Black's first steps into Route 1 were somewhat anticlimactic. Ahead of him there was a vast field of unkempt grass, the occasional shake betraying the possibility of it being totally uninhabited.
Undeterred, Cinder practically dashed into the unknown, and immediately tripped and fell over onto his snout. All Black could see was the little Tepig tail poking out a short distance ahead, but the sounds of a distressed pig forced a short fit of laughter before he aided his partner.
"You should be more careful, Cinder. We don't know what's out there...or how well you can balance!" The pokemon mock glared at his trainer before he, too, fell to the humor of the situation.
"Glad to see you made it out of the house," a new voice alerted both trainer and pokemon to the presence of another person nearby. Upon hearing it, both their eyes lit up.
"Professor Juniper! It's good to see you again," Black stood to face the professor while Cinder followed suit. "I hope nothing's wrong," the thought ushered in a brief wave of anxiety for the new trainer.
Juniper simply smiled in response, setting his mind at ease, before pulling a set of pokeballs from her lab coat pockets. "No, actually, I figured you might want these. They'll be very important on your journey if you plan to fill up the pokedex, or make a few new friends on the way." She offered the pokeballs to him.
"Oh, sweet!" The teen couldn't help a bit of giddiness as he set the balls into his bag for future use. "One question though, how do I actually use pokeballs?"
"Funny you should ask," began the professor. "I came out here to show you and your friends just that. I expected you all to be together for the first leg, but I suppose that isn't the case. Cheren came through half an hour ago. As you might expect, he didn't need much of an explanation. He has real potential, that one," the professor began to trail off before focusing once more. "But I digress. Anyway, I'll give you a quick run-down…."
A short while and solid example later, Black felt he had a good idea as to when he should use a pokeball to capture a pokemon.
"Do you know when Bianca will be here? I don't imagine she'll be especially punctual for her pokemon journey, either." The pokemon professor had a point. Bianca was infamous for always being late, despite how rushed she tended to be. Some poor guy would probably get bumped into fountains and waterways for months on end if he chose to travel with her, and they still might never be on time for anything.
"I'm sorry, I have no idea professor. Her dad didn't seem too keen on the whole 'journey' idea. It'll be a bit of a miracle if she actually gets his permission to go." Black could only shrug as he offered the bad news.
"Indeed. I suppose I will have to give them a little push before she gets her lesson then." She points off toward the north before continuing. "Accumula Town is that way, just straight ahead a ways. I expect that next time we meet, you will have at least one more friend with you. Now go get 'em!" The professor turned back toward Nuvema Town, to the south. "Good luck out there, and be safe!"
Black nodded as she left. Turning back to Cinder, he couldn't help but notice the small pokemon was consistently stuck within the tall grass. "Alright, bud, I'll keep you in your pokeball unless something comes up for now. Wouldn't want you all tired when we find our first pokemon encountered, alright?"
Cinder sighed and allowed his trainer to store him for now. "Piiiig…"
Black set the pokeball into one of his bag's pockets before continuing north, as per Juniper's recommendation.
Nearly a half an hour has passed before grass nearby Black shakes suspiciously. He instantly reached for the pokeball containing Cinder before a lillipup leapt from cover to initiate the encounter.
The small dog, while certainly not intimidating by way of looks or sound, still managed to set the new trainer on edge. After fumbling with his pokeball for a moment, Black released Cinder to defend them from this wild pokemon. He refers to the pokedex before deciding upon a course of action.
"Alright Cinder, give that thing a solid tackle attack!" The command is heard and the tepig was off like a rocket. With speed which caught the wild pokemon off-guard, Cinder barreled into the lillipup with the force of a wrecking ball. Down, but not out, the waylayer regained her footing before launching a counterattack of small bites and nips all along Cinder's flank.
"Come on Cinder, finish it off with another tackle!" Again, the pig took off with amazing speed and knocked the pup onto its side, this time seemingly much more significantly injured.
"Alright, let's try this thing out," the trainer began, expanding a pokeball to its full size. "Go, pokeball!" He threw the ball, catching the heavily breathing pokemon right on the top of the head. A flash of light, and the pokemon is gone. Only a small, shaking ball remaining in its place.
After a few moments, the shaking stopped, followed by a chime.
"Yes! We caught the lillipup!" The teen instantly opened his pokedex for lillipup to get a better idea of her moves and age.
A robotic voice sounds from the device. "This lillipup is female, approximately level four, and knows the moves tackle and bite. Would you like to give this pokemon a nickname?"
The teen considered for a moment, before deciding to think on the matter. In the distance, he spotted the light of street lamps. "We must be near Accumula Town, Cinder. I think you can walk the rest of the way."
"Tepiiig!" The pokemon confirmed enthusiastically.
It didn't take long for Black to push his way through the remaining grass and arrive in Accumula Town. Save for the lillipup, there hadn't been much in the way of delays since he left Nuvema. Despite this, however, the sun was setting over the Accumula hillside.
"Well, that's what I get for waiting on Bianca so long. Come on, Cinder. We should get to the Pokemon Center before it gets too dark."
In some ways, the town seemed to be as densely packed as the average city. In many other ways, the overall aesthetic and lack of so many pedestrians made the place feel a bit less populous. Depending on where one entered the town, it might appear incredibly large. From the south entrance, however, there were merely a few houses and apartment buildings and a Pokemon Center. Interestingly, there seemed to be some form of demonstration just across the road. Black lined up with the other spectators as an elderly man with a strange eyepiece began his speech, surrounded by people in strange outfits reminiscent of knights.
"My name is Ghetsis. I am here representing Team Plasma. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about Pokémon liberation," the man's speech continued to drone on. Black had honestly already found himself bored. The best he could figure was that the man thought humans mistreated their pokemon as a whole and should release them.
"That seems a little ridiculous," he muttered to himself before turning to head toward the pokemon center. "I'm sure he'll finish without me."
Before he could cross the street however, Black was confronted with another person with long, green hair and a black and white baseball cap. He seemed a somewhat well-dressed, considering the lack of any real occasion. "You dismiss the ideals of Ghetsis quickly. Why is that?"
Black, caught somewhat off-guard, offered his weak response. "I, uh, just think that it's harsh to judge the actions of every trainer on those of a few. You know? I only just started my journey, but I certainly intend to keep my pokemon out of harm's way as much as possible." Black shrugged, and attempted to end the conversation by walking past the boy in front of him.
He blocked the way further. "Journey? So you're a new trainer? Intending to battle with your pokemon? How is that out of harm's way?"
Black sighed in mild exasperation. "Look, uhh-"
"You may call me N."
"- Right, N. I'd like to at least be on my journey for a few days before I decide on whether some cult has the right idea about pokemon, alright? I have a lillipup that could use some medical attention and I'd like to get her healed up before I head out in the morning."
N, the taller of the boys, seemed to look at Black with curiosity. Seeming to take note of his every breath or uncomfortable shift. "What is your name?"
Black couldn't help taking a slight gulp before answering to this intimidating kid. "I, uh, go by Black."
N seemed unimpressed by the nickname, but shrugged it off in a few moments. "I imagine we will meet again. Please, make sure your friend gets the treatment she deserves. I think I will be on my way." With that, he turned toward the crowd and was promptly lost in its midst.
Black, after a moment of befuddled immobility, finally shrugged before turning, crossing the street, and entering the Pokemon Center. It was here he arranged resting overnight with Nurse Joy.
