Chapter 4: Accumulating Worries
Moving past the wilderness of route 1, we've reached a town not too dissimilar from our humble home. Houses and apartment complexes litter the hilly landscape, resulting in a city marked by its inconsistent heights and vantage points. Aesthetic wise, it's a quaint and interesting little town, but the matter of importance at the moment is meeting Professor Juniper at the pokemon center. Cheren decided to move on ahead, saying that he knew all about the logistics behind the pokemon center, so he went to tour the town and meet the townsfolk. That left me, Bianca, and our respective pokemon companions as we wandered through the town.
Finding the pokemon center wasn't particularly difficult as it was only a few yards away from the town's entrance. That combined with its conspicuous red design made for a really easy objective to find. But, the professor was waiting outside of the center, donning a grin as she was waving to us.
"Hey slowpokes! Guess you guys lost track of time playing with your new pokemon buddies, huh? Well, here we are at the cornerstone of every trainer's needs: the pokemon center! Come on, I'll show you two around!" And just like that, she disappeared within the automatic doors of the center. Bianca seemed hyped about this place, since she ran ahead of me as soon as Juniper stepped inside. But, there's no use in waiting out here, so I motion my pokemon to follow me as I step into the building.
It was nice and cozy within the pokemon center, with a ton of people lounging around the furnished lobby or utilizing the place's services. With it's myriad of merchants, technology, and general hospitality, it's no wonder that trainers love pokemon centers so much. Juniper and Bianca chatting up a storm by the nurse, and didn't seem to notice me until I talked right in front of them.
"There you are! While you were busy wandering about, I've already told Bianca about the basics of the pokemon center. The jist of it is that if it exists, a pokemon center will probably provide it for you. Food, a bed, you name it, the pokemon center will give it to ya. You're a sharp kid, so you should be able to figure out how to use the facilities on your own. But now, how bout a live demonstration of the healing function of this place, since you're gonna be using it pretty often in your journey. Go ahead, give the nice nurse over here your pokemon."
Looking back to Yarne and Wilhelm, they smiled at me as I returned them to their pokeballs and handed them to the nice lady. She quickly put the balls on the healing machine and after it let out a couple beeps and boops, my pokemon were supposedly healed and the nurse returned them to me with a smile. I'll check up on those two after Juniper's done giving her explanation on the pokemon center.
"See, not so hard now is it? Well, aside from the healing aspect of the pokemon center, the other important parts are the pc and the marketplace, but utilizing those are pretty straightforward. The pc has a manual near it if you're ever confused, and the market staff will be more than happy to help you find what you need. But with that all said and done, I've gotta go. Research needs to be done and all. But before I go, I can direct you guys on who to meet next. Go to Striaton City and meet a girl named Fennel. She's a friend of mine and is quite a smart cookie. She'll help you out with whatever she can, and you could go challenge the gym while you're there. Well then, I'm off!"
She wasn't lying when she said that as she ran right off after her little speech. That left me and Bianca, who quickly left me behind to browse the pokemart's wares. Well, guess I'm alone again. Finding an empty seat by the lounge of the pokemon center, I sit down and let out Yarne and Wilhelm. Something seemed off about them; almost like they were ill or something. I cock my head in confusion; I thought that this place was supposed to heal pokemon, not make them ill.
"Laika….. that was awful. That thing made me feel all tingly and weird and stuff. Can we not do that again?"
"I concur with Sir Yarne. That device over there was quite unpleasant. It may have healed our wounds, but something about it does not seem right. I'd avoid it if we're given the opportunity to."
I nodded in agreement, but that's still really weird to me. Everyone else's pokemon seemed fine with the healing, or maybe they're all adverse to it and people just can't see that. Sounds like something I'll add to my bucket list of things to research during this adventure. But enough of that, I have to go mess with the store and pc.
Upon walking up to the clerk, he simply presented me with a menu of items, complete with descriptions and price labels. Well, that's nice and all, but seems a bit weird for a store. I expected them to be a bit more social as a clerk, but hey, whatever floats their boat. I just pointed to the items I wanted and raised some fingers to denote the amount that I wanted. In the end, I got the supplies I wanted for a reasonable price, so all is well.
The pc was equally as straightforward. There was a manual that explained every facet on how to use the pc, although it never did mention who the creator of the pc system was, or where the pokemon go for that matter. I assume that they're stored in some database as a little chunk of data like how pokemon are stored in pokeballs, but that seems a bit inhumane as they'd be in a catatonic state for Arceus knows how long. Hopefully they're in a better place than that and that the pokemon that I eventually have to store there will be happy with their living conditions. But now that I looked through both the market and the pc, there's little reason for me to be here anymore, so I got up and started making my way for the exit.
I would've left the door, but I turned around and noticed that Wilhelm had a medicine bottle in his mouth like when I first met him. Crouching down, I put my hand in front of him, expecting him to give me the bottle. He complied, and upon further inspection, I saw that it was full heal; something that wasn't sold in this area. How he managed to get a hold of this was perplexing, and the confused expression on my face seemed to have prompted Wilhelm to say something.
"In case you're wondering, and you certainly appear to be, I have quite a knack for spotting abandoned items. You could call this scavenging a hobby of mine. It's truly baffling just how many useful items get abandoned by people on a daily basis, so I've made it a duty of mine to collect and use them in whatever way that I can, even if it's not their intended purpose. Our first encounter was a testament to that fact. However, I'll report whatever items I find to you from now on, as you'll be able to use them as something other than an adhesive to annoy people with." Hm, that's certainly useful, and it gave me some insight on Wilhelm as a person. Slowly but surely, I'll get to know more and more about my party, and that'll be an adventure in itself. But enough lollygagging, I've got people to meet and pokemon to catch!
Stepping out of the pokemon center, I see Cheren waving at me within a crowd of people. There are some strange people dressed in knight costumes in the middle of the town square setting up some banners with a freaky looking man pacing back and forth as directing their movements. That group was perplexing; their leader looked like he was wearing a castle that's having an acid trip and the rest of them look like they've come straight out of a children's picture book. All of this seemed a bit surreal, but it's happening. I walked over to Cheren and right when I was about to type something to him, the freaky guy started his speech.
"Hello everyone. My name is Ghetsis and I come here today to speak on the behalf of Team Plasma. We are a group dedicated to the protection of pokemon, and we come here today to spread word of pokemon liberation." The last statement sparked a bit of discussion amongst the crowd. Mainly people questioning what he means by that, with the occasional person questioning the group's looks rather than the subject matter. But, Ghetsis raised his hand in an authoritative manner and the crowd's attention was back on him and his technicolored robe.
"Ahem, now that I have your attention again, I'd like to speak about pokemon liberation. We claim pokemon as our partners and companions, but what if that statement is just a lie we tell ourselves to hide from a much harsher truth? Have you people not once thought about the conditions we put our pokemon companions through? We force them to fight and perform menial tasks on our behalf without any say in the matter. Pokemon are subjected to the selfish desires of man, despite being fundamentally different beings. They're beings with potential much greater than ours, and we feel that it's our duty to liberate these creatures from people for them to achieve that glorious potential. Brothers, sisters, I implore you to heed my words! Release your pokemon and inspire others to do the same, for it will usher in a period of new growth for pokemon everywhere! This is the correct way, nay, the only way for us to progress as a moral society, and we sincerely thank you for your attention in this matter." Upon uttering his final words, the little knight troupe systematically picked up their props and marched off in a structured formation surrounding Ghetsis. But once he left, an uproar of discussion filled the town square, with people debating about the validity of Ghetsis' statements. The debate of releasing versus not releasing became the talk of the town for a while before the townsfolk realized that there were more productive means of spending their time and dispersed. Cheren and I were among the few that remained in town square, and he seemed to be in deep thought, not really taking notice to me looking at him. Since he's lost in his own thoughts, I look down at Yarne and Wilhelm talking amongst themselves before taking notice of me. Yarne looked pretty worried while Wilhelm had his same stoic expression.
"Hey Laika, what that weird man said back there was kind of concerning. Are people really mistreating us by coexisting, cuz it sure doesn't feel like it. As far as I'm aware, it's nice being with you and the others, despite our adventure not even being a day long yet. Everyone I've met so far has been pretty pleasant, but I'm not sure about everything now that the weird looking guy raised some questions. What do you think about all of this?"
Honestly, I could see how people would think the way that Team Plasma does, since the main sport of this world is essentially glorified cockfighting. But in spite of this, pokemon stick by our sides through all of the battles and grow to show affection for us. Unless every pokemon in history developed stockholm's syndrome or something, the statistic of happy pokemon in relation to human interaction can't be ignored. There are two very reasonable sides to both arguments, but I'm honestly not sure about which side I'm on, so I shrug my shoulders to answer Yarne's question.
"Huh, so you're not sure either? Hm…. Well, I guess that we shouldn't worry about it too much right then. We'll find the answer eventually, but until then, let's just carry on. At the very least, we'll make some memories, good or bad. We've already made some, and I'm glad to be on this journey with you, so that's all the validation I need right now." Upon hearing his last statement, I knelt down and started petting Yarne in approval. He snuggled into my hand again, and Wilhelm chuckled slightly upon seeing Yarne getting so affectionate. We're already like a family, despite the short amount of time we've spent together, and it's really nice. But as we were having a lighthearted moment, a boy with long green hair started walking up to us. Quite frankly, he seemed shocked before he started addressing me.
"Hey, your pokemon… Just now, it was saying that..."
"Whoa, slow down for a moment. What was that about pokemon... talking? That's quite an odd thing to say, considering that pokemon communicate through repeating their own names." Cheren interjected as the guy was speaking. What this guy is saying is confusing to the both of us, but for different reasons. Cheren can't understand pokemon speech, so him talking as if he could understand would be weird, but I'm confused on how this guy can understand pokemon at all. He doesn't look like he has an apparatus for pokemon speech translation like I do.
"Oh, so you two can't understand them. What a shame. Yes, they are in fact talking, and speaking quite highly of your friend here. Allow me to introduce myself; my name is N."
"N, like the letter? Quite an unusual name. Anyways, my name is Cheren and my companion here is named Laika. Both of us are on a journey to complete the pokedex for Professor Juniper, but that's just a side objective for me. I'm aiming to become the pokemon league champion."
"The pokedex, eh? So, you're going to imprison countless pokemon in these infernal pokeballs for your task, are you not? While I am a trainer, I can't help but feel like all of this is wrong. Are pokemon really happy living in these mechanical cages? They're my friends, but I also trap them here against their wills. You, Laika, right? Your pokemon… they seem to adore you, and I need to hear their voice again!" Upon saying those last words, he revealed a single pokeball and tossed it, releasing a Purrloin that was poised for battle. You know, if he really wanted to hear Yarne speak, he could've just sat down and talked to him rather than battling, but hey, I don't make the rules here. I motion for Yarne to step forward and accept N's challenge.
The battle that followed was quick and one sided. It's a well known fact that cats don't like water, and that seems doubly so when water is being ejected at them at high speeds. The Purrloin laid in the middle of town square drenched and unconscious while Yarne was essentially untouched. I motion for Yarne to come back, and give him a congratulatory hug as a reward for winning the match. N seemed to have noticed this and grimaced as he returned his purrloin to its pokeball.
"Why? Why is it that they love you so much if you're subjecting them to this fighting? Pokemon will never be perfect beings so long as they're trapped in pokeballs." N was mumbling this to himself, but Wilhelm seemed to have noticed and used this as an opportunity to rebuttal.
"It's because Master Laika is a good person. We may be stored in pokeballs from time to time, but we appreciate what he's doing for us. He's a kind soul that understands us and provides for us and we in turn appreciate him for his efforts. It's as simple as that, really." N was again taken aback by the fact that my pokemon spoke so highly of me, but he seemed to be a very single minded person from what I've gathered from him. The fact that my pokemon appreciate me for who I am is probably shattering his precious ideals.
"You… I don't understand how you manage to get your pokemon to like you so much, but it's irrelevant now. I have a goal in mind, and I'll change the world in order to realize it." And with that, N turned around and headed towards the exit of the town. What a strange guy, but I don't think he's much of a threat. He seemed nice when he wasn't obsessing over what my party members were saying. But while I was thinking about all this, I noticed some noise and I turned to see Cheren clapping at me for my victory.
"Bravo Laika. That was quite a decisive victory on your part. But that man… He was a rather odd person, but I wouldn't listen to the drivel that he was spouting. Pokemon and people are in a symbiotic relationship with each other, so there's no issue in us being together. Anyways, I'm going to head out to the next route. The day's still young and if I make haste, I'll be able to battle the Striaton city gym before the day ends. I'd recommend you do the same. The gym challenge is the best way for a trainer to strengthen their pokemon team. Well, good luck, and I'll see you again soon!"
Well, Cheren zoomed off again, and now it's just me and my party again. It would be a shame to just leave the area before exploring a bit, so I motion for Yarne and Wilhelm to follow me as I make my way through the hills and buildings of Accumula Town. The people were friendly and made for some nice conversation, even if they were one sided due to my inability to speak. Regardless, I was surprised at how positively the townsfolk responded to me essentially breaking into their homes without any prior notice. I mean, I don't think most people are fine with a stranger just waltzing into their home and playing pokemon rock-paper-scissors with their daughter and even giving said stranger a pokeball as a parting gift. Maybe it's a cultural thing?
But aside from that, one person in particular stuck out to me when I was exploring the town. It was an older woman who seemed to be a bit inspired after the whole Team Plasma debacle. She told me that she was thinking about how as long as differing people exist, different perspectives will also exist. Although we may side with one or the other, no one can really deem if a perspective is right or not. They could both be right or wrong, but we can't really say much since we're only human; a species that is flawed by nature. It was kind of random that this woman started telling a stranger all of this, but it was actually quite welcoming considering what just happened. It gave me a little peace of mind; I don't know what to believe after the whole Team Plasma speech, but it's not necessarily a bad thing that I didn't make my mind.
Exploring the town took quite a long time, and I wanted to make one last stop before venturing forward towards route 2. Climbing up the stairs to the biggest hill in the town, I lean over the railings near the edge of the hill in order to get a good view of what's ahead. The height lets me get a nice view of all of the greenery and people that litter route 2. The setting sun and the autumn leaves bathe the route in a warm orange hue that's really quite pleasant to look at. That combined with the mellow piano tune that's coming out of the house on the hill makes for a really ambient scene. It's moments like this that make journeys memorable, and this invigorates me to keep going forward. I look down and see Yarne and Wilhelm peering through the gaps in the railings, trying to get a good view. I think Yarne might've pushed his face a bit too close to the railings however, since his nose got stuck in there. I let out a silent giggle as I reached down and pulled him out of his predicament. But now that I'm crouching down anyways, I decided to help out my party members. First, I grabbed Wilhelm and perched him on my shoulder and then I picked up Yarne and plopped him on top of my head. Once I stood back up, I could hear Yarne wowing at the enhanced view while Wilhelm said a quick thanks to me for the lift. It was honestly my pleasure; hearing Yarne getting so excited for this was worth the small amount of effort it took.
After a few more moments of taking in the view, I decided that it might be time to start heading out. But before that happens, I want to say something to my party. Typing in the message into my Xtransceiver, a voice that was devoid of emotion reverbed throughout the hill.
"LET'S KEEP MOVING FORWARD SO WE COULD MAKE MORE MEMORIES LIKE THIS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S UP AHEAD, BUT LET'S EXPERIENCE IT TOGETHER, AS A TEAM."
The coldness of the voice masked the warm intention of my words, but it still got the message across. Yarne was grinning from ear to ear, agreeing with my sentiments while Wilhelm did the same, minus all of the emoting. On that note, we left the hill that was blessed by the sun's rays and made our way towards the gates of route 2.
