"Hey, Rabin. What brings you here this early in the training ground?", asked Axel.
"I am obviously looking for you. I didn't know that you would be training you and your Pokemons this early in the morning.", said Rabin.
"How do you think that I got so strong?", asked Axel.
"Haha, I actually came here to give you this water stone.", said Rabin. He was holding a big box in his hand.
"Don't you think that I would run away after I got this?", asked Axel.
"No, I don't. You have much to lose if you run away and I also think that you have an honorable guy.", said Rabin.
"Then I thank you for trusting me so much.", said Axel, and Rabin gave him that box. Rabin said his goodbyes and then went out.
The box was not very heavy. He knelt down and opened the box. He could see a hexagonal-shaped blue-colored crystal. The crystal was very clear and it was shining in a light blue color. Axel could see some sort of waves inside the crystal.
This was the highest-rank water stone. It was bound to look so good and mysterious. Axel finally felt a bit relaxed after seeing this.
"Shellder, come here. Slowpoke you also come with Shellder.", shouted Axel.
It was now time to evolve Shellder.
"Shellder, are you ready?", asked Axel.
Both Shellder and Slowpoke nodded their head. They were both ready.
Slowpoke backed up a bit and Axel took the crystal and brought it out to Shellder up close.
Axel had a lustrous orb which he had just bought from the Gatr family. The quality of it was not the highest but it was perfect for Shellder. It was a water-type enhancing item.
Axel believed that if this Shellder had a good foundation, it would be better for Slowpoke when it evolves into Slowking.
When it was the waterstone, Shellder started to get excited. It wanted the waterstone as fast as it could.
"Wait a minute. It is yours and you will get it. Don't panic.", said Axel and gave it to Shellder.
When Shellder touched the water stone, it started to glow. This showed that it was in the perfect state to evolve. Axel also gave the orb to Shellder.
The process of evolution took some time and after 4 minutes, it had finally evolved.
"CLoyyy. Sterrrrr", it shouted as the rush of evolution got to it.
"Cloyster, control yourself. Remember who you are.", said Axel.
This was not Axel's Pokemon. So, it didn't have the loyalty that others did. So, it didn't listen to Axel but Axel knew who it would listen to and that would be Slowpoke.
Slowpoke also tried to control it but was not able to control its thoughts. So, Slowpoke had to use some 'Confusion' to make it confuse and finally, it fainted on the spot.
It was just an uncommon-rank Pokemon. So Axel knew that 'Confusion' was a powerful move for it to handle.
Axel saw its stats:
---
Pokemon's name: Cloyster (Age- 20 years)
Pokemon Nickname: NA
Pokemon Rank: uncommon rank
Ability: Shell Armor (60%)
Hidden ability: Overcoat (45%)
Potential: Brown (Monstrous)
Health: 2500/2500 Attack: F
Agility: F Defense: F
Sp. Atk: F Sp. Def: F
Moves: Aqua ring, Toxic spikes, Water spikes, Spike cannon, Clamp, Frost breath, Water gun, Toxic bite.
---
Now these were some interesting moves. Axel had not caught Cloyster in the ball so technically, it was not his Pokemon. So, he could not see the move description and the level of the move but he could make a guess.
He didn't know when but it knew 2 new moves. 'Water spikes' and 'Toxic bite'. 'Toxic bite' must have been learned after it bit Slowpoke but what about 'Water spikes'?
Did it learn when it was just a common-rank Pokemon? If that was true then this Pokemon was a monster. Axel wanted to catch it and make this Pokemon his own Pokemon but he knew that it was not possible.
It also had a brown potential which made him even more mad.
He had many interesting ideas and concerns for Cloyster.
###
First was its typing. It was now a water and an ice type. So what would it mean when it attaches itself to Slowpoke? Would Slowpoke get a boost of power in ice type? Oak did say that Cloyster could combine with Slowpoke, so he was not worried about it.
Another thing was its moves. If it learned moves like 'Hydro pump' and 'Chilling water', would it boost Slowpoke's 'Hydro pump' and 'Chilling water'? That was a possibility and he wanted to capitalize on it.
It wanted its moves to be very high level so that it may be able to assist Slowpoke. However, he didn't know the level of its moves since it was not his Pokemon.
The final thing he was interested in was the move 'Toxic bite'. Axel could say for certainty that it had learned this move when it bit Slowpoke. So, if he is able to modify the move, would it also help Slowpoke?
After thinking about it for a long time, Axel decided that he would catch it. Catching was the only way he could see the progress of its moves.
However, he was afraid of one thing. Just like Slowpoke, after catching it, its stats and move progress would rise rapidly. So what would happen if it reaches elemental rank till Slowpoke reaches tier 2 of king rank? That could happen cause upgrading to tier 2 would take some time.
Then he realized that he had the solution to that answer already. There was a function of 'Overgrowth' that said that Axel could point out the Pokemon in his team and that Pokemon would not be influenced by 'Overgrowth'. He thought that he would never have to use it but now it has come into handy.
'Overgrowth' would raise the stats and move mastery of the Pokemon. Controlling the stats was okay but move mastery was the problem. This system overall increased the move mastery and anything related to moves but Cloyster would be slower than other Pokemons on this team.
Axel didn't have any other way to do it. The suddenly,
This mission had come at the right time but Axel didn't know what the upgrade would be. He would have to see about that.
###
Finally, he asked Cloyster to be on his team. He also said that the Pokemon would be a part of Slowpoke. Cloyster immediately agreed. It wanted to be a part of Slowpoke.
After he caught Cloyster up, he looked at its stats again.
---
Pokemon's name: Cloyster (Age- 20 years)
Pokemon Nickname: NA
Pokemon Rank: uncommon rank
Ability: Shell Armor (60%)
Hidden ability: Overcoat (45%)
Potential: Brown (Monstrous)
Health: 2500/2500 Attack: F
Agility: F Defense: F
Sp. Atk: F Sp. Def: F
Moves: Aqua ring (G) (Lvl 34), Toxic spikes (C) (Lvl 26), Water spikes (C) (Lvl 24), Spike cannon (G) (Lvl 39), Clamp (C) (Lvl 29), Frost breath (C) (Lvl 28), Water gun (G) (Lvl 39), Toxic bite (G) (Lvl 39)
---
None of its moves had reached level 40. Axel expected that. He first wanted to see the description of its new moves:
---
Water spikes: Send out 4 small needle-like spikes made out of water. It had high penetrating power.
Toxic bite: After biting Slowpoke, It would release a poison that would enhance Slowpoke's intelligence and physical capability.
---
'Toxic bite' was exactly what Axel had thought. This gave him 2 things to think about. First, he was going to level up 'Toxic bite' to a higher level and bring a pleasant surprise to Slowpoke. And since a move like 'Toxic bite' could affect Slowpoke then other moves might also do the same.
After thinking about it for some time, he came up with a brilliant plan. Why doesn't he create a passive move for Cloyster that would help Slowpoke? That would be ideal but there was a problem. How was he going to achieve it?
###
Rabin had already told them that they would be leaving tomorrow. The battlefield was going to be a bit far away as none of the families trusted each other. So, they decided that the battlefield would be a neutral zone.
It was a small island. Axel could see one end of the island from where they landed. There was a big battle stadium and a big hotel. There were also some shopping places but it was not as grand as when Axel went with Lance to meet Cynthia and others.
"So, do you guys own the island?"
"What? No. We just rented the island for a week. We only battle here once in every 2 years. Why would we need to buy it?", said Rabin.
Axel could say that he was finally talking to a sane man. Not someone like Lance who would not mind buying the island just so that they could meet there every 2 years.
It took them a day to reach there and the battle would start tomorrow. They reached the hotel and booked a room. They didn't need to pay cause they had rented the whole island for a week.
All of them went to their respective rooms and got changed. Rabin told him that they would be meeting at the banquet hall at 6 pm.
It was around 11 a.m. Axel had around 7 hours. So, he took his time. He first went to the bathroom got a shower and then changed his dress. He ordered some room service as he was very hungry. Then he rested on the bed. Axel didn't want to go out and explore the island.
He was very tired after the plane ride and he didn't have any energy inside of him to explore a new island.
Rabin did tell him that the banquet would be very important. The banquet would be held by 3 families together. As per their contract, the families would have to select 2 trainers for the battle.
One trainer must be from the family while the other trainer could be an outsider. The trainer that would be fighting tomorrow would also come to the banquet and also some of the important figures of the families.
Axel had a huge opportunity to meet with these people. He wanted to know if they were different from the starter families of the Kanto region.
Rabin also told him to be careful as the banquet could turn into a discussion, argument or a full-scale fight.
###
Axel wore his best grey suit with a tie and a belt. He combed his hair and was ready for the banquet. He wanted to look his best for today.
Axel was 15 years old now. There was still time for him to have a girlfriend but he wanted to start it fast. He didn't want to be a loner at his old age drinking whiskey alone.
However, right now he was super busy training his Pokemons and himself and getting all the gym badges. He didn't think that he would have any time for a relationship.
The banquet was exquisite. It was a big banquet hall. Food and drinks were being served around by beautiful and handsome waiters and everyone had a glass of whiskey in their hand.
Axel was spotted by Rabin who quickly guided him to meet his friends of Gatr family. Axel was also able to meet the elders of the family and all of them wished him good luck for the battle.
The banquet went on for quite some time and finally, there was a man on the stage with a speech.
"Hello and welcome. I am Torrent Typh and I am the leader of the Typh family. This battle is being hosted by my family and I am happy to invite you all. ….
Torrent went on babbling for a good 15 minutes and he finally came to a point.
"Now, we all know why we are here. We are here for the 2 yearly family battle and this time the rules have been ticked a bit. This time a family could invite an outsider who is not 18 years old.
Let's first welcome the 2 trainers of Mega family. Both of them are from the family itself. They are Karna and Shelly Mega!!!"
All of them clapped their hands and both of the trainers went to the stage.
"Now, from my family, we have decided to elect an outsider. First, we have Rome Typh and then from the Zard family of the Kanto region, we have Katherine Zard!!! Let's welcome them with a huge round of applause."
"What???", shouted Axel.