44 20. Robert's Pokémon

As Robert watched the rapidly approaching island with complicated feelings, he slowly pushed the thoughts of Team Rocket to the back of his mind for now. He was going to be at the Junior League for five years after all. There was plenty of time for him to decide how to find that man, there was no need to rush.

After pushing those thoughts aside he once again focused on all the amazing trainers he was about to meet and his blood quickly boiled with excitement. It took another hour before they made it to their stop, however before Robert could run off the kids were all taken to somewhere special.

There were no buildings, just tents and other such temporary setups spread around the camp. This place was only used once a year so there was no need for any permanent buildings. The kids were taken to a large tent on the edge of the camp that easily fit everyone. The inspectors joined a group of adults further in after telling all the kids to wait.

They didn't have to wait long before they came back. Leading them was a huge bulky middle-aged man. He had short fiery red hair and wore a red shirt that looked a size too small with black shorts. No matter what angle you looked at him from he looked like a bodybuilder, he also had many scars that he made no attempt to hide. One, in particular, ran vertically down the middle of his left eye, extending above and below his eye.

Soon he was standing in front of the kids and surveying all of them. With his fierce appearance and solemn atmosphere, none of the kids dared to make a peep, except one. "So what are we all doing here. When can we go battle the other kids from Kanto." The man raised a brow and looked at one particular boy with stary eyes. The inspectors behind him almost broke out in a sweat, could this kid just let their hearts take it easy for once.

The man soon ignored Robert and surveyed the crowd of kids again as he announced in a deep resounding voice, "my name is Arthur Volcanis, and I am an instructor at the Junior League. You're here because before you become official members of the Junior League you must first register yourself along with your Pokémon. This information will then be kept by us and the union. It will be kept confidential by us but it has become a bit of a tradition to announce what level your Pokémon is. Think of it as the first unofficial competition with your peers."

The kids were excited when they thought of competing with not just themselves but their Kanto counterparts. Of course, none had hopes of getting in the top place. They knew that position was already filled.

The kids were soon lined up and went into another room further in one by one. Soon it was Roberts turn, after he walked in he saw Arthur sitting at the side of the room with a female inspector holding a camera in the centre. She smiled at Robert and said, "tell me your full name then sit down on this chair for a photo. A trainer ID will then be made for you."

"My name is Robert Leone." Robert then sat down for his photo. Arthur who was sitting in the room with an uninterested look quickly focused after Hearing Roberts name. "So you're the Leone kid I heard about from Margret." As he mumbled that to himself he stood up and started paying attention to Robert's registration.

It didn't take long before he was done. He was then led to a machine that had a flat surface with six round grooves in it with a large screen behind it. "All done, now please place your Pokéball's containing you're Pokémon in these grooves. Then their Gender, level, ability, talent grade and known moves will be displayed on the screen one at a time." Robert was a little excited, this would be his first time using a machine like this.

There is a machine like this that trainers can use in all Pokémon centres, only Robert was never a registered trainer and couldn't use it. Robert quickly placed three Pokéball's in the grooves. Both Arthur and the inspector were surprised to see him get three Pokéball's.

Most young trainers focused on one Pokémon to make sure they would qualify and found it difficult to split their focus among multiple Pokémon due to their inexperience. The inspector was even a little scornful inside, thinking he was some reckless kid who bit off more than he could chew.

Arthur thought very differently. Margret hadn't told him much about Robert, but she made it obvious she had high expectations for this boy. Arthur knew better than to doubt her about such things.

Soon the first Pokémon came up and it left the inspector gobsmacked while Arthur had an excited gleam in his eyes.

Eevee lv36 Female

Ability: Adaptability

Talent: Gold

Lv up:

Covet, Growl, Helping hand, Tackle, Tail whip, Sand attack, Quick attack, Baby-doll eyes, Swift, Bite, Copycat, Baton Pass

Tm:

---

Talent:

Protect, Substitute

"What's the talent section in the known moves mean?" The inspector was woken up from her stupor by Robert's question. She looked at him with a weird look. She, like most inspectors, didn't have a single Gold phase talent Pokémon. This ten-year-old kid had one at Gold grade and didn't even know this much.

"Pokémon that have reached Gold phase talent learn two extra moves. These moves are easily learnt by a Pokémon the same way that moves learnt through level up are. Think of it as getting two free random TM's that are a lot easier for the Pokémon to learn."

While waiting for the inspector to answer Robert heard Arthur's deep voice. He quickly turned around to find that he at some point had moved behind them and was looking at the screen. Hearing the explanation Robert finely knew how Eevee knew protect and substitute. He discovered Eevee using the moves one day through luck and had no idea how it did.

Robert had never used any TM's on his Pokémon as they were worth a lot of money and didn't want his parents to spend so much on him. He was in no rush for them and would be able to get some himself someday anyway. He asked his parents about it but they didn't know either.

Now he finely had an answer, if this was exclusive to Gold phase Pokémon and above then it was no wonder his parents didn't know. Then he realised that Eevee wasn't his only Gold phase Pokémon. He looked back at the screen excited to see his other Pokémon.

The inspector soon regained her composure and moved on to the next Pokémon. As she did though she felt even worse than before.

Vulpix lv34 Female

Talent: Gold

Ability: Drought

Lv up:

Ember, Tail Whip, Disable, Quick attack, Spite, Incinerate, Confuse ray, Will-o-wisp, Extrasensory, Flamethrower

TM:

---

Talent:

Safeguard(L), Mystical fire(L)

Another Gold grade talent, not only that but this one was also past lv30. It didn't make as much of an impact with Eevee because she was so focused on the talent. With Vulpix it started to stand out. This kid somehow managed to get two Gold grade Pokémon and push them both past their first hard level block.

"what's the L's next to Vulpix's moves mean." The inspector was again brought back to reality by Robert's question. "The L means that the Pokémon is still learning the move and it shouldn't be used in battle until it has further mastered it." luckily this time she managed to compose herself in time and answer Roberts question herself.

Robert nodded in understanding, didn't even know Vulpix knew those two moves so they never practised them so it made sense. The inspector took a deep breath to compose herself before moving to the last Pokémon. Unfortunately, it didn't help much.

Gyrados lv31 Male

Talent: Dark Gold (growth)

Ability: Moxie

Lv up:

Splash, Tackle, Bite, Waterfall, Crunch, Rain Dance

Tm:

---

Talent:

Dark pulse, Pay Back

The inspector was somewhat numb now. How could a ten-year-old train a Gyrados! Its talent was even Dark gold, he had three Pokémon all above lv30 all at Gold phase talent, none of which were even Light Gold. This one even had growth next to its talent, she had never even seen that before.

This time Robert didn't voice out a question and just stared at Gyrados's talent thoughtfully. After Gyrados evolved it shot directly to Dark Gold grade talent, however in amongst all the Dark gold he could see strings of red moving about.

At first Robert was worried that something went wrong with Gyrados's evolution somehow. Then he remembered what Margret told him about the red gem she gave him. She said it was unlikely to be able to absorb the whole thing at once. Instead, it would take in as much as it could then store the rest to be absorbed over time.

The base ingredient in that gem was the heart of a lv95 Gyrados. That means it had to be Platinum phase talent at least. Robert then looked specifically at the word 'growth' next to his talent. If he guessed right, then Gyrados could break past his current Gold phase talent and reach Platinum in the future.

The inspector might not know what that word growth meant but Arthur did. He had also heard that a few days ago Margret had taken a certain item out of storage although many protested against it. it would seem he just found where that item ended up. Robert was correct in his thinking and Arthur knew this Gyrados would reach Platinum phase under the right circumstances.

Arthur was impressed with Margaret's sharp eyes this time. Even with his steady character, he was looking forward to the waves this kid would cause.