How were TMs made?
The best answer to that question would be that a machine was used to extract the information for a said move from a Pokémon. Then, that same information was stored in a device from which it could be transferred to another Pokémon.
However, there was a major drawback to this: for that very reason, not only were TMs not readily available, but they were also quite expensive.
The said drawback was that the Pokémon from which the information was extracted forgets about that move and thus has to be retrained to a certain level of proficiency before it could once again be extracted.
But what if there was a Pokémon that could learn a move just by seeing it once?
Smeargle only knew one move, [Sketch], a move that allows the Pokémon to learn a move that the see. The new move would replace [Sketch], but when the said move was extracted to be made into a TM, it would be forgotten and thus replaced by [Sketch] once again.
It created a perfect loop and made Smeargle the most sought-after Pokémon by a larger corporation. So much so that even the league had lightened the restrictions around the number of trades a trainer could make every month when it came to Smeargle.
A trainer could only trade five Pokémon every month, and no two Pokémon could be of the same species. It was something the leagues around the world introduced to combat the trading of Pokémon in black markets.
However, it was totally possible to trade five Smeargle without breaking any rules or regulations.
And who bought/traded for a Smeargle? Silph Co. or Devon Corporation.
These two companies were the only ones that currently knew how to produce TMs and thus had a monopoly over this item sought after by every trainer. Although the league interfered to make prices a bit more reasonable for trainers, TMs were still very expensive, which meant massive profits for the two companies.
They bought/traded every Smeargle put on the market for exorbitant prices, in hundreds of thousands.
So, when Daemon saw a wild Smeargle, the first thought in his mind was how much money he would be able to make if he caught it.
These normal-type Pokémon were very rare, and this opportunity before him might change the very trajectory of his trainer career. But when he saw the Pokémon this Smeargle was trying to escape from, all these thoughts vanished for a moment.
It wasn't a large Pokémon, maybe about two feet in length?
The main body of the Pokémon was in a deep shade of blue but was covered with black hair throughout. The hair was so prominent that it even covered its eyes, making the Pokémon almost blind.
~Roar~
Seeing the Smeargle knee on one knee in pain, the dark-haired Pokémon let out a roar before draconic flames filled its mouth.
"Smear...!"
~Boom~
[Dragon Breath] hit the normal-type and burned its body while the draconic energy coursed through the various injuries, which were mostly bite marks left behind by earlier attacks.
Smeargle stood no chance and fainted the very next moment.
~Roar~
The draconic Pokémon let out a deep roar that reverberated through the forest.
Daemon could feel the silence deepen even further as if every Pokémon in the vicinity had decided to hide away from an apex predator. And then its attention shifted...from the unconscious, maybe dead Smeargle, to...them.
"Shit!" Daemon cursed under his breath, and his starter got ready to fight. "Alice, dodge!" They jumped to a side, narrowly avoiding [Dragon Breath].
Knowing how precarious the situation was, his mind spun at high speed, analyzing the situation.
'Dark/Dragon...can't use psychic attacks...[Mystical Fire] will have no effect either...four times from fairy-type...[Disarming Voice].'
"Alice, no psychic attacks. Kite it with [Mystical Fire] and then [Disarming Voice]." He gave a quick set of orders, and once his Pokémon gave him a nod, he dipped into the forest, not to run away but for something else.
Ralts knew what she was facing, and having learned the type chart, she knew how much of a disadvantage as well as advantage that she held. So, as another [Dragon Breath] made its way to her, she unleashed four fireballs to barely counter it.
She had one shot at this; timing was very important, and if she could exhaust the dragon-type a little, it would be even better. As for her trainer? She knew where he had gone.
And indeed, as Ralts had guessed, Daemon had sneaked into the forest and run over to the unconscious Smeargle.
'It's almost dead.' He quickly examined the normal-type's body and saw various injuries, especially the bite marks; some burned, some were frozen, while some crackled with electricity. '[Fire Fang], [Ice Fang] and [Thunder Fang]?'
As he further analyzed the predicament, he simultaneously took out a healing potion before spraying much of it on the normal-type. This was the best treatment he could give the Smeargle for now.
Next, he took out an empty pokeball, capturing the normal-type.
'Smeargle secured.' He thought before turning towards the ongoing battle.
The dragon-type was charging at his starter with a [Tackle], but having fought in this forest terrain for the last five days, Ralts easily maneuvered behind the tree while throwing another fireball of [Mystical Fire] at the dragon's face.
'It's angry.' Daemon thought as he saw the dragon starting to pulverize the tree Ralts had hid behind with [Fire Fang] after [Fire Fang]. 'Why?'
Every dragon had temperament issues, maybe except the Dragonite line. But the dragon before him was not angry...it was livid. It was fighting for the sake of destroying.
'Whatever.' He did not have the luxury to delay any longer, and so he once again hid in the forest before circling behind the dragon. Ralts needed one attack...just one, to do a significant amount of damage to it. But she could not, since the dragon was relentless in its attacks.
So, the black-haired boy grabbed a large rock and then hurled it at the dragon's head.
"Fight me!" He shouted at it as well, making sure the dragon's attention was now focused on him. As he had expected, the dragon roared in his direction before unleashing a [Dragon Breath].
~Boom~
The part of land Daemon stood upon exploded upon contact with the flames, but the boy had already moved away. He had made use of the limited visibility of the dragon, feeding it wrong information with his shout.
And while the dragon was turned away, the fairy-type who had been gathering energy took a deep breath before letting out as loud [Disarming Voice] as she could.
~Screech~
Ripples of fairy-type energy travelled over to the dark dragon, and the result was what one would expect.
The dragon screamed in agonizing pain.
Being a dual dark and dragon type meant it took four times the normal from fairy-type moves, added with the fact that [Disarming Voice] was also a STAB that further increased the move's power.
~Screech~
Knowing it was better not to take a risk, Ralts did not let up and continued the [Disarming Voice] until all of her energy was depleted.
"Ra...Ra...Ra..."
The fairy-type huffed for breaths as the dragon-type dropped to the ground, no longer moving or screaming. But even then, neither Daemon nor Ralts moved towards it.
The duo stood opposite each other with Deino in their centre, waiting, and when Ralts had gained some of her breath back, her trainer ordered once more.
"Double-tap it."
~Screech~
Ralts let out another [Disarming Voice] albiet much weaker than last time at the downed Deino, and when the dragon-type did not even twitch, the duo let out a breath they did not know they were holding.
"What the fuck was that?"
Daemon usually did not curse, but he could not stop himself this time.
"Ra, Ralts."
"Yeah, we should leave." Daemon agreed with her words, but not before taking out his pokedex and scanning the downed dragon.
[Deino, the irate Pokémon. Because it can't see, this Pokémon is constantly biting at everything it touches, trying to keep track of its surroundings. If it likes what it tastes, it will commit the associated scent to memory.
**Warning**: Highly aggressive species.
Special Note: It is a Pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
Gender: Male
Type: Dark/Dragon
Ability: Hustle
Moves: Focus Energy, Tackle, Bite, Fire Fang, Ice Fang, Thunder Fang, Dragon Breath]
-
"Wait...hold up." Daemon raised an eyebrow...not at the pokedex entry, but the fact his dex was showing the moveset of this Pokémon. "Is it a wild Pokémon?"
A pseudo-legendary of Unova Region that was a protected species was...a wild Pokémon? In Viridian Forest of the Kanto Region?
The black-haired boy took out another pokeball and threw it at the dragon.
~Wiggle~
~Wiggle~
~Wiggle~
~Ding~
It was caught.
"W-What?" Daemon was as shocked as he was confused; nothing about this moment was making sense.
There were so many things at play that he could not make sense of it. But what he could make sense of was...
"Let's run." He grabbed Deino's pokeball and picked Ralts up in his arms before running towards Pewter City.
Daemon needed answers, but every cell of his body told him to get the fuck out of this forest before he started finding those answers. So, that's exactly what he did.
He ran.
...And ran.
...And ran.