Standard "I don't own anything" tibit here. Serious, if you think I do I laugh at thee.
Behind your back, obviously.
[=+=]
Chapter Two: A Journey Begins. Kinda.
I believe this is the first time I've ever been in a hospital as a patient.
It's not like my wounds were severe or anything, but I've spent the past two days in this hospital healing up and generally being fed. Pokemon Hospital food is pretty good, actually.
Anyways, I had nothing to do for the two days, so a little digging was in order.
First topic: Legendary Pokemon.
They don't exist.
At least, not as catchable entities. Not for the lack of trying, however.
…
Legendary pokemons are, I'm guessing here, physical manifestations of a "concept". So like Moltres would be the concept of "fire", in the shape of a bird. Likewise Entei is also "fire" in the shape of a…uh…giant dog thing? Anyways, a Legendary Pokemon (or legendaries, since there have been more than one of them) will occasionally appear during a "time of need" and ally with a trainer when necessary, but it is utterly impossible to catch a Legendary and live to tell about it afterwards.
The last instance of Legendaries appearing (besides 5 years ago, during the whole Lysandre thing) was 30 years ago, when the first pokedex holders where in their youths. This means that Red, THAT Red (The one Ash Ketchum pretends to be as good as), is probably in his fifties now.
In a side note, Forum flame wars in the Pokemon world is also a thing. Although they lack references to a certain leader of a country from a few decades ago. Also Ash Ketchum does in fact exist in this world and is Professor Oak's replacement after he passed away. That Ash actually accomplished something is notable in of itself.
…Focus. In any event, catching a lengendary is out of the question. Psuedo-legendaries are also hard to find, because their unevolved forms (say, a Bagon) is protected heavily by their evolved form parents (in one instance, four Salamences). A team of trainers went to try and capture a Bagon and ended up in the emergency room with severe burns.
Salamences are serious business.
…
So what about the rest of the Dex holders?
It's a little hard to tell even with the power of the internet (this world doesn't have a Wikipedia equivalent; or rather, it's not as constantly maintained) but in a nutshell.
Green runs the Viridian gym, the toughest Gym in all of Johto/Kanto combined.
Gary, his alternate version self, is the chairman of the Kanto Gym Leaders Association. That must be confusing as fuck during face to face meetings.
Blue, or "Unnamed girl lead from FireRed/LeafGreen", kinda sorta disappeared about twenty years ago. No idea where she is but the assumption is she's still alive and kicking because being a dex-holder gives you plot armor.
That's not how reality works yes it is shutup.
Gold heads the Association for Pokemon Breeders in Johto, Silver vanished without a trace. Crystal's a teacher at the Pokemon school in…first town in the Generation 2 games.
Ruby (Brendan, but there's no Brendan as far as the internet can tell me) is the grandmaster Judge of Hoenn and Sinnoh contests. Sapphire (May, but again, no May) took over for Professor Birch.
Interesting footnote for Sapphire. She served a minor jail sentence for nearly burning Pacificlodge (the town with all the floating buildings in the ocean) down to the…water. Reason it was minor was because nobody got hurt and technically she wasn't the cause of it (a swarm of Gyarados were) but she had responsibility for not leading them away or something. It didn't get the Hoenn police force any good reputation.
Diamond, Pearl, and Platina are all MIA after going into the distorted world made by…the big god centipede thingy. I never played Platinum. As far as the world is concerned they're KIA, so that's a bummer. [Master of the Understatement, you are] Shutup.
Nothing on the Gen5 game heroes, unfortunately. I would like to snoop around more but there's not enough info. Plus some of the sites are blocked for various reasons. Makes me wonder.
No real information on the various nefarious teams that exist across the Pokemon World. There were more than a few forums pointing out how odd it is practically every region had its own organized crime ring (with Johto/Kanto sharing the biggest one, and Hoenn sporting two) and how odd it is that they've more or less made a comeback. And pretenders, lots and lots of pretenders.
The bastards.
…
"Hey. How do you feel?" I hear a girl's voice and look up from my borrowed laptop.
Elenda. "I think I'm being overreacted on." I shrug. "Considering how much more damage you took you should be in worse shape than me."
She leans on the doorframe. "Oh please, I'm a Trainer. Things like this happen all the time." I assume she means the poisoning, not the massive one vee ten battles.
Well, whatever works. "So what's up?"
She walks over to me and hands me a parcel. "Reward money from the Rangers for Peacekeeping duty. This is yours." I guess she got hers already. I open it up and there's…let's see.
Five thousand Pokemon Money. Not bad.
"Nice. This helps a long way." I grin, and look inside the packet again. There's some more stuff.
A bus pass and a Ranger's Invite?
"What's this for?" I wave the Ranger's Invite.
"The Rangers'll be happy to have you as a member, is what it means." Elenda sits next to my bed. "Honorary training or for you to become a Ranger."
Huh. Food for thought, and possibly useful later.
There was a moment of slightly uncomfortable silence.
"So, uh," She's in a purple t-shirt and shorts. What is it with Ace Trainers and the color purple, anyway "what do you plan to do after this?" Also, there's frills on that shirt. God she's adorable.
She tilts her head to one side. "Well, now that the whole Rare Pokemon neat Lumiose thing is a bust" eyes low, increase altitude "I'm heading to Santalune, and then to Snowbelle." I don't think she caught me. Whew. Or she did and just didn't feel like mentioning it.
"What about you?"
"Um." Good question. I've been in this world for all of three days, two of which were spent in a hospital. I have a vague image of the map because Fly, and I don't really know the names of most towns. That being said. "Probably Geosenge."
Her eyebrows went up. "That place? Why?" To see the massive hole in the ground.
I tap the laptop in response. "It sounds interesting." She shrugs and stands back up.
"How well do you know the region?" She asks.
"Not at all."
"Well, you can take an Express bus to Cyllage and then go from there." She stops at the door. "Geosenge is essentially gone though. After that happened." And she leaves.
I know what she's talking about but hell. A little less cryptic would be nice.
…
Turns out the Ranger Tracker had a hidden camera that activates when the Tracker is activated, in case anyone decides to screw with said Rangers, so they saw me and all of my, uh, nerd rage?
In the end, Ranger invite is a Ranger invite. Maybe I'll take them up on it eventually.
…
The bus pass is a godsend; I don't quite feel like walking across a region that's comparable to France. The pass is also good for effectively forever. The bus fare is pretty cheap besides, despite it having to travel cross country.
Must be subsidized.
…
…
{=+=}
I leave the hospital today. Ratty has recovered from his injuries, but the doctor (vet?) suggested that he stay out of battles for the next few days just to be sure. Not complaining.
…
Huh. I just realized that every battle so far (not counting Ratty's scuffles against some wilds) have been me ambushing an unsuspecting target. Wonder how well Ratty would fare in regulated battles.
Anyways, leaving the hospital.
…
Huh.
I hear steps. Rocks. What?
Turn around. Roggenrola.
The same one that shot at me? If this were a story it probably would be.
Ranger man. Yo.
"What's with this guy?" I ask him.
"He wanted to go with you, something about making up for what he had done." The Ranger replied. Rangers can talk to Pokemon? When'd that happen?
"So you were the one doing the shooting?" I ask, squatting down to be less…tall. It nods (or does what I think is nodding) "Well, then thanks for shooting to miss, little guy." He gets a petting. It's a sentient rock, but hey.
"Unfortunately I don't have spare balls, so you'll have to follow around for a while." I stand back up. Roggenrola is...I can't tell. It has a hole for a face.
The Ranger gives me a look.
"They sell balls at the Hospital Gift Store." He said after a moment.
I walked by the store earlier and I apparently didn't notice. "Interesting. Wait here for a minute." The Roggenrola gladly complies. I'll call him Arty.
…
I had gotten a free ball thanks to the Rangers. Neat.
So now I have a team of two Pokemon that I honestly haven't used in gameplay before and thus can only predict what they can do.
What can possibly go wrong.
Anyways, call out Ratty for a moment.
"Ratty, this is Arty." I introduce the two. Ratty's eyeing Arty apprehensively, and Arty is just being a sentient rock with a gun for a face.
I wish I can read emotions but it's kind of hard for him.
"You two will get acquainted later, for now we go shopping, and then leave."
Ratty gives me a quizzical look.
"This city desires money. I don't have that much." I shrug. Ratty looks more confused but drops the subject in favor of examining Arty some more. I am reminded highly of my cat and a yoga ball. Only Ratty's just inquisitive, not terrified.
I have my path more or less planned out for the first move. I'm currently in Lumiose, Pokemon!Paris and all its massive glory (the games scaled it down immensely for obvious reasons). My first stop would be Cyllage via an express bus, ignoring Camphrier because it's just a tourist destination (and Pokemon ranches are a dime a dozen in this real world). There I would do things before heading to Geosenge. No point arriving at a town just to leave it again.
What –would- I do there though? Challenge the gym? Catch more Pokemon? I haven't actually examined why I'm here or what I should be doing to get home.
…
Do I want to go home?
…
Eh. Those thoughts later. Let's get to Cyllage first and then worry about it.
Before that, shopping.
…
Unlike the games the shops are everywhere except inside the Pokemon Centers. Ugh.
Well, the centers sell basic goods (potions, anti-status effect spray medicine, pokeballs) but nothing major.
I have 5 grand and a few hours, let's do this.
…I wonder if PokemonWorld has inflation.
{=+=}
Oh god ow, my feet. My poor, poor nerd feet.
In retrospect using the damned bus pass to go from shop A to shop B would've been a real good investiment of my time. Instead I had to let my instincts take over and walk like an idiot.
Dear lord, ow.
…
The games don't really sell the "how many peoples are actually in a city" thing very well.
There's indeed cafes everywhere and people sitting, doing their people watching thing. I'm getting a few looks because I'm still in my odd formal-but-not-really getup. If I buttoned up this shirt I'd look like an office worker.
There really are Fletchlings everywhere in Lumiose. Nesting in trees mostly. They do walk everywhere, and everyone gives them either ample space or a ride.
Oh, hey. Large stores (like a Pokemon center) have a large piece of empty land in front of them. It's for Flying pokemon landing. Nobody's doing it anywhere else, so I guess they have laws or morals against flying around at random.
That being said there are quite a number of fliers in the Lumiose sky; they stick mainly to rooftops for the sake of not obscuring us ground pounders.
I see a lot of Pidgeots. Must be popular here.
…
Oh wow. Doduos really can fly.
That is…exceedingly odd.
Necks shouldn't work like that.
…
Let's see…
I had 5 grand when I started, and I have…600 now.
I'm now up a backpack, a new pair of boots (which are comfy as hell), two potions, a small pouch of berries (which I'm scared might rot, but eh. Cross that bridge when we get to it), 2 empty Pokeballs (for a grand total of 4) and a Quick ball.
I also bought a cheesy little ribbon for Ratta, but I felt he deserved a reward for his insanely ballsy actions. Even if it is a little tacky. A lot tacky.
But he's happily prancing around with it, so it's all good. Now, where's that bus stop?
Good thing there are maps everywhere in this town.
…
Bus. Bus bus bus!
Express line to Cyllage! Ok, got on. Whew. Let's see…
The entire trip would take an estimate five hours.
…That seems slightly long for a trip across half of France.
"Why does it take five hours?" I ask one of the guys next to me as I sit down.
"We stop a few times." He reply, bored.
That sounds like very not express-line behavior.
"You a new trainer?" The guy to my right asked, looking at my belt. I have two Pokeballs clipped to my belt, Arty and Ratty.
In all fairness I have played the games (and don't follow the Pokemon metagame at all) but…
"Yeah". I reply, taking Ratty and Arty off my belt and securing them into my bag. It has these six little holsters for your active team, it's neat.
Turns out no trainer in their right minds ever go anywhere with just six Pokemon. All trainers have practically everything they can carry with them. PC storage don't exist. Like, at all.
I looked up Bill while I was in the Hospital and all I got out of it was that he was the "Premier Pokemon Enthusiast." Which is about as descriptive as telling a blind person to "go that way".
Bill, however, did invent Long distance Pokemon trading, as well as intercontinental trading. No trading across time though. Just no box storage for all your pokemon.
Bill's retired now, which is one hell of a shocker. I figured the timeline wouldn't line up exactly to a point I would be familiar with, but to be so…different, is certainly surprising.
In any event, all trainers carry most if not all of their Pokemon with them. The ones with large resource pools (like, say, the player in the game) have either their hometown Gym acting as a sponsor and taking any Pokemon transferred home, or have their storage just in their house. Needless to say the Pokemons stashed in an empty house tend to get grumpy real quick, especially if they happen to be the bigger ones.
This, if nothing else, solves my worries about HM slaves and eventually phasing Ratty out as a main combat team member, if only because I plan on keeping him as a Rattata. He can still stand on the sidelines and cheer.
Official gym rules (and by extension, unofficial trainer battle etiquette) state you can only have six Pokemon during a gym challenge or a trainer battle though. Most people follow it and anyone that doesn't is generally frowned upon. Don't follow it in a gym battle and you get an automatically disqualification.
Official battles are still one on one, not that big tangled mess that was the Fucket war.
You also can't just up and leave and heal during a gym battle, but then no money is wagered or earned, so it's not as big of a deal.
Guy next to me has been trying to get my attention again and I completely ignored him in favor of exposition.
"So what do you have?"
"A Rattata and a Roggenrola." I reply. The guy gets a blank stare and ignores me. I swear he's snickering.
Meh. A week ago I would've done the same if someone who just got X or Y proudly exclaimed that was his team.
…
Ok, no, not really. Rattata's actually kind of hard to find, strangely enough.
If they had a Bidoof I would though.
…
…
Wow, the major route is a huge difference from a minor one.
There's people everywhere!
There's wild Pokemon on the (side of the) road!
…There's nobody catching those wild Pokemon!
I poke the guy to my left. "What makes these wilds uncatchable?"
He looks at those Pokemon and look at me. I see a few Audinos. God I want that delicious exp. If only the same system was in place.
"It's polite. Those Pokemon are people friendly and by extension the people leave them alone." He sinks into his seat. "Besides, those Pokemon have zero intent to fight so catching them is a waste of balls."
Makes sense.
I look around the bus one more time. It's a pretty weirdly arranged bus, as far as my expectations go. All the seats are arranged with their back to the windows in a circle, with the middle of the bus empty. Empty, but there's a large-ass carpet there. There's some small kids sitting on said carpet playing with their Pokemon.
The bus has a rule: small Pokemon can come out and play. Larger ones stay in their balls. The jury's out on some of the problematic ones (like, say, a Honedge or a Slugma) but the consensus seems to be "use common sense you asshat."
Makes sense.
I see an Eevee. Oh god.
…Urge to pet Eevee rising.
…It's staring at me with those big brown eyes and oh my god it's adorable. It's smiling. Oh god
…Urge to pet Eevee uncontrollable.
It just waved a paw at me. Shield of Self Control failing.
…Remember to avoid the tuft of hairs on its head.
The petting of Eevee has commenced. It's fur is so soft.
It's like petting a cat, without the distain for humanity.
I'm pretty sure those big brown eyes can solve all the problems of the world forever.
…
Scratch the back of the ear.
Eevee gives a playful squeal and rolls around. I'm pretty sure at this point I would need to wrestle a bear at the edge of a cliff on fire while BBQing to counteract the sheer adorability of this little thing with manliness.
Or have the Old Spice Man do it. Me, the bear, and the cliff are all on fire. And yet the meat would be roasted to a delicious perfection.
Originally I wanted to go to Cyllage and pick up an Eevee as an aside, if only to see how Sylveon evolution would work without Pokemon-Amie.
It is now my goal in life to find and catch all the Eevees ever.
I don't know who's Eevee this is but I'm petting it until we get to Cyllage.
Pity I don't feel comfortable enough to pick it up, but Eevees can give high fives, right?
…
Yes, yes they can.
Cuteness Proximity has now reached Critical Mass.
I'm not sure the Old Spice Man would be manly enough to counteract this anymore.