Chapter Text
So… I don’t really know what I’m supposed to write in this thing, but Ari says all real trainers keep a journal and if I’m going to do this I need to go all in and do it right.
My name is Ann, I’m 23 years old, and today I’m going to start my Pokemon journey. A little late, but better than never I guess.
I didn’t grow up with Pokemon. Sure, I saw the occasional wild rattatta and caterpie in the neighborhood garden and I watched all the league battles on TV, but no one in my neighborhood owned any Pokemon. Pokemon are powerful, even the little ones. Aka they don’t do well cooped up in small apartments. Pokemon deserve space to roam or extensive exercise and most need specialized care. No one in my house had the time or money for us to keep a Pokemon as a pet. As for going on a Pokemon journey at 10… let’s just say my parents weren’t a fan. With no local gyms or trainer schools, there was no where for me to go that didn’t involve an airplane ticket. I knew early on that becoming a Pokemon trainer wasn’t in my cards.
I never told my parents that the morning of my 10th birthday there was still a piece of me hoping to find a pokeball waiting for me.
The only person I’ve ever told that to is my best friend, Ari. She’s the one responsible for reigniting my childhood dreams of Pokemon battles and adventures to faraway places.
I met Ari when I moved to Celend on the Lake for college. She was my freshmen roommate and we became fast friends. She’s a studying to become a poke-biologist. Ari grew up in the heart of the Unova League, Castelia City. She went on a journey at 10, collected 6 badges, and completed the local pokedex (which was how she earned her a scholarship to the Technological University).
Ari’s the one who introduced me to the concept of bio-mimicry in engineering. At its most basic, its the idea of finding solutions to man-made problems in nature.
For example, the stone exoskeleton of an Onyx undergoes a chemical transition when exposed to metal coat. Regardless of whether the Onyx started with a granite, slate, or sandstone based exoskeleton, the resulting Steelix has an exoskeleton with 20 times the compressive strength of aerospace grade steel and 50 times the tensile strength. Understanding how that chemical transformation happens has allowed researchers to convert stone to steel in the laboratory, no Pokemon necessary. This new type of super steel has the possibility to revolutionize building. Imagine being able to pour concrete forms and then transform the concrete to steel. Imagine the applications in civil engineering, bridges, roads, construction.
Long story short, I fell down a bunnelby hole and declared a concentration in biomimicry to go with my mechanical engineering degree.
Now, I’m working on my senior project and applying to different companies. The problem is I have a bit of a big gap in my knowledge base. I’ve never owned a Pokemon. Everything I know comes from research articles and trips to the local reserves when I can observe the local species.
Ari’s been trying to convince me for the last 4 years to get my own Pokemon. The college has a dedicated daycare center and you can take classes on Pokemon Care, battling skills, and contest skills for humanity credits and Physical Education credits respectively. There’s even special accommodations for Pokemon in the dorms. We’re only 4 hours by train from the Unova League, so lots of people spend their breaks challenging gyms.
If I’m being honest, I’ve been relying on a lot of excuses to avoid becoming a trainer. After all these years, I’m a little scared. What if I mess up? What if I’m not a good a trainer and my Pokemon get hurt or they hurt someone else?
But, it’s time to get over those fears. I have a job offer from the Pokemon Transport Company. I’ll be working closely with a team of engineers and Pokemon to create new methods of transportation.
I know if anyone reads this, they’ll probably think I’m an idiot for catching a Pokemon to improve my resume. I can already hear the people calling me irresponsible and impulsive, but I’m not. The job is just an excuse. Since I decided to catch my own Pokemon, I haven’t been able to stop dreaming about the adventures I longed for as a kid. I feel like I’m a day shy of my 10th birthday again and there’s a whole new adventure waiting on the horizon. I’m terrified of messing up, because I want so badly for this to go well.
I’ve done my research and selected 3 species of Pokemon that I know I have the resources to care for and I believe will fit well with my lifestyle. I booked a train ticket to the wild area outside of Celend and I have a variety of pokeballs in my bag. I’ve never been to the wild area, but from my research this region is dominated by deciduous forests, clean flowing streams, and pristine wetlands. It shouldn’t be difficult to track down a caterpie, pidgey, or seedot.
Welp… The train is pulling into my stop. Guess It’s time to stop writing about become a Pokemon trainer and actually go do it!