Day 11 back in the Orange Archipelago. Light rain.
Reiji heard the rain in the middle of the night. The tent blocked none of the sound, but the steady patter was easy to sleep to, and he ended up resting well.
There was barely any sun that morning. He spent a long while thinking about whether today was really the right time for Marshtomp to evolve.
"Marshtomp, come with me."
Reiji put on his raincoat, rubbed Marshtomp's damp head, and led it to an open patch of ground by the river. Then he pointed at a nearby tree.
"Marshtomp, hit that tree. Use your Waterfall burst. Full power."
"Marshtomp?" It looked at the tree, then back at him.
So he wanted it to go all out?
"And use Protect so you don't hurt yourself on the impact," Reiji added, patting its head with a smile.
If Marshtomp could break the tree, it would be at the level Poliwhirl had reached before evolving. Back when Poliwhirl was around level 35, it had already been able to smash through a tree. If not for the top-grade Water Stone, Reiji wouldn't have delayed its evolution for so long.
Marshtomp was level 37 now. Its Waterfall burst had been taught by Poliwhirl, so it should be able to manage this much.
"Marshtomp."
Marshtomp fixed its eyes on the tree and lowered its stance. Frost gathered around its fist.
Ice Punch.
"Marshtomp!"
Water burst under its feet, and Marshtomp shot forward.
Mud and grass sprayed behind it. The patch it had kicked off from was nearly stripped bare.
Its fist slammed into the trunk. Cracks snapped through the wood, and frost spread across the point of impact.
With a heavy groan, the tree split and tipped backward.
The younger Pokémon watching nearby immediately clapped and cheered.
"Not bad, Marshtomp." Reiji hadn't even tested its burst distance yet, but breaking the tree was enough. It had reached the standard he wanted. The rest could be polished after evolution.
Then it was time.
Marshtomp would evolve here and take its place as the frontline fighter for his other identity.
"Marshtomp!" It hurried back to Reiji, clearly excited.
Reiji praised it without holding back, then began taking out Water- and Ground-type resources.
He only had ten to twenty million Pokédollars' worth of Water-type items left, so he laid all of them out. But he had prepared far more Ground-type resources. Some of those had originally been food for Hanhan.
Ground Gems covered the grass. He also took out every Soft Sand below quasi–Elite Four tier, plus several ores Hanhan liked to eat. All of it was meant to strengthen Marshtomp's Ground side.
Marshtomp's foundation wasn't as deep as Poliwhirl's or Magby's, so Reiji doubted it could absorb too much. How much it could take would depend on Marshtomp itself.
"Marshtomp, take these. Evolve when you're ready."
Reiji handed over a mid-grade Water Stone and a quasi–Elite Four-tier Soft Sand.
"Marshtomp."
The moment Marshtomp held both items, white light rose from its body.
So it hadn't been unwilling to evolve before. It had been waiting.
Maybe it had been waiting for him.
A few breaths later, the light faded. Many of the Ground-type items on the grass were gone, though plenty remained. The Water-type items had been drained clean, leaving only pale, transparent stones behind.
"Swampert. Congratulations." Reiji patted its shoulder.
After evolving, Swampert nearly reached his shoulder. It was broad, heavy, and powerful, exactly what he wanted from a frontline fighter.
"Swa…" It lowered its head and rubbed against him, eyes half-closed as it enjoyed the attention.
"Pidgeotto!" Pidgeotto flew onto Reiji's arm and rubbed its beak against him too.
Seeing so many teammates evolve had made it impatient. It could feel its own evolution getting close and clearly wanted its turn sooner rather than later.
"Don't worry. You're probably next in a couple of days."
Reiji stroked Pidgeotto with a smile. This little one was clingy too. Both Pidgeotto and Swampert were.
Swampert's situation was more complicated. Because it belonged to his other identity, Reiji hadn't spent as much time with it as he should have. He would make up for that with the time they had now.
"Swampert…"
Swampert saw him petting Pidgeotto and nudged him again.
"All right, all right. You too."
Reiji laughed and scratched under Swampert's chin. For all that size, it was still a baby at heart.
Poliwrath and the others watched from the side, looking at Reiji like he was soothing a group of children. Some of them remembered being the same way once, which made the whole thing a little embarrassing.
Pelipper gave Poliwrath a look.
Poliwrath turned away, faintly embarrassed. Those two had followed Reiji the longest. They both remembered what the other had been like when they were small.
Scyther missed the moment entirely. A proud warrior like it had no interest in head pats. Its face was already turned away.
"Accelgor, you're their senior now. They're catching up, so you need to work hard too."
Reiji didn't play favorites. After petting Pidgeotto and Swampert, he also rubbed Accelgor's golden shell.
"Gor." Accelgor folded its arms and glanced at the newly evolved Pokémon with a sharp, proud look. It gave Reiji two short cries in answer.
It had no intention of losing to these kids.
"Mar?" Magmar had only evolved recently too. It walked over, clearly asking for the same treatment.
"Magmar, you're too hot."
Reiji endured the heat and touched it briefly. It felt like putting his hand into scalding water. One touch was more than enough.
"Mar…" Magmar lowered its head, looking hurt, as if Reiji disliked it.
"That's not what I mean." Reiji scratched his head awkwardly. "Your skin is just too hot for my hand."
"Mag!"
Hearing that it wasn't being rejected, Magmar brightened and raised its arms as if to hug him.
Poliwrath stopped it immediately.
Magmar's temperature rose whenever it got excited. If it hugged Reiji now, it would burn him. Better to wait until it could control its body heat properly.
"Rhydon."
Rhydon was busy eating the drained stones left from Marshtomp's evolution. It had no time for head pats.
"Gyaa."
Gyarados slapped its tail against the river. It didn't dare mess around. Poliwrath could beat it up, and after watching Swampert break that tree, Gyarados suspected Swampert could too.
There were too many monsters here.
"Crok."
Toxicroak leaned against a tree by itself, already used to keeping some distance. Its poison made this kind of interaction impossible, but it didn't need that. It understood Reiji, and Reiji understood it. That was enough.
"Geee."
Gengar rose from the shadow under the tree and passed out Pokéblocks to Spinarak, which hung upside down from a branch, and Toxicroak beside the trunk. Poison-types were still more comfortable around other Poison-types.
"Weez! Weez! Me too, me too!"
Weezing saw Gengar handing out food and immediately floated over, shamelessly asking for some. Evolution and training were one thing, but good food mattered more.
"Vee."
Eevee stayed on Reiji's shoulder. It got the most attention from him, so it was sensible enough not to interrupt while he fussed over the others.
"Lucario, are you getting used to traveling with me?"
Reiji noticed Lucario standing alone and walked over with a smile. He took Lucario's hand, then called out to everyone gathered around Swampert.
"Everyone, look over here. Lucario has officially joined us. From now on, it's one of us, so get along."
He placed Pokéblocks of different types into Lucario's hands.
"Lucario, everyone is celebrating Swampert's evolution right now, and we haven't celebrated yours either. So we'll do both together today. Food tastes better when you share it. Go on. You'll be fine. Trust yourself."
Reiji raised a fist, encouraging Lucario as best he could. Lucario wasn't good at starting conversations, so he could only give it a push.
"Poli." Poliwrath waved with a smile.
It was part Fighting-type now too, just like Lucario.
"Luu…"
Lucario saw Poliwrath waving. It felt Reiji's hand pat its shoulder in encouragement. It saw Scyther sharpening its blades, already showing battle intent.
There was Toxicroak too, leaning alone against the tree. Another Fighting-type. Lucario was curious about it.
Gengar, who rarely showed itself. Magmar, who had just evolved. Everyone was looking at it.
It hesitated.
"Go on."
Reiji stood behind it and gave it a light push.
Lucario looked back at him. Reiji was still smiling.
"Lu…"
It murmured a quiet thank-you, then walked toward the others with steady steps.
Confident. Calm.
It was finally part of this family.
It had a home now.
"Poliwrath…"
"Pidgeotto…"
"Magmar…"
"Rhydon…"
"Pelipper…"
Everyone welcomed Lucario in their own way, and everyone was happy.
Reiji watched them and felt something warm settle in his chest. He had come to this world alone, but after more than half a year, he had built a home piece by piece.
He was the head of this family.
He wasn't alone anymore.
"Are you happy too, Dratini?"
Reiji laughed and scooped up Dratini's long body, winding it around his neck like a cool scarf.
"Tini?"
Dratini froze, eyes blank, letting him do whatever he wanted.
Even after all this time together, Dratini still wasn't used to sudden closeness. Eevee covered its mouth and laughed from Reiji's shoulder, then jumped onto Dratini and started playing with it.
"Lu."
Lucario began sharing the Pokéblocks. It tossed one to Toxicroak, then asked Poliwrath why Toxicroak was always alone.
"Poli." Poliwrath explained that Toxicroak's skin was poisonous. Touching it could poison someone. It only looked cold; it was easy to get along with once you understood it.
Poliwrath nodded toward Toxicroak as it spoke.
"Crok." Toxicroak nodded back to Poliwrath and Lucario, accepted the Pokéblock, and quietly offered its welcome and congratulations.
"Good. It finally joined them."
Reiji sat by the fire eating breakfast, watching Lucario and Swampert surrounded by the others. The scene put him in a good mood.
While he ate, he opened Swampert's panel.
[Swampert]
[Type: Water + Ground]
[Gender: Male]
[Potential: 77%]
[Level: 39.99%]
[Ability: Torrent/30.13%][Hidden Ability: Damp/33.23%]
[Moves]
Water-type: [(Hydro Pump/32.11%)(Waterfall/36.14%)(Rain Dance/26.31%)(Water Gun/33.45%)(Surf/27.15%)]
Ground-type: [(Mud-Slap/25.22%)(Mud Shot/29.23%)(Earth Power/27.31%)(Bulldoze/22.81%)(Dig/27.58%)(Earthquake/11.53%)]
Normal-type: [(Tackle/31.51%)(Growl/32.52%)(Protect/27.12%)(Supersonic/23.33%)(Screech/24.35%)(Take Down/25.86%)(Body Slam/21.18%)(Roar/26.75%)(Double-Edge/14.53%)]
Fighting-type: [(Hammer Arm/8.26%)(Bulk Up/10.28%)]
Psychic-type: [(Amnesia/12.21%)(Rest/37.78%)]
Ice-type: [(Ice Punch/33.55%)(Ice Beam/21.47%)]
Other: [(Bite/28.21%)]
"Nice."
Reiji nodded to himself, delighted by Swampert's potential.
Another quasi-Champion seed. He had gotten a bargain with this one.
Swampert's starting point had always been excellent. Poliwrath had climbed through long, steady training, while Magmar had both a strong foundation and a huge amount of stored-up growth. Swampert wasn't quite like either of them, but 77 potential was already more than enough.
With proper training, it could grow into a quasi-Champion-level Pokémon. That was more than enough to hold the frontline.
Its level was just as pleasing. Swampert was already one step from Advanced tier, and for it, that step could happen at any time.
Its abilities had improved too, with Torrent gaining the most.
The move changes were exactly what he wanted to see. Evolution had brought Earthquake, Hammer Arm, and Bulk Up. Its older moves had improved as well, especially Waterfall and Ice Punch. Poliwrath had taught those properly.
Reiji closed the panel once he finished breakfast.
"Toxicroak, Pelipper, Gengar, Spinarak, Ditto. With me."
Then he turned to the others.
"Poliwrath, you all stay here and get used to your new strength. Train if you want, but follow the plan we already set. Wait for us to come back."
"Poli."
Poliwrath came over, clearly wanting to go with him.
"Poliwrath, I need you here. Your job is important too. Protect the younger ones, all right?"
Reiji stopped it gently. He was only going into the caves to catch Diglett, and he had Gengar with him.
If Gengar couldn't handle something, bringing Poliwrath and the others wouldn't change much. Leaving the camp to Poliwrath was safer. Below Elite Four tier, Poliwrath was already more than enough to hold the line.
He told it not to worry, waved, and headed toward the caves in the barren mountain to continue catching Diglett.
"Lu."
Lucario came to Poliwrath's side and watched Reiji leave in silence.
Then it looked back at Eevee, Staryu, Magnemite, Diglett, and the other younger Pokémon around the camp.
Its fist tightened.
It still wasn't strong enough.
It wanted to become stronger.
Strong like Farfetch'd.
Farfetch'd was guarding the orchard and the younger Pokémon back at the Gym. Then Lucario would protect the ones here.
So this was what it meant to have something to protect.
This was what it felt like to protect companions.
Lucario clenched its fist.
It would do it.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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