《Pokemon: A Mystical Journey》 Chapter -1 - POWER LEVELS ( POKEMON) The following are levels of Pokemon which help divide different Pokemon most likely on basis of racial value. They are: 1)BABY POKEMON ( POKEMON JUST BORN OR IN BABY FORM SUCH AS PICHU CAN''T EXERT MUCH ELECTRICAL POWER ON ITS BODY AND CLEFFA) 2) ROOKIE 3) ADVANCED (MOST EVOLVED FORM HAVING RACIAL VALUE BELOW 500 IN THEIR PRIME) 4) ELITE( RACIAL VALUE ABOVE 500 AND MOST PSEUDO LEGENDARY POKEMON LIKE DRAGONITE IN THEIR PRIME ) 5) PSEUDO- KING ( OVERLORD OF A REGION MEANING RULER OF A FOREST OR HEAD OF STRONGER POKEMON TRIBE) 6) KING (ELITE 4 MAIN POKEMON) AND MOLTRES ZAPDOS ENTEI REGIROCK THESE ARE MOSTLY BETWEEN PSEUDO KING AMD KING . HIGHER THAN PSEUDO BUT WEAKER THAN MAIN KING. 7) PSEUDO CHAMPION 8) CHAMPION ( LANCE''S DRAGONITE , CYNTHIA GARCHOMP AT ASH TIME) 9) BEAST ( LUGIA , HOHO, PRIMAL KYOGRE, ETC) ALSO RED'' S CHARIZARD 10) DEITY LEVEL ( DIALGA PALKIA GIRATINA MEW AND MEWTWO ) 11) ARCEUS Chapter -2 - Power division (TRAINERS) Trainer power levels 1) ROOKIE TRAINER 2) BEGINNER TRAINER 3) INTERMEDIATE TRAINER 4) ADVANCED TRAINER 5) MASTER TRAINER 6) ELITE LIKE TRAINER OR ( PSEUDO- ELITES) 7) ELITE TRAINER ( ELITE FOUR OF EACH LEVEL) 8) CHAMPION LIKE LEVEL ( PSEUDO-CHAMPION OR OLDER ELITE FOUR MEMBERS) 9) CHAMPION LEVEL ( FUTURE LANCE, CYNTHIA , STEVEN STONE) 10) PSEUDO MASTER LEVEL ( RED, BLUE) 11) MASTER LEVEL. Chapter 1 - Start of the new legend Alex Bart, a reincarnated guy who was an avid pokemon fan looks over the window to see the Pidgey flying around and some even chirping on the window. " Ah, it''s been nearly ten years since I came to the world of Pokemon and it''s quite different from what I saw on TV and games. if I didn''t find out that Devon corporation is still around and not as grand as the time when the official storyline start I would have thought I was in a completely new world." Alex said as he pondered over his dilemma. Alex now born in the time when Lance is not the champion of Kanto and Johto league, Wallace or Steven is not of Hoenn and Cynthia not of Sinnoh. He is in the timeline when a much younger Agatha held the throne of elite four and Blaine still is the fire type elite 4 of Kanto frontier and the Kanto and Johto were not the same but had different champions. Our hero was born in a small town of Kanto and the nearest the main city of cerulean city. It is now regarded as one of the toughest gym stadium in Kanto as the father of the sensation sisters now holds the control of the gym. His father, Arthur works in this town as an architect and he uses Magnetite and Machoke for his work. His mother, Gwen was a housewife and he had twin siblings, Ben and Clara were now 6 years old with Ben being the smallest of the family. Since Alex was young he already stated to his parents that he wanted to travel but his parents thought it was just a child hocus dream so they said they would support him and thought over time he would forget as now the world was very dangerous. Now the gym serves as the guardian of town and to protect a city from Pokemon attacks. And as shown in games there were not only eight gyms but more than twenty gyms arranged in specific orders pertaining to their heritage and strength. Thinking about the current scenario, Alex thought he should grow stronger and become a powerful trainer so he could protect his family and also so he could sate his curiosity about many things about the Mystical Pokemon world so that he could protect himself in the journey. As for why there are above mentioned useless things because our hero here is about to get his starter Pokemon soon and start his journey. Now in this era to get a Pokemon trainer license, one has to be a citizenship certificate of the region, tax must be paid by the parents and last but not the least a certain amount of money is to be paid so one could get his Pokemon pertaining to various criteria such as starter of region, normal rated Pokemon, slightly rare Pokemon etc. But to do this one must work submit his application months before the d_e_s_i_r_ed date. Pertaining to the matter we find Alex packing his bag and taking his essential such as first aid kit, torch, matches, cutting kit etc while his mother supervised him and said," Alex take this hat, this napkin, take this too and that." His mother is very anxious and his father is downstairs taken to the twins and making them behave as he waited so he could take Alex to Cerulean so he could get his Pokemon. Alex said to his mother," Mom relax I will be fine and don''t worry about me." but she didn''t listen and countered him by saying," How could you be alright all alone outside? Didn''t you always read books and know how dangerous the outside world is? Why don''t you settle down like your father and take a job in his company so you could be safe." Alex looking at his mother anxious face pit down his bag on his hand on the bed and went to his mother hugged her and said," Don''t worry I will be fine. I have been preparing myself for this day and I will be safe ." to this, his mother tightly hugged him and cried slowly. Suddenly, Alex''s father Arthur shouted from downstairs," What happened? Aren''t you coming down Alex or did you change your mind? if you still want to go then Alex hurry up we have to head out now or we will be late." The hometown of the hero is Floral town for different types of flowers found here and takes hours to reach the Cerulean city and that too on a motorcycle. Then Alex hurriedly shouted," Coming dad" and then he took his bag and headed downstairs while his mother looked at him lovingly. "Dad let''s leave", he said while saying goodbye to his siblings and he headed towards Cerulean. As they left, three gaze also looked at him leave but didn''t come out from their places. On the journey he saw that they crossed a forest known as Dark forest for light don''t penetrate it''s canopy so had darkness. Since they took a bus so they didn''t fear Pokemon attacks as the driver was the experience of crossed this forest. After hours of journey, we reached our destination. his father took him to a Pokemon center. Unlike in the game where we could only heal and transfer our Pokemon, in reality, it served not only as a center for healing but also as living suite, diner, Pokemon daily market, task center and Pokemon allotment for new trainers too. As Alex entered his father led him to a room far corner from main lobby where a nurse Joy greeted them and asked," Sir what can I do for you? " " Could you please send us to the registration of trainer department?" My father asked. "Go down this lane then take first left then up the stairs and to your left the third door is the place." We thanked her and followed her instructions. As we went we show many people lining for their turn and we too joined this line. All the children shouted how they were going to be a Pokemon master or how strong they will be. Alex while was thinking of a different strategy of his Pokemon care he would implement. After waiting half an hour his turn came. As he was heading inside the room for his registration his heartbeat shot up and his hands trembled to see this his father gave him a warm smile and encourage him to head forward. - to be continued Chapter 2 - Starter After entering the room he saw a middle-aged male sitting in the table in front of him. The man introduced himself as Jude and talked to Alex rudely," Come quickly and get your registration going. Many more have to do it today. Don''t waste others time." and also sneered ," Damm county bumpkins wasting time. How unlucky I was to be assigned this task." Hearing Jude Alex went up to him and stood up. Jude then said," Put your hand on this pad it will take your finger print as your biometric and officially get yourself registered as a rookie trainer. I hope I don''t have to explain the hierachy of trainers do I? " To this he replied," Yes I know." The hierachy of trainers was not mentioned in the game but do exist in reality as we distinguish between lower class middle class and upper class and VIP and other aspects in reality. In the Pokemon world every trainer begins from the stage of rookie. At this level one is qualified to get free healing in Pokemon center and a lodgings of about 100 days a year altogether in the Pokemon centre. Also in the shops of Pokemon center one can buy low grade potions, antidotes and other minial application. Of course if one''s Pokemon is very badly injured then cost of the surgery and recovery etc all come out of the pocket of the trainers. the grading helps as discount rate for treatment. The hierachy of Pokemon trainer is as follows: a) Rookie trainer b)Beginner trainer c) Intermediate trainer d)Advanced trainer e)Master Trainer f) Elite level trainer g) Elites This is the level of trainer popularly circulated. The Elites in the ranking regarded as the top as this is position of Elites 4 of each league. So many still yearn for it and follow it. Though Alex thought there might be other levels too but could not know now as he was weak. Yes our hero here is of the belief that if you are weak the less you know the better and as you grow stronger you will know more. So this is the reason for his journey, it is not to be the champion or elite but to sate his curiosity about the world and learn more and discover the unknown. Now he is similar to a young kid curious about everything but he is not fearless like a kid but knows the danger so he wanted to be stronger so that he could protect himself and his family and dear ones. Thinking all this he put his hands on the biometric scanner and then his data and information was uploaded in the Pokemon league server then a card similar to voter ID or credit card with one''s photo name and the other data about his level was uploaded in the bar scanner strip. Then Jude the uploader asked him to pick up one of the ten pokeballs placed in front and said," Each pokeballs has a Pokemon since you chose the lottery system so your Pokemon will be random. In this you will pick any one of these ten and that will be your starter. You have only one chance and you could pick anything from a widely found Caterpie, Weedle , pidgey or a rare Scyther. So this is mostly based on your luck." If it was anyone else he would yearn for a rare Pokemon but our hero follow the saying of one of the greatest comic writer of all times, One piece author,Eiichiro Oda about his devil fruits that,'' THERE IS NO WASTE FRUIT BUT ONLY WASTE USER." Similarly the trainer believes ," THERE IS NO WASTE POKEMON BUT ONLY WASTE TRAINER." He believes if he found a Caterpie the he could evolved it I''m to Butterfree and with it''s psychic and bug type and his innovative knowledge ( knowledge from different anime and manga) he could still train it at least to battle the main team of gym leaders and with that strength he could still capture some strong Pokemon. After some thought he picked a Pokemon marked as number 7 as he believes that numerically 7 is both lucky and strong number. Then Jude said ," So you chose number 7 then let me upload it to your profile then . Hmm.. number 7 ok so the Pokemon which will be your starter is.... well kid you lucked out. you got this as your starter at least with it you could at least become an intermediate level trainer in the future. Well then move along." Thanking Jude Alex went out . There his father was anxiously waiting for him and seeing Alex , Arthur asked," Tell me what is your starter ? is it ok? is it strong? I knew I shouldn''t have listened to you and should have paid more so you could get stronger Pokemon instead of in a lottery." Seeing his father babbling he smiled and renarked," Dad I got a great starter and let''s go out do I could contact him and I could show him to you." " Ok then hurry up, we don''t want it to be anxious and have a bad impression of you by ignoring it." Both father and son headed at the back of the center where many new rookie trainers showed their starter to their trainers. He saw some had Rattata as starter some had Pidgey some had Nidoran and he also saw one with a rare Abra. Then he looked at his pokeball and said," Don''t worry we will surpass them all. Now come out my starter." As he threw the pokeball a being come out from the ball a Pokemon which was dark sphere (its "head") surrounded by light purple gas. Gastly has large, white eyes and a large mouth with a small pair of fangs. it was a ghastly. it was a ghost and poison type whose completely evolved form was a main pokeball of elite 4 trainer Agatha. When his father saw the Pokemon he immediately said," At least you could become an intermediate trainer" while other close by parents looked at the Pokemon and said jealousy," How lucky at least he could be an intermediate trainer" " I wish my child could have this Pokemon too." "yeah so lucky." While Alex just ignored all others and looked at the ghastly in his eyes and he too was eyeing him. After looking at each other Alex finally started," Will you look around yourself ghastly you became a celebrity. but are you satisfied with their ideas ghastly." To this the gas Pokemon look at him puzzled about what does he meant and asked him," Gha..gha... ghastly" "they all believe you could at most be a Haunter are you satisfied with it ." To this ghastly immediately shook it''s head replied "ghha" "Good then it seems you have an ambition to say the least. then ghastly I too have an ambition to seek out and find more adventure in this dangerous world are you ready for the journey against all odds , huh Ghastly. Lets take our journey to the top of the world and see how it looks like as the strongest trainer and strongest Gengar " Alex asked grinningly. Hearing him say such words proudly everyone there even his own father looked at him funnily . Many who were jealous of him ridiculed him by saying," Look he couldn''t even walk and want to run." " Man I couldn''t stop laughing hahahaha . maybe he should drop out and become a comedian instead. " " You will only die miserably out there." But still there were a few who watched him intently. they looked at him as if he was a ghost and one such person thought,'' There might be another trainer who will herald this era.'' This man was Blaine . He disguised himself and was traveling to catch or find a Pokemon which interest him but seeing someone so young and declaring such bold words he was stunned and thought to what level could this little devil grow up to. He was really looking forward to his future. Now I could only see if his ghastly too has the ambition to support him. If it too had such belief then after a decade or two we would have an elite level trainer. As he too believes he could only be a elite level at most and not higher as he is restricted by his linage as a civilian background and he could not support his Pokemon as accurate. At the same time Ghastly looked at Alex as he himself was stunned . He grew up listening various stories about many powerful Gengar in history from his caretaker and he too hoped to be a Gengar one day so it reputed his earlier sentence of stopping at Haunter as he learned to be a Gengar . But he could not think he could become strongest of all Gengar as some story seem very unrealistic. When he heard it''s trainer declaration it thought it''s trainer was mad and he thought of leaving him. But after seeing his eyes he completely forgot his previous thought, he saw wild ambition and a d_e_s_i_r_e to head over any obstacles which might come in his path. He saw Pure certainity in his belief and influenced by him replied positively to him. Then Alex once again said," Then let''s start our journey today partner and turn this world upside down and let this world engrave our names in the annals of the pokemon world history. " With this bold declaration start the journey of a trainer who started his whole new chapter in the history of Pokemon world and immortalised his names to be sung for years to come . To be continued.... Chapter 3 - Start of the new journey After seeing ghastly agreeing to it''s trainer, the disguised person whom we know as Blaine headed towards Alex unnoticed. After Arthur saw him heading towards his son, he defensively stood in front of his son and aggressively asked," Who are you? What do you want?" Blaine just looked at him then at his son intently and said," I am just a Traveller. I just heard your child declaration and I was curious that''s all. kid, do you think you could really reach the summit which no one have ever reached ." Alex looked at the stranger and vaguely felt him familiar but could not place where he saw him. As for his question he replied confidently," Of course" Seeing this confidence he once again said, " There are many who dream big but could not complete their dream and get disappeared in waves of time and in some cases even die. Yet you are still willing to go down that path. " After hearing these Alex looked pensive. Everyone around them was also quiet looking at the drama displayed before them. After a few moments of silence, " Of I am not willing to accept the consequence of death in my journey I wouldn''t have even started this at the first place. The moment I decided to become a member of the trainers association and go out on my adventure I already have arranged a place for my burial. " "Then aren''t you afraid that you will fail or what not" " if I fail once I will try again if I fail again then I will continue to try . As long as I live I will never ever give up." Hearing his reply, Blaine was shocked. In the place of the young trainer he saw the face of another person who changed the Pokemon world . He saw Samuel Oak, the greatest researcher of this time who was also a champion level trainer. Blaine himself fought against him but in the end lost to his tyrannical Charizard and Dragonite. After some second passed, Blaine in his grumpy voice replied, " Kid I am looking forward to what you will become in the future. I hope you will keep the same determination as you grow up. And since you are like this, I think this will serve you well." Blaine pulled out a box from his bag. He said, " This is the egg of a fire Pokemon. it will be of great use to you when it grows up. It will hatch within half a month. The trainer who gave me this egg told me to give it to someone who I see something. and I see that In you. As for what that something is you will know in the future. Kid raise it well." After giving the egg incubator Blaine headed out. Alex was stunned by this turn of events but later recovered and said, " One day both of us will come to you and beat you to show you didn''t make a mistake by passing it on to me. " Blaine just raised his hand in approval and left with without turning around. While this was happening his father Arthur was just watching it all. And suddenly said, " Alex it''s good to be confident but you can''t be over confident who knows what happen to you in this. " Then he replied ," Dad, don''t worry. I have a sense of proportion. As for what others say about me I don''t care. It''s the work of others to talk. " "Well you have always been stubborn about matters . So have you decided what you want to do. will you challenge the gym now or something." Alex pondered for a while after saying," I will train Ghastly first then catch some Pokemon then I will challenge a gym or two. Now I still got much to do." And he continued babbling about his future events . " Well since you decided to do so then let''s rest and then you could head for your journey." After this both father and son headed towards a hotel in the nearby and stayed there for the night while Alex talked to Ghastly . Though he could not understand him he could make out from his expression what he wants to say. So after having dinner he slept while ghastly intently looked at the trainer thinking about the events that unfolded today. Although it still was sceptical he believes that together they could do it and it stared at the Moon outside. Next morning our hero woke up to the chirping of the pidgey and after seeing Ghastly floating around him he remembered everything that happened yesterday. He then happily asked Ghastly," Well buddy are you ready for today. I sure as hell am and ready to tackle the day . let me freshen up so I could get ready to go. " His father too stayed in the hotel as it was dangerous to go back late for fear of Pokemon attacks. Nowadays are not as calm as in the future where you could safely sleep in forest without fear of Pokemon attacks now if you do so you might be attacked by Spearow Caterpie or even pidgey. As for those who think Caterpie can''t attack think if it sting shot you on your face can you breath . You may die of suffocation. After freshing up and meeting his father below he went with him to the bus stop. His father then said, " Alex now I am leaving so take care of yourself and look out . if you have any problem you could ask us we would try to help you as much as I can. Also do call home once in a while or your mom will become agitated. And good luck I believe you could achieve your goals." And he stepped in the bus and headed for Floral town. While watching his father go he clenching his fingers he thought,'' Don''t worry dad I will be fine and take care of yourself and everyone else.'' Then to the floating Pokemon ," ghastly let''s head out . For adventure awaits us . But be ready for I will train you so hard that you would not be able to even float so are you ready." Seeing the expression of it''s trainer it was scared but after thinking of it''s ambition it responded positively. " Well then it''s head out. I smell the greatest adventure awaits us ." And then the trainer and pokemon started their new adventure full of uncertainty and danger. to be continued.... Chapter 4 - Training in the forest As he has decided to head towards the wildlife he was once again confused to where he should head out to. Either the pewter city, Vermillion city or the Celedon city. He was mumbling with himself for a decision then suddenly thought to toss a coin . He pulled out a pokecoin with head having a magicarp and tails with one pokecoin sign . He then thought he would decide between pewter and Vermillion as in pewter he could get rock or bug type and in Vermillion he could get electric or water and they are still cost effective compared to other types in terms of expenditure. Then said," Let say if head to pewter and if tails to Vermillion." Then he toss the coin in the air and the final result was heads. And he headed towards the Mt moon . For pewter there were two ways shorter one through Mt moon and longer one through the forest surrounded it. He chose the longer route as it could give him time to train his Pokemon and it was much safer for the pokeegg to keep safe. Also the other reason was he was not strong enough to pass through it safely. So taking into account the time taken to reach the pewter city he stock his inventory for a month travel as he decided to train in the way. As he started heading for about two hours trekking he stood at the clearing and called out Gastly. And said ,"ghastly let''s see what moves do you know. " After hearing it''s trainer it used all the moves it knows such as "Hypnosis" "lick" "night shade" " confuse Ray" and lastly "poison gas" " wghastly all are good moves for you" hearing this ghastly smiled ," but they are too amateur . You should know all are ghost moves and won''t work on normal type and only poison will work. so we should try moves which are practical too so we will work on your psychic and poison power. " You use poisoning on the tree. Hearing it it used poison gas seeing a purple fog heading towards the tree . After impact there was nothing happening except a few dry leaves falling. "your poison aren''t that strong too." Hearing this ghastly was angry as it was one of the strongest among all the Pokemon in the starter package. Seeing him angry, Alex explained," it might work but think about the stronger ones . the more you fight the more one gets resistance to that move. So if we fight a Pokemon which had experienced poison it will be comparatively less effective. Ghastly if we want to reach the top we should not think about mediocrity, think of abnormal things. Well first we will camp here and you should try to stimulate you poison core meaning dense it with poison to do so there are two ways I could think of , Do you wanna hear it" and after hearing it''s trainer talking it too agree to it having defects so given the opportunity of increasing it''s power it excitedly nodded it''s head. " the first way was have poison surrounded your poison core in the body densen it increase it''s toxicity by feeding on poison or things having toxic matter well this is quite costly though." as Alex said. While ghastly looked at it''s trainer amazed to know such methods of training and vowed to listen to his commands while Alex thought," I got it from battle through heavens for how yi xian'' . "And the second method is quite bloody and ruthless and it is the most effective way too. and it will help you get some battle experience too." Seeing Alex looking at him seriously he thought for a while but later agreed as in the world weak are eaten by the strong. This is the current way of the world, so it agreed ." the way is you devour the poison present in the body of poison type pokemon and by integrating their core in your by doing so you increase your toxicity and make your poison deadly even to poison type themselves." After hearing this method he was too stunned as it was not killing but crippling them as without poison they lose their way of protection but still agreed. "Well then now you should try to combat the Pokemon here nearby and so you could get battle experience and not be dull after that we should again head out." As he said they fought some Pokemon such as Rattata, Pidgey, Spearow and against all of these it fought using it''s ghost form and hiding while using poison gas to poison and defeat them. As he was doing so Alex took note of it''s action and command it as well as ask it to control it''s ghost form more . the more it control the ghost form the more it could control it''s ghost energy and it will help it to learn shadow ball easily. And after a few matches it could be a bit seamless in transaction of it''s command though not perfect but Enough He then saw an Ekans and then ordered Ghastly," Ghastly there is an Ekans no matter what we should defeat it test that second way. Are you ready"ghastly suddenly became more determined and headed to Ekans. " Use curse" yes Gastly knew curse too.'' Curse , a ghost type move effective on any type which at the expense of half of Pokemon health continue to damage the opponent until the user faint in reality.''After being cursed Ekans was angry and lunged towards Ghastly to bite it . As ghastly was turning to ghost form Alex quickly commanded ,"don''t do so you are not skilled in ghost energy to dodge it physically dodge and use lick to paralyse it and then use astonish.'' Astonish was an egg move it inherited from it''s parents though now not much research on egg move was made on this current timeline.'' Ghastly followed the orders to the T and then Ekans suddenly flinched from the aftermath of Astonish and suddenly it fainted. Seeing it faint Alex was excited , ghastly too well for it''s experiment it needs a poison type and the only poison type Available in the forest were Ekans and Nidoran family and their evolved forms . Now their evolved form are far from them while among the weaker form, only Ekans can be used as it is solitary type and the younger Nido were protected by the parents and he could not beat them now. " Now ghastly enter it''s body and devour it''s poison core and mix it with you." As ghastly started devouring the core Ekans started writhing in pain and when ghastly was out of it''s body it fainted in pain now. And now it appeared Gastly grimacing in pain . Alex encouraged it and said," Ghastly it is only the start you will later devouring more poisonous type then it and their poison may be more hurting if you could not hold in the pain then you could forget your dream. So for your dream endure." Hearing it ghastly roared and then after few minutes of enduring it responded slowed, " Ghaaa... " as if saying it did it and it too fainted. seeing it he recalled ghastly in the pokeball and headed away as he was sure it may attract some Pokemon or Ekans may attack it in anger if he stayed for what it did to him as even bite or it''s wrap was deadly to him. As for success of the experiment it succeeded as he saw Ghastly body appearing more purplish than earlier probably from the increase in toxicity. after running for a while it once again pulled out ghastly and gave it normal energy medicine effective for all. After eating it Ghastly slowly woke and after seeing around sleepily it happily greeted Alex as it could see the second way worked and he felt stronger and excitedly without his trainers command it used poison fog on the tree nearby and this time. Some younger fresh leaves too fell and some had poison veins in them. Seeing the results they both were happy and Ghastly wanted to do more as they did to Ekans but Alex stopped him by saying," Ghastly you just acc_u_mulated the poison you still aren''t controller of it. Densen the core and become more control of your power meaning both poison and ghostly one or you could not defeat other easily. This Ekans was pretty imm_a_t_u_r_e in fighting or how could you a new Pokemon defeat it so. If we want to win we still have much to do so let''s continue to work and then we will do so together now rest. No don''t be overexcited. Working hard and resting is also important. Think like this as you empty your energy resting will help and then you could have slightly more energy after every cycle of rest and work . Also you should be watching over me at night while I sleep or how will I survive the night here. So Ghastly will you protect me?" Thinking what Alex said it too agreed and just floated around as Alex pitched the tent and cooked himself food as his mother taught him before travelling. And as night came he slept with Ghastly overseeing him. And this way the first day of the adventure came to an end. to be continued... Chapter 5 - First Pokemon battle Alex has now spent nearly a half a month in the forest and something surprising happened a week ago. The pokeegg he got from Blaine ( though he only knew him as a mystery guy) hatched. And the Pokemon which hatched was one of his favorite whose final evolution was a dual flying and fire type , A Charmander. It was a small, bipedal, dinosaur-like Pok¨¦mon. Most of its body is colored orange, while its underbelly is a pale light-yellow color. Charmander, like its evolved forms, has a flame that constantly burns on the end of its tail. And the most interesting part was the hotness of the flame of it''s tail. Although not scorching hot but still much more than the average Charmander. After getting it he thought of how he would make it so strong that it could even dey up an entire lake with it''s flame. Although it may seem exaggerated he felt exaggeration is better than mediocrity. Hell he even felt as long as an ice type could freeze a bay like Kuzan froze the sea in one piece than it still not strong enough and much to grow. Hell for fire type he considered former Captain commander of gotei 13 Yamamoto shigekuni as the bar. Since when he released bankai water in seireti evaporated to the point that even throat went dry. After all his ambition is to combat legendary Pokemon on equal terms and solve the unsolved mysteries and unearthen new discoveries so well it is good to have such grand ambition. As Charmander ( Male) just hatched he didn''t let it train but because of it''s hotter flame he gave his a glass of water in inflammable cup and asked it to heat it so after practice it could control it''s fire. While on the other hand ghastly has defeated another Ekans and it''s poison core upgraded again but not to the extent it did earlier. So Alex came to the conclusion that to upgrade the core he must devour core of more poisonous Pokemon so that his toxicity increase. And during this time it learned the preliminary poison bomb attack as well as initial shadow ball. As for why so called because the success rate of attack of poison bomb is 30% while of shadow ball is 60%. So according to Alex it would take about a month to get it working. Meaning to be used regularly and effective without fail. Over time Alex noticed that Ghastly has become competent and proud because of it''s easier victory over the course of time so he thought of fighting other trainers so that he could Know that world is much greater than it knows. After all if he was just a normal rookie trainer he too would have been proud but he knew about various champion trainers and danger of world as he crossed so he felt a sense of crisis in his heart and wanted to gain strength quickly but he didn''t do so because for a taller building foundation is needed and for his pokemon to be stronger he felt they needed to have better control. After an hour of trekking he met a trainer, named Max and challenged him to a battle as he had only one battle effective Pokemon ( as Charmander is just born and needed at least a month for accommodating training , that''s what I think ) so the story starts here. Max," Well since you only have one Pokemon we could have one on one Pokemon match, if it is find by you." Alex," Ok. Then let''s get started." Max," I am from Pewter city. go Pidgeotto " Alex," And I am from Floral city. Go Gastly" Max," Ghastly, is it your starter?" Alex," Yes now can we get started." Max," ok" What Alex didn''t know was Max here had already challenged the gyms and got two 1- star gym badges only one gym badges away from beginner trainer. while intermediate are those who have more than six gym badges or at least three two star badges or one three star badges. These star badges are demarcation of different levels of pokemon battle. For 1- star badges gym leaders use low level Pokemon , for 2- star use almost intermediate level and for 3- star they have at least 4- on- 4 match or 6-on- 6 match with atleast one Pokemon of their main team Pokemons. As for the number of 3- star gyms are only 8 main gyms of Kanto has the authority to give. As for the each gym badge has a point and these points also help in direct entry to Pokemon league matches in contrast to going into preliminary. This help new trainers to not having to face senior trainer and have a chance to at least attend and enter official league matches. Max," start with gust." Alex ," Sneak away and harass it with curse." just before Pidgeotto used gust Ghastly dogdes and uses curse. Pidgeotto grimacing in pain stares angrily at ghastly making it flinched as it had not fought Pokemon of higher grade. Alex seeing Ghastly flinch smiled then told it to use poison gas. then Max asked Pidgeotto to use gust to blow it away. in the meantime ghastly got behind Pidgeotto according to Alex instructions and used poison bomb and poisoned it. Seeing Pidgeotto get a beating asked it to use " twister". Then a big twister surrounded Ghastly and hurt it badly. At this time both the Pokemon were tired and breathed heavily and stared unblinking at each other . Both the trainer too looked at each other as they knew next move will be the last one . " Pidgeotto use hidden power" " Ghastly use poison bomb full power" Pidgeotto hidden power was electric type and slammed towards Ghastly . Ghastly in the battle used poison bomb much bigger the last one and threw it to Pidgeotto. After collision dust spread and both trainer anxiously awaiting the results. When the dust cloud settles we see Pidgeotto fainted on the ground while ghastly just inches above ground with great effort. hence it was concluded that Alex won. Both trainers were shocked. Max as he thought how he lost to a rookie trainer who had only one Pokemon and him after beating two gyms. While Alex as how he barely won and he thought,'' I really looked down on people and was just as proud as ghastly earlier to think I just won due to curse . if not it would be I who had lost. it seems I had to up my training. '' Ghastly too thought the same thing as it''s trainer and was thinking of increasing it''s practice. Now in order to increase the trainer the league had started a system of money payment for every Victory and loss on their trainer ID to keep account of wins ,losses as well as better management of their money. So their ID matched their data and according to their standing and result transferred funds to the Victor. As Max was higher in the order than Alex so he paid Alex much more than that of same level. If it was same level he would lose about 100 pokecoins but as he was lower so he lost 400 pokecoins. After that Max bid him farewell. While Alex pondered over the match and said to both Ghastly who fought and Charmander who watched the match that," He was just a rookie like us but still we barely won. we should not be proud and become accustomed to the level . Remember there is always a mountain over a mountain. So Ghastly continue working on your energy control. You saw didn''t you that Pidgeotto was evolved while Ghastly wasn''t so to fight on equal grounds his control was essential. Also Gastly in the future we may fight many Pokemon so you should also have your own thoughts and dogdes without my command. And Charmander you are a week old so along with fire control you will start running exercise as well as claw sharpen by attacking the tree ok. Don''t be disappointed but work hard so in the future you don''t have to suffer." "Ghaaa.. " " Chaarr." Although he did beautifully in his first match Alex due to self criticism underestimated himself and trained harder from then on as he head out of the forest. Well this underestimation of his own helped him grow stronger . And thus the first Pokemon official battle of our hero came to an end . Chapter 6 - New Pokemon partners As the trainer were divided into different levels similarly Pokemon too have their own respective divisions and mostly is based on the level of their racial number. For the fully evolved Pokemon such as Charlizard had a racial value of 530 while that of Gengar is 500 and of bug such as Butterfree and Beedrill is 395. It can be said that Charlizard is much stronger than Butterfree, but this is based on skill and raising the Pokemon to it''s potential or there would not be a bug type elite four in the future. After all Butterfree is bug and psychic type and this will be used as the criteria to defeating it. Well every trainer has different way of training and raising their own Pokemon. This is also a differential point in the fact that different Pokemon of same species had different powers and strength. Also it is also based on fact on amount of resources used to raise one, but for the current Alex he is facing a grand dilemma. His starter will not take much resource from his hand but to raise Charmander he would have to cut a piece of flesh of his own. For Charmander many unflammable objects were needed as they could catch fire and then special appetite for it''s healthy growth was also needed. In the forest he most fed him Dead Rattata or Ekans as for also let it hunt it''s own prey. After all it''s fangs and claws were made for hunting. Raising Charmander is similar to raising a carnivore pet like dog you could feed it and raise it without meat but it would lose its wild nature. Now the wild nature of the Pokemon is also a power too as at times it''s innate instinct may help it in battle. Over the course of time, Alex has some great moves which it probably inherited from its parent. This also let him be wondering about the strongest as well as suspicious about his identity. Nowadays people are not so kind to help each other. Many Trainer out there can''t reach even the league is also due to the fact that they die in the journey. In the journey they are either killed by wild pokemon, killed by their own Pokemon, by other trainers, thief, poachers as well as some big families who holds enough power in the region around and kill them when they are offended. As for the league it doesn''t do anything as for it the value of the family is much greater the a new trainer or it''s potential was not enough to tackle the other. Of course on the bright side no one dare to kill but who has seen the dark. So now in the world were anyone could kill the other anytime why would he do so. Well how could he know that the stranger saw in him a person who got the title of "the Destroyer" and this is enough for him to give him a helping hand. Anyway for diet of Charmander it composed of meat of animals it killed ( in this Alex only guided it in the beginning later asked it to face them on it''s own.) Now he also trained them to act autonomous in the battle and if he felt he needed to command them he would say. And during his time before his travelling he spent hours in the library or browsing through many books and he had enough knowledge to become a primary cultivator ( Pokemon breeders who help raise Pokemon and also breed them. They also are able to nurse their Pokemon to heal them) . We can say that every nurse joy in a Pokemon center of the main gym ( gyms we know from Pokemon games) is a senior cultivator and in other lower towns or places are intermediate gyms. Heck some top cultivator have same status as that of Pokemon gym leaders too and can be considered an indispensable part of the league. Every top cultivator is provided with enough to live happily without any work for lifetime. As for why he doesn''t do the exam for cultivator is because he is very weak now. If he by any chance passed although it will only direct some attention of league it will also let other organizations in the league as well as criminal organization to him and he is not strong enough to protect himself. By joining them it may help him grow quickly but he doesn''t want to be bound to anyone. He wants to see how far he could reach on his own. His Charmander eats special pokecube he create for him made from the berries he found in the forest. As the pokecuber in the hoenn is not invented yet he used his own hand to make them. This help him also increase his intimacy for his Pokemons and also make them strong as it slowly strengthen their body and other attributes. As the moves Charmander now knew were : Growl Scratch Ember But also ,,, Flamethrower (Though weak. Can only considered as stronger than ember) Dragon dance ( probably had a dragon type parent) Dragon Rush ( but this is only a stronger tackle attack) So I. other to train it better Alex thought of a regime for Charmander by physical exercise strength it''s body, by clawing trees sharpen it''s claw for later claw moves, Boiling water for fire and he let it use dragon dance to control the dragon power. As for dragon Rush he now put it on the back as Charmander body can''t handle the stress of weaker rush let alone train it . So he decided to strengthen it physically and train dragon Rush either after it learned dragon pulse so it could manipulate dragon power better or after it evolved to Charmeleon so that it''s body can handle the stress. Now he for dragon dance it could update only twice after third it could only handle only one attack after which it faints or could hold it for 5 seconds. And this is only due to it''s superior linage. Now he had two new Pokemons he caught. A Caterpie which dared to stare at Ghastly even if he knew it would lose. it''s battle spirit impressed him enough to capture him. And a Pidgey who knew wing attack he catch it. Both the Pokemon has different regime. Caterpie is mainly trained in it''s usage of string shot and he would ask it to swing around using it''s string like Tarzan swinging on vines. And using the energy generated to tackle down it''s opponent. Over the course of Five days it was caught it had defeated two rookie Trainer and Rattata, Pidgey and even weaken a Ekans which was later defeated by Pidgey. As for Pidgey he mostly concerned about he wing strength and mostly glided over the same place to strengthen the wing. He also had strengthen the beak and claw by attacking the tree and rocks . Well Caterpie was caught later than Pidgey on the same day he fought Max. So before Pidgey he fed on Caterpie, Weedle and even Rattata. As for when it fought Ekans it ate it with help of Caterpie who weaken it. But after capture of Caterpie Alex asked it not to feed on Caterpie at least in front of Caterpie. He also let it find it''s prey on it''s own so that it''s predator instinct is not diluted over time. He also fed them his special berries cube. Each of his Pokemon Gastly, Charmander, Pidgey and Caterpie. Each had their own diet and recipe according to taste. As for why he nurture them himself elite trainer is at least intermediate level cultivator. So he too trained in it as it helps both in bonding and also train them well and help cut off cost for Pokemon care. After staying in the forest for at least a month he finally reached the city named Rock Town due to abundance of Geodude found around. He thought he would also challenge the gym here. Well here we now see our hero having his first official gym battle . So let''s stay tuned for a much more exciting Battle. To be continued..... Chapter 7 - Hidden Market and Evolution The name of the town Rock Town is due to the much presence of Geodude and graveller in the surrounding areas. These often cause trouble around the area. In order to combat them most of the trainer here had grass, water or fighting type Pokemon. Also the gym itself is a Fighting gym. It has the authority to grant 2- star gym. Also in order to help trainers the Pokemon league has created a new system called task system which can be used in any Pokemon center. There they could get different tasks according to their levels and get rewards. Heck one could even get evolutionary stones for this. In order to help his Pokemon get some experience fighting rock type Pokemon, Alex after reaching the town and getting his Pokemon deposited to nurse joy for their normal checkup he went to the task desk. There were many tasks posted. Each tasks had been distributed into different levels too for the sake of convenience and trainer at specific levels can take only certain level tasks. The task levels are: 1- star level: Rookie trainer and those above 2- star level: Beginner trainer 3- star level: Intermediate trainer 4- star level: Advanced levels And 5- star level : Elite like trainer The 5- star level mission are only generated in the big cities of Kanto and are through the Headquarters of the league. As for the trainer with 2- star gym badges can do upto 3- star task while those of 3- star badges can do 4- star task . Of course the top four of each league can also do this level task. Also this level task completion can help one get evolutionary stones . As a rookie, Alex took a 1- star task. The mission was "There are a Group of Geodude blocking path to the Trench Town. Trainer is asked to drive away them. Any way can be implemented to do so." When one completes a task the people around are asked to confirm the task completion and the task is considered complete. The reward is then granted to the trainer. For taking on Geodude Alex thought of using Charmander as he will be using him for the gym battle. It will also help him get accustomed to the fighting moves. After an hour of searching the route he reached the destination. He asked a nearby person," Where can the route to Trench Town be?" " why are you asking this young man? Don''t you know there are Geodude there. There were a few people who got hurt during their attack. Fortunately none were killed . you should leave . come back later when a trainer from the league clear them." " Hehehe I am sorry I am the trainer the league sent. don''t worry I will handle it. so can you tell me the way." " Aren''t you a bit too young. how could you do it if a_d_u_l_t can even not do. you are still a kid. don''t go to your death." " Look here uncle I got four Pokemons. this shows at least I could protect myself if things go south. if necessary you could also come so you could see it yourself." Seeing his confidence he agreed and took him to the place. There Alex saw five small rocks blocking the path. If not for the crease on the rocks if seen closely no one would find them separate from ordinary rocks. That''s why Geodude line is so feared in caves because no one know under which rock is it and many are crushed to them in caves by them. After seeing them he immediately called out Charmander. Seeing this Pokemon the person who brought Alex his eyes gleamed and he thought,'' From the coat and the flame of it''s tail it seems to be raised properly. Also the muscles also indicate that it is also physically strong. It seems this guy is at least intermediate level. He should not have trouble facing these geodude.'' Alex told Charmander to deal with the Geodude and oversaw the fight himself. Charmander used flamethrower to attract their attention . After being attacked these Geodude threw rocks at it. After physical training it easily dogded them. He initially thought of using dragon dance but because of their attack he could not find time to use it. For current Charmander it takes about 2 sec to use it and in their attack he couldn''t. Thinking briefly while dodging he suddenly swept it''s tail and flame embers flew from the tail to distract them. This tactics is what Alex taught it if he get cornered so as to create room for it''s maneuver as flame don''t affect them much as it was not hot enough according to both Alex and Charmander. After the moment time he quickly used metal claw he learned while clawing trees and because of his strong physic ( both due to linage and training) two of the five were instantly out of the game. Then he used flame claw on the other three this severely wounded them. The flame claw move was learned after he learned metal claw due to his flame control exercise. Also currently it is not m_a_t_u_r_e enough to use and could only be used in conjunction with metal claw. Due to this Alex asked him to use flame claw after metal claw so he could have enough practice to use it. Angry the Geodude used magnitude. This also hurt Charmander but it endured and then ended it with flamethrower. Now flamethrower was strengthened due to the boost from Blaze. Hence the first group battle of Charmander came to an end. After defeating them Alex quickly caught them this time not to train but for selling. every city has a black market where Pokemon are sold. This is done by transit understanding between league, city and the underworld. This keeps a semblance of peace around. Seeing the battle the stranger felt his views confirmed as he saw Charmander defeat them without any instructions. This if not for seeing the coat one would think his is credited to Pokemon only and not trainer. But experienced Trainer train their Pokemon to act with certain autonomy and only command when necessary. Seeing some errors here and there all qualities are of a beginner trainer at least with 3 badges. So he thought Alex was also one with minimum of 3- badges. of course these thoughts Alex didn''t know. After battling Max he still feels he was still a rookie. "Congratulations on your victory young man. Ah m I am sorry I haven''t introduced myself. My name is Marcus. And I am the gym leaders of Rock Town. And I believe you are here for the gym battle." " Yes I am for the gym battle. " " Your Charmander impressed me very much. how about we have a battle tomorrow and you could let him rest." " Thanks. And can you help where I can trade them." Although not directly asked but still," Are you not going to raise them." " I have my hands full with my Pokemon and could not handle another until at least he evolved." "Well take a right from Pokemon center then go straight for 300 metre another left and about 460 metres you would reach your destination. But be careful there . I don''t have to say anything else I think." Marcus said the last sentence Seriously. " Thank you for your help. I will have a battle Tomorrow. at your discretion." Alex said happily. " Splendid. Then how about 10 at morning. I will be looking forward to it." and he left not before confirming the news of his task completion. This task was trick task he set. It was at least 2- star task so he oversaw whoever came for the task. If there was any problem he would help them out later. that''s why Alex saw him there. While headed to the gym, Marcus thought,'' He is very interesting. A young man with a m_a_t_u_r_e mind and calm during battle. Tomorrow I am really looking forward to seeing him fight seriously.'' After Marcus left he too left the place and headed to Pokemon center for healing Charmander. After deposit for healing he headed and submitted the task for the rewards. He got 1000 pokecoins as well as a full heal. This helps one Pokemon completely eliminate status aliment. This is good rewards. After taking Charmander he headed to the place. The place he was entering was Black Market. As for why here because he found the world was not black or white but a shade of grey. So he was here to sell the Pokemon. In order to not reveal ones identity he wore a mask and a cloak. After entering he saw many people selling many things from medicine to power enhancers and even Pokemon. In the black market the price of Pokemon is based on their racial values. Pokemon below racial value of 350 - 10000 <400 =25000 <450 =50000 <500 = at least 100000 and could increase more As for above this value are not sold but auctioned and they reach as far as 1 million or even higher corresponding to the type or genre of Pokemon. On the way he say some Pokemon even from Johto and hoenn area too. When he saw Gulpin he was tempted to buy it to upgrade the poison core of Gastly but endure as he had no money. So he headed to the transaction point. Here there are many booth where transaction happen. Since it has interest of many high level people in the league too so privacy was maintained. After headed to an empty booth, he immediately said," Five Geodude , how much?" The booth owner immediately smiled crookedly and said," 7000 each" Alex countered " At least 18000 each. " " Oh why so high do enlighten." Seeing the other party bargain and how he acted owner understood the other person knew of the matter here and for him to price so high he was interested," they all knew magnitude and explosion" After hearing this "even so 15000" " don''t treat me as a rookie I know you would at least sell them for 25000 so up the price." They both bargain for some time and later agreed at 17000 after selling them Alex got 85000 pokecoins. '' I now understand why so many people become poachers. They get money easily. Heck after nearly a month of traveling i got 5000 coins but only could save 1000 '' then he immediately asked," How much for poison type " Owner listed," Ekans - 12000 Arbok - 36000 Koffing - 8000 Weezing - 15000 Muk - 40000" " Well give me 4 koffing and two grimer" Alex instantly spent 62000 coins. This is due to requirements for Gastly. After month training Gastly stored enough ghost energy for evolution yet could not evolve so he thought it may be due to poison core. He felt if he could upgrade core he would evolve. So he didn''t hesitate. After taking them he headed towards the forest and released Gastly, Charmander and Pidgey. Over time Gastly is now at least twice it''s height about 7 feet and the Pidgey due to battle has started growing a plume over it''s head showing in a week it might evolve. Then ordered them to stand guard. First he released a koffing and asked them them to knock them down. Then he asked it to devour the core but not integrate and asked to integrate it together. After killing all the bought Pokemon coldly and then devouring core Gastly looked pained with amount of poison in it''s body. Later he told Gastly that while integrating them mobilise the ghost energy too. Because of his control training he was able to do so but barely. After a few minutes the Gastly scream in pain and the nearby Pidgey and smaller Pokemon ran away from here. Some poison headed towards Alex and his Pokemon. So he asked Pidgey to blow it away. After Wing strengthening he was able to continuously blow wind for about 5 minutes. This is almost the amount an average Pidgeotto can do. As he blew the poison in the center a white light shone and then a change occurred Gastly evolved to Haunter. Haunter is a dark purple Pok¨¦mon with a gaseous body. It has a round head with a pair of disembodied hands. Each hand has three pointed fingers. Its head is flanked by three large, spiked protrusions on either side, and its eyes are large and triangular with small pupils. The gases composing its head curve down to form several pointed teeth framing a pink mouth and a long tongue. Its body tapers into a jagged tail. His Haunter was nearly 8 feet tall. Much bigger the average. His Haunter had a deep purple body with some symbol probably related to ghost power. Alex said with his strong stance," Say ghas.. no Haunter did I disappoint you. Are you still willing to follow me and head the top." Haunter looked at his trainer . The words still boiled his blood as it did when he first heard him and this transformation affirmed his decision. So Haunter replied smiling," Hauu..nterrr" "Well then why don''t you greet your partners." And this unique way our hero evolved his starter and is also in anticipation for his first gym battle. Chapter 8 - First Gym Battle ( part 1) Next morning Alex quickly got up and headed straight to the gym after eating himself and feeding his Pokemon. He arrived the gym at 9:30 about half an hour early. Arriving there he saw the gates were still closed. So he thought of waiting and think about his strategy today. Though not all will work bit it should be enough to have some failsafe if things went South. Were normal rookie Trainer are confident about their battle he was sceptical. Since he came to the world this is his attitude. Always be cautious who knows what happens next. Only strong have the luxury for relaxation. After all he knew that after some time disaster may come and who k owe if he or any of his family was trapped there. So he always had a sense of crisis in his heart. Suddenly a loud voice pulled him out of his mushing." Who are you?" After turning towards the voice he saw a Fourteen fifteen year old boy in a green karate suit with the gym symbol embedded in the c_h_e_s_t. Probably a gym trainee. Gyms also recruit some children as their trainee. The league asks the gym leaders to do so that there are ample capable trainers to protect that place. Of course if the gym leaders is too strong he is not bound by this restrictions. " I am for the gym battle. " " What a weak punk like you dare to challenge the gym here. Move along kid and go somewhere else there at least you had a chance of victory. Here you will only lose." The trainee tried to intimidate him. " Even if I lose I lose I will still Battle. " Along with the trainee there was a girl with similar age to him. Probably he was trying to impress her at his expense. " Why you? Here I am trying to help you and you are throwing my face. Now let me show you the strength of the gym."pulling out a pokeball, he said. " You should have already done then." also pulling his own pokeball. "Now now WHAT do we have here. If you want a battle how about we have it in the gym." Marcus suddenly said. hearing his voice three sets of voice immediately came," Marcus" " Gym leader sir"*2 while the trainee feebly try to say," Sir I was just helping him so he won''t cry if he lose.i..i..i wasn''t bullyi..." " Stop since it has already come to this let''s sold e it with a battle." Marcus first said to his trainee and then ," You don''t have a problem having a warm up match before our bout do you Alex" Alex shrugged his shoulder and said," Sure at least body will warm up " Being ridiculed the trainee was angry but due to Marcus was quiet. After entering the gym both of them stood at two corners of the battle field while the girl trainee was the referee Marcus became the spectator. The girl started ," This is a one on one Pokemon battle between Archi the trainee of Rock Town gym and Alex of..." " Floral town" " of Floral town" " Then let''s the match begin." " Machop battle stance" " Metapod go" " What a metapod are you looking down on me kid" hearing it girl too looked puzzled at Alex While Marcus thought,'' So you want to do that. Humm just as I thought earlier you are very interesting Alex'' Ignoring their gaze Alex said harden your self. " Machop karate chop" without command metapod used string shot to dodge by swinging through ceiling. Metapod now " Spinning tackle" As we know things when spinning cause a greater damage to things on impact as contrary to normal impact, so Machop was sent flying by the force of harden, tackle and the swing. Machop though handled his fall and still stood up. then Archi took a deep breath his eyes were pensive," Use bulk up" "Metapod continue to harden" and Machop then rush forward then immediately shouted," Vital throw " Machop threw him into the air and then jumped and gave two heavy fist impact on it''s shell then as he fell, Alex calmly said," Slow your fall." Immediately metapod shot thick string just below and formed a string cushion to lessen the Damage. All this stimulated him and he shone in bright light. Seeing this Machop stopped. From the cocoon came a Butterfree. Butterfree resembles a vaguely anthropomorphic butterfly with a purple body. Unlike true insects, it only has two body segments and four light blue legs. The upper pair of legs resembles small, three-fingered hands, while the lower pair resembles long, digit-less feet. Butterfree has two black antennae, a light blue snout with two fangs underneath, and large, red compound eyes. Its two pairs of veined wings are white with black accents. As for why Machop didn''t interrupt the evolution was because it was considered sacred by the Pokemon. So taking into account the feeling of Pokemon in all league battle it is asked and ordered not to interrupt it. Of course though in the wild there is no such case. After evolving Alex commanded, " Whirlwind" A strong wind blew towards the Machop which threw it in the air and without giving him the chance, " throw him to the ground" It''s eyes flashed blue and through psychic slammed it to the ground hard. A dust cloud rose on impact. After the dust cloud faded, we see Butterfree flying in the air while Machop was fainted. " Machop has fainted. So this battle Alex and Butterfree won." "so how do you think it was." Marcus asked Archi."I..I am" "I had noticed you getting arrogant over the course of the time so I thought it would be good for you if you lose. Although you are one of the best in town there are more trainers out than this town. You should never be competent with your strength. I hope you learned it well." " Thank you" he bowed his head both to Marcus and Alex. " So Alex do you want to heal your Butterfree" " No need I wasn''t going to use him anyway.lets get our battle started" then Marcus nodded to Betty," Now we have a Three on three official gym battle between Challenger Alex of Floral town and Gym leader Marcus. Let the battle begin" And so the first official gym battle of our hero is about to begin. So stay tuned to be continued.... Chapter 9 - Gym Battle ( part 2 ) " Go Hitmonchan" " Go Pidgey" Hitmonchan is a tan, humanoid Pok¨¦mon that is exclusively male. There are five blunt protrusions on top of its head, and it has extensions resembling pads over its shoulders. It appears to be wearing a light purple tunic and kilt, as well as red boxing gloves and light purple boxing shoes. As this appearance suggests, Hitmonchan specializes in punching. " Pidgey whirlwind" Hitmonchan dogdes by jumping in the air. Then suddenly Pidgey attacked it with high speed quick attack and peck combo. But Hitmonchan raised his hands to block yet it was still blown away. And once again it was a stare out. " Hitmonchan agility then hard impact" " Pidgey featherdance" As soon as it use it Hitmonchan attack it with thunderpunch. then suddenly Alex said," Wing attack and gust " Now both Pokemon are breathing heavily. Pidgey only survived because feather dance weakened the attack or it will be knocked out. while Marcus was anticipating this battle. Although not going all out it was quiet sometime since he let a bit loose. While his trainees looked shocked at the level of battle in front of them. Finally both said," Mach punch" " great impact" ( Using tailwind to speed up+ and tackle while spinning) On impact a great wind blew and when dust cleared Pidgey was fainted and Hitmonchan in the last leg. "Pidgey lost , Challenger release your next Pokemon" Bringing back Pidgey while encouraged it and then ," Go Charmander" After release it roared. " Hitmonchan use return" " Charmander flamethrower" After the attack it fell. " Go Mankey " Mankey is a primate Pok¨¦mon, similar to a New World monkey. It is a bipedal Pok¨¦mon with a round body covered in whitish, shaggy fur. Its nose is similar to a pig''s snout, and it has red eyes and triangular ears with brown insides. Mankey''s hands, two-toed feet, and the tip of its curved, prehensile tail are brown. " Mankey bulk up" " Dragon dance" Both up their stat then attacked Mankey dashed towards Charmander and started scratching him. But Charmander dogded. They both started Slash at each other . In between once in a while it used fire claw and metal claw too. This damaged Mankey greatly. Then he started getting more and more rilled up and started with more ferocity. At this time they started hurting each other. This time both are getting tired. It became a slugfest as Charmander wasn''t given time to use flamethrower. And due to this Alex too got agitated then suddenly said ," Charmander slam your tail on the ground. and then release it" Following the command. he did and dust flew and then a raging flame cut threw it at the Mankey. And submerged it in flame after that fainted. And this slugfest took a lot out of Charmander as it was not so defense in it and it was still young. So it was also breathing heavily. This time although Charmander was standing he still withdrew it. And this time. " Go Machoke " "Go Haunter" " Ah a Haunter . it will make the battle worthwhile. Are are ready Machoke." "Mach..oke" "Let''s end this match with victory , Haunter". " Hauunnteeer" "Let the battle begin" " Haunter use curse" After this Machoke grimaced. then" Machoke knock off" this sent Haunter back though before that he launched a poison bomb and toxic too. This is poisoned it. " You are damn sinister kid" " Hey I stayed in the forest for half a month. Of course it was it''s instinct. I don''t combat their instinct but let them go with the flow" Then Machoke slammed towards Haunter with fire punch which Haunter countered with shadow punch. They clashed with their punches but during this time shadow ball will be released too. this hurt Machoke badly. But balanced by timely used of revenge. Then after another round of slugfest they had a stare down. " Dual chop" " Poison jab" They both hit each other square. They both few back Haunter more so than Machoke. And then both fainted. All were shocked by this result. " Both the Pokemon are not able to continue. Since Challenger has a Pokemon left. So the winner is Alex of Floral town." After pulled back Haunter, and hearing the result Alex jumped in the air in joy. Seeing this Marcus thought,'' Even though he was so calm during battle but it seems he still is a ten year old kid.'' " Congratulations kid. You really hammered down Machoke. Hahahahahaha" Alex humbly said," It lost mainly as he was both cursed and poisoned otherwise Haunter won''t stand a chance. " " Don''t be so modest. You won fair and square kid. Here is your gym badge. " the gym badge was in the shape of a fist ? and with two stars in it. After seeing and taking the badge he thanked and headed out. Marcus then said," So how do you feel compared to him. He almost let me about 50% out. If you want to be my successor you should stop thinking about Trainer in the town as your opponent look at the far bigger field. Or else you will only be crushed " "I understand sir and I will work harder." And Marcus too headed deeper in the gym. '' Well kid I really look forward to what you become in the future kid'' Alex headed to the Pokemon center then deposited the Pokemon for full recovery. Then Nurse joy said, " It will take 100 pokecoins each for Pokemon please." Alex gave her his card then '' thank you for your time. " after depositing the Pokemon. He head for making calls to his family. As he dialed the number in the phone, then on the screen appeared his siblings Ben who picked the phone" Hello Bart residence " in his child voice. " Hey Ben how are you . not causing trouble." " Alex??? Alex . Mom dad Clara look Alex called. Didn''t I say he would call today. Now Clara say I am awesome." " What Alex" " Alex" " Big brother" Suddenly his whole family came and all were happy. Seeing him safe his mother cried then suddenly turned angry , " Well young man what do you think you were up to? Not even calling once . do you have any idea how afraid I was . I wasn''t even able to do anything. heck your father wasn''t able to work so he took holiday . and even your brother and sister were sad." " I am sorry.sorry. I was at the forest and I only reached a town yesterday after resting I called. We''ll look here what I got" " What is it bug brother show me, show me" Clara asked excitedly. He showed his gym badge. After seeing its dull texture both younglings lost their interest. " Is it really what I think it is" his father asked surprised. " Yeah I just won the badge as well my Pokemon are now healing. So sorry I can''t show them to you." " It''s fine tell me what Pokemon do you have" Ben asked . "Well I have a Haunter, Charmander, Butterfree and Pidgey." " So your Ghastly evolved, caught Caterpie and Pidgey and that egg was probably a Charmander" His father said. "As smart as ever dad well I gotta go they released my Pokemon." " Well take care and do call every once in a while" His mother said softly. " Bye big brother" *2 " Take care" His father said. "Bye and you all take care too" This is my family and I will always protect them. If anyone dare to do anything to them he will pay. this is what he thought coldly. After taking his Pokemon as he was heading back he thought of the stranger and the number he gave After some thought he once again went to the phone booth and then dialed his number. After his first gym victory he called the stranger ( while know is Blaine) what will happen next to know this stay tuned. to be continued..... Chapter 10 - The Mysterious Identity of Alex After dialing he waited after then a voice came but no person was displayed on screen. " Hello who is there" A grumpy voice rang " Hello I am Alex. I was the one you gave the egg to" " Oh you are that kid. So did the egg hatched." " Yes it was a Charmander." " Charmander. hmm. as I expected. So what do you call me for kid. Probably not for just this news." " I am curious why did you send me this egg. Why me and not someone else. " " Well kid I just saw someone I know in your spirit. Well kid just leave these behind so did you battle anyone." " Well I just won a gym badge in Rock Town" " Oh that fighting brat hmm. So did he use Mankey and Machop to fight how did the fight go?" " What Machop ? He used a Hitmonchan, Mankey and Machoke to fight" " WHAT ???" Blaine on the other side thought,'' What was he thinking. Using a team for Intermediate trainer to battle a rookie. Did he offend him or something. Wait did he say he won'' " Well kid you said you won. Could you tell me what Pokemon you used?" Alex thought for sometime then agreed as he gave him Charmander. So he said, " I used Pidgey against Hitmonchan , Charmander to Mankey and Haunter to Machoke" " Pidgey lost to Hitmonchan then Charmander defeated it then took on Mankey and barely won and Haunter tied with Machoke" " I see " '' Smart kid telling me just enough but not enough too. Hmm you keep getting interesting. Winning your first gym battle like this. I will await you kid'' " So kid what do you want to ask?" "Can you tell me about the egg you gave me, who is it''s parents and all that?" ''Maybe I should send him to him. It will be interesting to say the least. And at least the kid will get a backing and not be crushed by those pathetic families'' " Well kid as you won the gym battle I will give you a reward. Head to Pallet town. Your gift will be there along with the answers." " Also you won''t be wasting your time as there are at least four gyms in the route except the Viridian City I am sure you could handle others." After some thoughts, he agreed. Before switching off,he said " Well kid you won''t regret it. I look forward to meeting you again." After leaving the booth, he walked towards his room in the center while playing with Charmander''s pokeball thinking,'' Who was that man? And what is the secret you hold buddy? Well I will know it when I reach pallet town. So I should stop thinking about it.'' After reaching his room he took a bath and then got ready to sleep. But before he released all his pokemon. His Butterfree sat on his head, Pidgey on his shoulder, Charmander stood by him along with Haunter who levitate. " Well guys we won the first gym. Come here I will show you the gym badge. " All of them craned their neck to see the gym badge "after seven more we will be able to participate in the league. So let''s work hard and I know everyone is tired so let''s sleep together after all we will be heading towards Pewter next. And we will once again be heading for wildlife so be ready. As you all know we just barely won the match so we should gear up again and up our training so we would not suffer like this again. So are you ready." All of them together roared. "Freeee.... " "Pidddgggg..." "Chaarr r...." "Hauunnteeer..." Well then let''s rest and be ready for tomorrow. Sweet dreams." MEANWHILE With Blaine Blaine dialed a number," Hello " " Hey you stubborn old fool, what happened? Is the egg I gave you ok?" " Yeah it''s about that egg" " What Happened? Is it ok? if anything happens to it I won''t be holding back Charizard for you" "No nothing bad happened. And you keep that monstrous Charizard of yours in check. I just wanna say that I gave him to a trainer" " Trainer hmm. tell me the name so I could find more about this trainer and achievement and see if he is worth raising it" " Well for your information he is a rookie trainer who just got his starter a month ago and I was there. So probably there is no extra achievement except for his one ability." " So you have given it to a rookie. You sure are as abrupt as ever. So what is this ability and just what make you give him that egg" " Well just now the kid called me and I just confirmed that he just won an intermediate level gym challenge just after raising them for a month and that Charmander even beaten Mankey of his." " WHAT ?? Are you high again Blaine. Are you dreaming? If this is so then we too have a new generation trainer in Kanto just like those of Johto hoenn sinnoh and kalos had " " Shut up Samuel and I am just fine. I verified it from Marcus himself and he told me about the battle, that kid is quite talented too. " " Had I not known he was just a rookie I too would have thought him to be an intermediate level Trainer" " So what is the name of this kid. And why are you telling me all this" " Well I was hoping you took the kid under you so that he could be protected from some unsavory people. " " Them why didn''t you just do it yourself or when in the Rock Town . You know in this way he might get attacked." " You and I both know we don''t know we don''t need a greenhouse trainer in the league we want a battle hardened one so if he can''t survive even this long then I was wrong but if he reached you then I am correct about putting him under watch." " Well it all well and good but you still haven''t told me his name" " Well I am also sending a gift for him if he reached you give it to him from me. And as for name it is Alex Bart, he is from Floral Town. " " Alex huh .. wait what do you say ??" " Alex Bart from Floral Town. Is there any problem" " No..no. it''s just that I knew someone with that name when I was younger. So I was just shocked." "Well then don''t worry if he reached here I will provide him my protection." " Later Samuel" And Blaine then thought,'' I have done this for you kid. Let''s see if you are eligible for our help'' Also At pallet town The person whom Blaine called was the famous Pokemon Researcher, Professor Samuel Oak. He was going through a drawing copy and seeing many photos he drew in his youth. Among one of those was the photo of a trainer who guided him in his youth. In the photo a person in his early twenties stood behind him were terrifying Gengar, fiery Charizard and shiny Pidgeot. Kneeling beside him were proud Espeon, A mystic Gardevoir and a powerful Electrivire. " It seems we will meet again old friend. I really look forward to it. I am sure even Charizard will be happy to know how strong his son becomes" Samuel murmured." I hope you could reach here safe and sure I''ve rheough those Shadows. after all you said present create future. If you can''t live through then this future wasn''t yours." If you want to know more about the future events and what the Shadow mentioned is please stay tuned. to be continued.... Chapter 11 - New Partner and Evolution Now we find our hero once again in the wilderness with his Butterfree on his head and using it''s psychic energy to float the leaves in a pattern. This is the exercise he devised for his control of Psychic power. As he was moving he still fought at least five trainers till now. He mostly used only Pidgey as it too was nearing it''s evolution. And would probably evolve by the time he reached Pewter city. As he was heading he also thought of the talk with the stranger. and how he knew Professor Oak. Now though many may not know but Professor Oak was also a Champion of Kanto once though he quit so he could completely dedicate to his passion for research. Also it is said that he was undefeated in the same generation. Hence due to his presence Kanto stood at the top of all the other regions. '' Well I will know more when I reach there. So just let it go.'' He has also searched about the path and found that there has been many cases of missing on the path from Pewter to Viridian City. This aroused his attention. At this time Team Rocket is yet a small organization only spanning a few cities at most and the chief criminal organization is Shadows. They are very Mysterious to say the least. The only information about them is that they have initiated a few Pokemon riot in some towns and even ravaged a few towns though it happened only in Johto. Kanto is mainly peaceful from them though from how long who knows. They then stopped for eating in the afternoon. He said," Now there are some troubles brewing around Pewter so for this I thought of a way. You Haunter hide in my shadow and until we reach pallet town you would be out there. This will be our Trump card in case we face some trouble. I will tie your pokeball on my neck as souvenir so they won''t suspect anything. you will at the same time practice ghost energy control now. So you could turn the surrounding cold and eerie for your advantage. And you Charmander start mixing bit of dragon power in your fire attack and claw attack. It will help later to learn dragon claw and dragon pulse. so you will have to endure as I heard dragon energy is difficult to control. Can you do that" " Chaarr..." "Haunn" Also Haunter raised a thumb towards itself saying as long as I am there nothing will go wrong. "Butterfree you should also start working on sleep powder, poison powder and stun power they will help later and also I think of a way to make them m ore effective. But before that you should learn to properly use them separately and you can''t slake down on your psychic practice. " " Frrreeee" while nodding it''s head. "And you Pidgey you will be learning steel wing and Arial ace before the pewter city. Only after learning these moves will be head out from here So you are going to be most busy if all." Pidgey was a fighter before he joined and getting chance of learning new moves excited it and it excitedly chirped," piii.." As he was talking to them a Pokemon swinub came smelling the food'' s scent. Swinub is covered in dense, brown, striped hair to keep it warm. The hair is so shaggy that it often covers its tuft-like small legs, making it appear like a legless lump. Swinub''s eyes appear as if they are perpetually closed. Swinub uses its pink, pig-like nose to dig through mud and snow, looking for anything edible. Seeing it Alex immediately ordered Butterfree to bind it by psychic and then slam it on the ground then use absorb to defeat it. Not giving it a chance he threw a pokeball. After rolling thrice he was captured. Then he released it after asking his pokemon to be vigilant he released it and said," Here you go eat all you want. Don''t be shy." After feeding his Pokemon and then eating he asked ," Swinub what are you doing here? Here is not a place where you could survive." When it replied he couldn''t understand a thing but Haunter simplified that he was caught by poachers but he fled and then he was here. He also said he had been running for at least three days and fed on any food it found before Alex caught it. " Well guys get started in your practice. I will oversee Swinub." So Swinub what moves do you know. Tackle Powder snow ice shard Magnitude Avalanche Icy wind Mud bomb Seeing this he believes it to be a fairly powerful Swinub. This also made it appealing to the poachers too. This time he thought well. He gave it a glass of water in front " Swinub now what you have to do is freeze the water using ice power without any moves. This will help you better control your moves. Now we are travelling so we can''t focus much but whenever we stop we will work on your ground moves. Ok." So the next day he attacked a colony using Butterfree sleep powder and caught about 15 Beedrill he left the remaining five to raise the Weedle and kakuna. Their attack attracted the attention of queen Beedrill ( The leader of the Beedrill colony). It was very strong and took both Pidgey and Butterfree to equalise while Charmander and him stole the honey. And this was enough pressure for Pidgey to evolve into Pidgeotto. After evolving Pidgeotto immediately became proficient in Steel wing and aerial ace as it''s body strength improved. And defeated it with Aerial ace. Now that their task was over he decided to head to Pewter city. As for what await our hero in the city let''s await. to be continued... Chapter 12 - Pewter Gym Battle ( Part 1) Next morning he reached the Pewter city. It was the first Major city he entered after Cerulean city. Each Main city gym is run by the most powerful of all gym leaders in Kanto. It can be said that all the gym leaders are at least Elite- like level in the region. They are all powerful. After reaching the city he was confused for route and moved round in a circle for an hour. Later asked a bystander about the Pokemon center. He after reaching deposited the Pokemon for quick check then headed for a good bath. After that head to take the Pokemon. He asked nurse joy where he could buy Pokemon appliances. After getting the direction he reached a three floored building of Pokemon Mart. Entering he saw the floor labels as: Ground floor - Reception First floor - Pokemon medicine and pokeball Second Floor - Pokemon power ups Third floor - TMs Of course now he could not afford Move TMs so he just ignored them. Now the TMs are very costly the cheapest cost as much as 50000 pokecoins. He has here to buy some pokeballs potions antidotes as well as selling honeys. After going to first floor he asked the counter for pokeball, potion and antidotes amounting about 200* 20=4000 100*10=1000 total amount to 8000 pokecoins. This almost drained half his funds and he believed it will be drained much sooner for he was raising a glutton by the name of Swinub. Then asked ," where can I sell some objects." Seeing him buy so much and pokeball after confirmed his status of trainer he was an experienced shopkeeper and knew some trainer sold the things they found in the wilderness for money every now and then. so he said kindly," please come this way to the appraiser. He will mark your price. " Now every big department store has an appraiser. They serve to identify and price the goods. Formal appraiser training last for about five years and it too had different grades. Normally appraiser is primary level in big town and so they are quite rich too. After entering the room, he saw a middle-aged guy in red shirt and black pants with his appraiser certificate hung on the wall. The appraiser after seeing him come raised an eyebrow and the asked, " Show me what you wanna price?" Alex pulled a half litre bottle of Honey and gave him. After taking the honey smelling and tasting it he said," Hmmmm Medium grade honey can be sold for 4000 coins per litre." to the employee there. After hearing this, the employee eye shone then he respectfully said, " Sir please come with me if you want to sell." After coming out, then he went to the table and said," At what price would you buy" " After appraisal I think 2000 is descent" " Don''t you think you just cut it down. Think about it I had got it from a Beedrill colony. you do know how deadly they can be. or do you think you could do it." Hearing that he paled thinking about them. " "Ok 2500 " they then bargaining the final price came out as 3250 coins. Alex told about 15 litre of honey amounting to 48750 coins. He now had to sell Beedrill and he could earn enough to last a month even with swinub''s appetite. After coming out of the store, he roamed the city so that he could find clues about the black market in Pewter city. The only town where black market can''t be found is Pallet town and the league headquarters. After finding the entrance to the market, he entered a hiding then disguised himself and entered the black market. And reason except for selling Pokemon was to get information about trouble he found about in the Pokemon center in the route between Pewter and Viridian city. After coming to place for selling booth he negotiated and the price was 1 * 28000 = 28000 total amount to 253000. Now he nearly 300000 pokecoins. And then went to information exchange. Fter there he found someone who sold the information at 50000 that there were shadow now catching rookie trainers and taking them somewhere. No one know where though. After knowing this he was even more vigilant and also was thinking about what that stranger has said and wished him luck meaning he knew something about this. This once also his interest towards the stranger. After headed to the gym he registered for a Pokemon battle. When registration one had to display their highest annoted gym badge ( either 1,2 or 3- star ) badge one had. He registered the 2- star gym badge and then found that he got an opening at 2 pm in the afternoon tomorrow. During this time he roamed around the city and enjoying different delicacies found in pewter. He ate a lot . He was also a gourmet in his past life which he inherited even in this life. Heck he even likes to experiment about different foods. Even if he ate 10 people food he won''t be fat due to high intensity training he did along with his pokemon. Then he went to the Pokemon center after feeding his Pokemon and telling them about tomorrow gym challenge he told them that tomorrow Swinub, Pidgeotto and either Butterfree or Charmander relevant to situation will be the if it is 3 on 3. After waking he did some warm up exercise with them and fed Swinub a hundred year old ice he bought during his expedition in the black market. He bought four such i and paid 200000 coins for Swinub. This will help strengthen ice power if Swinub though not effective as thousands year old ice but still enough. If he could get that ice then his Swinub will be even more powerful. Thinking about it he drooled. Now our hero will have his next gym battle and let''s see who the next gym leader will be. to be continued... Chapter 13 - Pewter Gym Battle ( Part 2) After reaching the gym he was led to a spacious hall. There was a pokemon battlefield in the center with many rocks and stones on it. on the other side was a middle-aged guy around same age as his father. He was the current Pewter city gym leader, Flint. Yes the father of Brock Flint. Currently the gym is still headed by him. After entering he saw that they just had a Pokemon battle with another youth. He was around the same age as him and had red hair and handsome face. He seemed like he has seen him somewhere. As he was thinking such, Flint," You have defeated me and hence you are worthy of Boulder badge. Here you go , Lance" The newly identified , Lance said," thank you and then to his Dratini said, " Look Dratini we got our first gym badge." Hearing his name and Dratini beside him as well as seemingly familiar face he understood where he saw him. He was the future champion of Johto and Kanto, Dragon Champion Lance. After seeing Alex Flint said," Ah you are the next one. Alex right." "How do you know my name. " He tilted his head in confusion. Laughing Flint replied," Marcus bragged a lot about you. So I was curious about you and then I saw your name on the list of Challenger so I was excited. Hahahahahaha" Hearing this he smiled meekly, while Lance there was staring at him intently. He then suddenly asked," Do you mind that I watched the match" Shrugging Flint said lazily," I don''t mind, ask the challenger." " i too don''t mind " while thinking'' It is a great ego booster having a champion curious about you. even though he is still not a champion'' Then another young man who was also around his age said," Please all the spectator leave the field while only Challenger and leader remain." looking at him curiously Flint said," He is my eldest son , Brock." " Hello" while Brock nodded his head in greeting. Lance went to the spectator stand at the back watching the match curiously for how good of a trainer he was that a gym leader complimented him to another gym leader. " This is a three on three official Pokemon gym battle between Challenger Alex Bart of Floral town and Gym leader Flint for the Boulder badge. Let''s the battle begin" " Go Geodude" " Go Pidgeotto" '' Huh flying against rock is foolish but that maniac Marcus complimented him so he must have an underhand'' Both Brock and Lance we''re stunned by his choice but opted to continue watching. Pidgeotto started by featherdance and harrasing Geodude with sand attack and annoying it. Geodude retaliation was in the form of Rock attack. But he dodged it then " Geodude rollout" Geodude rolled in the form of ball and rolled over to Pidgeotto and nailed a couple solid hits then " Stop him " Pidgeotto using it''s sharp eyes caught Geodude arms with it''s claws and then raised it to the air. " Slam it to the ground" then Geodude fell then was wobbly at the point." End it with Aerial ace" At the next moment Pidgeotto at blinking speed hit Geodude sailing it to the Rock and get embedded on rock Boulder in the field. AND GEODUDE FAINTED. " GEODUDE has fainted. Please send you r next Pokemon" " Go Graveller" Seeing this he withdrew his Pidgeotto after some encouraging world sent out Swinub. Swinub after entering immediately used hail powder snow combo. This was a trick Alex devised for him so that it could make up for his speed. Graveller used rock throw in retaliation swinub used ice spear breaking the rocks in the middle. This clash continued until " Graveller Magnitude" " Counter it with your own" the whole field was shaking that Alex and Brock and even Lance away fell to the ground. Whole only Swinub, Graveller and Flint were left standing. In the end Alex said "Avalanche " Huge ice blocks bigger than Graveller itself fell on it directly crushing him and it fainted. Avalanche took a lot of Swinub too so he too withdrew it. As for the last Pokemon Flint added," I can see why Marcus will brag about you. Well out of respect Rhyhorn go" " Go Charmander" Charmander started with smokescreen and used dragon dance as he saw how bulky Rhyhorn was. After this in the smoke he attacked it with flamethrower. But they didn''t have much impact on it. Rhyhorn used rock blast throwing huge rocks on it though he dodged them but he still collided with the rocks hurting it. Seeing long range not working Alex " Start close combat" He dashed to Rhyhorn and started a barrage of slash metal claw and fire claw. It hurt him and even made it groan in pain. The Rhyhorn then used take down and then bulldoze this slammed to the ground. In the dust cloud it showed Charmander on the ground on it''s knees but staring defiantly at Rhyhorn. Angered it ran down to it and once again flung it in the air. At last it was crashed to a rock. Charmander after raising from it shone in bright light after it faded in place of Charmander was a Charmeleon . '' I knew you were at the crusp of evolution and just needed a push '' Finally Alex ordered," Dragon Rush" instantly surrounded by dragon energy he immediately slammed into the Rhyhorn knocking it back and ended it with dragon claw. " Rhyhorn is defeated since gym leader no lost all the Pokemon so the winner is Alex from Floral Town." Hearing both Alex and Charmeleon jumped in the air in joy. " Well congratulations you defeated me fair and square. He awarded him with a Boulder badge with two stars." Watching the match Lance too headed towards them. Now our hero has won two gym badges and the future champion head towards him. What will happen and what will unfold next to know more stay tuned. to be continued... Chapter 14 - First rival After reaching him, Lance asked," Hey whatt is this? Why did he get a 2- star badge while I get a 1- star one. I also want 2- star one" he said childishly. Seeing this he thought,'' I forgot he is a child now '' and stared blankly at him While this was happening Flint laughed loudly and "don''t you know about the badge distribution." "Badge distribution??" Both Lance and Alex asked then looked at each other curiously. " Yes badge distribution." he nodded then asked," Tell me how do one compete for the league tournament" Lance quickly answered," one must collect 8 gym badges of a region and he becomes eligible for the tournament isn''t it" "Your answer is both right and wrong. " Hearing this then Alex asked," Then what is it?" " To qualify for the league tournament one must indeed have at least eight gym badges but to be more specific a trainer must have at least three 2- star gym badges to compete for the league. Why do you think League matches don''t happen annually but once every three years. And you have about one and a quarter year more for the official league opening." " And Alex here has to get one more 2- star badge and he can qualify. isn''t it so" " No I still have to collect six gym badges" " What " " You aren''t an intermediate trainer" " No I am just a rookie though now a beginner trainer as I have two gym badges." " You are just a rookie . How then why did Marcus give you a 2- star challenge." " How would I know . I met him once during a task and then he took me to gym without registration. and we had a battle" ''So he saw his skill and thought of him as such. Heck even I would have thought of that '' "So you had only 2- star match till now" Lance said blankly. " Damm wait I too want a 2- star challenge" " If you want then you could ask for it in the next gym" " And you are Alex right. Well I have decided you are rival and I Lance of Blackthorn City challenge you to a Pokemon battle." " Well I only have one pokemon left so would it be ok if we only have one on one match" As Alex too wanted to challenge him. then Lance turned to Flint and asked if they could use a field in the gym to which he agreed. As Flint and Brock cleared the field for their battle Flint said softly to Brock," Brock remember these two trainers. They are going to be the leaders of your generation. " " Ok father" then he went to be their referee. " This is a one on one Pokemon battle between Alex of Floral Town and Lance of Blackthorn City. " " are you ready" " Ready"*2 " Let the battle begin" " Go Swablu" " Go Butterfree" As they were released, Butterfree started with quiver dance. This is to increase it''s special attack special defence and speed. It was physically weak so this will help him to dodge attacks easily. Swablu started by singing. to counter Butterfree used whirlwind to destabilize it and stop it''s attack. Then it raised fog to hide. As Butterfree was going to release it''s winds to dispel fog Swablu started it''s sneak attack. then Alex first ordered," Use confusion" as it once reached it butterfree it was stunned by psychic attack and was then slammed to the ground. Not giving it chance it released poison powder, poisoning it. Lance then ordered," uproar then dragon pulse" This hurt Butterfree while Alex thought,'' I should have known it would know a dragon type move'' Lance " takedown" as Swablu couldn''t last long due to hurt and poison. Alex then ordered," signal beam" when they slammed a dust cloud rose from the ground blocking the view. When the cloud cleared, the result was revealed. " Both the Pokemon are not able to fight . Hence the match is a tie" Lance suddenly shouted," Damn if it was my Dratini I would have surely won." while returning the Pok¨¦mon Alex countered by saying while returning Butterfree," so what had it been my Charmeleon I would surely won." " What Charmeleon is evolved . let my Dratini evolve to Dragonair then we will see who will win" " Even then I would win." " What. I will win next time" " I will win " " I will win " " I will win " " I will win " " I will win " " I will win " " I will win " They continued to argue among themselves. Seeing this Flint laughed and asked Brock,"So what do you think about the match. " " they both are strong. They still didn''t go all out though.l they seem to be holding some moves back in the match" " well they were probably imperfect moves that would have been countered if given time. like when Swablu was down if not for time that he got it wouldn''t be able to release dragon pulse. it wasn''t mastered completely similar to butterfree quiver dance which could have been used later to dodge the pulse." " they still have much to grow. Don''t forget there is a reason some Trainer are struck at certain level for life." then Flint intervened and said ," Don''t you need to heal your Pokemon" " What . yes I have to heal them. I will heal them first "and Alex dashed off to the Pokemon center. then Lance roared ," I will heal them first" then followed behind him running. Seeing them act childish Flint thought,'' Even though they might become a pillar of Kanto but they still are child now. I hope that they don''t change much due to the outside world.'' Then said to Brock," Aren''t you coming to eat Brock" who looked at the entrance dazzed." I am very hungry. Let''s see what your mother cooked today," Meanwhile at the Pokemon center. They both had deposited their pokeball at the same time to the nurse joy and are currently having lunch together. " So where are you headed to now Alex " " Well I am going to pallet town for some work. so I will go there." " You too then how about we travel together." " Sure why not as long as you don''t drag me down" while thinking'' It will be fun to have someone and not feel lonely. also it will be good to have another person if what news I got from the information transaction was true'' And so our hero got himself a new rival as well as companion for his trip to pallet . And what this duo will experience to know this, stay tuned. to be continued... Chapter 15 - Nightlife After they decided to travel together, they ate and then decided to leave Pewter city day after tomorrow. This way they both could buy and acquire the supplies they need for their journey. Alex then went out of he center and bought a map of Pewter city. He bought it so he could not get lost. After all to find the necessary supplies in a single day is enough but not enough if you get lost like in a maze. So after taking his pokemon he went out at night to experience the night life of the city, but as he was heading out Lance saw him and tagged along with him so that in his words,'' he won''t feel lonely''. They just roamed around along with others who are also enjoying the night. He was thinking how in his town it was almost a curfew after 8 pm and people scarcely head out and now at even 9 there are as many people as there were in the morning. I guess this happens when they don''t have any fear or are carefree. At this time they saw some place showing puppet shows and other magic tricks around the street but any decent trainer would still find the presence and help of Pokemon in these acts. Well these were entertaining to say the least. Nowadays cinema only showed films without sound as they have not progressed enough in the field or the league didn''t open that tech for public use. The Pokemon league also harbor some technology and other applications it believe are not helpful or are harmful and may break the delicate balance created between the human world and pokemon world. Also due to dangers of Pokemon attacks on the wild most people buy their houses in the town and cities. Also as he was passing the street in some vacant gully we could find some stray Meowth and it''s evolved form Persian , even some Rattata. They are also some people who took out their Pokemon for a late night walk. Some had flareon, eevee , vaporean and heck even. Growlithe. Now both eeveeand Growlithe are considered rare. eevee due to genetic instability and evolution while Growlithe except from some hot place are mostly found as Officer Jenny''s pet. Now the Nurse joy family and Officer Jenny family dominate the sector of Pokemon Heath care and cultivation and Pokemon security completely. You will only find a few handful of people apart from them in these sectors. Eevee is a mammalian, quadruped creature with primarily brown fur. The tip of its bushy tail and its large furry collar are cream-colored. It has short, slender legs with three small toes and a pink paw pad on each foot. Eevee has brown eyes, long pointed ears, and a small black nose. This Pok¨¦mon is rarely found in the wild, and is mostly only found in cities and towns. However, Eevee is said to have an irregularly shaped genetic structure that allows it to adapt to many different kinds of environments. Eventually, Eevee may evolve to better suit its surroundings. Vaporeon is a composite creature sharing physical traits of aquatic and land animals. It is a quadruped with three small toes on each foot and dark blue paw pads on the hind feet. Vaporeon''s body is light blue with a dark blue marking around its head and a ridge down its back. This Pok¨¦mon has a split tailfin that has been mistaken for a mermaid''s in the past. It has a white ruff around its neck, and three fins around its head made of cream-colored webbing. It is said that rain will come within a few hours if Vaporeon''s fins begin to vibrate. Flareon is a mammalian, quadruped Pok¨¦mon covered in short, reddish-orange fur. It has long ears, dark eyes, and a small black nose. There are three small toes and a yellow paw pad on each foot. Fluffy yellow fur forms a small tuft on its head, as well as its bushy tail and a mane around its c_h_e_s_t and neck. It will fluff out its collar to cool down its high body temperature. Growlithe is a quadruped, canine Pok¨¦mon. It has orange fur with black stripes along its back and legs. The fur on its muzzle, c_h_e_s_t, belly, and tail is cream-colored, as well as an additional tuft of fur on top of its head. Growlithe''s coat is noticeably longer on its c_h_e_s_t and tail. It has gray eyes, a black nose, and large, round ears. Its forepaws have two visible claws, while its hind paws have three toes each. Each paw has a brown pad. Also some officer Jenny were found patrolling with their Growlithe. Heck before he reincarnated he liked a Growlithe and after becoming a trainer he still year for it but dare not buy from black market for the fear of being caught. He thought if he could make enough contribution to the league he will ask for a Growlithe from them. They both moved around the town till nearly 11 and then headed to the center. After saying good night to each other they went to sleep in their room. While resting Alex thought,'' For what I got through my walk at night I know that the matter regarding the shadow has taken a pretty serious turn. Heck even the number of Officer patrolling was increased almost thrice over the course of a month, according to those residents. This Time I was lucky enough to have met Lance at least we could help each other and may escape the net they set. I hope we don''t get entangled int his matter.'' Yes during the whole walk our hero was scouting and searching information about the shadows and how serious it was. This is a trick he started developing as a kid in the Floral town in case he need to get some information he didn''t know and to survive. Well this way the fight our hero enjoyed his first night life in the pewter city. And he also hoped not to get entangled but we all know every protagonist has the habit of entangling in mess. So let''s stay tuned and see how he live through the forest. to be continued.... Chapter 16 - Sewer Adventure Next day they both (Lance and Alex ) met at the cafeteria to eat after feeding their Pokemon in their room. While eating Alex asked," Do what is your plan for the day?" " Well buy some food, training objects and some snacks to eat on the road." " You are a glutton" Alex deadpanned. " I am a glutton then what about you. Did you forget how much you are yesterday." Lance retaliated. "I am not a glutton, but a gourmet." He justified himself. " Oh and what is the difference between them" " A glutton is one who just swallow whatever he feels is worth eating, while a gourmet is one who savours every bite and let himself sail in the Dreamland of food ." "don''t try to justify yourself while using flowery words to define Gourmet." " Anyway what are you gonna do today Alex." " Same as I did yesterday roam around the city and buy some berries from the market. and anything which interests me." The main city were developed with the gyms mostly at centre and other things built around and they expand outwards. The more safe the place is from Pokemon riots the more the people live there. One of the biggest problem of the league is Pokemon riot and in order to combat them, trainers were granted special privleges but they must participate in the security, protection and to combat the riot. The better one acts during the battle the better rewards they will be awarded. These contribution also help trainer in some things they want. Heck they could also be regarded as privilege points. Some of the gym leaders today are promoted on the basis of their contribution they get awarded in these riots. His hometown mostly had bug type Pokemon so it was relatively safe from Pokemon riots. As he reached the market he smelt several scents of Berry and of various flowers they sold which help Pokemon power improve by integrating them. He had bought many berries pertaining to the like of his Pokemon. It costed him about 3000 coins much cheaper than his any other expenditure in the city. Also moving around he ate a cream bun he bought. As he was passing a seemingly empty street a persian appeared in front of him then as he focused on him a pair of Meowth came from the shadows and took the packet of cream bun and ran away. Seeing it stolen then the Persian looked at him cunningly and then ran too. Before Alex recovered from his shock of his food stolen from his hands he became angry. In his family there was a golden rule since his childhood,'' NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENED NEVER TAKE HIS FOOD'' . When. he was a child his father took his piece of cake ???? and ate it and boy was he angry. The aftermath was recorded by his mother. And the result was his father''s face marred with scars and bites. Heck he won''t even leave it for his siblings so where was he going to leave those stray Meowths and Persian. He immediately called his Swinub to trace them. and to make him work more deligently he even said he would reward him with berries. He was following Swinub behind as he followed the scent. After moving crisscross in the street he stopped in front of a manhole. Normally one would give up at this point, but to anger a foodie like Alex by stealing his food won''t work. He then entered the manhole. In the water there he found some grimer and magicarp. Some Rattatas which were playing hide when hearing his footsteps. He followed Swinub for half an hour and reach a big opening. There were tens of Pokemon such as Nidoran both male and female, grimer, Rattatas, Jigglypuff , zubats and Golbat, Oddish , gloom and even a rare eevee. and at the center stood the Persian who stole his food and around it those Meowth of hers. At first glance one could see that they were leader but later we can see all the surrounding Pokemon placing their food in front of Persian and those who could not give enough was harshly attacked by it. but because of their own weak strength no one retaliated. After some thought he arrived in front of them and said," You could have stolen anything but you shouldn''t have stolen my food. Whoever stole my food pays dearly. I hope you are ready." Persian just looked at him lazily and then raised it hands as of saying come on. Then all the Pokemon dashed at him to attack. His Swinub froze them into popsicle with powder snow and then attacked Meowth and Persian with avalanche. Since they weren''t well fed and weak so they went down in one hit. He caught Persian and it''s 12 Meowth kid for selling. But seeing those pitiful Pokemon he couldn''t decide what to do. As he was thinking about their crisis their ice melted and they looked meekly at him.seeing that he took down their leader. Suddenly the eevee which got his interest stood in front of them and " eeppp" loudly as if saying before reaching them he would have to go through him. Seeing his battle spirit and resolve he decided something. "I will leave them if you become my Pokemon. Of course if you don''t then they will suffer a bit". Hearing this eevee drooped then looked at the Pokemon behind him then slowly walked in front and angrily stared at his eyes then tapped on a Pokemon on his waist and got itself captured. Heck he was joking when he said that but who would have thought he would take him seriously. He then brought out some of the berries he bought . They still looked at him fearfully then a brave young nidoran came out to eat and then called out them to eat saying it was safe. as they ate he released the eevee. He looked at them eating and it''s stomach grumbled. Alex gave it some food too. He then gave them some seed and asked them to plant it secretly so that no one could take their food. and also told eevee that he was joking and he doesn''t need to follow him like that. But Eevee was prideful and he decided to follow him. After saying tearful goodbye to them he left the sewer and headed to the Pokemon center to rest. and introduced Eevee to his all Pokemon. Meanwhile in the Viridian Forest "How many trainers have you caught?" "Sir we have caught 26 Trainers." " No this number is not enough. Speed up time for the trial is coming." " We don''t want to embarrass ourselves in front of other teams. Hurry up and complete the cut." "Sir but if we do so we will be discovered by the league." " No. They already know by now about us and are probably going to take action against us soon. So hurry up and also start our departure plan." "Yes sir" " Everything we do is for the glory of the shadows" " For the shadows" " For the shadows" " For the shadows" " For the shadows" And hence the adventure of our hero in the Pewter city come to an end and why does the shadows want to kidnap the trainers . To know about what happens next stay tuned. to be continued..... Chapter 17 - 17) Viridian Forest ( Part 1) Next morning Alex and Lance left the Pewter city. From the information they got from the Pokemon center the pewter city is separated from Viridian Forest by a large forest range of Viridian forest. In the path there are about three towns and other smaller villages. out of which only one is a Pokemon gym. After talking with Flint he suggested against challenging both the gym at Eternal town and at Viridian town for two different reason. Not take part in Viridian town because the gym leader there was very strict and only accepted challenges of 2- star and 3- star battles. also the league had allowed him to release a bit of water meaning not hold back much as Viridian City is closest to the Trainer town where League tournament takes place and it would be better to have a gym act as deterrent. He suggested them to challenge it before the league as a pre training for league. And if they do well they might officially enter the Indigo league. Indigo league officially starts among the top 16 trainers. And all the tournament matches take place in the main stadium in the presence of MOLTRES flame so it was regarded as the true beginning of indigo league. As for why not challenge the Eternal town gym because it was the weakest and the only reason it had a gym in the first place because the gym was established by a great trainer who sacrificed himself to protect the people and also made great contribution to the league. The reason for not challenging it is that the gym leader is very arrogant and short tempered. Many times he had acted behind the back in the shadows and harmed them. in some cases there was death of Pokemon too. Since no trainer was killed the league opted to look other way because of it''s influence and not want to disrupt the function of league as it happens in a close area. If he act so it may cause some storm for them and bring them in limelight of some unsavory forces so for their protection he asked them not to challenge it. Since knowing this they decided to completely ignore the town and head directly to the Viridian city. After half a day trek , Lance suddenly shouted," I am tired. I am not moving an inch. Let''s stop here and have lunch." Alex ignored his mushing and looked at the position of the sun . Seeing it was nearly afternoon he also said," Fine let''s eat." Then they both released all their Pokemon. Lance Pokemon were: Dratini Swablu Nidorino Kadabra. while Alex was eyeing Lance Pokemon, Lance too looked at Alex Pokemon too They were: Charmeleon Pidgeotto Butterfree Swinub He didn''t reveal his Haunter as he wanted to keep him a secret till they safely reach Viridian city. Seeing Eevee, Lance shouted," When did you get a Eevee. Was it before we met? Oh I am so jealous." " I caught it in the pewter city just the day before we left it, and what are you jealous about you got a Dratini and a Kadabra and don''t forget another dragon type when Swablu evolve to Altaria. " " So what I am still jealous. just deal with it" Kadabra is a primarily yellow, humanoid Pok¨¦mon. It has two large, pointed ears on top of its head, a red star on its forehead, and wide cheeks leading down to a thin snout. Its eyes are deep-set and narrow. Extending from its snout are two mustache-like tufts of fur, with males having longer mustaches than females. Kadabra''s torso is segmented with bulky shoulders, a thick, brown c_h_e_s_t, and a small abdomen marked by three red, wavy lines. Attached to the Pok¨¦mon''s abdomen is a large, thick tail encircled with a brown band near its base. Its arms are thin with brown elbows, and end in three-fingered hands with white claws. Its legs have prominent knees and large, three-toed feet, also ending in white claws. Kadabra is always seen carrying a silver spoon, which amplifies its telekinetic powers. and Nidorino is a light purple, quadruped Pok¨¦mon. It has several darker purple spots across its body. It has large, spiny ears with teal insides, narrow black eyes, and a long snout with two pointed teeth protruding from the upper jaw. It has a ridge of toxic spines on its back, and a long, pointed horn on its forehead. The horn is harder than a diamond and capable of secreting poison on impact. Its short legs have three claws on each foot. " And I should be jealous. I want a Nidoking and Alakazam. and you got both their pre evolved form." " Haha of course. I am awesome. Just deal with it." It seems our hero forgot how he acted when Persian stole his food. Also before coming he sold all of them for Meowth: 12*8000=96000 and Persian for 25000 total amounting to 124000. Of which he bought a five hundred year ice for 100000. this time he lucked out. one knows that it costs around 500000 coins, buying it at one fifth the price he lucked out. Then he started making preparation for cooking while Lance brought wood. He had gave his Pokemon some Berry cubes he made them according to their taste. Since Lance had his own so he didn''t ask if he want some. After cooking which every one liked, they decided to rest here. they had already decided to keep their trainings a secret . mostly bit was Lance who stated that he trained according to his clan secret training and can''t impart it to stranger and apologizd him. After all Alex had his own so he didn''t mind. Now he didn''t teach them any new move he just now asked them to train in their previous moves only so that they can be proficient in them. After a day training, they rested in the forest with their Pokemon out sleeping along with them if there is any problem they would arrange them. "How are the arrangements?" " We are going according to the plan" " Good. But have the package been transported to the base." " Yes sir.". " We still have not completely filled all the slots. We still have to find more Trainer for the trail.i I won''t tolerate failure." " We will not fail." the print said with firey eyes and madness. "For the glory of the shadows." " For the shadows." said his boss solemnly. And this was the first day of our hero journey through the Viridian forest. and what have the mysterious shadows planned. what is the package they talked about? And what is this trail they keep talking about? To know all this stay tuned. to be continued.... Chapter 18 - 18) Viridian Forest ( Part 2) It has been a week since they had entered the Viridian forest. As for why they are still in the forest is because they are .... LOST Yes they lost. They were indeed lost. " I should have never followed you. i should have known with how careless you are. Did I tell you how much of a idiot you are. Let me tell you you are a fool. idiot, buffoon heck even a Slowpoke is more intelligent compared to you. DID YOU HEAR ME LANCE?" Alex roared at last. " I am sorry ok I am sorry. " and look at the bright side "aren''t we going out for a Adventure so exploring the unknown is adventure. Let''s head onwards to adventure." Lance excitedly said. While Alex, his hidden Haunter and his butterfree on the head looked at him blankly. and Alex added," I have never seen a shameless person like you. you bastard" " What shameless. I am telling the truth." Lance countered. The group travelling through the forest got lost because Lance said he knew a shortcut and believing him Alex followed. But they only headed deeper into the forest and got lost. Hell if it wasn''t they were stronger than average trainer they would have even lost their life. This time almost all their Pokemon are battle tired. Of course they are just mentally tired not physically so if there is any threat they could counter it. This also helped improving their battle experience, energy control and battle sense ( they don''t need to always command their Pokemon. They have now become fairy autonomous as they group battled multiple Pokemon.) Once they battled a Beedrill colony then a Spearow and fearow then Rattata''s heck they even encountered a nidoran herd headed by Nidoking and survived only because Butterfree was able to confuse it making room for them to escape. So in a way we can say they had multiple near death experience, this also strengthened their bond. Earlier they could only be considered more than acquaintance but not friend ( not enough to disclose about their family) and now they are almost like friends who know each other since childhood. Heck they even cursed each other but still trusted the other enough to let him have his back. He even told him about his Trump card, Haunter and the mystery about the forest. Meanwhile with the shadows, " Sir we got news that there are two more trainers around here. if we get them our task will be complete." said a grunt. " Then catch them quick. We are running out of time. Also how many are transported?" asked the boss. The boss wore a black outfit. With black shirt and pants and with a star on his shirt. He had a angry face which even if he smiled will only make him scary. he even had a scar on his left cheek and at forehead. Around him was a scary Houndoom and a weavile . Houndoom is a quadruped, canine Pok¨¦mon that is mainly black with a long orange snout and an orange underbelly. It has small, red eyes and a black nose. Around its neck is a white band with a small skull-shaped pendant on its throat. There are two white bands on each of its ankles, as well as three rib-like ridges on its back. Houndoom has a long, skinny tail with a triangular tip and three clawed toes on each paw. On top of its head is a pair of long, curved gray horns. This houndoom also had a scar around it''s neck and dried wounds on it''s body while it''s horms had cracks on them. To sum up it looked s extremely scary . Heck his weavile was even scarier. Weavile is a bipedal, weasel-like Pok¨¦mon with a pale gray body and several feathery areas. It has a bright red crown and collar made of wide feathers, and a single, thinner feather on each ear. The ear feathers are smaller on a female Weavile. Weavile has two tail feathers and three claws on each paw. There is a yellow, oval marking in the center of its forehead. Its eyes are red with three eyelashes, and four fangs protrude from its upper jaw. Except for a scar on it''s stomach it wasn''t that wounded. But what made it scary was it''s blood thirsty eyes and it''s claws were stained red. We don''t need to tell how it might get this colour. " Sir we are able to transport half of them." " Why are you so slow ? Don''t you know what happens to those who fail?" He said angrily and eyes red in anger. And to add to the effect his houndoom showed it''s fangs which were slightly red and his weavile raised it''s bloody claws. Seeing this the grunt," Sss.irr we were doing this do that we don''t attract the league." " You Slowpoke ( an insult meaning stupid, dumbass) did I not tell you league had already started to take action and they may attack us any day" Now the Pokemon were just a step away from jumping on him. So he immediately replied, " Sir it is the second shipment. the earlier was already sent." " is that so. hahahahahaha . I thought I was gonna die because of you. I hope no trouble happen in the task. I am sure you know the consequences of failure." he ended eerily. This time they just positioned themselves lazily around him as if they never stood to threaten the grunt. the grunt gulped," Yyyyesss sir" And he passed the message to act on the two targeted trainer. who just happened to be our hero Alex and his best friend and rival, Lance. What will happen to these two young trainers?What will they do in this situation? How will they reach the pallet town? or will they get caught by the shadows ? To know the answer to all these questions and many other just stay tuned. to be continued..... Chapter 19 - Viridian Forest ( Part 3) The two trainers after getting on the correct route to Viridian City did not know that they were tagged by the shadows. Of course its should be said if there is no villain for the hero to battle then the story is incomplete. So we also got our villainous entry soon. Unaware of the dangers, the butterfree was suddenly getting agitated. It was flying up and down and trying to gather it''s trainer''s attention. Sometimes it would just fall on his head so he could hear it. Then Alex said," What happened to you ? Why are you acting like this." Finally getting it''s trainers attention it started posing in front of him as if saying something. Having known it for some time he understood what it meant but his companion didnt and asked," Hey Alex what is your butterfree doing? Had you infected it with your foolish virus" Since he started calling names to Lance he always try to find ways to annoy him." No unlike some idiots my Butterfree is quite intelligent. As for what it is saying, it smelt some honey and asked me to follow so we could get some. He likes Honey as much as you like your cape." After saying this he asked Butterfree to lead the way. After some time they heard some buzzing noise they were all too familiar with. It was a Beedrill. So they hid behind the bushes to let it pass. This Beedrill also confirmed that the honey was nearby. They soon saw a big tree surrounded by Beedrill guarding it and many kakuna under it''s shade. At the top was a big honey comb from which sweet nectar smell was coming. This got both Butterfree and Alex mouth watering. As Lance saw this he thought,'' Of course a glutton will attract glutton Pokemon. This may be why they are so strong. with how much they eat how can one not be strong?'' Of course he didn''t say it out loud of the fear of retaliation by both of them. After some thought they agreed with a strategy that both s Swablu and butterfree will let them sleep and the rest will be knocked out later. So they commenced their attacks. Butterfree used sleep powder while Swablu uses sing. With these attacks almost half of the Pokemon slept. The remaining guard Beedrill and the queen noticed their presence and started to attack them. they used pin missiles to attack which butterfree countered by whirlwind. while butterfree was distracting them with power attacks and confusion the Swablu took them out with fury attack and peck. Meanwhile the trainers sneaked into the nest and started to loot the honey. After filling ten five litre barrels with honey and putting them in their portable bag. ( Super advanced technology of Pokemon world like pokeball help store Pokemon, it help store items to a limit) And then released Charmeleon and Charmander to use smokescreen while recalling Swablu and butterfree. they escaped. Of course they thought they escaped but they forgot one very important thing. The scent of honey attracted a number of wild Pokemons. Due to large number of Beedrill protecting it they didn''t dare to think of that but seeing the ever desirable honey in the hands of two trainers they started attacking them. They were attacked by groups of Rattatas, pidgey and Pidgeotto , Spearow and Nido family and other Beedrill too. They were not even given a single moment to rest or anything. Due to continuous battle they were tired both physically and mentally to the point that Alex even thought of using Haunter to scare them away but then refused to do so. ''This can also be considered a form of exercise. In case of riots huge number of Pokemon attack a city or town to the point of it being ravaged to the ground. These kinds of battle can go on for hours and with the number of hurt Pokemon increasing every second one can''t be given a second to rest. So in a place where Pokemon are low level (below advanced level) it is still better. After all in the riots the number of Pokemon that die are still shocking. While they were battling the recent group of Spearow they were crazy in their attacks. They were not even giving them time to order their moves and arrange formation. Alex'' s Pokemon Charmeleon, Pidgeotto, butterfree, Swinub and Eevee combated them fiercely along with Lance''s Dratini, Charmander, Swablu, Nidorino and Kadabra. Charmeleon battled physically with claws and it''s strong tail, Pidgeotto used gust, wing attack and peck to stop them from surrounding them completed. Butterfree used chemical warfare( stun, sleep and poison powder) along with confusion to smach them to the ground, Swinub froze them it''s ice attack while Eevee using it''s agility to Dodge their attack while blasting shadow ball at them. Of course the continuous battle have got them full of scars. Similarly Lance Dratini fired dragon rage and twister, nidorino tackling them and using it''s horn, Charmander using it''s flame attacks, Swablu fury attacks and Kadabra using teleport to escape while psychic to attack. Although stronger them the wild Pokemon in one on one but their numbers tilted the game towards the wild. But their combination together clinched them a victory. but also made them tired. MEANWHILE WITH THE SHADOWS Grunt 1 ," We should start the operation then." Grunt 2," Yes." WITH THE HEROES " we defeated them." " Yes Lance we did it. But we cannot relax we should leave the forest soon." " Yes" Suddenly a Venomoth appeared in front of them. And used Sleep powder on them. Surprised by it''s sudden appearance they were unable to do anything and got lost in their dreams. The two shadows came to them collected their Pokemons in the pokeball. It seems like our hero are caught by the shadows. What will happen next? How will they escape their claws? For all these answers stay tuned. to be continued..... Chapter 20 - No more chapters for a few days a close relative of mine died. He and our family were close so for the next few days I will be unable to post a chapter. I am, mentally disturbed now. I will probably post a chapter on Monday. Once again I am sorry. Chapter 21 - spoilers and possible pairing Spoilers: Giovanni is gonna make an entry soon. The most awesome villain of all in the Pokemon regions. The list I composed of girls are: Kanto Eldest Sensational sister, Sabrina, Daisy ( Oak granddaughter), Solidad ( Brock childhood friend) Johto Jasmine, Clair, Whitney, Hoenn Flannery, flying gym leader, Roxanne, Sinnoh Cynthia ( favourite of most people), Aurea( professor), Elsa, Skyla, Kalos Dianthe ( kalos champion), bug gym leader And many more I probably missed some so these days think of possible pairing with any one of these or other Pokemon characters. See you later on Monday Chapter 22 - Unfortunate news I am sorry to inform you that I will probably not be able to post the chapter regularly. My mother had an accident. Her bolero turned over and my mother was one of the seriously injured ones. Thankfully no one died. it seems God is a bit moody towards my family since around this Diwali. The bolero turned around four to five times but fortunately fell on a lake not much deeper though. She was by the door and was hurt on her back and head. Although I am not dropping this story but I can''t update it constantly. I will not be having more than one chapter a day and may not be able to update even once a week. I am sorry for this but I can''t do anything about it. Also I have exams later this November so I can only update regularly in December. So during this sorrowful number please endure and I can guarantee I will update in December. Your beloved Author, Darthnorther. Chapter 23 - Viridian Forest ( Part 4) In the secret hideout of the Shadows, we find our heroes bound by ropes and they are still unconscious. Grunt 1," It was good that they were tired fighting or else with how their pokemon battled, with them ordering the situation would have been bad." Grunt 2," At least we did our task and the leader will not be angry with us. And I look forward to seeing them after the trial." Grunt 1," hahaha, yes it is interesting watching those Trainer suffer during the trial. but whenever I think about our time I get goosebumps." Grunt 2," There is a reason it is called'' Nightmare Island''." While both thought of an eerie island surrounded by smog and giant whirlpool and storms . And so far that no ordinary flying Pokemon can reach there. Just the thought of that place make them shudder. And they left the place.In that place there were more trainers who were probably kidnapped too. After half an hour, the effect of sleep powder weakens and Both Lance and Alex started to wake up. They were surprised to find themselves in an unfamiliar place and thought of what they remembered last. Then they remembered a Venomoth suddenly appearing in front of them and then suddenly they slept. Alex asked Lance," Do you remember that Venomoth?" " It was probably Venomoth who made us sleep and then we were trapped here." " Yes. But why did they kidnap us? Are you sure it wasn''t someone who wanted to get back at your grandpa through you?" " Ittt may be sure. I don''t know what happened." Then Alex turned around to look if there is anyone around and saw more people, children around their age and older unconscious on the floor. "Lance look there are other people here along with us." " what " Lance shouted. and turned to see the same thing Alex saw. There were around twenty people including themselves in the room and all were unconscious. But Lance shout interrupted their sleep and some started to wake up. With many people awakening the noise if their enquiry and confusion attracted the attention of the people outside who kidnapped them all. Outside the room, "Damn, all of them are starting to wake up." Grunt said. Another one with him replied," It was about time they woke up. Now we will get our task done and then can relax". Then they opened the door and shouted," Quiet down all of you brats. Otherwise I will feed you to my houndour and mightyena." .Mightyena is a quadruped Pok¨¦mon that is based on a hyena. Its fur is mostly short and gray, but there is shaggy black fur on its lower legs, tail, and in two thick strips starting behind its eyes and running the length of its body. It has dark, triangular streak patterns below its eyes, which are red with yellow sclerae. Its ears are rhombus-shaped with dark insides, its nose is red, and it has gray paw pads Houndour is a quadruped, canine Pok¨¦mon with short, black fur and a red underbelly and muzzle. Its ears and tail are both short and pointed. Two fangs protrude from its upper jaw, and its triangular nose is black. There are white bands on its ankles, and rib-like ridges on its back. Houndour appears to have a simplistic, stylized skull on its forehead with the eye orbits creating eyebrow patterning above its actual eyes. It also has circular, red paw pads on each of its three-toed paws. These both dark type Pokemons were similar to what their type is known for , savageness. They both had wild look in their eyes which says as soon as they disagree they will be torn to shed. The dark type Pokemons are known for their savageness. Heck even the calm Umbreon in the battle can be very aggressive let alone Mightyena and houndoom. The evolved form of houndoom and poochyena are known not for their loyalty but for their ruthlessness. If they find their trainers unworthy of them after evolution, then if the trainer is lucky they will only leave but if unlucky they will year them to shred with their sharp teeth and claws. This has happened many times and that''s why most trainers use everstone so that they don''t evolve. But their ruthlessness makes them one of the most favorite Pokemon for criminal organizations. Seeing the arrival of the two grunts and seeing the seemingly bloodthirsty dark type Pokemons all the trainers in the room quiet down. " Good morning to everyone here. Let me introduce myself, I am a member of team shadows."started the grunt. hearing his opening and the name shadow, Alex, Lance as well as a few other trainer were shocked while others were puzzled." Since most of you don''t know about us let me tell you about this organization. Shadow organization is the most powerful criminal organization in the Johto region. This organization has decided to expand it''s sphere so we are sent to recruit new members for the team." One brave Trainer asked ," If you want to recruit new members then recruit , but what does this have to do with us." Alex looked at the person who spoke. IT happened to be a girl a couple years older ( about 2-3 years) and had short red hairs and wore specs. She was pretty for her age and was dressed in knee length blue skirt and full sleeve red shirt. Seeing her Alex felt he has seen her somewhere but couldn''t place where. Over the years Alex had reincarnated he mostly remembered some information about famous trainer though only champions and people who were closely related to the original hero/ savior of the world, Ash Ketchum. So it was probably one of the better known trainer in the future. Lance saw Alex looking puzzled at her and asked silently ," Do you know her,Alex" " I seem to have seen her somewhere." he replied back. "She is lorelei and is the apprentice of ice type elite four of Johto region,Pryce. He is said to be the strongest trainer in all of Johto and the only reason he is not a Champion is because of his constant difference and inflexiblity of his. that''s what my grandpa says." Lance introduced her. After that his eyes enlargened for a bit then he thought,'' Sure enough she was familiar, she is one of the future Elites of kanto.'' " you are quite bold. to answer your question we the Shadows don''t recruit people. All our members were similar to you kidnapped and the people who pass the trail become our official members." " And what about the people who don''t qualify." she asked intently. "You will know later. now rest for you will need your a in the trails."and he left the room while ignoring the shouts of the kidnapped people of how they won''t participate in trial, let them go home or where were their Pokemons. They left them puzzled and also made them curious about their trail. " What do you think will happen now, Lance" " I don''t know, but we should be on our guard and don''t reveal it till later or we will fail." Lance said intently. To know all this stay tuned. Chapter 24 - notice I have exams now. I will once again start posting chapters in December. Chapter 25 - Viridian Forest ( part 5) After the shadow members left, Lorelei looked around the room and then seeing Lance headed towards him and greeted him," Lance, you too are caught. Didn''t you always say you are the best and no one could catch you." " Lor..relei, what are you doing here?" Lance asked surprised. " I too was kidnapped same as you. duhh " Lorelei replied nonchalantly. " That''s not what I meant. forget it . so how are you kidnapped here." Lance asked curiously. " I was kidnapped three days ago. when I was crossing the Viridian forest I was suddenly attacked by a Golbat which defeated both my Slowpoke and seel as well as my Lapras. then it confused me and I was here. " she explained to Lance then looked at the black hair boy beside Lance and curiously asked," Who are you?" " I am Alex Bart. I am traveling along with Lance. Nice to meet you." Alex introduced himself. " Hello, I am Lorelei." she introduced and she extended her hand to shake her hands with him but couldn''t as he was still tied up. Seeing this Lorelei apologized and then helped untie both of them. " so what so special about you ?" Lorelei asked Lance. " What do you mean?" Alex asked. " I know Lance since we were young. he doesn''t travel along with just anyone. so what is special about you." she once again asked. Lance angrily stated," Now is not the time to talk about these matters. we should think about what to do in this situation." " you are right but what can we do. they took our Pokemon and we don''t know anything about how many people they are or how to leave this place." Lorelei added. " Do you know anything about the Shadows and what do they want to do." Alex asked Lorelei. "They are only here to give us enough food so that we can survive and not die of hunger. there had been some noise every now and then. And the two shadows you saw today, they are the only ones we know of. And they seem to be as strong as intermediate trainer level. And we can guess there may be even more stronger one present here." Lorelei narrated what she knew of. After hearing Lorelei Alex thought for sometime and then looked at all the trainers present in the room and suddenly his eyes brightened. he looked at both Lorelei and Lance and said," I know what we can do. now listen carefully...." While Alex was explaining his plans to the two Trainers in the other side of base of shadows the leader of this base was convening a meeting. In the large room and there were tables and chairs arranged in a circular manner. There were six people seated of which one of them was at the top. This person at the top who probably was the leader started," Now that we all know about the assignment we were given. we should now transfer these packages then complete this task so that we will not be held for our failure. " Thinking about the punishment for failure, the leader along with all the other people present shuddered. then he continued," Also the people of Kanto are also thinking about attacking here. This information is what we got. so boar, snake, slug and bat you three head out along with twenty of the grunts to delay the action of the league while others will start the procedure for their transfer." After hearing that they buzzed among themselves then a female voice asked," then how will we defend the base from inside and look after the kidnapped trainer, what happens if there is a situation?" " do you think I don''t know this. But what can they do ? they don''t even have their pokeball. how will they take on our well trained people." He asked her. " I am sorry boss." she apologized. " Don''t worry boar. and all of you don''t mess up we should complete our task perfectly." " For the glory of Shadows." "For the glory of Shadows."*5 they all said excitedly. Similarly in the Viridian city, in a dark room there were a score of people and they were discussing something. After they discussed all their matter their leader stated," Then tommorow we will start acting." " let''s make those shadows regret coming to Kanto." " Yeah let''s make them look good" "Yeah let''s defeat them." " For the League." they all shouted. While the leader himself was quiet thinking about something Now all the three groups are thinking of their plans and working to lead it to fruition. So stay tuned to know what their plans really are and what they do to face their enemies. to be continued..... Chapter 26 - Plan (Part 1) All the parties have started their preparation for their plan. They all were acting according to the plan. In the room were the trainers were kept Lorelei was talking to other trainers and was telling them their part of the plan. While she was explaining them their role and when to act, Lance and Alex were discussing something else. " Why didn''t you become the leader instead of Lorelei?" Lance asked. " Of course I could do that but they know Lorelei better than me and we are just new here. Lorelei had stayed here longer so they are more familiar with her. They are more willing to act accordingly but if I tell them that they will probably think I am being selfish or I am favoring someone else over them or something. " Alex stated while looking over all the people there then continued," I am not sure that this plan will work. " " What ?" Lance shouted . Hearing this, all the trainers in the room looked at Lance strangely. Seeing this Alex softly said," Keep quiet you idiot. Look how others are looking at us. " while glaring at Lance. " Haha don''t mind us. He just said something shocking so I was surprised." Lance explained everyone in the room while Lorelei among them looked at Lance suspiciously. they all then went on to their own preparation.then said to Alex," What do you mean this plan won''t work. You were so confident earlier. Now where did all your confidence go?" he hissed. " Do you think I don''t want my plan to work. Why did you think I did not include Haunter in the plan. he is our Trump card . And do you think we will be able to take them down with just these Junior trainer while our weakest enemy is Intermediate level. No matter how we think we are at a disadvantage . " Alex explained. "Then what do we do? Why did you not tell Lorelei about this ?" Lance asked curiously. " A leader can lose his confidence. If I told her that do you think she could act accordingly. She seem like she couldn''t control her emotions. " Alex said and staring sharply at Lance said emotionlessly ," A herd of mareep is headed by a shepherd. They are just cannon fodder. They don''t have any value except for increasing the number. The plan mostly depend on us to succeed. They all including Lorelei are sacrificial pieces." Lance after hearing this , looked shocked and asked him angrily while holding him by his collar," How could you do this? Do you know how many of them could die in this plan? How could you consider the life so cheap." They started a staring contest among themselves neither willing to back down. Since they were behaving quietly no one saw their acts. Alex then turned towards the trainers and stated," Look at them what do you see?" Lance followed Alex field of vision and then curiously said," What do you mean? What is there to look at?" " When we met them earlier they were miserable and looked dull but now their eyes have hope and are vibrant. Now they once again have a bit of hope for freedom. Do you want me to destroy that bit of hope they have now?" Alex once again asked. " Ooof course not.i didn''t mean that " he strutted then continued," But that does not mean you could just do that." " Even if we don''t do that there is a high chance that most of us will not survive if we were transferred to the place they want us to go. Didn''t you hear what they said,'' We will see you later after you live through.'' It meant we don''t have much chance of survival. This way at least more people have chance of survival." Alex affirmed. " I didn''t think you were so cold hearted. That you could just give up so many people just so you could survive. I am disappointed in you. " Lance said depressed. Alex just remained qiluiet but his eyes were foggy as if thinking something and then replied Lance," If you don''t have enough strength you shouldn''t be a hero. or you would only harm others. I learned that a hard way ." Hearing this Lance eyes bulged," what do you mean?" " Nothing just go with the plan. Do you have any problem with the plan?" Alex looked at him and asked but his face was void of any emotions. Lance looked at Alex and thought,'' What happened to you that you think so morbidly. All the things you told me about your family was so nice but now this. There must be a reason. With our time together I know you are not a traitor who leaves his friends alone or you could have left me alone in the forest or you wouldn''t warn me about the Shadows. As you friend I should support you.'' Then looked at all the happy faces of the trainers here,'' He is also right after all no matter what we do there is danger.'' and told him," ok as your friend I support you. " Hearing it Alex smiled softly," Thank you. I will tell you about it later." Hearing that Alex was going to explain his behavior later Lance too smiled and then said," Don''t worry. I won''t let you forget it. I will remember it." Looking at the trainers being happy, Lance mood once again turn sour " Many will die. " " I know but what we can do is not to let their death be in vain." Alex said grimly. " Damn those Shadows." Lance said angrily. And Alex too nodded in agreement. " Let''s be ready to act." Alex told him. What is the plan that made Lance so angry? What will happen? to know all this stay tuned. to be continued.... Chapter 27 - Plan ( Part 2) Lorelei after telling all the trainers went to Lance and Alex. She then asked ," so when will we commence the plan." Alex replied," Let them rest now . we will start at dawn." " But why do we start at that time ?" Lorelei asked curiously. Lance said irritated,"Why are you asking so many questions? you already know all the plans so why are you asking this. " Lorelei turned angry with Lance attitude and replied," I am not asking you. I am talking to Alex. Anyway what happened to you to make you so irritated." " Nothing. Nothing happened to me. I am always like that." Lance replied quickly. " Is that so? This is why Claire always said you are very annoying." she replied joking. " What ? is this what Claire talk about to her friends. Just wait how I will clean her up when I return home." Lance grumbled. " Enough fighting among ourselves. Let''s rest. We have to wake up early so better be ready. Tommorow will be a very tough one." Alex dissolved their fight and told them . After that he left them and went off to a corner and looked at the trainers talking among themselves and telling how they will be free tomorrow and what they are going to do after returning home. This made him remember about his own home , of his father telling him about his awesomeness, his mother''s delicious food and his naughty siblings. then he thought of his grandfather who influenced him a lot in his childhood. '' I will have much to do tomorrow. I hope it goes according to plan. I don''t want to reveal Haunter too soon. '' thinking these he too slept. Meanwhile, in Viridian city In a secret location, A person was sitting in his seat with a Persian at his foot. This person was looking forward blankly while his hands swept softly over the Persian. And the Pokemon seem to be enjoying it. In that instance, a person came in the room and reported," Sir we are ready to act. All the personnel are at place and will act at your command. " The seated person who happen to be the leader asked softly," What do we know of the force sent by the league. Who is leading them?" " Sir from our contacts we found that the league is sending more people than they originally told about. they will be at the perimeter and will only act if things went South. And the one officially leading the team is the new captain of the Kanto Armed force, Surge and the hidden is the gym leader of Fuchsia city, Ninja leader Hanzo. And the backup team is elite corps of the league." " Sure enough the league won''t trust us small time organization and will still have a backup for cleaning. it is good to know that our investment in the league are up to the mark and can transfer these information to us." Said the leader while thinking,'' Soon you all will know what us small time organization is capable of.'' " We will act along with the league according to plan at dawn. Be ready." " Yes sir " and he left the room leaving the leader and his Persian alone. " Those Shadows will regret coming to Kanto. those fanatics should have stayed in Johto. To think they believed they could rule Kanto. Only we, the Rockets are eligible to be the leader of the Kanto underworld." He said passionately. Meanwhile his Persian purred in agreement. In the Shadows hideout, At the surveillance room there were some Grunts of the Shadows overseeing all the happening of the base and are asked to report all mishapping occurring in the base. Now these grunts along with one of the Elites of the base, Bat and Fang. Hahaha Look at those idiots. They are so stupid." said a person who saw all the planning of the trainers. He was Fang. and he continued," do these idiots think we will not look over them and just let them be. What do they take us for amateurs. Hahahahahaha." "It is good that we know it beforehand. And they chose the most troublesome time to act. With the league going to act soon and these too we might have problems."a feminine soft voice rang. It was Bat. " Don''t be such a coward do you think we can''t take care of some kids who don''t even have Pokemon with them." Fang sneered at her. " It is not that. Don''t forget no matter what happen these packages must be sent to the HQ alive or else we can''t complete our qouta. Did you forget what will happen to us if we fail." Bat replied with similar heat. This turned Fang quiet. " Very well so what do you want to do?" " Let them go through their plan and we will take them out slowly." " Damn if it wasn''t for the mission I would have let them know what happens to those who oppose us. " he saidd angrily. She then replied giddily," We can''t kill them but that doesn''t mean we can''t do anything else. Just the thought of it makes me shiver in delight." Hearing her say this, Fang shuddered in fear and thought,'' why am I with this sadistic bitch. I almost feel sorry for those poor fools.'' " ok let''s do as you say. we already had League upon us.". "For the shadows." " For the shadows." Meanwhile in the same base where all the kidnapped Trainers are kept. They all are sleeping merrily unaware that their plan has already been revealed to the Shadows. Now that the plan has revealed what will happen to our heroes. Why is League acting together with the rockets. Also all the pokemon fans should already know the identity of the leader. How will these Trainer be saved and how will the battle go between league and the shadows. for all these answers stay tuned. to be continued.... Chapter 28 - ******* support Support me on *******.com for quicker release of chapters and support me so that I can upload more chapters. My site is: *******.com/darthnorthe Chapter 29 - Plan (Part 3) Next day before sunrise, "Wake up, wake up, wake up you Damm slowpoke." This was the first thing that Alex heard as he started to rise up from his sleep. His eyes were foggy and he saw a blurred image of a red haired young boy who was shaking him while saying him to wake up. As he came to his senses he saw Lance was shaking him to wake him up. Then suddenly he sat erect and his head hit Lance''s. Then they both held their head and rolled on the ground in pain. " What the hell Alex look where you are? And did you have to sit down so quickly. had it not been that we are busy I would have slammed you back to the ground." Lance thundered at Alex. " And who was it that sat on top of me and was shaking me up and down. You should be glad I didn''t throw you over like I did and that time." Alex glared at him with red eyes. Meanwhile Lance was holding his shoulder as if it hurts. Nearby Lorelei came to them to stop their fight and said," Calm down. Save your energy to complete the plan so we could free ourselves." and pulled both the young trainers up from the floor. then continued," So are you both ready to act?" Alex on hearing about the plan clenched his fists then looked at Lance who looked at him intensely then nodded to Lorelei in agreement. " Let''s commence the plan." " Look those fools are starting to act. Have you started to record it? this will help us access them better and grade them for the upcoming trial." One of the Elites said. " Yes sir . All the records will be directly transfer to the boss and we are also ready to create their backups in case of some emergency." The grunt in front of a computer replied. '' this is what separate us from those other idiotic organization. We don''t have any waste among us. All the wastes perish in the trial.'' the elite thought then said,''" Then continue to observe them and don''t let them die. Also make note of those three trainers we spotted out earlier, they are different from others. " Then in the screen of the command room the images of Lorelei, Lance and Alex are on focus. " Yes sir. As they are the leaders and planners of this upcoming riot will there be any specific instructions to take care of them." The grunt asked politely. " Others can''t die and could be injured but these three are not to be maimed and severely injured. These three are the most probable to rank among top 50. So ask them not to hurt them much."he replied. " But sir they are the ones instigating riots so why aren''t they punished."the grunt asked curious. " Are you questioning your orders. Do I have to remind you what happens to those who question their superiors." he glanced coldly at the grunt who started strutting " Nnnooo sir I will do as you say Sir." " Good. I will forget your misbehaviour now but don''t repeat or else..'' he didn''t finish but the grunt started going pale thinking about his outcome if he angered him. Seeing the unhinged door they started gaining their lost hope and this time they wound the rope much more tightly and the door opened with a loud bang. This bang alerted the guards around and they started heading towards the storeroom. Then Lorelei too told them," Let''s separate as planned " There were total 24 trainers and they were divided in groups of 6. A total of 4 group and they headed out. Lance, Lorelei and Alex were in three different groups. Their plans composed of three parts: 1) escape the room 2) turn off the power supply of the base 3) retrieve their lost Pokemon Since they don''t know the layout of the base so all of them knew the plan. This plan was pretty amateur but this gave these hopeless trainers hope to combat the opponents. But the real plan only Alex knew as he knew they were under the surveillance of the Shadows so he didn''t reveal the entire plan. Alex headed west from the room Lance to the east while Lorelei and other one towards the south. In his team Alex wasn''t the leader but a sixteen years old trainer was. His name was Bank and from what Lorelei told him he was almost an intermediate trainer. Grunt1"where do you think you brats are going? " No reply came as the trainers found them trapped and affected by their murderous aura but Alex who has already experienced it was thinking of a plan. " Since you all brats broke the rules so it come upon us elders to punish you. So be ready." Grunt 2 crackling crazily. Then the two Pokemon headed towards the group of trainers with Raticate and ekans ready to bite them. Same thing happened to all the other groups. they too had been caught by the shadows and are attacked by the pokemon. At the command center, "If you want to escape you should try harder or else you will suffer badly." Fang said coldly looking at the situation of the four groups. Now these escaped trainers are once again trapped. What will they do to combat this situation? How will they take on these Pokemon without their own? And will they be able to escape the base safely? for all this stay tuned to be continued... Chapter 30 - Plan (Part 4) As the Pokemon lunged towards lex and group Bank the leader of the group shouted," Come on. We have escaped the room now all we have to do is defeat them take our Pokemon and run out of the base. And we will all be safe. We are more in number let''s take them down. " And he too charged towards them. Having been motivated all of them too lunged. In this some of them got grazed by their fangs and teeth and got some wounds on them. But this didn''t make them lose hope as they attacked the Pokemon with fists and kicks on their eyes, legs or on their head. this irritated the Pokemon but didn''t harm them much. Meanwhile Alex didn''t join them. He saw a thick cord of wire for plugs and switches on the wall . What he did was pull the wire out. This cut off the light of the corridor except for the Sparks on the cord. he then charged taking the cord towards the Pokemon. Since these were busy on the lousy attacks of the young trainers they didn''t pay attention to Alex and only looked at him when he was close. In this way Raticate bore the full force of current while ekans only a sliver as it dogdes the attack and fainted. But Raticate turned char black due to the high voltage. This shocked both the Grunts as well as the trainers but trainers recovered from the shock earlier and thrashed the grunts. They were much weaker than their pokemons and their legs and hands broke and they fainted suffering the onslaught of the trainers. After they fainted, Alex took their Pokemons from their waists to which the injured trainers looked surprised by his act. Alex replied," If they come to their senses they may release their other Pokemons and let them attack us later. So I am taking their pokeball with me ." To this Bank replied," ok and thanks to your quick thinking we are safe. Anyway let''s get going." They all once again ran quickly through the corridor albeit slow compared to earlier. Same thing happened in other places. Both Lorelei and Lance using their sharp minds took down the opponents'' pokemons as Well as their trainers. Lance groups came across the electric power room. There was a big turbine rotating in the room and some electric type like Pikachu, electrode, voltorb were around enjoying the power generated. Seeing the electric Pokemon there he muttered," Shit, the difficulty is much higher now. How to turn off the generator and not not anger and get attacked by these Pokemon. let''s get it going." When the group of Alex came to door around the corner they saw five grunts standing by the door. Seeing this they were afraid about how they will keep going on and take them down. As Alex was thinking of a way, other trainers were having a nervous breakdown and only Bank was quiet. " We are doomed." " We barely took on two of them and now there are five of them. How will we get out of here?" " I want it go home. waaaaaaa" Another cried softly. Bank them turned to Alex and asked," Do you have a way to take them down ,Alex" As he was able to think of a plan earlier so he thought he might have a way. Alex replied," I do have a way but it is risky at least one of us will be hurt or even recaptured.So who will elect other than Bank." Hearing it all the other four turned mum. None of them were willing to get captured again. Seeing this Alex thought,'' Good thing I never put my hope on these ungrateful people. Well better let them suffer then.'' Alex thought darkly. " Fine. I will create an opening. you all attack when they are not looking." he stated. to this they nodded. '' of course you all will be selfish. Good thing I am not as heroic as I was all those eyes ago.'' Thinking about his past he sighed sadly. Alex first switched of the light of the corridor by through a wrench on the light this alerted them. They all had their hands on their pokeball and looked around. " Let''s separate and search for them. Those escapees are probably around." " let''s make them suffer for their riot." " I can already hear their despair after their failure." he laughed. Leaving t one at the door the four in group of two headed to two direction. Alex stood quietly in the dark letting the grunts pass by him but he didn''t attack them as he wanted to let the other trainers suffer. After they headed out they reached the other trainers. It seem the other group too met a group of trainer and he reached the one at the door and took out them. After entering he found that all the pokeball were placed in this storeroom. He took his and Lance from the all the pokeball as his was marked with a star while Lance has his clans symbol impression on his for distinguishing them. He then released his Eevee. Who after seeing him happily jumped on him and snuggles while saying," Eevvee. eee vvve ee". As if saying how scared he was. As he was with him when they were attacked in the forest and was worrying over it''s Trainer in the pokeball. First Alex helped his group and took them down from behind and then took their pokeballs. Seeing him with an Eevee, Bank asked," Did you find all the pokeball ?". " Yes they are behind the door. you all take your own and be ready to fight and I will take down the others side." they all headed to the room while he took them out with Charmeleon this time. He scorched them and then he saw it was Lorelei as well as Lance together. " Let''s go to the room and regroup there." he told them this and they headed towards the room. Three out of four groups once again met each other in the room and now they have their Pokemons. Now they can take them down with number. This gave them a new wave of relief. Among them only Alex Lorelei and Lance were still worried. Now the first round is over. And the next round the trainers will face along with their pokemons. Fang told the grunt one near him,"Commence the next stage of plan." " Now we don''t have to worry about wounding them much as they have their Pokemons." " Let them stop holding back on them." he gave all these orders calmly. "yes sir." How will the next round of escape go? What happened to the fourth group? Why are the ones in the command center not worried? What will happen next? to be continued.... Chapter 31 - Round 2 begins As the people of the shadows are starting to commence the next phase and the starting to take of the kids'' gloves,ie, they aren''t going to hold back. In the storeroom, All the escaped trainers of the three groups started to take back their Pokemons from the storeroom while Alex handed over Lance''s pokeball to him. After taking the pokeballs, Lorelei once again gathered them around and started, " Now that we have got back our pokeballs we should now head to save the fourth group which was captured by the shadows. Now we should assemble, divide ourselves and ..." Before she could finish one of the trainers shouted," Now that I have my Pokemon I am not afraid of those Damm shadows. Now I will show those bastards what they get for angering me. " After hearing this other trainers too started shouting," Yeah I will not let them get away." "I will crush them." "They will pay for this." "I will eradicate them from the roots." Stimulated by the anger and once again getting back their power, getting back the Pokemon so they can battle them they were starting to get inflammated thinking that they could take on those grunts without Pokemon so with their Pokemons they could easily win. This emotion can be seen in everyone except Lance and Alex as Lance was already warned by Alex that after getting back the Pokemons there might be such a case. " Wait before taking on the shadows we must save our friends who are captured. Please calm down we still have much to do " Seeing them so aggressive she said nervously while pulling up her specs up her nose. " Let them be. We can save them after we take down the shadows. We have to get back at them before they ran away. " Bank the leader of Alex group stated" Anyway they are losers for getting caught by them. Look all of us are here but they got caught. We should let them be so they will learn not to be caught in the future. Hahahahahaha." " yeah let them be ." "yeah they are right." they all rang . Lorelei still pleaded for them," But they suffered with us together. We should at least try once. What if you were in their position." she looked at all of them hopefully then at Lance and Alex pleading and hoped that they backed her up Alex kept looking at her but if one would notice it seem he ignored her and looked at the wall at her back. And Lance looked away from her. seeing they won''t help she once again looked at them. This time all the trainers were quiet and no one talked. Later the one who first started the aggressive stance stated," Even if we want to help them we will face many of the shadows who will now look after them. They will be the bait to catch us. Let''s take out the ones at the periphery and then go help them after we are safe." "Yeah this is how we will do " "I too agree." " Me too". "Here" All of them agreed to first protect themselves and then go out to save them after leaving the base by reporting to the league and thought this way they both will be safe. Seeing that none stood by her she angrily shouted," Fine then . But if you all are caught or anything happen to you don''t expect me to help you." Saying this she headed away from them. After this all the trainers left the room and headed out to take down the shadows but this time the ones who were stronger than most headed alone while slightly weaker ones in group of two or three . Out of the 18 here, five headed out alone, three ( Alex , Lance and Lorelei ) stayed in the room while the rest ten in two two groups of two and threes. After they left, Lorelei suddenly stormed at them and said," Why didn''t you help me out there? Look what happened? Now we all are separate and easy to pick up at. What are we going to do now. Many are caught and now we are divided too. So how do we get out of here. All the plan have now went down the drain." she continued to fume at Lance and Alex. "is all the steam out of your system?" Alex jokingly said to which Lance laughed and his eevee in his shoulder snickered. but Lorelei didn''t find it funny and glared hotly at them. This stopped Lance laughter but Eevee continued to smile. "What do you mean? And why aren''t you angry that they didn''t follow your plan Alex? heck since they insulted your plan you should be more angry than me?"Lorelei said looking at Alex "Because I knew this was going to happen." Alex said calmly. "what? what do you mean you know? How can you know? Are you a psychic or a prophet?" Lorelei blasted him with questions. "When we were first kidnapped I saw that all trainers had already established groups and Division among themselves and some were loners among them too. these loners looked at the ones in group disdainfully and also sneered from time to time. So I knew they were prideful and won''t act after they get back their Pokemons. Do this plan of taking them down in group won''t work. Also.."he stopped and looked at Lorelei. Lorelei narrated and asked"Also what?" "Even if we were in a group it won''t matter." " Why wouldn''t it matter?" she asked and Lance too looked at him curious as he never elaborated him on why the plan won''t work. "Because we were always under their surveillance. I knew that since they caught us alive and said we were valuable package for them yet they didn''t have a single guard to look at us. this made me feel fishy so I had my Haunter survey the room." And his Haunter rose out of his shadows startling Lorelei. Haunter after emerging greeted Lance and Lorelei with a wave of hand and then started chatting with Eevee probably telling what all happened to them after they were kidnapped. but he ignored her and he continued,"So after Knowing they were looking at us and the lack of participation and cohesiveness between us I thought it won''t work and second is.." " don''t keep dragging on like that. it is irritating and not cool."Lance fired at Alex while Lorelei nodded in agreement as his drawing on was getting irritating. "Fine spoilsport. Second is no matter how much Rattata are there can it take down a pseudo legendary like Dragonite or A gyrados?" He asked them. Lance being the dragon enthusiast he was quickly said," No way. they can never take them on. The dragon type evolve after acc_u_mulation of enough life energy and stimulating the evolution they have a very strong aura around them that they can''t even bear the pressure they exert on them. Heck, they will run or hide in their presence. But how is this similar to us." " The grunt we saw was at Intermediate level and from his fear of it''s leader it seem he was at least senior level trainer. Do you think you could take him on." Alex looked at them. Both Lance and Lorelei were quiet as they both have seen what a senior trainer is capable of with Lance being grandson of the great elder of Wataru clan and Lorelei being the student of elite four head trainer Pierce so both know the strength of the trainers. "So what do we do?" Lance asked. " Now we start round two." Alex said smiling. Now we know why Alex and Lance we''re not supportive of the plan. So what will happen to those angered trainers and what is the round two of the both the shadows and Alex?Now what is happening in the other battlefield between the league and the shadows? to be continued... Chapter 32 - Round 2 In the other side of the Viridian Forest, a big battle was ragging on. There were many Pokemon such as Rattatas, nidos etc quadruple Pokemon were running away from the battlefield. Many bug type such as Caterpie and Weedle and other and flying like Spearow were also escaping. In the battle there were many trees which fell, there were craters here and there. in the sky the flying types were attacking each other with wings, talons as well as gust and typhoons.There were trees burned, shredded or torn apart by brute Force. As the battle continues, many Pokemon also laid on the ground either exhausted, hurt or defeat and even death. This battlefield is the result of a fight between The leagues and the shadows. There were other places which had an even graver battle such as Captain Surge taking on two the the elite of shadows, Koga taking on two while the leader was facing Giovanni. All the parties of the battle left a big gap between their battlefield as the battle here was very chaotic. These battle revealed what power truly was. In the battlefield of Surge, his Electrivire, Raichu and luxray were demolishing the Pokemon of skamory, houndoom, Umbreon, weavile, Rhydon and mismagius. and the Pokemon of Surge still had an upper hand. in Koga''s field his poison Pokemon of crobat, Muk and Nidoking were suppressing steelix, victreebell, vileplume, scolipede , golem as well as a Blastoise. And in Giovanni there was only a Beedrill hovering behind him and his opponent the chief of this base of Shadows was on the ground and his Pokemon such as camerupt, sceptile, feraligatr, fearow, Alakazam and drapion were all defeated on the ground and in front was only a Nidoking. Giovanni was looking emotionlessly at the fallen leader and coldly sneered," Did you want to enter Kanto with just this strength. Hmm no wonder Johto is called the weakest league." Then he took out a communicator and said,"Archer, is the task completed." "What three trainers were already causing problems there and much was destroyed. Fine then let the league handle the kidnapped trainers and find out everything about these trainers and see if they could join us but don''t reveal it directly, the league too will take note of it." After that he disconnected the call and thought,'' it seems there are still genius born in Kanto after all. After all they only kidnapped rookies and beginner trainers.'' Then he headed back and the league members nearby caught the leaders. And after that the battle was coming to an end. After half an hour with victory of the league only defeated Pokemon, trainers and a scarred field was left. Two Hours before the call of Giovanni, In the base, All the three young trainers Alex, Lance and Lorelei were moving towards the place were fourth group were trapped. Alex Haunter had scouted the area while they were chatting and discussing the next part of the plan without any possibility of eavesdropping as his Eevee destroyed the camera and his butterfree searched the area with it''s psychic powers. After his search they found that they were kept in the room just left to that of the command center and of the only two Elites present in the base one was stationed at the only entrance of the base. He knew no matter how much they trainer they could only take on only one of the elite while dragging the other. So now there plan was to destroy the base and cause chaos in the base. They decided to release the caught group to increase number and cause chaos. This is also the reason why he didn''t stop them from leaving as the more spread out they are the more chaos they cause. So now we find our heroes just around the corner looking at the door behind which the group was caught. On their way they defeated about ten shadow grunts out of which Haunter took down six of them before they could even notice. "There is a psychic type in the room so Haunter''s hidden attack won''t work and the only way to do it is taking it out by force but this will probably attract the attention of the command center." Lorelei analysed. Lance then told them," Then we should be so fast they didn''t even have a way to stop and counter us." Hearing it both thought,'' Leave it to Lance to think about different ways of getting us caught.'' Alex then said," Although I don''t want to say this but Lance plan is really feasible so we will go with it and do remember we have at most three minutes to take them on, release them and leave here . So be prepared and every second counts." Then they ran in front and Lance released his Dratini, Lorelei her smoochum and Alex his Charmeleon. Soon there will be much chaos in the base. to continued.... Chapter 33 - Round 2 ends "Boom" This was the only sound the people in the room heard before they were attacked by dragon rage, flamethrower and ice beam. These immobilized about five of the grunts but four were left unaffected of the attacks. With this they revealed their Pokemon such as Arbok, Weezing, Golbat and Weavile and ready for combat. And behind them is a Hypno with a metal ring in his hand. "So some finally dared to rescue their friends. But don''t worry soon you too will join them." Said a grunt . Another added," Boss said that we don''t have to hold back but make sure all are alive. " "it means they just have to keep breathing but if they are missing some limbs it is still alright." " Now we don''t have to suffer from boredom. They will continue to entertain us . hehehe." and he smiled psychotically. All these grunts ignored the other members who are now stunned and unconsciously fallen on the floor. They kept talking about how they are going to make them suffer by breaking their hands or legs, or how they will pick off their nails with tongs or how they will just poison them so they groan in pain and how they will do enough that they survive. But our hero chose to ignore their threats as they saw the tied up Trainer bleeding from different parts, a few limbs bent in different direction from original and the pain on their face as if suffering from a nightmare. All these revealed the fact that these sick bastards had tortured them since they were caught. This angered all of them which was revealed from their distorted face. the next battle begins as: Charmeleon vs Weezing Dratini vs Arbok Smoochum vs Golbat Eevee vs weavile Haunter vs Hypno For Charmeleon and Weezing, Charmeleon commenced the battle with a flamethrower which pushed back Weezing but it retaliated with smokescreen. He hid in the smoke and tackled it to the ground. "aaargh" it hurt badly both by it''s weight and force of attack. then Alex shouted," use your ears." then it moved it''s ears softly and tried to hear the sound of Weezing but couldn''t hear anything. This angered him and used it claws and flamethrower to attack wildly but couldn''t hit it. Then one attack hit it, this disrupted the momentum of the Pokemon and to end it he barraged it with flame claw, bite and flamethrower. He ended the battle with dragon rage. This battle Charmeleon won with only a little bruise. and it also slammed the grunt so strong that a sound of crack was heard Eevee vs Weavile Both the Pokemon are known for their speed but Weavile was much faster and it dogdes the attack of shadow ball and swift. And it attacked it with claws and ice beam. Even though not much Time passed since it joined the team it still has it''s senses honest with it''s life in the slums. Since the moves didn''t work so Alex had it wait for the attack. "Wait and Don''t move." "since you won''t attack then weavile use shadow claw." he then headed towards Eevee with a darkened claw to end it. Just as it was nearer, Alex commanded, "dig"and then softly '' and take out it''s trainer'' In a flash it borrowed into the ground disrupting it''s attack then it suddenly it appeared below the grunt and turned him out with shadow ball. this surprised Weavile and Eevee attacked him with a nasty bite and ended it with iron tail. this fainted him. Hypno vs Haunter While the battle was going on around them,they both looked at each other and didn''t move a muscle. Had it not for the fact that their eyes flashed blue it would seem they weren''t even fighting. they both were using their psychic powers for their mental battle. They were even in all respect in this battle as Haunter had more control and Hypno had more power. There was a heavier atmosphere here than the other Pokemon battle. then suddenly as their eyes turned normal, and they both attacked, Haunter with shadow pulse and Hypno with psybeam. There attack crashed and neutralized each other. as Hypno had a trainer to guide it he commanded it effectively and attacked it and tried to keep it under pressure. If Haunter didn''t have type advantage it would have lost and it persisted till now. This battle had exhausted it but then it heard it''s trainer commanding Eevee to attack the opposite trainer this gave it an idea. This time he attacked it with poison bomb and then with shadow ball barrage this bought it enough time to attack the trainer whom he used hypnosis turning him asleep. Seeing his trainer hurt Hypno turned angry and attacked it with zen headbutt this move was fast and didn''t give it a chance of dodging. Fortunately Eevee attacked it with shadow ball hurting it and stopping the attack. Not giving it another chance they both hit it with shadow ball and sludge attack. Hypno couldn''t last their move and was defeated. Alex had been trying to wake the trainers but they were too badly hurt and couldn''t move. Lance and Lorelei battle had also ended. They had also knocked out their opponents. Seeing that they could not help them in limited time and Alex proposed to leave them here. This angered Lorelei and Lance too was disappointed but Alex explained them," If we didn''t move we will face many of the shadows and even a commander who we could not beat. We should follow our plans to cause chaos in the base and try to buy time." and seeing that they were gloomy he also added, " Now we are not strong enough to take them on." After hearing this both of them nodded in agreement of his plan but also thought in the heart,'' If I was strong enough I won''t be leaving them behind.'' This incident planted a d_e_s_i_r_e for strength in their heart. "Now we will destroy their other power station so that they power of the base is out and their defense is disabled. This way if we had a chance we could escape." After taking their pokeball they ran away from the room to other side of the corridor. As they ran they heard some shouts from behind, " Why is the lights of this place out?" " Why haven''t they responded to our call?" "Hope they did not let them escape." Now they are heading towards the station unaware of what awaits them. In the power station, There was only one person but he was someone who was watching over the group the entire time,Fang . By this time all the other trainers had been once again caught except for our three heroes. These three had caught his attention early on so he awaits their arrival. "Come soon brats. I know you will come here. And then I will show you what true power really is." Next will be the most difficult battle for the three heroes. This battle is also the last one for this escape arc. So stay tuned. to be continued.... Chapter 34 - The last obstacle Alex and our other heroes now dashed away from the room amidst the shouts of the shadows. They were using hit and run tactics on the way. They used Haunter and Lance''s Kadabra psychic to scout the area and finding the right timing they took down the grunts there. Till now they were able to take on a dozen grunts and if we calculate the number of pokemons Alex confiscated it would be around a hundred in number. Till now they mostly faced poison, dark or rock type ( and steel type too though now there is no categorisation of steel, poison and fairy type). These attributes have not been classified till now. The Pokemon they faced till now were poison type: Muk, Arbok , Weezing, Nido family, Golbat Ground type : Sandslash, Graveller, Rhyhorn, Donphan Dark type: Houndoom, Mightyena, Sneasel, Crawdaunt But the downside was the Pokemon were tired. the only usable pokemons not dead tired were: in Alex team: Haunter , Charmeleon , Swinub in Lance team : Dratini , Kadabra in Lorelei : Lapras Now they had only six Pokemon all together left who could battle the shadows which brought about their current predicament. The trainers they defeated earlier had started to wake up and sounded the alarm and revealed the details about them. This made their secret attacks less and less effective over time. Normally, Alex and Lance would have ended the life of some of them, but Lorelei stopped them and asked them to let them go so that the league could punish them. though Alex was against leaving them , In order not to create differences between themselves he let it go. So because of the information the shadows got their battle got tougher and even though they took them down in the end some of the Pokemon were hurt and are unconscious or are so tired they could hardly launch an attack. And because of that they now use a completely different tactic, they now no longer used Pokemon to battle their Pokemon they use the psychic powers to evade them, destroy whatever they thought was important for the shadows in the base and destroyed the lights of the base. Now our heroes came across the power station of the base. As they eyed the door of the station from the corner of the corridor they began discussing the next course of plan. Alex started," That is the main Target of our plan If we take it out we could have an opportunity to escape from here. And most of their traps will probably be disabled too." Lance though said," We should be prepared though in that place there will probably be many shadows waiting for us. After all from the way we acted they probably guessed we are trying to sabotage the base and if we destroy the station we will cause even more problems for them." Lorelei hearing this, fingered her pokeball and said," Didn''t you find it odd that we only saw those grunts and not the two elite officers that were at the base." Alex said after some thought," one is probably at the entrance of the base and other could be at the command center. So we are pretty safe as long as we stay away from these areas.." Lance confidently added," So what if we face them we could take them down if not then we will take them down together." This made Lorelei smile and made her less afraid of them, but Alex next words once again sobered them up," We barely took all these Grunts down and also lost half of our combat effectiveness. if we face them we will only hurt our Pokemons more and even then our chance of victory is not much." he continued to say,"Lance what level these grunts were at?" He replied ," at peak of the beginner to mid intermediate at most." though confused about the question. "Yes but what if we were to face a peak intermediate or a senior level do you think we could take them on with our weakened Pokemon?" This clarified Lance confusion and all turned quiet. Lorelei tried to ease the situation by saying,"So we will not find the elite officers in the power station room. We should think about how to initiate the attack." Lance bluntly siaid," Let''s just storm the place." Hearing this Lorelei harshly roared at Lance ," What are you , an idiot or what? We are trying to act as discreet as possible and if we storm it we will be surrounded by them and probably get caught." Lance hearing this apologies to Lorelei. While Alex said," I agree." " What" they softly said in unison surprised by the it. "They will know it anyway and this is our last destination before trying to escape so it doesn''t matter how we do it." hearing this they too agreed and Lance looked at Lorelei smugly. Then they passes the empty corridor , this brought a feeling of unease in Alex but their success till now drowned this suspicion and then in front of the door, Lance released his Dratini and said,"destroy the door." Dratini destroyed the door with a heavy slam of it''s tail and the door fell with a loud rang. and with it''s impact a cloud of dust fell obscuring their vision. They then released their all Pokemon and get ready for combat. Just when their Pokemon was released, a voice rang in the room ," Finally the little rats are caught." When they followed the voice there stood a middle aged blue haired handsome man dressed in the a black tight shirt and deep black pants. if one would notice his right ears was half cut. then coming in front of them he introduced himself, with a smile in his face" hello. I am Fang, elite officers of the shadows." The one person they didn''t want to face was in front of them. Now how will they face this last obstacle standing in front of their freedom ? to be continued... Chapter 35 - The three questions In presence of Fang, none of them could relax. All of them froze on spot even their Pokemons aren''t able to move a muscle completely frozen overwhelmed by the aura of Fang. Even though He was smiling, his aura wasn''t that matching his face. It was that of a blood thirsty predator locking his eyes on it''s prey and can attack it at any time. Alex had once heard a rumour while he was in his hometown, that a man once stopped the rampage of gyrados just by looking at them and calming them and was able the save a town from it''s imminent danger. He thought he was either a psychic or it was his pokemon which helped him out. And after experiencing the pressure that the elite officer gave them he now knew that all those rumours were true. This time he was feeling like he was on a boat in a stormy sea and could be submerged in water at any instant. Now he knew why even extremely strong Pokemon needed an equally strong trainer to control because of his aura one gets as one get stronger. This aura is generated as one get stronger and based on the experiences he had and it manifests in the person and forms accordingly. A Killer has a murderous aura and the more he murders or experience similar circ_u_mstances the more heavier it become. A fire type trainer slowly manifests a fiery aura and may seem that the surrounding temperature got higher. He once heard that the Ice type trainer Pierce had a frosty aura both from his life and from his pokemon type. After some time they were able to get accustomed to his aura and finally they began to slowly move their muscles and fingers. Seeing them able to move freely, Fang smiled at them," Impressive. To think you can overcome the oppressiveness of my presence. I can see why the leader placed such importance to you all. you all are really skilled. And the fact that you could reach here without any injury on yourself too, I am really impressed. You all can probably be the executive of the Shadows and even be our Leader one day. Ah the benefits we would get for recruiting you all will be great. So I will answer one question for each of you?" Alex furiously thought,'' Why did we have to think about it ? Now we have to face him. Now what do we do? We can only drag him till the league comes here.'' Alex asked him," What do you mean by executive and the leader? and why are you so respectful to them?" This attracted the attention of Lance and Lorelei. They both looked at him quizzing that why was he asking him such questions. Facing their gaze he looked at them as if saying, '' Believe me.'' This person, Fang happened to think they weren''t his opponent so he was relaxed. So he was very talkative and was willing to explain them about some facts about the shadows. It was similar to a senior student or staff in a school explaining the rules and regulations to his junior. " Since you asked this then as your awesome senior let me explain it to you. The hierachy of the shadows have distinct classes. Each class had a low, intermediate, advanced categories. The low end of class comprises: a) the low level grunt, the one who attended you when you were captured. b) the squad leader whom you probably faced. You know the one who was stronger than the other members when you faced." Hearing this they nodded . They remembered that they faced a few squads and each had some who was much stronger that other members of the squad. Then he continued,"and the peak of them is c) A captain : They lead a number of squads and are the leaders. They are the ones who lead an operation of the shadows at ground. You are following me" They nodded. "Then the intermediate level comprises of: a)Commander: They oversee the different captains. b) Elite officers: This is the position we are in. We are mostly present at the headquarters and are the ones who lead different factions and department. c) The Elite: They are the ones who are head of departments. We also have a one who is leading the Mission here. And the last the advanced levels are: a) Chief of Division : They are the ones who are looking after a region or district of the Nation(from now on the different regions will be regarded as Nations , such as Kanto , Johto, Hoenn , etc) b) The Executive : They are the ones who lead quadrant ( cardinal direction) of the Nation. They are not more than 16 in number. Your skills show that if you survive you could at least become This strong. and the last of the advance is: c) The director: There are only three directors. They are the strongest in the shadows second only to the leader. They are able to contend with the Elite fours of the league." This surprised them about the strength of the shadows. As they could see how capable they are. Seeing their surprised faxes he laughed loudly and told something that shocked them all. " "The most important thing about the directors is that if any one of the executive could take them out or defeat them, they can become the director themselves." This shocked them. To know that if one wants to be an Elite he must make enough contribution to the league but here anyone strong enough could take that position. "Isn''t this interesting? Hahaha." This time Lorelei asked her question," Why did you catch us ?" " Oh our cute little redhead wants to know why she was kidnapped. Of course it us to recruit you ." "Recruit? if you want to recruit why kidnap?" "No no no . You could only ask one question. Now you other redhead you ask your question?" Lance asked after some thoughts," Where are you going to take us after this?" "Now you asked the right questions. Only you and that other boy are smart.Now listen. We the shadows have a recruiting exam. All the trainers caught by the shadows are transported to Nightmare island. There you will be left alone with a Pokemon which we will give you with a week of ration. " "Why?" Lance hurriedly asked. "I am telling brat. Don''t interrupt ." Glaring at Lance this froze him solid. "We don''t want waste only fighters. You will stay there for three years and perform different tasks for more ration and pokeball. it is a survival round. Every two months there will be contest and the loser dies. Also the Pokemon living there are Savage. The Pokemon are wild. They also kill humans who disturbed them. They are also used to cut down the numbers. The trainer had to catch them, tame the Pokemon on the island trai. then survive. We give all the parties equal opportunity and all are based on their efforts. Aren''t we more kind than the league? Hahaha haha. " Hearing this they were stunned. Now that they know why they were kidnapped and what awaits them there? So what will they do now and how will they overcome the obstacle in front that seemed unbeatable. to be continued..... Chapter 36 - Despair In front of the three heroes the Elite Officer of the Shadows, Fang. Even knowing this put great pressure on our heroes but after Knowing the hierachy of the Shadows, it almost destroyed their hope. They felt utter despair and the thought of facing him and the plan to stall time wasn''t even in their brain. Along with them, even their pokemons were frozen solid in the presence of Fang. They were more s_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e than humans as their instinct helps them stay alive in the wild and they were shocked. This instinct helps them avoid their predator and stay safe. The Pokemons too felt despair. But even in this pressure the eyes of Haunter, Dratini , Charmander, Lapras and Charmeleon still had a spark of defiance , a d_e_s_i_r_e to overcome the obstacle and stand tall. They attacked their Pokemon. Lapras used water gun on Lorelei soaking her up. Dratini and Charmander used flamethrower on Lance slightly burning him and Haunter and Charmeleon attacked with flame punch in Alex gut. This shocked all the four humans present in the room. And the three trainers were shell shocked. First they had been stunned and trapped by Fang and now their Pokemon betrayed them, this was shocking to say the least. Yes this is what they thought of , BETRAYAL , same was with Fang and he laughed," Hahahaha, now even your own pokemon stand against you, it would be best if you join us. After all you can''t beat me." But they ignored him and looked at their Pokemon. They were hurt by their betrayal. Alex thought,'' Was the pressure do much that you chose to leave me and stand against me. Was our bond so weak that a little pressure broke it.We will be the strongest. Wasn''t this our dream?'' Lance thought,'' Did I not raise you both properly and with love since you were born. Was our love and bond between us just a delusion.We promised to be the strongest dragon trainer.'' Lorelei ,'' Lapras why , why did she betray me. We promised each other to be the best water type Trainer and most powerful Lapras in the world.why?'' But after looking at their pokemons they saw a fierce look adoring their face.This was directed at them as if saying how disappointed they were to have such weak trainers. To think a little pressure broke their spirit. The Pokemon were mocking them and their dream. Lorelei then stoke Lapras head and said softly," Thank you for your help, Lapras. We will show him our determination." "Laapp.." Lance looked at them and said," You are too weak. See this attack didn''t even make me flinch. We still have to train much harder for our goal." He didn''t act affectionate to them knowing they don''t like being loved in front of others. Their dragon pride won''t allow it. And Alex just kept staring at him Pokemon not saying a word. They were quietly telling each other they will not let anyone stand in front of their goal and every mountain in front of their path will be turned to dust. " We will escape from here and we will reach our dream." Alex said to them and facing Fang ,"Thank you for helping us." " So you are ready to join the shadows. Good . I will add some good words to the overseer of the Nightmare Island to look after you. We should now head out . League will be coming here soon. We should leave here or we will have some troubles." And he turned to leave and asking them to follow. Seeing them not moving he turned ," what are you all Waiting for? Let''s get going." "I haven''t specified what I thanked you for. I thank you for showing how big the world is and for reinforcing our dreams. Now I know how difficult the journey to the top is and now I am willing to do whatever it takes to reach it even if it meant death." Alex said all this with so much determination that every one even the Pokemon and Fang were shocked. The shear belief in his dream was astounding. Fang then seriously looked at the trainers and Pokemon in front of him and asked ," So you will not come with me easily. Are you sure you want to defy me?" Their unwavering eyes revealed the answer. " Fine then let me show you want despair truly means. " He fully released his pressure on them and then threw a pokeball in the air. From it revealed a black pokemon. It has a sleek black body with four slender legs and crimson eyes. There are two pairs of pointed teeth visible when its mouth is open, one in the upper jaw and one in the lower. It has long pointed ears and a bushy tail, each with a yellow band around them. Its forehead and legs have yellow rings on them. " Show them true despair, Umbreon." It was an Umbreon. It''s yellow marking glowed and revealed a scary aura around it. It''s ruthlessness was revealed in it''s murderous blood red eyes. It looked the Pokemon disdainfully. It was ready to crush it''s opponent. Now our heroes are ready to face Fang. How will the battle go? Stay tuned. to be continued ..... Chapter 37 - Despair (End) In front of the Umbreon the Pokemon kept their composure but if one focuses then they would see the sweat dropping from their head and the crease formed on their forehead. This was noticed by their trainers. " Since you want to be educated then let me show you the difference between us. Umbreon show them what you are capable of." Fang told his Pokemon. he had a lazy stance with his hands in his pocket. He doesn''t seem to take them seriously. Yet this still put a mountain load of pressure on them. They all knew what a advanced Trainer was capable of. Lance and Lorelei from their family and Alex was told about that by Lance. Yet seeing is believing. This also inspired an aspiring dream in Alex to see what the top really feel like. This dream motivated him. " Get ready for the battle and always stay on alert, Haunter, Charmeleon." Alex warned them. They were even more vigilant and were ready for attack " Good to see that you all have a battle spirit or all this would not be entertaining for me. Umbreon play with them." Fang issued his instructions. Just when he said that the Umbreon appeared right in front of Lapras and blasted it up in the air by a shadow ball without giving it any chance and was using iron tail to end it but was interrupted by triple dragon rage of Dratini, Charmander and Charmeleon. This stopped it''s attack as it countered it with shadow ball. Even the combined attack could not match a single shadow ball and it raced towards them. Then jumped out of the way to dodge it. Meanwhile Lapras attack it with ice beam and Haunter with sludge bomb. This was to stop it from close combat. The fact that it could blast a Lapras in the air showed it''s superiority in physical strength. And the Umbreon then used pursuit to dodge it. They kept sending flamethrower, water pulse, sludge bomb, shadow ball to kept it at it''s toes but it used quick attack and pursuit to keep dodging them. This was only tiring the Pokemon and doesn''t have any effect on the Umbreon. While this was going on, Fang was analysing the battle characteristics of each of the trainer. It can be said that the way ace Pokemon of a trainer battles that is the way of the trainer mentality is. Mostly Lapras was trying to trap or limit the movement of Umbreon showing that Lorelei liked to trap and execute them out with most powerful attack. She is Willing to wait for the right moment to attack. She is a patient trainer. Meanwhile Dratini and Charmander try to take it out with brute force of attack and didn''t put much emphasis on defense. And last but not the least Alex was a opportunist trainer. His Pokemon uses every opportunity to increase their stat via dragon dance or Haunter using confuse Ray or hypnosis. They will not go all out at the start. His Charmeleon was but a brute Force pokemon it was using it''s tail, fist and fang too to attack. It shows that he raised it for close combat. And the Haunter was a long range one with only some elemental fist moves. These were what he noticed. Fang thought,'' These three young trainers are much ahead from their peers. Each are at least intermediate level now. If given time they will soon reach senior level in a couple of years. After all many are stuck in the intermediate level their whole life. They still have much deficiency in their style though.'' After looking at them he also found their defects in style. Lance was most prominent as he trained his primary stage Pokemon as if they were at final stage and don''t have to worry about these minute attacks. These attacks may not be effective for Charizard and Dragonite but it still is deadly for the young Dratini and Charmander. They didn''t have enough defensive move and their dodge movement were not smooth enough. In case of Lorelei her moves will be effective for trainers at her own level or lower ones if they are much stronger it is useless. And for it to work the Pokemon must have higher stamina than the opponent which is not the case her. " You all are really good. To entertain my Umbreon like this. But now I am getting bored. Let''s end this." Fang said. on hearing this Umbreon stopped all its movement. Seeing an opportunity they all attacked him. they all commanded. " Lapras water pulse." " Dratini dragon pulse and Charmander flamethrower." " Charmeleon dragon pulse and Haunter Dark pulse." All the moves combined and headed towards Umbreon. It wasn''t intimidated by this combination and just used hyper beam. It''s hyperbeam tore open all the combined attacked and then exploded in front of their pokemons. This blasted them back. Lapras, Charmander, Charmeleon and Dratini were blasted to the ground and only Haunter was left standing. This gravelly wounded the Pokemons . Seeing his friends injured Haunter eyed turned red and it headed towards Umbreon and attacked it with shadow ball and poison smog. and also used toxic to poison it. in front of the trainer are laid the unconscious Pokemon. Now what will our heroes do? Stay tuned. to be continued..... Chapter 38 - Another mystery to his identity With all their pokemons knocked out unconscious there seem no hope for the three trainers. Just when they were about to get their pokemons back in their pokeball , Umbreon attacked them with quick attack. This knocked them down on the ground. Fang then asked," What do you think you are doing? You think you can defy us without consequences. No . You should remember every action has a reaction. " then he looked at Umbreon and side," would you please teach them that." His Umbreon had a cruel smirk on his face. It showed how much he enjoyed playing with them. At this time it started attacking them with iron tail attacks so that their body may have some bruises. And it only used physical moves instead of special attacks. Seeing this the three were afraid and didn''t know what to do. In order to save his pokemons Lance took a big rod lying nearby and ran towards Umbreon to attack. This woke them out of their stupor and they too ran to it. Seeing their foolishness, Fang just laughed merrily and didn''t bother to warn his pokemon about their attack. As soon as the rod was going to hit it, he escaped the attack and then used giga impact towards them. Seeing one of the most powerful attack heading towards them they didn''t even have time to escape and they could only surrender to this attack. They stood in front of their pokemons since that they could lessen the impact of this attack on their Pokemon no matter how futile it seemed. Meanwhile those unconscious Pokemons had gained slight conscience and looked at their trainers standing in front of the attack. They tried to stand on their legs to help but because of their wounds they were unable to do so. Just as the attack neared them, The Umbreon suddenly flew towards the opposite side of the room and smashed on the walls and fainted. This was shocking to both the trainers, pokemons as well as Fang. They didn''t even know how this happened. As they were thinking about Umbreon fainting like that a female voice rang," You didn''t think that I would just let you attack these young fine Trainers , did you?" From behind the machinery present in the room, a medium height woman with blonde hair and blue eyes eyed woman dressed in purple clothes appeared. Her appearance brought a great surprise to all the people present. Fang himself was scared of her being here but quickly regained his composure and asked her," Since when did the elite four become so free that they could personally come and disrupt the small operation of ours." When he asked her that she didn''t bother to look at him but looked at the three trainers, Alex, Lance and Lorelei. She then quickly instructed them," Your Pokemons are severely injured. You should let them rest in their pokeball." This brought them out of their dilemma and started to bring them back. Then she looked at Fang and replied," Normally the gym leaders would have participated in thus cleaning but because some high profile people too were involved so I too joined this operation. " " Who are the ones you are talking about?" Fang wanted to know who spoiled their actions and if possible wanted to let them know what it means to oppose the shadows. The three years in Nightmare Island also functions as brainwashing through Trainer to make them a complete fanatic about the shadows. " Two of the three trainers are the ones whose background forced me to come in person. The red haired boy is Lance Wataru, the only grandson of the grand elder of the Wataru in the Blackthorn City. The dragon trainers clan." Hearing Lance identity he was surprised and mumbled ," He is a wataru. I should have known with him using so many dragon type pokemons he may be related to them." " And the red haired girl is Lorelei. She is the only student of Johto elite Pierce. " Seeing the woman deal with Fang do easily the three felt they were dreaming, but her voice rose them from that dream, " I am sorry I didn''t come out earlier. I wanted to see your determination to face obstacle and you didn''t disappoint. " Hearing that she was here before Lorelei asked," When did you come here, Agatha?" Now Lorelei revealed the name of the trainer who rescue them. " When he was telling you the hierachy I was already in the room. " and she smiled at their expression. Then she turned to the only conscious unknown face in the room ," Sorry I haven''t introduced myself. I am Agatha, ghost type elite four of the Kanto league." while raising her hands to shake . Alex too raised his hands and shook her hands and introduced," I am Alex Bart from Floral town." When she heard him, her eyes widened a bit which caught the attention if the three Trainer so Lance asked," Is there a problem Agatha." Agatha quickly recovered and answered with half-truth ," I know an Alex so I just confused myself." and then she released a mismagius. Mismagius is a purple, ghost-like Pok¨¦mon. It has a round head with elaborate tufts resembling a witch''s hat atop it. The tips of the tufts are paler than most of the body. It has a thin, red mouth that resembles the letter "W." Below its head, Mismagius has a long neck with a round lump midway down. Three, elliptical red spheres surround the upper portion of Mismagius''s body. There are extensions on the sides of its lower body with the foremost ones tattered compared to rear ones. This gives Mismagius the appearance of wearing some kind of cloak. She then told them," Follow it. it will lead you to safety. " Seeing them about to interrupt her she held up her hands and continued," You all are injured and it will only worsen if neglected. And do you think they could stop me." She added this after looking at unconscious Fang. Seeing the sleeping person, they believed that she could handle them and agreed to head out following Mismagius. While they were leaving her eyes were fixed on Alex and she softly said," I didn''t think I would meet you like this. At that time you rescued me and now I helped you out. Does that old fool Oak knew about you. " then she turned to her Gengar and said. ," His Haunter was still as strong as ever . don''t you agree." Gengar eyes were on Haunter since they came as if it knew him but after knowing Alex identity all the foggy clouds became clear. Gengar ," Gennngggg." " Yes after all your teacher can''t be weak. If he is weak then he would not be a goal you want to surpass." Gengar there nodded his head in agreement. " Are you ready for getting back at them for hurting him old friend." Gengar floated in mirth. " Let''s go then." while thinking,'' I really look forward to seeing you again soon, Teacher. '' Our heroes are rescued but the mystery if Alex continue to expand. How did Agatha and her Gengar know her and why did she call him her teacher? For all these answers stay tuned . to be continued... Chapter 39 - Viridian Gym leader. The three heroes have left the shadows base and are now resting in the Viridian city Pokemon center. After following Mismagius and leaving the base they were sent to a team who lead them via teleportation to the center. Here they were checked of their identity as their wounds were treated and their Pokemons were deposited for treatment. The entire time Mismagius was with Alex and followed him. This Mismagius was quite close with Alex as if it knew him from before. Alex was freely able to talk with her, but Lance and Lorelei were given cold reception. Mismagius communicated with Alex via telepathy. While talking with her, Alex also inquired how to teach telepathy to Haunter. She was able to highlight different steps to teach Haunter that. For her being so open to him confused him, but since she was a pokemon of Agatha and he doesn''t think she would gain anything from him he didn''t bother much. After the treatment they headed to their room and rested there and Mismagius still followed him. As soon as Alex laid down on the bed he fell asleep. He woke up next at the crack of dawn as he had developed this habit since childhood. As soon as he sat up from sleep Mismagius floated towards him and greeted telepathically,'' Good morning Alex. Did you have a nice rest.'' " Yes I rested well. Thanks for asking. Did you stay here the entire time ?" Alex inquired her. Mismagius just replied,'' Agatha wanted me to stay with you until your pokemons are all healed up. So it doesn''t matter.'' Alex thought of why was Mismagius so ambiguous with him and inquired," Why did you help me and why are you so cooperative with me?" '' what do you mean ? I don''t understand your question.'' she replied. " I meant you practically ignored Lance and Lorelei but you were much friendly with me. I don''t remember I met you or Agatha before do I am just curious.". Hearing it, Mismagius was thinking to herself,'' It seems meeting him made me forget we have not met according to him. and we will meet in the future. '' then she replied to Alex,''This is because of how powerful your Haunter is. Agatha thinks you would be a great ghost specialist so she told me to help you.'' while mentally patting herself for thinking of this great reason. Alex too believed this might be the case since Lance was Dragon type and Lorelei dreamt of being ice type specialist. He continued to talk and know more about how to train his Haunter and what his kind likes or what not. Alex then thanked and went to complete his daily routine. While he was bathing, Mismagius thought,'' He was sharp even when he was do young. Good thing I remembered his rule, A good lie is one with the most truth. And Agatha wanted his ghost type to be stronger.'' After bathing he went downstairs to eat with Mismagius following him. It was about 9''o clock in the morning by now. In the cafeteria he saw both Lance and Lorelei had already arrived and greeted them there and also Mismagius who followed him . She just nodded in greeting and floated around Alex. Lorelei then asked," Did you rest well last night,Alex ?" to this he replied," I slept like a Snorlax and now I am very hungry." he had already given his order and then they continued to talk about small things till the food came. After eating, Lance said," At what time did Agatha want to meet us? " Lorelei answered him," She told us to meet her at 10:30 at the Viridian gym so we have nearly half an hour left. We should now get going." They all then went to nurse joy who handed them their less wounded Pokemon such as Alex :. Pidgeotto, Eevee, Swinub and butterfree Lance now had : Nidorino, Horsea , Kadabra Lorelei had : Smoochum , Slowpoke , Sneasel After taking them they followed Mismagius to Agatha. (It was said that ghost type distinguish people by their life energy and they can easily trace a life energy they know if it is nearby. This is how she confirmed that this was the same Alex she knew from before.) As they passed by they saw many people roaming in the streets. After many days in the forest arriving in the city was refreshing. This help calm down their nerves and relieved their tension from encountering Fang. After fifteen minutes of walk they reached Viridian gym. At the gate there were two people in armour who stopped them from directly entering the gym. He enquired rudely," What are you doing here? Here is not the place for sightseeing. Gym is closed now. Leave here." This tone made them unhappy but Lorelei being most calm among the three replied," We were asked to come here. so please let us enter." The guard then looked at her for some time then he used his communicator and enquired," Is there anyone who should be coming to the gym. ..... yes yes ok it will be done." He then warned them ," You may enter but don''t do anything to dishonor the gym. and follow me. I will take you to the gym leader " He then opened the door and headed in. The three along with Mismagius entered the gym and followed the guard. As they entered they saw in both sides there were statues of people and Pokemons in armour and battle position. If one asked Alex he would say they were entering a Coloseum. After some twists and turns they came in front of a door and before Knocking he once again warned them to behave. Then he knocked in the door a single voice,"Enter" rang. The guard then motioned them inside. After entering they saw four people in the room, Three males and one female. The males in their late twenties and female in the late forties. Alex only recognised Agatha and one other male and this too because this was one of the most influential character of Pokemon he knew of. He was the gym leader of Viridian city, Giovanni. Giovanni was a brown haired black eyed handsome man in his late twenties and wore a black suit with a red tie and seated just beside Agatha. He was looking at all three of the young trainers and was probably thinking if their skills. Alex however also looked at the two other people in the room. One was a blonde haired man in military clothes and other was a black haired in what seem to be ninja attire. Agatha started the talks and said to the three, " Good morning to you all. Thank you for coming here ." Why were the three trainers called here? Why did Mismagius know about Alex? What will happen next? Stay tuned. Chapter 40 - Rewards ( part 1) Agatha then introduced all the people present in the room," You already know me, but for sake of introduction I will do it again, I am Agatha of the Elite four. " and then she pointed to the one just at her right in black suit," He is Giovanni, the gym leader of Viridian city. "( Currently the strongest gym of Kanto is Cerulean city run by father of the waterflower sisters.) He nodded at them to introduce himself. Then she pointed out at the blonde in military suit," He is Surge. He is a captain of the Kanto Armed forces. "( Every region has an armed force which is responsible for protection from invasion and taking out riot of the Pokemon and protection of settlement in these situations. They also are for war .) he just grunted at them and lastly she pointed at the black haired guy in ninja suit ," He is Koga, the current head of Hattori ninja clan and also the gym leader of Fuchsia city gym." He showed no reaction just kept staring at them. Then she introduced the three to these gym leaders and captain. First she pointed at Lorelei," She is Lorelei from Orange isles and is the student of Pierce." Hearing this they all looked at her intently as if to discern her secrets. She got nervous from their stared but Agatha gave her a smile so she waved her hands in greeting. Then she pointed at red haired Lance," He is Lance Wataru from Blackthorn City and the grandson of grand elder of the clan." He too got the same treatment as Lorelei but he just folded his arms and just looked at them with confident look. Seeing that the two earlier we''re people with big background the three a_d_u_l_ts were curious about the identity of the last child. After all if he is introduced after the two meant he is better than the two. "and lastly he is Alex Bart from Floral town. " Surge grumbled," Floral town? Where is this Floral town. I know I heard of it but couldn''t remember where." Alex calmly replied," Floral town is three days trek north of the Cerulean city. It is a small town so it is surprising you heard of it. " Surge eyes then lighted ," I know where I heard it. I caught my electrabuzz there. Hahahaha. " "Electrabuzz. .?? I remember my father saying a maniac came to the town sometime ago and challenged a wild electrabuzz to a slugfest . Was that you?" Alex wondered. " Maniac.. That''s what they call me now." Surge quietly told. " Of course. Who would be fool enough to challenge a pokemon to a slugfest. It is idiotic." Alex replied back. Hearing it Agatha, Koga, Giovanni and Lorelei nodded in agreement. but surge countered back," it is not foolish. it is manly. Fist to fist talk is a man''s romance. " Lance too added," he is right Alex. It is a man''s romance. " Alex then gave them with scrutiny and said," I am sure you both fell on your head hard and damaged it." "What ? Are you saying I am mad ,boy?" Surge roared at Alex. Alex just replied back softly," no I don''t think you both are mad." Hearing this both surge and Lance nodded," good", but Alex was not finished," I think you both are mentally challenged." Hearing this surge shouted," Why you brat." just as he lunged towards him Koga pulled him back to his seat but he didn''t stop Lance who threw Alex to the floor climbing on him and took his collar," do you want to anger me?" " See this is why I said you are mentally challenged. Don''t you know people who get mad easily have some mental deficiency." He just said to Lance. Hearing this Lance got up and thought about his words. Surge too pondered over it. " Interesting. you are very interesting, Alex can I call you Alex?" Giovanni said. He saw how handled the matter calmly and then turned the atmosphere around. Now he knew why Agatha introduced him at last. It seemed like he was a child in body but an a_d_u_l_t in mind. "Sure"Alex replied. Now Agatha said,"Now that the introduction are done, we should get going with why we are gathered here. After going through the records if the base and your performance , the league thought of giving you some rewards I. terms of your meritorious actions. " She looked at the three trainers. " Lorelei for your leadership skills and Pokemon training ability, The league decided to reward you with a pokemon." She then handed her a pokeball. Taking the pokeball she looked at it quizzing , Agatha stated her," Why don''t you show your Friend the Pokemon." She nodded and released the pokeball in the air," Come out" From the Pokemon is released a round blue ball like seel Pokemon. Seeing it, Both Lorelei and Alex said surprised," Spheal." Lance however was confused about their excitement," Spheal? what is that and why are you surprised about it." Without waiting for anyone to continue, Alex started narrating," Spheal is a chubby, spherical, seal-like Pok¨¦mon with a short, flat tail. Its plushy fur is light blue with several white spots of various sizes on its back. This covering of fluffy fur protects Spheal from the cold. It has black, circular eyes, small tusks protruding from its upper jaw, and small, rounded ears. Its stubby flippers and its underside are both beige. When happy or cheerful, such as when eating in a group, this Pok¨¦mon will clap its fins. Because its body is poorly shaped for swimming and can only walk slowly, it moves primarily by rolling across ice floes. This is just it''s physiology." Hearing him describing so much about Spheal all were surprised. Lorelei asked him," Alex , you want to be an ice type specialist. " "Specialist, no no no. I don''t want to be a specialist." he replied back. " Then you want to be a champion, isn''t it? " Lance asked. "No I don''t want to. it is a hassle." This time Agatha asked ," What do you want to be , Mass... I mean Alex ?" she quickly stopped and corrected herself thinking,'' I still think of him like that. I have to think before saying anything to him.'' " I , I want to be a Pokemon Researcher. Something like that." "Why?" Agatha, Lance and Lorelei roared at him while others were surprised at their enthusiasm . " It''s just that.... to be continued..... Chapter 41 - Rewards (part 2) " It is just that I am curious." he replied plainly. " Curious", the three echoed and pondered " Yes, I am curious." Alex repeated. "So you want to be a Pokemon Researcher because you are curious." Lance repeated. "but why?" " I am curious about why pokemons have different abilities. I mean take this Spheal for example." He pointed at Spheal. All the people glanced at him and Spheal wobbled around Lorelei. Now Lorelei took it on her hand and gently patted it''s head. "Lorelei tell me what abilities Spheal have?" Alex asked her. " As far as I know it has thick fat." she replied. " thick fat?" Lance asked," What is it?" Alex asked him," What do you know about Pokemon''s ability ?" " Isn''t pokemons moves and their types, their ability." he replied. Lorelei and Agatha shook their head, Surge, Giovanni and Koga sneered at him and Alex looked at him blankly. "You have no idea what it is." he told him and continued," Every Pokemon have certain abilities in their body which help them survive in different environment. For this Spheal, it has Thick fat. It means it has a higher resistance to fire and ice type moves. These moves have almost half as much damage as it normally causes. So we can say it will not be affected much by it''s weakness fire move. You understand it." Lance nodded blankly as if whatever he said pass over his head then he continued to Lorelei," Your Spheal may have another character ability. It is called ice body. It will heal itself in hail or snow or other icy conditions. Just like how Lapras heals in rain." "So Spheal has other ability too." She looked at the Spheal in her hand then hugged it tightly," You are so awesome." To this Spheal squealed. " It also has a hidden ability." Here this all were puzzled. Seeing this he explained," Yes. Some Pokemons have some extra abilities in addition to their primary ability. You can call it secondary or hidden ability. This ability is not instinctive but must be awakened. Your Spheal may have oblivious ability. Pokemon with this are not affected by infatuation move and taunts of Pokemon. My own Swinub has snow cloak as primary ability and thick fat as hidden move." Hearing this they all nodded. While Giovanni eyes sparkled in delight. Agatha then told him," I can see why you would have that Charmeleon." " Do you know his heritage?"he asked puzzled. "You would know his heritage when you reach the Pallet town." This confused the three young trainers but amazed the three other older trainers. Giovanni thought,'' It seems one of those monsters are behind the brat. Damn to think I would lose such a young monster.'' Surge thought,'' So those people already eyed him. I am late. He already a member of their faction.'' Koga thought,'' So is he another champion level trainer that '' He '' discovered.'' While Agatha thought,'' Using that science geeks name is still effective. It will keep them off his back till he officially joined him.'' "I want to know and find more about Pokemon. Different environment affect different Pokemon differently. They are also causing certain variation to them too. So many things to see ,so many things to discover , the world is so mysterious. I just want to see and know it all." He continued frantically. Seeing his facial expression they understood that he will not change no matter what they say. And Agatha thought,'' Although not as much charisma as that time, it still is something. To think he turned Sam towards research by his words and mystery. Hehehe I am feeling too nostalgia today. he affected all three of us that day . Me as ghost specialist, Sam as researcher and Charles as a leader. Yes I still remember what he said to Charles,"A good man is not a good leader and a good leader is not a good man". He really was a great teacher.'' " Now that the monologue is over. We can continue the reward giving. To Lance, this Is a dragon scale. it is from a champion level dragon so treasure it and keep it hidden. " Seeing it he hugged it and squealed. It was a great gift for a dragon type trainer. It helps a Seadra evolve into Kingdra. "Now you Alex. You are the most difficult one to reward. You are not a type specialist trainer so to reward you is difficult. Yet, the league thought your skilled so the your reward is here. " She placed a box on the table and motioned Alex to continue. All the three other people were too curious about the gift. They were not told what Alex gift was. When he opened the box, there was ... an Egg. " A Pokemon egg." three of them said. " Yes a pokemon egg. Take good care of it. I assure you you will definitely like it . But you don''t want it we can replace it with a Scyther or even a Dratini. " Agatha asked but she looked at Alex curious about his answer. Her words though created waves in the heart of three older trainers. Rewarding is one thing but swapping rewards show the amount of importance the league placed on him. This amazed and puzzled them. But Alex didn''t see these. His eyes were on the egg itself from the beginning. Alex then refused to swap the rewards and his next sentence stunned all," And I don''t believe any Pokemon is weak. In my opinion,'' There is only weak trainers no weak pokemon '' . As long as one train his Pokemon deligently and effectively he will be rewarded." Hearing his opinion all the people were shocked but Agatha recovered from shock soon and smiled thinking,'' Just as I thought. you are really master. They will be very happy to see you.'' She then told the trainers," You should get going now. You are probably tired and your Pokemon should be all healed up by now." Thanking her they all left the room and headed to the Pokemon center. to be continued..... Chapter 42 - Past of Alex After the three left, the three future gym leaders and Agatha were left alone. " Now that the matter is settled, what does the Johto government has to say about this?" Giovanni asked Agatha. " Same as before, they just want to brush their hands off. It seems their government is decaying with all the struggle for powers among themselves." Agatha replied. " The greatest enemy is not an outsider but an insider who will eat you from inside like a trapinch." Koga said his views. " The times are changing again." Agatha said her view about the future. And continued," almost every region now has started to choose an indirect leader among themselves who would lead them. The undisputed champion among these will be the leader of the alliance. And the region will head it." Agatha thought of the future and said," After Red and Blue , Kanto stood undisputed but some genius have emerged in other regions. With Those two living in seclusion the other regions forgot their existence. The other regions think that they can now pull us off the throne because we lack a strong deterrence.hmmm " She huffed in anger. All the other people too were from Kanto and are in high enough position to know of some underhanded operation taking place by the other Nations. " So this time Johto played the trick." Surge summed all. But Agatha gave them no reply. But Surge was really angry now and roared," I say we should show them Kanto is no joke. We still are the strongest." Koga then added," If we talk about the strength of armed forced we are weaker than Hoenn and Sinnoh. Strength if Unova and Johto is weaker than us and only kalos is our equal." Surge still angered returned," So we just endure and let them harass us. We should just crush them." Giovanni asked Agatha," What is ''their'' opinion?" This stopped both Surge and Koga and they too looked at her, she just smiled at them. She stood up from her seat and went to the window. There she saw our three heroes heading back to the Pokemon center," Let the youth handle it. The elderly will support them." All of them understood the matter now. The matter will be settled by choosing an undisputed champion among the new trainers. Giovanni thought,'' That''s why they were rewarded and they were encouraged . So the next throne battle will begin soon.'' Agatha thought,'' The future belong to the youth. They will build and destroy a nation. If we elderly people always take the lead how will they rise. Our presence had already weakened a generation. Only two rosee and others still stuck at the border. Only they can lead us now .'' With our three heroes, They were unknown to the thoughts others had about them. They are still relishing about the rewards they got. They were happy and felt they could take on the world itself. They all separate to do their own things After reaching the Pokemon center, The first thing Alex did was asked Nurse joy to check his new egg. She first returned him his Pokemons and then took the egg for check-up. He released Eevee from the pokeball. She liked to roam around as much as she liked to keep her fur clean. She, pidgeotto and butterfree are the only female Pokemons in his team. Not even Swinub who stole food from other Pokemon plates didn''t dare to do that with her. She was earlier abandoned and was not too much into hygiene. But Alex had bought different soap and brush and other things to clean her up. After her first bathe for a long time in Pewter city and him gently combing her hair to develop a bond between them, she was addicted to it. And whenever there is a chance she would run towards him with a brush so he could smoothen her fur. This was effective too. She is one of his closest Pokemon just after Haunter and Charmeleon. After being released, she first jumped on to Alex to hug him. The previous experience was quite scary for them so she did it whenever he released her. After that when he offered her to ride his shoulder, she declined it with pride and started walking ahead of him. To this, Alex just shook his head. She then yepped at him to follow as if saying,'' Let go quick. I want to be combed. My fur is not as smooth as before. I am tired to lick myself clean. ah want a bath too.'' Seeing her looks Alex just followed thinking,'' I shudder to think how dad handle mom.'' as he was being ordered. After he went towards the room but he was surprised to find Lance along with Lorelei standing in front of his room. Eevee seeing them ran towards Lorelei. In their time together she and Lorelei had also bonded. As she didn''t have a female companion to talk with and Butterfree wasn''t much talkative. So Lorelei was a blessing to her. But she completely ignored Lance. Whenever he greeted her, she just looked at him blankly as if saying she didn''t greet brutes. Just like this time , Seeing Eevee ran towards them, Lance greeted her, but Eevee ignored him and went to Lorelei and happily greeted her which she returned. Lance complained to Alex," I know you have taught her this didn''t you Alex to get back at me. I didn''t know you played such a low blow. Having your Pokemon from even greeting someone as awesome as me. " All the three just looked amazed at his bragging then chose to ignore him and followed Alex into his room. After entering they sat on the bed and Eevee ran towards Alex with a brush and looked at him pitiful. Seeing this, he just smiled and took her on his l_a_p and softly combed her fur. To show she enjoyed it, she purred. Then he turned his attention to the others and asked," So what were you doing waiting outside my room." Lance looked serious now and Lorelei just looked at Lance. The warm atmosphere suddenly turned heavy. This too affected Eevee. She then hissed at Lance blaming get for interrupting her rest and spoiling the environment. But he ignored it and Lance looked at him seriously and said," You told me at that base you would tell about your past , Alex. And Lorelei is also our friend so she too deserve to know it." Hearing it Alex stopped combing Eevee and this just increased her grievance with Lance. Alex then started," Ok I will tell you." He just massaged his eyes thinking about it and looked sad about the past. This angered Eevee. She knew that the brute Lance made her happy trainer miserable so she jumped and bit hard on Lance''s hand. He jumped in pain. Seeing him jumping up and down with Eevee hanging on his hand was comical. This lightened up the atmosphere. Alex rose from the bed and gently freed Lance from Eevee and then softly patted her head and said," Thank you girl for that. I will give you a long bathe after it. " Hearing it she squealed in joy. But Lance wasn''t happy. He was angry at Alex and shouted," Why are you rewarding her instead of punishment. See how hard she but me. Aren''t you my friend Alex support me here." Lance and Eevee always had such encounters so Alex learned to ignore them and let it be. Alex ignored it now too and started," It happened when I was five years old,... What is the past of Alex that turned hero into anti-hero? What is the mystery Pokemon ? While who will the undisputed champion be in the future and who are the other genius in other regions? For all the answers stay tuned. to be continued... Chapter 43 - The Past Five years ago, A young boy was currently playing with a Pikachu and a Sandslash was nearby watching them play acting as guard. in front of three people, Two were in their mid thirties and one in his sixties. The boy standing is our hero, Alex Bart. And the two in mid thirties we''re his parents, Arthur Bart, his father and Gwen his mother. While the oldest is his grandfather, Michael Bart. He is also the strongest trainer in the Floral town. He is about senior level trainer. Initial Senior level trainer at that. He was a mercenary in his youth and did some works for commission. It was said he once stopped a gyrados in it''s rampage and saved a town from imminent destruction. It can already be considered a good trainer as most are stuck at Intermediate level. Each level is divided into Initial, Middle, Advanced and Peak. Most of the trainers are stuck at Intermediate middle or advanced in their entire life. Few reach peak level and they are respected in smaller cities and are called guardian of the city. In big city Senior trainers are respected so a senior trainer in a small city is like a minister visiting a village. Only 10% of the entire Pokemon trainer reach this stage. 1% reach pseudo elite level. These already shows how difficult it is to advance the level. Now back to the topic, the three people are currently discussing a very important matter. The youngest of the Bart family, Alex expressed a d_e_s_i_r_e to see the wild Pokemons. Normally no sane parent would let their five year old child in the wild with wild pokemons who could harm them or god forbids kill them. But the reason for discussion is his Obsession. Alex was obsessed with Pokemons. His d_e_s_i_r_e to know more about them and him continuous reading and gaining information about different types of Pokemon was seen by them. This had already made them all aware that Alex will become a strong trainer stronger than Michael at the very least. This was why they supported Alex too as if one is not strong enough he could die from various things. Michael was a freelancer so he knew the dark side of the world better than his son so he was the most supportive of Alex ambition. And what Alex dreamt was similar to any kid his age.... A Pokemon Master When he brought this demand both his parents rejected it but not Michael. Alex was reincarnated in the Pokemon world. His knowledge was mostly based on the anime and games of Pokemon in the world. so he had the same as any kid would be. He only felt of defeating Pokemon gym, destroy the villians and become a champion. Michael told his son and daughter-in-law," I know you are afraid but you know I will be there to protect him. " he tried to reassure them but both are not willing to listen Arthur told his father," Father you always told me about how dangerous the wild is. Do you want me to let Alex go there so young. You know the dangers better than anyone " But his father countered back," This is why I want to take him. The wild will help curb some of his naive nature. He is young and takes the world as beautiful bright world. He doesn''t know the dangers that lie here." " But he is still a kid, he doesn''t need to know them so soon." this time he lowered his head thinking all the bad things that could happen to Alex. Michael just put his hand on his son''s shoulder and said," Because he is a genius he should be shown the world earlier. You know he know more about the pokemons that you know. He know many Pokemons, their types, their habitat and he is also learning what they feed upon. He is much better than you." He paused and went to the window to see Alex playing with his Pikachu and Sandslash standing guard. " He is a genius so we can''t compare him with normal kids. Because of his smart, many will soon take note of him when he start travelling and he will suffer so he need to be prepared." This stopped all further debate. All three of them know that they couldn''t stop Alex from going on the journey without destroying him( destroying his life dream and hope ). Now the silent mother asked her father," So can you promise nothing will happen.". Seeing her fear he promised her but later added," No he will probably have done minor injuries nothing too serious." with some thoughts. Hearing this Arthur shouted," DAD" But his father wasn''t affected he just said," Hey we are showing him the real world so some minute injuries are ok. " knowing they couldn''t change anything they too agreed. And called Alex inside. Alex was standing in front of them like a kid waiting to be punished by his elders for his mischief. His mother started," Alex we agreed to let you go out . ". Hearing this he started shouting ," Yatta thanks mom, dad , gramps." he started to thank them but his father interrupt it by saying," only in the presence of your grandpa." " What ? but I am old enough. There isn''t anything that could hurt me there. There are only bug types nearby anyway." He started ranting. His mother held his shoulder and looked at his eyes and said," This is non negotiable. Either this or no going." Seeing her unwavering eyes he reluctantly agreed," Ok mom.". " now go to your room and pack your things or do you want me to leave you behind. " Hearing he dashed towards his room to pack. His grandfather also added," We leave tomorrow at 7 if you are late we won''t go.". The only reply was the crashing of things and a loud scream confirming he heard it. But I the living room, His parents once again asked him to protect their son. While they all agreed for the trip they were unknown to the danger he would face there and the catastrophe which might struck. What happened in the past and what is the catastrophe for this stay tuned. To be continued... Chapter 44 - The Incident (Part 1) IN ALEX''S ROOM " Alex did you pack everything ?" " Yes mom I packed everything." " What about your pants, shirt , u_n_d_e_r_w_e_a_r, your first aid kit, ropes, staff, tent, disposable matches..".Alex mother went on and on listing the things he may need out there. "Mom, I took everything. I cross checked it three times and you too checked it twice. Don''t worry mom I will be fine." Alice tried to console his mother. " What you don''t even listen to me and now you don''t even let me worry about you." She cried after that. Seeing his mother like that he didn''t know what to do. He is similar to most scientist having high IQ bit low EQ. He looked around to look if his father is nearby bit couldn''t find him. He just stood like a statue not knowing what to do. Then suddenly his mother took him into a tight hug. She was so tight that he seem to be having breathing problem. Seeing this she released him. Then she just told him," No matter what you will listen to your grandpa. Will not run around alone. Always be aware of your surroundings. You will behave yourself .ok ."she said while still weeping softly. Alex just said that he would randomly. Seeing that he wasn''t taking her words seriously she turned angry and twisted his ears. He cried in pain and quickly begged his mother," Sorry mom. Don''t worry mom. I will listen to gramps. Can you please release my ears. Aaargh it hurts . AAA" He pleaded her. Seeing him act like a kid made her smile softly because most of the time he is a m_a_t_u_r_e man in child form. She treasured his childish moments dearly. "Now we should head down your grandpa is waiting with your father." She told him. Hearing it he took his backpack and quickly ran downstairs ignoring his mother''s loud" careful " and "don''t run down the stairs". DOWNSTAIRS Here his father and grandfather awaited his arrival. " Grandpa what are you waiting for? let''s get going." Seeing him so energetic and impatient, both the elders laughed to which he cutely pouted. " Where is your mother,Alex?" his father inquired. " Mom. Isn''t she with me?" he turned around and didn''t see her then grumpily said," She always tell me to hurry up and look how slow she is." As soon as he completed, his mother''s voice rang," Are you complaining about me, Alex?" Hearing her voice he froze then as a robot he turned his neck to see his mother smiling softly. Seeing this smile sent their danger senses haywire and Alex quickly told," No mom. I was just telling dad is delaying it. Isn''t that right mom." Seeing him dragging in this , he grumbled," Why you brat ? " but seeing his wife he said," Aren''t you going late? '' And he once again said all the precaution but Alex was too excited to listen. Seeing this his grampa stood up from his seat and told Alex to follow him and told his son and daughter-in-law that he will take care if Alex. Both his parents stood by the door to say goodbye and the two grandpa and grandson went out of the city to the forest surroundings the town. Floral town is a small town and to prevent from the invasion of wild Pokemon is surrounded by barrier made of thick wood and platform at the periphery to monitor the area. An intermediate level trainer always survey the area once every six hours and there are still some guard placed around the town. But this doesn''t make it any less danger in the wild. The elder Waterflower had just taken out the clans which he think are dangerous to the people around but there are still enough clans which may endanger the travelling adventurer and the Trainers. Alex had roamed the town many times. He often went to the market with his mother, the power station with his father and also to the library. the only place didn''t went in the town is the town gate. After walking for an hour they reached the periphery of the town. His grandpa asked," Are you tired, Alex? We can go back and return when you have developed a better stamina." but Alex wasn''t tired and was very excited about his first world adventure. Let''s stay tuned to watch how his first world adventure goes? to be continued.... Chapter 45 - The Incident (Part 2) Alex took his first step out of the town for the first time in his life. As he walked for some time, they were surrounded by trees on both sides of the path. On those trees he saw Pidgey sitting AMD looking at him. On the base of the trees are Caterpie and Weedle wandering around. And Paras and Oddish were just passing by. Seeing all these Pokemon face to face for the first time was awesome to Alex. He was very excited and delighted to them. His grandpa Michael seeing him so excited was both happy and sad. He was happy to see him so excited. He was sad because he will soon be introduced to the reality of the world. They walked into the forest and walked for some time and reached a clearing. Michael said," Alex we will be having our camp here. Now I will show you how to make your tent and other things. " Here he was taught some of the basics if camping in the wild such as how to make your tent, how to cook food without attracting wild pokemons, how to protect yourself etc. As he told all these things it was time already getting dark. Seeing it Alex was disappointed as he couldn''t play now. One of the condition for his trip was he will not roam around at night or their trip will be over. His grandpa has brought three Pokemons with him, Pikachu whom he often played with, A Taurus and his starter, Sandslash. They all were great pokemons to Alex as he once saw Taurus and Sandslash fight to show how pokemons fought. His grandpa cooked the food, his pokemon collected the woods and Alex helped with little things. After eating they went to sleep. He let his pokemons out with Pikachu sleeping with Alex for added protection. Next few days went happily for Alex. He was seeing many Pokemons in the wild though he couldn''t approach them as whenever he went near they would either run or attack him. Now Alex had a leg wound from a Rattata bite. It didn''t bit on his leg but it was grazed. His grandpa''s pokemons saved him. So now Alex was vigilant against the Pokemon. It was 4th day of Alex''s wild adventure. Today something interesting happened. When he was roaming around he came across a wounded Pidgey. It was a Shiny Pokemon. After seeing him, he ran towards it took it and ran to his grandpa to heal it. After taking there, his grandpa used the medicine to help Alex then asked him," Alex, where did you find this Pidgey?" "I found it nearby. " Alex said not taking his eyes off the pokemon. This alerted his grandpa and he quickly asked Alex," Are you sure?" This time he was shaken and his facial expressions terrified Alex and he replied," Yyyeah grandpa. What Happened?" He ordered Alex," Quickly pack the bag and ready to go." " Why and what about the Pidgey?"Alex asked. Michael wanted to leave it behind but couldn''t do so seeing Alex pitiful expression. He told Alex," Alex the Pidgey is shiny. Do you know what it means." Not waiting for him he continued ," it will be stronger than average Pokemon. I saw some Pokemon similar to it while traveling and one thing was common about them. They all were attacked by their herd leader. " This scared Alex and asked," So his own family attack him." Now Pidgey was awake and stood on the bed and hearing the elder he drooped his head. " They didn''t want to suffer the retaliation by the pokemon in the future so they sent out some Pokemon to kill them . And as we are now we will only suffer. I can''t protect you and Pidgey cat the same time. So you still want to save him?" This made Pidgey turn to look at the boy who saved him. He was rescued by him and he brought disaster to his savior. " Would they leave us if we leave him be?" Alex asked " No. since we saved him we are their enemy so we should leave." Grandpa said and Pidgey nodded. " Why don''t we take him too then?" Alex said " Are you sure. because of him we might suffer." His grandpa asked. " If I can help why shouldn''t I help?" he said. Pidgey was happy and flew towards Alex and sat on his shoulder peaking softly at his cheek to show affection. His grandpa was happy to see the goodness in Alex but was also scared if this could bring problem to Alex in the future then he thought of a plan. He told Alex to pack quickly and Pidgey went with him. He then released his pokemon and told them the plan. They happily agreed as they saw Alex grow in front of them and little suffering to shape a m_a_t_u_r_e Alex was affordable to them. After packing things they ran towards the Floral town. Pidgey now hid in Alex shirt . Alex asked his grandpa," Why they didn''t ride Taurus?" " Even if we ride it they may catch up to us, Alex. This way at least he may be healthy enough to fight them." He replied and Alex nodded. After some time they heard the cawing of the birds. They turned around to see three Pidgeot along with dozens of Pidgeotto. It seemed they found them earlier and they went back to bring the reinforcement. This time Michael didn''t run but released his Pikachu, Taurus and Sandslash. Now they face the army of Pidgey family. How Alex survive their attack and what happened to Pidgey? Stay tuned. to be continued Chapter 46 - The Incident ( End) Seeing this many Pokemons, Alex and shiny Pidgey were scared, but his grandpa and his pokemons were all vigilant. They were eyeing the surrounding in case of sneak attacks. Out of the three Pidgeot one came forward and cawed at them as if to surrender the Pidgey but Michael replied," Do you take me as a fool. I know you won''t leave us so why bother to be polite." He said harshly. Pidgeot didn''t seem to take it kindly and sent a tornado of wind towards them but it was countered by Sandslash sandstorm. Had he used stone wall it would have blocked the vision and put them at a disadvantage. This attack initiated the war. All of them started to participate in the attacks. Three Pidgeot were blocked by the Sandslash and the others faced off Pikachu. Taurus stayed behind and took down the sneak attackers. His grandpa too had a staff with him and also attacked the ones who also protected the younglings. Sandslash vs Pidgeot The Pidgeot are one of the fastest Pokemons but they were trapped in the sandstorm of Sandslash. whenever they we''re trying to escape it they were stopped but either rock throw or rock edge. In the sandstorm Sandslash only attacked from a distance because if it is not a finishing move he might be attacked and won''t have a chance to retaliated. The movement of Sandslash was not hidden from the leader of the group because of his keen eyes were more advanced then the other two. Seeing the attacks not affecting he used hurricane which disrupted the movement of Sandslash getting the chance he used heat wave and stopped the ongoing sandstorm attacks. The Pidgeot leader then signalled other Pidgeot to leave. He knew he couldn''t take leave or else this powerful Sandslash alone could take down the entire group. His sandstorm was being countered by the wind control of Pidgeot or the other Pidgeot would have already lost by now. The Pidgeot thought only their clan leader could take this Sandslash down. so he had to restrain him or fail the leader. Seeing the opportunity the two tried to run away but Sandslash himself was an experienced battler he tried to stop them by rock tomb. This could have stopped them had it not for Pidgeot using brave bird to destroy the obstacles. He though hurt by recoil looked at the Sandslash gloating. By this one Pidgeot escaped the siege but seeing Taurus near he once again surrounded them with sandstorm and now started to attack them . Lack of one Pidgeot lessen the pressure on him but increased it on the two left behind. Meanwhile Pikachu vs Pidgeotto The Pidgeotto had number advantage but their attacks were plain and simple to be avoided by him with his speed. He attacked them with thundershock. He could have taken on them if given time but they kept him on his toes. Whenever surrounded he would use quick attack to climb them paralysed them with thunder wave or took them down with thundershock. This was effective but also took a toll on it''s stamina. His moves weren''t causing much as they replaced the fallen ones. This also let more and more bypass him and reach taurus and Michael. If it was only them they could survive but with Alex there they too were trapped. The longer they stayed the more difficult it would be for them This was noticed by an experienced trainer like Michael so he told Taurus," Taurus take them away. Protect them. " The pokemons already knew this might happen so they already were prepared but having experience this is different. For Taurus to leave his friends here was painful but he was already told if they were stuck then what to do. He mooed at Michael then took the surrounding ones down by a blizzard. It gave them an opening and then he picked up Alex by it''s mouth had him ride him and escape the opening. Alex who was surprised by this action told Taurus to stop and let them go help his grandpa and others but he didn''t listen and continued to run. Alex turned around to see his grandpa''s soft smile encouraging him to leave. Alex was spiritually m_a_t_u_r_e but not having experienced the war and lose of loved ones made him emotionally weak. This along with his good heart and his bright views about pokemons and the world made it difficult to accept this reality. Taurus ran full speed for some time but soon the escaped Pidgeot attacked them from behind with air slash. Taurus though in hurry was cautious he dodged the attack. He then dropped Alex on the ground and motioned him to head back. They were about few minutes walk from the town now. Taurus not waiting for his response rushed to attack the Pidgeot to get rid of the grievance of leaving his partners behind. Alex now knew he was too weak to help and protect them so he ran quickly towards the town. As he reached near he saw a familiar old guy, Jamie. He was the travelling companion of his grandpa. After narrating all he knew as fast as he could he turned unconscious. Jamie noticed the few important words in his incorrigible speech. '' ''Pidgeot attacks'', '' Grandpa trapped'' , ''Taurus nearby stopping other pokemon''. He released Bouffalant and had him take Alex to his house and then he released his own Pidgeot and rode him to find Taurus. Our hero had seen the horror of Pokemon and dangers of wild. What will happen to grandpa and his Pokemons stay tuned. Chapter 47 - The Aftermath In Alex''s room in the pokemon center, Alex had stopped the story at this point just concentrated on brushing the fur of Eevee, yet neither of the two other trainer said anything. They could see from the faint trembling of his voice just how much that incident affected him even after all these years. Eevee just jumped on his shoulder and started to lick his cheeks so that he could overcome his sadness. Knowing that Eevee doesn''t like to show affection in public feeling it to be beneath her and a way if showing weakness this act helped calm his nerves. Seeing this, Lance who was attracted by the story quickly asked," What happened in the end? Did your grandfather...." He didn''t end his questions as Lorelei elbowed him in his stomach stopping Lance from completing the sentence. Lance too stopped after thinking what he nearly asked and apologized him but Eevee glared at him, for asking this stupid question and hurting her favorite human. Alex just shook his head as if it didn''t matter then said slowly," My grandpa survived it. None were killed ." Hearing it the ill feeling if his grandpa death lifted from their heart but the sorrowful tone of Alex was not lifted. He continued," Sandslash wasn''t much hurt except for some claw wounds from the Pidgeot but Pikachu and Grandpa they..." He was once again silence but this time he shuddered thinking about the aftermath. This time his voice was just barely enough for them to hear ," Pikachu was injured severely. His shock pouches were ruptured, losing the ability to discharge electrical moves ...." All were shocked on hearing it. The rupturing of shock pouches and the pain from it can''t be imagined. Lance and Lorelei grasped in horror and Eevee just hugged him. Now Alex too hugged her tightly, though it her hurt a bit she endured because of his emotional pain. " And grandpa, him. ... When grandpa Jamie reached them , They saw him very injured. Pikachu wasn''t able to hold back the Pidgeotto because of his injury. Sandslash held back Pidgeot which saved their life but those Pidgeotto they ....." Seeing Alex having stuck in silence so many times now, They felt they shouldn''t have asked it and Lance said," It''s alright Alex. You don''t need to continue. We know why you were like that. If it was me, hell , I would have hated all the flying types." Lance tried to comfort Alex and Lorelei went to Alex and took him in a hug to calm him down. Eevee was now trapped between them but she didn''t stop this. She too felt her trainer needed all the help he could get. But Alex told them," Since I already said this much as should end it too. " He rose from the bed taking Eevee on his arms and went to the window. He looked at the calm night sky. " With no taurus to counter the attacks and grandpa aging he was hurt by their attacks. They also played with him. Now I know why only Pidgey family take on fearow. Probably because they too are as ferocious as them." He said gritting his teeth. " They cut off his right leg clean..." he said. " WHAT" *2 "Eevvee" "and his left hand was cut off from his elbows. " they all were silent now. " Though he survived I always see him having troubles because of lack of limbs. Always sitting on his wheelchair with his eyes yearning for an adventure. " He trained on " But because of me, he lost it. Had I not asked him to protect him, or wasn''t a burden to him, if I was strong then he won''t have to let us leave with taurus. Whenever I see him I see the consequence of being a hero. Being a hero is awesome but if you are weak, you will only make your close ones suffer. " " I see " Lance said while Lorelei was quiet. " Death would have been a relief for both grandpa and Pikachu but now they both suffer because of my heroism." Alex added. "is there no way to help them?" Lorelei asked " The prosthetic are very costly and to completely heal Pikachu is almost impossible. if not healed in the next five six years he won''t be able to use lightning ever." He told them. " What happened to the Pidgey?" Lorelei now thundered at Lance ," Can''t you see the situation? Why are you so ins_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e Lance asking such stupid question? can''t you think once before saying something." she continued to rant on and on to relieve her anger due to the story on Lance. Eevee too was angry at the ins_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e idiot wanting to bite him so hard that he would always remember her. But Alex held her so she let it go for later. Unlike what they thought, now Alex smiled a bit," You mean Pidgeot" " Pidgeot?"*2 "eeevvv..." they were puzzled. " Yeah Pidgeot. He evolved over time. Now he is a Pidgeot." " So do you often go to visit him." Lorelei asked this time. " Visit? hahaha he lives with us. " " Why? Didn''t this all happened because of him?" Lance asked shocked and both Lorelei and Eevee agreed with him. " It happened due to his coloration. No one can judge someone based on his birth. I was angry at the beginning, but both Sandslash and taurus supported him so I later forgave him." " So he lived with you. Did your father catch it? or is it still wild " Lance asked " I used my grandpa''s pokeball to catch it. You could also say he is my first pokemon, my starter." "wait. Wasn''t Haunter your starter?" Lance asked quickly " Haunter is my official starter while Pidgeot is my unofficial one. My parents had me raise him, take care of it, train it , make it''s food , etc. " Lance considered Alex his lifetime opponent so knowing that he had another pokemon he wanted to know it''s strength," How strong is it?" "Probably peak advanced to initial elite level" he said plainly " Your pokemon is already that strong. how ? what? when?"Lance questioned him " it was my grandpa who graded him. I trained him using my ideas and it helped that he felt as guilty as me so he too trained hard." Lance was shocked at knowing the strength of his Pidgeot but Lorelei wanted to confirm ," So your Pidgeot could take on that Umbreon?" "Yep. He would have cut him to shreds." he said," I trained his wind to be sharp enough to cut a rock the size of a golem easily. He also know giga impact and hyper beam along with brave bird and sky attack. " " Talk about overpowered Pokemon." Lance muttered. " Do you know how much I spent on raising him? I often took him to the forest to find some things to sell with Taurus and Sandslash. I spent more than a few million on raising him well. Do you think just anyone could raise advanced level Pokemon." He angrily told Lance. " So why is it not with you?" Lorelei asked " We agreed that when I return home, we will have a match with my Pokemons to beat it and formally catch him . if I failed he would continue to guard my family." he answered. " Why do this? if you had him you may enter top 4 in the league." Lance asked him puzzled. " if I can''t even raise my Pokemon well enough to take him on then I might as well give up being a trainer. I could use all my six pokemons to take him on. I am not a fool to have one on one match now. Even if I had a Gengar it Charizard by then they couldn''t take on a much experienced pokemon." Lance seeing the dark sky told," We should get going. You too should rest." And they left Alex too was mentally exhausted so he too fell asleep as soon as he laid on the bed, with Eevee curling nearby to sleep. Unknown to Alex, his Haunter and butterfree used their psychic to bond with Eevee and heard everything she hear. All the pokemons were bonded so this story was heard by all. This also motivated them. Swinub and butterfree not to make him suffer again , while Haunter and Charmeleon to become strong and challenge the eldest pokemon of them all. While Pidgeotto wanted to see it''s evolved form and she wanted to see how see would fare from his attacks. This story helped bring the team together and also gave them an imaginary opponent to take on. They all now wanted to.be stronger to protect him better in the future. Let''s stay tuned to see what happens next? to be continued.... Chapter 48 - Black market Adventure ( part 1) Alex woke up at the crack of dawn. His movements also woke up Eevee who slept beside him. To show her anger at being woken so early she growled at Alex then once again rested herself on the bed and slept. Seeing her act like this was funny for Alex. Before she was still a bit resistant to him now she opened herself enough to even act spoiled in front of him. Leaving her he went to the bathroom to finish his daily routine after a nice warm bath he started to wake up Eevee. After some effort she woke up and only on the condition that she be washed with her favorite shampoo. Alex took her in the pokeball and went out. It was early morning and very few people were present in the streets. Now he went to a dark shady corner and wore a mask with a skull on it and changed his clothes so no one would identify him. The reason for his disguise is that he is going to visit the Black Market today. It has been a few days since Alex revealed A bit about his past. He didn''t come earlier because his pokemons were wounded and it would only put him in danger if he goes there without some of his most powerful pokemons. He had traced down the black market which roaming around the city. Like all black market this one too was situated underground but what sets it apart was in addition to disguise most wore team rocket uniform. This made it clear that now Viridian city underground world is completely understand the control of Giovanni. Or they wouldn''t reveal themselves in such a large number in a place. The reason for him visiting here was primarily to sell the confiscated pokeballs and then to find a milktank. But the difficulty to find a Chansey is much higher than finding a Milktank. Chansey are most exclusive Pokemon of the Joys. They are very strict about them. If one has a Chansey they will even search where he get it and if there is any abuse on it that trainer will spend years in jail. This is the power the joys mastered. Of course they also reward them to people who help them. If it was in Johto the Goldenrod gym might look at you for owning a Milktank because They own the biggest milk supply company in Johto. Their Milktank milk is even imported to other regions. So there are many cases of Milktank being kidnapped. These are much appreciated in the black market. Some are sold as high as a few million. Their milk is helpful for all pokemons as it strength their bones, had enough nutrition and with a good diet plan for pokemons it can make them more stronger. This was not a common knowledge though. This was told to him by his grandpa. He also told him some big families had secret recipes to raise the Pokemons. This is why most only raise one type because of that their raised pokemons are stronger than the other wild Pokemons. He too wanted a secret recipe but they are mostly very expensive. According to his grandpa the thing which inhibited the growth of his shiny Pidgeot was that it was malnutritioned since birth. After Alex raised it it came to ordinary growth otherwise its growth would have stunted. Another was lack of specific recipe for him. Not only is it difficult to find but it is very expensive. And it is mostly sold in big cities. Even then it would only be an incomplete record. He needed a recipe secret so he could use it as a reference to make his own for his Pokemons. In the Pewter city he didn''t have enough money but now he would after selling the pokeballs. He first went to the trade center. This time he had 50+ pokeballs and most were in either their secondary evolved form or final form. This will fetch him a good price along with the shadow grunts raising them good, there is no congenital defects in them. The Pokemons he wanted to sold mostly had a racial value between 400-450. And only a couple had more than 450. After evaluation they were priced as: 12*23000 = 516000 43*45000 =1935000 5*87000 = 435000 He was paid a total of 29 million pokecoins. Adding to his previous balance he had about 33 million in total ( including the cash reward for shadows base operation). After that he went to the washroom and once again changed his clothes. Who knows how many people know he had this much money. The only one who might come after him will be ordinary shortime grunts. Although not afraid he didn''t want to find himself unnecessary problem. Now he wore a clown mask and just changed the shoes and cloak he wore. After that he wandered around the market to see if he could anything worthwhile or a Milktank. He saw variety of Pokemons chained or caged ready to be sold. They were mostly ordinary Pokemons easy to catch or some strong but we''re malnourished. Yet many were there to buy them. They were the type who believes number is strength. There are some Pokemons which caught his attention such as Aron, skorupi , magby , etc. If raised well could be a core Pokemon of the team but he left because he didn''t know how the recipe will be priced. After some windowshopping he came to a stall. The owner was a rocket and probably a higher ranked if his presence was taken notice of. There were some old texts. three of them attracted his attention. He talked," how much are the old books?" " 5 million" " What ? why don''t you just rob me? They are hardly any value with how faded some pages are. How can they be worth do much. Since there are a dozen so I will pay 5000 each" This affected the seller. He didn''t know what they were but since they were old he thought it was precious. But there are high chance it may be worthless. This was nothing new. Many times some old items are sky high precious but most are just garbage. The words of Alex brought out this fear in him. " How about I will add some other things along with it. A baltoy. You don''t know how precious they are. They are the cursed toy which are very rare. They are found in the Hoenn region. they are..." He tried to boast about Baltoy but Alex stopped him, " I know about them . They are ground and psychic type and they aren''t that rare. They will only be slightly expensive . At most 40000 in Kanto. It only amounts 1 million. That''s how much I will pay. Will you sell them or not?" He said with a hint of finality. He added some other pokemon props such as soothing bell, blackglasses and a few old items. He now priced them as 4million. Now the only use of soothing bell circulating around is it helps calm down the Pokemon. The other use of increasing friendliness for evolution is not prominent now. After final negotiations the deal was done in 2.5 million. After paying and taking his property he left. Both of them happy at fooling the other and earning profits. This is the case of lack of knowledge and information. If he knew about soothing bells other property, it''s price would have soared . It helps evolve riolu, Togepi, Golbat etc. And it can be used in repetition. This will make it as expensive as 50 to even 100 million. The one that caught his attention in that antique stall was a book with a Gengar pics and the attraction it brought to haunter in the shadow. He was very excited about it. He felt there might be a connection between them so he bought it. There are some books on different pokemon types too among them. It can be left for later, now he had to find a milktank. Not finding anything worthwhile he left the roadside stall area and headed for shops. Seeing him spend 2.5 million in a go, it attracted the attention of some unsavory people who tailed him. Will he find a suitable recipe and a Milktank. What will happen to Alex now? to be continued.... Chapter 49 - Black Market Adventure ( Part 2) He now went back to the auction site of the black market. Since he couldn''t find the things here then there he might. have a higher chance. At the antique stall there were few old things with marks and symbols on them. Most would be useless but for a psychic and ghost type to distinguish between waste and working objects. According to Haunter two of the old objects a spoon and an old urn were shrouded with some unusual energy. Alex first thought of giving both to Agatha who was still stationed at Viridian city but thought since he had two why not sell one and earn money. These old powerful energy containers are on heavy demand in the world. Many forces want to own one such items. Had it not been for Alex''s own weak strength he too would want one. These objects contain powerful pokemons sealed within them. There was once an incident in Kanto near Saffron city. In a ruin nearby, they found a mysterious mirror, in an accident it had cracks. From it an enormous Gengar emerged. He destroyed everything around a radius of 10 km from that ruin. Later when Agatha came she subdued it. These are similar to nuclear weapons. A weapon of mass destruction. If sold out in the. daylight you will spend decades in prison but in the black market they can be sold easily. One would only think they are selling old antiques and even if know they sell it, they won''t bother because of the network of connection the black market had established. So unless they try to undermine or subvert the rule of the league the league mostly keep an eye close on these matters. After entering the auction house , there were many people crowded around. Some to enter it, some to appraise their objects others to see some fat meat to cheat, etc. First thing Alex did was inquiring about high end appraiser. The appraiser are one of the high class jobs who get both fees for appraising but as well as a cut from the auctioned objects. And let''s not forget the incentive given by the seller. For the sake of safety of inquiry the inquiry booth is completely surrounded by a thin film. Other than the shadow of the inquiry person nothing could be seen. At the inquiry he asked," Can you tell me where the the appraiser is?" A soft feminine voice came," What type of appraiser do you need to meet?" " What are the fee for their services?" " Sir, a low appraiser''s fees is 80000 a medium appraiser is 1500000 and the high appraiser is 20 million ". She answered him. Hearing three fee rates shocked the shell out of Alex. To think he would have to pay so much for just a simple identification and meeting the higher one will drain his account by 70% , this scared him and he wanted to leave but the thoughts of better raising his pokemons he stopped. This is so they could help trainers a little bit. He then inquired about the high end one. She then pointed her to the door. Because of the sky high price there were almost no one except for the accountant at the door. Seeing him appear in front of him, the accountant asked," Are you paying by card or cash?" " He handed him his pokecard then the accountant let him enter. There in the dark room was an old man in his 60. Most of the high end appraiser are very old and younger ones are mostly lower. The old man asked grumpily," What things do you need me to evaluate" He handed him an old rock he found once in the forest. There was a mysterious energy on it, though not sure what it was it could help him. After examining it, he answered," It is a good item. It is a fossil of a rare water type pokemons. It was an omaster. It can be priced about 150-250 million in the auction. Are you ready to sell it?" Hearing the price he was ecstatic. Now he won''t suffer a loss. He then told him," There is another thing I want to appraise . I found it in a ruin" He raised the spoon in his hand and handed him. After seeing it, his hands trembled slightly and this time he was very respectful to him," Sir, are you sure you want to sell it." Alex saw greed in his eyes, so Alex said," I can''t keep something this precious on me so I want to see it. I will give you 5% of the proceeds." This excited the old man but to earn himself a much better chance he started to negotiate with him. After final negotiations, the cut was 7% of the total. After that Alex inquired him about a Milktank and a recipe for flying and fire type. The old man who made a fortune today, was very cooperative. He told him he will buy them for him but would cost 100 million in total. Alex who made more than 5 billion now was not looking at this small number. Alex let the old man as his agent to contact the auction and earn him a bigger profit. The old man promised to do that, as for him betraying Alex. He thought some big man sent him as training or else can a kid get something this dangerous. This may be an education trip for him to earn experience so the old man dare not cheat him. As for the final proceeds Alex will get around 5 billion for the spoon at normal times but with the encouragement of old man , he may be paid higher. The old man gave him his card so that he could make a connection with Alex and asked him to return after an hour for his earning. After an hour Alex got all he wanted and his bank account has reached the highest ever of 6.7 billion. Of course it was nothing compared to the family of Lance but for Alex and his family, they could earn this much only after few hundred years of work. His father''s salary is only a few hundred thousand a year and the high class ones earn a few million an year. So Alex was elated. But he also know how precious the recipe are he paid 4 million for Milktank but the pokemons recipe doesn''t come in collections but in each pokemons. He bought a Pidgey line recipe for 120 million, Charmander line for 250 million, non evolved Eevee for 100 million and Gastly and Swinub line for 200 million each. He paid nearly 900 million for just recipe and he didn''t even count by the ingredients. He paid 100 million for the ingredients and they will only last a few months if used conservatively. He spent 1 billion just like that. The pokemon world was really expensive. Now he knew why many want to join the league because it help them in raising them even though you lose your freedom. Now Alex hoped the league better give him a good reward or else he won''t have any trade with the league but got the black market to raise money or he would go bankrupt. After a these with a heavy heart because of his spending he left the auction. He also got a gold level invitation with which he could enter the high end auction free of charge. But now the huge spending was already in his heart and another round would just empty his coffers. He left the black market with more than a dozen people trailing him. Alex now know how expensive it is to raise a healthy and strong Pokemon. Now stay tuned for the next battle where he release his grievance. to be continued.... Chapter 50 - Destroying Thugs and the visit Alex has now left the black market and entered a dark alley. After reaching the end of the alley where no one was present, he said," come out. I know you are there." The people trailing him first thought he was bluffing but then he sent out Swinub and told him," seal the way. Don''t let anyone escape." Swinub sent ice beam in the front and a thick wall of ice was formed. Then the ten people who followed came out. They were not surprised by the display of strength by the Swinub and believed that they all can take him on. One of the people immediately said," You brat, hand over all the money and Pokemon you have and we might leave you."and he laughed. All the others were laughing along with him thinking they were making a fortune this time. The thought of despair in the victim when he finds he have no way to escape was alluring to them. They have taken down many people like this and they are not afraid of the following. After every incident they leave the city and calm for some time and then continue to rob young trainers Alex who was already angry with having spent so much the words of these things only angered him further. He had already considered them dead. Seeing that the brat wasn''t following their order they all released their pokemons. Now there were 3 Graveller, 4 fearow and three Weezing released. He said," Since you don''t want to listen then I might as well take you down." Alex too commanded Swinub," Battle stance." Swinub immediately summoned hail and smothered them with blizzard. This was an opening move he made in regard to his special abilities. Swinub had snow cloak. It meant that his speed increased in the hail storm. Alex this time commanded the moves ," Swinub used ice shards followed by rock slide ". Then sharp Ice Spears flew towards them. Although most were dodged some of them had scratches and bleeding on them. The flying type flew out of the way but the rock slide swept them to the ground. Seeing this chance, Swinub used earthquake. All the pokemons as well as their trainers were now fallen on the ground. Alex then signalled Haunter. He rose from the ground and used mass hypnosis. He defeated them and wanted to hurt them too but thinking it was a main city and this kind of thing will bring unnecessary attention especially with Agatha present. Their attack also gave him a reason for possessing the ancient ring. so he first tied them up and took their pokeballs along with all the other precious things and went off to the Hotel. He already had changed his clothes in the alley. Agatha told them she wanted to meet them today so he went to her room directly. For sake of convenience she also gave him a badge which can help him in specific cases though what cases she didn''t elaborate. The hotel she lived was a five star hotel. It was ten storey high. Though not much from outside, inside was richly decorated with antiques, statues of mew or other legendary birds and pictures of different fight and war scenario. The walls were painted with gold colour showing much elegance and nobility. Then he went to the front desk and asked ," Is the person at room 406 free." This was Agatha''s room. She told him for the sake of not disturbing her stay the only ones who knew her room number could visit her. Seeing that the young boy knew the code, the senior receptionist called Agatha," Who might you be, sir?" " Alex, Alex Bart" After confirming he told the lobby boy to guide Alex to her room. After taking the elevator to the sixth floor, they reached room number 604. After giving tip to the lobby boy, he knocked and the soft "enter" came from inside. As he entered the room, he saw Agatha sitting on a rocking chair her Gengar and Mismagius floating around her and a eerie song being played. He saw she had released her other Pokemons too. There was a spiritomb, a banette and a Alakazam. Seeing Alex,Gengar and Mismagius ran towards him in greeting and Alakazam also enthusiastically greeting . For all this Agatha just smiled softly and rose from her chair," Alex, what was so important that you wanted to see me urgently?" Alex was a decent boy from what she inferred till now not taking about the past experience with him. She thinks it might be something important. He said," I came across some special stone which I sold in the auction in the black market to buy pokemon specific food recipe." Hearing this she nodded, knowing how expensive they can be and not the least bothered that he went to the black market. In her opinion those who can''t handle them are glasshouse flowers. He continued," After returning, some thugs felt I was easy prey and tried to steal from me. I took them down but from them I found a strange but powerful thing according to my Haunter. so I brought it here." These cases were common so she didn''t bother but wanted to see what he got. Alex took out the ancient ring from his bag. The moment it appeared in front of them, all the pokemons and Agatha released a strong pressure. Haunter and Alex were once again reminded that this woman was too strong and they couldn''t even stand in front of her let alone battle and defeat her. This also brought an unusual thought of how strong a champion would be. Agatha severely asked," Did you know what it is , Alex?" Alex answered truthfully," I have some doubts though." Agatha''s expression softened and she raised her hands to calm the Pokemon then told him," League would reward you handsomely. But I still want to know what you want?" Alex answered after some thoughts," what I want is ...." What do Alex d_e_s_i_r_e as reward? Where will the next destination be for our heroes? What pokemons would come out from the egg? to be continued..... Chapter 51 - Demands " What I want is a doctor backing and an assistant professor position." His request seem a bit strange to her so she asked," Why ?" "I came across a new way of evolution of poliwhirl As well as a slowpoke." he replied. "Hearing this she was shocked. Evolutionary way of Pokemon were mysterious and many different kinds are revealed from time to time and the fact that a young trainer found a new way was even more fascinating. Her pokemons too were surprised and amazed after hearing this but the three pokemons Gengar, Alakazam and Mismagius were acting as if nothing strange happened. " How did you find this?" " My grandpa has a poliwhirl . It mostly stay at home. Once while traveling my grandpa came across a old crown like thing I by accident let it fall on poliwhirl so it suddenly evolved into politoed. And later once scouting the forest around my house I came across another one. I call it King''s Rock. This time I tried it on many pokemon especially water types but it didn''t work. Later I tried it on a slowpoke. it changed into an appearance similar to slowpoke but a shell on his head, marking it''s royalty. And a red-white scarf around it''s neck. It is unlike slowpoke and Slowbro, it is cleverer and royal. It''s psychic power too has magnified spectacularly. After consulting my grandpa, I got those data regarding it." Agatha was more and more amazed by his knowledge and intelligence. " So why do you ask for a doctor''s backing instead of just posting the research?" " I am just a rookie now with no backing or any support. If I reveal it just like that I will be dragged to the court on charges of theft and stealing research and will be banned for ever becoming a professor. My grandpa specified me not to do so early until I served as an assistant. This research I will reveal as an assistant under the doctor so that I have some research backing and my later research won''t be targeted." He said Agatha on hearing his reasoning frowned but she too agreed on this. Many researcher spend day and night to discover or invent something new but now a trainer who hasn''t travelled for a day now find something extraordinary which they couldn''t find. This will be smashing their face and they will Target and destroy him before anything. After some thought, she agreed after all he was going to Samuel anyway. Telling him this and with his support he won''t suffer their retaliation and even they will have to give way to him. " But won''t this affect you. After all you spent so much on this project and submitting it on others name will be disheartening. "Agatha asked. " I have also found a new type which is completely immune to psychic attacks. This will be my ladder to the top level of Pokemon Researcher." He answered her truthfully. The reason for revealing it was to see whether she would force him to reveal his secret or support him. After all he still didn''t reveal about steel or fairy type. so he still had a backhand Hearing Alex froze her up. Psychic type was one of the most powerful type of pokemons. Almost every pokemons in this type is capable of being an acre in any team and their psychic powers were also a taboo. To think a type was immune to their attacks was an astounding discovery. Her Alakazam too was fazed by the words. He never came across one who was immune to it so he listened intently. Agatha calmed herself and asked," Can you elaborate?" Though she tried to speak normally her voice still trembled. " While training slowking I had it fight some pokemons. I came across three pokemons on whom his powers didn''t work. I still defeated them but using ice and water moves. Though defeating carvanha was really irritating. on them none of the psychic moves worked. Neither psybeam, psyshock, psychic , zen headbutt or other moves worked. But their bite, crunch or faint attack heavy affected him. Since they are mostly dark coloured I called them the dark type. Only these were nearby the town and I couldn''t travel far by then so I only found them . it still is an incomplete research so I will have to work harder and complete it. I think houndoom like too is a dark type along with the Mightyena. But it is not confirmed." Agatha listened intently. She was an old player in the game of words. She knew he didn''t reveal all but only enough to attract her attention. These research data were enough to show his intelligence. She knew what he wanted to do by this. He was not only trying to see if they could let her sc_u_mmed to greed. He also revealed his value so that league would give him incentives and boons. He was smarter in the underhanded moves too. " Very well I will introduce you to Samuel in my name. But what else do you want? And don''t make such faces, I know your appetite will be satisfied with this." Alex smiled meekly and said," I want free supply of Pokemon food ingredients for five years." " it is theft. it will only be six months." " I sent you a strategic weapon. it must be five " " Fine for an year" " Why don''t you steal it? five years mean five" Seeing him not wavering, " Fine. no more than two" yet he didn''t agree. But for old times sake she agreed at three years Their pokemons just continued to look at their comical negotiations silently. But Alex appetite wasn''t over he once again demanded a term . This angered Agatha and she roared at him and said," Enough. Didn''t we give you so much. What more do you want " But Alex wasn''t affected by her anger," I was thinking that after visiting Prof. Oak I should stay in the forest for a month or two so I wanted a healing pokemons. I already had a Milktank for physical powers and a healer will be much appreciated." He smiled at her slyly. Agatha was now burning with fury. Alex and her pokemons had left a gap for them in fear that her anger will fell on them. After taking some big breathe, she said," It will take some time. The Chansey race is strictly regulated by the Joys. It will reach you by the time you arrive at pallet town." " Thank you " After saying that Alex quickly left because he too knew how much he angered her. He just wanted to get a bottom line for the trade but his demands were easily accepted so he was happy. The food delivery already helped him a lot. Now he will not be spending billions on food. The food will reach his home and his other pokemon Pidgeot and slowking will too be rewarded with it. So he left the hotel happily and went to his room without greeting Lance or Lorelei. This day took a toll on him and he needed to rest. He sleep through the noon and woke up at evening to feed his Pokemon and also to take a look at his spending. Alex now will soon have a healer and a Milktank for healthy growth of the young infant soon to hatch. What is it will be revealed after his visit to Oak Laboratory? To be continued.... Chapter 52 - The Mysterious Book(part1) After resting he took out the books he bought at the antique store which attracted Haunter''s gaze. He took the book out of the backpack and looked at it''s cover. It was pretty old book. The cover was made of rough paper and had a image of a menacing Gengar. Even though the photo of the cover is blurred over time, the aura and the prestige of the Gengar on the cover hadn''t faded. Alex now tried to open the book but no matter how hard he tried it wouldn''t open. He thought the pages might be struck with some glue or something and he couldn''t use water to weaken the bond or else it might damage it He sent out Butterfree. on being released, It floated on the air and seeing no battle around she sat on his head. And greeted the Eevee sitting beside Alex. He told her about his problem and asked her to use psychic but nothing happened. She used all her powers but the book didn''t even move. Haunter too tried using psychic. Even then the combined powers of the two were ineffective. This frustrated all of them and Eevee even wanted to blast it off with her shadow ball. The moment it reach the book, Haunter took it out of the way of the shadow ball. But something unique happened. On contact with Haunter, the book began to grow purple and then the glow subsided. Then Alex took the book and once again tried to open the book and this time he could open and turn the pages similar to any other book. Alex saw that his pokemons were puzzled by this and looked at him for answer. Butterfree was disappointed that she wasn''t able to help. Recently all the pokemons strength had been increasing exponentially but his growth was smaller compared to others as if he had stagnated. This experience strengthened his belief that she was dragging the team down. Alex too knew her mind so he always tried to cheer her up whenever she was down. He always told her that her strength was her powder warfare, her maneuvering and her speed. All the others were just a supplement to enhance her strengths. This time too he laid his hands on her antenna and patted her and told her that it wasn''t her problem. " The thing is that this book recognised the aura of Haunter. It can only open by ghost energy. This opened the seal of the book. This book may be written by a very powerful ghost trainer from ancient times. This book has a seal and only open to ghosts. Look here " He turned some pages but some pages were still stuck and won''t open up. The other pokemons were puzzled because of this. He answered their doubts," The only page available are the pages about Haunter line. The pages regarding Gastly and Haunter are only open. When you evolve into Gengar more pages will open. " After going through the book for some time he told them," This book has some recipe, some moves, training exercises as well as some rituals to increase the power of haunter . Some words I don''t understand but the drawing as well as some letters I do remember." All the pokemons looked at Alex admirably and also were excited for Haunter''s prospects. Haunter was most excited among them about the things in the book. "But the thing in the book are very precious. There is description of some herbs and items which can also enhance other aspects of other Pokemon types too. This book is a goldmine . So we must not reveal it''s existence to anyone." He told them seriously Meanwhile Eevee motioned towards the room were Lorelei and Lance stayed and Alex only told," No one except us." The Pokemons then nodded in agreement. But they were still excited about getting this old knowledge tome. While, Alex was afraid. The existence of this book as well as other things mentioned here are enough to raise a ghost trainer at least a king level at that. If anyone ever find out it''s existence then they will suffer much attacks and ambushes. All the region and he felt even Agatha would Target them for it. Alex decided never to use or reveal it on open or daylight. And he should also Increase the strength of the pokemons. There still are other ancient books in the collection he bought so he was vigilant about them. And his pokemons too wanted to know what more secrets the book reveals. To be continued... Chapter 53 - The mysterious book (Part 2) The next book he took out had a picture of an Alakazam in meditation. In this case too, the book didn''t open no matter how much force he tried. He thought it may contain information and knowledge pertaining to the psychic energy. So he thought of using psychic powers. He tried using psychic powers of Haunter, even then it didn''t work but when Butterfree tried the book it only shook but didn''t open. Seeing he couldn''t open the book, he thought of using his slowking later to help him. He put it on the side and took out next book. It had an image of a Lucario in battle position with an aura sphere in it''s hand. He once again tried to open just for sake of confirmation but it didn''t open. He thought what might be the key for opening it. He placed the psychic and ghost type book in front of himself along with this one and tried to see a connection between these three. After some thoughts on what linked these three different energy sources it clicked him. The key to opening each book is the pure energy of that particular type. Haunter could use both ghost and psychic power along with poison. But it''s main energy is ghost and on evolution poison too is in much pure form of energy than other. So his psychic energy didn''t open the book. Similarly since it had the aura pokemons as well as aura, only a fighting pokemon strong enough to mobilize the aura can be the key. These books according to Alex also may be the key to mastering different energy sources humans can master. The psychic master , occult master or aura master. Anyone of these can help him increase his strength in least time but he wasn''t in a hurry. There was still time to make a decision on this matter. Who knows if after he choose one due to incompatibility he may nit be able to learn the other two. He then placed these three in the backpack safely and pulled out the last book of the collection. This book was without any cover image or sign. It didn''t even have a title to itself. Since the other three were so precious he felt this one too could be of use. He opened the book to find d some writing in it. They were written just like the other two but this one didn''t have a key or mysterious energy needed to open. This made Alex feel it''s value was less compared to the other two. But Alex''s doesn''t know is that all three were linked together. If someone managed to open one book he may be able to unlock others too of conditions are reached. And this book too had a connection related to the others. It has to be known the brain. of genius are more developed than ordinary people. This book scanned the brain development of the owner. If passed it will open if not it wouldn''t open up. As he opened the book he saw some writings. They weren''t written in the current language but Alex had done some research on languages too. If it was too old he couldn''t understand but it was only few generation old language. On his visits to the library he learned some old language for sake of convenience in case he visit an ancient ruin to test his luck. The words in the first page of book stated: '' To the current owner of the book, you may have found this book. So congratulations for getting my research and it''s fruits at a cheaper rate, you cheap bastard. Anyway, since you got you are the winner as I am either killed or dead by old age. Anyway death is also another adventure. This book contains the research of my lifetime. Since you can open this book, you are smart as well as managed to open one of the other books of this collection. They all are linked by a seal with my awesome knowledge. You could bow in front of my awesomeness if you want. Here are works which may even destroy the world but they will only be revealed when you reach a certain level in mastering things in this book. You may think how it still has powers and how it keep things in order. So let me tell you stupid fool that : it is due to mew and the tree of beginning. Only when certain conditions are reached can the book be opened. And Mew too added a restriction that the person isn''t someone with destructive tendencies. you know if he is like that, how much work she had to do to protect the world and all the things after. Anyway, this book will be destroyed when the tree of beginning has a problem like it''s being destroyed or something. The only problem that happened was on time of sir Aaron a couple hundred years ago. This might not be a problem with some defense mechanism I set up there. But who knows what happen in the future. As my successor and only student, I hope you will make use of my inventions and research and not just store them thinking that they are too destructive or something. And most importantly, I know the book chose you for it checked your personality matching what I want in my student yet as your teacher I once again stress, you are the student if the greatest alchemist. You must explore the world, it''s unknowns and it''s mystery. Even though I spent my whole life, I only know so much. My hope is you continue to explore because knowledge is unlimited and the mysteries in this pokemon world is at every corner. Your most awesome and brilliant teacher, The Greatest Alchemist.'' Reading the words in the book, he came to a conclusion that the writer was arrogant, proud, funny and also a good guy. But he wasn''t all to concerned about what impact his works bring on this world. He also got Mew''s help and now he knew that only key energy will open it. He was a tried scientist though. He even on his death thought of the next discovery. He was worthy of being respected for that. And he somehow became a successor to an unknown scientist. He read lod enough for his pokemons to hear and they cane to only one conclusion that,'' He was senile.'' Now we know the past of the book collection but what knowledge do they contain that he revealed it may destroy the world? Stay tuned. to be continued... Chapter 54 - The Mysterious Book(End) There was also a mention of the book recognising the owner by either aura or by blood. Since Alex don''t Know how to use aura so he took out a small fruit knife and cut his finger slightly for some drops of blood to fall. He let the blood fall on the book cover. On contact the book glowed blood red for a moment and the glow subsided. after that another message revealed that ''the book was semi sentient and leader of the other three books and that one owner has to offer it blood Everytime he wants to use it. The blood can easily be given by brushing ones fingers through the neck of the book.'' This made him angry. Once was ok but Everytime was really irritating. He made up his mind that if he ever knew who wrote this book he would punch him or his descendants. After reading the first page he turned to the next page. There was the diagram of a sword. But this diagram depicted what type of ore was used and where was it used to make which part. The name of the sword was " The Vulcan". The metals used were artificially created using different metal ones like iron, nickel, aluminum etc. and they we''re heated and turned red under the flames of Magmar, Charizard, Arcanine and it also has mentioning of it being tempered in pressure of Earth too. There was also a special note written below that only an aura master can fully utilise it''s true worth. Next topic after Vulcan was an armour which can reduce any elemental damage by 10%. There were different steps and ways on how to make it. Next few were of other medieval weapons like axe, bow, spear, shields etc. After these there were some reagents which can be used to strengthen the powers of the Pokemon but the only problem was it can only be used once on any Pokemon and the regular use may weaken it or even kill it. There were some mentions of some legendary and mysterious places like the tree of beginning, pokemopolis , some temples and other places of mystic powers. There was mention of even Hoho , Lugia and even Arceus. But there was no mention of the place where Hoho or Lugia were seen by him. He did mention that the wooden statue of Arceus had the power to strengthen any pokemon of any type by a level or two pertaining his power mastery. But this was lost in time or was lost in the sea by him. There was reagents to prove powers of bug type, water type and flying type and a few others.. But they are for later times. He now wanted to take a look at the ghost book. He closed it and just as he was going to pick the book and loud knock brought him to the reality. And a loud female voice came from the outside," Alex open the door. We know you are sad but this doesn''t mean you should close yourself up. You didn''t even come out to eat I. the morning or noon and now not even at night. If not for yourself think about your pokemons. They need to eat." Lance voice came this time," Alex come out soon." Alex had been ignoring or neglecting them since he told them about the past. And his friends felt it was better to give him some space for some time. So they left him be. But now it was getting on their nerves. For a couple of days was ok but not even greeting or talking to them for four days was too much so they thought that if he didn''t come to eat tonight they will barricade his door till he opens it up. Alex looked at the clock in the room and it was now 7:45 pm. It was nearing dinner time. He then told his pokemons," We will see the rest later. It seems that if I don''t open the door they might as well break it down." He then recalled Butterfree while Haunter went back to his shadow. Haunter liked it there for it was close to his realm of power or so he felt it. Opening the door reveals a fuming Lorelei and an amused Lance. He then walked passed them and then turned around and asked them," Aren''t you coming for dinner?" They then ran towards him and off to the cafeteria without any words. What type of energy should Alex master- Ghost, psychic or aura? Do comment. Stay tuned. To be continued.... Chapter 55 - The Viridian Gym Battle ( Part 1) A new morning brings a new round of fresh energy and hopes. Today Alex decided to do something completely foolish yet brave. He remembered from his time that during Ash''s journey the Viridian Gym was undisputed strongest gym in whole Kanto, but now this honor belonged to the Cerulean gym. He remembered that before leaving Giovanni gave all three of them a chance of three on three battle and if they won they would be granted the gym badge. So he woke up early in the morning, went to the telephone in the pokemon center and dialed home. The phone rang for some time then an image of an old man came in the display. It was his grandpa Michael along with his trusted Pikachu on his shoulder. Eevee yeepec at them in greeting as she took note of the crippled old man and scarred old pikachu. This Pikachu was old and had a slightly worn out fur and had a big cut mark on it''s stomach from that Pidgeot battle. "Good morning, grandpa, Pikachu. How are you? How is everything going on there? " He greeted him. Seeing his grandson Alex his eyes brightened and Pikachu waved hid hands happily and he happily replied," Good morning to you too. and you young man forgot your dear old grandpa. You called so many times yet you never talked to me. I am hurt." And he made a hurtful face. Alex knew that his grandpa was joking so he said," Don''t joke like this grandpa. Anyway, I had made a deal with someone from the league and they will supply food ingredients for the Pokemon at home. So now I will start sending back some of the pokemons and can you look after their diet and training grandpa." Michael was bored and either his condition it was difficult for him to do anything but sit back and relax and with Alex giving him something interesting to do made him very happy. " So did you get the recipe for pokemons?" he inquired but didn''t ask how he made the deal because he trusted his grandson enough not to ask unnecessary questions. " Yes I did. " But his face turned hurtful saying," But boy are they expensive. After seeing those prices and cost, I almost hope to become a single type and kind of Pokemon trainer so I can invest my time , energy and money on that only and save excess expenditure." Michael just looked at him blankly and asked curious," Were they really that expensive." He replied," The recipe for Gastly line cost me 200 million." " What ? so much ." he shouted. This shout attracted the attention of the other awake members in the house and then Alex''s father , Arthur and his mother,Gwen cane running towards the phone . Arthur shouted," Dad what Happened? are you hurt ? tell me, I will immediately take you to the doctor?". But Michael snorted," Nothing happened to me. See Pikachu Is with me and as long as he is with me nothing will happen to me." meanwhile Pikachu just uplifted his c_h_e_s_t and patted it to show '' leave it to me '' " And I shouted because of your son''s extravagant spending." On his mentioning of Alex, They saw that the phone was connected and had Alex''s image on it. " Dad, Alex called and you didn''t even tell us" Gwen asked him. " Didn''t you talked to him last time while I was left out." He countered. while they talked about this, Arthur had noticed the mention of spending so he asked Alex directly," Alex, what is your grandpa talking about? I thought your mother and I thought you to save money and not to spend it blindly." Alex was alert. He knew though his father was lenient in terms of spending his mother was like a mother dragon protecting her egg in terms of money savings. So he meekly said," Dad it was so that I can buy recipe for healthy food of my Pokemon. You know grandpa always told that the diet dragged down him, Pidgeot and slowking''s growth. So I spent some in it ." Both parents nodded as they remembered the oldest person in the family mentioning it multiple times. Seeing their expression Alex breathe out the air he held back unconsciously. But his grandpa didn''t let him be relieved He snorted softly," Yeah, 200 Million is a small amount. hmm." But His parents heard him clearly. " What " they both shouted. Arthur being familiar with his wife''s habit stepped back along with Michael and she put her head close to the camera asking Alex softly," Alex, what did I tell you about money spending?" Seeing her soft smiling face but a fearsome aura surrounding her, Alex and Eevee shuddered in fear. Eevee yeeppped loudly and digged her head on Alex c_h_e_s_t so as to hide her face on Alex''s c_h_e_s_t but Alex who bore the full impact just shivered and tried to console his mother by saying," Mom, listen. it was very important. I had to do it for better growth of my Pokemon. You know him, Slowking and Pidgeot are growing slowly because of lack of required energy and so I thought it was worth it. So I bought all the recipe for my Pokemons." Hearing she calmed down but she then remembered that he told her that he bought as much as he could. She softly asked ," How much did you spend on their food ,Alex?" Alex first considered lying but he remembered whenever he lied she immediately caught his lie and punished him severely. She left a shadow on Alex in his childhood. So he softly replied," One billion." This shocked the hell out of them. They never thought Alex would spend so much in a single day. They hadn''t even spent 200 million their entire life but now he spent One billion. They were shocked, and this time knowing that his mother was going to thunder at him Arthur asked," So why did you call us now so early I. the morning ,Alex?" " I have a match with a very strong trainer and I need both him, Pidgeot and slowking for this. I also want to work on the bond between my Pokemons so I thought why not challenge and then do this too. I will also start their new diet and later after some time , I will start sending some of my Pokemon back, if I couldn''t take care of them myself. " He quickly said. They all nodded and agreed to his request. Michael then said," Wait for sometime and stay there. I will sent them back to you." As early as he got Gastly he recaptured them both in his name but left them behind so that he could focus on these and layer introduce them. Another reason was that were strong and will probably affect the early growth of his pokemons. If not for challenging Giovanni he wouldn''t bring them back. Soon three pokeballs one after another came and then told them," I got them. I gotta go. Bye." And he disconnected the call. He with Eevee and his pokeball left the pokemon center for the free space behind it to release his older pokemons. So Alex will soon challenge Giovanni? What will be the outcome if this battle and what is the third pokemons of Alex. Stay tuned to be continued..... Chapter 56 - The Viridian Gym Battle (Part 2) At noon Alex and his friends are standing in front of the Viridian Gym. Lorelei asked him," Are you sure you want to do this, Alex? I heard that Mr. Giovanni is a very strong trainer and he doesn''t hold back much even in his gym battle." If I was afraid of a lose I won''t be a trainer now. And I also want to let my old pokemons have some fun too." He answered. Lance then asked him," What are your other two pokemons except Pidgeot?" Alex didn''t answer them and just answered that they will know when the battle begins. The doorman then told them," The gym leader is ready and is awaiting you. Please follow me." He then opened the door and headed inside with the three others following behind. Inside the gym along with Giovanni, Agatha and surge were present there too. Giovanni sat on the couch up high on the platform whole the other two sat in the audience. Both Lance and Lorelei joined them on the audience dier and Alex stood in front of Giovanni for the battle. The referee for the bout said," This is a three on three official gym battle between Alex Bart of floral town and the gym leader, Giovanni. Please send out your pokemons." Giovanni sent out a Rhyhorn on the battlefield. Agatha asked the two young trainer," Do you know which pokemons he might use?" " we only know that he might use some old pokemons of his. And we only know about Pidgeot." Lorelei answered " So he is using a Pidgeot. Can he control it." Surge asked sceptical that a young trainer can command a Pidgeot. " Yes he told he raised it since he was five and so it shouldn''t be a problem." Lance told him Surge then just grunted while looking at the battle. Agatha too wanted to see how he battle Giovanni. Even Giovanni wanted to see what skills he possess that he attracted the attention of the old monsters. In the battlefield, Alex took out a pokeball then looked at it intently while saying," Let''s show how powerful we are together. Go, Pidgeot." Then a mighty Pidgeot was revealed. It was different from other Pidgeot because it was of different colour as well as slightly bigger than average. It released a " caww" and floated slightly on the ground then settled on the ground. It was eyeing intently it''s opponent. It has faced many pokemons over the years. Some wild and some Pokemon Trainer which came near the town and this was it''s first battle against a truly powerful Pokemon. It''s eyes glowed with a fierce battle d_e_s_i_r_e. Seeing the battle d_e_s_i_r_e, Rhyhorn too heavily pounded it''s front leg on the ground in admission to it''s battle request. Seeing this, Giovanni too knew that his Rhyhorn wanted to face him on. Soon the referee said," Let the battle begin." The first one to open the battle was Alex. He commanded," Hurricane." And a fierce wind blew in the battle, obscuring the vision and Rhyhorn was attacked by sharp wind blades. When the winds subsided the Rhyhorn was seen having surrounded by a rock wall which now had deep cut marks as well as the weaker parts now had been completely cut off. Seeing the impact of this attack, shocked all the people. Giovanni said," Impressive. To think you could damage the rock wall so easily. And even wounded my Rhyhorn . I am really looking forward to this battle more and more. " As he was the only one who knew how strong the defensive ability of his Rhyhorn was. In the audience , With Agatha she said," Very strong wind power and cutting force. It is already an Elite level pokemons." Surge eyes too brightened as he could see what this move was truly capable of. Agatha also added," Only the rock wall and the surrounding is damaged. The control for this level of attack is also impressive." Lance and Lorelei now saw the gap between them. They too raised their initial Pokemon from early on. And to think their friends was already so strong was both gratifying and sad. In the battlefield, While others were impressed with this attack, Alex and Pidgeot were more vigilant. This attack was to see the battle instinct as well as it''s first reaction. The most basic reaction of this Rhyhorn was defense and this put the two in disadvantage. While Pidgeot was strong in it''s attacks it had weak defense as well as endurance. Alex decided not to waste time and signalled Pidgeot," Pidgeot command the air." On hearing it he cawwed loudly and the wind started to flow softly around. This move puzzled all Giovanni commanded Rhyhorn," Rock blast." Big rocks the size of Rhyhorn was slammed towards Pidgeot but it easily dodged them and attacked it on it''s back with air slash and a mighty air slash headed towards it but it was destroyed by ice beam. The two trainers only said attack names while the pokemons countered the others move themselves. Pidgeot always tried air slash, gust and twister to attack Rhyhorn while it either defended with rock wall or used rock edge or something to attack it. None of the attacks were making contact on each other. Rhyhorn was using it''s rock and ground attributes for defence while Pidgeot just glided and dodged out of the way. Whenever it seemed like an attack was making contact.a strong wind blew and pushed him out of harms way. This irritated both Rhyhorn and Giovanni. Earlier it seemed impressive but now it was getting on his nerves. In the audience, Agatha and Surge were impressed with his battle performance so far. It''s control over the wind , it''s cutting power and attack force a were impressive. The whole ground was littered with rock fragments or with crisscross cut signs. Alex " Command the wind" gave it an edge in dodging the attack In the battlefield, Giovanni suddenly told Alex," You are really a genius battler. You used different subtle moves to make my attacks weaker. Your featherdance and some sand attack to disturb it along with the wind attacks. You are truly impressive. Using attributes decreasing moves or how you used agility along with wind. " Seeing that Giovanni saw through his tricks he was alert, He continued ignoring Alex''s Expression," But now enough playing Rhyhorn, show how the ground crushes everything beneath itself." This time Rhyhorn glowed with a brown aura and it roared loudly. Alex urgently shouted," The true battle begins now. Go wind force." This affected Pidgeot and the entire room had heavy winds blowing around. It too glowed slight blue. This truly shocked the three experienced trainers and Giovanni said," Wind Force." to be continued Chapter 57 - The Viridian Gym Battle (Part 3) In the audience, " Wind Force?" Lance and Lorelei asked puzzled about this term. Agatha answered their questions," Every pokemons has a specific type but they can learn moves of different types. The type differentiation is done on the basis of the powers they can control. Like my Gengar, he can control Ghost and poison power easily. That is why pokemons have type. Rhyhorn is a ground and rock type. They are two different categories of Earth power. Some control ground and some has rock power making their defence strong. This is one of the criteria for Pokemon type classification. If a new type is to be discovered they must also have a representative of that type. And the only ones eligible are ones who mastered those energy. The two pokemons are using their respective energy force. This is a threshold too for the Pokemons.". " Threshold?" Lance asked This time Surge clarified their doubts" Yes threshold. Most pokemons only reach advanced level at most. Some Pokemon reach elite level in their a_d_u_l_thood such as the Pseudo legendary like your Dratini. But that''s it. To reach the next level, one must master his energy. Their respective elemental power. And if you can''t then you are only be strong but not one eligible to lead. Many clans leaders of Pokemon reach this threshold. This level of Pokemon can bring down an entire city if angered. Those who reach this level are " Pseudo- King". All the pokemons of the gym leader must have at least one pokemon of this level. This Alex is really enchanting." "Alex already as strong as the gym leader?" Lorelei asked shocked. " No, he didn''t reach that level. His Pidgeot had only reached a glimpse and his body isn''t strong enough. Alex raised a Pidgeot to this level without much financial support or special ingredients has already made him a leader among your generation and the gap will only widen. When a pokemons uses it''s elemental power to strengthen itself as well as enhance it''s powers at a higher scale, It is called Force power." Agatha told them bluntly. " So does that mean we won''t be his opponent?" Lance asked. He already declared him his rival and he wasn''t willing to give up easily. " He had not much resources and he reach this level. With the recent transactions we did as well as with enough support he will be great. You are powerful Lance and you will probably surpass me by the time you reach twenty or so but that''s all. Alex he will probably try to shake the throne of those monsters. I really hope I could see that scene." Agatha consoled him. Surge meanwhile asked," Did you already regard him at that level? " " I saw his Haunter, Charmeleon and Swinub. They will reach this level in just two years if not sooner. And his others will too reach this. His Eevee after choosing it''s evolved form will reach it sooner. At least I am sure we will have a deterrence in Kanto in five or so years." Agatha said proudly. Lance and Lorelei were shocked by the evaluation of Alex but the one most shocked was Surge. These young trainers may not know what deterrence really meant but he knew. The Elite fours of each league were a deterrence. They were the ones who brought fear in the opponents And what does a fifteen year of elite four meant. It meant a champion level will appear within twenty or so years. This person can subdued all the opponents just by his presence. They all didn''t know that Agatha wasn''t evaluating them but just telling them what she saw in her past. The glory and powers of these pokemons will hold in the future which inspired her generation. The generation which suppressed all others and made Kanto the undisputed strongest. She also added," The real battle starts now." In the battlefield, Alex said," We don''t have much time so try to end it as soon as possible." He knew Pidgeot can''t handle this form much longer. Giovanni on the other hand too knew this but if he used the method of stalling against a new Trainer he felt he would shame himself so he commanded Rhyhorn," Use ground force full power." Then Rhyhorn was surrounded by a brown aura and the surrounding battlefield seemed to resonate with his energy and the ground shakes up. Similarly, Pidgeot too glowed bright blue and it''s wings and talons had a layer of brighter blue coat which seems that they may cut through even rocks. The air seemed to be heavy as if all the wind around acc_u_mulated in the battlefield. Suddenly this situation was broken by a loud " Go " from both the trainers. This barrier rotated around swiftly cutting the rock pillars into pieces but this wasn''t all the attacked. " Roarr" And a sandstorm rose to pelt it " Caww" and a tornado erected around the Pidgeot to protect it This time Pidgeot attacked it with sharp wind blades that pierced through the wall of Earth and but clashed with the enhanced defence of Rhyhorn. The final result was only some bigger cuts and few drops of blood falling on the ground. This only served to anger it. And it intensifies the attack force. Then Pidgeot too was pelted with rocks. This also wounded him. His body can''t handle much stress of the power up. " Sky roar." Alex commanded. And a thick tornado of wind rose from. it''s beak similar to hyper beam and headed fast towards Rhyhorn. ( It is similar to sky dragon roar in fairy tail.) They knew it was the last struggle of Alex but it still didn''t stop to amaze them. Giovanni too knowing that force behind it shouted desperately," Earth power Mountain." Suddenly all the pelting stopped and all the rock columns combined together to form a mountain structure in front of the roar attack. ( Like jura''s Mt.fuji") The two clashed and a big shockwave was released through Pidgeot sailing back in the air. Even Alex was retreated some feet only because his Haunter helped him counter some force. The audience wasn''t affected because Agatha''s Gengar rose a barrier to protect them from harm. The final result was that both the pokemons were tired. Much power was used by by Rhyhorn to counter this move. He has only some bruises as his defense slowed the attack enough for it to dodge the direct attack but it''s aftermath still wounded it. The place were the move fell had a few metre thick crater with ten metre long diameter. Pidgeot too stopped glowing because of it was tired and also from the impact of wind backward force of the attack. All the audience were amazed by the attack power and impact of those moves. Alex and Giovanni eyed each other and through it reached an agreement that the next move will be the final move. " Brave Bird." " Horn drill " A fiery bird headed straight towards Rhyhorn and Rhyhorn rotated it''s drill and and too headed for the impact. This final clash wasn''t as grand as the last due to lack of elemental involvement but it still sent Pidgeot rolling on the ground. And the Rhyhorn staggered a bit but balanced on four so that it didn''t fall down. And Pidgeot was smashed in the ground. It has lost. Some wounds had now started to bleed. The referee declared," Pidgeot is unable to battle. Please choose your next pokemons." He recalled the Pidgeot back and thanked it for it''s effort. Rhyhorn too was tired so Giovanni recalled it but the referee asked," Do you really want to withdraw your pokemon sir. According to regulations only the trainer can recall the pokemons. If the gym leaders do it then their pokemons will forfeit. " Giovanni calmly answered from his position while leaning on the railing in the high platform ," If his next pokemons are similar to his Pidgeot then it will only stall time and would not affect the next round much." Then he looked at Alex and said," I really look forward to the next to understand" He threw the pokeball and a blue bipedalism reptile was released. It was a Nidoqueen. Alex too said," This battle is really educating. Last battle you were at type disadvantage but in this it seems I will be the one." And he too threw hid pokeball. Out came a slightly humanoid creature with a few feline traits. It is covered in yellow fur with black stripes; a large stripe on its c_h_e_s_t is shaped like a lightning bolt. It has a long tail. There are three, clawed toes on each of its feet, two in front and one in back, while it has five fingers on each hand. It has two sharp fangs and a pair of antennae with bulbous ends. It was an Electabuzz. The second pokemons of Alex was released. Now the next round of Pokemon gym battle begins soon. To be continued Chapter 58 - Round 2 begins Both the recently released pokemons saw the state of the battlefield and immediately knew that the other side was strong and were ready for battle. Normally if someone sent a pokemon with disadvantage against him, Giovanni would consider him a fool but previous match made him vigilant against his opponent. Even though he was much weaker than him he still demanded his respect. Though the only one elated about the appearance of Electabuzz was Surge as he wanted to see till which level this Electabuzz has reached. The atmosphere was chilling and heavy and the tension could be cut down with a knife. This silence was broken by the referee. He started," Let the battle begin." This time Giovanni didn''t give Alex a chance and other, " Rock tomb" Large blocks of rock half the size of Nidoqueen fell on top of Electabuzz but Alex ordered him to break through it by " Brick break." He smashed heavy punches on the big rocks smashing them into the dust and then taunted Nido by smashing his fists together and asking it to send more. Infuriated by this she roared and sent a strong earthquake shaking the ground. Electrabuzz dodged by jumping and tried to nail it down with another brick break. Their moves clashed for a moment and then a figure flew back. It was Electrabuzz who lost in the power contest. This time Nido taunted her and he rained her a few bolts of thundershock but this didn''t have any effect on Nido. Alex told him," Try to attack it physically and dodge whenever possible. Try to weaken it or tire it out. We can''t overpower her " Hearing this the Electrabuzz was sad but he knew hid trainer was right so he followed hid instructions. Electrabuzz knew a lot of fist moves such as fire punch, ice punch, brick break and hammer arm. Most of these moves didn''t have much effect on Nido but whenever He used hammer arm she counter with her own focus punch. The battle went on with Nidoqueen smashing back Electabuzz but she didn''t just use physical attacks. Whenever a distance was established she would use ice beam, flame thrower or send huge rocks towards it. Meanwhile in the audience, "Alex seems to be stuck at the moment. None if his attacks are effective against Giovanni and only he is smashed down. it seems this round Alex has no hope for victory." Lorelei said her thoughts. Although Lance didn''t add anything his thoughts mirrored that of Lorelei. Agatha didn''t say anything to them but asked the resident electric expert,Surge about his opinion," What do you think about the situation of Alex and Electabuzz, Surge ,?" Surge had observed the battle very attentively since the moment he used "wind force" but When he introduced Electabuzz he already made some notes about it''s power and weaknesses according to his experience. " Alex electabuzz is stronger than his Pidgeot. He is a very powerful physical Pokemon. It has strong punching power. I know each of those blows of Nidoqueen could break a stone as big as Nidoqueen itself. It''s thunder is weaker compared to his physical form. It is not that it''s electric powers re weak but they are weaker than it''s fighting poweress. The defects I find is that it''s taking is not well trained and that it does not have strong electric quality. It is less dense and is slow too. But I think it too has learned electric force. Happy because they could once again see a spectacular battle and learn something about it. While they were sad because they could only watch his back and couldn''t journey side by side. In the battlefield, Alex on the other hand was very relaxed. He already knew that his electabuzz couldn''t match the physical powers of the Nidoqueen. All the previous moves were just to test the powers and make electabuzz aquatinted with it''s powers Now Electabuzz just dodged the long range attack of Nido, Alex said," Have you learned about the powers of Nidoqueen?" Electabuzz heard him and nodded in agreement then Alex said," Thunder force lightning armour." Electabuzz was surrounded by bolts if electric current and it seems that these current protect him from the attacks. As soon as he used this move, Electabuzz immediately attacked Nidoqueen via brick break and hammer arm. She sent out rock attack on it but he quickly dodged them with his speed. He harassed it continuously and the attack seems to have some effect as it now spit out some blood too. But Nidoqueen was an experienced battler. Giovanni has commanded her to focus on his attack patterns and take down it with strong force. But it''s quick movement only gave her time to rely on her instinct to dodge and couldn''t retaliate. Giovanni suddenly said," Freeze the ground." And it froze the entire battlefield with ice beam making it skit on the ice the attacks stopped. He fell on the ice The disrupted attack gave Nidoqueen a chance and she unleased Earth power The fallen Pokemon was now smashed with rocks and ice barrage. She then used poison tail and sailed it back to the ground. Now Electabuzz was poisoned too. Seeing that the Electabuzz was losing quickly he knew that Electabuzz can''t last long so decided to use him effectively and at least weaken Nidoqueen. Since he raised him since it was an egg, the bond between the two was very strong. He knew his character well. Electabuzz was someone who doesn''t like to retreat. He wanted to face head on and liked to test his muscles with others. This battle was a losing one he too knew. He didn''t want him to suffer but he knew it wouldn''t retreat unless he faint so for the last glory of electabuzz he used a suicidal attack. " Electabuzz , return" He glowed with a fierce red aura and he smashed onto the Nidoqueen sailing it back dozen of feet. She has now bent on her knees with wounds and pain. Although it only disrupted her movement, for the rest she was fine except some deeper bruise. As for the electabuzz it has fainted. The round 2 ended with Alex''s utter defeat. Alex lost the second round. What will be his next Pokemon and what new tricks will he use to take down this mamosian Pokemon. Chapter 59 - Final round ( Part 1) Seeing that Alex was defeated without even forcing Nidoqueen to go all out made his two friends Lance and Lorelei doubtful about his prospects of winning and were sad about this outcome. But the reaction of the a_d_u_l_ts were completely different. Giovanni was blankly looked at Alex on the outside but in the inside he knew just how powerful his Nidoqueen was. This Nidoqueen was a reserve member of his main team. Each of them as strong if not stronger than the Elite four. They all were of different types and not a single consistent type. And yet a young trainer could hurt his pokemon this much even with type disadvantage even though he raised it for years. His two pokemons were strong but lacked in battle instinct and experience, as well as slightly weaker compared to their counterpart of same level. But now his strength was worth investing upon and the results will be fruitful. He then looked at Agatha who was in deep thoughts. He knew earlier Alex was just someone worth looking at but now he is someone who should be brought to the team at any cost. Giovanni thought as a leader,'' Had I known about him earlier I would have him join us right under .e but now the chances are low. With the old coots protection he will be protected.'' Yet as a strong pokemon trainer he was looking forward to the future of this trainer. He felt like he was once again facing Red and this time he doesn''t want to lose. The two elder Trainers too knew that this Nidoqueen was a member of Giovanni main team. To reach this level already spoke greatly about his ability. Surge himself was impressed by it. Though there weren''t much electric type move used the power battle was something worth watching. Agatha on the other hand was delighted to see another old friend. The fist power of the current electabuzz couldn''t be compared to the Electrivire from the her past. If he was here, the outcome would be completely different and the Nido had to battle all out in order to survive. The last pokemon made her think what it might be? The referee said ," Challenger please send out your last pokemon." Alex pulled his last pokemons out. He threw his pokeball in the air and out came a pick bipedalism pokemons with a crown on it''s head and a red-white scarf. It was a Slowking. It looked leisurely at the people in front and just stood with it''s hand at it''s back. Although he seem leisurely the Nidoqueen took him seriously and knew that this pokemon was strong. Her instincts tell her that. All the audience as well as the contestants were waiting for the referee to start the battle. The referee too declared," Let the battle begins!" As soon as it was said, Alex declared," Surround the entire field with water." Slowking slammed it''s legs on the ground and the battlefield started to sink under it''s psychic force. Then suddenly waves of water appeared and surrounded the entire field with water. The ground was already weakened because of the manipulation of Earth by the earlier pokemons and this softened layer submerged by the pressure of Slowking psychic powers. The Nidoqueen had not got much time but it still used it''s Earth powers to raise some platform. As she was trying to raise more platform Slowking distracted her by his attacks. He sent water guns as well as psybeam to attacks. Giovanni seeing the new battlefield said," Since you were at disadvantage in terms of power, you tried to change the battlefield itself impressive." "It only worked because it was a gym battle or I don''t think you would let me try my moves. After all you could have stopped it before hand." Alex said. Giovanni didn''t say anything just smiled. " Slowking water pulse and try to prison it." " Freeze the battlefield " In the audience, " Oh no the advantage Alex had will be gone." Lorelei said. This battlefield not only favored Slowking being a water type but also put restriction on Nidoqueen''s movements. Lance just clenched his hands and the elder Trainers just looked at the battle because they knew he would have a plan got this too. In the battlefield, " Bring a tsunami" And slowking using it''s dual power of water and psychic rose the water few metres high wave and tried to smother Nidoqueen in the middle. Seeing no way of breaking through from all direction, she just rose her platform higher up. She rose a little above the tsunami waves and survived the onslaught Had the audience too weren''t showered with the water, they won''t think someone could summon a tsunami like that. Slowking subsided the attack and looked at the Nidoqueen up high in the platform. She was shocked by the attack means of these pokemons Their eyes silently clashed and both reached a little agreement that the first round was over and the next and much more explosive round is now coming next. Will the Slowking be able to defeat Nidoqueen or will Akex lose badly with not even able to take down a single pokemon? Stay tuned. To be continued... Chapter 60 - Final round (Part 2) The real battle begins now. Both the pokemons glowed with their energy powers. Nidoqueen was surrounded by a thick brown aura of ground energy meanwhile Slowking was surrounded by a pink aura of psychic energy and water control. They both clashed with their aura and guided their elemental powers. Suddenly a big golem made up of Earth about a few metres tall rose from the ground. Similarly, a big Hydra made up of water of the same height was formed. They all ran towards each other and clashed with each other. These colossal Giants were controlled by the Nidoqueen and the Slowking. The two were rooted in their spot but didn''t move a single spot but their Giants smashed the entire battlefield. They clashed, thrashed and rolled around through the ground. They themselves sent elemental attacks in each other but was nullified in the middle. In the audience, Lance looked blankly and said," My grandpa told me single truly strong pokemons is all one needs to completely destroy a city but I didn''t believe him then." " And now?" Lorelei asked with similar Expression. " Now, I believe that what he said was an understatement." he said " The powers of their attack is really amazing. I still hoped to see till what level the attack power of his electabuzz reached after seeing the power of these two pokemons." Surge just Agatha meanwhile saw things much clearer than them. They saw the brute Force of the attack power of the pokemons but she saw the elementary control. Even though it seemed Nidoqueen went all out but it still doesn''t go all out. And Slowking on the hand it matched it''s power only by using both it''s psychic and water powers. Alex has always been in a disadvantage. The only reason Pidgeot wounded Rhyhorn because Giovanni let him. He had stopped holding back after that Nidoqueen at least went 50% of her powers but it still is impressive. The pokemons who reach Elite level undergoes a qualitative upgrade in powers or there won''t be a pseudo level in between. Similarly, champion level itself is a cliff. Every big level is a huge barrier. She herself was stuck in pseudo champion level while her other friends rose to a much higher level. Agatha told them," Alex is strong but not enough to beat down Giovanni and I am sure he too knows it. I am sure he must have a killer or else he won''t use this trick for delay." " The attack of this level is a delay." Lance asked puzzled that how an attack this powerful was just a delay tactics. " Yes Delay. The higher the level one reaches the more he pays attention to the basics. These superficial moves are just for distraction and I am sure he is using this trick to prepare for his next final move." Agatha explained him. " So he still has a chance. Go Alex " Lorelei cheered Alex. " The brat has no chance, girly." Surge burst her hope. Lorelei glowered at him and said," Didn''t Agatha said Alex is preparing for an awesome attack?" " Giovanni too knows this. " He answered her. " Then why did he let him prepare." Lance asked. " Because it is a gym leader. The task of gyms is to guide and provide them with battle experience and train new trainers. They will help trainers and even try to improve them. They show off their weakness and such. This is why even though it is a trap, Giovanni let him play." Agatha clarified. "Then Alex is in trouble. We should warn him."Lorelei feared for Alex. " Who said Alex don''t know this. The brat is using Giovanni as a sharping stone. Hahahaha. " Surge boomed. Agatha nodded. " Just look at what tricks Alex has prepared for the final attack." They all turned to look at the battle. In the battlefield, Slowking was slowly acc_u_mulating the powers of the element for the final attack. He has already prepared 70 percent of the attack. Alex told Giovanni," I am ready for the final attack. I hope you are ready to take it on." Giovanni then said," Finally. This waiting was making me miserable. I really want to see what surprise you will unfold. " His eyes gleamed with anticipation. " Slowking start it" What is the anticipated attack of Slowking? what will be the final outcome of the battle? to be continued... Chapter 61 - Final Round (End) Alex said softly," Start the Rain" Slowking used rain dance and thick clouds began to acc_u_mulate around the roof of the gym even the Hydra was raised into the air. If Giovanni didn''t give Alex the time for attack, he would have lost easily. But he himself was curious. Nidoqueen too also wanted to see the ultimate attack. Then the rain clouds thickened and suddenly the rain water droplets slowly fell. " So what is your attack?" Giovanni asked " It will begin soon." Alex then told Slowking ," Begin the slaughter rain." Slowking used his psychic powers to transform the shape of drop and into needle form. As he did that, the danger scenes of Giovanni, Agatha, Surge, Gengar and Nidoqueen went haywire and Giovanni shouted ," Go all out." Nidoqueen in complete agreement with it''s trainer, summoned her entire power and shielded herself with an armour of ground and completely surrounded herself. Gengar on Agatha''s instructions surrounded themselves with a barrier for protection in case the attack is misguided. Soon the sharp water droplets fell on the bahamut armour and cut through a bit. Soon rain starts falling and everywhere the rain fell the ground had a hole. The ground was littered with hundreds of hole while the armour which suffered the attack was also filled with holes. But these holes show signs of repair. Nidoqueen continuously supplied it with Earth power to strengthen it''s power and defense. But it didn''t mean Nidoqueen was unscathed. Some drops have bypassed the defense and reached it. Now many parts of the body was bleeding. It stood strong only because of it''s physical powers and endurance. The rain continued to fall and damage the armour but the speed of recovery was slowing over time and it increased difficulty for Nidoqueen as it was getting more and more tired and was injured. It breathe heavily as soon as it felt that that he can''t last long and may even lose... But, fate seemed to favour Giovanni and suddenly Slowking fell down face first and fainted. This comical ending amazed Lorelei and Lance but Alex, Giovanni and other elder trainers knew the reason. The referee declared," Slowking is unable to battle. The Challenger''s a the three pokemons are unable to battle. The winner is The Viridian Gym leader, Giovanni." Alex just recalled Slowking and told it," It seemed we still lacked the power. This battle showed me our defects. Let''s train harder next time" and pocketed it. It too was in it''s last leg and would have been the one to lose had it not endured. Giovanni then too recalled his Nidoqueen and thought,'' Truly someone worthy of the attention of the old monsters. This attack was really devastating.'' And he shuddered This image was shocking to Lance and Lorelei but the final outcome of the attack truly terrified the a_d_u_l_t trainers. They looked at Alex as if they saw a monster. Surge just grumbled," I thought that people joked when they said a single attack can completely demolish a town. A pokemon could demolish the town but a single attack. I thought it was just exaggerating. But this brat,..no no this man,Alex showed how terrifying the Pokemons are really capable of. " Agatha by her side nodded," Indeed. Alex just before the attack reminded me of Samuel, Charles, Red and Blue. He sure will be a monster " Surge thought her earlier comparison was just a boast but now he felt she was just underestimated him. " You know, you told me he would reach champion level in a decades. I think he would reach it much earlier." Surge gave his judgement. " I hope the league pay special attention to him." and he looks at Agatha Agatha just rolled her eyes at this statement and said," Do you think I am a fool not to know that true prospects of this scale of attack. This attack is a city destroyer. And you don''t know just at what level of attention the league pays on him since he was discovered. Do you know that his Charmeleon is Samuel''s Charizard son. Now do you think we won''t pay any attention to him." Surge eyes bulged and said," His pokemons'' descendants. It really is something. Though how did it reach him." " Blaine gave it to him and told Samuel to support him." Agatha said plainly Now Surge looked at Alex with a completely different gaze and thought silently,'' He has support of two of the Elite fours and. Prof. Oak even before this. If it is revealed then even President Charles will reach out to him.'' Agatha revealed this news to shock all the people who may Target him or reach out to gain benefits of him. This news will probably pull most people down while also give him enough time to grow up. Lance and Lorelei were numbed by the scene to have any thoughts and then Giovanni did something surprising. He threw something at Alex who under reflex caught it and looked at Agatha. When he looked down to see what he threw and saw a shiny thing in the shape of a leaf with it''s upper part coloured deep green and lower with light green. It was the.... The Viridian gym badge. Why did Giovanni give Alex the badge? Stay tuned to be continued.... Chapter 62 - Aftermath " Why did you give me the gym badge?I lost the gym battle." Alex asked shocked. Giovanni just slowly came down to the field from his platform and then headed to Alex. Meanwhile the audience too came towards him. The first ones who reached him were Lorelei and Lance who ran towards Alex as soon as the battle ended. Lance reached Alex and said," That attack was so cool. Man , Alex I will not lose to you." And tried to console him," Don''t worry you will win next time and get the gym badge." But Alex just took out the gym badge and showed it to Lance Seeing this, Lorelei and and Lance were shocked and shouted," What?" " How did you get it?" " Didn''t you lose the battle?" " This is too unfair." " I will challenge him too and grab the badge." They both released their feeling by this badge. By the time the two finished their temper tantrum, the three older trainers had reached them. Surge boomed," Great job , brat,.. no no not brat, Alex. You are really worthy of me remembering your name. Especially that last attack I don''t want to be in the range of that attack." He looked at the crater filled gym field and shuddered. Lance and Lorelei too shuddered in fear of it''s attack power. Agatha asked," Alex, how did you train this move?'' He told them a little about it," I often travelled around the forest near my hometown but many times the herd of small pokemons irritated me or attacked me so I thought of having a wide range attack. I only did a few metre long cloud range attack. This is the first time I used at this scale. This attack took a lot out of Slowking so I don''t necessarily train on it much." Agatha nodded in agreement but asked another question," Did you know to what level this attack can reach?" " Of course. I already had some move ideas similar to this move. We are still to weak and even if Slowking tried his best he can only use to around 100 metres radius for a few minutes only. After that he is in coma due to lack of his mental powers. And it is not harmful for him but useful because it also trains his psychic powers control and upgrade it qualitatively." He explained. Lance eyes sparkled in delight because these gave him some ideas of a new move and Lorelei too have some thoughts. Agatha , Surge and newly arrived Giovanni knew that he didn''t reveal the entire thing but this is his own trick. Seeing Giovanni, Alex asked him angrily," Why did you give me the gym badge? I lost the match bitterly." He felt angry about it because he felt that Giovanni pitied him and tried to console him by giving the badge. Giovanni himself was an excellent face reader and already knew in which direction Alex''s thought was going," I didn''t pity you. You impressed me do I rewarded you. As for winning, the moment I sent out Nidoqueen you lost all chances of victory." Alex was contemplating his words but Lance was angry with Giovanni as he felt he insulted him so he shouted," You ..." Giovanni was unaffected by his anger and just looked at the thoughtful Alex and Agatha calmed Lance and said," That Nidoqueen was a member of the main team of Giovanni. I don''t think any gym leader other than the Waterflower could take it down without losing a single pokemons. Even some of my own pokemons are hard-pressed against it.( It is important to note that she said some of her pokemons but not her main pokemons)" This calmed Lance " but why give him the badge?" " Pokemon league tournament happens every three years. This tournament is for all the trainers below pseudo-elite level and is to find skilled trainers among the younger generation. It is also related to the reputation of the Kanto Region. If a trainer is weak and he reach this level won''t this make the league weak. So there is a certain criteria set for the trainers to be evaluated. As for what these parameters are you aren''t qualified to know. Alex reached the level needed to qualify for the badge so he was rewarded." Lance now just nodded even though he doesn''t understand some thought he was smart enough to know that to gain a badge the gym leaders need not be defeated but they must impress them enough. Alex and Lorelei too understood it and stood quietly. Agatha then told Alex," I found this battle quite entertaining so I will send a reward for you at the Oaks. Do receive it?" Alex thanked her Surge took out a booklet which had some messy handwriting on it. " This is some training for your electabuzz. Although it is strong, it''s tail is too weak. It should be trained as well so pay attention to it too." Alex too knew the problem regards to the tail but he didn''t Know how to train it so he tried to strengthen his fists. Now this manual is a great gift for Alex. He thanked him too. Giovanni too headed forward and told him," Alex, you really impressed me. The fact you can play the elements like that even if only at elementary level is still impressive for a young trainer with an insignificant background. Had it been your two friends I won''t be that impressed but you entertained me. " He threw him a pokeball. " This is the most brilliant offspring of my main pokemons. I am sure he won''t mind if I send him off to you. Train it we and do visit me later, so I can see how strong he has become under you. I should leave. Nidoqueen requires immediate health assistance" After saying that he left. Surge was shocked," You are really something to make that stoic man impressed enough to give you such a reward." He doesn''t say much though. All the young trainers want to know what he meant by the most brilliant offspring. And looked at Agatha for explaining, but she answered ," You will know later." After that all of them separated. Surge and Agatha heading deeper into the gym . Alex and his friends left the gym. What type of reward will Agatha give Alex? What is the pokemons that Giovanni gave Alex? Stay tuned. To be continued.... Chapter 63 - Parting and a new journey Alex and his friends had reached the pokemon center and are now seated at the lobby after Alex gave his three older pokemons to Nurse joy for treatment. And he also told her they fought Giovanni so that she didn''t ask him questions about how they were injured or if he abused his pokemons Nurse joy treated all the people kindly but for abusing ones they don''t offer any services. This is one of the powers they mastered over time in their services in the league alliance. He and his friends were seated in the lobby in front of each other, with the new Spheal on Lorelei''s l_a_p and Eevee on Alex''s. They were having small talks when. Lance suddenly said," Your pokemons are monsters. They completely obliterated the ground." " It wasn''t much. I didn''t win in the end. He just went easier on me, or I won''t have even a chance to attack. That attack takes a lot of preparation, energy and time." Alex said. They were taking about the " Slaughter rain". Death raining from the sky. They didn''t know that this attack was inspired by the acid rain and he wanted to use it with a water poison type but this version was just a cheap rip-off. The move he envisioned was the acid or poison toxic rain directly from the sky turned the ground into a poison wasteland and make the area completely favorable for the poison type. This was a type enhancing attack for the friends with a weakening effect on the opponent. This attack though was a complete destroyer with only single d_e_s_i_r_e of destruction. Though he did not mention his thoughts, he said," The attack is still incomplete." Then looked at Lance and Lorelei who looked a little tense and nervous asked," So why are you so nervous? Is there any problem?" " This .. ahh. Alex you know my grandpa is the elder of the clan and has connection with the league and Lorelei teacher is Pierce a johto elite four. They found about our hostage situation and called us back respectively. Grandpa also sent his Dragonite to bring us back to johto. According to them, we are too weak so we were caught in the trap and so they will personally train us so this type of situation doesn''t occur. And so we might leave soon." Lorelei was gloomy and didn''t want to separate from her friends. None of them wanted to separate after all the friendship made in dangers was stronger than others. " Oh... I see." Alex said calmly but none of them missed the underlying sadness in his voice. Eevee once again tried to lick him to soothe his mood. Alex himself was m_a_t_u_r_e and most kids his age can''t keep up with him so even in his hometown be didn''t have many friends. All his friends there were older than him. The two of them are the only ones his age so they were pretty attached.So he knew the reason for this. " They are right. We really are weak, or else would they be able to kidnap us. We should train ourselves much harder so we won''t be devastated next time like that with Fang." Alex said strongly. They all remembered how Fang demolished them before and had it not for Agatha coming to their rescue, they might suffer horribly. Alex also remembered how none of his pokemons even with type advantage could take down a single pokemons of Giovanni. These failure of the past inspired them to be stronger , much much stronger than they were now " So you won''t take part in the league tournament?" Alex asked " Of course we will take part. And at that time, I will defeat you. Mark my words." Lance said excitedly. " Yeah right. You can''t even take me on now, and by then I will leave you behind in the dust." Alex retorted. " Why you? I will annihilate you."Lance countered. " Do you even know the spelling of Annihilation?" Alex asked joking and made a twisted face " Of course. It is anihi...anniha.... anii.." Lance tried to spell out the word. For every time he made a mistake, Alex laughed loudly at him pointing him finger, while Lorelei giggled. " Hahahaha" Their pokemons too followed their trainers and laughed at Lance. " Why you? I won''t talk with you anymore." Lance glowered. " But you just talked." Alex said plainly. " When?" Lance asked puzzled now. " Just now . Hahahaha" Alex said And another round of laughter at the expense of Lance began. After the mood lightened, Alexex asked," When will he arrive?" " Tomorrow morning we will leave." Lorelei said and once again the atmosphere became miserable " It doesn''t matter. We are friends aren''t we? We will meet again in the future or even during our travelling. And if not then at the league so no need to be sad a out it."Alex tried to cheer his friends. " Yeah. We will be friends forever." Lance said " Friends forever." " Friends forever." And the two pokemons too cheered " Vvveee" " Seaalll" They all had dinner together and then they parted ways to leave for bed. After reaching the room Alex fed his pokemons based on the recipe he acquired and then went to sleep. Next morning, At ten o''clock clock , Alex left the Viridian city and started to head for pallet town as per the instructions of the mystery guys. His Friends had already left at 9 in the morning and he after seeing them off started to head of for the next round of journey. What will our hero experience in the future? Also our hero will have his first legendary pokemon meeting soon so stay tuned to be continued... Chapter 64 - The new teammates Alex is now travelling to Pallet town alone after his friends left on the Dragonite. This time he decided to go slowly and enjoy the nature be as well as train his Pokemons on both physical strength and moves. It has been half a month since Alex got the Milktank and the baltoy both of which are special Pokemons. They have special ability and knew special moves which can help them train in physical strength. Alex always believed that physical strength is important because when you can''t use moves only your physical strength could protect you. It also meant his speed increasing and having a higher endurance to take on attacks and survive. Milktank''s milk contains special nutrition which help strength the body and the more quality and nutrition rich goods it eat the more healthy her milk will be. So after having her, Alex gave her the most nutritional meal as well as best food to keep her healthy and also took special note to keep her healthy. He also had her do some exercise to keep it physically fit. He doesn''t want her to be z fighter but as an auxiliary member she must at least endure some attacks or escape the moves. She also spent much time interacting with Eevee because of low male to female ratio, she was shy against other male members but got along well with her. And , in terms of Baltoy he lucked out. He only took it because it was strong in both psychic and ground moves and its evolved form was known for being a fortress in ancient times. He also needed a tank for his team. The only Pokemon eligible for this post were the final form of Swinub, Mamoswine and Charizard. Mamoswine could take on this role as soon as it evolved but Charizard would take time after it''s scales are hardened. It is long term project to term Charizard into a tank but this is also his expectations and Charmeleon''s d_e_s_i_r_e. He wanted to clash head on his opponent and doesn''t like dodging. So he already had a vision for it''s future What made this Baltoy special was because it knew a special and rare move , Gravity. This will help strengthen the pokemons body faster and much effectively and Milktank''s milk will provide it strength. After adding a Chansey he might train them more strictly but because of a lack of healer, he was restrained. All will be solved after getting the Chansey. While traveling two interesting things happened with Alex. First was a wild female Eevee. Alex after his second day in the forest came across a wild Eevee. His Eevee found it when she was training and had her join her. Often times, we could see the two Eevee, Milktank , Butterfree and Pidgeotto chatting for hours after training. The another thing about this Eevee was it ate as much as his Swinub. Swinub ate almost as much as all his new Pokemons exclusive of Pidgeot, Electabuzz and slowking. Alex thought of catching it directly but thinking that if he did it, it might affect the relationship between the two Eevee which may Eevee affect his bond with her too. After she didn''t want to evolve into any conventional form such as Flareon, Vaporeon or even Jolteon. She wanted to be something which suit her character and kept the evolution topic pending. And most of her other evolved form needed friendship so he was a bit hesitant about it. And thought of other method, trying to bond with her too and treat her well enough to join them. He treated her similar to any of his pokemons. Earlier the new Eevee was reluctant but later she loved it as much as his own Eevee. It seemed that over time they have started a competition on who looked better and whose fur shined brighter. The one thing which puzzled him about this Eevee was she often talked to Slowking and Baltoy about some things after staying with them for a week. She is also very playful and even has a food competition with Swinub. She has wormed into the heart of all the pokemons and even him too. And she was also very interested in the egg he had. Whenever he took it out to polish it, she would looked at it as if communicating with the unborn baby. She also looked at the Mysterious book with some intent. This earlier made him thinking she was going to steal it and he made his Haunter monitor her. But the lack of action after preliminary interest made him think it as nothing. Now her main interest was on the pokemon egg. She always try to be next to it as much as possible. He didn''t know what she was doing. His pokemon egg was now shining frequently showing it might hatch any day. He was really looking forward to what type of pokemons it may be. He used Surge''s manual to train it''s tail after all he remembered Electrivire also had a strong tail. It did much tail exercise comprising of having it lift weights and strengthen the muscles as well as flexible training by using it as belt and undoning it. The pokemon which Giovanni gave was a Male Nidoran. It was at least triple the height of an average Nidoran. It''s horn was half the size of it''s head. Since meeting it was calm and disciplined but after some time, it became good friend with Swinub and Haunter. It also had a competition with the Charmeleon and often tries to challenge it in break but loses decisively. It often has a retaliation with Charmeleon by pranking which he got from Haunter. Both of them comprised the prank duo of the group. Of course he too knew the horror of Eevee when he pranked her. She had nailed it straight on it''s face with shadow ball making it sail through the air. Since then he was afraid of her and act very disciplined in front of her. Alex let th see small things happen as it keeps the things entertaining. Suddenly when he was making food for his pokemons, a roar of Charmeleon attracted his attention and when he turned he saw his pokemon egg glowing brightly. A the pokemons surrounded it with smaller pokemons like the two Eevee, Swinub and Nidoran in the front and Pidgeot at the back. Soon the eggs shown brighter and then something was revealed. It was .... What pokemons is released and where did this mysterious Eevee came from? Stay tuned to be continued.... Chapter 65 - The Newborn When the bright light faded it revealed not one but two pokemons They were humanoid Pokemon with a white body. It has thin arms and legs that widen toward the feet. There is a wispy extension trailing off the back of its feet, creating the overall impression of a nightgown or oversized dress. Most of its face is covered by green hair that resembles a bowl cut, but a pair of pinkish red eyes is sometimes visible. There are two flat, red horns on top of its head: a large one toward the front and a smaller one at the back. It was a ralts or to be more precise Ralts twins. As soon as as they were born they saw Alex and regarded him as his parents. They then quickly flew towards him via psychic and hugged him by the neck. They both dangled on his neck by their small arms and Alex''s used his arms to secure them. All his pokemons too looked at the young newborns and sweetly greeted them with smile. They all were elated to see the young pokemons even Charmeleon who always had a grumpy look on his face tried to smile at them to greet them and make them at ease I his presence but it served an opposite as his smile was more scary than his normal expression The two younglings started to cry in fear of him which angered the female pokemons who glared at him with His Eevee started to shout at him for scaring them and started firing some nasty looking shadow balls He tried to calm her by saying he was just trying to greet them but she didn''t listen. Even his other pokemon friends ignored his plea for help but none intervened. They also tried to imitate her but they only made the surrounding small rocks float via their psychic powers Alex noticed that they were quiet powerful in terms of their psychic energy. They both had already this much power to affect the surrounding even when Slowking tried to subdue their powers. When he saw that they were Ralts he had his Slowking make sure they don''t hurt other pokemons by their wild attacks for their entertainment. He has heard that newborns usually attack the people around just for fun and to also get better grasp of their powers Yet the fact they could still affect the surrounding with a strong and experienced psychic pokemon like Slowking tells tale of their power When he was thinking these he didn''t notice the wild eevee''s eyes glowing along with the two young ralts. They all were too focused on the young ones and the entertainment in form of Charmeleon and Eevee. After that he asked Miltank to fill the milk bottle for the two pokemons to drink. They were just born and much energy was used by them to break the shell and now they needed energy to sustain the loss. He has already raised Charmander from an egg but he hasn''t much experience in this field and after it hatched he quickly took him to the pokemon center for check up. He feared what might happen to it if he wasn''t careful so he made note to ask her in Viridian city. She told him that the newborn pokemons develop quickly much faster than humans. They will be in the juvenile stage for some days at most ten and in case of Dratini it is a month or more. The young can''t eat solid food in this time because it might affect their digestive system. They should be fed fluid meal because it could be easily digested. They should be given as much nutritional meal as possible so that their immune system is strong and they won''t suffer in the future. These may seem quite simple but according to nurse Joy''s estimate it will cost a few million just in these days taking care of it. This is why most people don''t look out for eggs even if they are more loyal than freshly caught ones. He gave them their bottle which they quickly devoured and demanded more. What Alex doesn''t know was they were undergoing a change and they needed much energy for it . He felt they spent lots of energy in breaking the egg shell and are now supplementing that energy. So he asked Miltank to give them as much milk as they need and he will make her favorite as a reward. The d_e_s_i_r_e to take care of the young and the incentive of reward revitalized it''s energy and she worked with twice the vigour. The young ones were cared by the older pokemons and were gems in their eyes. The older male pokemons tried to impress them with their powers and the female played with them. Alex decided not to travel until they overcome the juvenile stage. He noticed that the two pokemons were of two gender: a male and a female. It seems he would be having both Gardevoir and Gallade on the future. He has lessened the intensity of training of his pokemons in case a stray attack harmed them The two Eevee often followed them and. also guided them whenever necessary. It was that after Alex who was their parent and Miltank which gave them delicious milk whenever they wanted, these two were the closest. They also tried to imitate the Eevee whenever she scolded them or something. She was an idol to them, she also liked them worshipping her. She felt that their team had enough brutes and now some sensible pokemons would be good welcome. She pledged to make sure that the brute behavior or the naughtiness of Haunter and nidoran won''t reach them. If they influence her young underlings there would be hell to pay. Meanwhile the wild Eevee often looked at them with glowing eyes which was later caught by Slowking but he didn''t interfere when he saw it didn''t affect the young ones adversely but made their psychic energy stronger and more refined. He didn''t even tell Alex about it in case he took it wrong and just continue to monitor them quietly. Unknown to Slowking, Alex too found it odd but with him overseeing things and having no change in pokemons other than their ever increasing appetite nothing happened. So the things went on. The wild eevee too knew about their surveillance but since they did not interfere she let I be after all the process will end soon. What is this wild Eevee doing? And what will happen at the end of the process? Stay tuned to be continued.. Chapter 66 - Surprise It has been almost ten days since the young Ralts have been born and it was quiet eventful. Unlike the calm and quiet Charmander, these two young Ralts were very naughty. They had a very special egg move, shadow sneak. They often used it to play a game of tag with each other and would wander off. Had it not been for his Haunter also proficient in it, Arceus knows where they might run off to Ralts was strong in psychic energy too and had always used it tease other pokemons. They either used confuse ray to confuse them and had fun seeing them make a fool of themselves. Some cooperated with them but others like Charmeleon and Swinub were quite destructive. Charmeleon smoothers the area with flames and Swinub freezes the entire place. Had it not been for joint effort of Haunter and Slowking, they might have suffered and this left a shadow in the female Ralts heart but the male one was angry at them for scaring his sister and told them that he will beat them up when he grew up. For the attack of Swinub and Charmeleon, Alex too criticized then and punished them based on the reason that even a young pokemons could affect you and how will you react if an a_d_u_l_t used such means. This shut them up. He told them that he is using these random attacks to test their instincts. And the young ones continued their fun at others expense. Alex also used Slowking to open the book of psychic and found some interesting means for training the psychic types. It states that: ''psychic powers are easily controlled if the pokemons are using it regularly. This make them aware of their powers and help them later in case of bigger attacks. '' So Alex just let them use their pranks as means of practice. Now that they are young so he can''t train physical or may damage their young bodies. after punishing Swinub and Charmeleon by having them run twenty l_a_p_s of the practice ground of radius 100 metre under the high gravity of Baltoy, he told them," You can have your fun but only if you use your psychic energy or else you can''t." he tried to be stern with them. This scared the young ones and they agreed and the practice continues. Whenever they were tired of the pranks under the secret guiding of Haunter and Nidoran. This increased their pranking and they used psychic, confuse ray, teleport as well as shadows sneak to test new new pranks on the pokemons. Even Alex did not escape them. One day they were trying to raise a boulder about two metres tall. They weren''t able to do it alone but with their combined powers they were able to do it. They made this rock float in the air just above them. All the pokemons attention was attracted to the noise made in doing it. Alex had motioned his pokemons to be ready in case something happens. On this, Electabuzz has already entered the thunder mode and Pidgeot was also ready. Only they were capable of handling it, without affecting them as fir others might hurt them. Similar to Alex expectations, they couldn''t control it for long and it started to fall on them. They screamed in fear and the ready pokemons started to act. Electabuzz to pull them of harms way and Pidgeot to sent the rock away using hurricane but before them someone else acted. He slammed onto the rock destroying it in the process and in place of the big rock was a pink, bipedal Pok¨¦mon with mammalian features. Its snout is short and wide, and it has triangular ears and large, blue eyes. It has short arms with three-fingered paws, large hind legs and feet with oval markings on the soles, and a long, thin tail ending in an ovoid tip. It was a mew. On seeing it, all the elder pokemons were shocked on it''s appearance while the young ones were surprised by the arrival of it. Alex has noticed that the wild Eevee glowed and then disappeared and then mew appeared. Alex heard from some texts that mew often transform into other pokemons to play around . To see her was a shocking experience and it also clarified the doubts that whatever it was doing wasn''t harmful to the Ralts. She is one of the most amiable pokemons unless angered. She is ranked just below Arceus in terms of prestige. Alex on seeing her went to it and said," Thank you for helping mew." And Alex took out a sweet berry. On seeing this berry she was happy and floated around the air swiftly and took the berry and started eating happily. This gave enough time for the other pokemons to overcome the shock from the surprise appearance and started to head for Mew. Mew having spent time with Alex knew he was good so she sat on his shoulder with it''s tail wrapping around his waist and looked at him cutely asking for more berries. Alex took so e more out of his pockets and gave her and she ate them happily while Alex thought,'' So many people spend years to search for Mew, yet couldn''t have a glimpse of her and here she sat on his shoulder happily munching on berries. Alex was thinking why she would appear here or she spent so much time with them and he asked," Mew, why did you join us to travel as the wild Eevee?" Mew looked at him for sometime and then a soft feminine voice rang in his head,''... Why did she travel with them? Stay tuned to be continued.... Chapter 67 - Powers awakened '' Because I was bored. I had nothing to do in there. So I wanted to see what was going on around. So I came here and met you.'' She replied telepathically and patted herself for giving such a great excuse. Alex though didn''t think this was the case. He didn''t believe himself to be as lucky as Ash that he would meet a legendary pokemon that easily. His inner hunch told him that her arrival is related to the book he got. So he gave her a stern look and asked her Abit harshly, which confused his pokemons and thought as if their trainer was fine or did something happened," Are you sure this is it. and it isn''t related to the book." His gaze frightened her and she meekly said," Meeeeww ww mmmm. " He was puzzled but his pokemons understood her and looked at her with surprised Expression and the naughty ones like Haunter and Nidoran laughed loudly and other calm ones had slight smile on their faces. This angered mew and she glowered at them and twisted her face in opposite direction. " Mew can you repeat again?" he asked '' I came here because of the book. He told me he had all his recipe stored in the book and when you opened it, I felt it. I thought if I stayed with you and bonded you will feed me more delicious food. The food you gave me was better than most I find out but not good enough. So now give me my favorite.'' She said while hanging by his collar. She is regarded as the second oldest pokemon after Arceus. He calmly told her," Mew I can''t do that. The book mentioned that the better recipe was in other power books and I don''t know how to get it."he told her. Mew was thunderstruck by this. She has waited so long for it and now when she was so near the goal she had to wait for more. I can choose one but it might take sometime. But don''t worry as soon as I get it I will cook it for you." This didn''t better her mood and she gloomly floated around. This was heart wrenching to see her like that not only for him but his pokemons as well. They were angry to the point they glared at him. And they had never done that He didn''t know whether it was the fact that he made a cute pokemon like mew sad or that her sadness made some changes in them due to genetic property. This is a matter for later talks. The talk of the Eevee and mew, Eevee said," Don''t worry. No matter how lazy my trainer is he is still deligently if he focuses. Leave it to us we will make him work hard." Mew said sadly," Bit I waited so long. I still remember how soft it was, sweet and how it dissolved in my mouth as soon as I ate it. Ahhh " she made such facial expressions that it incited the d_e_s_i_r_e for it in others. Eevee too was turning hungry and said m_a_t_u_r_ely ," Even if we want it we can''t do it. That big Pidgeot told us how difficult it is to master the energy for it and for a human it will be even tougher. He will take a decade without proper guidance if he wants to master the powers. unless one can let him awake the power forcefully." Eevee said Something which Eevee said perked her senses and she looked at Eevee intently and asked"What did you just say?" " It will take decades to master the powers." " No no after that " he asked excited " Unless forcefully awakened." " Yeah I got it. Thanks Eevee. " She hugged her and then happily floated in the air " It''s alright." Eevee said back. Alex who saw this was puzzled about what Eevee told mew that made her so happy. But before he could ask anything mew flew towards him and put her glowing hands on his head and suddenly as if a dam has erupted, A blue energy erupted from Alex It blew like a storm and and the weak trees in the surrounding trees broke, and the smaller pokemons were blew back by the wind. The older pokemons guarded the young Ralts from the wind. Alex who was undergoing the change now was completely unaware of the effect he has on the surrounding and he was relishing in the joy of the powers He was feeling the powers he now had and he felt with it he could even destroy a boulder twice his height. Suddenly Mew''s voice rang in his mind,'' ''Quickly control the aura and take it back into your body or you might die due to lack of life energy.'' This alarmed him and he tried to control it and after Much effort he did it. Alex then looked at mew looking for answer,'' Eevee told me you can learn energy easily of awakened forcefully and I remember he put my favorite recipe on the aura book so I did it. who knew you know nothing about it and might die if I didn''t listen . Now quickly get me my favorite.'' She said the last sentence forcefully. And a book flew towards him and on seeing it was a aura book. On contact the book glowed and it opened. He wanted to see what this book might offer but because of Mew enthusiasm he quickly went for recipe. On recipe page there was a special note: '' These recipes are what which help pokemons become stronger and more energized but they become more wild and are more keen towards battle as side effects Of course if your pokemon reach a certain level they might have no effect on them. Also, I tricked mew to bless my books or else how will you get such benefits. After all don''t worry. Benefits such these has no effect on world and she won''t bother unless they are world destroying level. My whole town level destroying things are but toys to her too so don''t have much guilt. So I as your supreme master I want you to milk as much benefits from her as possible. The greatest alchemist.'' This made him think of the scene with this guy tricking mew with food and getting blessing. He then looked up from the book and show mew looking at him intently and told her," I don''t have some things so I can''t cook it now. if you want..." Not letting him finish " tell me what you need and I will get it." she said aggressively. After that she teleported and soon returned with all the berries and some extra and then Alex told," I will head now. you all behave." So mew following him for food. Let''s she what happened next. Stay tuned Chapter 68 - Pallet town After cooking the food, all the pokemons happily ate their food and the young Ralts were curious but Alex had warned his pokemons if they feed them solid food, he won''t cook next time and they will only get berries as food. Although reluctant The twins drank their milk. And the most happy of all was mew, who ate while floating around happily. She was enjoying herself. If course as fee for cooking her food, Alex let her train his Slowking and the two Ralts in psychic powers After all she was the most powerful psychic pokemon in the world and even if Mewtwo was was stronger then her in psychic he wasn''t powerful enough compared to her. She was able to tie with an enraged Mewtwo while protecting others and the only partial casualty was Ash and he directly ran in between their attacks. He also tricked her into getting various aura guardian attire like his staff and glove as well as some rare berries too. He thought of having them grow in his home so he won''t have to worry about them later. He also said that she could come to him whenever she wanted to eat but she must bring some berries or something important for his pokemons in return. She happily agreed after things precious to him were probably useless to her and are stored in bulk somewhere. As for why he didn''t try to catch her was because he wasn''t strong enough firstly. Secondly, he felt he tried it the friendship between them will be destroyed and thirdly, she is the guardian of the tree of beginning and it has great values. The legend has it that the roots of this tree is so deep that it ties the continent together and if it perishes there might be high chance that the continent itself might fragment. Mew stayed with them for few more days and then she left after teaching Slowking something and how to help Ralts in their training. After that they too left and headed for the pallet town. Pallet town was the hometown of Samuel oak. One of the greatest researcher of all times. He is known for his love of Pokemon and does most of his research on the bonds between humans and pokemons. Most people have even forgotten his other great achievement in light of his glorious deeds in the field of research. He is the shortest Champion in the history of Kanto. Shortest for the reason that he directly retired from the post as soon as he got it. Champion is the seat of supreme power in a region and the only ones who can turn their judgement are the president of the pokemon league and the joint decision of all the other elite can only make him think twice his decision. He rejected the post because of his love for research. He also has two champion students under his protege: Red Ketchum and Blue Oak. They are the ones who defeated the current champion but after sometime retired to do their own work. In the light of the three champion Arising from Pallet town, this town is also called ''The Champion Town''. Many people yearn to live here but because of the strict surveillance noone can disturb people here. All people who want to live here had to undergo the strict check of Samuel oak. He is known as one of the kindest person in the world but noone dares to anger him. There is a legend that once the Unova region top levels did something that angered him and he took his Dragonite and Charizard to destroy all the towns of Unova region After that he was only given lifetime ban from entering Unova and other than this no other punishment was given. This incident always reminds people of the monster hidden behind that relaxing smile. Of course whether it is true or false he doesn''t know but he know that someone like him as he is now has no power to resist his anger if it is directed on him. This town was a small town even smaller than his hometown with only a little under fifty household living here. The most important reason for most people''s d_e_s_i_r_e of living here is that it can be the most secure of all the places in Kanto. Only the league headquarters can be as secure as this place and only with the Presence of president Charles Goodshow After all the pokemons of three champion level pokemons was stationed here. After entering the town he first headed to the only pokemon center in the town and then rested his pokemons. After that he headed for the Professor Oak''s laboratory. The laboratory didn''t have much security in terms of technology and equipment but had only a three feet tall wooden fence. In the ranch of the laboratory you can see many types of Pokemon roaming around. When he was passing by the fence to the main laboratory, some rapidash and Ponyta came to look at him. After reaching the lab he rang the bell and a six year old cute girl in green frock opened the door. She only took out her head to look at him and shyly asked," Who are you? What are you doing here?" " I an Alex Bart from Floral Town. Agatha asked me to come here along with other things." He replied. " Oh grandma Agatha sent you. Come on . I will take you to grandpa." On hearing Agatha''s name, she confidently said and pulled him inside. Normally Alex would think the security of the lab and area was too slack had it not been for the almost untraceable scan of his done via psychic. He has been scanned at least three times or that many times he counted and was aware of. " By the way, I am Daisy Oak . Nice to meet you." She introduced herself then opened the door. In the room there were many big machines and computers. There are few people working on their projects and among there was the man who stood among all the others. He was the guy Alex wanted to surpass of all others. He was a older man around fifty and had greyish brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a red shirt and brown pants with a white lab coat. He seemed ordinary but the people who know him would never consider him that. He reached the peak in both the fields of research and battle. This was the legendary Samuel Oak. How will his first Meeting with Prof. Oak go? Stay tuned to be continued.... Chapter 69 - Battle the monster(part 1) " Who might you be?" Professor Oak asked kindly. Not waiting for him to answer, his granddaughter answered," Grandpa he is Alex. Grandma Agatha sent him." On hearing it, his eyes widened for a second," So you are Alex. I heard much about you. Sorry for not introducing myself, I am Samuel Oak. I welcome you to my Laboratory." He introduced " Hello professor. I am Alex Bart from Floral town." " so you didn''t come just because of Agatha did you. " He asked mysteriously " How did you know? Yes I got a Charmander egg once and I was told I will be told about him here. " He answered truthfully. After all for someone this strong it is foolish to be lie after all they already know some and hiding these would only create differences. " Yes that pokemon egg I gave that man." " So do you know him?" " What pokemon egg ? Grandpa" The Young oak was confused by the whole talk between the two. Professor looked at Alex as if asking for permission and then said," He has an egg he got from someone I know. Who told him that if he could reach here safely then his pokemons will get stronger." " Yes. I don''t know what to do. I am thinking of how the evolution of Charmeleon will affect him later. If him flying would change his battle style and others. So I came here. And to meet you was a bonus." " Haha don''t mind. I can help you with it. But for that we must head to my backyard. If you don''t mind." "No I don''t mind." And they headed towards the back of the lab. Now at the backyard of Oak''s laboratory, There was a middle aged brown haired man who wore black shirt and blue pants. He was feeding the pokemons there. Alex noticed that the food they ate was of higher quality than the ones he make from the recipe he got in the black market. His assumption was confirmed that the bigger and strong get the family or background is the better resources and facilities they get. He was curious about this person''s identity because he was now feeding a herd of Nidos led by two Nidoking and Nidoqueen. Alex felt all four of them are at least as strong as his Pidgeot. Suddenly the little girl by their side shouted," Daddy" And she ran towards him. And the man took her in a hug and hoisted her up the ground. He had her sit on his shoulder and came towards them. This also revealed his identity. He was Blue Oak. The only son of the great Samuel Oak. He was one of the strongest trainer alive. Meeting him here put a lot of pressure on Alex. Blue''s eyes met Alex and suddenly Alex felt he was in the presence of an Apex predator who would kill him any second. All instinct told him he Should run. He was reminded of the devastating defeat with Fang and Giovanni and in the presence of a man Mich stronger than them he has no chance. After a while the feeling disappeared as if it was never there. The young girl was unaware of it but the four Nido nearby as well as professor saw all. This amazed the Nido that someone so young could have him like that. Alex back was drenched with sweat with this minute encounter. " Who is he dad?" Blue asked his father. " He is Alex Bart. " He replied easily " is he now? I got to say he is good not as good as me or Red but better than the others " He said c_o_c_kily. Seeing him say like that reminded Alex that the c_o_c_kiness of Gary probably came from him " I approve." "''I approve ''. What does this mean ?"Alex asked "Agatha asked me to provide you protection and to help you. This episode now was a test of Blue to see of you are eligible or not and you passed." Samuel answered. " Just like that " he was still shocked. " Don''t think that it is easy. not many could stand me like you did." Blue said " Now onto next thing. "Samuel then looked at Blue who nodded at him. " If you want to know the heritage of your pokemons you must battle me. I don''t want you to defeat me. Just impress my Pokemon and you win " Soon a loud roar came and two pokemons flew through the air and came in front of them. It was a humongous Charizard and a Dragonite They both were at least four times bigger than average ones. "You will battle my Charizard." This shocked Alex. He was now infront of Pokemon of legends. The pressure from. them was much greater than Blue''s He also noticed some Pokemon came towards them too probably to see why they appeared. Alex took a deep breath and said, " I am ready." Samuel and Blue were once again impressed by Alex. Not many dare to challenge if they knew that the odds of their victory is almost zero. They saw in him the presence of the strong. The strong didn''t hide from the ones stronger than them. They are in awe for the other strong than them but not afraid The young Daisy was happy to see a battle. Most times she wasn''t allowed because she might get hurt and now she can see the battle she was thrilled. They then went to a clearing nearby. To be continued.... Chapter 70 - Battling the monster(part 2) Alex and Prof oak stood in front of each other on opposite sides and with only Charizard present in the middle On the side, Blue stood as the referee with Daisy by her side along with Dragonite And other pokemons such as Arcanine, Alakazam, Golem and many powerful pokemons all stronger than Alex''s current strongest were there surrounding the clearing. But Alex gaze was fixed on only Charizard. In these days in the guidance of mew, the strength of his pokemons grew greatly. She was able to point out the defects in the moves and help them better understanding of their powers. So Alex too want to see till what level they have reached. He knew he has no chance of victory but that doesn''t mean he won''t even try. He is now in front of his goal and he wants to see the gap between him and his goal. Blue as the referee declared," This a six on one battle between Samuel Oak and Alex Bart. Please release your pokemon." Alex threw his pokeball and electabuzz was released. In the last battle type disadvantage limited his powers and couldn''t go all out. Seeing the electabuzz in front, Samuel and blue smiled. They were able to see that the pokemon was strong and healthy. His fur sparkled and his arm power was also strong. They could see the muscles and can see his much he exercised. " Since all the pokemons are released. Let the battle begin" As soon as he said that, Alex said," Thunderstorm" Immediately a big thunder emerged from him and flew into the sky. Then the storm clouds started to acc_u_mulate. soon a black cloud covered the entire ranch and lightning struck on them. The sound of lightning scared Daisy and young pokemons around but the battle experienced pokemon just looked. Charizard and Samuel just looked at all this calmly undeterred by this. " Now thunder force." Electabuzz was surrounded by electric powers and stood proud looked at Charizard. He similar to Alex knew he has no chance of victory. His instincts warned him ever since he appeared in front of him but he still decided to try. " Commence it." Soon Electabuzz as if teleported appeared in front of him and attacked with thunder punch barrage. Daisy who saw this attack feared for her grandpa''s Charizard. She often played with the pokemons of her grandpa and father. She was close to them too so she was afraid but her father said," This level of attack won''t affect him." All these attacks were devastating. They could severely damage any pokemon but the pokemon in front was a monster among even monsters. His scales took on all the attacks but not a single bruise appeared. Even the punches hit square on his face were ineffective. It seemed the one in front wasn''t really a Charizard but a rock type. These continuous chain of moves started to irritate the monstrous Charizard and soon he flapped his wings The wind generated by it created a strong tornado around and threw electabuzz in the air. Electabuzz managed to balance himself in the air and landed safely. The winds sharpness had wounded him and blood started to fall from him " This attack can''t even make him take a step back." Samuel said. Although they appeared calm neither Him nor Blue were calm. The level of attack in a new Trainer and one who doesn''t know the true power of the world surprised them. The older pokemons started to look at him with a different gaze. The pokemons who knew Alex and his Electrivire were looking forward to it. The Charizard roared at electabuzz,'' Attack like you mean it. I am not some weak fool on whom you hold back. Show me your all might.'' He felt the electabuzz in front was a disgrace to the Electrivire he knew and so he wanted to see if he held back or not. Alex seeing the attack being ineffective simply said," The pokemon of the old monsters is a monster itself. Electabuzz the space here is open. Go wild. I am sure that the others will stop the attack if it loses control." Hearing this Blue said," Don''t worry. I will handle it." On hearing it, Alex eyes blazed with excitement," Finally, we can go all out without worrying about the consequences." Electabuzz too was shaking in excitement. Samuel and Blue''s eyes were attracted on them. Blue may not know but Samuel knew that Alex doesn''t Bragg. " Go Overdrive" As soon as he said that A large thunder fell on Electabuzz. He was now completely sparkling with thunder Earlier in thunder mode current moves around the body but now his fur absorbed all the powers and accelerated his speed. Suddenly as if lightning he nailed a kick on his back but was blocked by a hand. He similarly attacked him at it''s various blindspots but none connected and were all blocked. After some moves the older trainers were able to see the moves details,'' This attack increased his speed and power. But because of it''s high speed Electabuzz can''t control them at will so he predetermines the moves he uses before and the attacks will follow the same pattern even if it fails.'' This may be a deadly trick but it wasn''t much to them. Once again He was thrown back. Electabuzz was more and more thrilled. This attack was very deadly for others. The only ones who are his equal in the team because of type weakness he can''t use in case it will hurt them too badly. " Continue to harass him and prepare the bolt." Alex said. Electabuzz on hearing continued the previous moves but still ineffective on him. Soon the pokemons and the older Trainer felt something and looked at the sky. In the sky amidst the black clouds was thunder acc_u_mulating at a spot. This may be his final move . They thought. The thunder which may destroy anything in it''s path doesn''t seem threatening to them " Thunder wrath" Soon a big bolt of thunder as wide as the clearing itself fall on the middle but Charizard was quick and soon shot a flame column in the air and cancelled it out. The flames were so hot that Alex standing opposite was drenched in sweat and even Electabuzz near by Charizard got blisters from heart even with his Overdrive mode. Alex who saw the attack knew just that he wasn''t going all out in those flames. He was strong. Of course electabuzz before fainting attacked at last with hyper beam. It only gave a cut on it''s belly and only a single drop fell on the ground but this cut made all the people acknowledge the power of Electabuzz. " Electabuzz has fainted. Send out your next pokemon" Blue said. He looked forward to what he could do . Alex calmly recalled Electabuzz and then sent out Haunter First round was easily won by Charizard yet why did he send Haunter now? Stay tuned to be continued... Chapter 71 - Regaining Resolve Then he told his Haunter, " Did you see the slight scratch on it''s belly, that''s all electabuzz was able to do." Haunter knew why his trainer told him that. In their team, Electabuzz has the strongest fighting power. Neither Pidgeot nor Slowking could take it''s strongest move and last long. Haunter just floated on and looked at the Charizard. " Begin" " Curse" Alex hoped that it might work but as soon as it started Charizard glowed red and destroyed it. This showed him that fire can burn anything. " Shadow cube" This is the current strongest attack of Haunter. It is made up of shadows energy along with poison. It was also only move of Haunter which might affect him. Alex has no hope that Haunter might defeat him or even wound him if electabuzz can''t and he only hope to give him a status problem. This could lower the pressure on others. Soon the cube formed was thrown on Charizard yet again he didn''t move. As soon as it came in contact, the cube expanded and completely surrounded Charizard. Haunter was flung and he too fainted just like that. And Charizard appeared same as earlier. " Haunter is unable to battle. Please send your next pokemon." Blue said. Daisy by her father''s side was puzzled on how Charizard won and asked her father," Father how did Charizard win?" He just patted her head and said," You will know later." None of the tricks in the field was hidden from his eyes. He thought,'' This monster hasn''t weakened even after so many years.'' Alex was still calm outside but on the inside he was freaking out, he just didn''t see any hope. Nothing was working nothing even make this monster take a step back. Alex was losing his spirit. He knew he didn''t stand a chance yet here this monster wasn''t even moving or attacking actively and yet he loses so badly. He didn''t even have a courage to send out the other pokemons. His electabuzz has strongest attack in his team while Haunter though not as strong as others excelled in poison and curses. Next to him, stood Eevee. She has made a habit of travelling by Alex on foot instead of in the pokeball. She too saw how the brute and the comedian in the team couldn''t even make the monster move. She saw her Trainer losing hope and she would be dammed if it happened. She quickly went into the field and challenged Charizard. Her act attracted all the attention. The elder Trainers like Samuel and blue knew about the pressure Alex was experiencing and this was the objective of Samuel. He wanted to see how he handled it. He felt soon Alex will admit defeat but who knew their was such spirit in the young pokemon. Pokemons have stronger instincts compared to humans. Just by standing around a pokemon they knew the gap. Some lose all hope in the face of absolute disparity. And here a Eevee who was much weaker than the other two came to challenge Charizard this was impressive to say the least. Alex however wasn''t impressed he feared for Eevee and quickly shouted," Come back Eevee. You can''t take on someone like him. We will admit defeat. " But She just looked at him defiantly and then turned at Charizard and then it glowed white. This phenomenon surprised all. In place of a brown Eevee stood a quadruped, mammalian Pok¨¦mon with slender legs and dainty paws. It is covered in fine, lilac fur.Its ears are large, and it has purple eyes with white pupils. There are tufts of fur near its eyes, and a small, red gem embedded in its forehead. It also has a thin forked tail. It was an Espeon. After evolving she turned to look at Alex. He was shocked by the strange move of Eevee earlier but her surprising evolution reminded Alex. If they lose courage now, he might lose the courage of battling the strong. The one in front is the real top of the world unlike the champion who are just the publicly declared strongest. Just like Eevee evolved now he should use it to evolve his heart and become fearless. Thinking things careful is important but to face challenge and erupt victorious is what strong strives for In this battle he can never backdown. He can lose but not admit defeat. Alex knew if he admitted defeat he could never overcome the shadow in his heart and never reach the peak Now he has got the heart of strong. One can lose but not backdown. Of course Charizard also did something surprising. He just took a few steps back. Seeing this strange behavior, Blue asked ," What happened dad?" Samuel just smiled and said," Don''t worry. He was just surprised. When we were young a Espeon badly beated him and disciplined him according to her. That shadow hasn''t recovered till now. " '' I still remember how he acted in front of her and irritated her. She had him hang in the air and made him fall many times. He was so scared of it that he got a phobia of heights after that.Only I remember how much effort I took to help him fly.'' Charizard just growled in hearing that and all others just found it strange. The pokemons who were there at that time like Dragonite also laughed mirthfully with her trainer even Alakazam''s mustache shared around showing he too found it funny. Blue then just looked at them strangely and then asked Alex," Are you ready or will you admit defeat?" Alex just answered,"I will lose but won''t admit defeat. Let show them our will Espeon." " Espeon" Now that Alex has regained his spirit, Alex once again ready to challenge the unsurmountable mountain in front to be continued... Chapter 72 - Facing the parent "Espeon psybeam. " A colourful beam of light flew towards Charizard and hit him but yet again no effect. This didn''t bother them. " Swift and confusion" Soon she sent out stars from her mouth while used psychic to attack him with rocks. He has her use every move she knew. From tackle to swift to psychic and even hyper beam. These still has no effect and lastly he resorted to "Return" She gathered all her energy and attacked him and a dust cloud rose obscuring their vision. Once the dust settled, Espeon''s fainted body laid down and something surprising happened. Charizard that hasn''t even moved a single step was forced to slide back a few steps. This outcome shocked Blue. Samuel too was shocked though not as much as Blue. He thought,''Even so young yet still the same as that time. You will lose but won''t admit defeat. And the Espeon, she still is as tough as ever.'' Charizard, Dragonite and Alakazam were amazed at her strength and the bond. Meanwhile blue thought,'' Their bond is really impressive." Alex recalled Espeon and said," Thanks for everything girl. Don''t worry I won''t admit defeat." Seeing the shiny Pidgeot Blue and Daisy were amazed. Daisy asked her father," Dad why is that Pidgeot different?" " It is a shiny Pidgeot. Some Pokemon have different coloration compared to most. They are also stronger than their average counterpart." " Pidgeot Summon the storm" Soon he flew in the sky and loudly cawed. The winds started to blow quickly and soon the clouds were acc_u_mulated. " Pidgeot Normal attacks won''t have any effect on him. Lets use our strongest move." " Storm Sphere" All the surrounding strong wind started to acc_u_mulate on the talons of Pidgeot in the form of a ball. It was slowly growing it about half a metre in radius and then the wind quiets down. "Blue protect Daisy" "On it dad" Blue felt the power of the move and took Daisy behind him and the Dragonite and Alakazam stood on the front "Attack" Alex roared He took the sphere with it''s talon and flew towards Charizard. The sphere on contact expanded and a strong wind blew in all directions. This wind threw back Pidgeot and he fainted. The Charizard was in direct collision was surrounded by it. Sharp wind blades were moving around the entire filled It scarred the entire battleground. Dragonite stood in front of blue and Alakazam erected a barrier to protect them. The surrounding ones too used their own moves for protection. Soon the wind subsided. Even the Audience was injured and some bled but they didn''t focus they wanted to see how the target was. A crater was formed around Charizard and in the center he stood This text he too had some cuts and few blood drops fell on the ground. Prof. Oak commented," it was an impressive attack." "But it also wounds my Pokemon too."Alex said Alex has recalled Pidgeot. "So lets get on with the next one. Go Slowking" Alex didn''t pay attention to anything around. In his vision only Charizard and Samuel were present. As soon as he appeared Alex said," Summon the rain and bring the Sharpedo." He started rain dance and rain started to fall. The rain fell heavy and Slowking used the psychic to acc_u_mulate the rain water. A few metres long Sharpedo floated on the air and in it''s middle was the Slowking guiding it. Blue thought,'' Just earlier he was going to admit defeat and now he keeps sending out attacks after attacks. He is a madman. He doesn''t even think what happens to others since then.'' " Rip him " The giant Sharpedo hearing the command floated towards Charizard with it''s jaws ready to tear him apart As soon as it was going to bite him Charizard stopped it''s jaws with brute Force. But Alex wasn''t affected he just said," Disperse" Soon the Sharpedo disperses and a number of smaller Sharpedo started to attack him while floating. They numbered quite a lot. This move affected him too as some injured places were really being ripped by their bites and wounds enlarges. And Charizard for the second time breathe out flames and turned all water into steam. Slowking didn''t last and fainted from burns. Alex recalled Slowking thanking him " This attack is really terrifying. " " It isn''t complete yet. I was trying to reduce the size and increase numbers more. This will make it more effective." Alex calmly said " Yes that way it will be really more effective. An area wide attack as well as a multiple target attack.",Samuel summarized. "Since it is final pokemon I hope he will be as entertaining as others. " He didn''t reply and released a pokemons " Go Charmeleon." "Meet your father Charmeleon "Alex knew This sentence shocked many but none more than Charmeleon and Blue. " So you knew." Samuel asked " The presence of male Charizard and female Dragonite as well as you saying that I have to impress him. It took some time but I was able to understand. It was a test on how I raise my Pokemon as well how strong he has gotten. So Charmeleon himself will show his ability." Blue meanwhile thought,'' Dad''s Charizard and Dragonite''s son is him. I am sure it will be a monster too like his parent with sure a trainer. Damm, I really want to battle him..I know that madman Red will too wanna do it. A new opponent. No I have to wait. There is still time. We have to let him grow. '' After the battle so far, Blue regarded Alex as a potential opponent for the future. Soon the battle between the father and son begins?Stay tuned to be continued Chapter 73 - Father and son Alex said," Flamethrower" Charmeleon sent out mighty flames on Charizard yet he stood as a stone in the middle of water waves. He roared at Charmeleon ,'' Show me your strength boy. Is this fire or an ice attack.'' Even though he said that the rock around turned scorching red. "Charmeleon fireball" He acc_u_mulated a lot of fire in front of it''s mouth and then sent the ball towards Charizard It exploded on him and some rocks even melted. Daisy hid behind Blue saying," Did it is too hot?" "Don''t worry and he released his Blastoise. It automatically cooled down the temperature around." Charizard still roared ,'' You don''t even know what true fire is. Let me show you.'' He than sent a small stream of fire. Although it seems nothing compared to earlier attacks of Charmeleon, on impact he cried out in pain. Even a fire type like him was suffering from burns. Alex said," It seems fire wont work then let''s show your muscles." " Dragon dance" He took 5 second to complete the dance and swiftly reached Charizard. Though it''s speed was nothing compared to electabuzz or even Pidgeot, he was fast for his age. He attacked with thunder punch and brick break. Each attack was strong enough to break boulders and with continued use of dragon dance it''s powers too increased. Even then he didn''t move an inch and then slashed at Charmeleon and sent him flying and roared ,'' This is strength. Don''t show off such puny power and insult me '' "Dragonic flame" Charmeleon combined dragon power with flamethrower and attacked his father This time the flame quantity was less but it managed to erect steam from it''s scales. " Dragonic flame?" " The dragon power multiplies the power of flame attack"Alex simply said "Charmeleon show him your strongest dragon rush" This time he was surrounded by dragonic power and tackled head first towards Charizard but unlike before Charizard didn''t stand still but swept his tail. The tail power was impressive and sent him back sailing the air and Charmeleon fainted. Charizard after the battle flew away from the lab. Blue said," Alex has lost all six pokemons. Winner is Charizard" and thought,'' He is still as moody as ever. He didn''t even wait for me to end the battle.'' Samuel headed for Alex and said," Impressive battle Alex. I didn''t think you will battle till the end." "I too did not think I could last if not for Espeon " "She was quite brilliant. Especially in a situation like that. I have never seen an Espeon like that in my life." Blue joined them and said " You don''t know but I remember meeting an Espeon. She was quite a discplinarian. No one dare to ignore her. Even my Charizard is still afraid of her. Hahahaha " He said and laughed. " If you don''t mind can we treat my Pokemon." Alex requested. "Ah I forgot. You talk with Dad. I will treat them."Blue said Taking them Blue left and Daisy just looked at him. Feeling her gaze, Alex asked her politely," Is there anything I can help you with?" " Can you teach me how to battle?" She asked him. " Why do you need my help with this? Your father and grandfather are much better than me. Why don''t you ask them?" Alex said " They just let me study and won''t help me saying I am too young." Daisy m_o_a_n_e_d " I understand. Did you know when I was your age I would spend hours in my town''s library learning more about different types of Pokemon, their appetite , behaviour and all. Pokemons are mysterious being. They held great powers as well as great friend. They can help you surmount any problem if you have their help. So always remember no matter what pokemons it is never treat it with contempt." He tried to educate her. " But Caterpie and Weedle are weak and even magicarp is worthless. It can''t even fight " Daisy said harshly for age not understanding what Alex meant. Meanwhile Samuel smiled understanding what Alex was saying. He remembered what Alex told him that day in his past. " Do you know about bug types?" Alex asked her " They evolve quickly and they have a short juvenile period. They are easiest to evolve and their powers grow quickly and then it stagnates. They don''t play much important role and in high level battle. That''s why there is no Elite four for bug type."Daisy said proudly. She was very smart for her age and was mile ahead of her counterpart due to her grandfather teaching her. She knew a lot about different kinds " Did you know what my grandpa used to tell me ?" Alex asked mysteriously " How could I know what your grandpa say about you? Idiot." She then turns her head and pouted Alex petted her head and said," I could become the first bug type elite four if my theory on them is proven correct. Most Bug types are indeed weak physically but if trained well they can be quiet powerful. Let''s take Caterpie for example. I believe that the more energy he gain and stores the more powerful and strong he will be on evolution. So I trained mine hard and gave it nutritional food and she ate a lot before evolution. On evolution, I didn''t train metapod at all. In this stage she is using her stored energy to transform and strength the body. If he spent energy on other things the body is left weakened. And on evolution the moves they learn are mostly powder moves and psychic but have you thought these moves are truly devastating. They can poison, paralysed or sleep the pokemons as well as different concentration of these have different effect. It can make them drowsy, hallucinate, etc. The psychic makes his powers widespread and it''s mental capacity is updated. It''s string shot can be infused with powders to increase the lethality. Then there is quiver dance exclusive for bugs which increase their power stats and speed As long as move didn''t connect they are safe. Then the Beedrill has poisonous stringers which are deadlier. While both are equally strong if trained well, Butterfree is mystery attacker while Beedrill is killer They can sink big sh_i_p_s, summon storm and are extremely powerful. Always remember Daisy, all pokemons are powerful it is depended on the trainer to train them and reveal their true potential to the world." Alex said Daisy was still sceptical about Alex words and asked her grandfather ," What he said, is it true?" " Yes Daisy what he said is the truth. It depends on trainers to help their pokemons reveal their true potential." He empasised. "Then I will work hard and train all my Pokemon the best I could " She said seriously "Let''s head inside and continue our talk." Samuel said Alex lost the battle terribly against Charizard. How this battle affect Alex stay tuned. to be continued Chapter 74 - Conditions Alex followed Samuel inside the laboratory. There they entered a room in the living hall and sat on the sofa. Daisy too followed them inside the lab and went to her room. " so Alex Agatha told me you wanted to be an assistant professor. " Samuel asked him Alex nodded in agreement and said," I have some research ideas pertaining to pokemon evolution as well as some inheritance moves. I wanted to release some papers on these topics but my grandpa stopped me on the ground that I have noone to support me. My ideas may clash with some research of other big people who might accuse me of the time and may even impose restriction on my research." " Indeed I think it might happen. Your King''s rock evolution is a section of evolution research and the current head in the field of evolution, Professor Rowan will himself sue you in case of theft of research and you will be punished. Banned for lifetime or even imprisonment."Samuel replied and agreeing with Alex. Alex said," He told me all these cases might happen and I should wait until I become strong or have a backing." " Yet you told Agatha about your research. You didn''t tell her the entire truth did you. And your discovery of new type is also phenomenal. Agatha called me and asked you to be your guarantee. I thought whether or not should do it or not ." Oak said while thinking,'' I owned you enough that I could help you without worry or even Charles will come to help you out. But if I don''t act reluctant you might find something odd and won''t join us.'' " And what do you want in return?" Alex asked directly without any hesitation. " Aren''t you afraid I too will steal your research. This topic isn''t your main research topic and you are already strong and don''t need to chat with me. Others need reputation but you already are very reputated. And I don''t think you will try to Sully your reputation just for this. And you also a t as guide for young trainer and researcher who might contribute to the world. Now the world think you as a teacher and if I become famous your reputation itself will increase Also you created the pokedex. It already is an epoch level creation on par with ancient pokeball. Nothing in the world could match this. You don''t lack money or power so you won''t steal my works." Alex said "I will help you. But you will have to do something for me. Are you ready for it?" " What is it that you need my help with?" Alex asked " I want you to collect data about different types of Pokemon and also catch some back to the Lab." Samuel said " this is easy. I can do that but what else?" Alex asked " You should also be Daisy''s teacher." He said. " What?" " Daisy is a smart kid and she is also spoiled by us. I need a teacher who could bear her temper and teach her well. Your battle showed that you have that mentality and you won''t let our prestige affect your teachings." The older man said "But why me? There are people better than me and still reaching these criteria." " Because you are young she will mingle with you well and she could also get a friend." He said " Also you only need to start teaching her when she is ten and start to travel. By then you will both have reputation and power to help her. I only need you to guide her for few months. You will also be paid for it. There are still around four years left. " He said These calmed down Alex but " But aren''t you making this decision too early. By then you may find someone better." "Because I saw your potential so I made this choice. Do you agree?" " No problem. I will do it." And then Blue entered the room with another man with a red hat. He was Red Ketchum, the previous champion Alex luck was really great. People don''t meet a single champion level people in their lifetime and yet he met three in a single day. Red on entering the room looked at Alex and said,"Your battle was impressive. I really want to battle you. How about an agreement between us. We will have a official battle a month before the league tournament for your practice." This shocked Alex but before he could reply Blue roared at Red," Don''t steal my opponent. I met him before you I will face him." " But I challenged first " he countered " You cheated. You didn''t let me speak." Blue retorted " I didn''t close your mouth earlier." " No matter. I will face him first" " Me" "me" " Me" " " Me"" " Me" " Enough "Samuel shouted ," You both are still so childish. Let''s get to the matter we are all together " they all quiet down and sat . Alex was puzzled about this and asked," What is the matter?" " The thing is about you joining the Oak Laboratory." What matter are they going to discuss about? Stay tuned to be continued.... Chapter 75 - Joining the laboratory Oak said," The thing is our laboratory doesn''t sponsor many trainers. Hell there are only two trainers sponsored by us. They are Red and Blue beside you. You joining us will also make you an integral part of the powers of Kanto." He pointed at his son and at Red. He continued," The thing is we don''t know how to do it. Even the people who get the pokemons from here aren''t allowed to join us until a criteria is reached. Blue mentioned that if we directly let you join us it will cause problems. Although I am not afraid of it it would be better not to have them at all. So that is why we had a battle earlier. Your arrival as well as our battle will help us in this respect. " "So that''s why you challenged me." Alex said "Yes. You are already high profiled person especially with your friendship with Lance and Lorelei From them, the news have spread about your skills and many high level members want you to join them. But the news that you join us wasn''t taken seriously because we don''t allow many. If this battle wasn''t revealed, they will act behind scenes." Red said " And what do I need to do now?" Alex asked " You need to have at least an king level pokemon in five years. This is of utmost importance." Blue said " You don''t have to worry. Whatever you want we will provide but you should have an elite level at all cost. " Samuel stressed. " Why? What makes you worry about it?" Alex asked " In five years times, there will be a youth tournament between the seeded trainers of all regions of the alliance. That''s why you need to become stronger soon." Red answered his questions. " What is this youth tournament? Why is it taking place?"He asked another question. " In recent years, every region has some very skilled trainers who are seen as the next generation of leaders. In Kanto there is Lorelei and Sabrina Johto has Lance and Bruno, Sinnoh has Aaron, Flint, Lucian, Cynthia Unova has Shauntal and Caitlin Kalos has Siebold, Diantha and Sycamore These are some of the seeded people. They are the ones who will lead the next generation of Pokemon Alliance. And with your performance, you are now the head of these young trainers." Blue explained. "When did I become the leader?" Alex asked puzzled by this statement. All the names mentioned are the elite four and champion of the different regions. " You, Alex Bart are unlike them. All of them has a backing since their childhood and they are trained since then. They are provided the best resources and their pokemons are given the best food as well as training under skilled trainers. While you Alex before were not provided these. All the resources and training was what you yourself got and reached this level. Now with our presence you won''t have to worry about death threats but in the black market you will probably has a reward." Blue explained his situation. " But I don''t want to be a champion or leader. o just want to explore." Alex said strongly. " Kanto has remained the strongest since my time. This hasn''t changed and this time the high number of geniuses in each region is much more than previous times so they hoped they could surpass us and Lorelei and Sabrina though powerful aren''t even in top 5 so they thought they won. But now your appearance made them feel humongous pressure of you. You are an embodiment of us. Our very existence have always kept them in check against Kanto. Although we are all allies but it is built on premise that a Chief is elected among us. Charles is the undisputed president because he has our backing and support as well as his own powers. Now your presence has reassured our throne for the next generation. Now you are the leader whether you want or not. You should accept it." Samuel said " And why should I do it? I don''t even want a part of this and I can just admit defeat or not even participate in this game of powers?" Alex directly said. " You are already a member of it the moment your powers and abilities are revealed. As for you leaving the battle, you won''t do it " Samuel said confidently. " And why won''t I leave?" " Because you Alex Bart are a warrior. You will never back down from a challenge." Samuel said and continued," I saw that warrior look in the eyes. You can lose but you won''t admit defeat. You will face your difficulties instead of running from them. And you are excited by this tournament too. You want to test your mantle against them. You are a battle maniac, aren''t you?" Samuel said. Alex just remained quiet about it because he too felt this too. He was excited about facing them especially Cynthia and Diantha who were the strongest trainers of their age. Alex then said," Fine. I will join the tournament too and raise my Pokemon at the king level too." Samuel then said," Then we welcome you to Oak Laboratory." Alex has joined the laboratory and he will battle the elite four and champion of the future. Next chapter will state Alex''s Fame in other regions. Stay tuned to be continued... Chapter 76 - Fame across region (part 1) " Now that you have joined us, I think a welcome gift is necessary. So Alex tell me what pokemons do you have now. I will reward you on the basis of them." Samuel asked Alex excitedly. Blue too wanted to know what other pokemons Alex have. Red had also seen the battle so he also wanted to know. Alex after some thoughts said," The pokemons I have are: 1)Shiny Pidgeot 2) Slowking 3) Electabuzz 4) Haunter 5) Charmeleon 6) Pidgeotto 7) Butterfree 9) Espeon 10) Nidoran 11) Twin Ralts 12) Miltank 13) Baltoy They are what I have now. I also have some direction for their development and want your guidance in some things in raising them." " Your pokemons are quite balanced. But most are fast attackers except for Swinub who is a ranged attacker. You have fire , water, flying, psychic, ground, poison, ice , ghost , bug, normal and electric type pokemons. The one you lack are fighting, grass, rock and dragon type pokemons. You are covered in all almost aspects but you will need something. Here." Samuel said and tossed him a pokeball. " All the trainers who join the laboratory has gotten a pokemon from me. And Don''t mention the Charmeleon. You got it''s egg not a pokeball and definitely not from me. Red got. a Charmander from me and Blue got a Squirtel so I thought of giving you a Bulbasaur. Both have raised their to be a monster capable of affecting their surrounding by just being present there so I am curious how you will raise Bulbasaur. Are you willing to accept it?" Samuel asked on seeing Alex a bit dazzed. When Alex heard he was being given a Bulbasaur , He was on cloud nine. He was very excited of this prospect.He always wanted a grass type after he found that flying type has wind elemental power then grass may have wood. When he rose from his dream, he saw doubts in Professors face and he was afraid he might renege on his words so he excitedly stood up and shouted," Yes I will happily accept him." " Bulbasaur is a her and I am delighted to see you so excited." Samuel saw the unrestrained happiness in Alex face and eyes and was curious why he acted so but refrained from asking on having felt he will raise it well and he has some ideas on raising her. Alex nodded and patted the pokeball with love thinking of how powerful she would be after his training. He thought,'' If she can be even 20% of Hashirama in naruto then she will be the supreme God in the forest.'' Red and Blue were curious and unlike Professor they didn''t bother to stop themselves and asked their future rival," Why are you so excited about a Bulbasaur Alex? Although they are rare they aren''t that great compared to the pseudo legendary." " I have a route of her training. This was my training program for grass type but the resources needed to raise them in that direction would be great so I refrained from catching one earlier Now I got both unrestricted access to resources and a great grass type she will be a powerhouse. She will be a true tank. Just wait for her to grow into a Venusaur and complete her training. The world will remember just how powerful a perfectly trained grass type is capable of." Alex said excitedly. Seeing the confidence in Alex eyes, The three older men really look forward to the future. Samuel then stood up and told Alex, " Follow me, I will let you see the package from Agatha." Samuel and Alex went out leaving Blue and Red alone. Red asked Blue,"What do you think Alex talked about?" " If it was before seeing him fight, I would consider it a joke. To raise three pokemons at pseudo king level in just five years without seeing the world is impressive For grass it is either chemical powers or secret moves or something. I can''t see them having powers of mass destruction. " Red then said," I really want to see what he will be in the future. The next few years will be exciting. " " Yes it will be exciting." In Johto, In a mountain, There is a white haired guy along with red haired girl. They were Pierce and Lorelei. "Is that young Trainer as skilled as you say? I find it hard to believe that ." he asked her. "I told you many times I was there and how he fought Giovanni. I didn''t know he was so strong. " Lorelei said angrily with her teacher doubting her. "Young Giovanni is probably the second strongest gym leader in Kanto. You should work hard then if he is really as skilled as you say then he will surely participate in the tournament. You should train harder if you wanna defeat him." He said and Lorelei went back to her training and Pierce looked up at the sky.and thought,'' Soon another Supreme will rise in Kanto. It is quite disheartening with johto having stuck in domestic struggle and suffering while Kanto prospering and creating peak leaders in each generation.'' An old guy was talking to a red haired guy who happens to be Lance," Lance, what are your opinion on your friend?" " He is very strong and I think he will only grow stronger." " Indeed he will be stronger and in the presence of Samuel and his two protege and their guidance he will be even brighter. You should work much harder so that you can beat him or you won''t have a chance " " Understood grandpa. I gotta train." Lance ran out of the house to train while the old man thought,'' Arceus really blessed them. I hope under his pressure Lance would train hard and reach his potential. After all he has no hope of surpassing that young monster especially in the guidance of those monsters.'' He shuddered thinking about Samuel, Red and Blue. In Hoenn, Drake the current champion was talking to his ice type elite," How are the two munchkins, Steven and Wallace are doing?" " They are good and are really strong. They will soon surpass us in the future. But what got you so stressed? Aren''t you curious about others training."she asked " The news has been confirmed about a young trainer reaching pallet town and he meets the requirements. If he is really strong then only those two have hope for beating him after all rumours can be misleading. Train them well ." Drake said." They are the future.* And the elite nodded and left and drake thought,'' I hope this generation can rise above then and throne of Alliance is won by Hoenn. As for the young Alex I really look forward to how strong you really are. Can you really live up to the reputation of your predecessor.'' As for what are the thoughts of people of Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos has on Alex , please stay tuned. to be continued.... Chapter 77 - Fame across region (part 2) In Unova, A person in a doctor coat was talking to a red hair man in street clothes. The professor was Prof. Juniper and the other guy is current champion of Unova, Alder. " This Alex is really something. So famous do soon. I think he has already become a dream boy of many girls. I am so envious. I even heard Aurea and Caitlin talk about him. Ahh. curse all the pretty boys for stealing all the girls." Alder said " You are still as childish as ever. But his presence stopped our plans. " Professor said. " I never felt we in Unova can seize the throne. We have skilled trainer but not skilled enough. They are only at elite level. We don''t have a champion level brat till now. From my sources, I found Hoenn has two brats for that position, Johto, Sinnoh and Kalos has one. Before his discovery Kanto too had only elite level now with him a Master level trainer is also possible." Alder said seriously. " Isn''t it an exaggeration? Master level trainers are rare. We don''t even have them in few generation and now you think he is already has hopes of reaching it." Prof. asked urgently. " Kanto has four such people at this level still alive. They guides the direction of life in the background. They are really terrible. I am not saying he will reach it but a peak level champion is a sure. As for that position, I am just saying it so that I am already prepared for it if it happens. Also with Oak behind him, he will be one of the decision makers. This is without doubt." He said " I really fear for Unova. We don''t have a champion in this generation I hope next doesn''t disappoint us." he said " people can teach advanced or pseudo elite but to reach higher stages they must have a temperament and that incident has affected many. We can only hope. It was our mistake challenging their authority back then. At least we are much better than Johto which is suffering from internal conflicts. The champion level Pierce is held back by the elite four for their own greed and affects the Region growth. He hopes with Lorelei to create an opening to save johto or else they will not last long. Either they will break apart into many parts or be annexed by Kanto." Prof. said. " We will have to train them harder than before so that they can at least face him and not be destroyed by him." Alder said and he went out of the room. In Kalos, " This time you have a new opponent Sycamore, Diantha you should work harder. This one will be your greatest opponent in the future on par with the Sinnoh''s genius girl, Cynthia." " Don''t worry master we will be fine." the two left and went to their own work '' You kids don''t know what the peak is capable of. The kid at this age is so capable makes anyone afraid of him. If the rumours about him are true then I hope you are brave enough to survive in his shadow like others lived in Samuel and his protege''s shadows.'' The master of two sighed and thought. In Sinnoh " Grandma, is this really as strong as you say?" A beautiful blonde girl about 11 years asked a gray haired women. The young lady had blonde hair styled in such a way that her one eye was covered by her hair. She wore blue top along with blue jeans. She had grey eyes and a cute face. She has all the marking of being a great beauty in the future She was Cynthia Shirona the future champion of sinnoh. " Why are you so curious about him?" Her grandma asked. " Grandma, he is the only one whom you told me about and you always told me that Professor Oak is one of the strongest Trainer in the world. Since so many rumours about him appeared he must be skilled and I feel he will be the one I will chase after. ( she means as an opponent.)" She told her grandma. " After your gible evolved to gabite you have become overconfident. I can''t blame you not many your age are your opponent and even some older trainers aren''t up to par with you." Bertha the ground elite said . " But if the rumours are accurate then you have no chance at all. He will be the one leading your generation instead of you." Her professor grandma said. " Don''t worry grandma. I will beat him and bring glory to Sinnoh" and she left the room alone for two older women. " These children are so stubborn they don''t even listen to us. " Carolina said. " She is a genius even among genius. I was told other seeded Trainer were too warned about him yet they dismissed him and believed in themselves. So her heeding our words is already a big no-no but at least with her focusing her attention towards him is enough." Bertha said " after all the rumours I really look forward to meeting this Alex Bart. " Carolina said " Me too " And they drank tea silently in their room. Cynthia while training thought,'' I hope you don''t let my expectations for you down,Alex . I really want to meet you.'' Similarly, All the seeded trainers who were warned about Alex now viewed him as their rival and each one wants to beat him. While Alex was in Oak laboratory he has become famous among the top official of all the regions as well as the pokemon alliance. In the pokemon alliance Headquarters, A man in Black walked out of the office. In the office at the head chair sat a short height man with big moustache. He wore a red shirt with strips and shorts along with a cap. If one looks at his attire it is similar to a young trainers getup and a travelling trainer. But this person was the president of the pokemon alliance and the overseer of the flames of Moltres He is Charles Goodshow. He just looked out of his window in the office looking at the beautiful sunset and said softly," So you joined the Laboratory. I am really looking forward to meeting you again, Teacher." While Alex was in Laboratory so many people''s thoughts were centered on him. It seems Charles too is an old friend of Alex. As for what gifts Alex got from Agatha . And what healer did he get- a Chansey, audino or something else? Stay tuned. Chapter 78 - Reward from Agatha and Pokedex While the other geniuses talked about Alex, he was now following Samuel to get his packages. He really was looking forward to getting a healer. The lack of effective healer stopped Alex from training his pokemons to the limit. Some moves can''t be trained because their body can''t handle or they are wounded badly in the aftermath. The presence of healer can put an end to the unfavorable situations and he can train his pokemons more effectively in the forest unafraid of the dangers of wild pokemons attack. The wilderness is a treasure trove. Many resources as well as treasure can be found out there. The pokemon alliance control only about 20% of the total area. These areas are mostly composed of city as well as less dense forest and factories. The true wilderness is a burial ground. These places are heavily protected and only strong are allowed. The minimum requirements for entering the wilderness is advanced level trainer. These wilderness is also the main reason why each region has armed forces. Sometimes the pokemon herd from here attack the place near the borders of wilderness and cause much harm to city as well as life. Alex has thought of moving around the periphery of the wilderness where it is not as dangerous as the wilderness itself. It has been said that pokemon league has made a deal with the leaders of herd as well as legendary pokemons of not causing trouble in the league areas in return they would not develop actively in those areas. His reasonings for going there is to develop battle instincts in the new Pokemon as well as train himself. There he can also do some contribution works for the league. This will help make a better bio-data for him and prevent the noises of other factions for providing him better resources. While Alex was making plans of his future travel they reached the interior of the lab, there Alex noticed were some computer flashing data''s with the pink polyhedral body with a blue stomach, blue triangular prism feet, and a blue rectangular prism tail. It has a pink, polyhedral head that ends in a blue beak and has hexagonal eyes. They floated around and then entered the computer. There was none other than the two. Seeing Alex looked at Porygon, Samuel said," These are Porygon. They are artificially created and are very helpful in computing data''s and capture of information. They also are very loyal. This room is out of bounds for all the people except for the core members of the Laboratory. And all the core members are trainers. None ate scientists so I use them to do some secret researches I have in mind and computers the data''s. Any way look here." He pointed towards a pokeball as well as a box. "She sent me these two days ago and wanted me to hand them over to you." He then raised the tray on which they were kept and took it towards Alex. Alex gently took the pokeball and then the box. He opened the box to find a container. This containers has transparent wall so one can see the inside object quite easily. Through the wall he saw fog around a white crystal like object. Alex didn''t know what it was but his hands felt cold so he thought it was related to ice type . " Ah she really gave you a good thing Alex." Samuel exclaimed. Alex just looked at it puzzled and then looked at professor for explaination," This is a thousand year old nevermelt ice. This can strengthen the ice powers of Pokemon on use." " But I saw nevermelt ice. It is different from this. " Alex said puzzled. He bought nevermelt ice from the department but they were different from this. They were grey in colour and weren''t crystalline but more like powder. " You probably bought from the department stores. The nevermelt ice there is artificially created. They too work but they can''t be used infinitely. They can only be used a few times but the natural ones are better than those artificial ones by multiple times. And this here is thousand year old nevermelt ice. This is much powerful ones. To compare, The ice elite of johto, Pierce fed his delibird and piloswine two thousand and three thousand year old nevermelt ice respectively. The powers increased so much that his delibird can freeze a lake as big as a kilometre in diameter. This will be very good for the growth of Swinub but I fear for the lack if ground power in Swinub There are some power gems in the works which acc_u_mulate energy from the world or powerful pokemons and provide energy to the pokemons This makes their elemental powers powerful."Samuel sighed sadly Alex put his hand in his backpack and brought some gems got in Viridian black market after taking down the thugs who threatened him . Professor looked and saw that they were red, blue, brown, green as well as pink and purple gems. " Your luck is quite extraordinary. These gens will do Swinub good. Let''s go outside and I will show you how to use them." He then went out towards the lab backyard with Alex following behind. Daisy on seeing them going out reached them and asked Alex," Alex where are you going?" " Wait a minute before going to the backyard I want to give you something." Samuel interrupted them. He ran inside the room again and brought a red object the size of average smartphone with a pokeball with blue and black color.He handed it to Alex and said," This is a Pokedex. This object is not completely ready to circulate to all trainers but since you join us I thought it will do you good. Also you can use it''s camera to collect photo as well as record things you find about pokemons and send them to me. This is the work I give you as my assistant. You will collect data about various pokemons you find in your journey in Kanto and other regions and send me their info through it. and Don''t worry I will pay you good salary and if the research is good enough you will be rewarded. These will also make a base for pokemon researcher. After some small fieldwork you could start releasing bigger discovery and none will have the basis to accuse you of theft ." " Thank you." Alex bowed his head slightly to Samuel in respect. and gratitude. " Don''t mind it " and then told Daisy," We are going to the backyard. " " Can I come too?" She looked at Alex cutely Alex looked at professor who shrugged and said," If you don''t mind" and then told her," Ok but listen to us ok." She looked at him seriously and nodded. In the backyard, Alex threw the pokeball in the air and Swinub materialised. After being released he swept his nose around for food but seeing none he rubbed his nose against Alex''s leg. Knowing what he wanted he sent out it''s favorite sour berry. " Alex put the gem on Swinub first. Then open the container and feed it and Swinub you will direct the Earth power along with ice after eating it.." on hanging the gems on Swinub''s body it glowed slightly and then after opening the container the surrounding area suddenly become a few degrees cooler. Swinub''s attention was attracted to it and he hypnotically went to the container. He then looked up at Alex as of waiting for permission. Alex nodded . how will this affect Swinub ? Stay tuned Chapter 79 - Snowstorm On getting the permission it started to eat the ice. Although it was only fist size it still took a few minutes for Swinub to eat After he finished eating his body started to glow white and he roared at the sky suddenly a snow storm began. The snow clouds covered the entire pallet town which wasn''t much big only a few hundred metres in diameter and cold winds blew. The wind started to speed up and snowfall started. Then the wind turned into storm and an ice storm was generated. All the people were freezing in the storm and Daisy hugged her grandpa for warmth. Samuel who has travelled far and wide wasn''t much affected and Alex who was near felt cold but his attention was on his Swinub who was in the centre. Arcanine and Alakazam along with Charizard and Dragonite flew towards them just after the snowstorm started. Blue and Red too reached them. As the snowstorm raged around the Swinub who created the storm was completely surrounded by it. Blue and Red who came out asked," What happened? Why did the weather change so suddenly? Did Articuno arrive nearby?" Professor comforted his granddaughter after Charizard raised the temperature around to a bearable level and not at all bothered by the storm Samuel answered," It has nothing to do with Articuno or any other legendary. It is just that young Swinub is absorbing the millennium nevermelt ice and so he released the excess energy in the atmosphere. After his body absorb the energy around it will also absorb the surrounding cold energy and calm the storm. Till then we just have to wait. After all not many Swinub get to use such a treasure. Most of these are used on piloswine or other much powerful pokemons. Their body absorb much power in a go and the surrounding isn''t much influenced. " Alex was worried about his glutton pokemon and asked professor," Will there be any problem with Swinub professor?" He gave Alex a reassuring smile and said ," It won''t affect Swinub adversely. the only thing I am worried is how much energy Swinub can absorb. This gift was for the future. When Swinub evolves into piloswine then it can absorb the ice power more effectively and efficiently. Since you had those Earth gem I thought it would be able to absorb more energy with Earth power countering the excess presence. With their dual powers his ground and ice powers will increase exponentially. Also with it gaining such powers now will help you later. You could say when it evolved into Mamoswine it won''t lose to any of your older pokemons as they are now." He tried to calm the nerves by turning his attention to increase of powers of Swinub. This also did the work. Alex wanted his pokemons to grow stronger. And since this method is effective he is Willing to use it. Also Alex also thought of other treasure present in the nature which are useful to increase the powers if his pokemons. He also remember some mention of objects such as fire fruit or thunder valley and poison flower in the mysterious book. Alex has hope to find these items earlier. Some of these are even known by the league themselves but due to powerful tribes living around the areas which has these gems of nature, the league let them be for fear of angering other tribes too. Now what they do is steal some from their origin and use them to increase league''s power Alex was given advanced trainer level facilities by the league and he found that I''d he did enough contribution to the league he may exchange it for a fire fruit. This is his another reason for going to periphery of wilderness as the tasks there grant more points as well as for experience of death battles. All the people looked at Swinub in the storm. The snowstorm started by Swinub raged fir almost half an hour without being affected. The stronger pokemons in the lab provided protection to weaker ones after professor''s instructions. Noone came to obstruct the development of Swinub Soon in the centre of the storm a dazzling white light glowed and this white light was absorbing the storm in itself. Soon the snowfall lessened and Alex saw white energy from the sky or perhaps in the snowstorm and brown energy from the Earth entered Swinub. Swinub which continued to glow for a few minutes shouted once and the intensity of light increased. Under the influence of nevermelt ice it evolved into a piloswine. Piloswine is a big, brown, furry Pok¨¦mon with an impressive hump on its back. It also has two tusks made of ice, which seem small but can be lethal. These tusks thicken when it snows, and they are smaller on a female Piloswine than on a male. It has floppy ears that are s_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e to sound. Piloswine has two beady eyes in its head; however, these are usually covered up by tufts of fur. Alex also used his new Pokedex to scan his newly evolved pokemon. He raised the Pokedex and allowed it''s back camera to scan it. Suddenly a voice rang, " It is a piloswine, a ground and ice type pokemons. it is the evolved form of Swinub. Whenever it charges at an enemy the hair at the back gets stand up. It is s_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e to sound " Piloswine who just evolved after absorbing power from the storm and subsiding it, roared loudly. This time he used his own powers to start a storm. Although this time he storm didn''t cover the entire pallet town, it still covered entire Oak laboratory. This showed just how much it''s power increased after all before he could only cover a battle field with snowstorm. How will this piloswine act infront of Alex? Will it''s evolution change the characters and behavior of piloswine ? Stay tuned Chapter 80 - Disciplining an unruly pokemon Piloswine has erupted another snowstorm with it''s power. This time Alex commanded piloswine," Piloswine, calm down. You are disturbing other people " But he didn''t listen and even started to use earthquake and Earth power. He was intoxicated in his newfound powers that he wasn''t listening to his trainer. The three older trainer along with Daisy left a few metres back to get room for the two. They felt it would be good to see how he disciplined an unruly pokemons. Piloswine roared around and Alex kept shouting at him to calm down. Piloswine irritated by Alex shouting sent few icicles at him. He jumped out of it''s path. Although piloswine was sane enough not to use a deathly attack it was still powerful enough to wound him This attack angered Alex and he decided to remind piloswine who was the boss. He picked out a pokeball in his hands and said," Piloswine stand down or else I will make you do it." All the pokemons which were more powerful than piloswine were injured so he took out the only pokemons who had a chance against him. " Go Butterfree psybeam." As soon as Butterfree appeared she sent out a colourful Beam at piloswine. It stopped the ongoing storm but he was furious now. He sent out sharp icicles towards butterfree who glided around and dodged the attacks. Alex has already trained Butterfree to use quiver dance whenever she has the chance in her battle. She sent out gust, confusion , psybeam, air slash and bug buzz to annoy him. She used tailwind to speed up herself. Only this way can she last against powerful pokemons. Her stats increased over time during the battle. But this quiver dance has a defect too. It can only increase once powers to a level his body could handle and it also tire out the pokemons. If used much not only would it tire out the pokemons but also overdraft it''s potential. All power increasing moves have this problem. And to overcome it the pokemons must have a strong body to accommodate the power increase. Alex was trying to tire out Piloswine so that it could be easier to calm it. But it seemed that Butterfree would tire out sooner than piloswine. So he stopped the stalling tactics and started to go all out. " Use poison warfare" She released colourful powders in the air and surrounded Piloswine . They were controlled by her and always followed him. But to do so butterfree has to remain static. She hasn''t become well versed in this attack that she could use it while moving around. Piloswine took this chance and attacked her with icy winds. This made frost grow on her wings making it painful but she endured. Soon the chemical attack start to take effect and he started to doze around and he slept Seeing this they both were relieved. Butterfree was well spent on facing piloswine. She won''t last long if the battle had continued. Butterfree remembered how she could take on Swinub easily and now after evolving she barely won and this made her sad. Alex saw her depressing mood and gently ribbed her head and said," Don''t worry. I will help you continue to grow stronger. You won''t lose to your friends." he tried to cheer her up and it soothes her. But Alex himself thought,'' If we could get more resources when you were a Caterpie, you would have been even more powerful. Don''t worry I will find a way to help you.'' He promised her. When all thought that the battlefield was over, Piloswine started another hailstorm. And hail started to fall. Soon after a blizzard swept the area. " Butterfree psychic barrier" Alex quickly commanded. " Damm he used rest to solve the status aliments and to fool us. " "Butterfree no more holding back. Use toxic after energy ball." Since Butterfree wasn''t growing fast enough in comparison to her counterpart Alex bought some tms especially for her. It hit the center and he slammed to the ground. Soon a purple beam hit it and he cried out in pain. Seeing him in pain, Butterfree waivered a bit but Alex didn''t hesitate. He stopped once and they were nearby attacked now he won''t stop until he fainted " No more hesitation Butterfree. We can apologize to him after defeating it. End it with venoshock. " After hit by it Piloswine wobbled around weakly. He was just going to fall down Amy moment but Alex wasn''t going to leave it at chance " End it with hyper beam " An orange beam of light hit Piloswine and get was blasted back and slammed heavily on the tree nearby. Soo. the weather too calmed down and Alex without wasting time returned Piloswine. After that, the other observers reached Alex. Daisy being first to reach Alex asked," Alex why did the piloswine attack you. Wasn''t he your friend before evolving." Alex was congratulating Butterfree for her victory and handed her queen bees honey as treat. On hearing her question, Alex bent to her level and said," Daisy some Pokemon after evolving get overconfident by their increased powers and stop listening to their trainers. So it is upon their trainers to discipline them. Although it is harsh but if not they might hurt people around them or passerby. You don''t want your pokemons to hurt others do you ?" She shook her head and contemplate what he said. " I don''t understand what you said but I will not let my Pokemon act like that. " Alex just rubbed her head who swiped her hands to remove his hands," Don''t do that. you will spoil my hair." She shouted at Alex And Alex thought,'' If they act unruly there will be Professor, Blue and Red to educate him. and I don''t think their pokemons would mind giving her a hand with how they look after her. As Soon as the storm started they surrounded her and protected her. If piloswine had injured her he might suffer the wrath if champion level pokemons.'' " Now that it has been solved, let''s go back and treat your piloswine and Butterfree with your other pokemons. Butterfree seem dead tired and probably could use a rest." He recalled Butterfree and then handed over his two pokeball to Professor and followed all the others inside. The pokemons who arrived also dispersed. Only blue and red were out talking ," All his pokemons are powerful. And he is lucky too." " Yes other than the shiny Pidgeot, Slowking and Electabuzz rest were catch by him within the few months he started travelling. For them to reach this level is already amazing. I feel my Charizard would be delighted. After all He always wanted a new opponent. " " Yeah but let''s head back. We have much more to discuss." " What is it that need our presence?" " Something is happening in Mt. Silver and dad want us to look at it " " Mt. Silver is it? It will be interesting." And the two peak trainers too went inside the Laboratory. Alex has subdued his first unruly pokemon. He also knew how essential it is to have a healer too. And what is it about Mt. Silver? Stay tuned Chapter 81 - Stay at pallet town Few days have passed since piloswine evolved. After healing all his pokemons, Alex once again beat down Piloswine until he agreed to listen his command. Of course this time, he was healed by the healer of the team, Happiny. According to professor, the healer pokemons must be nurtured since small so that they don''t waiver over the years. Alex has used his Pokedex to scan the moves she knew. Apparently after the pokemons are captured their blood must be absorbed by the Pokedex and this provide various internal data about the pokemons. This also helps to compare the health of Pokemon in comparison to pokemons data inputted as a basis. His happing knew only few move such as: Aromatherapy heal bell present Gravity Charm pound copycat These were the moves that the Pokedex detected. As for how Pokedex knew that professor explained him. Pokedex contains a psychic reading device which when in contact with blood of a pokemon can view it''s data as well as the moves it know. This is also based on the moves description input in it by the creator. Anyway it help Alex get the basic data he needs as well as a communicator for Alex. Because of lack of popularity of Pokedex now or because it hasn''t reached all trainers , the Pokedex uses the main signal towers of the league so it is applicable in all the league areas. And because it is only given to high level league operatives, so Alex is quite lucky. After all later versions will use new towers for signal transfer and won''t be connected to league mainframe. The important thing for being connected to league mainframe is that the new information as well as some secret news can be known by him which are mostly hidden from public. Anyway , Alex had scanned all his pokemons and knew the moves they knew and made a note in his diary for their training. Alex stayed in the lab these day as paperwork for him officially joining the laboratory as well as assistant Professor position was granted to him under Professor Oak for his discovery of new evolutionary item. Of course it doesn''t mean that he slacked his pokemon training. After healing , he made a compulsory physical training practice for all his pokemons. And all these was done under the gravity of Baltoy and Happiny. But none of his pokemons withdraw from it. After the devastating defeat under Professor''s Charizard curbed down their confidence. To think a person who wasn''t even a trainer beat them down made them feel small. They were disappointed by their strength. The previous battle with Giovanni even inflated the ego of his older pokemons who thought they weren''t far from the peak and started to slack down. Now this defeat opened their eyes to the world outside . They started to train even more deligently. They felt if a professor was this strong how strong were gym leaders, elite four or even champion whom their trainer often talked about. The most affected by this was Haunter and Charmeleon. Haunter being the official starter of Alex was disappointed with himself and how he was losing his dream after continuous victory. And Charmeleon was sad because he felt he disappointed his parents. He saw how every pokemon at least managed to at least give a cut to his father and yet he couldn''t even make him take him seriously. The pride of Charmeleon was shattered and the parting words of his father that,'' Your trainer is unlucky to have a weak pokemons like you. His other pokemons at least make me feel something yet you can''t even make me tickle. You are a disappointment. You are proud of this strength of yours. Your trainer is kind to you or else someone else might educate you. Better get stronger and don''t tarnish mine or your mother''s reputation by showing off this puny strength. Your trainer is decent listen to him if you want to do your mother proud.'' These words affected him a lot. He wasn''t unruly compared to Piloswine but after evolving he started to look down on his trainer. The basic training wasn''t increasing his strength so he started to listen to him less. Alex too noticed this but felt he could correct it after reaching pallet town. In short, this defeat made them work even more harder than before and with ample resources , nutritional milk from miltank healing from happiny the pokemons showed improvement. This was mostly in their physique. Of course the fact that Professor Oak was much stronger than average champion wasn''t mentioned by Alex. With them regarding him as a goal they would become stronger so he let it be. As for pass time, Alex also scrubbed their scales clean, or brushed their hair and under Professor''s guidance learned how to massage the pokemons so that they can relax. Just as his pokemons trained in the lab, Alex too learned much under Professor''s guidance. He told him much about the pokemons and world. Such as how certain pokemons like certain berries or some places affect their behavior. He told him in depth about the pokemons such as why Charizard family can shoot fire from their mouth only while Arcanine or Ninetails can from their fur too. How fur and scales affect the Pokemons life and what ghost types likes and how they behave normally. Of course he also encouraged him to go there after his pokemons reach elite level. He remarked that some places help the pokemons grow stronger easily as these places have high concentration of elemental energy but these are mostly occupied by strong pokemons. But the periphery areas are also good places to practice. These elemental concentrate areas are mostly found in the wilderness and very few are in league areas. and only people with certain qualifications can go there. He also told him if he felt any of his pokemons reach the elite barrier contact him. Many pokemons are stuck in this level throughout their life. So in these barrier levels one should be careful. Also Alex spent much time with Daisy. After befriending her , she introduced him to some Pokemon in the laboratory. They helped him teach or correct some moves of his pokemons. As for Daisy''s mother, he learned she has some work in Mt. moon so he didn''t meet her. Days passed by and Alex stayed in pallet town for a month now. Although pallet town was nice and warm he felt anxious. He was yearning to travel again. He has already packed his bag and is ready for the next adventure. Where will the next adventure take our hero? Stay tuned to be continued Chapter 82 - RETURNING HOME Alex has travelled for four months and has gotten three pokemon gym badges which were two two stars and one three star. Giovanni gave him a three star badge. Alex doesn''t know what this badge stand for or else he will be really shocked. A wielder of three star badge can directly qualify for the preliminary of the league tournament. They don''t need all eight badges only one three star one is enough. Though issuing it is a long process. For it''s issuing, there must be two other gym leaders support or an elite four is needed. And Agatha was present so there wasn''t much hassle. The three older people who know of the badge and it''s value didn''t mention thinking he knew it''s value and Alex never revealed it to others so he never knew. Alex currently thoughts were that He has to defeat five more and he can easily qualify for the pokemon league. And this isn''t much difficult for Alex as of now. He isn''t worried about the league tournament. What he is really worried about is the youth tournament a few years later. The people whom Professor mentioned were all who will dominate the next generation. Their very existence was a unsurmountable mountain for most yet Alex was regarded as their rival. This brought much pride in himself yet he knew that if he slacked now he will lose and Alex''s pride won''t allow him to lose to his own generation people easily. Now Alex is ready to head home. Apparently something happened at home that his siblings called him here and asked him to return home soon. They were in a hurry so they didn''t mention the reason. They were anxious so he decided to head home. Professor Oak was king enough to have his alakazam teleport him to Cerulean city. From there he would ride his Pidgeot back home. It would only be a few minutes journey back to Floral town at full speed. His pokemons were fed and were now at the backyard saying farewell to other pokemons. Alex told Professor that he will send his pokemons at his hometown so that his grandpa can entertain himself while taking care of them. Professor Oak agreed to it and told that whatever he need he just need to ask and they will be sent to him and not to be shy. He took his backpack and headed to the backyard where his pokemons along with Professor and Daisy stood. Blue and Red has left last week for some secret work and haven''t returned yet. Since they were former champions he knew they weren''t weak and since they were needed for the job then it will be highly dangerous for someone his level. As he came to the backyard, He saw Professor standing there with a quietly sobbing girl Daisy by his side Seeing Alex she ran towards him , hugged him and said," Do you really have to go? Will you leave me too? Mom and dad left and grandpa is always busy and only you play with me." She said softly crying. Alex in his time in pallet town knew that there weren''t any kids her age around so she get pretty lonely and with Alex arrival, she has a friend and now that he too was leaving she was sad. Alex getting patted her back to calm her down and then put his hands on her head and bent on his knees reaching her eye level and said," Don''t worry Daisy. I will come back to meet you later and I will show you my new pokemons and also tell you about my adventures." " Rrr. ...eally" She looked at his face with expectations He raised his pinky and knotted hers too and told," Pinky promise" " Ok don''t break the promise or I will never talk to you." She said as seriously as she could for her age. Then Alex turned towards Professor who just nodded towards him and Alex thanked the pokemons there for help. Charmeleon hugged his mother goodbye to which his father snorted and then nodded towards him. Alex quickly returned all his pokemons except Espeon who travel together with him and Haunter who travel with him on his shadows. He waved goodbye to everyone and then motioned Alakazam to go and soon they were starting to get blurred and soon disappeared from Professor and Daisy''s vision. "So he is really gone?" Daisy said sadly " Don''t worry he will return later. Also why don''t I make your favorite Oran berry cake" he tried to cheer her up Hearing this her eyes brightened and she said," Yeah cake cake cake" and she headed inside the lab while Oak looked at the sky and thought,'' Good luck Alex. I really looking forward to your growth.'' and he head inside Outside the Cerulean city, Alakazam appeared at the forest surroundings the city along with Alex and his pokemons. Alex thanked him along with Espeon who just nodded and flashed back probably to pallet town. Alex thought how powerful the Alakazam was to teleport them here so far from pallet town. His young Ralts could only teleport a few metres at most not even reaching ten metres mark and then only for a couple of times and here Alakazam teleported four of them effortlessly a dozen kilometers away. Alex didn''t wait for long and took out the compass on his backpack. According to Professor he will drop him west of Cerulean city so as not to cause problems by his sudden arrival. Big cities has restriction on directly entering the city by teleport or via flying. These benefits are reserved for top level trainers and gym leaders only. Not even advanced level can do so. After knowing the direction as his hometown was north of Cerulean he released his Pidgeot. His Pidgeot under his care and enough nutrition grew twice as big as average Pidgeot. It was nearly 4 metres tall now. He and Espeon rode on Pidgeot and flew north of Cerulean. The sudden flying Pidgeot attracted the attention of people nearby and thought a big powerful trainer was passing by They then went back to their works. Alex and his pokemons looked at Cerulean city from outside. It was multiple times bugger than pallet town and was the size if a standard city. It was few kilometers long and covered much area. He,Alex Bart was returning back home after travelling for few months. Why Alex was called back home? Stay tuned to be continued Chapter 83 - Surprise at home Pidgeot flew over the city and directly headed for Alex''s house. In smaller towns like Floral town flying over the city too was restricted in case a big pokemon attacked from the sky. So when Alex flew over the Garrison members present saw him. And the fact that someone sat on it, a trainer sat on his fearow flew towards him. " Please Stop right there. You are flying in forbidden area. Land down and accept sanctions or else we may attack." He shouted. Behind him were few more people, they rode on Pidgeot, noctowl, pelliper and fearow. Seeing this Alex shouted," I am in a hurry I will talk later." and he motioned Pidgeot to go. He wasn''t afraid of them. Most of the trainer here were intermediate level and weren''t his opponent so he just didn''t care about their words and he dismissed his words The man on fearow was angered by Alex''s dismissal but as a captain and seeing a young teenager he swallowed his anger and once again said but this time very harshly," Listen to our orders or we won''t hold back." The other trainers and their pokemons were ready for subduing him on hearing this but Alex ignored and continued. Soon gust of wind headed for them from behind. Espeon beside Alex dispersed it with psychic and froze all six of them with her psychic in the air. Espeon followed mew when she trained Slowking and Ralts in psychic application and control. Also Alakazam helped them too in training in the lab so for her freezing pokemons in the air which weren''t even advanced level wasn''t much difficult. Leaving them frozen they flew and headed for a two storey house with brown roof tiles. It has a few metres long free space all around and was fenced by wooden stumps. The boundaries of the house has beautiful flowers planted by Alex''s mother. Alex on reaching there urged Pidgeot to land soon and as soon as he landed he jumped off him and dashed inside. Espeon quickly followed behind while Pidgeot was on lookout in case he was needed. Normally at this time his grandpa''s pokemons laze around in the free space outside house and bask in the sun. Now the lack of them gave birth to bad thoughts in Alex. He reached his house and opened the door. The inside of the house was dark and the window were covered by blinds. The whole house seems empty but this never happened. There house was never left unlocked. Alex couldn''t see a thing and he was having thought of asking Espeon to scan the whole house. Just as he was going to ask her, a loud sound came," SURPRISE " and the light was turned on. This voice startled Alex , Espeon along with Pidgeot outside. Alex turned around to see his brother, Ben and sister, Clara froze in air, his father mother and grandpa along with his pokemons were too stuck solid. Their body was covered by psychic powers and Alex knew whose powers they belong to. Alex rubbed Espeon''s head and said," Calm Down girl they are my family and they probably just wanted to surprise me." Hearing this she withdrew her powers making the younger siblings fell on their bum and the others were able to move. Before others could complain about this treatment Espeon w_h_i_n_ed at Alex ,'' Esss ppppeon. esspppeon eess" "I understand girl you reacted like that because of Haunter and nidoran and their pranks. Don''t worry I am not mad at you ." He comforted her and she rubbed herself against Alex''s legs. ," What is going on here?" But his question was ignored by his siblings and Ben said," Why did your pokemon do that?" " We prepared such a good surprise and because of your pokemon it is spoiled. Why dis she have to react so excessively." Clara finished. Espeon just shook her head in other direction as if saying that she didn''t care about them. Alex then told them," Hey it was you who startled us. Let me tell you she reacted normally if she was excessive you would have been sent flying out of the house." " Really she is that strong." Ben asked," But she doesn''t seem like it" " Of course she is . don''t underestimate her" he said proudly and rubbed her head but made sure not to touch the gem on her forehead. She doesn''t like it being touched so he careful about it. She stood in front of them proudly and looked at the kids as if saying ''admire her'' and admire they did. The kids don''t know much about pokemons and their powers and the words of their elder brother made them both scared and awed towards Espeon. Even though they don''t know what pokemon she was they felt their brother won''t lie and the fact she froze them in air was amazing. Alex then turned to his parents and grandpa and asked," What is going on? Why was I called so urgently and what happened?" Seeing Alex confused, His mother asked" Alex did you forget what day is today?" " Was there something important today ? Sorry Mom I don''t remember." Alex said and mumbled something," Was it the twins birthday today? No no it is in March. or is it grandpa or mom or dad birthday ? No they won''t prepare like that or do something like this for it . is it there anniversary today? No then what is it?" " Mom I seriously can''t remember what is so important today that you called me so urgently." He said defeated " Really big bro you don''t know" " Big brother is stupid" " Yeah he can''t even remember it " " Yes mom always say to be like big bro and look he can''t even remember it " His siblings made fun of him and laughed even his parents were laughing at him. Politoed and pikachu were rolling in the floor laughing. Even Espeon seeing them like that and teasing her Trainer laughedd at her Trainer. Seeing it Alex pouted in slight anger at their behavior. " Ok ok we won''t laugh but seriously Alex you don''t remember what day is today?" His mom gently said . What special day is today? What will the Garrison do about Alex''s entry? Stay tuned to be continued... Chapter 84 - Secret revealed and Garrison visit His mother Gwen said," Alex today is a very special day, especially for you. Seriously Alex how could you forget such a special day." She shook her head. His father said," He forget that in his work so cut him some slack." " Indeed with how he is I am sure he even forgets current date in his journey. Except for month he won''t remember a thing. It is common to forget the details out there and only knowing it on reaching a town I remember when I was young, I spent two months out in forest thinking only one and half months passed and when I returned I was told it is two months. Boy was your mother angry at me that day Arthur. Arceus bless her soul." He reminded of his past and said the last sentence softly in remembrance of his passed away wife. Seeing this Arthur changed the topic by saying," Alex you really don''t remember what day is today?" " No dad I don''t have a clue just say it" He said agitated. He arrived home in hurry full of strange thoughts about what happened and now his family was playing guessing game with him. " Alex dear today is your..." His mother trailed Alex, Haunter and Espeon edged forward to.hear what special day it was... " Your birthday . Happy birthday" *5 " What" Alex shouted," You all acted like that just for that. and here I was so afraid and all. You almost gave me. heart Attack." Alex dismissal of his birthday and acting like this wasn''t appreciated by his mother and she put her hands on her hip and gave Alex a critical eye and said," Now listen here young man just because you think your birthday is nothing special doesn''t mean it isn''t to us. This probably will be the last birthday you would celebrate with us. You will be out there at this time and who knows if you could reach home. And since you were just in pallet town so we thought you could fly over with Pidgeot. We worked so hard just for your birthday surprise and even got Professor Oak to agree with us and look how you are behaving like a spoiled kid. I didn''t raise you like that, young man" " But mom..." " Hush.." " But.." " No more comments now join us to celebrate your birthday." Alex looked around to see his father and grandpa avoiding his eyes and request for help. His siblings were giggling behind his mother''s back at him being scolded. He could also hear Haunter laughter in the shadows. And though Espeon didn''t outright laugh at him she too agreed with his mother. And Alex helplessly followed his mother''s order. " Fine." Then she motioned him towards the dining table where a cake with candles was kept. He headed for it and his father lit the candles. "Now young man blow the candles and cut the cake your brother and sister are very eager to eat the cake " she said sternly His siblings were looking intently at the cake as if waiting to jump at it. Alex thought,'' Today is my birthday and I am ordered like that. And none of them , looked at his grandpa and father,'' help me. The moment she spoke they just turned around and stood quietly . Cowards'' He glared at them for not helping him. They just smiled helplessly. No one wants to stand in front of an angry mother whether they be human or pokemons. Alex blew the candle and cut the cake and rest Sang the birthday song for him . He first gave the first slice to his grandpa, then father and mother but just as he was giving it to his siblings he ate it himself saying," Do you really think I will let you go after you laughed at me." " What I did not laugh , it was Clara she did" " Nuuh it wasn''t me. it was you stupid Ben" " it was you, stupid" " you stupid" And they started pushing watch other and before it could escalate Alex intervenes and said," I know you both laughed and quickly apologize or else I will eat the entire cake on my own." " Sorry Alex. We won''t laugh at you again." They said dropping their heads down. He just looked at them severely for sometime and then said softly," Fine but next time I won''t let you go." Alex gave them each of them a slice of cake to eat. They too took a slice to feed Alex but smashed it on his face and covered his face with it. His face was covered in cake and noone could identity his face due to it. They then both laughed at his face and said," Who made you act like that with us ?" " Yeah how can you share us with cake" " Next time we would smash whole cake on your Face." They both acted high and mighty with Alex.. They were surprised by sudden arrival of haunter but his grandpa asked," Is this the ghastly you got as starter?" " Yeah he is now Haunter " " Good you raised him well" Gwen then asked them to wait so she could bring food and Arthur followed to help. Suddenly a knock came from the door and Alex head out to see what it was. He forgot about the cake and headed to the door. When he opened the door, there were three people standing at the doorstep. They wore brown and green uniform and had pokemon league symbol sketch on their uniforms. This was the uniform if Garrison unit of floral town. Alex just arrived at his home and soon Garrison unit too arrived. What will happen next. Stay tuned. to be continued... Chapter 85 - Garrison trouble Seeing the cake covered boy in Front the three Garrison members smiled softly and said," Can you call your parents? There has been a case." " Ok but if you don''t mind can you tell me what''s the matter?" Alex asked curious after all he has an unpleasant encounter with the flying Garrison so he thought it might be related to him. " There has been an unauthorized flying entry by a trainer and he escaped us we want to check if he is hidden around somewhere so we need your parents permission." One of them clarified. " Do you know what he looked like?" Alex asked " Yes, we know he is young, has a shiny Pidgeot and an Espeon so we want to check. We will also check unauthorized entry after confirming he wasn''t hidden. in houses." Another member said. Alex scratched his head thought whether he should reveal himself or not and after sometime decided to do it so he won''t have to go through this trouble later. " You don''t need to search for him." Alex said " What do you know about that rogue?" " Ah yes. You see he was in a hurry and so he didn''t stop and he apologizes once again. And he didn''t break any rules." Alex said " And how do you know that? Do you know flying over town is restricted?" Another member yelled at Alex. His yelling attracted the attention of other members of the family. His father came out to see what happened," Alex what Happened out here?" He also has a cloth to clean his face. Alex took it and cleaning his face and said," Because that Trainer is an advance level Trainer." " How can someone so young be so strong and how do you know him?" " Because that person who flew over was me. Hello, I am Alex Bart." After seeing his face, the member who saw Alex yelled," It was him who attacked us in the sky." Alex just rolled his eyes and said," I didn''t attack I just froze you or else you won''t let me go." " No more talks. You are under arrest for breaking rules of Floral town. You will follow us back." Their leader said sternly pulling out a baton to threaten Alex. Alex didn''t bother with these and once again repeated," I am an advance level trainer. So I didn''t break any rules. I am privileged enough to fly over any town if I fly in big city then I will be breaking rules." " Oh is that so? And how old are you?" " I just became 11 today. " " So do you think you can fool us . A 11 year old advanced level trainer yeah right." Another member snarled. Alex took his hands in his pocket but they stopped him," Don''t move or we will Attack." Arthur has enough with others yelling at his son or ignoring him. " Hey enough of these things. How dare you come to my house and yell at my son and even ignore me standing here." He angrily shouted All the attention was now concentrated on Arthur. Alex though blankly looked at his father and said," Are you helping me because they yelled at me or because they ignored you." " Does it matter?" " Who are you?" They asked " I am his father and what do you think you are doing here?" " Do you know what your son did? Did he not respect the rule ? Does he think he is above the rule made to govern things?" He yelled back. Normally Alex won''t get angry if someone talked about him like that in front of his face, but today this really annoyed him. Alex retorted back," Yeah I don''t care about the law and why should I care? It is for the weak strong make their own laws. And for your information I didn''t break any law . I am saying this for the last time." Alex sudden arrogant comments shocked them and brought him enough time to pull out the Pokedex and play it . '' I am Dexter. I am a Pokedex as well as bio-data of Trainer Alex Bart of Floral town who is also an assistant professor of Oak Laboratory. He has been granted same status as that of an advanced level trainer and is immune to investigation by anyone below the gym leader and similar officials. And even then it must be done under the supervision if Oak laboratory or else there will be consequences. For confirmation of these please check in the pokemon league official site under the pokemon trainer code xxxxxxx . Thank you." " Is that enough. Now you can go and check this at your base and don''t bother me. If you need anything I live here you can find me and next time act like that with any member of my family and you will pay." Alex said sternly while involuntarily releasing the pressure he acquired in his journey after facing trainers of Fang or Giovanni level. Although not compare to Shadow elite Fang it is still enough to deter average intermediate trainers. Saying this, Alex swiftly shut the door on their face. They headed inside while Arthur asked Alex," Will there be any trouble Alex?" " Don''t worry dad. I don''t think they would dare to do that. Professor Oak has enough reputation in the league and as a member of his laboratory they won''t dare to cause me trouble. They will probably send someone to soothe things up later. Anyway let''s hurry I am hungry, I didn''t even eat earlier." Seeing Alex didn''t care, Arthur too let it be. Michael told Arthur that Prof Oak will not let anyone touch Alex and he is a good man so they can stop worrying about him. " And you aren''t excited about your birthday gift?" " Gift?" His eyes sparkled and he asked excited," What did you get me?" Seeing this Arthur once again remembered Alex still is a eleven years old kid." You will get your after eating." Meanwhile with the Garrison members outside, " How dare that kid do it? I will teach him well." This member was one whom Alex froze in the air " Stop. If what the brat said is correct weight cause big problem for ourselves "leader said " The brat is tricking us how could he really be an advance Trainer." " We can confirm it at the base. You stay here and we will go and check. Just make sure they don''t run and only spy on them . Don''t take any action until I return." He said strictly. The two members return to the HQ leaving one as lookout. What will the surprise gift be? How will the Garrison members react? Stay tuned to be continued Chapter 86 - Surprise Gift Alex was excited about the gift and even forgot about the slight trouble he had with the Garrison members. Alex went to the dinner table to eat. His mother asked him," What Happened out there? We heard some shouting." Alex bluntly said," Nothing mom. They were Just some annoying people who don''t bother to listen to others. Anyway what did you make today." " Oh it''s your favorite now dig in" while looking at her husband and asking,'' was he speaking the truth ?'' '' Just leave it at that. Alex is a big boy and he will handle them '' He replied They didn''t say a word but years of living together they understand what one wants to say just by looking at the eye of other. They happily ate their food and now it was time for gifts. First one came from the twins who gifted him pokemon shaped chocolate. They were shaped in form of magicarp, squirtle, Pikachu,Meowth etc. Alex thanked them. Then came his grandpa. He gifted him his a brand new Pokemon saddle for sitting on pokemons. It was for a flying pokemons. Now he can fly with Pidgeot at it''s top speed without fear of falling. Then was the Turn of his parents. They gave him a box. Alex curious opened it and found it was an incubator with an egg in it. They gave Alex a pokemon egg. " This is a fighting pokemons. We don''t know what type it is. But we got it with the help of Professor Oak. He helped us get this for you. We hope you like it." Arthur said. "Thanks mom and dad. I will take good care of it."Alex said "There are other gifts too. They are from your friends Lance Lorelei Agatha and even Professor Oak sent gifts." Lorelei sent him berries which are liked by ice type. Lance sent him a dragon fang. It enhanced dragon type moves power. Agatha sent him a old spell note. It increased ghost moves power. Daisy sent him a cute handmade birthday card along with a brand new badge case. Red sent him aura training guide he used himself. And Professor Oak sent him a fire stone. It is has a note attached to it,'' Fire stone enhances the flame power of fire type when they absorb the pure energy in it and it is an Excellent quality stone. It might last an year if used by Charmeleon alone or if it doesn''t evolve by then. '' He was really grateful for the gifts he got. He had some plans for his hometown and he now know what to do. After seeing the gifts, Alex''s siblings lunged at him wanting to see his other pokemons. They played with Haunter as Espeon felt it was degrading for her to act like kids. They wanted to see what their awesome big brother has caught when he was traveling. His parents as well as his grandpa too wanted to see them. So all the family after depositing the dishes on the sink went to the backyard. Alex backyard wasn''t that big, it was only twenty metre wide in length and breadth but it was enough space for his pokemons to be released. His Pidgeot was already there and greeted everyone. His siblings were excited to see him and wanted to head towards him but Alex said," Wait for me to let out all my pokemons." He threw the pokeball in the air and out came, Electabuzz, Slowking, Charmeleon, Butterfree, Piloswine, Pidgeotto, The twin Ralts , Nidoran, Bulbasaur , Batloy, Happiny and Miltank. Seeing them, the twins dashed around them without listening to his brother. Alex motioned towards Espeon who nodded. Now she can contact anyone telepathically within a hundred metre radius which will grow as she grows stronger. His parents looked at the pokemons and said," You were really busy to get so many pokemons " " And lucky too to get some Pokemon fro. other regions. Piloswine, Ralts , Happiny , miltank and Baltoy aren''t generally found in Kanto. " his grandpa added. His grandpa pokemons too joined them. His Pikachu rode on electabuzz shoulder and politoed went to greet it''s water type friend Slowking. " And they are raised well. They are all physical fitness and don''t show any signs of deficiency especially those Ralts of yours. They are most healthy out of all of them." " Yeah when they hatched I had already got Miltank and there were enough healthy food for them so they are most fit. Others are catching up and soon they too will be in their best shape." Alex nodded. Michael was an advance level Trainer in his prime and has seen the world. It wasn''t a problem for him to see through the pokemons And have some remarks. Alex too has gained the status of advance trainer because his pokemons are strong enough but he isn''t m_a_t_u_r_e enough to get it so he wasn''t granted any post or position by the league. He is now asked to only raise his pokemons well and then with his merits and capability he will be granted a position. And less than 5% of the advance reach pseudo elite threshold and are head of security in city or are gym leaders. The elite level or elite four Lev trainer are head of department in the league who oversee the whole working of the league. This shows how high an advance level trainer is. He is an official leader of the league. Even if Alex didn''t reveal his status something as small as flying over a small town like Floral town could be easily subdued by his grandpa but Alex revealed his status because he has a plan regarding his hometown. What plan does Alex have for his hometown? What pokemon does the egg have? How will the Garrison react? Stay tuned. to be continued... Chapter 87 - Garrison Visits again Alex saw his siblings trying to climb slightly bigger pokemons like piloswine. It was about 2metres in height now. After evolving Piloswine acted in rage due to it having way too much energy and he needed to release it. After being defeated he calmed down and he once again went back to his calm self. It also warmed Alex to have an older pokemon at hand in case others too evolve and need to be brought back to it''s senses. Now Alex also felt that he needs to be more stern in their training as well as their will power. He had them run endurance training at Oak''s to train their will. After Piloswine''s episode he had an instinctive thought that Charmeleon , nidoran and Piloswine when they reach their final form have the highest chance of playing rogue among all his pokemons so he is quite undecided. With how Charmeleon trains he may evolve into Charizard within an year or even sooner with fire stone and ample of energy. Nidoran would evolve only when he get a decent moonstone. He heard from Professor Oak that moonstone in Mt moon is most effective and it makes the pokemon more powerful compared to when ordinary moonstones are used. It is also guarded by very powerful Nidoking and Nidoqueen along with clefable. They are said to be as strong as champion level pokemons but Prof Oak told Alex that pokemons when reaching King level or champion level undergoes a power acc_u_mulation stage and transformation stage. This is a pseudo stage. This happens after pokemons reach peak elite level and are mastering control over the elements. After they reach king level they can fight lower legendary pokemons for some time. The pokemons at Mt moon who guard Moonstone are at pseudo champion level and can easily beat any elite four so it is a highly restricted zone. Only people at champion level are allowed unrestricted passage. He told Alex when he wanted to evolve a pokemon who need moonstone for evolution he would have lead him to the original moonstone so that they can evolve under it''s radiance. But to gain the access they must reach a certain threshold which the guardian of Moonstone Clefable checks under the eyes of leader Nidoking and Nidoqueen. As for what the test is has always been a mystery. No pokemons who undergoes it ever reveals what he went through. And Clefable tests them all. If he fails he fails and anyone who try to force his way are eradicated by Nido couples. Only strong are allowed to gain it''s blessing. So Alex has decided to train his nidoran deligently so he can pass the test. According to Professor under the blessing of moonstone the three pokemons have reached pseudo champion level and maintains it''s security. To evolve into Mamoswine Piloswine needed strong ice power. That''s why they are only found in very cold places. They are also one of the strongest ice type out there and are known for their fierce temper. Two of the three fierce pokemons which Alex now has needed external objects to evolve and only Charizard evolved on it''s own. So Alex needs to train his older pokemons to become much stronger than now because pokemons with strong linage reveals their true powers after reaching their final form. So Charizard could have automatically reached elite level without training and under him he will at least reach pseudo king on evolution and this is only a conservative analysis. Now Alex is under pressure and felt the troubles one have if one pokemon becomes unruly and others can''t match it and calm him down. This case is especially found in Charizard who reveals the dragon pride in themselves and often run from trainers who are weak to control them. The Charicific valley located between Violet city and Azalea town in Johto is mostly composed of these Charizard who left their trainers. So having a Charizard is regarded as a symbol for being a good trainer and this is widely recognised. Professor Oak warned Alex never to release his Charizard in front of his Charizard after evolution because Charizard has Parenthood towards the young Charmander and Charmeleon and if the other Charizard don''t accept the supremacy of his in his territory they are taught respect. That''s why Alex didn''t deposit his pokemons at Oak laboratory and he confirmed his d_e_s_i_r_e to station his pokemons here. So after meeting the Garrison Alex has this thought. Ben and Clara played with nidoran, Ralts and Happiny being the young pokemons they were . They all enjoyed themselves under the gaze of Alex his parents and grandpa. The only difference from earlier ones was that the one leading this time is the captain of the Garrison in Floral town and also the only other advance Trainer in Floral town other than his grandpa and his friend. Why did the Garrison captain came to Alex''s house ? Stay tuned to be continued Chapter 88 - Transaction The captain of the Garrison group is a man in his mid thirties. He has blue wavy hair and sharp green eyes. He has a scar over his left eye which covered half his face. His name was Alfred Mars. He used to be a treasure Hunter before settling in Floral town after marrying the only daughter of the ric_h_e_s_t man in Floral town. He now owns 60% of the restaurants as well as most of private marts in Floral town and has an average income of few million pokedollars per year ( Now pokecoins will be regarded as pokedollars.) He also worked with Alex''s grandpa when he was young so he often visits his grandpa and chat with him so he wasn''t a stranger to the family. This time he visited with another famous person of the town the current mayor of Floral town , Terry Boot. He is almost 70 years old and has been the Mayor of the town for as long as Alex could remember. " Alfred, Terry what are you doing here? Did you come to greet my grandson Happy birthday." Michael saw them and said laughing. " You were in a hurry because of that." Alfred said surprised " I didn''t remember and they didn''t reveal anything and told me to head back soon. I was afraid something bad happened and then I find it was nothing." Alex said shrugging. All the Garrison members who came along with them were surprised that they were hyped up over something so small. All thought so too but Gwen thought something very different," Nothing? You might think it as nothing but to me it is very important. I still remember how excited you were about your birthday when you were five you woke up earliest and then come to wake everyone and then you asked everyone what you will get as a gift. You were so cute and energetic back than and now you want to spoil my memory of those sweet memories by regarding it is nothing. I didn''t raise you so you could overlook the views and emotions of others especially your own mother. I knew I shouldn''t have let you go on your journey too soon." And she started to sob over her son disregard of her feelings. Seeing this, his Espeon nudged him over his mother to deal with her," Mom I am wrong. I will not do it again. You know what I will stay with you for a few days how, great isn''t it?" Her tears automatically stopped and she said enthusiastically," Really it''s wonderful. But few days are way too less, how about a month?" " But mom I still have to earn other gym badges." " You already got three in four months. Now there are still a little over an year left for pokemon league and you could earn five more in seven or eight months without trouble with more than two months left to train for the league. So you will stay here for a month." " How about ten days?" " Three weeks " " But mom I still have to do some works for Prof Oak and so can''t stay here long." Alex said earnestly. " Fine two weeks and no less." She said strictly then looked at the guest who came and said ," Wait I will bring tea and snacks for you" and she headed inside. " Mom has been really targeting me since I returned." He said softly " You will leave soon so she wants to spend as much time as she could with you. After all if she knows about some of the most frequent dangers of travelling then she won''t let you leave." His grandpa said jokingly " I know." " Your daughter-in-law is really something, Michael." Terry said " I know " " And congratulations young man at becoming an advance trainer as well as assistant professor at such a young age." he said to Alex. " Thank you Mr. Boot" " Call me Terry like your grandpa." he said " ok." " You really know how to cause trouble though Alex." Alfred said to Alex. " Hey it was all mom''s idea. " " You could have ended the matter earlier by mentioning your grandpa and this problem would have ended way too soon." Alfred told Alex and wanted to Know why Alex didn''t end it sooner. Anyone who knows Alex knew he doesn''t do anything without reason " I wanted to talk to Grandpa Terry about buying land and thought this way I would also meet you so why not just go with the flow " " Buy land?" Arthur asked," Is there any need to do so,Alex?" " Yes Dad it is needed. I thought of having my Pokemon raised here so it is especially needed." Alex told. " But why not in pallet town after all you joined Oak Laboratory and I don''t think he would mind." Arthur asked puzzled along with Michael, Terry and Alfred. " It is because of my Charmeleon" They followed his eyes and looked at the Charmeleon who stood straight while the young pokemons and Ben and Clara ran around him. " He will evolve into Charizard within an year and there might be chances of conflict between mine and Professor''s Charizard so I thought why not let raise them here. As for protection I could borrow some Pokemon for a year or two from him for this and by that time my Pokemons will be strong enough to guard the place themselves." He explained while not revealing the reason for their conflict. " This matter can be taken care of by the official at the municipality. They could do it well and you won''t need me. If needed I could ask them to not delay in your matter " Terry said still not clear why Alex needed to talk to him. " Indeed if it was just a land deal it won''t matter but I want to buy a few hundred acres of land just outside the town''s boundaries." Alex said his d_e_s_i_r_e. " A few hundred acres. Alex do you know how costly the land is. Within Floral town per 1 square metre costs 1000 pokedollars and outside costs less around 100 pokedollars because we won''t grant protection to outside places from wild pokemons. but you should remember 1 acre is approx. 4000 square metres. So outside one acre will be about 400000 pokedollars and if hundreds it would be a few million pokedollars. And not including the cost of construction and maintaining it you would have to spend few million. Although you are already an advance Trainer you should think careful before spending so extravagantly." Terry tried to educate Alex All the Garrison members were stunned by such grand figure while Alfred looked at Alex wanting to find what he really wanted to do. " Don''t mind him Terry. Few million aren''t much to this brat. He spent few hundred million on the diet of his pokemons so you should understand what his monetary strength is." Michael said condensing. Both Alfred and Terry knew just how costly those diet were and Alfred himself only managed to buy a diet for his Golduck and he really felt it . " Grandpa could handle these things and i don''t have much money left. I already spent most on food ingredients so I can only invest around 50 million at most. So grandpa will help me select a place a little away from Floral town with water resources nearby. I think place around the lake Poly will do. " He told and then he headed back home because he heard his mom shout of needing his help to bring tea and snacks out. " Your son is really something.In just four months he got such wealth is really something " Alfred said to Arthur. " Don''t mention to Gwen but Alex has an encounter with Shadows of Johto and helped A student and a grandson of someone high in the league and he got rewards for it. So he was able to enter eyes of the league members and join the laboratory." Arthur mentioned. They all nodded and thought this might be the case. Alfred knew Alex was talented with how he raised his older pokemons and he himself fought them before. This chance revealed his talent to higher ups and help him " Ok Michael tomorrow I will visit you to confirm the position and the land deal. " Terry said finally. Alex is buying land for his pokemons living there. How does this deal go and does it cause any problem? Stay tuned to be continued Chapter 89 - Future plans After sometime Alfred and Terry left along with the following Garrison units. He joined his parents to discuss leaving his pokemons to play outside while Espeon like always followed her trainer and sat by his legs. " Alex why did you decide to buy land here?" Arthur asked his son. " What? Alex is buying land. When? How? " Gwen asked confused. " Yes I am doing it. " Alex calmly answered. " And why didn''t you tell us Alex?" his mother asked him sternly. Seeing the looks she gave him, Alex looked at his father and grandfather for help but they just quietly sat there and decided to enjoy the show at his expense. Having seen that no one will help him,Alex said," Mom, I can''t take care of all my Pokemon myself. I will have to let someone take care of the pokemons. At most I can take care of 15 pokemons. And that too is very tough. I have two young Ralts who are just a month old, a few months old nidoran and a Happiny around the same age. Since they are young I can''t leave them and have to look after the. myself. And if it weren''t for Espeon or Slowking helping me with their psychic in controlling Ralts powers, I will be in great trouble." He mentioned some of his thoughts " Are their powers so out of control?" Michael asked seriously as he knew how much trouble uncontrollable psychic powers can cause " It is that they are very strong psychically that they can raise our house together and their powers will increase over time because of a lucky encounter." Alex said and didn''t elaborate and his family didn''t Ask more. " You have good relationship with Prof Oak. can''t he help you in this so you won''t spend money in this and can use it elsewhere more wisely." His father asked. " Yes I could if I didn''t have this particular Charmeleon. " Alex grabbed his forehead in sorrow. " Did your Charmeleon has any problem there?" Michael asked and others looking at him for his reply. " My Charmeleon is the biological son of Professor Oak''s male Charizard and female Dragonite." He replied as if it answered everything. " Oh" his grandpa replied as if understanding everything and shook his head while his parents still were puzzled about what this meant. " And this means.." his mother asked Remembering his parents didn''t know much about Charizard and this trait is mostly known by Charizard trainers so he said," Charizard are very caring and protective about their young ones. When I arrived there he challenged me to see my skills and if I could raise his don well." He stopped and looked at the others to see if they followed ," I lost horribly against him and only gave it a few cuts and that too didn''t exceed as much as fingers in a single hand even after I went all out with Pidgeot, Slowking and even electabuzz." His words shocked them all as they all saw Alex fight these three of his pokemons with Alfred, Jamie, Michael''s friend and Michael himself.The powers they revealed allowed Gwen to let Alex travel out alone. Arthur composed himself and asked"So you lost and he didn''t agree to let you raise him." " No on the contrary he and Dragonite were impressed and even helped him and my other pokemons train. " " Quit, spinning the story around and get to point." his mother losing her patience and said while glaring at him His grandpa continued," Charizard protectiveness remains till they are a Charmeleon and after they evolve to Charizard all the earlier emotion and feeling just fly away . They are thrown out of the territory. Charizard have to accept the supremacy of the older Charizard over him and bow to him whenever he see him." " This is only pertaining to other Charizard and not his own blood. If they remain together they will constantly fight and my Charizard will suffer. Professor Oak mentioned he could stop his from killing it severely hurting mine but he can''t stop his instincts. So I thought it is better to have mine raised here and away from the troubles." Alex revealed. " Pokemons are really confusing. Loving them when young and almost killing them when they grow up." Gwen said Espeon who sat beside Alex just rolled her eyes and told Alex telepathically," They are all brutes who know nothing but fighting."Since she wasn''t familiar with his parents so she didn''t reveal this ability of her and Alex didn''t reveal anything and just laughed at her joke. They thought Alex laughed at his mother''s words."So what pokemons will be here?" Arthur asked " I think I will keep Pidgeot till Pidgeotto evolves to Pidgeot. After all his shiny color is too attractive. I will return both electabuzz and Slowpoke along with Baltoy. I will leave a few gallon of milk from miltank. Along with them Butterfree will be here to promote berry growth with pollens." He said " You will raise berries too." He asked " Of course so that later I won''t have to worry about their absence. I am buying acres now for this matter. Butterfree will have some bug types arrive here and make them protect these plants in return for free berries. Of course they would be restricted to a limit too. And Slowking will guide the water type in the lake Poly so that we won''t have to worry about planting. My older pokemons will oversee the works and you all can come and guide them whenever necessary. And I will train a few bug and water types so they can protect themselves and also the farm there." He explained part of plan to his parents. " And what about the pokemon from Prof oak?" Michael asked " I mentioned this to scare others and not have any plans of dragging work or extorting me. I need some remodeling of areas . with Prof name it will happen sooner without trouble. " He explained " Professor Oak won''t mind?" Gwen asked " Don''t worry mom.i already discussed with Professor before and he also told me he will help me in the startup by providing me with berries seed along with berries supply contract so it can start soon." He explained," This way I won''t lack money to raise pokemons as well as for research. I will also catch some Pokemon for research so it would be needed. I would need grandpa to look after them and dad you too can quit your job in power station and join my farm. I will pay you brilliantly." He said proudly. His father''s fist fell on Alex and he said," I will help too but don''t act too arrogant." He held his head in pain and said," Sorry". " Also I will go out to catch some Pokemon I need for these. I will come back soon " Alex said and ran out to collect his Pidgeot, Bulbasaur and Butterfree a and he flew off on Pidgeot. " He just came and he left out again. This boy.." Gwen trailed. " This is youth. Gwen." Michael said What pokemons will Alex catch for the farm? And how will this go? Stay tuned to be continued Chapter 90 - Negotiations with water types Alex left his house because he knew his Mother would bombard him with questions regarding how much he wants to invest, what type of building he wanna build, what berries will he grow or what else? She was really way too serious on terms of spending money and now that he is spending such amount in a go is really terrifying for her. Alex was really relaxed when he was on Pidgeot''s back flying in the air. He rubbed his shoulders and told him," Head to lake Poly would you? I have to see if there is any change in leadership there?" Before leaving the town for adventure, Alex knew every group of Pokemon living within 50 km radius of Floral town. He knew the area surrounding lake Poly most.As for why it is called so because it has large group of poliwag living there. There are also some slowpoke, Magikarp, marill, sometimes tentacool would appear in it too. As for gyrados, after evolving from Magikarp, they just vanish from here. As for the reason, Alex asked Slowking once, he revealed that the lake is very deep and it also has some underwater caves which link it with the sea nearby. Through these caves gyrados leave the lake and reach the sea so they don''t stay here. It is regarded by gyrados as a step of growing up ritual so this hasn''t stopped till now. What Alex wants to do with these water type pokemons is hire them to water the plants which he would plant here for berries. This way they can get both strength and food without trouble and he has another security mechanism for the berries. He reached the lake and released Slowking and directed him his plan. After hearing this Slowking stood still then his eyes flashed blue and after sometime, a few shadows appeared at the shore. These shadows were poliwrath, kingler, seaking , tentacruel, Psyduck , cloyster, marill, Slowbro and even gyrados. They were followed by some pokemons such as Krabby, kingler, seaking, Goldeen and other Pokemons. There were multiple water type pokemons and it would be a dream for many water type pokemon trainers to see so many of them in one place. Alex was shocked to know that this lake contain so many different pokemons but thinking it is linked to the sea so it wasn''t much surprise after all. Alex looked at all the pokemons and then finally stopped at gyrados and was shocked and had slight fear in himself. No matter what when someone see gyrados for the first time he would experience fear especially after hearing so many stories about the destruction they cause as well as their angers. Alex then started talking ," I am going to buy the land surrounding the lake for planting berry trees as well as home for my Pokemon. So I hope to create a cooperation between ourselves." And looked at the water pokemons for their reply. They talked among themselves and then a Slowbro came forth to act as their representative. Alex was curious why he was selected then his eyes glowed blue and a voice rang in his head. " What type of cooperation do you want from us human?" His voice said. It was similar to an old man. He now knew why he was selected. He was both oldest of them and could talk telepathically with him. " I want you to water these plants in accordance to our plan as well as guard the area in cause for invasion or foreign attacks." He said Slowbro looked back at the pokemons then he asked," What would we get?" " Safe area to live without worry of others attacking you here as well as food." He said though it was quite low reward Alex was open to negotiation. Hearing this, Slowbro along with other pokemon head frowned and he said," It is too low." " I am open for negotiations." He said " We want good quality water stone here along with some other things. We want you to help teach some tricks. " Slowbro said " I can get water stone but with how many of you are I can''t get good quality one. After spending so much I could barely buy some poor quality ones and for normal it may take time. " Alex lied as he could easily buy good quality ones for them but it would be a loss for him. Hearing this they frowned but they didn''t find any doubts after all they knew how precious the stone is although getting low quality is still enough. " What about the tricks?" " I could teach you but those pokemons must be the best among you and they should join my team." Alex said finally. Hearing this gyrados roared loudly. Espeon, Slowking stood in front of Alex to protect him while Pidgeot floated above ready to take them on. Water pulse was sent towards them but wing attack slashed it down. Ice punch of poliwrath was subdued by iron tail. The psychic attacks of Pokemon were crushed by Slowking mental powers. Even though the water pokemons were more in numbers they were still being crushed under the powers of Slowking, Pidgeot and Espeon. " Human you are asking too much. " Slowbro said softly though the underlying anger doesn''t hide. " This is best for both of us." Although pokemons themselves are smart they still lack some in terms of intrigue," Explain" he stated " If I raise them then they would grow stronger under me and get as much resources as my other pokemons. They would also learn many moves under me. This way whenever they return back they could train you and also because of them I won''t fool you. And of you think I just trick you we can complete this after I planted the trees and work get started here." He looked at them for answer. Slowbro and others entered discussion and then he said," We will only let three pokemons join you. One will be a Magikarp . Rest two you must decide yourself which ones do you want." This sentence has a sense of finality in it as if he won''t have anymore discussion on this topic. " Then I choose poliwag and tentacool." He replied. " The three pokemons will be here tomorrow so be here by that time. We will agree to your conditions but don''t try to trick us. these pokemons may be stronger but they can''t take on all of our wrath." After that he floated away along with the other Pokemons. Alex seeing them agree to himself breath out the air he held unconsciously. He then rubbed Espeon''s head and spoke ," Now we need Ground type such as dugtrio along with a Snorlax." He then recalled Slowking and then rode Pidgeot towards his next appointment. Now how will the next negotiations go? And why do he need a Snorlax? Stay tuned. Chapter 91 - Snorlax and a contract Alex was now heading south east from Floral town towards the sea. There is a port nearby around hundred kilometre away and now with his new saddle, he could ride Pidgeot at much faster speed than before. He wanted to buy some berries for initial planting. It is said that its fastest speed is equivalent to mach 2 or twice the speed of sound . It might be true but a young Alex could hardly endure a few hundred kilometre per hour speed on Pidgeot let alone thousand kilometers per hour speed. After flying for about half an hour so he was flying over a stream of water which has now dried up. Now isn''t the time of drought so Alex thought whatever was the cause of this might be a strong pokemon or something interesting. Alex motioned for Pidgeot to follow the stream to it''s origin. After passing they saw many water types lying on small water patches left and some fighting for them. Alex flew for a few minutes and came across a group of people who stood in front of a large object which obstructed the flow of water . Alex flew down and people who stood there looked up to see a large pokemon reaching them. They raised whatever stick or objects they could find to defend in case the pokemon attack them. After Pidgeot landed they saw a young boy sitting with an unknown pokemons. Though they lowered the makeshift weapon they didn''t drop it and still remained alert. An old man among the crowd head towards him and said," Young man who might you be? And what are you doing here?" " I am Alex Bart from Floral town , who might you be?" He asked " I am elder Gordon from Leaf village. Nice to meet you. As for what we are doing here, it is related to the dried stream. Why did you come here? " He replied " I came due to the dried stream too. When I was flying over I saw this dried stream and wanted to see what might cause this after all I don''t remember that there was drought anywhere around so I came to check what Happened " Alex replied. " Is that so?" Gordon then looked at the powerful looking Pidgeot and asked Alex ," So can you help us here?" All the people gathered here also looked at Alex hopefully. Alex was thinking whether he should interfere in this matter. " If you help us I will reward you this." Gordon seeing Alex having second thoughts replied. He took something from his pocket. Alex seeing this was surprised. Gordon saw this and was satisfied with his reaction," This is a miracle seed and it helps power up grass type moves." he said proudly," If you can help us we will give it to you." Alex after seeing knew it was a miracle seed. Miracle seed wasn''t something too precious and now with his monetary assets Alex could easily buy it. What was shocking about this miracle seed was the amount of power it contains. After unlocking his aura, Alex has started training according to the mysterious manual. Through this Alex has mastered little aura vision. With it he could feel different powers around himself. Although not completely mastered Alex can sustain it for few seconds but can''t use continuously. He now used the vision on the seed and saw it contains similar level of powers as the excellent quality fire stone Professor Oak gave him. So he knew it would not only help Bulbasaur grow faster but also become more powerful over time. This is really beneficial for his Bulbasaur. He then composed himself, and said," ok I will do it. So what did you deduce from your search?" " We investigated and cane across this object and after we found it was a pokemon which blocked the water. We wanted to move him out of the way but he was very heavy and we can''t move it an inch. We even used our pokemons but none of these attacks were of any effect on him." " Oh and what pokemon blocked the passage?" Alex asked curious. " It is a Snorlax." Gordon answered helplessly. Alex eyes widened on hearing it. " Please help us. We don''t want you to catch it but if needed we will even give you a leaf stone too." He said urgently revealing the stone. His fears are well deserved because even though Snorlax is a very strong pokemon the cost of raising it is astronomical. Many Trainer don''t want to raise it in fear of going bankrupt. But it wasn''t the case with Alex, because the mysterious book detailed how to feed super large pokemons like wailord or someone with great appetite like Snorlax. Also with a Snorlax Alex would have a cover for having orchard of berries. This way he would not have to worry about others affecting his trade at the beginning. This Incident made Alex feel like he was a protagonist whose luck helped him whenever needed. Alex agreed but only after taking miracle seed and leaf stone and then asked them to move out of the passage of stream. He then have have Espeon used nightmare, which she learned from Alakazam at the laboratory and he woke up with a loud roar at being disturbed. " Water prison" Slowking too was released who smothered the angry Snorlax in water and surrounded it with water. It was a sphere of water surrounding Snorlax. Snorlax tried to smash out of the prison but continuous harassment from Espeon''s psychic blasts stopped all these. Slowking didn''t just let him in water prison but also used sharp water arrows to weaken him. The combined efforts of Espeon and Slowking started to tire out Snorlax and seeing that he was Slowly losing conscience Alex took out a pokeball which powered by Espeon''s psychic hit him and s_u_c_k_e_d him inside. The pokeball rocked back and forth for some time and then he was successful captured. The people saw that he took down Snorlax and thanked him for his efforts. they happily started to head for their home. But The elder Gordon has some thoughts and then asked Alex," Thank you for this young man but could you help us one more time?" " Don''t worry we will reward you handsomely too If you help us." He looked at Alex earnestly These two things were quite impressive and it was enough to help them in return once more but if he gets another he doesn''t mind it." Ok but what your problem?" " There are few pokemon poachers who steal some of our pokemon eggs from us. We need your help in taking care if them." " Ok I don''t mind." Alex don''t fear and if things go worse he can escape in Pidgeot. " So I as the village chief of leaf town formally contract you to help us with the missing egg mission." Gordon said Alex now got a Snorlax and will soon face pokemon poachers and a surprising hunter will be in it too who will often face Alex in his journey. so stay tuned to be continued Chapter 92 - Pokemon poachers Alex rode on Pidgeot and headed towards the forest in which the poachers seem to carry most of their activities. Alex had his Pidgeot land so he could calm down Snorlax after all he didn''t have many pokemons with him now. He after that returned back Espeon after explaining her that Snorlax don''t like being interrupted in the sleep and are very violent towards those who disturb them from their sleep. After promising that after he calmed him down he would release her back she returned to the pokeball. Alex had Bulbasaur, Pidgeot and Slowking out in case he is still in berserker state. " Be ready in case he attacks and Bulbasaur ready the pollens." She has prepared enough pollens to paralyse Snorlax after all he didn''t know if he possess the ability of '' Immunity'' or '' Fat Body''. Since he is mostly known for sleeping so sleep powder wont work after all he might know snore or sleep talk. After commanding the pokemons he released Snorlax. It was a huge, bipedal, dark blue-green Pok¨¦mon with a cream-colored face, belly, and feet. Its body is composed of mostly its belly, where most of its fat reserves acc_u_mulate. Its head is large, with small, pointed ears and two pointed teeth protruding from its lower jaw. It has large, hind feet with three claws and a circular brown paw pad, and its arms and five foreclaws are short. It was about two metres tall and would probably weigh about 500 kg in weight. After being released he seemed pretty calm and looked around curiously until his eyes fell upon their group. He kept staring at them while sitting on the ground. Seeing this Alex started the talk. " Hello Snorlax, I am Alex and I am the trainer who caught you." Alex expected him to be angry at being caught just after waking up but he just nodded and didn''t do anything. Taking this as good sign he continued," I will be your trainer from now on and I would expect you to train deligently and not laze around I won''t expect you to train all the time but if you worked hard enough and listen to me I would reward you." Alex looked at his eyes and threw a cube shaped thing at Snorlax. Snorlax smelled it and found it good and ate it. He happily ate it and was surprised to find that his stomach was filled about one-tenth just by one such cube. Also it was really delicious so he wanted more " Listen to me and you won''t lack food in the future and get to eat more tasty foods. " Alex said Snorlax nodded and came towards him and hugged him happily though not enough to crush him. " ok Snorlax return now and later you will be rewarded." Alex returned all his pokemons and started to head for the poachers area. Alex has already planned the way for training Snorlax. It''s defence must be improved as be would never become as fast as sound but he could be trained to tank moves of Pokemon. Alex travelled through the forest for half an hour and he saw something odd. At this place he didn''t find even a single pokemon. This was odd as even in the dried stream he cane across a pokemon every few minutes and yet until now he can''t find a single wild pokemon. This was probably a sign that the pokemon poachers were probably nearby. He heard some sound of steps as well as leaves around so Alex slowed down his speed and climbed a tree high. After that he motioned Haunter in his shadow to see what it was. Haunter rose from his shadow smiled deviously and went into the trees shadow and scout the air. Up on the tree, Alex was still on lookout and waited for Haunter''s arrival. After a couple of minutes, Haunter arrived in front of Alex. Alex has sensed his presence due to his aura senses so he wasn''t all too surprised. He also flashed some Pokemon in his mind such as Mightyena, ariados, Crawdaunt, machoke, skarmory, etc. And in the tents were Pokemon caught in cages along with some Pokemon eggs nearby. Alex knew this would be a big fight so he made a plan. He released Pidgeot quietly and asked to distract them while Haunter would release the caught pokemons to create chaos. This plan was immediately implemented as soon as Alex reached the periphery of the base camp. Pidgeot commenced the attack by hyperbeam it brought down a few pokemons while as soon as this happened a roar came from the tents. The pokemons caught were released and they started to attack the poachers. There were Graveller, Beedrill, butterfree, venomoth and primeape in this group. They attacked in order to let the younger ones leave the camp and distract these poachers. Bulbasaur has started to paralyse the poachers with pollen. Slowking was beside her to help take down close quarter attacks. He let them handle and he reached the storage there were about 16 eggs placed here. The elder told him 15 eggs were stolen from the village and they all were green in colour. Among them was a plain grey pokemon egg along them. This egg was different from. others and sparked a d_e_s_i_r_e in Alex Espeon take these eggs out of here. Under the combined psychic of the two they transferred the eggs out of the tent but there luck wasn''t that great as one poachers came to stop him. This poacher was a female a few years older than Alex. She has short silver hair and she wore dark red clothes with black glasses similar to a Goggles. Seeing her Alex felt as if he has seen her somewhere. She yelled at Alex," Where di you think you are taking my trophies?" " You stole them so I am returning them to it''s real owner. " " So you are one of those good people who help people in trouble. You will then pay for being a good guy." " Me pay. Look who is talking. Your people are already almost finished. You think you can escape. ". " Who pay attention to dregs who can''t even handle a few pokemons. Today you will know the consequence of getting in the path of Hunter J " Hearing this Alex was shocked. It was the ruthless pokemon poachers from that time who went after priceless pokemons. to be continued Chapter 93 - Facing Hunter J Alex was shocked by her appearance but he quickly calmed himself and motioned his pokemons to move the pokemon eggs away from them. She did not stop him because these eggs were her bounty and they will help her earn money so them being unscathed was important. After that she threw two pokeball and out came, a shelgon and a skorupi. Alex had Espeon and Haunter join the battle. If one asked him he would have wanted Pidgeot or Slowking to face them after they are more powerful and may settle the battle at a cheaper cost. Before Alex could command, She had her pokemons commence the attack. Shelgon attacked Haunter with dragon breath and skorupi with pin missile at Espeon. Haunter merged in the shadows to dodge while Espeon used psychic to change their direction and saved himself. Skorupi vs Espeon Skorupi used range attack to start but Espeon was going for close range. Alex told her that her psychic won''t affect skorupi much so close range once was most prominent on it. She hammered him with iron tail who in turn used poison tail to confront Espeon. There attacks and dodging created small holes on the ground. Of course he also used bite and poison sting and poison fang to attack Espeon but she moved the rocks around with psychic and attack it or disrupted the momentum. This was effective as skorupi started to take deep breaths but continuous dodging took a toll on her as she too was having uneven breaths. Alex saw this and understood he can''t take it long or she would lose. Espeon swift Stars come from her mouth and attacked skorupi who used iron tail to swept them away but Alex has already ordered the finishing move," Hyper beam" An orange beam flew from Espeon''s mouth and hit skorupi. He flew back badly hurt and turned unconscious. Similarly the other battle was coming to an end too. Both Haunter and shelgon were tired from each other''s attack. They are now standing with will power and eyed each other similar to their trainers. T not being it''s match only Pidgeot, Slowking abd the recently caught Snorlax was capable of matching and defeating him.hey knew the next move will be the last. J knew she has lost so she has already started the escape plan but she won''t admit defeat easily. She would take down at least one pokemons of this annoying brat. She added," Who Are you brat?" " I am Alex , you are?" As she hasn''t officially introduced herself. " I am Hunter J remember this. Because I will be the greatest poacher of all " She declared. " Zen headbutt" " Venoshock" Both the attacks hit both of them and tried them unconscious. A dust cloud rose on impact and obscured the vision. When the cloud cleared hunter J has left while her co poacher friends were unconscious on the ground or paralysed under stun spore of Butterfree or slept under sleep powder of Bulbasaur. Alex quickly rushed out of the way before his arrival and looked at the rocky behemoth. Average Onix are about 28-30 feet or around 9 metres long but this is about one and half times longer than average. This behemoth was about 40 feet long or can b around 12 to 14 metres long. each of it''s Rock segments were a few metfor the count and Bulbasaurre wide. this pokemons was really a giant. The most important thing that Alex noticed about this beast was a machine located at the spike on it''s head as well as it''s blood red eyes. Alex understood that this machine might have sent Onix into blood rage and he needed to be subdued. With Espeon and Haunter out his Bulbasaur wasn''t it''s match especially such a behemoth. The only one capable of matching or beating it were Pidgeot, Slowking and the recently caught Snorlax. Alex decided to hand over this battle to Snorlax as if this battle went out of hands there were Slowking and Pidgeot to handle it. He threw the only unreleased pokemon Snorlax. A big fat round pokemon landed with a loud slam and slight tremor in front of onix. Alex told Snorlax," Snorlax since it is our first official battle together do I will instruct you and try to follow my words. " It would be unrealistic to expect a pokemon especially a new and untrained pokemons to follow it''s trainers words to.the letter in his first battle. But he hoped he would at least try to follow all the command. So Alex gave the most effective incentive for Snorlax," Snorlax if you follow my order deligently I will rewards you with your favorite flavor pokecube." This did the trick and Snorlax stood more erect than before and has a strong battle determination. Alex saw that onix smashed it''s tail towards Snorlax so he ordered " roll out of the way" Snorlax turned into the shape of a ball and rolled out of the way and then smashed onto onix. This made onix fall on the ground with a loud " thummm" and it was even more enraged. It sent out Rock on Snorlax as well all round to disrupt the movement of Snorlax rolling. Seeing that Snorlax could contend with onix''s strength for some time Alex told him to keep slamming into him and whenever he has a chance sent an ice beam on the device. After smashing onix sometime on the ground Snorlax went behind it''s head and hit the ice beam on the device while freezing some parts around it in ice. It g_r_o_a_n_e_d out in pain and smashed some trees nearby "Snorlax focus punch" And a mighty punch crashed in the frozen machine and slammed it on the ground. The destruction of machine calmed down it''s irrational anger but don''t completely calm it down. After gaining sense he charged dragon breath towards Snorlax who heard," Hyper beam" from his master. Soon both clashed with Snorlax overpowering onix and defeating it. Alex then threw a pokeball and captured it. After all such a big onix is great and if turned into stelix it would be core tank of the team. After moving sideways for sometime it dinged signifying that he was captured Alex looked around to see a destroyed calm with about ten poachers unconscious along with pokemons. It seems Hunter J escaped while he was taking on onix. Since she may have left far away from there Alex left her be and headed towards the poachers with some heavy thoughts. Hunter J escaped from Alex but managed to defeat or almost beat Espeon and Haunter. What will Alex do next? Stay tuned To be continued.. Chapter 94 - REWARD FROM GORDON Alex went towards the now tied up poachers with some heavy thoughts. If he let them go, they would probably try to find problems for him or Hunter J would make them do it. So here Alex wanted to deal with all of them. Alex thought of his pokemons. His older pokemons have already killed some people who felt they were easy targets when he travelled around the town. But his younger pokemons have never killed or at least never killed them face to face. This will be a good time to exercise their mind. He released his pokemons once more and started to heal the injured Haunter and Espeon. When They were able to move around he stood in front of the captured poachers and motioned his pokemons to surround them. After that Alex told his Slowking to wake them up so that it might get started. Alex was going to kill all of them now and here so the news of him getting a mysterious and most probably a powerful pokemon egg should not spread He know that Hunter J won''t reveal him because it would soul her reputation and if they are left or handed over to the league they might spread words about him and the pursuit of J for him will be more enthusiastic to the point of his family getting involved which he doesn''t want. As for why waking them up Alex wanted to strengthen the resolve if his pokemons. If they were unconscious their death will be silent but with how he keeps getting involved in these situations Alex felt they should now learn to dye their hands red. Soon the twelve people caught were slowly coming to senses. He then nodded to Slowking and three of them flew out. Alex then told Espeon, Haunter and Bulbasaur, " Espeon use iron tail to end him, Haunter ice punch and Bulbasaur use vine whip to suffocate him" They did as he asked and soon, the three saw the life in the eyes of his captured people slowly leaving their attacks began to slowly down in case of Espeon and Haunter while Bulbasaur grip loosened. Alex then resolutely said," Don''t hesitate and do as I say or I will let you like them even more slowly." This made them afraid. Although Espeon and Haunter killed the goons earlier too but to see them die right in front of their eyes while looking at their eyes was terrifying. They averted Their eyes or closed but once again Alex said," don''t close your eyes. Learn to bear it because in the future you would have to go through this kind of situation more and more. " his voice was as cold as ice they waivered a little but held till the end. After that he let them end the rest too. Slowking meanwhile had dug a pit to bury them. Alex saw the three pokemons at daze after undergoing these situations. Alex bent down to his knees and rubbed the head of Espeon and Bulbasaur and said softly," If we want to grow stronger we will be entering the true wildzone soon and there you will truly experience kill or be killed situation. That place is where not even league intervenes because this place is a true birthplace of genius."while he thought ,''Every pokemon elite four trainer as well as champion has to stay here for at least a year and the newly assigned gym leaders must show their capability by staying there for at least two months to show their skills and poweress. As soon as we are entered in list of youth tournament Professor told me that I must enter there and stay for at least a week so that we could access the level we really reach. If we can remain in the forest for a month we will be granted a Pokemon Researcher certificate and we can directly enter the tournament instead of going through the qualifiers.'' " If we can''t survive even a month there we will never be regarded as a truly strong trainer. Because of the league there isn''t any war among regions but out there is a battlefield so we will have to be ruthless if needed to survive there. Remember never show mercy on a battle " he said finally and then Slowking rose the dead bodies into the pit and Pidgeot used heat wave to burn them slightly and disfigured them. After they burned a little he filled the pit so that they won''t attract others attention by scent of decay. He then returned the Pokemons and took the Pokemon eggs to the leaf village via riding the Pidgeot. Alex himself was a little hurt with letting his pokemons go through this. Even Espeon who travelled around with him was now in the pokeball along with Haunter. Yet it was necessary.after all people killed by you right in front of you or one dying fecause of you away from you is different. He put these thoughts back and Alex saw a small locality with small house at a distance. There were around twenty to forty house in this place so the population here won''t exceed a few hundred at most. Alex directly headed to the biggest house at centre of the village where the possibility of finding the village elder Gordon was most probable Pidgeot flying over the village had attracted the attention of people below and they started to head for the center to see why someone would come at a small place like this. This uproar also brought out the elder from the building. Alex came down from Pidgeot and came in front of elder Gordon. Gordon asked him," Is there any problem out there? Did you have any problem?Did you find them there?" he felt Alex encountered a problem or didn''t find them there so he came back here to him. Alwx just pulled out the pokemon egg for Gordon to see and told him," Here you go. So what was my reward again?" " You got them back so soon from those poachers. What Happened to those poachers?" " after I beat them down they ran away also you only asked me to get back the eggs and not to catch the poachers or anything." Alex said " Yeah what you say is true. So why don''t we head in and so I can officially complete the contract along with your rewards." " I am in a hurry. I was heading to the port for some fresh berries and now with that Snorlax I am in need of tons of berries for his appetite along with some seed for growing them myself." " Is that so?" he asked and his eyes sparkled and said," I was going to hand over a rare pokemon for your help but if you need berries we could help you with this." Gordon went inside and after a few minutes came out with a pokeball, a certificate as well as a bag and handed them over to Alex," Here are some seeds of Oran berry, cherry berry, pecha berries, rawst berry, Cheeto berry and also sitrus berry. I think these will be adequate." Alex was shocked by this and involuntarily blurted out ," Isn''t it a bit too much?" " These pokemons were a ray of hope for us. Of we lost them we will be having great lsoe and you helping us out was similar to giving new hope to us. So they don''t matter. " He said sincerely. These pokemons were much more to the old man than to Alex. They were a source of uplifting the status of the village in the league. If they could have an intermediate level trainer fron here then they would get much relief than they do now. So Gordon thought he made a profit. Alex after taking them didn''t bother to wait here more and flew away on Pidgeot off to the mountain nearby for ground pokemons he need at the berry orchard. So what pokemons did Alex get as reward and what will happen in the mountains? Stay tuned. To be continued Chapter 95 - Surprise capture Alex took off on his Pidgeot along with his rewards. While handing over the reward he also gave him an envelope containing something similar to a pendant. After all he took a miracle seed and leaf stone for taking care of Snorlax and this time he angered a powerful pokemon poacher he was willing to once again negotiate to get more benefits for himself. After all a Pokemon along with some berries weren''t enough but this envelope managed to compensate him enough. When he tried to scan it using aura vision his eyes were evaded or even repelled by it. If not for Gordon signalling him to not check then and there he would have already seen it. After flying for few minutes he let his Pidgeot hover for sometime so he can see what he got. Alex took out the envelope and see a letter along with a necklace with a green gem embedded on it. He took out the letter to read: '' Young man, Thank you for your help. I know the pokemon I give you won''t be enough compensation but I hope this will sate you. This is an old relic of our people. This was blessed by a powerful grass type who also blessed our lands with fertility because an ancestor helped her in the past What pokemon blessed it I don''t know but I know it helps the grass pokemons similar to miracle seed. Since you liked it so much I thought you would like it too. As for why I don''t reveal it out there is because many would think I was being overly generous in rewarding you. They think past is more important than present or future. Since you helped our future generations I hereby reward you the relic of the past. Once again I thank you for your help. If you need our help please tell me I will surely help in the future. Village chief Gordon'' After reading the letter Alex once again looked at the green gem and felt something extraordinary about it. He then let it be and told Pidgeot to head off for the valley nearby. This valley has many Diglett and dugtrio here. They mostly sooth the soil allowed better flow of water and also provide essential minerals to the plants which grow around. They can be the gardener of the wild too. So he decided to have at least six of them captured for his own work. Alex reached the valley and came across pokemons sneakily looking at him and Pidgeot who landed there. A few curious pokemons like Pichu and Swablu even looked at him directly. Seeing them Alex motioned towards them and took out some pokecube. It''s sweet scent attracted Pichu and Swablu out. He then gave them the cube. After surveying it and find that there was no thing to fear they ate it happily. Meanwhile Pichu discharged an electric shock around though it missed all and hit the tree. While they ate Alex took out the Pokedex to scan them. '' Pichu: it can''t use electrical moves effectively. When you excited or surprised they unintentionally discharge lightning.'' '' Swablu: Swablu has soft light fluffy wings that are like cottony clouds. It is not afraid of strangers and often sit on top of people like a hat''. After that he asked them," Can you tell me where I can find Diglett?" "pi" " Swi" they tilted their heads and looked at the person in front puzzled. " I have a farm. I need them to soothe the ground there as well as help in raising orchards there. So I need some of them" he replied. So they are still in their baby states. He really liked baby states pokemons because if trained well they can be stronger than their counterpart and also the bonds between them would be stronger too. So he was calm with them to bond and see if they can join him. He also saw a Raichu and altaria nearby looking at them. So he wasn''t aggressive towards them .it wasn''t that he was afraid but of he act too violent with them it might affect their relationship later. They then looked at each other and chatted and then both swablu and Pichu raised their hands forward probably asking more in return for direction. He handed one to both which disappeared as soon as it landed on their palm and then said," You will get more if you help me." They then rode his shoulders. One on each shoulder and Swablu sat on his head. They then guided him through the forest. They came across a few dugtrio and Diglett working there. Alex arrival startled them but Alex quickly released his Slowking to first negotiate and if not then act aggressive. Slowking then started to chat with the dugtrio while Alex scanned then too. Scanner also collect the other data of Pokemon along with their approx weight while comparison with the original data. So Alex scan even the prescanned Pokemon to compare the different pokemon characters found in different places. Slowking then motioned Alex and said," If we beat their leader they will agree on the conditions that they be allowed to visit them too. " Slowking though easily best the dugtrio by lifting him off ground and send it a water pulse. This battle shocked the tribe while the two young ones at his shoulder and head jumped up and down excited about the battle. " so who agreed to join" Six Diglett and two dugtrio came forth who were caught by Alex. The two pokemons on his shoulder accidentally touched the empty pokeball and got caught too. This was surprising and the two overseeing pokemons came forth and shouted at Alex. Slowking stood in front ready to take them on. Alex don''t want to fight here in case these Diglett get hurt and later affect the pokemons whom he caught. Also he wanted to negotiate with the pokemons for raising these young ones. " Calm down. Let''s talk about it. I want to raise them and you can battle me to see if I am capable of not. Also to help you, you both can face my Slowking together." This angered the two thinking he was insulting them but felt they can teach him. How the battle goes? What is the use of the green gem? What will happen next? Stay tuned. To be continued Chapter 96 - Meeting an old friend Alex was standing by the side. He decided to let Slowking face the two parents on his own. These two were about early elite level not Slowking''s opponent who was at peak elite but together may provide decent challenge to Slowking. Raichu and altaria stood together and ready to face Slowking who lazily stood there but if one would pay attention, he was acc_u_mulating his psychic powers to face them. Alex seeing both were ready said," Start" As soon as he said that Raichu sent a thundershock at Slowking what channel was deflected by psychic towards altaria. She used cotton guard to protect herself. Meanwhile Slowking sent water pulse towards altaria Who was smashed to the ground. Not giving her a chance he then put her in water prison from the water of water pulse. This stopped her. The reason that Slowking target her was Alex psychically telling him. Raichu and altaria are both strong but Raichu has speed and type advantage yet what made altaria stronger was her endurance, her dragon type as well as her physical strength. Slowking although strong has weak defense as well as slow speed. So while he could deflect electric attacks altaria close attacks like dragon rush, brave bird or giga impact if she knew would make it difficult for him. If Raichu knows volt tackle he would still be in trouble but this move can only be learned at Pichu stage which made the Pichu attractive for Alex. Slowking then started to use the water prison as shield for electric moves which was advantageous for Slowking. This helped hurt and weaken altaria but also tired out Raichu. Seeing range attack not working and to help his partner Raichu dashed in white towards Slowking and slammed with his long tail. Seeing Raichu almost going down she used hyper voice which made Slowking lose control over water prison releasing her. Altaria then used dragon rush and threw back Slowking in the air and headed for Raichu and gave him a pecha berry. Although it didn''t cure him completely but it still managed to make him moving again. This time the two parents were very serious and ready to go for round 2 while Slowking himself was angry at himself for letting her escape. This time he won''t let them off easily. But a voice shouted," stop" This turned their attention towards Alex who now shouted. " This is just a battle to confirm whether they be allowed to travel with me. It is not a life and death battle. Slowking bring them down." Slowking stared at Alex then shards of rocks started to fall down on the ground which were hidden among the trees. This shocked the two others " also you two were going too serious too. Raichu is poisoned badly if not healed soon it will affect his actions and activities later. And because of this he might die if he wasn''t able to function properly. " Alex said Hearing this both were saddened as they knew what he said was right. " Come here. I will help you." Raichu head for him while Alex used the antidote to neutralized the poison in the body while giving him a few pecha berries which will help subdue the remnants. Then he asked them," Am I eligible to raise them?"the two kids were amazed by the battle in front of them and wanted to grow just as strong so they were willing to go with Alex but that is if their parents allowed it. After all they are still young and they would instinctively follow their parents. The two parents then motioned Alex to wait for some time so they could talk to their mates and discuss and they dashed off to their nests. The two weren''t afraid of Alex leaving while they left because this Slowking almost took them down on their own and he still has a Pidgeot on him too. So he doesn''t need to trick them. Seeing this Alex felt he should have wait here and also cook food for his pokemons. It was already past afternoon and he didn''t feed them lunch because if the poachers fiasco. So now would be good. He released all the pokemons he had with him along with the recently caught pokemons like Snorlax, the dugtrio and Diglett also the new Pokemon which happens to be a combee from Sinnoh region. Although rare in Kanto but can be easily found in Sinnoh yet her honey skills will be useful for him too. Also her being a female made him lucky. The proportions of make to female ratio in combee was very low. The female can also evolve into a powerful vespiqueen which is also a very powerful pokemon. So he was happy with her. As he need is get some more combee and let this evolved into vespiqueen and he will have continued supply of honey at his disposal. Snorlax let them do as they want and just laid on the ground. Espeon came towards Alex and nudged him. Seeing the three pokemons recover slightly made Alex happy. He rubbed her head and said," Girl, can you look after them while I prepare food for them especially those Pichu and Swablu. They are newborns and will cause trouble. You don''t want them to be as naughty as Haunter or nidoran do you?" Hearing this Haunter grunted in disagreement but Espeon was vigilant about not letting them be like that. He then went off to cook food after Haunter returned with logs. While he was cooking Espeon called him and when he looked towards them he saw a familiar pink pokemon jumping on Snorlax stomach. It was Mew. It seemed they once again encountered mew. And she already enjoying herself. How will the next adventure go for Alex? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 97 - THE MYSTERIOUS GEM Alex saw that mew was playing along with Pichu and Swablu on Snorlax stomach using it as trampoline and seeing who can jump the highest. He was shocked by her appearance. Since food will be cooked soon so he decided to finish it first and greet her later. If it was before he met mew he would be thrilled and had left all things to meet her but he spent weeks with her (in her Eevee form). So he wasn''t that thrilled now. After completion he went towards Snorlax and said,"You are enjoying yourself aren''t you Mew?" Hearing Alex voice she stopped jumping and looked at him then dashed and hugged him. It would be seem someone was happily meeting an old friend of not for her tail roaming around him as if to find something. Seeing this he smiled and pulled a box. Seeing this she was puzzled. So Alex explained," I made your favorite and this box is full of them. If used properly it might last for a few days." She happily took it and flew around Alex. The young pokemons don''t know why she was like this but joined her in circling Alex. Alex was happy to see them like this then she stopped and then suddenly teleported away with the box and after a few moments returned. Alex asked ," Where did you go , Mew?" Mew replied telepathically," I went to hide the box so I can eat it later. So what do you make? I smell all the way from here. Us it delicious. Can I eat too?"while making cute expressions. Alex just smiled and then he began to distribute food to his pokemons as well as for himself. All were eating the food deligently. Snorlax too woke up to eat and after eating he slept again. He saw Espeon, Haunter and Slowking surrounding mew and talking. He looked at them chatting while he unconsciously fingered the gem. He was curious about it''s origin so he decided to ask her. As soon as he took it out, mew looked at it and asked," when did you meet celebi, Alex?" " Celebi?" He asked puzzled " Didn''t you meet her?" " Is it related to her?" He asked " Yeah. It is her powers I felt from it." She answered" So where did you get it?" " I helped a village with poachers so they rewarded me with it." " Is that so?" Then she looked at him slyly ,"Do you know what it does?" Her changed Expression puzzled him but he still answered," no" " Hmmm" them she started laughing and said," I can tell you but I want ten more boxes of different flavors." Seeing her negotiating with him, Alex couldn''t help but smile. It was similar to a kid demanding something in return for helping an elder. Alex could happily do it but felt he too should play along with her, " I can''t get so many I can only do two more with my current berry reserve. Of course if you give me some berries seed then with the help of Diglett," motioning towards the group of ground pokemons," I can grow them and you won''t have to worry about getting your treat." He said directly. He felt he could easily get some rare pokemon berry from her so he said that. Mew who was a rookie in this field easily accepted his words and felt he said the truth so she agreed. He took out two more which were whisked away by mew and after she stored them at her home she once again appeared and brought some berry seed with her and said,'' I only have these berries. I don''t know what they are but they were really tasty. So take these now and grow them so I can get more of them to eat. Also I will bring more next time. As for this gem it is blessed by Celebi''s grass and time powers. Do you know other the dialga only she has time power of course I too can use some but I don''t do it. Dialga always shouts at me when I do it saying how I cause problems for him and what not. He is very rude too never letting me have fun. Who cares if I change a thing or two can''t he just reshape or just let them be. He even makes celebi not play with me because I don''t let her peaceful survey the timelines.'' She continued to complain about the Legendary temporal Pokemon, dialga. Alex was amazed how she dish out the legendary pokemons even when she was in the wrong yet he felt so very Arceus was sleeping now and she being just below him she can do as she wants. Anyway his pokemons they barely know much about the Legendary Pokemons in Kanto let alone the temporal legendary of sinnoh. The legendary are only known to researchers or people who mostly research them. If an Average person even if see a legendary unless specifically told he would just regard them as rare pokemon found in that region. So his pokemons just laughed it off and didn''t bother but Alex coughed out to stop her tantrum. '' Yeah. This gem will enhance grass power along with the quality of grass items like leaf stone, sun stone or miracle seed.'' she said Hearing this Alex was shocked greatly. This can be another way for him to gain wealth. After all if it enhance quality then the leaf stone and miracle seed he got were probably evolved from poor or ordinary stones. This way he can sell good or even excellent quality of he is in direct need of money. After all if he do so actively he might have to suffer some attacks and now he just want to be low-key. But mew hasn''t revealed all it''s powers. '' That is what it do fron the grass energy. With the time and grass powers it can speed up growth of plants around itself. So if you use it it might not drastically lessen time but can lessen it by a quarter. It meant if a tree needed four years to grow then it might take three or even slightly less because of it''s presence. You can even water the plants by dipping it in the water and that magical water can make it''s fruit more powerful and effective too.'' All these quality may help Alex greatly in his berry farming. With the combee he could start the honey business and after sometime he can do berry too. He can also model the area according to his pokemons preference later. Or even expand later. While Alex was thinking about the future plans some Pokemon arrived at their camp. They were the parents of Swablu and Pichu along with them were older Raichu and altaria who could probably be head of the tribe. They after arriving were shocked by Mew''s presence and bowed at her knowing her identity and then asked their kids to bow too but the kids just looked at them puzzled . Alex knew why they did so but he let it be. Mew now freely flew around Alex and looked at him. " I accidentally caught their kids so they tested me if I am qualified to raise them. But after that they went back to their mates before making a final decisions and now they came to reply." He explained her who looked at them and nodded The parents felt they could try to get him release them once more or at least try for their kids but now seeing that he knew Mew they felt he would take good care of the pokemons. After all it has been rumoured that Mew don''t reveal herself to bad people. So the parents agreed but asked to let the kids return home and say goodbye to their family. The heads once again bowed to mew and left with them after promising their return and Alex and his other pokemons along with mew happily ate the lunch at evening. Alex got a green gem which had time and grass powers and he met mew again. How will this affect him and how will he build the farm. Also he got new pokemons too. Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 98 - Farm Life ( part 1) Alex is now laying on the shore of the lake meanwhile there are sounds of laughter and water splashing coming from the said lake. The lake happens to be lake Poly around which he wanted to create the farm and now the entire area of a few kilometre around the lake including it is his personal property. With him buying such large land attracted the attention of the league but this didn''t cause him any problem. In fact it just speed up the process and he only bought the land and the lake was just a extra bonus he got. It took ten days since he started the talk with Mayor Boot for land to complete the deal. As for how much it cost he spent 100 million on land as a few kilometers away was a tall mountain which he found was a great place for ground types. His onix fell in love with it because of the variety of minerals it has. This mountain he decided to decide in parts. The top would be mostly for land based ice type and Piloswine and the lower belongs to rock or ground type he catch later . after that had erected a snowstorm there. This phenomenon attracted the attention of some people around but it was handled by his pokemons as for the poachers they supplied their life energy to Haunter. This was another discovery of Alex. Along with the berries the life energy is also very nutritional to ghost types. Earlier he felt only fear energy was possible food for them but now life energy made it easier. He knows as he travel around more he would face many life death experience hence the life energy supply can be consistent for Haunter. Also it is similar to alcohol for ghosts as they become intoxicated and began to cause chaos. With timely subdue of haunter by Espeon stopped it all. The sky high price is because he felt if he doesn''t do it now later it might be problem. Currently he is only working on areas around the lake. It has been a month and in this time a one storey house with five bedroom and total spread a hundred metre long house has been built. As for how it was made so soon was the application of Pokemon who made it easy along with Alex spending a good sum of money. His siblings are playing in the lake with the young pokemons and others Basking in the sun nearby. He was taking a day off today. His two week stay became one and half months stay because of the work he had. This time he mostly did the paperwork for land and other formalities while training his pokemons along with new ones. He also often visited the pokemon center for some task works. These tasks served as good training practice for the young pokemons like Ralts, Swablu and pichu. He also did some with Snorlax to bond with him. Also as soon as he took Pichu away he gave it an everstone. Unlike in the games where pokemons at baby stage need love and friendship to grow and evolve in the real world, they grow at a vigourous rate. It is said Pichu, igglypuff and azuril can evolve into pikachu, Jigglypuff and marill in just half a month to a month if they survive. Also with such a small juvenile stage makes their appearance rare and also if trained well at this stage makes them much stronger in the future. Alex found his Pichu to be about ten days old so he quickly gave him everstone and started to train him and decided only to let him evolve after he learned a bit of volt tackle. He also got an azuril too along with other three water pokemons as this curious pokemon followed them and joined him. But the water needles created from lake by Slowking calmed them and they negotiated he won''t catch any more pokemons from the lake even if they agree which he agreed but this time Alex added a new condition that if any of the pokemons decided to follow his siblings they should not obstruct them or else He stopped there letting them think of what he may do. After all they knew if angered he could finish them off after seeing Slowking powers. And he secretly hinted them he wasn''t the strongest pokemons Alex currently has. So after that Alex brings his siblings to the lake so he can bond and get a stater like he got Pidgeot earlier which may ease their adventure in the future if they hope to do so. His brother Ben currently has a poliwag who follows him while his sister Clara got a Horsea which was surprising for Alex but he later found that this curious horsea came from the sea and now reside in the lake . It happened when he negotiate with water types and this pokemon before it could be expelled was saved by his pokemons. These two pokemons are quite powerful if trained well especially Horsea as a Kingdra who could create whirlpool in the ocean of he wants to. If she wasn''t his dear sweet sister he doesn''t mind getting him for himself but . He also has them Slowly train these two pokemons just basics at that too. Although he spent a lot during this time around five hundred million on trees, berries, land , building , as well as for mountain ownership he got a fifty year tax free space too. Of course if his family or descendants want to do more they will be taxed. Only his owned building or built at his lifetime could be tax free rest build after his death are under taxes. This way league could get profits too and the original won''t completely dominate it free. Anyway back to topic, the pokemon egg he got has started to move around more and more these days. And mew only said it was a ground type pokemons before she left again. So Alex has it laid on high quality minerals of the soil to strengthen his powers as well as he used Earth gem for him this may help him greatly in the future. He felt the egg may hatch in a day to two so he will stay for one more week and try to train the basics of the pokemons he caught. He has Snorlax run a l_a_p around the lake Poly to keep him active and train him physically. His physical powers can match a tyranitar and they can bring down mountains. He has trained dugtrio and Diglett too mostly on trapping others by ground powers and quickened their dig speed. He has Magikarp mostly do physical training by swimming across lake along with poliwag and tentacool to make them warm up. Magikarp tackled on Rick at shore to train, poliwag now learns water moves as well as small physical training Meanwhile tentacool learns to use poison more effectively from Haunter and it''s tentacles to subdue prey. As for combee is mostly training in speed now and has become the leader of other combee he bought from black market. He has about 20 combee who has started to make honey for Alex and will be edible in a week time too. The saplings, seeds along with some trees( very costly trees as they were transported whole) now can be seen in few hundred metre area. They will be the beginning of the new orchard farm of the Bart family. Also something interesting happened in this time too. To know what Happened stay tuned. To be continued Chapter 99 - Farm Life(part 2) The interesting thing was that the gift from his parents hatched. It extended his stay a bit longer. The pokemon was the aura pokemon riolu. It was a bipedal fox faced pokemon blue and black in colour. It was a male. Since it was a fighting pokemon so Alex had started to use his aura to nurture it. It was a way discovered by Alex when he saw mew. Even Pokemons in their egg can be nurtured. Mew used her psychic to nurture the Ralts egg, so he used his aura to nurture it. This way it knew him without even hatching and an aura bond was created between them. According to the aura guide, with this bond Alex can freely communicate with his riolu wherever he was at the expense of his aura. After evolving it has become bonded with Alex and has always followed him. He never left him and disliked staying in the pokeball. So now Alex has five pokemons who now became one of the companion in his journey- Espeon and riolu by his side, Haunter in his shadow, Pichu on his shoulder a d Swablu on his head. He has let riolu only train in aura for the first few days because he was very young and similar to Ralts he often emit aura. Sometimes he even sent out aura sphere too. It shocked Alex but later thought may be his aura made him learn it. Riolu of Lucario kingdom are the only ones out there who know aura sphere before evolving into Lucario. So he had him learn to control his aura so that he doesn''t accidentally use aura Sphere. He also know some egg moves like blaze kick and sky uppercut. It seemed one of his parent was a Hitmonlee or a Blaziken. Most probably a Blaziken. So he has him also learn fire punch after he can train . Electabuzz has taken upon himself to train with riolu as well as hand to hand combat after he learned from Alex that Lucario was one of the strongest fighting type out there. Also when he asked for a Pokemon to guard the farm for sometime about an year time he happily agreed and sent him not one but two pokemons, a majestic and beautiful Ninetails and his Arcanine. According to him his Arcanine was bored and wanted to travel around so for change of scenary he sent them. With Ninetails psychic powers can scout the area while Arcanine firepower to subdue or eradicate them. Alex felt that if they raise the pokemons like Horsea and poliwag well he might gift them the two a Growlithe and Vulpix but this is for the future. Currently he was tired out yesterday so he decided to rest today. Alex has trained in the aura vision yesterday and in his joy of success he overused his aura which strained his eyes and tired him a lot. And this was seen by his parents who forced him to take a rest today. And today his parents would stay at the house in the farm and look after his pokemons today. He then looked at the egg he got from the poachers which was placed over a wide variety of minerals. The egg absorbed the properties as well as ground power in the Earth gem which may even strengthen the defense of the pokemons later. Alex really looked forward to what it might be. He has spent about five million pokedollars on the minerals for this egg. And currently with the frequent shaking and shining a few times it might hatch tomorrow or day after tomorrow. But he decided to put it behind and just take a nap till it was time for dinner. And he just dozed off. But he was soon shaken wake by his siblings who should him and said," Brother wake up mom is call into you." " Wake up. Now is not the time to sleep " After some shaking he sat down from his sleep and asked," what happened? Is it lunch the already ?" " No there is still time for lunch." Ben said " Mom was calling you, she said you have a call." Clara said " how did you know?" He asked " Espeon told Slowking who told us that" This made him curious so he immediately called Arcanine nearby. " Arcanine can you take me back. Mom called and it must be important if she asked Espeon to call him back." He just picked him and agreed. He sat down for Alex to ride him. After riding him, he motioned and soon they dashed off. Travelling on Arcanine felt great and he himself wanted to get one later. Let''s see if he has any luck in the future. In just a few minutes they reached the house which was about a kilometers away. This too without any discomfort. He was really envious of Professor oak for having such a great Arcanine. He dropped off him thanked Arcanine and entered inside. Inside was Espeon who immediately guided him to the phone where his mother was talking to someone. When he saw whose image was from the screen he saw that it was Agatha. The only people who knew the number of his house were Professor oak , Agatha and his parents. No one not even his friends knew it. Seeing him, Agatha greeted," Hello Alex how are you?" " I am fine Agatha. Is there anything important that you called now?" His mom left them so they can talk privately. " Can''t I just call to talk with you?" " No no. It is just that you called and my mom asked he to hurry immediately without saying anything made me think it might be too important." " It is really important though. If not for the Cerulean gym leader busy with something else he might have done it but I remembered you were around so you can help us. So are you free now?" " Ah yes I am free. What is it that need my help?" " Do you know the Silph corporation?" " Yeah. It is the currently one if the largest corporation in Kanto who are heavily invested in TM, aren''t they?" " Yes you are right. ". " Did something happened with them?" "Nothing happened to Silph itself. The chairman and founder of Silph is Mr. James Montenegro. He has only one son who is Bill Montenegro. His son is an avid adventurer and also a bit of a researcher or scientist whatever you call him. His whereabouts are currently unknown. Normally he is heavily protected but his disappearance can cause chaos in Kanto so Mr. Montenegro asked the league to secretly search him and not reveal it. If found he is missing many people especially the underworld would Target him and may blackmail James. Since Waterflower is busy with something important so can you find him?" " Where did he went missing?" " He went missing near the foggy forest twenty kilometers northwest for floral town. You can easily find it as it is all year round covered in fog. The pokemons there also Excel in sneak attacks. " " What makes you think he is fine?" " For security he has the three elemental evolved form of Eevee who are at least advanced level so he might have chance of survival. Also he is the sole heir to Silph. So he is very important at least until his dead body is found he is considered missing. So do you accept this confidential mission?" Alex was in deep thoughts of whether he should take this mission or not. " Don''t worry you will be well rewarded." She added jokingly. " Ok I will do it." " All the other information will be sent to your Pokedex. Also Alex this is a mission of grave importance especially for you." He nodded and then turned off the call. Alex has now got a confidential task of finding a sole heir. How will this task go? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 100 - Foggy Forest After the call Alex quickly decided to pack his things and make preparation for this task. He has heard much about the Foggy forest. It is a forest located north west of Kanto by the sea. It has dense fog covering the forest all year round so it is called the Foggy Forest. It is also rumoured to have a powerful water type pokemons or a very powerful treasure is the cause of this fog. In the fog one can''t even see more than a few metre away from himself. Even the keen eyes of Pokemon can''t penetrate the fog. The main reason for people believing that the fog is mysterious is because not even psychic pokemons can scan the area with their psychic. Even a powerful psychic pokemon can only look about a hundred metres at most if he goes all out here when elsewhere he could even scan a few kilometers area. He has packed warm clothes, flashlight, ropes even a staff which was given to him by Mew herself. This staff is made from the things in the tree of beginning and also help him as amplifier for his aura tricks. So Alex mostly keep it on him. Many trainers have weapons on them to protect themselves from pokemon attacks. One of the reasons that trainer clothes appeared in market as a separate category is because these clothes are specially made to absorb some damage from Pokemon attacks and protect the trainer. League provides subsidy to trainers in their clothes fund while some elite trainers can model their own clothes so the cloth designer is a pretty high end job. Alex himself got his clothes modified and specifically modelled for him in this break under his mother''s demand. She wanted him to get new clothes because in her words you can''t always wear same clothes all the time. Anyway his new attire was composed of deep red shirt with black edges and black pants. And other set was a black shirt with deep blue pants. These were made from the silk made from web of ariados which are coated with fire resistant hell. These clothes can withstand some moves from Pokemons without getting destroyed. Of course because they were individually created about five pairs of each set instead of stock demand, so they cost him millions. Anyway after dressed up in red shirt and black trousers he came down to tell his parents about the task. As soon as he came down his mother saw him all dressed up and without giving him a chance she thundered," No young man. You aren''t leaving just like that. You said you will stay and rest some more. And I am not letting you leave after that episode of yours( him fainting for to overuse of aura)." " Mom I am not leaving. Agatha gave me a job which is just nearby. I have to find someone and then it''s all done. I can return by night or at most by tomorrow." He tried to console him. " But you just came back and now you are leaving it just isn''t fair ." And she started crying. Seeing this Alex''s father Arthur came to console her. Alex silently thought,'' This pregnancy is really annoying.'' Yes pregnant. His mother now sport a baby bump in her stomach showing she is few months pregnant now. He will soon have a new sibling in the next few months. Because of this Alex even considered leaving Happiny behind but thinking she is still in the rookie form she can''t be if much help. So he can let his father take care of her with grandpa looking after the kids. His father has also dropped his job in the power station too for taking care of Gwen. " Dear don''t worry . He is just going nearby and he won''t have any problem. His pokemons are really smart and strong, they can take care of him." Arthur consoled her. This calmed her a little but she still took Alex in a bear hug and then said," Ok but take care. Don''t put yourself in too much trouble. And also learn to say no sometime so you can spend time with your family. Who knows after how long we can see each other again." And she once again started to sob. According to his father, woman become very emotional in pregnancy times so he can only calm her down and after that he dashed out. Outside the house Arcanine was present. Seeing Alex all ready, he looked at him curious. Alex told him," Arcanine, I just got a job now so can you take me back to the lake." " arc¡­" he nodded and picked Alex by his shirt and threw Alex on him and dashed off. He quickly got his grip on Arcanine and they reached the lake. His pokemons were here. He decided to bring riolu( aura sense), Espeon( psychic scan) , Haunter( shadow espionage), piloswine ( strong power), Charmeleon ( warmth), Happiny ( for healing) , Pidgeot ( transport) and electabuzz ( good against water types). He took ten Pokemons other two being Snorlax and onix. They both can tank moves and can cover for Alex in case of escape. After that he told his grandpa nearby to look after the rest and also he calmed down young ones like Pichu, Swablu and Ralts for leaving them behind. He took the pokemon egg with him invade he chose to hatch. The egg has a Earth gem hooked on it which glowed slowly. After flying for some times, he came across a first surrounded by dense fog. The fog was so dense you can barely see the outlines of the forest and how wide the forest really was. You can''t even look at the opening in the forest for landing. He landed Pidgeot at the outskirts and then decided to head in on foot. As soon as he landed he released three pokemons, Espeon, Haunter and riolu and returned Pidgeot since he can''t be of much use here. Alex motioned haunter to hide in the shadow, while Espeon and riolu to follow him and guide him. So the three now entered the forest and in the fog he and his pokemons soon disappeared. Now Alex has entered the dense fog to find the Silph heir. How will the task go and what adventure he stumbles across ? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 101 - Wild attacks Alex and his pokemons have entered the forest and similar to what he thought they can barely see any think in front of himself. The foggy forest is close to johto region so many pokemons commonly found in johto. And from his research hoothoot, dunsparce, stantler are some johto Pokemons occasionally seen here. Also Zubat and Golbat can also be found here along with Gastly and ekans. The sunlight rarely falls here so this is a Haven for Pokemons whose senses are not based on eyes. Anyway, Alex has been walking around for some time and yet he hasn''t heard a single sound or seen even a Zubat or even Caterpie. This sent his danger senses Rolling because he could feel he is seen by somebody around here. Whether it is a person or pokemon he doesn''t know. He continued to survey around yet he didn''t find anything so he tried to use aura senses. As soon as he used his surrounding began to dissolve and soon two eyes began to appear in front. But on close observation it turned out to be the anthers of the stantler whose black spots resembled an eye. These pokemons are known for twisting reality and illusions. They have made many people die horrible deaths because of these illusions. They are one of the chief culprit of deaths happening in the foggy forest. They themselves are herbivores but their illusions trap once senses making them easy prey for predators and they die. Alex after seeing this motioned riolu to deal with him. Riolu charged him with a blaze kick and then a force palm defeated it. He left with his pokemons there and asked riolu to check the area with his aura so they aren''t trapped in the illusion again. Alex after dealing with them has to face a group of Zubat and Golbat who came to drain his blood. But Espeon, riolu, piloswine and electabuzz settled them down. Among them was a rather tenacious zubat which managed to endure two bolts if thunder from him and still able to move and tried to fly around. So Alex caught it. After all a poison and flying type crowbar was really strong and he could get another pokemon on whose back he can fly around other than Pidgeot. If trained well he may even melt some metals with it''s poison. Of course other poison type pokemons can have their poison improved but it is a long process with very few offspring surviving the procedure. This process involve breeding, enduring strong poison while it''s few generation later descendants have to mate with another powerful poison pokemon like drapion for example and then this offspring can have a really start poison may even melt stones when released. Of course very few offspring may survive even as egg or as young ones so the most appropriate pokemon for this process may be spinarak, venepede, venonat or weedle. The bug type are mostly capable for this theory because they give birth to more progeny at a time and have shorter maturation period. This is Alex''s view on poison types and us just a theory as for whether it might be true or not is a completely different things. But Alex has 60% surity for this theory which he might test later after he has travelled some regions. But this type of thing must be done in secrecy because of large scale death of pokemons as well as the potential of them. He was thinking these when he caught the Pokemon. As for why Haunter wasn''t involved was because he belongs to completely different egg group. Anyway, Alex has now encountered the attacks of stantler, zubat and even murkrow. This made him vigilant for the next possible attack. As he was passing he now encountered another Pokemon. This time it was pinser. While passing he didn''t encounter any pokemons now. He might have entered the pinser territory and so they are angry at him. He soon find himself surrounded by the aggressive bug types. They clicked their pinser and were ready for attack but he was calm. " Mass hypnosis" Haunter rose from the shadows and shrouded them with his aura and used hypnosis. Normally this attack might fail for some but because he has them trapped in his shadows the hypnosis beam was more effective on them. And they fell on the ground and fell asleep then he has riolu check the area so that he may easily pass the place without attracting attention of more pokemons. Being attacked so many times took a toll on him and made him mentally tired. After all he was still only eleven years old now no matter how m_a_t_u_r_e he act these situations may take toll on his mind. This is another reason Agatha gave him this mission so that he can get accustomed to these situations which may happen more often than not. Sometimes things will be boring during mission but they must remain calm because often this is a precursor of storm. Alex continued to trek around the forest bur soon his riolu captured something. According to him he sensed a very big energy source a few hundred metres away and that we should be ready for them. Since he was warned about this Alex became extra vigilant because normally in these cases this level of energy is a hub of troubles. So Alex released onix out. When the Rocky behemoth came out, he said," Remain underground and follow us. If we encounter trouble come and help us in retreat after that follow underground. " Onix bobbed his head up and down and then dig underground. After that Alex was vigilant and had Espeon ready to release more pokemons if he is bound or unable to do so. On reaching Alex found his target a green haired handsome boy named Bill whom he needed to find and beside him was the most probable source of energy. It was a ¡­. What legendary pokemon he encounter now? Why is Bill by his side? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 102 - Helping out Suicune It was a Suicune. Suicune is a slim, quadruped, blue, mammalian Pok¨¦mon with white, diamond-shaped markings. Its face and underside are white as well. Suicune has a thick, purple mane that resembles the aurora borealis and two white, streamer-like tails that wave forward. It has a long, white snout. Suicune has a large, hexagonal, cerulean blue crest on its forehead that resembles the antlers of a Dragon with two prongs on either side of the base. It has red eyes, a small tuft of fur under its chin, and small paws with white paw pads. But this Suicune has a big bruise on it''s hind leg. it had a pad covering it but it wasn''t enough to cover it''s entire leg. So it laid on the ground with to rest and not exert more pressure on it''s wounded leg. It is a legendary pokemons of johto who held same stature as the legendary birds of Kanto. And similar to them as the legendary birds are under Lugia, the three legendary dogs, Entei, Suicune and Raikou are under Ho-ho the rainbow pokemon. When she saw Alex appear in front of her, she became vigilant and tried to stand on her legs only to fall back on the ground. This also made the surrounding pokemons along with Bill aware of the his presence. Alex seeing this raised his hands in surrender and then said," Don''t worry I won''t hurt you." Of course this doesn''t made them any less vigilant. So he talked with the only human here," You are Bill Montenegro, the heir of the Silph Corp" " Who are you?" Bill became even more vigilant when he found this young boy knew him as not many know him or his identity because of security reasons. " I am tasked by Elite four trainer Agatha, the ghost queen to find you." He said but this didn''t make him lessen the guard. " And why should I trust you?" He asked Alex took out a token she sent him via teleportation after he took the task. Currently only pokemons via pokeball can be transferred through the sender in pokemon center and others but not items so it was done by psychic pokemons. He threw the token at Bill who unconsciously caught it. " I think this might prove it." Also to calm Suicune he showed his staff he got from mew. " I got it from a certain mischievous common friend of ours. " Suicune looked at the staff and sensed Mew''s presence as well as blessing on both the boy and staff. Mew didn''t explain much function of staff letting Alex to discover them except one,i.e., make pokemons especially legendary less vigilant of him in case he encounter them. And now this situation was reversed. The two has granted Alex a chance and felt he couldn''t fool them with these. After that Alex appeared in front of Suicune and felt a powerful water power in her. It was much powerful than when his Slowking uses water powers to combat yet a legendary without even releasing this power can be much more powerful than Slowking in his peak state was enlightening to say the least. Alex then.calmed himself and asked," what Happened to your guards and how did Suicune get wounded?" " While I was exploring we were attacked by the stantler illusion and some were killed by swarm of zubat and Golbat before they could take them on. After escaping Only three of us including me were left but we stumbled upon a pokemon poacher. He was really powerful. He killed the rest and I barely escaped with my life. He was the one who wounded her. She was attacked by the powerful tyranitar and luxray of his. She killed the poacher and luxray but his tyranitar before dying wounded her bad. Her hind leg bone is crushed. " Alex just nodded in agreement. He felt chill when he heard there was a tyranitar nearby but since he has died it won''t be problem for him, yet for confirmation he asked," Are you sure he is dead?" " For the poacher and luxray I am sure. I saw them frozen to bits and then broken to pieces but I am not sure about tyranitar. He got many wounds and there is little chance that he might survive. " Bill answered. " If it was anyone else I would believe you but one of the most important thing about the pseudo legendary is their tenacity and tyranitar is especially known for his attacks and terrible defense. There might be a chance he will follow you." Alex said gravelly. " What? Why? He is too wounded why would he chase us?" Bill asked urgently and fearful too. " The pseudo legendary are sought out similar to starter of each region and many pay sky high price for their young forms because if raised well they would be loyal to death towards their trainer. Since his Trainer died he would do everything he could to end the ones who caused it. And since he know you he would follow you." He replied. " Then what do we do?" " It is good thing that he is wounded bad or else I wouldn''t even a but of chance to take it down. Anyway our first priority is to heal Suicune. " He said " But how? We need a healer for that and berries won''t even help in these cases." Bill said sadly. " Don''t worry. I thought there might be a case similar to Now so I got ready for this. Come out, Happiny" And a young Happiny came out. She looked at the surrounding curiously and then her eyes fell on the wounded Suicune''s leg and then looked at Alex. Alex just nodded and she went off to treat the wounded leg. " She is quite focused in her work so don''t disturb her or she would get angry. And you don''t want her angry at you." And Alex shuddered a little. Charmeleon was once hurt in his training but he didn''t let her treat him that day all of them knew that healers are the most scary of all pokemons. " Now that she is treating Suicune. Let''s search for tyranitar or at least it''s dead body if he is dead just to be safe. " He said and then told Espeon," Let him search for target and tell him to be careful." " Which pokemon is searching for the tyranitar?" " Normally I would send Pidgeot to find him but the dense fog is a problem so I let my ground pokemons which hid underneath to search for him." " You have a pokemon hidden underground" while looking at the ground to search for sign if his presence. " Of course. Suicune has a vast energy reserve even if injured which warned Riolu so I had to be prepared." Motioning towards the young bipedal fox pokemons " Anyway let''s rest while he search for him." Alex said and sat at the sides looking at Happiny treating Suicune while bill following him. Meanwhile in other part of forest, A wounded pokemon was searching for something or somebody. His head , stomach and arms bled blood yet none of the zubat nearby appeared here afraid of the angry presence released by him. This was the above mentioned tyranitar who is searching bill for his revenge. Alex came across an injured Suicune while his target is being wanted by an angry tyranitar. Let''s stay tuned for more.. Chapter 103 - Arrival of pseudo legendary Alex waited for intel about the enraged pokemon from Onix. He meanwhile decided to rest here and feed his other pokemons because he didn''t feel he would be attacked by wild pokemons in the presence of Suicune. So he released all his pokemons and started to make food for them as well as some extra. After all they still have to feed Suicune so she could heal better So he went off to cook while Bill followed behind leaving his pokemons to be with Bill''s pokemons and Suicune and let''s not forget the wild pokemons too. Suicune has the power to purify the water that is polluted or corrupted so it is one of the most loved among the legendary pokemons. She provides new source of life to the pokemons so she was revered too. Espeon and riolu present with Alex remained behind to introduce his pokemons to their new probably temporary companions. Espeon started," All of you listen, this is Flareon, Vaporeon and Jolteon. And there is also Suicune. She is a special pokemon according to Alex so give her proper respect or else ..." She stopped leaving a threatening message in the end. All of them silently agreed to her except Charmeleon and electabuzz both being proud yet they didn''t say anything to her but lightly grumbled," She is being all bossy again. She is really irritating." Electabuzz by his side nodded in agreement. Charmeleon thought noone heard him but Espeon''s ears caught his words. She glared at him and retorted," I am bossy so what. Do you have any problem with that Charmeleon? If needed I can have your father train you some more. " Charmeleon on hearing this glared at her and almost attacked her but he stopped himself. His father always listened to Espeon while they were at that laboratory and always scolded him and told him not to fight her or he will pack him up. The words of his father, Espeon strength as well as Alex presence nearby stopped him from attacking. "So are you the ones we needed to find in this damp place." He said to the three evolved Eevees. " No it was our trainer you needed to find. " Flareon said " Thanks for the help " Vaporeon added " Though we were fine by ourselves." Jolteon grumbled. Hearing this all pokemons stared at them. " Don''t mind him. He is always like this. He is kind of brute and don''t like others helping them." Vaporeon tried to ease the atmosphere. " Don''t worry. I know much about brutes. Always thinking of destruction and all. Always causing trouble for the ones around them." Espeon said looking at Charmeleon and electabuzz. They noticed her stares but chose to ignore her. " What Happened to that big blue pokemons?"Snorlax asked looking at Happiny treating her. When the two went with Alex in a mission they got in trouble because of Charmeleon straight on attacking them. Alex doesn''t mind because it was his nature but Espeon always took a dig on him.He tried to diffuse the war environment between Espeon and Charmeleon. All the heated glares calmed down when they heard him. He was now one of the most powerful pokemons of Alex and usually don''t get involved in fights but all know just how powerful he really is. Even electabuzz has to go all out to defeat him and to match his strength. Also because if his calm nature he is loved by all the kids ( newborn pokemons). This help them from those kids constant annoying so they also listen to him when he spoke. " According to Alex, she is Suicune. She is a legendary pokemon like Mew we met before. " "Mew?" All the pokemons present except riolu and the three Eevees knew mew. " Yes mew. She is a legendary pokemon. Alex told me she is also called mother of all pokemons and she is really powerful, like she could beat all of us even faster than that brute''s powerful father." She explained. This shocked them and the other calm pokemons, piloswine asked," so she is as powerful as mew. If so then the one who injured her must be really powerful. " He too knew horror of that Charizard. So he wanted to know more. " No. She is much weaker than mew " she replied. All the pokemons breathe out the air they held back while Suicune dropped her head on hearing this. She has focused on hearing their conversation to know more about them. " The one who I jured her is a tyranitar. It is a really strong pokemon whom we can''t match if he is in full health." She continued " If at full health." Pidgeot entered the conversation for first time. " He is very injured and probably will die soon. And he is hunting them. Our mission is to protect them while onix went to find his whereabouts." " I see that''s why I didn''t find him. If not for this fog, I could have helped you too." Pidgeot said. " Don''t worry. We will have to prepare for the fight though. Alex warned next fight will be really difficult and this is the least level he expect of us in the future. " Alex told her what level he envisioned his pokemons and so she revealed this info to the others. Alex always trained them hard and they were strong but they didn''t have any fixed goal. With how easily Charizard demolished them made them feel weak and other times their opponents weren''t upto par. This time facing tyranitar even an injured one is blessing for them. So Alex revealed a bit of his future plans for them. A fully evolved and powerful pseudo legendary is at least elite level where his Pidgeot and electabuzz were at. But an angry one can reach pseudo king level. Let''s not forget he is dieing too so he will reveal all his strength even at cost of his vitality. So they will now face a pseudo king level opponent. This as a goal would make them train harder and they have a clear path to their future Instead of one completely surrounded by fog. After that they all started to mingle among themselves. Snorlax, Espeon and Pidgeot conversing with the three evolved Eevee. Charmeleon and electabuzz standing at sides and looked around to find their new opponent ready for battle. While riolu and Piloswine went off to Happiny in case she needed help from them in treatment of Suicune. Soon Alex returned with Bill along with food for all of them. While his pokemons didn''t interact with wild ones he still brought food for them too. After seeing Suicune eat his food and not being affected they too started to eat his delicious food. As they all happily ate soon the ground in front burst and onix came out. The only difference in appearance was a few pieces missing in his stone horn. After appearance he immediately roared at Alex," oooo" " So he is nearby. Ready for battle all of you. Happiny take Suicune away with Bill and others while we face him." And soon they got into action leaving behind food plates. And a deafening roar made them work even faster. Soon a big shadow about three metres tall was visible to them. The behemoth tyranitar has appeared. To be continued¡­ Chapter 104 - Facing the pseudo legendary As he got nearer his shadow size lessen and soon a 2.5metres tall green pokemons revealed his appearance. He was dull green in colour with a silver armour in the c_h_e_s_t and black marks on his legs neck area. He has spike like projection on his head, shoulder and tail. This was tyranitar, a pseudo legendary pokemon of johto known to destroy everything in it''s path in it''s anger whether it is town, forest or even mountain. He is also one of the most temperamental pokemon known. One of the main reason why Mt. Silver is a prohibited area is because they reside in those mountain. Alex felt pressure with tyranitar standing twenty metre away from him. This tyranitar was wounded and had a limp right arm while it couldn''t raise it''s leg to walk. He had to drag his left leg was being dragged along His blood has stopped flowing but the red marks left were still visible. He has multiple wounds on the armour and with them still blood red so Alex thought he might take advantage in battle later. After arriving it roared at Alex as if to make him move out of the way. He doesn''t want to waste his time on others and needed to take his revenge. Alex though didn''t move and said directly," if you want to reach them you will have to go through me." And his fighting pokemons like Charmeleon, electabuzz, Espeon, Pidgeot, Snorlax , Onix, piloswine and even Haunter were ready for battle but Riolu and Happiny were with Suicune. One because he was too young to fight someone so powerful and other because she was needed to treat Suicune. And then the battle between the two sides commended. Tyranitar immediately summoned the sandstorm which blocked their vision and let him enough time to get to the Target. But this sandstorm erupted was quickly subsided by Pidgeot twister and then trapped him. Alex said,"Charmeleon Snorlax use flamethrower." Both released a jet of fire and tyranitar was hurt by a flame wind storm trap. Normally this wouldn''t affect tyranitar but these heavy wound made him vulnerable to attacks. Alex wasn''t going to let him have the chance to attack so he said," Onix rock tomb, piloswine avalanche." Soon tombs of rock fell on tyranitar accompanied by avalanche. He immediately warned them," Don''t let your guard down. He won''t lose so easily." And soon the ground trembled and the tomb in which tyranitar was trapped began to break and an enraged pokemon''s visage was revealed. Earlier tyranitar wanted to not waste his time and let Alex leave but not anymore. He will face his anger. Tyranitar soon slammed his only working leg on the ground and the entire place shakes with 6 rickter scale earthquake. Soon the trees and every rock and other thing nearby began to break and tear apart. Though Alex wasn''t much affected except for some shaking and falling on the ground because his pokemons Piloswine, Snorlax and Onix stopped the fluctuating ground. But these three were tired to stop the attack. Now that they feel his powers the three competing pokemons knew what powers he held. Seeing all three of them on their tired and Snorlax even falling to his knees all were extra vigilant. Alex still on ground said," electabuzz Snorlax don''t give him room to attack moves. Others aid them while stopping his attacks. We can''t take his direct attacks alone." Soon electabuzz attacked worth his fists to attack while Snorlax used his power to stop his attacks or shield his physical power for electabuzz. While the two on one bout goes on piloswine used ice beam and ice shards to attack on it''s red wounds , Espeon supported them with helping hand and occasionally swift attack, Pidgeot sent off wind blades to injure his wounds more, Onix used screech to slow his momentum now and then. While Charmeleon used dragon dance and ranged attack on him while Haunter first used curse and then toxic for slowing him. The effect was visible with his attack speed slowing down and him taking more hits but the downside was his attacks were more powerful then earlier. Before whenever Snorlax took a direct punch he took a step back but now he was pushed six to eight step back and electabuzz even grazzed was lifted in the air. With continuous fighting like this Snorlax has bruises on his face, shoulder and arms while electabuzz left hand bone has snapped. Others who support them with ranged attacks were now breathing hard. But it was Tyranitar who was most affected. Earlier even though gravelly wounded he stood erect but now under their siege and continued attack he was breathing rather heavily as if like drum beating. They have only fought for about twenty to thirty minutes but for someone so injured he still stood fighting. Everyone there even tyranitar himself knew he won''t last more than a few minutes with his wounds reopened and some new ones because of electabuzz and Snorlax attack. More from their punch power which broke passed the already damaged armour. So tyranitar wanted to go down with a bang and his tail which normally brushed off the ranged attacks stopped swaying and he swept his close combat opponent back and glowed in brown signifying he has emersed in the Earth power. Alex soon became vigilant and directly ordered," Pidgeot electabuzz elemental mode.". Soon they too glowed blue and yellow but in a much lesser intensity than tyranitar. All the pokemons who knew the horror stepped back but Alex intervenes and said," This is his last stand and he is till much more powerful than the two together. All of you charge your most powerful attacks." Alex knew that since he was dieing so he would go all out and he won''t attack behind back. Although sneak attacks are common but the pseudo legendary Especially their final form on their dieing moment don''t do so. It is a shame for them if they did it in their last moments. So he meant to overpower them. All of them sensed the energy he was releasing for the final attack. But none stopped him out of respect for the pokemon they faced. Not many can last so long with such grave wounds and still battle so long against so many of them. Electabuzz in the final attack readied the beam of lightning in his hands and Pidgeot readied the ball of wind energy in front of it''s beak. Espeon charged a pink beam on her forehead, Charmeleon charged a red and blue jet around his jaw, Haunter had his poison bomb surrounded by shadow ball , Piloswine used the nevermelt ice on him to power up the next ice move, Onix suspended rocks to attacks and Snorlax was surrounded by the purple power of giga impact along with belly drum for attack. Soon the ground began to shake and a mountain a few hundred metres high rose behind tyranitar and soon dashed towards them. Alex too was waited and immediately ordered loudly ," Attack" " Buzzzz" " Otttt" " Peooonnnn" "Charrrr" "Terrrrr" "Nixxxxc" " Swiinnneeee" " Snor¡­laaaxxxx" As soon as the mountain and the attacks along with Snorlax clashed the winds picked up speed because of the two tremendous force collision and the all fog few hundred metres around was quick swept away. There was a blinding light on collision. Bill said unconsciously," Will they be alright?" Riolu immediately closed his eyes to sense his trainer and when he sensed his aura though diminshed made him breathe out in relief. He told them he was fine mostly to the pokemons who understands him. Bill then said," we must get going in case the tyranitar came after us. Also Golbat why don''t you go and see if he needs help" Bill felt he can''t leave his rescuer behind because of himself. And Golbat flew towards the battlefield hesitant but still he wanted to know what caused such a blast. Meanwhile in the battlefield, The pokemons too were swept away by harsh wind current from the aftermath and Alex was thrown back and smashed worth it''s back on a tree trunk with a bang. Soon in the blinding light of clash a figure was slammed back and it was Snorlax. His attack brought cracks on the mountain which was later destroyed by the combined attacks of the Pokemons. Alex has used his aura to cushion the impact with the tree. After collision and the light dimmed he rose up to his feet to see the current situation. What he saw shocked the hell out of him? What did Alex see that shocked him? Did they win or lose the battle? Stay tuned. To be continued¡­ Chapter 105 - Death of a warrior Alex saw a big crater a hundred metres in diameter and few feet deep formed in the earlier battlefield. All the trees few hundred metres radius were now either completely destroyed, uprooted or barely made it with half of their roots out. Alex himself flew hundred meter back from the collision aftershocks and if not for his aura, he would be wounded badly and even his spine may be crushed at least. He still felt there might be some cracks on his spine from collision. He looked around to see his pokemons. And he saw his Espeon laid on the ground unconscious, not far from her were Charmeleon and electabuzz laid on their stomach not even moving. If not his aura sense telling they were still alive he thought they passed away. Piloswine was smashed on a big rock and Onix smashed on the ground with cracks all over the body Pidgeot not far from onix but his one of his wings bent in different direction. Snorlax was now bleeding from his head and shoulder and laid asleep from his movements of his stomach. All of them were wounded or were badly injured. His official starter Haunter was much better than them. He was just few metres away from him. He was still trying to rise above the ground. Alex then looked over to their opponent. The tyranitar was still standing strong and haven''t taken a single step back from his earlier position. Then he looked at Alex and roared so loudly that almost everyone could hear him in the foggy forest. His roar spread far. To Alex it was a declaration," I WON THE BATTLE " And after that the behemoth stood there. Not even moving a single part of the body. Alex looked at him with his aura vision and saw him slowly losing his life energy. And soon it was extinguished. Alex understood that tyranitar put his all on the last attack and he has now died. He completely defeated his pokemons before dying. He has died in the battle and he still remained erect. Alex saw his body was covered with wounds especially a big wound near his heart which was t there before the attack probably from an attack of his pokemon bypassed the mountain and hit him there. Even though they took down tyranitar they still lost and that too badly. Not one pokemon remained standing after facing an injured pokemon. Soon a flapping sound was heard and Alex looked up to see a golbat. Normally he would be vigilant if not for some playful marks on it''s body courtesy of his healer, Happiny. He held his arms to bring him towards him. " Did the others send you to look at the situation?" He nodded his big head and then with the support of golbat he stood up on his legs. He wobbled back and forth and then with golbat as support withdrew the pokemons and then came in front of tyranitar. He was thinking what he should do. If it was earlier he might left him be food for others but now this Tyranitar earned his respect and he decided to give him a proper funeral worthy of someone like him He asked golbat to bring other here although puzzled he did as he was asked. He flew away to bring others while Alex went off the broken trees and started to build a pyre for the dead fighter. By the time he returned with them, Alex has erected a one and half metre pyre with the help of zubat who cut the trees down with air cutter. He arranged the rocks and used butter to make the woods more easily combustible. After they arrived first thing he did was make Happiny heal his pokemons enough to wake and attend his funeral. While she healed him, Alex told them about the earlier battle and told his planning for tyranitar. although puzzled with his behavior, Bill agreed after all not facing him himself and all. Meanwhile Suicune was impressed with him and even licked and nudged his face with her head. Soon all the pokemons became conscious after treatment and they soon began to remember the last battle and search for their opponent who still stood erect near the now freshly made pyre. Alex then told them," Tyranitar though our opponent and enemy was worthy fighter who fought for his belief. And his last stand touched my heart so I want to give him a funeral. Does anyone object it?" They looked at each other and communicated silently. Soon electabuzz came forwards and agreed on behalf of all of them. " Ok then. Snorlax, electabuzz lay him on the pyre. And Charmeleon blow this torch." Snorlax and electabuzz took the dead tyranitar and placed him on pyre. Alex then placed some more wood on his body And Alex then walked towards him and burned the pyre Slowly fire began to pick up and the pyre burned brighter. The Tyranitar slowly burned down to ashes. The pokemons released attacks in the air out of respect for their dead opponent and other too followed. Even Suicune and the three evolved Eevee joined it. All stood until the pyre was completely burned off. After few hours the pyre was completely burned out And then Alex took the burned Ash and handed over to Suicune. He felt she was better to dispose off the dead warriors Ash. She took the ash and put it on her mane. They then returned their pokemons but not before having erected a rock memorial on the burned ground clawed by Charmeleon saying, " Here fought and died a loyal tyranitar who was also a great warrior. May Arceus bless his soul." Then the two humans rode Suicune who dropped them off near a town and dashed off before anyone could see her. Alex and Bill saw her leaving and didn''t say anything. Bill supported the tried and injured Alex towards the town and into the pokemon center. Alex doesn''t know before leaving Suicune left something on his backpack. while he was looking at the burning pyre, she left him a gift for impressing her. In the backpack, a blue glow was seen which later faded. What did Suicune give Alex? How will the battle and death of tyranitar affect Alex and his pokemons. Stay tuned Chapter 106 - Rest after battle Alex has slept for a day after reaching the pokemon center. They were currently in the lavender town. Alex looked out of his room in the pokemon center and saw a town surrounded by fog from the nearby sea. Though not as dense as foggy forest it has a eerie feeling to itself. This place is a good place for raising ghost type. With many pokemons buried here at pokemon tower their rich life energy would be good nutrition for the ghost type. Also this eerie environment generate a sense of fear in many people and so fear energy too is created. Seeing the pokemon tower from the window, Alex thought of the now dead Tyranitar. Had he knew it was do close he may have buried him here. Anyway what Happened had happened. He after that rose from his position and head down for the reception. He had to call back Agatha and his family. As soon he came down and head for the phone booth he saw Bill talking to someone. He headed towards him. Bill seeing Alex called out," Alex come here. I will introduce you to someone." Without waiting for his answer He pulled Alex to the booth and showed him an image of an older green haired man with glasses on and dressed in suits. " Hello young man. I am Jonathan Montenegro. I am Bill''s father." " You are Mr. Montenegro Agatha told me about." Alex blurted out. " Indeed" and he laughed his words away. " So you were the one Agatha sent out for Bill''s rescue." " Yes she gave me this task. " " Bill told me about you. You are a great cook and also a strong trainer especially at such a young age." He complimented him Alex looked at Bill who revealed about him and said sadly," Yet my Pokemon couldn''t take on a Pokemon who was at it''s death doorstep. " " Don''t lose your hope young man. Not many can face a pseudo legendary especially an enraged one at that. Although Bill himself didn''t see the battle the after shock if I were to believe we''re quite extraordinary. I can see why Agatha let you do this. Since you helped us I think some reward are in order. They will reach your home. Once again thank you for helping me find Bill. And Bill I expect you to come back soon and no more loitering around here and there." He said sternly and then disconnected the call. They started to walk towards cafeteria to eat the breakfast there. " So what do you think of my father?" Bill asked Alex. " He seemed fine and quite caring too " " I know right. I think Dad will really be generous with you." Bill said with surity " And why are you so sure about it?" " You took on that behemoth and that bright light I saw back then I mentioned that to father. He told me to continue to maintain a good relationship with you. " " WHY!" while they sat at a table and gave their order to the waiter " Because according to him since you are so strong and has Agatha support you will at least become a decision maker in the league. If you don''t become an elite four than at the very least you can become a gym leader and a powerful one at that. " He explained Alex on hearing it was surprised because this was what he wanted to do in the future. If he become an elite four or champion his time will be consumed on these and with him becoming a gym leader he would have more freedom. He would have a temporary gym leader in his gym who could take them on. As for what type gym leader he could become in the future there are many options - flying, ghost even bug type would do. After all the eight main city gyms had long history and served the league well so if he try to overthrow them he might have some resistance in his way. He has no d_e_s_i_r_e to be the strongest gym leader just enough that his gym isn''t disbanded. " Your father really is far sighted." He said " I know. According to him far sightedness is crucial for business and future development. " Bill said while they both started to eat. "So what might your father reward me with?" Alex asked. " I can only tell you about only one reward.it would be really useful for you especially in the wild . It is a travelling phone. " " And how will this phone help me. The phone network isn''t in all places so how will it help me in the wild. " Alex asked " Because now these aren''t mass produced. All the phones have a special network connection so even in the wild network won''t be affected. With Agatha it isn''t a problem for you to get one. Hell if I can get one then how can''t you get one yourself. " He explained " And what Happened to your phone?" Alex asked " It was destroyed when we first faced the tyranitar. I was only able to call them that I am in trouble and needed help. Rest I can''t reveal so they sent you. If they knew I was chased by a tyranitar they would send off a much experienced and powerful Trainer no offense to you." " None taken I too would make such a decision. " Alex said and nodded along with him " But this was also good. We both got a new friend to ourselves. Isn''t that great." Bill said enthusiastically. Alex just looked at Bill blankly. " What Happened Alex? Did something happened to my face?" And Bill started to Pat his face and run to remove whatever happened to his face. " Nothing. You were so quiet in the forest and now you are almost as talkative as Lance." " Well I didn''t know you well back then and since you helped me so you are my friend. And who is this Lance" " He is my friend from johto. He never knows when to shut up. He can go on and on for hours and not lose his breathe even once. And you are almost the same. I shudder to think what would happen when you meet each other. I don''t want to look at what happened when you meet each other or I will really have a headache." " Hey I am not that annoying. I am awesome and noone is my equal on conversation." He said proudly not taking his words as an insult. " I need to report it back to Agatha and also get some Pokemon capable to fight because my current ones aren''t capable and I want to challenge the gym here. " He dialed Agatha and her image came on the screen. " Alex congratulations on your task completion." " So you already know about it." " Jonathan called me on mission completion. It was really impressive that you faced a tyranitar." " I still lost. Even eight on one and I can''t beat an injured pokemons. " " He was a pseudo legendary , Alex. They got that title for a reason. Still if the explosion and the blast was to take notice you have grown. When your pokemons reach pseudo king level you will know what power pokemons truly wield. From this level every rise in power brings great change in pokemons. In a year or two your electabuzz , Slowking and Pidgeot can probably reach this level. So don''t feel bad and since you are in lavender town are you going to challenge the gym there?" " Yes now my Pokemon are injured so I was gonna call back Slowking, butterfree and Pidgeotto for battle. Haunter wasn''t much hurt so he too will fight him. I can do 4-on-4 battle. I also need to focus on training pokemons more intensively so I can''t be without pokemon for long. ". " Don''t worry. You officially become a trainer five months ago. You managed to raise so many pokemons an even train some to advance level is impressive. You should take your time and learn. This Mission was not only to search for Bill but also to train your mind. You are strong at a very young age. You will find that not many your age are as strong as you are. This Mission was to train your mentality. In that place continuous facing the wild attacks is similar to training you for the real wilderness. Because of the danger there it is also called Badlands. You are a seeded member for the league so you will have to experience at least a week there before the youth tournament. I will keep giving you similar mission where sometimes you will be bored out of your mind or you would suffer continuous attacks or even too tired. These will help you later and what you gain from these experience is up to you. Also your reward will be with the gym leader there. I know him and he can also give you good advice. Listen to him. Also good luck with your future match " And she switched off the phone. Alex then called back home and asked for Slowking, Pidgeotto and butterfree for battle. He didn''t reveal what he faced in the forest and was preparing his strategy to face the gym leader. Alex will have his next gym battle soon. Who is the ghost gym leader and how will it go? Stay tuned To be continued¡­. Chapter 107 - Facing the ghosts Alex along with Bill has arrived in front of the lavender city gym. He has already been prepared for his next gym battle. After the last crushing defeat he needed to win beautifully not only for his pokemons but also for himself. The lavender gym was shaped in the form of a Gengar head with a black and red colour theme. His eyes were white with red pupils and had yellow symbols all around the body. This building gave a feeling if being stared at by a hungry ghost who will suck their life energy dry. Bill standing in front said ," How about we go to some other gym. You can easily win here we should ho to a tougher one." And he started to turn back and leave. Alex pulled him back by his collar and said," all my powerful pokemons are injured and it is necessary gym battle for me. It will not only let my Pokemon regain confidence but also let me see how a ghost trainer trains his Pokemon. The way I raised haunter is just a thought of mine not based on systematic growth and training of ghost pokemons. There might be some points I overlooked when training him so this will help me find those deficiency. " And he headed for the gym. No guards stood at the gym and when he entered a grey haired man with balding head in grey cloak stood with a person few years older than them. He had black spots under his eyes with Raven like hair and a dull slack posture. He wore blue shorts with a white short with ghost fire emblem on his c_h_e_s_t. He seemed to be talking to the old man. " Why did you call me grandpa?" He asked lazily " Don''t be so impatient, Daniel. You will know soon." The older man replied calmly. Soon alex and bill made their appearance and greeted them," Good morning." " Good morning" said the older man while the young man just nodded. And he continued," So which one of you is young Alex." Alex raised his hands. " You are young Alex. You are just like Agatha said. And your haunter is really impressive. To reach this level in just a few months. " He eyed the shadow of Alex. This surprised Alex and his eyes widened, Seeing this he continued," Don''t be surprised. Your Haunter leaks way too much ghost energy in the air. It can be easily traced back if you look carefully. " And soon the Haunter rise from the shadows. " And who might you be?" Bill asked bluntly " Ah I am sorry I haven''t Introduced myself. My bad. I am Willow Darkest. The current gym leader of lavender city gym. And this young man is my grandson, Daniel Darkest." The young man greeted," Nice to meet you."without any spirit or enthusiasm. " Hello" they said. " So you came for a gym battle did you. Sorry to say I have only two pokemons available to test you. So do you mind if we have a two on two pokemon battle." Willow asked " No problem" " Then Daniel why don''t you be the official referee for this match." He looked blankly at his grandpa who just smiled merrily and then slowly walked to the middle of the field. The gym battlefield was a plain rock field without any outgrow or outcropping rocks. It doesn''t have any place to hide in vision. Bill went off to the audience stand and the two Challenger and the gym leader stood at two poles of the gym. Danielle started," This is an official gym battle between the current Lavender city gym leader, Willow Darkest and the Challenger, Alex Bart from Floral town" as he read the official memo of the battle. " This is a two on two pokemons battle. The Challenger is the only one who can substitute in the match. Whoever loses their two pokemons first will be the winner. So send out your Pokemon." Alex motioned for Haunter to begin the match who appeared in the battlefield whole Willow threw a pokeball in the air and a dark green ghost like pokemon with no hands and legs appeared. " Since both have sent their pokemon then let the battle begin." Daniel declared " Since you are the Challenger I will let you have the first move." Willow said " Thanks , Haunter shadow ball" " You too misdreavus." The two ball nullify each other in mid air. " Haunter will o wisp" Soon a ball of fire flew towards misdreavus and hit him. She just took on the attack but her eyes glowed purple which went unnoticed by Alex and others. Soon Haunter began to crazily attack the air by shadow ball, poison bomb and other attacks. Alex seeing shouted at Haunter to stop and come to senses. Haunter on hearing this stopped all attacks. Alex saw that Haunter wasn''t confused because he didn''t see her use any confusion causing moves. So he was puzzled by this. He was able to hear his command and follow it yet he aim at empty space." Haunter use shadow ball barrage towards your right" Soon he sent multiple small shadow ball size of tennis ball towards his left side. This continued to confuse Alex all the command he gave Haunter turned invalid. Since it seemed like he can''t single out misdreavus with his moves he decided to turn his tactics. " HAUNTER poison swarm." Soon haunter gathered poison power on his arms and stuck the ground. Soon the poison began to spread out in the ground and turned the ground slight purple. Seeing this , Willow commented," This tactics might be good but you forgot misdreavus has levitation skill so this ground attack won''t work." " I know it. It is just a preparation move. Now Haunter poison needle ." Soon the poison in the ground mixed with it and multiple poison needles flew upwards defying gravity. And soon it hit misdreavus breaking her attack on haunter. After breaking the attack Haunter looked around puzzled by change in surrounding in front of him. "Haunter don''t stand idle end it with hex and venoshock." Soon his eyes glowed red a beam hit her who yelled out in pain and soon a poison attack hit her putting her out in pain and turning her unconscious. " Misdreavus is unable to battle. Haunter wins." Willow pulls back misdreavus and asked," did you find out what she did?" " Yes, in the beginning I thought it was a confused or something similar but since he could follow my orders well I thought it might be something else. And later when she lost her focus with Haunter looking around confused, confirmed my assumption" " So what was it?" Willow asked " Illusion. You put my Haunter in a illusion. You changed his surrounding and put illusion of herself around Haunter to confuse him." " You are really observant. Yes it was an illusion. Every ghost type pokemons have special features. Like this misdreavus line has illusion power while the ghastly line has their own. You will find it soon. Now I hope to see what you can inferred about my next pokemons." He sent out a pokeball and out came a dusclops. Willow introduced his pokemons " this is a ghost type, dusclops which is commonly found in Hoenn region . So I hope you are ready for the next match." " Since the Challenger doesn''t change the pokemon then let the next battle begin." Daniel declared. Alex defeated the first Pokemon of the gym leader and now he faces the next pokemon. How will the next match go? Stay tuned. To be continued Chapter 108 - Facing the ghost (part 2) Alex looked at the next pokemon, dusclops and was vigilant too. The dusclops line is rumoured to be the transporter of dead souls to the next world. It is also said that they are also agents of giratina in the material world and are his followers. They are also prominent in soul so according to Alex they might be prominent in spirit moves. " Haunter be prepared for the battle. This will be really tough. Start with punch combo." Haunter attacked directly with Fire, ice and thunder punch which was blocked by the similar attacks of dusclops. Dusclops seem to easily block those attacks with his attacks and meanwhile his eyes glowed light blue. Earlier Alex missed the change in colouration of misdreavus but this time he was extra vigilant and seeing this he immediately shouted," Toxic along with ghost field." He released a poison shot a dusclops who easily dodged it and then released a ghostly energy around itself so that he could scan the entire place with his powers. " Dual guardian" Willow plainly said And an avatar five metre tall made up of Earth and air was formed. The wind avatar was in the form of a tornado with blue eyes and the one of Earth was in shape of a monkey with similar blue eyes. This confirmed another thing yet he asked," Is this spirit power." " Indeed but it is a bit more than that. Can you find it out." Haunter seeing the three opponent released more ghost powers and two hazy ghost came out. They were irregular shaped avatar with red eyes. This was the prototype of his shadow army. " Clash" Soon the two started to clash worth each other. This time although Haunter''s avatar can distract those of dusclops but he can''t match dusclops. He was thinking of stopping frontal combat and start sneak attack. " Haunter continue to attack head on." Although reluctant he continued. Alex knew that the moment haunter gave dusclops freedom to move the two a star who barely took on the two elemental form would be out for the count and then Haunter would be surrounded. His situation will be more dangerous than just now. So it was better to utilise how long he can last. There is a new tactics he taught Haunter. Whenever it comes that he is cornered, he will use toxic in small amounts in his punches and try to poison the opponent. Soon dusclops was getting more and more poison injected in the body and get acc_u_mulated in the body. And he was getting affected by the poison. Although dusclops was poisoned Haunter was injured so he was getting tired over time. Alex immediately told Haunter," ghost time." Then he manipulated the ghostly avatar to reach dusclops and soon shined brightly and then burst up harming dusclops and even hurting haunter. Dusclops was irritated and immediately had the two avatar target Haunter. Knowing that Haunter can''t last long he released the last attack. He then told Haunter," fire shadow ball." A shadow ball containing fire from will o wisp slammed on. On collision a fire raged around dusclops and gave him burned but Haunter was knocked under the attack of the two avatars. " Haunter is unable to battle. Dusclops win this round." " Please send your last pokemon." Alex returned Haunter and then sent our his last Pokemon. It was Slowking. " Slowking summon the lake." Soon he summoned water in the air and crashed onto the three figures opposite to him. But dusclops floated in the air along with wind avatar but water completely destroyed the Earth avatar. " Impressive water attack. Though it won''t be enough." " I know that. I was in a disadvantage earlier so I wanted to change the field to my advantage. So now, Slowking sent out the school on hunt." A school of small fishes we''re formed which attacked the two who floated above the water. It even pulled down the wind avatar keeping it busy so Slowking was left to deal with dusclops. " Water slash" Slowking sent out slashes made of water to corner the pokemon and when he came to the place, soon water begin to surround the ghost type. Being poisoned and also burned has took a toll on dusclops so he wasn''t able to attack him. Alex didn''t give him a chance and "ice spear". Soon a spear made of ice hit dusclops and freeze him and to end he ordered the last move," Zen headbutt" He slammed onto dusclops ending his battle. " Dusclops is unable to battle. The winner is Alex Bart of floral town." Daniel declared. Willow returned the Pokemon back and alex did it too. Willow headed towards Alex and said," impressive battle. Alex. I didn''t think you were so strong. Here it is the ghost badge ." He got a skull shaped badge with two stars. Alex took the badge but he has some thoughts about the battle. Throughout the battle Willow didn''t make a single command which confused Alex. " Why did you not command the pokemons on the battle?" He asked " The trainers who normally challenge me are beginner or intermediate level. So I usually use primary pokemons but you are a special case. These pokemons belong to my substitute group of main team. Agatha wanted me to show the characters of the ghost type since you were turning it into a poison type. Although not wrong but according to her Haunter has great ghost potential but this battle showed you weren''t going astray. The gym is to train and guide young trainer not to crush them. Although you are strong you aren''t enough to make me go all out. I could have used refresh, rest or even destiny bond to take out your pokemons. There are many ways to take them out. " " I see. Thank you for your words. " Alex said. " You are really impressive. I really wish to see how you faced the tyranitar more and more. It would have been amazing." Bill said from behind him. " Daniel why don''t you entertain the two young man. I have to get something for Alex which Agatha wanted to give him. " Willow said and left inside. What is it that Agatha got for Alex? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 109 - A new companion While waiting for Willow, " So Daniel do you often act as referee for the gym battles?" Alex asked " Hmmm. No grandpa only asks me once in a while to act as referee if he feels I can learn something while observing the battle." He told. "Do you know Alex , Daniel over here is one of the best trainer in the younger generation." Bill told him " Is that so?" Alex looked at Daniel with more interest than before. He has already felt Daniel wasn''t ordinary and to be hailed as one if the strongest even in younger generation is awesome as well as honorable. " I can''t match you though. You are better than me. " Daniel plainly said " Don''t be so modest. I became an official trainer just this year and have been that for around six months." Alex told " I am not underestimating myself. You are strong. I don''t think I could last long along that Slowking of yours. If your pokemons are as strong as him then you are way ahead of me." He said " Slowking is currently my strongest pokemons ( overall when taking in regards physical strength, special strength and speed along with endurance) others are weaker than me. And my pokemons are still too young to be added to the abacus. " Alex explained his thoughts " Anyway why did Agatha say she would send the task reward here? Do you know her well?" Alex asked curious. Daniel just looked at him blankly while Bill nearby facepalmed heavily and fell on the ground in shock. " You don''t know " Bill asked shocked "I don''t know, what?" He asked puzzled " You really don''t know about it. Seriously." For the first time since Alex met Daniel , he showed another expression in addition to the bored lazy look, a new experience if utter surprise. " Can you please elaborate what I don''t know?" He asked agitated with these two dragging on the question. " Well Agatha and me are related. She is my grandma . She is my grandpa younger sister." " Own sister?" He asked " Own sister" he replied " So I can see why she sent me here and even sent some info about me when she told not to spread words around for my own protection. But there should be something more here . What could be her reason to send me here." " And reason was to introduce you to Daniel. He is also a former participant of indigo league. He will take part this year too so she thought it would be good for you to meet each other and have a healthy rivalry among yourself. You don''t have many friends. You needed someone to talk to similar to Daniel. Genius can''t interact well with average people a d so they tend to be lonely. With you both together you can also improve each other''s communication skills." A voice came from behind. When the three turned towards the source of voice, they saw it was Willow who came back with some boxes. " Come around Alex let me show you your gifts." He motioned " if you don''t mind they too can see it." He looked over the two extra people. " I don''t mind." He replied after the adventure he knew Bill enough not to cause him problem and since the other is from Agatha''s family who helped him a lot and also antisocial so he won''t reveal much or anything about him so he agreed. Firstly, Willow took out a box and gave it to him first. " This is one of the two gifts the Silph president wanted to give you. Come on open it up." Alex took the box and slowly opened it. Soon his eyes fell upon a red box 8 inches. He pulled it up to see that it is folded in shape of square and a part of it could be opened. On opening it he saw a screen and a blue center just below the screen. He ran his hands behind it and he felt a cover. On sliding it down a camera of high resolution was visible but since it wasn''t turned on so it wasn''t working now. Bill by the said told Alex," press the blue button for five seconds and leave it " Alex did as he was told and soon a screen began to flash and a white and red pokeball image was displayed. Then a feminine soft voice rang ,'' please input your data and biometrics for ownership procedure '' Alex looked at Bill puzzled then he told Alex," press any of your finger onto the blue button first for fingerprint scanning then place that back camera towards your eyes for eye scan. This way the master control of the nav will be under your control. You could even set certain settings too for it." Alex continued to do as told quietly and after completion,'' Good morning, Master Alex. I am your personal assistant, Jewel. I will try to help you with anything you need of me. How may I help you?'' Since it asked, Alex wanted some answers too. " Tell me Jewel what are you ? And what are your application?" " My name is Jewel. I am the latest creation of Silph Corp, The Nav, short for navigator. I am to navigate my owner in case he is stuck in some problem and help him through all the information and data I have in my database. I serve as a semi autonomous digital pokedex, a phone, a diary, a map , a medicine catalog, item catalog and a expert advisor. " Bill said," This is our latest tech. It will help you as much as possible. " Then seriously told him ,"Alex don''t lose it or you would be in a very big problem and not even Agatha could help you. This has some secret of the league so take special care of it. Anyway let''s get to the next gift." "Yes indeed. " And he handed him the pokeball. " What pokemon is this, bill?" Alex took the pokeball and asked bill. " While we were in the forest, you often mentioned how you wanted to get an Arcanine or even a Growlithe so I thought you would like it." Bill explained " Is it really?" Alex asked excited " Why don''t you take it out and see for yourself?" Alex threw the pokeball in the air and released the Pokemon. Out came a Growlithe. It was quadruped, canine Pok¨¦mon. It has orange fur with black stripes along its back and legs. The fur on its muzzle, c_h_e_s_t, belly, and tail is cream-colored, as well as an additional tuft of fur on top of its head. Growlithe''s coat is noticeably longer on its c_h_e_s_t and tail. It has gray eyes, a black nose, and large, round ears. Its forepaws have two visible claws, while its hind paws have three toes each. Each paw has a brown pad. It was bout 2 Feet tall from the ground and it fur looked really soft. He looked around puzzled and then sat down. Alex went to Growlithe and bent towards him. Growlithe wasn''t agitated or anything he still looked at the approaching young boy. Alex bent to Growlithe eye level and looked at his eyes and told," Hey there buddy. I am your new trainer. Are you willing to follow me?" Growlithe looked at his eyes and tried to learn as much as he could about him. Then as If he found what he wanted to look at he jumped onto Alex getting him to the ground and licked his face. " Haha calm down Growlithe. Ok ok buddy I like you too " he said to him while the other observers just smiled at their bonding. " Since you got the gift from Bill now it is Agatha''s turn." Now he got a Growlithe. What did Agatha got for Alex? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 110 - Ghost stone Willow brought out a small box, and handed over to Alex. Alex took the box and opened it to see two dull grey rock having an eerie feeling. He didn''t know what it was and then thought of Jewel. Bill himself was curious what this rock was but Daniel by the side was shocked on seeing this. '' Did grandma Agatha really want to give him these?'' " Jewel what is this rock?" Jewel on hearing the command scanned the rock with her camera and then said ,'' This rock is called the ghost stone. It is one of the most important prop for ghost types. They are normally found in places where there is high concentration of ghosts or life energy. This is created when the ghost power in the environment is high enough to influence the surrounding and slowly they get deposited on the rock nearby. This helps to increase the ghost power in ghost types. It is also said that the ghost Pokemon, Spiritomb is also a Pokemon which was earlier a ghost stone and with enough deposition over years slowly gained conscience and later become an autonomous pokemon. These rocks also help to increase chances of egg in mating of ghost types. Because of the lack of much information about these, these rocks are very precious. If one sells them in the market they could easily earn millions." " So why did she give me something so precious?" Alex asked Willow. " It was what she got herself. I don''t know why she gave you this, but I know why you need it. You Haunter is really a special case. Normally in Haunter the Pokemon has high concentration of ghost energy and poison is in lesser amount. But in your case, it is exact opposite. " " Opposite?" Alex asked " Yes opposite. I saw the situation in the battle. Agatha had warned me earlier about it. So to solve that she sent these for you. Your Haunter has higher concentration of poison than ghost. No matter how we look at the Haunter line, it is a primary ghost type and secondary poison. So in evolution they gather enough ghost or rich life energy for their evolution to Gengar. But with your unknown conditions, there may be many variables. She had consulted her friend, Samuel about this problem and he came to a conclusion." " What is the conclusion?" " For smooth evolution, you need an equal amount if both in the body. Since you have high poison in body similar ghost external energy is needed or it might cause him problem. None of us know what your new variation will take Haunter but they came to the result that these ghost stone may increase ghost power in the body. So for evolution you may need a high ghost energy source so that it won''t affect Gengar. Normally one is enough but for you two can help you later in case the poison in his body go haywire to subdue it with ghost energy. " Hearing the explanation, Alex was in Meditation. He thought his new variation for Haunter was great and may make him even stronger than average Gengar in the future but now he learned that his experiment may cause him problem later or even kill him opened his eyes to a new revelation. Experiment can be done and done only if you are willing to pay the price. Alex then told him," Thank you for telling me this. I will keep it in mind. " Willow nodded then said," why don''t you all young blood enjoy yourself . I will take my leave. I am nit as energetic as I was in my youth. I get tired easily. " And Willow headed inside The three young boy stood there and then Bill said Daniel ," if he gets tired why isn''t your father the gym leader " " My father is the current gym leader. He has gone out for something. So we had closed the gym for the month. Then grandma Agatha called and had talked with grandpa and he agreed to be your opponent. He is now retired and doesn''t get involved in the gym matters. He also told me to look at you. And he was right. You are really strong. Probably as strong as Cynthia." He replied. " Cynthia?" Alex asked not knowing her not surprising he doesn''t even know many trainers his age " Cynthia is regarded as the strongest of our generation. She has a really powerful Gible who after evolving into Gabite is even more powerful. I fought her once with my Haunter and she destroyed me with her gible. She has gible and riolu, gastrodon along with glaceon. Although not as strong as gible but still only Eevee lost against my Haunter. Others were his equal." Daniel explained. They have started to walk towards the pokemon center. " I didn''t know she was so powerful. Her Alex seems you got an opponent." " I don''t know since she can be so strong and with a pseudo legendary I think only Lance could match. I fought a pseudo legendary once and I was demolished. Her would be even more stronger over time. If we fight now, I think that even with all my pokemons I would lose. I still have to train harder if I need a chance. I still need to heal my Pokemon so I am leaving now. Come along Growlithe " Growlithe woffed and followed Alex who ran towards the center leaving bill and Daniel. Left behind, Bill asked Daniel," Do Alex really stand a chance against her?" " If he has another pokemon as strong as slowking the victory belongs to him. His Slowking is stronger than gible but if compared to gabite it might be his equal. But we don''t know the exact result until they battle. So how many badge does he have by now?" " There are fist badge, boulder badge, Viridian badge and now the ghost badge. So it makes four badges. He will still need four more and he has an year left for the league so he can get them over time. I really want to see him go all out." Bill said excited in the end. Meanwhile with Alex, He and Growlithe who has followed him had reached the center and deposited Slowking and Haunter to nurse joy. When he reached his room, he immediately took out the pokeegg incubator from which sensed a powerful force when he was with Bill and Daniel. He felt the egg may hatch soon so he headed back to prepare. He has called back Miltank too for the young pokemon. He placed it in the center while Growlithe and the newly released Espeon looked at the now brightly glowing egg. So he brought the egg out of the incubator. The shiny light got brighter over time and soon it glowed and a Pokemon appeared in front of them. It was a small reptilian Pokemon with Rocky skin. It was a larvitar. How will the pokemons react on seeing the pre evolved form of Pokemon which demolished him? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 111 - Larvitar All the people and pokemons present looked at the young Pokemon, larvitar. Larvitar first looked at Alex first and consider him as his parent. He raised his hands towards Alex who was still looking at him blankly. With Growlithe and Espeon calling him, he soon came to his senses. He picked up larvitar who was quite heavy despite his small size. Although only two feet tall it weighs about 80 kg. Alex with his aura was able to pull larvitar to his arms and gave him the Miltank milk he prepared for him. As he drank milk from his bottle Alex still was thinking about the now dead terrifying tyranitar. To think this sweet pokemon would become that behemoth later. After drinking the pokemon slept on his arms and Espeon and Growlithe looked at Alex confused why he was so distracted. Espeon remembered her trainer didn''t act like that when the Ralts or even riolu hatched so after he slept she asked Alex. Seeing her questioning gaze, Alex told her," Espeon do you remember that pokemon we fought on the forest last time. ." She started shaking and nodded. Seeing her expression Alex sighed knowing how tough these days would be for him and the young larvitar. " This pokemon is called larvitar. He is the pre evolved form of a pseudo legendary similar to that pokemons." He said She was excited and amazed to see that this pokemon would become do powerful in the future whom not even the eight of them could beat or tire out. Alex then continued," Do you know what larvitar''s final form is?" Both Espeon and Growlithe shook there head. Alex kept quiet for sometime and then said something that turned the warm atmosphere freezing cold," his evolved form is tyranitar." Growlithe still looked puzzled but Espeon soon became terrified and almost attacked the young pokemon and would have had it not been for Alex strong voice," Stop. He is now our family. You can''t harm him." But Espeon still stubborn said that he is similar to that monster and so he should be stopped before anything else. " He and that tyranitar aren''t related. The reason I told you this is because you are level headed and not hot blooded to hurt him. I also revealed his future because if told later it might cause problems in the team. Now tell me what has he even done to you for you to act like this." He looked at Espeon angrily and his eyes flashed blue full of aura. Alex strong words as well as his eyes stopped Espeon and she once again looked at the sleeping pokemon who looked cute and make funny expression while sleeping. She was disappointed with herself just like Alex was with her, for how she acted towards an innocent newborn pokemon . She dropped her head in shame and looked at the ground. Alex seeing her like that knew that the proud pokemon is ashamed of herself. He put his one arm around to keep the newborn while another to rub her head and said," Don''t worry. I know how you feel . I too felt it too but he isn''t that pokemon. How about you become his caretaker and look after him and if anyone bully him teach him well. " He tried to console her. Seeing her Trainer giving her a chance , she happily agreed. She was happy for another chance and while Growlithe doesn''t know what was going on, he ran around them in happiness. He then tried to put down the Pokemon on bed so he could release Happiny and have her check him in case of any unexpected injury or accident but when he tried larvitar held on to his shirt even harder and even whimpered in his sleep. So Alex twirled him around in his l_a_p and calm him down. He then looked at Espeon for help who just smiled and then she released Happiny out. Alex immediately said," Happiny see if he has any injury. After he wakes up I will take him to nurse joy or else if he wake up during checkup with her, it might be troublesome." Happiny then check up his body parts in case of any injury. After check and finding there wasn''t any Alex breathe out a sigh in relief not only about the fact that he wasn''t injured or has any hidden injury but also because she didn''t act aggressive when she knew about her relation with Tyranitar. She even agreed to be her guardian and protect him in case he was hurt. Now with the two of them looking after him Alex wasn''t worried he might be bullied by others but now he feared he might bully others under their guidance. Anyway it is for later. Larvitar has now woken up and he looked at the new happing and happily greeted her who enthusiastically returned the greeting. He then put down larvitar who now played with Happiny and Growlithe whole Espeon looked over them. He then pulled out Jewel to check his stats. He has drew some blood from him to see if there was any genetic defect in him. After Jewel finished scanning she said,'' Larvitar the pre evolved form of tyranitar. It is a pseudo legendary Pokemon because of it''s power. It mostly feeds on soil and may even eat a mountain completely after eating that much it sleeps so that it can invest most of it''s energy on his evolution. It is 2'' 34" inches tall full 1'' taller than average baby larvitar and weighs 85 kg full 25 kg more than average baby pokemons who weigh 60 Kg. It is a healthy baby and doesn''t have any deficiency or defect it inherited from his parents. It has two dragon type moves such as dragon dance and Earth power So it is high chance that one of his parent will be a garchomp, or even Charizard or Haxorus. It could also be a nidoqueen or Nidoking. '' Alex looked at the young pokemon now playing worth others. '' So you know two dragon moves. In the future you will be even more powerful than that tyranitar. I don''t know how they will react to seeing you. With his experience Pidgeot won''t mind, electabuzz respected him so he would be fine too. Hell he may even train him so he could compete with him later or sooner than later. and snorlax won''t bother with it. Especially since he is a young pokemon he may even protect him. It is Onix, Haunter , Charmeleon and Piloswine who worry me. Well it is for later now I still have to check him thoroughly by nurse joy just for confirmation.'' He then stopped their play and took larvitar on his hands and left the room with Growlithe and Espeon following behind and returned Happiny for complete healing check up. How will the others pokemon react towards larvitar presence in the team. Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 112 - Seeing Cynthia first time When Alex took over to nurse joy for check up, larvitar kept looking around at everything new and was amazed. Alex just happily looked at him and continued towards the destination. Alex went off to the nurse joy and said," Nurse joy could you give a complete checkup to larvitar. He is just born and I don''t want him to have any problem in the future." She smiled softly at Alex and said," no problem." She raised her arms to take larvitar but he was afraid of her and hooked on to his clothes and was refusing to leave. Alex tried to console him that nothing would happen and he won''t leave him but he started crying and shouting thinking that Alex was leaving him and don''t want him anymore. Seeing that it didn''t work, Alex smiled helplessly at Nurse joy who joined him at smiling like that then she told him," you can follow me to the operation table. You can console him while I check him up with Chansey." So Alex followed her inside the center and got him all checked up. They cane in a room with many medical equipment which can scan even the internal organs and some medicine placed in closet by the wall. In the center of the room was a bed and by it''s side were two more Chansey. Some all the three Chansey along with the ever friendly Nurse joy check up revealed similar result. Slightly above average stats and other than that exceptionally healthy. As he can out from checking, he saw Bill and Daniel eating in the cafeteria so he decided to join them. They were engrossed in eating and didn''t notice him until he came in front of them. When his shadow fell on them, they turned their gaze on him. Seeing him Bill enthusiastically said," Hey Alex." While Daniel lazily said," Hello" Then their eyes fell on the green reptilian pokemons hanging on him and they were curious so bill asked," Since when did you have a larvitar Alex?" " I just got him today. I had an egg which hatched and this little guy came out " he rubbed his head affectionately and then told larvitar," Greet them larvitar. They are my friend and they won''t hurt you." Larvitar still shy of them softly greeted and waved his hands at them ," Lllllarvi¡­" " Hello larvitar." Bill paid happily waving back at him while Daniel only waved his hands on greeting. Espeon by the side smiled softly seeing the young new born acting so shy and thinking of what behemoth he will become in the future she decided to remember this incident so she can tease him later in the future. " So this is why you ran ahead of us fir the pokemon center " Daniel said connecting the dots from him running back to center and him retuning with a new Pokemon " Yeah. Sorry for leaving you behind." Alex apologize to them and theyhe just brushed it off not minding him leaving them behind. " So are you excited Alex. Now even you have got such a powerful pokemon. In the future you will really and really be her opponent. " Daniel said with some emotions. Alex sat on the chair and positioned him on his l_a_p and then looked at larvitar " I don''t know if I can challenge or beat her in the future, the least I can do is raise him well, train him harder and make her work harder to take him down." " Yeah noone knows who will win until you fight." Bill said Alex and Daniel nodded alongside but Alex thought,. ''unless you are completely outmatched or are way too weak.'' " So what does this Cynthia look like?" Alex asked curious. He has a blur image if Cynthia in his mind as he forgot some faces after reincarnation for almost ten years. He only remembered slight plot events and things like that too. Others things such as pokemons and their moves are remembered because he studied and reinforcing them in his memory. " Yeah. I have a photo of her right here. " Daniel said and pulled out a photo of Cynthia standing with her gible in a grass plain background. Cynthia wore a blue sundress in this photo and has her characteristics hairstyle of having her left eye covered. She smiled brightly at the camera. Alex after seeing this photo the first thought that came in his mind was ,'' cute and then his eyes saw the confidence in her eyes towards herself.'' " She is really confident about her abilities", he told Daniel and Bill. " Yeah. So Daniel why do you have her photo on yourself. Did you like her or something?" Bill tried to tease Daniel and get him embarrassed and motioned Alex to support him . " It seems like the case after all he doesn''t have even his parents photo yet he has her photo on him. Who knew that he hid such a part of him from others?" Alex joined Their teasing continued until he yelled at then to stop while blushing furiously at their words. " No I don''t like or anything. I just consider her cute. Anyway she is way too far from me for her to like me and I just heard there are many who chase her. I don''t stand a chance. " He said dejected. Alex patted his shoulder in comfort and said," you should train hard and when you are her equal you could reveal your feeling for her " he tried to console and bill nodded in encouragement. Daniel thanked them for their words. And the three happily ate the food and chatted after which they returned back to their room and Daniel left for his home. Alex after that returned to his room too and thought of taking one more look at the ghost stone and Try to decipher what mystery they hold and if it could be reverse engineered or power style could be copied for other types. When he looked at the backpack for the stones his eyes fell on a blue shiny stone which he hasn''t seen earlier. He asked riolu if he saw where he got it. Riolu didn''t know it too but after he inspection with aura there was slight trace of Suicune''s power and presence on the stone or gem. Alex thought ,'' this is related to Suicune and since she didn''t take it then she might have left it for me.'' After initial hesitation, he took the rock on his hands and looked at it curiously. Alex saw Cynthia for the first time and he felt she was '' cute'' . And what is this blue gem like rock? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 113 - Primary Experiment He continued to look at the gem like blue Stone with the n_a_k_e_d eyes yet it didn''t seem different from other rocks except its texture and colour. It was oldy smooth rock similar to what a stone looked like in the river banks. Since nothing came out from initial examination with hands he then thought of what other methods he could use. His first thought were to call for mew so she could directly reveal it''s secret to him without any further problems , but another part of him told him that he will continue to get dependant on mew if he did this. He needs to find and explore the function and it''s use on his own both for his self confidence bit also for his curious self which wanted to learn more and more about the unknown rock. The unknown has always been a regarded as synonym of danger yet this danger attracts large number of people towards it who yearned to explore and find it. Similarly Alex too was attached to it''s mystery of the stone and thought of thing he could perform on his own. He first tried to crush it with only his hands (without aura) and it didn''t work. Then he slowly tried other heavy things around to at least bring a crack or something. Hit hard enough to impact but not enough to break it down. Since it didn''t work so he thought of using the thing which let him deduce, it is related to Suicune, his aura. He instead of his eye scan sent aura into it through his hands. Alex saw that the stone digests his aura and is absolutely absorbed by it. It also emitted a sound similar to water splashing in a vessel when the vessel miles around. So he was amazed by it. He also felt that it''s energy concentration slightly increased. Alex has input just enough aura in his hand through which he could take down a medium sized tree. Now that he know it is stimulus to aura he thought of another angle to test it''s stimuli. Since it is a water type related prop so he sent out his Slowking to confirm the hypothesis that it is related to water types. " Slowking send a weak water gun at the rock." He looked at his target puzzled but he followed his words. He sent a small stream of water which could only be used as water sprinkler. In contact the stone glowed blue and then suddenly dimmed again. " Now try a medium power water gun." This time Too a glow appeared and later subsided. " What happened to your move Slowking?"he asked Slowking. '' It absorbed 20% of the total power behind my water attack both in case of weaker and medium powered attack.'' he answered truthfully. Alex looked at the gemstone and thought,'' So it is a defensive object absorbing the attack power regardless of the strength of move is impressive. Although it only works on water type attacks Yet it must have a limit to what level of water attack it can handle. It probably could handle attacks which Suicune itself could take on without getting injured. But what is the aura doing in all of this? '' He took the gemstone in his hands and then charged his aura then told Slowking," Slowking attack me with medium water gun. " He sent an attack at Alex on his command but Growlithe appeared in between and sent a flamethrower to vaporise the water in and he bared his fangs at Slowking fir attacking Alex. Alex and Slowking were communicating telepathically so Growlithe Alex was really attacked and jumped in to defend him. Alex has read that the Growlithe and Arcanine are very loyal to the trainers they recognize and would even sacrifice themselves for their beloved trainer even in the most hopeless cases. Now this incident today reminded him of this fact and reveals some truth about those words. Alex bent on his knee and softly brushed his head and neck to entertain and calm him and said softly," Buddy, he wasn''t attacking me for rebellion but because I asked him to. " He then showed him the gem and said, " I am experimenting this and wanted to check it''s effect on aura inclusion and so I asked him to attack. Don''t worry . It is just water moves which can be absorbed by the stone if the test fails. Slowking once more and this time noone will interfere in this matter. " He looked at the on looking Espeon and larvitar who saw the current test going on. He then calculated the amount of aura used and found that his aura based attacks under the blue gem is increased three times and this too is because of his lack of control. He later had him attack worth different type moves at a much weaker level and found that this gem truly increases his aura strength. "So this stone not only absorb water moves but also smooth flow if aura in his body. It is a good defensive artifact and it can so protect me from deadly encounter in the near future. I should keep it with myself the entire time It can also help me train riolu in aura tricks later but now it must be kept on me the entire and I can''t keep it away from me so I should just stay here safe. " Alex then put the gem on his shirt pocket obscurred drop. He then put the rock on his shirt upper pocket And then have jewel save the test and the data''s for it under confidential agreement or there will be no one who could find their true information. Alex then started to feed his pokemons which were with him and then once again went off to take notes. He then thought of another important thing. Whether he would be able to reverse it''s transaction ways. Since it absorbs the water and store it similar to aura if this energy could be sent out too would be really great but now it isn''t possible or isn''t working for Slowking. There are still other water types on which he could work and get started on new ways for it''s application. To be continued Chapter 114 - Pokemon tower (part 1) Next day, Alex woke up early and had given his now healed Haunter the Ghost stone for use. It will slowly increase his ghost power and help him later in the evolution. Now knowing about the variation he knew what was needed for his Pokemons evolution. Haunter would require a strong poison and ghost energy in equilibrium absorption for his optimum growth. And the only thing that can be used in this case which he knew about was the venom vein which is a rare item for poison types. This item is actually a climber plant which grows in the resting place of powerful poison type pokemons. They were first discovered in an old Nidoking burial grounds where they seem to grow around the bones of these pokemons absorbing the poison in them and growing over the years. These can also be found in arbor, seviper and toxicroak burial grounds too. These vines are edible and help the growth and power of their respective species. For example, Nidoking vine for Nido family, arbok for ekans and so on. Its not that it is not effective for other pokemons but it is best for that type. But the main difficulty is that they are heavily guarded and is guarded by the head of the group and it takes a long time to grow. About 10 cm a year and this cost a few million even in ordinary market let alone the black market There are also some artificially created ones from grimer, koffing and swalot but it has one- twenties the effect when we compare a metre of artificial one to the 10 cm natural one. After this he once again has a yearning for adventure and now he is on tight schedule too. He will be having a young brother or sister soon and he doesn''t want to miss it. So he is sure to be there for the child birth but he also knows his mother will make him stay with them for a few days which may turn to a few days or even a couple month and he couldn''t say no because he too would want to spend time with him or her. So he decided that in the next four months he would get the other four badges and qualify for the league (which he unknowingly already did. ) And then spend the rest time at home or sporadic trips for training his pokemons. This will get him enough times for some experiment of his own while also replicating ones mentioned in the diary. This way both himself and his mother will be heavy but now the problem is how to continue the journey without affecting mom''s emotions much especially in times of pregnancy. Soon a knock at the door brought him to the reality. Then he said to hinself," I can think about it later. I better get going or Bill will always tease me for it. " Then he motioned his pokemons out there like Espeon, riolu and Growlithe to follow him. He also got Pichu last night after he learned he had almost learned volt tackle or at least it''s prototype. So he was gonna have it fight some pokemons and see how his volt tackle is and if it is good enough he would remove the everstone on him and let him evolve. Alex opened the door to see Bill standing there with Daniel. " So you both ready for the pokemon tower ?" " Of course I am ready." Bill said excited " I have been there many times and we can only travel a few floor others are restricted area." Daniel said " Can''t we just go there for a peek?" Bill asked as they walked out of the pokemon center. " No we can''t. There are many powerful ghost type there and they don''t like being interrupted. If they are angered we may have pokemon raid right here at lavender town." He said the last part gravely. This made them aware of the dangers. Pokemon raid was a grave threat to all human towns and cities. Every year a few towns are destroyed in the pokemon League and how many people die in there are enough to make anyone cringe in fright. So a pokemon riot is a very serious matter for the league and anyone who cause this is regarded as a criminal with life and death capture order and is hounded by both league personnel and the bounty hunters. Some criminal organization too join this. There was a case in which an angry business caused a riot in a few village because they didn''t follow him and joined his business deal. He thought they insulted him and because of his links with the league official he thought nothing would happen to him but he was wrong. Although he managed to rage the villages to the ground killing hundreds of people he was not forgiven. He was caught two days later after the incident and he was publically executed and his property was confiscated. His family was thrown out of their home and were forbidden to enter any city of the league. Not only the initiator but his family even if innocent isnt spared although not prisoned or attacked not allowing entry in a city meant if a big pokemon raid happens and they attack the city they will not be allowed to enter in any case and would either be trampled to death or killed. " Ok . We won''t go there." Alex said and bill nodded in agreement. They soon came in front of a tall twenty stories tower which was the burial place of many pokemons. Many trainers buried there pokemons here and because if their mass burial many ghost pokemons arrived here for the soul power here and later become a hot hub for ghost types. " We can only go up to five stories with me, Alex could go to ten if he wants but only alone due to his special status while ordinary people can go up to three floor only. So what do you think Alex? Do you wanna move around on your own or with us till the fifth floor? "Daniel asked " I don''t plan on getting any new ghost type till Haunter evolves with how much care they need. Also now I have many baby pokemons to look after so I will probably wait until they grow up and then think about more . Of course if I can get a great pokemons in the journey i won''t refuse him joining me? So I think I will join you to make sure Bill doesn''t cause trouble for you." Alex said finally. Alex and his friends will enter the pokemon tower. How will it go? Stay tuned To be continued¡­ Chapter 115 - pokemon tower ( part 2) The three boys entered the tower. Alex currently had only Haunter with him alongside while he returned other so they don''t attack the ghost here in case they are freaked out. Especially Pichu who can''t completely control his electric moves. So him staying in the pokeball is best for them. Another pokemon who could cause problems here would be Growlithe and not because he is aggressive or can''t control his powers but because he is protective. Ghosts even if calm has a mischievous nature and if Growlithe react too strongly then there might be horde of ghost attacking them. Although not a problem with his pokemons almost healed with only his electabuzz right hand still slightly injured and a Wing of Pidgeot still hurting they are still battle ready but it will be annoying. And the aftermath would be that he would be hounded by the authorities for this incident. And this will delay his departure. So he was cautious to say the least. So Alex, Haunter, bill , Daniel and his Haunter entered the pokemon tower. They entered the door and took their first step in the tower. The entrance hall was dimly lit and has an extremely eerie environment with a feeling that their every movement was under the watch of something or somebody. Alex was really glad that he took back Pichu. With this feeling and unease he felt he would definitely send out a thundershock. " Don''t get tensed up. This atmosphere is because if the high concentration of ghost energy which cool down the surrounding. The ghost like dark, shady and moist places so there higher concentration of presence sometimes Change the climatic condition " Daniel explained them when he saw their unconformable faces. Near the staircase to the first floor were two people standing and asking people their intensions and what they are going up for. It was just a simple questioning and people can enter two at a time with both sides taking on a person. But with Daniel they didn''t wait and directly headed for the stair and the two on seeing Daniel greeted him happily and let him go ,thoughwho were in line questioned ," why were there brats allowed to enter whole we are all stopped? It is partiality." " Yeah lets us go too" " We are more busy than them. We should be allowed to go sooner than them." " I will complain with the police." While these shouts were going on the trio has already reached the first floor. Yet they could hear the words and Alex asked," Will there be any problem?" " Don''t worry. They can''t do anything. Trainers is a very dangerous job and so there are certain privilege for them. If you revealed your identity they won''t stop you too. Only rookie trainer and ordinary people are questioned while rest can easily pass by. You as an advance Trainer has much responsibility along with privilege. In case you are in a pokemon riot,trainer at rookie or intermediate can evacuate with civilians if situation is dire but people at advance level aren''t allowed to retreat unless the league orders or else you will be wanted with a bounty. You can say,'' With great powers and position comes great responsibility''" Daniel said Alex put some thoughts in these words. He has always heard how deadly a pokemon riot could be and he has already enjoying some benefits for his stature. So he can''t escape this responsibility. Daniel has already told them there isn''t anything interesting until fourth floor. From the fourth floor onwards can one find some Pokemon rarely found in Kanto. So they have set their destination at fourth floor for exploration. On the way they faced similar situations as the ground floor with people angry at them getting inside freely while they were obstructed but nothing else happened. The most interesting thing that Alex noticed was that after every floor the atmosphere was getting heavier. The average temperature at ground floor would be around 15¡ãC and after every ascending floor the temperature went down a degree. So he asked Daniel," Will the higher levels be a freezing cold?" Daniel stared at Alex interestingly and said," So you notice it." While Bill was clueless and asked," What did he notice?" " The decreasing temperature with increase in floor. And yes another reason for restriction is the low temperature. Trainers with their constant travelling and facing different scenarios can adapt to these conditions but not others and they may suffer so restriction was placed." " So will there be snow up there?" Bill said looking at the upper floors. " No not ice or anything solid. But the temperature St the top floor is around -5 ¡ãC according to grandpa. " Daniel said Bill shuddered on hearing as of he was present there and experiencing the cold winds but said," Let stop talking about cold and look around. Do you agree to split up." They both nodded. And the three parted ways on the fourth floor. Alex though was looking around because he felt he was being watched by somebody and even being trailed but he didn''t act suspicious. He knew if he was in any danger his Haunter will save him. So he looked around the pokemon tower was really big with each floor as big as a gym stadium. He looked around and saw some ghost pokemons floating but didn''t bother them. He also saw some trainers catching them while other finding things. The pokemon tower has ghost stone though low level yet very pricy out there along with many ghost items so many try to find those. Alex has come across spell tag, ghost gem and even a few ghost stones. Along with them he found some Pokemon of other regions such as misdreavus, yamask , duskull, drifloon or even rare fire ghost type litwick. Just as he continued to scout around two pairs of eyes looked at him and his shadows curious. Stay tuned To be continued¡­ Support me on *******: *******.com/darthnorthe Chapter 116 - Pokemon Tower ( part 3) While he was scouting the surrounding the two pair of eyes continued to follow his every movement. They seem to have found a prey and are ready to pounce at him when he was least alert. Alex eyes were suddenly attracted to a strange symbol on the ground. He brushed hid hands to clear out the dust acc_u_mulated over it and saw a seal similar to a pentagram. He tried to decipher it but couldn''t understand a thing then he raised Jewel and said," Scan and store this image." Jewel did as she was told and after that replied,'' Task accomplished.'' Alex after that opened his aura vision to find some clues and on doing so he found that it was attracting the ghost energy around towards itself. He looked around to see that there was only a single symbol like this on the room and then he went off to look at other rooms. After seeing three to four other rooms he found similar symbols on each room which performed the same function, which was attract the free ghost energy around the room and surrounded the area around symbol with ghost energy. So it was an attracter of energy which is activated when fed with that particular energy. Alex excitedly thought of how he could create similar nodes for his pokemons back at home with many treasures along with evolutionary stones for his pokemons growth. But this is for ghost types. For other types there may be a different pattern so it will take time for this procedure. But this didn''t stop his enthusiasm to note down all the points regarding this view and thoughts pertaining the symbol. While Alex was noting down the two pairs of eyes finally felt their target has lowered his guard enough for them to attack so they pounced on him. Soon a floating white mask suddenly appeared in front of Alex startling him and making him fall on the ground on his butt. Alex fell painfully on his back and the floating white mask laughed at Alex along with the Haunter which liked this act. Each box has a symbol on others which shows which pokemons or type will like this specific recipe and benefit most from it''s intake. These two boxes were boxes which had the food belonging to Psychic type like Espeon and the heavy weight one like Snorlax. So they had Espeon and Snorlax face on them respectively. When the green and purple ghost took out the box from the box the floating white face pokemons floated off towards the other companion, took one box from her and then ready to dash off from Alex. By now Alex has recovered from the initial shock and pain and then he saw the two participants of this act running away. Haunter motioned for Alex to stop them but Haunter liked their little prank on Alex so he wanted to let them go and Alex knew the mental thought of his official starter. So he said," Haunter stop them or else I will tell snorlax and Espeon that you let the thief run away with their food and I don''t need to tell you what that outcome would be." Haunter shuddered in hearing this and thought what he might suffer under his two companions. Snorlax loved eating food especially tasty food and Alex cooking was great so he enjoyed it. He still remembered how Snorlax smashed Piloswine when he jokingly stole some of his food. That day they learned not to play pranks on him relate to food or your result will be full of suffering. And Espeon she would never let go of this and will always keep him reminding of this incident for a long time and even spoil some of his own fun''s in retaliation. Alex slowly walked towards the frozen or paralysed Pokemon and took the two boxes from them and said," What did you think you are doing? Don''t you know you might get into trouble for stealing and the other party won''t let you go easily. " On hearing this the two made cute and pitiful whimpering voice as if asking for pardon and apologizing to Alex. He then looked at their cute doll eyes which soften ALEX''S heart and he motioned for Haunter to release them whole taking few ghost type pokemon food for the two. These two pokemons were the misdreavus and duskull . He looked at the two floating Pokemon and then threw a cube to each who caught and immediately ate it after being attracted by a sweet aroma. " Those would make you feel uncomfortable because they weren''t from ghost types and you may get hurt or overdraft your potential making you weaker in the future so next time be careful in these situations. " After getting the tasty treat they felt this trainer won''t harm them and he even gave them tasty treat so they decided to follow his world''s. So they nodded telling they heard him and they won''t take such risk later. After that he asked the two ghosts," Do you both know this symbol and if it exist do you know where I can find them? If you could take me there in limited time I will give you some more treats just for you lot. So pleae tell me about the in nland caves and also stiff rocky plains. " Since they were just prankster and it doesn''t cause much Chaos so he decided to follow. Soon the trio appeared on the front of stairs leading to fifth floor and ready fir the final floor excursion. What will happen in the fifth floor of the mysterious pokemons tower? And how will the bond between the three be whether or will Chapter 117 - Pokemon Tower ( Part 4) Alex entered the fifth floor under the guidance of two friendly baby ghost types. Yes these two pokemons were newborns as their ghost energy was very low according to his comparison with aura sense. He found that their life energy was a tenth compared to their counterpart and with his knowledge about the ghosts he came to the conclusion that they were just newborns because the lifespan of ghosts were longer than even dragon type pokemons and dragon type live for a few centuries to say the least. Many times it is found that the initial form of ghost pokemons was a century or two old. His Haunter, earlier as ghastly was three decade old at the time of their first meeting. The ghost takes a long time to grow because of slow acc_u_mulation of the life energy by then as they absorb the ghost energy or spirit and convert it into pure life energy which is the basis for their evolution. The wild ghost pokemons are considered one of the most dangerous because of their ability to steal or devour the soul of people to sustain or increase their life energy. As for why there isn''t a case similar to it in the Pokemon Tower is because this tower is under strict surveillance of the league and if there is any such case found then it is put to a stop as soon as possible. Because the uncontrollable d_e_s_i_r_e of soul nay awaken in them and it is similar to a l_u_s_t of food in case of Snorlax. There are more places similar to this tower in other regions too and the people of league made a deal with the ghost that they will get free energy and in return they won''t go on hunt for souls and even join as pokemon partner for trainers. It is also said that the ghost pokemons seal their powers and memories on the death of their trainers so that they can deal with the sorrow of the passing of their partners. They can grow powerful quickly with more battle they fight. Of course they subconsciously refrained from joining the other trainers team and are more willing to perish than join them. After reaching the fifth floor ( he was able to enter without being stopped by the keepers because he flashed his status to them ) he was taken to a much bigger and slightly more complicated version of the previous symbol in the fourth floor. On seeing it, first thing Alex did was giving one more pokecube to both the younglings and then asked them to look out for any sneak attack along with Haunter. They saluted him back and acted like a soldier on border duty with extreme caution and focus. So Alex completely directed his attention on the symbol. He took out the photo of earlier symbol abd tried to find the difference in the two and he also took note of the effect this symbol causes. He noted the contents of ghost energy here was 10% richer than the lower floor. He came to a conclusion that these symbols are one of the reason for the temperature lowered at the upper floors. He kept his aura sense activated and trailed the ghost energy to it''s convergence point. As he was reaching closer, the number of ghost pokemons become more and more and they are easily aggitated. Haunter managed to being them down without much effort. Soon he cane across the point of convergence but he didn''t immediately went off for it, because a group of Haunter were around the convergence point. Alex felt if he had an all out battle he may anger other ghost types and even call forth a very strong ones out. So he had Haunter delay the group or distracted them while he with Jewel take note of the situation here. He even released Espeon and Slowking out to deal with them In case they escape Haunter and tried to target him. These two psychic types also created a barrier so that the battlefield would not be too noisy and attract the unwanted attention of other people and pokemons on this floor. He felt it was a good practice for Haunter to face his own species so that he could learn from them and even practice his almost neglected ghost moves. So Haunter dashed off to take on four other wild Haunter and Alex sneaked to the symbol under the protection of the two psychic types. The four pokemons tried to take him out with shadow ball and even attacked him with shadow punch but Haunter swiftly dogded them and just slashed at them with shadow claw with with hands His twin shadow claws hit two of them who cried out in pain but because of similar typing and his less than proficiency in the attack they weren''t knocked out and they joined the group attack. Seeing that the attacks won''t work they went for the status moves and two of them tried to keep him busy while the others used hypnosis for him. Haunter was asked to only use ghost type moves and nothing else so he was kind of held down by the two and didn''t notice the sneak hypnosis. Haunter was still asleep and didn''t know that he knocked his opponent out. Alex has completed his examination of the symbol when they attacked him with group hypnosis. His pokemons were ready to help him in sneak attack but Alex stopped them. He also know that in his sleep he used sleeptalk to attack the pokemons. This battle also confirmed that the poison attack of Haunter was much more powerful than the ghost moves since multiple ghost moves only hurt them slightly while two clear hits from poison knocked them cold. Alex just took back Haunter in his pokeball and motioned his psychic types to bring down the barrier then he motioned Espeon to use heal bell to treat the poison in the Haunter''s ( which she learned from miltank at the farm). He also returned Slowking back. After that he decided to head back to the lobby of the Pokemon tower ( at the ground floor of the pokemon tower). The trio had decided that after parting they will meet each other in the lobby at 4 o clock and now it was already 3:30 in the evening. So he thanked the two young ghost pokemons while giving them another ghost favoured pokecube which happily ate it and then left for the ground floor with his new data''s on the energy gathering symbol and his faithful Espeon. While Alex was heading out he didn''t notice that the two ghost were looking at him going away without blinking. They had some plans regarding Alex. What did Alex discover in those symbols? Why did the two ghosts( misdreavus and duskull ) looked at the parting Alex with some scheme in their mind? To be continued Chapter 118 - Defects of Alexs training Alex has reached the ground floor by 3:50 with ten minutes to spare and finds that his two friends had already reached there and has waited for him. Bill and Daniel too saw his arrival but with his Espeon instead of his earlier released Haunter which made them curious but Bill managed to calm his curiousity and immediately targeted Alex for making them wait and said," Where were you? Did you know how long we waited for you? Didn''t you say you will only go to fifth floor and not higher?" The mention of fifth floor and the higher floor made the group of trio the center of attraction for the all the other occupants of the lobby and they wished to know whether they heard it right or it was just an exaggeration. To think that a ten year old could go to higher levels of the Pokemon Tower while most are restricted to the two floors their entire lifetime. Bill was ignorant of the stares but Daniel and Alex noticed them and they secretly made decision of leaving soon and what to do so as not to attract much more attention to themselves. Alex answered his questions," We agreed to meet her at 4 and I reached ten minutes earlier so I am not late. Both you and Daniel were early. As for what I was doing, I was looking around the tower. After a of not for Daniel being the grandson of Willow the gym leader of lavender town, I won''t be able to visit the higher levels." Alex stressed at the words, such as '' Daniel'' , '' gym leader'' and '' higher level''s to alert bill on the secret being kept among themselves. Bill sometimes has lie EQ ( Emotional Quotient) but he was still a genius and a socially active one at that so he picked up the hint and joined Alex," yeah sorry. I was just very excited and a little scared if you would be safe up there. " Seeing that bill caught up Alex replied rubbing Espeon head," I have Espeon with me and I wasn''t going for a fight but just going for some sight seeing so I didn''t have any problem out there." Espeon just relished on her partners warm hands and enjoyed herself. They then left the tower while the other surrounding people heard and talked among themselves. " So they were Daniel''s friends. Now I know how they went to the fifth floor." " Indeed if so then they can really go there." " Who is this Daniel?" An unknowning man asked " He is the grandson of lavender town gym leader. He is a very strong trainer. He is also one of the top trainer in Kanto in the younger generation. " Someone explained The trio had left the pokemon town and didn''t bother for the talks or gossips of the left out crowd. After leaving, bill immediately asked," what happened to Haunter? Didn''t he leave with you?" " Haunter is now sleeping. He got hit by group hypnosis of Haunter. So he is knocked out ." " So you faced Haunter up there. What did you do to make them angry?" Daniel asked joking " I just wanted to train him in ghost moves against other ghost types. So I fought them." " And what do you find in that battle?" Daniel asked curious about his view. " My Haunter''s ghost moves are only slight above average because of his higher power but he lacks in their proficiency. It seems I have to go back to the basics of them. Slowking had done basics while my new ones got into advance training a bit early. If not for me giving them good nutritional food to eat then there might be case of their growth being stunted. They are still young and so I thought I would only let them have a glimpse of elemental power in primary form, slight change in intermediate and truly learn to control in their final form. This way their body can hold onto the raw power of the elements without problem. " He explained " Good to see you found out yourself. My grandpa told me about the dangers of early mastery of the raw elemental power so I stopped the training on it until I got my grandpa permission. I too was gonna warn you if I see your other pokemons getting into it, but it seems you already did it." Alex was sad because the only advantage he had over the other trainers of same generation was also harmful for his own pokemons. He had to reluctantly give up at least he have Pidgeot, Slowking and even butterfree to train in it. " So elemental attack is dangerous?" " Not dangerous but uncontrollable for the most part. It need a strong body and mind to completely control it. Did you know that not even elite four could completely control the elements and most are at 40-50% of control. This is how tough the training is. "Daniel explained and Bill heard intently. Meanwhile Alex heard something in the words of Daniel which sparked his interest. He thought,'' strong body is it. I know what I have to do now.'' He now found a way around the problem. His electabuzz is not at his final form, Electrivire but at his intermediate form yet his control of element is better than even Slowking and Pidgeot so he felt that a strong body is also needed for it. So among his pokemons Piloswine has physical powers similar to electabuzz so he may be approved for this. He can also set up a minimum strength threshold for those who can learn it After that he happily went with his friends and returned to the pokemon centre for healing Haunter. He felt this way he could also rest because he always followed him and protected him from the shadows. The trio had the a joint dinner since Alex told them he would head off for the Saffron city soon for the pokemon gym battle and get his eight badges as soon as possible. And Bill too was heading back later as his father will be sending people to bring him back so they enjoyed the company of each other and then went off to sleep. Today Haunter didn''t stay with Alex so Espeon along with Pichu decided to accompany him. At midnight in Alex room in Pokemon center, In the night when Alex was sleeping two short shadows sneaked inside softly so as not to warn the sleeping people Soon they were s_u_c_k_e_d up and captured accidentally. The flash of light from capture awoke Espeon who looked around and also scanned the room with her psychic to search for anything out of ordinary Seeing nothing, she went to sleep herself by the side of Alex. Two unknown pokemons are captured. Who might they be? Stay tuned to be continued Chapter 119 - New journey The next morning, Alex woke at the crack of dawn and he was ready to head out. His Pidgeot was already healed enough to move and can even fly around but nurse joy still asked to not fly on him for a month do he could be properly healed. So Alex returned Pidgeot and got himself Pidgeotto. Alex has told Pidgeot to stop the elemental training of his pokemons and train in move proficiency along with the physical training. Of course of they still want to do it, it must be done under him and only for half an hour at most. After exchanging the pokemons at the center at nine he left the lavender town. He has already said his goodbye to his friends and he didn''t want to go through another emotional outbreak of bill. When Bill knew he was leaving then and going out alone he started to cry and sob on his shoulders. Hell even his snot was wiped on his shirt. Good thing it was non stain shirt. It doesn''t let any paint or stain stay on itself. After all his clothes are very pricy and if they can''t even stay clean ir dustfree then it is a loss for Alex. Also it is noted that many of the skilled trainers clothes aren''t covered in dust or dirt because of this feature. Alex has a new Pokemon now or we can say his old pokemon evolved by mistake. Early in the morning, Alex while cleaning the fur of Pichu removed his everstone pendant accidentally in the morning this stoped the effect of everstone on Pichu and his body was filed with the power of evolution. Pichu was enthralled by this and didn''t listen Alex who asked him to stop it for a second so he could use everstone to stop the evolution but when he saw the glow of evolution on Pichu he put a stop to all his work. Evolution was a sacred thing for pokemons. He can prevent the evolution of his pokemons but if he tried to stop the evolution process while it was going on there might be some discontent produced in the pokemons towards him and may affect the bond and friendship between the trainer and pokemons. Soon the small rodent increase in size almost twice his previous form. His tail lengthen and his ears turned long and narrow. He has two red marks on his cheeks which were the electric generating parts of him. He has evolved into a Pikachu. After evolving he (Pichu) started to look at his new body and after getting acquainted and controlling his motor organs he ran into Alex and hugged him and rubbed his cheek on Alex in joy. His cheeks emitted sine electric Sparks but Alex clothes innate resistance Along with his increased endurance to pokemon moves he wasn''t affected by these minute Sparks After that he started to show off his new body to the other occupants of the room who were Espeon, Miltank, Happiny and the young and ever enthusiastic larvitar. Larvitar was as excited as Pichu now Pikachu on his evolution and he even had jealous expression on his face. He comforted him and congratulated Pikachu and then after making Happiny look at him for any defect in the young evolved body of Pikachu, he left. Present time, Alex headed south from the lavender town for the cruise ship for the jubilee port. Daniel told him that there will be pokemon battle tournament in the cruise ship starting at jubilee port two months from now. And for Alex to reach the jubilee port, he has to pass at least three gym in the way. They were flying type, bug type and Normal type gyms located at sky town, Puppa town and Destine town respectively along with other minor settlement and village on the road. This was also a great opportunity for Alex to face trainers his age and also since it is happening on the cruise so he can''t use mist of his big gun moves in case he damages the boat itself. So this time he has to use normal but effective and powerful moves and only those attacks which the pokemons could control and not damage the boat too much He even decided to invest his time in his Magikarp to try to evolve into the sea dragon, gyrados. According to the mysterious diary, the Magikarp is a very special pokemons which can evolve into their next stage only and only if their dragon powers are awakened in them simulating the inner dragon genes and evolving into the twenty to Eben forty feet long sea leviathan. And this is normally done when the body of the pokemon is strong enough to handle the surge, or in case of inner turmoil of emotions which may awaken the dragon force, but this is risky because of not treated or looked into it there might be case of stunted growth. Alex has made an experimental dish for the Magikarp , that is, he use crushed dragon scales as powder over the water cube for him and have him practice. He even apply muscle relaxers and natural lotions to improve his body physique. Under his training he uses splash as a guide to direct himself on ground or air and with his powerful tackle can even smash rocks twice his size. He is already a metre long. It is possible that he may evolve by the time they reach Jubilee port fir the competition. After walking fir hours he stopped in the forest fire a break and prepare food for his pokemons. Currently for this trip he had with him: Electabuzz Haunter Espeon Larvitar Magikarp Happiny Swablu Nidoran Bulbasaur Pidgeotto Zubat He has returned Piloswine, Snorlax, Slowking and Onix Along with Pidgeot at Lavender town. Now he felt Slowking could train his pokemons well under his guidance and also his other water pokemons. He released all his current pokemons which bundled together to chat on. He asked Pidgeotto and electabuzz to bring woods for cooking whole had Espeon look after all the others They have some movements. He think he might have caught some Pokemon accidentally and he took them up to release and see whom he has caught. How will he react to the two caught pokemons? Stay tuned To be continued¡­ Chapter 120 - 2- tailed by angry parents Alex looked at the two pokeballs and then released them in the air together. They were two ghost types. One was dark bluish-green, ghost-like Pok¨¦mon. While it has no visible arms or legs, its lower half has several small appendages and resembles a ruffled dress. It has several round red gems around its neck, which are used to absorb fear and use it as nourishment. It has long, flowing lilac-tipped "hair". Misdreavus''s large, red eyes have yellow sclerae. It was a misdreavus. Another has body which was like a black robe with two bones on its back. It has a mask that resembles a skull and has a single eye that floats between the eye sockets. It was a duskull. The two pokemons were almost similar to the ones he saw in the pokemon tower. To confirm his past assumption he used his aura sense and found them to be exact match. These were the two baby ghost types he saw at the pokemon tower in the fourth floor. Alex leveled his gaze at the two ghost pokemons who after leaving the pokeball floated around delighted and happily greeted other pokemons. The mist enthusiastic among were his Haunter and larvitar. Haunter because he now has some Pokemon having similar attributes to him and trade nites while larvitar at having new Pokemon to play with especially young ones like himself who weren''t much older than him Alex seeing them calmed down and having released their past enthusiasm at being freed, he asked," How did you get caught in the pokeball ?" Hearing the question, they acted sheepish and just mumbled something which was incorrigible to both himself and his pokemons so he tried to lure them. He knew they liked his pokecube very much and so he said," tell me the truth and I will reward you with with one special ghost flavoured cube." He even took out a cube and it''s smell turned them dreamy. They immediately dashed fir it but Alex moved sideways dodging then and said," tell me the truth and get it." But they didn''t listen and kept dashing at him from different angles. He had motioned his pokemons not to interfere and only intervene when they use moves in him. He kept dodging up down sideways in taking step backwards to move out if their attack path. Meanwhile the pokemons cl_u_s_tered around to look at the fun with the young ones like larvitar, Swablu, Pikachu and nidoran rooting and cheering for Alex. By now electabuzz and Pidgeotto too have returned back with firewood and the two ghosts also started to tire out while Alex wasn''t broken a sweat. Alex was already atheletic before aura awakening but after that he upped his training and aura increased his muscle mass and strength. Now Alex is already as strong as a_d_u_l_t humans due to him continuous quenching of body with aura. Seeing them tired he tossed a cube and said once again," if you want more tell me how you reached here." And this time gravelly too. Alex was in trouble this time. Most of the ghost types are forced from souls of the dead pokemons and their last emotions before death along with surrounding condition transform them into ghosts like ghastly, misdreavus, drifloon etc. So he needed to know how he caught them and how to counter the wrath of angry parents who felt their kids were kidnapped. As for why he didn''t fell he escape their chase on leaving the town and them not finding his whereabouts. This is because the ghosts attach their imprint on the young or something precious to them since they can easily find them later if lost. They aren''t much powerful to give an accurate location but can give one the direction where they could be found which becomes more blur with increasing distance. But now he is only few kilometers away from the town so their parents may easily locate him. The two ghosts immediately told the story of their capture which was translated by Haunter in a understandable language for alex by haunter. The summary was they sneaked into his room for more pokecube but accidentally got caught. After hearing this his first reaction was slapping his forehead loudly at the trouble he was facing. He looked at the two ghosts who were now playing with the other younger pokemons of his. Now he has to fear the anger of their parents. And the only pokemons who may have the chance to fight them were electabuzz ( one on one) and the Haunter and Espeon ( together). He then motioned electabuzz and the the other two to appear in front of him and said," Be prepared. Their parents may attack us at any time so remain vigilant. And you two Haunter and Espeon don''t single them out. For ghost types to be capable of laying egg they need to be at least elite level or even higher. While you are strong they are wild and to reach this level they have to be experienced fighter too. So you two will help each other while you Pidgeotto will provide them support from long distance. Just like how Pidgeot taught you." Pidgeotto nearby nodded while the others were ready for combat. He needed Slowking to oversee the training of his pokemons being one of his oldest and trusted pokemons along with being the smartest of all too. With him noone would disobey his orders even when he wasn''t there. And Piloswine along with Onix still held some grudge on the young larvitar. Though they didn''t act out of order with him in their presence they still were untrusting of him. Though the young larvitar didn''t notice he along with other pokemons weren''t blind to notice the obvious hostility. He wished that the Silph Corp phone Jewel had an inbuilt pokemon transfer too but no time for any sorrow. What he could do was be prepared for them. Not far from them sone shadows dashed towards Alex with eyes full of rage. Angry ghosts are aiming for Alex. How will the encounter go and how will he calm them? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 121 - 3- Facing the angry parents Alex has now fed his pokemons but he still kept a vigilant eye at his surrounding for any sneak attacks. He didn''t let his guard down and was ready to defend himself with his aura staff( given by Mew, and created in the tree of beginning) and also charged the blue gemstone so he can create shield at moment notice. Soon the overhead flying Pidgeotto cawed loudly warning about the arrival of the ghost pokemons. As soon as it landed on the ground, from the dense forest appeared three Pokemons Mismagius Dusknoir and a Gengar. These three ghost pokemons found prominent in different region all appeared in front of him and they all have a common Expression. They all were angry. Their eyes were fire red and seem to sprout flames. The trio ignored the human, Alex and directly looked at the younglings. The two now were with the other kids pokemons with Alex and his older pokemons as barrier for protection. But to the angry trio it seemed like a barrier to separate them from the kids. Soon the angry Mismagius sent off a psybeam at Alex which was disrupted by Espeon midway. She was angry at the attack at her trainer and she angrily sent out her own psybeam. As if the attack of Espeon was a signal all the ghosts dashed forward. Electabuzz against Dusknoir, Espeon and Pidgeotto against Mismagius and Haunter against Gengar with Alex commanding him in battle. Meanwhile Bulbasaur and Pikachu stood guard against the other sides attack and took them away from the battlefield. All the sides after few minutes of battle were at a standstill. Electabuzz vs Dusknoir The two pokemons were the strongest of the two groups. Dusknoir in the ghost group while electabuzz in Alex group. They both had their pride and so they faced each other alone without any support from their friends. Electabuzz sent his electric bolts at Dusknoir which were broken by his ice and thunder punch. While the shadow balls were stopped midair by the electroball. The two pokemons have tested each other''s moves and had a rough idea of the others strength. They both were almost equal in battle. Dusknoir as a pseudo king level was equivalent in power with electabuzz at peak elite level. Since the greeting and initial checking each other form and power was over, they directly entered the main round. They started using their elemental powers to take down the other. Dusknoir was shrouded with a dull purple shade around himself which slowly spread around him while electabuzz was similar with electric bolts surging around him along with a bright yellow aura. Soon a purple beam emerging from Dusknoir and a yellow from electabuzz collided in the center causing an explosion. Then Dusknoir used his spirit powers to create multiple land monster in form of golem who dashed towards electabuzz But electabuzz powered up his body with thunder and jumped into the group throwing his punches and demolishing them. Meanwhile a cloud has started to get acc_u_mulated above them. This cloud enlarges as time goes by while Dusknoir sneak attacked electabuzz amidst the blockade. Soon from electabuzz dashed out a huge beam of lightning which demolished all the golems and even wounded Dusknoir a little. Then electabuzz sent out a thunder at the sky and used it to control the lightning. After acc_u_mulating he sent down multiple bolts of lightning front the cloud on Dusknoir. Even the other like Gengar and Mismagius were hit hard enough for their opponent to take them down. As such Alex was able to subdue the ghost but at the expense of electabuzz very tired after control of atmospheric lightning and not able to move, Espeon and Pidgeotto both tired and wounds all over while Haunter being spread on the ground from fighting his evolved form. As such he doesn''t have any eligible pokemon powerful enough to battle. Earlier Mismagius vs Pidgeotto and Espeon The three female has started to attack each other. Mismagius used ghost and psychic moves on Espeon while targeted Pidgeotto with power gem a ground move. Pidgeotto sent out twister or gust and even tornado so that she could disrupt the movements of Mismagius but Espeon took on herself to take down the Pokemon parent. As their battle continued the trio felt the increasing power in the battle between electabuzz and dusknoir. They started to move away from their battle. After moving away the ghost pokemons Mismagius started to stop holding back. Mismagius can also be regarded as an illusion pokemon. She started to use illusion on them. As she felt pressured by them she put an illusion on Pidgeotto who considered Espeon as Mismagius while Mismagius as espeon. The surprise attack stunned Espeon and hurt her bad. After sending few attacks on Espeon and injuring her Pidgeotto started to gain his senses and she knew she attacked Mismagius. Pidgeotto told what happened to her and Espeon angrily sent psychic blasts at Mismagius but this time it was Pidgeotto was injured. Mismagius couldn''t attack and put his target in illusion at the same time so the two survive till now the onslaught. She knew along with the others that victory was in her grasp but electabuzz thunder attacks hit her disrupting the illusion. The two females didn''t waste time and knocked down the ghost with psychic and wing attack. The winner were Espeon and Pidgeotto. Though they are badly injured with bruises all over the body. Haunter against Gengar can only be said as Haunter either dodging the attacks or being hit by the attacks of his evolved form. The only thing which made sure that Haunter isn''t fainted earlier was Alex who attacked Gengar with aura spear and his staff from time to time and defending the attacks with the gem. Alex knew that only poison of Haunter was more powerful than Gengar but the poison attribute made it less effective. Even then only pain split attack evened the attack. Sensing the increase power in the battlefield they left some room for other parties battle. After that Alex, Haunter and Gengar started the second round. How will haunter take on Gengar? How will this matter subside? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 122 - 4- String of Fate After that the second round between the two evolved form official begins. Alex had Haunter now use poison powered attacks which were the only moves capable of hitting Gengar. Although not effective it was still hurt this slightly. The main attacker in the bout was Alex''s aura sphere. The audicity of this battle compared to the other two battle was that Gengar wasn''t getting serious in the battle. He seemed to play along with them and Alex even felt he was joking around with them. The smiling Expression on his face was similar to the two young ghosts, duskull and misdreavus when they played pranks or we''re up to some mischief. The poison attacks though didn''t give him a poison status yet it provided them ample movement place for Haunter to dodge the attacks of Gengar like shadow ball and dark pulse. Soon the Gengar stopped holding back and sent flurry of shadow balls at Haunter and then sneaked up at him and gave a mean thunder attack as soon as he was hot by thunderbolt from the sky. Gengar withstood the attack from the sky while Haunter was wobbling around injured. Seeing that he was losing, Alex immediately used a trump card to take down the now careless gengar who smirked at him," Destiny Bond" Soon a spirit chain bounded the two and as soon as haunter fell down on the ground Gengar too followed. And this battle ended with the both Gengar and Haunter losing at the same time. Alex has survived the anger if the angry parents or to say two angry parents with a mischievous and careless one. He had caught these three ghosts with great ball for better catching chance. His pokemons were injured and weren''t in the place to face an angry parent. He knew he was a few hours walk from the nearby village according to the map in the Jewel. He also returned the pokemons who faced the parents while called back his pokemons who hid behind a big rock while looking after the two sleeping ghost. Alex has made the two sleeping so that their presence or voice don''t anger the ghost more. After that he packed up all his things and headed for the nearest village for healing his Pokemon as well as getting some fighting worthy ones. His Happiny did some primary healing of the Pokemons but since she is still an unexperienced healer she can only do little. The village nearest to him was called the sprout village because of the many Oddish found here who hide in forest as sprout while many Bellsprout were found here. Because of this the village is very fertile ground nearby with a fresh stream for water. Alex ran continuously for an hour in which he covered fifteen kilometres which might be great and even unbelievable for a eleven year old but with his aura his physical attributes we''re greatly enhanced. Alex then returned the injured pokemons, under the eyes of some people nearby, and said," Nurse joy my Pokemon are gravelly injured. Can you check and tell me how long till they can be battle worthy." Nurse joy smiled softly and said," wait a minute I will tell you as soon as I can do some primary checkup. You can wait in the lobby. " Alex went for the pokemon booth unknowingly that some people with unknown yet harmful intention looked at him. They followed until they saw Alex enter the phone booth cabin ( phone surrounded by all side to prevent eavesdropping). He entered the booth cabin and dialed home. After a few rings an image of his tired out father''s image appeared. " Dad is everything alright there?" Alex asked seeing his tired visage. " Nothing much happened here. Just with your mom being pregnant, I am doing all the work along with my work at power station. So I am just a little tired. Anyway let''s not talk about it. When are you returning home, your mother is worried sick. " Arthur asked. " Umm¡­ dad the thing is ¡­. It is¡­" he tried to form a sentence and his eyes were evading his father''s. Seeing Alex stuttering and evading eyes, Arthur just smiled softly. Alex always acted as a miniature a_d_u_l_t and moments like these when he acted like a kid similar to his age were precious for him and his wife. " So you aren''t returning back now is it?" Arthur asked Alex just nodded but a angry female voice rang," What ? How could you do that? I thought you would be there with me while I was pregnant. I knew you hate me that''s why you aren''t here?" Came the voice of his mother, Gwen while she started sobbing. " Mom the thing is.." " Dear let him explain." Arthur tried to calm her down. " What explain? I am sure he would just create a fake reason to calm me and fool me like a slowpoke." " Mom I love you. Hell I love you more than father. You know it is right." He said trying to calm her nerves and it did work as both knew Alex was more attached to her than his father. "Fine you better explain it quickly or nothing in the whole world could save you from my wrath. " She said with eyes full of anger " Mom I thought I could get all my gym badges by the time you are nine months pregnant and then I wouldn''t leave you until absolutely necessary until the pokemon league tournament." Alex said with a look of promise. His parents knew he was telling the truth with how he spoke but they didn''t mention that he would keep using Agatha and Samuel to leave for occasional trips which he won''t say or he will once again attract his mother wrath on her. Alex saying this helped calm his mother while his father smiled knowingly that Alex once again managed to bypass her anger. Alex seeing her calmed down breathe out a sigh of relief and involuntarily thought,'' I will never be like dad following mother in a wimp. And I don''t want to be with any girl anytime soon.'' He even thought of himself and his imaginary girlfriend or wife nagging and ordering himself all around. while Alex was fantasizing a cute blonde girl sneezed regularly in front of her grandma and her sister. " Are you alright Cynthia. You are sneezing fir sone time. Maybe you are ill we better check up your health." Said cynthia baby sister. " I think I will take this offer. " Cynthia agreed on checking her health with nurse joy. And then her grandma jokingly added," I don''t think she is sick or something. Probably a young boy is thinking about her. Maybe she even have a mysterious boyfriend bwe don''t know about." Cynthia turned beet red on hearing her grandma say something like this," Grandma don''t joke like this. I won''t like anyone. And anyone to be my boyfriend he must beat me in a battle." She said confidently.'' No way am I going to be with someone weaker than me.'' and she left her family behind leaving the house. This time Alex sneezed. " Grandma I don''t think Cynthia will ever date with how strong she really is she can demolish everyone. And the only ones not her opponent are way much older than her or even married. " Her young sister said about her sister''s life. Caroline just patted the head of her younger granddaughter and said," you don''t know how magical love is. Even if they haven''t met their string of fate is already attached to each other. When she meet him nothing in the world would make her feel satisfied except his company. No one and I mean noone is immune of of this magical disease. " And she also thought,'' You don''t know there is another rival who emerged and may be her greatest opponent. I really look forward to how their first meeting will go.'' Alex and Cynthia has unknowingly get attached to each other with a string of fate. How will it go stay tuned To be continued Chapter 123 - 5 - Talk with the family Currently with Alex, " Knowing you, you won''t call us without reason and a graver reason so that you can escape the wrath of your mother. So what''s the matter?" His father said " Leave it to you to get straight to the point, dad. You also know what I think." Alex said Arthur pumped his c_h_e_s_t and said proudly," Of course I am your father. No one except your mother know you better than me. " He said looking at Gwen from the corner of his eye. " Yeah I am in a bit of trouble. " " Trouble. What happened. Tell me what happened. I will help you if I can. " His mother said aggressively on hearing the word,'' trouble'' coming from her son''s mouth. Arthur rubbed her shoulder to calm her down and it did work. " Alex can you tell us what problem you have encountered?" His father asked softly but his eyes were hardened as if ordering him to say it. Seeing their expression Alex knew he can''t escape the trap he dug for himself and told them the entire story from him accidentally catching the baby ghost to facing their angry parent and losing his pokemons and ultimately catching them up After hearing this his father only reaction was rubbing his forehead as if in a severe headache and he said," Your adventure is pretty eventful. The incidents you told us about are the ones most people go through in Their lifetime and yet you in your six month pokemons journey went through them. So what do you need me to do?" " Can you please send back Snorlax, Slowking and Piloswine back. Electabuzz is only tired out so he would be good after some rest. With these I can handle the ghosts and even have them follow me. I am really excited about it." And Alex was really excited as one could see with his bright smile worth all his teeth visible " Ok we will send them to you. Is there anything else you need us to do for you?" Alex thought for done time and said" Yes . Can you help me get some poison vine. I really need them for my Haunter and nidoran especially nidoran since he may evolve into nidorino within a week time. Also I will need some dragon scales and water stone for Magikarp. Also send azuril along with them. It is about time she too evolve or she will be very angry that I let Pichu evolve into pikachu and not her into marill." " Ok so you need azuril, Piloswine , Slowking and Snorlax while want me to get some ingredients for you." " Are they difficult to get Alex. From what I hear dragon scale and water stone are precious. " " Dad contact our previous supplier Mark. I already told him some things I may need in the future. After our berries ripen he will be our agent so he could never tested if he could handle some thing for us. After all dad you and Uncle Mark are childhood friends and I don''t think he would cheat us for some profits which will probably expand over time if he follow us." Alex said " Yeah Mark is a good option. Though did you consider some other people in case he can''t do it. ". " Yeah I did Scout some but they are for later. Now we have to just make our foundation better." " Don''t worry. I will take care of things here and you take care of yourself. " His mother has left them midway to get the pokemons he need. As soon as she returned she brought the pokemons he need along with his grandpa and other siblings. Seeing them he was really delighted. " Hello grandpa, Ben Clara. How are you? " he greeted them " I am well Alex. You seem a bit tired there. Is everything ok out there with you." His grandpa asked. " Nothing happened grandpa. I am fine" and to change the topic he released Pikachu for everyone to see. " A Pikachu. Did Pichu evolve Alex?" His sister asked " Yeah. He evolved yesterday. Isn''t he cute?" He said which rubbing behind his ears softly which was enjoyed by Pikachu. " Yeah. He is so cute I just want to hug him to death. Can you send him back so I can play with him. " Pikachu earlier as Pichu loved to play with Clara so now both of them looked at Alex with expectations. Alex quickly told them," Pikachu has just evolved so there are some changes in his body which may affect the Pokemon battle and with electabuzz he can learn the electric tricks easily. Wait for a week I will have him learn to control his body and electric moves and then he will be your to play with." He smiled softly at his baby sister. Both Clara and Pikachu danced around in joy Then Alex looked at Ben his other sibling and said," look here what I have just got?" And he released his Growlithe. " A Growlithe. Where did you get it? When did you get it? Can I play with him, brother?" Been quickly fired his questions at Alex. " I just got him sometime ago . He is just a new member. Wait for him to get acquainted with the team and then you can look after and play with him under mom, dad and grandpa eyes. It will be great for you in the future if you want to raise a Growlithe too. Is that ok?" Ben has lost his voice and just nodded his head up and down his eyes not leaving the young Growlithe. " Ok. Dad do get those things early. I need them urgently and don''t let the pokemons slag in their training back home. Can you do that for me grandpa?" " Don''t worry. I don''t do much other than laze around. At least in this way I can keep myself busy. And with all these pokemons your brother and sister will learn much. After all they don''t like to read book or browse things about pokemons and only play with your pokemons here. At least while playing I can teach them something about the pokemons. " His grandpa said while eyeing the two young brother and sister who evaded the eyes of others. " Ok everyone I gotta go. I have deposited the injured pokemons to nurse joy. I will talk to you later." And he switched off the phone While Alex talked with his brother, sister and grandpa Arthur sent his pokemons (Slowking, Snorlax, piloswine and azuril) to Alex. He thought ,'' Good thing I didn''t mention about Jewel or else mom would call me everyday to check on me.'' "Good evening nurse joy." " Good evening Alex. I see you came for your pokemons updates." " Yes nurse joy" he said nodding along. " I checked your pokemons. Your electabuzz is just tired while other are injured and may need a few days to a couple week to get fully healed up." She explained " Nurse joy is there any place I can get some berries and herb in the village." Alex asked her. " Yes there is a place nearby. Head straight from the pokemon center then take the third right after a few metres turn left and then in front is an old house there many berries and natural nutrients for pokemons are sold. Though be careful there. Many wicked people are around that area especially now since it is getting dark outside." She told him. " Don''t worry nurse joy. I won''t have any problem." He told her confidently. " But. It is dangerous¡­.. " as she continued to warn Alex he told her his Pokemon trainer ID to check whether he us capable or not. " Good luck in your endeavor. " She wished him. Alex thanked her and left the pokemon center for the herbal store in the village. Unknown to Alex, some people trailed behind Alex. Why Alex is being trailed? What will happen ? Stay tuned. To be continued¡­ Chapter 124 - 6 - dealing with rouges Alex after leaving the pokemon center followed the directions nurse joy had given to reach the herbal store in the sprout village. He headed there with his Pikachu on his shoulders. The path they were going on was pretty deserted at the moment and his Pikachu seemed to hear some sounds and looked here and there. Alex just rubbed his ears softly and said," I know buddy. We are being followed. Be prepared for some pests." Pikachu was serious and even sent some Sparks from his cheeks to show he is ready. As they turned around the corner, the trailing shadows appeared in front of him. There were about six people who followed him. They were all dressed as villagers and had a cruel look on their face. Alex looked around himself to see they each only had a single pokemon but thought not many get even a single pokemon in their life let alone a small village like this. They could get a pokemon and raise the pokemon here meant they were pretty high up in the village related to some rich people or even head of village. But for Alex they were nothing. Normally if someone was in such a situation he would be frightened or at least nervous but Alex has faced multiple life death scenario till now. Even the Pidgeot incident in his childhood was scarier than now let alone this situation can''t be compared. So Alex asked," is there anything I can do for you? Can you move out of the way I am in a hurry ?" He said calmly. One of them who was probably their leader considering his clothes seemed more expensive than the rest said," Did you see here boys, a little brat asked us to move out of his way." And he laughed loudly. And the others followed him in laughter. " Hahahaha" Seeing them laughing at Alex, Pikachu was angry and seemed ready a thunderbolt at the leader but Alex calmed him down. Seeing Alex not reacting to his mockery, the leader of the group of rouges said," You brat, leave everything you have here and we might let you leave. " his expression was that of him fooling Alex Alex seeing his Expression knew they were lying and they would probably kill him after stealing from him but he still remained calm and said," if I don''t do it ?" " Then don''t think of leaving here alive kid." He said sinisterly. " Aren''t you afraid someone would complain and you might get arrested." Alex said trying to get more information about them. "Guys did you hear him? We are getting arrested " " Hahahaha" " Kid let me tell you, we took down many disobedient brats like you who didn''t listen to us. As for us getting arrested, I am the son if the village head. No one in the village could threaten me. And since you know my identity you don''t need to live." He released his pokemon which was a Graveller. His surrounding friends too sent out their pokemons. They were the most common oddish, raticate and Spearow. " Don''t think about leaving here alive kid. Don''t worry we will take care of your pokemons and your things for you." He said and laughed sinisterly fully confident that he won the battle. Alex while hearing this only sighed and said softly," Pikachu your move isn''t enough for Graveller. You take down the rest while he will have the others." Pikachu dashed to the pokemons while Alex released a piloswine and ordered ," freeze them all" While Pikachu took down oddish and Spearow a ice breath flew which froze everyone solid. A thousand year old nevermelt ice was a treasure for ice types. It increased his powers much over time and it will increase as time goes. This has also made him reach advanced level so early. For current Alex these street shrimps aren''t much difficult to deal with. Under piloswine ice attack the six people along with their pokemons were frozen solid. The leader''s fave was only not frozen. While the others may soon die or have hyperthermia from the extreme cold of piloswine. Seeing the situation turn out like this, the leader shouted," do you know what you are doing? I am the son of village head. He is an intermediate level trainer. You a rookie can''t face him let alone with your parents powerful pokemons. Leave me and I will forget this matter." " Do you really think I will do that? Do I look like a fool to you? Let me tell you something about me. I am not a hero type of guy. if someone come at me with intent to kill he must be ready to face it too in return." Alex said " No no you can''t do this. My father will kill you. No stop" Piloswine slowly contracted the ice surrounding them and they were crushed to their death. His piloswine then used Earth power to dig a deep hole and then dump them in it on Alex instructions. After that Alex thanked and had returned him to the pokeball. And the duo trainer and pokemon headed for the herbal store. While they walked Alex talked with Pikachu and said," Pikachu you are too depended on thunder attacks. You see that Graveller back there, your moves won''t work on him so you need to learn other moves too." Pikachu just dropped his ears in sadness and reluctantly agreed. As fir why Pikachu was sad, his playing time was gonna decrease. After the ordeal with the rouges they reached the store. He entered the store to see many herbs and potions kept on the shelves of the store and there were a few people currently in the store He went to the shopkeeper who was an old granny in her sixties or seventies," do you have some status aliments and healing herbs." He asked directly " Huh what do you say? Can you repeat it?" It seemed she can''t hear properly so Alex repeated but this time much louder than earlier. " Huh, why did you not say so earlier? Why did you have to shout so loudly? Kids these days don''t even respect the elderly." She grumbled and asked someone in the back room to bring out the things he needed. The surrounding people on hearing him talk loudly just laughed among themselves accustomed to the comedy of talking to a near deaf old woman. Alex just let it be. Soon a beautiful girl in her early twenties came out dressed in a peach skin sundress with an apron over her dress. She was carrying a tray full of bottles. " Good evening, Jenny. You look as beautiful as ever" said a slightly older man in the store. " You are just as sunny as ever, village head." Said the now identified Jenny. Alex took down a rouge who happened to be son of village head and now he encounter the father? How will it go? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 125 - 7- The village head Hearing that the man was the village head Alex looked at the with extra attention. After all he did take down or to say clearly killed his son. Although that guy doesn''t know yet it might cause him problem later if he is not careful. The village head was someone in his late thirties and wore dull brown clothes. He wasn''t anymore impressive than the other villagers except for his temperament. Although he seemed nothing impressive to Alex, he did have a sense of strong to himself which was felt by Alex. It was similar to an intermediate level trainer as he faced in the team shadow and in different mercenaries who tried to sneak into his farm. But for the villagers he was someone very powerful and worth being respected. The beautiful women, Jenny than placed the tray on the store table and said to her grandma," here are the herbs and potion grandma." Alex looked at the multiple herbs and potion on the tray and then inquired ," how much do they cost?" " For healing herbs it is 100 pokedollars, paralysis herb , awaken herb are 50 pokedollars , poison cure is 150 pokedollars and for burn and frost heal it would be 120 pokedollars. So total it would be 20 healing herbs while ten of each from status herb, it would be a total of 6900 pokedollars and adding ten percent of the village tax it would be 7590 pokedollars." This was much cheaper than the potion sold in the town since they are one time use while these can be used multiple times and their effective doesn''t decrease until a long time has passed. Yet the village tax puzzled him. He never heard of it in any previous village though he didn''t buy anything from them except in Pokemon center where he got discount because of his status. So he inquired," What is this village tax?" Jenny was puzzled since the young boy didn''t know about this tax then thought he was probably young and didn''t know much about the world. And also thought how naive the people or to be exact children of town were to not know about their surrounding world. The village nearby explained," Village tax is a tax cast by the village on selling goods to the outside people. This is used for our development so league doesn''t involve itself in these matter unless we have a skyhigh tax rate. "Is there a problem in paying the above amount." Jenny asked fearing he might not have enough money on him and he is just stalling and asking about tax to not pay or buy and leave here empty handed. " No problem. Just this is the first time I buy something in a village so I was curious. That''s all." He replied calmly and paid her for the goods and placed them in his backpack. " So you are a rookie trainer?" The village head asked whole eyeing the Pikachu on his shoulder. " Yeah. I just became a trainer six months ago." He replied back not caring about him looking at him. Hearing it he said proudly," then listen to my advice young man. The forest outside the town and villages are very dangerous so be careful not to anger the wild pokemons out there in your over confidence. Over confidence will only be your peril. I have a son who is few years older than you. He has a powerful Graveller. If you have any problem you can ask him from help or advice if you meet him " Alex was better than the older man, Pikachu knew it as the senses of Pokemon were much s_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e than people. So him advising Alex seemed like he insulted Alex so he barred his tiny fangs at the village head. His actions shocked all except Alex but Alex calmed him down and quickly said," I am sorry. He is still young and don''t like others saying he is weak or things like that. Thank you for your kind advice village head." He didn''t want to anger others over this small matter and it is a good advice for rookie trainers too. Also he did kill his son or a person who proclaimed to be his son. Anyway he is gonna leave the village next morning so he didn''t want to be bothered by anyone After that he left the village under the eyes of the other villagers who grumbled, " Young ones nowadays are so rude. They don''t know how to respect the elders." " Yeah. Look at him he left without properly apologizing for his pokemons behaviour." " People don''t know how to control their pokemons and just catch whatever they see." Although Alex wasn''t able to hear any of these Pikachu heard all and he once again got angry. Alex seeing his expression had an idea of what people back there were talking about behind his back. " Don''t be so affected by others opinions. We will have many situations like this in the future. Until and unless they really say to our face and insult our strength or our family, we shouldn''t bother with it. You understand this, Pikachu." Alex said to Pikachu. " And don''t worry, if the village head is similar to his son then you may be able to get back at him in the future. After all he won''t let that matter rest. " This calmed Pikachu more and he was really looking forward to putting this arrogant village head in place. The duo pokemon and trainer reached the pokemon center and after greeting and having dinner in the cafeteria he went back to his room and fed his pokemons there. There at his room he also told his newly arrived pokemons about the situation with the ghost pokemons parents. And what he planned to do next day after leaving this village. He after that polished the scales or fur of his Pokemons helping them clean up and massage their body at different points and then left to sleep at the night. Next morning he prepared for leaving. He went to nurse joy and greeted her who asked," Alex are you leaving today?" " yes nurse joy. I have to get the jubilee port in time and also train my Pokemon for that so I have to leave now or I can''t get the gym badges on the way. Thank you for taking care of my pokemons." He said her. "You don''t have to thank me. It is my job. I am happy to see how you take care of your pokemons. I wish more trainers would be like that " she sighed in the end. After that he took his still injured pokemons back and headed for the nearest town, the sky town while in the way he would calm the ghost pokemons. To be continued Chapter 126 - 8- Power of Pseudo champion Alex at early morning has left the village and headed for the sky town. After an hour trek he was at a considerable distance from the sprout village and now he was looking for a big clearing so the next possible battle didn''t escalate to an even bigger battle for Alex. He after some search found a big enough clearing and then released the pokemons for battle. He had released electabuzz, piloswine, Snorlax and Slowking to deal with the parents who would probably be even more angry now. Among the three ghosts he faced earlier it was only Gengar who was least aggressive among them and he was just playing with Haunter the entire time. So Alex thought he should begin with Gengar in case he would listen and not go in blood rampage like the other two did. He mentioned the sequence of release of ghost Pokemon to his fighters and all of them agreed in leaving the female Mismagius for the last as no one wants to face an angry mother. Alex then had his pokemons station around him in a C shaped formation with himself in the middle. He once more asked his pokemons," Are you ready for it?" They all replied in agreement. " Buzzzz" "Slooowww" " Laxxxx" while scratching his stomach " Pilossss" And after final confirmation, he released the Gengar. After seeing himself being surrounded by pokemons Gengar didn''t seem bothered at all. He just glanced at them once and then looked around searching for someone. His behavior puzzled them but seeing he was in a peaceful mood so Alex decided to ask him directly. ," Are you searching for someone?" Gengar stopped looking around and just nodded and then asked him," Geenn gennnggaa genngar?" Alex just remained confused while his pokemons on hearing him became more vigilant so he asked Slowking who told him,'' He was looking for Haunter?'' Alex was still confused and thought about the earlier battle. In that Gengar only used moves unlike how his other companions who used ghostly energy and he even guided Haunter on how to use his powers. That time he didn''t attack Haunter heavily, just enough to knock you out. But Alex wasn''t going to believe that he won''t harm his Haunter. Gengar wanted to meet with the Haunter once more but Alex wasn''t willing, So he told him," Sorry I don''t trust you enough to show you my injured pokemon. How can I believe you won''t hurt him?" Alex denied his request resolutely. Hearing him say something like that Gengar just sighed and closed his eyes. Alex and his other pokemons thought he agreed with them and was a little saddened on not meeting him but it was a completely different case. As Gengar slowly opened his eyes the entire place began to undergo some changes. The clear sky turned cloudy with purple clouds and cold eerie wind begin to blow. The original calm and happy Gengar seemed to have turned into a terrible nightmare from a horror dream. The light of the sun couldn''t penetrate the clouds and hence the entire place turned dark. Only the slight burning bonfire Alex burned for cooking food was the only source of light. It was only the surrounding changes but the greatest change happened to the Pokemons. Every pokemon within a kilometer radius was running away from them. Even Alex''s pokemons were deeply affected by it. Slowking and Piloswine were breathing heavily and their vision was blurred under the presence of Gengar. It can be said if Snorlax wasn''t sitting he would have fallen on the ground and Piloswine having four limbs for movement was helpful in this situation. For the bipedal Pokemons like Slowking and electabuzz it was more troublesome but Slowking and electabuzz because of continuously fighting opponent stronger than themselves under Alex in their younger years weren''t as affected as the others but this doesn''t mean they were well. Although not breathing as heavily as them they still have trouble breathing and still strained themselves while mobilising their elements to shield under the enormous ghost energy released from Gengar. At the center of all this storm was gengar surrounded by great ghost energy he released. It gave Gengar a much scarier image. Noone wouldn''t be scared by this. Alex felt the power in the Gengar and cane to a very interesting conclusion. " You are the leader of all the ghosts in the Pokemon tower. The pseudo champion level Pokemon guardian of the tower." He managed to breathe out the words. Professor oak Ninetails was of similar level and he asked Professor to show him what powers different levels of Pokemon could wield. He told him that pseudo king level can influence a few hundred metre area , king level can affect a town or city completely by their power, a psuedo champion could control a forest and a champion level can control a few cities environment when they go all out. He has heard from Daniel that the tower is guarded by a pseudo champion level guardian so even the most heinous criminals , poachers and thieves don''t cause trouble or bigger trouble in the pokemon tower. Under the influence of Gengar''s power Alex doesn''t stand a chance and he even felt his will to fight leaving him but when he was going to yell that he admit defeat, electabuzz under the simulation of great pressure from Gengar broke the barrier of the elite pokemons and entered the pseudo king stage. His electabuzz has been at peak elite stage for almost an year and now the thundergem blessed by a Raikou which he bought at an auction in the Cerulean city while he stayed at his home played it''s role. Electabuzz has evolved into an even stronger form. Although he hasn''t evolved into an Electrivire his final form but His height and power increased. Electabuzz earlier was 1.2 metres tall but now he is 1.5 metres tall. Alex on seeing this once again remembered a scene similar to this when facing Charizard and Espeon trained his will. Now electabuzz did the same thing. Many can say they won''t admit defeat in face of adversely but under these situations and adversaries if one managed to stand strong hi inner will is trained. The strong man aren''t created in a day but have to undergo day to day transformation to reach their level. Under the simulation of the transformation, the original electabuzz who looked like a warrior was now transformed to a real warrior of thunder. Electabuzz could only control his thunder in his arms but now he can even manipulate them outside his body too. To be continued Chapter 127 - 9 - Transformation of Electabuzz Gengar''s POV, Gengar too saw the transformation of electabuzz and was inwardly shocked by this. To think such a young trainer has trained such a powerful pokemon was astonishing, to say the least. Gengar has already regarded Alex as one of the strongest trainers he saw in his hundred years of life. The electabuzz himself was pretty young barely ten years or even younger. And to reach this level shows the talent along with the amount of hard work the pokemon has put himself through under his equally skilled trainer or else he might have left his trainer ages ago. Earlier Gengar thought that releasing his powers a little may be enough to scare off the young trainer and pokemons and he could once again meet that interesting Haunter. Now there is someone who used himself as a stepping stone to reach a higher stage of power. Although he was still much weaker than himself, it still needs to be said that he was used and he didn''t like it a single bit. So he decided to go along with it and remind electabuzz that he is still much weaker than him. THIRD PARTY POV, Alex felt the increasing power of electabuzz and so he shouted at him," Electabuzz use the excess of energy to strengthen your body parts along with the tail. With a stronger body, you can fight to linger and have more places to store energy for the battle. Don''t lose yourself to the euphoria of power or else you will be corrupted by it and become a slave to its power" Alex warned of the danger of losing oneself over power. Electabuzz upon hearing his trainer glared at his trainer for interrupting him when he was feeling so great but thought of the times he spent with Alex. When he was just an elekid he would play and train along with Pidgey and Alex while slowpoke just lazed around. The times when he guided him in his training, how he followed and trained alongside elekid when he trained physically, how he taught him various electric moves along with fist moves. These calmed his euphoria enough to listen to Alex as he internally knew Alex won''t harm him and guided the power. As his height increased his arm and leg muscles became more contract and his arms and legs power increased significantly. His thunder control increased and a bolt of thunder rose to the sky and the original dense purple cloud turned slight yellow with it having electric currents running through the sky. The original purple cloud which covered the entire forest and also the surrounding the nearby villages and town could see a small patch of yellow in the middle which happened due to electabuzz. If Gengar was actively suppressing electabuzz it won''t happen but because he let him be he too was able to affect the clouds. Now under the influence of the thunder gem, a massive thunder fell on electabuzz increasing his electric capacity, purifying his energy while making his energy attacks denser. He even rose in the influence of power and became much more powerful than he was earlier. If you want to compare, the current electabuzz could take on three of his past self and this itself is great. After all, electabuzz was able to compete with the pseudo-king level at peak elite stage. Now it won''t be a trouble for him to take a few moves from peak pseudo-king. Although he can''t win that level yet he can still hold them back for others to retreat. Alex now has reached the one criteria for master trainer qualifications. Of course, he still needs to complete some missions for the league while having some Pokemons in the elite level. For a master trainer status, other than completing a specific number of tasks all ng with leadership skills he needs to have at least one pseudo-king and four elite level Pokemons. His Slowking and Pidgeot too are at peak elite level while his next strongest ( not including the recently caught three ghost pokemons - one at pseudo champion, one at pseudo-king and other at least an elite level), his Snorlax overall can match elite level though still being in advanced stage, his Onix, piloswine, Haunter, Espeon, Charmeleon, butterfree are either at mid-advanced to high advance level at most. They can compete with the elite by using the elements energy in their body though only for a little time. After which they would faint similar to how electabuzz did in his fight worth Dusknoir. This level of Pokemons can barely last a day in the Pokemon rampage situations when hundreds it even thousand of Pokemons of rookie, advanced, elite and even pseudo kings ( as leader of the hordes ) and in some extraordinary cases king level Pokemons are members of such attacks. With Alex current line up he can barely take on one such rampage even if electabuzz hold back the leader as the number of rookie and advanced are too much for their small team to handle. His other Pokemons like Snorlax, piloswine, and Slowking along with Alex have stepped back a little for electabuzz to complete his transformation. This is why the number of the pseudo king is much more than the king. Similarly, mist pokemons in the wild are stuck at pseudo-king stage unable to advance and if in some cases they do advance they are struck in pseudo champion stage These pseudo stages are the real barrier for the geniuses. At these stages, many get stuck their whole life. Even Agatha a genius ghost Trainer managed to only reach the pseudo champion stage after getting stuck here. In the king and champion stages pokemons power increase over time. This leads to a massive difference in power into the pseudo and true stage wherein one body transforms and other power increases astronomically. This is another reason why pokemons follow humans and let them served as their trainers because humans have a number of champion level pokemons in their hands compared to one found in the wild. In the true wilderness there are many pseudo kings and only less than 5% reach king stage and after that among the ones advanced less than 1% reach champion level without a trainer or blessing from a legendary pokemon. After finishing the transformation of the body, electabuzz has created a couple of hammers made of thunder ( under thunder control and manipulation of shape) and he smashed them together looking at the much more powerful Gengar for a battle. All three of the older pokemons Alex has since he was young has a mentality to consider pokemons stronger than themselves as stepping stone and object to surpass. Gengar too felt that he was being considered as a stepping stone. He too wanted to see how powerful the young electabuzz has become after this amazing transformation. He too saw the battle of his other companions when he was facing Haunter. So he wanna see how much stronger he has gotten since then. Now the pseudo champion Gengar will face pseudo-king electabuzz. How will this battle go? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 128 - 10- the true mastermind They kept looking at each other for a moment and then in a flash of purple and yellow they collided all around the clearing sending shockwaves around. Both Gengar and electabuzz are known for their speed. Although not as fast as Arcanine their speed isn''t something to laugh at and now when they are at a much higher level than average pokemons one could not even see a blur but flash of purple and yellow left from the energy they gave out and used in the battlefield. Fist clashed with a fist, elbow to elbow, leg to leg. Gengar was physically weaker than electabuzz but matched him with his higher energy and Gengar was just checking the level at which electabuzz could compete with so over time. Gengar slowly exceeded electabuzz in power and speed but with him constantly facing pokemons stronger than him in his younger years his battle senses are more developed then Gengar who constantly stayed in the tower and not having his equals his senses dulled over time. Yet it doesn''t mean they were at equal chances of victory. The difference between them is similar to a baby pokemon facing a fully evolved Charizard or something. Similarly, Gengar is playing around with electabuzz to find his limits and then he would end the battle. Alex already knew it and electabuzz did after fighting with Gengar yet he doesn''t back down. Electabuzz didn''t stand a chance at all but he is using this time to polish his skills and to learn to control his newfound powers After all, fighting is the best way for one to grow in strength and powers. But it only happens when facing something his equal or stronger than himself. Facing weaker ones don''t cause any gain of strength. Gengar after a couple of round of exchange stopped holding back and began to press down electabuzz worth his increased power and speed. Electabuzz endured for a while and now put more energy in his defense. After feeling he would lose soon electabuzz concentrated a large amount of electric power in himself and collided with Gengar. Although electabuzz was wounded this time Gengar too has a bruise just above his left eye. Taking a look at the bruise electabuzz has caused on Gengar he fainted from exhaustion and mental drainage. The transformation and the following battle put much strain of electabuzz but his fighting will manage to make him last for this long. Gengar has accessed the level of electabuzz was quite shocked that a newly advanced Pokemon at pseudo-king could fight at this level and his powers were increasing spectacularly over the course of a fight. After taking down the electric bipedal pokemon he glanced at others who may want to fight him but Alex put a stop to it by saying," Haunter is still injured and will not be able to meet you since he is resting from the last battle with you. If needed I could let you meet him when he is healed up or take him to meet you at pokemon tower later. After all, you aren''t going to follow me as one of my freshly caught pokemon, isn''t it? And you let yourself be caught by me just to meet Haunter once more. Also, you already knew that the two young ghosts joined me on their own accord and I didn''t steal them from the tower. You knew all this from the very beginning didn''t you." Gengar just looked at Alex as if he found something interesting in him. Gengar just nodded and then a voice broke out in Alex mind. '' in your mind, I have established a symbol which will help you more in the ways if spiritualism. When you are able to solve the puzzle I left here, come visit in at the tower. I will leave after you have calmed down the those two. I never wanted to beat you or anything just wanted to follow them to pass time. As the leader, I can''t move around much and this incident gave me a reason to move around so I thought of dragging it longer and entertain myself. Since you entertained me for so long I will help you in calming them down. Don''t worry Dusknoir listen to me but Mismagius I can''t say anything a out her. Only Dusknoir help may help calm her sooner.'' Alex after hearing the voice came to the only possible conclusion that it was Gengar''s voice and he told him all that especially after feeling the symbol on his mind whose energy matched with Gengar. '' I would suggest calming Dusknoir first. Mismagius would be a tough cookie to crack in this case. Being a mother and all that. '' advised Gengar who has now calmed down that the purple clouds have started to fade and some Ray''s of the sun began to penetrate them. Alex thought whether to follow Gengar''s advise and felt it was more cost effective. With a calmed down Dusknoir it would be easier to do the same with Mismagius with Dusknoir helping along the whole process. Alex then took out Dusknoir Pokeball and released him. The soul reaper pokemon then appeared having healed up enough since last battle with most injuries completely healed with a few scratches and bruise here and there in the body. Dusknoir after being released looked around and turned angry when his eyes fell on Alex. His powers surged and this made Snorlax, piloswine and Slowking match him and nullify the powers of Dusknoir. After his powers were easily nullified under the joint attack of the three, Dusknoir started to take the three more seriously. He gathered a football size shadow ball for the trio but this process was halted in the middle when he saw Gengar floating around and he calmed half down As far as Dusknoir remembered it was Gengar who mentioned that his kids were kidnapped and they followed his kids'' energy signature to this young trainer. Yet Gengar didn''t help him this time and just floated around. It meant Gengar tricked them. After following Gengar for years he knew that they ( him and Mismagius) were pawns used by him to leave the tower freely and not be watched at all the time. So a calm Dusknoir asked Gengar,'' What is really happening? What is it that I don''t know? What did you do this time?'' Gengar just made some innocent face towards Dusknoir but he wasn''t affected and kept looking at him. He too knew his old friend knows him and probably knew he had some hand in this whole ordeal. So he slowly said,'' I may have instigated the kids to go to the human and follow him so that they may see the world and become as powerful as you two. And I might have looked over the whole thing and did not do anything to stop the fight struggle to enjoy my time outside. After being caught, I can sneak out of the humans'' pokemon catching balls and I could move around again.'' These statements were heard by Alex too in his mind when Gengar told Dusknoir and other pokemons heard him. How will the Father react? And what will be the mother''s reaction? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 129 - The Bargaining chip Everyone there looked at Gengar comically and we''re starting to feel a migraine coming. Dusknoir having been adopted to similar cases just sighed but the others such as Slowking, piloswine and Snorlax looked amazed thinking someone so powerful would do something like this just to escape from his responsibility. Alex just felt that Dusknoir must be awarded to having tolerated a leader like Gengar for such a long time. Dusknoir after all this just told one sentence to Gengar," I am not helping you with her." Hearing this Gengar started turning pale and rocketed around in fright and anxiety. Alex then looked at Dusknoir who looked back at him. Dusknoir said," Duss. Kknnoi. Rrrr duuss kknn. Oi. Rrrr" Which Slowking translated as " let me meet my kids and I will make a decision about you." Alex put some thoughts on whether to trust them but thinking that he was at complete disadvantage on this situation. His pokemons aren''t fast enough to escape their siege especially with Gengar present. Now he hoped that he has taught his other pokemons teleport. Now he has multiple pokemons capable of that moves such as Ralts and Baltoy who could learn it when evolving to claydol. Similarly his electabuzz, butterfree and Growlithe when evolving to Arcanine could learn this trick. Ralts until evolved to kirlia won''t be of much use in this but electabuzz or mist probably butterfree could be trained in this move. But it will take time. Baltoy, Ralts would take time to evolve. Baltoy a few months while Ralts a couple of months at most. Seeing that he has no escape option, Alex agreed to his request and sent out the two mischievous ghosts. As soon as they appeared they happily floated around for a while then greeted their new team. Then their gaze fell on their funny uncle Gengar and they rushed towards him to tell many new pranks and jokes they learned with nidoran and Haunter. Gengar has calmed down from he previous anxiety episode and happily listened to the small rascals. But Dusknoir wasn''t happy. The kids have completely ignored him and dashed off to the goofball Gengar who only taught them mischief. So Dusknoir gave a deep cough to attract their attention. The two baby ghosts hearing a familiar cough turned around and on seeing the appearance of the source of the sound they were frozen solid. The original mischievous Expression turned similar to a kid waiting to be punished. They were scared and didn''t make a single excess movement. They both were similar to how a mischievous kid act in front of a strict parents. Now that they were paying attention to him Dusknoir went on about what they should and shouldn''t do? They just nodded their head up and down without any sense of mutiny. In front of their father all their excitement and mischief goes down the drain. Gengar by Dusknoir side didn''t interfere in their moments and after he has ended his rage lecture Gengar motioned Dusknoir to sense the changes in the kids. Dusknoir checked them up thinking that Gengar picked something in them he neglected to take nite of. He checked for any disorder or deficiency that might have developed when the kids joined the human but he didn''t find anything out of ordinary. On contrast they were in a much better health than earlier and more energetic too. So this time he looked at Gengar probably for some view of his on what to check then up for. But Gengar just motioned him to thoroughly see them once again. After a few times he still didn''t find anything out of ordinary but one thing came to his attention. The ghost energy in the kids was richer and in more abundance than earlier. If compared to before it has increased by half in just a couple of days time. This was truly astonishing and he knew what caught Gengar attention. He checked them up once again in case there is any disorder in them yet he didn''t find anything out of ordinary. Gengar probably noticed that this human helped increase their powers by so much that''s why he let them leave and now he wanna gain some bonus out of the human for the ghost present at the tower by getting that way from the human. So he looked at Gengar with amore clarity than earlier. Gengar too noticed that Dusknoir came to the same conclusion as him and agreed. So Dusknoir began to negotiate. " Human you stole our kids as compensation you will give us what helped them raise their power" " I didn''t steal them it was your leaders action. I am just a victim here." Alex knew they probably were gonna extort him so he gave himself a hard front. " It doesn''t matter. You took them away you have to pay the price or else . " He ended the sentence with a threat. Alex just released Charmeleon out and soon the cold Atmosphere from the ghost turned firy hot. Gengar''s attention was on the stone the new pokemon Charmeleon wore on himself. The stone has powers way greater than himself and the source may even annihate him in moments. Of course it is time limited and would last only half a year after which it would lose it''s value and power. It also helps intensify the flames of Charmeleon. Alex didn''t know what that stone was but his senses always regarded it as dangerous though it was very helpful for Charmeleon. Yet he knew it was dangerous for Gengar as his expression changes," I am not just any human. You know what this stone is capable of isn''t it Gengar. If you threaten us or try to kill us you yourself won''t survive and then the pokemon tower would undergo massive upheaval under your demise." Fir the first time Gengar wore a really serious expression and he was seriously considering his options. Seeing that threat doesn''t work it may only come to bargaining which Dusknoir too knew. Although not knowing the danger from that stinks on small reptile''s neck Gengar changing express tell that a very serious change in situation has occurred. " Fine human we won''t threaten you. Return back your pokemon so we can continue." " Nuh uh I won''t do that. Who knows when you will change back to previous situation and start attacking me?" Alex told them This time Gengar asked," Don''t you trust me that I won''t attack?" " I trusted you earlier and then I was threatened and you didn''t interfere so sorry. I can''t truly trust your words." Hearing this Gengar just laughed mirthlessly. " Fine I agree to let you have these two brats . Are they worth gaining your trust now " Gengar said This Statement shocked both Dusknoir and Alex. Alex thought he has list the two ghosts but it seemed it wasn''t the case. Dusknoir has a feeling of betrayal growing in himself but years of following him made him remain quiet and not directly oppose him. " But you would have to exchange for the treasure you used to grow their powers. Is that agreeable?" Gengar ended his sentence And Dawn fell on both. The two ghosts were just ch_i_p_s to gain greater power. This Gengar was truly worthy of being a leader to even involve his own nephews for his followers. What will be the outcome of this bargain? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 130 - 12- the deal is reached Dusknoir turned angry at the fact that his kids were regarded as bargaining chip by his dear friend and leader, Gengar and shouted out his disapproval over this bargain. But Gengar''s one serious gaze froze Dusknoir midstep and reminded him that he was just pseudo king and Gengar still was their leader and his words can''t be reverted back. Alex show their little episode and the two bargaining chip just floated uniformly at the side not interfering or saying a word. Alex took a deep breathe and said" I am sorry. I can''t do that. " " Aren''t you too greedy human. You are already getting not one but two ghost pokemons who hatched from the eggs. Do you know what it means. Over time they would at least reach my level and have much chances to even surpass me. Do you know what you are losing to your greed boy?" Dusknoir sent out all his anger and wrath for Gengar in himself at Alex and continued to shout and roar at him. But he didn''t initiate the attack Because he knew the moment it starts attacking all the bargaining will come to an end. " It''s not that I don''t want to exchange for the two. But even if I give you the recipe for ghost pokecube you can''t do anything about it. You can''t create it." Alex said helplessly " Are you looking down on us. I will have you know we can do it too if you a little human can do it." Dusknoir said disdainfully. He threw a pokecube from his bag to Gengar who caught it in one hand and then after checking there isn''t anything wrong he ate it. He was a poison type and unless a highly potent poison used he won''t be affected. After eating it Gengar felt his ghost energy increasing slightly. And this slightly meant enormously. He is a pseudo champion level pokemon. and to increase his reserves a high quality treasure must be used which are heavily sought after by other powerful pokemons and humans too. He was puzzled why he said we can''t create it but after a couple of bite he understood what he meant. That pokecube used aura to enhance their innate efficiency and potency. So only someone well versed in aura can create them. And the only people who he knows of that know of aura in his long lifespan are the aura pokemon , riolu and Lucario along with humans who call themselves aura guardian. So this is the reason for their lack of ability to make the pokecube. The creator must use aura. Alex has remodeled the original formula to the one with aura and after much experiments he managed to make one. This way Alex formula even if known wouldn''t attract much attention. After all there are less than hundred aura users in the world and even then it would be an exaggeration. Gengar told Dusknoir his conclusion and even his expression turned Grimm. They discussed something and later found to the another bargaining point. " Fine give me one hundred such cubes for each of them." This was a cost effective deal for Alex. Every hundred cubes costs a few million to Alex and these pokemons cost few hundred million.in the black market and may reach billions if found that one of their parents is pseudo king and they hatched from the egg. So Alex felt he is getting a good deal but he didn''t immediately agreed to this. After all both these are centuries old pokemons and hence are old foxes who could quickly sense Alex benefits from this deal of he agreed too quickly. So Alex began his acting. Alex shouted," What ? Do you know just how much they cost? Do you think I grow gold or something. I can only exchange 10 cubes." He added at last. Both Gengar and dusknoir nodded along thinking it was right that 100 may be too excessive. After all to increase power of Gengar meant that they are rare and can''t be mass created or so they thought. " No 10 is too low. We need at least 50 of each." " 50 meant I have to give 100 to you. Sorry can do. I can only give you 30 at most for both. The things needed for these are too rare and the success rate is low too. " Mention of resources sparked the interest for the veteran ghosts. They felt he was still a kid so they could get more information about the cube." What are the things you may need? Tell us , we may be able to get it for you." Dusknoir asked " I need at least medium grade ghost stone along with few other things. And even then one ghost stone can create only ten. And I have to try at least 60 to 75 times for them. Can you get the ghost stone. Though that energy gatherer in the Tower can help me create with a higher chances of success." Alex said Although enraged that the brat had such a big demand. Asking for medium grade ghost stone along with the gathering array they still felt it was almost feasible as such a great thing need rarer things but energy gathering array made them question the boy''s intention So gengar asked," What do you need them for?" " Ghost stones are needed for creating ghost favored cube. Inferior ones may be used but they aren''t up to the par. It won''t increase much strength but medium is better. As for higher grade ones I haven''t seen them and dint think you would use it for this. And the energy gathering array help in creating them at greater success With my aura I can direct the surrounding energy in a point and create more with less failure chances. I would have 20% or even 25% success rate with this. Though it is only theoretical data as I haven''t tested it yet. But they can really increase the success rate." Alex explained them. Although it seemed far-fetched they still felt it was possible. After all if the success rate isn''t at this level won''t humans mass produce them and completely rule the world instead of just a part of it. Still they felt they can get more out of this deal and said," We will give you 100 medium grade ghost stone. How many cubes can you create from them?" " Is it with the array or without ?" Alex asked. " In both cases?" Both the ghosts and Alex knew this was a key moment and the number of success may be make the final deal. " Without the array I would be hard pressed for around 200 but of I have it then the success is 300 to 350." Hearing this number numbed both the ghosts. With these many cubes they can have at least a hundred advanced level pokemons. This would be Increase the security of the tower greatly and they won''t have to worry about possible attacks in the future. Alex knew what these many cubes could do but Daniel has revealed that his grandpa is just as strong as normal elite four. With them he could handle the tower alone in case they go on rampage and Agatha won''t leave her brother alone so the case of riots happening was nil and even if it happened it would be subdued soon after. And for these many cubes they need to have 100 medium grade ghost stone which was highly improbable. At most they would have half a century of these stones stored. In the end the deal was signed between the two parties that in exchange for the two baby ghosts Alex has to give them 50 pokecube. To Helo in this matter the ghosts would give him 25 medium and 100 low grade ghost stone along with the blueprint for creation of energy gathering array. In the end both parties were satisfied with the deal and felt they fooled the other side. And the two ghost Happily played around at getting a chance to travel and see more of this world. Finally after the deal was initially created Alex asked them," Who is going to calm the mother Mismagius?" On hearing this, all the joy from this deal went down the drain for the two ghosts and they turned white. Alex has a business transaction with the leader of Pokemon tower. How will they calm an angry mother who will find that her husband and friend sold her kids. Stay tuned Chapter 131 - 13 : Mismagius terror Alex looked at the two pale white ghosts who are now arguing among themselves about who along the two will break the news about the the transaction they did about the two kids. They then jointly decided not to mention about the trade and just tell her the whole story. After braving themselves Gengar and dusknoir made a serious facial expression and then told him to release the last ghost pokemon in the pokeball. So Alex took it out and once more asked them," Are you ready to face the music?" The two just nodded that they were prepared but their slight shaking of arns and legs I case of Gengar showed that they weren''t so confident about this. Alex released the pokemon from the pokeball and out came a pokemon whose head resembled a witch''s hat. It was a Mismagius. Alex saw that she ignored all the people and pokemons around herself and keep her gaze on the kids when she felt their presence outside. He quickly floated towards them and hugged her kids enthusiastically which was returned back by the kids with same enthusiasm. The remained with kids while they mentioned all the things experienced outside the tower. They mentioned everything and enacted different roles and acts to explain their mother. It seemed that the kids were pretty clise ti their mother amd didn''t hide anything from her as they even mentioned what different pranks they learned and used on others. When they pointed at Alex it was first time since meeting her that she did not glare at him openly. She even smiled softly at Alex knowing that he took good care of her kids. Both the elder ghosts turned even more paler if it was even possible when she smiled sweetly. And finally they broke the news about how their father Dusknoir and uncle Gengar allowed them to travel with Alex. As soon as this news fell on Mismagius ears, all the warm atmosphere evaporated and it turned bone chilling cold. She was still smiling and looked at the two elder ghosts but this only made them shake around more. She glided towards the two. She was much shorter than Dusknoir and gengar yet how both of them shrink back in shape to hide from her or not be in her clear vision so she appeared bigger than her. She hasn''t uttered a word yet it brought great weight on the two. The two stuttered around to explain themselves yet they knew it was all futile. Soon her eyes glowed blue and their shaking came to a sudden halt. After a few minutes of silence the two started screaming bloody murder and showed various expressions of fear on their face. Mismagius is also called the mistress of illusions. Their illusions are very strong and it is often recommended not to face her alone. Or else you won''t know when you are trapped in an illusion. That''s why he had Espeon face Mismagius along with Pidgeotto. They are very notorious Pokemon and to overcome them one must be really much more powerful to disrupt their illusion. Mismagius like their ghost counterparts feed on life force but what they really like is the fear energy. The illusion of Mismagius can be divided into three stages of illusion. First stage is the stage in which it can affect only one person. It can affect their senses and feelings too. For this level of illusion they need to be at elite stage. The next stage affects the Pokemon along with his surrounding people. For this level of illusion, Mismagius must be of king level and needed a certain level of fear energy to evolve their illusionary powers. They can affect everyone within a few metres radius around the target. Some Mismagius trap their prey in such illusions and they generate fear energy for them and later the victim dies of hunger or their brain turn dead and they even go into comma. The places where this level of Mismagius are found is regarded as highly restricted area. And the place is highly dangerous for any person or pokemon. And finally the third level of illusion. At this level, they can affect a much larger area and the illusion seemed more realistic. They can affect even hundred of people or pokemons. They are really dangerous and that''s why Mismagius are considered one of the most feared of all ghost pokemons. This requirement for this level of illusion is Mismagius must reach champion level and required huge amount of fear energy. The amount of fear energy is equivalent to fear generated by thousands of people over course of a few days. This is why Alex was so happy to get a misdreavus. And if trained well you might get yourself a great illusionary who will be great battle changer. Even if she only reached king level and second stage of illusion she would be a monster in close range combat and only long range attack may affect her. Well all of this is a thing for the future. Currently she put the two in an illusion which meant she is at first stage and can affect very few people being a elite level pokemon and all that. Gengar and dusknoir torture continued which was ignored by the kids as they revealed it was very common back home and they both were often punished like this. His father and grandfather are afraid to make mom angry. He too feared her anger and then subconsciously Alex thought of himself being scolded by an a_d_u_l_t blonde woman. Although he couldn''t see her face clearly he still felt intimacy towards her and acted how his father acted towards his mother when she scolded him. Remaining quiet, letting her rain all her anger on himself and after that apologising for your mistake even though you weren''t at fault. Far away in Sinnoh, Another kid who was similar in age to Alex has the sane dream or thought as she watched her mother disciplining her idiot father. Yes ladies call it disciplining. She took the woman''s place and scolded the black haired boy or man. These illusions felt very real and have started to appear since she was introduced to aura. These twos aura resonates to each other as of they are a match made in heaven. Alex after recovering from this illusion, saw that mist if the punishment has come to an end and they involuntarily revealed the bargain they stuck with Alex. Which Mismagius reluctantly agreed as a part if felt they need to see the world to grow stronger and protect themselves and since he took such a good care if them in these days so he would take care of them later too. This is what she hoped for. To be continued Chapter 132 - 14 : Shadow travel The sun was about to set soon so Alex has decided to camp in the forest that night and started to make tent for himself. He has his Growlithe and pikachu gather woods for bonfire. If it wasn''t for fact that he now has a pseudo champion and pseudo king level pokemons with him he wouldn''t dare to create a big fire to attract attention of wild pokemons but their presence emboldened him. The three ghosts decided to stay with Alex and would head back for the tower the next day. When Alex asked if they would like him to release them as his pokemons, they refused it on the grounds that being his pokemon officially they won''t have to fear the threat of being captured by other trainers. Another reason was to see if what Alex told them was really true or if he was bluffing and exaggerated them the success rate of creation. And so Alex did. He created pokecube right in front of the trio and they themselves saw how delicate the process was and how any slight mistake might affect the whole thing and reduce all the effort to dust. Of course Alex was acting all along as he tried to divert his aura elsewhere and make an impression that he didn''t know much about aura and he was making a mistake. After confirming their attention they turned their attention from Alex and diverted to the two ghosts who will be leaving them soon. During dinner Alex has released all his pokemons and Gengar got to meet Haunter once again. Alex saw that while they ate, Haunter and Gengar discussed something although he doesn''t know whether it was good or bad. One of the most probable thing Gengar could have mentioned to Haunter about joining the tower after his demise. As many dragon and ghost types join different settlement after the life of their trainer comes to an end. Next day while they were prepared to depart towards the sky town which was few days journey from their current location on foot Gengar volunteered to help them reach the town quickly. He also revealed that Dusknoir would be the one responsible for transporting the ghost stones and returning back with ghost cubes. When Alex asked how he was gonna take them there soon as Gengar aren''t known for learning teleport Gengar just smiled mysteriously and muttered in Alex mind," there is a reason I am the leader of the ghosts." So after the kids told their farewell to their parents, Gengar asked Alex to return his pokemons or have as less pokemons with him as possible for sake of convenience in transportation. Alex felt he won''t cheat or injure him if he wanted to get the cubes so he agreed and only had his Pikachu riding his shoulders. After being prepared or as ready as he could be Alex told Gengar he was ready to go. Soon Gengar started to smile menacingly and the shadows before Alex rose from the ground and surrounded the trio. Alex felt he was heading somewhere at a very quick speed and felt his stomach was becoming uncomfortable. He felt he may vomit everything he ate last night and this morning. Soon they cane to a halt and the surrounding shadow began to fade returning to the original position at their back. After coming to a halt, first thing Alex did was bend on his knees and vomit everything out with Pikachu rubbing his back softly to ease things for Alex. Gengar who was the initiator of all this just laughed merrily. Alex after recovering saw he was in a forest and not in a town as he was initially told about so he asked him glaring," Where are we now? And what the hell was that?" Gengar just kept smiling and said," That was shadow movement. All ghosts have their special skills. Dusknoir has spirit skills, Mismagius has illusion and we Gengar are the ruler of the shadows. That''s why normally we Gengar are leader of the pack. I know how you felt about training the other two kids but we''re clueless about your Haunter. Not that I can blame you. Shadow powers reveal themselves when we evolved into Gengar but your Haunter is a special one. He has already touched the realm of shadows. It would only grow stronger as time goes. But don''t let him lose to the shadows or else he won''t be who he is but a raging killing creature who only yearn for destruction. Shadow realm provide us Gengar great powers but if we don''t control the power and let the power control us, we become killers with no feelings. So stay cautious when you reach out for it . Also whenever you train him at this, make sure a pokemon powerful than him is nearby to calm him down or stop him before he becomes too destructive. " " So you are sure he would lose control?" Alex asked " I am 100% sure. The power is too alluring for us that all of us lose to it. And from what I see about your Haunter, if he try to reach it at Haunter form he may lose control about 5-8 times and in Gengar form it would be double. Don''t think it is too much. I myself list sense at least thirty times. I take into account your Haunter''s personality and skills so they are reduced. That''s why I once again ask you to take great caution when dealing with that field." Gengar finished with a very serious expression. Alex nodded that he would take precautions. He don''t know what the shadow realm was but he knows that it is powerful from what his aura told him while they were moving in the shadows. " So why did you drop us here? Didn''t you say you will drop us at the town directly?" Alex asked Gengar just giggled at Alex and said," The situation here is very interesting. Be prepared. You will have a very big problem right in front of you. " " How big is the problem?" " Won''t it be telling you if I reveal everything. Good luck kid." And after saying that Gengar sink into his shadow and his shadows dashed away from Alex. Gengar has created a barrier around them as soon as they appeared here which surprised Alex and couldn''t find the reason and before he could ask Gengar has dashed away. As soon as the barrier dropped multiple Rattata appeared around Alex surrounding him. Pikachu immediately solved them with volt tackle but their sudden appearance was surprising to say the least Alex immediately took out Jewel and in the map found he was few hundred metre away from the town in the north. He ran towards the town quickly so he won''t be surrounded by the wild pokemons again. After he ran in his previous position more wild pokemons such as Paras, Spearow and even Pidgeotto has appeared in groups. After few minutes of running Alex appeared at the gate of the town. Now the main gate was closed and only smaller gate was open for entry. And even at the entrance he was asked which grade of trainer he was. On saying his pokemon trainer ID and his rank as advanced trainer he was taken away by a pair of people towards the town hall at the center. What is happening at this town? Why did Gengar say there Alex will have a problem in front of him? Why were there so many pokemons out there so close to the town? Stay tuned To be continued¡­. Chapter 133 - 15 : pokemon raid Alex under the guidance of the two guards headed for the town hall on the cart drawn by rapidash so they can reach the Town Hall quickly. As they passed by the street to reach the town hall Alex noticed the street didn''t have many people on it. No child was out in the open or on street to play with his friends. In many houses he saw kids sitting by the window looking at outside with yearning for playing out in the open. The elders were very vigilant abd seemed quick to anger will their facial expressions. Many shop and stalls by the street seemed closed. Only shops selling the most essential necessity for survival are opened. He also noticed few trainers patrolling the area and searching for something as they patrolled. Alex was unable to control himself and asked the guards," What happened to the town? Why has its security become do strict and so many shops are shut down?" The two guards who were taking Alex to the town hall just glanced at each other and we''re having thoughts of whether they should reveal everything or not. " What has made the town turn to this state?" Alex once again asked and this time he released the pressure he developed over the course of his six months of travelling. Alex has encountered many life death situations and even encountered pseudo champion pokemons in his way. Alex has faced him and didn''t back down which has transformed his personna slightly. This made his pressure mutate and become much stronger than someone of his age. His pressure even surpassed some advanced trainers. His pressure amplified by his aura may even exceed peak advanced trainers. The rapidash cane to a halt and the two guards started shaking under his influence. The two weren''t too incompetent and manged to mutter out," W..we ww..iilll reveal everything once we reach the Town Hall. Please calm down sir." Alex looked at their eyes to see whether they are tricking him and then agreed to their request and receeded the presence back. This made the two guards, the driver and rapidash breathe out air in relief. All of them thought,'' he is so young yet so strong. With him here our chances of survival increases greatly.'' Instead of being afraid of being in Alex presence like any sane would do under such intense pressure, they all were gratified with his presence. This made Alex have some assumptions of what the situation might be. And fir that serious assumption Alex doesn''t want to come out as reality. It is a really serious problem if it was true. And Gengar''s words that,'' There is a serious problem in front of him'' made him even more worried. After riding the cart for twenty minutes they reached the town hall which was located at the center of the Sky town. It was more grander than his hometown floral town town hall but was much less impressive as compared to any big city. After they reached the town hall the two guards opened the door for him and quickly took him inside the gate after speaking something at the one on the door. The two led him towards inside towards the source of noise which Alex heard the moment he enter the town hall. After reaching a door where much shouting was going on, one of the two guards knocked the door and after hearing a come in , he entered. What the guard spoke inside he doesn''t know but it has calmed the previous shouting which was happening earlier. After a few minutes the guards motioned him and the other guard to enter. As soon as Alex entered through the door many eyes were directed towards him. Soon a loud " hmm" was heard from a man in his mid thirties standing at the corner. He sneered at Alex and said," Is this kid really advanced level trainer? I know there are some genius out there who are able to reach it at this stage but all of them are too famous. Wallace and Steven stone in Hoenn, Cynthia in Sinnoh, Diantha and Sycamore in Kalos. And I don''t remember seeing this brat anywhere in the news. I bet he is cheating or had some backdoor dealing with the league official to get this status." Then he looked at Alex and said," Let me tell you something kid, this isn''t a playground here. You better go to the pokemon center and remove your status as advanced trainer or you may suffer. Many people dream of this status their entire life and so don''t kid around with their dreams . Here is a_d_u_l_t meetings not some child play along going on here. Now scram." He motioned Alex to leave with his hands and turned around to not look at Alex. Alex just looked at him then looked at other people present at the room. Worth their attire he was able to guess that there were some big people of the town present. There was the mayor of the town, the captain of town Garrison and even the gym leader was present here. There were a few town official and some leutinent who followed the captain and some trainers in their thirties , forties and even fifties. And with what the person said to Alex and his comment and taunt on his advanced trainer status he felt they all were advanced trainer. With all these people present the warning bell in Alex mind was ringing over time and he was reaching the same dangerous conclusion he reached when he put together all the pieces of the puzzle when he rode the cart towards the Town Hall. This conclusion made his arms shake and even brought a certain fear in Alex. So Alex calmed himself down and asked," What is the situation in the town? why does it seem like the town is in state of emergency?" The previous aggitated man this time roared at Alex and said," Why you brat? Didn''t I tell you here is a_d_u_l_t gathering only . Leave quickly. " And to reinforce the idea of leaving he even sent out his presence at Alex. It might have been too much for normal kids of Alex''s age but not for Alex. And the surrounding people were angered at the man for releasing his pressure at the young boy and shouted," James hold back your aura. He is just a boy. How dare you do something like this ? Remove it or I won''t leave you. " He too released his presence at James. " Do you think I am afraid of you, Mike. Come on then I will take you on?" The now identified James yelled. With all the previous deduction, being ridiculed and underestimated along with the heavy pressure that Alex felt if his conclusion was true put a toll on normally calm Alex once more and he released his own presence. The moment he did so the presence of the two men James and Mike faded away as if they don''t exist and all the people looked at Alex as if he was some sort of monster. James and Mike were surprised at being subdued so easily by a little kid but Alex ignored their gaze and said while biting his lower lips," what is really happening? Why is there so many wild pokemons around the town? Why is the town in state of emergency? Don''t tell me that it is happening?" That situation was so dire that he didn''t even say it''s name. just left it nameless but all of them knew what it meant. So the oldest man sitting at the middle who is most probably the mayor of the town said," Yes what you think is true. We are having a Pokemon raid." And the pokemon riot is finally happening. Why did Alex and others take it so seriously? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 134 - 16- Getting benefits in Alex name The moment Alex heard the words "pokemon riot" Alex started to lose his balance and he fell heavily on the ground. He started to lose his senses slowly. The surrounding people headed towards him to lift him back to his feet. Although they did rose him to his feet he still wobbled around. This strange behavior shocked Pikachu as he never saw Alex like this and feared for Alex. While the other people who saw Alex as a monster after he crushed the presence of two older advanced trainer alone just sighed thinking,'' It is understandable. After all even I am barely kept my senses after I heard it was happening.'' Alex after standing and drinking a glass of water one of the town guard gave him asked," How , how long till it officially begins?" " It would be a couple of days at most. And after that we can only pray and try to protect the town. " Answered the mayor smiling sadly. " So what do I have to do in this situation?" Alex asked resolutely after he overcome the initial shock of the news. This impressed the captain of Garrison and gym leader greatly but they felt someone so young shouldn''t join them in the battle especially one so young and strong. If he was a rookie or even intermediate trainer he would only have to handle some Pokemon and can leave to rest but for advanced and higher level there is no rest. They are leaders and have to be ready throughout the interval of battle and can''t neglect a single second for the consequences could be disastrous. There are many towns destroyed due to pokemon riot or better called as rampage of wild pokemons. They are nearly thousands of Pokemons in these riots and have turned many towns to ruins. " Although you are good, you are still young. So you will follow the captain of town Garrison during this time. " Mayor thought that this way they can have least problem in case he neglected or become careless during his mission. " So what level riot is this ?" " according to latest reports, Luckily it is only low B grade riot." Riots are divided into many different criteria on the basis of the leader of these riots. D grade riot -- it is headed by advanced pokemons C grade riot -- it is headed by elite pokemons B Grade riot -- it is headed by pseudo king Pokemon A grade riot -- it is headed by king grade pokemons S grade riot -- it is headed by pseudo champion Pokemon. And the rest higher grade riot are called apocalyptic riot for the massive damage and destruction happening to take down the pokemons. It is said that in these riots one feels that world end has arrived. Alex just nodded and asked," Can I head for the pokemon center and my pokemons all healed up and ready for battle." " Very well. The two guards who brought you here will take you to the pokemon center. " The mayor said and let him leave. Alex is still to young and can''t be involved in the planning of town defence so his presence wasn''t much needed here. As for Alex dumping them and leaving the town they didn''t consider this situation as if he dare to abandon the town he would be sanctioned by the league officials and he won''t be able to escape the punishment. Of course an elite four or Champion may help them in this situation but they won''t waste their time on a developing genius. Only grown up genius are true genius and the kid genius are buried in the sand crushed, destroyed and used as stepping stone by others. Alex left the room and the discussion for town defence restarted with new vigour. But the gym leader of the sky city, Terence said," it is a pity that he arrived at the town. If he headed for somewhere else he might have better chances of survival and he may grow into someone special in the future. " " Indeed. I don''t know how many young genius perished in these riots when they try to prove themselves they are better than others and are turned dead in return. Captain Bolt, do protect him. He is probably looked after by some official in the league. I will try to get some more guards in his name. After all even if we take down the leader, to face so many elite and advanced pokemons would still be a problem. And there is also signs showing it might be a intermediate grade riot. Even if you, me and Terrence get involved we could only take down the leaders. In that case there will be even more elite and advanced trainers which I don''t think we could subdue." Mayor said as he felt it was more serious situation than a low grade riot. After that most people left the room and only the trio master trainers remained. After the mayor Flinn called at the league, an official at the league HQ answered the call," Hello here is pokemons league HQ, how can I help you?" " Hello I am Flinn, mayor of Sky town. I.. " " I know you. You called multiple times for help but let me tell you, all the resources allotted to take on low grade riots is sent to you, we can''t send anymore things or people to you. " " But there is a high possibility that it may even be a intermediate grade riot. We need more help. We could take on the leader but the lower level pokemons may be too much for us to handle. Also we have a young advance level trainer about eleven years old with us. I think league could grant us some more help even if just to protect him. " Mayor tried to negotiate This turned the official silent and was thinking of something. " Tell me his name and pokemon trainer ID and I will do what I can after discussing with the leaders?" " His name is Alex Bart from Floral town and his ID is¡­" " Wait for my next call." And he turned down the phone. The mayor, captain and gym leader were happy at getting more support for facing this riot. How will the league official react and what changes may happen due to Alex involvement? Stay tuned Chapter 135 - 17 - discussion at HQ Meanwhile at the HQ, The official headed for his team leader and he himself passed it over to the top. Soon it appeared in front of the decision makers. They were the elite four of Kanto Agatha after reading the situation of the sky town from the records told her counterparts about the situation. " Although they still have enough support to survive the Pokemon tide, I think sending more support to protect young Alex would be a good decision. " Said the ground type elite four, Roan. But Blaine immediately refused. "I refuse. If we want him to be a generation leader or even as our future successor, he needs to earn it not gifted to him. If he can''t even survive this with his pokemons, then he might as well give up being a pokemon trainer. I will think he just doesn''t have what it meant to be a trainer." " Don''t you think you are being too harsh with him. He is still too young. I remember you both seemed to know him personally so why are you so strict with him, Blaine?" Said the flying elite, Fiona. " I too agree with Blaine " said Agatha and this surprised the trio as they felt with how much she supported him she would be the first to disagree. " You three didn''t see him battle. I did. He is a fighter and this is a great battlefield for him. It is his domain and he is a warrior. He has a ideal that showing mercy to your opponent meant you don''t regard him as your opponent and he will most probably shine in it too." " But Agatha isn''t it too much. He is still too young. He shouldn''t face this type of situation. You are being too strict towards him. If you put too much pressure on him,it would break him. Agatha you supported him so much and even authorised him with a three start badge and we didn''t stop you. Now you too want him to be in such a dangerous place without any protection where even a single mistake may make him lose his life. He is probably the only sure cut trainer who can replace us in the future. Do you think what would happen if something happen to him?" Fiona said " Do you think I am too much? You know Alex joined the Oak laboratory." Agatha said. " Yes we know and this was a great decision on his and your part. This way he is protected from those leeches. " Roan sneered thinking about those ''leeches''. " Anyway what does this have to do with them? Do you want to ask for Samuel in this matter? Do you think we should invite him for such a small matter? Please if you want, I can head there to protect him don''t involve that monster ?" Blaine said disdainful at involving Samuel in this matter The other elites felt that it was a waste to involve him in this and they can handle all this without his involvement. " No I too don''t want to involve him." Agatha clarified " So why did you mention him, Agatha." Fiona asked " Samuel has made a deal with Alex. He has to stay some weeks in the Badlands." She ended omniously Hearing ''stay'' and '' Badlands'' in the same sentence was too much for these elite four. " Preposterous" " Has he gone senile" " If he wanna kill him do it himself. Don''t play such tricks." " Calm yourself." Agatha told them But Blaine being firy man he was, now hearing this ridiculous demand was furious and said," I sent the boy to him so he can protect him. Not to kill him. That bastard what does he think it is. No I am gonna have a chat with him. " And he dialed Samuel and after some ringing his image appeared in the grand screen on the conference room. It was the back of his head. " Hello, I am Samuel oak speaking, who are you?"said a kind voice " Turn around so you can see us you idiot" said Agatha. While turning around," I know that voice, is it you Agatha?" And on seeing all the people he said," Blaine, Fiona and Roan are also there. Isn''t it something. So what is so important that you all called me?" He asked with a smile. " We are thinking whether you have gone senile or not " Blaine said rudely. " Still as rude as ever " Samuel said to Blaine still smiling. " He isn''t the only one who thinks so, Samuel." Roan added " Oh and what made you think I have gone insane." Samuel asked curious. " Your decision to send young Alex to the Badlands." Roared Fiona . " So Agatha revealed that bit to you. Then I don''t have to tell you anything later." He answered calmly and just laughed it off. " Don''t laugh it off like it is nothing, you idiot. How can you do something like that? Didn''t you have to ask us before thinking of something like that." Blaine angrily asked him. " Samuel you know it as well as us just how important young Alex is for us. How can you make such a decision without thinking about his safety. " Fiona said " I never thought you would do something like this. I am really shocked how you can make such an absurd decision. " Roan said. Although Agatha didn''t say anything,she herself was disappointed by this decision he made about Alex. Samuel didn''t seem affected by the accusations sent at him about putting Alex in danger, and simply said," Whatever decision I made regarding my protege, do I have to ask your advice?" Although it seemed like a simple sentence yet the glint at his eyes told something otherwise. All the elites knew that it wasn''t a simple sentence but a warning that they shouldn''t interfere in his matters. If they interfered he will take actions regarding all the interference like old times. " Anyway what made you think about Alex at this moment?" Samuel asked quickly changing the topic completely. Slowly they recovered from Samuel threat and Agatha answered," Alex has stumbled into a place undergoing preparation to face a pokemon raid. We were thinking of whether to send support or not." " Is that so? So what is the grade of this raid and what are the forces there?" Samuel asked. Although it is confidential information but for someone like Samuel this isn''t confidential. After all he can easily get this info through his sources and powers he commanded. So it doesn''t matter if it is revealed now or later, he will know it. So Blaine answered," it is a low B grade raid with high possibility of being intermediate grade. As for the forces, there are three master trainers such as mayor, gym leader and the captain of the Garrison stationed there. Since it always has high possibility of Pokemon raid we had a master trainer captain stationed there. Then there are at least 10 advanced trainer including young Alex and the two leutinent under the captain. " " Isn''t it enough to deal with the raid?" Samuel asked " But the mayor called and reported if it reached intermediate level then they can''t protect Alex. So we fear for him and thought of increasing guards. But Blaine and Agatha, under your name, refused this request." Fiona told him. " Don''t worry about Alex. He had an adventure a little while ago. This was very fruitful to him." Samuel said mirthfully. This made them curious and asked," what adventure did he have?" " Since you are curious let me tell you. Sometime ago Alex''s father called me and told me he has encountered a problem. He mentioned that Alex caught two ghosts misdreavus and duskull who hatched from the egg and has a pseudo king father. " On hearing this news their eyes sparkled and thought it was really a great gift Alex got. " But they were accidentally caught and so their parents ran out from the tower. Although he defeated them he was still worried about their possible attack since his pokemons were injured in this fight. So his father mentioned this to me in case I could help. Normally I wouldn''t interfere in his adventure much but when I heard even a Gengar appeared I became vigilant and sent my own pokemons Charizard and Dragonite to look at this matter." " Was it really that Gengar who we think it was?" Agatha asked " Yes it was really him." He replied. " While calming the pokemons, he opted to deal with Gengar first and they had a little fight." " What!"*3 " How could you let it happen?" "You remember he is a pseudo champion level don''t you?" Blaine asked. " Yeah I know it was a bit excessive but it was really rewarding for Alex." " And how can a battle with such disparity be rewarding for Alex?" Roan asked " His electabuzz advanced to pseudo king stage. And he can completely control him." The moment they heard this they felt their complete recognition of the world change. To think an eleven year old can control a pseudo king was really mind blowing. How will the discussion go? Stay tuned. To be continued¡­ Chapter 136 - 18 - Decision of the league " Alex''s electabuzz which was at elite peak before and has reached pseudo king under the extreme high pressure from Gengar." Samuel elaborated. " It was really a blessing in disguise. And to think he could reach this level at such a young age. He has already surpassed all the people of his generation with this. Only the type disadvantage electabuzz has to the dragon ground type, Gabite who is also at peak elite strength has let Cynthia remain the current strongest Trainer of their generation. But if it is a complete six on six, Alex might have a chance to seize her throne ." Agatha narrated. " Alex currently have a pseudo king electabuzz, two elite peak pokemons- Slowking and a shiny Pidgeot, initial elite like Snorlax and Piloswine and finally advanced peak are Haunter, Charmeleon, Butterfree, Espeon, Onix,. These ten have made sure that he remains in top three of his generation without a problem. And there might be other powerful pokemons with him we don''t know about. While others are still at younger forms and could at least reach advanced peak by the time of Pokemon league tournament. So tell me with these many strong pokemons, Alex need our additional protection. " Samuel said They remained quiet for sometime and then one said, " No if what you said is true then we don''t need to send extra people." Blaine said " I think it would be better to let Alex too lead a Corp in the battle. It would be a good practice for his leadership skills, handling crowds, dealing with miscreants without violence, mentality as well as his strategy. And if things do go south, he could handle things with his power." Samuel suggested. Hearing this put all the elite four under some serious thoughts but later they agreed. They never mentioned the amount of people who may lose their life if Alex gives a wrong command. For them even sacrifice of thousands wasn''t anything great if the town could be preserved. " But I don''t think they will agree to do so easily." Fiona said. " Indeed. Even if we order them, they will behave like they followed our orders but will make him a puppet leader. and someone else will govern things in the Corp. They will feel we just want to grant him honor and prestige so he will be the head but only nominal and none if the skills you mentioned above would be tested." Roan said " We could have one of our pokemons be with Alex so we would be informed about it. I will even send my Xatu there. This way they won''t know the true level of protection and care we put on Alex. He will make sure they don''t play tricks with us and he would be protected from danger in case things go south. " Samuel said. " Ok. But about the Badlands?" Fiona said softly. " I will have no further discussion about this topic anymore and my decision won''t change. Alex Bart will spend a week in Badlands before the league tournament or I will cancel his qualifications. And you know that I can do this. Don''t judge a genius with the vision of average people, they are extraordinary . You would only hamper his growth if you compare him with common people. He faced me and lost badly . Even then he didn''t consider me an unsurmountable mountain, for him I am just a steep hill difficult to scale but not impossible. So don''t ruin him with your care. " Samuel said and then sent his pokeball to the elite four. Blaine took the pokeball and released the future seeing pokemon Xatu. Samuel then told his entire plan to Xatu and he agreed. Him and Alakazam often guided Slowking, Espeon and butterfree in their psychic powers so he was close to Alex too. With the task of protecting Alex he won''t neglect a single detail. Also to make sure that Alex is elected as a commander and he is not fooled. xatu agreed to keep notes and keep them all up to date. After the final decision was made, they all sent their decision to the original official. It took nearly an hour for the final decision to be made. Now the official dialed the mayor Flinn who heard the rings picked up the phone. Currently there were the trio master trainers and the other advanced trainers except Alex in the room. " Hello, I am the official from the league HQ and want to convey you the decision of the higher ups." " Yes sir, what did they decided?" He asked happily thinking that the league will provide more support and their town will not be raged to the ground. " They have decided to make Alex Bart of Floral Town one of the four main commander of the Defense Force and he will be leading a frontier at the pokemon tide. He is also rewarded temporary captain of the army." the official answered emotionlessly. This decision shocked all the participants in the room. To have an eleven year old lead a regiment was too much, much less asking him to be the leader of the whole area. The four main commanders are main protectors who protect the town from attacks in the four cardinal direction. One direction was protected by one master trainer and Alex would be an off one out in this case. " Are you joking? Letting an eleven year old lead an army in life death situation. Do you not care for the life of these men?" Captain Bolt roared at the official. The official wasn''t affected by their anger and smoothly replied," This is the command of the Elite four and it must be inforced. To make sure this decision is followed and he doesn''t become a puppet leader" hearing it all of them flinched," they sent out a Xatu " which teleported in front of them . " He will report back if you make a fool of the league decision and don''t follow the orders. The league will send more medical supplies and arms and as for fighting support, they think you got ample protection." " And what about Alex?" " This scenario is used as a learning experience for Alex Bart due to his exceptional skills and league doesn''t care if you live or die. As for his protection, he can protect himself and if he can''t then he would be sent away from the battlefield quickly. league has made preparation for his protection way before you sent notice. His safety is of Paramount importance and far surpass what you can imagine. " He said Soon the phone was turned down and the joy from getting new support went down the drain. They were shocked that they would make such a decision. Soon in a bright flash, a Xatu appeared in front of them. It just looked at them for a while and then handed the gym leader a letter. It said: '' Don''t think you could trick us and use him to get more support. There are multiple towns in Kanto which suffer from raid. You are nothing special. The only reason we even considered your request was because he was a young Trainer and will face his first tide. After the decision with his teacher, we decided that it will be used as a teaching material for his leadership and strategic skills along with some others he may require in his journey. And the extra support would only be granted if his sector couldn''t hold back the invasion. Other than that don''t expect any support from us. And don''t even ask about more support. Our hopes for him is way higher than you even imagine . And you don''t need to protect him or anything. He will lead and protect himself. If our orders are not carried out, it wouldn''t need the pokemon raid to eradicate the town and people . We can do it ourselves. - Fire Elite Blaine. " And with this threat the letter ended. After reading it, the letter began to burn courtesy of Xatu. Soon, one of the advanced trainer shouted," How could they play with the life of so many people? Letting a kid become a leader?" " I know he is strong but to lead is something else. He can''t be allowed or the losses will be astronomical." Another added. " Quiet" said gym leader Terrence. " Do you think you can disobey the league''s order. They even sent this Xatu to make sure their orders are carried out. And do you think they would care if our town was destroyed. The only reason we were considered by the top official was because of his presence. Now instead of getting support we become training practice for Alex. For them, we all are expendable and this Xatu was transported here because if things go south, he would save him, isn''t that part of your orders?" He looked at xatu. Xatu didn''t hide and nodded that it was given this mission. What will they do after hearing this order from the top? Stay tuned Chapter 137 - CHAPTER 19 - Samuels Advice " Here we wanted to get some help, and what we got in return was even more trouble?" Grumbled one of the lieutenant. " Sir we really have to follow such an absurd order?" Asked another leutinent angrily. " Don''t question the orders. We are soldiers and our job is to follow the orders. Nothing else " captain Bolt said emotionlessly showing he himself wasn''t pleased with orders of the top but he couldn''t do anything about it. " But.." " No ifs or buts or anything else. Just follow the orders. Since you question the orders so much then you will follow him and make sure every order of his is carried out effectively. " Ordered Captain Bolt "We can''t disobey the league. We will follow their command." Terrence said " We will provide as much support to him as possible so that he isn''t in any trouble. The longer he stays in the fight, the greater chances of survival will be. At least, they could send some support even if only in the dark. If he retreats in the fight, they retreat and we would be in some serious problem if such a scenario happens. even if we beat the tide, the consequences of causing or making him retreat will be borne on all our heads." Mayor Flinn expressed his view. Although many of them were dissatisfied with this decision but seeing that none of the leaders opposed the order they too didn''t say anything and sent for Alex to arrive at the office so they could prepare a new plan to combat the situation they were in. Before the Mayor called the league, Alex has reached the Pokemon center and saw many were crowding the reception and healing counter for getting their pokemons all healed up and ready for the next day. Meanwhile the older experienced people are at sharp contrast to these young ones. Their face has dire expression and weren''t as confident as the younger ones. They have probably encountered such situations in the past and felt their own chances of survival isn''t that great. Alex headed for the interior of the pokemon center amidst the crowd and he was prohibited by a guard from entering inside. But before he could rough handle him, Alex liberated himself from his grip and showed him his pokemon trainer ID which shocked the guard and he subconsciously moved out of the way. Some people saw this and tried to copy the same trick Alex did but to no avail. And they started shouting," He was allowed to enter. Why can''t we enter too?" " We are endangering ourselves to protect you and you treat us like this." " You better move or we will leave and you can''t even protect yourself then." No matter what the other people say the guard remained unmoved. He was still dealing from the shock that how he encountered such a genius and how lucky he was. As for why he didn''t think it was a back door dealing, Alex released slight killing intent(KI) at the guard to show how serious it was. Alex has encountered many powerful people and trainers who were out for his kill and yet he survived while they didn''t so his killing intent was intensified over time. And the guard who is mostly stationed at the town to guard nurse joy can''t withstand the killing intent of this level. After entering he asked one of the nurse joy to heal his pokemons and also he asked if he could call someone from there. She replied that he could but not from the phone in this area since they have some restriction placed to prevent non Nurse joy from utilising it as per league''s guidelines. After agreeing to this, he dialed a call to Professor oak ( Before the elite four has called Samuel) ," Good morning Alex. How are you today?" " I am not really fine today Professor." " Oh. What happened for you to feel like that?" Samuel curious about what has affected his mood. " I just stumbled across a pokemon tide. And I don''t know how to feel about it. I just feel uncomfortable being here. This is the first time I felt something like this. I don''t know how to explain this. I called because if my family know I have come across a raid, they will worry and I don''t want mom to worry about me, especially in her current condition. So I thought you may have some advice for me." Alex told him. " I see so you finally experienced the uncertainties in your journey. It is good. Throughout your journey you have certain thoughts and ideas about your trip and could overcome them with your wisdom. You can''t handle the unknown pressure you are experiencing. The unknowns about it as well as the things you know about the raids are scaring you. All your situation before you knew you could survive the cases but now you are uncertain. Even I can''t involve ourselves freely and break rules of the league so your basal instincts bring out this uneasy feeling in you." " Why am I feeling this?"Alex asked puzzled about this feeling. " Alex no matter how you feel that you are an average person or trainer, you know it subconsciously that you are a genius and are well above many of your strong peers and people around the world. Even if you don''t show or act like that, you have began to isolate yourself from people below or weaker than you. Now in this case, you are putting your life in the hands of people you don''t even know and respect or feel they aren''t worthy of leading you. So you begin to have second thoughts of the raids. You feel you could do better than your possible leader so you are feeling uneasy with having a weak boss to lead." Samuel explained it to him. Although he felt he was wrong, Alex has noticed over time he was changing and had disdain over others underestimating him " So what should I do to overcome this case? I don''t think it is healthy for me." " Indeed, it is not healthy but you will overcome it over time as it is a part of your growth. But, you can''t lose that superior attitude. It will make you go far and is one of the basis for the long race in front of you. You are superior than them and your innate superiority will make sure you continue to remain above them. I have my superiority, Red and Blue have their too. You can also regard this superiority as our pride. The pride is a very important thing for trainers especially powerful ones. This make sure they don''t lose to their junior so they practice hard and advance. This pride is one of the most important thing for the trainers. This is also one of our greatest motivation to grow stronger. So don''t lose the pride and never lose that pride. And, I will do something about you and make sure that you aren''t a follower. I can at do something like this for you , after all I still have some influence in the league." He said humbly to Alex Alex rolled his eyes when he heard the Professor and said," If your influence in the league can be regarded as some influence then I really want to know what influence really mean. Thanks for you help professor. " " Don''t thank me. You are my student now. I don''t want someone who is not even qualified to be your opponent, become your leader. He must have some special qualities or abilities or else I will make sure you become an independent person not restrained by the orders of the commander. And, it is also related to the prestige of the Laboratory while means that it is my prestige, Red''s and Blue''s too .I don''t know about those two but I don''t like my prestige being trampled with. " He said with a fierce pressure released from him in the last sentence. Soon a call rang opposite to him and when he introduced himself without turning behind, Agatha voice rang. Samuel winked at Alex and put down the call. Alex knowing that he would help him with this, he was relaxed and decided to stay here until his presence was required. To be continued Chapter 138 - 20- getting his strongest team Alex contemplated on how to survive the rampage. Since young he has always been told by his parents, how dangerous and devastating a raid can be. This has created a sense of fear for the tide. It was nothing wrong after all. Since he was a child he heard about them and as he grew older in his curiosity he found books and information about these raids. The things he found was disturbing. These rampages can destroy the entire town even if the last victor was humans. And there is only 20 percent of the people who survive these situations without being injured. And this is regarded as a good by many. And such a large scale of deaths can change people. No matter how indifferent he acts to the deaths of some people, if there is a large scale massacre no one would be left unaffected from it. And as Professor Oak said his greatest sense of helpnesses came from the fact that he put his life in the hands of someone unfamiliar and according to his inner self-confident mind, incapable of being his boss or higher up. His pride won''t allow it and he may not be able to stand some of his orders resulting in a conflict with the officer. This may affect the morale of the troops and isn''t conducive for the war. Now with Professor Oak''s personal words, he knows he will not have to follow their orders if he doesn''t want to. And he becomes a completely independent group. The officer won''t provide him any help. This is due to dissatisfaction towards his stature and power, he displayed to independent of any order. So now he needs the all his powerful pokemons for this war. According to Professor Oak, this rampage is also a test to see how he handle himself in the Badlands. The Pokemons who are powerful enough and may be able to help him in this situation are: Haunter Electabuzz Pidgeot Slowking Charmeleon Butterfree Espeon Piloswine Snorlax Onix Vespiqueen Claydol She can heal and even defend the Pokemons from hidden attacks. His first female Combee evolved into the bug queen vespiqueen and she becomes the leader of the whole Combee hive. She as a vespiqueen could use them for defend mode, heal mode and even attacks mode. She was truly a tank among all the bugs and very few bugs could match her powers and the only ones who could are drapion, Scizor and sun Pokemon volcarona which is said to reside near volcanic areas. As for the claydol. You could give this credit to mew. She is the greatest helper Alex had. She took Baltoy to some Ancient ruins and it returned as a claydol, few days later. The claydol also was known as the battle tank in the ancient times is another monster he could depend upon in this battle. His gravity, teleport, Earth power and psychic attacks make him a very good crowd battler. He along with vespiqueen could juggle between being an attacker to being support member in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, he thought of having his Bulbasaur, nidoran, poliwag, and azuril evolve into their next form of Ivysaur, nidorino, poliwhirl and Marill. Their evolution would allow them to last longer in this battle and provide support too. This situation also made Alex feel about having a group of Pokemon who could support each other and their moves could match their fellow members increasing its effectiveness. Together they can take on legions of Pokemon as each member of the team can help the other and even heal the wounded ones. Nidorino can be a poison specialist which can at least weaken their frontal assault and even destroy the enemy in the front. Poliwhirl with his water absorb can absorb the stray water attacks and heal himself while protecting his teammates. Marill with its huge power and sap sipper can become a complete demolisher of grass pokemons out there. And finally Ivysaur. Although it hasn''t yet become a front line combatant he could provide support with the various chemical on its flower and increase his nature Control. Under Alex''s vigorous training and nourishment from the Mysterious gem of celebi he made sure Bulbasaur could control ten branches or vines bur after evolution it might even increase his control by five times if not more. These are all his childish d_e_s_i_r_e and thought based on his pokemons ability and skill and only on the battlefield, he could bring out their true worth. He decided to send back the baby pokemons he had on him after consoling them so they don''t cause trouble. He then released his baby pokemons such as larvitar, Riolu, Happiny, and Growlithe. He told them he was gonna be busy and can''t look after them so he was sending them back home. He asked Happiny and Riolu to look after the two new members of the team and help them integrate into the team better. He also knows that now his grandpa would be closer to the phone than anyone else so he won''t have to worry about the news of his current scenario reach other members of the family. Grandpa too has experienced things like this and knew that the more family worries, the more trouble he would have to overcome this situation and so he probably won''t let anyone else know about it. He then dialed home and after a couple of rings, the older visage of his grandfather Michael appeared. " Good afternoon Alex how are you?" " I am fine grandpa how are you?" He tried to reply back normally without causing any suspicion to his grandpa but his forced smile tells all. " So what trouble did you fall into this time? You just had to deal with ghosts? Did things go south there?" He asked thinking his current situation was due to this. This gave Alex a wonderful idea about how to get his things without really revealing anything about the situation," Yeah some of my Pokemon were injured and I need others. So I was thinking of sending back Growlithe, riolu, larvitar, and Happiny to get others." "Ben would be delighted to see a real Growlithe face to face. Also, Clara would like to play with happiny and that baby larvitar would entertain all of us. So what pokemons do you want with you?" " I need all my fighters because I was thinking of besieging them with numbers. And don''t worry grandpa last time I barely lost. So they are weak now and I could call them back in Pokeball. Now with the help of others, it would be easier and I won''t have to take another trip to the pokemon center for healing them." He thought of a reason " So what pokemons would you need? You have so many back homes and you won''t use some of them like ever " " I need Pidgeot, Charmeleon, Butterfree, Pidgeotto, Onix, vespiqueen, azuril, poliwag, Bulbasaur and claydol. These would do the trick ." " I hope so too. Now the Pokemons you hold with you are the strongest among all the Pokemons you have. Be careful out there. Do you want to talk to others?" Alex wanted to but he felt he would breakdown in front of his parents as he barely managed to control himself in front of grandpa and even his legs shook a little. " Not right now. After I dealt with them I would do it. If you cannot contact me , you can ask Professor oak. He gave me a task in a place. It has severe network issues so I couldn''t contact you soon. And don''t worry I will take care of my safety." And he initiated the transfer. After sending back his four pokemons he received his ten pokemons. After that, he turned off the phone. While he was thinking of going to his room to rest and initiate the evolution of his unevolved ones he heard someone calling him. Facing the source he saw it was one of the guards he encountered in the town hall. He told me that my presence was urgently requested. So Alex followed him back to the town hall. How will Alex react to becoming a Corps commander? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 139 - 21 : Captain and Zone Commander Alex followed the guard to the town hall and like the last time, the top brass of the town along with advance Trainers were present. " Alex, please come in. We were just discussing about the possible defense arrangements we could take for the coming rampage. How about you too give us some of your ideas?" The major asked amiabily. Others too were looking at him for any possible comments. Alex was curious why he was called and his views were asked but he just left it as something unexpected Professor Oak has set for him. " I think that we can ¡­" As soon as he started one of the two leutinent by the Captain''s side interrupted Alex. " I don''t know why we are following such an absurd decision and even consider to make him a zone commander. Only the mayor, gym leader, captain and us Lieutenants are the ones capable of being the zone head so why let an inexperienced kid who probably got everything on his plates and is born with a golden spoke be allowed to lead us and cause unexpected casualties." He was the younger one of the two lieutenant and because of Alex, he lost his chance of shinning in this catastrophe and was trying to find support to usurp back his position. This has done wonders and other trainers there started to say that they won''t follow someone so young. " Yeah how could you expect me to follow this kid? I am already putting my life in the line and now I have to follow the kid and get killed because of his mistakes. No way If you choose him as a zone leader I won''t follow him. I will not help him. " Said one trainer. Another joined at teasing Alex," We barely knew anything about the tactics at his age. He may be strong or used something to counter the pressure last time but I won''t follow. Hell, I won''t even help you in the rampage." While others thought Alex has accepted the fact and he can''t be a zone commander and will willing surrender his post the three master trainer felt something was wrong. Alex slowly asked," So am I elected as the zone commander?" " Yes you were elected a zone commander of one the four cardinal direction by the top brass of the league. And you are given the temporary post of " Captain" to lead the corp stationed at one of these cardinal direction." Flinn replied The word '' top brass '' meant that this was done by Agatha and Prof Oak and this was probably a test to see how he handle the situation. With his young age he would always suffer from discrimination by the a_d_u_l_ts and so this situation was probably the special gift Samuel left for him. As for why Alex felt it was Samuel''s plot all along, he noticed the Xatu standing at the side upon entering the door and knew it was one of Professor''s Pokemon. And since they want him to deal with the problem Alex felt he needed to give a lesson to the disobedient elements here who refused to follow orders. Alex swiftly pulled out two baton he had on his sleeves of the shirt and appeared in front of the younger lieutenant. He stuck the biceps and t_h_i_g_h of the soldier with the baton and didn''t strike any skeleton parts. He only attacked muscular parts along with sides of the stomach and the bum. Alex quick action surprised everyone and no one could react to his attacks until the lieutenant fell on his knees in pain. After recovering from initial shock the captain caught Alex hands to prevent him from beating the younger leutinent," stop your violence at once. You can''t attack anyone just because you feel like it." While releasing full force of his presence at Alex. The decision of the top brass miffed him and now the action of Alex to hit his junior right in front of him was too much for him to remain calm. Alex breezed past his pressure without problem. After all he felt the presence of killer of shadow when he was kidnapped and pseudo champion one of gengar. He even survived rampage of a powerful tyranitar and the captain who is master level doesn''t have much deterrence to him. He just shooked his hand and removed his hands from his grip and said," A soldier no matter what rank has to follow the orders of the superior, even if it is an absurd one. You too should know how strict the discipline of the army is . What happens when an order is ignored. Yet a leutinent who isn''t even a decision maker would dare to challenge the league''s order. What will be prestige of the league be and how will it be deterrent to the enemies in the shadows if something like this happened. This thing may later spread throughout Kanto and people may consider its order as talks only and nothing else. Would you dare to take the risk and be like to him, if it leads to that situation?" Alex asked captain Bolt His words made everyone thinking what this small event could possibly lead to. " But he didn''t mean something like that. He was just a little sad about the decision and lost control of his emotion. You can''t be too harsh to him and beat him to almost death." said the other lieutenant. And the other advanced trainers supported his words thinking they might be in the young lieutenant place and wanted him to be lenient. " Now is the time just before pokemon rampage. There are many people in the town who are angry sad and even afraid. The presence of the Garrison and army stopped the town from going to complete anarchy. What will happen when the presence of army is lifted or they lose fear for the armed forces'' disciplinary actions. They will lose control in this situation and even abandon the humanity in them and become complete animals and even an incarnate of chaos. They will steal, murder, **** or anything they can think of. They will feel that they should enjoy their last days of survival even in the expense of others misery. Do you dare to think it won''t happen if the displinary actions become lenient for violators?" Alex asked Although Alex''s theory was too far fetched, it still held some truth and no one dared to take the chances. Seeing this Alex just kicked heavily on his head knocking out the young Lieutenant and said," During the pokemon tide, the orders of the league must be followed to the ''T''. And any violators would be and should be punished by their superior. This is law. And any violators wouldn''t be shown mercy no matter who you are. In this situation your pokemons are much more needed than you and not you yourself. You yourself could barely take down few of the pokemons. We could just knock you down and tell your pokemons to help us in exchange for your freedom after we deal with the upcoming problem and not pursue actions towards you. They will be smart enough to listen fo us at least for your safety. The only difference will be that they won''t have you to take care if their well being and command them in battle. Their battle efficiency will be reduced drastically and they may become a casualty in the raid. " Alex finished his words explaining how he will deal with violators who won''t follow orders. All the advance trainers in the room were surprised by the sudden change in situation. Earlier the lieutenant had an upper hand now he is mourning in pain on the floor. And what he said gave an eerie feeling to them. reaching advanced trainer you will at least have a bond with your pokemons. And their loss may hurt them, so the threat of death of their pokemons in the tide was really glaring for them. " So how do you choose for yourself?" Alex knocked down the lieutenant who wanted to make a fool of Alex. Now as a zone leader how will Alex lead his troops in the battle? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 140 - 22 : North Base " So from now on, I am one of the four Zone Commander of the Sky town who is tasked with the security of the town from the upcoming pokemon tide." Alex declared. Alex was eyeing everyone from the mayor to the town official to the advanced trainer to see anyone disagree with him. Yet none came out to object and say that they disagree. Although they might disagree to this decision, they won''t dare to directly say it. They will keep it close to their heart. " Now that the problem of my post has been solved can I ask what direction I will be posted and what is the general topography of that area and it''s surrounding one kilometers radius area?" Alex asked the mayor. Since he was the only one except the captain to hold such an important doc_u_ment. " Yes, we will send it to you. But we first want to know which direction you could take on. On North and South direction there is forest, in the west we have Mountain ranges where many rock types reside and in the east is also has dense tree covering but a little bit ahead there is a river. So we came to a conclusion that on the north and south direction we will have majority of grass type pokemons, from West there will be rock and ground types and in the east there might be water type majority. Other types of Pokemon may join too but their number will be much less than the grass, rock and water type in their respective areas." Alex thought that for grass type, he had Pidgeot, Charmeleon, marill, Pidgeotto, Slowking, Espeon and Piloswine. These could give devastating damage to the pokemons in the north and south direction. For rocks and ground, he lacks water, ice, grass and fighting type pokemons who have type advantage. Although he won''t lose, he would have unnecessary casualty. Especially from the explosion and self destruction of the pokemons. Electabuzz, Ivysaur and marill can be at advantage. This type is a tricky one as the water source would be their safe garden and they can often heal themselves there and once again initiate the attack. And it will be difficult especially for a first time commander. So the most advantageous place for him would be the North and South direction. " I would like north and south direction." " And why would you like these positions?" Asked Terrence the gym leader. " I have Pidgeot, Slowking, piloswine and Charmeleon. Their attacks are effective against grass type and I could last longer there. Also if there isn''t any pseudo king pokemons attacking from that direction then I could even hold back the pokemons there." He said confidently. His confidence was taken as over confidence by most but captain Bolt saw the amount of confidence he had on himself and asked ," what makes you be so confident?" He simply replied," I have a Snorlax." " I see" Snorlax defense was Legendary and his stamina was also something worth fearing. As long as he wasn''t too outnumbered or outmatched, he would not be defeated easily. But their appetite made them a very expensive Pokemon and so they were much used in battle. " Tsskk... Rich brat" one of the trainer grumbled Alex pointedly ignored it and looked at the decision maker Mayor Flinn. " Fine, you will the north zone commander. All the information and supplies for that area will be given to you. Is there anything else?" " No, everything is fine " " Then captain send a second lieutenant to him with all the things about the forces there along with various orders and task requirements there." Said to captain bolt And then to Alex "He will take you to the north base camp do you could get yourself acquainted with your troops. " Soon another person arrived who looked at Alex puzzled and on his Superiors command asked Alex to follow him to the North camp. But before leaving he said something to all present there," Although I know most of you don''t like me but do remember that this, that " a house divided against itself can''t stand." I hope it was just your fleeting thoughts about my position and age and not disrespect towards the league or else the consequences would be disastrous." And he left them to their thoughts. After he left the room, the normally calm Mayor was shaking in anger and his powerful master presence was released on all. Except for xatu, Terrence and Bolt, everyone else was on their knees. He then looked at all of them furious with red eyes and roared," You idiots, do you know what you were doing. You actually dare to question the orders of the top especially in a situation like this. In the state of emergency, the orders of the top inside cannot be violated. No matter what, their orders are sacred. Do you think that the people there are goody good shoes. All of them has blood on their hands. They have probably ended the lives of hundreds of people and their one decision could affect the life of thousands, if not millions. What do you think will happen when they know what happened here today. They won''t be as calm as you think. They don''t like disobedient people. " " Don''t worry sir. No one here is a fool to reveal something like this to others. This matter won''t leave the room and we can deal with that boy later so we are not afflicted with acts of treason." Another official said But before he could continue and say anymore, Xatu by the side acted and used his psychic to crush him. He leviated him above the ground and crushed him in the shape of a ball. Xatu didn''t take kindly to him threatening Alex. Other occupants were shocked to see one of the person among themselves was killed so brutally right in front of them and they couldn''t protect themselves. Some reached out to for their pokeballs to subdued the attacking Xatu. But he used his psychic to freeze their actions. " This Xatu was sent by the league to make sure we follow the orders and don''t cause problems but it seems like things can''t be avoided. Now you know, we will be prosecuted after this incident and no one would be left especially that fool lieutenant. So you better behave yourself and hope your brave performance in this tide could grant you some leniency, when they try to dig your past and find all your deeds to accompany with your near violation of orders." " Will they really do it? After all we just doubted the kid and nothing about their orders. I know some people in the league they will protect me from this unjust prosecution. " " The top brass emphasised on their message that they would happily sacrifice the whole town just so he could learn some leadership skills. Thousand of people in the town doesn''t equate to that young boy in their eyes. They even said that directly granting him the head of operations would be too much because of his age and lack of experience. So they gave him the zone commander post. So do you think they would side with Alex or you in case you cause him problems during this time. And finally this Xatu will reside in the town but won''t participate in the defences. He would monitor all our actions and report back to them. If situation comes that we are losing or Alex is in danger, he will escape the town with alex keaving us to our fate. This is your position in the eyes of the league. You are just a sacrificial piece for them to train stronger trainers. Now do you really think they won''t take action against you?" The words of the mayor dawned a cruel reality on all of them. And no one could say he was wrong. Alex is officially the zone commander and soon he will meet his troops. How will it go? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 141 - 23 - Ranks of the Army Alex was unaware of all the things that happened in the room after he left. Even if he knew, he won''t care. He has to worry about how he will let the troops follow someone as young as himself. This may be the true test. The higher officials knew about the supremacy of the league and sc_u_mbling to their d_e_s_i_r_e, but not the common middle class and other people. They think that the world is a shade of white and black. They think the world center around them and that it is the league''s duty to protect all of them and provide the daily necessities. But they have forgotten what the initial job of the league really was. In ancient times, instead of regions like Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh etc. , there were kingdoms. Every region has tons of kingdom in them each waging war on another for supremacy, territory, people and resources. And at their time, Pokemon tide existed too. And many kingdoms perished over the course of time, because of them. So the kings at that timel decided to band together and create an alliance of some sort to deal with them. This was the foundation of the league. The first such alliance happened in Kanto and because of this historical importance, the Headquarters of the league was stationed here. The Kanto HQ was located near the indigo plateau while the true HQ of the entire pokemon alliance was at Mt. Silver. The initial alliance gained support over time and slowly with its power, it managed to take control of the lost areas, gaining land and prestige. Over the course of thousands of years, the league managed to reach its current position. With it''s growing power, it became a behemoth which everyone looked up to. The league after becoming a ruling body has still retained the original objective of preserving mankind but multiple deaths over time made them numb to deaths of people. Now, these deaths are just a number which they try to reduce . This is cruel but it is the reality. Unless the pokemon are completely subdued or turned extinct, the invasion won''t stop. And both cases are almost impossible to accomplish. Humans have become too depended on the pokemons to allow their extinction. Everything in the daily life of man has one way or the other depended on the pokemons. As for subjugating them, that''s even more improbable. According to him, whatever machine or tech we use to do it would be destroyed by the Legendary pokemons. They will track it down and find everything and everyone participating in its construction. Then Celebi or even Dialga would send words about the test in the past before it''s the creation and then they all will be annihilated uner the wrath of the Legendary. There wouldn''t be anything left. The multiple ancient weapons which the humans developed in the past were just for protection under the image of a Pokemon and they are considered powerful. Their attacking powers was very high yet the Legendary didn''t involve themselves because they can''t completely destroy the world and it was to protect themselves from external threats. So, the only way left is to slowly domesticate them and with the passage of time, you may be able to get rid of the riots. But it is way too far now. He followed the second lieutenant to the base camp in the north. There he was guided to his office. Then the second lieutenant then stopped in front of the office and said," I have been tasked with providing you with all the information about our personnel and supplies but it cannot to be touched by anyone except for the zone commander. And all these are placed inside the office and safely kept there with a password only known to the zone commander. So we would have to wait until a new Zone commander is selected." Alex after hearing headed inside and switch on to the desktop placed himself on the head chair. The lieutenant on seeing this headed forward to stop him but Alex released the now healed up Espeon and asked her to hold him in a spot and prevent him from making any noise. She used her psychic and levitated him off the ground while also making sure his mouth remained shut. Alex then diverted his complete attention on the desktop and started to search for the files pertaining to the defense of the town. After opening it, a notice appeared requesting him to enter the password. The mayor has handed him a piece of paper which had the passwaord. The second Lieutenant saw that Alex was doing something on the desktop and tried to free himself. His attempt to shout for help was the only voice which could be heard other than the typing of the keyboard by Alex. When he typed the password and the folder opened and he saw the number of people under him, their powers, Pokemons, and even their attack proficiency and what tactics they specialize in. There were about thirty thousand intermediate trainer under his command. And these soldiers were divided into low, medium, advanced and peak trainers. He has two(2) second lieutenants, who has four(4) officer cadet each under them and each officer cadet has five (5) warrant officers. There are eight (8) officer cadet and forty (40) warrant officers in total. Each warrant officers command forty sergeants, ie, there are one thousand six hundred (1600) sergeants. Then there is three corporal who follows the sergeants. These corporals are at mid-intermediate level and have a total population of four thousand eight hundred (4800) trainers. And each corporal leads five (5) low intermediate troopers or private. The total number of private in the Corp is twenty-four thousand (24000). All these people under his command made him feel afraid. And then there will be trainers who will be joining the corps to deal with the tide. Alex felt curious about the ranks of the armed forces. He spent much of his times browsing through the Pokemon books, scientific researches, and league news. He completely ignored the armed forces. So he also searched in the poke-net about the ranks of the armed forces. The conscription age of armed forces is twenty years. The army doesn''t accept anyone below twenty years except for some special cases. The armed forces of Pokemon league are divided into the following levels and need corresponding minimum requirements of strength, service years along with qualifications: 1) Field Marshal - active only in times of war 3) Lieutenant General - high to peak pseudo-king trainer with thirty years of service in armed forces. 4) Major General - low to the mid-pseudo-king trainer with twenty-five years of service in armed forces. 5) Brigadier General - peak master trainer with twenty years of service. 6) Colonel - advanced master trainer with twenty years of service 7) Lieutenant Colonel - mid master trainer with twenty years of service 8) Major - Low master trainer with twenty years of service 9)Captain - peak or high advanced trainer ( 15 years of service) 10) lieutenant - mid-advanced trainer (15 years of service) 11) Second lieutenant - low advanced ( 10 years ) 13) warrant officer 14) sergeant 15) corporal 16) troopers - foot soldiers and their minimum requirements is an intermediate trainer These are average requirements for the rank and if they perform great services they can be awarded rank up to Colonel. But for above higher ranks, he needs to prove his loyalty to the league. After seeing the description, Alex felt that armed forces weren''t weak and are quite strong, if this was the normal qualifications of the troops. Then looking at the floating Lieutenant, he rose from his seat and walked towards him. " I am sorry, second lieutenant for holding you like that but I want to see the details about the troops to prepare a plan for the North corps to withstand the tide and then destroy them. Let me introduce myself. I am Alex Bart, your new north zone commander. " to be continued..... Chapter 142 - 24 : Talk with Second Lieutenant When Alex introduced himself to the second Lieutenant, the lieutenant went to a state of shock upon hearing it. In this Pokemon riot, the zone commander would be responsible for the life and death of nearly forty thousand (40000) people, not including the civilians who reside just behind the town wall. Their life and death depends on him. The total population of the town is nearly five million or else the league wouldn''t place a master trainer who could become a Major or even Lieutenant colonel after a few years of service in a town. The sheer amount of disregard for the lives of the people residing within the walls of Sky town was astounding to the second lieutenant. He kept looking at Alex surprised. Alex knew that the lieutenant was probably in a shock with him being the zone commander. He himself was shocked at first but quickly got over it and decided to go with it. He knew Agatha and Professor Oak. Although they have appointed him as the leader of a section of defense, it doesn''t mean they haven''t thought of countermeasures in case he wasn''t up to the par. And Xatu was one of the countermeasures. Anyway, it is better for him to get acquainted with his temporary followers or subordinates .They are his direct subordinates and their support will make sure the troops at grassroot level will follow his command too. " You still haven''t Introduced yourself, Second lieutenant?" Alex asked the floating man He tried to move his mouth to speak but couldn''t. Alex looked at him perplexed about why he wasn''t answering his questions after all in the military, orders of the superior is absolute and cannot be violated or else, he or she will be presented in front of the military tribunal and their trial will be carried out. And according to the laws of the military they would be punished. And in most of these cases, the accused is punished severely. Hence most of the military personnel has innate fear for the military tribunal. Then his eyes fell on the resting Espeon on his feet. Although she is fully healed physically, she still has some mental tiredness from facing Mismagius''s illusions. She is trained under mew and Alakazam along with help from Xatu and Slowking to subconsciously use psychic while resting, so she didn''t hear Alex asking the Lieutenant to speak and has still kept the person floating and his body parts locked. He bent on his knees and gently woke up Espeon. She tiredly woke up and looked at Alex. " Girl, I need to talk with him so can you free him?" " Esppp¡­" she said and freed him. The lieutenant fell on the ground on his bum after being freed from the psychic. Meanwhile, the lieutenant was uncomfortable with having such a young superior and wanted to protest but the thought of military tribunal stopped him on his tracks. " You are too tired. You rest well. We have a big fight ahead and I need you at your best " saying that he gave her a psychic cube and then let her rest on the floor. He then looked at the fallen lieutenant and said," Now that you are free, please introduce yourself." While taking his seat at the main chair. " I am Jim Thompson, Second lieutenant of the 65th infantry force of Kanto, Sir." He stood in front of Alex with absolute attention and salute without moving an extra muscle. " Good morning, lieutenant Jim. You can be at ease. " Hearing the order, he let go of his attention position but still looked serious while listening to his superior. " I am Captain Alex Bart. I am awarded the title of the Captain for the duration of the Pokemon Tide. I have been declared as the North Zone commander of the Sky Town so from now on you will listen to me. Also, I have been given a special authority of not being under the central command of the town council( comprising the town mayor, gym leader and captain of the town guard) so their orders are optional for me. But my orders to you aren''t such. I hope you can fulfill my command, of course, if you have some doubts regarding them you could ask me about some clarification and reasoning behind such orders. Also, summon all the military personnel who are under my command. Sorry, not all. Call forth the other second lieutenant under my command along with the Officer Cadets. I will introduce myself to them. As for the rest, I will introduce myself later after a plan for this scenario is made. You may leave now." Hearing the order, Second lieutenant Jim saluted once again and was leaving. He opened the door and proceeded to leave the room. Suddenly Alex stopped him on his course," Wait. I forgot to tell you something. Bring along the blueprint of the north section of the town, from the roadways to the sewer lines along with the short passages between buildings. I also want the topographic map of the areas around the North Wall too so that certain things could be done. I want all of them in front of me within an hour. Being these items as soon as possible so I could study them before their arrival. In this time I will look over the things I have got in the desktop." Saying this, he diverted his attention to the desktop. Alex felt someone looking at him and saw Jim still waiting. " What are you waiting for? The Pokemon Tide? Or Arceus himself to show you the way? Now get going, we don''t have enough time." He said harshly. And the second lieutenant dashed off to complete his task. Alex just sat there thinking what his next course of the plan will be. He needed to intimidate the next group of people with his Pokemon to let them follow him efficiently. The only pokemon he could use here in a closed room for intimidation as a show of power would be electabuzz, Haunter, piloswine, Snorlax or claydol. These pokemons are known for their power and only follow skilled trainers or trainers who they have followed for years and have a strong bond. As for Snorlax, he would be sleeping now and if he is woken up rudely, he may begin a rampage and cause problems. So claydol will be his weapon of intimidation. All that needs to be done is create the most effective plan to survive or at least withstand the invasion. And let the reinforcement from other fronts help them win. Alex doesn''t think he is smart enough to lead his forces to victory and he doesn''t consider himself a strategist. How will Alex handle the next group subordinates of his and what plan will be made to face the invasion? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 143 - 25 : Possible pokemons Alex has spent complete one hour thinking about how he will arrange his formation. The desktop has granted him enough information about what pokemons will be the most probable participants in this invasion. There will be grass type, flying type, rock type, bug type, normal as well as fighting type and even poison type pokemons have high chances of appearing in his battlefront along with one or two other types like water and fire type. He really wished he had a steel type with him. The chances of a fire type appearing is rare. Then again water, dragon, ice and ghost types wouldn''t appear in the riot. Almost all the ghost pokemons in this southern region of Kanto are controlled or are under the direct command of Gengar and since he isn''t participating in this, their appearance is almost negligent. Of course there is a possibility that some will be in it too. After all not everyone likes to listen to others. If dragon types are involved in this, then the elite four too will be involved personally in that case. They are too rare and powerful so their presence makes everyone cautious . If Alex encounters one in this one, he would probably try to catch one. Though the only place where the dragon type may attack would be the lake. In that case, there might be Dragonair or Horsea, seadra and even Kingdra or Dragonite may be present. But their number won''t be much. They would probably be one of the pseudo king pokemons leading this raid. Ice type pokemons won''t be present in this part of the battlefield. Most of the Ice type has water sub type and they won''t reveal themselves here. The temperature around is too warm to accommodate the ice Pokemons. The others if present would be in the battlefield closer to the mountains. They aren''t fast enough to appear here. The only possible ones ice pokemons would be sneasel, weavile and delibird. water types may appear but their number would be less compared to those who would arrive near the river. The fire type found in this area included only Ponyta and houndour along with their evolved forms. The Vulpix and Growlithe pokemon lines because of the power of their evolved forms, are rarely found in the wild and if found are either caught by other trainers or by poachers to be sold at high prices in the black market. Their beautiful and majestic evolved forms of Ninetails and Arcanine are something many yearn to have in their team. The other lines are the starter Charmander and cyndaquil line. They are too popular to be found in the wild along with league placing extra care and protection to raise them. They are more obedient compared to most fire Pokemons ,or as obedient as any powerful firey Pokemon could be. Next is Flareon an evolved form of the rarest normal pokemons, Eevee. This shows how unlikely they may be found here. Magmar is found near volcanic areas or in the volcano itself and slugma are in case of mountain. Others aren''t found around anyway. The process itself is time taking so he cannot do it anytime soon. Then, there is a wide assortment of flying type pokemons who could join the battle and with them flying high up in the air, they are one of the most annoying ones to deal with. They are going to be one of the most prominent of all the pokemons along with normal type, bug type , ground type and poison type pokemons. Among all these pokemons, the only ones Alex was cautious about, not afraid but cautious , were Pidgeot, fearow, Nidoking and nidoqueen, Ursaring, Scyther and heracross. The reason for being cautious was one of these pokemons are most likely to be the leader of the group. And their powers would be difficult to deal with. Pidgeot isn''t pseudo king so he can''t deal with the flying ones and if electabuzz''s move don''t make contact then it is worthless. Ursaring, Scyther and heracross are also not a problem. But their innate nature makes them a difficult opponent to face. The real problem are Nidoking and Nidoqueen. Their ground and poison attribute make them very irritating to deal with. The ground type weakens or even nullify effect of electric moves on them and the poison type makes close combat difficult. Even if he managed to hold them back, the poison would make it difficult for electabuzz to face them. To face any one of the two, he need a good support Pokemon. He needs someone who knows refresh to deal with his status problem Electabuzz may suffer from. As long as he isn''t poisoned badly, he would be able to take them on. Happiny and Swablu can''t protect themselves in this scenario and only Espeon is capable. But her mental tiredness from her facing Mismagius made him worry about her. This was really problematic for Alex when he had to face Nidoking or Nidoqueen. If there are more pseudo king in the group his pidgeot and Slowking can handle the first one together with Snorlax holding down the other one. If the number of pseudo king is three or more, then all his pokemons has to work overtime and he himself has to participate in the tide to face off the Pokemons. If push comes to shove then Alex could use all his pokemons to deal with four pseudo king pokemons at max and then they will be too injured to move, himself included for about a few months, on basis of their resilience. And this isn''t good for Alex. If he encountered Scyther, murkrow, Rhyhorn ,stantler, pinser, heracross, Abra line or a Geodude line, he might catch them there. They could be good addition to the team. Stantler and Misdreavus could train together in illusion. Murkrow was a good fighter and his super luck was something he wanted in his team along with prankster. Scyther, pinser and Geodude are good fighter with Geodude line being a good tank if trained well. All of them are strong in their own right. Pinser, heracross and Alakazam are even capable of mega evolution as far as he remembers. And the two bugs has fighting sub type which can overcome the lack of fighting types in his team. They both could serve as sparring partner for electabuzz and riolu ( also as Lucario after his evolution). Each of these are good addition for his team. And the thing that they can even mega evolve which would increase their powers exponentially was another bonus for him. Now what formation he should take to face them is the question. The Pokemons won''t have a stable attack formation but for humans to have a good chance of victory with as little casualty as possible, they need a good formation. Soon a knock brought him back to the reality. He had claydol out for support much earlier and made him check his office for any eavedropping device earlier. He prepared himself for facing the subordinates who may be a little disobedient on their first meeting. How will he deal with his subordinates ? Stay tuned To be continued.... Chapter 144 - NOTICE I was thinking of a new novel about one piece and fairy tail. Choose one of them from below so I could start my work on them. One piece : Justice About a young person of same age as smoker who will join the Marine and will be the next chief of staff ( if Akainu or Kuzan become Marshal). He has complete hatred for the pirates and sc_u_m. He will serve the people and his views is looking at the jungle instead of trees. Fruit - Projection( Susanoo, any weapons or even clones but coloured ones) or Forest fruit Swordsman ( if projection fruit) as well as strong body fighter ( if Forest fruit) possible pairing - Hina, Robin ( love her but couldn''t be with her), Vivi ( Gorusei asked), or anyone else except Hanc_o_c_k. has plans for her. Fairy tail : The mage will be a rune Knight. He will show how the rune knights works and their importance to fiore. primary magic - light and dark magic : Sun magic: forest magic : creation magic( non living things only) Choose any one of them weapon master. Any you d_e_s_i_r_e. ( I prefer sword, saber or spear) possible pairing - mirajane, ultear, Cana, Erza, or any other you opt for. There will be some history with some of them before the final marriage. Choose whether it will be a one piece Novel or Fairy Tail one. Vote for the two epic manga. Chapter 145 - 26 : First time meeting Claydol stationed himself behind Alex''s seat and Alex spoke loud enough for the people behind the door to hear him," Enter." The door opened and in came, Jim along with twelve other people followed behind him. There were a total of seven men and six women in the group. Ten of them were in their military uniform of the Kanto army with their rank badges on their attire, while one woman was in clothes of secretary while the two other male and female were in the doctor''s attire with white lab coat. They all arrived in front of him and saluted him. Although, some had expression of disdain as well as unwillingness on their face, they still followed the army protocol of greeting their superior. " At ease. So, who are they all, Jim?" Alex asked the only member of the group he knew of so he could begin their introduction. This way, the uncomfortable ones don''t have to become even more unconformable with his presence and about being their leader and Captain. Jim was a black haired tan-skinned middle aged guy who took Alex to the North Zone commander''s office on Mayor Flinn''s instructions. " Yes sir." While taking a step forward. He then pointed at the blonde one in his twenties with Mohawk style hair and light skin colour " He is Gold Simmons. The other Second lieutenant of the 65th infantry corps. He is a rock specialist while I am flying specialist." He cane forth and stood in front of Alex. Alex just nodded at him. He then pointed at long white haired woman in the crowd with office uniform, " She is Jean Mathew. She is the personal assistant and secretary of the North Zone Commander. She will help you with all the official and doc_u_mental works, pertaining to your post. She herself is an advance trainer specialising in the grass type Pokemons. " She smiled softly at Alex. Then he pointed at the doctor''s attire people. The man with white hair and muscular body was introduced first," He is Dr. Armin Richards. He is a veteran doctor who has been official head doctor of the corp for decades. And by his side is his assistant, Dr. Daisy Hilton. She is the intern of the doctor and has agreed to stay here for healing the injured soldiers and Pokemons." Daisy Hilton was a brunette girl few years older than Alex. She was probably in her early twenties or at least nineteen years old. Then he looked at a dark skinned purple haired man with straight hair ," He is Mark Thomas, the resident fire specialist. He is the most skilled and powerful officer cadet of them all." He too followed Gold. Next is a light blue haired guy with round specs was introduced," He is Charles Clint. He is the electric specialist officer cadet of our group." " These twins are John Dalton and Joan Dalton. John is our resident ground specialist while Joan is a bug type specialist. They both have a great combination skills. " Then came a Marron haired woman with shoulder length hair. ," She is Anne Bolt. She is the poison specialist." A green haired man and black long silky haired woman was pointed. " This is Barthelomew Davis and his wife, Glynda Davis. Barthelomew is our ghost and electric specialist. He is also the chief technician of the corps. Glynda meanwhile is the scout chief of the corps. She has appeared team of canine who has strong sense of smell. With her help, we can easily find the pokemons who are participating in this riot." Then came another person in his twenties. He wore a fighting gi and gas strong muscles and short black hair. " He is Blake. He is our fighting expert and also a fighting master." Blake was the only one in the group who didn''t have a hint of contempt towards Alex and looked at Alex respectfully. He is a fighter so he probably noticed the muscles if Alex and felt he was at least strong physically. And at last but not the keat, came a bubblehead girl, she seemed like she was brimming with energy," She is Nora Archer. She is our psychic specialist and also our communication expert." When Jim finished introducing all of them, he joined their ranks and stood facing Alex. Alex then introduced himself to all of them while sitting on his chair cross legged," I am Alex Bart. I am the Temporary Captain of the 65 th Infantry corp along with north zone commander of Sky town for the duration of Pokemon raid. I know that some of you may have doubts about my ability and qualifications to lead you, but I don''t care about it. I am appointed by the league as your boss so I hope you will follow my command at the very least. Even some of my unorthodox orders are to be followed. If not I can assure you, you will wish you had been placed before the military tribunal instead of my punishment." He released his killing intent instead of pressure to hide his strength now. The KI made the atmosphere cold and sent goosebumps at their backs with how potent it really was. " Now, moving onto the next topic, I want to know if any one of you are a strategist or have an in-depth knowledge about the pokemons." He asked after lifting his killing intent. No one stood forward then Daisy took a step forward and said," Sir I have studied in the Pokemon Tech academy. There I have been taught about different Pokemons and their weaknesses along with how to beat them." The name '' Pokemon Tech'' was a name Alex heard somewhere. It was established by an Elite Four years ago. His objective was to grant basic knowledge and experience to the youths and tge information about the wilderness, so that new trainer can have better chances of survival in the wild. They only taught basic knowledge to most and in-depth study was done, if that person wanted to be specialised in that particular field and elected that course. So the thing he wanted to know will only be known by people who opted for Pokemon cultivator position. She is a doctor, so she may have some information about the Pokemon and their body physiques he didn''t know and can answer his doubts. He know that the only other person other than her would be the experienced Doctor, Dr. Richards who has years of experience in pokemon treatment and knows much about their physiques through practice he had under his belt. He nodded at her " And we don''t have any strategist among us. " He said looking at the people in front of him. Seeing none of them answering he knows there weren''t any to begin with. " Fine, so do you have any information of what pokemons are going to to attack this part of the town? "He asked looking at the two second lieutenants. Second lieutenant Gold stepped forth and said," Sir, according to our intelligence, grass type, poison type, flying type l, normal, bug and a few psychic and fighting types are the most probable Pokemon who might attack us." " And what about the specific pokemons? Is there no news?"he asked " Sorry sir. We can only determine what type it species they are only a day before the actual attack. There are still three days before they appear here. So we don''t know the exact constitution of the herd, except that there will be at least one flying pseudo king and one other pseudo king may be the chief of land attacks in this direction." Alex felt that a headache was coming his way. He have no accurate information about the tide and yet he has to lead the group in this situation. Information is in of the most important thing for the success in war. " what strategy did you decide to face the coming invasive pokemons before I was appointed?" Gold remained quiet for some time probably remembering the last plan they had prepared and then he replied," The last leader of ours was the lieutenant of Captain Bolt and he told us to assemble the corp on the basis of the type of Pokemon they use and when the information about the Pokemon comes we will let the group having thought advantage face them head on." Alex took all the words and then spit out," You decided to take the tide head on." " Yes. " Thinking that Alex didn''t know the way of the military said," this is the tactics used by the military especially when they are facing this type of situation. We employ the type advantage tactics to face the tide." "This way we have gained many victory in the past." All these words increased the headache and Alex felt like banging his head on the table in front of him. But he controlled this urge and then asked," So you all too agree with this plan?" " Yes sir" they all replied in unison. Alex couldn''t control himself anymore and banged his head on the table with a loud bang. They regard themselves as a rock and tide as waves of the sea but they forget that water bypass the rock and can pass the obstacles easily. How will Alex handle the situation here where using type advantage is a great tactics when you are outnumbered? Stay tuned To be continued¡­ Chapter 146 - 27 : Disciplining Subordinates Seeing that, their captain Alex banged his head on the table hard, made all of his temporary subordinates of Alex jump back in shock and fright. Alex has kept his head on the table while thinking about how he was going to survive in this situation and deal with these troops . Claydol looked at all of this joyful events ( for him) and enjoyed the entertainment in front of him. Situations like these when his trainer suffered was entertaining to all his companions too. Jim braved himself and asked Alex," Sir, is everything alright? " Alex woke up from his thoughts when he heard Jim''s voice and said," Yeah everything is fine." abd he mumbled softly," As fine as it could be in this situation." Then he took out jewel and said," call Professor for me, Jewel." They all looked at Alex using a voice-operated phone and all of the inhabitants were jealous and thought that their new captain c_u_m commander was very rich and loaded. ''At once, Alex.'' came Jewel''s feminine voice. And the pokenav dialed at Oak''s laboratory and Rings can be heard through the phone. The military subordinates, secretary and the medical were puzzled by Alex''s current action but didn''t intervene. Soon a brunette six-year-old girl''s image appeared. It was Daisy. " This is Oak''s laboratory. Who is speaking?"came a child''s voice increasing the confusion of other occupants of the room as to why their captain was talking with a kid now. " Hello, Daisy how are you?" He asked sweetly. " Alex, is that you?" She was excited to hear the voice of her friend and then replied," I am good. I am very angry with you. You never call me or come to meet me since the day you left." Daisy said while angrily pouting. Alex always felt he was forgetting something during his travel and her words reminded him of what really slipped his mind. " Sorry, sorry. I will not do it again. Can you forgive me Daisy?" He looked at her apologetically. He even held both his ears with his hands to show how sincere he was in his apology. She didn''t look at him directly but took some sneak peek at him and after some time her anger broke down and she forgave him. " Daisy, can you bring your grandpa? I am in some trouble right now and require his help and advice at this time." He asked her. " You want to talk with grandpa. But he isn''t at home. He went off somewhere with his Charizard. I don''t know where. Didn''t you have grandpa''s phone number, Alex?" She asked. " I did have his number but not on my new phone so I can''t contact him. And I didn''t note down the number so I am at loss." " Daisy what have I told you about playing with the phones at the lab?" " Dad, I wasn''t playing. I was talking with Alex. He wanted grandpa''s advice but he isn''t here. " She answered quickly before she could be scolded by her father and mother who was currently at home. " Oh, so you are talking to Alex. Let me see. Good morning, Alex. How are you? So What happened to you that you need dad''s advice?" Blue asked Alex. " Good morning, Blue. I am currently in a grave situation." He said while discreetly eyeing Daisy. This action could be hidden from most people but a former champion like Blue could easily notice it and told Daisy," Daisy, your mom is making a chocolate cake for you. Do you want to taste the icings?" Hearing the word ''cake'', she jumped and quickly ran towards her mother without saying goodbye to Alex. Her attic brought a smile to blue, Alex as well as all the occupants of the room. They didn''t see her expression but her happy shouts of cake were self-evident. " You see the case is that..." Alex started to narrate his situation. But Gold interrupted him and said," Sir, all the matter here is confidential and these things cannot be revealed to the uninvolved personnel. It is against the law. And if you do try to reveal it, we will be forced to take you down and have you under our custody for the crime of revealing confidential information." And he along with all the occupants fingered their Pokeball ready to take him down. The words of Gold made Blue almost burst out in laughter that there are things Alex could know and he couldn''t due to confidentiality of the league. And Alex who was threatened didn''t bother with their collective threat but Blue said something softly which made him become serious. " Your majesty isn''t established in front of your subordinates. If you back down now then you wouldn''t be able to create a good image ever in their heart and they will always try to push you around. There might be some problems later regarding whatever task you are doing now. So you must deal with them as soon as possible and show that you are above them and could crush them easily, so they won''t disobey it cut your words at least not in front of the public." These words made Alex think and he came to a similar conclusion as Blue and felt if he didn''t teach his subordinates their place they may disobey his commands or even rebel against him affecting the plan and strategies he may comes up with to combat the situation leading to plummeting morale and unnecessary loss of life. Alex raised his finger a little from the armrest of the chair where he kept his hands. As if Alex gave him the signal to attack, Claydol floated forward and his eyes shine blue. Before having the opportunity to take down Claydol, all of them were on their knees under the influence of gravity attack. The increased gravity sent them to their knees. And this drumming came to a halt only when all of them were laid flat on the floor with none of the muscle capable of movement. Claydol used three times the average gravity on them which was enough to disrupt the fighting spirit of these people. " You should remember I am Captain along with the North Zone Commander . And I already warned you that I will be doing some unorthodox things. You may object to it but you can''t rebel or attack me to stop my actions. Since it is your first error, I am willing to let you this misconduct of yours slide but if it is repeated you will not like the consequences " Alex warned them while his gaze stated a bit longer in some people. These actions and decision let the people know that Alex was stronger than them and could destroy them before they could even act. " This is my last warning. If you disobey me again, I would make sure it is be your last one. And don''t think that anyone would care about your life and death. You are too ignorant if you think I would be persecuted because of you." And to enforce his words, he released a tint of his killing intent at them. This time all the occupants of the room found that they couldn''t breathe properly and they felt they were in a boat in the middle of a sea facing a great storm. They now knew that he got his position due to his strength and not just the influence of his family or friends. Why did Alex call Professor Oak at this time? And what advice did he need? Stay tuned Chapter 147 - 28: The Mysterious Helper They regretted underestimating him and thinking they could overstep the boundary and attack him. Military is a fighter corp. People respect authority and power here. Sometimes, if someone is more powerful than the superior then he is given some leeway even if he is much lower ranked than him. Power is one of the most important thing in the world of pokemons because this is a place ruled by Pokemons. Personal power is the basis of everything. Humans have less than 25 percent of the total land coverage under them and the rest are under Pokemons. This 25 percent includes the total land area of all the regions throughout the globe. So powerful trainers are most respected because they may be the one who would protect the people later from the pokemons. So many ordinary people don''t dare to be disrespectful to trainers. The stormy experience of the unruly subordinates came to a halt when he withdrew his presence and all of them greedily s_u_c_k_e_d air to calm themselves down. Alex warned them severely," Don''t dare to overstep your boundaries or disregard my orders. I don''t like disobedient people. " And this time, they didn''t dare to say anything and just endured his anger. " So did you handle your new friends in Sky Town and not to disregard your position as the Captain, Alex." Blue asked cheerfully. " Yes I just had a wonderful chat with them about how to respect their superior." He replied just as cheerful not at all affected that Blue knew where he was or what he was doing. But it wasn''t the same for his subordinates. In just a matter of few minutes, he was able to know everything about Alex such as his post and position was enough to show that he was pretty high up in the league or he paid enough attention to Alex to know what he was doing and where he was without the obstruction of the league. " So what did you need dad''s help for?" Blue asked. " I wanted to know what tactics and strategies does the military focuses on since my subordinates doesn''t know much about the tactics except using type advantage one in facing the Pokemons. I really need to know what strategy they employ and if I made my own strategy and tricks. would they create any problem if I made certain changes in their official ways? " He asked Blue. Hearing his question, Blue tried to think but couldn''t remember military ever employing any tactics or strategy in the past. " As far as I remember they never really did employ any tricks. They just try to win the battle with brute force." " So they never used traps or any field advantage to take down the pokemons. " Alex asked to confirm. " Most of the members of the military are ordinary people who didn''t have enough money to go to school or learn under any knowledgeable person. They are from small villages and towns throughout Kanto. Most of them don''t focus on academics and arent too keen to strageies as it is regarded as boring by them. Joining the military forces is one of the most effective way of gaining strength for them with a higher chance of survival. So even without much information regarding pokemons except for some most basic ones they face their opponents blindly and many suffer heavy loss. The officials doesn''t pay much attention to their knowledge and they themselves doesn''t care much. They have to pass three test taken every four months after their promotion and only if they pass twice, they retain their position. The armed forces doesn''t care much about strategy and so any thing you do won''t suffer any problems later from the Army. Not many people are like you who spend much time gaining information and news about the different Pokemons and world around themselves." " So, they are just sacrificial pieces. They are the meat shield who will bear the brute Force of the Pokemons and the surviving ones would be promoted or rewarded for their valor." Alex asked expressionlessly. This was what he really thought since they aren''t educated anything and are thrust into the fire with little to no training. All the occupants of the room heard him were a little miffed at Alex because he regarded them as a sacrificial pieces but the terror of Alex was still in their mind which prevented them from arguing with him. " In some way, yes they are just meat shield. Only the surviving ones are given some knowledge about their pokemons. With the merit they earn they can be given ways to raise their pokemons well. And this is pretty low level guide so I don''t think it will interest you. It is pretty cheap too. About one hundred thousand dollars in the black market. " Blue too said nonchalantly. Alex saying this was already a bit too over the top for Daisy who was a doctor''s intern and a graduate from " Pokemon Tech'' Academy" one of the most prestigious and famous institutes in Kanto. Though not so much prestigious and famous in the Pokemon league tournament as the graduate never made it past top 64 in the tournament. " Enough of that. There are many people from "Pokemon Tech Academy" in the military. Many groups and institutes had multiple people in the armed forces too. I don''t think the league would anger so many groups by letting so many people die or disregard the death of so many people. You are just some countryside bumpkin who is trying to flaunt and show himself superior to everyone else. You think that the league would dismiss the graduates from the elite institute like "Pokemon Tech Academy" and give them low order things as merits. This is too much bragging from both of you." She angrily retorted back. Alex and blue turned quiet for sometime and even her companions felt, she was going to suffer the wrath of their new commander for insulting his friend like this. But contrary to the thoughts of everyone, both of them burst out laughing even claydol behind Alex was shaking around in laughter at the fact that someone regarded a former Kanto champion as a country bumpkin who doesn''t know anything. When their laughter finally subsided, Blue voice came from the phone after he turned on the speaker mode," Yes, I regard all of you as my inferior and piece of waste. I don''t care about what your Tech Academy or whatever academy thinks about me. Alex, you have some interesting subordinates. So is there anything else you want to talk about?" Blue didn''t bother to say anything else to the others. The other party was happy that the Mysterious speaker didn''t decide to pursue the matter and cause trouble for themselves. Seeing Blue wasn''t bothered by them, Alex too let it be. And he thought of something he needed to know. But firstly, he motioned Claydol to create a barrier around him so no voice could reach his new subordinates. When it was done, he asked," What countermeasures have been taken in case I fail to hold back the fort other than Xatu himslef in the Town Hall? " " You identified him. I don''t expect anything less especially after that gift you got from Red. No I don''t know what measures they took in case you failed. Enough of these boring talks, Let''s talk about something interesting. Now tell me about that Gengar encounter?" Blue disregard for talks about the town safety and survival made Alex shook his head in dismay and thought,'' I really do not understand what the higher up think or how they think about matters disregarding the common people. Just let it be and I will think about it later. '' Alex asked him something in return," How did you know about the Gengar?" " When you called back home in a hurry, Arthur called here and told about your problem. When Dad thought about your pennant for attracting troubles, you may have fallen in a heap of trouble yet again and he was right. So he sent Charizard to look at your situation. Seeing that nothing out of ordinary happened so he left quietly." " Is that so? I always felt something was odd with how quickly he agreed to trade with me and didn''t issue a counter offer and let Dusknoir continue the negotiations. He may have sensed him and was on a lookout in case he attacked and took them down. Before dropping me off around the town and leaving he did say, he left me here because I annoyed and irritated him. It seems he left him in the middle of the Pokemon tide since, he couldn''t trick me or force me to give in to his demands. And here I thought I tricked that old fox. I was too small to see that century old ghost." He said sadly that he almost lost because of his over smartness. " Don''t worry. You probably know old ghost pokemons can be. And with their lifespan, it isn''t bad for you to be tricked or even exploited because of the loophole he found in the deal. " Blue tried to encourage him. " Thank Charizard for the help, will you." Alex told To be continued Chapter 148 - 29: Reality of the world " I will tell him. If you want to make some changes then do it. If things go south or trouble occurs in other parts of the military, we will take care of things from here. If your new experiment could bring good results then it is even better. Next time, you won''t have to worry about military binding you to do their dealings. The military is only strong for common people. For others, they are just gatekeepers who are at the lookout for the pokemon attacks in the peripheral areas of the Pokemon League. They are the sacrificial pawns placed at the borders areas. they will use their life to buy time and the true core of the league would make sure that the territory of the humans isn''t reduced. People below the elite four level cares about their opinions, others just ignore them and they can''t do anything about it. " Blue said When he mentioned Gengar, Alex has turned off the speaker mode and they talked softly among themselves with claydol erecting a soundproofing barrier to prevent unwanted people from hearing them. It was an extra precaution. " Ok then. Thank you for your help. " Alex said while he was thinking about switching off the call but remembered something else he wanted to ask him," Wait, there is another thing I need to know." " You have many questions today, Alex, "Blue said with humor. " If you were in my place, what would you do. Since I was a kid, I heard about how brave and majestic the army of Kanto was to protect the people from pokemon tide without caring about their own life. And how powerful they were. But recently, I have come to know that even their most powerful general isn''t up to par with even one elite four members and most of them are just sacrificial pieces. So my views have undergone great changes today. I thought elite four may order them but not completely subdue the military and make them do their dealings. I thought that the military would get some concessions from the top." He expressed his thoughts. " This is the real world, Alex. You will find many shocking things in your journey. What ordinary people think and know about, and what is the true reality is two completely different concepts. You only know that people die under Pokemon attacks and the fight during the tide. Some leaders themselves kill people under them, there are cases when some humans forsake their humanity and become beasts. all these things are hidden to prevent the chaos which might spread if it is revealed to the world. But some details are not mentioned anywhere. The true wildness of pokemon is revealed in the Tide. They will maim you. Cut off your arms or legs. Cut through your stomach and pull out your intestine. When Tide happens, many incomplete half eaten body are found on which pokemon feed. Their eyes gouged out, tongue sticking out, jaws and windpipe missing. If half of the real truth comes in front of the people then they would parade around to isolate Pokemon and even start hunting them. They will even forget that it is because of their help that we can even survive and are safe from the outside. Most of the cruel poachers you will find out there are the survivors of the Pokemon raid and they are the lucky few who survived or you could say the unlucky few who will face the darkness of the world with deep hatred towards the Pokemon. Dad, let you go there and lead the Corp just so you could experience a little about the real wilderness, the Badlands. That is a place where we humans are just food for the Pokemon. " " is the Badlands that bad, Blue? " Alex asked him. " Almost all trainers who are or selected to experience the Badlands had to lead the defense of a town, village or city against a Pokemon Tide. This is a training experience to prepare for the Badlands. That place is the real definition of the sentence,'' Kill or be killed'' and there, you will know what cruelty really means." Blue said with the most serious face Alex saw him with. " And what does Badlands mean for the League to put so much focus there?" Alex asked curiously. " Only the people who stay and survive there are regarded as the true genius and are allowed to enter the core of the league. Until then you and all people similar to you are just possible potential members of league core and not considered as actual member. None of your generations has been regarded as a confirmed core member of the league. Not even Daniel, Agatha''s grand nephew has this honor. This position is earned and not granted. If Daisy can''t survive there, then she herself won''t be admitted no matter how powerful me, dad and my wife, Leaf become in the future. This is an unbreakable custom. The privilege you enjoy now is nothing compared to the ones enjoyed by the core members. These core members are the true guardians of humanity against the threat of Pokemon in case they attack us. Pokemon from Badlands often attack at the borders to control the human settlement and kill us. I think they like our meat, more than anything out there. " He said joking to ease the atmosphere. " And you think I can join the core?" Alex asked still in shock at what reality he was exposed to. " I don''t know. But Dad and Agatha are sure that you would. Even pokemon league president Mr. Charles Goodshow himself believe that you would qualify. And don''t worry only me and Red knows about his thoughts about you." " And what makes them so confident?" Alex asked because he was losing confidence in himself after learning the truth. The raids he knew about was cruel, but what Blue revealed was even crueler. And yet the Badlands which he is expected to live and survive through within two years time is even more difficult and dangerous to compare with the raids. Comparing them is similar to comparing a rookie trainer and a master trainer and Alex himself knew that the difference was huge since he was at the threshold of master trainer and within six months, time his pidgeot and Slowking may breakthrough to the next level. By then he can be regarded as a true master trainer too. Yet knowing, this he once again experience fear in himself. The unknowns are always a subject of fear and curiousity for humans and Alex had the similar look in his eyes. Blue saw both fear and curiousity in Alex''s eyes and remembered he is still an eleven-year kid no matter how skilled he is. and the curiousity in his eyes shocked Blue as even in fear his curious nature isn''t subsided. " You are a great trainer, Alex. You don''t have to hurry up and grow too fast. Now what you need to do is train your mentality. This is another reason for your posting here. You have all the smarts and brain for Pokemon and Pokemon battling but your heart isn''t up to par with what one expects from a trainer of your stature. Never be afraid of accepting the fact that you are afraid or have fear of something. This fear is what inspired us, humans, to reach the current level. No matter what mistake you make now, we can solve it for you. You are no longer being taight how to be a powerful trainer. From advanced trainer onwards, no one could teach him how to advance forward. It is their own skills and ideas that made them stronger. That why it is called the Master Trainer. You are already well on your path to that. What you are being taught now is how to survive. In the Badlands, your every decision may lead to the death of yourself and many people around you and this guilt has destroyed many geniuses over the course of time. This time make the most of it. The guilt is the greatest destroyer of humans along with anger. So beware of them " Blue''s words were true for Alex. No matter how much he disregards the death of others, if they died due to his mistake he would always have it on his conscience. " Thanks for the advice Blue. " " Don''t thank me. I gave you the same talk, dad gave me when I was an advanced trainer but he didn''t let me lead as a commander until I was eighteen and even then it took me almost an year to overcome the aftermath. I don''t know how it will affect you but it changes people Alex, it changes people so much that you cannot recognize them." He said gravely. " What do you mean?" " Red was very cheerful, outgoing and friendly before leading the defense but now he has become an introvert and closed person. Even I have changed from my past shelf. Sometimes I just compare at past photos of myself and compare the past to my changed self just for the laugh of it. And it seemed like we are twins with two different personalities. Leading the forces against the Tide is a precursor and preparation for the Badlands. It has a long-lasting effect, Alex and I fear how it may affect someone as young as you. Take care of yourself, Alex." And Blue cut off the call. Now Alex has many thoughts for himself and he mumbled to himself," So what changes would I undergo after this?" Alex is shown a hint of reality related to the Pokemon World. Stay tuned for finding a changed Alex. To be continued¡­ Chapter 149 - 30 - Plannings Alex was thinking about how much he might change in this whole ordeal and how serious the changes might be in the future? When the talk with Blue ended, Claydol had already pulled down the soundproof barrier and seeing Alex in thoughts made the other occupants curious about his expression. He ignored their presence for some time until someone interrupted his thoughts. It was Jim who asked him," Sir, is everything alright?" " Yes, everything is alright, Jim. This call gave me various topics to think about later. Anyway, it can be pushed back now and let''s begin with the matter at hands. " " What I really want to know is what pokemon are most common in ten kilometers radius of our designated command area," Alex asked all his subordinates It was Jean, his new secretary who answered his question," Sir, There are much ground, bug, flying, normal, rock and grass types can be found in the ten kilometers area. Do you need their specific species names or number too?" " Yes, I want their names and numbers to create strategy pertaining to their total number. After all flying pokemon, Pokemon who walk on ground and pokemon who travel underground are three ways they may attack. If I know some approximate numbers of their populations, I can know how many will attack in what fashion and how much forces I have to invest in that field. Then I can get an edge over them by trapping them and eradication many of them even before the Pokemons could attack our walls." Alex explained his thoughts. The second lieutenant nodded that if they know this information earlier, they too may help reduce some pressure on their troops. " But sir the most accurate information will reach us only six hours before the actual attack begins so we can''t get this news " replied Gold. " That''s why I asked about the concentration of different pokemon around the area. While comparing the data, I could have a rough idea of what percentage of pokemon would attack through the air, on land or through underground. And with the knowledge of Daisy about different Pokemon, we can direct our troops to attack their weak spots so the attacks are more effective even if they are a type disadvantage. " Alex expressed his views Most of the people there agreed with his views and felt this way they might be able to fight more effectively against the Pokemon. One of them was Dr. Armin Richards, the veteran doctor of the Corps," Sir although this is a very good idea but I don''t think it is very feasible." " What do you mean, Armin. This is a very good idea from the commander and it can prevent many unnecessary casualties and prevent the loss of human and pokemon life in the Tide. So what problem do you have with this plan?" Asked the fiery fire specialist, Mark Thomas rudely. Alex rose his hand to stop his fierce retort at the doctor. According to Alex''s previous observation, he regards Armin as a calm and collected doctor as expected from any veteran of the Pokemon Tide who saw many too much darkness in his life. So Alex felt he might have detected some problem which he might have overlooked. " Let the doctor express his views. I brought of you here so you could give me your views and find defects in my plan, so that it would be more perfect and with lesser problems. I think he might be onto something we all ignored. Please explain yourself. " Alex said to the veteran Doctor. " I don''t have any problem with the plan. It is a really good plan but you forgot something that is necessary for the plan to work." " What did we overlook? It is very feasible. Every troop can follow the orders of their leader and we can have a higher rate of survival as compared to the previous riots." Asked John, the ground specialist of the Corp. " Troops¡­. Troops troops. I see. So that''s what I missed. Indeed, if we think about it we can only implement the plan at a much smaller scale than our previous plan and not many can get benefits from this." Alex mumbled to himself when he discovered the loophole in the plan. Armin on hearing his words understood that the new Captain was smart and couldn''t be underestimated due to his young age. He has also discovered the loophole he found in the plan. " What is the problem that you both find here?" The bubblehead psychic specialist, Nora asked. " Sir, should I explain it or would you do it?" Dr. Richards asked him. " Since you discovered it first, I think you should explain it," Alex replied. " The defect on this plan is the illiteracy of the troops. They aren''t educated enough to differentiate between different types of pokemon. They can only distinguish between the type attributes of the Pokemons like flying, grass, electric etc from their attacks and not the types difference we have in theory. But they can''t differentiate between Pidgeot, pidgotto, fearow, or other Pokemon. Each of them has a different weakness. For them they are all just flying types and zapping then with thunder would do the trick. And before knowing their weakness, one should be able to identify the pokemon. And this is the major problem we have here." Richards explained " I still don''t understand. The sergeants could still instruct and order the troops during the attack. " Daisy, the doctor intern experessed her thoughts. " But how many pokemon do the sergeants know about? How can they distinguish one from the other pokemon? What are their academic qualifications or how much do they really know about pokemon? Can you be sure that you can teach them all about nearly a hundred different pokemon in such a short interval?" Alex asked them. " Before speaking to any of you, I have already thought of the Pokemon which may participate in the Tide and the number reached nearly ninety different species of pokemon. You only mentioned that ground, bug, flying, normal, rock and grass types but what about the occasional electric type, water type, ice type, fighting type, psychic type and even fire type Pokemon. Although their number won''t be much compared to the other types, they will still be a powerful game changer in the Tide. We may face fire types such as herds of Ponyta or rapidash, slugma or even magcargo. houndour and houndoom found mainly in the Johto region but they could be here too. In the pyschic group, there may be Abra line, Hypno line, Mr. Mime, or even grass psychic type Pokemon, exeggcute and exeggutor. Then there are fighting type of Mankey line, Machop line and tyrogue line and electric type of elekid line, Pikachu line, voltorb and mareep line too. They themselves number around twenty and we haven''t mentioned the more prominent and wide variety of grass, ground, flying and bug type Pokemon. Are all of you sure that you can know all these pokemon I mentioned and many more?" Alex asked His answer was the deafening silence of his subordinate. None of them can guarantee that they know all the pokemon he mentioned and there are still many more he didn''t mention which may participate in the Tide. Some of the names he spoke were the ones they have never heard in their entire life. Alex''s plan has hit a roadblock and how will he overcome this roadblock? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 150 - 31 : Traps Once again, there was absolute silence in the room. There are more than a hundred different Pokemons commonly found in Kanto alone. And this area of Kanto is closer to johto, so there are some johto Pokemon found here too. There might be some Pokemon who have settled in here from other regions after they migrated freely or freed themselves from some poachers and settled himself here. So it is rare for someone to know all of them completely. Not even Professor Oak the most renowned Pokemon researcher in the Pokemon world can remember all their details completely. " So that plan goes down the drain."said Annie dully. " Since, it might not be effective we can still try it on a lot scale. For some common Pokemons in the riot, we can still spread their weakness so pressure can be reduced on our troops. The common ones like the Rattata line, Spearow line, Pidgey line, Geodude line,oddish line , Diglett and dugtrio along with butterfree, Beedrill and spinarak line information could be transmitted to the lower level troops so they can deal with them as little effort as possible. We can''t expect them to face pidgeot, golem, vileplume, bellosum but their weaker forms can easily be taken down by any intermediate trainer if their weakness is known. So this plan can be partially implemented. I think that the warrant officers, sergeants and corporals can make sure that that their subordinate troopers can learn the information about these pokemons if the information notes are handed to them." He asked the officer cadets in the room. " It shall be done, Sir." The two second lieutenant and eight officer cadets replied. " Next, we have to make some preparation for trapping the Pokemons midway and stopping their fierce momentum. If the pokemons run towards us to attack all together this may affect the morale of the troops which will be harmful for us in the long run. We can place some traps on the way to disrupt the momentum and rushing of the Pokemons. We can dig holes and place spikes below so that they can be killed or injured seriously after they fell down with their rush. Some leg holding traps with sharp teeth placed around the ground to injure them. Tge snare traps can be placed in the forest so that the pokemons may be hooked up by the neck and die due to lack of air." All the uses if these traps made everyone have cold sweats. These traps are effective especially when the horde will most likely rush towards them. But, the aftermath of the traps would be cruel. Thinking what would happen with the town and it''s resudents if they failed to guard them, they managed squashed the pity for Pokemons and steel their heart. Jim asked," What is the mechanism of this trap, sir?" " The leg-hold trap may comprise of a metal foot plate and curved jaws, powered by hefty springs. It is usually anchored into the ground by a short chain and metal spike or is secured to a tree or large branch. Once triggered, the trap immobilizes the Pokemons , preventing them from eating, staying hydrated, fending off predators, and sheltering themselves from the harsh weather. There are chances that they may breath the trap itself to free themselves. But the trap is built to injure them not to deal with the Tide I one sweep so it is still useful. Their ultimate destination is death by bleeding from wound or by starving from hunger. " Alex replied. " And what about the pits with spikes? Where should we build them?" " We will dig some holes around the space between forest and the town wall. And these holes will be 20*20 inches area and about ten metres deep. On the sides as well as bottom we can place wooden spikes or even iron spikes so when the pokemons pass through here, they will fall down the ditch and get impaled by the spikes. They will be built at irregular intervals so the Pokemons can''t calculate where they are really present and dodge them. From the walls of the town, we can send long ranged attacks to deal with flying pokemons." " And what about the snare traps?" " A wire loop is placed along a traveling path where the pokemon will walk through it. The snare tightens as the pokemon tries to free him or herself, resulting in restraint, or death by slow strangulation. This will make them easy targets as they can''t dodge the attack. " Alex explained. These traps were ruthless and can cause much problems later if they are propagated but their present benefits outweigh the problems they may create in the future after they fell in the wrong hands. Captain Alex gave them good tactics and tricks, so they felt he could help them even more, so Gold asked him respectfully, " What other tricks can be used, sir?" Alex felt that they may have recognised the basic strategies he created for sake of defence especially the traps so they whole heartedly accepted him as their boss. " We can create some trenches around the path. Many ground types and other pokemons know dig. They may transverse around the place underground so if we dig trenches their hiding place lessen and they can become easy target for the troops. Lastly, we can use combination attacks with Pokemons to a much greater effect. The wind tornado and Flamethrower together can be flame tornado. Gust and poison powder, sleep powder and stun powder can be widely spread under the application of gust affecting multiple pokemons. Rest of the tricks you could discover and invent yourself. You don''t need me to guide you completely." Alex ended " Yes sir." " Then we can discuss about the possible weaknesses of the most common Pokemons present in the tide. And we will start with Rattata. Daisy, tell us about the advantages and disadvantages present in the Rattata and Raticate?" Alex has mentioned some ruthless traps which will be used to take down the pokemons. What are the weaknesses of there Pokemons? Stay tuned To be continued¡­. Chapter 151 - 32 When Alex asked Daisy the assistant Doctor and intern of Dr Armin Richards all the attention and eyes if occupants in the room turned towards her. " Let''s begin with Rattata." "Rattata is a small, quadruped rodent Pokemon. Its most notable feature is its large teeth. Like most rodents, its teeth grow continuously throughout its life and must be worn down by gnawing. Rattata has purple fur on its back, and cream fur on its stomach. It has a pair of thin, cream-colored whiskers and a long tail that curls at the tip. Females have shorter whiskers and lighter fur color. Rattata can live wherever it can find food, which it searches for most of the day. Thanks to its sharp fangs, it is able to eat nearly anything. When it is threatened, Rattata can deliver a powerful bite. Its large teeth are also useful when using its former signature moves, Hyper Fang and Super Fang. Its hardiness lets it live in many environments, although it mainly lives on plains and savannas. Because it reproduces so quickly, a pair of Rattata can quickly colonize anywhere. " She narrated everything she learned about them at her academy. " This is something anyone can find just by looking at them and knew about pokemon moves. As for reproductive ability, bug types and Pikachu can easily match it. They are known for high number of progeny. What I want to know is how we can beat them down in the most effective and cost efficient way?" Alex said " This¡­. I don''t know anything else, Sir. This is the theory we were taught at the academy about Rattata." " They can learn biting attacks, and are weaker in body skills which is greatly strengthened when they evolved into raticate. They have an innate skill called " guts" which can increase their attack power when they suffer from paralysis, poison or even sleep and they know sleeptalk. Their smaller body makes them easy to maneuver around and the trap holes won''t be effective against them. Only leg hold trap and snare trap are effective against them. They can easily pass by the other traps. But their numbers can turn many of our traps invalid as these traps can''t reduce their number much. I thought of these traps to injure big pokemons as well as some occasional smaller ones. But for pokemons as small as the Rattata makes many strategies will be null and void. If we could use some explosion in the middle of their group our attacks would be more effective. What other ways do you have to combat them? " Alex asked the other people. " Sir they have s_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e nose so we can irritate them by launching smelly objects in their group." Said Glynda, the terrain and scout leader. " It is a good thing. We will be having our main battle by the walls of the town and we would arrange barricade at a hundred metres away from the wall at most. This way we can take care of many canine. The sharp foul smell would make their attacks disoriented and we can easily take them out. Also barricade the front of the wall. We will place iron spikes as well as spiky wire barrier around the front line. This way at least the front line soldiers have some semblance of barrier separating them from the incoming pokemons . Only flying and underground Pokemons would be unaffected from this arrangement. But we all know that at least 60 to 70 percent of Pokemon would be land travelling and rest will be a combination of flying and underground travelling ones." Alex elaborated. " But what should we do about the flying and ground type Pokemons?" Jim, the second lieutenant asked. " To deal with them I can''t think of any equipment or trap which won''t be repelled back at us, but I can only think of two ways and whether these can be implemented or not is a completely different thing." Alex said " Oh, what is the trick we can use here?" Blake, the fighting specialist asked. " For pokemons hiding underground, we can use magnitude, earthquake and Earth power to deal with them but most of our own people can be affected and the traps we set up can be destroyed. And this way can be circulated because there are many pokemons who can use these three ground type attacks and we can also increase the strength of our corps exponentially." Alex explained " Yes, it is good trick to deal with pokemons hidden underground. But how do we deal with flying ones?" Gold asked " The move which we can be used to stop their flight is a rare one. Not many pokemons could learn this move and we cannot use it at a grander scale like the earthquake trick. " Alex explained " What is this rare move?" Nora asked. " It is a psychic type move, Nora. I don''t know if you have heard about it it not. " Alex said Now all eyes were gathered on Nora, the psychic specialist of the corp to get more information yet she didn''t know it. " Psychic move. Which move could it be?" Nora mumbled not able to recall the move Alex was speaking about. " It is called gravity. It is a non-attacking psychic move. It increases the effect of gravity in a certain area making it difficult for them to float or fly around. I don''t know if it can work on ghost type as their form is gaseous but for flying types, it is very effective. As long as the physical strength cannot bear the increased gravity on their body, they will fall on the ground hard. And on ground, they are sitting slowpoke. They can be taken down quite easily." Alex said " If such a great move is present then we can easily win the flying types. But why haven''t we heard of this trick?" Jean asked. " The reason you haven''t heard about this move is because it is an innate trick which can only be learned by clefairy and dusclops. There is an evolved formed of nosepass, a probopass who could learn this trick. Clefairy is a super rare pokemons in par with Eevee and Dratini line as you all know. Dusclops are a ghost type in hoenn region but it is still a difficult trick to learn. As for nosepass, it is a Hoenn Pokemon too but they can only evolve into probopass in a very high magnetic region and when four nosepass join in such an environment they fuse and a powerful probopass is formed. They evolve similar to magnetite and koofing." Alex explained the things behind the move'' Gravity''. Hearing these things, they felt their hope to combat turn dim. But Dr. Richards have some doubts about the move and he asked," But can other pokemons not learn this trick too?" " Yes, we can tutor it to other Pokemons but it is a psychic move and we all know just how difficult it is for a Pokemon to learn this psychic moves. The only pokemons I know about who can learn it are Jigglypuff, Abra line, Chansey, etc. The Pokemons who can learn this trick are the ones who have psychic powers or have some control or can affect magnetic field around themselves. So magneton could learn it. " But it will take at least a few months to learn this trick and I don''t think many people would spend so much time on a non attacking move." Apex told them. " Anyway let''s discuss about other pokemons weakness and effective way to take them down?" They continued their meeting for a few hours and then when the sun began to set they all left him alone in the office while Jean his secretary was just outside dealing with other official works for him. Now I have to make my Pokemon evolve into their next form. Alex discuss how to face the Pokemon. Next will be the evolution of his Pokemons as well as the Alex meeting all his troops for the first time. Stay tuned. To be continued Chapter 152 - 33- the Evolution When all of them left, Alex closed his eyes to calm down his nerves. The pressure that comes with being a leader is too much and it makes him understand why Professor Oak and Red gave up the champion position as soon as they got the title. The position of power is not as attractive when you gain it as it seemed from far away. At least it was not for him. " Enough of these, now I have to increase my strength so that I can overcome the situation without losing any of his pokemon." He mumbled Even when some people survive the tide, their pokemon aren''t there to accompany them any longer or they are so injured that they can''t fight or move around anymore becoming a cripple for the rest of their lives. That''s why he sent all the pokemon who may be sacrificed in this tide or cannot fight for long. It will not be a quick battle, but a long one which may last for a week if they can hold on. At situations like this, stamina is very important. The troops would be swapped every few hours to rest and eat and even heal their pokemon while another group would take over their place. And as a captain c_u_m zone commander, he cannot rest for even a single moment at that time. He had to be a lookout for any pseudo-king pokemon which might arrive to disrupt the defense line and cause disorder among the troops. As for the elite ones, they can be handled by the other Second Lieutenant and Officer Cadets. Some of his Pokemon could even deal with them without his command and if they are injured, claydol could teleport and bring them back to rest and heal themselves while preparing for the next round. After claydol evolved he has learned teleport and on Alex''s command joined Ralts twins in their game of catch where they teleport around to avoid being caught. This is a good way to train their Psychic power as well as master the teleport move easily. When Mew joins them for her special treats, she too enters their game of catch. The other kid Pokemon after getting accustomed to being caught by teleport can evade now with their senses and their evasion skills increase. This way all of them learn and grow while playing among themselves. He needed to evolve male nidoran, female Bulbasaur, female azuril and male poliwag. These would be good battlers in this Tide. He has thought of training his nidoran to Nidoking while imitating " Whitebeard from one piece". With each punch he would rain tremors on his foes. He made a small note of different anime characters from his past life so he won''t forget much. He only remembers their key point or main attacks and has forgotten most of the details over time. Although Nidoking won''t teach world destroyer level, he can still thrive to reach mountain destroyer. With each full power punch, a mountain range is destroyed or eradicated. Although they can''t absorb its power, they can try to sync their energy with it and purifying their energy and making it denser. And under its influence, they may evolve. It would only accelerate their evolution. They would have evolved in a months time if he didn''t apply this trick. These two are part of a deal with water types around his new home. If by any chance, they died or even crippled, Alex wouldn''t feel too sad as they didn''t stay with him for long. The water types at the farm won''t protest as they died or got gravelly injured in the fight. Tide happens because the wild pokemon have a lack of resources and food in their places and so they attack the human settlement and take control over the areas around it so they could survive. That''s why many pokemon who live in the town or around town help humans to protect their home because if these pokemon settle here, they would be eradicated too to reduce competition among themselves. As for his Bulbasaur, she can evolve anytime he wants her to evolve. She has acc_u_mulated enough strength and power to evolve but the everstone he gave, stopped her from evolving. He wants her to be similar to Hashirama after her evolution to Venusaur. So at this early stage, she must at least grow a few branches or promote growth. He had her spread the seed from leech seed around and facilitate its growth remotely. It has been successful but only if she uses growth and in that stage she can only do five seeds. Over time she has managed to grow two seed remotely without using growth. And this too when she does her physical as well as move training. Alex felt when she evolves into ivysaur she can increase her powers and can be at a much closer contact to nature due to the flower bud on her back. This can increase her control more and she can at least control ten seed vines from far. The frenzy plant move which is called the ultimate grass type move is a trick similar to this. So it can also be regarded as a prem_a_t_u_r_e frenzy plant. Alex released these four pokemon out for their evolution process. He first went to Bulbasaur and said," We won''t have much time to let you master the five vine seed control so I will be evolving you now. Use its power to strengthen the body first because the body is the foundation of everything. " And he removed the everstone necklace hanging on her neck. She shines brightly and her form enlarged. She grew twice her former height and the former green bulb has shown the semblance of turning into a beautiful pink flower soon as a pink bulb appears on her back. She has become stronger too. Another advance level pokemon was added to his group. And her powers would grow even higher after she reaches her final form. The reason the grass type is quick to grow is because of their relationship with nature. Nature grants them higher energy absorption especially when they are in forest areas. And it slightly simulates them to turn desert areas green once more. " How are you feeling girl?" " Ivy.. iii¡­ vvyyyy. .. Sssauurrr." She explained her mood with a pleasant smile on her face. " Good. You move around the room while getting acquainted with your new body and I will talk to the others." She started to roam around to get herself accustomed to her stronger legs and the bigger bulb and weight on her back. He bent on the poliwag and azuril level while giving them the blue gem and said," Poliwag, azuril you both try to sync your body energy with this gems energy. It will help you simulate your evolution." They took the gem and happily nodded to follow his instructions and then sat down while touching the gem. He went to nidoran who has followed him since Giovanni gifted it to him. He is a very naughty pokemon who often joined Haunter in his pranks and annoy others but also very protective of his friends. Once a Beedrill roamed inside the farm and almost attacked his siblings who were playing around. He immediately attacked it before anyone could react and protected them. He was very grateful to nidoran for it and often thinks of different ways to increase his powers. He could increase Haunter''s poison potency by letting him absorb others poison core, he could increase bug types poison potency by breeding them and training the strongest one left behind or survives to reach a higher level. It can only be used for nidorino and Nidoking or their female counterparts but not for nidoran because of the poison present. If used it may destroy their young body but Alex came to a conclusion that if he used Earth gem to counter poison from the vibe like he was doing with Haunter he may succeed so he decided to do this now. He crushed the gem and lingered it over the vine carefully. Then he gave it to nidoran and said," eat it slowly nidoran. It will give you great powers and even help you evolve so be patient and don''t let this power surge go to your head." Nidoran did as he was asked and munched a few pieces of vine. After he took the fifth bite he began to shine and when he reached ninth bite, he glowed and his body began to change. When the glow subsided there was nidorino but he has some changes in his appearance. What changes does nidorino have? How will his first meeting with the troops go? Stay tuned To be continued Chapter 153 - 34- Changes through evolution Nidorino is a light purple, quadruped Pok¨¦mon. It has several darker purple spots across its body. It has large, spiny ears with teal insides, narrow black eyes, and a long snout with two pointed teeth protruding from the upper jaw. It has a ridge of toxic spines on its back, and a long pointed horn on its forehead. The horn is harder than a diamond and capable of secreting poison on impact. Its short legs have three claws on each foot. They are generally around 1 meter tall weighing around 20 kilograms. But his nidorino had a different appearance. Because of the intake of Earth gem along with poison vine from Nidoking and nidoqueen graveyard, the darker purple spots now had brown spots while their ears to have some brown spots on it''s edges. Their legs have brown tattoo type brown marking from the Earth Gem. He was now nearly 2 meters tall from its legs to back and probably weigh around 35 kilograms. With some spikes on it''s back Alex can now travel on it''s back while holding these spikes to balance himself. But before traveling he may have to train his poison control again. These spikes are the main sources of poison output from the body. And now after evolution, he could see some poison drops around the spikes head. They were in a much deeper color as compared to before. It seemed that now his poison could even affect the metallic nature as l_u_s_ter is a property of metal. Over time he may even corrode metals too. Now the sweet nidoran has begun to show signs of the scary temperament their evolved forms were known for. They are easily angered species along with their evolved counterpart Nidoking and so many strive to remain out of their path. Alex has enough scary encounters by now and he wouldn''t be intimated by a pokemon on the basis of its scary appearance. He looked straight at his eyes to show his partner that he wasn''t scared of him. Many times when the kinder pokemon evolve into the more intimidating and easily angered counterparts, their trainers began to change their behavior pertaining them. This is very harmful in the long run and it must be shown that their behavior towards them haven''t changed but you still have to respect the pokemon''s power. Of course, this is all his views pertaining to changing the relationship between pokemon and trainer when pokemon evolve and their behavior changes. So Alex looked at him like he looked at nidoran but with a hint of respect for nidorino for its newfound power. He continued growling but Alex wasn''t afraid. He believed that ivysaur, azuril and poliwag would help him if that need arrives. Alex ignored his warning growls and placed his hands at the base of his horn. He then rubbed it softly to calm him down. He used aura to enhance the effect. After some moments, nidorino calmed down and started to lean on his touch. Then Alex jokingly told him," Now you are so irritated with this evolution, but later when you evolve into Nidoking, you will be able to walk on two legs instead of four. At that time, you would have to learn to walk and you stumbling around learning to walk would be very fun. Espeon and Haunter wouldn''t let you live through with that. " Hearing this azuril, poliwag and ivysaur laughed around happily but nidorino didn''t appreciate it and he pushed Alex down on the ground with its front legs and placed on his c_h_e_s_t. Alex has fallen back and couldn''t raise himself due to nidorino standing over him. This became comical for the pokemon and they all laughed at Alex now. He treated pokemon as his family and the more time they spend with Alex the closer they become with them. Nidorino was one of his earliest pokemon and would often prank him. So they were close as Alex often got together with Haunter and nidoran to prank others while secretly guiding them. It was all for the fun so you can say nidorino is close to Alex and now that nidorino started to joke with Alex he felt there won''t be any problem in the future. " Now now nidorino calm down. You still have to learn to control your motor nerves with ivysaur. You are going to have a big battle soon so be prepared." Alex told him. Hearing this nidorino agreed to let him stand but before that he licked Alex face and then joined ivysaur on control. Alex then told azuril and poliwag," your powers will increase exponentially on evolving especially because you use this gem. So sync with it and gain benefits for yourselves and then use evolutionary Power to make your body stronger so you can use more power later. I will leave to look at other doc_u_ments of the corps and prepare myself. You all get going and if your energy went out of control you can ask claydol. He can help you with it." Alex then seated himself on his chair and looked over the files Jean left for him to look over. It comprises of names of the troops, what brigade or battalion they belong to in the 65th infantry corp as well as what pokemon they used. While looking at them, he also shows what moves their pokemon know. He was looking at them and see whether there are some pokemon whom he could teach gravity if they know any magnetic skill. While Alex was looking through them an an hour has passed. He looked up from the doc_u_ments which have given him a headache while constantly looking over them. Alex through his aura vision looked at azurill and poliwag, their body now brimmed with water Energy and they may evolve soon. He looked at Ivysaur and nidorino whose power increased by at least ten times and their energy flow is much more vigorous than before. A knock brought him out of thoughts of his Pokemon''s and what they are capable of now. " Enter" The door opened and Jean entered the room. She looked at Alex first and then at the new Pokemon who were around Alex. As a grass Pokemon user, she can detect that ivysaur was much more powerful than any of her pokemon and this reaffirmed that he was eligible to be their boss. " Sir, the troops have been gathered around. They are waiting for you in the field and await your presence. " She told him. " Is that so? Very well. Claydol you stay here and help poliwag and azurill control your power. Ivysaur and nidorino follow be there. I think I will have Slowking follow me too. He will be able to calm the crowd in case they try to act out of hand." He then released Slowking and asked him to follow himself. Jean looked at another pokemon of Alex and found that she could not see what level of strength he had. It increased the mystery of her boss. " Jean show me the way," Alex said and then followed behind her with nidorino, ivysaur and Slowking on his back. Alex will be face to face with thousands of troops for the first time. How will the encounter go? Stay tuned Chapter 154 - Notice Exams are approaching so there will be irregular updates for about a month or two. sorry for inconvenience. Chapter 155 - 35 : Assembly of the troops In the military grounds more than thirty thousand soldiers stood in their position without a single indisciplined line present. The troopers all stood erect while following their corporals and sergeants. The two second lieutenant stood on the platform built in front of the troopers. The closest to the platform where the eight (8) officer cadets. Each of these officer cadets have (5) warrant officer lined just behind them and then behind then are lined sergeant, corporal and troopers in sequence. Behind the warrant officer are the sergeants. There are a total of one thousand six hundred (1600) sergeants lined in forty (40) rows to forty (40) columns and behind them are corporals lined in forty (40) rows and one hundred and twenty (120) columns amounts to a total of four thousand eight hundred(4800). And finally are the troopers or privates. They were lined in forty (40) rows and six hundred (600) columns amounts to twenty four thousand (24000). This number can scare anyone especially when they are all in a formation and are serious. They have been called here fifteen minutes before Alex was called so they are getting anxious about why they were called at such a time when the sun was rising overhead and Pokemon raid just round the corner. So they have started to talk among themselves. " Why do you think we were called out here at this time?" One soldier asked another. " I don''t know but it must be something important if we all were called at a time like this when the raid is just round the corner." Another replied back. "I think that the zone commander will address us today. After all we will have a big battle in the next few days so he will probably give a speech to inspire us or something similar to it." Another beside him added. " Yeah, this might be the case. After all we haven''t been introduced to the zone commander yet. So who do you think will lead the north zone?" Asked the first one. " I hope it is captain Bolt or gym leader Terrence. They both are master trainers and with them leading us our chance of survival will increase exponentially and there will be lesser casualties compared to other regions. " " Yeah if they were our commander it would have been better but it isn''t the case. Captain Bolt is leading the zone near the water while gym leader will be on our exact opposite direction in the South. So it will most probably be one of the two lieutenant of Captain Bolt. After all , the mayor will supervise the whole situation and would provide help from the town center wherever the need arises." Another soldier revealed. As they continued to discuss who will be their commander, Jean the secretary of the commander came. She was a powerful grass type specialist and was also very beautiful. Many wanted to be close to her but her sharp retorts tear apart many of her brave stalkers who dared to talk to her and had turned them into a crying mess. Hence, she got her name," Rose". She was a beauty flower surrounded by sharp thorns,ie, her witty and sharp words to her followers. So when she arrived all eyes were on her and many even ignored the following Alex and his pokemons, nidorino, Ivysaur and Slowking. But some did notice him and were curious about his identity and why he was here when only the military force was called for the assembly. She soon arrived at the elevated platform with Alex behind her. Alex has noticed that most of the soldiers were looking at Jean and the few who noticed him were probably curious about him. When they reached the platform the two second lieutenant saluted him while Jean stationed herself behind Jim and Gold. And Alex stood there to address the troops in front of him. Some of the smart people had guessed the identity of Alex when he appeared and was saluted by their superiors, the two second lieutenants, Gold and Jim. He stood on the platform in front of the other inhabitants with Slowking, nidorino and ivysaur just behind him. He then motioned Jim and then someone came with a microphone and handed it to Jim. Jim checked whether it was working or not and then handed it to Alex. Alex took the microphone and then once again looked at all the people in front of him. He then started," 1¡­ 2. ¡­. 3¡­. Mic testing ¡­. 1¡­.. 2¡­.3. Can everyone hear me?" After some laugh Alex began his speech," As many of you know that we will soon be facing a Pokemon tide. According to our sources it is a low grade B tide with chances of it raising to the Intermediate grade B level. And the most probable Pokemons which our corp will be facing are the flying type, normal type, fighting type, rock type, ground type, poison type as well as grass type pokemons. There will be some other pokemon types too in the upcoming tide but these types will be in most abundance. As for how I know all these information, I am Alex Bart. I know many if you are curious why I am here and why I am the one addressing all of you. And some of the people may have already guessed what I am doing here. So let me introduce myself completely. I am Alex Bart from Floral Town. And I am your new North Zone Commander ." As soon as he introduced himself, the dam burst and many voices of protest rang. " What a brat is our zone commander." " This has to be a joke." " No way. No way a kid will be allowed to be our commander." " I know right. This is just a comedy act that the new commander and the other superiors thought of to ease our nerves." " Is that so? I think that might be the case or how can such a thing happen." " I know right. If it had happened I would have left and abandoned the place." " Me too. How can we survive if a kid lead us. Isn''t it equal to throwing our life." " Hey kid move. Let the true zone commander address us." " Yeah. Don''t joke with us. We have a raid to face soon and go somewhere else to play." Alex was shouted at by many but none of the second lieutenant and officer cadet intervened. Before assembling the troops Alex had already told them not to interfere and he will handle the troops himself. And now he has to deal with the troops who think he was joking. To be continued¡­. Chapter 156 - 36 : Alex is angry Alex looked at all the people in front of him laughing and even ridiculing him. He just kept a small smile on his face but if you look at the two second lieutenants, his secretary Jean and his pokemons face, you will find that he is anything but calm. Even if he acts m_a_t_u_r_e most of the time, it must not be forgotten that he is still a kid. Even before his death, he was in his early twenties. Most people get m_a_t_u_r_ed after their late thirties and even at their forties after experiencing various life events but Alex perished early in his previous life so he wasn''t as m_a_t_u_r_e and calm as people regarded him. He was standing with his hands clenched in firm of fist and one could see the nerves at his hands with the intensity he was holding his hands. Seeing this they even retreated a few steps with Alex unconsciously releasing his presence for a moment. But it was enough to quiet down warrant officers and some sergeants who stood closer to Alex in the queue. They all felt a chill run down their spines and shuddered. The second lieutenants, his secretary, officer cadets and even the two doctors knew Alex was getting angry but none came forward to calm him down. As for warrant officers and sergeants were experienced people and when they felt it they immediately linked it with Alex. It is shocking for a kid to remain unfazed while standing in front of thousands of people and even smile when he was being ridiculed. The warrant officers have worked under either one of the two lieutenant and k ew how strong they were. When an even stronger presence was felt by them, they understood why the kid was chosen to be their Commander. Since their bosses, the officer cadets and second lieutenants weren''t doing anything it was upto them to deal with the drama and at least try to calm the people so the new Commander Alex could continue. So the first thing they did was quiet down the sergeants around themselves so they won''t have to endure the wrath of the new Commander. This made sure that about a tenth of sergeants calmed down under their immediate supervisor instructions and looked at the platform. Their silence slowly cut down the noises of district and ridicule around Alex. This was enough for Alex to continue his speech. " It seems many of you are not happy with the decision of the league. I am sorry to say that your disregard for my position as the North Zone Commander would be neglected no matter who you talk to. You seemed to have forgotten the most basic thing about the military. And this thing cannot be violated at any cost. Can anyone guess what it is." Alex said and let them guess what they have forgotten. All of them looked at each other''s face thinking what they might have forgotten and cannot be violated in the military. Since he started to talk the small smile on his face hasn''t dimmed a bit but this didn''t stop the wave of anger emitting from Alex. He was really enraged. Being questioned by some was a bit painful but if too many do it then a person either gets self conscious or he gets too angry to think calmly. And Alex is suffering from the second case. He us really angry and anyone who gives him an opportunity would pay dearly for it. The ridicule of multiple troopers was ignored by Alex because he got his priorities straight. So he kept himself calm and didn''t do anything. But that didn''t mean he wasn''t thinking about it. He was thinking of raining water needles of Slowking on their limbs so they would be hospitalized for at least a month and suffer in pain. He was a pure sadist whether it was subconscious or conscious behavior of Alex was a real mystery. Meanwhile Slowking behind Alex was nervous of feeling and seeing Alex''s thoughts towards the people in front of him. He won''t disobey Alex but he felt it might be too much to punish so many for the disobedience of a select few. He continued forward," The most important thing in the military is order. The order of the superior must be followed no matter how ridiculous or absurd it may seem to you. And there is absolutely no mercy for traitors in the army. " When Alex said this the entire ground was turned quiet so much so that even a pin dropping sound could be heard at the opposite side if the ground. "Traitor" was a very strong word and the meaning and consequences behind this were too severe. Even in normal world, people would rather die than bear the stain of traitor. Let alone in this world where power is supreme. Here not only will that treacherous person but his friends and even people who are close relation will be taken under close watch and even their smallest misdeed will be revealed as one of the most heinous crime ever. Here people doesn''t like to leave behind lose ends and want to eradicate threat from the roots. Alex looked at the pin drop quiet ground and nodded internally and continued,"I know many of you may feel that I am a bit too quick to use the term "traitor" but I don''t think I am wrong. You dared to disregard thousands of people in the town or even millions of them. This is a town near the river and hence has a very large population. Even if it isn''t comparable to the large cities with population of tens of million, it still has nearly a couple million people residing here. The league had stationed about a hundred thousand guards not including the lieutenant, officer cadets and warrant officers. With such a large force you have a much higher chance of victory. Yet you dared to think of leaving and putting the life of so many people at risk. So let me ask you, Am I wrong to address you are traitors?" He finished fiercely and his eyes were red with anger. Alex no longer held back his presence and nearly a few hundred were affected. It was only due to the staff from mew and his aura spreading out his pressure and affecting many. The closer the person was to Alex, the harder he breathe. No one dared to object Alex now and has started to regard him as their leader. Chapter 157 - 37 : Alex speech Alex pressure and speech was enough to erect a strong image in the heart of the troops and they are confident about his abilities. Alex pressure was fully experienced by the warrant officers and sergeants and they would be the only who would mostly lead the men at grassroot level. They didn''t know just how powerful trainer Alex really was but they felt Alex was much stronger than their immediate leaders. Alex had already decided to show some of his powers, enough to let the troops follow him effectively. Alex knew that he needed a fully functional and cooperative army for his plans. But their ridicule and his outburst of emotions and anger wasn''t part of his plan so he changed it slightly on his own to impliment his preordained plan. " I ask you again are you traitors? Are you all willing to be labelled as traitors?" He looked down and asked all of them. Alex mentioning of what they all guarded behind the town walls was enough to revitalize their spirits and the mention of traitor burned their wills ablaze. They want to use their glory of victory to wash the stain of traitor Alex has almost plastered on them. So almost all of them shouted loudly and even angrily," No" Alex nodded to himself as he has almost complete attention of the troops and he could mention some plans to let them know they won''t make a mistake in following his plan. " So are you going to leave your post and let the citizens defenseless?" His voice not submerged in the waves of no. " No" was the word that rocketed back at Alex. " So are you all ready to face the Pokemon raid and let yourselves be a glorified warrior and protector of the citizens of Kanto?" He said For warriors, glory was more precious than anything and most of people in army follow glory and want to acc_u_mulate enough of it, so their name could be resounded throughout the world. This glory also help improve the social stature of most of the people. That''s why most people are attracted towards the profession of trainer and armed forces. Through these occupation, they can gain money, power and glory easily as compared to other professions like professor, scientist, businessman or anything else. So glory was so etching like a magnet for common people attracting many people towards them. " Yes" " Let''s fight for glory." No one was completely selfless except for some very rare cases. He has managed to use their inherent greed for glory and d_e_s_i_r_e for worldly goods and prestige to let them follow him instead of completely using his pressure. " For glory" " For glory" " For glory" " For glory" " For glory" " For glory" This voice rang throughout the ground and now everyone looked at Alex attentively so as not to miss even a single word he said. " Goo since you all are ready to follow me then there is no harm in telling you some of the details and what countermeasures we have decided to take for the raid. Firstly, the most abundant Pokemon type in the herd would be the Normal type. So the most effective way to deal with them one on one is using a fighting type. But in this Pokemon tide we won''t have time to face pokemons one on one so we will be utilising strategies as well as weaknesses of Pokemon to take them down easily." One of the warrant officer nearby raised his hands, probably to ask something. " Sir there are too many Normal type pokemons. There isn''t enough time to learn about all the pokemons and their weaknesses and we even have to face other pokemons too so how is it possible?" This put many into thoughts on how he would combat them and get himself more merits so he could get precious things and even promotion in ranks through the merit exchange. " Indeed this is a problem. To remember all the normal pokemons along with the weaknesses of each pokemons was difficult even for the regional Professors let alone people who are much less smart and intelligent than them in such a short time. So we would like you to learn the weaknesses of some pokemons. You all will work in groups and brigades. So it is expected of you to learn a little more about pokemons and different types. Each will learn about two or three Pokemons and their information will be sent to the sergeants who will later transfer it to their subordinates and make them ready for the raid. Let''s take Rattata for example. Rattata has high bitting force and hence it''s super fang, bite and other biting moves are powerful but their defense is weak. Any slightly stronger attack is enough to knock them out or even kill them. But their greatest advantage is their number and speed. If surrounded by them, the sea tactics will finish us off. So many traps and pitholes have been dug to slow down their initial running momentum and reduce their numbers considerably. So in the next few days we will be setting up traps and inreasing defense as well as other things to survive. These traps may seem a bit inhumane and torturous to you but the most important thing is that we survive this. Also you will work according to the plans from your senior so we don''t fall into these traps ourselves." He finished " So we will be using them to fight the raid " " Yes. Also some formation and tactics have been discussed with the two second lieutenant and the officer cadets so this plan won''t change too radically. If you can gain benefits with changing some parts of the plan and get better results compared to the original one we did then it''s alright. You won''t be punished and might even be rewarded. But if your plan is disastrous than nothing will stop me from hurling you all the way to the military tribunal for their justice to be implemented." Chapter 158 - 38 : Arrogant soldier " Sir so all we have to do is follow the instructions and deal with the raid." " Yeah. There are multiple formations your team leader is obliged and ordered to learn so that the casualty can be reduced. These are a must and all team leaders will even undergo strict questioning to confirm their newfound knowledge. These scenario include being surrounded by the enemy pokemons on all side both in group and alone. Next would be facing their blunt force and momentum from them upon colliding, when they try to poison or paralyze you or when you are almost killed." Since Alex was willing to answer their questions so another one rise to ask him his doubts and many were emboldened to do so. But this boon is only upto the sergeants and none of the corporal and troopers were asking any questions about it. The rank grants privilege in the army and of you want to surpass the bondage of rank then you must have higher power than your superior and gain it with strength. After all in this world, the hierarchy is based on strength whether it is personal or group strength. " Sir, are these strategies rigid . can it occupy some improvisation and make it more worthwhile." Asked a sergeant. " In a battlefield, anything is possible so one must be prepared for all scenario. Nothing is fixed and all outcomes and results are fluctuating on either side until it comes to an end. We cannot be too rigid sone changes abd improvisation is allowed but if it completely changes the attack pattern then the whole line would be disrupted and then victory becomes a dream. So change us allowed but not enough that the defense line is disrupted. So to maximize the chance of success and lessen the casualties I have decided that all the troops will be divided into groups. I know that you are already divided in groups but now you all will be redistributed. Each team will have at least one hard hitter, one speedster and a defence specialist. And it will implimented two days later in real case scenario. Your team has already been selected and will be shown to you by five o clock in the evening. So say your goodbyes to your old mates and prepare for new ones. " But the presence of Xatu in the Town Hall has strengthened his confidence and let him incorporate this absurd plan to his overall plan. Many of them were dissatisfied with this arrangement but the previous mentioning of '' traitor'' by Alex has made sure they remain calm and can''t react too aggressively to him. So although they are dissatisfied they didn''t dare to act rowdy with him and tried to reason with him or try to make of fool of him while playing smart. " Sir, if we change the team now, we won''t be able to adapt to the situation and it will lead to hazardous situation." One of the officer cadet, the technician, Barthelomew Davis asked. " Indeed, it might cause trouble but these teams are made under the careful observation of The two second lieutenants last night. We spent a lot of time to create the most ideal combination . So if you didn''t follow, you will be offending not only me but the two of them too." Alex answered quietly. To show their support they even nodded but didn''t grace him with any words as they feared they may scold him severely for making their efforts go to waste by letting the new team combination invalid. He looked around to see if someone else needed to smash something. After all, not all of them would be completely obedient. Many knew by Alex''s counter that they couldn''t put a stop to the plan and may have to forcefully enter this abyss on their own accord with the sword of their superior hanging over their head. And one rise to cause trouble for Alex, he was a burly man with curly brown hair and sneered at Alex. He mocking asked Alex ," Sir, you mentioned that we are going to be divided into team to increase our chances of survival but won''t it work the other route too?" His words became the centre of attraction of all the people and since his voice was amplified by speakers everyone on the ground heard and they listened to him even more attentively. Many did not understand what he was trying to say but Alex has a some idea what his words meant. Yet he stated," What do you really mean? Please state your name, position, rank and then elaborate." He looked at Alex mockingly and said," I am Sergeant Jamie of the 21st Company of the 65 the Infantry Corps. What I meant was this way the combat efficiency of the people will be reduced greatly. To take care of the weaker ones, the stronger ones will die and then our strength will decrease. If we lose our strongest then we are sitting Psyduck for the Pokemons. So I think that this arrangement is absurd and what we should really do is let the weaker ones act as barrier or even sacrifice to protect stronger ones and then defeat the code with absolute power. And we won''t even need to use traps or such degrading things. Traps are used by the weaks and stronger ones use absolute power to crush everything." He said all these very passionately and even garnered support from many as seen by clapping of most of the people. Chapter 159 - 39 - View about strategy in the world Alex can feel a migraine coming from the words of this Sergeant Jamie. His words ignited the flames of wars in most of the people of this 65th Infantry Corps. They are now way too enthusiastic and it only served to made them over confident about their strength and felt they can overcome the up coming danger easily. All of these confident people were the new recruits or officers who have never experienced a single tide in the past and are way too confident about their powers. The power which was impressive for them was pretty much garbage if someone asks Alex. Alex knew about Sergeant Jamie because he was a rare ghost specialist. He had Gastly, duskull, Sableye and shuppet. He is a pretty lucky guy to have so many different ghosts because ghosts are expert in hiding and can be difficult to find let alone catch one. He even have a Haunter which made him an intermediate trainers and a pretty powerful one compared to his similar age counterparts. He was even regarded as a prodigy for having so many ghosts and reaching intermediate level in his early twenties. This has inflated his ego and made him too confident. Many of his colleagues even felt he may be able to gain the general of headquarters rank ( from Brigadier general onwards one is regarded as a general of the headquarter and he is regarded as a important person ( VVIP) in many town and cities except for the the cities with the eight main gyms) in the near future. This is very impressive for a person without any official training and learning about any pokemons. Most of the people in the Pokemon world fall in this category. They aren''t many who spend time learning much about the pokemons or they cannot afford to enter a school or educational institutions. Alex has noticed early on that there aren''t many people around in the Pokemon world who would use strategy to win the battle. Many of them just try to use brute Force and destroy their competition. And even if they use some non attacking moves to gain some edge in their strategy and win more effectively with lesser effort, their plans are too simple and direct. They don''t try to drag the battle or let the enemy follow their own rhythm and then when they have the chance, strike the hammer and eradicate the opponent. As for those who do employ some good strategies, they aren''t strong enough and are often crushed by the stronger opponents making the strategies look worthless in front of strength and people don''t bother with them. Even among the elite fours, the smartest one is Agatha and even then she only thinks of a couple of reserve plans and her foresight doesn''t exceed more than three or four moves ahead. Her powers are widely circulated so the chance for her smart attacks aren''t much and even if there is a chance she use it, her pokemon''s overwhelming strength shadows it making long visioned strategies useless. It is true that against ultimate strength no strategy is gonna work. It can only be destroyed or torn to shreds in front of such great powers. But for the weak it increase the chance of survival. It is not the top forces but the middle and low level forces who make the population. Alex himself wasn''t much of a strategist but he still like to think of ways to use smart to win with the minimum effort. But he can''t always employ these tricks with his pokemons. Some of his pokemons are too bull-headed and doesn''t like plans and similar things. They want a great power battle to show off their strength. And so Alex has to improvise in his plans and has to create scenarios to make them follow or only guide them enough not to be completely overwhelmed. With Alex current strength unless a super smart and clever guy makes a plan, no strategy will work. To defeat him multiple people with powerful strength are needed. So Alex sometimes dismiss the importance of a good strategy. But enough of these, Jamie in front was too overconfident and this may cause death of many of his subordinates and colleagues. He was just a bug to be crushed under his feet. And that''s what Alex was currently thinking about when he looked at the overconfident piece of primeape. Meanwhile, Jamie felt that since the league would send a fourteen - fifteen year old (Alex seems compared to kids of his age due to his training exercise since he was seven years old as well as his aura. He even had a growth spurt and in this time travelling making him look older than he really is) kid to lead them then the Pokemon tides aren''t as dangerous and scary as they have been described to them. He wanted to use this time to garner support for himself and gain higher position in the Corps or at least something above his current position and become a captain of special task force or captain of regimental battle team. These two are special groups in the corps and held higher power compared to some warrant officers. Even if he couldn''t become a warrant officer now, he could at least try to gain position or become a member of these units. Alex knew that Jamie wanted to fish in troubled waters and gain some powers for himself. Alex also needed to calm their excitement and introduced them to the reality. He said loud, enough for his voice to overcome the enthusiastic shouts of troops and let them hear it, with the help of Slowking. " Jamie come to the platform so everyone can see you. I have something to say and don''t worry I won''t have my second lieutenant and others ambush you and punish you for anything you did." He said all of these without a hint of anger. Jamie headed for the platform unaware that he had just become a dancing clown for Alex to subdue and get these troops to acknowledge his strength. Chapter 160 - 40 : Criticising once ambition Jamie confidently appeared in front of Alex ready to make himself super famous among the Corps. He was confident in his skills and felt he was Arceus gift to Kanto and only those super genius trainer brats who are often mentioned in the magazine and newspapers were stronger than him. He had a habit of looking through the paper and keep records of the powerful trainers mentioned on it. He felt because of lack of opportunities he was weaker than them. Over time he will get the support of the military and then he would grow stronger at a faster rate and may even surpass them and become the strongest trainer. He has very lofty ideals and he was smart enough to use whatever chance he could to show off his poweress in the military and gain support from his superiors. This was another one if his attempt for more power and position. He wanted to use Alex as a stepping stone thinking that Alex was a greenhouse trainer and couldn''t face him with the weak looking Ivysaur, Nidorino and Slowking ( according to Jamie, they are all weak and even the difference in physical features with their most found species Pokemon was a sign of weakness or illness to him. ) And his view wasn''t wring per see. Most of the discoloured Pokemon or shiny ones whichever one you want to pick are not well liked by other pokemons of similar species. They are often starved since birth hence their growth is stunted and lot of resources is spent on them bring out the innate potential in them and prevent siqolia in the future. The lack of food makes them weaker physically which us too disastrous in a fight. They are weaker than their counterpart and a ridiculous rumour spread far and wide that shiny pokemons are weaker than the original non shiny ones. Of course only common people believe it, while the ones with power knows it is wrong. These shiny ones are way to stronger than their similar counterparts and can demolish them easily. But Jamie who originated from civilian background don''t know this and followed the crowd without finding some acute deductions to check whether it is true or false. Alex saw the look of disdain on his face when he glanced at him and his pokemons on the stage. He just didn''t bother with it, considering that he was really a pretty useless guy with his work efficiency wasn t upto par. When Jamie walked near Alex and saluted him, Alex returned back the salute. Alex just kept looking at Jamie. He knew that he was the source of unwarranted and deadly boost of overconfidence in his corp so something must be done to quench the flames. Nothing too excessive but he needs to put this idiot in place or else his majesty will be reduced and they would start to ignore his orders and cause unnecessary changes affecting the whole layout. To destroy something nothing humongous is needed even a small spark is enough to reduce everything to dust. " So you are the youngest prodigy of the 65th infantry corp, Jamie." He said without any emotion. But Jamie wasn''t affected and he stood there confident, he drawled at Alex," Yes I am the prodigy , Jamie. I got this position through my effort and hard work, and not through some backdoor dealings. " Jamie words once again ignited the buzzing of the crowds. Jamie was making sure not to target Alex directly and become a target for military tribunal so he just make sure that something could be said without entering the treacherous boundaries. Jamie insulted Alex in front of everyone but he wasn''t angry. He isn''t so emotional incompetent that the insult of one person may burn him in rage. Last time, it was multiple people accussing and insulting his skills. He continued without being affected by his words,. " The report stated that you are confident and prideful but I didn''t think you would appear in front of your top boss and say something like this to his face. You should be happy that I am not a moody person who can''t take the words of others or else you will be taught manners. Don''t think that you are a genius of military that you are safe. You are one of the thousand geniuses in Kanto. Nothing to be prideful about. " This made Jamie angry. A young boy probably fifteen years old was insulting him and even regarded his talent as trash. He was angry and almost lunged at Alex . Alex wasn''t done and continued to demolish the pride if Jamie," Second Lieutenant Gold, how many active armed force personnels do Kanto army have?" Gold was puzzled as to why Alex was asking this question but he still answered," We have about 10 million active personnel in the Kanto army. This is the main force constituting all the registered troops. Then there are about a few thousand task force, field forces and other special units. There are also some researchers, healers and other professionals who help us do things. So in total the total people under the armed forces are about 15 million people at all levels. " " And how many troops does the 65th infantry corp?" " If we take into account all the personnels at all levels then we have about 35,000 people who will follow your orders." " So in these 35000 you are one of the geniuses. Even if we regard you as the top genius of the 65th infantry corp then you are only one in every 35000. And there are 15 million troops in total in army. So what was your position in this , Jamie? Let me see , there about 4500 geniuses like you. And the number of general cannot exceed 10. One in every direction and two in headquarter. The lieutenant generals will not exceed 50 and then the Brigadier general are around in total 500. So the total number of general candidate is only about 600 at most. And the total number of genius are about 4500 in your generation. People of multiple generations compete for the post of general of headquarters. I am sure that these two second lieutenants and even captain Bolt himself are trying for it. So let''s add a couple more generations and we have about about 15000 people contesting for about 600 position. So Jamie what odd do you have to compete for the general post?" Alex condensed at Jamie Chapter 161 - 41- Age revealed All the words of Alex were true and the chances of Jamie gaining that position is very tough but his pride won''t allow him to back down and take this insult calmly. He lunged at Alex but was frozen mid air by Slowking psychic and ivysaur thick vine which rose from the ground and bound him tightly. Alex circled around the trapped Service Jamie and said," Tch tch.¡­ Anger much. You are talking to the commander of the North zone. I am also rewarded the position of temporary captain. It meant out of all the armed forces in the Sky town except for Captain Bolt, you all are my subordinates. You cannot disobey my command." Although he was tied up tight by the vine with his movements restrained after Slowking pulled off his psychic, his mouth was still working. " Don''t talk to me like that. If I want I could take your whole team down woth one pokemon. You only got this position due to some relation woth the league officials, you haven''t earned it." He shouted at Alex . " You are really correct. I got this chance due to my teacher''s relation with the league but so what it doesn''t change the fact that i am your boss until the Pokemon raid. So just bear with it and learn to accommodate with unwanted circ_u_mstances. Listen well all of you, if you aren''t strong enough whether it is physically, through relation or anything else you will often face these types of things which you don''t like. To overcome these situations, once personal strength should be stronger. I myself didn''t like being ordered to by people i don''t respect enough. I called my teacher about this and he dealt with the things of the league and i became your commander. You lot may think that it was my teacher''s strength not mine. But let me assure you you all would be put down before you even think about rebelling or anything unwanted by me. I don''t need your respect or anything else from you. What I really want from you is that you follow my orders obediently and complete the given to you by your superiors. The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team. Never forget this. " He threw the microphone at Jim who caught it , started to leave the platform and walk back to his office. while walking he remembered something and said," Give me the mike I forgot something." Jim can to him and handed back the mic and he said to all of them,"Success is your only option, failure is not. You should also check your neck before leaving." Saying these he left with his pokemons following behind. Jean later ran after him to catch up. Most of them were puzzled about why he told them to look at their necks. Some of them raised their hands to neck and see what has really happened to their neck. They didn''t find anything until one of them screamed . He shouted," How am I bleeding.?" His shouts made them even more vigilant and all of them looked at their neck even officer cadet and warrant officers did. After checking they found that nearly six hundred people had slight cuts on their neck and they bled. It wasn''t anything serious, but a cut on their neck was very terrifying. When the two lieutenant knew what happened, they were shocked. They didn''t even know how it happened but the Ines who got the cut were the ones who were the ones who ridiculed Alex''s appointment. There is 90 percent chance that Alex did it but how he did it was the real mystery. " Did you see that Jamie, he could have used violence to solve it earlier but he decided to calm all of you through dialogue. " Gold told the still trapped person. " Then what is it? He could bleed them without them knowing. This will make them even more scared of him and affect the teamwork between them." Jim yelled at him. " This world is one where fist rules over all. If he only talked then they will think of him as a good orator only. This way they will know that he could end them anytime and not to mess with him. Aren''t you someone who rest power, Sergeants Jaime. Let me tell you something when we first met him even we we''re dissatisfied but he showed us that he was much stronger than all of us combined. He never considered you a threat or anything. To someone like him, we are nothing but bugs whom he could crush anytime. " Gold told Jamie unaware that he still had the mic on and all his words were heard by all of them. This did the trick and everyone started to have some respect for Alex even if he was young, he was still stronger than them and this incident verified it. In this pokemon world, strength is respected above all. " And how old do you think our captain is?" Jim asked Jamie. Jamie was confused about this question yet he answered what he really felt," He is probably fifteen or sixteen years old. A genius trainer too if he managed to do something like this without anyone noticing it." Jim just smiled at his words and looked at him Mysteriously. " You are wrong. " " He is wrong. Captain seemed to be around 15. What he is older than 18 maybe. Even then he is a genius. He is stronger than us. He will be someone great in the future." " Did you know that the Town Hall thought of using Alex to get more people for protection yet they were harshly rejected. They were even forced to make him a commander and even a Lieutenant died since he dared to disobey the order. " Jim revealed a little. "What why did he react so strongly. I know he may lose his position to Alex but it isn''t anything bad to lose your position to a genius." Gold was confused about the lieutenant''s action. " He was dissatisfied because of Captain''s age." Jim revealed the reason. " There has been some commander so young in the past. It isn''t a strong enough reason to act so strongly." Gold was still dissatisfied. Jamie and the other audience were confused too about why this happened and what second lieutenant behaved like that about Alex''s age. " Because the captain is really too young. He became eleven a few months ago." Jim dropped the bomb and soon a new round of dialogue begins behind Alex''s back. What effect will his age have on the Corps? Stay tuned To be continued¡­. Chapter 162 - 42- Alexs mischief Before Alex''s age was revealed, With Alex, Alex has left after his speech and headed for his office to continue his work. Jean had run to reach Alex and when she reached him, she asked," Sir, why did you act so aggressively against the troops. Now they will only regard you as a big mouth and won''t respect you. It will make things even more difficult to deal with the corps in the near future." Alex just smiled softly and didn''t bothered by this. This continued to confuse Jean," Do you really think I didn''t show my power?" Jean was confused by his words and said," Sir, you used your presence on them but it was just for some seconds. Other than some experienced people most will neglect it as nothing but hallucination due to the upcoming Pokemon tide. And the deer ones would be quiet thinking you don''t want your powers to be revealed and would most probably be quiet about it and will not mention it to others. " " Yes, they won''t do such a thing as they might have learned it by now, what really need to be said and what needed to be hidden. " Alex said and continued, " And this presence may have an approximate power level for me. And then the rumours will exaggerate making my powers too far fetched and I will be even more doubted by others. So I thought of a way to make myself unfathomable to all of them. And I got it because I still thought about this plan calmly when they all started to ridicule me." He told her mysteriously. This got the attention of Jean, Ivysaur and Nidorino but Slowking smiled a knowing smile. " So what did you really did out there,Captain?" Jean, the secretary and grass specialist asked Alex. " I decided to make an example out of those overexcited and disobedient people." He said but didn''t reveal anything completely. " Can you please explain it, Captain?" Jean asked almost pleading. She was a smart girl to reach the post of secretary of a zone commander in her mid twenties. One of her biggest weakness was her curiousness which Alex took note of back at the office when he met all his second lieutenant, officer cadets and the doctor with her. Whenever an unknown appeared in front if her, her eyes had a surprising spark to it which Alex still remembered. So he decided to play with her curious nature a bit and this was her final outcome. He was greatly amused by the way Jean talked to him now and said," Didn''t you hear it that the curiousity killed the Meowth." " But sir I can''t do anything about it. You left me handing and won''t tell me why you did it. " She pointed cutely. If it was anyone else he might have found it cute or something. But Alex was an introvert in the past life. He could barely talk to girls earlier and now in this life, he spent most of his times in the books so he doesn''t have much social skills. He doesn''t understand her act at all. " Anyway, you remember what I said before leaving." She tried to remember what he said and then stated," Something about winning being our only option and to look at their necks. Was there really something on their neck." She looked at him for the answer. He just smiled Mysteriously but it was starting to annoy them so nidorino acted. He ran towards Alex threw him on his back and started to jump up and down like a bull does. Alex was surprised by his behaviour and started shouting," Stop it ¡­ bad pokemons¡­ bad nidorino aaahh. . Ahhh ¡­ I order you to stop this instant."while enjoying the ride of nidorino. After few minutes of bull riding or in Alex''s case, Nidorino riding, nidorino stopped. Alex eyes were spinning and he even felt like vomiting but he didn''t dare do it or nidorino will probably smash him on the ground and jump on him. When he recovered a little, he saw Jean, Slowking and Ivysaur laughing merrily at him. They thoroughly enjoyed Alex''s misfortune. After controlling her laughter, Jean asked," Are you willing to reveal what you really did or do you want another ride?" He looked down at nidorino who will start the next round if he didn''t answer it directly and decided to drag it again. Alex was m_o_a_ning in his heart as how his pokemons made fun of him in front of others. He thought maliciously,'' Just you wait nidorino, I will make you regret downing this to me.'' He started to get his revenge at his pokemons through their training and laughed wickedly. At the same time, all his pokemons shuddered and felt they had almost stepped on death''s footstep. " Fine. You remember all those people who ridiculed me. Their words made me angry and I knew I can''t act too strongly or else the consequences will be severe. But I can''t let them get away with this so what I did was make Slowking over here use his water power to give a small cut on their neck. This will not only be a warning but also an indicator." He answered while getting off nidorino. He decided not to ride nidorino ever again. Jean was shocked that he managed to wound them all without warning and if he wanted he could kill them. This innocent looking smart boss of hers was really ruthless. If she did not know about his traps aftereffect and this incident she would think him as a kid who was just a sheltered genius. But , these things showed that he has seen how cruel the world could be and mercy is a shortcut to early death. But the thoughts of his pokemons were completely different. Nidorino thought,'' Good, I managed to influence the boss. Haunter will be very happy to know and now we all can join together to prank others.'' he was giddy about it. Ivysaur just shook her head and thought,'' Espeon was correct. All the males in the groups are idiots who only knows how to create trouble.'' Slowking meanwhile was thinking,'' I followed him for years and yet his occasion childishness surprised me. These times remind me that he was still a kid According to humans. '' " And how are you gonna punish them?" Slightly shaken by the previous act of Alex when he could end lives of hundreds without any warning. " I left a note for Jim. I am sure he can handle the rest easily. Now let''s head back. We still have to think of places where we should place traps and not let them be discovered before the real tide appears."Alex said and headed back. What punishment has Alex decided for these people? Stay tuned. To be continued Chapter 163 - 43 : Punishment In the assembly, " What Captain Bart is an eleven year old kid." Gold shouted shocked. " You didn''t even see the stats we got from the league, did you? " Jim asked Gold who just smiled sheepishly. " But is it really true that he is only eleven." Gold asked once again to confirm. All the soldiers at the assembly were shocked to find that their captain was so young and he is even allowed to lead us. " Yes, he is eleven year old. And, although I don''t know how strong he really is, it is specifically mentioned that he could beat all of us, meaning you, me, all the officer cadets and even warrant officers alone if he need to. So, Gold do you think he is still not qualified to be our captain?" He asked him joking. Gold glared at him for saying something like this now. They have experienced how strong he really was when he released his presence on them. They all nearly drowned under the extreme pressure he gave them and to know he was only half of their age, was truly astonishing. The most shocked of them was Daisy. She and Jean were the ones who were curious about their young captain and wanted to know more about him and try to get to know him better. If he was a teenager, then it won''t be too awkward since the age gap of ten years even fifteen wasn''t considered much in the Pokemon world but the two beautiful girls rooting for a kid was really awkward. He wasn''t even a teenager to begin with to notice girls and being socially awkward he was, there might be something of a difficult task to let him notice them. Daisy thought,'' I don''t know what to do now. If he was at least fifteen then maybe I would try to get him but now trying to make an eleven year kid notice you is just ¡­.. ewwww '' She made an ugly face at the thought of it. Glynda and Nora who knew that Jean and Daisy wanted to pursue their young captain were laughing merrily at their misfortune. Who knows what will happen when he becomes older and will he even remember them to notice their advances in the future. The ugly face of Daisy increased their mirth and the thought of Jean''s made their day. Along with Daisy, many of the soldiers were shocked and yet another round of buzzing began. " We have such a young captain and he can even beat down all the second lieutenant, officer cadets and warrant officers." " Will second lieutenant Jim be joking about captain Bart?" " No I don''t think so. Otherwise second lieutenant Gold would object. Even officer cadets would object and now all of them are quiet. The warrant officers are the once who are acting odd. I remember that only second lieutenant and officer cadets have met the captain before. Yet they don''t object about the fact that Captain Bart could beat them. Is it really true that Captain Bart could beat 2 Second Lieutenants, 8 Officer Cadet and 40 Warrant Officers together. How much of a monster he is? To beat so many strong trainers at such a young age?" " This is just absurd" " It is Impossible" Most of the younger soldiers didn''t accept this fact. But the older ones just grumbled," Yet another monster arrived in Kanto. And he is even a bigger monster than those before him." " The age of monsters just keep getting younger and younger." " We met another monster. Our luck on this aspect is good. Don''t you agree Dr. Armin. " " Yeah. We are really lucky. We saw Red and Blue that time and now we see an even bigger monster. I really envy Professor Oak." Armin grumbled " So he knows Professor oak too?" " He is a member of the Oak laboratory. He is his student too." Armin explained. Other doctors eyes shined and he exclaimed," Is that so? Only that monster could have such a monstrous student." " Oak Laboratory? What is that, Doctor?" Daisy asked. " You are too young to know about it. But remember never to underestimate them. No region out there could move it. It is even stronger than some regions in the world. And it is also a holy ground for many trainers and pokemon researcher in the world. You should study hard, maybe someday you can join it too. And when you do so, you will see the world in a completely different view." He answered her Mysteriously. And Daisy don''t ask anymore knowing she won''t get an answer. Jim looked down to see that all of them heard him and are talking about it. He looked down to see the green light on mic showing it was still on and all his words were broadcasted. He was embarrassed with himself and then decided to cover it with a tough exterior and began. " All of you listen careful. Captain has given an order. But before that catch all those who had cut on their neck and bring them in front within ten minutes or all of you will face their punishment along with you." Jim said sternly. Most of them have followed or knew that he was very strict in regards to military orders and laws and anyone who violates it will be punished severely by him. So when he orders all his subordinates started to act and did as he asked. Within a few minutes nearly eight hundred people were caught and were placed in front of the platform who knelt in front of the platform. "You should be disappointed with yourself. Angering your superior with that disdainful act. You should be relieved that Captain Bart didn''t kill you. " And all of them shuddered thinking how close to death they really were. "Even if he did kill you noone will blame him, but all of you. You should be happy that he only decided to punish you. But that''s not all. All of you will be strictly supervised and your actions in the raid will make sure whether you could go free of punishment or you will be given further punishment." Jim glared all the soldiers on their knees " Now for your current punishment, Captain Bart has decided for some traps. You will be making them manually without any help from others or your pokemons. If any of you do not reach your quota, you will not be given anything to eat. You will remain hungry until the raid becomes." He said This brought outrage among the punished soldiers as well as their friends who were there. They started shouting," Sir, We need all our energy to face the raid. If we don''t eat we will probably die out there " " You can''t do that sir. We are fighting in the front lines. We will need all our energy to survive." " Sir please be Lenient. We need all the help we could to survive through this ordeal. " " Yes sir. This was an innocent mistake. Can you please show some mercy to them?" Another pleaded. " This is the military. There is no mercy for rule breakers. Officer Cadet Barthelomew Davis and terrain scout leader, Glynda Davis come forward" The two did as they were asked. Jim handed him a folded map along with some papers worth certain details. " Use the details mentioned on these papers and the map to start building traps. We are in short schedule. You can use other people to help but most of the labour must be done by these troops. And it must be completed within the allowed time. And you must make sure they are punished properly ." He said sternly and he walked past them along with Gold to discuss the details of attack worth Alex in his office. In the next chapter, raid will begin. So stay tuned To be continued¡­. Chapter 164 - 44 : The Mysterious Vision Next day, In Alex''s Office, " You really like my food, do you ?" Alex asked The one whom Alex asked this question just nodded in reply. At this time, Alex was alone in the room with a surprising new visitor. It is the same pink glutton feline we all love. " Do you still have time to meet me?" Alex asked The floating feline decided to float around munching on her favourite snack while ignoring Alex''s question. Alex just ignored her and thought about his family and life so far, he remembered the times with his father, mother and grandpa. The times when he took his siblings to play around or how he introduced them to Pokemons. How he met shiny Pidgey, slowpoke and elekid in the past. The times they spent together training, fighting and living for the past six years. He looked at the floating feline who floated in front of him and looked at him with it''s big blue eyes. '' What happened? Why are you so different today? Your food today isn''t as tasty as it was earlier.'' She asked through telepathy. " You found all these just by eating my food " Alex asked jokingly. " Of course. I ate a lot of food over years. There were some who made more tasty food than you but I got bored eating same thing everyday so I stopped going there. I also saw that when humans are sad or aren''t well their cooking skills decrease and they cannot make tasty food. I don''t want you to stop making tasty food. So tell me what happened so I can help?" Mew asked again. He thought whether he should tell her or not, but remembered that since Gengar who was a Pseudo champion level could know of the raid then Mew who was weaker than Arceus only would find it sooner too. " This town will have a Pokemon raid and I am a bit tensed about this." Alex replied " Is that so? Then I will take you away. You don''t have to worry about it silly. As long as I am there, no one will hurt you." Mew said proudly. " Its not about leaving. I have to stay here. I am tasked to protect the town and it''s people."Alex replied. Mew nodded then she turned and floated around the room for some time and then sat down on his shoulders and said," They aren''t really that strong. Electabuzz could definitely deal with the strongest of them and your others could defeat them so what''s the problem." She looked at the electabuzz sitting by the window and trying to control the thunder power of his. " I don''t know how many people will die here. I don''t know how many pokemon will die here. In the past, I had killed many people and pokemons. The number might be in a few hundreds too but now that I lead thousands I fear how many of them will survive. I talked with other people too but they can only make me calm down for a few hours. The small scale battle has begun and soon the real one will start. In this smaller one nearly one hundred and sixty five people have already become a casualty in the form of deaths and serious injuries. About three hundred Pokemons have died and more than five hundred are wounded. This is before the real battle. And my teacher told me this is part of a practice. He will have me stay in the Badlands for a week minimum. I am scared how terrifying it would be if the raid is considered a teaser to the Badlands. I feel scared, Mew. I feel really scared." Alex revealed how he felt to Mew. His words attracted the attention of all the pokemons in the room. Electabuzz, Slowking and Snorlax all looked at Alex with complicated expression. They wanted to help him but didn''t know how to help their trainer. But, Mew wasn''t confused. She knows what need to be done. She connected herself with Alex through hwr psychic powers and pulled Alex into his mind. In the real world, Alex seemed to have suddenly fallen asleep. This startled the Pokemon but Slowking managed to calm the other two by saying Mew is helping him in this case. In the unknown, Alex and mew floated in the black space and Alex was flying under Mew psychic towards the light. When they reached it, they appeared in a blank space with nothing around. Alex looked around and found that the whole place was white and the way they came here, seemed to be sealed. Confused by this, he turned to look at the only other inhabitant in the room with him, but found she too have disappeared. He looked around but couldn''t find her and started shouting out her name. " Mew" " Mew" " Mew, where are you? I am busy and I cannot play games with you now.," " Mew, come back so I can return back to sky town.," He continued to shout and even use her favourite to trick her jnto appearing in front but it didn''t happen. Soon something happened, the white space disappeared and a place was visible. The place has very tall walls of about hundred metres and people stood as sentry at these wall. Alex himself was present there. The wall has strict protection as at every corner there were about five people standing. The watchtower was equipped with a machine bow and was frequently used with the scratches and worn out appearance of the bow. The people there seemed to pass by Alex body without hitting him. Alex body was illusionary here and he couldn''t interact with anyone no matter how much he tried Soon he gave up and looked around to see what has happened. A loud bell rang on the sentry tower on the wall and all the guards at the wall with their pokemons become vigilant. They stood attentively at the wall and looked at the other side which had thick dense trees and covered all visuals. What was behind it couldn''t be seen but the loud roar and noises were enough to give many goosebumps. The human guards gripped their weapons harder while the Pokemons started to mobilise their energy for the upcoming threat in front of them. Then a herd of white appeared. They were primeapes. A complete herd of primeape appeared . There were thousands of them and the one leading them was at least 6 feet tall and had nasty scars in his face with bruises on hands and legs They all ran to the wall and started to climb it to attack. The commander of the guards ordered the attack and the long ranged pokemon attacks as well as arrow bolts were sent at the herd. None of the Pokemon attack missed and it took down the target in one hit. Meanwhile the arrow was large enough o deal with three to four of them on a single hit. But it want enough to stop the Pokemon and the battery began on the wall itself. The wall wss fifty metre wide so they''re room to fight. The primeape attacked by biting the flesh off the humans, smashing them with fists and killing them wirh deadly blows. Alex saw all the gores, blood and the screams of Pokemon and people alike in it. The group of primeape left with food they stole in the fight along with their leader but they lost many of their companions. Meanwhile the left dead Pokemon and people was collected and cremated by the guards. And the people once again get back to guarding it. Soon the image changed and Alex once again appeared in the white room but this time Mew was there. What was the image that Alex saw? Stay tuned to be continued¡­. Chapter 165 - 45 Mews Help Alex turned around to look at Mew and asked," What was all that, Mew? So much death , destruction and chaos. So many died and yet those people just cremated the dead and went on like nothing happened. How could anyone be like that?" Alex started to rant at Mew. Mew let him release all his pent up feelings from the time of becoming the captain and North zone commander. Even though he didn''t act like it, he was very tensed and was scared about the outcome of the raid. And these images revealed the inner fears of Alex. He too will be in this position and have to bear the consequences of their death. His younger heart wasn''t able to bear all this, and he shouted at Mew. When he has shouted enough, he started to breathe heavily, and mew talked," Are you ok, now?" Alex just looked at him confused about what she really meant. " You told me that you will be leading the defense of the town, but I saw many people changing drastically after they experience such scenarios , but the most affected of them is the leader." Mew said floating around Alex and then she looked at him. " I don''t know how you will be after it. Even if I showed you a glimpse of what you will face in the future, you will change after this. No one in the whole world can be unaffected after experiencing something like this. You are strong. Much stronger than anyone your age could possibly be. But your mental health has grown with similar pace as you strength. The trainers and Pokemons are both depended on each other. Every Strong Pokemon has an equally strong trainer to support him. You are the same, but your mentality holds you back. This will restrain your growth over time and you may even stagnate along with your pokemons. You teacher is really smart to let you experience it, even if it is dangerous. This experience will accelerate the growth of your mentality. You will not have much problem later." Mew revealed to Alex. " So it is very beneficial to me. But is there any problem?" Alex asked since he could barely stomach the short trailer of pokemon and human encounter, let alone the whole war in up and front. Mew''s nornally playful expression turned grave and serious. This serious mew made Alex remember that none of the Legendary out there dare to anger mew for one simple reason. They won''t be able to remain unscathed under her angry assault. Although she won''t kill them, for sake of balance, but it doesn''t mean they won''t suffer. " Yes you will be benefitted greatly by this. But, the consequences are also great. The impact of this depends solely on you. Different people react differently while in such cases abd you are one unique case. You will react even more uniquely. The vision I showed you was one of the past when humans had kingdoms. There were various kingdoms around the world and people tried to survive then. The attacks from Pokemons was as frequent as your Pokemon battle between trainers. They became jaded to death of companions over time. I wanted to see how much you can disregard human and pokemon life alike, with how indifferent he you can be to death. I am happy although you act indifferent, you are still kind inside and aren''t a killer without emotion. " The serious expression once again changed to her ever friendly playful and mischievous one and she smiled softly relaxing Alex''s stormy mind and then continued her tirade of her complaining friend, "It means I once again chose a good person to be my friend. Those stingy idiots won''t stop complaining to me, about giving gifts to people or causing them problems with my things i lose every now and then. It isn''t my fault that the things hide from me and get lost. Who told them to be so good in hide and seek so I couldn''t find them." Mew last words were enough to pull Alex out of the gloom and he laughed merrily at Mew''s pouting face. He laughed loudly and with his laughter all the stress for the past few days passed away. " Hahahaha¡­.. hahaha¡­.." Mew looked at the laughing Alex and shouted," What are you laughing at? Stop laughing" But Alex''s laughter didn''t seem to stop and he continued to laugh." Hahahaha¡­.. hahahaha¡­. Hahahaha" He laughed so loudly that tears started to fall from his eyes and his stomach hurt bad The laughter only miffed mew and she grumbled,. " Look how I help you in the future. I will definitely let you suffer so that you will come to me begging for help." Alex had managed to control his laughter for a while and apologized to Mew," Sorry Mew. I will not laugh at you again. Look my stomach hurts now. I cannot eat my favorites anyone today. Isn''t that enough punishment for me because of laughing at you." She looked intently at Alex, or as intently as she could looked at Alex playfully and then grumbled to herself," If he cannot eat his favorite, that means there will be more for me and I will have more tasty food to eat. I can have a variety. Different flavour for different time. It would be so good." She dreamed about tasty food while drooling a little. Alex heard all this and tried not to laugh at her innocent punishment and thoughts, or he may really make her angry. " Fine. But, next time I won''t forgive you easily. Now let''s head back. I am starting to get bored here." Mew said " But where are we? And how much time passed since I left? How much work is still left out when I left without saying anything? They probably would worry about me missing." He started to get more and more tensed up. Mew just hit his head hard enough to calm him down and said,"We are in your mind. And not even a single second has passed out. So don''t worry silly and be prepared for the next encounter." And both Mew and Alex left the place. In the forest, In the dense forest a few kilometre away from the sky town, a large number of Pokemons probably in thousands were present. And this part of the tide is headed by a powerful Nidoking, Alakazam, Beedrill, Rhydon, Ursaring, pidgeot, Golbat as well as Golem. Among them, Nidoking, Alakazam as well as Beedrill were at psuedo king level while the rest were at elite peak and we''re leader of their own tribes. There were other Pokemons too in the group such as weezing, raticate, vileplume, fearow, hypno and other fighting, bug and normal pokemons but they were weaker than the others and only reached elite intermediate to advanced level. Soon the final battle will begin. And there are three pseudo king at Alex''s side. Is it possible they underestimated the raid and the defense is low? Stay tuned for more To be continued¡­. Chapter 166 - 46: Battle begin " Sir, the traps has been placed and arrangements has been made as per planned. The main force his just a few hundred metres away. " Glynda explained to him. " And how many pokemons and what types of Pokemons are out there?" Alex asked the two second lieutenants as well as some officer cadets who served as his advisor now. Out of the eight officer cadets , six are at the field and only two of them, Barthelomew and Glynda served as advisor. Jean was also there. She helped him with files and finding appropriate doc_u_ments which Alex couldn''t find on his own. Jean told," There are about a few hundred thousand Pokemons in their second and third evolved forms. They are only around advanced stage. They aren''t strong but the number brings great problem to us. As for the pokemons, there are too many to mention the names. But the most prominent of them are Pidgeot, pidgeotto, Pidgey, Spearow, fearow, golbat, nidorino, nidorina, Graveller, Geodude, golem, Taurus, lickitung, Persian, Meowth, Ursaring, gloom, weezing, koffing, venomoth, ariados and Beedrill. They number in tens of thousands and are mostly found in groups, while others are lesser numbers and scattered throughout." Alex noted that most of the Pokemons are normal type, flying type, ground type, poison type as well as bug type. He already knew that these pokemons are going to be the main force of the tide so he made preparation for the battle. The hard hitter, defense and speed were the basis of partition of group. This way they have greater chances of survival which can help. He even wanted to add healers but he remembered they are rare and most of the military only have attacking Pokemons or defense ones. They don''t have any auxillary ones and and don''t teach their pokemons any auxillary moves for battle. " And what about our troops and the trainers in the fight?" Alex asked about the attackers. " We have only twenty five thousand completely abled soldiers and about ten thousand trainers ranging from rookie to advanced level. Most are of rookie and beginner level so they aren''t much help except for increasing number." Barthelomew told him. " Even before the real fight begins, we lost about five thousand people in the battle. You all should go and make sure that the defense line isn''t breached. Now you are much more needed in the Frontline and I meant you too Jean. So get started." Alex told them and they left even though reluctantly. Alex was once again left alone. He sighed in the loss of troops. Although the amount of deaths hasn''t been more than five hundred, the injured and serious injured one''s made the rest. Alex has forgotten how many times he sighed in the past few days and he was changing. According to Dr Armin, his ideas has helped the Corps a lot. Normally by this time, they have lost similar number of troops, ie, about five thousand troops. But the difference was that they would lose about two thousand to death and the rest were gravelly injured. But because of him the deaths were less than before. Yet, hundreds died under his command. When Alex killed others, he hasn''t thought what the consequences would be but this time he had deep thoughts about it. Now, Alex was thinking about how many children lost their father or mother, how many parents lost their son and what they could have accomplished in their life if they haven''t died now. And the number would only increase over time. He was changing. Alex could feel his mentality changing too. Normally, an average person of the Pokemon world won''t have any problem coping with it, but it is because they are much older than Alex when they are in such a position. By the time, they lead people on similar scale as Alex, they have experienced much and with the amount of life and death, they experienced and has seen many deaths. This m_a_t_u_r_es their mind and they don''t get too affected by the occurrence around but Alex wasn''t that m_a_t_u_r_e. He hasn''t been able to remain unaffected. Mew''s previous help was helpful in this regard and he had managed to lead effectively without getting affected by the surrounding. If she hasn''t helped, Alex was sure he would have broken down by now. No Pokemon has managed to by pass the defense line so Alex often floated on Pidgeot to take a look around himself. The blood and gore made him vomit out whatever he ate. This is the second time he saw this. He cursed his aura vision for the first time. As for his little helper, she was still around. In her words, she cannot lose her favorite human so she would be around to protect Alex. She made herself invisible in front of other people. If Alex has used his aura vision then he would see mew playing and making faces at the other people. Since he didn''t have a correct analysis of the Pokemons and what level the other Pokemons were, he still hasn''t made arrangements for what Pokemon he might face next. And the time was running out. Jean told the Pokemons who strong most abundant in the tide. So these pokemon''s leader would most likely be one of the pseudo king level Pokemon. But he didn''t want to face a rock or ground type psuedo king Pokemon, because it might get weaken electabuzz attacks. Even if he won he would be injured too and gravelly if he neglected and underestimated the opponent. The most likely pseudo king Pokemon who could lead the tide in this front would be Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Golem, Rhydon, Ursaring, Pidgeot, Golbat, Venomoth, Ariados, Beedrill, Persian, Onix, Muk, Weezing as well as Victreebel. They are a wide range of Pokemon and this was another time, he wished to have a steel type or fairy type. Out of them, steel type had disadvantage against fire, ground as well as fighting type. And fairy was disadvantagous against poison and steel type. So these two types were most effective Pokemon against these coming Pokemon. He rested his head on the chair and mumbled," Soon, the real battle will begin." A loud roar of Nidoking was heard and a Beedrill flew in the sky heading towards the town. An Alakazam was releasing his psychic. They are ready to find too. The real battle begins soon. Stay tuned To be coming¡­. Chapter 167 - 47 : aerial battle preparation Next day, The tide has arrived and all the abled people are currently at the Frontline. Alex too has left the office and arrived at the Frontline. He hasn''t joined the battle personally but his Pokemons has joined the battle. Golbat, Pidgeotto and vespiqueen has started to give aerial support. They only help the other people while providing support when needed. He let them preserve as much energy as they could because the battle will be long. Onix meanwhile took care of the underground burrowing Pokemons to prevent them from by passing the defense line. Alex was really busy now and couldn''t get even a bit of time to breathe. He was getting emergency message as well as casualty report from the north front and had to provide help and reinforce people wherever the need was. Even with Jean and some other people''s help, he still couldn''t handle the things in time as he was on lookout for the main force of the tide,ie, the pseudo king pokemons. Who knows when they will arrive. The tide has reached the town wall about six hours ago and they all have been working continuously since then. This is tiresome especially for Alex who has never faced such conditions. And not to mention, the calls of the mayor every hour to know if they needed help or request to reinforce certain places was irritating. Soon Slowking by Alex''s side sensed something and opened his eyes while waking out of the makeshift tent out of town, where the new command center of the base was situated. This attracted Alex attention and he left everything and followed him outside. Jean who was surprised by this said to Alex," Sir, there are still many things to look at. The traps and pitholes did manage to slow down the charge of the tide but this doesn''t mean our troubles have ended. We still need to keep sending medicines and weapons to the other fronts to face them and the distribution should be enough so they could last for a longer time instead of their stock ending in a moment." While following Alex to get him back to work. The surrounding people just glanced at them and then went back to their work. Alex ignored her calls from the back and asked," What is it that you find, Slowking?" He just pointed to the dense cloud heading towards them. It was nighttime so they couldn''t properly see what it was, but Alex saw it clearly. It was a very big group of flying types heading for the town. Since the beginning of the tide, only occasional flying pokemons attacked but after the sunset the intensity of their attacks increased. Now, we know what was going to happen. They are using the cover of the night sky to attack the camo and cause greater damage. " Jean, call Jim now. I need to talk to him." Alex shouted at Jean. She was perplexed but seeing his expression she did as he asked. " Hello it is the command base. Call second lieutenant Jim immediately. The captain wants to talk to him now." Jean dialed at Jim''s place. " Command center, Second lieutenant is busy. Is there anything important. Tell me, I will pass it to the second lieutenant." The person who picked the call answered.," If not then can you can later, we are busy." Alex was angered that his order was ignored and he took the radio in his own hand and shouted angrily,"I am the captain speaking. Call your commander now or I will feed you to the Rattata out there." Hearing the angry shouts of the captain , he ran towards his commander Jim and called him back. He reached Jim and wanted to talk to him. " What did you call me for? Don''t you know I am busy? Why did you call me now?" Jim thundered at him He was saddened. Both second lieutenant Jim and captain Bart was angry at him and he was scolded by both. " Sir, Captain Bart wanted to talk to you about something important. He immediately wanted to get in touch with you." He said. " Then why don''t you say it earlier. What happened that he wanted to see me now." Jim told while telling his seeing in command to look after it while he went to the radio to see what Alex wanted. He picked up the transmitter and said," Sir what do you wanted to see me for?" " Second lieutenant Jim, a large amount of flying pokemons are heading towards the town. Make sure to take care of them. My pidgeot, pidgeotto, butterfree, golbat, claydol and vespiqueen will be there to hold them for a while. You prepare to deal with the aerial attack. If you cannot take care of them,then make sure that most of our people are evacuated away. I will do with them on my own. " He ended it gravelly. " How long can you hold them back?" Jim asked how long he have to prepare " Since it is a long battle, they won''t be going all out so they can hold then back for fifteen minutes but prepare yourself in ten minutes. " Alex told him " And what about the people still left out there?" Jim asked even though he knew what will happen to them. " If they cannot escape in time or are still there, they will join the list of casualties in the list." He said. " Yes, sir." Jim replied understanding that some things need to be done to get overall victory. And he put the receiver down. " Call all the aerial attack unit. We are going to the sky. Be prepared. We have five minutes to get ready and head out in the sky or there will be danger." He told his second in command who dashed of to prepare. He looked at the sky and only now he see the spreading darkness in the sky. He mumbled to himself," It was a good thing that the captain noticed it or else we will be caught off guard." In the command tent, " Jean, tell the long range attack units to prepare for the attack from the sky while I will try to hold back these pests." He told. " Sir can you really hold back these many pokemons. They can turn the world dark showed just how many of them are there. It is dangerous for you to fo out there. And we still need you to issue orders here." Jean tried to reason with Alex and it worked. " Fine. I will just send my Pokemons out there. " He left the tent and then sent out a shiny pidgeot, pidgeotto, butterfree, golbat, claydol and vespiqueen . "There are a large number of Pokemons heading towards us. Your job is to hold them back for about fifteen minutes. Don''t go all out. Now isn''t time for it. We haven''t located where the strongest of them currently is. So this battle will drag on until he is out. You all make sure to stop them midair while pidgeot will take care of the strongest of them along with vespiqueen if a pseudo king is found there. I will have Slowking look at you in case of emergency. And Piloswine will be at ready too." He told his orders to the Pokemons and they flew away to take on the cloud of flying Pokemons. The aerial battle begins soon. Stay tuned To be continued. Chapter 168 - 48 : aerial battle (part 1) The group of flying Pokemons flew towards the arriving Pokemon. They all felt a familiar psychic link which used claydol as a medium to connect them together. It was Mew helping them. She hadn''t left Alex but stayed with him in case he was in need of help. This way they can feel each other''s presence a d can make sure that their attacks won''t hit each other and communicate with each other to do combination attacks. With Mew out there, they don''t have to worry about their Trainer''s safety and can focus on the enemy in the front. They reached a few hundred metre on the sky and were ready. Butterfree commenced the attack by sending out stun spore in the air and the wind from the other flying companions sent it towards the coming Pokemon. Poison could be used too but it won''t spread as far as stun spore. And their task is to hold back the Pokemons not demolish them on their own. In the night sky, most of the flying Pokemons cannot see the clearly so a few rows of Pokemons were stunned and started to fall from the ground. As they fell down, claydol increased the effect of gravity on them and they started to fall hard on the ground. Meanwhile vespiqueen sent some combee out and deal with the injured pokemons and end them. Pidgeot, golbat and pidgeotto sent out multiple blades of air which cut through many pokemons and ended their life. This trick managed to take down four hundred flying Pokemons but it was nothing compared to all of them. But, it managed to stop them abd look around to see who stopped them. Their gaze fell on Alex six pokemons. The rest of the followers were not willing to go forward in fear that they may be put down next and waited for someone to take charge and attack. Since, no one was willing to go forward so the leaders such as fearow, pidgeot, golbat, altaria, noctowl, ledian, butterfree, Beedrill and swellow decided to inspire others and go forth. But, shiny pidgeot sensed something in the Beedrill. He has been with electabuzz since he was a elekid and he was a Pidgey. He felt that the Beedrill has similar kind of power as electabuzz making it a pseudo king Pokemon. He though the mental link told claydol to pass on the news to Alex while he deal with Beedrill. And they will provide support whenever possible. But they will only attack when they start it. The silence in the sky as contrast to one on land, where the clash with the code was intense, lasted for a few minutes .Every so often someone was injured and someone died below. Meanwhile in the command center, Slowking passed on the message to Alex. He was tensed up. If it wasn''t a flying pseudo king it would be so much better. He once again connected with Jim. Jean by the side asked," Is there another arrangement you made about the flying Pokemons, Captain?" " There is a psuedo king pokemon among those and so my Pokemons eill deal with it. So I am telling Jim to stay away from their battle " Soon, the call was connected and Jim''s anxious voice wad heard," Sir, is there any changes I the plan?" " Yes, there is a pseudo king among them. So you will stay clear of it. You better be prepared and ask your men to stay clear of their battle path or the consequences will be terrible for them. You better stay few hundred metres fron them and try not involve yourself there." Alex told him. " Sir, is the Pokemon so strong?" " It us not about strength. My pidgeot, vespiqueen and claydol could hold it down due to type advantage but the thing is that it is a Beedrill. They can be fast when they need to. So the battle will be quick and any error from your part may cause unnecessary injury to my Pokemons. And this is not good in the long run. This battle is long and could span a couple of days. Their battle wouldn''t end sooner too. They may have multiple fights over the course of time. My pidgeot isn''t at pseudo king level so he can''t end the battle sooner. So be cautious and their might be more casualties than expected since it is night so be prepared." Alex told. " We will take care,sir. " Jim ended the transmission. Jean asked Alex," sir, can your pokemon really hold back the Beedrill." " It is dark and Beedrill isn''t known for its night vision so we have slight advantage. I have no experience facing Pseudo king Pokemon so I can only try to tire them out and deal with them at that state. The rest is a mystery." He answered her while thinking,'' If it wasn''t that Slowking warmed him off a powerful psychic on the other side, I would have sent electabuzz out but it will leave the camp defenseless. I need him here in case he sneak attack through teleport and psychic.'' He then looked at the electabuzz by his side, annoyed that his other friends could join the fun and he has to wait for the right time. With Jim, " Is there any change of order related to us, Sir?" The second in command asked while others looked at him. " Captain said that his pidgeot has noticed the pseudo king and will try to contain it. We should stay away from their battle or our death is imminent." Jim explained. " What? The psuedo king has appeared so soon. It has never happened before. Could it be that he has judged it wrong?" Another asked " It doesn''t matter if he is right or wrong. Captain ordered us to stay away." " Can it hold back the Pokemon?" " His claydol and vespiqueen would provide support and help in the fight, while others will make sure that their battle isn''t interrupted. Our job is to stay away from the shiny Pokemon you may see while battling. And enough questions let''s get ready to head out." " Yes sir" and they took to the sky. Beedrill vs pidgeot, claydol and vespiqueen begins soon. Stay tuned To be continued¡­.. Chapter 169 - 49: Aerial battle ( part 2) In the sky, Beedrill sent pin missile at them but Pidgeot''s gust stopped it and sent it towards them. The leaders of different pokemon species dodged the attack but the ones behind them weren''t fast enough. The pin missile was sharp enough to Pierce through them and kill them. These pin missile took down seven victim which included pidgeotto, Spearow, fearow and zubat. This attack was the signal and soon they all started the attack. Claydol used gravity on the flying pokemons and most of them lost balance and started to fall down. Butterfree and Golbat used psychic and air blade to put an end to the Pokemons. Since Alex''s pokemons were in advantage at long range attack so they decided to go short range and few towards them. The stronger Pokemons were able to overcome the increased gravity easily and so they targeted claydol to ease pressure on others. Claydol kept sending rock shards at the incoming pokemons, vespiqueen was in defense mode to protect her companions from attack. She kept sending combee out for attack and defense. Her confuse ray as well as air slash were a disaster for the flying Pokemons. Golbat used his poison as well as confuse ray to disrupt the Pokemons and take them out along with butterfree who used stun spore and psychic on her foes. Meanwhile pidgeot and pidgeotto were holding back Beedrill. They often rush towards the foes when it was preparing to attack with bug attack and used their number as cover. Even though the Beedrill was fast, it wasn''t faster than pidgeot and pidgeotto. They dodged the attack and used sneak attack against the stronger foe. Whenever their wound becomes severe, vespiqueen would use heal mode to heal the couple. Their task was to drag the Pokemons for the arrival of reinforcements but because of Beedrill the Pokemons responsible for stopping them was reduced. The walls of the town was equipped with arrows which has explosive attached on them. Although not powerful enough to severely injure elite level Pokemons, it was still deadly for weaker ones. Alex had Jean tell the artillery wing on the wall to target the Pokemons who are in cl_u_s_ter. This way they won''t target his Pokemons and they can easily dodge the arrow. Of course when they see the reinforcement arriving they have to stop the attack so they don''t hurt the flying column by mistake. The arrows was sent flying from the wall and when they collided with a pokemon, it exploded. This explosion attracted the attention of everyone fighting on he field and they saw the aerial battle in the sky. Jim and his flying column who had been airborne saw that Alex''s Pokemon has held back most of the Pokemon while pidgeot and pidgeotto were keeping Beedrill busy. It made them more confident in their victory since they have a strong captain leading them. Jim tried to use it to increase the morale of his flying column and said," Men, look forward. Captain Alex''s six Pokemon can hold back so many of flying Pokemons and so few could by pass the defense. They are tired and worked hard to buy us time to arrive and protect the base from aerial attack. Let''s pay the debt and eradicate the Invaders. he ended with a shout full of confidence. The words did the work and the few hundred troops in the flying column who rode on different flying types were ready to earn their glory. This case was especially for the flying pokemons since the six pokemons could take down hundred of Pokemons within few minutes so if they couldn''t do something similar to them with their increased number then they are waste. They cawed in enthusiasm and were ready for battle. Their roar in the sky attracted the attention of the flying wild pokemons and they headed towards them to clash and the next round begun. Seeing the arrival of the reinforcement, the six Pokemon changed their tactics along with the opponents. Pidgeotto left the Beedrill and went off to deal with small fries. Butterfree joined pidgeotto in joint siege of pokemons. Her quiver dance made sure she dodge the moves while it''s psychic made them collide with each other and pidgeotto ended them with air slash. Vespiqueen and claydol left their fronts and joined pidgeot in encircling Beedrill. Vespiqueen harassed Beedrill and support the attack. Claydol stopped it''s gravity and used psychic to stop him momentarily and smash woth rock and ground moves. Pidgeot slammed onto it with wing attack and it''s talons. He didn''t dare to try using wind elemental power as it took toll on the body and he has to outlast the opponent. He would only do do when it''s opponent has used it. Same was the case with other Pokemons. Alex has already warned them that they weren''t strong enough to use elemental power for a long time. It will expend their physical strength and they won''t be able to fight the incoming tide. Golbat was facing an elite golbat and hence couldn''t do anything to help his other companions. But he still used it''s attack such as confuse ray, air slash as well as air cutter to take care of the pokemons. The battle continued for a few hours and then the rest of the flying Pokemons flew back and the flying column along with Alex''s Pokemon has retreated. Continuous battle for hours can take toll on anyone let alone when one is facing a pseudo king. If Vespiqueen wasn''t around to heal the Pokemon and claydol used gravity to hold back and slow the speed of Pokemon, the trio wouldn''t have lasted so long. Alex who got the news that they managed to push back the invading tide of flying Pokemon he sighed. There were about three hundred casualties in flying column while they took down thousands of flying pokemons in return. But, the strength that his Pokemons showed during this battle will make sure that more powerful pokemons will join the battle and there might be another psuedo king on this group. Alex was sure that the next round will be even more bloody than last time. And at that time, even electabuzz may have to join the battle. " Slowking call back all the pokemons out there. Soon an even bigger battle await us. We need them at their absolute best so that they aren''t hindered at that time." Alex said. Slowking''s eyes glowed and then the message was transmitted. His Pokemon have started to head back. Alex looked at electabuzz by his side and said," You may join the next battle. Are you excited?" Electabuzz rose from the ground and his body bathed in thunder current. One round ended and the next round is about to begin. Stay tuned Chapter 170 - 50: Transformation due to war The sun rose from the East and the moon started to fade away from vision. The night has changed to day , but their isn''t any change in the intensity of attack from the tide. Alex hasn''t slept properly for a few days because he was making sure everyone was prepared for the upcoming grander battle. It has been nearly three days since his pidgeot went off to face Beedrill with the other flying Pokemons. And it has become a routine in the past few days. Beedrill often comes back to attack and pidgeot with his flying companions join together to take him on. When they returned the first night, Alex has told pidgeot and the other pokemons, " If you face a weaker Pokemon end them soon and don''t waste time. If you face someone of similar strength it higher strength then drag it. Tire them, hurt them and make sure their wounds are starting to affect their battle performance. It is a war. We are not powerful enough to end the fight in a moment. We can only do the best we could. If you are injured during the fight couldn''t go the next round,then it would bring more problems for your companions later." After that, pidgeot stopped using powerful attacks on Beedrill and tried to hurt it''s weak parts like it''s wings or stinger arms. Same was with other Pokemons. Since claydol and vespiqueen joined together to help combat Beedrill, they are often targeted by him and return back with sharp bruise from stingers. Golbat got an opponent to face at every clash. It was the other golbat. They used different tricks Everytime to take down the other and defeat the opponent. But, it doesn''t mean he doesn''t solve the other Pokemons. He take down the weaker ones and then the wild golbat arrives to stop his slaughter. Butterfree and pidgeotto has to deal with elite level pidgeotto, pidgeot, fearow and Xatu. They are often stopped by them. They drag down butterfree and pidgeotto so they couldn''t take down the attacking flying types. And it fell upon Lieutenant Jim and his coharts to deal with the weaker ones as Alex held back the more powerful ones among the Invaders. He has left Haunter, Charmeleon, nidorino, poliwhirl, ivysaur and marill with Second lieutenant Gold who was at the front line. He told Gold to direct where they are needed and they will deal with the rest together. Often it took a few psychic types to stop his sneak attacks until one of the big boss cane forward to deal with him. It was another Pseudo king Alakazam. When he appeared Alex was warned and almost sent out electabuzz his Trump card to deal with him but mew revealed that there was another Pseudo king out other than Beedrill and alakazam so he stopped and let Slowking deal with it. Slowking training under mew, Alakazam and Xatu paid off and he was able to hold back Alakazam with Haunter sneak attacking from time to time. Their battle mainly composed of stare contest with a free space between the two which Haunter didn''t dare to tread at. The reason was that in that free space their psychic powers collide. Alakazam was a newly promoted pseudo king so Slowking barely matched him due to his strict practice. Any Pokemon whether it is friend or for, who entered the zone turned into a blob of blood. Their soul left the body. Charmeleon found an opponent in the form of marowak who has always thrashed by it. He was rescued by his companions before any serious injury. Whenever he encountered that marowak, he would head off to face him. Nidorino dealt with a Rhydon who was his opponent. Though often defeated, he was learning and could match them one on one. Ivysaur has heracross and pinser to deal with. Though not as powerful as their leader they are difficult opponent especially since they yearn for nectar on bub of ivysaur. Help of poliwhirl managed to turn the tides for ivysaur and Poliwhirl gets a sparring opponent. Marill didn''t find ant opponent like others because she often headed to the middle of grass pokemons to desimate them. Even when an elite level Pokemon arrives, Gold was there to deal with it. Onix was taking care of the ground type himself along with the occasional fire type arriving there. He used it''s massive body to search for the hidden pseudo king in the tide. And whenever he arrived too close he has to escape a powerful Earthquake heading his way. This made Alex understand that it was a ground Pokemon since he could sense Onix underground and approaching him. Even with the heavy defense at the wall, some occasional Pokemons managed to by pass them. Of they are around Alex, they are out down by his pokemons such as Espeon, Piloswine or Snorlax. Electabuzz wasn''t revealed yet. They always stopped them so they ( tropops as well as the Pokemon tide leaders or chief) know there are some pokemons who still haven''t joined the battle. Alex has some troops survey the area around in case they reach here and attack the civilians. There are occasional reports of wild pokemons attacking civilian in the town too as per report on his table. All his pokemons have m_a_t_u_r_ed a lot over time. They faced the death more times out here in the tide than all the times they lived since they were born. This made their instincts razor sharp and has more control over their attacks to prevent loss of energy. Nidorino and Haunter the two prankster have become subdued over time and don''t joke around as much as they did back earlier. But the person who changed the most was Alex. This was a good stat if compared to other zones where the casualty was in tens of thousands. But the injured one''s of each zone was same. There were about ten thousand injured people in the Corp including the helping trainers. He often went to the medical camps. There were many doctors and nurses along with their pokemons working overtime and countless injured or dead troops and trainers laid there . He saw their pain and anguish. They suffer because of him. He was their captain and it fell upon him to take care of their well being. He also went out to take a look at the battlefield through the binoculars. He saw many people dying and perishing during the battle. Some had their neck broken, dying of blood loss or being torn to shreds. He watched all of them without blinking. Alex often felt like vomiting but he stopped himself. He felt that if he vomited then he would be sullying the sacrifice of the soldiers and watched. It reminded him of his weakness. No matter how much he wanted he couldn''t protect them. After every passing day,he became more and more cold so that he doesn''t break down die to so many deaths around him. He finally understand what changes Blue talked about. He had closed his emotions as soon as the first day of battle ended and he saw the reports. Even with so many casualties, no one came forward to say he was the one responsible. As he was going through his memory thinking of the past few days, Jean rushed inside and shouted," S¡­.Sir another pseudo king has appeared. And it is a Nidoking." Alex took the staff that was by his side and started started to walk out of the tent on hearing this and the surrounding Pokemon such as Snorlax, Espeon, Piloswine and the Trump card Electabuzz followed. Passing her he softly said," prepare everyone, the final round is starting soon. Stay away from my battlefield." " Slowking, tell them to go all out. We will not drag this anymore. I have seen enough death and I am putting an end to it. " He was emotionless when he said that. The final round begins and Alex officially enters the battle. Stay tuned To be continued¡­. Chapter 171 - 51: Reveals the power The pokemons stayed away from Alex during the battle. The flying Pokemons such as pidgeot, pidgeotto, vespiqueen, Butterfree, golbat and claydol were stationed at the town wall the entire time to prevent flying Pokemons from entering the town. Whenever he needed to talk, he used to mental link Mew created between his Pokemons and convey them message. Pokemon pov, Slowking through the mental link spoke to pidgeot,. " Prepare yourself. The final round is starting. The last pseudo king has appeared. Make sure Beedrill doesn''t leave the battle field alive this time." Pidgeot replied back," So no more holding back." " No more holding back. Alex is losing control of his emotions. So he is personally joining the battle. I will ask Haunter to look after him while we all try to end the battle as soon as possible. He has changed a lot since the start of the tide." He said sadly. " We all have changed. In these battle, we learned how to have a long term match. Our stamina and strength is put to test. But what scares me the most is Alex. He sent back the young and weaker ones so they aren''t adversely affected, yet he stayed with us. He is still too young to lead the men, and I am talking about his mental health. Charmeleon is young yet he is only fighting not having to take care of anyone. But Alex has made sure to visit the injured and dead. As soon as the battle ends, we have to send him back. Xatu is around isn''t he?" Pidgeot asked " Yes, he is around. I could sense him. What do you want to do? Are you asking him to wisk away, Alex? He would be very angry about it later " " No, not now. As soon as the battle comes to an end, have Xatu teleport him back to Alex''s teacher. Then he can help him a little and recover." Pidgeot replied " Should I ask electabuzz about it? Whether he would agree it not is important too?" " He will agree too. You know that as much as act to be tough, he is very soft regarding Alex. He will support this decision. Later, he could come back and take us away too. We cannot let him stay here after the war ends. We will win it. I am sure, but he won''t be able to handle the sacrifices. As long as the war goes on, he could put it on the back of his mind but when it''s pressure is recovered, we will face z broken person We cannot help him our here. He needs to be far away from here to heal himself. And I don''t think he would want to his parents to look at him in this state. " Slowking was thinking about pidgeot words and conveyed the message to electabuzz. Alex was unaware of the conversation between three of his most senior Pokemons. Electabuzz on hearing what they planned was surprised and looked at Alex for a moment before his eyes became firm and he agreed to it. " Very well. I will have Xatu look at Alex and do as you asked. Electabuzz agreed too. We can convince others to be prepared." Pokemon pov end --------------------------------------------------- Alex was really looking forward to the next battle. The helplessness and despair he felt when he saw so many people dieing was eating him from inside. He needed to release all the pent up frustration and anger he acc_u_mulated in the past few days. This is a good opportunity for him to test his aura and fighting skills in actual situation. He walked all the way to the front line ignoring the bystander as they stared at him and his pokemons. His walk towards the front line with so many people brought some outrage in people thinking he is trying to escape and leave them be. " Look at him, escaping while leaving us to face the tide." " What do you expect? He hasn''t entered the front line even once and now when the critical moment is coming he is running away. " " He is a coward. He is just a traitor." " How he become the captain I don''t know? But I know that league will have to punish him when he is caught or else I won''t let them be." These attracted the other officer cadet and his secretary around the corner. Jean dashed towards Alex and asked," sir, what happened ? Why are you heading out?" Is there a problem?" She has been with Alex all the time and saw how hard he worked to make sure everything is in order. He didn''t join the Frontline because was scared, but because he was too busy to make sure everything worked out well. And there isn''t any problem in the supply line. Alex didn''t stop to look at her and continued on his path, but he still answered," Tell Jim and Gold to get ready. The final round of the tide begins soon." " So are you heading to fight? But why now?" Daisy who came after hearing rumours about Alex asked. " The intelligence report was wrong. As early as the tide arrived, my Onix was on lookout to check for the pseudo king. He wasn''t able to head deeper into the enemy line due to a powerful ground type psuedo king. I was waiting for him so he can reveal himself. The Nidoking is arriving at last. I think this may be their last attempt as we had ended their attempt to invade our territory and it will be even more difficult than earlier attacks. " " But sir, how are you going to face him? We should ask for support to deal with him? Your Pokemon barely held back the other two psuedo kings and another one would be too much." Jean asked anxiously. Her words shocked the bystanders. To think that the captain whom they regarded as coward was actually holding back the strongest of the tide was astonishing. It meant he wasn''t weak. This put an end to some of their whispers. Alex stopped and looked at Jean in her eyes. Jean blushed slightly at the intensity of gaze from Alex. " I too held back a trump card. And now he will be joining the battle. It is because of him that I am the captain. Electabuzz reveal your presence to the opponent and blow the war horn." He replied confidently. Then a massive bolt of thunder fell straight toward nidoking who countered it with his own power. The collision of their power sea powerful shockwave along with dust cloud out in the air. They were too far away to see the power clash with their n_a_k_e_d eyes but the thunder and the dust cloud showed the power that electabuzz wielded. Blake the fighting specialist who stood by the side mumbled," Pseudo king. Electabuzz is a psuedo king Pokemon. He is the Trump card of the captain." " Pseudo king ? What, how could this be?" " He is too young to have this power?" " How does he have this much power?" " I told you earlier, Jean. I don''t care what you feel about me and my leadership ability but I have the power to make you obey. Although I am not the strongest it doesn''t mean I am weak. Slowking and pidgeot are at elite peak. Piloswine, Snorlax, Vespiqueen, Claydol and Onix are elite level. Haunter, Charmeleon, Espeon and others are advanced peak. Every one of my Pokemon here are at least advanced level. Even if they cannot beat people on the other level on their own with the help from their teammates, victory isn''t a dream. Now that the final round is starting. They don''t need to hold back. " " If you are so strong, why did you hold back?" Someone from the crowd asked. " This is war, not a straight one on one fight. It is won when the right card is sent out at the right time. Before the arrival of the last pseudo king I can''t reveal my power or else there won''t be anyone to deal with them since they would lose most of their strength after battle. My Pokemons could barely beat them and after that they would be too weak so I can''t go all out early. Enough dangling about , be prepared for the final fight. If we lose then the north Zone is lost." And he walked away leaving behind a stunned crowd. Alex was overlooking the battlefield now and looked over the small fights happening up front. He awaited the arrival of the real force which was currently led by Nidoking. The final battle is just round the corner. Stay tuned. To be continued¡­. Chapter 172 - 52: Problems in the Corp Nidoking with the entire force of the tide was running towards the town. He had clashed with the powerful thunder just now and knew it was a declaration of war from the other side. They are ready for the final clash. And he knew that this clash will be the decisive battle of the war. Whoever wins this round will be the true winner. He roared loudly towards the sky calling forth all the pokemons in the tide and get ready for the fight. His roar lasted for a few seconds but it sent goosebumps to the troops on the opposite side. In reply to this roar, the dark sky began to give out rumbling sounds signifying that electabuzz is ready to face whatever force that he is sending. The clash of two powerhouses woke every sleeping person and pokemons around the area. These earlier clashes makes the people aware that something big is about to happen. In the North Base Camp, Jim was startled by the changing weather and the dark clouds in the sky and the thunder falling towards the opponent made him feel that reinforcement has arrived. Then came Jean who was breathing heavily. " Jean, what happened? Does the captain require me to do anything?" She stood in front of him for a few seconds catching her breathe and then said," Captain ordered you to prepare all the troops who are capable for fighting and arrive at the Frontline as soon as possible. " " What Happened? Is something big happening out there?" As he was curious as to what happened. " The third Pseudo king is discovered. The Captain thinks that dragging longer would only put us in jeopardy so he decided that the final clash should start now." She answered " But what about the third Pseudo king, did the Town Hall send in reinforcement to deal with it?" " Captain will deal with it, himself. He told me to be prepared and stay away from the battle of the big guys so that there aren''t any unnecessary casualty." " How big is the restricted zone?" " It is a hundred metre radius around. But for safety reasons stay at Three hundred metres because the third one is a ground type pseudo king." Jean answered while Jim just nodded and his face was serious. He turned around and shouted," Get up all you maggots. There is a war going on and all of you are sleeping. Wake up. New orders have arrived. we have to get into the sky in five minutes or else you all will be served as pokemon feed to your own pokemons." This had done the job and all of them frantically ran back and forth and started to prepare. Jean has long since left and started to notify other groups to prepare for the fight. Daisy has arrived at the Frontline command which was headed by Gold. She told him to prepare for fight but he was still reluctant to do so. " Why do you send all forces out for battle? We still need some people to defend the base and other things. How did the captain know all of them are going to attack now. Currently only some clashes are happening all round us. There still some time before the final clash. I have gone through many tide before and know how they will react?" Gold told her condensing " Indeed. We don''t know if it will really happen. We can''t take the risk. In any case if there is an error, we would lose this front and the other fronts will have to protect them from their sneak attack too. " Another said. " It is too risky. Why didn''t Jean or Jim try to convince him. Although he is the captain, we have to take note of the overall situation. " Daisy wasn''t willing to lose and still said," But the captain said that he has already made sure of the defense. We have to only look at the front and take care of offense. If we don''t do it now, then the casualty would be even greater and this is necessary to preserve life." " And, what is this protection that Captain talk about? How do we know that it is strong enough. And above all, when we can drag and win the war then why should we change our tactics. I know the casualty will be more but we will win. And that''s all what matters. We will not do as he say. We will stay here and do what we think is correct." Gold said strongly. He had noticed that the captain hasn''t joined the battle himself and only let his pokemons fight. This shows that he was weak mentally and although he will be angry he won''t take any action now. Even if he did, the trial will most probably be in his favour as his plan has a greater chance of success than Alex''s. This gave him confidence and inspired by him, all the other occupants of the room decided to defy him. They know that he is strong but they thought if they stay United, he won''t target them and they will be safe. Seeing that they weren''t listening, she headed for Alex to report. As she arrived, she saw that second Lieutenant Jim was by his side and they were discussing something. His presence meant that his flying column was ready and will be in action as soon as they are ordered. She arrived and the sound of her footsteps brought their discussion to a halt. Jim happily greeted her and said," Jean since you are here, then Gold is arriving soon. So how long till they arrive here " His words stopped her in mid step and she tried to say," umm.¡­ Umm.¡­.T¡­.th.¡­.heeee. " She tried to start and say but she didn''t know how. Her stuttering made Alex feel something happened and he said strongly," What happened there, Daisy? I need to know it now." She looked at Alex''s grave eyes and narrated everything that happened. The other officer cadets and Jean has arrived while she was narrating the incident and everyone was angry with the words of Gold. " How dare he disobey? Does he not know the longer we act as Squirtle shell there will be more casualties?" Jim thundered. " He is too confident since he become the commander of Frontline and thinks we cannot do anything." Jean said while grinding her teeth. " There is a big battle up front. We need to be prepared. If we have problems among ourselves now it will affect the link of army. " Barthelomew said Alex was becoming more and more emotionless with every words of Daisy and Daisy didn''t move her eyes from Alex since his words would decide the outcome. Alex has made the decision," Slowking I want all of them in front of me in a minute. I don''t care how you do it, I want them here kneeling." His words were ice cold and all the people around shuddered. How will Alex deal with the misfits before the final battle? stay tuned. To be continued¡­. Chapter 173 - 53 : Alexs anger On hearing the command, Slowking vanished in front of them. Alex didn''t bother to look at him but continued to look far away in the direction from which the Tide''s full force will arrive. As he stood tall, Slowking returned a few seconds later with a cl_u_s_ter of men who fell one over the other. They were thrashed in front of Alex. Their arrival startled others but Alex seemingly ignored their very existence. The disordered men rose to their feet and looked around to find out just where the hell they were at. Looking around, they found they weren''t in their command room but somewhere outside. Their eyes fell on Second Lieutenant Jim and Gold asked," Jim, where is here? And how are we here?" Jim glanced at Alex''s back and then replied jokingly," Do you really want to know that?" " Stop joking. We are facing a tide and I don''t have time to waste it playing word games with you." Gold thundered. " Please Second Lieutenant Jim tell us so we can go back and get our work going " one of the sergeants joined to support Gold. " We are very busy and don''t have time to goof around so can you please hurry?" Another joined in this. Their words only serve to increase the anger of Alex. They say they are doing their best but when he asked them to do their best they try to skip or ignore his command. Alex was only one step away from thundering on them. He emotionlessly said," You are busy and working hard to protect the town. Don''t joke. You piece of waste are just hiding in your office and never did think of helping out but getting benefits through your ranks. Why don''t you head home and hide in the clothes of your mother or wife. I am sure cowards like you can at least good at hiding isn''t it? You are just like zubat blind to see anything but very addictive to drinking people''s blood. You all should be tied to a stone column under the hot sun and let some murkrow at you so they could eat out your innards slowly." He was furious with their blatant disregard of his orders. Alex was already at nerve endings due to lack of sleep and now this had made his normal calm and cool mind go short-circuit. He saw the deaths of people around him in his sleep who accuse him of murdering them. Whenever he close his eyes, their dull but accusing eyes appear in front of him. He hasn''t slept for days because of this. And it was taking a toll on him mentally. His words angered them and they thundered at him without realizing who they were talking to. " Who do you think you are to talk to us like that?" " Do you dare to dishonor the pride of the 65th Infantry corp?" " It seemed someone hasn''t been taught how to behave. Today I will teach you in your parents behalf." Gold himself was angered by his words but he hasn''t said anything yet he looked towards the source of emotionless voice and saw the back of the person. He felt like he saw a back identical to that back and tried to remember it. Then his eyes fell on the Pokemons by his side. Although he doesn''t know of Electabuzz existence, he knew that the commander has a Snorlax as well as Slowking. And both of which were normally around Captain Alex. So he finally has recognised who the person in front of him was. He immediately saluted and said," Second Lieutenant Gold reporting to Captain Bart." He stood at attention. His words woke everyone else and they too followed him and said," Reporting to Captain Bart." Alex didn''t bother to recognise their voice and action and continued to look at the horizon. He slowly started," You have grown quite bold during the times of Tide, Gold. Before it started, you were obedient and listened to my orders and discussed if you find any problems in them. But when I let you be the commander in the Frontline, you started to ignore me. You ignored my orders. I even heard you don''t respect my authority. Is that true , Gold?" He turned around to look right into Gold''s eyes and ignored other''s existence around him. Gold felt an unbearable pressure on himself when his eyes locked into Alex''s. He was wobbling on his feet and felt like he would faint any moment. " Do you really think no one would care about your little misconduct?" He asked severely. " Ssss¡­..siiirrr I was.¡­..I w¡­asss just trying to¡­."He stuttered and tried to explain himself. " Shut up. Did I order you to speak? I don''t want to hear even a single word coming out of your damn mouth until I say so? Am I understood? I AM ASKING AM I UNDERSTOOD?" he roared at th end. "SIR, YES SIR" everyone there said in unison. " I don''t care when you didn''t listen to me earlier. I was only asking or requesting you at that time. Even if you don''t listen, it doesn''t affect my authority in the Corp. But, now when I ordered you to assemble everyone for the battle, what did you do? You just ignored it under what you felt like. What you felt? In army, authority of the superior cannot be challenged. It is the IRON LAW. Yet, you had the courage to blatantly disregard it with your coharts. What do you think that just because you are more in number you aren''t getting any punishment or I will be lenient to not cause problems in the corps. Well let me tell you, your actions represent a sense of mutiny towards league''s orders. When even a second lieutenant who is not even a Captain can disobey then in the future a General could disobey them, then what will remain of their authority? Where is their damn prestige? Is it so cheap that just any nobody could tample on it and pass by. It seems you don''t know anything. Let me tell you something about the strong people of the world. The strong people don''t like their prestige getting hurt or damaged. They are especially angry when a piece of shit like you do so. Do you know what will happen to you? You better pray that you hopefully die or else I will make you experience a fate worse than death." He said Gold has turned white when Alex has mentioned what he has done and how he wasn''t getting scot-free this time. He knew that not only he angered the captain this time but also managed to get into the shit list of the league and the only one who could help him was the young man in front of him. He dropped to his knees and held onto Alex''s legs abandoning his pride in the face of imminent disaster and apologized and said," Sir I am sorry. Please forgive me this time. I won''t do it again and follow your every command." Will Alex forgive him as how will the fight go? Stay tuned to be continued¡­ Chapter 174 - 54: Psychic Genres Alex looked at the man who was begging him abandoning everything that a strong man stands for. The true strong would die than begging to anyone. The only exception would be if his or her family is in problem. He even has a face full of disdain towards Gold. He has planned to do something like this way before the tide came. When he met his subordinates for the first time, he didn''t let out Claydol just to intimidate them and get their recognition. He did because of Claydol''s special psychic property Psychic powers are of multiple type. They have all types of uses. One could specialise in control and master the telekinesis part of psychic through which he or she could control large number of things through pyschic. Next would be as sensor. The Abra line is a natural sensor as it helps them escape from their foes. Another is emotions. Pokemons can sense emotions through psychic like in case of Ralts. Their head has rod which helps them in sensing emotions of the people and Pokemon around and protect themselves. Another is character sensing. Every person or Pokemon has some character which defines him or her. Their regular actions in life create some changes in the person as well as his aura. Slowking is a telekinesis expert. Ralts are emotion sensor while claydol falls under character reader category. Most psychic are inclined towards only one of these genres which made the younger psychic types a bit weak but later when they master other genre their power increase greatly making them one of the strongest types. Mew is most probably the master in all the genres since she is known to show herself to kind and honest people only. The number if bad or villianous people who saw her appearance are less than 10 percent of the number of good people who saw her. Through her psychic she had managed to evade some of the unsavory people from time to time. Back then claydol has already made some assumptions about the personality of his subordinates. And yes assumptions. Claydol hasn''t completely mastered this trick. He still gets confused in some characters but this time in the camp he was able to see that claydol was 60 percent to the Target. If they held back their true personality or it was Claydol''s mistake is a completely different matter. A person personality is composed of both good and bad personality. Among the two, bad one is easily caught. Although he hasn''t mastered it, he is able to sense some bad or wrong or different(depending upon perspective of people) personality traits. All ten of them had some tint of bad persona on them. Jim was lazy. Mark was violent. John was self centered Armin was rude. Daisy was arrogant. Joan was greedy. Annie was temperamental. Barthelomew was ignorant. Glynda was snobbish. Blake was s_e_xist. These were the most prominent trait that claydol got from them but Gold was something unique. He had multiple traits which shine brightly for Claydol. He was jealous, arrogant, cruel and greedy. These made Alex a little vigilant towards him. These traits aren''t good or bad. Every person possess them but the degree or the way they use it demarcate it as good as bad. And taking into consideration, the traits of the second lieutenant as well as officer cadets Alex decided to make a pit for Gold. The best way to gain prestige is to defeat someone who has greater prestige than you and overpower him. That person is a stepping stone to his rise of Fame. So Alex decided to play tricks with him. Alex gave him certain request which may seem optional to him but overtime he felt that the captain is not bothering with him so he became more bold. When he becomes bold enough and blatantly disrespect him, he would use him for his rise. The rise of power is based on crushing someone under his feet and rising above him. This was the role of Gold. But, situation changed. Alex has changed. The plan is made before the loss of life of men in the battle against Pokemon Tide. As one grows it dissipates as they learn that not all things are achievable and sometimes some people couldn''t be saved. These failures then their heart jaded and make them accept death around them a little easier compared to before. This was something one can learn only through experiencing loss. When all people survive the crisis it is called fantasy, but when people are sacrificed or are dead to protect others that''s called a reality. This is something Oak wants Alex to learn. He has success in every turn of life. And loss of life can be regarded as one of the greatest failure one could experience. This has broken many brave people. What Oak hoped was that this loss he experience now will make sure he hasn''t got lost in the victories he experience in the future. Anyway, back to the matter at hand, Alex looked down at the begging man and said," I would have killed you just so my authority is maintained in the Corp and noone dared to violate my command." This sent shivers down Gold and his men''s spines. " We are sorry. Pease give us one more chance." " We will never disobey you " " I am sorry,sir. Just one more chance. One more chance." Gold said. Normally he would have attacked Alex since he was at such close quarters but the presence of a powerful psychic who could teleport them here without the lot knowing made sure he doesn''t have the courage to do so. If he did that, he would face the wrath of all the pokemons there. " But, you are really lucky. I have experienced enough death of people in the past few days. If I end your pitiful lives then your pokemons would not follow my order and may as well attack the troops. This will cause unnecessary loss in the Corp. And your lack of presence may cause even greater loss when facing the tide when you don''t hold back the powerful pokemons, or Pokemons way too powerful for other people. So you are safe and you won''t lose your life now." Alex said. " Thank you sure for your Mercy. We will not let the chance you gave us go to waste." They sang songs and rhymes of his Mercy and greatness Alex has enough of their buttering and he shouted," I am not finished. If¡­." What is the condition for forgiving this group of people? Stay tuned. Chapter 175 - 55: The Tide arrives Alex has enough of their buttering. His briws lowered, teeth were clenched. He was really angry and he thundered out," I am not finished speaking. If you bastards dare to escape or hide from even one of your enemy pokemons no matter how strong they are then I will label you as ''deserters'' and I hope you remember how deserters are treated in Kanto." This shocked not only Gold and his coharts but also Jean, Daisy , Jim and the other people around them. They all turned white on hearing that. Deserter isn''t something to be taken lightly. The treatment of deserters is downright cruel. Deserters are regarded as one of the worst sc_u_ms on par with traitors in Kanto. The deserter himself, his family and aquatinted people are treated with disgust by the people. People fear being labelled as traitors or deserter more than they are afraid of the military tribunal. This title isn''t to be taken lightly and for someone to get it, they are thoroughly investigated. After all, everyone related to him will lose all sort of help from the league. All the property they hold under the name of their name in the territory of Pokemon league will be confiscated and they will be thrown out of any city which is under the pokemon league administration. They will neither get health facility, food, protection, nothing will be sold to them. They all will have only three options, accept death, compensate the league with something equivalent to the town and thirdly, join the dark side. In the underworld, their chances of survival will less than 5 percent too. This was the trick used by league thousand years ago to prevent people from running from war when the situation is unfavourable. In the war there I''d only two options for fighter, either win or lose and die. Of course if you are alive then they will be investigated to check whether he is a deserter or not. A person could bear all the problems in the world for his family but if that family suffers the grievance due to him, then nothing will be more torturous than watching his family suffer. It has been recorded that a few centuries ago thousands were hailed as deserters and millions become homeless due to this. It is rare but this practice isn''t abolished completely. Many tried to have it removedon the ground that the punishment is too inhumane and cruel. And this punishment involved completely innocent people who have nothing to do with the crime. The crime isn''t inherited by blood and it will only encourage people to go towards the wrong side. The removal process was headed by champion Alder of the unova league so it got much heat and coverage from media. But the opposition, composed mainly the armed forces along with champion and elite of other regions. They simply said this keeps things in order. No matter how much they tried to remove it it wasn''t removed. This caused much conflict in the league so the president Charles Goodshow himself came forth and let the punishment stand but the process for anyone to gain this is too laborsome. This cooled down both sides. The punishment is too cubersome so many won''t get punished too harshly and the other side was happy that with this sword hanging over their head, there will be lesser betrayal and the troops will act efficiently. Even though these people knew that the deserters'' punishment is not applicable nowadays in big number, with the Halo of genius that Alex yielded it would be enough for him to get some at least two or three to be labelled as such This made them realise that how dire their current situation really was. " If you don''t want to be punished, you will be taking care of strongest Pokemon other than pseudo king out there. As for how I will know you are working well, Xatu" " Xatu, these people," pointing at Gold and his small band of misfits," are people disobeyed my orders and caused many deaths due to their neglect. I gave them a chance and a mission to redeem themselves." Alex told Xatu. When he heard ''redeem'' he tilted his head sideways as if he misheard the word. Alex just rolled his eyes and continued," They will fight the Pokemons and continue to march forward no matter what opponent they face except the pseudo king. In case they retreat even a single step they will be labelled as deserters so make sure they don''t get away. I am sure you could handle it. I just want them alive, i dont care what condition they are in." Xatu eyes shone with a cold gleam when he heard Alex regard this group of people as deserters. *?"But sir what if¡­ " Jim tried to speak for his companions. He wished that the captain can show some leniency. Alex eyes twitched fiercely in anger at his interruption. he simply disclosed Xatu''s identity to all of them," This Xatu is sent by the pokemon league to ensure that the sky Town''s town hall can carry out the the arrangements of the league. So his impartiality shouldn''t be questioned." This also made them aware that they are under league''s eyes now and all their actions will be watched. The punished group were afraid. their eyes bulged and their feet shook. some even fainted on hearing this. " I hope you will not disobey and try to harm my authority, Gold." Alex said softly but Gold prrceived that it wasn''t a sentence but a warning from Captain''s side. " No sir. I would listen to your orders and follow it to the letter." Gold conveyed his mind . On seeing the dark cloud, pidgeot seated at the town wall rose into the sky followed by other Pokemons of Alex and headed towards the tide which has appeared at the horizon. Electabuzz, Slowking, Haunter and Espeon too disappeared from view as soon as pidgeot took flight. they teleported away. Alex didn''t bother to look at the disappearing Pokemons of his. His gaze was fixed at the coming pokemons. He was both excited and afraid. his heartbeat increased greatly now but none of such changes could be seen on his face. He informed the Pokemon around him their task," Charmeleon, Ivysaur, poliwhirl and marill will be on my side protecting me from any attacks on my blind spot. Piloswine and Snorlax, you could go wild but make sure that you don''t target friendlies. Piloswine the area would be fifty metre around yourself. Don''t exceed this range or it will affect the other Pokemons. Onix you will make sure ground types don''t sneak inside through underground. and finally Nidorino, you will follow Onix and help him in this matter to deal with the pokemons. In the battle, I will be fighting too. I won''t have time to look after all of you. I can only say this to all of you : Protect yourself along with each other and stay alive. " All the people and Pokemon around Alex nodded their head and were prepared for the final decisive battle of this Tide. To be continued¡­.. Chapter 176 - 56- Alex join the battle As the tide approached, Alex knows that someone among the group would have thoughts of escaping. Alex chose this very moment just before the final battle to have a " chat " with Gold to curb their deserting action. As he was talking to Alex, Jean had left to call the soldiers under Gold and be prepared. Now they are also ready but were very reluctant. The news about Gold''s possible punishment was spread with the help of the resident psychic, Nora. This managed to calm the internal quagsire which was starting to spread when the soldiers couldn''t find their immediate heads on their commanding positions. In this world, Power reign supreme. But with his young age many don''t regard his strength or just dismiss it thinking it was a publicity stunt. This makes people completely underestimate him. Often this serves as an advantage for Alex but situations like these make things difficult. Although he is young and stronger than most, there is still some group who may cause trouble for him and provoke the soldiers under their command to attack him to free their heads from his tyranny, according to their minds and views. They would even forget that this may in turn be regarded as treachery or coup organized by Gold and his coharts. They will feel that with their overwhelming number, they may beat Alex and the travelling trainers would just join thinking what they were doing was right. Even if Alex took down the people who dared to attack him his strength would be reduced greatly and he couldn''t protect the town anymore. The spreading of words about Second Lieutenant Gold and his coharts would stop all discontent of the troops towards Alex and all these matters will be left for after dealing with the tide. Alex has left the earlier high platform to look at the arriving herd of Pokemons and was ready to fight after being equipped with the water gem dangling on his neck, aura gloves ( a gift from Mew to better control aura) and the staff made from the tree of beginning. Alex had only used his staff to fight a couple of people or half dozen of people at a time and he won mostly due to his advantage of aura. Just as he was thinking about how he would fight the coming tide, there were some loud bang heard in the sky as well as on the ground. The fight between Alex''s strongest pokemons and the three pseudo kings have begun. After couple of minutes the tide was up in front of them, and Alex shouted," Destroy the Invaders." And he dashed towards the coming Pokemon losing all previous plans of formation and strategy to deal with the Pokemon. The pokemons which were by his side such as Charmeleon, Poliwhirl, Marill and ivysaur too followed him forward. Though, Ivysaur was a bit subdued compared to others who seemed a little bloodthirsty now. He was young, too young to not be hot blooded and think rational especially when he is fighting ba battle as grand as this. Many people couldn''t even see or hear about this type of battle let alone participate and lead the corp to defend a stronghold. Most probably inspired by Alex''s inspiring and enthusiastic words, the people beside him too ran while shouting," Destroy". The Pokemons on the front row show people and pokemons dashing towards him but they didn''t seemed affected and continued their dash. The first Pokemon Alex ran into was Rattata whose head was crashed under the brutal blow from the staff. He swiped the staff at the rat Pokemon and used the force from the blow to jump up and kick the Pokemons who tried to surround him with aura enhanced kick. He didn''t stop and twirled the staff around and dealt with the swarm of Rattata. Alex had his eyes closed by the time when he crushed the first Rattata and he used his aura vision to differentiate between forest and friends. The aura of the pokemons of the tide has a tint of red in it. The two sides could easily be distinguished and he could also sense their life aura leaving their body as they die. That way, their is no chance of sneak attack from the presumed dead body. Some Rattata and raticate tried to bite on the staff and break it with their terrifying bite power but it didn''t left even a dent on the staff. After all it was made from the wood of the tree of beginning and nourished by the life energy and aura circulating through it''s entire body. And with Mew''s blessings the power and durability is even stronger. It''s strength increases even further when aura is circulated the it so things are much easier or it is easy for Alex to deal with these minor characters. Soon a taurus rushed towards Alex since he was taking down too many pokemons. Alex used his staff to pole vault over the rushing body and smashed a strong aura enhanced heel on his head. The powered up hit made it wobble around on his feet since his head was hit hard and he lost control of his body and mind for a moment. It was enough for Charmeleon who shredded the head of taurus with a dragon claw. Alex didn''t bother with them anymore and faced the much agile mankey and primeape. He knew about thier attack patterns through the vision that mew showed him back earlier. This made the fast mankey and primeape easy picking for Alex. Alex''s combo with his staff and aura served as a grinder for the forces of Pokemon tide. He took down any Pokemon which arrived within his range. And of those who aren''t down they are left to deal by his guardians, Charmeleon, ivysaur, poliwhirl and marill to deal with the attacks at his back. Their combined teamwork helped Alex relieve much pressure and Alex could at least harm the bigger Pokemons enough for the others to end it. As for why Alex could easily deal with these many pokemons, the biggest reason was ivysaur. Her pollen and sleep powder in the air made them sluggish around Alex and made them easy target to deal with. This made it easier for Alex to integrate in the battle at earlier stages and then gain his rhythm and deal with the bulk. Seeing Alex taking down so many wild pokemons alone with just a staff and even without his Pokemons except for dealing with some sneak attacks, hurt the pride of the people who knew his true age. To think a eleven year old kid could take care of so many pokemons without the help of his Pokemons and yet here they were affected by the increasing Pokemon opponents. They attacked the tide with new vigour and started to desimate the front line of the tide. How will those battles go? Stay tuned¡­. To be continued¡­. Chapter 177 - 57: Another psuedo king When the trio of Electabuzz, Espeon and Slowking teleported away in front of the eyes of everyone, they arrived at a solitary clearing in the forest away from the main Tide force. There awaited three Pokemons, two pseudo kings, Alakazam and Nidoking along with a nidorina. She was probably the mate of nidoking and couldn''t evolve due to the lack of moon stone, hence she was still in the second form of nidorina. This was a good news for Espeon. Espeon is powerful but a nidoqueen could easily take down someone with as weak defense as Espeon in a single direct hit. The trio group of Pokemon eyed their opponents for a few moments and awaited for some kind of signal. And the signal came when the loud bang was heard from the smy and the Tide''s first line collided with the Frontline of the 65th infantry corp. Slowking and Alakazam floated in the mid air and suddenly they teleported away from the group of pokemon. But it wasn''t all. Wherever they stood previously a small crater was created as their psychic powers hit the ground. It was a game of attack and teleport. They both attacked through their psychic and sent psychic attacks which they dodged through psychic by deflecting the attack or teleport . Both are powerful enough and have enough control in their psychic powers to sense the flow of psychic power in the teleport. The moment one appears the other used pyschic at the other on that location and then flash away from the opponents attack through psychic. It has made both of them similar to a lighthouse in the dark night in their psychic a vision. Yet they used teleport in this case was because they wanted to head away from their current location. Though the battle between electabuzz and nidoking was going to be chaotic and too destructive. Both the psychic Pokemons are weaker in terms of defense and could be badly hurt during the aftermath of collision of attack. This was known to both of them so they tried to wisk away from this danger zone, yet they don''t want to give the opponent a breathing space and hence their chase of teleport began. The speed battle was over and now the brute Force of the Psychic power back comes to play. Alakazam was stronger than Slowking but the difference wasn''t too much. The psuedo king pokemons could easily destroy Pokemons weaker than them. Even a peak elite Pokemon could stand against him for a couple of hits at most. But Slowking wasn''t just anybody. All the three Pokemons of Alex were at peak elite before he started his Pokemon journey officially. Pidgeot reached this level a year before the trip, and the others reached this threshold few months later. And even though pidgeot reached this level the earliest of the three, the current situation is that he is far behind the others in showing signs of transformation to the next level. Pseudo king stage is the level where Pokemons are getting more and more accustomed to the raw elemental power and their body becomes stronger than earlier. This is a tranformational stage. So much energy is required to break through the boundary of the elite peak. Slowking was trained in the intrigues of psychic power by the strongest psychic Pokemon, Mew and later Alakazam and Xatu ( Samuel''s Pokemon) helped him truly learn how to fight effectively. Mew had too much power to truly master degree control on the level of a champion level or higher level Alakazam. This had led slowking to the final step and over time he could reach the next level. He was going to be the first Pokemon to reach pseudo king stage as he could reach it in around six months time. But the thunder stone blessed by Zapdos had made electabuzz surpass them and he became the current strongest Pokemon of Alex. The transformation of electabuzz revealed to Slowking that learning the control of power isn''t the only way or one could say the quickest way. When one is fighting someone his equal or stronger than them the he could see a brand new door for gaining strength. The encounter with tyranitar, the ghost parents as well as the final encounter with Gengar accelerated the process. These battles did the deal. Electabuzz had faced them in all three of these situations and will the help of thunder gem from Zapdos did the trick and he transformed to an even powerful form. Alex felt that when he evolves to Electrivire later he would be at least pseudo king peak. Alex decided to evolve electabuzz after he completely learn to control his power at this level. After all what he needs is a powerful thunderstorm which can boost electabuzz and promotes his thunder power. Pidgeot had injured his wings and couldn''t face the ghost trio and hence was a behind the others in transformation to the next stage. Pidgeot doesn''t have a guide to help him and so he is trying to get stronger on his own. And finally, Slowking. He has two great encounters which helped his power more sublime and get more in touch with his powers. The training is one thing but practical is the quickest way and if both are done together then the effect is even more brilliant. This time in the Pokemon Tide, Slowking met his chance for transformation. The Alakazam in the earlier stages of their fight subdued Slowking and he could only last long due to his companion''s help but over time he was getting more and more refined in his psychic powers. Whatever he learned from his mentors was put into effect and practice in their fight and he even put his personal touch to this battle. Where once Slowking was dominated, now he could fight as equal and all of this is done in less than a week time. And ib this time Slowking knows that he will become the second Pokemon to be Pseudo king. With this confidence, he was attacking Alakazam with new vigour. This time it wasn''t just clash of psychic but also the water attacks were thrown in the midst. Everything within their range of control became a weapon which was hurled at other. The trees were broken to serve as a hammer or turned pointed to pierce the other. The stones was smashed at the other. But they have also erected a psychic barrier around themselves. They didn''t dodge the attacks from the other but stood their ground and attacked. It was a show of attack and defence. They changed from attack to defence in seconds so fast that it seemed that they were doing both attack and defence together at the same time. But, this is a trait only possible in the king level psychic Pokemons or some other higher level. The buffer time between the two ways was so quick that one couldn''t discern between the two. Everything with two hundred metre radius was turned barren and the ground was full of craters. The few Pokemons who appeared in their range of attack has turned to minces or crushed under the grand attack of the two powerful psychic pokemons. Throughout the assault Alakazam was the one who has the slight upper hand. But this didn''t discourage Slowking. He continued to attack with even more enthusiastically over time as he felt he was at the doorstep to the new world and he could pass the door any moment now. The attack frequency increased but they couldn''t break the psychic barrier that Alakazam erected. He defended against the attack of Slowking pretty easily. Then Slowking stopped his attacks and then floated above in the air and his defensive barrier was lowered. Alakazam didn''t know why his opponent did something so foolish now and tried to end the threat that Slowking brings to the Tide. He sent numerous sharp leaves, branches and trucks along with stones and large rocks at Slowking. Just as these attacks reached a metre away from Slowking, he opened the eyes and a shockwave of psychic emerged from Slowking and heavy rain started to fall down from the sky. The power surge in Slowking was sensed by every pseudo king or higher level Pokemon around the battlefield such as Alakazam, nidoking, Beedrill, electabuzz as well as the powerful Xatu. This stopped the confrontation for a moment. Pidgeot who flew around sensed something big has happened but couldn''t understand what it was. Slowking is transforming into pseudo king while facing Alakazam. How powerful does Slowking become after his transformation? Stay tuned¡­ To be continued¡­. Chapter 178 - 58: Slowkings Transformation Slowking is undergoing transformation which would increase his powers greatly. If it is a Pokemon battle and not a life and death case scenario, Alakazam might have let him complete the process. For pokemons, evolution is considered sacred and will not be interrupted by other pokemons no matter what the reason, even if they die in the fight. This is their undisputed belief which is followed by all types of Pokemons, whether they be wild, tamed or raised by trainers. No matter they were even in life and death case, they would not interrupt this sacred transformation. Even the Pokemons who are members of evil or are helping those criminal organization would not break this rule. They have too much respect for evolution and this respect is an innate sentiment of all pokemons. This instinct cannot be changed or removed no matter what. But if a Pokemon is breaking through the next stage of power, there is no such sacredness bubbling in them. Most would try to disrupt or end their opponent before the transformation is done or else they would be in danger. Alakazam is similar in this regard. He sent his strongest psychic blast at the Slowking. Attack at this level won''t be able to completely defeat Slowking but it would interrupt the process and may prevent his ascent in this fight. If one couldn''t ascent when they have they are going through the process, they are wounded then their chance of rise is diminished slightly. If Slowking is stopped now then he would be injured by the blowback of this and he may have to wait about six months to try the ascent again after dealing with his wounds. But the situation didn''t become so grave. When the final round of the Tide began, Xatu was overlooking Alex so he could be transported away when he is injured and couldn''t go on. But the surprising transformation of Slowking has gained his attention and he looked at Slowking and has decided to make sure that the common protege of his fellow Alakazam and him isn''t interrupted during the change. The attack of Alakazam comes to halt, due to a barrier that appeared in front of Slowking. And the explosion from the burst of energy sent Alakazam hurling back hard and fell on the ground. This has bought Slowking enough time to complete the transformation. Slowking sensed his power change. As a dual type of psychic and water, his powers of both elements were increased together. Even when he was training his psychic under Alex''s command, he didn''t dare to slack on his water powers. The upgrade of level is difficult for dual type Pokemons especially if the two types are restraining of one another. For a dual type Pokemon to upgrade to the next level he needs to be increase his elemental power of all his part to the previous level. For example, in case of Slowking. Slowking, the evolved form of slowpoke and is a water and psychic dual type. Earlier he didn''t have a problem because of his evolution. All Pokemons can reach elite level irrespective of the level to which they train their pokemons elemental power if they are trained and raised well. But if they need want to reach the next level of pseudo king then he needs to be master both of the elemental power to the elite level, ie, power of the elements equal to an elite level Pokemon of similar type attribute. If Slowking want to ascend to pseudo king then some conditions need to be reached. Firstly, he needed both his water and psychic powers to be at elite level. Secondly, he can reach pseudo king if one of the two elements has reached the peak elite and the transformation begins. This case of bottleneck doesn''t appear until a Pokemon wants to reach the pseudo champion. For this he needs to let his element reach king level and then another at peak king. But it isn''t that easy. The requirements for pseudo king is too difficult and so many people are stuck at advanced level. To be a master trainer one must have at least two pokemons at pseudo king stage. Of the hundred millions people in Kanto less than thousand become master trainers. That means there is one master trainer among every hundred thousand people. The number of pokemons having a single attribute is less than thirty among the one fifty official Pokemons of Kanto. Of these only water, fire, normal , electric and poison have multiple species with single attribute. And this is the reason that are so many trainers specialise in these types. Although most aren''t aware of the reason they felt this is due to their most abundance or something. But the real reason is they are easier to upgrade their strength. Another reason why elite four have type attribute and most of them have single attribute with some exceptions. This was why they were masters of a specific type. These pokemons with exceptions are inherently strong too and on their evolution their elemental powers increase together amd they only need to learn control. Both on their final forms have flying attribute and when they evolve their powers reach elite level in both attributes and stronger in fire or dragon attribute of they were already strong earlier. That''s why most Charizard and Dragonite are super powerful. They can reach pseudo king level much easily compared to some other Pokemons. In case of one type specialisation if one type reach peak elite and another is weaker than elite through the use of natural treasures their secondary elements power could increase to elite and they can reach the higher stage. But the power of the weaker element will always be weaker than that of the pokemon who reached that level without any external resources help. This helps elite four increase their power while focusing on only one attribute and learning ways to counter the weaknesses. Back to Slowking, he has gained his current power from Mew as well as Suicune''s blessings. This was another gift left for Alex. The Mysterious gem helps the Pokemon get the blessing from Suicune and makes their water power purer and denser and easier ro control. Slowking power increased exponentially umder the help of two Legendary Pokemons. Nothing was left standing as the psychic power rain destroyed everything whether it be tree or large rock in five hundred metre radius of Slowking. The rain has stopped throughout the north battlefield but the effect of psychic rain or needle rain was only around Slowking under his absolute control. Alakazam only had slight wounds which he got from the early attack which had him bleed a little as he erected a psychic barrier protecting himself. As the pond was created, the rain began to cede but the cloud still remained. Slowking who has floated above now stands on the water surface and looks at Alakazam woth a smile. He remained the same as earlier and didn''t have any physical enhancement except for a longer tail. And his eyes currently glowed in two colors of blue and pink under the powers of water and psychic elements he now wielded in his hands. Alakazam expressions were more serious compared to before and his eyes shone pink due to the application of psychic. The final round between Slowking and Alakazam will begins soon. Stay tuned.¡­ To be continued.¡­ Chapter 179 - 59: Final round Both their eyes glowed in the powers of their elements. This is the characteristic of psuedo king. They can use elemental power for a long time and this power is generally at the selected part of the body. For the psychic type it is their eyes, for fighting type it is their arms or legs, for grass type it is their energy storage which helps in increasing power of grass type moves exponentially. The psychic power mainly originate from the brain so their area of elemental increase is mostly their brain and hence the eyes colour change when they use their elemental powers. Slowking blue eyes faded and now both hjs eyes has pink glow signifying that pyschic powers are at use here. The two stares for a few seconds and then air around the two distorted. There were psychic clashes around them. The aftermath of these clashes was the heavy displacement of water going under their feet and the rain water splashing around. There were more than hundred clashes within a couple of minute and they continued to increase. In these clashes Slowking was gaining grounds anx in the long run, be may win the battle but he would be too tired to help his friemds so he had both a time limit as well as preserve enough energy to protect his fellow Pokemons as well as his young trainer. '' Especially Alex. He has class his emotions too tightly and may affect him greatly the longer it drags on.'' Slowking thought to himself. On the other hand, Alakazam saw that he was losing grounds against Slowking slowly and longer the battle is dragged on the higher his chances of loss are there. But it is also increases his chances of survival. Nidoking the only Pokemon other than Beedrill who could help him in this situation can beat electabuzz on the long run due to type advantage and may come to help him deal woth this point Slowking. His thoughts were to drag the battle and consume the other sides energy as much as possible. Normally Pseudo king pokemons could freely use elemental energy through that specially modified part for half a day without much problem. The stronger the Pokemon the more powerful and sturdy they become after they advance. The battle between two powerful pseudo kings could last a few hours if they go all out from the beginning. The king level battle can go on for half a day to a full day. The pseudo champion may find for Even longer. This is based on the assumption that both sides have similar strength or else battle time decreases with greater disparity in strength. In the current scenario, the two psychic types have similar strength. Slowking is much powerful in terms of energy but the poor control over his new found power makes it difficult to overcome the veteran pseudo king easily. Alakazam is weaker though he can preserve ho power and make Slowking expand his energy at a much greater scale than necessary making him easy picking for when nidoking arrives to help. He has complete confidence over nidoking''s victory and his only job now is to stall. The two continued their epic clash and it soread all over the about two hundred metre radius pond below them. Their battle had dragged for about an hour and yet they aren''t tired out. And Slowking was getting anxious about the nidoking and electabuzz battle. It isn''t that he is doubtful of electabuzz strength but most of his tricks are close combat abd thunder moves and both are not effective against his current foe. His ground typing cut down the power of thunder and the poison point attribute of nidoking is widely found and I case his fist hit the poison spikes he would be in a loosing battle after being poisoned. He needs to deal with Alakazam and then go to see if Espeon took down her opponent and then heal her enough so she could cure Electabuzz poison if he was poisoned. He knew he could beat Alakazam but he still need to help electabuzz if he is in a tight spot no matter how unhappy he would be because of his intrusion. But how to deal with Alakazam is the important question. Then the answer literally splashed on his face. How could he forget he wasn''t only a psychic tyle pokemon. Alakazam had forgotten that Slowking water was strong too or else he couldn''t reach pseudo king level. He only focused on his psychic moves. He didn''t lower his psychic attacks and created a trap for Alakazam. He just increased his intensity of attack which brought him closer to water surface. He didn''t spring up his trap until one of the leg of Alakazam fell on the pond surface. As soon as it did, the multiple tentacles of water grabbed it and began to pull him under water. The psychic attacks continued and under the attack from two sides, his attention and focus loosed and he fell into the pond water. In the water, he was pulled deep until he was few metres below the surface. Slowking knew normal water attacks won''t work and tried to drown him to his death. But pseudo king has stronger physique and he could survive longer underwater. So he had another trick under work. In the water while tentacles tried to keep him drowned and multiple sharpedo and carvana made of water started to attack him. He wanted to use teleport but the constant disturbance from the attacks and tentacles made it difficult for him to concentrate on it. He used his psychic to blast of the attacking water structures. Under the increasing pressure of water and strain from his leg, some carvana could break the the psychic barrier around and hurt Alakazam badly. After he managed to deal with the water creations he was wounded enough to turn the surrounding water red. Slowking knew that it was the enough to deal with the psi Pokemon and he hence it was only used to buy him some time. And it bought him ample time to.finish Alakazam in a single move. It was the grand scale move he used against nidoqueen in the Viridian gym. As soon as the heavily tired, injured and angry Alakazam emerged from the water countless needled shaped water droplets began to impact on the psychic barrier. Alakazam be was a veteran fighter and know that opponent may attack on his arrival and hence increased the defensive power of the barrier. But it wasn''t enough and slowly the barrier began to crack and fall off. Seeing that the barrier was breaking apart he tried to escape through teleport. But, Slowking had used it''s psychic to seal off the space. Alakazam was weaker in terms of raw psychic power and couldn''t break through the barrier which affects his teleport. Alakazam was hit by the needles on his limbs and body. He used his psychic to deflect the needles from hitting his vital organs but all was for naught. His life ended when a needle pierced through his head and hit the brain. And it did the trick. Alakazam met his end under the needle rain. He was pierced throughout the body and his life came to an end. Slowking looked at his dead opponent for a moment and then used his water power to displace the pond water. After reaching it''s bottom he dug a hole big enough to bury Alakazam and buried his dead body. He prayed to Arceus for a better life in it''s next life. It was their continuous battles which made Slowking reach his current strength and hence he respected Alakazam as his opponent and gave him a burial. After that he teleported off to towards his fellow psychic pokemons Espeon. Next will be the battle between Espeon and nidorina and after that pidgeot vs Beedrill? Stay tuned. To be continued¡­. Chapter 180 - 60 : Espeon vs Nidorina When Slowking and Alakazam teleported away, Espeon and nidorina began their fight. Espeon and nidorina ran in the direction of opposite to that of Slowking. While they run away from the possible battlefield of electabuzz and nidoking, Espeon kept sending stars from the swift attack at nidorina. She countered it by sending poison sting from her mouth which has nullified the swift attack and even almost hit Espeon. The move managed to destroy her swift meant only one thing. Her ability wasn''t poison point but rivalry. Nido line have two main abilities. One is poison point and another is Rivalry. They possess either one of the two ability. The two were of equal strong but the fact that the poison sting can completely overcome swift meant that rivalry trait was in effect. They can also have a hidden ability but this is not known to Espeon. Poison point was the ability of many poison Pokemons. Whenever a Pokemon comes in direct contact of another with poison point, he has some chances of getting himself poisoned. But this nidorina has rivalry ability. Whenever she encounters Pokemon of similar s_e_x then her attack power increases. Of course it also has a weakness too. If the opponent is of different gender then the attack power of nidorina gets decreased by a fourth of the attack power. Earlier Espeon felt their strength was similar. she thought to drag for as long as possible since they would want to preserve power to help their companions in the later battles. But when the swift attack was destroyed it showed this nidorina had Rivalry ability and her attacks would be stronger according to her trainer, Alex. But this wasn''t enough to discourage her, she was a psychic type and had type advantage against the poison Pokemon. Nidorina kept sending poison sting at Espeon who easily dodged the attacks meanwhile Espeon retaliated with psychic attacks but she managed to roll over them or around them. Although not fast enough, she had instincts which she acquired in her life in the wild. This saved her from psychic attacks. But it could easily tire her out. She was meant for power not speed or stamina after all. Her nidoqueen form was sturdy, not nidorina. They continued their attacks on each other until they were far enough from electabuzz and nidoking. they don''t want to be hurdle or burden to their companions in the next battle round. Espeon on the other hand had both close range and long range attack moves so she doesn''t get stuck if any one type of attack doesn''t work or doesn''t have the opportunity to attack. The fury swipes were dodged by double team and she retaliated with iron tail but nidorina stepped sideways meeting the attack hit the ground. Espeon swept her tail sideways after hitting the ground and nidorina was smashed through a small tree making it fall from the impact. This made a dust cloud rise and when it settled down, nidorina was out of view. she had hidden herself from Espeon''s vision. The place they fought was in the middle of a forest. The trees and shrubs around them provide enough places for nidorina to hide herself and attack when her guard is lowered. When she lowered her guard, nidorina sneaked to her blind spot and sent Espeon flying with the double kick. She targeted her vital organs. This hurt her but she managed to prevent the kick from hitting any important part of the body and affecting her overall functioning. When she rose to her feet, nidorina once again hides in the outgrowths and waited for the right moment to attack again. Espeon was hit hard from the last time she lowered her guard. she wasn''t going to give her opponent another chance and used her psychic to destroy all vegetation around herself. she wants to destroy all hiding places around to prevent nidorina from her sneak attack. As she destroyed some outgrowths, Nidorina''s mouth glows purple and bit Espeon on her hind legs to leave a bite mark and make her wobble on her feet. She then rise her in the air through pure Brute force and threw Espeon on the nearby tree to hurt her. Nidorina was making perfect use of her fighting experience in the forest. Espeon was faster and powerful than nidorina in overall stats but nidorina used the location advantage to gain the upper hand. As Espeon rise to her feet she glowed in pink through the application of heal pulse on herself. As she prepares to use heal pulse, nidorino comes out of hiding and bite on the shoulder this time. The attack location was bruised badly. She was using her superior physical strength to compensate for her lack of speed and every attack of hers left a bruise on Espeon''s body. Espeon hasn''t completely recovered from the mental exhaustion of Mismagius''s illusions so she was badly thrashed by the nidorina who should be at disadvantage, according to all computed data analysis. But life and battle isn''t all about calculations. There are always some factors or advantages which turns the tide of the battle completely. Espeon was injured and she needed to heal herself if she needed to have a chance of victory. She wasn''t suppose to be a battler in this Pokemon Tide. She was supposed to help Electabuzz in his fight through her healing tricks. But now she needed to use her tricks on herself to survive this battle. But it seemed that luck was on Espeon''s side. The phenomenonal change along with rainfall which happened when Slowking was promoting to pseudo king stage, distracted Nidorina long enough for Espeon to heal herself and destroy all the outgrowth and trees around. After her psychic outburst, There was nothing in the surrounding space and a clearing appeared. With no place to hide, nidorina becomes an easy target and under the full force attack of psychic and iron tail on her hind legs she fell down on the ground. Nidorina has lost her mobility due to the previous attacks. This battle wasn''t just to win but to kill the opponent. Alex made sure that all of his Pokemons would remember this. Espeon sent a full powered hyperbeam towards her fallen opponent, ending the life of nidorina. The battle after the change of momentum lasted for full fifteen minutes. She has strong vitality and will power which made sure that she could rise from attacks even though she was hit square by a super effective move. Another reason for drag was that Espeon hasn''t completely healed up mentally. Alex has no idea on how he can treat someone from mental exhaustion and thought rest would do the trick. Any how in the end, victory belonged to Espeon. Although she won and didn''t have any visible injury she was very tired . The battle took a toll on her stamina. She has more stamina compared to her type but compared to other Pokemons with higher durability, it was low. She spent the next fifteen minutes focusing on recovering her stamina while condensing her psychic powers and get prepare for the fight with nidoking who will most probably go berserk when she appears and nidorina doesn''t. Slowking and Espeon had won their battle and the only one left who have grand battle on their side are pidgeot, Snorlax, Piloswine and finally the electabuzz. How will these fight go? Stay tuned To be continued¡­.. Chapter 181 - 61: Aerial battle When the trio of Espeon, Slowking and electabuzz teleported away, the shiny pidgeot of Alex was keeping an eye at the arriving flying Pokemons especially the bug pokemon, Beedrill This time they don''t have to hold back and deal with their opponents as soon as possible while keeping himself healthy enough so he doesn''t become an easy target. When the opponent made himself visible, Pidgeot flew away from the town wall and headed for Beedrill ignoring the other Pokemons around him who may attack at him when he isn''t paying attention. The surrounding people attacked pidgeot when he arrived near them but the other Pokemons who flew along with pidgeot stopped them. And they weren''t just Alex''s Pokemon like claydol, golbat and vespiqueen but others too. They were golbat, fearow, pidgeotto, pidgeot and other Pokemons who are are Pokemons from the flying columns. They could help clear Pidgeot''s path while he preserved his energy for Beedrill only. The other flying Pokemons weren''t strong enough to last more than a couple hits of Beedrill and her stingers. The fact that she was bigger than average Beedrill only increased the terror of Beedrill and most want to avoid facing that yellow and black stripped pokemon as much as possible. This is the terror that Beedrill has created in the heart of most of the pokemons. Strong Pokemons don''t want to get annoyed facing these buzzing pests while the weaker ones are scared of them and their stings. The similar trick was used. Claydol increased the gravity effect on the opposing side which slowed their speed and made flying difficult and then the other pokemons used various ranged attacks to deal with take them down and send them plummeting to their death. Claydol wasn''t joining pidgeot in the attack against Beedrill this time. His gravity didn''t affect the beedrill and would only increase number and hid body will become an easy target for her. His ability was truly effective against these weaker ones and he could deal with other stronger Pokemons in the Tide. When the path was cleared, pidgeot sent a twister towards beedrill who easily dodged the attack but the ones behind her weren''t that fast enough and met their end against the attack of a peak elite Pokemon. Beedrill didn''t care much about the other members of the tide except her own beedrill colony, being the queen of her colony. But the forces of other Pokemons are needed to become victorious in the war. So their strength need to be preserved if only to prevent too much loss for her colony. She began to distance herself from the bulk force and drifted away which was noticed by Pidgeot. He started to fly and follow her but his path was once again blocked. This time, it was Vespiqueen who came to his aid. She sent hundreds of combee she had on her body who attacked the opposite side meanwhile blocked off other pokemon''s passage to prevent them from interferring. When the beedrill was far enough from the main force that her or her opponent attacks do not cause meaningless loss she came to a halt. Vespiqueen and claydol followed behind. They were their to prevent other pokemons of the Tide to attack behind pidgeot back and to heal him if he was injured badly if the need arises. The other flying trio of golbat, pidgeotto and butterfree were together dealing the incoming tide with the flying column. They weren''t as strong as the other trio to deal with the so many Pokemons alone and hence required each other''s help yo fight. If pidgeotto and golbat were evolved into pidgeot and Crobat respectively then they too would be at least elite level and could annihilate these pokemons easily or the battle would be much easier compared to their current scenario. They used poison of golbat, confusion, psychic and stun spore of butterfree and cutting force and speed of pidgeotto to deal the incoming pokemons. Their teamwork was effective as within a couple of minutes they took down more than ten Pokemons without expending much power. This way they could last longer and prevent more Pokemons for passing through them. Vespiqueen and claydol were now attacked by a powerful fearow, Xatu, pidgeot as well as noctowl. These four made them work hard. The opposite side was faster than them and they could only defend themselves and couldn''t dodge due to their lack of speed. Claydol used his ground power to conjure rocks around him which served as a blocking shield against their attacks and it''s broken chunks would attack them when they least expect. Claydol had used his psychic to combat the psychic of Xatu and noctowl. The only advantage that Claydol had in this case was that he knew ice beam. But their faster speed made them difficult to deal with. He had to wait for the most optimistic moment to use this or else his element of surprise would fade and they would be even more vigilant later. On the other Vespiqueen was using her colony of combee in defence mode to defend against the attack. She also used tailwind to dodge some bigger attack and save herself. She sent poison sting, sludge bomb and air slash from time to time just to give them an illusion that she was a long range attacker and when they would come close her true ace would come into effect. When they are close, she would use power gem to momentarily disbalance them as it wouldn''t be a one hot ko against the pidgeot and fearow she faced. They couldn''t move effectively after the hit. Then she use toxic on the duo making them poisoned badly. Alex made sure that every Pokemon of his learned both toxic and venoshock if he could so they could help his Pokemons survive better in the long run. And Vespiqueen was among those who could learn these two moves and use them effectively too. Not far from the six powerhouse the real powerhouse battle between peak elite Pidgeot and the Pseudo king Beedrill was going at fast speed. The pidgeot are known for his speed but the shiny body of his made him stronger than average pidgeot at similar level. Of course a very well trained pidgeot may beat him at similar level but he too was raised properly with care and enough training. And although the beedrill was bigger than average and aren''t known for speed, the pseudo king have a much better physique after their transformation. They are much powerful in terms of body as compared to the previous stage of themselves. So they were fast enough. Beedrill was using her stingers to hit at Pidgeot''s weak points while pidgeot used wind powered wing attack and steel wings to counter. Their were shockwaves generated in the sky when they clashed and they were so faster that only their blur form could be seen. They continued their physical clash because beedrill was stronger physically and most moves are close combat ones. Meanwhile pidgeot doesn''t get enough room to fight back and send long range attack and those long range attacks are stopped by her slash or twineedle or she dodges them all together. The only moves in pidgeot arsenal which could work are sky roar, brave bird as well as giga impact. For sky roar and moves of similar derivative he needs to enter wind force and it takes time. While brave bird and giga impact too take time to commence and it seemed like beedrill doesn''t want to give any time to prepare for the bigger moves. So he needs to hold on till he had gotten the opportunity and deal a heavy blow on his foe. And the opportunity that all three of them awaited for came in the form of Slowking''s transformation to Pseudo king stage. In the sky a grand battle rages. Stay tuned To be continued¡­.. Chapter 182 - CHAPTER 62 Seizing the opportunity The opportunity that the trio of pidgeot, Vespiqueen and claydol awaited came in the form of the changes in the sky due to Slowking''s transformation. The environment changed on his transformation and the wind began to pick up speed and made the pokemons loose control for a bit in the air. This was all the opportunity that the trio needed. Claydol managed to remain unaffected by the string wind but his opponents Xatu and noctowl appeared near him under the strong wind. When they were less than ten metres away, claydol used ice beam on their wings and their wings started to freeze and a layer of ice began to form over them. This made them have problems while flying and the increased gravity sent them plummeting to the ground. But the attack of claydol wasn''t over. As soon as they fell on the ground badly injured from the great fall, a powerful hyper beam stuck and eradicated the very existence of the duo. Though to be sure of his kill he buried the two under tons of stones and gave them a proper burial. Vespiqueen and Pidgeot too didn''t dare to neglect the chance that they got this time. Vespiqueen immediately trapped the two pidgeot and fearow with her swarm of combee and then attacked the duo with toxic. Having been immobilised they couldn''t dodge them they were hit directly with one of the most poisonous attack. The two powerful flying type pidgeot and fearow grimaced in pain and injury caused due to the increasing concentration of poison on the body. Since the effect of toxic increases over time, this made sure that the final victory is currently in her grasp and especially so when Claydol arrived to help deal with her opponent after he took care of his. They silently communicated and claydol held the two flying types and stopped their movement worth psychic. The combee swarm attacked the duo with bug buzz and bug bite. Multiple attacks from hundred of combee injured the two severely and finally Vespiqueen hit the two square with venoshock. This did the trick and the life starts to get drained from their body. Just to be sure both Vespiqueen and Claydol hit them with the most powerful normal type attack, The Hyper beam. The beam hit dead center and the only thing left was the charred body of the two. And finally, Pidgeot. When the changes happened, although beedrill wasn''t affected much he didn''t have the storm flying training that pidgeot had. Pidgeot used the wind flew down at the fastest speed he could and then charged up in a fiery form. Pidgeot used brave bird and hit beedrill at the center of it''s abdomen. Beedrill was sent sailing back in the impact. The power was enough to deal with any elite Pokemon who was weak against flying type moves, but the beedrill was a pseudo king. All of his physical attributes have increased and thus he managed to survive the hit. The hit was going to be painful for him and this will be one of the weakest point of beedrill which may make it yell out in pain. Even pidgeot wasn''t left completely unscathed by the attack. All his muscles pained due to the stress from brave bird attack. His whole body is aching in pain and he needed to rest for a bit to overcome this pain, but he doesn''t think his opponent was gonna give him this chance He cane to attack pidgeot with it''s devastating stinger arms. Pidgeot was still in pain and couldn''t dodge the attack so he prepared himself for the injury. But it never cane as a air slash from Vespiqueen right at the center where beedrill was injured by the brave bird stopped the bug Pokemon in it''s path. Vespiqueen has mobilised her colony to heal pidgeot while other half attacked beedrill especially at her injured abdomen to buy pidgeot more time. Even though beedrill was injured, Vespiqueen didn''t have any wild ambition or hope that she could bring down the bee Pokemon and she required Claydol help if she wanted to end beedrill. But claydol was busy making sure that none of the flying Pokemons could attack the duo and isolate their battle from others. This way they could concentrate on beedrill alone without worrying about anyone else. Pidgeot had recovered from his muscle pain and now joined the attack by sending air slash right at he abdomen. The two have decided to target the abdomen so that it would be easy to take down the beedrill. The difference in power of pidgeot and Vespiqueen was evident as Vespiqueen could only hit the abdomen and couldn''t injure her. Meanwhile pidgeot was capable to giving smaller but mew injuries to the Queen of bee colony, Beedrill. Vespiqueen on the other hand didn''t attack herself just gave the combee orders of attack and defence and whenever she found an opportunity she would sieze it and hit beedrill with air slash or if she was closer with X- scissor. But her target was completely different from pidgeot. She wasn''t as fast as pidgeot to breakthrough her defence and hit the wounded abdomen, so she had to change her target. She targeted the point on the abdomen on which her wings were attached. She tried to injure the wings and it did work as now the beedrill''s speed has been reduced by a fifth from her initial top speed. The attacks as well as the annoying combee angered beedrill and she stopped holding back. Her stingers glowed in purple hue and unlike poison attacks when it envolped the top only, it seemed to cover the entire stinger. This changed the expression of pidgeot and he reluctantly entered the wind force mode and also asked Vespiqueen to vacate since she would only be a burden in the upcoming round. Vespiqueen did as she was asked and vacated the fighting zone and went off to deal with other flying Pokemons while keeping an eye on the fight in case pidgeot needed help or treatment. The wind began to pick up around the two bug and flying Pokemons. They eyes each other for a moment and then pidgeot sent a twister towards beedrill. Beedrill wasn''t at a bit fazed by the upcoming attack and hit the arriving wind column with her stingers . On impact the wind column broke into two and finally dispersed. This let Pidgeot know that Beedrill was going all out and he has to be prepared too. The final fight between pidgeot and beedrill is starting soon. Stay tuned To be continued¡­.. Chapter 183 - CHAPTER 63 While pidgeot and beedrill were ready for their final bout which will most probably lead to the death of the other. This final clash was going to be too strong for any pokemon below elite peak stage. They would only perish if they arrive in their attack range. Neither claydol nor Vespiqueen were at peak elite. With Alex care, they reached peak advanced and could reach next level in a few months but the Tide, accelerated the process. Under continuous battle they have reached initial elite level. And this was way too fast. If not for mew and the Mysterious gem of Celebi, they would still be in advanced stage. Meanwhile other Pokemons were having a go too. Alex caught two Pokemons in their advanced stage who under Alex''s care for around half an year, reached the peak advanced level just before the Tide. They were Snorlax and Onix. Both are really powerful and had strong defence. These two along with piloswine are the tank of the team. They can take more hits than any other Pokemon of Alex. And their stamina is worth envying. As long as electabuzz doesn''t go all out, he had no chance of winning Piloswine and Snorlax unless they fought for hours and he could only win onix because of his strong physique and fighting skills. So he knows many fighting type moves which are a bane of Onix. But overtime, Onix learns to take these hits and survive longer increasing his already frightening endurance. Earlier, Onix and nidorino were together and deal with tide but as Alex entered deeper into the crowd the four pokemons weren''t enough so ivysaur called nidorino back and let Onix deal with many pokemons alone. Onix was currently dealing with the trio of Hypno, Persian and magneton. They were too fast for him to take down in one hit and hence he teied to use Rock throw as well as rock tomb to create hurdles for the three and decrease their speed and range of dodge. Dragon breath to attack along with sandstorm from time to time to dodge the moves of the trio was also helping him in the long run. The greatest advantage of Onix in this fight was his endurance. The longer he dragged on the battle, the greater his chances of victory will be. And at the time of his fight, Snorlax contacted him. He hoped that Snorlax, him and Piloswine could join the team and deal with the Pokemons together so he could get back and get his cherished delight awaiting him back at the camp. Before contacting Onix, Snorlax and Piloswine seemed to steamrolled through the Pokemon tide. Their physical power as well as high defense made them a perfect tank for the fight. Piloswine aren''t known for their speed but their take down is powerful enough to destroy anything that stands in their path. And his ice powers due to the millennium ice had greatly increased. His ice power have reached peak elite but his ground and physical strength lagged behind. His ground powers were at advance stage while strength was also there. He used to freeze the very ground itself in ice so that the rush of wild pokemons come to halt and they fell down heavily and then Earthquake does the trick. The double attack from ice and ground attack was enough to deal with the Pokemons until his new opponent arrived. It was a Muk and ampharos. These two could easily be taken down by Piloswine but Snorlax''s words put all of this to a stop. Snorlax just rolled around through rollout and crushed the Pokemons under his immense weight. They were crushed, their head cracked open, bones were crushed to dust and he was regarded as a ball of Doom by all. Snorlax was taking down Pokemons left and right. In front of him noone could last more than a couple of hit. His fight was uncontested until he encountered Rhydon, Golem, Victreebel, Weezing, Muk, Ursaring a well as Primeape. All six of them knew that they couldn''t take down Snorlax alone do they needed to join hands and if let unchecked he would be end the tide alone. In front of them, Snorlax came to stop and regained his normal form. He could take all of them down alone but decided to share and used the mental connection between all of Alex''s Pokemon with Mew''s help and contacted Piloswine. '' Hey, Piloswine. You around somewhere. '' '' what is it, Snorlax? If you are going to ask me if I found anything tasty then no I didn''t find anything tasty. And don''t disturb me. I can''t take hits as easily as you could. Some Pokemon need to dodge too.'' Piloswine criticized Snorlax. Snorlax wasn''t affected by his criticism and merely thought,'' Dodging is so much work. I think just taking the hit is much better. And don''t interrupt me. I didn''t call you to ask for anything tasty. Anyway, I have seven Pokemons in front of me. Do you think you could join me here?'' Snorlax asked. Piloswine was quiet for a moment and then replied,'' I got three here myself. We should contact Onix and see if he want to join the fun.'' '' ok . Let me do it.'' Snorlax said. While the chat was going on, the Pokemons weren''t standing still. They attacked Snorlax either through close combat or long range attacks. '' Onix, you anywhere around.'' Snorlax asked through the bond. '' What do you want, Snorlax? I am kind of busy here with a fight and if you haven''t noticed most of us are busy due to the tide so if you don''t have anything important to say then stop distracting me. I am fighting three Pokemons at a time and so I need to focus here.'' Onix said grumpily. " What about three, I am facing six and I am still talking to you. What so great about numbers?" He countered. " Just get on with what you wanted to talk to me about?" Onix said not wanting to continue arguing with the big glutton. " I thought since most of our friends are fighting in groups so why don''t we do it too. This way we can deal with the Pokemons quickly and just so you know Piloswine is with me in this one." " You doing it so you could get back to eating isn''t it." Onix muttered There was no reply from Snorlax about it but the faint laughter of Piloswine could be heard meaning this was what he really want. " Ok I will join together with you just so I don''t have to deal with more annoying pests." Onix said " and where are we going to meet?" " Leave it to Piloswine and me." And the connection came to a halt. Piloswine swept his opponent with icy wind and sent the trio sailing through the air and hence ice shards manipulated them to follow the path he wants them to follow. Similarly Snorlax thrashed four of the seven Pokemons flying towards a particular direction and this forced the other three to follow him behind. The two were slowly heading towards Onix direction who was deeper in the enemy grounds. Next will include the final fight of beedrill and pidgeot. Stay tuned to be continued¡­.. Chapter 184 - 64 Piloswine was leading the Muk and ampharos towards Onix who was deep inside the enemies line and faced Hypno, Magneton and Persian alone. Similarly, Snorlax was making sure to thrash most of the Pokemon among the seven who faced him towards Onix. These seven Pokemons of Rhydon, Golem, Victreebel, Weezing, Muk, Ursaring as well as Primeape were led there too. Snorlax said that this would help the other two too but it seemed like Snorlax is the who benefits the most out of this outcome. After ten minutes of running, Snorlax was the first one to arrive at their appointed destination but Onix as well as his three opponents Hypno, Magneton and Persian aren''t anywhere around. When he thought that he had arrived at the wrong place, a Persian flew in his direction and collided with the tree. And soon in a loud rumble Onix appeared from underground with a hypno hanging by one of the segments of Onix. It seemed like to free himself from Hypno''s grip Onix decided to go underground and free himself by crushing hypno on a hard rock. But it doesn''t seem to work. Onix shook his entire body once again and managed to shake off hypno now. The frozen hypno was an easy target for the angry Onix who was annoyed by this encounter and he prepared a big attack for him. Onix attacked the frozen hypno with a powerful double edge. This did the trick and he too sailed through the air and hit the cruster of seven pokemons who arrived while chasing Snorlax. They fell heavily on the ground and were hurt by the ice shards which hit them when they collided with the defeated and frozen Hypno. Victreebel was the one most affected by this meanwhile primeape was the least affected. Just as they rose from their fallen state on the ground, two more Pokemons fell by the side attracting all the attention. It was another Muk and Ampharos. Piloswine strong Ancient power sent the other two flying and then fell heavily in the front of other Pokemons. All the twelve opponents of the three heavy Pokemons were together just as they had planned earlier. '' So do you think my plan is awesome, isn''t it?'' Snorlax bragged to Onix and Piloswine. Piloswine didn''t answer and used avalanche on the crowd of Pokemon. It worked way to well as the icy rocks created hit the target and they were submerged beneath the fallen snow and rocks. If left unchecked they will most probably perish in time, without extra efforts. '' So should we leave them or make sure that we got our opponents?'' Snorlax asked his friends. Piloswine was catching his breathe after using a powerful ice type move and then said," I can sense some Pokemon still alive in that group. Although chances are less they can still escape so we shouldn''t take our chances. " " Very well then, I and Piloswine will use Earth power while you Snorlax, you can use whatever you want to use. " Onix said as he doesn''t know what trick of Snorlax would be effective now. Snorlax eyes sparkled when he heard he was given freedom to do whatever he wants so firstly Snorlax used belly drum to increase his powers then he jumped in the sky. He was covered by a purple coat of energy and he fell heavily on the mass of snow from avalanche. Snorlax had used Giga impact at this time. When he hit the avalanche all the snow and rock was smashed all around and the Pokemons beneath the avalanche were completely crushed under the heavy blow. Under the attack, there was a few metres wide and few feet deep crater was formed and the blood of the possibly dead pokemons oozed out of the the body. Snorlax rose from the center of the crater and proudly began to walk towards the other two. " Did you see my awesome power? This is all due to my healthy diet. So can you support me when I ask Alex to increase my rations. " He hasn''t crossed the crater and shouted at the others. Meanwhile, Piloswine and Onix just shook their head. He worked hard just so his share of food is increased. They knew that their trainer Alex make sure they are healthy and if they want they can get more but Snorlax is different. Since, joining the team and Alex had put a restriction on Snorlax''s appetite. The harder he works or trains , the more his ration of food will increase. As for who are the judge, it is the other Pokemons of Alex. And it has done the trick so far. Snorlax felt that he had done the job but suddenly from his feet two Muk rose and tried to engulf him and poison Snorlax badly. Fortunately piloswine felt their presence or heat of the body and slammed his feet heavily on the ground. And from his feet to everything within hundred metres up front in Snorlax direction, the ground was covered in ice. It froze Muk solid and they were crushed to multiple pieces now under the weight of Snorlax. Onix decided to joke with Snorlax and said," It seemed you didn''t train hard enough. That''s why you didn''t sense Muk so close to your feet. It seemed that Alex had been too kind to you. When we return I will ask Alex to cut down your food so you have more time to train properly. Don''t you agree with me, Piloswine?" Onix voice boomed. Snorlax was stunned and froze on spot when he heard Onix and before he could say anything, Piloswine added his own views," Indeed. If I do that, maybe Alex can spend a part of money he use to feed Snorlax on finding more older nevermelt ice for me. " " What ? You can''t do that. If he knows that I lowered my guard in the battle, he would have me run without food for hours and even cut down the supply in the name of training and reflex training. " Snorlax shouted . " It isn''t our fault that you are like this. You were the one who lowered the guard. It is all on yourself. We just..." Before Onix can continue to tease Snorlax, loud sounds of Pokemon running towards them was heard. It seemed like the shout of Snorlax attracted the attention of Pokemon and they have to face new foes now. Luckily none were at elite level and could be easily torn apart by them. The next horde was composed of Rhyhorn, Persian, Meowth, Taurus, Ponyta, rapidash, and other Normal and grass types. Meanwhile, in the sky, An injured pidgeot faced with a similarly injured beedrill. Pidgeot had multiple stab wounds on his abdomen and one of his legs seemed to have broken. And all these wounds are there after Vespiqueen healed some of the injuries of pidgeot. Had it not been for the back up he would have list way too earlier. On the other hand, one of the stinger of beedrill was missing. His hand was cut clean by pidgeot in the battle. The only thought in their mind was to defeat the other and the next move would be the final move. Stay tuned... To be continued.... Chapter 185 - 65: Sky duel The two Pokemons in the sky had experienced a gruesome battle while Snorlax, Onix and Piloswine dealt with their opponents. The Elite peak shiny pidgeot and the Pseudo king beedrill were at each other''s throat throughout the duration of Pokemon Tide attack. And now the grievance both had towards each other would settle down. They readied themselves for the final attack to decide the outcome of the battle. An hour ago, In the sky, Pidgeot and Beedrill attacked each other and had entered their most powerful state. Beedrill covered her stingers with poison which increased the lethality of it. By doing this, the chances of poisoning through stingers have increased greatly. It''s piercing power as well as strength also increased under the blessing of poison power. Pidgeot in the other hand, entered the wind force and strengthen his claws. It is the strongest as well as the most useless part of him. He doesn''t use his claws for attack and hence it isn''t much stronger. It is the only part of the body whose loss of function during the battle wouldn''t affect the fight too adversely. If he powered his wings then he would use wings to collide with the stinger and protect himself but if the wings are too injured then he cannot fight in the air properly. This will put him at a disadvantage against the beedrill and he would be sitting slowpoke for him. If his claws are hurt or injured, he won''t be able to sit it settle on the ground but he could still fly to dodge and preserve himself. Under the influence of wind force, the claws of pidgeot shimmered in blue and it''s power as well as cutting potential increased vigorously. Earlier with his claws, pidgeot can give heavy gush marks to the thick tree trunks and now with the wind force he could bring down the tree in a single swipe of his claw. Then the two at lightning fast speed flew towards each other and the claws and stingers clashed in the sky. The collisions of wind and poison power sent out shockwaves around them and most people could only locate them by following the creation point of these shockwaves. These shockwaves hurt the combee around pidgeot unintentionally. They were just too weak to stand the aftermath. As for what these combee were doing out there, they were there to heal pidgeot but it seemed that healing would have to wait until the opportunity arrives. Claydol said to Vespiqueen," It would be better of you save the combee for later. For minute injuries, pidgeot could handle but it is the heavier ones which are worth fearing. If you keep sending them out now, there would be a severe lack of potential helpers for both us and pidgeot. Use them wisely. Their battle would last for sometime with the physical stamina of pidgeot and beedrill. " He told her. On hearing this Vespiqueen buzzed at Claydol," So we do nothing. And fly here doing nothing and watch him get injured." " I heard from Slowking that pidgeot had the greatest control over his wind element. He has even more control then the two. So it is not difficult for pidgeot to last an hour in the fight. The real problem is just how gravely he will be injured after the battle. We would need at least one of us to support him while other to protect him in case things went array or we are put on siege by the flying Pokemons. " Claydol explained his thoughts to Vespiqueen. Vespiqueen was reluctant but agreed in the end. " Fine, I will do as you say, but if it appears that things are going way out of our hands, I will intervene." She said strongly. " I will ask you for nothing else. Now we have to deal with the small fries with as little energy expenditure as possible. I have a feeling that pidgeot would need our help later in the fight." Claydol said with a hint of certainity . They have dealt would most of the leaders of the flying Pokemons, so they aren''t as well organised in the attack as before. Other leaders of the group are held back by Jim and his coharts. There are Pokemon who even have some thoughts of fleeing. The only thing that makes sure that they didn''t is that Beedrill is still active and so long as he is there, there will not be any retreat from the flying Pokemons. This is something Claydol sensed from the Pokemons around him. So the best bet of victory is to end the leader, who happen to be Beedrill. Yet neither claydol nor Vespiqueen could be of any help in the high level battle going on between the two. And they will only be a hindrance for pidgeot, so he convinced the emotional Vespiqueen to hold back until the right moment. So they decided to deal with the weaker ones here so the pressure up front could be reduced a little. Beedrill and Pidgeot''s war raged for about an hour and in this time every ten to fifteen minutes duration some combee would fly towards Pidgeot to heal him at Vespiqueen command. This was the only thing which managed to keep the pidgeot from losing against the superior foe. Many of the hits from the stinger fell in pidgeot which made multiple puncture on the body of pidgeot. One such hit almost hit the heart of pidgeot but his natural instincts preserved hos life. And the very close death encounter made him unleash even more power and he swept the wind power to the wings and cut down the stinger. These battle had benefitted Pidgeot a lot. If there was another showdown between Beedrill abd Pidgeot he may breath through to the pseudo king stage but it won''t be possible. Beedrill is crippled and had no chances to leaving the war alive so she spent all her effort to deal with the persistent foe she had encountered in this war. After an hour of intense fight, the final outcome is just round the corner. They readied themselves for the final strike. Pidgeot used his excellent control to cover himself with the wind power, something which only king level Pokemons are capable of. This form is much weaker thsn the king level but still powerful for pseudo king Pokemons. Beedrill on the other hand mobilised his entire poison power on the only usable arm and dashed towards pidgeot. The blue glowing pidgeot rushed for the beedrill. As soon as they collided the cloud around themselves began to spread apart and float away from the strong force of the shockwave their attack created. Claydol and Vespiqueen arrived at his side quickly. Claydol used his psychic to slow down the poison spreading through his body. As soon as they arrived by his side, he lost his conscience and fainted die to pain, tiredness or poison, no one knows except Pidgeot himself. While Vespiqueen supported him and tried to heal his serious wounds which have started to bleed out. Claydol tried to sense and contact Espeon so she could use refresh and try to subdue or eject the poison out of his body. Claydol''s distressed psychic search attracted Xatu attention who arrived there and saw pidgeot situation. He told them," You sll continue to fight, i will take him back at the Laboratory. There he could be healed. He is too injured to continue fighting and needs to rest now. " Claydol and Vespiqueen agreed to this and handed over pidgeot to Xatu who teleported away. The just below them was the body of the beedrill cut down in half by pidgeot in his last attack. But no one paid attention to it. He was left there. Next will be the epic clash between Akex strongest Pokemon, Electabuzz and the Commander of the whole Tide, Nidoking. Stay tuned To be continued.... Chapter 186 - 66 When the trio of Slowking, Electabuzz, and Espeon teleported away from Alex, they encountered their respective opponents in the form of Alakazam, Nidoking and Nidorina. Slowking left to face off Alakazam while Espeon went away with nidorina. Everyone knew that the battle between the two left out pokemons would be the decisive battle of the Pokemon Tide invasion and will determine the Victor. Yet they themselves knew that they weren''t strong enough to involve themselves and would only be a burden for the other. When they left, Electabuzz and Nidoking shrouded themselves in their respective forms of power. Electabuzz was shrouded in the golden stream of thunder while nidoking was in a purple hue. In terms of type advantage, Nidoking may have a clear cut advantage but in terms of elemental powers, they were each other''s equal. Most of the nidoking found in the wild are basically poison attribute pseudo king. As for why they weren''t ground type, is because of their lack of enough training. Poison provides a better chance of survival than the slow and clumsy ground attacks that average Nido family learns. Only on becoming Nidoking and they are powerful as well as lucky at that, then they could learn some powerful ground type or rock type moves which are effective against the electric type Electabuzz. And that move would be earth power. But it would all be based on his luck. And the most prominent place which could poison him would be the spikes and areas around them. Electabuzz with the increased speed appeared just below nidoking and gave a heavy thunder powered hammer arm on his stomach. It managed to push back nidoking a couple of steps but a heavy tail wrung towards him glowing purple. Electabuzz jumped in the air to dodge and swing his tail as iron tail. They both clashed but electabuzz lost in brute Force making him step back. Electabuzz put his feet on the ground firmly to not skid back more and rushed back with both his arms glowing in yellow. Electabuzz speed was his advantage so he dodged as many attacks as he could and made sure that he would three hits for every single hit received. And the slugfest began. Fist hit fist, leg hit leg and tail hit tail. Nidoking even used his horn to attack but electabuzz made sure to evade in time. They continued like this until Slowking''s ascent was sensed by them and both created some gap in between them. Now after the slight time of rest, they have started to use long range attacks with nidoking sending thundershock and thunderbolt to irritate him. These attacks won''t knock him out but may paralyse the for in front of him making him an easy target. Both pokemons currently have only one move which is effective on the other. Nidoking had Earth power while electabuzz had ice punch. These two are killer which could change the course of battle if used in the right moment. So they both are waiting for that moment. Nidoking smashed his hand in the ground and the ground seemed to turn dark. As soon as it arrived near electabuzz he instinctively jumped back barely escaped the attack. The entire ground he stood exploded with poison and everything around seemed to die. Electabuzz was even more vigilant now. He was at a disadvantage with his thunder attack not working effectively due to type attribute so he cannot fight from long range and get defeated in physical strength showing he was at disadvantage at close range too. He seemed to think of utilising the killer move now. Although he won''t be defeated at least he would be slowed down giving him enough time to dodge most attacks. Electabuzz sent a powerful thunder pulse at nidoking who replied back with a tide of poison sludge. When they collided everything around a hundred metre was either destroyed or dead. Electabuzz took the collision as a chance and hit nidoking at his neck with ice punch . This attack put a layer of frost around the neck and there was a slight crack sound heard from impact. Nidoking swung his arm at electabuzz but he fell down to dodge and hit the knee of nidoking woth low kick and as he fell down he gave another powerful ice punch to the knee This time it was much harder hit than before and the knee seemed to bend in opposite direction. His left leg out of action and he had lost his speed as well as movement. Nidoking roared loudly in pain from the knee injury she electabuzz was smug about the attack. He was unaware Nidoking prepared a gift from him and soon massive spikes of Earth under Earth power move hit electabuzz. Under instincts he jumped back but he wasn''t completely unfazed. He had bruise on his legs and arms but this wasn''t what makes it difficult for electabuzz. The really dangerous thing was that electabuzz was poisoned. The Earth spikes had poison on them which was injected in the electabuzz body now. It seemed like a double kill. Nidoking lost his knee and became a sitting slowpoke. While electabuzz was hurt and poisoned, he was fighting a battle against time. Their battle has only begun for fifteen minutes and they are already seriously injured. Both underestimated their opponents and paired dearly for it. The battle between Pokemon of this level was fierce and they cannot have a single moment of neglect or else they would pay with defeat or even death. Electabuzz himself knows he was fighting a losing battle so he forsake all thoughts of defence and attacked nidoking with only effective ice punch. Ice punch was effective so his attacks were mostly ice punch and they were targeted at his shoulders. He wanted to make him lose one arm. Meanwhile all the attacks of nidoking hit electabuzz on his abdomen which was protected by his thunder armour. This made sure he doesn''t get heavy bruise or any internal organs is misplaced. In half an hour time, nidoking lost his right shoulder. Its bones were completely broken and could be of no use. Alex gave him some pecha berry before the battle in case he need to slow down poison as well as thunder power combating poison make sure he last for so long. He could barely fight for fifteen minutes after which he would be immobilsed due to poison in his body. There wasn''t a single moment to breathe for the two. The battle was too fast to use anything other than physical moves and the special long range attack were either non effective or too slow that the other will dodge. During the battle he sent multiple sharp poison objects to injure electabuzz but he dodged most of them. After being poisoned he mostly ignored the lesser powerful poison attacks. They didn''t bother to chat with one another and let their fist do the talking. The two knew that they cannot last long and should end the battle quickly. Suddenly an attack hit nidoking in the back which forced him to fall on the ground, electabuzz ignored the attacker and hit him with a nother ice punch this time on his eye making one of his eye worthless in battle. After that, the attacker leviated rocks and stones around and hurled them at nidoking hard. Electabuzz turned to see that the attacker was Espeon. Espeon had arrived at the battlefield to help electabuzz. How will nidoking react to the death of his mate? Stay tuned Chapter 187 - 67 Pokemon pov, Espeon walked towards Electabuzz and another pokemon floated towards them, it was Slowking. He had used safeguard on all of them to prevent themselves from being poisoned while Espeon started to heal electabuzz''s poison status. " So you both took care of your opponent. It seemed I am still weak that I need others heal to win my fights." Electabuzz grumbled while not saying anything else about their treatment of him. " Don''t be too Stubborn. You are at lose here. Your thunder attacks aren''t effective and with his poison type fighting moves cannot exert full power because of his spikes. In this battle you were at complete disadvantage yet you lasted so long be proud of it " Espeon told him with a serious no joke expression. Slowking kept his eye on the fallen yet undefeated foe. If not for the fact that electabuzz was poisoned for a long time, their main priority would have been dealing with nidoking instead of healing electabuzz. Slowking smiled at their interaction and said," You brought him down to this stage is already good. At least we have some chance for victory if we survive through the rampage." Espeon eyes were on the unmoving pile of rock and was dreading the pokemon below. " Indeed nidoking are already scary and powerful and now he would be going blastic with us too. " Electabuzz just grumbled," Here I thought you will be helping me and you increased my burden even more." Espeon didn''t take it well and said," If you brute focused more on dragging. You fought him hard and drained your power. Meanwhile nidoking is most probably in aftershock especially by my appearance here." And it was true as nidoking rose from amidst the rocks and said with a heavy voice," Where is Nidorina?" They didn''t answer and continued to heal Electabuzz for the next fierce round of combat. Nidoking didn''t like their silence and roared," Where is she?" He dragged his hurt body ignoring his broken leg. He smashed his hands heavily on the ground and a wave of poison roared towards the trio. Nidoking was angry , very angry but he had enough sense to knee he couldn''t face them in close combat due to his injured leg and opted for long one. Slowking sent a tsunami of water to hold back the poison, but Earth power of nidoking targeted them. This time Espeon and Slowking used psychic to float and be airborne with electabuzz to dodge. Rock spikes run towards them but psychic redirected them back. Slowking used the water he summoned earlier to drown it but the Earth barrier erected. Earlier, nidoking was capable enough to use Earth power but after learning of his mate''s death he went in frenzy. He had only one thought in his mind, the complete and utter annihilation if everything so they too could accompany her in afterlife. He kept sending poison laced heavy rocks and spikes as well as sludge bomb to the trio. They all were stopped by psychic barrier of Espeon and electabuzz used water as an amplifier to attack nidoking. The attacks were hurting him, but nidoking lost all sense of control and ignored his pain to focus on his goal. " Why did you not mention he could use ground too? " Espeon angrily asked electabuzz. She was keeping both of them afloat since the moment they are on ground they are attacked worth spikes or pits are generated. " He didn''t use it earlier. It was only after going into frenzy he did it. It was your fault for appearing in front of him." Electabuzz shouted back while attacking nidoking. "My fault. If I wasn''t here, you would..." Slowking interrupted her and said," enough. Can we fight after dealing with him?" " Then why don''t you do it? You could flood him in water can''t you?" Electabuzz grumbled. " As long as he on ground, I cannot use water against him. He either let it flow underground or use the wall of Earth. The little attacks aren''t enough to bring him down especially when he abandoned all defense and is willing to perish along with us." " So do you have any plan?" Espeon asked " No not at the moment. Alex did the planning, and I cannot think any other option to end the battle quick than to use you as bait. Can you be the bait here?" Slowking asked Espeon. Espeon shuddered while looking at the angry form of nidoking then braved herself and agreed. Electabuzz was against it but no one took his opinion into account. She was immediately attacked by numerous rock and stones around but Swift dealt with them. She sent multiple psychic beam and blast while evading the attacks. When she was close enough she even sent a hyper beam right at his face. Nidoking lifted his hands to guard himself. This attack pushed him back and disrupted his control of Earth. Then Slowking started to mobilise the water for his next attack. Espeon on the other hand wasn''t done. She surrounded herself in psychic power and used" Zen headbutt" Although it wasn''t as powerful as hyper beam, it hit him on his damaged shoulder making him roar in pain. This was enough distraction and soon water surrounded him and imprisoned him. Under the collective psychic of Slowking and Espeon water tentacles grabbed on to nidoking. Electabuzz acc_u_mulated large amount of thunder and then sent a dense thunderbolt at the water prison holding nidoking. These attacks did a lot of damage and nidoking was fried up. Smoke rise from his body. Yet he hadn''t died, his anger was still there and in the last resort he thrashed around hard enough to escape the prison. As soon as he fell on the ground, the entire place began to shake and the ground began to break apart. From the cracks poison rose and attacked the them in form of snake. They suffered the dual attack of rock spikes, poison snake as well as big rocks hitting them. This time they couldn''t dodge and everyone was hit hard. Espeon and Slowking had a big battle just before this and we''re really tired and electabuzz was still injured . These attacks only aggregated the wounds from earlier battle. They know that it was the last effort of nidoking and after this he would be spent out. And it was as such. After the attack faded, nidoking was breathing heavily. He was tired, his body hurt badly but his eyes were still defiant and wished to end his opponent. The trio of Alex''s Pokemon looked at each other wondering who will deal the final blow and it was decided it would be electabuzz. Electabuzz created a small blade of 30 cms with thrusted it into his body right through the heart. And with that Nidoking life came to an end and he joined nidorina in the afterlife. The last pseudo king met his end and the final curtains will soon fall on this war. As for what will be the aftermath, stay tuned. To be continued... Chapter 188 - 68 Electabuzz looked at the sky and mumbled," The battle the past few days has been too frightening and difficult. It seems we became too relaxed with our increasing powers and forgot how big the world really is." Slowking being the wise pokemon he was agreed," Indeed. The battle will end soon. Xatu has informed me that he took away pidgeot to heal from here because of his heavy injuries. Now that all the pseudo king on our side are out. Only elite level are left. I think we can catch our breathe now and then join others to end this war quicker. I could use a big nap after all this." Slowking noticed Espeon was way too quiet now and decided to ask," What happened, Espeon? Have you not recovered from the illusion effect even now?" " I am fine. The thing I worry about is Alex. How will he be after this?" " what about him? He will be fine. We won and all of us survived though some are more wounded than others." Electabuzz replied. " I am not talking about that. I am talking about his mental health. How much he will change after the battle. Claydol mentioned back then, the old man''s son said that humans change after this kind of battle and it takes time to recover them, some are no longer the same as they were before the fight." " What, old man? "Elect a buzz still wasn''t sure who they talked about. " The same old man whose Charizard completely destroyed you, you idiot." Espeon was angry worth his constant interruption and shouted at the muscled headed bipedal electric Pokemon. Of course, electabuzz ignored her angry shout and said," Him. I remember him now. His son is a strong human, just like his father. As for Alex''s change, I don''t care." He said without a hint of worry. " What do you mean you don''t care? Are you not worried about him!" Espeon doesn''t like his nonchalant words regarding Alex and thundered at him. Slowking decided to interfere and tried to appease Espeon as he felt the same as electabuzz in this regard," It is not that he doesn''t care. It is that he trust Alex enough to know he would not lose Alex to anything. We , meaning I, pidgeot and electabuzz know him for more than six years. We saw him grow from a small boy who was scared of pokemons to the current fearsome trainer who can look into the eyes of some of the most fearsome pokemons without fear . We saw him facing different obstacles and things that many kids his age would rather give up and try something else. Yet he didn''t give up. He faced it head on and overcame it. We have always known that Alex may change after this war and we have prepared ourselves for the change." " Are you sure we cannot do anything? We can help him overcome this, can''t we?" Espeon wasn''t calmed just yet and tried to talk them into helping Alex more directly than just spiritual support. " Some things are part of the growth. This is just another step for his growth in the long run. Before we started travelling he has already told us about some things. We were there when he made the first kill. We saw how he was back then. It took him about months to recover the aftershock and he was only six back then. He is way too strong mentally and stable minded to let these things affect him." Slowking said but this time it wasn''t as calm as he normally was. Probably remembering how Alex was in the past. " It was back then. How can you be sure he won''t be affected much after so much death. We all have changed and we only followed his orders. His orders have caused many casualties which may affect his psych." Espeon herself wasn''t someone who can give up on something easily and her effort only increased every time the two try to calm her and not get too active in this situation. " If it was before it may take time but not in the current scenario. The thing which help him overcome the first kill was neither his father, mother nor grandpa . Not even we could do anything to help him. It was actually his siblings who helped him out at that time." Slowking explained a bit about the past. " What did his siblings, Clara and Ben did?" Espeon was confused what the two kids who only knows how to play do to help Alex. " They reminded him of what he fought for and what he has to protect." Electabuzz added, "Before all these, I remember that the old man asked about Alex past adventure and how he handled the first kill and how he changed from his parents back at home?" " We thought it was just for getting to know Alex better but after he became the leader we knew what was really the matter. The old man is smart, very smart. He knew that Alex will change so he chose this time because no matter how deeply he is affected, he can overcome the guilt and his inner heart just like he did in the first kill. Even without the external help it would only make him stay low for a year at most before he could stop himself from heading out. There is a reason we follow him and this not just because of the loyalty we have towards Alex." Electabuzz said with such certainity that Espeon was confused where all of this come from. " Then what is it?" " It is his oath. He took an oath of reaching the peak and leaving his legend in the world so that people could remember him for many years to come. This is his most sincere dream. He doesn''t want to lose his identity and name in the sands of time, he yearn to be immortalised and the people to remember him for ages. This dream is what fuel him to continue forward no matter what obstacle he face. And he will not give up, his dream won''t allow that. " Slowking elaborated. Electabuzz seems to remish the past and said," He often tell us during the tough training session when we thought of giving up ,'' Legends can lose, can be injured but they cannot lose hope and they can never give up. The moment you give up, you lose your path to the goal of the future.'' He used it fuel our ambition and help us reach our current level. We didn''t have the amount of resources you all enjoy back then. Every strength we gain is under his strict training or we could have become king Pokemon by now. His enthusiasm, will, dream and support is what guide us forward. " " But he can still give up? He is still too young and most humans his age cannot withstand this level of pressure. They break down. I still say we should do something to help ." Espeon wasn''t willing to let Alex beat down and recover on his own. Who knows if they don''t do anything what may happen to Alex. She cared too much for him and can''t just stand and see him hurting, so she tried to force these two senior members of the team to help. Electabuzz didn''t take kindly to it and said harshly,"Enough. He would be alright. He doesn''t need our babying. You don''t need to worry. If he can''t even handle this then I would be the first to leave the group." Slowking and Espeon eyes widened in shock in hearing this but Slowking then sighed in understanding. Even though electabuzz joined to team later than him and pidgeot, he was closest to Alex. No one could understand Alex better than him and this threat is enough to force Alex to speed things up if he really cannot handle the pressure and the shock. " We should calm down and not fight within ourselves. We will return back to Floral Town in the next couple of days and we don''t want his family to worry about us. It would only increase the burden of Alex. We should also try to overcome our weaknesses that were revealed when we fought our opponents during this time. We were lucky enough to win once but luck won''t be on our side forever. We have to grow stronger and train even harder when he return so we can protect him." Slowking tried to change the topic to their training and spoke out with a hint of hardness daring either of them to retort his words. Then Slowking gathered them around him and they teleport away to Alex. With Alex, Alex was lost in the fight. He was releasing all the pent up emotion, frustration and pressure he experienced in his time as the commander against his opponents. He had lost count of how many pokemons lost their life under his attacks in the past one hour. His guardians made sure that he wasn''t attacked when he wasn''t looking . The area around Alex was a miniature meat grinder in which any Pokemon who enters meet his end at Alex''s hand. Slowking arrived at Alex side via teleport startling Alex who retorted with a heavy staff swing which hit electabuzz hard on his head. After the hit, the retaliating electric shock from the bipedal electric type returned him to his senses and he asked," Has your battle ended?" They just nodded back or in electabuzz case glared at him for the hard hit. " Then swiftly end things here, the battle has dragged for far too long." Slowking and electabuzz went all out. Slowking started needle rain , meanwhile electabuzz created a thunderstorm in which lightning fell wherever he wished in a hundred metre radius around him. Under their brutal attacks, the wild Pokemons lost all hopes and finally decided to run into the forest to escape for their life. The Pokemon tide had finally came to an end. Next will be the aftermath of the Pokemon tide and Alex returning back home. Stay tuned... To be continued.... Chapter 189 - CHAPTER 69 The battle had ended two days ago on all fronts and everyone could finally be at ease after the Doom clouds floats away from above their heads. Most of the people can finally rest and have a long comfortable nap. But it isn''t time for the leaders of the corps along with the Town''s top officials to rest or calm down. Now they are even more busy than during the tide as they are dealing with the aftermath of the attack. Now it had fallen upon them to make record of the entire Pokemon tide as well as reports of the important battles ( battles between elite level pokemons and above) so that the strength of the trainers could be reassessed and they could be given rewards as an incentive to continue their good work. They should also send the reports about the death of troops and trainers alike as well as serious wounded people so that they could be granted appropriate pension pertaining to their ranks. The top brass of the league does that to make sure the town official don''t slack. These records cannot be falsified as the Pokemon G-Men cross check the records and if any problems are found, the officials are targeted for deceiving the league. The officer level troops of the army also make record of the casualties of the corp as well as the recording of important fights. All the trainers has to send their reports of the bigger fights. This way they could get better rewards from the league after the reports are verified and can be a person of focus that can be cultivated by the league in the future. Armed forces also had to send reports of the amount of medicines, herbs, weapons as well as arrows were utilised and how much stockpile is still left out. The Town official on the other hand take record of the damage done to the town, buildings, drainage, streets as well as the casualties of the civilians and how the fight within the town itself go. The army takes care of matters outside the town wall and The officials takes care of matters within the walls. Alex being the Captain got stuck in this whirlpool too and he is trying to complete his task as soon as possible. After deposition of the reports in the town hall, he would return home. He really want to leave this place especially when he learned that pidgeot was gravelly injured during his fight and he had to be teleported back as soon as battle ended. As his first pokemons, he had a very important place for pidgeot in his heart and he was angry he couldn''t just dump all these things and rush to see him. In the final fight, the entire corp saw the power and destruction that his Pokemon, Slowking and Electabuzz were capable of. This made the troops have more awe and fearful for Alex in their heart. They know just how easy it was for the captain to deal with them and any semblance of order failure was not even in a mile radius in their mind. The second lieutenant and some of his coharts were lucky enough to perish in the battle so they escaped the questioning, but rest aren''t so lucky. They are currently in the temporary prison waiting for the questions regarding their loyalty to the league and their actions which was akin to treachery. In the Pokemon world, strength decides everything, whether it is power, Prestige, position or respect. And the strength demonstrated by his Pokemons showed that he has tons of power under him. His two Pokemons destroyed more Pokemons I just a single day than they did throughout the course of raid. Suddenly a knock came from the door and with a soft '' enter '', Jean entered the office room. She had multiple doc_u_ments on her hands with even more in the hands of other lieutenant and officer cadets. " SIR, All the reports as well as those of casualties are in the these doc_u_ments. They also have the approximate number of the pokemons we faced, their level as well as how many escaped after the war ended. " Alex remains quiet for a moment and then asked ," What are the final results of these reports?" " Sir, we had a total of 60 thousand people fighting of which 15 thousand have died and other 25 thousand are injured. Of these 15 thousand , eight thousand are troops and they didn''t follow the appropriate formation designated to them, leading to their early death. Second Lieutenant and some of his coharts have perished too. In the 25 thousand injured, 18 thousand are troops and they followed the instructions well. Only five thousand among them are severely wounded. And even then most are trainers who don''t follow our orders in the battle. " Jim explained. "And what about the Pokemon reports?" " Sir, about 150 thousand pokemons fought along side us but only 100 thousand lived and are well. Of the 50 thousand casualty, 30 thousand died and five thousand are crippled for life, while rest have serious injuries requiring months to heal. As for the opposing side. We encountered a total of 250 thousand Pokemons. Of these, three pseudo king were faced by your pokemons." While saying that Jean had expression of awe and respect. Similar experession reflected on others face too. " There were 1200 elite Pokemons, 95000 advanced pokemons meanwhile rest were of rookie or baby form. About 50 thousand escaped the battle after your pokemons began to suppress them." After the reports ended, Alex stands up and looks at them in their eyes and speaks," It was nice working with you. You all were deligent and hard working and I cannot ask for a better team in this time of war. But, you should remember I am only a temporary captain of the corp and after today, you won''t be seeing me." He too a deep breath and finally spoke the words," I am leaving today." " Sir..." They tried to say something but Alex stopped them. " I am not a member of army. I don''t belong in the army. This battle showed and taught me a lot and it will take time for me to come to senses. I was too proud of myself before this battle and this battle showed how small I was compared in the face of the world. I still have a very long path in front of me. You all need a better commander than me who could lead you much better than I did. Once again thank you for your support ." Alex said with a smile. " But sir we couldn''t do it without you. We need you to lead us. " Jean said with sorrow evident on her face. None of them want him to leave. The bind made in times of war was much stronger than that of peacetime. " Sorry. I noticed I am not a leadership material. And I had to head back home soon or else, my mom will punish me " Alex said joking. This time, no one said anything to stop them as his eyes showed he had made his decision. These days they had followed Alex and knows that when he is like that, nothing can change his decision. " Good. Slowking let''s get going." Slowking rose from behind Alex and all the files and folders in front if Alex floated. They both all vanished from their vision. Alex had left to deposit the files at the Town Hall and retire officially from his temporary post. " So he really left?" Daisy mumbled. " We knew it would happen. Someone with that level of strength can not always remain here. Now we know his powers do you think the post of a captain will bind him." Blake answered. " But it doesn''t make things any easier. He doesn''t have to leave in such a hurry." Jean said. " It is never easy. And he himself is suffering. The mental impact of this war was more profound in the captain than any of us. He was holding back his emotions with us. He needs his family more than anything at a time like this. People make or break after facing these situations. He barely slept since the war began and even then nightmares don''t let him sleep. His will is shaken. He is currently lost in his path after this. And he needs to find it. Now his future is in his own hands. We forgot because of his performance in the past few days, that he is but an Eleven year old kid. " Armin explained. " And how do you know that doc?"Nora asked. " Everyone suffers from the post war trauma. You all did when you fought for the first time. His is even bigger as he led the troops. " " Then why didn''t you stop him for treatment?" Jim yelled. Armin hasn''t lost his calm irrespective of their yellings and said calmly,"In most cases, we doctors do the counciling of such people who have trauma but for someone so young, nothing could help better than his family. If it was someone else I would stop but captain is a hard willed man. He won''t lose easily and now the only question would be how long it will take to overcome the guilt and mental trauma?" All the officer cadet and doctor were here and discussed about their former captain and his health. Meanwhile in the town hall, " So you are retiring from the post? You did a very good job. I think it would be great if you could continue for a bit longer " Mayor said with a smile. He had got reports of his front and knew how well he led the team and how he took down the psuedo king pokemons alone. " No. You should know I am not well mentally. I cannot hold back anymore and I think the best place for treatment would be my home." He directly rejected the offer without any second thoughts and said. Mayor almost forgot the post war trauma that the young trainer experiences now. To think he would face something like this at such a young age. And he decided to agree. " In this case, I accept your resignation. But before that, take this. " Alex caught a small badge with tornado image and three stars on it. "This was something Terrence left for you because of your hard work. This is a three star badge and through this, you could enter the pokemon league main tournament easily without any qualification rounds. This badge alone is enough. This badge is rewarded to exception trainers who helped the town defence and you fit the criteria. " Seeing the badge, Alex remembers the Earth badge and said, " Thank you" " Take care of yourself, Alex. This is a critical junction in your path forward. Don''t lose. I cannot help you much in this but I can only give you an advice. Find what you fight for and strive to head forward. This will help you overcome the situation sooner." After that, Alex just teleported away. The Pokemon Rampage arc come to an end and the next will be how he overcomes the trauma. Stay tuned. To be continued.... Chapter 190 - 1: Discussion at the League When Alex left the town via teleportation Xatu had left the town just after Alex to report back to the Elite Four. The news about the fight and the reports from Xatu had arrived at the table of the Elite four. After going through the reports, the meeting of the top members of the league began. " The battle was really something. His Slowking has advanced forward to pseudo King level and many of his Pokemons have reach advanced peak too. In just a couple of months he would have another pseudo king Pokemon. Maybe in a few years time, he may reach our level. He is really a monster." Blaine said in amazement after reading the reports. " Indeed, he shined brightly in the battle and his tactics are quite effective. Introducing a healer in the team is difficult and almost unpractical but having one in every five could at least be feasible as he did with ten teams for trials. The casualty of his side is only 40 percent. The only times when casualty are lower than this is when an elite trainer fights. He is almost a master trainer and another pokemon of his reaching pseudo king by the time of league tournament is not Impossible." Roan said happy at the growth of a powerful trainer who can support Kanto in the future brought great delight to his old heart. Fiona noticed that both Agatha and Samuel were quiet and asked," What Happened? You two are way too quiet now, when such a good news was delivered to us." Agatha ignored her words and continued to glare at Samuel. Samuel on the other hand has a small smile on his face and he looks back at her and said jokingly," You can rain your storm now, Agatha. Holding back your anger isn''t good for people, especially for someone our age." " Don''t joke about this. You know how serious the current situation is. Yet, you stand there and smile while doing nothing to solve the issue. You should be at his side at a time like this." Agatha shouted at her old friend and criticised him harshly. " What do you mean? What situation? Did something happen to the young lad which isn''t mentioned in the reports Samuel?" Blaine asked the former champion and Professor. this won''t be the first time he did something like that. " It doesn''t need to be reported. It is a common sense. In his achievement, we forgot how he must be feeling right now." Agatha said with sorrow evident on her face. " What do you mean, Agatha?" Fiona asked not particularly clear about the situation in their hands. " He is an eleven year old kid for Arceus sake " she roared at her confused colleagues. And then it dawned upon them what she was talking about. They are elite four. they are smart enough to control and rule Kanto effectively, so a small hint can do the trick,so such a blatant answer was enough for them to understand. " Damm it Samuel. You are still so chaotic. How could you do it? How can we follow through your plan at that time? Are you on drugs or something. Are you hallucinating or have you completely gone nuts."Fiona joined Agatha in criticism of Samuel. The fury of the other female was no less than Agatha. " No I am fine, Fiona. I am good health, both I''m body and mind. My kids take good care of me." Samuel said still unaffected by their words. " We are not asking you a question, you stupid low EQ fool. It is a rhetorical question. How can you let such a young boy suffer from this." Roan joined the front against Samuel. Blaine who is the most hot tempered of them was quiet and looked at Professor Oak with doubts. He cared and protected Alex from many threats from the shadows yet he thrust him in this was most probably for a reason. " Why?" Blaine said softly yet it attracted everyone''s attention towards him. " Why, what Blaine?" He was puzzled by the question " Why did you do it? Why did you let Alex experience this and at this time too? You protected him, guarded him. Hell you were more protective of him than you were for your other students Blue and Red. We passed it off as something about his great talent and his young age. The treasure of Kanto which needs to be protected yet you took him out of the frying plan and threw him in fire. Why? Why did you do this? Especially now, Samuel. what is so special about the current time?" Blaine spoke. Blaine''s words made everyone quiet. They really needed the answer or they felt they could never trust their old friend again. " Because of that talent of his, Blaine. Because of his talent." " Talent? Do elaborate." Agatha asked, no, she ordered him. " I will Agatha." he said and continued to explain," He is talented, very talented. I don''t remember seeing anyone as strong and powerful as him in all my life at such a young age.. He would surpass me and Charles by the time he reached thirty or even sooner. Yet he, is a kid. I already discussed with Charles earlier and he agreed to reveal an incident about our past adventure which is related to Alex. " Samuel reveals a mystery " And what would that be? You both knew his grandparents or something?" Fiona asked not clear where he was going. * Are you telling about that time? " Agatha who know of that matter asked. " Yes. I am. He told something to both of us back then and at that time you weren''t around. He told us that to become truly powerful you must find something you want to protect with all your might. You must find the sun of your heart. This sun is the source of courage and belief to continue forward and overcome any obstacle no matter how difficult it . This sun makes sure you don''t get lost in the darkness when you have lost all hopes and when the storm completely devour you, it illuminates the path. " Samuel said with a look of reverence. " And who was the one who told you this?" Blaine asked feeling some deep meaning behind his words. " A very powerful trainer told me this a long time ago. He was very strong. He could take on me, Charles and Agatha at the same time without much effort. At that time, he was only sixteen years old and we were twelve. Yet his words helped Charles and me to reach our current strength. And, I have even greater expectation for Alex in the future. " Samuel explained. " Why do you feel like this, Samuel? " Roan, the current strongest of the elite four asked. " Because he had found his sun years ago, he just don''t know what it really is. " Samuel said still cryptic about the answer. " What does this sun really do? Why do you both put so much attention to it?" Agatha asked. " This sun is our sources of strength and power, Agatha. This is why both of us are so much ahead of you. Both Blue and Red have their own sun. I found mine when I was in my twenties same with Charles but Alex is much faster than us. His heart already knows what his sun is, but not his brain. He needs to find to discover it so he can reach an even greater height. " Samuel still spoke in puzzles not clarifying anything. " What do you mean,Samuel? Explain yourself clearly?" " When you reach the champion level, you feel yourself at the peak but it is not the case. You will soon discover that you are still far from peak but you cannot find in which direction you have to go. you are completely lost at that moment. But that sun reminds you of your goal, of what is at stake if you fail. It helps you to continue working hard and never give up. That, is the endless source of hope and belief which leads to the current progress of mine. Yet at this point, it still inspires me to continue to reach towards an even greater height and I feel that I can still continue to make progress." He explained. " Just how strong are you now, Samuel?" Blaine asked in amazement on hearing his friends words. " I and Charles likes to call the next level after the champion stage as Pokemon Master level. The Alex of trainer, yet we feel there are still some more steps to climb in between. And, both of us are currently at peak pseudo pokemon master stage. It is same with Blue and Red. They are at Pseudo master level just they are at the beginner stage of this level. " " And what is your and Charles Sun?" Agatha inquired. " Mine are my kids while for Charles is the younger generation. That''s why he is the President and a good one at that because he knows what he is really doing is what he really needs to do to protect the future." " And how do you know Alex has found this sun you speak of?" " It is a long story but let me say it in short. When Alex had killed his first human at the age of six, he was affected greatly by it. Nothing his parents or grandparents say could help him. although he is tough outside, his heart was still weak. Yet something happened back then and it has showed him his future path." He ended it mysteriously. " Stop this habit of dragging and just say what it was? " Fiona asked furious at his old habit. " Let''s leave it as a mystery." he never elaborated again. " fine, then if you don''t want to tell us, it is fine but at least let his family or Alex know this thing so his recovery time can be shortened."Blaine tried to persuade the Professor. " Never. It can only be discovered by oneself. It is a path of finding your heart. If you are helped your future road is disrupted. If we tell him about this, he will never really reach his peak." Samuel expressed his theory about why he cannot reveal it to Alex. Agatha didn''t like that and glared at Samuel strongly," Samuel, you are putting the future of a brilliant trainer on line in the option of if. If? If it works?How can you be such a fool?" Samuel wasn''t affected and simply replied,"You know he will not lose, Agatha . He is stronger than us when we were his age and you know it too. If it doesn''t work, he would be in the gloom for half a year or longer but he will rise." " How can you believe that he would be able to overcome the sorrow and burden of death of thousands in his hand within a year time?" Blaine shouted out with red eyes finally not able to restrain his fiery temper. " I don''t believe , Blaine. I know it." Samuel said absolute surity making everyone quiet. Silence fell on all of them. " So is he going to meet you or head home, directly?" Knowing they won''t reach the result they d_e_s_i_r_e, Agatha decided to change the topic " He is heading home. He needs them now more than he ever did before." The decision makers and Samuel decided to gamble on Alex mind on a "if" possibility. How will it go? How long till he overcome guilt and rise above all others again? Stay tuned. To be continued.... Chapter 191 - CHAPTER 2: Discussion and Alexs tears Blaine the fire type elite still has a very important question for Samuel. It was so severe that he is plain rude with him on inquiring about this matter. He bluntly asked, " Did you have anything to do with Alex arriving at Sky Town?" " What ? How could that be? How would he know where he would head for sky town after the lavender City ?" Agatha asked surprised. All the others has the same view as that of Agatha. But Blaine eyes hasn''t left Samuel and he also noticed that his eyes twitch when he questioned him. " Answer me, if you had a hand in it or not." Blaine isn''t so patient and angrily asked. " How did you come to the conclusion that I planned every step of his trip from Lavender City to Sky Town." Samuel directly asked Blaine, still not answering his question but firing his own at Blaine. " If you can plan to use his mother''s pregnancy and birth of his new sibling for his growth and healing of mental psych, then I think you can also direct the actions behind the scene too." These words dawned on the other members of the elite Four that he may have planned it as soon as he heard the news of possible attack of Pokemon tide in the city. Although Samuel is a pretty decent guy and a good friend to have, but when he deals with his enemies no one knows just how many sinister plans he has under his sleeve. Many times, his friends also get themselves involved in those plans. So they think this time, Alex himself might be dragged in Samuel''s plans. While everyone awaits his reply, He on the other hand remained quiet for some time increasing the tension in the room quite a bit and he finally replied," Indeed. I did plan his trip to the Sky Town. But I didn''t plan it from the very beginning but made the plan in the middle of the path. He has already headed that way and would have not entered the town if for the fact that I didn''t direct things behind his back." " How did you do that?" Fiona asked more curious than angry at Samuel. " When I had doubts about Gengar his father informed me about, I sent both Charizard and Alakazam to help Alex if needed. After arriving at the destination, Alakazam relayed everything happening there to me through our psychic bond. Then my brain clicked and I formulated this plan. I thought either he was heading for sky town or would take a little rougher road for another village close by if he encountered multiple Pokemon attacks on his way. So I had Alakazam covey my message to Gengar. He would have to follow my instructions or he suffer the consequences. Under this threat, he agreed to be part of my plan. He has only one objective,ie, Sending Alex right at the Sky town which was going to be at the one of the most chaotic place in Kanto for the next few days." Samuel explained all the steps of his plan to his friends and awaits their reply " You really are an old fox. You didn''t even forgot to manipulate actions of your student. It is low, way too low even for you." Roan criticized Samuel. But Samuel didn''t seem affected by his words and said," It was necessary for his growth and his strength would grow at a much quicker this way. And he is going to be in Badlands soon so this training was really important and it is necessary for Alex''s survival out there where we cannot provide any support to him even if we want to ." " Yet we should have him check with a psychic so we can confirm he doesn''t have a problem in his mind after this incident." "No. Now everything is depends on his family and these wounds are his trophy for surviving the first of his multiple battles in the future. They will heal by his own effort." Samuel said and to make sure no one objects as his eyes turned sharp reminding them their place. All of them turned quiet. No one dares to object his words and finally, Blaine said something to break the silence," He should have arrived his home, by now." LOCATION: OUTSKIRTS OF FLORAL TOWN With Alex, Slowking and Alex teleports to a two storey house with wooden fences around it. The roof was red in colour while the walls were cream coloured. It was surrounded by forest all round. It was situated a few kilometers away from the main town, the Floral Town and had a large area. It was the house that was built on the land Alex bought before he left for his journey again. He knocked on the door and after a few knocks a loud sound of "coming" was heard. The door opened and a young boy at the age of five appeared. He was Alex''s younger brother, Ben. He looked at the person who knocked and when he showed who it was, he jumped onto him and hug him. He even shouted out loud," Alex". "Alex, you are back? What pokemons did you catch this time? What did you do? Where did you went off to this time? What pokemons and pokemons trainer do you face? " Ben started to rain his questions on Alex. His loud shouts attracted the attention of other inhabitants of the house and They all arrived at the doorstep. These inhabitants were his mother, Gwen and his grandfather, Michael. Seeing him, Gwen rushed towards Alex and pulled him in a big hug, ignoring her recent condition of seven months pregnancy. She brought Alex to a tight hug and didn''t want to leave him. She was emotional after seeing her son after nearly month time, especially in her pregnant condition. Alex who was hugged tightly by his mother could control himself and cried on his mother''s shoulder. When she felt her shoulder wet, she looked up to see her son crying and said,"Are you ok,Alex? Tell your mother, what happened? You can tell me anything. You don''t have to cry." She tried to appease him. Alex just cried on her shoulder for a while and other people were surprised. They have never seen him crying especially Ben. No matter what happened his big brother would always smile and stand strong. So Ben was afraid and asked his grandfather anxiously," Grandpa, what Happened to Alex? Why is he crying? Did someone scold him?" Michael himself looked at his crying grandson with great deal of surprise in his eyes. Alex was always m_a_t_u_r_e for his age and never made things difficult for his parents even as a kid. There must be a reason behind his current action. But this can be discussed among the a_d_u_l_ts. The children didn''t need to worry about this and so he tried to calm his grandson by placing his hands on his shoulder and said," He must have missed your mother, Ben. He hadn''t seen her for almost month and most likely couldn''t control his emotions on meeting her. These types of things are common when people travel for a long time. "He lied to his youngest grandson. This has worked well and calmed down Ben. He even joked about his brother and said," Alex is a crybaby. He is so big and yet he is crying. I will never cry when I am big even if I don''t see you for days. " And he began to laugh at his brother. This laughter also help Alex regain control of his emotions and looked at everyone. Michael saw his grandson face for the first time since he returned and also noticed something peculiar about Alex. He couldn''t put his hand on what it really was but he remembered seeing this emotion somewhere too. He doesn''t want to involve and inquire too much about Alex''s adventure for he thought it is Alex Adventure and he cannot interfere in it. But today he decided against his previous decision and inquired his grandson with worry evident on his face," What happened to you, Alex? You haven''t acted like that since before the twins were born. You didn''t act like this since..." He didn''t complete his sentence but Gwen caught the meaning of what he was saying," Alex , tell us what happened to you. Please Alex I beg you, tell me." She made a pitiful face and asked him. She wanted to know what happened. She still remembered how he acted after his first kill and how he closed himself at that time and didn''t approach anyone not even his Pokemons. She was pregnant around that time and could not do anything to help him. Now she felt herself in similar situation and it made her even more sad. Looking at his mother''s sad face, Alex felt guilty and tried to dismiss the doubts in the elders mind and said while his fingers rubbed against themselves," I just missed all of you so I acted like that. There isn''t anything that happened. " " Don''t lie or dismiss us, Alex. Whenever you lie to us, you act like this and try to shift the topic and scratched your fingers just like you are doing now." She answered severely He looked up to his grandpa asking for help but he has firm look on his face and seem to agree with his daughter in law and said once more,"no one could help you now Alex. So, Tell us what really happened? " Alex doesn''t want to say but under their firm gaze he became a guilty boy and relented," Pokemon Tide." How will his family react to all this? Stay tuned. To be continued... Chapter 192 - 3 : Bart family gathers " no" the shouts of two elderly people rang throughout the house. They are shocked, surprised as well as scared at the prospect of Alex facing that hell. But they were experiencing something more than all those emotions. They felt despair. To think that their young boy whom they loved had to go through what most people called living hell is very painful for them. " No, no, no... You are joking right, Alex. You are just trying to prank us like you used to do when you were a small kid. It cannot happen. No I don''t accept this." Gwen tried to deny it. Michael just looked at Alex face along with his tired eyes. " I finally remember where I saw that look. I had the same look when I participated in my first Pokemon Tide. With your talents I knew you will encounter it some day but I didn''t think it will be so soon. In the end, you too learned of that hell, Alex." Michael said sadly knowing how difficult such situations could be. For Gwen it was too much and she fainted right way. Fortunately, Alex was close by and had caught her as soon as she fainted or else she may have fallen on the floor. That fall won''t be good for the unborn kids. Holding her close, Alex told Ben and Michael," Why don''t we head inside and talk? Mom needs to rest, especially in this condition and these things can be talked about later." They took her and entered the house. Alex has placed Gwen on a sofa so she could rest. " I will go and get water for Mom to wake up." Alex turned towards the kitchen to escape his grandpa who is most probably going to talk about his last adventure. While he was leaving, his grandfather said something he doesn''t want to hear," Don''t think you can run away from this situation, Alex. We will be having a talk about this." And then he turned to Slowking who was standing nearby and ordered," Slowking can you bring back Arthur, we need to have a talk with Alex about some of his past actions." Slowking first looked at Alex who was frozen solid and then at the old man. He nodded at the older man and then teleported away. After a couple of seconds, he returned with Arthur who was surprised. " Slowking what Happened? Did something happen to Gwen that you called me like this?" Then his eyes fell on his unconscious wife and ran to her and asked," Gwen, what Happened to you, dear?" " She has just fainted. " Michael answered from behind him Arthur turns to Michael and inquired," Dad, what happened to her? Slowking suddenly came and brought me here without explaining anything? And did Alex returned back."Arthur asked his father in quick succession. " Alex has returned back just now. As for Gwen fainting, let''s just say she couldn''t handle the shock." Michael answered sadly. " Did something happen to Alex that caused her to faint. What really happened dad?" Arthur was anxious now. " Arthur calm down. I know how you must be feeling, but Alex is my grandson too. You are an a_d_u_l_t, so act like one. Control yourself and your emotions. If you act like this, who will support Gwen. " Michael tried to comfort and calm his son down and then reached near him and whispered in his ears softly but it had a hit of firmness,"Ben is here too. Some things can only be discussed between a_d_u_l_ts. " This worked as he looked around to see his youngest son Ben standing on the the sofa and looking at his unconscious mother with worry completely evident on his face. This has helped him control his raging emotions and curiousity. He called Ben towards him. Ben rushed towards his father and hugged him tightly. After that he asked his father,"Dad, what happened to mom? Why is mother sleeping now? Did something happened to mother?" He firstly calmed his son down and said," Don''t worry, Ben. mommy is alright. You know mommy is feeding your younger siblings too, so she is weak now. You know she has eaten less today so she became weak. Don''t worry she will wake up soon. She is going yo be alright. Why don''t you head to Clara so you could play with Alex''s pokemons. " He tried to cheer him up. " But mom told me that I should study now and can play later. I still have to complete my homework." He said confused why his father was letting him play now. " Yes but you see your mother is sleeping and she cannot scold you if you ran off to play now. And, Alex has also returned home so your mother will not say anything to you later. You can play as long as you want." He told while encouraging and tricking him to leave the house under his father''s instructions. " Yeah. I can play and I won''t be scolded " he shouted and ran off towards the back to play with Pokemons but he stopped midway and looked at his father puzzled. Seeing his youngest son''s expression Arthur asked," what happened, Ben? Did you forgot something?" " Dad, what is a Pokemon Tide?" Ben asked his father. Michael who was quietly watching all this was sad and his hands gripped the arms of wheelchair harder. But, Arthur who heard it for the first time, has his face turn ghost white. He even started to take deep breathe and seemed like he was having seizure. His body was shaking , and he didn''t know whether it was in fright or shock, but he ignored all this. He held onto Ben''s shoulder firmly and asked," Ben, when did you hear this word?" Been was afraid of his father now since he held him too tightly and it hurt his shoulders, but the grave expression on the face made him even more afraid and he stuttered, " Ddd...aaaaddddd.. I h..heard...it from Alex. He mentioned it once and mom fainted after it." Arthur then turns his head towards his father for confirmation who just nodded. His face no less grave than himself. Arthur ignored his son who was slowly motioned by his grandfather to leave. Ben ran away as fast as a Growlithe and didn''t turn back to look fearing he may be scolded or punished if he remained there. Arthur on the other hand circled the room anxiously until he stopped at a table. He picked the case on the table and smashed it on the ground breaking it into pieces. Alex has just returned with water but his father''s actions wakes his mother up. She slowly opens her eyes and looks around until her eyes falls on her eldest son and she called out," Alex". She motioned him to come to her and then grabbed onto him thinking that if she left him, he may be gone forever and started to cry on his c_h_e_s_t. But it doesn''t seem to work and his mother starts to cry even harder. " Mom don''t worry. I am here. See nothing happened to me. Didn''t I tell you that I will come back to you safe and sound. Mom now isn''t the time for you to act like that. It is not good for the children in you especially when you are seven months pregnant. " He tried to cheer his mother. This has managed to stop her sobbing but she still didn''t released her hold on him. His mother calmed a little but his father was raging angry and shouted," IT ISN''T ALRIGHT, ALEX. YOU ARE JUST A ELEVEN YEAR, ALMOST TWELVE YEAR OLD KID. YOU SHOULDN''T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING WITH POKEMON TIDE LET ALONE PARTICIPATE IN IT." " Dad.." he simply said and sighed. "Arthur calm down. Things like these cannot be talked about in anger. You need a cool mind. " Michael said and tried to calm his son. " CALM DOWN. HOW CAN I CALM DOWN AFTER THAT? I AM ...." He started to shout angrily but his normally calm father wasn''t calm anymore and even he joined the shouting. He yelled put loud,"YOU THINK ONLY YOU ARE ANGRY AND I AM NOT. MY GRANDSON WAS IN A FIGHT WHERE PEOPLE CAN DIE AT ANY MOMENT. I MYSELF HAVE FOUGHT THROUGH THEM. I KNOW MORE ABOUT THEM THEN YOU SO SIT DOWN, AND CALM YOURSELF OR I WILL EDUCATE YOU, LIKE I USED TO DO WHEN YOU WERE BUT A KID." He thundered at his son. He then turned to Alex along with everyone else in the room and said," Alex can you please tell us what really happened!" Alex will tell his family about his experience. Stay tuned. To be continued... Chapter 193 - CHAPTER 4 - Master Trainer The eyes of every occupants of the room including Slowking falls on him. Slowking knew his trainer was going to tell his parents about the Pokemon Tide, but how much he is going to reveal to his family will be the real question. Slowking has noticed that everyone was on deep thoughts about it. He himself was warned about the Pokemon Tide and the dangers it causes to both Pokemon and humans alike, in the past. Amd after this experience he confirmed that the situation was way too different then he was told originally. The danger is greatly enhanced and no amount of strength was sufficient. He has only sirvived because he advanced and reached a higher stage, meanwhile his other companion pidgeot who hadn''t managed to evolve, was badly injured. If not for the timely help he may have died. Everyone was anxious to know about the incident and looked at Alex with anticipation. Michael knows that the more someone keep things hidden in their heart, the more problem it cause. There will greater changes occuring on the people''s day to day behaviour. He himself had faced few Pokemon Tide on his active trainer career. He still remembered facing the first Pokemon Tide in his late twenties. It changed his very personality and affected the way he viewed the world. His grandson, on the other hand, faced it at such a young age. He wants to know the details regarding the incident to estimate the degree of influence this has on Alex and try to limit the change to the b_a_r_e minimum. This will be good not only for Alex but also his parents and for himself. Arthur and Gwen has never seen the Pokemon Tide but the news as well as the level of destruction and deaths it leaves on it''s wake was enough to put fear in any resident of the Pokemon world. Arthur remembers that his father often talked about the horror of the Tide. He never tells everything about it but the things he mentioned was enough to scare the hell out of him. Gwen doesn''t know much about an the Pokemon Tide yet she knew that no matter where it happens there will be large amount of death of both humans and Pokemons. Alex on the other hand was thinking on how much he should say about the past incident and what matter should remain hidden. The matter about the Pokemon Tide remains a secret until it had happened. After it had passed, it is no longer necessary to keep the incident a secret. Of course, the terrifying and cruel actions of both pokemons and humans are mostly left out. The league let the participants discuss these things with others because of the counciling reasons. The comfort and support they could gain from their friends and relatives can help them in overcoming the psychological shadow which they have created inside themselves after this incident. Alex after much thought has decided against revealing the post he held in the duration of the Pokemon Tide. There is a great difference between fighting the pokemons as a participant or as a lone trainer and as a commander and leader of the trainers. He knows he has already disturbed his family after revealing about the Pokemon Tide and if he continues to say anything else, then it will not be good for anyone. And he finally began to narrate his story," Grandpa you remember i called you sometime ago. " " Yes. You mentioned about the angry ghost parents and subduing them so you called your strongest pokemons back to face them. Did you recall them to fight in that situation. " Michael added his opinion. " What is this about the angry ghost pokemons,Alex?" His mother asked excitedly (not in a happy way excited). " Calm down dear. He will tell us everything in a proper sequence." Arthur told her and looked at Alex pointedly. Alex understood what that look meant and began from the very beginning,"When I caught the two baby ghost types Mischievous and Duskull in the Pokemon Tower of Lavender Town, I angered their parents. They along with another ghost Pokemon, a Gengar chased after me. I faced them and had managed to wound them. I also managed to capture them in the pokeball. But they weren''t calm enough. After healing my wounded Pokemons I faced them once and managed to deal with the matter. I originally thought that the two angry parents will be the greatest problem for me but it was their friend, Gengar. He was strong, very strong." He said omniously. " How strong was this ghost type Gengar?"Michael asked anxious about the threat his grandson may have faced and his parents weren''t any less worried than him. Alex is once again in dilemma about how much he should reveal. If he mentioned that he faced a pseudo champion Gengar then he would be stopped from travelling around the world until they felt he was capable enough. And it would most probably be in his twenties. So he decided to hide the real strength and fabricated the story a little. He neither say the complete truth nor the complete lie," I think if electabuzz hadn''t advanced to pseudo king level back then I would have been in great trouble dealing with him at that time." " Pseudo king? Did your electabuzz pass that threshold, Alex." Michael asked excited( this excitement is a happy one). " Yes." Alex simply replied Michael temporarily forgot all about the tide in his happiness and shouted happily," yes. That''s my grandson. To think he got a pseudo king Pokemon at eleven. He is already reaching at that level." Arthur and Gwen were puzzled by his attics and said," Dad, what happened? Why are you so excited?" " Do you know what a Pseudo king really means?" He asked if not for the fact that he was crippled then he would have run through out the house in joy. " No dad. I don''t know it. What is a pseudo king? And why are you happy at a time like this?" Arthur asked impatient and angry that his father was happy at a time like this. " I am happy because of what Alex has achieved especially at such a young age. The thing that happened back then is the past, his pokemon reaching this level is the future. You aren''t a trainer. You don''t know what pseudo king really means. How many trainers are stuck at advanced level throughout their life. I became an advanced trainer in my thirties. And have been one since then. I had tried hard and yet I couldn''t advance forward. None of my Pokemon can promote further. And you expect me to not be happy, when my grandson has reached something which I have always yearned for. " Michael glared at his son now for spoiling his joy. Alex had some understanding of what his grandpa meant and decided to explain it to his father,"Dad, you know how well grandpa is respected in the town even after that accident years ago?" He just nodded. " And that is because he is an advanced level trainer. Above this level is a Master trainer. They are granted many privilege from the Pokemon league. They are paid 50 million dollar every year as salary or incentive to remain loyal to the League. They are leader of the defence of the town anywhere. Almost every town with a population of few million has a master trainer at the position of power. He gets free medium grade evolutionary stone of every variety ( fire stone, water stone, thunder stone, moon stone, dusk stone, sun stone)every year, free travelling pass through any vehicle, be it plane or cruise for 1000 kilometers in a region every year. There are special rooms in every Pokemon center especially for master trainer. They don''t have to pay any tax unless their business profit is more than five hundred million poke dollars. They are given free health facility, automatic rank of Colonel on joining the army and the greatest benefit is..." Arthur and Gwen hung onto the lists of benefits a master Trainer can get. " The gym leader qualifications." Michael said. " Are these privelege really what a master trainer could experience?" Gwen was shocked at so many benefits a master trainer earns. " What about the gym qualifications?" Arthur asked. " Every gym leader had to be master trainer first. After that they must pass a hidden secret test,every gym leader goes through. After passing the test, one can become a gym leader in any specific Pokemon type. This gym can be inherited by Alex''s children too. As long as his descendants or his grandson is an advanced trainer then their ownership of the gym could extended for one generations, if he is master level then two generation similarly every level increase, increases the term by one more generation. That''s why I wanted to be a master trainer. If I could reach that, then my family could live well and without any financial or social problem. " Michael said with yearning in his eyes," Alex can you help your grandpa achieve his dream. " Alex looked at his grandpa eyes which was full of expectations and then shrugged. " Alex how can you act like this when your grandpa is so emotional and hopeful about you?" Gwen scolded her son. " Don''t mind it Gwen. It is just an old man''s foolish dream." Michael ridiculed himself " Alex how could you insult someone''s dream?" Arthur joined in criticising his son. " I didn''t insult it dad. " " Then why did you act like that?" " Electabuzz isn''t my only pseudo king Pokemon. Slowking advanced in combat too." He explained. " Wait you have two pokemons at that level. "Arthur asked enthusiastic. Michael''s eyes sharpened as Alex began to show off his pokemons strength to his family. The family has forgotten about the Pokemon Tide, or is it something completely different from what we think? Stay tuned. To be continued Chapter 194 - CHAPTER 5 : Falling into the trap " no" Alex simply replied. He feels that it is a good chance for him to make his family overcome the angst they felt for his near death encounter and decides to drag things and help them calm down and be happy. " What do you mean by no?" Gwen asked . " I meant I have two pseudo king pokemons now but in a few months, pidgeot will also join their rank." Alex explained. " What three psuedo king? Are the psuedo kings growing on trees? Here I couldn''t help anyone of my Pokemon advance forward and you will have three in the near future. " Michael said with self insult and felt incredible about the words of Alex. " Alex how strong your pokemons are?" His grandpa asked with curiousity dripping his face. Alex didn''t hide his Pokemons strength and narrated," to start from lower to higher levels, larvitar, duskull, misdreavus, and ralts twins are at rookie level and will reach intermediate level when they evolve or train for a few months. Swablu, Growlithe, Miltank, tentacool, Pikachu, Riolu, Magikarp and Happiny are at intermediate level. Haunter, Charmeleon, butterfree, pidgeotto, Espeon, Piloswine, nidorino, Onix, poliwhirl,Ivysaur and golbat are at advanced level. Snorlax, Claydol and shiny pidgeot are elite level. And finally, Slowking and electabuzz are at pseudo king level. " Alex told his pokemons strength. " You have two pokemons at pseudo king and three at Elite level. " Michael asked blankly. " Technically, pidgeot is at peak elite and advance at Pseudo king soon. Meanwhile, claydol and Snorlax are at initial elite level. " Alex clarified their strength and continued," So I have reached the requirements for the master Trainer status." " Are you going to update your status?" Michael asked excited about that prospect. He rubbed his chin and went into a thinking pose. He thinks about it and then said,"at least, Not now . I am eleven. I will update my status before the Pokemon league tournament begins. By that time more of my Pokemon would reach elite level and my position as a Master Trainer will be more stable." " Indeed. It is good. You are still too young and can wait for the promotion. Too much exposure to fame isn''t good for your current growth." The older man said after his initial joy calmed down. " Just how powerful are pseudo king, dad?" Arthur asked the resident veteran trainer more about the power levels of Pokemon. " I don''t know clearly. I can''t give you an accurate account but alex could. Tell me Alex what really differentiate Pokemons of elite level and psuedo king level?" Michael passed the question to Alex. Alex feels the eyes of his parents falling onto him and after taking a deep breathe he started to explain them ," Pokemons at pseudo king level can use the power of element more freely than before. Let''s take an example, Shiny pidgeot can use the wind force at full strength for fifteen minutes before he is completely knocked out and drained. But electabuzz could do the same with thunder force and fight for about half a day without being knocked out completely. As for power, let''s just say in an average b level Pokemon Tide, the leader of the entire group are Pseudo kings. Their full power strike could destroy everything in their path. As long as thry survive, they can change the course of battle at any moment. It would take less than two hours for a psuedo king to destroy our town if he or she attacks. And that too if he had encountered advanced level trainer and their pokemons before going to rampage " Alex tried to explain the power gap present between elite and Pseudo king Pokemons. " They are so strong." Arthur muttered numbly but Gwen focus was on something much more important than pokemons strength. She softly asked her son," What level of Pokemon Tide did you face, Alex? Swear to me and answer the question truthfully." While looking right into his eyes. Suddenly Alex feels like a small kid interrogated by his parents when he does something wrong and is about to be punished. He mumbled softly," B high". He said so softly that they couldn''t hear anything and the only sign that he may have said something was the slight movement of his mouth. " Louder Alex." His mother said with some heat in her tone. " It was a high B grade Pokemon Tide." He revealed. Gwen and Arthur aren''t much aware of the words and world of the pokemon trainers so they looked at the only knowledgable person in the house who knew about it other than Alex, and that was Michael. " What does this mean, Dad?" Arthur asked. Michael didn''t look or listen their questions as his eyes were fixated on Alex. He asked his grandson another question," How many master trainers did you have in your side of defense, Alex?" The two parents were confused about what this question mean but they didn''t interrupt the knowledgeable man. Alex didn''t answer this question immediately and was thinking about something and then he answered,. " We had three master trainers on our side. One was the town mayor, one captain of town Garrison and another was the gym leader of the Sky town." Michael just nodded his head and mumbled ,"so you too were involved." Alex just nodded knowing what he meant. He revealed the news about his pokemons strength to divert their attention from the main topic but in the end he fell into the pit himself. "What does this mean, Dad?" Gwen asked. He didn''t look at her. His eyes were on Alex and had started narrating,. " The Pokemon league had divided the Pokemon Tide into different grades. These are D, C, B, A, S and SS. In D grade, an advanced level pokemon would be the leader. Although it is just an advanced level pokemon this level of tide is enough to destroy any village or small town. The minimum number of Pokemon participating in a pokemon tide is about ten thousand. That is the lowest number. According to league''s definition, if the number of Pokemon attacking a settlement is less than ten thousand then it isn''t a tide and you will not receive any help from the higher ups. Although, You could ask from help from the wandering and visiting trainer. C grade is led by an elite level pokemon meanwhile B grade is led by pseudo king. In my trainer life, I have participated in dozen of D grade Tide, seven C grade Tide and only one B grade Tide. And in that one tide, I had encountered more near death scenarios than I did in my entire life. That tide was just a low B grade one. Two levels lower than what Alex has experienced. " Now it dawned on them why he was so excited earlier. It was a trick that his grandpa used to pull him into a false sense of calmness and then get the information he need from his grandson. " You tricked me again, grandpa" Alex said laughing but it was without mirth. He fell into the pit and he was currently thinking of something to escape from this trap. " I am your grandfather, brat. I watched you grow and know you all too well. You always downplay the things you experience so that we won''t worry about you. I know that the experience of the Pokemon tide is harsh and cruel but it is not enough for my grandson to cry like that on his mother''s shoulders. So tell me Alex what is it that really made you fell like that?" Michael said with a no nonsense expression. Alex trick failed and he fell on his grandpa''s trap? How will it go? Stay tuned. To be Continued... Chapter 195 - CHAPTER 6: Alexs ultimate weapon " Indeed. I was never able to fool you, Grandpa." He said while laughing at himself for falling into such a trap. Alex thought that he was leading them away from the main topic and protected himself from his family''s wrath and the future serious talks he was sure to get. But, in the end he was the one who was led out. " So Alex can you please tell us the truth?" Gwen asked with a hint of pleading in her voice. Alex who was standing, walks up to a chair and sat on it with a heavy sigh. " Truth isn''t always a good thing, mom. There is a reason some truth shall never see the light." He tried to be secretive. " But no matter how much someone tried to hide the truth,it will come to light someday. This is also an eternal truth." His father countered his previous argument. " I cannot refute this statement."Alex conceded in the end and started to narrate the story from the start,"When facing the Gengar, I lost in that battle. He defeated electabuzz easily but he didn''t continue to fight. " " Why? Why did he do it?" Arthur asked since he felt because Gengar started the fight it was odd that he stopped midway. " It is all thanks to you, dad." Alex said but Arthur doesn''t know what he meant by that. So to clear his doubt,Alex continues,"Because after learning from Dad, I was going to face a Gengar from the pokemon tower, Professor oak sent one of his pokemons to oversee the whole situation. He must have felt the presence of professor oak. and he didn''t continue to fight me. After all, even if Gengar is strong, he cannot match the monsters under Professor Oak." He said with a hint of yearning in his tone. Alex wishes to have similar Pokemons with him. Alex eyes suddenly shone and his eyes were brighter than before. Michael who saw that look felt Alex may have another trip under his sleeve,and became vigilant. " But there was another reason he followed me. It was the pokecube i made for my Pokemons." Alex said to his parents and grandpa. " Is there something special about the pokecube you make?" Michael asked his grandson. He thought to himself,'' What is so special about them that he feels he can escape from us when we got him trapped?'' This question put Alex in sone thoughts. He felt he can tell his family about the origin of pokecube as well as some other secrets of his but then he restrained himself as he felt it may put his family in peril. But, the fear of scolding from his family made him reveal it to them. Seeing Alex expression, Michael, Arthur and Gwen understood that it was something big or else Alex won''t hide things from them. Alex was m_a_t_u_r_e enough and if things were too complicated he didn''t like to involve other people in his matters. And this situation seemed similar to those times. These were the thoughts of the elders of the family. Gwen tried to say," If it is a very big thing, you don''t need to tell us. But can you give us a clue why you can''t tell us." Alex took a deep breath and and started," The thing regarding the pokecube involves two very important secrets of mine. It isn''t that i don''t want to tell you, but the second one is a bit complicated. If that things comes to light before I am strong enough then we, and I mean everyone in the family including Ben and Clara , would be in a problem. And we would have to reside in the Pallet town. If anyone of us leave that place, we would have many people after us just for the sake of information that second secret rekates to." He said cryptically. " Is the secret so big amd dangerous?" Arthur asked both curious and frightened at the same time. " It is not that the secret is big, but It is the Pokemon whom this is related to which makes it difficult for ordinary people to involve in. " Alex told them seriously and then started with his secret. " I had encountered a fortune while travelling. Because of this I unlocked aura and became an aura user. My pokecube are created with the application of aura which increase their efficiency and effectivity." To prove his words regarding aura, he even created a small aura sphere on his hands. This secret shocked them and their eyes widened when they saw the aura sphere in his hands, Gwen asked with excitement evident on her eyes," So you are an aura guardian?" " Technically , Yes" was all he could mumbled before he was swept in the air by his pregnant yet surprisingly powerful mother and she shouted,"My son is a aura guardian of the legends. He is now a member of the legends. He is a hero." Alex had to bear his mother''s enthusiasm until his father came forward to free him from his mother''s grip. Alex after having freed by his father looked at him for the reason behind her sudden outburst. She seemed to have lost in her own mysterious and fantasy world. Arthur just shook his head and the answer that he wanted came from his grandpa. He said," let''s just say that your mother is a great enthusiast of Aura guardian and she always wanted to meet one. She is too happy because her dream came true. Now, let''s just wait until she calms down and you could continue." Alex facial expression turned blank when he heard that and he shook his head. He just sat down on his chair and waited for his mother to calm down. He now have doubts whether some enthusiasm of his family is true or false. Last time it was his grandpa who was happy with his master trainer status and now his mother as a aura guardian one. But, Alex still has his ultimate weapon on him. Both Arthur and Michael knew that if they let Gwen start now she would only question about his aura guardian news and things related to it so Arthur motioned for Alex to continue,. " This secret is closely related to the second and it is much graver . If it comes to light we will be facing the attacks from all the dark organization in the world. " This froze the initial warm atmosphere and everyone was curious about it. Since Alex mentioned so much he would reveal a little about it at the very least. Alex motioned towards Slowking who nodded back and a psychic barrier surrounds them. It has isolated them completely from the outside. No sound can enter or escape from this barrier. The non trainer parents may not know but Michael knows how powerful and special such a barrier is. It takes much toll on psychic Pokemons and they often sleep for weeks to recover from this level of stressful barrier. " What is the second secret that you go to such lengths to prevent even a slight chance of leak,Alex?" Michael asked and his eyes hardened revealing a glimpse of the advanced trainer he once was in his prime. This gaze made the parents divert their eyes from Michael but it wasn''t much effective for Alex. Alex looked right into his Grandpa eyes not the least bothered by his sharpened gaze. " I gained my aura powers through Mew." Was all he could say after which a loud " WHAT" followed by a body falling on the floor was heard. Alex has used his secret weapon Mew. How will his parents react ? stay tuned. To be Continued.... Chapter 196 - 7 : Escape When Alex mentioned the name Mew, the elderly trio of the Bart Family, shouted out loud in unison,"WHAT" Had it not been for the barrier that his water and psychic type pseudo king level Pokemon Slowking erected to prevent any disclosure of secret, their shocked shout would have been heard in the Floral town too, which is only a couple kilometers away from their current location. Alex is surprised at his family''s reaction as well as the fact that his father fell on the ground. He never thought they will react so enthusiastically over this small news. And before he could help his father stand up to his feet, his grandfather reached out to him and grabbed his shoulder. He started to shake him . " What do you mean by that Alex? Have you really seen Mew? Are we even talking about the same Mew?" Michael asked what shaking his grandson back and forth in excitement. He didn''t know what to make of their over enthusiastic behaviour until he remembers that Mew is just a cheerful, friendly and powerful Pokemon but she is also a legendary Pokemon which many spend their entire life searching around for and can not see even a glimpse of her before their death. Many people consider a family member especially a trainer who see a Legendary Pokemon as a matter of great honor and pride. They often brag about it throughout their life to their friends and neighbors. But it isn''t that big deal for Alex. He knows the dwelling place of some Legendary Pokemons and have already encountered two of them in his first year of adventure. He is sure of the fact that he will encounter at least one more in the form of celebi in his life even if he doesn''t actively strive to search for them. Alex got a grip of himself and broke himself free from his Grandpa''s hold and said," Calm down, grandpa. Since you know how incredible it is to meet mew then you should know just how dangerous it will be for us if we broadcast this matter to others." Gwen by his side is confused by this. Same is the case with the other two elders of the family. But Gwen beat them in asking," Why do you want to hide it? It doesn''t matter if people know or not, many people out there have seen Legendary Pokemons. What is the thing that makes you hide about your encounter with her. It isn''t like you meet her often and she even visits you every now and then, is it? " She asked the last thing absentmindedly. Her surprise question has changed Alex facial expression for a brief moment which is seen by Arthur and Michael. Arthur hurriedly rose and stood up. He held his son''s shoulders firmly and asked," Alex do you meet her often? Does she still visit you?" Alex was thinking about how much he should say but decided since this can help him delay the inevitable news of the Pokemon tide, he might as well use this information to drag the matter to the next day. " Uuhhh.... Dad, the thing is that not only I but you all have met her . When she arrives here, she has met everyone including the twins." He revealed the hidden secret. " What do you mean even we have met her?" He asked puzzled not sure what he implies by these words. " Mew is a wanderer. Unlike most legendary who doesn''t seem to interact with the life of ordinary people and pokemons, she likes to wander around and see the world around. She can be considered as one of those Legendary pokemons who is often in touch with the world. But her appearance might cause some problems for not only her but also for the people whom she appears in front of. So she doesn''t appear in front of people in her true form. She is similar to ditto. She can transform into any Pokemon she wishes to be without any hint of transformation evident on her. She sometimes come to the farm in disguise to play with her friends. " He explained it and told them how they may have met her. " Friends what do you mean by that Alex? Who are her friends?" His still confused mother asked. How she often comes around to see if time with Eevee, Ralts and other kid pokemons on the team along with Ben and Clara. " So one of the wild pokemons who often arrive to play in the farm, is actually mew in disguise. " Michael said baffled at the discovery. Alex just nodded his head and sat on his chair quietly. He let them absorb the revelation he brought out to them. Everyone was surprised and overwhelmed by the piece of information that alex revealed to them. And they also understood why his encounter with Mew must be hidden. Mew often visited their new house and if someone knows Alex met mew then some of her pursuers would most definitely put their surveillance on the house. They don''t know how long but the fact that they will be tracked and followed isn''t good. Especially when they could threaten the family by some unsavory means like kidnapping the twins and things similar to that. Mew is called the mother of all pokemons. It is believed that she is the common link to every Pokemon species known to mankind. Hence her very existence is often regarded on par with Arceus the creator of the world. Arceus very existence is often considered to be a hox and he hadn''t revealed himself for centuries. But Mew, she is a different case all together. She has made her appearance every few years in different parts of the world so the people who search and try to catch her are much more compared to other Legendary pokemons. In their greed, they often forget a very essential truth, she is exceptionally strong . Alex doesn''t worry about mew safety. It is his family''s safety that worries him. If he become as strong as an elite four then he won''t have to worry about their protection. At least in the area of about fifty kilometers, no one would dare to touch his family or they may face the threat of complete annihilation. After all if he cannot keep notice of things happening around in this much area radius then he is not worthy of the strength he obtained by that time. " So have you encountered another Legendary out there?" His grandpa asked joking since the atmosphere became heavy and felt it might be good to change the current topic. " Ahhh.... I may have met another Legendary too. I met Suicune, a Legendary pokemon of the johto region." He just answered This made them stunned solid and Michael tests his head on his palm now. Michael mumbles rhetorically," You don''t do thinks half, do you Alex?" Alex just smiles meekly and looked at his family and knew this might be the best time for him to escape the questioning of his family. " I think we should talk later. You all have much to think about this. I am too tired. I will be heading back to rest. " Alex said along with a big yawn, he ran away to his room. His action made them arise from their stupor and Gwen just smiled softly. " He used this as a distraction to escape, didn''t he. Just like you distracted him with the trap, he used Legendary pokemons as the bait. You both really are good at leading other people to do your bidding." She looked at her father in law. Michael just shook his head and said," I trained my grandson to face the world and it seemed he is capable enough. I am assureed that he will be fine in the future. But, We still have to talk with Alex. He won''t have a second chance to escape from us." He had a hint of steel in his eyes. Alex escaped the questioning of his family today. How will he deal with them tomorrow. Stay tuned. To be continued... Chapter 197 - 8 : Mews intervention Alex has rushed into his room and closed the door behind him with a loud bang. Just a few moment later, Slowking arrived there through the teleport. Alex looked at his psychic Pokemon who just smirked at his trainers haggard appearance. Their eye remained in contact until Alex averted his eyes and grumbled,"Fine, you win I won''t run away from home. I will stay here." Alex was having thoughts of running away from his family and staying away from them until he has come to terms with the current mental and emotional turmoil he is facing while he led the corps in the Pokemon Tide. All of his pokemons could make some guess of what he is gonna do with the amount of time they spent with him, and among them Slowking, electabuzz and pidgeot could sometimes predict his next course of action similar to what Slowking did just now. He even raised an objection pertaining to this and expected his trainer to reconsider the action which he thought of partaking to escape from his current immediate problem. Alex felt he should escape and protect himself from further questioning which will most probably continue the next time when he head downstairs in the absence of his younger siblings, Ben and Clara. But, it seemed his Pokemons feel something otherwise. Normally, they would follow his command without objections but when they feel it is necessary for him, they do question his commands although it is normally done when they are alone. If he is strict enough they may follow his command without second thoughts, although they may be a bit reluctant. " Sometimes I really regret letting you boss me around." He mumbled while crashing on to his bed. As soon as his body laid on the bed he fell asleep. Slowking on the other hand looked at his trainer sleeping and then sat on the floor. He knew his trainer may need his help. Slowking closed his eyes and meditated like most psychic Pokemons do to control their powers and get stronger while keeping an eye out for Alex. Alex haven''t had a complete sleep since the first day when the battle began. He often had nightmares which is kept a secret from most of the Pokemons. The only ones who know about it are haunter, Espeon and Slowking and that too because they have learned the move "nightmare". They are s_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e to the negative energy used for the move and when they felt it from him, they questioned him. Or more like Espeon had confronted Alex but he rebuked her by saying that there are more important things to do and they cannot spread this to other members of the team. He ordered all three of them and they followed. But they managed to make him compromise on this matter back then. Either one of the three will be with him while he slept to help him with nightmare and so he could have a good rest. They often rotated and took turns for this. Today us Slowking''s turn. While he meditated, Alex slowly mumbled on his sleep," No ... I am sorry. ..... No.... No...leave me alone. It wasn''t my fault .... I already warned you....." This made Slowking quit his meditation and he looks at Alex with glowing eyes. He used his psychic to scan his trainer Alex and saw that he is covered in a shady black aura generated mostly from the nightmare. The aura users are s_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e to the emotions around them. This is their most important source of strength. They feel an amplified version of good and bad emotions. They can also sense the different powers around them and possess a natural affinity to different forms of energy. Sometimes these emotions can affect the mind of the aura user adversely turning them berserk. This is mostly the case for beginner aura users like Alex. A skilled one could control himself and not be overwhelmed by it. Samuel had considered the mental health of the young trainer Alex and felt he won''t suffer much from his ordeal. But he forgot or didn''t know much about the psychology of an aura user . There are very few aura users in the pokemon world. The reason is because of their sensitivity to energy and emotions. There is much resentment in the world. In the last, The aura users help to deal with the resentment which may affect the environment adversely. In the end, they becone a buffer zone for the change. The aura user need a strong mind so as not to lose against such resentment. This is why most of the things pertaining to aura are thought from master to student and only one at a time. This way if the student go berserk his master may calm him and solve it before things go way out of his hands. Hence, the things Alex experience now is much greater than he or anyone else ever considered . He is suffering from the collective resentment of the death of people who died. Their resentment attached to Alex and they blossom through nightmare in Alex sleep. There are thousands who lost their life in that battle and suffering from that much resentment at once is enough to turn even a master aura user mad multiple times over. The thing which helped Alex survive that is the intervention of Mew. She was present around Alex throughout the ordeal. When she saw Alex would suffer too much in that place, and he won''t escape the battle, she tried to deal with things. She resolved the dark energy generated from the deaths but she didn''t deal with all of them. She left about 1 percent of the total for alex to train and grow stronger. This will help him advance in his aura studies and later in his astral powers(ghost energy) which she knew he possessed. This will be good in the long run and he may have another layer of protection. The thing about the deeds of Mew in helping Alex was known only to Slowking. He was told by Mew what may have happen to Alex and what he can do to help him. pokemon POV, Mew floats towards Slowking who was resting and restoring his strength from his previous battle with Alakazam. " Slowking wake up. I need to talk to you about something important." Mew said in her soft voice. Slowking on hearing the urgency in her tone immediately opened his eyes not daring to disobey "the mother of all pokemons " but he still joked with her and said," Do you want my help to raid Alex''s stash of pokecube so you can get your sweet delights?" Mew wasn''t in mood of joke and this can be seen for her serious expression. Slowking saw her face and then his face turned serious and inquired," What happened?" " Do you know what Alex is suffering from?" " Nightmares. I know. Even Haunter and Espeon knows. We decided to stay with him to deal with his nightmare. Is there something about it which we don''t know?" Since her expression doesn''t change. Mew just floats and turns to look in the direction of the battlefield where the fight is still underway. " Emotions are very powerful. They can help one overcome any difficulty. In a happy place, the pure energy is generated which has a calming effect as well as revitalizing power. The Togepi and it''s evolved forms are greatly attracted to such places. But now they mostly stay hidden not willing to reveal themselves to people. Emotions has some adverse effects too. In place like this, the death of people and pokemons generates resentment. Their future ambition and hopes are lost. They are angry and sad before death. The aftereffect is very dangerous. The resentment lingers in such place. This resentment is raw dark energy. This is what the ghosts and some other Pokemons loves. This is good for the advancement of strength of some of the Pokemon. This is especially good for Haunter. But..." " If it is good for Haunter then what is it that makes you so serious?" Slowking asked still not clear where she is leading him. " It is Alex. He is an aura user. The aura users are s_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e to these emotional places. Here thousands will die that I am sure about. Alex isn''t skilled enough to isolate himself from these things. The aura attracts such energy to itself. I will deal with most of them along with Haunter. But Alex himself will have to overcome the dark energy here. It is necessary for his future. So you, Espeon and Haunter take care of him. He will need all your help. The dark energy induces nightmare. And with Alex being an aura user his will be much stronger and realistic than what normal people experience. " Mew revealed it to him. " Very well. I will tell them that. Thank you for helping him." Slowking said with absolute sincerity. Slowking understands what she meant. If not for her intervention, they might have lost their trainer forever. After that Mew wasn''t as serious as before and said proudly in her cute tone," of course or who will make my sweets and makes new type of food for me. " And after saying that Mew left them. Alex is suffering from the nightmare but except for slight soothing Slowking didn''t do anything else to help Alex. Slowking thought,'' Now we can only do this. According to Mew, it is necessary. She hasn''t led us astray till now and you did tell us to believe her and listen to her instructions. Even if we don''t help you directly,at least we will support you from behind. '' and he continued to look over Alex. Alex is suffering from nightmare as an aftermath of the battle. Next will be how other people react to his participation in the Tide. stay tuned To be continued... Chapter 198 - 8 : Mews intervention Alex has rushed into his room and closed the door behind him with a loud bang. Just a few moment later, Slowking arrived there through the teleport. Alex looked at his psychic Pokemon who just smirked at his trainers haggard appearance. Their eye remained in contact until Alex averted his eyes and grumbled,"Fine, you win I won''t run away from home. I will stay here." Alex was having thoughts of running away from his family and staying away from them until he has come to terms with the current mental and emotional turmoil he is facing while he led the corps in the Pokemon Tide. All of his pokemons could make some guess of what he is gonna do with the amount of time they spent with him, and among them Slowking, electabuzz and pidgeot could sometimes predict his next course of action similar to what Slowking did just now. He even raised an objection pertaining to this and expected his trainer to reconsider the action which he thought of partaking to escape from his current immediate problem. Alex felt he should escape and protect himself from further questioning which will most probably continue the next time when he head downstairs in the absence of his younger siblings, Ben and Clara. But, it seemed his Pokemons feel something otherwise. Normally, they would follow his command without objections but when they feel it is necessary for him, they do question his commands although it is normally done when they are alone. If he is strict enough they may follow his command without second thoughts, although they may be a bit reluctant. " Sometimes I really regret letting you boss me around." He mumbled while crashing on to his bed. As soon as his body laid on the bed he fell asleep. Slowking on the other hand looked at his trainer sleeping and then sat on the floor. He knew his trainer may need his help. Slowking closed his eyes and meditated like most psychic Pokemons do to control their powers and get stronger while keeping an eye out for Alex. Alex haven''t had a complete sleep since the first day when the battle began. He often had nightmares which is kept a secret from most of the Pokemons. The only ones who know about it are haunter, Espeon and Slowking and that too because they have learned the move "nightmare". They are s_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e to the negative energy used for the move and when they felt it from him, they questioned him. But they managed to make him compromise on this matter back then. Either one of the three will be with him while he slept to help him with nightmare and so he could have a good rest. They often rotated and took turns for this. Today us Slowking''s turn. While he meditated, Alex slowly mumbled on his sleep," No ... I am sorry. ..... No.... No...leave me alone. It wasn''t my fault .... I already warned you....." This made Slowking quit his meditation and he looks at Alex with glowing eyes. He used his psychic to scan his trainer Alex and saw that he is covered in a shady black aura generated mostly from the nightmare. The aura users are s_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e to the emotions around them. This is their most important source of strength. They feel an amplified version of good and bad emotions. They can also sense the different powers around them and possess a natural affinity to different forms of energy. Sometimes these emotions can affect the mind of the aura user adversely turning them berserk. This is mostly the case for beginner aura users like Alex. A skilled one could control himself and not be overwhelmed by it. Samuel had considered the mental health of the young trainer Alex and felt he won''t suffer much from his ordeal. But he forgot or didn''t know much about the psychology of an aura user . In the end, they becone a buffer zone for the change. The aura user need a strong mind so as not to lose against such resentment. This is why most of the things pertaining to aura are thought from master to student and only one at a time. This way if the student go berserk his master may calm him and solve it before things go way out of his hands. Hence, the things Alex experience now is much greater than he or anyone else ever considered . He is suffering from the collective resentment of the death of people who died. Their resentment attached to Alex and they blossom through nightmare in Alex sleep. There are thousands who lost their life in that battle and suffering from that much resentment at once is enough to turn even a master aura user mad multiple times over. The thing which helped Alex survive that is the intervention of Mew. She was present around Alex throughout the ordeal. When she saw Alex would suffer too much in that place, and he won''t escape the battle, she tried to deal with things. She resolved the dark energy generated from the deaths but she didn''t deal with all of them. She left about 1 percent of the total for alex to train and grow stronger. This will help him advance in his aura studies and later in his astral powers(ghost energy) which she knew he possessed. This will be good in the long run and he may have another layer of protection. The thing about the deeds of Mew in helping Alex was known only to Slowking. He was told by Mew what may have happen to Alex and what he can do to help him. FLASHBACK: Mew floats towards Slowking who was resting and restoring his strength from his previous battle with Alakazam. " Slowking wake up. I need to talk to you about something important." Mew said in her soft voice. Slowking on hearing the urgency in her tone immediately opened his eyes not daring to disobey "the mother of all pokemons " but he still joked with her and said," Do you want my help to raid Alex''s stash of pokecube so you can get your sweet delights?" Mew wasn''t in mood of joke and this can be seen for her serious expression. Slowking saw her face and then his face turned serious and inquired," What happened?" " Do you know what Alex is suffering from?" " Nightmares. I know. Even Haunter and Espeon knows. We decided to stay with him to deal with his nightmare. Is there something about it which we don''t know?" Since her expression doesn''t change. Mew just floats and turns to look in the direction of the battlefield where the fight is still underway. " Emotions are very powerful. They can help one overcome any difficulty. In a happy place, the pure energy is generated which has a calming effect as well as revitalizing power. The Togepi and it''s evolved forms are greatly attracted to such places. But now they mostly stay hidden not willing to reveal themselves to people. The resentment lingers in such place. This resentment is raw dark energy. This is what the ghosts and some other Pokemons loves. This is good for the advancement of strength of some of the Pokemon. This is especially good for Haunter. But..." " If it is good for Haunter then what is it that makes you so serious?" Slowking asked still not clear where she is leading him. " It is Alex. He is an aura user. The aura users are s_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e to these emotional places. Here thousands will die that I am sure about. Alex isn''t skilled enough to isolate himself from these things. The aura attracts such energy to itself. I will deal with most of them along with Haunter. But Alex himself will have to overcome the dark energy here. It is necessary for his future. So you, Espeon and Haunter take care of him. He will need all your help. The dark energy induces nightmare. And with Alex being an aura user his will be much stronger and realistic than what normal people experience. " Mew revealed it to him. " Very well. I will tell them that. Thank you for helping him." Slowking said with absolute sincerity. Slowking understands what she meant. If not for her intervention, they might have lost their trainer forever. After that Mew wasn''t as serious as before and said proudly in her cute tone," of course or who will make my sweets and makes new type of food for me. " And after saying that Mew left them. Present time, Alex is suffering from the nightmare but except for slight soothing Slowking didn''t do anything else to help Alex. Slowking thought,'' Now we can only do this. According to Mew, it is necessary. She hasn''t led us astray till now and you did tell us to believe her and listen to her instructions. Even if we don''t help you directly,at least we will support you from behind. '' and he continued to look over Alex. Alex is suffering from nightmare as an aftermath of the battle. Next will be how other people react to his participation in the Tide. stay tuned To be continued... Chapter 199 - 9 : Mews Test Alex is sleeping and suffering from the nightmare but Slowking soothe the nightmare slightly. He didn''t interfere much in this matter as per Mew''s instructions. In the first day, he almost interfered but endured to see if things went wrong, he would involve himself. At that time, he has noticed that the life energy or technically it can be termed as aura in his body becomes richer and more active. It evolves his body slowly and makes the muscles more firm and compact. His physical strength increased slightly as the dark energy that Mew sealed in Alex slowly fades away. And through continuous mental and spiritual attacks from the nightmare, his mental strength as well as mental defense increased sharply. So Slowking just oversee Alex. But the thing regarding Alex that made him really anxious is time. According to Mew it would take him about an year to overcome the dark energy and completely digest it. But the speed could be increased if his heart and will becomes more firm than now. Another task that Mew has given him was to help Alex overcome the shadow of the tide within half an year time. It is a test from Mew to determine his true potential. If he manages to do it then she would help them more in the future as a close friend but if he fails, she would stay as an aquiantance only and won''t help them improve their strength at a faster rate. The news about the test is known only to Slowking and he had a mental imprint planted on himself by Mew to prevent any disclosure to anybody. He can guide Alex in the shadows to accelerate his mental healing, but he cannot come out and remove those terrible past images from his mind to help him recover. He has to stop others from removing these images too. As for why Slowking agreed to the test, was that according to Mew, world will have great changes in the next decade and if Alex wants to protect himself and his family then he would have to grow stronger. Slowking knew that Alex doesn''t want his family to suffer and the training from Mew will help him grow stronger much quicker than he could on his own. Hence, Slowking agreed for Alex current mental torture. Slowking continues to oversee his trainer sleep as suffer from the dark power enhanced more realistic nightmares related to his first experience as the captain as well as the commander of the Corps. Location : Pallet town In the Oak''s laboratory, four people sat facing each other in their chair and had serious expression especially the only female of the group. She is almost livid and is held back by her husband from jumping on to an old man who just smiled nervously. " You really went to wild, Professor."The cap wearing man who happens to be Red said softly. " Wild? If you ask me, I would say senile. He has gone completely and utter nuts. " the female figure said while glaring at the older man. She was restrained by another man from attacking the older man. " Now, now Green. Dad, isn''t that nuts? He has his moments but I am sure this time he did it for a reason. Isn''t it so father?"Blue turned to his father and pleaded because he felt that if he didn''t then his wife will tear both him and his father apart. The newly identified woman, Green was a brunette with shoulder length hair, blue eyes and angular face. She has a beautiful face which was currently distorted due to anger at her father-in-law. She sat down with a huff and then looked at Samuel and mumbled," He better have a good reason or I will make sure you both father and son will stay away from Daisy and my next child until I am sure you both infect them with your idiocy and your mad behavior doesn''t rub on them. I will throw both of you out of the house and make sure you are at least hundred metres away from them." She warned them. And yes next baby. She had a baby bump a little bigger than Alex''s mother Gwen symbolising she herself was pregnant and may give birth to the child a few days or week before Gwen. This turned Blue white and he os afraid his wife may really do it and he tried to appease her by saying," Now, now love we shouldn''t be so hasty. And it was completely dad''s idea. I don''t have a hand in it. It''s all his fault." Blue didn''t hesistate to throw the entire fault at his father. " Don''t act so innocent. Daisy told me you knew and how Alex had called you for advice but instead of helping him out you let him stay there. You are also one of the culprits here. " Green said while her intensity of glare only increased with time. And all the pokemons as well as the trainers only lowered their head in defeat in front of her. Blue too lowered his head but when he thought about not getting to meet his beloved daughter and his currently unborn baby he braved himself and retorted," You cannot do it. I will not yield. You cannot bar me from meeting my kids. " " Is that so?" She said with not so hidden riddicule in her eyes. "Y...yes" he himself wasn''t so sure and said. She then turned to the pokemons on the room such as Samuel''s Charizard, Dragonite, Alakazam and Xatu, Blue''s Blastoise, Alakazam and Nidoking , Red''s Charizard, Snorlax and Pikachu along with Green''s Venasaur, Clefable and Ninetails and said," I think you all can make sure these two do not infect my children with their recklessness and idiocy. Can I give all of you the job of keeping them away?" All the pokemons replied positively. Venasaur said," Venn...a.aaaa.... sssaaaurrrr"('' Don''t worry Green. They won''t reach the younglings.'') Dragonite said,"Dddraagg... Oooo .. dddd..rrrraggonnnmitttee."('' I won''t let them harm the kids. My son Charmeleon suffered so much because of these idiots mistake. How could you harm your son like that.'')and she glared at her mate, Charizard. Charizard, on the other hand, tried to say something but Dragonite face told him she wasn''t willing to listen and he looked at his trainer and mumbled" Rraawww" ('' You have a good reason to appease them or I will not help you in calming them down.'') Samuel on hearing this just sweatdropped as his most loyal partner abandoned him to the wrath of the females. Samuel Oak has a lot of titles to his name, such as Champion Oak, Professor Oak, Samuel the destroyer, The apocalypse and many other. Any one of these can put fear in the heart of the people who know the meaning behind these title and the incidents which let him to earn these titles but now none of them are of any use. He is under the siege of his own Pokemon and his daughter in law. And he decided to bite the bullet and said it ," Alex had met a Legendary pokemon. " started to tell them some things. " What ? Since when?" Blue intervened. Samuel just glared at his traitorous son and said harshly ," Don''t interrupt me. Let me finish first." " Alex had met Mew. When I don''t know but I too had encountered Mew in the past. At that time, Charizard, Arcanine and seaking too met her or at least saw her figure. She didn''t stay for long and just flew past us. Arcanine has remembered her scent. Mew often visited his farm and so he later revealed to me about her appearance at that place. If it is just once or twice It would be just a coincidence but her repeated arrival meant she is close to Alex. Alex is too weak as of now to protect himself and his family especially since Mew is involved so I decided to help him. I decided to let Alex show more of his talents in the Tide. This way he could gain strength faster and would have enough qualifications to make the others think twice before attacking him. This will earn him some time. If people know about her appearance there, then they would at least spend an year or two before actively attacking Alex. By that time, at least one of his pseudo king Pokemon would at least reach peak Pseudo king and a few more pokemons would reach pseudo king too. At least by then he could hold back the enemies long enough for our reinforcement to arrive and help him." These words quiet down everyone there. How will they react to Alex''s relation with Mew? Stay tuned. Chapter 200 - CHAPTER 10 : The new era is coming Leaf on hearing her father in law explanation just held her head on her hand while laying her body on her chair for support.. " This kid just keeps jumping from one trouble to another. " She mumbled. " I won''t say trouble but I think he had a pretty adventurous journey so far. His encounters make me very envious. He got to meet mew and here I haven''t even seen a shadow of hers. I am so jealous." Blue said with jealousy evident in his eyes. He fantasize about encountering different Legendary on his next trip outside. A hard hit on the back of his head, courtesy of his dear wife Green, brought back Blue to the reality. Of course the sniggering of Red angered Blue beyond anything and he shouted at him," You find it funny, aura boy. I remember someone fainting when he heard that his wife was pregnant." This changed Red facial expression, he turned red in being reminded of that past embarrassment and it turned sour while Blue on the other hand was smug. Everyone in the room such as Samuel and Green and even their own Pokemons knew if these two aren''t stopped now then they would start another one of their very vocal fights which will only waste everyone''s time. So Green decided to stop the fight before it can even begin and slapped both of the childish a_d_u_l_ts on the back of their head hard. It is hard enough to make them fall on the floor, face first. " We are discussing about young Alex now. If you idiots want to fight among yourself, do so when this matter is settled. Am I understood?" She said while looking at the duo a_d_u_l_t troublemakers angrily daring them to object. " Yes ma''am" " Yes ma''am" " We understood everything. Thank you for correcting our idiotic behavior." " We understood everything. Thank you for correcting our idiotic behavior." The duo replied mechanically and in perfect sync as if they have said that multiple times. Meanwhile other occupants of the room just shook their head in absolute dismay. Samuel just smiled softly at their attics meanwhile the pokemons thought,'' It seems idiocy is necessary to gain strength beyond most people.'' while looking at their comedy acts. " Now that everything is settled. Let''s head back to the matter in hand " Samuel said and reinitialed the meeting. " Father, how long do you think it will take for Alex to recover from the mental trauma he suffered during the entire duration of the Pokemon Tide?" Gwen asked her father in law worried about his mental psych. " If it is any average ordinary trainer, I would say about two to three years. That level of bloodshed is difficult for anyone to overcome especially if someone has to lead during his very first Pokemon Tide." Samuel revealed his thoughts to everyone. " But what about Alex? We all know Alex is anything but ordinary? He is monster even among monster. So what are your thoughts on the basis of his mental strength and past actions, Professor?" Red asked the elderly Professor with curiousity evident on his eyes. Samuel just smiled and increased their anticipation for the answer. He was the one who spent more time with Alex than anyone of them. So his thoughts and opinions regarding Alex will be much more accurate than the one they made. " Tell me what are your thoughts first and then I will tell you mine." He said mysteriously and looked at Red first asking him to reveal his thoughts. Red didn''t say anything or did anything to object and merely mumbled," about 15 months. He is an aura user. It takes longer time for aura users to overcome the mental impact. They are s_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e to these cases and many aura users turned mad or went berserk and killed people around them when they are subjected to the situation Alex experienced. It is tough. There was a reason I was out of the count for a couple months more than Blue when I first led the men. There are some other details behind the cause of berserk but I don''t know about it entirely. Alex hasn''t shown any sign of berserk or turning mad so I think he will be fine but due to the gains and boons from the aura, he will suffer some harmful effect and take time significantly more time to overcome the situation especially considering his age. Above all else, He is just a twelve tears old. " Blue interrupted him while mumbling," Eleven." " What ? What do you say , Blue?" Red asked while puzzled by his intervention. " He is eleven and a few months now. You said he was twelve. " " I just round figured his age" Ted wasn''t willing to lose from this rival of his in anything and countered back. "Even if we round figure it, it will still be eleven. " Blue retorted. And before things could escalate a cough disrupted their actions. Both turned to the source of the cough. It was Green and behind Gwen were some vines of Venasaur waving around waiting for his trainers command to act. Blue quickly turned his tune and said," From what I saw him act and train in his times at the laboratory and taking into account his aura user ability, I believe that it would take him at least an year to recover. What do you think, dear? " Green blushed slightly at the question and said," I don''t know him well enough. I only know about him from Daisy or what you all tell me about so I cannot say how long it will take for him to recover." " Dad we all have expressed our view on this matter. Why don''t you tell yours too." Blue said when he saw his wife glaring when he sniggered at her reply. " It is already my turn, huh. If it was normal times it would take Alex almost a year to recover but it isn''t the case now. Now, I think he would be completely fine within six months time. " this answer was way too surprising. To think it is almost the same duration of time it took to for most of these people ( Blue, green, red) to overcome the first Tide experience years ago. " Why?" Red asked his elderly mentor. Oak simply replied,"As for why I think so. He loves his brother and sister a lot. He wants to protect them ftom everything he could and not let them suffer. His mother is pregnant. Her expected date of birth is a few days after Green''s and a couple days before Delia''s. His new twins siblings will be of the same age group as your kids. Their appearance will help him penetrate the fog of confusion that shroud his heart and help him get over it. " The other three were quite sceptic about this but they didn''t object him. Seeing none of them objecting him, Samuel just smiled but he inwardly thought, ''good thing they didn''t ask more or i don''t know how i will answer them. I can''t say I met an older Alex who mentioned about his first Tide experience to us back then and I use it as a reference for the treatment.'' almost everyone even the Pokemons were convinced that this might work and this was why he did what he really did with Alex. But his own pokemons just looked at him deadpanned knowing the actual reason and just shook their head in dismay. " Now everyone will follow our lead " Samuel said seriously. Although he didn''t clarify what the others will follow, they were smart enough to understand what he meant. " I don''t know how many genius will perish in this new round of competition between the different regions." Red said and lowers his head regarding the chaos which is going to happen in the future. " But it will greatly enhance the strength of this generation of trainers. I think some of them may even reach champion level before the age of twenty. I really look forward to their future. " Blue said. " Yet the league won''t do it now. It will only begin after Alex is completely fine and had restarted his journey." Green said. " Indeed. The next step will begin when Alex takes the next step. " Samuel said," The era of my generation is over. Yours has begun and The new era of the monsters is also coming. The genius will be tempered and those who qualify would be the monsters of this generation." He said while looking out of the window at the setting sun. How will the other regions react to Alex''s participation in the Pokemon Tide? Stay tuned. To be continued... Chapter 201 - 11: The views of other regions ( part1) When the sun rose the next day, Alex is also forced to rise from his bed because of the rigorous shaking and loud shouts of his brother and sister, Ben and Clara respectively. " Big brother wake up" " Big brother wake up" " If you don''t wake up and head downstairs ..." Ben started " .... Mom won''t let us eat the chocolate cake she made for us." While Clara ended his words. " Let me sleep" Alex mumbled amd then crashed his head onto the pillow while laying on the bed on his stomach and covering his head with a second pillow. When the twins saw that their shaking wasn''t working and so they turned to look at each other hoping the other might have some way. And then they both came to the same conclusion, they jumped on Alex. But they never landed as they were frozen midair courtesy of the water psychic pokemon, Slowking who hadn''t left his position since last night saved them. Earlier, Slowking just looked at the twins trying to wake up their elder brother from his sleep but not one of their ways was effective. So they finally decided to jump on Alex so he would have to wake up or the pain from their jumping may force him to wake up. But just as they almost reached Alex, Slowking noticed the subconscious movement of Alex arms glowing blue with aura and ready to destroy the attacker as soon as he enters his attacking range. The attack may severely wound the duo if not cripple them for life. And the situation may be even more hazardous since his aura control wasn''t up to the par due to his disturbed mental conscience. If it is allowed to happen then Alex would never be able to forgive himself and the twins would be too scared to be near Alex in their life. So Slowking intervened and stopped them before they could land onto Alex or enter his attacking radius. Being frozen on the air surprised the twins for a moment and then they shouted excited at the prospect of flying although it was due to psychic. " Yeah, I am flying." " Look Ben, I am a blimp. I am floating in the sky." Their excited shouts disturbed Alex''s sleep and he slowly opened his eyes to look at the pair of his siblings floating courtesy of his pokemon. Suddenly he felt something and looked at his glowing blue arm and then at the twins as well as Slowking. He connected the dots and had a rough idea of what may have happened if not for Slowking''s intervention. The twins may have opted to jump onto him and his body subconsciously regarded them as a threat. He then used his aura to cover his arm and decided to destroy the threat. Slowking saw it all and when he thought that playfulness was over and things are taking a serious turn, he intervened and stopped them. Alex softly said with complete sincerity," Thank you for helping me out, Slowking." Slowking sent a water gun in reply to his ''thank you '' and turned his focus to the twins who floated in different direction under Slowking''s control. None of his pokemons like him thanking them for helping him in his problems. " So you two, what were you trying to do just now?" Alex leveled a small glare at his naughty twin siblings. His voice attracted the attention of the floating twins and they wanted to float away from their brother. But Alex caught them by their collars before they could escape and looked at them for an answer. They were scared now since Alex doesn''t like being woken up like this. And he was most probably going to be angry. Soon Clara gathered up her courage and finally answered," It was your own fault. Who told you to sleep so late that mom made us wake you up. If you had woken up early we may be eating the cake now." She then turned her face sideways and pouted cutely. Ben by her side just nodded along and agreed with his sister. Alex loved both of his siblings but he cared for Clara more and hence she didn''t hold back in scolding or criticising Alex like Ben do. " Fine. Now I am awake. You both rush downstairs. I will join you after I am washed up and ready to go." Alex told while dropping both of them to the floor. Getting the opportunity they ran downstairs while shouting," Mom Alex woke up." Alex smiled at their actions and when they left his smile faded away with them. His face turned serious amd he said to himself," It seems I am losing control of myself. I still regard that I am at the battle zone. I almost treated them as an enemy. It seems I will have to learn restrain. The post effect is too dangerous. I will have to warn them against letting mom and Dad into entering my room like that or doing something like this again." And then he rose from his bed and headed to the washroom/ toilet. " There is something going on out there, I just don''t know what." He mumbled as he headed forth. Far away in Johto region, In an icy mountain a short white haired old man sat and looked at the letter, he got from his intelligence agent. " What does Samuel plan to do? He let someone so young not only participate in the Tide but also lead the front as a commander. Isn''t he afraid of destroying the kid? " He mumbled to himself. He thought of all the possible plans Samuel may have under his grip," No no he won''t do something like that. He is too soft. He won''t do it especially for his young student. He likes them too much. So he won''t take chances unless he is absolutely sure." And then it dawned on him. "Is there anything unexpected going on with that family ?" He asked but the coldness in his voice was evident. " I only found that the target''s mother is pregnant." The informer revealed. " And what does those other idiots in the league think about this matter?" He inquired about his fellow colleagues for whom he didn''t even have an ounce of respect or comradeship. " They think that he is worthless now. He isn''t someone we should waste time on." He answered the reply that they gave him and from what Pierce noticed that this person in front of him felt like that too. He thundered out at their reply," Idiots, whole lot of you are idiots. Or why would we be laughed at by the other regions. Their shortsighted view dooms us all. They ignored the shadow and they have started to drain us of the next generation. They have even penetrated deep into the league yet they just try to fight for powers among themselves. They will doom Johto." He sighed in the end. The informer was now laying flat on the ground knocked out cold when he released his pressure in anger towards his colleagues. He looked at the knocked out person and then shook his head," This is the most talented youth that johto currently have for itself. Even that Lance brat and Lorelei is better than him. They won''t fall down when I released a bit of the retrain. " He ignored the fallen youth and started to walk back from the place. " You have started a massacre, Samuel. I know since you let that little monster participate then he will not be crushed as most expect. After sometime other regions may opt to implement something closely related to this,it will officially start . The era of monsters is here. It seems that there is really too many geniuses around. Kanto had once again revealed it''s dominance. It has genius to spare But johto isn''t so lucky. It cannot try that elimination method. " And he entered his house and left the youth out in the cold. How will Alex overcome his instincts? How will the other regions take this news ? Stay tuned To be continued... Chapter 202 - 12 : Views of other regions( Johto) location: Blackthorn city, Johto, In a room there were two men along with two Pokemons which were big, bipedal and yellow in colour with teo small antenna on their head which stood guard behind the two people. They were Dragonite. The two Dragonite overlooked the conversation of their trainers and didn''t interfere. " What made that monster try such a dangerous thing?" The older of the two man grumbled. " Father, you cannot call someone like that. It will not be good if someone hears you say something like this about him. " Another man younger than the previous one tried to say and stop his father from regarding ''Him'' as a monster. The older man wore a brown monk type cloth and a bronze cloak over his shoulder, while the younger man was in normal shirt and pant attire but had his own cloak on his shoulders. " You youngsters didn''t know him. You can ask any person of my era who saw his terror, you will know why we opt to call him a monster. He isn''t someone you ever wanna mess with. You have met his son and student didn''t you? What do you regard them as?" The older man asked his son. " Monster" was the only term he used to describe them. His son spoke out without second thought. The older man scoffed at this epithet and ridicules his son," Those two are too tame compared to him. He rose to his level under the opposition of many people and most of them became an example of which will happen to those who mess with him. His son and student on the other hand had his back which made them less ruthless than him. In that monsters eyes, he doesn''t differentiate whether one is men or women, child or a_d_u_l_t. There is a reason he was called the Destroyer. When he is angry, he burns down the world. " The old man finished omniously. The Dragonite seem to shudder thinking about him sane with his trainer who shivers at the thought of his anger. The younger man didn''t know what to say. To think one of the kindest man he knew was so ruthless back in his days was surprising but he had seen a trend. The people are becoming more and more calm over the years. " But he won''t just destroy his student like that? This isn''t how he is." The son said. " This is what makes me surprised too. He likes to protect his people especially the young ones. They are his hope for the future. But this behavior is completely out of his usual ways. And this method had also started a new trend. We have to be prepared." The older man said. " What do you mean by that, father?" The younger man was confused by his father''s words. " Lance has to be prepared. Within an year he will be fighting a pokemon tide without any of our help or support. And before his fourteen birthday he must lead a Corp just like Samuel''s protege did. " He issued the order to his son. These words made the man disbalance and he fell on the ground. He didn''t rise from his fallen position shouted at his father," Father, are you mad? How can you even consider this. You know it, that Lance is the most talented and gifted trainer in all the Dragon Den. He may even surpass all of us in the future. Why do you have to do this? Why take this risk? I cannot put my son in such a grave danger. He is the strongest genius of our Wataru clan " His Dragonite joined his trainer in insisting and said," Roooo"('' He is still too young to face such a dangerous situation.'') The older man didn''t take his son''s opposition kindly and himself shouted back,"You think I want to do that to my own grandson, Drake. He is my favorite grandson. I taught him everything he knew about dragons since he was four. And what genius? Does he even qualify for the genius title now? That monster destroyed any chance he had to be the strongest of the generation . In this generation, there is only a single genius and that is Alex Bart. He has raised the threshold for the genius. " His anger decimated a little on mentioning this. The old man seems too tired now. " Dad are you ok?" Seeing his tired appearance he asked his father. He just motioned he was fine and continued," Do you know what it really means to be a genius now? Complete the same task that young Alex , no no no , he cannot be called young anymore. As for to get a genius title now, one has to do what Alex did in the fight. He took only six years to raise two pseudo king without any powerful treasure which shows his talent in raising and training Pokemon. He then survived and led the battle against Tide without breaking down in the middle of the fight, showing his firm will, concentration and mentality. The only thing that he now suffers from is the aftermath. When he recovers and it is a when not an if, then no one could challenge his supremacy in the same generation. This generation children are doomed to follow his lead and alive be under his shadow just like I and you did in their shadows. " The two father and son thought of the people under whose shadows they reside. Every occupant was quiet after those words for no one dared to object since they knew that it was true." And we can do nothing?" " Samuel had given us time. The time till Alex recovers. After that, the genius of each region will have to at least participate in the defensive Battle against the Pokemon Tide. If they cannot do so after he returns then they don''t deserve that title of a genius. Now Only the peak position is lost but the battle for the second is still raging. Lance is a dragon trainer and a possible dragon master. He holds the honor of dragons. If Lance cannot do that then he doesn''t belong to the strong of this generation. The dragons aren''t a member of the strong. The monsters aren''t those who are strong or ruthless. The true monsters are those who through their actions make the whole generation follow their path, even if it was a path full of thorns. Samuel started an era of monsters in his time, his son and student did it after him and now Alex did too and at such a young age. We cannot regard this generation as others in the past. The Era of the monsters is here." The old man said. No matter how much he cared about his son, Drake knew his son well. He was as much a dragon master as any one else in the family. And every single dragon master had a pride. No pokemon out there is as proud of their strength as dragons. They belong to the class of strong. And in this era, only those who can withstand the similar experience as Alex are those qualifed to be a member of that class. Lance would participate in it no matter what he say to his son after his son gets this information, so he might as well prepare his son for the future," Ok father. I will do it." As he was leaving a voice drifted to him," I too don''t want to do this. It is the demand of this generation. Either join the queue or get lost in the sands of time. " And he left the room and flew over his Dragonite to a little at the bank of which two children, a red head who was Lance and a blue haired , Claire his cousin played. The father looked at the two playing and his face turned sour and grim. He didn''t like the prospect of this but he had to do it. It was his son''s misfortune to be born in that monsters generation. Yes, even Drake considered him a monster and knew why his father called Professor Oak a monster. " It seems the play time is over for Lance. I feel sad that Lance had to go through that but I am also happy that Claire isn''t as strong as Lance. At least her innocence can be preserved for a longer time. " He said softly to his companion, trying to appease both his and his partners heart. " Rooo." The Dragonite slightly cooed in sympathy knowing what her trainer felt. " The era of monsters. I hope you can keep going on your path, my son" and he went to them. A new trend had started due to Alex. How will it go in other regions? stay tuned To be continued Chapter 203 - 13: Views in Hoenn and Sinnoh In Hoenn region, Five people sat in the round table overlooking the important Intel they got from their intelligence agents in Kanto which required their complete focus. These people are the strongest of Hoenn and are the elite four and champion of the region. They were Fire type elite, Merlin Moore ( who is the grandfather of the future fire gym leader of Hoenn, Flannery). He had a Typhlosion by his side. His mete presence has increased the temperature of the room. On his left was a blonde woman in pink dress, she was Rose, the psychic elite and she had a Gardevoir behind her. On her left was a blue haired man with a gas mask on. He was the poison elite, Rick and he had a menacing seviper behind him. On his left was the second and last female of the group. She was a blue haired woman and wore a sweater on even in the warm room. She was Frost, the ice elite. She had a walrein slumbering behind her. His coldness has neutralised the hot wave from Typhlosion. And the one who headed the meeting was a man with a moustache and wore an open coat. He was the Dragon Master of Hoenn and the current champion of the Hoenn league, Drake. As for what reports they were looking at it was the one about Alex exploits in the Pokemon Tide. It has recorded how he became the commander of the North defence of the Sky Town and how his Slowking and electabuzz were pseudo king level now. " The Kanto league is quite daring to put their gem under so much pressure. I don''t know how the kid will handle it. " Rose said with a tone of ridicule about him. She feels that their gem must be destroyed after this encounter " Don''t sympathize with him." Frost said blankly while her tone was as cold as ice itself," And I can see the face of that monster in the entire layout." " I still don''t understand why you old people call Prof Oak a monster?" The poison specialist grumbled. He is a pretty young person who haven''t seen his powers so he didn''t understand their idea. " Because you haven''t experienced his terror you don''t know it. And it seems they have another monster in the making. " Moore intervened and then said with force," the next era of Monster is upon us." This sentence made Frost and Drake the oldest of the league shift uncomfortably on their seat and their earlier calm face turned dead serious. The pokemons behind them along with Typhlosion softly roared out probably thinking about something bad in the past. " Are you sure the situation can be this serious, Moore?" Drake spoke for the first time in this meeting and his face told he was absolutely serious and wasn''t in the mood of any joke. Moore replied with similar seriousness," Yes. Or how else can we get this much information about the young trainer, no no no, About Alex. He is no longer a young trainer. He may soon join our ranks in a few years time. " " Indeed. This report is too detailed that I missed such an important point. But to think in just forty years, a new trend begins again. " Frost said reminiscing her past. " Is this something special?" Rose asked not knowing what to say. "The Era of monster is a trend. A new way of testing the next generation. We had ours years ago and now this generation had got their own. The earlier pokemon tide was a way of making the young trainer aware of the reality of the world. But now it will serve as a method for sweeping out the real genius who may have a chance to contend with the young monster in the future. " Drake mentioned. He didn''t elaborate anything more. " Why should we follow the trend of Kanto? We can do our own things to test our trainers. Why should their way be the key factor?" Rose asked the older elite four members "This is not something that can be selected by discussion or power of a person. The trend is set by the trainer of that generation only. Alex haf participated in the defence and emerged victorious. He remained unaffected throughout the duration of the battle. He set a benchmark for his fellow age groups and this benchmark had become an indicator. If someone of his generation is wants to take our seat without at least achieving this benchmark then he would always be criticised and most be ridiculed by the other regions " And he then questioned his juniors,. " how long will it take for the kids to be prepared for the test?" " If we want absolute results we will need a couple of years. By then they can participate in the defense without any bad effect to the mental psych." Rick answered "And what about leadership of the Tide?"Drake asked " The quickest would be five years. That level of pressure is too much for the young people especially this generation. We cannot make the gems suffer too much or they may get destroyed in the process." Rose added. Drake just shook his head and issued an ultimatum," They will participate in the tide in a year time and by the time they are fourteen they must lead the corp or they wouldn''t be our next successor." " But..." Rose rose to oppose but a loud roar of Salamence put a stop to everything. " Every league knows what this report means. And this is an ultimatum set by the actions of Samuel''s protege. If they delay any longer then they won''t even be able to catch up to his shadow in thr future. " " Michael and Steven must do this at least if they want to be the next champion of Hoenn. My successor must be able to complete this objective or else I would not give up my post until I die. " He issued his final words in the meeting and everyone agreed although there was some reluctance in their heart. As such the Hoenn league decided to do this, same was with the Sinnoh league. In the Sinnoh league council along with the elite four and champion were Professor Rowan and Professor Caroline. Although not an elite four they held enough prestige to attend the meeting along with their power. The one who headed the meeting was Bertha the ground elite along with Reynolds the water elite, Berk the Rock elite, Julian, the normal elite and finally Arthur the fire Champion. " Kanto is setting the trend again. " Arthur said and started the meeting. Everyone here had experienced Samuel era and knew what those words meant. And hence they weren''t much opposition among the members here. " So how long is the preparation time for the brats?" Reynolds asked the other members. " It would be the same duration of time when Alex Bart once again start his journey after resting at home and recovering from the aftermath of that gruesome battle." Rowan calmly gave his analysis. " And in that case the recovery time may range from a year to a couple more. Since he dared to let his student go through it then he would have been absolutely sure of his chances of recovery. So we must set a parameter for the next generation." Caroline said her opinion. " I think two years to participate and five years to lead is a good guideline for the kids. " Bertha said. " Normally yes. But it is better to reduce the time because I don''t think other regions may stop and wait for so long " Julian said while his Purugly was leaning on his legs and he rubbed her head. " How long do you think they can endure before acting, Arthur!" Berk asked. " How old are the kids now, Caroline?" Arthur asked the history expert. "Most are eleven and some are twelve this year. " She answered. " Fine then they must participate in the defense in eight months to an year time and lead the battle before their fifteen birthday or they can never join the pokemon league council of Sinnoh." Arthur finally issued his orders. No one questions his decision and agreed with the parameters he set. Sinnoh has already lagged behind Kanto and now they must take the lead or be surpassed by the other regions too. How will Unova, Kalos and Kanto league deal with the aftermath of this new trend? stay tuned To be continued... Chapter 204 - 14 : in Unova and Kalos. Kanto high order meeting In Unova, unlike the other regions where there was a group discussion only three people were together to discuss. The people here were the Dragon Master Drayden with his Haxorus , the champion Alder with his Bouffalant and finally the top regional Professor Mr Juniper with his Darmantian. They were the top decision makers of Unova and are currently discussing about the current changing scenario due to the actions of Alex. " The current situation is not good for Unova." Drayden said Alder joked about this matter and said," What gave you the impression. Tgd fact that only three of us are here in this high level meeting." Drayden doesn''t like this joke and he growled at alder with his Haxorus joining his trainer and looked at the Bouffalant menacingly. Mr Juniper and his Darmantian acted as the peacekeeper for the two and said " Now is not the time for us to foght among ourselves. We must reach a consensus about this. Should we follow the trend or not?" This made everyone turn silent. " But we cannot just not act on this matter. Every region will issue a statement regarding this matter and we also have to give one or else the dark organization in the area would think we are soft pessimist. " Drayden said Strongly. Alder who was in deep thoughts finally stated," If a trainer in this generation wants to become the Unova champion then he must reach a threshold. He must participate in the defense wothin three years time and lead within the next six years. Until then no one will be eligible to contest or challenge me for the champion position. I think this is enough to scare some unsavory idiots in the middle path." " I agree with this consensus. We don''t have enough genius, no no, enough abled trainer to supplement the future, we cannot gamble with them. Years ago that monster destroyed Unova and brought us to our knees and years later, his protege teach us our inadequacy. He even took the genius title for himself. Only those who can scale the pillar he erected can be called a genius. Test can only good trainer or abled one. " Drayden said. " We can only strive to raise the next generation well so Unova can rise from this position. " Juniper said. And Unova too reached a decision about this. And finally Kalos had also reached a similar consensus as Hoenn and Sinnoh. " Participate in the tide within an year and lead the corp before their fifteenth birthday. Then only can someone earn the qualifications for competing fir the elite four and champion position. " And these statements were issued as soon as the decision was made. Only johto and Kanto hadn''t issued any such orders. Johto had plainly ignored the report about Alex and felt he was doomed by his mentor. On the other hand, they were still competing for powers among themselves. And the shadow organization was raging on in the johto region making the skilled trainers of Johto join them forcefully if needed draining the power of johto. The only region left who was silent was Kanto. The originator of the trend had remained quiet until now yet none of the other regions felt that it was weak due to it''s lack of order. In the Kanto league HQ at the near the base of the Silver mountain the four elites once again meet together. Samuel too joined them in the discussion. This time there were a couple more people in this discussion. They were Blue Oak, Red Ketchum, Giovanni, Cerulean Gym leader Mathew Waterflower and finally Hanzo the Ninja Grandmaster of Kanto. The four elites and Cerulean gym leader were the hard power of Kanto on the bright side. And finally the trio from the Oak laboratory are the behemoth who are the known hidden ace of Kanto who can unilaterally destroy any opposite force. They had their ace pokemons at their side. This wasn''t just a discussion between friends but also a show of power to prevent any undercurrents hence every one must show their strength. Agatha had her Gengar, Blaine had Magmar by his side, Fiona had her Crobat while Roan had his Rhydon. Giovanni had a Persian with beedrill flying behind without making a single buzzing sound and Hanzo had a Weezing and arbok at his side. Red just had a Raichu on his shoulder, blue had an Eevee while Samuel was grooming a Growlithe. These three doesn''t need to scare anyone as their presence alone is enough deterrent. The one who started the meeting was Agatha. She said," Every region except Johto had issued a joint statement. They have set a parameter for the next generation of elite four and champion. If the trainer doesn''t participate in the tide and get decent achievement then he won''t have the chance for the elite four title and then within the next five years he must also lead the tide of at least one corp fully and completely independently. That is to say that within six years time, many strong trainers are going to develop. So now we are here to discuss how Kanto will act in this thing." " To think our one small action could lead to such a result. A new era is created." Roan said softly but everyone heard it. " We shouldn''t worry. We are already in the lead. So we don''t have to make a hasty decision." Hanzo said showing his calmness in this situation. " I agree with Hanzo. We have already started to deal with Johto forces in the name of countering against the shadows for their attack few months ago. Now we should focus on one thing at a time. We cannot act too hastily and ruin our initial plan." Giovanni supported his fellow guardian in the dark. " I also agree with them. " That''s all Mathew had to say about this. Since they knew the views of these members, the elite four asked the other three whom they contacted through the video call. " What do you all think?" " Since we have already decided why don''t you go with it. If the plan is successful then both Kanto and johto together will have a common elite four. So we would need at least two places for johto hence some places need to be given out. This gives us a reason for leading out the other trainers and only strong could attain the position. And there won''t be anyone who would oppose you later. And these two brats agree which my idea too." Samuel said and the other two nodded. After he said that the three who opposed directly changed their views and also agreed. " Fine then we will also issue similar statement out in the public. Now onto the next topic, Giovanni, Hanzo how much do you control johto?" Roan asked the two. " We have got twenty percent area under our control indirectly. Within the next decade we can completely erode the region and let it integrate us. " Hanzo answered. The member of elite four just shook their head and said," they hold down Pierce or their region won''t be penetrated so deep by the shadows. And now we have to involve in their affairs and increase our workload. Samuel how is Alex condition?" Agatha asked her old friend. " Alex is still suffering from post war effect. He almost attacked his siblings on instinct when they tried to wake him too forcefully abd he had some nightmares. Other thab that there aren''t any bad signs he show." He revealed his student''s situation . " It is good then. He may recover much sooner than we thought. He is only suffering normal post effects and there won''t be any longer injury to his psych in the future " Blaine said. " Any way let''s continue to discuss about so e other things. The gym challenges in...." Roan started the next round of things. In the end, every region follows Alex trend and set it as a criteria for elite four selections for the future. How will the young trainers react to this? Stay tuned. To be continued... Chapter 205 - Notice Got exam from next week so the update will be lesser and lesser. I will post three chapters together in 12 hours for this week. and don''t expect any next week, though I will try to post some if I have time. Chapter 206 - 15 Special Edition newspaper Then the representative of each region met together under the pokemon league president presence and finally a unilateral decision was made. Soon all the regions even johto( joined together so as it won''t be left out) released a common statement. This gained a lot of attention since it set up for an early qualifications mechanism for elite four trial. The statement issued was: " There are many skilled trainers who have shown great poweress in raising and training the Pokemons. And this makes the elite four selection process a bit if a hassle. This can also cause problems later so the league have decided to set up an early qualifications round for all them. Within two years time, every trainer who wants have the opportunity to become an elite four must participate in the pokemon tide and achieve in top five position in terms of point he gained in the defense of the settlement ( of any one defense line,ie, north defense, South defense, etc.). This makes them qualify for the next step. In this step, the trainer must show the league that he or she is qualified enough to lead a brigade( troops numbers to 5000) and gain victory. The trainer must be less than sixteen officially when he complete this objective. The trainer must have a casuality rate( death as well as seriously injured troops) of 50 percent. But to lead they must show they are responsible and should earn enough contribution points. Leading a platoon of 50 is 5000. Leading a company of 150 is 8000. Leading a battalion of 500 is 20000. Leading a brigade of 5000 is 50000. Leading a division of 10000 is 100000, 15000 is 150000 and 20000 is 200000. But before you lead a brigade and one must have have lead the at least two lower armed force unit and gained about less than 40 percent casualty rate. As for how one can earn the contribution points and the minimum requirements for task : 1-star task - 5 points ( Rookies) 3-star task - 50 points( intermediate) 4-star task - 100 points.( Advanced) And if the task is completed in a group then the point is equally distributed among every member. " Of course they also issued another requirement so the older trainers too can have a chance. The task they gained was complete 50 4- star task within three years. And then they should complete another task under league''s review and he can also gain similar qualifications as those younger trainers. " This statement was made in the newspapers and circulated in every human settlement under the influence of Pokemon league. This declaration had brought much uproar in the region and many different things happened which was quite unfortunate. But it is for later. Currently in the Bart''s farm, Alex had arrived at the dining table. Ben and Clara along with his grandpa Michael had already taken their position on the dining table. The dishes made today was special as almost everything prepared today was Alex''s favorite. His mother went over the top to create such a magnificent breakfast for them. It was even more grand as Gwen is pregnant and within a couple of months time, she may experience labour or delivery date may come. Alex joined them and as he was going to sit on the chair, a blur crashed onto Alex and made him fall on the floor. With Alex''s hicked up senses and instinct such a move may let him retaliate and attack the offender with heavy force. But Alex had noticed the presence and he calmed himself down. He let them act and Alex saw that on his c_h_e_s_t now rested Swablu, Pikachu, Growlithe and duskull and Misdreavus floated above his head. Riolu, larvitar, Happiny, Ralts twins stood by the side as they didn''t want to act childish in front of their trainer as they are grown up now. Alex just smiled at them and asked them to move so he could rise and stand up which the Pokemons did reluctantly. " Your pokemons missed you a lot " his grandfather came in front of him. " I missed them too. You all behaved yourself here didn''t you?" And he turned his eyes to the Pokemons he left back at home. They replied positively and then the Pokemons took the position they liked. " Why don''t you spend some time with them? Yesterday, you left to sleep without meeting them and they are very anxious now. You can join us when your parents return. " his grandpa said and Alex agreed. Alex then went to the sofa out in the living room and settled himself. Pikachu sat on one side of his shoulder, Swablu on his head, Growlithe and riolu by his side and larvitar came to him asking to raise him up. Alex took him on his hand and then brought out a pokecube for him who ate it with delight. Both Ben and Clara joined him there since they wanted to hear about what other new Pokemons he met out while travelling . They had picked up Growlithe (by Ben) and Happiny ( by Clara) on their lap. While the Pokemon settled in his body, his brother and sister grabbed his both hands and asked,"Big brother Alex what new Pokemons do you see this time? Did you catch any new Pokemons ?" The Pokemons too looked at him to know more. Alex looked at their excited and happy face and calmed down. He felt relieved on seeing them like this and he answered," Yes I did met some strong Pokemon this time. I met a very powerful beedrill this time. He knocked down pidgeot in their fight." " What really?" Ben asked " But bee.. beedrill is a bug type isn''t it? How did he beat pidgeot which had type advantage?" She asked a little scared. When beedrill attacked the twins Clara got a bit of shadow in her heart regarding the beedrill. Whenever she see or hear about them she goes into shock. This is one of the reason Alex hadn''t caught a beedrill or it''s previous forms even though it was one of his favorite bug types even more than his butterfree. Alex patted her head while pulling her into a hug and told her," no matter what type as long the pokemon is strong enough he could deal with his opponent even when he is at type disadvantage. Type advantage is only one of the factor in pokemon battle. If you are skilled you can also defeat them with type disadvantage." He had tried to help her overcome her fear and tries to do it one step at a time. " You remember my electabuzz didn''t you. He defeated a nidoking even when he had type disadvantage." Seeing that she hadn''t fully recovered He tried to change the topic and make her calm down. " Really. Electabuzz is awesome. I will have an electabuzz myself and he will be even more powerful than yours " Ben declared. " Nidoking? isn''t it nidorino evolved form?" Gwen asked meekly still in her shock. " Yes. Nidorino evolve into nidoking by using moonstone." He told them. " So when are you evolving him, Alex?" Gwen asked. " In six months to a year time, when he becomes powerful enough I will take him to evolve " Alex told them. And his mother''s voice came from the dining room calling them and they all went to join his family. When Alex arrived at the table with his brother, sister and pokemons, he saw that his grandfather was looking at the newspaper serious with his father and mother looking at it over his shoulder. Their facial expression was similar to how it was when they knew he took part in the defense against pokemon tide. His parents saw the statement given out by the league and felt this had some relation with Alex past behaviour. How will the family react? Stay tuned. To be continued... Chapter 207 - CHAPTER 16 The impact At the current timeline, The newspaper is more widespread than the Television communication coverage. The Television connection was prevalent in the big cities of all the regions. The current coverage of television is only ten kilometers area around the main city whereas Floral Town situated fifty kilometers away wasn''t in this area. In other places they weren''t so prevalent and newspapers were the main source of information exchange and orders issued by the League. The statement about the qualifications for elite four position was published in the newspaper and was circulated throughout the every settlement under the Pokemon league control. When Alex was entertaining the siblings as well as the young pokemons, their daily newspaper hawker had sent out the newspaper with the news pertaining to the statement the Pokemon league gave out. When the hawker came,. Slowking sensed his arrival and appeared in front of him to take the newspaper. The hawker handed the newspaper to the Pokemon since he knew the Slowking. This hawker had been sending newspaper to their family for years and so he knew that whenever Slowking was at home, he would arrive to take the newspaper. He handed over the newspaper and left the area. As for why he cane to hand over newspaper now and not at early morning, the current Bart house is at a distance from the town and he first did his delivery in the town and then the outskirts. Slowking teleported back to Michael with the newspaper. There was a fixed sequence in which thd family members read the newspaper. The first person who read the newspaper was Michael, next was Arthur ,later Alex if he was at home and finally Gwen after she did the everyday household activities with the help of pokemons. When Michael took the newspaper and was reading it on the dining table, his attention fell on the current headlines. It read" The New Era of Monsters" After reading this, the years of instincts he developed made Michael feel this matter was related to Alex and just at that moment his son, Arthur and daughter in law, Gwen arrived. He looked up from the newspaper and told them to come to him," Arthur, Gwen come over here and look at this news. " Then placed the dishes on the table and cane to Michael then looked over the his shoulder to see where his finger was placed. When they read through the newspaper they were shocked at the news. " Father, why did the league made such a decision? Is it really because the number of genius is too much and they want to cut down competition this way." Gwen asked her father in law. " There is something more to this, isn''t it father? " Arthur asked sceptic about why his father put do much attention to this. Gwen too found things were a little awkward and her husband question made her feel this matter may be related to someone they all knew and the subconsciously the image of her son appeared in her mind. Michael facial expression hadn''t changed and he continued to look at the newspaper emotionless and then replied back," Yes, the fact that this news came a few days later after Alex''s action makes me think that Alex is one of the main reason behind this sudden change in the trend. " " If so then the second part of the trial may also have some relation with Alex. " Arthur said absentmindedly. " If so then Alex cannot leave the house until he completely recovers. He cannot take a step away from here." Michael said with a strong voice. " Is the thing that serious?" Gwen asked worriedly. " I had led a company once. It is too different from the taking part in the Pokemon Tide. I lead the company of 100 people at the age of 25. If it wasn''t for your mother, Arthur then I would have been a broken person. She was my light. I don''t know how many people Alex led but I think he is suffering. I saw he was way too guarded even at home and even a slight noise made him vigilant. That''s what made me think Alex may have fought the battle but this news tells me things were much bigger than what he told us and didn''t reveal us about. " Michael finally told them. The duo father and mother were quiet when they heard that their son may be suffering and he hid something big from them which may be the cause of his suffering. Their heart hurt knowing this and it was especially so for the pregnant mother. She shouted out Alex''s name and called him to the dining table. But seeing the serious expression of the elders of the family, Alex lost his smile and asked them directly," What happened?" Michael motioned towards Slowking who teleported with the newspaper and handed it to his trainer. Alex took the newspaper and he saw the headlines. He ran his eyes through the news and then his eyes widened. Alex then looked above the newspaper and met his parents and grandfather''s gaze. " So what do you all want to know?" Alex asked and looked at them emotionlessly. This news had reminded Alex about the nightmares he almost forgot when he was with his siblings. He cannot appear broken in front of his parents and so he decided to hide his emotions itself. This change made them aware that they were right on the mark but neither of the two parents know what to say to Alex and let their father take the charge. " Did you lead the troops in the battle ,Alex? And is this matter related to you?" Michael asked Alex remained quiet and turn revealed that he did lead the troops and about the matter how he talked about nor following the command of others and hence he lead the troops. On hearing this Gwen broke into tears while the others just dropped their faces in pain. The younger ones didn''t know why their parents acted like that but opted to remain silent when Slowking motioned them to remain quiet. The first one to recover was Michael who then tried to divert the topic and told everyone to start eating breakfast. This breakfast wasn''t as cheerful as they planned and there was a suffocating atmosphere over the dining table and everyone ate as fast as they could to leave the place. And after eating everyone left. Alex took his pokemons to train and spend hos time and distract from those nightmares. He even took his siblings so he can play with them. The parents looked at this and smiled softly and didn''t say anything. They knew that Alex was in pain and they could only support him mentally. According to Michael, it is something one should overcome on his own or else this shadow will inhibit his future growth and affect his path forward. They don''t want to be obstacles in their son''s future and remained quiet about this. And like this Alex had spent a week in the farm and even Pidgeot had returned from Oak laboratory after healing and can recover at home. Alex was currently spending time on nidorino, marill, poliwhirl and ivysaur who had just evolved to control their powerful body and abilities. He also spent his time bonding with Magikarp as he was nearing his evolution. He wanted to bond so that there won''t be much changes in their relationship after the calm and meek magikarp evolved into the frightening and aggressive gyarados. These days of Alex were pretty calm compared to his normally hectic adventure but the world outside the farm wasn''t so calm. To be continued... Chapter 208 - 17 Top Ranking While Alex life was calm, the things outside the ranch wasn''t such. The statement issued by the league had set a storm in the outside world. This news was shown off to the genius of many regions and they all were told that to rise above others this Parameter must be reached. While the elders of these geniuses explained the points regarding this future goal of theirs, some of the genius asked them about the skills and current power levels of their counterparts. They wanted to know their rivals strength and hence the strength of the top ten strongest with their age and possible strength was sent to them by the league council as a way of increasing competition. The top ten strongest under the age of fifteen were: 1) Alex Bart (Kanto): 11 years ; pseudo king - electabuzz and Slowking; Elite - shiny pidgeot, Snorlax, Claydol. 2) Cynthia Shirona ( Sinnoh) : 11 years; Psuedo king - Gabite Elite - Lucario, spiritomb 3) Steven Stone ( Hoenn) : 13 years; Pseudo king - Metang Elites - lairon, lucario Pseudo king - Gardevoir Elites - sliggoo, gourgeist 5) Lance ( johto) : 13 years Elites - Dragonair, Charmeleon, seadra 6) Wallace ( Hoenn) : 13 years; Elites. - Milotic, whiscash, swampert 7) Lucian ( Sinnoh) : 13 years; Elites - Bronzong, Mr. Mime, medicham 8) Caitlin ( Unova) : 12 years; 9) Bruno ( johto) : 14 years; Elite - Machoke, poliwrath, Onix 10) Lorelei ( ice) : 12 years Elite - Lapras, jynx, dewgong The ranking only showed the Pokemons they possess till the elite level as for lower ones were ignored. The rank from fifth onwards may have some changes if other Pokemons were to be included too but the top four had pseudo king and hence their position was stable. The lower rankers felt pressure from the top while Alex just crushed them completely. He was the only one who two pseudo king and hence he was undisputed top ranker. For the sake of security of these trainers, only the top 100 people of this group were revealed this information. And it was only told to them. There wasn''t any written printout of the ranking for security reasons. The only place where the ranking could be found was in the league''s database and that too under intense protection. Although it didn''t stop the spread of rank completely, due to the backwardness of the time in terms of communication it may take a tear before completely spreading and by that time the ranking may be outdated. This ranking had two information revealed . Firstly, The strength of the young generation. And secondly, The people of the top 10 were sure cut for the future position of elite four and hence one must work hard to seize these ranks. The rank along with new parameters made the trainers work harder and gain strength. Their reaction was pretty calm but not all were calm and cool after reading the news. The position of the Elite Four of a region is yearned by every trainer regardless of the age but the age requirement that the current decision making body of the Pokemon league had set smashed the dreams of many people. People had selectively ignored the alternative that the league had granted to the people as it was too difficult, almost nigh impossible for most people. When this declaration was made public most of the people , especially a_d_u_l_t who were overage or parents of some skilled trainers who had some chances of leading and achieving the goal were especially furious and tried to make the league change the parameter but none of them had any effect on their decision. They left processions and demonstration regarding this matter. But the league made sure none of these are printed or shown to the world. Their entire actions were isolated under the joint efforts of the league. In this matter, all the top decision makers of all the regions were rigid and this had caused many trainers to be dissatisfied and angry with the league''s current order. A new organization of these disgruntled trainers known as the anti league association was created in secret. The older trainers felt that the league was trying to stop new people from getting into the position of power and only their friends or people with whom they had relationship were allowed. And this secret organization was created by people with these views and never tried to achieve the result. This organization was established in every region and had many skilled trainers who were above the prescribed age and couldn''t reach this parameter and hence lost their chances of the trial. They thought the path that league offered them was just a way to kill all those who opposed them and hence never regarded the second method. In a secret cave , In the cover of the night, Dozens of trainers had arrived together and gathered in group. They all wore a mask to hide theory identity. The matter they had gathered here about is almost equivalent to treason. Abd hence it was better for them to hide their identity and face and prevent others from knowing about them. A couple of minutes later a person rose from the crowd. Most of the people here wore a Pokemon mask or something similar but this person wore a demon mask having a red face and two horns on his forehead. " Good evening to all my fellow compatriots. Today we have all gathered here because we all are oppressed by the Pokemon League." He said with venom in his voice. " They take our chance of rise and obstructed our growth. How many of us here are advanced trainers but they did not give us a chance to show our skills. They send many of us common people out into the Badlands to be left to die. They say that it is a test but we all know what they really want is our death. With our death there will be less people opposing them and their rule will be stable. We must eradicate this decaying league and then create a new one which doesn''t press down people and stop their rise. Let us join hands and create a new world order while destroying the one which rules the human world for thousand of years." He shouted passionately Attracted by his words the other members shouted out in unison," Eradicate the decayed order and create a new one." Seeing the members in the mood, the demon masked guy continued,"The next thing you need to do is get the ranking of the top trainers. These trainers are the ones which league regard as their successor. We all are still too weak to defeatthe league as we are now but if we take down the next generation, we will hurt them and they will be forced by us to negotiate about our demands. It may take a look at ng time, but we must not lose hope. This is the start of a revolution which will bring a storm to the entire world. So who is with me?" " I" " I" " I" " I" " I" " I" " I" Multiple people shouted together. The current goal of these people was the people in the top trainer ranking. And this put the life of the trainers in jeopardy once again. Similar meetings happened throughout the Pokemon world and at least 40 such organization were created as a way to counter the league and it''s tyranny. The members of the Anti- League association made all the meetings in secret to prevent the leak of news but it wasn''t that much of a secret. League had been in existence for thousand of years and hence there are many spies around who keep on lookout for these unsavory agents. The leagues is especially strict with these traitor. It may take a moment for the real powerhouse to deal with them but the higher ups thought of something else. They want to deal with the rankers and every powerhouse reach his peak after bathing in the blood of his enemies and hence they became the whetstone for the future of the league. New organization came into being in retaliation to the former orders. How will this affect Alex and how long can Alex hold on? Stay tuned.. To be continued.... Chapter 209 - 18 Aftershocks and Pokemon attack Time passed by and it had been another month since the first meeting of the Anti-League associations. These organization were already discovered by the league on the first day and after the constant spying of them most of their intelligence was gathered. Of the nearly forty organization established only ten of them had the power to create chaos for the league. The reason was that most of them had strong monetary background which could help them expand their influence area and increase their powers in the shortest time. Out of these ten, the two groups named Angel''s wings and Devil''s Horn were the ones which didn''t have a strong monetary background but the leader of both these organization were the Master trainers. If we consider their overall strength they can be on par with Alex. Their strength is similar to each other, but they both are over thirty years of age. The leader of Angel''s wing who had covered his head with the cloak and had a wings made on the cloaks backside. He is a water type specialist meanwhile the leader of the Devil''s Horn is a fire type specialist. The league had set a threat level for each of the association based on their total powers. Most of the associations were of C grade which barely put the advanced level trainer in danger. Only through greater number could they defeat their opponent. This group were only a threat to people below top thirty people. The association except for Angel''s wings and Devil''s Horn were of B grade capable of threatening trainrs in rank up to top 5. And the last two were of A rank since they could threaten all the members of the rankers. Since the league knew their existence and wanted them to serve as whetstone for the next generation, the intelligence department of the league firstly found the spies these association sent out to steal information for their group. These people were under surveillance all the time. As for how they were discovered so easily, the league used psychics. These were just some disgruntled traitors and not professional and hence they forgot the existence of the psychics. The league had decided to send out some incomplete information back to the groups so they won''t be suspicious about how they got the info they need so soon and drag their stay in the department for months so trainers could grow in strength by the time the news reach their conspirators. For the next few months, the trainers spent their time earning contribution points. This groups if trainers included Cynthia, Lance, Steven, Wallace, Lorelei and even Alex. While others wanted to do so for the sake of qualifying, Alex did the tasks to get his evolved pokemons get aquainted with their powers or test the new moves he taught his pokemons in actual contact. In a months time, pidgeot had advanced into pseudo king stage and could match his friends in combat. Ralts twins had advanced to intermediate level, on the other hand,larvitar, misdreavus and duskull were at beginner level. Other than Magikarp and tentacool no one had advanced the rank, but their powers have increased under Alex''s individual guidance of all. Both Magikarp and tentacool had evolved into Gyarados and tentacruel in the months time, and gyarados even reached at advanced peak stage after it''s evolution. Similar to every Magikarp, Gyarados himself turned aggressive over evolving but it wasn''t him who attacked others but tentacruel who evolved a day later than him. When he evolved surprising many, he attacked Ben with his poison sting but other pokemons were around and they stopped the attack. Nidorino erected a rock wall in the path and protected Ben and gyarados revealed the temper his kind was known for on tentacruel. Gyarados completely smashed tentacruel and smashed him hard out of the water knocking him out. Before he even charged a hyper beam, and attacked. This attack had the potential to kill tentacruel. Alex knew that it was his neglect of tentacool which caused this near disaster and commanded electabuzz to stop the attack. Electabuzz appeared on the hyper beam path and hit the beam with the thunder punch completely evaporating it. Alex had ivysaur restrain tentacruel so he could calm down the pokemon later when he wakes up while Happiny and Miltank were charged to patch him up. Alex firstly calmed down gyarados and then explained what had happened. He pointed out that larvitar, Duskull, Charmeleon, Piloswine, nidorino, golbat and poliwhirl initial behavior may change like it did with the Magikarp and playful tentacool so it wasn''t his fault technically. The pokemons were scared at the prospect and some showed experience of even despising their evolved form but Alex told them," Only weak oppose the change, while the strong adapt to it and increase his powers even further. " This did the trick and most of the pokemons whose behavior changes are full of fighting spirit and doesn''t accept lose easily and they dealt with it. In the past, Tentacruel had regained his conscience and now was looking down at the ground and didn''t meet anyone''s eyes. When he heard footsteps he looked up to see Alex walking up to him without fearing his ferocious appearance. He was surprised by this and his eyes widened before he was reminded of what he did and felt guilty. He was also afraid because he knew how much protective his trainer was about his brother and sister and this time he attacked them so his future would most probably be death. And with so many pokemons stronger than him, he couldn''t even escape. And even if he reached water, Slowking, Gyarados, poliwhirl, marill will throw him out of the water. There is also a chance that piloswine will freeze him along with water. " Why did you behave like that, tentacruel?" Alex asked his newly evolved pokemons. Tentacruel just looked sideways not willing to answer. It may seem like he is still unruly and ivysaur tightened the hold of the vine but Alex knew he had regained his senses after him burst of anger in evolution. " Tell me" this time he didn''t request but ordered. Tentacruel knew that tone all too well. This was the tone that his trainer used when he was really angry. A couple of Pokemon had experienced what the consequences of this may be and he spoke," Ten.....ttta... Ten... Crr... U...ee .all''"( I had been thinking about surprising all of you with my evolution. You all were very happy with Magikarp evolving so I thought I could too. Ben and Clara used to play with us. Ben and I always win the games before he evolved. He was sad about the losses so I evolved to help him. I thought you too would do that and I attacked him. I shouldn''t have done that.'') Hearing his answer Alex who could now understand pokespeech and the pokemons were shocked. Alex and the older pokemons understood that the evolution changed Ben behaviour and caused him to be angry. Alex knew that many of the pokemons in his team were young and behaviour similar to ben would affect their mentality when the Pokemons had freshly evolved. It isn''t good for the pokemons as well as Ben who rejected a friend just because of his appearance changed. Alex called ben forward. Ben was still scared of tentacruel but he knew Alex won''t let anything harm him and arrived by his side. Clara doesn''t know what really happened and was confused by tentacool being trapped by Alex. (She does not know about tentacruel and hence still called it tentacool) Tentacruel felt Alex was going to let Ben punish him but Alex''s next action surprised everyone. How will Alex react after knowing the reason? Stay tuned. To be continued... Chapter 210 - 19 New life Alex''s hand formed a fist which hit Ben hard enough on his head to swell and said," look at him, Ben. Does he seem like he attack you. You had spent nearly half an year time together since we moved here and yet you are scared just because he evolved and his appearance is scary. Is that how you want to be a trainer? Is that how you will be better trainer than me? There are more than hundreds of pokemons whose appearance is intimidating after evolution. Look at Clara, she is a girl but she isn''t scared. And yet you are scared of a friend. If this is how you will be then I should prohibit you from becoming a trainer, how will you grow. You may dump every pokemon who are scary abd how will you survive out there without them? Do you think that the rest of your pokemons will respect you and also follow you that. They will leave you at the first chance they get. It is easy to break the trust once but it takes a long time to recover back the broken trust and even then it might not be repaired." " I am sorry Alex." Ben mumbled when lowering his head and he was guilty for his action. Alex expression didn''t soothe and he still had a hard look directed at his brother," it isn''t me who you should apologize to." Ben then turned and looked at the still trapped Tentacruel. Ben was still scared and any person or pokemon could see that but he steeled his heart, stepped forward and touched the body of tentacruel. He hugged his body. This surprised everyone and something dawned on to Alex. Ben told tentacruel," I am sorry. I will not act like that again. I was just surprised and thought something happened to you. I didn''t know you had evolved and thought you were gone forever. Slowking later told me that it was you who evolved and I was afraid you will be angry with me." Ben revealed his heart to tentacruel Alex had motioned ivysaur to free the trapped Pokemon and after the restrains were gone, tentacruel rose his tentacles and bound Ben small body. His current actions put everyone on alert and had it not been for Alex stopping them, tentacruel would suffer their wrath. Tentacruel had actually hugged his friend and patted his head telling he forgave him. Ben didn''t know what his actions meant but Alex revealed," tentacruel forgave you. You cannot do that in the future. You may hurt someone seriously in the future. Also you will be learning more about pokemons everyday so this kind of thing doesn''t happen anymore. Do you understand, Ben?" Ben knew it was his neglect in studies which lead to this and he agreed. " I knew you were an idiot. " Clara sneered at her twin. " What do you mean?" He shouted back. " It is obvious. Earlier you and tentacool won the water games when Gyarados was a magikarp. After evolving we started winning back. He evolved to help you and you only angered him. In the end, you were an idiot, idiot " she attacked her brother with word arrows. " You.... You. Let''s go tentacruel. Today we will beat down Clara and Gyarados. " He rushed and jumped to the lake along with Clara who wasn''t willing to accept defeat. Tentacruel was surprised by the sudden changes and then looked at his trainer for permission. He nodded back and the newly evolved water pokemons along with Ben and Clara started the water race. Everyone just smiled at the change of behaviour while the baby pokemons except riolu and larvitar joined this game. Alex looked at the scene and mumbled," I was a coward. Ben can overcome his fears and yet here I am running from it. In the end, I still have much to learn." And Alex took his first step to overcoming the inner darkness that Alex suffered from since the riot. But two pokemon weren''t so happy. It was larvitar and Growlithe. Both of them doesn''t like water much and the fact that others were playing in water leaving them out made them sad. Alex sat by the lake and pulled larvitar on his l_a_p while softly brushed Growlithe fur to help them. Alex was slowly recovering from the shadows and he was getting relieved. Although the dark clouds in his heart didn''t fade away completely it still helped. Every pokemon of Alex felt he was more free today then the past few days and so they wanted to play with him. Snorlax who was nearby suddenly rose from the ground and then settled behind Alex. He then pulled Alex up and set him on his belly. More climbed his belly and then surrounded Alex. It seemed like a big group hug. This made Alex feel warm and he slept there without suffering from the nightmare for the first time since the Pokemon raid. Present day, Alex had spent almost one and a half month in the Floral Town. In this time, he spent as much time as he could with his family and enjoy the warmth of their love. In this time, Alex received calls at his house phone from his friends to discuss about the new regulations set by the league. Alex didn''t reveal his role in this new regulation and neither Lance, Daniel or Lorelei knew his role. At this time, neither Agatha nor Samuel called as they felt like letting his recover was the best and not to disturb him in his healing. Currently Alex was helping his father in cooking food for everyone since his mother''s delivery date was just around the corner. Speaking of delivery date, About five days ago, Daisy called him. She was very excited. She revealed to him that her mother was going to have a baby. Her father and grandfather sent her to talk to him so she didn''t disturb her mother during childbirth. She spent almost an hour talking to him about how she was going to look after her sibling, help him, teach him and play with him. Soon her father voice came revealing that her brother was born. They told him later that the name of their son was Gary. He and his family wished them congratulations for the birth of the healthy son. Just two days earlier, Red''s wife Delia too gave birth to their son, Ash. If it wasn''t that his mother too was pregnant he would have headed to them to meet these two kids who are the most skilled trainers in their generation. Alex eagerly awaited the birth of his new siblings and in case the labour was earlier than the due date, Arthur had called a midwife who now lives at their house to help his wife. And within the next week,( five days after Ash''s birth) Alex''s mother Gwen went to the labour. When her water broke, the midwife and Arthur went off to her to help her in childbirth. Alex sent the two medical of his team Happiny and Miltank to help them in that if needed. Alex was stationed outside with claydol and Slowking at ready to get the things they need for the situation. Alex was outside waiting with his grandpa and his siblings along and they could hear the loud shouts of Gwen screaming in pain. Clara and Ben were scared and asked," is Mom going to be alright?" Michael just smiled softly and said," your mother is going to be alright. I am not worried about your mother. The one I really worry about is..." Before he could speak and loud shout came. " ARTHUR. ... I WILL RIP IT APART AFTER THIS. YOU WILL LOSE WHAT MAKES YOU A MAN." her shouts along with whimpering of a someone could be heard from inside. Alex looked at the expression and said," I am sure father will be fine." He himself was unsure and these whimpering didn''t help. He also added," mostly". " Why don''t you play with the pokemons while your younger brother or sister arrives. " And Alex told claydol to take them away. Claydol teleported away with them while the other two waited anxiously for the birth. After two hours of intense struggle, loud cry could be heard. Alex''s new sibling was born. Alex had a new sibling. Is it a boy or a girl? Stay tuned To be continued... Chapter 211 - 20 The Sun When Alex and his grandfather heard the cry, the duo almost rushed into the room. But they restrained. During childbirth much things need to be done and their presence would only take space in the room. They waited patiently until the midwife called them to see the newest addition to the Bart family. As soon as they got the permission, Alex and his grandfather Michael rushed inside the room. Alex''s electabuzz, Slowking, Claydol, Espeon and Haunter joined them to enter the room. Along with them were his grandfather''s Pikachu and sandslash. His father''s magneton as well as his own Pikachu joined them inside. The room had enough space to accommodate everyone inside without making the room suffocated. When they entered they were surprised to see something. Alex had thought he was going to have a younger brother or sister but it seemed like they had another pair of twins joining the family. Alex looked at his tired mother who had the twins in her arms while his father looked miserable. One if the twins was currently crying and his mother was trying to calm that one. She switched between calming and glaring fire at his father. This made Alex feel that his father did something he shouldn''t have done. His grandfather pushed his wheelchair forward to look at the newest addition to his family. The Pikachu of the two settled itself on their Trainer''s shoulders to have a good look at the new descendant. Gwen looked at the crowd of new arrival and then her eyes fell on the youngest human, her first born, Alex. She softly called out," Alex, come here. Take a look at your new brother and sister." Alex saw his new siblings for the first time and he was in daze for a bit. He compared it to the time when he saw Ben and Clara for the first time. When his mother called him forward, he still stood rigid still lost in his thoughts. The nudge from Espeon was what made to take his step forward. He took one step at a time and reached his mother''s side. His father gripped his shoulder for support. From there, he could easily see the two new borns. " The one in the blue cloth is your brother, Alan and the one in the pink one is Helen. Look Alex they are looking at you." His father told him soft so as not to startle the kids. Alex didn''t know what to do and just brought his index fingers near the twins. Their attention shifted to the finger of Alex. They brought their soft hands and tried to hold the finger and pulled it towards their mouth probably to test whether it was edible or not. Alex just smiled at their behaviour and let them do whatever they want with his finger. The a_d_u_l_ts looked at the first interaction of the siblings and smiled at this. Then Gwen suddenly said to her son,. " Do you want to hold them?" This time, Arthur grumbled out," You didn''t even offer me to touch them and yet you let Alex hold them. It is partiality." " Even if it is then what can you do." She retorted strongly and dared her husband to oppose her decision. Alex just nodded and then she first handed over Helen to Alex and instructed him about how he should hold him. " Since you are holding them for the first time then it would be good if you sit down." Gwen advised. Hearing this Espeon leviated a chair and set it for Alex to sit upon. Then she told him,"Now, Sit in a chair with your feet firmly on the ground and place Helen in your lap. Her head should be at your knees, face up. Then Lift her head up with both of your hands for support and your forearms under their body. Baby''s feet should be tucked in at your waist. " Alex did as he was instructed and his father was by his side to help him. Alex held her in her hands and then looked at her innocent and cheerful face. Alex was at peace. All the discomfort he had in his heart was fading away at lightning speed. And then she did something which helped Alex recover completely. She smiled at her big brother. At that moment, Alex felt that he would go through any difficulty to protect this smile. He would make sure that this smile never fades away. Alex''s will power which was shaky earlier and siffered from self doubt now was solid and nothing could put down the fire that burned in his heart. Alex''s physic Pokemon felt a change in alex. His normally dim presence seemed to be in glow . Even his father, mother and grandpa felt that Alex had changed and everything was due to Helen. She was the sun whose ray pierced the clouds surrounding his heart and shine light in it. Alex hasn''t felt so light in a long time and for the first time in months, Alex smiled without any worry. All the resentment sealed in Alex body by mew was completely absorbed increasing all of Alex''s physical attributes while also increasing his aura reserve. Now Alex''s aura had increased by almost twice. If one looked at Alex''s aura now, they would sense his previously dim aura shining as bright as the sun itself illuminating the entire world. Far away in the tree of beginning, Mew felt the changes of alex and hence wanted to know the cause of Alex''s tremendous change. She decided to complete her task quickly and head back to find the reason. While Alex had recovered from the shadow in his heart and Helen liked Alex''s presence since aura attracts everything pure and nothing is as pure as a newborn child. Alan at his mother side seemed jealous of his sister and wanted to be held in the arms too. So he started crying. Gwen tried to calm down her youngest child, Alan but it wasn''t working. Then it was Arthur turn and finally Michael but none of it did the trick. Alex who was currently playing with his sister thought of a way. Currently only the family members were in the room and so he could freely use some of his secrets. He created a small aura sphere and let his brother see it. Seeing a shiny object, Alam quiet down and tried to approach it. When alan tried to touch it, Alex detonated it in form of Sparks exciting the children. Seeing that Alex calmed the kids, he got his brother sat on his other lap. His brother and sister both were positioned on his l_a_p with his hands carefully holding their head. Alex was at peace with the kids. If Alex wasn''t seated he may not have been able to hold both of them at the same time. The two Pikachu of Arthur and Michael say on his shoulder to look at the newest addition to the family. They made funny faces along with Haunter and entertained the kids until they fell asleep. Soon the two fell asleep on.his l_a_p while holding on to his clothes tightly. Alex saw that the look on the children''s face and he understood why he worked and trained so hard. He fought to protect the king. he killed to protect the smile of the king. Alex had found his inner calling and had four suns in his heart which will prevent the fogs of doubt from ever shrouding his heart. Now he is determined and nothing could deviate from his path to the peak of the world. Finally Alex''s siblings are born and Alex also recovered completely. How will Alex next adventure go? The volume 5 comes to an end. Stay tuned. To be continued... Chapter 212 - 1 Stay at home It had been six months since Alan and Helen were born. These days had been too tiring for the family since they would often wake up at the dead of the nights for feeding, cleaning, changing clothes, etc. Alex had overcome the nightmare of the war but two new nightmare haunted his sleep now. And the name of these nightmares were Alan and Helen. Since birth they were attached to Alex the most and hence he was often called out to calm them down when none of the methods worked. Often Alex had to called be back from his training when matters went out of hand. The most difficult days were now over since they have gotten aquainted with other members of the family and doesn''t cry when Alex wasn''t around. As Alex was training his pokemons, there were Ben, Clara as well as a new member, Jim who was watching him train his Pokemons. Jim is the only son of Gwen''s brother, Gray. He is currently ten years old. Which means he will get his starter soon. Unlike Alex who caught his first pokemon at the age of five, he will be getting his in the next few days. When Alan and Helen were born, his maternal grandfather, James and grandmother, Rose along with his uncle Gray came to see the newborns. In that time, Gray revealed that his son too will start soon and then his mother told them to let him stay with them so Alex could help him and teach him how to take care of the pokemons. Of course, all this decision was made without Alex''s content. They stayed at home for a months time and returned to the Cerulean city where they reside. Jim was left behind so he could learn from Alex. This time Alex had helped Jim in teaching how to identify Pokemon, how to raise different types of Pokemons. How to feed them, what type mostly like what type of food and such things. Occasionally Gary and his wife come to visit them and Jim here. In the six months time, Alex noticed that his siblings Ben and Clara too wanted a Pokemon and they were often jealous that Jim gets one way before them. He himself had prepared a gift for the two which they would get the day, Alex leaves with Jim on his journey. Alex will be spending some time with Jim so he could get accustomed to the life of travelling. In the six months time, the twins Ralts have evolved into kirlia. Female Kirlia liked her new firm but male disliked the girly appearance. To help him, Alex had asked Professor Oak to procure a dawn stone for him. After recovering from Mismagius illusion, her mental barrier was strengthened and her psychic control reached half the level of Slowking. ( Slowking could control the entire water of the lake with psychic and control it''s shape without using his water powers). Mew also visited Alex in the past and joined to play with the newborns when no one was looking at them. Mew innate affinity to living beings made two attracted to her pretty soon. Alex strength has increased greatly in this time. He could fight on par with poliwhirl now and their duel lasts for an hour before Alex aura reserves are completely drained. If you want to compare Alex strength had increased significantly over the course of six months. Now he can take on the leaders of the Angel''s wing and devil''s Horn on his own pokemon without any external support. They both had two two psuedo king Pokemon meanwhile Alex three pseudo king along with four elite could hold down the a other pseudo king pretty easily. Alex after today''s training sat with his siblings and cousin and asked," Jim, what pokemon did your father select for you?" " I don''t know. But he said it was a fire type Pokemon. What type of Pokemon did uncle Arthur get for you?" Jim asked. Alex just smiled at his words and said," I already had three pokemons so they didn''t spend much on booking a specific pokemon type for me. I selected Haunter as a Gastly through lottery selection." He revealed. " So you already had pokemons before you start your journey?" Jim asked amazed after this. " Of course. You didn''t visit us much or you would have seen them. Uncle Gray and Aunt Jean both knew I had Pokemons at the age of five." Jim turned sad and grumbled sadly," Then why do I have to wait so long for my Pokemon?" " Jim, my grandpa was a trainer but none of the other member of the family are such. So they thought they couldn''t help you raise one and you yourself liked to play and didn''t spend time studying and learning about them. So they pushed the thing till you are age of getting a starter. Also I caught pidgeot and Slowking on my own. And in our family, every member gets a Pokemon at the age of six. This tradition was started by my grandpa. So Dad got his Pikachu at that age, I got elekid back then. Ben and Clara would get their own soon enough too. " Alex replied back. " So will we get an electric type too. Then i want a Pikachu , no no, i want an electabuzz. " Ben said it. He was rewarded with a fist on his head. "Stop dreaming brat. We ,all meaning, grandpa, mom, dad and I had already got the Pokemon for both of you. Both of them are twins like you so that both of you can bond with them better. " " Where are you rushing to, brat?" " To see my Pokemon." Ben said while trying to break free from Alex hold. " You will get them later, not now. " He simply replied. " So when can we meet them? " Clara asked softly. Alex loosened his grip of the shirt making Ben fall down on the ground and then pull Clara into a hug and said," On the morning when I leave with Jim to get him his starter pokemon, you both will get yours." " So are you leaving? It is good. The only thing you do is scold me or beat me." Ben grumbled. Alex eyes narrowed on hearing this and then he sharply said, "Is that so? Maybe I should tell Mom that you aren''t m_a_t_u_r_e enough to get a pokemon just yet. " He threatened him This did the trick and Ben immediately apologised. " Alex do you know what pokemons we are going to get?" Jim asked " I do know what type of Pokemon all three of you are getting." The trio pleaded to Alex to know the identity of their pokemons. Alex ignored it all and then said," I can only tell all of you that the pokemon you all are getting is a quadruple Pokemon." " Quadruple?" Ben and clara said puzzled by the new word. " It means four legs. The Pokemons like Growlithe, Espeon, piloswine, ivysaur are quadruple pokemons." Jim explained to them. "Now why don''t you go and see how they move and how their body works so you don''t accidentally hurt your starter." Alex said and then the trio ran to Alex''s quadruple Pokemon and get to know what they can do and cannot do with their pokemons. Alex looked at the happy and enthusiastic look on their face and said," this is the smile I fight to protect." Two days later, Alex and Jim were prepared to leave the house for the Cerulean city. There Alex and Jim will meet his uncle Gray at the Pokemon center. Alex was taking his pidgeot, Charmeleon, Haunter, kirlia twins, larvitar, Growlithe, Tentacruel and Claydol with him. Pikachu and Swablu had also positioned themselves on his soldier and the head to show they are accompanying them. Jim, Ben and Clara were excited at the prospect of getting a new Pokemon. All the family members except Gwen were present in the living room and awaited her arrival since she would be bringing the Pokemons. Gwen arrived soon with a tray having two pokeballs on it. She placed it on the table in the drawing room and stepped back. Michael steeped forth and said ,"Your Pokemons are in this pokeball. You can come forwards and take them." Ben and Clara took the pokeball with shaky hands and then pressed the button in the center. The pokeball opened and then in a flash two Pokemons come to light. The two were of the same pokemon species. They were .... Meanwhile far away, The ranking of the top trainers have fallen in the hands of the top ten anti league association newly created. To be continued.... Chapter 213 - 2 The meeting The league had let the information about the top rankers to the spies hidden in themselves. Of course, the spies didn''t get all of it in just a go. In the past few months they slowly passed on the information about the lower ranks so as not to cause any problem. And just a few days ago, they finally got the ones about the top ten rankers too. Seeing the strength of the top five people, they decided to convene a group meeting between the top ten association together. In a secret hideout, There was a meeting going on between the top Leaders of the Devils Horn organisation. There were a total of eight members in the meeting. The leader of the organization was the Devil who had a devil mask on. There are seven other members too. There were only three members seated along with the leader while rest were standing. The ones who sat on the chair wore a king mask, Queen one as well as Jack mask similar to the ones in the card deck. They are the elite of the Devil''s Horn who oversee different functions of the association. The other members had a joker''s mask, but each one had Ace mark of diamond, spade, heart and club on upper part center of the mask. They stood in front of them and awaited the orders of their leaders. " Good evening, my friends. I hope everything is alright on your side." Devil greeted them. " So why did you call us today, Devil? I was going out on the hunt today." Jack grumbled in a hoarse voice. King and queen were angered by his disrespectful tone but Devil didn''t pay any attention to it and said without any difference in his emotions from his tone," Calm down, my enthusiastic friend. I have a very special thing for you which will be liked by everyone here. Joker. " Behind the leader stood another who wore a crying joker mask. He was the in charge of intelligence of the group. He appeared from the shadows behind the Devil and startled everyone but they quickly calmed down their nerves and awaited him. Joker was the intelligence head of the association. Interrogation and topics related to it are the forte of his. These things makes many people uneasy and so many don''t want to be in his presence for long. Yet his fear is present in everyone here except for the leader, Devil. " We have received the top Ranking Trainers of the ones who get the most benefits out of this new regulation of the league. " Joker said and placed a bunch of papers on the table. They all took the folder and saw the things inside it. 1) Alex Bart ( Kanto), electabuzz, Snorlax, claydol. 2)Cynthia Shirona ( Sinnoh) :Gabite, Lucario, 3) Steven Stone ( Hoenn) Metang, lairon, 4) Diantha ( Kalos) : Gardevoir, gourgeist 5) Lance ( johto) :Dragonair, Charmeleon, 6) Wallace ( Hoenn) :Milotic, whiscash, 7) Lucian ( Sinnoh) :Bronzong, Mr. Mime, 8) Caitlin ( Unova) : , reuniclus, musharna 9) Bruno ( johto) :Machoke, poliwrath, " So are these kids the strongest of this generation? They are barely even teenagers." Queen asked mockingly. Other members have similar joking expression but joker and devil weren''t such. Joker even said to them with a hint of warning," Don''t underestimate them. Although it isn''t their complete information, I know for a fact that the first ranker Alex and second ranker Cynthia are the undisputed strongest of their group with strength on par with the leader." This brought an uproar in the members. " You are joking. Leader is a master trainer. These brats had same strength then leader, don''t fool us." Jack shouted. " How can the kids who are barely fourteen have such strength." King said with a hint of disbelief. All of them had their various levels of disbelief, devil came forward to support joker''s statement and said," Be quiet and listen well. The strength of the strongest pokemons of the top five rankers are pseudo king level. But the strength of first two are undisputed in their place. With Cynthia having a pseudo Legendary Gabite, so her second position being unchallenged is fine, but the first ranker doesn''t have any known pseudo Legendary Pokemon yet he had his position meant only one thing." He became quiet and let everyone have their own assumption behind his strength. " What does it mean, sir?" One of the aces asked nervously. " I mean that just like me, he had two pseudo king pokemons under his belt making him as strong as me." He replied plainly. Although some are too shocked by this news, they didn''t dare to interrupt because their leader wouldn''t joke about this matter. It showed these people that even these young people have such strength then what is the true strength of the Pokemon league which had dominated the world for thousand of years. " So what are our plans now, sir?" Queen asked her boss. " I have contacted the other association for a meeting to discuss about how to deal with them. These brats are powerful but only if they are dealt together as a group then thr league can suffer. Out of all the top young trainers, the influence of dealing with top five is something we should yearn for. But be cautious, until I have contacted them and reached a deal with them, these top five aren''t to be touched." He ordered. " Now let''s move to the next order of business. We have a need for new recruits so..." While the Devil''s Horn and other organizations talked about the threat that Alex had over them, he was currently flying on his pidgeot with his cousin, Jim towards the Cerulean city. Jim was enjoying his time flying on pidgeot and he decisively said," I will have a flying pokemon too who can take me to the sky. Alex, can he fly faster." Pidgeot seemed to be angered by his words but Alex soothing hands calmed him down. Alex smiled at his expression and said proudly," of course. He can fly ten times faster than now. At this speed we will reach Cerulean city in half an hour but if he goes at his top speed I can endure, it will take only ten minutes. " " Then why so slow?" Jim asked puzzled. " If you are stronger then I could go faster, but Jim, you are still young. Your body cannot handle that level of speed so we are going this slow. " This dimmed Jim but Alex knew it was necessary. Young Trainer after getting pokemons felt they are invincible but if the doubts about strength is introduced early on, at least they would not jump into the danger head first. After half an hour, they can see the outlines of the city and Alex had pidgeot stop him at the outskirts. " Why did we stop here and not head inside directly?" Jim asked. " Some places prohibit the entry in the city through flying. Once some people are exception and sadly we aren''t in that exception group so we will be walking to the city." Alex said while returning pidgeot back into the pokeball Alex took Jim towards the same Pokemon center, his father took him to get his official starter pokemon. It had been more than an year since Alex last came here. By Alex side are Pikachu and Swablu still unmoved from their position and Growlithe following behind him loyally. There are dozens of people who came today to get the starter for their children or relative so the area around the pokemon center was pretty crowded. " Jim where did uncle Gray said he will be waiting?" Alex asked him. " Dad said that he will be near the entrance." Alex looked around but couldn''t find his uncle so he had Growlithe find him and he did it within seconds. Growlithe had found his uncle within a few minutes and then he came across a silver haired man who was his uncle Gray. " Uncle, were you hiding from us?" Alex asked joking with a smile on his face. " Of course not. I was making sure that the pokemon I prepared for Jim is ready. Anyway you all are right on time. Your turn is just round the corner, Jim. Be prepared. Your token number is....". They all stood there waiting for Jim''s turn and Swablu, Pikachu as well as Growlithe played among themselves to spend time with Jim too joining them in their games. Their actions irritated some of the people who anxiously awaited their turn and wanted to give them a piece of his mind. But Haunter made sure before they could come forward to disrupt their fun, he would make them turn away. Haunter action were secretive but it didn''t escape Alex''s eyes. He let things happen. When Jim turn came he rushed inside while Alex and Gray patiently waited for his arrival. " Alex what do you think of my choice?" He answered without second thoughts, " I wouldn''t let an absolute rookie start his journey with that Pokemon. They are proud and a bit wild borderline savage in the wild. I worry it may take a long time to have him accept Jim , but." "But?" " But if he gets his approval, then he had a loyal pokemon at his beck and call. " As soon as he said that Jim had arrived back with a pokeball " Why don''t you let your partner out?" Alex told his cousin. Jim shaking let out his Pokemon. The pokemon that Jim got was... Alex existence is known by his the devils horn but how will they traet him? Next chapter will reveal the starter of Ben, Clara and Jim. Stay tuned To be continued... Chapter 214 - 3 Starter and gym battle The Pokemon was released from the pokeball and a quadruple being came into existence. It was a quadruped, canine Pok¨¦mon with short, black fur and a red underbelly and muzzle. Its ears and tail are both short and pointed. Two fangs protrude from its upper jaw, and its triangular nose is black. There are white bands on its ankles, and rib-like ridges on its back. It appears to have a simplistic, stylized skull on its forehead with the eye orbits creating eyebrow patterning above its actual eyes. It also has circular, red paw pads on each of its three-toed paws. It was the fire type, Houndour. While Jim was looking at his new Pokemon excitedly, Houndour was also looking at his young trainer. After scanning his trainer, he looked at the Swablu, Pikachu and Growlithe at his trainer''s side. He instinctively felt that they were much stronger than him and could take him down easily so he didn''t act excessively aggressive. He turned around to the two other humans by his trainers side. The older one didn''t give the predator pokemon much threat, in fact he felt he can take him down easily but the younger one made him feel like he was in the presence of his pack leader who could deal with him at any moments notice. Houndour bowed down his head in submission to Alex and then looked back at his new trainer. Alex seeing Houndour action just smiled softly thinking about the similarity to how his siblings pokemons reacted the same way. " Jim why don''t you introduce yourself to your Pokemon." Alex motioned his cousin. This also told Houndour not to act out of order and not harm his trainer. Jim looked at the interaction of the duo, although not completely friendly it was a good start. This interaction reminded him of the past event in the early morning before his departure. Few hours ago in the Early morning, Both Ben and Clara had released the pokemons at the same time and out came an identical pair of twins. They were quadruped, feline Pok¨¦mon resembling a lion cub or lynx kitten. Its front half is light blue, while the rear is black. There is a short tuft of fur on its head and smaller tufts on each cheek. The top tuft is smaller on the female one. It has large, oval ears with yellow, star-shaped markings on the insides, yellow eyes, and a tiny, red nose. Whenever its mouth is open, small fangs can be seen in its upper jaw. A black marking encircles its neck like a collar and there are yellow bands above its forepaws. The hind paws are black on the male and blue on the female. Spiked fur surrounds the base of its long tail, which is tipped with a yellow star shape. Ben got a male shinx while Clara got a female shinx. " The one with black spot on the paw is Ben''s while the other one is Clara. Ben''s is a male while Clara is female. They will be your companion from today " Gwen picked up the pokemons on her hand and held them up. Gwen hugged while Ben just patted his head. The Pokemons seem to enjoy the soft touch of the kids and leaned forward. This let Alex feel that they would be fine together. There are Slowking, electabuzz as well as Espeon to help them so he wasn''t worried. The kids were unaware of the Pokemons in front of them and asked Alex. Alex told them," this is a shinx. It is mostly found in the Sinnoh region. It is pretty far from here. They are powerful electric type pokemons known for their body strength and speed. They are very powerful Pokemon." " Are they really powerful? But they are so small." Ben asked doubting their strength. His shinx didn''t take it kindly and bit him on his hand. Ben jumped up and down in pain while his pokemon was smug. The a_d_u_l_ts just smiled at this and didn''t worry about his injury. " Although they are small now, their fully evolved form is as big as Arcanine. You can ride them when they grow up." Alex tried to inspire them. It did the trick and Ben shouted," Just you wait. I will train my shinx and then beat you to the ground for always hitting me." " I will wait for you then brat. The brat wants to be a trainer, So Clara what do you want to do in the future?" Alex asked his sister. " I don''t knew." She said sadly while her Pokemon licked her face to help her calm down. She still hasn''t made a decision about her future. But there is still time left. " Why don''t you go out and play?" Gwen told her children and they rushed out. Alex just looked at them enjoy with their new pokemons. Present time, " Alex what type of Pokemon is this?" Jim asked as he saw a pokemon not commonly found in Kanto. Before Alex could answer, Gray intervened and said," why did you not ask me Jim? I am the one who decided this pokemon for you " Jim answers without a hit of hesitation or mercy," Because Alex knows more about the pokemons than you, dad." His expression were blank as if stating an absolute truth. " This is a male Houndour. They are strong fire type pokemons who hunt in packs. They have strong fire attacks as well as terrible bite force." He told Houndour information to his cousin. " How terrible?" Jim asked curious. " If he wants he could bite off your hand from your shoulder. That terrible." He answered. His words made the people around inch away from them while Houndour was proud of his ability. Jim unlike others looked at his pokemon without fear which earned him some respect from his Pokemon. Alex had already warned his cousin not to be afraid of Pokemon no matter how scary they are or you will never be able to bond with them. And this lesson worked now. " Why don''t we head home so you can rest and head for yours trip tomorrow. " Gray said. They were walking back to Jim and Gray home but Jim was impatient to start his journey. " So are we leaving tomorrow morning." Jim said with anticipation of the first day of adventure. But Alex put the job of flushing it down the drain. " No brat" " Why?" " Because tomorrow morning, I have a gym battle with the Cerulean city gym leader, Matter Waterflower. So we will be leaving at afternoon or the next day." " But why do we have to wait so long?" Jim grumbled "Or do you not want to see the gym battle, brat?"Alex asked. Jim wanted to see a gym battle and also how strong his cousin was. Gray too wanted to see and asked," Can I join you too?" " Ok" Alex shrugged and they continued for the house. Meanwhile in the secret hideout of Devil''s Horn, Late night, " Sir what decision did the other leaders make?" " We and Angel''s wing will take care of Alex and Cynthia while other association will deal with the other top rankers. Of course anyone below top ten is a free target but whose prey the top ten had already been decided. And unless that association itself ask for help, no one can interfere not unless that target actively attacks you. "Devil said The association also compete among themselves for fame and power do it is understandable they would create ways to prevent other from taking away their fame or decreasing power of others. " So when will we target him, sir?"Joker asked with a hint of anticipation of going out to hunt the top hunt. " First we will collect his intelligence and after one month we will start the operation. This meeting is now dismissed. " The members left the room with only devil still seated on his throne. Devil was still thinking about Alex and mumbled," Even though you are stronger, we have the number advantage. In the end you will sc_u_m to numbers " Alex is now targeted by the Devils Horn and Cynthia by Angel wings. How will their fight go? How will Alex battle with Cerulean gym leader go? Stay tuned. To be continued... Chapter 215 - 4 Gym battle (part 1) Alex had booked the fight with Mathew, days before his arrival at the Cerulean city and the gym leader had accepted the challenge enthusiastically. He too wanted to see just how strong, the strongest of this generation really was. He stayed at his uncle''s home at Cerulean city and when they were going to feed the Houndour normal Pokemon food, Alex stopped them. He still remembered their facial expressions when he told them about the specific Pokemon recipe. At the lunch time, It had been lunch time and everyone in the family was prepared to have lunch but before that the Pokemons need to be fed. Alex''s maternal grandfather, James had an old raticate and his grandmother, Hella had a gloom. His uncle possessed an electrode while his aunt, Jenny had a Psyduck. None of them were fighter pokemons but were raised as companions and pets for people. Alex looked and found that all of them were given the normal Pokemon food which are being sold in pokemart or Pokemon center. His aunt, Jenny was also setting a plate for Houndour as well as Alex''s pokemons. Alex then intervened, " Aunt Jenny, i don''t think you should feed Houndour this food." This words brought confusion to all the members of the house as well as Pokemons, and Jenny asked curiously, why her nephew stopped her, " why is there a problem with it, Alex? " Alex had everyone''s attention but he wasn''t disturbed by it and explained it to them, " If houndour is a non combatant then it is not a problem but for trainer''s Pokemons, it is not healthy. I don''t feed my Pokemon this food. Neither do my grandpa. Only dad and mom use it to feed the Pokemon. Jim wants to be a trainer so he needs to give his pokemons better and more nutritive food. " They felt it was right as fighting Pokemons did need much more energy to fight which this food can not grant and to help his son, James was willing to spend some money and asked his nephew," So how much does it cost, Alex?" " It depends on the type of food you need." " What do you mean?" " Each Pokemon had a specific requirement for food so every Pokemon recipe is different. In case of Houndour the best outcome will come, if you feed him Houndour specific food. If you use fire type food, then there might be some defects which will affect his overall growth. Although he will be strong, he wouldn''t be able to advance into elite level , even after he becomes a houndoom, unless some fire energy related items are used on him." The prospect of advanced level is attractive to most people, although it isnt that much attractive to Alex. James excitedly asked," So this Houndour can become advanced level in his peak if we feed him fire specific pokemon food." " Yes. That much is sure if Jim trained his Pokemons well, it isn''t a problem. " Alex said with surity. " How can you be do sure?" His grandpa asked, James asked to be sure of it. " You know grandpa gets much money due to his advanced trainer. I spent most of them on Slowking, pidgeot and electabuzz food. They all have already advanced level. " '' of course it was before I went to do tasks to train and get things to sell in the black market. '' " So how much do they cost?" Gary asked curiously. " 5 million per ten kilogram of fire specific Pokemon food. " Alex replied. " What? that costly." James shouted in shock at how costly food can be. Alex remembered the financial situation of his uncle, sighed and said," It is indeed that expensive. I have a Charmeleon. For his species specific food recipe, I spent hundred of million and that too without food ingredients. I spent a few billion on my Pokemons food last year." Alex truthfully answered. " bb..billions. how did you get so much money? " Jenny asked her nephew thinking maybe her nephew got involved in some bad influence . " I found something precious and auctioned it. I sold it for about five billion. I then invested on the farm and grow my own berries. This way I managed to cut down much of my expenses." He answered with half-truth. " so we need to spend millions for an advanced houndoom." James mumbled. " It is pretty cost effective. Jim can earn it back in a few years. Raising Pokemons is costly, that''s why most senior trainer don''t have more than ten Pokemons with them. And, they only raise one kind of Pokemon, for it is less expensive. " Alex explained. " It seems we have to get loan. " " Loan. What do you need loan for?" Alex asked. " If we need to raise Houndour well, we need to spend and fof his food we need loan, don''t we." Gary explained it to his nephew who was curious about it. " Of course not. You don''t need a loan. When you mentioned you wanna give Jim a Houndour, I already got it''s food recipe as a gift for Jim. " Alex told them. " How ... How can we accept such an expensive gift?" Jenny said directly refusing the gift. " Between family, there is no expensive things. If you have a problem, then return the amount as loan in the future. " " How much did it cost you, Alex dear? " his grandma Rose asked. " About 185 million. If we take interest then Jim can return me 200 million in ten years time. I think it won''t be a problem. " Alex said. Alex deliberately added this interest because if not then his family won''t accept this. After staying at his Uncle house for the night, he left the house with his uncle, cousin and grandpa who wanted to see the gym battle with their own eyes. His aunt and grandma weren''t so keen about the pokemon battle so they didn''t join them to see the battle. While Jim was excited at seeing his first gym battle and how strong gym leaders were, Gray and his grandpa James felt things were going to be tough. As an a_d_u_l_t and an old citizen of Cerulean city, they knew about the reputation of Cerulean gym leader as the strongest gym leader in Kanto. So although they wanted to see the battle, they weren''t as enthusiastic as Jim at Alex''s prospect of victory. Cerulean gym was in shape of a big dome but the top wasn''t round but in the shape of triangle which was made with multiple section of small triangle. They had arrived at the doorstep of the Cerulean gym by 7:45 and entered it. When they entered they met with a group of three girls who were 10 years, 8 years and 6 years old respectively. They were the daughters of Mathew, Daisy, Lily and Violet. By their side was a women in her thirties with another baby who was an year age in her hands. The family was surprised by the arrival of the guests but Violet recovered from the surprise and asked," Who are you? Why are at the gym so early? " She asked them pretty rudely. Although none of the elders or Alex felt anything about it, Jim didn''t like her attitude and was going to retort but Alex put his hand on his head to stop him and said," I am Alex. I had booked a fight with Mathew today at 8 o clock. So I came here for the gym battle." The youngest sister Violet looked at Alex with accusations and said," it is because of you dad isn''t going out with us. " " Did I cause something?" Alex asked confused. " Sorry about her behaviour. We planned on going on an outing today but my husband forgot about your appointment and made this plan so when he remembered he decided to stay and let us go without him." She herself was sad about the absence of her husband. " If it is something like that, I can have my match some other day. " Alex said and turned to leave but a loud voice stopped him. " Indeed it would be good for my kids but as your senior, if I cannot keep my word then what is the value of my words. I agreed to fight with you and I will fight. There is no second option. " Mathew arrived at this moment and said " But dad ..." His daughter tried to convince him but he was immovable. His wife just looked at this with a smile. " We agreed for a battle didn''t we?" Alex said after some thought. " Yes. We agreed for a gym battle so we will be having a full size on six match." Mathew said. Alex haf a shine in his eyes and said, something which was a flaw in his words, " I said a match and not a full match. So we can shorten it to a three on three match. After all I wanted to get some of my water Pokemons such as tentacruel, poliwhirl and Gyarados experience in fighting water pokemons. " " So you got a Gyarados too? And a three on three. But then I cannot give you the gym badge even if you win. A trainer with five badge must have six in six match to get a gym badge here. " " I am already qualified. I got a three star badge." Alex revealed softly so only Mathew could hear him. Mathew eyes shone brightly on hearing this and he said excited," Is that so? Then we will have a good match. But I think four on four would be good. I want to see just how powerful that Slowking of yours is, if he could hurt Giovanni''s nidoqueen back then. " Alex agreed and everyone there went of to the gym battle field for the match. Alex and Mathew stood on opposite sides while Alex''s family members and Mathew family sat on the seating area. The battlefield was a pool with a few floating platform on it. The referee was present in the battlefield and stated," this is a four on four official gym battle between challenger Alex Bart of Floral town and Cerulean City Gym leader Mathew Waterflower. Please send out your pokemons." Both of them threw the pokeball at the same time. Alex sent out a poliwhirl while Mathew sent out a marill. The Cerulean gym battle begins. Stay tuned. To be continued... Chapter 216 - 5 Gym battle ( Part 2) On the sidelines, the audience were looking at the two released Pokemons. Jim had released his Houndour to look at the battle in front while Pikachu and Swablu had joined them to sit with the audience. They didn''t want to disturb Alex in his battle and cause problems do they left without his words. Misty on her mother''s arms shouted out," Dad,dad" Lily stated proudly," He had already lost. My father''s marill is very strong. I saw her once smash a rock five times bigger than her with a single punch." " Is that so? I saw poliwhirl crush rocks with his hands too. " Jim retorted. Lily didn''t like his objecting her and shouted back," So what, dad is ..." " Call down Lily. Your father''s opponent is strong himself." Her mother said Her statement made James and Gary curious and Gary asked," Do you know my nephew from before, Mrs. Waterflower?" " Call me Daphne. So you are Alex''s uncle. Yes I know of Alex but I haven''t met him before. Young Alex had quite a reputation in Kanto. " Newly introduced daphne told him. " Reputation? What reputation?" Jim asked " Your brother is currently the undisputed strongest trainer under the age of fifteen. " She said. " Big brother is strongest trainer in Kanto?" This shocked him along with other ignorant people Daphne also didn''t bother to correct the fact that he was strongest in all region and not just Kanto but didn''t. " Yes. So he is pretty well known in some fields and so Mathew knew about him and later told me. If you want to be a powerful trainer then was this battle carefully. You will see just how powerful a pokemon can be under a skilled trainer." Daphne declared and the kids looked at the battle more attentively. The youngest daughter of Waterflower was looking at the battle with joy completely evident in her face. Back to the battlefield. Poliwhirl and marill stood on the platform and awaited the battle to begin. " Let the match begin." " Check her strength." Alex issued his order and poliwhirl jumped towards marill and started with hand to hand combat. With poliwhirl long arm his reach was wider so marill opted to defend. Whenever she gets the opportunity she would issue a heavy punch or twirl his tail at poliwhirl. Both of them were powerful since when poliwhirl used his hand to defend his hands shook in PA while he felt his bone might have cracked. Marill was slower than poliwhirl so he got his loopholes to attack. Their close combat impressed the a_d_u_l_ts but the children weren''t so impressed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the audience, " Mom why are dad and the Challenger not using moves but only hands to fight?" Violet asked her mother. This question was something that was running through the minds of every kids such as Daisy, Violet, Lily and Jim except Misty who was enjoyed looking the two water type Pokemons. "There is a very important reason. Poliwhirl over there have an ability called water absorb. He can absorb any water type attacks so they aren''t effective on him. As for why poliwhirl isn''t using his is because marill is obviously stronger than poliwhirl so water type attacks won''t be effective. Other type attacks had a long attack time. He doesn''t want to waste time so he isn''t using it. As for your father, he is just letting Alex get a grasp of how water type fights. It would do him good in the long run." Daphne explained her children. " So Alex is going to lose?" Jim asked with disappointment evident in his eyes. Daphne knew from the interaction between Jim and his pokemon Houndour as well as from Alex that he was just new trainer. Alex came here to show him what it meant to fight a gym leader, so she said something to console him, " Alex didn''t come here today to win. He came to learn how a water pokemon fight on land and in water. " "Learn?" Jim asked. " Gym leaders are all powerful trainers and their job is to test new trainers and see if the trainers are qualified for the badge. The gym leaders almost never go all out. Only when the gym leader feels that the trainer is good enough then he can earn the badge even if the trainer loses the fight." " And how can you be sure that the gym leader isn''t misusing his powers and issue badges needlessly?" James asked daphne. She pointed towards the referee and said," the referee is the official overseer of the gym battle along with the recording of the battle. These video are only reviewed when the trainer opts for advancement of his level or is eligible for the league tournament. Other than that, league doesn''t interfere. Also every gym is ranked. This way the gym leader can be allowed to hold back less and doesn''t need to be bothered by weaker trainers. The gyms with higher ranks can even set the months of contest or eligibility condition to battle trainers. Take my husband for example, he doesn''t fight any trainer with less than six gym badges. If Alex wasn''t a special case, then he would not even accept his challenge. " " So Alex is really really strong." Jim said amazed. " According to my husband, he can reach at least top eight without any problem. Look at his battle well, you all may learn some things a trainer must have especially you Jim and Daisy. " Daphne revealed. " Look the bout in the water will begin . " ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Poliwhirl and marill continued to fight until a kick of poliwhirl sent marill into the water. Marill floated on the water after the recovery from the attack and looked at the poliwhirl who stood on the platform. Alex knew why marill was still in the water and so he ordered poliwhirl ," jump into the water " Poliwhirl jumped in the water without any hesitation on hearing the command and marill went underwater to follow. In the water, marill tailed behind poliwhirl who tried to adapt in water first before attacking his opponent. Marill wasn''t willing to let him have a chance and sent "hypervoice" attack. In the water sound waves travel faster than in air and so poliwhirl shrieked on bring hit by the attack. Marill didn''t give him a chance and used "superpower". Her powers increased greatly and then hit with a focus punch. The attack was so powerful that poliwhirl was sent flying out if the water and there was a big bruise on the belly of poliwhirl showing how strong that punch really was. Alex knew that poliwhirl wasn''t going to last long so he tried to get the best result before he is knocked down. " Poliwhirl use that." Alex ordered. Poliwhirl was in pain but he could hear his trainer''s orders and understood what he meant. The one thing that Alex made sure every one of his pokemon were taught was never give up until the last moment. And make sure to leave a mark on your opponent. Poliwhirl understood this too. He saw how powerful every pokemons of Alex were and he too wanted to be so. And he was a fighting partner of electabuzz, who had too much pride and won''t accept defeat easily. Some of which rubbed off on him too so poliwhirl used," Belly drum " first increasing his powers to the limit and then with the help of energy from the fall, used a powerful " brick break" on marill. Even the audience were soaked or would have been soaked if not for Swablu using cotton guard around them. Cotton guard absorbed most of the water preventing them from being soaked but Mathew and Alex weren''t so lucky. They were completely drenched but they weren''t bothered a bit. Their attention was on the final outcome. Poliwhirl seemed to be breathing heavily while floating on the water and Marill''s whereabouts wasn''t known until poliwhirl was hit on the back. Marill had used " Double edge" and hit poliwhirl who was just one step away from fainting was completely knocked out now. Alex just picked up the pokeball and then returned him. Marill on the other hand was still floating on the water seemingly unharmed if not for a wound which bled from his head. " Very impressive. You taught your poliwhirl well. The only defect I found was the lack of fighting experience against pokemons in the water. Other than that, pretty impressive battle . To think your attack can penetrate marill defense when she used roll out and defense curl to block the attacks power. I am really looking forward to our next match. " Saying that, he too returned marill and without waiting sent out a **cloyster**. Alex on the other hand sent out a *tentacruel*. Chapter 217 - 6 gym battle part 3 In the audience, Swablu flew in the air and had used "cotton guard" protected the audience from being drenched in water. The cotton on her clouds expanded around the audience. The cotton on coming in contact with water expanded. After the waves calmed down, Swablu retracted back the cotton too. She then gracefully landed on the seat looking forward at the going battle completely ignoring the gaze of everyone. Pikachu thanked his friend for the help who just chirped back at her old friend. " Pokemon pokemon" Misty shouted looking at the Swablu with excitement. Not only her but even her sisters, Jim and his grandfather and uncle too looked at the small cotton bird Pokemon with shock and admiration. Daphne too had admiration in.her gaze and said to Swablu," Thank you Swablu for the help or we would have been completely soaked in water." Her thanks was the queue which helped others gain their voice and voiced their own thanks. The second youngest daughter of the Waterflower, Lily asked her mother, " Mom, what pokemon is she? She is so cute. And how was someone so small can be strong enough to stop so much water. " " She is a Swablu, dear. She is a very strong Pokemon. Don''t underestimate her. She had dragon genes in her. " Daphne explained to her daughter. Swablu heard this news and sat proudly. Daphne looked at her face and she rubbed her and Pikachu''s head. " Dragon? Wait she is a dragon type pokemon?" Gray asked her shocked. Not only him but even his father, James was shocked as everyone their age knew just how powerful the image of the dragon type were in most people''s view. " No, not her. But her evolved form is. Her kind is most commonly found in Hoenn. Swablu are sweet and cute. They are just like most pre evolved forms of dragon types. Their evolved looks more of a dragon, a majestic beauty worthy of respect. It''s evolved form is an altaria. They are just as majestic and powerful as any dragon Pokemon. " She said. Misty on her hands too joined in rubbing the heads of the two Pokemons. Jim, who was pretty ignorant about Pokemons asked," are dragon types strong?" This gave Daisy who didn''t like him much a chance to downgrade him and said," You don''t even know about dragon Pokemon. What do you expect from a stupid fool?" " Why you?" Jim stood up and shouted at her, but his father stopped him and said," Calm down Jim. If you shout now, Alex would be distracted in his fight." Daphne stopped her daughter too and apologized for her behaviour. Gary then explained it to his son,"The dragon pokemons are one of the strongest pokemons in the wirld and their only weakness are the ice Pokemons. Most attacks aren''t effective on them and their strong power makes them a terror to fight against. It is not wrong to say they are the strongest Pokemon type out there. " Gary have his son the civilians view about the dragon types. But, it only confused jim. Seeing his expression, Daphne asked," is there something wrong Jim?" Jim looked at his father then turned to his grandpa and finally Daphne and said," But Alex said something else to me while he was teaching about Pokemons, how to raise them and train them." Daphne eyes sparkled wishing to know the views of Alex, the best trainer of his generation had about dragons. James was curious what his eldest grandson, Alex had taught his second eldest grandson, Jim asked, "then What did he teach you about dragons Jim?" At this time, poliwhirl was knocked out from Marill''s double edge and new Pokemons Cloyster and tentacruel were released. " Wow, dad''s using Cloyster. I remember he once frozen the water in the gym battlefield to ice completely. After all how could dad lose to an idiot''s cousin who doesn''t know anything about dragons." Daisy sneered at her similar aged Jim. Jim was angered by her words but ignored it in favour of answering his grandpa''s question. He narrated what Alex told him," Alex told me that although dragons have the least deficiency in case of type disadvantage, then any other Pokemon type but their biggest shortcoming is that they take a lot of time to evolve. Their pre evolved forms are much weaker than their final evolved forms and until that moment they don''t have much threats against their opponents. And even after evolution to their final form, only idiot Trainers would consider this type invincible for every decent trainer can have at least a few pokemons capable of dealing with them." Jim told everything Alex told him. Daisy was shocked by the words meanwhile Lily and Violet were confused by the different description of dragon type pokemons. His answer made James and Gray open and close their mouth unable to come up with any reply but Daphne on the other hand laughed loudly attracting attention of the duo trainers who had just swapped their pokemons along with the referee. " Are you joking about our battle, dear?" Mathew asked his wife confused at her sudden outburst. She shook her head and simply said,. " Nothing. I just heard Jim say something very similar to what you told me about dragons. He said only idiots consider dragons invincible."And once again started giggling. Mathew himself smiled at this statement and asked his opponent, Alex," Is that what you feel?" Alex replied without any change in his facial expression or mood," Of course. All pokemon types are strong and equally strong. Only dragon types are a bit hard skinned so they are difficult to injure that''s all." Mathew kept looking at Alex. The referee as well as the audience themselves looked at Alex slightly shocked by his reply and remained quiet until Mathew smiled and said," I knew that you will make this battle interesting and your thoughts make me even more excited." And Mathew initiated the attack. "Cloyster, icy shards." And Alex immediately countered," poison sting" Icy shards collided with poison stings. Cloyster was stronger so every three poison sting hit a shard and destroyed it. Some almost reached tentacruel but Alex commanded," acid spray" A torrent of acid was sprayed from his mouth and collided with the shards and destroyed them. And this pray continued until it hit cloyster but he had closed the clamp before the impact. Cloyster hard shell would have worked at most people but not on tentacruel. Alex trained him to be a poison specialist. After his evolution, his appetite consist of poison of some fangs of arbok or crushed poisoned glands of Weezing, swalot or Muk. Now his poison could dull the shine of a metal and cloyster shell wasn''t as hard or durable than steel and he started to rock back and forth in pain from poison. Tentacruel slowly floated towards the cloyster while his attack intensity didn''t decrease. He opened his clamp and cried in pain from the attack. This gave Tentacruel the chance he needed. Tentacruel used " poison jab" with his tentacles and hit the black body of cloyster. Cloyster glowed in purple signifying that he was poisoned. Mathew wasn''t disturbed by this status and commanded," Rest" Cloyster calmed himself from the pain of poison and slept on command. But Alex wasn''t willing to let him expel the poison and ordered," Smash him" Tentacruel multiple tentacles rose and grabbed the shell. He tried to grab the shell hard enough to wake the sleeping Pokemon. Seeing it wasn''t working, tentacruel smashed him on the platform hard breaking that platform and the shelled Pokemon submerged in the water. Since he was submerged mist ranged attacks won''t work so Alex ordered the special attack of tentacruel," drain him under water and continue to crash him on the floor of the gym." Tentacruel submerged and grabbed hold of the ice Pokemon and used his tentacles to drain his energy and heal himself from the occasional icy shards which hit him. Mathew was unaware of what tentacruel was doing underwater but his instincts told that things might be a bit wrong so he commanded," sleep talk" A spray of ice hit the tentacles making tentacruel groan in pain and release the hold bit Alex wasn''t willing to let things go and ordered him to continue regardless of the situation. Tentacruel did as ordered until cloyster woke up and this time he was hit by toxic. Before tentacruel could use venoshock to take down the tired shelled Pokemon cloyster spun rapidly and rose to the surface. Mathew saw his pokemons situation and ordered," Giga impact" Alex knew tentacruel cannot dodge it so he told him to erect a barrier. Tentacruel used protect to let the impact and then shrouded himself with magic coat and barrier around him to lessen the impact. When the collision happened once again water was splashed everywhere and this time, cloyster was knocked out with tentacruel still capable of fighting except for some damaged tentacles. Chapter 218 - 7 gym battle part 4 In the audience, The Waterflower sisters were shocked at the complete dominance that Alex''s tentacruel showed in this battle. Jim was excited at his cousin''s victory. James and Gary saw just how powerful Alex Pokemons were in the past two battle. Although Alex lost the first one pretty easily but the attack power of poliwhirl wasn''t something to laugh at. At this time, tentacruel showed why they were feared in tge open sea as they could trap their prey underwater through their tentacles was revealed in his attack pattern. Pikachu and Swablu were happy at their companion''s victory. Although most only see the dominance or the attack pattern, Daphne saw something extra in her vision. As a former trainer before becoming full time wife in the Waterflower and taking care of her daughter, she herself was a skilled trainer. She also fought with her husband from time to time to make sure that her Pokemons strength doesn''t degrade much. As such she also knew the strength of his Pokemons. The defensive ability of cloyster was among the best of his Pokemons yet the fact that acid could hurt him even when he was hidden in the shell meant his poison was really strong. And the final defense wall he erected to protect himself as well as the tentacles layered forward to protect himself. This lessened the impact at the cost of a few tentacles which aren''t much impactful on the long run in a big fight. Mathew was impressed with how Alex trained to use the different parts of his body to do the bidding in the battle. He wasn''t willing to waste any part of the body which helps the Pokemon to remain battle ready even if one part is injured and isn''t working well. Mathew returned the cloyster and pulled another pokeball. He threw it in the air and his third Pokemon. It was a long blue serpentine pokemons with two moustache on his face and an open mouth. It was a Gyarados. The mood of the Waterflower kids except Misty was down seeing their father lose but when he sent out Golduck, they shouted happily for their father. Mathew revealed to his opponent,. " Alex you are entertaining, so let me warn you. Him and my next Pokemon are from my first combat team. They both rank in top ten strongest pokemons I currently possess. So be prepared. The next battles won''t be so easily won as this one." He said while looking at the floating Tentacruel. Alex looked at his current Pokemon. Although for most people tentacruel may have won the battle easily but any experienced one could see that tentacruel was tired and heavily injured. Although tentacruel seemed fine, he was tired and most of his tentacles were damaged. The longer he fights the more injured he would be so he decided to end this battle quickly. " Hyper beam" In hearing, tentacruel gathered an orange energy beam by his mouth and sent it towards the atrocious behemoth. As the beam transversed the water parted giving way to the beam, and headed for the Gyarados. The beam seemed powerful as it had the entire energy of tentacruel. But Mathew and Gyarados weren''t bothered. Gyarados being one of Mathew''s strongest fought multiple strong trainers knew how to deal with this and he swept his tail forth. A twister started to generate in front of the Gyarados and the hyper beam collided. The twister absorbed the kinetic energy of the hyper beam and moved faster. Gyarados guided it towards the tentacruel who was swept into the wind column and was hurled in the air by the strong wind. He then crashed in the water hard and fainted. This sudden departure of tentacruel saddened Jim and James and Gray knew about the strength that the atrocious monster possessed. Even Swablu and Pikachu were sad at his quick defeat and bowed their head in sadness. This victory made the kids shout out in joy and Daphne just smiled. But Alex didn''t feel anything extraordinary. In front of this Pokemon Alex felt a presence stronger than his electabuzz but much weaker than the Gengar of the Lavender City. He thought that the pokemon in front of him was at least peak psuedo king or had entered the king threshold. Alex then returned his tentacruel and sent out his own behemoth. Alex sent out his elite level Gyarados. Unlike Mathew''s, he sent out a loud roar which scared the kids and Misty began to cry loudly. Alex reprimanded his Gyarados and shouted," Gyarados what have I told you about shouting? " Gyarados was surprised by the cries and the reprimand of his trainer made him lower his head in guilt. " Roo... Roaa" he replied back. ('' I just wanted to intimidate my opponent.'') But Alex wasn''t so easily calmed and said," look at your opponent. He is stronger than you and seemed as scary as you in appearance yet he didn''t roar so loudly. I already told you not to do so and if you want to at least look around so children aren''t scared because of you. Last time, you scared Alan and Helen and now look you scared another baby. " Gyarados just continued to look down and was guilty about his act. He didn''t try to speak his way out of the trouble. He wasn''t even angry and calmly accepted his trainer''s anger. This submissive behavior surprised many especially the civilian family of Alex. " Grandpa you told me that Gyarados are short tempered and easily angered. You shouldn''t anger them no matter what so why is he do calm when Alex is scolding him?" Jim asked his grandfather. Jane''s didn''t hear anything what his grandson said still looking at the scene in front of him. " What do you mean, they are easily angered. I play with Gyarados all the time, and he was never angry at me." Lily asked cutely. These words only continued to shock the two elders of Alex. Their views abouf pokemons change a lot with the power the Pokemons showed in the battle and now seeing the pokemon regarded as " deity of destruction" so calm when being scolded, was too much to them. Jim saw that his father and grandpa cannot answer this so he turned to Daphne for answer. Daphne seeing his gaze explained it to him," Gyarados are known for their anger and the destruction they leave in their rage. So most people are afraid of them. But, trainers at Alex''s level aren''t afraid of them. They know how to treat gyarados. They are powerful enough to subdue them. It is also that if a trainer raise Magikarp well then upon evolution able to calm his raging Pokemon, then they can easily control Gyarados. But it is based on the fact that trainer is skilled or not. Pokemons of Gyarados level doesn''t follow inadequate trainers. Look forward kids you will know why the Gyarados are feared. " As soon as she said that the scolding was over, and the battle is commenced. Alex''s Gyarados sent out hydro pump at the Mathew''s. He used aqua tail to dissipate the attack. Just as he did that, Alex''s lunged at Mathew''s and bite him on his tail hard enough to draw blood. He had used ice fang and the tail froze a little. Then it sent out a dragon pulse to let him release him. Alex had kept an eye for attack and ordered, " surround yourself with twister" A twister surrounded him and hit his opponent. The attack made him delay the dragon pulse and Alex''s dived into the pool to evade the attack which ripped through the twister. Then Gyarados bit him on the underbelly making him ahake around in pain but the experienced fighter then used dragon rage and saved himself. The constant biting had irritated the elder Gyarados and he went on outrage. His attacks sent Gyarados to the bottom. Gyarados wasn''t willing to give his opponent the chance to rise and continued to attack. Alex also sent his attacks and bite on his opponent. Their attack were fierce and everything happened underwater. The water was thrown out of the pool. They lunged at each other bit the other or sent attack at tge opponent with their tail. What Mathew''s Gyarados used outrage consistently, Alex''s used thrash. Amd finally, Alex''s was exhausted from the injury and his attack slowed down when his opponent sent a hyper beam defeating him. Alex''s Gyarados tired abd fainted bidy floated on the pool while a hurt and bleeding gyarados also revealed his appearance. While the two trainers weren''t affected by the appearance, but the kids were scared. Daphne told the kids," Pokemons are dangerous. Always remember this. Although your father and alex can discipline thrm but you all are still too young to even stand in front of them." While James mumbled ," Sure enough, if you are not strong enough, you cannot control these rage reincarnate." The referee narrated," Alex''s Gyarados had lost, please send your last Pokemon" Alex calmly returned his Pokemon and then looked at Mathew and said," I can see why you are the strongest gym leader in the Kanto. You didn''t go all out right now with Gyarados. " " So?"Mathew asked with mirth in his eyes. "Professor always tell me I am a bit prideful. And if I am using one of my strongest, I would like to make my opponent reveal his power unless I can completely overwhelmed. So my next Pokemon will make yours use the strength worthy of a king."alex said while sending out a calm Slowking. Chapter 219 - 8 Gym battle ( ends) Appearance of Slowking changed the joyous expression of Mathew and there was a hint of seriousness in his eyes. " I finally know why you are what you are. So he is one of your strongest pokemons?" Mathew enquired. " Yes, he is currently my third strongest Pokemon. " Alex replied back. " I really want to have a full six on six match now so I can see their powers ." Mathew said with d_e_s_i_r_e but unfortunately. ----------------------------------------------------- In the Audience, Mathew new excitement confused some people and so Violet asked," Mommy, why is father taking him so seriously? He isn''t as terrifying as Gyarados from before " she mentioned Gyarados with a shudder. The gruesome battle was too much for the kids. Because of the kids presence the battle happened underwater so they won''t be scarred but the battle was still too terrifying. " The scary appearance doesn''t mean one is strong or mean. Every strong pokemon had an aura around them which can intimate lesser Pokemons and make them lose fighting spirit without any battle. That Slowking is just like that. Alex''s Slowking is strong, very strong." She said very seriously " How strong? Can Alex defeat the Gyarados?" Jim jumped in and asked. " Slowking is stronger than the previous three pokemons of Alex combined. As for defeating gyarados, I can''t be certain but this battle will be a close on. " Daphne revealed. Although she wasn''t a master trainer she was an advanced trainer, so she can guess the strength of Slowking. " Alright then, Alex defeat that overgrown serpent." Jim shouted to cheer his cousin. ----------------------------------------------------- The two opponent just smiled at their cheers but the battle hasn''t started just yet. Alex said something to Mathew," They are too close, I think you might want to send some Pokemon to protect them. " On hearing this,Mathew looked at his opponent and his calm Slowking then at the audience and then at the referee who nodded in agreement. . Referee was a pokemon cultivator and had been in presence of Mathew''s pokemons for a long time. He understood that the next battle would be too dangerous for the audience and agreed for the two to send their pokemons to protect them. " Very well, both of you can send two Pokemons each to safeguard the audience from the stray attack. " the referee issued his statement. Mathew threw two pokeballs in the air and out came, starmie and Lapras. He ordered them to deal with stray attacks so they could fight without much restrains. Alex sent out his current strongest electabuzz and Snorlax. The appearance of the two affirmed the position of alex in the mind of Daphne. He really deserve his position as the leader of the current generation. Mathew just muttered," Another psuedo king. Damm, the kid''s a monster." " You two go to Jim and make sure they aren''t injured from our attacks. " Alex commanded. Both of them nodded and made their way to the audience. After they reached their goal, the referee gave the signal to start again. ----------------------------------------------------- In the audience, " Mom, why did they send their pokemons here?" Lily asked " Because dear, their fight will be a fierce one and hence they are here to protect us. " Daphne said and then continued to tell them, " The true battle between powerful trainers will be starting soon. Don''t blink because these types of battle are rare for new trainers and civilians." ----------------------------------------------------- As soon as the battle begin, Gyarados started to use the water force and sent a wave if water at the target. Slowking simply floated in the air with psychic and sent multiple psychic blasts at gyarados. He evaded by swimming sideways like a snake or diving underwater to dodge the fast psychic shots. Slowking sent multiple water needles at the belly of Gyarados which made him bleed even harder than before. Slowking made sure to remember the placement of wounds so he could target the weak spots of the opponent. Slowking was sy ease with the attacks of Gyarados and used he opportunity he gets to nail the opponent. This increased the anger of Gyarados and he was just one step away from rage. Matter knew this problem and ordered," surround Slowking with the twister to prevent him from evading and then fire a hyper beam." Gyarados first sent multiple dragon pulse at Slowking who either floated out of the path or defected it back and then a few twister rose around him trapping him in the sky. And a lightning fast hyper beam was sent him way. This attack may have put other pokemons of Alex in grave danger but not Slowking as he teleported behind and then used Zen headbutt. It sent the huge body of Gyarados a few steps back with a bruise which bled at his crown. Gyarados rocked back and forth in pain from the previous attack and then toxic hit the sea serpent pokemons and he was poisoned. Now Gyarados was in time limit so Mathew stopped playing around and ordered his Pokemon to fight all out and he used water force. As soon as it happened, a blue aura surrounded Gyarados and water around him danced back forth awaiting the orders of his holiness, the Gyarados. Slowking saw this change and also entered his powered up state. A pink aura surrounded Slowking for a moment and then subsided but it doesn''t mean their power was reduced. No , now they were ready to fight. Both sent a high pressure water gun and while Slowking sent a psycho cut. When the two attacks collides, a ripple was transversed throughout. The bulbs and light equipment were destroyed in the clash and the shockwave almost reached the occupants. Snorlax stepped in front of the shockwave with the potential to injure the kids. Snorlax simply stood and until the shockwave was just at reach a brick break hit it and the audience was safe from the sudden attack. Snorlax then laid on his back and slept. While the a_d_u_l_ts were amazed by the strength and sweatdropped at his later action,Pikachu, Swablu and Jim started to climb his stomach and sat there. The other kids joined him on his actions. James seeing this shouted anxiously at the prospect of his grandson angering a monstrously strong Pokemon. The shockwave had brought cracks on the enforced walls of the gym,yet he stopped it easily ," Jim get down. You will anger the Snorlax." Daphne calmed the older man by saying," Don''t worry. Snorlax are some of the most docile pokemons and they almost never harm kids. They are only angry when disturbed in their sleep and the kids playing on his stomach isn''t something that can wake him up. Though I have to say that your grandson is pretty rich, to raise a Snorlax especially someone at Elite level is not most Trainer can afford. Even my husband will feel pain in raising one." She would have continued had it not been for her youngest daughter wanting to join her sisters on the sleeping Pokemon. Daphne gave her to Daisy to take care . And continued to look at the battle up front. The battle escalated and water rose to submerge Slowking but he willed the water to part way in front of him. but the water surrounded him from all sides. Since Slowking noticed he couldn''t control the water his forehead glowed bright pink and then a sudden shock wave was generated from Slowking throwing everything away from him. The water in the pool was completely thrown out due to the shockwave, Gyarados was smashed at the walls of the pool and even the two trainers fell on the ground. The psychic had grabbed hold of the Gyarados and continued to smash him on the ground. The broken metal rods which fell on the battlefield floated around in Slowking''s control and slashed at the fallen Gyarados. Because of Slowking was controlling the metal he cannot move which was taken advantage by Gyarados. Gyarados sent a hyper beam which hit Slowking dead center and made him fall on the ground from the air but it also made Slowking lose control and some shards penetrated the body making the Gyarados ooze out blood and fainted. Slowking on the other hand was wounded but could still stand although shaky. Knowing that Gyarados was badly wounded, he returned his Gyarados and sent him away to heal through the caretakers of the gym. Mathew''s voluntary withdrawal surprised the kids but they didn''t say anything. " That attack was quite deadly. To think you could end Gyarados life any moment back then. " Mathew said. " If you went all out, Slowking won''t stand a chance. We both hadn''t used any destructive moves yet. " Alex retorted This made Alex''s uncle Gray shout," then what does these damage means." Alex and Mathew turned to look at his outburst and they simply said in unison with deadpanned expression," Gym is still standing." Daphne just giggles and said," If my husband wants then his starter Lapras over here could flood half of the Cerulean city without much problem." This brought stupors to the duo father and son. Then Mathew said," Come on starmie, let''s end this battle" And starmie jumped into the now waterless pool of the gym. Slowking limped and came forth in front of his opponent. Even after the referee commence the battle the two stood standstill. Except for Slowking''s eyes and starmie''s central gems glowing there was no action. The only other thing worth noting was that no dust cloud or water was present in the space between the two water psychic pokemon. Their motionless stance made Daisy and Jim speak out together," why aren''t they moving now?" And then glared at each other. Daphne just smiled and then threw a small concrete stone nearby and threw it in the middle. The stone transversed through the air and then suddenly the stone vanished completely. " What happened?" They shouted in surprise "The entire place is filled with psychic energy of the two pokemons and anything entering that field will be destroyed. The true horror of psychic is the destructive invisible attacks. " Daphne stated. The psychic contest continued for some time until starmie''s gem glowed frequently. Mathew knew what that meant and ordered," Ice beam" Starmie flew away and hit Slowking with rapid spin and then with ice beam, he was frozen in ice. Then he was smashed with a hydro pump. It did the trick. Slowking who was injured from the hyper beam couldn''t stand the ice beam and hydro pump and finally fainted. The referee declared,"Slowking isn''t able to battle. The Challenger had lost all of his four pokemons and so the winner is Gym leader Mathew Waterflower." Chapter 220 - 9 After the battle, both withdrew their Pokemon and came forward to meet each other. The audience also made their way towards their respective family member. Jim had jumped off Snorlax stomach and ran to Alex. He arrived near him and said with excitement," Alex, you were so cool back there. Can I become as strong as you? can I, can I ?" Alex just rubbed his head in embarrassment and said, " Of course as long as you are willing to work hard and believe in your companion, your Houndour. He won''t lose to my Pokemon in the future." He looked at the quadruple animal who was looking at him with admiration, awe and respect. And then an additional weight was experienced by Alex, as Pikachu and Swablu both of them have claimed their position. Alex just smiled at that and met Mathew midway who was bring congratulated by his family. His uncle and grandpa were there and awaited his arrival. Looking at his appearance, Mathew greeted with a smile. " Alex, you did wonderful out there." His grandpa praised him. " We are really lucky to see battle at this level. To see a battle of this level is really rare. " His uncle, Gray added his thoughts. Electabuzz was standing at the side ad Snorlax stood nearby or more like laid on the ground. Mathew handed him the gym badge and said"you are strong enough to earn the gym badge so take it." Alex looked at another three star badge and then put it in his pocket. Jim pulled his shirt''s sleeves and asked curious why he got the badge even if he lost the battle," Alex you lost, so why did you get the gym badge!" " A trainer can get the gym badge as long as he shows enough ability required for the gym badge. So even if you lose, if you can make the gym leader feel you have the capability, you will get the gym badge ." He explained the reason behind it. " You are stronger than rumoured, Alex " Mathew said about Alex, while Alex just smiled at that. " What do you mean, dad?" Daisy asked her father. " Alex had grown stronger in the past few months. " He simply stated without revealing anything. '' Alex here have a reputation in Kanto and almost every gym leader know about his existence. Some of his pokemon''s existence are also known to us. But, Gyarados as well as tentacruel presence was an unknown existence. They can easily defeat any advanced level Pokemon and had a fifty percent chance against an elite pokemon. These pokemons are his hidden ace. And these are only water types. There are Pikachu and Swablu too who are at least intermediate level.'' he thought while looking at the two pokemons who were seated on his shoulder and head. '' even if he had only this strength then it would work for that matter.'' He looked at his wife who felt his eyes on her. They communicated quietly and came to a decision which Mathew had made everyone known. " Alex, how long are you staying in the Cerulean city?" Mathew asked. Alex c_o_c_ked his head sideways thinking why he asked this question and then answered,"My cousin got his starter pokemon yesterday but because of my match today, we decided to head out today after the battle. Is there something?" " Yes. I need a favour from you." He said. " Favour? What favour?" Daphne continued after that," You see Daisy here is of the age to start her official trainer career. But, we fear she cannot take care of herself out there as we sheltered our kids a bit too much, so we hope you can guide her for sometime before she can get herself aquainted with the ways of the trainer. " Seeing Alex with a hesistant look, her husband Mathew joined to convince and said,"For taking care of her, we will reward you . I think you will definitely like it. I promise you she won''t cause you much trouble. " "But I am already looking after Jim here, I don''t think I can look after her as well. " Alex tried to dissuade them. But Mathew was adamant, he take care of her and stated," What I fear for is her security. With you present, they won''t be in any danger, as for the rest of the things children should be able to take care of themselves. " Alex was still hesistant and so his grandpa James joined them in convincing and said,"Alex, I think it will be good if you help them too. After all Jim will also have someone to compare with and grow stronger together. " Then he came close and said softly," I also think with your talents some people may cause trouble for you later, with his support you will have much easier time dealing with them." Although he said softly, it was still heard by the Waterflower couple, while Daisy didn''t feel anything wrong, but Mathew burst out laughing at the prospect of Alex needing his help. With the support of Oak laboratory behind him, the forces which can cause trouble won''t do so especially when he is showing off his potential, as for others they can be easily dealt by Alex. " Is everything right?" Gray by his father''s side asked not knowing why he was laughing. Daphne herself was confused by this and looked at her husband for answer but he just shook his head. " So, do you agree Alex?"Mathew asked the young genius earnestly. Alex took a deep breath and agreed,. " Fine. I will guide her for a couple of months. " " Good. Then she will join you tomorrow to start if you don''t mind." " It''s ok. My Pokemon need to rest and can be up and ready by tomorrow ." He said. The object of the conversation jumped into the talks of a_d_u_l_ts and said," Hey, why aren''t you asking for my opinion. I don''t need anyone''s help. And I am not travelling along with this idiot." " Idiot? Who are you calling an idiot? And who told you I want to travel with you." He shouted back. Before things could escalate Alex fist hammered on Jim stopping him while he told Daisy," I already discussed with your parents and since they said so I hope you will be with us for two months and after that you can go back to travelling alone. " Daisy looked like she wanted to argue but her mother''s gaze said there won''t be any further discussion on this topic and she reluctantly said,. "Fine. I will go with you tomorrow." And the Waterflower family and Alex and his family parted ways. Alex deposited his Pokemon in the Pokemon center where the nurse joy stated to take them back after a few hours. Alex gave her his number to call back when they were healed while he returned to his uncle''s house. ----------------------------------------------------- In the Gordon''s house, " So why did you return back, Alex, Jim ? Weren''t you going to leave today?" His grandma, Hella asked. His uncle answered for Alex," Alex pokemons are injured in the gym battle and so he had wait one more day in the Cerulean city." " So how did the battle go?" Hella asked curiously. Before anyone could reply, Jim started his narration of the battle. Some things felt too much so the ladies of the house looked at their husband for affirmation which they did. After the story ended, Jenny said," Alex you are very powerful. I am relieved to let him follow you." Alex just smiled and said," I still lost in the end. There are still many people stronger than me. Don''t think much about that superficial title I have got. I haven''t even fought any genius of the other regions so this role is just a hox. Also, I am really hungry, can I have lunch now?" " of course you can. A growing boy must have all the nutrients he need for his growth. Especially after such a energy draining battle. I am tired just from hearing it and you participated in it. " His grandma stated. The Gordon''s started to have lunch. ----------------------------------------------------- With the Waterflower , Violet asked her father cutely and with sobbing expression," Daddy, is big sis leaving us?" Lily herself had such an expression, so Mathew pull them in a hug and said " She wants to see the world and you don''t want to stop her would you." They both shook their head and said, " it would be selfish." He rubbed their back to console them," Good then don''t cry to bade your sister farewell with a smile " While Mathew dealt with his two daughters, Daphne was looking over Daisy and making sure she packed everything. Before leaving, Alex gave her a brief rundown of the things she will be needing. And Daphne supervised to make sure she had everything. She then brought everyone together for dinner and after that the sisters with Misty went off to send their time together before parting. After that, she and Mathew were left alone to discuss. " Daisy had a seel with her but what other pokemon are you giving her. " " I am thinking of giving her an Eevee and a marill. Do you think I should add some more." Mathew asked his wife. " No. I think it is enough. She could catch the others herself. And what reward do you want to give, Alex?" She asked curiously. Mathew released a pokemon from the pokeball and shown it to his wife," I was hoping to give it to Daisy too but I felt she isn''t ready yet. I can get her another one later. Do you think he will like it " " A trainer like Alex will love it. I think this reward is appropriate too." Daphne said while she took the released pokemon in her hands. " To think, Daisy is big enough to start her own journey. I hope she will be fine." She said emotionally. Mathew face on the emotionless and he stated," We guarded her a lot. She needs to see the world for the time when we aren''t around. We cannot protect them forever. They need to grow ." And Daphne hugged her husband looking over their kids who played among themselves for the last time before Daisy left. Chapter 221 - 10 Departure Today, the entire Gordon''s family once again arrived at the Cerulean gym building and met with the Waterflower who bade farewell to their eldest daughter. Misty who now understands what was happening most probably cried before their arrival since her eyes were red and her face had tear marks. When the Waterflowers saw alex, Mathew came forward and said," take care of my daughter. I don''t expect you to help her with everything. Just join in to help her when things go out of her hands. She needs to know how the world works on her own." He said all this with grave expression making Alex understand what he wants him to do. He wants Alex to have her experience hardship as well as some dangerous situations so she deal with them herself as a way of training and he would help if she is in too much trouble and cannot protect herself. In short, he had to deal with her similar to how Alex planned to do with his cousin Jim. It was showing some tough love. He handed over a box to Alex and said," Your reward is in here, you can check it out now if you want. " Alex looked at the box wanting to see what he got. He restrained his d_e_s_i_r_e for a couple of seconds and then opened the box because his strong curiousity overwhelmed him. His action only made Mathew and the other elders smile. In their heart, they thought that no matter how m_a_t_u_r_e he is he still had some attics of a child. This made them feel gratified that he hadn''t lost his childhood entirely. Alex opened the box to see two things in the box. One was a pokeball and another was a tough and inflexible scale. It was a dragon scale. Alex practically ignored the pokeball placed at the side and focused entirely on the dragon scale. He mumbled in amazement, " This ... This is a dragon scale." A dragon scale is very precious thing in the Pokemon world. A usuable dragon scale is something that a fully evolved dragon pokemon voluntarily shed off. Doing so makes the dragon leave behind some portion of their energy. If this scale is in the possession of a dragon type, then there is a good boost in strength, defense and speed of the Pokemon. The energy of the fully evolved dragon Pokemon serves as the power enhancer. The reason why it is so yearned by people is because of it''s role as a growth accelerator of the dragon. The growth time of a dragon is very long. Some of these Pokemon stay in their initial state for a decade and in their second form for almost half a century before they completely evolve. This growth is shortened sharply by this scale so this is a precious item, especially for the dragon trainers. Even with so many advantages, there is also a big defect related to the dragon scale. The dragon who shed off the scale had to undergo a week of completely sleep or hibernation and he had to spend at least six months to completely recover his strength. " Yes. It is a dragon scale. Since, the tournament is a few month away, yet we are asking you to look after our daughter when you can train, so I thought this payment will be good for you. " He said proudly. " But it is too precious" Alex stuttered out. Alex''s stuttering and protest made his family curious what he had got and what was in this box. " Alex, what is a dragon scale and how precious is it?"the curious retired civilian James asked. " At least a hundred times more than Houndour''s monthly expenses on his diet. That expensive" Alex explained them in the words that his family could understand. Their mouth was stunned open on hearing this. Mathew rolled his eyes at his words and said," You are saying as if it is expensive for you. You don''t make more than that every month from the honey you sell. And there is still the berry you are starting to sell. " Alex looked at Mathew surprised that he knew do much and Mathew just smiled and said," I am a veteran gym leader, Alex. I make sure that I know every big happening around my city. The scale of purchase you did near your hometown along with mass purchase of berry and sale of honey. I wouldn''t miss something like that. " Alex scratched his head embarrassment for forgetting something like this. Daphne by her husband, Mathew side said, "Don''t forget the Pokemon along with that. That pokemon may need that gift we gave you." The Pokemon that appeared was a light blue, seahorse-like Pok¨¦mon. It has red eyes, a long, tubular mouth, and three spike-like fins on either side of its head. Its ridged belly and single dorsal fin are cream-colored. It had a tightly curled tail that it can use to balance or anchor the strong current in the ocean. It was a Horsea. The seahorse pokemon looked around at the people curiously until his eyes fell on the one who had his pokeball. His red eyes were fixed on Alex and Alex looked back at the pokemon. Swablu and Pikachu who had been quiet for so long jumped off Alex and went to greet their newest team member. The trio easily mingled with each other and started to chat with the near recruit. " What pokemon is this, dad? " Daisy asked. The daughters of Waterflower were looking at the blue scaled Horsea with curiousity. Same was with the family of Alex. Mathew turned to Alex and asked," Do you know what type of Pokemon this is, Alex?" Alex turned and everyone looked at him for answer or wanted to know what he knew about it. Even the trio stop their chat. Horsea looked at him probably wanting to know what he knew about their species. He mumbled loud enough for Mathew to hear," is this a he or she?" Mathew replied back" She. This Pokemon is a female." This quiet muttering made them confused and Daisy said loudly," No cheating, Alex. " This made him blink his eyes in confusion about why she felt he was cheating until he remembered what he was doing. Alex hid the embarrassment he felt and said," I was asking whether to give a small version or a big version about her kind. I don''t want to bore you all." " Give us a long version. I want to learn more about pokemons unlike a certain idiot." Jim jumped forward and gave a not do secret glance at Daisy. This miffed her and she was about to unleash her feminine wrath if not for her mother''s arm stopping her. She just glared amd then herself said," I can too understand a long version " Alex took a deep breath and underwent a psychological transformation into what his siblings and cousin say a " professor mode." He started," She is called a Horsea. Their kind are water Pokemon who belong to a dub category of dragons. They too possess what most call the dragon blood in them similar to Gyarados and unlike Gyarados who are called idiot in magikarp state and aggressive and intimidating in Gyarados, they had been considered as cute in Horsea stage by most, when they evolve their dragon nature is slowly revealed like it does in case of Charmeleon where they are proud and borderline arrogant. At this state, they don''t follow trainers who are incompetent according to them and often escape from their trainer. And finally, their last state Kingdra are majestic. They are powerful. As for how powerful, they can create giant whirlpool as easily as yawning .They are considered the kings of the ocean." Hearing her future trainer tell others how powerful she was, she huffed her c_h_e_s_t and stood proudly. Pikachu and Swablu praised her strength while the young ones look at her in awe. " She is so strong. But she is so small.'' Jim said unknowingly angering her and was awarded with the ink spray on his face. Although most of the people smiled at Jim''s expense none more than Daisy, Alex didn''t do so. He had a serious expression and said,"Jim, Daisy, Always remember that no Pokemon is weak. It is the trainer who makes them weak or strong. I myself have a butterfree. She is normally considered a weak pokemon but neither Gyarados, poliwhirl nor tentacruel could defeat her one on one. So if you work hard to raise them well, the result will be satisfying. You understand this didn''t you?" Daisy and Jim said in unison," Yes" Then he turned to the others and said," I think we should get going now. " And he picked up Horsea in his hand while the other two position themselves on their respective position and he head out towards the city gate. His two young protege followed him after saying farewell to their family. The Gordon family looked at them until they weren''t visible and left for their house after saying farewell to the Waterflower. Daphne pilled her youngest daughter in a tight hug and asked her husband weakly," Mathew , will she be alright?" Mathew knew of the league strategy to train the top rankers through the anti league association yet he said," she will be fine. She had Alex by her side. Don''t forget, every trainer from the Oak laboratory is a monster and our daughter learning under him will do her good. " He not only consoled her but also himself and then headed inside his gym. Chapter 222 - 11 Journey begins A week later, Alex, Jim and Daisy had left Cerulean city a week ago. They are currently heading to the South of the Cerulean city where the Vermillion City is located. And that is their target. Alex was taking the duo towards the Vermillion City because of the contest happening there. As for how Alex knew about the question, the credit goes to his good friend, Bill Montgomery. He called and said that his father''s company, the Silph Corp. are organising a tournament for the young trainer. So Alex thought it might be good for these two student of his. Also he can get battle different gyms on the way as a practice for the league tournament. The past week of the trio was hectic to say the least. Other than Alex, neither of the two had any experience staying in the wild and look after themselves. It fell on Alex to help them. For some of the laborious tasks the two were reluctant but Alex used the rivalry between the two as a motivation for their work and it did wonders. In this week, both of them had almost got accustomed to the life outside the city. Though the pokemon attack they faced was tiresome for them. Alex took them through the general road where there is less chances of attack instead of going directly through the forest and facing the tough ones which might be too much for these kids now. Both have caught a couple of Pokemons in the past few days. Jim had a Houndour as a starter and under Alex''s guidance caught himself a Pidgey. And a few days later, he also caught a Meowth. Alex then had him bond together with them before he could catch another which he reluctantly agreed. As for Daphne, she had a seel as a starter and had got an Eevee and a marill from her father before leaving. Of course she had also caught a Pokemon. Seeing her so called rival catching, she herself got a Pokemon. She caught a non water type Pokemon. It was an Abra. She saw the powers a psychic pokemon wielded in the form of Slowking and starmie so when she heard that Alakazam was equally strong she caught an Abra. Abra would have escaped had it not for Haunter making sure he didn''t teleport away. Though that Abra spent most of his time, sleep and he could focus on his psychic powers. Their first official pokemon battle was a one on one between the two themselves. It had happened the same day, the duo had left the Cerulean city with Alex. When they walked for a few hours and had decided to stop for lunch, Daphne was irritated by Jim who constantly angered her and challenged him. Alex served served as a referee for the battle and wanted to take a look at the duo''s fighting talent as well as what things he can work and train them in the future. Flashback, A week ago, The two new trainers Daisy and Jim stood on opposite side with Alex standing at the center as he served as the referee. Jim had sent out his Houndour while Daisy sent out a seel. Jim thought that it was a water type considering that her family owned a water type gym which was correct. Alex appeared in the middle and stated," This is the official Pokemon match between Jim Gordon and Daisy Waterflower both if which are from Cerulean city. It is a one on one pokemon battle. The trainer whose pokemon loses the ability to fight first is the winner. Let the battle begin. " And he jumped back on the sidelines to see the battle. The one who started the attack was Jim. He ordered, " use Ember, Houndour." This attack was stopped by Seel, as she said," water gun." A water torrent clashed and extinguishes the flame and headed for the fire type. Jim anxiously shouted ," jump out of the way." Houndour put pressure on his back limbs and jumped up but was grazed by the water on his legs and was thrown off course. The young fire type was hit and was trying to raise himself from the ground to fight his opponent but he was injured badly from the water attack as well as the crash. Alex noticed that he has a bruise on his leg now making his speed fall significantly. Jim anxiously shouted and tried to encourage his pokemon," Stand up Houndour, we can still win. " Houndour shakingly stood up and glared on his opponent. But his opponent wasn''t disturbed by it and sent an icy wind on her trainer''s command. Houndour sent out a flame ember to nullify and then appeared near the seel. Alex mumbled," Daisy lost the battle." The battle experienced Pikachu and Swablu nodded while the unexperienced horsea looked confused. Seeing this, he motioned her to look at the battle. Since, they couldn''t see the Daisy stopped ordering until Jim shouted," Thunder fang " Hearing this, she told her seel to be alert but Houndour who could smell her, found her and bit her. The seel couldn''t endure the thunder fang and lost the ability to battle. Alex saw this through the aura vision and shouted out," Seel is unable to battle. Jim had won the battle. " This decision shocked both the trainers as both of their visibility of the battle was hidden from them until Swablu swept away the fog. It cleared to show Houndour biting the fainted seel. Alex said to Houndour with firmness," You won the battle. Leave her be. " And Houndour did as he was ordered and headed for his trainer. He was praised by Jim and he basked in praise with happiness and smugness. Daphne went to her fainted seel who had bite marks on her body from the battle against Houndour. He looked at her wounded part and was going to touch it, but Alex caught her hands and gently said," Let me treat her. Watch how to treat injured pokemons." Alex picked up a potion bottle along with cotton and bandage. He rubbed the cotton with potion and cleaned the wound. Seel hissed in lain on contact. Daisy tried to avert her eyes from her pokemons but Alex firmly said while dressing the wound," don''t turn your gaze. Your command in a battle can make sure how your pokemons end result will be. You should be thankfully it is aming friends. If it was against wild pokemons or poachers or some rogue organization then the only outcome would be death of your Pokemon. So both of you grow up. Here, it won''t be your parents who can help you. I will not take your hands to teach you to walk, I will only guide you. In the time with me, what you can really grasp depends on yourself. If you have a doubt, you can ask me but your battles must be fought by you. I will not intervene. " His cold words froze the two youths. Although it might be a bit cold, but Alex felt it is better to strikd yhe iron when hot . Since, Daisy was stunned by her pokemon''s injury, Alex used it as a moment to teach her the cruelty of the world abd what consequences it might cause. ----------------------------------------------------- Present day, It had been seven days since then and slowly they have adapted to the new life. In the journey so far, all of them fought many trainers even Alex fought them. Alex had sent back the Pokemons hr used in the gym battle and had only electabuzz, a pseudo king. He mostly used Pikachu, Swablu, horsea, kirlia twins, Growlithe and larvitar. The trainers in this path weren''t strong enough for him to use his other Pokemons like Charmeleon, Haunter, claydol and pidgeotto. His female pidgeotto had started to show signs of plume on her head showing she may evolve soon. But there weren''t any challenger forcing her to evolve. They were just too wasy an opponent for her. The trio had arrived at Solar Town. It was a small town slightly bigger than his hometown, but had a big difference. Here the grass gym of Kanto is located. This gym is ranked in the lower ends of the gym ranking so it was a good training ground for Alex''s two protege to get aquainted with the gym battles. Alex and Mathew match was too high end for the duo so a easier one may play a better role. Now, the trio had entered tge town and are resting in the Pokemon center. But unaware to the duo they are under the eyes of something hidden. Who is watching over them? Stay tuned. To be continued.... Chapter 223 - 12 New trouble The trio had arrived in front of the gym by the evening. On entering the center at the entrance, the female member of the group shrieked loudly attracting the attention of every occupant of the Pokemon center. " Finally, after a week I can bath and sleep on a proper bed. And I don''t have to wake up at the crack of dawn anymore. " Then she turned to Alex and asked timidly," Do I?" Alex looked at her action and shook his head while saying," I can give you some freebies in a human settlement. You don''t have to wake up early" hearing this both of them breathe out the air in relief but Alex wasn''t done, "But it doesn''t mean I will let you slack down your training. Tomorrow, you will be doing your first assignment as a Pokemon trainer and I expect you to complete it brilliantly." He said the last sentence with a shine in his eyes making the duo shudder in fright. Alex had become an official nightmare for the two young trainers since he made sure their body is strong enough to keep up with their pokemon. Alex made sure that they train alongside their pokemon when their pokemon are doing physical exercise. So for them, he was a hell trainer. Alex took the duo to the reception of the Pokemon center. He then said to the pink-haired Pokemon healer, nurse Joy," Nurse Joy can you please check our Pokemons for any injury and such things. " She asked with a kind smile," How many pokemon do you want to check?" He then motioned for Jim and Daisy to do the same. They were placed on the tray. " There are fifteen pokemon in total. " Alex said. She picked the tray and handed them to Chansey behind her for the examination. " Can I see your ID, please?" She asked kindly to check his status and issue the bill. Alex picked out his phone and placed it in front of her while displaying his Pokemon trainer ID. She saw his details and her eyes widened in shock. She looked at her in confirmation and asked a little stunned," I.. is this your ID?" Alex answered with a smile," You can verify yourself." And verify she did. After that, she said," Everything is in the procedure. You can get back your pokemon from here in an hour. Is there anything else I can help you with?" " Yes, we want three rooms for our stay in the town. " Alex said. " I hope you have a pleasant stay " she wished them. As Alex was turning to leave, Daisy asked," Alex don''t we need to pay for treating our pokemon in the pokemon center?" Nurse joy looked confused at her words and asked Alex," New trainer?" Alex smiled meekly and said," I am letting them acquainted in the ways of the trainer and this is their first town in their journey. " "If that so? If you don''t mind can I explain the workings of the pokemon center to them?"nurse joy asked. Alex happily agreed," sure. Why not? You can explain it to them much better than I could." She then turned her attention to the kids and asked," I am nurse joy. The head doctor of the Soar town. what is your name, dear?" And the duo introduced themselves. " I am Jim Gordon. I am from Cerulean City " " I am Daisy Waterflower. I too am from the Cerulean City." She smiled at that until she heard Daisy''s name and Cerulean city together," Waterflower? Waterflower as in..." she turned to Alex for confirmation. Alex didn''t speak but nodded to confirm what she thought. She didn''t put many thoughts into it and started speaking," Pokemon center is the place of healing for Pokemons built especially for trainers by the Pokemon league. They are in every village, town or city and are also present in some remote roads and areas. This place serves not only for healing but also as a center for trading pokemon, information exchange as well as mission center. The ground floor only serves as reception, a cafeteria for all and lobby for information exchange. The first floor of the pokemon center had healing, mission center and cafeteria for Pokemons. The second floor had the trading center as well as shops for selling and buying different Pokemon merchandise." She explained all the basic things about the Pokemon center." You understand everything I said." She said with a calm tone. The duo nodded signifying they did, but Jim said," You still haven''t answered her question." The reply came with in the form of a fist to his head. Alex rubbed his head with his fist and said," you should know the basics before the advanced matters, brat " Jim mumbled a soft "sorry "and nurse joy continued forward," Next is the service. The pokemon center provides different levels of services for different levels of trainers. These levels are Rookie, beginner, intermediate and advanced. There are other levels too but you shouldn''t pay too much attention to those now. As for how to reach these ranks, every trainer starts from Rookie-level and based on the badges they earn they can get other ranks. After you earn two badges you are a beginner trainer. After six badges you earn the status of the intermediate trainer. As for the advanced, you need to possess at least two elite level Pokemon for that status and fight in front of a gym leader who can vouch for your strength or pass the test at the League HQ. After task completion to you can advance the status but it is a bit too long process and time taking. Every trainer level gets some concessions from the league. They get some salary every year from the league but it is only for advanced trainer and above. But of course, they had to do some works for the league in return. Along with that, they get to treat as many pokemon as needed free of charge as long as it isn''t a case of major operation where they have to pay at best 30-50 percent of the cost based on their contribution to the league. Since Alex here is an advanced level trainer, he gets these privileges. Of course, there are others but let them be a secret until you reach here too. " She ended the explanation. Alex handed them their room keys and said," Now brats you can each head for your room. We will be taking our dinner at eight in the cafeteria and I don''t want to wait for your arrival at that time. " He had a glint of light in his eyes which scared them and they hurriedly took off to their rooms. With them, Pikachu and Swablu rushed away with his room key so they could reserve their place before someone else could. Alex and nurse joy smiled at their attics then he turned to her and said, " Has my package arrived? " Nurse joy with a serious expression replied back," Yes it had arrived. Follow me. " She passed the job to another nurse joy and took Alex inside towards her office in the center. In her office, She took out a 20*20 inch package and handed it over to him. After that, she said," Your assignment is on there." She then asked with some unease," are you going to take these kids out on the task too. " After confirming that the seal wasn''t broken, Alex replied," No I won''t take them. It is too dangerous for them to involve in this. I still feel they are too anxious to give me this task when I am with kids. " " The situation here is pretty critical. They are eyeing the gym leader so he cannot come out to deal with them. Some of the local goons have joined hands with them. So we need an external helper to cleanse them. " she said with a sad face " How serious is the case? Does Mathew need to be told this." Alex asked. " Not enough to inform Mathew. There are still about 50 young trainers who are suddenly missing in the town. " She stressed in the town. " This matter isn''t enough to need my help. Such things happen all the time. " He asked. " Indeed many trainers disappear over time around the town but never in the town. The underworld organization doesn''t do such large scale kidnapping in the town, because such an act will be playing the prestige of the league and their final outcome is the only annihilation. No one does that with the league, yet it happened now. As for why you were specifically called because you had an encounter with them earlier. " " Oh. Did I meet them before? Who are the main accused then?" " The shadows." She said. Then it dawned on Alex why it had to be him. Alex took the box and left the office while saying," Don''t worry. I will handle them then. " Seeing him leave without much information, she anxiously shouted, " How are you going to find them?" He turned and said," I don''t need to find them. They already are after me, or to be more precise after the brats. I just need to catch the fish when he comes out to take the bait." And left her. Alex was headed for his room and mumbled to himself," The old coot did say he will let me have a chance to have my revenge, but this soon. Hahahaha. Those idiots thought they were the hunter but in the end, they are just baited. Let''s just enjoy the hunt, don''t you agree, Haunter?" And purple energy shimmered in his shadow before fading. Alex will be facing his old for the shadows soon. How will it go? Stay tuned To be continued... Chapter 224 - 13 Changes in Pokemon centre Next morning, Alex and his two proteges left the residential rooms from the third floor and head to the first floor for their breakfast. They took their seat in one of the many empty seats. They were here at six o clock so the place is vacant except for a few people wasn''t too surprising. They gave their order and awaited their breakfast. Alex looked at the two rookie trainers and asked," Did you have a nice sleep?" Daisy answered without a hint of hesitation," The best. I didn''t know that a bed could be so good. I am really going to miss it. " " Don''t worry. We will stay here for a few days. You both have to be prepared for the first mission too. I will not accompany you in this. It is your solid task. " He said. The duo simply agreed and then had their breakfast. After that, they walked towards the mission center. They arrived at the mission counter and watched that even in the early morning it was filled with people. Jim asked the more knowledgeable person among them, " Alex, is this place always this crowded?" When Alex was in a daze, a familiar voice came from the side," Alex, Daisy, Jim, good morning." Alex turned around to see that it was the nurse Joy he met and talked with yesterday. " Good morning, Nurse Joy." The trio greeted her back. " So what are you doing so early at the mission center. Are you here to pick a task for them, Alex?" She asked looking at Alex. " Yeah. I thought of showing the brats where they can earn some change for their living other than their victory in a Pokemon battle or the winnings from some tournament. " Alex explained and looked around the crowded place and continued," But things have changed since I last visit this part of the Pokemon center." " Changed? What has changed, Alex?" Daisy asked her young teacher and guide. " My mom was pregnant so I had to stay at home for almost six or so months and I haven''t visited this part for almost a year. I always get my tasks through the phone or met with the client himself so I don''t have to visit it normally. But I didn''t think that things would be so changed after my last visit. If a small town''s mission center can be so busy then I shudder to think about how busy the one in a big city will be." Alex said. " You really are something different, but nothing less could be expected from you. And for the reason why it is happening, you Remember the declaration of the league about elite four qualifications." She stopped to see if they caught onto what she was on. Alex''s eyes flashed with understanding and he said," So all of this is due to that. I did read it once, but because of my family issues, I kinda didn''t go through it. I just skimmed through the page." Alex said sheepishly while rubbing his head in the back in embarrassment. Both Daisy and Jim were surprised about Alex behavior, meanwhile, Nurse Joy just shook her head. She thought there may be two reasons for the normally m_a_t_u_r_e Alex to act like that. One was that someone was spying or targeting them and he didn''t want to alert the soy, or Alex had his childish moment too every now and then regardless of his a_d_u_l_t-like behavior. Nurse Joy didn''t try to think what reason it might be and began to explain them," a Few months ago, the pokemon league issued a declaration regarding the elite four qualifications. Due to a large number of skilled trainers, the league decided to cut off the number by setting up a special test. For this test, a certain amount of contribution is needed, so trainers now rush back to complete the task and earn the contribution points." " Contribution points?" Jim asked curiously. This time it was Alex who answered the question, " Every task is rated in the form of stars. For every task completion, some contribution points are awarded based on the difficulty of tasks. 1-star task: 1- 5 points 2-star task: 10-20 points 3-star task: 20- 50 points These points can be redeemed for certain things in the league collection. You can redeem Pokemon moves, evolutionary stones, and even Pokemons as rare as an Eevee through these contribution points. One contribution point can redeem 1000 dollars." The duo was excited about it and wanted to earn themselves contribution points but Alex topped them midway by saying, "But, You lot can only do the 1-star task now." " So what test do they need to pass? " Daisy asked " They need to participate and lead a brigade in a Pokemon Tide and win with less than 50 percent casualty." nurse joy stated. Alex on hearing it thought of a certain pair of old trainers whom he knew all too well,'' They are using my past experience as a way to cut down the number for the contest.'' " What is a Pokemon Tide?" Jim asked. Daisy looked at her fellow companion disdainful and said," what an idiot. You don''t even know what a Pokemon tide is. Since you don''t know let me guide you in this. Pokemon Tide is a large group of Pokemon attacking a human settlement. There are hundreds of Pokemon tide occurring every year in Kanto itself. And in them at least a hundred city is eradicated as an aftermath of the tide. " she said with a serious expression. " So are the tide do strong?" Jim asked shocked what they can do. Alex placed his hand on Jim and Daisy shoulder and consoled them," You kids don''t need to worry about them. Only trainers who are intermediate level it above are allowed to participate in the defense line. You are still too far from those things " Jim turned to Alex, smiled and then asked" Alex, Ben said you too participated in a Tide. How was it?" Alex smiling face turned neutral and he stood quietly in hearing it. Then he said," You will know when you encounter such situations. It is something you should experience yourself. Every person had different opinions and views regarding this. If you want to become strong and know what true strength really is, then you must try to pass this predicament or else you can never surpass me, Jim. " He said while looking at his cousin. Alex unconsciously let out some pressure and the noise in the room had subconsciously muted out. Nurse Joy at the side thought,'' He is strong. This is why they sent him for this task." Although Alex revealed only a hint of his powers, it was strong enough for Jim and Daisy to feel that their legs cannot accommodate their body''s weight. But, they managed to stay strong and said," Yes. I will do it." And after that, the pressure disappeared as if it wasn''t even there. " What was that ?" Daisy asked while trying to catch her breath from her previous experience. " That is something every trainer with a little strength possesses. It is what helps me control my Pokemon when they tend to be a little unruly. It is something every trainer possess but the strength of it varies. You must know that your father is much more powerful than you. Had it been him, you would have fainted here. " he explained her. " Are you alright now?" Alex asked after they almost recovered from their past experience. They nodded in reply still lacking in strength to talk to the recently monikered ''monster teacher '' by the duo. " Good then. You can go over there a get your task." Alex said with a smile. He didn''t even bother with the fact that the gaze of every occupant of the room was settled on his body. The two headed forward to get their first mission while Alex gaze was set in them as they walked there. They reached the counter without any obstruction as people parted to give way to the two. No one obstructed them and the two got their first mission. Daisy had the task of transporting some parcel to the outskirts of the town while Jim had to do some labor around that area. After watching their respective task, Alex said," as I had said before, you had to do the task yourself. I won''t interfere. Whatever happens, depends on your own effort. " And he let the two go after giving them their respective directions. While this all happened a couple of eyes had followed the two kids to their destination. Chapter 225 - 14 Bait When Jim and Daisy left, Alex and the nurse joy too left the area and the buzzing of the people in the area began. " Did you feel it?" I thought I was in front of an angry Persian which attacked me once I accidentally injured her child." A trainer whispered to his friend. " I too felt like I was experiencing another life and death case in the area. Do you think he will return and hurt us? He gave off an aura of someone who had killed before." He asked his friend. " I don''t know about you, but I am leaving this town. I won''t be return here until he hasn''t left the town. Who knows when he cracks and hunts us down. After all, we did insult him for his lack of knowledge about the qualifier. " He said and rushed through the door to leave. Similarly a couple of people left in the fear that he may retaliate against them. Meanwhile, another group of people were talking to themselves about Alex''s appearance. " Do you think he may be the one sent to investigate about us and our activities?" One asked. " It has to be him. Or else, why would Nurse Joy take him inside as well as spend time to explain It to him and his companions. But, we don''t have to worry about him. He isn''t powerful enough to deal with us. At most, he is an intermediate level trainer." His companion stated. " Yeah. Should we get these kids or let them be so we don''t attract his attention." After some thought, the senior member stayed," He tried to threaten us by showing his powers so blatantly. If we lay low now, we will be ridiculed for fearing someone so young who don''t even have the strength to threaten us. We should target his followers and remind him that some people cannot be threatened. Since he dare to involve himself in our matters, he should be prepared to pay the price " The younger person agreed with his senior and sent off his Pokemon, murkrow to signal his other companions about the new targets found. Daisy and Jim are now in danger. ----------------------------------------------------- While, Jim and Daisy left for their task and the hidden people of the shadows targeted the duo new trainers, Nurse Joy and Alex had once again made their way to her office. After entering, she asked," was it necessary to act like that? Now they would know you are here and may hide in their holes." Alex wasn''t disturbed by this and sat on the chair unperturbed. " I should have known you are too young to do the secret missions. I shouldn''t have done that. Now I have to tell them that your identity is compromised and cannot complete the task." Alex then looked at the agitated nurse joy and said," Do you know how to bring an Ekans out of their hole?" " What do you mean?" He didn''t bother to answer, and continued with his words," You throw a Rattata in front of the hole and let it cause Chaos. But for the head arbok to appear, you must send a raticate. He won''t bother if Rattata kills a few Ekans under him but raticate could exterminate all his followers solo. So he had to come out to deal with it himself." Nurse Joy felt he had some sort of plan and acted according to it, yet she didn''t find anything worthwhile in his words and stated," I still don''t understand what you mean." " The plan is already set in motion. You just have to let things go as they are going. Everything will be alright." Alex said this and then changed the topic completely," I heard that the solar town boasts having maximum sun rays throughout the Kanto. Is there any specific speciality of this town." Nurse Joy was angered by his words and shouted at him," You are here to help us deal with the current scenario, but you are acting like a tourist especially when you are exposed to them. " To see the normally calm nurse joy sprouting angry flames at him was really a new site, but he didn''t show he was affected. He tried to hold his ground and Said," why do you think I showed off my powers back then?" " How would I know what you thought when you were doing that?" Alex jumped off his seat and walked around the office to look at different things placed in there as a decoration and said," When I visited you in your office, I already was a suspected league trainer sent to check the situation here. But by my last act, I became an arrogant trainer who consider them worthless. In the underworld, if you don''t have enough prestige along with power, you cannot sustain your position. Shadows are coming to Kanto far away from their initial johto base. So they won''t send too much force first until they are initially established here. So?" " So?" " So they will try to catch me off guard or trick me to walk into their ambush. " Since, he was telling her his plans, she was gaining some confidence in him. Yet she was confused by his last words and asked," How? How will they do that? Hell, why would you even do that?" " Didn''t I already showed off my weaknesses back at the mission center?" Alex said with a mysterious smile. Nurse Joy was in thought and thought what he just said," When did you... You were there with just Jim and Daisy. " And then it dawned on her and she was nervous once again," You are letting them catch the two. Aren''t you afraid something might happen to them? What would Mathew do to you if he finds you used his daughter and put her in peril." " Mathew. He asked me to show off the dark side to his daughter so she can grow well. He told me that as long as she wasn''t injured much, he won''t care how I train her or whatever happens to her. This hostage situation will be good for the kids. That way they understand it well enough that how low they are in the food chain."he said with a cold smile. " Isn''t it too much for them?" Nurse Joy asked knowing he won''t change the plan even if she wanted him to. " They are my first students. If they can''t even reach advanced level trainer in their lifetime it would mean I am not a good teacher. Also they had a pretty safe life before. Only in the face of a danger, humans yearn for strength because in peacetime they become competent. Now this incident will make sure they don''t stop midway. After all they can never be in a complete danger." " But how can you be so sure that they aren''t in danger?" Nurse Joy asked though confused felt he might have something up his sleeve. " Now now you cannot expect me to reveal all my secrets would you? Anyway, you still haven''t told me about the speciality dishes of the town. " He said with a serious expression. Knowing she won''t get any more information, she gave him the info he asked for and Alex left to enjoy his stay in the Solar town. ----------------------------------------------------- Alex spent his entire day, walking around the town visiting different stores and restaurants to eat. He had let Swablu, Pikachu and Growlithe follow him throughout the trip. When he returned to the Pokemon center, it was evening. After the tired day, he went directly to his room but on his door he found a paper stuck on the panels of the door. On seeing it, he understood what it was. He picked up the paper and read what was written in it: '' Your two little friends are with us. Come at the abandoned mansion towards the eastern peripheral side of the town. Come alone or you won''t be seeing your friends ever again. - your well wisher .'' ''So the prey had taken the bait.'' Alex thought to himself and dashed off. Chapter 226 - 15 Villain Bella Hella Alex had rushed through the retreating crowd when were heading back to their house after the day''s work and often collided with a couple of people. In order to make things realistic that he was searching for his two companions, he sent off his Pokemon Swablu and Growlithe to search for them. He had noticed that throughout the day, there were some eyes that were on him. He was already s_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e to others gaze as a aura user and with his last Tide experience it was even more strengthen so the spy who weren''t hidden properly or were amateur in spying weren''t doing enough to hide from him. As he was running towards the mansion, he made sure to keep watch around himself. As he passed through an empty lane, he noticed a few shadows trailed behind him but he didn''t put much thoughts on them. He wanted to catch the bigger fish which was their overlord. He was the one who mattered. The rest were just flies which could be eradicated whenever he wished for. When he arrived at the boundary of the mansion, he noticed it was pretty far from the town main area. He walked at the sides of the tall fences of the mansion until he arrived in front of a large metallic gate which creaked a lot as wind blows through it. The gate wasn''t completely closed and had enough space for two people to enter at the same time. He walked through the gate and his pokemons followed behind him. The main gate was a hundred metre away from the mansion building. When he walked halfway, his Growlithe growled in warning while Pikachu''s long ears twitched showing someone was nearby. But Alex didn''t pay any heed and continued forward. He walked to the door and pushed it open as it wasn''t locked or anything. As soon as he entered the door and into the hallway, he say his two young companions knocked out with minute injuries on their body. But when he did so, the door of the mansion closed with a loud '' thump'' and the people from the shadows begin to emerge. They had surrounded Alex from all direction. There were about forty people all together. " So is this the brat who came to deal with us? Pretty amateur to get into our traps so easily." One said. " What do you expect from a kid? He was overconfident and paid for that. Look at his Pokemons, they are all babies. A chicken, a mouse and a pup. These are the ones he was going to use to fight us." Another mocked him. Similar mocking voices could be heard from the surrounding, but Alex didn''t pay it any heed and he and his pokemons stood guard around the unconscious friends. Then some cl_i_c_k_i_n_g sounds of the heels came from the upper parts of the mansion. From the upper floor, three people appeared. They wore a characteristic cloak with the symbol of the fiery skull which denotes their identity as a member of the Shadow organization, the strongest underworld organization of the johto region. The one leading them was a female who appeared to be the leader of this current task. She dressed on a bright red dress with black tight pants. She had silvery long hair and a cold glint on her eyes. Her eyes were green and her face was heart shaped. She had a spotless white skin which appeared just as soft. She was a beautiful lady who was only a few years( about five to six years) older than Alex. The ones by her side didn''t have any special features except the fact that they had a scar marring their forehead and other cutting diagonally through ones face. They were around advanced level strength with the woman having similar or higher strength. When they appeared, Alex''s gaze was fixed on their body and he didn''t move from them for a moment. Similar to Alex, their gaze too was fixed on Alex. The trio stood only a few metres away from " Such a strong trainer. Kanto League sure is a cradle of genius." The leader of the group, the lady said with a certain sultry tone. She ended with a soft m_o_a_n running through her vocal cord. The surrounding grunts had to adjust themselves as they openly ogled their leader. " So you are their commander. You appeared pretty quickly in front of me. I thought you would take some time before revealing yourself. Let alone almost your whole strength. " Alex said calmly not at all perturbed at the fact that he was surrounded. " I would have done that too. But catching your companions caused us much loss. The Haunter was powerful. If not for me being around, we would have lost many of our people in hunting the two." She stated and then walked around Alex. She stepped in front of Alex, and runs her single finger through Alex''s face softly with an allure in her eyes, which made the surrounding people jealous of Alex. She continued while circling Alex completely ignoring his Pokemons who stood guard ," I saw the reports of the fight before my arrival. The kids were only rookie and cannot possess and even if they had, can control a Pokemon as powerful as the Haunter. So I heard they had another person with them who showed off intermediate level strength. Then it clicked to me that you might be it''s trainer. I wanted to see your face to face, and I am not disappointed." She bent down with her c_h_e_s_t pressing on to Alex and whispers in his ears," you make me want to make you mine. And only mine " Alex''s a_d_u_l_t mind almost went haywire and would have if not for a certain mental connection helping him up, he calmed himself and said,. " So you knocked down my Haunter." She was slightly miffed at him not acting how she wanted, but continued ," Of course not. It was one with a scar through the face. His Gengar knocked him out. If not for me, he would have perished long ago. After all, I can''t make my newest follower sad by killing his pokemons, could I?" Alex wasn''t worried about his Haunter''s safety knowing if he wanted he could escape or send a distress signal if things go wrong and neither happened, so he was pretty calm. " Who are you, anyway?" Alex asked the beautiful and seductive lady in front of him. " Ahh. Does my follower want to know her master''s name. Since you asked so nicely, let me introduce myself. I am Hella. The elite of the Shadow and your future master. Why don''t you bend down and greet your master." She said with Glee in her eyes. Alex fingered his pokeball which was seen by everyone and everyone did the same," So talks won''t work." The newly introduced Hella wasn''t bothered by his refusal and said,"If you agreed easily, it won''t be interesting. To tame someone is better, especially someone as powerful as you." She turned around and reached her other scar faced people and simply said," Attack" Alex similarly shouted out," Take them away." And a bipedal white Pokemon with red horn on his c_h_e_s_t and narrow legs with arms shaped like tonfa with extendable blades on armd appeared. It was a gallade. Haunter too appeared from the shadows and had some pokeballs most probably belong to the two. Gallade took away the unconscious duo and the Pokemons. Appearance of Haunter made Hella aware of something and grumbled,. "He didn''t go all out last time. Their capture was a trap to get to our hideout. Isn''t it?" Alex threw some pokeball in the air releasing nidorino, pidgeotto, ivysaur, Charmeleon, claydol and butterfree. He kept back electabuzz in case of emergency and some unexpected situation. " Is it necessary anymore?" Alex said. " No more." And the released Pokemons of the shadows rushed forward to clash with Alex''s. The shadow Elite Hella would be a recurring character and would have some relation with Alex in the near future. Spoiler: She will be a rival of Cynthia for Alex along with another oc ice type trainer. Stay tuned Chapter 227 - 16 Fight There were around forty opponents other than Hella and the scared men of hers. As soon as Alex sent out his Pokemons the forty grunts sent out their pokemons. Haunter went to face his previous opponent, Gengar and dusclops on his own which were the Pokemons of the trainer with a scar across face. Similarly, Charmeleon and Growlithe went off to deal with the Magmar and houndoom of the one with a deep scar at the forehead. Claydol and newly appeared gallade stood by Alex side and looked at hella ready for her Pokemons. She had released three Pokemons against Alex. They were Camerupt, the fire type from Hoenn, Sableye and another Hoenn Pokemon, lairon. Claydol floated forward to deal with Camerupt and lairon while leaving gallade to deal with Sableye. Swablu, Pikachu, ivysaur, butterfree, nidorino and pidgeotto were together to deal with the nearly eighty pokemons of the grunts. Or course Alex pulled out his staff from his backpack, ready to fight. Soon, the chaos began as hella rushed for Alex with short knives flying towards Alex along with her two scarred followers who used the metal knuckles. ----------------------------------------------------- With the grunts, Their pokemons mostly composed of koffing, grimer, beedrill, Houndour, Magneton, Meowth, as well occasional Weezing, Muk, persian and Rhyhorn. Swablu, Pikachu were at intermediate level, ivysaur, butterfree, nidorino and pidgeotto were, on the other hand, at the advance level. Pikachu zapped through the grimers and koffing often causing explosion when he blows off the gas of koffing. Swablu was with her friend making sure he wasn''t poison as she used safeguard. Beedrill and Weezing were dealt with by pidgeotto who used her sharp wings( due to wind power) to cut through her opponents. Butterfree dealt with the Muk, Meowth and Persian group and often paralysed the opponent''s trainer making them confused in the middle of combat. Ivysaur managed the magneton and the Rhyhorn of the group with her vines. She used her vines as a medium to poison them or outright knock them out. Nidorino on the other hand used his horns to dealt with the Persian and raticate of the group. He was the one who dealt with his enemies the quickest but his way was also the most messiest of them. The transformation of nidorino on his evolution made his control of Earth power through the limbs easier. And he easily learned earthquake. Alex had trained nidorino in the past few months to send out earthquake at his opponents when he hit them even with the horn on his head. Of course, nidorino was injured a lot during his practice session but he managed to use his four limbs as well as his horn to use quake waves. His every quake hit burst open the Pokemon and blood was slashed out. Alex has already asked them to use deadly force since they would most probably be out umbered, but it wasn''t going to be a long battle so they didn''t need to hold back. These attacks of nidorino though powerful hurt his body frequently and cannot be used for a long time, unless he wants to be crippled. His body can only sustain these attacks when he evolve into the nidoking but Alex still felt he wasn''t up to par for the evolution and restrained himself from evolving his Pokemon. After dealing with his opponent, he stood and caught his breadth then went off towards ivysaur to help her deal with her opponents. ----------------------------------------------------- With Haunter, Pokemon pov, Haunter and his opponents Gengar and dusclops sent off dark pulse at each other. But, Haunter was stronger and managed to cancel out the attack of the two with his own pretty easily. Haunter looked at the dismayed Pokemons, Gengar and dusclops and said proudly," Last time, I held back and you both took great fun in playing with me, but now it will be me who will play with you. " Then he shifted to the left, where shadow ball just passed as he moved sideways. Get gar yelled back," Don''t think you can beat us easily. You think you are some bigshot. I will have to remind that I am stronger than you." Haunter sent the poisoned body of dusclops at his evolved form, Gengar with a shadow punch making him writhe in pain and then mockingly said to his evolved form,"Do you think just because you are my evolved form, you are stronger than me. You both are just a source of ghost energy for me, nothing else." Gengar was sent flying because of the additional weight of dusclops. Haunter appeared above the duo and sent a will o wisp at Gengar who cried out in pain from the burn he received. The two ghost Pokemons were now writhing in pain on the floor and looked at them as the objective of giving status to his opponents have been reached. He sent a hex attack at the two. The two didn''t last long and had perished in the attack. The ghost energy of the duo was slowly released in the air but Haunter took the released energy in his body and absorbed it. He just floated over their body as they slowly disappeared from vision. Their bidy didn''t have enough ghost energy to sustain their amorphic body and hence the body was also lost. ----------------------------------------------------- With Alex and Hella, His trainer didn''t know about his Pokemons outcome as Alex had knocked down the two followers of her pretty easily since they underestimated him unlike their boss who was serious the entire time. She was way ahead if others in combat and even above Alex, though it wasn''t much of a surprise due to lack of fighting experience of Alex against abled human fighters. Alex was covered in cuts on his hands and abdomen areas. His clothes too possessed multiple cuts. Hella on the other hand only had damaged clothes on her stomach and her arms. But it didn''t mean she wasn''t injured. Alex had hit her hard on her back, shoulder, arms and almost hit her head and knocked her out if not for her instincts. Some of these parts even turned blue die to string impact. She was able to last even after these wounds was because if her higher pain tolerance and experiencing graver injury than these. What Alex attention was on the hot Villaness only but she looked at the deteriorating situation. Most of the grunts and their pokemons were knocked out,the ghost pokemons too were down. Her Camerupt and lairon were crushed by the claydol,and although Sableye seemed like he had the upper hand, he couldn''t connect any attack, as the opponent teleport. Charmeleon and Growlithe took down the houndoom and only Magmar stood but he wasn''t fairing much better so she made a decision. Alex swept his staff at her abdomen once again and this time she didn''t dodge and let it hit. She was sent sailing back and hit the wall of the mansion. Alex was confused by her, as she could at least dodge or deviate the attack course yet she let her hit him until his senses made him aware of the danger and he rolled out if the way. The chandelier hanging on the ceiling had fallen on Alex''s previous location. His claydol and gallade who were on the impact zone teleported away with Charmeleon and Growlithe too. Magmar was hit hard and was knocked down under the load. The two scarred followers were crushed under the weight and unlike Pokemons didn''t have enough endurance to survive the hit. As he rose to his legs, he saw that at Hella side were her Pokemons, Camerupt, Sableye and lairon along with a hypno and Jynx. She stood to her feet too although shaky and said ," I will see you later, babe. And at that time, you will be mine. " And she was teleported away. Claydol had tried to block their escape but hypno held him back and they escaped from Alex. Alex was angry at the escape of the leader and death of the two who most probably knew about the shadows and could be interrogated, and he smashed the table nearby after that ordered his Pokemons Claydol and gallade to deal with the rest easily. Alex headed where the bodies of the two scarred face were to see if they had a life on them. He arrived at their side and used aura vision to look at their life conditions. Their life energy had drained and they had perished under the impact which saddens Alex as his task failed for the first time. He didn''t like the feeling of failure and was very frustrated. He then noticed something interesting. The Magmar under the chandelier still had abundant Life energy although it was fading. To be continued...., Chapter 228 - 17 After the fight at the mansion, Alex had handed over the grunts to officer Jenny who came over to see the loud noises and explosion which the residents living nearby heard off and informed her about. After confirmation of his identity, he was allowed to leave, of course, she wasn''t happy as the cause and reason for the battle was only revealed to her. The battle procedure report, as well as the people involved, weren''t stated to her. Alex had returned his pokemon and left the area for the Pokemon center via teleport to not cause I wanted attention on him as he had blood on his clothes along with his injuries. His status, as well as the current situation, was enough to let him teleport around the city without any hassle or legal problem which he might suffer from. After arriving in front of the Pokemon center, he went to meet with the Nurse Joy. She was currently in her office while waiting for his arrival anxiously. He knocked on her door and on hearing " enter " he went inside. Seeing Alex appearance, she wished to hug him tightly and in her hold, she said to Alex," When I saw the injured appearance of Jim and Daisy, I was scared. When you did t arrive for hours, I thought something may have happened to you too." Alex patted her back to calm her down. She left her hold on Alex and then glared at him and stayed in her maternal tone," So what reason did you have for making me wait for so long and not even sending any message regarding the mission which you said you would every hour yet were non-responsive for four hours." Alex almost saw the ghostly body of Dusknoir awaiting him and decided to put the black pot of making her wait on someone else and said," I would have arrived early had it not for Officer Jenny holding me back and questioning me. The fight was kind of bloody and hence she decided to interrogate me. Only after my identity was confirmed, did she let me leave?" She still has her arms on her waist and glared at him, though the intensity was much lesser than earlier. " Fine. Now, remove your shirt so I can treat you. And, I won''t take a no for an answer. Are there any pokemons you need to treat?" She asked while pulling off his shirt to reveal his c_h_e_s_t filled with small cuts. Although most of them were injured, they still had drained out their energy while taking on a large number of the enemy so he decided to.let them rest. She passed it on to her truth worthy Chansey for the treatment while she began to treat Alex. While treating, she asked Alex about his actual mission," Did you complete the task?" " The boss lady escaped and in her escape attempt, the two of her highest members perished. I managed to knock them out and was going to interrogate them or hand them over to the league for intelligence gathering, but they died on her escape attempt. I have caught the grunts. But their number is too much so I let the police handle their processing. We can get information about shadows through these members too, although it might not be much." He said. " So how do you grade your mission as, Alex?" Nurse Joy asked. " I think I failed the task since no important person was caught up. " He accepted his failure of the task. Nurse Joy didn''t honey the words and tried to encourage him, and bluntly said," Indeed, you didn''t complete the main objective, you set for yourself, of catching one of the top members in the opposition, but the actual mission was dealing with the threat of kidnapping trainers, while intelligence gathering was secondary and a non mandatory task. Alex, you are still young, so you don''t understand it well. But, the tasks granted by the league to a trainer directly is composed of multiple sub-tasks. The first one was the strike force and the second one was intelligence. Similar tasks will be given to you so your bio-data can be created. And after you are strong enough, you will be given higher difficulty tasks. From what I gathered, intelligence gathering isn''t your forte and so you mostly wouldn''t get spy task in the future. " She explained it to Alex and her treatment was also completed. Alex wore his tattered shirt once more and then asked," when can the two brats he discharged." Nurse Joy was setting her treatment equipment in place so she absently answered," I had placed them in forced sleep to speed up their healing. They were only in pain and had no deep injuries. They can be discharged as soon as they wake up which will most probably be by tomorrow morning. You can call their parents to inform them, about their present situation. Kids, their age after these situations need the help of their parents for recovery." she said while suddenly remembered something," I would inform you when your pokemons are completely treated. You should rest yourself too. You are still growing and cannot put excess stress on your body especially in your quick growth years. " and she sore him away and motioned him to go and rest in the room. After being shooed away, Alex went to see the two. Seeing them asleep, Alex went off to his own room to rest. on arriving in his room on the third floor of the pokemon center, he crashed onto his bed and began to think of the past occurring of today''s events. ----------------------------------------------------- Alex looked at the crushed Magmar body. Although his body was gravely injured, his spirit was still strong along with his aura. He willed to survive. This will of his made Alex come to a decision. He crushed all the pokeball he found on the scarred man and then pulled out his own and catch this spitfire Pokemon which usually resided in the volcano and areas around it. As soon as he caught the Pokemon, two pairs of bright white light attracted his attention. One of them was his pidgeotto which had been showing signs of approaching her evolution. Under this effect, her body was enlarged at least three times her current size, had a full plume on her head and her claws were sharpened more. As soon as she evolution process can halt, she sent a powerful hurricane which dealt with all the remaining standing Pokemons. But her attack was too strong and couldn''t be controlled. It almost injured her companions too. The weaker ones like Pikachu and Swablu were protected by claydol who teleported to their side. Nidorino and ivysaur planted themselves on the ground to protect themselves. Charmeleon had sunk his claws on the floor to prevent himself from flying. Meanwhile gallade, Growlithe and butterfree were protected from the uncontrollable attack by the cause of second white light. A 6-feet tall purple ghost stood guard in front of them and neutralize the threat. It was a dark purple, bipedal Pok¨¦mon with a roundish body. It has red eyes, a wide mouth that is usually curled into a sinister grin, and pointed ears. On its back are numerous spikes and it has smaller spikes on top of its head similar to tufty fur. Alex''s official starter, Haunter absorb the ghost energy from the dead Gengar and dusclops and evolved into his final form. This evolution hiked his strength into the level of elite level Pokemons. The evolution of pidgeot wasn''t surprising as she would have evolved within a week time anyway, it was Gengar who was shocking. Although he was in shock he was still delighted at his newfound powerhouse. ----------------------------------------------------- At present, when he thought of his pokemon evolving, he was once again reminded of the two young trainers under him. Although what happened to them was necessary according to Alex for the better future prospect of the duo, it was still a bit too cruel. He picked out the voice-operated smartphone he got from Bill Montenegro as a gift, Jewel. He decided to inform the family about their near kidnapping and how they may be needed. He first contacted the family which can be easier to handle. It was the Waterflower. The phone rung thrice until it was picked at the image as well as voice if Daphne Waterflower, the mother of Daisy appeared on the screen. Alex had only one thought on seeing her,'' He was f_u_c_k_e_d up.'' How will Alex survive the possible righteous fury of a protective mother? Stay tuned.. To be continued... Chapter 229 - 18 Informing the parents It has been almost 3 o clock in the afternoon, when Alex had decided to contact the Waterflower family and Gordon family just after them. When dialing at the Waterflower, Alex wished to be greeted by Mathew. With him knowing the incident first, the situation will be within control and won''t explode exponentially, but fate wasn''t on Alex''s side. The image of his wife, Daphne appeared instead of Mathew and he knew that he was screwed. Even though, she was a former trainer, she was still a mother and no mother liked her children in danger even if said danger was only virtual. Alex decided he should just bite the bullet and reveal everything to her as she would know it anyway. Of she thinks that he hid things about Daisy then even if it is for good reason, he would be the one to be cooked and grilled by her. Just as Alex can see her image , Daphne too could see Alex. And her experienced eyes could see the worry and anxiety on Alex face. She was curious about it, but restrained her curiousity and greeted the young man in front with politeness," Good afternoon, Alex. How are you doing? Are Daisy and Jim doing fine?" "Good afternoon, Daisy. I am almost fine. But Daisy and Jim they are...." Alex trained and stopped. He was thinking whether to roam around or just go straight to the topic. Alex stopping the sentence midway gave her an omnious feeling and she asked with a worried tone," Alex, what Happened to Daisy? Where is she?" Where is my daughter?" She started to shout at him asking about her daughter. Her shouts had attracted the attention of other occupants. The other occupants included the pokemon cultivator, Pokemon doctors and referee along with other staff necessary for proper functioning of a gym as big as the Cerulean gym. They had arrived around her, but only Mathew who arrived last dared to approach her. He arrived at her side, placed his hands on her shoulder and shook to ask," What happened, dear? Why are you so anxious?" Then he turned to look at the guide he asked help for his daughter. He looked at Alex and understood something happened which wasn''t according to the plan alex convinced him of and things may have been something troublesome. His wife was still hysterical as her thoughts run wild, so he asked Alex," Alex, did something happen?" " Mathew, Daisy and Jim are currently in Pokemon center. They had a kidnapping attempt. Although I saved them they are currently put in forced sleep by the nurse joy. The encounter may be a little too much for the two, so I hoped whether you can contact my family there, and bring them along with you to help them speed up the recovery. " He quickly explained it to them. Matter who knew the entire plan frowned a little, but Daphne who was completely unaware was shouting at Alex while crying," how can you let this happen? We asked you to look after our daughter. How can you be so careless?" She was shouting and crying about her daughter which Mathew tried to calm down. He looked from his wife and told Alex," Where are you now, Alex? We will come there with a Gordon family as soon as possible. And you can explain everything I''ve we reach there." " I am in solar town now. I will wait for your arrival." And he turned off the phone so that he won''t feel anymore guilty than he already did. The crying of Daphne as well as pain at her daughter''s injury reminded Alex to his past adventure of leading the pokemon riot. He had lead the troops yet so many lost. But he soon recovered before becoming adversely affected and said with great determination," I will become strong enough to deal with those situations without any single casualty. " After that, he once again laid on the bed looking up at the ceiling while thinking of the nightmare which he will be facing in the form of the mothers of Waterflower and Gordon family. As he turned his head sideways, his eyes fell on the box he received from nurse joy. After getting the box and looking at the things inside, he had decided to create the plan he currently enacted. ----------------------------------------------------- Flashback ( evening he got the parcel) Alex took the parcel and arrived at the room. His Pikachu took the key from his pocket and opened the door for him. Alex placed the box on the bed and then went into the washroom to clean himself and take a bath. As soon as he decided to open it,Pikachu and Swablu started to open the box. While shredding it''s cover into pieces. After opening them, he saw that it had more boxes in them, along with a note. When the two were going to open these boxes, he asked them to stop and let him read the note first. It stated: " Alex, Your actions in the Pokemon tide was praiseworthy and improved the declining stature of kanto in the eyes of other nations. Hence, we the elite four of Kanto decided to reward you and had sent these gifts. You were recovering from your emotional suffering for the past few months and we didn''t want to interfere in it and slow down the process. We thought it may take you an year to recover. But, you recovered much quicker than we originally expected. So we had to haste the process of acquiring you your reward as well as compensation from our side to let you take part in this. This will help you greatly in your future endeavors. - from Agatha, ghost type elite four." He had randomly picked up a box from there, and opened it up. On opening he saw many different coloured stones in the box placed in a specific order and sequence with labels on the box for identification purpose. These stones were the evolutionary stones. The box contained every evolutionary object known to the league till now. And every single object was an advanced one which can also increase the strength of the pokemons greatly after evolution. There were fire stone, water stone, leaf stone, thunder stone, sun stone, moon stone, dawn stone and dusk stone. All of them were expensive, but in this collection their prove can be hiked to three to five times their price separately. But, Alex had no hopes of selling it as he d_e_s_i_r_ed to use the dawn stone to evolve his make kirlia who anxiously wanted to evolve and free himself from the girly appearance and from the frock. Alex released his two kirlia and then explained the two about the power of dawn stone. He decided to evolve kirlia to Gallade in front of his sister to let her increase her strength herself and evolve to Gardevoir. Alex picked up the dawn stone and placed it on kirlia''s hands. As soon as it came in contact with him, kirlia body glowed and his body grew tall. When the light dims on kirlia''s place was a taller white Pokemon with tonfa like arms blade at the ends. His legs were narrow and his body was built for speed. After this, Pikachu himself wanted to evolve and jumped towards the thunder stone but Alex caught him and stopped his path. He told him," Pikachu, you still haven''t reached your peak. You can still grow much strength. After you learn some more skills and moves available only in this form, will I let you evolve. " Pikachu wasn''t convinced and pointed out how kirlia was allowed to evolve so soon, but Alex joked about it and said," If you can behave like a girl and have her appearance for a few months, then maybe I could let you evolve sooner. " This prospect was too scary for him and he reluctantly agreed to wait for the optimum time and evolve only then. Alex after that called out Haunter and told him the plan, He created while giving the two main roles to Haunter and Gallade. He spent the rest of the time explaining to other members of the team and kind of forgot about looking at other rewards he gained. ---------------------------------------------------- Present time, Alex picked up the second box out of the four boxes he got from the league as a reward. The box was opened and I side it was a pendant. The pendant gave off a calming aura and when he looked at the pendant with his aura vision,his eyes hurt from the bright life energy in the pendant. To be continued... Chapter 230 - 19 Package Alex stopped using aura vision in the fear of going blind from the bright light of the pendant. He was really curious as to how can a small thing such as pendant could have so much life in it. " This is a pendant of life, we got from the excursion in Kalos region. It will help you heal from your injuries at about five times faster speed than your average and may even preserve your life " Alex put on the pendant on his neck and felt a shockwave of life energy emitting from it into his body. It dissipates all the tiredness Alex felt and revitalize him with energy. This energy seems to revive Alex''s tired body. There aren''t many pokemons out there which can do so. Alex summed up it is related to some fairy Pokemon, as they are the source of all the positivity and revitalization. Another reason, why he had come to this conjecture was because both Swablu and Pikachu seemed to be attracted to it, and both of them could learn fairy type moves. The two boxes gave Alex good things and increased his anticipation for the last two. The third box was opened and inside it was had a scroll. He uncoiled the scroll and in it was the details about the way of raising the ghost pokemons, and what type of energy every ghost pokemons need to increase their strength. It listed: Gengar - ghost energy Mismagius - Fear energy Dusknoir, drifblim - soul or energy of the dead Banette - envy, jealousy or resentment Although it wasn''t as much helpful as the other two things to Alex, it was still useful and can increase his Pokemons power. The final box was of the same size as that of the pendant. He pulled it and opened the box and inside it, was a small shrunk pokeball. He told Pikachu and Swablu," we will be having a new friend. You two should greet this one enthusiastically. Wait Horsea too would like to befriend a new one. " And he released Horsea. Whatever Alex expected from Horsea, a water gun to the face wasn''t one of them. Horsea had puffed her c_h_e_s_t and looked angrily at Alex. She did the same with Swablu and Pikachu. The normally friendly Horsea attacking them was a bit over the top and asked," what Happened, girl? why are you like this?" She just huffed and turned to other side. He tried, Pikachu tried and even Swablu trued but she wasn''t willing to let go and start a conversation with her. Then Alex decided to try another trick. He picked a certain sour berry that Horsea liked and said ," I thought of giving it to Horsea but since she didn''t like it, I may as well give it to someone else. Swablu did you want it. " he took the berry towards Swablu when it was grabbed midway by Horsea and she ate it happily. "So girl can you tell us what made you so angry?"he asked when running his hands through her back. Her anger had lessened after her offering and she narrated," Ssseeaa... Hooo.....rrrr sseaaaa..."( '' you.took everyone to fight but left me. You didn''t include me. I can also fight. So why didn''t you let me join you. Did you not like me or trust me to protect everyone.'') she said while sobbing softly with tears falling from her eyes. Alex picked her up and hugged her. He let her cry out and when she was calmed down enough, said" I did not take you with me to fight, because you cannot fight your full potential on land until you become a Kingdra. As a Horsea and seadra later, you are an easy target on land. You aren''t fast enough to dodge the attacks and win the type of battle I just fought. You would be gravely injured in these attacks. " But she won''t yield easily and then said," Hhh.... Hooooo.. . Seeaaa .. " ('' but I defeated those trainers you made me fight when we were traveling so why can''t you let me fight there?'') " You only fought one on one, but there they faced at least ten pokemons at the same time, you can even ask Pikachu and Swablu. Can you take on that many on land confidently?" Alex said to his dissatisfied Pokemon who looked at her other pokemons. They nodded in agreement with Alex''s words. She understands what he says is true and forgave her trainer. " Now that you have forgiven me, let''s meet out new member. Treat whoever it is well. He will be a part of our family now. " After that, Alex enlarged the pokeball and released him. The Pokemon that appeared was a serpentine Pok¨¦mon with a blue body and a white underside. It has white, three-pronged fins on the sides of its head and a white bump on its forehead. Above its round, white snout are oval, purple eyes. It was the dragon Pokemon which is among the most rare of all pokemons in Kanto, Dratini. On being released, his big eyes were looking around to find where he currently was until his gaze set on the occupants of the room. The Pokemons awaited Alex to introduce himself before their introduction," Hello Dratini, I am Alex and I am your trainer from now on. Nice to meet you." Alex gave her one of the berries he heard dragon Pokemons liked. It was a bitter berry. He kept it on his hand and let Dratini take the first step in their new relationship. He first ran through his back and then rubbed his chin area and around his fin like ears which was enjoyed by him. He even m_o_a_n_e_d in content on the actions of Alex. After that, Pikachu, Horsea and Swablu came forward to greet their newest addition to the team. After initial greeting, they became good friend and chatted along. One of the reason Alex let Swablu and Pikachu meet the newly caught pokemons first was because of the fairy energy. According to Mew, fairy energy is similar to energy of life. They are amiable to all and can easily get together with other Pokemons. Swablu, as a mega altaria had fairy type, showed that she possessed some innate fairy energy which could be used. Similarly, alolan Pikachu as a Raichu had fairy type. This makes them feel easier to get along with the pokemon family. Alex looked at the dragon type in front of him. And his thought went to his larvitar. Larvitar was the first pseudo legendary Pokemon he got. And currently the astronomically diet of his had increased even more, if the reports of his grandpa was anything to go by. He thought larvitar was going lazy, but Alex knew it was something else. He had procurred even more Earth gems through the underground channels he dominated in the Floral town in his last stay, and made sure he ate to his full content. Currently the cost of the diet of larvitar was already in a few hundred million almost reaching a billion dollars. Had it not been for the money he got from the sale of ancient weapons and order free food supply from the league in the trade of that weapon, Alex would have declared his bankruptcy. The honey only procurred him few million dollars and the current total profit per month doesn''t exceed more than two hundred million dollars, but larvitar spent that much in a week time. All fully evolved pseudo legendary become elite level even without any training, and so they are much appreciated. This diet signifies that larvitar need a lot if energy which meant he was evolving to pupitar soon. In that stage he can''t eat anything and his body movement are restricted. The more energy he stores now, the quicker he evolves into tyranitar. With the amount of food he ate, he can complete this process in three months time, as compared to normal one year of dormancy. Alex spent billion on raising one pseudo legendary, which he could barely sustain and now, another was well on the way. He was happy to get another powerhouse in the team, but the cost if raising made him bleed. He had learned long ago, the profession of Pokemon trainer burns money much quicker than earning it. He still have a few years, until his contract with the league ends and he had to buy the food on his own. The mysterious book only stated the best recipe for Pokemons but the items required were too costly and he had only used some which he could afford now. As he was in thoughts of how to raise money, the ringing of phone brought him out of his thoughts. The answered the call and Mathew''s voice cane," We are at the lobby of the pokemon center. come here quickly." After that the call was disconnected. Alex mumbled to himself," let''s face the storm, head on then. " Alex will be facing the angry parents. How will this encounter go? Stay tuned. To be continued.... Chapter 231 - 20 Parents arrived Alex arrived at the lobby of the Pokemon center with his new member of the team, Dratini wound around his neck. He looked around everything curious and whenever he saw a new thing, he often asked Pikachu and Swablu what those things were. When Alex arrived, he saw two pair of the couple standing anxiously for someone. They were the Waterflower and the Gordon family. They saw Alex arriving and rushed to him. His aunt Jenny reached him first. She grabbed his shoulders hard ignoring the Pokemon on his shoulder and asked," Alex, where is Jim? What happened to him?" Her forceful act wasn''t liked by the young Dratini and he sent a thunder wave at her. Fortunately, Pikachu possessed lightning rod ability and saved his aunt. " Dratini, calm yourself down. She isn''t hurting me. You cannot attack anyone until I say so. Am I understood?" Alex warned his young pokemon and to establish his dominance, he let out his pressure. This pressure served the dual role. First, this made Dratini calm and established his majesty in his mind. Secondly, it made the a_d_u_l_ts refrain from using physical actions in getting their answers. His uncle Gray asked his nephew," Where are the kids, Alex?" Alex looked at the anxious parents and calmly said," Follow me. I will take you to them." He took them towards the nurse joy who awaited for Alex''s. On seeing Alex, she said to him," Alex, are you here to pick your pokemons? Most of your pokemon are fine with minute injuries, but nidorino needs to rest and stay until tomorrow and Magmar needs to under intensive care for at least a month." On hearing, this Mathew asked," What happened to those two Pokemons, Alex?" Alex shrugged a little and said, "nothing much. Nidorino is injured due to a continuous attack of his own and was injured in the aftermath. As for Magmar, a chandelier fell on him hard. Really hard." " Is magma going to be alright?" Mathew asked nurse joy. " Don''t worry. Magmar has a strong body Constitution. This along with proper treatment he will be fine. I was thinking of sending him back so he could get his proper rest. " Alex said not at all worried about their injury. " Are they seriously injured too?" Jenny asked. " No, they aren''t injured. They are just put to sleep so they can heal quickly." Alex said. " And what about your injury? I saw your tattered shirt when you called." Mathew asked. " Some knife cannot injure me enough to put me on the bed. " Alex said dismissing his injury. Then they came across a room. Both of them were kept in the same room. There are two kids sleeping and glucose was supplied as a supplement to make sure that their body doesn''t go hungry. The two sets of parents rushed towards their kids and Alex told nurse joy," I am going to sleep now. I barely avoided their wrath by revealing Magmar''s injury but it will come soon. I am leaving. " Alex left the room and headed for the cafeteria. He was eating his food while giving his Pokemons some as they wanted to eat too. While he ate his food before going to bed, two males settled on the table in front of him. " How were they injured, Alex?" Gray asked his nephew. " When I arrived at the town, I was given a mission by the league. The Solar Town had experienced multiple kidnapping events of young trainers. So the league ordered me to find the source and deal with them. They also wanted me to catch their leader so he could be interrogated about the organization. The two were caught by them both for kidnapping purpose and to lead me to an ambush. " He explained. " Who was the one who injured them?" Mathew asked Alex uttered only one word," The shadows " Mathew''s eyes flashed with an understanding while Gray never heard of their existence and was confused and asked his nephew," what are the shadows, Alex?" Alex looked at Mathew asking his opinion of whether to reveal it to his uncle. Only when he nodded did Alex reveal the information about them. "The shadow is the strongest underworld organization of the Johto league who had decided to slowly enter the affairs of Kanto too. They have performed multiple attacks on different places in Kanto and tried to establish a stronghold in Kanto but have failed. " Alex revealed only this and nothing s_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e about them was told to the civilian uncle. "From the way you said, you had encountered the ambush of the shadows so if you don''t mind me asking, How many people ambushed you, Alex?" Mathew asked. " About 40 people with most releasing two Pokemons to fight. " Alex said. Gray turned white on hearing this. He and his wife were angry at Alex for not being able to protect Jim, but knowing he had to face such an ambush made him aware how much danger he faced, to save them. He felt guilty and was anxious if he was injured but ignored in favor of his companions and said," And you are fine? Alex, you should rest now. You cannot just neglect the injuries. " " Uncle, nurse joy personally checked me and made sure to treat every wound I gained in this battle. " Alex tried to console his uncle. Mathew knew that the situation wasn''t right, and so he decided to divert to something else and started the topic about Dratini," Alex, when did you catch the Dratini?" " Dratini. Alex, I heard they are really rare. You are very lucky to get one. He will surely be a powerhouse of your team." Gray told his nephew while appreciating and complimenting the serpentine dragon pokemon. Alex rubbed his head and said," I didn''t catch him. I got it as a reward for my last assignment in Sky Town." This served as both revealing and not revealing the info about Dratini. Mathew knew what Alex faced in there so he felt that the reward was apt, while Gray knows that some tasks info cannot be revealed, so he didn''t pry about the topic. " You got another future elite level Pokemon on your team. Congratulations. " Mathew said to Alex. But, Alex wasn''t smiling and said with a sad smile," what congratulations. The growth time of pseudo legendary is too long. If we are different objects to speed up the process then one can turn bankrupt. I was happy that after evolution, some of my expenses will be reduced, but I got another glutton on the team. So tell me, Mathew, whether I should be happy about having new powerful pokemon or sad at the money flying away from my pocket?" Alex said and his Dratini didn''t like his insult. He was awarded a tail slammed on his head. Alex just rubbed his sore head and glared at his pokemon who seemed pretty proud of his actions. The two a_d_u_l_ts laughed at their attics. Mathew has a rough idea of the cost that Alex spent on hos larvitar''s accelerated growth. But gray didn''t know. He wanted to know how much costly raising so e Pokemons could be and asked," How much did you spend on him? " " Nearly a billion. If not for the last profits of my honey business, I couldn''t even feed my other Pokemons ?" Alex said with a hint of a lie. Mathew didn''t come forward to correct Alex and let things be. " A billion? Can raising pokemons be so costly? One pokemons burnt away a billion dollars." Gray asked surprised and shocked by the expenditure of Alex. " Does your mother allow you to spend money so extravagantly?" Gray asked softly fearing his sister may hear him and rush towards them from the shadows. " Of course not, I make sure to keep some of the profit enter my account for raising Pokemons. Although most enter my family''s. If Mom knew how much money larvitar eats she may even throw him out, though she cannot lift him up because of his weight " and laughed. Gray was still unconvinced about such large expenditure and asked," Is the cost worth it?" It was Mathew who answered," Of course it is worth it. In the growing stages of Pokemon the cost is very high, almost unaffordable by most people, but if they can sustain the pain for dime time, they can earn much more than that pretty easily. With a pseudo legendary Pokemon in the team, not only the prestige rises greatly but the job options are also more. Even if they are t fully evolved, to find a job with a few hundred million a year isn''t too difficult. If it is fully evolved, he may earn billions and the cost of lodging and everything could be bored by the employer also. In the world of Pokemon, the more money is spent correctly, the more he earns in the future. Of course, most don''t accelerate the growth but let them evolve on their own. And they spend at least ten years to completely evolve. " They continued to talk about how the kids were the past days before this incident and Alex told them everything. His Pokemons had fallen asleep on his body. And Gray told him," your pokemons have fallen asleep. You too should rest. You had a tight day today. We will be heading back too. Goodnight, Alex " " Goodnight Alex" Mathew wished " Goodnight, uncle Gray" " Goodnight, Mathew" and he went back to his room. There he first placed the Pokemons on the bed and then himself crashed down. Chapter 232 - 21 Meeting the Gary Alex was currently flying towards the Oak laboratory on his newly evolved pidgeot. He could have teleported directly but decided against it as he needed some fresh air away from everything. He was joined by the trio of Swablu still on his head, unaffected by air current, Pikachu who gripped his shoulder hard so as not to fly away and Dratini who had coiled itself around his neck. Alex was thinking about what transpired this morning which led to his decision of going to the Pallet town. --------------------------------------------------- Flashback ( in the morning) Location: the Pokemon center, Solar Town Alex woke up early and arrived at the restroom of Jim and Daisy to see how their condition were. The parents of the duo were already there and from the voices he heard from inside the room, it seemed like they have woken up too. The door was opened so he entered inside without hesitation. Daisy and Jim saw Alex and asked,. " Alex, is Haunter alright?" " Haunter? What is this about Haunter?"Jenny asked confused. Then Daisy narrated what happened, " when we took our first task, we left to do the task with each other. Alex told that he won''t follow. On the way, we were attacked by two people. We fought and would have been completely crushed had it not for Haunter coming out to help. He managed to subdue them but a Gengar and another ghost Pokemon came, and attacked. Haunter was able to fight them together. When they targeted my marill, haunter took the hit. He fainted afterwards." The a_d_u_l_ts nodded understanding what they felt. " Where did Haunter come out from?" Gray asked " I asked the Haunter to hide in their shadow and appear only when they encounter problems they cannot take on." Alex clarified. " So what are your plans now, Alex?" Mathew asked. " How long are you going to stay with them?" Alex replied with a question of his own. Mathew turned towards Gray who nodded at him regarding something," After this experience, both I and Gray came to the decision that the kids will return to Cerulean city and only after they are strong to a certain degree will we allow the kids to continue their journey. " The kids tried to protest but Mathew ignored them and asked," So you have any problem with that, Alex?" " Mnn.." Alex was thinking about something else but fortunately his pokemons did pay attention who repeated the question to him and he replied back," I think it is a good decision. The shadows are trying to set up a stronghold in Kanto but they are repulsed but they target young trainers to increase their ranks. This situation is too dangerous for them to roam around, especially with their current strength. They even use advanced trainers to lead the kidnapping members in such a small town so you can understand just how dangerous things are now. " Although it seemed like he was worried about their security and felt he cannot protect them properly in the future too, but there are some things Alex felt he had to do. But the kids presence stopped his plans. But if they leave, he could continue to train himself seriously without worrying about anyones safety. Learning that there might be future attempt to kidnap her daughter and her life may be in constant jeopardy, Daphne said without any hesistation with full determination to stay true to her words," I also agree. Daisy you will be heading back home right now this instant. Your pokemons can be sent back through the transponder to Cerulean city pokemon center. " "But mom..." Daisy tried to protest but her mother''s glare revealed she won''t be hearing anything. While Daisy gave up the protest, Jim wasn''t willing to back down easily and even dragged Alex to the discussion. " We... Umm... We cannot protect yourself well but Alex can protect us, can''t he?" Jim tried to reason with them. But even Alex stood on the opposite side said," A certain member of the shadows seem to like me a lot. And that person is pretty persistant, so I am targeted now. If you are welcome the me, not only I but you will be in danger. So until the shadows leave Kanto or your parents agree you are strong enough, don''t travel around just yet. " His words worked as dossing the flames of adventure in the kids worth water. After Alex joined the side of the parents, the only hope of the two aspiring trainers went down the drain. Alex then bid farewell to them and left the Solar town. -------------------------------+-------------------- After a few hours of flight, they can see the peripheral area of Pallet town. The reason it took them a few hours was because of how pidgeot had to move around the big town and cities so as not to violate the rules of airspace set by the Pokemon league. This was really annoying but he had to do it. He can''t always break the rules. Even Professor oak won''t help him if he is caught Everytime without any special reasons. As he neared pallet town,a Dragonite appeared in front of them stopping pidgeot from entering the pallet town air zone. Dragonite watched the arriving flying Pokemon until his gaze landed on the trainer riding it. The one who ride the pidgeot was the trainer of her son. " Hey, Dragonite. How are you doing?" Alex greeted," can we enter pallet town now?" Dragonite gave them passage and flew beside them and replied," Drooo.." ( "I am fine. Tell me, how is Charmeleon doing?" ) Alex knows that no matter whether it is a human or Pokemon, a mother cares about her kids more than anything in the world. Her inquiry if Charmeleon wasn''t much of a surprise to him. He patiently answered her question,"Charmeleon is doing good. He had grown stronger in the past few months you last saw him. My visit this time is also related to him." Dragonite was confused and asked,"Roo.." (" What do you mean, Alex?" ) " Charmeleon is strong. Stronger than most of his species. He is already at advanced peak due to the advanced grade Fire stone, Professor gave me. He is already showing signs of evolution. He is getting more and more agitated, his energy is brimming to the full and his scales are turning harder. All he needs is a good, long and taxing battle that can force out his power so he can evolve. He needs an opponent powerful than him but not too powerful than him. That pressure can make him gain his new powers. I wanted to ask Professor if there is a place he can get his long cherished battle. Most places and people are either too weak to give him a good opponent or trainers are too powerful that he cannot battle hard. " Alex trailed on about how he wanted to let his Charmeleon fight and evolve him. But Dragonite was worried about something, she inquired her child''s trainer," Rooo...."(" He is still too young. Don''t you think you are hurrying things with him. It may not do him good in the long run.") On hearing this, Alex felt a little sad which can be seen from his corner of the mouth lowering, and his brows raising. Dragonite being an experienced pokemon knew the changes in the young trainer as soon as it''s sign were evident and quickly revealed her fear,"Rooo.... Roo...aaaaa"(" I know you won''t do something like this without a reason. I just want to know why you are doing it. You are a trainer recognized by not only I and Samuel but also by Charizard. I am just worried for him. You should already know what will happen after he is a Charizard.") Alex expression returned to normal after hearing her explanation. It wasn''t that she doubted his ability, but wanted to know if it could be delayed as after his evolution, all the parental care of Charizard no matter how he refused to show off will be extinguished as his species does. Charizard only care of his young till the Charmeleon stage in his territory. After that, if another Charizard invades his territory then he must mother submit and recognize his lordship over that area or he is killed for threatening him and his territory. Not even their own kids are immune to this. Charmeleon was a proud Pokemon and there is no way he would submit after his evolution. This meant Dragonite chances of meeting her son was too low. Although he understands her mind, Alex can''t delay. " He was a member of the team before pidgeot here joined the team. Haunter was always his opponent ever since he joined the team. Now, he had become a Gengar and his powers are much greater than in his Haunter form. The only chance to match him is evolving. If he fights Gengar and he certainly will, he will lose badly. That loss will only make him train hard. Harder than his body could handle. This will affect his future. Charmeleon''s pride won''t let him accept a loss and when I say loss, mean ground breaking loss worth someone who was his rival and equal easily. No one can convince him otherwise, even if it is me. So what I can do is help him grow stronger and take his inner belief into consideration and let him evolve as fast as possible. " Alex conveyed the reason behind the hasty evolution. Dragonite was frustrated greatly on hearing it and was in remorse. When Alex told Charmeleon''s nature, Charizard age came in her mind. She uttered to herself grumpily,"Drooo.." "( It is all that brute''s fault. He is gonna get it." ) After that, they continued their path to Oak Laboratory backyard. When it was in vision, Alex could see Professor Oak, Blue, Daisy along with a beautiful brunette who may be Blue''s wife Green. And in her arms was a young baby, Gary Oak. His arrival with Dragonite made him the focus of everyone there. As they landed, Samuel greeted him, " Good morning, Alex." And when he saw that Alex was looking curiously at his daughter in law, he introduced," Let me introduce to my daughter in law, Green Oak and my grandson, Gary Oak." Alex met one of the rival of the chosen one, Ash Ketchum for the first time. Stay tuned. To be continued..... Chapter 233 - 22 First rivalry of Ash and Gary Location: Oak laboratory backyard, Pallet town. Alex was seated on the chair with the Oak family who had decided to spend their free time together before his surprise arrival. Currently, Gary Oak was in Alex''s hand and the young seven year old, Oak family''s eldest daughter was miffed and pouted in front of everyone to show her anger. " Don''t be like that , Daisy. You are still young and kids must be held carefully so that they aren''t hurt even accidentally." Green tried to convince her daughter. " But why can Alex hold him and not me? He is my brother." She looked towards Alex holding her brother. Gary was awake now and seemed to be babbling with Alex. The curious Dratini inched closer to the young infant and nuzzled her nose at Gary''s face. If it was a civilian family, they may be scared of this action of Dratini. Alex''s father and mother made sure that the pokemons at home can look at the kids but not touch at least for a few months after their birth. The Oak''s just smiled looking at the gleeful look on Gary''s face Alex stated," It seems like there will be another Oak joining the pokemon industry." " Of course. He would. He is my son. He will be a strong trainer as powerful as his father." Blue declared proudly to everyone. Almost everyone chuckled at this declaration, almost. For Green wasn''t happy, and made sure to express it to others," And why can he only be a trainer. He can be a Pokemon ranger like me. " She glared at Blue daring her husband to object her demand. " I think we can let Gary decide on his own when he grows up, though I won''t mind if he becomes a professor." Samuel chimed in between the two and expressed his mind. Alex, Daisy and the infant Gary weren''t paying any attention to them. They were in their own world. Daisy was playing with Swablu and rubbed her soft cotton and hugged her. Swablu herself liked the way Daisy was grooming her and sat on her lap. Meanwhile the awake Gary was hanging onto Alex''s neck and touched the soft scales of Dratini and reaching for Pikachu''s tail. Of course, he was also grabbing Alex''s cheek, nose or hair. Alex could see n_a_k_e_d curiousity in Gary''s eyes and subconsciously muttered," He may be a Pokemon Professor in the future." No one except Gary heard Alex and he simply smiled at Alex. As the elders debated about Gary''s future, another couple arrived there with a baby on their arms. Alex whose attention was on playing with Gary noticed their arrival due to Blue''s outburst. " Red , Delia you have finally arrived. You both are late. I bet it was Red''s fault." Blue took a dig at his rival/best friend. Red didn''t like this but he didn''t show it. He folded his hands and sneered back,"We are not late, idiot. Unlike a certain illiterate if you can check we are five minutes earlier than the appointed time." Blue didn''t like being called an idiot, especially by Red and rose to his feet with a bang and shouted," Who are you calling an iiliterate, you bas....?" As he was going to call Red a ''bastard'' his wife''s cough and hardened gaze reminded he was with kids and it won''t do him well to speak such vulgar words in the presence of kids. He just huffed and sat down again. " Good morning, Red, Delia and you too Ash." Green greeted the Ketchum family. Ash chuckled loudly at the greeting and babbled as if greeted her back. Green squealed at it and took Ash in her arm and spun him around,"Aww, he is so cute. " Ash waved his arms around enjoying the wind on his face. Alex who was watching it arrived at their side and greeted them," Good morning Red, Delia." " Alex you are here too. It is great. We can finally have our match since the league tournament is a few months away." Red said to the young man while fingering his pokeball. Before Alex could reply, a yell of pain came out of Red''s mouth as Delia had gripped his ears hard and twisted them. " Can''t you behave sometimes, Red? Look at him, he most probably arrived at pallet town today with his backpack still on him. And you want to fight him? At least let him rest and then do it " Delia scolded her husband and released her hold after that. Red seemed to recovered from the pain pretty quickly and asked," So Alex what brings you here in pallet town? " " Yes. I want to know too. You were guiding Mathew''s daughter last time I checked?" Samuel asked his youngest protege. Alex was ready to answer but the sudden crying of Ash stopped him. " Uuuuuwwwwwwaaaaaaaa" he cried out in Green''s arm. She tried to calm him down but nothing worked. Delia took her son in her arm and still nothing happened. Similarly, every a_d_u_l_t tried but nothing worked. He wasn''t hungry, wet his pants or was uncomfortable yet nothing seemed to work. When Delia was once again trying to calm her hyper active son, Alex with Gary in his arms arrived by her side to have a proper look on the future chosen one. As he lowered his head, Ash seemed to feel his presence band grabbed onto his shirt and jumped off his mother''s arms to Alex''s. In his arm he after a few moments quiet down and started to play with Pikachu on Alex''s shoulders. Fortunately Alex trained himself with his pokemons or else he won''t be able to hold the two kids and his two pokemons together. " What just happened?" Delia asked surprised by the change of events. " I don''t know. It may be something extraordinary or else a child may not act like this." Samuel put his fingers on his chin to think about every possible reason behind this behaviour. Red seemed to be in thoughts too and he had some understanding what it may be related to. He used his own aura vision and truth was revealed to him. He subconsciously mumbled, " So that was the case " " What Happened, Red?" His wife ask as she heard her husband. " Ash may most probably be an aura user too. Unlike me who don''t use aura unless necessary, Alex is always keeping his aura active. This has an affinity for Alex in Ash. When Ash felt Alex''s aura the distance from him made feel uncomfortable and he yearned to be around him. And when he was close, he held onto him. " Red explained. Although this was all too far fetched, unscientific and seemed completely hax but these people here knew many mysteries of the pokemon world unknown to most people. So they felt this may be the case and didn''t put much thoughts to it. Before Ash arrival, Gary had both Dratini and Pikachu to play with but after his arrival, Pikachu played with Ash making him lose a companion. This wasn''t liked by him and he swept his hands towards Pikachu pulling him towards himself. Ash also held onto Pikachu to stop him from being pulled away. Pikachu who was being pulled by kids only had various facial expressions from time to time due to their tug of war with his face. The elders just smiled at their attics. " It seems that the Rivalry of Red and Blue is inherited by their son." Samuel said while reminiscing the past fights of his son and his protege, Red over the years they were together. He understood that even though both of them fought almost all the time, they understood each other even better than their wives. Their chemistry is even better than that with their wives. He so knew that both trusted each other with their life and would protect each other from any harm and danger. He was happy to see similar bond seen in the next generation, although the fights they have before the Bonding will be a cause of many of his headches. Red and Blue once again started to shout at one another while their son mimicked them and fought among themselves. The action of the two generation of Ketchum and Oak family was entertaining to Samuel, Delia, Green and Alex. So none of them interrupted their plans. Finally, the round of loud discussion came to a halt while the kids had exhausted their energy and slept on Alex holding onto his shirt. The two mother''s took their son from Alex. This act disturbed their sleep and they started to sniffle, they cheered them and rocked them back to sleep. After this, the a_d_u_l_ts sat together and drank their favourite type of tea while Alex drank the type of berry juice he liked. Whole everyone enjoyed their drink, blue asked the youngest Trainer of the group," So what brings you to pallet town after so long and why aren''t you guiding the eldest daughter of Mathew now, Alex? Did something happened?" Alex took a deep breath and narrated," When I was in solar town,...." Chapter 234 - 23 Alex was narrating everything that happened to him from entering the solar town to the visit of the parents and their decision regarding the safety of their kids. Pikachu and Dratini had fallen asleep in his arms while he was narrating the past events. They were most probably tired from their playtime with the young infants, so he returned them to their pokeball. On hearing this, Samuel just shook his head and spoke out," It seems that the Waterflower won''t be having any decent trainer from their family in the next decade at the very least. From what I remembered, the three daughters of Mathew had similar attics. So the chances of their future as a powerful trainer seemed foggy to be the least. If his youngest daughter show some skills then maybe his gym won''t be hit much harder. " Red and Blue nodded their head in agreement to the older man''s words. But his words confused Alex, Delia and Green. So Green inquired her father in law," What does this mean, Dad?" " Without experiencing difficulty, there cannot be any powerful trainer. Mathew let his love for his daughter made him stop her journey midway. Now although she may continue her journey again she will never possess the will of moving forward. The one which is necessary for trainers if they wish to grow stronger. One of the reasons why I decided to sponsor Alex and let him join the Laboratory was because he never stopped moving forward. Although his steps may have slowed down he didn''t stop moving, even when he was recovering from his Adventure he never stopped training. You never let the mishapping of your childhood stop your path. The two, if discovers their own way , may have some chances but I don''t think they can do it. They didn''t even dared to overpower their parents decision showing their inner will is not strong. " Samuel looked at the sleeping kids and spoke out," The strong will is an absolute necessity for trainers. " These words were whole heartedly supported by all the trainers there. They knew if they didn''t possess a strong will, they wouldn''t reach their current strength. And with every increment in strength, the stronger will is required. The people there sat quietly for some time as only the sound of the wind and soft voice of Daisy talking to Swablu could be heard, until Alex spoke out," Anyway, the thing is my official starter evolved into a Gengar. Charmeleon and him are rivals. Have been ever since Charmander hatched out of the egg. He is currently incapable of fighting Gengar on equal grounds and his pride won''t let him take the loss laying low. He will work harder ignoring his own health. He can always evolve in six months time on his own. If it was just that I won''t worry much. But, he has a habit of ignoring his wounds and train to grow stronger. " Samuel interrupted," Something he got from his father, I assure you." The people chuckled at how the children inherited some of their most annoying thing from their father while Delia and Green eyes their husband who were a little uncomfortable on their seat. " He is most likely going to hide his wounds and when he is asked to rest he will not, letting the injury grow graver. He almost did it once, after seeing the strength of pidgeot, Slowking and electabuzz, but I convinced him saying they train for a long time do they ate stronger. He too will become strong after proper training and he agreed reluctantly. With Gengar''s evolution everything is in vain. So I decided to help him evolve faster. I came to you today to ask if there is a possible place which can serve as a good practice ground for him and force him to evolve. The places I know are either too strong and others are too weak. So I need your help." Alex told them the reason for his abrupt arrival. He was stressed regarding charmeleon and was stick in a little problem. He felt he wasn''t a good trainer as he can''t even control a Pokemon. Everyone could see Alex was not looking good. This state was something almost every strong trainer goes through. Blue shook his head a little and consoled the young trainer," Don''t worry Alex. It wasn''t your fault. There are always some Pokemon in the team who yearn for strength more than others even at the cost if some critical injuries. I know because I do have some myself. My nidoking and golem are rivals. They can never allow the other to be stronger than themselves. It isn''t a rare case. And it is good thing that you know when to ask for help. No one can deal with their problems alone. They need help and support. Good thing you aren''t over confident with your current series of victory." Samuel added his own words of advice along with his son, Blue. Alex looked at Samuel with a hopeful gaze hoping that the Professor may have a certain location which may help him and his team. Samuel was in thoughts regarding the place which may be the most optimum location for charmeleon to evolve at. His eyes finally had a glint of light as of he found the optimum location. " Alex I know a place which can be the best place you can let your charmeleon not only face strong opponent and evolve but also have opportunity to increase your fire type pokemons strength. Take your Growlithe, with you. You also lack in fire type pokemons. Your trip there may help you increase the fire types in your team. " " Where is the place you are taking about?" Alex asked the Professor. " That will be a secret for now. You better go and get some rest. And hand over your Magmar to me for treatment." Samuel ordered his student which Alex did. Then he turned to his sweet granddaughter, Daisy and said,"Daisy, why don''t you take Alex to the guest room?" Daisy who was playing with Swablu didn''t want her play time to be interrupted abd protested against her grandpa''s instructions. " But why? I want to play more with Swablu. " Samuel had spoiled his granddaughter and hence she often protested when she doesn''t want to do something or interrupt the things she did. "Dear, if Alex doesn''t stay at our home then he would have to leave. Alex''s Swablu will follow him behind. Then with whom would you play?" He tried to manipulate her d_e_s_i_r_e. The realization of truth dawned over Daisy and a horrified expression appeared on her face. She suddenly appeared on Alex side and pulled him towards their home. She pulled Alex away from the group and shouted," Alex hurry up. I want it to play with Swablu. Don''t waste my time and walk faster." And the image of a smaller figure pulled away the taller one from the group of people could be seen. The people seated on the chair just laughed at this action. Green said still chuckling at the previous event," Dad, you shouldn''t manipulate her like that." Professor Oak just shrugged his shoulder and said," I love her way too much to be angry or discipline some of her naughty habits. And so the only way left for me to make her do things she doesn''t like is this." Blue nodded at the first half of his father''s words and spoke out," Yes you spoil her. And from what I can see you will do something similar with Gary. I don''t know just how they will be with your influence dad. " Red came to his mentor rescue and jabbed at his rival," At least they will be better than how they will be under your influence." And another round of heated debate began which seem to disturb the sleep of the kids as seen by their shifting of position in sleep and their facial expressions. Delia on watching this spoke softly," Stop you are disturbing the kids." Although her voice was soft a hidden coldness in her words made the two fighting a_d_u_l_ts shiver. She then asked the Professor," Professor Oak, where are you really sending Alex? Is it dangerous for him?" She asked worried about Alex''s safety in his next trip. Samuel just chuckled at her worry and said," I don''t know if there may be any problem Alex can encounter there. I myself doesn''t know of the danger Alex may face there." " Then why are you sending Alex in a place where there is unknown dangers. Won''t his life be in danger?" Green asked. Samuel shook his head at their worry and assured them," Alex is strong. Stronger than he was months ago. There won''t be much life threatening things he may encounter there. The reason why I thought of this was so he can meet some people of his own generation in this trip. I think this will do him good to meet some of them. " " But where are you sending him, Dad!" Blue asked his father. He looked down at his tea and then took a deep sip enjoying it''s taste on his tongue and replied with his eyes closed," Nothing too dangerous. Just an old ruin dedicated to a powerful fire type pokemon." He never elaborated more, and the two pair of couples didn''t ask more. Just enjoyed the time together and their topic of conversation shifted onto the next subject. Chapter 235 - 24 Departure Next day, Inside the Oak Laboratory, Alex was following behind Samuel as they passed through the many scientific devices which he used for his research purposes. There were many assistants of his working of them or went through the readings on the computer and did the project assigned to them by the Professor. These people who served as the assistant here were some of the smartest people in the Pokemon world. If they decide to leave the Laboratory and their apprenticeship come to an end under Professor Oak, the Pokemon league would immediately entitle them with a professor title and a possible doctorate too, if they have their project completed and the thesis has been confirmed. Professor Oak led Alex towards the interior part of the laboratory. In the innermost parts were the places where Professor Oak did solo research work. After arriving in his special zone, he called out," Porygon, open the folders regarding the Alpha ruins which the league sent me a few days ago. Also, project the image in front of us." On hearing the command, the Z shaped artificial Pokemon does as he is asked and the image of a medium scale island appeared on the air. It was the aerial shot of the island. The most characteristic part of this island was the volcano which seemed active if the black gas appeared from the volcano''s opening. While Alex was busy looking at the holographic image of the medium-sized volcanic island. From the preliminary view, Alex noticed that the island has dense forest covering on the peripheral areas would an occasional opening and two Rivers passing through the island. One was in the east of the volcano and another on the west. The area around the volcano seemed pretty barren, except for some shrubs and bushes on the areas around it. There are some buildings in the forest area whose top are visible through the hologram. " What is this, Prof Oak?" Alex asked the pokemon Professor. Samuel took some papers out of his drawer. He gazes on the papers and speaks out," This island is called Fire Paradise. This island has a total area of 186 km2. Every few decades, the volcano of this island erupts turning at least ? of the island barren and covers it in hot magma. The mysterious thing is that after every decade the area of effect shifts towards the clockwise direction. And, it is also rumoured that there, Groudon resides there. And he is sleeping at the bottom of the volcano affecting the changes happening in that island every few decades . Because of this belief the people who resided on that island built many shrines dedicated to the god of lava who decides the fate of the island. You are following me, Alex " Samuel looked at his young protege. " Yes professor. But what is my task there?" " Patience, Alex. As I was saying, because of the unique nature of volcanic eruption, the ecosystem of island is pretty unique. As for how unique, you will know when you visit it. As for the task, you are going to follow some people of the archaeology survey to check the ruins built in the past and what information they hold regarding the continent creator, Groudon. This will be good for you because there are some people of your generation who have taken the task of protection on that island. So Alex do you accept it or not?" Samuel inquired Alex. Alex was in deep thoughts of whether to accept it or not but remembered his reducing bank balance and agreed. After all he needs to stock some cash and meeting people of similar age was a good plus. " I accept the task. But Professor what types of Pokemon do you recommend me to take with me?" He doesn''t know much of the island so the advice of Prof was something which could protect his life in that place. Professor Oak on hearing this gave Alex a critical look but withdrew it after sometime, and finally spoke,"You are my student, Alex and I don''t involve myself in my students Adventure but taking into consideration that you don''t know much about the place and this is your first ruins exploration, I would recommend you to take water type, ground type, flying type, some for healing and a psychic type at the very least." He took a deep breath and continued,"And be cautious, Alex for the locals aren''t going to be friendly to you. We are visiting their place of worship and there may be some chances of causing damage to these places. So don''t trust anyone fully. The situation there may be even more dangerous than what you faced during the Pokemon tide, for you may suffer betrayal and backstabbing. Always have some cards in your hand. Never fully reveal the hand. " He warned him. With the amount of seriousness, Professor Oak spoke Alex knew that things there would not be so easy. He will suffer greatly in that place, so he decided to be prepared. " Yes professor. I will be prepared for every possible scenario." He promised him. After the serious talks was over, Samuel patted his shoulders and spoke," There are many things which can help fire type Pokemons but the situation there prevents us from having a permanent base there, for the loss of property is great in the place due to volcanic eruption. Now head for Daisy. You will be leave in three days time, better discipline your new Magmar and prepare yourself in this time. I will submit your application for task participation in your behalf. Now get going." After that, he shooed away Alex from his laboratory. After Alex left his office, he ordered Porygon," Contact Blaine for me, Porygon." " Hello Blaine here, who is calling?" Came a ride voice from the other side. " Hello, Blaine. I am Samuel. How are you doing today?" Samuel asked his friend. Blaine doesn''t seem to like the small chats of Samuel and angrily spoke,"Is this why you called? To know how I am doing today? Then let me tell you, I am doing very bad today. You and your bastard student and son all of you resigned from the champion position and increased our workload. Do you have any idea how busy I am now? You better have a good reason to call me now." Blaine shouted at Samuel from the other side. Samuel just picked his ears from the shouts of Blaine and waited until his angry run was over. When it was over, he spoke," Sorry about that. But there is a very good reason for me to disturb you." " And what reason is it?" Blaine asked curious. " We may have to cancel the plan we made for Alex." As soon as he spoke there was complete silence on the other side. Samuel waited for the storm which is most likely to come. After a few moments of silence,Blaine spoke out calmly but there was a hint of anger in his tone," And please tell me why must we destroy the plan which we so pain takingly created, just so he can have a decent opponent to fight against as practice before his league matches?" He took a sip of his tea and said as if it answers everything," I am thinking of sending him to fire paradise." Blaine was stunned for sometime and finally spoke out and complained to his old friend," Why did you decide to do that? You know how messy the things are going to be there. If we add Alex to the mix then the situation may go out of hand." Samuel however didn''t seem to be convinced of this and retorted," But it will do Alex good in the long run if he has some encounter with his colleagues. And I don''t think any one will have problem with Alex going there. " He seemed pretty confident in his words he even arched his eyebrows and looked at his fire master friend daring him to give a valid reason which can prevent Alex from going there. Blaine was angry at the provocation but finally calmed himself and agreed that Samuel''s way did hold some merit and he can see everyone agreeing to this. " Very well, I will do as you say. Even though you have resigned from your Champion position, you still love to order us around. " He once again complained to him. " You better don''t call me anytime soon because I don''t think I can handle any more of your last moment plan change any longer. Let Agatha handle those things. " And with that he put down the phone. Samuel went to his own leisure work while Blaine on the other hand was extremely busy for he was making calls to make sure Alex could enter the Quota assigned for the ruin exploration. After Alex''s name was entered in the list, another thing happened for another name entered the list of trainers responsible for security. It was Elsa Reid from the Almia region. Chapter 236 - 25 Almia Princess Elsa While Samuel and Blaine decides to make some changes in the plan regarding the Ruin exploration in Fire Paradise island. This exploration was a plan set by the league to call out the rogue organization which target the young trainers. So most of the operation of the ruin exploration was handled by low level members of the league. Through them, the information of the trainers was passed on the rogues. Some people were surprised by this sudden change of plan but didn''t put much thoughts on it. As most of them didn''t know much about the members of the group, but the last addition to the group, Elsa Reid was pretty popular among the League officials. It is because of the fact that she was a royalty from Almia region which is under the Pokemon ranger organization, one of the sub organization under the Pokemon league. Although the royal family has passed on the ownership of the region to the league, but it doesn''t mean they were weak. Every generation of the Reid has an elite four level trainer among them, which made sure that their dominance in the region isn''t completely extinguished. As such she herself, is strong compared to most of the people her generation. Her father the current king, although only in name and title, has made sure she herself become a member of the group for he wished she can get to meet some of the people of her generation. Location: Almia castle, Almia region Almia castle is the residence of the royal family of Almia. It has a lake, Ice lake situated in the North direction from the tower. This castle was surrounded by moat around it. The most was at least fifty metres wide and the only way of entry except for flying would be the large gate which lowers itself to allow entry into the castle. The castle has thick walls around it with a twenty feet long passage for the two rows of guards to stand together. As for why one cannot swim through the moat, if anyone dares he may become food for the school of carvanha residing in the moat. As for the courageous people who dare to enter the castle via flying, they can be shot down by the ten tall looming towers from where guards could take them down. Of course there are also some of the flying pokemon which flew around the castle continuously making sure to stop any illegal trespassers. After one entered the castle gates, he can see the streets were wide and had many shops and houses around. Before the league completely controlled the area where humans reside, the people used to live in the castle for they were much safer in it than outside. After passing straight through the wide street you can reach the main castle building in which the royal family reside. This building has additional five towers which has much stricter guard who stood vigilant than the castle walls. But, for this autonomy they must protect the area themselves and the league would not spend extra on guarding the place. The kingdom doesn''t possess enough trainers to curb down the wild pokemons residing around the area completely. Which leads to occasional attacks from the wild pokemons. Although the Pokemons aren''t as savage as the ones in the Badlands, they are more aggressive compared to the ones normally found in the places in the inner parts of the league territory. The pokemons here are smart, although they hurt the humans they never kill them for the consequences would only lead to the annihilation of their own group. Anyways, in the inner parts of the castle building where the royal family resides, a fierce fight was going on between two people of the royalty - they were the current princess of Almia, Elsa Reid and the King of Almia and the father of Elsa, Escanor Almia. " I do not agree to this. I will not do as you asked." The princess shouted at her father. The princess was a pretty blonde girl who was entering her teenage years. She has wavy blonde hair with a few strands hanging around her face. She has beautiful blue eyes which seem to encapture anyone who look into her. She has rosy red lips and a sharp nose with soft snowy skin. She was as white as snow. If one looks at her, he would think of her as Snow princess for she looked like a female reincarnation of the snow. She wears long blue frocks with sparkles on it and a silver pendant with a white stone glittering around her neck. " I told me many times and I am saying once again, you will be joining the ruin exploration team I signed you up for, and there will be no more discussion." The older man yelled back at her. He and his daughter has no similarity in terms of appearance and most would never consider the two to be father and daughter by blood had it not been for the fiery temper which both possessed. Something which Escanor always cursed as he has encountered much troubles due to it and his daughter would too if her temper wasn''t curbed. He tried much over the years but none seem to do the trick. Elsa wasn''t too happy and wanted to argue more but she can infer from her father''s looks that he wasn''t willing to hear anything else on this topic. So she did the only thing she could use to convince her father, she turned to the woman who was sipping her tea while looking at the fierce discussion between the two father and daughter with amus_e_m_e_nt. She was asking for her support,"Mother, tell father to thing rationally. How can he send me off so deep into the league territory. Didn''t he worry something might happen to me?" Elsa was smart and decided to use her mother''s protectiveness for her to make her mother back her in this context. When she tried to win over her mother''s support, her father, Escanor just said dryly,"you don''t need to waste your breath, Elsa. I have already convinced Sophia before I tell you this decision of mine and she agree to my plan." Elsa was shocked by this discovery and she looks at her mother, now discovered as Sophia. She didn''t speak anything but nodded. This was too much for the young princess and she ran away from them without any word. As she ran away, someone came from the door she rushed out," I take it that the talk didn''t go too well. " The newly arrived Sebastian himself sighed at this and asked his king,"Is it really necessary to do that to her? She is one of the strongest in Almia and there is no need to let her take unnecessary risks." Escanor just passed on a sheet of paper with names and their birthplace on. Sebastian took the paper and looked at the names, and asked" what is this? What does these names mean, your highness?" " You are my trusted friend and advisor, Sebastian. You have followed me loyally for years so there is no harm for me to tell you, the secret. Although she is one of the strongest in Almia, she doesn''t hold much standing in the world. The people here believes that under her they may free themselves from the constraints that the Pokemon League set on us but they are too small to see the League. Those five name are the trainers who are the strongest among their generation in their own region. Each one of them possess a pseudo king Pokemon. Tell me, Sebastian does she hold any chance against these monsters?" Escanor asked his shell shocked advisor. " I .... I... I am not sure, your highness. Maybe these are tricks that the league use to prevent rebellion among the places which are discontent about it''s sovereignty. You know exaggerate their strength." Sebastian tried to think that all of these were just exaggeration and nothing more, he hoped it was what he thoughts. But Escanor next words destroyed all his hopes. " I am sorry to disappoint you old friend, for the strength that league revealed to us regarding them is true. In fact, I think the strength that they possess is still a hidden. " Escanor said. The answer to his doubt came from the queen instead," Because the strongest of them all is the undisputed leader of this generation. None of the top five even dare to threaten his supremacy over them. The second and third rankers possess pseudo Legendary pokemons yet they are lower than him, means only one thing that he has not one but two pseudo kings. So tell me Sebastian does Elsa whose pokemons are only at elite level can compete with them?" Sebastian was quiet for some time and finally spoke," So what do you wish to achieve from this, your highness?" " I just wish that she knows just how big the sky is instead of being a Magikarp of the well. If she can turn their pressure into a motivation then I think she won''t have a problem in the future, even from him." And the last moment Escanor''s face turn dark. Sebastian and Sophia were uncomfortable themselves for they know the threat he possessed towards the royal family. Sebastian decided to change the topic and said," I still find it unbelievable that such people live in the same world we live in." " They aren''t people, Sebastian but monsters who are destined to be above the rest and look down on us pitiful mortals. I guess it is people like them who make sure that the reign of the league remains uncontested." Escanor said his thoughts about them. He then ordered," Prepare her things along with some guards and let some forces be on standby in case her life is in peril. I dont want any mistakes in there " After that, he signed," I hope she can be safe and sound. I wish I could always protect her the woes of the world, but in the end I am not strong enough. " He mumbled to himself. A soft arm was placed in his shoulders which comforted him," Don''t worry. She is your daughter. She can handle everything just fine. Trust her. Now sit down and rest for a while ." Escanor did as she asked him to do and sat down and closed his eyes to rest while his wife massaged his forehead. Escanor mumbled," That''s why I worry. She takes too much after me in getting into trouble. I don''t know what she may face now." Chapter 237 - 26 Meeting Elsa Alex is currently walking through the busy street of Vermillion City. His reason was arriving in the city was to take the cruise ship named, S. S. Smith and reach Slateport city of Hoenn region. Since it was a pretty hot and sunny day,Alex has his sunglasses on to protect his eyes from the sun. With him are his Pikachu, Swablu and the most recent addition to the team Dratini. These pokemon have never visited a port city as busy as that of Vermillion city. They are both surprised and scared by the amount of hustle-bustle of the city. Of course, the outgoing Pikachu and confident swablu aren''t scared. It is the meek Dratini who is scared by the number of people. Of course, the stares that the passing people give to Dratini isn''t much help in this regard. Alex can infer from some of the gazes people give his Dratini, there might be the possibility of an ambush in case he enters an empty street. But Alex has no such plans at this moment. He wants some peace for once and not get himself into unnecessary problems. His gut has already been telling him that his adventure in the Fire Paradise island would be worrisome, so he might as well enjoy the peace for as long as it might exist. Even though Alex is passing through the busy streets where the chances of attacks are almost negligible, Gengar is still ready. He is also with Alex hidden in his shadow, ready to protect Alex in case his help is required. Professor Oak has informed him that the meeting date of the members of ruins exploration is a little over a month from today. Alex has calculated that the trip from Vermillion City to Slateport City would take about half a month if there is no delay. And that would leave another half month to get accustomed to the weather and environment of the Hoenn region which is said to have a warmer temperature compared to the cooler ones of Kanto. Also, long-distance traveling can be tiresome, especially the first long journey through the sea. But before that, he still has two days time before S S Smith embarks for Hoenn region. Alex is currently in the markets by the seaport which sells many merchandises. Though there are not many things which can attract his attention, there are still some good things. The stalls sell some small water type Pokemons like Shellder, Krabby, Magikarp, remoraid, etc. There are stalls for herbal medicines as well as berry store. There are some stores which sold Pokemon equipment such as evolutionary stones, everstone, and even the rare Pokemon Moves TM are sold. The artificial Pokemon move learner are pretty rare nowadays, for the complexity of this and the lack of enough understanding regarding this new tech has made their number in the current market pretty rare. Alex just browsed through the numerous stalls until he arrived at the one which attracted his attention. This store mostly has antique item but most of them are just fake. The person who sold the things here is a shrewd old lady who seems pretty good at reading the mind of her customer, for she sold a fake luvdisc charm to a couple while she sweet-talked the girl and makes the boy buy it, when she told that this charm makes the bond and love between the couple long-lasting. As for the thing which attracted his attention, it was not him, but actually, Gengar who felt a certain pull from a certain purple crystal with black and red markings on it. As he was passing by the stall, Gengar informed him about the pull he felt. Although Alex has no idea what it was, since it made Gengar yearn for it, means only one thing it is a powerful ghost type or poison type object. But Alex never showed he wished to get that crystal. He looked over everything he found on the stall. He used his aura vision to look at the thinks through the sunglasses he has over his eyes. The orb was rich in energy and Alex noticed three similar Crystal has the same amount of energy. Alex has a gut feeling that they may be of great use to him in the future. His gut has helped him a lot in his journey so far and he doesn''t feel it is wrong to once again believe on it. He approached the stall and then asked the female vendor," How much are those?" He pointed at some other crystals on the stall. He didn''t directly point at the four crystals which attracted his attention. when Alex said that the female vendor''s eyes sparkled as of she found her next prey, considering Alex''s young age," Oh.. you really have great eyes. Your mother will like them a lot. for these, it would be six thousand dollars, How about I show you some other gems too? Alex''s eyes sparkled with glee and he almost agreed immediately but refrained himself and said, "Can you do a little cheaper? I have to buy some other things for my mother''s birthday. If I spend my whole balance on it, then I cannot buy my other things." He tried to plead to the older woman. Alex didn''t hide his d_e_s_i_r_e for the gems and the fact that Alex was young, his failure to possess much and even if he possess that much cash with him, his inability to spend all of them in a bulk was within reason. He has Pokemons with him and raising them is also expensive. So the woman didn''t find any problem in his words. And the bargain began. In the end, the deal was done at four thousand five hundred dollars. Both of them were happy from the deal. The old female vendor managed to sell her junks at a sky-high price while Alex got four crystals worth the same amount of energy as the dragon scale he possesses at a cheap rate. The woman in her greed forgot about the Dratini he has around his neck which was way too expensive. When Alex paid and collected his goods and was leaving, a voice from behind stopped him," Wait, I want to buy the crystals. " Alex turned around to see two people, a boy and a girl around his age, they can only be a couple of years older than him not younger. Alex observed that the girl was leading while the man followed behind her protectively acting as her guardian. The girl was dressed in rich attire, and everything from her manner to the posture of her spoke of her wealth. Alex has noticed this thing in only two people, Mr. Montenegro, and his son and Alex''s friend, Bill. So Alex has no doubt that the girl in front of him was rich. " yes. Those crystals in your hands are pretty. I like them. Sell them to me. I will pay you twice as much as you paid for them " the girl said arrogantly. Alex''s eyes twitched at the declaration but he calmly replies, " They aren''t for sale. I bought them for a reason and I will not sell them to you." After saying that Alex turns around to leave. The girl doesn''t like Alex acting like that to her and shouted out," Do you know with whom you are talking to? Do you have any idea what the consequences of your actions can be?" Alex ignored all these and continued to walk away. The girl was angry and turns red and the boy by her side ran to Alex and held his shoulder tightly to stop him and said politely or as politely as he can on this situation, "Her highness is still talking to you. Please don''t be disrespectful to her by walking away." Although he spoke politely, it still possesses an underlying threat, and neither Alex nor his pokemon like threats very much. And Pikachu showed his by almost sending a power thunderbolt at the boy, but Alex runs his hands under Pikachu''s cheeks to calm down the agitated electric mouse. He looked over his shoulder at the man who held his shoulders," please remove your hand or I will remove it for you." Although Alex words were plain, the threat was obvious, especially from the killing intent the boy felt from Alex made him freeze on spot. Chapter 238 - 27 " Julius, what was that? What did that boy do to you?"the girl asked the newly identified Julius. Julius bowed his head and spoke"I am sorry Princess Elsa for I cannot help you and failed to fulfil the command King Escanor gave me." "Don''t be so down. I know if it wasn''t something big you won''t fail me. So what happened just now?"Elsa asked her companion as well as guard, Julius. " I too don''t know what it was, your Highness. But I am sure about one thing, he is dangerous and we cannot enter his bad books." Julius looked at the direction alex walked away and remembered what advisor Sebastian has warned him about. Flashback After being ordered by King Escanor, His advisor Sebastian has walked away from the royal family restroom and heads for the guard residence I the castle. As he walks by the guards standing at different places of the castle responsible for the security and protection of the castle and the Royal Family bows to him as he walks by. He just nods at them minutely. After arriving in the section where the royal guards reside, he turns to the massive door leading to the practice room where sounds of grunts and clashing of metals can be heard. As soon as he enters the room, he sees in the center of the room a single person clashes with three people. The single blunette man is the only one who used shield while others uses broadsword against him. The first one swept his broadsword towards the blunette who ducks under the blow, he readies to swept his sword at his opponent but his other two opponent don''t give him any opportunity to attack. They attacked at the same time and he uses his longsword and shield to defend. They attacks while he defends with his sword, shield or ducks and moves around to dodge the attack. Their attack was frequent for some time but after that their speed decreases giving the blunette enough time to subvert the opponent. He swept his leg and made one of his opponent fall down. They jumped back or tried to jump back but he wasn''t going to give them the chance and he bashed another with the shield making him fall on the ground as he tripped over the fallen fighter. This action startled the last standing opponent and gave the blunette the opportunity to make him drop the broadsword and he rested his own longsword on his neck. He relished at his victory but clapping sound brought him out of his thoughts. The brunette showed a smile," I aim to please father." Yes, the brunette is the son of advisor, Sebastian. But his father doesn''t like his overconfidence very much and knocked him on his head, "Don''t be full of yourself. Just because you managed to beat three fully grown man in a duel means nothing in the real world. For the real monsters, you are just an ant who can be crushed at any moment, don''t ever forget it, Julius." As he scolded his son. " But father...." He tried to argue. While the opponents and other people slowly left the practice room to give the father-son duo some space to talk. " No further arguments. The princess is going to the Hoenn region for a ruin exploration so she can meet people of her age and find how big the world really is. You will be joining her so you can learn more about the world. You will also be her guardian and protect her from every threat. Our family has served the royal family for generation and I don''t want you to break that chain, am I understood?" He leveled him a glare to stress his view. Knowing his father wasn''t going to take no for an answer, he agreed. After that Sebastian turned to leave, but he remembered something and said to his son," Take about six guards with you for extra protection and don''t cause any problem. You must never forget that you are at the very bottom in terms of personal strength. Alex Bart, Cynthia Shirona, Steve stone, Wallace, these are the names of monsters among monster while Alex is someone even above them. Just as he passes the door, Julius asks," Why, why can''t you protect us? Are you just going to ignore the princess safety?" Sebastian held the doors handle and spoke," It is not about whether we can do anything or not. If you offend them, you cannot survive long enough for help to arrive. Even if they cripple you or even kill you, we can do nothing...." And he walks away leaving only a soft whispers remains behind. " For behind them stand the real monsters of the league who can crush us any moment they wish for." Julius didn''t feel much about the words back then and thought that his father was overthinking. Flashback ends But today he knows what he meant. The sheer amount of helplessness he felt under his gaze is something he experienced for the first time. The terror and the death which hovered over him was something he still remembers. He knows now if he wants to crush him he can do so any moment he wishes for. He looked at the direction the boy went away. Constant shaking from Elsa brought Julius out of his shock and she asked, "What was that? Do you know him? Did that boy do something to you? That boy better never meets me again or I will bash him so hard that he will remember it forever. "Elsa continue her tirade while Julius was in deep thoughts. " No princess. I don''t know him, but I feel we should not provoke him." He said to her but thought,''That was the person the monster who was at the top of monsters, Alex. Yet, I feel that it wasn''t his full force. I see why father told me to be careful. I must make sure that the Princess doesn''t provoke him.'' This made Elsa stop and then she calmly said," Ok. We will deal with the boy later. Now we need to head back." The duo boy and girl left for their hotel. As for the woman who has sold the crystal to Alex, she has packed get things long ago and ran away. She doesn''t want to return the money sge cheated from Alex so she escaped. Meanwhile with Alex, After Alex left the duo, he was in deep thoughts and the prodding of Dratini brought him to reality. After reaching the Pokemon center, he reveals the matter to them " Sorry boy. Just thinking about the last encounter.They someone you will meet again in the near future." He told the Pokemons who only become more confused. "They are from the Almia royal family that professor oak told us about who joined the campaign in the last moment like us. "Ever since Almia joined the league, every ruler of Almia tries to get back Almia under their control, that has been the way of the Almians. But after knowing the true strength of the league they stop their attempts, but this doesn''t stop the future rulers from trying again. They are very persistent, so when a new ruler of Almia rises and tries to get the things their way, it falls upon the string trainers of the league to curb those tendencies. And this time, it falls on my lap." Alex explained and the Pokemons just shook their head thinking this was way too easy for Alex. Although Dratini doesn''t know how strong some of Alex''s pokemons were he has met some powerful people and Pokemon, so he can decern whether they are strong or weak. Dratini feels she wasn''t so strong for Alex to worry about her so he did not put attention to her. Alex noticed their dull look and said, "Hey don''t be like that. Isn''t it more interesting for all of you." This got their attention " You all could do some pranks or naughty things and try to drag her into them. She will most probably challenge me to a fight, then all we have to do is crush her completely. And our job is done. So you have complete freedom to have fun, even you Gengar." He said the last sentence while eyeing his shadow. After hearing this a sinister laugh echoed the room and a bipedal dark purple Pokemon rise from the shadows. " Keke Keke" " You must enjoy your freedom. Who knows when you will get such an opportunity." Alex told them. And he went to the washroom to refresh himself. Alex almost felt sorry for them. Chapter 239 - 28 Meeting an old friend Two days later, Alex is currently at the pier of the Vermillion Port with his Pokemons Pikachu, Swablu and Dratini with Gengar in the Shadow and Espeon who has also decided to join them. Alex has noticed the mischievous group giving too many sinister smiles in the past two days, so to curtail their enthusiasm from spreading to others, he called back his Espeon. He has heard some frustrated screams of Elsa and Julius from time to time which confirmed they are up to no good these past few days. At least with her around, they will not act too rashly and behave themselves. When Espeon joined them in the past, the first thing she did was let Dratini and Horsea understand some basic things about the group and the do''s and don''t of the group. The things such as what pokemon cannot be angered, who can bear some teasing but if you anger him, you will suffer and noone will rescue them, for example, snorlax and his food cannot be disturbed. Back to present, Alex looks at the massive cruise in front of him. S S Smith is a whole 260 meters in lengths, and breadth of 47 meters (154 ft), the passenger cruise ship tonnage is of 200,300 tons, and max crew-passenger capacity of almost 7,500. Looking at the behemoth in front of him, Alex remember how small he really was. Of course his Gyarados was at least half as long as how wide the ship was. This also reminds him of the biggest Pokemon, Wailord. Although they are almost as tall as Gyarados, they are much wider and longer than an average gyarados. With a Wailord, one doesn''t have to worry about a sudden whirlpool or a heavy storm in the sea, for the blue whale behemoth could handle everything just fine. While Alex was dreaming about owning a Wailord,( ignoring how the fact that one time feeding may turn him bankrupt), a sudden call brought him out of his thoughts," Alex." Alex turns to the source, it was a handsome green haired boy who was only a few years older than him. It was his old friend, Bill Montenegro. Alex asked his old friend surprised,"Bill, what are you doing here?" Bill fires his questions quickly at the young trainer, but he has yet to give him a chance to speak so Alex just smiles softly and waits for Bill to stop. But it doesn''t seem like he is going to stop anytime soon, but Espeon solves that problem, as she swept her tail at Bill making him fall on the ground. This makes Bill turn to the one who swept him to the ground,he doesn''t seem bothered by Espeon''s action and simply said," Hello to you too, Espeon. You have grown more beautiful since the last time I met you." He tried to sweet talk Espeon and it seems to be working as how she just looked at him and bathe in his praise. Alex just shook his head and thought,'' No matter whether it is a pokemon or human, all the women just love being praised.'' " What are you doing here, Bill?"Alex asked his fallen friend while extending his hands towards Bill. Bill took his hands and rises to his feet. He pats off the dust from his clothes and says," What I am doing here? What about the tournament a month later. It seems like you are going somewhere. And, it is a pretty long Trip with the amount of luggage you carry. " As he looks at the suitcase along with the thick backpack on his back. Alex just smiled, " Sorry. Old man is sending me for some ruin exploration in Hoenn region. So most probably I cannot take part in that tournament." Of course Bill doesn''t like the refusal and shouted," Do you have any idea how much it cost me, to organize a tournament in the cruise ship?" Alex was in dilemma since Bill was never one for monetary wealth, he is more of a scientist than a businessman, so his current behaviour was confusing. They made snide comments about him to each other and laughed. " What do I mean? When you asked about any tournament taking place among the Rookie trainers, I specially decided to do one for you on S S Victoria a month later. Do you know how difficult it was for me? My father made me do all the paperwork, permission as well as arrangement for that damm tournament you wanted. Do you have any idea how torturous it was. I still get goosebumps when thinking about that experience." Bill was angry at Alex and neither of his pokemons felt the need to defend Alex enjoying the entertainment in front of them. He started to walk towards Alex and when he was only half an arm distance from Alex, he pushed his fingers on Alex''s c_h_e_s_t and spoke,"I worked so hard for you and look what you are doing. You are making all my efforts go to vain. You better have a good reason for doing this?" When Bill gave him the chance to explain, Alex thought of the reasons he can give and can get the most out of them. After a moment, he spoke,"I will be meeting Cynthia from Sinnoh region and, Steven Stone as well as Wallace from Hoenn region on the campaign." Bill is confused by this answer, as he thought Alex may give some ridiculous reason or something about him doing an important task, but this was very much like him. Bill know these people, he even met Steven once or twice. He also understands why Alex will do something like this. For the gathering of a some of the strongest trainers in his generation, it is a brilliant opportunity for Alex to meet them. Alex looks at his green haired friend for how he will react. Bill did not seem to be angry anymore and said," Fine. If that''s the case, I cannot deny that your things are important. So what about the brats who you were guiding back then?" He asked curiously. Alex didn''t say anymore and Bill didn''t ask Alex to elaborate more. He just shrugs his shoulders and said," It is their misfortune. Who knows if you will have time for that in the future. So how is your brother,Ben and sister, Clara doing? Did they miss their awesome big brother, Bill?" Bill has visited Alex a lot since he rescued him, and so he has visited his new home near the Floral town. He also met his family there and Ben and Clara seem to like Bill too. The amount of stories and cool gifts he keeps sending them has made Bill the second coolest big brother of the duo, but nothing can make shake Alex''s position in their heart. He has also met his youngest sibling pair. But those two doesn''t like him as they often start cry when he holds them in a hug or touch their cheeks. Alex takes great delight in reminding Bill and laughing at him. The two are close friends as he gave him quite a serious talk due his low days. Others friends such as Lance, Lorelei, Daniel were others who often called him and decided to get his news at the recovery days. " They are quite busy with Alan and Helen to remember an idiot like you." He joked with Bill. Bill just glowered for some time and then said," If I was in their place, I would do it too. Anyway, there are more important things to talk about, do you know anything about the trio you are gonna meet later. " " No. Other than their name and some of their basic information and Pokemon, I don''t know anything else about them." Alex told his friend. Bill placed his arm over Alex shoulder and the two walks to the cruise ship. " Don''t worry,Alex. I know a lot about them. I will be your guide in this endeavor. You don''t have to thank me." Bill said. " But how, you know that the campaign has people limit and I heard that all the six thousand tickets of the cruise ship are sold. So how are you going with me?" " Oh. You don''t know. For that tournament you spoke to me about, I bought five cruise sh_i_p_s. And this S S Smith is among those five sh_i_p_s I own. I am sure they will make special arrangements for their owner. And there are always about two hundred rooms free in a cruise in which fifty are for VVIP people and my dear friend Alex, both of us are gonna be the VVIP of this cruise ship. Let''s head forward, Alex. " Bill explained the future plans for them without asking for Alex''s consent. Bill dragged Alex towards the cruise ship while Espeon just shook her head at his attics and just follows behind them. After a while, " That idiot boy, he is lucky he doesn''t meet me. Or, I would have taught him how to behave in front of a princess." Elsa grumbled to herself while heading for S S Smith. But Julius just shook his head and thought,''We were lucky to not meet him, or ....'' Chapter 240 - 29 Stay at the ship Alex crashed his body on the soft bed of the VVIP. The only pokemons by his side is Espeon who sat by his leg while the enthusiastic pair of Pokemons who comprised of Swablu Pikachu, Riolu,Growlithe, happiny and Dratini, were at the balcony attached to the room and enjoyed the scenery around them. There is still almost an hour time, left before S S Smith embarks for the Slateport City of Hoenn regions while making stops on the islands on the path. The pokemons get a high position view of the people as well as the Vermillion city from the balcony along with the surrounding sea area. There are a total of twenty balcony rooms in Cruise Ship of which two are currently owned by Bill and Alex and from the information that Alex got, the other two is currently used by Princess Elsa and her guardian and protector, Julius. The cruise ship has ten balcony rooms for VVIP guest on either side of the cruise ship. The topmost front side has various rooms for weather and sonar facilities while at the top is the Captain''s deck. Of course, below these rooms is a free deck from where people could watch and enjoy the sea breeze. The cruise ship has two big swimming pools on the backside of the cruise. There are some bars as well as different sports such as paragliding facilities available. The deep-sea diving is also available but it is only when they are in the middle of the ocean. The other enjoyment facilities that the cruise ship possess are the casino, inner swimming pools, Pokemon trading center, Pokemon tournament, and some other Pokemon related activities. They even sell some of the Pokemons from other regions who are not so well known in Kanto, in the name of rare Pokemons. As for these activities, they are seminars of Pokemon doctors, professor and trainer on his to train them, raise them or study them. But these aren''t cheap, for the host are hired and so only people who really want to take part to join them. These seminars last for hours and are pretty educational so it isn''t a loss of money for mist people who understand it''s used. Alex and Bill''s room are adjacent to one another similar to Elsa and Julius. But Alex and Bill''s room are on the side of cruise ship facing the port while Elsa is the opposite side of the cruise facing the wide ocean. As for how Alex knows who is the other person and where they reside, the credit goes to Bill and the captain of the ship. The past events were something. For the first time, Alex saw Bill acting domineering towards someone compared to the normally easy-going way in front of him. Thanks to that, the captain not only offered them the room free of charge but also gave them information about every person whether they are VVIP, VIP or common people who are going to travel in the cruise ship for Hoenn region. All of this took quite some time, which made Alex give up the plan of surveying the cruise ship before it embarks. This plan is something Alex has told Bill earlier when they were talking at the pier, so Bill in all his magnanimity declared that whatever Pokemon he likes he can have it for free. Of course, Alex doesn''t like that so he has a brief discussion with him and finally conceded on the matter that the first one is only free. As for others, he will pay. All this is way too tiring for Alex and so he is resting now. But, the cl_u_s_ter of young pokemons has too much energy to sit down quietly. Since Alex ask them not to leave the room, the group decided to enjoy themselves at the balcony. Alex is currently thinking of the journey to the Hoenn region. [POKEMON POV] With the Pokemons on the balcony, Riolu, Swablu, Pikachu, Growlithe, happiny and Dratini are currently on the balcony. The railing of the balcony is about four feet tall and ten feet long. The railing is made of steel welded strongly to the cruise ship so until and unless a Pokemon as heavy as Snorlax or golem directly rest on it, there will not be any harm or sign of breaking. There were also some wooden bench and a chair on the balcony so that the guest could sit on it and e joy the scenery from the balcony. Dratini has wound herself on the railing and rose to the top so she could see everything clearing, while Swablu sat on the railing and Pikachu just climbed. Upon climbing he teases the Pokemon below," Woah, it looks so beautiful from up here. Pity you cannot enjoy the sane view as me." Riolu and Growlithe are pretty upright Pokemons and hence they didn''t like his mocking, they growled at him and tried to hit him but he evaded. Meanwhile riolu, happiny and Growlithe cannot just too high jump to reach the railing for if they jumped too hard, they may fall down from their place to the lower decks. Growlithe growled, " just you wait I am going to get you." Riolu replied pretty calmly compared to Growlithe but it still has a tone of anger,"the moment you come down, you are going to get it." But Pikachu didn''t pay them any heed and continued to mock them, as for Swablu and Dratini they didn''t bother to join Pikachu. Happiny is also attracted to the scenery so she pulled the heavy bench to the railing side which Growlithe and riolu cannot move an inch pretty easily and jumped onto it. After climbing the bench she climbed into the railing and shouted excitedly," Woah, it is so beautiful. I love it." Her sudden shout also attracted Pikachu, Riolu and Grow who did not notice Happiny''s actions and they saw the chair. Their eyes sparkled meanwhile Pikachu panicked on seeing it. He tried to appease them," Hey guys. I am sorry. You know how I am, don''t you? I was just joking." He said frantically. But the two canine Pokemons won''t hear anything, they rushed up the chair and on for Pikachu. Pikachu jumped from the railing and dodge from the twos grabs. The other members ignored their play. Swablu who sat on the railing perched," Isn''t it? But I enjoy this type of scenery all the time, what I really want to see is the ocean? I heard it is very big." "Yes, it is very big. Back in the Farm, I often heard stories from his grandpa''s Pokemon about how big it is. They say that the ocean is so big that it takes days by these machines and without them months to travel from one big Land to another land. Ocean holds much treasure but it is equally dangerous to travel alone." " Woah" Dratini was entranced by the ocean just like many before him. Back with Alex, He has studied the route that the cruise ship will take for Hoenn. There are two places which attracted his attention. One of them was the lucky island, which is said to have Togepi and togetic residing there. And, the most striking and noteworthy place of them all is the Alto mere. The city is known as the City of Water and is situated near Johto''s azalea town. The ship will stop there to restock in bulk so he has about three days there to enjoy and search for the legendary Pokemon Latios and Latias. Currently, he is not strong enough to wield a legendary Pokemon but it is not wrong to bond with one early so you can get one for yourself. He can also test his luck in the Lucky island where they will stop for two days for restocking. After which they will not stop anymore, except for the one-stop on Littleroot town and then finally reach it''s the destination, the Slateport city. They were any one of tge starter but preferably Blazikan, seedot (for their evolved form shiftry could help him in dark type research), poochyena( similar as seedot), Sableye, carvanha, cacnea and corphish ( for dark type research), Aron( lack of steel type), gulpin ( strong poison), , wailmer( another ride), feebas, absol( research as well as disaster sense), snorunt or spheal( more ice type), psychic types like Solrock, lunatone or beldum and finally trapinch or bagon(no one say no to some good dragon type). When he is in thoughts about these pokemons, a knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts. He reluctantly rises from his earlier sleeping position and walks to the door. Espeon rid her head to look at Alex and scanned the person who interrupted her rest time with psychic. After confirming there is no danger, she returns back to resting. Alex opened the door to see Bill but before the two could greet each other, the trio of Pikachu, Growlithe and riolu collided with them making them fall. Pikachu is on Bill''s head while the two canines were on Alex''s legs. Bill and Alex just laughed at each other. " It seems the pokemon are enjoying themselves," Bill said with mirth. " It seems the case to me," Alex said while bringing Bill and the pokemons to the balcony for the cruise ship is ready to embark for Hoenn city. Chapter 241 - 30 Tournament awards It has been nearly three days since Bill, Alex and his pokemons have been travelling on the S S Smith for Hoenn Region. During this time, they visited various parts of the ship yet many parts were still left undiscovered. The places they visit the most in this endeavor is the restaurant for it served many different dishes from different parts of the world. This place is especially loved by Pikachu,Happiny and Growlithe for whenever he is out, the trio try to drag him into the restaurant. It is times like those, Alex is glad for the 30 percent discount or these expenses may put a dent to his financial reserves. Of course Alex has earned more than he spent during his stay on the cruise ship. The casino in the ship are the source of his income in this cruise ship. His friend is the owner of the ship, so he cannot win too much, so he kept a ratio. He only wins more than 10 percent of the money he spent during his stay. And he has won at least 50 million dollars on his stay. He also fought some trainers using his Pikachu, Swablu, Growlithe, Riolu and even Happiny. He has won about 60 percent of those matches. This was a good chance for Dratini to get some decent fighting experience, but his current condition made it difficult for him. This ability is both a boon and a curse. It is a boon because it helps them from getting too much hurt by status aliments. It is good, but for serpentine pokemons it is a defect. Serpentine pokemons grow bigger by shedding their skins every now and then. This makes the softer skin in the inner parts come out and without much protection. Although, after some time the skins hardens becoming stronger than the previous shedded one, but the time just after their molting, is the weakest stage of the serpentine pokemons. This weakened time is different for different pokemons. For ekans and dratini it is a month, for arbok and seviper it is two weeks while Dragonair only has a week of weakness. This weakness is not weakness in their strength but in their defense. For any of the attack can harm them more in this condition. Ekans and dratini are in their youth and growth stages so they take longer time. The newly borns shelf every two months while as they grow, it happens every three to four month. Molting increase the Pokemon strength greatly so this process is good for them, but the weakness time is something a trainer must put into thoughts. But, as they near the evolution time, they molt much frequently. It starts from once every month to every week and then to five days. Of course dratini need enough life energy or else it won''t evolve even though the interval between two molting is decreased. The food they eat only determine how much their length and strength increase after molting. This doesn''t This is just for ekans and dratini. Of course in Dragonair the interval between molting decreases as he nears evolution. One can determine how close they are close to evolving by knowing the interval between the two molting. If it has reached one month gap,then it may evolve within a month or two. The fact that dratini couldn''t fight along with his friends made him sad, but Alex convinced him with a his special dragon Pokemon food as well as spicy bitter berry he likes. The cruise ship has also decided to organise a tournament every week in the month long journey, but the clause is that one person can participate in only two such events. Alex is currently looking at the brochure and the reward details of the tournament, The prizes for the winner is based on their performance. For example, Winner : 10000 dollar, two ultra balls 2nd rank : 3000 dollars, three great balls 3rd rank: 1000 dollars, five pokeballs. But if the top three of the last tournament wins in another tournament their reward is enhanced greatly, If the third ranker of the last tournament wins, he gets: 1st rank: 25000 dollars,three evolutionary stone(fire, thunder, water) 2nd rank : 18000 dollars, one evolutionary stone of choice 3rd rank : 15000 dollars, one ultra ball If it is 2nd rank before, then 1st rank : 50000 dollars, evolutionary stone set( fire, water, thunder, grass, moon stone, sun stone) 2nd rank : 45000 dollars, evolutionary stone set( fire, water, thunder, grass) 3rd rank : 40000 dollars, sun or moon stone. 3rd rank: 75000 dollars, evolutionary stone set( fire, water, thunder, grass, sun stone, or moon stone, a Pokemon from Hoenn 2nd rank: 80000 dollars, evolutionary stone set( fire, water, thunder, grass, moon stone, sun stone),water Pokemon from Hoenn region 1st rank : 100000 dollars, evolutionary stone set( fire, water, thunder, grass, moon stone, sun stone), a Pokemon, a mystery Pokemon egg. So at most only two eggs can be won along with four Pokemon given as a reward. The rewards of the tournament seems too luxurious to Alex so he decided to ask Bill. After touring around the cruise top deck with his Pokemons, Alex saw Bill discussing something with the Captain of the ship. Since Alex wants to talk to his friend about the reward distribution he waits there until the discussion comes to a halt. They talked for about half an hour after which he comes down from the cabin. Bill saw Alex looking at the open ocean with his pokemons and doing nothing else, so he called out Alex," Hey Alex. Are you waiting for me?" Alex turns to look at Bill and smiles in greetings and said," Yeah, I was waiting for you. You were discussing something with the captain so I didn''t bother to interrupt you." Anyway, my Talk with Captain was related to you. I was telling him about increasing the duration of stop on the Lucky island and Alto Mere you told me about." Alex didn''t like this and grumbled, "You don''t have to do this?'' Bill just shrugs and continue,"The Togepi line along with the legendary Eon Pokemons are something I too want to see with my own eyes. So it is also for my own benefit so don''t think I did it just for you. " Alex just smiled and said nothing on this, but his heart warns on hearing this. Bill smiles in return to Alex''s smile and the asked," So what is it you want to talk to me about?" Alex asked," Bill why do your company give such luxurious reward, because it says every cruise under your name do it." Bill just smiles mysteriously and said," It is very simple." His eyes then shove brightly," did the great Alex Bart cannot interpret what this mean?" Alex just looked at him dryly and said," I know why your company is so overly generous to the trainer, but I don''t know what they can accomplish from it?" Bill looks at his friend and saw the confidence with which he know why they do it,but he still felt sceptic and decides to wait until he explains," So what conclusion did you reach, Alex?" These are the bait to hook the fish. But I still don''t know what you want to do with them." Alex told his thoughts. " You are right about it. We do want to attract the free Lancers, as for why, because we want to expand and the expansion needs security from abled people. " Bill explained Alex just nodded, but he still has one doubt," But won''t it cause your company to lose money?" Bill just smiled at Alex''s naivety and explained," The expansion is pretty big one and so we cannot hire enough people as it will be too costly. So we thought of a way to attract them and your cruise ship event gave us the idea. This way we can attract enough trainers for our job at a much cheaper rate and we are still the one making profit, from the amount they spend on the Cruise. So it isn''t a loss for us." Alex is surprised and shook his head in dismay, at the politics and dealings in the dark, but he didn''t speak. While the two friends enjoyed the sun set on the far horizon from the nearly empty deck on this part of the cruise, a startled female shout brought them out of the scenery," You. What are you doing here? You know it is a VIP zone, kid. You better apologize to me for the past event, and I may not throw you out of the ship." Alex and Bill turns to see a blonde girl and a blunette, whom Bill doesn''t know about and Alex recognize them pretty easily as he met them just s few days ago. His pokemons too recognize them, if their hissing was any indication. They are Elsa Reid and Julius. Chapter 242 - 31 Alex and Bill were startled by the sudden arrival and shout from behind them. Hell, Pikachu, who stood on Alex''s shoulders, have almost fell down his shoulder and into the sea. If not for Alex catching him quickly, Pikachu may have fallen into the sea and either Swablu or pidgeot may have to dive below to pick him up. This made Alex angry,he was very angry now. The anger openly radiated from him made Bill and Julius who sensed it unconsciously step away from Alex. Elsa, on the other hand, has a victorious grin on her face, at the fact that she caught him at a time like this. She ignored Alex''s changes and was in her thoughts. She thought to herself,''Now all I have to do is inform the captain about his rogue actions and he will be dumped on the next stop. This will teach him not to offend me in the future.'' She was so immersed in her future victory over Alex that she ignored the fact that Alex was walking towards him, but Julius did so he stood in front of her ready to bear his anger to protect the princess. When Alex was a metre away from the duo he stopped. His face was devoid of any emotion and he only uttered one word," Apologize." This brought her put if her thought and she almost shrieked on seeing Alex''s face. Julius who heard him apologized without a moment''s delay, but Alex wasn''t willing to let it go," Not you, her. Apologize to Pikachu now or I will throw you out of the cruise ship into the sea." He was very angry and no word could convince Alex now. And it was true, for Alex words also ignited anger in Elsa''s heart and she yelled at him," Do you have any idea whom you are talking to? Let me tell you, I am..." Alex pulled her face near his face by grabbing her shirt and hissed at her,"I don''t care who you are. Your action almost caused my Pikachu to fall into the sea, you better apologize to him right now or i will make you experience what he almost did." Even though, Alex''s scary face made Elsa afraid, she wasn''t willing to back down and she retorted," What? Just because a rat almost died, you dare to do this to me. Just you wait..." When Alex heard her words, he saw red, and in his anger he hurled her through the air out of the ship towards the ocean. Bill and Alex''s pokemons eyes widened on seeing this, while Julius shouted out," Princess" and as he saw her fall and disappear from his view he hurled a pokeball in the air. Out came a fearow. Julius immediately shouted out the order,"Save the princess." On hearing the command fearow dived down and gripped the princess by his claws. As Julius walked towards the railing, Alex gripped his shoulder and bill could hear some sounds of bones cracking. Julius''s painful expression showed that he wasn''t hallucinating. " Make your princess learn how to behave. She might be a princess in Almia, but here is Kanto. Now, she is just a young girl who can angry people who cannot be angered. Next time, something like this happens and she doesn''t apologize then there won''t be any help or leniency from my part." Alex warned Julius and walked away. All of Alex''s good mood went down the drain after this encounter. Julius immediately grasped his hurt shoulder from which Alex released his hold. His Pokemons followed behind him but not before giving Julius a stink eye. Bill also walks away but not before saying something. He reaches to Julius and whispers,"This is my cruise ship. No one would care of Alex did carry out this threat. You better teach her some manners. For these actions of hers may lead to her early death." After that, Bill too walked away from the top deck towards his room. Julius stood stunned for some time until fearow arrived with Elsa on her claws. She dropped Elsa on the deck and sat by Julius curious about her trainer''s sudden stillness. Elsa who has recovered suddenly shouted out," Where is that brat? Where is he? Tell me Julius. This time I will really teach him some manners. Who dies he think he is, to treat a royalty from Almia like that." Her shrieks brought Julius out of his shock and he warned his object of protection," I am sorry, your highness but we cannot do anything to him. It will not do well for us to antagonize someone like him, for we will suffer badly if we did so." Elsa wasn''t one to give up so easily and she challenged her guardian,"And why should we leave him be. Look what he did to me. He almost killed me and you are still trying to save him. Are you my guardian or his?" Because of you, his pokemon was in danger yet you didn''t apologize and even irritated him further. We both are weaker than him in pure strength and even if we pursue this matter legally, we cannot win the case. So it will be better not to anger him more than we already had." He tried to dissuade her attempts. Elsa although didn''t accept Julius''s suggestion inquired," What I''d it about him that makes you so afraid? Why do you think he is stronger than us?" Julius took a deep breath and explained," Your highness, before our departure we are given the information details about some of the strongest trainers around our age we might encounter. For older ones won''t do anything and league will issue sanction against those elders who bully us, but for people of our generation they won''t involve in our things, until we are in danger or are out for each other''s blood. This is a secret agreement between Almia and the Pokemon league. But that boy, no no... Man, whom you continue to anger is Alex Bart and he is the strongest trainer of his generation in the Pokemon league. This title isn''t something which someone can pass on to anybody they want but it is earned. And his title is an undisputed one without any challenge which shows just how strong he is compared to others. Julius bent on his knees and begged the princess to follow his request which she did albeit reluctantly. Of course, she hasn''t given up on showing him his place and thought, ''There are four tournament going to happen during our stay, if he is as strong as Julius speaks, he will take part in one of them. There I will defeat him and show everyone just how powerful Almia really is.'' Because Julius head was bowed down he didn''t notice the glint, but Fearow did and he just shook his head in dismay. Back with Alex and company, Alex along with his pokemons and Bill are currently walking towards the port side of the ship where their rooms are located. This time, Alex face possessed a smile which is completely different from that at the top deck. And he even rubbed Pikachu under the chin who enjoys this treatment. Bill who knows all the reasons about the previous actions asked," Is it really necessary to act like that with the Princess. Hell, we even threatened her. You know this might lead to a diplomatic situation." Alex didn''t seem to care about the words of Bill and completely ignored her. Bill doesn''t like this. He stopped walking and shouted," Hey don''t ignore me. I know you aren''t someone who do things without a reason so why are you doing this?" Bill became even more curious and run to catch up to Alex and asked,"what do you mean?" The two has arrived at their room. Alex entered his room with Bill following behind. Alex and Bill took their seat on the sofa present on the room while the Pokemons went off to rest in the bed While seated he started speaking," Before, I came here old man Oak gave me a task. It was to curb the pride of the princess of Almia a little and show her just how big the world really is. Her grandfather was Professor Oak friend and he doesn''t want her to cause problem for her family in her overconfidence. So he asked me to completely crush her and show just how far she is from possessing any real strength. But, with the amount of pride he has she won''t take part in the tournament , and even if she did it would be without any enthusiasm and she won''t go all out. My previous actions would make her want to put me in place and she would participate in them with full preparation. So now, all I have to do is crush her and my task is done." Alex explained his actions to him. Bill just shook his head and said," You can be sneaky if you want to be." Alex simply replied," Hey my teacher is an old fox. So if I don''t show even this much sneakiness, then what merit do I have to be his student?" Chapter 243 - 32 Tournament starts Alex after revealing his plans regarding Elsa and Almia at large to Bill, he decided to head for the conference of professor Westwood V. Professor Oak has told him about Professor Westwood V. He is the current president of the Pokemon professor association and has done much research in the field of different Pokemon evolution as well as their habits. He also helps Professor oak in his Pokedex study. He learns through the brochure that today he will be giving his lecture on the Pokemon slowpoke and Psyduck. The lecture on the two psychic water-type Pokemon would help Alex and also his siblings, for he remembers that both of siblings, Ben and Clara got themselves a pair of Psyduck who seem to follow them around along with their shinx. Sometime later, In an auditorium, The auditorium was large but it only has about fifty people who came to listen to Professor Westwood V. Most didn''t seem to bother about Professor research and others who didn''t think Psyduck and slowpoke were worth the time, just like Bill. On the scheduled time, the seminar began and the professor started to spoke about their habits, habitats as well as their activities. He mentions about their food as well as their mating times. He even mentioned some cases when the two Pokemons show great powers. Alex is completely focused on this. Just so he isn''t interrupted he even left all his pokemon with Bill except his hidden guard, Gengar. He didn''t mention what makes them possess such great amount of raw psychic powers which eclipse most psychic Pokemons except for the final forms. He returned to his room disappointed but he never mentioned how boring it really was, for he didn''t want to be teased by Bill for his enthusiasm at going to the seminar. Two days later, Alex, Julius, Elsa and thirteen other participants under the age of twenty has taken part in this tournament. The match is taking place in the four pools built inside the sea cruise. Four matches will take place at the same time. Alex and the other participants wait for the tournament to start officially and they didn''t have to wait long for the captain of the ship arrives and started the Tournament. The captain who stood at the high platform so everyone could see him started speaking in the mic," Good morning to all passengers. I am Captain Bark, the captain of this ship. The tournament is organized by the Silph corporation so I thank them for their support. Moving on, this tournament is a knockout match. We have a total of 16 participants under the age of Twenty taking part in the tournament. There are four pools and in each pool, there will be two knocks out round and a quarterfinal round. The knock out rounds will be a one on one match while quarter-final will be two one on one match. After that in the field with water and forest, we will have the semi-final round. As for the semi finals, it will be three one on one pokemon match. All the matches except the finals will happen today while we will have the finals tomorrow so that our finalists can rest and give their all tomorrow morning. " He shouted out and the audience cheered in joy and enthusiasm for the matches which will unfold in front of them. He waits for the shouts of enthusiasm to subside and then continues," I am sure every person here knows what is the rich reward the Silph corporation gas set for the winners but let me once again say it out loud so that the participants can fight in even more vigor and can entertain you greatly. The prizes for the winner is based on their performance. For example, Winner: 10000 dollars, two ultra balls 2nd rank: 3000 dollars, three great balls 3rd rank: 1000 dollars, five pokeballs But that''s not all, if they won in quick succession then the reward will be even more wonderful. If the third ranker of the last tournament wins, he gets: 1st rank: 25000 dollars, three evolutionary stone(fire, thunder, water) 3rd rank: 15000 dollars, one ultra ball If it is 2nd rank before, then 1st rank: 50000 dollars, evolutionary stone set( fire, water, thunder, grass, moon stone, sun stone) 2nd rank: 45000 dollars, evolutionary stone set( fire, water, thunder, grass) 3rd rank: 40000 dollars, sun or moon stone. If he ranks first,then 3rd rank: 75000 dollars, evolutionary stone set( fire, water, thunder, grass, sun stone, or moon stone, a Pokemon from Hoenn 2nd rank: 80000 dollars, evolutionary stone set( fire, water, thunder, grass, moon stone, sun stone), water Pokemon from Hoenn region 1st rank: 100000 dollars, evolutionary stone set( fire, water, thunder, grass, moon stone, sunstone), a Pokemon and also a mystery Pokemon egg. " The Captain wasn''t done and he continued," The rewards are rich but let me inform you that this Pokemon egg is special. Any trainer will love to have someone like this pokemon in your team, for he or she will increase the team''s strength greatly. You will like this reward. I can assure you. And now without wasting any more of your time, I hereby start the tournament." He declared and he headed inside the glass room which can help view the matches from the higher position. In the room he entered, Bill was seated. And by his side was the dratini who is still not qualified for the fight and electabuzz who won''t be fighting in this match. To prevent Dratini from getting hurt, Alex has passed on Dratini to Bill along with his electabuzz for their protection. The captain who entered the room looks at the powerful electabuzz at Bill side and is surprised but didn''t inquire anything about it from his boss. He knows his boss will tell him if he needs to know it, and he isn''t privy about matters he shouldn''t be aware of. That''s what has made sure he was able to become a captain except for his strength. He greeted and spoke out," Sir, the fixture of the tournament has been set as per your request. Do you want me to do anything else?" " No. It will be all. So aren''t you curious why I did that?" Bill asked the captain. Captain Bark looked at his new boss for some time and then spoke out frankly," Sir, I know that something need not be asked. If I have to know, I will be told. Over curiosity isn''t so good for salarymen like us." That''s why they asked my dear friend Alex to do the job. It is all politics. You know, showing off the strength so that the rebellious intentions of the people under the league remains subdued. " Captain Bark just nodded and didn''t interrupt but when he stopped, he inquired his boss," but sir she seems too stubborn. I don''t think that only one victory can bring her spirit down." Bill wasn''t surprised by this question since Captain Bark was a smart man and he can easily see what type of woman she really was. And Bill answered, "That''s why he angered her earlier. She has set Alex as her target and for stubborn people like her, they won''t do anything too outrageous until they overcome their opponents. So Alex has to make sure that she always remain in his shadow. Anyways the match will be beginning soon." Upon hearing it Captain Bark turns his attention to the battlefield while dratini w_h_i_n_es at not getting to fight with others. Bill just chuckled and gave him the Pokemon food and berry that Alex handed him to calm down Dratini. In the battleground, Alex and another trainer who is nearly twenty stands on the opposing side. Chapter 244 - Notice Network problem. couldn''t publish for two days. will make up for it later. Chapter 245 - Novel is not dropped My exams are going on now, so I cannot update the chapters. It will start from next week or from October. sorry for inconvenience Chapter 246 - 33 The match pattern as shown below: 1st group - A vs B & C vs D. 2nd group- E vs F & G vs H, 3rd group - I vs J & K vs L, 4th group - M vs N & O vs P The winner of the two matches of 1st round fight each other and then the winner of the two enters the semi finals against the winner from Group 3, while the winner of Group 2 fight that of group 4. And then the winner fights against each other for the first position. Alex is a member of group 1 while Elsa and Julius is of group 2 and group 3 respectively. So before Alex faces Elsa he has to defeat Julius. Alex is currently facing someone who was almost twenty years old and had much experience but he didn''t have even an ounce of fear, as he instinctively feels that the person in front of him is not his opponent. Julian joked about Alex," Hey kid, just give up or my Pokemon would hurt your pokemons too bad. Hey ref, Is it a gift that you sent for me. Hell that girl and that boy by her side seem stronger than this brat." He pointed at Elsa and Julius. Elsa smirked at the words directed towards Alex. Alex just yawned loudly attracting everyone''s attention,"ahhh. I am sorry. Were you saying something? I wasn''t paying attention. Can you repeat it again?" Alex''s uninterested gaze has amazed everyone who watched the match. Julian was angered by Alex''s actions,"You brat, I will teach you some manners in your parents'' place. It seems they just gave birth to you and forget to teach you..." But before he could say anything, he felt like he was in front of a monster. " I will stop you right there. If you dare to say anything more, I will make sure you will remember the consequences all your life." Angry whispered so not many heard him, but Julian could hear him perfectly well. Julian''s back soaked in sweat from his experience under Alex''s glare. With Bill, Bill after hearing this, was laughing loudly. Captain Bark was confused why he did that. Looking at his confused face, he said,"That idiot doesn''t know what type of monster he is trying to poke. He better not anger Alex, or we may have to repair not only the pool but also the entire room. " Captain Bark sweats on hearing this. He utters," Sir, it cannot be..." " You don''t know his powers like I do, captain. If he goes all out, I don''t think the cruise ship can withstand his powers. There is a reason he is a monster among monsters." Back in the field, The referee who stood on the middle decided to diffuse the matter and said out loud," This is a one on one knockout round between Alex Bart of Floral town and Julian Tye of Nimbasa city. Please send out your pokemons." Julian sent out a carracosta and thought,'' My Pokemon will teach you some manners.'' he never dare to say it out loud to Alex afraid of him after the last experience. Alex on the other hand releases a beedrill. Carracosta has dived into the water as soon as he is released while only his back shell and the face is out of water, while Beedrill on the other hand I flying over the floating platforms in the water pool. The beedrill that Alex sent out is the one he caught on the second day of his stay after the Pokemon Tide. Because of the Alex letting it completely rest during his kakuna stage, the entire energy goes into beedrill growth. The beedrill is only slightly bigger than most beedrill, but both of his stingers and the stinger on his abdomen are at least twice as big as normal beedrill. This has given him a pretty fearsome look and not many dares to challenge him. Alex''s shiny Pidgeot who has fought the psuedo king level Beedrill had taken Beedrill under his wing after evolution and taught him various tricks that his opponent used in the past battle. Because of this, beedrill has managed to become an advance tier Pokemon. Alex has seen that carracosta was of the same tier so Beedrill will be enough for the water ground unova pokemon. In the Audience, Elsa was laughing at Alex''s choice of Pokemon. She said to Julius," Julius, look at that brute, he doesn''t seem to know that his opponent is a water ground type and a poison bug type, beedrill isn''t something that can last long. Carracosta has good stamina and can last long in a battle. He can take some good hits, but beedrill cannot. All carracosta needs to do is hit beedrill a couple of times and victory will be in his grasp." Elsa inferred. Julius by her side has similar views but he also knows that if Alex doesn''t have a plan then he wouldn''t be the strongest. Back to the battlefield, When the two pokemons are sent out, the referee shouted," Let the battle begin." As soon as he said that, corracosta dived deep into the pool. But beedrill is airborne and circles around waiting for carracosta to come out of the water. The first thing Alex taught beedrill was to be patient and when he gets the opportunity, seize it. This opportunity came when Julian ordered his carracosta,"Water gun". Carracosta raised his head out of the water and a pressurized shot of water flow out of his mouth. Alex only said," He might know rest. Don''t take chance and end it in one hit." The only thing that it hit was a blur of beedrill. Beedrill appeared over his head and hit on the top of his head with " Twineedle." The attack was a critical hit and Sniper ability did it''s wonder. Carracosta was hurt by the attack and m_o_a_n_e_d out in pain. Carracosta wasn''t out in just one hit, he was angry at the bug and raged out. He has sent hydro pump at the flying bee Pokemon in rage, but every hit is a missing. Seeing that long range attack didn''t work, Julian ordered,"Use aqua jet". Carracosta covered himself in water and propelled himself at the beedrill. Beedrill wasn''t afraid of the large pokemon rushing towards him. Alex saw another opportunity," Hit it''s underbelly." As soon as ex ordered, Beedrill appears under carracosta''s body and hit his target with a purple hit. It was a poison jab. This time, beedrill didn''t hold back and so carracosta was pushed back a little and be fell on the platform on his back. It seems carracosta''s luck has run out. Julian was frantic and orders his Pokemons to stand up, but it is to no avail. Alex on the other hand is pretty calm and ordered,"End the fight." And, beedrill did as he was asked. A black smoke arise from the place carracosta last laid, and when it cleared out, it showed that Carracosta has fainted. Seeing this, Julian returned his pokemon still in shock and utters,"How, how did he win? I have the complete advantage." Alex hears his words but didn''t say anything and walks away. In the audience, Elsa herself was surprised by the fact that Alex won when he was at complete disadvantage. She speaks her doubt to Julius who replies back," He targets the weak point of carracosta. He is waiting for the right moment and attacks him. He attacks carracosta in the head to irritate him and his real attack started when he hit him in the underbelly. His hyper beam also targeted the underbelly. Beedrill isn''t strong enough to defeat Carracosta with just a hit, so he made plans to defeat him." Julius also thought to himself,'' He isn''t just powerful but patient enough not to rush forward into unfavorable situations. He hasn''t even revealed a hint of his powers in this battle.'' After Alex''s match, came Julius and Elsa''s match. They easily beat their opponents in the knockout round with a seaking and tentacool respectively. Chapter 247 - 34 There was just ten minutes break after the knockout round ended. Alex was thinking about Elsa and Julius battle in the knockout round and tried to infer the battle strategy and attics of the two, such as whether they were speed fighters, power hitters or long term fighters. Flashback Alex is currently at the audience and watched the match which is going to start between Julius and another girl from Unova named Aurea Juniper. She is a very beautiful light brown haired girl with green eyes. Alex felt like he heard her name somewhere , but he couldn''t place where he saw her. Julius is standing wearing his characteristic white diamond-shaped c_h_e_s_t plate cut off above his lower abdomen, and placed over his shoulders are a pair of white spaulders with rerebraces set under them. Meanwhile, Aurea is wearing a green mini skirt and a red tank top. She has a cheerful smile on her face. Both were of same age, in their teen years ranging between 15 to 18 years. Alex knows that Julius is stronger than most participants in the tournament, but the fact that he remembered hearing Aurea name somewhere, keeps reminding Alex not to forget her. So he looks at the knock out match. The referee starts with the introduction of the two participants," This is a one on one Pokemon battle between Aurea Juniper of Nuvema Town and Julian Arc of Almia City. Please release your pokemons." Both of them used a water type Pokemon for this match, where Aurea sent out the water ghost type Unova native Pokemon, Frilish, while Julius released his water electric type Pokemon, Lanturn for the fight. The two stayed at the surface of the pool before the match started and as soon as the referee started the match, they dived into the water. Unlike the match with Alex where there weren''t much command issued, the two sent out rapid orders for their pokemons. " Jump on the platform"" Dive into the water." Both said in unison and the did the same. So frillish jumped on the floating platform while Lanturn dived into the pool. Both trainers know that if the two were close by, they may fall prey to the opponent. If Lanturn touch frillish he may fall prey to her cursed boy whereas if frillish is close she may get hit and knocked out by electric attacks. Frillish on the platform was in a lookout for the Lanturn who is underwater. Juniper knows if she doesn''t act fast she may be in disadvantage so she initiated the attack. She orders her frillish,"use omnious wind and bring out Lanturn from the water." She unleashed the ghost type attack and the waves generated in the pool. There is a circular water current generated in the pool and Lanturn who was out of the range seems to be pulled into the current. Julius who sees this seemed troubled and shouted out," Use discharge and stop this attack." Lanturn on hearing this command, jumped out of the water and sent out an electric discharge at the jellyfish Pokemon. The power behind the attack was enough to disrupt the momentum of frillish on the battle, so Aurea orders," Dodge frillish and use ice beam." Frillish jumped sideways and dishes the attack while retaliates with ice beam. Lanturn shrieks in pain as he is hit by the ice beam. Instead of worrying, Julius smirks as he watches Lanturn slowly inching closer to Frillish. When Lanturn was close enough, Julius ordered," Confuse Ray and discharge." Under the influence of confuse Ray, Frillish lost control over his body which frightened Aurea but the true terror came from discharge. Of course Aurea wasn''t willing to go down easily and orders the last move," Omnious wind." The wind currents hit Lanturn directly and he almost crashed in the walls of the pool. If not for frillish losing conscience It would be Lanturn''s loss. Frillish couldn''t last long under the electric move and finally fainted. The referee states," Frillish is unable to fight, This match belong to Julius Arc of Almia City." Aurea returns her pokemon back disappointed at the loss but she isn''t too.much affected, Julius on the sighed in relief that he won the battle for the battle was a close on. Alex who watched this battle inferred that Julius wasn''t as calm in battle as he normally seem for he tried to defeat his opponent with power. There are multiple ways in which Julius could have won without much problem, but his battle behavior reveals flaw in her battle. The next battle between Elsa Reid and another trainer from johto began. Elsa has sent out her glaceon, the ice type evolution of Eevee, while her opponent has his grass flying Pokemon, jumpluff out. In this battle, Elsa has complete advantage, for her opponent still has an arrogant grin on his face irrespective of the fact that he has an ice Pokemon as an opponent . The fact that her opponent revealed a ice type yet he is arrogant made Alex curious whether he knows if it is an ice type and his words confirmed that he is unaware of his true type. The opponent snarled at Elsa," Girl, you don''t think your water pokemon can beat my jumpluff. He can fly away from the attack and his grass moves are super effective. It will be good for both of us if you just gave up." Elsa just huffed and didn''t speak back. As soon as the referee orders the match to initiate Elsa reveals ber viciousness. " Blizzard" Before anything could happen, a blizzard initiated and the cottonweed Pokemon was frozen solid under the attack. Jumpluff never got the chance to attack. Because Elsa ordered the final move, " Hyper beam" Glaceon did as ordered and when the smoke settled, jumpluff was out for the count. The referee as well as the audience were shocked by how fast the battle has come to an end. While Elsa''s opponent.was still in shock, Elsa smirks at Alex and then returns her glaceon as she walks away. Alex can infer from the attacks that glaceon was an advanced level Pokemon and also that Elsa is quick to Anger. The most conservative way to win her is anger her, endure her anger for sometime and then beat her pokemons when they are tired. Flashback ends. Alex''s match was the first match of the quarter match round. The fact that Alex defeated Julian a possible winner for the tournament made Brook vigilant about Alex. The two stood on opposite sides and when the referee issued the command they released their pokemons at the same time. Brook choose a staraptor, and unlike last time Alex did not choose a Pokemon who can fly but a normal type scratch cat Pokemon, Meowth. Alex thought of using the pokemon who isn''t at advance level and don''t have much fighting experience to battle in the tournament. It will be a good fighting experience for him. Also the water field makes sure that meowth have a decent advantage against pokemons regardless of what staraptor can do. The fast speed of Meowth is enough for him to dodge most of staraptor''s powerful attacks. As soon as the referee initiated the attack, Alex started the match with a rain dance. The rain cloud gathers over the field and rain begin to fall. Brook on the other hand ordered staraptor to use quick attack followed by wing attack. The quick attack hit Meowth and hurt him but Alex''s command of thundershock prevents staraptor to continue the attack. The shrieks of staraptor rang through the arena. The taunts of Elsa made Alex feel that he needs to show Elsa she wasn''t as powerful as she thought herself to be. Meowth knows a move called assist. This move can randomly use any move that the Pokemon in the party knows. This move brought out giga impact. The purple energy powered body slam slammed staraptor in the floating platform. Because of Meowth smaller body frame, staraptor was t out for the count but his wings are damaged so he cannot use his wings to fly. So Brook ordered him to use hyper beam at the stagnant pokemons who was recovering from the toll of giga impact. Just as it neared him, Alex orders him to use aerial ace to dodge and end the battle with fury swipes. With aerial ace be dodged, and with the boost from his technician ability, fury swipes did the trick . Alex managed to defeat staraptor without much problem. To egg Elsa, Alex made sure to smirk at her direction. Chapter 248 - 35 Just as Alex predicted before the tournament began, Elsa and Julius has qualified for the tournament along with another trainer from Hoenn region. They have beaten their opponents with a sneasel and glaceon respectively and earned their position in the semi finals. In the semi final bout, Alex will be facing Julius while Elsa would be facing someone named Rosy from Oldale town of the Hoenn region. In the intermission, there was much buzzing in the crowd. In the audience, most people feels that Elsa has the most chance of victory and have placed a bet on her even if the odd are only 1:0.9 There are others who have similar views regarding Julius and Roxy and they had a 1:1.3 and 1:1.4 odds. Alex who havent gone all out yet and only won the bouts with tricks and not sheer power,makes most people feel that he isn''t even going to be in top three so his odds of winner is 1:2.5. This betting is only regarding whether the trainer can reach the semi finals. Bill has already stopped all bets regarding who will be the winner of the tournament from the very beginning, for if someone bet on Alex then they may have to pay at least five to eight times the betting amount as per the odds set. Bill is a businessman and he can never make such a losing deal if he already know the outcome so there was only betting regarding who can reach the finals and who can win the match. Not many dares to bet on Alex but of course there are few daring ones who have done so and Bill sighed in relief because he altered the real odds with this one. With Alex current display of strength Bill decided to open the betting for the winner and win himself some profits. Although it would only amount to a few million dollars, but profit is profit after all. In the top box, Captain Bark inquired,"sir, Is it wise to do that. If he fails, we may not earn enough. Also, even if he wins we cannot get enough returns." He tried to make Bill change his mind. " You should remember what I tell you what he can do if he is angered isn''t it." Bill answered with his own question at Bark. " Yes sir, you said he can destroy the cruise ship if he wished it. But, sir can he really ..." Bark was uncertain about his powers. "These pokemons are the new ones he caught just a few months ago. They aren''t qualified enough to be a sign of his powers. The next match is between Alex and Julius. In that match, you will see how he is going to deal with the group from Almia. Captain, If you have any doubts you can ask me?"Bill said while remembering what Alex has said. " But sir why is Mr. Alex targeting the princess ?" Captain Bark curious as to why she was target. Bill from his box looks down at the place where Julius, Elsa and Aurea sat together," Because she has a gift. The Almians have always been proud and this gift of hers have increased their arrogance to a whole new level. Although King Escanor has managed to keep them in lease, after Princess Elsa grow there might be chances of rebellion in Almia. So the league has asked Alex to remind Elsa and through her the entire Almia royal family, somethings cannot be too excessive. And if they do something that is too much, then league has the power to deal with them, even without showing their fangs to them." Bill said. He never mentioned what powers she possess. Captain Bark earlier thought why his current boss was so free at revealing so much information to him but the fact that league itself is involved made him aware why he did it. If these information is revealed out in the public, his boss may be fine but he will be persecuted. With Julius, Elsa and Aurea, After her match with Julius, Aurea decided to join together with the Almia group and sit together. Currently the trio are talking about their strategy for the next round. It is more of Elsa telling how she is going to dominate her match against Rosy while, Aurea adding her thoughts from every now and then. Aurea noticed that her opponent Julius was quiet and inquired," Are you alright,Julius? Is everything alright? You seem to be in deep thoughts." Elsa who has some idea why he is like this spoke,"Are you still worried about that brat? Don''t worry, Julius, you can beat the brat easily. Didn''t you see how close his matches were?" But, Julius doesn''t seem to believe her. He retorts with his words," Your highness. I don''t think that was his full strength. Whenever I am in front of him, I feel like I am in front of your father, both keep their strength hidden behind their calm visage, but when it is unleashed it brings absolute destruction. He has been eyeing us since the very beginning. After that incident with his Pikachu, I was shocked that he let us go without any repression. But this tournament has given him enough opportunity to teach us a lesson without any reparations. But I don''t fear for myself but for you. I know very well that I cannot beat him and he has chosen you as his prey. Princess, please I once again urge you to withdraw from the tournament." Julius pleaded to Elsa. This shocked Aurea but Elsa on the other hand is angry, very angry. Angry that someone as loyal to her as Julius dare to give such an advice to her. " You.. ... , How dare you insist on something like that, Julius? If not for your years of loyalty I would have you punished. " She warned her guardian. Her eyes glowed light blue and it seems her anger is making the surrounding area cold. But Julius doesn''t seem to be affected by it. He bowed his head and said,"Your highness, he is waiting for you. And, I don''t think I can protect you in this situation. Please your highness don''t be so aggressive and think carefully." He once again try to convince him. Elsa wasn''t willing to hear anything further but just before she can say anything,Aurea intervenes," Now, now, both if you calm down. We all are friends here, no need to be all hostile here." The two did as she said, calm themselves down, and Elsa turned her face sideways so she doesn''t look at him. Aurea asked Julius," Is he really that strong?" She doesn''t know anything about Alex and from the fights so far, he does not show enough strength which warrants their vigilance so their words confused her. "Although I don''t know how strong he really is, I know one thing. None of the participants are his opponent if he goes all out, even if we face him together." Julius declared his thoughts. Aurea was shocked by his declaration and before Elsa can retort a sound was heard through the transmission. '' All the participants please report at the prescribed places. The semi finals will be start soon.'' As soon as it is heard, Julius noticed from the corner of his eyes that Alex has left towards the assigned position. He turns to Elsa and said," Your highness, we might as well get going, if your not going to withdraw. I will try to let him reveal some of his strength for your help in the finals." After these words, he nods at Aurea and walks away. Elsa sighed to herself at Julius behavior and said to Aurea," Aurea, I am going. You watch how I beat everyone down. " Although she said it confidently, Aurea feels lack of confidence from her. Since the battle will be taking place one at a time, so in the semi final and final rounds of the bout, two commentators will be giving his expert comments. Also, he has been inferred the title of an advanced trainer so he can be considered a pretty good trainer for reaching this level before the age of thirty. From the loudspeaker installed in the indoor battle room, a soft voice rang through the room. This soft voice belongs to a coordinator they have hired who can ill_u_s_trate the various combinations the participants use to fight each other. " Hello everyone, I am Marian. I thank everyone for their presence in this tournament, in the name of Silph Corp. " said the soft-voiced female And a hardened voice make came, "And I am Stain. We will be here to help you explain some of the strategies in this tournament. And now, we will start our semi-finals rounds between the two female trainers. So are you ready?" " Yes." Chapter 249 - 36 Semi finals With a loud," Yes" the commentators continued forward. " Then let is introduce the participants of the first match of the semi final rounds." The female commentator, Marian''s voice came. "On the left side of the field is a trainer from Oldale Town, Rosy Hartman. She is a very skilled trainer. She has reached top 64 in Hoenn league tournament, and also reached top 32 in the Sinnoh Pokemon league. This is not all for she has achieved all this before her seventeenth birthday. Folks we have a genius here." And the audience shouted out in excitement when Rosy''s information is disclosed. She continues to explain more about her," She specialises in the electric type as we saw her defeat her opponent with her Lanturn. We can expect more electrifying matches with her around. With these qualifications under her belt she is one of the top contender for being the winner of the Tournament." As Marian praised Rosy. Stain wasn''t far behind and continued forward from where Marian has left things. "Folks, you don''t have to worry about the match being a one sided fight, for her opponent herself is someone a royalty. And when I say royalty, it not only meant her title but also her identity. Yes, folks we have a royalty among us. On the right hand side of the field is Elsa Reid, the Princess of Almia who is also called the Snow princess. She has completely dominated the matches till now with only her glaceon. Even though she is just fourteen this year, it doesn''t make her any weak. So let''s see how she takes on her experienced opponent. Now let the match between two extraordinary genius begin." After the introduction was done, the attention of everyone is turned towards the two girls in the field. They are fingering the pokeball and kept an eye on each other. The field in front of them was fifty metres wide and long. There is a small water hole in the center of the field while the entire field is covered in grasses which range from short to some tall enough to even hide humans in them. At the peripheral areas are the dense cl_u_s_ter of trees which can also provide camouflage to the Pokemons. This place puts water type Pokemon in much trouble because of the lack of water for maneuvering purposes in the battle. As they look at each other, The referee started the introduction of the match," This is a semi final match between Elsa Reid of Almia City and Rosy of Oldale Town. This will be a three on three pokemon battle with substitutions allowed. When a trainer manages to defeat all the pokemons of his opposing trainer , then he will be declared the winner and advance to the finals which will take place tomorrow." After saying that he looks to both of he trainers and asked,"are the rules clear to both of you?" The two nodded stating that they did understand it all. " Then please release your Pokemon." He requested them to release their first Pokemon. Rosy and Elsa sent out their Pokemon at the same time. Rosy sent out a Magcargo while Elsa sent out her Weavile . Magcargo is a limbless, snail-like Pok¨¦mon consisting almost entirely of bright red magma. . Its oval eyes are large and yellow with small pupils, and extend upward from its head. It has a bulbous snout and a wide mouth, with two drops of magma dangling from each side of its upper jaw. Magcargo''s back is protected by a gray, spherical shell composed of hardened, but brittle magma, forming irregular lumps and plates. A streak of fire leaks from the side of its shell. Meanwhile Weavile is a bipedal, weasel-like Pok¨¦mon with a pale, gray body that has several feathery areas. It has a bright red crown and collar made of wide feathers, and a single, thinner feather on each ear. The ear feathers are smaller on a female Weavile. Weavile has two tail feathers and three claws on each paw. There is a yellow, oval marking in the center of its forehead. Its eyes are red with three eyelashes, and four fangs protrude from its upper jaw. It is a battle between the powerful defensive fire ground type and fast stealthy ice dark type . ( Though dark type isn''t so popularised and it''s typing isn''t officially recognized yet. ) When the two pokemons made their appearance, the commentators too introduced the Pokemon. Marian started," Elsa has sent out her menacing looking Weavile , and Rosy has sent her aggressive Magcargo. The two pokemons are almost completely opposite of the other in their attack and battle style preference. " And then Stain continued," since most of the people are from Kanto, so you may not know these pokemons. The dark coloured Pokemon is Weavile. It is an ice type pokemons just like Elsa''s glaceon which is an ice type evolution of Eevee. They are known for their devious and intelligence. They are ruthless against their prey as you can understand from their sharp claws. They usually lives in cold, icy areas where it forms small packs of four or five members. A pack of Weavile uses teamwork to take down its prey They are among some of the fastest Pokemons though their stamina and defense left much to be d_e_s_i_r_ed. " After his explantation, the cried shouted," Ahhh. " And some of them even looked at the clawed Pokemon with vigilance and fear in their eyes. The ice dark dual type pokemon just smirked at that, apparently he enjoyed their fear for him. After Stain introduced Weavile, Marian gave a brief introduction regarding Magcargo is," On the other side is Magcargo. They are usually found in the volcanic areas of Hoenn region and are mostly solitary with only very few of them living in groups. They aren''t as aggressive as Weavile, but if they seem someone threatening for them or their nest, they do melt down the intruder without haste. It is also dual fire and rock type, symbolising it has complete advantage over Elsa''s Weavile. His strong shell can defend Magcargo against many attacks which can put Weavile in some problems." On hearing this, some audience gripped their head as they felt they bet wrong and are going to lose money. Stain elaborated and explained what he might do in this case," The most effective move now would be to substitute his Pokemons and save him for some later Pokemons. Since she is at a disadvantage now. " With Alex and Julian, After looking at the two Pokemons, Alex asked the person standing close to him," Did your little princess teach her Weavile some fighting type moves?" The person next to him is Julius with whom Alex will fight in the semi finals. Julius is confused by such an abrupt question but he didn''t delay and replied," Yes she did teach him brick break. " Alex on hearing this looks at the Magcargo or more specifically at Magcargo''s shell attentively. After some moment, he said," Then it seems it will be an easy victory for your princess." " Why? His highness is at disadvantage here. The two pokemons are at similar tier strength but the speciality puts His highness in trouble." Julius spoke his mind. " And that''s why the importance of Pokemon information is much required. Let me clarify, that shell of Magcargo isn''t as strong as the commentator said it is. It is pretty light compared to their average species. From what I can infere, as long as Elsa can survive the initial surprise, she has the victory in her bag. " Alex told him what he thought about this round. "But why?" Julius has a confused look etched kn his face, on hearing Alex''s words. Alex just smiled at him mysteriously and said," just watch, if you don''t understand it I will explain." Alex just stood over looking at the front while Julius looks at Alex confused. He doesn''t understand why he is being so approaching and helpful with him when every past action of his seem against them or to be most precise against his highness, Elsa. But he doesn''t put much thoughts on this and let things go as it is. He thought to himself,'' If Alex can be helpful to them then many problems will be smoother in the future. '' At the battlefield, As soon as the commentator have finished explaining about the two Pokemons which are normally not found in Kanto region, the referee signalled to start the Pokemon fight,"Let the battle begin." As soon as these words are uttered, Rosy yelled put her command,"Rock throw. Completely cover the field with Rocks." Elsa and Weavile noticed that the grass field was covered in rocks and this prevent Weavile from travelling around in fast speed, bit it also have some advantage which Elsa noticed. She mumbles," There are enough hiding spots now." Weavile then jumps out of the forest as Magcargo started to light the trees in fire. Elsa immediately orders,"Weavile sneak attacks" Weavile then used quick attack to move around magcargo and used his claw to slash at the giant slug pokemon. He slashed at Magcargo a couple of time and before his flamethrower can hit Weavile, Weavile dodges at the right time. Magcargo was wailing in pain from those attacks yet Rosy wasn''t disturbed by it, for she has a small smirk on her face. " It''s time to change the situation, Magcargo." Rosy shouted out loud enough for everyone to hear. Magcargo eyes become focused and as soon as Weavile appears in front of him he is hit by incinerator. It seems Weavile is also burned from the hit. This sudden rush in speed of Magcargo stunned everyone, but Alex is as calm as ever. Julius is also puzzled by this so he asked Alex,"What happened? How did his speed increased suddenly? " he only utters a word," Weak armour." Chapter 250 - 37 Before Alex revealed it to Julius, everyone in the crowd as well as Bill were surprised by the sudden change of situation. While most people hoped that the experienced trainer now as commentators can clarify what happened, yet even they themselves have no idea what it happened. So the commentators attributed it to Magcargo and Rosy faking pain, giving out fake groans of pain and nailing the target when the opportunity came. In Bill''s private room,. While the commentator attributed it to tricks that the two Pokemons and trainer played against their opponents, yet Bill doesn''t believe it so he dialed Alex. Back with Alex, " Weak armour". Before Julius can ask what it means Alex''s phone rang, and voice came," Bill is calling, Bill is calling, Bill is calling. " This words sounds for a couple of seconds and then phone vibrates and then the voice continued until Alex utters," Connect the call." When Julius see the tech in Alex''s hand, unlike many he isn''t jealous or anything but feels he is worthy of it, for the things that many didn''t know or even care to pay attention to or ignore are noticed by him. He waits to ask his question for when he has replied the phone. As soon as the phone is connected, Bill spoke out without any formal greetings but straight to topic," What happened out there, Alex? I know the commentator say it is just a trick by Rosy to lower Elsa''s guard but I think the pain of Magcargo is real so why did all this happen?" Bill fires the same question which Julius has in his mind. Alex said," it is Weak armour." " Weak armour?" Both Bill and Julius spoke out at the same time while the other audience , ie, Captain Bark remain quiet and listened to what he is saying. " weak armour is a hidden ability of some of the Rock type pokemons, and Magcargo seems to possess these ability too. One can confirm if his ability is activated by looking at the shell on it''s back. This Magcargo has a lighter shell so the impression of it''s weight on the ground isn''t deep enough. So I thought he might have this ability. Anyway, what this ability dies is, for every physical hit the speed of the Pokemon is increased. " " What? So his highness is in trouble?" Julius said shocked while looking at the battle where Weavile tried to dodge but got but by some fire moves. Alex in the other hand rolls his eyes and continue," While this ability is strong, it reduces the defensive ability of Pokemon. You both should remember the m_o_a_ns of Magcargo. It is not because he is faking it,but because the attacks hurt him. His pain tolerance may be high so he can last so many hits but it doesn''t mean there is no damage. So his natural armour is down, meaning almost every fighting type moves are going to be a critical hit. So if a fighting type move connects then the Magcargo won''t last long. " In the battlefield, After that, Elsa noticed most of the attack cannot do as much damage as she hoped so she sent a bizarre order. " Weavile grab his shell." Weavile although confused did as she was asked. When she did as directed, her next command of" Brick break" came. In a surprising turn of events, all it took is a brick break to defeat the Magcargo. After a clear hit, Magcargo''s tolerance gave way and he fainted. Elsa is shocked by the change of events so is everyone who watched the game. But, none of them is as shocked as three people. These people are Bill, Julius and Bark. Everything happened as Alex said. Bill knows of Alex''s power but never saw it up front, but this remarkable observation of Alex showed just how skill Alex really is. As a trainer as well as past events, Julius knows that Alex is much stronger than him, but his greater perception once again made him aware of the gap between the two of them. His intelligence is high, meant he may have many strategy up his sleeve to counter his enemies and defeat them effortlessly. This may be why he is the winner of the tournament. With the commentary, " It seems Magcargo was more hurt from Weavile''s hit than we originally thought, it might be. " Stain stated. " Yes, and Elsa took the right use of her opportunity to nail the victory in this round. Weavile is hurt and burned in this fight. So she cannot last long." Stain interjects and said," How much longer can she endure is the right questions ? Now, we have to see what next pokemon Rosy will send. She has shown her Lanturn earlier,so will he be her option." In the battlefield, The referee declared," Magcargo is unable to battle. Please choose your next pokemon. " Rosy who understands what happened just returned her Pokemon back without much wait. She picks another pokeball from her ball strap belt and enlarged it . She isn''t that much affected by her loss and sent her next Pokemon with a smile," Destroy Claydol." And a black doll shaped Pokemon is revealed. Seeing his appearance, Elsa''s expression turned grave, but she controlled herself and decides to use Weavile to weaken Claydol. In the audience, Looking at another new Pokemon mostly found in Hoenn region, mostly in deserts or ruin exploration,yet most doesn''t know what the name of pokemon even was. " What is that strange doll pokemons?" " Will it be a cursed doll? Maybe a ghost pokemons?" Similar thoughts run through the mind of other people. But the doubt is clarified by the commentators," Folks, this pokemon is called a Claydol, a psychic ground Pokemon. This is another pokemon normally found in Hoenn. They are extremely powerful for they sometimes serve as the guardian of the ruins they are assigned to guard." Alex is still relaxed on seeing this pokemons, but Julius has a dignified look." It seems your Princess got herself in some trouble. " Alex joked but Julius didn''t reply. In the battlefield, Because of this the pool in the center has frozen along with a quarter of the land in the field. But this ice didn''t affect Weavile and Claydol. The crowd feels Rosy may soon lose her second pokemons. The commentator narrated,"Although it seems like claydol is being subdued but it isn''t the case, folks . Claydol are called fortress in ancient times due to their defensive poweress. Also, Weavile seemed to be badly hurt against the fight with Magcargo. Because of the burns from last fight, his speed is greatly reduced. If she doesn''t do something big, then the victory of Claydol is imminent. " In the battlefield, Both Rosy and Elsa also knows that the situation is similar to how Stain described but it doesn''t mean Elsa has to like it. She knows that the longer the battle drags on the lesser damage Weavile can inflict in Claydol. So it is necessary for her to inflict enough damage on claydol so her next pokemon may win the battle easily and she has an upper hand. So Elsa devised a plan. The long range attack are deflected by claydol and the close ranged ones aren''t strong enough to hurt Claydol. If Weavile was in full health then the close range ones may play a role but in his current situation, it is a fool''s dream to depend on them. She orders her Pokemon," Ice punch" Soon Weavile used his superior speed and appeared just under his left side and almost hit claydol but claydol has imprisoned him with psychic. With Weavile under their control, the victory is in the grasp so Rosy smirks. Same was with the audience and most of the people,but Alex isn''t one of them. He knows Psychic cannot hold down Weavile, so the arrogant princess Elsa must have something up her sleeve and this may require the opponent to lower his guard. Before Rosy can finish the battle, Elsa''s next order shocked them all," hyper beam" . Weavile easily broke through the psychic hold and sent the powerful hyper beam at the claydol. Because Weavile is too close to the blast area, he is hurled back and hit the boulders around the field. When the dust cloud subsides, Weavile''s fainted figure on the boulder is revealed while Claydol is mostly unaffected, or so most would think if not for his arm which seem to be immovable. " Weavile is unable to fight, please send out your next Pokemon" " Oh she lost in the end. It seems her last hit doesn''t hit the mark. I think Claydol may have use protect to save himself." Marian expressed her opinion. " I am of the same mind, Marian. Let''s see what pokemon she decides to send up next. " With Alex, " Her last attack didn''t work out in the end. The protect us a very tricky move which can cause problem for her later. " Julius said sadly. " I won''t say that it is completely useless. The attack is too close, and that claydol isn''t as strong as mine to instantly use protect to save himself. He used boulders around to protect himself. Although he survived, he is also hurt in the aftermath. Also, Rosy is pretty cunning, she has hid her secret move under the guise of protect. That move may really annoy her later." Alex said as his eyes sparkled with glee. Although Alex can win most fight with his superior strength, he likes the battle with strategy and intrigue the most, for in his opinion human mind is mankind''s greatest strength and any chance to exercise it cannot be given up. Although Lucius didn''t understand what he meant, he understood that Elsa is in a bigger problem than he apparently thought she is. Chapter 251 - 38 Elsa doesn''t worry about losing her Weavile. The one thing that worried her is how Rosy''s Claydol remained unaffected from the last hit. Just like Alex, she thinks it has nothing to do with protecting but something completely different. She has a gut feeling that she needs more strength to take down this Pokemon. She decides to use one of the strongest Pokemon in her team, "Go Piloswine." She sent her ice ground type small Mammoth like Pokemon, piloswine. As soon as he appears on the field, the temperature of the room decreases slightly, although not enough for most people to sense the temperature change, but it is enough for some observant people to notice. And the commentators are among those observant few people, Marian said, "This is a powerful piloswine. His very arrival can reduce the temperature of the field. It seems that this will be a very amazing match. What do you think, Stain?" She inquires her fellow commentator''s opinion. " I think that claydol will not go down easily. And both pokemons consider each other a worthy foe, and are looking forward to the next bout." With Alex, On sending the atmospheric temperature change, Alex''s eyes sparkled." So she fed him a thousand year old nevermelt ice, isnt it?" Alex inquired Elsa''s guardian. Although it is a secret regarding the Piloswine eating the ice, any person who knows ice type pokemons, as well as their strength and property, can detect something like this so Julius didn''t feel that a tone had betrayed the Royal family and revealed this news. " Yes. She did feed him that. After feeding swinub that I''ve, he evolved to Piloswine. " He explained it to Alex. On hearing this he shook his head and mumbled," What a waste of resource " Although Julius heard it clearly he still felt he might have heard something wrong and asks ," Did you say something?" " Yes, I said it is a complete waste. A swinub isn''t strong enough to digest the energy in a nevermelt ice. If he is unlucky it may die under the extreme cold, while if he is lucky he may survive and evolve into piloswine, but it still waste too much energy. Only Piloswine, Walrein, Lapras and powerful ice pokemons can fully utilize the energy and not waste it. If she has managed to help her Piloswine better, his road to evolution would have been much better as compared to his current route. Anyway, it is her problem, not mine." Whatever Alex told is the truth so Julius is once again shocked by the deduction skills of Alex and asks," How do you know what might have happened to Piloswine?" " I have a Piloswine myself. I think he will evolve into mamoswine in the next year or so. After all, he is pretty aggressive after the evolution, and bonding with him while getting my Pokemon to become stronger would be a good thing. As they may help him calm things down if he decides to go on a rampage. " Alex explains while Julius thought of Elsa who wants her Piloswine to become Mamoswine as soon as possible for getting the adverse effect it might have in their relation. He can only sigh at the Impulsive actions of Elsa but he isn''t someone who can stop her from doing things as she liked. In the battlefield, The referee has signalled for the battle to begin and it did as Piloswine summoned a hail stone. Hail pelts on Claydol''s body yet it didn''t seem much affected by it except for some frost covering his body. Distracted from the hail, Elsa orders her Pokemon," Take down" The mammoth Pokemon collides with the doll Pokemon and make it fall on the ground. With this, the levitation ability is put to halt and an earthquake that shocked the field hurts the doll Pokemon. Of course, The psybeam attack of Claydol also hurt the ice type who m_o_a_n_e_d out in pain. Piloswine has strong attack and defense but are weak under special attacks. As Piloswine is in pain, Rosy orders, "Flamethrower" and a jet of flames hit Piloswine on his back. It is powerful enough to push piloswine heavy body a few steps. This also grants claydol enough time to levitate in the air. but this level of attack isn''t enough to take down the swine Pokemon and Elsa orders," Ancient power" The power erupts from Piloswine who is still under the flamethrower attack and hit the static Claydol. This attack isn''t much effective only disrupting the attack of Claydol but it was all Piloswine needs as he hit claydol with the full force of the body as Elsa next command is," Double-edge." On hearing this command, Marian states, "If this attack hits then claydol is sure to fall. " " Indeed Marian. A full force double edge from a Pokemon as bodily powerful as Piloswine can knock out most of the pokemons out there." Stain said as he too agrees with her. With Alex and Julius, " It seems your theory is wrong. She has easily taken down her opponent." Julius said to Alex happy at his highness upcoming victory as well as the possibility of Alex''s prediction being wrong, for this will reassure him that he may have a chance of victory. But Alex isn''t affected and simply said," Look at Rosy." " Hmm?" Julius didn''t catch his meaning and he explains it to her," She doesn''t seem to show any sign of distress even though her pokemon may lose this match. This can only mean two things, her next pokemon is powerful enough to turn things around and secondly, she still has a trick in her hands. I personally think it is the second one. She is a pretty emotional girl who cannot hide her thoughts properly, for her actions reveal her true thoughts just like your princess Elsa. Her next plan will be something interesting." He told Julius while mumbling to himself,'' If the top 16 trainers in the league tournament are like her then there might be some merits in my participation of it. I really look forward to it. '' Although Julius wants to retort Alex''s words, the fact that most of his prediction came out as true he fears it might be the case in this. So he held his tongue and continued to look at the match. Back in the battlefield, Piloswine is shocked by his sudden disappearance and crashed into a rock in front, reducing it to dust. " Once again flamethrower." After this command, from his 10 o''clock direction a jet of flames stuck Piloswine. " Oh ho ho, it seems this claydol knows teleport. This might put almost half of the future plans of Elsa on hold. " Stain comments. Piloswine is in pain and anxiously attacks everything around him, but except for wasting energy, it has no effect. " Hit the source of attack with ice beam" Elsa orders anxiously as the teleport makes things difficult for physical attacks to hit. Even in pain, Piloswine hurls rock and ice beam at the origin, but claydol teleport away. Although Piloswine tries to attack, not one of them hit the target. This miffed Elsa who decides to take things at her hand. Her eyes glowed with blue light, and she motions her hands while ordering," Use earthquake. " her little trick is ignored by most, but Alex and Julius who know her special talent noticed it. Rosy laughed at her ," Did you not see my clay doll flying. These ground type moves have no effect." As if luck is on Elsa''s side, a boulder which is frozen by ice at its base rolls around and hit Claydol disrupting the attack and Piloswine used double edge. This time he isn''t given the time to dodge and crashed on the boulder. Piloswine body stuck to claydol ready to attack and not willing to give his opponent the chance to rise again. Rosy knows what the last hit meant and she utters," give him a goodbye gift." Claydol catches the meaning and uses an explosion, taking down Piloswine with him. With Alex " It seems your princess lost even with her, not so secret use of her special ability." Alex teases Julius. "But she still manages to turn the tide of the battle. " Julius counters. " she still hasn''t won, has she? The snow princess needs to remember not to use her powers in events like these, for it makes her too incompetent. " Alex said, getting no retort in reply. The commentator shouted excitedly," Folks it is a double knockout. It seems that Rosy doesn''t want to make things easier for her opponent, even if she is going down." Rosy has come down to her last Pokemon. Her claydol has defeated the last two Pokemons of Elsa alone,or to say it better Claydol explodes himself and takes down Elsa''s Piloswine. Both of the trainers are at their last Pokemon. Now it is all up to their last pokemons which may lead them to their respective victory. The commentator''s voice rang," The powerful-looking piloswine goes down under the explosion of Claydol''s last attempt for victory. " "Yes, Stain. And I am very excited to see who among these two will pass on to the round and reach the finals. The anticipation is killing me. Let''s check out the final round." And, everyone looks at the last pokemons that they released. Rosy sent out a quadruple Pokemon with blue and black fur and spiky fur and a long tail with a star at it''s peripheral. It is an electric type, Luxray. Elsa unlike the ice Pokemon she revealed so far, sent her fire type pokemon, Blazikan. Their next battle is between an electric, Luxray and a fire, fighting Pokemon, Blazikan. Chapter 252 - 39 The Pokemon that Rosy sent out is a quadrupedal Pok¨¦mon resembling a fully-grown lion. While its face, hind legs, torso, and the back of its front legs are blue, much of its body is covered with shaggy, black fur. The fur is longer around the shoulders and the base of the tail, and forms a mane on its head. The Pokemon Rosy sent out was a Luxray, the final evolved form of the Pokemon his siblings have. Meanwhile, Elsa chose the Pokemon which was unlike her past decision. this is not the ice Pokemon she revealed so far, instead she sent a bipedal, chicken-like Pok¨¦mon. The body is red with accents of beige, yellow, and gray. Behind its head, there are beige, hair-like feathers that continue downward and surround its c_h_e_s_t and abdomen. It has a small red face with a V-shaped crest on its head. Its blue eyes are semicircular with yellow sclerae, and its mouth is similar to hooked beak. It has featherless, gray hands with three fingers each, and three clawed toes that are not normally visible due to the shaggy, yellow feathers on the bottom of its legs. It is a fire and fighting type pokemon, Blazikan. The next battle is between an electric, Luxray and a fire, fighting Pokemon, Blazikan. After the two revealed their final Pokemons Rosy''s Luxray and Elsa''s contrasting Blazikan, the work of the commentator began. But on the appearance of the two pokemons, Alex immediately called his Bill. Looking at Alex''s call, Bill picks up the call and asks," Alex, is everything all right? Is there a problem? Do you wish to speak to dratini or electabuzz?" " No no, Bill. It is just that you better erect a barrier around the fighting arena. These two are at elite level. Although they have just entered the elite level, their battle can be a bit over the top and may affect the audience." Alex warns him about the future consequences if he didn''t heed his words. " How sure are you? How did you find their power level? " Bill trusts Alex but for the sake of confirmation asks him again and the method with which he detects their power. " I have Gengar with me. " He said as if it explained everything. And Bill did find that acceptable. "Ok. I will make the preparations necessary for audience''s safety. " After which he puts down the phone. Bill them turns to Captain Bark. " You heard him Captain. Make sure there are enough Mr. Mime around to create a strong barrier around the battlefield. make sure no one is injured in the aftermath." " Because of the high level battle so far, the tournament Management has decided to up the safety measures for the audience. We don''t think any audience is in danger, but to prevent such incidents certain precautions must be taken. So we request the two trainers to withdraw for sometime until the preparations are done, and we will recall you for the battle. We also apologize to everyone for this misconvenience. The Management will be given free snacks to all the audience. Please enjoy the treat and do not leave for the final round of the first semi final match would be much grander than the previous matches you have watched so far. " Marian said in her sweet voice filled with excitement and anticipation for the upcoming postponed match. The two trainers decides to head back for the rest bay of the trainers with their pokemons tagging along as their trainer decides not to withdraw them into their pokeball. With the audience, Aurea mutters," Why did they delay the match? Surely their last battle isn''t destructive enough to warrant this level of precaution." A person by her side mutters," at least they aren''t being partial. Neither of them have type advantage and hence they can start the battle with both at the common starting point." A blonde haired fashionable girl with a headphone in her ears said to her brown haired friend. " But, waiting is so boring. It was just getting excited. Hey, Aurea you seem to know that girl don''t you, why don''t you go and greet her?" Another red or to be more precise marron haired girl asked to Aurea. Although the blonde one didn''t say anything her eyes said she agreed with the girl. " Fine, let''s go Elesa, Skyla. " In the waiting area, Alex and Lucius awaits Elsa and Rosy arrival. After they entered the area, Julius arrived at Elsa side and greeted," Are you all right, your highness?" Since she used her ability, she may have to suffer from it''s sequela as it seems she hasn''t completely mastered those powers. " I am fine, Julius. I am just a little tired. " She tried to reassure her friend and guardian. Unlike Julius who rushed towards the trainers Alex goal are the two Pokemon Blazikan and Luxray. He walks around them to see their physique and all the body parts. Rosy and Elsa who watch this were confused but Elsa who doesn''t seem to like Alex much and inquired him angrily," What are doing to Blazikan and Luxray?" Her angry time doesn''t affect Alex mood and he calmly answered ," I am just checking how strong these two really are. " " Oh and how strong are they really?" Rosy asked jokingly. She doesn''t think he can answer that. A Pokemon true strength can only be checked by a psychic pokemons who are of same strength or are stronger. Some Pokemon who have strong relation to aura or ghost type too can serve as strength sensing. These are the ordinary situations when a Pokemon doesn''t actively use his or her powers. Only when the pokemon is fighting all out, can one see how powerful a Pokemon really is. " They are at initial advance stage. And they may have evolved within a month, if I am not wrong." Alex revealed to them. " What? How did you know?" Rosy shouted surprised while Elsa angrily said," What ? How do you know? Did you tell him, Julius." She glared at her guardian. " No no your highness. I didn''t say anything about it." Julius shook his hands and head while trying to convince Elsa that he has no part in this. " how did you find it out?" Rosy asks him. Alex didn''t seem bother by this question and replies,"Your Luxray has barely gotten accustomed to his thick mane and long legs. I saw how he was getting irritated by his manes and the irregular steps he take while walking. Same is the case with Blazikan. He has strong body and long legs. This takes time to get accustomed to. Although you both are at advanced level, because of your lack of control over yourself I can guess your powers aren''t under control too. You both better be careful out there. I don''t want to be a winner without going through the finals, else the people may think I cheated." " Wait, you said finals but you haven''t won yet, how can you be do sure?" Came a voice from the entrance. It is Aurea Juniper who said that. " Because Ms. Juniper I know I am strong than him." Alex said while pointing his finger at Julius who just looked sideways not to be their face,"Hell even he knows he has no chance against me. " Alex went back to checking the body of the two fully evolved Pokemon. He run his hands over their body. Julius just whistles around while ignoring the curious looks he get from so many girls. " Just who are you?" Aurea asked him just as Luxray almost got irritated by his hands and sent out thunder wave over his body. But Alex has already withdrawn his hands. " Ahh. I haven''t even introduced myself. I am sorry. I am Alex Bart from Floral town. Just so you know I am from Kanto region." Alex introduced himself. After that, Aurea introduced herself,"I am Aurea Juniper from Nuvema Town, " she points to the blonde haired girl,who just nodded to him in greeting" she is Elsa from Nimbasa city," and then at the marron haired girl who actively waved her hands," And this excited one is Skyla from Mistralton City. " " Hello" he said to them and before he could talk with them longer,Rosy inquired him," What were you doing to my Luxray? Why didn''t you do it with her Blazikan?" Pointing towards Elsa amd accused him," Are you helping her cheat and win the match?" Elsa looks miffed with her words while others contemplate whether it is true or false, Alex just laughed it off and said," This? My parents gifted my siblings with Shinx on their sixth birthday. As Luxray over here is their final form I was just checking things out. I have to say the things I heard about them being too aggressive is true. If I didn''t withdraw my hands then he might have zapped me. And, it won''t be good for your Pokemon to attack me without reason." Alex subtly warned Luxray against unwarranted aggression. " Oh and why is that?"she asked with a glare. She doesn''t like the threat. " Because Luxray would have been thrashed around by her." Alex points towards the place where a certain pink quadruple Pokemon with gem on her forehead and split tail currently rests. " She doesn''t like it when I am attacked and she does not Pokemons which are either brute or mischievous in her opinion. She takes great p_l_e_a_s_u_r_e in educating them." Alex explains. His words angered Rosy and Luxray while others noticed the plain way he states it. It isn''t like he is bragging but stating a fact. " And how does your little Espeon challenge her Luxray who looks like he can demolish her any moment ?" Elsa countered him. Espeon who opened her eyes now at their words to look Alex who simply huffed for everyone to hear. Alex smiles at her action and said,"I don''t think a Pokemon who just reached advance level can defeat someone who can battle advance peak Pokemon with her skills. She can destroy both of your pokemons without much effort. Don''t you agree, girl?" Alex just ran his hands through her head who enjoys his touch and leans closer. Alex''s objective for all this drama was to agitate Elsa, which was reached by his past statement. " Why you?" Elsa who never liked Alex lost her temper and thundered. "Oh it seems you don''t believe me, I can prove it. Tomorrow in the finals I will use only her to attack. My second pokemon will stand still and won''t interfere in the battle . If you managed to beat her, I lose. " Alex declares the gamble. Chapter 253 - 40 This declaration did shock them. " Are you underestimating us!" Rosy asked seething in anger. " Sorry. You may suffer because of her." Alex points to Elsa." I only joined this tournament to teach her a lesson, nothing else. It seems you will suffer too because of her, so I apologize." After that apology, all sense of humility in Alex left and he arrogantly states while looking at Elsa,"It is not that I am underestimating you, but you are overestimating yourself, by regarding yourself as my opponent. She isn''t even in my top five strongest Pokemon and she is enough to crush you completely. " His words made Elsa almost burst a nerve bit before her retaliation, a message came from the loudspeaker,"Elsa Reid and Rosy arrive at the battlefield. The arrangements have been made. The final round may begin soon." On hearing this, she just huffed loudly and walks away with her Blazikan who glared at Alex and Espeon before leaving. Same is with Rosy and Luxray. If not for the interruption from the intercom, Alex may suffer feminine wrath. After the duo left, only Alex, Julius and three girls from Unova were left in the waiting area. Julius asks the Kanto trainer who is petting his pokemon," Did you have to egg her like this , just before the battle?" Alex didn''t grace him with a reply and continue to entertain Espeon. Gengar currently hidden in his shadow chuckles at the events although he is quiet at it, his chuckles still irritated Espeon who sent a not so subtle warning to Gengar who quiet down and grumbled. " You are really arrogant you know that." Elesa spoke to Alex for the first time. " And all three of you are pretty and cute. " Alex looks at the three girls and finally said. His sudden compliment has surprised them. They blushes at his compliment which is evident from their Rosy cheeks. They are still young and compliments like these can affect them more than it could in the future. " You, what is this?" Skyla asked still embarrassed from his compliment. " That is me stating a fact." Alex answers without any fluctuations. " And how are the two things related?" Aurea asked although her blush subsides it is still evident in her cheeks. " Both are facts. I can crush them alone with Espeon, just like it is a fact that you are pretty and cute now and will be very beautiful in the future " Alex answers without looking above at them as he looks over the little chat between Espeon and Gengar. Lucius who saw their face once gain turning red signs to himself,and thought,'' Her highness beauty doesn''t loose to them now and she may be even more beautiful than them in the future, yet her past arrogant actions have angered him and he also never forget to target her. This is just another way for him to humiliate her.'' and he looks at Alex. Just like how Elsa has powers ( though it is not completely shown yet) , Julius too has powers. His isn''t anything agreesive yet it isn''t any less important than Elsa according to the people who know about their ability. Julius is a natural sensor. He can sense the power of people and pokemons around him. He normally cannot sense how strong they are. But if they used their powers he can estimate their power. When he met Alex earlier, Alex hid his powers through his aura but in the deck during the Pikachu incident, he felt Alex''s powers. He knew just how strong Alex is and he also saw the glare of a powerful Pokemon from his shadow. It is much stronger than any of the Pokemons his highness had. With that strength, it is pretty easy for him to beat her if he ever wished and now seeing Espeon almost use her powers when Luxray is going to attack Alex let him aware of the strength of that psychic evolution of Eevee. So he doesn''t doubt Alex''s words. Back with Alex and the girls from Unova. " You are funny." Elsa still feels he is joking and laughed at Alex''s words. Aurea and Skyla joined him in this, while Alex joined them. But Aurea suddenly stops laughing as something clicked her. Her father mentioned about some trainers before allowing her to travel with her friends. FLASHBACK Aurea is sitting in her room with a middle aged blonde man in front who has a serious expression on his face. " Dad, can I really go for the ruin exploration in Hoenn you told me about?" Aurea asked with some expectations. The middle aged man is Cedric Juniper, the current primer professor in Unova and also her father. He looks at her happy and excited face and his serious experession softens. " Yes. I agree to it. Alder explained it to me that I have to let you see the world by now. You are already fifteen and must have your own opinions instead of the ones I impose on you. So you can go to that ruin exploration with your friends." As soon.as he explained it to her she jumped onto him and hugged him tightly around his neck. " Thank you dad. I will take care of myself and not put myself in needless dangers. I will never wander around alone and I will..." She narrated all the things Cedric had told her to be careful about in the past. Cedric places his hand over her head to calm her down. " It''s alright Aurea. I know you will take care of yourself. But..." " But ? What, dad?" She tilts her head sideways asking him. " But, this time you may encounter some powerful trainers from other regions. So you must be careful." He warns his daughter. " So are they really stronger? Even stronger than me?" She asks curiously. "Let''s just say no trainer of your generation can match these young trainers from the other regions." He reveals it to her. " So who are they?" " I will not tell you who all of them are, but the only ones whom you might encounter out there in this expedition. From Hoenn you might meet Steven Stone and Wallace. From johto you might meet Lance. From Sinnoh you will meet Cynthia, Flint and Lucian. And finally from Kanto you will meet Alex Bart. These are some of the strongest of your generation, but Alex Bart he..." He stops himself thinking whether to say it to her or not. For the more she knew the more pressure she may feel from him and it may affect her adversely. He looks at her face and thought to himself,'' I really spoil her a lot. To think I don''t even want to put even a little pressure on her, but since the world is going so fast she might at least know about him.'' " What about Alex, dad? "She asked. " Let''s just say Alex is the strongest trainer of your generation and cannot be offended. Let''s just say, while others are genius he is a monster. " Cedric told her and didn''t say anything. Flashback ends " You are Alex, Alex Bart aren''t you?" Aurea asks him. Her sudden questioning of his identity, made Elesa and Skyla curious what she is getting at. Alex looks at her eyes and saw some recognition in them and inquired, "Did professor Cedric tell you about me?" Aurea seeing him not denying it, continued" Yes. He told me about you before I left Unova region. He told me you are a monster and also that you are strongest of our generation. Is it really the case?" " I don''t know " " You don''t know." The trip from Unova said together. " I haven''t challenged other powerful trainers from other regions to know how strong I really am compared to others. So I cannot answer the question. But, I can tell you this. I am the strongest in this tournament." Alex said with a smile and before they could ask him anything more and said," Oh the match is getting excited now. " On the battlefield, The entire battlefield is covered with cracks and craters from the attacks of the two Pokemon or from it''s aftermath. There is not a single grass or tree left in the field, for they are charred under the electric and fire attacks of the two. Currently both of them are heaving in the center and are preserving their strength for the last attack. " FLARE BLITZ" " WILD CHARGE" A lightning and fore body collides sends shockwaves throughout the room. Some people even fell down to the ground under the aftereffect. And everyone awaits in anticipation about who is the winner. Chapter 254 - 41 Elsa and Rosy leaves the group and arrives at the battlefield along with their respective pokemons Blazikan and Luxray. They walks to their appointed places while thx Pokemons took the fighting stance. Before the match begins, Stain decides to let everyone know what the management has done which made them stop the exciting battle stop in the middle of the match. " Welcome back folks for the final round of the very exciting first match of the semifinals. I am sure many of you are angry at the fact that the matches were stopped midway. Guys let me reassure you it is for your own safety. The Silph corps has sent out Mr. Mime and Alakazam out here who will erect powerful barrier around the battlefield in case any attack run astray. Also, there are some arrangements done so that the trainers themselves are protected from some attacks and they aren''t injured from them. . As you can see, there is no change in the battlefield itself to prevent anyone side from being at a disadvantage. Finally let''s start the match." The referee also motioned for the match to begin. As soon as the permission is granted, the two ordered," Flame kick" " Iron tail" The two collided in the middle and shockwaves from the attack were sent out. It isn''t enough to push anyone but enough to make most of the audience cover their face. The two fast Pokemon suddenly disappeared in front of them and continue to collide with each other. As for the field craters were formed around the entire ground and trees fell under the attack. As for why they started with physical attacks, Alex''s words were quite influenctial. They both knew that the Pokemon of the other side still hasn''t gotten aquainted with their body. So these physical attacks can make them weaker. In the long run, the one with the lowest physique would be the one to fall first hand. " Flamethrower" " Thunderbolt" Seeing that the physical attacks aren''t working and their strength are almost on par, they decided to use long range ones. It is just like Alex said they still haven''t gotten accustomed to their new strength after the evolution and increase of strength. As it reaches the audience a barrier came out which protected them as similar to how it saved the trainer. But, the waiting room isn''t so safe. But Alex is not worried for Espeon eyes glowed blue and a barrier surrounded the waiting area protecting everyone in the room. Marian shouted out," It''s good thing, that the management has the foresight of upgrading the protection of everyone or there might be some accidents. But, will you look at that their attacks have completely destroyed the entire battlefield. Except for crater and scorching ground there seem to be nothing left out there." " Pokemons are powerful creatures and especially so in the hands of skilled trainers like them." Stain added. " Bite" Rosy ordered as the pokemons were hidden in the dust while Luxray string vision can pierce through the dust cloud " Protect yourself Blazikan" and Blazikan readies himself for the incoming attack. The battle isn''t halted for a moment as Luxray rushed forth to bite the fighting type but he punched him on his face soon enough to save himself. Both the pokemons now has bruise on their face and the heavy breath showed that the limit of the Pokemons have been reached. In the Waiting room, Alex said,"Julius prepare yourself. Our match will be starting soon." " Oh how are you so sure?" Elesa asked. " Those two pokemons have reached their current limit. They have expended too much energy in the fight so far and their attacks are getting slower. It is better for both of them to defeat their opponent now, to prevent them from getting excessive injuries and stop these pokemons from taking part tomorrow in the finals." Everyone understand what he meant by those words and watches as the two trainers order their last moves. " Flare blitz full power" " Wild charge full power" Luxray too shrouds in thunder and the Rivalry ability increase his powers too. The two looked at each other and when a lone leaf which drifts around them in the air falls on the ground, the two clashed with each other. The resulting shockwaves make many fall from their seats even the referee has to duck to take shelter from the aftermath. While the trainers in the waiting room hide their face from the stromg wind, Alex used his aura vision to look at the battle in front of him to see who faints first. And, the result is quite surprising for Alex. He has thought in this battle Luxray would win in the end, but it seems like a certain princess decides to use her ability to her favour once again. After the dust cloud settled, Blazikan is on his knees while Luxray fall on the ground fainting. After seeing this situation, the referee immediately declared the result,"Rosy''s Luxray is not able to battle, so Blazikan has won this round. Since, Rosy has lost all three of her Pokemon, Elsa Reid wins the semi final rounds and has promoted to the finals of the tournament taking place tomorrow. " After that,the crowd stands up and applaud for the two young teenage girls who gave the Audience such a marvelous battle to appreciate. Elsa and Rosy wave at the crowd as thanks for the encouragement and returns their pokemons while starting to head back for the waiting area. And the commentators started to praise the fighting powers of the two trainers especially the younger one Elsa. " This is a very amazing battle which happened right in front of us, folks. This type of battle happens only at the top 16 stage matches of the league tournament. And we all are blessed to see such a battle here. " Stain stated. he made sure to compliment them. While Marian continued,"This battle was really something. Both trainers are genius but Young princess Elsa of Almia is really something else. At the young age of 14 she is already this strong. Who knows how strong she will be in the future. Maybe she can beat the elite four and even become a champion. Remember it, folks, remember for today you saw the battle of a champion right in front of your eyes." She exaggerate which only increased the anticipation and eagerness for the next semi final match. After Marian, Stain who received some words from the management informed," There will be a fifteen minute break before the next match to repair the battle ground and let the audience calm themselves enough for the next round of even more exciting battle. " After hearing about the fifteen minutes breaks, most of the audience left either to get something to eat or just leave for this battle is impressive to say the least,and most thought the next battle won''t be as exciting, so they don''t want to waste their time watching this match. Alex greets Elsa and Rosy who arrives and said," Impressive battle, both of you. You really redecorated the battleground with your intense battle." Both Rosy and Elsa were shocked by his sudden compliment and before they can thank him, he looks at Elsa mockingly and teased her," If it was me, I would have beaten my opponent much faster without any injury like that knee one of your Blazikan and the hind leg of Luxray. " He didn''t forget the insult their skills and battle powers Seeing the Audience was leaving, Elsa thought she found her chance and decides to tease him by saying," Look they all know how you are going to lose , so in order to save their time they are going now." Alex just rolls his eyes at her words and said,"is that so? It seems Julius is lucky, for not many would see his devastating defeat, but it won''t be the case for you. On the day of our final rounds, there will be a houseful. They will laugh and mock you for your complete defeat." Alex mocks her while comparing with Julius. Before these things could escalate, the commentator asked for Alex and Julius who starts to walk towards the battlefield. " Alex Bart and Julius Ark please come to the battlefield for your match." Chapter 255 - 42 Alex vs Julius In the VIP room, Bill said," Finally. I was thinking when his match would begin. Say dratini, electabuzz do you know which pokemon he is going to send out to battle in this match." Dratini shook.her head while looking forward to his master''s battle. Electabuzz just plain ignored Bill. " Sir, wasn''t the last round both entertaining and destructive? " Bark asked his young Boss. " This level of damage is something more than ten pokemons under Alex can cause without any effort. So do you think I will care about these small things. " He looks at his employees blankly and said," Look at this match carefully for you will see why he is someone who is to be feared." In the battlefield, The commentators Marian and Stain started to introduce the two participants in this stage. Marian started with Alex," Let''s start with the youngest Trainer in our tournament, who is also the biggest dark horse of this tournament. Let''s welcome Alex Bart from Floral town. He is the only Kanto trainer who managed to reach top four. And, above all set he is just 12 years old. We have a powerful trainer in front of us who will become a force to be reckoned with in the future." "Next we have another trainer from Almia who is called the epitome of Grace by most and is loved by many audience especially women. Let me introduce to you, Julius Ark." The two trainer stood opposite to each other. While Alex has a confident look Julius is just as unconfident about this match prospects. The referee instructed,"This match is a three on three pokemon battle with substitutions allowed. The winner of this match will advance to the semifinals tomorrow. Please send out your Pokemon. " Come out, Raichu."Julius sent out the evolved form of Pikachu. Alex, on the other hand, sent out," Piloswine, battle stance. " And the make an evolved form of swinub showed his appearance in front of everyone. Julius just thought to himself on experiencing this cold wave,'' This is the power of a true ice type he told me about. This is what he meant when he told me he would crush me.'' In the waiting room, " This Piloswine is much stronger than yours, Elsa " Rosy said to her opponent. Elsa''s powers are related to Ice and snow so she knows how powerful that piloswine is much better than anyone in this battlefield except Alex. "This battle, Julius doesn''t stand a chance." She mutters softly but everyone could hear it. While Elsa regards the entire match, the others felt she meant the current round so they didn''t oppose her. Marian said," This Piloswine is really strong. He reduced the temperature of the room by ten-degree just after his release without any attack. It seems we may have underestimated young Alex. " Meanwhile, stain remains quiet for he felt something dangerous from Alex which he felt from trainers who were much stronger than him. This confused him, so he chose to keep quiet about it. The referee has instructed them to start the battle," Let the battle begin." Alex gave only one order to his Pokemon," Piloswine, complete annihilation." Piloswine showed no sign of hearing this, but the frozen floor is all one needs to see that he heard him. Julius orders," Iron tail" for electric type moves won''t work and only this move have some semblance of working on this Pokemon. Just as Raichu appeared close to Piloswine, Alex said," Ice fang, take down then end this with the earthquake." The two small tusks of piloswine hit Raichu and the overwhelming cold energy of his froze the body of Raichu into ice. After that piloswine smashed him with a strong take down making him crash into a tree and bringing it down. Raichu''s painful m_o_a_n echoes but Piloswine isn''t giving him the chance for he sent a devastating earthquake that even shook the cruise ship slightly. In the end, the large electric mouse couldnt endure these attacks and faints. Commentator, Stain said," Piloswine completely destroyed Raichu without giving him any chance of fighting back. He has completely dominated the battle from the very start. Let''s see if Julius can recover from this loss and win a battle to tie with his foe. " " But I have to say it is pretty brutal. There was no grace or Elegance in his way of fighting as compared to how Julius fights." Marian said while not appreciating the brutal take down as her profession as a coordinator doesn''t appreciate such brutality. And Stain doesn''t like this remark of hers and retorts," This is a Pokemon battle, not a Pokemon contest. There isn''t much need to Elegance if the opponent is down. " Marian didn''t say anything back but she doesn''t like this. With the audience, " Hey do you think Julius underestimated Alex because be is a kid?" " It might be the case, or how can he take down that Raichu so easily if not for his carelessness. I am sure he will get back in the next match." With Elsa and group, " I guess I know why he said Julius cannot beat him." Elesa muttered with Skyla nodding her head with her. " Elsa, you should know Julius well. Does he have any pokemon strong enough to beat that piloswine?" Aurea asked Elesa for she is closer in relation to Julius than Alex so she wishes for Julius''s victory. Secondly, after the destruction of Unova in the hands of Samuel who is from Kanto, Unova people don''t have any good feeling for Kanto. So she just doesn''t want to see Alex win. " He has only two pokemons stronger than Raichu. But the difference in strength isn''t much. Above all, Alex''s Piloswine is at least an advanced level pokemon while all the pokemons of Julius are only in the intermediate stage. I don''t think he has much chance until some miracle happens and Piloswine is gravely injured."Elsa said while feeling sorry for angering Alex. She felt because of her Alex is humiliating Julius like that. In the battlefield, Julius withdraw Raichu without showing any expression on his face, and then sent out," Go Ferrothorn" A Pokemon resembling a flattened durian appeared in front of them. Its metallic body is covered in thorns, with three black stripes circling its width, the middle stripe having triangular decorations below the eyes of Ferrothorn. Its eyes have green rims, yellow scleras, and dark pupils. There is a green spike at the top of its body, and extending around it are vine-like, long green appendages tipped with spiky metal disks. On seeing this pokemon, Alex mutters to himself," This could have been troublesome if not for that trick I taught you Piloswine." His words were caught by Piloswine and although he doesn''t understand what he means by those words, he knows that his trainer wants him to be careful. After seeing this pokemon from Unova, most don''t know this Pokemon so Commentator did the job of introducing it. Stain introduced," This Pokemon is a grass ground type pokemons of Unova region. (NOTE-- Now the steel type moves and Pokemons are considered as rock type pokemons and moves for their similar semblance and weakness except for fire and water type switched). It seems that Julius is using a Pokemon which can at least tolerate the extreme cold of Piloswine." Back to the battlefield, The referee instructed," Let the battle begin." " Ferrothorn rollout." Julius orders. Ferrothorn turns himself into a ball shape and rolls towards Piloswine at fast speed. But Piloswine wasn''t affected by the rolling Pokemon. " Use ice fang" Alex retorts. Piloswine hadn''t moved a step and readies his tusk for the incoming ball. When the two collided the shockwave destroyed every rock around them and Piloswine has thrown him in the air. This made Ferrothorn give up his round form and he orders," Power whip" The strips around it''s body swept towards Piloswine. Piloswine is pushed a couple of steps back from the attack. Piloswine grabs his strip under his foot and frost seems to grow on it. " Piloswine Ice beam and end it with take down." A beam of ice collides with Ferrothorn freezing him. The entire body of Ferrothorn is frozen. Piloswine rushed for the frozen body and suddenly Julius orders when Piloswine is just a few steps away, "Explosion" A loud explosion rocked the battlefield and everyone thinks that Julius has finally managed to beat the ice ground type Pokemon. Chapter 256 - 43 Powerful Piloswine The explosion rocked the battlefield and Alex, Julius and the referee has to duck and grabbed onto the ground so as not to fly back from the after wave. Everyone is waiting in anticipation for what the outcome really came to be. But, the commentator has started his work," It seems that the impulsiveness of Alex has made him lose his first Pokemon. Although it will be Alex''s first Pokemon, Julius won''t miss the chance to establish the momentum for himself and will surely try to take down Alex''s next Pokemon as soon as possible. " " I don''t think.it might be the case, for Alex doesn''t seem to have even a little distress regarding his pokemon for possessing heavy injury." Stain retorts her. " But, it could also be the fact that he isn''t so caring about his pokemon''s health. I mean it is not for the first time, a Pokemon trainer dismiss his Pokemons injury. Unlike trainers, we coordinator make sure our Pokemon are healthy and safe. We make sure to show their strength with beauty and Elegance unlike some battles so far which we saw." Marian seems to have certain contempt regarding Trainers which she didn''t hide much. Alex who heard her disdain towards himself just shook his head, bit caring about her sharp words directed at him and his fighting style. After the recent changes in the elite four qualifications, many trainers have diverted towards the Pokemon coordinator profession. As such the previous skilled trainers who saw that there is no hope for them in gaining an elite four position, they considered that becoming a trainer isn''t worth it. So the other professions attracted these people. And, coordinator is the one which has got the most number of entrants. Because of the raising number and publicity among the citizens of Pokemon world, the coordinator has gained great confidence boost along with arrogance regarding their performance. Of course none of the top coordinator or the top level official of the league dared to issue such statement for the fear of incurring the wrath of trainers. But, those lower order coordinator like Marian doesn''t bother to control their tongue and dish out like this in tournament like these. The job of a commentator is to chat and inform the common people of some technicalities of the match and also to entertain them, and nothing is more entertaining than a fight among the people themselves. So it has now become a trend to invite trainers and coordinator together to criticise each other and demarcate the profession importance of the people. Similarly, stain doesn''t like her remarks and retorts," Alex is a great trainer. To protect the people from danger, this type of attitude is required. For every chance one take there is the life of a person or pokemon on the line. Above all, in a war there is no mercy or elegance but only raw strength to destroy all the foe. Not done beauty contest to show off." Just like coordinator disdain the application of brute Force of trainers, similarly trainers dislike the way of their attack application. They give up power for style and beauty crippling the strength growth of Pokemon. As their debate heat up, the dust cloud has settled and the view of the field is visible to all. Piloswine remains unscathed but Ferrothorn is down for the count. " It seems that piloswine may have used protect at the last-minute to protect himself from the explosion. In the end." He explained and realization dawned on their faces. Since, Marian decided to take a jab at the trainer profession, he decided to impress people towards trainers by saying," This victory is related to the experience of a pokemon trainer. Their vigourous training, sharp thinking and concentration in the battle make sure that we can protect ourselves even in the most difficult situation. Unlike some who will still be in confusion on what to do after the situation turns to unknown area, we trainers can overcome any situation with our sharp mind and power. " As he said that he decides to give a not so secretive glance at his Co-commentator Marian. Marian oy gripped her mic tightly and didn''t utter a word. With Bill and captain Bark, While Marian criticised Alex, Bill is turning red. He smashed the flower pot nearby in anger. Dratini himself doesn''t like it which he showed by burning a furniture in the room. Electabuzz who sat there for their protection ( Bill and dratini) haven''t reacted as violently as the two but the current coursing through his body shows he isn''t calm. Captain Bark who has been entertaining Bill has a sour face. Even though he is a captain of the ship, he was also a former trainer. Many secondary professions require a person to have certain level of strength which they can gain as a trainer. Even if someone wishes to captain a cruise ship he has to have it''s knowledge along with strength on par with an advanced level trainer. Fir someone like Marian to insult Alex who possess at Pokemon who is at least an elite level Pokemon is insulting for trainers too. He wishes to teach her a lesson and inquires," Any special instructions regarding this topic sir?" Bill although calm for the mist part still has fury in his heart towards Marian for her remarks about Alex and said or more specifically ordered,"make sure she pays for her remarks. Make sure she doesn''t get any contract from any place until she learns from her mistake and apologize to Alex. Also don''t mention this to Alex. He won''t care about such things and ask me to leave her be but it doesn''t mean I will let any good for nothing coordinator insult my friend." His eyes burned with fury. " Yes sir." As a former retired advanced trainer bark also possessed no sympathy for Marian. In the battlefield, Julius has sent out his final pokemon. It is the legendary Pokemon, Arcanine. Arcanine stood proudly in front of Lucius and after sensing Piloswine power he became vigilant. The referee once again instructed for the battle to begin. " Piloswine freeze the entire battlefield." Instead of normally used ice beam he started hail and blizzard combo. As hail and snow fell on the ground, that place has frost over it and soon the entire field except for the place where Piloswine is and in the spot where Arcanine has his foot seemed to be without frost. Julius is confused by the move as Arcanine isn''t affected. He only gave off water vapour as the ice around seem to evaporate from Arcanine''s heat. He felt Alex is trying to block his speed . Same is with the commentary," It seems Alex wants to stop Arcanine from using his legendary speed and so Alex froze the complete Field. Piloswine doesn''t need to dodge or more specifically cannot dodge fast enough, so this ice may help him skate out of the way of attack." Julius hence orders his to use Fire blast. But Alex isn''t willing to let him unfreeze the field or so most thought as his next orders were," Avalanche." Piloswine creates an ice block under him protecting himself from water wave but Arcanine is hit square and the ice prevent his escape. Seeing water wave hiting Arcanine Alex got s plan," Use Earth power to submerge Arcanine." Piloswine understood his master''s command and trapped Arcanine in an oval wall of Earth with water in it. " Arcanine jump out of there before it is too late." Julius orders frantic knowing staying there isn''t good for Arcanine. Seeing himself getting trapped Arcanine opts to jump out. But, Alex isn''t going to give him the chance," Target him with ice beam and use rock tomb to submerge him." Ice hit stopped Arcanine and the Rick falling on him, made it difficult for Arcanine to jump. Arcanine manage to climb the eock but the timely ice beam managed to send him into the water. When Arcanine is tired as well.as body temperature decreases, Alex gives the last command," freeze everything." It seems Piloswine has beaten Arcanine. It took only one Piloswine to completely annihilate Julius. Chapter 257 - 44 Later that night, Alex and Bill are eating their dinner in the most expensive restaurant of the cruise ship S S Smith. They are currently in a VIP room eating their dinner. His Pikachu, swablu, dratini, Horsea and riolu sat on the other side and enjoyed their meal while sitting on the table. By their side are Snorlax, Piloswine, electabuzz, pidgeot and Espeon eating their own food on the floor. " You were pretty ruthless back there. You didn''t give him any moment to fight back." Bill said while sipping the soup in front of him. Alex looks over his dinner and replied," Hey, what can I say. It is all professor Oak''s fault. Because of him, I have become like this. Let''s just say, my past experience has quite an impact on me. Due to that, I don''t hold back against my opponent especially against people who annoyed me." Bill is a bit confused by his words. He inquired," Why? I thought it is Elsa who annoyed you." " Hey, I don''t like two faced bastards like Julius. He acts all Kind and sweet but is most ruthless. You don''t know it, but let me tell you something, the human blood on his hands is much more than the ones in my own. He is someone who cut down anyone who threaten, irritate or anger Elsa. In the past years, he has killed many for their foul remarks regarding the royal family. How can you like someone like that."Alex said passionately about him. Although it seems like Alex doesn''t like the ruthlessness and cruelty of Julius, Bill doesn''t think something like this may affect Alex. Bill is the only heir to the biggest company in Kanto with it''s branches all over the world. He like most top people regard life and death of most people like numbers. He will only care about their death as long as they are his aquainted or it happens around him. He isn''t a philanthropist who will put his life in danger for others. Bill himself feels Alex is like him. Although Alex doesn''t regard human life and death with same views as him, the death of strangers who he never met before would have any sway over Alex. Bill feels that may not be the true reason for his disdain for Julius," So what''s the real reason?" Bill asks Alex not at all affected by the details of Julius ruthlessness. Alex gave him a look that he was saying the truth bug seeing him unmovable he sighed and said," Five, the reason I don''t like him is because he is a coward. He is a complete waste of time, space and even air according to me." " Why?" Bill asked while twirling his glass around as one does with a wine glass although it is just a fruit juice. " He seems to be all polite to me. That''s what angers me. If not for his loyalty to Elsa, I may have crushed him completely. His bootl_i_c_k_i_n_g made me nauseous. He has decent strength for his age but the lack of inner strength and that faux kindness along with the number of masks he wear in front of people, it is too annoying." Bill just laughed at Alex and his words," It is good thing for you. At least this trip can be considered educational for you. After you reach your peak the number of people who will act like him may be in thousands. They will try to praise you and butter you, like they usually do to me to get their job five easily. It is also an aspect of life Alex." Alex knows what Bill is saying is true. But, it doesn''t mean he had to like it. " You don''t have to like it Alex, but must accept it for not everything can be solved with violence, sometimes diplomacy is the best option for everyone. As for violence, if diplomacy doesn''t work then it is an option ." Bill said knowing what is running through Alex''s mind. Alex know what he is saying is true but the Pokemon Tide incident has made him hot headed. He likes to use strength to solve most of his problem unlike before. Alex sighed to himself," you know Bill, sometime when I see myself in a mirror I cannot even recognize myself, with his much I have changed. At home, I am fine being all caring and doting big brother for my siblings, but after I have left, I have many violent tendencies in myself. I guess I too have become what that Marian said ''A Brute''." While he laughed at himself with self ridicule. " Don''t mention that woman in front of me. We have already signed at contract about not insulting trainers like that in public but it seems she is too proud thinking that the coordinator council will protect her from any problem. Just you wait, when we reach Hoenn and our contract expires, she will pay for breaking the contract. She will find why these contract are life-saver for them, and why they must be followed." Bill thunders while thinking about her. " Hey, don''t be so angry. The trainers have always crushed other professions and now that coordinator are in rise, they try to show off a little. After all, we both know no matter how important A coordinator becomes he or she can never replace trainer with coordinator. Hey remembering about then, Lance called me last week and told me about something funny." " Oh what did that cloak man say?" Bill asked curious. " You know how coordinator show off Pokemon beauty and Elegance." Bill nods and Alex continues," A coordinator made a flygon into a joker. He made him lose all his powers to show off useless tricks. He showed off his trick in public and tried to attract people towards coordinator, but it seemed to backfire. The Wataru clan as well as many dragon masters have rushed to the league for punishing that person as he tarnished the proud image of the dragon type." " Wow , talk about courage. But I don''t think league will intervene much as it doesn''t want to take sides between this trainer and coordinator debate!" Bill expressed his thoughts. " Of course they won''t. But, Lance mentioned how some wild dragon Pokemons may attack that trainers and seize his pokemons to '' educate them in the ways of the true dragon''." He made quotes in the air to stress the last words. Bill laughed what it really meant but thought about something. "Alex what do you consider a trainer and coordinator as? Father often say that there is a link between the two but what is it really?" This question has haunted bill for a long time. Alex took a sip of water from the glass and then started his explantation," a trainer is someone who trains a Pokemon in his strength, power, moves and try to maximize his strength in a battle. According to me, a coordinator is someone who can control the moves and it''s power behind that trick. They help in learning control over ones strength to prevent destruction. Because of this , I think that not every top coordinator can become a league Champion( indigo league champion, not region Champion), but every league champion do possess the qualifications for The top coordinator. They possess the skill and control to gain it. " " So how much of a fact is this ?" Bi asked " I cannot verify if it is true or false but some who is both a coordinator and a trainer can answer your question."Alex told him. Alex and Bill are their dinner together and left the restaurant, and after parting to their room decides to rest for tomorrow''s match. But Alex doesn''t feel sleepy and decides to take a walk around the cruise ship. Chapter 258 - 45 Final round begins Next day, Time-in the morning, Alex and Bill are sitting together and having breakfast. Although Alex is calm, Bill isn''t so calm now, in fact he is nervous. He walks around the room nervously. Alex arched his brows and advised to his friend," Calm down Bill. You might get hurt if you don''t get a hold of yourself." Instead of calming, Bill becomes even more agitated and shout in indignation, " Calm? How can I be calm? You have a fun match just a few hours later and I hear that foolish declaration of yours." After saying that he takes a deep breath and sat down on the chair in front of Alex. " See my advise seems to work. Now you are calmed down. All you needed was an anger filled shout and you are back to normal." Alex said smirking. Alex found it amusing. Bill on the other hand didn''t find it even a bit amusing, for he gave Alex and unamused glare and alleged,"How can you say something like that? Had you said something like that in private, we could twist the story or something. But you said it in front if many people and some even made sure to record the video. Above all else, that bitch Marian knows about this. And she has requested the management to broadcast it so as to increase the people from watching this match. She hasn''t hid her disdain for you and now she gets a chance to make a fool out if you in public. If you haven''t stopped me, things could have been much better but it isn''t the case anymore." Alex didn''t seem affected and didn''t say a word until he was fine eating. After he is finished he spoke,"Facts are louder than words, Bill. If I beat her this way not only will my task be completed but that Marian would suffer greatly. Although I won''t take actions, my current actions are under the eyes of the League executives, so her future is over the moment she targeted me. " He rises from the table and went to wash off his hands. After returning he said," I have three champion level people behind me, Bill. I am sure many will use it to curb the increasing arrogance of the pokemon coordinator. They think just because their number rise, their strength increases. Now they can shake the position of trainers. But they forgot one thing, as long as the champion system exists in the league, no one can move us." He then turns to look at Bill who has a look of anticipation about the future events which might unfold. " You give coordinator a chance to rise and through you, they are also reminded the norm of the time." Bill mumbles. Alex bends to Espeon level and rub her head," are you ready for the battle, girl?" Espeon just purred on his hands. In the indoor battleground, Alex and Elsa stands at opposite sides in a barren battlefield ready for their final match. Alex is all prepared to beat her with her Espeon meanwhile Elsa is currently in deep thoughts about the battle. Suddenly the stinging voice of Marian , ie, at least according to Alex, Bill as well as many trainers around who don''t seem to like her anti trainer words, came," Now, it is the finals of the first tournament in S S Smith. It is between Elsa Reid of Almia who is also a member of the royal family." She stopped while the audience cheered loudly for her. " Go Elsa, go. Show them the the power of Almia. " " Go Almia go" There were even some banner made with Elsa portrait in them with supportive words for her. There are many people supporting her, even people from Kanto showed her support while Alex on the other hand almost no supporter. If not for Bill paying some people to show their support he may not even have even a simple supporter. As for why he won''t have a supporter, Marian reveals it for everyone " Next we have a very Arrogant young trainer who seem to think himself as the best." She introduced While bill thought,'' He is the best, you bimbo.'' he seethed in anger and was burning in rage from hearing her speak. '' Enjoy yourself now, for your good days will soon be over. Someone was going to be sacrificed to appease the trainers soon. In the end it''s your fault for targeting Alex. Now noone can save you.'' " He even said out in public he would accept defeat if his Espeon is defeated and his second Pokemon won''t even participate in the battle but sit down and watch the battle. He is so arrogant that he even agreed to do so in public. Let''s see if he can at least follow his words and do as he said."Marian sneered at Alex. Stain was warned by an old friend of his about the upcoming doom of Marian so he stayed silent and let her speak more, for who knows when she can be in it again. In the battlefield, Alex and Elsa stood opposite while the referee stood ready to start the match at the prescribed time. Alex mumbles loud enough to both Elsa and Referee to hear," She sure can harp long." Elsa just arched her eyebrow meanwhile the referee too find her voice annoying but he couldn''t say anything unrelated at this time, so he remains quiet but one could see he found it funny with his rising lips. A call came to him which made him stop his thoughts and replied to it. Then the referee suddenly shouted loud enough for everyone to hear,"Please be quiet, now the organizer of the tournament will say a few words before the final officially starts." He points towards the same elevated platform from where the Captain gave his first speech. He has this arrogance and pride excluding from him, showing he is a very rich guy and has deep seated arrogance in him. " Good morning to everyone present here. I am Bill Montenegro, the sole heir of the Silph corporation and also the head of this tournament Management committee. I am thankful to all the participants for giving us such a marvelous showdown so far. These battles are not only exciting but also nerve wrecking which keep us attuned to the battle the whole time. This time, for the finals we have Princess Elsa Reid from Almia royal family. Her ability and skill have been helpful in her rude to this position." When Bill said that, Elsa gave a not so happy look at Alex who just smiled back at her. She knows it was most probably Alex who informed him about her ability usage as he hinted her yesterday about her powers which earned her a victory. Bill continues," Then we have Alex Bart from Kanto who is the dark horse of the tournament. Most people may consider it his luck for reaching to this level, and feel he is arrogant but I don''t think so. I think he has earned his right to be Arrogant. After all a student of the world renowned Professor Oak dies have the capital to be proud. After all, not many trainers can reach his level. For he not only be an assistant Professor but also an advance level trainer." Bit, none of them are more shocked then Maria, the commentator. Her colleague Stain advised her," You better apologize to Mr. Bart after this match, for if he wishes to target you for your snide comments at him, you will not even have the chance to fight back." Maria just sat quietly deep in her thoughts about her future. Bill continues," These two abled trainers have reached this position with their own abilities as we have seen. Alex has also decided to make things more interesting by issuing that overconfident challenge as most of the people here say it as. So, I have given him that permission. Alex''s Espeon will be fighting Elsa''s Pokemon alone, two at a time and if Espeon lost the battle then he will withdraw, making Elsa the champion of the first tournament. I am sure many of you wish for it start. So, let''s get the battle started. " He shouted out loud with full of excitement for the upcoming beatdown of Elsa''s Pokemon. His current actions and behaviour has made Alex shook his head in dismay. Alex and Elsa eyes met each other again and on Referee signal,released their pokemons at the same time. Chapter 259 - 46 Elsa has sent out a psychic and a ghost Pokemon to face off Alex Espeon. Elsa''s psychic Pokemon is a bipedal, humanoid Pok¨¦mon that resembles a woman. It has a purple face, pink lips, saucer-like eyes, and long blonde hair. It wears a red gown with two gold circlets on the c_h_e_s_t. It was an ice and psychic Pokemon Jynx. On arrival she sent some flying kisses around to the Pokemon and the audience. Meanwhile the second Pokemon is a humanoid Pok¨¦mon with a hollow torso that resembles a kimono. It wears a red band around its waist, reminiscent of an Obi. Its arms are connected to the sides of its head, and flare at the wrists. The flared portion has dappled, light blue coloration. Its hands consist of three small fingers. It is an ice and ghost Pokemon, Froslass. Meanwhile Alex has released his trusted disciplinarian of the team, Espeon along with a certain huge, bipedal, dark blue-green Pok¨¦mon with a cream-colored face, belly, and feet. His arrival shook the entire room as he landed on the battle field. It is his Snorlax. Snorlax on arrival scratched his head and Tummy as he remembered that in the next battle only Espeon would be fighting so his presence wasn''t much needed. He turned to his trainer who just motioned for him to sit down and let Espeon have her fun. Snorlax on getting this signal from his trainer, laid on the floor and started to snooze, making everyone sweatdrop. " It is really something." Stain mutters on the mic as he saw what Snorlax just did. The referee looked at Alex in confusion and asked," Is it alright with you to fight like this?" While pointing towards the sleeping Snorlax. Alex just shrugged and said," my Espeon will be fighting and Snorlax defense is strong enough for the aftermath of their battle to affect him, so it''s cool." Seeing Alex is fine, he started," Let the double battle begin." As soon as he said that, Alex commands Espeon," Swift" A series of star is sent towards the two ice Pokemons, Froslass is unaffected from this move but Jynx got big by the attack. This attack is fast not giving Elsa any chance to counter the upcoming attack. Just because the first attack hit the mark, it doesn''t mean they didn''t retaliate. Elsa orders," Froslass hail, Jynx when you get the opportunity nail it." Froslass summons hail and then hides in it, while Jynx sent out ice beam. Alex ignored the upcoming attack and said," Pelt them with iron tail wheneber you have the chance." Espeon being the quicker one dodges the attack without Alex instructions sneaked behind Jynx ready with her iron tail attack. But, someone as skilled trainer as Elsa won''t be without options to protect her pokemons. She commands," Froslass use Omnious wind." This attack pushed back Espeon but Jynx isn''t fine. WITH THE COMMENTATORS Marian spoke for the first time, opting to be as neutral as she could now. " It seems that Froslass doesn''t have much control over her attack and Jynx has been hit. I don''t think Alex will give up such a good chance to score himself a victory." " Indeed, Amy advance trainer will seize this chance and score himself some winning chance. " IN THE BATTLEFIELD, And as the two commentators spoke out, Alex isn''t willing to give up the chance, since close attack won''t work with the currently injured Jynx another move would be great. " Espeon hyper beam" Alex sent this powerful attack to early. Although in pain Jynx isn''t willing to lose just yet, and she sent out an ice beam to slow down the power of the attack. The attack barely slowed down the strongest normal type attack so Elsa has to act faster. Elsa herself orders her Froslass ," Froslass use Ice beam to help Jynx." Although it didn''t completely stopped the impact was much lesser than original attack could cause. This ice beam put a strain on Jynx and Froslass as they constantly used this powerful ice type move, and are now breathing heavily in the smoke. But, the outcome isn''t much different. For Alex wasn''t willing to give them the chance to breathe he stood quietly and awaits for his Espeon to act. And she did act, as the sound of rocks being destroyed and collision could be heard pretty easily. When the dust cloud subsides, everyone saw Espeon standing by Snorlax side meanwhile, Froslass and Jynx has fainted. In the duration of a few minutes, both a tired Jynx and Froslass have lost. They couldn''t survive Espeon''s onslaught and in the end fainted. WITH THE AUDIENCE, "Wow she really defeated those two pretty easily. She is strong, but it seems Alex is stronger." "Of course, don''t forget Kanto is one of the main regions. How can a small Almia be on par with Kanto. Only other regions like johto, Hoenn or Sinnoh has any chance of winning against him." "It seems like Elsa isn''t going to win this match easily." Aurea told to Elesa, Skyla and Julius who decided to sit with them. " I knew it will be a tough knock for princess, but I didn''t think it will be so humiliating. Not even a single move hit Espeon even when they attacked together. Even their joint ice beam is eradicated under his Espeon''s hyper beam. In the end, they lost against him. And to think that sleeping Snorlax is more powerful than Espeon. " Julius said Skyla is confused by why he said something like this. She inquires,"how can you be sure that Snorlax is stronger than Espeon?" It was Aurea who answers with an analytical look in her face," Snorlax was at the center of the blast area which hurt both of them( Jynx and Froslass) badly, yet he is unharmed and can sleep without any disp_l_e_a_s_u_r_e. If their attacks can affect him and his sleep, his anger will fell upon them. The temper of Snorlax, if his sleep is disturbed, is legendary, so Alex is putting himself in even more difficult situation. To win this battle, all Elsa has to do is wake up Snorlax and let him go in rampage, if she does that she wins." Aurea explains Snorlax powers while guessing a way for easy victory. WITH BILL AND CAPTAIN BARK, " So isn''t Alex giving way too much leeway to Elsa by giving her so many ways of victory? This is too confident for doing these acts. " Captain Bark said to his boss. " You think he is giving Elsa a chance but in fact it is a trap in itself. Seeing that nothing is working on Espeon, he has let Snorlax a weakness out. But, in fact it is to let her pokemons target Snorlax, making them an easy picking for Espeon. He never goes easy on any trainer, when he fights don''t expect him showing any mercy no matter who stands in front of him. That''s the way he is. " Bill said with a cryptic look on his face. " But sir he hasn''t shown any strong power against the previous Pokemons he fought. They are all fine ." Captain Bark spoke confused. " You are talking about the first and second round. They are weaker ones of his group so there isn''t any excessive signs but with Piloswine,you can see not one of them can be fighting ready till the next week. They all will be in complete rest mode for a week and that is when he is not even showing his full strength so you think he is merciful." Bark is quiet for now and looks at the next round beginning. IN THE BATTLEFIELD, Elsa has released two Pokemons. One is a large, spherical Pok¨¦mon with no visible limbs. The upper and lower halves of its body are capped by bumpy steel plates. The outer plates have zigzagging ridges that open along its back and front, revealing its smooth, red inner shell. The inner shell is punctuated by four cylindrical spikes, each tapering to an open point. It is a forretress. It is a steel and bug type pokemon. The second one is a medium-sized mammalian Pok¨¦mon that resembles a skunk with the face of a cat. It has purple, spiky fur with several tan stripes. The whiskers present on its pre-evolution have since vanished or have been replaced by furry purple tufts on the sides of Skuntank''s face. Its legs are tan, and the tan coloration of its underside now forms a spiky pattern. The next round of double battle begins. Chapter 260 - 47 The Winner Alex has his Pokemon at ready. Snorlax is still sleeping while Espeon stood by the sleeping heavyweight Pokemon, Snorlax. Meanwhile on the opposite side is the skunk type poison Pokemon, skuntank and bagworm pokemon, Forretress. Espeon along with Snorlax seem to be pretty annoyed of the stench of skuntank. Espeon brows wrinkled meanwhile, Snorlax snarled and woke up and almost went into rage if not for Alex stopping him. He also created a orange ball of hyper beam on his mouths edge to attack the Pokemon who disturbed his sleep. He shouted out loud enough to wake him from his anger and give him a semblance of conscience while saying to his heaviest Pokemon, " Calm down, Snorlax. Espeon will deal with them for spoiling your sleep, why don''t you sit down and watch Espeon teach them how to behave in front of someone who is sleeping." Although Snorlax is still angry, he knows from his time with his trainer that he doesn''t hold around when he use this tone. He glared at the two Pokemon who disturbed him and then grumpily sat down on the field. Alex look at the princess of Almia and proudly said," I will not hold back anymore. This trick of yours have angered Snorlax and if his anger isn''t calmed down their might be some problems in the team later. So, for the stability of my team I will destroy you completely without giving you any chance to retaliate. " Elsa was angered by his words as one could see from her expression but her previous loss made her unable to retaliate in sharp words and she patiently endured his ridicule and his mockery of hers. The Referee seeing the annoyed look of Snorlax as well as the little episode between thd two trainers and he knew things are going to be chaotic now, so he decided to start the match while taking a few steps back to retreat when the chaos starts. After taking a couple of steps back he shouted," Let the battle begin." The next round began when Alex commands," Espeon Psychic storm." As soon as he said that, Espeon started to create a psychic storm. The entire field started to shake and the soil, rocks and boulders even the crumbs of trees and branches started to leviate in the air. Espeon used her psychic to counter the pull meanwhile Snorlax is too heavy to be affected by this situation. The lighter objects which they have on them like cap or plastic thing seem to fly around the room under the influence of the strong wind. Then they started to move around and created a big tornado which seem to attract Skuntank and Forretress towards the rotating column of doom. To protect her pokemons she commands Forretress," Forretress use rapid spin around Skuntank and try to counter the attraction from Espeon Psychic storm. Forretress did as he was asking Ed and rotated around Skuntank. This rotation has generated another wind column which not only protect but also to have an opportunity to retaliate. But just as Alex has said he didn''t give them any opportunity for his psychic tornado collides with Forretress ones and the aftermath sent them sailing in.the air. Espeon then controlled the body of Forretress and made him hit the body of Skuntank and when both of them fall down in injury. Alex gave them the final order,"Hyper beam to end things up." Elsa on hearing this knew that if this attack hit, she was out for the count. She haven''t even given Espeon a clean hit and here all her pokemons are down for the count. It will be shameful and humiliating not only for Elsa bit also for the entirety of Almia as her strongest pokemons couldn''t even defeat a single pokemon of Alex which isn''t even among the top 5 strongest of the team. So she anxiously shouted," Move out of the way. Use protect." The two Pokemons who are aching heard the frantic shouts of their trainer yet they could do nothing. The attack hit the target and only one body flew out of the dust cloud. It was Skuntank. His body collides with the large rocks embedded in the field and he fainted from the pain caused due to impact as well as his previous injuries. Forretress meanwhile managed to roll out of the way, even though he was tired abd managed to survive s little longer. He cannot last long and any direct hit is all it will take whether it is a normal attack, super effective attack or non effective attack to completely knock down the Pokemon. After Skuntank was knocked out,the referee immediately declared," The pokemon Skuntank is not able to fight any longer. He has lost. Please return him." Elsa returned her Pokemon Skuntank when the referee has declared she is out for the count with a miserable look and a sad sigh. Snorlax on the other hand enjoyed the way Espeon knocked down her Skuntank and he even laughed out loud at her Skuntank complete and utter defeat for she couldn''t even survive for five minutes or even given an opportunity to attack. Alex knows that all it takes a single hit to knock down Forretress but he isn''t willing to defeat her just like that. He thought of giving her a semblance of false hope and let her think they can win but couldn''t in the end. For expression would be entertaining to say the least. These two items make sure the winner is selected. So he commenced the plan. "Espeon use iron tail." Although this command isn''t something to be used at this time, she did as she was asked. As soon as arrived a foot away from Forretress, Elsa shouted," Explosion, Forretress." As soon as she said that Forretress dizzy and hurt expression turn serious and his eyes burned with a strong d_e_s_i_r_e to defeat his foe. And he finally exploded. The result sent referee fall from his position while Alex and Elsa had to retreat few steps to protect themselves. When the dust settles, Elsa hopped to see the fainted body of Forretress and Espeon but it seemed luck wasn''t on her side. For Alex has commanded Espeon to use,"Substitute". At the last moment, the application of substitute has saved Espeon from the massive explosion. Snorlax even snickered mercilessly at Elsa''s shocked experession. When the dust cloud settled Forretress fainted body was left and only two Pokemon Espeon and Snorlax are left, without any injury on their body. After seeing this, the referee himself was shocked and said," Forretress is not able to battle. Espeon and Snorlax has won. Since Elsa has lost all her pokemons, Alex Bart is the winner. He is the winner of this tournament." Chapter 261 - 48 Tournament Rewards As soon as the referee declared the result, Stain shouted in his mic," Alex has gained a victory in a complete disadvantage in terms of number. Alex has completely dominated the battle from the very beginning." " To think the biggest dark horse of this tournament will win and in such a completely one sided fight, it seems that Elsa is nothing to Alex. " Marian too joined in her praise forgetting all about the previous comments she made about Alex and his arrogance. The politicians and commentators no matter what world can change colour faster than even a Kecleon can even hope to achieve. They are never truly on any one''s side but change their position after reading the situation and where they have higher chances of wins and less chance of getting ridiculed by the crowd. After the announcement, the audience shouted out in amazement at the absolute dominance Alex had over the entire battle, even though most didn''t think Alex can win. After the battle results are declared, both Alex and Elsa withdrew their Pokemon, or more like Alex withdrew Snorlax and Elsa her fainted Pokemon while Espeon walks alongside Alex as they made way back to the resting site, waiting for the winning ceremony to begin. In the waiting room, Julius, the three girls from Unova, Aurea, Elesa and Skyla waits for Elsa. They have rushed for this place, as soon as the battle ended. The way Elsa lost to Alex is enough to scare and wound one''s mentality and people need support from their friends. They were here to provide that support to Elsa. Of course, the girls also have half a mind to teach Alex about how to treat one''s opponent. Just because one is powerful doesn''t mean he can be so ruthless and destroy one like this without a shred of mercy. They anxiously awaits for Alex and Elsa arrival and as soon as they reach there, Elsa is surrounded by people who asks her continuously if she was fine, or how she was feeling. Elsa didn''t say a word and opts to sit back quietly and be in her thoughts regarding this defeat. When Elsa has come, Alex also was with her. Unlike Elsa who entered the room and sat at the corner, Alex leaned against the wall and awaits for the award ceremony to begin. He didn''t bother to greet anyone for he knows that her friend would be at his throat very soon. And according to his expectations, it did happen. He is suddenly surrounded by angry faces of three girls. They glowered at him and their eyes spit out fire. Julius who has sensed Alex''s powers along with his Killing intent knows he isn''t someone who should be angered. Their group from Almia gas already angered him, so they suffered like this. The Almia pride and honour is completely destroyed by Alex and his Pokemon. The pride he has of being a guard of Elsa, Almia princess us destroyed. He is now just as devasted internally as Elsa is. He knew Elsa cannot win but the way Alex defeated her is too scarring for them. He looks at the calm trainer who first defeated him and then destroyed His Royal highness Elsa. Although Alex seem to be calm he isn''t so calm on the inside. Someone who saw his mother''s fury which has mentally scarred him along with Lorelei''s anger at Lance in their time together, confirmed one theory of his, ie, no matter what age a female is her anger is a force to be reckoned with. He has a fear for angry woman and so he didn''t face them but closed his eyes do as not to look at them. He is thinking things like, '' If I am not seeing it, it doesn''t exist and it doesn''t see him.'' He wishes they consider his inner fear as his disregard for them and leave him be. But, it seems luck isn''t in his side. The more indifferent he behaves the more their temper rises until it bursts at him in the form of Aurea," You, do you have any idea what you just did?" Alex knows answering woman at this time is equal to stealing eggs from an angry tyranitar mother. So he opted to be quiet but he did open his eyes. Seeing him so quiet, Elesa is angry and she thundered, "Answer her you idiot." Feeling they won''t leave him be, he decided to face the music," I think I won." " You won? You won? What do you think being a trainer is? Is it defeating someone like this, that they lose every hope and fighting will. Look at her, Joe desolate she became because of what you did. Even though you are stronger, you cannot just crush someone like that. " Skyla tried to educate him. But, Alex isn''t going to hear anything. He might have fear for woman''s fury but doesn''t mean he can accept anyone criticising his fighting style. " I think there is no rules that say one cannot crush his opponent if they are much weaker than them." Alex retorts making.them turn quiet. After that he started to walk away from them. " You.. you." Aurea sighed on seeing him walk away and then calmly said after her anger slightly subsides," Don''t you have any semblance of mercy in you." He stopped turns to her and said,"This world is a very ruthless, Ms Juniper. You should know you cannot show mercy to your enemies, the fact their pokemons aren''t gravelly injured or crippled is already me showing mercy. " After that he on e again started to walk away. Skyla is confused by why he considers them his enemy and said," How are they your enemy? You are from Kanto and as far as I know Almia and Kanto aren''t at war. Do you have any personal grievance with the royal family or with Almia itself at large?" Alex didn''t answer them but looks at Julius who is shocked thinking about certain things he thought was a secret of Almia. He turns to Julius and said," Don''t do things which can anger certain people. This is my first and last warning, because after that I will only destroy, there is no hopes for talk." His words shocked the hell out of Julius. As the eldest son of chief advisor of Almia, Sebastian he knows something about Almia which is hidden from normal public. Because of Kanto''s transcendent position in the league, Kanto has three sub regions under it. Almia being one of those three regions. Because of this Almia secretly tries to win back his sovereignty from Kanto while using many underhand tactics. Recently Almia joins another group, the Shadow which are greatly targeted by Kanto league to get their independence. It is a secret matter hidden from most top official yet this time, Alex said this meant the secret isn''t a secret. Alex''s action is just a warning from the Kanto council to Almia at large through the devastation of Elsa, that they know their actions and need to behave properly or next time there won''t be any mercy. Julius wants to run away to inform people at Almia about it, bit from the speakers, they were called to attend the prize ceremony, and with Alex being the winner, Julius has to attend the prize ceremony as the third ranker. In this tournament, Alex has won the first spot, Elsa the second and since Julius lost to Alex, he is given the third spot. Winner : 10000 dollar, two ultra balls 2nd rank : 3000 dollars, three great balls 3rd rank: 1000 dollars, five pokeballs. Along with this the winner got a 50% discount voucher, which is applicable for any cruise under their management for a duration of an year time. After that everyone disperse. That night, Alex went out for a walk and sees a certain girl whom he knows standing by the railing. He walks forward to greet her. Chapter 262 - 49 The hidden ploy After the dinner, Alex went in his room and then sat on the chair on the balcony looking at the night sky. " Those people give very annoying tasks. " He mutters and soon a shadow rise from his behind. A purple spiky Pokemon reveals his appearance. He has a large smile in his face. If a kid sees his appearance now, he may suffer from a month long nightmare. Alex has known who it was. He keeps looking forward and inquires," Is the job done?" Gengar nodded. "And is she there yet?" He once again asked. " Gennn.... Ggg "( ''no she isn''t there yet, but from what I can feel she will be there soon.'')Gengar answers his trainer. Alex sighed deeply on his answer and mutters,"Ladies, they always take too much time to prepare themselves for meeting, even if it is a secret one." Espeon caught his words and she utters," ess . ....ppp.. on" ('' at least we are better than some brutes who doesn''t even bathe for weeks. We make sure to be presentable at the very least.'') She pointed glares at her trainer for the comment regarding woman. Alex knows that it won''t do him any good to debate with her and opts to not reply back to her. Alex just leaned on his reclining chair until Gengar mentions she has arrived at the assigned location. Alex after that walks out of the room and heads for the top deck. " so what is a beautiful lady like you doing at a time like this when most people sleep? Are you getting nightmares about me, princess?" Alex walks towards her and joked. Alex could hear some snickers from his shadow. Gengar seems to like all type of jokes whether they are funny or otherwise. He seems to be finding chances for laughing. She doesn''t turn to look at him and simply said," No I cannot sleep. I still think about my defeat against you. Yet why did you target me?" Her words made his eyebrows turn upwards and he mutters," Oh, isn''t it the fact that you threatened me or how my Pikachu almost fell down from the top?" Elsa laugh at his words and replies,"Please. Every top Ranking person has a thick file regarding you, Alex. Your behavior and personality is mentioned in large letters in the file about you . You are a pretty calm guy who isn''t so easily angered. You seem to dismiss most of the words of people walking on the street even if they insult you or even threaten you. Until unless they really act against you, you won''t take a single step against them." Alex saw that she might be onto something but he isn''t willing to give up just yet. " And why do you think I am targeting you? You also made Pikachu almost fell down from here?" She just smiled and replied," As the Pikachu, he was fine. You have your Espeon at the side that day. She is so powerful, there was no threat to Pikachu. So I am sure you are targeting me or better yet the league behind you is after me. So can I ask you why?" She is polite to him completely uncharacteristic if her rude and proud behavior she showed in front of others or what she showed to him. Alex is someone who got dragged into politics and now he feels he may dive much deeper into politics if he continues to talk with her. He wants to walk away for his senses were going hayfire from this calm and calculated princess as compared to the previous form of hot head and proud one, but his curiousity made him stay, so he replied back," I think you already know the answer. There is no need for anymore word games for we know who made Kanto aware of the secret plans of Almia. " Although there is much in his heart, he didn''t show it on his face and stood their calmly. " Although my powers are powerful, it isn''t enough to challenge certain people. Yet, people at Almia thinks we lack number and support to win our sovereignty, yet they don''t know just opponent we really face. My powers are cursed. " She speaks while looking away from Alex towards far in the horizon. " It is not your powers which is cursed, but you yourself." Alex said. She isn''t angered by his words and inquired," Why do you think so?" " The royal family isn''t as embarrassing as most people think. You are smart, smarter than you show off to people. You should know by how it is the people under you and not your family who wishes to break away from the shackles of the League. That''s why your family revealed it to us." Alex gave her the answer she want to hear. " Indeed. We don''t want to cause needless casualty because of these actions." Her eyes shone brightly. " That''s why the royal family is the best option. You cannot always win battles with violence. It is the last option, especially among us humans. Your prestige is high in Almia. Your absolute defeat is what can earn a long peace between the two regions." Alex replied. " After all, this is what you decide to do. To orc_h_e_s_tra a grand plan make sure both the league as well as Almia royal Family''s prestige isn''t hurt at large. " Elsa said while not liking what she is saying. Alex continues for her,"League defeat the princess of Almia but she loses to the strongest of this generation the league has to offer. But it also reminds Almia not to act too arrogantly. It is all politics. Dirty politics to gain support and have peace." He sighed while resting on the railing by her side. " I still find it hard to believe that you didn''t even mention it to your good friend, Bill. " Elsa said surprised while laughing at this. Alex just rubbed the back of his head and said," Hey, it is confidential thing. Although I know Bill will not blurt it out, I don''t want to take risk. After all, if they find out any problem in our meetings they will take some actions in the dark. The stronger you are, the more they hope for it, but the worse way you are defeated, longer will the calm last. I am sorry for how I treated you, bit it is something that must be done to make sure they don''t find things fishy. After all, we both know what War will entitle for Almia." He said the last word with a hint of sharpness. " You are a very kind person, Alex. You were given free hands on how to deal with us yet you didn''t use aggression." Elsa smiles brightly towards Alex. Alex seeing her bright smile, blushes and turns his face the other way and mumbles," I am not a kind person. I am someone who sees the forest instead of a tree alone. Of course if that tree is someone I know, then I will rise to defend it. " She sighed and wishes,"Wish I have a friend like you?" Alex smiles at her words and answered not meeting her eyes,"Aren''t we friends already? We are meeting secretly like this and are expected to bond and behave like friends after my victory over you. So we have about some weeks before we reach Hoenn and then meet with others. It is enough for our relationship status to rise from aquiantance to friends. " She is happy to hear this," I would love that." In the end, the past few encounter between Alex and Elsa were just a play. A play orc_h_e_s_trated to make sure some factions in Almia don''t rise and cause trouble. The faction which even has advisor Sebastian as a member of it. Chapter 263 - 50 The aftermath It has been another week since the secret talks with Alex and Elsa happened. Surprising most people, after Elsa''s devastating defeat Alex and Elsa seem to mingle around well. After her defeat, Julius has sent the information about what Alex said. In Almia, There is a secret meeting going on which comprises of the royal family, King Escanor and Queen Sophia. The other members were Sebastian, the chief advisor, the armed chief and minister of finance along with the intelligence head and other high officials are having a secret meeting regarding the information, Julius sent back. The buzzing started as soon as the meeting began until Escanor said," Be quiet, now Mark tell us what you have discovered." Mark the intelligence head stood and elaborated to them," It is confirmed that Kanto knows about our secret alliance with Shadows. This action of Alex Bart is just a warning from Kanto league." Escanor decisively didn''t say anything about Elsa and her defeat and then turns to his advisor," Did you make preparation for our next action?" But his armed chief George tried to convince him," We should teach that brat a lesson. His actions has shamed Almia and if he isn''t taught a lesson then Almia will become a joke." Many of the people here want to attack Alex, but Escanor don''t seem to like this idea. " And what do you mean by that? Do you wish to send in hunters or do we places bounty on him so that he is killed?" Escanor thundered at him. "Since they can know about our secret agreement with Shadow then do you think we can be safe if they know who sent the bounty?" Escanor glared at his army chief. George tried to say something," but sir, we still..." This time Sophia interrupted him with an angry look on his face," Do you know of the consequences this action can have?" " I I...." He tried to say but didn''t get the chance. Mark was the one who said," To defeat his royal highness princess Elsa, he used his Espeon only. He has a Snorlax in elite level, Piloswine and Espeon in peak advanced level, meanwhile his electabuzz and Slowking are pseudo king. He is almost a master trainer. The only thing lacking is number of elite Pokemons which he can most possibly achieve in next few years. Even then he is not much weaker than some gym leaders. If we do target him, we will only incite his anger. The league will not stop him from retaliation but will stop us if his majesty intervenes." " So what we should swallow this shame?" George still isn''t willing to let things go. " So what do you wish to do?" Sebastian said for the first time. George explained what he wish to do," Do you think we can do anything to him, he is protected. The only time we can target him is when he is not in Kanto like now. So this is our best chance. We have to do something." Although Escanor wants to stop them, he knew whole turning his head around that most of them are of the same view. So he warned them, "Fine, if you want to do it, do it. But, let me warn you if it fails Almia will not protect you. You will be exiled and anyone related with it, we will wash off our hands from you." " But your highness ..." some rise their words to stop him from taking such a drastic measures. " No. The royal family will enforce it severely. So let us warn you if you do it and get caught we will not be saving you but will hand you over to them." Sophia supported her husband and then the royal couple walks away. When most of the people walks away only five people are left behind, they are the advisor, army chief, the captain of the royal guards and his deputy along with the uncle of Elsa, Marcus is left behind. Marcus shouted out in rage bad indignation," How can such a spineless idiot be the king? I should have been the king but his Pokemon advanced before me and father made him the heir. I still endured thinking he can protect the dignity of Almia but here he is asking us to apologise and leave someone who trampled on it." None of them objected him for they have similar views as him. " So what are we going to do?" George the army chief asked the group. Marcus turns to their strategist Sebastian while others too followed his gaze to look at him for answer. Sebastian knew they would seek his help in this and said," We have to be discreet. We cannot leave any link behind to let it lead to us. His majesty already said it, he won''t help if we are found guilty. So, we have to make sure no clue is left behind. And the only way to achieve it without having any trail leading back to us is the shadows itself." This made everyone curious except for Marcus who caught onto the direction Sebastian was going on. " What exactly is the plan?" The chief royal guard Brian asked. " Since the shadows recruit the young trainers, especially strong and abled trainers why don''t we give them a very strong one as a gift." Marcus said gleefully. Every one caught onto what he really meant and said," Indeed. With their ways, he will be a shadow soon. The Kanto league dislike even borderline hate the shadows for their actions in the Kanto region so when the shadows get Alex, their expression will be something worth looking forward to." " This plan do have some feasibility. All we have to do is create an opportunity for them to get him. I will let my men find his schedule for the next six months. Then we will have the shadows do our work for free, hell they may even pay us dearly for giving him to them." Marcus said happily and excited and crackled like a villain. Sebastian has a cold look in his eyes thinking about Alex and how his actions shamed Almia. He would have to pay the price. Almia castle While the council of five made plans for Alex''s disposal, another group sit and talked among themselves with someone through video conference. This group comprised of Escanor, Sophia, the chief royal guard and intelligence head Mark and the one they talked was someone Alex knows very well, it is Ash''s father Red Ketchum. Royal guard has already told them what was discussed in the meeting and they fear so they called Red. " Now that Alex dealt with Elsa like we planned things would be smoother for this generation." Red said to them while others nodded in agreement. " Red, I think my brother may target Alex. " Escanor started with these words. This is something which worries all three of them. They feared of something happens to Alex then their peace would be destroyed for they are sure Kanto will retaliate with supreme force. They expected Red to be angry at this but in constrast be laughs," Don''t worry about Alex. He will be fine. He is under protection 24*7, nothing can cause him any substantial harm." " But, they are even going to use the shadows to retaliate this time " Brian tried to make him consider this matter seriously. Seeing that they think he is dismissing this matter, he explained,"To harm or cause problem for Alex they may need some powerful legendary Pokemons like mew, Hoho, Lugia, Kyogre and the likes of them. The one protecting him are professor Oak''s Pokemon and to beat them only high order legendary Pokemons can do that before our reinforcement arrive. Don''t worry. Even if he did get hurt or captured then it will be part of the plan to this similar plan. But, it could be an infiltration one. After all monsters like him grow faster in a battle field when they are watered in blood." These words made them aware of the level of protection he has and the expectation for Alex they think he is already strong and can be allowed to grow slowly yet they wish to increase his growth spwwd. Then he thought to himself,'' Not even I and blue together can match mew let alone beat her. if you cannot bypass her protection then nothing can harm Alex unless those dimension Pokemons come out.'' Back in S S Smith It gas been another week since Alex beat eksa. Surprising for mist people after the battle, Elsa and Alex got along well. Alex took part in another tournament this time and got the Pokemon egg. He is excited now and it is not due to the egg but because they are near the Luck island and would soon land there. Alex would meet Cynthia soon. How will Elsa and Cynthia meeting go? Stay tuned. To be continued.... Chapter 264 - 1 Landing on Happy island The cruise ship S A Smith is still about some distance from the island. That island is still not visible or else Alex would have already flew off on his female pidgeot, for that island. Alex don''t know why but he wishes to get a Togepi for himself. It is something inside his heart telling him and with Mew by his side his chance of getting one has increased drastically. She is in her Rufflet form now and settled on Alex''s shoulder. Yes, Mew has once again decided to join Alex in his wonderful journey. FLASHBACK This morning Alex woke up to find Mew sleeping next to him snuggling on his stomach as she did so. When Alex was sleeping, he is surprised as someone touching him which made him wake up slightly from his sleep. Still in his sleepy form, Alex thought to himself why Gengar hasn''t warned him or acted to deal with this one, for Espeon isn''t one to snuggle. He still feeling sleepy slowly opened his eyes to see the pink body of Mew. Seeing her, he abruptly stood up from his sleeping position making New who slept on his stomach fall on the bed. This tumbling made her wake up to. She didn''t like this rude way of waking up and has sent Alex flying across the room. She has subconsciously used her psychic and sent Alex flying, if not for her remembering where she really was she may have sent Alex directly to the Happy island instead of using this cruise ship. When she comes to her senses, she floated towards Alex and looks at his plastered body on the walls of the room. Gengar has came out of the shadows and crackled at his trainer''s current situation. The loud sound from Alex colliding with the wall very hard as well as Gengar''s laughter managed to wake Espeon up. On waking she saw her teammate and nuisance Gengar laughing at the stuck body in the wall, while rolling on the floor laughing. She looks at her old friend Mew floating around Alex''s stuck body though she did not know it was Alex. She looks around to find her trainer but when she couldn''t see him she asks the two," esss....eeees.. pppp... Oooo.. eeenn" ('' Did you know where Alex is?"'') When she spoke out, Mew turns to look at her and happily greeted her while Gengar stopped laughing madly though it didn''t mean his smile has left him. She asked them and a muffled sound came from the stuck man. " And who is he?" She asked mew and Gengar. When she asked that mew just tilted her head in confusion about her question while Gengar once again started to laugh loudly. This reaction made her aware that all the answers to her questions rested on Gengar. She looks at her mischievous prankster Pokemon and asked," Where is Alex, Gengar?" To make sure he took her seriously she glared at him and even sent a certain amount of controlled psychic burst at Gengar to freeze him in space. She knows it is rude and she is being too agressive but as someone who knows the idiots of her team she knows that they are quite stubborn and wouldn''t answer her questions unless she use force to make them spit it out. " So where is he, Gengar?" She asked though much more forceful than before. The poison ghost type just grinned not at all bothered by her use of forceful psychic. " You are a bit loose around here, can you tighten it up. It is a good exercise trick, did you know about that?" The ghost poison Pokemon jokes with her. Espeon gets even more angry with him and her eyes glowed blue. She was really angry and just one step away from blasting him away until mew flew in front of her and greeted," Hello Espeon. Wow, you are so strong now. I knew I am a very great teacher, ain''t I?" She said proudly and even puffed her c_h_e_s_t. Mew then looked at her friend in confusion and asked,"And why are you searching for Alex? See he is there. " Mew pointed towards the still stuck body of Alex. Espeon was surprised and then glared at her prisoner, Gengar," Put him down. " Gengar just smirked and said," I haven''t done anything, except for laughing at him. It is all Mew''s doing." He said not even a bit affected by the psychic types menacing look . Both if them were confused and shocked by his words. Espeon said, "Mew did it" while Mew tagged along with her and continued, "I did it" "But when?" "But when?" They both want to know how this is related to Mew and wished for the reply. He gleefully explained everything,"Mew, over here arrived at the room early morning and she ate the berry syrup Alex made last night. After that she was famished and slept near Alex. After a couple hours of sleep, mew settled herself on Alex. In her anger of her sleep being interrupted she used her psychic to sail Alex across the room. She did restrain her powers or Alex would have flown far away. And finally Alex reached the position he is now on. It was so funny." And Gengar stated to crackle as soon as his explantation came to an end. " So I did it." Mew folded it and nodded in agreement then suddenly a question sprung," Why is he still there then?" Espeon has sensed psychic powers holding Alex in that position yet she forgot Mew and thought Gengar has something to do, so she targeted him. Now it is found that Mew us the main culprit she opts to use the softer approach. " Mew can you let him go? You see your powers are so great that when you wish things to happen it happens. Because Alex woke you up you make him fly here and now your powers held him in spot unless you let him go. We are not strong enough to help Alex only you can do it." Espeon tried to convince Mew. But Mew can be childish and stubborn at time. And she opted to do it now too. " No I don''t want to help him. I was sleeping and he woke me up so rudely. I will not help him. He will be there as punishment."Mew pouted like a child and turned her head sideways while folding her hands around her. Espeon is at least assured that Alex isn''t suffering from any health issue, for it may be different for him to breathe at this posture, yet Gengar laughs mean Alex is fine. At least one issue is solved. Next is trying to convince Mew and let Alex down. But before all this she needs to contact Alex and discuss how to convince her. Espeon connected to Alex through their psychic link and said,'' Alex is there any way we can make her release her psychic hold.'' Instead of Alex reply, a soft feminine voice rang,'' No you cannot convince me. Alex is a meanie. He disturbed my sleep.'' The legendary Pokemon has decided to involve herself in the talks which were supposed to be a secret. In the end Alex sighed on hearing her words,'' I am wrong, Mew. How about I make you a azure berry cake which my mom made last time you visited us.'' This seem to make her interested but she still controlled her d_e_s_i_r_e and didn''t yield yet. Seeing her not yielding Alex threw another thing into the fold. '' you see mew, I have a new Pokemon egg on me. I don''t think I can take care of it well. Since you are so responsible, how about I let you help me raise him. You could have another friend to play with.'' Mew although is one of the oldest Pokemon out there, is also among the most childish of all pokemons. One of her most favorite thing she liked is taking care of children while also playing with them. This is something most mother''s do with their child. This may be another reason for her being called the Mother of Pokemon. And just as Alex expected it did the trick. Mew released Alex and twisted him to face her. Meanwhile she also hugged him telling him how she would raise him well and take care of him. The way Alex changed her mind so quickly made the Gengar curious but he didn''t say anything. And this way Alex once again met mew in the cruise. Flashback ends The cruise ship now stands about hundred metre from the Happy island. Because if the shallow bay the cruise ship couldn''t enter but they still need to restock. So the ship decides to stay there while the smaller boats would go for restock. Some people will be tagging along to the island for exploration. This group also composed of Alex, Bill, Elsa, Julius, Aurea, Elesa and Skyla. Chapter 265 - 2 Meeting someone interesting Alex and co arrives at the Happy island with the group of tourists who wants to explore and see the unique things of this island. The Happy Island is a medium sized island encapsing an area slightly bigger than the big cities in the world. The place where the humans live is only as big as a small settlement with around 70 to 80 families whose living depends on the tourist as well as shops such as cruise ship coming for restock along with finding the truth behind the legend. It is said that the Happy Island used to be a place which seem to be the breeding ground of Togepi line. There were many legends of the this island. One such legend is something that a local resident of the island seem to be narrating Alex and his group. Alex and group after docking on the small port of the Island, were going to separate but apparently the girls in the group didn''t want to follow that plan. They can see many local things which have attracted their attention when their eyes surveyed the stalls positioned near the port. With so Many things attracting their attention they need someone to carry it for them and hence the three men of the group, Alex, Bill and Julius seem to be the one who were honored to carry their things. Although Aurea seem to take every effort she can to make Alex do manual labour for them. Like when they were lazing around in the top deck of the cruise in the folding chairs. Flashback Alex, Bill, Elsa, Julius, Elesa, Aurea and Skyla have gathered together at the top deck. They are resting on the chair at the side of the swimming pools with everyone in their swimming suits. Everyone in the group, although young, are good looking even at this young age to attract the attention of many people as one can see from the multiple eyes fixated on them. Especially the girls of the group attract the most attention with their developing body. Even Bill and Julius weren''t any exception. As for Alex, he is currently talking to the Eevee in Mew form. She is munching over her snacks and seem to ignore everything around her except for the food bowl in front of her. Seeing this he joked about her, " You know if you eat like this you may become a munchlax version of yourself." No matter whether it is a Pokemon or human, no woman wants to hear that she is fat or going to be fat. Similar is the case with Mew, when she heard him say that she is miffed. Even though she cannot use her psychic to educate Alex especially in such a crowded place, She still swept her tail at Alex face making him fall down. Bill on seeing this said," You spoil her so much and yet she attacks you like that. I don''t know if your pokemons are jealous of her." Alex rises to his feet and then said to the group," My pokemons can be jealous of anyone but not her. She is Espeon''s friend and if anyone bully her, she will make sure to teach them a lesson. " Espeon nodded when her idiot trainer said that. Everyone just chuckled at this and Bill seem to have something secret which he say to Alex softly in his years,"They are beautiful aren''t they?" Bill asked while looking at the four beautiful girls who has attracted the attention of almost every male around them. Alex is twelve now and with many things going through his mind, the beautiful girls cannot attract much if his attention except for a glance. Secondly, he is an assistant under Professor Oak, hence he got some habits of a scientist and a genius. One being thickheaded and being oblivious. He finds new things and discoveries much more exciting than the girls around him who can turn the eyes of the entire city if they pass by. So Alex unaware of the meaning behind Bill''s words simply replied and didn''t bother to lower his voice. He said for everyone to hear," Yes, they are indeed beautiful. I think they will be even more so in the next decade." His compliment made the girls blush and Elsa tried to prank him by saying," Oh, so Mr powerful trainer likes us. I didn''t know you were so greedy that you will choose all of us instead of one of us." Alex didn''t seem to catch the meaning and just said," After all, you all are pretty and beautiful. How can I compliment one and ignore the rest. And, I am your friend why should I choose only one, did you all have a fight?" His words made everyone sweatdrop. He is very oblivious and didn''t catch the hidden meaning behind those words. " You did not get what she said did you?" Bill asked his confused friend. " Is there something in those words?" Alex asked. Although Skyla and Elesa seem slightly annoyed that he didn''t seem to compliment as they except from him like Bill and Julius did on seeing this. The way Alex answered seem to annoy them but none more than Aurea and Elsa. It seem like they took it too personally. Ever since they have become friends, Alex is closer to Elsa and Aurea than other members and this actions of his, although not deliberate is enough to anger the young girls. And they rose from their resting chair and walked towards him and glared at him. Espeon, Gengar and Mew know that their trainer has fallen into a pit. " Did you just say that we aren''t beautiful enough?" Aurea started. " I ... I..." Their combined glare isn''t what Alex can withstand and he cannot say anything. " It seem you still don''t know how to treat a woman." Elsa said while folding her hands under her growing bust. " Indeed and he needs to be taught about it. " Aurea agreed with Elsa. " From now on, you are our private valet. You will be helping us every day as payment for teaching you how to treat a woman?" Elsa declared. " But...." Alex tried to protest but everything is in vain. He was interrupted by the intense glare of the two and the two said something which froze him,"Valet meet us at four in the evening. Also, do have your trainer card with you. You are paying." After that the two left Alex. Alex looks at the two other male of the group with shocked and horror evident on the face. " Bill, Julius, save me. I don''t want to die. I am still too young to die."Alex asked for help from them but it isn''t so. They opted to ignore his pleas for help as for Espeon and Mew they both seem to agree with the actions of Elsa and Aurea. And it comes to today. FLASHBACK ENDS As the group roams around the town they came across a very interesting looking old man. For if one looks at him he seem pretty ordinary except for his eccentric clothes which seem to resemble a Togepi. The old man seem to be in his seventies or eighties. He has white hair with many wrinkles on his face showing his age. The shirt he wore was white with red and blue triangular marks similar to the ones that a Togepi has. Meanwhile, his pants are wide similar to the egg like body of Togepi. He is very funny looking and had a very happy look on his face. His appearance attracted everyone''s attention but what really caught Alex''s attention was the happiness his aura excluded. It isn''t something normal for it is similar to what his Misdreavus exclude, hers is one with sorrow and resentment though. Mew also sent him a message telepathically, " If you wish to know more about Togepi talk to him. He is related to their secret." Mew said she won''t help him catch Togepi or where to find them, but if she sensed something related to them in the vicinity she will hint him and so she did. Chapter 266 - 3 Strong mysterious man The old man who wore the eccentric clothes sensed some eyes directed towards him. His unique attire has always been something which attracted the eyes of the tourist visiting the Happy island. He just looks up to see the people looking at him, smiles and then continues ahead on his path, yet today he didn''t walk away after glancing at the group of three boys and four girls walking towards him. For he felt something from the black haired boy who was in blue T shirt and brown Capri pants with a straw hat on his head. This boy is Alex Bart. This new attire is something that the two girls, namely Elsa and Aurea under the guidance of future fashion model Elesa decided for Alex, without his consent. The old man felt the hidden energy in the boy. The boy seem to have a very big energy reserve, although not on his level but still much greater than people his age. From the gaze he felt from that boy, he too sensed his energy. The girl in peach sundress with sunglasses in her eyes and wavy silvery blonde hair also has energy in her body. He felt subtle coldness from her, confirming her powers are ice related in contrast to the fighting type Pokemon aura energy in Alex. The old man noticed the group also have some powerful Pokemons. Although he cannot sense the energy of Pokemon like he can with humans, he can still say that they are well raised, healthy and strong from their appearance. Elesa has an emolga on her shoulder, Skyla has sent out her Murkrow with Aurea having her Minccino while Princess Elsa from Almia has a teddiursa she win in the lottery in the cruise ship. Emolga is a white, rodent-like Pok¨¦mon resembling a flying squirrel. It has black eyes, a tiny nose, and yellow cheek patches. It can create electricity on the electric sacs located on its cheeks and store electricity inside its membranes. Its ears, positioned at the top of its head, are rounded in shape and black in coloration, with yellow and white sections of coloration in the inside of its ears. It sports a vaguely hood-like patterning of black around its head, with a spiky extension of the pattern above its face. It has yellow winglike flaps connected to its three-fingered arms. Its feet are white and fairly small and its black tail is in a jagged shape. Meanwhile Minccino is a furry, gray chinchilla-like Pok¨¦mon with scruffs of fur on its head and neck. It has large ears on the sides of its head with red insides partly covered by tufts of fur. It has large, brown eyes and a small, dot-like nose. Its limbs are somewhat rounded and small, and its ears and tail have white tips. The tail is also long and particularly furry. Alex and Minccino did not seem to like each other much. Because of Alex way of life, he isn''t always clean but with Minccino being obsessed with cleanliness there are often conflict between the two with the girls siding with Minccino and he giving a triumphant look to Alex. Alex has Pikachu and Swablu with Espeon and Mew in Eevee form beside them. Bill himself has an Eevee while Julius has his luxio, the evolved form of Shinx walking side by side. He can feel that the Espeon and Eevee ( Mew) are stronger ones in the group. It is not that others aren''t powerful, but they aren''t capable of holding the stance against these two, he infereed The old man would have walked away if not for the confidence he had on himself and not sending any hostility from the boy. When they arrived in front of him, he happily greeted with a smile on his face, "Good morning." They replied back with a good morning to the older man. The older man transversed his eyes the the group though it settled on Elsa and Alex for a few moments longer than rest which didn''t go unnoticed by Alex. " Is their anything I can help you?" The older man inquired the group. The group did not reply back but turns to look at Alex who made them follow him to the eccentrically dressed older man. Alex didn''t bother to look at them and said," Hello, I am Alex Bart from Floral town in Kanto. I came to Happy island today in a cruise ship with my friends here. I heard some stories about this island and Your clothes seem interesting. They are similar to the Pokemon whose rumour is related to this Pokemon." The older man seem to be greatly surprised by the words of the young man in front of him, though he didn''t reveal it on his face. Although the rumour are just fabled stories most of the time, some tour and legend hold some truth to themselves. Similar is the case regarding the ones about the Happy Island. If it was any normal person or tourist who asked him that question he wouldn''t be as shocked as now, but the fact that this young man asked him about it directly without any shred of doubt regarding the legends makes him feel that the boy do know about his connection to it. Before the old man can ask what he really mean by those words, Elesa who was in a black non sleeves shirt and white shorts asked him," What rumour are you taking about Alex?" Alex looks at everyone in the group. Except for Bill, who knows just how excited Alex was about the trip to this island none of them know anything special about it. " The legends and rumour I talk about are related to the egg shaped spike ball Pokemon, Togepi." Alex told them. " Togepi? Isn''t it a very rare Pokemon?" Aurea asked and amazed that this island may hold some secret regarding the rare Pokemon. " Are they really that rare?" Elsa turns to Aurea asked her. " Rare? They are like super rare. Pseudo legendary Pokemons are rare pokemons, Pokemons like Togepi, Zorua and Clefairy are known as super rare Pokemons. Although they aren''t as powerful as pseudo legendary they are still strong after their evolution. The fact that Togepi can be affected by people and pokemons around themselves and after evolution can affect others is something which makes them yearned by many." Bill explained it to her. The older man looks at Bill and said," It seems like you know a lot about them." " Of course, when Alex told me earlier that we will be going for Togepi exploration once we land on Happy Island, I made sure to research on them. Oh by the way I am Bill Montenegro from Saffron City in Kanto." Bill introduced himself. Unlike Alex who changed his attire, Bill still wore his green suit without any change. Only the girls face changes their clothes, Elsa in her peach sundress, Elesa in her Black sleeveless shirt and white shorts while Aurea wore a white sleeveless shirt with brown shorts. Meanwhile Skyla was in her sky blue sundress like Elsa. Following Bill others too introduced themselves. " I am Elsa Reid from the Almia City." " I am Julius from Almia City." " I am Aurea Juniper from Nuvema City in Unova. " " I am Elesa from Nimbasa City In Unova." " I am Skyla from Mistralton City In Unova." After their introduction, The older man with a long grey beard introduced himself, " Hello I am August. And, Happy town is my home town. This place is the place which my ancestors have resided for generations too. And it seems young Alex know about me. " When August introduced himself, Alex eyes widened on hearing his name. After hearing this the group turns to Alex who stood their with wide eyes,"You are a former Kanto elite Four member." He revealed it to them. " WHAT?" the group shouted out at the shrieking revelation. Chapter 267 - 4 August Unlike the others who are shocked by this revelation, August just brush his brush while arched his eyebrows when Alex revealed his past identity to them. August replied plainly without any fluctuations in his tone," It seems there are still some people who remembered the old man. Indeed I am the former Kanto elite Four but it was decades ago. Now, I am only an old man who lives in his home Town." He was similar to an amiable old man and no one could regard him to a powerful Ex Elite four member. This was the view of most people but not Alex. When Alex was still in the recovery stage before his siblings, Alan and Helen''s birth, Professor Oak often visited Alex and talked with him. Sometimes Blue or Red would join him. All these people would often tell him stories about their past adventures, and the difficult battles they had in the past. One such story that Professor oak told Alex was about the time when he was but a boy as old as Alex himself and travelled the world. The world at that time wasn''t as peaceful or as close to calm as it can be at that time. That time the Pokemon league has suffered much tribulations in the form of riots, different organization declaring sovereignty over a place or some city or part of region announcing their independence. That time before Professor oak rose to strength was one of complete chaos and disorder. There was no semblance of order and calm. That was a true anarchy at places out of league control. The strong managed the world. And these strong weren''t any stronger than current Alex but only stronger than most. One can say every ten town was ruled autonomous by an advanced trainer and every town by an intermediate one. Anyone who objects or try to rebel would suffer fate worse than death. After all, if ones family is killed slowly and painfully in front of him and he cannot do anything to protect them, he would be in hell. The only Regions which still held strong and in control of the Pokemon league authority at that time was Kanto, Johto and Hoenn. Hoenn was in peace because the president of the Pokemon league was a Hoenn resident and he managed to calm his home region with his special strength. He and his togekiss managed to calm down the entire eastern part of the Kanto by their presence in that area. The fact that communication wasn''t as developed as it is now. And it wasn''t just togekiss nature and spreading happiness which helped maintain order. His iron fist fell on the land. Anyone who challenged the majesty of the league suffered and they were reminded by August that any rebellion would be death. After calming the area, he was dispatched to there regions to regain control of the lost territory. Many died under his arms. Professor Oak also fought him and defeated him to get the champion post. In the words of professor oak, noone in the league was more loyal to the Pokemon league and noone was more ruthless than August to ensure his objective is reached. The world at that time was much cruel than the current yet he was the most ruthless of them all states just how dangerous he really was. As for why professor Oak revealed such cruel aspects of the past to Alex, he has faced a raid and saw what the aftermath was even after he secured a victory. So he thought maybe the past will help him recover quickly. Seeing that August hoped he will reply how he knows about him, Alex swiftly answered, seemingly gazed by his last reputation," I am a student of Professor Samuel Oak. He mentioned about his past encounter of you and showed a photo of yours when you were younger to me. I didn''t find the semblance until you told me who you are. " When Alex mentioned Samuel''s name , August eyes sparkled. " Oh you are Samuel''s student, Alex was it. I did hear words about a monster showing his fangs in Kanto. To think I would meet you here and now it is interesting. I thought those rumours about you would be just an exaggeration, but it seems they are false in the end." August said with mirth in his eyes. Elsa although knew that the older man was an elite four didn''t know the horror he possessed and said rudely," False? What do you mean by that? Let me tell you he is just as strong as the rumors say he is." August chuckled and said laughing,"As strong as rumours. Young lady you shouldn''t believe every rumour you hear. Sometimes truth is completely different." He said in a way similar to an old grandfather teaching his grandchildren. " So what do you think? That he is weak?" Aurea challenge him glaring at the older man with Elsa. The other members of the group such as Bill, Elesa and Skyla joined them . The previous awe they had for the older man seem to fade away as soon as they felt he was undermining their friend. Julius on.tge other hand was rigid. All his senses tell him that the older man was danger, yet he cannot act to warn Elsa or may anger the one in front. He can only stand guard and act when needed to protect his highness Elsa. He thought to himself. Although Julius has also become a ''friend'' to Alex. It isn''t deep enough to challenge someone who can destroy him for Alex. August seem to be amused by their reactions. He was happy to see the bond between these friends and then he revealed what he really meant," I never said young Alex is weaker than the rumours." " Then what do you mean, you old coot?" Bill said very rudely. " I meant that Alex is stronger than those rumours. To think you are already this strong, I can see there will soon be another monster in Kanto who will always ride over others. And with you being Samuel''s student I don''t have to fear about you going rogue or being detrimental to the League in the future. " August said happily. Their eyes widened on hearing this, for the strength that Alex showed along with the rumoured one is already enchanting and to know he is even stronger is frightening to say the least. Elsa asked curious knowing Alex won''t reveal his strength so turns to former elite four August," So just how strong is Alex?" He run his eyes through the pokemons around Alex including the one in the shadows," From the Pokemons Alex have I can say he is already a Master trainer. To reach this level, he is really brilliant, even more so than Samuel was at his age. " He was delighted to have such a strong successor for Kanto. The group believed Alex was only an advanced trainer at most but learning he is a master train shocked them. And, it would be even more shocking to them if they know at what criteria August judged them. At the times of August, the hierarchy of the trainer was much stricter than it is now. With his experience and vision, August can see that Gengar is at least elite level while Espeon is peak advanced. He can also noticed that how much control the two have over their powers making them much stronger than pokemon at similar level. He turns to Alex and asked," So you wish to catch a Togepi of your own,Alex. " Alex nods a d replied truthfully knowing any lie to the older experienced man would be detrimental to him. August simply nods his head back and finally said after some thought,"You lot follow me, to gain access to the information regarding Togepi you must pass a certain test. There are some people who arrived before you. They also wish to know more about Togepi. I might let you both take the test together, it will save time. " After that August walks off with them looking at each other as to what to do and then they follows him. Chapter 268 - 5 State of hyperactivity August house is out of the vicinity of the Happy town. It is deep in the forest and is at quite a distance from the town. It seems like the old man seem to like the silence and calm here instead of the hustle and bustle of the town. The former Elite four August is in his eighties. Even though he is much healthy than most people his age, he is still old. Although the age hasn''t affected his sharp mind much now, August seem to have lost much if his physical strength. He is walking very slowly now. Alex has even opted to help him so they can reach his house faster, but the older man directly refused any help or support provides to him by the younger generation. He isn''t willing to lower his pride and let some young trainers who are much much weaker than him, help him in anything. After walking fog about an hour, Bill has started to breathe a little heavily while the others aren''t as much affected as him, but their mentality is tired with how slow August walks. While they were bored, Alex seem to use this time to ask the older experienced trainer about different flying types. He asked,"August, what part do you think I should focus on with my pidgeot ? His talons cannot always be useful." August didn''t turn around and said, "Pidgeot are birds of prey, Alex. Their beak and claws are for hunting not those chicken scratches most trainers use these parts for. Samuel sent me some battle video of yours. I am happy to see you didn''t try to subdue their instincts and nature. This is something most trainers ignore thinking the way they battle is the best. They forget pokemons even before being tamed by humans can fight. They have been doing do for millennials. Their blood has more fighting instinct then most people can think about. A trainer who subdue their primal instinct is crippling them in a battle. A Pokemon no matter how small, young or weak is a killer, nothing in the world can change that. As for your question, you can focus on his tail. With that you can change the direction of his flight in the battle at the most unexpected time and make sure that they hit the target. Next thing is speed. The faster they are the more deadly they are in combat. And lastly making sure their attacks are trained deligently. While the thing you do with your pokemons by training them in elemental attacks may seem rewarding now, but later it will affect the growth. These basic moves are the ones which will help you become stronger than your current path could lead you to." August said while telling him his views about where he can invest his next training in. " How strong will Alex be in the future then?" Julius asked the old man. " Alex can be the strongest of the elite Four if he doesn''t change his ways now. Or he didn''t make any changes in his training after he reaches the bottleneck and arrogantly try to breakthrough. Having confidence in one self is good, but forgetting the basics and directly heading for advance level will do him more harm then good." He warned them. " You may have seen it in some of your pokemons didn''t you? The negative effect of the elemental training when they are still too young." August asked or more like told Alex. While others were quiet thinking what he meant, Alex was in deep thought. After some thoughts, he replied," I thought it was related to their physical strength. Since they were weak physically they might not be able to fight with their elemental powers without completely exhausting themselves." August stopped walking at looks at Alex and then shook his head, " It seems you are really as good as those rumours about you if not more so." " What do you mean?" Aurea asked interrupting their discussion. " I thought he may not have noticed the problem in the favour of new powerful strength but it seems he did notice. But what you said is only half of the problem. The second thing is their evolution. The reason pokemons evolve is not only to grow stronger but also to make their body adapt to their elemental powers which they slowly come in contact with." His words made the group a bit confused so he decided to elaborate. " Pokemon who are in their initial form are too weak in body to withhold the raw power of the elements. With their intermediate form they gain the ability to withstand that strength. It is also on this stage that their body can be said to be most active. I think as Samuel''s assistant you may know what this stage is called." August questions Alex wanting to know in how much depth he knows about pokemons. For only those who are immersed in it''s study can know this. " You are talking about the state of hyperactivity. The stage when the cells of the Pokemon are in state of vigorous division and growth. They are said to be rich in energy. Some Pokemons like vigroth because of this have changes in their species behaviour turning to hyperactive state in contrast to the normal lazy form of slakoth and slaking. While the bugs like Metapod and kakuna along with Pupitar are using this vigourous state to transform their body. They are in the shells because of the changes happening in them is much greater and deeper as compared to other pokemons in their intermediate form. Is this state of hyperactivity have any relation with the Pokemon and elemental powers?" Alex explains while asks the older man. August eyes sparkled brightly when he listened to Alex. Most of the people can only say what the state is but he explained with examples showing that he understand it well. " Alex just what is this state of hyper... Uhhh something you talk just now?" Bill asked completely clueless about what he just said. Both August and Alex seem to ignore the group and started to discuss among themselves. The two continues to use the terms like transmutation, evolve, hyperactivity, energy richness in cell and other things which went tangent to the group. " You really are something else Alex. I thought about letting you stay here for sometime until you can learn how to raise a Togepi properly like I did with a friend''s granddaughter but it seems I won''t be needing to do that. You know with the in-depth knowledge you have regarding Pokemon cell biology you can become an independent professor." August praised alex whole the group seem to understand yet again how wide the gap between them and Alex is. " Of course, I wish to be a Professor. I have too much hypothesis to confi m and prove. To many things to find and discover for me, to just sit at a place and administer something or someone." Alex said without any hesistation. Alex''s friends were surprised to discover that Alex has no ambition for elite four or champion position but wish to be a field professor to find and discover new things about Pokemons. August just stood there looking at the confident visage of Alex seem to be reminded of something. He mumbles," That Samuel, he can train champion level students yet not one of his students wish to be bound by that position. He really is a virus infecting the minds of young trainers." But what August doesn''t know is that this young man in front if him was the sole reason Samuel chose to retire from champion post as soon as he gained it. " We should get going, we are near." After that the group walks towards the house in silence completely surprised by Alex''s declaration while Alex is in deep thoughts about his recent discussion with August. After another ten minutes walk, the group can across very tall trees on top of which were multiple tree houses were built. They walks through these tree house cl_u_s_ters to the one which was the grandest tree house and below that tree August said," Welcome to my humble Adobe. " Chapter 269 - 6 Meeting her August said to the group of young trainers," Welcome to my humble Adobe." This brought Alex out of his thoughts and he looks up to the house. The house was built at the tree top at least 40 metres above the ground. It was a multistorey house with open windows and wide balconies to enjoy the scenery from the top. The other house here were only one storey but they were wide and covered the entire canopy of the tree. Many bird Pokemons seem to settle and even have built their bests in the top of the trees and houses. There are about ten to fifteen houses built around the house of August. There are about ten kids playing with the baby bird pokemons like Pidgey, Spearow, taillow, wingull and even a Rufflet which is rare in these parts. The pokemons are pretty bold too. They didn''t seem to be afraid of Alex and his friends. They even settled themselves on the shoulder of the strangers and look at them curious. " These kids are the children of the caretakers, doctors and Pokemon breeders, I have hired before I settled here to look after the Pokemons I still have with me. As for these pokemons, they are the descendants of my Pokemons. You seem surprised by their boldness isn''t it?" August explained who these kids are. " Yes, they are more friendly than any Pokemon I have ever seen. But since they are your pokemon''s descendants, then it explains everything." Alex said, and the others are smart enough to catch the meaning. " If the trainers arrive here and attack these pokemons then the older ones will come forward to protect them. So the only way to have one of these pokemons is to get their friendship and show you are qualified enough to raise them well." Elsa said while she rubbed the head of a Rufflet. August didn''t say much and then pointed to the grandest tree house they have ever seen. The treehouse was. Multistorey building built around the trunk and branches of the tallest tree which was about two hundred metres in height. The house was at least three storey with balcony on every room, different furniture made of wood on the balcony and on these balcony many bird Pokemons perch. Every thing in the house is made of wood, even the railing are like that without much artistic look. If the house wasn''t grand in size then one could only say that the former elite four lived a pretty plain life. There are stairs to the house built around the trunk which rise to the house level in a spiral way. " That house over there is my home. Come along. There are some trainers your age too. I think this will be good for you, Alex. " Just before entering the house, August warned them with a serious tone, " Do not make too much noise in the house.Currently, I have a certain Pokemon of mine living with me in the house who is helping train another trainer I told you about. But, he is a bit ... Unmmm. Moody to say the least. He didn''t like to waste his time like this. So any small things make him lose his temper and he may act a little aggressive with you, so be prepared. " After that he went inside his house. The group stayed at the doorstep and looked at each other thinking about whether they should follow him inside to face that agitated Pokemon of a powerful trainer, especially a former elite four isn''t something they like to face but they still have to face it anyway. Bill braves himself and walks forwards," We can''t keep the old man waiting." And he enters the door. Others look at Alex wanting to know how he did it. Alex just shrugs and thought to himself,'' Leave it to Bill to rush into things without much thinking.'' And Alex decides to follow Bill inside. When he enters the house, he saw that just like the things on the balcony, everything here is also made of wood. The pillars supporting the house, the chair, table, bed, window, everything is made of wood. But, unlike the works on the exterior which was quite plain, the inner decorations is quite good. Not too dazzling or superb but enough to show that the person who lives here isn''t an ascetic. These scenes attracted Alex attention for they range from a person standing in front of a group of string Pokemons like nidoking to the beautiful shining lake from which a Dragonair rose to the ground. While he looks around his eyes settled on a seemingly plain scene of the ocean and a sun dazzling in the sky except for a slight hump of a four blue spines on the ocean surface. He could feel that this pokemon is something extraordinary yet couldn''t place it anywhere. August voice rang from behind Alex as he greeted them and welcome them to his house. " Welcome to my humble abode. This is something which I built with the help of pokemons during my elite four days. It took us about two years to build it, between our free times from work or training and what nots." He told the group but noticed Alex attention was on something else. It was a plain painting except for four blue spike like blunt projections on the sea and a massive shadow underwater which isn''t clear enough to distinguish what that pokemon really was. So he said behind Alex startling him, and revealed," These painting and engraving on the walls are some of the adventure I had experienced in my past. And that one you are currently watching us something.which alluded me for years. This pokemon is someone which spiked my interest and before I could have a clear look it went into the deep ocean never to be seen again." His eyes glaced thinking about the past encounter with the Pokemon. The others didn''t say much silently hearing the older man rabble about the past. Meanwhile Alex pinpoints on which Pokemon this picture may depict, and said "The size of the Pokemon can reveal much, but the premise is that the Pokemon isn''t a mutation or variation of a specific pokemon species." August nods in agreement with Alex and said," Although I only saw it for a few moments it was around fove metres big shadow. I was flying over it, yet because of the fog I cannot get the clear view. I thought it might be a Tentacruel, or even a Mantine." Alex interrupted him and said, " I don''t agree with it being a tentacruel. The blunt projections aren''t rounded on the ends like those of tentacruel tentacles. If it was just an oversized tentacruel then considering the shadow as the head of a very large tentacruel the tentacles are too thin. We can say it is the new tentacles too which are yet to fully grown but in that case more of the body would be clearly visible. I can only say that it is either a Mantine which is mutated, a Kingdra which is swimming on his stomach or a certain legendary Pokemon." Alex gave his views. " Woah to think you can say so much with just looking at a photo, you are impressive." An unknown female voice came. She is among the two people that August had with him whom Alex seem to completely ignored or haven''t noticed their presence of his startled expression was anything. Although Alex haven''t met these two kids, he knows the girl for she is someone whose photo he has seem courtesy of Daniel, Agatha''s grandnephew. She is Cynthia Shirona, the future Sinnoh Champion. Chapter 270 - 7 Cynthia and Elsa Cynthia is a pretty fair skinned girl with long blonde hairs. She has beautiful gray eyes which sparkled brightly. She has blonde hairs which are curly at ends with a bundle of hair over her face. These cover most of the left side of her face yet it didn''t receive her beauty but enhance it. Alex can say she is the only girl he had encountered so far who can match Elsa in her beauty. She was in a blue long sleeved shirt with a grey pants which are narrow at the ends and has slightly heeled shoes. She has a natural aura of confidence, strength and intellectual on her face which seem to attract the attention of people especially the members of opposite s_e_x. Neither Aurea, Elesa and Skyla can say that their natural beauty and charm could match Elsa, the Almia princess. For her aura of majesty, cold look and strength seem give her a charm worthy of a queen or to be more precise Ice Empress. Yet, Cynthia seem to match her. Just like Alex was looking at Cynthia, Cynthia too seem to sense something she hasn''t felt from anyone in her generation or people around her age group. She feels she is weak or at least weaker as compared to the boy in front of her. She doesn''t know why she feels it but her instincts warns her that the boy in front of her was stronger, better and powerful than her. Alex also mutters put her name on shock," Cynthia." This broke the staring contest between the two strongest trainers of this generation. " You know me?" Cynthia asked Alex but before Alex could say anything Bill entered the discussion with a gleefully look on his face. He arrives in front of Cynthia and shook her hands while introducing himself," Hello I am Bill Montenegro, Alex''s best friend. And of course he knows you. Do you know when he first saw your photo he even said you are very pretty and Beautiful. He even said you will be one of the most beautiful woman in the world in the next few decades if not the most beautiful." He decides to exaggerate things. Cynthia and Alex both blushed at his words. Cynthia because if the compliment that Alex gave her while Alex because of the exaggerated words of Bill and embarrassing him. While most would not think much about this Elsa didn''t seem to like Alex compliment others while he never one complimented her looks since they first met. " What? You said she is pretty. And, what about me, you haven''t even complimented me once and we have been travelling together for weeks now." She said to Alex miffed at him for complimenting someone who wasn''t her. " I ... I... " Alex tried to say something but Cynthia didn''t let him have the chance. " Oh, if he didn''t think you are pretty enough, you cannot force him to day it." Cynthia said to Elsa heatedly. Elsa didn''t like Cynthia for Alex compliments her look and now she comes forward to save Alex did managed to send her temper over the top. " Oh, do you think someone who spends most of her time in her appearance can tell me what to do." She sneered at her. " At least, I am pretty enough and some think I am at least a girl, instead of a tomboy like you. Even in a sundress and long hair you don''t seem to appear anything but a tomboy." Cynthia ridicules Elsa. Through his time with Elsa, Alex has deduced after careful information exchange from Julius she doesn''t like being called a tomboy even though she often acted like one. And this might set her temper over the top. Alex can even feel her powers were just one step away from going berserk at Cynthia. Cynthia''s instincts also warned her things might go serious and dangerous for her but she doesn''t seem to back down. Her pride won''t allow her to back down when someone challenges her like this. Before things could escalate further, Alex braved himself and introduced himself in between the two beautiful but currently scary looking blonde girls one with bright blue eyes and other with gray eyes. Alex has noticed their fingers are in their pokeball and the moment one raises hers the other will retaliate in the same respect. " Enough. Both of you calm down now. We are in someone else''s house. Your fight may cause certain things to be destroyed and we don''t want him getting angry at us, so stop this fight this instant. Otherwise I will personally intervene " To ensure that they take his warning he released his pressure full force on the two angry blondes. This time it isn''t just a simple pressure on the people''s shoulder but a hazy darkness emitting from Alex along with certain amount of bloodl_u_s_t and killing intent. The gift that Alex has got from his past encounter in the Pokemon Raid. No one who has killed hundreds in a single battle, won''t possess bloodl_u_s_t, let alone Alex who has few hundred kills under his belt including both humans and Pokemons. Most were surprised by the sudden outburst between the two beautiful blonde girls and didn''t have any time to react meanwhile August finds it amusing and wished for things to escalate so they can entertain him. But, Alex intervention made him even more excited for he can sense the powers that the young protege of Samuel possess. '' The moniker of ''Monster among Monster'' and the ''Only genius'' of this era is pretty apt for him.'' he thought to himself. Alex intervention did managed to stop their verbal fight from escalating to a Pokemon battle. After his words did the trick he withdrew the pressure back and seem as calm as he was before. No one could think that Alex is weak after his sudden display of power to all of them. Both Cynthia and Elsa were the ones who felt his blow up front. Although their brain knows that Alex ( or young man, according to Cynthia since his identity is still unknown to her yet she can guess who he might be) won''t harm them especially with August there, they can still feel the death holding their throat a moment ago. They were reminded of just how wide the gap between the two of them are. Both of them were pretty shaken yet they didn''t seem to acknowledge defeat from the other. This is something Alex and August both noticed but Alex doesn''t know how to intervene and stop them from fighting each other every chance they get. So August acted. August said," It seems that Cynthia and Elsa seem to have some difference because of Alex. " " I didn''t say anything else except she was very pretty." Alex mumbles but everyone could hear it. Cynthia once again blushes whole Elsa is miffed. " Both of you will be staying at my home for a few days. And I cannot have you fight among yourself in my house and break things, so how about a Pokemon battle to release your anger." August proposed to them. "Fine" And both of them immediately agree to that proposition. August talks them down to a wide clearing this time for the upcoming Pokemon battle. And others followed August noone opting to disagree with the former elite four. Alex stood there, feeling a headache coming with this sudden event and said," Woman can be aggressive pretty easily." This awarded him with a slap on his back courtesy of Espeon and Eevee ( Mew) who deadpanned at him, for he is the cause. Alex didn''t know what he did to get this treatment but he didn''t say anything to them. Two girls are already angered enough to destroy things because of a certain friend of his who twisted his words. Now he isn''t prepared to face the wrath of other females and said,"Let''s just head out. " As Alex passes two pairs of eyes look at him from a hidden place curiously. Chapter 271 - 8 Cynthia vs Elsa While following August to the clearing, the other boy who arrived with Cynthia and August while the group wait for August has introduced himself as Lucian. After hearing his name, Alex remember a little about an elite four with Cynthia having the same name as this boy. He is Lucian, future elite four psychic leader of Sinnoh Pokemon League. He is a purple haired boy with glasses on. He also have purple eyes and Alex could feel the psychic energy in his eyes. It seems his psychic powers has changed the original eye colour to purple. " So you are Alex Bart from Kanto, I heard so much about." Lucian greeted Alex with these words. Alex who is still unaware about his fame in the other regions scratched his head, completely confused and said, " You know me?" Lucian is surprised by the fact that he isn''t aware about his fame. Bill also was confused on his discovery. He asked his friend," You don''t know how popular you really are, do you Alex?" " Am I really popular?" Alex asked them. " You aren''t popular among the common people and low level official of the league, but people who are at the top as well as the top trainers at least know about your existence." Bill explained it to him. " As for how I know who you are, I know that Cynthia is one of the strongest there is, yet the fact that you can subdue her especially when she is angry along with your age reveals your identity." He said while looking at Alex''s eyes deeply he continued," After all, you are the one, who is the undisputed strongest trainer of this generation or so I heard from the others." Although Lucian said this, his tone showed he doesn''t seem to believe those words and wished to confirm this. Normally Alex would have no objections about a quick battle but the fact that he wishes to get a Togepi along with August''s revelation of a possible future test made him vigilant. He wants his pokemons to be in full health for the next upcoming test, so this battle can be averted for later. Alex said," If you wish to confirm whether this title is true or just an exaggeration you may have your battle, but it has to wait. August needs me for something and I want to be at 100 per cent for that time. After that thing is settled, I will be ready for you." Alex didn''t seem affected by Julian ridiculing his title and anything. He simply wishes for a proof and Alex can make sure that he gets his proof and make sure no one else will doubt his strength. It is also that Alex feels he doesn''t want to lose in front of others especially in front of the recently met future champion Cynthia and the Almia princess Elsa. " It seems we may have another battle at hand after they fight. it seems your battle maniac nature affects the people around you, Alex." Aurea joked about Alex. " Indeed. You should have seen his brother and sister, they have contest among themselves. When I asked them why did they have so many competition, do you know what they say to me?" Bill said with mirth in his eyes. Everyone ears were focused on Bill wishing to hear some personal details about the strongest trainer of their generation while August just wish to know by inferring from it, what his true nature is so he can decide how to test him. " It is something Alex taught them. He told them that this way they can find who is the better one without fighting and settle their dispute. They keep record for their contests and every time their fight escalates a certain limit these record help settle the things between them, without any dispute." Bill said. " Who knew you can solve things without a fight and even so peacefully." Elsa said with wonder in her tone. They have mostly seen Alex deal with things either by threat, his pressure or by a battle, never once did they see him handle things peaceful. So this peaceful solution made them surprised. Alex didn''t seem to like these looks and said, " Hey I can judge pretty easily who can be reasoned with and who cannot. I don''t want to waste my time reasoning with someone who can''t be reasoned. Isn''t that right, Espeon?" Alex asked his psychic quadruple Pokemon. She nods in agreement with his words since she has often seen him handle things peacefully. Her trainer wasn''t always acting like a brute. Emolga, Minccino feel that she might be joking and asked her, " Hey is it really true?" " Of course. Do you think I will let him act like a brute all the time and not the head. " She said while giving them a contempt glare to the two for saying that she said a lie. They ducked their head on their trainer shoulder fearing they might invite her wrath. The trainer just laughed at the little episode among their pokemons and didn''t put much thought to it. While they talked among themselves, they have arrived at the clearing a little from August''s house. After reaching it, August said to everyone,"Since Alex and Cynthia have something to do after this, we won''t be having a long battle. This will only be a one on one battle and the winner will be decided when I said it is over. Now both the trainers take your place." " I still don''t know why they are fighting now?" Alex said and everyone heard him clearly. Everyone gave the genius trainer a deadpanned look knowing directly or indirectly he was the cause, yet he seem to be who is unaware of his involvement. Even Espeon and Eevee gave him similar looks. They decides to ignore him and continue with the battle. Cynthia and Elsa sent their pokemons out at the same time with their characteristic catchphrase. " Battle stance, Gabite" for Cynthia " Fight Well, Ninetails" for Elsa. On release a shark headed dragon Pokemon and a Ice type Pokemon reveals itself. They are Gabite and Alolan Ninetails. Gabite is a medium-sized, bipedal dragon-like Pok¨¦mon that is primarily blue. Its underside is light blue, with red covering it from the middle of its abdomen to the bottoms of its jaw. Gabite has two appendages that resemble Jets or plane engines extending out the side of its skull. Each appendage has a blue stripe. Ninetales from alola has a different appearance. Its coat is pale blue, and its fur is more flowing and wispier. This tips of its tails and crest, as well as the lower halves of its legs, are white. The crest on its head is longer and its nine tails are less distinct from each other. Finally, it has larger eyes, which are blue, and small tufts of fur in front of its ears. The two Pokemon sensed their trainers emotions and are ready to rumble. Chapter 272 - Notice kinda busy with certain things at home. I will restart updates after New year. Chapter 273 - 9 In the battlefield, Cynthia is looking at her opponents Ninetails which sent out cold wind and lowers temperature around with a vigilant look. The ice Pokemon is someone Gabite is most vulnerable to. This Ninetails which was completely different from the fire ones she faced in the past was an ice type. And a powerful one at that if the water puddle around seemed to freeze a bit as soon it was released. Her long and muscular legs which are most refined than other Ninetails revealed that she must be pretty fast compared to the other Ninetails. This might be a problem for her, as Gabite can match the speed of average Ninetails. Although she doesn''t doubt her victory, she knows it will be a difficult one. She then look at her opponents who has blonde hair like her but unlike her shiny blonde hers were silvery. With her pokemon out and the aura of confidence she gave off, she can guess the true strength of Elsa lies around Flint and Lucian. Although they cannot defeat her, they still needed her to be vigilant if she wished to have a chance of victory. Similar to Cynthia, Elsa can feel the raw power and strength of Gabite, The dragon ground Pokemon which can most probably knock her Ninetails down if even a single move managed to hit the mark. Even though she has speed advantage, Gabite was stronger than her Pokemon physically. Above all else, Gabite was a psuedo king Pokemon and Ninetails was only an elite Pokemon, although at peak she still was weaker. August simply smiled looking at the two Pokemons in front of him. He thought to himself, '' They are really amazing, to think they can be so strong at such a young age. They may become stronger than me by the time they reach their prime. They haven''t even entered that place yet, or their speed may be even further. If they don''t slack and continue to work hard, they will become as strong as an elite four before their twenties, even faster if they have some fortunate encounter.'' He looks at the two girls and then at the group of children. He thought, '' Although not as strong as these two, they can be gym leader grade strong at the very least in the future. They don''t seem to have much interest in pokemon battle like these two.'' And finally on Alex. '' He is the undisputed strongest of his generation. Or so Samuel said. It is his declaration that set him on that pedestal.'' he could still remember when Samuel called him and talked with him about Alex. FLASHBACK BEGINS: August was in front of a phone while looking at the sheepishly smiling face of Samuel Oak, Kanto''s premier pokemon professor. August asked rudely, " Why did you call me for? I have retired from the league and don''t want to be disturbed in my peace times." Samuel doesn''t seem much affected by his tone and said, " It''s just that, I was thinking of making a declaration regarding my new student, Alex. I wish for your help in this matter." August seem confused by the name until he remembered it. " Isn''t it that brat of yours who fought in the Pokemon tide a week ago or so." On seeing this he took a deep breath and his voice suddenly turns graver with every word he said," To think we handed over the league to idiots like you. HAVE YOU LOT COMPLETELY LOST YOUR MIND?" His eyes were red and the things behind him seem to fly around as his temper increased with every second. Samuel ducked his head on seeing him so angry. He knows that this old friend of his would be angry,very angry. August was someone who considered every child in the region as his own. He often gives opportunity to the rising genius and protects them whenever he can. This way Alex too fell under the category of to be protected in August''s heart yet the blunder they caused is sure to make him angry. " Yes, but it was necessary. You see he was going strong too fast but his mentality wasn''t up to the par. So I thought it would work. And don''t worry about it leaving any mental trauma for I know he will be fine and shone even greater than he did now." Samuel said with absolute confidence . August noticed it is the same confidence he used to talk about his older students in the past. " Fine so what do you wish to do?" " I wish to declare Alex as the strongest of his generation." Samuel said after taking a deep breath again he started to count down for something was going to happen. '' Five ... Four... Three ... Two .... One '' And suddenly August said in a voice which barely restrained his wrath. " You better explain yourself. You know how big of a target it will place on him. Especially if you issue this statement. They will not crown him as the strongest but the undisputed one, for your prestige is attached to it. This will also make some issue sky high bounty. So why?" Unlike before when Samuel ducked his head when he faced his anger, this time he didn''t hide but faced it up front. August noticed it. This was not the calm and amiable Professor Samuel Oak, but the champion and one of the strongest in the world, '' the destroyer'' Samuel Oak. " A tree need fertilizer to grow faster. A beast need to hunt to grow. These will be hi after and fertilizer. He is strong and faced the tide but that was just the Pokemon. Humans are more complicated than Pokemon. Only after he deal with them himself will his reputation be enough to deter the threat to Kanto. And, don''t think of him as a weak boy. He will be an elite four level trainer by his 15 and a champion by his 17th birthday at the very least." August was never as shocked as now and he inquired if this idiot was joking," And how are you so sure about it?" " I know." Was all he said but Samuel thought to himself,''I can''t say that I met him when he was 15 and I was 11. At that time his electrivire, pidgeot and Gengar were already king level while Espeon was at Psuedo king. He even said that he will be champion strong in two years.'' FLASHBACK ENDS '' Soon I will see for myself why Samuel has such confidence in you to say something so unrealistic.'' But He was also gratified that after him, there will be these young children to protect humanity from the Pokemons out there. On release everyone looks at the two Pokemon who will be fighting now. They both are powerful Pokemons. With the audience, Aurea asked Julius attracted towards Ninetails beauty, " What Pokemon is that? She is so beautiful and looks just like Ninetails." But Alex answers her questions, " That is a Ninetails. But it is variant of Ninetails. The environment of Alola is different from the other regions so there''s some Pokemons which have evolved or changed to adapt themselves to it''s climate. Ninetails is just one of them. It is no longer a fire type but an ice type Pokemon. Other than the type change there is no changes in their physique." He explained while others were clinging to his words with absolute attention. And before they could continue to ask him more the battle began. " Let the battle begin." The battle began with a clash of two long range attacks at the center. Chapter 274 - 10 " Let the battle begin" Cynthia started the battle by testing the strength of her opponent so she said," Dragon Breath" Any trainer worth his salt knows what Cynthia wished by starting the battle like this and Fortunately Elsa was one such trainer. She greets her opponent attack with " Ice beam" The orange and slightly purple blast and the white icy beam collided. They struggle along with each other for sometime illuminating the battlefield until the dragon breath overpowers the ice beam attack. When the dragon breath pushed back the attack enough, After pushing the ice beam for a few inches, Elsa knew she has lost it in terms of power. So she has to choose the next best move which can gain her the momentum she has lost. " Ninetails start the hailstorm." And the hail started fall sound them using the her innate ability, Snow Warning. The pelting of hail made Gabite suffer a little and this gave Ninetails the opportunity to push back the attack and hit him. Cynthia didn''t seem much worried for before the attack hit her Gabite she has already issued her next command. The hail lowers the Temperature even more and everyone who was prepared for a warm day shivered in cold. The two battling trainers were too focused on the battlefield Charmeleon seem to act proud and didn''t seem to pay anyone any attention except for the battle in front of him until a voice rang in his head, '' Charmeleon you brute look what you did?'' Mew in Eevee form seem to think Charmeleon was ignoring her and started to weep, Espeon didn''t like the fact that her friend cried because of that brutish teammate of hers and glares blades at him. '' But what did I do wrong?'' Charmeleon asked though it isn''t as heated and prideful as his normal tone. He knows an angry Espeon is not something he wishes to face. He is someone who has seen what she can do in her anger and that is something which still gives him nightmares. '' Use your nose for something useful once. She is Mew.'' She told him in her mind. When he knows what the identity of the Eevee by their side was, he is frozen solid. To think it was Mew. She is someone who has the support of almost everyone. Even the reclusive Slowking who doesn''t involve himself in the little conflicts between Pokemon even looks up to her. If she reveals what he did and how she acted to because of him, he will suffer greatly and before that he will suffer under Mew. He said to Mew, " I am sorry I didn''t notice it. It isn''t my fault." Mew didn''t seem to like what he said, " So whose fault is it?" She glared surely while a menacing one came from Espeon. Fortunately, charmeleon has learned how to deal with Mew from Alex and used that trick at this moment. The trick was to praise Mew and her strength which caused them to offend her unknowingly. " You are so strong that I cannot even feel your presence in front of me. How can someone as weak as I can recognize someone like you who can hide her presence if she wished. You are too strong that you even hid from my sense of smell. So how can I know it was you. You are so amazing.'' he even added a look of absolute awe though it wasn''t faked for he did have awe for Mew''s powers. Mew looks at him or at his face and felt his expression wasn''t faked so she magnanimously forgave him. Espeon knows about this trick that Alex usually employs to trick Mew so she doesn''t think much about it. Back to the battle, Gabite seem to have hidden himself underground. Just a moment later Gabite rises from just below Ninetails with a dragon claw in his hand, ready to hit her target. " Ninetails use ice beam while moving." Since Ninetails lost the power contest between the two, she has been doing hit and run tactics. Cynthia knows Gabite cannot win the Ninetails in terms of speed and the hail seem to injure Gabite as time goes on. She hasn''t even trained her Gabite thinking that it won''t be much help in her power battles but it seems she was wrong. These moves which can change the climate and conditions of the battle are necessary especially if you face situations like this. Gabite has been sending flame thrower at her for but her agile opponent dodge then easily. She knows the longer the battle is dragged on more the situation would be dangerous for Gabite. So she made a new plan. In the audience, When they saw that none of Gabite attack hitting the target while she is being pelted by hail and ice type moves, they thought she is in trouble. " It seems Cynthia is in problem and cannot last long. It will be her highness victory. " Julius said excited and happy at Elsa almost winning this match. " Seems to be the case " Aurea said. But Lucian didn''t seem to think like that. He said, " Don''t just dismiss Cynthia like that. She is much stronger than she is. Hell, she hasn''t even gone all out." " What do you mean? She is clearly at a disadvantage?" Skyla said confused why he still think she has a chance. " As I said she hasn''t gone all out. And not only me but Elsa and Alex over here thinks that she is still in the match." Lucian revealed to them while pointing at Elsa''s serious expression and Alex''s interested look. " Is it true, Alex? Can Cynthia still get back in the fight? Can Elsa still win?" Bill asked his trainer friend. Alex kept looking at the battle and without turning to them he said, "If her Gabite knew sandstorm, she would have already won the battle, but now unless she goes all out or at least make Ninetails slow down, her fight will be a bit tough. As for Elsa''s victory, that is a big no. Her Ice moves aren''t strong enough. If they were there should be a bit of frost on Gabite body, yet there are none. The current hail only annoy her and disrupt the attacks weakening their strength. Ninetails stamina is also low, for she cannot last long and then a hit may wound her and a second may defeat her. The only way she can win now is if her Ninetails know sheer cold move and can freeze Gabite into a popsicle or there is no hope for her." After his analysis Lucian gave him an incredibulous look while others have grace expression. Although they don''t wish to believe in Alex''s words, they know he is saying the truth. None of them are as skilled as Alex in battle so his ideas are Paramount. Alex noticed Cynthia playing a new trick. His mind clicked and he understood what she was doing. He mutters, " It seems Cynthia is now willing to change the situation completely." In the battlefield, As soon as Alex gave his analysis, Cynthia said, " Rock throw, Gabite." Multiple large side rocks are smashed towards Ninetails who dodges these stones with her speed pretty easily, but it isn''t only that. " Earthquake as soon as she put her foot on the ground after dodging." Cynthia said softly but Gabite heard her clearing. Elsa knows Cynthia is up to something for even though the Rick throw isn''t working she hasn''t given up on that attack yet. And her thinking was true, fir as soon as ninetails foot fall on the ground, a devasting Earthquake shook ninetails and she fell on the ground groaning in pain. Before she even had the chance, rocks fell on her trapping her below them. But she still isn''t down. Elsa has ordered," Use iron tail to protect yourself before the rocks could crush her." Her Iron tail attack stopped the rocks from completely crushing her. But Cynthia isn''t done yet. She orders, " Dragon rush. " A Dragonic powered super body slam clashed onto the rocks which turned to powder on impact. Ninetails was crushed under the pressure from the attack impact and when the iron tail and dragon rush collides, the end result was ninetails is down on the crater. The hailstorm also ended after that. It means ninetails is out for the count and Cynthia has won the battle. Chapter 275 - 11 Goal While others are shocked at the power that Gabite showed off and strategy Cynthia employed to hit a constantly moving Target, Alex mind was somewhere else. He thought to himself, '' It seems that this ninetails doesn''t know any fairy moves or has just evolved to ninetails from her Vulpix form, and not being able to learn those fairy type moves. If she has learned them then her typing may also have part fairy attribute, and just like any other fairy, she would become a dragon killer. At that time, the situation would be completely different from what it is now.'' He has seen dragon pulse having some effect on Ninetails even if it didn''t hit her directly and this dragon rush confirmed his doubt about the lack of fairy type powers in ninetails. " In the end, what you is said was true. Cynthia was really waiting for the right moment and crushed her opponent in just a few moves, even without going all out." Lucian said to Alex who gave everyone a rough idea of it may be happening. " Of course. Who do you think he is? They don''t just call him the strongest for nothing." Bill come forth and praised his friend. Espeon rolled her eyes at Bill praising her trainer, but agreed with his words. " Of course, you would once again start his praise storm. She is impressive though. Even though, she was struck for sometime, she managed to get herself out of her predicament and gained herself a victory. " Aurea said with awe about her powers and skills. She turns to Alex and asked," Are you sure this isn''t her full strength? " Alex shrugs and asked, " I have a Piloswine who completely crushed Julius over there, didn''t he?" Julius feels uncomfortable about it which Aurea sensed," Yeah, but you don''t have to say something like that." Aurea scolds him Alex rolls his eyes and mumbles," I am just giving an example. Well, he is strong enough to defeat her ninetails too and it will be much easier than this, but if Gabite goes all out she can crush Piloswine just like I did with Julius. " The comparison surprised those who have seen Piloswine fight. Bill was even more surprised by this and said loudly, " But you said your Piloswine can even freeze an entire lake, if he goes all out and went crazy." August just raised his brows on hearing it, for this strength is impressive for a boy his age, and if his remarks are anything to go by then it means Cynthia is a powerful trainer herself, while Alex is even stronger for accepting his Pokemon aren''t strong. Though he also noticed he never said anything about her being stronger than her. " Hey, if you haven''t noticed, that Gabite is also a pseudo king. Can''t you see it?" Alex said to them. "Uh no. Sorry I haven''t noticed it yet." Bill said without much thoughts. Alex sighed when Bill said something like this without any doubt, this made him confused as to how he should reply back. He continued, "My Slowking can submerge the entire Happy town in water if he is willing. If he uses his psychic power too, then this forest can also be destroyed without much worry. After being a king level Pokemon he can destroy this small island too. So a dragon ground type who haven''t even started to use the elemental powers is nothing compared to when she let loose. There is a reason a master trainer is the criteria for new gym leaders. And they can have such powers in the league, for anyone can be dangerous if truffles with." Alex explained it to them. While, everyone is shocked by the powers, August, Lucian, Elsa and Cynthia noticed how he mentioned Slowking, showing that he has a Pokemon who can deal with Gabite if need be. He isn''t lowing his head to accept that Cynthia is stronger than him, but saying he has other Pokemons who can deal with Gabite. " Are the trainers in top five strongest list have such powers?" Aurea asked in amazement. Others gave Cynthia and Alex a look of reverence, and but unlike Cynthia who is embarrassed by this level of attention, Alex just snorted. " What? You don''t like the praise?" August asked seeing his reaction. " What is there to be in awe of? It is just a little strength. She is strong. I am strong but there is others against whom we are nothing."He said while looking at August. " So what? Am I your lifelong goal? " He asked wishing to listen how he answers him. " No offense but you aren''t my lifelong goal. You are my short term goal. First reach your level, then surpass you. Then reach champion Drake and Alder level who are currently two of the strongest champion now and then surpass then. Then I have to reach ...." Before Alex can continue, Aurea shouted out in shock and surprise. " Alder isn''t even your final goal. " " Hey, he is just a champion level trainer. His Pokemons aren''t even at the same level as some I have seen. They can barely compete with some stronger legendary Pokemons, while the ones whom I wish to surpass are those who can beat those pokemons and even compete with even stronger ones. So why should I care about them?" Alex replied not caring about their shocked look. They don''t know who he is speaking about and who are the people he wish to surpass but they understand now how wide the gap between them and Alex is. They look at champion and Elite four in awe about their strength and power, but for Alex they are just short term goal. August on the other hand wasn''t surprised but laughed out merrily on hearing Alex words. He understood who he spoke about. It was Red, Blue, Samuel and Charles. Those people or monsters even for someone like him are his true goal. Originally he thought of fighting Alex to show him just how far he is from his true objective but today he understood Alex goal is too far, even now and so his spark and determination won''t fade away with just a little strength. He will continue to work hard and grow even stronger. " Are there people stronger than champions out there?" Cynthia asked August, not knowing about such people. August wished for Cynthia to reach her peak and even surpass that, do he thought of revealing a hit of true powers to her. Through this method, these kids may also understand just how wide the world truly is. And how far from the top they are. He said to them, " Almost every region has someone stronger than average champions. In some because of lack of strong people these hold the champion position like Alder and Drake, but in some, these people have some other goals and interests so they don''t involve themselves in the works of league. Make no mistake, they are part of the league, but they don''t wish to involve and divide their time. They even hold the strength and power to change the decisions if necessary. As for their pokemons strength, anyone of them can bring down a region easily. They are the regions why there are only few regions with league while others have small governing body. These people are the true force which make sure that league isn''t destroyed. And, out of every region Kanto has the most number of such people so it has been the strongest region ever since even though their are lack of talents for some time. But it seems this void will be filled up soon. " August answered while looking at Alex with a gratified gaze. The group was silent not knowing what to think of. To think there are people who can destroy an entire region of they wished for. Aurea remember her father mentioning Samuel Oak once. And how he alone brought Unova to it''s knees, now knowing there are others with this strength makes her shudder and to think Alex has set these monsters as his goal. '' in the end, we cannot use the views of normal people for the geniuses?'' she thought to herself while looking at Alex, unaware that others have similar thoughts. Chapter 276 - 12 POKEMON POV, The solemn atmosphere which was created when everyone thought about it those monster like trainers, August revealed to them and let their imagination run wild is suddenly broken by a whelp of the Eevee at Alex''s side. She yipped at Alex with cute big eyes and rubbed her head against Alex''s legs most probably wishing for something. Alex bent down on his knees to her level and rubbed her head while picking something from his backpack and handing a box of Pokemon food to her. This action sent the solemn atmosphere down the drain and Alex falling to the Eevee cute charm was enough to invite laughter in the group. '' In the end, even Alex isn''t immune to her just who is she that almost everyone here is so respectful to her '' This thought run through the silently observing Magmar''s mind. He just watched the battle and saw both of them were stronger than him and someone whom he cannot defeat even with type advantage yet his instinct told him that Espeon and that Eevee are more dangerous than the two, at least Espeon is stronger than ninetails while Eevee is even more powerful. In his time at the team, he is closer to charmeleon and Electabuzz compared to others so he asked, '' Hey Charmeleon who is she?'' he points at Eevee. His words attracted Espeon, Charmeleon, Minccino and Emolga attention. Charmeleon can reply who he is to Magmar but not to the Pokemon not in the team. Even though they are friends this secret is something which cannot be disclosed to Pokemons and people outside the group unless Alex himself does that. This is a consensus every member of the team has reached and have followed till now and continue to do so in the upcoming future. So he recited the tale they have made for her identity with some hints of truth wothout revealing the complete truth. '' She is the first friend of Espeon. She is Espeon''s closest friend, that''s why Alex haven''t caught her yet but because she is a friend so she often visits Espeon. In her time with us she has gotten close to almost everyone in the team, so if anyone angers her they may suffer their wrath before her or Espeon going crazy. So be careful around her and don''t make her cry. No one can save you not even Alex.''He warmed his fire type friend. Magmar is a bit creeped about it, and although Emolga and Minccino doesn''t know what the outcome it may be they don''t wish to suffer. To add a special effect, Gengar rose from Magmar''s shadow and seem to crackle deviously from behind him startling not only Magmar bit every Pokemon and unaware people. '' Ahhh'' both Emolga and Minccino shouted and jumped on their trainers arms in fright. Magmar also was afraid and jumped back a few steps before readying himself for fight. '' there will be no where you can hide if you do anything to make her sad.'' Gengar crackled at the newest recruit of the team. Pokemon POV ENDS Sudden emergence of Gengar startled everyone and those who didn''t know him even pulled out their pokeball. If not for August and Alex asking them to stand down things would have gone ugly. " Stand down everyone, I know him." Alex said to everyone. " Who is this Gengar, Alex?" Lucian was surprised since his psychic powers never sensed him "He is my Gengar. He is my official starter. I let him out of his pokeball last night. He was looking around the island while we were shopping and encountered August over there." Alex said to them while never revealing how Gengar normally hides in his shadow. This is a secret he will continue to hide until he needs to use this truck to save his life. Until then this will be his life saving trick for any dangerous situation in the future. Mew, his multiple powers of psychic, ghost and aura along with Gengar hiding place are some of the secret he will never reveal to anyone. Everyone took his answer at face value not doubting him and never questioning why Gengar acted like that, for the Mischievous nature of ghost is something every trainer worth his salt knows about. August who knew where Gengar really was never once said anything to reveal the secret, in fact he was delighted. Although having friends is good, there are some things which are to be hidden even from close friends. As for what to say and what to hide is something a skilled and good trainer must know. Alex''s hiding his Gengar true hiding place made him assured that Alex will be fine in the future even if he is in a dangerous situation. He saw Gengar had used shadow powers to hide himself which Gengar are proficient in. With this Gengar around Alex at least he has a way to escape from foes whom he has no chance of victory. " Now that your fight is done, I think your pokemons need some healing. After all, Not only Alex bit Cynthia wish for a Togepi and their performance so far make them qualified to visit their nest." August said to them which put the discussion regarding Gengar to a halt. " So we can finally go that place,the hidden nest of the Togepi family?"Elsa asked excited. " No, not all of you can go there. Only, Alex, Cynthia and finally Elsa are allowed to go. I am not only their guardian but also the examiner. I wander around the town to test the people who are qualified for the next round." August revealed to them and everyone understood why this old man was out there in such bizarre clothes. He continued , " Alex and Cynthia has qualified in the town itself, meanwhile your performance has let you earn a seat for the next round, Elsa. As for you lot, I was overseeing you. If you were able to see through them r plans, understand their actions or observe something I have set you may have the opportunity to visit the next, but only Alex, Cynthia and Elsa has noticed them. In the end, you cannot pass the test " he sighed on.seeimg the dejected looks of the kids. He liked them but as a guardian and examiner he cannot be lenient against them. " What was it that you wanted us to observe?" Lucian asked while pushing his specs back and tried to act normal but he cannot hide his disappointed look. He turns to Alex and said," They only caught a glimpse of it as they were fighting but you have observed it didn''t you?" Alex just nodded and didn''t say anything else for sometime and then mutters, " So did you make his metal coat or is it something else?" " I only found the metal ore then crafted an armour for it''s hands and body, after sometime training , it evolve in a few days time. Didn''t Samuel explain it to you, how to use metal coat, after all although it is a secret it isn''t something that should be hidden from you?" August asked puzzled why Samuel hid such things from him. Alex only sighed and said, " In his words, I am strong too fast and at much younger age, so these type of unconventional things must be discovered by me on my own effort or through my journey or times like now from others. He will not take my hand and lead me the entire route." August just nodded. " So do you have any Pokemon which may need a metal coat?" " I do have one, it is an Onix. He is already elite level so I wish to evolve him. If I go out creating an armour for him, I will go bankrupt, so for him I did a completely different trick. I am still experimenting the process, if I have some results I will tell you." Alex said everything without revealing Everything. Everyone is confused but none asked him anything more. Since they didn''t see his glimpse then they shouldn''t know it''s existence unless absolutely necessary . This is what Alex and August both feel about it. August then whistles and some seconds later, Xatu appeared in front of them. After his arrival, August told them, " Alex, Cynthia, Elsa come forward. We will teleport to the nest." He told the trio and then to others, " We may not return today, you lot should head back to my house and rest, see you later." Alex returned all his Pokemons with the exception of Eevee and espeon. They stood by Xatu. Xatu eyes the Eevee form of Mew for some moment and then stood still. Xatu slashed his hands on the air as if a signal they are going to teleport and they wisked away leaving the others behind. And the others started to walk towards August''s treehouse. Chapter 277 - 13 Pocket space When August and the trio of young trainers looked around to see the new place where Xatu has teleported them off to, they see a clear sky. They are on a hill top from which one can see the entire Island and even see the ocean far off. They can also see the roof of August''s house which is built on the tallest tree of the forest. The hill that they are currently at gas a very steep slope on which one can only scale it through mountain climbing. While Alex looks around the place, Elsa and Cynthia inquires their examiner. " What are we doing here? Where are the Togepi and it''s nest?" Cynthia asked. " Yes. Are the Togepi far way from here or something?" Elsa asked with a confused look similar to Cynthia on her face. They never doubt August for he is someone who know Samuel Oak ( Alex don''t doubt), Caroline ( so Cynthia don''t doubt) and since others don''t doubt him so Elsa is fine. "Are they in some hidden space?" Alex said with a hint of anticipation. " So you know about it?" August asked with surprise on his face. " I read through some books about them. It is said that Palkia can create some pocket spaces. So I thought some powerful Pokemons themselves might have similar ability or have acquired one such pocket space for themselves to remain hidden. " Alex said excited when August didn''t deny the prospect. August just smiled at his excitement as he finally saw Alex act like a kid his age. " What are these pocket space you speak of, Alex" Elsa asked as she never heard of them before. Cynthia asked her own question," I know Palkia is the Lord of space but why would he leave pocket space around?" Instead of Alex who only have little information regarding pocket spaces August who knows more revealed it to them, " Pocket space are the places which are hidden from plain sight but on passing through the gateway one can reach a place much bigger than a small place can hold. Think of something like a small room. If the room has a pocket space, then on entering the gateway, you can enter a place as big as a village, town, city or area even bigger than them. " The group has a look.pf awe on the face. Then he turns to Cynthia and continued his explantation, "And as for your question Cynthia, these pocket space are a network. These spaces are the places from which energies on the parallel space and time connect with each other. These worlds would be destroyed if not for a continuous flow of energy or network of energy to sustain them. Of course this is also to protect the main world , for if the main world is destroyed the chain is broken and parallel words will be destroyed. So you can say every pocket space is a time bomb which is to be protected and cannot be eradicated for their destruction can cause imbalance in the energy flow and destroy the world. " August explained and finished with a warning about imminent world disaster. When Alex heard about the balance of energy flow and pocket space connection he has a question running through his mind, but he stops that for it is something only someone like Mew can answer. If the answer is too startling he may not be able to withstand the shock and faint so he pushed it back for later when he is alone and then asked August another question, " Is it a proven or is it one of those theories which are too exaggerated to be true?" Most should take offence if someone said something like this to them, but not August infact he found it gratifying. " Spoken like a true scientist. To answer your question no there is no confirmation in the theory I said to you, but the energy flow is true. So we are quite alert whenever a pocket space comes out. Normally only trainers whose strength have reached champion are allowed to possess a pocket space, as for elite four only the strongest have this privelege. " August revealed. He seem to reminisce the past and continued to explain the history of this one, " This was a pocket space which was awarded to me when I became strongest of the elite four after the champion. At that time, Togekiss nest seem to be eyes by many people. I was able to hold back people with wrong intentions for those pure Pokemons and later hid them in.this space. I never mention the pocket space to them though. You all are skilled and may have one such space in the future so I mentioned it to you. What other advantages they hold is something I will not say now, let it be a surprise for the future." August said while taking a step forward and suddenly disappearing in front of everyone''s eyes. The trio stood in shock for sometime until Eevee whacked her tail at Alex feet making him fall on the ground. The thud from Alex fall woke them from their shock. The girls giggled at Alex after which they walked forward and disappeared from Alex''s vision just like August. " So is the tree of Beginning not only a pocket space but also a conduit for energy flow, Mew?" Alex asked Mew in his thought. Mew''s voice rang in his mind, '' Yes, you are current in your deduction abd that theory is mostly true. But I won''t say anything else, for it will only be a burden to you if you know more than you should. Become as strong as this old man and I will say something about this, but not anytime soon. Not even some legendary Pokemons know what role these pocket space play. Only the strongest and the oldest ones know about their purpose so just ignore then for now. And hurry up, others might be waiting for you.'' As soon as he walked inside, he is greeted to the sight of many different bird Pokemons flying in the air, completely contrast to the birdless sky of Happy island. The place that Alex currently is at is a cave''s mouth at the top of a cliff with forest around. From.the cliff top Alex could see pretty far. Alex could see a river flowing and merging with a big lake. There are no big clearing around as there are tall trees which covered the entire forest except for some small covering and the large lake. He kept looking around to see many different plants which are quite bizarre and unique in shape and size, before he could continue to look around, a hand on his shoulder startled him making him fall on the ground. During his fall, he tripped and fell on the person who gripped his shoulder making that person join him. With Alex pulling the hands, Alex was on the bottom while the other one is on top of him. Chapter 278 - 14 The person who is on top of Alex is the person who he met today, one of the prettiest and beautiful girl he met in his short life of 12 nearly 13 years, the trainer from Sinnoh region, Cynthia Shirone. Alex is currently on the ground with his hands around Cynthia''s waist while Cynthia fell on Alex. Her left hand is on Alex c_h_e_s_t while another one, the right arm was around his neck. Fortunately Alex fell on his back and slowed down the momentum of fall and no stress was on his neck or else Cynthia right arm may be injured or even dislocated from fall. This also made the two have a little lovely scene to themselves. They look at each other''s eyes for the first time or to be exact looks at people of others gender for the first time in such close proximity. The two lost themselves to each other''s unique eye and temperament. They are both too young to divulge into some other things which this type of fall can lead to. Elsa doesn''t know why doesn''t like Cynthia being at such close proximity to the Alex and rushed to pull them up and break them away from one another. Elsa''s help managed to make them recover their senses and they stood up while blushing a little not willing to look at the other. August was looking at this scene with amus_e_m_e_nt thinking about how they would have acted if they were older by two years. He thought,'' If they were older, then this will be a perfect moment for the love triangle. It would be amusing to see what Alex choice would be. Will it be Cynthia or Elsa or even both or maybe a third person.'' He shook his head to calm.his excitement abd said, " Now that you are here, let''s head for the Togekiss nest. There Togekiss will test you and passed on that you will be checked whether you are eligible for the togepi or not. They don''t give off eggs but Togepi. Raising a kid especially someone as like Togepi who can be influenced easily is tough so be prepared, the test will be difficult. All your tests will be different from one another and you lot will be tested at the same time. Also, there is only one chance you work hard and be prepared. " He looks at the serious faces of the kids who are preparing themselves mentally for the upcoming test. August felt he must guide them. He liked these kids and know if they pass the test the Togepi in the future will not lose to his togekiss in the near future. He gave them a hint, " It is a test of inner will and heart. So don''t use your mind for this one, follow your heart, or else you won''t have any chance of excelling in it." As soon as he finished giving them the advice a large shadow appeared overhead. This pokemons is their ride to the Togekiss nest area in this vast Pocket space which is slightly bigger the the island they were currently in. It is a silver-gray, avian Pok¨¦mon with a long, metallic blue neck, legs, and tail. It has yellow eyes, a pointed beak with several pointed teeth, and a triangular crest on its head Alex looks up to see it was a skarmory. " We will ride on him. If we directly teleport to Togekiss Nest, then it will offend some of them. And let me warn you if they are offended the consequences won''t be good. " August warned them about not trying to offend the kind Pokemon in any way possible. The group of four sat on Skarmory back without any further problem. The skarmory was big enough to have at least six people on his back without any problem if two sat together in a row. Alex returned back Espeon, his Eevee(Mew) sat on his shoulder while Gengar his in the shadows once again, only August was aware of his presence. No way was he going to give up his biggest protection shield. Who knows when things go south. Although August hasn''t shown him any signs which show he is up to something not so good, but he is still someone he met just yet. There is no way he can put his safety in the hands of someone he have just met. August liked the fact that Alex is still vigilant. Although he has been kind to the kids, he still hasn''t given them enough reason to let down their guard completely. While he is happy about their strength, only Alex has what which impressed him enough to be delighted about. Even now he hasn''t given up learning. While the girls enjoyed the beautiful scenery as well as Pokemon around him, his gaze was fixed on Skarmory body trying to learn as many secrets as it can hide. He has some questions he wished to know about. August was curious in which direction his thoughts were so to spend time he asked, " Do you lot have any questions about this place you can ask? As long as it is not related to the test or some thing you lot cannot be acquainted with just yet, you can ask me anything you want?" " Does Skarmory wings really grow every year to replace their battered and bashed wings ?" Alex asked the flying elite. This question made Skarmory turn around to look at the kid who asked this. No one has asked anything related to himself from August. " Indeed they do grow every year. " August said, and continued " but this isn''t what you really wish to know is it?" " No, I wish to know if this is related to their growth. I mean if a severely injured Skarmory shed his steel like feathers and grow will it inhibit it''s growth. Or are there any other problems that they face in situations like that?" Alex asked. His questions shocked not only August and Skarmory but also Elsa and Cynthia for they never thought things like the way Alex did. August looked at Alex with an interested look and thought of something then sighed. " They do affect his growth. The energy they have gained in an year time through their food or other things are stored in their body until the day of growing new wings come. On that day not only their wings grow but some of the wounds they gain and aren''t completely healed are cured thoroughly. While the rest is later used to increase their size, claw and body strength along with other things. Is this answer enough for you. " August asked jokingly. But Alex took it serious and replied back, " For now it is enough. If other problems arise I will ask you later " August is shocked by his words for he thought this explanation will be advanced enough but it seems he once again underestimated Alex. He has his weakness too which can be seen in a battle but his attraction towards unknown is one of the reason he wishes for strength. The unknown is not only attractive to humans but it is often damgerous too. Yet people are willing to walk that path. Through some words with Alex August understood something about Alex. Looking at the confused gaze of the girls he explained it to them,"There are people in the world who are attracted to the unknowns. These unknowns are very dangerous and even elite four can die trying to reveal it''s secret. It seems young Alex is one of those adventurist. It may be why he never put the power a elite four hold to much consideration, after all even elite fours are afraid to venture into those places. " August said. " Then what are those places, August?" Elsa asked. " This is something you don''t need to know now, when you are strong enough you will be told about the different places which are forbidden, sealed and are death zones. But now focus on the test, we are almost there." August shifted the topic and pointed at the place in front of them. Chapter 279 - 15 The world inside the pocket space In front of the group is the large lake that they saw from top of the cliff. This seems to be a part of Togekiss territory. Unlike other pokemons territory where Pokemon of different species aren''t allowed to enter, when they landed at the shore they saw at least twenty different kinds of Pokemon playing with the Togepi. It is not surprising that the Togepi with their nature can bond with so many pokemons. And it appears that even after evolution their nature doesn''t change much and they are still able to be with other pokemons. When they arrived over their playing space on Skarmory the attention of baby pokemons playing there, turned their attention towards the incoming guests. " It seems that the pokemons here aren''t afraid of humans, but are curious about us." Cynthia said when a taillow flew over and settled on her shoulders while looking at her curiously. Different Pokemons who can fly started to hover around them while Skarmory was finding a place to land. August meanwhile explained it to them," The pocket space is a prohibited area so not many can appear here. The ones who enter are the ones I personally bring here. So they are not familiar to humans and haven''t suffered from them so they are pretty bold around them. And as pokemon trainers you may raise a Pokemon from egg so be prepared. It is a very tiresome job. They are very curious, bold and don''t seem to listen when needed. You will be raising kids for a few months but will be reminded of just how much problems you caused to your parents when they raised you up. " August said jokingly although it has a hint of truth in it. " The young Pokemons can''t be that bad, can they be?" Elsa asked Cynthia and Alex. In reply to her question, Cynthia shrugs her shoulder and shook her head showing she have no idea about this topic, meanwhile Alex shudders at the very thought of it. August saw his reaction and knew where this reaction came from. He said merrily, " It seems Alex may have some experience in it." " Just how bad can it be?" Cynthia asked worried and thought Alex''s reaction may be a bit of an exaggeration. Alex seem to be offended by her words and said heatedly, " I will tell you I have raised a number of pokemons from the egg. You don''t know how tiresome raising them can be. They don''t wish to be inside a pokeball and are afraid of it. You have to keep them outside, carry them around, protect them, feed them, stop them from rubbing around and not harm themselves while playing. You think it is easy. They are a bundle of infinite energy. They don''t sleep until late night and wake up early. They then wake you up, cry around, disturb your sleep. There is no sense of calm and a healthy sleep for at least three months of their birth. My Charmeleon is someone I raised from the egg, I have raised twin Ralts, a larvitar and a riolu. I have another one on his way. At least Charmeleon and riolu only disturbed me for a few days but I shudder to think what this one will be. If they are like another Ralts or larvitar then I am doomed for another three to six months. " Alex said with a gloomy look and his shoulders fell while Eevee on his l_a_p giggled at Alex''s plight. The baby Pokemon around Alex seem to find Alex''s reaction funny and we''re laughing at him. But both Cynthia and Elsa who seem to admire Alex''s skill and courage seeing him like this so afraid and even downtrodden, made them afraid and they turned to August with hopeful look wishing he say that it is just an exaggeration but their wish didn''t come true. " It seems you know the trouble a kid can cause and to think you raise so many of them at such a young age. It seems like this is what made you so m_a_t_u_r_e at your current age." August said to Alex. Then turning to the girls he explained, " Although it is troublesome raising them, the result is rewarding. You have raised a Pokemon who is stronger than average due to good nutritions at young age along with the bond. The Pokemon is with you all day and this way you influence them enough. They are more loyal to you than even your starter and if they can be used well, then through then the Pokemon in the team can bond with one another well. " August told them the merits of raising a pokemon from his egg form. Skarmory has landed when the baby Pokemon flew around making way for their landing. The group of humans landed on the ground, and then follows August. "Let''s get going, Togekiss is waiting for us." August led the way and the others followed behind him to the destination. Their destination isn''t a tree or something similar like they formally expected but a little elevated terrain over which seven Togekiss sat. Only Togepi can be found around the sleeping or resting Togekiss who either tried to climb the Togekiss or seem to play hide and seek around them. When August with the three kids came towards them, the Togekiss in the middle seem to open his eyes and look at the arriving people. The other Togekiss and togetic seem to follow the gaze of their leader and looks at the arriving Pokemon. Alex noticed that the Togekiss in the center seem to look at Eevee for a few seconds more than he did with Gengar in his shadow. His eyes even widened for a fraction of second which is something both Alex and August noticed but didn''t say or point it out. When they arrived closer, the togetic and Togepi parted ways for them to head for their leader. But, it didn''t mean the Togepi and togetic aren''t curious about them. They seem to look at them curious although some Togepi want to walk forward to the arriving humans togetic pulls them back. Cynthia and Elsa were gushing over the cute Togepi around them and if not for they are here to test, and August had warned them earlier not to act impolite in front of Togekiss, then they might have picked them and hugged them. Alex on the other hand has his eyes set on a Togepi at the side of the chief of Togekiss, who unlike the rest of Togepi who has a happy and curious look seem to possess a haughty, proud and disdainful look on his face. Just like Alex is looking at him, the Togepi too look at his observer for some time before averting his head away from him when their eyes met each other. When they reach in front of the Togekiss group, August walked in front and said, " I brought the new group of examinee. They are qualified for your test so you can go wild against them." Chapter 280 - Notice I had exams so I couldn''t post chapters. Now that they are over, there will be daily updates. Chapter 281 - 16 Pokemon POV, As soon as he said that, Togekiss eyes seem to glow. After that the trio are surrounded by a barrier. The trio seem to be isolated from the world as their eyes glazed. They are frozen in place. Their breathing seem to be much slower than normal person. If not for their eyes wide open and their eyes darting around, one would say they are in coma due to Togekiss. As soon as Togekiss did that, Gengar angrily rose from the shadow and black wisks seem to ooze out of his body. It expands outwards. '' How dare you hurt my trainer? You will pay for it no matter what the consequences will be?'' While the other Togekiss were startled by this, the chief just give a look not bothering to interrupt him. '' I am not yet one who did it so target me. If you knock me down you can protect your trainer.'' Togekiss said with amus_e_m_e_nt in his tone. He wished to see how far this Gengar can go. It was stronger than everyone else in his tribe in his current state, and only he can deal with him, so he irritated Gengar further with a disdainful look. Just as it almost touch a Togepi, a barrier erected which stopped the black wisks to spread around. '' Yes, you are the culprit. Play for your actions.'' Gengar knows it is related to the chief Togekiss. He only have one chance to attack if he didn''t hit his target then both him and his trainer will be doomed. He seen to forget all about the test and Mew presence as soon as he felt his trainer is in danger and their connection is cut off. Mew just sat in her Eevee form and looks at Alex ignoring the battle which Gengar is fighting. But for someone of Mew level, the barrier is of no use. She looks at Alex test with interest. Meanwhile with Gengar, The shadow seem to combing together and formed a big spear with an extremely pointed end. It was about five metre long and anyone can sense the destructive energy in the spear. Togetic and Togekiss seem to pull back the Togepi away from the duo so that they aren''t affected. Meanwhile the odd Togepi seem to look at all this with interest. The power surge happening in the area was sensed by other Pokemons of August and the powerful pokemons who live here. When they were going to intervene, August stopped them and said, " He is checking whether he is eligible to raise his son. He wish to see the strength of the Pokemon which is his official starter. " When they heard what Togekiss is doing and why he is doing this, they put their intentions to attack to a halt and watch the battle calmly. It sailed through the air towards the chief Togekiss. Gengar was proud of his attack for the attack itself was hidden until the last moment. Just when the spear reached two metre away from Togekiss, Togekiss shouted out, " Moonblast" It glowed brightly and a beam of light emits from his body and stuck the shadow spear. On collision the spear was pushed back and later broke apart, but instead of being shock or angry at his attack failing he grinned. This put Togekiss on guard. This saved Togekiss because the next moment the broken shadow spear burst out into multiple darts aimed at Togekiss. He couldn''t move for his son will be hit by these attacks. While they aren''t anything worth threatening to him, they can injure his son gravely. No matter how off his son acted and contrary to the Togepi his son acted, he loves him and will protect him. So Togekiss instead of moving out of the way, he decides to face it head on. If he used his elemental power form it can easily deal with it, but he wished to show the Gengar in front of him, that he is weak and not strong enough to reveal his real strength to him. He is so fast that he only saw a white line swiping through the air. Gengar gritted his teeth on seeing this, but no one can stop him from saving his trainer. He dived into his own shadow and disappeared from everyone''s view but none of the senior pokemons felt that the battle was over. The gengar are regarded as one of the strongest ghost type pokemons out there for a reason. They are the ruler of darkness because of their shadow mastery. When Haunter evolved into Gengar he sent words to the Gengar in the Pokemon Tower, about this. Gengar would often come to visit his Gengar at night to train him in his shadow powers along with other things. The Gengar of the pokemon tower sees Alex''s Gengar as his future heir. Human life is too small compared to ghost Pokemon. So when his trainer does he will join the Pokemon Tower and lead the ghosts. It was a long term plan but it has high chances of giving rich returns. With this view the Gengar started to train his disciple. So under his guidance, Gengar nurtured beautifully and in just a few weeks time, he has get a hold over his shadow powers which he has shown so far and will do so for the rest of the match. Gengar suddenly appeared from Togekiss shadow and sent out poison claw at his opponent. Not giving him any chance, he even sent air slash at him. Gengar though powerful under the two direct hits of a peak king level pokemon who was whole two stages higher than him couldn''t last long. He fainted. Togekiss then used psychic and placed his unconscious body by Alex''s side. Togekiss defeated his opponent easily but it doesn''t mean he isn''t impressed. Gengar knew he was much stronger than him, but to protect someone precious to him he attacked without any second thought. None if his attacks hit the mark but every hit was powerful enough to deal with elite level Pokemon. If these attack hit anyone belie his level it is a sure one shot KO along with severe injuries. He turns to look at his son who rise from hiding after the battle ended and walks over to the fainted Pokemon and his trainer. His gut told him that his son will surpass him in the future so he wished for a powerful trainer to raise his son. When August was arriving he has warned him about a possible trainer who is eligible to raise his son. With his skills ( as seen in Gengar, for Alex raised him well) , temperament and Mew backing he agree to let his son out into the outside real world. And yes, Togekiss know it was mew and not Eevee. For when he scanned their mind, he has a little fight with New, who warned him not to do anything harmful to Alex or their tribe of Togepi, togetic and Togekiss doesn''t need to exist. Anything and anyone coming forward to stop her will perish. Togekiss never doubted this statement. He layer asked her person and only after that did he act on the young trainers. After the battle ended, Pidgeot, Fearow, Charizard, altaria, crobat landed around Togekiss. They bowed to Eevee a little not revealing her identity to August but showing respect to the mother of all pokemons. After that their discussion started. Chapter 282 - 17 POKEMON POV, " hahaha, it seems you have gotten dull, even an elite Pokemon can tire you like this." Fearow mocked his partner for many years. Togekiss just sent him a minor glare and retorted, " Have a psychic battle with Mew and then deal with a shadow power using Gengar, we will see who is fine and who has lost his breath. " The group decided to leave out Mew part for their basal instincts as well as fighting instincts warned them that if they fight her even if they are together, they will lose badly. As for how bad the result will be is based on the premise on how her mood is. If she is a good mood they are only knocked out with little to no injuries but if she is angry or completely pissed off, if they are lucky they will die a painless death or be in severe pain for as long as they live. Pidgeot who was the starter of their trainer and also the strongest of them all inquired, " So was he string enough to pass your test?" Togekiss sighed and mutters, " Its about time he will see the world outside of this place, where I am not around to save him or look after him. I dragged it fir a long time. Many Togepi of his generation have already left. With his friends leaving and him left behind with the younger ones, his mood changed and now he is like this." Fearow didn''t say anything about it and kept mum when New was involved in their discussion. He is sad about his son''s change and all of them knew it. " Don''t be so sad. You did it for him. You wished for a strong trainer to raise your son. After all unlike us who have at least half a dozen children, you only have him. It is perfectly normal for you to act like that. " Xatu tried to comfort the fairy flying Pokemon. " He is too stubborn. He doesn''t listen to me. He doesn''t train. He even cause Chaos in the tribe. If he is not my son, he would have been expelled out of the clan long ago." Togekiss started to fume with every sentence he uttered. Charizard snorted and said, " isn''t he doing this to leave this place? We all have proudly narrated our life adventure to them, but none of them have listened as attentively as he did. Above all else, he has inherited your stubborn streak, do you think he will calm down and listen once he has set his goal?" " That''s what make me afraid. I would have let him follow a trainer back to the world, but if he isn''t good enough for him, Togepi would leave him. I need someone who can be stubborn, proud, good at raising them and isn''t too kind when he is dealing with their misdeeds. But the trainers are too soft and can only handle normal goody shoes Togepi, not my arrogant and proud son." Togekiss retorted at Charizard words. " So how is the test going do far?" August asked his togekiss interrupting their discussion. " They are fine, at least they haven''t given up yet. " Togekiss stated. August shook his head at Togekiss words, " You make them an impossible task in this test Everytime. How do you expect young kids to survive hungry while creating plans to escape their predicament. You don''t even leave them any hints or map to show them the way." August grumbled at his Pokemons tough test. " In the wild, these Kind if things are common. You and I both know Togekiss test isn''t that harsh, compared to real situation. We have lived a month without food in our times, because we were injured and you weren''t strong enough to hunt Pokemons for us due to your condition." Charizard rose to his defense. " Fine, but what scenario did you give them?" August relented and inquired his proud Pokemon. " Elsa and Cynthia are in a forest where they are surrounded by Rattata, beedrill, etc. They are without supplies and have to reach a town which is about ten kilometers from their position. As for alex, his test is something special, especially after hearing those praises you have for him. " Togekiss said with a Mischievous glint in his eyes. This glint may seem mischievous but in fact anyone who knows Togekiss will tell you he has a very long sadist streak. This glint meant Alex is doomed snd will be suffering from something big. August knew his pokemon''s habit and shakingly asked, " Whha... What did you do to him?" " Nothing, just his test is in the Badlands." Togekiss said and went back to preening his feathers. All of them even Charizard who supported him looked at him in shock and arrangement. They were surprised by what he did. Especially the Pokemons, for his actions may doom them all. " Have you gone mad to let the brat do something like that?" Fearow craws at his old partner. All the pokemons now have different levels of horrified expression thinking about their most probable future in case he is adversely affected from this ordeal. " Is there any problem with that?" August asked confused by their talks. Then it sparked to pidgeot that they cannot reveal Mew existence to their trainer. Even if they wanted to, any release of identity may anger her which isn''t good especially when things went to this " Isn''t that Charizard trainers''s student? We all know how protective he can be about them, do we really want to anger him by doing this? He will lose all rationality and old friendship if his student gets an irreversible injury." Charizard tried to think of a reason anxiously while hiding the true fear of Mew and put all the pot on Samuel, his Charizard and his love and protective nature for his students. This is something which is very widely known so using this reason didn''t cause any suspicion that his Pokemons are trying to hide something. They have lived together for a long time, August found that they didn''t say the entire truth but their years of bond assured him it isn''t anything harmful unless he deliberately probed into the matter. Togekiss saw their expression and laughed at them. Charizard doesn''t like this for they are almost at the doorstep of their annihilation yet he is laughing. He made his true feeling aware by sending a flamethrower on the ground as a warning, reminding him that he is reaching the limit and won''t like being delayed. "You better have a good reason, because if my family is going to be destroyed for your foolishness, then I will deal with you slowly and painfully. I am sure others are willing to join this carnival of ours. " Charizard warned while others walked a step forward to show they are together in this, while their leader pidgeot did not say anything, but the fact that he didn''t come forward to help him shows he is very well with the others. Togekiss although a calm and collected Pokemon has his own pride. In the group he is the second strongest, after pidgeot. Since pidgeot doesn''t join he isn''t willing to lower his head and glared at them resolutely not having a single thought of backing down. Seeing the situation going out of hands and things turning very violent pretty soon, August appeared in front of Charizard and Togekiss and separated the two. " Calm down, you two, Samuel won''t be angry but delightful that Togekiss gave him this test. He will be heading for the Badlands to reside their alone with his pokemons for a week without any help from others before his 15 the birthday. He is already nearing 13 and he has only two years to complete this task. So don''t get aggitated."August explained it to them. His words surprised them for they know the danger which lies there. As someone who experienced it, they would never let their kids ever head for that place, for that is the true battleground of this world. A place where strong survive and weak become nourishment for their growth. Chapter 283 - 18 After August revealed it, they all stepped back and sat there quietly while looking at the boy who will be entering the hell. All of them are the elite team of August, his strongest. Pidgeot, fearow, Charizard, Togekiss, Xatu, altaria, crobat are the strongest Pokemon August have. Whenever August visit that place, he will take them with him. Although not the strongest elite four of his time, he was one of the strongest, yet that place was too much for him. The place where even a herd of Rattata or beedrill is enough to deal with them. A place where everything and anything out there is capable of killing you. But, it is also the treasure trove for people. There are many things which can help mankind and Pokemons alike, but the dangers are what prevent the others from reaching out to it. The survival percentage for advanced trainers is 5 per cent, master trainer is 12 per cent, elite level trainers is 30 per cent while the champions is depending on the places they visit. As they visit deeper, their chances of survival drops drastically. From the original 70 per cent, it fall to 50 per cent, 40 per cent, to as low as 10 per cent. The terror of that place still reside in these pokemons whole they recount the past events in that place. While they were nostalgic, Elsa and Cynthia both have passed their test. They are slowly coming to senses for their eyes stopped revolving around, their slow breathe returning to normal and finally their fingers started moving a little. When they fully recovered, they heard August''s voice, " Congratulations, Elsa, Cynthia you both have passed your test. And, at the same time too." He said happily. They turned to the source of this familiar voice. August sat on the small topographically elevated piece of land with togekiss and other flying Pokemons like Charizard, fearow, pidgeot, crobat and altaria. When he said they passed at the same time though they turned to look at each other. While turning to each other, their eyes fell in a still Alex, an unconscious Gengar, a Eevee whose eyes were set on Alex while she also continued to talk with an odd Togepi who sat on the unconscious body of Gengar. This Togepi seem to possess a permanent scowl on his cute face. They felt something was wrong and fingered their pokeball ready to fight their way out while standing guard over Alex''s still body. As for why they did it, Elsa and Alex are close friends after they are down with their act of rivalry and borderline enemy behavior. She isn''t going to.leave her friend behind. Meanwhile, Cynthia is a heroic woman. She isn''t willing to leave people behind and escape. So, the situation came to this moment. " What is going on here, August?" Elsa spoke or more like ordered August to speak up. She has a nasty look on her face which is accompanied by an angry frown and slightly red eyes. Similarly, Cynthia reaction isn''t so intense but she also has an angry look on her face, along with one of betrayal from the looks of it. August and his pokemons were amused with actions and laughed at them. Though August didn''t outright laugh, his Pokemons were not so controlled. August walks up to them rising from his position among his Pokemons, but the two kids didn''t lower their guard even once. August just arched his eyebrows but didn''t say anything about it. " Don''t mind them. They are just teasing you. Alex here is being tested so he is in this state. " He explained it to them calmly so that times doesn''t go as violent as it did with Gengar. They accepted this reply for they did have a test, but this doesn''t mean that it is enough. Gengar is unconscious. " But what about this Gengar? Why is Alex''s Gengar knocked out?" Cynthia asked. August brushed his long white beard and continued to explain it to them," Unlike you both who have lowered their guard around me and seem to trust me completely, Alex wasn''t so easily convinced. He had his Gengar hide in his shadows and have him act if I put you lot in jeopardy." He looks at them to see if they were following him so far or not. " Wait, Gengar can hide in the shadows?" Cynthia asked unaware of this fact, same was the case with Elsa. So August decided to explain a bit about ghost type pokemons to the two of the powerful trainers, " Each ghost pokemons have a certain area which keeps them unique and different from other ghost pokemons. The ineffective nature of physical attacks as well as a certain unique power different from elemental powers is the criteria for their ghost type selection. Gengar have shadow power, Dusknoir have spirit power, Mismagius have illusion. So Gengar can hide in the shadows making them one of the top Pokemons capable of both assassination and protection. Alex seem to do it when he is in a completely unfamiliar place, where the danger can come out from any place. " The girls understood why he is here, when their pokemons were in the pokeballs but they still don''t know why he is knocked out. August can see what is going on in their mind. So he explained it to them, " As for why he is knocked out, he is just as impulsive as you." Their eyes twitched multiple times on hearing it. Then he corrected himself, " he is even more impulsive than you. At least woman has some semblance of calm before a fight. We men directly start the fight when we are situations like this without giving the other any moment of chance to explain how it happened " he then started laughing after explaining the mind of men. This calmed them down since he also complimented woman for their calm mind at these situations. Their frown turn to smile as soon as they heard it and then asked, " So we passed the test?" Cynthia asked with barely contained happiness in her face. August nodded saying that they did pass. Cynthia and Elsa hugged each other excited and circle around while squealing in happiness. They shouted together in excitement and joy, " Yay, I got a Togepi", " I have got a Togepi." Eevee and Togepi who were talking together while looking at the frozen body of Alex, turn towards them, while Togepi was confused, mew being infected by their happiness left Alex''s side without second thoughts, and circled around them. The girls upon seeing the Eevee which moved around them, pulled her in a joint hug and continued to celebrate. Soon a groan came. The source of groan mutters, " can you please stop squealing? my head hurts. Ahhh" he said while holding his head. The girls then to look at the source of the groan who dared to interrupt their joy. While Cynthia and Elsa doesn''t know what he experienced in it, they thought they one upped and tried to tease him. " Oh, did Mr. Bart came across a hurdle he cannot overcome and lost to the two young ladies as awesome as ourselves. " Elsa mocked him. " Now, now, Elsa, don''t be so harsh on him. He is sad that he lost to sweet, soft and beautiful girls like us. He is just a sore loser." Cynthia joined her in this. August on the other hand was shell shocked. These two girls don''t know just how serious the situation with Alex could have been, but he knows just how serious the case can be. His Pokemons felt something off about the current scenario. His senses told me things aren''t good and it came true. Alex has held his head in pain and his eyes weren''t open. But when he opened his eyes to look at them, every human and Pokemon felt like they are drenched in the ice cold water while cold winds blew. Accompanying the sensation of cold is a very strong killing intent which almost sent the girls into hyperventilation, if not for August appearing in front of them to protect them from it. August looks up to see Alex''s eyes blood red which has no semblance of mercy on them. It is one of pure destruction and killing. Chapter 284 - 19 The look in his eyes not only surprised August but also his Pokemons who has no idea how situation went so our of hand. Alex after opening his eyes roamed it over everyone present there. The people and Pokemon except for Mew who seem unaffected, and Elsa and Cynthia who were covered by August body, took a step back involuntarily. To the surprise of everyone, he suddenly fainted and his body down with his body falling over Gengar''s unconscious one. August took steps towards Alex. When August moved the girls could see his unconscious body. They seem to ignore the past events which occured just a few minutes ago and rushed to his side while shouting out his name in worry, " Alex" Eevee on the other hand just tilted her head and looked at head ignoring the gaze of the Pokemons who looks at her for her reaction. Seeing her not acting angry at this sudden change of events they sighed in relief, for they won''t suffer the wrath of the legendary. August checked his pulse to find everything is normal. The girls settled on his side looking at him with worry. " He is fine. Just unconscious. It seems that the test took a toll on him and needs to rest in order to recover." He then looks up at the girls who seem to cry seeing him like this. " Don''t worry girls. He is strong both physically and mentally." He tried to appease them. " But why is his reason do intense compared to ours." Elsa asked both confused and angry at this. " What really happened to him, August?" Elsa asked with Cynthia giving August a strong and firm look which showed they need to know it and will know it whether by hook or by crook. August was in thought on whether to reveal it to them but seeing their determined gaze he dodged and decided to tell them everything. He started, " The test you girls got and the one which Alex was different. All three of you had the same task, of finding a human settlement when you are in the middle of nowhere. But the one thing different was the place where you are sent off to. Same is the difficulty level. Your task level is similar to one another, tough compared to the ones who were tested in the past but can be called heaven compared to Alex''s site of test." His words only confused the girls even further. " Let me explain it this way,. .." before he can continue forward, Mew in her Eevee form walks up to Alex and seem to rest on his c_h_e_s_t. Seeing this, August understood it is better to let them rest in his home. He stops his explantation and turned towards the group of his old pokemons who sat there while looking at the fainted trainer with worry. "Xatu, take us back to my house. Letting him rest here, isn''t good for him, especially in his recovery and adapting time. " August told his flying psychic Pokemon, Xatu. Xatu nodded in agreement and flew towards them. August looks at girls band said, "Cynthia, Elsa I will tell you everything when we return back. We cannot let Alex lie on the floor like this." Elsa and Cynthia wanted to know why he is unconscious immediately but they also know Alex getting a good rest is more important so they relented and placed their hands on Xatu''s shoulder along with August. Xatu criss cross his hands and they teleported away. Togepi who was close by also.placed his hands on Xatu''s shoulder along with them while waving bye to his father who looks at him in shock. When they teleported away, Togekiss who is shocked by his son''s action just shook his head. " In the end, he decided to follow the trainer he wished to follow without even asking my permission. He is really independent." He mutters. " At least that chaotic son of your is off your hand. Now it is that kids problem. But why did he react so aggressively?" Altaria asked her old friend. Togekiss shook his head not aware as to why he did act like this, but after some thoughts said, " I don''t know." Pidgeot is confused by his words, "Why don''t you know? Didn''t you create their test ground and can see everything happening inside. " Togekiss shook his head and revealed it to them, " I can look at the girl''s test, but When I started the test and put them in the illusionary world I created, mew took control of the world from me and I was thrown out from it. She wasn''t polite, let me tell you this. That''s why I was so slow to deal with Gengar. " On hearing it, fearow and Skarmory started cracking out loud while laughing at Togekiss. " Hahahaha" Togekiss doesn''t know why but their laughter miffed him. He felt they were mocking him. He asked them aggressively, "Hey what are you laughing about?" " It''s nothing. Just that you did nothing but in the end, the entire pot fell on your head. It is so funny." Skarmory mocked him while the others joined them at laughing at Togekiss expense for it was true. Togekiss slummed down while muttering, " You guys are the worst." He also thought to himself, '' It seems you have chosen the path for your future. I hope you can grow stronger and even surpass in the future. No I know you will do it. After all you are my son. '' and he looks at the horizon. In August room, The remaining members of the group which comprised of Bill, Lucian, Lucius, Aurea, Elesa and Skyla were in August house talking to each other while waiting fir the others to return after they passed their test. Although they don''t know what test they will experience they believe they can pass whatever test they will face. Bill even went as far as saying, " If Alex cannot pass it then no one can do it. " " You are underestimating, Cynthia. She is a very powerful trainer. " Lucian said when Bill started to compliment Alex. He can''t let him do that or else it may seem Sinnoh is weak. But the ranking has already stated Alex is stronger than Cynthia, which the ones in Sinnoh league wholeheartedly accept, so he cannot directly say Cynthia is stronger and he chose this diplomatic sentence. Bill continues without missing a beat. " I never said she is weak. I remember him complimenting only two girls around our age, one is Cynthia and other is Elsa. For others he never once complimented their fighting skills,not even someone as strong as Aurea. " This made Lucian curious what he meant but those who saw Aurea fight that day, know that he never regard that level of strength as his rival. " You cannot be so ins_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e, Bill. Even though Alex feels that way doesn''t mean you will use it to lower once confidence." Elesa came forward to defend her friend. Skyla stood over Bill head while glaring down at the ins_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e scientist slash entrepreneur. Bill feels that he is in for a good tongue lashing, but it seems luck was in his favour, for at that very moment, August and the group teleported at the room. When Bill saw them he was happy to get a chance to escape and he happily said, " Hey guys, you are back pretty quick. So how was the test?" But on seeing the unconscious body of Alex and Gengar, he asked in shock and outrage mixed in unequal proportion, " What happened to them?" " They are resting, don''t disturb them. I will explain it later when I have placed them in their room." August said after which he picked up Alex I''m his hands and walked forward meanwhile Xatu levitate the body of Gengar behind. When others tries to follow them, August turns around and said," They need rest. If you all are also there and crowd the room, you may affect him adversely so remain here until necessary. " His tone has an edge in it how serious he was now, until his normal friendly tone. The two girls namely Cynthia and Elsa are worried for him while the others are getting more and more tensed with the passage of time. Few minutes later, he returns with his Xatu and settled on the empty chair. He picks the glass from the table, drinks water, then turns to others, " Shoot whatever question you have for me, I will answer as long as it isn''t something classified." And then the former elite four was bombarded with the question of kids who were less than a fifth of his age. Chapter 285 - 20 As soon as August let them ask their question he was fired with question in quick succession. The group has surrounded August as they sat on the chairs in the form of an Arc while facing August. He was not able to understand what they were saying except for some common questions like, " What happened to Alex? " " How did this happen?" " Why did this happen?" " Is he going to be alright?" And " where were you when this happened?" Seeing that nothing was coming out of this question hour of the kids, he let the steel container of water on the floor fall on the wooden floor. The clang noise along with the splash of water stopped them from questioning the older man further. August started once again, "I know you all are worried about Alex''s well-being and how he is currently, but if you wish to know about his condition you better ask one question at a time so I can understand what you are saying. With all of you talking together, I don''t have the slightest clue of what you all are saying. All I hear is the buzzing of beedrill. " This made the kids embarrassed especially the older ones of the group like Bill and Julius. " Now, you will ask one question and it will start with Cynthia?" He points towards Cynthia to start the question hour. " What happened to Alex? We are fine, but Alex isn''t. Why is that so?" Cynthia asked August. August took a deep breath and said, "Normally I cannot say what the test really was for the sake of secrecy, but since it is like this I will start from the very beginning. Togepi are cute Pokemon and their evolved forms are powerful so many trainers put them in their wish list, but in their Beginning stages they are too weak and cannot protect themselves. So Togekiss decided a test to see whether you can survive in the wilderness without Pokemons and take care of their injured self while heading for the safe place." He looks over to see of everyone follows them till now. Seeing everyone grasp his words and listen attentively, he continued, "You both have to pass a forest inflicted with wild Pokemons which you managed to pass and completed the test. Alex has also completed the test, but the place he was sent off to and you both were sent off to is different." He ended omniously. Bill doesn''t know why but he felt a cold feeling arising from his c_h_e_s_t on hearing this. He asked while shivering involuntarily, " Where was he sent off to?" "He was sent off to the Badlands." On hearing it, both Bill and Julius who were the oldest in the group, above fifteen, fell back from their chair and looks at the older man in shock. " A... are you joking? The Badlands?" Julius asked acting similar to Bill who was looking at August in horror hoping he was wrong about it. " What the hell is this Badlands you all speak about?" Elsa shrieked out in anger at them acting all freaked out about it and never really revealing what it really was. " That place is a graveyard. An ultimate graveyard for both humans and Pokemons. " Bill said with a grave expression on his face. August took the fort to explain it to them about the severity of that place, "The Badlands are the place outside the areas of the Pokemon league''s control. That is one way of explaining it. The Badlands have a few places of entering from the league territory. One is directly through nthe ocean where one sails until he reach the land. The second would be through the Mt. Silver. Mt. Silver is the gateway to the Badlands, the safest gateway to say the least. At least the chances of survival is more than other places." " Mt. Silver? But isn''t it a restricted area?" Elsa asked shocked. August calmly answered, " The reason it is prohibited is because of the dangerous and aggressive Pokemons living there. There are times when some Pokemon arrive on this side and cause havock in the mountain. Because of that, it isn''t a place where humans and Pokemons can live peacefully. There are also many attacks from the other side. The situation is very bad at that border. That''s why the headquarters of the Pokemon league is situated at that place. But, Badlands are way worse that the border. Let''s just say it like this, every step you take there, a Pokemon or a tribe will attack you with the intent to kill. There are many humans living in that part of the world. They aren''t like you and me, but are hunters. They hunt their prey and even feed on each other if need be. They are cannibals. " He said. He let them digest everything, for the world he is revealing is a bit too much for the kids just yet. " Living there, they have fed on different Pokemons and their body have accommodated to that power. So they have become superhumans. Normal humans are not their opponent let alone any Pokemon below advanced level, their attack won''t even cut them. So in that place, you not only have Pokemons but also these cannabis humans to deal with. " Elsa nervously said, " Are these the only things to worry about?" Although she doesn''t know why, but she felt that these things although dangerous for most people are still within the ability of elite four to deal with yet the fact that a veteran elite four August is afraid of that place meant things may be much worse. " The most dangerous thing out there isn''t the Pokemons of humans but the vegetation and climate of that place. Many plants because of the different treasure such as high quality fire stone mine, etc have mutated and become vicious. They are like hunters lurking in the forest ready to attack their prey. And the weather of that place is very unstable. Some place is too hot some are too cold, because of the presence of evolutionary stones and different treasures which help in Pokemon growth. And so the region between the two area are quite hectic. The plants and Pokemons living in the places between two heavily contrasting places have many powerful Pokemons living in cl_u_s_ter who seek to kill and destroy anything who isn''t related to their species. Finally, the few places which the league do control are heavily protected by the Pokemons of elite four and champions. You can say at least half of the team of the current elite four and champions sit at these places to make sure that no one come out to destroy them. Of these pokemons every once in a while some die in the fight. So tell me kids, is that place dangerous or not?" August asked with an omnious expression on his face. The kids seem to freeze in terror because of hearing even Pokemons of elite four may die in places which are pretty safe compared to other places, so how dangerous their case may be. Then he went on to Alex''s current situation, " As for Alex situation, it is due to a combination of his past encounter in the Pokemon raid as well as his current actions in the virtual Badlands. His actions simulated the nerves of his from the past and reawakened this form for him. You see this is the thing which happens to someone who face the raid at this age, he isn''t completely recovered, for similar cases may pull him into this mindset. Now, you should rest too. I have some works to do." August walks away from them after mentioning a little about the Badlands. For the kids it was already very dangerous but this is only the rough description of why those places are dangerous. He never mentioned how they die, what kill them or a compulsory participation of certain trainers of specific strength. Chapter 286 - 21 Provocation and Future vision After August left them, the kids seem to still think about the incomplete and only information they do possess about that place. " Is there really something like that, in this world?" Skyla asked shuddering at the very thought. The Pokemon of elite four are too powerful for them to beat even with their entire team yet they can die often at place like that seem to highlight this terror. Cynthia started to narrate to them a conversation I had with her grandmother after Alex won through a Pokemon raid in the past, " To think, Grandma often said if I ever wished to be powerful I have to go to a very dangerous place. She always warned me saying I am still weak until I live through a certain experience. I always thought she was talking about the Pokemon raid, but after I asked her about it when Alex did, she mentioned it is only a prelude to the real world. Alex has the lead but until he does that he will still be an achievable goal, so I worked hard. Now I know just how dangerous my future will be. I just hope I can pass the assessment for the strong before my 18 the birthday. " Cynthia said to herself in the end, but it is enough to shock others. While others fear and are afraid of that place, Cynthia seem to see it as a goal to survive. Aurea looked around to see Elsa having similar look. Although Lucian is afraid his face was clouded with fear for a moment, after which his determination returned. She sighed in her heart, '' So this is the heart of the strong.'' Bill seeing that their confidence returning, he stood up proudly and pointed his fingers at the fearless trio of Elsa, Cynthia and Lucian. " You lot have some courage to think you can surpass Alex ever. Let me tell you it is just a dream. " He said while crossing his hands over his c_h_e_s_t. His arrogant behavior seem to pass through the other people in the room and they overcome the gloomy situation in the room. " Hey, how dare you talk to me like that? He has just fought a raid and an illusionary Badland can put him in bed, so how can he become insurmountable for me?" Elsa rose from her seat while standing nose to nose with Bill and thundered at him. Julius stood by Elsa side not saying anything but showing his silent support to Elsa. But, Bill isn''t someone who backs down easily. He only huffed and said, " So is your goal for Badlands, 18 too, Elsa?" " Of course. But I will do it before my 18 th birthday " she said giving a challenging look to Cynthia who sent her own at Elsa. Bill on the other hand have the two a pitiful look and didn''t say anything but everyone knows he is looking down on them. Elesa seem to not like him look at a lady like that. She felt he is looking down at woman at large. Elesa glared at the young heir and said, " Are you looking down on them because they are woman?" Her words ignited the righteous fury of every female in the room, and they made sure to surround the arrogant heir. Meanwhile the other males seem to move out of the way not wishing to attract their fury towards them and suffer under their wrath. Bill knows just how serious the case with him currently is, so he immediately tried to calm them by saying, " I never look down on woman. I respect then very much. It is just that you cannot match Alex if your goal you set is around 18 years, because Alex had already set his. He will pass the Badlands test before his 15 the birthday. After all he did tell me he will do it, before the youth tournament starts." " What?" Everyone in the room shouted. " And just how old is he now?" Lucian asked a bit shaky in his tone. " Alex is 12 and half now and within two years he will head for the graveyard." After that he looks over at everyone and asked, " So do you still think you can reach him, like ever?" This managed to destroy any confidence Lucian had in surpassing Alex for if he did that then he is way above him. But Cynthia and Elsa didn''t think like that. They are proud and strong. They have the heart of the strong, which is one of the reason other than their great beauty, why Alex seem attracted to them. They looked down for a moment and recovered pretty quickly. " since he can do it, then I won''t back down easily. I know as I am now I cannot do it before him or at the same time as him, but I can reduce the gap by working harder and doing it before 16. " Cynthia said proudly and her voice filled with confidence. Elsa by her side scoffed and said, " Even if that idiot is a little ahead of me, don''t think I will let you be ahead too. I am not losing to someone else." She challenged. Suddenly the situation when they were to be gloomy and lose their confidence against Alex power and ambition, it seem to burn their aspirations even brighter than ever, and they walk towards their future. Bill looks down at the current scenario which is completely opposite to the normal situation he thought it to be. It seem his entertainment is ruined. As the others seem to understand the gap they have with the two girls in front of them, especially Aurea who seem to curse herself for she cannot have similar confidence as these two on her skills. '' I can see why you said, I am not meant to be a trainer father. These are the true trainers who has the heart of the strong and doesn''t back down from difficulty unlike I who seem to hide from them.'' Unknown to others, August haven''t actually left the area, but he hide himself to see how the kids react to this. And his actions did reward him. " It seems that this generation will really surpass the past generation, xatu. To think most regard passing the Badlands survival test by 20 is already impressive and here they want to do it before 16. Hahaha, I hope I can live long enough and see their future self. At the very least I can sleep calmly knowing that the future is in good hands." Xatu simply looks at the kids arguing about who will be better and then just nodded. Xatu eyes turned a little foggy and some images appeared in his mind. Future vision He see Elsa and Cynthia battling a powerful Pokemon with their ninetails and garchomp. Their opponent is a big electrivire with scars over his eyes and stomach. The entire place was scarred. And their opponent is Alex who have his hands folded behind his back. He have the two a dismissive look which seem to anger the two beautiful blonde ladies, one silvery blonde and other with curly light blonde hair. They shouted out in anger, " Draco meteor" " Fluer cannon" Garchomp sent a powerful ball of dragon energy in the air which burst and multiple meteor powerful enough to knock Xatu out fell towards electrivire. Meanwhile, ninetails sent a big pink cannon attack at her opponent. These two completely opposite moves never interacted in fear of cancelling out and headed for Alex''s electrivire. These attacks are powerful enough to destroy half a town on impact, yet this level of attack still fail to make Alex or electrivire worry. Alex calmly said, " Guniger" The two powerful attack seem to be completely destroyed under the attack. For he has a vision, about how strong Alex, Cynthia and Elsa can be. And, they were only around 18 showing how strong they can become in a few years time. Xatu never mentioned what vision he saw to his trainer but this vision showed him just what powers they will wield in a little over five years. In the end, monsters under the influence of other monster and taking each other as goal, seem to reach new heights in strength. Chapter 287 - 22 Meeting the Oaks August after that, walks away from the hiding place to his personal room which is part of the restricted area where the guests of his house, namely the kids cannot visit this side of the house. The upper parts of the house which has many personal things along with some being one''s which are supposed to be a secret from most people for they are important doc_u_ments of the league. As a former top member of the league he still have some things which keep him informed about the proceeding of the league. He didn''t glance at the files on the table or the books sprawled around on the ground or his bed, but walked directly towards his video phone. He dialed a number and after a couple of minutes, the image of an elderly professor who happens to be Samuel Oak appeared on the screen. " Hello August. How have you been? It has been quite some time since you last contacted me." Samuel greeted with his characteristic kind smile. Normally this seem to calm the other person but for August it seem to disgust him. " Put away that hypocritical smile of yours. Do so with people who don''t know how cruel you can be should the situation demands." August sneered at the former champion now head professor of Kanto region. Samuel put always the smile and kept the normal expression with intrigue in it, for August was never one to call for some empty talks or reminiscing the past. Samuel arched his brows and inquired, " So is there anything you wish to talk to me about?" August didn''t beat the bush and narrated everything about the past events of Alex and how it all happened. Samuel calmly listened to everything without uttering a word meanwhile Xatu looks at his face in case he show any hint of anger and warn his trainer to stop. When he finished the incident, Samuel simply said, "My son Blue is close by, he will come visit you soon. And, don''t interrupt his rest." After that he shit down the call from his side. After this, August let out the breathe he held back unconsciously and mutters, " it went well. At least he didn''t decide to come here personally. " Xatu nodded along with his trainer fully agreeing to this and then sent a telepathic message to his partners that the situation is handled well and there won''t be any problem. It has been two days since the trio went off with August to get themselves a Togepi. The very next day, August took the duo blonde girls with him back to the nest to get their pokemons. As for the others, Aurea, Elesa and Skyla seem to leave the group after Aurea''s talk with her father that very day. After Cynthia and Elsa return with their Pokemons, a psychic Pokemon commonly found in Unova, the Pokemon which seem like wearing long black frock and white ribbon on her body, and had spiky hair arrived at the doorstep. It was a Gothitelle sent by Aurea''s father to get them back. Along with her was a Gardevoir. The two were sent for their protection and teleport. The seriousness of the matter which he wished to discuss need the trio to be there in person. So they left after visiting Alex for some time. Alex was still unconscious and was recovering. Except for Eevee,not even Gengar or any other Pokemon of his touched his sleeping body. This puzzled others, but never said anything about it. When Togepi tried to touch him, Gengar seem to pull him back before he can do so. In the past two days, the groups stayed in August house who seem to narrate them some of his stories of the past. When Bill opened the door a young girl about eight year old rushed inside and stated to search for Alex in different room not caring that she seem to be in someone else''s house. Bill was on the floor because of the sudden push from the girl. From his dazed form he mumbled, "Did anyone catch the rapidash which hit me?" This young girl was Daisy who shouted , " Alex, Alex" while going through the different rooms in the wood house. Her shouts has attracted the attention of other denizens of the house who arrived at the front door. Elsa looked at the young girl frantically searching for Alex while two older man and woman with brown hair along with a young newborn child in her arm stood at the door. Behind them are two Alakazam standing guard. August also arrives at that very moment. He looks at the man and said grumpily, " You are late. I thought you may arrive at that very day or the next day, not today, especially not with your family. " The frantic girl, Daisy arrived in front of her parents and sobbed while hugging stomach og her father, " Dad, i can''t find Alex. Where is he? Is he alright?" Blue just rubbed her back while consoling her and then looks at August, " When you mentioned that to dad, Daisy was close by and then she went to Green and told what happened. My son is pretty attached to Alex so he started crying on hearing about Alex. So I have to return home and then get here. So I am late." Blue explained everything and then inquired, " Where is Alex?" " The brats are too noisy so I have him rest upstairs. Follow me " August motioned for them to follow him. Others followed behind the newly arrived family. While others were curious who the family was, Bill being a resident if Kanto know them. While following August, he tries to tease and play with Gary, who started to cry and scratch on his face in anger. Bill shrieked in pain from the baby''s assault while others laugh at his expense. Blue consoled him by saying, " Don''t be sad. It took me a couple of months to actually hug my own son without him crying out. Whenever I tried it, he did the same thing to me." This helped Bill have some self confidence in him, knowing he isn''t tge only one affected like this. Daisy who held blue''s hand though mutters, " But Gary liked Alex. Him and Ash often fought to be carried by Alex. And Gary accepted him as soon as he met him." Bill confidence once again plummeted on the ground. The other kids don''t know who they are so Cynthia came forward and inquires, " hello I am Cynthia Shirona from celestial town in Sinnoh. Who are you? I seem to have seen you somewhere, but cannot pinpoint where?" She looks at Blue. Blue instead of answering asked his own question, " So you are Cynthia, huh. How is your grandmother, Caroline doing?" " You know my grandmother?" Cynthia''s cinfusion increased. " Yes, we have met before. Daisy, you see this pretty elder sister." Daisy looks at Cynthia and nods. Cynthia in the other hand waves at her. " She is one of the strongest trainers along with Alex. You can learn much from her, just like you did with Alex." Blue told his daughter. Blue seems to forget about introducing himself so August did it on his behalf, " He is a former champion of Kanto. So it is natural you saw his face somewhere, but because of his reclusion and his other title which he shares with his father, he isn''t that popular. As for who they are. They are the Oak''s. The eldest one is Blue Oak, His wife, Green Oak, daughter, Daisy oak and finally the youngest, Gary Oak. They are Samuel''s children who is Alex''s teacher." " What?" Cynthia and Elsa shouted in shock. But it isn''t due to Blue but because of green. " You are Green, one of professor oak student, one of the strongest female trainer in the world. I am a big fan." Elsa said excited. " Your venasaur is so strong. I heard it can bring down a small hill with it''s vines, is it true?" Cynthia joined in fan girling over Green. Blue seem to slump his shoulders for the attention he thought he would get seem to fall on his wife. He didn''t say anything but continued to follow August. August stops in front of the door and upon opening, Blue and Green''s along with Alakazam eyes widened for he saw an Eevee sleeping on Alex''s c_h_e_s_t. Although others may not know it, but they know who it was. She is Mew. For as long as Mew is around nothing will happen to him. Chapter 288 - 23 Upon seeing her, Blue inquires looking at August, " Was that Eevee with him since the test or did she appear after it?" August isn''t aware what so special about it but still replied, " yes, she hasn''t left Alex side, for as long as I can remember meeting Alex. She has always tagged along Alex. " After hearing it, Blue didn''t say anything but nodded upon hearing it. Daisy wished to rush for Alex but fearing her actions may anger the Mew, he held her back. He looks at Daisy said, " Princess, stay here. Let me go and see how Alex''s condition is. After that you can meet him all you want. " Daisy looks at her father and nods. Then he looks at others, " You all should stay here too. I will see how his situation is. Alakazam follow me." He nods towards Green and alakazam. When he took a couple of steps towards Alex, Eevee ears perks and she rise her head from her position on Alex''s c_h_e_s_t to look at new arrival. She was confused who the young man in front of her was and yipped. Then Gengar arrives from the shadow and looks at Gary. He looks at Gary curiously why this strong human was here. Gary saw the confusion and said,"Alex suddenly fainted so my father sent me to look at his condition. Daisy and my family joined me in this. " He points towards his family. Gengar saw them and wanted at Daisy who waved back while the baby Gary looked at Gengar curiously. He nods at Eevee and then floats towards Daisy and Gary to play with them. He made funny faces to entertain the kids and this helped calm the kids down who were worried about Alex. Gary continued forward and when he was at the bedside, he asks Eevee''s (Mew) permission. "Can I check his mental health and see if he experienced any trauma from the test?" He points to the two Alakazam by his side. Eevee looks at the two psychic Pokemon. When their eyes locked, the two Alakazam felt a powerful presence entering their head. Before they could do anything to stop this invasion, massive information regarding Alex''s situation was transmitted. For the two Alakazam it was like hours have passed but it was only a moment that passed. After relaying it to the two, she jumped off Alex''s c_h_e_s_t and went towards the two young children and play with them along with Gengar. Daisy on seeing the cute Eevee squealed and picked her up in her hands. She runs her face against get soft fur and said decisively, " I will have an Eevee as cute as you. Can I mom, can I?" She asks her mom excited while still hugging the girl. Mew on the other hand enjoyed her embrace and her kind heart nature. " Of course, dear. But, isn''t it better to catch one yourself when you officially become a Pokemon trainer." Green said which made Daisy feel it was better. Gengar on the other hand created different things with his shadow powers and revolved them around Gary. He edges forward to catch them and on contact they burst into small harmless blasts which are like fireworks in the sky. This excited him even more and trued to jump up and down in his mother''s hands. The other people who followed the Oak family looks at the smiling face on the kids and smiled happily. For the first time since Alex''s fainting they can be a bit carefree. Gary noticed that his Alakazam was a bit dazed just now, so he asked him, " is everything alright?" Alakazam replied in his mind, " Mew sent me all the details regarding what really happened. It seems not only us but even Mew sees something in him which made her become so involved in Alex. " Gary understood that what really happened to Alex have nothing to do with togekiss and his test, but has Mew hands. So he is even more curious, " So what really happened?" Alakazam started explain it to him, "When Togekiss trapped their mental psych in the illusionary world to test them, Mew took control of the world forcefully and managed the world according to her idea." On hearing it, Gary eyes were widened in shock but he continued to listen as he felt things may be much bigger than this. Alakazam saw his trainer''s shock but he knows there are more shocks to come. " The original idea of Togekiss was to test Alex at the peripheral areas where although the attack frequency is more, there is hope to be safe and unharmed after the couple of early attacks. But, Mew thrust him into.the fire stone mine owned by Magmar and Infernape. He has to fight them, live through the holes and spaces between the territory and deal with the Pokemons before they can summon their entire clan to help and exterminate him. He managed to use a wooden staff as his weapon and survive that threat. Unlike others who have Pokemons he was alone, without any companion for over two years. Mentally, Alex is already 15 now. His mentality has been completely stablished and now he can grow without any repurtions in the future." Alakazam gave a small story about the adventure of Alex. " So how dangerous was this adventure?" Blue asked curiously. " Like the one where you and Red faced an entire tribe of nidoking, nidoqueen and clefable while making sure that the kids are alright. " alakazam said with a shudder. Blue too shuddered on hearing it. "We originally thought after the time in the Badlands he can have another rest to deal with the psychology shadow he experienced there, but now due to Mew he is good and will be even better. At least when he goes therein the future he won''t be doing any rookie mistakes which put the lives of his pokemons in danger. " Samuel''s Alakazam said who stood there patiently while running his scans through Alex mind. Those words made Blue act sheepish. "I wasn''t that bad " Alakazam looks over Alex''s body and said, " You and Red are too much like Samuel in the past, just a bit less ruthless than him. Do don''t try to act innocent especially in front of us." Blue just looks down from the harsh talks of his father''s Alakazam. Daisy seeing her father act so down walks with Eevee still in her hand and asked, " Dad, Is Alex ok?" She thought her father was worried because Alex''s condition isn''t so good. He bent on his knees while placing his hands over her hand and said, " Alex is recovering, so he is asleep. He will wake up soon." He nods towards Alakazam. Alakazam places his hands over Alex''s head and sent a psychic wave into his head. The wave returns and Alex jerks up from his sleeping posture and his eyes widened. He frantically looks around until he saw the familiar people who looks at him in shock. " Hey guys." He waves his hands at the group awkwardly. He was greeted by a small body smashing into his stomach while another baby gurgles directed at him Alex looks down to see it was Daisy. He pulled her in his l_a_p and greeted, " Hello Daisy. It seems like Eevee likes you. You have been working hard I the time we haven''t met each other. " Daisy puffed her c_h_e_s_t and said proudly though it was mostly cute. " Of course. Who do you think I am?" Alakazam, Green and Alex gave Blue the look, which made act sheepish, for these looks said, '' you made her act so proud and arrogant. You influence her too much. '' Before they can continue to chat, a loud grumbling voice came. Everyone there becomes vigilant but Alex next words made them amused, " It seems not eating for days can make one hungry." Everyone started to laugh together at Alex''s embarrassment. Chapter 289 - 24 Daisys starter Next day, A very talkative Gary Oak grabbed hold of Alex and have been mentioning everything that happened when he was away to Alex in his baby gurgles voice. " He likes you more than he likes me. First you took my princess from me and now even my son likes you more. What did I do to experience things like this. " Blue said while feeling down. At Alex''s side are Elsa, Cynthia and Daisy. They haven''t left his side since he recovered. The only time, they parted ways was to sleep. Elsa and Cynthia both tried to get Gary in their hands, but all of that was for nothing. Whenever anyone, except his mother Green tried to pull him off Alex, he would start crying loudly and won''t calm down until his mother or Alex acted. " How can you hold him but if we do it, he starts crying?" Cynthia complains about Gary not liking them. " He knows I am awesome, that''s why. Isn''t it so, Gary?" He nudges his nose with his nose. Gary used his baby hands to pat on Alex''s cheeks. " You are going to make him an idiot like yourself." Elsa mumbles by the side. " Hey, I am not an idiot." He retorts. " Is that so? Then what about that time in the sea cruise pool? What about that shopping extravaganza? What about that ..." Elsa starts to narrate the times when he acted like an idiot. " So what did he do at those times?" Cynthia asks about the past incident when Alex acted like an idiot and what dirts she can get about him. " Hey now wait,..." He tried to stop Elsa but she has already started to narrate those incidents. Cynthia looks at Alex in amazement from time to time and laughs loudly on other occasions. Gary doesn''t really understand why they are laughing but he joins them in laughing, making Alex feel even more miserable. Around the group, Gengar and Espeon are telling their newest recruit Togepi about their team. Espeon also mentioned the does and don''t of the team. While they played with Gary in Alex''s resting room, Bill, Lucian and Julius are left to deal with the over curious Daisy. They serve as a guard and guide during this course of the time. " So Daisy, is it true that Alex is your teacher?" Bill asked the young Oak girl. She has mentioned earlier that she has learned a lot since they last met and even mentioned something about Alex teaching her. She nodded vigorously. " Yes, he has taught me many things. Although he doesn''t have much time to spend with me and teach me different things, he do it whenever he has time. " She replied without looking at them and seem more focused on the new pokemons and the new place she was in. She tries to grasp everything she saw in her mind. " Who asked him to be your teacher, Daisy?" Lucian asked, curious who asked a young boy to be the teacher when you can have any trainer much stronger than the chosen person. " That? It was grandpa. He told me that Alex will help me in my first six months of travelling, so I can get familiar with it. In this time, he will teach me as much as possible. But, after six months I have to travel alone. I don''t like being alone, at least I will have my pokemons with me to give me company." Her face fell on being alone then brightened at having Pokemons to give her company. To think that professor Oak himself let Alex be her guide meant he saw his potential and this way a protection is given to Alex should anyone threaten him. Lucius asked a different question, "Daisy, did you get your starter yet?" Daisy was excited on hearing it, and nodded enthusiastically, she said,"Yes, I have a beedrill. It was a Weedle when I got him first. She is such a softy. I don''t know why most people are afraid of him. He doesn''t like dad or grandpa though. Whenever they approach him he attack them. But, he is a softly when I, mom, Gary or Alex are around. There is also aunt Delia and Ash who play with him from time to time. But, uncle Red got this big bruise in his back when he tried to touch him." She started telling them about the exploits of their past. " Why beedrill? You can get any Pokemon you wished for, if you asked your father or grandfather?" Julius inquires, shocked that she will use such a commonly found Pokemon as her starter when with her family''s connection getting a pseudo legendary Pokemon is as easy as waving the hands. " Why did you choose a Weedle?" Bill asked feeling that Alex may have a hand in this. " Alex told me that they grow faster and if trained well they can defeat Pokemons stronger than them with their stingers. Also I can always fly on his back. Other Pokemons will take time to grow to the height needed, on which I can climb and fly around. But with Beedrill as long as he is raised well I can fly on him as soon as he evolves and he took me around the pallet town just after evolving. It was so amazing." Her eyes glazed a little thinking about the past. '' She got herself a beedrill just so she can have her own Pokemon to fly on.'' this is the thought that run thriugh the minds of the three guides of Daisy. " But, you won''t be able to fly on him after you grown up." Lucian tried to take a m_a_t_u_r_e way to dissuade her and so she will not be sad in the future when she cannot fly on her Pokemon. " Why? Mom and aunt Delia can easily fly on him, so why can I not do it myself?" Daisy asked puzzled by what Lucian told her. " Wait. Your beedrill can carry you mother around." Bill asked shocked. " Of course. She even ride him to Viridian city once." Daisy said not knowing what was so shocking about it. " Just how big is your beedrill?" Julius asked absentmindedly. Daisy eyes shone brightly as she asked them," You wish to meet him?" They nodded wishing to know what made this beedrill special and just how big is it to carry an a_d_u_l_t on his back. She excitedly pulled out her pokeball and threw it in the air with a shout, "Come out Beedrill." In a flash, beedrill appeared in front of them. It was a giant beedrill on par with the average pidgeot. It had some metallic rings on his body and stingers too. The body shape was normal just it''s size was too big compared to your average pidgeot. Seeing his menacing form, the trio of Bill, Lucian and Julius retreated a couple of steps. Daisy on the other hand hugged Beedrill body who patted her back. She turns to her frightened guide,"He is my beedrill. Beedrill they are Bill, Lucian and Julius, Alex''s friends. "She introduced them enthusiastically. They waved their hands in greeting nervously. They can feel the contempt that the beedrill have for them and it will act appropriately, should the situation arises. Lucian noticed the metallic belts like object on beedrill body and inquires, " What are those, Daisy?" Pointing at the belt. " That. That is the weights Alex have made for training Beedrill. This way he can be faster, stronger and become more like a asssaaseen." Daisy said as she tried to say ''Assassin'' a difficult word for her to speak clearly now. " Asssaaaassen... You meant assassin, right?" Julius said. " Yeah. Alex said this way when he fly around he won''t make any buzzing sound and can defeat the opponent sneakily with his stingers." Daisy explained, and beedrill raised his stingers to show off his deadly stingers. " So Alex is making you train beedrill to defeat your opponent in one shot which will come when neither the Pokemon now the trainer expect. He will attack at the most unlikely moment and secure his victory. " Lucian analysed from the things he got from Daisy. Daisy was awed by it and said, " Wow, you are smart. You can tell all this by knowing just what training he is doing?" Lucian just smiled at her words and acted calm but internally his thoughts were anything but calm. '' He can propose such a training method for beedrill. It seems that he is not only strong and smart in analysing battle with just a glance, but he can also discover different methods to train Pokemons which most neglect. He is really someone way above me.'' Lucian accepts Alex position above himself, something which he never thought when he was with Cynthia. For Cynthia he thinks her Gabite gave her strength over him, but woth Alex he feels just how weak he is compared to him. " Damn, Alex sure knows how to train a Pokemon. If he becomes a Pokemon training instructor, he will earn beautifully. So do you pay Alex for his teaching too, Daisy? " Bill mutters. Daisy nods and said, " Grandpa was willing to pay 1 billion for every class he took but after his parents protested, they set it at 200 million per class and in those classes, grandpa, Dad, mom, uncle Red and aunt Delia will grade it out of ten. With how much percentage he gets in those grades, is his payment." '' boy, he is stinking rich and he keeps saying he is poor.'' bill thought angrily but her next words made him halt his thoughts. " But uncle Arthur and aunt Gwen did not tell him that he is being paid. Alex spends money very fast, faster than he earns so they gave left it in the bank so that the interest acc_u_mulates, and when I start my trainer life, they will mention it." '' In the end, his extravagant expenditure made his parents hide some of his earnings. So he is really poor now.'' Bill corrected his thoughts. Chapter 290 - 25 Alex and the group are leaving the Happy Island today, which has saddened Daisy and Gary as one can see from their sniffles and loud cries from Daisy and Gary respectively. She asked while sniffling, " Do you have to leave so soon, Alex?" Alex Pat''s her head gently and apologized, " Sorry Daisy. But, we have to reach Hoenn in time, and we have already delayed the cruise ship for a day. Also, I heard that there are legendary Pokemons in Alto Mare. How about this, I will go there to find them, and when you start travelling I will lead you to meet them." He proposed the meeting of legendary Pokemons to her. This did the trick and she looks at him excitedly, " Really? Pinky promise" she raised her pinky finger up. Alex rose his little finger to promise " I promise " After that, they left August house and departed for Happy Town for their next trip forward. This time, Lucian and Cynthia decided to join them, for they themselves are embarking for the Ruin exploration there. Hence, Elsa declared they will be travelling with them, without Alex, Bill and Julius consent, on this matter. And they aren''t brave enough or suicidal to challenge her decision which isn''t even that bad to begin with. On there way, Elsa was filling Cynthia on the things they can do in the cruise ship, which involves from ocean exploration to shopping to casino to different food,swimming, sun bathing, paragliding, and many more. The girls have a Togepi on their arm which was their reward for passing the test. The Togepi enjoyed their trainer''s embrace, on the other hand Alex''s Togepi doesn''t like riding on his trainer''s hand. It likes travelling on foot and if tired he would return to the pokeball to rest, but he won''t ride on his trainer''s hand. Togepi is too proud to seek help or act childish in front of others. He do have his childish moments. When Alex scratches his spikes or clean his egg shell he dies like those touches, but he never let anyone see those shameful things. He have Alex do it when no one is around, none of Alex''s friends or his Pokemons are around. But, unaware of Gengar''s ability of hiding in the shadows, he has unconsciously given Gengar much material to tease this new recruit of the team for years to come by. Alex who saw the girls talking to each other excitedly feels a sense of dread in his near future. He turns to Bill and said, " I am really doomed. Earlier, it was Aurea and Elsa, but after Aurea left Cynthia joins Elsa to make my life a living hell. The cruise ship is for enjoying the journey and the luxurious life it offers, but here I become a valet to these girls and suffer." He knows that Elsa will drag him into her mess very soon in the future. Bill pats his friend''s back to comfort him. " Well, you did get a decent rest in these past few days. Now, you have to return to your job." Alex knows his future is dark but he still thinks he better be prepared for that and learn more about Cynthia. He turns to Lucian, " Say Lucian, dies Cynthia have any problem with shopping, ordering someone around or things like that? You know the girly stuff where they order us poor men around to do their biddings. " Lucian revealed it to them, " She is just like any normal girl in these cases. But, her most iconic thing is her inability to choose the ice cream flavor she wishes to eat. Sometimes I had to wait an hour or two before she finally makes her decision. There are times when I tell her to buy them all if she likes, but she says, '' I don''t like wasting my money or anyone else on these little thing.'' So Alex of you get dragged away, I will be very happy because I will be saved. Don''t worry Alex I will enjoy my time very well. Your sacrifice won''t go in vain." He joked about Alex''s eminent future. The boys laughed at his future plight. Just like Elsa took hours to choose her dress and things she liked, while not buying things even if she has money, Cynthia has her ice cream deficiency. Something which Elsa likes a lot. And will try to visit the ice cream parlour or the restaurant at least three times a day, for her daily nourishment. In her words, Ice cream is the secret of her soft and beautiful skin. Alex mutters venomously without much heat," I hate you. You heard me, I hate all of you." The boys started to laugh even more loudly which attracted the girls attention towards them. " Hey guys, us everything alright?" Cynthia asked. " If the joke is funny, you can tell us too, so we can also join in it." Elsa said while looking at Julius for reply. Bill enthusiastically explained the cause behind their laughter and Alex''s grumpy face, " We all are laughing at Alex''s misfortune. Apparently we believe that even if Aurea left for Unova earlier, you will make sure that he will continue to be your valet." Elsa''s eyes shone brightly at the prospect. It is true. Since Aurea left then with Cynthia she can get back at Alex for all the things he did to her and made her do in public during their previous act. Cynthia who doesn''t know the background story asked curiously,"Valet?" Since Cynthia is going to join her in annoying Alex during the rest of the trip, then she may as well tell her things which aren''t confidential. She began her tale in which Alex bullied her not only when they were alone but also in public. So after they became friends, she has proposed Alex to be her Valet till their trip to Hoenn. She even offered if she wishes Alex to be one for her. Cynthia eyes shone brightly and she looks at Alex. The look she gave Alex was enough to show that he is doomed. It seems he cannot escape his fate now. He cursed Bill for reminding her of this. Cynthia gleefully said, " I think I will be very happy to share your valet, if you don''t mind sharing that is?" Elsa said with similar gleeful look, "I don''t mind sharing. After all we all know sharing between friends increases the bond between friends." Alex''s face turned white at this prospect. And they laughed at Alex''s face and a bit exaggerated( according to girls) reaction, while the boys joined the girls in laughing for this was funny as hell. Togepi was confused why his trainer acted like this and his friends laughed. Seeing the confusion on Togepi face, he said, "I am doomed, so they are laughing about my future ." Although not completely sure what he meant, he nods. They reached the town by Afternoon. Bill has already discussed with the captain when Alex recovered that the cruise ship S S Smith will depart Happy town this evening. So they have no problem about them being late, or the departure time extended because of their late arrival, even though they are the cause behind the ship overstaying at the Town. But, everyone in the ship except for the captain doesn''t need to know that. He had also arranged rooms for Cynthia and Lucian in the VIP suites with balcony. Ironically or due to Bill planning, Elsa and Cynthia now have their room on either side of Alex''s room. The reason for this arrangement being, '' A valet must be a doorstep away from their master or mistress so he can fulfil their orders at the earliest convenience.'' But everyone knows it is yet another pit Bill has dug for Alex. The reason for this is that Alex made Beedrill intimate him and stalk him for hours. The reason Alex face was, '' I don''t wish you to turn fat and not have any way to dodge attack from Pokemons. I know the situation is very unlikely but who knows it may really happen.'' And Daisy was very enthusiastic to help Bill. So Alex and Bill has been digging pits for each other since then. Chapter 291 - 26 Another problem on the way It has been about five days since the Cruise Ship S S Smith has left the harbour of Happy town. These days were very good for the teenage group except for Alex who served as the Valet for the two beautiful Blonde girls. He cursed Bill more than a hundred times in the past five days for the hell he incurred on him . Being a valet was already bad, but being their neighbor made things way worse. It started with Elsa who wished to have a cold coffee at 11 o clock in the night. He directly refused her,but Elsa reminded him of his promise. He reluctantly did it. After that time, Cynthia too joined the fray. They would ask him for random things mostly eatables and drinks at night. Sometimes Bill, Julius and Lucian too will send their own requests when they see him going out to fulfil the girl''s request. Though the only thing they get was a kick on their bum and dragging them to the Cafetaria to get their things on their own. Alex doesn''t know whether it is a coincidence or deliberate planning from the girl''s side, that they never gave orders together. They will always have around half an hour delay in their request. They never order at the same time. During these torturous times, he also have some heavenly joy too. After all, any hot blooded teenage would cherish the moment when a beautiful girl ask you to rub the sunscreen on their body to prevent sun burns. At least Bill, Lucian, Julius and almost every male in the ship was jealous of Alex, for he got not only Elsa but Cynthia also to do the deed. Alex wasn''t aware what they were jealous of him for. As a complete stranger to anything rated to girls, love or romantic experience, and being a complete idiot on romantic matters, to summarise he is a blockhead he did these acts with a reluctant look on their face. Elsa did this bold thing mostly to see how he reacts, but after seeing his amusing reaction she and Cynthia joined forces and have him do it to them, every day while they rested at the deck and enjoyed the sun. The only grace he have is that the girls decided it was better to give Alex time to rest whenever they docked in a port, town or city. But, they haven''t docked in any place in the way. Bill has inquired the Captain who mentioned they will reach Alto Mare by evening. So Alex has been packing his things which may be helpful in finding the secret location of the legendary Pokemons in the Altomare city. When he was done packing their group which comprised of Alex, Bill, Julius, Elesa, Cynthia and Lucian met together in Bill''s room, for only one very important reason, his room is the biggest room in the entire cruise ship, which can be considered as big as the drawing room of a massive mansion. After the packing they met once again in Bill''s room with their baggage. This time Alex has let oit not only Togepi but also Dratini and Horsea. Now, dratini is in good enough condition to fight his battles, which made him make Alex let out more. Similarly, Horsea heard that the entire city of altomare is filled woth water canals whoch connect every house with the other. So the two Dragonic Pokemon joined forces and made him do it. As for Togepi, as a new Pokemon ge let him as close to him as possible so that they can bond together while helping him make friends with his other Pokemons. It has been a difficult task so far, but he still thinks he can achieve his goal real soon. The first to arrive in Bill''s room was Julius and Elsa, followed by Alex, Cynthia and Lucian. As for the one who lived in this room, he was nowhere to be found in his own room. " That idiot is late again." Alex mutters under his breath while grooming Eevee''s fur who purred under his hands. " what do you expect from that idiot? Either he is fooling around, trying to flirt with one of those flashy girls or just got himself in some mess and await for us to deal with it." Elsa who heard Alex criticized their green haired friend. Cynthia too had a disdainful look and seem to fully agree with her blonde friend and rival. The men present or to be precise boys seated there only sighed for Bill himself was the one who brought out the wrath of these beautiful and powerful trainers towards himself. Ever since, Bill had tried to drag Alex in one of his colourful expedition to get a girl out for a date. It is known to all the boys of their group that both Elsa and Cynthia have their eyes set on Alex so these two are out and so Bill went out for fishing. The girls mostly ignore these actions of his, but, when the girls heard he took Alex with him they thundered over him. Their entire wrath was set on him and if not for Alex restraining them, his future will be a broken mass on the deck. Since then they have never given a good look to Bill always glaring at him or criticising him. While they waited for him, the green haired Pokemon scientist arrived running while taking deep breaths. He has a serious and panicked expression on his face. " What happened, Bill?" Lucian asked the panicked youth. " It.... It. I... Seize.... ..." He tired to say in his panicked state but nothing came out of his mouth. Elsa saw his distressed look and understood something big was up. " Drink the water first and then speak." Elsa gave him a glass of water which Bill hurriedly took and drank swiftly. After drinking, he took a deep breath and said, " Our trip to the Altomare city will be delayed because we are about to be under the seize of ocean water Pokemons. The scouts which the sailors send out to look at the path along with the radar, the captain said that there are about tens of thousands of Pokemons which are rushing towards us." This made everyone turn serious for they understood what type of situation they are currently in. Alex was the most calm among them and seem to grasp the situation they are walking into, " Can we move out of the path of the upcoming Pokemons? If not then, How long until the passengers are told about the seize? And, what is the total strength of ours and what is the seize approximate strength?" Alex fired multiple questions at Bill while maintaining a calm look on his face. His calm face managed to calm the others who were frantic on hearing about the attack of thousands of Pokemons. They suddenly remembered that he did took part in a Pokemon Raid and has experience in this field. While the others were calmed down, Alex was very anxious. Only he knows just how dangerous the situation they were in. In the past, he had many trainers who were advanced level or at the very least intermediate level with a few master level trainers. Many of them were skilled fighters and won''t lose their head in the battle, except for the rookie trainers giving their aid. But, now they are in a luxurious cruise where less than a hundred trainers were capable of fighting and even they were not strong enough to take on an advanced trainers. Others such as the sailors are much better than them. There are also elderly, children and some people who own pokemons just for the sake of collection with no real power behind them. So all in all they are all in a f_u_c_k_e_d up state which will only get worse after hearing the report which Bill has managed to procure from the captain and is ready to elaborate in front of his friends do that they can give them a plan to escape this predicament. Chapter 292 - 27 Bill heard his friends questions and replied back in the sequence he question and in haste, " We cannot turn the direction because they are coming too fast. We won''t be able to escape their onslaught." Hearing this, the group of young trainers understood that they have no other options other than to fight. The thought of escape which would be the first thing to come in any person''s mind, never occurred in the mind of these folks. They were ready to fight, but not retreat unless they are absolutely need to do so. Above all else, they can escape easily but that would lead to the death of thousands of people on this cruise because of their inaction. This is something an elder cannot deal with easily let alone young kids their age. They have the heroic spirit as any other kids their age do. Even Alex who is very m_a_t_u_r_e for his age have this spirit and he cannot just forsake them. But, they have to understand they cannot save everyone. Bill continues to answer the questions Alex asked him earlier, "They will contact us in about an hour time so the captain thinks to keep it hidden until they are half an hour away. This way the sailors can use martial law and restrain the passengers from goimg into complete chaos. The captain has discreetly started to divide passengers between men and woman and even children to make sure that the chaos can be within a controlled range when it happens." This made everyone nod for they would do the same thing except many of them will forget about dividing the passengers which can cause greater chaos. In life and death situations many people let go of their humanity and fall prey to their beastial instincts which makes them animals. Alex in his time as the commander himself have dealt with those cases with absolute discretion without a shed of mercy to them. " I agree with this distribution. But what is the punishment he has decided for the ones who break the rules and become Beasts?" Alex asked with his arms rested on the table in front of which the group sat with a cold and murderous glint shining in his eyes. Bill and the others shuddered on seeing this look. These eyes weren''t even directed at them, yet they feel the may die if they anger him even once in this situation. He controlled his shivering body, " He didn''t set one just yet, but wished to know if we can support him. There are some people on board with considerable influence, some not losing to me. So he hopes we can support him. After all he is just a captain even though he is the leader here. The aftermath of that is too severe, not only to him but also for us." He said with a grave expression on his face. This reminded Alex that it isn''t the future where Silph corporation is the top corporation in Kanto spreading to Johto and other regions. Now, it is only one of the many corporation with it''s branches in the major cities of Kanto. The children other than Alex have been in the politics of the world for quite sometime and know what this may lead to. Even though Alex never got involved in politics, it is something he was thought about by his grandpa before he started his trainer career and later by Prof. Oak after he become a member of the Oak Laboratory. Alex sighed loudly and closed his eyes thinking of what he should do now. His actions caused everyone to look at him. After a minute of deep thinking, he opened his eyes which have clarity in them. He remembered he has the backing of three champion trainers and any one of them is enough to rock the entire Pokemon league itself. For this if he utilised their prestige and name, they won''t mind. They often said to him that he can use it to deal with tricky situations when he is in a predicament like now. He said with confidence, " If anyone break the rules when the martial law is imposed, then he will be punished severely. Any actions which can incite riot among the passengers or anyone causing such will be killed slowly. Anyone who tried to take advantage of another passenger in that time, will be hung to the poles on the deck with ten cuts for every improper action he took towards the other. He will be like that until we teach the land. If he survived he is lucky, and if not then it means Arceus loved him more than we originally thought he did. And there will be no exception." To make sure he was serious he let his entire presence loose. It didn''t target anyone but upon release it spread to the entire ship and involuntarily everyone turned to his direction and stopped whatever they are doing. The captain mumbles, " It seem we do have a chance for survival" and then urged his men to get to work and work faster. Back with the others, They saw that it isn''t their friend Alex who dissed out the punishment, but the strongest of their generation. In front of him, everyone except Cynthia and Elsa have subconsciously lowered their head accepting his supremacy. The two girls haven''t lowered their head like others but refrained from meeting his eyes. Bill recovered from his shock and asked, "And the aftermath?" " I am someone under The Oak Laboratory. It has three former champion trainer with another champion level pokemon ranger under it. I don''t think they will try anything against that sleeping behemoth. Although I have never used their name even once since I travelled," He rises from his seat and went to the window theough which he can see the people lazing around on their chairs, children playing in the pools with pokemons, others eating or drinking by the pool, his eyes burnt with vigour " but in this situation I will not hesitate to do anything I can to preserve this peace." He have experienced the Badlands and know what that hell is. He will not let a hell like that descend here, so he is even more determined than he was in the tide. His words brought confidence in them. Although they are strong but the times like this can make anyone hesistant and fearful. With Alex actions the original panic they have subsided with confidence they have in their bones returning full force. Alex turns to Bill and asked," So what are our forces strength and their strength?" Bill hesistates for some moment and then stated, " The coming Pokemon seize composes of at least five psuedo king pokemons along with thirty to forty Elite Pokemons and more than a few hundred advanced Pokemons. These are mostly water type Pokemons with their dual type of flying, ice, poison, electric , ground and other types. We have confirmed with psychic sensors that they all are water types." They nodded their head on hearing this. But their facial expressions isn''t good. Five Psuedo king pokemons meant they are f_u_c_k_e_d up. Alex have three psuedo king with Cynthia having another, yet they cannot say they can deal with five of them. There are also multiple elite Pokemons which are the main decisive factor. They aren''t in a defensive position so if the Elite Pokemons penetrate the defence line they erect then they are doomed. Alex and Cynthia can hold back the psuedo king but elite Pokemons can cause significant damage. As for the advanced, they aren''t in their eyes. They can deal only hold back elite and advanced. The others have to deal with this group if they wish to live. " And what are our strength, Bill?" Lucian asked. Bill is a very nervous now. " This.. our situation isn''t so good." " How bad are we?" Cynthia inquires wishing to know the exact situation. " We have less only two master trainers, such as Alex and Cynthia, while the advanced trainers are about ten including you all and the captain. And finally the intermediate trainers are only Seventy in number." When they heard this, everyone has only one thing running through their mind, " Evacuation." Chapter 293 - 28 Alex recovered form the shock that their critical situation first and inquires his friend from Kanto, " We cannot land, can we?" Bill just shook his head. " We need to travel through th Pokemons if we need to land on an island within an hour, as for any other one is more than two hours away." Julius was in deep thoughts and something clicked which made him stand up excited , " We can use the communication on the ship to ask for help." Bill gave him a stupified look while others just shook their head. Elsa was the one who said what was in everyone''s head, " The communication is down isn''t it." Bill nods, " I am a scientist. If I am in that situation, I will contact for help first, but surprisingly all our devices to connect to the world is down. Nothing is working. " "So the Pokemons are led towards us, by the secret backhand. " Alex analysed it for everyone. " Who can do that? This is a trap especially for us. If this situation is spread out then any force involved will be exterminated to the ground. The league won''t let them be."Lucian said with sharp eyes. With the status of people here in this ship, the destruction of anyone related to this incident will be their future. Unlike others who are miffed about this incident, Alex just laughs and said, " Because we all are here, so anything that happens to us can cause serious damage to the league. Cynthia, Elsa and I are the top of our regions. If all of us die here, then the objective of the force behind it is reached. The death of others is just a consolation for them. So I think they may have manipulated the oceanic Pokemons." When he said that something clicked in Cynthia''s mind and she said, " My grandma warned me that there might be some problems during our Ruin exploration in the Fire Paradise island. They may have discovered our presence in this ship and are targeting us to see our strength. Even if we win this battle, they may get our Intel and our situation at that time, will be bad." This dawned on everyone''s face. Their expression turned bizarre, after hearing her but when Elsa looks at her friend and secret crush object, Alex. He didn''t seem affected by this discovery and was calm all along. He seems to have already thought of this. This run through her mind. " We cannot show our full strength." Lucian said with a heavy expression on his face. " But many innocents will die as a result." Julius countered. They have each other different reasons why they were right. The one who can give a call to their decision were quiet, thinking about the most ideal plan. Alex couldn''t stay quiet for long. " We will be holding back our complete strength. Except for some Pokemons whose strength are revealed in public, we will not use our unknown Pokemons for this battle. They will be our ace when we are in trouble in the future. They may also send their own Pokemons if we reveal too much of our powers. That way more people will be affected. We cannot let them involve more than they already have. " " But what about the Innocents?" Cynthia asked weakly although she was fully aware they have more or less abandoned them. " You will be an elite four and even a champion in the future, Cynthia. You cannot let your emotions get the better of you and affect your judgement. Although it is cruel, it is the only way we can deal with them while getting back at the true criminals behind these sinister plans. " He said with a heated look showing he won''t accept any further discussion on this topic. " But they ..." Cynthia cannot give up just like that. " Then become strong. Become so strong that you shouldn''t just give up on some people for the greater good. Become strong so you can protect everyone." Alex told her and didn''t say anything else. These words were enough to calm her down. She understood the root cause of the death of many people in the future. It was because they were too weak so they cannot save eneryone. While everyone thought about Alex''s words, his mind was running towards Blue and Green. He thought to himself, '' It seems they know something like this may happen and he sent out both of them. This way the Pokemon herd can be curtailed and we will be protected from them if necessary. We aren''t in any life and death situation but they will pay for playing with the lives of so many people.'' he promised not only to himself but also everyone in the ship. " So what is our plan of action?" Bill asked breaking the depressing silence which have fallen on everyone. It was Lucian who started. He gave what he thought was the best while others used it as a benchmark and made changes according to it. Alex has decided to hide his shiny Pidgeot, Gengar and tentacruel for this fight. He will use his electabuzz, Snorlax, Slowking, gyarados, Espeon, Golbat, Piloswine, poliwrath ( poliwhirl evolved using the water stone he was rewarded), kirlia as well as Gallade for this battle. He has Pikachu and Swablu for his protection. He sent back dratini( he was very reluctant to leave), Horsea and Togepi back to the ranch through his Slowking. Slowking arrived there when Mew sent him message about their current problem. Alex also informed the league about their ordeal by this method, without telling anyone. If they know it they will relax which is not conducive in times like these. With Piloswine and Ninetails combination they have decided to freeze the few hundred metre area around them, so they have a platform to fight. They can battle without affecting the ship''s condition and damaging it too severely in the battle. They made plans until it was time for the martial law and the information about the arriving sea Pokemons to all the passengers. The captain through the intercom in the ship have announced the I''ll fate which awaited them, and requested the trainers to assemble in the deck. The group of six also joined the other trainers but unlike them they stood in the dier with the captain and looked over the couple hundred trainers and sailors assembled together. Before the war, it is necessary to inforce the trainers about the chain of command and how others should be fulfilled as well as the consequences they might cause. They also need to know the pecking order of the armed force or they often forget about everything in their arrogance and cause great damage to the formation. Captain of the S S Smith has thanked the group of gathered trainers to be brave enough and protect the passengers with their life. Although it is more like these people with she to fight do their chances of survival is higher than the passengers if the Pokemon breach the barrier. Captain after saying this, stepped back and let Alex handle the rest of the matters. In situations like this an experienced and powerful person who has been invincible so far can grant much confidence than any other person. It is applicable for the Captain and even Alex''s friends. Alex who has his Slowking out, walked forward and started to address the men to join their heart together and battle as one. Chapter 294 - 28 Alex recovered form the shock that their critical situation first and inquires his friend from Kanto, " We cannot land, can we?" Bill just shook his head. " We need to travel through th Pokemons if we need to land on an island within an hour, as for any other one is more than two hours away." Julius was in deep thoughts and something clicked which made him stand up excited , " We can use the communication on the ship to ask for help." Bill gave him a stupified look while others just shook their head. Elsa was the one who said what was in everyone''s head, " The communication is down isn''t it." Bill nods, " I am a scientist. If I am in that situation, I will contact for help first, but surprisingly all our devices to connect to the world is down. Nothing is working. " "So the Pokemons are led towards us, by the secret backhand. " Alex analysed it for everyone. " Who can do that? This is a trap especially for us. If this situation is spread out then any force involved will be exterminated to the ground. The league won''t let them be."Lucian said with sharp eyes. With the status of people here in this ship, the destruction of anyone related to this incident will be their future. Unlike others who are miffed about this incident, Alex just laughs and said, " Because we all are here, so anything that happens to us can cause serious damage to the league. Cynthia, Elsa and I are the top of our regions. If all of us die here, then the objective of the force behind it is reached. The death of others is just a consolation for them. So I think they may have manipulated the oceanic Pokemons." When he said that something clicked in Cynthia''s mind and she said, " My grandma warned me that there might be some problems during our Ruin exploration in the Fire Paradise island. They may have discovered our presence in this ship and are targeting us to see our strength. Even if we win this battle, they may get our Intel and our situation at that time, will be bad." This dawned on everyone''s face. Their expression turned bizarre, after hearing her but when Elsa looks at her friend and secret crush object, Alex. He didn''t seem affected by this discovery and was calm all along. He seems to have already thought of this. This run through her mind. " We cannot show our full strength." Lucian said with a heavy expression on his face. " But many innocents will die as a result." Julius countered. They have each other different reasons why they were right. The one who can give a call to their decision were quiet, thinking about the most ideal plan. Alex couldn''t stay quiet for long. " We will be holding back our complete strength. Except for some Pokemons whose strength are revealed in public, we will not use our unknown Pokemons for this battle. They will be our ace when we are in trouble in the future. They may also send their own Pokemons if we reveal too much of our powers. That way more people will be affected. We cannot let them involve more than they already have. " " But what about the Innocents?" Cynthia asked weakly although she was fully aware they have more or less abandoned them. " You will be an elite four and even a champion in the future, Cynthia. You cannot let your emotions get the better of you and affect your judgement. Although it is cruel, it is the only way we can deal with them while getting back at the true criminals behind these sinister plans. " He said with a heated look showing he won''t accept any further discussion on this topic. " But they ..." Cynthia cannot give up just like that. " Then become strong. Become so strong that you shouldn''t just give up on some people for the greater good. Become strong so you can protect everyone." Alex told her and didn''t say anything else. These words were enough to calm her down. She understood the root cause of the death of many people in the future. It was because they were too weak so they cannot save eneryone. While everyone thought about Alex''s words, his mind was running towards Blue and Green. He thought to himself, '' It seems they know something like this may happen and he sent out both of them. This way the Pokemon herd can be curtailed and we will be protected from them if necessary. We aren''t in any life and death situation but they will pay for playing with the lives of so many people.'' he promised not only to himself but also everyone in the ship. He seem to forget that the Kanto elite four too played with the life of million of people when they let Alex serve as the Commander of the North Garrison force of the Sky Town. " So what is our plan of action?" Bill asked breaking the depressing silence which have fallen on everyone. Alex has decided to hide his shiny Pidgeot, Gengar and tentacruel for this fight. He will use his electabuzz, Snorlax, Slowking, gyarados, Espeon, Golbat, Piloswine, poliwrath ( poliwhirl evolved using the water stone he was rewarded), kirlia as well as Gallade for this battle. He has Pikachu and Swablu for his protection. He sent back dratini( he was very reluctant to leave), Horsea and Togepi back to the ranch through his Slowking. Slowking arrived there when Mew sent him message about their current problem. Alex also informed the league about their ordeal by this method, without telling anyone. If they know it they will relax which is not conducive in times like these. With Piloswine and Ninetails combination they have decided to freeze the few hundred metre area around them, so they have a platform to fight. They can battle without affecting the ship''s condition and damaging it too severely in the battle. They made plans until it was time for the martial law and the information about the arriving sea Pokemons to all the passengers. The captain through the intercom in the ship have announced the I''ll fate which awaited them, and requested the trainers to assemble in the deck. He never once mentioned about his their communication lines are jammed and they cannot request any reinforcement because of this. Or else they will try to escape instead to trying to help and survive this ordeal together. The group of six also joined the other trainers but unlike them they stood in the dier with the captain and looked over the couple hundred trainers and sailors assembled together. They also need to know the pecking order of the armed force or they often forget about everything in their arrogance and cause great damage to the formation. Captain of the S S Smith has thanked the group of gathered trainers to be brave enough and protect the passengers with their life. Although it is more like these people with she to fight do their chances of survival is higher than the passengers if the Pokemon breach the barrier. Captain after saying this, stepped back and let Alex handle the rest of the matters. In situations like this an experienced and powerful person who has been invincible so far can grant much confidence than any other person. It is applicable for the Captain and even Alex''s friends. Alex who has his Slowking out, walked forward and started to address the men to join their heart together and battle as one. Chapter 295 - 28 Alex recovered form the shock that their critical situation first and inquires his friend from Kanto, " We cannot land, can we?" Bill just shook his head. " We need to travel through th Pokemons if we need to land on an island within an hour, as for any other one is more than two hours away." Julius was in deep thoughts and something clicked which made him stand up excited , " We can use the communication on the ship to ask for help." Bill gave him a stupified look while others just shook their head. Elsa was the one who said what was in everyone''s head, " The communication is down isn''t it." Bill nods, " I am a scientist. If I am in that situation, I will contact for help first, but surprisingly all our devices to connect to the world is down. Nothing is working. " "So the Pokemons are led towards us, by the secret backhand. " Alex analysed it for everyone. " Who can do that? This is a trap especially for us. If this situation is spread out then any force involved will be exterminated to the ground. The league won''t let them be."Lucian said with sharp eyes. With the status of people here in this ship, the destruction of anyone related to this incident will be their future. Unlike others who are miffed about this incident, Alex just laughs and said, " Because we all are here, so anything that happens to us can cause serious damage to the league. Cynthia, Elsa and I are the top of our regions. If all of us die here, then the objective of the force behind it is reached. The death of others is just a consolation for them. So I think they may have manipulated the oceanic Pokemons." When he said that something clicked in Cynthia''s mind and she said, " My grandma warned me that there might be some problems during our Ruin exploration in the Fire Paradise island. They may have discovered our presence in this ship and are targeting us to see our strength. Even if we win this battle, they may get our Intel and our situation at that time, will be bad." This dawned on everyone''s face. Their expression turned bizarre, after hearing her but when Elsa looks at her friend and secret crush object, Alex. He didn''t seem affected by this discovery and was calm all along. He seems to have already thought of this. This run through her mind. " We cannot show our full strength." Lucian said with a heavy expression on his face. " But many innocents will die as a result." Julius countered. They have each other different reasons why they were right. The one who can give a call to their decision were quiet, thinking about the most ideal plan. Alex couldn''t stay quiet for long. " We will be holding back our complete strength. Except for some Pokemons whose strength are revealed in public, we will not use our unknown Pokemons for this battle. They will be our ace when we are in trouble in the future. They may also send their own Pokemons if we reveal too much of our powers. That way more people will be affected. We cannot let them involve more than they already have. " " But what about the Innocents?" Cynthia asked weakly although she was fully aware they have more or less abandoned them. " You will be an elite four and even a champion in the future, Cynthia. You cannot let your emotions get the better of you and affect your judgement. Although it is cruel, it is the only way we can deal with them while getting back at the true criminals behind these sinister plans. " He said with a heated look showing he won''t accept any further discussion on this topic. " But they ..." Cynthia cannot give up just like that. " Then become strong. Become so strong that you shouldn''t just give up on some people for the greater good. Become strong so you can protect everyone." Alex told her and didn''t say anything else. These words were enough to calm her down. She understood the root cause of the death of many people in the future. It was because they were too weak so they cannot save eneryone. While everyone thought about Alex''s words, his mind was running towards Blue and Green. He thought to himself, '' It seems they know something like this may happen and he sent out both of them. This way the Pokemon herd can be curtailed and we will be protected from them if necessary. We aren''t in any life and death situation but they will pay for playing with the lives of so many people.'' he promised not only to himself but also everyone in the ship. He seem to forget that the Kanto elite four too played with the life of million of people when they let Alex serve as the Commander of the North Garrison force of the Sky Town. " So what is our plan of action?" Bill asked breaking the depressing silence which have fallen on everyone. It was Lucian who started. He gave what he thought was the best while others used it as a benchmark and made changes according to it. Alex has decided to hide his shiny Pidgeot, Gengar and tentacruel for this fight. He sent back dratini( he was very reluctant to leave), Horsea and Togepi back to the ranch through his Slowking. Slowking arrived there when Mew sent him message about their current problem. Alex also informed the league about their ordeal by this method, without telling anyone. If they know it they will relax which is not conducive in times like these. With Piloswine and Ninetails combination they have decided to freeze the few hundred metre area around them, so they have a platform to fight. They can battle without affecting the ship''s condition and damaging it too severely in the battle. They made plans until it was time for the martial law and the information about the arriving sea Pokemons to all the passengers. The captain through the intercom in the ship have announced the I''ll fate which awaited them, and requested the trainers to assemble in the deck. He never once mentioned about his their communication lines are jammed and they cannot request any reinforcement because of this. Or else they will try to escape instead to trying to help and survive this ordeal together. The group of six also joined the other trainers but unlike them they stood in the dier with the captain and looked over the couple hundred trainers and sailors assembled together. Before the war, it is necessary to inforce the trainers about the chain of command and how others should be fulfilled as well as the consequences they might cause. They also need to know the pecking order of the armed force or they often forget about everything in their arrogance and cause great damage to the formation. Captain after saying this, stepped back and let Alex handle the rest of the matters. In situations like this an experienced and powerful person who has been invincible so far can grant much confidence than any other person. It is applicable for the Captain and even Alex''s friends. Alex who has his Slowking out, walked forward and started to address the men to join their heart together and battle as one. Chapter 296 - 28 Alex recovered form the shock that their critical situation first and inquires his friend from Kanto, " We cannot land, can we?" Bill just shook his head. " We need to travel through the Pokemons if we need to land on an island within an hour, as for any other one is more than two hours away." Julius was in deep thoughts and something clicked which made him stand up excited , " We can use the communication on the ship to ask for help." Bill gave him a stupified look while others just shook their head. Elsa was the one who said what was in everyone''s head, " The communication is down isn''t it." Bill nods, " I am a scientist. If I am in that situation, I will contact for help first, but surprisingly all our devices to connect to the world is down. Nothing is working. " "So the Pokemons are led towards us, by the secret backhand. " Alex analysed it for everyone. " Who can do that? This is a trap especially for us. If this situation is spread out then any force involved will be exterminated to the ground. The league won''t let them be."Lucian said with sharp eyes. With the status of people here in this ship, the destruction of anyone related to this incident will be their future. Unlike others who are miffed about this incident, Alex just laughs and said, " Because we all are here, so anything that happens to us can cause serious damage to the league. Cynthia, Elsa and I are the top of our regions. If all of us die here, then the objective of the force behind it is reached. The death of others is just a consolation for them. So I think they may have manipulated the oceanic Pokemons." When he said that something clicked in Cynthia''s mind and she said, " My grandma warned me that there might be some problems during our Ruin exploration in the Fire Paradise island. They may have discovered our presence in this ship and are targeting us to see our strength. Even if we win this battle, they may get our Intel and our situation at that time, will be bad." This dawned on everyone''s face. Their expression turned bizarre, after hearing her but when Elsa looks at her friend and secret crush object, Alex. He didn''t seem affected by this discovery and was calm all along. He seems to have already thought of this. This run through her mind. " We cannot show our full strength." Lucian said with a heavy expression on his face. " But many innocents will die as a result." Julius countered. They have each other different reasons why they were right. The one who can give a call to their decision were quiet, thinking about the most ideal plan. Alex couldn''t stay quiet for long. " We will be holding back our complete strength. Except for some Pokemons whose strength are revealed in public, we will not use our unknown Pokemons for this battle. They will be our ace when we are in trouble in the future. They may also send their own Pokemons if we reveal too much of our powers. That way more people will be affected. We cannot let them involve more than they already have. " " But what about the Innocents?" Cynthia asked weakly although she was fully aware they have more or less abandoned them. " You will be an elite four and even a champion in the future, Cynthia. You cannot let your emotions get the better of you and affect your judgement. Although it is cruel, it is the only way we can deal with them while getting back at the true criminals behind these sinister plans. " He said with a heated look showing he won''t accept any further discussion on this topic. " But they ..." Cynthia cannot give up just like that. " Then become strong. Become so strong that you shouldn''t just give up on some people for the greater good. Become strong so you can protect everyone." Alex told her and didn''t say anything else. While everyone thought about Alex''s words, his mind was running towards Blue and Green. He thought to himself, '' It seems they know something like this may happen and he sent out both of them. This way the Pokemon herd can be curtailed and we will be protected from them if necessary. We aren''t in any life and death situation but they will pay for playing with the lives of so many people.'' he promised not only to himself but also everyone in the ship. He seem to forget that the Kanto elite four too played with the life of million of people when they let Alex serve as the Commander of the North Garrison force of the Sky Town. " So what is our plan of action?" Bill asked breaking the depressing silence which have fallen on everyone. It was Lucian who started. He gave what he thought was the best while others used it as a benchmark and made changes according to it. Alex has decided to hide his shiny Pidgeot, Gengar and tentacruel for this fight. He will use his electabuzz, Snorlax, Slowking, gyarados, Espeon, Golbat, Piloswine, poliwrath ( poliwhirl evolved using the water stone he was rewarded), kirlia as well as Gallade for this battle. He has Pikachu and Swablu for his protection. He sent back dratini( he was very reluctant to leave), Horsea and Togepi back to the ranch through his Slowking. Slowking arrived there when Mew sent him message about their current problem. With Piloswine and Ninetails combination they have decided to freeze the few hundred metre area around them, so they have a platform to fight. They can battle without affecting the ship''s condition and damaging it too severely in the battle. They made plans until it was time for the martial law and the information about the arriving sea Pokemons to all the passengers. The captain through the intercom in the ship have announced the I''ll fate which awaited them, and requested the trainers to assemble in the deck. He never once mentioned about his their communication lines are jammed and they cannot request any reinforcement because of this. Or else they will try to escape instead to trying to help and survive this ordeal together. The group of six also joined the other trainers but unlike them they stood in the dier with the captain and looked over the couple hundred trainers and sailors assembled together. Before the war, it is necessary to inforce the trainers about the chain of command and how others should be fulfilled as well as the consequences they might cause. They also need to know the pecking order of the armed force or they often forget about everything in their arrogance and cause great damage to the formation. Captain of the S S Smith has thanked the group of gathered trainers to be brave enough and protect the passengers with their life. Although it is more like these people with she to fight do their chances of survival is higher than the passengers if the Pokemon breach the barrier. Captain after saying this, stepped back and let Alex handle the rest of the matters. In situations like this an experienced and powerful person who has been invincible so far can grant much confidence than any other person. It is applicable for the Captain and even Alex''s friends. Alex who has his Slowking out, walked forward and started to address the men to join their heart together and battle as one. Chapter 297 - 29 Alex run his eyes through every person standing in front of him and spoke out in the mic which spread his voice not only to the assembled men but also to the passengers and sailors who are in different parts of the ship through the speakers installed everywhere. He started, " I am Alex Bart the commander in chief of this defensive seize battle against the upcoming pokemons attack in the middle of the sea. Some of you may know me from my battle in the tournament and others may have never heard of me. I am here to tell you only one thing. You have been assigned position regarding the information we possessed about you, and will be tasked to complete your mission and objectives. You will..." Before he can continue, some people shouted out from the crowd. " You cannot do this to us. "Someone shouted from the crowd. " We will never follow a kid. We will rather die than put our lives in your hands. " another joined in support for him. " Yes, yes, we will never obey you." As more continued to join the chorus, Alex''s friends and captain were anxious about the current situation they were in. Before they can come forth and give their support to Alex, he has already acted, " Since you believe you have rather die than follow me, then I will grant you your wish." He turns to Slowking and said, "Eradicate them." His words were too shocking for anyone to give him a reply or any response. As for Slowking it acted on his trainer''s command and targeted the people he wished to eliminate. Slowking''s eyes glowed blue and the targeted people flew in the air through psychic. They were then impaled right in the penal point of their head with a water spear, ending their life completely. This display was shocking to everyone, especially his friends who never thought he would kill someone just because they disobeyed him or questioned him. His earlier calm and collected eyes now we''re smothering hot with anger which showed he isn''t willing to take anyone''s shot at this moment. " The martial law has been imposed and in this current situation anything and everything that can cause discontent and chaos among people will be dealt with absolute contempt. There shall be no mercy. This is my final warning to everyone. If you disobey again and act like them, " pointing his fingers to the now dead people, "you will not survive to request justice or have me punished by the league. As of today, everyone and I mean everyone is a subject under the martial law. The one who can fight will fight and those who cannot will be helping on logistics. Should you try to let your beastial instincts go wild now, you will be killed just like them irrespective of your position or power you or your family wield outside this cruise ship." This made many shift uncomfortably under his gaze. "Thank you." He said and stepped back to let the captain continue. The captain then started to divide the men in different groups under the five trainers in front of them. " You are too harsh. You shouldn''t have killed them " Cynthia leaned to his ears and said softly. Alex rubbed his nose when everyone gave him and Cynthia a look, where they acted all lovey-dovey after killing some people. They both categorically ignored these looks and don''t put much focus on it. He chuckled at her words and said, "Technically, They weren''t innocent. I had Slowking run his psychic scan through them. After deeper invasion of their mental psych it was discovered they are the spies of Angel wings and Devil Horns. With them dead, we can release the full strength of all our Pokemons without worry, though some Pokemons still need be hidden for the future battles. " After hearing this, she understood why he acted like that. This action of his has multiple purpose too. With Alex killing them in public, shows he and us as a whole will not show any mercy to people who are detrimental to this defensive battle. Secondly, everyone will understand our seriousness. They will not try to break the order of the cruise ship and wreck havock and chaos. And finally, this showed the strength of them to their future subordinates. The stronger the commander, the more confidence the subordinates will have for their leader. At the very least, there won''t be any rebellion or rebellious thoughts going through the minds of these trainers and sailors after seeing this bloody display. When the captain was narrating the partition of groups, a shrill cry from the air got everyone''s attention. High up in the sky at some distance from the Cruise Ship air Force area, pelliper, swanna and Mantine floated in the air, while coming towards them. Although not much, they still numbered in a few thousand, which was enough to scare some trainers. Seeing this some trainers shrieked out in high pitch, as if afraid they will die. Though their thoughts were true, for their chances of survival was too low. Alex on the other hand didn''t seem affected by their arrival. He threw one of his pokeballs in the air and out came a bipedal yellow and black stripes Pokemon with long tail. It was an electabuzz. " Deal with these flies and warm yourself up, electabuzz." Alex ordered his electric and fighting enthusiast Pokemon . Electabuzz grinned on getting his permission to go all out. Electabuzz sent out a large thunder in the air. Under the continuous stream of thunder, the sky was covered with dark clouds which seem to course with thunder. Electabuzz stopped sending the thunder and grinned. The clouds seem to spread far and wide and so did the thunder coursing through it. When the flying Pokemons reached the range, thunder started to fall on the Pokemons. Under the dual type advantage that electric type have over them, more than a couple hundred Pokemons were burned under the intense attack. Seeing a single attack of electabuzz taking down at least a quarter of the total attacking Pokemons made everyone look at him and Electabuzz in awe. The rest of the Pokemon started to fly away and not enter the range of thunder attack. They decided to attack their prey, ie, passenger in the cruise ship. " So this is the strength of your strongest Pokemon." Cynthia said in awe about electabuzz strength. As a trainer with Psuedo king Pokemon, she know just how powerful they can be, yet this electabuzz can deal with these many pokemons effortlessly showed the gap the two has. Electabuzz grinned when Cynthia addressed him as such, but Alex managed to dump cold water in his head. He clarified it to her, " Strongest Pokemon? He can barely beat pidgeot. If not for the type advantage then he will not have that advantage." The announcement which was put to halt once again continued but the trainers gave a look of awe to Alex and his electabuzz. Bill said proudly , " your power display just now, helped them become confident of the upcoming battle." But Alex doesn''t seem to think like that. He said something which made everyone in their group vigilant for the true battle will come soon. " They seem to overcome their fright, but the next situation wouldn''t be so calm." Chapter 298 - 30 The flying pokemons flew around that area while keeping an eye on the cruise ship. Their constant flying outside the attack area have the passengers, trainers and sailors a great deal of confidence about their victory for the upcoming battle. Influenced by this atmosphere, the captain was also fine. He doesn''t seem to be worried about this. But, Alex and his group who are warned by Alex about the upcoming chaos seemed to be thinking about it. " They will target us when we least expect, won''t they?" Lucian gazed at the flying Pokemons at some distance. Julius who thought like this agreed with his opinion and said, "Do we have a chance of victory?" " No. With this many passengers we won''t have any chance of victory. " Alex said without a hint of hesistation. Elsa said agressively with a hiss when Alex said such negative things at times like this, " But you said we can defeat them. You said we can win this war." Alex didn''t seem affected by her anger or the aggressive tone she used towards him. " I never deny that we cannot defeat the Pokemons which will come forward to attack us. But it doesn''t mean we will win in the end. " Alex said without any change in his facial expressions or change in his tone. Elsa took a deep breath before so she can calm herself. " Can you please explain what you mean?" Elsa asked after calming down. " How many passengers are there in this cruise ship, do any of you know it?" He didn''t wait for their reply and continued, " There are about 3232 passengers along with 243 staff members including us. Of these, less than quarter can survive this entire ordeal. That''s how grave our situation is. So tell me can we really win this war?" He asked them this time. None of them can say that they will win after they heard what the most likely situation will be in this defense battle. " Can this data or analysis be improved if we go all out?" Elsa asked with Cynthia hopeful that this way they can protect the innocents, but Alex don''t want them to have any false hope. " If we have an elite four level trainer with us then there wouldn''t be any casualty. Unfortunately we don''t have anyone. So get a hold of yourself and be prepared. Nothing you, I or anyone here can do to protect the people, and survive this dangerous situation. " Alex crushed the hope which was rising in their heart. " We are going to live with their death on our conscience. If you cannot deal with it then head to your room and hide under the bed. I don''t have time to deal with you and protect the people who can be protected at the same time." Alex said angrily and glared at her. After giving the group a glare, he walks away with electabuzz and Slowking following behind him. The trainers who noticed their conversation were curious what happened but they refrained from being too curious. After all, it will do them no good and only incite the anger of trainers towards them who much stronger than their pitiful strength. Alex''s friends didn''t say anything about his untimely departure for they are coming to terms with the number of people who will die because of the battle and they can do nothing to protect them. They are suffering from the same trauma Alex felt when he fought in the Pokemon raid, but this time their is much less trauma than Alex''s. For he didn''t let them lead. Only himself and the captain are the leaders while others are soldiers under their ranks who should follow their instructions. Although they don''t know how Alex protected them before, they still felt a lot of pressure from the deaths which are directly or indirectly related to their actions and inactions. Alex on the other hand was at the top point of the cruise ship, ie, on the top of radar tower. He looked in the direction the flying Pokemons came from. Alex seem to let the mask of neutrality fall and punched the radar tower directly in anger. His aura induced punch put a dent on the strong metallic radar tower. Although he didn''t show it to others he was still affected after he analysed how many may die in this battle. He was the one who gave them confidence to fight this battle and he cannot just act like he felt. As their leader he has to act contrary to what he felt like. Alex sobbed while his Pokemons looked at him like that. Alex felt something around him so he looked at a particular direction and said,. " How long are you going to hide, Blue?" There was no reply until the camouflage fades and Blue with two Alakazam appeared in his vision. He mutters with a disappointed look, "You aura users are too annoying. You spoil the fun of scaring the hell out of someone, and always spoil the sneaking fun." After the grumbling for some time, Blue asked while looking at the dented fist impression on the radar tower, "So how are you handling kid? It has been good so far, did you have some problem?" "You used Barrier to camouflage yourself after teleport didn''t you?" Alex asked turning the topic but his tactics didn''t work. Blue stopped his attempt to change the topic and said, " Being a leader isn''t so glorious isn''t it?" " No it isn''t. In fact, I hate being a leader. I cannot act like I wish to, I have to fake my emotions and even act confident and strong when what I really want is the support and comfort of others to stand and fight." Alex revealed his true thoughts to him. " So what are your views about the next battle?" Blue asked not giving any opinions to him. " The next battle will be catastrophic. We lack in number, strength and everything. Yet we can barely win this battle, but this cannot be considered a victory. " Alex said while looking at Blue. Blue didn''t express any opinion even now and asked another question, "So what do you think about this situation and about my action in this?" Alex fist clenched and he asked, "Why did you put their life in danger just so you can test us? Why put the death of these many people on our heart and make us feel guilty?" His questions revealed he knew that some way or the other the old coots of the league are involved. This is the first time he replied any question he asked, " Because they have high opinions about you and they fear you may loose your head in the over confidence so there are situations like this. Let this be a lesson that you are still too weak. If it wasn''t the case they won''t play this trick." " Why did they doubt my capabilities now?" Alex never showed weakness so he didn''t think he did anything to warrant such a cruel measure. " Because you cannot protect Mathews daughter and your own cousin, so they thought you were weak." He replied. " But it was a trick. You, Mathew hell everyone in the league with a brain knows that I deliberately did this to find their hideout and deal with them once and for all. " He shouted in anger and countered. If not for the soundproof barrier erected around them everyone would have heard his shouts of anger. " But this showed you don''t have the strength they envisioned for you. Just like you said to them, become strong or more death will be on you. Even though it is a peaceful world, those old coots need you to grow stronger and faster, if not the chaos which will come after will cause deaths in millions. Also, Red will have his scheduled battle with you after that ruin adventure, and after the league tournament you will head for Badlands, it is non negotiable." Blue passed the message. " So I will have to head there after the tournament." he asked with slight shudder. Even though it was just an illusionary experience, he didn''t like it. Many things aren''t to be said about that place but it needs be experienced. Blue didn''t speak anything and awaits what he wished to say. Alex finally replied, " Very well. I will go, but I have a request." Blue curiously asked, "What is it?" " Can you make sure that the casualty doesn''t fall below 1500. I don''t think they can handle a 50 per cent casualty rate on their first battle. " Alex explained his request. Blue saw the softness he has when he spoke about them and agreed. Blue nods and before he can say anything he looked over Alex in a certain direction, " Be prepared. They are almost here. " After that, both Alakazam and Blue teleported away but still kept an eye out in the battle. " You both can go wild. I will make sure no one gets involved in your battle." He issued his orders to Slowking and Electabuzz who nods and grind respectively. Chapter 299 - 31 Alex then released his Piloswine too and issued a command which seem the extent of his current strength. " Freeze the area around the cruise ship in thick ice. We need land to fight these water pokemons on equal terms and prevent some unwanted casualty. " Piloswine who appeared in the flash only grinned. He roared towards Slowking who nods understanding what he meant. Piloswine and Slowking teleported just right over the surface of ocean water with Slowking''s psychic and acted to did as he was instructed. He sunk his ice covered tusks on the ocean water. As soon as he did that the ocean water started to freeze and everything around the cruise ship started to freeze at a quick speed. This action stopped the cruise ship with a loud jerk which made everyone fall forward on the ground. The coldness seem to spread around the ship due to the ice around it. " What happened? Why did the cruise ship stop suddenly? Did a Pokemon attack us or something?" Someone shouted in the crowd. Another person who looked at out through the window saw the water frozen and stopping the cruise ship from moving forward. " Hey, the ocean is frozen." He shouted out in shock and fright. His words shocked all and everyone who heard him. They didn''t dare to believe the words of him, for it meant their opponents were much stronger than they originally thought. This meant their chances of victory was dimmer than they originally thought the situation really was. Some brave souls hardened their shivering heart and looked out of the window. Although they heard it and felt the sudden coldness they didn''t dare believe it, but as everyone knows '' Seeing is Believing''. And when they say waves of the ocean crashing on the ship and even the entire ocean part around the cruise frozen they stood by, shocked at this discovery with their own eyes. While it was going on, Alex has sent back the information to Elsa, Cynthia, bill, Julius and Lucian about his deed of freezing the ocean to create a battle ground to face water Pokemons in equal grounds and not let innocent get injured in their battles accidentally. They were shocked at what he did, but overcome the shock after learning that the Pokemons are rushing much faster than they originally expected. So they acted in haste. They later passed it into captain who was even more surprised then they were. But upon hearing that the battle will commence much sooner than expected he cursed loudly. After cursing he gained his me talk bearings and made an announcement, " The act of freezing the ocean is done by one of ours to create a battlefield for the upcoming battle. This way the passengers won''t be injured in the aftermath of the battle and some possible casualties can be stopped. " This act of freezing the ocean was helped and supported by the Seven hundred year old nevermelt ice. The power of the nevermelt ice is what that helped them freeze the ocean water. Piloswine is an elite level Pokemon but he isn''t strong enough to do something like this just yet. So a power enhanced is required to do this. By doing this, Piloswine is only a little tired and his power reserve isn''t that affected since he used the nevermelt ice. This action served two purpose. Firstly, the field for battle is created and people won''t be injured by rouge attacks. Secondly, it will give confidence to them. Even if the situation is poor or things turn bad, they will have hope that there is someone that will turn things around. With that done, Alex and his pokemons came down on the ice and stood patiently awaiting the arrival of the Pokemons. Alex has released all thirteen Pokemons of his which he opted to use for this battle. These pokemons are electabuzz, Slowking, female pidgeot, Espeon, Golbat, Piloswine, Gyarados, poliwrath, Gallade, kirlia, Pikachu and Swablu. They will be fighting the upcoming Pokemons. With around five Pokemons of psuedo king level strength coming towards them, Alex has designated two to electabuzz, one to Slowking and another to Snorlax. As for the last one it will be dealt by Cynthia''s Gabite. After Slowking deals with his opponent, he can go out and cut down the crowd. From the top of the deck, people can see Alex and his pokemons walking towards the edge of the frozen oceanic area. Some people thought he was escaping but when they saw him standing at the edge and sit there while looking at the horizon, they became curious. " What is Alex doing there? He will become a target to the Pokemons." The captain of the cruise said shocked and amazed at the recklessness a calm and collected trainer like Alex has shown just now. " Because he wished to be a target. He wish to attract the attention of the main bulk while we are the support. He wants to reduce the imminent casualty by doing this." Elsa said understanding what and why he is doing this. Cynthia caught onto what she meant and explained, " He is a powerhouse and also our leader. With him taking the battle up front shows he isn''t afraid and to boost our confidence. If he hesistates then the situation would run wild and we cannot control it. In that case, we can only abandon the fort." She ended hr explanation with a grim look. Bill looks at the determined face of his friends and asked even though he know what they were going to do, "So what are all of you going to do,now?" Instead of answering, they released their flying Pokemons, Cynthia her staraptor, Elsa her fearow, Lucian his noctowl and Julius his Skarmory. The captain in seeing the kids head towards their position for the battle, laughs uproariously and looks at his young Boss, " your friends are pretty interesting. These kids are really showing off in front of me, like this. Please take care of yourself boss. " And the captain too flew away on his altaria. After the captain left, some Pokemon trainers have also started to ride their pokemons and head down or go down through the door below at lower level. " It seems only you and me are left, Gengar. They are also here." Bill mumbled and looks at the horizon where some shadows could be seen under the water surface. Alex has left Gengar with Bill for Bill''s protection. Who knows how the situation may turn in the ship during the battle and someone may attack him. Alex who sensed their arrival, looks at them with fire in his eyes. Although they are manipulated yo attack him but he isn''t kind enough to leave his attackers and be merciful to them. No matter what they attacked, they will pay the iron price. Chapter 300 - 32 As soon as Alex thought of making them pay the iron price, a sharpedo jumps out of the water with an intent to bite Alex to bits and pieces. But, electabuzz has noticed his sudden arrival in front of them and sends a powerful thunderbolt at the shark Pokemon. It groans in pain on impact and fell on the icy floor. Alex has pulled up his aura staff and stabbed through the rough skin of sharpedo, and nailed through his heart. The sharpedo does in his hands. The group hasn''t got many chances for after that more and more water and flying Pokemons living in the ocean or around the shore jumps out of the water with an intent to deal with their prey. Electabuzz was dealing with a Lapras and a feraligatr which seem to be leading this group. Alex could feel something was making the normally calm Pokemon a bit too much agitated, so he asked electabuzz to deal with him with care and make sure leave it alive if he can. If not then there is no need to our his life in needless violence. Of course, Alex forgets the nature of electabuzz. This objective that Alex gave him was treated as a way of challenging his limits. In this case, He decided to deal with the two powerful pseudo king pokemons and injure the Lapras enough for Alex to catch it later. The second Psuedo king Pokemon of Alex, Slowking had jumped into the water directly to deal with his opponent, which happens to be another sharpedo. Fortunately, they aren''t dealing with a Wailord and there are only a few wailmer around or else, Alex would have to go all out. A single Wailord possessing no matter what level strength can destroy the entire cruise ship just with its size and body weight. Snorlax was dealing with three walrein who have jumped from water into the icy floor. Among them, the biggest one was a pseudo king capable of causing mass damage. Of course, Snorlax was uncharacteristically active and dealt with one walrein with a thunder punch and hyper beam combination early on, so there isn''t any problem for Snorlax to deal with the two. Unlike walrein who cannot move around the ice fast enough, he can roll around and dodge their attack. Espeon, Pikachu, kirlia, Gallade and Swablu were around Alex and dealt with Pokemon which dared to attack Alex. Espeon, Gallade and kirlia also made sure that the pokemon do not sneak from beneath the ice and attack them. They were more vigilant than their companions who are fighting the battle with a complete disparity in number. Gyarados band poliwrath have dived into. the ocean and are wreaking havoc in the ocean. The attacks of Gyarados in the ocean and the maneuvering with the serpentine body if possessed has been very helpful in dealing with the underwater Pokemons. Although water type attacks aren''t of much use underwater the iron tail, dragon tail as well as long-range nonwater types attack like dragon rage and dragon pulse still held much power behind their strikes. With these attacks under his belt, Gyarados acted like what its nickname implied, the Leviathan of the sea. Poliwhirl, on the other hand, seems to be using his strong body and muscles to knock down the Pokemons underwater. His water absorb ability is a lethal threat to these pokemon. When Blue said that the weakness he showed in the Solar town made the old coots doubt his strength. They feel he is too weak. Then he might as well use this opportunity to increase his strength drastically. Through the mew, he told all his pokemon before the battle began to catch the Pokemons they fight. Every Pokemon of his has about three pokeballs on them, which cannot affect their battle efficiency. After the battle is over, he will try to get them to join them. He even thought of using Mew to help them calm down. There are two reasons he wishes to catch them. Firstly, they will increase the strength of his team drastically making everyone in the league who oppose him shut down. Secondly, these pokemon aren''t as aggressive as the ones he fought in the last Pokemon tide. It seemed like they are in some kind of control or unstable state of aggression. After being knocked down they stay unconscious and later run away after regaining conscience. This meant they aren''t fighting hard enough to cause a problem for them. The only device known which can control the Pokemon to a certain extent is in the hands of the Shadow. It also meant that the two has made some kind of deal which made Shadow give a weak controlling device to the Rouge organization targeting them. It seems that only he has discovered this anomaly among the fighters. With Mew''s help, his past strength will skyrocket. But this is a thing of the future, he still has to face off the water pokemon. After discovering this anomaly, the killing intent in Alex''s strike reduced a lot. With others, Cynthia was using her Gabite, Glaceon, Lucario, Rosalia, Staraptor, Gastradon and Empoleon. Her Gabite was facing against a pelliper who has recently become a pseudo king. Their battle area was close, so often the stray attacks will hit either the wild pokemon or Cynthia''s pokemon. This has been draining for her pokemon because they have never fought a long battle. Their normal battle composed of defeating their foes faster and crush them with superior strength. But the seize battle was a long battle. In this, one has to save energy for future battle as well as deal with the opponent using the least amount of energy. Her situation seems like she can only sustain the battle for about an hour at most before her Pokemons start dropping. Elsa, on the other hand, was using her Alolan Ninetails, Piloswine, Weavile, Blazikan, fearow, Jynx and Medicham. Her Alolan ninetails, Piloswine, weavile, and Jynx make full use of the ice battlefield and trap their Pokemon in ice. They use the ice shards made from the icy floor to knock their Pokemon down. But their way of battle was too taxing on their stamina. They cannot fight for long. The situation they face was similar to Cynthia. If this battle is dragged for long they cannot stop the Pokemon from reaching the cruise ship. Lucian and Julius themselves face a similar situation. Alex in his hindsight forgets to them that this battle will be a long and taxing one. They have to preserve their energy and drag this battle as long as possible instead of using greater force to destroy their opponent. Except for Alex, the sailors and the captain Bark everyone is using absolute strength to destroy their opponent. This has brought great crisis for the people hiding in the cruise ship. Chapter 301 - 33 Pokemon POV Electabuzz is currently fighting Feraligatr and Lapras, two pseudo-King level Pokemon at the same time. This is pretty suicidal move from Alex part to let something like this take place. But, he is confident that Electabuzz will be alright. There are two powerful friends who are watching the battlefield, and will most certainly intervene if the situation called for it. Because of the fact that the water Pokemon are in some kind of mind control so they cannot use their best. Electabuzz has sent a thunder punch to feraligatr who dodges by jumping back and collides with Lapras body making it miss the ice beam, she prepared for electabuzz. The Ice beam seems to move out of the original trajectory and hit the stray Pokemon making them freeze. In the normal case, there is no way this would happen. Lapras will most likely stop the attack before it can hit its allies. Lapras is known for being good allies and they never betray the trust of their friends. In the thousands of years of history in the Pokemon world, there has been no case ever found when a Lapras has broken anyone''s trust. So this act of targeting an ally, made electabuzz confirm Alex hypothesis, "It seems Alex said the truth. They are really under some form of control. Damn it, I just wanted a grant battle. A battle which will push me to my boundary and break the limit but now I am fighting two Pokemons who are weak and uncoordinated. " Feraligatr used a water jet to attack electabuzz who used his wild charge to break the water attack. Normally feraligatr would have bitten him or used its tail but it stopped onto electabuzz body, giving electabuzz the chance to hurl Feraligatr towards Lapras who sent a hydro pump at them. The final evolved form of starter water type Pokemon from Johto hit the target making Lapras fall on it''s back and feraligatr a bit dizzy from the attack. At that time, a message from Alex came. '' Electabuzz deal with your opponent as soon as possible and in the least energy saving way. I will need your help soon.'' Alex only said that never telling the situation at hand. Electabuzz doesn''t seem to enjoy the battle. The Pokemons whom he has thought would give him difficulty are nothing but annoying. " I had it. I will deal with them later when they are in their senses. He did say I can catch Pokemons who I like. I want some decent opponent. I have already been accustomed to Pidgeot and Slowking. Those battle have become monotonous now. You both will do. From today onwards you both are my new opponents. " After declaring that to the two of them, he used thunder mode. His arms were covered in lightning and with a fast leap towards the two fallen water Pokemons, he hit them full force with his thunder powered punch. Lapras was out for the count in a single thunder punch combo, but feraligatr with its strong physique survived. This made electabuzz have some appreciation for feraligatr. But that was all feraligatr can do. When electabuzz attacked with a new vigor he cannot sustain and he was lost. Both the Psuedo king pokemon are down without going all out. " They can only make Pokemon below pseudo king show their full power. Pokemons any higher will lose their fighting ability if they are controlled in bulk. " Electabuzz mumbled after looking at his fainted foes. "You will be a good sparring partner." He continued and caught them in two of the pokeball that Alex has passed on to him. Electabuzz after that settled on the ice and tried to catch the breath after he used his thunder force. The surrounding Pokemons did try to attack him but a thunder cloud floated over his head which targeted any pokemon which enter the attack range. Blue saw Electabuzz catching both Feraligatr and Lapras, and was surprised by what he did. " He caught two pseudo-King Pokemon, but why did he even have pokeball on himself. Is this something that Alex decided to do, after what I told them about the things happening in the league?" Blue mumbles while flying on his pidgeot. He has used psychic sharing with his Pidgeot and he can see what hos Pidgeot can see. This requires a strong psychic Pokemon as well as a good bond with the Pokemon one wish to bond with. His pidgeot and alakazam we''re doubtful but they did think this might be related to the chat they had below the radio tower. " Hahaha, Dad will be delighted to hear this. He used the chance that they used to suppress him as a way of increasing his strength. Even though there might be some losses in this along with a few stains on his record, he will have the strength to quiet down many. " Blue said with happiness. After all, soon his daughter will also start her journey and with Alex already decided as her guide, the stronger he is the better his daughter is protected. After half an hour, Back on the battlefield. He received similar message and did a mental scan to understand why he contacted him. Upon doing so he understood the gravity of the matter and did as he has been asked. He was facing a sharpedo but he didn''t feel any pressure against this carnivore sharp Pokemon. Normally under the water, Slowking should have been put on a back foot and he can only defend against his strong and physically power fast attacks of sharpedo, but the situation was completely different from what was supposed to happen. Unlike electabuzz who decided to catch Feraligatr and Lapras for his training partner and sparring opponent, slowking thought of the incident and the chat his trainer has with Blue. He decided to catch him for electabuzz can subdue his if he acted arrogantly pretty easily and secondly it will increase the high-end force of Alex team. With that in mind, Slowking used a water jet to tackle Sharpedo in the stomach, it''s the weaker spot. From there, he used hyper beam and weakened him even further. Finally, he used his psychic powers, which are currently more powerful than water type moves and used zen headbutt to finish things off. After that, he used his pokeball and caught the pseudo king level sharpedo. Finally, Alex has three new pseudo-King Pokemon under his team. Even though the Pokemon were defeated easily, they still took around half an hour to an hours time to be dealt with. In this time duration, only Alex Pokemon have the stamina to keep going. Others are either dead tired from the continuous battle or have perished in the battle. The longer the battle is dragged the number of defending Pokemon and trainers decreased. And the time also came when the defensive line of a side is completely penetrated. The captain Bark cannot stop the overwhelming Pokemon on his side and they managed to push through and head for the harmless targets in the cruise ship. The New round of massacre will begin soon in the cruise ship. Chapter 302 - 34 Alex''s slowking and electabuzz took nearly an hour before taking down their Pseudo king targets and Snorlax is still facing his opponent on the icy floor. But the defensive line on one side broke in the forty minutes interval when the battle has officially started. That gave the attacking Pokemon nearly ten to twenty minutes before they can come forward and protect the cruise ship personally. This is also enough time to initiate a massacre and it did happen. Multiple water type Pokemons have penetrated through the defensive line and are now just below the cruise ship. Some rammed on the dense metal part of the cruise ship while others sent their attack on it to create a hole for them to enter the ship. Some bird Pokemons are also there to help them open passage for them. The pidgeot and Golbat have created a no flying area over the deck of the cruise ship. No flying Pokemon can enter this area and survive to live the tail. So some of them have sneaked below to create a hole on the hill of the cruise ship. Pidgeot, Golbat and other flying Pokemons have noticed the arrival of the water Pokemons near the ship, but they are stopped by the flying Pokemons from interfering. After the continuous effort, they finally managed to puncture a hole in the hull. This hole was later enlarged enough to allow some medium sized Pokemons like Poliwhirl and such to Enter one at a time. The others started to create more holes to enter the ship themselves. The only one who can stop all of this is Blue but he has already mentioned he will interfere only after the casualty reaches a certain level or they, that is, Elsa, Cynthia, Lucian, Bill, and Alex, are in life and death situation. So the fate of many people on the cruise ship is doomed. Alex is getting anxious now after, Pidgeot and Golbat sent words that the pokemons have managed to breach the defence line and even managed to enter the ship by creating a hole in the hull of the ship. He is thinking about all the possible ways with which he can stop the massacre and limit the amount of casualties. Alex no longer has any grand hopes that he can stop all of them alone unless he reveals all his cards in the battle. That option isn''t open anymore. He has a feeling he may use all his Pokemons if the situation seem to be going out of hands, or he isn''t willing to make some sacrifices to seize the victory. So he deliberately sent back all the pokeballs except for the ones he has decided to use in this battle to Blue through his Slowking. It seems he made right choice strategically. But his mental conscience seem to urge him so he can find a way to deal with them. After much thoughts, only one option is visible in front of him. And, that option will also cause casualties no matter how he sees it. They are the ones who will deal the decisive blow to the Pokemon but he still need someone who can drag the Pokemon long enough and prevent too many Pokemon from entering the ship and cause havoc. His Gengar can deal with Pokemon who sneak at the cruise ship from the deck but for the ones who will enter the ship from the lower levels, he will need a strong trainer. The only ones in his mind are his friends and Captain Bark. But, none of his friends can do the things that need to be done in this scenario. And whoever did the job has a high chance of suffering injury which may be life threatening to even death itself. So he made a choice which not only involved his emotions but also strategic plans. He contacted his target through Espeon. ''Captain Bark, Captain Bark.'' He contacted his target mentally. " Who? " Bark shouted in surprise and looked around frantically who called while fighting his foes and then shouted in rage, "Whoever you are, I am very busy right now. We will talk after this battle is over. "He felt he is familiar with this tone but cannot discern who he was. '' I am Alex Bart. I need you to head for the ship itself and protect it from the Pokemon. They have created a hole in the hull, we cannot let them enter the ship in large number or there will be a complete massacre. '' he conveyed it to the captain. After Alex introduced himself, Captain felt there was a situation at hand. After all he doesn''t feel someone as m_a_t_u_r_e as Alex will contact him in a time like this, when he cannot be distracted. But, upon hearing why he called him he is shocked to the extreme. This situation is too dire. " What? The defensive line is breached." If the situation is not brought back in control then all the civilians in the ship will be in danger. " What do you need me to do?" Captain Bark understands what Alex wants him to do but he still wants to listen what he wants. Alex is silent for sometime before he spoke out, ''I need to you to hold back those Pokemon. After my electabuzz and slowking has dealt with their foes, they will come back to support you.'' Bark knew how dangerous this task is going to be. So he has some conflicts on whether to accept this task or not. But remembering it is originally his job to make sure the passengers reach their destination safe and sound. Bark steeled himself and asked, " How long do I need to drag them?" '' Around half an hour at the very least to an hour at most. '' If they can not reach you by that time, then I will give up my position and come to your rescue personally.'' alex gave him the answer as well as a time of his long he has to last until the reinforcement arrives. Bark asked jokingly, " So is this a solo task, boss?" '' You can a team with you, but they cannot exceed ten. We can not just give up that defensive line too.'' Alex said decisively. Bark understood his meaning and did as he is ordered. With Electabuzz and Slowking, After Electabuzz and Slowking battle ended and they have recovered some of their spent stamina while resting. Slowking run a mental scan through the battlefield to have a rough estimate of the battle under the ship really was. His expression turned grave on finding the situation and he first teleported to electabuzz and then towards their battlefield without a moment delay. Chapter 303 - 35 Slowking and Electabuzz teleported to the battle just below the cruise ship. They saw only three people are still standing and facing a seize of more than a hundred Pokemon with less than ten Pokemon on their side. Even the three people, who are still fighting, are covered in wounds and have multiple injuries on their body. Their clothes are soaked in blood and only their strong will has allowed them to continue fighting. Among these three people, two are the veteran sailors who are always with Captain Bark and assist him in the working of the Cruise ship. And the last one is Captain Bark the captain of the S S Smith himself. His original white captain uniform now dyed in blood from both his opponents, as well as his own injuries. His uniform is now in tatters and no one can connect the current image of Captain Bark with the elegant and smart Captain Bark in his tip top captain uniform. They cannot last long so Slowking uses " Surf". A tsunami of water materialized and swept towards the battle zone with a thunderous roar. It seems to sweep anything and everything in its path with its wave. Fortunately, Slowking controlled it and has managed to bypass the area around the fighting men. This raging tsunami has swept away the majority of the Pokemon. They are the water-type Pokemon, so they aren''t affected by this attack. But, Electabuzz is also present there. He used " thundershock" which dealt a deadly blow to the numerous water-type Pokemon. Under this ruthless combination, all the Pokemon were baked and steam seems to rise from their body. Even though some are still alive after this dangerous combination move, they are either on their last leg or paralyzed and cannot move an inch now. After dealing with the majority of the attacking Pokemon, they started to tread towards the three humans still in fighting condition. The surrounding Pokemons who are still in the fighting condition, looks at the two with great vigilance. Their instincts were running overtime from the moment they appeared in their vision. When they took down their opponents and saw the duo of Slowking and Electabuzz, he still maintains the careful attitude towards the two. Their Pokemon are standing in front of their trainers in order to guard against the duo. Slowking saw the vigilance that they have towards them and tried to calm them down. '' I am Slowking. I am Alex Pokemon. He sent us here as reinforcements.'' Slowking introduced himself to the group using telepathy. This thing did the trick and Bark lowered his guard against Slowking and electabuzz. But he was confused, and asked, "You managed to take down you opponents so soon." He understands that although this place is important, the defensive line is much more important. So he wishes to know if Alex has shrunk the defensive line or they defeated their opponents. Slowking replied to Bark''s question and asked his own questions hastily, ''We have dealt with our opponents, and enough questioning about it. Tell us how many Pokemon have entered the ship through'' pointing at big holes in the hull of the ship, ''these holes and how long have they entered there?'' Bark understood the serious tone in his meant voice and answered everything. Electabuzz and slowking nods at each other. Slowking looks at their tired state and assured them, ''Electabuzz will be here to help you deal with the remnants and I will deal with the situation inside the ship.'' Without waiting for them to reply, Slowking floats himself into the hole meanwhile Electabuzz stood erect on the frozen icy ocean and turns to look at the pokemons at some distance from him. Electabuzz sent a thunder up in the sky and another small but thick and condensed thunder cloud is formed over the cruise ship. " What is he trying to do?" One of the sailor asked not knowing just what this small thunder cloud can do. Bart noticed that his Pokemon along with those of his fellow partners seem to be a bit anxious and looks at the looming black cloud with terror and carefully. As a veteran he knows that the instincts of the Pokemon are at least a hundred times better than humans, so he mutters loud enough for the other two to hear, " He might be onto something. The Pokemon are afraid of it." As soon as he said that the thunder seem to roar in the sky announcing its presence to the world. Thunder currents crawled through the cloud as if they were snakes. And then in the form of a snake it fall from the cloud and run through the remaining Pokemons which are at a distance. With this single attack, the surrounding is completely cleared off. " he took out all those Pokemon in a single hit." One of the sailors mumbled in shock. Captain Bart falls on the icy floor and mutters in relief, " In the end, our job is done." " yes." They have seen just how powerful some Pokemon can be. They have even seen the battles of those powerful pokemons but seeing them from a far and watching them up close is a completely different things all together. Captain Bart and his partners have also settled at his side, and looks at the sky after the burden has been lifted from their head. But after some moment Bart said with a grave look, " I don''t know what hell they have unleashed inside the ship." This made not only his partner but also their Pokemon become serious. With Slowking inside the cruise ship, As Bart has mentioned earlier, the water Pokemon which has managed to enter the cruise ship did unleash Hell inside. Slowking walked through the cabins of the ship, the multiple doors of the rooms on either side were broken. There are some crushed pieces of a corpse or even dead bodies are on the floor. There are some people whose organs are even missing, probably after the Pokemon have killed them. In his path he has dealt with some croconaw, poliwhirl and other bipedal Pokemon on the path. But after he rise to a certain level, he saw some changes in the state of the corpses. They have lost their clothes or have heavy bodily wounds. These were recent wounds which aren''t something a Pokemon can cause or at least the Pokemon which can enter the cruise ship. When he rise to the next level after he dealt with the Pokemons on this floor and found that most of the Pokemon are dealt with. After heading there, what he saw in front of him shocked him to the core. He know that Alex will be livid about this when he saw this. Chapter 304 - 37 They looked at it curiously thinking what they hold. Their curiosity was answered when Alex explained it to them, " These are the evidence along with the recording of the scene of action. There was a hidden camera installed in the corridor for the sake of security which recorded all the things which happened there. " Hearing it is evidence for crime, Elsa asked worrying for Alex thinking he is breaking some rules and regulations by showing it to them. " Is it alright for you to show it to us?" Captain Bark knows these things cannot be revealed to any relevant people or people who have no relation to anything about that matter or incident yet a sensible trainer like Alex is showing them meant there is a deeper meaning behind all this and he decided to listen to everything quietly without interrupting them. The reason why he is showing these things to the unrelated people is explained by his next sentence. Alex explained it to them, "I have sent the original copy to the league earlier. After going through the recording as well as the photo evidence and their personal confirmation by a person they can trust, they have given me a free hand on how I deal with them. But, they also mentioned I have to show it to you after I punished them personally. They mentioned that I should let Cynthia, Elsa, Lucian, and Julius see it without fail. " " If they have asked you to show it to us, then what''s the problem?" Lucian asked confused about why he gave them an option when he is ordered to show it to us. Alex has an empty smile on his face and he said, " If I have punished them then you would have asked me why I acted so ruthlessly. To explain myself, I would show it to you. At that time, you will not understand my actions. In fact, I am sure most of you will be angry at me for not letting you vent your anger on them after knowing about their past actions. I am showing it to you earlier, so you can join me and assist me in punishing them as severely as possible for their actions." He waits for them to understand what he said to them. " Wait, you are doing it now because you hope to ask our views on how to punish them?" Cynthia asked. " yes " he nods upon hearing her. Bill knows just how ruthless his friend can be if such a situation arises. But, he has doubt about why he said that "So, what do you wish to do? Do you wish to increase their punishment or lessen it, fearing you will be too cruel." Alex gave him a long look and finally said, " I do have a good way to remind them of their folly and set an example for others. Yet I think I am still being lenient to them. I wish to punish them appropriately and so I thought all of you can give me a decent opinion." Cynthia asked him directly, " So what type of punishment is adequate for them in your mind?" Alex replied her directly without many thoughts, "Firstly I wish to give them some cuts on their body so they can bleed. They will bleed until they die completely due to blood loss. But then I thought of hanging them to a pole in the deck under the scratching sun and let them die slowly. They will be sprinkled with seawater to stop them from becoming unconscious in pain. The other role of this is that their pain will be amplified and they will be in severe pain throughout the course of time until they finally die. " After gearing this, the group shudders and felt like they have seen Alex for the first time. To kill someone like that would be too ruthless especially in front of people who just survived a near life-death situation. " Isn''t it a bit too much?" Julius asked calmly but the shaking hand as well as fear in his years spoke out loud just how afraid he really is from hearing all that. Alex shrugged and said, " I originally thought of pulling their nails out with pliers, twisting their limbs in all directions as well as peeling their skin too. And just before they die throwing them in a Cavanha infested water who will eat them up piece by piece. But I remembered there will be kinds too and the yells from this will give kids nightmare. His colourful words made them stunned. He has already planned so many ways to execute them but before that he added a little torture session too. " Alex, isn''t it a bit too much?" Lucian asked who had the least contact with Alex other than Julius and Bark. " Too much? I think I am letting them off pretty easily. If they don''t suffer a bit for their actions, there will be no use to punish them. I wanted to drag their execution until they suffered enough, but they all are from well connected family. Their information can easily be transmitted. They can also hire some powerful mercenary to save them. They are members who often fight for power with the league and can cause trouble if they are alive before the reinforcement comes. So, I am telling you all this so you are mentally prepared. You know me well enough that I won''t push for these things unless they deserve it. " They know Alex isn''t someone who uses his authority brazenly or some who is drunk in his powers. He is someone who is pretty reclusive and doesn''t want to get involved in these sorts of power play. " And who are these people who angered you so much that you wish to torture them before they die?" Cynthia asked him. " There are a total of ten prime culprits with fifty other people and thirty crew members who supported them in their endeavour in the different Muster station. They were crushed to their death. They were punished but not enough. I want these people to suffer. " " So you want to prolong their death? You wish to make them suffer." Elsa summed up. Alex then look at them with guilt and pity, " You will know why I act like this after you watch this videocassette. I hope you all can remain the same. " And the video was played in this soundproof room. Chapter 305 - 38 Humans ills Before playing the video, Alex explains where this video come from and other things they need to know. " This recording is from a certain muster station where more than 50 people hid when we were fighting. There are about 20 muster stations which are built for the sake of protecting the people in case of attack. To keep a record of all the incidents happening inside, there are hidden cameras. This is something only the captain of the ship knows about." He looks towards Captain Bark who affirmed it. " Yes, only the captain of the ship knows about this matter. This is something that the league has made so that people can be monitored and do not cause chaos or anything else during the Pokemon attack when Martial Law is issued. " Captain Bark said. " Now, I will play the video. They don''t have sound but the action is enough to show what they did. " Alex told them about the deficiency in the video and then played it for everyone to see. [ In the Video, A room is shown on the screen which has about 50 or so people in it. They are huddled in groups and fear is evident on their face. Some people would look through the portlights or glass covers of the portholes, circular windows of the cruise ship, on the walls to see the situation outside. " ] Alex explained it to them about the timeline of this video, " The video starts around the time when the Pokemon has breached the defensive line we erected and the true chaos will unfold in this room soon. " He has a grave expression on his face. All of them were both anticipating and dreading what is to come. [ The video continues. Soon the room seems to rock and when some of them watched out of the porthole, they turn ash white from fear. The person close to them asks what happened. He replied what he saw while stuttering and others erected an ear to understand just what happened outside. When they heard that the hull is breached and the pokemons are entering through the newly made holes on them, they shrieked in fright. Their death seems imminent and at that moment, some of them have a sinister expression on their face. When death is right in front of you, all sense of false bravado and behavior is thrown out. The ruthless ones start to show their animalistic side and embrace it fully and follow their wild instincts like the people inside did. Those who have lost all hopes of survival grabbed the closest woman and ripped their clothes. They started to act aggressively towards them. For the ones who stood in their way, they sent out their pokemons to stop them. They didn''t just kill these people but played with their captured person right in front of their loved ones. They beat the loved ones whether they be a_d_u_l_t, children or elderly till they can''t move. They were alive and can see what was happening and shout at them to stop, but cannot act. The woman pleads for mercy but it was ignored. Some ganged on a single woman or swapped them with other people after they have enough. They were played until they lose strength and faint. True despair was etched on the face of these ladies and their loved ones. The fate of the more beautiful woman was even worse for they were played by multiple men. Some crazy people didn''t even leave the kids be. They broke their limbs so they cannot protest and did their deeds. ] The video stops here. All of them were shocked by what they saw. The blood runs cold after watching this. Elsa and Cynthia were crying on each other''s shoulders after watching this. Lucian and Julius have some tears trailing down their cheeks. Bill was shocked beyond belief and Captain Bark lowered his head and prayed for them. Alex just looks at his friends who are trying to come to terms with themselves. They have only one thought running through their mind, ''We put our lives on the lines to protect these sc_u_ms and monsters. So many died for these bastards.'' After a few minutes of complete and utter silence, Alex breaks this uncomfortable silence. " So, what do you all think about this incident?" Alex asked them This incident is too much for their young minds. At this time, they need a target to vent their anger and grieving emotions. With these calm and cold words, Alex stood out and become their target. If they and their emotions are in a stable state, they may have reacted differently, but unfortunately, they are anything but that. Surprisingly, the calm Cynthia is the first one to burst at Alex, " ''What do we think of this incident''? You ask us what do we think about it? How can you remain so calm after everything you just saw? Are you so cold-hearted that their pleas, troubles, and suffering is nothing but a matter of discussion? Is this cold-hearted and unfeeling behavior is your true nature, Alex? Did I read you wring before?" Alex never got a chance to say anything for Elsa joined the cult too. She took his calm face as a sign of him agreeing with the actions of the rabid beasts from before. " How can you be so cruel? You just watch all of them suffer and yet you act as if nothing happened. Don''t you have any mercy in your heart, don''t you feel anything for their pain and suffering? Those beasts didn''t even spare the kids. They tortured them, crippled them, destroyed them. How can you be like this? Are you even a human anymore?" She shrieked at him. Julius simply said, " You are just sc_u_m. You don''t have any sympathy for them at all. " Lucian after wiping his eyes, added, "To think I considered you a friend." They all seem to forget the previous show of rage from Alex and accused him of being a heartless scrum. They kept sending barbs and poisonous remarks at Alex without mercy. Alex took all this without any word and accepted everything. Bill is still in shock and hasn''t managed to recover from it. Captain Bark is a veteran person in his late forties. He has vast experience and can see through most of the facade. He shook his head at the actions of the four young trainers. These young trainers feel Alex isn''t grieving but they are all wrong about this. Although he acts all calm and acted as nothing happened, Alex isn''t skilled enough to hide his emotions from him. He can see it clearly in Alex''s eyes, Alex feels guilty. He feels it is his mistake that something like this happened. He regards himself one of the culprits. That''s why he showed them the video now. He is letting them vent on him, because of this sense of guilt. Bill wakes up from his shock and looks at everyone accusing his friend. He stood up for him and shouted, "Enough. You will not say anything more to Alex. Don''t forget why he is showing this to us." Bill shouts brought them back to their senses and they calmed down their rage a little. They start to feel guilty about how they acted with Alex and just before they can apologise Alex said, " We have matters to deal with." Even though Alex feels guilty and know why they acted like this, now there was a crack in their relationship. Chapter 306 - 39 Calm before the storm Alex is currently under the radar tower. A violent storm is raging around them. Big waves crashed on to the frozen ice and the ice has started to melt. The thunder raged high above in the clouds, howling wind blows and the huge tsunami-like waves blow around from time to time. All this is caused by Alex''s Pokemon. All his psychic Pokemon like Slowking, Espeon, Claydol, Kirlia, Gallade, and Butterfree are using the combined might of their psychic powers to erect a storm around themselves. Their combined might has created a storm which stretched in the radius of a few kilometers. In the future, Mewtwo can create a storm which can affect an entire sea pretty easily yet it took five strong psychic Pokemon each of at least advanced level to pull the similar trick at a much smaller level. And at that time Mewtwo has no finesse but only raw power. This fact once more amazed him, about the powers a legendary Pokemon can truly yield. Mew is still at his side and she can do it for him by herself. She even asked him if he needed her help but, Alex felt it is a good exercise for his pokemons. So she only guided them on how to do this and observed. At times she points out the flaws and helps them better control the storm to do their bidding. The reason for creating this storm is to stop the reinforcements. If it is a normal situation, Alex won''t do it, but from the news that Blue sent worried him. There are some people sent by parents of the main culprits to take him away from their custody. Their information network is quite strong to find this news so soon and able to send help too. They all felt that their children will only be punished when they land on Hoenn and by that time they will be under arrest. But, they have never considered Alex''s personal temper. He dealt with them too fast. With their sudden arrival, there is two option left in Alex hand which isn''t something he likes very much. Those options are keeping those accused in the cabin or killing them quickly and punishing them. He doesn''t like to let those bastards survive for that moment, neither did he wish to grant them mercy with a swift death. So he had decided on his own without consulting anyone to create a storm and delay their arrival. They can also arrive through the sea or underwater if they wished to come here. So he has already sent his Gyarados, poliwrath, tentacruel and Marill to create whirlpools around, so no one can enter this area even if they travel underwater. His other friends are looking for him so that they can discuss what to do in this situation. But, Alex feels he doesn''t want to be with them now. But, Alex was emotional at that time and their words affected him. He feels if he stays with them any longer than absolutely necessary he may explode on them. So Alex hides from them since then and only appear in front of them for eating. It has already been two hours since Alex has created this storm and whirlpools around the ship. At this time, Mew has informed him that a certain pair of pokemon are coming towards them. Alex turns towards a certain direction and but finds nothing. But his instincts warned him there was someone out there, so he used aura vision. Under the aura vision, he saw there is a hazy form of two streamlined bird-like Pokemon. These two pokemons are the ones which Alex was going to search upon landing on the Altomare. With Bill and others, The storm has been raging for two hours now. Just before the storm raged, Alex has punished the accused in front of the other passengers. He has hung there bleeding and heavily injured crippled body just above the bridge. After doing this Alex has disappeared from everyone''s gaze and left. After the sudden appearance of the storm, they have seen some big waves around them. They are at the eye of the storm yet there are some big waves coming for them. So, they felt that some water pokemon should be sent out to prevent the waves from affecting them. Their Pokemon aren''t enough to deal with this and they need Alex to help too. But, their search for him has been futile. They all have failed to find him and if not for Alex message about needing to be alone, Bill felt he might be in trouble. Bill sighed thinking about what happened in the meeting after their accusation and how their friendship has been strained now. Flashback Bill shout has calmed them down and they started to discuss how to execute the still alive culprits. Bill looks at Alex after shouting. The look on his face meant that the bond they have formed over time has cracks now. He hopes he can do anything to diffuse this but he can not do it. Others won''t listen to him in this heated and emotional moment, as for Alex, he will not step back and explain himself. Bill sighs and lets things continue. He hopes that things get better in the near future and the cracks can heal. Captain Bart asked Alex, " Who are these ten people who are to be executed publically? Are they in this video?" " These ten people are mostly second-generation rich kids. But among them, three are the most prominent ones who can cause troubles. First one is Trent Bolts. He is the son of medicine king of Hoenn. About 60per cent of the total medicines are produced by his father''s company, the Alpine. The second one is a Renault, the grandson of the Breeding master and Master Cultivator of Johto. And finally is Harold Smith, the son of one of the strongest Gym leader in Hoenn. " Bark upon hearing about their identity felt a headache coming. He said while rubbing his forehead, "It seems we may have a problem in the future. " Unlike before when Alex is at least courteous or listened to the opinion of others this time he is rude and blunt. " You don''t have a problem with them being punished here on the ship for their actions, do you?" He asked all of them. They didn''t object and agreed to do this. " But, we will have a gym leader at our throat because of this. " Bark said or advised. After hearing this, they have some doubts. They feel they cannot deal with this problem and are hesitant to act. John Smith is one of the strongest gym leaders in the Hoenn region. He is the gym leader of Fallarbor Town. He is a very strong ghost type, Pokemon trainer. In their home regions, he may not cause troubles for them. But, He has not only power but also has connections which are enough to cause them trouble in their Hoenn stay. After they agreed to not make any change in their punishment, Alex didn''t wish to stay here any longer. He stood from his seat and started to head put with his pokemon trailing behind, he said to them, "You don''t need to worry. I will handle the rest." And, Alex left them all. Bill felt this action of his is a sign that their relationship is no longer as harmonious as they felt earlier. " You shouldn''t have accused him like that." He told them. " But... It is his fault. He is. ..." They tried to say something but Bill isn''t willing to listen. " You all think you are angry. Have you forgotten that broken table there or his glowing eyes? You all think he is fine with everything that happened. If not for him, do you think they will be punished here on board? It is his pressure that made the league making this decision. And what did you lot do, accuse him of being heartless and calling him cold-blooded. " he looked at them with an angry look. They all averted their eyes when Bill''s eyes fell on him. And he too left them. Chapter 307 - 36 Alexs calm rage Alex is sitting with his tired-looking friends back in the captain office with the injured Captain Bart. Normally after being with dealing with the Pokemon attack, they should be happy and relieved. But the current atmosphere released by the people in this meeting is anything but happy. Electabuzz, Slowking, as well as Espeon are also very angry as one can see with their rage-filled eyes. This has managed to make the situation of the room very volatile. Espeon and Slowking have managed to restrain this rage but Electabuzz cannot hide his rage as the other two Pokemon have done. The electric current running through his body, as well as the occasional snarl, showed just how angry this electric type tyrant was. Alex, the trainer who controlled his anger as well as never let his emotions get the better if him in the fight, is angrier than any of his pokemons. His normal black eyes are now glowing blue because of Alex using aura and the armrest of Alex chair are completely destroyed under his arm force. All these actions of Alex shouted out loud just how angry Alex was. Even Bill and Elsa who are much closer to Alex than the rest are shocked by Alex. He didn''t say anything but called them here right after the battle ended. Alex seem to have this expression since the battle ended. Originally they thought he is angry about the loss of lives in this battle but now they feel something else is at work. They wished to ask him what happened but his blue glowing eyes seem to deter them from questioning him. The remained quiet until someone managed to gather his courage and question Alex current state of mind and action. The one who asked Alex is Cynthia. " What happened, Alex?" She asked though one can see the nervousness in her eyes. Alex looks at her with his glowing eyes. When their eyes made contact, she flinched. She diverts her face away from his because she cannot bear to look at his intense eyes directly. She almost had a mental breakdown. Alex isn''t only a aura user but because of Mew and exposure to multiple powerful ghosts he is also a spiritualist and a psychic. This type of thing cannot be find in any human but because of Mew involving herself in this matter, he got this fortune. An average person has the potential of using only one power stream. A physical stream of aura, mental stream of psychic or spiritual stream of Astral or soul energy. These energy forms are the three main streams which can grant humans in the Pokemon world supernatural strength. There are other situations when trainers can gain some ability from their Pokemon if their bond with one another is superb. There are exceptional cases where someone can have only two types of power streams in their body. Originally it is only Aura user and Spiritualist, but Mew felt a little left out. So she used her own means and helped him become a Psychic too with the secret involvement of Slowking, Espeon, Claydol and his twin kirlia( in the past). So the sharpness of Alex''s eyes can send someone to mental or even spiritual coma if he so wished. If Alex hasn''t held back just now, the least effect on Cynthia would be fainting. Fortunately, he did manage to restrain himself and his powers. He only gave her a spiritual shock which only pressured her soul a little and nothing more. This is a blessing in disguise for Cynthia. It will help her withstand some powerful ghost type Pokemon in the future and help her grow stronger than ever. Alex said coldly, " While we were busy defending, some people have decided to break the martial law we set up at that time and have done some heinous deeds." Bill interrupted him, " what heinous deeds are we talking about?" Bill abrupt interruption made Alex stop explaining. Alex broke down a table at his side on. It seems like having been interrupted, has caused him to lose his temper once again. Bill thought he is angry because he interrupted him so he immediately apologised and said, " I am sorry for interrupting you." Alex calmed down a little and the bright glow in his eyes diminished a little but it didn''t completely disappear. He said softly or much softer compared to before, " I am sorry. It is just that, the things those sc_u_ms did when we all were busy made me too angry. The very thought of it made me want to kill them all. " " If they did something bad as you said yourself, then why don''t you act? I remember you said you can handle the pressure if need be." Lucian asked confused why he is backing down or he is being lenient to the culprits. Alex laughed loudly and this laughter gave chills to all the occupants of the room. He said coldly, " I am not afraid of them. I just think that if I kill them directly then I am being told lenient. " '' Just what did those idiots do to make him so angry?'' This thought ran through the minds of everyone. He rocks his fingers on the table softly in a rhythm and said, " I know all of you wish to know what they did. I called this meeting so I can issue their punishment with evidence. I feel that if I acted without showing evidence to all of you, I will become someone who don''t respect anything. I don''t want to lose myself in anger and go on slaughtering and torturing people who I think are wrong. But before that, " he turns to Elsa and Cynthia who sat together and asked, " Do you wish to see it? I personally don''t think you will like this, especially something as gruesome as that. " " Are you looking down on us, Alex?" Cynthia said completely miffed by his words. Elsa added with rage in her tone, "We have seen our share of world too." Normally Alex would surrender and plead mercy from these two beautiful yet dangerous girls. But today he stood tall with no signs of retreating, " It is not that I am looking down on you, but woman are generally emotional. Even if you know just how cruel the world is, you may breakdown upon seeing these things. I know for sure that Bill cannot handle it. I cannot say about Lucian and Julius but Captain Bark as a neutral party can handle it. If not for that happening in Bill''s ship, I wouldn''t let him know, see or hear anything about this. The things I am going to show you are very... Very... Uhhh.. You can choose your own words to describe it. So, are you really going to go with it?" The grave tone that Alex used against them assured their doubts of how serious this matter really is. But, they were also curious about what this matter really is. So they steeled their heart for the upcoming matter and nodded resolutely. Seeing their determined gaze, he sighed and thought how he would have acted similarly if he was in their position. Alex pulled a transparent plastic bag which have some pictures as well as video cassette inside it. What secret does these things hold? Chapter 308 - 40 The punishment Bill found the changes in Alex attitudes as soon as everyone started to accuse him. Elsa and Cynthia too have noticed it but only after their raging emotions calmed down. They didn''t notice it early on but did after Alex left all of them alone for hours. It has been a few hours since Alex has disappeared after the punishment was enacted. The two beautiful blonde girls Cynthia and Elsa are near the deck and looked at the pole where some are twisting and turning in pain. The ten prime accused are hung to the pole in the deck for everyone to see as they bleed to death. Some have already died and others are slowly dying. To make them painful, Alex has laced the rope which they are tired to with a mixture of salt and red chilli powder. The combination of two along with their freshly bleeding and injured wounds are enough to kill them quickly. He have Mew prolong their suffering based on their last actions. But, the involvement of Mew is just a secret. Others think they have strong vitality so they managed to last so long. Many passengers who suffered under their clutches sat near the deck to watch these bastards suffer and calm their angry heart. With this action, Alex has won the heart of majority if people. As for those who are friends or are rich and feel the world should now to them are waiting for the time when they will teach him his place. Back to Cynthia and Elsa, They leaned against the railing and looked at the far horizon while the storm rages. Their is light drizzle and wind blowing in contrast to the strong wind, cyclone and heavy rain outside. But this isn''t the topic of their talk, the one who dominate their talks is Alex. Elsa looks sad and said," We shouldn''t have said all those things to Alex back then. " " We hurt him more than the injuries of this battle did. We are his friends we should have trusted him. Or else he won''t erect this storm to stop those people from coming. " Elsa continued, feeling even more down than before. Along with worrying about Alex, they also worried about the reinforcement who will be bring supplies and transportation to move the people from this broken and now useless ship. None were injured but the food supplies have been completely ruined. They don''t have enough to even cook for one time. So they are anxious. They won''t know what to do. They have many questions in their heart, how long is the storm going to last, how long can they last without food, how long can the injured survive without proper medicine, and many other things. None of them have any experience in leading the people so they asked Bark for help but he has no way to do anything. He suggested Alex may know what to do but he is nowhere to be found. At that time, Blue''s alakazam came to inform them about the situation in which the reinforcements are and why they are late and not to worry about the situation. Flashback, Elsa, Cynthia, Captain Bark and Bill are the only ones present with alakazam. The others are off to make sure things are in proper order. Even though all of them are young, their superior strength allowed the people older than them to at least listen what they want to say. " So the reinforcement cannot come because of this storm?" Elsa asked worrying about their future prospects, "where the hell is Alex when we need him?"she then shouted in rage at not having him around. His calm and collected behaviour gave them support to face any problem and his absence at time like this is something which greatly amplifies his importance. '' You don''t need to worry about him. He is fine. In fact this storm isn''t natural but artificially created.'' Alakazam informed them " What? Who can create a storm now? Why? What would had gain from it?" Bark anxiously shouted out loud that someone would do it. Bark has noticed that the storm is calm around them but the surrounding ocean is raging. Storm of this level isn''t something many vessels can endure. Only the most experienced sailors or exceptional navigators have the chance to survive this. '' He didn''t tell you?'' Alakazam asked in shock. " What do you mean?" Bill asked not knowing where he is going to. '' Alex have his psychic pokemons erect this storm.'' he revealed it to them. All of them showed various levels of shock at this discovery. To think someone can do something like this is too shocking. " But why?" Elsa asked confused why he had do that. Alakazam looks at them, thinking why he didn''t inform him or why his trainer Blue asked him to inform these people instead of Alex himself. After some thoughts with his supercomputer like mind and their emotions and facial expressions he figured out things aren''t as peaceful as they were earlier. His trainer has kept watch on them even when he isn''t around to keep a lookout. So he is here to speed things up and make them patch their relationship before it get sour beyond redemption. '' He erected this storm to stop the people of the reinforcement to come here early '' Elsa and Cynthia are once again furious at him for putting the life of the passengers on the line. This time more so because he did it without consulting with them. Cynthia asked politely but one can see she is angry,"But why would he do that?" '' Because in that reinforcement and relief squad there are people who will try to save them. He created it is they will not arrive before their punishment is dealt with. '' he explained it to them calmly while not directly pointing out the rift created in their relation. They understood why he did it when they heard the reason. They cannot let them escape but they cannot stop them all especially when there are people who can be involved in it and the fact their pokemons still aren''t at hundred percent. " But why don''t he inform us back then?" Elsa asked feeling down that he didn''t ask her. It isn''t Alakazam but Bill who said it. He said scathingly and added a glare to it," Last time he asked your opinion all you did was accuse him, say he is heartless and curse him. Why should he do it again when you will only try to imprecate him? I think he was right not to ask us. He can make his decision better when we aren''t around to drag him around emotionally with our sharp words." " But..." Cynthia asked " But, what?" Bill shot at them, " You weren''t pulling your punches back then. He was down and you took all the joy in putting him down even further. " Cynthia and Elsa were down after hearing this. Although what Bill said is cruel but he is saying the truth. They both are sad hearing and reminded how they treated their friend. Alakazam saw all this and smiled. He understood what his trainer wished to do by doing this. This kind of thing must be dealt as soon as possible or the things get difficult the longer it is dragged. Although Elsa and Cynthia were emotional earlier they controlled themselves from self guilt and decided to tackle the problem with Alex head on, " can you tell us where he is?" ''Since it is your problem, find him yourself.''after that Alakazam reported away. Flashback back ends It leads to their current situation. The two girls were on a mission to find their friend who have decided to hide from them. After trying to find Alex they are now back at the deck thinking where he might be. Chapter 309 - 41 The Eon pokemons At the deck, The two are looking at the storm raging in front of them. Elsa has her nine tails by her side while Cynthia has her Glaceon. Elsa said, " He is monster " the ice type a loan version of ninetails sat by her leg. Cynthia just c_a_r_e_s_sing her Glaceon body and spoke out in awe," He is already this strong to affect weather of a place. " Elsa nods while feeling even more down. " He is angry at us. Or else he will not disappear like he did just now." Cynthia spoke out her thoughts, " If I was in his position I will be more than just angry. I would have already burst at all of you as soon as we started to discredit his efforts or his lack of reaction at that time." Elsa also agrees with her. If she was in that situation, all of them would have been frozen and sealed in icicles. A loud m_o_a_n came which brought them out of their depressing thoughts. One of the person hung on the pole is shaking in pain and leading, "Please, .... Please kill me... I cannot endure this pain... Any longer... Please. Show me... some mercy and end.. my life." He pleaded to Cynthia and Elsa to end his sufferings. If they don''t know what this bastard has done, they may be merciful. But after hearing it they don''t have even a shred of mercy. To them, this method of death is too merciful for him. It isn''t enough to calm the raging emotions and anger of the people whose friends and relatives suffered under him. They ignored his cry for mercy and walked away with their Pokemon following behind her. " Do you have any idea where he can be?" Cynthia asked her as they head for the bridge. Elsa thought and her eyes fall on the radio tower, " I may have some idea where he might be." Cynthia eyes sparked on hearing this. To think they have no idea where he really was and then a ray of hope came when Elsa said this. The number of people around her age who can keep up with her can barely reach two digit figure. Elsa being one and Alex being another. Both of them are her precious friends who can stay by her side without losing to her. She has known them for only a few days yet she regards them as one of her best friends. She was very ashamed for her actions back then and has no viable reason to defend herself. She can only hope that he can forgive her for her past actions and they can go back to being good friends again. " Where?" She asked excited. " the radar tower. " she replied and started to finger her pokeball and released her fearow. " Rowwwe" fearow cawed after being released from the pokeball. " The radar tower?" she asked confused. What will Alex do near the radar? Elsa saw the confused look on Cynthia''s face and explained, " He always goes there. That''s his special thinking spot. It is a deserted place which no one goes unless especially needed. There is another reason he will be there." Elsa said with complete confidence. " What other reason do Alex have to go there?" Cynthia asked. Elsa explains the relationship between. Psychic powers and radar to her blonde friend Cynthia, " My mother once told me this that the radiation from the radar places can give one severe headache after prolong exposure. But it is also very useful for psychic pokemons. They can spread their powers and use wide ranged attacks with a powerful antenna." She said happily. Cynthia caught onto what she meant and said with wide eyes, " So Alex may be using this tower to create this storm." Elsa nods at that and continued, "No matter how powerful Alex is, he still isn''t powerful enough to create a storm do big. He has psuedo king Pokemon not king level psychic pokemons. Only they have the power to create something this big. There is a reason one king Pokemon is enough to destroy an entire city and it can do it as easily as waving it''s limbs or any part of the body." Cynthia nods. Earlier she thought Slowking can pull this level of trick with the help of it''s other companions but if Alex had a trick of this level before, they may not even have to participate in the battle and he can take care of it on their own. There must be some preparation and other special conditions required for this level of move. Otherwise with his current ability it is too far away. And she is right. For this attack Alex has used the innate potential of Dratini as well as Gyarados to start a small storm, which is later powered by the psychic powers of Alex and finally amplified by the radar tower. " let''s get him. " Cynthia said after she rode the staraptor she released just now. Elsa nods and flew towards the radar tower on her flying Pokemon. Their sudden arrival on their Pokemon attracts the attention of all the none busy people and Pokemon by the radar tower. Latios and latias weren''t paying attention to their surrounding so they weren''t able to find their appearance in time and were seen by Cynthia and Elsa. When they arrived there, they are greeted with the sight of Alex and two bird like blue and red pokemons by his side. " What is going on, Alex?" Cynthia asked in shock after seeing the two legendary pokemons in front of her. Alex before the arrival of Cynthia and Elsa, Alex looks at the hazy form of the two won Pokemon. As Alex looks towards them intently the two young legendary pokemons talked among themselves. When the two eon Pokemon, Latios and Latias saw that Alex is looking at their direction intently they felt he may have noticed their presence. Norman one can say he is just looking there and haven''t noticed their opposition, but " Big brother, do you think he can see us " " I don''t think so. We are invisible. Maybe he is looking at this side." Her brother assured her. Mew stopped guiding the psychic Pokemon group after sometime and played with Pikachu, swablu, tired dratini and horsea near Alex. When they first arrived, Alex informed him of their arrival when he felt some eyes on himself. She can not only eavesdrop but also enter their private communication network like she did now. " He can really see you, so it is no use to be invisible, young Latios." Mew said in their head startling them. This surprised them and latios appeared in front of latias to protect her from any and all threats. Latias herself dunked " you, ... you who are you?" Latios asked worried while looking around frantically for who it was. He is afraid for their safety. " I am down here, " Mew in her eevee form waved at her and said, " I am Mew. I was there when you both were born." Chapter 310 - 42 Mews gifts " You are Mew...." Latios said or more like asked, wishing to confirm what he heard was right. He isn''t so trusting but his sister Latias is too trusting and gullible, she easily trusted her. She gave up her invisibility and floated around Mew, she nuzzled at Eevee and said curiously, " But you are so different. Last time I saw you, you were pink Pokemon with big eyes and a long tail. How did you change and become a brown Pokemon with soft fur and a fluffy tail?" She is a very curious Pokemon who often seek out from her hideout, the secret garden to play. This can be seen from her current actions. Her brother though nature still isn''t as m_a_t_u_r_e as he will be years later. He too lowered his invisibility and lowered his guards to scold his sister for her recklessness. " Latias, how can you do that? She is probably fooling you, how can she be Mew? And, she is another pokemon called Eevee. " He then point towards Alex and commented, " This human must have used his Eevee to say she is Mew so we can lower our guard. When we are defenseless he will attack us and catch us in that accursed ball in which these despicable humans trap the other pokemons. " The one who is the target of Latios''s contempt just looks at their floating forms. Although the two Eon pokemons looks similar, there are some difference in their appearance. Both of them show s_e_x_u_a_lly dimorphism. Latios is a Pokemon with a bird-like body stylized after a plane. Its body flows slowly into a thick neck, giving it a bulky appearance. It has no legs, usually floating instead. Most of its body is blue, with white areas near its arms and a white stripe on its back that extend up to its head. It''s Jet-plane wings sit on top of its back, while two tall, jagged fins point behind it from its rear. A red triangle marks the center of its c_h_e_s_t, while a blue mask partially covers its face. Long, ear-like fins extend from its jaws to over its head, and its eyes are red. It has three-fingered arms with a blue covering on the outer side of the lower arms. On the other hand, Latias is Pok¨¦mon with a bird-like body stylized after a plane. Its long neck stretches forward from its squat body. It has no legs, usually floating instead. The rear half of its body is largely red and the upper half white, with jet-plane wings high on its rear and fins on the bottom near its tail. A blue triangle marks the center of its c_h_e_s_t, while a red mask partially covers its face. Ear-like fins sit on top of its head and its eyes are yellow. It has short, three-fingered arms with a red covering on the outer side of the lower arm. Latios is larger in size, has red triangle mark on the center of the c_h_e_s_t whereas Latias is comparatively shorter with blue triangular mark on the center of the c_h_e_s_t. " You dropped your camouflage too, Latios." Alex said with a deadpanned look when he saw Latios scolding his sister Latias ignoring everyone around them. These words have brought the scolding to a halt and they looked at each other. Then they started panicking. " Are they always like this?" Alex asked Mew while his eyes still fixed on the frantic pair of Eon pokemons Mew doesn''t seem to care about it and simply said, '' They are but a child. They have much to learn. Their father died a few years ago so there is no one who can help them. So they are so clueless and have no idea how to act against strangers except for hiding. '' Alex just shook his head when he heard it and then asked her, " Why don''t you teach them that?" Mew pouts now and grumbled, " I wanted to but Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza stopped me. They said if I teach them then they will become a troublemakers like me. And others joined to bully me. Why are they so cruel to me? They believe I cannot teach young pokemons. I can teach them, I am teaching your pokemons, but they don''t want me to?'' After that she thought the sinister expression on her face as she looked at Alex with a shine in her eyes , ''Since you don''t like me to teach them then I will do something which will make you regret it.'' '' Why didn''t you help them? If you do it, it will helpful for you. I can get you something which can help your pokemons later.'' Mew offered a tempting offer to Alex. Mew is someone who can really get some precious things if she wished to. Although Alex has a pretty lucky journey so far with all the precious things he got, his berry reserves are mostly due to Mew. She has procurred some rare berries which he has planted in the orchard. They haven''t been fully grown but after they do grow, he will not have to worry about lack of money, unless he raise nearly a dozen snorlax. She also gave him a feather of Ho-ho and a ack cloth which she said has the power of Darkrai. " So what will I get this time?" Alex directly asked. It is better to bargain with her directly when she wished him to do something. That way he is rewarded better. '' A light ball for pikachu.'' Mew said directly. This put him in thoughts when she said it is a light ball. A light ball is a very special prop made especially for Pikachu line. It can only be used by a Pikachu or Raichu. The reason is that a Light ball is something only a dying Pikachu or raichu can create. Before their death they fuse the two electricity generating pouches on their cheeks and form a light ball, whoch can increase the attack power of a Pikachu or raichu. The stronger the Pokemon is more powerful is it''s effect. Alex doesn''t doubt she will give him a weak light ball. So he is ready to agree. After he agreed Mew explained him what a good deal he won this time. She explained ir more like bragged about it, '' This raichu is someone who had lightning bolt ability like your Pikachu and has absorbed the lightning of zapdos, Raikou and even Zekrom. With it your Pikachu can at least reach king level and even champion if you wish to take him to that level.'' Alex was very happy with this deal he made with Mew and it seems like Mew isn''t done. '' This is the initial payment. After you help them train in their powers, I will get you the feather of an Altaria. That altaria was taught by Xerneas in the past. It even became a champion level Pokemon. It become almost invincible against the dragon pokemons. In it''s pride, it angered rayquaza and died in the battle. With that, she too can have some power enhancement like pikachu.'' Chapter 311 - 43 Mews arrangement Alex and Mew doesn''t even consider the views and opinions of the two young Latios and Latias, for they decide their future themselves. The rewards are very rich and the usage is something which can save a lot of time for Alex. Now, Alex is get to get two things which can help his pokemons greatly. Alex has no doubt whether he can reach that level or not, the question is how long it will take. Let''s take dratini for example. A dratini evolves into dragonair when it''s body has enough dragon or life energy which is confirmed by it''s length. It needs to be about 2 metre long before evolving, and at North it is only half a metre long. It takes a dratini nearly six months to grow by 10 cm, to reach 2 metre it will take around three to five years depending on their appetite. Some herbs and other power enhancers like dragon gems can increase its growth speed. Similarly, to be a dragonite it needs to reach five metre length, but it''s growth is slowed drastically now. It needs a year to grow by 10 cm, to reach 5 metre it will take it around a few decades. This shows the importance of various herbs, berries and the props made by the dead pokemons which shorten the time. Another example would be horsea which Alex has. Mathew gave him a dragon scale for Horsea. Normally it will take if around five to ten years to become a kingdra even with Alex resources. Mew in her Eevee form then teleport away startling the two Eon Pokemon and returns with a yellow glowing light ball. Pikachu who isn''t aware of the secret trade between Mew and Alex is attracted by the light ball. He took measured steps towards the ball, fearing it might disappear. Just as he is about to scope it, Alex picked the ball. Pikachu snarled at alex and almost sent a thunderbolt at him. Alex gave a look that made him stop from jumping and getting the ball. This also decreased the allure the ball has on pikachu and he looks at Alex curiously. The other pokemons who noticed Pikachu actions were curious what night have caused all this. He started to explain, " This is a light ball for you which can increase your powers greatly, " Pikachu is happy for it and extends his short hands to get it, but Alex isn''t finished and he continued, " you will only get it after you become peak advanced level. You are only at the middle level. It will affect your future achievements. Now is the time for your foundation." Hearing this, pikachu is feeling down. Alex knows Pikachu looks up to the cool and proud electabuzz so he used him to deal with his current mood. " If you wish to become as strong as electabuzz, you cannot slack down." This did the trick and he overcome the temptation. He returns to his friends and started to play with them there. Mew saw all this and smiled. This is a test she thought for Alex. She wished to see how he will react in the face of great temptation. He managed to endure it, meaning he has a firm mind and strong will. This not only meant he has a form will but also that he hasn''t slacked down in his aura trainings. She has used her psychic powers to increase the sense of greed and d_e_s_i_r_e in Alex''s mind. She did all this without leaving behind even a single sign. After their trade is completed, Alex and Mew turned to the ones who are directly associated with this deal. '' Latios Latias from now on both of you will follow Alex. Don''t worry about the things here, I will handle things here.'' Mew told them. Latias is ready to accept but the grumpy Latios will not. They didn''t try to ignore her words. Their father always told them that Mew will always be there to help you if needed. He also told them to listen to her words for she always think about them and won''t make them suffer. Yet He still tried to say, '' but, we have to protect Altomare. Dad left it to us to protect this place and prevent those two from waking up. He wants us to prevent that machine to ever come to use. '' he tries to persuade Mew against it, but she isn''t willing to hear anything about it. Instead she scolded him, ''You all should work on training and not on things a_d_u_l_t needs to worry about. You both are still kids. You should enjoy your time instead of worrying about a_d_u_l_t stuff.'' Latios still tried to persuade her once more and said,'' But father dies to protect it. We cannot just give up on it.'' Latios still isn''t willing to let things go. If they were a bit older she may have agreed but they are too young. She ruthlessly crushed their dream of protecting Altomare on their parents behalf, ''Even if you wish to do it, you cannot do it. Your father died because he used too much energy on countering the tsunami. He didn''t have the energy to deal with the two ancient pokemons, Aerodactyl and kabutops. Then the recurring tsunami wave after the change in the city base happened and that seal broke. He used a lot of energy as well as the repair the seal. This has resulted in his death. You both are too weak. You cannot protect this place. If not for your father''s sacrifice, you won''t be here. Some other pair of Latios and Latias would take your place as it''s guardian.'' The two are down when they heard it. They are pitiful now but Mew isn''t willing to back down. She will tell them what they need to do if they wish to continue acting as a guardian. '' It''s your father''s sacrifice which made the others agree to let both of your replace him as the guardian. Now, I am giving you a chance to grow strong and replace him as a skilled guardian. Are you willing or not?'' They both thought and discussed towards and finally agreed. Mew grinned at that and points towards Alex, '' He will be your future trainer and tutor. You both will follow him for a few years before returning back.'' The two on Pokemon are shocked by this revelation. Chapter 312 - 44 revelations Both the Eon pokemon are shocked by this revelation. They originally thought it is Mew who will train them and make sure they are qualified guardians. They never thought she would pass them onto a human so they can learn to use their powers properly. Latias is doubtful for her father and father often told her never to trust any human stranger. Previously the chat between Mew and Latios is done under the private telepathic connection. But this time, Alex is also invited into the threshold. '' Mew I don''t agree to follow this human.'' Latios disapproved of that action fiercely. He continued, '' Humans can''t be trusted. He will catch us and will make us his servant. We will be under his servitude for years.'' Mew tries to dissuade him calmly. She explained it to him, ''Humans are creative and have created various methods to help a Pokemon grow stronger. With the help of Alex, you can reach your target faster and you can return back to Altomare faster. '' but he isn''t willing to listen. He arrogantly retorted, '' Why should I be a slave if this human? He is so weak, he can only be worth something because of his Pokemon? He is of no worth without them. Why do you trust him so much? '' Latias on the other hand thinks her brother is too much and the human there is kind enough not to take his harsh words too harshly. But she is a little worried, because she saw the Pokemon around them are giving them angry looks. If this humans gives them the permission to act, they will attack his brother without any second thought. Alex doesn''t care about his disdainful words. But, his pokemons aren''t that mild tempered. And definitely not Electabuzz. He smashed his guests together ready for action and appeared above Latios with a electric powered punch. Latios and Latias are shocked by this sudden change of event. Neither of them are fighters, their battle instincts is dull so they can not react. Above all else, Latios is scared and froze on spot when Electabuzz attacked them. Latios is afraid. He felt like he will die from the attack. He felt so scared that had made no effort to even move. Latias acted to protect her brother but Electabuzz is too strong for someone on her level. When the two were expecting a powerful attack, Electabuzz stopped just an inch above Latios''s head. He removes his hand and starts to walk away. Though he growled at Latios, '' Let it be a lesson not to insult my trainer. If you try it again, I will not be merciful and stop like I did just now.'' "He is such a softy. " Alex said with a grin which made Electabuzz glare at him while the two Eon pokemons look shocked. A thought run through the mind of the duo, ''How can someone like him who act all tough be a softy?'' Mew seem to know what is going through their mind and giggles at this. Mew suddenly stopped giggling making other look at her, '' Now that all is done. Alex catch them.'' "What" Alex said shocked at what she said. '' What'' Latias uttered shocked by this. She only thought Mew wanted to train under him and not be caught by him. She felt he will stay at Altomare with them to train them. ''What'' Latios in addition to feeling confused like Latias also has a sense of betrayal for Mew. He felt she has betrayed his trust. Mew looks at them confused. She has no idea why they acted this way. She even c_o_c_ked her head sideways in confusion. '' What happened?'' She asked them curiously or more precisely from Alex. Alex seeing the look she was giving him decided to explain it to him, "It is just that you asked me to catch these two." Alex points towards Latios and Latias. " They are the legendary Pokemon and I am a trainer who have only travelled alone for around two years. I know some Pokemon have lesser legendary pokemons which aren''t responsible for the balance, but I am still too young. That''s why I am surprised. As for them, they might have felt I would stay here to teach them but you asking me to catch them by my pokeball is seen as a betrayal of their trust they had on you. So they are shocked and acted like this in an offended manner." After Mew heard it, she nods her head understanding what they felt like. Alex reaction is understandable but she still feel that the Latios and Latias are a bit too spoiled and so she decided to give them a talk. She said them a bit harshly or as harsh as her soft tone can be, ''If you need to grow stronger you have to make some sacrifices. One of those is following him on his journey and facing different Pokemon. Both of you are extremely cared for by your father. He didn''t let you work hard to gain anything and after your death, you are raised by that human who let you continue living like that. You have no sense of priorities. You think you are a_d_u_l_t but you are spoiled. Everything you need have always been placed in front of you. You don''t know how to even catch you our food in the wild and will die of hunger if you aren''t killed. '' She glared at them. '' From now on, you will follow him, train under him hard and learn how strict the life outside your sanctuary is. '' she issued her sentence with a firm look daring them to oppose her decision. Alex Pokemon give her a look of awe and amazement at the current behaviour of Mew. They have only seen her acting childish, naughty, playful and happy. They haven''t seen her act angry or so serious like she is now. Electabuzz nods his head at her words and fully agree to her. It seems like their instincts haven''t completely dulled out now, and they did accept her orders. Then she turns to Alex and in a similar tone ordered him, '' You will not baby them. You will train them hard and make sure they know how to survive out there alone without anyone''s help. Even if they are at the doorstep of death, you will not show them mercy. As long as they are still alive, everything is fine. Show them how cruel the world can be.'' Latios and Latias digested everything Mew has said so far. Meanwhile Alex agrees to her request. Dratini and Horsea are sit too young to do strict training. And now he has a pair of test rat in front of him. At that time, Elsa and Cynthia have also arrived there. Their sudden arrival on their Pokemon attracts the attention of all the none busy people and Pokemon by the radar tower. Latios and latias weren''t paying attention to their surrounding so they weren''t able to find their appearance in time and were seen by Cynthia and Elsa. When they arrived there, they are greeted with the sight of Alex and two bird like blue and red pokemons by his side. " What is going on, Alex?" Cynthia asked in shock after seeing the two legendary pokemons in front of her. Chapter 313 - 45 Apology At that time, Elsa and Cynthia have also arrived there. Their sudden arrival on their Pokemon attracts the attention of all the none busy people and Pokemon by the radar tower. Latios and Latias weren''t paying attention to their surroundings so they weren''t able to find their appearance in time and were seen by Cynthia and Elsa. When they arrived there, they are greeted with the sight of Alex and two bird-like blue and red pokemons by his side. " What is going on, Alex?" Cynthia asked in shock after seeing the two legendary pokemons in front of her. The two Eon Pokemon after recovering from the surprise of someone sneaking on them acted. They ran behind Alex for safety and protection. They felt that only Alex is capable of protecting him. This view is due to Alex being an Aura Guardian and help from Mew who created a subconscious opinion that Alex will protect them from all threats. Alex looks at them blankly. He didn''t reply to their former question and bluntly asked, " What are you both doing here?" He was outright rude with them. It is similar to how a person talks with some stranger who has interrupted him or her when they are in the middle of something important. Alex is also in the middle of something important. A legendary Pokemon, even someone who is weaker, is very attractive to any trainer worth his salt. Similar is the case with scientists and researchers. And, Alex is not only a trainer but also a researcher too. When he thought of catching the two, he not only thought how strong his team will become after they joined, but he can record the precious data about them. The records regarding the legendary pokemons are very less. Every new information about them can make someone rich overnight. Both Latios and Latias are said to possess a special move which is unique to them. There seem to be no concrete data about these moves. With both of them under him, he can earn billions just from the report about their unique moves. Although there is no information about their unique moves, Latios has a move called ''L_u_s_ter Purge'' and Latias move is called ''Mist Ball''. According to what he remembered, Latios L_u_s_tre purge is like a pink beam. Latios opens his mouth and white sparkles form and gathers in front of him, forming together into a pink ball of energy. He then fires a massive pink beam from the ball at the opponent. It was a psychic genre move. Similarly, Latias creates a ball of mist. It is a mist-like a flurry of down envelops and damages the target. It is a psychic type move too. With so much thought running through his mind, The arrival of Cynthia and Elsa can put an edge to his plans. But when they run behind him for protection, he felt he has nothing to fear and things are fine. Although the matter hasn''t run out of his hands, their arrival could have affected his future layout. With his anger towards the two because of their harsh words and not understanding his thoughts along with their doubts, (Alex seems forgot they know each other for barely half a month in case of Elsa and around a week with Cynthia) his temper flared. That''s why he acted so rude with them. When they heard his harsh tone, they averted their eyes from Alex and looked down not willing to look at his face. They started to feel guilty about how they have acted earlier and didn''t dare to look at him. Alex gave them a harsh look. He didn''t want to be bothered by them, especially now. " If you have nothing to say then leave." He said harshly. But they did not take the hint. They felt he is angry now and if they didn''t do anything to calm his anger they will lose their precious friendship. They looked Alex first and then turned to each other. They seem to communicate with each other with just a look and nods at each other. Alex is still angry at them but his past experience has reminded him that whenever these two act together, there is hell to pay. The two beautiful blonde girls walked towards Alex with a determined look that scared Alex. Latios, Latias and Mew in Eevee form moved away to give them room. Mew informed both the Eon pokemons that they are here for Alex and they shouldn''t be bothered by their presence. The two girls grabbed his arms, one arm is caught by each of them, to prevent him from leaving. " What is going on?" Alex asked shocked, worried and afraid by their action. " you aren''t leaving unless, ..." Cynthia started and Elsa finished, "You listen to us and forgive us for our previous action. " " But, ..." Alex tried to say something but the glare they give him said everything. Alex chose to be quiet or else there will be hell to pay. After he calmed down, the two started to talk, " Alex, we are sorry. We shouldn''t shout at you or even criticize you. You worked so hard to make sure they are punished for their actions. I am very sorry. " Cynthia said with an apologetic look on her face. Alex doesn''t know why but his heart hurts seeing her like this. Elsa also followed right after, " I am sorry. I know that I was too much, saying you are cold, didn''t care about them, and here you are making sure they are punished even if it meant you are punished instead. You put yourself in danger, put all the pressure which is sure to come because of this and help us. And I did that. I am sorry, I really am. Please forgive me. Please don''t break our friendship, or bond. "She too has some tears. The two girls crashed onto his c_h_e_s_t and cried. They have opened their heart in front of him. Something like this isn''t enough to make them breakdown like this, but today was very tough for them. First they fought a life and death battle, then saw deaths of many people on a large scale in an ugly fashion. They managed to hold onto their emotions because they have important things to do. They can deal with their psychological pressure after the important things are handled. And then they also saw the torture the people they wished to protect suffered. This made their emotions go haywire and in their anger they rained storms on Alex. Alex put his hands around them. He can only support them emotionally and let them calm down. This incident is pretty big and can affect one''s mentality, though not on a similar scale as Alex back in the Raid, it is still impressionable. Alex face softens as they cry on his c_h_e_s_t. He understand what they are going through, he himself experienced that volatile state so he has no reason to be angry at them. After a few minutes after letting their emotions out they have calmed down. Chapter 314 - 46 After their emotions calmed down, the two blondes are reminded of the awkward position, they are in. But the oblivious boy still doesn''t get it. The girls pushed him back after they calmed down and his body crashed in to the body of the floating Latios. Latios''s presence prevented Alex from falling onto the ground. Alex grabbed hold of Latios and managed to hold his ground. Seeing the stumbling form of Alex, they were aware of their action and what consequences it can lead to. They rushed to him and apologized immediately, " I am sorry, Alex" " I am sorry, Alex. " " its just that..." " We were just..." Seeing their nervous and embarrassed faces, Alex started to laugh and his laughter increased by the second. And their increasing nervousness along with their stutters made him laugh at them. This laughter seems to wash away all the nervousness, embarrassment, guilt and all the other mushy stuff between them. The embarrassed faces of the girls turn to one of fury, the righteous fury of woman to be precise. " It is funny, isn''t it Alex?" Elsa asked sweetly. Cynthia didn''t day anything but her smile said everything. Hearing the tone in which Elsa talked with him and the sweet smile on Cynthia face, he can see just what his future is. If he didn''t think of something quickly he will suffer under their hands. The look in their eyes clearly shouted out how they will make him suffer for laughing at their expense. His eyes fell on the Pokemon whose body granted him the support to remain standing Latios. It seems this rude and arrogant young Eon Pokemon is going to be his savior and will work as his distraction tactics. He turns towards Latios and acts shocked. He spoke out, " What? Do you wish to continue where we left things off, Latios?" Latios, Latias, Mew, Elsa and Cynthia has no idea what he meant by those words but when he said '' Latios'' the eyes of the girls widened. " Th... Th..they are the legendary Eon pokemons, Latios and Latias." Cynthia shouted out in shock. Fortunately, Mew had erected a barrier in time to prevent the others from becoming aware of this. The two looked at them in shock and Alex sighed in relief as he escaped the dangerous encounter due to his sharp thinking. That was until Elsa spoke out hid name, " Alex, ..." This made him feel that she has caught onto his plan and now nothing in this world can save him. But he is too quick to judge the things, for she didn''t say his name to scold him but to inquire what is really happening. This time she spoke the while sentence which is going through his mind, " Alex what is going on here?" Alex grasped this chance and started to narrate everything that happened without involving Mew. " The Psychic storm which I have created attracted the attention of these two" pointing towards Latios and Latias, while continuing, "When they arrived here, I discovered them. They asked me what is going on and why I am doing this. Hearing the reason they felt I was selfish and almost attacked me. But Electabuzz come forth and stops them. " He then took a breath and continues, " With how easily their attacks were demolished and electabuzz subdued them, I discovered that they have great power but have no way to control it. " The two looks at the two Eon Pokemon and notice how they don''t give away an experienced aura or one which resembled they are strong. They seem like babies who cannot use it effectively. " so I offered them a chance to follow me for some time. In this time, they will train under me. After the allotted time has passed, they can return back to their home and get back to their assigned task." He explained everything to them. " So you are going to catch them? And they allowed you to catch them?" Cynthia summarized the entire story in a single-lined sentence. He nods his head in agreement to her sentence with a proud smirk on his face. Alex has the opportunity to catch not one but two legendary pokemons. It is a matter of great honor. Not even the champion level trainers have this opportunity. So he did have the capital to act proud. But it doesn''t mean that the girls like this action of his. " Enough of those smirks, I know you are very lucky, but it doesn''t mean you have to act so smug and arrogant like that. " Elsa snapped at him with a miffed expression on his face. The face he makes seem to be getting on her nerves. Knowing that I''d was having to much fun out of it, even though he isn''t out of danger yet, so he backed down immediately" Fine fine. " He pulls two empty pokeballs from his backpack. Then he turns towards the Eon Pokemon and asked: " So are you ready?" The two still have some doubts in their mind, but after one look at Mew who gave the two a reassuring nod they give a nod in reply. They touched the pole all with their nose and gets s_u_c_k_e_d inside it. After a few wobbles, the two have officially become Alex''s pokemons. A grin automatically made room on his face after this. " Look at him all happy and grinning." Cynthia said with a sharp glint in his eyes which is caught by Elsa. It seems Elsa is going to suffer again under the siege of the two blonde beauty. " Indeed. But it is really a happy moment, and such moments must be celebrated. " she replied to Cynthia, later turns to Alex and asked his view on a celebration party, " Don''t you agree, Alex?" " Indeed. Incidents like these do deserve a party." He said not knowing he has jumped into the pit now. " Good, then after we land on an island, you will take us shopping and buy us some souvenir. " Cynthia happily declared without giving him any chance to object. Elsa agreed with this and hugged her fellow blonde tightly, after she said the words which she wished to hear. Alex saw their little celebration and smiles. He has noticed the pit they were pulling him into but remembering that they may still have some shadows of today''s incident in their heart, he didn''t object and agreed to their great happiness. He has only one thought running through his mind now, ''I want to protect this smile on their face. '' Chapter 315 - 47 Reinforcements arrive After the all the emotional things are sorted out between Alex, Elsa, and Cynthia, the trio decided to stay at the base of the radar tower of the Cruise ship. The reason for their stay there was to make sure things are alright with the psychic team until the final target is down. After another half an hour of constant cries of pain and agony, the last person died. The death of the last man made the people who watched all of the prime accused and culprits, cheer out loud for everyone in the ship to hear Hearing this, Elsa and Cynthia hugged Alex around his stomach in joy and happiness. After recovering from the burst of joy they unhooked themselves from him while sending some glares at one another. Alex has no idea why they did it, except that they are jealous. Alex isn''t a complete hopeless in the field of romantics and live but he never considered the fact that kids around 13 years of age are already engaged in marking their territory or having boyfriends. This cheer was a signal for Alex that the work is done and now the raging Storm can be calmed down. He sent a message to Gyarados through their psychic link to return with the group. As the whirlpool isn''t needed any more. Even though many can confirm that this storm isn''t natural but man-made with a large amount of Psychic energy in the air, he wants to make that things aren''t attacked to himself. Slowking slowly disconnects the psychic connection from Alex''s Pokemon while adding Mew to the fray. The pokemons after being liberated from the connection felt intense tiredness and mental pain. They feel that their mental strength is pulled to the extreme like a rubber band earlier and they are now suffering from the rebound. Alex returns the Pokemons to their respective pokeball. Seeing their painful expression, Elsa and Cynthia are worried about their health and asked him, " Are they going to be alright, Alex? They seem like they are dead tired and will be out any moment now." At this time, the storm is slowly losing its strength and the speed of wind abd rain at a distance is calming down too. " Don''t worry. I know their ability and that why I made them do such a risky move. This is a practice which helped them surpass their limits and rise to new heights." He said with confidence. The girls have a doubtful look on their face, unaware what he meant by this. Seeing this confused and answer demanding look of Cynthia abd Elsa, he explained what he meant to them. " Slowking has learned to use the large amount of psychic energy carefully. With this method, his psychic power increase. As for the others, they will get accustomed to the large amount of psychic energy which flowed through their body. Now their reserve and strength will increase when they have rested. " Alex doesn''t go in much details about the deeper reasons but as a skilled trainer they understood the basis of what he is getting into. Slowking learns better control while other pokemons have get accustomed to a greater amount of psychic energy. When the storm is passed onto Mew, Slowking stood up from his sitting position. His body is very tired now but brain is in a hyper active state. So anyone who looks directly in the eye, will suffer a psychic shock. So Slowking has kept his eyes closed. He doesn''t want anyone to suffer. He passed this news to Alex telepathically so he isn''t worried about him. " What happened to him, Alex? Why is his eyes closed?" Cynthia asked when Slowking stood up to his feet yet he kept his eyes closed. Alex gave them a reassuring look abd explained it to them," Don''t worry. He is just in the state of hyperactivity. He is worried, he may hurt someone if they look right in his eyes with a strong psychic shock with the force comparable to all their combined strength. So he decided to keep his eyes closed until he has controlled that level of power completely. If he managed to do it then he will become as strong as a peak psuedo king Pokemon in psychic power, and I will have to work on his water power. " his eyes sparkled with glee. Soon he will have a king level Pokemon in his hands and that too in an years time. The girls gave him a look of awe and amazement. Alex is nearly 13 and with a king level Pokemon under his hands, he will be even more monstrous than he was before. By 15, he will have a King level Pokemon. This is something no one has been able to accomplish in the history of Pokemon league. Alex knows what is running through their mind, but his idea is different from them. '' With the control over storm, his water powers also progressed. Within a few months time, his water powers will reach Pseudo king level and in another couple of months, I have a king level Pokemon. If not for the Pokemon League tournament in the middle, he would have become one much faster. '' he thought with glee and anticipation for the future. Later his pokemons Electabuzz and Pidgeot will work harder and try to break the barrier too. '' Alex, they are coming.'' Slowking informed him of the arriving reinforcements which brought him out of his happy thoughts and his face turned grave. " Is everything alright, Alex?" Cynthia asked. " They are coming." He looks towards the direction from where they will arrive. Those words made them understand what is going on. " don''t worry. We got your back." Elsa said with a confident smile which helped Alex calm down. " Let''s face the music. " Chapter 316 - 48 Reinforcements arrived Alex rode his pidgeot along Cynthia and to and flew a distance from the ship to greet the reinforcements arriving from the Hoenn League Branch. The storm has calmed down and normal operations can be carried out. They await their arrival with their flying type Pokemon. Soon, a larger group of flying pokemons were seen and almost everyone knew they were the reinforcement. Even though Alex knows that they are part of the reinforcements, he still acted skeptic. He shouted out while his Pidgeot has a blue silhouette surrounding him, " Who are you? What are you all doing here?" Seeing them on their path, the flying reinforcements stopped in front of him. There were many flying pokemons and on their back are around thirty or so people. Their leader, a middle-aged man who is in his late forties, with some wrinkles under his eyes came forward and replied, " I am Jonathan, the Ace trainer from Hoenn League. I have been ordered to provide support to the people trapped in SS Smith and assist them in evacuation." Alex was a bit less vigilant but he remembered that there was someone who controlled the water pokemons and sent them to attack him. " What proof do you have to prove it?" He questioned Jonathan and asked for proof of identity. One of the people in this arriving group was enraged by this, and shouted in anger," What the hell? We are here to help you lot. Why should we show any proof of a brat like you? Who the hell do you think you are?" Others are also angered by this. They are here to help and have endured that bizzare storm but they are instead questioned, this is something which isn''t acceptable to them. " Robert, calm down." Jonathan turns to his companions and asked him to calm down and not aggregate matters beyond the limit. While Jonathan is calming down his enraged companions, Cynthia asked Alex, " what are we going to do if they don''t show any proof?" " Then we will have to deal with them. That attack was preplanned. Be prepared to attack with intent to kill when things go south," Alex warned them. Alex isn''t affected by their anger in their words and once again spoke out, " If you don''t have any proof, then leave the area. Otherwise, we will initiate the attack. " He issued them a warning. He also released a healthy bout of Killing intent to show them just how serious he really is. These were enough to make everyone understand he is serious. He will go for the kill if they don''t listen to him. Jonathan tried to calm him down and tried to appease him. "I am sorry about Robert. He is tired now. We are delayed for hours because of the storm and his relatives are also on that ship. So please forgive me. Here, let me show you my proof. " He pulled out an ID to show his identity. " Throw it in the air," Alex said to him. Others don''t know what it means but Jonathan as a Senior Ace trainer knows where he is going. The thing which he is using is a secret known only to top level. This made him understand that the boy in front of him is not only strong for his age but also someone eligible for certain secrets. He did as instructed and threw it in the air. The ID after rising for some height started to fall, and its way of fall is similar to that of a feather. But this fall isn''t the valid measure to distinguish them, there is a certain image which is projected when the rays of the sun fall on it. It shows the image of Moltres when viewed from a certain angle and at a certain point. Although the image can be replicated, the majesty of the legendary Pokemon can''t. Jonathan caught the card and looks at him. Alex lowered his guard and started to move towards the ship. After flying for a distance he uttered, "Follow me." When they landed at the ship, the first thing that attracted their attention is the ten dead bodies tied to an artificial iron pole on the deck. They were scared, from the look of pain and terror on their faces. They felt they might be next to join that group, if these kids are angered. Jonathan noted the uneasiness if his group and asked Alex, " Who are they?" Jonathan answer came in the cold words of Alex, " Those are the sc_u_ms who dared to disobey our orders at times of Martial Law and caused chaos. " " But isn''t it a bit too much to kill them?" One of the female members of the group asked. She is the nurse of the group sent to aid injured people. Alex turns to look at her. She appeared to be someone only a few years older than him with short pink hairs. She has an appearance resembling Nurse Joy. He felt she might be one of the medics in the group and can understand what they might have gone through before their death. That sort of torture might be brutal. " The Pokemon League has given us free hand on how to deal with them. So I used this method to appease the anger to the others while punishing them. With this, others won''t dare to cross or disobey the league later." Elsa said with a hardened look when he saw the Nurse feeling sympathy for him. " But you cannot just..." She tried to counter them but Alex interrupted her. " You are here to make sure that every injured person is treated properly and there is no life-threatening injury. We gave the first aid to all the injured but we don''t have any Pokemon who specialize in healing or have any specialized doctor on us. The only ones here are part-timers." Alex reminded her what she is there for and not to pry on other things. " But there must be someone who can deal with those cases, in this ship." She asked thinking someone might be here to deal with such situations. " Those people have also forgotten about the meaning of Martial Law. They felt that they can get away because their existence has significant value. After confirming none of the injured have any injury which seems life-threatening, they were also put to death along with others. " Alex revealed it to them. This sentence made Robert very anxious. He feared that the target which he came to rescue may also be among those people who are dealt with. To confirm his assumption, he asked Alex, "Are all the guilty either punished or executed?" " For the people who broke discipline in times of the Martial Law and wreaked havoc on the ship, they are all put to death, without exception." He said to him and looked right into his eyes. " But there were some big guys too in that group, weren''t they? Are they also...." He didn''t finish but the meaning of the left off words are evident. " Yes, all of them are dealt with. " Alex said. This time everyone eyes even that of Jonathan are widened beyond extreme. This incident is going to cause a lot of problem in the future and the one''s involved in those problem will not only be Alex. , Chapter 317 - 49 Small conflict Alex saw the stunning facial expression on the face of the first group of reinforcements. He understood most of them are the people here were hired to rescue the suspects or accused so their family can protect them using their fortune. These people felt that they will only be kept at the brig safe and separate from the rest until they have landed on Hoenn. And, they will be passed on to the respective authority for formal punishment. They would have time until they land on hoenn to rescue their targets, but all was for naught. Alex has not given them the chance and directly punishing them on board. He have become their butcher. Feeling the rich future they hoped for, has become a dream, they were enraged. They started to accuse Alex and Robert was at the forefront. Robert started, "You damn brat, how dare you kill them? You think you can take things on your hand and kill people for your joy. Do you not know how to value the life? You sick bastard. " Seeing that Alex hasn''t reacted to his words, he is angered beyond his conscience. He lunged at Alex. He grabbed his collar and was about to wrap his hands around his neck to break his neck. He dislocated his shoulder and shattered his humerus bone. He will not be able to use his arms anymore, unless he is willing to spend a small fortune on his treatment and get some special treatment. After this, he pushed him on the ground. Everyone saw the hanging arm and a painful Robert rolling around on the floor. He would have screamed if Alex hasn''t broken his vocal cord too. " You..." Jonathan was angry that someone dared to do this to his subordinate in front of him. He pulled put his pokeball and others followed his example. They regarded him as a tyrant and wanted to catch him for his trial. Elsa, Cynthia, Lucian, Julius and Bart also pulled out their, ready to fight at any moment. Alex isn''t affected by this situation. He calmly told them, "I am the leader of this Cruise Ship and all its members until we have safely landed in Hoenn. If anyone and I mean anyone dared to act like this idiot, " pointing at Robert, " You will be crippled for life. So put down your pokeball and get back to work." They knew what his words meant. He is their boss and Robert dared to attack his leader. He tried to kill him. It is merciful of Alex to leave him with dislocating his shoulder, one of his arms broken and shattered vocal cord. If anyone dared to have thoughts about him earlier, they don''t have it anymore. Firstly, Alex will deal with them before they can even release their Pokemon. Secondly, there is a scary looking Electabuzz who seem ready to blow them off to the oblivion. All of them wisely put the Pokeball back. Alex nods at them starts to walk away, knowing that his presence here will cause more contradictions in between the two groups. Now isn''t the time for such things. If his absence ensures there is no conflict, then it is all good. While he was walking away, Jonathan asked him something, " Where is Harold, the son of Gym Leader Russel?" Alex turns to look at the leader. It seems this leader is another one of those goons for the big bosses from Hoenn. " I already said it there were no exceptions. He is one of those idiots tied to the pole." Alex said with a deadpanned look on his face. Jonathan has some thoughts that it might have happened, but it is too shocking. "You will suffer for this. You were told to bring the suspects to the shore for future investigation. " Jonathan said. Others including Cynthia and Elsa were shocked when they heard it. They originally thought the league gave him free hand to deal with them but it seems like Alex did act brazen. They don''t know what he will do now. They are worried about him. Bill, on the other hand, is very calm. He knows his dear friend has something which will even the odds. " It is indeed true, the Hoenn League sent me the directive to bring the accused to shore where they will be handed to the proper authority." Alex said with a smile Jonathan knew he got the opportunity to catch him. Now none of them will stand on his side since he dared to ignore the order of the League. " Catch him. He dared to..." He ordered and some almost acted. Alex knows they won''t listen to him now and those idiots who suffered a loss due to him will act. " Electabuzz, thunder wave" " you dare to rebel. You will..." Jonathan thundered at Alex completely contrary to his past calm attitude. " you shouldn''t forget I am still the boss here " Alex told him " You..." and continued, " I was saying Hoenn League sent a directive, but the Pokemon League Headquarters sent its words. According to them, I can deal with the sc_u_ms as I like as long as I have evidence to prove their guilt. " This calmed down his friends. Jonathan is thinking of ways to trap him or create a favorable situation for him. " All those original evidence have already been sent to them. The only ones left here are the copies. So, no matter who it is they cannot target me publically." He spoke out. Everyone knows he is no longer under the Hoenn league directive. " please send message to your boss. They should play by the rules." Alex left this message for them and left the area with Electabuzz and female Pidgeot in tow. After he left the area, Cynthia and Elsa came forward. " You all better behave while you are here. Because next time you try anything like that.." Elsa started. "... you will have to pay the price with your lives." Cynthia ended with a hint of steel in her eyes. Normally most people won''t care about this little threat of the two girls, but the action of their pokemons staraptor and delibird attacking Jonathan and the injured Robert endured they take it seriously. After the attack they left the area too. Bill is the one who decided to take matters at hands. He completely ignored the fainted body of Robert and Jonathan at the side and addressed them, " Good morning, I am Bill Montenegro. I will be your host and if you have any problem you can come to me. " Chapter 318 - 50 Alex is back in his room where Slowking is teaching Latios and Latias about how to use the psychic powers effectively. His psychic powers are still out of control because of the event at the radar tower. Alex has given him a black sunglasses to cover his eyes. This sunglass isn''t any normal one. It is made of quartz which can hold and store some psychic energy in itself. As long as he doesn''t exert enough psychic energy through them, they will not be able to pass through it, even if his eyes are open. This will also protect others from the any sort of accidental psychic shock. These glasses are similar to the one cyclops wear in X-men Apocalypse. After Alex, Cynthia and Elsa followed behind him. They are having an intense discussion. " Alex, are you sure you can handle it?" Cynthia asked worried about Alex. He has offended one of the strongest trainers in the Hoenn region. He will suffer some difficulty because of this. He will have a very difficult situation ahead of him, especially when they will land on Hoenn next. So they are worried about him. Who will reject a good pressure which can make you progress faster, at least Alex won''t reject this sort of pressure. But seeing the worried of his two friends, he reassured them, "Don''t worry. I am not wrong, and have followed the league''s directive. Even if they wish to cause me trouble, it must not be too excessive or they will suffer. I know that you are worried about the Hoenn league taking action against me for disobeying their orders, but don''t worry about it. Nothing will happen to me." He gave them a warm smile which calmed them down. "Now head back and help them. I have offended them so they will not feel well in my presence. Both of you are to make sure things are done perfectly. Can I trust you with this?" He asked them. They knew Alex is appointing them as the head of this operation. Feeling touched by the trust that Alex have on them, they agreed to it immediately without much thoughts. When they left he crashed on his chair to rest. At that moment, a voice stopped his resting time. '' So how are we going to deal with the upcoming situation, Alex?'' It was Slowking who talked with him. Alex turns towards Slowking with a thoughtful look. He is using his psychic to float a piece of paper and shape them into various objects like origami. The two look at the sunglasses wearing Slowking with awe and respect. He then handed both of them a paper and gave them a task to complete. They have to float the paper around them in a circle at least once without any deformation on the paper itself. If there is any deformation, even a single crease line on the paper then they have to remove the crease with psychic and start it again. From time to time, he will give them some hints or guide them. Even though he is busy training the two legendary pokemons, he can still communicate with Alex. All this shows how much control he has come over his psychic powers. But his water power is a bit stunted. So there is still much room for progress. '' You still haven''t answered my question.'' He asked once again. Since it is telepathic communication, Alex felt he should reply similarly to train in his psychic too. Although it might be a bit stressful. ''It isn''t time for us to deal with them. We aren''t strong enough yet. The increase of strength after catching those pseudo king Pokemon made me reach only on par with some weaker gym leaders. If we wish to withstand the League, I will need at least two Pseudo Emperor level pokemons, which is still too far from my reach. So don''t have those ridiculous notions about taking them on just because you have gained a little power up.'' He berated his wise pokemons harshly. He was expect this type of behavior from Electabuzz who is a fighting madman but not from someone like slowking who is smart and calculating. He should remember and know about these things. Slowking is shocked by the sudden harsh verbal thrashing from his trainer. It made him think about the matter he spoke about carefully. After careful analysis, he understood he had spoken like an idiot. Every regional league is a monstrous existence for them, even someone like Almia region which had possessed no Champion level trainer seated on it''s peak, is beyond their reach, let alone Hoenn which can subdue Almia any time it wants. It seems like Alex is correct. This little power up has really gone over his head and made him become a madman like his partner Electabuzz. He shudders at the very thought of that. He apologized to his trainer, ''I am sorry, Alex. I was too arrogant. Next time, I will think carefully before saying such arrogant words.'' Alex nods when he heard his Slowking apologise. He has discovered where he has gone wrong and apologised, showing his mind is still flexible. '' Good, so what do you think we should do?''he asked his intelligent Pokemon. Slowking is in deep thoughts thinking about how to tackle the coming problem. They are too weak to use brute force. If they act excessively they will be targeted by the Hoenn League. Although they aren''t afraid of it, it isn''t wise to offend them on their own territory. Then it clicked on him, ''Are we waiting for them to act excessively?'' Alex smiled at his Pokemon reply. He is happy that his Slowking thinking isn''t too rigid. After all if it is then all his training will be for nothing. One of the thing Alex has make sure is that all his pokemons have a flexible mind. He uses different games to implement this ability in baby pokemons, he later increase the difficulty to make them flexible. He put them in a tight situation and made them think of ways to walk out of it. In his team, almost everyone has a flexible view of thinking. If one way doesn''t work, means there is still another way. This is very strictly implemented when it comes to his psychic , for rigid views make someone predictable. It is very dangerous for the psychics. '' Indeed, we will be biding our time. We cannot start the assault independently and must wait until they are acting. We can stand strong and deal with all the threats on our side. When all their plans towards us fail, at that time they will make a mistake. That mistake will be our chance to deal with them once and for all.'' Slowking still has some doubts but he refrained from asking when he saw that Alex has fallen asleep on the chair. His trainer is tired from all these ordeals. A long night sleep will do him good. Alex is woken up by Bill from his sleep. But Bill isn''t unharmed. He is sent flying through the room by Alex for his rough means of awakening a person. Others have followed him. All of them ignored the unconscious form of Bill and Elsa told him, " The speed boats are here. We can start transferring the passengers to them, and head for Hoenn on our own." Alex just nods and then asks, " Where are we asked to meet with the rest?" This meant the six of them, and not the other passengers. "We have to head for Littleroot Town. There is someone who will pick us up." Cynthia replied. " Then we might as well take get directions from ship crew members and head there. I am sure many people aren''t happy with me. I better don''t give them any many reasons to hate me." Alex joked. Although it is a joke, there is some truth in those words. " Very well, after the passengers and ship crew are transported to the speed boats we will fly there." Bill who has mysteriously recovered from the assault spoke out. They all agreed with him on that. Chapter 319 - Volume 8 notice volume 8 will start from tomorrow. It covers Alex meeting other future elite fours and an adventure in a dangerous island. Chapter 320 - 1 Aftermath The distance from Altomare and the small town of Littleroot in Hoenn Region is about three days distance by the Cruise Ship. Although cruise ship can move faster than many boats, it''s speed is comparable to a magcargo when it is compared to the flying like Pidgeot. The time is shortened to couple of hours flight on a strong flying Pokemon. Thankfully, all of them have the required pokemons for this event. They headed for their destination. Kanto region, Pallet Town, There are only two people in the room of the Oak Laboratory discussing something major. They are Red Ketchum and Samuel Oak. " So you wish I will protect the Bart''s from any possible attacks?" Red asked his mentor. Samuel shook his head and explained, " Alex passed me a message. He wishes that we only intervene when his pokemons can no longer hold back the rogues. He wished to train them in defensive battle and hostage situations. This will be one of the many battle which they will fight there. You should remember how much blood was spilled in the past in order to make Pallet Town, a forbidden territory. Alex has similar ideas regarding the Floral Town. He is willing to take that sort of chance. " That has increased his strength exponentially. This trip has turned from a trip of discovery to a trip of overcoming his former limit and getting stronger. "Are they going to use Alex for the attack on Johto?" Red asked as he has a gut feeling they might as well use it in this fashion. " As soon as that idiot Marcus does that, the Kanto will start it. " Samuel explained. Samuel mentioned about his talks with Drake where he promised, he won''t involve himself. Red burst out laughing madly because Blue told them that Mew is with them. As long as she is around, no human or pokemon no matter how strong they might be, can threaten Alex. Even without Samuel there to back him up, Alex can overcome any difficulty and if there is an insurmountable odd in front then, Mew will level the ground. Hoenn Region, Just like in Kanto, in the Hoenn league Headquarters, there is an important meeting going on. These people are the two elite four and the champion of the region. " So, how are we going to deal with the upcoming situation?" Drake asked Moore and Gracia. Other Elite four are away from the Hq and busy completing their respective tasks. It fell upon them to deal with this. Moore puffed his cigarette to calm his raging nerves. This problem is too big because many influential and powerful people are involved in this matter. Moore replied after calming himself, "I don''t want to entangle in this matter. If not for those idiots in the Headquarters, we won''t be dragged in such a mess." He is very angry at the idiots who dragged the entirety of Hoenn in such a quagmire. Garcia also added her view, " I think it is better for us not to get involved. If we are entangled into this, then Oak might as well come to visit us. Let those bastards handle this matter themselves. " She didn''t want to face the angry monster hiding behind that friendly behaviour. " So we should give up on Smith and just watch." Drake summarized what they didn''t speak. Drake knows how much Smith dotes on his son, Harold. The torturous death of his son was sure to make him turn livid. He will be out for blood irrespective of what his son has done. He even tried to use his influence in order to smuggle him away. All he thinks is about his son''s tragic and gruesome death. Drake after much thoughts issued his orders, "This is a matter between Alex Bart and the people involved in the attack near the Altomare. The Hoenn league personnel will not actively involve themselves in this matter. And we will only involve when they break the laws of the game." Garcia and Moors felt they should opt for complete inaction and neutrality. This way they don''t have to suffer and are left unscathed. But if they opt for partial neutrality then there is a situation where they will suffer greatly. Chaos might also descend here. " Is it necessary for us to involve ourselves at all?" Moor asked his old friend and long time companion, not wanting any part in all this. Drake revealed the reason to them, "Samuel contacted me earlier, after the news related to the shipwreck spread. He told me that he will not involve himself in this incident. He will only act as an observer as long as we don''t get involved in this actively. " On hearing this both of then are delighted for Hoenn region is not in any danger anymore. But Drake isnt finished, "There might a slight chance these people may target Alex''s family. " " They will break the rules?" Although it seem like a question, it is an undisputed fact. Drake nods and elaborated, " Samuel mentioned Alex will play by the rules as long as the other party follows them. The moment his family is dragged, he will start a genocide. Anyone who is related in that attack will suffer and those who stands in his path will be dealt without mercy." Their expression turned even worse on hearing this. Although they have much doubt that someone so young can do something like this, with how Drake acts it seems like Alex does possess that strength. " Samuel will not involve unless Alex is nearly dying or we take shot. If the gym leaders or other trainers take action he will just observe." Drake turned quiet after that. " So we are serving as his whetstone. We are his stepping stones." Garcia spoke out and then questioned, "Why haven''t you asked others to intervene and stop this matter from expanding? We can deal with the problem peacefully." "Samuel doesn''t want a peaceful solution, he wants Alex to take the bloody route. Alex is willing to solve it peacefully but do you think they will back down. Their kids are dead and they want d_e_s_i_r_e for vengeance. Everyone knows that Kanto has started to take shots at Johto discreetly, with the Master Breeder involved they will have another reason for action. Do you think they will back down?" Drake revealed three greatest reasons why peaceful solutions are no longer an option. He was miffed at being cornered like this. COMMENT 8 comments VOTE Load failed, please RETRY Privileged More Privileged Chapters Download the app and become a privileged reader today! Come take a sneak peek at our author''s stockpiled chapters! Download 8 Table of Contents Display Options Background default yellow dark Font Nunito Sans Merriweather Size Paragraph comments Chapter comments Write thought login liked newest Author: ? 0){ %>Chapter : Author: Machine Translation Chapter 321 - 2 Landing on Littleroot Town Alex and his friends arrived at the port town of Littleroot Town by evening. It has been quite a stressful journey for Alex as Mew got bored during the flight and needs to be entertained to make sure she doesn''t leave him yet. One of the biggest reason Alex is so calm, even though there is a high chance almost everyone in Hoenn wants him dead, is because of the presence of Mew by his side. If she leaves him at a time like this, Alex has to be extra vigilant and prepare more than just three escape routes for his escape, in case things go South. When they are still at a distance from Littleroot Town, they have started to discuss related to their landing on the town itself. To discuss this, they have decided to slow their flight speed and fly closer. Alex is carrying Eevee, aka Mew, on his female Pidgeot, while Cynthia rode on her Staraptor, " Should we land into the town directly or land at the outskirts?" Lucian riding on his Noctowl with Bill joining him on the ride, asked the group. Bill was nervous during the flight and this mode of transportation wasn''t up to his appetite if his expressions are anything to go by. " We can go directly. After all, we are advanced trainers. A town like Littleroot cannot stop our entry. " Julius voiced out his opinion. He doesn''t want to delay any further. Ge needs a warm bed to rest. But Bill has a different opinion. He is the only heir to a multiregional company like the Silph Corporation. As such he has been involved in politics and knows some in and outs of the working of the different league. He opposed the direct entry and hopes for a discreet entry. " If we enter the Town flying, our entry will be too arrogant. We didn''t have the permission to enter the settlement like that manner. " Elsa, Cynthia, and Alex have a confused look on their face when he said they don''t have the permission to fly into the town directly. Elsa asked, " What permission are you talking about?" Bill seeing those looks as well as the question, that Elsa has he decided to make them aware of the situation, "After arriving at a different region, the trainers have to register their arrival at a Pokemon center of that region. Only after their data is input into the system, they are allowed to use the privilege their ranks offer them. Currently, none of you are allowed. " Then he remembered a special circ_u_mstance regarding the Elite Trainer in this clause added, " And only Elite trainer doesn''t have to register at the Pokemon center. They can enjoy the privilege the Pokemon league offered to trainers under itself. " But, they also don''t wish to follow that protocol especially after knowing just how much trouble, some of the officials of the Hoenn league are going to make for them. Their future is going to be problematic anyhow, what reason do they have to not cause trouble at this instance? Alex after some thoughts and conversing with Mew stated, "We are headed into the scorching fire anyway so why should we worry about the heat anymore." These words made everyone look at him. Be elaborated the reason for his actions, "We should already know that our deeds have been propagated to those people. We will be under their strict surveillance as soon as we reach land. If we follow the procedure, it would seem like we are weak and can be easily messed with. After that, they will try to suppress us openly and use all idiotic and artificial reasons they can find to mess with us. " Bill understood everything and made no further opposition towards the actions that Alex words meant. '' Any how, they will not cause us trouble. Even if they do so, their age and inexperience will become their shield. '' Bill and Lucian thought about this at the same time. With that decision made, they flew towards the Hoenn shore at a faster speed. When the land came in sight, Alex pulled out Jewel and through the inner GPS, they headed in the direction of the nearest pokemon center, the Littleroot Pokemon Center. They have arrived in Hoenn yet Littleroot Town wasn''t close. After some time, they can see the small Town at the horizon. They landed at the Littleroot Town Pokemon center directly. Their landing has attracted the attention of all people around. There aren''t many people who have entered the town this way. The fact that there are some arriving in that fashion attracted the attention of people in this small town. Before they have landed at the Pokemon Center, their arriving forms in the air have been seen by two particular trainers at the Littleroot Town who were laying around. There are two kids around Alex''s age. " It seems that our target has finally arrived. I was getting bored with all the waiting." The blue-haired boy spoke to his silver-haired friend. The silver-haired one didn''t speak but kept an eye on the new arrivals. His eyes was set on one specific person. He was excited. " I haven''t seen you so excited for quite some time, Steven." The blue-haired one looks at the blazing eyes of his friend. The silver-haired kid introduces as Steven told his friend. " I just wish to get even with her and then see just how far I am from ''that'' person, Wallace. Don''t say you don''t wish to battle him as well, Wallace." Steve asked Wallace who was twirling the mystic water pendant hung on his neck. Wallace gave no reply but Steve understands he wished to fight too. " Let''s greet them. " Wallace told Steve and walked in front of the Pokemon center to wait for them. Wallace excitement can be seen by the fast pace he walked off to. Steve simply shook his head at his fashionistas friend''s excitement and followed behind him. Chapter 322 - Notice I will restart publishing chapters in . There will be mass release in few hours. please be patient. thank you for your continuous support. Chapter 323 - 3 First Encounter with Wallace and Steven Their search for the guide continues until Bill discovered someone familiar among the crowd who looked around at the crowd curiously. " Steven, here." He shouted out startling them and waved his hands in the air. He was trying to stand out in the crowd and attract their attention. The mentioned person walked out of the crowd, and the one following him is a blue-haired boy. Both of them are a few years older than him around 14-15 compared to his 12 almost 13 years of age in a few months time. ( Alex will be 13 a month after the Pokemon League Tournament ends.) " Bill, you are also here with them." Steven asked him surprised that he will hear. "What are you doing here? Are you travelling through the Hoenn region this time? No, you don''t like traveling, so Is there something interesting in Hoenn which attracted your attention and forced you came here personally." Knowing that Bill has no wanderl_u_s_t, he must be here for research reasons only. Bill came forward and hugged him tightly very happy to see him. " Steven, I have never been so happy to see you. Please tell me you are the one that the Hoenn League sent to receive us?" Bill asked with a hopeful look on his face. He really hopes that it will the case. At the very least, there will be no fights with him present there with them. He has experienced enough enthusiasm for a month time. A moment of peace will be much appreciated. Steven is confused about why Bill will give him this look. But, he still replied to the question he was asked, " Yes, I am. Not only me but Wallace is also a guide. We will be helping you deal with things here. " Then he turned to the group and greeted himself to the two blonde girls, " Hello Cynthia, Elsa, Lucian, Julius. It''s good to meet you again. How are you all? " " Its good to meet you, Steven." Cynthia and Elsa greeted him with a smile. When they smiled at each other, Alex''s eyes twitched rapidly. He doesn''t like the look that Steven has given to his two blonde friends. He barely hid the unhappy look on his face but not before the two noticed the look he has when they happily greeted Steven. They were happy to see him like that. While Steven interacted with the others, Wallace walked up to Alex. " So, you are Alex Bart," Wallace spoke out. " Yes, I am Alex Bart from Floral Town in the Kanto Region." Alex has formally introduced himself. This also made Steven turn to look at the younger boy in front of himself. Just like any genius in the region, he himself has heard about him. Even though he hasn''t participated in any big league tournament, his tasks and mission record aren''t a hidden secret. They all know his strength, at least the strength he hasn''t hidden from the people. Even though they don''t doubt these reports and Alex''s strength as the strongest in his region is undisputed but it doesn''t stop the young challengers from contesting against him and confirming his strength for themselves. " Hello Alex, I am Wallace from Sootopolis City. And, I wish to challenge you for a Pokemon battle." His words surprised many people around there. Although Alex is a complete stranger as one of the strongest in the young generation, both he and Steven widely know. To think he will openly challenge someone is a surprise. He has never been one to challenge someone, normally it is another way round. But, what they don''t know is both Wallace and Steven both belong to the same category of people. They both are battle maniacs.If Steven isn''t busy greeting the others and acting polite, he would have already challenged Alex. He wished to face him and evaluate whether his strength were as accurate as the rumours. He even cursed in his heart when Wallace challenged Alex before him. His first goal was Cynthia then Alex but his friend beat him to it. Alex who is challenged just arched his brows and then agreed. " Sure, so are we having a battle on land or that lake over there. " Alex asked about the terrain on which they will battle. His question made Wallace aware that he knows his specialty. But Alex wasn''t worried about his strength and was willing to battle him anywhere. " We will be fighting by the lake if you don''t mind," Wallace said with a gentleman smile on his face. " Well then let''s get going." Alex immediately started to tread towards the lake. He has no idea why but he is miffed right now and needs something to thrash around. With Wallace initiating a battle, he gets a free punching bag so he agreed for the battle quickly. Wallace and others followed behind. The crowd of people who are gathered has some trainers among them who wished to see this battle. This group comprised of spies from Team Magma, Team Aqua, Hoenn League, and other organizations both legal and illegal. When they arrived at the lakeside, Alex turned to his friends, " Hey guys, can you release two flying Pokemon we can ride on?" " Why?" Steven asked confused by this question. Alex wanted to say something along the line that, ''Wallace is too weak for me to face him on land. I can vaporize him easily. In the water battle, he will have a greater chance to give me some challenge. '' But for the sake of politeness, he spoke, "We will have the battle over the lake and we will fly on your pokemon. I don''t wish to have all of you get involved in this battle. " he the points towards the center of the lake and continued, "There we have a better to release some restraint and go all out. I am sure you wish to have an all-out battle with me don''t you, Wallace?" Alex asked his challenger. Wallace nods instead of replying. Although Alex doesn''t say the harsh words about him doing this to give Wallace a better chance, everyone in Alex''s group, Steven and Wallace knows the truth. This fight location has nothing to do with an accidental injury of an audience or a chance to go all out, it is just that Wallace is too weak for Alex to take him seriously. But, he didn''t act rudely and spoke out how he felt for one important reason, Alex is the undisputed strongest, and yet neither he nor Wallace can beat the second and Wallace is on par with the fourth strongest of the list. There is still some distance in strength between the two. As for why they don''t doubt the authenticity of the list, they have been warned by Drake, the Hoenn Champion, the List only showed the lowest threshold of Alex, not his strongest strength. You are not his rivals yet so train harder. Steven has a pseudo king Pokemon, metagross. He knows just how strong they can be. This is his capital to challenge Cynthia. Yet, Alex has at least two pseudo-King pokemon shows just how much stronger Alex is compared to himself. For the sake neutrality, Julius and Lucian released their pokemons, Noctowl and Skarmory. After issuing the instructions, the two flew Alex and Wallace towards the center of the lake. Chapter 324 - 4 Wallace vs Alex (Part 1) While Alex and Wallace flew towards the lake, the audience is already starting to talk among themselves and have started to give their expert opinions about this match. A young kid who is about to start his journey proudly stated, " That idiot, he doesn''t know he has handed over victory to Wallace. He is one of the best Water-type trainers in Hoenn. How can he lose to an idiot who challenges a Water Pokemon master in a terrain which suits them most? " His friend also has a similar opinion regarding this, " Indeed. Since Wallace himself challenged him meant, he has some strength as a trainer. If it was on land, the battle might be interesting. The land can stop Wallace from revealing his full power. But here in a lake, that guy has no chance of winning even a single round. If it is a none changing round, he may secure a couple of wins in a complete 6 on 6 battle. " he expressed his opinion. Others around him sense some truth in these words and agreed with him. At least 60 percent of the people are completely sure that the victory is in Wallace grasp. But, for the rest, they are either aware of Alex strength or they have a feeling that Alex wasn''t as simple as he appeared. " So this is one of the brats that Commander warned us about. He doesn''t seem that strong? Hell, he is even foolish to challenge a water type master in his home base." A spy from Team Aqua ridiculed him. He only said this softly but from the nods, his companion too believed this. " Don''t be so confident. Commander warned us about him and explicitly stated that except for the executives if anyone else sees him he is to run. Do you think he will issue such commands if that brat is just some no name loser? We are the Team Aqua, water is our strength. What reason do we have to run if someone is weak on water?" Their leader warned them. He scolded them for underestimating a possible future threat. His words made them shut up. Although they still feel that the other guy was no one special at the very least they kept their opinion to themselves. Similar cases are seen around with the leaders scolding their men for their partial comments and lack of professionalism based on their occupation. These people have doubts regarding the battle outcome. They just kept their views to themselves and decided not to comment. With Alex''s friends Cynthia has Eevee in her hands and she was subconsciously rubbing Eevee at her favorite spots even though she has no idea where they lie in this one. Mew is actually sending her some ideas and indirect instructions about her possible spots and enjoy the service of the Sinnoh Battle Princess. "You don''t seem too happy, Steven" Bill asked his frowning friend. He seems a bit angry about something. His words made their group turn towards him and notice his expression. Elsa joked, "Are you angry that Wallace has challenged Alex faster than you. " Steven sheepish smile and rubbing the nape of his neck confirmed it is a reason for his current mood. Bill wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him down to his stomach and stated, "Don''t worry. We are going to travel together, so you will have ample time to fight Alex. Use this time, to see his strength with your own eyes and make tactics which can help you gain an upper hand later." He then has a pitiful look on his face and continued, "Although you have no chance of winning. At least, you may make things tougher for him." Steven doesn''t appreciate his words and countered harshly when he saw how much Bill underestimated his strength. He has a pseudo king Pokemon himself so he can at least challenge Alex''s Pokemon. He angrily retorted, "Hey, how can you be so sure that my Metagross can not beat Alex''s pokemon?" Cynthia patted his shoulders to calm him down and started confidently, "My Gabite can still beat your Metagross." He wished to say something but Cynthia continued, " If I am not wrong, your Metagross is a pseudo king. With Gabite current strength, you are still isn''t her rival. My Gabite can''t even defeat a single pseudo king Pokemon of his, do you have the confidence you can do what I and Gabite cannot?" She inquired him or challenged him. She wished to see if he can retort by saying he is stronger than her now just because his ace evolved. Steven opened his mouth to say it but stopped. He knows Cynthia isn''t someone who likes to brag. Elsa gave him a comforting pat on his shoulder and said, " You will understand everything when the battle is underway. " With both the girls supporting Alex so confidently, He wisely kept his mouth shut and looked towards the center of the lake for the battle to begin. If he spoke too much, he will incur the wrath of not one but two strong and powerful angry trainers. He may be able to deal with one in the normal case, but dealing with the two of them especially when they are angry is utter madness. With Wallace and Alex, They arrived at the center and are separated by a ten-meter distance from one another. Alex has folded his arms around his c_h_e_s_t looking confident about his victory, meanwhile, Wallace seems calm and ready to face Alex. " What type of battle will it be?" Wallace asked Alex. "It''s up to you. Whichever format is favorable for you is good with me." Alex replied back with a shrug, seemingly alright with whatever he decides. The audience is quite far and cannot hear their talks but with the help of tech, it can easily be done. Alex is using a confident visage to create a fake persona of himself in the heart of the spies and use it to his advantage. With so many enemies, he has to use some tricks. He doesn''t possess enough strength to beat everyone in his path, hence tricks are also utilized. Wallace who have no idea why he did all this, was angry at wanted to beat Alex but knowing that it is almost impossible for his current self if he goes all out. So he has decided to make sure Alex doesn''t win it easily. He stated the format of their battle, "It will be a 6-on-6 Pokemon battle and we aren''t allowed to change pokemon. Should we do it, that pokemon is forfeit." Alex nods and agreed with the rules. This way is good. It will not only be a good practice session for his pokemon but also a warning to unsavory elements. At the very least they will not target him all the time and will start only after they have gained enough information about him. The battle started when Wallace and Alex have sent their Pokemon out of the pokeball at the same time. Chapter 325 - 5 Wallace vs Alex (Part 2) Wallace and Alex sent out their pokemons at the same time. Wallace has chosen the water and ground evolved formed of barboach, Whiscash. It is a dark blue, catfish-like Pok¨¦mon with a yellow underbelly. It has a cavernous mouth with light blue lips that have short, thin whiskers growing from the lower lips. Long, yellow barbels grow from its cheeks, and there is a yellow marking on its forehead that resembles a W. The light blue dorsal fin has a pattern of three spots arranged in a triangle, while its horizontal tail fin lacks spots. Its pectoral fins and belly fins match its main body color. To battle it, Alex has sent his strongest poison Pokemon right after Nidorino, his choice is Tentacruel. The arrival of the two Pokemon attracted the attention of everyone even those who are discussing something with their friends, for this meant the battle is going to be underway. And as they have expected the battle started with the command of " water gun" from Wallace. A powerful shot of water was sent out of whiscash mouth. It rushed towards tentacruel at a very fast speed. Alex analysed the speed and power of the attack and thought to himself, ''this attack can even pierce through a boulder. Wallace trained his whiscash well. This is the benefits of basics. '' Then he looks at his tentacruel, ''Some of my pokemons aren''t that good at basic. It seems the elemental power can be pushed back for now, and I should focus on basics. It will serve me better for the upcoming tournament.'' Tentacruel was ready to act autonomously but Alex has decided to command this battle himself, "Tentacruel, surf. " An autonomous fight reveals more about the Pokemon as compared to when the trainers command their pokemon. Autonomous battle reveals the character of a Pokemon so it can be used to device a counter strategy. On the other hand, when they are commanded by their trainers, it hides many things about the pokemon and some specific habits can be hidden. The reason Alex chose this site is not to tease or humiliate Wallace. He was trying to conceal as much information from being public as he can. Intelligence is a vital part of battle. Tentacruel dropped his initial plan from dealing with the attack and sent a towering wave towards his opponent. He himself rides the wave with the hope of washing away his foe. The audience, "Woah, such a big wave. " " Can a Pokemon cause a tsunami in the lake. He is that strong." " I thought tentacruel will fall after a single water gun attack, but it seems the other trainer isn''t an ordinary trainer. " the spy mumbled and kept tabs of things going on. Back to battle, Wallace isn''t agitated when his attack was washed away by the surf. His whiscash has many ways to deal with the wave in the land but in water, he can think of only one method. He countered with another command. " Use ice beam to freeze the wave midway. " A ray of ice was emitted from whiscash mouth. The wave is started to freeze on impact.Alex isn''t willing to let his opponent gain some upper hand so he ordered his own counter, "Sludge." A string of poisonous sludge came from his mouth and hit ice beam. Slowly it has started to push back the beam. The sludge also spreads around on impact and floats on the surface. The sludge emits something purple and it slowly flows into the water. Just as the sludge was about to hit whiscash along with the impeding big waves , Wallace ordered his companion to jump in the air to Ridge from the attack. Although Wallace haven''t noticed the discharge of poison into the water from sludge residue, he felt it is very dangerous and not conducive to him if Whiscash is hit. Without hesitation, he did as directed. In the midair another instruction came. " Spin around and use ice beam." This odd command puzzled tentacruel and looked at his trainer when his wave crashed on the previous location of whiscash. Alex has some idea what he wished to do and ordered tentacruel to use "tentacruel use Barrier. Be vigilant about his next trick. Stay on the surface, don''t dice underwater to hide. " An invisible box surrounded tentacruel from all side. The ice beam started to freeze the area around tentacruel and some of his tentacles are also frozen. The barrier prevented Tentacruel from freezing or its body from being covered in frost. With tentacruel frozen on spot and with no place to hide, Wallace feels the victory belongs to him. He has a confident smile on his face. With the audience, " It seems Alex is in a bind." Bill said with worry evident on his face. " It is his fault not to seize the opportunity when he has the chance. He dragged the battle and always allowed Wallace with the room to counter. He was looking down on Wallace and paid the price. " Steven commented. He was going to continue but Elsa interrupted him, " If Alex was so easy to lose then he won''t be himself. He is calm from the beginning to the end, without any emotional fluctuations. I feel he still has some tricks in his hand. " she declared that Alex is still in this match. " How can that be? In the water, Whiscash was at disadvantage and tentacruel has the upper hand. But now that the area around them is frozen, many of his ground attack including earthquake itself can be used. There is absolutely no hope for Alex." Steven directly rejected her idea. He turns to Cynthia and asked curious what this former strongest has in her mind, " Do you have a different opinion about this match outcome?" Cynthia stood their quietly looking at the floating sludge. She has a gut feeling that it is very important and may affect the outcome if the battle. Seeing that she didn''t give any reply they turned to look at the Battle. Back to the battlefield " Now your tentacruel is trapped. How are you going to win this match now, Alex?" Wallace asked while happy at this early victory. Alex just shook his head at his words. He gave him a pitiful look and stated, " Unless you have confirmed that there is really no way, you shouldn''t make such comments. You may anger your opponent and get a severe beat down from him. Tentacruel skate around the ice, would you. " tentacruel understood his trainer''s command and broke the ice with poison jab and freed himself. Then he started to slide on the ice with his tentacles at a fast speed. This action started him and before he can even overcome this shock tentacruel acted on Alex''s command. "Poison sting, poison him. " Large number of poisonous needles are ejected out of tentacruel mouth and head for Whiscash. Wallace quickly recovered from this sudden change of events and ordered, " Earthquake" In water except for some seismic waves and ripples nothing would have happened but on land aka ice, things are different. Under the impact of earthquake, the ice under them began to break apart. The solid ground began to shake and multiple icy shards few around. Some pelted his body and made him lose his balance. Since, Wallace decide to help him so much he felt it is better to end the battle without making things too awkward for Wallace. " End this battle, tentacruel. Use Surf." This time there is no chance for survival as a wave string enough to lift the icy floor and tear them apart onto pieces fall on the body of whiscash completely submerging them. Tentacruel is proud of his victory as he defeated his foe without using his strong poison and preserved his ace for the next round. Chapter 326 - 6 Wallace vs Alex (Part 3) The sudden changing situation of the battle was quite attractive to everyone. To the young and rookie trainers who don''t have enough experience under their belt, they are of the opinion that this battle was a close one. They both had equal chances of victory. It was very exciting and Alex lucked out in the end. "This battle was so cool. It would be better if we can have a closer view of this match." A young trainer m_o_a_n_e_d at the fact they are too far from the battle. "Don''t expect too much. It is already great. We both are new trainers. We even have the opportunity to see such an epic battle on our first day is already very lucky. Don''t get too greedy. Controlling once emotions is a prerequisite for a great trainer." His friend by his side reminds his friend. He was teasing his friend''s over enthusiasm. "Just you wait, I will become as strong, no stronger than them and put you on your place. " he challenged his friend and promised a future beat down. His friend''s reply was a snort. An older trainer heard their talks and mumbled, "If everyone can be as strong as them, won''t there be a monster everywhere." The kids see the world differently and the a_d_u_l_ts see things in a different view from that of a kid. Such is also the case here, for young trainers and kids, they felt it was a close battle, on the other hand, the experienced people like the spies of Team Magma, Team Aqua and other organizations, and the veteran trainers, they saw a completely different scenario. They saw that from the very beginning Alex has the match in his grasp. Every single move that Wallace used was countered by Alex before they can even reach the target. Every move was carefully utilized to his advantage. Not a single move was effective. So far only some ice pieces pelted Tentacruel body and its tentacles froze. Throughout the battle, Wallace was put in a back foot and countered before he can gain an upper hand in the entire battle. With Alex''s friend and Steven, " Alex is still as cruel as ever," Julius mumbled under his breath but they heard him clearly. After watching his battle with Princess Elsa as well as how unharmed his pokemon were after the attack, he was once again reminded of the gap between their strength. He is on a whole different level from him. Against him, Julius has only one feeling he is looking at the bottomless abyss. " Of course, what do you expect? In a battle you can expect mercy from anybody but Alex. He will not hold back even if it is someone he knows. He will make his Pokemon hold back some of their strength to a certain level but he will not restrain their battle style." Bill muttered softly when he heard Julius calling Alex cruel. " I know right. He feels it is insulting if he doesn''t give it his all in a battle. He can make his pokemon limit his strength but he will not limit their skills. " Elsa spoke out with a pout on her face. " He is a heartless guy in a battle. I think he is a sadist, he enjoys making his opponents suffer a tragedy in the battle. " Cynthia added her opinion and was in complete agreement with them. Steven sweatdrops on seeing everyone target Alex''s battle style. He doesn''t see anything which could resemble what they spoke in this battle. He felt they might be exaggerating things. He asked confused, "Aren''t you a bit too much? He hasn''t shown anything which can prove what you all said. Aren''t you afraid he will return and get back at you?" After all, if he was in Alex position he will teach them manners about not to talk behind his back. Elsa replied as if she wasn''t afraid of his anger, " He won''t be angry. He is like this. As long as we don''t insult his pokemons or family he will just laugh and leave things be. He isn''t affected by these small talks. Hell, he will join us in his own mockery if he was here."she laughed at the end. Then she added with a serious look, "In a battle, he is anything but kind. It was just the beginning. Alex was testing Wallace strength. From now onwards, he is going to crush him. Though he won''t go all out." She said in the end while looking towards the crowd who are watching the match. '' With so many spies here trying to gather his intel, it is a priority to hide as much strength as possible about himself and his pokemons.'' Steven thought to himself. " I guess he is something and our time here won''t be a complete waste." One spy muttered under his breath so as not to attract much attention to himself. Back in the battlefield, Wallace was surprised by the sudden change of events. His whiscash was destroyed even before an attack can hit tentacruel. He didn''t stand a chance against Alex. Wallace know just how strong his Whiscash really is. To defeat him so quickly one needs great strength, which the simple ice crash cannot give. There are other things at play. He mutters softly "It seems it will be a tough battle. I shouldn''t give up this easily. Even if you are stronger, I will make you work hard for the next victory." He pulled out his next Pokeball and shouted, " Go Crawdaunt" It declared its presence by a loud" Craw" and clicked his claws which can even crush boulders easily. Very few pokemons can withstand the force of these pincer claws. Crawdaunt is a primarily red, crustacean Pok¨¦mon with a tan underside. It has circular eyes set in deep sockets and a large, star-shaped growth on its forehead. The upper and lower halves of its underside. It has circular eyes set in deep sockets and a large, star-shaped growth on its forehead. The upper and lower halves of its underside are separated by a pattern of angular red shapes, and there are two blue stripes on its throat. Its forelimbs have two large pincers with spiked edges and tan lower halves form. There are two sets of hind limbs. The foremost pair are simple claws with two spikes, while the rear pair are large and thick with two white claws. A yellow triangle marks the base of its lobster-like tail. "Now it will be a tough one." He mumbled. He felt it will be a tough battle but not enough for him to worry too much. " Use bubblebeam." Alex took the initiative to attack in this battle, which Wallace countered, "Bubblebeam, Crawdaunt use it to counter them and set the battlefield." Both sent out bubblebeam which are eradicated in the middle. Not one bubble has managed to pass through and touch the other. They all are equal in terms of power and skill in utilizing the water attack this round of exchange.