Darthnorther
I feel like you forgot earlier parts of the story. He is already awake to realities of this world with the whole getting grandfather and his grandfather's pokemon disabled backstory. From that event he was already of the mindset to get strong. I don't understand why he's having a larger breakdown over people he's not actually related to. Did you forget how dark you made the MC's initial training plan? Gastly was devouring poison cores and crippling pokemon. Charmander was hunting and eating dead Ekans and stuff. He then sold pokemon on the black market and then used funds to buy pokemon that he killed and fed to Gastly. Alex has personally killed others. I think some of the shadow gang guys but for sure he killed the poachers in green village. You made this cool dark MC, a guy mentally older than 11, but now you are making him act his age. The event you are using to direct this growth is less impactful than events experienced in the past, which makes this feel super fake.