"So...care to explain the Honedge which has been with you since before we woke up this morning?"
Tresk was a little upset that Naeya had a partner Pokemon before anyone else. Especially before they were even trainers yet.
"Honedge comforted me last night when I went out to get some air. It's obviously the same one which saved me back then, so I'm letting it come along with me until either it chooses me as a trainer, stays as a regular partner Pokemon or maybe it'll choose to do something different. It seems more already like Honedge just wants to be with me for now."
He was still upset about it, but Juez and Yuuka were happy for her. When Naeya told her how to pet Honedge, they were tickling and petting the sash and the three of them were having fun while Tresk just stayed upset.
"Anyways, whether I have a partner Pokemon now or not, we should head to the authorities and tell them about what happened back on the island. We should find out as much as we can about those people and whether we should chase after them. While we're at the city hall, we can register as trainers and find out if we can get gift Pokemon. Then we'll decide what we'll do from here..."
Yuuka had decided she wasn't going to involve herself further with the black robed people, but Naeya and the boys were determined to do their part in making right what happened to their families. After agreeing to go together to the city hall, the group left the restaurant of the inn where they had breakfast.
The streets were very busy, a lot of people and Pokemon going from place to place. People going to their jobs, Pokemon accompanying them or doing their own jobs. It was so much busier than the island they grew up on. It was almost...too much for Naeya and Yuuka. It didn't take long before they reached the area in front of the city hall where the people walking around weren't nearly as crowded and packed.
Naeya and Yuuka were trembling after being so closely packed with the other people who were walking the streets, that Juez was concerned they might be sick from something. Tresk didn't seem to care. Honedge reassured the girls with its sash and the group slowly continued on toward the large doors ahead of them for the city hall.
The building from the outside was imposing. Like a fortress. Well, a fortress with a more modern appearance than usual. It was made mostly of black metal and had dark tinted windows. The main doors were large but made of glass, something that didn't really seem smart somehow. The inside just beyond the main doors had smooth black metal floors, many different paths to go; elevators, staircases, and over a dozen service desks. It would have been very difficult to know where to go if there wasn't a building layout map in a terminal not far from the entrance.
When they approached, they noticed how easy the terminal was made to be understood. It was automatically set to show the main floor after a short time of inactivity from browsing the layout. The bottom floor they were on was shown to be the the customer service floor and trainer registry. The second floor was where contact to authorities was to be made. First, the group walked forward to the left most space at the end of the hall. That was where trainer registry was. The receptionist seemed busy, but there weren't any people ahead of them at the counter. When they got closer, they could hear the workings of a more creative mind than a working mind as she mumbled to herself the contents of what she was typing onto her computer at a fast and furious pace.
"We would like to-"
"Just a minute please, I want to finish this last part."
The group looked at each other, looked around at the many people at the other reception desks and were curious about a place with so few Pokemon. When the receptionist of the trainer registry called their attention back, Naeya listened particularly close while scanning over the appearance of the person on the other side of the counter. She was young. Maybe a few years younger than them. She had a very energetic type of personality which made her seem ready to bounce out of the chair rather than sit in it. Her hair was a rather short, dyed bright blue and was wild in style. Her eyes matched her hair, maybe had contacts to amplify the appearance of her eyes. She had a very frail frame, so it made her seem even younger.
"Sorry about that. If I didn't get it down I definitely wouldn't have been able to think of that paragraph for the story I'm working on. Trainer registration is usually really quiet. Most trainers are already registered or new kids starting out come later in the afternoon. You're from another region?"
Her voice was almost painfully high pitched when she was talking normally and not rushed like when she paused them before. Almost. Her voice did make their ears ring when she talked normally to them, and Honedge wasn't very appreciative of how high pitched her voice was, giving its own little screech by dragging its blade in its sheath a small bit.
"Your Honedge is really cute. Whose...?"
The others turned their eyes to Naeya and she sighed.
"Let's start with you then. Name please."
"Ah, I'm Naeya. Family region is Kalos, previous home region is Xhova Island. Honedge here has only been tagging along so far. None of us have started yet as trainers. Xhova has a no trainer policy after all..."
The receptionist nodded her head as she listened and typed everything into the computer.
"You have a really pretty name Naeya. We'll see about getting your Honedge a Pokeball. If you are seeking to also have an exclusive starter, the age limit on those gift Pokemon for trainers is fifteen. Your age please?"
She sighed and admitted that the whole group was seventeen. Tresk shoved her angrily when she said they were all seventeen. He gave the impression he was going to lie about his age. Issue with that, is that lying in a city hall was pointless, because Porygon monitored the sound waves from their home computers and would alert their receptionist of a lie. That was something Naeya had learned from her parents when they told her about city halls in Kalos. She sighed and stepped out of the way when she had a trainer card produced with a picture of herself surprisingly. The picture had her in her current outfit, current hairstyle and everything. Had the Porygon used its abilities to take a picture of her using the technology in the hall?
Yuuka and Tresk were registered, then Juez showed up at the counter, holding onto the egg found in his home before the group left the island. The receptionist on the other side of the counter seemed to know right away what kind of Pokemon was inside. She couldn't contain the excitement when she saw it.
"Oooh! Do you know what kind of egg that is?!"
Juez seemed to want to stop her from continuing on to say what it was. He wanted to be surprised. She continued despite his frantic expression to stop.
"That's a-"
There was a shock. The Porygon apparently sensed the mood on the other side of the counter and sent a thunder shock attack to her through the computer to stop her from spoiling the mood. Everyone in the group was startled when her words were suddenly stopped and she tumbled back away from the desk.
Naeya had an idea what was in the egg, knowing Juez' parent's Pokemon, but she wasn't going to spoil it for him. She didn't even want to think of it. Really, the pattern of the egg could easily give away what Pokemon was inside, but to people who were unsure, it was exciting to find out the result when the egg finally hatches. She had the feeling the egg would hatch soon anyway, so it would be all the more painful to be spoiled when the excitement of the egg hatching would be so soon. The Pokemon inside moved around quite often, so it was very close to coming out. It was something else to look forward to.
Her mind wandered to how much the group needed excitement and good news.
When the receptionist returned to the counter, she apologized with her embarrassment clear in her voice. Apparently the Porygon was talking to her a lot through the computer, because her eyes were drawn a lot to the screen. During her embarrassment, the most embarrassing point was that everyone from the rest of the main hall turned their attention to her and the group right away. They watched and waited until she sat down and finished producing Juez' trainer card.
"If you'd like, since today isn't busy I could escort your group for obtaining a Pokemon each. Are there any preferences in your first Pokemon?"
Naeya stepped back. She smiled at Honedge and the smile of its eye assured her it was happy.
"Don't step back please. I'm offering to the four of you. Even if you already have a Pokemon, I'm offering to help you get started as trainers. Is there a Pokemon you're interested in having as a partner Naeya?"
It seemed she was being prompted to be the first to answer which Pokemon she wanted to have next. When she thought about it, she really wanted to meet the cute and fun water type Horsea. She also knew that the Taffola region had a different final evolution from other regions. It made her a little nervous to mention Horsea as the one she wanted to meet. She only really wanted to meet one for the moment...but she had dreamed at one point of riding a Quendra in the future. It would be nice.
"I'm really good with Honedge for now if it will stay with me like this, but...I'd like to meet a Horsea."
When she said it, she was tickled with the sensation of embarrassment, and everyone saw that she was embarrassed...and excited to have the chance to meet Horsea.
"Great! Then I can show you a good place for them at the pier. Now...onto Juez. What kind of Pokemon would you like to meet?"
He stuttered, a little shaken by the opportunity they were being given. Eventually, as someone from a Unova, a world travelling family, he was able to make up his mind. He mentioned a Pokemon name that Naeya didn't recognize, and the receptionist seemed a little questioning on whether she could find that Pokemon nearby.
"Is...a Mudbray out of the question?"
"Hmm...Mudbray and Mudsdale are very rare in this region actually. If you're set on that, we can check at the ground area's ranch and ask if they've recently had eggs or Mudbray who aren't taken or trained already. It's interesting that you mention a Mudbray when your family's from Unova."
He got a little happy, and explained to her that his parents actually did travel through many regions. Alola was the region which had them decide on Xhova as the place to raise him. Because of the tropical environment, and much more peaceful and quiet population than Alola. While the residents of Alola were apparently more welcoming to outsiders, Xhova was praised as a great place for a long time to raise strong and great trainers.
"You have a very interesting story about you, I like that. Now for the Johto pair...let's go with the pattern of girl then boy then girl and finish with boy. Yuuka, what kind of Pokemon are you interested in?"
She answered the fastest so far.
"I'd like to meet an Eevee."
Everyone looked at her a little shocked. She was normally too nervous to say what she wanted or really speak up much at all, but the determination in her eyes showed that she was ready for whatever kind of challenge there might be in having an Eevee for her first Pokemon. Especially with all the different choices of evolution.
"Hmm...Eevee don't appear in the wild in this region. I'm sorry but that one won't work. The trainers that do have them don't trade them or give away eggs either...sorry, but is there another Pokemon that would work for you?"
Yuuka actually got upset about it. She turned away, wiped tears from her eyes and turned around with an expression of deep thought.
"I...really wanted to meet Eevee, but if no to Eevee...Teddiursa?"
The receptionist had a smile on her face after panicking at making Yuuka cry at not being able to provide a chance at an Eevee. It was obvious from her expression that she could get Yuuka a Teddiursa.
"That's another good choice. Ursaring is a little scary depending on the trainer, but Teddiursa is one of my favourites. The normal type zone is just outside of the city as well so we can go there right after finding Naeya's Horsea. Now, onto Tresk."
She turned to him and her expression nearly became scolding because of how he reacted to Naeya telling of all their ages, but she just couldn't hold a negative expression no matter how hard she tried.
"Absol."
That's all he said, and she sighed.
"Absol are actually banned on the island so unfortunately that's out of the question. They used to gather here a lot, and the cult of the region's legendary Pokemon would use the gathering of Absol to bring the legendary Pokemon out of hibernation. It's too dangerous to have in this region unless in small numbers, so there aren't any in the wild."
Naeya made mental note of the cult that was mentioned. She wondered if they were the people who attacked their families.
"Stupid...then Murkrow."
She sighed a relieved sigh. She really didn't like looking at him. There was also something Naeya saw in her expression that said it was a little scary he only mentioned dark type Pokemon. It would be fine if it were just the kind of type he wanted to challenge first, but even the rest of the group was uneasy about his sticking to dark types.
"Alright, so then the order of which we'll be grabbing you your Pokemon is Naeya's Horsea, Yuuka's Teddiursa, Juez' Mudbray and then Tresk's Murkrow. If there is a change you would like to make, then now would be the time while I make sure someone else can watch and inform me when people start coming to the counter again. By the way, I know all of your names now, but I should have introduced myself first. My name is Xharye. I'm also the head assistant to the region's better known professor. Maybe you'll get to meet him soon. I'll be right back."
She walked away from the counter to a door behind the desk area where there it seemed there might be other people working. Or maybe that was where the manager for the floor was. While she went back there, it seemed Juez was reconsidering his choice in Pokemon. Naeya brought up her concern for him.
"Are you okay Juez? Are you thinking of changing which Pokemon she'll help you find?"
He looked at her with a concerned expression.
"I...actually, I'm not sure if I should wait before this little one hatches before having another Pokemon. I've been interested a bit in Mudbray for a while, but my favourite...is actually Gardevoir, so that would mean looking for a female Ralts. Ralts are very difficult to find in the wild in almost every region they can be found, so I wasn't sure if I should even try asking. I'm sure you're looking for Horsea so you can have the region exclusive Quendra when it finishes evolving, so we're both looking for females of the Pokemon we're looking for. I...didn't want to make looking for our Pokemon take too long."
While he was talking, Xharye peeked her head back out of the room she had been in and her expression became more and more impish by the time he finished talking.
"So, female Ralts instead of Mudbray, and Naeya's Horsea will be female as well. Okay, I'll be right back. Just gonna grab my team from the storage centre."
Juez sighed and his face grew bright red from embarrassment. While Naeya was nearly as shy as Yuuka, she was good with reading emotions, so she always found it interesting paying attention to Juez. He had slightly longer hair for a boy, and he used to play with her and Yuuka and enjoyed it more than the sports Tresk and the other boys were interested in. He didn't like Tresk, but she had noticed him paying attention to a couple of the other boys on the island. Naeya didn't really know much about relationships and if what was on the island was normal or not for people because their parents called them strange, but she sometimes referred to Juez as a girl. The surprising thing was that he didn't mind. Didn't say anything. He did get a little flustered, sometimes would smile, but she just thought it was embarrassment.
"She's a little...well, she makes me nervous. Like the moment we're out looking for the Pokemon she'll spill all of our secrets."
Naeya thought for a second he was talking about her, but she giggled a little and Honedge rattled its blade in the sheath a little. Yuuka seemed confused and Tresk outright laughed.
"Secrets? Like what? We know everything about each other because of that island. There's no secrets I could think of that would be strange for other people to hear either. Unless it's something like Juez being weird."
Naeya was almost about to scold him for being rude, but that was when Xharye reappeared. She wore a different outfit. Instead of a business outfit, she was wearing a more relaxing frilled tank top mostly light blue with white frills and skirt which matched, as well as long stockings which were again light blue with little white sparkles. She had a sparkling silver coloured belt hanging around her very thin waist which had her Pokeballs on them. Most trainers used a variety of balls for their Pokemon, even their parents used more than the original Pokeballs. Every single one of hers was an original Pokeball. The red of the Pokeballs was a little interesting to see.
"As far as you new trainers today, the only one strange here is Tresk. Even the regular dark type trainers in this region keep other Pokemon on their teams so that they aren't surrounded in the bad omens the type brings. Juez is a little feminine, but I just figure a little gender neutral. Nothing wrong with something like that. Some people feel more feminine some days, and more masculine other days. Like some Pokemon change gender when they evolve. Although that is pretty different. Naeya seems the super smart and cautious type. Yuuka seems the anxious type. Tresk has only seemed a bully so far. Some bullies get their rights as trainers revoked. Better be careful Tresk. Especially since these people are your friends, and friends are earned here in Taffola."
She walked past the group, made sure they followed her and when they got outside, she picked a Pokeball from her belt and tapped the button twice to reveal a Togekiss. After refastening the ball to the belt, she grabbed another ball from her belt to reveal an Altaria.
"Well, get on. Flying around will make the journeying around for today much faster. If you hadn't noticed, my travel types I carry are fairy and flying types. I work with five types regularly. The other four Pokemon I have with me are a Quendra, Azumarill, ice-type Ninetails and Froslass. Ah right, I also have this..."
She tapped the gem on a bracelet she wore, and it glowed. The Altaria glowed and flapped its wings sending it a little into the air, barely stirring the air around the group with the cotton wings. When it landed back on the ground, the glow faded and Altaria...well, it mega-evolved. Mega evolution was more something meant for battle, but for a temporary growth spurt, Altaria's mega evolution was good for bringing people from place to place.
"Okay, us girls will hop on Altaria's back. Juez and Tresk will ride Togekiss. Be gentle when you get on. Togekiss especially doesn't like rough humans. Don't be surprised if she attacks you. One other person she gave a ride before took an aura sphere to the chest and was in treatment for a weak."
Not subtle at all. Naeya was almost sighing in relief that she wasn't riding on the Togekiss. While she knew she could be gentle, be really kind to these Pokemon, the concern that someone had taken an aura sphere from being rough before made her concerned that maybe it might not take much to get Togekiss angry.
She would find out quickly how much it would take to anger Togekiss, because Tresk started poking at it. Juez was trying to stop him, grabbing at his hands, but then he'd shove Juez every time his hands were grabbed. It took less than twenty seconds of that before Togekiss prepared an aura sphere directed toward Tresk. Tresk noticed this, grabbed Juez and pulled him in front before jumping out of the way. Juez and the egg he held onto were sent tumbling back with...terrifying force. Of course Togekiss was a powerful Pokemon, but that hard of a hit... Everyone was worried except Tresk. He stood up, brushed the dirt from his clothes and laughed when he saw how Juez was splayed out on the ground. No doubt, bones were broken, and he was unconscious.
"Metang patrol, apprehend new trainer Tresk for this violation of the Taffola force code. He will learn quickly what it means to break the rules of the region."
The two Metang which floated on the street nearby seemed to activate their agility move and captured Tresk. Their claws wrapped around his waist and arms, lifted him up and brought him away. Naeya was shocked, but not surprised. Tresk always acted bad enough that he should be punished for his actions, but when it clicked that he might be taken to prison over it...Naeya was reminded of the sight of Juez and the fact that the egg he was holding onto also tumbled away. She stopped worrying about Tresk as soon as she looked back at Juez and rushed over to him to see if he was okay. Yuuka hurried over to the egg. Thankfully the egg was fine. Xharye called the Togekiss over to Juez and had her pick Juez up.
"Bring Juez to the emergency centre quick for me please. As soon as they tell you they can take care of him, find us with Altaria's scent, alright?"
Togekiss purred a little, then gently flew away to a part of the city none of the group had been to yet. Yuuka held onto the egg, but she felt bad about holding onto the egg which belonged to Juez' family. She turned to Xharye and she knew right away.
"I'll have the administrator here watch the egg until we're done grabbing your new Pokemon. Once we're done, I'll bring you to the emergency centre where Togekiss just took Juez. For now, climb up on Altaria and I'll bring the egg to the administrator."
Yuuka nervously handed over the egg to Xharye and looked at Naeya to see if she was going to climb on the Altaria like they were told to. Instead, Naeya was petting Honedge's sash again with a sad look on her face. It made Yuuka worried, but the sad expression faded and grew kind. She was relieved seeing that Naeya could pull herself together over something like that. It was something so simple, so relaxing to see.
"She's really going to become a great trainer someday. Make sure you treasure your friendship with Naeya, Yuuka. Now, why aren't either of you on Altaria?"
Naeya turned and faced Xharye when she heard the question, and looked at Altaria.
"I know Altaria are strong, but their talons hurt against the ground, so with our weight on her, it would hurt even more. If there was a perch, then it might make it feel easier for me to get on her. Less time for her feeling the pain in her talons feels more kind to her, doesn't it?"
Naeya showed just how knowledgeable she was of Altaria. The difference between a regular Altaria and when it's mega evolved, is that mega Altaria has its legs outside of the cotton spore it usually flies on. Its legs and talons are usually protected by the cotton spore, so it would indeed be painful to stand on the ground while mega evolved instead of flying. It was actually insensitive of Xharye to leave her Altaria standing on the ground like that mega evolved.
"You're really very knowledgeable about Pokemon aren't you? I thought Xhova was a hick kind of community that didn't teach anything about Pokemon."
"My parents taught me a lot and often showed me their Pokedex. They were from Kalos, so they had the chance to meet a lot of different Pokemon. Mom...had an Altaria too..."
She grabbed hold of Honedge's sash again and started petting it again. Remembering another Pokemon she saw dead in that house, which shared room in the city cemetery with the rest of her family, her expression wouldn't return to the kind expression as she pet Honedge's sash. She dropped her hands from the sash when she realized it wasn't calming her down anymore.
"I'd feel better walking off this feeling. Let's walk together, please?"
The nearly pained expression of pleading she wore as she faced Xharye made Yuuka tear up a little.
"Well, that would be fine. We won't be away as long with Juez and Tresk no longer tagging along, so I'll also take you by the market place to get the both of you some Pokeballs. We'll also swing by a Pokecenter to make sure Honedge is in top shape in case a battle comes out of nowhere."
Naeya and Yuuka nodded their heads and followed when Xharye started leading the way. Of course she did call her Altaria back to its Pokeball before leading the way, it was just something that Naeya paid attention to though. She was letting her concern run through her.
The day would definitely be long, just the three girls gathering Naeya and Yuuka's first official Pokemon. Naeya had a strange feeling about Xharye. Like she might be more important than she was leading on. She didn't have electric types on her current team, but she sounded very similar to the current region champion. It made her wonder if Xharye knew the champion, since they did both use fairy types.