36 Rowan's requests

"C'mon, tell me." Cheryl pestered Shuichi as they walked, it had been a few hours after Shuichi's battle with Cynthia and they were well on their way to Solaceon City. As for why Cheryl was pestering Shuichi? He had talked for a few minutes alone with Cynthia.

"Cheryl, no matter how many times you ask me I can't and won't tell you." Shuichi sighed as he answered her for the umpteenth time. He had lost count of how many times Cheryl asked that question.

Cheryl pouted unhappily as she continued to walk, she didn't know why he was so secretive about this talk and it only made her more curious. Shuichi sighed again as she acted like this, it wouldn't take long for her to ask again.

In the meantime he thought back to the talk with Cynthia, it was right after the battle where he had requested a small private talk. Cynthia could see Shuichi was serious about it and nodded, she didn't have any problems with him so far so why not?

They moved deeper into the ruins and Shuichi began, "Be careful of Team Galactic and their leader Cyrus, they're more dangerous than you can imagine." Cynthia turned serious in an instant, she knew a little of Team Galactic but to her knowledge, their leader was still unknown.

Also, Shuichi just accused one of the richest men in Sinnoh, did he not know who Cyrus was? He was a massive real estate monger who seemed extremely down to earth from what she had seen.

"That's a bold accusation, do you have any proof of that?" Cynthia asked him. Shuichi shook his head, "I don't have concrete proof but I have met the man in private." He told Cynthia about the meeting.

Cynthia listened to the story and shook her head, "You do realise I can't do anything with hearsay, right?" She asked him. Shuichi nodded, he knew that it was difficult to believe.

"Then why even tell me about this?" Cynthia couldn't understand, if he wanted her to act then he had to have rock-solid proof. That was the type of guy Cyrus was. Shuichi didn't react angrily or upset, he remained calm.

"I'm only telling you this so that they don't blindside you, it's likely that Cyrus will come here to 'look' at the Lustrous Orb." Shuichi hinted at a possibility.

He couldn't remember if Cyrus had actually come for the Lustrous Orb; however, he knew Cyrus's obsession with Dialga and Palkia well enough to predict that he would come. After all, why would he even go in the direction of Eterna City? Because the Adamant Orb was there.

Shuichi had looked at the Adamant Orb in Eterna City on the day before the gym battle; he had even heard that an attempt to steal the orb had failed recently. He had hoped to understand or feel something when looking at the orb but it was pointless.

Cynthia was silent hearing Shuichi's prediction, he didn't know how correct he already was. Cyrus was a frequent visitor at the research centre and had already called to schedule an appointment to look at the Lustrous Orb.

Still, she shook her head. This wasn't enough proof to warrant an investigation, "I'm sorry, but even with this coincidence I still can't investigate him properly even if I wanted to." Shuichi nodded, "I understand, I only wish for you to pay closer attention to their actions."

Cynthia didn't promise anything but would keep his words in her mind, if there was reason enough to doubt Cyrus then she would act on it. 

Shuichi sighed once more as he recalled the talk, how was he supposed to convince her of the dangers of Team Galactic? Just tell her he came from an alternate world where the future of this one had already happened but only in an imaginative video game for kids?

('Oh well, if Cynthia doesn't act then I will and for me to be able to act means I have to earn the rest of the badges and gain strength quickly.') Shuichi set his current goals straight, the gyms were a surefire way to get stronger.

They were currently travelling on Route 210, and Shuichi hadn't picked up a job due to Caroline reimbursing them during their stay. She had even paid for their supplies until Solaceon City, much to Munchlax's happiness.

There weren't many trainers that Shuichi would take on, Cheryl also started to adopt Shuichi's bet-only strategy as ordinary trainers were not strong enough for her anymore. She had rapidly gained strength and although she wasn't at Shuichi's level, she still was pretty good.

After walking for three days they encountered a big group of people, working in what seemed to be a big school building. "I wonder what's going on over here?" Cheryl asked, interested in the building.

"Hm?" Shuichi also looked over and suddenly spotted a familiar face, he walked over and spoke to the man. "Hello there Professor, It's been a while." Professor Rowan turned around and spotted Shuichi.

"Well hello there, how have you been Shuichi?" Professor Rowan asked, "I've been good Professor, I'd like you to meet my friend Cheryl." Shuichi said as he looked at Cheryl.

"It's nice to meet you Professor. I'm Cheryl, an up-and-coming treasure hunter!" She enthusiastically said. Professor Rowan looked at her and was surprised, "Treasure hunter huh? Not something you see often from young women."

Cheryl smiled and explained about her grandfather. Professor Rowan now furrowed his brows as if to recall something, "Your grandfather? Is it perhaps Harold Watanabe?" He asked her.

"Yes! That's my grandfather! Did you know him, Professor Rowan?" Cheryl asked, this was the second time someone important knew her grandfather and she didn't know. Professor Rowan nodded, "Indeed, Harold helped me a few times. Mainly with explorations of old Sinnoh ruins."

"Old Sinnoh ruins? You mean Hisui?" Shuichi asked, he had learned about Hisui from Caroline and asked to be clear. Professor Rowan nodded, "Indeed, it seems like you talked with some expert of Celestic Town." He noted.

Cheryl was still a bit confused, "But, why did you and my grandfather go on explorations? I didn't think you'd be interested in Professor." She asked. Professor Rowan nodded, "I'm indeed not interested in treasure but I am interested in some bits of Hisui." He said.

Before they could ask for further explanation Professor Rowan continued, "There have been documented reports of extinct evolution methods, one of them that we were able to recover was Dusclops into Dusknoir."

It made sense in that case, Professor Rowan's field of expertise was evolution and he'd be interested for sure. "Interesting, but why are you here Professor?" Shuichi asked. "I'm here because I'm hosting a summer academy in a few weeks, we are just finishing up a few things here." Professor Rowan explained.

"Aw, It's sad that we'll miss it," Cheryl said. It wasn't worth it to go to Solaceon Town and beyond just to backtrack again. Shuichi on the other hand was glad to miss it, he had already survived school for a second time and going for a third time was a little too much for him.

Professor Rowan thought momentarily and said, "Actually there is something you could help me with, if you're interested of course." Cheryl was excited and looked at Shuichi with hope, he couldn't say no to her like this. "Depends on what it is of course." Shuichi eventually answered, not declining or accepting immediately.

Professor Rowan nodded, "Well, we still need to test some things out. You see the summer academy won't involve studying but is more akin to challenges and practical tests. As a result, we need some trainers to see if the tests are too hard or too easy." He explained.

Shuichi had to admit that it was an interesting concept and something he was very happy to do, "We can help but how long will it take? I assume the academy will last for a bit." He asked.

"The academy is set to last a week but I suppose for you two a four-day quick experience will be enough, food and accommodation will be provided of course and who knows maybe you'll benefit from it through experience." Professor Rowan told them.

It sounded tempting and Shuichi wasn't pressed on time, he had expected 15 days to go to Celestic Town from Eterna but it only took a week. Not every task had to be about money, sometimes the experience was enough.

"Alright, so what are the tests?" Shuichi agreed and Cheryl jumped for joy, "The first test we were planning to do was a bonding and battling test, we do it with rental Pokémon and give trainers a day to prepare with their Pokémon." Professor Rowan explained.

After hearing the test, Shuichi had a question: "What sort of Pokémon will be rented out?" Professor Rowan frowned, "What do you mean?" He asked. "I can understand the task is to bond and train a Pokémon but trainers already do that all the time, so why not make it a bit harder," Shuichi explained.

"How do you want to make it harder?" Cheryl asked. She was a bit confused, training Pokémon was by no means an easy job but Shuichi wanted to make it harder. "I've recently dealt with a rather stubborn Pokémon of mine and it was quite the experience, so why not prepare rental Pokémon with problems?" Shuichi proposed.

Professor Rowan thought about it, he had to admit that there were many Pokémon under his care or even with the Joy clan of the entire Sinnoh region who were abandoned or left behind with behavioural problems.

"Interesting idea, it would certainly make for a good experience." Professor Rowan admitted already glad he asked Shuichi and Cheryl for their reviews.

"Can you also allow the rental Pokémon to choose if they want to stay with their trainer or not? If the Pokémon and trainer are happy with each other then it's a win-win situation no?" Cheryl also gave her advice and Professor Rowan nodded, he agreed and it would make a nice unexpected reward for the trainers.

"With that settled then let's test it out, shall we? You two will rent a Pokémon for a day and train with them, after training them you two shall battle and a winner will be determined." Professor Rowan said.

And just like Shuichi and Cheryl were settled in the academy and had gotten a new temporary Pokémon each, Shuichi had got a Machop while Cheryl was given a Makuhita.

Makuhita was a big yellow humanoid Pokémon. Its eyes were closed and it had two red ring-shaped markings on its cheeks. Its head had a knot-like structure on it and its hands and chest were grey

Both of these Pokémon had some problems, fighting-type Pokémon were normally battle lovers however there were of course outliers. Machop for instance was a complete narcissist, he would flex continuously and look at his muscles only focusing on how he looked instead of actually wanting to train or even get 'dirty'.

Makuhita was the complete opposite, she was a female and was extremely shy. She would hide behind Cheryl at any given time and seemed to shake like a leaf if she had to battle and speaking of battling, she had zero confidence, it was even worse than how Drifloon started.

Shuichi and Cheryl promised to separate during training and not talk to each other about their methods to make the competition more fair, it was still in the middle of the day and as such Shuichi decided on a training session.

Shuichi released everyone including the new Machop. Everyone looked at Machop and Shuichi explained, "This here is Machop, he'll be with us temporarily as part of a request from Professor Rowan."

Everyone looked at Machop a little warily but Machop didn't seem to mind it as he was more busy looking at himself while he flexed, Drifloon tried to be social but was ignored by Machop as he looked at them with contempt.

Blaziken scoffed she'd seen enough and Machop's behaviour reminded her of herself just a week prior, she had even lowered her head as an apology to the team back then which surprised everyone back then.

Machop noticed the other fighting type and looked at Blaziken for a while, Shuichi could feel a range of emotions from contempt to arrogance. A slight shiver ran down Shuichi's spine as he felt a burst of anger coming from Blaziken as she too spotted the looks Machop gave her. 

Shuichi had seen the wrath of his mother before and had learned through his father to never anger a woman, it would seem that Machop didn't get that memo as he confidently strode towards her. Blaziken looked at Shuichi who gave her the green light to do what she wanted, Machop needed to be humbled and she would gladly do it.

Machop strode proudly to her and tried to compare himself to her, Blaziken just looked coldly at Machop but Shuichi could feel the anger and contempt building. Once Machop saw that he failed with his physique he then moved on to strength.

He threw a Karate Chop at Blaziken's leg and she just looked at it and didn't react one bit, it looked a little like the battle she had with Cynthia's Garchomp only that the roles were now reversed.

Machop was a bit confused and surprised at the calm reaction and continued to pepper her with Karate Chops, Blaziken eventually grew bored and decided it was time to act. She lit her leg on fire and kicked Machop fiercely in the chest, Machop was sent flying into unconsciousness.

Everyone sighed and shook their heads, Machop tried so hard to impress Blaziken but only ended up on the other side of her feet. "Alright everyone, the show's over, continue your training as usual," Shuichi said, getting everyone back on track.

Jolteon worked on Charge Beam, Shuichi used the TM on him to help kickstart his new ability of electricity and to allow Jolteon to get a nice feeling for it. Some evolutions required a temporary acclimation phase when the Pokémon obtained a new type as was the case with Jolteon.

Huntail was busy learning Baton Pass, and with coaching from Jolteon, it would make learning the move a whole lot easier. Drifloon was a more tricky case, he would be learning Focus Energy. 

Drifloon's greatest weakness so far was the lack of power but with Shell Smash from Huntail or Work Up from Jolteon this weakness wasn't a big deal still, Focus Energy would allow Drifloon to accurately spot a weak point making landing a critical hit easier.

Blaziken had learnt Blaze Kick as demonstrated earlier to Machop, she was a lot more willing to accept training and her natural talents towards the move allowed it to be learned at a record time. The next move she was learning was High Jump Kick.

High Jump Kick was a dangerous move, it was high risk and high reward similar to recoil moves like Double Edge. High Jump Kick had a very nasty side effect where if the user missed the target then the energy and velocity of the move would rebound and injure the user.

As for other combinations or move variants, Jolteon was still trying to combine Quick Attack into his other moves. He was making a lot more progress with it due to his massive increase in speed as a Jolteon.

Huntail had to get used to the ice floor strategy with his new body, he couldn't use Water Gun to propel himself anymore and instead had to glide on the ice like a penguin would.

Drifloon was an interesting one. He would aim and spin his body to create winds for Gust and Ominous Wind, Shuichi proposed the idea of using Tailwind to make him spin faster thereby creating stronger winds. 

In theory, it sounded easy but in practice turned out to be a lot different, Drifloon would lose control by spinning too much or even end up confused. However, on the rare occasions that it did work, it showed that the moves' power was increased greatly. Of course, Drifloon would spend a lot of energy on such a tactic.

Blaziken was a bit of a problem, originally Shuichi wanted her to use Quick Attack the same way Jolteon would however he had Flame Charge already for such a tactic. As such Shuichi decided to teach her two new moves instead of one, it would make learning the moves slower but the result would be worth it. 

As for what move was going to be learned? It was technically another fighting-type move but more on the defensive side, Detect. Detect was demonstrated in an earlier battle against a Meditite and it allowed it to get a clean hit on the then Eevee. The downside was that Detect was incredibly difficult to learn.

The team was busy training and Shuichi trained alongside, suddenly he saw something stirring on the side. Machop woke up in pain and a little confused before he recalled what happened, he looked around and noticed everyone was training hard including the human.

He knew why he was even here in the first place, hell he even knew how he ended up here. Machop was originally a wild Pokémon many moons ago but he fought a strong human and wanted to follow her so he did. At first, it was going fine but Machop slowly fell behind.

Machop was more interested in looking decently, according to the human he followed at the time she would often say things along the lines of 'I really like big muscles and of course, beauty has to shine.' It sounded weird to Machop but he became invested in his looks. In the end, the human left him at the Pokémon Center and never came back, he stayed there until recently.

Now he tried to impress the female fighting type with his muscles but she just ignored him and the worst part was that she was way stronger than him, he thought his power was well earned with his muscles but it just showcased that it was nothing but hot air.

"Seems like I don't need to waste many words," Shuichi said as he walked to Machop, Machop looked at Shuichi and focused on the human's body. Shuichi was sweating and his muscles were well-trained and developed, it showed that he was putting in a ton of effort.

"So you do understand that power must be earned, it isn't given. Now what will you do? Will you continue to act as if you're unbeatable or will you train and put in the effort to become unbeatable?" Shuichi asked him. 

For Machop the choice was clear as day, he had to get dirty to improve and put in actual effort to get better. Shuichi could see the fire in his eyes, "Good, we'll be battling tomorrow so there's no time to teach you something new. Show me what you know and we'll go from there." Shuichi instructed.

Machop showed his moves and Shuichi gave some pointers, he trained with the group for a bit before he was spent. The sun started to go down and Shuichi wrapped up the training session, he met up with Cheryl for dinner. Seeing Cheryl's cheerful mood already gave him hints that she had managed to build Makuhita's confidence somewhat.

"Your expression already gives away most of your progress, you know?" Shuichi bantered, "So I should have the same look as you always have? No thanks, smiling is more for me!" Cheryl answered. 

Shuichi was a bit confused, "What look do I always have?" He asked her. Cheryl thought about it and said, "It's difficult to explain but if I had to put in it words then I suppose it's more of a blank stare, unfocused as if you're not in the moment."

Shuichi fell silent, now he knew exactly what type of face he made. It was the infamous thousand-yard stare, he had seen tons of soldiers in his past life with the same face. "I see." He commented before falling silent again.

Cheryl realised that she said something that struck a nerve, "I-I'm sorry, I should've-" She wanted to apologise but Shuichi cut her off, "Cheryl, it's fine. I'm okay, there's no need to apologise for anything."

They fell silent and the air turned a little awkward, "So… I assume everything went well with Makuhita?" Shuichi tried to get the conversation back on track. Cheryl nodded, "Yeah, it went well. How about you and Machop?" She asked.

"Blaziken knocked him out after he tried to impress her, other than that he's got the message." Shuichi summed up the training session, originally they would keep the training a secret but that quickly fell apart.

Shuichi and Cheryl talked about the assignment for a bit, they came to a consensus that having Pokémon with some problems introduced was the correct choice. Cheryl turned on the TV that was in the room to look at some programs.

"The Hearthome City doubles contest will start tomorrow! Be sure to watch it!" The announcer said on the TV, Shuichi knew from a later talk with his mother that Dawn was going to enter it.

"Contests huh, I've made a new friend before I met you who's interested in them." Cheryl noted, "Really? I also have a few friends interested in contests. Maybe I know them?" Shuichi replied.

"She said her name was Dawn, and she travelled with two others. Ash and…" Cheryl tried to recall but Shuichi was first, "Brock, I also know them. How did you meet?" He was surprised that Cheryl knew them.

Cheryl told Shuichi how she met Ash's group and her story of how they obtained the enchanted honey. In return, Shuichi told her how he met Ash and how he'd known Dawn for years already.

The earlier awkward tension was gone and they talked until they were tired and they went to bed. The next day rolled around and after a simple breakfast from Professor Rowan's workers, Shuichi and Cheryl stood opposite to each other, ready for a battle.

"Well now, I hope the both of you prepared enough." Professor Rowan said as he stood in the middle, he was going to watch the battle unfold. Shuichi and Cheryl nodded and released their Pokémon.

Machop and Makuhita hit the field and Shuichi scanned their emotions. Machop's emotions were a mix of anticipation and confidence, it wasn't to the level of overconfidence that could go wrong like with Blaziken.

Makuhita looked ready but she had some nervousness there, Cheryl's methods helped her somewhat but it was a far cry from what Shuichi had done. "Let's do this Makuhita, I believe in you! Arm Thrust!" Cheryl decided to take the first move and help Makuhita out a bit.

Makuhita nodded and she ran at Machop, Shuichi thought about holding back to bolster Makuhita's confidence but decided not to as that would in turn disrespect Machop's wishes to get stronger.

"Dodge to the right and use Low Kick," Shuichi instructed, Machop nodded and jumped aside when Makuhita tried to throw a palm at him. He swept up Makuhita's legs with his own, which caused her to trip.

"Karate Chop," Not wasting any time Shuichi went on the offensive. "Sand Attack!" Cheryl thought fast on her feet and instructed Makuhita, Makuhita however wasn't in the right mindset as she panicked and instead guarded herself.

The Karate Chop hit Makuhita's guard but quickly broke through hitting her directly, "Again." Shuichi ruthlessly ordered another Karate Chop. "Makuhita focus! Sand Attack!" Cheryl tried to convince Makuhita again.

Makuhita seemed to get it this time as she gathered up a handful of sand and threw it directly at Machop's face causing him to stop the Karate Chop to wipe sand from his eyes. "Good job Makuhita! Now use Arm Thrust!" Cheryl capitalised on the momentum and Makuhita followed suit quickly getting up and slamming her palms across Machop's body.

"Jump back and wait for my command," Shuichi said and Machop obliged, "Keep on the pressure Makuhita! Use Bullet Punch!" Makuhita nodded and with renewed confidence, she ran at Machop with her fists glowing light-blue.

Shuichi planned to dodge and counter back with another Karate Chop however, Bullet Punch would make that a lot more difficult. Bullet Punch was a move that would fire very rapid punches at the opponent making dodging difficult.

"Guard and endure it." Shuichi switched up the plan on the fly and opted for a defensive method. Machop gritted his teeth and put up his guard, Makuhita began slamming her first into Machop's guard as she got close.

The attacks were relentless and continuous, although it was only a minute, for Machop it felt like multiple minutes. Slowly, the punches began to slow down as Makuhita began to get gassed out. The Makuhita species were not built for stamina but more for small bursts of power.

"Now, Karate Chop." Shuichi calmly instructed as Makuhita got tired, now was the perfect chance for a counter. Machop opened his eyes as the sand had cleared by now and threw out the attack. "Don't give up yet Makuhita! Force Palm!" Cheryl didn't lose hope and also decided to attack.

Makuhita gritted her teeth and threw out one last desperate Force Palm, Machop's Karate Chop landed first however Makuhita still pushed through and landed her Force Palm on Machop's body.

Both Pokémon froze after the exchange and both Pokémon fell down, too exhausted to continue. "Seems like it's a double knockout, I'd say you two did very well in bonding and training the mentality of the Pokémon so I suppose the assignment is ready for the academy." Professor Rowan summarised.

Machop and Makuhita were tended to by some of Professor Rowan's workers and soon they were brought back to consciousness. "So, do you two have anything they wish to add on?" Professor Rowan asked Shuichi and Cheryl.

"Uhm, Professor Rowan sir. I would like to keep training Makuhita if that's possible." Cheryl carefully asked. Professor Rowan smiled, "That would be no problem unless Makuhita doesn't want to." He said while looking at Makuhita.

Makuhita quickly ran over to Cheryl to give her a big hug, that was all the confirmation she needed to obtain her Pokéball from Professor Rowan. He then looked at Shuichi, "How about you Shuichi?" He asked.

Machop and Shuichi looked at each other for a second before Shuichi shook his head, "Although he has improved and is talented, he's not suitable for my team. I already have a fiery fighting type and she may not like it if he comes along." Shuichi explained, and Machop nodded his head seemingly in agreement. 

Professor Rowan shook his head, "A shame, I suppose you two are ready for the next assignment to test correct?" He asked, moving along the topic back to the assignments that they were going to test out.