---
Metro PKMN Center, Sinnoh
Oliver leaned back in his chair as he furiously wrote in a notebook. The Oshawott couldn't help but to allow his eyebrows to furrow slightly. Something was seriously starting to get to him. He didn't get to see it well in Casteel City, or Forest Grotto, but after battling alongside Jacob in Sapphire Town and getting to observe him, as well as the strange abilities he seemed to have gained that day in the forest. Oliver only became more and more confused as time went on. Not only that, but what Sophie told him earlier really made him think.
If Jacob's power was something foreign to his body, then what was it? If it already wasn't something inherently his?
Obviously, Jacob hadn't been throwing powerful, bone-shattering punches when they met, but he didn't remember a time where Jacob could have gained these abilities. Well, there was always the real possibility of Jacob receiving his power before Oliver met him. Maybe he could ask him when he finally woke up.
He looked up from his journal, his eyes landing on the unconscious Pikachu in front of him. In the hours Jacob had been unconscious, it was tough to discern how long he would be asleep. Was it fainting due to exhaustion because of his strange power? Or could it have been something different? Something that he wasn't aware of?
The Oshawott quickly shook his head. He was definitely overthinking things.
A faint groan filled the silence in the room, "...How long are you gonna stare at me like that, Ollie...?"
"Huh?"
While Oliver was busy theorizing, Jacob had slowly opened his eyes to see his best friend observing him as though he was some test subject. The Pikachu couldn't help but to pull the covers of the small bed closer to himself, feeling a little vulnerable.
"You look like you're gonna try and experiment on me!" The Electric type exclaimed, sitting up a bit, "...Over there suspiciously scribbling in your notebook like that..."
"You're awake!" Oliver grinned.
Jacob raised an eyebrow, "Of course I am. You're acting like I've never passed out due to using my powers before..." He took a quick moment to look around, "Where are we, anyway?"
"Metro's Pokémon Center, where else?" A familiar voice spoke from outside the room. Walking in was Sophie, who wore her usual uninterested expression.
"Oh, so we all got a room together?"
The Snivy shook her head, "No, turns out three smaller rooms with two beds each cost less than one large room with over four beds."
Oliver chimed in, "We share this room, Logan and Miles share another room, and the third room goes to the girls."
Jacob nodded in response, "Got it. But how exactly did you explain dragging an unconscious Pikachu into the Center and taking him to a room?"
"It's the Pokémon Center?" Sophie looked a bit confused, "This is probably the best place to drag an unconscious Pokémon into."
"Besides, we weren't the ones to explain, my Dad was."
"Your... Dad?" The Pikachu looked even more confused.
Another Pokémon then walked into the room. It was a Samurott. One that Jacob was easily able to recognize. His eyes lit up at the sight of him.
"Michael!" Jacob grinned, "Boy, am I ever glad to see you!"
The Samurott gave his son's best friend an acknowledging nod, "Likewise."
The Pikachu then put a paw on his chin, similar to what Oliver would usually do, "But, what are you even doing here so early? I thought you guys and my mom were gonna wait until the Ion Cup was about to begin."
"And miss out on the opportunity to train you?" Michael raised an eyebrow, "Especially now that you're using that power of yours? There's a lot you need to learn, Jacob."
Oliver tried to take the opportunity to shuffle away and out of the conversation, but a quick glare from his father stopped him in his tracks.
"You too, son. You're smart enough to know that you're not exactly gifted in any physical way. You don't have natural talent or an ability like Jacob's."
"Yeah, I know..."
"That's why you have to work just as hard as Jacob does. While he fosters his power, you need to improve on anything you can, understand?" The third stage Water type's eyes stared into his son's.
Instead of saying anything, the Oshawott gave his father a quick nod.
Michael then turned to the Mouse Pokémon, "Which brings me to ask you something, Jacob."
The Pikachu's eyebrows raised in intrigue, "What's up?"
"Can you move well right now?"
Jacob laughed, sliding out from under his covers to stand on his paws and roll to the edge of his bed, "You tell me."
"I should've expected that from you..." The Samurott let out a faint chuckle, "Well, what better time to start training than now? The clock is ticking, boys."
"You're taking them out in the middle of the night...?" Sophie interjected, confused, "There are a lot of better times than that..."
"You want to join?"
The Snivy shook her head, "I have a different idea when it comes to my training."
"Alright then. As for you two, go and eat something. You won't be back for a few hours."
"Sir, yes sir!" Jacob gave Michael a mock salute as he and Oliver went off to find a place within the Pokémon Center to eat.
Mythic Forest, Sinnoh
Oliver stared at a map as he, Jacob, and Michael approached a small forest area, "According to this, we're standing on the far side of Mythic Forest..."
"Mythic Forest? Why is it called that?" Jacob asked, looking at his best friend.
The Oshawott looked up from the map, "I wish maps came with short descriptions of the locations around Sinnoh... Until I find some kind of location book, we're in the dark."
"Aw, man..." The Pikachu whined, "I really wanted to know about this one. What a strange name..."
Michael cleared his throat, "Forget the name. This is your starting point." He gestures to where the two were standing, "Your first training objective is to make it to the end of this forest."
"Pssh!" Jacob fanned his paw, "That's light work—!"
The Pikachu received a quick slap to the back of his head, "Let me finish, alright?" He exhales, "You aren't allowed to leave the forest until you each collect samples of three different Pokémon."
"Samples?" Jacob raised an eyebrow.
Oliver was quick to answer, "Fur, claws, anything that's on a Pokémon's body, really."
"He's right..." Michael suddenly threw three plastic bags each to them, as well as one leather pouch for the both of them to carry their items, "Collect those samples by any means necessary. You can battle, you can sneak up on them, anything goes. I don't care if you decide to battle all three or sneak up on all three. Just get those samples."
Both Oliver and Jacob nodded.
"You two are to make it back to the Pokémon Center by sunrise. Get going."
"Let's go!!" Jacob quickly grabbed his best friend's arm, dragging him off into the darkness. Oliver yelped in surprise as they proceeded on.
Michael smiled faintly as they disappeared into the forest, "Let's see how they fare, Neon."
Jacob squinted ahead as he and Oliver wandered aimlessly through the forest. This led to Oliver quickly realizing why his father decided to start their training in the middle of the night. It was difficult to see anything. Hell, he could barely even see his best friend's yellow fur in the darkness.
"How will we be able to collect any samples in the dark like this?" Jacob groaned, "I can barely see out here..."
Just as the Pikachu let his complaint be known, the area around them began to light up. Shades of pink, purple, and blue could be seen in every direction, confusing the duo. Oliver knew that this certainly wasn't anything natural, at least from what he knew.
"Ollie, look at this!" Jacob pointed ahead, running forward.
Oliver followed quickly, "Slow down! Getting separated is the last thing we need right now..."
Once he finally caught up with his best friend, he could see the Pikachu crouching down in the middle of a clearing. He seemed to be enthralled by a glowing substance in front of him. Oliver walked up, just as captivated by what was in front of Jacob.
"Is that... A mushroom?"
In front of the duo was a small mushroom, which was glowing with a bright blue light.
"No way! I didn't know mushrooms glowed!!"
"Well, some mushrooms are bioluminescent, but not like this!" Oliver answered, looking down at the mushroom, "There are no known records of mushrooms that glow this bright! It... They're lighting up the forest well enough for us to be able to navigate!"
The Oshawott looked around in awe, realizing that all of the lights that had begun to glow were those of the strange mushrooms around them.
"Then doesn't that give us more of an advantage?" Jacob stood up to look at his best friend, "They're helping us out!"
"I'll have to look into this some other time..." Oliver muttered, "Right now, we need to get those samples and get out of here."
The Pikachu quickly shook his head, "Right! You're right. Do you see any Pokémon around?"
"No."
Jacob picked a direction and began walking, "Well, we aren't gonna find any standing in this clearing..."
Oliver nodded as he followed.
The two soon arrived at a patch of tall grass between a series of trees. Oliver looked on the other side of both trees, noticing that there were thorn bushes on both sides of the outside. That meant that the tall grass was the only way to go. Jacob seemed to notice this as well, beginning to wade through the grass without a second thought.
After a little bit, once the Oshawott swallowed his anxiety towards walking through such tall grass, he moved forward. The first thing he noticed was the sheer height of the grass they were wading through. The grass was tall enough to reach their torsos.
As they proceeded through the patch of tall grass, Jacob suddenly fell to the ground, tripping over something.
"Dang it!" The Pikachu cried, "They always say not to go into tall grass without a Pokémon... But I am a Pokémon... I should count..." He muttered under his breath as he stood up.
Oliver allowed a chuckle to slip out as he approached, a bit confused, "You okay? Is that you whimpering?"
"Whimpering?" Jacob turned around, "No, that isn't me."
A faint, high-pitched squeak could be heard from the space between them in the tall grass. The two exchanged a confused gaze, immediately going silent. Oliver gripped his bag in his paws, his eyes drifting down to the grass they were in. Jacob wondered what exactly they would be able to do if there was another Pokémon in the grass with them.
Before he could decide, though, a brown furred Pokémon sprang from the grass and tried to make a run for it. Due to the landscape, Jacob and Oliver were standing in front of the only exits available.
Once the small Pokémon stopped moving for a bit, the duo were able to discern what it was. And when Oliver did, his pupils began to dilate.
Jacob didn't seem to recognize any problem, "It's a Teddiursa..."
"Oh no..." The Oshawott looked at the Little Bear Pokémon, who had begun to shake and quiver under the gaze of him and Jacob, "H-Hey, little guy... It's okay... We're not here to hurt you..."
"Why are you getting so nervous, Ollie?" The Pikachu looked a little confused, "I'm pretty sure we can defend ourselves if this Teddiursa tries to attack"
The Teddiursa began to whimper loudly after Jacob's statement, causing Oliver to look around fearfully, "Don't say that!"
"Why not?"
By this point, the Teddiursa believed firmly that the two Pokémon cornering her were out to hurt her. Or maybe worse, out to eat her! She couldn't handle the stress, and as most Teddiursa tend to do, she broke out in tears and called out.
"Mommy!!"
"Oh no..." Oliver put his paws on his face, dreading what was to come next.
The duo suddenly heard a roar from not too far away, forcing Jacob to realize why Oliver was as fearful as he was when dealing with the Teddiursa in front of them.
Jacob sucked his teeth and looked away, facepalming, "Oooh..." The Pikachu cringed, "Yeah... Sorry, that's my bad."
Before Oliver could even begin to respond to his best friend, the trees that were lining the tall grass on his left were suddenly knocked over, revealing a larger brown furred Pokémon. The large Pokémon first looked at the crying Teddiursa, then at the Oshawott and Pikachu cornering it.
"Remind me to ask to get a look at your PDB when we get out of here..." Jacob backed away a bit, his eyes locked onto the Pokémon facing them, "I think I need to start learning more about different Pokémon..."
Oliver only sighed as he and Jacob faced the presumed mother of the Teddiursa, a pissed off Ursaring. The Oshawott looked in every direction, trying to figure out a way out of the situation at hand. Before he could, though, the Ursaring came charging at them.
The Kanet natives jumped out of the way as quickly as possible, leading to the Ursaring to crash into the trees on the other side of the narrow tall grass path. As Jacob slid to a stop, an idea came to mind.
"Ollie, make a run for it!" He shouted, "I can take the Ursaring!"
The Oshawott looked a bit confused, "Are you sure about that?"
"Yeah... I think so! If we split up, that will make us harder targets to chase down!" The Pikachu glared at the Ursaring, "Besides, I kinda feel bad about it getting here in the first place..."
"He's pretty headstrong about this, huh?" Oliver raised an eyebrow, "It's a risky plan, but if he's sure..."
The Water type began to run away from the Ursaring, "How are you going to get it to follow you?"
"I'll just use something I learned about Ursaring today!" He quickly picked up the screaming Teddiursa and began running in the opposite direction.
The Ursaring let out a low growl, "Get back here!!"
Oliver stopped in his tracks as he watched his best friend take the young Pokémon and ran off with her in his arms, the Ursaring in hot pursuit. The Oshawott lightly rubbed his head, a small, amused smile on his face. He then remembered the reason why they were out there in the first place.
"...I could've gotten a sample from that Teddiursa..." Sighing in defeat, he continued running away from the place he and Jacob encountered the Ursaring.
Eventually, the roars of the hostile Ursaring grew faint as the sounds of the forest began to overpower them. The rustling noise the leaves made each time a gentle breeze blew by, the sounds of smaller, Bug type Pokrmon in the trees, as well as the sound of something metallic hitting a rough surface.
Oliver's eyes narrowed at that last sound. He was pretty sure he's never heard any sound like that in a forest before. Granted, the forest he was in was really strange. Nothing was stopping him from checking it out. Sure, he had to be back at the Center by sunrise, but judging by how dark it still was, and how long Jacob was out after his battle earlier that day, it was easy for him to assume that it wasn't even past midnight yet. He had ample time to meet back up with Jacob, get their samples, and get back to Metro.
As the Oshawott approached the foreign noise, it grew in magnitude, as well as in frequency. He raised an eyebrow as he peeked around a tree. There was another clearing, but this time, there was a large boulder in the center of it. Next to that boulder was a Pokémon, which was attacking the boulder with its blade-like arms.
"...A Scyther..." Oliver uttered, getting ready to back away. He had gotten better at battling over the past few months, but he was well aware that Scyther was a species that is natural at battling. Blinding speed, natural camouflage, as well as claws capable of cutting through thick logs in a single stroke.
He slowly backed away, watching the Scyther train itself. That was until the lack of watching where he was going caught up to him, and he stepped on a twig, causing a cracking noise to fill the otherwise silent forest.
He looked down at his foot, then back up at the Scyther, which wasn't there anymore.
"Shit."
Meanwhile, Jacob hid behind a tree, panting tiredly. He was covered in scratches, his fur was messed up, and he had a nice little black eye over his right eye. He looked down at his closed paw, opening it to reveal a small patch of fur to himself. He didn't take that beating for nothing. He quickly pulled out one of the plastic bags from the leather pouch around his waist, putting the fur in it and placing it back in the pouch, tying it closed. He smiled to himself, leaning the back of his head against the trunk of the tree.
"Augh... That's the last time I get between a Ursaring and her kin..." The Pikachu looked down at his waist, where one of the biggest wounds were. It wasn't anything serious, but he would be lying if he said it didn't hurt like hell. He gently put a paw over it, hissing in pain.
Quickly standing to his feet, Jacob looked around. One down, two to go. The Mouse Pokémon began walking once more. Luckily, he and Oliver always had a back up plan for when they would get split up while exploring the forest back when they were younger.
"When we get separated, wait for a little, then go to the last place we saw each other..." He recited internally as he walked through the illuminated forest.
Sure enough, Jacob's next wild Pokémon encounter happened in the form of a Honchkrow perching on a high tree branch. Not willing to give up a sample, the Pikachu began to quietly approach. The Electric type shuffled from hiding behind one tree to the next. Once he made it to the tree closest to the one the Honchkrow was perched on, he began to climb it.
Digging his short claws into the bark, Jacob peered around the tree once more to see where he was in relation to his target. He was close. His cheeks sparking with electricity, the Pikachu prepared himself for yet another conflict.
Metro PKMN Center, Sinnoh
Sitting in front of one of the call screens was Michael, waiting for someone to answer on the other side. A small, albeit tired smile spread across his face as the wait finally ended and he could see the faces of those on the other side.
"Hey, Hon..." He greeted, staring at the Primarina he adored. He soon turned to look at the other Pokémon on the other side, "...Erika."
The Sylveon's expression fell, "Wow... What a nice greeting from my team mate... Glad to see you care so much."
"Cut it out, you two!" Olivia reprimanded the two before turning to her mate, "You make it there okay? How was the trip?"
"It was fine. I met up with the boys and one of their friends, actually..." The Samurott explained, "You know, that Snivy girl. You were right, Oli. She does have a good head on her shoulders. Balances out the boys pretty well."
"Trust me, I know they needed someone like that..." Erika let out a dramatic sigh, "If I've learned anything from that news report, it's that trouble will follow them, no matter how far they go into Sinnoh. It's dangerous out there!"
"Speaking of danger, if Jacob doesn't get a hold of that power soon, he's going to end up blowing himself up, and I wish I was joking..."
"What!?" The Sylveon asked loudly, nearly shoving her best friend out of the frame of the screen, "What are you talking about?"
"Well, when I found the boys, Jacob's power seemed to be... Malfunctioning? I'm not sure what to call it, but his power was leaking out of him by the bucketload. Sure I'm not an expert on this like Bruno... Or Neon... But I'm sure that isn't a good sign."
Erika put a paw over her mouth.
"But don't worry, that's one of the main reasons why I'm training them."
"Oh hell no!" Olivia suddenly interjected, "Don't tell me you plan on having Oliver train to do what you did. Your body could barely handle it!"
"For now, I'm just focusing on their weaknesses."
Erika and Olivia respectively raised an eyebrow at the statement.
"Starting with the obvious one, Jacob, he doesn't have any sort of handle on that power. Not only that, he relies on short range combat when facing one on one battles..." He explained, "For him, he'll need to improve his arsenal to give him more options that don't involve breaking his body."
Erika's ears lowered at this, knowing good and well that Michael was right. She couldn't argue against that, and it pained her. If only there was more time... More time with him. His father would surely know what to do... He always did...
Olivia noticed the crestfallen expression on her face, gently patting her back with a flipper.
"And Oliver... Well... He's a bit of a wimp."
"What!?" If Olivia's eyes could turn red with anger, they would have.
"What I mean by that is that Oliver has always been one to prioritize his own safety over the battle at hand. He's too concerned about getting attacked to actually do any damage. And while he's one of the smartest young Pokémon I know, he thinks too much and that becomes a burden to him..." Michael continued, "I'm sure he has broken through these in certain moments, but it's only when he needs to. He needs to find a way to control himself before his overthinking gets him killed."
Silence fell between the three of them for a short while, Erika shaking in pure worry for her son, and Olivia keeping silent as she comforted her best friend.
"But I've seen something in those boys, you know?"
Mythic Forest, Sinnoh
Jacob fired Thunderbolt after Thunderbolt at the Honchkrow flying overhead, groaning in frustration at his own failure. He quickly kicked a rock, causing it to bounce off of a tree and hit him square in the nose. He yelped faintly, but then looked down at the small rock, his eyes beginning to sparkle with inspiration.
"Jacob has grown wiser."
Oliver, on the other hand, remained quiet as he hid from the Scyther. It was still looking for him. The Oshawott looked down at the Scalchop on his belly fur, his eyes narrowing a bit. He grabbed the scalchop from the fur, getting ready to stand.
"Oliver has become more decisive."
Many stones littered the ground as Jacob scratched his head in confusion. He had tried throwing stones at the Honchkrow in order to knock a few feathers from it, but they weren't reaching when he threw them normally, and they were breaking on impact when he threw them with the assistance of his power, so what was there to do?
"The wheels of change have only just begun to spin..."
Oliver suddenly jumped out from his hiding spot, a shaky smile on his face as the Scyther stopped in front of him. The Oshawott's shaky smile grew wider as he took a stance in preparation for a battle. He barked out a challenge to the Scyther, which only made it grow angrier.
"The changes in them aren't big, but..."
Jacob gritted his teeth as he held the stone in his paw, his eyes glowing a familiar shade of orange as he glared at the stone. His glare only grew larger, praying internally that whatever he tried next would work. He strained, focusing his power on his paw, and the stone within it. He could feel his arm growing stronger with each second, almost as if he was blowing up an inflatable version of his arm. Just as the power seemed to be too much to contain, it all began rushing into the stone held in his paw.
"It's clear that their time traveling so far has pushed them out of their comfort zones further than anything in Kanet Village ever has."
Oliver gritted his teeth as he held his scalchop in his paw, his eyes glowing. His eyes weren't glowing with some unawakened power, but with an unawakened drive. He wasn't gifted with anything special. He was smart, yes, but when it came to battles, smarts weren't the only thing he could rely on. He knew that. It seemed like that lesson was being drilled into his mind time and time again. Well this time, he wouldn't wait for that lesson to slam over his head in the middle of another high stakes situation like in Forest Grotto against Nidoking, or Sapphire Town against Diligence.
"Soon enough, their weaknesses will only be throttled into strengths."
As the Pikachu threw forward a now supercharged stone at the Honchkrow, Oliver took the first step into a running charge toward the Scyther.
"After all, they are our children."
Oliver and Jacob, their personal trials dealt with, finally were able to put another sample into their respective bags. And they weren't done collecting yet. Not even close.