Chapter 73. Revelations

It had been ten months since Alex began his training sessions with his Pokémon, and the improvements were nothing short of remarkable. At 17, Alex now stood at 5’9” (175 cm) with a lean, muscular build. His short blonde hair and deep black eyes hinted at his lineage—both of his parents were Electric-type specialists, and it showed. But that wasn’t what bothered him. It was his height. He had hoped to reach 6 feet (1.83 m) by the time he turned 18, but he had fallen short. He personally blamed a mix of genetics, malnutrition, and an inconsistent upbringing. Neither of his parents were particularly tall either. Despite being Trainers, they hadn’t prioritized physical conditioning in their youth. It was understandable—his father had grown up as a normal kid who never paid much attention to height, and his mother was much the same. Financially, things were looking grim. He had spent nearly 10 million Pokédollars helping the new recruits on his team catch up to the rest. Now, he was down to his last 4 million, which would only last about two months at the current rate of consumption. Luckily, he still had a month's worth of food stockpiled to feed what he now referred to as his “financial black hole” of a team. As for the team, their growth had accelerated dramatically after Alex stumbled upon a classified information packet on the League’s official site. Upon opening it, he had unknowingly agreed to a binding Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) that strictly prohibited him from sharing any of the contents—not even with family members, children, or future spouses. He had completely overlooked the packet when he first received his League credits, too focused on getting the most value out of the 10 million credits he had at the time. Inside was a treasure trove of information on Elite-level Pokémon. The contents included everything from Alex’s own research paper on how to raise all moves to Master Rank within a single lifetime, to advanced knowledge on Pokémon type affinity, the effects of Pokémon meat on human physiology, profiles of Elite-ranked criminals, and even details on Pokémon originating from space, interdimensional wormholes, or alternate timelines. The section regarding Alex’s research essentially validated his theories. It stated that it typically took one year to train a move to Advanced rank, three additional years to reach Expert from Advanced, and five more years to attain Master rank from Expert. However, for every move already at that tier within the same category, the training time for the rest would be halved. This meant it took about six years just to get all of his Pokémon's moves to Advanced rank alone. He still didn’t understand why Clarissa insisted it was better to focus on getting a few moves to Master rank—unless her parents had never clued her in on the deeper details. Either that, or she knew about a rank above Master… Regardless, Alex remained convinced that flexibility was key. That’s why he had all his Pokémon prioritize learning as many moves to the Advanced level as possible. As for the known upgrades and their limitations, the packet described several effects: Effect Up +1, +50% Damage, +50% Range, Priority +1, and 50% Reduced Cooldown. Effect Up +1 depended on the type of move. For instance, if the move was defensive like Protect, the effect could allow it to block attacks from Pokémon a full rank higher. If it was a buff move, it typically raised the affected stat by an additional stage. +50% Damage was straightforward—it increased the move's power. In some cases, it also extended the linear range, depending on the nature of the move. For example, Rock Slide simply dealt more damage per rock. +50% Range expanded a move's horizontal coverage. Gym Leader Koichi’s Rock Slide, which blanketed the entire battlefield, was a perfect example of this upgrade in action. Priority +1 made moves activate faster in battle, while 50% Reduced Cooldown decreased the wait time before the move could be used again. According to the packet, cooldown reduction could scale up to 75% under certain conditions. As for type affinity, it turned out Alex’s instructor had been spot on. He still had no idea how his instructor had managed to tell him in the first place, considering he probably wasn’t even allowed to share that kind of information—but it didn’t matter to Alex. Type affinity was heavily influenced by both genetics and talent. Genetics provided a high baseline affinity early in life, while talent determined whether someone could awaken actual powers. These powers were random in form but consistently aligned with the general traits of the associated type. In Alex’s case, as someone with a Dark-type affinity, trainers with similar traits had reported resistance to psychic readings, an ability to suppress their presence in the dark, and even a noticeable power boost in shadowy environments. It intrigued Alex, but there was still no mention of how to accelerate the growth of this affinity or how to fully awaken its potential—aside from bonding deeply with Dark-type Pokémon. As for the effects of Pokémon meat on the human body, the data confirmed what Alex had already suspected: it made people stronger. Physically, mentally, even emotionally—Pokémon meat could boost reaction speed, endurance, damage resistance, and raw strength. The longer one consumed high-ranked Pokémon meat, the more enhanced their capabilities became. It was no longer a mystery how Koichi could go toe-to-toe with an Expert-ranked Pokémon. The criminal profiles were the same ones Alex had received back at the Police Academy, so there was nothing new on that front. As for Pokémon from space—they were, in Alex’s mind, just Pokémon. He had never really followed the new generations, so anything beyond Generation III had initially blown his mind. Now, it was just old news. The list of Pokémon confirmed to originate from space or from wormholes included: Cleffa, Clefairy, Clefable, Deoxys, Jirachi, Lunatone, Solrock, Minior, Staryu, Starmie, Elgyem, Beheeyem, Eternatus, Nihilego, Buzzwole, Pheromosa, Xurkitree, Celesteela, Kartana, Guzzlord, Blacephalon, Stakataka, Poipole, and Naganadel. Whereas those from different timelines were essentially the same Pokémon, but with alternate regional variations or paradoxical evolutions that diverged due to changes in history, environment, or technology. Aside from that, there were also reports of talking Pokémon. Alex simply nodded at the notion, thinking back to the anime. Now he just wondered whether Meowth was still alive, behind bars, or enjoying retirement somewhere. In any case, his Pokémon benefitted greatly from the confirmation of Alex’s budding theory. With a clear goal in mind, he now prioritized getting all of his Pokémon’s moves to the Advanced rank as soon as possible. First off, thanks to the massive stockpile of Elite-ranked Pokémon meat Alex purchased with the 10 million Pokédollars, all of his Pokémon had now reached Expert rank. The Zubat pair especially enjoyed the spoils—now evolved into a formidable Crobat pair. Secondly, all EV spreads now include Speed. According to the information packet, Speed didn’t just determine turn order—it also influenced how often a Pokémon could use moves compared to slower opponents. While this effect only became truly noticeable at the Elite rank and beyond, where stat differences were more extreme, Alex wasn’t going to take any chances. Investing in Speed across the board was now a non-negotiable part of training. Raticate had advanced all of his Status and Special moves, limited though they were, to the Advanced rank. In terms of move coverage, he was the most well-rounded among Alex’s team. Alex also redistributed his EVs to Attack and Speed, reflecting Raticate’s natural aversion to using Special Attacks. Arcanine brought all of his Physical moves to Advanced rank. Due to a close call with a wild Dragonite that nearly outran him, Alex reallocated his EVs to Defense and Speed—he wasn’t going to take that kind of risk again. Clawitzer upgraded both Water Pulse and Dark Pulse to Advanced, each with a +50% Damage boost. However, it would still take about a year to raise the rest of her Special moves. Her EVs remained at Special Attack and Speed. Rotom found success with Electro Web and Trick, both enhanced with Priority +1. Its EVs were unchanged: Defense and Speed. Forretress reached Advanced on all Status moves, most of which now had 50% Reduced Cooldown. According to him, the first upgrade was the hardest—after that, the rest came easier. His EVs remained focused on Special Defense and Speed. Altaria also advanced all of her Status moves, many with Priority +1. Her EVs were changed to HP and Speed to capitalize on the advantage of acting first. Alcremie advanced Dazzling Gleam and Acid Armor, gaining +50% Damage and Effect Up +1 respectively. Acid Armor now raised Defense by three stages instead of two. Her EVs stayed at Defense and Speed, providing sustainability through Draining Kiss. Frosmoth joined the others with all her Status moves at Advanced, most of them upgraded with Priority +1. Her EVs remained Defense and Speed, allowing her to benefit from moves like Leech Life and Giga Drain. Aegislash brought King’s Shield, Wide Guard, and Block to Advanced with Effect Up +1. Now, he could block even Elite-ranked Pokémon and prevent their escape. His EVs remained at HP and Speed. Metagross advanced Gravity to Advanced with 50% Reduced Cooldown. While he didn’t particularly enjoy training, he developed a strong attachment to Gravity. He planned to work on Psychic next to help with mobility. His EVs were still HP and Speed, optimized for survival over offense. Kommo-o followed Arcanine’s path, advancing all of his Physical moves and favoring +50% Damage upgrades. A battle-hardened fighter at heart. His EVs remained HP and Speed to maintain a well-rounded stat profile. Togekiss advanced Follow Me with Priority +1 to remain competitive. He maintained HP and Speed EVs to ensure he could act quickly and then retreat to the defensive squad. Hydreigon mastered all of her Special moves with +50% Damage upgrades across the board. She simply loved destruction. Her EVs were Special Attack and Speed, maximizing her firepower. Dusknoir already had all his Status moves at Advanced rank. In fact, his unique move set had prompted the initial deep dive into Status move theory and ultimately led Alex to the hidden information packet. He was expensive to acquire precisely because he was a subtle clue to the truth. He’s currently training Phantom Dive, and his EVs are focused on HP and Speed to compensate for his weaknesses. Ceruledge had successfully brought all her moves to Basic and was now working on Phantom Dive as well. Her EVs were tailored toward Defense and Speed to improve her durability. The Crobat pair, formerly Zubats, advanced all of their moves to Basic and even upgraded Quick Attack to Advanced with 50% Reduced Cooldown. They had been relentlessly bullied by Raticate, so their entire motivation was to get fast enough to escape—and it worked. The cooldown reduction increased their mobility, allowing them to dodge and flee more effectively during training. Both had EVs set to Special Defense and Speed, ideal for their scouting roles. Overall, it had been an extremely productive training session. With confidence and preparation on his side, Alex was ready to take on the Grass Gym in Celadon City. ----- A stats page containing the complete Pokedex entries of all the Pokemon is available on Patreon for free for those who are interested. A very long list which might not be for everyone so I released these two chapters together. Enjoy. Support me on Patreon patreon/babywrath