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Pokemon: Way of Life Chapter 20
🕑 Added 2022-11-18 03:13:51 +0000 UTCHi all,
I can now say I have written over 100k words. I have enjoyed the writing so far, and I couldn't do it without your support. So thanks, everyone.
Lucas stepped into the Pokemon Camp for a second time, followed by the rest of the group. It felt strange returning as it felt like a lifetime since he had been here last.
The Camp had changed a lot, with several new buildings and training facilities popping up all over the place, shrinking the space and making it feel more like a small town than a Camp. Was this a result of the incident, or was there something else happening?
Lucas grabbed the Pokeballs off his belt and released his two partners. Faith and Jason copied him, and all four Pokemon gathered in a huddle.
Since they would travel together in the future, they decided to let Dante teach all their Pokemon to read and write. Lucas invested in four electronic drawing pads so they could learn more efficiently. Surprisingly, a company in Pallet Town provided a service to modify equipment, making it accessible to different Pokemon. The electronic pads also doubled as an e-reader, with access to a library of free reading materials. If they worked hard, they would be rewarded with funds to purchase their own books for their enjoyment.
Lucas was also surprised to discover that there were devices that allowed telepathic communication between Pokemon, but they were still a new technology and prohibitively expensive. He would wait until he was in a more secure financial situation. If he asked his parents to buy them for him, he was sure they would do it instantly, but he wanted to pave his own way without relying on his parent's wealth.
Lucas took out the four electronic pads and handed them to the Pokemon. They drifted off to the side and sat down on the grass, already absorbed in their own world.
Others looked curiously at the strange sight but soon dismissed them from their minds, looking around with nervous expressions. Considering what went down last time, he couldn't blame them. He could see about five of the teenagers that had been a part of his group when Team Rocket attacked. The rest were nowhere to be seen. They probably didn't want to return after they had been traumatised. Several new faces made up for the lost numbers and were looking around in excitement, oblivious to the undercurrents.
"You should have let me pay for my own," Faith said, eyeing Tangela, who was using a vine to draw on his pad.
"Then pay me back when you can," Lucas shrugged. "You probably will receive your inheritance soon enough."
Ethan Kline had been taken into custody, and a temporary replacement had been installed as Director. Lucas had met the woman yesterday when they went to see the kids, and so far, he didn't get any bad vibes from her. The collaborator from Kanto trust had also been arrested. He was already looking to strike a deal by throwing Kline under the bus.
It would take some time for the investigation to be complete, but it looked like the part about the inheritance would be easily resolved. The orphans would get their money placed into a trust account until they turned fifteen. Whether or not they regained the Pokedollars that Kline had stolen was another thing. Thankfully, he was caught before he could spend a considerable chunk of the inheritance.
The Mayor of Pallet Town had come out condemning Kline's actions, but since they were close buddies, it had damaged his reputation significantly. With an election coming next year, it looked likely that he would not serve another term.
Lucas still had not received the notification for the quest completion, and he wondered if he had to wait until the Director was formally charged. It was hard to imagine him avoiding a conviction. However, they had obtained the evidence dubiously through an anonymous source, so the argument could be made that the evidence was obtained illegally, although that was hard to prove.
If Kline escaped prison, he would still be run out of town and possibly the region. Lucas didn't have to worry about him getting his old job back. Since the man may have a mental illness, he may even spend some time in a mental hospital.
Jason tapped his shoulder, and Lucas looked forward to seeing that a group of people had joined them while he was deep in thought. There were the three familiar figures of Olivier Armstrong, Roy Mustang and Maes Hughes. They were joined by another three Rangers and two other strangers,
"That is Erika," Faith exclaimed. "The Gym Leader of Celadon Gym."
The woman was certainly attractive, with short blue-black hair and dressed in an elegant Kimono, although she had a bored look on her face and looked like she was going to fall asleep.
Considering she was a grass-type specialist, it was no wonder that Faith was so excited. Lucas had no doubt she would be badgering the woman with questions sometime during the week.
"Lieutenant Surge," Jason identified the other person. "It seems they are going out of their way to protect the Camp. But isn't it a little overkill?"
Surge reminded him of Gideon, with similar stature and physique. However, they differed in personality, as he seemed loud and boisterous, as the man let out another booming laugh.
"Listen up," Armstrong called. Everyone went silent as the intimidating woman stepped forward. "To those that are new here, welcome. And to those returning, I want to assure you that what happened six weeks ago will not be repeated on my watch. As you can see, the number of Rangers in Camp has increased by a fair amount, and we are also joined by two Gym Leaders who have taken time out of their busy schedules to oversee the training for the next week. Would the two Gym Leaders like to step forward and say a few words?"
Surge crossed his massive arms and looked around at the group of people. "Well, you certainly look like a bunch of losers. Straighten up and look more confident. With me here, nothing is going to go wrong."
"Thank you, Lieutenant Surge," Armstrong said dryly. "Erica, do you want to say anything? Erica?"
The woman was standing there, taking a nap. It was impressive how she fell asleep almost immediately amongst the noise while standing on her feet.
Armstrong walked over and shook Erica awake. The woman started and peered around sleepily. "What's going on?"
The crowd chuckled, disarmed by the woman's demeanour. She was a lot more approachable than Lieutenant Surge.
Armstrong shook her head and turned back to the crowd. She repeated the same speech she did last time, mainly for the newcomers. However, there were some differences from last time. They had changed some of the lessons to be safer. Also, there were going to be three Rangers and a Gym Leader per group when they ventured outside the Camp.
"Finally, the Camp competition will resume like last time, but the test has changed from the previous version. On Saturday morning, you will work within a group of three to complete your task, and the top three teams will all get to choose a starter Pokemon. That means nine starter Pokemon are up for grabs, so choose your teams carefully. Remember, the test does not involve Pokemon, so those without any are not at any disadvantage. You have five minutes to choose your team."
Everyone broke out in excited voices; some were already eyeing others to see who would make a good team member.
Lucas shared a glance with Faith and Jason, and they all high-fived. They would all get a decent chance of getting a starter Pokemon. It meant they would all start with at least two Pokemon.
Lucas turned around as a throat cleared to see Armstrong standing behind him. The woman certainly had a presence about her, even though he stood three inches taller than her. She was in superb shape, almost to the same degree as a professional body-builder in his old world.
"Lucas Walker," Armstrong said, holding out a hand. "It's nice to meet you formally."
"Likewise," Lucas said, shaking her hand. He held in a wince at her crushing grip. Something told him this woman respected strength above anything else, and showing weakness would diminish him in her eyes.
"I'm sorry that you had to go through a trying ordeal," Armstrong held his gaze. "But you don't seem to shook up by the experience. You sure have some nerves of steel. It is a good trait to have for a Pokemon Trainer."
"Thank you," Lucas said awkwardly. It was hard taking a compliment from this woman, as he was sure she didn't give them out all too often.
"I would like to talk to you and your Ms Harper later," Armstrong turned her sharp gaze to Faith. "My office is the building next to the Rangers Barracks. Come see me after the evening meal." Armstrong spun around and walked away.
"What was that about?" Jason asked. "Man, she could kill someone with her gaze alone."
"There could be a couple of reasons," Lucas mused, watching the woman cautiously. "Either she wants to question us more about what happened or recruit us into the rangers."
"Probably both," Faith looked around to see if anyone was listening. "Mustang must have told her about my ability as an Aura User. She is his superior, so it's no surprise."
"What?!" Jason shouted. "Your an - "
Lucas clapped his hand over Jason's mouth. "Will you keep it quiet?"
Jason nodded, looking abashed. Lucas grabbed Faith's hand because she looked like she was about to beat him to a pulp. Poor Jason, suffering so much abuse at the hands of his girlfriend. It would probably be a frequent occurrence with his inability to keep his mouth shut.
"Have you selected your teams?" Armstrong called.
The groups had split into groups of three, but some seemed unhappy with their teams. Unfortunately, some had to team up out of necessity, either because they didn't know anyone here or because nobody wanted to choose them.
Lucas checked out the other teams, trying to gauge who would be competitive and possible hindrances to getting the top spot. Out of all of them, there were about five teams he felt were a genuine threat. Was his Perception telling him that, or was it the way they held themselves? They seemed to be doing the same as him, checking out the competition. He met the gaze of a tall, dark-haired teenager with grey eyes. The teenager acknowledged him with a nod.
"Who is that?" Lucas pointed at the teenager.
"That is Benjamin Slater," Jason answered. "He was in my group last time. He certainly gives off a feeling of dominance."
"He looks like he will be our toughest competition," Lucas hummed. "Call it instinct. His teammates don't look too shabby either."
Armstrong clapped her hands to regain their attention. "Before we continue, are there any questions?"
A dark-skinned raised his hand. "Are we allowed to know what the test will be?"
Armstrong nodded. "The practical exam will commence on Saturday morning and end on Sunday evening. It will be a combination of everything that you learn this week. You will have to spend a night in the wild, but we will clear out the Pokemon in the surrounding area. We will also have Rangers patrolling if you get in trouble for any reason."
Mustang spoke up for the first time. "It will be a treasure hunt within ten-square kilometres. You will be given the first clue to solve, leading to several other clues. The finish line is located within the specified area and can be found once you solve the final clue. The first three teams to finish will get the reward. You have to finish before six pm Sunday night to earn a passing grade on the practical exam. So don't take it lightly."
=====
New Quest received!
Number One Team in Camp
Description: Utilise your survival skills and work together with your team to get first place on the practical exam and receive a starter Pokemon. If that cannot be achieved, make sure to finish the test on time, or your Pokemon journey may be delayed.
Current Objective: Come first place in the test.
Bonus Objective: Finish before noon on Sunday, August 2nd.
Time Limit: Thirty-six hours, commencing from Saturday, August 1st, at Six am.
====
It was the first time seeing a bonus objective. Was that going to be a thing in the future? If it meant more rewards, he didn't have a problem working a little extra hard to complete it.
Lucas thought about the exam. Would he have an unfair advantage with his Map? After thinking about it for a while, he shrugged his shoulders. Even if it did, these people were strangers to him. There were Pokemon on the line, so he could afford to be selfish.
"Let's split the groups into two again. All the teams will be in the same group, so you get used to working together." Armstrong said. "Right, I almost forgot. It would help if you gave yourselves a team name to distinguish yourselves. We will start with your team." She pointed at Lucas.
"Uh," Lucas looked at the other two, who shrugged, leaving it up to him. "Call us, Indomitable Faith."
Jason snorted. "Lame."
"It's only a temporary name," Lucas protested.
Faith gazed at Lucas with a deadpan look. Lucas avoided her gaze and waited while the others called out their team names. All much worse than his own, in his humble opinion.
{0(((..)))0}
"Lucas Walker and Faith Harper to see Ms Armstrong. She's expecting us," Lucas told the Ranger guarding the office.
Today, his group had spent half the day foraging through the woods, identifying ingredients that could be used for cooking or as medicines. He had gathered a decent amount, giving him a few levels in the Harvesting skill.
After lunch, they were taught how to read and draw basic maps. It had given Lucas the Cartography skill, which he decided to wait to acquire. With his Map function, he has yet to see an urgent need for it. Since it was helpful in the exam, he may decide to get it later in the week.
The Ranger nodded and opened the door, and motioned them to enter. Lucas and Faith walked inside and saw Armstrong sitting behind a solid plain desk. The room was spartan with little decorations, which hinted at a woman who liked functionality over appearance. There was a picture frame on the desk of a man who looked similar to her, sporting an impressive moustache.
Armstrong followed Lucas's gaze and snorted. "My little brother. Alex is dumb as a rock, but I love the idiot anyway. He works as a captain in Ground-Self-Defence-Force."
"He looks a lot like you," Lucas said, sitting in the chair. Faith sat in the other one.
"Not something that I would call a ringing endorsement," Armstrong said dryly. She put the papers down and clasped her hands in front of her, giving them a penetrating stare.
"I wanted to meet you because I have heard you are both Aura Users. Do you know how many there are in the Kanto region? Three dozen. It is the lowest amount by population out of all the regions. A sad state of affairs when Kanto is the birthplace of the most famous Aura User of all time, Sir Aaron, and home to the Aura Guardian Academy. To have two show up at the same time is a rare occurrence. I have an acquaintance within the Aura Guardians who asked me to pass on an offer for a new idea they have proposed to the Academy."
"Is this my offer to join?" Lucas asked. "Because I already stated that I'm more interested in the Pokemon Circuit for now."
Armstrong leaned back in her seat, ignoring their questions. "The Aura Guardians wish to try a new method for an Aura User to complete their Mastery Degree. Attendance has taken a sharp decline in recent years. There is no one reason, but they are looking to turn it around. They wish to try a new method, which is merely an idea at this stage."
"A new method of training?" Lucas asked, leaning forward in interest.
"Simply put, you will be training while participating in the Pokemon Circuit. It will be tailored to your schedule, and you will meet trainers in various towns and cities to get some hands-on experience."
"And they want to use us as guinea pigs for the new idea? Why us in particular" Faith asked.
"There are a couple of reasons," Armstrong said. "First, since the Academy is located in Rota Town, it is convenient that you will be close at hand for delivering correspondence. Also, you will begin your journey soon, so the timing is ideal. But the main reason is that they are excited about your potential and don't want to let you slip out their fingers." She pointed at Lucas.
"Why include me as well?" Faith asked sceptically. "I am nowhere as talented as Lucas."
"They have been investigating the both of you," Armstrong shrugged. "They already know that you are a couple. They assume you will be travelling together, so it doesn't take much effort to include you. Besides, having more than one participant will give more accurate data."
"It sounds interesting," Lucas mused, tapping a finger on his leg. "But how much time will this take? Are there any benefits for us besides the obvious?"
Armstrong smirked. "There will be plenty of time for you to complete the Masters's Degree in Aura Studies. There is no rush to finish it as soon as possible."
Armstrong opened her drawer and showed them a catalogue advertising many Pokemon and items. "Don't let anyone know I have shown you this catalogue," Armstrong warned.
They both flipped through the catalogue, stunned by the number of Pokemon available from other regions and a plethora of items, but they were all costly. Still, Lucas had to suppress the urge to run away with the book and start ordering stuff.
"You need permission to order things from this catalogue," Armstrong said, reading his mind. "One benefit is that you can access this resource. Another benefit is that you can access fast and cheap transportation to other regions if you are interested in catching your own Pokemon, for example."
Now that was some significant benefits. If he had access to other regional Pokemon, he would have more options in building a formidable team. By the look of excitement on Faith's face, he could tell she was on board with the idea. It was more important to her as she was pursuing a more extreme area of mastery. The Kanto region wasn't known for their diverse grass-type Pokemon.
"Well, that certainly interests me," Lucas replied with a straight face, trying not to look too eager.
"Think about it," Armstrong suggested. "I will get my acquaintance to meet with you and your guardians in the next few weeks to iron out the detail. He has been extremely busy of late, so he asked me to get the ball rolling."
"Okay. Is that all you want to talk about?" Lucas inquired.
"Of course not," Armstrong smirked. "I wanted to make my pitch for you to join the Rangers."
{0(((..)))0}
Lucas sat on his bed while the others boys were already sleeping soundly. With the recent conversation with Ollivier in mind, it was hard to fall asleep as he was excited about the possibilities, and various plans and ideas flittered about in his brain.
He did not put a lot of thought into the offer to join the Rangers. Sure, he seriously considered joining them for the mandatory three years of service simply because his parents did the same. But that was not something he had to worry about now.
Lucas looked at the blinking red dot in his vision that reminded him that he had some unread notifications. He had been playing around with the settings and noticed the nifty feature, which he enabled straight away. Any non-urgent notifications would not be displayed automatically, and he could read them at his discretion. He opened the notifications and read the new message.
=====
Congratulations!
Arceus has answered your Prayer!
There have been multiple changes to some mechanics; please read the following brief for all the details.
=====
1) The player's Pokemon can no longer learn Moves by levelling up but must learn them with effort. The upside is that it enables the Pokemon to learn Moves at any level when its requirement is met. Any Moves learnt up to this point will be retained.
2) Technical Machines now have Stat requirements that the Pokemon must meet before learning the Move.
3) The Move Tutor Function can now teach Pokemon Egg Moves.
4) The Pokemon-type affinities can now be viewed. Affinities are the Pokemon's ability to harness type energy to learn new Moves.
5) The User Interface for the Pokemon Status screen has been updated. The Moves information has been sorted into a different tab for a cleaner interface. They also can be viewed on the Move Progression screen. There is also a new tab for affinities, but the player can only view information on his own Pokemon.
=====
Lucas looked at Dante, sleeping next to Max at the end of the bed and used 'Observation.'
Dante's Stats hadn't increased since he was away, but it was no surprise. Only once Dante hit his second growth period would he gain more Stats by training. Whether that was the result of evolution remained to be seen. At least his Affection level remained strong, although it had not increased because of distance and isolation from his partner.
He moved to the new affinities tab and checked out Dantes's parameters.
=====
Affinities
Attack
Psychic ~ 50%
Fairy ~ 20%
Grass ~ 15%
Defence (cannot be changed}
Poison: -100%
Ghost: -100%
Dark: -100%
Psychic: +50%
Fighting: +75%
Dragon: Immune
=====
It was interesting that they were separated into two categories: attack and defence. Dante had gained the grass-type energy affinity with the help of the incense, but it still only reached ten per cent. He wondered if it was a linear growth or did it slow down as it increased further. Lucas imagined it was the latter. The defence affinities could not be changed, but he had to work on increasing the attack affinity to learn more powerful Moves. They now had an affinity requirement to obtain before his Pokemon could even learn the Move.
He was excited to begin working on teaching Dante a new Move. Lucas took the Pokemon Move Encyclopedia out of his inventory. It was a source of information for Pokemon and the possible Moves they could learn. It was incomplete, and new editions were coming out every year as researchers discovered new information. He flipped through the book until he got to the Ralts page and looked at the different Moves the Pokemon could learn. It was mainly Psychic Moves, although there was a lot of variety in the TMs.
Things got more interesting when Dante evolved into Gallade, as the variety and number of Moves available was enormous. It was both a blessing and a curse, as having too much variety could take him down the wrong path. He had to remind himself that the balance of the team was more important than teaching Pokemon every Move possible.
Besides the change to the Moves progression, the other thing that had him excited was he could now learn Egg Moves from the Move Tutor function. It meant that he would have more options in the future. Honestly, he had forgotten about the feature because he had only four training points due to Dante mastering his four Moves.
Lucas opened the Move Tutor screen and searched for any Moves he could afford. Max's was out of the question, as the few he had cost eight trainer points at least. He looked at Dantes, where there were a few options like Ally Switch, Confuse Ray and Encore. Ally Switch was a solid option, with Encore coming in a close second. He was greedy, though, and he wanted Moves that could be taught to his other Pokemon as well. He should hold off until he gets another Pokemon. Now that the Moves progression had changed, he could learn some new moves and rack up the trainer points. The only problem was that Pokemon were more effective in training Moves than humans, so he would have to find some willing Pokemon. Thankfully, his parents had some suitable Pokemon, except for electric Moves. But there were other people he could tap into, like his Grandpa and the Three Enforcers.
Before going to bed, Lucas took an incense out of his inventory. After many failed attempts, he managed to create the new incense. Since he obtained Max, he had been targeting the electric-type version. He planned to try and make two more before he started his journey, with the next two desired Pokemon types in mind.
=====
Electric-Type Insight Incense | Rare | Grade: 3 |
Description: An improved formula on a new creation from a budding incense master. A Pokemon under the effects of this incense gains insight into manipulating electric-type energy. It may only apply to some Pokemon.
Effective Range: Ten metres
Duration: Two hours
Potency: Increases electric-type energy sensing by 50%
=====
Lucas was happy with his progress for the moment. His quests were all up to date; he only needed to work on increasing the Immutable skill level a bit more at a time. It was already level twelve, so it wasn't a pressing matter. He was sure that once he had completed the quest, a new quest would spawn, requiring him to find Mew.
Where would he even begin looking? He tried to recall the locations it showed up in the anime and movie, but he couldn't remember. Either way, things happened differently in this version of the world.
It was a safe bet to assume that Mew wouldn't be in the same places as canon.
Lucas Meditated to calm his mind down and then lay down to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be another busy day.
{0(((..)))0}
July 28th
"All right, listen up, everyone," Mustang called. Luitenant Surge stood next to him, along with two other Rangers.
It was seven in the morning, and they had just finished breakfast in the mess hall. They gathered next to the western exit of the Camp, as today would be another practical exercise outside the walls. Today, they would learn how to set up a campsite and secure the surroundings against wild Pokemon.
"Like always, stay together and keep your vigilance dialled to eleven. We won't go very far today, but there is still danger, no matter the distance from Camp. Has everyone got their packs?"
After confirmation, they headed east into the forest. After passing the line of trees and entering the forest depths, Lucas was reminded of the last time he was there. Faith tensed beside him, obviously on the same wavelength as him. He grasped her hand, and she smiled at him.
Their Pokemon walked beside them, and they looked around with curiosity and eager expressions, except for Dante, who was alert. He was the only one who was around when Team Rocket attacked.
After half an hour, they reached a clearing big enough for the teams to set up a campsite. They dropped their packs and waited for the Mustang to speak.
Mustang marched up and down people lined up like they were in boot camp. Lieutenant Surge watched from a few metres away while the other two Rangers patrolled the perimeter.
"The first thing you need to learn is picking the right place to set up camp," Mustang said. "Now, there are certainly better locations than this as it is very open. It has no obstacles or walls that can protect your back from an ambush. An ideal location is where there is only one entrance, like a cave. However, it will do for demonstrational purposes for now."
"Start setting up your tents," Mustang commanded. The group scrambled to obey, most choosing a random location to set up their tent.
Faith pointed to the centre of the clearing, and the two boys nodded. Two other teams had the same idea and started setting up a few metres away.
Mustang watched them for a moment before continuing. "There are other factors that you have to take into consideration. Being close to a water source is essential, as you will likely only carry a little water with you."
Jason and Lucas set up the tent while Faith barked instructions, enjoying herself immensely. It wasn't too complicated, though, so they only humoured her as they quickly pulled the tent together.
"The next thing you have to consider is a lookout at all times during the night," Mustang said, walking up to a team's tent and inspecting their work. "Whether that is your Pokemon, yourselves, or a combination of both. Finding the ideal location to set up surveillance is important. A place that lets you see a good distance in all directions is ideal."
Lieutenant Surge walked in their direction, and Lucas looked at the man curiously, wondering what the man wanted with him.
"So I heard that you have been causing a lot of trouble lately," Surge said casually, coming to stand next to Lucas.
"Cause? No, merely reacting to circumstances beyond my control."
"You remind me of myself," Surge slapped his shoulder. "You show no hesitation to take charge and put yourself in danger when it's most important. It is an important quality in a soldier."
"I'm not a soldier," Lucas denied. "But I can't refute the rest of what you said."
"Can I convince you of a carrier in the military?" Surge asked hopefully
"Hey, stop trying to steal Lucas away," Jason moved in and threw his arm around his shoulders. "We have a dream that we want to fulfil."
"You looking for a fight, brat?" Surge asked, cracking his knuckles.
"Not at all," Jason hid behind Lucas.
Surge snorted before turning towards Faith. "So your secret is out? How are you dealing with the fallout?"
Since he didn't seem hostile, Faith answered him politely. "It helps that I can get away for a week. I don't know what I will be returning to, though."
Surge waved his hand in dismissal. "You're making a mountain out of a molehill. The people who matter don't care about who your parents are, just as long as you don't follow in their footsteps."
"Thank you," Faith said.
Mustang called. "Fantastic job to the three teams who chose the centre. If we were attacked right now, you would have the best protection and the last people to be attacked.
"Alright, we will teach you some methods to alert you to intruders within the Camp, such as setting tripwire alarms and basic traps. They may be simple but may save your life one day."
The day continued from there, and no incidents happened to derail his enjoyment. Hopefully, the rest of the week will be the same.
So, what do you think? The next chapter is going to feature the exam. Can the team get some starter Pokemon?
Comments
GamerFiction
To be honest, they are brief cameos. I don't foresee using them much after the Camp, but that may change in the future.
Laharl365
Super solid. I'm curious to see how the FMAB characters are used
GamerFiction
Yeah, it was bugging me for a while. Finally changed it.
FelixStowmwolf99
Like the move changes. Like that they need to work to master them and not learn them when leveling
