(A/N: I mean Cerulean City and the area around it when I say Cerulean City.)
Cerulean City (Japanese: Hanada City) is a seaside city located in northern Kanto. It is situated near a sea inlet to the north, with Saffron City to the south, and Mt. Moon to the west. One can see both the tall Mt. Moon and the calming sea from the Cerulean city. The Cerulean City is one of only two cities in Kanto to have four different routes enter the city, the other being Saffron City. So, it gets many tourists and Pokemon trainers all year round.
Cerulean City has both fresh and Saltwater habitats making it home to many water-type Pokemon. According to Professor Oak, if you search hard enough you can find 20 or more water Pokemons around Cerulean City. However, hardly anyone other than Professor Oak has reported finding so many types of water Pokemon. The most common Water Pokemon around Cerulean City are Magikarp, Goldeen, Poliwag, Poliwhril, and Seaking in freshwater habitats. Pokemon like Magikarp, Tentacool, Shellder, Krabby, Staryu, Starmie, Tentacreul and Kingler are commonly found in the sea.
There are also rare sightings of Psyduck, Slowpoke and Slowbro. Golduck is found in deep ponds or lakes in the forests and Gyarados are found in large rivers, lakes and seas. There are also Horsea and Seadra at the bottom of the sea. So, Cerulean City is a paradise for Water-type Pokemon trainers. Many water-type Pokemon trainers visit Cerulean City to catch Pokemon. Because of this reason, there are many water-type gyms in Cerulean City including an Indigo league-certified gym, the Cerulean Gym.
Other types of Pokemon are also found around Cerulean city. Many ground and rock-type Pokemon are found in the west of Cerulean City. There are also many forest and grassland Pokemon around Cerulean City.
(A/N: In Pokemon anime and Gen I game, there are gyms other than the main eight gyms like the fighting dojo of Saffron City. In anime, there is mention of Coastline Gym, an unofficial water-type gym whose gym leader is a fan of sensational sisters. There was an episode of two unofficial gyms fighting to become official gyms in the dark city.)
*****
Amrit is going to catch his first partner today. He is only six years old so he can't become the gym leader of the Cerulean Gym. He must be at least ten years old to participate in official Pokemon battles and become the gym leader. So, he has decided that he is going to train his Pokemon and do 'unofficial' Pokemon battles with strong trainers to get experience so that he can become a qualified gym leader.
He has already thought of a plan that will allow him to battle as much as he likes without being questioned by Officer Jenny. For that plan to start he has to catch the Pokemon he is going to include in his team. He has thought for a long time before finally deciding which Pokemon he will be catching first. He has caught Pokemon for the gym previously but they were average Pokemon. He wants the best of them on his team.
So, he is now standing on a beach full of Staryu. The beach itself is isolated as it is surrounded by a small cliff, sea and huge rocks on its side. There are also a few Shellder and Krabby here and there but there are hundreds of Staryu. Some of them are on shore and most of them are in shallow water. This is the ideal place for Staryu to grow as Pokemon like Tentacruel and Gyarados aren't present here.
"A pleasant morning, a beautiful sea, and a beach filled with Staryu. A perfect day for an ability hunt." Amrit said looking at the hundreds of Staryu on the beach. He isn't doing a shiny hunt but an ability hunt.
After he got his gift; a virtual screen that shows information about Pokemons, he immediately read the information about water Pokemons. When reading them he noticed that water Pokemon have overpowered abilities if used right like a Lightning rod, Sap Sipper, Water absorb, Swift Swim, Huge power, and so on.
If he can catch Pokémon with abilities that suit his strategy, he can build a powerful team. He also realized that blindly catching Pokémon can result in having ones that aren't well-suited for his team.
Azumarill is the perfect example of this. There are three main ways to use Azumarill effectively:
Defensive: An Azumarill with the Thick Fat ability is built for defence. It takes no damage from Dragon-type moves, one-fourth damage from Fire and Ice-type moves, and half damage from Water, Fighting, Bug, and Dark-type moves. Its only weaknesses are Poison, Grass, and Electric types. With good Defense and Special Defense stats, though low Attack and Special Attack, this makes Azumarill a perfect Pokemon to defend against Dragon, fire and Ice-type Pokemon but it can't do good damage against a strong opponent. So, it is more useful for protection than Pokemon battle.
Offensive: Azumarill with the Huge Power ability can be a powerhouse. Huge Power doubles Azumarill's Attack stat, giving it significant offensive potential. It takes no damage from Dragon-type moves and half damage from Fire, Ice, Water, Fighting, Bug, and Dark types. While still weak to Poison, Grass, and Electric types, the high Attack combined with its natural resistance makes Azumarill a strong contender in battles.
Grass-Type Counter: Azumarill with the Sap Sipper ability can be highly effective against Grass types. Sap Sipper grants immunity to Grass-type moves and boosts Azumarill's Attack when hit by one, allowing it to capitalize on Grass-type matchups. It still takes no damage from Dragon moves, half damage from Fire, Ice, Water, Fighting, Bug, and Dark, and remains weak only to Poison and Electric. For a Water-type trainer, this setup is ideal for countering Grass-type opponents.
If a trainer catches an Azumarill with the Thick Fat ability, it can be a solid defensive choice early on, but later it may not meet the trainer's expectations for damage output.
Similarly, an Azumarill with the Sap Sipper ability may seem overpowered at first, boasting resistances to all but Poison and Electric moves, plus immunity to Dragon- and Grass-type moves. However, its role as a counter to Grass types might become less effective as the trainer encounters tougher opponents. The opponent may use other moves and its low attack will make it almost useless.
Therefore, Azumarill with Huge Power is the best one since it has resistance against many types and has good attacks. If trained properly Azumarill with Huge Power ability can win against those dragons that can't fly. But, the flying dragon-type Pokemon can still avoid them by flying as they don't have a good Sp. attack for range attacks.
That's why he has decided to catch only those Pokemon that have useful abilities and among these Pokemon, he has decided to catch Staryu with hidden ability first.
Staryu with hidden ability is relatively easy to search because of their huge numbers on the shores of ocean and sea. The young Staryu often visits this particular place in this season. He had previously seen a documentary on Staryu showing hundreds of Staryu lying there. The host of that show said that during the end of spring and early summer, many young Staryu come here. So, he came here to try his luck and find Staryu with the hidden ability as they are as rare as shiny.
The hidden ability he is searching for is called Analytic. In virtual screen, this ability is described as,
[Analytic: Boosts move power when the Pokémon moves last. Increases the power of move by 30%.]
Whenever Staryu with this ability uses a move last in the turn, the power of that move increases by 30%. For example, if Staryu with this ability uses Hydro Pump after its opponent has already moved, the base power will increase from 110 to 143. With a same-type attack bonus (STAB), it becomes 214.5 instead of the usual 165. Against opponents weak to Water-type moves, this power further doubles to 429, rather than 330.
When Staryu evolves into Starmie and gains Psychic typing, it can use the same 30% power boost on Psychic-type moves. This allows Starmie to reach a maximum power of 351 with Psychic, rather than the standard 270.
*****
Amrit's POV
"Amrit's here, Today I am going to teach you about the abilities of Staryu and Starmie and show you what I call an ability hunt," I said looking at the camera.
A Poliwhirl was holding a camera and standing in front of me to shoot a video. I am making this video to show it to future gym trainers as there are none now. Since I am in an ability hunt I thought I should shoot a video of it. I will have to shoot it in the future anyway. I am going to catch my first partner so it will also capture an important memory.
"From the end of spring to the start of Summer you can find many young Staryu on the seashores around Cerulean City and the great sea inlet of North Kanto. I am here at the end of Spring so you can see many Staryu behind me." Poliwhirl slowly turned the camera showing the Staryu lying on the shore from one end of the beach to another.
"Staryu and Starmie have two common abilities and a hidden ability." I began to speak as Poliwhirl again pointed the camera at me.
"The first ability is Illumination. Those Pokemon with Illumination ability their body part shine. Not many Pokemon possess this ability. Only four water Pokemon possess this ability. They are Staryu, Starmie, Chinchou and Lanturn. Other Pokemon with this ability are,"
"Volbeat, a bug Pokemon from Hoenn. It uses its tail to communicate like how Staryu and Starmie communicate."
"Watchog, a Pokemon from Unova. It shines the patterns in their body to threaten predators."
"Morelull and Shiinotic from Alola. They release glowing spores to attract and attack others."
"Those who know about Staryu and Starmie must be saying all the Staryu and Starmie's core shine. You are right all of these Pokemon species can have another ability and even if they have another ability they still shine but there is a difference. Let me show you." I took out a Pokeball from my belt and tossed it to release the Pokemon inside. "Starmie, come out."
"You are certainly watching this in future. So, don't mistake this Starmie with my Starmie that you may have seen already either on TV or in the gym. This Starmie is a gym Pokemon not my own." I said to the future audience.
"Starmie, Poliwhirl use Rain Dance." They nodded and used Rain Dance.
Dark clouds started to appear covering the sky. The bright day suddenly became dark and it started to rain.
"Now, look carefully at the Staryu, some of their core has started to shine. As a water type Pokemon trainer you may already know, Staryu and Starmie's core shines in dark. So, people think they are trying to mimic the shining star. Some even think they are trying to mimic the shining star they come from."
"Starmie use confuse ray on them. Use confuse ray on those at the shore and very shallow water only." I said to prevent Starmie from getting too tired. Those hit with confuse ray were shining their core even more fiercely.
"Look at the Staryu, now you can clearly tell the difference. Those with Illuminate ability are shining more brightly and other Pokemon like Krabby and Shellder are moving closer towards them. It will be more apparent after some time. This is due to Illuminate. The light produced by Illuminate is different from the normal shining of the core. It is brighter and attracts other Pokemon. Even if you can't tell the difference ask your Pokemon, they can differentiate them right away."
"This ability may be useful for trainers when they do shiny hunt, ability hunt and monster hunt(hunt for larger Pokemon) but for Pokemon in the wild, it attracts predators. So, in nature, you will find fewer Pokemon with Illuminate ability than other ability in the same species. But, due to randomness of Pokemon ability the number quickly recovers when new Pokemon are born."I know some of my future audience may not be even 10. Still, as a Pokemon trainer, they must know this. Since they have either already started their journey or are going to start their journey, they have to know what they will face in the wild.
"Starmie, eat this Peppa berry and release the Staryu with Illuminate ability to sea to my right using Psychic." I gave Peppa berry to Staryu to recover.
"You should know about Peppa Berry, right? When Pokemon uses certain moves it consumes energy of that move-type. Like now Stramie used ghost energy to use confuse ray and water-type energy to use Rain Dance. Peppa Berry helps to recover that energy but only one type at a time." I gave them a little knowledge of Peppa berry since I was feeding it to Starmie.
"Ha" Starmie used psychic and released Staryu with Illuminate ability to the sea.
"The second ability that Staryu and Starmie can possess is Natural Cure. Both Staryu and Starmie naturally possess the ability to regenerate, meaning if their core remains unharmed, they can regrow even if their limbs are severed. However, those with the Natural Cure ability are even exceptional, they recover much faster and can heal from status conditions more quickly than other Staryu in nature. But Natural Cure is even better in Pokemon battles. When Staryu are switched out in Pokemon battle they automatically recover from status condition."
"I will give you a demo."
"Poliwhirl use mass hypnosis," I said to Poliwhirl.
"Poliwhirl is my cameraman so you can't see him," I said to the audience.
"Let me get the camera." I took the camera from Poliwhirl.
"Poli" Poliwhirl's whirl in its stomach began to rotate as it used Hypnosis. Even though Stayu can't see they have been Hypnotised.
"Look at their core, they aren't shining anymore which means that they are sleeping. The first to wake up will be the ones with Natural cure ability while those who wake up significantly later are the ones with hidden ability since we have already eliminated the ones with Illuminate ability." I said showing the sleeping Staryu.
"You have to remember one thing, sleeping isn't usually the best method to test this. Some Pokemon wake faster than others of the same species regardless of their ability. In the case of Staryu because of their Psychic heritage even if it is dormant until they evolve, they can get out of Hypnosis faster because it is a psychic move. If there is no outside influence we should see a difference in the time needed to wake up as those with Natural cures will wake up first." I again gave the camera to my trusty cameraman.
"Some may be confused about how this happens, right? It is actually simple there is a huge difference in induced sleep and natural sleep. Natural sleep comes due to the melatonin hormone which regulates our sleep. When we sleep a majority of our organs stop working and get rest. So, it can properly function another day. If we don't sleep these organs may not get rest and it will impact our health, even causing death in the worst case. I am not alarming you but telling the truth." I knew the importance of sleep because I was from a world where people died because of overwork and lack of sleep. The numbers were very terrifying. 800,000 people die every year on Earth due to overwork and lack of sleep.
"As for induced sleep, it is caused due to external energy in Pokemon's body. When a sleep-causing move is used in Pokemon. The energy of that move goes into the Pokemon's body and affects their nervous system, mainly the brain, causing them to sleep. After the energy of the affected Pokemon pushes out the foreign energy, the affected Pokemon wakes up. So, sleep induced by energy to which the Pokemon has resistance is shorter than sleep induced by energy to which the Pokemon is weak. For example, Machoke wakes up quickly when put to sleep by using Sing than Hypnosis." I also gave them little knowledge about sleep and how it works.
"Look some of the Staryu are waking up," I said pointing to the Staryu with flashing core.
"We will have to wait for a while until they wake up. So let me tell you the names of the Pokemon with the Natural Cure ability. They are the Staryu line and Chansey line from Kanto, the Roselia and Swablu line from Hoenn, Phantump and Trevenant from Kalos and the Pwami line from Paldea." Their picture will be edited later and put in the video. I may not be able to travel to all these regions in four years so I may have to take their pictures from Professor Oak.
"Starmie use psychic to release these Staryu too until 10 of them are remaining. Release them to the right side. If we don't find Staryu with hidden ability among them then we will have to search among those on the sea floor. If we can't find any here then we will have to continue our search in the next place." I said to Starmie as well as to the audience to let them know the trouble of the ability hunt.
"The third ability that Staryu and Starmie can possess is Analytic. Whenever Staryu with this ability uses a move last then the power for their move increases by 30% on average. Staryu with this ability constantly analyses the movement and moves of the opponent. When they attack first they release the move like other Staryu but when they attack after their opponent has prepared the attack then this ability helps them to see and target their opponent's weakness increasing the damage. This ability also boosts the move by making the energy in the move more condensed." I explained to the audience. This is the reason I want Staryu with Analytic in my team. After all, how can you say no to extra attack power?
"Look every Staryu is awake except two. So, these two must have Analytic ability. Let's catch them and confirm." I threw two Pokeballs at the last two sleeping Staryu. The Pokeballs shook two times and made a ting sound.
Since I can't tell about my gifts to the whole world I have to check the old way. I took out my Pokedex to register them. Pokedex is given to every trainer. So, our gym can also request Pokedex. I don't know why Misty never had one in anime. Then, I checked their ability.
"Both Staryu have Analytic ability. It seems I am lucky today. I was prepared to spend hours searching through the seafloor, which would have been a huge headache, but luck was definitely on my side. I wanted only one but I got two." I only expected to find one, but now I've got two! This is perfect!" My heart raced with excitement. "I'm finally going to start my journey and I can give a second Staryu to Misty." I laughed for a while in happiness then I noticed that I hadn't finished the video.
"You may have already heard just now but let me say it myself. I want to end this video with this; This is how I caught my and Misty's Starmie." I said showing the Pokeball of the two Staryu I have caught. I can imagine the future water trainer of our gym being excited by this sentence. After all, who wouldn't want to see the moment their idol caught their Pokémon? And I was sure I would become an idol for the water Pokemon trainers around the world.