Hello everyone! This is my first attempt at any type of fan-fiction, so I welcome any and all comments/concerns! I definitely would appreciate any reviews and feedback! Hopefully you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I was really inspired from reading Lamora's "Game of Champions" and decided to take a crack at it. This will certainly not be in the same universe as theirs, nor in quite the same tone, but hopefully it will be a small amount of the same joy that GoC brought to me in reading it.

"CAW! CAW!"

The electric tone of a Pidgey's (1) cry blared over the crackling speakers in the middle of the ceiling of my classroom and I felt both a small sense of joy at the artificial Pokemon's cry and at the same time slightly annoyed as I was interrupted for something related to Pokemon for the millionth time today.

"Remember, read the final chapter on the Empire of Alexander (2) and the effects of his death on the Hellenic world before we come back!" I said to the annoyed looks and sighs of my students as they moved for the door. It was the Friday before Winter Break (3) and they had waited for an hour for their boring history teacher to finish his lecture before they could go home.

"Be sure to pay close attention to what impact his rule had on India and Egypt and what effect the splitting of his empire had on them. Bonus points if you-" I had been powering down the large computer screen at the front of the room where pictures of maps and long-fallen empires had been shown, more active than any of the teenagers who watched it flash through its grainy images, when I turned to discover that my words were falling on an empty room. I couldn't blame them too much though. It was officially Winter Break.

I sighed, walked slowly to my desk, and sank into it heavily. For a teacher in his mid-twenties, I was remarkably uncool. I never ceased to have students fall asleep in my class. I knew it wasn't personally my fault, but really, the content.

At least, that's what I told myself.

I adored history. I ate textbooks for breakfast and historical novels were my candy, but anything that didn't have to do with the last 500 years was utterly boring and useless as far as the majority of people were concerned. Yet, the public education system of Albion (4), now that the history of the world before The Collapse (5) had been recovered, had been brought back into required educational standards.

Required, of course, only if you were in a public school. And that was becoming less and less common for the youth of today. So many kids were flocking to the private Pokemon schools and the Ace Academies (6) that my class sizes had shrunken from 30 students in five classes throughout the day, 150 kids total, to maybe 50 students across the board.

10 teenagers a class, and not one of them wanted to be there.

Everyone wanted to do something with Pokemon, even if it wasn't battling, and I couldn't blame them. Pokemon were our present, Pokemon were our recent past, and Pokemon were certainly our future. Debates ranged every day on whether or not Pokemon were the cause of humanity's first fall or our saviors from extinction, but they were now integral to the remaining human life on Earth, in no uncertain terms. Therefore, the kids that were in my class were, to a child, either from families too poor to afford getting into the "Poke"-lifestyle or from parents too protective to allow their kids to interact with the monsters that now co-ruled our world. Needless to say, class participation and motivation was always low. In my first few years, I had a couple of students who dropped out to become Trainers. A lot, actually. I tried to keep up with their careers, and I was proud to say a fair amount of them had become successful. A set of twins I taught in my first year had even become relative celebrities in the duo battle circuit, local celebrities that I liked to watch when I could.

"Ancient Cultures", the course that I taught and loved, the youth now hated. And not even in the "I am really bored with this but I can at least pretend to slightly understand the importance of knowing our past", but now a "Why does this matter in the slightest?" kind of irony of our world having emerged from a bigger Dark Age than the Western Europeans did after Rome's fall was completely lost on them, and I could not blame them.

Pokemon had changed the world more than any invention of ours ever could dream of doing. Writing, the Internet, nothing could touch the effect of a living battery in the form of a ball, a biological weather report that could never be wrong, animals that could shape the world around them more than we could.

What marvels they were.

I think part of my fascination with the ancient humans was just how they managed to survive without Pokemon in the first place.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love Pokemon. Always have, even as a kid. I grew up watching Battles, playing with the toys, even using the Virtual Trainers (7) that let kids simulate the journeys that League and Circuit Trainers (8) went on from the safety of their parents' basements. I couldn't count if I tried the nights that the kids of Ness Town (9) would gather together and link up their Virtual Trainers to battle and trade, all with dreams that one day, they would become real Trainers, with their own real Pokemon, going on real adventures. It was every kids' fantasy.

But in those dreams, we never thought about being incinerated by a Arcanine's (10) Fire Blast. Never thought of being struck with a Decidueye's (11) Feather Arrows if we wandered into its forest unawares, or running afoul of any other monster that wouldn't hesitate to destroy us. Never even considered all of the lives lost each year: Trainers, normal people, and Pokemon alike, out in the wilds. The Trainer casualty rate was lower than it had been in the past, but not in a way that looked to be on a constant decline.

It's a dangerous career, likely the most dangerous of all, and yet that was attracted us to it. That's how it always is with kids, isn't it?

None of our parents cracked (though technically my brother was a Trainer with the Lookers (12)). Not only was being a Pokemon Trainer, or Breeder, or Coordinator (13) extremely dangerous, it was pretty expensive. Not only did you have to buy an already-trained Starter Pokemon (a hefty price unless you wanted a Caterpie that would live for a total of one week unless you could figure out how to evolve it as a novice Trainer), you needed to pay for your License Exam (14) and pass it, buy all of your supplies (Potions, rations, camping equipment, antidotes, Pokeballs, etc.), and then be prepared to pay an entry to any Cash Battle (15) that you entered. Because you would probably lose for months while you figured your way out of the "novice" stages of being a Trainer, even that last hurdle stopped many from becoming career Trainers. In short, being a Trainer required a lot of start up money, even after you got a Pokemon in the first place.

There were two kids though, when I was growing up, who tried to get into Pokemon Training. One got a Pokeball from who knows where and managed to catch a Rattata (16) that had snuck into his backyard. Where he stole the miniaturized, sphere-shaped computer from, I don't know, but I remember all of us flocking to his house to see the creature when he announced to our class that he had a Pokemon.

I remember vividly crouching together in a huddle around the white and red Pokeball, our child-like amazement splashed across all of our faces as we stared at the object of our desires. We all cheered when the Rattatta's owner clicked the switch on the Ball to let loose the Pokemon.

It was terrible. The Rattata, untrained and not used to people, came out of the stasis from the Pokeball (17) in a panic, going from the relative tranquility of a yard of tall grass into a room filled with prepubescent giants who stared at it in amazement. It immediately leapt at its captor, tearing at him with its oversized fangs and there were a few seconds of absolute terror as we watched the kid get mauled, screaming all the while. Even an untrained Rattatta's Bite (18) attack can do serious damage, mind you, and it could have caused permanent injury had no one acted, but one of us was wrestled out of our horror-induced paralysis and clicked the recall button on the Pokeball and the purple, raging little rat was turned into red, coded energy and locked in stasis inside the ball. I was about eight at the time.

The kid's parents sold the Rattata to a trader to help pay for his hospital bills and he never played Virtual Trainer with us again.

The other kid had it much better. All she did was march her way to the gates of the newly constructed Ace Academy in next door Gale Town (19), a path sometimes treacherous for those even with trained Pokemon at their side, and sat in the dirt, refusing to move until her parents agreed for her to go there instead of the Albion Public Schools with the rest of us. Her parents figured that she would quit after a day, but, two weeks later, she was admitted into the Academy after days and nights in front of its gates She's a Trainer now, and a pretty successful one, getting a couple of TV battles every year, usually when she would show up on a circuit against one of the Gym Leaders (20). I think she has about 4 Badges from the Sinnoh region now, and those aren't easy to get.

The rest of us knew we didn't have the mental fortitude to wait two weeks by ourselves so, even though we all kept that dream alive as we grew old, keeping it buried deep down in our hearts, so deep that we forgot or told ourselves it no longer was there, none of us took up the Trainers' mantle.

That dream never truly died though.

How things change in only 18 years. Now, there were more kids in schools for Pokemon than not, and the numbers of licensed Trainers grew every year. I loved it, because that meant more televised battles, but I had a sneaking suspicion that this rise in young Trainers meant that the License Exam had its standards lowered to get more kids in. More Trainers meant more battles which meant more money. Everyone, including myself, willfully ignored the fact that the yearly Trainer casualty rate increased as well. Routes were more well patrolled than they had been in years, but that still did not stop trainers, both young and old, from getting themselves on the wrong end of a Pokemon they were not prepared for, or even a human foe. Bandits and thieves were relatively common, and rumor has it that a myriad of ex-Team Rocket (21) members were always trying to reform across the regions, but I had never taken those claims too seriously. The town militias did what they could do protect the Routes to their cities, but it was certainly a life-risking journey to make from city to city, even in a vehicle.

Any way that you looked at it, Pokemon training was a hard thing, and I was privy to it through the wonders of television and the occasional Pokemon I met around town.

Ness Town was a pretty small town, though certainly not the smallest, in Northern Albion. Most of the Pokemon around are Mareep, Pidgeys, and Rattata, with the occasional wild Pokemon pack that went after the Mareep. I'd met a couple of Trainers who lived in Ness, but most move on pretty quickly to a larger city with more opportunities. Most of the residents were farmers, though we had some more modern professionals. It was a quiet town, rainy and cold, but the surrounding hills and pastures were absolutely beautiful. Thistle and heather grow in most places the eyes can see, and the Loch that gave us our name was always beautiful in the morning light. It was a good place to live.

I let out my school-is-over sigh and sank into my chair at the other end of the room, slouching into it as I loosened my tie. After a minute of silent contemplation after yet another day of being stared at by closed eyelids, I started to pick apart the sea of pages on my desk, skimming the first layer for anything that was urgent. I hadn't seen the original top of my desk since the first weeks of the school year, but most of my tests and files were kept on the relatively-working desktop that sat next to me anyway. My desk had become a joke to many of my students, but I figured any attention that they paid in my class was better than none, so I ran with it. It's not like it took any extra effort from me to keep up its untidy appearance. One kid had even scrawled "Welcome to the Paper Jungle" across the front panel of the desk, and I had kept it, bored humor immortalized in writing.

I paused and smiled on a drawing that I had been given last week by a student. Over the five years I had been teaching, my room had gradually been filled with decor not necessarily related to my subject, but more so my students' interests (with a couple of mine thrown in, of course). Posters of football players (22), celebrities, and of course, Pokemon, were plastered all over my room, either donated to me or hand-drawn by students. Hey, if they weren't going to pay attention to me, then I might as well give them something interesting to look at.

I gathered my things into my bag then rose up to tape up the latest acquisition to my art exhibit. It was a rather crude drawing of a Charizard, the tenth I now had, and it certainly was not anything spectacular.

I guess I couldn't do much better, I thought as I shrugged and hung it on the wall.

In total, I now had:

6 Pikachus

15 Dragonite (The old Dragon Champion Lance was getting a resurgence of popularity)

4 Pidgeys

2 Rattatas

4 Zangoose

1 rather impressive Milotic

3 Mightyena

2 Pyroar (my wife Sarah's favorite)

3 Mimikyu (All from the same kid, he had been weird)

And of course, my favorites, three Vulpixes and one Ninetales, which all hung directly behind my desk.

I grabbed my keys and stood, walking out into the hall and locking the door. Friday night meant League Battle Night (23). Any night you flipped on the TV, you could find some form of Pokemon Battle, or at the very least, a Contest, but on the weekends, you could get official League Battles from Gym Challenges and officially sanctioned tournaments from the Regional Leagues, courtesy of the inter-regional broadcasting networks of Goldenrod, Saffron, and Lumiose Cities. I was excited to get home, fall onto the couch, and spill popcorn with Sarah as we cheered on our favorite Pokemon and Trainers.

Tonight was a spotlight on challenges at the Cinnabar Gym, and I couldn't wait. A common icebreaker debate was to decide on whose region had the toughest Gym Leaders, but many would say that Kanto's Leaders were the most entertaining to watch at least, if not the strongest. Indeed, they certainly had the lowest win percentage out of all of the Regional Leagues, but they were the first League founded of course, so they've also had more time to train their Leaders. Albion didn't even have an official League yet, so I watched international Gym broadcasts. Blaine (24) in particular I liked, as he specialized in Fire types, my favorite (25). He was one of the oldest Gym leaders, certainly in his seventies by this point, but he hadn't lost his fiery spirit, walking away from interviewers anytime the topic of his retirement came up. He was living proof of a career-Trainer.

The last time there had been a Blaine spotlight, he had even unleashed his Charizard, Flame Bearer (26). Many challengers had quit once the dragon had been unleashed, but there were thankfully some that chose to fight. Fortunately, there was only one Pokemon who was critically injured, and their Trainer had made me scream at the TV for being such an idiot to pit it against the Charizard. It had been a Scizor (27), likely the Trainer's starter or ace. Flame Bearer's first Flamethrower attack that connected had warped its claws, melting the flesh and steel together and almost ending its battling career forever, despite the immediate response from the medical team and Pokemon always on staff at registered battles. There was an after-action report that stated that, within 6 months, the Scizor should regain at least 90% of its claws' function. There was always the danger that a battler Pokemon could be permanently injured or killed, even in a sanctioned battle, but that was the price to pay for the intensity of the battles humankind craved.

I suspected that, much like the Romans with their gladiators (28), the blood sport of battling was allowed to still carry so much danger was it made all that much more entertaining. Some would call it sickening, and I wouldn't necessarily disagree, but it certainly had helped to stop inter-regional conflict. Indeed, in the five hundred years that humanity's been clawing its way back from The Collapse, there had only been a handful of wars, the Pokemon themselves helping to dissuade extensive conflict, as they would very willingly help to wipe the rest of our race out if they could, leaving humanity unwilling to risk open war in case it caused mass movements and attacks by wild Pokemon. Pokemon could become great aids, partners, and friends, of course, and I do truly believe that Pokemon inherently have made our lives better. But they are, at their very inner, primal core, monsters.

And we love them for it.

"Hey, Mr. Green!" a voice shook me out of my Cinnabar-induced stupor. I shook my head and turned to where the school secretary, Ms. Porter, was walking down the hall carrying a large, brown cardboard box. "I just got this for you!"

I cocked my head in surprise. I hadn't been expecting any package.

"From who?" I asked as she reached me, taking the box from her outstretched arms.

"Didn't say." she said. "It was dropped off by a private Pokemon. A Talonflame." she gushed and my eyes widened. Talonflame (29) weren't native to Albion, existing as far as I know only in native parts of Kalos (30), across the Channel. "It flew off as soon as I acknowledged that I would get it to you. They're such beautiful birds, you know, I would absolutely love to have one. Do you know how much it would cost? I'm sure a lot, much more than I could affo-"

I turned and left her rambling, the only tactic that seemed to work when she got worked up. Who was this from?

"Hey honey!" Sarah called as I walked into our home. "Come in quick, you're missing the first battle! There's a Pyroar (31)!" she half-yelled, her eyes wide as her favorite Pokemon let loose a mighty roar from the TV set. "What made you so late?" Sarah was originally from the Kalos region, from a town called Vaniville, though she hardly remembered it. She had moved here when she was around nine. Despite that, she had a certain penchant for Kalosian Pokemon.

"Too many sheep here." I responded tiredly and crashed onto our couch next to my popcorn-munching wife, where the TV was already blaring the sound of a Battle in full swing. Traffic had been absolutely terrible on my way home, the weekend rush being in full force. A pack of Mareep (32) had even gotten in my way at one point, leading to a heated conversation with their shepherd, his useless Herdier (33) barking at me for the length of it. I had almost kicked the stupid thing, but had pedaled on, gritting my teeth. Albion's natural weather hadn't helped much either, a constant pattering rain making the drive home seem to take twice as long.

Travel in Ness Town was largely on foot. I was fortunate to have working bike, and some were able to afford rides on the Tauros-pulled carriages that the Albion government had put in place around the islands, but I figured it wasn't worth the daily money when I could get to work five minutes later and get some exercise in too. Wild Pokemon were not fans of loud, man-made noises, and often attacked the sources when they could get to them. This restricted industrialized work, travel, and entertainment to the large cities that could afford Rhydon-proof walls and specialized Rangers to protect them. Hence, it was all bikes, feet, the occasional riding Pokemon, and Tauros' for us.

I let out a sigh and reached for some of the popcorn, giving Sarah a peck on the cheek as my attention switched to the television, where Blaine's Pyroar, his mane burning a red so bright that I could almost feel the heat from my living room, roared defiance and spat rage at its opponent, a Hitmonlee (34). The Fighting Pokemon's trainer barked an order into the small headset clipped to her ear and Hitmonlee leapt forward, already spinning as its right leg curled for a bone-snapping kick. The arenas of sanctioned Battles were equipped with soundproof domes that not only protected spectators from stray attacks, but also guaranteed the battling Pokemon would hear their Trainers' commands without interference from a screaming audience.

"They were saying earlier that she's already passed her Gym exam, so she just needs to beat Pyroar to get her Badge." Sarah said, not looking at me, her eyes on the fire-lion on the TV that was spitting flames. The Pyroar unleashed a Flamethrower attack directly at the Hitmonlee, who immediately was doused in flames. The tan Pokemon was already in motion though, and crashed through the fiery blast and into its foe, it's sharp toes connected with Pyroar's side with a crack heard clearly through the audio speakers on each side of the Pokedome. The jet of flames stopped as the Pyroar was bowled over and over again, dust flying across the battlefield. The Hitmonlee stopped, likely due to its Trainer restraining it from continuing, as that one kick could have ended the fight. Hitmonlee's pointed toes could produce devastating puncture wounds, the lethal kind that struck through organs with its high-powered kicks.

Sarah was gripping my arm as the dust settled. Blaine's Pokemon gained its feet, a growl audible in its mouth along with some embers, but I could make out the blood beginning to pour from its side.

"Do you think its serious?" Sarah asked worriedly.

"I'm not sure." I said, squinting my eyes as the cameras zoomed in on the lion's wound. "It definitely could be, but-"

Blaine certainly did not think so and with a terse command, the Pyroar was speeding its way towards the Hitmonlee, its eyes as red as its mane, and it let loose an almighty growl as a snake of fire whipped its way around the Hitmonlee, creating a tornado of fire that wound its way around Hitmonlee continuously.

"Fire Spin." I said in awe. It was a smart move. Hitmonlee had no way to stop the Fire Spin without exposing itself to the fire itself, and it was already visibly singed from kicking through the earlier Flamethrower. Theoretically, Pyroar could have left the Hitmonlee there until it fell unconscious from lack of oxygen, but the fire-mane wanted revenge. As Hitmonlee began to kick dirt on the fire with a flurry of moves, there was one, final, almighty roar as Blaine's Pokemon leapt through the flames in a vision of fiery fury, its claw glowing with a a blue light as it charged the Hitmonlee, meeting him head on through its own Fire Spin and mauling the creature.

"What a Flare Blitz! Pyroar has gone through its own Fire Spin to get at Hitmonlee! What a match, folks!" the announcer screamed over the crowd. "Is this the end for Hitmonlee?"

The Fighting Pokemon was not moving, ugly slashes that were already cauterizing stretching across its chest. Immediately after its fall, red light shot out from its Pokeball as his Trainer dejectedly recalled her Pokemon. If she had been challenging the Gym in a Badge Match, she would get to use up to six Pokemon against Blaine's four, but since she had gone through the Cinnabar Gym's courses and tests, it was a 1v1 with Blaine not using his most powerful Pokemon. This was the first time I had seen him use a Pyroar, which meant it must have either just evolved or he was experimenting with a Pokemon not usually found in Kanto.

"What's that in your lap?"

Now that the match was over, Sarah turned to me, her blue eyes curious as she looked down at the package I had my hands clutched over.

"I'm not sure." I said, shaking my head as I jerked my attention away from the television where the announcer was going over replays of the match before the next challenger was announced. "It came to me at school, but Jane didn't know what it was or who sent it. It came from a Talonflame."

"A Talonflame?" Sarah asked, an eyebrow cocked. "It's weird that they'd send it to you at school and not here." She paused for a moment, and then scrambled for the box. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's open it!"

"It's mine!" I protested, pushing her hands away. "Let me do the honors."

As I peeled the layers of tape that sealed the box together, I was surprised to realize that, instead of the standard cardboard shipping box, this was actually made out of some form of hardwood, one that I did not recognize. The tape finally came off to reveal a latch. I glanced at Sarah, who looked just as confused as I, and then I opened it.

On top was a letter.

It was folded but not in an envelope. On the outward fold, it just said "To Mr. Edwards". I shrugged and picked up the paper, only to notice that there was hay underneath it.

"What on Earth?" I asked aloud, looking from the letter to the box, but then Sarah was already diving for the remaining contents of the package.

She froze.

My brows creased as I looked at her, her face a mix of surprise and confusion, as she slowly lifted her arms up and out of the box, holding a red object I had seen so many times on Internet searches and on television, an image that played in my mind on a weekly basis during planning periods or at home. An object that would change my life forever.

It was a Pokemon egg. (35)

And not just any egg.

It was a Vulpix egg.

1) Normal-type Bird Pokemon. Common all over the world. Its later Evolutions are used for package delivery as well as Battling.

2) Macedonian King who conquered much of the area around Mediterranean Sea and India in ancient times before the Collapse

3) After the Collapse, most schools in the Western Hemisphere had adopted US academic calendars.

4) Area of the world known as "Great Britain and Ireland" before the Collapse. The old country lines have been dashed in favor of a new region, Albion. Once the center of a great empire. Currently still constructing an official Pokemon League. No officially recognized unique native Pokemon.

5) Historians are still unsure if the Collapse was caused by the arrival of Pokemon or the Third World War, which in turn either awoken or created Pokemon. The Collapse was a 600 year time period of extreme danger, unrest, and fatality for humanity. Technology failed on a global scale and Pokemon began to appear at an extremely rapid rate. Nations fell within months. Only by taming Pokemon were humans able to begin their recovery.

6) Government sanctioned schools that specialized in Pokemon education. After four years of education there, a student was automatically granted a Pokedex and their Trainer License. Ace Trainers are largely considered to be much better prepared than their standard counterparts, though they have a reputation for rushing students through the educational process.

7) A handheld gaming device that was largely popular due to its Pokemon-related games.

8) Career Battling Trainers either competed in organized Regional Leagues or smaller, more open Circuits.

9) A town in what used to be known as the Scottish Highlands. It lays near a body of water known as "Loch Ness", where a creature some believe to have been a pre-Collapse Pokemon was rumored to live.

10) An extremely powerful Fire-type. Quadruped with orange, black, and yellow markings. Is capable of extreme speeds, as well as flame-based attacks. Also has powerful jaws that allow for vicious bite attacks. Popular Battler Pokemon, but will not obey weak-willed Trainers, making it a dangerous Pokemon to train.

11) A Grass/Ghost Pokemon resembling a pre-Collapse owl. Uses its feathers similar to arrows to pierce prey and opponents. A very popular Battler Pokemon, though often hard to find and raise.

12) A detective agency that flourishes in large cities across the world. Most deal with crimes committed by humans instead of protection from Pokemon.

13) A Trainer who specialized in Pokemon contests, showing off non-battling talents.

14) All people who own Pokemon have to pass a Trainer Licensing Exam, even if they have no intention of battling.

15) Wager battles between Pokemon Trainers. Cash Battles are an extremely common way for Trainers to gain income before, and even during, their League or Circuit runs.

16) A small, purple, rodent Pokemon with large front teeth. A common Starter Pokemon, due to its rodent-affinity for responding to food-centric rewards well. However, it can still be lethal, especially in a pack.

17) The Pokeball system puts the captured Pokemon into a form of molecular stasis, breaking down its cells into light and storing them inside the ball. Pokemon in a strong emotional state can, with a force of will, break out of the Pokeball, but generally they are unaware of their time inside until they are released. Theories abound about the psychological impact of molecular stasis on Pokemon.

18) A standard attack for any Pokemon with fangs, Rattata and Ratticate are known to have particularly vicious Bites.

19) A town, originally spelled "Gael" Town, named for the people who used to populate Albion in ancient, pre-Collapse times. Its current spelling came after years of confusion and mispronunciation.

20) Specialized Trainers who are the main form of PR for the Regional Leagues. They own their own training facilities and broadcast Battles every week. A Badge may be earned for either defeating the Gym Leader in a standard Battle or by completing certain educational courses and training regimes at the Gym and then beating the Leader in a reduced-difficulty Battle.

21) A criminal organization that had formed soon after humanity began to tame Pokemon. Team Rocket had reached even into the inner workings of the Regional Leagues before being taken down. Rumor has it that it was by the legendary Pokemon Trainer, Red.

22) One of the first sports to be revived from pre-Collapse days. Called "soccer" in some parts of the world.

23) Any Battle that took place in an official Arena could be dubbed a "League Battle" and would be recorded for points. Thus, any random battle throughout the lands had a chance at being televised, inciting Trainers to use them instead of no-holds-barred Trainer Battles in the wild.

24) An older scientist-turned-Trainer that lived on Cinnabar Island. He was one of the first Trainers to successfully have a Pokemon perform the since-patented Overheat move without lasting injury to the user.

25) Many Trainers chose to specialize in a specific type of Pokemon, in order to more fully understand the nuances and details of Pokemon that fell into that type classification.

26) A particularly infamous Charizard. A Fire-type, Flame-Bearer had been one of Blaine's main Pokemon for his Battling career. An apex predator and ferocious fighter, Flame-Bearer has also been studied in search of more information on the Charizard-line in general.

27) A Steel/Bug Pokemon. Red in color. It uses its claws and quick speed to out-maneuver its opponents before ripping them apart with steel-enforced claws.

28) Warriors who fought for entertainment in pre-Collapse Ancient Rome. Could often, but not always, lead to death of at least one of the combatants.

29) A Fire/Flying type Pokemon exclusive to the Kalos Region. Extremely loyal and fierce Pokemon. Any Talonflame Trainer is treated with respect for even having one.

30) A region making up parts of pre-Collapse Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. An official Pokemon League, the Kalosian League, has been established there.

31) A Fire/Normal type resembling a pre-Collapse lion. An extremely popular Battler Pokemon, for good reason. Males have large manes which are hot to the touch, while females have a long strand that extends down their backs.

32) An Electric Pokemon that resembles a pre-Collapse sheep. It's wool is used in almost all clothing, either for warmth or to help handle electric charges. Its meat is quite edible as well.

33) A Normal-type lupine Pokemon, it is a great Pokemon for herding, hence its rather obvious name. It is fiercely protective of its Trainer's possessions, and thus makes a great guard dog.

34) A Fighting type Pokemon largely from Kanto. It is extremely humanoid, which can be unsettling for some. It can deliver kicks that can break boulders in the blink of an eye. It is extremely rare, but a sought after Battler and Security Pokemon.

35) For reasons unknown to biologists, all Pokemon lay eggs, regardless if they are a mammal, amphibian, reptile, or other type of "animal". Incubation times, care, and markings differ depending on each Pokemon.