Chapter 2 - Motsunabe

Logan arrived in Littleroot Town a little bit in the afternoon. He had chugged down every last bit of his water, and sweat had soaked his shirt. As soon as he arrived, he and Poochyena looked for the professor's laboratory, which wasn't hard to find. Logan was familiar with how they looked by this point, seeing as how he had grown up around Juniper's. He knocked on the door, and within a few moments Tania answered the door.

"Hello?" Tania said.

"Uh. Hey. I'm Logan. I was called here by Professor Birch."

"You must be that really strong trainer," Tania wondered out loud. "You're soaking wet."

"Yeah. Turns out, Hoenn is really hot."

Tania opened the door. "C'mon in."

Logan walked into the laboratory while Tania quickly left to go to a different room. He took a look around the lab, noticing all of the papers strewn about. Tania came back, holding a white towel and a glass of water.

"Here you go," she said while handing it over. "I've told Birch that you're here. He'll be with you in just a bit." She looked down at Poochyena. "Does your Pokémon want anything?"

Logan looked at Poochyena. "You hungry, dude?"

Poochyena nodded, and Tania exited the room once more. Logan looked over the various papers on the floor. Each paper was its own little bit of research, and he couldn't make heads or tails of how any of them connected.

"Logan?" a deep voice asked.

Logan looked up from the papers and gave a half smile. "That's me."

Birch approached him with his hand out. Logan shook it. Both of the males' hands were soaked with sweat. This made Logan incredibly uncomfortable, but Birch seemed unfazed.

"You're soaked," Birch said.

"Yeah." Logan responded.

Tania entered the room, and Birch grabbed the Pokémon food from her. He knelt down and put the bowl on the ground. "Would you like to join us for dinner? We're having motsunabe. Do you know?"

"I have no idea what that is," Logan responded. His stomach growled. "But I'll take it."

"Good! If you want to take a shower, we have one here. I imagine that it'd feel good to be in a fresh pair of clothes."

"Cool."

Logan took a quick shower and even gave Poochyena a short bath. He took the Wailmer towel from before and put it in the laundry with his sweat soaked clothes. Within 30 minutes, both of them were refreshed and sitting at Birch's dinner table.

"So, Hoenn, eh?" Birch asked while sitting down. "A lot of people choose Kanto or Johto when first coming to this side of the world."

"I heard they were loud places. Wanted to go somewhere a little bit more relaxing," Logan answered.

Birch smiled. "Well, I'm glad that you came here, Logan!"

Before Birch could continue, he heard a knock on the door. Tania stood up to answer it, and within a few moments she had returned with a woman that Logan had not recognized. She was holding a bouquet of white flowers.

"Yuriko!" Birch said. "What brings you here? Come on! Sit down! We're about to have motsunabe!"

"I just wanted to bring by some flowers. Yurie is finally off on her journey, and I think that being around the empty house right now is giving me anxiety. That's all three kids out on their journeys now." She took a seat.

"This is Yuriko! She's Littleroot Town's flower lady!" Birch said.

Logan nodded. "Flowers are nice. My name is Logan."

"It's nice to meet you, Logan!" Yuriko said.

"Yuriko's daughter just got her first Pokémon today. She's now off on her own journey," Birch explained. "And as for Logan, he's a trainer from the Unova region! He's one of the best trainers I've ever seen."

"I'm okay at best," Logan said.

"Unova? That's so far!" Yuriko exclaimed. "I'm sure your mother misses you."

"Yeah."

"Care to join us? We have more than enough!" Birch said.

Yuriko nodded. "If it'd be okay, I'd love to join you. Also, here!" She placed the flowers on the table. "Daffodils to represent new beginnings!"

"They're perfect for a day like today!" Birch said. "Now, let's get started!" He leaned forward and turned on a small stove like machine that was placed on the table. The broth in the pot on top of it slowly came to a boil. Tania brought various vegetables and meats to the table. A lot of it Logan had never seen before. But before Birch could put any of the food inside the pot, there was another knock at the door.

"Well, we seem to be pretty popular today," Birch said.

Tania stood up to walk to the door, but stopped when the mystery person entered the kitchen.

"Yurie?" Birch said.

Yuriko stood up. "What's wrong, honey?"

"Mom?" Yurie exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting you to be here."

"This is the new trainer we were just talking about," Tania explained to Logan.

"Yeah, I figured with the whole 'mom' thing," Logan retorted. He quickly realized how rude he may have sounded. "Sorry."

Yurie put her hands behind her back and looked bothered. "I, um, I…"

"What?" Yuriko asked.

"I came to return my Torchic. I don't think I want to travel," she explained.

"You're returning your Torchic?" Birch said. "That's unheard of."

Yurie nodded. "Yeah. This traveling thing isn't for me, and we don't really gel well. Our conversations don't really go anywhere." She noticed Logan. "Oh. Hello."

"Sup."

Birch sighed. "How about we discuss this after dinner? Motsunabe?"

Yurie took a look at the food and smiled. "That sounds nice."

The group all sat down together. Birch began to place the various meats and vegetables into the pot. They boiled and when cooked thoroughly, Birch placed them into individual small plates and handed them to his guests. Logan took a bite of the meat. It was chewy, but the taste was something Logan had never experienced before.

"How is it?" Birch asked. All of the others stared at Logan.

Logan smiled. "It's delicious."

Birch sighed with relief. "That's good to know! A lot of foreigners don't really like motsunabe!"

"So, Logan. Unova? What's it like there?" Yuriko asked.

"It's a lot cooler than Hoenn," Logan answered.

"Birch said that you're one of the best trainers he had ever seen. Did you compete in the league?" Yuriko asked.

Birch nodded and answered before Logan could. "Logan competed in both the Unova and Alola leagues. He made it to the semi-finals in both leagues. I honestly think that you could have won though."

"Yeah. One small slip up is all it takes," Logan said quietly.

"You competed in the leagues?" Yurie asked.

Logan nodded.

"What's it like? Is it fun being a trainer?" she asked.

Logan nodded. "I really enjoyed it." He looked at Poochyena who was now enjoying his own small bowl of motsunabe with Yurie's Torchic.

"I think it seems a bit barbaric," Yurie said. "We make Pokémon fight for our entertainment. I'm not sure how I feel about it."

Logan chuckled. "You remind me of a certain group back in Unova."

"I just don't know how I feel about having Pokémon fight for me. It doesn't feel right," Yurie said.

"A lot of Pokémon want to fight, I think," Logan answered. "It's extintual. It's not to try to kill other Pokémon or anything. It's merely something that they do in the wild. For example, this Poochyena was raring to go into battle with me as soon as it had the opportunity to. It's not even my Pokémon."

"That Poochyena isn't yours?" Tania asked. "But you two already seem so close."

"It's a bit of a story, but no. We have had one battle together though," Logan explained. He turned to Yurie. "And Pokémon don't have to battle. Some just want human companions and friends."

Yurie groaned. "But all it says is 'Torchic.' How am I supposed to communicate with it?"

Logan laughed. "You may not be able to understand what it's saying, but you can probably understand what it's feeling."

"So, you want to return your Torchic?" Yuriko asked her daughter. "You don't even want to give it a day?"

Yurie nodded. "It's not meant for me."

"I guess that'll be beneficial for the Mudkip that was left out," Birch said. "At least he'll have one of his old friends back."

"Thanks for understanding," Yurie said.

"I don't understand," Logan said. He stood up and knelt down to pet Torchic. "Torchic clearly feels comfortable with you. Starter Pokémon are generally okay with their trainers right off the bat, but Torchic seems incredibly happy."

"How can you tell?" Yurie asked. She stood up and walked over to the Pokémon. Torchic looked up at her.

"It's in Torchic's eyes," Logan answered. "And he overall seems very energetic. This Torchic wants to go on an adventure."

Tania smiled. "And now that you've mentioned it, Torchic does seem a bit different than before. Only a few hours with you, Yurie, and his demeanor has changed."

Yurie looked back at Tania and then her mom. "Really? I don't see it."

Logan picked up Torchic and handed him over to Yurie. Torchic put his head on Yurie's chest. "Torchic," it said sweetly.

Yurie took a moment. "Okay, maybe I see it."

Yuriko put her hands together. "Think about it just a little bit longer, honey."

The group quickly finished dinner and then went out into Birch's backyard where they could watch the sunset. Poochyena and Torchic were joined by the aforementioned Mudkip, and the three Pokémon played by a small fire that Birch had built.

"Let me show you how we make s'mores Hoenn style!" Birch said. He lifted his graham crackers, poured a bit of chocolate syrup on both of them, and then squeezed a lightly toasted marshmallow between them. He handed it over to Logan.

"Yeah, no. That's wrong on many levels," Logan said. He took a bite. "Not bad, but not a s'more, professor."

"How do you make them in Unova?" Yurie asked.

"Well, we don't use chocolate syrup. You use a candy bar. And also, the marshmallow needs to be a little bit more burnt. Some people like them to be black, but we call those people insane," Logan answered.

Yurie laughed.

"So, Logan. Let me get to what I asked you here for," Birch said while stuffing his version of a s'more in his mouth. "I've recently started studying a new form of Pokémon evolution. Something that they've studied in the Kalos region for awhile now."

"A new form of Pokémon evolution? Like, branched evolution?" Logan asked.

"No no. This evolution is not permanent much like, let's say, a Pikachu into Raichu," Birch explained. "This evolution is more temporary and generally only used during battles to give the Pokémon a certain boost. They're calling it Mega Evolution."

"There's not a more scientific name for it?"

Birch chuckled. "Now, I was hoping that you could help me study this. I'm not a Pokémon trainer myself, and from what I understand, you need to be a strong Pokémon trainer to use Mega Evolution."

"What would you need me to do?"

"Well, I was going to ask you to travel around Hoenn and see if you could find out anymore details on Mega Evolution. Possibly see if there are Pokémon you could capture to try to Mega Evolve. We're not quite sure what Pokémon are capable of doing it," Birch explained.

"I convinced Birch to give you Mudkip because it's believed that the three starter Pokémon that we give out in Hoenn may be capable of Mega Evolution," Tania said. "It also would have given Mudkip a home. But now that it seems Yurie may be returning her Pokémon, this may be out of the question."

"We don't want to leave any Pokémon behind, and if we gave you Mudkip, that'd leave Torchic here alone," Birch said.

"Actually," Yurie said. "I think I'll keep Torchic a little bit longer." She watched the three Pokémon play. "I may not understand what Torchic is saying, but I want to try to learn how to understand Torchic's feelings."

"Well, that settles it!" Birch exclaimed happily. "Logan, I'd like you to take Mudkip with you on your journey!"

"Um…" Logan muttered. "I may have to decline."

"What?" Birch said.

"I came to Hoenn, because I wanted to take a break. I love Pokémon, and I love training, but I'm not sure if I want to enter the Hoenn league or anything at this point," Logan explained.

"I see," Birch said quietly. "That makes sense. I shouldn't have assumed that you were coming to take on the league."

"That is disappointing," Tania said.

"So, you gave me that whole speech about trying to understand Pokémon and such, but you're not even going to continue training?" Yurie asked. "I don't get it."

"Can I just have time to think about it?" Logan asked. "Give me tonight to think about it, and I'll let you know tomorrow."

Birch smiled. "Take all the time that you need, my boy!"

Yuriko stood up and dusted off her skirt. "Yurie, it's getting late. Wanna go back home? If you're not gonna go on your journey, then you might as well sleep in your own bed."

Yurie grabbed Torchic and then stood up. "Actually, I think I want to try that journey thing. Maybe I won't do battles or anything, but maybe it'd be good to see the Hoenn region. I want to try the different foods that Hoenn has to offer."

"Well, there's no point in going out tonight. You can stay here for the night and get a fresh start tomorrow morning!" Birch said.

Yuriko hugged her daughter. "You're gonna make me proud! Call when you can, okay?"

"Okay," Yurie said.

With that, Yuriko left the group. Eventually, Birch and Tania left too, leaving Yurie and Logan alone with the three Pokémon. Poochyena, Mudkip, and Torchic all slept near the fire, the three of them cuddled up together.

"So, you're taking a break from training?" Yurie asked. The two of them were on opposite sides of the fire, laying down and gazing at the stars.

"Kind of," Logan answered. "I'm honestly unsure about what I'm doing."

"I understand that," Yurie said. "I have no idea what I'm doing. I have no goals. I don't feel like I have a reason to go out there and travel. Every other kid that I know dreams of this day. I dreaded it."

"You'll find your way. We all do," Logan said. He looked over at Mudkip and Poochyena. "We all do."

The next morning, everyone was up early. Logan chugged down a bottle of water as soon as he woke up, and he made sure that Poochyena was fed.

"What do you think?" Yurie asked Torchic, showing off her new trainer's clothes. She bought an orange skirt to try to match Torchic. "Am I cute?"

"Torchic!" the Pokémon answered.

"I don't know what that means, but I'm gonna take it as a good answer!" Yurie replied.

"Good morning!" Birch said to Logan down in the kitchen. "You sleep well?"

"Fell asleep outside last night. Been a couple weeks since I've slept outside, but I always enjoy it," Logan responded. "Don't need a blanket in Hoenn."

"And Poochyena looks incredibly excited too. Looks like everyone got good sleep!" Birch exclaimed.

Yurie came downstairs and smiled. "Hello, everyone! I'm a Pokémon trainer!"

"Took you a whole day to figure that out, huh?" Tania asked sarcastically.

"I figured that if I'm going to give this training thing a try, then I should at least look the part," Yurie answered.

"Whatever it takes," Tania said.

Yurie grabbed a couple pieces of bread and some scrambled eggs.

"So, Logan. Have you given yesterday's conversation some thought?" Birch asked. "I don't want to rush you. I'm just curious."

Logan nodded and then handed a piece of bread to Yurie's Torchic. "I thought about it."

"And?" Tania said.

"I don't think that Mudkip should be left here alone. It looks like he's bonded with Poochyena, so at the very least, I'd be willing to take him with me," Logan answered. "And I'll help you in your research in any way that I can. If it means training Mudkip to be strong, then I'll do it. But I'm still unsure about entering the Hoenn league."

Birch smiled. "That's all good to hear! No one is asking you to enter the Hoenn league, but I'd be very happy if you took Mudkip with you! At the very least, Mudkip gets to experience the world."

"But there is a small issue," Tania said. "You still haven't caught that Poochyena. Technically, it's still wild."

Logan hadn't considered that. "You have a point. And I currently don't have the means to capture Pokémon."

Birch reached into his bag and pulled out two Poké Balls. "Here you go! One is Mudkip's ball, and the other one can be used to capture Poochyena."

Logan knelt down to the two Pokémon. "You both okay with coming with me on a little journey? We'll go to far away places, and meet many other Pokémon."

"Mudkip!" the Water-type said happily. He nuzzled up against Logans hand.

Poochyena smiled but backed up a few inches.

"It looks like Poochyena wants to join you," Birch said. "But you're going to have to do it the traditional way."

The group made their way outside, and Poochyena and Logan prepared to battle one another.

"Poochyena, don't hold back!" Logan said. He knelt down next to Mudkip. "Let's have a good first battle, buddy!"

"Mudkip!" the Pokémon cried out happily.

"Let's watch closely, Torchic," Yurie whispered to her Pokémon.

"Mudkip, start with Water Gun!" Logan commanded.

Mudkip began shooting small spurts of water from his mouth. Poochyena charged, dodging every single attack. He collided with Mudkip, sending the Water-type stumbling a few feet back.

"You okay, Mudkip?" Logan asked. His new Pokémon stood up slowly, but then energetically shouted. "Good! Let's do this! Hit him with your own Tackle!"

Mudkip lunged forward and knocked Poochyena on his side.

"Before he can stand back up, use Water Gun!" Logan commanded.

Mudkip did as told and water erupted from his mouth. The water connected with Poochyena, and the Dark-type flew back a few feet. Logan gripped his Poké Ball, and prepared to throw it, but before he could, Poochyena stood back up.

"Not yet, huh?" Logan said.

"Sugoi. That Poochyena has quite the fight in him," Birch exclaimed.

Poochyena let out a howl, and Mudkip lowered his head. Poochyena then charged forward once more. He jumped into the air and then bit Mudkip on his fin. Mudkip let out a pained yelp.

"Mudkip!" Logan said. "Swing Poochyena into the air!"

Mudkip swung around his head and tossed Poochyena.

"Now, Water Gun!"

With that, Mudkip shot his attack once more. It collided with the airborne Poochyena, sending the Pokémon even farther into the air. Poochyena landed with a thud and was knocked unconscious. Logan grabbed his Poké Ball, tossed it, and it absorbed Poochyena. Within a few moments, the ball let out a soft ding, letting everyone know that Poochyena was caught.

Logan ran over to the Poké Ball and picked it up. He smiled. "I did it!" He pressed the button on the ball, releasing Poochyena who shook a little bit, but smiled when he saw Logan. "We're an official team now, buddy." He took the Wailmer towel from before and wrapped it gently around Poochyena's neck.

"That was quite the show!" Birch said. "I think you, Mudkip, and Poochyena will all make an excellent team!"

"That was fun to watch," Yurie said. "A bit much, but they looked like they were having fun. Congrats."

"Thank you. I think we all had fun," Logan said.

Yurie attempted to respond, but before she could, the phone in the laboratory started to ring. Tania ran off to answer it.

"I was thinking-" Yurie started, but was interrupted by Tania.

"Logan, you have a call," she said.

"I'll be back," he said. He ran to the lab and went to the phone. Juniper appeared on the monitor.

"Oh, so you did make it there safe," she said. "Had me worried."

"Oh yeah. I forgot to give you a call," Logan said. "It's been a weird 24 hours."

"I assume you already talked to Birch about what he's studying?"

Logan nodded.

"So, you'll be going off on another journey?"

Logan nodded.

"Do you want me to send any Pokémon your way? You may need them for some of the gyms. Hoenn trainers aren't pushovers."

Logan shook his head. "I don't know if I'll be doing gyms this time around. Still haven't decided. I did catch a Poochyena though."

"Oh, I see. Well, keep me updated! And if you ever need any of your Pokémon, let me know," she replied. "Stay safe out there."

"I will."

With that, the two hung up their respective phones.

"She's worried about you, Logan," Birch said. "Make sure you give her a call here and there."

"I'll try to," he said. "Welp, I guess it's about time for me to get going."

"Me too, I guess," Yurie said.

"Do you want to walk to the next town together?" Logan asked. "I know the way there, and I figured we can give our Pokémon a bit more time together."

Yurie smiled and nodded. "That sounds fun!"

"Then let's go!" Logan said.

Birch and Tania saw them off at the door. They waved goodbye, and Birch wished them both good luck.

"She's gonna need all the help she can get," Tania said.

"I think she'll surprise you," Birch answered. "Yurie may be different from the rest, but I don't think she's a moron like you said."

Tania smiled.

"So, I'm actually doing this? I'm actually going out on my adventure," Yurie said.

"Exciting, isn't it? You and your first adventure, and me in a completely new region," Logan said with a smile. "I can hardly contain myself."

With that the two were off. Where their journey would take them, neither of them knew.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Thanks for reading! Don't really have anything to add onto the end of this one. Have a lot of free time today and tomorrow, so I'll probably update again soon. Don't plan on updating every day though.

Quick note: "Sugoi" essentially means "excellent" or "great" in Japanese.