Chapter Forty: Legend

“Pika... pi?” Pikachu had barely opened its eyes before it took a direct hit from an Energy Ball to the face! Although it wasn’t knocked out immediately, Exeggutor, having already used Synthesis earlier and thus nearly at full strength, now held a clear advantage in combat power. Despite Pikachu’s valiant struggle, it was ultimately defeated.

“All three of Ash’s Pokémon are unable to battle. Am wins,” Brock announced from the sidelines.

“No wonder you’re Am…” Ash said with a sigh of admiration, and then hurried off toward the Pokémon Center at top speed.

Am had wanted to ask him something, but there was no time. Goh also ran off after Ash, leaving only Brock behind.

“I heard from Ash that you’ve only been traveling for just over a month? You really are a talented trainer,” Brock praised.

“No, I still got pretty lucky,” Am replied, not entirely out of modesty.

In terms of raw battle power, Am’s Exeggutor certainly had the advantage, but…

Going over the match in his mind, Am realized that his main edge had come from Sleep Powder and Ancient Power. If Sleep Powder had missed, or he hadn’t managed to take Pikachu out right at the start, or if Ash’s third Pokémon hadn’t been Butterfree—a Pokémon severely countered by Ancient Power—the battle might have gone very differently!

After all, Am had made a serious blunder: letting Ivysaur take a direct Razor Leaf…

But even now, Am couldn’t stop wondering about that moment.

“Ash’s Bulbasaur… no, Ash himself… does he have some kind of special ability?” Am asked curiously.

Brock paused at the question, but didn’t hesitate long before answering honestly, “I think he might, but I’m not entirely sure.”

Am had already formed his own theory: the power that had boosted Bulbasaur’s performance was probably something like the Viridian Power, the kind of ability that temporarily raises a Pokémon’s level in the heat of battle.

But if Am’s guess was correct, it would only work on unevolved Pokémon—especially when facing their own evolved forms!

As for that Razor Leaf…

It might have been an immature form of “Reversal Power”—an energy that could invert the effects of type matchups!

Am didn’t have time to dwell on it further. At Misty’s urging, he quickly checked in, then found a spot to pitch his tent.

“Keep an eye out for me!” Misty said, preparing her bath barrel.

“Sure,” Am replied, still focused on jotting down battle notes, analyzing gains and losses without even looking up.

Seeing this, Misty came over and poked him. “What did I just say?”

“You’re done already?” Am remarked, surprised at how fast time had passed.

Misty: …

Without another word, Misty grabbed Am by the collar, dragged him to sit outside her tent, and said, “Here, you can write here—and keep watch for me at the same time!”

This time Am agreed without protest.

…

When Misty came out, she found that Am had already filled another whole page.

Afterward, the two of them enjoyed a rare, well-cooked meal together at the lakeside campground’s little restaurant and had a restful night.

The next day, Am accompanied Misty to the less crowded eastern shore of the lake. As usual, Misty picked her spot and started fishing for Pokémon. Am, who wasn’t particularly interested in aquatic Pokémon, stayed on the bank continuing skill training with his own team.

On the first day, Misty came back empty-handed. On the second, she encountered a Horsea that she felt an instant bond with!

Although it’s called a “seahorse,” you could still fish it out of the lake.

After successfully capturing Horsea, Misty now had six Pokémon. Of course, six wasn’t the limit; she would certainly rotate her team as needed in the future.

Even in League tournaments, competitors often rotate their Pokémon each round—sometimes to target their opponents, sometimes to avoid being targeted themselves!

“Horsea, huh… looks like it has the Swift Swim ability? If you can evolve it into Kingdra, it’ll be pretty formidable,” Am congratulated Misty on her new catch.

Horsea’s second stage of evolution was a bit unusual. The first evolution, into Seadra, could be achieved simply by growing to a certain level—about level 32 or 33. While that’s not exactly a low threshold, evolving by growth alone was the most basic method.

But the second stage was trickier: you needed a Dragon Scale.

“Looks like I’ll need to keep an eye out for a Dragon Scale,” Misty said confidently, as if her Horsea was as good as evolved.

Evolution with special items like this was even harder than using elemental stones.

Fortunately, unlike in the games, you didn’t have to trade a Pokémon holding a Dragon Scale to trigger evolution…

In the real Pokémon world, there were no Pokémon that had to be traded to evolve.

Just like with a Leaf Stone, if you let a Seadra hold a Dragon Scale, there was a chance it would trigger evolution as it grew.

As for Dragon Scales, they came from the shed scales of Dragon-type Pokémon—not just any random scale would do. Usually, only powerful Dragon Pokémon, at key points in their growth, would shed a true Dragon Scale. (See Note 1)

“For Seadra, the best Dragon Scales are the ones shed by Kingdra,” Am reminded her.

“I know… Once we reach one of the eastern Johto coastal cities, they should be available, and Cerulean City definitely will have them,” Misty replied, confident in her hometown’s resources.

Cerulean City, situated by the Cerulean Strait and opening onto the sea, had the most developed market for all kinds of Water-type Pokémon supplies.

If Seadra couldn’t evolve, its abilities were pretty average. Not only were its base stats unimpressive, but Horsea’s Swift Swim ability would change to Poison Point upon evolving to Seadra, and only with a further evolution to Kingdra would it regain Swift Swim—a pretty crucial trait!

From a battling perspective, both Seadra and Kingdra were much stronger in aquatic terrain, but Kingdra was slightly less hindered on land.

After all, Kingdra, with its Dragon typing in addition to Water, was better at using its curled lower body to move on land than Seadra.

As dusk fell, the two chatted and returned to their campsite.

“How’s your team’s skill training going?” Misty asked Am.

Over the past two days, Ivysaur had completely mastered Energy Ball and had begun practicing Sleep Powder and Leech Seed—both highly practical moves in Am’s opinion.

Nidorino’s progress with Thunderbolt was less promising. Teaching it a special attack move outside its natural typing was a huge challenge, but luckily, Voltorb could demonstrate for it; Am didn’t expect much from self-study.

“If only I could learn the moves myself—I’d teach them directly to my Pokémon,” Am mused.

Sometimes, Am wondered, with his spirit-channeling ability, if only he could master skills himself, then use animal senses to teach them directly…

“Pfft, no human can learn Pokémon moves,” Misty laughed at Am’s wild imagination.

But just then, Brock, who happened to be passing by the campsite, overheard and interjected, “Humans learning Pokémon moves? Actually, there are legends about that…”

Am and Misty both looked over in curiosity.

Brock thought for a moment. “I remember there’s a legend like that in Galar… Something about a wizarding school that would send letters to talented people and invite them to enroll. Right! And supposedly, many years ago, a powerful wizard, after training in Galar, returned to Johto and created some kind of cards…”

“Those are just stories, not to be taken seriously,” Misty said with a roll of her eyes.

———

Note 1: In this world, unlike in the games, there is no such thing as ‘link evolution’—the phenomenon where Pokémon evolve after being traded does not occur here. Transferring Pokémon usually causes negative effects, and may even result in the Pokémon escaping from its Poké Ball out of dissatisfaction. In this setting, more evolutions require special items than in the games. Not only are there more types of evolutionary stones needed, but ‘trade-evolution’ Pokémon in the games also require items here. Some items are the same as in the games, like King’s Rock for Slowking, while others are unique, such as Psychic Spoon for Alakazam. Most of these evolution materials are products from other Pokémon—for example, Slowbro needs a discarded Shellder shell.