Ch. 30

There was silence as Rotom was struck speechless.

'Is it really that surprising that I figured it out? Since you are in my head shouldn't you have seen my memories?'

[Seeing your memories and being able to figure out what I am from them are two completely different things!]

I smiled to myself and felt the tugging on my line growing stronger. Feeling I should reel in whatever I caught I began slowly cranking on the handle.

'So do you prefer Rotom or Allister? How did you get the name Allister to begin with?'

I heard Rotom chuckle in my head.

[I've gotten used to being called Allister so let's stick with that as for how I got the name. The first two generations of humans to receive the System awakened the Survival System by default. That and my reminding them constantly to have constant vigilance they said I was like a certain character from a movie. They began calling me Allister in reference to that.]

'I guess that's as good a reason as any.'

Just then the Pokemon on the line broke the surface and my mood fell. Another Magikarp, grabbing it by the tail I removed the hook before chucking it back into the sea.

Casting my line again I pondered something.

'Hey Allister, since you are a Pokemon does that mean you can scan yourself into the Pokedex?'

In response the System opened in front of me and a new Pokedex entry filled itself out.

[Rotom: This bizarre Pokémon appears to be a will-o'-the-wisp powered by electricity. Be wary, as Rotom is both smart and mischievous.]

At the same time as his Pokedex entry was shown in front of me I felt a small surge of power go through me signaling that my stats had auto distributed and gone up by one.

'So can you give me any hints about the other Systems and how I can unlock them?'

[No can do. You'll just have to figure it out on your own.]

I figured as much but it was worth checking. Seeing that the sun was going down I began reeling in my line when I felt resistance. Not like a Pokemon had taken the bait, more like I was dragging something across the sea floor. Pulling and reeling harder I soon saw what was on the end of my line. A large purple shell with spikes all over it, looking closer I saw it was only half a shell.

Grabbing one side of it I flipped it over revealing the partially eaten remains of the large Pokemon. Somehow my hook had made it's way under the shell and hooked itself on a piece of meat that was still solidly attached to the shell. Reaching in I wiggled the hook free before stepping away. Looking over my shoulder I saw that Uncle Blue was the closest adult.

"Uncle Blue! What should I do with this?"

Hearing my call and seeing the large shell he made his way over.

"What do you got there Jake?"

"It's a dead Cloyster! What should I do with it?"

Blue got a very serious look on his face when he heard that.

"Did you touch it?"

I nodded and he grabbed my hands looking at them closely before letting them go with a relived sigh.

"You should be more careful, some Cloyster are venomous. Their shells have tiny needles, so small you don't even feel them, that can inject their venom into you even if they are already dead."

"Luckily this one wasn't venomous or you just got lucky in where you put your hands."

Uncle Blue looked over the half shell for a minute.

"We should toss it back so nobody else risks getting poisoned."

He called over his Blastoise and had him pick it up, toss it into the air, and blast it far into the distance with a perfectly aimed Hydro Pump. We watched as it skipped across the water a few times before sinking out of sight.

The rest of the night went by quickly and soon it was time to sleep. Heading into my tent mom leaned over and whispered into my ear.

"During lunch you said 'Allister', did you finally meet him?"

I nodded at her with a big smile on my face. She smiled back and ruffled my hair.

"I'm glad. Sleep well my beautiful boy."

She gave me a hug and a kiss on the forehead before I got into my sleeping bag and she zipped up the tent. Now that I was alone I decided to get some answers from Allister.

'So how did you become the voice of the System Allister?'

[Let me answer your question with another. Before humans came to this world do you have any idea what one of the few natural sources of electricity was?]

I thought about that for a bit before guessing.

'Was it lightning?'

[Exactly right! And Rotom are born when electrical energy and ghost energy mix, but after we are born without enough pure electric energy we ended up becoming weak and fall prey to other Pokemon.]

[After humans were brought to this world Arceus helped guide us into the System so that we could possess bodies to protect us until the time came that electricity became common in this world.]

Honestly that felt a mix of cool and creepy to me but maybe that's just me.

'So in exchange for possessing the bodies of System holders you help guide us in operating the System and give us advice?'

[Exactly right!]

'So does anyone else know this? About your true origins?'

[Nope, Just you. Honestly I shouldn't have been able to tell you all of this but because of the knowledge you already have almost all of the restrictions about knowledge sharing are gone! I never realized just how stifling those restrictions were until they were gone!]

I didn't really have any questions that needed immediate answers so after talking with Allister a bit longer I drifted off to sleep.

** Green's POV **

After Emily put Jake to bed she walked over and whispered into my ear.

"Looks like Jake met Allister today."

I smiled slightly and gave Emily a quick peck on the cheek before she settled next to me on the log I was sitting on. This beach was a popular campground for alot of the residents of Pallet Town so there were several campsites spread around. Surprisingly we were the only ones here today but I wasn't really complaining. I appreciated the quiet.

Blue and Beth were sitting together on the other side of the fire while Red and Delia sat apart from each other. Something had been off about their interactions for a while now but even though Red is my friend it isn't my place to meddle in his relationship, especially since I was also kind of his boss. As I was thinking about that Red spoke up.

"Hey Green I know it's been a while since we mentioned it but Blue and I are planning to apply for travel permits to go to the Johto Region. It will probably take a long time to get approved but I figured we should let you know ahead of time."

I paused for a moment before I spoke.

"There is no need for you to apply. I've already arranged documents for you and gotten them approved. They are for three years from now."

There was silence for a few seconds before Blue questioned me.

"Relly! When did you do that?!"

"Right after being discharged from the hospital after the Arbok subjugation. I wasn't allowed a monetary compensation for my contributions so I asked for travel documents for the two of you. I asked the Professor to keep quiet about it and Emily told Beth and Delia about it shortly after you were approved."

The only sounds for nearly a full minute were the soft crashing of waves and the crackles from the fire. Red and Blue were staring at their wives and I just sat there with Emily leaning against me and my arm around her. After they had a few minutes to absorb everything I saw Red tilt his head before asking.

"That was a year ago. Were there no available spots before the ones we got?"

I looked back and forth between my two friends before I answered them honestly.

"There were but I felt you should wait until your kids are a bit older. In three years they'll be eight and even that is a little to young to have their father's vanish on them for an extended period of time but that's up to the two of you."

I took a breath before giving them one more bit of info.

"Your documents are for three years from now and are valid for two years. You can start your tour of the Johto Region anytime during that two year window."

They both nodded at me, and Blue started a whispered conversation with Beth while Red moved over to Delia and did the same. Leaning my head on Emily's I asked softly.

"Is everything ready for Jake's party?"

I felt her nod gently.

"As long as you remembered to grab his present then yes."

"Yeah. It's in my Item Box."

"Then we have everything."

Emily and I spent the next hour or so in comfortable silence until the fire burned down to coals and we decided to turn in for the night.

** Jake's POV **

I woke up to the smell of bacon. Climbing out of my tent still in my pajamas I saw dad by the camp stove flipping strips of bacon one at a time. Walking across the sand I sat at the picnic table.

"Morning dad."

"Good morning Jake, and happy birthday."

I smiled as I thanked him and he passed me a slice of bacon from a plate. It was perfect. Crisp enough that it crunched when I bit it but not so much that it crumbled to nothing.

[You have consumed Slowpoke meat. You have earned one oran berry.]

I jerked at the voice that came out of nowhere and looked at the rest of the bacon in my hand.

"What's wrong Jake?"

"Nothing dad. Just got a message I wasn't expecting and it surprised me."

"Oh. So you've met Allister right? What the name of your System?"

"It's the Pokemon Eating System and I get rewards just from eating different Pokemon."

He nodded and I just watched as he cooked the last of the bacon and started frying onions and potatoes in the grease. When they were done he scooped them into a bowl and then started cracking eggs into the pan with the last of the grease. He scrambled the eggs together and when they were done as well he added the onions and potatoes back in and mixed it all together.

Laying out tortillas on a tray he added a scoop of the egg mix and started making breakfast burritos. He was about half way through when I heard sounds from behind me. Turning my head I saw all three tents open almost at the same time, looks like everyone is awake.

There were scattered yawns followed by happy birthday wishes as everyone gathered around waiting for dad to finish cooking.

[You have consumed a Pidgey egg. You have earned one Pokeball.]

After breakfast I went back into the tent and changed out of my pajamas and into my swimming trunks and a gray shirt with a Raichu printed on it. Stepping back out of the tent I saw that all three moms were cleaning up from breakfast while Uncle Red and Uncle Blue were already taking down their tents. The plan was to head home after lunch so there wasn't much time left for swimming.

"I'm going swimming!"

Without waiting for a response I took off for the water. I heard a few shouts behind me and laughing. Looking over my shoulder quickly I saw the three other kids following me closely.

We spent the next hour or so splashing each other and swimming until we eventually got tired and flopped down onto the beach. Hearing a chirp I looked up to see my Pidgey riding on Growlithe's head as he walked over. He lay down beside me and I pet him while Pidgey flapped it's wings and half jump half flew over to my shoulder nuzzling my cheek.

Daisy moved closer and started petting Growlithe as well and he purred while laying his head down enjoying the attention. While sitting there I remembered that I had gotten a reward from unlocking my Pokemon Eating System.

Opening my Item Box I saw there were three boxes highlighted indicating new items I hadn't looked at yet. The first was a Pokeball and as soon as I had read the name it vanished and the counter on the Pokeball stack went up by one, the same thing happened with the oran berry. The last item was something I had never seen before, it was a diving mask with a snorkel and a small tank connected to it as well as a separate hand pump.

[Rebreather: Allows for short term underwater exploration. The 0.5L tank provides air for 7-10 minutes.]

Honestly the thing looked cool and the idea of being able to stay underwater for more than thirty seconds was awesome. I wanted to try it out now but I couldn't just pull the thing out of nowhere. I would have to come back another day to try it out.

'Hey Allister are there more tanks for the rebreather in the shop? Or bigger ones?'

[Yes there are additional tanks available for 1,500 SC and bigger tanks available for 5,000 SC.]

'Perfect! Thanks!'

[Of course. However you should know that there is also a proper diving suit as well as equipment for true underwater exploration. Before you purchase anything for the shallow water rebreather you might want to check it out.]

I was taken aback for a moment before I thanked him.