"Houndoom, Wartortle, Machoke," I said calmly. "Line up, we're going to scan you. You're some seriously big boys, so I'm curious about your exact stats."
All three of them obeyed and lined up in front of me, full of anticipation. Haunter levitated right next to my shoulder like a total boss, wearing a wide, immensely satisfied grin. It seemed to me that the awakening of my own auric energy thrilled him significantly more than it did me. Nearby, Bran was just starting to train Geodude and Poliwhirl, the latter impatiently pacing on the grass. After my intense sparring session with Machoke, the little blue guy was seriously pumped up.
"Houndoom, you're up first," I commanded.
"Houndoom!" he barked happily, flicking his long tail first at Machoke and then at Wartortle with a loud smack.
"Wartortle!" "Machoke!"
Both protested immediately with low growls, but Houndoom blatantly ignored them, teasingly sticking out his tongue.
I quickly pulled out my Pokédex, adjusted the basic parameters, aimed it at the dog, and a mechanical, robotic voice spoke from the device:
Subject: Houndoom
Height: 1.87 m
Estimated Weight: 40 kg
Auric Energy Level: 39/100
I immediately opened my notes and quickly calculated the massive growth in my head.
"Boy, you've really grown. Compared to your original stats when you were still a Houndour, you've grown by 1.08 m... and your weight has gone up a good 30 kg," I noted, rewriting the old data with the new ones on the spot. "Your auric energy went up by eleven levels, which I'd say is a beautiful increase for a single evolution," I added with a smile, giving him a firm scratch between the ears.
"Houndoom!" he growled in agreement, closing his eyes in sheer bliss. His thin, long black tail lashed wildly from side to side, but this time it didn't hit anyone. Wartortle and Machoke had wisely backed up, creating a much larger and safer distance.
"With your current size, I think I might even be able to start riding you eventually. What do you think?" the thought suddenly struck me.
I probably weighed around 100 kg at the moment. I still didn't have as much muscle mass in this new body as I had built up in my past life, so he should be able to carry me without any trouble.
Houndoom immediately turned sideways and lowered himself so I could jump straight onto his back.
"That was just a thought, boy, we'll try it later," I laughed, patting his muscular flank. "Wartortle, you're up," I said to the patiently waiting turtle.
Wartortle took a few sharp steps forward, stopping right next to Houndoom, who promptly flicked his tail at him teasingly again. I had a strong feeling the dog was doing it entirely on purpose. Wartortle growled at him in annoyance, but Houndoom ignored him once more and stepped aside with his nose in the air.
Grinning, I aimed the Pokédex at the scowling Wartortle, but instead of scanning, I quickly switched to the camera and snapped a picture. It was pure comedy: a frowning deep blue turtle with two sharp fangs, looking offendedly to the side, while Houndoom strutted away like some kind of primadonna.
That'll make a great memory, I thought, smirking in satisfaction.
I switched the scanner back to brief readings. After all, I didn't need to listen to useless encyclopedic spiels about the entire species since this specific one was mine. The robotic voice from the device immediately began dictating:
Subject: Wartortle
Height: 1.4 m
Estimated Weight: 27.5 kg
Auric Energy Level: 33/100
"Mhm, another beautiful increase," I noted appreciatively. "As a Blastoise, you'll be a total tank one day, boy. An increase of 70 cm, and your weight went up by 16.5 kg. Your auric energy rose by twelve levels."
"Wartortle!" he smirked contentedly. That expression of his, combining squinted eyes with fangs that looked straight out of a vampire movie, gave him such a comically smug charm that I couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Wartortle?!" he growled at me defensively, glaring in annoyance.
"No, no, I just thought of something funny. I would never dare laugh at you," I immediately shook my head with a smirk to placate him, reaching out to scratch him firmly between his new, fluffy ears.
During the motion, my forearm accidentally brushed against one of them, and I was surprised by how incredibly soft and pliable it felt to the touch. Wartortle immediately shuddered in ecstasy and closed his eyes. Seeing this, I moved my fingers from the crown of his head directly onto his ear.
"Wartortleeeeee," he sighed deeply with closed eyes, growing completely docile under my fingers.
I pampered him like this for a moment longer, but time was ticking away and we still had far too much work ahead of us today, so I eventually stopped the scratching.
"Machoke, you're up," I commanded.
"Wartortle, War!" he whined in disappointment that I had stopped, but obediently stepped back toward Houndoom.
Machoke stepped forward slowly, bowed his head respectfully, and proudly beat his chest with his right fist: "Machoke!"
Being a fighting-type species that evolves from the basic Machop form, I had some brief information in my head. However, I hadn't scanned him in detail originally, since he evolved almost immediately after joining me. So, I turned on the full scan, including the encyclopedic entries, pointed the Pokédex at him, and the mechanical voice immediately sounded from the device:
MACHOKE – The Superpower Pokémon
Type: Fighting
Average Height: 1.5 m
Average Weight: 70.5 kg
Machoke is a bipedal Pokémon with blue-gray skin and a powerful, muscular build. It has narrow red eyes, a short snout, and four sharp teeth protruding from its mouth. It has three brown ridges on its head and dark red stripes on its muscular shoulders.
Its muscles are as hard as steel, and its body almost never grows tired. It can lift extremely heavy objects with a single finger and possesses enough strength to hoist a ship with just one hand.
Despite its massive frame, it is known for its humble nature and frequently assists humans with demanding physical labor. It can most commonly be found in the mountains, where it trains daily to hone its abilities.
Scanned Subject Stats:
Height: 1.88 m
Estimated Weight: 86.8 kg
Auric Energy Level: 28/100
I immediately wrote down his final stats in my notes. I couldn't help but smirk to myself—it seemed like I had a fucking stroke of luck with getting above-average tall and massive Pokémon. Every single member of my team so far was larger than the species average, with the possible exception of the currently sleeping little Aron. But it suited me quite well. I was above average in height and weight myself.
"Hm, hm, Machoke... You must have been holding back big time during our sparring session to avoid seriously hurting me," I noted with an appreciative smile. "According to what the Pokédex just told us, you have enough strength to rip my leg off from the very moment you grabbed me at the start."
At those words, Machoke's cheeks visibly flushed. With his left hand—the exact shoulder I had coldbloodedly dislocated just a moment ago—he began to bashfully scratch the back of his head.
"Macho, Machoke, Mach!" he shook his head rapidly, as if to say he would never deliberately hurt me. "Machoke, Maaaacho!" he added immediately after, closing his eyes and giving me a wide smile with a thumbs-up.
Adorable, I thought, amused. Externally, I just nodded understandingly: "Thank you. Of course, I'll teach you every single technique I know myself, and from now on, we'll spar regularly."
"Macho!" he nodded with determination, and on his own, obediently stepped back to join the others, clearing the space before me.
"Haunter, Haunt, Haunter!" my starter spoke up right beside me, accompanied by a wide, toothy grin.
"Yeah, we can scan you too. You've definitely improved since the last scan," I agreed, gesturing for him to float directly in front of me.
With a theatrical roll of his eyes, Haunter floated in front of me, remaining motionless in the air while cheekily sticking his tongue out. I immediately switched the Pokédex back to brief mode, and after pressing the button, the robotic voice spoke from the device once more:
Subject: Haunter
Height: 2.4 m
Estimated Weight: 150 g
Auric Energy Level: 51/100
"Whew, you've improved a hell of a lot," I remarked admiringly.
Although the only significant change in him was his auric energy, compared to his initial scan, the value had jumped by an incredible sixteen points. To achieve something like that in such a short period of intense training was simply amazing.
"Haunter, haunt!" the specter grinned at me, combatively clenching his levitating, clawed fist. "Haunter!"
"You really are," I nodded in agreement. He truly was the strongest link in my team at the moment, without a shadow of a doubt. After all, it made complete sense—he had been with me the longest.
"Alright, guys," I spoke to them after a moment of contemplating the optimal plan for the day. "Your bodies have changed radically with evolution. You're taller, heavier, stronger, and you have more auric energy in you. But that also means you're still not one hundred percent adjusted to your new forms. So today, we're putting a pin in auric techniques. We're going to train your pure mobility and agility," I announced in a firm voice.
"Haunter, Haunt, haunter!" the ghost chimed in with a wicked grin.
"You know very well that doesn't apply to you," I smirked back at him. "You can go on with your solo training on Hypnosis with Hex, or practice Acid Spray or Shadow Ball. Do whatever you want. You have great progress, and I'm extremely satisfied with it."
"Haunter!" he nodded understandingly and darted toward the dense forest growth in a split second.
"Wartortle?" the turtle asked impatiently, shifting from foot to foot, while Machoke and Houndoom patiently waited for my next instructions.
"You have exactly half an hour to warm up properly and get to know your new bodies, at least in basic movements, evasions, and dodges. Then we're playing a little game. Free-for-all," I briefed them on the upcoming game. "Ready?"
"War!" "Macho!" "Hound!"
All three nodded determinedly, ready to leave everything on the field.
"You may begin."
With a combative smile, Wartortle immediately dashed forward and started running laps around the clearing. Houndoom just stretched lazily at first, yawning widely, and I honestly expected him to just flop down in the grass and fall asleep. But the moment he felt my stern gaze on him, he shot off like a bullet, running right after Wartortle.
Meanwhile, Machoke began to warm up methodically. Exactly according to the routine he had copied from me back during our first encounter in the dark caves of Mt. Moon. Fluidly, starting with slow head circles and working his way down to his feet, he precisely warmed up his entire massive body.
I set a thirty-minute timer on my Pokédex and sat down on the grass in a classic cross-legged position. It was high time to test this new spiritual energy flowing so wildly through my body.
In my past life, meditation had always bored me to tears after just a few minutes, and I had quit every single time, but now I simply had no choice. Resolutely, I closed my eyes and began controlled breathing.
A deep four-second inhale, holding my breath for four seconds, and a slow, smooth four-second exhale. I carefully counted every second in my head, firmly hoping to find the right rhythm before the time ran out.
Physically, I could feel this strange power within me—it was something completely new, foreign, and fascinating. At the same time, it was clear that without absolute inner peace, I wouldn't be able to use it consciously and under control. For now, this aura was enhancing me entirely automatically, just by passively circulating through my veins.
But theory was one thing and practice was another. The more I tried to empty my mind to fully immerse myself in that cold sensation, the more bizarre thoughts kept popping into my head. I thought about Naruto training his Sage Mode, analyzed how chakra actually worked in the anime, imagined how damn good a bowl of authentic ramen tastes, and other complete nonsense kept buzzing around my brain.
When the timer suddenly shrilled through the quiet of the forest, jarring me out of this half-meditation, I honestly wasn't even disappointed. Not even Naruto had learned Sage Mode on his first try. I had expected a minor failure from the start anyway.
Slowly, squinting my eyes so the sharp daylight wouldn't sting, I opened them, only to laugh immediately after. Wartortle, Machoke, and Houndoom were sitting just a short distance away, watching me intently, almost hypnotized.
"You were supposed to be getting to know your own bodies, you lazy bums," I smirked, amused. "But whatever... At least it'll make it easier for me to beat you now," I added with a provocative, challenging grin as I stood up decisively.
"We're playing tag, the four of us," I calmly explained the rules. "It's simple: one person is always 'it' and the others run away. When they tag someone, that person becomes the new 'it'. Completely simple, and it'll train our speed, agility, and overall mobility."
I noticed Houndoom wagging his tail enthusiastically at those words, so I quickly added with a smirk, "Tail tags don't count, Houndoom. Otherwise, we wouldn't stand a chance against you."
Wartortle smirked like a smug vampire, using his new, robust body to give the dog a provocative nudge.
"Hound!" Houndoom growled back in annoyance, baring his teeth.
"Ready?"
"War!" "Macho!" "Houndoom!"
"To keep you three schemers from running all over the forest, we are playing strictly in this clearing. The boundary is from that tree over there to this one," I commanded, drawing imaginary lines with my hand. "And to make it interesting, Houndoom is 'it' first."
The big black dog looked at me with wide, slightly betrayed eyes, so I immediately reassured him with a smile, "Come on, boy, you're the fastest one of us, after all."
"Hound!" he barked back in immediate agreement, wagging his tail proudly and crouching low to the ground, ready for a lightning-fast start.
I backed off a bit to a safe distance, while Machoke and Wartortle instinctively split up and ran to opposite sides.
Smart boys, I thought appreciatively, taking a deep breath and shouting at the top of my lungs, "Go!"
Houndoom didn't waste a second. With a loud bark, he bolted from his spot, charging like a heat-seeking missile straight toward Wartortle.
Looks like their rivalry hasn't changed a bit, even after evolving, I smirked in amusement, hands in my pockets as I watched the desperately fleeing turtle kick up chunks of dirt in his wake.
***
Author's note:
There's just something incredibly funny to me about taking these massive, terrifying evolved beasts and forcing them to play a simple game of playground tag just to get used to their bodies. But hey, mobility training is important!
***
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The shadows are shifting, and the story goes much deeper... If you can't wait for the next update, Advanced Chapters are already waiting for you.
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Upcoming Chapters – Already Written(15):
34. Of Eggs and Iron
35. The Road to Cerulean
36. Boiled Lobsters and Double Beds
37. Cerulean After Hours
38. Shadows, Sparks, and the Bro Code – 18+
39. The Cost of Power
40. Of Iron and Fists
41. No Mercy
42. The Girl in the Pink Cap
43. The Price of Arrogance
44. Of Bro Codes and Psychic Radars
45. Where the Forest Meets the Sea
46. Sun, Sand, and Cerulean Waves
47. Not on the Menu
48. Blood in the Water
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