Paul and I departed from the Pokémon Center before the sun peeked over the horizon. Our planned route required a minimum of two weeks time to complete, heading east along the coastline and then north all the way to Saffron. Though I grumbled and complained when Paul shook me awake, it was a mutual agreement amongst the entire team to rise even before the fiery ball of light.
Because the sooner we started, the sooner we'd arrive at our final destination, and the sooner we'd have two more badges in our possession.
"Ahhhh... I can't believe I agreed to get up this early. I'm not a morning person."
"Good thing I am. Just be glad I offered to bike for the first half."
One of my arms gripped Paul's jacket, and the other held Luxio in my lap. I removed my hand from around the sleepy cat to flick Paul's head. "I should make you bike the entire way. You're still crap at it."
"Hey, watch it, Girlie! I'm driving here!"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't call me that..." I relaxed my head against Paul's shoulder, no other viable options for a pillow. My fingers gripped his jacket much tighter. "Wake me up when it's my turn, 'k?"
Trying to ignore his nerves going haywire, Paul pulled my arm around his waist. "At least hang on properly so you don't fall off." He checked over Eevee and Pikachu curled up together in the basket, and then continued to pedal, quietly, to not wake anyone.
Thanks to Paul's efforts, I managed to get an extra hour of sleep. It was impressive, considering his lack of experience not too long ago.
His reward: switching shifts a lot earlier than we agreed.
The second I began my turn at pedaling, he fell asleep with Luxio in his arms.
So much for being a morning person.
We switched every hour until just after ten o'clock. Both of us were exhausted by that point and needed a break, and our Pokémon needed to stretch their legs. Plus, lunch was right around the corner, and we wouldn't reach the next settlement for several hours.
Just off the main road, we discovered a comfortable, grassy spot near a lake. Trees dotted the area to break up the harsh sunlight, and with the lack of both people and wild Pokémon, we deemed it the perfect place to give the team some fresh air.
It was also perfect for some training.
"Come back with Aerial Ace!"
Pidgeotto spun multiple times while avoiding the last of a leaf cyclone. Then, after a graceful u-turn, she tucked in her wings, cloaked herself in light, and dived straight at her opponent.
"Excellent form! All that practice with Fearow has paid off!"
Fearow watched the battle from the closest tree, smiling at my praise.
"Don't get too excited," smirked his trainer. "Stone Edge!"
Torterra howled and stomped on the ground. Rather than shooting out grey stones from his body, he instead caused multiple jagged, light-blue pillars to appear out of the dirt and rush towards my bird.
"Since when could Stone Edge be used like that?!"
"Since now!"
"Break away, Pidgeotto!" Both of us failed to react in time. A rock pillar emerged directly underneath my bird, smashed into her stomach, and sent her flying. She landed on the grass in front of me. "Ah! Pidgeotto, can you keep going?" She groaned before rising to her feet. "Gotta hand it to Paul for teaching his Pokémon a new trick."
"Good, Torterra. Flying-types aren't a problem if they can't reach you." Torterra responded with a prideful roar. "Now, keep up the pressure with Energy Ball. Don't let Pidgeotto return to the air!"
"That won't stop us. Agility, let's go!" Pidgeotto took off like a missile, expertly dodging all incoming projectiles.
"You need to control your shots better! Try to predict where Pidgeotto is going, not where she is!" Once he narrowed his eyes, Torterra suddenly possessed a greater level of accuracy and precision, nearly shooting my bird out of the sky a few times.
One of the Energy Balls came alarmingly close, but Pidgeotto and I refused to be defeated.
"Flying-types don't have to be close to inflict damage. Gust!"
Instead of just a simple whirlwind, Pidgeotto released multiple light-blue energy blades from her glowing wings. One of the disc-like blades sliced through Torterra's remaining Energy Balls. This opened a path for the rest of Pidgeotto's attack to score a direct hit to the Continent Pokémon's face.
"Wow! Was that Air Slash? Great job, Pidgeotto!"
When the dust settled, we found Torterra knocked out.
"Well, that's that," sighed Paul before stepping over to his Pokémon's side to lecture him.
"Woohoo! Another win for our side! Nice battling, Pidgeotto!" She landed on the ground in front of me, unfolded her wings, and emitted a victorious cry, before beginning to glow. I gasped. "Is this what I think it is?"
Pidgeotto grew two feet taller and sprouted colorful, glossy feathers on her head. Her tail feathers increased in length and turned to a bright shade of red. When her evolution finished, she spread her wings to reveal her new-and-improved wingspan: nearly three times that of her previous form!
"Yay! You're a Pidgeot now!" While the others all stared in awe, I embraced my Pokémon. "Congrats! Proof of your hard work, and I'm proud of you!" She sunk deeper into my tight hug, her feathers tickling my face.
Fearow flew down from his roost to say congrats. Torterra also paid his respects.
"It's just an evolution. What are you two praising them for?" snapped Paul. "If you ask me, Pidgeot should've evolved a long time ago."
"Thanks for the kind words, Paul," I grumbled, and Pidgeot hissed at him. Then, I went over to give Torterra an Oran Berry and rub his head. "Nice battling, Torterra. No matter what this jerk says, just know that I was very impressed."
Torterra looked between myself and Pidgeot before speaking. Fearow chimed in.
I turned my head. "What'd they say?"
Paul gave his Pokémon a look. "Really? You think so?" Torterra and Fearow pointed at both of us with a vine and beak, respectively. Eevee jumped onto Torterra's back and agreed with the statement. "You, too?" Clearly exasperated with her Trainer, she hopped onto my shoulder and yelled at him. "Nope. I don't see it."
"See what? What are you guys talking about? Spit it out!"
"They all think you and Pidgeot look alike."
"Really?" Pidgeot and I exchanged looks. "How?"
Torterra extended its vines, reached around my back, and gently lifted my hair.
"Because of the hair?" I looked to Pidgeot again, noting the length of the feathers on her head. "Oh yeah. That makes sense." I rubbed her head. "I guess these boys prefer ladies with long hair, huh?"
She responded with a quick chirp.
While Fearow nodded, Paul's face reddened, so he quickly turned on his Pokémon. "Go back to bed already, you overgrown pigeon." Fearow shrieked, jabbed his trainer in the side, and perched up in Torterra's tree while he and Paul bickered.
Ignoring them, I turned to my four-foot tall bird. "Hey. Since you're a Pidgeot now, think you're strong enough to carry me on your back?" Only one way to find out, she turned her back towards me and unfolded her wings. My excitement boiled over. "Alright!"
"What are you doing?"
"Taking advantage of my fully-evolved flying Pokémon and the opportunity I've just been given. Okay, Pidgeot! Ready for takeoff!" She flapped her wings and slowly rose into the air. It took me a second to adjust myself on her back, during which I might've pulled a few feathers; I apologized.
"Hey, quit messing around! We still have training to do!"
"You're kidding, right? The gang's exhausted, Paul!"
Our entire Pokémon team lazed about the place, taking naps in the grass or cooling off in the water. Every single one had participated in at least a little bit of intensive training; the only exception was Li'l Kanga, who, despite eager to battle, we deemed too young to participate in even a tiny practice match. Mama Kanga supported that decision.
"I say we take a break," I continued. "It's just about lunchtime, anyway."
"Well then, where are you going? There's no meal without the head chef."
"I'm just, uh..." Pikachu suddenly leaped onto Pidgeot's back with a small basket in her mouth, quickly followed by Paul's Eevee. They came up with the best lie ever. "Haha, yeah, exactly! We're gonna go find some berries. I'm running low, and I can't make good food without them. Just get everything started, and I'll be back to help real quick." I'm sure these two just wanted a ride on Pidgeot's back...
"Huh?! You know I can't cook to save my life!"
Luxio rushed up beside Paul, pleading for me to not let him cook.
"Take care of everyone, Luxio. Let's go, Pidgeot!"
"And where are you going with Eevee?!"
Paul wasted his breath, figuring it out only as we disappeared over the treetops. He released an exasperated sigh, letting his head and shoulders slump forward, and ran a hand across his face. "Dammit. Why the hell does she have to be such a pain?"
As he turned back to the group, Paul caught sight of Torterra, Fearow, Luxio, and Nidorino eyeing him with mischievous looks. He glared right back at them. "What are you guys looking at?"
They all snickered.
"Shut the hell up!"
Paul stormed off to find a Pokémon who wouldn't tease him and knew how to cook.
I stayed out with the girls for twenty minutes or so. With Pidgeot's keen eyesight, we found several bountiful berry trees, and not too long after we began our search, our basket was filled to the brim. At that point, we decided to head back to camp.
We returned to a pack of hungry Pokémon and a rather incompetent human cook. He got a pot of water boiling, but beyond that, Luxio and the others strongly urged him to wait for me. So when I showed up, everyone's faces lit up with hopeful smiles!
"Alright, I suppose that's enough torture. Who's hungry?"
Everyone cheered and offered to help wherever possible.
Paul went off to brood. He returned five minutes later offering to give me a hand if it meant being able to eat my cooking. I admitted defeat. After all, with several more mouths to feed, I needed all the help I could get.
And not too long after that:
"Lunch is served!"
All the Pokémon cheered once more before chowing down.
Once they started on their food, I went over and sat by Paul.
"And for you, sir."
Paul received a bowl of curry and gazed at it with teary eyes. "I'm so glad I didn't make this. It looks edible."
"It's more than edible. It's delicious. Just make sure to eat it before it gets cold."
Unable to resist any longer, Paul shoveled a huge spoonful into his mouth and carefully absorbed the delicious flavor into his soul. I was slightly worried that he would actually start crying. "It is delicious. Like always."
"It's decent, like always. I still have a ways to go before I'm an expert chef."
While processing another spoonful, he eyed the pot of curry resting on a hot plate at the lowest setting. "You made quite a lot, though. We'll probably have leftovers."
"Good. I hoped we would. The leftover curry can be turned into curry buns, which then can be frozen and reheated fairly easily. The ideal food for busy travelers like ourselves, so make sure you're excited for them."
"Yes, ma'am," he teased.
We both fell into silence as we ate our lunch. It took a moment before he spoke again.
"Uh, listen. Thanks."
Spoon in my mouth, I curiously looked over at him. "Hrm?"
"I bet it's tempting to let me starve for being such a pain in the neck."
"You're not really a pain in the neck. Now, if you were to call yourself a pain in the ass, I'd have to agree..."
He scowled.
"But, you're welcome," I giggled upon witnessing a typical Paul response. "I wanted to thank you, too. For helping out. Cooking is going to be a lot more difficult with all the additions to our team."
He stared out at our massive Pokémon collection. "Yeah. I can imagine. We caught, what, twenty new Pokémon in the Safari Zone?"
"Twenty-one, actually."
"Huh? Did you forget how to count, Girlie? We only used ten Poké Balls each, plus one for Dratini, but she was already part of the group. Psyduck broke the rest."
"Yeah. He sure did," I groaned.
The troublesome duck ate lunch with Horsea, Wartortle, and the two new Poliwag. He fit in with our team about as well as anyone else, though he found it difficult to feel comfortable around Paul's terrifying twenty-foot tall serpent. A few other newcomers were unsettled by Gyarados's appearance as well, except for Dratini.
Ever since meeting Gyarados, Dratini's stuck to his side like glue, unfazed by his intimidating gaze or the bared fangs that were rumored to be able to crush stone. Maybe she liked him so much due to also being a serpentine creature?
"The extra Pokémon is Li'l Kanga," I continued after first throwing my spoon at Paul's face. "Remember that both Kangaskhan currently occupy one ball."
"Ah, right. Does that mean they'll stay like that until she gets older?"
"Whatever works for them will work for me, too." Li'l Kanga shared a bowl of food with Cubone, with Mama Kanga sitting nearby. The two little ones had become friends the instant they met. "Make sure you get your fair share of the meal, too, Mama Kanga. There's more than enough!"
Mama Kanga acknowledged my statement with a wide grin.
"But, don't you think it's strange?"
"What's strange?"
"That we have so many Pokémon with us. You and I both have far more Pokémon than the usual limit. Trainers normally are allowed to carry a maximum of six Pokémon at a time, and the rest are transported to a place for safekeeping."
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that little detail." As I scanned over the multiple heads, I pursed my lips. "Now that you mention it, it's a little odd that they're all still here. But, where would they even go?"
"They say your Pokémon gets transported to wherever you received your Pokédex."
"That means ours should've been sent to Professor Rowan?"
He nodded.
I touched a hand to my chin. "If that's the case, you think Professor Rowan would have reminded us about that system. Maybe that means he just never bothered to set it up, or maybe he forgot?"
"He is on the old side."
"Or maybe he just thought we could handle it."
"You really think we can handle this many Pokémon at one? Our food budget alone is going to drive us insane. And what about our belts, huh? They can only hold so many Poké Balls."
"Just do what I've been doing. Carry six on your belt and store the rest in your bag, and whenever you need to change the lineup, take a minute to switch them out real quick. It's very simple."
"I still think it would be less of a hassle overall to transport some of the Pokémon."
"Where would you send them, then?"
"Well, we could follow the base rule. We call Professor Rowan and ask if he'd be willing to receive all of our extra Pokémon. No, wait. On second thought, let's make him a Plan B. His lab didn't look properly equipped to handle that many Pokémon."
"How about Professor Oak? When it comes to being properly equipped, his lab has all the space necessary to care for hundreds of Pokémon. Plus, under his care, I'd be confident that my Pokémon wouldn't be locked up in a storage room all day. They can stretch their legs out in the Oak Corral."
"Oak Corral?"
"Yeah. Didn't you pass through Pallet Town when you first got here? The professor owns a bunch of land around his lab. It's like paradise for the Pokémon."
"Sure sounds nice, but wouldn't you rather have your Pokémon kept somewhere in your home region? In our case, Sinnoh?"
"Good point. Where else, then?"
"How about just sending them home?"
I chuckled. "Ha. Yeah, that's funny. Send them home."
His eyebrow lifted. "What? Your home is the Sunyshore Gym, right? There has to be tons of rooms for Pokémon."
"Not tons, actually. There's just the gym and the house, neither of which are equipped to handle more than a handful of Pokémon, and I don't just want to dump all my Pokémon onto Volt. He has his own Pokémon to worry about, and his gym responsibilities, too. I can maybe send Electric-types to help with his training, but that's about it..."
"Oh! What about my house?"
"Really? You have lots of space and a person with nothing better to do but take care of tons of Pokémon all day?"
"Yep."
"Wait, seriously?!"
"Reggie's the only one who lives at home. He's a Pokémon Breeder, so taking care of other people's Pokémon is all he does. We own a huge amount of land he converted into his own Pokémon corral. And with his can-do attitude, no doubt he'll be up to watching a fresh batch of Pokémon."
I laughed at the way he grumbled out that last part. "Don't sound so ungrateful for such a lucky break. Wish I had access to something so convenient. Maybe I'll call Professor Rowan anyway and see if he has any suggestions."
"Hold on. I just gave you a suggestion."
"You did?"
"My brother. Remember?"
It took me a moment. "You meant for both of us?!"
He sighed. "You're pretty dense, aren't you?"
I chucked my shoe at his face. "Gimme a break, Paul! I would never automatically assume it'd be okay to just dump all my Pokémon onto your brother without asking first. I've never even talked to the guy."
"Come on. Reggie would be more than happy to do it, and then all your Pokémon will be together with someone you can trust. Tell you what. Next town we reach, I'll find a phone, call him, and ask about it. Does that sound like a plan?"
"Are you sure, Paul? If there's one thing I hate being, it's a burden, especially when it concerns someone I've never met."
"You need to quit worrying. You're already a slight burden on me," he caught the next shoe that flew at his face, "and yet I'm still offering. What does that tell you?"
"That you're looking for something to hold over my head?"
"No, that's not it!" He gazed down at his half-empty curry bowl as though awaiting the telling of his fortune from the diced-potato gods. "This isn't blackmail. Definitely not. Instead, you could just call it," I heard him swallow back the lump in his throat, "trying to make amends."
My mouth fell open.
"It's my way of trying to make it up to you...for what happened."
After a moment, my lips curved upward. "Oh. I get it. There is an ulterior motive behind your offer, but it's not a bad one." I let out a giggle. "That just means you're even more clueless and airheaded than I am."
"What do you—?"
"Forget it!" I sprung onto my feet. "Come on. I'm nice and full, so I'm ready for some more training."
"Huh?! How do you even eat that fast?!" Paul began shoveling curry into his mouth.
While collecting my empty bowl and any other dirty dishes, I failed to stop the smile from growing wider and wider on my face. He hasn't noticed it, has he? That he's already started making amends.
And it's working.
Paul finished his food and helped me clean up from lunch.
Once finished, we returned to our training: a series of one-on-one matches between various pairings of our Pokémon. Paul and I stressed the ability to overcome any type advantages that the opponent may or may not have in any given situation. For example, the Fire-types battled the Water-types. The Water-types battled the Grass-types. And Luxio took on a Pokémon with his most obvious weakness.
"Okay! Rhyhorn versus Luxio! You go first, Paul!"
"Got it! Rhyhorn use Rock Blast!" Upon Paul's command, Rhyhorn fired his attack.
"Defend with Swift!" Our barrage of gold stars negated Rhyhorn's rocks.
"Take Down!" Rhyhorn swiped his foot against the ground, howled, and then charged straight for Luxio.
"Alright, here he comes. You were able to bring down Brock's Onix, so let's see if we can replicate that power. Shock Wave!" Luxio growled and released an enormous amount of electricity that barreled straight toward Rhyhorn.
The Rhino Pokémon took a direct hit to the face, but he was unfazed and continued on a one-track path for Luxio.
"It didn't do anything!" called Paul.
"You've gotta increase your output, Luxio!" Baring his teeth, Luxio dug his claws into the ground and tensed his muscles. The electricity coming off his body started to grow exponentially, sparking and crackling all over the place.
Unfortunately, Rhyhorn still didn't look bothered a single bit, even as the blinding electricity cut out some of his vision.
Wait...
Upon closer inspection, the lightning bolt struck him perfectly on his horn and nowhere else.
I raised a hand to my mouth. "Could it be...that?"
With Luxio unable to slow him down, Rhyhorn slammed into him and sent him flying backward.
I rushed over to help him stand. "You alright, Luxio?"
He mewled, disappointed in himself for failing to slow Rhyhorn even a little.
"No. Your attacks were as powerful as can be. That wasn't the issue."
I then went over and crouched beside Rhyhorn, rubbing his horn. "Did the attack only hit you here?"
He blinked in surprise and then nodded.
Paul stepped over to us. "What's wrong?"
"I think I might've just discovered Rhyhorn's ability."
"Really?"
"But, I need to be totally sure." I rose to my feet, took a step away from everyone, and stared at Luxio. "Hey, pal, do me a favor and use Shock Wave on me."
Everyone gasped.
"Are you crazy?! Rhyhorn may not have felt anything, but you'll get fried!"
I ignored his warning. "Just do it, Luxio. Give me your best Shock Wave ever. Maximum voltage." When a sense of worry clouded his usual confidence, I shot him a smirk. "I promise it'll be fine."
Luxio looked between us all, but with his undying loyalty, he would obey. He grit his teeth and launched Shock Wave, the huge surge of lightning coming straight at me. I braced for impact on the slim chance that my hypothesis would be proved wrong.
Fortunately, it wasn't.
At the last second, the lightning bolt changed direction and hit Rhyhorn's horn instead. This left Luxio, Paul, and even Rhyhorn very surprised.
"What...happened?"
"That's called Lightning Rod," was my reply, along with a widening smile.
"Lightning Rod?"
"It's a special ability that draws in all electrical attacks to the user, whether they were used by an opponent or an ally, and completely neutralizes them. The ability user takes no damage, and they also get a little bit of an attack boost."
"Wow. I didn't know an ability like that existed."
"Yep. It's one of my favorites." After giving an Oran Berry to Luxio, I crouched beside Rhyhorn again. "And, it means that I can teach Rhyhorn how to use Electric-type attacks."
Wartortle waddled over to comment.
"That's right. Giovanni's Rhyhorn was able to use Thunder Bolt, huh? Yep, we'll be able to teach our Rhyhorn the attack as well."
"Who's Giovanni?"
I jumped out of my skin, realizing my voice wasn't as quiet as it should've been. "O-Oh, it's nobody important. Forget I said it."
Paul looked a little suspicious, but he thought it best not to pursue the topic. "Well, anyway, how's it even possible for Rhyhorn to learn electrical attacks? He's a Rock and Ground-type."
"True, but there are lots of Pokémon who can learn Electric-type attacks without being an Electric-type themselves. I think Gyarados can learn Thunder Bolt. Nidorina and Nidorino, too, and probably a few others."
The Pokémon in question all tuned into the conversation.
Paul glanced at each of them. "Well then, why are you only focused on Rhyhorn learning the attacks as opposed to the others? Is there a requirement or something?"
"Kind of. You see, thanks to his ability, Rhyhorn knows what it feels like to be in contact with that much electricity, and he knows what it feels like without taking damage. Learning the attacks will be much easier for him versus the others who all take damage from the electricity. Make sense?"
He put a hand to his chin, processing the information as best he could. "I think so, but I'm more of a hands-on learner. You should probably just show me."
"We're getting to that. Don't you worry. Ooh, this is super exciting!" I looked back to the rhino sitting at my feet. "So, what do you say, Rhyhorn? Up for some special Electric-type training?"
He agreed without any hesitation.
"Awesome! By the end of the day, you'll be firing off all sorts of Electric-type moves."
"Hey, I know I'm confident in my abilities, but you really think you're capable enough to teach Rhyhorn a move in a single day, and straight from scratch?!"
"Of course. Watch."
Grumbling to himself, Paul and everyone else backed up a little.
"Okay, Rhyhorn. In order to use Thunder Bolt, you first need to focus on that electrical feeling consuming you, because it will. Fortunately, with Lightning Rod, there's no danger of getting shocked.
"You have to spread the electricity all over your body, starting from a single point. Luxio's primary point is his tail. Pikachu's primary point is the electric sacs in her cheeks. Yours will be your horn. Understand?"
He nodded.
"The electricity will spread from your horn, and from there, you release. Let's try it. First, build up that energy in your horn."
Rhyhorn closed his eyes to focus. After a few silent moments of pure concentration, yellow sparks flew off his horn.
Paul's jaw dropped. "He's already doing it?!"
"Good job, Rhyhorn! Keep building that energy, and when you can't hold it anymore, just let it go."
The electricity crackled and popped against Rhyhorn's forehead, though thanks to his special ability, he felt nothing. He continued the energy buildup until he started to sweat. Finally, he roared, reared up on his back legs, and launched a small lightning bolt upon landing back on the ground. The attack scorched a patch of dirt ten feet from our location.
I threw my arms into the air. "There it is! That was Thunder Bolt!"
"He already learned Thunder Bolt?!"
I jumped and jumped and jumped for joy. "You did it! That was amazing!"
Rhyhorn tried Thunder Bolt again. He first built up the energy. Then, he fired. With each attempt, the attack increased exponentially in terms of power. However, we quickly realized that it would be his accuracy that needed work.
"Whoa!" yelped Paul as he jumped to avoid getting struck.
"Whoops, sorr—Ah!" A second bolt flew past my head. "Alright, Rhyhorn. Take it easy and focus on controlling your attack after it's launched..."
But, he had already released the third attack.