Daemon woke up the next day, feeling refreshed.
After the fiasco with Team Rocket last night, he allowed himself to sleep in for the day, a bit longer than he usually would.
He turned towards the clock, and it read 8:00 am. Then he turned to Ralts, who was peacefully sleeping on the couch.
"Time to wake up."
"Ra."
"You have till I get back from the shower." He rolled his eyes at the psychic-type and hurried off to the washroom. After a hot shower and changing to a fresh set of clothes, Daemon made sure everything was packed before leaving the room, along with Ralts, who was now wide awake and settled on his shoulder.
"Ra?"
"I am thinking seven days? That should be enough time in the Viridian Forest to train with the new TM I ordered for you."
"Ralts Ra?" It nodded before jumping on top of Daemon's shoulder, making itself comfortable.
"You need a move that is super effective against rock-types. And I don't want you to learn a move and then never use it again. The TM I have chosen, you can use it in future battles as well."
"Ralts." It nodded in understanding.
The trainer and Pokémon made their way downstairs while having a conversation, which naturally baffled many other young trainers about how they could understand each other so easily.
While it was not rare for a trainer and their Pokémon to hold a conversation, it was only seen in experienced trainers, not beginners. But in their case, it was easier since Ralths was a psychic-type Pokémon.
She could easily understand Daemon and also convey her words by projecting different emotions. It would not be long before her psychic powers became strong enough to create a mental link between herself and Daemon, which meant they would be able to share thoughts. Not only would it make their conversations faster, but also be hidden from others.
But for now, the first thing Daemon and Ralts did was to stuff themselves with delicious food since they knew the coming seven days or maybe more would be spent eating food that was meant for travelling.
Once done, the duo walked over to Nurse Joy, who looked haggard.
"You guys are here." She smiled brightly at them and then leaned down to make sure Ralts was fully healed. "Good, you are back to full health."
"Ra." The psychic-type shrugged, letting her know that a battle of that scale was nothing to sweat about.
"You guys must be here for the reward, right?"
"I..." Daemon did not want to come out as selfish, and as if sensing his hesitation, Nurse Joy smiled.
"Never shy away from taking a reward which you have rightfully earned." She spoke like an older sister looking after her brother before taking out an item from her desk. "I cannot give you guys cash, so I decided on this instead."
Daemon accepted the gift and was surprised to see that it was a TM.
"This..." He had no words. "It's too much for how little we did."
These things were expensive...in tens of thousands. Even thousands of Pokedollars for the ones which were just common moves.
"Don't fret it. It's on the league's tab, not mine." Nurse Joy struck out her tongue. "This one is [Heal Pulse]; make good use of it."
"[Heal Pulse]?" For a moment, Daemon wanted to just run away and sell this thing. He would make more money than he could have dreamt of.
"I figured you are the type to get injured a lot; use that wisely." Nurse Joy said with a soft smile. "And since you are heading to Viridian Forest, make sure to use the reward money transferred to you by Officer Jenny to purchase extra antidotes; you will need them. And keep some of these as well."
She handed him a few healing potions as well.
"They are the payment for helping me sort the mess last night." She did not let him refuse.
"I..." Daemon had no words to express his gratitude, so he settled for the simplest one. "Thank you so much."
"You deserve it." Nurse Joy waved her hand. "Now go; I have things to take care of as well."
"Please, go ahead with your work."
"Good luck on your journey." Nurse Joy said for the last time and left, chasing after a Chansey that was rushing deeper into the Pokémon Centre.
Daemon watched her leave and then at everything she had given him.
Yes, he had a sponsor, but it did not mean he had infinite money. His monthly allowance from the league was ₽1,000 and one free TM.
Daemon did not come from a wealthy family.
Even the sponsorship was something he had worked very hard for, spending most of his time studying while every other kid in his town was out playing and watching movies.
He was very passionate about being a Pokémon Trainer, but he also knew how hard it was to be successful in this profession. And the biggest litmus test of being a great Pokémon Trainer was money.
To buy healing potions, stamina potions, antidotes, evolutionary items, TMs, etc., everything costs money. Something he did not have very much of. Moreover, he was not going to ask his parents for help either.
The Devon Corp. Bag his father had bought for him had already made a dent in their finances, but the man had not blinked once before buying it for Daemon. He was sure they would try to help him if he asked, but he was not going to.
So, the reward Nurse Joy had given him had helped him a lot in the long run, since having [Heal Pulse] meant infinite healing potions; at least for his future Pokemon since Ralts could not use it on herself.
As for the reward from Officer Jenny? It had helped stabilize the dip in his finances for buying healing potions and antidotes last night.
Officer Jenny had sent over a reward of ₽5000 for fighting the Team Rocket, along with another ₽5000, which was a bounty on Jessie, James and Meowth.
The original bounty was ₽15,000, which was divided among Daemon, Misty and Ash.
Now, he had close to ₽17,000 in his bank account, enough to buy everything he needed without worrying too much about his financial condition.
"Ralts." The psychic-type sensed her trainer's emotions and also understood why he felt such gratitude for the pink-haired woman. "Ra Ralts."
"Yeah, she helped us out a lot."
"Ra Ra."
"You will help me make money by beating other Pokémon?"
"Ra Ralts." The green-haired Pokémon mimicked folding her sleeves, ready to fight.
"Alright then, I will count on you." Daemon smiled at her enthusiasm before thinking about something. 'I should buy a few berries that Alice loves.'
Having made a decision, Daemon left for the nearest Pokemart and bought everything he needed.
Antidote x 10 = ₽1,000
Pinap Berries x 5 = ₽2,500
Pokeballs x 5 = ₽500
Paralyze Heal x 5 = ₽1,000
Psychic-type Pokémon Food = ₽2,000
In total, he spent ₽7,000, but it was well worth it.
Once he had bought everything needed for the near future, Daemon and Ralts found a quiet spot before the former called the latter back to the Pokeball.
Next, he took out the two new TMs and connected them to the Pokeball, transferring the contents within to Ralts.
It did not take more than five minutes, and once done, Daemon released Ralts and once again scanned her with his Pokedex.
-
[Ralts
Gender: Female
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Ability: Synchronize
Moves: Rain Dance, Heal Pulse, Confusion, Disarming Voice, Mystical Fire]
-
[Rain Dance] was a weather move that created...rain.
Why had Daemon chosen this move over others? Because rock-type Pokémon took super-effective damage from water-type energy. With [Rain Dance], it would be like a constant barrage of water-type moves all over the battle arena, leaving the Pokémon nowhere to run.
Secondly, weather moves were always useful in high-level battles, which meant Ralts would not have to give up on using this move even when she became a Gardevoir.
"How do you feel?"
"Ra," she replied, looking at her hands with a frown. A large amount of information had appeared in her mind on how to use the two moves she had just learned. Moreover...did she just become stronger?
Ralts carefully inspected herself before letting Daemon know of it. "Ra Ralt."
"Stronger?" The black-haired boy frowned. Was it related to the TMs? But they only taught the moves, nothing more, nothing else. 'Or is there something more to TMs than what I know?'
Ralts was a psychic type and thus was far smarter and more intelligent than most Pokémon and even humans. She was already reading through university-level textbooks for fun and reading articles posted by famous professors.
Moreover, she wasn't just ready, but also understanding all of it as well.
So, when she said her strength had somehow increased after using the two TMs, Daemon did not doubt her for it. While it could be a power high from learning two new moves for other Pokémon, Ralts could easily control her emotions and not let them be influenced by such things.
"When we use a TM next time, take note of this."
"Ralts." She nodded in understanding and then focused on the information in her head. Then, she slowly pulled on her psychic reserves and pointed her hand over a small scratch Daemon had over his left arm from last night's blast.
Daemon watched attentively.
One moment, the scratch was there, and the next...it disappeared.
"Raaaa."
She let out a deep breath after having concentrated on performing the move.
"Too slow, but I am amazed you learned it so far."
"Ralts." She shrugged as if it were only a matter of fact.
"Now then." He picked her up and placed her on his shoulder. "Ready for Viridian Forest?"
"Ra." The psychic-type nodded her head, ready to beat Pokémon, get strong and earn her trainer a lot of money.
"Then let's go."
The duo made their way to the exit of Viridian City and the entrance of Viridian Forest.
As for Misty and Ash? Daemon had received a message from the orange-haired girl that they would travel to Viridian Forest tomorrow, not today. Misty was also planning to take a 'beauty sleep' as she had defined it to be in the messages they had exchanged last night.
So, as they stood at the edges of Viridian Forest, the trainer and Pokémon duo held their breaths since they knew it was going to be a very long week.
"Ready?"
"Ra!"
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Author's Note:
1: Please let me know if you like it so far. The updates will be slow, maybe a chapter or two a week?
2: Also, would guys like Daemon to travel with companions or solo? If yes, who would you like to see?
3: Who would you like as a Love Interest?