Pokémon: Master of the Rain Team

Chapter 613 - 613 – Setting Out…

Riolu's potential had gone up by five points.Reiji stared at the panel, puzzled. He still didn't know what had happened during Poliwhirl's evolution, when Riolu and Poliwhirl had touched fists. Maybe their Auras had collided somehow and triggered a change.

Either way, it was good news. If Riolu was really coming with him, the higher its potential, the better. He had no reason to complain about that.

Its level had climbed into the thirties too. Even while being left mostly on its own, the little guy clearly hadn't stopped training.

Inner Focus was even more surprising. Its proficiency was still far ahead of Riolu's level. Reiji had no idea where that much mental strength came from. It probably had something to do with Aura, but that was still unknown territory to him.

"Far." Farfetch'd saw Reiji thinking and quickly nodded at him.

It wanted to help Riolu one more time. With Riolu's personality, there was no way it would ask to go with Reiji on its own. Reiji had to be the one to invite it.

"Is that so?" Reiji closed the panel, a smile tugging at his mouth.

He was happy too.

He held out his hand to Riolu, who had tilted its head and now looked a little embarrassed.

"Riolu, do you want to come with me?"

"Lu?"

Riolu looked back and saw Reiji's open hand. Its heart tightened.

It was afraid.

Afraid that giving its trust again would only leave another scar, one buried deeper than the ones on its body. It had finally crawled out of that shadow. It had finally started believing in humans again. If that trust was broken a second time, it didn't know if it could bear it.

"Riolu, whatever you're worried about, we can make a promise." Reiji smiled and raised his pinky. "A pinky promise is an agreement between us. It's a little childish, sure, but once we make it, I won't break it. Do you trust me?"

"Luu…"

Riolu understood. It stared at his little finger for a long moment and asked itself the same question.

Had it really made up its mind?

After a while, Riolu's eyes steadied. It slowly lifted its paw and pressed the pad against Reiji's pinky.

It would trust this human one more time.

The last time.

The moment Riolu made that decision, the moment its paw hooked against Reiji's finger, white light burst from its body.

"Wait, what? Evolution?" Reiji froze.

He and Riolu didn't have anything like a deep friendship yet, but Riolu was evolving right in front of him. He hadn't prepared for this at all.

The Fighting-type resources had all been used during Poliwhirl's evolution. He still had Steel-type items, so he quickly dropped his bag and started digging through it.

By the time he found them, it was already over.

Riolu had become a proud Lucario. The old scars still cut across its arms and face, deep and uneven. Evolution hadn't erased them. Lucario had carried them forward.

"Lu… ca…" Lucario looked down at its larger hands. It stood over a meter tall now, reaching Reiji's waist.

"Lucario, that was way too sudden." Reiji awkwardly lowered the Steel-type items. If they hadn't been used, then so be it. Who could have known Riolu would evolve out of nowhere?

It had probably triggered the evolution itself.

Maybe letting go of that fear was all it needed. If this counted as friendship, then all Reiji had done was give it a bell and pat its head a few times. If that was enough, he had nothing to say.

"Lu." Lucario clenched its fist, feeling the strength in its hand. A spike now jutted from the back of it. Its upper body was lean, while its lower body was much stronger.

"Congratulations, Lucario." Reiji took out its Poké Ball and asked whether it still wanted to come with him.

"Lu!." Lucario nodded.

It had chosen. It had made the promise. It would not take that back.

It raised its hand and pressed the button on the Poké Ball. The ball opened, and red light drew it inside.

[Lucario]

[Type: Fighting + Steel]

[Gender: Male]

[Potential: 58.99%]

[Level: 38.32%]

[Ability: Inner Focus/54.98%]

[Moves]

Fighting-type: [(Sky Uppercut/22.11%)(Vacuum Wave/26.12%)(Counter/12.24%)(Rock Smash/24.34%)(Force Palm/26.25%)(Aura Sphere/20.55%)(Detect/6.57%)(Bulk Up/5.99%)]

Steel-type: [(Metal Claw/24.17%)(Metal Sound/6.16%)(Iron Defense/8.48%)]

Normal-type: [(Mind Reader/22.48%)(Quick Attack/24.44%)(Protect/28.51%)(Endure/28.15%)(Feint/7.36%)(Foresight/19.32%)(Screech/18.27%)(Work Up/27.77%)(Roar/25.91%)]

Psychic-type: [(Rest/28.72%)(Calm Mind/40.47%)(Zen Headbutt/26.28%)(Agility/12.26%)]

Other: [(Crunch/24.75%)(Bone Rush/6.52%)]

Reiji clicked his tongue.

Close, but not enough. Lucario hadn't broken into Elite Four-tier potential through evolution. That meant there would be work to do later.

He was happy to have Lucario, but the potential still worried him.

At least Lucario's case was special. It had Aura, and it could Mega Evolve. If he found a Lucarionite one day, maybe Mega Evolution could push its potential higher.

That was one advantage Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution had over the rest. For them, Mega Evolution was practically another racial gift.

Of course, it had drawbacks.

Mega Evolution consumed energy, so how much of that could actually feed back into potential was still unclear. The cost would definitely be high.

It also drained both the Pokémon and the Trainer. He couldn't just spam it for a day and grind potential.

And the Mega Stone itself would need to recharge. There was no way to Mega Evolve without limits.

Even so, none of that scared Reiji. The real problem was having no way to raise potential quickly at all. A difficult path was still better than no path.

Poliwrath was the painful example. No Mega Evolution. No special ability to grind potential. That one would be hard.

He pushed the thought aside and kept checking Lucario's panel.

Lucario's level had risen through the evolution too and was now close to Advanced tier, similar to Magmar. The Pokémon for the second team were growing, and that was exactly what he wanted to see.

Inner Focus was still higher than its level. In fact, it had climbed even further after evolution. With that much mental strength, Lucario's Aura should be powerful too.

He could test that another day. There was no rush.

Lucario had also learned several new moves.

Aura Sphere stood out first. That was Lucario's signature move. It had also picked up Detect and Bulk Up on the Fighting side. Detect worked close enough to Protect that Reiji immediately understood how to use it.

Its Steel moves had grown too. Metal Sound could disrupt opponents, while Iron Defense gave Lucario a straightforward way to harden its guard.

The remaining new moves were more interesting. Agility was a Psychic-type move, not the Extreme Speed Reiji had hoped for, but it still fit Lucario's unusually strong mental side. Bone Rush was stranger. That move suited Marowak better, but Lucario did have those spikes and a natural link to bone-shaped attacks, so maybe it wasn't that surprising.

After checking the panel, Reiji closed it, put Lucario's Poké Ball away, and rubbed Farfetch'd's head.

This little duck had really come through for him.

When he first caught Farfetch'd, it had barely been more than an impulse. He had even thought about releasing it later. Somehow, it had followed him again, stayed by the team, and now ended up helping him settle one of the hardest problems around Riolu.

"Farfetch'd, we're heading out. If you get bored, go to the Gym and bring a few others over to help guard the orchard. Just watch them properly. Don't let anyone wander off."

"Far." Farfetch'd nodded several times.

It had no interest in babysitting, though. That was Butterfree's job. Farfetch'd preferred the orchard: quiet trees, open paths, and enough space to roam around like a proper swordsman.

"See you, Farfetch'd."

Reiji climbed onto Pelipper and took off.

Lucario had evolved, and it had chosen to come with him. That finally settled one of the worries sitting in the back of his mind. Somehow, even someone like him had managed to earn the trust of a Lucario with Aura.

Lucario would go into the group behind his main team for now. As for Lucarionite, he had options. He could try trading League merits for one, exchange another Mega Stone if he found one, or make a trip to Shalour Gym in Kalos. Shalour carried Lucario's Mega Evolution tradition, so there had to be more than one Lucarionite there.

With Lucario's future roughly planned out, Reiji brought his Pokémon back to the Gym.

Cissy and Senta were still training. Cissy's father wasn't there, but Slowking had been left behind to watch them.

Reiji found Cissy during a break and handed over the Pokémon he wanted to leave at the Gym. He trusted her to take care of the younger ones. She loved Pokémon too, and with how she felt about him, she would definitely put in the effort.

He wasn't going to ask her to help for nothing. He had already decided which Pokémon were coming with him, so he handed over the rest one by one.

Pelipper, Poliwrath, Rhydon, Scyther, Gyarados, and Accelgor were coming. That covered the core group he needed on the road.

Kingler and Forretress would stay behind. Kingler needed to learn stronger moves, and Forretress needed someone to teach it Stealth Rock.

He left that problem to Senta. Slowking's attention was always on the boy anyway, so Reiji had already told him to help Kingler and Forretress find the right teachers.

The Pokémon tied to his other jobs had to come with him: Toxicroak, Golbat, Marshtomp, Weezing, Gengar, Ditto, and Spinarak. Those weren't Pokémon he could casually leave at the Gym.

Then there were the ones that needed close attention: Zapdos, Dratini, Magmar, Pidgeotto, and Lucario.

Zapdos was still asleep, so this trip was a good chance to stop by Shamouti Island and see whether anything there could help. Dratini was shedding almost every day, which meant Reiji had to keep it close. Magmar and Lucario had only just evolved and needed training. Accelgor also needed focused work, especially on its kiting style and evasive moves.

Pidgeotto was close to evolving too. Once it became Pidgeot, it could share flying duty with Pelipper, giving both of them time to rest.

Eevee was coming because Reiji still needed to build friendship with it. Staryu was coming because it helped Poliwrath and the others train, and it still needed to evolve.

The main purpose of this trip was to collect the remaining Pokémon that evolved through combination methods. So far, he had Magnemite and two Diglett.

After counting everything, he would be taking twenty-three Pokémon with him. The rest would stay at Mikan Gym, where they could be looked after properly. That was one of the quiet benefits of joining a Gym.

"I've got them." Cissy accepted the Poké Balls one by one, checked the number with him, then placed them on a cart for a maid to take to the pool and habitat area.

"Thanks for taking care of my Pokémon lately." Reiji kept one Poké Ball in his hand. "I don't really know what else to give you, so… do you want this one?"

It was Escavalier.

Cissy was a Trainer too. Giving her a Pokémon as thanks should be fine, right?

"Isn't this your Pokémon?" Cissy asked. "Why are you giving it to me?"

She had been happy enough just hearing him thank her. Now he was offering her a Pokémon, and she didn't quite know how to react.

For Trainers, Pokémon were partners. Outside of proper trades, people didn't usually just give them away.

"I only used it to help Accelgor evolve. I haven't really trained it, and I already have too many Pokémon to handle. You've been helping me take care of everyone, so think of Escavalier as my thank you."

"What type is it?" Cissy took the Poké Ball.

It was the first gift this infuriating man had ever given her. She tried to act normal, but she could barely hide how happy she was.

"Bug and Steel. Its name is Escavalier. Your team is all Water-types, so Electric and Grass-types are rough for you. Escavalier resists Grass, so it should fit your team pretty well."

He had actually thought about her team.

Cissy's face warmed. She held the Poké Ball in both hands and looked down, suddenly too embarrassed to meet his eyes.

"What's wrong? You don't want it?" Reiji stared at her, confused. If she wanted it, she could just say so. If not, that was fine too.

"No, no. I like it." Cissy kept her head lowered so he wouldn't see her blush. She mumbled that she would take good care of his Pokémon.

That "like" meant more than Reiji realized.

He missed it completely, smiled, and left.

Only after he walked out of the Gym did Cissy dare to raise her head and watch him go. She let out a quiet breath. She hadn't expected herself to act like that. It didn't feel like her at all.

Then she noticed Senta snickering nearby.

"What are you looking at? Keep slacking off and I'll tell Dad."

Her little brother had dared to laugh at her. He was finished.

"I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"

Senta bolted with his hands over his head, and Cissy chased him across the training area. The Gym descended into chaos again.

As he ran, Senta had only one thought.

If he ever got stronger than his sister, maybe he wouldn't have to run.

Reiji had already left, so he had no idea what was happening behind him. He rode Pelipper to the harbor and boarded a ship. By afternoon, he would reach Mandarin Island North.

He had been back on Mikan Island for several days now. He wondered how Naoki and the others were doing.

The resources he left behind should be enough for them to make a real jump. Naoki's Flygon could start pushing toward Elite Four tier. The Advanced-tier Pokémon could move closer to quasi–Elite Four tier. The Elite-tier ones should finally break into Advanced tier and become useful high-level fighters.

And Reiji would only be stronger.

He would be the one standing above them.

On the cargo ship, Reiji stood by the railing and watched the harbor shrink behind him. He had already told Naoki he was coming.

Once he finished gathering what he needed, it would be time to set the next plan in motion. Team Rocket and the League were both watching too closely, so the best move was to make the board messy enough that no one could tell where the real pieces had gone.

Let them search.

Reiji only needed enough confusion to disappear beneath it.

After that, he and his people could grow quietly and wait for the right moment.

[End of chapter]

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