You stacked the last box of your belongings in a supply room beside a shelf full of packaged toilet paper. Allegra agreed to let you temporarily stash your stuff there while you got your truck fixed. Not without some kind of payment, of course. In return, you made the beds and dusted the rooms that made up the temporary housing. Outside the supply closet, you heard the whirr of the buffer working away on the recently added enamel filler on your Shuckle.
Your Shuckle?
The idea was foreign to you and unofficial until you registered as a trainer and received your ID. A sense of giddiness filled the pit of your stomach and you felt like the ten-year old you watching stadium matches. You were going to train pokémon, truly.
Despite the allure of moping around in your pajamas at your parent's house, you didn't want to reassess your career choices. You grumbled under your breath as you recalled the words in the letter.
So, you were going to graduate, whatever it took. Maybe this trainer thing wouldn't be so terrible.
You were pushing the boxes against the wall when you heard muffled raised voices and the sound of the mechanical buffer stop. You could hear the voices clearly now that they weren't being drowned out by incessant noise.
"Hey, where are you taking him?! He doesn't belong to you!" That was Allegra.
"According to you, he doesn't belong to anyone." That voice belonged to that snotty ten-year old.
You growled under your breath as you deduced what was happening outside the supply closet and exited. The door handle slammed against the wall as you threw the door wide-open to the closet. Now, you stood halfway between the med-counter and the entrance into the center, cutting off the kid's pathway as he made his way to the exit with Shuckle tucked underneath his forearm.
"Seriously? I hoped I was mistaken, but you're really stealing Shuckle." You planted yourself between him and the door.
"You can't steal something that doesn't belong to anyone in the first place."
The youngster reached under his belt for a ball and released a pokémon. An Umbreon broke out half-running towards you, but faltered. It observed you apprehensively before looking back at its trainer. You weren't a trainer, but you could tell this was the first time Umbreon was released on a human.
"That Shuckle belongs to me. Legally, it doesn't. I know that. " You could feel the muscles in your eye twitch and the stitches on your forehead pull in response.
"He's not registered and you're not a trainer. I'll take him off your hands." The little bastard grinned. "Fang, use confuse ray."
Your breath hitched in your throat as Fang's eyes started to glow and a light shot out in your direction. You heard of trainers that were accidentally hit with a confuse ray during battles sent to the hospital with no memory of the past few days. That couldn't happen to you, not now. You just decided to figure your life out this morning. A few days lost and you would be back at the beginning and fumbling for some sense of direction.
The light made contact, but dissipated around a blue barrier. The barrier appeared for a second and quickly disappeared after impact.
"Hell yeah!" You heard Allegra shouting from behind the trainer.
"What…a safeguard?" You comprehended disbelievingly.
Where had that come from? You looked at the Shuckle tucked underneath the trainers arm and watched as it came to life. The limbs shot from their sockets and waved wildly against the trainer's side slapping ribs and forearm as it did so. It effectively removed itself from the trainer and slowly dragged itself to your side.
"Did you put a safeguard on me before all of this?" You asked the Shuckle and it returned your gaze with a purposeful one.
"That's a 'yes.' You sure you want to stick with me? You know I'm not a proper trainer."
Shuckle's gaze remained, unwavering and stony.
"That's another 'yes.' Shuckle's not going anywhere."
You turned back to the trainer and immediately wished you hadn't. He was still sporting an arrogant expression and it was starting to piss you off.
"Oh, I think I can change your mind. We can battle for it. And, you seem low on cash." He pointed to your attire with disdain.
You looked down at your simple tee and trousers. If you weren't covered in dirt you thought you looked rather dashing.
"Because, I'm not wearing clothes mommy bought me?" You guessed.
"I-I bought these clothes myself! From money I won from battles, but you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" He seemed flustered and smoothed out his shirt.
"I would've never guessed it from a ten-year old. It looks like your mom dresses you." Truly, his outfit looked juvenile, even for a ten-year old.
"I'm fifteen, not ten!" He sputtered.
Your eyes widened as you reanalyzed the youngster standing in front of you. He was a foot shorter than the average fifteen year old and his voice was still an octave too high.
"Oh, god. That…that sucks!" You chortled.
"Are you going to battle or not?" The teen sneered.
"Clearly not. Look, I don't know you or trust you and I'm not going to hand over any pokémon, let alone my Shuckle." You dismissed him with a shooing gesture and Shuckle moved his head from side to side gleefully. You wondered if he was silently laughing.
"Why not? He would be better off with me and it's obvious you have no idea what you're doing. C'mon I'll give you half my money even if you don't win." He grinned.
Half his money?
Why would he hand over half even if you didn't win? Wait…wait. Even going so far as to steal your Shuckle from a pokémon center and unleashing a pokémon on you. Sure, it was non-lethal force, but it was illegal to use pokémon against humans unless it was in self-defense. So, he was acting on desperation.
"Why can't you let it go…Why do you care?" You steeled your eyes. It dawned on you how dangerous the situation actually was. Setting a pokémon on a person was a serious offense, even without bloodshed.
"I'm the League Champion, a professional. And you're some…nobody."
You were beginning to understand his psyche. And you realized all those trainers weren't gathered around that morning because they were exiting the center. They were following him and hovering around him like flies. He was an egotistical, entitled prick.
"And…that's relevant because…" You waved your hand in a circular motion, urging him to get to the point.
"It's relevant because you don't deserve that pokémon. It's unheard of some amateur having a shiny as a starter!" He screamed at you and his young voice cracked.
You looked down at Shuckle and incredulously, you laughed. How did you miss that? One day it would be your job to know these things! You looked down at the periwinkle shell with a brand new appreciation.
"Shuckle-uckle!" The fungi beamed with pride. Even he knew he was different.
From behind you, the door 'dinged' and you could hear footsteps pounding on the tiled floor. The youngster released an Espeon.
"Luna, use teleport." And in a blink, the azure-haired teen was gone.
"The hell is going on, Allegra?" You looked behind you and Lt. Surge was jogging into the center and stopped in front of the nurse.
"That trainer you just saw was attacking my patient. I would've called Jenny, but I recognized his face immediately and knew you could handle the situation better."
"You did the right thing. You're okay?" He put a hand on her shoulder and she nodded in reply.
"Apparently, Kamon wanted to steal that Shuckle." She strode towards Shuckle and pat him on the head softly. Lt. Surge trailed behind her and extended his hand out to you.
"I'm Surge, the gym leader, here."
You shook it, but warily. Lt. Surge was well-known for being a gym leader and a retired member of Team Rocket.
"I know." You didn't know what to expect from him.
"Aren't you Taylor's kid?" Lt. Surge seemed perturbed as he looked at you.
At the mention of your father's name, you were caught off guard.
"Yeah, actually…"
"He was a great soldier and my CO when I was a private, but it makes me wonder why you're out here. He told me he wouldn't allow his kid to have a pokémon, at least, not after he lost his Houndoom." He crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Dad, had a Houndoom?" That explained a lot about your father. Mainly, it clarified his adverse idea of pokémon as pets. In the military, pokémon were partners and raised to a higher status than the average trainer's pokémon. It would dishonor their memories to own such a pokémon after a war-dog.
"He did. He lost it in the war, though. A real tragedy." The lieutenant shook his head, "Sorry, I didn't mean to unload that kind of intel on you."
"No, it's okay. I just wasn't aware." You became silent afterwards. You needed to ask your dad about that later.
"Small world, huh? Your dad was my boyfriend's CO." Allegra spoke from beside Surge.
"Wait…seriously?" You looked at the petite dark-haired woman standing beside the bulky, tall lieutenant.
"What do you mean 'seriously,' huh?" Lt. Surge grumbled.
You coughed, "Nothing. Anyways, so that kid…Kamon? He's a legitimate League Champion?"
"Just because you're a petty thief doesn't mean you can't be a Champion or a gym leader. I know that better than anyone." Surge smirked and you felt a shiver go up your spine.
"Fantastic." You replied sarcastically. "Is anyone going to do anything about him?"
"Most likely, no. The League runs like a bureaucracy, unfortunately. They aren't moved to action until something on a serious scale happens. Or until it's too late." Surge answered honestly.
You sighed, but you heard the truth in his words. Team Rocket ran amuck because no one did anything about the thefts for so long, at least not until it affected someone aiming for the championship.
"You know, if you want something done about it. I suggest you do it yourself. Bring it to the League's attention. Better yet, become the new champion. Champions have higher authority over trainers and you need to be on that kid's level to stop him."
The Champion? You thought about the incredible journey it would take to reach the pokémon league and the changes you would need to make to get there. You imagined the many battles you needed to win before you reached the next gym and the trail of defeated trainers you would leave behind. And finally, you would reach the reputable doors of the pokémon league and face the grueling trials of the elite four, then…Kamon. You would thrash his ass and become the pokémon League Champion.
"Fuck that."
You just wanted to graduate.