Dastardly Desires (Chapter 14) (Patreon)

I look to the black haired woman who has raided my fridge. 

"Really?" I question, a half-lidded stare. 

"What? I was hungry!" She replies, causing a muted sigh to leave my mouth. 

"Jarvis, what time is it?" 

"It is currently ten AM... Five AM in Undella town." The wall informs. 

"Huh. Should probably get a bit of a move on, then." I note as I quickly grab my two pokeballs, clipping them to my hip. 

Loki scurries out of the grassy indoor garden room, then stops right beside me. "Eevoy!" 

"..." 

"Wasn't he a Jolteon yesterday?" The girl questions. 

"He can swap his evolution like dragon trainers change weird capes. Don't worry about it." I reply as I point his pokeball down towards him and suck him inside of it. "Now. Another question... do you have a phone or something?" 

"No..." Zinnia shakes her head. 

"Get one." I order as I quickly walk over to the countertop, taking a pencil and a sticky note from my schoolbag. 

I scribble down my personal phone number and hand it over to the girl. "This is my phone number. Unova is massive, so instead of wandering off and me never seeing you again, this way we can stay coordinated." 

"I see... Alright. Whatever." She shrugs as she looks over the paper then slips it into a small sack she has. 

"Merlin, can you make a portal for us?" 

"Lo-Tad!" The pokemon exclaims as a flicker of flames appears behind me. 

A swirling vortex rapidly forms as I look over myself. 'Let's see here. Bag. Pokeballs. Notes. Yeah. That's everything.' 

I step through the portal followed by the floating Lotad. 

"You coming?" I question as I gaze back at the girl hesitating by the vortex, looking through in confusion. "Merlin can't hold this open forever, you know... and if you're halfway through when he runs out of energy... slice. There will be two pieces of you." 

She leaps through the portal suddenly, gazing around in caution. 

The sling ring portal drifts shut as I look to the Lotad. "Thanks Merlin." 

"Your welcome..." He telepathically states as he lands on my shoulder 

"So... wait... are we in Unova now?" Zinnia questions. 

"We are." I nod once. "You are in roughly the southeast of Unova. If you walk that way, you'll come to Undella Town. They've got a pokemon center you should probably register at... I should ask, though... what do you plan to do now?" 

"I'm going to expand my team and search for the dragon of ideals and truth." 

"You're looking to expand your team, huh? I've looked into dragon types. In unova... you'll likely want to head up to Opelucid City. There's a dragon type gym over there. You could likely find yourself an Axew." 

"Axew?" The girl questions. 

"it evolves into a relatively tame dragon type called Haxorus. They're normally very calm and reasonable but really hate it if people touch their blades... which can cut through steel relatively easily." 

"IT HAS BLADES THAT CAN CUT THROUGH STEEL?!" She grins savagely. 

"Yep. You see, an Axew's blades constantly break and regrow harder and harder. But once it evolves its blades won't regrow, so be careful with it." 

"I see." The girl whispers, a small grin appearing on her face. "Thanks for the advice. I believe I'll go grab one." 

"Good luck... oh... and another suggestion... try the gym circuit." I begin. 

"Why?" The girl frowns. "That sort of seems like a waste of time." 

"I'll give you two good reasons... one. Money. They give TMs which you can sell and money as a reward for defeating them... reason two. A method to test your pokemon against strong pokemon." 

"Hrm... fine. I can see the benefit." 

"You're starting pretty late in the season... so I sort of doubt you'll be able to do all eight in time for the tournament, though." I admit. 

"Oh?" She questions, eyes narrowing slightly. "Is that a challenge I hear?" 

"Sure." I shrug. "Why not?" 

"Now..." I begin as I turn, slowly walking away. "I need to get to school. Merlin, if you would." 

A rift opens up, allowing me to walk through it. 

~~Linebreak~~

I let out a long breath, rubbing an eye tiredly. A yawn leaves my lips as my fingers hover over the enter key. 

"Did you spell check?" I question tiredly. 

"I have." My wall behind me informs. "Several times. You are good to go, sir." 

"Thank you Jarvis." I sigh as I reach down and press enter. 

My arms stretch above my head as I move away from my computer, making my way to the kitchen. 

I wordlessly microwave a small mug of milk, grabbing a packet of hot chocolate mix. 

A minute later, I am walking back towards my office, quietly stirring my new drink with a spoon. 

I sit down at my desk, a low hum leaving my lips as I take a sip of my drink. 

"Alright... one final re-read." I mutter under my breath. 

I have already sent the paper, but I might still be able to catch something. 

Abstract: 
A pokemon's coloration is determined by numerous factors. Environment, diet, health, even genetics. By taking a closer look at these factors, I believe that I have derived a new set of classifications for the coloration of pokemon. What ordinarily was merely 'shiny' is now neatly defined into numerous coloration subsets. Vitiligo, Albinism, Leucism, Melanism, Pseudomelanism, then, a deeper look on the phenomena of 'shiny'. All of this is achieved by taking a closer look at a specific trait found not only Pokemon but people as well! Melanin!  

Introduction: 
Trying to understand the nature of pokemon has been a focus of the scientific community for decades now, questioning their habits, diets, and personality. But. How much of pokemon do we truly understand? I seek to try and inch humanity one step closer to fully understanding pokemon as a species. Allow me to show you what I have discovered. Firstly, I should note that a lot of this information merely confirms a lot of the information doctor Rob Mark released in his own research paper, 'The Special Colors of Pokemon', which you may find 'Here'. In this paper I will not be delving into certain topics as deeply as he has. I would recommend giving this paper a read before my own. 

I continue reading through the paper a small smile on my face. 

I've done quite well. 

It's thorough. Listing numerous sources and quite advanced drawings that I've created comparing the tissue of one of the Melanistic Shiftree I found to a normal one. I did the same with Loki and a normal Eevee's fur. 

This is research that applies to not only pokemon, but humans as well. 

Plus it asks a few interesting questions such as 'is it possible for a shiny pokemon to suffer from melanism or Albinism'. 

The chance of that happening is so ludicrously low, but it is an interesting thought. 

I get up off my chair with a small spin, then walk over to my lab. 

Time to get started on my dark work~ 

I walk away with a slight pep in my step, coming to stop in front of my large microscope. 

Here we are! 

Magikarp! 

I've already taken a few cursory looks around its genetic sequence.  

It truly is quite the pathetic pokemon. 

Short hatching times, large clutches, regular cannibalism. Gyarados and Magikarp rely on numbers to keep their species alive. 

In the wild, not even five percent of normal Magikarps will reach maturity and evolve. 

Of course, there's a difference between 'evolving' and 'maturing' but my statement is more or less correct. 

To evolve a pokemon needs to slowly collect energy. Some pokemon can cheat via an evolution stone, but other- and by that I mean most- pokemon only develop such an energy through repeated conflict or 'stressful situations' such as being hunted by a school of Sharpedo. 

And for a Magikarp... it's fairly difficult to survive repeated conflicts. 

It's sort of like all pokemon are batteries only 'charging' in life threatening situations. A survival reflex to, well, survive. 

Once the pokemon reaches one hundred percent charge, they evolve and enter that 'overcharge' state where they are temporarily brought to a peak of power beyond their current capabilities. It may not be their full potential, but... to put it into perspective it'll allow a level forty pokemon to punch up to a level fifty or so. But after that burst of near limitless energy that it has stored over the course of months or years, the pokemon is brought back to level forty. 

Anyways, I'm trying to figure out just what I can do with Magikarp to make it 'better'. 

First thing first, I'll see if I can get some form of 'primal' Magikarp. 

Or... 

Should I see about giving one Huge Power? 

Reasonably, I've done some research after Loki awakened his new ability... 

Abilities aren't really a... fuck, how do I explain it. 

It's not an in-born trait of a species. 

Abilities are more genetic quirks of certain pokemon. 

Like, take Hydrapple for instance. It has sticky hold because of its sap. 

Then it's core ability, 'Supersweet Syrup' spreads across the ground to lower speed like some sort of bug type's sticky-web. 

Flying types can just fly over it so they aren't as affected by the syrup.  

But pokemon can have multiple abilities... as seen with Loki. 

The most genetic quirks that have been seen in a sole pokemon numbers at about three. 

Huge Power is an ability that any pokemon should be able to theoretically acquire. 

Some pokemon are just simply built different. 

Some pokemon have a genetic quirk that floods their system with adrenaline whenever they taste blood allowing them to very easily surpass their limits- sometimes straining their bodies to do so- in order to defeat, catch, or kill their opponent... Moxie. 

Other pokemon just have muscle so tightly packed and dense they can exert twice the force in literally anything. 

Huge power. 

Ironically enough... 

Strong Jaw might be a sort of lead-up to huge power... 

Huge power for just the jaws. 

There are some slight differences, as 'Strong Jaw' has optimized muscles and ligaments for ludicrous bite-forces, ones that are slightly different from Huge Power's overall increase- meaning it might be theoretically possible to stack these effects- or I could just end up with a fucking pug situation and create a genetically inferior abomination that has breathing issues and has its entire face explode by biting too-hard. 

Reasonably, I should be able to combine things that don't overlap laughably easily. 

Huge Power, Marvel Scale, Intimidate- which technically isn't an ability, it'll just be scary as hell to have a fucking PRIMAL Gyarados which is borderline unkillable peering down at whatever is near. 

I could probably fit in some other fun stuff here and there. 

The main problem would be identifying the genes that determine that sort of stuff. 

Ah well. 

Let's get the biggest hurdle out of the way first. 

Let's do a little Primal Revision!  

~~Linebreak~~

Pov: Elsewhere 

A sandy-grey haired man pauses as he glances over the paper he was just sent. 

Melanin? 

Hm. 

This is... seriously well done. 

It is well-formatted. Lists numerous sources. The diagrams are well-detailed, and hand drawn. 

Who made this again? 

Xander Welsh? 

That name sounds vaguely familiar... 

Ah! Right. He assisted professor Fennel in finding that Dunklevish Fossil, right? 

The corners of his mouth turn upwards. 

He is glad that the monsters responsible for those twisted pokemon are now behind bars. There's likely going to be no chance for either of the two perpetrators to get out. 

His eyes stray out his window where a large mostly orange reptile with large patchy white spots across its body lays, soaking up sunlight. An eternal flame burns at the tip of its tail. 

His starter. Magnus. 

One of the oldest- and strongest- Charizards in Kanto. 

Though, admittedly, in his old age he has begun to decline a bit. 

But. While not in his prime, his experience and skill still would likely cause some issue for the current champions much younger Charizard or Dragonite 

His skin had begun to lose pigment after numerous intense battles. 

According to the paper, that is because his cells stopped producing pigments. 

This sort of thing is also seen in humans, apparently. As are some of the other conditions he listed. 

Personally, he was just under the assumption that these sort of spots appear on Charizard as they age. But... perhaps it is a result of battle damage? 

He looks to a pair of scales nearby. 

He is in a position to check, after all. 

Might as well check the work of a budding scientist. If he's correct, the word of the pokemon professor could draw far more attention to the paper, but if he's incorrect, he'll message the creator about a few potential edits he could make. 

~~Linebreak~~

Pov: Returned 

"Sir, you have gotten a message from Trainer Courtney." 

"Oh?" 

"She has asked if you would like to go and get something to eat together." 

"Oh, sure sure. Tell her that I'll be at my room in... five minutes?" I mutter, taking off my gloves and white lab coat. 

"What are the progress on those eggs?" I question. 

"They will be finished gestating in around five hours... however, if you have not returned I should be more than capable of transporting them over." 

"Really? Thanks, Jarvis!" I smile as I make my way through my house. 

I eventually gather my things, recalling Loki and Merlin, then step into a swirling vortex that leads to my dorm room in Blueberry Academy. 

I look around briefly, noting everything still how I left it. 

Not that I left much here, that is. 

Then I turn and take a step outside to where a pink haired girl is waiting for me. 

"Hello Xander." She smiles. "it has been quite some time since I have seen you." 

"Hello Courtney." I greet. "Yeah, we should really hang out more." 

She pauses briefly, the corners of her mouth turning upwards. "Yes... we should." 

"So, where do you want to go?" I question as we begin walking. "The cafeteria?" 

"No..." She shakes her head. "There is actually a pizza place in Undella town that I wished to try." 

"Sounds good. Wanna split a pizza half and half?" I ask. 

"Oh... well, I asked you to join me, I sort of expected to be the one paying." 

"Courtney. Honestly, I should be the one paying for the entire meal." 

"No." She declares instantly. "That just sounds like me taking advantage of you. I won't have that. Half is fine." 

"Alright." I shrug as we continue walking through the school. 

Eventually, we come to the little underwater station leading to Undella, taking a seat side by side as we wait for the small train-like vehicle to begin its trip back to the other station. 

"I saw your paper on pokemon coloration... it was... interesting..." The girl smiles slightly. "But can such effects truly be seen in humans?" 

"Not all." I shake my head. "Vilitigo can sometimes be seen in humans due to chemical burns or sunburns... it's of course far more noticeable in someone with a darker skin-tone, but albinism is also possible for humans." 

"I see! Is it true that Albino creatures sometimes suffer poor eyesight, though?" 

"It's sad, but true. Melanin is responsible for portions of your eye. With albinism lacking Melanin, it's sort of reasonable that eyesight would suffer." I mutter. 

"Hm." The girl hums mutely.  

"So, what have you been working on during summer?" I question. 

A small smile appears on her lips. "I have been assisting Professor Fennel. We visited a volcanic region of Unova- Reversal Mountain just to the east of Undella Town- for her work and I was able to acquire some interesting volcanic glass samples." 

"Oh? That's awesome! What was she looking for?" I question. 

"There were a series of uniform earthquakes in the area which implies that the volcano is beginning to grow active yet again." 

"That's... mildly worrisome. You said it was close to Undella Town?" 

"Oh, don't worry." The girl smiles. "it is far enough away that if the worst does happen, there won't be any true damage to the town. Just some ash." 

"Oh. That's a little relieving." I admit. "I'm more worried that an earthquake could cause some sort of Tsunami. With our school being literally in the middle of the ocean I'm a bit... concerned." 

"Ugh." The girl sighs. "Honestly, I don't even get why it's so far out here?" 

"It seems like a tremendous waste of money, right?" I agree. 

"It is!" She nods. "Why do we have to take a ten minute train ride if we want to get to the nearest town? What is the point of being so isolated? That just seems irresponsible and dangerous." 

"Has Blueberry ever even faced a hurricane?" I question. "Any sort of tropical storm?" 

"Should we be worried about torrent of water smashing through our dorm walls?" She echoes my thoughts perfectly. "Having the school underwater is just... a bad decision. What advantages could we possibly be getting from being in the middle of the ocean that we couldn't be getting in a mountain... or like... in town?" 

She lets out a long sigh. "I suppose it's a benefit that my mother can't easily contact me." 

"Wait... is she bothering you?" 

"It's more of a constant thing." The girl sighs. "'I didn't permit you to leave home.' 'come back here.' 'inherit the family business!' 'you should marry that Thorton boy. He's nice, isn't he?' 'why can't you be more like your sister' well, maybe because you whine and complain about literally everything I do while she could burn down the house and it'd be just a little accident!" 

"Tch." She seems to seethe. 

"Who even is your mother?" I question. 

She pauses for a moment, looking over me. 

"..." 

"Argenta." She decides to inform me. 

She stares at my face, seemingly realizing that I have no idea who she is talking about. "The hall matron for Johto's Battle Frontier." 

"..." 

"If you consider the Frontier Brains Elite Four... she's the Champion of the Johto branch." She tries. 

"..." 

The corners of her mouth turn upwards slightly. 

"Do... you really not know about her?" She questions. 

"Nope." I shake my head. 

She lifts a phone showing me a photo of an older woman. 

"I mean, I can see the resemblance, but to be completely honest with you... I sort of forgot the 'Pokemon Frontier' was even a thing... let alone remember the names or faces of anyone who works there. Even if they are the 'champions' of it." 

"Oh! Right. Unova doesn't have one." The girl observes. "That's sort of understandable that you don't know, then." 

"What about your sister?" I question. 

She lets out a quiet huff of annoyance. "Ugh. She's older than me but is more irresponsible than a twelve-year-old. She seems to love rubbing the fact that she has more freedom in my face. She constantly taunts and belittles me." 

"Maybe your mother expects more of you because she already deems your sister a failure." I point out. 

She pauses, a devious grin appearing on her face, a low laugh leaving her lips. "Oh... perhaps." 

There's an iota of pride on her face now. "Yes. That must be it." 

We sit in silence for a brief moment as the train finally leaves the station. 

"So. Xander. Beyond your paper on Pokémon colorations, what else have you been working on this summer?" 

"I've got a nice home for myself now in the Decolore Islands." 

"You... built a home?!" She gasps. 

"Mhm. It's pretty nice." I admit quietly. "If you want to hang out for the day, reasonably I could have Merlin open a portal for you." 

"O-Oh... I wouldn't want to impose." The girl quickly waves off, a brief hint of color appearing on her face. 

"Oh well." I shrug. "I've got a bedroom, office, living room. I'm pretty satisfied with it. I made sure the front door is hidden away from casual view, and well, I'm the only person living on the island." 

"You... have an entire Island to yourself?!" She mutters, eyes growing wide. 

"Technically and geologically speaking? No. However. The island has a sheer rock cliff on all sides that makes it impossible to land upon it... except for a sole lagoon that is deeper in." 

"And you own that lagoon?" She questions. 

"Mhm." I nod once. "But even if people went to the lagoon, they'd still have to worry about this weird stone puzzle door that's hidden behind a giant ship. That is the only way up onto the island without some sort of pokemon transport." 

"Devious. So you have inadvertently taken control of the entire island?" 

"Yep. Well defended. Secluded. Peaceful. I just need to get the roaming pokemon more or less under control and I'll have a total paradise for myself." 

~~Linebreak~~

And thus, another Magikarp dumped into the lagoon. 

It has been about four months since I started trying to breed the perfect magikarp. 

I've had some progress. 

I've managed to get a Magikarp with Marvel Scale, strong jaw, and Keen Eye- which is a genetic trait that gives whoever has it incredible eyesight and an extra membrane over the eye to protect it from irritants. 

I've had some results in trying to turn back the clock as well. 

Some curved fins here and there, one grew some larger than normal teeth. 

I just haven't had any true progress. 

I've gotten to a point where I can reliably create a Magikarp with Marvel Scale at the very least. Keen eye is a little more difficult. It's roughly a ten to twenty percent chance of working. 

"Sir. Another egg is hatching." Jarvis informs quietly, causing me to stand up and quickly make my way back to the indoor pond. 

I float forwards, carried by my coat, landing on at the edge of the little indoor pool. 

I crouch down, spying one of the many eggs in the pool shaking. 

I watch the egg shudder and shake, cracks cascading across its surface. 

With a small ripple a bright red fish manages to shove its way through the egg. 

It has big, bright orange eyes that seem to show far more intellect than the empty and hollow eyes of a Magikarp. It has large fins that are wavy and seem to turn orange towards the tips, down its spine is a sail that looks fairly similar to the one Mega Gyarados has. 

On its forehead is a brown crest that looks similar to the one upon a Gyarados' forehead. Just stubbier and a bit thicker. 

This... 

Isn't a Magikarp... 

I've succeeded. 

Species: ? 
Ability: Marvel Scale, Strong Jaw 
Type: Water/Dragon 
Moves: Tackle, Bite, Splash, Aqua Jet 
Size: 1'2 Feet tall, 2'1 feet long 
Size Comparison to species average: ? 
Weight: 22.1 Pounds 
Weight Comparison to species average: ? 
Physical Strength: ? 
Spiritual Strength: ? 
Agility: ? 
Durability: ? 

Well then. 

First off, from a cursory glance, it's a little bit larger than a freshly hatched magikarp... by about a third. 

Plus, the eyes. 

It looks far more... just... sentient than a magikarp. 

Well, someone needs a new name~ 

And by that, I mean species name. 

But, sadly, it's not good enough yet. 

This is a start. 

I want one with Huge Power. 

I'm getting close. 

This one is definitely a good start. Marvel scale and Strong Jaw. 

But Huge Power is more valuable than those two. 

The first 'proto-karp'- not using that name, it's pretty bad- I get with 'Huge Power' is going on my team. 

Then... 

Perhaps I might spoil myself with some specialized Dna from the shop.