What an amazing story. Can't wait for the next update!

Cool concwpt, looking forward to more intriguing chapters.

This story keeps getting more gripping. You'll spend your time both simultaneously looking forward to the next chapter and dreading the current end point of the chapters available. Can't wait for the next installment.

Only 2nd chapter in and already hooked by the indepth realization and descriptiveness of your universe. Highly recommended this more adult take on an OC's new journey into the Pokeworld.

Aww yiss, it's so satisfying to see Finn finally win over Larvitar's loyalty, now to ensure that he retains it. I continue to enjoy the diversity in character, how distinctly the different people and pokemon behave.

It's too bad about Benedict though (plotwise it made sense since he was the most vulnerable and it showcased the danger of the world), looks like it might not be possible to keep him in the team, not only would it take months at a minimum to bring him back up to battle-readiness, it'd be an uphill battle just to win back his loyalty and trust. I'm not against this but I've got to admit that Exeggcute has never been a favourite of mine so I'd not be unhappy if Finn kept Benedict out of his active team while he recuperated. It'd free up a space for a psychic...and he did mention Beldum this chapter, haha.

I'm curious about what happened with Alan, while it's possible that the events transpired as he said, it's also possible that the League punished him lightly and he lied to them about it. Not huge either way though I do like that there's some ambiguity in this.

As for the events with Cameron, I did like the pay-it-forward attitude. If trainers helped each other out more then becoming a trainer wouldn't be as difficult or dangerous. I guess there's some merit in maintaining a high level of difficulty in becoming a trainer since it ensured that those who did have the determination to do so, but lowering the danger is something that should be encouraged.

On another note, I do find that the rule on cash stakes in pokemon battles being half your available cash might not be practical. It actually discourages battling since on average you'd have to win twice everytime you lose in order to recoup your losses. I'd suggest a standardized cash stake depending on the number of badges you have which can be raised or lowered depending on the trainers' agreement.

I do hope to see more ambition from Finn though, currently both of his friends seem to have a clearer goal in mind than him, and I'd prefer to watch him aim for the top rather than be satisfied with exploration. Looking forward to the next chapter.

Poor Benedict! I don’t think losing some of his seeds will permanently disable him but that will definitely set him back by a lot. I’m curious to see how this will harm or benefit him in the long run. The shock of losing part of himself could go a long way in developing his psychic abilities by overcoming it all if it’s spun in a certain way. Or I could be misreading it all and Benedict will end up having to retire from the lineup.

I loved the bug invasion and how you described the battle. It was a little chaotic but easy to follow and sucked me in.

I wonder how much criminal organizations are going to appear in the story. If this is a small subplot or of this ends up turning into something more.

I don’t know how it took me this long to find this story but I’ve really been enjoying it. It’s hard to find a good OC Pokémon trainer fic.

The story is easy to follow with good grammar and it looks like you have multiple plots running to keep it interesting and I’m excited to see how it all develops.

In terms of the current team, I love the coverage and species you have. I also like that Finn is actually thinking about his team in a competitive sense, most people just throw the best Pokémon at them and have them found through luck and not planning. I do disagree with your stance on the current composition though. While they are all heavy hitters I think Felix and larvitar will eventually be pretty good tanks. Felix has thick fat and will be a fat tough mammoth and larivitar (from what I’ve seen I could be wrong) will end up being a super tough rock dinosaur who’s typing won’t hurt him too bad with how much he hardens. Toxapex and Corviknight would be great additions to his team and give him a lot of options too.

I’m curious to see if Finn keeps Alan and Orion as traveling companions for long. The safety in numbers makes a lot of sense with the more violent world building you have going on but I can also already see some foreshadowing of some possible group fracturing coming into the picture. Orion seems pretty chill but Alan is coming across as an eventual throwaway character there simply to help the MC grow and develop.

So we get the aftermath of the battle and the Exeggcute's fate... I guess it could be better but it could also be a lot worse. I do like the pseudo-scientific take on Benedict's recovery though, even if it does seem like he might not be viable for a long time. It's definitely a painful conundrum for a budding trainer since the 6 slots of his team are restrictive and he needs all his pokemon up and training. But his pokemon are more than just his fighters, they're his team and even his friends, and their fate in his hands as much as his is in theirs.

Well that escalated quickly, now we see why trainers are integral to the world. Hopefully Finn resorting to his Larvitar in battle isn't going to backfire. I'm glad though that it finally appears that he's gotten through to him, and it does look like Finn had no other choice lest he have lost Dixie as well. You definitely upped the stakes in this chapter.

Here's to hoping that Benedict (I love that name...eggs benedict, haha) pulls through... we don't know how Exeggcute function and it's entirely possible that the two intact heads might be able to regenerate the other three? We'll have to wait and see, maybe Benedict will end up crippled because of this.

Also, I'm liking how you had the trainers fight alongside their pokemon (and how it led to Finn finally gaining Larvitar's approval), it reminds me of the Sun's Soul in a good way.

Well Finn definitely jynxed (I liked your use of that spelling, haha) that. Anyway, I'm glad to see that you're using a version of gym battles that makes more sense than canon. It also doesn't make sense for gym leaders to use their full effort against lower leveled trainers since difficulty (and the associated display of skill) should be geared towards their number of badges.

Corviknight would be a great addition to Finn's team though like he said, getting it would be the issue. It'd provide valuable transport which his team currently lacks since teleport can only travel to places you've been. I'm actually hoping that eventually Finn will go beyond 6 pokemon at a time which I assume is possible for more expert trainers.

Glad to see that Finn didn't lose to Lyra, while he did have the type advantage. The terrain was slightly more disadvantageous for Dixie than Lyra's Bayleaf. Hmm, as for Finn's thoughts earlier on about his choice of pokemon, I'm kinda surprised that he didn't include Tyranitar as an example of tankiness, while it's not a pure tank, it does have pretty high tankiness. Well, I'd be interested to see which pokemon he chooses, while a Toxapex ain't bad, I admit I'm a sucker for a steel type tank like Aggron or Metagross.

We also got some insight into Finn's ambition, which is pretty small for now, hopefully this does change in the future so that he strives for higher.

That does remind, I assume that Prof Elm's missing pokemon was stolen by Silver?

I love this thank you!

This is rapidly becoming my favourite pokemon fic, really enjoying how you're developing your characters, both human and pokemon. All too often, writers tell not show in order to describe their world and characters, and it's a pleasant surprise to see that this fic is not included in that number.

Anyway, liking the new Torchic addition to the pokemon team, Blaziken is a fantastic battler and Torchic is freaking adorable.

Wow, so I didn't expect Larvitar to be such a handful, but I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise since your interpretation of dark pokemon has given them an innate... well darkness and malice to them. Well, there's value in diversity and adversity can be overcome, with the reward being all the sweeter.

On another note, I really appreciate how your story is blazing its own trail, not rehashing elements of canon which is much more strenuous on the creative juices. The only reason why I can see this being not more popular is due to the OC premise, which is usually rather poorly done.

Well crap, so it wasn't a group of Shiftry but a swarm of seedot and Nuzleaf... guess I got it in my head from a different pokemon fic. Your worldbuilding continues to be fantastic, I liked the exploration into alternate methods of evolution even it turned out to be pretty horrific in nature. You retained the mysticism of pokemon whilst expanding upon what canon had already shown in a believable manner.

Anyway, looks like Finn and co. managed to make some valuable acquaintances, and hopefully revealing his Larvitar egg does not backfire on Finn. It's understandable though since as mentioned, hatching a Larvitar is a difficult prospect and the knowledge of a professor and professional breeder would be invaluable.

It's too bad about Sebastian the Feraligatr though, that was my starter as well, so it's depressing to hear him get taken down by a swarm of grass pokemon. Your world of pokemon continues to be a pretty grim approach, but hopefully Finn can power through.

So we got our first pokemon battle, and while it was quick (understandably), it was still entertaining. I actually liked that it was relatively short since they're still novice trainers and their pokemon are new to battling.

I liked that there were continuing repercussions from the experiences in the previous chapter, with Alan being on the more anxious side at the prospect of something untoward happening since he was most impacted since the other two either managed to retain their pokemon or had theirs immediately replaced.

And crap... sounds like a group shiftry which is not something you want to run into.

On a minor note, in the previous chapter you mentioned that exeggcute had 6 heads but this chapter they had 5 (which is the usual number).