The Type Specialist

Sinnoh.

An island region located just north of but relatively close to both Kanto and Johto. It had close ties to Johto in particular, but it also had an in-depth and historied culture of its own. Its environment was practically the opposite of Hoenn: where Hoenn sat at a low elevation and tended to have warmer weather, Sinnoh sat at a higher elevation and tended to have colder weather.

The terrain throughout the region was made up of vast hills and rolling forests. Even now, as our plane began to touch down in a small airport in the outskirts of Jubilife, I could see the central Mount Coronet stretching into the heavens, which was visible from almost any point in the region

From my otherworldly knowledge, I knew that at the top of Mount Coronet sat Spear Pillar, the home of Legendary Pokémon such as Dialga, Palkia, and even the creator Pokémon, Arceus. With their control over reality itself, I couldn’t help but wonder if they were somehow connected to how I entered this world in the first place.

Once the plane had touched down, I stood up and yawned. I had napped a bit between Kalos and Sinnoh, but there was still a time difference I would need to get used to. Steven got up as well, and we collected our stuff before disembarking.

“So are you heading to The Underground immediately? Or do you have other plans you need to take care of?” I asked.

Steven currently had a small smile on his face revealing his excitement, like he had for practically the entire flight. While he didn’t have any other significant signs of his emotional state outside of that, I knew he couldn’t wait to get started. However, he sighed and the smile faded momentarily after I asked that first question.

“I have a few important people to meet here beforehand. I unfortunately won’t be able to have time to myself for at least a week.”

“I hope it doesn’t take as long as you think,” I said.

Steven had spent the entire flight reading numerous books written on The Underground. However, he had been interrupted several times throughout the flight by calls related to both the Pokémon League and the Devon Corporation. He expressed his hope to have an undisturbed vacation many times, so many times that I had started to wonder if he was purposely trying to send me a message.

It wouldn’t be my fault if something came up!

“Since I’m heading off, would you like a Teleport to a Pokémon Center? It would save you time walking,” Steven offered.

I shook my head.

“Thank you, but I’d like to travel the streets. I haven’t been to this city before, and I have time to spare before the season properly begins.”

Steven smiled.

“Then I wish you luck on your journey, Alex. I hope the Gym Challenge goes well for you.”

At that, he sent out Claydol, and the two of them disappeared off to take care of Steven’s business.

I couldn’t help but sigh once he was gone.

“It’s been a while since I've traveled alone,” I mumbled. “Well, I still have my team with me, so I can’t complain.”

I sent out Ninetales to walk alongside me, and she immediately shook her entire body and brought her head back with a smile on her face. Already, the weather was far chillier than we had experienced back in both Hoenn and Kalos, and I could tell she was enjoying the cool temperatures. At the same time, I was also currently thanking Valerie in my head for the new outfits she designed. I was currently wearing my jacket-vest combo, which was already doing its job of keeping me warm in the cold climate. Heading out, Ninetales and I entered Jubilife to explore the city.

Jubilife City was similar to other large cities I had seen in the past, but at the same time, it had its own little twist to make it unique. The streets were made out of darker stones than usual, and the buildings had the slightest of purple tinges to them, making the place awash in cool tones. There were a number of locations I could visit here, but considering I wasn’t planning on spending much time in Jubilife City just yet, we mostly just meandered through the streets to casually explore and find a Pokémon Center.

I fiddled with my Holo Caster, which I was much more confident in using now that Team Flare had been dealt with. That device combined with my Pokédex meant I basically had the equivalent of a smartphone with me at all times, and I had even found a few new apps for the Pokédex that would let me access the Pokénet. Due to that, I didn’t even need to go to a Pokémon Center to read the various forums for advice, but it’d honestly been a while since I had done that at all.

I opened up a semi-holographic map from the Holo Caster, which caused a few people to look my way in shock. The Holo Caster wasn’t a common device in Sinnoh, and seeing a random person walk around with a hologram coming off their wrist must have made quite a sight. Ninetales and I eventually made it to a Pokémon Center where we registered for Sinnoh’s League Challenge. I also made a secondary stop to register for Contests at the local Contest Hall.

I signed up for Contests on both a whim and to follow Wallace’s advice from when I last met him. I hoped that thinking about my Pokémon from a different perspective would help give me ideas on how to better train them. My conversation with Valerie from a few weeks ago still echoed in my head, too. I didn’t have a hobby outside of Pokémon battles, and half hoped that maybe I would find some extreme love for Contests like Wallace had. I wasn’t sure that would be the case, however.

While my time would still primarily be focused on Gym Battles, I knew both Ninetales and Florges were interested in Pokémon Contests. I figured those events might serve as nice distractions in between Gyms. Also, one of my requests to Valerie had been an outfit specifically for Contests, and it was currently sitting inside my backpack.

After signing up for both, I moved towards the southern portion of the city to find an open place to send out Altaria. Once he appeared, I returned Ninetales and set up the basket to begin flying over Route 202 to reach Sandgem town. Dedenne released himself and hung onto the edge of the basket to look over the terrain passing beneath us. He looked excited to be flying with us once again.

I had a different plan for Sinnoh than for Hoenn. Last time, I had challenged the Gyms in a different order than in the games. Here, however, my team was already much stronger than they were at the start of the last season. I thought it would be fun to follow roughly the same order. However, the team I had on hand didn’t include Florges, Azumarill, or Whimsicott, and I planned to swap out Altaria for Whimsicott once we touched down. I would primarily be traveling with my weaker team members to train them up in between major challenges.

My current objective to reach Sandgem town was related to my sponsorship with Sycamore. The town was the location of the lab of Sinnoh’s primary Professor, Professor Rowan, and he had the data I needed to be entered into my Pokédex to properly use it in this region. The warnings and alerts it would give about dangerous locations would be more than helpful.

Since Sandgem Town was so close to Jubilife City, it only took a few hours to properly reach it, but I knew it would have taken over a day and a half to reach the town on foot. When we arrived, it was sunset, so I decided to stop at a Pokémon Center first and visit Professor Rowan tomorrow, in the late afternoon. I had trouble sleeping in the Pokémon Center that night, as the next day would be the first of June, which would mark the start of Sinnoh’s League season.

I woke up late in the morning, but still much earlier than I usually did. Most of my team was spread throughout the room. Ninetales and Ponyta had both slept on the bed with me, and everyone else had found somewhere else to sleep. Mawile had a padded back chair she curled up in, and Altaria had stolen a pillow to nest in the corner. While he slept, Dedenne and Carbink had both nestled into Altaria’s fluff to form a stack of sleeping Pokémon.

Standing up quietly to try to wake as few of them as possible, I pulled out a hot plate I had purchased before leaving Kalos to try to make everyone breakfast. I couldn’t do much in a small room like this, and my team was soon awoken by the smells of cooking food. At least I was still able to produce a decent meal they all enjoyed.

Energized by a proper meal that wasn’t from a can, my team and I went out back for some light exercise and training before we headed to Rowan’s lab. Dedenne’s running speed was slowly improving, and Carbink was working on their aerial movement and levitation. The brisk air helped keep us cool, and as a result, I ended up pushing this short morning period to last a bit longer than I expected. I knew if I told Laura about this, she’d be exceptionally proud.

Afterwards, I had a tearful goodbye with Altaria, and I retrieved Whimsicott. On hand, I had all the members of my team that needed the most work, and while I technically had space on my team due to Ponyta’s current exception to the team limit, I didn’t want to leave only two Pokémon in the ranch at once. With three Pokémon present, I felt it would feel less lonely when they weren’t traveling with me.

We then headed out to Rowan’s lab, with Dedenne on my shoulder. Ninetales wanted to nap in her Premier Ball instead.

When we arrived, Professor Rowan’s lab wasn’t what I expected at all. I had grown used to Professor Sycamore’s lab, which had a mansion-shaped entrance and took up an entire city block. This place was much different.

Located right at the edge of Sandgem town, Professor Rowan’s lab was a wide metal tower complete with its own satellite dish tower and solar panels at the top. Large windows revealed several tall rooms within, and connected to its side was a stretched brick house that met up with a similarly tall windmill.

I pushed open the gate which marked the edge of the open plain reserved for Rowan’s sponsored trainers’ Pokémon, and walked to the front door to knock to be let in.

As soon as I neared the entrance, the automatic glass door immediately opened up to reveal an older man with thick white mutton chops and a bushy mustache dressed in a white lab coat. He looked down at me with a stern look on his face, and we sat there in silence for a few moments in what felt like a pseudo-staring contest.

“So you’re Alex? Professor Sycamore bragged quite a deal about you,” Professor Rowan’s deep voice rang out.

“He did?” I asked in surprise.

“Indeed. In fact, he called you one of the most promising Fairy Type specialists he’d ever met,” Rowan replied.

“Huh. I hadn’t known he had those thoughts.” I held out my hand and gave Professor Rowan a big smile. “Anyway, it’s nice to meet you, Professor Rowan.”

“Likewise,” he said, firmly shaking my hand, “Come in, let us update your Pokédex.”

Walking inside, we entered a simple sitting room. There was a staircase in the back that led to a few doors to the upper levels, and on the ground floor, there was a double door that seemed to lead to a proper lab area. Ahead of us were a few padded chairs with a table in front of them, and on the table itself, there was what looked to be a simple boxed package.

“Did you get a delivery recently?” I asked just to make small talk.

Professor Rowan didn’t spare the package a single glance when we walked by.

“No, it didn’t come for me. It came for one Ash Ketchum.”

I immediately stopped walking.

My mouth felt dry.

“I— I— what?”

Professor Rowan turned around and raised one of his bushy eyebrows at me.

“Yes. It was a package from his mother. He should be returning soon to pick it up.”

“Returning?” I whispered.

I slowly turned to face the box, my eyes widening with horror. Then, right on time, the sliding glass doors opened behind us and one absolutely terrifyingly familiar voice rang out.

“Professor! I’m here for my package!” The voice paused. “Huh? Who’re you?”

Please, no.

No, no.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

Slowly, stiffly, and completely afraid, I turned around to confirm my nightmare.

Standing in the doorway with two people behind him was a young man, most likely in the middle of his teens. He looked decently older than ten, but his outfit was almost the same as I remembered: a blue vest, a black T-shirt underneath, and a red cap sitting on his head.

The Pikachu on his shoulder twitched its nose at the sight of Dedenne on mine.

Ash Ketchum was here, and with him, the constant problems that followed his almost every step were as well. I knew that his life was involved with enough miscellaneous events to fill a weekly Saturday morning television show. In fact, I used to watch that show.

I forced myself to give him the friendliest smile I could muster. Neither Ash nor his two friends, Brock and Dawn, seemed to have noticed my previous look of abject terror.

“Me? I’m Alex, a Fairy Type specialist. This is Dedenne on my shoulder. Who are you?” I said, bluffing unfamiliarity.

Hearing my request for his name, Ash tilted his cap down just slightly then grabbed a Pokéball to hold forward dramatically.

“I’m Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town! I’m going to be the world’s number one Pokémon master!”

Pikachu punctuated his statement with a cry of his own.

Brock and Dawn also introduced themselves, but with a lot less dramatics. Brock was wearing a green shirt with an orange-brown vest and looked to be in either his late teens or early twenties. He had a very young face with a muscled body.

Dawn, on the other hand, looked extremely close to how she did in the anime, but her pink skirt hung down a bit longer than before. Additionally, her Piplup stood at her side with his flippers on his waist, striking up a pose. Of course, he was introduced as well.

Ash put on a friendly smile and relaxed his stance from his introduction, but he then suddenly tilted his head in confusion.

“Huh? Wait, what’s a Fairy Type?” he asked.

That caused me to experience almost the same amount of confusion that Ash seemed to be going through as well. While I really should have expected it, I was so shocked I was briefly stunned out of my internal screaming. It was true that Fairy Types hadn’t been introduced at this point in the anime, but I expected him to have at least learned about them considering their presence wasn’t actually new knowledge in this world. Thankfully, upon seeing my bewilderment and inability to respond, Brock answered the question for me.

“Excuse me, but I think I can explain,” Brock started. “The Fairy Type is a recently discovered Type that is notable for its complete immunity to the Dragon Type. It includes Pokémon like Jigglypuff and Clefable, as well as others like Togepi and Mr. Mime. It’s weak to both Poison and Steel Types, and it’s strong against Dragon, Dark, and Fighting Types.”

Ash’s eyes were literally sparkling.

“That’s so cool! An entirely new Type! Hey Alex, is Dedenne a Fairy Type?”

I nodded and continued to smile. I thanked the fact I was unable to process most of my thoughts since it allowed me to pretend Ash was just a random trainer I was meeting rather than the protagonist of an extremely popular anime.

“Yup! Dedenne here is an Electric and Fairy Type Pokémon,” I said. “He just joined the team recently so he’s still in the process of training up.”

Dedenne hopped off my shoulder and Pikachu hopped off of Ash’s for them to meet on the floor. They stood a short distance away before shooting a few sparks of electricity between them. As soon as that was finished, they both said their name happily and moved a lot closer to talk. Piplup pushed his way forward to join in.

Dawn crouched down upon seeing this.

“Aww! He’s so cute!” she commented.

I just smiled and looked for an easy way out of this. Ash and co. seemed like they wanted to speak more, but luckily, there was an excuse conveniently placed on the table nearby.

“By the way, weren’t you here for a package? Professor Rowan was just mentioning that.”

Ash’s eyes went wide.

“Ah! My package! I almost completely forgot! Thanks, Alex.”

He and the rest of his small group went over to the table at Professor Rowan’s direction to open his. Dedenne started to follow, but when I excused myself and started to quickly walk outside, he went with me instead.

I ended up sitting beneath a tree that was near the entrance, just so I could relax and think.

“Why the fuck is Ash here?” I whispered to myself.

Dedenne gave me a strange look.

The worst part about Ash’s presence was that I already remembered where I went wrong. There was no mystery or journey of discovery to figure it out. I had the clues needed to tell me that Ash was going to be here, and I had just never put them together.

I smacked my forehead. I deserved that for my stupidity.

In the anime, after Ash finished off Hoenn, he went to Kanto to take on a challenge that was said to be harder than just the Gyms: The Battle Frontier. He traveled with Brock, May, and Max throughout it, but in my mind, I hadn’t thought it would have taken an entire year.

“I should have realized sooner,” I mumbled. “Grand Festivals only occur once a year in each region, and May competed in two of them when she was with Ash.”

I let out a long sigh.

“I’m going to need to call Steven to tell him my schedule was off.”

In all honesty, Ash was rarely on the forefront of my mind. I had initially considered where he was when I first came to this world and was started in Hoenn but not often afterwards. My initial thought was that if he completed Hoenn, of course he would go to Sinnoh in the next year. Afterall, the fourth generation came after the third generation.

I now clearly understood I was wrong.

I leaned back and hit my head on the trunk of the tree.

I stared up at the slowly moving clouds in the sky above me for a while. Thin clouds drifted by and a few flocks of Starly moved across the horizon. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw some movement inside the lab, but that was most likely Ash showing off the new outfit his mom sent him. His old Hoenn outfit looked a bit torn up when he walked in.

As I passively sat there, just trying to refocus myself, Dedenne crawled up my arm to tap on my ear. Glancing towards him, he smiled at me to get me to cheer up. However, that’s when I heard the sound of dirt crunching under someone’s boots.

I turned my head towards the source of the sound, and my eyes widened slightly as I saw a second trainer familiar from the anime. He looked to be about Ash’s age, but rather than having a lackadaisical attitude, he had a permanent frown on his face. I recognized him by his dark outfit and purple hair. It seemed neither he nor I wanted to talk.

I went back to my thoughts as Paul, Ash’s rival from Sinnoh in the anime, stopped a short distance away from the front doors of Professor Rowan’s lab. Dedenne cocked his head as he watched.

Standing in the middle of the path, Paul crossed his arms and struck up a dramatic stance. Seeing that, I couldn’t help but chuckle. I was pretty sure he had been leaning against the tree I was sitting under when he first challenged Ash to a battle in the anime. It seemed his “cool” personality didn’t necessarily come to him naturally.

His frown ever so slightly deepened from my less-than-threatened reaction.

The doors to the lab opened up and Ash, Dawn, Brock, Professor Rowan, and Pikachu made their way outside. Ash made a noise of surprise when he saw Paul waiting for him.

Paul walked forward and stared directly at Ash.

“The name’s Paul,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“For me?” Ash replied.

“You’ve got three Pokémon now. Want to battle?”

I stifled another laugh, ruining the moment. Seeing it in person made it obvious that Paul was giving it all to look tough. Any thoughts I had about him were ruined now that I was watching him with my own eyes.

I appreciated him giving me a distraction from my thoughts of Ash.

At the sounds of my held-back laughter, Paul stiffened for a moment, but he continued his far-more-dramatic-than-necessary introduction and challenge towards Ash. Ash immediately accepted the battle with a similarly dramatic pose. Would the two of them always act like this?

“Off to my back garden, then,” Professor Rowan said. “You two can battle there.”

The group started to head off, but before they had gone too far, Dawn turned around.

“Alex, right? Are you going to watch their battle?”

I hummed. My mind was already in turmoil, and I didn’t want to get involved with Ash any more than needed considering the amount of trouble he got up to. Just taking Team Rocket for example: they were entertaining to watch, but actually dealing with them on a near daily basis? No thanks.

However, if Ash was going to battle, it wouldn’t hurt to see if it went the same as it did in the anime. It’d at least be a glimpse into how much of the show actually represented reality.

“I’ll watch. It’ll be interesting to see what Pokémon they have,” I lied. I knew their teams and could probably predict how the battle would go.

Dawn smiled at me and walked off to catch up with everyone else. I rubbed my head as I stood up, Dedenne holding on to my shoulder.

“If only I hadn't registered for this League already,” I mumbled. “Could have gone to a different region.”

Brock served as the referee as Ash and Paul stood a ways apart. This wasn’t an official battlefield, but rather it was a section of flat grass just past a few herb bushes set up at the base of the lab. I stood next to Professor Rowan and Dawn, who were watching the battle as well. Dawn kept making comments about being excited to watch her first in-person battle.

Ash just smirked at what she was saying.

“Just wait until it starts! Hold onto your hat, Dawn, this is going to be quite the ride.”

Paul chuckled, causing Ash to glare at him.

“What are you laughing at?” he accused.

“Nothing. You just talk like a little kid.”

While that dialogue sounded vaguely familiar, I couldn’t help it. The exchange was so juvenile it caused me to laugh.

Everyone turned to look at me. Ash’s face turned red.

“I do not speak like a little kid!” he shouted.

“No, no, that’s not it,” I said, wiping tears out of my eyes. I really wasn’t in a good mental state if this was causing me to laugh so hard. “Paul is the same age as you are, and he’s calling you a little kid. Doesn’t he realize what he’s implying?”

Realization set into Ash’s face, and he turned to face Paul, who was trying his best to ignore me.

“If I’m a little kid, then so are you!”

Brock groaned.

“Oh, Ash,” he said.

Paul interrupted this dumb exchange by waving and bringing down his arm in front of him dramatically. Everyone turned to look at him.

“Enough of this. Do you remember the rules?”

“Of course!” Ash said. “This is a three on three battle, no substitutions. First to get two victories wins.”

Paul grunted in affirmation, and they both sent out their Pokémon.

I was hardly surprised when the battle went the exact way I remembered.

At first, Paul and Ash sent out their freshly caught Starly, which Paul’s Starly easily won. Next, Paul used his Chimchar against Ash’s Aipom, and the Fire Type fainted to a Focus Punch. Now tied, Paul’s Elekid and Ash’s Pikachu appeared on the field to battle it out.

I hate to say it, but Paul’s Elekid performed significantly better than Ash’s Pikachu did, although it was still completely outmatched. Ash was clearly underestimating it with how he didn’t use any major strategies at all.

First off, Elekid used Pikachu’s Thunderbolt to power up its own Electric Type moves, effectively using Pikachu’s power against him. A Protect stopped Volt Tackle from doing anything more than just dealing recoil damage to Pikachu, and then it also used a Brick Break to try to counter Iron Tail.

In the end, Paul’s Elekid was still far weaker than Pikachu, so a single Iron Tail brought it down. It didn’t go alone, however, as Pikachu had already been damaged from both whatever nonsense Ash was up to earlier today and the injuries from the current battle.

Brock ended up calling the battle as a tie, and Paul returned Elekid while Ash rushed forward to pick up the fainted Pikachu.

“Wow. If they tied, they must be equally strong,” Dawn commented.

I hummed.

“Not necessarily. Ash’s Pikachu had far more raw strength than Elekid, but Elekid managed to use that strength against him. Paul managed to pull off a tie rather than a loss by completely outmaneuvering Ash in the battle,” I responded.

Dawn widened her eyes as Ash just looked at Pikachu worriedly while Paul just grunted arrogantly. In all honesty, for the hate Paul got as a trainer, I couldn’t help but to be impressed by how well his Elekid performed. Too bad he didn’t treat his Pokémon with respect and practically abused Chimchar to make it use its ability, Blaze.

Wait, should I report that? Chimchar becomes better off when he’s caught by Ash, but is his time with Paul beforehand worth still going through? Paul also releases the vast majority of his Pokémon when they don’t do well, and if that exactly matches up with what happens in the anime, I know he violates several of the League’s proper releasing regulations. I don’t want more Pokémon to go through what Azumarill did in Mossdeep.

I really didn’t expect to have to deal with morality questions about this. I’ll need to talk to Steven.

Speaking of, after Ash and Paul spoke to each other a bit, Paul grabbed his Starly and sent it out in a flash of blue light rather than red. Dawn gasped when she saw that. Paul had just permanently released his Starly.

“Of course that happened,” I mumbled, having seen Paul do this one before.

“How cruel,” Brock commented.

Ash glared at Paul.

“Why’d you do that?” he spat.

Paul just huffed and gave some poor explanation that there were other Starly as strong as the one he just released.

I was extremely thankful that Azumarill wasn’t here. It would have taken my entire team to defend Paul if she heard what he just said.

I rubbed my head. I definitely had a headache now.

He does this again with his own Azumarill that he catches to take on Roark, right? I need to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Paul started to stalk off as Ash just fumed and yelled at him to try to get him to participate in a rematch. However, Paul didn’t turn around, and eventually Ash just stomped away.

“Um, thank you for everything, Professor Rowan!” Dawn said hurriedly. “It was nice to meet you Alex!”

“Same here,” Brock added.

I nodded, but didn’t smile.

“It was nice to meet the both of you as well,” I said. “Shame about Paul.”

Professor Rowan grunted and nodded his head goodbye. The two of them ran off after Ash, leaving me alone on the field with Professor Rowan.

“Well, that was interesting,” I said.

“Quite so. Now then, since that excitement is over, you were here to update your Pokédex?”

“Yes please.”

Rowan and I started to head back to the lab in silence. I spent this time just thinking about what I lived through.

There was no doubt about it, that experience was an entire episode of the anime, or at least the second half of one. I changed a few things by being there, and their words were a bit different, but overall, I couldn’t detect any major discrepancies. I knew Team Galactic was already fully dealt with, so they wouldn’t be a problem, but that didn’t mean any of the other troubles Ash was involved with wouldn't be happening.

For example, there were several movies set in small, off-route towns involving the Legendaries of the region that may or may not happen, and there was the potential presence of Hunter J in the region as well. I would need to warn Steven about those possible issues as well.

I tried to remember more of what happened in the region, like Dawn's career as a Coordinator (if I planned to do Contests, did that make me one of her rivals?), and the short summer camp arc the main group experienced. I couldn’t think of any more major villains, except for what happens in the Conference. Ash battled Paul, as expected, but in the end, he lost to—

I stopped following Professor Rowan. He turned around to face me, confused at my sudden pause.

My face was locked into an expression of pure panic, and I found my body unable to move.

I remembered who won the Conference at the end of the season. He appeared out of nowhere, lost no fights, and Ash only managed to faint a single one of his Pokémon.

And the reason why?

Ash’s opponent had two Legendary Pokémon on his team.

How is my team supposed to handle that?!