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Pokemon: Way of Life - Chapter 2
🕑 Added 2022-09-20 08:53:01 +0000 UTCDisclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. It belongs to Nintendo and Gamefreak.
Sitting in the box was a Pokemon Egg.
It was yellow with black stripes, about the size of his head. Lucas picked it up and ran his hands over it, marveling at the warmth emanating from within. He sat there for a few minutes, simply gazing at it in amazement.
If there was a correlation between the colour of the egg and the Pokemon, then he already had a few guesses. But that was only the Pokemon from the Kanto region. If he included all the regions, then he didn't have a clue. There were over nine hundred of them at present, after all.
But maybe there was a way to find out? ‘{Arceus Blessing}’
[State the name of the skill you desire.]
“Observation.”
=====
[You have learned the Skill: Observation.]
[Observation] (Active) [Lv:1] (Next:0%) [Cost: 2]
Description: Knowledge is power. Observe an object or living entity and learn its secrets. The higher the skill level, the more information is revealed.
- Reveals a small amount of information on special objects.
- Reveals most information on owned Pokemon
- Reveals a small amount of information on Pokemon not owned, up to five levels above the player's level.
=====
With his current {Aura}, it meant that he could use the skill twenty-five times. However, the regeneration was terrible. It would take over eight hours to refill his {Aura}. There had to be a better solution. He would think about it later. For now, he wanted to test his new skill on the egg.
‘{Observation}’
[A Pokemon Egg.]
Well, that wasn't very helpful. He looked around the room and decided to train his skill.
[Hospital Bed: A typical hospital bed with side railings that can lower for easy access. It has wheels attached to the legs for easy portability.]
[Heart Monitor: A device to record the heart's rhythm. It is used to detect or determine the risk of irregular heartbeats.]
……..
Lucas ran out of {Aura} after observing different objects in his hospital room. The room spun, and he felt unsteady. He closed his eyes, and for a second, he thought he would faint. Lucas took a few deep breaths and waited for the feeling to pass. Maybe he shouldn't completely empty the tank next time.
Lucas decided to see his progress with {Observation}. The progress bar had filled halfway. Not bad.
Then he realised he was being stupid. While he was gushing over the egg, somebody could walk in and catch him red-handed. How would he explain it? Even if he could, would they let him keep it? He didn't know how rare Pokemon Eggs were in this world, but they must be worth quite a few Pokedollars. No, he needed to keep it hidden.
Should he put it back in his inventory? It seemed to be fine before he took it out.
‘It was at that point the protagonist realised that he was completely irresponsible and should never own a Pokemon.’
Lucas rolled his eyes. That was going to get old fast.
He decided to hide it between his legs. With the blanket bunched up around his waist, it left a lot of space to hide the egg. If he could feel he could trust his parents, then he may reveal it to them.
Twenty minutes later, the door opened, and a man and woman rushed inside the room. When the woman saw him awake, she burst into tears. The man kept his composure better, but his face revealed genuine emotion.
They were a beautiful couple in their mid to late thirties.
His mother was gorgeous. If he were to compare to someone from his world, it would be Rachel Weisz, except his mother had dark chocolate eyes. He totally did not have a crush on Rachel when he was a teenager. Because that would be weird when comparing her to his mother.
His dad looked like the stereotypical surfer dude. Dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and a face bronzed by the sun. His shirt strained under his huge biceps that looked like they could crush concrete.
They were both dressed casually, but they looked expensive. Not something you would find in your local mall. Now that he thought about it, the private room must've cost a pretty penny for him to stay in for the last three years. Not to mention all the medical costs.
Were his parents rich?
“Hello,” Lucas said awkwardly.
His parents approached the bed. His mother had a handkerchief and was dabbing her eyes.
“Hello, Lucas. I know you don't remember us, but we are so happy that you have recovered. The last three years have been a nightmare,” his mother said.
“It's good to see you awake, son,” his father added.
They fell into silence, not knowing how to continue.
“This is incredibly awkward,” Lucas blurted.
His parents laughed. Some of the tension left the room, and his parents grabbed chairs and sat down.
“So why don't we start by introducing ourselves? My name is Sophia Walker, and I am your mother.”
“I'm your dad. My name is David Walker.”
“I was told I have a sister,” Lucas said. “Where is she?”
“She’s in school,” Sophia replied. “We wanted to confirm for ourselves that you really awake before we brought her along. We could hardly believe it when the doctor called us, and we didn't want to set her up for disappointment.”
Lucas nodded. “Makes sense.”
David took out his wallet and handed him a picture. The girl was about six or seven years old and completely adorable. She was a miniature of her mother, but with her dad's blue eyes. “Her name is Abigail.”
He handed the photo back. “She's beautiful.”
“And she knows it,” Sophia smiled wryly, “David lets her get away with murder.”
“Nonsense,” David argued. “I find it hard saying no to her face. That's your job.”
Sophia raised her eyebrow. “Really?”
“Someone has to be the bad guy,” David nodded sagely.
“Do you have a mirror?” Lucas asked. “I just realised I don’t know what I look like.”
Sophia rummaged around in her purse and handed him a compact mirror. He certainly wasn't lacking in the looks department. His face was oval-shaped with well-proportioned features and a strong jawline. He had his mother's eyes, almond shaped and a rich dark brown. He had no weird hair colour either, as he had his Dad's dirty blond hair, but it was longer, falling to his shoulders. Once he put some weight on, his face would fill out and further enhance his features.
“You were always a handsome boy,” Mum gushed.
“Stop, don't let it go to his head,” Dad protested.
Lucas continued to talk to his parents for the next thirty minutes, with him mostly listening to them talk. They avoided heavy topics and mostly talked about his childhood and his sister.
His dad seemed easygoing and cracked many jokes, while his mother was more serious but nurturing. He felt slightly uncomfortable in how they looked at him as if he hung the moon.
He yawned, and his parents rose from their seats.
“We should let you get some more sleep,” Sophia said.
“I've slept enough,” Lucas grumbled.
“We'll be back tomorrow,” David said, “We'll pull Abigail out of school so she can visit in the morning. Do you need anything?”
“I need some educational materials,” Lucas answered. He told them about the tests the doctor had done. “I have a lot to catch up on, and it's not like I have much else to do.”
“I will see what I can find,” Sophia promised. She didn't leave, just stood there, wringing her hands.
Lucas rolled his eyes. “Go on. Get it out of your system.”
David laughed when Sophia rushed forward and gently hugged him but followed his wife in doing the same.
Lucas hesitated for a moment but decided to trust his parents. He couldn’t hide it forever, especially from the nurses. “Hey, guys. I need to show you something.”
He took the egg out from under the blankets. Their eyes widened.
David looked concerned. “Where did you get that?”
Lucas pointed to the bedside drawer, where he had placed the box. “After my humiliating sponge bath, I closed my eyes for a few minutes. When I woke up, the box was sitting there.”
That sounded convincing enough.
“Who would give you an egg?” Sophia picked it up and inspected it closely. “They are very valuable. The Pokemon League keeps a close watch on the distribution of eggs. They are mostly reserved for trainers.”
“Domesticated Pokemon have a hard time breeding,” David added.
“You could try to steal eggs from wild Pokemon, but it is dangerous, and many believe it's unethical.“
“Huh,” Lucas frowned. “So what is going to happen with this egg?”
“You can keep it,” David said reluctantly. “I don't like that someone out there gave you an egg for some unknown reason. But it is not illegal to purchase eggs if you have plenty of pokedollars. If anyone asks, say that it was a present from us to celebrate you waking up.”
“Not to sound crass, but is that something you could do? It must have cost a small fortune to have my own private room. What do you do for a job?”
“I think we’ll go broke looking after you,” David joked, only to get a slap on the arm from his wife.
“Well, David owns a string of gyms throughout Kanto,” Sophie said.
“It provides physical training for humans and Pokemon, plus many other services. I'm a Pokemon researcher that focuses on nutrition, and I have my own label of Pokemon food products.”
“Wow, you guys are amazing.”
David preened. “Why yes, we are.”
Sophie returned the egg to his arms. “We should get going. Another thing we need to buy is an incubator. It provides an ideal environment when you're not bonding with your egg.”
Bonding? The terminology sounded a little strange to Lucas, but he decided to hold the question for now. He was already struggling to keep his eyes open.
His parents left, and Lucas closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Lucas looked around in confusion. Where the hell was he?
He stood at a crossroads, with the entire surroundings obscured by a wall of fog. Above him, the sky was covered with ominous clouds, a dark, angry purple colour.
“Welcome.”
Lucas spun around to see a younger boy standing in front of him. It took a moment to realise that he looked a lot like him.
“You are….”
“That's right,” the boy spoke. “I am what came before. How does my body feel?”
“Kind of crap. Uh, sorry.”
The boy laughed. “It's fine. It's not like you stole my body or anything. I was already fated to die.”
“Right.” An awkward silence ensued.
“Why can I walk around so easily?” Lucas finally asked. “I don't feel any pain.”
“That's because you're not here physically. You are currently asleep in the real world.”
“What is this place?” Lucas asked.
“This is your Mind Palace. A physical manifestation of your subconscious mind, or maybe it's your soul? In either case, by the look of the place, you seem to have alot of internal conflict.”
The boy looked off into the distance with a profound look on his face. “Truly, it is a vile death to die with heaviness in the belly; better to expel the waste, lest you leave a mess for those left behind.”
“Okay, that just sounded wrong.”
“No good, huh,” the boy said despondently. “It took me so long to come up with that.”
“What?”
“Follow me.” A path was illuminated by a line of torch braziers that led off into the distance. Lucas followed the boy down the path.
“What do I call you?” Lucas asked. “I can't call you Lucas. That would be confusing.”
“My middle name was Xavier. That will suffice.”
“So why are you here?”
“I' am to be your guide in your Mind Palace,” Xavier said. “Maybe I have another purpose, but it has not yet been revealed to me.”
“Isn't that kind of a shitty deal? You're a goddamn hero for saving your sister. You should be chilling out in the afterlife or something.”
“It has its benefits. Through you, I get to see my family. I get to witness what my life may have been like if I had lived.”
Lucas didn't know what to say. If he could feel sensations at that moment, he would have felt like he had taken a hard punch to the gut.
They walked in silence for a few minutes until they came across a tall tower ascending high into the sky. It looked medieval, a stone structure that resembled a ‘rook’ chess piece. The odd thing was that it had no windows, just a single wooden door at the tower's base.
They walked up the steps and stopped at the entrance.
Xavier spoke. “This is the Resolution Tower. Here you will have to traverse the tower and overcome the obstacles to view memories from your past life. When you witness these memories, you will see them from a different perspective and not through a distorted lens. It may make you uncomfortable; it may make you angry or sad. But you must realise that in your previous life, your life was shackled by the past, not living but merely existing.”
Lucas said nothing. He looked up at the tower and fought the urge to run. His childhood had not been a pleasant one, and he had done everything in his power to bury his past and not think about it too much. He realised that it wasn't healthy and that it had affected his adult life. No real friends and a handful of relationships that went nowhere. Which had been mostly his fault.
“Here, you will need this,” Xavier said.
=====
[You have learned Mind Walker]
=====
[Mind Walker] (Active) [Lv: MAX] (Next: ---) [Cost:10]
Description: It allows the player to travel between the real world and his Mind Palace. Beware that while the player is in his Mind Palace, their physical body is vulnerable.
- May return to any place in Mind Palace that the player has previously visited.
- Current locations unlocked: Resolution Tower.
=====
“Right. So how does this Tower work?”
“Pokemon battles, of course,” Xavier smirked.
“But I don't have any Pokemon.”
“Every floor, you will be given a Pokemon, and you must defeat a trainer. Once you clear a floor, you are given a Memory Shard, which will have a specific memory from your childhood. Once you have viewed the memory, you can proceed to the next floor.”
“How many floors are there?”
“That I do not know,” Xavier shrugged. “There are plenty of benefits to climbing the tower, though. Each round will give you a certain amount of points for defeating your opponent, and you will get even more if you rack up several consecutive wins. Inside is a shop where you can purchase skills.”
“Can't I just learn skills by performing actions?”
“Even if you can; there is a limit to how many skills you can learn by this method. There are plenty of esoteric skills that don't have a real-life equivalent. Besides, it pays to be selective with your skills, lest you end up with hundreds that you never use.”
Lucas agreed with what Xavier had said, having hundreds of skills would become unmanageable. He would probably forget to use most of them anyway. That was one aspect of the ‘Gamer’ fiction that he didn't like. It was too easy to learn skills and farm a lot of Attributes. Many of them fanfictions were abandoned because the authors didn't know how to deal with power creep.
“Another advantage is that you can level your skills while in the Tower. However, you cannot earn experience.”
“Well, that’s useful,” Lucas hummed. If only he had more than one skill.
“Oh, one last thing,” Xavier said. “Every time you lose a Pokemon battle, you will be kicked out of your Mind Space and unable to return for twenty-four hours. I will not see you until the next time you return.”
“Well, I may as well get going,” Lucas said, squaring his shoulders. “It was nice meeting you, Xavier; I will see you next time.” As he approached the door, it swung open, and he entered.
It was a straightforward layout, a vast circular room with two alcoves, one at the entrance and the other on the opposite side, with some stairs leading upwards. Beside the stairs was an elevator. Next to the door was a terminal that resembled a money machine. A mechanical voice suddenly spoke from out of nowhere.
‘Welcome to Resolution Tower. Please select your Pokemon from the terminal and step into the ring. Points earned by defeating opponents may be spent at the terminal at any time. You may choose to leave at any time by exiting the Tower. Your progress will be saved on the current floor, and you may return by using the elevator.’
Lucas operated the terminal. There were only two options, Pokemon and Shop. He pressed the Shop option, and a menu appeared with a list of skills and a buy option. His points were displayed in the top corner, which was currently zero.
He browsed through the options, and there must have been a few dozen. A familiar skill showed up in his vision, and he cursed. There was the {Observation} skill, and it was selling for ten points, one of the cheapest options. He began to realise just how vital {Arceus’s Blessing} was, and he had wasted one of the options on a skill he could easily obtain elsewhere. It was essential to not to waste the other two choices because he may think of a skill that was not readily available in this world or maybe really hard to obtain.
Lucas made a mental list of a few skills that he wanted. The first choice that excited him was {Meditation}, which by the description, is exactly what he needed to help regenerate his Aura. It cost twenty points, so that would be his goal before leaving the tower today. He just hoped that he didn't get beaten in the first battle. That would be embarrassing.
He exited the Shop menu and selected the Pokemon option. A new screen appeared with six different Pokemon displayed, all showing unique little animations.
His choices were: Caterpie, Weedle, Rattata, Pidgey, Ekans and Charmander. There was no information displayed, which was annoying. He didn't even know what type of Pokemon he would be facing. It looks like he would be thrown into the deep end. He didn't even know how different battles were in this world. Judging by the options, it should be obvious that he eliminated the first two options because of how weak they were. But for all he knew, they were the strongest Pokemon out of the six.
Lucas bit his teeth in indecision. Finally, he touched the icon for the Pidgey. If he was going in blind, then he may as well choose the option which could keep its distance while he adapted. A pokeball materialised into a small square recess next to the screen. Lucas picked the ball up and stared at it in amazement.
“Okay, I will allow myself a moment to nerd out.”
He pressed the button and chucked the ball in the air. “Pidgey, I choose you.”
The familiar red wave of energy appeared before coalescing into the bird Pokemon, Pidgey. The Pokemon was about two inches tall, and its appearance was similar to the game.
“Pi!” Pidgey raised its wings in welcome.
“Hey, buddy. Think you can help me with the next battle?”
Pidgey nodded its head.
‘{Observation}’
=====
Pokemon: Pidgey Age: 1 Type: Normal, Flying Potential: E
Description: Pidgey has an extremely sharp sense of direction. It can unerringly return home to its nest, however far it may be removed from its familiar surroundings.
Affection: 20 Favourite Foods:?
Moves:
Tackle: (Physical/Normal) [Power: 40] (Cost: 5)
Sand Attack: (Physical/Ground) [Power: 20] (Cost: 5)
Stats
Level:5 AP:0
HP:105/105 Aura:100/100
Attack:50 Defence:40 Sp Att:38 Sp Def:35 Speed:58
Special Ability: Keen Eye (prevents the loss of accuracy)
=====
[Observation has levelled up!]
[Observation Lv.1 > Lv.2.]
=====
Well, that was a surprise. The progress has jumped from halfway straight to Level 2. Plus, he could see all of Pidgeys parameters.
Lucas was confused. How did the progress jump so much?
‘{Skill}’
=====
[Observation] (Active) [Lv:2] (Next:25%) [Cost: 2]
Description: Knowledge is power. Observe an object or living entity and learn its secrets. The higher the skill level, the more information is revealed.
- Reveals a small amount of information on special objects.
- Reveals most information on owned Pokemon
- Reveals a small amount of information on Pokemon not owned, up to five levels above the player's level.
=====
It looked like the skill considered Pidgey an owned Pokemon, even though it would be only around for one battle. Was the experience gained based on the amount of information he learned? Well, it seemed he had found a small shortcut to levelling his {Observation}.
He returned his attention to Pidgey's parameters. There were a few changes from the game that he could see. Pokemon now had {Aura} as a resource, which made more sense than having a set number of {Moves}. There were no EVs Instead, they got {AP} at level up as he did. That meant more control of how he distributed their {Stats}.
One thing was bugging him, though. What the hell was {Potential}? Did it affect the growth of Pokemon? Well, put it on the list of things to research.
Lucas stepped inside the circle with his Pokemon at his side. Across from him, a figure appeared. It was a black shape with no defining features. It threw a Pokeball into the air, and a Pokemon appeared.
‘{Observation}’
=====
Pokemon: Caterpie Age:1 Type: Bug.
Description: Its short feet are tipped with suction pads that enable it to climb slopes and walls.
=====
‘This is a one-on-one battle. The battle is determined when one or both Pokemon faints. In the result of a draw, the win goes to the trainer belonging to the Resolution Tower. Now...Fight!’
A basic HUD materialised above the Pokemons heads. Two bars, one red and one gold. The sudden appearance distracted him, and he hesitated briefly when giving his first command.
“Pidgey, fly as high as you can,” Lucas said.
Pidgey obeyed his command, but Caterpie had already executed {String Shot} at the ascending Pokemon. It came thick and fast, surprising Lucas. It was similar to Spider-Man's web shooter and almost as quick.
Pidgey managed to soar above the {String Shot}, and the attack impacted the wall with a bang. The string shot petered out, and the Caterpie started moving around. It knew that it couldn’t target Pidgey when it was so high, so by moving, it kept itself from being a stationary target.
“Pidgey, get closer but don’t take a straight path. When you get close enough, divebomb and hit it with {Tackle}.”
Pidgey obeyed. Lucas only just relaised that he couldn't hear the opponent's commands. Was the same true for his opponent?
Pidgey got within a few metres and dived. Caterpie stopped and shot another {String Shot}. However, it was done too hastily and shot over Pidgeys head. Pidgey had gained a lot of speed by dive bombing, so that the Caterpie couldn't react in time.
Caterie has been hit by {Tackle}!
Pidgey’s momentum has resulted in a critical hit!
Caterpie takes 43 damage!
Caterpie went sprawling, the momentum of Pidgey’s attack inflicting alot of damage. Caterpie’s health bar dropped by half. Pidgey, however, didn't escape unscathed. Pidgeys momentum was too much, and she grazed the ground.
Pidgey has hit the ground!
Pidgey has taken 11 damage!
[HP: 94/105]
Pidgey stumbled on the ground for a moment . Caterpie was struggling to get up, looking disorientated.
“Pidgey, fly straight at Caterpie and {Tackle}. Don't let it recover.”
Pidgey flew horizontally at Caterpie, his speed having slowed down somewhat. Caterpie managed to get off a {String Shot} right before Pidgey hit it again.
Caterpie has been hit by {Tackle}!
Caterpie has taken 24 damage!
Pidgey has been hit with a {String Shot}!
Pidgey has taken 10 damage!
[HP: 84/105]
Caterpie ended up sprawling again, just not as far. Because Pidgey had been so close to the attack, she didn't receive much damage. However, her wings were stuck with sticky strings. She briefly struggled but wasn't able to free herself.
“Pidgey, don't worry about your wings. Get closer and hit it with {Sand Attack}. It’s almost over.”
Pidgey started hopping forward. Caterpie was a few metres away, and it was very sluggish at the moment. It had two direct shots to the head, and now it was taking time to get up.
Pidgey got within two metres and executed {Sand Attack}. Yellow sandy particles gathered above her head in an orb before a load of sand blasted out and spread out in a fan shape. To call it sand wasn't exactly accurate as there were plenty of sharp rocks embedded inside the sand. It hit Caterpie head-on.
Caterpie has taken 16 damage!
Caterpie has fainted
Lucas cheered.
‘[Trainer Lucas has won the battle. Congratulations! Here are your rewards. The stairs to the next level will unlock once you have viewed the Memory. Simply break the shard on the ground to activate it.].’
[You have received Memory Shard 01: Promise.]
[You have received 5 Shop Points.]
The shadow trainer and Caterpie disappeared.
“You were amazing, buddy. Thanks for your help,” Lucas said.
The Pidgey lifted a wing in a wave before disappearing.
Lucas sat down and took a breath. “That was more intense than I imagined.”
A fight between two low-levelled pokemon was already this fierce. What would future battles look like? He was just a rookie, and he was sure he could've done better. The other trainer wasn't even that good.
Then there were the particulars of the fight itself that had been illuminating. He had so many thoughts and ideas running around in his head that he wished he had a notebook to write it all down.
Both the Caterpie’s {String Shot} and Pidgeys {Sand Attack} did not work as they did in the game. They were merely status effects, but here they were more realistic and dealt damage.
Caterpies {String Shot} was far more lethal, and while technically it could lower speed, it was more like a very effective constraint, depending on what area of the body was hit.
Pidgeys {Sand Attack} was more of a short-range AOE attack and wasn't very effective on single targets. Again it could potentially blind an opponent, but only for a short duration. Had he known that it could deal damage then maybe he could have used it more effectively in battle. The only reason he chose to use it at the end was because with Pidgey's wings being restrained, {Tackle} was virtually useless.
Furthermore, {Sand Attack} did not physically churn up sand to attack opponents but instead cast it like it was a Mage. Was this the manipulation of {Aura}? Did that make it a {Special Attack}? No, he had seen that under Pidgey's parameters, that it was considered a Physical {Move} and damage was calculated from its {Attack}.
Then he thought of something obvious. {Moves} cost {Aura} to operate. Even though they were both {Physical}. It had been there, looking right in his face. The final conclusion he reached was that all {Moves} utilized {Aura} but was separated into two different elements, {Physical} and {Special}.
It made sense. For example, Pidgeys body was lightweight and even though it can generate a lot of momentum, it shouldn't be able to deal so much damage. At least not with taking recoil damage itself. So somewhere in the [Move], it was reinforcing it with {Aura}.
Furthermore, what if you had a huge Pokemon like Snorlax? Could it deal a lot of damage without using a {Move}? Pokemon could utilise their natural advantages such as body size, power, and shape to change the fight completely.
Then he thought about it in terms of {Stats}. Did that mean that two vastly different sized Pokemon such as a Snorlax and a Pickachu, could technically have the same {Attack} but the Snorlax’s was still much higher because of its power and size difference? It was like a hidden {Stat} you had to take into consideration with every battle.
Then you could take it further by utilising combinations. Linking a Pokemon's movements with {Moves} to chain together a series of attacks that left your opponent reeling.
Lucas took a breath. Just that one battle had him learn so much, it would pay dividends when he started his own journey. He turned his attention to his inventory and retrieved the Memory Shard; a ruby coloured crystal shaped into a rough estimation of a heart.
He threw the shard onto the ground.
So let me know what you think. This is my first significant fanfiction project and I’m still trying to find my style. Maybe taking on a Gamer fanfic first was not the best idea, but I love the genre.
