After some thought, Elias agreed to Officer Jenny's proposal. Due to his unique constitution, he needed to constantly release psychic energy to relieve the pressure on his body.
Rather than letting it go to waste, he might as well use it for something meaningful.
Of course, as for the strange offer to move into her home—he politely declined.
---
[Age 7: This year, thanks to your frequent assistance in fighting crime, you've become a well-known figure in Saffron City. Criminals now see you as a walking Pokémon and the last person they ever want to encounter.]
[To avoid causing trouble for the orphanage, you take the Gym Leader's advice and move into his Gym. Four-year-old Sabrina has grown even more attached to you.]
[Unfortunately, your psychic energy remains unmanageable. Even if you release it 24/7, it still accumulates faster than you can expend it.]
"Elias, teach me more advanced psychic techniques!"
Sabrina ran over, bare feet pattering against the floor, tugging at his sleeve with a spoiled, demanding look.
"Haunter needs to eat first, Sabrina. Be patient," Elias said gently, speeding up the feeding process.
The Haunter in question was one he had captured half a year ago while taking down a group of Pokémon poachers.
At the time, the Ghost-type had literally flown straight into his psychic wave and knocked itself out. After the battle, Elias had no choice but to bring it back to the city.
What he hadn't expected… was that it would never leave him alone after that. No matter how much he tried to drive it away, it clung to him. Eventually, he had no choice but to accept it as his own Pokémon.
Later, he realized that Haunter was much stronger than expected—making him suspect it had faked passing out to get caught in the first place.
"Ha-ha-ha!" Noticing Sabrina's displeased glare, Haunter stuck out its tongue and made a mocking face at her.
That was the final straw.
Already irritated by Haunter's existence, Sabrina snapped. She flung out a wave of psychic energy—her newly awakened powers surging at the Ghost-type.
Unfortunately, at her young age, her attacks lacked the strength to do any real harm.
Haunter easily dodged, appearing behind her in an instant. With a quick Lick, he struck, sending Sabrina into a full-blown breakdown.
She burst into tears and threw herself into Elias's arms.
"Haunter, don't bully Sabrina," Elias sighed, rubbing the sobbing girl's head.
This same scene played out every single day. At this point, he was starting to suspect that Sabrina purposely let Haunter tease her—just so she could run to him for comfort.
"Alright, let's go train your psychic powers."
"One strawberry shortcake."
"Deal."
With a quick negotiation, Elias took her by the hand and led her toward the training grounds.
Just then—
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The communicator in his pocket rang with an urgent alert.
He pulled it out with one hand and answered.
"Officer Jenny, another crime?" he asked.
"Yes."
Jenny's voice was tense.
"A group of suspected Pokémon poachers were sighted in the northwestern forest. On my way there, I ran into Team Rocket. I need you to check it out first."
She felt a little guilty about asking a seven-year-old to handle this, but she knew how strong Elias was.
After working together for a year, she had full confidence in him.
So what if he was only seven? Some people became Elite Four members at six.
"Understood. I'm heading over now."
No hesitation. He agreed immediately.
By now, he was fully aware of Saffron City's insane crime rate. Some days, he even wondered if an entire international crime syndicate had set up headquarters here.
Hanging up, Elias turned to Sabrina, who was already looking very upset.
"Sabrina, I'm sorry. I have to take care of this. We'll train when I get back."
"Hmph."
She let go of his arm, sulking.
She decided that today, she was going to bend one hundred spoons with her psychic powers to vent her frustration.
"Ha-ha-ha!" Haunter laughed at her misery—until Elias Chopped him on the head.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Ghost-types were immune to Fighting-type moves. Haunter was even more amused.
…And then he saw Elias's entire body begin to glow with psychic energy.
...
An hour later, Elias arrived at the northwestern forest, stepping out of the vehicle with a bruised and miserable-looking Haunter floating behind him.
"Haunter, doesn't something feel off about this forest today?"
As he stepped inside, he scanned his surroundings, frowning.
The forest was too quiet.
It was midday, but not even a single Pidgey call could be heard.
And in spring of all seasons?
This was breeding season—the time when the entire forest should have been echoing with the sounds of Pokémon trying to attract mates.
Instead, there was nothing. Only silence.
"Ha-ha?" Haunter spun in place, searching for anything unusual, but found nothing and shook his head.
"Let's check out the reported location first," Elias decided.
---
Meanwhile, deep within the forest—
A group of men in black uniforms stood in formation, the red "R" on their chests unmistakable.
Team Rocket.
"Master Surge, isn't this method a bit… extreme?"
One of the members hesitated, adjusting the gas mask on his face.
"Shut up. This is the most efficient method," the blond giant snapped impatiently, also adjusting his own gas mask.
Not long ago, he had been Team Rocket's regional leader in Unova.
But let's be real—Team Rocket's actual influence lay in Kanto and Johto. Over in Unova, he was nothing more than a glorified figurehead, completely sidelined.
That all changed when Giovanni recently announced plans to form a new leadership group—
The Three Executives.
This was his chance.
Giovanni had summoned him back to Kanto and given him a test. If he passed, he would finally step into the true inner circle of Team Rocket.
This was it. His moment.
Lt. Surge would become one of Team Rocket's Three Executives!
"All Weezing units, release toxic gas! I want every Pokémon in this forest flushed out!"
"Knock out the weak ones! Capture the strong ones! And if you see a Shiny Pokémon—report it to me immediately! That's our top priority!"
At his command, a hundred Weezing simultaneously unleashed waves of toxic smog.
Thick, dark clouds of poison spread rapidly through the forest, carried by the wind.
Everything in its path withered.
And soon, the gas reached the habitat of a Gardevoir clan.
---
T/N: hmmmm it's Surge, I bet he'll be real...SHOCKED when he gets beat by a 7 yr old