Chapter Two: First Steps Together
The girls did a clothes swap, to a varying degree of success. Bianca's clothes were slightly baggy on Hilda, and Bianca looked awkward in the more sporty attire. They had collected their hair up into their hats, knowing that it would be a dead giveaway if the Bianca coming out wasn't blonde. The white bag was set on Hilda's shoulder, and they were all set to go.
"I'll do the talking for you, don't worry," Hilda promised.
"Yeah, just stay quiet and keep your eyes low so he doesn't notice," Bianca added.
"Head straight for the Professor's Lab, and I'll meet you there."
They shook hands, and Bianca opened the door once again.
The figure of a man stood before them, but because Bianca was right in front of her, Hilda couldn't see him clearly. From what she could tell, he was angry.
"Hilda, this doesn't concern you," he said as calmly as he could. "Go off with you friend."
Bianca gave a brisk nod, hurrying off. Now Hilda faced a behemoth of a man. He was balding, slightly wrinkled with age. He frowned at her, arms crossed. It was as if he expected her to do something. And truth be told, Hilda wasn't sure what to say.
Bianca's father had always frightened Hilda when she was younger. Every time she came over to hang out, he was always looming over them with an unapprovingly stern attitude. They'd play an RPG video game when he'd say "Isn't that inappropriate?" They'd breeze through catalogs of models when he'd spit, "The only models those are are bad role models." And whenever a Pokemon Spotlight feature came on the television, he'd grumble, "Those idiots don't know what they're doing with those monsters." He always had an idea of what Bianca shouldn't be doing, expecting her to follow what he wanted. And whenever they disagreed, he put on this exact stance he showed Hilda now. It was a stance of anger, and anything could come from it if he was pushed hard enough.
"I heard that Professor Juniper gave you kids a gift," Bianca's father began. "Might I see it?"
Hilda stood still for a moment, but then she complied. She pulled the Poke Ball out of a pocket, but only dragged it out halfway.
"She did it," Bianca's father gasped. "And without consulting me on the matter. That Professor doesn't know how to raise my daughter."
Hilda hoped that he didn't notice the difference. When he was upset, he thankfully didn't pay too much attention to certain things. And Bianca's timid stance was easy to replicate because Hilda herself was timid right now.
"Could I see that a bit closer?" he asked.
Hilda shook her head. "This is good enough," she whispered in a small voice.
"You don't know what you're doing with that creature. Pokemon are dangerous. You could get really hurt out there. I don't want that happening to my little girl."
"I'll learn how to control it. I'll make it trust me. I'll be okay, I promise."
Bianca's father relaxed just a bit. "I'll talk with your mother about this," he grumbled.
He left in a huff. Hilda straightened out, sighing in relief. Her mother came to her side, giggling.
"My silly girl," she mused.
"It wasn't silly," Hilda growled.
"You know, it was Bianca's problem to handle."
"We both know she'd give in to his demands. I couldn't let him stop her."
Hilda's mom scratched her head. "Yes, that seems to be the case. He was the most defiant in our decision to give you Pokemon, insisting 'She's too small! She can't handle it!' He lost the vote, as you can see."
"Why doesn't he like Pokemon? They're a part of Unova and this world no matter where you go."
Her mother shook her head. "A bad experience, maybe? It's hard to say. But he's right, just a little. Pokemon can be dangerous. Some more vicious ones will attack you on sight. And that's exactly why we need Pokemon. They can protect us and keep us safe in the wild. And we all need to go on some kind of journey in our lives. This will really help Bianca, I just know it."
"You didn't need to tell me that."
"It'll help you too. You can figure out what you want to do in life as well, and find the part of you that you can't grow up until you have."
Hilda gave her mother a big hug. "I have to meet up with Bianca now. I'll call you as much as I can, I promise."
"Do you have your XTransceiver charged?"
"All the time."
"Is it turned on?"
Hilda grabbed her Poketch, looking at it. She grimaced, turning the XTransceiver on. "Now it is."
"Have fun, sweetie. I hope your journey is everything you want it to be."
Hilda waved her goodbye, making her way to the Professor's Lab.
She and Bianca switched into their original attire. Hilda felt good to be back into her tank top and shorts, as well as her ball cap. Bianca looked just about the same. They walked out of the lab together, greeted by an impatient Cheren.
"Sorry, we had to divert a crisis," Hilda told him.
"Was it Bianca's dad?" Cheren asked.
"It was," Bianca muttered. "I still can't believe he didn't press any further on the issue. Don't worry though; I'm still joining you guys!"
Cheren nodded. "Let's get going, then. Professor Juniper is waiting for us."
The three of them walked along the road out of Nuvema Town, scaring off a flock of pidoves on their way. They stopped just before the town sign, looking at the road and tall grass beyond. Professor Juniper wasn't too far away, standing next to a tree with a gray-furred minccino. This was it; this was the start of their adventure.
"Hey, let's grab hands," Bianca insisted. "It's our first step. We should take it together."
"I guess so. It's the biggest experience of our lives, after all," Cheren agreed.
Bianca took the center, grabbing Hilda's right hand and taking Cheren's left hand. Together, they crossed the border of Nuvema Town, heading straight onto Route 1. Hilda waved Professor Juniper over, and she came walking toward them.
Professor Juniper turned out to be a sophisticated if eccentric lady. She had a yellow dress underneath her large white lab coat. Her hair was in a bun, being pulled out by the playful minccino on her shoulder. She greeted them with a smile, pulling a bag closer to them.
"Greetings children!" Professor Juniper smiled. "I trust you took your gifts well."
"Yeah, it was really nice of you!" Hilda cheered.
"May I see the ones you've chosen, by chance?"
They opened their Poke Balls, releasing the Pokemon inside. The Pokemon stood closer to the children's feet than they did before, Oshawott practically clinging to Hilda's calf. Professor Juniper appeared surprised, but she was still happy.
"It seems you're bonding faster than I thought," Professor Juniper noted. "This is wonderful. It'll help you a lot on your journey."
"Thank you for this experience, ma'am," Bianca insisted, picking up Tepig. "We won't let you down."
"You look like you have something to ask us," Cheren thought. "What is it?"
Professor Juniper pulled out three small devices, each with a Poke Ball symbol on the front. "I have a request to ask you," she began. "One of my jobs is to record data from Pokemon all across the region. I sometimes try and collect data on my own, but it's hard work being the only one to do it. Since you're all on your journey, would you mind helping me fill the Pokedex?"
That sounded like a high order. Dozens of different Pokemon lived in Unova, and that wasn't even considering the ones in faraway regions like Kanto and Sinnoh. But it did sound like a good idea to know which Pokemon they were catching.
"I'll help you," Hilda decided, taking a Pokedex.
"I can try my best," Bianca decided, taking one as well.
Cheren didn't say anything, but he took the last Pokedex as well.
"I also have these for you," Professor Juniper added. She dug through her bag, finding fifteen Poke Balls. She handed five to each of them.
"Oh, are we learning to catch Pokemon?" Bianca gasped. "This is so exciting!"
"You'll find many Pokemon hiding in tall grass, and sometimes in caves or bodies of water. Fighting wild ones will help you Pokemon grow in power and experience, but for now we need to focus on catching them. The key is to whittle their energy down far enough so the Poke Ball can capture them. Let me show you."
They walked through the grass, Professor Juniper leading the way. Rustling in the grass stopped them in their tracks, and a brown rodent with scary red eyes jumped out. The Pokedex recognized it as a patrat.
"Go Minccino!" Professor Juniper called out.
Minccino leapt off of the professor's shoulder, jumping in front of the patrat. The patrat leapt forward, biting him on a big ear.
"Minccino, use Swift!" Professor Juniper shouted.
Minccino flicked his tail, and a light came forth. This light condensed into stars, shooting at the patrat and hitting it. The patrat fell down for a moment, staggering back up. It limped a little, but it still wanted to fight.
"This should be good enough," Professor Juniper decided. She pulled a Poke Ball from her bag, throwing it at the patrat. The Pokeball hit it square on the head, popping open. A white light enveloped the patrat, dragging it inside. The Poke Ball sealed shut, shaking for a moment until it eventually clicked. A white light enveloped the Poke Ball, teleporting it away.
"Whoa! Where'd it go!?" Hilda gasped.
"You can only carry six Pokemon in your party, which I do have," Professor Juniper explained. "The patrat was transported to the Pokemon Storage System, which can be accessed from the PC in any Pokemon Center. Speaking of which, Accumula Town isn't far from here. I believe that is our next stop on this lesson."
"You go on ahead, if you may," Cheren insisted. "I want to see if I can catch Pokemon now."
"Just as well. Accumula Town is just up the road, and I'll be waiting for you there."
Professor Juniper waved them goodbye, picking up Minccino and setting off on her way. Hilda, Cheren and Bianca waved to her, coming together to determine what to do next.
"You know, I'm not sure if I could do that," Hilda admitted. "I didn't like seeing the patrat limp like that."
"Patrats are feisty. All wild Pokemon are feisty," Cheren promised her. "It would've wanted to go down fighting."
"Maybe. Even if that's the case, I don't think I know how to battle Pokemon just yet. You saw what happened earlier."
"Well that's why we're staying back for now. Catching Pokemon gives us practice in battling as well."
Bianca jumped up in excitement. "Hey, let's have a competition!" she decided. "Whoever catches the most Pokemon before entering Accumula Town is the winner!"
"A childish game like that?" Hilda shrugged. "What's the prize?"
"Umm...bragging rights? Oh oh, I've got it! The loser must pay for dinner tonight!"
"Ugh, how petty."
Cheren fixed his glasses. "It'll help us complete the Pokedex, though. I'm in," he decided.
"I'll see if I have enough for dinner, then," Bianca sighed.
"If Hilda's set on not battling Pokemon, she'll have to pay."
Hilda clenched her fists. "Hey, I never said that!" she argued. "I'm in, too. I'll collect so many Pokemon, it'll make your eyes bleed!"
The three of them split up, agreeing to meet at the edge of Accumula Town. Hilda's face burned with embarrassment and anger. She would find a way to catch Pokemon. There just had to be a better way than battling them.
Oshawott traveled right behind her, nearly tripping a couple times. Hilda picked him up, surprised at how heavy he was. "Alright Oshawott, let's catch a lot of Pokemon today," she told him. "I want to fill up our party."