Rookidee finally recovered enough energy. It hopped out of Joe's arms, but its flight path was wobbly. The bird was far from fully healed. It plopped itself onto Joe's head. Joe reached up and scratched Rookidee. It was content and relaxed, looking like a melting scoop of ice cream.
Joe remained vigilant, watching over the forest just in case. He was ready to continue the fight if necessary. But his mind kept wandering to Fomantis, so he decided to bring it up now. He wanted to know more about her. Wanted to know how to help her.
"Hey, Ralts." He said, the little white Pokemon on his shoulder still hugging his head. "Do you know what's wrong with Fomantis?"
Ralts went quiet for a moment as she contemplated how to phrase it. While she understood emotion, translating it to human language had its problems. She looked into Joe's mind to learn concepts and linked them to her own understanding.
"Fomantis is depressed. She has low self-esteem." Ralts finally replied.
Joe knew the type. And because of that, he had ways to help Fomantis. It was easier for her to fall than it was to pick herself back up. She needed a goal. Inspiration. A reason to keep trying her best. It didn't matter what it was, Joe would accommodate.
Talonflame adjusted, moving higher without tilting too far and throwing Joe off. Joe looked over his shoulder and saw the mountain range. The lush green sea below turned into dull brown rock and the ravine soon came into view. Joe peered over the edge as Talonflame hovered. Bad idea. The crack in the earth was too deep, becoming pitch black after a point. It made Joe shiver.
The birds lowered the eggs into the abyss, disappearing for a time. Talonflame landed and stood on the edge of the ravine. She ducked down, allowing Joe to hop off. He watched until all three eggs were tucked away safely, as did the giant bird. Once the task was complete, Talonflame turned to Joe.
"Well, I'd say my duty is complete. You stay safe, Talonflame."
Talonflame nodded, an action that could be heard, still to Joe's amusement. Rookidee jumped down and hovered in front of Joe. He instinctively put an arm out for the rotund bird to rest on. It gripped his arm tightly and didn't seem to want to let go.
Joe liked Rookidee, it seemed to want to be a hero just like himself. They'd get along well. "Come with me and I'll train you to be a true hero."
Rookidee chirped happily, flapping its wings without lifting off. It then seemed a little shocked, rushing to cover its excitement with a calm expression and a salute, its wing touching its forehead. Joe smiled as he grabbed a Pokeball and held it to Rookidee. The bird tapped the button and went inside after being engulfed by blue energy.
#0821 Rookidee
Gender: Male
Height: 0' 08" (Average)
Weight: 1.8kg (Average)
Moves: Peck / Focus Energy / Rock Smash /
Ability: Keen Eye
Automatically counters disruption moves using a variety of methods.
Rookidee came back out and sat atop Joe's head.
Talonflame gained Joe's attention when she began shaking, a shiver from head to tail feathers. When she stopped, she reached under a wing and poked around a bit. Her beak came into view holding one of her own feathers. It was massive, as expected. Nearly the size of Joe. It came from one of the many red spots across her body, so was a magnificent crimson.
The giant bird had been searching for a loose feather and felt one detach on the underside of her wing. She leaned forward and opened her beak above Joe, letting the feather drop. Joe caught it. It felt warm and, since it was a feather on the scale of a bird the size of a house, it was sturdy.
Rotom flew out of Joe's pocket to enlighten him. "A Talonflame feather. They can generate heat for a few years. Centuries ago, people collected them and put them under the sheets of their beds to stay warm during cold seasons. Considering it's from an Alpha, the heat from this particular feather may last decades."
Payment for a job well done. Joe's first Remnant. It was a good idea to sow it into his sleeping bag. Joe nodded up at the bird. "Thanks." He turned, ready to leave. "Good luck with parenthood."
Rookidee flew up to Talonflame and nuzzled her face. They exchanged a few words and Rookidee went back to Joe. Talonflame told him to live his best life, but to be careful. It was good to want to do the right thing, but Rookidee also had to look after himself. Rookidee replied saying Joe would need all the help he could get, which Talonflame felt wasn't wrong. Joe seemed reckless, to put it mildly.
With a Xatu in the flock, Talonflame could vaguely listen to what Joe was up to. Xatu received cryptic prophecies about the future, after all. With that power, Talonflame would listen for trouble. If Joe ever found himself in serious trouble, Talonflame would try to help if she didn't have her hands full raising her children. She felt like she owed him for what he'd done.
Talonflame let out a mighty caw, turning to the ravine. A moment later, Altaria burst out of the hole and landed by Joe. One final parting gift, an escort to wherever Joe was headed.
Thanks to the feather being strong but also flexible, Joe was able to fold it in half and put it in his bag. This proved it'd be fine all curled up in his sleeping bag. Joe yanked another jacket out and put it on, then scratched Altaria's chin and climbed aboard.
"I'll see you around, maybe." He spoke over his shoulder to the giant. If Joe ever found himself in the area, he doubted he could resist checking up on the birds. Despite the insane injury given to him by a mother Aggron, if Joe ever found himself in that area of Johto again, he'd certainly stop by and say hi. He'd no doubt figure out some stupid comment to lead with.
One last caw from Talonflame signalled a goodbye. Altaria took to the air. Joe pointed the way, deciding to take advantage of his temporary mount. They flew over open fields and a couple of small towns. It wasn't long before, on the horizon, Joe could see Pewter. A large city with a tall skyline.
It was still early afternoon. After a slightly late lunch, Joe had time to go to the Gym. But he also wanted to stretch his legs again, so Joe tapped Altaria's side and pointed at the ground here. Altaria was confused since the city was visible, but if this was what Joe wanted then so be it. Altaria dropped to the ground, in the middle of a random field, and Joe dismounted.
He pet Altaria one last time, which it chirped at in pleasure, and watched it fly back towards the forest. Joe brought Absol out and gave her a thumbs up. "Job's done."
Absol nodded and followed her Trainer. They walked for a bit before Joe stopped near a dirt path. He brought all his Pokemon out, his roster continuing to grow in power now that he had a Butterfree and Rookidee. Absol liked Rookidee because he had great potential. She felt a strong energy from him.
With everyone out and eating, Joe approached Fomantis. No time like the present. He knelt in front of her and smiled. She looked up and seemed concerned, her eyes dipped and she slumped forward.
"Hey, don't worry. You're fine. I just wanted to talk to you for a minute, if you'll listen."
Fomantis looked up with saddened eyes, expecting Joe to let her go. Fomantis' opinion of herself was quite negative, feeling useless and like she'd never exit this rut. What Trainer would want a Pokemon like her?
Joe sat with crossed legs and picked Fomantis up. Held her close and stroked her head. "Listen up and listen well, Fomantis. First things first, you need to relax. I'm going to help you, but you also need to be receptive to it. I can only do so much. If you don't seriously try then ultimately you'll never get anywhere. Do you want to change?"
He heard a little squeak. It wasn't a strong reply, but at least she replied.
"Changing isn't something you do overnight. This is going to take time. Maybe months. During that time, you will fail. But that's okay. It's not about always succeeding, it's about making sure you keep getting back up. And I'll be there to encourage you every step. We all will. That's what friends are for. They support each other. So if you ever doubt you can keep going, rely on us."
Fomantis listened but didn't reply.
"What we need to do is find you an activity you enjoy. One way to get better is to start doing what you like, and then slowly branch out from there. An activity you like could give you energy to handle tasks you don't like. So, what do you like, Fomantis?"
She had no reply. She understood what Joe was saying, but she couldn't think of a hobby other than sleeping, resting the day away.
The lack of an answer gave Joe all he needed. "That's fine. It's something you need to find. It can be anything, okay? All that matters is that you have a reason to keep pushing forward." Joe considered his own likes and reasons for acting. "I don't want to push my style onto you. This is just an idea. How about helping people? Me and Absol started this journey because people need us. Rookidee helped Cyndaquil and you when you needed it. Even the stubborn Hoothoot over there has someone he cares about and would act for."
Hoothoot perked up hearing his name, sending a glare Joe's way for the underhanded insult. Although the man was right, Hoothoot didn't care for much, but he would act in Nidoran's best interest without being asked to.
"My point is, we all have reasons for doing what we do. You need to find your reason. Give it some thought. Think long and hard about it. Once you have something, we can go from there. Regardless of what you pick, I'll be here to help."
Joe put Fomantis down next to some food and watched as she stared but didn't eat. She was thinking about her future, working through the difficult emotions of knowing she had to force herself to change if she was going to get anywhere in life.
Absol thought, not for the first time, that if Joe was always like this then he'd be easier to get along with. Although she was getting used to his annoying prankster side, much to her dissatisfaction. She took the good with the bad, the boundary between Joe's two sides merging into one for her. She was beginning to accept him as a whole.
Ralts sat beside Fomantis with a smile on her face. The girls spoke, Ralts further assisting with Fomantis' complex thoughts. Joe couldn't help but think that Ralts had the ability to become the older sister of the group, looking after everyone.
Joe ate a sandwich and watched Cyndaquil and Rookidee eat together, talking and laughing, with Sandshrew by them. Butterfree, after finishing her portion, tested her new wings by flying around. She landed by Fomantis and Sprigatito had ventured away from Joe to be part of a group without her Trainer realising. They grew up so fast. Unfortunately, Joe had already made that joke back in New Bark.
As he watched his Pokemon, he remembered the two groups of enemies. He took out his phone. He had signal. He texted Looker.
"Encountered two groups of Hunters in Viridian Forest. They were trying to poach eggs, probably Pokemon too. They fled North."
"Noted."
A minute later, he received another text.
"Stations in nearby towns are on standby. Will update."
Joe finished his meal and watched his Pokemon play together for a while. He eventually spoke up. "Nidoran."
The horned rabbit turned to Joe after hearing his name, the stump of his missing ear twitching as it did automatically whenever a sound caught Nidoran's attention. He bounded over to Joe, Hoothoot hopping along next to him.
"Sorry it took so long, but I think it's about time we had a battle. I want to see what you can do."
Nidoran's face lit up with a smile. He turned to Hoothoot and began making noises. After a moment, he turned to Joe and nodded, using a paw to point at himself and Hoothoot.
"You two want to work together? All right, a double battle it is." Joe said as he stood up. He thought about who to use. This was the perfect chance to send Rookidee into battle, so he called out. "Cyndaquil, Rookidee, are you two up for a fight?"
They both perked up, looked at each other, and nodded. They really were fast friends.
"After this, we'll be heading to Pewter for our second Gym battle, so you all best be prepared."
Cyndaquil heard what Joe was saying, but it didn't compute. Second? What about the first? Cyndaquil ran up to Joe and started nudging his leg.
"What's up?" Joe asked, leaning over a little.
Cyndaquil began talking, but obviously Joe couldn't understand. Luckily, Ralts came over to translate. "He is asking what happened to the first Gym?"
"I know you want to fight, but it was a Ground-type Gym. You would've been at a disadvantage. Pewter's Gym is Rock-type so I'd rather not send you into that fight either…"
Cyndaquil grumbled, the area around his eyes scrunched in annoyance.
Joe knelt. "If you want to fight, I won't stop you. You can be part of the next Gym battle. Just know that it'll be a difficult fight." Joe said as Cyndaquil looked him in the eyes. "But I want to set expectations. You're fighting a weakness. That can be good, learning to better handle what you're bad at. But it could also go wrong. You asked for this, so if you lose, I don't want to hear any crying, okay? Instead of complaining, you'll just need to try twice as hard in the next fight. Is that fair?"
Cyndaquil's face hardened, seriously accepting Joe's words with a nod. It was good to attempt to combat a weakness. And if Cyndaquil lost then instead of complaining, he had to learn from the experience. Losing would sting, but he should turn that feeling into fuel for getting stronger.
"I guess we need a name for that mystery move of yours though, just so we're on the same page." He thought about it. "How about Explosion?"
"That's taken." Rotom chimed in.
Right, now that he thought about it, Joe felt like he'd heard of the move. "Fire… Flame… Flare? Flare Burst?"
"That's available."
"All right. For now, that special move of yours is Flare Burst." Joe wasn't exactly known for his naming sense. He didn't know how moves got their names, but he hoped someone would come along and give it a better name eventually. He turned to Nidoran. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's get this fight started."
Nidoran nodded and, with Hoothoot, ran a short distance away. Rookidee flew in front of Joe while Cyndaquil's back ignited, happy to have a Trainer that listened. Cyndaquil desperately wanted to prove he was strong, and being a Partner Pokemon, he was taught about the Gym Challenge. It was the perfect place to show he was capable. To show that the people who picked Totodile or Chikorita were fools.
Rotom hovered in Joe's sight, splitting the screen in two to show the moves of Cyndaquil and Rookidee at the same time. Right before Joe was going to declare the start of the battle, his phone dinged. He saw Looker's name in the notification. And then he received another notification, this time from Nomads.
He ignored it. This battle would just be a minute.
Cyndaquil unleashed multiple fireballs, at this point his signature attack. Nidoran led with Take Down, a move that was so strong it requisitioned some defence energy for the attack. Nidoran was engulfed in a bright white of Normal-type energy and darted forward at a good speed, the Pokemon himself hidden by raw energy. Nidoran ran through Ember, fireballs bouncing off him. Joe understood. That was smart. Take Down used defence energy for the attack, meaning it doubled as a shield. If it was going to take defence energy anyway, might as take advantage of it.
Rookidee flew around, taking in the fight in a second. He used Rock Smash, his right talon glowing brown. He dive bombed foot first into Hoothoot, who was rushing to use Peck on Cyndaquil. Hoothoot was struck into the path of Ember, being blasted and lit up by a number of fireballs.
Hoothoot fell to the ground and… stayed there. Hoothoot was already out of the fight. Rookidee tilted his head as he hovered. Because he was basically an orb, the tilting moved a lot of his body.
Joe hoped Take Down had been weakened. He risked it and had Cyndaquil use Tackle. Cyndaquil only took two steps before meeting Nidoran's Take Down because the bunny had made it so far. The two headbutted, and Cyndaquil lost, to Joe's surprise. Take Down was just that strong of a move. He was still at a point where every action in a battle gave him information.
Cyndaquil bounced on the ground and skidded as he found his footing. He was starting to think it might be a good idea to use this to his advantage. He was always being blasted back and tumbling from the force of an attack. Ideas ran through Cyndaquil's mind. He was fairly round, so roll with the attack? He was Fire-type, so propel himself with flame?
"Rookidee, sorry but you're out."
The fight became a one versus one, Joe not wanting to gang up on Nidoran. He wanted to see what else the bunny could do. Sure, he knew what moves Nidoran had, Take Down and Poison Sting, but he wanted to see them in action. He hadn't expected Take Down to be used as a shield. Because of this, Rookidee, despite being disappointed, came to sit on Joe's shoulder.
From his front legs and the horn atop his head, Nidoran unleashed purple spikes of energy. Cyndaquil rolled aside and balled up, continuing to roll by expelling fire with enough force to spin him. His entire body became wrapped in fire and he picked up speed, curving and avoiding multiple volleys of poisonous pins.
Cyndaquil kept spinning until the ball of fire around his body was twice his size. He was unstable, moving faster than he was used to. Faster than an athletic person peddling a bike. It wasn't easy to control. He was just spewing as much fire as possible right now, directed at the bottom of his back. His influence on the move came from tilting his body, but that wasn't good enough. For this move to reach its full potential, Cyndaquil would need finer control of his fire. Send small bursts in one direction to turn. Control the speed by not just spewing fire at full power permanently.
Nidoran lit up with a powerful white aura and slammed himself into Cyndaquil's new Flame Wheel move. Take Down was still stronger, but Cyndaquil bounced back with the momentum, circled around and aimed himself at Nidoran once more. Flame Wheel and Take Down clashed again, and this time Cyndaquil won the contest of strength, Nidoran being thrown back. His eyes spun, unable to continue.
Taking his own defence energy, paired with clashing with a stronger move, had done enough to the young Pokemon. Nidoran hadn't trained much because his parents were strong. He had a long way to go.
Cyndaquil slowed down and eventually flew out of his ball of fire, landing on his feet. Joe was happy with this development. Cyndaquil had needed another move. Flame Wheel gave the fire hedgehog mobility, which he desperately needed. Joe could already imagine a few ways to use the new move. It didn't even need to be an attack. Cyndaquil could dart around the arena, popping out and attacking some other way because rolling away to avoid retaliation.
Joe moved to Nidoran, pulling up the capabilities of his two moves on his phone. "Okay, not bad. You're ready to fight, Nidoran. But… I'm a little concerned about your moves. Take Down takes your defence away and Poison Sting doesn't seem strong. We'll have to teach you a more versatile move soon."
Nidoran righted himself and hopped with a smile. He liked the sound of that. As long as he was getting stronger so he could get his parents back, he was happy. He bounded to Hoothoot, who still lay around like he'd just been knocked out. Nidoran nudged his friend and the owl righted himself immediately, like nothing was wrong. Was he faking it? Joe didn't think so. Hoothoot showed constantly that he had his best friend's interests at heart. To suddenly fake injury to get out of a fight didn't fit. Hoothoot had never been in a Trainer battle, so he just didn't know when the coast was clear. Didn't know when to get up.
Cyndaquil approached Joe and the man rubbed his Partner's head. "That's a great new move, buddy. It's going to be useful in the Gym battle."
Cyndaquil sounded off, letting out a squeak of happiness. He went over to Sandshrew and Rookidee followed.
Joe grabbed his phone out of the air and looked at his messages.
"4 suspects in custody, some on the run. They are currently confessing. Good job."
Joe saw a file attachment. He opened it. It was organised neatly with a face top left, details like name and age and height in text boxes to the right. Joe figured this was something like a dossier. He was surprised Looker could send him this, but maybe it was the modern 'Wanted' poster. Either way, Joe recognised the man in the image. One of the thugs he'd encountered earlier. At the bottom of the page was a large 'Notes' box, in which was a familiar name. The group he'd fought in the forest was part of Rocket Syndicate. Joe was happy to have encountered them again. He was itching to put Rocket Syndicate in their place. Hopefully they now saw him as a nuisance and would think twice if he were around.
He checked the other notification, opening Nomads. A new job listing, currently not complete. He'd stopped the crime of poaching and would be rewarded, but it could take weeks. It took time to confirm even after a confession.
Being back on the Nomads app and dealing with serious trouble, Joe thought about the live map. He recalled information from the 'About' page of the app. The creator of the app admitted to having a problem when he first released Nomads. Criminals used the app's live map to track nearby do-gooders. This was fixed quickly. Because Nomads had money changing hands, either people giving or receiving, they locked the live map behind bank account credentials. So criminals had to give themselves away in order to see the map.
On top of that, many good people didn't use Nomads. Police, Peacekeepers, and Subjugators. So as criminals tried to look at the map, they got blind-sided by people that were alerted to their location.
That was to say, criminals couldn't use the live map on Nomads to avoid vigilantes.
Joe put his phone away to see Fomantis approaching, Ralts behind her, silently supportive. Fomantis looked over her shoulder to Cyndaquil, then up to Joe.
"She wants to help in the Gym battle." Ralts claimed, then explained further as Fomantis spoke.
Fomantis was taking the first step. After hearing how Cyndaquil wanted to fight against his weakness, she felt a need to assist. Maybe she had it in her, the ability to help others. She wanted to at least try Joe's suggestion. Her idea was to make the Fire-type's fight easier because she was strong against rock and ground. She wanted to be useful.
As Ralts explained, Fomantis' head dipped further and further, becoming unsure of herself or feeling like she was overstepping. Even she wasn't entirely sure of her thoughts. All she could decipher from her own mind was that she was losing confidence in her own suggestion.
Joe rubbed Fomantis' head. It took courage and he was proud of her. "I told you, didn't I? Find something you want to do. If you want to help, I won't say no. Your idea is perfect. Thank you for telling me."
One step at a time. Maybe helping others would help Fomantis help herself. She'd start small, supporting the team. If she could do that, then she could do more in the future. Helping others, being a hero, had a certain ring to it. All anyone could ask of Fomantis was that she tried. And if being a hero didn't go well, there were so many other activities out there for her to find and enjoy.
Joe packed up and put his Pokemon away except Absol. His jeans pocket was getting full with each new catch. He'd have to deal with it soon. Find a place for his roster. But for now he marched towards Pewter and his next Gym battle.