An ID of Her Own, Chapter IV


To my surprise, there weren't many trainers hounding the road to Jubilife City that day. That wasn't to say I didn't have any challengers. Two of the fights were way too easy to even bring up, but the third did come a bit close. And if that wasn't close enough, the majority of the wild Pokemon were Starly, which meant I couldn't put Wurmple to work out there. I was really trying to get him to evolve as quickly as possible. The suspense of whether he'd evolve into a Beautifly or Dustox was driving me crazy.

The one battle that caught me off-guard was against a boy around my age. I was about half-way through Route 204 towards Jubilife when I heard him call out to me from the side of the road. At his side was a Starly, and it looked like he was just finishing up lunch.

"You're a trainer, right?" He asked me right away.

"Yeah, but I don't have an ID yet." Though it hadn't been my intention, mentioning this allowed me to skip at least two battles on the road so far. The trainers that had turned me down after hearing this said it was about the League rules. That was a rule I wasn't too familiar with, but if skipping a battle here and there got me to Sandgem Town sooner I was willing to use it.

"Really? Well, I don't care. If you still want a battle I'm ready!"

I laughed a bit, since it was the boy who had challenged me in the first place. "Sure! My name is Mia."

"I'm Tyler. Two on two, okay?"

With the rules in place, we moved off the road and near some trees where Tyler had been eating a moment ago. He seemed ready to go with his Starly, so I reached into my bag for one of my Pokemon. My first intention was to release Gible, but he had been fighting the wild Starly all day as well as the other trainers. So instead I released Mareep. It would be her first fight.

"Oh wow! Where did you get one of those?" Tyler asked me.

"The Valley Windworks! There's a whole bunch of them there."

"Cool! Maybe I'll go right after I beat you!" He smiled, seemingly sure of himself.

Mareep definitely had the type advantage, since Flying Pokemon were weak to Electric types. This didn't seem to faze Tyler, and he immediately started the battle strong.

"Starly, Quick Attack!"

His small bird took to the air, swooping about at tremendous speed before diving at Mareep. My Pokemon couldn't move out of the way in time, so she took the full force of the attack. To be honest I wasn't even sure if Mareep had tried to dodge the attack. She seemed really slow and lazy.

"Mareep, hit him with Thundershock!"

The two small horns on her head began to glow, and the rest of her wool let out small sparks as she unleashed a bolt of lightning at Starly. Tyler's Pokemon dodged the attack without much trouble, though.

"Starly, Wing Attack!"

In the same motion, Starly dove in on Mareep once more, pounding my Pokemon with several slaps from its small, dark wings. Mareep took a few steps back, trying to shrug off the blow.

"Mareep! Are you okay?" I called out. My sheep turned to face me, looking a bit tired but still willing to fight. However, her movements reminded me of a Slowpoke, so I knew she wouldn't be able to take out Starly with another long range attack.

"Starly, Quick Attack!"

"Mareep, get ready!"

Confident, Starly put some distance between itself and Mareep before diving in again. The bird was moving fast, so I had to make sure to time my command perfectly.

"Now! Thundershock!"

Again Mareep's horns began to glow, and her wool let out sparks as she charged up her attack. Starly managed to land his hit again, but this time the bird was blasted with a bolt of electricity before it could escape. After the light show ended (where I was certain I could make out Starly's skeleton), he fell to ground. I could even make out the faint trace of a well-cooked meal. That bit did make me feel a little guilty.

"Starly! Return!" Tyler cried out, bringing his Pokemon back to the safety of its Pokeball. Mareep had taken a few hits, but she was still battle capable. Now I waited for Tyler to pick his next Pokemon.

Turning to a small pond nearby, he released another Pokeball into it. One the red flash of the device had subsided, I saw that the Pokemon was actually a Magikarp.

"Really?" I couldn't help but say out loud.

"D-Don't you make fun of my Pokemon! He's just as tough as any of yours!" Tyler snapped back defensively.

"Sorry..." Though in fact I wasn't. Back when I used to fish in the lake outside Eterna City with my dad, all we ever caught were Magikarp. Dad always said they weren't even good Pokemon for battle, and because of their super hard scales you couldn't even eat them. I didn't like fish a lot anyway, so that didn't matter to me. But what I always remembered about them was how they'd just flop around when you caught them. And if you threw them back into the water, all they did was just swim around without doing anything.

"Well? Go on!" Tyler called out.

"Huh?"

"You first!"

I wasn't sure why he wanted me to attack first. His Magikarp needed every advantage it could take. Plus, Tyler had to know that a single Thundershock from Mareep would probably finish his red fish in a single blast. Still, I wasn't about to turn down an easy win.

"Mareep, Thundershock!"

The horns glowed, her wool charged and Mareep launched another bolt directly at Magikarp inside the small pond. I almost felt sorry for any other Pokemon who called it their home, because the attack would probably strike everything inside. Magikarp cried out in pain as the electricity coursed through him, and once the attack dissipated he just floated there belly up.

"Oh god... is he okay?" I asked immediately. However, Tyler didn't seem the least bit fazed.

"You'll see..."

Confused, I turned back to Magikarp. Sure enough, his entire body went from charred to glowing. It changed from the small fish form into something much, much larger. He was evolving! I took a step back, as did Mareep in front of me. When the evolution had finished, a massive blue dragon serpent towered over me. It was a Gyarados, a Pokemon I knew very well from watching various Pokemon programs on TV.

"Finally! Now you'll see just how strong Gyarados is!" Tyler boasted.

"Mareep, Thundershock again!"

Perhaps driven by a sudden fear, Mareep launched her electric attack much faster than before. It struck Gyarados head on, causing the massive Pokemon to cry out in pain.

"Hey! Wait that's no fair!" Tyler yelled. But it was too late.

Once the attack finished, even the mighty Gyarados looked charred and spent. He crashed down in front of both Mareep and Tyler opposite her. Seems Tyler hadn't expected Mareep's first attack to hurt his Magikarp so much. Even after evolving, Gyarados probably wasn't at full strength. One other thing Tyler overlooked was that Gyarados, despite looking like a dragon, wasn't one. It was technically part Water, part Flying; the combination of which made it really susceptible to Electric attacks.

Defeated, he put his newly evolved Pokemon back into its Pokeball.

"You're really good," he admitted, though it seemed to hurt him to do so.

"I just got lucky." I stuck my tongue out playfully. "Maybe if you had started attacking right away you might have won."

Tyler chuckled weakly. "Yeah. But it was a good match. Are you going to join the League Tournament?"

"Yeah. I still need to get my ID and then collect all the badges, but I plan to join and win!" I proudly delcared.

"Good luck! I want to join too, so maybe we'll fight again some day!"

"Yeah, definitely!" I offered Tyler a handshake, which he accepted.

After saying good-bye, we went our separate ways. It surprised me that even when his Pokemon were down, he continued onward towards Floaroma Town. Figuring he had others to cover him, I didn't say anything and pressed on south. It would still be a couple hours before I got to Jubilife City, after all.


When I finally got to the outskirts of the city, it was close to nightfall. I even got to see most of the city light up as the last of the sunset faded and the sky turned dark.

A night in Jubilife wasn't new for me, but I wasn't able to go out in the middle of the night like I was today. Mom always insisted that we stay in our hotel room during those visits. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to stay at the same hotel as usual, since I probably couldn't afford it now. That didn't matter to me much, because I was looking forward to sleeping at the Pokemon Center like a true trainer anyway!

As I wandered the streets in search of the Pokemon Center, I took in the familiar yet still mesmerizing sights of the city lit up at night. Jubilife very much resembled a neon sign, most every building glowing some outlandish shade in an attempt to get your attention. The largest of these was also the largest building in the city. I'd never been there before, nor did I know what it even was. All I knew is that it towered over everything else in Jubilife, with a massive antenna of some sort pointing directly into the sky.

I stopped at a street intersection, the light red to tell the pedestrians not to cross as cars made their way across the streets. Maybe it was just me, but it felt like the city was getting crowded the closer I got to that center building.

"Hey! Are you a trainer?" Someone asked just as I was looking up at that tower. He was a boy, a bit older than me probably, and sporting a belt with a few Pokeballs on it.

"Almost! I'm just passing through to get my ID from Professor Rowan. I'm Mia!" I introduced myself with a cheery smile.

"I'm Ben. I was going to challenge you to a battle, but I don't think I'm allowed to if you don't have your ID yet." He chuckled.

"That didn't stop the trainers on the road here," I sighed, though it was mostly a joke. "If I knew it would be this crazy to just get my ID, I would have asked my mom to drive me to Sandgem Town."

"But then you wouldn't have been able to visit the GTS!" Ben said, pointing out the largest building I had just been eyeing a moment ago.

"GTS? What does that stand for?"

"You haven't heard? Dude, it's the Global Trade Station! You have GOT to check it out!" He practically screamed, causing a few people to look our way. Just then, the light went green, allowing us to cross at last.

"It's something to do with trading Pokemon, right?" I asked as we made it across the street.

"Yeah! Want to check it out? I'll explain all about it on the way if you want." He offered, pointing down a different street than the one I had planned on taking.

"Sure, why not? Could you show me to the Pokemon Center after?"

"No problem! Let's go!"

Ben was a crazy guy in his own right, but his craziness stemmed entirely from Pokemon. And from the GTS, apparently. It took him a while to calm down enough to actually explain to me what it was.

"Before, if you wanted to trade Pokemon with someone, you had to do it like in a Pokemon Center with the machine or just a person to person trade. Kinda boring, huh?"

I shrugged. "It's always been that way, right?"

"Not anymore! Last year, they opened the RTS, or the Regional Trade Station. It was the first of its kind, a place where you could trade Pokemon with ANYONE throughout the entire Sinnoh Region! I'm sure you heard about that!"

I actually had. It was quite a big event last Spring, just after I'd turned nine. I remember being so jealous of my sister Iris, who was lucky enough to show up on TV during the grand opening of the place. I just never realized it was the same building in Jubilife City.

"Anyway, the creator of the Pokemon Storage System was hard at work on a way to trade Pokemon with anyone else in the world. Could you imagine? No matter where they lived, Sinnoh, Kanto, Hoenn, Unova? You could trade with them in the blink of an eye!"

That was a pretty cool thing, and I also remember the Pokemon League being against it for some reason. "So are you going to trade some Pokemon there?"

"Yup! I caught a Bidoof today that I plan to offer to someone in Unova or Kalos! They aren't common there, so I'm sure I'll get something rare in return!"

Maybe it was because I'd only been a trainer for a few days (if unoffically), but the thought of just catching a Pokemon for the sake of trading it felt wrong to me. Ruby and Iris always talked about how Pokemon were more than just your ticket to battle, but your friends on your adventure. So giving one away in a trade always felt like an important decision. Yet Ben was going to give away a Pokemon he just caught to someone he didn't even know?

"Don't you feel sorry for him?" I asked.

"For who?"

"Bidoof. He probably hasn't gotten a chance to get to know you yet."

But Ben just shrugged. "I just wanted something to trade with, and I didn't want to give away any of my other Pokemon. What's wrong with that?"

I sighed, this time for real. I could have pressed the issue, but kept quiet instead and just followed Ben as we turned a corner. At last we were able to see the entrance to the GTS for ourselves.

"It's amazing, isn't it? It opened like a week ago, so everyone's trying to get in and make a trade! Hopefully we won't have to wait long!"

"Listen, I think I'm going to the Pokemon Center instead." I told him, not wanting to mingle with that crazy crowd anymore.

"What? Aren't you going to trade something as well?" He asked me.

"I only have my first Pokemon and haven't caught anything else. I'll just visit later when I have other Pokemon to trade."

"Oh, bummer. Well, to reach the Pokemon Center, just follow that street for two blocks, then turn left. It'll be on the next corner." Ben pointed out the way for me.

"Thanks. It was nice meeting you."

"Same! Maybe we'll meet again soon!"

With that, we went our separate ways. I didn't offer to exchange numbers this time, mostly because of his attitude towards trading Pokemon. Maybe I was just being a complete newbie to the whole process. Maybe catching Pokemon at random to trade was a common thing for trainers. But for now, it didn't seem right to me. I had three Pokemon in my bag, and even though the latest of them hadn't been with me more than a day I still cared about her a lot. I wasn't about to just trade her away for some other Pokemon I probably wouldn't even get along with.

The Pokemon Center was exactly where Ben said it would be, so I went in and had Nurse Joy heal my friends while I found a free couch to lie down on. Because of the GTS being open, the center was pretty full, but I was able to find a place to call it a night upstairs. Thankfully, people had forgotten about the traditional trade station up there. Something that was a bit sad in its own right.

But I guess that's just the way the world works.


The next morning, I navigated my way out of Jubilife City via the south exit and onto Route 202. This was a short road that lead to Sandgem Town, where I'd finally be able to obtain my ID. I really wanted to check out the rest of Jubilife on my own, but until I had my ID I wouldn't be able to challenge any gyms and thanks to what Ben told me the previous day, my matches in the city would probably be limited as well.

Naturally, that didn't stop someone on Route 202 from challenging me to a battle. I was about half an hour from Sandgem Town when the boy walked up to me from a mass of tall grass and pointed a (rather grimy) Pokeball in my face.

"I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, despite the road being quiet and my standing like two feet away.

"You don't have to yell," I said in a low voice, pushing his hand away from my face. "Is it okay if I don't have my ID? I'm on my way to get it right now."

The boy thought for only a few seconds, before answering, "Sure, I don't mind."

Not that I wanted to use my lack of an ID for an excuse not to battle. My Pokemon could use the experience, and I was still trying to get Wurmple to evolve. I was desperate to know whether he'd turn into a Beautifly or a Dustox. With the road clear and no one else for dozens of yards around us, we set up for a match on opposite sides of the dirt path heading south.

"All Pokemon in!" The boy announced.

"I have three Pokemon, so three on three?"

"I have four, so I already have the advantage! Hah!" He gloated.

"That's not fair..." I mumbled, but he didn't seem to care.

"I'll go easy on ya since you're still a rookie! My name's Logan, by the way!"

"I'm Mia. Alright, let's get started." I reached into my bag, fishing out Wurmple's Pokeball first. After throwing the ball out onto the road and releasing him, Logan released his first Pokemon, a Bidoof.

"Bidoof, use Rollout!"

"Wurmple, dodge it and hit him with String Shot!"

The battle began, with Logan's Pokemon curling up into a ball and charging full speed at Wurmple. The small bug managed to scurry out of harm's way just in time, spraying the silky white web all over Bidoof. But because he was curled up in a ball, the web didn't seem to stick.

"Try Tackle!"

"Wurmple, counter with Poison Sting!"

The distance closed between them, Bidoof charged in for his attack, crashing directly into Wurmple. However, my Pokemon had his stinger pointed outward, causing Bidoof to take some damage in return.

"Rollout again, Bidoof!"

"Wurmple, String Shot!"

Bidoof took a few paces back before rolling up into a ball again and charging Wurmple anew. Wurmple stood his ground and sprayed Bidoof head-on with the String Shot, though it did little to slow the Pokemon's attack. Bidoof crashed right through Wurmple, sending my Pokemon flying into the air.

"Finish him off with a Hyper Fang!"

"Wurmple, Poison Sting again!"

Bidoof leapt into the air, his giant buckteeth ready to take a bite out of my Pokemon. Luckily, Wurmple was able to straighten himself out in midair, and when Bidoof tried to dig his teeth in, the inside of his mouth was poked by Wurmple's stinger. Logan's Pokemon backed off in pain, and by the look of things he had also been poisoned. Now was my chance!

"Wurmple, Poison Sting again!"

Without missing a beat, Wurmple touched down just in front of Bidoof and drove his stinger into Bidoof's stomach. The small beaver Pokemon cried out in pain before scurrying back to Logan's side.

"Your Wurmple is pretty tough!" He praised us, before putting his Bidoof back into its Pokeball. Logan wasted no time in taking out another Pokeball and releasing his second Pokemon. It was a small green critter, a Burmy.

"Wurmple, get in there and use Poison Sting!"

"Burmy, Protect!"

Wurmple scurried along the road, his stinger pointed directly at Burmy. Logan's Pokemon did nothing, waiting until just before Wurmple struck to steel its body and prevent the attack from connecting.

"Quick, use Bug Bite!" Logan called out.

Burmy leapt forward and started gnawing viciously at Wurmple. After a few seconds, Burmy pushed my Pokemon back. Wurmple was looking a bit tired.

"Wurmple, return!" I called out, putting my Pokemon back into his Pokeball.

"Guess my Burmy's the better bug, huh?" Logan grinned. The kid had a really high opinion of himself. And I was looking to wipe it off his smug face. I reached for Mareep's Pokeball and released my newest critter. He wouldn't survive this round.

"Mareep, hit him with Thundershock!"

"Burmy, Protect!"

Mareep's wool started to let out small sparks, before the two horns on her head released a bolt of lightning that struck Burmy head on. The bug was electrified for a few seconds, then keeled over just after all the leaves that made up its coat singed off.

"Wow! Talk about a powerful sheep! Burmy, return!" Logan called out. He prepared his third Pokemon, but I wasn't worried at all. That is, until he released a Shinx to combat my Mareep. The small electric rodent would be a fair match for Mareep.

"Shinx, start with Tackle!"

"Mareep, Thunder Wave!"

Shinx charged forward. Mareep stood her ground as her body let off more sparks. Once Shinx's attack connected, Mareep was knocked back a bit, but I instantly noticed that Shinx was looking a bit slower than before. It was a lucky strike given Electric type Pokemon are highly resistant to paralysis.

"Mareep, Tackle!"

"Shinx, use Spark!"

Logan's Pokemon tried to gather up the energy for his attack, while Mareep charged forward at an incredibly slow pace. Mareep weren't known for their speed, so moves like Tackle were a big gamble. Still, because of the paralysis my Pokemon had enough time to ram into Shinx and send him reeling backwards.

"Finish him off with a Thundershock!"

Static electricity built up from the run, Mareep blasted Shinx with a lightning bolt much faster than usual, which left Shinx a little crispy and on his knees. One more attack and the battle would be over.

"Shinx, return!" Logan called however, saving his Pokemon further harm. "I think you've won, Mia."

"Huh? I thought you said you had four Pokemon?" I asked him, blood still pumping from the fight.

"Well, yeah. But if I use my last one and lose, I won't have any Pokemon left and I'll have to run back to town to get them treated." Logan explained with a sigh.

The battle now done, I called Mareep back and walked over to my opponent. It's amazing how quickly the heat of battle died down, all things considering. Logan extended his hand, which I shook, before he offered a few coins as payment for the fight.

"Rules are rules, huh?" He laughed.

"I know they're the rules, but since I don't have my ID you technically don't have to pay me." Though I said that, I really wanted to pocket the money ASAP.

"It's okay, you're about to get it, right? Plus, you beat me fair and square, so I'm not sore. You're a really good trainer, for a newbie. Did you battle growing up?"

I shook my head. "No, but I do have brothers and sisters who are trainers, so I've seen them battle a lot of times before."

Logan chuckled. "That explains it. You sure know how to use your Pokemon. I think you could even make it to the Pokemon League!"

"Well, that's the plan! I want a chance to challenge Cynthia!" I clenched my fist. Cynthia was the Sinnoh region Champion, and a well known trainer not only here, but in all the regions on the mainland. The only other League Champion as famous was probably Lance, or Kalos' own superstar Diantha.

"I hope you can challenge her someday! Good luck!"

Logan said his farewell, before heading back in the direction of Jubilife City. He didn't give me a chance to share contact information, but a character like him I was certain I'd run into again before long. That battle behind me, I continued south towards Sandgem Town.


Despite being a pretty small town, Sandgem did have one of Sinnoh's largest beaches. When I was little, Mom and Dad brought us all here for a vacation once. We had to stay in Jubilife City, so I didn't know the town proper all that well. As it would turn out, there wasn't much to know. Of the few large buildings, only one stood out among the rest: that of the Pokemon Research Lab belonging to Professor Rowan. As I made my way up to the front door, I suddenly found myself feeling very nervous about meeting him.

Except for my brother Seth, everyone else had mentioned him from the start of their own adventures. And beyond the initial meeting, no one had actually said anything else about him. About what kind of person he was, or anything else, really. I'd seen him on TV once or twice, and he always seemed so serious when talking about Pokemon. That's pretty much what had me so nervous in the first place. Would he be something like a strict teacher?

Well, after giving myself a few moments, I opened the door to his lab and walked inside. A few machines stood by the entrance, with a few bookshelves and tables and a couple people working here and there. It looked to be business as usual for them, so I didn't want to make too much noise. But the moment I closed the door behind me, everyone turned their gaze towards me.

"Umm... hello? My name is Mia, and I'm here to see Professor Rowan?" I said, though it certainly came out more like a question.

"He's in the back. Go right ahead." One of the other workers in a labcoat told me.

A slight bow and a few hasty steps later, I was in the back of the lab, which turned out to be some kind of rest area with couches, a fridge and a TV. There was only one person here, and he was sitting on a couch snacking on something. As soon as I saw him, he turned to see me. His face was covered in a white beard, some of it dirty from the piece of cake he was eating.

"Yes? Can I help you?" He asked in a stern tone.

I straightened up with hands at my sides before speaking. "My name is Mia Caelum, sir. I'm here to get my ID to become a Pokemon Trainer."

A smile formed on his face. "Caelum? Daniel Caelum's daughter?"

"Y-Yes. That's my dad's name." I nodded, thrown off a bit. "Do you know Dad? I mean- my father?"

"Only met him once before, I'm afraid. But I have given three of his children their IDs so far. That means you must be the runt of the litter."

"R-Runt?" I stammered. That was one way of calling me the youngest I hadn't heard before.

"I'm Professor Rowan, though you probably already knew that. Would you care for a piece of cake? Or would you rather get right to the ID?" He offered, showing me the sweet he was enjoying. Tempted though I was...

"I'm fine, thank you." I found myself saying.

"Your brother refused me, too. Good manners or you just don't like cake?" Rowan put the plate down on the couch and walked past me back to the lab proper.

"He did?"

"I'm pretty sure your sisters also turned me down. What were their names? Isis?"

"Iris. And Ruby." I corrected him with a giggle.

"Right. They're doing well, I hope?"

"Uh huh. Ruby is back home in Eterna City. I think Iris is in Kanto right now."

"And your brother Lucas? I gave him his ID and Pokedex just a few months ago." Rowan asked as he took a seat at a computer and started punching up data.

"He hasn't been back home yet. I think he's still somewhere in Sinnoh, though."

"That's good to hear. I'm sure he's doing well. Now, would that be M-I-A C-A-E-L-U-M?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir."

"No need to be so formal." Rowan assured me. Not that it helped me ease up.

"And you already have a Pokemon of your own, correct?"

"Yes, sir. Ruby got me one as a birthday gift."

"Then I guess you won't be getting one of mine." He laughed. "I only give a Pokemon to new trainers who don't have any of their own. Would be unfair if I gave you one."

"Yes, sir." I nodded. I almost wish I had lied so I could have gotten a free Pokemon.

"Only one thing left: smile." He said with little warning, pointing a camera at me. Somehow- and I don't know how- I managed to give my best smile just as he snapped the picture. With that done, he plugged the camera into the computer and kept typing.

"That should do it." He said, waiting for the machine next to the computer to print out a brand new ID card. Once it was out, he took it, inspected it for a moment, and handed it to me.

"My ID..." I whispered, looking at the card. Along with the five digit Trainer ID number, there was my picture. I looked pretty cute all things considering, though it looked more like a school ID because of my uniform.

"Only one more thing: your Pokedex." Rowan said, handing me a brand new red device. With the press of a button, the device came to life and began running a system check.

"This Pokedex will scan and record any Pokemon you see in the wild or otherwise. As a trainer, your goal is to help us gather as much information about Pokemon as you can. Even if you think we know all there is to know about a specific Pokemon, your scan could be the one that tells us that one missing piece of the puzzle. Do you understand?"

I nodded.

"Very well, then. That's all there is to it. Point and scan! Just so you know, I've also registered you into the Sinnoh League, so you're free to start challenging the region's gyms for badges to participate." Rowan smiled.

"Thank you, sir! I plan to!"

"Good! Now, is there anything else I can help you with, Mia?"

I shook my head. "No, sir. That's everything!"

"Splendid! Now, if you'll excuse me. There's cake that needs eating."

Once I was back outside, I couldn't help but start typing a message to Mom.


To: Mom

I finally got my ID! Professor Rowan was a really nice man! I'm going to start challenging Gym Leaders soon! Miss you bunches!