Riley sat at her computer, still beaming as she typed, a messenger open on the screen.
Royles =D: thank you sooooo so much! the post came today! it's amazing i can't believe u made that urself and i love rudy! that's what we called the growlithe btw.
Pyro Jack: Glad you like it. Spent a while getting the StatRed right.
Royles =D: i wish i could make stuff like u! ur the best cousin ever!
Royles =D: what's the part that says Seems: _ about?
Pyro Jack: It just interprets probable current emotion. And sometimes other stuff. It's pretty general.
Royles =D: its pretty cool is what it is
Royles =D: did my mums ask u about getting me a pokemon or did u just do that bc u wanted to?
Pyro Jack: Are you kidding? I'm not going to do anything to cross your mums. They asked me to, they'd probably get pretty iffy at me if I just gave you a pokémon of my own accord.
Royles =D: haha they can be p scary
Royles =D: im gonna go on a journey with rudy though! thanks to u! u r definitely my fav cousin ;p
Pyro Jack: Hell yeah I am. When are you going?
Royles =D: in a month! in the meantime im gonna prep and learn everything i can
Royles =D: and me n rudy are gonna be best friends
Royles =D: lemme send u a pic!
She stopped typing to turn to Rudy, patting her lap. "Wanna send a pic to Jack?"
Rudy considered for a moment before he barked in agreement and hopped up, standing with his paws on the desk.
"Okay! Say cheese!"
That weekend, Riley headed into town with Rudy to look around the shops, wondering what things they should get before heading off on a journey. All sorts of things looked useful for travelling, but she could only take what would fit in her backpack, so she had to decide what was most essential. Enough clothes to last the visits between towns with places to wash them, clothes for different weather, raincoat and umbrella… How much tech would she have? Should she get a little manual charger for when she's away from towns? Extra thermal layers? It was already April, but the weather was always changing. And all that was just for her! Was it worth getting a little cool box to keep berries and such in or would it take too long to travel between places with fridges and freezers available? Should she get repels in case the wild pokémon were stronger than she expected, how many potions and status-healing items should she have? How many poké balls? What kind of other pokémon would she catch? She'd have to get better at coming up with names on her own…
She came up with a list of things to possibly get and decided to consult Coco. She had been on a journey when she was younger, so she seemed like she'd know best. Riley was almost hopping as she headed back home, still buzzing with excitement about it all – she couldn't wait to get going! She did get what Rose had said, though, about getting to know Rudy first. The puppy was trotting along beside her, stopping to sniff at things every now and then. She wondered what the best way to bond would be. She'd heard battling was a good start, but she'd never battled before and was a little nervous. Maybe Perry could help?
She arrived home to the smell of delicious cooking, filling the house with a wonderful smell.
"I'm back!" Riley called down the hallway, pulling her shoes off.
"Welcome home, sweetie," Rose said, appearing from the living room. "Have a successful trip?"
"Yeah! Uhh…" Riley paused briefly as she pulled the list she'd made from the pocket of her jeans. "I wrote down a bunch of things and thought I'd ask what you guys think?"
"Good idea." Rose followed as Riley headed to the kitchen, sniffing the air appreciatively.
"Smells yum! What's for dinner?"
"Bolognese," Coco replied from in front of the stove. She was leaning against the counter while the sauce simmered. "Good day, kiddo?"
"It was alright! We saw lots of stuff that seemed like it'd be useful but I can't decide what to actually take. What do you think about… All of these?" Riley handed the list over, peeking at the open pan. "When's it ready?"
Coco ruffled Riley's hair affectionately as she read through the list. "Just waiting for the pasta to finish boiling. Most of this is good stuff to have, but you need to think about how much will fit in your backpack, and how heavy it's going to be. You have to be able to walk all day with it, after all."
Rose got out cutlery and pasta bowls before she sat at the table, smiling. "By the end of your journey, you'll probably be so used to carrying loads around that you'll be stronger than me!"
"Really!?"
"Wow. That's got to be the first time I've seen anyone so excited to lug heavy stuff around," Coco said, chuckling. She scooped a strand of spaghetti out to test. "Alright, it's ready. Riles, can you grab the cheese? It's grated in that bowl." She brought the pans to the small kitchen table as Riley brought the cheese, setting them down and pulling out one of the three chairs. Perry had been dozing and flicked her ears as her seat moved, opening her eyes and hopping down to the floor. She filled the bowls generously and passed them round. "There's bolognese left over if anyone wants extra."
Riley reached for the cheese, mixing some into her food before sprinkling more on top. "Thanks for the food!"
"Thanks to everything and everyone that helped in providing," Rose said, leaning over to kiss Coco on the cheek.
Coco set Riley's list on the table between herself and Rose while they ate. "'S it good?"
"Super yum!"
Rose nodded in agreement, looking at the list. "Will you really need thermals?"
Riley paused between mouthfuls to reply. "I thought just in case, since weather is weird?"
"They'll take up quite a bit of space since they're padded, and you'll probably only need them if you head up Mount Magna."
"I remember going there on my journey!" Coco piped up. "It was flippin' cold up there, but the lake was beautiful. Snipe loved it. I'm glad I had Charlie with me to warm me up, though." Charlie was Coco's old houndoom, and had been her first pokémon.
"I bet," Rose nodded. "Have you heard from him and Lari recently?"
"Yeah, they sent a victory pic the other day. Some kid had challenged her to a fight all confident because he had a bunch of water-types, but Lari still won. Charlie looked real proud of himself. Hey, I bet he'd love to see you if you meet up with them. Though he'll probably want to battle, so maybe wait 'til you've gotten good and strong."
"Yeah! It'll be great to see Charlie. It's been ages," Riley said. "Oh, oh, maybe we'll see Mei too! I mean, if we go through Blackridge we'll definitely stop by the nature reserve."
"Oh, she'll love to see you, too. She's such a big softie, she'll probably get all emotional about how much you've grown up," Coco said, chuckling. "For a tyrantrum, she's not very ferocious. Maybe the staff will let you go see her up close since you're her trainer's daughter."
"I hope so! Rudy, I can't wait for you to meet Mum's other pokémon," Riley said excitedly, kicking her legs under the table as she looked down at the puppy. "Charlie and Mei are great. I bet they'll love to meet you, too!"
The growlithe was sat attentively, listening. Upon being addressed, he gave a little bark, wagging his tail slightly.
"So what route around the region are you thinking of taking?" Coco asked.
"You always say Chillhaze Forest is full of really tough pokémon so I guess I should wait for a while before I go there, so first we'll go towards Diony Town. Uhhh… After that I'm not sure. We can decide when we get there," Riley replied.
"Sounds good. I barely had a plan when I left myself," Coco said, chuckling. "I remember when I headed to Diony Town the first time. From the opposite direction. We took a wrong turn in Clay Cave… We hadn't actually planned to head up Mt Magna at the time, we were gonna save that for later. But hey, plans change."
"It can't change if it didn't exist in the first place," Rose said with a smile. By now everyone's bowls were empty. "Anyone going to have more?"
"Nah, I'm good," Coco said, and Riley agreed.
Rose stacked the bowls and took them to the sink. "In that case, it's time for you to get ready for bed, Riley. You've got school tomorrow."
"Awww, I don't wanna sleep yet," Riley said. "When I go to school can Rudy come too?"
"I doubt it, but you'll have to ask your teacher to be sure. Tomorrow he can stay home with Perry and Snipe, and you find out what the rules are. They might have exceptions for partners when you're about to head off."
"Hmm… Okay!" Riley bent down to pet the puppy as she got down from the table. "You wanna sleep on my bed?"
Rudy simply blinked at her while Rose tutted slightly. "I won't be the one clearing the fluff off your bed in the morning."
"Okay! C'mon Rudy!" With that, Riley bounded upstairs, Rudy following. Tomorrow would be a good day. She couldn't wait to tell her classmates she'd be going on a journey!