Chapter 4: In Which Munchkin Land is Visited
"Look Andrea, you need to catch some more Pokemon. Eve is fine and all, but you're going to need more Pokemon if you want any chance in the League." Lucas was walking behind his traveling companion, thinking they were safe from being lost for once since Jubilife was in plain view ahead of them. The trip had taken four days, the added time because Lucas had made the lapse in judgment of letting Andrea lead a few times. He had though it would be fine if she was using the map but…
"Okay fine, but why do I need to catch one of the Pokemon around here?" Andrea asked without looking back. Eve was sitting on her shoulder as usual, looking back at the other trainer.
"Because the Pokemon around here are easiest to train," Lucas explained. "Come on, please. I'm supposed to help you. Why don't you catch a Bidoof?" He was pleading now, and he knew it, but continued on, hoping the older girl would give.
"No," Andrea replied simple.
"A Starly?"
"Definitely not." Eve growled at the mention of Sinnoh's most common bird Pokemon.
"Well, how about a Shinx?"
"I don't even know what one of those are."
"You could catch-"
Andrea stopped and turned around sharply, bringing a hand up to steady Eve. "Look, if I agree catch the next wild Pokemon we come across, will you shut the hell up?"
"Yeah," Luca agreed, nodding his head. Andrea just glared before turning around and marching off into some of the nearby tall grass. "Don't go too far," Lucas called. The only response he received was a shouted curse word.
Andrea marched into the long grass, looking for any of the telltale signs of a wild Pokemon. Eve had turned around on her shoulder and was watching for any Pokemon as well.
"Over there," the little Pokemon whispered, indicating some shaking grass with a nod of her head. Andrea nodded in acknowledgment and quietly began to walk up to the patch of grass.
Before she got to close, a blue, lion like creature jumped out at her, knocking her to the ground. Without a word, Eve jumped on the other Pokemon before Andrea had even hit the ground, digging sharp teeth into its shoulder. The little blue cat let out a shriek and bucked, flinging Eve off.
"Good job Eve, now go in for a tackle," Andrea ordered, digging through her pack in search of a Pokeball. While she was doing that, Eve charged the other Pokemon, who dodged and tackled Eve. The two Pokemon ended up rolling around on the ground, biting and growling, or, in the blue lion's case, hissing.
As Andrea looked up, enlarged Pokeball in hand, Eve finally broke away from the fray and charged her dazed opponent. Her tackle made contact this time and the other Pokemon fell to the ground, unable to move. Andrea quickly threw the Pokeball at the unconscious Pokemon. The ball shook slightly, then stopped with a little red light and a soft ding.
"There, that should get the kid off my back," Andrea said, walking over to grab the Pokeball. After some fiddling, she shrank it and, after a bit more difficulty, attached it to her belt next to Eve's ball.
Eve sat on the ground, licking at her shoulder, a pleased look on her face. Andrea came over and ruffled the fur on her head before returning the little Pokemon to her customary shoulder perch.
"That went well," Eve commented in a pleased voice as they began heading back in the direction of Lucas, who was standing worriedly at the edge of the grass.
"I think it did," Andrea agreed as the met back up with Lucas.
Lucas looked over at the two, curious. "What did Eve say?"
While they had been traveling for the last few days, Andrea had been asking him some thinly veiled questions about trainers being able to talk to their Pokemon. That, along with Andrea's new habit of responding to Eve as if she had understood exactly what the little Pokemon had said, resulted in Lucas guessing that, somehow, Andrea could communicate with her Pokemon. Instead of finding it weird, as Andrea had expected him to, his first reaction was to ask questions and test out her new ability by seeing if she could talk to his Pokemon. It had turned out that she could not, but Lucas was still fascinated.
"Just that things went well," Andrea replied as they started off for the city again.
"What you catch anyway?" Lucas asked, looking at the newest addition to her belt. "I saw you fall, so it couldn't be a Bidoof. Not big enough to knock a person down."
"Some blue cat thing," Andrea answered as they walked into the city.
Lucas nodded knowingly. "A Shinx. Electric type, they can evolve two other times without any outside help from such things as stones."
"Thank you Mr. Encyclopedia," Andrea responded as she looked around at their surroundings.
They had just come from the dirt paths and grass of Route 202 and were now on the paved sidewalk of the city. The tar of the rode glimmered slightly in the heat of the noonday sun, a car going by slowly ahead of them. Large buildings dominated the skyline, one of them covered in satellite dishes. Despite the size and general overwhelming feeling that the city gave off, the place was pleasant, interspersed with the occasional smaller building and some decorative fountains and patches of trees and grass and flowers.
More people than Andrea could remember ever seeing milled around them, all walking in their different directions. Some in business suites, talking into cell phones and rushing off to whatever urgent business they had to attend to, briefcases in hand. Young children, some with parents, some without, all in large groups no matter what and all seeming to have a good time and feeling safe. Obvious city dwellers mixed with people obviously from out of town, all of varying genders, ages, heights, you name it, and a person with that quality was there.
And then there were those with the obvious marks of a trainer who had just reached town. Clothes dirty and rumpled, perhaps unchanged for days, but made for traveling. A slight look of weariness from whatever long travels they had been on. Plus, there were the telltale packs, ranging from duffle bags to backpacks, in every possible color of the rainbow.
And through all of that, Pokemon could be found, living quite happily with the people. The occasional Pokemon sticking close to there owner, or surrounded by a group of laughing children, most likely instructed by a concerned parent to keep their child safe. Following devotedly behind a trainer or clinging to a shoulder as Eve was Andrea's.
"Here we are," Lucas said, bringing Andrea back to what was happening directly in front of her. "The Pokemon Center. We can heal up our Pokemon and get a place to stay for the night. I can give Mom and Dad a call too."
"How much is this going to cost?" Andrea asked skeptically, looking up at the building. It was read and white like a Pokeball and had a large red P superimposed over a white Pokeball over the door.
"The only thing we have to pay for are our meals," Lucas happily informed her as they entered the building. "Pokemon Centers are free. Things get paid for by things like the fund raising each center does and they get money for processing trainer's licenses and stuff."
Andrea looked around the Pokemon Center as the doors closed automatically behind them with a little whoomp. The floor was white linoleum with a tiled Pokeball in the center of the room. A row of chairs were lined up near the wall by the entrance, some occupied by bored looking trainers. In front of the chairs was placed a table piled high with worn looking magazines. There were hallways leading off to different parts of the building and a set of stairs to the right, one leading up, the other down. Directly across from the entrance was a large counter being operated by a few women in nurse outfits.
It was to this counter that Lucas led Andrea. He waited behind another trainer who handed her Pokeballs over to a pink haired nurse before walking away. Once the other trainer left Lucas stepped up, pleasantly greeting the pink haired woman who appeared to be the head nurse.
"Hello Nurse Joy. My friend and I would like to get our Pokemon healed up."
"Of course young man," Nurse Joy replied pleasantly. Hurrying through some doors behind the counter, she came back carrying two trays with little indentations for Pokeballs. Lucas unclipped his Pokeballs and placed them into the tray, Andrea doing the same with the Pokeball that housed her newest Pokemon. Eve jumped off of Andrea's shoulder onto the counter, where she sat looking at the nurse.
"Oh, isn't she a cutie?" Nurse Joy cooed, scratching Eve behind the ear. "What happened to her though?" she asked in concern, taking in the notch in Eve's ear and the patches where scars kept her fur from laying flat.
"She had an abusive trainer before but Andrea rescued her," Lucas explained to a concerned Joy.
Joy looked sadly down at the little Pokemon, continuing to rub behind her ear. "You poor thing. Well, at least you have a better home now." Eve said nothing, instead glaring at Lucas for bringing the whole matter up. "Well, I'll just need your names and I'll take care of your Pokemon. It should only be an hour or two."
Lucas gave Joy the information she needed and the nurse disappeared behind the doors again, carrying the trays while Eve following at her heals.
"Hey, wasn't there a Nurse Joy who looked just like that back in Sandgem? They twins or something?" Andrea asked as they headed to a different part of the counter, walking to the end of another line.
Lucas shook his head. "They're not twins, although they are related. Joy is the family name you see and being a Pokemon nurse is some kind of family job for the females. They all sort of look alike but I think some of them dye their hair that color."
As they waited in line, Lucas spotted a line of video phones in a nearby hallway. "Hey Andrea, could you wait in line and get us a place to stay for the night? I want to go call Mom and Dad and tell them we got here okay."
Andrea just waved her hand in a little go on motion and Lucas left the line, walking over to an empty phone booth. Sitting down, he dialed the number to the lab, the place he was most likely to contact a family member at during that time of the day.
The screen was blank as the phone piece he held to his ear rang a few times. When someone picked up and the screen came to life, Lucas was met by the face of his father. "Hey Dad," Lucas greeted happily.
"Hi Lucas," his father retuned the greeting with a smile. "Did you two just get to Jubilife? You're a bit later than we thought you would be."
Lucas reddened slightly before answering. "Yeah we got a bit lost on the way. Anyway, how is everyone else? Is anyone else there?"
Lucas's father shook his head. "Sorry, just me working with the Professor today. I'll tell everyone you called though. So, catch anything?"
"Yeah, a Bidoof," Lucas told his father. He spent some time going on about what had happened on his way to the city until another voice was heard on his father's end.
"Is that Lucas?" came the voice of Professor Rowan. A few seconds later the older man's face appeared on the screen along side his father's. "How are you?"
"Fine Professor."
"Good, good," Rowan said with a smile and a nod.
"Is there anything else you want to tell me Lucas? Because I can leave you to talk to the Professor now if you are."
"Yeah, I'm done Dad. I'll call when we get to the next town. We should be heading for Oreburgh next." Lucas's father nodded, said goodbye and left. Before Rowan could begin talking to his assistant, the face of Dr. Maple appeared on the screen.
"Hello Lucas, is everything going well?" Maple greeted him.
"Hello Doctor. Yes everything is fine."
"Glad to hear it. You can tell Andrea she should be able to take off that bandage now."
Lucas looked over his shoulder worriedly, spotting Andrea at the front of the line answering the nurse's questions with a bored expression. Now comfortable with the fact that the brunet would not catch him tattling on her, he turned back t o the screen. "She actually took the bandage off the moment we left town."
Maple sighed, the expression of the long suffering on her face. "I should have known. Well, looks like the two of you made it there in one piece at any rate."
"We did. Umm…I have something to tell the two of you." Lowering his voice, Lucas leaned closer to the screen, as if that would somehow stop anyone from overhear what he was about to say. "Andrea, she can talk to Pokemon." All he got was disbelieving looks from the two adults, so he felt it was necessary to add, "Well, just Eve actually but still."
Rowan rubbed his chin, looking off into space. "That is interesting. Is that the only development. Nothing else new with the girl?" Lucas just shook his head. "Well, call us when you get to the next town and let us know if she remembers something or if there are any more developments in this new power of hers."
"I will Professor," Lucas replied loyally.
"Glad to hear it. Oh, and while you're in Jubilife, stop at the trainer's school. I have something there for you to pick up. You two stay safe now. Goodbye."
"Goodbye Professor. Doctor."
"Goodbye Lucas. Try to keep that girl out of too much trouble." With Maple's parting words, the screen went black and the phone let out a dial tone, the connection ended. Hanging up the phone, Lucas turned around, nearly walking into Andrea a few steps away from the phone booth.
"That took forever," Andrea said grumpily in way of greeting. "The nurse had to see my license and then I had to confirm my address. It took me forever to remember what that doctor put down."
"You did get us a room though, right?" Lucas asked, beginning to lead them to the cafeteria.
"Yeah, right here." Andrea dug into a jean pocket and pulled out a key and a crumpled piece of paper. "Room 10. It's got two bunk beds, so the nurse said we're sharing it with another pair of trainers. Anyway, how'd your call home go?"
"Fine. I got to talk to my Dad." Lucas wondered if he should mention that he had also talked to the Professor and Doctor. Andrea did not inquire further about his call however, since they had just entered the cafeteria and joined the lunch line.
They got through the line, each with a tray holding a sandwich, a bag of chips and a fruit juice. The two wandered around the cafeteria a bit, looking for a free table in the crowd of trainers. They finally found one, recently vacated, and sat down facing each other.
"Not very expensive," Andrea commented as she unwrapped her sandwich. "Although I'm still glad we came across all those trainers on our way here. It's good to have the extra cash."
"You didn't need to battle all of them. I honestly thought Eve was going to faint," Lucas reprimanded before taking a bite of his own sandwich.
"They're the ones who were going on about how we made eye contact and were honor bound to battle and all that shit," Andre grumbled around her lunch. Lucas just sighed and the two ate in silence. Around them groups of trainers laughed and chattered, showed off Pokemon and generally enjoyed their chances to relax indoors.
Having finished off her sandwich and chips, Andrea was just breaking the seal on her drink when Lucas spoke up. "Oh, we need to head to the trainer's school while we're here. Professor Rowan wanted me to pick something up."
Andrea took a sip of her drink before answering. "Sounds good. I need to pick up some more supplies right? We can do that too." Lucas nodded and the two finished their lunch, hurrying away with their trays to make room for another group of trainers. Throwing away their trash and placing their trays with others near the garbage can, they headed back to the vestibule to pick up their Pokemon.
Nurse Joy was just coming out with their Pokemon when the two reached the counter. The nurse smiled and handed over their Pokemon, Eve jumping over to Andrea's shoulder. Lucas thanked Joy and they left.
"Are you going to give the Shinx a name too?" Eve asked as they left the florescent lights of the center for the brighter sun. Lucas and Andrea moved away form the entrance as their eyes adjusted to the light.
"That sounds like a good idea. I don't want to just go around calling it Shinx. Hey Lucas," Andrea said, turning to the boy, who was already heading in the direction of a nearby blue roofed building. "Hold up a sec."
Walking back over to Andrea, he watched as she unclipped the Shinx's Pokeball, with much more ease he noted, and released the Pokemon. The little blue cat Pokemon stretched and yawned, looking up at Andrea.
"Shhiii," the blue Pokemon said plainly, still looking at Andrea.
"She asked if you're her trainer," Eve informed her, looking down at the other Pokemon. After a brief pause, she hopped down from Andrea's shoulder and landed next to the Shinx. The two eyed each other warily for a second before the Shinx came over and sniffed cautiously at Eve.
"Yeah, I guess I'm your trainer," Andrea told the Shinx, who looked up again with another "Shhii."
"She said 'Hello then'," Eve translated. "Yeah, she can understand me," Eve commented to the Shinx after it made a little inquisitive noise. "I'm Eve by the way, and that's Andrea, our trainer. The dork with the red beret is Lucas."
"What are they saying?" Lucas whispered while keeping an eye out to make sure no one was paying their little gathering any attention.
"Just introducing us and stuff," Andrea said with a wave of her hand, trying to hide a smile at Eve's comment about Lucas.
"She says she doesn't mind you giving her a name," Eve interrupted the two humans after having explained the situation to the Shinx. The Shinx looked expectantly up at Andrea as the girl stared back.
"She doesn't have a name already or something?" Andrea asked.
Eve shook her head, "No. Pokemon don't really go around naming each other like people. We normally just call each other by our species. We always know who we're talking to."
"Okay then," Andrea said slowly, rubbing her chin in thought. "I'm not sure what to call you though," Andrea informed the little blue Pokemon.
"How about Zora," Lucas suggested. When everyone looked over at him, he explained. "Well, it means, like, dawn or something like that. And by catching Shinx your journey as a trainer can finally be called started. And since dawn is considered the start of the day, it makes sense." He trailed off as everyone just continued to stare.
"I told you he was a dork," Eve mumbled to the Shinx.
"That was such lame reasoning," Andrea said bluntly. "But," she continued as Lucas started to turn red, "I like the name. How about our little blue friend?"
"Shhiinnx," the little Pokemon replied happily.
"She likes it," Eve translated unnecessarily.
Andrea nodded and smiled. "Zora it is. Now," she held up the newly named Zora's Pokeball, "you don't mind retuning to your Pokeball do you?" Zora shook her head and Andrea smiled again. Pushing a button on the ball, Zora was recalled in a flash of red light. Andrea clipped the ball back into place and scooped up Eve, who scrambled up to her shoulder.
Things finally settled on the Pokemon front, they headed out for the Poke Mart. On their way, they passed a black haired man in a brown trench coat, glancing around in a paranoid fashion. Lucas paused and, despite protests from the two females, walked over to the man.
"Are you lost sir?" Lucas asked polity. The man jumped visibly, looking at Lucas in wide eyed shock.
"My cover, it has been found out," the man said dramatically, throwing an arm over his eyes as if he was about to cry. "You have figured it out. Yes, I work for Global Police." Lucas opened his mouth to say something, obviously planning to tell the man he had it all wrong. The man gave him no chance to speak, continuing with his dramatic speech, "You ask my name? Well, that I can not give. My code name though, it is Looker. That is what they call me."
"Look, crazy guy, we have no idea what you're talkin' about," Andrea finally interrupted, sick of both the man's melodramaticness and the stares they were getting from some nearby pedestrians.
The man stopped, peering over his arm at the two. Finally bringing his arm down completely, Looker shoved a hand into on of the pockets of his large trench coat. "I see, you do not know about my mission for Global Police to stop Team Galactic. You couple are trainers. I can tell you have good hearts and work for the side of good though." Looker fished an item out of his pocket, shoving it into the hands of a protesting Andrea. "Here, this is my gift to you. Someone gave it to me, but I have no use for it. I am sure a young person such as you will find use for it."
He began walking away, looking over his shoulder at Andrea and Lucas. "I am sure we shall meet again. Remember young trainers, there is no good out of being evil."
The little trio stared after the man as he disappeared into the crowd. Once Looker disappeared, Andrea finally looked down at the item he had given her. It was a flat, blue contraption dominated by a touch screen, just a bit bigger than her hand. The top had the increasingly familiar Pokeball symbol at the top. In between the Pokeball symbol and the screen were the words 'Vs Recorder.'
"What does this thing do?" Andrea asked, turning it around in her hands. Lucas looked over at it and let out a low whistle.
"Wow, a Vs Recorder. You can record your battles and stuff on that. They're pretty expensive."
"You can have it then. I don't want it." Andrea threw the devise at Lucas, who, after a bit of fumbling, caught it. Lucas looked from the Vs Recorder to Andrea, who had started out for the Poke Mart.
"Are you sure?" he asked her retreating back.
"Of course I am, now hurry up." Quickly Lucas put the item into his pack and rushed forward to catch up with Andrea.
~~**~~**~~**~~
A middle aged woman with brown hair tied in a neat bun looked up when Lucas called her name. "Oh, are you Lucas?" she asked pleasantly, putting down the pen she had been checking papers with.
"Yes ma'am," Lucas answered with a nod. "The man in the front office said I was supposed to ask you about Professor Rowan's package."
"Oh yes. Why don't you come with me? Your friend…"
"Andrea," the girl in question supplied.
"Andrea can stay here. The children seem to like her and that cute little Eevee."
Everyone over five feet and Eve looked at the area around Andrea's leg. She was surrounded by a mass of young children all looking up at her and Eve with happy faces. Andrea shuddered inwardly at the thought of being left alone with them.
"I can come if you want," she offered desperately.
"Oh no," the teacher said with a wave of her hand. "The children seem to like you and I'm sure you would just love telling them stories about your time as a trainer." With that she walked out of the room with Lucas, who turned around and gave Andrea an apologetic look before hurrying off to catch up with the teacher.
Andrea and Eve looked down at all the little faces looking up at them. Briefly Andrea wondered how she had ended up in a world where liking little children was apparently the norm. While Andrea was occupied with such thoughts, Eve was cautiously watching one of the younger children who was slowly reaching a hand for her tail.
Just as the little kid, a boy with brown hair and the deceiving look of wide eyed innocence that most children seem to have down to an art form, was about to grab her tail, Eve let out a loud growl. Andrea, her attention finally drawn to what was going on, looked down at the child with a deep frown.
"Leave Eve alone kid," she ordered. The boy backed off but did not look as if he had been completely deterred. "Look, I don't know what people normally do when they visit munchkin land," Andrea began addressing the whole room, "but I can tell you right now I'm not telling you any stories or showing off my Pokemon or anything like that."
Andrea had hoped her little speech would, if not send the kids scuttling back to their seats, at least get them to back off. Unfortunately it had a rather opposite effect. The children crowded in closer, their looks of intense curiosity turning to admiration. One little girl voiced the general feeling with an enthusiastic, "You're so cool."
That comment lead to a bombardment of questions from the children that no one waited to be answered. That was why, when Lucas and the teacher reentered the room, they found Andrea backed up against a wall, scowling deeply at a chattering mass that came up to her waste. When Andrea saw Lucas enter the room, she pushed her way through the crowd of children and grabbed his arm, having every intention of dragging him out of the place if necessary.
It was not necessary however, Lucas simply waving and politely saying goodbye to the teacher before leaving the room with Andrea. To their retreating backs the teacher suggested that they should visit again since the children apparently liked Andrea so much. Luckily, or unluckily since the teacher probably would have taken back the invite, Andrea had gotten far enough from the woman that she could not hear the teen's mumbled swear words.
They exited the trainer's school, Lucas apologizing profusely to a still frowning Andrea. In the end she just told him to shut up about it and asked what was in the package.
"Oh, yeah." Remembering the reason they had some there in the first place, Lucas pulled out a small, paper wrapped parcel. As the two walked in the direction of the Pokemon Center, he unwrapped the paper, exposing two watch like devises.
"We had to go through that for watches?" Andrea asked in disgust.
Lucas shook his head, handing one of the watches to Andrea. "These aren't ordinary watches," he explained. "These are Poketechs. While they can tell time, you can get other applications for them too. There are quite a large amount out there and more are always being developed. Some of the ones they have already are…"
Eve looked at Lucas, who was in full out explanation mode, to Andrea, who was trying to get the Poketech around her wrist. Eventually Eve felt it was necessary to ask. "So, when did you tone him out?"
"Around 'they can tell time,'" Andrea mumbled, finally getting the watch on. She looked over at Lucas, who was still talking, and decided she should let him go on for a bit more. It would be good for him to finish an explanation for once. She began fiddling with the Poketech. It seemed simple enough to work. Press one button, you go one way on all the little application things, press another and you go the other. After examining the few applications available, Andrea decided it would be best if she just kept it on the watch function. It seemed the most useful anyway.
There was a sudden silence from Lucas's direction, so Andrea looked over at him. "Fascinating, I assure you," she told him. Eve just giggled, a noise Lucas was unable to interpret properly and that Andrea just ignored. "I guess I'll have to thank Rowan for this later."
The two were finally reaching the Pokemon Center. Looking up, Andrea noted the darkening sky and how the P on the center's roof had been lit up. "Let's go grab some dinner and head to bed. I'm beat."
"Okay," Lucas agreed, busy putting on his own Poketech.
"Where do we feed our Pokemon at?" Andrea asked as they entered the building.
"Oh, that's easy," Lucas replied, looking up from his new watch. "Let me explain…"
Inwardly, Andrea sighed, knowing she had to listen to this explanation, long winded or otherwise. How, she wondered, not for the first time, had she ended up with the kid?