A/N: Well I tried to get things moving in this chapter but it looks like there's a couple things left before we really get into it. Anyway, hope you all enjoy the chapter Primal out.
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(3rd POV)
Leo was feeling a tiny bit confused. His dad had told him that he was going to make sure he wasn't fighting for his life from the moment he got there but this seemed to be a lot more than that. For one, Leo could already tell that this was a level 10 reality.
This didn't surprise him considering the universe of Pokemon was known to have more than its fair share of reality warping gods, but he still hadn't expected to meet mortals capable of killing him.
In fact, if Leo wasn't so shocked by the woman's presence, he might have had a bigger reaction upon hearing the lady mention her name. As it was, Leo could only observe the woman in front of him warily as he weighed his options. He didn't particularly like his odds of escaping anymore, and trying to fight her now would just be suicide.
"Excuse me Madam, but before I just follow along can you explain where exactly I am and how you seem to know me?" Leo spoke up politely in the slightly tense atmosphere, wanting to gather more intel while things were still civil. He already halfway believed the woman, because at her strength she simply had no reason to lie to someone as weak as him.
Still, his intuition saying she's harmless or not he needs to verify everything he can, his mother had told him plenty of scary stories of young genius's arrogance and the consequences they suffered.
After all, in this universe cluster alone there were plenty of mutations and abilities out there that could affect even Leo's parents if they were caught unaware.
Caroline had at some point in between the few seconds since her voice spread out and Claire's salute already appeared by the younger woman's side and gently lifted her up. "Claire, sweetheart I always tell you to drop all the formal stuff with me. Sigh, you really are just as stubborn as those stupid dragons. I still blame your cousin for being a bad influence..."
Though she spoke in an admonishing tone, Caroline emanated a kind and nurturing aura as if she were mother earth welcoming all who saw her into her loving embrace. Her clothes seemed to be a simple white linen shirt with golden stitching coupled with airy beige yoga pants with the same stitching.
Her practical attire did little to hide her timeless good looks. With auburn hair that appeared to lighten to blonde in parts, coupled with her warm dull grey eyes that looked too expressive and her frankly MILF like body, it became obvious to Leo that for a woman with her status and looks it was almost certain she was telling the truth.
After all, she was strong enough to know and fear his parents. She might have thought she hid it well, but Leo knew she had been watching since he showed up and only decided to show herself when things were about to get messy.
The only reason Leo could think of for anyone who was already one of the strongest in this universe to feel the need to carefully observe and intervene in matters of his level would be if things had been as the woman had said and his dad contacted her.
That being said, "Oh, dear little litleo, your father sent a message to the ruling court as soon as you were born and the origin you had was identified."
Hearing this Leo was confused as he never had understood how the supposed 'Universe Origins' worked and figured now would be a good time to get a clearer understanding of what they were. "That does sound like my father, if I may ask what exactly are these Origins supposed to be anyway?"
Seeing the genuine curiosity in his eyes, Caroline found herself speechless at the apparent lack of knowledge given to the boy. "Well, it's a very complicated matter that has to do with your parent's lineage and strength. To simplify it, your Origins show that you have the potential to be the undisputed owner of whatever reality your origin matches.
This doesn't make you special, in fact everyone has at least one origin, it's just not that easy to access and almost pointless for others even if they could. Most people are born with a lesser origin anyway so it's ultimately of little consequence to regular people and even regular powerhouses."
Reaching this point, Caroline stopped and gave another friendly smile to Leo, "I think it would be best if we moved this conversation to another location, don't you?" Leo thought it over, and finally nodded knowing that he had been a bit hasty in trying to get his answers without minding the environment.
Now that his mind could take in the surroundings in more detail Leo was shocked to realize he was in the middle of a large training ground of sorts. His newly enhanced vision allowed him to see every detail within a 10-mile radius and to say he was surprised would be an understatement.
Where before they had been floating high up in the atmosphere, above a simulated training ground full of different biomes connected to one another. Now all around was a tranquil forest that went far past the limits of Leo's perception.
The trees seemed to be of all different shades and colors with flames flickering on the leaves of one tree, while next to it another tree with what looked like feathers generated mini tornadoes around itself. There were others all with their own unique properties that somehow maintained their harmony here.
Leo, Claire and Caroline had at some unknown time moved to this new location and Leo was having a little difficulty in understanding how this Caroline woman kept managing to fool his senses. "Now that we are here you should be able to answer my questions, right? Also where exactly are we?" Leo spoke up after regaining his composure.
He chose to be the bigger man and ignore the derisive snort he heard Claire release as she was standing a few feet behind Caroline and continued to glare at him. 'Honestly, that chick needs to chill out, there's no way she's that grumpy all the time, right?'
Still, while Leo was thinking Caroline began to walk forward while waving for the two to follow her. As she walked, the trees seemed to recognize her and moved out of her way after giving her an affectionate rub or pat on the hand with their vines or leaves.
"Well little one, I won't be able to fully explain the Origins because I myself have never walked that path and I have been instructed to not let you have access to certain information without you reaching the required strength." Caroline said and couldn't resist reaching up to tousle his hair when she saw his cute face scrunched up in displeasure for the first time.
"I am sure your father has his reasons for training you the way he is. Can I take it you believe my story now?" Caroline asked with genuine curiosity. "Hmm, oh yeah, knowing him I was already halfway to believing you, but after that last part I know this is all him." Leo was annoyed, why wouldn't they just make things easier for him?
"I can see you are annoyed, but don't worry I am taking you to get tested right now and then we can see about what your plans will be for your stay here. Who knows, you might even find a pokemon to bond with." Caroline said with a happy smile.
"Oh shit!" Leo exclaimed and suddenly went still, confusing the two with him and making Caroline's heart skip a beat, wondering if that dreadful figure had something to do with it. Soon, both women saw a sight that would go on to start a legend.
Leo's entire body began to emit a platinum brilliance, gradually getting stronger as he stood there with a look of concentration on his face. His features began to blur as his ash-colored dreadlocks whipped around with light clinking sounds. The previously almost unnoticed chain markings winding around Leo's body began to release even more intense brilliance.
All at once, the light abruptly gathered in the center of Leo's chest. A moment passed, then a single beat of a heart was heard. Fireworks exploded across Claire's and Caroline's vision as the light seemed to explode. Rapidly blinking away the spots in their eyes, Claire looked dumbstruck while Caroline seemed to have expected a similar result.
Both women's eyes widened as they took in the sight in front of them. Leo was walking back towards them as if nothing had happened, while wrapped around his shoulders was a mutant mew. It had fur that glistened like a night sky full of stars and beautiful golden pupils that sparkled with such emotion it could draw weaker minds in like a hypnotic spell.
Claire started to open her mouth only for Caroline to cut her off with a quick wave of the hand and a smile, "Wow young Leo is that your first pokemon? Quite impressive I would expect nothing less of you, but can I ask how long you have had your pokemon? I only need to know how to adjust the testing equipment."
Deciding that his dad probably wouldn't send him somewhere too dangerous while he was going through his first universe level training, Leo decided to be honest about his pokemon. Besides, his abilities from his family are way more impressive than mew's for now. And even if the worst happened, there were still a few contingencies set in place by both Leo and his mom.
"Actually, Mew here is my soul bound pokemon so I was born with her. If anything, we are siblings more than pokemon and trainer." Leo spoke plainly, not quite noticing the discreet looks of surprise and delight that flashed in Caroline's eyes,
"That's perfect, even more reason for you to attend to this test. With it we can find out your soul's capacity and quality. You might not know this, but in this reality, people born with a pokemon are considered exceptional geniuses even if they were born with a regular caterpie as a soul bound. There are many reasons for that, but the biggest one is that all the strongest people in this reality started off with s soul bound pokemon with no exceptions." Caroline spoke with a calm yet happy tone.
The boy himself was mentally apologizing to his little princess of a mew that was upset that he didn't think to even ask for her help when facing one of her own inferior kind. Watching in her words, 'that barbaric lizard' fight so coordinated with Claire had only pushed her buttons more.
Now Leo had to promise to leave her out as long as she wanted in normal situations and to train to fuse their abilities together. As far as his talent was concerned, Leo was honestly not worried. On one hand, even if he had no talent for this reality's energy system, he would still get stronger. It would just take a little longer as his abilities adapted to the new reality he was in.
Their short walk came to an end a few minutes later as they arrived at what looked to be a science station in the middle of the forest. Caroline stopped and turned to Leo before she spoke,
"Welcome to my humble Lab, here is where we will run a couple tests and get you your first or rather first official pokemon."