Like No One Ever Was

It was somewhat easier to relax waiting for my next round now that I had a win under my belt. Hmm, should I wear a belt when I become Champion? Like a wrestler - no wait, Leon has that, and he’s kinda tacky.

My next match was against a teenager with a Houndour, which ended fairly quickly thanks to Earthquake again. The Move didn’t damage the arena or extend past it this time, but that was due to the Farigiraf extending its barrier to permeate the battlefield itself (something that the referee had scolded her about, and the Farigiraf had rolled her eyes as if to say ‘how was I supposed to expect that?’ before fixing it for all future matches).

The match after was a kid about my age with a Maril, his knees shaking as he approached me. His few stuttered commands were easily countered, and the Maril was taken out with a well-timed Body Slam (didn’t even need Poison Jab). Am I really that scary? I hadn’t thought so, but Dunsparce was stronger than most others. A few others were starting to get increased attention and even some bets were placed on the ones who looked like they were real contenders.

Paldea had some surprisingly strict gambling restriction laws. In this case, any official bets were capped at no greater than the entrance fee to participate. I thought that was another reason why the entrance fee was so high for such a comparatively low-level tournament; it let the gamblers bet a bit more while keeping the numbers down low enough that they could run the whole thing in a day. There were other loopholes as well, like being able to bet on one competitor per each round.

We were reaching into the afternoon as round three was finishing up, though the fact was that each round took less long than the previous ones due to having fewer people. Despite that, I was certain we’d be well into the evening by the finals.

Spectators were taking note of me, but I still wasn’t the favorite to win yet. Likely, it was due to my age, or perhaps Dunsparce not being as striking in appearance as some others. Currently, it was a toss-up between Atticus and his Dhelmise and Katherine, an older foreign girl with a formidable-looking Golisopod, both of whom were just about to fight.

“Who do you think will win?” Friede casually asked as we watched the match. We’d chatted a bit in between my bouts, and I think he was surprised to find someone as knowledgeable as myself given how young I looked.

“Atticus. The Golisopod isn’t battle-hardened enough yet.” The Golisopod was a giant pale blue bug with thick armor plating covering its body. Pokemon evolution would clear up scars and injuries like that, and tellingly, Katherine’s Pokemon bore no battle wounds.

“Oh? But doesn’t it take a lot of work to evolve a Whimpod into a Golisopod?” Leah asked and I blinked with surprise. She blushed and added, “Ever since you’ve become so interested in Pokemon young Miss, I’ve been researching them too.” I smiled. It’s sweet of her to put such care and attention towards my interests.

“It does, and I’m not saying they’re not strong but-” Friede cut me off.

“He still has the instincts of a Whimpod, to run and flee whenever hurt, warring with his newfound strength and power. That can be trained out, but it takes time and the Golisopod has to get used to the pain it can take in battle.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his interruption and nodded. “Yeah, that.” So far, he hasn’t been hurt enough for it to be an issue, but Dhelmise is in a different league than everyone else they’ve faced thus far. Bug/Water vs. Ghost/Grass doesn’t favor either side Type-wise either. If switches were allowed it wouldn’t be bad, but as is…

“Use First Impression!” Katherine called out, and her Golsiopod scuttled up, moving both fast and in a way that was hard to track. The Bug Type gave out a roar and raised its large foreclaws, causing the Dhelmise to flinch back, opening itself up to some swift strikes from its four smaller claws.

“Hit it back with Grassy Glide,” Atticus called out cooly and Dhelmise did just that. Laying down a sheet of seaweed, it slid across the field and into the Golisopod.

They exchanged blows like that a few more times, but Golisopod had nothing as powerful as his First Impression to follow it up with, and eventually after taking a powerful Payback, the big bug ran back to Katherine, cowering.

“Wait no, get back in there! Golly, please!” She begged, to no avail. He just shook his head and tried to shrink down further as Dhelmise menaced closer. “I- I surrender!” She called out, returning her Pokemon.

“The winner, Atticus! Folks, this kid is on a winning streak! Can nothing stop his climb to the top?” The announcer said as the crowd cheered him on. The preteen basked in the praise before smugly walking off.

“Looks like your prediction was right. Are you worried about him?” Friede inquired. It was understandable since he was my next opponent, but I had relaxed a lot more since the beginning of the event.

“Nah, I’ll win.” Besides, this last round told me everything I needed to win. It’s easy to get worried when everyone is unknown, but I’ve got a handle on how he fights.

“Kinda arrogant,” Friede responded, causing me to scowl.

“Takes one to know one! You assume you know everything!” Leah sighed off to the side as we started arguing.

“I do. Or near enough. I know everything there is to know about Pokemon.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. Ask me anything.” He challenged, crossing his arms. He’s one of the few people who doesn’t look down on me due to my age. I shouldn’t screw that up. But… I kinda want to wipe that smug smile off his face. Whatever, it’s probably fine. If he gets distraught over being proven wrong I wouldn’t want to know him anyways. He might be a Pokemon Professor, but I have Isekai cheats!

I thought about it for a moment, trying to think of something that would both stump him and be provable. It was a difficult exercise in these more modern times with plenty of technology and open borders of the world. Knowledge was eagerly exchanged between the League Nations, and even beyond. Something like ‘How was the mythical Pokemon Magerana created?’ might not work because it's something no one knows about and something like ‘What types can Charizard Mega Evolve into?’ would be too well known.

“Well?” He asked impatiently.

“Alright. Dual Typing can cover a lot of weaknesses in either Type, especially when immunities overlap with what would be the other Type's weakness. What is the only Pokemon that has 3 Type immunities and only one Type weakness?” As he opened his mouth I quickly realized my mistake and added “And two resistances!” Almost forgot about Spiritomb there. It’s a cool Pokemon and very tanky for a Ghost Type, but given what I know it would be so hard to control. Of course, the one I’m thinking of would likely be worse.

“That’s- uh hmm. Three immunities has to be part Ghost Type at least…” He pondered it for a moment before shaking his head. “That’s a nice try, but Dhelmise has more weaknesses and resistances than that. In fact-” I held my arms up in an ‘X’ cutting him off.

“It’s not a Ghost Steel Type, I know. Dhelmise is not the Pokemon I’m talking about.”

“Really?” Leah asked. “But it looks so- I mean, it’s an anchor.”

“True, and it’s reflected in its Steelwork Ability, but it's a Grass Ghost Type.” Seeing Friede was still stumped, I told him the answer. “I was talking about a Hisuian Zoroark.”

“A wha- Zoroark is a Dark Type. Sure, they can cast illusions to pretend to be other typings, but that doesn’t count.”

“The modern day Zoroark, yes. But in Ancient Hisui, the Survey Corps discovered a regional variant.” Or more likely, the settlers created a Regional Variant, through hate and mistreatment. “Hisuian Zoroark is the only recorded Ghost Normal Type. It’s arguably the strongest Dual Type combination out there.” Friede didn’t look convinced so I added: “You can check out Laventon’s notes.”

“Where did you get the chance to read an ancient Professor’s notes?” Friede asked, bewildered. To be fair, I get why he is treated that way. There wasn’t really the designation of a ‘Pokemon’ Professor before Samuel Oak and the Global League made them a thing, both culturally and officially. However, Laventon is often cited as the precursor to that system and it’s widely believed he’d be one if the League had been in place when he was alive.

I was spared from answering that question by Leah chiming in. “The Young Miss is a member of the Glitterati family and they have been quite supportive of her goal of becoming a Champion ranked trainer. However,” she added with a steely gaze at me. “I didn’t realize that she had obtained that particular rare research material.”

“I mean, I haven’t ever laid eyes on his work personally, but I’ve seen images of it through a screen. There’s a lot of stuff online.” Very true, especially online in my first world where I played through Legends Arceus.

Rotom had a question of their own to ask as well. “Bzzt, Is a Hisuian Zoroark actually the strongest Pokemon out there?”

“No. Ghost and Normal pair well together, but Steel and Bug have more resistances which might be worth even the double weakness to Fire. And Type combination isn’t everything, you know? You could get Electric and Water in Wash form, which might not seem as strong on paper, but then you add in your Ability Levitate and you have even more resistances and only one weakness. Then there’s each species' strengths and deficiencies, the Moves they can learn…”

My rant was interrupted by a chuckle from Friede. “I think if you became a Pokemon Professor you’d specialize in battling.” I blushed at the joke. Technically, ‘battling’ is the domain of Trainers, so it’s not something Professor’s would ‘specialize’ in. Too broad a field as well, with how battling is such a major facet of Pokemon's lives. Kukui came close with his in-depth study of Moves and practical application with his team though, and I can’t deny battling is something I’ve been fixated on. But the history of this world is interesting as well. Not sure what I’ll study after I become a Champion.

Deflecting, I asked, “What do you specialize in?” There wasn’t a requirement to specialize in any particular field for a Pokemon Professor. Indeed, most of the tests for achieving the title instead required an incredibly broad field of knowledge. Still, most Professors would make a name for themselves in a field they felt a certain affinity to.

“I don’t know,” he admitted and I could see his mask of arrogance crack for a moment, revealing a young man, unsure of his life. He was told he was a genius his whole life, and just as he made his biggest achievement, everyone’s attention was grabbed by someone more successful in the field. Turo’s Terastalization Orbs took the world by storm and now he’s just kinda… adrift.

“Well, no rush. There’s a lot to study in the world. I-” I cast a glance at Leah before continuing. “Honestly, achieving Champion level is only a means to an end. Sure, I want to be in the big tournaments, fans cheering my name, yada yada. But what I truly desire is strength. The strength to travel anywhere and everywhere I want, to uncover every hidden secret across the world. To just… see it all.” I lacked the words, to fully describe exactly how amazing I found this world to be. I couldn’t tell if I was put here for a purpose or not. If there was one thing I could decide for myself, it was that I absolutely loved it here, and wanted to enjoy every bit of it I could.

Friede had a strange expression on his face, one I couldn’t decipher, but I thought there might be a sense of wonder there. Before he could say anything, the announcer called out “Nemona Gliteratti and Atticus Ordale, take your places on the field.”

“Alright, gotta go,” I said, quickly turning and racing off to my next challenge. Not sure how much I got through to him, but hopefully that’s one Professor who’s convinced to look a bit more into the wonder of the world. I’ve just gotta convince the other one to look into it a bit less.