The time has finally come for Slate Davy to begin his Pokémon journey! However, after an abrupt relocation and a shocking turn of events, he finds himself alone and confused in unfamiliar territory. With the help of the family Eevee and some new fri...
"Four against two, huh?" said Slate. "Bring it on! Cryote use Bellow, Eevee use Swift!"
Cryote let loose its stream of mind-disrupting sound waves, which the Bug-type Pokémon couldn't withstand despite their natural resistance, and Eevee released a volley of star-shaped rays with a flick of its bushy, glowing tail. The Akants immediately scurried away into the undergrowth. However, it seemed they hadn't abandoned their harvest.
From the spot they had disappeared, emerged a much larger, red bug Pokémon. It stood upright, snapping its elongated mandibles angrily.
"Whoa, we haven't seen one of those during our training," said Slate, fishing out his Pokédex from his pocket and scanning the new opponent. *Ping*.
SPECIES: #017 Crimsant DERIVATION: Crimson + Ant CATEGORY: Colonial COLORING: Red / Orange / Dark Red TYPE: Bug / Fire ABILITIES: Unnerve / Queenly Majesty / Strong Jaw DETAILS: The strongest female in an Akant colony is designated their queen and supplied with food to trigger her evolution. While usually confined to the nest, she will emerge to protect her workers from strong foes.
"It looks tough," Slate remarked. "You up for it, Eevee?"
The adorable, brown-furred Pokémon gave an unassuming squeak before adopting a wicked grin, then stepped forward, and lowered its body into a surefooted stance.
In response, the Crimsant's mandibles ignited, and it charged.
Eevee propelled itself forward with incredible speed and bodied the larger Pokémon. The impact caused the Bug-type's fiery jaws to extinguish.
"Follow up with Double Kick!"
Eevee complied, turning on the spot and jutting out with its hind legs. The Crimsant was launched into a tree trunk, where it dropped down and slumped against its roots.
"I guess now's as good a time as any for our first catch!" said Slate excitedly, retrieving a purple Silph Ball from his bag.
Slate's battles with wild Pokémon over the last month had generated enough League Points to keep him stocked with Silph Potions, which was important considering Almony Island didn't have a Pokémon Center, and both of his partners despised the cheaper remedies available from the herbalist shop. He had only purchased a couple of pricey Silph Balls, though, and had chosen to save them for the right moment.
Finding the evolved Crimsant on their final day of training and eve of departure felt like a sign to Slate, reminiscent of facing a video game boss at the end of a level. "Here goes," he said, taking careful aim before hurling the ball at his stunned target. "Silph Ball, go!"
Suddenly glad that he had participated alongside Eevee and Cryote during their target practice, Slate watched his throw hit its mark. When the capsule popped open, he knew that the data ring had successfully scanned the Crimsant's DNA.
He watched nervously as his quarry's cells were scattered in a flash of red and sealed inside the ball, which then dropped to the earth and began to shake, struggling to contain the beast within. A few seconds later, the ball froze, and its intermittent flashing ceased.
"Alright!" cheered Slate, punching the air before embracing his Pokémon. "We caught Crimsant! You were great, Eevee! You too, Cryote!"
***
That evening, Slate and his Pokémon—barring his newly caught Crimsant, which remained in its capsule since it required a healing cycle at a Pokémon Center—celebrated their final night in the house by gorging themselves on the contents of the fridge. Slate rationalized that the perishable items needed to be eaten before they left. Eating the remaining candy and chips was harder to justify.
The following morning, he woke before the crack of dawn, unable to sleep any longer. After putting on his Trainer Gear and packing his bag, Slate returned the still-snoozing Eevee and Cryote to their balls, and locked up the house, he vaguely wondered how long it would be until he returned there.
By that time, would he have discovered a solid connection between Silph Co. and Team Shade? Would he have found an explanation for the strange phenomena affecting Nutera, or a cure for his mother's memory sickness? Would he have become a Trainer worthy of his Pokémon?
As Slate pondered this while looking out toward the Nuteran mainland, his eye was drawn to a dark spot, silhouetted by the rising sun. It was too small to be a plane yet too still to be a bird. It looked to be almost human-shaped but with short limbs and an enlarged head.
Suddenly, the strange figure shot rapidly in Slate's direction. Realizing it was on a collision course with his face, he stumbled backward and raised a hand to shield himself. It came close enough for Slate to make out a small Pokémon with a silvery-gray body and oversized, dark eyes. However, a moment before impact, it zoomed upward into the sky beyond the clouds, leaving a shimmering, blue trail in its wake, then disappeared with a distant twinkle.
*Ping*. "Unidentifiable Pokémon. No data available," spoke the Pokédex affixed to the chest strap of Slate's bag.
Inspired by the thrilling encounter with the unknown Pokémon and its resemblance to a shooting star, Slate closed his eyes and made a wish; that by the next time he returned to the Almony house, he will indeed have achieved his goals.
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Have Slate and his Pokémon become strong enough to face what lies ahead? Where is April? Will she be accompanying Slate on his journey? Did Slate encounter an undiscovered Pokémon species? Find out next time, on an all-new episode of Pokémon Slate Gray!
Who's that Pokémon?
In this episode we discovered:
· Crimsant
· ???
Slate caught:
· Crimsant
FUN FACT: Slate's mysterious Pokémon encounter was intended to be a nostalgic throwback to Ash Ketchum's Ho-Oh sighting at the end of the anime's very first episode! It is also supposed to signal the true start to Slate's journey now that he is setting out by choice rather than necessity of circumstance.
