40 C040 - Nerding out with Elm over the new steel pokemon

"*Just like with the Skarmory hatching. What a fascinating process! And the gears perfectly split the shell in half, so they both receive the same amount of nourishment! I have since read up on this pokemon and the records for Klink show that each gear is in itself its own pokemon but will only ever recognize the gear it was born with as its other half,*" the professor explained as his eyes were glued to the monitor in front of him.

Klink, by now, had left its egg by breaking the eggshell into a form of little steel plate puzzle pieces. The two cogs shared these little plates in two little piles and were busy using steel type energy to glue them to their bodies.

Once one of the pieces was stuck to the cogs body, the pokemon's 'skin' glowed with the same silvery grey energy as the stuck piece and eventually, it dissolved and formed an indistinguishable part of its body.

When they were done, the two cogs slowly moved to one another and happily turned together, both cog faces looking at Pete and his pokemon.

"*That was breathtaking! Do you think that was a non-combat reverse version of the steel move 'Autotomize'? As in they do that as opposed to eating?*"

"Well, I only read up that Klink don't really eat at all but congegrate at mountains filled with ores. I prepared a few different metals in differing sizes and forms to see if they would want that," Pete answered with an unsure expression.

"*What are you waiting for? Greet them!*"

"Ah, yes. Hey there, Klink! I'm Pete, and if I'd like for you to join my team! We're on a farm, and I'm in desperate need of someone who helps me with tinkering and metal work!"

The two cogs slowed down once Pete finished talking so that they could get a better look at Pete. At least, that was what Pete felt was happening with his psychic affinity.

""Klink~""

Both cogs made the same exact happy sound and revved up their turning speed for a short moment as the cogs flew to Pete's hand to rest on top of them.

"Oho, you're already quite heavy! I read up that you first need to increase your mass to around 21kg before you can evolve into Klang, and it feels like you're at the very least halfway there. I'd guess you're somewhere between 12 and 15kg. Which is kinda bonkers because your egg weighed 10.8kg when we weighed you at the professor's place. Should probably get a scale for stuff like that, eh?"

The two gears simply stayed in his hands and stared at Pete for a few moments before once more levitating.

"Now that I look at it, it looks like you're using steel and electric type energy to fly, is that right?"

Pete felt positive emotions in the shallow link he had with the newborn Klink as he asked.

"Huh, so it isn't an ability but something between willing yourself afloat with steel typing energy or the electric move Magnet Rise? Was there a steel type move that helps fly? Not that I remember... Gravity was psychic, right?"

"*Yes, you're very correct, Pete! I also suspect you're spot on with your suspicions. I'll have to set up a call with Professor Kukui from Alola, who specializes in pokemon moves to see if he has an interesting take on a Klink's ability to fly with steel type energy!*"

Pete was honest with himself. He had kind of forgotten the professor was still on a call with him for a short moment.

"Yeah, this looks totally different from a Koffing's, Baltoy's, or Solrock's ability to stay in the air. They are classified to have the ability Levitate, right?"

"*Quite right, there's a few pokemon with that ability, but Klink looked to be doing something else. Ah, how interesting!*"

"Anything you want me to ask my buddy Klink, professor? Otherwise, I'll type up a report for you tonight and give you weekly updates as discussed before," Pete asked as he faced the camera with a warm smile.

"*No, no. It's perfectly alright. I have already held you up enough. I look forward to your report, and don't hesitate to call regardless! Oh, Vivian sends her regards,*" the professor answered with the same warm smile.

"Ah, say hi for me as well! I'll call her tomorrow to give her a tour of the place with the camera. Luna and Carl told me that they would be done with the outline and floor of the building tomorrow and would start with the walls and roof afterward. I'd have something to show by then."

Pete and Professor Elm finished their goodbyes, and Pete packed up the tablet. He put the mystery egg he had received from the Aipom and identified as an Eevee egg into the incubator Klink's egg had resided in.

With that finished, he walked outside to introduce Klink to his team, but the pokemon was smitten with Luna's Magnemite and followed it instead of Pete. The two floated around each other as the Magnemite tried its best to weave the steel cords for the floor as ordered.

Pete didn't quite understand what Klink was trying to do until Klink surprised him by doing exactly what Magnemite was doing, and it weaved the steel cords with the same spacing as Luna's pokemon.

"Wow, got another genius on the team, huh?"

Pete looked on in wonder until about two minutes later when Klink fell onto the floor with a thud.

"Yeah, buddy... I was wondering how long you could do that for. You are less than an hour old after all," Pete observed with a chuckle and kneeled down to pick up his pokemon.

"I'll let you use a psychic type TM later when nobody is looking. Let's see if you can figure out the move Gravity some time soon with that. Maybe Solosis does with a few pointers, and it can teach you. I think she might already know the move now that I think about it," Pete whispered to Klink, because he didn't want everyone present to know that he had an abundance of TMs lying around, much less a machine that made the TM-CDs reusable.

"Oooh, what kinda pokemon is that?" Carl asked in wonder as Pete got closer.

"It's a Klink, a steel pokemon most common in Unova and Galar," Pete introduced.

"It looks kinda cute, but why are you carrying it? Is it too slow rotating on the ground?" Luna asked with a tilted head.

"Nope, he saw your Magnemite weaving the steel for the floor and joined in. He'd usually float around using steel typing energy but used it all up," Pete explained but soon noticed he lost Carl, and Luna looked like she wanted to understand but didn't quite.

Pete sometimes forgot he wasn't talking to people who knew all about typing energy and how pokemon had to train their reserves for each 'element'. Common people only referred to it as stamina and experience when a pokemon was exhausted.

"I see... well, it has its work cut out for it if it wants to help," Luna eventually mumbled with a shrug. The pokemon was cute and could work with metal. That's all she needed to know.

"You're almost done with the waste pipe as far as I can see. You think we can hook up the water reservoir in the basement already? I wanted to see if I can shower tomorrow instead of dipping into the lake... well, if the filtration is up, that is," Pete suggested with an awkward chuckle.

Luna narrowed her eyes at Pete, but the question wasn't too otherworldly, so she shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah, I think dad can do that now. All we gotta do here is connect the pipe to the lake outlet dad finished earlier, and that only requires brawn. The brain already figured out how the pipe has proper flow and doesn't fill up with stagnant lake water immediately. Dad's kind of a wiz with that kinda stuff. You'll want him to hook up the tank and pump you bought," Luna advised as she pushed her father to Pete.

The two went up the hill and hooked up the self-expanding water tank he had bought in Goldenrod City, the modular heating unit, the pump, and a few other things in the basement room they had designated as the utilities room.

It took them until around dinner time to do the piping and wiring in the room in preparation for the house and when they climbed back out, Luna had more or less boxed them inside by having spread a fast drying cement on the wiring for the foundation of the floor. Rapidash was doing her best to dry it evenly.

"You couldn't have given us a heads-up?" Pete asked with a dry look from the temporary ladder.

"I did. You two were nerding out over some thread sealing tape down there and didn't listen," Luna answered with the same dry look Pete gave her.

"Hey, Solosis! Time for some exercise! I want you to lift me out of this hole and over the wet cement. Can you do that?"

A few moments later, Pete wondered why he had never asked his psychic pokemon before to do this. Flying, or even just floating, was awesome!