Chapter 176: Pokemon Trainer Kai
Kai beamed and shook Professor Elm's hand.
It was more than he had expected. And Kai wasn't among the ones who didn't know when to show his appreciation. It was the same when Chaos had recommended him to put the 2 unassigned points in his Agility Stat. It was the same now.
-/One more thing, Elm,/- Kai said, smiling, as Item-M and Petyr joined him. -/One more thing, then I will be on my way. As you are aware, most of my adventures take me to some island deep into the chaotic ocean south of the main landmass. And I encounter Pokemon on an almost daily basis, but do not know their capabilities. So, I was hoping you could give me a water-type Pokemon and a Pokedex. I am old, just not that old to not be a Pokemon Trainer./-
Kai's heart was racing. This was the decisive moment. This was the prime reason for which they had come here.
To Kai's surprise, Professor Elm laughed.
It was odd to see him laughing when Kai had scarcely seen him smile.
"Why not?!" Professor Elm replied. "I also give the starter Pokemon in the Johto Region. One of them is a water-type. Generally, I don't give Pokedex to the trainers, because of their low supply. I have one, though, and I can give it to you if you can accept a request of mine in return."
Kai could do nothing but nod.
"I know you travel far and into the strangest of the places," Elm proposed, "so, I would like you to collect the data on unknown Pokemon into the Pokedex. I know you would find the task challenging. Do we have a deal?"
Kai didn't know. This request had no clear numbers. Nor did it mention the time and the exact nature of the request. Then he had no clue where he would find an unknown Pokemon.
Kai took a deep breath and nodded.
The notification came up again.
[
Your magical contract with Professor Elm is updated…
The terms of the contract are:
1. Professor Elm will incubate the two eggs, keeping the magical beast from the golden egg for himself upon hatching. The Contestant will get the magical beast from the other egg.
2. Professor Elm will give a Pokedex to the Contestant. In return, the Contestant must store the data of 50 magical beasts, unknown to the Pokemon World, in 3 years (Primordial World Time). Once a year, the Contestant must show the progress to Professor Elm. No less than 10 magical beasts at the end of the first year, and 25 magical beasts at the end of the second year, are required to be shown to the Professor. Failure to meet these limits will be counted as breaching the contract.
3. The Contestant can request to teleport to this World Timeline once in three months, paying no Mission Credits for 3 hours.
Warning: Failing the contract will be deemed unworthy and will have serious consequences. The Time Limit of visitation is unchangeable.
]
Kai let out an inaudible sigh of relief and smiled.
Professor Elm went to a cabinet and took out a device. It looked like a flippable mobile phone, orange-colored, and there was a glassy black bulge over its top flat side.
"As many of the Pokemon native to Johto are also native to the Kanto region," Professor Elm said, handing over the Pokedex, "this Pokedex will provide you data on both regions' Pokemon."
The moment Kai held the Pokedex, a notification appeared over it.
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn…
You have achieved a Milestone
Milestone: Get your first Pokedex
Milestone Rewards:
1. Live location in the Pokemon World (covering the regions of Pokedex entries)
2. Charisma +1
3. Luck +1
4. Worth +1
…
Item: Regional Pokedex - (Johto + Kanto)
Grade: Uncommon
Specification: Introduced in Generation II, it contains the list of Pokemon, putting the Johto starter Pokemon first, and following them with Pokemon native to both Kanto and Johto in a different order, according to their evolution. It also includes fossil Pokemon and Legendary Pokemon of both the regions.
Requirement:
1. Elementary Pokemon Trainer
2. MP>0
Attributes:
1. Total number of Pokemon: 251
2. Weight: 250 gram
3. Mode: Pokemon, Map, New Data Storage
4. Slots Available: (0/50)
Skill: Not Applicable
Effect:
1. Gives data on the recorded Pokemon upon pointing at it (Distance: 100 ft)
2. Stores a Magical Beast/Pokemon data upon capturing it (Capture time limit: 3 days)
3. Show live location on the map of the Johto and Kanto region
Quality: 80%
Warning: Live location isn't available on worlds other than Pokemon.
Warning: The magical beast must not die or escape within the time limit of 3 days. Otherwise, the Contestant must recapture it and start the process anew.
]
Only sheer willpower was holding Kai back from laughing out loud.
If it was before, he would have never known how big a feat it was, to get a Pokedex. Item-M had opened doors for Kai, which would have taken years to even show themselves to him naturally.
"Come with me," Professor Elm said. "The Pokemon are too energetic to allow them into the lab."
Kai and the others followed Elm out of the lab and to the small, open, garden-like area behind the mansion.
The orange sun was almost glowing yellow, perched over the horizon like a fruit. All around them, the smell of morning and wet grass lingered, riding the wind, galloping away and towards them now and then. Splashing noises came from a water puddle that gleamed like a crystal-clear lake, reflecting the sunlight.
The Pokemon came running toward Professor Elm, suddenly.
"Chiko… Chiko!"
"Cynda…quil"
"Totodileeee!"
On the leftmost, and the fastest to come was a pale-green Pokemon with dark-green buds around its neck. It was 2 ft high, and its head was larger in proportion compared to its body. On its head was a large green leaf.
It was the grass-type Pokemon, Chikorita.
Item-M had already told him much about the three starter Pokemon. She and Kai had decided on the water-type as it would let them participate in the Water Chariot Race. If it was in Kai's hands, he'd rather not have any of these three. But he must get one to have the Pokemon Trainer Ability.
The most energetic, and the Pokemon of their choice, was the rightmost one.
Totodile, a blue-colored crocodile-like Pokemon. It was bipedal and had a height of just over 2 ft. Several sharp teeth lined its long jaw, and there was a V-shaped yellow marking on its chest.
The two lively Pokemon were followed by a blue and cream, timid fire-type Pokemon, Cyndaquil. It had a long snout and on its back were four red circles.
As Totodile rushed toward Professor Elm, it tried to bite Chikorita several times in between. Professor Elm laughed, welcoming all three of them.
"Desmond, look," Elm said, crouching, and separating Chikorita and Totodile. "You will find a brilliant partner in Totodile. I know it's quite feisty and dynamic, but an adventurer like you won't have any problem with that, right?"
For the first time in the last five days, Kai realized the difference between him and Elm, as he saw and felt the genuine happiness brimming out of the professor. He could see the love Professor Elm had for the Pokemon, and how he enjoyed their company truly.
Kai couldn't fathom these feelings. He couldn't understand the reasoning or the purpose and benefit of it. When Kai looked at the three Pokemon, the only thing he saw was nothing but three potential food sources.
-/Of course!/- Kai beamed at Elm, crouching down beside him. -/Hello, Totodile. Are you ready to go on an adventure with me?/-
The sudden voice in its head baffled the Pokemon. It looked around, but it was then its intelligence shone. Totodile didn't take long to figure out who was speaking, and it snapped his jaw at Kai. There was a playfulness in its bite, though.
That seemed to be enough for the System.
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn…
You have achieved a Milestone
Milestone: Get acknowledged by a Pokemon
Milestone Rewards: Elementary Pokemon Trainer
Warning:
1. Elementary Pokemon Trainer can only have 2 Pokemon
2. To capture a Pokemon, the Contestant must defeat it using the equipped Pokemon
3. Catch Rate for the 3rd Pokemon - 0%
4. Only Pokeballs that are Items can take the Pokemon out of the Random World
5. A Pokemon can be traded only once
6. Disapproval from the Pokemon can affect the Proficiency
7. If a Pokemon leaves the trainer willingly, then Proficiency: -50%
]
"Here," Professor Elm said, taking out a Pokeball. "It looks like Totodile has already taken a liking to you. Try it. It should work."
Kai held the Pokeball, and before he could use it, Totodile himself came running and heat-butted the red and white ball. Then the tiny figure of the Pokemon turned into a mass of blue light and it disappeared into the Pokeball.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A light trembling of the Pokeball followed every red-flashing beep. It didn't seem like the sign of struggle Item-M had told him, Kai recalled. After the third beep, the Pokeball gave the last sound and all the beeping stopped.
'Today is the day of notifications,' Kai thought amusingly.
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn…
You have achieved a Milestone
Milestone: Get your first Pokemon
Milestone Rewards:
1. Elementary Pokemon Trainer: Proficiency 25% (+25%)
2. Eligibility to participate in all Pokemon leagues
]
The increase in Proficiency was a pleasant surprise.
Kai stood up and saw Chikorita jumping around Item-M. He noticed a tiny flicker in her eyes, but when she noticed Kai looking at her, that flicker disappeared. On her left, Petyr was playing with Cyndaquil with his cane.
"I truly hoped you could prolong your stay, Professor Desmond," Elm said, putting his hands in his pants. "But I won't stop you from doing what you love to do. Take care of Totodile for me. Let us complete the paperwork, then you can be on your way soon."
Kai smiled and followed the Professor back to the lab.
'It has been worthwhile, exploring the world and interacting with Main-Storyline characters unlike the last Random World,' Kai thought. 'Now just one more thing is left to do.'
As he noticed Item-M closing the main door of the lab, Kai nodded at Petyr. The Character disappeared, and Item-M caught his gem-embedded cane. Professor Elm was already typing on the PC, filling out details.
Kai had been putting away this task for a long time.
But his interaction with Professor Elm had helped him in deciding one thing. That Professor Oak didn't suit Kai's needs. Professor Oak specialized in Pokemon-Human relations, a field that Kai had no interest in. Professor Elm, though, not only matched his area of interest, but even his personality was favorable to him.
'Sometimes, it's not the best option, but the most suitable one that matters,' Kai reflected, taking out the shuddering book.
Making sure that he was within 10 ft of Professor Elm, Kai flipped the book open to the page next to "The Herald of Chaos." The Skill, the Song of History, would write Professor Elm's tale anytime now, Kai knew.
With bated breath, he waited, almost grinning.
And then with a bang, the book closed itself. Where was the tale? Why did the book shut itself? Why was it shuddering before then?
All these questions echoed, as one fact planted itself in his mind like a tree, its roots distorting Kai's face in an ugly rage and maliciousness.
That fact was…
Skill, Thousand Tales Parasite, had just rejected Professor Elm's tale.
**********
AN: Don't be too hard on the Pokemon choice. One must begin somewhere.
Book Skills Reference: Chapter 49
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