* * *

PART IV

Manifesting Strength

* * *

George woke up to a ‘blue sky’, and a cushion of clouds pressing against his back. He stood up with a disgruntled frown. Or so he imagined, along with a complementary eye rub.

‘It’s another one of these dreams…’

Indeed it is, George. Congratulations on reaching the sanctuary. How do you feel?

George sighed, the sound coming from the clouds rather than his body. All other senses, from sight to touch, to hearing and taste came from his body just fine. His vocal chords weren’t here. His ‘body’ felt more like a puppet. An image.

‘Stranger than before.’

How so? The king has told you the truth, hasn’t he?

‘I guess. But it still makes no sense. Apparently I’m completely unexceptional despite not even being a Pokemon, yet I’m supposed to… save the world, I guess? He wasn’t clear on that.’

Aha… the confused thoughts of many an Othersider. Never fails to pull the heartstrings! No great feat was accomplished without many days of struggle, George. Your time will come.

‘You mean to say I need training, right? Just like Artanouk, well, Art told me. And Skal and Terez. And Allora as well, I guess.’

Most certainly! They know just what slumbers inside of you, George. It just takes a little practice, some experience, and a dash of willpower to truly pull it out of you. And of course, a well selected guiding hand.

‘...Did you pick these people for me?’ George’s image bit his lip, though George himself felt nothing. Nothing that could be constituted as pain, at least. ‘Who are you, even? You still haven’t told me that! And now you-’

Oh, you are quite mistaken here, George. I did not pick anyone. Rather, I have spoken to them in dreams much like this one. Call it advising, or suggesting. It would be quite arrogant for me to order others around, the voice in the clouds echoed throughout the dreamscape. Rest be assured that it is they who come to their conclusions on their own. I simply happen to believe in their cause. And believe me when I say that they are exceptionally talented. They are capable of guiding you well, George.

George’s image frowned. ‘You still aren’t going to tell me who you are, I take it.’

I prefer to stay anonymous. You have times where you wish to stay out of the limelight as well, correct? You have quite the difficult past behind you. Teachers, peers, parents, a headmistress, all with a knack for going after you. In those times, didn’t you wish to be anonymous as well?

‘Y-yes, but this isn’t the same!’

The voice’s laugh reverberated across the cloud sea. Perceptive as always, it is a little different, yes. But the same principle applies. I prefer to stay in the background. One day, I may just show myself to you, and that day will be most pleasant. Until then though? This is what it will be.

George’s image lowered its arms. ‘I take that as no.’

Chuckles once again rose from the clouds. You’re getting too old to be impatient. The surprise won’t be quite as enjoyable if it comes so early.

‘I prefer being young, in that case.’

Alas, life is what it is, the voice spoke with a noticeable bitterness. George’s image raised an eye, but it wasn’t long before the cloud sea had evaporated, and George’s conscience drifted off.

* * *

“Ring-a-ding-a-ding! Time to wake up!”

Bells sounded through the water habitat. A startled George rolled off his bed, ears ringing worse than the balls did. In case that wasn’t enough, the cold and damp floor came along to finish the job. Light shone in through the door frame; George rubbed his eyes and thumbed his otter nose. Didn’t he close that door last night? Did the Chimeco poking their head through open it somehow?

“You look hungry!”

“Not really… how did you get in here, anyway?”

“Master key!”

“Oh yeah, those exist.” George yawned. ‘How did Pokemon learn lock making, anyway?’

Ringing and roaring continued as George waddled his way to the water habitat’s main hub. Tired as he was, at least he’d been fortunate enough to get woken up by bells, instead of a roaring Feraligatr or Gyarados in the main pools. That’s one way to get woken up. Threatened with being eaten. George bit his lip as he scratched his scalp through the thick tufts of fur on his head.

‘The longer I’m in this world, the weirder I feel… more like the only sane one! How do Pokemon put up with this?’

As breakfast was being served at the pools, George had already decided to rush straight to the Fire Habitat afterwards, morning swim be damned.. As pleasing as the idea of a swim was to his basic instincts, he and Blitzer had to talk. And fast.

Breakfast wasn’t much for him, anyhow. A single herring-like fish was shoved into his hands by a Politoed, which caught him off guard. Stares were exchanged, and the Politoed added a wink and a ribbit on top before hopping away. George licked his lips before giving his ‘herring’ a lookover. It was a Barboach, covered in a layer of slime that made it slip between and almost out of George’s fingers at the slightest movement. Appetising it wasn’t, despite the audible rumbling in his stomach. The encounter with that Politoed hadn’t helped matters much.

Given the others’ munching, whining for a different breakfast wasn’t going to cut it. George sighed, before lifting the Barboach up to his mouth, then hesitated. The eyes were still on there. This had been a living creature, and now he was about to just stuff it in his mouth. There had to have been Barboach that could speak. What made this one any different?

George pinched himself in the side. ‘Don’t, please. The rest is just fine eating, you’ll be too… you’ll be no worse…’ he repeated in his head, as he squeezed his eyes shut, raised the Barboach into his mouth, then bit down. His teeth cleaved right through. Slimy skin slid over his tongue. Chew, chew, chew…

Swallow. It wasn’t bad, actually. He bit another piece off. The Barboach wasn’t alive, thank goodness. No need to spit it back out. All he had to do was bite, chew, and swallow. Bite, chew and swallow, bite, chew, taste then swallow. Three quarters of the way through, he didn’t have to shut his eyes anymore.

‘This is actually delicious! Sweet, but not too sweet… d- delightful! What? I never liked fish before, why now? Is this what Oshawotts usually eat?’

And so, like all his watery brethren, he scarfed down his meal, then rubbed his tummy afterwards. He licked his lips after finishing, happily showing how content he was as he made his way out the water habitat.

What started as a walk sped up into a run, as George ran into the main corridor and headed towards the fire habitat. The longer he kept Blitzer waiting, the more they’d have to catch up on. The worse things would get, one could say. The thought alone made George bite his lip, before speeding up even further. He hadn’t spent a single night away from Blitzer ever since arriving in Eravate until now, and it didn’t take long for the joy of breakfast to fade from his face because of it.

‘I’ve got to find him. If I wait too long, he might lose his faith in me… can’t lose him. He’s the only one who gets me.’

The corridor was already filling up with merchants pushing carts full of goods, as well as ordinary residents, who were either holding bags or pushing empty carts around. George weaved around them. Gods, where did all these people come from? And why was it so difficult to get around them? He had little footpath to work with, and the sheer amount of Pokemon blocked his view as-

“Ack!”

“Aah!”

…well. George bumped into a reptilian Pokemon’s leg, getting a face full of scales before stumbling backwards onto his rear. Grimacing, he shook his head, then opened his eyes. And what did he see, but a blue scarf and sharp Charmeleon teeth being buried under dumbfounded surprise?

“G-George!”

“Blitzer?!” ‘He was looking for me!’

“I ca-” the Charmeleon cut himself off and waved his claws in front of him. “I’m sorry, I should’ve looked where I was going better! I’ve just been really tired this morning, that’s all!”

“No no no, that’s on me,” George apologised in a similar manner, waving his small arms around while his ears went flat against his head.

“You’re smaller though.” Blitzer said, pointing with a claw.

“Yeah, so how did I miss you?” George replied. The Charmeleon scratched himself beside his horn.

“Well uh, I was going too fast. You know me,” Blitzer chuckled.

“That’s why you’re called Blitzer, yeah.”

The two Pokemon laughed, then got back up. For being tired, Blitzer sure didn’t look nor sound the part. He had no trouble getting up, and no amount of noise from all the other Pokemon made him sound less enthusiastic. If you managed to hear him..

“Alright, uhh… we should go somewhere quieter than this.” Blitzer held onto his tail for dear life. One sway meant one angry Pokemon chasing after them with a first degree burn.

“Yeah, uh, should we-”

“My… room is alright for it,” Blitzer leaned over to whisper in George’s ear. “But uhm… it’s small.”

George’s eyes dimmed. “Oh. You too.” ‘I guess no one gets a big place to stay.’

“Yeah. Uhh, it should be okay though. I slept in there just fine.”

Blitzer took George’s hand, and walked him back into the fire habitat. George thought little of it. A little intimate, sure, but the alternative was getting seperated. Or getting stepped on, given how careless some of the larger Pokemon were with their footsteps

Once past the twin braziers at the fire habitat’s entrance, their hands separated. One whiff immediately made George pinch his nose: The air reeked of soot and coal. None of the other fire types minded; they all had a smile and wave to give when Blitzer and George passed them by.

Following signs bearing what appeared to be town names, Blitzer led George to the room he’d slept in. It’s ‘door’ was a thick white curtain, the kind which could smother a flame without being burned. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t comfortable: A straw bed, some place to stand, a few shelves, and that was it. The lone highlight was the bed being big enough for both to sit on, which they did. George gently sat down, and Blitzer crashed next to him, tail curled away from the Oshawott.

Blitzer sighed. “So, umm… sorry for making a scene when we were talking to the Prince back there. I know you didn’t ask for that at all, but my emotions got the better of me. I’m sorry.” He clutched his arm, and his tail flame dimmed. George pressed the back of his hand against Blitzer’s belly.

“You’re fine, don’t worry about it. If anything, I kind of wish it lasted longer, as awkward as it was. You gave me some time to catch my breath, you know.”

Blitzer chuckled a little. “Heh, I see how it is. But still, that uh, that wasn’t the side of me the king should’ve seen. I was already walking over burning coals before this with Terez, and I don’t need more enemies. Neither of us do.”

“Yeah. We’ve already got too many as is.” George’s gaze sank to his feet. ‘Too many we never asked for.’ “All because of who I am,” he said.

“The Othersider? Y-yeah,” Blitzer said with a nervous growl to his voice. “That I uh, didn’t expect. Even though you told me you were actually human, it still feels unreal to call you that.”

“You never told me about this, did you?” George asked, just as a quadruped walked past the door, their hooves crunching over the rocky terrain. A shadow with two lumps went past the curtain. Still awaiting a response, George noticed Blitzer dipping a claw into his tail flame.

“No. I didn’t, even though I should have. I was shocked hearing you say that at first, and then you told me you were being chased, mom and dad told me to not say anything… I was too shy to.tell you. But everything the Prince said was right. Othersiders are no joke.”

“I see.” George blinked slowly. “Hey, can I ask you something? Is there a difference between an Othersider or a Human, or are they-”

“The same. They’re the same thing,” Blitzer said. “Othersiders are humans, and all humans are Othersiders. We don’t know much about you, except what previous Othersiders have told. But you’re all heroes. No exceptions.”

“Heroes?” George asked, scratching at an itch below his scarf.

“Yeah, heroes!” Blitzer said; his tail rose in excitement, and the shadows of his twirling toe claws shrank. “Every Othersider has done great things for Pokemon. That’s why you’re so loved here! Heck, that’s why I was happy meeting you! I thought, Whoa! Me, meeting an Othersider? A real human that’s going to save and help people! I could be his partner! Like all other Othersiders mom and dad told me about before bedtime!”

“I-I see,” George stuttered out. ‘Blitzer isn’t ever letting go of those hero dreams, isn’t he? It’s more far fetched than a Farfetch’d for sure, but it’s honestly… inspiring. Making a difference, fighting evil so no one has to suffer… that’s what I want to be like, too. No one should have to go through what I did.’

Blitzer then put a claw on George’s arm. “You know what? Despite everything, I’m glad to be here. We’re going to get training, right?”

“Right.”

“Yeah, they’re going to train us to be heroes like we should be. You and I, we’ll be heroes! Picture it for yourself, George! You’re going to be this big, incredible Samurott with these huge curved swords and a long beard! And I’m going to be there with you! I’ll be the giant Charizard at your back! And we’re going to fight evil together, you hear!” Blitzer told George, straight to his face. George blushed in response.

‘But I don’t like facial hair.’

“You and I are going to be like… RAAAAAAH!!!” The Charmeleon imitated a roar with his mouth. “And then the bad guys are going to be like….AAAAAHHH!!! Then we swoop in and take ‘em down! No evil’s going to stand a chance against us!”

Blitzer sat shaking his claws around, giddy as a little kid unboxing a present. Despite the teeth and claws, he looked harmless. Cute, one could say. The way he lost his composure sure got to George, who sheepishly rubbed the back of his head in response to it.

“S-sure,” the Oshawott said. ‘Sure what??!’ “W-we uh, we need to-”

“We can get there, George!”

“O-oh yeah, we definitely can,” George replied, stuck with Samurott fantasies in his mind that were making him all giddy as well.

“Hahaha! You’re seeing it too!” Blitzer said.

“Y-yeah!” Not a single tooth in George’s mouth was left unexposed by now. “B-but, but! That all comes later, alright! We still have to train. A lot. And it’s not like everything outside of that is easy, either!” ‘Why can’t I get this dumb smile off my face?’

“Of course! But that’s why we’re here, right? We’re here because we have to get stronger, and the people here want to make us stronger. They want to protect us now so we can protect others later.” Blitzer tapped his claws on his legs.

George poked himself on the cheek until he’d wiped the smirk off his face. Truth to be told, he still wasn’t sold. Not on his role, but not on Blitzer’s excitement, either.

“You’ve said that to me a few times before.”

Blitzer nodded. “Yeah, but what’s another? I’d say it a thousand times over if it got me closer to what I want to be. A hero! I’ll start a guild with you, like in the old days when there were guilds in Eravate, then we’ll help everyone out as-”

“But you’re not just saying that because you feel obliged to, right?” George said at the top of his lungs, catching the Charmeleon off guard to the point where he recoiled away.

“E-eh?”

The shock on Blitzer’s face made George have second thoughts.

“D-don’t mind me, okay? It’s just, you’ve been telling me this so often now, I’m wondering if you’re not just… compensating for something? Because when my peers kept coming after me to make fun of me, I… sort of noticed… that…” ‘Why on earth am I bringing my bullies into this? Blitzer isn’t like them-’

“No, nonono, not compensating,” Blitzer replied. “Just a little nervous, that’s all. Mom and dad always told me to do better, and that’s what I want to be. Better. Then I’ll be able to get them out. And then they’ll be really proud of me. Mom and dad will be proud, my biological mom and dad will be proud when I meet them, and everyone else, too.”

Blitzer sighed, then slumped over, his feet once again kicking back and forth while his tail crackled uneasily. George’s ears went flat against his head.

“S-sorry for doubting you.” The Oshawott put his hand out. Blitzer accepted, but with a single claw.

“No, it’s okay. Doubting me is the most normal thing in the world… everyone does it,” Blitzer said with a croon in his throat. It was soft, yet deep, as if a thousand mirrors were confronting him with his own reflection, all the while voices from parents to villagers had come back to haunt him. For a moment, a glimmer appeared in his eyes. Then, he turned to Geoge.

“You still believe in me, right?”

“Yes,“ George answered. “I do.”

Blitzer cracked a faint smile as a tear slid out his eye. “Then I won’t give up. Never.”

The two Pokemon hugged it out afterwards. They enjoyed forgetting about their problems for a while.

* * *

After a while. Porov came to get Blitzer for his training, and sent George on his way for his. With the help of some friendly fire habitants, George made his way back to his room. Allora had been waiting on him there, a large bag slung around her neck.

“Ah hah! There you are, George! I knew you’d come back here eventually!”

George cleared his nose and held his head high. “Sorry for taking my time getting back here. Wanted to talk to my friend before anything else.”

Allora gave a big, hearty laugh which made her belly fat jiggle. Either Carracosta were naturally on the heavier side, or she’d been putting on the pounds: George couldn’t tell which.

“Hahaha! But of course, that’s what friends are for, and who am I to stop you from that? Porov suspected the same just as much, he told me beforehand!”

“Wait, how did you know that? We hadn’t spoken much yesterday.” George’s lips puckered inward.

“Porov is smarter than he looks! He informed me over a walkie talkie!”

“W-walkie talkie?!” George was taken aback. ‘They have walkie talkies in this world?!’

“Haha, yes!” Allora pulled a small black cube out of her bag. “It’s great what technology is capable of, isn’t it? The psychic types managed to make these using their… waves? I think that’s what they call them? Yeah, waves! They sent out psychic waves, and we can talk with them from a distance with them! Psychics can do it naturally, but everyone else can’t. Until we got this! Now we too can talk.” The Carracosta raised a flipper to her mouth. “Well, a few of us who have this, and the signal doesn’t go far. Oh, and only a few exist, and we don’t know how to produce more. We were lucky enough to get a working set here. Here, I’ll show you though.”

The tortoise lifted the cube to her mouth, then channelled a rocky energy to it using her flipper. Psychic energy flowed forth through the air, which hadn’t escaped George’s notice. But he had been slow to catch on: Within the blink of an eye, it had tethered itself to something. A static noise came through.

“Hey, Porov! Do you have a second!”

“Ah yes!” A voice came through from the other side. Clearly Porov’s, albeit distorted. “Blitzer, hang on a sec!”

“Don’t worry, it’s just a demonstration to little George over here!”

“Aah! Well now, George me boy! ‘Tis me, Darmanitan Porov! Haha, been keepin’ my eyes on ye too, I have! Hear more from me soon, ye will! Blitzer and ye’s trainin’s an operation for more than just one ‘mon! But you and Allora got work to do, haha! G’luck!”

A click sounded: The psychic signal was released. George’s ears perked back up.

“Well now, how was that?” Allora asked.

George scratched himself behind the ears. “Fascinating.” ‘Psychic energy… yeah, I feel it. Though I still don’t know why.’

“Fascinating indeed! And that’s technology for you.” Allora cleared her throat. “Unfortunately for us, we can’t enhance your training much with it. Speaking of training, we should get to it. We’ve got our work cut out for us, haven’t we?”

“Yes,” George sighed out. The Carracosta nodded at him.

“Follow me, I’ll show you the way to the training grounds.”

* * *

Allora led George further down the tunnel until they reached an open space. Flanked by a moat some three meters thick, it was about the size of a large backyard, and resembled one as well. A pond resided in the centre, surrounded by grass, a rock formation, a lone tree and objects strewn about at random: Hanging over it were the scents of wet wood and mown grass.

“Well, here we are,” Allora said. Voices echoed in the chamber as she spoke, though no words were clear. “This is where we’ll do our training for now, George.”

George crossed his arms as he took the space in. “I was expecting more water.”

“Hahaha.” Allora patted the Oshawott’s head with a flipper. “It’s not just about being in your element, but being out of it as well. Hence the variety. Now then, let’s get to it, shall we?”

The Carracosta put the length of the pond between her and George, some fifteen steps or so.

“Why don’t you show me what you’re capable of? Right this second!”

With a huff, Allora put her chest out, glaring at George with a devilish grin, daring him to come closer. George steeled his nerves, then breathed in deep.

“Show you what I’m made of? Gladly!” he shouted, drawing onto his energies before blasting a torrent of water at Allora’s chest. Water splashed in all directions at the impact, spraying the pond lilies and grass with a thin vapour. George squeezed every last drop out his body. Poor Allora had been in for a surprise. Any harder and parts of her shell would’ve been blown off.

Or so George liked to believe. In reality, once the water petered out to a trickle, and George was left panting, Allora was standing in the exact same spot, with the same pose and that same grin beaming as proud as ever.

“Hah! Well, you know what they say, the first step’s the hardest! Same for me, literally!”

George looked exasperated at his mentor as she conjured up her umpteenth laughter storm. “I’m trying my best, alright?” he shouted, desperate to convince the invisible Pokemon gathered around. ‘I wasn’t even a Pokemon more than three months ago, was I… this isn’t bad, really…’

Allora brushed off her chest, then cricked her neck. “This is good! You’ve set foot into water, and clearly you're not afraid of the current! But you’re a long way off from mastering the flow. Not just the natural flow of water, but the currents, the waves that demand nothing short of domination!” she said, mimicking the motions of a wave with her flippers.

“Many try, only to falter. They couldn’t crack the secret! And that is what I hope to teach you, George. What do you say?

George sighed. “I don’t see why not.” ‘Not like there’s much of a choice.’

“Excellent! We’ll start with a few basic exercises…”