. Thought he wasn't worthy of fulfilling the duty he believed he had. But for some reason he recently had a burst of courage. He was determined to make the next person that walked through those doors his Trainer. And that person was Joe. Cyndaquil couldn't have asked for better.
Joe's opinion wasn't unfounded. He's seen a lot of battling both on television and at the Olivine Gym. Jasmine had explained it to him. Pokemon had two energies, and each was limited. Offence and defence. Defence was the reason why attacks from other Pokemon didn't instantly scar. It's something of a shield around the body. It was why moves explode. Two different energies colliding causes a reaction. If defence energy runs out then it puts an immense strain on the body, which usually results in the Pokemon being knocked out.
A Pokemon couldn't exchange one energy for another either. Cyndaquil hadn't taken from his defence energy to stay in the fight. He genuinely stayed in the fight because of his massive offence energy.
In theory, if Cyndaquil evolved into a Typhlosion and used Flamethrower constantly, he'd run out of energy faster. Trainers had to be smart about energy usage. But Cyndaquil might have so much energy that Joe can afford to be reckless and brute force a fight. If Joe was really smart, then the eventual Typhlosion had many tactical paths open to it thanks to the expansive energy.
Joe had more information now. He was doing his job as Trainer. Personally, Joe felt like being agile was a great benefit in a fight. But he wasn't going to force his fighting style onto his Pokemon. He felt that his job as the Trainer was to adapt to what his Pokemon could do. He'd learn how each Pokemon fought and figure out how best to use each individual Pokemon's strengths.
As Joe thought about this, Cyndaquil seemed to have rested enough. He sprung up and landed on the grass. Started poking around. Looked up at Joe's shoulder. At Sprigatito. Cyndaquil started jumping around. He wanted to play with the cat. Sprigatito looked at Joe, unsure.
"Go on, go and play." She was hesitant but hopped onto the field. She looked up at Joe. One thing Rotom had highlighted was the age of Pokemon. Joe knew Sprigatito was young. He felt like he had a daughter going to school for the first time. She didn't know about playing with others. She needed reassurance. "It's fine, I won't go anywhere. You two have fun." He turned to Absol. "I'd say three, but this one's an old grumpy grandma." Absol struck Joe with the tips of her claws. He laughed.
He nodded at Sprigatito. That seemed to be the last nudge she needed. She tepidly walked to Cyndaquil. He started to do odd things like ripping up grass and throwing it about and running after wild Bug-type Pokemon that flew about. Sprigatito quickly adapted and started playing with all her heart. Some teamwork got them close to swatting a bug out of the sky. Sprigatito hopped on Cyndaquil's head. Cyndaquil jumped and then Sprigatito jumped, clawing at the bug before falling back to the ground.
Joe mimicked wiping a tear from an eye. "They grow up so fast, don't they, grandma?"
Absol grumbled and jabbed Joe again. He laughed harder than before as he squirmed away to protect his side. Joe was tempted to tell grandma to have her afternoon nap, but he stopped himself. Couldn't waste all his material at once.
Having been alone for so long, Absol was unsure about her response. Was jabbing Joe okay? Was she going too far? She didn't know how she should act or the boundaries she shouldn't cross. Right now she was acting instinctively. Whenever Joe annoyed her, she had the urge to poke him. She considered her actions. Felt like she should act a certain way. But then it wouldn't be genuine. If Joe didn't like what she was doing then he'd have to tell her. She wouldn't understand otherwise. As for how Absol felt about Joe's antics, she was unsure. It was annoying but it wasn't bad, if that made sense. It didn't make her angry. That was good enough.
Joe turned to Rotom, a more serious expression on his face now. "Hey Rotom." It buzzed about and directed the screen to Joe's face. Something had been bugging him since breakfast. "Do I have a Pokemon in my shadow?"
Rotom zipped around and scanned Joe's shadow. Reported an affirmative. "Yes. A Ghost-type, although I cannot discern the species. The deeper in your shadow, the fainter its energy signature."
Joe wondered if he saw the ghost yesterday. When he first woke up on the riverbank there was a rotund shadow in his sight. He blinked and it disappeared. He originally thought it was a speck of dirt, but maybe it wasn't. The ghost was checking up on him.
The ghost might be the reason why Joe had never befriended a Pokemon long term. Joe almost always cared for small, weak Pokemon. If the ghost had spooked Sprigatito this morning, then it no doubt scared other animals. It also explained why Sprigatito had only just sensed it. Joe had put himself in danger, forcing the ghost to the surface.
Joe assumed, rightly, that Absol smacking his shadow this morning made the hidden Pokemon realise it was scaring Sprigatito. That's why it had dug deeper. "Absol, is the ghost in my shadow a threat?"
Absol sat up. Looked at Joe's shadow. Shook her head.
The gears began to turn. There was a chance the ghost was unrelated, but he had a feeling it was connected. Ever since his mother was stern in her refusal of helping Joe with his brainwashing, he had speculated family was involved. The ghost confirmed it. Joe's grandmother was a Ghost-type specialist. The Pokemon in Joe's shadow was there to keep him safe. Joe's grandmother could be grumpy, but she cared.
She wasn't actually his grandmother, but it's what Joe saw her as. To be specific, she was a great-aunt. The sister of his actual grandmother.
Joe thought back to his family. Mainly his mother. She was the most doting, overprotective parent imaginable. Yet she wouldn't help her son in this one aspect. Why? Because the family knew or they were responsible for the brainwashing.
Well, since there was no pushback now, it was less brainwashing and more memory sealing.
Wait, that had to be it. This was about memories. Something he'd seen? Something he'd done? Joe wouldn't be surprised if his desire to help others had backfired. Maybe he'd gotten seriously hurt and his family, for the sake of protecting Joe, sealed his near-death experience. Believed he didn't need to remember a traumatic experience like that. But it also took good memories. Joe assumed anything slightly linked to the event. His school years with friends were gone. He didn't remember much growing up with family. He'd like those memories back. He was an adult now. He could handle the bad with the good.
Joe fell back, arms behind his head. He had little to work with. Family was involved in some way. They wouldn't help before, so he doubted they'd help now even if he confronted them about his ideas. Joe had to figure this out himself. But he lacked direction.
Joe wanted to rest, but there was something else nagging him. Ho-oh. What exactly had it done to him to free him? He had a feeling they were linked.
He also had the feeling he'd make a good scientist. He was curious. Liked knowing how things worked. Liked asking questions. So that's what he did. Asked questions.
"Hey Rotom, what kinds of powers from Pokemon can be helpful to people?"
Rotom buzzed about. "Unknown. Not enough information." Joe explained the situation and how he felt. "Evidence suggests Aura. The soul of humans. It is a unique, mouldable energy that appears to be on the same wavelength as the energies of Pokemon types."
So the memory sealing was supernatural. Done by a Pokemon. Joe appreciated knowing his Aura was fighting back against the power that had been used on him. He silently thanked Ho-oh for the boost to his Aura.
Absol listened the entire time. It sounded like her Trainer had a problem to solve. She'd help however she could, but she witnessed the light in his eyes. He seemed to be figuring it out himself.
Joe finally closed his eyes for a moment as he lay on the grass. Needed room to breathe. Once Joe's brain received a reset, he pulled his phone out. Went over the PokeDex. Committed as much to memory as he could. He'd spend more time on it in the future. For now, he just wanted to be ready for tonight. He primarily looked at Absol since she was his main fighting force, and he'd already learned what Cyndaquil could do.
Joe lay back down. Thought about Absol's PokeDex entry. Went over it again and again until the two young ones came up to Joe. Started poking and prodding him. He sat up. He was going to ask what they wanted when he heard it. Their stomachs were growling.
"All right, lunch time." Joe grabbed Cyndaquil and reached an arm out so Sprigatito could climb up to her perch. Absol rose beside him. "Oh, right." He reached for a pocket. Brought a Pokeball out. Held it out to Absol. "Do you mind being caught? Just to keep us out of trouble. Being wild means anyone can try to claim you or cities can push you out. And it doesn't tie you to me permanently. You can leave whenever you want."
Absol eyed the ball. Thought about it. The ball could be broken at any time, releasing Absol. So sure. For now she'd be caught by Joe. If anything changed and they went their separate ways then there would be no problems. She trusted Joe to accept her leaving. She nodded and barked. Joe grinned and moved the ball to her. Absol hit the button with a paw. Turned into blue energy and went inside. Just like Sprigatito, she immediately came back out. Joe pocketed the ball. Nodded in satisfaction.
"Glad to have you."
The group walked into town. Ate at a nice restaurant. Had their energy restored at a PokeCenter. Joe put his Pokemon away. Pokeballs were useful storage devices for tight areas. He went into a different clothes store compared to yesterday. Found more clothes his size. Went to the counter. His face lit up. Behind the retail worker, he spotted a bottle of his favourite cologne. Aqua Denims. His previous bottle was somewhere on Mt. Silver, never to be seen again. He needed that new bottle.
Satisfied with his cologne, Joe went to a PokeMart and grabbed a Pokeball holster. He had six Pokeballs in a pocket. He could see it being difficult to grab the right one in times of crisis. He left. Clipped the holster to the back of his belt, under his jacket.
Joe still held off on buying new equipment. He didn't know where he was going next. Assumed he was staying in Johto for Raikou, but the Beast could appear anywhere on the Triangle. Even if he wanted to go to Kanto, the ferry was out for a couple of days due to Ho-oh's appearance. Customer safety was the company's priority.
Now that Joe paid attention, he was seeing a lot of people with Pokemon. Small ones on shoulders or medium-sized animals walking beside people. The only thing Joe didn't see were massive animals like Steelix. Obviously. They were a bit too big for town.
Joe offloaded his new clothes at the hotel. Went for a walk. Found a park nearby. A lot of trees and a pond in the center. He walked around the pond. Watched Ducklett and Swanna land. Moved on.
The sun was setting. His phone dinged. Joe reached for his pocket, but Rotom flew out and put itself in front of Joe. That was going to take some time to get used to. He looked. A text from Amelia. An address. It was go time.