Chương 43: 4.8 Fish

Aaron's Pokemon - Artoria (Kirlia) - Jeanne (Flaaffy) - Durvasa (Mankey) - Unnamed (Egg) Fish 4. 8 Aaron Fulan Petalburg City I found myself in one of the largest pokemon centers in Petalburg City, just one day before our departure. It was one of the only centers with private communication booths, each set up with a pokemon digital transfer machine. To my surprise, it was mom who called me out here, which I supposed meant I was about to get my larvesta egg. I couldn't wait.

The thought of having my very own miniature sun left me vibrating in my seat. The call came through precisely at two in the afternoon, down to the second as was typical of mom. She was in the medical bay attached to the gym. It was located behind the main fields and had a transfer machine in the corner. Apparently, gyms could be used as emergency hospitals for pokemon in times of crisis. To either side of her were my siblings.

They wore the customary Mossdeep Gym uniform, a set of teal workout sweats that were honestly wonderfully comfy; I still used mine as pajamas. They were floating in the air, seated on cushions of psychic power so they could be eye-level with mom and the screen. It was impressive how effortless they made that seem; sustained telekinesis wasn't easy for humans to learn.

"Aaron. You are well," she said in greeting. Her normally expressionless face was furrowed into a frown.

"Hi, big bro!" Liza yelled, surging forward in the air until her happy grin was all I could see through the camera. Then, Tate yanked her back by her shirt until they shared the screen. He had a worried expression as he tugged his sister out of the frame.

"Are you okay? You were on crutches!"

"Ah… I guess you saw the battle then?" I laughed nervously. Now that it'd been a few days, the gym battle between Norman and I was online on the League website for all to view, which naturally included my family.

"Indeed. You were injured in your previous match. How?" mom asked. Her tone was as placid as if she were asking about the weather, but I knew her well enough to hear the slight strain in her voice.

"It's fine, mom. I'm better, I promise," I said with a disarming smile.

"What happened?"

"I took a boat tour of the tentacool bloom and fell in."

"That doesn't sound like you. You are more responsible than that."

"Well… I kinda jumped in…?"" Explain."

"It's not a big deal!" I defended.

"Two of the kids on the barge I was on were horsing around and fell overboard. And then… things just kinda happened…"

"You jumped in after them," she said with a sigh.

"You… You have pokemon."

"I know. In hindsight, I should've had Jeanne use Thunder Wave to buy time. The kids would be paralyzed too, but they'd just float anyway. Or boxed them in with Reflect. I saw them go overboard and I stopped thinking."

"And you are okay now?"

"Yeah, the guide had an antidote on board so I was treated in seconds. I didn't get stung that much either, just a few inches around my lower calf." She studied me for a long minute. I'd never been much good at lying, especially not to mom. Fortunately, it meant she knew I was actually fine and not putting on a brave front. Finally, she let out a small sigh of relief, which was probably more emotion than I'd seen from her in years.

"That's good. You take after Jin. sometimes more than I would prefer."

"Dad?"

"He too is a man of action. He has a graduate degree, you know. He could have remained a normal scientist but insisted on becoming an astronaut because it was 'cool.' He is a reckless fool." I clutched my chest in mock-pain.

"Oof, do you tell him that?"

"Of course."

"Well I'm fine, mom. I didn't say anything because I didn't want you to worry."

"People worry more when you stay silent."

"Yeah, bro, do you know how weird it is seeing you stand on the field in crutches?" Liza said with a frown.

"You could have postponed the match," Tate agreed.

"I thought you weren't in a rush to get badges."

"I'm not," I shrugged, "but it's not like I'm the one swinging a sword. My pokemon were ready and that's what really matters in the end. Besides, I was fine after a night's rest."

"Backlash is important to consider as well," mother chided.

"Leader Maple is not an easy opponent no matter the badge level. He is not the type to show mercy on the battlefield." She wasn't wrong; aura backlash, sometimes called a rebound, was something trainers occasionally experienced for losing. It was the "X whited out!" message players of the games received when they ran out of pokemon.

Funny enough, along with mega evolution, z-moves, and the gigantamax phenomenon unique to Galar, it was one of the biggest pieces of evidence that pointed to the existence of aura in humans. Or more specifically, the practical application of aura as a link between trainers and pokemon.

Though it was still a contentious topic, scientists pointed to this backlash as proof that everyone at least had aura, whether they could access it or not, and that even the most novice of trainers had a certain metaphysical bond between them and their pokemon. The backlash wasn't crippling or anything, most people didn't literally black out under normal circumstances, but there was relatively little research done on the phenomenon because doing so ethically was difficult for obvious reasons.

I doubted I would have gotten hurt regardless of the battle's outcome. Not only was I actively training to use my aura, all League-sponsored gyms were required to contain medical bays much like the one mom was calling from. At worst, I'd get a new shiner if I did fall over and smacked my face into the floor. Still, a tiny part of me was happy to see mom worried. She was absolute shit at expressing affection so it felt nice to get it, even despite the fact that I knew cognitively that she loved us.

That she hadn't immediately jumped to business was as big a sign as I'd ever get from her. I laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Leader Maple really isn't a joke. When he realized my team was a bit overqualified for the second badge, he offered to send out something else for his final pokemon. That zangoose almost had Artoria's number."

"And you agreed. Because you are a reckless fool."

"Yup! Just like dad."

"At least pretend to be repentant," she huffed, arms crossed over her chest.

"Yeah! Aaron's a jerk," the twins said at the same time. They had that adorable pout that made them impossible to deny. Liza continued, "You're not allowed to fight when you're injured." What could a big brother do except bow his head? I chuckled.

"Alright, fine. I promise I won't fall on my face from an aura backlash after getting my ass beat on TV."

"That's not what we said," Tate whined.

"Mom, Aaron swore!" Liza pointed.

"Teleport soap in his mouth."

"I am tempted," mom said, her lips twitching just a tiny hair upwards.

"In any case, what's done is done. We will say nothing more on the matter." I let out an exaggerated sigh of relief.

"Phew, safe~ You know, I'm more worried about the twins nagging me than aura backlash."

"Then stop being dumb!" Liza ordered, finger jabbing the screen with irritation.

"Alright, alright, so what's up, mom?"

"Caitlin acquired a larvesta egg," she said. She pulled out an incubator from offscreen. It was a sleek, black cylinder with lots of bells and whistles for things like temperature control, humidity, and even air pressure. Inside was the larvesta egg, an orange, white, and gray affair speckled with black dots that seemed to flash crimson as they caught the light.

"This is the egg you asked for. The incubator has already been adjusted to replicate the ideal environment for the egg. Do not change the settings. Should the settings be changed accidentally, the information has been sent to your email."

"Thanks, mom. This was honestly a lot faster than I expected, especially with the whole hydreigon thing and Caitlin being sent here as a goodwill ambassador."

"She has contacts; she does not need to hunt down the egg herself."

"I still think a metagross would be better, bro," Liza said, poking the glass cover of the incubator.

"The egg's really pretty though."

"A metagross wouldn't fit with my team at all," I explained.

"Those guys are way too analytical. My team of lovable nutjobs would drive one up the wall."

"Are you calling your team stupid?" Liza gasped with a teasing grin.

"I think he's calling his team stupid, Liza," Tate mock-whispered. I rolled my eyes. The beldum line were known for being incredibly intelligent and calculating. They had the minds of supercomputers and behaved like it. Most of the time, the easiest way to win their loyalty was to demonstrate in a cost-benefit analysis that you were their best option. In other words, they were not unlike Colress, the Team Plasma head scientist. Put one with a team full of chuuni tryhards with their genre-appropriate antics and…

"You know how my team is. No, you don't, actually. Just trust me; a beldum really wouldn't fit well with the pokemon I have." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Yeah, but why a larvesta?" I shrugged.

"Why not? Volcarona are cool, strong, long-lived, and nowhere near as problematic as most dragons. As far as a ranged powerhouse goes, I don't think I can do much better."

"Don't they also take a long time to evolve?"

"Longer than normal for sure, but not so long that I'll be waiting a decade like in the wild. Trained pokemon evolve exponentially faster, remember?"

"But what if you don't have a volcarona by the Ever Grande Conference?" Tate asked with a frown.

"Then you won't be at your best."

"Then I don't have a volcarona. It's not like larvesta are helpless," I said simply. It was flattering to know that in their minds, their big bro was already a shoe-in.

"My pokemon will develop on their own time. I'm not going to try to rush an evolution for the sake of showing off a cool pokemon in my first year. Sure, that'd be awesome and probably do a lot for my reputation as a trainer, but I don't really care about things like that." Mom nodded and pulled the twins back a bit. They'd been hovering progressively closer to the screen as they talked.

"Good, that is as it should be. A trainer's first duty is to their team. Some may pursue wealth and prestige so they might access greater resources for their team, but you are my son. You do not lack these things." I nodded. My account wasn't vast, she was definitely the "kick the chick off a cliff to teach it to fly" kind of mom, but I didn't doubt that those high-level resources would be there when my team were ready.

"I know, mom. My team will grow in their own time, not some prescribed schedule."

"Then I will transfer the incubator to you now."

"Thanks, mom. Oh, did you get compensation from the Weather Institute?"

"I did. Their controller was rather embarrassed by it all."

"I mean, they did forget to load their card and almost left their own researcher camping in a park somewhere."

"Quite. Where will you go now? Will you follow Petalburg Woods up to Rustboro?"

"Yeah, I think Dewford can teach Durvasa a lot, but that it'd suit him better when he's got a better handle on his own fighting style. Maybe I'll save that until he's evolved so I can bug Brawly for a real challenge."

"Reasonable." She input my specific location code and the whole thing vanished from her side in a flash of light. A few seconds later, the incubator appeared on my side with an identical flash.

"Was there anything else you wished to talk about?"

"Hmm… Actually, I've been wondering: Is it true that pokemon can hear things from within the egg?" I asked. It was true in the anime, at last for the larvitar, but I wasn't sure how valid that was here. They were eggs after all. When I went looking online, some breeders did say they ended up with more obedient pokemon if they sang to the eggs during incubation, but others called that pure placebo. Mom considered the question.

"It is a possibility. However, as with most questions concerning pokemon, the answer likely depends on the species. Some are more cognitively aware at earlier ages than others. It would not surprise me if the imprinting process begins from within the egg for certain species."

"Ah, that makes sense. Any advice on larvesta specifically then?"

"No. I am not a bug type specialist. However, I believe you should socialize with the egg as much as you are able, just in case."

"Yeah, I guess it couldn't hurt. Can I take the egg out of the incubator?"

"For short periods. Read the instruction manual in your email, Aaron."

"Alright, I will. Thanks again, mom."

"You are welcome. I expect a call once you reach Rustboro."

"Or when something interesting happens!" Liza cut in. Tate nodded vigorously next to his sister.

"Fine, fine," I smiled. My siblings were adorable. Then, I had an idea.

"Say, how would you guys like penpals?"

"Penpals?"

"Yup. I got to meet May and Max Maple, Leader Norman's kids. May's a bit older than you and Max is a bit younger. I think I'm going to add them to the chatroom."

"Okay, but why?"

"Because they remind me of you two, that's why."

"Alright, bro, whatever you say."

"Great, cheers. Do well in school and all that."

"Bye~" X I lounged on my bed with my team gathered around me. On my lap was the larvesta egg, removed from its incubator. That was fine for an hour or so according to the digital brochure attached to the email mom sent me. Along with an instruction manual for the incubator, there was also a guide to a larvesta's life cycle as compiled by one of the few experts on the species. According to the brochure, there were no known nesting sites for wild volcarona in civilized Unova.

That was bogus of course, Relic Castle was a thing, but I could totally understand why they wouldn't want to make that public. If I was a League official and found out motherfucking Mothra with sun powers was chilling in the lowest levels of the most famous tourism hotspot in my region, I'd probably try to keep the info on the down-low too. Well, first shit bricks. Then try to discreetly station rangers around the perimeter so amateur anthropologists didn't piss off a Champion-class disaster.

Maybe try to come to an understanding with it. Whatever could be said for wild volcarona, there were only a handful of breeders qualified to raise larvesta for commercial purposes. They only sold a handful of eggs or hatchlings per year, volcarona didn't breed often, and that almost exclusively to high-level rangers within Unova. Much like dratini bred from Blackthorn, money alone wasn't enough to buy a larvesta.

There was a certain prestige and cultural value associated with the pokemon that couldn't simply be smoothed over with a few extra zeros on a check. Which made me smile with giddy anticipation. Volcarona were one of my favorite pokemon ever, and acquiring one would have been impossible without the Fulan name or the pull of a Unovan Elite. Maybe a larvesta wasn't worth a mega stone on an objective scale, but I was more than satisfied. I set my pokenav down on the bedside table.

There would be more time for reading later. I ran my fingers along the shell. It was toasty but not scalding despite the internal temperature of the incubator. This was because the egg, and the developing larva, was a supernaturally efficient heat sink. The shell absorbed all forms of heat and the larva used that energy to develop. It also refused to release any heat beyond this nice, toasty feeling, making the egg safe to handle. Around me, each of my team stared at the egg as if it'd hatch right this moment.

When they learned that the egg was scheduled to hatch in five weeks, and that the larvesta's consciousness should be developing as we spoke, they each took an interest in talking to it. I didn't know what they said exactly, I could only ever hear a third of the conversation at any given time, but they seemed happy enough. X Artoria Petalburg City I beheld the egg that would one day become my newest teammate. There were no words to describe what I felt inside.

I knew little of biology, but the consciousness inside had only just begun to develop. My lord said it would be born in five weeks. In just five weeks, this nebulous, flickering flame would fully ignite into a mind of its own. I ran my hand along the ember-like patterns. I felt privileged for the chance to witness the formation of new life.

This would not be my first time, there was a small psychic type nursery associated with the gym, but almost none were eggs as a gym was a place of training and mastery, not a prenatal daycare. What few eggs I'd seen hadn't captured my interest in this manner. None of those developing minds had been mine. My team. My family. My brother or sister in shared service to our lord. I reached out with my mind and felt the nascent consciousness stir at the slightest brush.

With a soft croon, I whispered, "You will be a splendid teammate. Though the world is vast and you have no hands to wield a blade of your own, fret not, for I shall teach you the way of the knight nonetheless. Honor will be your armor and chivalry will be your light in the da-""Pffttt, really, sis? And you wonder why Aaron teases you," Jeanne giggled behind me.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Lord Aaron." I rolled my eyes at my sister's discourtesy. I'd long since grown accustomed to her needling. It was, in my more fanciful moments, funny. On occasion… seldom… She tried and I had resigned myself to her poor sense of humor. She shuffled close to the egg and nuzzled her face to it.

"Don't listen to her. That was Big Sis Artoria. She likes to think of herself as a knight. She's always super stuffy, but don't worry, our trainer isn't like that. Oh, I'm Jeanne, by the way, the fun and cool big sister. I'll have the thoramin figured out by the time you hatch, I promise. Then I'll be able to play music for you and show you the wonders of pokemon contests."

"You mean the vainglorious nonsense that inevitably devolves into single combat anyway?"

"Oh, hush, sis. Contests are displays of masterful skill and creativity. Besides, Aaron did say volcarona were the 'sun pokemon.' A flashy pokemon like that deserves a flashy stage. Ooh! Maybe we'll even perform in the Grand Festival together!"

"The sun is nourishing light. A pokemon with such a lofty title should strive to live as a glorious exemplar of honor." Our eyes met and sparks danced between. Literal sparks because my sister was a melodramatic diva. Then, smirking, she leaned over and gave the egg a long, slow lick.

"Hah. I licked it. The egg is mine now~" she sang.

"That's not how this works and you know it," I protested.

"Lies. It's mine now. The larvesta inside is destined to take after me." I knew she was goading me, but that somehow didn't make her any less irritating.

"You're wrong. Just you wait, I'll teach her to be a splendid knight." Durvasa, our newest brother, vaulted over our heads to land on the bed frame so he could get closer. He tapped the egg and rolled his eyes.

"You two argue too much. Don't humans have a saying about not counting eggs before they hatch?" Jeanne bleated happily.

"Oh, I know that one! It's about infant mortality in chickens, right?"

"It's about tempering your expectations, you wool-brained fool!"

"Hey, no need to be mean." She turned and whispered to the egg, "That was Durvasa. He's always grumpy."

"I am not grumpy."

"You are," I said blandly.

"Although, where did you hear that saying?"

"One of the humans said it and I thought it strange."

"Yes, humans have many strange stories and idioms. Like rolling stones gathering no moss. Why anyone would want more moss is beyond me."

"Hey, moss can be tasty," my sister said.

"It's got a nice, earthy note you don't get from normal grass or hay. It's especially good with a bit of sourness to offset the minerality."

"If only you paid half as much attention to things that aren't food," I said, rolling my eyes.

"I do! I dance and train as hard as you do, meanie."

"Fine, but humans don't eat moss," I told her patiently.

"Or, I don't think they do. Lord Aaron doesn't at any rate, but it seems like a fairly common saying."

"Then what does it mean?"

"It's a metaphor. The original saying is, 'A rolling stone gathers no moss; so too a wandering heart gathers no affections.' The moss is a metaphor for relationships and the stone for a traveler who never settles long enough to form lasting bonds. Now though, humans use it to mean that a diligent man who is active will not gather moss, that is, depreciate in perceived value."

"So humans have no idea what their own saying originally meant?" Durvasa scoffed.

"Typical. They seem like a chaotic sort. Our troupe leader is more focused than most, but I suspect that is the effect of his constant training."

"You're not wrong. I was raised in Mossdeep Gym, the foremost home for psychics in the region, and I've found few are as focused as our lord. Lady Sharon, his mother, often tried to remedy this by teaching meditation to her gym trainers but I'm not sure it caught on in their personal routines."

"You know a great deal about humans."

"I do."

"Can you read?" I blinked in surprise at the seeming non-sequitur.

"Yes. My lady mother insisted that I learn. Many psychics raised alongside humans can read. Why do you ask?"

"Teach me."

"To read? Not to fight?"

"Yes. I've realized that much of the information our troupe leader acquires is from the written word. There must be a vast store of knowledge in his glowing box."

"A pokenav. It stands for 'pokemon navigator.'""Very well, a pokenav. I wish to learn to read." I hummed. It could be a good way to bond with my newest teammate. He was the least mankey-like mankey I'd ever heard of, but that was a good thing in my opinion. I could readily admit that I was wrong; he was not the brute I'd expected when my lord recruited him.

"As you wish. I will teach you to read each night."

"Thank you." Jeanne bleated and tugged the egg closer to her.

"Great! While you do that, I can teach this little fella about all the wonderful contest routines I've seen. Maybe then it won't turn out as stuffy as you two." I squawked in outrage and lunged for the egg.

"You will do no such thing! Our new sibling will learn chivalry and honor, not strut around like a vainglorious persian!"

"You wish, sis. We'll compete in the Grand Festival together. We will dance like the sun and storm, the thunder will be our chorus!"

"Unhand the egg, you diva!"

"Never!" And thus began the War for the Sun… Author's Note There is an interlude after this in which we'll follow up with some of the rival characters we've met so far. It was a request by a commissioner months ago, but I wanted to get through this section as it's a nice stopping point. Jin Fulan is not unique. All astronauts need a master's in STEM to qualify as well as a rigorous fitness test. Several have doctorates in fact.

I don't know where the pokemon's perspective came from, but I felt it'd be funnier to actually give them voices. I did a brief blurb from Artoria's perspective, but nothing like this. The way I see it, Artoria is the overly serious big sister and Jeanne is her constant, lovable annoyance. Durvasa balances them out despite being in a perpetual state of grumpiness because he's so damn curious about everything around him. Thank you for reading.

To reach a wider audience, and because I enjoy a more forum-like setup to facilitate discussion, I like to crosspost to a wide variety of websites. You can find them all on my Link Tree: https: //linktr. ee/fabled. webs.