Chapter 33: Different philosophies
Shuichi and Cheryl continued on their journey as they crossed the bridge, the bridge was made of wood and was more sturdy than it looked. Once they were over the bridge they entered a cave entrance.
The cave was damp and dark as such they lighted some torches and continued looking around, "So this is Mount Coronet," Shuichi mentioned. Mount Coronet was the largest mountain in Sinnoh and a place of important story points.
Cheryl nodded "Indeed, although we won't be exploring all of it." She was correct, they were only passing through Mount Coronet and not climbing or exploring it. There were tons of areas of Mount Coronet that were unexplored as there was danger everywhere.
Shuichi and Cheryl had set up a small camp as they were going to rest up for the day, it had been a hectic day as they walked a fair distance and Shuichi had a rough battle and had to deal with Blaziken as well.
('I suppose now is a good time.') Shuichi thought as he released all his Pokémon except for Blaziken, his Pokémon materialised and he looked around noticing that Combusken was missing. They knew Combusken had a tough fight and thus they assumed she was injured.
"I'm sure you've noticed Combusken isn't here now, long story short we've fought the Machoke and Combusken evolved into Blaziken." Shuichi gave them the key details of what happened.
Everyone had different emotions and reactions to the news. Drifloon was happy for her, he was the most happy-go-lucky out of them all. Huntail was also happy but felt slightly relieved by his early evolution.
Eevee had by the most controversial take as jealousy started to take root, he had been the longest and still had to wear that stupid Everstone to prevent him from evolving. Shuichi noticed Eevee's emotions and quickly gave them the other news.
"However," He spoke getting all of their attention. "Blaziken has gotten a bit of an ego boost and won't respond to me anymore, she's also quite clearly looking down on me." Explaining her personality change.
This news surprised them all, Drifloon was more concerned whereas Huntail and Eevee were more aggressive and vocal with their hostility. It was no secret that Shuichi had helped them all tremendously, without his help they likely wouldn't have gotten this far in this short time.
"Stand down all of you, I plan to deal with Blaziken. I just want you to understand that she may act differently towards you now and try to keep physical altercations light." Shuichi placated them and instructed them.
Having infighting in the team could lead to big problems in the future and even be dangerous, the team was supposed to be one coherent group and not splintered into their own egos.
The team nodded and waited in anticipation, Shuichi grabbed Blaziken's Pokéball and released her. Blaziken materialised and looked around, she could see the rest of the team looking warily at her.
Blaziken scoffed and looked at Shuichi waiting to hear why he released her, "We're camping here tonight, as such we'll be having a small training session before dinner." Shuichi instructed them.
Eevee got to work on Baton Pass, it was a difficult move to get down as he had to forcefully recall himself while keeping the attack boost from Work Up. Huntail worked on Water Pulse and as luck would have it there was a small pond that he could swim in.
Drifloon was still working on Stockpile but it wouldn't take long until he had fully learned the move. This just left Blaziken as she just stood there, Shuichi hadn't instructed her and had ignored her.
"What? Do you expect me to instruct you when you won't listen? I won't invest my time and money in someone who doesn't appreciate it." Shuichi told Blaziken as she looked at him in confusion.
Blaziken scoffed again as she started to walk away, "Don't walk too far back, if you do I will recall you." Shuichi warned her as it didn't look like she would stop walking. He didn't want Blaziken to leave forever, that wasn't the plan.
Shuichi had to admit that Blaziken was part of his family now as she had been a part of the team for nearly two months by now. He would show her just how far she would go without his support and instructions.
Blaziken turned and narrowed her eyes at Shuichi, he could sense some aggression coming from her. He wasn't the only one as the rest of his team noticeably slowed down their efforts as they watched her carefully.
Blaziken also noticed the team looking at her carefully weighing her options, she knew just how strong she had gotten and although it was a lot it might not be enough to take on the rest of the team at once.
As such she stopped walking and started to practise where she had left off when she was a Combusken, she would focus her efforts on learning Flamethrower. Shuichi kept a close eye on her, learning Flamethrower was the correct option but that was obvious.
What's next was a lot more difficult for Blaziken to figure out, her next move she should learn was Blaze Kick. Blaze Kick was a move that had made the Blaziken species famous. Of course, learning another fighting type or even electric type move for coverage was also fine.
There were also the combination techniques that Shuichi wanted to focus on but he doubted she would think about those, Pokémon were much stronger with trainers due to combinations and strategies they couldn't think of.
The training session was soon completed albeit a little off with Blaziken isolated from the team, Shuichi normally gives them poffins after training to complement their food. However, Blaziken was not given any poffins this time. Shuichi reiterated the same words he said to her before. He still gave her food but only plain Pokémon food and not the extra snacks.
They rested for the rest of the day and would continue their trek through Mount Coronet the next day. Shuichi excused himself for a bit before finding a calm spot to meditate, even though his nightmares were over he continued to meditate.
He found that meditation had a lot more upsides than he initially thought of, it helped calm his mind and plan for the journey ahead and he even felt like something warm was coursing through his body at times.
Usually, he wouldn't be disturbed by Pokémon, it was a little odd but Shuichi guessed that because Pokémon were more sensitive than humans then maybe they would understand that meditation shouldn't be interrupted.
That didn't mean that humans also understood that concept, a case in point being when Shuichi heard footsteps echoing close by him. Cheryl understood that Shuichi wanted to be left alone so this was someone else.
Shuichi opened his eyes and looked at where the footsteps came from, he noticed a man coming around the corner. The man looked to be in his late thirties and had light blue spiky hair, he was dressed in a casual business suit as he walked around.
Strangely, the man had no Pokémon with him even though he was currently walking around seemingly defenceless. Shuichi couldn't hide the shock from his face as he spotted the man and in turn, the man spotted him.
"I apologise, did I startle you?" The man asked Shuichi, interpreting his shock as a surprise. Shuichi took a deep breath and calmed himself down, "A little bit sir, I was busy meditating and didn't expect someone to come."
Shuichi knew exactly who this man was which was the reason for his surprise, he played it off as if he startled him to not make the man suspicious. The man smiled friendly at Shuichi, "Meditation huh? Can't say I see many young people do it."
Shuichi smiled back, "It calms my mind and puts my thoughts in order, have you ever tried it Mr.?" He acted like he didn't know his name. "Cyrus is my name, and I haven't tried meditation. Although I do think a lot." The man revealed his name and answered Shuichi.
Shuichi showed an interested expression on his face as he asked, "Mind if I ask what you think about Mr Cyrus?" He acted like a curious young child to try and get Cyrus to lower his guard.
Cyrus looked at Shuichi and contemplated for a bit, it was odd enough to see a child in a cave meditating and even more odd that the child was interested in the thoughts of a random stranger. But maybe, this was someone who could be influenced into joining him.
"It's complicated young man, are you sure you want to hear it?" Cyrus spoke cryptically, wanting to tease Shuichi's 'curiosity'. Shuichi nodded and replied, "I would love to hear them, Mr. Cyrus." He played his part as he showed a curious expression.
Cyrus smiled victoriously, "Alright fine, but first mind if I ask you for your name first?" He asked. He had introduced himself but Shuichi hadn't. "My name is Shuichi, Mr. Cyrus," Shuichi answered. He had thought of giving him a fake name but didn't do it.
It was easy to look up Shuichi's name due to his recent gym battle in Eterna City and various other methods Cyrus might have thus he decided to be truthful.
Cyrus nodded, "Well then Shuichi, mind if I ask you a question about my thoughts?" He asked. Shuichi nodded and Cyrus continued, "What do you think about the world?" It was a deep question that one wouldn't ask of a young teen.
Shuichi thought about that question for a second but he quickly came to an answer, "I love it." He had fallen in love with the world of Pokémon even in his previous life and wouldn't trade it for anything.
Cyrus nodded but his smile faded, "Even with all the human strife?" Shuichi had expected the question but he was still reminded of his past world. That world had nearly burned all the way down due to human strife.
Humans had expanded massively in his past life which caused war because people were running out of space to build and live in.
He thought for a minute to articulate his answer and Cyrus waited patiently, seeing Shuichi think about the question intrigued him. Those whom he asked the question to usually answered simply with confusion or even ignorance.
Shuichi opened his mouth and said, "It's a difficult question, yes there is human strife. However, there is also the opposite, harmony."
Even this world sadly wasn't spared of human strife, Nurse Joy had hinted that there existed a list of trainers who were closely being watched to make sure their Pokémon didn't suffer.
Back during the Jubilife tournament, there was a man who wanted to battle with his freshly evolved Gyarados which promptly went on a rampage. Shuichi had even run into Team Rocket and their schemes, if Ash or himself weren't there then they might've even succeeded in stealing Pokémon.
These were all examples of human strife and he didn't even mention Team Galactic, which was under Cyrus himself. However, if one had to measure human strife then they also had to measure human harmony.
Pokémon and humans worked together in harmony, it was a symbiotic relationship that benefited them both. Shuichi had lived in a world without Pokémon and thus he could see the difference much better.
There couldn't be a league or Pokémon battles in a world without Pokémon, Pokémon battles were a huge proxy in solving human conflict. There could be no contests or gym battles to entertain and create a competitive environment.
Sure, there were sports in his past life but those were much smaller than what Pokémon battles and contests were. On the topic of gyms, there were no gym leaders who could protect a city or town in time of need in the other world.
Without Pokémon, human strife would be even bigger than it was. And without humans, Pokémon couldn't have progressed as much as they have. Moves might've never been discovered, evolutions forever gone extinct or never discovered, and even the fossil Pokémon might've never seen the light of day again.
Before Cyrus could debate Shuichi continued, "Does this excuse all the strife? No, it doesn't. But, that doesn't mean we can't help it. Humans can create or destroy, it's not a one-way lane. Only looking at the negative side will only bring a skewed perception."
Cyrus didn't expect such an answer, was this really the perception of a teen? Still, he thought about Shuichi's words. As much as it sickens him to admit it, there was truth in those words.
Still, he shook his head, "Human strife has spread and soon it will exceed human harmony. Just look at the Orre region for example, Pokémon aren't common there and strife is rampant because the human spirit is weak and incomplete."
Cyrus had more experience than Shuichi in different regions and having lived in the world of Pokémon longer as such he could see the problematic regions. Shuichi voiced his own opinion, "Humans can grow and learn from their mistakes, human spirit is more malleable than incomplete."
Cyrus however continued to shake his head, by now he had given up on convincing Shuichi to join him. Shuichi had a very different worldview than himself, Cyrus thought for a second and concluded their talk with one last statement.
"According to one theory, Mt. Coronet is where time and space began. A newly created world where only time flowed and space expanded, there is no strife in such a world. But humans entered that world and strife spread, as a result, the world is being ruined by it. I find the state of this world to be deplorable."
Cyrus left before Shuichi could even mount a counterargument, such a thinking pattern would only lead one to one conclusion. Destruction of the entire world and rebuilding it in your image, which was exactly Cyrus's plan. And Shuichi would do all he could to prevent it.
With Cyrus now gone, so was Shuichi's mood to meditate, he had too much to think about now. He knew he didn't convince Cyrus to give up his plans, he had tried to show humanity in a better light but even then the man already had his mind made up.
Back in Eterna Shuichi and Enki discovered that Team Galactic's next target was likely Solaceon Ruins, their objective was still unclear but Shuichi hoped to reach the ruins first before them to see if he could find anything.
He returned to Cheryl shortly after Cyrus left. "Oh? You're back already?" Cheryl noted his quick return, usually Shuichi would meditate for almost half an hour by now. "I got interrupted," Shuichi said and explained his talk with Cyrus.
Cheryl listened to the story and she frowned a little hearing Cyrus's reasoning, "Such a black and white vision isn't what humanity is about." She gave her opinion about Cyrus's last statement and Shuichi agreed.
Shuichi didn't tell Cheryl that Cyrus was the boss of Team Galactic, he hadn't even told her about his previous encounters with them either. As far as he was concerned, she had nothing to do with them and thus didn't need to be involved with them either.
They went to bed quickly after the conversation, walking for a long while, participating in battles and physical training were bound to cause exhaustion. As such, they didn't mind sleeping early.
The next morning came quickly and a training session was kicked off once again, Blaziken trained alone again and the rest had some progress. It wouldn't take long for them all to successfully learn their moves.
Shuichi and Cheryl continued their trek through the caves of Mt. Coronet, after walking for half a day they managed to get out of the caves. There was another Pokémon Center close by and the duo decided to do a check-up.
They both dropped off their Pokémon with Shuichi mainly dropping off Blaziken to make sure her evolution didn't create unseen problems, some evolutions could come with more drastic changes as was the case of Blaziken.
"Oh, I've also solved the Machoke problem and recorded the interaction," Shuichi noted. Nurse Joy looked up something on her computer and gave Shuichi a sheet and a pen, "Can you please report on what happened along with the recording?"
Shuichi looked at the sheet and noticed it was a blank piece of paper, he was supposed to write about what happened. He found it strangely nostalgic, how many reports had he written in his past life?
He shook his head as he focused on the task at hand, finding an empty table he sat down and began to write a summary of what happened. Cheryl quickly joined him and tried to tease him about looking like an old man who had to write in his journal.
Shuichi was quick to finish much to Nurse Joy's surprise, she looked at it skeptically but noticed it was well-written and quick to the point in detailing what happened. Shuichi also gave a copy of the fight to Nurse Joy so she could check later.
Payment would come later as the report and footage would first have to be reviewed and if no more complaints came from trainers, Shuichi understood and he was confident that he had completed the task.
"It's a good thing you warned us about your Blaziken, we had to subdue her to check her up. As far as we can see her evolution hasn't caused any physical problems except for her change in demeanour, this change is more common in fire types so it's not unheard of either." Nurse Joy reported as Shuichi was handed back his Pokéball.
Shuichi sighed a little upon hearing the report, "I hope she didn't break anything." He remarked. It wouldn't be a joke if she broke important equipment. Nurse Joy smiled at Shuichi's concern, "Nothing was broken, but I do worry about how you're going to earn Blaziken's respect."
"Simple, she thinks she doesn't need me anymore so I'll show her exactly how far she'll go without my support," Shuichi explained to Nurse Joy. "Just make sure you don't go overboard okay?" Nurse Joy wasn't the biggest fan of Shuichi's method but understood that this behaviour couldn't continue.
Shuichi nodded and soon was on the road again with Cheryl, her own Pokémon had no problems physically or mentally so it was a quick check-up.
Two days quickly passed and Shuichi found himself in a battle, it was a rare instance where he had found someone who accepted his bet. It was a simple two-on-two battle with no switches.
Shuichi had led with Eevee and his opponent led with a Golbat. "Use Wing Attack!" His opponent started the battle off using Golbat's speed to try and get the first hit off.
It was a decent strategy however Shuichi had the perfect counter, "Protect." Eevee conjured a green shield and Golbat slammed directly into the shield repelling it back, this would normally be the opening Shuichi used to counterattack but this time he had a different idea.
"Work Up." Shuichi decided to go with a set-up move to boost Eevee's attack power, Eevee vibrated a little and glowed red soon after. Meanwhile, Golbat had recovered from slamming into the Protect.
"Use Air Cutter!" Shuichi's opponent decided to play the long-range game once he saw that Eevee had Protect and Golbat shot out blue S-shaped energy blades at Eevee. "Quick Attack at Golbat," Shuichi again responded with an unorthodox command as instead of dodging he opted to go for offence.
Eevee trusted Shuichi and there was no panic on his face, he set off and sprinted at the incoming energy blades. The blades impacted his body but he kept on sprinting, he quickly reached Golbat as he jumped and slammed into the flying Pokémon.
"What! Golbat, use Confuse Ray!" The opponent didn't expect Shuichi to have Eevee charge through the Air Cutter and thus he could only try to confuse Eevee to get an opening. Golbat recovered in the air and fired three yellow orbs at Eevee.
"Swift." Shuichi countered by having Eevee be the one engaging in long-ranged combat this time, Eevee flicked his tail and shot out stars. The stars collided with the orbs which caused them to pop like bubbles as the stars hit Golbat.
Golbat quickly dropped like a broken kite after the stars impacted it, Shuichi's opponent recalled Golbat and grabbed his next Pokéball. Eevee was breathing a little hard as he had expanded a bit of his energy.
"Go Meditite!" The opponent shouted as he threw the Pokéball. Out came a humanoid Pokémon with a blue and white body, Its head was white with large black eyes and pink cheek spots.
Meditite was a fighting and psychic Pokémon and was more favoured in the matchup against Eevee. In reality, Eevee had Shadow Ball which would do massive damage to Meditite, but Shuichi had no intention of using it.
"Quick Attack." Shuichi decided to be the first one to attack seeing that the opponent wasn't making the first move, Eevee dashed across the field at Meditite. His opponent smiled as Shuichi took the bait, "Now! Detect!"
Meditite's eyes shone blue as it narrowingly dodged the Quick Attack, Detect worked similarly to Protect in that it costs a lot of energy but in return, the user could dodge all attacks.
"Now use Force Palm!" Shuichi's opponent saw the opening and pounced on it, Meditite formed a white ball on its palm and punched with the palm into Eevee's side. Eevee yelped a bit as he jumped back.
Eevee could barely stand and Shuichi's opponent noticed it too, "Meditite, finish it off with another Force Palm!" He instructed but Shuichi had other plans, "Baton Pass."
Eevee conjured a red baton from his energy and threw it into the air, he was then sucked into his Pokéball. "Drifloon, go hot." He said as he threw Drifloon's Pokéball, Drifloon hit the field and managed to catch the baton making him glow red as he now received the Work Up buff.
"Wait hold up! You can't switch!" The opponent suddenly shouted as Drifloon was ready. "Why not? I switched by using a perfectly legal move." Shuichi explained, normal switching wasn't allowed but moves were an exemption.
"Drifloon, Ominous Wind." Shuichi wasn't here to argue as he decided to have Drifloon attack, Drifloon pointed his head to Meditite and spun to generate purple wind that shot towards Meditite.
Meditite and the opponent were caught off guard by the sudden attack and the wind slammed into Meditite causing heavy damage, the Work Up buff was doing wonders as Meditite struggled to get back up.
Just as Shuichi wanted to deal the final blow something unexpected happened, the opponent recalled Meditite and stopped the match. "I quit! The bet is off, you cheated!" He accused Shuichi of cheating.
Shuichi wasn't in the mood to deal with this ordeal, "Fine, we'll just call Officer Jenny to make a ruling." He offered. The opponent accepted and soon Officer Jenny arrived, it didn't take long for Jenny to come due to them being close to Celestic Town.
"So you believe he cheated because he switched when the rules stated no switching. Normally you would be correct, however, certain moves force switching and Baton Pass is one of them. As a result, the switch is legal." Officer Jenny summarised what happened and explained the ruling.
The opponent accepted the ruling and apologised to Shuichi, the bet was completed and now Shuichi had a total of ₽14,800. The payment from the Machoke job had also come in meaning that the job was indeed completed.
Soon Shuichi and Cheryl were left alone as Officer Jenny went away and Shuichi's opponent also left quickly thereafter. "That certainly was something," Cheryl noted as she looked at Shuichi.
Shuichi didn't respond to her comment as he was in deep thought, ('Baton Pass strategy works perfectly even in the early phases, still it's odd that the opponent thought I was cheating.')
In the games many moves would switch the user or even the opponent out if they connected, Volt Switch and U-Turn were a few that came to mind. Shuichi tried to recall if he had seen something like this in the anime but he could barely remember characters let alone something this specific.
('I just hope this was a one-time instance and not something that will be happening regularly, having to call Jenny every time is going to be annoying.') Shuichi thought.
He shook his head and pulled out Eevee's Pokéball along with a Sitrus Berry, he released Eevee and gave him the berry. "Well done Eevee, it worked exactly as theorised," Shuichi said to Eevee.
Eevee was happy at the praise and as he was munching at the berry. Shuichi looked at the scarf and reached into his bag to pull out one final item, "It's time, I suppose you've been waiting for a long time."
Eevee stopped eating and looked at the item with a deep longing in his eyes, he quickly scarfed the berry down with renewed vigour before looking at the item again.
Shuichi put the item down and Eevee put one paw on the item, Shuichi reached around and took off the scarf. Eevee and the item started to glow brightly.
Eevee's fur began to spike as he grew in size, his tail retracted and also became spiky. Eevee's fur also changed colour to yellow along with a white mane as colour returned, "Congratulations, Jolteon." Cheryl said.
Jolteon was ecstatic at his new form and happily jumped into Shuichi, Shuichi had traded the Leaf Stone for a Thunder Stone back in Eterna City.
Shuichi and Cheryl looked into the distance to see their target, Celestic Town. This time, Cheryl was the one who had business here instead of Shuichi. He had wondered what she was going to do and maybe he could even help.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone