Pokemon: Resurgence Chapter 3

Hi all,

Here’s the guaranteed chapter for this week. The chapter for Wednesday will be Naruto: Amongst the Whirling Tides. The chapter for Friday was a tie between Pokemon: Resurgence and HP: The Gamers Dimension. I will choose the latter since you are already getting a Pokemon chapter this week.

A week had passed. Lucas spent time researching the world along with his interest in becoming a Pokemon breeder while his leg healed. The Doctor had underestimated him since his leg was already much stronger than before. After a week, he estimated that he would be able to use it normally again.

Lucas soon discovered that being a Pokemon Breeder was not as easy as he had imagined. It was necessary to have a Breeder's licence in order to be able to sell Pokemon Eggs. Which involved taking a test to earn a qualification. Taking the test alone cost twenty thousand Pokedollars. In addition, if he wanted to pass, he needed to attend a class to learn everything he needed to know. At this point, he had to look for another avenue to earn Pokedollars.

Lucas turned his attention to the field of alchemy. Unlike a Pokemon Breeder, you didn’t need a license because it was easy to assess the quality of a potion when selling it to a buyer. If he became proficient at it, then he would have a way to earn a substantial amount of Pokedollars. However, if it was that easy, why wasn’t everyone doing it?

First of all, the startup cost was prohibitive. To get the basic equipment and ingredients to begin with, he would need at least five thousand Pokedollars. But he wouldn’t even earn a profit from that because it took a lot of trial and error to produce viable potions and pills. There were several factors that made being an Alchemist a very difficult profession. His system, however, gave him an advantage over everyone else.

For now, he needed to recover and find another way to earn some initial funds. He decided to stick with his original plan and see if he could sell the Pokemon portraits he made. As long as it was a viable way of earning Pokedollars, he would be able to focus on becoming a Pokemon Breeder sooner. The first thing he did was to buy some art supplies and draw some portraits of Delia's Pokemon. It would be easier for him to convince others to spend Pokedollars on portraits if he had a portfolio of his works. A market was going to be held in town next week where he could rent a stall to try and earn some Pokedollars.

Lucas was brought out of his thoughts when Icarus called him.

At the moment, he was training with Icarus in the backyard. Poliwrath, one of Delia's Pokemon, was helping them. The other two Pokemon Delia owned were a Jynx and a Chansey. Their names were Blue, Mimey and Cheri respectively. While Delia didn't compete as a trainer, she trained them to fight. Such precautions were sensible in a world where wild Pokemon roamed free and could attack at any moment. There was also the human element, which could sometimes be a bigger threat.

“Icarus, use Quick Attack on Poliwrath!”

Icarus banked into a steep dive before accelerating and aiming for his target on the ground. At the last moment, he flared his wings to slow down just before ramming into Poliwrath’s midsection. Poliwrath didn’t even defend itself, as it absorbed the attack easily. Icarus briefly landed before taking off again.

Icarus still couldn't recover quickly enough to maintain flight after executing a Quick Attack. Furthermore, he noticed that he took slight damage from the attack. After using it half a dozen times, Icarus’ health condition decreased from Excellent to Great.

Lucas recorded his observations in his notebook. After renting out some books from the library, he learned that Pokemon were a lot more complicated than he had ever imagined. Moves, for example, were very unique and could vary greatly depending on the Pokemon using them. When determining whether a move was effective, several factors had to be taken into consideration.

Firstly, there were the Pokemon species. All of them were unique, and their bodies were made up differently. At one end of the spectrum were amorphous Pokemon, whose bodies were soft, non-structured, and malleable. At the opposite end of the spectrum, they could be extremely hard, such as steel-type Pokemon. In addition, a Pokemon's size affects the amount of damage a move can cause.

Their use of energy was another factor. Pokemon obtained their power by harnessing the energy present in this world. On its own, it existed in a neutral state called 'Normal-type,' which could be refined into many different types with different properties, such as water and fire. These energy types interacted with one another in a variety of ways. It is possible for the Types to be strong or weak against each other, or even neutral against each other.

As the Pokemon continued to utilise this energy, their bodies evolved, and over time they developed into a variety of types. In general, it made it easier for them to harness the type they were classified as, even though there was still variation. In addition, their bodies became stronger against certain types and weaker against others. Due to this, fighting between two Pokemon became even more complex.

All moves, whether special or physical, use energy to some extent. For instance, Quick Attack generates a small barrier around the Pokemon before striking the target. As a result, the Pokemon were protected from damage, depending on how proficient they were at manifesting normal-type energy. He calculated that Icarus was still in the early stages of mastery, as he still took damage. A further reason could be that Poliwraith's defence was much higher than Icarus', causing him to be injured if he collided with him.

The last contributing factor was how the Pokemon used the move during battle. A Pokemon may have some advantage due to their form, or a trainer may come up with an innovative way to use a move.

Let's take 'Quick Attack' as an example. Icarus was a bird of prey. Using his advantage in the air, he could dive-bomb his opponent, adding extra speed and weight to his attack. He would only be at a disadvantage if he aimed at a Pokemon on the ground and failed to hit it. He was likely to crash and suffer injuries.

One thing he was trying to teach Icarus was how to maintain his flight efficiently following an attack. Landing on the ground after an attack would leave him vulnerable. He wasn't much use on the ground, after all.

"All right, Icarus. Let's do some speed drills. We have to work towards improving the speed of your Quick Attacks.”

“Pidgey.” Icarus began flying in the sky at his highest speed immediately after receiving the command.

Quick Attack was not the hardest move to teach since Icarus already had Tackle in his arsenal. The initial mastery of Quick Attack was a faster version of Tackle that targeted Pokemon straight on. His next step would be to increase Icarus' manoeuvrability during Quick Attacks to increase his options in battle.

“I appreciate your help, Poliwrath,” Lucas called. “That will do for today.”

“Poli,” Poliwrath grunted before walking off.

Lucas was interested in taking Icarus out into the wild to gain experience. The area surrounding Pallet Town is home to low-level Pokemon. Pokemon Rangers were responsible for controlling Pokemon numbers surrounding populated areas. This usually meant moving higher-level Pokemon to another location that wanted to establish its own territory. In fact, his previous host had been travelling in a low-level zone. Unfortunately, the gorge was not included in that area.

However, he needed Icarus to train and learn some more offensive moves. His partner only had three moves, one of which was virtually useless. Sand Attack was a ground-type attack, and Icarus' use of ground-type energy wasn't sufficient. It was hard for him to materialise the sand. The attack was as effective as throwing a handful of sand at the opponent.

While he wanted to practice, he didn't have time to waste. He had not considered the financial burden of feeding Icarus when determining his current finances. Even the most basic food cost him fifty Pokedollars per day. Pokemon needed various nutrients to keep them in good condition, for their bodies were constantly subjected to high levels of physical trauma and stress. It was no surprise that it would cost a lot of Pokedoollars to feed them.

That was only the most commonly available Pokemon food. In order to get optimal performance, food must be tailored to each Pokemon. It was a crucial aspect of a trainer's or Pokemon Breeder's responsibilities.

Lucas looked down at his notes. Over the last few days, Icarus has maxed out on his stat gains for the current level. Before reaching the threshold, he gained six stat points. However, the most interesting part was that Lucas unlocked a new feature that made him very happy.

=====

Lucas Walker

Profession(s): Pokemon Trainer Lv.1

Level 2

Next: [75/100%]

Exp Cache: [0]

Skill Points (SP): 1

Skills:

Insight [Active/Passive] (Level 1/5) [Next: 2 SP]

Coach [Passive] (Level 1/3) [Next: 1 SP]

=====

The system gave him the ability to gain professions through performing certain actions. From the little information he could gather, he deduced that he obtained skills by acquiring new professions and levelling them up. If that were the case, becoming a Pokemon Breeder would be even better, along with training as an Alchemist. However, he did not gain one for his artwork, so it must be only for certain professions.

Since there was no experience bar, he had no idea how to level up his profession. The only other thing he could think of was that it levelled up as he performed actions specific to the profession.

From what he could tell, the new skill 'Coach' allowed him to earn experience by training Pokemon. For every stat point Icarus gained, he gained fifty experience points. It meant he could earn experience without battling other Pokemon.

He spent his experience and levelled up to level two and was already three-quarters of the way to level three. Although he gained a skill point, he decided to save it for now. They were a precious commodity, and he didn't need to rush into choosing which skill to increase.

“Are you out there, Lucas? ” Delia called from inside the house.

“I'm here,” Lucas responded.

Delia stepped outside and joined him in the yard. “How’s the training going?”

“Great,” Lucas replied, closing his notebook. “I want to venture outside and gain some more experience battling Pokemon. Maybe complete some more missions for the adventurers guild.”

“Well, I have a proposition for you,” Delia said. “I still need to return to the gorge. How about you help harvest the berries? We each get half of what we harvest.”

Lucas froze. Suddenly, the traumatising encounter with Arbok seized his mind. As he thought back to the moment Arbok almost swallowed him whole, bile rose in his throat. It was so vivid that his breathing quickened, thinking he was experiencing the same thing again.

“Lucas!”

He snapped out of his stupor and his eyes met Delia's concerned gaze. “Lucas, are you okay?”

Lucas wiped the sweat off his brow. “I’m fine.”

“I think you should see a therapist. You…”

“I’m fine,” Lucas snapped, before taking a deep breath to calm down. “Sorry. However, I do not think I could stomach seeing a therapist at the moment. Give me time to work through it on my own.”

His nightmares kept him awake at night. He had bags under his eyes due to not sleeping enough. It didn't help that his leg hurt at night when the pain medication wore off. Even though his leg was getting better, it still hurt like a bitch.

“Well, I can see that you are not in the best shape to venture into the gorge, so I will do it on my own.”

“I need to face it,” Lucas said. “Plus, having a supply of Oran berries may help me get started with Alchemy. Is the Arbok still in the gorge?"

"No, he was moved to a new location."

"Then I should be fine."

“Alright, we will leave next weekend to give you more time to heal,” Delia said. “I have to go to Professor Oak's laboratory. Can you look after Ash for me?”

“Sure,” Lucas said. He called Icarus down and returned him to his Pokeball and followed her into the house.

Even though he had no idea why she trusted him so much after a short amount of time, he was determined not to betray that trust.

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

Another week had passed. Lucas’ leg had finally healed and was back to full strength, aside from the odd twinge now and then. As a result of the Arbok biting him, he had a couple of nasty puncture scars. Delia remarked on how incredible it was that his leg recovered so fast, which Lucas shrugged off.

Lucas wanted to explore a bit before setting up his stall at the town market. He rented a small one for six hundred Pokedollars. His first destination was Professor Oak’s laboratory and residence which was located at the town's summit in an upper-class suburb. He needed to take Ash as he was staying with his friend, Gary, for the weekend.

Ash led him towards the road leading up the hill and into the upper-class neighbourhood. The slope gradient was surprisingly steep, which made it a challenge for him. Within minutes, Lucas was breathing heavily, and he could feel his legs burning. After three weeks of inactivity, his legs had atrophied somewhat. It would take some time before he was back in shape.

“Keep up, old man,” Ash urged.

“Give me a break, brat,” Lucas gasped. “You’re not the one who recently suffered a debilitating leg injury.”

“Spare me from the excuses.”

Must not strangle Delia’s kid.

Ash finally relented and they sat down on a bench so Lucas could rest. The kid bounced in his seat energetically. He didn't know how Ash got so much energy.

“How long until you turn ten?” Lucas asked curiously.

“Three months,” Ash said glumly. “But I don’t know if I can start my Pokemon journey immediately."

Lucas couldn't believe that kids were allowed to become Pokemon trainers at ten years old and venture outside into the dangerous wilderness. Despite that, there were some restrictions in place to protect them.

First of all, they couldn’t travel alone. They needed an adult with them, someone who was strong enough to protect them. They could set out on their own once they turn thirteen and prove they had enough maturity and capability to handle themselves.

Secondly, they needed to continue their education by means of correspondence. If they don’t maintain at least an average grade, their trainer's license may be suspended until they prove they are able to handle the workload.

Lucas was lucky that he was already turned eighteen and didn’t have to suffer through the pain of going back to school. The unfortunate thing was that he didn’t remember the previous hosts' memories. Which meant he had crammed a lot of information in the last two weeks to try and catch up.

The last requirement for a ten-year-old to become a trainer was that they had enough resources to start their journey. Although if they had an adult accompanying them already, that was probably a non-issue. It was not cheap to become a trainer. The only thing the government handed out to everyone was a random Pokemon if they didn't have the means to obtain one themselves. They received it either when they were just getting started as a trainer, or when they turned eighteen, like Lucas did. Everything else had to be purchased by themselves. When it came to earning Pokedollars from trainer battles, it was a challenge if you had no experience. In fact, you could lose Pokedollars because in each match you had to wager a specific amount.

“Maybe your mum will accompany you on your journey,” Lucas suggested.

“I doubt it. Considering the way she frets, I probably won't be able to leave until I'm eighteen,” Ash scowled. “Then I will be too old to start out.”

“Ouch,” Lucas clutched his chest. “I felt the burn right there.”

"You're not interested in becoming a trainer anyway.”

“True. Do you know if your mum will get you a Pokemon Egg?”

“I hope so,” Ash said. "I don't want to ask for it, though. My mum is comfortable financially, but it's not an unlimited amount. I don’t want her to worry about it affording stuff. I can start off with a free Pokemon.”

Ash showed surprising maturity. He may be a smart ass, but he was a good kid for his mum.

“Alright, let’s continue,” Lucas said, rising to his feet.

Half an hour later, they entered the upper-class neighbourhood. The majority lived in spacious mansions with huge front lawns behind high-security walls. Private security patrolled the streets, with canine Pokemon on the lookout for trespassers and criminals. Seeing the disparity between the rich and the poor, Lucas had to shake his head helplessly.

Professor Oak’s lab was located on a large property. As part of his research, he kept a number of Pokemon in their own enclosures at the backend of his property. As they approached the lab, he could see that it had started out as a farmhouse. Because of the difficult terrain, long stone walls were used to provide a natural support and a stable and solid façade for the new building, which appears as an industrial-like wooden structure.

They entered the reception area and he spotted a young woman sitting behind the front desk. She was about his age and incredibly beautiful. Her long brown hair was held back by a dark green band that matched her dress exactly.

“Hi, Daisy,” Ash ran up to the counter.

“Hello, Ash. Gary is in the lab with Grandad.”

“Thanks,” Ash said, running off without saying goodbye.

Daisy smiled at him as he approached the desk. “Ash doesn’t mean to be inconsiderate. He is extremely impatient and dislikes wasting time.”

"Good to know," Lucas said, holding a hand out for her to shake. "I'm Lucas Walker."

"Daisy Oak. I have heard about you from my grandfather," Daisy said, leaning forward to shake his hand. It gave him a nice look at her cleavage. She had a beautiful pair of breasts, both full and round. Daisy caught him looking but didn't call him out on it.

"I'm amazed that he even knows my name," Lucas laughed. "He was all business when I first met him."

"Grandad often gets tunnel vision," Daisy giggled. "He focuses on a task to the exclusion of everything else."

"He must be a busy man."

"He sure is," Daisy agreed, glancing down at her computer. "Thank you for dropping off Ash. When left to his own devices, he can get into mischief."

"That's okay," Lucas said. "I wanted to see parts of the town I hadn't seen before."

Recognizing that she needed to return to her work, he regrettably stepped back. He had been instantly smitten by her smile and attractive features. Shaking his head, he realised his thoughts were foolish. It was probably best he did not get distracted by such a lovely woman. His current situation was still unstable. Besides, she probably didn't want to get involved with an orphan from a low-class neighbourhood. Although he wouldn't say no to a tumble between the sheets.

Saying goodbye, Lucas stepped outside and walked back down the hill. He would have been better off hiring a carriage, but he was being frugal. By the time he arrived at the market, it would be time to open his stall.

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

Lucas sat behind his stall with several of his paintings on display. He had been sitting behind the stall for over an hour. Several people had expressed interest in his paintings, but no one had yet brought one. Each one was selling for two hundred Pokedollars. He was charging four hundred Pokedollars for an original watercolour painting. Although it may seem like a lot, creating even one piece takes time. Not to mention the materials cost, like the picture frames he would set the portraits in. For this to be a viable way of earning Pokedollars, he needed to make a decent profit from each one.

The paintings were done in watercolours. They produced a luminosity and transparency not found in other art forms, which made the portraits stand out in his opinion. He had an easel next to him, as well as the paints that he had prepared. While he waited, he continued to do research into Pokemon.

He was curious about how Pokeballs worked. It puzzled him why Pokemon could tolerate spending long periods of time within their Pokeballs without complaining. He learnt that Pokemon existed as pure energy while they were stored away in their Pokeballs. Pokemon could exist in two states; in physical form and as pure energy. With the latter, they still retained their consciousness and knew what was happening outside their Pokeball. Furthermore, while they existed as pure energy, their physical forms were kept in stasis. That meant if a Pokemon was injured, the Pokeball could keep them stable until you reached a Pokemon Centre.

Strangely enough, the Pokeball mimicked exactly how Pokemon Eggs work. Before baby Pokemon hatched from their eggs, they existed as pure energy as well. It was only when they were exposed to the outside world that their form finally took shape.

"Are you taking commissions?"

In front of him stood a young girl who looked about twelve years old. Given that she wore designer clothing, it was obvious that she came from a wealthy background. Alongside her was a woman who looked like her mother and shared the same taste in clothes. There was also a Growlithe sitting at her feet, watching the goings on with an interested expression.

"That's right," Lucas said. "My Pokemon portraits cost four hundred Pokedollars."

"Can you include my daughter in the portrait?" the woman asked. "I will pay double."

"Sure," Lucas shrugged. In hindsight, he should have anticipated that people would want to feature along with their Pokemon. While it was extra work, he would gladly do it for double the price.

Luckily, he had an extra stool that the girl could sit on, while the Growlithe sat at her feet. After asking what background she wanted, he got to work. In truth, another reason he chose watercolours was that he was very experienced with them. This meant it would take the least amount of time to complete. After painting for nearly an hour, he finished the painting by adding the background.

Lucas removed the paper and slid it into an empty frame. It was an A1-size paper, suitable for a portrait. He handed the portrait over, and both mother and daughter were satisfied with the results. He received eight-hundred Pokedollars for his work, which was very good for an hour's work.

As soon as his first portrait was done, more requests started coming in. By the end of the day, he had sold all but one of the pre-made and painted four more originals. Since they were only portraits of the Pokemon themselves, he only earned four hundred Pokedollars from them. Even so, he ended up with three thousand and six hundred Pokedollars in total. After stall fees and materials, he made a profit of two thousand and one hundred Pokedollars.

He packed everything up and started making his way back to the house. As he walked, he tried to think of places he could sell his portraits. Because the market only occurs once a month, he couldn't use it again. Maybe he could create some flyers and advertise in the neighbourhood. He didn't need a set location. People could meet him anywhere to get their portraits done. But if he wanted to do that, he needed a cell phone.

Lucas was very surprised that this world had cell phones, since it appeared like the manufacturing process of its components, and the phones themselves would be heavily restricted by Arceus. However, televisions and computers are still around. It seems that as long as people kept their productions on a smaller scale, they could manufacture certain items. As a result, some commodities became rarer and more expensive. It seemed to him that this would only further widen the gap between the rich and the poor.

In any case, if he wanted to buy a phone, he needed to earn at least three thousand Pokedollars. It was just another expense he had to consider.

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

The next day, Lucas and Delia were ready to venture outside the town to gather Oran berries from the trees inside the gorge. With Delia's Pokemon, they should be able to return with a lot of berries. Poliwrath was the strongest, so he carried a huge basket on his back. Lucas was carrying a huge backpack on his shoulders. Besides a few basic supplies, he kept the pack empty so he could carry berries back to town.

They began their journey by heading north out of town along the highway. Lucas took out his Pokeball and released Pidgey. Lucas told him to keep a lookout in the sky. Delia had warned him to keep an eye out for thieves as there could be a few lurking at the entrance of town. They would follow the person far enough out of town so they wouldn't alert the authorities, and then rob them.

Lucas looked around curiously as he followed a dirt trail just to the east of the main road. The area just outside of town was home to a number of farms protected by thick stone walls that surrounded them on all sides. They were better protected than the town itself, so he assumed they were better protected because the food was so important to the survival of the people living in town.

Besides, the upper class has the advantage of having the lower town as a barrier between them and the wilderness.

Beyond them were sprawling grass fields, with the forest a few kilometres to the east. The fields were home to low-level Pokemon, but they got more dangerous as they got further into the forest. The gorge he found himself in was close to the eastern coast of the peninsula, where there was a long stretch of mountainous region.

After travelling for an hour on the trail, they deviated from it and headed northeast through the grass fields. There was plenty of wild foliage that could conceal Pokemon, but since Delia had her three Pokemon out, they stayed away from them. All of her Pokemon were in the level forty range. This explains why Mr Mime was able to save him from Arbok when he was about to die.

Lucas didn’t know the range of his Insight skill's maximum range, but he recalled that he could see the Arbok’s parameters from about ten metres away. He would have to test it out. The method might be an effective way of finding hidden Pokemon if it was not reliant upon him actually seeing the Pokemon first.

“How did you find the gorge?” Lucas asked.

I was out foraging for plants one day when I stumbled across a concealed cave. There was a direct path leading straight into the gorge itself."

“How come others hadn't discovered it before? ”

“I’m sure there have been other people who have discovered it, but they probably don’t consider the berries worth the effort to haul them out of the gorge.”

Lucas had a feeling that the Oran berries were chump change for most people who had the capability of going outside without worrying about their safety.

“Why don’t I hang back a little bit so you can encounter some Pokemon to battle?" Delia suggested. “I know you want to test out Icarus' new moves. Keep walking in this direction until you hit the tree line. I won’t be too far away if something happens.”

“That’s an excellent idea,” Lucas agreed.

Delia and her Pokemon fell back and Lucas called Icarus down so he flew beside him. Lucas continued to look around for any wild Pokemon in the vicinity.

It didn't take long for the first wild Pokemon to approach them. Although none of the Pokemon on the field were of a high level, they proved to be extremely aggressive. At the end of the day, they were just like wild animals.

Species: Rattata

Level: 3

Condition: Great

Threat Level: Low

"Here we go, Icarus," Lucas said. "Let's take care of this Rattata."

Suddenly, several more Rattata emerged from the underbrush and Lucas swallowed nervously. Some of them focused on Icarus, while others regarded him with malice. He took a few steps back, and they followed him leisurely. Icarus appeared in front of Lucas, ready to protect him from all sides.

"It's time to unleash the new move you learned, and send these rats flying."

"Pidgey," Icarus chirped in reply.

The wind picked up and Lucas braced himself. The situation was about to get dicey.

So, what do you think? I have decided to hold off on my original story for now. Although I have written the chapter, I am still unhappy with it, so I will do a rewrite. I think I will write a few chapters first and release them all at once sometime in the future.

Thanks for reading.