Regarding the Alolan forms the officer mentioned, Luke did take a second look. They were Alolan Diglett.
They were rare, but the sight of three stiff, yellow hairs on their smooth heads made Luke hesitate. Their potential was capped at the Blue level anyway. Even if there had been a hidden boss with a Purple nameplate among them, Luke would have needed a long time of mental preparation before taking action.
The three-haired Diglett was jarring enough, but the evolved Alolan Dugtrio was a visual catastrophe. Luke couldn't even find the words to complain about those luscious, golden manes.
After declining the offer one last time, the officer sighed with regret. "At your age, you shouldn't be traveling alone so early. With your talent, if you studied hard and got into a top-tier University, you'd be a rising star in the League."
"Everyone has their own ambitions, Officer," Luke replied vaguely. "In my situation, a classroom just doesn't fit."
After saying goodbye to the Security unit, Luke set off alone on the trek back to Ocre City. Because he was the first to leave and had no companions to slow him down, he encountered a constant stream of wild Pokémon living in the Ironridge Peaks.
It was April, the peak of the spring hatch. Bug-types were swarming the undergrowth. Consequently, the canopy was alive with flocks of bird Pokémon hopping and gliding through the trees to hunt them.
Luke passed several large colonies of Pidgey. They blurred overhead in a messy streak of cream and brown. But as the tail end of one flock passed, his eyes caught a tiny, complex speck of blue.
A blue Pidgey? How rare. Luke sighed in admiration and kept walking. Two steps later, he stopped dead.
Something was very wrong.
If his memory served him right, even an extremely rare Shiny Pidgey only swapped its normal tones for a lighter, golden hue. There was absolutely no such thing as a blue Pidgey.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Luke immediately vaulted onto Arno's back. "Arno, after that flock! I'm counting on you!"
The Nidorino let out an excited grunt. Like a tank barreling through a hedge, Arno tore through the rugged mountain path in pursuit, his massive frame flattening everything in his way.
They tracked them for nearly a kilometer before the flock settled in a quiet valley. Luke signaled Arno to a halt. Worried that the Nidorino's sheer size would spook the birds, Luke recalled him into his Poké Ball and crept forward on foot.
He reached the valley's edge and triggered his scanning skill.
A sea of White and Green labels flooded his vision. But tucked away in the middle, the only Purple name among them was surprisingly not labeled as a Pidgey.
It was a Rookidee.
The little bird was filthy. It had intentionally smeared its feathers with mud to mimic the drab colors of the Pidgey surrounding it. This was why Luke hadn't recognized it at first glance.
Now, the real question surfaced. There were no wild Rookidee habitats in the Zenith Region. How did this one end up living with a flock of Pidgey?
Luke immediately thought of the poachers. It was likely that this Rookidee had been poached and transported to the mountain base. Being exceptionally gifted, it must have found a way to escape on its own.
Marooned thousands of miles from home, it couldn't survive alone. It had improvised, dirtying its feathers to pretend to be a local bird just to blend in.
It made sense why it had a Purple name. If its potential wasn't that high, how could a level ten fledgling escape a heavily guarded poacher base?
Luke's interest grew. He leaned in as the detailed data scrolled:
Species: Rookidee
Level: 16
Ability: Keen Eye / Hidden Ability: Big Pecks
Traits:
Clever and Quick-witted: (High IQ. Finds unconventional solutions in dire situations.)Steel Feathers: (Premature Steel energy awakening. Feathers are exceptionally heavy. Defense is greatly increased; Speed and Evasion are decreased.)
Moves: Brave Bird (Egg), Rock Smash (Egg), Tailwind (Egg), Defog (Egg), Roost (Egg), Peck, Taunt, Hone Claws...
Good grief... five Egg Moves? Luke's breath hitched. Even Arno only had two. No wonder it managed to escape the poachers.
The [Steel Feathers] trait explained the speed issue. Because its Steel energy awakened too early, it had lost the flexibility a bird should have. Even though its base stats were higher than a Pidgey's, it was struggling at the back of the flock.
If Luke had Arno strike now with a Thunderbolt, the juvenile Rookidee wouldn't stand a chance. A thirty-level gap was a celestial chasm.
However, Luke hesitated.
Capturing Pokémon through battle was a Trainer's job, but he refused to use the same methods on a future partner that he used on scum like poachers. Pokémon are creatures of pure emotion. He couldn't bring himself to beat one into submission and expect it to become a close ally.
This was a realistic world. There were always news reports about discord between Trainers and Pokémon leading to tragedy.
He wanted to build a foundation of mutual trust. He wanted mutual recognition before the first Poké Ball was ever thrown. Especially for a bird with the [Clever and Quick-witted] trait.
Luke walked into the valley exit alone. He didn't release Arno.
The resting Pidgey suddenly saw a human approaching. Hit with a collective surge of panic, the flock took to the air with a deafening rustle of wings.
Because its feathers were too heavy, the Rookidee's takeoff was a fraction of a second too slow. It fell behind, struggling to keep up as the Pidgey vanished over the ridge.
Luke shouted at the bird before it could fly out of range.
"Do you plan to just scrape by in the mountains for the rest of your life? Rolling in the mud forever just to look like you fit in?"
The Rookidee froze. It understood him perfectly. It knew these were likely the cunning words of a human, but it couldn't help but look back as it flapped its heavy wings.
Luke was staring at it, his eyes sparkling as if he were looking at a rare treasure.
"Your blue color shouldn't be an obstacle to your survival," Luke called out, his voice steady. "Come with me, and I'll let everyone see exactly how magnificent you really are!"