Trial Ends
Five minutes ago:(Jay POV)
I got up early today and asked Electrike to teach snarl to Sandile. It went better than I expected as Sandile did not get distracted or flirt with Electrike. Is he trying the 'playing hard to get' tactic?
Anyways, Electrike has been doing all the battles while Sandile is practising his new move. Joltik's job is to eat and absorb static electricity, I can train her but it would be a waste of time. Joltiks usually evolve faster, unlike in the games it's different as a good potential joltik evolves after it crosses the beginner barrier.
We were all walking in a random direction, I think I am lost but Electrike's ability to smell is helping me big time. I will buy a compass when I finish this trial as getting lost in forests is very common here...
[Sir, I smell something. I think there are humans ahead.]
Electrike warned me of intruders, I don't understand why she keeps calling me Sir. When I asked her about it she just said about some Royal ethics so I ignored it but it's still weird to be called sir when you are just a 12-year-old.
"Let's hide for now, if there's no threat then we will confront them," I said summoning Sandile from his Pokeball. The moment he came out, he went underground to check for the intruders.
I hid behind a tree and waited patiently, after a minute Sandile came back,
[Bro there are four people, I don't know the situation but I saw that orange-haired guy you wanted.]
[Ohhh, that's great. You go ahead and interfere if something happens to Gregory. If you find the situation to be risky then ignore and back away. I will be right behind you.], I said.
I walked cautiously without making a sound. I don't want to alert the strangers as I have no info on them.
All the four guys came into my view after a minute's walk, it seems like a conflict. Let's see, the purple-haired guy might be the leader and the other two standing behind are his lackeys?
I scanned the two pokemon of the purple-haired guy,
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Baltoy
Lvl: 16
Type: Ground/Psychic
Height: 1' 5"
Ability: Levitate
Characteristic: Impish
Potential: Green(Mid Grade)
Moves: Confusion, Mud-Slap, Rapid Spin, Power Trick, Harden.
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'This guy is actually good', psychics are as rare as dragons. To catch a high potential one means that he is intelligent and discerning. Usually, psychics never accept a dumb trainer but what shocked me was the Gulpin on his shoulder,
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Gulpin(M)
Lvl: 19
Type: Poison
Height: 1' 6"
Ability: Gluttony(Hidden)
Characteristic: Calm
Potential: Green(High Grade)
Moves: Yawn, Sludge, Acid Spray, Pound.
Egg Moves: Venom Drench, Smog.
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That thing is as talented as my Sandile if not for all the lucky encounters. Those moves might seem weak but as a nerd who spent most of my time in the library, I know that all those are deadly.
Combination of Gluttony, Venom Drench and Acid spray are the most toxic mixture. Poison-type Pokemon can easily digest anything they eat with those moves, the other thing is that it's risky for humans to stay near that kind of pokemon.
I think I can still handle those two pokemon with the help of Sandile. Electrike and Joltik can help me with the other two strangers.
[Sandile, I can handle them so you can attack the moment they try something.]
[Roger that.]
The moment those words left Sandile's mind, Purple-haired guy ordered his Baltoy to kill Gregory. Gregory looked too weak when compared with our last meet and he seems to have no Pokemon. I can conclude that I should handle everything by myself but at the back of my mind, I was questioning if it's worth it? Is Gregory worth investing in?
Sandile gave a strong aqua tail from a least expected spot, Baltoy did not even have the time to dodge the surprise attack and it was a critical hit. It flew back with great force and hit a tree trunk, I then walk out to act as a saviour,
"Yo, How you doing Gregory?"
"Jay??? How are you here? Weren't you in Zone 5?" he asked with a look of astonishment and relief.
"Does that matter now? Anyway, what's the situation you have here? care to explain?" I asked in a questioning tone.
"Ahhh, it's like thi...", suddenly Gregory was interrupted by the purple-haired dude.
"Gregory is your name huh? Is he also your orphan mate? How about I kill both of you and then pay a visit to Viridian orphanage to inform them of your death?"
The tone at which he said that was chilling like a snake. This guy is bad news, I am a bit shocked by his statement as that's not how a twelve-year-old speaks.
"Confident are we? Do you have what it takes though? I mean, can you handle me with that Baltoy and Gulpin of yours or are you gonna ask your sidekicks for help?", I said with an unfazed confident tone, unlike Gregory who is panicking.
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Duke POV:
The guy who appeared with a Sandile looked rather calm, his Sandile looks powerful just by that move it performed to hit Baltoy.
I need to think this through, should I take my chances and attack? I don't know how powerful is his Electrike but it looks large enough which means it is at least decent.
Gregory also has his Corphish, no matter how I look at it, I am at a disadvantage. Not one Pokemon on our side has a type advantage over theirs. I can't down and spoke,
"Finally, somebody capable is on this trial. I was getting bored in the last six days, how about it? let's battle our heart content in the next round. It won't be fair to battle now, right? I only have my weak Gulpin and Baltoy is already injured."
"Are you kidding me? You were ganging up on Gregory a minute ago and now you are talking about fair terms? What makes you think that I will let you go?" he said. I think I can't escape this battle unless I give him something like a trade.
"Gregory is not injured in any way and there's no need for a battle right? I mean you won't risk killing a son of Team Rocket Captain for a nobody right?" I said trying to convince the black-haired scar-faced guy.
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Jay POV:
This guy is two-faced for sure. He acts as a kind guy after knowing his position, he read this whole situation just by looking at my Sandile's attack.
I can't get into unwanted conflicts with a Captain in Team Rocket whose weight is unknown for Gregory whose worth is still unknown. So I looked at the guy and said,
"Your father wouldn't know if all the eyewitnesses here die right? So, that's not a good threat, how about you forget all your grudges with Gregory as a trade for your life?", I said threateningly.
"Trade for my life? Hahahaha that's funny because you will not kill me either way," he said.
"Ohhh...why do you think so?" I asked.
"Your eyes show no cruelty and you don't have a resolve to kill me, not to say for a silly reason. I mean I did not offend you personally in any way, right? So, as a rational thinker, it is unproductive to kill a Captain's son." he said confidently.
'This guy will be a threat, he analysed me accurately.' I won't risk killing him as I have no back up in the Team Rocket. What if this guys father is a big shot among Captains? Considering the probability, it is better to not kill but if he comes after me then that's a different story as I will kill him without any mercy.
"Maybe you are correct in your analysis but you don't like to take a chance here right? What I asked was to let Gregory go which is easy."
"You know what? I think I like you. You will be a perfect rival material for me to step on. I will accept your terms regarding Gregory but I don't like to owe anyone so I will give you some info. The next round will be on performing a special task and after that, there will be a final round which involves top-five people from each island to battle," he stated in a leisurely tone.
"Step on me? I don't mind some rivalry but you should keep up with me in the first place. Anyway, thanks for the info and you may leave now as me and Gregory here have a lot to talk about." I said trying to get rid of him.
"Oh sure, I will be leaving. By the way, my name is Duke, I will be seeing you in the final round," he said and started walking away. His two sidekicks ran away with him in panic.
After confirming from Sandile of their departure I turned my head towards Gregory and asked him about the whole story on what's happening. He said about the whole Baltoy conflict and the reasons for missing people around the zone. To think that Duke guy is this cruel? I think I need to either stay away from him or kill him if he bothers me. Don't know if I will be able to kill him as I am still in conflict about killing a human.
"Gregory, I want you to know that I saved you to recruit you. I need some trusted people to work with as no one can survive alone in Team Rocket. I specifically came to find you from Zone 5, and don't try to betray me as I won't let you go unscathed." I said putting my intent in the last sentence.
"Don't worry Jay, I won't betray someone who saved my life. I owe you a lot and I can't fulfil it just by saying a thank you. I will do as you say unless it's not morally against my wishes," he said assuringly.
"Morals? Are you seriously asking that after what happened to you in the last week? Anyway take this Pokeball, it contains a good potential Joltik and this will be your joining gift. As for how you subdue it is not my problem, at least it will prove that you are not incompetent." I said as I threw a Pokeball towards him.
He clumsily caught the Pokeball and said
"Jay, thank you for this but it's too precious and I already have a Corphish. I have another favour to ask, Please help my Corphish, it's very weak and I don't know the reason as he is abnormally thin since I caught him."
"Is it? show me your Corphish. I will see if I can help you."
He released Corphish immediately hearing my approval. The Corphish that came out looked thin and its colour was pale red instead of orange, so I appraised him immediately,
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Corphish(M)- Shiny (Malnourished)
Lvl: 16
Type: Water
Height: 1' 4"
Ability: Adaptability(Hidden)
Characteristic: Careful
Potential: Green(Mid)- Might Decrease.
Moves: Taunt, Bubble beam, Knock off, Harden.
Egg Moves: Aqua jet.
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To think I would see two pokemon with Hidden abilities today, I think I also know the reason for the weak state. This Corphish is very talented, his character is also very good as Crawdaunts have a very bad Special Defence. His potential might decrease anytime if he is not fed properly.
"Your Corphish is a shiny pokemon that's why it looks a bit different from the other Corphish. I think his group kicked him out because of that and he has no way to hunt by himself. If you feed him well he might recover or else he will lose his good potential soon. What we need to do is to feed him generously for a month or so," I said to him calmly.
He panicked when I said he was malnourished so I quieted him down and volunteered to help. Gregory had no way to hunt with that Corphish so I had to take care of today.
The whole day we just hunted high potential pokemon that we can find and fed them to Corphish. Corphish looked extremely thankful and almost cried, Sandile soothed him down and they started talking to each other in a friendly manner. Electrike sat beside me and was oblivious to all their chats.
Gregory magically subdued Joltik without any battles, I was shocked by the development and asked him about the reason. He just said
" I told Joltik that any food we get will be given priority to her after Corphish recovers to his original size."
'Wtf, that's all???????' but I can also understand that, on my team, Sandile takes priority which that glutton Joltik doesn't like. Not to say Sandile disrespects Electric types.
The whole day went on with some hunting and heavy training. Electrike levelled up once and Corphish was safe enough to battle as he recovered to full health. His size is still thin so it might take at least two weeks to recover completely. Joltik started battling with Gregory's help and she also levelled up.
As the night came by there was a big alarm sound, I think this indicates the end of the trial. I and Gregory walked back towards the entrance of the zone, we will reach by tomorrow morning if we continue walking non-stop. We were nearly at the outskirts of Zone 5.
We decided to walk back after getting some sleep, so we planned for a three-hour nap and Pokemon took turns watching over us while we sleep.
I am very excited about tomorrow, I wanted to know what the special task was and there might be some rewards for completing the trial.
We started walking towards the entrance after the short sleep...
------------Chapter End----------