Chapter 4

Karma woke to Rotom-dex's ringing on the pillow beside her.

She sat up, flipping Rotom-dex and hitting his screen. Thankfully he stopped. The trainer's quarters in the Pokémon center was fairly empty. Out of the row of bunks only about ten were taken, and a couple of them had been claimed by Pokémon.

"Did you get a good sleep Karma?" Rotom-dex asked, zipping around her head. "It's a bright new night! Let's do our best!"

"Can you do your best a little quieter?" Mumbled the occupant of the bunk next to her, a teenage trainer with pitch black hair and skin like midnight.

"Sorry." Karma whispered, grabbing Rotom-dex. She gathered her stuff as quickly and quietly as she could. She stepped carefully over the teenager's blue (and apparently not shiny) Ninetails.

The hallway was bright with artificial light. Karma let go of Rotom-dex as she headed down the hall to the cafeteria.

"Are we going to do Ilima's trial?" Rotom-dex asked.

Karma sighed. "That's the plan. Hopefully."

"It'll be okay." Rotom-dex assured her. "You're a great trainer. Just a little…"

"A little what?" Karma growled.

"A…a little in need of the guidance of your helpful friend, Rotom-dex."

"Gee. Thanks." Karma said as got in line for food. She came away with a plate of rice topped with scrambled egg and sausage. She made sure to grab some Pokémon food as well.

Settling down at a short table near the window, she let out her Pokémon before taking a seat on one of the pokeball colored cushions. Kadigo and Fukano sat beside her, they dug into the bowl as soon as she placed it down. She put another bowl down on the table for Row. He tiled his head, examining the brown pellets. He pecked at one, then looked at Karma's plate.

"Sorry, that's what they have." Karma explained. "I'll try to find some berries and make something for you, put it's best you get used to that."

Row glared at his food. Karma gazed around the table. "Where's Makenkani?" She scanned the cafeteria, sure enough their was Makenkani's blue shape skittering against the opposite wall.

"Rotom-dex, can you…fetch him?" Karma asked taking a spoonful of rice.

"Sure thing!" Rotom-dex zipped off.

What a pain. Karma took a bite of the eggs, then added a dash of much needed salt.

"Karma!" Karma looked up to see Lillie place her tray on the table. She was still wearing the same white dress and broad sunhat that seemed to glow in the silvery moonlight. "Oh, I'm glad to see you. I get lost so quickly…I almost walked into the Boy's bunks yesterday, and then…well I either found a private room, or I fell asleep in the Joy's break room. Oh, I can't find the right room, I can't talk to insurance people, I can't even buy my own clothes…"

"Hey, it's alright!" Karma said quickly as she spotted the tears building in Lillie's green eyes. "The girl's bunk was pretty loud anyway. Some teenager's Deducieye tried to eat someone's Rattatta. You were lucky!"

"I-if you say so." Lillie said. She pushed around her rice. "You're moving on to your first trial, aren't you? You're going to Verdant Cavern?"

"Y-yeah." Karma said hoping Lillie wouldn't notice her hesitation.

"That's amazing." Lillie sighed. "You know, I read something once, it was in a super old book back…somewhere. It said that the island challenges were once a journey made for trainers to prove themselves by gaining the strength to battle against the Guardians. You could actually meet Tapu Koko." Lillie let out another deep sigh. "If I could meet the Tapu Koko I could ask it about Nebby. Maybe it would know…"

"If I see it I can ask." Karma offered. "I mean, its not really likely, but…"

"You don't have to do that…but thank you." Lillie said. "And good luck with your Trial. I hope it goes well."

Karma finished her breakfast as Rotom-dex returned with Makenkani. Once her Pokémon were all fed Karma set out. Route 2 was a grassy hill that ran alongside the ocean.

The grass was teeming with Pokémon. Karma let her Pokémon out to practice. Surprisingly Makenkani listened well in battle. Fukano and Kadigo battled well together, although Kadigo seemed a bit unsure of what to do with the younger Growlithe. Row circled, occasionally swooping in to take out Makuhita.

It would be nice to catch something though. Karma thought glancing at Rotom-dex.

"Did you need something?" Rotom-dex asked excitedly.

"No." Karma sighed. "Kadigo! You're poisoned get back here." The Growlithe returned to her side panting heavily. Karma cleaned the spot on his leg where the Ekans had bit. She applied some of the antidote from the kit. Kadigo brightened up immediately. He rushed back out, biting into the Drowzee harassing Fukano.

"Well if you need any help, I'm right here." Rotom-dex said.

"I'm well aware." Karma groaned.

"Kyaa!" Row fluttered onto her shoulder. "Kya! Kya!"

"What? What's wrong? Show me." Karma ran after the Spearow.

Row fluttered around a patch of grass where Makenkani was skittering nervously around a wild Ekans.

The Ekans was gagging and writhing on the ground.

"What's going on?" Karma knelt cautiously by the Ekans. It vomited out a shard of white eggshell. The smell was horrendous. It was like a Magikarp had been left to rot in the hot sun.

"Did you find him like this?" Karma asked Row. Row chirped and circled Makenkani, chirping as he did. Nope. I haven't suddenly gained the ability to understand Pokémon. Karma rooted in her bag, pulling out a pokeball.

"Karma!" Rotom-dex barked. "You can't-"

"It's in trouble. "Karma explained. "Ekans aren't supposed to throw up. I'm just going to take it to the Pokémon center." And then trade it away. Karma thought guiltily.

The Ekans let out another horrible gagging noise.

"Alright! Alright! Just do it!"

Karma tossed the pokeball. It caught the weakened Pokémon with barely a wiggle. "Kadigo! Fukano! Return!"

Karma withdrew Row and Makenkani. Once the two Growlithe came in range she withdrew them as well. She rushed back to the Pokémon center.

"Nurse Joy?" She called out as she reached the front desk. The lady behind the counter turned. Her dark pink hair had been tied back in a ring rings. Between the hair and the uniform, she looked like every other nurse in every other Pokémon center. Rumor was they were all clones or sisters. Karma guessed that probably wasn't the case. After all Nurse Joy's in Kanto had their hair in two rings. Plus the faces were different, sort of.

Maybe?

"Can I heal your Pokémon for you?" Nurse Joy asked.

"I found this Ekans, it was choking on something." Kamra explained. "Can you help it?"

"Of course." Nurse Joy took Ekan's pokeball, along with Karma's other Pokémon. "Was it your first catch for the route, or did you have to go over your catch limit?"

"Karma actually i-"

"It was my first catch." Karma said, clamping her hand over Rotom-dex's speaker.

"Good. That makes things easier." Nurse Joy disappeared behind the desk for a few minutes.

"You aren't supposed to catch anything." Rotom-dex scolded as soon as she removed her hand from the speaker.

"She doesn't need to know that." Karma hissed. "It'll just make things more complicated. I promise we'll find a trainer to take it."

"Yes. Another trainer. To conveniently take another Pokémon you weren't supposed to catch." Rotom-dex buzzed. "If I didn't know that you were such a pure hearted good kid, I'd think there was something fishy going on."

Karma felt sweat beading on her neck. "Oh? R-really?"

"Here are your Pokémon."

Karma ran back to the desk.

"They're all fine." Nurse Joy assured her. "It looks like Ekans may have been punched in the stomach when they had just eaten. They'll be fine, just take it easy on training for a while."

"Thank you." Karma said, taking the pokeballs back.

"Hope to see you again." Nurse Joy said with a smile. "Have a good night."

Karma headed for the door of the Pokémon center.

"And you're going to release that Ekans?" Rotom-dex hummed.

"I'll find someone to trade it with." Karma said. "They might still be hurt, and its probably our fault, since I think Makenkani's the one who punched them."

"Are you looking to trade?"

Karma stopped. A young boy at one of the tables waved them over. Karma hesitantly held up the charm on her bag, but the boy didn't react.

"Look what I have." He said pulling up a screen on his pokedex. He accessed his PC boxes and showed her a picture of a green Dragonite.

"Oh, well I just have a-"

"There's also this, and this." He flipped through showing more rare alternate colored Pokémon.

"I just have this Ekans to trade." Karma tried to interrupt.

"See I also got this shiny Entei, its level 100 of course-"

"That's nice. See, but I was hoping we could trade?"

"And this Shaymin is also level 100, and shiny of course."

"Do you want my level 8 Ekans or not!?"

The boy paused. He switched boxes. Then turned the screen around. "This shiny Arceus-"

Karma grabbed the boy by the collar. "Nobody cares about your…"

Nurse Joy was giving her a stern look. The other Pokémon Center patrons had stopped to stare as well.

"About your…win streak." Karma said. "Just do the best you can. Right. I'm going to leave now."

Karma skittered out of the Pokémon center. Outside she took a deep breath of cold night air.

"I have determined with 98.9% certainty that those Pokémon were fake." Rotom-dex concluded. "Likely he just hacked the PC system to display those Pokémon as if they were real."

"I know." Karma sighed. "We'll just find someone else to take Ekans."

"You'd better find someone before the police check." Rotom-dex buzzed nervously. "Oooh I can feel my casing hitting the sides of Professor's desk drawer already!"

"It'll be fine." Karma said hiking back up the trail.