Blazing the Competition - Pokémon SI

Chapter 22 – Mysterious Hermit

I hurried back to Gear Station in order to make it in time for our train’s departure. All of my Pokémon were resting in their balls, since I didn’t want to lose them in the crowd of passengers that were getting ready to board the train. The automated station announcement echoed throughout Gear Station.

“The train heading for Mistralton City is leaving within ten minutes. All passengers please make your way to platform three.”

‘Perfect timing, I wonder if they offer refreshments on long train rides like this one?’

According to the ticket the train ride would take around seven hours, which meant I would arrive in Mistralton City very early during the next morning. Fortunately, Pokémon centers provided 24-hour service even though the nurse Joy behind the counter probably wouldn’t appreciate you for waking her up during the wee hours of the morning if it wasn’t an emergency.

As luck would have it platform three was the least populated transit in gear station. By my estimation of the people present, at the platform during departing time, only around two dozen people in total needed to take this train to Mistralton City. Leaving me enough room to have my Pokémon out and about if I didn’t have to share my car with too many other people.

Eventually the sliding doors opened and me and the rest of the passengers could enter the train. Most of the passengers aboard this train seemed to be foreign tourists at least judging by the Pokémon they had with them. That’s when I saw a girl walking around with a black salamander like Pokémon on her shoulders. Intrigued and a bit excited to meet such a rare Pokémon, in this region, I followed the two into their car and took a seat nearest to them.

“Excuse me, the name’s Egon. Is that a Salandit? Are you from the Alola region perhaps?”

“My name is Halia and yes, this little boy is a salandit. Not many people in this region can recognize foreign Pokémon on sight. Are you from Alola as well? You certainly have the correct skin tone for a tropical islander.”

“No, I come from the Hoenn region. I asked because I am really into fire types like your salandit he’s certainly one of the coolest Pokémon around.”

“He is, isn’t he? Salandit is the best at keeping me warm especially during the winter times.”

“Saaaal.”

Salandit, having been praised incessantly during our verbal exchange puffs up obviously pleased by the direction this conversation is going.

“Is it true that the poison his species produces is strong enough to envenom steel and even other poison types?”

“Well yes but me and this little guy aren’t much interested in battling, so we haven’t tried that out yet. He was given to me as an egg you see, his mother was a prolific battler, and she was able to do that during competitions. I noticed you have an egg as well. What sort of cutie is inside that egg? I am much more interested in Pokémon breeding.”

“I can’t tell you, but I know it’s a fire type Pokémon. I am somewhat of a specialist, you see. I’ve been working as an intern at the Lavaridge gym.”

Just like that I struck up a pleasant conversation with a previously unknown stranger. Halia was a seventeen-year-old ambassador’s daughter from Melemele island, and her family moved to Unova after her father was appointed as an ambassador. She decided to go back to Alola to visit her relatives and get away from the cold weather, only planning on returning when the winter season is over. Halia is determined to become a prominent breeder specializing in Alolan native Pokémon. Once she is done with college, she is hoping to land an internship position at the Aether foundation.

“You really think it’s doable? Catching a salazzle and setting up a breeding colony? If that works out I’ll become your first customer.”

“Maybe… not for now though. With all the strict laws surrounding importing foreign exotic species. Unova also has a seasonal climate as opposed to Alola’s wet and dry seasons.”

“Alola… I’d like to go visit that region and find myself an awesome fire type like yours.”

“Well, then you will probably have to wait for a long time. Alola has the strictest bylaws regarding foreigners. It’s so bad that employees of multinational trading companies are not even allowed to set foot on the islands proper, instead being restricted to the Melemele shipyard.”

“Really!? I didn’t know it was that bad and the population agreed to this?”

“Ah no, the people didn’t come up with those policies. We do actually have an elected government that runs the islands, but they are not the highest authorities in the Alola region. Our guardian deities ultimately step in to make decrees when they deem it necessary. With our Kahunas acting as their middlemen, they have decreed that Alola is not yet ready to open up its borders.”

“With guardian deities you mean legendary Pokémon? Aren’t those types of beings usually too reclusive to care about human affairs?”

“That is the biggest difference between Alola and the other regions. Our people still have a strong spiritual connection to the land and by extension the Pokémon that govern it.”

“What’s your dad’s job like? It must be a big responsibility managing diplomatic relations between Unova and Alola.”

“He mostly attends meetings and events. Unova being one of the closer regions we have ties with, it is important that the trade keeps flowing unabated since Alola doesn’t produce enough goods to sustain our growing community. In return we provide this region with minerals, hardwood timber and patented alcoholic beverages. Every time there is some type of tariff dispute my father steps in to protect our region’s interests.”

It was about an hour into the journey when I decided to let my Pokémon out to let them stretch their limbs for a bit and give each of them their evening meals. Unlike my other Pokémon, Glove didn’t seem to have a preferred flavor so I just fed him the recommended amount of Pokémon food for a Darmanitan his size combined with whatever berry slices I had on hand for flavoring. This evening he got to enjoy a not insubstantial amount of Leppa berries in his dinner time meal.

I shared a train car with Halia, so she got a good look at most of my Pokémon.

“By the Tapu’s that Vulpix is so adorable!”

“Vuuul?”

“Halia bent over to pick up Rena while she was enjoying her meal. Leading to some irritation on my Pokémon’s part. One gaze of hers told me she was this close to giving Halia a mouthful of embers.”

“I got you that paw graph, didn’t I? Please bear with it for now.”

Rena was somewhat mottled by my mentioning of previous events so although somewhat reluctant she let Halia have her way with her body for now.

“What was that Egon?”

“Uh nothing, just something between me and my Pokémon. So, you have never seen a vulpix before?”

“I’ve seen and met plenty of vulpix before, just none of this variety. In Alola we would call this one a Kantonian vulpix.”

Halia refocused her efforts on giving my Rena a good look over. Checking inside her ear and even opening Rena’s maw to check if her gums are healthy. At one point even trying to have a gander at her tails it was at this point I was forced to stop her. Rena was very peculiar about who was allowed to touch her tails. Random strangers we met on a train not being on that list.

“Halia, My Vulpix doesn’t let just anyone touch her tails. Could you please let go of her for now?”

“Oh… I am sorry! I was so invested in figuring out all the differences that I forgot myself for a moment. Can you forgive me, Vulpix?”

“Pix.”

Rena landed on the floor with her paws after giving a dismissive yip towards Halia. Quietly returning to her bowl of food, but not before letting me know that the favor has already been repaid.

“I have always been fascinated by regional variation within Pokémon species. You might not know this, but around a century ago a foreigner washed up on the shores of Ula’ula Island with his Kantonian Vulpix. He made the island his home and after his passing the old Vulpix now a Ninetales exiled herself to the top of Mount Lanakila in order to grieve over her old Master. The locals say the loss and sadness turned her heart icy cold and somehow under the influence of the mountain spirits her appearance shifted to reflect her change of heart. After her transformation the change in typing and demeanor bred true, populating our Lanakila Mountain with a bunch of white colored vulpix.”

Rena was still sitting at her food bowl, but I knew Halia’s story gripped the attention of my dainty fox companion. Signified by the slight turning of her right ear.

“Do you believe it? That she was changed by spirits? or did some other environmental factor turn her into an ice type?”

Halia gave me a pondering look. Seemingly mulling the question over in her mind.

“Hmm I don’t know, but researchers could probably run a double-blind test by bringing groups of Kantonian vulpix and ninetales up the mountain and see if anything happens.”

Letting the matter rest she instead looked at the rest of my team.

“I say you have quite a fine gathering of Pokémon here, Egon. Are you participating in this years’ Ventress conference?”

“No, I don’t meet the age requirements. Having dual citizenship is pretty useful for catching Pokémon not found in my home region though. I’ll be sure to take the Ever Grande Conference by storm with all my new pals once I get back to Hoenn.”

We spent our time like that until we both decided that it was getting too dark outside the train, and that we should get some rest. The passenger seats inside the train could be pushed downwards to make a pseudo bed of some sort. Combined with the sleeping bag I put in my backpack for camping situations I could pass my time away resting up. My Pokémon each selecting a seat of their own and growing comfortable enough to sleep. Glove insisted on staying out to watch over the egg and I wasn’t playing favorites, so they all got to stay out. Victini took this chance to stay in the sleeping bag with me so she could spend some time socializing. Having to stay invisible for so long must have made her anxious. We were pretty sure that all these train cars had cameras inside them for the purpose of recording any subway battles. That being the case she didn’t get the chance to hang out openly with us.

‘Just a little bit more when we are back in Lavaridge you can float around all you want. Those old fogies can’t tell the difference between a tailow and a salamence.’

“All the time?”

‘Well at least during school hours. Their grandkids are a tad more perceptive.’

The sound of the intercom turning on woke us up. I noticed that Halia and her salandit had already gotten up early and were quietly enjoying what seemed to be a granola bar of sorts. I was grateful that they were careful not to wake us up even though the announcement machine turned their efforts fruitless. The bulge in my sleeping bag was starting to move, evidently Victini waking up from the noise as well.

“Dear passengers, we will be arriving shortly at the Mistraltion City Station. Please make sure to leave none of your belongings behind. We know you have choice a in modes of transportation, and we are pleased you decided to make use of our battle subway for your transit needs.”

Halia decided to make use of my now lucid state of mind to make sure I got off the train on time.

“Are you ready to go, Egon? We’ll be arriving within ten minutes.”

“Just a second!”

‘Tini, can you tap the ball latched onto my belt?’

I was lucky that I am not the type of person who gets comfortable enough with strangers to change into my pajamas in full view. As such the only thing I needed to do to get ready was to wiggle out of my sleeping bag and stuff it into my backpack. The rest of my team was now fully awake as well.

“It’s going to get crowded on the platform guys go ahead and rest some more inside your poké balls.”

I started recalling my team members until it was Numsy’s turn. The little camel expertly dodged the red beam and gave me a defiant look.

“Num!”

Words were unnecessary. I could instantly tell what Numsy’s intentions were.

“I am sorry you didn’t get to do anything in Nimbasa. how about we hang around for the rest of the day?”

My poké pal begrudgingly accepted my offer. So, after I finished packing and donning my attire for the day it was just him, me and the egg between my arms when we walked onto the station’s platform. Halia following closely behind us with Salandit draped over her shoulder as usual.

Navigating the platform wasn’t easy by any means especially since I had to keep watch over my knee height camel with my hands full. Numsy took this opportunity to punish me for my hubris and kept walking up to strangers wanting to get petted. His tactics rarely failed to get the head scratches he desired, sometimes even walking away with some variety of unhealthy snacks. The children especially kept helping him violate his dietary restrictions. I figured that this was his way of showing me he had other options.

“I am sorry Numsy! Ok we’ll do it like this. I owe you a solid and whenever you want to call in that favor you can do so. I won’t object whatsoever.”

“Num…”

“I won’t forget.”

Halia took this moment to jump into the conversation.

“Egon’s sorry and he won’t do it again. If you are worried about him forgetting, you’ll just need to remind him every time you feel left out.”

“Num num.”

I knew Numsy was really only half upset, but it paid to give him the full attention he was due. Numsy relenting to Halia’s pleading was only for showmanship.

“Numsy will you allow me to take us to the Pokémon center? Once there we can all partake in a hearty breakfast.”

“Num!”

The mention of food always works on him. Maybe because he used to be a solitary Pokémon roughing it out in the wild, but Numsy is the lone Pokémon on my team that considers regular food pellets a reward. Not that I didn’t mix a copious amount of sliced berries in it to elevate the flavor but even before I had the luxury of doing so Numsy was always happy with just the regular stuff. As we were walking out of the station and into Mistralton City proper I struck up a casual conversation with Halia.

“So, when is your flight back home to Alola?”

“In a couple of hours, we can walk with you until we hit the Pokémon center. As the more experienced travelers it’s our job to look after you right Salandit? It wouldn’t do to have a ten year old like yourself get lost in the big city.”

“Saaaa.”

“You do realize this ten-year-old has won a multiple of badges and traversed all the way from Hoenn to Unova on his lonesome.”

“So, you don’t want me coming with you?”

“…Never mind.”

I felt a sense of amusement coming from inside my mind. Being stuck inside her ball while awake usually gave Victini a good incentive to mess around inside my dome. When having nothing better to do she would experience our surroundings vicariously through me given the opportunity.

‘This is not a capitulation! I just enjoy having her around for company.’

“Tsun…”

‘Don’t you finish that sentence! This is what I get for letting you have free unfettered access to my mind. Some parts of my old world’s cultural experience are not meant to see the light of day.’

The trek towards the nearest Pokémon center was mostly uneventful. Mistralton City was the hub of all air travel coming to and from Unova. Even while not yet at the airport the sound of jet engines can be heard from miles away. The locals, having mostly grown desensitized towards the sound, didn't even flinch; it was a great way to differentiate denizens from the tourists. As we neared the Pokemon center we saw a crowd forming at the entrance. Halia took this chance to say goodbye.

“Egon, it’s time for us to part ways but know we will be watching your training career with great interest. If you do end up making it to this year’s Ever Grande Conference. I’ll be rooting for you!”

“The same goes for me, Halia. If you ever get the chance to breed fire type Pokémon professionally, I will make sure to become your first customer.”

We parted ways amicably she made a beeline towards the airport while I was stuck waiting in line for access to the Pokémon center.

‘That’s strange a city like Mistralton shouldn’t have any congested Pokémon centers.’

Congested Pokémon centers were a rare sight. It usually meant some kind of natural disaster had occurred or some sort of tournament was being hosted in the city. I was hoping that it was the latter of those two. I shoulder tapped the person closest to me.

“Hey man, what's going on at the Pokémon center? Are the lines usually this long?”

“You must not be from around here little dude. The trainers standing in line here are waiting for the old hermit to give his weekly Pokémon evaluations.”

“Old hermit? Pokémon evaluations?”

“There’s this wizened old guy living by himself up in the mountains. Once a week he comes down into the city to get some fresh supplies and help trainers figure out the typing of their Pokémon’s hidden power. It’s all for free, but he only stays here until the end of the afternoon. His services are in very high demand since training up a Pokémon in the use of its hidden power is so much easier once you know what type it should be. If you just want to gain entrance to the Pokémon center, you can just skip all the way to the end of this line, the center doors should be open.”

This hermit being here on the same day while I was inside the city could be an unexpected boon. I had no idea what kind of hidden power each of my Pokémon holds. Looking back to the size of the line it would seem I had a decent shot at seeing the hermit if I decided to join the queue. However I didn’t think my team would appreciate having to stand in line especially since it was still early in the morning and we haven’t had our breakfast yet.

‘I guess I’ll wait and see if he’s still around by the time we are finished with our morning routine.’

After thanking the kindly stranger for his information, I went ahead and skipped all the way to the front of the line. There near the center’s entrance stood a makeshift tent propped up next to the main building. Figuring that the tent was probably the place people were standing in line for to get their Pokémon evaluated I walked into the main building. In contrast to the hustle and bustle outside, the center’s interior was quiet and devoid of people aside from a sleepy nurse Joy sitting behind the counter.

“Excuse me.”

“…”

“Excuse me!”

“Wha…? Oh, sorry young man, it's just so early in the morning. What can I help you with?”

“I would like a room please. Here’s my trainer’s license and ID.”

A couple of hours later*

Safely situated in one of the center’s rooms I had my entire team out and about. As I was busy cooking up their meals, they decided to catch some more zzz’s by huddling up together and getting an extra hour of sleep in. Since Glove was so much bigger than the rest of the team it was unilaterally decided he would be their body pillow. Which the big gorilla didn’t mind, most of my team members were too small to hinder his sleep overly much. He did take issue with Numsy trying to take a spot on his midriff. Numsy might be small, but he weighed as much as a big sack of potatoes. His molten core made up of mineral rich magma being the main contributor to his added weight.

“breakfast’s done!”

I started distributing out everyone’s bowls of food. Glove’s bowl being a size bigger than the rest of them. Because of his body size having higher nutritional needs was a given and because he was still malnourished from having spent thousands of years as a statue. The rest of the team, knowing his need for a greater caloric intake, didn’t complain about the difference in portion sizes.

I left my Pokémon in the dorm room to enjoy breakfast while I went downstairs to observe the procession. Now that there are proper waking hours the line got even bigger. Curious about this mysterious hermit I decided to ask Nurse Joy for the details on this mysterious person.

“Nurse Joy, do you know the hermit who is giving out those Pokémon evaluations?”

“Hmm… Well, he just showed up one day out of the blue. In exchange for lending a helping hand, I let him set up his little tent outside. I am glad he did so because business has never been better. Ah! Not that that is a good thing of course for someone in my profession. A lot of people who aren’t even on their circuit run book rooms here now, which they have to pay full price for. Alleviating this center’s reliance on league subsidies.”

“Does he ever take a break or something? I’d really like to meet this figure.”

“Sharing information like that would be unfair to all the other trainers that have come here to meet him, young trainer. If you want him to evaluate your Pokémon, you’ll have to wait in line just like everybody else.”

‘Darn! She saw through my ruse.’

As I was busy trying to trick the kindly nurse Joy into giving up her confidential knowledge, I felt a slight bump impacting the top of my head. Having grown familiar with the suddenness and fur to skin feel of the intruder I know Victini was sitting invisibly on the top of my head.

‘Are you already finished with your meal?’

“Most of us are. I just wanted to see what was taking you so long.”

‘This hermit character intrigues me. A human being able to perceive a Pokémon’s hidden power closely resembles an ability that I have heard about from before my arrival in this world.’

As I was sharing my speculations with Victini I excused myself in front of Nurse Joy and headed back up into our room but before I could get near the entrance of the attached dormitory we were stopped by a scroungy looking old man.

“Excuse me there young trainer. I couldn’t help but notice a peculiar presence around you. Would you mind this old man here taking up some of your time? I am a deft hand at palm readings and the like.”

‘Is this the start of my hero’s journey? If I give this old man some change and kindness, will he reveal himself to be an old sage who trains me in an ancient form of Pokémon battling?’

“Focus Egon! I think he is looking at me.”

That revelation snapped me back into reality. And just like Victini has noted, this old man wasn’t looking at my face, his eyes slightly slanting upward right in the position where Victini must be lounging on the top of my head at this moment. Immediately my fight or flight instincts got invoked. If this geezer was able to perceive Victini he cannot be any regular old man.

“I don’t know who you are or how you identified this “presence”, but we won’t be coerced into doing anything she doesn’t want to do.”

“So, it’s a she? No worries boy I am not threatening you or her in any way. It is just my first time seeing a Pokémon I have never met before. I was just curious, that's all. If you don’t want to associate with me, you two are free to go on your merry way.”

‘What do you think?’

“I want to know how.”

“Fine, but at the first moment you pull any sort of shenanigans on us we are leaving.”

“That’s perfect. I have a secure spot where we can talk just outside this center. It’s a tent you couldn’t have missed it while walking in here. When you feel like you are ready to talk, come see me and don’t mind the other people waiting in line, I’ll get to them eventually.”

‘So, this is the old hermit? I better get the rest of the team with me for this encounter.’

We went back to our room to pick up the rest of my partner Pokémon. I recalled each of them inside their balls except for Numsy and we made our way back to the entrance of the Pokémon center. As the old man had said the line was being held up for some reason, a please wait sign had been put in front of the tent’s opening. With some level of shame I ignored the waiting crowd and slipped inside the tent much to the chagrin of people waiting in line.

The inside of the tent couldn’t be any humbler. It was just two little plastic stools and a rickety old table big enough to rest a cup of coffee and a bowl of nuts on. Which it did incidentally. I wasn’t really big on nuts since I used to be allergic to them and I never bothered testing if that is still the case. The hermit was sitting in the other chair obviously pleased to see us taking him up on his offer,

‘I am hoping we can convince this guy to keep quiet. This old mountain dweller doesn’t seem like the type to show and tell but I can’t risk Victini’s safety on just his word.’