If Ricky received a Rowlet, and then a Froakie, think you readers can guess the last starter he will receive in this rewrite~?
I decided to split the new Pokemon segment into two parts. The Pokemon Battle will come after, and that will end off the first volume!
Don't forget to drop some power stones!
*****
"I didn't think Professor Sycamore was keeping a shiny Froakie in his lab.", Ricky said, seeing Froakie before him.
"I didn't check any of these three beforehand, so I'm just as surprised as you are, Ricky. Shiny Froakie. Its skin tone is a couple shades lighter than how it usually looks. You won't see much difference until Froakie's final evolution, Greninja. That Pokemon looks really cool, as a shiny! You sure lucked out, didn't you?", Serena asked, glancing her eyes with a smug look.
"Hahaha, acquiring a shiny Pokemon does indeed require luck. I've suddenly come across three of them...", Ricky replied with a shake of his head, sighing. Ricky went into his thoughts, and wondered if this was God's work at play again. He was granted a healthy body, but already started to see side-effects from it. The first one being an overabundance of stamina, fit for a harem lifestyle. Now there might be a second effect to that?
Ricky wondered if this new body of his increased his luck? If he decided to spend Karma Points on receiving a system, would he have a max Luck stat? Ricky didn't know, but he owned three shiny Pokemon! Early on the chances of finding a shiny Pokemon was about one in eight thousand. They decreased that over time to just one in four thousand. There were various methods of altering one's chance to find shiny Pokemon in the video games. But this was real life. It all relied on one's luck to encounter one.
Granted, they were all starting Pokemon, but just receiving starting shiny Pokemon also relied on one's luck. With that line of thinking, Ricky wondered if he was a lucky guy. It was something to test once his adventures began, and there was a quick and simple way. Ricky caught wind of what are called Mass Outbreaks. These originated from Galar and Paldea, but here in this Pokemon World, Mass Outbreaks were already randomly occurring throughout each region!
Ricky has already reached a decision on which Pokemon he will choose once they get their starting Pokemon from Professor Oak, given he goes first. He likely will, after seeing how Serena and Lillie reacted to the first two rounds of choices. Because of that, Ricky had already picked out his first target once they reached Viridian Forest!
The idea behind Mass Outbreaks is timing. On particular days, more Pokemon appear than others. When that happens, the trio can choose a spot to initiate some training with their Pokemon, knocking out the same one over and over. By doing that, the odds of encountering shiny Pokemon drastically increase by ten-fold! Or so how it went in the games, anyways.
If Ricky's luck truly has increased because of this newfound body, that will be the way to test it. And he has a perfect target in mind.
"Shiny Greninja's skin is black in color, isn't it? It looks really cool. Even I'm a tad jealous.", Lillie responded with a giggle.
"We could always trade.", Ricky said with a teasing voice. He also knew in the anime, there were avid shiny Pokemon collectors. Finding such a person was pretty rare, but they did exist! Ricky recalled that one trainer with the shiny Psyduck, in particular during this moment.
"Hehe, I appreciate the thought, but Litten and Chespin are cuties, so I'll have to refuse. Their typings pair up quite well too!", Serena replied.
"And I have the same thoughts. Popplio and Fennekin suit each other too!", Lillie happily nodded in response.
"Heh, if we're thinking of that logic, then I agree that Rowlet and Froakie synergize well, too. Gramps is sure going to give us his starting Pokemon. We can choose ours like that.", Ricky suggested.
"That sounds like fun! I have Litten and Chespin, so that leaves me with Squirtle?", Serena questioned.
"If it's like that, I have Popplio and Fennekin, so that should leave me with Bulbasaur.", Lillie responded with a nod.
"And likewise, I now have Rowlet and Froakie. That will leave me with Charmander.", Ricky said. 'And hopefully this time, if I choose Charmander, it won't be shiny. I have plans to train Charmander all the way into a Mega Charizard-X. Its design is much cooler with that black and red, and not that green...', Ricky thought to himself.
"It sounds like we already have a plan forming! And not to take you by surprise Lillie, but Ricky did suggest you have a Pokemon Battle. That may be too soon for you, so it might be better for you to watch some Pokemon Battles first, before trying one out. Instead, why don't we spend the rest of the day getting acquainted with our new Pokemon? We can still go out, or stay back here.", Serena suggested.
"A Pokemon Battle. That will definitely be something I need to start getting used to. It was one of the reasons why I want to go on this journey, to see how far I can take myself, as a Pokemon Trainer. Becoming friends with our Pokemon is always a first good step to do that, right?", Lillie questioned. Ricky nodded his head in acknowledgement.
"Yeah. If you know what your Pokemons' quirks are, you'll have an easier understanding of how they behave in battle. If they grow to dislike you, they may not even respond to your commands. So developing a certain level of trust with Pokemon you acquire is indeed a good way to start. In a way, this is also considered training.", Ricky explained.
"I think I get it. We don't have to rush to start battling with our Pokemon, so I'll pass on that suggestion. We can just spend the rest of the day bonding with our Pokemon.", Lillie said to the two.
"That works for me!", Serena happily responded.
"Then we'll do as such. Mind if I get some readings first?", Ricky asked.
"Oh, right. We're trainers now, so we have to use our Pokedex a lot more frequently now. You go ahead first. We'll register everyone into our Pokedex so we each have their information. I'm not a completionist or anything, but it's still nice to know what our Pokemon can do.", Serena said.
"Got it. I'll start with you, Froakie. Welcome to the team.", Ricky said, observing the sky blue frog before him. Its large eyes were staring right back at him.
"Froakie!", Froakie happily exclaimed. All of a sudden, Ricky saw Froakie use its hind legs to jump up. Ricky was quick to react, and reached his hand out. Froakie landed right on top of Ricky's hand, eyes full of curiosity.
"Heh, you're an eager one.", Ricky mused, seeing Froakie behave this way.
"Froa?", Froakie asked, tilting its head to the side at Ricky's remark.
"You sure do get along with your Pokemon, don't you, Ricky? It hasn't even been five minutes yet!", Serena giggled in response.
"Hahaha....", Ricky responded, letting out a dry laugh. Having the ability to quickly develop friendship with Pokemon was pretty broken as it is, right? Ricky did wonder if more dangerous Pokemon that lurked out in the wild will also behave this way, compared to Pokemon raised in a lab. At least for now, he's going to have an easy time bonding with his new Pokemon. Serena and Lillie don't have this ability, so they'll have to do it the hard way. Their Pokemon weren't as inviting as Ricky's Shiny Froakie was. They were staring at the two from a distance. Litten still had its guard up, considering it was a Litten.
He didn't want to bother explaining how quick Pokemon could bond with Ricky, as that would make the situation too confusing. He just let out a dry laugh, and kept the explanation to himself. Instead, he reached for his Pokedex with his spare hand.
"Let's just keep it at that, alright? I want to get a good reading on this little guy.", Ricky said to the two, trying to change the topic. Serena and Lillie nodded seeing Ricky not wanting to go further on that matter. So instead, they followed what Ricky did, and proceeded to get the information on his new froakie. The Pokedex's voice started to speak before Ricky.
"Froakie, the Bubble Frog Pokemon. Its normal happy-go-lucky appearance is actually an act to fool its enemies. With the right timing, Froakie will drop its facade, and swiftly strike at a target with blinding speed. By doing so, Froakie can overwhelm its target. Its back legs also contain extraordinary jumping power to bewilder its foes. At an outward glance, Froakie might seem a shy Pokemon, but it knows where to strike!", The Pokedex explained.
[Froakie]
Shiny Variant
Nature: Adamant
Gender: Male
Ability: Protean
Known Moves - Pound, Growl, Water Gun, Quick Attack, Water Pulse, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Counter, Power-Up Punch, Camouflage
Ricky raised his eyebrows, reading Froakie's moves. They weren't game-breaking like the Pokemon they received from Lusamine, but there were still a lot of moves to choose from.
"You sure got a lot of egg moves, don't you, buddy? I didn't expect you to have Protean either.", Ricky mused. It was a surprise, but a welcoming one at that!
A really cool thing about Protean was, it could change Froakie's typing, depending on what move it uses, making it gain the same type attack bonus whenever it attacks. Or STAB for short! And that wasn't the end of it, this Froakie had access to Power-Up Punch. Every time Froakie uses it, it will gain a small boost to its Attack, and change its typing to Fighting every time it does!
Or at least, he will. Ricky was able to find out Froakie's gender, and he was male. Ricky smiled, reaching his hand down at Froakie. He gently rubbed Froakie's large eyes in a soothing manner. Froakie happily accepted, closing his eyes.
"Froa.", Froakie responded, taking a moment to enjoy a nice, quiet moment to bond with Ricky. Serena and Lillie saw this and felt a hint of jealousy, seeing how easy it was for Ricky to bond with his Pokemon. They then shifted their gazes back to their own Pokemon, and tried not to startle them while they got their readings. It took some moments, but the trio were able to get all nine of the individual Pokemon here in the room into their Pokedex! Ricky was going to review Litten's, Chespin's, and Fennekin's details at a later time. But he made sure their dex entries were now in his Pokedex.
Just like that, everyone was able to spend an enjoyable meal together, stuffing their faces silly, and spent the rest of the afternoon bonding with their newly acquired Pokemon. Many laughs were shared along the way as the day passed by before they realized it!
With the day passing by, it was time for Ricky to finally return home. A home that he was away from for the last five years, minus a couple one or two day visits. He was gone for a truly long time, and this time he would be back home for good. It was time to head to Pallet Town!