Episode 1: The runaway pokémon

"Hey, Niko, can you get this washed for me ASAP?"

Niko took the bowl and nodded coolly from the chef—his boss. Standing there, running the high-pressure water along the bowl, which created a pleasant metallic sound, he continued listening to music, calmly trying to get through the day.

"Done." He said after passing the bowl and a variety of other dishes through the dishwashing machine and bringing the tray over to the chef and a small group of servers. Placing the tray down on a bar table, he spun around on his feet and walked back to his station—where he washed dishes for a living.

Since leaving Pallet Town, Niko moved to an unfamiliar part of the world, but one he had briefly heard speak of on a few occasions—Unova. Landing in Castelia City, the largest city in the region, Niko immediately searched for work and a place to live. It didn't take long—since he was willing to do most types of work at that point. This willingness placed him in a full time dishwashing position at a high-class restaurant in Castelia City.

Besides working, Niko didn't do much. In the first couple of weeks, he spent time walking around the city, exploring the many different places of interest offered to residents and tourists. After that bored him, he simply spent most of his time at the apartment he was living in, either reading or trying to teach himself to cook. The latter was far more difficult, since usually he wasn't the one to cook on his adventures.

His adventures…

Niko tried to keep his past a secret, not only to the people he met in Castelia City, but also to himself. He didn't want to explain his reasons for leaving his friends, pokémon, and only home he's ever known. He preferred not to explain that his father had passed away; that he didn't even attend the funeral; and he didn't want to look back on his only real relationship.

He didn't want to reflect on the past. It was too much for him to think about, which is why he took up reading and cooking more often. It took his mind off things. He also resorted to listening to music more often, and usually songs without lyrics. He bought a television and found interest in shows and movies that he had no idea even existed. Niko felt like an entirely new person after leaving Pallet Town.

Before Niko realized it, the day was over, and he was cleaning the floors before ending his shift. After clocking out, he left the restaurant through the backdoor, entering the alleyway that he usually took to and from his job. Music still in his head, he threw his hands into his slightly damp pockets and walked out into the world.

Downtown Castelia City was—on the weekends, at least—the place to be for all young people. Bars and clubs were filled with people at varying levels of inebriation, all losing themselves in the moment. Niko wasn't the kind of person to go dancing—or exert himself in any way. He did, however, find himself drinking more than he ever thought before, which always seemed to lead to a series of unfortunate events, usually relating to nausea. To be sure, he wasn't an alcoholic, but he had never had a drink before, and his body wasn't necessarily used to it.

He walked down the well-lit streets of Castelia City, weaving in and out of large groups of people waiting for something or someone—whether it was a cab or entrance into a club. None of these clubs were his destination, however: he was off to a bar called Liberty. It was the gathering spot for him and the friends he made since moving to Unova.

Niko walked in and pulled out his headphones, looking around for the couple he was set to meet. After not finding them, he sighed. "Of course, they're late. Typical Warren."

He then felt something lightly crash against his side. Looking down to his left, he saw a small woman with short brown hair quickly move past him. "Sorry. Didn't mean to hit ya." She said quietly before continuing towards a table. Niko watched her walk away, confused.

"Don't worry about it." He said, but probably not loud enough for the woman to hear him. Shrugging, he stood near the entrance to wait for his friends. As he mumbled to himself, he felt someone grip his shoulder. Turning around was his roommate and friend, Warren.

"Hey, Niko!" He said, patting his friend on the back.

"Niko!"

"Hey, Sydney." Niko said, reaching over to embrace Sydney, who also happened to be Warren's girlfriend. "I just got here—let's go find a place to sit." Finding a table wasn't terribly difficult, and neither was getting drinks (or an actual meal, in Niko's case).

"So…how was work?" Warren asked, just as he did every day. Warren was only slightly shorter than Niko, but was slightly bigger and not as lanky. He had short brown hair and was clean-shaven, much unlike Niko's long, unkempt mess of hair and his oddly-shaped beard-in-the-making. He was a tutor at Castelia University part time, and a full time administrative assistant at the school, just like Sydney, whom Warren met during his time at the school.

Niko shrugged. "The usual. We didn't have too many people today, which was a nice change of pace."

"Yeah, Warren told me your work last week was intense." Sydney said with a worried look. She was black-haired and above-average height, only a couple inches shorter than Warren. Like her boyfriend, she worked at the university, and is a native of Castelia City.

"It was insane!" Niko said, raising his hands as part of his expression. "And to make things better," He continued sarcastically, "I was the only dishwasher!"

"Well, now you can relax a little bud." Warren said, clinking his glass with Sydney's and Niko's.

"Indeed. How was your day?" Niko asked, looking at the couple.

"Alright. Nothing too special." Sydney said. "A growlithe came into our office today, which was a nice break. I haven't seen one of those in a long time."

"Oh, really? Growlithe's are awesome." Niko said, suddenly finding himself thinking of JJ's growlithe. He looked down at his meal with a slightly concerned expression.

"What's up, Niko?" Warren asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing. I was just reminded of a growlithe that I used to know."

"Family pet?" Sydney asked.

"Nope. It was a friend's back home." Niko answered honestly. Even though Warren and Sydney were his best friends in Castelia City, he hardly ever discussed his past with them. As far as they were concerned, he was just from Kanto and decided to live abroad to figure himself out, all of which is true in some way or another.

"Oh, nice. You know, Niko, you never really talk about what you were doing before coming here." Sydney said. "You said you're from Kanto, right?"

"Yep." Niko said quickly, returning to his food.

"Where in Kanto?" Warren asked.

"Pallet Town." Niko said just as quickly as before, almost mumbling it. Fortunately for his friends, they understood what he meant.

"Oh! You've never told us that!" Sydney remarked, looking excited at the prospect of learning more about her friend. Usually Niko was the one asking them questions, not the other way around. "How long have you lived there before coming here?"

"Most of my life. I'm actually from Vermilion City, if you've ever heard of that place."

"Yeah, only a few times, though. Kanto's kinda far away." Warren said. "I've never been, but I'd like to go there sometime. Maybe we can visit your home!"

"Maybe…" Niko said quietly, continuing to eat his food. Warren and Sydney got the hint, and didn't continue to ask questions, instead making more general conversation.

After a couple hours at Liberty, the trio walked out of the bar and walked towards Sydney's apartment to drop her off before Niko and Warren went back to their place. Fortunately, Sydney was on the way, which was always convenient for Niko, as he didn't have to go out of his way too often.

A half of an hour later, Niko and Warren made it to their apartment on the third floor of the building. Upon opening the door, a small blue tadpole creature ran up to them.

"Hey poliwag!" Warren said, crouching down to pick up poliwag. It was Warren's first—and only—pokémon, and it was more akin to a household pet than the type of pokémon that Niko was used to—that is, a training and battling partner. Nevertheless, Niko enjoyed having poliwag around. Occasionally the tadpole pokémon would help Niko with cooking, and he would sometimes read to the water type. Since moving in with Warren nearly four months previously, Niko forged a quick and close bond with his roommate's pokémon. "Alright, time for bed, though!"

Poliwag nodded, wishing instead to play games with the two roommates, or watch a show on TV. But it was quickly apparent how tired they both were, and the tadpole pokémon obliged, walking over to Warren's room and laying down on the bed his trainer made for him.

Niko walked into his room—an undecorated, simple arrangement that seemed to satisfy him more than it would for most people. As he lay down in bed, he found himself thinking back to Pallet Town. He tried to not let it be known, but it always irked him a little when others asked about where he was from. He fell asleep with the images and memories of his former groups of friends swirling through his mind.

The next day, Niko was up early, making breakfast with poliwag when Warren dragged himself out of bed and into their small kitchen. Peering over to see his roommate, bedraggled and slightly exhausted, he silently laughed to himself.

"We're running out of food. Want me to head out today to get it?" Niko asked as Warren walked up to the fridge and pulled out a smoothie he had made the previous morning.

"Yeah, I've got some tutoring stuff to prepare for anyways." He lazily walked over to their couch and put something on the TV that seemed to catch Niko's attention.

It was a pokémon tournament of some kind. Niko watched as a pair of trainers were battling each other, each with unfamiliar pokémon. Niko continued to watch with interest, nearly burning his breakfast.

"Thanks, poliwag." Niko said as the tadpole pokémon looked up at his friend and smiled eagerly, proud that he saved the food from blackening. Niko patted the tadpole on the head, finished his breakfast, and walked over to the couch to watch the battling.

"You ever been in a pokémon battle, Niko?" Warren asked without turning to his friend.

"Err…not really. I mean, in school I did, but that was the extent of it." Niko lied. "But I was never really good at it. You?"

"Well, poliwag and I ended up in matches on a few occasions, but we never did well. Poliwag isn't much of a battler, and I've never really battled with any other pokémon." Warren shrugged. "Just not cut out for it, you know?"

"Yeah, I definitely understand." Niko said, silently eating his food. After a while, he got dressed into normal clothes and left their apartment to get food.

Even though the location of their apartment building was convenient in relation to Sydney and the bars they regularly attended, the supermarket was further away. Niko generally took the opportunity to listen to music or the occasional podcast as he walked through the city, casually observing the people and environment around him. It gave him peace of mind, like his job but with less random interference from coworkers or others.

However, he decided to take a different path to the supermarket this time, walking through a wide alleyway. As he did so, he heard something move around in a dumpster that he passed by.

Niko pulled out one of his earbuds and looked at the dumpster, which stood silent for a moment before rustling again. He crept back towards the dumpster and, as he leaned over, a small green creature popped out of the trash.

"Ah! What the hell!?" Niko shouted, backing up a little as the creature revealed itself a little more. It was reptilian with two small legs and arms. It had large red eyes with black pupils. Its body was green with a cream underside and a yellow stripe running down its back. Two small yellow leaves protruded from its shoulder. Lastly, it had a large, palmate leaf with three prongs on the end of its tail.

The pokémon jumped out of the dumpster and slowly walked towards Niko, who eyed it cautiously.

"Listen, sorry if I scared you. But I've got to get going, alright?" Niko said before placing his earbud back in and continued walking down the alley. Just as he was about to exit the alley, he turned back around to see if the pokémon was still there. It was, and Niko saw it grip its stomach briefly. Sighing, Niko shook his head. "Are you hungry…?"

The pokémon nodded, tilting its head in confusion.

"Alright, come with me, then. I'm off to get food anyways." Niko said, and continued walking, with the pokémon following closely behind. When they reached the supermarket, Niko bought the food he wanted, and got a snack for his unlikely companion.

Niko poured through the different aisles, looking for a variety of different foods, either ones necessary for cooking or snacks. The pokémon followed closely behind, looking up at the shelves with wonder at all of the food. After nearly half an hour, Niko had found just about everything, except for one thing—teabags. For whatever reason, he couldn't find teabags. He scratched his nascent beard in confusion, the pokémon looking up at him equally bemused.

"That's a cool looking pokémon you've got there." Someone to his left said. Niko turned to see a small brunette woman eying his new companion. "I've seen it before, but I'm not sure where."

"Oh. Yeah, it's cool. I just met him, actually. It isn't mine."

"Oh?" She had a calming tone to her voice. It wasn't melodic, but it was kind. "Well then…what's it doing with you?" She looked up at Niko with wonder.

"It's hungry. I figured I could get it something while I'm out." Niko said, shrugging. "I found it in a dumpster, so it's not like it's well-fed."

"Looks like a grass type." She added. "Tea is a good choice for any pokémon, but I think grass types prefer it."

"I didn't know that…" Niko commented, turning to the pokémon. "Do you like tea?" The pokémon simply shrugged. "Well, might as well try. But I need to get it a snack as well."

"Well, I'd recommend some sort of vegetable. I haven't met this kind of pokémon before, so I couldn't be more specific." She said. This little woman seemed oddly perceptive of different kinds of pokémon. It made Niko wonder what she actually did for a living. "Anyways, I won't keep you anymore. Good luck!"

"I appreciate the advice." Niko said, holding out his hand. "Niko, by the way."

"Charlotte. And no problem. Happy to help." She said with a smile before turning and walking away. As she proceeded down the aisle, Niko suddenly seemed to recognize her. The girl that ran into me at the bar…? He thought.

As they were exiting the supermarket, Niko looked down at the pokémon, who looked quite happy with its snack—which was a carrot. "Okay, that's it. I'm headed home now. I hope you find your way home, too."

The pokémon looked down with a brief look of despair, and it dawn on Niko that the creature might not have a home.

"Fine, how about this. You can come back with me to my apartment for today, but after you have to leave, alright?"

The pokémon looked up at Niko and nodded, suddenly looking grateful. It proceeded to follow Niko until the young man made it back to his apartment. Upon opening the door and entering, the pokémon leaned out from behind Niko's ankles to look inside, meeting poliwag directly in the eye.

"Hey, Niko!" Warren said, looking up from their table and noticing Niko's new companion. "Oh…? Who's this?"

"No idea. Found it in a dumpster and fed it. Now I guess it doesn't have a home. Is it alright if it stays with us tonight?"

"Yeah, no worries." Warren then got back to work while Niko made lunch. After an hour had passed, and the unfamiliar pokémon made itself at home on the couch, Warren spoke up again. "Niko, this pokémon is called snivy."

"Snivy?" Niko asked. His roommate nodded. "And…?"

"Erm…it's a grass type, and traditionally given out to beginning trainers from Professor Juniper in Nuvema Town."

"Nuvema Town? Where's that?"

"Somewhere off in the southeast. Never been, but I had some childhood friends who went there to start their pokémon journeys. Apparently, it's a tiny little town, and only really known for giving out these starter pokémon."

"Ah. Well, maybe that's where snivy's home is. Does that ring a bell to you?" Niko asked, shooting in the dark. However, unexpectedly, snivy nodded. "Oh. Is that actually your home?" Snivy nodded.

"Well then…" Warren said, clapping his hands together. "Niko, don't you have a bunch of vacation days saved up."

"Yeah…why?" Niko asked suspiciously.

"So do I. I think we should go take snivy back to Nuvema Town!" Warren suggested. "Day after tomorrow, we can head off!"

"Now, wait a minute, Warren. How long would this journey take?"

"I don't know, but I'm looking at a map of Unova right now, and there's a few cities along the way. We can pass through those if we're low on supplies. And if anything attacks us, we have poliwag and snivy."

Niko sat there in silence. He hadn't thought about getting back into travelling. If he was being honest with himself, then he was afraid of making that commitment again. What if it turned into some larger journey, and history repeated himself? He didn't want to be a trainer again, but Warren or snivy didn't know that.

But, Niko still had the choice to take snivy back to Nuvema Town, walk back with Warren and poliwag, and continue his life in Castelia City. He could resist the urge to adventure once more. And that's exactly what he planned to do.

"Alright Warren, fine. Tomorrow I'll tell my boss I'm taking a week off. You do the same, and we'll take snivy back to Nuvema Town." He then turned to the grass type. "Does that sound good to you?"

Snivy nodded, once again looking pleased with the circumstances of his initial meeting with Niko, who sighed at the prospect of going on another trip.


Author's Note: Season 6 is up! Now Niko is in Unova, living an ordinary life, and hesitant to even leave Castelia City on a brief journey. I hope you enjoy this episode, and the ones that follow!