Pokemon: Resurgence Chapter 29

Hi all,

Here’s the next chapter. Lucas learns about Sabrina’s shocking secret, and he receives some upgrades that will take his team to new heights.

Chapter 29

Lucas stood frozen in the living room with the bouquet and the bottle of wine in his hands. As he looked at Sabrina's Pokemon, he couldn't shake the feeling of unease. Although their status showed they weren’t hostile, he was certain that it could change in an instant.

Sabrina recognised his nervousness and gave her team a stern look. “Behave. You would think it was the first time I brought a man home.”

Her Pokemon gave her identical looks of disbelief. Lucas would have laughed at their expressions if he hadn’t been so scared right now.

"My uncle has been here before," Sabrina asserted defensively. Then she carried on as if she were having a secret conversation with her team. "Yes, he does count."

They must be communicating telepathically, Lucas concluded. He noticed a flush appear on her cheeks, which he thought was adorable. What exactly were they saying to her?

“Where should I put these?” Lucas presented his gifts.

“Apologies. My Pokemon are distracting me,” Sabrina said, taking them off his hands. "Please take a seat. I suppose I should introduce my team first, and then I will get some refreshments."

Lucas took a seat on the sofa while she carried her gifts into the kitchen. Salem settled on the back of the sofa behind him and started playing with his hair.

"You only met Gengar and Alakazam briefly," Sabrina said as she returned to the living room. "Allow me to properly introduce them. Gengar's name is Mortimer. He appears frightening, but he is the most friendly Pokemon on my team."

Lucas swallowed as Mortimer gave him a sinister smile. True, he was friendly, but that didn’t mean much. Friendly in comparison to what? Mortimer was the team's lowest-level Pokemon, at level fifty-seven.

Sabrina gestured to her Alakazam. “This is Kazumi and she is the unofficial leader of the group. Don’t get on her bad side because she is vicious with anyone who targets her or those she cares about."

"Kazam," Kasumi said, nodding towards him. She was the highest-level Pokemon on the team, at level sixty-four.

Sabrina proceeded to introduce the remaining members of her team.

Trunks, a male Drowsy who was level sixty.

Garnet was a female Gardevoir at level fifty-nine.

Ashura was a male Medicham who was level sixty-one.

Finally, the last Pokemon was a male Xatu named Xavier, who was level sixty-two.

Lucas was impressed by the diversity and strength of her team. Her team was made up entirely of psychic Pokemon, with the exception of Mortimer. But three of them had a secondary typing, so she had a diverse set of moves, abilities, traits, and stat distributions.

He wondered when he would be able to achieve that level of strength. It reminded him that he couldn’t afford to take it easy and that he needed to keep improving the strength of his Pokémon.

“Is this all of your Pokemon?” Lucas asked.

“No. I have a Metagross as well,” Sabrina replied. "But he is too heavy to stay in my apartment, as he will most likely fall through the floor into the apartment below. I would like to move out at some point and purchase a house to have more room for my Pokemon."

That piece of news piqued Lucas' interest. Metagross was another of his favourite Pokémon from the games. He would ask her if he could meet her Pokemon later.

‘Do you mind if I release my Pokemon?” Lucas asked. “They might want to get to know your team.”

“I don’t mind.”

Lucas released all his Pokemon into the room, and the two teams of Pokemon inspected each other curiously.

He issued a warning to Meowth. “Don’t give Sabrina’s Pokemon any cheek. They could kill you with a single strike. And you better not steal anything from Sabrina's apartment.”

“I’m not going to target your mate, Meowth. Your lack of faith in me is disappointing.”

Sabrina led him into the kitchen for some privacy and served them a glass of wine each. The oven emitted a fantastic aroma, and she kept checking on the dish. She appeared to be using it as a delaying tactic, as she refused to sit at the table with him.

“Didn’t I already say that whatever you tell me, it won’t affect how I see you?” Lucas asked. “So, come and sit down and let’s talk.”

Sabrina wiped her hands nervously on her dress before taking a seat. "I suppose I should start from the beginning. The Kuroi family is a long-standing aristocratic family with roots dating back to the city's founding. We wield considerable influence in the government, even though our family has shrunk in size. In my parents' generation, it was just them and my father's brother, who is now the current prime minister."

Lucas could see where this was heading. She had never mentioned her parents to him before, so he assumed they had died.

Sabrina continued. "However, with such power, my family inevitably made many enemies. One particular enemy sought to wipe the Kuroi family off the map. One night, an attack was launched on our house, and my parents were unprepared for the ferocity of it. Despite our strong security measures, they were ineffective against the intruders. A group of individuals who had several powerful Pokémon at their disposal killed the guards and entered the house. They slaughtered my parents and proceeded to my bedroom, where I was hiding in the closet out of fear."

Sabrina's voice trailed off, prompting Lucas to reach out and grab her hand. As she raised her head, he could see a surge of intense emotion mirrored in her eyes. Her grip around his hand grew tighter, almost reaching the point of pain. He had never seen her in such a vulnerable state before. He almost told her to stop because he knew it was too difficult for her, but she took a deep breath and kept going.

"I was always a strange child," Sabrina said, deviating from the story slightly. "I was an introvert whose interests leaned towards the strange and unusual. I was drawn to psychic and ghost-type Pokemon, which made me look strange to other kids. I didn’t mind, and I spent many hours simply conversing with one of my father's Pokemon, a Bannette with a peculiar sense of humour. I felt like he was a kindred spirit.”

“Salem?” Lucas asked in surprise. “Is that why he follows you everywhere? Because he belonged to your parents?”

"It is part of the reason," Sabrina replied. "Anyway, the time I spent with Salem was my escape from the expectations my family placed on me. As members of the old aristocracy, we were bound by certain rules and traditions. I had a lot of expectations placed on me, and I was constantly being taught new lessons to help me become the perfect daughter. It became too much for me at times.”

Lucas could now understand where her reserved and formal manner of speaking originated from. Growing up like she did sounded like a nightmare.

“I mention my childhood because that is where the first incident occurred,” Sabrina said. "Everyone keeps speculating about how I possess psychic abilities. That used to be true.”

Lucas' eyes widened.

"My psychic abilities manifested while I was being bullied by a group of kids," Sabrina explained. "I levitated all of the kids and held them suspended in the air for several minutes. The kids were hysterical by that point, but I had no idea how to stop what I was doing."

“That must have been traumatising for you,” Lucas said.

“Traumatising for me?” Sabrina asked, surprised. "The kids were the victims in this situation. I was the one who terrified them."

"No," Lucas replied, shaking his head. "You must have been just as terrified as them. Did you do it on purpose?

"Certainly not. I didn’t know what was happening to me at the time.”

Lucas grinned. "Look at how easy it was to admit. Always listen to me because I am always right."

"I will pretend that is the case to protect your fragile male ego, shall I?"

“Much appreciated.”

Sabrina smiled before continuing. "My father was the one who found us and stopped me. Not many people know this, but my father also had psychic abilities. The Kuroi family was known to produce several psychics over the years. But mine were on an entirely new level. He was afraid for me because my abilities were already so powerful, and they started manifesting in a way that terrified him. He didn’t know how to keep me from harming myself.”

“What do you mean?”

"As a result of my psychic abilities, another personality emerged within me," Sabrina said, her eyes darkening. "She had a much more aggressive personality than I did. That was problematic because she could use my abilities to some extent and had an ability all of her own. She could transmute people into dolls."

Lucas felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. That sounded absolutely terrifying. How were you supposed to defend yourself against such an unusual power? His mind immediately conjured up images of being trapped in a dollhouse with a massive human face staring down at him. That kind of scenario was the stuff of nightmares.

When he sensed a presence, he turned to see Salem peering out from behind the door. Something about his appearance at that moment made him uneasy. Salem noticed his gaze and smiled creepily at him.

Sabrina continued talking as if she hadn’t noticed Salem's presence. "I was still the dominant personality, which made her upset because she couldn’t come out to play more. So, in one of her moments of control over my body, she used both of our abilities to transfer herself into a doll I owned."

Lucas shuddered. He was never a fan of Chucky, and now he was hearing about another possessed doll, this one with psychic abilities. That was a lot more terrifying.

"She wasn’t so bad," Sabrina commented, noticing his expression. "She only acted out when someone threatened someone she cared about. But she scared my parents, and they attempted to get rid of her at one point. They used Salem because they were afraid of getting too close to her. But…”

Lucas held his breath.

"She took control of Salem and scared the hell out of my parents," Sabrina concluded, her gaze shifting to look at something over Lucas' shoulder.

A horrible thought arose in his mind. Where was the doll at that exact moment? Was it still around? Could it be that Salem has been under its control all along?

He slowly turned his head to discover that Salem had sneaked up on him. Salem was hanging upside down, directly in front of his face. Lucas nearly had a heart attack at the sight. He jumped out of his chair, raced around the table, and huddled behind Sabrina for protection. He didn’t care if he looked like a coward at this moment.

“Stop that,” Sabrina scolded the ghost. “If you keep doing that, then I will restrict your playtime.”

“Sabrina?” Lucas' voice was shaky. "Is that who I think it is? Is she always in control of Salem?"

"No, not always," Sabrina answered. "Only when she becomes bored and wants to interact with the world."

“What about when Salem killed that Team Rocket member?”

"It was her," Sabrina confirmed. "There is no reason to fear her. If she thought you were a threat to me, she would have done something already. She seems to find you fascinating and follows you around frequently.”

“I feel honoured,” Lucas said dryly. He was calmer now that he had recovered from the shock. Even though it was terrifying to think that a possessed doll had been so close to him all this time, it was true that she hadn't done anything to hurt him.

Sabrina appeared to be relieved that he was taking it so well.

“So, are you going to tell me the rest of the story now regarding the incident?” Lucas asked.

Sabrina shook her head. “That’s Bree’s story to tell. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”

The doll also had a name. He was tempted to smack himself because the situation was so bizarre that it had to be a dream.

“Are you ready?” Sabrina asked.

Lucas took a few moments to compose himself, not expecting to meet the doll so soon. He followed her out of the kitchen and down the hallway, with Salem trailing behind them.

Sabrina came to a stop in front of a door, which she quickly unlocked. Lucas followed her into the room, and the first thing he noticed was the abundance of pink. It decorated the walls, the floors, the furniture, and even the bedspread. The room looked like a diabolical version of a typical girl's bedroom.

Lucas' examination of the room came to an abrupt halt when he noticed a dollhouse tucked away in the corner. A doll sat in front of it, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Sabrina, albeit in miniature. The doll wore a pristine white dress and a wide-brimmed hat with a red ribbon at the front.

He froze as the doll turned its head and looked at Lucas. “Do you want to play in my dollhouse?”

“I’m good,” Lucas managed to get out, noticing the smile on Bree’s face. It was creepy as hell. Gathering his courage, he walked over to her and sat down in front of her.

Bree stood up and climbed onto his lap. "I know Sabrina has dinner in the oven, so I will keep the story short."

"I need to check on it," Sabrina said, heading for the door. She paused in the doorway. "Will you be alright alone?"

Lucas waved her off. “I will be fine.”

After Sabrina left, Bree looked up at him with a curious expression. Despite being a doll, her facial expressions were remarkably expressive. "Aren’t you afraid of me?"

"Just like Sabrina said," Lucas murmured. "You had several opportunities to harm me but didn't. So, why don’t you finish the story?”

Bree nodded. “Do you remember when Sabrina said she was the closest after the intruders entered the house?”

‘Yeah.”

"That is a lie. Sabrina has no memory of what happened that night. She just tells it that way to comfort herself. The truth is that she ran to her parent's room as soon as she heard the screams. She watched as they were killed from the doorway.”

Lucas was horrified. “Did she lose her memories because of the trauma?”

“No,” Bree sighed. “She asked me to alter her memories to make them less painful. But I messed up. Somehow, in the process of doing so, I sealed her psychic abilities. Maybe memories are closely linked to them and thus were affected. I don’t know.”

‘Is there no way to recover them?”

“I could unseal her memories, but Sabrina doesn’t want to remember that night. Sometimes the memories rise to the surface, which appear in the form of nightmares. She asks me to devour them so she doesn’t have to experience them. They are so delicious.”

"I have heard of some strange tastes before, but this takes the cake," Lucas remarked.

"Sometimes she has flashes of insight or premonitions," Bree said, ignoring him. "Sabrina had one the night her cruise ship capsized. She sensed you were in danger, and rushed out to rescue you.”

Lucas smiled. It was nice to hear how much she cared for him. He directed the conversation back to the incident. “What happened to the intruders?”

“The intruders noticed Sabrina, and they chased after her down the hallway. I had also heard the commotion and came to check out what happened, and I crossed paths with them. Do you know what happened next?”

Lucas was too scared to ask.

Bree pointed to her dollhouse. “I turned them into dolls for my dollhouse.”

Lucas felt sick to his stomach. “Have they been dolls this time?”

“No,” Bree pouted. “Sadly, they don’t last long before they die. At least they stayed as dolls even after becoming corpses. No one messes with Sabrina. She and I are one and the same."

It felt like she was sending him a warning, which was slightly terrifying. But he had no plans to hurt Sabrina, and so he should be safe.

“So why are you locked in this room?” Lucas asked. “Doesn’t Sabrina trust you?”

“I don’t trust myself,” Bree corrected. "But if I need to get something done or see the world, I do  it through Salem. Although he isn’t Sabrina's Pokemon, he remains loyal to her because of her father."

“I imagine he does it for you as well. You did mention that the two of you are one and the same."

Bree appeared shocked by his words. She had never considered that perspective before.

Sabrina came back in, saying dinner was ready, and Lucas said goodbye to Bree. Now that he had met her, he had lost some of the fear he held for her. But he was going to avoid getting on her bad side.

Sabrina appeared to lower her guard around him after telling him her story, and she was much more open during their dinner. He told her more about his upbringing in an orphanage, which he had to make up on the spot. But based on what he knew about the place, he felt he had made up a convincing story. He knew there was a lot more to learn about her past, as she hinted at events that occurred after her parents died, but he wasn’t in a hurry to learn everything.

After dinner, they went into the lounge and watched television. She gravitated towards him, and they exchanged a few passionate kisses. Lucas was intoxicated by the sensation of her lips against his, and he was tempted to go further. But sanity prevailed, and he was able to keep himself under control. It felt like he would take advantage of her after she made herself vulnerable tonight by sharing her past with him. She wasn’t in the right state of mind.

Sabrina eventually fell asleep against his side, and he settled in to stay the night, as he didn’t want to move and disturb her sleep

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

A few hours later, Lucas was still wide awake, with Sabrina nestled up to his side, her chest gradually rising and falling as she slept. It was incredible that she trusted him enough to fall asleep in front of him, even though her Pokemon were spread out through the living room, so she wasn't left defenseless.

Since he couldn’t get to sleep, he decided to peruse his menu. He wanted to buy something now that he had made a small fortune.

Upgrading his Pokemon Habitat would cost him fifty thousand pokedollars. His menu only mentioned that the upgrade would allow for additional customisation. Whatever it was, he was confident that it would benefit him.

Lucas spent the pokedollars and watched as his menu updated. The next upgrade would cost him another two hundred thousand pokedollars. He discretely took out his guidebook from his inventory. Flipping through the pages, he came across a new entry detailing the most recent upgrade.

“This is freaking amazing,” Lucas whispered.

The Pokemon Habitat now allows him to move his Pokemon between all of their habitats. He had speculated that it might happen, but to see it come to pass was a pleasant surprise. There was also an additional benefit that would greatly assist him with his Pokemon breeding.

When two compatible Pokemon shared a habitat, their bond grew at a fifty percent faster rate. It was ideal for Icarus and Icari because they would be able to bond faster and produce an egg. He was going to move Icari into Icarus' habitat tomorrow. There may still be some friction between the two, but it should subside after they spend more time together alone.

Another advantage is that when his Pokemon go to one of their teammates' habitats, they can train the corresponding affinities. It wasn’t as effective as training their primary affinity, but it was much faster than training them outside.

When Lucas used the menu to check on his Pokemon inside their habitats, he noticed something odd about Max's habitat. There was a foreign object inside. A stone floated in the dark clouds above, surrounded by several arcs of lightning. He also noticed that the intensity of the lightning appeared to have increased. After observing the phenomenon for some time, he concluded that the stone must be responsible for increasing the frequency and intensity of lightning.

Max was sleeping beneath an overhanging rock, oblivious to the lightning that struck the ground around him. By this point, he was no longer afraid of the lightning and found some comfort in their presence.

“Wait, where did the unrefined evolution stone go?”

He had taken it out earlier for Max to play with, but he couldn’t remember where it had gone after returning him to his pokeball. He would have noticed if it had been left lying somewhere in the living room. Then his gaze fell on the stone within Max's habitat. Surely it couldn’t be the same stone.

He grabbed his guidebook again and looked up the information on habitats. Sure enough, there was a new entry that he had overlooked previously. An unrefined evolution stone could be placed in a corresponding habitat and increase affinity gains by twenty percent. It was well worth the twenty-five thousand Pokedollars he had spent on the stone. Max must have still been holding it when he returned him to his pokeball, and Lucas didn’t notice.

Lucas put the book away and closed his menu. He would have to search for unrefined evolution stones for the other habitat, as the benefits were amazing.

Lucas leaned back against the sofa and closed his eyes, hoping to catch some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be another busy day.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The next morning, Lucas left Sabrina’s apartment early as she had to leave for work. She had been acting shy ever since she woke up to find herself sleeping in his arms. They promised to meet up later tonight and shooed him out of the apartment. He hired a carriage to take him back to the hotel.

“What is that, partner?” Meowth asked as he noticed Lucas fidgeting with a card.

Lucas grinned. "I may have mentioned to Sabrina in passing my desire to further explore the Silph Company headquarters. She handed me a keycard and said she would notify security that I had full access to the building."

Meowth was left speechless and gestured for him to explain.

“Her family has a lot of shares in the company,” Lucas told him. "So she holds a lot of power there. The advantages of having a girlfriend with a high status, right?"

Meowth gave him the thumbs up. “Way to take one for the team. Make sure to keep her happy so we can reap additional benefits in the future."

"Why do you have to put it that way? How about I sell you to the circus?" Lucas threatened. "And don’t even think about stealing anything from the company, because Sabrina is doing me a huge favour. I don’t want to get her in trouble.”

“Spoilsport.”

When Lucas returned to the hotel, he took a shower and changed into his new outfit. Brock spotted him as he was leaving his room and began making sly remarks about his night with Sabrina. Lucas ignored the brat and exited the hotel. This time, he didn’t take a carriage but rode his bike to the Silph Company headquarters.

When he entered the building, he obtained a pass from reception and fastened it to his shirt. He entered the elevator, inserted the key card, and pressed the button for the second floor. From there, he set out to systematically search all twelve floors for the remaining keys. As he went about his mission, he couldn’t help but notice the staff sending him curious looks, as they found his actions strange. He appeared to be wandering around in unusual areas, as if looking for something in particular. But they ignored him because he had a pass, implying that he was an important person.

After exploring up to the eighth floor, he successfully obtained all of the keys. His search wasn’t over yet; he still needed to find the chest that the keys would unlock. Given how much effort he had put into obtaining the keys, he never considered the possibility that the chest might not be in the same building.

Until now, he hadn’t paid much attention to the staff or the work going on around him because he was only interested in finding the keys. But as he returned to the elevator, a chance conversation drew his attention, causing him to pause and listen.

“When are they going to bring Porygon to headquarters?” The scientist asked his co-worker. His tone was fraught with impatience.

"It should be soon," the female scientist said reassuringly. "There were some issues with the Pokemon that needed to be resolved first, which is why there was a delay."

"What sort of delay? What are the idiots on Cinnabar Island doing?"

The woman shrugged. “I don’t know. What does a few extra days matter?”

"Do you understand the implications Porygon has for the scientific community?" The man's voice rose. "Not only is he the first artificially created Pokemon, but he was created for a specific reason that will change the world. We could use it to make the internet completely secure.”

Their conversation came to an end, and Lucas continued walking to the elevator while reflecting on it. One of the Pokemon that had been missing from this world had made its appearance. He questioned the scientist's claim that Porygon was the first artificial Pokemon, as another Pokemon had most likely already been created. He wondered if Mewtwo would appear in a similar way to the anime.

"It sounds like an abomination," Meowth muttered harshly to him. “Pokemon aren’t something that can be cooked up in some lab.”

Lucas was taken aback by his companion's strong stance on the matter. “I didn’t think you would have strong feelings about it.”

"This Porygon was created to serve as a tool for humans, Meowth. He won’t have any freedom and will likely be worked to death. A Pokemon trapped in a cage.”

Lucas understood where Meowth was coming from now. Meowth had once been imprisoned in a cage, deprived of his freedom and forced to serve his owner.

He found the chest he was looking for on the ninth floor. Impatient to see what he had obtained, he entered the bathroom and shut himself in one of the stalls.

Meowth nearly gagged. “Yikes. Someone dropped a bomb in the toilet. What do you humans even eat to produce such a smell? Humans are disgusting.”

Lucas grimaced. He couldn’t disagree with what Meowth said. He removed the chest and keys from his inventory and proceeded to unlock all seven locks. Inside the chest, there were ten patches, along with a piece of paper.

“What are those supposed to be?” Meowth asked.

Lucas grabbed the paper and began reading it.

Exp, Share Patches

When a Pokemon defeats an opponent in battle, half of the experience is shared by all non-fainted Pokemon in the party who are wearing the patches. They have strong adhesive properties, so they will attach to Pokemon and will not fall off easily.

<Redacted> Please level up the Bountiful Gains skill first.

"Woah," Meowth exclaimed. “That sounds overpowered. I could become stronger without lifting a finger."

Lucas had to agree. These patches arrived just in time, as he was hoping to speed up his Pokemon's development in the coming weeks. With these, achieving that goal would be much easier. Furthermore, Vulpix would hatch from her egg in just over a week, so if he gave her one of the patches, she would be able to quickly raise her levels with minimal effort.

He was surprised that the Exp Share appeared in this way, as it was normally a hold item in the game. But they didn’t exist in this world. It made sense, because how would they exist in such a realistic depiction of the world? With so many different-sized and shaped Pokemon out there, how were you supposed to hold an item?

Instead, there were a series of potions called Battle Enhancers that provided temporary bonuses to Pokemon during battle. Battle items from the games also fell under this category. There were dozens of different varieties, and new ones were being developed all the time. He had not tried making any yet because he had been preoccupied with the growth potion. Furthermore, their recipes were kept secret. He was aware that some of the recipes could be purchased as he advanced in rank at the Alchemist's Guild, but many more belonged to their creators.

“I wonder what information has been redacted?” Meowth asked, referring to the words written on the paper.

He was also curious. He hadn’t bothered to level up the Bountiful Gains skill because there were easier ways to earn pokedollars. But if he wanted to satisfy his curiosity, he needed to use his skill points to level it up. He just so happened to have the right amount of skill points as well.

“Go on!” Meowth urged.

Lucas spent the points and levelled the skill up. Immediately, he retrieved the guidebook and turned to the page with the relevant information.

“Effort Values?” Lucas gasped.

He studied the information until he understood how the mechanics worked. It differed from the games. At the second level of Bountiful Gains, a Pokemon earned an EV for a specific stat by defeating another Pokemon. You could earn EVs for all the different Pokemon stats, including luck, depending on the Pokemon defeated.

When an EV reached ten, it was converted into a stat boost for the Pokemon. Like in the game, there was a limit to how many you could receive in total. The Exp Share patches would also allow Pokemon in the party to earn half an EV point even when they weren’t participating in battle.

These EVs were already present in the world, but they were not widely understood. Lucas had now been introduced to them. If he had known that levelling up the skill would provide him with this benefit, he would have done so much sooner.

“It’s time to get busy,” Lucas said, grinning.

Although he hadn’t planned to leave the city while he was here, there was always the Battle Arena, where he and his Pokemon could earn double the number of experience points.

He was about to propel his team to new heights of strength.

So, what do you think? Lucas will be grinding a lot in the next chapter. I will update the status post after the next chapter as well, as there will be many changes.

Thanks for reading.