Pokemon: Way of Life Chapter 24

Hi all,

Another day, another chapter. I have seen a lot of growth in the last month, so thank you all for the support. Enjoy!

Chapter 24

The group climbed towards the summit of Rosetta Hill. Someone had carved a simple set of stairs out of the hillside, which allowed them to avoid climbing the steep incline. In contrast to the other hills along Route 1, this one was a lot more vertical.

In the sky, the sun shone brightly, and a gentle breeze ruffled their clothes. They couldn't have picked a better day to start their adventure. As they stepped through the stone archway at the top of the stairs, they found an expansive grassy area surrounded by massive stone walls. Only the open sky prevented the place from being completely enclosed.

His phone vibrated, indicating a new notification. Ignoring it for now, he looked around in interest. Several groups of people were gathered, each in their own private bubble, with the majority of them having Pokemon at their sides. Towards the centre of the clearing was a designated area for Pokemon battles.

There was a small stall serving customers nearby under the shade of a tall oak tree. Lucas' hunger was triggered by the smell of cooked meat wafting over his nose.

They found a reasonably secluded spot where they could have some privacy.

"I didn't think they would sell food here," Jason said, taking off his pack and rubbing his shoulders.

Lucas and Faith followed suit and dumped their packs on the ground. Taking out his phone, Lucas checked out his notifications.

=====

Congratulations!

The player has discovered his first location since starting his journey.

Rosetta Hill discovered.

The player has earned 300 experience points.

=====

The player has unlocked a new Quest!

Intrepid Traveller 01

Kanto Region

Description: The player has a bounce in his step and a twinkle in his eye as he boldly goes forth to explore the world. Discovering new locations rewards the player with experience points. When he finds enough of them, he will receive a special reward.

Objective: Discover new locations.

Time Limit: -----

Rewards per Location discovered: 300 Experience

Special Reward: ?????

=====

"I will get us some lunch," Faith said, taking out her purse. "What do you guys want?”

"Get a bit of everything," Jason rubbed his belly. "And a lot of it. I could eat a Snorlax."

The Pokemon looked at him funny as if they could understand what he was saying. Faith laughed as the group edged away in perfect synchronisation.

"I will take care of the Pokemon's lunch," Lucas said, putting away his phone and digging through his pack. The Pokemon's food took up most of the space, kept in containers that preserved the food in the same manner as his inventory. It was like they were in stasis.

There were many crafting professions out there that combined various techniques and technology to craft some interesting stuff. Lucas had hardly scratched the surface of what was available. At some point, he may consider adding another one to his skillset.

"We need to start a livestream after lunch," Jason toyed with his video camera. "The fans will be waiting eagerly on news of your progress."

"We should feature someone here in the live stream," Lucas said. "Liven things up a bit."

"That sounds like a good idea," Jason agreed.

Before they gained more experience, they decided to live-stream only in secure places. They didn't want to become one of the tragically stupid live streamers that died in the wild because they failed to be more cautious.

Lucas laid out food for Faith's Pokemon first. It was simple to please Faith's Pokemon since they enjoyed leafy greens and fruit the most. They were omnivores, though, just like most Pokemon.

Tangela dived into her meal, her vines wriggling with enjoyment. Faith named the Pokemon, Spook, in reference to her concealed face, like a spy. Lucas thought that it also hinted at her deviant nature but kept that thought to himself. He didn't want to get in trouble.

It was Bulbasaur's turn next. He was pretty chill and the nicest out of all the Pokemon; until you threatened Faith, and then he turned violent. He was named after his favourite food, Kale.

"Saur," Bulbasaur waved his vines in thanks and dug into his meal.

Next was Jason's team. Sandee was adorable and loved sleeping against Jason for warmth. Sandee enjoyed eating anything with a lot of water content; her favourite meal was a Watermelon Sorbet.

Jason's newest partner was a riot. Squirtle was a rebel and very independent. It took Jason a lot of time before they could work together, and sometimes he still wouldn't listen to his partner. His favourite food was fish, which was quite expensive, considering they were raised in fish farms and were in high demand. Jason had called him the bane of his life and thus was dubbed 'Bane.'

"Squirtle?"

"No, I don't need any water, thank you," Lucas said dryly, knowing from experience that the mischievous Pokemon would spray him with water if he gave any sign of agreement.

Lucas had spent a lot of time finding each Pokemon's favourite food. Thankfully, he had a reliable expert nearby who helped him. Due to all his experimentations, he had increased his crafting skill by several levels.

Pokemon needed variety in their diet, so Lucas included other recipes alongside their favourites. He calculated that he had enough food for three days for each Pokemon, so he had to reach a town or city by then to resupply.

Lucas looked to see if Faith needed any help carrying the food, but she was still standing in line.

Lucas decided he might as well spend his AP on his Attributes while waiting. Accessing his Status from the phone, he didn't waste time deciding what he wanted to spend them on. He already had a good idea. Ten points went into Perception, which, combined with the passive bonuses, increased it to forty. It would only increase his ability to detect danger and points of interest.

Next, he chucked the last twenty points into his Aura. Now he had a total of six hundred and seventy-eight, which gave him more options in any situation.

Lucas and Jason walked over to help carry the food. Faith was talking to the owner, an old gentleman wearing an apron and a checkered beret.

"You sure brought enough," Lucas teased, eyeing the bags of food. He turned to the owner and pointed to the Primeape resting nearby. "I suppose the big guy is why you can set up a stall here."

"Yes. Barnabus Locke is the name," The old man greeted. "This land has belonged to the Locke family for generations."

"Why do you let people use your private land," Lucas wondered.

"It's a tradition in our family," Barnabus explained. "The hill was named after one of my ancestors, Rosetta Locke, who purchased it initially.”

"Is Primeape enough to protect this place," Lucas asked.

"He is not the only deterrent," Barnabus laughed as he completed the order. The two males gathered the food in their arms as Faith paid the bill.

"The only real threat here is flying Pokemon due to the natural topography," Barnabus continued. "Flying Pokemon are also more likely to cut across Danger Zones as they migrate to find a new food source. So, you must always keep one eye on the sky at all times, or else a Pidgeot may come swooping down before you even realise it."

"That's good advice," Lucas nodded, having not thought of the possibility. His eyes had been trained on the ground and not the sky, for potential dangers.

"I'm happy to give you some free advice," Barnabus grinned toothily. "Since you are buying so much food."

"How do you earn enough Pokedollars to run a stall here?" Jason questioned.

"That's none of your business," Faith scolded him.

"It's okay," Barnabus replied. "Making a profit is not an issue for me. As you just demonstrated, Trainers tend to have large appetites due to their bond with Pokemon. I want to expand my services to Pokemon food, but I do not have the manpower or the setup to prepare so much food."

"My mother owns Premier Pokefoods," Lucas pointed to his cap. "I could get you a discount on purchases, and it's already prepared for you."

Barnabus rubbed his grizzled chin. "That's not a bad idea. But I don't want charity. I will pay whatever other stores pay."

"Premier Pokefoods offers discounts to some businesses that are providing essential services," Lucas waved his hand to indicate the people resting on the summit. "I would call this an essential service."

"Well, okay then," Barnabus said.

"Here's the number for the CEO," Lucas took a card out of his pocket and gave it to the man. "Just mention my name; you shouldn't have any problems."

"Thanks, young sir," Barnabus tipped his hat.

"Call me Lucas. How do you get so much traffic here anyway?" Lucas asked. "You would think people would bypass this place altogether since it is close to Pallet Town."

"You will be surprised how many people stop by to hear the history of this place," Barnabus explained. "If you're interested, I can tell you the story after you have eaten."

"Are you camera shy?" Jason stepped forward eagerly.

"Not particularly, but why do you want to know?" Barbubus asked, bewildered.

Jason pointed at Lucas. "This guy is a streamer, and we will be doing a livestream after lunch. Do you wish to share the story with others?"

Barnabus nodded. "I don't see why not."

"Great. By the way, are there sanctioned battles here? We could also do some Pokemon battles," Jason danced around in excitement.

"They are not sanctioned," Barnabus shook his head. "But trainers don't usually cause trouble if I'm there to officiate. Give me a recording of the match and identification, and I can get it officially recognised. That means you can earn some points towards your next Trainer Level."

"Is it okay to be away from your stall?" Faith asked.

"It usually slows down after lunch," Barnabus said.

"Then let's eat," Lucas said.

{0(((..)))0}

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It has been a few days since our last stream, but I'm sure you haven't missed me at all. But as you can see, I am no longer at home but out in the country. This is the first official stream of my Pokemon Journey."

Lucas moved around the area as he talked, showing off the scenery and pointing out places of interest. "We are currently in Rosetta Hill, just northwest of Pallet Town. Before we bring on a guest to tell us a story on the history of this place, let me do some housekeeping.

Thanks to your support, we are now donating to six different charities in Kanto. The complete list of charities is..."

Barnabus provided Lucas with chairs a few minutes later, and they sat down. Despite what the older man had said before, he looked uneasy as he shifted his skinny frame in the chair and fiddled with the small microphone Jason had attached to his clothing.

"Alright, let me introduce you to Barnabus Locke, the owner and caretaker of Rosetta Hill. Apparently, there is an interesting history of this place. Why don't you share your story."

Barnabus's eyes brightened as he went into storyteller mode. He seemed to forget that he was watched by thousands of people online and leaned forward in his chair.

"The story revolves around Rosetta Locke, my ancestor after which this hill was named. We have gained snippets of the events of that day through an old journal of hers, but unfortunately, a lot of it has been redacted.

The story goes that Rosetta was training with her Pokemon on Mt Hideway, located west of Pallet Town. Suddenly, there was a huge rumbling as scores of Rock Pokemon came pouring down the mountain, including a gigantic Onix of which the likes she had never seen before. Something had spooked them, and now Rosetta was in danger of being swallowed up in the wave. She called it the most insane landslide in history," Barnabus chuckled.

Around them and out of the camera view, people had gathered to listen to the man's story. Just like Lucas, they were listening eagerly as Barnabus talked.

"Rosetta climbed aboard her Pidgeot and flew in the sky, watching as the Pokemon fled north. Thankfully, they didn't go east towards Pallet Town, or else it may have been destroyed, as it didn't have the protections it has today.The massive Onix led the wave of Pokemon, and Rosetta followed them. She was puzzled. What had caused the Pokemon to flee?

Eventually, they reached this location and began ascending the hill. Back then, there were no stone walls, so the summit was completely exposed. So they climbed the hill from every direction until Pokemon crowded the entire area.

As Rosetta flew closer, unable to contain her curiosity, she noticed that the Pokemon were becoming weaker, and some were lying down and not moving anymore. They were dying from an unknown cause, like an invisible disease.

The leader directed the able Pokemon to push the dead Pokemon onto the outer edge of the summit as if it was trying to prevent something from reaching them. The Pokemon who recognised their mortality even helped by lying close to the edge. After hours of this, the bodies formed the wall you see today.

The last Pokemon standing was the massive Onix, who angrily roared to the sky. It affected Pidgeot so much she had to descend to the ground.

When Rosetta returned her gaze to the summit, she could no longer see the Onix. After a while, she climbed the hill cautiously and saw a crude version of the wall you see now." Barnabus pointed at the walls. "Before her eyes, the bodies of the Rock Pokemon became less distinct and started binding together.

We know today that when a Rock Pokemon dies, it transforms and turns back into non-living rock, but this process usually takes decades. But this happened in a matter of minutes. What happened to them? And how did they bind together so thoroughly to form this wall?

Rosetta brought the entire hill with her savings from her Pokemon career and began studying the walls to discern the reason for the phenomenon. She never found the cause, but her studies discovered why some unique ores exist today. The transformation that the Rock Pokemon undergo when they die may produce valuable ores.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone absorbed the information. It was a fascinating story, but it remained unfinished. The depths of Mt Hideaway were dangerous, with high-level Pokemon that seemed to grow bigger than their counterparts.

"Alright, give it up for Barnabus Locke and his fantastic story. So how about it? Does any of my viewers think they can solve the mystery?"

Barnabus returned to his stall, and Lucas responded to some questions from the chat.

Intellectual Steve: I hypothesise that the Pokemon were exposed to something that triggered and accelerated their transformation, even though they were still alive.

"That's not a bad theory. There is still so much about the natural world that we don't understand."

JustMyOpinion: You can't leave it there! Go to Mt Hideaway and solve the mystery.

"Right, if I wanted to throw my life away."

GoldenDream: What an incredible story! I will visit Rosetta Hill when I'm next in the area.

"I'm sure Barnabus will appreciate the company."

LucasWaifu#4: Fascinating! But are you going to have some Trainer Battles now?"

"Where are the other three? My girlfriend is giving me the evil eye, so I will stop joking now. Let's have some battles."

{0(((..)))0}

"Each Trainer will each use two Pokemon in this battle," Barnabus said, looking official with a whistle and a flag in his hand. "When a Pokemon cannot continue, they must switch to their other Pokemon. Substitution is allowed to be used once. There will be no deliberate killing. Pokemon must stop when their opponent is down for the count. Is this understood?"

Both Trainers nodded before facing each other. His opponent looked to be a bit older than Lucas. He was tall and gangly with a head of shockingly bright red hair.

"Hi, my name is Ron," he called. "I love the Pokemon song you wrote. When is the instrumental version going on sale?"

Lucas blinked, not expecting his friendliness. "It releases in two weeks."

The recording had been a bit more involved than he initially realised. At the last moment, he was asked to record a music video along with the band playing with him, The Dragon Knights. Yuna, the lead singer, added vocals to the song and it turned out amazing.

Lucas didn’t mind the extra work, as he got a big fat paycheck out of it. He spent half of it on buying materials for the initial construction of his habitat and hiring a boat to get them to the island. Nora was happy to start building, as she been going through a crash course in construction the last two months. It seemed that she had found something she enjoyed.

"Cool, I will keep an eye out for it. So, who gets to choose their Pokemon first? I already can see your Pokemon, so I have an unfair advantage."

"Let me guess," Lucas said, eyeing Ron's hair. "You're a Fire-Type Trainer."

Ron grinned, not offended. "That's what my friends say as well."

"Let's flip a coin," Lucas suggested in response to the first question.

Lucas won the coin toss, so Ron had to choose a Pokemon first. He threw a Pokeball into the field, and a Beedrill emerged. It was level four.

Lucas had decided to impose rules on himself to make battles more interesting. He was only allowed to know the Level of the Pokemon. Aside from this, he also saw his opponent's HP/Aura values during the battle. The last rule allowed was the ability to Observe Moves because he wanted to further his knowledge of them.

Why did he do this? Lucas wanted to test his knowledge of the Pokemon he had gained in the last nine months. When he increased his Intelligence further, it would help him recall details further.

'Maximus, it's time to light up the show.'

Maximus stepped into the field eagerly. 'Yes, I'm going to electrify that baddy.'

'Uh, he is your opponent, not a bad Pokemon. You need to knock the guy out, not kill him.'

'Destroy!' Maximus wasn't listening.

Lucas decided to check out his partner's parameters before the battle.

=====

Pokemon: Elekid | Name: Maximus | Age: 0 | Gender: M | Type: Electric|

Potential: C | Affection: 80 | Favourite Foods: Chicken Pot Pie |

Description: Even in the most vicious storm, this Pokemon plays happily if thunder rumbles in the sky.

Stats

Level: 2 | Next: 12% | AP: 5 | HP: 100 | Aura: 70 |

Attack: 65 | Defence: 32 | Sp Att: 58 | Sp Def: 55 | Speed: 73 |

Traits

Martial Combat - uses its body as a weapon during combat to dispatch its opponents.

Special Ability

Static - If a Pokémon with Static is hit by a move making contact, there is a 20% chance the foe will become paralysed.

Balance - Increases Aura by 25%.

=====

Moves/Mastery

Physical

Quick Attack: (Normal) [Power: 50] (Cost: 5) [Mastery: Max]

Feint: (Normal) [Power: 30] (Cost: 6) [Mastery: Max]

Special

Thundershock: (Electric) [Power: 50] (Cost: 5) [Mastery: Max]

Status

Leer: (Normal) [Power: --] (Cost: 4) [Mastery: Max]

Thunder Wave: (Electric) [Power: --] (Cost: 7) [Mastery: 67%]

Charge: (Electric) [Power: --] (Cost: 9) [Mastery: 46%]

=====

Maximus wasn't your typical electric type, as both of his offensive stats were high, and he had good coverage of Moves. Many of them were physical, so he made a great Melee fighter. With his special ability—Static—it made a lot of sense to go down this route. With a lot of Moves that could cause paralysis, and combined with powerful attacks, he would be a force to be reckoned with someday.

Now that he had quite a few TP, he wanted to buy a Fighter-Type Egg Move from the Move Tutor function. Unfortunately, they were still too powerful to learn, as Eleckid's Affinity was too low. So he went with Feint, which was helpful in a battle with Pokemon who knew Protect or Detect.

The two opponents were now facing each other from ten metres away. Barnaby looked at each Trainer before lowering the flag. "Battle Start."

Unlike the last trainer he fought, Ron had a great bond with his Pokemon and gave it a silent command.

Lucas scanned the Move with Observation quickly—It was Harden.

'Max, use Charge.'

A yellow Aura surrounded Max, and sparks of electricity coiled around his body like snakes.

Maximus’s Special Defence has been raised by one stage. The next Electric Attack will cause double the damage.

Thunder Wave was not even a consideration. Harden was immune to status effects until it completed the action.

Since Beedrill could fly, it would be hard to nail a physical attack unless it was paralysed. So Electric attacks were the way to go.

Beedrill finished Harden, then flew forward through the air. It executed Poison Sting. A dozen purple needles jetted out of its mouth and shot towards Max as he finished Charge.

'Max, Quick Attack straight into Thundershock.'

Quick Attack was an excellent Move to chain attacks because it ignored specific rules like with Charge; usually the next Move had to be an Electric Move to gain the double damage bonus, but not in this case.

Max executed Quick Attack, sprinting forward, and the Poison Sting passed overhead, striking the ground with a clinking sound.

Max used the momentum from Quick Attack to execute Thundershock quickly. Electricity exploded from Max- it discharged in three separate arcs and converged on the Beedrill. Charge had doubled the power and area of effect.

Beedrill was already moving out of range, but one of the arcs managed to hit its body.

Beedrill has taken 54 Damage. [ 76/130]

Beedrill cried out and could not maintain flight. It fell a few metres before it regained control—only to be met by Thunderwave.

Beedrill has been paralysed.

"Beedrill, shake it off," Ron called.

'Quick Attack'

Beedrill lay on the ground, shaking uncontrollably as currents of electricity ran through its body, helpless to avoid the next attack.

Beedrill has taken 30 damage. [46/130]

Ron signalled Barnabus for a substitution, and Barnabus blew his whistle and raised his flag. Lucas called Max, and the Pokemon stopped, looking disappointed.

Ron returned him to his Pokeball, and the Pokemon appeared next to his trainer, still paralysed. Before Trainers started an official battle, they had to calibrate the Pokeballs destination to the exact location as the battle. It prevented trainers from cheating by getting help from someone at their habitat or home location.

Ron let his next Pokemon out—a level 5 Eevee.

Lucas whistled in admiration. Eevee was a very rare Pokemon.

"Awesome, right," Ron grinned. "I hit the jackpot in the lottery. It never occurred to me that they could be placed there."

"It can be only a few, I imagine," Lucas shook his head. "Your luck is truly amazing, my friend."

'Do you still want to fight?' Lucas asked Max. 'You have already used more than half your Aura.'

A Pokemon's stamina was determined by its Aura. The more they exert themselves, then the more it decreases. So besides Moves, you had to keep an eye on how much the Aura they were losing due to stamina consumption.

'Then I will only use my body to deal damage. Let me play a little longer.'

'Fine.'

"Let's continue the fight," Barnabus ordered.

Eevee's eyes shone with a pink hue.

Baby Doll Eyes have hit Maximus. Attack has been lowered by one stage.

Lucas winced. Fighting free-form just got more complicated.

For the next few minutes, it was a battle of attrition as they exchanged blows. Max was taking a lot of damage because his defence Stat was sub-par.

Max was dealing a moderate amount of damage, but he had only whittled the Eevee's health by half. Even though free-form fighting was helpful in preserve Aura, it couldn't deal the same amount of damage as most Moves.

The current situation is like this:

Maximus

HP: 24 | 100

Aura: 5 | 70

Eevee

HP: 62 | 120

Aura: 88 | 150

=====

The disadvantage Elekid faced was that he was three levels lower than Eevee and had much less Aura. Every level-up gave Pokemon twenty Aura, which didn't include the natural increases from training.

Lucas was different from others in that he was restricted in how much Aura his Pokemon could gain from training, so he could only rely on level-ups and AP, gaining five Aura for every point spent.

Everyone else could increase their Pokemons Aura naturally without restrictions, although they still received the Aura from a level up. What did this mean? There could be a level one Pokemon with two hundred or more Aura out there somewhere. They just needed to train for a long time and avoid fighting and levelling up. There was a threshold of course, but it was very high, so it didn’t matter too much.

Depending on the situation, his Pokemon could have much less Aura than their opponents. However, that was only at lower levels. Because all his Pokemon have the special ability—Balance—which gave them a twenty-five per cent Aura increase; it would pay dividends at higher levels.

Lucas needed to substitute. There was a chance that Max could get seriously injured if he continued.

'I'm calling you back, Max.'

'No, I can still fight.' Max protested.

Lucas raised his hand to indicate a substitute, and the match paused. Max came trudging back begrudgingly, and Lucas patted him on the back.

'You were amazing. Don't worry; there will be plenty of other battles.'

Lucas sent out Dante to finish the battle.

A couple of minutes later, Eevee fainted. Ron deliberated on whether to send out Beedrill again before sighing and forfeiting the match.

"Ron has forfeited the match. Lucas is the winner of this battle. Congratulations on a great spectacle," Barnabus said.

Everyone applauded them as they walked forward to shake hands.

"Man, your Pokemon are amazing," Ron exclaimed. "Although I don't get why you left in your Elekid for so long."

"Max doesn't have a lot of Aura yet, so he had to rely on free-form fighting, which is why the match dragged on for so long."

"Oh, I should look at teaching them that as well," Ron said. "How was Elekid able to execute Thundershock so fast?"

Lucas cocked his head in confusion. "Quick Attack allows certain Moves to be executed faster if used when the moment Quick Attack finishes. It is a great tactic to chain together attacks, but it is hard to get the timing right."

Ron rubbed his head in embarrassment. "I'm not one for reading a lot of books. I'm more of a kinesthetic learner."

"It's cool," Lucas said.

Ron slapped his forehead. “I forgot to set the amount of Pokedollars to wager.”

“Me too,” Lucas admitted. “Let's just go with the lowest amount possible because it’s not fair to set it after the fact.”

“Okay.” Ron handed him 100 Pokedollars.

"Well, I need to let my Pokemon recover. Thanks for the battle. Let's do it again sometime."

"Sure thing."

Before he left, he Observed the Eevee get another entry into his Pokedex.

He found it convenient that it updated both his Menu and the physical Pokedex, even though he didn't know how useful it would be for the latter.

Faith also had a battle with a trainer, and it was a tough fight. She took care of the first Pokemon quickly enough, but the second was a Growlithe. At lower levels, type advantages were a lot more overpowered. She managed to scrape together a win with Spook after Kale was knocked out, and Lucas congratulated her with a kiss.

Until she got some better options for Grass Pokemon with secondary types, it was going to be a tough road for her to become a Grass-Type Master.

{0(((..)))0}

The three teenagers descended the hill after saying goodby to Barnabus. Lucas took out his phone and read the notifications.

=====

Congratulations!

The player has won the trainer battle!

Lucas has earned 101 experience.

Title: Unstoppable has increased; + 2% exp gain.

Maximus has earned 70% of the experience for his contribution, 105 exp earned.

Due to a tough physical battle, Maximus has gained 1 HP and 1 Defence.

Dante has received 30% of the experience for his contribution, 45 experience earned.

=====

Eevee has been added to the Pokedex.

100 Experience, 10 Pokedollars earned.

=====

They reached the bottom of the mountain and paused to peruse the map.

"So where are we going next?" Faith asked.

Lucas looked at the map. The obvious direction was Viridian City, but a location northwest of here attracted his attention.

Terracotta Town was a little closer than Viridian City, and he could take advantage of the town's proximity to the sea to try out his fishing rod. Since it was close to the Johto region, he may get lucky and see a few migratory Water Pokemon.

The forest surrounding the main road to Terracota Town was an Orange Danger Zone, with Pokemon in the twenties to thirties range. Not something they could think about entering. However, the road was very secure, with a heavy Ranger presence. Due to being the main access point for Victory Road, it had a lot of traffic.

"Terracotta Town," Lucas said. "I want to catch a Water Pokemon from the sea with my new fishing rod."

"But you don't have a fishing rod," Jason protested.

"It's in my dimension space," Lucas shrugged.

"But I thought you didn't want to use your—"

"Only outside," Lucas interrupted. "Towns and Cities, I will relax the rules."

Jason shook his head, obviously thinking Lucas was crazy.

"That's going to take a couple of days walking," Faith said, her finger tracing the map. "We need to find a place to camp for the night."

Lucas pointed to some camping grounds about seven kilometres out. "Here. It should only take us a couple of hours, depending on how many Wild Pokemon we encounter."

"Hey, guys, where are you headed next?" Ron called from further up the hill. They waited until he joined them before answering.

"Terracotta Town is our destination," Lucas said, seeing no reason not to answer the question. "But for now, we are going to the campgrounds to rest for the night."

"Do you mind if I join you?" Ron asked hopefully. "I would like to check the town out, and it's safer travelling with other people."

Lucas looked at the other two, and they nodded. "We don't mind. Have your Pokemon recovered?"

Ron nodded with a smile.

It was a serendipitous event as Lucas had an idea ever since seeing the Eevee. There was no incense in the market for helping Eevee breed in captivity, and considering their rarity, it meant huge profits if he could create the solution. But first, Lucas needed to borrow some DNA from Eevee to help with his research. He wondered what would convince Ron to allow him to draw some blood from his Pokemon.

Due to their rarity, the first three evolutions were the only ones that had a reliable method to evolve; Flareon, Vaporeon and Jolteon. It wasn’t as simple as using an evolution stone. The other five evolutions were extremely rare, as they evolved due to fortunate accidents, and no one could replicate the results so far. Would there be a day when he had a collection of the eight Eevee evolutions?

"Let's get going."

So, what do you think? I didn't show off Dantes's parameters because I already showed off Max's. That's more than enough for one chapter. He will get the spotlight next time.

Thanks for reading.