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Chapter Text

It takes me about eighteen minutes to decide I'm not dreaming. It's about the point where I step on a pointy broken-off point on a stick with my bare feet.

I'm not an outdoorsy person. I'm very much an indoorsy person. So when I realized I really was in the middle of a forest, alone, naked, in the middle of the night, I nearly broke down crying right then and there. I never went camping, I never went close to the woods. And especially not at night.

It was terrifying, the moment I realized I wasn't dreaming, because that meant I had gotten here somehow. Someone took me from my home, took away my clothes, and dumped me in the woods. I might be in a national park, for all I knew. There might not be people for miles.

I could die here.

It was soon after that chilling realization that I noticed the first one. The stench was the first thing I picked up on. I was clumsily pushing my way through the brush, when I practically stumbled on top of it. The stink increased the more I thrashed with the bushes and tried to get away. Eventually, the thing decided it had enough and jumped me. It threw itself into my chest and sent me sprawling.

I shrieked as the creature climbed on top of me, nearly a foot long, it was a warm, heavy, stinking thing with multiple sticky grabby feet that clung to my skin as it wormed its way across me. Reaching up and trying to rip it off me, I was rewarded with a spray of warm, stiff stuff from the thing's mouth.

I somehow managed to get to my feet, huffing with panic, and stumbled backwards, furiously pounding on the alien thing on my chest and scratching at it. More web was forthcoming, and my limbs were beginning to get tangled with the nearby branches.

Finally, I got a good hit on one of its eyes, ew, and the thing jumped back off me with a screech, fleeing into the woods.

I went the opposite direction from it, making as long of strides as I possibly could, with my body covered with the webbing trying to catch me on every plant I passed by.

Some of it had begun to dry out, and with some effort I could rip it away bit by bit, but that was when I found myself surrounded. I had stumbled into a small clearing, where nearly a dozen of the things were gathered. On the trees were strange chitinous growths.

It was like I interrupted a conversation. The weird worm things had been chittering and screeching to one another quietly for a few seconds after I had come into the clearing, but now it had tapered off, and ten sets of big, beady eyes glinting in the moonlight turned to me. Most were like the ones before, with two bumps on their head, while three instead had a very pointy horn on the front, and another spike on their tail.

I froze in place, trying to hold my breath. Neither me nor them dared to move, until one of the pointy ones made a sharp hissing sound that tapered off into a buzz.

"Please no."

There was a reply from about thirty feet away, and then another. And then more. The worm monsters began to mimic the first little bastard, making sharp trilling and buzzing noises. The chitinous growths on the trees vibrated and shifted, and I turned tail and ran before a freaking spike embedded itself into the bark nearby me. It had shot out like an arrowhead, and was nearly as long as one of my fingers. I gulped, and saw that where the bark made direct contact with the spike, it fizzled and smoked a little, like acid.

I turned my head and looked at one of the things on the tree. Two of the darker spots glinted as its eyes turned to meet mine. The bottom of the thing shifted once more, opened, and-

I ducked and scrambled out of the clearing, hearing two more thunks as more darts shot past me and hit trees nearby.

Buzzing and trilling from the air grew louder and I flinched as things went flying overhead. I tried to move quieter, and stay closer to the ground.

I shuffled along the ground that way for nearly a half hour. I saw more things. Sometimes more of those worm monsters, sometimes... I don't know, marsupials or something, shuffling by in the bushes. Either way, all of the creatures that I caught a hint of were larger than a rabbit, and I had no idea what they were. I wasn't going near them if I had any choice about it.

I thought I was making pretty good progress, when the trilling sound that passed by overhead occasionally became louder, and repeated more often. I got lower into the brush, and looked around at the gaps between the leaves of the trees. At least the moon was full. I might be able to get a glance of it-

All I manage to get sight of are bright white wings before something tosses me through the air. I land roughly, and my head is swimming. Before I can get up, it happens again. I nearly throw up. I try to stand, before I remember I'm trying to hide, and fall over myself as a result.

The trilling is right behind me now, but it takes me a few tries to actually get my head to turn around. I've never felt this dizzy in my life, I don't think.

I throw my hands up and wave them furiously as the butterfly from hell gets in my face. The bright white wings are startlingly visible in the nearly pitch forest, and in the moonlight they flashed occasionally, letting me see glimpses of the rest of it. I mostly focused on the fangs peaking from its mouth, and the big, compound blood-red eyes.

It moved forward and grabs onto my hair, yanking me back with it, but when I struggle free, it begins to flap its wings harder. I feel a breeze hit me, and cough as something strong-smelling goes up my nose. As soon as it does, my nose and eyes start burning, and I cough harder as I feel suddenly sick on top of everything else.

I'm naked, and alone, and in the woods, and it's dark, and everything hurts, and monsters are hunting me. I'm dizzy, and sneezing, and I can't see, and I feel like throwing up.

When the thing's claws grab onto me again, pulling me into the air, it trills noisily, and I can barely put up even token resistance.

My eyes flutter closed, and I let sleep take me.

When I wake up, my body aches, my chest hurts, and my eyes and nose still sting, though nowhere near how much they were when I blacked out.

I'm in a pit, the entrance to the hole only letting in a little sunlight from above, and the cave stinks both of the stench of those worms, and the scent of rotting meat. I gag, and begin trying to climb up. When I reach the entrance, there's a furious buzzing noise and the worst surprise yet reveals itself in the light of day.

A Beedrill, because it can't be anything else, descends from somewhere out of sight and buzzes angrily at me when I reach the lip of the pit. It menaces me with its huge dangerous, poisonous stingers, jerking its hand downwards to the pit.

I follow the pokemon's command, and slink back into the horrible-smelling pit and try to come to terms with what I just saw, and put it together with last night's events. Pokemon.

I was terrified of a Caterpie. Fought for my life, against a Caterpie. And then a Butterfree knocked me out and dragged me here, and now... what. How smart are pokemon? Am I their prisoner? Their emergency food? Is this just to teach me a lesson, or is it just what they do with prey they capture alive, or...

God.

God damn it.

None of this makes sense.

It's hours before I try the lip of the cave again. My throat is parched, my stomach is growling, and now that the- poisonpowder or sleeppowder or whatever has fully run its course, my body is able to focus on other things beside how sick I feel.

When I climb up, there's no Beedrill furiously buzzing me back down, so I poke my head out and have a look at the grove where the creatures are staying.

I'm pretty sure I read, or heard, somewhere over the course of playing the games and watching the show, that Beedrill are super territorial. Seeing how they treated me, I understand that first-hand. But if that was true, then the scene I was looking at was a little less probable. Beedrill and Butterfree flitted from place to place in seeming harmony. More Butterfree than Beedrill. More Caterpie and Metapod than their more poisonous counterparts too. For every one Beedrill I saw there were three Butterfree.

I watched as a Butterfree carrying- I assume a Rattata -and dropped it into a similar pit under a different tree. It's furry and purple and beige at the very least. And seems to be the right shape. It's also asleep, and more than a little beat up.

After dropping it down there, I slinked back a little, waiting until it left, before pulling more of myself from the pit and crawling along the ground.

A few Weedle and Caterpie came to investigate, and I played dead once they came close. Seemingly satisfied, they left me alone. I moved like that, bit by bit, and avoided the attention of the more dangerous three-foot-tall nightmares that stayed in the higher branches. I understood why the larva didn't consider me much a threat. I spied a few more lumps in the grass which were likely the source of the stink from the pit.

I tried to inch my way out of the grove, heading away from the pit entrance, and away from where the buzzing and trilling was loudest.

On my way out, a repeated calling caught my attention. A group of Caterpie and Weedle making their quiet screeches and chittering, while something making a different sound entirely was in the middle.

I tried to ignore it at first, until I heard the first thunk of a Poison Sting being launched, and the sound of the other pokemon got more restless.

I told myself it was just nature.

"Shrreeee!"

Biting my lip, I considered my options. If I jumped up and started kicking babies, the adults above wouldn't be too happy with me. It would basically be suicide. This grove was like a fortress. The only thing keeping me from being hit by psybeams and pinmissiles and whatever else they had in store was that I was below their notice.

"Shreee! Shreeee!"

They were torturing it, weren't they? Didn't Caterpie just eat leaves? Did Weedle? I can't remember. They were both fictional, this time yesterday. It didn't matter what they ate.

"Shrreeeee!"

Then it was quiet.

A Butterfree fluttered down towards the group and made some harsh-sounding trills, and the group of larva broke up, making annoyed noises. They were very expressive, at least. But that was kind of the point of pokemon, wasn't it? Your character was supposed to be able to make friends with them. They'd have to be expressive in ways we could understand.

The butterfree reached down and picked up the poor thing- a mass of vines, with two small red things sticking out from it and began digging in, chewing determinedly on a length of plant matter.

Suddenly, two eyes shot open in the mass of vines, and the entire thing squirmed unnervingly. The vine the Butterfree was chewing on suddenly came loose with a pop, dropping from the rest of the body of the pokemon. The Butterfree considered it, before dropping the vine and going for another one, still connected to the shrub-like creature.

"Shrreee! Shreee! Shree!" it hissed. The Butterfree spit it out, and then rose into the air, flapping hard down towards the thing. I saw the air sparkle, but I was far enough away to not get caught in whatever move that was. Either way, the thing- the Tangela, I guess- was slowing down, and quieting.

It was just nature.

The eyes in the plant matter were half-lidded, and they looked around helplessly. It made eye contact with me.

I froze.

It didn't blink, for a while, before it simply closed its eyes and relaxed. It probably blacked out. Like I did. That, or it was accepting its fate.

It didn't give me away. Or ask for help or... I don't know. It could have. Maybe it wasn't smart enough to?

The Butterfree began pulling vines off once more, occasionally stopping to eat a bit of one before going back to plucking it. I got up, trying to hold my breath, and I clenched my whole body as I waited for the first strike to hit home. I think some of the pokemon were surprised, but nothing was attacking just yet.

Now that I was a bit higher, I could see that some of the trees in the distance didn't have any Metapods sticking to them. I had a way out. If I was fast enough. If they didn't just catch me right off the bat when I ran.

I kicked the Butterfree in the back, and the only slightly metaphorical hornets nest erupted. I reached down and grabbed the Tangela, jerked in place as I let out a groan at the surprising weight, and took off shambling for the patch of Metapod-free trees.

There were the now-familiar thunks of Poison Stings being launched at me, along with the flapping sound of Butterfree using their own longer-ranged attacks. A sudden burst of air, like an explosion at my naked back, picked me up and sent me tumbling. It hurt like hell, but it actually got me closer to my goal of possible safety.

My bare feet slapped the mossy ground repeatedly as I ran as fast as I could. My burden, the poor Tangela, was heavier than it looked. For what seemed like a foot-tall bunch of vines, it must have been pretty densely packed.

Buzzing and trilling and the sounds of attacks filled the forest behind me. I didn't dare stop for anything. Not actually knowing anything about navigating in the woods, nor knowing anything about this woods in particular, I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing. When I found myself heading into a more sparse area, the only real thought going through my head was that it would be easier to run without the saplings and bushes getting in the way.

I didn't stop to think about why.

With a ferocious screech, this time coming from in front of me, I skidded to a halt and took in the sight of a huge, bright red bird leaping down from a tree. It had savage claws, and was bigger than any bird I had ever seen in my world. The swarm behind me changed audibly, and risking turning my head, I saw that they had slowed their advance significantly.

When the bird did an obvious threat display, bending its beak low to the ground and raising its black-tipped wings and huge black-and-yellow tail feathers, I slowly bent down to the ground. The swarm behind me was now obviously hesitating, although I couldn't really understand why.

Each Beedrill on its own was only slightly smaller than the raptor in front of us, and it would have been dozens against one.

I understood better once it kicked off the forest floor and was simply gone. A force of wind exploded in every direction as the bird took off straight towards the heart of the swarm, embers drifting through the air behind it. When I looked behind me, the bugs were in panic, many of them on fire, others falling to the ground, dazed.

Either way, this was my opportunity to get out of there, and ditch my pursuers.

"Shrrrrrr..." the creature I had been carrying with me stirred, and the vines began to writhe all at once. I yelped as the loops I had been carrying it by undid themselves, and then began climbing up my bare arms. The woody ropes bit into flesh as they constricted, and I saw my fingertips starting to get pulled into the writhing mass of vines. Two eerily human eyes looked out at me, angry, frightened, confused and...

There was some recognition, and to my immense relief, he let my hands go. I dropped him, and took a few steps back.

We stared at each other for a few seconds, before it took off into the shrubs, vanishing, its texture no different from the rest of the tall grass in the area. "...Yeah, you're welcome." I muttered, before continuing my aimless trek through the forest.

I had read somewhere that if you were lost in the woods, the important thing was to stay where you are. But I couldn't. I was hungry, and thirsty, and there were monsters from one of my favorite video games running around trying to eat me.

I managed to come across a tree growing some type of fruit, and ate a few that fell on the ground. They didn't taste quite right, but it filled my stomach, was juicy enough to quench my thirst, and made me a feel a lot better about life. When I finished up with my lucky find, I was about to start wandering again, when the Tangela returned. That, or it was different pokemon entirely.

Not like I can tell one shrub from another, either.

It came closer, and I tensed a little. It held out a few tendrils of vine to me, and I hesitated, looking into its eyes. There was something close to gratitude, I think. So I took its hand. Not like I had many other options here. Letting it lead me into a darker patch of the woods, I began to notice the trees almost glittering. When I reached out to touch the shiny thing, I snagged onto a very thin wire. Or thread. Webbing, maybe.

"Tangela?" I asked out loud. The creature paused in its amble forward, and its eyes shifted among the vines to face me. "...Are there spiders here?"

"Shrrgg." it rumbled. It wasn't really an answer, but it didn't look afraid. It tugged my arm, and I continued following it, keeping an eye as best I could on the threads sparkling from tree to tree. I became more and more suspicious, as we continued, once I started seeing shapes moving among the branches, and darting in and out of the shrubs at my feet.

I gripped the offered vines tighter, and my eyes shifted back and forth.

Without warning, Tangela stopped in the middle of the forest, and looked around. I froze behind him, and watched the woods with horror as every creeping thing that had been keeping out of view suddenly weren't. Caterpie-like creatures- they were vaguely familiar, but my favorite game had been the original Ruby. I played most of the ones that came after it, although in most cases just enough to beat them once. I couldn't name most of the 600-something pokemon that existed now, or remember every single one.

All I knew is that from experience, Caterpie were assholes. And anything derived from them were probably jerks too.

Except Wurmples. I'm going to find a Wurmple, and get a Dustox. I'm in the Pokemon world now. I can actually do that.

I watched the advancing worms with suspicion, taking notice of the leaves they had... covering them? Growing out of them? Who knew. More creatures, foot-tall orbs of leaves, exposing a yellow vaguely insectoid face in the center, began to waddle from the shrubs at my feet, watching me closely. I inched closer to the Tangela, and began circling around, trying to find a clear path out.

Abruptly, Tangela dropped my hand, and shuffled off behind the wall of advancing leaf-Caterpie. My heart sunk at the betrayal, and I began to turn in circles, trying to keep as many of the creatures in view as I could.

They all stopped as one, however, when two tiny glinting red eyes appeared in the darkness. Inhumanly graceful, the three-foot-tall mantis thing, with wickedly sharp blades for arms, no hands, and an evil cowl made from a leaf advanced. I shivered, balling my hands into fists as it approached, and circled me. Its eyes shone with intelligence, and it looked at me from every angle. Probably trying to assess what kind of threat a small, naked, tired, and injured human could pose it.

Finally, it seems to have decided my fate. It raised one bladed hand to the air, and then pointed it at me. I flinched and closed my eyes as it let out a whistling sound, and the swarm around me sprung into action. Leaves by the thousands filled the air. I wondered what sort of attack it was, until the mantis advanced into the cyclone of leaves harmlessly. Its blade swung out, tapping from its mouth to the air, and I watched, transfixed, as a strange shape came into being.

As it continued its work, I glanced to Tangela, who slowly blinked. It was trying to smile, I think. Reassure me. The mantis in front of me became a blur of blades and leaves, until finally it was done, and let out another whistle. The leaves stopped being made, and drifted to the forest floor, where the orb-like creatures hurriedly began grabbing them and stuffing them into its cloak.

The mantis turned to me, and whistled imperiously. I walked forward, not sure what else to do. My heartbeat increased a bit when the bladed arm was suddenly under my elbow, and I put both my arms up when it tapped me twice.

Nodding, content, it gathered the mass of leaves it had formed, and then pressed it against me.

It went to work, circling me, tapping the very tip of its blades to its tongue, and closer up, I could see that the little bit of spit that trailed from its... beak? It didn't have lips, anyway, looked just like the threads covering the trees.

Finally, it seemed to be finished with its work, and with taps to both my arms, I let them down.

"kluuuuu?" it asked.

I looked down, and looked at the clothes. They were warm, I realized. I pulled at it a bit, and nothing tore off. It was sturdy too. I crossed my arms over myself, and felt much, much more human with something between my skin and the rest of the world.

"...Thank you." I said, close to tears.

"Kleeee." That was a 'you're welcome' if I ever heard it.

I went ahead and began to cry with relief. Tangela moved close to me, and nuzzled against the leaf dress. I lowered one of my hands, and a few tendrils rose up to clasp it.

"Klaaaaauuueee." the mantis intoned, and then a sharp whistle followed. The pokemon, the leaf-caterpie, acknowledged the cry with dozens of their own much-less graceful sounding whistles. More like hoarse high-pitched hissing. The mantis turned towards the woods, and began gracefully striding forward. The worms followed, and then the leaf orbs as well.

I turned to Tangela, "Should we-"

"Shrr"

"Okay." I followed with the others.

Hours passed, and when my stomach growled, I resisted the urge to punch one of the worms who suddenly dropped from a tree overhead with a round, blue fruit that I recognized instantly from the games. This was an Oran Berrie.

I wasn't exactly sure what it would do to humans, but they ate berries just fine in the anime, didn't they? I stuck it in my mouth, and felt a sudden surge of awareness. It was almost dizzying, the way my weariness went away.

I guess that's HP?

The mantis had been leading quite confidently for a while now, and after the gift of clothes, I wasn't leaving any time soon. But when the mantis stopped and ushered me forward, pointing at something in the distance, I nearly whooped for joy at the sight of the glow in the distance. It was close to evening, now, and people must be turning on the lights in their homes.

Reinvigorated, I rushed down the long path to civilization. As we got closer, Tangela, in a reversal of situations, was quickly becoming more nervous, and clung to my hand with its vines. "...You don't have to come with me. You've been a lot of help, but if you don't want to go down, you don't have to."

Tangela looked between the lights, and the sounds of some kind of construction work, and the forest behind us.

It looked up at me, and then down at the ground. Reaching with a few vines, it began gouging lines in the dirt. "Shrrg, shrreee." it gestured at the spot, and then promptly sat down.

"...You're waiting for me here?"

It nodded.

Taking a breath, I steadied myself, and looked at the mantis and the other leaf-bug creatures. "Okay. Well, thank you. Thank you so much." I said, as genuinely as I could. "Really, I mean it, if you guys... well, if you see me again, just let me know it's you! Or if, you can't. Or I don't get it, I'll just really try to be nice to all the pokemon that are your type, okay?" the mantis invalidated my tearful goodbye, however, by whistling harshly and pointing back at the forest. The rest of the little colony shambled their way back in, while Tangela sat in their spot, and the mantis gracefully strode down the hill towards the sounds of industry. "Oh, you're uh, coming with me?"

"Kluu."

"I... thanks. Okay."

I waved to Tangela and the rest of the colony and continued after the mantis. Rather than leading me straight towards the sounds, the mantis took me onto a dirt path that wove around the main area, and towards a large, isolated log cabin up on a small cliff.

While the mantis went over to the door and knocked gracefully on it a few times, I stood on the edge of the cliff, looking over the construction. It seemed to be a lumber mill as far as I could understand. A small town, almost, where people and pokemon worked to take down trees, lug them to machines, turn it into boards and dust, and then lugging that off to their proper places.

Just the sight of humans filled me with an enormous amount of joy. But the little log cabin was where the mantis wanted me to visit, so I would listen to it. It's helped me this far.

The mantis let out a few sharp whistles, and I turned back to it. I followed the bug's gaze down the hill, and my heart lit up when I saw a human being coming up the hill. I almost ran to her, but I wasn't exactly sure of the protocol here. The woman walking up the hill was tall, very tall. She had short blonde hair, freckles, and a tan. She was wearing a simple dark green shirt, and jean overalls. On her head was a hard hat, and against her shoulder was an axe.

And even after expecting them to be coming, it felt weird to see an adult wearing a belt that suspended colorful children's toys. On her waist were five pokeballs. Or rather, she had one pokeball, one Quickball, two Greatballs, and an Ultraball.

The woman whistled back to the mantis. The mantis whistled once more, a very slightly different tune this time. As she made her way up the hill, the woman stopped to look me up and down.

"Uh, hello?" I try, smiling way too wide, and way too nervously, "You don't know how good it is to see another human."

"Well, ain't this a situation." she replied, her tone calm, as she looked me up and down. She sighed, and then gave a short whistle. The mantis, for the first time since I saw it, looked unsure of itself. I had been impressed with how composed it was nearly all the time, but it looked split, now. The lumberjack woman leveled a hard stare at the bug pokemon, and the mantis, with a soft Kluuuluuu, waved goodbye, and strode across the hill, back up to the forest.

Suddenly alone with the stranger, I nervously watched my protector run off.

"It's a darn shame, you know." the woman said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"She used to be a rising star here at Grunbud Gym." the woman continued, "She was good at it. Real good. I had her as a cornerstone of my team for nearly three years before she decided it wasn't for her. How's she doing for herself?"

"In... the forest, you mean?"

"Yeah, I haven't seen her in nearly three years, since I released her. She's a big fish in a little pond."

"Well... she was very confident. Tangela- this Tangela I helped, well, it trusted her. Took me to her, but I don't think he was actually part of her colony."

"Colony?" the woman seemed actually shocked.

"Uh, yeah? Or is there a different term?"

"Well, uh, the term's swarm. I think." the older woman said, distracted, as she walked towards the door of the cabin, "Come in, come in, I'as being rude, keeping you out here after everything you've been through. Need a fire? Food?"

"Yes please." I say with too much enthusiasm.

She opens the door, and I shuffle into the cabin. I've never been in one before, but the general feeling I get from this place is 'cozy'. There's fur rugs on the floor- and there's a moment of mild disgust as I realize that someone had to skin a pokemon for this. Nailed to the walls are trophies, plaques, and countless photos.

She leads me into the little kitchen, and she throws some logs into an old-fashioned oven with a chimney. The lights on the ceiling are electric, so I guess she must just like using the older type. She starts a fireplace as well, throwing a few more logs into it. There are... a lot of logs inside the cabin. The furniture seems to be hand-carved as well.

"What do you want to eat? I'm sure you haven't had much besides fruit, right? Need some meat? I'm a pretty good cook."

"Sure, anything, really. I'm not picky, and I'm famished. Thank you for, um, letting me in."

"Not a problem. Anything for an old partner... so Leavanny, you said she had a swarm? Sewaddle and Swadloon, right?"

"I'm... not sure which is which."

"Sewaddle is the sewing pokemon. They're little wormy guys with leaf cloaks. They evolve into Swadloon, which keep their cloaks wrapped up over their whole bodies."

"Oh, then yes. There were dozens of them."

The woman smiles, and mutters a sentence that might be "I'm too young to have grandkids." When she looks up from the pan she put on the oven, where something begins to sizzle, and smells delicious, she grins, "Well I'm glad she's seeing some action. She always did love little pokemon, though I guess that's just the species. She'd take in strays all the time. Maybe your Tangela was too."

I nod, "Why did you release her? You're a Gym Leader, you said?" I didn't recognize her, but I assume she must be from one of the newer games, and that I probably breezed past her. I don't... remember a lumberjack themed one, but there might have been.

"She just decided the life wasn't for her." the woman said with a shrug, "...So, enough about me and Leavanny. What about you?"

Uh oh.

"Um."

"What were you doing deep in the Southwest woods? There's no one that lives there except pokemon."

"I don't know." I admit.

"Hm?"

"I don't know why I was there. Last night I went to bed in my bed, and then the next morning I wake up... naked in the woods." I adjust the poncho that mantis- Leavanny, that Leavanny made, and I suddenly realize that I'm in a strange woman's house, and I'm completely naked under a layer of leaves. I turn red, "Leavanny, was, kind enough to make me this before taking me to see you."

She nodded, "I gathered. Sorry, I should have offered you some decent clothes first. I think I might be a few sizes bigger than you though. You okay wearing boxers?"

"I'll be fine with anything." I say hurriedly. I don't like being naked. I want a bath, too. But first, and most important, I want food.

She turns back to the meal, "Well, that's pretty terrifying." she says, "You're a strong person to make it out of there. There's a reason humans stick inside their towns and their cities. Speaking of, do you know what city you're from? You don't strike me as a local."

"I'm uh..." I trail off.

Things... are awkward. I'm probably not from any city she'd recognize. Probably not in whatever region this is. And it would be even harder to explain that I'm not from the region at all. Not from this world. If it continued from there, it'd be hard to talk about pokemon as being something fictional.

"..."

She looks at me expectantly. Then she sighs, takes the food off the grill, and dishes it up. She sets a plate, two large glasses of water, and a bowl next to me. She shovels the bacon from the pan onto my plate, and then goes to a cupboard and brings a bag of cereal, setting it down next to the bowl. She's still staring at me, but at this point I can't really help myself. "Thank you." I say, before taking a long drink of my water, and taking knife and fork to the bacon in front of me.

She manages a small smile at my voracious eating, "Well, I'm glad someone likes my cooking. There isn't a better way to have Swinub than fried you know."

I nearly spit out everything in my mouth. For the rest of the meal, I stick with just the cereal.

She asks me three more times that night about where I live, (...) where my parents are, (...) if I still live with them, (...) and whether I'm a trainer or not (Err... no? No.). Giving up for the night, she fills the bath, and when I feel like a goddamn human being again, I dry off and thank her.

She puts a blanket onto her sofa and tells me I can sleep there, if I want to. I do. I very, very much do.

In the morning, I feel good. I'm wearing underwear, even if it's way too big, I'm wearing a real shirt, and real overalls. Not that I really wore overalls before either.

She makes breakfast for both of us, (no bacon this time. I don't really remember swinub, but I don't want to eat it either.) And then she tells me we're going to town. Once we're both out of the cabin, the Gym Leader reaches for the Ultraball on her belt, and throws it casually out. It opens in mid-air, and to my amazement and glee, light spills from it. It reminds me a lot of the anime.

However, my childish glee disappears once the growing light shows me how massive the pokemon she was summoning was. I thought that the Beedrill and Leavanny were terrifying (before I knew better, in the second case), but they were both technically smaller than I was. Only about three feet tall.

But this thing in front of me... Well, at least I recognized it. I must be in Sinnoh, right? Torterra. I used Infernape in my play-through of Pokemon Platinum, but I remember it existing. I can't remember for the life of me what any of those three's middle evolutions were called.

It was massive, truly massive. This was like looking at one of the medium-sized dinosaur skeletons at the museum. He was also old, and powerful. I could feel it. And when I looked down into his eyes, I could feel intelligence there too.

"Hey boy." the gym leader said pleasantly, putting a hand fearlessly on his head and rubbing slowly up his neck. "Ready for a trip into town?"

"Grraaaaaoooooorrrr" he responded calmly. I took a few steps back on instinct.

"Come on, don't insult me by thinking he'll bite anything if I don't give the say-so. Climb on."

I don't want to insult her, so I get onto the motherf**king dinosaur. It's simultaneously the coolest and scariest thing I've done since coming here. He's absolutely still as I climb on, and it's only after the gym leader climbs up as well that he moves. The Torterra turns towards the town, and begins a brisk pace that impressed me. It'd seem like a slow-moving creature in general. Being big, and being, you know, a turtle, but we're moving faster than we could walk.

"So... what are we doing in town?" I ask.

"We find your home." the gym leader asks simply. I clamp my mouth shut, and look out at the woods, where the sounds of logging have already begun. She catches my expression and sighs, "Well, I'm not having you live with me, and while I'm sure Leavanny would be pleased to take you in, I don't think you want to go back to live in the woods."

"No."

"So we're finding out your real home. Don't worry, as the Gym Leader, I'm basically the deputy mayor in Grunbud. We'll get you there."

"...Sure."

"It'd be easier if you just told me, you know."

"I can't. Not... yet."

"Why not?"

"I just... I already have some idea of what happened. Still no idea on the who, if there is a who that dumped me in the woods without my clothes, and still no idea on the why. But... I think I know the what."

"And what is the what?" she asks, grimly amused.

"I can't tell you. It sounds crazy. I... don't think I can get back home."

"Well, that's confusing." she says, "Hopefully the professor can figure this out better than I can."

"The professor?"

We stop outside of a large pristine multi-story building proudly labeled: POKEMON LAB.

The gym leader helps me down off of Torterra, gives him another pat on the head, and I'm treated to seeing a pokeball in action once more as the massive tree-turtle hybrid vanishes back into light.

"Have you ever wondered what it's like inside of one of those things?" I asked, as we walk into the building and head for the front desk.

"More than once." the gym leader said, "From what Professor Palm tells me, when I asked him, it's a kind of stasis with some awareness of the world around them. They're aware, Palm tells me, but not really awake. When we send them out, they aren't surprised by the change in location or need to adjust to the tone of the situation, because they got most of that while they were still in the ball. Keeps em' mentally prepared, but physically just like how they were when they went in."

"Huh."

"Oh! Leader Vidalia!" the man at the front desk says with a grin, "This is a surprise. Professor Palm is with his daughter and guest in the main laboratory right now." he looks to me, "Is this about the favor Palm asked you about the Pokedex?"

"No. It's unrelated. Am I interrupting anything?" the gym- oh. Vidalia. Gym Leader Vidalia... not familiar. She never told me her name. But then again, she never asked mine.

"Kind of." the researcher admitted, "The International Dex association is putting pressure on him to gather data for next year's new edition, and he hasn't had the chance to do much field research."

"Mmhm." she says, not amused, "So Jared's dropping his own work on his daughter? Dangerous work?"

"Err, well, Dwin is extremly mature for her age. She already helps around the lab so much, I'm sure she knows how to handle pokemon just fine. Better than me, probably."

"Well I know that." Vidalia huffed, "Most people are better than you and your special 'Uncommon' Rattata."

"My breeding program will eventually create a super-race of mega rat-"

"No. Don't care." Vidalia cut him off, "Look, we'll just be in the waiting room, don't let those kids leave without letting me talk to them. And don't let Palm leave until I've had him talk with my guest."

"G-got it." the researcher managed.

"Sorry you had to see that." Vidalia said, gesturing to the waiting area.

My attention, however, was on the topic of their conversation. Pokedexes. Professor's kid. There are starter pokemon in there. I'm sure of it.

Hearing all of that made everything in the world make sense to me at once. Well, not 'make sense' but I understand why I'm here. I'm here to have a pokemon adventure. Of course I am. I might not be the biggest fan on earth, but I devote more time to it than most people I know. I love pokemon with my whole heart. I own half the movies! I've beaten most of the games!

And now I'm going to go on a real adventure. I'm almost shivering in my seat with anticipation. Everything's coming into place. Maybe when I beat the champion, I'll learn how to go home... or something like that. The professor's kid, that's my rival. I'm sure of it.

Any minute now, the professor is going to come out of that room, with a suitcase of starter pokemon, and I'm going to begin my adventure.

Any minute now.

"Uh, how long do you think it'll take to see the professor?" I ask Vidalia.

"Who knows. But don't worry, we're going to have a long chat with him when-"

"STOP! THIEF!"

"Yes!" I shout, jumping up, looking around and- there's an eleven year old boy running full-tilt from a suddenly opening door near the back of the lab, smirking.

We're doing the Silver/Gold thing then?

...

Shouldn't I get to choose my starter before the thief gets away with one of them?

Vidalia luckily seems to have missed my cheer at the sight of a thief nearly getting away, and on her face is a snarl. "Not in my town." she growls, and her hand is suddenly on her pokeballs.

"Ah, Vidalia." the boy is the smuggest eleven-year-old I ever heard. "Sorry, but I'm not up to facing you today." he holds up a red pokeball - damn it. Is the order already chosen? "I already have what I need." and with that, he pushes his way out of the pokemon lab.

Vidalia looks like she's about to run after him, but she halts in place and fixes me with a glare when I move to follow her, "You, stay here." she orders, "Talk to Palm. Tell him I'll handle the brat."

"But-!" My adventure!

But she's already gone. I turn to hear the footsteps behind me, and I see two more kids. The boy is definitely the same age as the thief, and the girl looks just a bit older.

Following the two of them, huffing, is a slightly rotund man in a white labcoat. "Oh no, oh no!" he mutters.

"That creep!" the boy shouts, "He has that attitude, even after I beat him!"

Oh no.

"Dad, what are you going to do? There's only three pokedexes." the girl asks, looking concerned at her father, "Without that data-"

Oh nononono.

"Forget the data, I'm more worried about that pokemon." the professor sighs.

No.

"Well I'm going to get her back!" the boy says, charging for the door.

Darn it!

"Wait up!" the girl cries, and both of them are gone.

Crap.

I look at the professor, who has a pained expression on his face, "Oh dear." he says, staring helplessly at the still-swinging door to the lab. He looks about as miserable about this turn of events as I am. I guess... I'm not going on the adventure? I mean, I still could. Just... not as the hero. Or even the damn rival.

"Um, for what it's worth, Vidalia brought me here." I say, "She'll probably catch that thief and bring him back here soon enough. She's reliable, right?"

"Vidalia? Oh, yes. Yes. She'll catch him for sure. For sure." the professor mumbled, "And then she'll come right back here and scold me in front of my whole staff."

"Uh... she wanted me to talk to you." I offer, "I um..." I sigh, might as well spit it out, "The night before the last, I woke up naked deep in the Southwest Forest."

"Why would you go into the forest naked?!"

"I didn't! Well, not by choice. Something happened while I was asleep."

"Oh dear, that's horrible, err- I didn't catch your name."

"Oh, it's-" noticing the map on the opposite wall for the first time, I found my words caught in my throat.

I didn't recognize it.

"...Tell me, what were the three pokemon that those kids took outside?"

"Hm? Why, Escharcoal, Padobo and Steambite. They're quite rare. It was an effort, getting ahold of them. All female too. Usually they send males, trying to keep them from becoming invasive in other regions, you know." he mumbles.

I don't recognize them.

No. It's no big deal. So what I'm in a region that... I guess isn't any game I've played yet. It's fine.

"Sorry, um, my name?"

Chapter Text

"-Bell Millers." I say, holding out my hand to him. Professor Palm takes it without a second's thought, giving it a firm shake.

"It's absolutely dreadful what happened, do you know anything more about it? If someone's kidnapping girls my daughter's age and throwing them to the Beedrill..." he shuddered, "I'm glad Vidalia found you."

"Um, I have a few guesses... but none of them make sense."

"Oh?"

"When I saw that map... Well, I don't recognize anything on it. I don't recognize the towns, or the routes, or the shape of the Region." I admit, "And I've never heard the names of those three pokemon you mentioned... never seen Sewaddle or Leavanny either, except in the last few days." I'll see what he makes of that. If he comes up with his own conclusions- well, a lot of things are possible in the world of Pokemon, aren't they? There was something in the after-story thing in Omega Ruby about Zinnia being from another world, right? It'll help me to make up something plausible.

The professor stares at me, his eyebrows shooting up. "...You don't recognize the map?"

"No. Not at all."

He raised his hand to his chin, and looked at the nervous researcher at the desk, "Kenny, get me the data from the-" he looked to me, "What region of the forest did you wake up in?"

"Vidalia said the Southwest Woods."

Professor Palm nods, "The data from the Southwest Woods. Were there any land marks?"

"There was mostly just trees. I ran into this group of Beedrill and Butterfree that were swarming together."

He winced, "You went close to Dead Meat Grove? The pokemon there are nasty."

"I was almost dead meat in the grove." I say, scrunching up my nose, "Is it... normal, for those two types to stick together?"

"No, not usually. Beedrill are very territorial, the only time they interact with other types of pokemon are either hunting, or threatening." he explained, "But a few years back someone released a high-level Beedrill they had been training. Trainer-raised pokemon tend to get along with Pokemon from other species. It found its way back to its old hive, along with a Butterfree it had mated with. A few year later, we have a mixed swarm, and aggressive Butterfree." he shook his head, "It's bad luck, really." He looked at the researcher, "I want the data on the spatial anomalies going on in the area."

"Got it." the researcher typed in a few things to his computer, before squeaking out of his seat and heading into the back of the lab.

"What do you think happened to me?" I asked. I'm not sure how much to tell people, but if the Pokemon Professor vouches for me, I don't think I'll have much trouble.

"I'm not sure, honestly. But you're really not from this Region?" I shook my head. "Well you got here somehow. There's a few options, if you don't mind me talking about it."

"Vidalia took me here specifically to talk to you about it." I say.

"Well, it's... the possibilities are scary, and I understand if you didn't want to relive it." he says gently.

"I... I'm fine." The strangest thing is I was. More or less, "What do you think could have happened?"

"Well, the most mundane scenario is... someone kidnapped you, took away all your possessions, and then, probably carried by a fast Flying-Type Pokemon, left you in the Southwest Woods before flying away. But we're pretty isolated here in Sabi. Flying all the way to the next closest region would take more than a week, even ifwe had clear weather."

"You think someone kept me out of it for... days? A week?"

"Last I heard, it took Jelle about thirteen days to reach Kubo by Pokemon."

"Thirteen days... and I don't recognize the name Kubo either." I make myself sound suitably disappointed. Palm seems like a good guy so far. He's sensitive at least.

He sighed, looking down at me sympathetically, "Well, then the other possibility, one that's even scarier, is that one of the spatial anomalies took you."

"...Anomalies?" he had said something about that before, didn't he?

He nods vigorously, "It's unusual, for certain! Never before has anything... alive. Come from one. But here you are."

"What's an anomaly?"

"It's uh, well the definition is something, well. It's something that's weird."

"Like waking up in the woods."

"Like waking up in the woods. So far, it's just been... droplets, almost. Little burst patterns of dirt where the soil doesn't match the neighboring soil in the slightest, with no sign of how it got there. Minerals and fossils that don't match the surrounding area. Sometimes plants that I've never seen before, that seem to have appeared, fully-formed, and already dead and dry."

Well, that sounds like a portal to another world to me, "So... what, you think I just got... teleported here?"

"Something along those lines. Was the ground where you woke up any different from the surrounding area?"

"I have no clue." I say honestly, "It was dark, and I was more worried about the Caterpie."

"That's fine, dear."

"...Is there any way I can head home?" I ask. I... actually hope not. At least not unless I know I can come back. I love my family, and my home life was fine, but something that always really bothered me when watching movies and reading fantasy stories was that and the end of the story, the hero went back to normal. And never looked back. They gave up their super powers, or magical artifact, and left behind their magical friends and life to return and... what, go back to school? Live a life without magic even after knowing it was real?

Even if he can send me back right now, I'm having an adventure first.

"I don't know of a method. I've been researching these anomalies for weeks. I don't even know where in the world you've been taken from."

"...What should I do in the meantime? Where should I live?"

"Hm. Well, I'm sure Vidalia wouldn't-"

"She's already said that I can't stay with her forever."

He looks pained, "We'll figure something out Bell. Don't worry."

"...What were those two kids doing earlier?"

"Hm? Oh that was my daughter Dwin, and a friend of her's." his expression shifts as he seems to remember the mess that just happened, "Oh dear. I hope Vidalia catches up to them. Russ won't stop for anything when he's like that, and Dwin tends to get caught up in his mischief. He's not going to stay put until that thief is back with the third Pokedex and my Padobo."

My adventure! "What were you going to send them off to do?"

"Oh, err..." he blushes a bit, "Look, I know Vidalia doesn't approve, but really, there's simply so much to do- Well... Field research. Updating the Pokedex. That sort of thing."

"So, eleven-year-olds can just go out into the region by themselves and study dangerous monsters?"

"Well, normally, that's a hard no." Drat. "But I can't spare anyone else at the moment. Dwin's spent her whole life with me in the lab. She knows more about Pokemon already than half the Star Students coming from Archway Town. And the Pokemon I was going to send with them are... somewhat unusual. They've been bred specifically to be excellent bodyguards to assist in doing research."

"Okay, so Dwin might be fine in the wild. What about the other kid? Russ?" Or me?

The professor bites his lip nervously, "Well... he just really, really wanted to go. He's been talking about going on his journey and challenging the Sabi League the whole time I've known him. He's been a good friend to my daughter, and he's done his research. I trust them to take care of each other."

"...I want to go too."

"What?"

"I want to go on a journey. If you give me a pokedex-"

The professor looked at me a bit sadly, then shook his head, "Bell, dear, I can't in right conscious let you go and-"

"But this is perfect! Isn't it?" my mind starts whirring as I go over what I know, "I mean, I'm not a Pokemon trainer, but I know a lot about it. How battling and training goes."

"But you're not from this region, Bell, you don't understand. It's... different, from other regions. Sabi is... hard, on travelers. On Pokemon Trainers. I know my daughter, and I know Russ. I know they can handle themselves, but I can't-"

"But it all works out perfectly." I interrupt, "Look, Vidalia can't keep me on her couch and eating her food forever. And... you might not be able to send me back home. I'm probably going to be stuck in Sabi for the rest of my life. What better way to learn about it?"

"From a school." the professor said, his face becoming less and less amused.

"...But I want to do this. If your problem is that you think I can't handle myself safely- well, I got away from an entire swarm of Beedrill and super-aggressive Butterfree! Naked, without a Pokemon to defend me. I survived a night in the worst part of the woods with nothing." And I was terrified the whole time and I got kidnapped and almost eaten, but he doesn't need to know that part. "I'll be okay."

My heart lifts when I see his expression change, he's definitely considering it now.

"...If you try to figure out if you send me home, I can make it up to you by gathering your data and learning about the region. It'll be the least I can do, since I'm ending up adding to your workload." I look down, and then I with say absolute certainty; "... And more than anything else, I've always, always wanted to be a Pokemon Trainer. If those kids can do it, I can too."

He looks into my eyes, and he bites his lip, "...Regardless, I don't have any bodyguard Pokemon left, and I don't have any Pokedexes. The thief stole the two third ones."

"What were you going to do with them? The third Pokemon and pokedex. Before the thief stole them. You were only sending out Russ and Dwin, right?"

"The bodyguards are always sent out in threes. We would have kept Padobo on-hand in the lab in case we ever needed to do field research ourselves. While the third Pokedex was going to be sent with Dwin and Russ, so that if either of them accidently lost or broke one of theirs, they wouldn't lose all the data." he sighed heavily, "They'll have to be careful with the ones they have." he looks a bit more hopeful, "But there's always the chance that Vidalia can safely get it back."

"...You don't have any others?"

"Well-"

"Yes!"

"It was a personal project of my predecessor." Palm says, "Professor Theobroma." he gets an annoyed look on his face as he reminisces, "He was from Silberisthmus... when you head out there, you'll see what I mean when they... well, I'm not one to judge another man on his personal beliefs. But professors are supposed to be men of Science."

And he's lost me.

"...Okay?"

"I- I'll show you. Come along with me to the lab." He walks towards the door, holding it open for me and ushering me inside. Hung proudly on the walls of the hallway are pictures of the professor, Kenny the Researcher, and other men and women in long white coats. There are also pictures of the girl- Dwin, with the professor and woman I assume is her mother. He stops by a large, painted portrait of an older man with a serious expression, the largest and spikiest beard I've ever seen, and a pink Skitty held against his side.

On a small plaque on the frame are the words OUR FOUNDER - BRUNO THEOBROMA, WITH S-11

"S-11?" I ask.

"Theobroma founded the first Pokemon Laboratory here in Sabi. And it's helped the people of the region, and Grunbud in particular, so much... but he had his own reasons for forming it. He believes the same thing the people in Silberisthmus do- that God is a Pokemon. He was utterly convinced that all the old legends and carvings are right, and- well." he looks at me again, at my expression, and blushes a little,
"Not that this should matter to you. You didn't grow up here, and nowadays people tend to keep their beliefs to themselves, outside of their hometowns. Either way, Theobroma created a Pokedex with three-hundred and forty-four slots. But it's been a documented fact that Sabi only has three-hundred and twenty-nine Pokemon. My pokedexes represent this fact, while his... well, it's against regulations to turn in a pokedex that's been unfilled to the International Dex Association. But data is data. As long as you don't mind older equipment, you can use Theobroma's."

"...What does that have to do with S-11?" he stops mid-step, and I realize that it was a bit rude, "I mean, it's interesting. And of course I'll accept the pokedex, thank you so much! But... why S-11?"

"It was a test subject." Palm answered, "The man was trying to prove that all Pokemon had some kind of connection to Arceus. He gathered dozens of Normal-type pokemon and studied the way they performed moves."

As we made our way into the lab, I looked around in amazement. The equipment was mysterious, massive, and chrome. It felt like a supervillain's lair. Gigantic machines vibrated soundlessly, things with flashing lights displayed patterns I couldn't guess at, and there were more than one tank of eerie green fluid that had more than enough room for an adult human to be suspended within.

It was great.

Kenny the researcher was by one such machine, looking at a monitor that was slowly loading information. "Professor Palm, could you have a look at these readings- they spiked significantly in the last few days for sure. These are the second-largest variations I've seen, beside the ones in Diamond Cave."

Palm nodded grimly, "I thought so. You've decided to begin analysis?"

"Yes. I thought it'd be better if I brought you a more updated batch, considering."

"Makes sense..." he looked at me, "...Well, I think it's safe to say the anomalies had something to do with you, Bell."

I nodded. Diamond Cave? That'll be something to remember.

"Now... are you sure you want to do this? Your resolve impressed me... and you've already proven you can do well for yourself out there." Palm looked a little embarrassed, "And I'd be a hypocrite to deny you based on your age... but I can get something worked out for you here in Grunbud. I have connections with the local school, you'd get room and board at the very least. A Pokemon journey is dangerous, and Sabi isn't kind to trainers in general. This is something I want you to be sure of."

I ball my fists, "I think that's the reason why I'm here." I say, "I want to do this."

"...Okay." Palm walked over to his desk, searched his labcoat pocket for a few minutes, and produced a key. Unlocking a drawer on the desk, he pulls free what is definitely a Nintendo 3DS with some sci-fi things and pokeball symbols attached to it. He extends it to me, and I take it gladly, with a smile. It feels familiar in my hands. It's also... old. Weirdly old. I've never held an old 3DS before. An old Gameboy, sure, even old DSs. But 3DS haven't had time to feel old. This machine is probably older than I am.

Without having to think about it, I flip it open and turn it on. My finger feels the place where I know the stylus is, hidden inside it, and nudge it free.

Palm looks amused with my expression. "...I've lost the instruction manual he made for it, or rather, it's filed away somewhere in the depths of paperwork, so I'm glad you seem to have an instinct for it."

"What- yeah? Yeah, okay. I do?"

"Sure. Oh, and if Vidalia brings back the third up-to-date one, you're of course welcome to it." he said, "Now... there's the question of your bodyguard Pokemon. People can't travel between towns without Pokemon. It's just not done. Almost impossible, even. Vidalia might be able to get Padobo back here, but on the off chance she can't-"

"I need a starter Pokemon." I say.

"Yes."

"Does... the lab have one you can give me?"

"We mostly... rent, Pokemon. From breeders, mainly, or ones we capture while doing field studies. We're legally and ethically obligated to release the Pokemon we catch for lab-work unharmed back into the wilderness when we're finished. We're researchers, not Trainers. I've thought ahead and got Dwin a licence, and you and Russ will both be needing yours first. Then you'll be allowed to buy 'real' pokeballs."

"What about the starters you gave away then? Padobo and... the other two."

"They're a special case. They're bred bodyguard Pokemon. Meant for battling, and to be handled by inexperienced trainers like my researchers, or children, like Russ, you, and Dwin."

"Then what am I supposed to do? Should I ask Vidalia for help-" no. Probably not. With the way she opposed sending out Dwin and Russ, she'd probably be even more opposed to me running away on my own.

"...I have fifteen regular pokeballs I've been saving for a special occasion. Got them off the occasional Ace Trainer who blow into town needing me to do a favor for them. I was going to split them among the children... but fifteen is even more easily split three-ways."

"You'll let me catch one? Yes! Thank you!"

Palm smiles and nods, "But before you run off anywhere, I want to get you prepared... I'm sure Dwin has some things in your size she wouldn't mind letting go of."

I agree, and he leads me back out of the lab.

The thief got away. "...He got away." Vidalia says, when she walks back into the waiting room where Palm and I had been going over a notebook. He had been preparing for this journey for a while- and the amount of and what kind of supplies that Dwin and Russ required had already been written down. Now it was just a matter of adjusting things to include three people's worth of supplies rather than just two.

We stop talking when she walks towards us, and she looks at us, suspicious, "...Well, did you figure anything out?"

"I was transported here from somewhere else in the world." I say, "Possibly even another dimension. By a spatial anomaly."

"...You sound kinda pleased, saying that."

I blush, "...Professor Palm said it would be okay for me to go on a Pokemon journey, to collect data for the Pokedex."

"You're endangering even more children?" Vidalia turns on Palm, who shrinks away, smiling uneasily.

"I want to do it Vidalia!"

"Haven't you had enough excitement for three days?" the gym leader asks, "I thought you didn't want to sleep in the woods."

"This is different! I think I was brought here, at this time, so that I could help out. I think this is important. And... I've always wanted to be a trainer."

"Why?" Vidalia asks.

"She's a foreigner, remember." Professor Palm says, "In other Regions, it's a right of passage- celebrity status, power, agency,... independence..." he looks from me to her, "...And there's a good chance she can't go home. She says she's strong enough to survive with her own wits, and I believe her. She says this is the best way to learn about Sabi- and I believe her in that too. It'll be good, I think, for more people to learn about this place as a whole."

"Sabi isn't kind to Trainers."

"Well... I'm doing it anyway." I say, and look Vidalia in the eye, "Thank you for sheltering me, and bringing me here, Vidalia. But this is something I'm going to do."

The Gym Leader frowns, looking between me and the Professor, before sighing. "...Fine. But you'll want to hurry. In case you wanted to know, the other two brats have decided to go after the thief. The boy even went as far as to shout at me that it seemed the right time to go."

"They're gone without me?" I ask, surprised.

"I'm sure you'll catch up." the professor said, frowning, "But it'll move our time table up. Kenny!" he shouted, and the researcher poked his head out of a doorway, "Get together enough equipment and supplies for a Trainer to get to Archway Town!"

"Yes Professor!"

Vidalia looked at me, considering, and then sighed, "Fine. I can't stop you. But I don't like seeing kids throw themselves to nature... I wish you luck." she said, and put a hand on my shoulder for a second, before seeing her way out.

The Professor's wife is an almost obscenely kind woman. I'm in his house less than three minutes, and I'm sitting in a comfortable chair in a nice, modern, living room, with a cookie in my mouth, hot chocolate sitting in a mug shaped like a Chimchar on the cofee table, and watching as the woman sorts through a pile of clothes.

I feel so utterly welcomed that I'm only a little embarassed to watch her sort through a stranger's clothes for what to give to me.

"Hm, she never liked this one, even though it's such a nice red color." she holds it up in my direction, "It's not too far off from your hair dear, I think it'd look good on you. What do you think?"

"I'm flattered-"

"Good!" she says cheerily, "Outfits should be worn, what's the point of having them otherwise?" she tosses the dark-red jacket onto a slowly growing pile.

I share a glance with Palm, who just shakes his head, amused. "I think she has everything she needs, Ellie."

"Nonsense! There's barely enough for a week in here!"

"I'm sure I'll be fine." I say, with an amount of confidence that someone who has never even gone hiking for fun has no reason to have, "Thank you so much, Mrs. Palm."

"It's no matter at all. I'm just glad that someone's going to actually wear these things. Dwin just puts on something okay for the lab and is finished." she says with a small shake of her head.

"Thank you all the same." I repeat, finishing off my cookie and helping her put the things into a bag with the Pokemon Lab logo on it.

Once we leave the little house, and are back on the streets of Grunbud, the professor looks to me, "Well... time for you to get your bodyguard Pokemon. If you want, we can check around at the logging camp- the lumberjacks are all buddies. If I ask around, I'm sure one of the trainers there might donate a Timburr or Machop. Heh, or we just catch one. Lots of Machoke and Gurdurr have been brought in for the work, and uh, sometimes they find some privacy. Lots of wild Machop and Timburr there now, but they help out so as to not be pests." he said, "I've worked with Machop, very disciplined, most fighting types are. Well-behaved by nature, even the meanest of them."

"I'm not sure... what are our other options?"

"Well... there's a furfrou breeder downtown, but they breed for Contests, rather than battle or traveling. They owe me a favor, so I could probably get my hands on a puppy. Then there's the woods you came out of, and Route 1 itself. Near the city, they tend to pretty low-leveled. Easily caught. The older, smarter ones like to live deeper in. It's not exactly smiled upon, but I know one or two fishermen at the docks who specialize in catching sea pokemon live, to sell to restaurants." he grinned, clapping his hands together, "Heh, well, there's Pokemon everywhere you look, really."

Chapter Text

"I'd like to go back to the woods, actually. There's a Pokemon there I bonded with a bit. We helped each other out in the forest."

"Oh?" the professor asks. He looks up towards where the logging camp is, and then his gaze shifts slightly to the south, even further up into the hills, where the trees are even thicker and taller. "...It's bit of a climb..." he begins.

"How about you take me to the logging camp, and I'll make the rest of the way up myself?"

"I'm not letting you go back into the woods unguarded."

"Don't worry. The Pokemon, a Tangela, will probably be waiting for me on the outskirts of the woods.

Palm considers is, "Very well. Who knows, maybe I can get one of the trainers there to escort you." he says, "Show you some tricks, too, maybe. You've never caught a pokemon before, right? Do you know how?"

"Of-" well... I guess this isn't exactly selecting an option and hitting the A button, then button smashing furiously. Darn it, is there actual skill involved? Of course there will be, "-...course not." I finish awkwardly, "Well, I understand the theory, but seeing someone do it should help."

"I'm sure we'll find someone. They're a good bunch up there."

Grunbud town is... odd. To say the least. For one thing, it's very clean. A man with a gas mask and a orange jacket with reflective strips is followed by six Trubbish. Wherever he passes, litter vanishes.

There's no traffic, except by foot or by riding. The main forms of locomotion are Rhyhorn, and a kind of goat Pokemon that looks vaguely familiar. The Rhyhorn pull carts, while people just sit on the backs of the goats, and hold the horns like its a bicycle. There's no cars.

There are no telephone poles, Grunbud is 100% wireless, and apparently the network hasn't gone down since they put it into action. The buildings have a very similar style to them, all of them made of treated lumber and concrete. There were plenty of buildings over three stories, but no real skyscrapers.

It feels subtly off. Like being in a different country. Which I suppose I was.

Palm and I took a Rhyhorn Cart up the mountain, paying the brave girl riding on it like she was a cabbie- and I guess it is a taxi, and in a blistering charge, we made good time back up to the logging camp. Rhyhorn have Torterra beat for speed, that was for sure.

It's almost a second city, up here. Around the entrance to the walled logging camp are enough shops and stores to fill a small shopping mall, apparently to service the lumberjacks. The sounds of sawing and shouting drift over the walls, along with a thick, all-encompassing scent of freshly cut wood.

"I'll have a chat with the foreman." Palm informs me as we get off the cart, and start walking towards the entrance.

"Do you know him well?"

"Of course." Palm says, "Something you'll find out as you grow up, Bell, is that in this world is built on connections. The logging foreman, the dock foreman, the mayor, and the gym leader are the most important positions in the city! And 'Pokemon Professor' is one of the most important positions in the Region!" he announces proudly.

"Stroking your own ego, Jared?" we turn and I look up at Paul Bunyan.

"Ah, Bell, this is Brand, the Foreman. I was just telling her about the importance of making connections with important people."

"Ah. Meaning yourself then?" Foreman Brand says with a hearty grin, "Hey there kiddo."

"Um, hi."

"So, why the visit?" he asks Palm, "And who are you? Friend of Dwin's?" he asks me.

"Not... yet." I say, "But hopefully in the future."

Palm nods, pleased, "I've sent Dwin and Russ out on a fieldwork assignment, and Bell here wants in. She's proven to have the mettle for it, so I'm intending on making her a field researcher, like the other two."

"Children, hm?"

"Trustworthy children!" Palm defends himself, "Either way, she's gung-ho for it. But she needs a bodyguard Pokemon."

"And what, you've come to poach my Machamp?" he says jokingly.

"Bell here already has her heart set on one Pokemon in particular- but if it doesn't turn out, perhaps. Not your Machamp, of course, but maybe one of the little ones running around here without proper trainers. I was thinking if you could look around and find someone to teach her how to catch a Pokemon?"

"Hm..." I look up at him hopefully, "...Yeah alright. Didn't you get three bodyguard Pokemon special from the association, though?"

Palm frowns, "One of them was stolen, right from the lab... but Dwin and Russ are out there trying to track her down, and Vidalia'll be keeping an eye out."

"Well, that's a right shame." he looks out over the camp, and spots a man heading towards the gate, a lunchbox in hand, "Oh hey! Jimmy!"

"Crap." Jimmy says, before coming over, "Yes Foreman?"

"I got a special job for ya."

"I was about to eat lunch."

"You can eat lunch on the way. Think of it as an extra-long break with some charity work involved. You're licensed, right?"

"Yeah."

"I want you to teach the little Miss here how to catch a Pokemon."

"...And you'll extend my lunch hour?"

"Might as well consider yourself done for the day, depending how long it takes her."

Jimmy smiles at that, "Well, alright then." he looks to me and holds out a hand. I shake it, only wincing a little at the rough texture of the work gloves and his strong grip as he shakes my arm, "I'll be pleased to work with you Miss."

"Should we head out to the woods right now?" I ask, looking to Palm.

"I don't see any reason why not- oh! Nearly forgot." Reaching into his bag, he takes out three transparent cylinders, filled with five Pokeballs each. He holds one out to me, and I grin nostalgically. The tube's heavy. It feels real, where the toys were made of plastic, these ones have a weight to them.

These are tools, built for the most powerful function in this world. With these five balls, I can live safely among monsters in the wilderness.

I hold it to my chest, "Thank you. For trusting me."

Palm smiles, "Well, prove me right. Go on, I'm looking forward to seeing this Tangela you have your heart set on.

Jimmy and I get onto what I think is the evolution of the goat I saw being used around town, and go speeding up the hills towards Vidalia's cabin, and the place where I escaped the Southwest Woods.

A smile spreads across my face as I saw Tangela.

"Tangela!" I shout, and the mass of vines slowly opened its eyes and blinked, waking up.

"Shrrg" it intones, and begins to stand up. With some effort, it seems. Some of the vines of his body had reached into the dirt, holding him in place. He was really serious, when he said that he'd wait for me here. I feel a little guilty, as I run up to him. I should have come and seen him first thing in the morning. What if he stayed out here forever?

He manages to pull himself free, harmlessly losing a few vines- or roots, now, I guess, -in the process and waddles happily over to me. He tenses a bit when the goat thing bent down to sniff him, but relaxed soon enough.

"This the one?" Jimmy asks.

"Yeah. We saved each other's lives in the forest."

Jimmy looks confused, but he decides to leave it at that, "So! Capturing a Pokemon. What do you know about it so far?"

"Um, you weaken the Pokemon first, traditionally, so that it won't just break free of the ball once it hits. You throw the ball at the Pokemon, the Pokemon goes into the ball, and... that's it?"

"Eh, more-or-less." Jimmy thumbs his belt, where three regular Pokeballs sit. He pulls one free, and clicks the center. In a flash of light, the goat vanishes inside. "Now, before we begin, are you sure you want to catch this one?"

I look to Tangela. He... had a point, "I'm pretty sure. Tangela, do you... want to come with me?" I hold up the cylinder of Pokeballs, and point to one of them, "Do you know what this is?"

"Shrr" it reaches out, hesitantly, to touch the cylinder, before looking at Jimmy. More pointedly, at Jimmy's belt.

"Yeah, like that. Would you want to be my Pokemon?"

It stares at the Pokeballs in my hand, and then reaches out a tendril to wrap around it, "Shrrrg"

I smile, "I guess that's a yes."

Jimmy puts a hand behind his head, scratching, "I mean, that's nice, that you both want to, but what I mean is... he's small, isn't he?"

"...Is he?"

"Most Tangela are three times that size. I think it's just a baby."

Oh.

"Do their mothers usually... take care of them? Are they on their own?" I already know that he trusted Leavanny, but I sure didn't see any other Tangela out in the woods. If he had a mother or father, they let him get taken by Butterfree. What I wanted to know was whether he was mature enough to be allowed to fight. If Pokemon are like, I don't know, sea turtles, having to fend for themselves from day one, I don't mind. He'll get bigger.

But I wouldn't expect a Puppy to act as a guard dog.

"I don't know. The Timburr and Machop back at the camp hang out with the older ones, but we're not sure which is whose parent. They kind of just... all take care of each other? I've never had to raise a Tangela. Though when you see a Pokemon this much smaller than they should be, I'd say they're only a few weeks old at most... Still want to catch him?"

Tangela is a baby.

Does that change anything?

Chapter Text

"Well... I'm not leaving him behind here. I have five Pokeballs. Would it... be okay if you showed me how to catch Tangela, and then we can go back to the logging camp and I'll try and catch a Machop? The Machop would be my real bodyguard Pokemon, but... we owe each other, right Tangela?"

"Srrrrgg"

Jimmy shrugs, "Well, sure. Why not. Okay then, I'll lend you my Skiddo for this." he holds out a Pokeball, and I take it, "Just listen to what I tell you, okay?"

"Wait- I'm sure that if I just pressed the ball to him he'd be captured, he's low-level right? We don't have to... attack him."

"Shrg?"

Jimmy raised an eyebrow, "This is how it's done, you know. I'm just showing you how to do it proper-like."

"Well..." I look at Tangela, "Let's just skip the battling part for now. We can try it in the camp?"

"Fine, fine." Jimmy says, but he doesn't seem very invested either way. He seems to just be enjoying the chance to be away from work, "Okay. First, take a few paces back."

I step away from Tangela, who begins to follow me, "Uh,"

"See, this is why you need a Pokemon. Look, throw out Skiddo, you don't have to fight, but you do need to distract 'im. In a serious battle, when you're trying to capture a Pokemon, you don't let them come close. Heck, don't let a wild 'mon come close in any situation."

"Okay. Go, Skiddo!" I toss the ball, and it lands on the grassy floor, before rolling harmlessly to a stop. Tangela waddles over to the ball, picks it up, and brings it to me, "...Thank you."

"...Hit the button, on the outside. Then you toss it."

"Thanks." I take a few steps back before tapping the button, and letting the Pokeball fall between me and Tangela. With a flash of light, the goat pokemon- Skiddo, apparently, appears, giving a quiet snort as it turns to Tangela, its stance firm, but not aggressive. It's been trained well, I think, or it simply instinctually knows to keep itself between Tangela and me. To mild surprise, the Pokeball bounces weirdly off the ground, returning to the place my hands were when I threw it. Managing to catch it, I put the ball on my belt.

My 3DS- er, my Pokedex makes a sound. Reaching for it and flipping it open, I smile.

Skiddo, the Mount Pokemon

Grass Type
Evolves into Gogoat

Average Height for species: 2'11"
Average Weight for species: 68.3 lbs.

If it has sunshine and water, it doesn't need to eat, because it can generate energy from the leaves on its back. Thought to be one of the first Pokémon to live in harmony with humans, it has a placid disposition.

Individual Statistics:
Male, Level 7
Abilities: 
Sap Sipper - This Pokemon becomes stronger when grass-type moves are used against it.
Grass Pelt - In grassy terrain this Pokemon has a stronger defense. 
Moves:
Tackle - 40 Power
Vine Whip - 45 Power
Growth - Temporarily swells a Pokemon's size and strength.

"Ooh." I say, grinning at the information. I can tell Pokemon's levels with this! Move power too.

"Now, to prep a Pokeball for capture, take an empty one and hold down the button until you hear a click."

Opening the cylinder, I take one of the five Pokeballs and do as he says. Hearing the click, I look to Tangela. "Then I throw it?"

"Then you throw it. Try to hit the center of mass if you can. Different Pokemon have different sweet spots, but the center of the gut, or the top of the head tend to be the most common spots. Hitting a limb or tail will likewise almost never work."

"Okay." I say, determined, before lining up my shot. I rear my arm back- throw as hard as I can- and watch as the Pokeball goes sailing past Tangela and into the grass behind him. "Crap."

"Try again." Jimmy says patiently, "I'll get the other one. Try not to bean me with another one."

Another click, another toss, another miss. I grit my teeth.

Click, throw, miss. Click throw miss. Down to the last one. "Try under-handed." Jimmy suggests.

I do so, and I'm a bit more accurate with this one. It brushes against Tangela, opens, and with a flash of light he's gone. The red-and-white sphere wiggles back and forth, and then with a familiar sounding tone sounds as the Pokeball stops moving.

Dashing past the Skiddo, I grab Tangela's Pokeball and smile. I caught a Pokemon! I captured one!

Holding down the button, I toss it lightly in the air, and Tangela appears in a flash of light. "Hello Tangela!"

"Shrrrg?" it sounds surprised, but not too upset, I think. I take Skiddo's Pokeball and press the button, and the goat vanishes in a burst of light.

The Pokedex makes more noise.

Tangela, the Vine Pokemon

Grass Type
Evolves into Tangrowth
Average Height for species: 3'03" <! Pokemon is significantly below average !>
Average Weight for species: 77.2 lbs. <! Pokemon may be significantly underfed !>

 

The vines that cloak its entire body are always jiggling. They effectively unnerve its foes.

Individual Statistics:
Male, Level 1
Abilties: 
Leaf Guard - If the environment is sunny enough, it will heal almost instantly from status conditions.
Regenerator - Returning to its Pokeball will allow it to regain some stamina. 
Moves:
Constrict - 10 Power
Ingrain - Roots are put down that keeps the Pokemon in place, and allows them to absorb health from the environment.
<! Recommend Immediate Pokemon Center Checkup !>

I guess the Pokedex can tell that he's way smaller than normal. "Thank you Jimmy!" I say, before bending down to pick up my Pokemon. Tangela shifts and wriggles a bit as he wraps vines around my arms. I choose to take this as him hugging me back. Jimmy just shakes his head and smiles a bit.

"Wasn't nothing." he says, "I'll be taking Skiddo back now though."

"Oh! Yeah, of course." I say, giving him back the ball.

"Now... how about we get something good for ourselves to eat. I have an actual lunch hour, if I want it now. Might as well treat myself. Come on. Lunch is on me."

Skiddo is back out, and the three of us climb on. It's a bit crowded, with Tangela taking up a bit of space between me and Jimmy's back, but we make do. Skiddo is a trooper and doesn't mind the extra weight at all.

"Say goodbye to the forest, Tangela." I say, pointing out at the woods.

"Shrrggg?"

"Yeah."

"Srrr! Shrrrrr!" It calls at the woods, in the highest sounding noises I've heard him make yet. He's almost still, as he watches the woods carefully. Then, eventually, there's a long whistle. Then a cascade of dozens of other, less professional sounding whistles.

Leavanny and her swarm was saying goodbye too.

I wish her luck.

Then we're off, back towards the logging camp, to get my actual bodyguard.

Seeing the Pokemon in action was... something else. Like, even after riding on a dinosaur-sized tree tortoise, and being carried through the air by a three-foot bloodthirsty butterfly, and carrying a mass of vines with feet and human eyes, all of it... well, I'm not actually sure if these kinds of creatures were physically possible back on my homeworld, but they didn't scream 'impossible' when I saw them.

This though...

Well...

Just. Wow. Machoke are carrying entire trees. Gurdurr have logs piled high on their shoulders. A single Machamp, smaller physically than Professor Palm, and significantly smaller than a lot of the lumberjacks, is walking around carrying enough weight that if I saw the same amount of stuff on an industrial truck, I'd feel uneasy about whether it could take the weight.

A shiver goes up my spine, just thinking about that. If a Machamp were to go on a rampage, in my world, what could stop it? It'd be like the incredible hulk. He'd be a one-man army.

Here, he's a lumberjack.

Good god.

"You wanted a Machop, right?"

"YES."

Jimmy looks at me a little strangely, before shrugging. "Well, they're all over the place around here. They and the young Timburr tend to flock around the older Machoke and Gurdurr. The ones we let handle themselves more-or-less. Some of the Machoke working here have been logging longer than I have. Some of them longer than my father has. They know the job inside and out at this point. Basically lumberjacks themselves. The little wild ones follow them around, cause unless we catch them they don't listen to us."

"That's interesting. Do they get... sad, about being caught? Taken away from their families?"

"They're jus' Pokemon." Jimmy says with a shrug, "One trainer's as good as another in their minds I think. Sides' they're Fighting type. Tussling does em' good. Better even than working with lumber."

I bite the inside of my cheek and follow quietly for now. I was... not actually sure how intelligent Pokemon are. I vaguely remember that Rhyhorn are apparently so unintelligent that once it begins moving in one direction it forgets why it started moving in the first place. Definitely dumber than a dog.

But these Machoke going around doing their jobs, seem like grey, slightly lizardish humans, with a similar level of intelligence.

...

Well, I could debate the ethics later. For now, I need a bodyguard. For the sake of safety, if nothing else.

We approached the edges of the logging camp, where less people- humans. Fewer humans were walking around, and a greater degree of Pokemon were handling more of the work. Many of the Machoke were even wearing clothes, overalls and plaid shirts, mainly, like the lumberjacks themselves.

One such Machoke was followed by four Machop at its heels, and three Timburr as well. Seeing those giganticfleshy veins that covered its body as something real, rather than as part of a two-dimensional design were... upsetting. Just a bit. I could get used to it, but I'd rather... not.

I turned my attention on the four Machop, looking at the slight differences between them. One of them, a bit stockier than the other three, picked up a rock from the ground and kept itself occupied with rubbing it to dust with its thumbs... I want that one. I think.

"So... how do I challenge them?" I ask Jimmy.

"Hm.. planning to use Tangela?"

"...Could I borrow your Skiddo again? Tangela's only level one. Not so much as tackle, yet."

"Fair enough. Hey! Machoke!"

The Machoke paused in its path, looking over at Jimmy. "Grayalp?" it asked.

"Yeah, could you send those little ones forward?" he pushed Skiddo's ball into my hand, and gave me a thumbs-up.

"Grraggls." the Machoke said. Its voice was deep, and reminded me vaguely of the accent of an old Japanese man. There was definite meaning behind the sound, but I don't think it was actually a word- or words.

The four Machop, and the two Timburr, slowed in their steps, looking towards me, following the Machoke's gaze.

"Klirrll?" one of the Timburr asked, grinning savagely. The the large plank in its hand was then tossed into the air, and caught just as easily. Then he started running towards me oh crap-

"I'll help you out if things start looking bad." Jimmy said unhelpfully from the side.

"Uh! Tangela, Constrict!" I shout, on instinct. Tangela leaps from my chest, landing on the other Pokemon, vines writhing wildly. The lengths of blue woody fiber spread out and began wrapping itself around the limbs of the advancing Timburr.

I fumble for the other Pokeball, and bring out the Skiddo just in time for one of the Machop- not the stocky one, to advance at a run. "Tackle!" I shout, pointing at the advancing Machop.

The Skiddo follows my direction and collides at speed with the Machop, sending it bowling over. The other four Pokemon have begun drawing closer now as well.

The first Timburr is struggling now, and began scrabbling at Tangela, trying to free itself from the creeping vines, but Tangela was just... spreading and spreading. It was almost creepy.

The other Timburr goes to help its kin, and gives a hard thwack to Tangela, sending him bouncing back. I wince at the impact, and I look at my Pokemon, who seems to be having trouble just trying to stay conscious. I wasn't sure how HP worked really- but if I had to guess, Tangela would probably be in the red already. "Ingrain!" I tell him, before looking to my Skiddo, who is shifting nervously, trying to keep all of its opponents within view at once. "Vine Whip the Timburr!" I say, pointing at the untangled one.

The goat Pokemon does so, a tendril similar to the ones Tangela is made up of sprouts from its back, and lashes out in a wide arc, slapping against the fresh Timburr.

"Um, grab hold of him!"

The Skiddo looks at the Pokemon it just knocked over, and wraps the tendril around one foot. The Timburr let out a squeak as it was lifted into the air.

The Machop hesitate, watching, before one of them breaks formation- Stocky -and rushes for Skiddo.

"Toss him! Jump!" I order, and Skiddo simply drops the Timburr, before leaping over the kick the stocky Machop was aiming at his legs.

Tangela was beginning to look a bit better, his vines snaking into the ground and almost glowing with rejuvenating energy.

Let's see... "Skiddo! Use growth! And Tangela-" should I? Some of the vines that Tangela had been using to tie up the Timburr were still there, and it seemed to be having trouble moving. "Constrict the other Timburr!"

"Shrrg" he grunted, and some tendrils launched out, vines snaking around the dropped Timburr, who immediately began struggling. When it broke free, it lifted its piece of lumber and slammed it down on the vines. They were torn off, but I don't think Tangela actually feels anything through them.

Skiddo, meanwhile, abruptly swelled to twice its size, the Machop backing off a bit at the sudden difference in size.

"Tackle!" I shout, pointing at the group. Skiddo barreled forward, and I smile grimly as Machop flee or get sent tumbling. "Vine whip! Constrict!" woody tendrils lash out from both my Pokemon, and I smile as Machop start getting tangled up in it or are slapped.

One of the Machop- the first to take the brunt of Skiddo's tackle, falls over, unconscious.

"Growth! Constrict! Vine Whip!" I bark again, not bothering to point. The indiscriminate attacking is working well, I think. Skiddo increases in size once more, and then slams a vine across two more Machop, knocking them both over, and one of them out of the fight. Tangela tied up the already-tangled Timburr with more vines, and the poor thing can barely move. I point at the other Machop beside the stocky one I want to catch, and shout "Tackle!"

Skiddo crashes into it with its full bulk, knocking down the Pokemon. The stocky Machop jerked to the side, and then gave a sharp kick to the underside of Skiddo's leg. Skiddo let out a pained sound as it crashed to the ground, but it got up quickly enough.

All that's left is Tangela's Timburr, and the stocky Machop. "Skiddo, tackle that one." I say, pointing to the Timburr. Skiddo does as I say, and Tangela turns his attention on the remaining Machop, who is beginning to look distinctly worried, although still smiling. "Skiddo, return." I say, before hitting the button his ball. The goat vanished into light. Now, this is similar to what I would do in the games. A higher-level and lower level Pokemon, together, splitting the experience. Skiddo would get a bit more, sure, but it'll make a world of difference to a level 1 pokemon to win any fights-

My Pokedex makes a series of dinging noises.

Tangela Update- Lv 2, Lv 3, Lv, 4, Lv 5
Tangela has learned Sleep Powder

- and it looks like I'm right.

"Yes! Tangela, Sleep Powder!" I shout, pointing at the remaining Machop. Tangela bunched up, vibrated, and then all at once, like a sneeze, an explosion of pale white spores filled the air around him. The Machop began to slowly blink, before falling over, fidgeting and snoring.

"Yes! Good job Tangela!" grabbing a free Pokeball (We made sure to gather up the ones I had thrown and missed), I tossed it at the stocky Machop.

Wiggle, wiggle... click! Yes! Two Pokemon!

Machop, the Superpower Pokemon

Fighting Type
Evolves into Machoke

Average Height for species: 2'07"
Average Weight for species: 43.0 lbs.

Very powerful in spite of its small size. Its mastery of many types of martial arts makes it very tough.

Individual Statistics:
Female, Level 5
Steadfast - This Pokemon becomes faster every time they flinch. 
Guts - This Pokemon becomes stronger if they are afflicted with a status condition. 
Moves:
Low Kick - An skillful strike that makes the enemy collapse. The heavier the foe, the more damaging this blow is.
Leer - A horrible glare that leaves an opponent feeling defenseless.
Focus Energy - By concentrating on the flow of battle, it makes them more likely to score critical hits.

"Well, I think that makes for a perfect bodyguard, don't you?" I ask Jimmy, before looking at the result of the battle. A group of six, now five. All unconscious. "...What do I do next?"

The Machoke answers that question pretty handily by barking out a loud laugh, grinning at me, and simply gathering the five of them in its arms and carrying them off.

"Here's your Skiddo, Jimmy." I say, handing back the Pokeball, "Thank you for today."

"It's no problem. Really, got me out of work."

"Still, thank you."

Jimmy merely smiles, "Can you see yourself out?"

"I think so."

"Then I'll be heading home. See you, Miss."

Now to find the Professor and give him the good news.

It's another Rhyhorn Cart ride down the hills to get back to town, and the Professor Spends most of it looking over Tangela and Machop. Tangela is doing quite well, and is already a bit bigger. "The Pokedex says he went up four levels after the fight."

"Well, it was with six higher-leveled Pokemon." Palm said, smiling, "But Jimmy was right in saying Tangela's a baby. With this, though, I think he'll be fine in battle. Though I wouldn't say he's quite as battle-hardened as your Machop."

"I was thinking he'd be more in a support role, anyway." I agree, and remind myself to ask him how the Pokedex actually judges the 'level' of a living thing, "So am I ready to head out? I want to catch up to Russ and Dwin."

Palm shakes his head, "Those head-strong kids shouldn't have run ahead like that. If they're walking though, it should take them a few days to reach Archway Town along Route 1. I'm not sure how much they're hurrying, however, since they're after the thief, it'll be safe to assume they'll be barreling through Route 1. You're more likely to find them at the Pokemon Center in Archway Town."

I nod, "Okay! Oh, should we stop at the Pokemon Center here in Grunbud?"

"Well..." Palm says, "You wouldn't be able to make much use of it."

"Why not?"

"No license." Palm says, "Russ doesn't have one either, but the two of them can probably get in with Dwin's."

"Oh... would they really refuse me at the door if I didn't have one?"

"Heh, some cities will refuse you at the gate if you don't have one. Getting a license is the minimum. Luckily, Archway is known for its namesake- it's the one place in Sabi open to everyone. There's a Trainer School there where you can get a proper License, I bet Russ will be spending time there before the two of them shove off."

"Mmhm."

Palm nods to himself. "I've included some basic healing supplies in your pack that should be more than enough to last you to Archway Town. And I think Tangela will be just fine regardless."

"With Ingrain I suppose."

"That, and Tangela has the 'regenerator' ability. Anytime he goes back into the Pokeball, he recovers a bit." Palm said with a grin. "By the way, did you want to name them? I can change the settings on the Pokedex if you want."

I look between my two Pokemon. The Machop has been fairly quiet ever since I caught her. She's been a little shocked, taking in the world outside the logging camp, but she doesn't seem too upset. I'm taking it as a good sign. Tangela, meanwhile, has been in a very good mood ever since the victory at the camp.

I always gave most of my Pokemon nicknames in the games. Some were cheesy, some fit, some were pretentious, some were downright horrible, and one was a Mudkip named liekMudkpz that I prevented from evolving until after I had beaten Groudon with it.

These guys were what was basically a pet, and a- well. Bodyguard. I'll deal with the whole keeping-a-sentient-person-in-a-ball-to-fight-at-my-will thing later when I have a better understanding of this world.

I should definitely name them!

Chapter Text

From there, I should go downtown, and then to the Docks. Or maybe the opposite? 

I'm not interested in Furfrou in particular- I think those were the poodles that you could get different stats for different haircuts? But I feel like I should at least get a sense of the town before I leave. 

"I think for names, I'm going to go with 'Champ' for my Machop, and Creeper for my Tangela. Is it okay if I keep them outside of their Pokeballs?"

Professor Palm looks between the two, "Well... I'll leave that up to you. They seem well behaved enough. As long as they don't make trouble it won't be trouble. Although... I wouldn't do so in Archway Town until you properly get your license."

I nod, "Thank you, Professor Palm." He takes the Pokedex and shows me how to include their nickname under the individual's information, I smile at my Pokemon, "Champ?" I say, pointing to my Machop. 

"Drarlg?"

"Champ."

"Tryamp?" she tried, "Shyamp?"

"Good!" I say, "That's you. You're Champ."

"Shyamp." she repeats. 


"And you, your name is Creeper." I say, pointing to the little Tangela. 

"Shrrr"

"Your name is Creeper." I repeat. 

"Shrrll?"

"Um. Okay."

"Well, with that, I think you're covered for everything you need." Professor Palm says, "Want to head out to Route 1?"

"Um, I think I want to look downtown and stop by the docks, before I leave Grunbud."

"Why?"

"Well, I think a balanced team is important- that's why I'm going to the docks at least. Water types will be useful. But I'm not one-hundred percent sure what a Fufrou is, but I should at least stop and have a look for the sake of the Pokedex."

Downtown Grunbud is a bit more packed that I had been expecting. A lot more people on the streets, the buildings bigger. It at least gives me the sense why Grunbud is a City, and not a town. There's a lot of people living here. 

Professor Palm navigates the crowd, but to my surprise, my Pokemon are quite useful in it too. Creeper and Champ both look a little unnerved by the sheer amount of humans around us, but they've been on pretty good behavior so far, sticking close to me. But there's the added affect that no one seems to want to get close tothem. 

The people around us, when they pass, take a look at the two Pokemon following me, and make sure they're a good few feet away, giving careful and suspicious looks at the Pokemon, and at me, before noticing Professor Palm and relaxing. 

Vidalia had said that the Sabi Region wasn't kind to trainers- maybe this was a part of it. It would be weird, having people feel cautious around me, but I can understand it in the bigger scale of things. When Champ is older and stronger and evolves, she'll be able to benchpress a house. And Creeper- well, he's creepy. Not much else to say about that. Too-large eerily human eyes looking out of a darkness surrounded by constantly-wriggling vines. If he hadn't been so helpful and pitiful right from the start, I think I'd be pretty freaked out by him too. 

We stop by a nice-looking store called Furfrou Boutique. It looks like a hair salon, more than anything. A desk with a secretary, people going around in aprons with pockets holding scissors and tubes of gels. Cosmetics, beauty products, combs, scissors, brushes, and the like are on sale on shelves. The biggest difference is that the customers are not the ones getting seen too, but rather huge poodles. They're just... gigantic, super-fluffy poodles. 

Palm greets the androgynous-looking owner with a wide smile and a big hug. "This is Ferrel," Palm said with a grin, "He's a Pokemon Breeder and Furfrou stylist."

"Hello. My name's Bell."

Ferrel smiles and shakes my hand, before squatting down to get a look at Champ and Creeper, "Nice to meet you," they say to me, before peering at Champ, "Not much I can do here, if that's why you came. I can do other Pokemon besides Furfrou of course, but uh, not much I can do without fur."

"I actually came because Bell here is going to be doing some field work for me. She needed a bodyguard Pokemon, and I said getting a Furfrou here would be an option."

Ferrel raises an eyebrow, "Well, I'd say they're more Contest creatures than battling ones."

"That and I ended up getting a bodyguard already." I say, gesturing to my Pokemon. 

"I was thinking we'd pick up some grooming and cleaning supplies here." Palm said, "I only really considered it on the way here, but if you want to keep a Pokemon happy and healthy, you keep it clean."

Ferrel nodded in agreement to that, "I have some kits, if you'd like to look at them? Not just for Furfrou, general-purpose ones too."

I look towards my Pokemon. Champ is vaguely lizard-like, but she isn't scaly. Her skin feels smooth, but tough, like leather. And Creeper is... vines. I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to... groom... that. 

Palm ended up buying three kits, two for me to hand off to Dwin and Russ when I meet them, and one for myself. We said goodbye to Ferrel, and we hit the town once more. 

"Are there any other supplies you think we might need?"

"No, no, I think I have you set up for everything. Camping supplies, health items, food for yourself, and a bit for the Pokemon- ah, though we might have to get a bit more if you plan on having Pokemon out and about with you."

"Wait- do they not have to eat if they're in a Pokeball?"

"Oh they still do, sometimes, but... well, they don't go through many physical processes inside the balls. Digesting and breathing are put on pause. If you only have them out of the Balls for, say, an hour out of every day, then you've only got to feed them about a day's worth of food every month. If a Pokemon makes clear that it's hungry however, the next time you bring it out, you should feed it. It's a lifesaver, when it comes to feeding the really big ones, I'll tell you that."

We spend about an hour downtown, buying more supplies for my journey, and things for me to deliver to Russ and Dwin, before we head South for the docks.

"So... you said that some fishermen capture Pokemon live for restaurants?" I never was much of one for seafood, but my parents have taken me places like that before. Seeing the lobsters in those tanks with the bands on their claws always hit me hard. 

And Pokemon... well there were varying levels of intelligence, but all Pokemon *could* be used by a Trainer. The knowledge that they eat each other in the wild is one thing, but eating one myself... I wasn't sure about that yet.

"Yes. It's a... a bit cruel. But it's business, and people have to eat, you know? It's a way to keep the food fresh."

I'm not familiar with the sea, so when I see the ocean peaking through the treelines, after following the river as it grows larger and larger, I find myself excited. Boats carrying loads up towards town, and heading back towards the sea empty, were our companions the whole ride.

The shore is rocky, in the few places where it's not covered in wooden planks or filled in with concrete. Dozens of fishing boats bob up and down next to the docks, and people and Pokemon load and unload their supplies.

A lot of Pokemon, actually. Alongside the fisherman, I recognize Mareep and Flaafy, more Tangela (which are even more intimidating when they're a yard tall), Gogoat, and tiny yellow fuzzballs with bright blue eyes, and large yellow spiders. 

In huge nets, I see even more. I immediately recognize the Magikarp, Krabby, and Remoraid, but the majority of what the fishermen bring in are Wishiwashi from Sun and Moon. Not to mention entire nets stuffed with Wingull. 

It's... a bit easier to take, actually. These Pokemon look like actual fish, for one thing. And Wingull are the zubat of the sea. 

Professor Palm takes the lead once more, going up to speak with one of the men on the dock, and gesturing to me. I wave and give a little smile, and the dockworker grins back. Palm ushers me over, and I go. Creeper and Champ follow behind, eyes wide as they take in the sea, and the sheer amounts of netted Pokemon being held on many of the boats. 

"So, you're going to be doing field work for the professor, little girl?" the dockworker asks, bending down.

"Yes. I was wondering if you'd be willing to give me one of the Pokemon you've been catching for the restaurants."

"Well sure thing!" 

"How much would-" Palm began, and the sailor smiles wider.

"No, no, no trouble at all really. We catch hundreds of them! We usually keep half-a-dozen just to feed our Pokemon at the end of the day. What were you thinking of, little girl?"

"I'm Bell." I say, a little annoyed at the little girl part, "And I was thinking-"

Chapter Text

"-if I could have one of the Remoraid?"

"Sure thing. They tend to school in big groups nearby the river mouth." the dock worker led me and my Pokemon closer to the boats, and I listened as the fishermen shouted back and forth at each other and handled their catches. No one here was worried about me, compared to the town. I guess since almost all of them are Pokemon Trainers too. I guess you can't really expect to be able to catch Pokemon in huge amounts without needing Pokemon of your own. 

The dock worker waves down a fisherman whose big yellow spider was dragging one large netful of Remoraid at a time from a huge tank to a smaller one, which seems about the right size to fit onto one of the smaller boats heading for town we saw earlier. Its actually pretty impressive, considering just one Remoraid is about the size of the spider. 

"Hey! Hey, Berli," the dock worker shouts up at the figherman, "Can you throw me a live Remoraid? The professor's guest here needs one."

"Sure. Need a big one?" he shouts down. 

The dock worker looks at me, and I find myself nodding, "Sure." I say. 

"Yeah!" he shouts up. 

The fisherman turns to his spider, and claps twice, "Gettun!" he barks, and the spider drops his load and skitters back over to the tank. It sticks two legs over the water and quickly spins a small net, dipping it in and fishing out one. It tugs the Remoraid, nearly two-feet long, over to the side. The fisherman bends down to give it a quick scratch, which makes the creature produce a vaguely pleased crackling noise. 

He then heaves the fish up, and then in a panicked moment I realize he's just going to flat-out let the fish drop on top of us. "Champ! Catch it!" 

"Kyaatj?" I gesture to the fish, and my Machop seems to realize in time, darting forward and managing to catch the fish before it slapped against the dock. 

The dockworker is grinning at me, and so is the fisherman, "Um, thank you!" I call up, before taking a closer look at the thing I saved from becoming a meal. 

It seemed... awake. But it couldn't move. It twitched a bit here and there, and when I brushed my hand over it I felt a slight crackling sensation under the scales, "Is it paralyzed?" I ask, but I think it's a safe guess. 

"Yep. Galvantula are real useful. Those electric silk nets make fishing just about anything a breeze. Though now that its away from the webs it'll probably wear off fairly quickly. Then it'll start trying to soak you."

I nod, "Well, let's do it. I don't think we'll need a battle for you, little guy." I press an empty Pokeball - just two left now beside this one, to the Remoraid, and I smile as it dissolves into light. Champ watches intently as the Pokeball wiggles and tones, before making the 'caught' noise. 

Remoraid, the Jet Pokemon

Water Type
Evolves into Octillery

Average Height for species: 2'00"
Average Weight for species: 26.5 lbs.


Individual Statistics:
Female, Level 6
Abilities: 
Sniper - Its critical hits do even more damage.
Moody - Its stats rise and fall with its mood.

Moves:
Water Gun - 40 Power
Water Pulse - 60 Power
Supersonic - May cause confusion
Lock-On - This Pokemon's next move will not miss

Neat! I remember that Remoraid could shoot all kinds of beams in the game, but all it knows are water attacks for now. Supersonic can be pretty useful though.

Now... what to name her?

I wave goodbye to the fishermen, and run up the docks to Professor Palm. 

"So, what'd you end up choosing?"

"Remoraid," I say, opening the Pokeball and showing him the newest addition to my party, "Could you hand me one of the Paralyze Heals from my bag?" I ask. Palm shuffles through my traveling supplies, and pulls out a very small spray-bottle of golden fluid. 

This'll be my first time using one of these. "Do you want me to show you?"

"Yes please, do the other heals work the same?"

"Yes, the status-clearing ones at least." he holds up the bottle, and begins to spray around the fins, and then the main body of the Remoraid, "Its important to cover the whole body. If the attack that caused the paralysis struck a specific part of them, you'll want to give that spot an extra thick later." he says, continuing to mist the Pokemon. Within a second or two, the bottle is empty, and the liquid on the fish begins to glow a bit before it evaporates away. 

Remoraid seems to celebrate by bouncing excitedly, bumping into Palm first, and then bouncing into my legs. Creeper and Champ move closer and make threatening noises, but when I bend down to pat the fish, they relax, "This is your new teammate, guys, her name is... hm, Kanon, should work."

"It's a fine name." Palm agrees, "...So, now that you have three Pokemon, think you're ready to head out? By now, Dwin and Russ definitely have the lead on you."

"I'm sure I can catch up." I say. I try to think if there's anything more I want to do in town- but I have my supplies, and the... protagonists? My pseudo rivals? Are only going to get farther and farther away. I don't think their chances of actually catching the thief are particularly high, considering he's probably the rival character, but who knows? 

We begin walking towards the cart, my Pokemon following, and I take in the sight of my new Remoraid... well, slithering. I think. It shimmies its body as if it was swimming, and has a very determined expression on its face, and is managing to move forward at a... slightly slower than walking pace. 

I had always wondered how the ones without legs that didn't float got around on land. Now I know. Very determined wriggling, and the occasional bounce. I take pity on her, and return her to the Pokeball. She was supposed to still be aware in there. I'm sure she'll be fine.

The two of us get into the Rhyhorn Cart one last time, and Palm says to the girl riding it- "The Route 1 check-in, please."

"Sure thing, Professor."

And we're off. 

My adventure is finally starting. I didn't have a proper starter, sure, but hey, my rivals don't have any Pokeballs! I could probably take both of them on now!

Chapter Text

Route 1 is a winding dirt road that meanders in and out of the woods. Here and there, fences of varying ages have been put down near the treeline to try and hamper the forest from consuming the path entirely.

The parts not under a canopy become long strips of meadow, tall grasses swaying slightly with the wind. The fences don't do much to keep the Pokemon back, and many weaker Pokemon come out into the sunlight where they can be less wary, and for the more herbivorous, to enjoy the tall grasses.

I suck in a breath through my nose, and let it out in a stream from my mouth.

I lift my foot over the large archway that officially separates the territory of Grunbud from no-man's land, and then pull back thinking better for it. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right! We had to pass through the city on the way here, and I saw something I needed to grab first.

It wasn't very expensive, so it wasn't too hard to get Professor Palm to buy it for me- when I start making real money, I'll be sure to pay him back for everything he bought to get me started here.

I opened the Pokeball on my hip, and the newest member of our little trio- or would it be a quad, because I'm part of the team too? -pops out in a flash of light, hopping a bit on the ground. I pet Kannon, and find that having something cold and scaly nuzzle up to you isn't as weird feeling as you would think. It takes a bit of ushering a few slightly harsh "Stay! Stay- good! Good!" in order to get them in the right spot, before I gave the camera to the nervous-looking town sentry.

"Okay, let's see... okay! I'm ready!" I push back with one foot, and take the first step onto Route 1 just as the-

}SNAP{

(Art by Me)

(Art by Camellia)

Chapter Text

A. Grunbud City - CURRENT LOCATION

J. Archway Town

Black Star: Diamond Cave

K. Cliffjump Town

Gold Star: Electric Facility

Gray Star: The Swamp Ruins

B. Braunengrove City

Brown Star: Feebas Swamp Tour

Red Star: The River Mouth

Orange Star: The Wingull’s Wrath

C. Gelbwood City

L. Lakeside Town

Yellow Star: Fairy Mounds

D. Silberisthmus City

Green Star: Holy Temple

Dark Blue Star: Isle of Dreams

M. Meadowbed Town

Pink Star: Team Pull Fortress

E. Turkisgras City

Light Blue Star: Fire Spring

N. Seaview Town

Light Gray Star: Thumb Lighthouse

F. Weinrotrock City

Purple Star: Memorial of Past Vikings

G. Rosashore City

O. Edgewood Town

H. Ockerplan City

Lime Star: Underground Oasis

P. Snowpeak Town

Q. Rustcave Ruins

I. Lilacrown City

Chapter Text

Okay, think strategically. 

Champ's low kick won't be effective against the two birds, if it can even reach them. Creeper's ingrained and regenerating all the time, so leaving him to take blows for the rest of us works pretty well. That water pulse attack was pretty darn effective, and Kanon managed to hit the Fletchling before, so I'll leave the two flying enemies to her. 

That leaves the Sewaddle and Rattata to Champ. 

That said, we're surrounded. Bidoof and the deer are down, but I have two birds, Fletchling behind me, moves unknown but probably just tackle and maybe sand attack, the Rattata and Pidgey, who probably once again only know tackle and sand attack, in front of me, and the Sewaddle nearby Creeper, who... Creeper seems reluctant to attack. 

I guess he was kind of... raised by Sewaddle, huh?

But I think I have a pretty good idea about what to do. "Sleep powder!" I say again, and Creeper hesitates, before a burst of white spores is released in the Sewaddle's direction. The worm tries to scrabble away, but is caught in the center of the cloud anyway. It succumbs, but there's no time to think because the Ratatta is charging. 

"You good an focused?" I ask Champ, who nods, her eyes still closed, "Then stop him with a low-kick!"

She darts forward. I'm afraid she'll get hit by the tackle, but she manages to shift to the left and stick her foot in the way. She kicks hard, and the Rattata is sent tumbling over himself, crashing, unconscious, right in front of me. 

"Good job! Now, Kanon, I want you to-" let's see, water gun, Pidgey is already confused so no need for confuse ray, Water Pulse would hit Creeper too- unless I asked her to avoid him? "-shoot water pulse at the Pidgey, knock it out, and keep the attack from hitting anyone else!" 

Kanon narrows her eyes, and then hops into the air, before letting forth a blast of water from her jaws that was somewhere between the width of the Water Gun and and the full width of the Water Pulse. 

Pidgey never saw it coming, and the bird let out a pathetic squawk as it fainted. 

All that was left... I look into the air above, at the Fletchling. Its definitely watching, and considering. 

Now... I wonder... there's no reason it couldn't... could there?... And I'd still have one left. 

"Kanon, listen closely." I say, taking out an empty Pokeball. "I want you to use Water Gun, to push this-" I squeeze the button, and the sound of it being ready to capture sounds out "-into that!" I say, pointing at the Fletchling above. "But first..." just to make sure, "use Lock-On on the Fletchling, on its belly, if you can."

Kanon looks at me for only a moment and- whoah. There's actually a glowing targeting cross floating over each pupil now. It opens its mouth, and I put the Pokeball in. Hopefully I wasn't wasting it. 

"Fire!" 

It looks a little confused.

"Err, Watergun!" 

The water spewed out, the ball going flying. The Fletchling tried to bank and avoid the blast- but it seems Kanon had accounted for that, and a second Watergun redirects the ball to slam straight into Fletchling's chest. 

The Pokemon vanishes into light, and the Pokeball falls to the ground. 

"Yes!" 

Fletchling, the Tiny Robin Pokemon
Normal / Flying Type
Evolves into Fletchinder

Average height for species: 1'00"
Average weight for species: 3.7 lbs.

This amiable Pokémon is easy to train. But when battle is joined, it shows its ferocious side. When it's excited, its temperature can double, spiking hormone production in its body.

Individual Statistics:
Male, Level 4
Abilities: 
Big Pecks - Its defenses never drop.
Gale Wings - Gives all Pokemon trying to use a Flying-type move an edge in response time. 

Moves: 
Tackle - 40 Power
Growl - By making a cute noise, it makes its opponents more reluctant to fight at full power.

I snatch it up, and then open it, only to get a faceful of feathers as the Fletchling tackles me. 

Falling over, winded, I watch as Kanon flops on top of the struggling bird, looking concerned in my direction. Champ rushes over and looks at the Fletchling nervously, and Creeper begins the process of uprooting himself from Ingrain.

"Kanon, can you let the Fletchling up?" I ask, putting a hand to my head- no bump, not even a bruise. Definitely not bleeding. It was more of a robin-bounces-into-you tackle than a Normal-Type Move Tackle. I guess its... justifiably upset.

Kanon slumps off, and I walk over. The little red bird is glaring up at me, and then turns its head to look in the opposite direction. If it could make any noise but musical tweeting, I think it would have 'Harrumphed' at me.

"Hey." I say, "I get that you're upset-" I was more curious why the others weren't, actually, "-but there's no need for that. Now. Do you want to help your friends?"

The bird looks up at me, surprised, and I smile back.

I'm... not quite willing to use up a potion yet. Who knows what's between us and the next town? But we make sure to dry off our opponents and bring them to a little den hidden under a log in the grass that the Fletchling guides us to. 

All of the Pokemon inside seem to have their own little nest in the burrow, and when Champ shuffles out and moves a log back into place, the entrance to the burrow is simply gone. I briefly wonder why Pokemon of so many different types have formed their own little group together.

I'm going to eventually catch them all, but for now, I have a very limited amount of Pokeballs. A good fighter, a flier, and a swimmer are all necessary to a Trainer on a journey. Now I have them all. I should look into getting a Pokemon that knows a few healing moves if I can to act as the team medic, as while its not necessary, I think will be pretty darn useful. 

But now I have them all. 

While my new Fletchling isn't much to look at now, I know that phoenix from the forest that attacked the Beedrill and Butterfree swarm is the final evolution of this little guy. That tells me he'll become a great battler in the future. 

Also, I really, really want to fly. I'm... not exactly sure how something only slightly bigger than a regular eagle from my world will carry me through the air, but I'm sure it'll be possible!

Now... what to name the little guy? 

After that... I have a lot of Route 1 still ahead of me. 

Chapter Text

I've decided to name him Zhar-Ptitsa. Knowing he'll eventually transform into a flaming furious falcon like the one in the woods, I needed something that fit it! A mystical Firebird from a Slavic fairy tale works well in that regard. I'll be calling him Zhar for short.

Forest

The four of us pushed further along Route 1. Keeping Zhar out was actually pretty useful. He knew the area at the very least. I told him I was looking to get close to as many wild types of Pokemon as I could, and he took the mission to heart- maybe even a bit too passionately. I think he had a lot of grudges.

(Art by Camellia)

We battled a small group of Weedle that had been ganging up on a strange small creature covered in leaves, which the Pokedex informed me was a Burmy. It was easy enough- Creeper didn't feel too comfortable letting them get close however, which I understand. Zhar and Kanon together took care of the bugs easily. Zhar even gained a level, bringing him up to 4.

I'm surprised how often wild Pokemon seem to gang up together. I remember having fun playing around with the 'call for help' mechanic in Sun and Moon, and that there was a swarming thing where like, five lower-level Pokemon at once showed up in some battles a few games earlier.

Maybe it was like that?

But trying to guess at the game mechanics of the world I was living in, while possibly very profitable in the long run, wasn't really something I could experiment with right now.

Zhar led us into a small glade filled with holes in the ground, and we ended up fleeing from a group of rabbit Pokemon- Buneary and Bunnelby, and some Rattata, all living together. I thought that with Champ with us it wouldn't be too difficult, but after seeing a Buneary's ear scrunch up with a horrifying crackling sound, and then bounce back to its full length with a sound like a gunshot, and seeing a sapling get obliterated by it, I decided that we should probably withdraw.

One of the biggest Bunnelby also used what I think is Quick Attack, almost knocking out Creeper with it, so I think he's definitely a higher level than any of mine right now.

Otherwise, the most common Pokemon out and about by themselves are Weedle, Caterpie, and Sewaddle.

We had been walking for about four hours when I saw something I really should have been expecting, but it still caught me by surprise when I saw another Pokemon trainer.

He was an adult, a bit on the scruffier side. My first instinct was to think he was homeless. His clothes were spotted with dirt, he had scraggly hair, and a wild look in his eyes. He was riding a Gogoat, chasing two Timburr.

I'm not sure whether he noticed me or not- the two Timburr burst from the woods, both struggling to carry their respective lumber pieces and hold onto each other's hands, and they vanished into the woods on the other side of the Route. A moment passed, and then the trainer shot past on his mount.

My first thought is that I should help the Timburr, but then again, what's he doing that I'm not?

The treeline thins a bit and I hear the sounds of water ahead of me.

River

The river is a huge one. At least as big as the river Palm and I followed to the docks in Grunbud. The river is also spotted with small islands. Some of them have a few trees growing, or some tall grass, but others are just flattish rocks sticking out of the rushing water.

Some of the islands are close enough to jump from one to another, but not nearly enough to cross properly. Luckily, just a bit further North there's a bridge that zig-zags its way across the river. Although it doesn't look quite trustworthy to me. Bidoof wade in and out of the water and the wooden bases of the bridge. It seems more like the Bidoof nests made of fallen and cut-down saplings were made first, and someone simply connected them with logs laid on top of the nests and tied together with ropes.

But the bridge must be stable enough to cross, because sitting nearly dead-center of the interconnected bridges, in a little folding chair, is a fisherman. 

"Um, hello!?" I call.

The man's head angled a bit, but he's too far away for me to see his expression. He seems to turn his attention back to the river soon enough anyway. I guess he must be concentrating.

I didn't buy a fishing pole in town, did I? In the games, the old rod is something they just give away though. Not that I'll need it quite yet, I don't think. My Kanon will do me better good than anything I'm likely to catch in this river.

Approaching the bridge, I paused to watch the Bidoof as they made their way back and forth. Occasionally one would squeak noisily at a Magikarp when it came too close.

There was also the occasional snap as a two-foot tall lobster dives from its whole and grabs hold of passing Wishiwashi. It seems Corphish are here too.

I returned Champ to her ball before I chanced the bridge, as I wasn't sure if she could swim. Creeper I lifted up to my chest, and let himself wrap around my shoulders so that I wouldn't have to carry him, like a baby carrier. Zhar fluttered above me, a ready eye out, and my hand was kept on Kanon's Pokeball. If the bridge suddenly collapsed, she'd be the most useful, and if the Magikarp or Corphish leaped from the water- well, constrict isn't necessarily a Grass-Type move, but Creeper'll be able to tank any water attacks for me, as for Zhar, whether his opponents are on land or in the water shouldn't matter if he's attacking from the air.

We make our way across the rickety bridge, until I'm definitely within earshot of the fisherman. "Hello."

The man- younger than the other Trainer, this one probably only in his twenties, shot me an annoyed look, "Hi." he answered shortly, before looking back at the water, concentrating.

"..."

"..."

"What are you looking for?" I ask. "It seems like the only thing in this river are Magikarp and Wishiwashi."

"I'm looking for a very specific Magikarp." he answers, "And I'm concentrating, so leave me alone."

"Okay. Sorry." I say, walking past him, when I spot something sparkling in the water. "Is that-?"

The fisherman gets up out of his seat and turns on me in a huff, "Look, just go and-" his eyes widen when he notices the sparkling gold Magikarp as it darts by under the bridge and down the river. His mouth falls open wide, and then slowly turns to look at me. "...I've been here all day!" he accuses, reaching for a Pokeball.

I glance down to the wooden bridge around us.

"I'm... sorry? But it didn't look like it was interested in your bait anyway, I don't think me distracting you really changed anything-"

I tense when I hear the click of his Pokeball opening, and a Magikarp emerges from the light.

Creeper makes a low shuffling sound, before uncoiling from my limbs and dropping down to the logs. Zhar begins tweeting angrily, but I hold out a hand to hold him back.

"Tackle!" he commands the Magikarp- only to look disappointed when it just flopped in place a bit.

For my first Trainer battle... this is a little underwhelming. "Sleep Powder." I tell Creeper, and soon enough, the poor fish is asleep, the fisherman taking several steps back to avoid the blast of powder himself.

"Ergh." He returns it, pulling out the next Pokeball and revealing- a Magikarp.

So it's this guy.

"Tackle!"

Nothing.

I sigh, "Creeper, constrict."

The vines entangle the struggling fish, and squeeze down. Not letting go. The man commands to tackle, over and over, but the Magikarp just isn't having it. Eventually, he turns the fish into light, returning it to its ball.

"This isn't over!" he says, and I just sigh as another Magikarp flops uselessly against the ground.

"...Creeper, push it into the river."

"What! No, don't-" but my Tangela has already grabbed the Magikarp and shoved it, knocking the fish from the log bridge and into the river, "-What the heck kid!?"

"You're the one who challenged me!" I say, before walking around him.

He sighs and draws his Pokemon back into its ball, before sneering at me and heading in the opposite direction, walking towards Grunbud. I briefly worry about how he'll get back without any Pokemon, but if he made it all the way to this point with three Magikarp that didn't know anything but Splash, he could make it back.

I felt a little mean, but really, it was his own fault. I didn't start the fight.

When I get back safely on dry land, I send Kanon out into the water to play for a bit, and let her pick a fight with one of the Corphish so I could get data on it, as well as have her bring me a Wishiwashi she knocked out- oh. No, the little fish was definitely dead.

Zhar looks a little interested in Kanon's catch as well, and I'm a bit at a loss of what to do. I mean, obviously Kanon's a predator, she has fangs. She needs to eat meat. Wait, no, I heard somewhere all Pokemon were omnivorous, I think. But she obviously enjoys hunting and wants to eat the little fish. I give a hesitant nod, and after giving the body a once-over with the Pokedex, I nudged it back towards the two Pokemon and watch them dig in. 

I wonder if this is a problem I should take care of as soon as possible- I don't want either to think it’s okay to kill another trainer's Pokemon, for example, but at the same time, if my Pokemon could hunt for themselves, that could end up saving on food.
...

I think that's something I'll ask Russ and Dwin about. They'll know better than me how these types of things go. 

Grassland / Meadows

Once we left the wooded bit of the trail, the grasses overgrew with everything. Small flocks of Pidgey rose and fell in large, slow, circles here and there for as far as I can see. The Deerling blend in well, their rich green coats the same shade as the tall grass around them. 

Rattata occasionally skitter across the road, darting from one clump of grass to another. Zhar is less knowledgeable about this part of the Route, and has stuck to sitting on my shoulder for now. 

But most importantly, there are other humans here. In the grasslands and the meadow beyond it, it's hard to hide anything. People- mostly youngish adults, no one nearly as young as I am, but no one looks over forty either. Most were like the fisherman. 

They also seemed... pretty focused. More than one was in the midst of battle, using their Pokemon against the wild ones nearby. 

It was beginning to get dark, and I realized I was hungry, suddenly, so I sat down and considered the alternatives of waiting out the night here in the fields, crossing the last few hours of walking in the hills tomorrow, or to risk trying to reach Archway Town in the dark. I was weighing the benefits of both paths, when I saw a trainer take notice of my little camp and come closer. I had Kanon douse my little campfire, and watched as she approached. The woman, was wearing an old but hardy jacket and a belt lined with red-and-white Pokeballs, and she was making her way straight for me.

"Hey you!" I gestured to myself, and she nodded, "What are you doing out here by yourself?"

"Um, I'm just trying to get to town."

She looked me up and down, eyes narrowed, "You're not a Wild Trainer, are you? Those clothes are new."

I looked down at my outfit, before meeting her eyes, "...Wild trainer?"

"Where's your Pokemon License?" she asked, "Who was your escort?" her eyes lift from mine, to glare at the forest behind me, "Are you running from someone?"

"Wha- no! No, I'm.. um." I look at the road behind her, and the hills not too far away. From what I remember of the map, Archway Town should be less than an hour away, and lie where the dirt path comes close to the mountains even further in the distance. But... I doubt I can outrun her for an hour. 

How to deal with this?

Chapter Text

There's no real reason to make anything up.

"I'm traveling alone." I say, "And I'm not running from anyone in particular... as for my license, I'm going to Archway Town to get one at the Trainer School. The only reason I have Pokemon is that Professor Palm said I should have bodyguards to protect me on Route 1." I reach into my bag, and the woman leans in closer, looking into it. I pull out the Pokedex, and raise it up to her, "Professor Palm even gave me this, it's called a Pokedex. It's a research tool. Catching Pokemon in a Pokeball gives more data than simply physically observing them so I got permission to-"

"Researchers make a lot of money, right?" she asks, looking... interested... in my bag.

I shove the Pokedex in a pocket and smile nervously. "Uh, I don't know. I'm not carrying anything with me. Professor Palm's word is good though, and I'm... sure to get a receipt for everything." and my blood goes just a little bit colder when she looks disappointed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"..." she considers me for a bit, "Well, I suppose that's not my problem. You're heading to Archway Town to get your license then? What kind of work are you doing for Professor Palm?" she bends closer, "Are you... meeting someone there, by chance?"

Champ began to make a rumbling growl deep in her belly, taking a step in front of me. Following her lead, my other Pokemon inch closer to me and watch her carefully. Almost instinctively, her hand darts to her belt, finger coming to rest on a button- but she relaxes once her mind catches up with her body. She looks at my team, and files all of us away as not threats.

"I..." I close my mouth, I already told her this much but... Opening it again I ask, "Why do you want to know?"

She bends back up, looking down at me, "Children shouldn't be left alone in the wild like this." She says, and it sounds genuine when she says it, "It's dangerous. I'm not going to hurt you kid, I meant it, when I asked if you were running from something. We've all been there. But you see, there are really only two types of children who do go on these roads." she lifts one finger, "Those who are running from the cities, running from the evils of humans to try and find the little bit of mercy that does exist in the wild." she lifts the second one, "And there are those who think it'll be fun to be tougher than everyone else, who see everyone back away from the Trainers passing through, and want that kind of respect for themselves..." she lowers her hand, "That second type? Tend to be rich little twerps with delusions. Its best to teach them a lesson and send them back home to be a good townie. But I don't think you're either, are you?"

"I... I uh..."

"...Get going twerp." she says, jerking a hand behind her, towards the hills, "Don't fall asleep out here in the fields, unless you have a Pokemon that can create a hole for you to sleep in. If you wanted to rest, you should have done it in the forest where you had a bit of cover."

"I... thank you?"

"Don't thank me. Far as I'm concerned, you're Licenseless right now. Some of us still remember the real Ull."

"I... what?"

She raises an eyebrow at my confused expression, and then her own turns dark "Hm." she begins walking off, and I let out a shaky breath. Was that what getting mugged felt like? Even if she... didn't actually mug me.

My Pokemon look to me, and I usher them forwards. I wanted to get to town.

Checking the Pokedex, it seems like I got a reading on every type of Pokemon native to Route 1. Considering my first day on the job one well done, I keep my focus on the road ahead of me. Zhar isn't comfortable flying in the dark, so I return him to his Pokeball. On the other end, Creeper seems much more comfortable moving in the dark than in the day, moving with more confidence, almost tugging me with vines around my arm to lead me down one path or avoid another. Champ makes good pace too, but I think she's beginning to get exhausted, and has tripped in the dark more often than I have. She goes back in the ball too.

When it gets to the hills, however, I find him a lifesaver. Creeper slows down a bit, and really guides me up and down the meandering paths. The summer night air isn't uncomfortable, and without having to worry about traffic, a lot of the worry about walking at night is gone. The main thing I gather from that is that I have not yet internalized the knowledge that the world I live in now has countless superhuman monsters populating it.

As it is, I've been on my feet for most of the day, and had less to eat than I usually would have on any given day. I'm hungry, thirsty, and exhausted by the time the lights of Archway Town's walls come into view. I'm half-tempted to ask Creeper to try and carry me the rest of the way there, but I'm not going to do that when he's a baby. Maybe when he grows to his full three-feet height I'd feel comfortable with it.

Another two hours pass, and I'm almost shuffling, blinking hard to keep myself awake and keeping my eyes on the moon above as much as on the town ahead of me- which is getting closer all the time, thankfully. Creeper is watching me, concerned, but I press on until the lights dotting the walls are high above me.

I wince and pull my hat down over my eyes as one of the lights changed direction to focus on me, going from the darkness of past midnight to blindingly bright in a moment.

"It's just a kid." someone says, "Is it that thief the message from Grunbud told us about?" another voice, "No. Doesn't' match the description."

"Professor Palm sent me!" I call up, "I'm here to go to the Trainer's School!"

"..." "..." "..."

I try to look up- but no, the light's still too harsh.

"The gate's ahead of you."

"I can't see it, you blinded me!"

"Stop being dramatic kid. Welcome to Archway."

I grumble as I shuffle out from under the spotlight and aim vaguely for- yes, I see it now. There's a huge archway within the wall, dim, shuddering lights like fireflies making a vague outline around it.

Making my way for it, I enter into

Archway Town

The smells and sounds of civilization bubble towards me as I cross through the tunnel. There are an assortment of stalls, but everything seems shuddered and locked down, or for the smaller stands, covered protectively in a tarp. Either way, all the shops in the entrance have been closed down for the night.

The town is built on an incline, sitting in a spot where two mountains rise from the hills. A large, craggly and twisted one heading North, which the map tells me is Route 2, and a very tall, sharp one to the East, which the map says is Route 3.

The town is made up mostly of stone, compared to Grunbud's fixation on lumber. The roads are cobblestone, the buildings are sturdy and hard, with windows that have been carved out rather than chopped.

The lamps are a comfort, and I follow a sign with the Pokeball symbol uphill until I take in a sight that fills me with a warm fuzzy feeling.

It's a large building, with white walls and a red roof, centered around the universal symbol of the Pokeball.

I know I don't have a license yet, but at the moment... I just need somewhere safe to rest.

Creeper guides me up the hill, and my tired eyes try to read the sign outside the Center's doors. I'm scared, for a moment, that it'll be closed, as there is a light over the desk next to the healing machine and the front desk which I can see through the glass doors, but when I walk up to it, a sensor opens the doors for me. I stumble inside, and see a couch. I slump down on it, and clutch my bag to me, before lying down. I'm not especially tall for my age, and either way, it seems the couch was made for sleeping.

Its comfortable enough anyway.

My eyes begin to flutter shut, and Creeper climbs on top of me- before putting down roots? He wraps vines around me, and around the chair, almost fastening us down, before we meet eyes, and something in his expression calms me.

I'm sure...

I can just rest now.

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Archway Town Pokemon Center

Anna Lizabet glanced up at the small blinking notice, and stepped away from the door, her Kirlia looked up from their patient and sent out a wave of <Concern? Assistance? No?>

"No, that's fine. Just focus on your work Claire." Anna said with a grin, "I'm sure its just another nocturnal trainer coming in for a rest."

Claire nodded <Yes. Okay. Yes. Good.>, turning her attention back to the Furfrou breathing laboriously on the table. Her horns began to light up, and her eyes glowed an ethereal violet as she telekinetically prodded the aging Furfrou. It was a shame, really, but there still wasn't any cure for old age, Anna thought. She left Claire to concentrate, just in case it was something her Pokemon could help with. A good Heal Pulse tended to fix most ailments, but what it didn't got much more complicated.

She walked out of the operating theater, ditching her gloves, mask, and apron, and washing her hands.

She walked out to the front desk, a practiced smile already on her face, when she stopped, and looked around, confused, before her eyes lit on a lump lying on the bench that hadn't been before.

She raised an eyebrow, and moved closer, before letting out a small "eep!" as the mound began to wriggle and shuffle ominously, two human-like glowing eyes appearing out of the darkness in the center of the woody mass.

She calmed down almost immediately, and glanced back at the theater, mentally going through a list of comforts, so that Claire wouldn't drop her work to come and investigate in case she felt the small burst of fear.

"Hello." she whispered to the Tangela, reaching her hand forward, only to pull away when the shuffling increased. It was an... odd shape to be sure. It had spread itself and was constricting a good half of the large couch, and was a lumpy shape. "Are you alright?"

"Shrrr"

"Are you a wild Pokemon?"

"Srrrr! Shrrr"

"Is that so?" she asked. She didn't understand most Pokemon much, but listening tended to make them feel better, and they were very expressive creatures, when they wanted to be. If the Tangela wanted to tell her something, it would communicate it. She walked back to her desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a small Pokepuff. It wasn't one of the expensive kinds, she went through too many a day for that, but it was an absolute necessity in her line of work.

She approached it again, and held out her hand, the basic spring Pokepuff smelling of flowers and new growth. The Tangela stopped making its threat displays, and quieted down, before eventually prying away one of its tendrils to take hold of the miniature cupcake and pull it into the darkness surrounding its face.

Mollified, she waited until the Tangela began withdrawing into itself, no longer clinging to the bench and revealing- oh!

She stopped herself from darting to check on the child, there was still a Pokemon on top of it, and spooking it might not end well for herself or the child, but she made a motion to move closer, and the Tangela allowed it, so she reached out to put a finger against the child's neck.... good pulse. Not too cold. Now that she was listening for it, the breathing was regular, if a little deep and a bit hoarse. Dehydrated? A little, probably.

She looked at the Tangela and- oh, yep. "Hello Claire." she said.

<Help? Child. Child! Help? Yes? No?>

"I think she's just fine for the moment." she said, "Isn't that right? And she has her kind Pokemon watching over her."

The Tangela bristled with pride, even if it didn't understand all the words, it understood the tone of the compliment. She smiled gently, "Actually, Claire, could you grab one of the guest blankets- one of the ones just out of the dryer if you can. I'd prefer it be warm."

<Yes. Can! Will. Doing! Yes. Okay. Warm child.>

Anna smiled as the Kirlia danced off to make herself useful. Soon she was back, a blanket suspended in telekinetic force of Confusion, before it was laid out over the child, clinging to her bag, and the Tangela as well.

"Good night." she said to the Tangela and the sleeping guest. She sighed sadly once she was out of earshot of the Pokemon, and went back behind the desk, Claire following at her heels, before breaking off suddenly to go and have a look at the Furfrou. Still breathing. She'd make it through the month, though she'd have to break it to the Pokemon Fanclub member who had left her here for the night that the Furfrou would be unlikely to make it longer beyond that.

A child with a Pokemon coming alone to a Pokemon center at two AM? What was the world coming to? Four in one day at that. At least the second two that stopped by had enough to afford a hotel room for the night. The other boy was still here, sleeping in her office. She guessed that this one with the Tangela probably didn't have a License either.

Well, the Association be damned, she took an oath to help and heal, and so she would. Even if the Elite Four's Rangers would have to stop by again and give her another lecture on the Menace of Unlicensed Trainers Taking Advantage of the System. Ugh.

Anna returned to her work.

When my eyes opened, it was the nudge of a gentle hand.

<Hello? Hello. Hello! Wakefulness.>

"Ah!" I jump, tangling myself in the blanket and spooking Creeper into a series of loud hissing Shrrrrs.

<OH! Oh no! Sorry! Sorry? Help?>

Itsinmyhead!

I clutch at the sides of my head, and look at the Pokemon- a Kirlia, and, oh no! Nonono! "Don't cry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

<Sorry! Sorry! Help!>

Oh god that's weird. Crap! "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to think that I just-" but the Kirlia is already hurrying towards- that's Nurse Joy. She has pink hair and everything. She doesn't look like an anime character in any particular way besides the light pink hair, but... I can tell. The outfit doesn't feel like cosplay, just that it fits.

"Nurse?"

"Yes? Are you okay, I must apologize for Claire, she was only trying to help you and she must have spooked you."

"I... Can you apologize to her for me? I didn't mean to snap at her like that I just... haven't felt something else in my mind before. I've never met a psychic Pokemon before."

"Oh? Yes, well, I can see why that probably spooked you then. I'll be sure to tell her. But for now, would you like breakfast?"

"I-" my stomach growls, and I blush, "Yes. Please, thank you." I say quietly, and she smiles kindly down at me and pulls the blanket- she must have put it there last night, and I blush more. "Um... I don't have a License. I... probably can't..."

"Oh hush." she said, "I don't care about something like that." she said, "Pokemon Centers keep their doors open for a reason, and for that matter, so does Archway Town! I'm just showing my town spirit, really. If you decide to get a License later on, though, It'll be a little bit easier on the paperwork." she jokes.

I nod, and follow her across the floor. People dressed for the wilderness wander the halls of the huge building, and most of them are carrying Pokeballs out in the open. They're also... pretty wary around each other as far as I can tell.

More than a few are watching us with interest, and I instinctually draw closer to Nurse Joy, and Creeper closer to me.

She takes us into a little room off the side with a TV currently on some kind of cartoon, a little coffee table and sofa in front of it, and a small kitchen behind it.

"This is the break room for me and Nurse Delilah." Nurse Joy informs me, urging me to sit down on the couch, only for me to notice I'm not alone.

"Who's this?" the boy asks. And he's the smuggest eleven year old I've ever heard the voice of.

Crap.

Chapter Text

"I haven't had the chance to hear her name, actually." Nurse Joy said, smiling kindly at the both of us. I manage to keep from freezing in place, does he recognize me? "Why don't we all introduce ourselves! My name is Nurse Anna."

Anna looks to smug boy first, and for a moment, I'm tempted to try naming him. He's the rival character, obviously, but I guess- "Why don't you go first?"

"Er... I'm Bell." I say. 

He considers both of us for a moment, seriously, before grinning smugly, "You can call me Atro. What are the chances that two kids would show up on the same night?"

Especially since he left a few hours before I did. But I'm going to play it cool. Nurse J- Anna. Nurse Anna seems super nice, and I'm not going to stir up trouble here. "I guess its pretty weird. Did you come up from Grunbud?"

"No." he lies easily and without hesitation, "I'm from the North actually. Ockerplan."

Anna's eyebrows shoot up, "You're... a long way from home then. You're from Grunbud Bell?"

I nod, "Yeah. I'm here to go to the Trainer School. To get my License."

"I've never been to Grunbud." Atro lies again, "Is it true that everything there is made of wood? Doesn't it rot?"

"Our houses are fine." I say, I only really spent half a day out and about in the city, all things told. But hearing him badmouth something gives me the urge to defend it, "What do they build with in Ockerplan? Sand?" 

His smug grin actually disappears at that, and his expression darkens. This... doesn't feel like an act. Maybe he really is from there. Nurse Anna saves the day with an audible "Ahem." and then smiles brightly, "I'm sure you two are famished, aren't you? What would you like for breakfast? I'm on night shift and Delilah is day shift, so if you two want to go out somewhere, I could escort you."

"Hmp. Like I need an escort." he says, the smugness returning full blast, "But it'd be bad manners to leave you two ladies- you are a girl, aren't you Bell?-" oh now it's on, you little fluffy albino ass- "to go somewhere on your own. Archway Town can be dangerous."

"You don't need an escort?" I ask, "So you have Pokemon?"

"Well, of course."

"Show me." I say. And he stops, looking nervously in my direction. I smile, "I um, have a friend who knows some Licensed Trainers, and he didn't want me traveling on Route 1 without a proper bodyguard." I gesture to Creeper. 

"Some bodyguard that thing is, scrawny as it is."

"Oh, no, Creeper is my tank. My real bodyguard is Champ." I pull out a Pokeball. "I've caught a few Pokemon now, so I'm prepared for just about anything."

Nurse Anna looks interested, "Well, I'm glad you have a friend willing to loan you Pokeballs. They're hard to get a hold of without a License, but having a bodyguard is a must for travelers. Claire- oh, where is she, just give me a moment." Anna gets up, calling for her Kirlia, and Atro watches after her. 

"...I'll show you my Pokemon if you show me yours." I say. 

"I don't see why I should."

"Well, you seem like the type that would have a really strong one. Since you're so confident all the time." 

"...Well, I don't want to brag-"

"No, go ahead. Then I can brag too." I say with a grin. 

The white haired boy grinned wide, before pulling out a yellow and black Pokeball with a red 'V' on it. That's... a Level Ball, I think. 

"This is my Partner." the boy says proudly, and after the flash of light disappears, there's a black and yellow lizard standing there, already at attention. It's almost as tall as the two of us, and Creeper makes some cautious noises when it appears. "Heliolisk."

"Do you have any other Pokemon?"

"Do you?"

Reaching down, I hit the buttons on my belt, and one by one my Pokemon appear. Kanon, Champ, and Zhar join Creeper at my side, and I realize with a bit of nervousness that both Zhar and Champ seem exhausted. Heliolisk... it looks like an Electric type, and also seems fully evolved already. Kanon and Zhar would be in trouble fighting it, at least. It was almost certainly a higher level than any of my Pokemon. 

"Kind of overdoing it for just bodyguards, don't you think?" Atro says.

"Well, where's the rest of your team?" 

He smirks, "Heliolisk is the only Pokemon I need. I'm pretty sure I could take out your whole team with just him."

I return Zhar and Kanon to their balls, and then begin to pet Champ when she begins to size up the lizard in front of her. "That could be." I admitted. "But these guys are all still really new. I've only been a trainer for a day- and not even a Licensed one. Besides, I think its good to have a number of Pokemon for all situations. When Zhar gets bigger he'll be able to fly me around, and I'll be able to travel over water with Kanon when she does. Creeper is good at taking attacks, and Champ is good at attacking." I smile, and inject a little smugness into my voice, "I have strategy."

We stare into each others eyes for a bit, before his smile becomes a wide, wide, grin. 

"Would you like to be my friend?" he asked, holding out his hand.

I raise an eyebrow, "Oh? Am I worthy of it?"

He considers it, the fluffy white asshole, before he shrugs, "You'll grow into it. You have some potential."

I roll my eyes, "Sure. Why not?" he's a thief, but if I know Pokemon games, in the end, he'll probably end up as a good guy, or karmic retribution will hit him at some point anyway. Either way, he does have one of the Starter Pokemon. He won't be an asshole forever. 

He smiles, "Good! Want to come with me to do something?"

"Like go out to eat breakfast?"

He's about to snarkily reply 'no', when its his turn to be embarrassed by their stomach outing itself. "...Well, more than that. Why do you want to go to the Trainer School?"

"To get my License. Cause then I can use the Pokemon Center without having to rely on Nurse Anna's charity."

He frowns, "You know. Its a lot harder in the long run, if you get a License and then lose it. No one will take you."

"...What are you talking about?"

"If you get a License you have to follow the rules." Atro says, "It means you're working for the Pokemon Association. It means you work for the cities."

I think I'm a bit out of my depth here, "As opposed to... what?"

"Being a Wild Trainer. It's not as horrible as people say. You'd be good at it. I can tell. Besides, you're my friend now. I'm sure you could live off my scraps, even."

I look at him, annoyed, "I won't be feeding off anyone's scraps." Beside that, I didn't know what a Wild Trainer was. That woman who met me on Route 1 was talking about them too. "How do you get Pokeballs without a License?"

"You got yours without one." He said with a smile. 

"Well I-"

He holds up a hand, before letting it drop back to his side, "You know what... never mind. I'll let you figure it out for yourself. Now. We are both definitely going to be getting Licenses."

"What do you-"

Nurse Anna came back into the room, leaving the door open behind her, "All right. Claire is off with Nurse Delilah, so she won't need any help." Nurse Anna says happily, "So we're absolutely free to go get breakfast. Hm. You two are definitely in a better mood."

Atro smiles, "Yep. We're friends now."

"Oh good!" Anna says, "Well, no sense in keeping you two hungry. After we eat, how about I lead you both to the Trainer School?"

Russ should actually be there right now, shouldn't he? At the very least he'll show up at some point today there, and from there I can meet up with him and Dwin. I smile to hide my thoughts, now... how to deal with Atro and them? 

(Art by me)

....Well, I'll figure something out. For now, it seems Atro wants to go there as well, even if he's not intending to get a License. 

I'll figure something out.

Chapter Text

As... tempting... as following a cocky mean thief into the wilderness and giving up on society might be, I think I'm going to stick with what I was originally going to do. And more than anything else, I'm here to meet Russ and Dwin. And if I gift-wrapped the thief they were chasing and handed him over, well, that's one way to become quick friends, right?

Nurse Anna led us out of the little room, and headed for the door of the Pokemon Center. She waved to another Nurse- no pink hair on that one, but still a woman with the same hair style and the same uniform- who was working at the front desk. Claire the nervous Kirlia gave the three of us a long look, and I felt a twinge of guilt. 

If I ever came back here- and I probably would, once I had a real License, -I'll make it up to her. 

Atro and his Heliolisk are taking the lead, because the boy refuses to be in any other position. Nurse Anna, in her infinite patience, allowed Atro to pick out where to eat. We three sat down at a pretty seedy-looking bar where few people walked near. Or at least, I assumed it was a bar. But it was more a tavern I guess. Waitresses carried trays of food here and there, though there were only a half-dozen people at the moment. 

More than that though, I began to realize that the only people at the bar were ones who carried Pokeballs. They had Pokeball symbols on their clothing, and showed their belts proudly. "You know, Atro." Nurse Anna begins, "You've been her before haven't you?"

"I arrived pretty early. Don't worry though, I didn't actually go in. I just made sure to know where it was." he says, "Besides, you get a discount, don't you Anna?"

Anna smiles, "Why thank you. How did you know that?"

"You're an association employee." Atro said with a shrug, "It's one of the benefits isn't it?"

She made a small shrugging motion, "But children-" she stopped herself, "Well, normally, children shouldn't have to worry about stuff like that, but when you're on your own, you should. And I'm not starting any bad habits. Thank you Atro."

He gave her a winning grin, and then gave me a grin to let me know he was winning. "If this is an Association building why does it look so..."

"Ratty? Well, things are hard to upkeep, when so many Pokemon trainers come through. So the building is built to last, and everything that won't last is built to be easily replaceable." Anna said, "That's the Cable Club for you." 

"What do Trainers do at the Cable Club?" I ask, and Atro looks at me like I'm dumb. 

"What don't they do? It's basically the only place in a town where a trainer has any time to be themselves. The only place where they're allowed, really." Atro said, "People bring jobs for Trainers to the boards here, and it's a place for Trainers to battle each other for fun alone, without having to worry about money or being left without protection." Atro explains, "Cable Club is also where Trainers trade Pokemon and go over strategy with each other... it also gives food and shelter for cheap, if you have a License."

I nod, taking it in, "I'll remember." I say. 

Anna leads us in, and for the first time I notice the bouncer leaning just inside the door, and a Gurdurr sitting in a chair nearby doing tricks with a large metal- well that's a spear. He gives a kind nod at Anna, before glancing down at us, and our Pokemon. 

Atro looks up at him defiantly, and I pat Champ's head to make sure she doesn't make any sudden moves. She's watching the Gurdurr very carefully. 

Anna takes us to our seats, and soon enough there's a waitress there. We're handed menus, and then she asks, "And your Pokemon?"

I glance at Anna, who simply nodded, "Go ahead. They have a Pokemon stable at the school, but it's fine if you bring them out to eat here."

Atro looks a bit nervous, looking down at the regular Pokeball on his belt that he didn't open for me. In the end, he decides to continue claiming Heliolisk is his only Pokemon. 

I bring out my own, and Anna's eyes widen. "Almost a full team, already, hm?"

"I'm very prepared." I agree. 

My Pokemon come closer together as they glance around the room. Most of the other trainers haven't brought out their Pokemon, but I guess that scent in the air is enough to keep them on edge. 

The waitress writes down the species of the Pokemon present, takes our order, and leaves for the kitchens. 

The Cable Club is someplace that I don't think I'll spend too much time in. 

Weirdly enough, the sense I got from the place was... an adventurer's tavern. A place where heroes showed up in. When the rest of the town is NPCs, this is the place PCs met up at. A lot of destined encounters probably happened in the Cable Club. The idea was reinforced quite a bit by the huge message board that proudly decorated one wall. It was covered with posters. Among the different posters were job offers, requests for escort, requests for capturing specific Pokemon, for putting down certain Pokemon, posters of criminals with bounties, some even with "Dead or Alive" written below the pictures. 

I think I'm beginning to understand the dynamic here in Sabi. Pokemon Trainers are adventurers. Heroes and villains, mercenaries, most of them, with great power at their command, and little else. 'Regular' people weren't comfortable around them, but they lived in a dangerous world, and sometimes you need someone to do the work too dangerous to be done without a Pokemon. 

There were a few terminals there, but it wasn't anything like the high-tech room in the games above the Pokemon Center. 

The food... was okay. I ordered something without meat, but neither Anna, Atro, or many of my Pokemon joined me. I wondered what magical creature had been killed to make it. 

My Pokemon, at least, were thrilled to have food in their bellies. The waitress brought out a cart with many bowls on it, each filled with a mix of berries, meat, plants, and what looked like granola. The amount and specific variations of it differed between Pokemon, but they all had a little of each, at least. I guess all Pokemon really are omnivorous. 

I supposed this was probably the first time any of them had cooked or prepared food. This time yesterday, all of them were still wild. 

When the waitress brought a bowl towards Atro's Heliolisk, there was a brief scare when the lizard made a deep growl and snapped at her, but Atro's harsh grunt was enough to have the lizard immediately back down, fearful. 

When we were full, Nurse Anna finally led us towards the Trainer School. 

The building... looked like a school. The foundations were the same heavy rock as everywhere else, but it had a very modern and well-kept feeling about it. This place had money behind it, I could feel it in the air. 

"Do you need any help registering?" Anna asked, and both me and Atro shook our heads no. Atro... well, he was insistent on coming, but he disdained Licenses. As for myself, I wanted to figure things out. "Then I'll say goodbye to you both. I hope to see you again, Bell, Atro." she said with a smile, and she left us to the education system. 

But most importantly...

I walked up to the front desk, Atro trailing behind me. I cleared my throat to get the attention of the clerk, and he raised an eyebrow over his sunglasses, "Yes?" he asked. 

"I'd like to register to become a Licensed Pokemon Trainer." I said clearly, "I also would like to know if a young boy perhaps came here yesterday? He's a friend of mine from Grunbud."

Atro looked at me, "A friend?"

"Yeah. He got a head start on Route 1, but he should be here, I think."

"...Are you not currently a Licensed Trainer?" the clerk asked, gesturing at Creeper, who I had out of his ball, and at my belt, with its four Pokeballs displayed. 

"Err... I have extenuating circumstances?" I try. 

"...Guard!" he shouts, and a man in what looked like a Police uniform, except in cheerful strawberry pink rather than blue, enters the hall. Atro's Pokemon begins growling and I begin to wonder whether now would be the right moment...

That said, there's a police man walking towards me, and his hand goes to his belt, and a moment later, there's a two-foot tall frog in front of me. A Croagunk. 

Heliolisk is making a deep, hateful growl, and Atro's expression is growing darker by the moment. "Look! Just let me explain!" I say, and I'm about to reach into my bag, when I realize that I'm doing it in front of a police officer commanding a poison dart frog that knows kung fu, "In my bag, there's a small computer, it's called a Pokedex." Atro stares at me, shocked at the revelation, "I don't have a License, but these Pokeballs were given to me in trust by Professor Palm of Grunbud. He said that I required bodyguards to get through Route 1 safely, and that the first thing I should do in Archway Town is get my License." I say. 

Atro stares at me, surprised, and opens his mouth to lie "I have one too." wait. Actually, that's true, isn't it? He even shows him a green 3DS fished from his pocket. 

The police officer looks at me levelly, before smiling, "Well, that's a story." he said, reaching into my bag and pulling out the Pokedex. He opens it, and he watches as his Croagunk's data was filled in. He holds it out to the clerk, and the man looks at the machine, before sighing, "...Palm's other one arrived yesterday." He says, "Saying he was chasing down a thief."

Atro looks at me, and I think he knows now that I knew the whole time. I break eye contact, and he opens his mouth- "I'm looking for the same one. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be able to find him. He was just a kid too, after all." I say, before looking at Atro, "Did Palm send you after the thief too? But I thought-"

"Yeah, I uh, just didn't know Palm sent you." Atro says. "Sorry for saying I've never been to Grunbud."

Ego assuaged, I turn to the two adults. The Croagunk goes back in its Pokeball, and the officer gives a nod to the clerk, "Good luck on your License, miss." He hands back my Pokedex, and leaves through the passage he came. 

The clerk sighs, "All right. I apologize for the misunderstanding." he says hurriedly, "Now let's get your registered. Here are your forms." he said, holding out a sheaf of papers to me, and then holding another one for Atro. 

The boy looks at the papers for a moment, before taking them. 

We left the hall, and sat down in a waiting room nearby while we filled out the sheets. "...I didn't need your help in there." he says. 

"Of course not." I say, "I mean, I didn't know you were one of the ones Professor Palm sent out to look for the thief. He only mentioned two other kids." I say, filling out forms as fast as I can, while Atro looks at his own sheets with deep consideration. "I understand why you were being careful though. For all you knew, I could have been the thief." I say. 

Atro considers this, and I get up with my papers. "I'll see you inside, right?"

"...I think I don't need a License." Atro said, "But I'll be waiting at the entrance to Route three until noon tomorrow." he says, "In case you decide the same thing. I think you'd be good at it."

I shrug, "I came here to get my License. And that's what I'm going to do." I say with determination. Leaving Atro behind, I turn in my papers to the clerk, who hands me a schedule.

"For a general Pokemon Trainer License, it will be a two-week program costing seven-thousand and six hundred dollars." he said, "That said, the price may go down if your level of skill is high enough, and options exist to get financial aid from the Pokemon Association if you agree to certain-" he stops himself, "Wait, no, I have notice from the Pokemon Lab. It's paid for." he said.

I let out a breath of relief at not having to pay for the costs myself. That's... more than I thought it would cost. Though I guess it... makes sense? 

I receive an identification card from the clerk, as well as a schedule- or rather, a list of classes I needed to take. Each session would be about four hours, and there were about fourteen of them. Its more of a checklist than anything else. I guess what you're supposed to do is take one of the classes every day for two weeks, and at the end of each there's some kind of exam. The way I think it works is that people have to pass the exam for each of the fourteen classes to prove they're a Trainer, but the order to take them is up to me... It also says I'm able to take the exam up to three times, but only up to two exams a day.

I guess... it's time for school. 

"Aren't you a little young to be here?"
"Are you lost?"
"Rich brat."
"Russ who?"
"Get out of here."
"Do you need me to call a Ranger? I'm sure he could help get you back home."
"No, I don't know anyone named Russ."

Well, that wasn't helpful. My fellow students at the moment are all easily in their twenties and later teens. Some are obviously beyond that, including one old man who looks almost ancient. Asking around and bothering people isn't working quite yet however, but when I switch my question from "Excuse me, have you seen someone named Russ" to "Where's the other kid? My age, excitable?" I started seeing a bit more in terms of results. 

I found Russ outside the building in one of the training areas, standing nearby a red-and-blue crustacean. "Steambite!" he called "Bubble!" he ordered, gesturing at a Rhyhorn-shaped dummy and the creature blows out a stream of bubbles against the thing, which popped almost violently against the side of the dummy. "Good!" he says gleefully.

"Hello, are you Russ?" I ask.

He whips around, and smiles at me, "That'd be me." he said, "Who's asking?"

"My name is Bell." I say, "Professor Palm sent me. You and Dwin ran after the thief so fast you didn't have time to check in with him." I shuffle around in my bag, before pulling out a container of five Pokeballs, and one of the grooming kits. 

Russ takes the balls with almost reverence, and the kit as a second thought. "Wait... Professor Palm sent you?"

"Yep! He even gave me one of his older Pokedexes. I'm going to be coming with you!" I say, smiling.

"What- but this is completely out of nowhere!" well, I did kind of just pop into existence in the woods so... he's not wrong, "Palm never mentioned another kid."

"I kind of talked him into it after you had already run off." I say, "But I promise I won't hold you back. Is Dwin here at the school too?"

"N-No, Dwin is staying at the hotel for now. She was going to buy some Pokeballs and check out Route 1 later but-"

"I have Pokeballs for her too, courtesy of her dad." I say, "Oh! I also caught the thief."

"You what?!"

I grin, good first impression: achieved. "Well, not quite caught, yet, but I tracked him down! He'll be at the entrance to Route three until noon tomorrow."

"That- are you sure?"

I nod, "I saw the Pokedex that was meant for me. He also has another Pokemon he refused to show me, and I'm betting that's the Pokemon that was meant for me too."

"We need to go catch him!" Russ said, before looking at my Tangela, "...You know, the thief will have a really strong Pokemon." he gestures to his own crustacean, "Do you think your newly-caught rookies can stand up to a bred bodyguard Pokemon?"

Creeper shakes his vines in readiness. He thinks, at least, that he's ready. 

Chapter Text

"Personally, I think we should stay and have our first lesson at the Pokemon School." I say, "What program were you thinking of taking first?"

Russ is flabbergasted, "You- it's not important right now! We need to get to the thief!"

"We can do that later tonight." I say, "He'll stick around. I think he likes me."

"He... likes you?"

"We ate breakfast together.... I don't think he has many friends."

"I hope not, considering he steals people's Pokemon."

"...How did the whole thing play out when you ran from him?" I ask, curious, "And how did he escape Vidalia?"

"Well-"

"Here are your bodyguards!" Professor Palm said cheerfully, opening the case and revealing three regular Pokeballs inside, "They've been especially bred to be the perfect bodyguards while you explore Sabi. These are natural battlers, here." the Professor was quite proud of the Pokemon he had managed to acquire. The Sabi League wasn't on good terms with the Kubo League, but political differences weren't enough to stop men of "Science!" from working with each other. 

Knowledge was knowledge, Palm liked to say. And Russ liked to say Pokemon were Pokemon. 

The holographic display kicked up and the three Pokemon appeared, hovering over their respective balls. 

"Thank you so much Dad!" Dwin said, grabbing her father around the waist in a hug, "I'm so excited! This is going to make the entire Trainer School worth it!"

Russ wasn't jealous. He wasn't. But he didn't appreciate that Dwin talked bad about getting her License. It was the coolest thing she had ever done, probably!

"Well, let's pick!" Russ said cheerfully, "Then we can get a move on!"

Palm nodded, "Indeed! Oh! But first, here!" he held out three devices, one red, one blue, one green. "These are Pokedex! They'll be indispensable on your journey."

"Why is there a third one-" Russ began, only for the lights to suddenly brighten exponentially! The brightness blinded all three of them, and Russ's hat was the only thing letting him see even a fuzzy outline. 

"Well, that's an obvious question." the smuggest voice he had ever heard said from the darkness up in the ceiling. 

A Pokemon dropped down, and Palm shrieked as the Pokemon dashed towards him in a second. Russ was impressed, he could barely follow its movements. In what he thought at first was a near miss, he realized that the mystery Pokemon had picked up one of the three Pokedex!

"Hey!" Russ cried, "Give it back!"

"Make me." the smug voice replied. 

Furious, Russ dove for the open case- he would make him. His hands closed around a Pokeball, and he tossed it to the ground. 

The chittering sound of multiple legs skittering on the floor told him which of the three had been chosen- the Boiling Pokemon, Steambite. 

Before they knew it, the lights returned to their normal brightness, and standing in front of Russ, holding another of the Pokeballs, was the thief. 

The boy grinned, and opened his own Pokeball, and Russ recognized it as Padobo. The thief had chose a Pokemon with an advantage on him! "Steambite, use scratch!"

The crustacean didn't need to be told twice, and skittered furiously across the floor towards the thief, "Padobo, withdraw." only to bounce off of the sudden appearance of a lillypad. 

A moment later, the green face of Padobo peeked up from under the pad, looking at Steambite. Russ didn't hesitate, "Bubble!" he commanded, only for the Padobo to simply incline its head, the massive lillypad on the head of the water-reed covered monkey shielding her once more. 

The thief smiled, "Vine whip!" from the mess of water reeds came a long thin vine, and it lashed out against Steambite, only for Padobo to cry in surprise as the vine ignited once it came into contact with one of the red spots on Steambite's shell. The thief's smile vanished, "...Tackle!" he commanded, but more sparks ignited. The Padobo put it out easily enough, but was getting more hesitant about going near Steambite. 

"Steambite has the Flame Body ability!" Palm said, "Russ, you can win! Just keep on getting near!"

"Don't need to be told that!" Russ said triumphantly, "Scratch!" Steambite rushed forwards, its forward claws swinging to get at the Padobo. It made contact, and more hissing as the red spots burned whatever touched them, like the glowing red stove of an oven top. 

Padobo fainted, and the thief let out a sigh. "...Oh well!" he said, "I guess it's not my fault Padobo's so fresh." 

He reached for his second Pokeball, to call on the other one, when Dwin cried "Grilly! Use Ember!" 

The thief leaped over the small burst of flame, and glared at Dwin, who had the third Pokemon out, "Well, I think that signals that I should leave. Thanks for the Pokedex doc, and the Pokemon." he said to Palm, before making a break for it. 

Both children returned their Pokemon to their balls, grabbed their bags, and started running. Palm hurried after them. 

Once they came out into the main hall, they saw the doors swinging, and Russ said "That creep! He has that attitude, even after I beat him!"

"Dad, what are you going to do? There's only three pokedexes." the girl asks, looking concerned at her father, "Without that data-"

"Forget the data, I'm more worried about that pokemon." the professor sighs.

"Well I'm going to get her back!" Russ says before charging for the door.

"Wait up!" Dwin cries after him. They forget the professor in their hurry, and rush outside. 

Already, they can see Vidalia's Torterra rampaging down the street, after something which they could only assume was their thief.

The two children chased the Torterra up the street, until they reached the gate to Route 1, and Vidalia, looking furious at the Route in front of her. The thief was nowhere in sight. 

"You let him get away?" Russ asked, dumbstruck. 

"I wasn't about to fire on him in the middle of town, and as soon as he got out into Route 1, he pulled out a Pokemon and jumped on top... then they were off like a shot. No way I'm catching up to him." Vidalia said, "...I'm heading to the Gym. I'm contacting the Association. I want the Rangers looking for this brat."

"Who cares about the Rangers." Russ sniffs, "We'll catch him, Vidalia!"

Dwin looks at him, "Um, but the Rangers help would probably be... helpful." she says, "So contact them too."

"...You two aren't going out there." Vidalia said, narrowing her eyes. 

Dwin and Russ shared a glance, before looking out at Route 1. "...We are." Russ said, "It feels like it's the right time to go! We even have our bags and everything!" he shouted, "And you can't stop us!"

"..."

"Well, you almost certainly can stop us." Dwin said, "But you're not going to. This is something we're meant to do. Don't worry, we'll take care of each other."

Vidalia sighed, "...Damn it. I don't have time for this! Fine! Go get yourselves eaten by Shinx! See if I care!" Vidalia growled, "Right time to go..." she muttered as she turned her Torterra around and started rumbling down towards town, "...And good luck. To both of you."

Dwin smiled, and took off running down Route 1. 

Russ followed, just a few steps behind. 

"I think from hearing that, if we want to catch him, we'll have to trap him." I say, "That Heliolisk of his must be really fast."

"I'm not even sure I got a good look at it." Russ sighed, "...Fine. We can wait until nighttime."

I nod, "Alright. So... Trainer School." I say, gesturing at the lands around us, "Have you done any of the programs yet?"

"No. Me and Dwin arrived in the afternoon, and I've never left Grunbud before, so she was showing me around Archway Town." Russ says, "I signed up for one Program today, my first."

"What's it on?" I ask. 

He hands me a list of classes provided.

[ ] Basic Pokemon Catching 
[0] Advanced Pokemon Catching (Basic must be completed first)
[ ] Pokeballs
[ ] What are Pokemon? - Types, Levels, Abilities, Theories
[ ] Basic Battle Mechanics 
[0] Advanced Battle Mechanics (Basic must be completed first)
[ ] Common Pokemon
[ ] Trainer Ethics
[ ] League History
[ ] Association Trainer Laws and Standards
[ ] Introduction to Trainer Facilities
[ ] Job System
[ ] Pokemon League Basics - Certified Trainers: Rangers, Ace Trainers, Gym Trainers
[ ] Pokemon League Advanced - role of the Elite Four, role of the Champion

Chapter Text

"I decided to go with the one that seemed like it'd be the most boring. Knock it out right at the beginning, you know?" Russ says, "The 'Association Trainer Laws and Standards' class."

"Oh! That would actually be pretty useful." I say, opening my own program book and looking through it, "That, and Trainer Ethics... we're allowed to take two exams a day, right?"

"Well... yeah." Russ says, uneasily, "But it's not recommended. These classes are like four hours long. And the exams are supposed to be exhausting."

"Well... I just think it would make sense if we're going after the thief tonight." I say.

"Not battle mechanics?"

I grin, "Well you beat him before, and I've already beaten a Pokemon Trainer on the way here-" albeit one who only had a few Magikarp who couldn't even tackle, "-I think we already have the gist of how battles work."

"...Fair enough." he says, smiling too. Go right for the ego, always works, with boys.

"What I'm more interested in is what is and isn't okay. What do we want from our battle with the thief?"

"What do we want? To beat him of course!"

"It's not to get the Pokedex back? To get Padobo back? To have him sent to jail, or, I guess, since he's our age, sent home to Mommy? Or Juvie, if it exists in this region?" I ask, and he hesitates, blushing a little.

"Well, of course, but we'd have to beat him first anyway, so..."

"Well, I just want to know what the protocol is. If two kids gang up on another and take his Pokemon, even if he stole them first, would we get in trouble?"

Russ considers it, eyes narrowed, "...I don't think so. As long as we can prove he did steal them."

"And we can?"

"Probably." Russ says, before frowning, "But I think if we turned him in, Padobo would be released, rather than them just giving her to us."

"And I'm guessing these specially-bred bodyguard Pokemon are hard to catch?"

"Really hard to catch." Russ says, "You'd need an Ultraball. And neither of us has that kind of cash, or Gym Badges."

I nod, "So! We need to figure out what we need to do, and how we need to do it, from these two classes."

"I guess that makes sense." he sighs, "Well... I already told Dwin I would be taking the Association Law and Standards program, and she would meet us here for lunch. She's already passed all the exams, so she could offer us clues."

"And I'd get to introduce myself." I say, "And tell her about our plan with the thief."

Russ nods, "Then it'll be three versus one! Even better odds at catching him."

The instructor draws out a Pokeball, and summons a Pidgeotto. To my surprise, and a little bit of disappointment, many of the adults in the room with us back away in fear. Not me, and not Russ though.

"Bring the dummies." he orders the bird, and the three-foot tall falcon takes off into the air, leaving through a huge opening, and returning, with a human-shaped Pokedoll. The dummy larger than the Pidgeotto carrying it.The instructor walked up to the doll, and pressed a finger against the surface. "These dummies are meant to replicate humans in every way that matters." he says, "Now... Pidgeotto, Steel Wing." he commanded.

The bird gave a sharp nod, before holding out one wing, nearly as long as its body was tall. The Pidgeotto angled its wing, and a strange metallic sheen grew over the feathers, and before I realized it, Pidgeotto's outstretched wing was made of polished steel. The Pidgeotto leaped forward, and the entire room winced as it slammed its wing into- and completely through the dummy.

The steel-coated feathers slid like knives through the dummy's entire mass and poked out the other end. With another flap, the Pidgeotto freed its wing from the dummy's body by bisecting it horizontally. The upper half of its torso hit the ground with a slap.

"Good girl!" the instructor said, and fearlessly ruffled the feathers on Pidgeotto's head. The Pokemon squawked and nuzzled against his hand, and the metal receded... somewhere, returning the wing to flesh and blood. "Pokemon." the instructor announced as he returned the bird to its Pokeball, "Are dangerous. Remember that. Know that. Understand that, more than anything else. One Steel Wing makes direct contact with you? You're so much raw meat. There are dozens of Pokemon Moves that would be instantly lethal, if a human were to be hit with them even once."

I don't need the lesson twice, I decide.

"You are here, all of you, because you want to command this power. You want permission to carry with you something that can do that to another person... to regulate this dangerous profession, the Pokemon Association was created, and has set down a number of Standards and Laws meant to make Pokemon Trainers safe to be around, so long as they follow these rules."

"A Pokemon Trainer may never attack a civilian." the instructor says, writing it down on the board, "A Pokemon Trainer may never use their Pokemon to extort civilians." he writes it down as well, "Pokemon Trainers must cooperate with the Pokemon Association." it also goes up on the board. He draws a line connecting the first sentence to the next to the next. "These, future Trainers, are the three core concepts that make up the foundation of all Association Standards for Pokemon Trainers."

He points to the first, "Attacking a civilian with Pokemon has multiple degrees of severity, but is considered the most important of the three laws. A civilian, in this case, covers many states of being. But the simplest meaning is: a human who does not have a Pokemon to defend themselves with. A civilian has zero defense when faced with a Pokemon Trainer. As such, using Pokemon against someone without any is the greatest crime a Pokemon Trainer can commit, and has the greatest punishment. Even minor assault using Pokemon is a ten year sentence... using a Pokemon to maim someone is a life sentence, and using a Pokemon to kill an unarmed person? That's grounds for execution."

"The meaning of extorting a civilian with a Pokemon covers most other crimes besides assault: Using Pokemon to coerce civilians, to threaten civilians into giving something to you, or threatening them into performing a service for you, using Pokemon to kidnap civilians, to steal, to sabotage, and to commit espionage. Depending on the specific crime, the punishment will vary, but using Pokemon in the process of criminal activities, or using the threat of Pokemon attacks to obtain something from a civilian is an instant jail sentence."

"Finally, you may ask, what happens when you attack your fellow Pokemon Trainer? That's where the Association comes in. The Association, as well as its agents the Pokemon Rangers, Gym Trainers, and Ace Trainers, enforces law between Pokemon Trainers. As most Association Employees are trainers themselves, we understand the nature of the lives Pokemon Trainers live, and the necessities involved... any issue between Trainers tends to be solved first through battle, and this is generally accepted throughout all of Sabi.

"But another option is to bring up the matter to an agent of the Association, who will be glad to act as mediators. While any issue can be taken to an agent of the Association for mediation, the usual issues are those between high-level and low-level Trainers, where solving their problems through battle isn't fair in the slightest for the low-level party.

"There are also the cases where something is clearly immoral and against the spirit of the law, and Pokemon Rangers are allowed to act as they best see fit in these situations on behalf of the general good. Instances of unnecessary Pokemon abuse, Trainers targeting each other, abusing each other, or recklessly endangering the lives of others are all grounds for arrest by a Pokemon Ranger.

"Pokemon Rangers may act as individual Trainers in some cases, but while on duty they can be seen as representing the Pokemon Association. To a direct degree, they represent the members of the Elite Four, and carry that authority with them. Attacking Pokemon Rangers and interfering with their work may also be considered an arrest-worthy action."

"Instructor?" I ask.

"Yes?"

"Are the punishments for acting against civilians softened at all if the perpetrator is legally a child?"

He smirks, "Planning on settling some school yard grudges by spooking people with your Pokemon?"

I'm a little embarrassed by his expression, "No, of course not. I'm just wondering."

"Well, I think it would really depend on the judge. Most towns hold to the belief that a Pokemon Trainer is legally their own guardian. No one's going to be letting you drink at the bar or hang around the red light district, but you're able to make your own financial and legal decisions, as well as be employed as a full adult.... you commit a crime, you'll face the same consequences as anyone else. In theory at least."

The exam was partially multiple choice, and partly essay. The multiple choice was easy enough, but I think I overthought my answers on the essay section.

Russ and I stuck together as we left the building, "How do you think you did?" I ask him, and only get an annoyed sigh.

"Well, I was right that it was the most boring class." Russ said. "Though that Pidgeotto at the beginning-" he shuddered in exaggeration, before grinning widely, "Can you imagine? Any Pidgey could do that, once it gets strong enough, and with the right Technical Machine."

"It's a bit... scary." I agree, "But it makes me glad I've got Pokemon to protect me from... that... would that move kill another Pokemon?" I ask.

"If its a strong enough Pokemon, sure." Russ says, "But even the weakest Pokemon tend to be pretty frigging sturdy."

"So, where did you and Dwin say you would meet up?" I ask, "I want to meet her properly."

"Yeah... I'm a bit confused why her Dad never said anything about you."

"It was a last-minute thing." I say, "Kind of a trade. I'm going to be collecting data for him in exchange for something he's helping me with."

"What is he helping you with?" Russ asks.

"...I'll tell you later. It's kind of a long story. I want to meet Dwin first, and maybe catch that thief."

Once we left the school's grounds, I let Creeper out of his ball again, and let him climb up to hang off my shoulders like a backpack. We made our way through town, the symbols on our clothes and the mass of writhing tentacles on my back leaving us a fairly traffic-clear path. That said, the people here were definitely more comfortable with us than Grunbud had been. But then again, there were a lot more Trainers here.

We spotted Dwin by a little cafe only about ten minutes from the school. She waved at Russ when she spotted us, and ushered us to the two open chairs nearby. "Hey! You're early!" she said with a grin, "I thought you'd take longer on the exam."

"Why, do you think I'm dumb or something?" Russ replied, smiling, "Oh! Dwin, this is Bell."

Dwin raised an eyebrow, before shrugging, "Well, more the merrier. You're a Trainer too?"

"Kind of." I say, "I'm trying to get a License too."

Dwin frowned, looking at Creeper, "Well..." I fish in my bag for the older Pokedex, and show it to her, making her eyes shoot open in surprise. "That's Professor Theobroma's unscientific Pokedex!"

"Yep. Your Dad sent me to do the same thing you two are. Going around the region, gathering data for the Dexes. It... was kind of a last-minute thing. But seeing as someone took the green Pokedex and the Padobo that was meant for me- well. I got the hand-me-down. It'll still collect data just fine, so it won't hamper our work."

"And you got a Tangela instead of Padobo?" she says, "That's too bad. But... well, I'm glad you made it here then. I wonder why Dad didn't say anything."

"It was really last-minute. I was at the lab to talk to him about it when the thief broke out, and you two dashed out after him."

Dwin considers it, "...Were you there with Vidalia? In the waiting room?"

"Yeah!"

"Huh! Well, I'm sorry all that happened then. It would have been fun to do Route 1 with you."

I smile, "Well, it's not all bad. Creeper here is a good partner." I say, and he lets out a pleased Shrrr, "I also happened to meet our thief without him running, because of it."

"What?!" she asks. Russ grins, and she turns to him.

"She convinced the thief that she's his friend. He'll be waiting for her at the entrance to Route Three until tomorrow!"

Dwin narrows her eyes, "...Or, the thief stole two Pokedexes, and you're leading us into an ambush."

Russ looks at me "What?! Really?"

"I'm kidding, dummy." Dwin says.

"For all you know she's right." I say, "I don't really have a way to prove I'm who I say I am."

"You're wearing my old jacket." Dwin says.

"Oh yeah. Um, Professor Palm thought I needed one so-"

She holds up her hands, "It's fine, I kind of guessed. Mom was bummed when I didn't wear it more than the once, but I think it suits you."

"Thank you." I say, a bit relieved, "The thief is named Atro. He has a Heliolisk that's apparently really fast, and although he never brought it out, we can assume he has Padobo on him too."

"Should we call the Rangers?" Dwin asked.

"I think he'll be on the watch." Russ said, "If he gets a whif of a trap, he'll probably just hop on his Heliolisk and speed away."

"And I don't think the Rangers are going to help us run a sting op." I add.

"A what?"

"Never mind. From what I can tell from the class, in this Region Rangers are kind of guns-first, questions later, right? Or at least that's how they made it sound."

Dwin and Russ both looked curious at that, "Are you a foreigner?" Dwin asked. 

"Yep." I say, "But back to our thief?"

"Well... I think the simplest solution might work in this case. You go to meet him, we hide nearby, you challenge him to a battle, and then we'll overwhelm him. Once his Pokemon are down, we can basically do whatever we want. He'll just be a kid."

"Do we have any ground-type Pokemon?" I ask. "Oh! And before I forget, here Dwin, your Dad gave me this to get to you." I pass her five Pokeballs and the Grooming Kit.

"Oh! Thank you." she smiles, "And about Ground-Type Pokemon... maybe we can find one." Dwin says, "How about after we eat, the three of us go back to Route 1 and get a few more team members?"

"Actually, I wanted to do another class today. Trainer Ethics." I say, "I think it'd be a good idea to know what to do when confronting another Trainer. Even if he's a thief, there'll be rules, right? I mean, when we bring him to be arrested, we don't want to get ourselves put in jail too."

Dwin nods, "Fair enough. I took the class about a year ago, and... I think we're pretty much ethically in the clear? He stole the Pokemon. He stole the Pokedex. If we take them back, the Rangers will understand."

"...Are you sure we can't get a police officer involved? The guard at the Trainer School already knows what I look like and trusts me... but he also thinks that Atro is a legitimate Pokedex holder like us." I say.

"Why?" Dwin asks. 

"Well, I didn't want him to run, so when he pulled out a Pokedex to excuse why he had Pokemon, I ran with it and backed his story." I say, "If I didn't, and he decided he had to run, how would we find him again?"

"...I guess that's fine then." Russ said. He paused as his own rumbling stomach brought his attention back to the table, where Dwin had a bottle of some kind of soda, and not much else. "So, have you ordered yet?"

"Nope!" she said with a smile, "I was going to wait for you. But you're here now." She pats down on the chair next to her, and then grabs a chair from another table, bringing it over for me, "So! Let's eat then. Waitress!" 

Me and Russ wave goodbye to Dwin as she walks down the gate back into Route 1, this time armed with Pokeballs. Her goal is to get something useful against an Electric Type speedster. Russ was itching to join her but- "If you're going to be taking the class, I don't want to fall behind. How much would it suck if you finished before me, and then I was the only one stuck at Trainer School while you and Dwin go out every day doing cool stuff without me!?"

The second classroom was a smaller ordeal, and the instructor a young woman in a pink Ranger's uniform. 

"Hello everyone!" she says, "And welcome to Trainer Ethics! My name is Tiff, and I'm a proud member of the Ribbon Corps of the Rangers. As a member of the Ribbon Corps, my duties include patrolling official Routes, the protection of town borders, and acting as a mediator to Pokemon Trainers." she grins, "What I'll be teaching you today isn't required for you to act on, but it is required for you to know, in order to be trusted with a License."

She pulls chalk from a pocket, and begins scribbling on the board, "Can anyone tell me what 'chivalry' is?" she asks. A few hands go up, and she points to one at random with her free hand, still writing. 

"Um, is it like, when you're supposed to hold doors open for women, or if there's a wild Pokemon, you're supposed to throw yourself in front of it so it doesn't go after her?"

"Not really!" she says, "Chivalry is a series of codes. Moral, personal, honor, etc. Following certain rules of decency." she says. "Now, the most common thought that comes up when one thinks of Chivalry are knights. In ancient times, if you had armor and a sword, and someone else didn't, you were basically invincible. Men could wander the countryside as one-man bandits, taking whatever they wanted. Cause the only ones who could enforce any kind of consequence on them would be other people with swords. Does that sound familiar to anyone?"

"Is it... like Pokemon Trainers?" I ask, "People without Pokemon can't really fight back against a Trainer."

"Exactly!" she says, "But the thing is, people are basically good people. On the whole. So 'chivalry' became popular. Knights, or Trainers, hashed out rules over time that they wouldn't break, and if anyone did break them, their reputation would become dirt. I'm here to talk to you about that.

"Countless books on the subject have been written, and some of the names are on the board behind me." she says, gesturing to the board, "Feel free to look into them if you're interested in the history of how these rules came about, or to learn in greater detail. My personal favorite is a relatively recent one published by Sir Percedal Maker called the Pull of Honor, an Observation of Champions. In it, he discusses his own meetings with the current Champion of the Sabi League, as well as the previous Champion, and how their influence has shaped the current trends of Trainer Chivalry."

"Now, when facing off against another trainer there are a few near-universal trends that both parties can expect to follow. When on the Routes, a Trainer may challenge another simply by making direct eye contact, going after a Pokemon that another trainer was obviously trying to catch, or if another trainer makes physical contact. Once the battle begins, each Trainer will throw out one Pokemon, or if they are faced with a group, each member of the larger group may only throw out one Pokemon, and the members of the smaller group may match that. In a battle with a Trainer, even if you're carrying more Pokeballs on you, the battle ends when one of the Trainers has had six Pokemon faint. The loser in general will pay the winner, usually in cash, but other deals may be made for different stakes."

"In battle with a trainer, one should have more self-control. Maiming or killing an opponent's Pokemon or doing the same to an opponent is a crime that may be brought to the Pokemon Rangers for judgement. If it's an honest accident, usually not much comes of it- we have dangerous jobs, and things happen, but if undeserved malice is found to be involved, it could mean a jail sentence... Don't relax because of that 'undeserved' thing either, it's up to the judge to decide what that means."

"Are there any things you would suggest for the ethical training of Pokemon?" I ask, "Um, in particular, my Pokemon need to eat, but I'm not sure if training them to kill other Pokemon is safe. If my Pokemon kills and eats Magikarp, and another Trainer sends a Magikarp against me... how do I make sure I don't accidently kill another trainer's Magikarp?"

She frowns, "That's a good question, actually. In general? A Trainer-raised Magikarp will usually be hardier than a wild one, and because the Pokeball stops wounds from getting worse while inside, and we have access to Pokemon Centers, it's quite rare that a trainer's Pokemon will die from anything except a specifically aimed death blow. But if you're the responsible type, just make sure your Pokemon are disciplined, so that if you say stop- they stop."

I nod, writing it down. 

The quiz this time was mostly multiple-choice. Presenting what-if scenarios and a list of possible reactions, with one of the choices being the most honorable... It wasn't what I was expecting from the class honestly, more something I was considering from Battle Mechanics, but then again, I guess besides that one Magikarp Trainer, I haven't had any experience in fighting people. It's a good idea to know what to do when I have to fight a human being.

Russ enjoyed this class more anyway, because of the mentions of battles.

"So, how many Pokemon do you think Dwin caught?" I ask as we head for the cafe. 

"She probably has a full team already." Russ says, whining, "While we were in there listening to a Ranger go on and on- why did you keep asking questions anyway?"

"Because I wanted answers." I say, because it's a matter of course. I'd have thought the only reason he was disinterested in this stuff was because he knew the gist of it already, but it was all new to me. Or semi-new. Knowing the reasons behind game mechanics is interesting.

The two of us take our seats, and order some drinks while we wait around for Dwin, idly discussing the two exams we took. Soon enough, covered in dirt and smiling triumphantly, Dwin arrives on the scene. "That's a happy face." Russ says. 

"Well, I think our little Heliolisk problem is over." Dwin says, pulling out a Pokeball, "Meet the newest member of the team, Bun!" in a flash of light, a Bunnelby appeared. 

"...I mean, it's great you have another Pokemon." I say, "But is it really fast? How is it a counter to Heliolisk?"

"Well, it's a strong Electric Type, right?" Dwin asks, "He may not look like much right now, but he can learn plenty of Ground-Type moves." she said.

"So does he know any?" Russ asked, excited. 

"He's probably only level four." I say.

"Yeah..." Dwin said, "But there's a TM shop at the Pokemart." Dwin said, "I'm sure we can find something. And then, we'll be ready to catch the thief."

"...I think we need a real plan first." Russ said, "TM's are expensive, so we'll call that Plan B for now. If we gang up on him, I think we can win if he only has the two Pokemon, even if Heliolisk is stronger than we think."

"I didn't really have the chance to find out its level, but Heliolisk is an evolved Pokemon I think." I add, "So it's probably on the upper scale... are you sure we shouldn't try to bring in a Pokemon Ranger? I know the guards on the walls are on the lookout for him."

Chapter Text

"But-" Russ begins, before rethinking his words, "...It's our responsibility, isn't it?"

"He attacked my Dad. Dad isn't a Trainer." Dwin said, "...They'd get involved if we let them know."

"Do you think that we'd get in trouble if we went to catch him and didn't call in the Rangers? Like, when we bring him over to be arrested, they'd say something like 'why didn't you tell the rangers'?" I say, "...I think we should let one know."

"I... guess." Russ says, "Darn it. I was hoping to fight him myself! Get back Padobo the way a Trainer does."

"I... guess it's more likely that a Ranger will be able to catch him than three kids." Dwin says, before looking at her Bunnelby, "I guess your grand debut will have to wait, Bun."

As I didn't exactly have a License at the moment, I returned Creeper to his ball before entering, and Russ and I both put our Pokeball Belts into our bags. I don't think they'd make a huge deal of it, but it was better to not test fate.

"Ranger's Office?" Dwin asks, leading the three of us into a little building. A man in a pink police uniform, and a younger woman in a purple one were sitting at the front desk, watching a small television.

"Hm?" the woman looks up from the screen, "How can we help you kids?"

"We'd like to tell you where you can find a thief." Russ says, "At the entrance to Route Three, there's supposed to be a kid with big white hair. He attacked Professor Palm in Grunbud Town, and stole a bodyguard Pokemon meant to protect researchers, and a very valuable machine called the Pokedex." Russ shows his blue one proudly, "It should look like this, but green."

"...I think I heard about that happening." the man in pink said, "We were suppose to keep an eye out for any kids."

"I'm Professor Palm's daughter." Dwin adds, "If you need any more proof."

"How did you come by this information?" the girl asks.

"That'd be me." I say, "I happened to see him by chance in the Pokemon Center this morning, and I recognized him, but he didn't recognize me. Since I didn't want to start a fight right there, I pretended I didn't know who he was. But I saw him use the Pokedex when we went to the Trainer School together. He thinks I'm his friend, now, and told me he'd be waiting at the entryway to Route 3 until tomorrow at noon."

"Well..." the girl said, "That was very smart of you. And a bit sneaky." she says with a grin, "I like it. You'd make a good member of the Pain Corps." she said, "Come on, let's look into this. Get into contact with the guys by the East entrance."

"Yes'm." the man in pink said, before moving for the telephone.

She turns to us, "Thank you for bringing this to our attention."

"If... Well, you see, my Dad sent us out as researchers." Dwin said, "If possible, could you get Padobo and the Green Pokedex to us? We need them for our work."

"We'll see what we can do."

Atro, of course, didn't spend his whole day near the entrance to Route 3. But from what the Rangers could tell, he was nearby, strolling by the entrance every so often. Apparently to check and see if I was there or not.

The woman in the purple uniform was joined by three men and another woman in pink ones. "Okay, everyone ready? Debilitate first, then Ground-type moves. I'll be taking the first blow, then we surround him. Remember, he may be a kid, but he has no problem using his Pokemon to attack civilians and steal."

The Rangers nodded, and she smiled grimly, "Okay then. He should be coming nearby in a few minutes." the woman said, "Get into position."

The four in pink uniforms spread out, hiding within nearby shops, keeping an eye on the street through windows, while remaining nearly out of sight.

"Okay kids." the woman said, "I want you guys to get out of sight too. No sense in getting close to the battle." she draws two Pokeballs from her belt, and with a click, and out comes a Magnemite and a Rhyhorn.

The three of us hurry to the sidelines, out of view. We had briefly discussed sending me in as bait to draw him out- but the Rangers more-or-less unanimously decided I'd be in the way.

When Atro returned to the corner, he froze in place when he noticed the officer in purple, her two Pokemon at the ready.

"Kid." she said, "Stand down in the name of the Association. You've used a Pokemon in the process of a crime, against a civilian." she said, "Surrender now, and you will treated leniently. You're a kid right now, I'm sure we can let you off lightly... but only if you surrender now."

"..." Atro's expression darkened, "...A ground type and an electric type. You know my Pokemon?"

"Are you surrendering or not?" she asked again.

"Hmph." his hands raised slowly, and I find myself feeling pleasantly surprised. "Fine, fine, cuff me."

"You've made the right choice kid." the officer said, walking forwards, reaching for the cuffs at her side.

Atro's hands suddenly dropped, slapping his hips. With two flashes of light, Padobo and Heliolisk both were out of their balls. Atro reached out his hand and grabbed hold of his Heliolisk's shoulder, before pointing Padobo at the two Pokemon. "Vine Whip, then Bubble! Target the Rhyhorn!"

"Grahrikiki!!" the water-reed covered primate howled, before a long tendril whipped from somewhere in the mass of grasses and slammed against the Rhyhorn. The Pokemon growled in response, and made to charge. With a nudge with his foot, Atro urged his Heliolisk forward, dashing across the square towards the Ranger, before-

"Razor Wind." he said, only for the Magnemite to shove itself between Heliolisk and the officer. Heliolisk swiped his claws, sending somehow visible slashes through the air, which crashed against the Magnemite.

"Damn it kid!" she growled, "Magnemite, get that Padobo off of Rhyhorn!" the metal ball looked at her for only a moment before quickly hovering towards its comrade.

Atro opened his mouth to give another command, only for a glowing violet needle to slam into his side.

I manage to keep myself from shrieking as he collapses, and Heliolisk grabs his Trainer to keep him from sliding off its back.

More needles pepper the street, before switching to splashes of mud launched as fast as a catapult. The officers in pink, Croagunks at their side, came from their hiding places, advancing on the twitching boy and the scared Heliolisk.

"Crap." Russ mutters next to me, eyes wide. "That looks like it hurt."

"Y-yeah. Will he be okay?"

"Probably." Dwin said, "It was just Poison Sting." she had her eyes narrowed and didn't look comfortable, exactly, but she was more okay with what had just happened than either of us.

"Karikikiki!" growled Padobo, before bellowing a wave of bubbles and furiously slapping the Rhyhorn in front of him with Vine Whips. The Magnemite created a small ball of glowing steel from nothing, and sent it flying after the Padobo, who winced as it exploded against him. Retreating to Heliolisk and their woozy master, the two Pokemon watched the Rangers as they got closer.

"Kid. Are you awake?" the officer asked again, loudly.

"Yuh." he muttered, his skin seeming to turn slowly purple.

"Surrender. Put your 'mons back in their balls. Right now."

"Nuh. Bubba." he said. Furrowing his brow in irritation, she shifted slightly closer to Padobo, "Bubbla"

The monkey blinked, before breathing out another wave of bubbles at the Rhyhorn.

"Attack!" the officer ordered.

"Pabolk Cherj." Atro mumbled.

Rhyhorn let out a groan as it collapsed, the Croagunks began sending out waves of more mud balls, and then things suddenly got very, very bright.

Heliolisk hissed as lightning arced in every direction, catching Croagunks and the Magnemite in the wave. Each of the Rangers' pokemon seemed to writhe for a moment, before the lightning returned in full force, returning back to Heliolisk.

And then he started running.

Padobo barely held on, and Atro was practically dragged by the Heliolisk as he began running full-tilt for the entrance to Route 3.

A few moments later, the officer in purple called "After him! Someone get me a revive!"

He got away.

"...He got away." the officer in purple said, annoyed, "Sorry kids. But don't worry, we'll be keeping an eye out for him. I've contacted my superior. Soon, Rangers all over Sabi will have a description of the kid and a strategy to deal with him."

Dwin sighed, "Sorry Bell." she said, "Looks like you'll have to stick with the team you have."

"I don't mind. I just wish we could... well, that we could have caught him."

"We should have gone after him alone." Russ said, and I nudge him in the shoulder, gesturing to the Ranger.

"Well, I think this was proof you did the smart thing. That boy... his Pokemon are tough. We had six Pokemon against his two, and he still escaped." the Ranger said, "But we'll get him eventually. You'll get your Pokedex and your Pokemon back dear."

I simply nod. "...Was it a mistake that you hit him with the Poison Sting?"

"No." she said, "We gave him a chance to surrender, and he escalated things. It's also fairly harmless- Poison Sting is one of the weaker Poison-Type moves. He'll be sick as hell, but he's not likely to die. Usually, if you take out the Trainer, the Pokemon will get confused, or at least start getting reckless. I'm just surprised he still continued the fight. Most go down." she shook her head, "Well, sorry that things didn't turn out, but thank you for bringing us the information. If you need to tell us anything else, this is my Pokegear Number." she said, taking a pen and writing out a series of numbers on an empty page of a little notebook.

"Um, none of us have Pokegears." Dwin said, a little embarrassed.

"Why not?" the cop asks.

"They're expensive, and they break so easily." Dwin said, "My dad stopped giving them to Researchers."

"...Now that I think about it," I say, "A cell- a Pokegear would have helped us figure things out more than once. Let you guys know I was coming after you, for one thing. Wouldn't it be important to have one in an emergency?"

"Well, I'm not bothering with one. Having Palm checking in on us every day- it would get weird. This is supposed to be our adventure!"

"...Did you not hear me say 'in an emergency'? What if you're trapped somewhere? Or lost, or something. Wouldn't the Pokegear help?"

"I mean, I guess. But if we're in that much trouble already that our Pokemon can't get us out of it, how would bringing more people, who might take forever to get there into it?"

"Suit yourself." I'm going to get one for myself, first chance I see... once I have money, of course, "I'll hold onto it anyway." I say to the police woman, holding out my hand for her number. She raises an eyebrow, and rips it from the little notebook.

"When you're a proper trainer- if you ever get tired of this research stuff, look me up. I think you have the right attitude for the Pain Corps."

"...What's the Pain Corps, by the way?" I ask, taking the paper. The name Audrey is written in all caps above the number.

Russ looks at me weird, "...You don't know?"

"I'm a foreigner, remember?"

"Oh! Yeah, well, I guess they'd have different names in your Region, huh?" Russ said.

Audry smirks, "Well, here in Sabi, the four sections of the Rangers are each called Corps. I'm from the Pain Corps- you can tell cause I wear Purple. Jillia of the Elite Four trained us."

"One of the Elite Four?" I asked, impressed. I guess there had been something about that in the Association class. Rangers carried the Elite Four's authority, or something like that, "What's she like?"

"...Creepy." Audrey says, after a brief pause.

"Well... thank you for everything anyway." Dwin says, making a small bow to the Ranger, "But I think it's about time we looked into finding a place to stay for the night."

"Wish you kids luck. I hope you'll get your Pokemon back."

It somehow didn't really occur to me until we got back to the Pokemon Center, but the three of us were filthy. I had spent most of the day walking down Route 1 yesterday, and today I had been pretty busy the whole time. Dwin was practically covered in mud- I assume from looking down Bunnelby holes for her new catch.

And Russ, well, he was the only one who didn't stink at the moment.

Using a public bath was weird, it felt kind of like school, except there were adults there too. Less creepy than it sounds, though. Everyone is like me- Pokemon Trainers focused on getting the filth off of themselves that comes with traipsing through the wild for hours.

When I felt suitably human, I returned to the room that the three of us would be sharing. "Well... these have been an exciting two days." I say as I walk in.

Russ is lying on his bed, playing on his 3DS- darn it. Reading from his Pokedex, and Dwin has the grooming kit out, and has both her Pokemon on the floor in front of her bed. One is Bunnelby and the other- I think it was Escharcoal? It's an orange-red snail, with bright green eyes, and a large log on its back in place of a shell.

"This is Grilly." Dwin says, when she catches me staring, "She's cute, isn't she?" she says, drawing a moist wipe down the Pokemon's orange side.

"Yeah." I agree. And... it, she? Is weird cute. The green eyes aren't at all like a real snail's, which are eerily creepy, but rather they look more like green glass. Dwin puts away the cloth, and moves on to taking a brush to her Bunnelby's fur.

"You know, I don't think our teams have had the chance to meet yet." Russ says, "And I never got that battle either!"

"We're not fighting in our room." Dwin says without missing a beat.

"Aw. Well, maybe outside?"

"We just all took showers. We're not getting filthy all over again." Dwin said, shutting him down again.

"Fine." Russ says, "But first thing in the morning! Battle."

"I'm down with showing off our teams, though." I say with a smile. Dwin used her License so that all of our Pokemon could get a turn on the machine. Which... is basically exactly like I imagined it. The nurse takes the Pokeballs, puts them into the six available slots, everything glows green... and then hands them back. I think whatever they make Full Restore out of, they just bombard the Pokemon with it inside there.

"Okay!" Russ says, "Now, she might be all by herself for now, but say hello to Steambite!" he tossed the ball up, and out of the flash of light came his foot-long blue-and-red trilobite with claws.

"You didn't give her a name yet?" Dwin asked with a frown.

Russ sighed, "Look, they're really rare right? What's the chance I'm going to actually meet someone else with a Steambite?"

"But still! Naming them is important! It builds familiarity."

"I agree." I say, "I gave all of mine nicknames. How do you resist not naming yours?" I ask Russ.

"Whatever, let's see them."

"Okay..." I say, lifting the hem of my shirt to reveal my belt, with four Pokeballs resting proudly.

"Four?" Russ asked, surprised. "Most Trainers just stick with three. Are you sure you want to multitask like that?"

"I'm going to have a full team of six with me at all times forever." I say.

"How are you going to feed them?"

"I'll come to that hurdle when I need to!" but... speaking of... Creeper spends most of his time outside of his ball, actually. And I kept Champ and Zhar out of their balls for a good portion of the day yesterday, though I did eat with them then. What if they were hungry now? I guess I'd see. "But seriously, the secret to winning? Having as many types of Pokemon as possible."

Russ shook his head, "Look, I know the whole 'keep a utility Pokemon' with you thing, but that's different from being on your Team, you know?"

"Look, can I show you my Pokemon or not?" I ask, beginning to get impatient with the criticism.

"Fine, fine. Let's see your Padobo substitutes one through four."

"Russ!" Dwin said, chiding him, "Ugh, go ahead Bell."

I pull each ball off my belt, and then toss them up into the air, releasing all four at once. Creeper, Champ, Kanon, and Zhar appear in bursts of light, and quickly draw closer to me once they're properly out in the open.

"This is Creeper- he saved my life once already. He's my tank." I say, and Creeper makes an appreciative Shrrr,before hopping up onto the bed, and then attaching himself to my back. Russ moves to pull him off, but thinks better of it when I don't pull away from Creeper myself, "My main fighter is Champ, here, say hello!"

"Hyalo" Champ manages.

"Okay, that was eerily close. Good work!" I say, and she smiles at me, "My long-range expert is Kanon, she'll also probably be one of my 'utility' Pokemon. Surf is a good move in general." my biggest and highest level Pokemon, and possibly the highest level in the room, makes a small burbling noise as she takes in the way Dwin's Escharcoal moves to hide when Kanon looks directly at her. "And this is Zhar-ptitsa. He'll turn into a terrifying firebird someday. A good attacker, and he'll fly me around."

"Well... you've got your hands full, that's for sure." Russ says, "So you're building a team meant for battling?"

"Partially." I admit, "You can't go very far as a Trainer if you're not strong."

"Exactly!" Russ says, "Are you going to challenge the Gyms too?"

"I was thinking of it." I say.

Dwin sighs, "And how will that help us fill in the Pokedex, exactly?"

"Gym Leaders have connections." I say, "I think it'd be better to have badges than not to have badges."

"I agree." Russ adds.

Dwin sighs, "Darn it, now there's going to be two of you. I'm glad we don't have Pokegear! Hey dear, how's the important job I invested in all of you to do? Oh? You're not even half done? You keep getting sidetracked to fight everyone you meet?" her impression of her father's voice is actually pretty spot-on, for an eleven year old girl trying to mimic a forty-something man. "...Well, what do we want to do tomorrow now that the thief is gone? You two will be going to classes, right?"

"Yep." I say, "Now... which two should I take?"

"I'm going to be taking Basic Pokemon Catching." Russ says, before looking at my team, "But I think they'd have one look at you and kick you up to Advanced."

"You know... I should actually ask them about that!" I say, smiling. Besides, Kanon is going to be my real catching expert. I don't remember making much of the move 'Lock-On' in the games, but she's going to be the perfect Pokeball-launching machine.

"Ugggh." he says, "Fine, fine. Just remember! First thing in the morning, we battle!"

"Fine."

Chapter Text

Russ snores.

Russ snores loudly.

Me and Dwin have circles under our eyes, and when we look at each other at the break of dawn, we held a silent conversation. But it could have been out loud, because Russ was snoring, and if that didn't keep him awake our plotting wouldn't wake him up either.

The conversation held between us could have gone two ways, I think.

Murder? 

Yes.

Or possibly.

Murder.

Yes?

There was a subtle difference between the two, one that I wasn't able to make out. But it didn't matter, not really. Because my mission was clear: Revenge. That, and try to remember if there was an item that protected a Pokemon from sound-based attacks. Or maybe that was just an ability... Either way. An investment in earplugs would be necessary.

"Ahh! Nothing like sleeping in a different bed than normal to knock you right out, huh?" Russ asked, when he woke up later, feeling cheery and refreshed.

"...Do you want a last meal?" I ask.

"Not a morning person Bell?" Russ says, before we head out of the Pokemon Center, heading for the Cable Club. We could leave the city limits and have a battle on Route 1 or Route 3 just fine- two intense-looking women stood guard in front of the heavy iron door leading to Route 2, and considering that the houses grew more and more sparse in that direction anyway, I'm pretty sure Victory Road is on the other side of it. Either way, the Cable Club was breakfast and a show. We could eat there, and also make use of the arena grounds.

Dwin cheerfully showed her License at the door, and the three of us were let in without a problem. I absorbed the atmosphere of the adventurer's tavern once again as we ordered breakfast for ourselves and our Pokemon.

Champ ate about half of what was brought to her, Creeper ate all of it, and the other two ate furiously, but... didn't look to happy about it afterwards. Not enough to make them sick, but I have a feeling that for them, they ate breakfast about five minutes after eating dinner.

I'll have to keep track of how much time they spend out of their Pokeballs. I guess since they were caught just yesterday, they weren't used to food being something plentiful. Champ lived around humans her whole life, so she was basically tame, and I think Creeper was genuinely hungry, after sticking around me all night.

"Well... finished?" Russ asked, raising an eyebrow.

"...I'm ready to begin if you are." I return my Pokemon to their balls, all of them, so we can start on fair ground. The two of us pass the Trainers standing near the Job Board- I'm going to get a better look at that later, and head for the arena.

The battle ground is about the size of a tennis field. The ground is loamy dirt. The walls are hard, dark gray rock like much of Archway Town.

I stand on one end, and Russ stands on the other.

Russ smiles, reaching for his hip, hand hovering over his Pokeball, hat low. I mimic him, my own hat shielding my eyes.

Dwin takes a position in the upper ring above the arena. I can't see her from here, but she can see us. "You ready guys?" She shouts, and her voice is oddly changed by the echoing feeling of the room.

"Yes!" the two of us shout.

"Then go!"

"Steambite!"

"Kanon!"

The two water-types emerge in a flash of light. Steambite emerged just a little faster than Kanon, and is already skittering over the earth, charging towards us. "Bubble!" Russ shouts, and the little trilobite lets out a stream of bubbles across the field, towards Kanon, who has just emerged.

"Lock-On!" I order. Kanon's eyes glow, and then she winces as the bubbles slam into her, exploding with harsh pop noises, but she's not too worse for wear, "Now, Supersonic!"

"Growl!" Russ calls, and Steambite makes a soft chittering noise at Kanon.

Out of Kanon's mouth a series of pulsing waves launched through the air with an uncomfortable sound, before almost visually splashing over the Steambite. "Good! Water Pulse!" I say.

Steambite isn't exactly flopping over itself like the Pidgey was back on Route 1, but I could tell that it put a lot of hesitation into its movements. When it raised a leg, it didn't know where the leg would touch ground again. The stream of water, and the powerful pulse within it, slammed into Steambite with a burst of, well, steam. The water boiling off the red spots on its shell.

"Scratch! Get in close!" Russ ordered, and Steambite scuttled forwards in a kind of worried zig-zag.

"Keep doing Water Pulse!" I say, "And, move around." I add afterwards.

Kanon burbles at me, and then lets loose with another burst of water. It hits Steambite dead-on, and Kanon flops over, before bouncing a bit to the side. Steambite swings one of its big red claws at where Kanon was, before flopping over and onto its back, four insect legs scrabbling furiously at the air to try and right itself. Another Water Pulse was exactly what was needed to do that.

"Darn it! Steambite, bubble again! Surround yourself!"

Steambite shook off the burst of water and the steam afterwards, before bellowing bubbles all around it. The wave of foamy white floating bubbles created a bit of a smokescreen. Another Water Pulse blasted through the wall of bubbles, and came out the other end without having hit anything.

"Lock-On." I order, and Russ grunts in annoyance, "Then keep pounding it with Water Pulse."

Russ frowned, "Steambite, Bubble, this time at it!"

The wall of bubbles swelled, a stream of the foam now rushing towards Kanon. However, Kanon's wave made contact, keeping it from hitting, and I see the water continue forward, before the pulse rushes through it, and I hear a sharp screech from Steambite, letting me know it made contact.

Kanon flopped closer to the wall of bubbles, and let out another Water Pulse. Steambite's bubble wall was blasted away, and all three of the Trainers present saw as the final Water Pulse made contact, knocking Steambite back onto its back. The red glowing portions of its shell, and the red claws, faded to a kind of blue-gray, and it went still.

"Bell wins!" Dwin announces.

"Good job Kanon- no, don't eat her!"

"Ack! Steambite!"

"Seriously." I chastise my fish as she looks ashamed at the ground. She looks... really pathetic, when she's pouting. Already a fish out of water, leaning on her side, looking up at me with one, watery, sad eye. "You just ate yourself sick. Why would you even want to eat her?"

"Blubrrl." she replies pitifully.

Russ shakes his head, amused, "...Well you won." Russ says, sending his unconscious Steambite back into its Pokeball. "And you didn't even have to use your other Pokemon."

I nod, "Kanon is great at long-range." she perks up at the praise, before I shoot another glare at her, "But if you had gotten close she would have been in trouble."

"Well, I better dart back to the Pokemon Center." Russ said with a sigh, "Ah well. My first battle with another Trainer, and I lose! Ugh."

"Good work." Dwin says, grinning. And thus, vengeance for a night of sleep lost has been served.

"Oh!" I say, smiling as I look down at the Pokedex. I had missed the ding sound earlier, but Kanon had gone up a level alright. Level 7, now. Still the reigning leader of the Party in terms of experience.

As me and Dwin walk out of the arena, we stop by the Job Board, the Trainers nearby only giving us a moment's glance before returning to their careful inspection. I read a few. The Job Board has a mix of informally written scraps of paper nailed to the board, to official-looking documents affixed to it.

Formal Escort Mission. The Client must get from Route 3 to Braunengrove City by next week. Requirements: At least two Pokemon, Level 15 or higher. Preferably female. Must know Route. Must have prior escort experience. $18 per hour, to be paid upon reaching the destination. $600 additional to be paid for each day before the deadline early.

I LOST SUNKeRN, ANSWeRS TO VILeT Violet, eSCAPED OUT OF MY BACK 
YARD 3 DAYS AGO PLeASE HeLP BRING HeR HOME? ReWARD: 2 COOL ROCKs
P.S. CUD YOU PUT HeR IN A POKeBALL? YOU DONT HAVe TO ITS JUST IF We HAD A POKeBAL SHe MAYBe
WOULD NOT HAV RUN AWAY AND MY MOM WONT BUY A POKeBALL BeCAUSE ITS eXPeSIV - JANNA

WANTED, DEAD OR ALIVE, FOR THE CRIME OF THEFT AND ASSUALT VIA POKEMON: P. J. Mover. Considered dangerous. Level 15 or higher. Favors Ground Types, may have accomplices. $30,000 for Mover, additional $400 per accomplice captured.

Offering up to $6,000 for Dusk Stones, depending on quality.

Breeding Pair of Pidgeys required. Offering $600.