A/N: I changed my cover page of the novel. I hope you like it
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It took some time for Steelix to calm down. It had already regarded Axel as its enemy. Axel had also taken out all of his Pokémon, so seeing so many powerful Pokémon, it knew that it could not do anything… for now. It held its anger, and when Alakazam told it that Axel wanted to talk, it decided to listen.
"I won't beat around the bush. I'll be straight. I want you to be a part of my team."
ROARRRRRR
'It is outright refusing your offer,' said Alakazam through telepathy.
"Hey, calm down. I know that you don't like me very much, and you consider me as your enemy. I can understand that."
Steelix agreed with that statement.
"But let me ask you something. Do you want to be strong?"
'It says, what are you blabbering about, and why should it answer your question?' said Alakazam.
"Just answer the question. If you want to get out of here, then answer it." 'It says yes with an attitude,' said Alakazam.
That was a stupid question. Every Pokémon wanted to be strong. It was in their genes.
"You are around 50 years old now. You have around 150 years left to live. Most wild Pokémon don't even live their full life. If you tried really hard, you could be a King-ranked Pokémon in a decade or more. But can you guarantee that you could reach pseudo-champion rank in your lifetime? There is also no hope for you to reach champion rank in your lifetime if you train on your own," said Axel.
Steelix was now quiet. It had a serious look on its face.
"But I can train you to become pseudo-champion rank in 2 years. Don't think that it is bullshit. You have seen my Pokémon and how strong they are. Except for Alakazam, I have only trained them for a year and a half. I am not lying. If you think I am lying, then you can verify it. I will show you all the proof you need.
So, if you become a part of my team, then you may even be able to reach master rank. What do you have to say?" asked Axel.
This sure was a tempting offer for Steelix, but it had never been under someone. It started to think.
"Don't think that you would be under me. We would be like partners. All of my Pokémon are treated like that. Besides, you are now in the Venu family compound. Even if I let you go to the wild, you have to cross the purple crack and face 2 King-ranked Pokémon.
You would not survive that, and you can never reach your home. But if you become a part of my team, I promise you that I would help you reach there in the future, and if you don't become a pseudo-champion rank in 2 years, you can leave."
After thinking for some time, Steelix agreed. It had no disadvantages.
Axel was happy. He also asked it about the mystery of the forest. But the result was disappointing. It just told him that its mind felt fresh now. It felt like its mind was somehow captured before, and it didn't remember anything about the mystery of the forest.
It was like the particular knowledge about the forest was erased. Axel planned to ask Angela about this. She had 19 Pokémon with her now, and they could say something interesting. He then went to meet the crazies.
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K was training his Crobat. He was very happy with this development. It was much stronger than a normal Golbat, and when it reached elemental rank, it would be a beast. If Axel didn't have Nidorino, he would have caught a Zubat too. It was a very powerful Pokémon.
"Hey K, how is Crobat right now?"
"It is in good health. I am thinking of training it in a new move." Criiiii... Crobat also greeted Axel. It had a good impression of Axel.
"I think you should train it in 'Cross Poison'. It would perfectly fit Crobat, and what core are you thinking for it?"
"That is a good idea. Why have I not thought of it before? Of course, I would go for the poison core. I realized that Crobat is especially good in poison-type moves."
"So, when are you leaving from here? Remember to capture your Pokémon in balls before you go. There are a lot of poachers out there."
"Thanks for the reminder. I will stay here for another month. This magic of yours will only work as long as I am in the Venu family premises. I plan to have 3 elemental rank Pokémon before I go. When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow. I plan to challenge the rest of the gyms. Why don't we have a small party tonight? I got the cigarettes too."
"That is a good idea. I will tell A and B about it. Where are you going right now?"
"Oh, I am going to Mark. I have some research things to discuss."
They talked for some time, and then Axel went to Mark.
He wanted to ask Mark about the mysteries of the forest. Unfortunately, he had not found out anything substantial. It would take some time, and he was perfectly fine with it. It needed a master-rank Pokémon to completely explore it, so he was not in a hurry.
The night came, and the crazies, elder, and the leader gave him a small farewell party. He had already called Venusaur to him. It wanted to visit its parents again, and Axel had let it go for some time. Since it had fully evolved now, he would seriously focus on its development. He just wanted to give it some extra time with its family.
"Axel, did you know that if you become a champion, you would be the first champion in the history of the Venu family," said Adam.
"Hey, why can only Axel be the champion? I can be a champion too," remarked K.
"Yes, but Axel is closer to becoming one than you. I know you will become one too in the future."
"But to become one, you would have to defeat me, the future champion. Can you do that?" asked Axel.
"Oh, so you are so confident that you would be a champion and hold that position until I come along?" asked K again.
All of them were drunk, and they were having a good time. After some time, Angela asked a question.
"Axel, Mark told me that you would like to keep the new inventions and discoveries a secret. While I admire that you are sharing them with us, don't you think that you should patent and copyright them before anybody else does?"
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