Day 34 of the journey. Clear skies.
"Ah—!"
A scream ripped through the dawn. Reiji shot out of his tent and snapped his head toward the sound—it came from Gulzar's tent.
"That kid's psychic powers flared out of control and scared them. No one was hurt," Darkrai said as it slipped back into Reiji's shadow, giving him the gist of what happened.
"Out of control?" Reiji had only learned yesterday that Travis had awakened psychic powers. He hadn't even known "losing control" was a thing. Weren't newly awakened abilities supposed to be weak?
"He had a nightmare," Darkrai said. It had seen the boy's dream—Pikachu was in it. And, annoyingly, it was tied to Darkrai too: it had returned to camp near dawn, and that was when the nightmare hit.
Reiji nodded to himself. Psychic power bursting out in a dream, then leaking into reality—no wonder it had sent Gulzar and Quincy flying.
"he—he…" Gulzar and Quincy were sitting in the grass outside the tent, still shaken. The earlier surge had tossed them straight out.
"Relax. That was psychic power," Reiji said, patting Gulzar on the shoulder, then laying out what had happened.
"Psychic power? Humans can do that?" Gulzar had always thought only Pokémon had powers like that.
"Some can," Quincy said. He was older, had seen more, and once he heard the explanation, he didn't look nearly as surprised. "In Kanto, the Saffron Gym—every generation of Gym Leader is a Psychic."
If Travis really was the Kumquat Gym Leader's son, waking up with psychic power wasn't strange at all. Quincy still remembered the Kumquat Gym Leader from back when he was young—she'd had it too.
That was over forty years ago. Quincy barely paid attention to who ran the Kumquat Gym now. His mind had been on one thing for a long time: watching Magikarp.
"You'll get used to it," Reiji said, giving Gulzar another light pat. "Go wake him up. Once he's back home, he'll learn how to control it."
Now that Gulzar knew what it was, the fear eased. The panic had come from not knowing.
And even if Travis had psychic power, it was basically like having an extra Psychic-type Pokémon—baby-level output. He probably couldn't even lift a bowl of water.
Gulzar ducked back into the tent. Travis was still sitting there, dazed. Gulzar waved a hand in front of his eyes until Travis finally blinked and focused.
"What just happened?" Travis asked blankly.
"You awakened psychic powers. You didn't know?" Gulzar told him straight. There was no point hiding it.
"Psychic powers? I awakened psychic powers?" Travis looked even more lost. All he'd done was have a nightmare. How did that turn into this?
"I dreamed the poachers… I saw those bastards eat Pikachu right in front of me…"
"Hey, it's fine," Gulzar cut in quickly. "Eat breakfast first. After that, we'll help you look for Pikachu. Your Pikachu will be fine."
Gulzar didn't actually know if Pikachu was still alive. He just needed Travis steady. If that psychic flare happened again, only Rai's Pokémon could keep Travis from spiraling.
His own Gyarados didn't know how to handle anything gently. One sloppy tail swing and Travis could end up dead, and Gulzar would never wash that off his conscience.
Breakfast was ready not long after. Travis crawled out of the tent and froze when he saw the three of them already seated. They'd been waiting for him.
"Grandpa Quincy… sorry about this morning," Travis said, rubbing the back of his head. "I had a nightmare and didn't control myself."
"It's fine. Eat," Quincy said with a small laugh. "Wouldn't have guessed you had psychic powers in you."
The old man wasn't bothered by the accident, but his bones were done with surprises like that. Tonight, he was going back to the cabin to sleep.
Still, last night gave him an idea. After Rai's group dealt with the poachers, all those captured wild Pokémon were still in Rai's hands. Quincy wanted to take this chance to catch two Pokémon for himself—something to keep an old man company, and make daily life easier.
"Rai, kid. When you release the wild Pokémon, leave me two that've got hands and feet," Quincy said. "I want to catch a couple. Would make things easier around the house…"
"No problem," Reiji said immediately. "Eat first. Travis, your Pikachu should be in there too. We'll take our time looking after."
They finished breakfast with light chatter, then started releasing the wild Pokémon. The poachers had split them into two backpacks.
Reiji checked the bag with the more common catches first—mostly typical forest Pokémon. He even spotted a Farfetch'd among them.
"Old man, want a Farfetch'd?" Reiji asked. Quincy was always eyeing Reiji's Farfetch'd. He'd clearly taken a liking to that kind of Pokémon.
"I do," Quincy said, rubbing his hands together. "A Farfetch'd that can cook? Is there really one in there?"
"This one's decent," Reiji said, tossing him a Poké Ball. The potential wasn't anything special—low forties—but for chopping wood, tending a fire, cooking meals, and doubling as a guard, it was more than enough.
"Hah! Thanks," Quincy said, turning the ball over in his hands like a kid with a new toy. At last—his own Pokémon.
Reiji handed the rest of the Farfetch'd balls to Gulzar and Travis. "Release the others."
"Got it," Gulzar said. He opened the Poké Balls, broke the bindings, and sent the Pokémon off with a clear message: they were free, and they could go back to the forest.
"Gulzar… these were all wild Pokémon the poachers caught?" Travis asked as he released his own. The freed Pokémon gave them quick looks, then vanished into the trees. Travis couldn't help thinking the trainer in front of him wasn't as bad as he'd assumed.
After last night, Travis had expected them to sell everything as loot. Instead, they were letting them go.
"Yeah," Gulzar said. "We saved them while we were saving you."
Gulzar had his own thoughts too. This was part of why he'd chosen to stick with Rai—Rai wasn't a good person, exactly, but he wasn't rotten either. Compared to poachers, it wasn't even close. Rai was the sort of trainer who walked his own line: not kind, not stupidly soft.
Following someone like that meant learning things he'd never pick up on his own—about Pokémon, and about surviving day to day.
"Staryu? So many Staryu," Reiji muttered, staring at the pile of Poké Balls. Those poachers had to have hit a whole Staryu nest.
One of them stood out: potential 49. It was even a bit better than the Staryu he'd bought before, but it hadn't inherited Gravity, which was a shame.
"Travis," Reiji said, tossing him the ball, "this Staryu's got good talent. Use your psychic power to feel it. Catch it and train it."
"Rai-nii… this is?" Travis took it on instinct. He didn't really understand why Reiji was handing him a Pokémon, but he tried sensing it anyway—and the feedback was strong. That Staryu's psychic talent really was impressive.
"Rai-nii can do what you do," Gulzar explained when Reiji didn't bother. "He can sense a Pokémon's talent with psychic power."
"Oh… so that's what it is." Travis focused again, feeling the Staryu inside the ball more carefully. The sensation was bizarre—like there was a companion pressed against the edge of his awareness, right there in something so small.
His own psychic power was rough, more force than finesse. When it slammed into the Staryu's psychic force, it got pushed back.
Reiji moved on. "Release the rest of the Staryu. Also: Tentacool, Bellsprout, Ekans…"
The Poison-types in that batch were nothing special. No reason to keep them. The Water-types went back into the river. The Grass/Poison types went into the forest. The Bug-types too—ordinary wild Pokémon with ordinary potential.
After the Grass-, Water-, Poison-, and Bug-types were all released—thousands of Pokémon gone back where they belonged—Reiji turned to the remaining Flying-types.
There were plenty in that bag too, mostly common forest fliers.
Pidgey and Spearow were everywhere. There were a few Zubat, some Hoothoot, and even a surprising number of Wingull.
Reiji sifted through the mass—over a thousand Flying-types—and found two with decent talent: a Pidgey with potential 51, and a Hoothoot with potential 50.
He didn't plan to keep either. He handed the Pidgey to Gulzar, and the Hoothoot to Travis.
"Travis," Reiji said, "we just met, so I didn't prepare anything. Take these two as a greeting gift. This Hoothoot's psychic talent is about the same as that Staryu. You can keep practicing your sense on it."
It was a practical split. Hoothoot's psychic talent made it a better fit for Travis, but Hoothoot's line wasn't good for carrying a person between islands. If Gulzar took Hoothoot, he'd still need to catch another Flying-type as transportation.
As for Reiji—Fairchild Island still had an Elite Four-tier Pidgey waiting for him. A potential 57 Pidgey. He had no reason to care about a potential 50 one.
Travis stood there with both balls in his hands, still trying to process it. Neither Pokémon was Psychic-type, yet both had strong psychic talent—and Reiji was just giving them away.
"Rai-nii… you saved me, and I haven't even thanked you properly," Travis said, face heating up. "Now you're handing me two Pokémon with good talent. I don't even know how to repay you."
"Saving you was nothing," Reiji said with a casual wave. "Don't make it a big deal."
Gulzar didn't see it the same way. Rai gave too easily. Travis couldn't offer anything Rai actually wanted—Rai could pull out Elite Four-tier items like they were pocket change. If Travis tried to thank him with anything less, Rai probably wouldn't even look twice.
"Rai-nii, I'll take this Pidgey too," Gulzar said. He didn't argue anymore. He needed Pokémon. He needed strength.
He'd already said thanks more times than he could count. If he kept repeating it, Rai's ears would go numb. Better to remember it and show it later. Rai had reached down and pulled him up at his lowest point—that wasn't something Gulzar would forget.
"Rai-nii," Gulzar added, "he also wanted one Magikarp. Do you still have any?"
"Magikarp?" Reiji said. "I caught one yesterday, actually."
He meant the idiot with potential 58. Keeping it did nothing for him. If Travis wanted it, giving it away was fine.
"Hey—no," Travis said, flustered. "I already took two Pokémon. I can't ask for a Magikarp too."
Gulzar leaned in and whispered, "That's an Elite Four-tier Magikarp. Are you sure you want to pass?"
"What? Elite Four—?" Travis blurted it out loud before he could stop himself. Even Reiji and Quincy heard.
"Keep your voice down," Gulzar hissed. "You have to keep this secret. Don't tell your mom either."
Travis swallowed, then whispered again, still wide-eyed. "Then the Staryu and the Hoothoot? And your Pidgey?"
"At least quasi–Elite Four potential," Gulzar said. He didn't hide it. Rai hadn't told him to, and if Travis already knew about Rai's sensing ability, this wasn't a bigger leap—just one more thing to keep quiet.
Travis drew in a sharp breath. Last night he'd talked big, but if someone told him to hand over Pokémon with talent like that, he couldn't do it. Not even close.
His family wasn't run by him. If he wanted anything, he had to ask his mom. And even then, it was meant for him to use—not to gift away.
He'd already stretched as far as he could by offering Gulzar a starter Pokémon as thanks. Anything beyond that? He'd still be begging, and he'd still be watching his mom's expression to see whether the answer was yes or no.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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