Chapter 3: Start
Shoulder's relaxed. Posture open. Palms facing up.
Think friendly thoughts Grey. No, be the friendly thoughts.
"It's okay little one, no need to be afraid." My mouth curls up on one side into a lazy smile.
"I understand the appeal. Trust me, I do. These things are absolutely wonderful. And guess what?"
I lean forward just the slightest amount - [Persuasion] guiding me - helping me to avoid leaning too far forward and risk coming off as threatening. I move just enough to engage the target with my question.
"I'd love to share." My voice keeps the same soft, yet ever so slightly upbeat tone. "I have more than enough to go around, you know?"
The Spearow in front of me cocks its tiny head in thought before taking a hesitant hop forward. When I don't react beyond a slight increase in my smile. it hops forward more confidently. All too soon it reaches my seated position and, eyes never leaving mine, snaps up the Oran Berry resting on my open palm.
Ding!
[Persuasion] has leveled up! (11)
I really am the greatest, aren't I?
…
It's times like this I wish I had someone to talk to. I'd even settle for a snarky System AI. And I usually despise that trope.
Oh, well. Them's the breaks. I can only hope I didn't just sow some unfortunate karma for my future with that line.
I'm dragged out of my head when the still wary Spearow flutters back a couple feet, continuing to watch me intently. It shuffles its feathers and utters a tentative 'row' in my direction, probably seeing if I have any more treats to give.
Careful not to spook the bird, I reach into my pocket and grab the last of the berries left from yesterday's bush. Right, I'll have to grow another one later today.
Now, let's see if I can convince the cutie that head pats are the way to go.
It's more than a little awkward to drink out of a river with nothing but my hands. There's a small part of me that can't help but feel out of place on my knees, scooping handfuls of water into my mouth. The other, larger part of me, thinks that part is an idiot that should be taken out and beaten because I'm really quite thirsty.
Regardless, I'm lucky to find a source of fresh water so close to what I've officially designated as my home base. Maybe 200 feet away if I had to put a distance on it.
Although that does make me wonder - what exactly do they use here for measurement? Imperial? Metric? Something to do with Psyducks?
And how do I find out without coming off as simple?
I don't really have to say it again do I? On the pile it goes.
Wow, look at it grow!
When I eventually feel sated, I let out a half groan, half sigh of pure contentment.
Boy howdy did I need that. The Oran Berries help, but they can't take the place of actual water. Who would've thought?
Now here's to hoping this river is as clean as it looks.
I think I saw a Goldeen at one point farther down, but the river seemed pretty clear all things told. I pointedly try not to think about Goldeen poop as I wipe a trickle of water off my chin.
Well, I'm sure I'll find out if the water was safe to drink sooner rather than later.
Happy thoughts Grey. Happy thoughts.
I crane my neck up and check the position of the sun. Yeah, I think it's about time to figure out my lodgings for the night. I have maybe four hours until sunset.
And I really don't want to sleep out in the open again.
I pick up my egg from where I left it on the bank of the river and ready myself for a little exploration. There's got to be an empty cabin or two around here ready to be broken into, right?
Right?
It's times like this that I truly regret not having Gamer's Mind. A dollop of forced equanimity sure would come in handy right about now.
But no. I have to face reality like everyone else.
Bleh.
Give me pseudo sociopathy any day of the week. As long as I don't have to deal with the slowly rising tide of fear, irritation and stress that greets me along with the setting sun.
I plonk my head back against a tree and take deep breaths.
This will be the last night I spend outside like this. It better be. Future Grey I'm looking at you, you unreliable dick. Don't let me down buddy.
I decide to check out the day's gains to take my mind off of my spiraling mood.
[Skills](6/6) [-]
[Thief's Eye] (3/100) [+]
[Persuasion] (12/100) [+]
[Sneak] (18/100) [+]
[Lockpicking] (3/100) [+]
[Run] (9/100) [+]
[Rest] (1/100) [+]
Not too shabby if I do so say myself. And I do!
A level to [Thief's Eye], seven to [Persuasion] and four to [Sneak].
I did notice that [Sneak] leveled noticeably slower than [Persuasion] today. Undoubtedly do to its higher level and requirements. The 10% bonus from my class can only go so far.
Not to say I had a hard time leveling up the skill. There were more than enough unsuspecting Pokemon to try and sneak up on. Some easier than others.
Caterpie were surprisingly troublesome to catch unawares. They certainly look stupid enough, yet I kept getting caught before I could get within ten feet of the little buggers. Maybe it has something to do with that obnoxious horn on its forehead? I vaguely remember reading it serving some purpose. Sensing predators would fit the bill.
Rattata were pretty frustrating as well. Not because they caught me by any means. No, they just wouldn't stay in one place, constantly darting back and forth in a twitchy craze.
Pidgey, Spearow and Metapod were simple in comparison. It was all about finding the right spots to place my feet so as to avoid making noise. And when that failed, timing it to coincide with the natural cacophony of the forest. Staying out of their line of sight, keeping aware of where my shadow was cast and remaining upwind of the target.
A few hours of that and I had four juicy levels to show for it. That being said, I do have to be more careful in the future. I might have - kind of - forgot that it wasn't the absolute smartest idea to pop up on surprised Pokemon.
I'm not sure if I'll ever get the string shot goop out of my shirt. And one of the Spearow nearly got me with an sudden Peck. Only a strategic fall on my ass saved me an injury.
Live and learn I guess.
I smack my lips a bit, an unexpected sigh escaping me. You know what? I could really go for a nice steamy cup of tea right about now.
I furrow my brow in thought. Kanto is pretty much just Japan right? There should be a ton of delicious teas to try. I might end up making that a long term goal of mine. Something to aim for beyond the Game.
And on that note, I'm 95% certain that I can't grind out attribute points. Or if I can, only through way more work than I'm willing to engage in.
I assume that's the case since I've yet to receive a single point. Not one single fucking point. Don't Gamer protagonists usually get a bunch of free INT points in the fist chapter for making inanely obvious statements and correctly stringing together bare bones levels of logic?
So where's my easy to farm INT points? Either that's not a mechanic I have access to, or I am so far beyond stupid that the Game has decided I've had nothing even resembling an intelligent thought in the week and change I've been here.
So you can maybe see why I've decided to go with the former on this one.
Determined not to think about what being wrong in this case would entail, I turn over onto my side and bring the egg closer to me.
"I've heard that mothers are supposed to talk to their kids when pregnant since the babies can hear them." I muse out loud. "At least I think that's the case… Maybe I'm confusing them with coma patients?"
It's quite possible I shouldn't be making INT one of my dump stats.
"Whatever. I'm probably getting more out of this than you are anyway."
I wait a few seconds for a responding wiggle that doesn't come and I pout at the utter lack of movement. I think I may be addicted to cute egg wiggles. Good thing that's a burden I'm more than willing to bear.
"So… thoughts on possible names?" I punctuate the question with a boop on their shell.
"It might be too early, but I kind of wanted to run some names past you."
I pause a moment before continuing.
"Just don't judge me too hard, okay? I'm not exactly the greatest at naming things."
I have to take a minute to collect myself when the egg rocks back and forth a few times. So cute!
"I'll just start at the top of the list then. How do you feel about Alice?"
To no one's surprise, least of all my own, I wake up to a nice set of notifications.
Ding!
[Rest] has leveled up! (2)
[Rest] has leveled up! (3)
Easiest levels I'll probably ever get.
I stretch out from my supine position, arms and legs reaching as far as they can go before I force myself to get up. I know from experience by now that the collection of stiff and sore muscles I've accumulated from sleeping on the ground will go away in time - at least once I begin to move around.
My ever prevalent exhaustion on the other hand is a harder nut to crack. I don't believe there's any solution to that problem until I can get a room and bed under me. And a shower too. I halt those thoughts in their tracks before I succumb to despair.
More asleep than not, I stumble over to the egg and feed it 20 MP while I check my [Status].
Nothing stands out as I blearily go through the information. A tired smile forming on my face when the egg moves under my hand, soft rustling noises doing nothing to help in my losing battle to remain awake.
It's not until I get to my [Key Items] tab that I come across anything noteworthy.
[Unidentified Pokemon Egg] [-]
Sounds can be heard coming from inside! It's going to hatch soon!
And just like that I'm wide awake, the dredges of sleep torn away like they were never there at all. In fact, I can feel myself slingshot too far in the opposite direction, anxiety and nerves rising in turn with the frantic beating of my heart.
Because this is real. It's happening.
Life is coming into this world. The brown and cream stripped egg I've carried, talked to and slept with the past two days will crack open to reveal the sapient being inside.
I want to pace, to move, to do something with my legs, but I refuse to get up and put the egg anywhere but my lap.
Wait, is that right? Maybe I shouldn't be overly close when the hatching occurs. What if I get in the way somehow? I know that it's crucial for birds to hatch by themselves - the struggle to escape their confines important in some manner I'm much too frazzled to remember.
Ugh.
I go to move the egg only to stop and back off before I do - the back and forth occurring three times before I feel the egg begin to move more urgently in my lap. Biting my lip, I decide I'd rather be safe than sorry and carefully - oh so carefully - place the egg about a foot in front of me on the softest patch of grass I can find.
Now that I've made that decision and moved half a step back from my flailing panic, I can more clearly hear the Pokemon moving inside as the egg rocks back and forth.
I tap a nervous beat on my leg before it occurs to me like a strike of lightning to the head that I'm going to need something to feed the baby when it emerges.
And I used all my Oran Berries up yesterday.
Which means I have none today.
Which means the baby is going to starve to death and I'll be a murderer with my name on posters across the region, hunted down by roaming legions of Officer Jennies.
I think I may be losing it. Just a little.
With fumbling fingers I clear some space to my side and go through the motions of planting and growing an Oran Berry Bush. Yesterday, half an hour didn't seem quite so long a time to wait. Right now I'm acutely feeling the seconds tick by.
As I try and calm myself down, I find myself with a steadily rising amount of buyers remorse regarding [Rest]. What can I say? Meditation is looking pretty darn useful right about now.
But I push on through the scattering of barely coherent worries and beat my mind into something resembling control. I refuse to allow the first impression my Pokemon has of me to be some twitchy mouth breather on the edge of hysteria. So I ignore the bush forming to my right. I detach from the fidgeting egg to my front. And I breathe.
Somewhere along my effort to get a hold of myself and relax, a loud crack echoes through the clearing followed shortly by another.
With baited breath I watch further cracks form across the surface of the egg.
Remember Grey, play it cool, but not so cool you look like a tool. Finger guns are mid-level cool, right? Maybe just one? There's no taking back first impressions here.
As I fidget and watch pieces of partially broken egg move, I vaguely wish that the hatching would go the way of the anime - a flash of light and the Pokemon simply appears in place of the egg. Super lazy on the part of the show directors, but I'd take it in a heart beat.
The suspense is killing me!
A sharp buzz of worry has me distractedly checking my [Status] just to be safe.
HP: 150/150
Good. Good. Not literaly dying from the suspense is good.
I mentally close the window when –
CRACK!
A long and jagged break appears across the egg. I can see practically feel the Pokemon inside doing their best to break free of the myriad pieces of shell holding them in.
Come on! You can do it little one! I believe in you!
And finally I see it. A brown furry tip of something pokes out of a widening crack.
I lock my eyes on what I soon realize is a long brown ear as it makes it's way into the wider world.
With one ear free, it's not long before a second joins it, flopping to the side under its own weight.
And then, as if it were making up for lost time –
POP
– a small fuzzy brown head bursts free of the shell, eyes stuck in a squint as they adjust to the sudden light.
If my smile got any bigger it would be falling off my face. It's at the point where it almost physically hurts, but I really do not care one bit.
A black button nose twitches back and forth and a squeaky yawn erupts out of their mouth. The clumsy gesture coinciding with several more pieces of shell breaking off.
It's with a final effort that the last of the shell comes tumbling down, allowing the newly born Pokemon to stumble free on wobbling legs.
The nose twitches again, presumably catching my scent, as the brown and cream colored Pokemon raises their head to look at me with big brown eyes.
They takes a halting step, then another. And with zero hesitation the infant Pokemon climbs their way onto my lap before curling into a ball and closing their eyes. But not before huffing out their first words in a tired drawl.
"Eevee vee."
Yeah... I'm already in love.
Ding!
+30 Affection
Name: Grey
Race: Human
Age: 13
Class: Thief [+]
Title: Pokemon Trainer [+]
Level: 5
Exp: 0/1600
Money: p 670
–––
HP: 150/150
MP: 0/100
–––
STR: 10
VIT: 15
DEX: 40
INT: 10
PER: 25
CHA: 20
LUK: 10
Available points: 0
–––
[Skills] (6/6) [-]
[Thief's Eye] (3/100) [+]
[Persuasion] (12/100) [+]
[Sneak] (18/100) [+]
[Lockpicking] (3/100) [+]
[Running] (9/100) [+]
[Rest] (3/100) [+]
–––
[Traits] (1) [+]
[Perks] (0) [+]
–––
[Key Items] (2) [+]
–––
[Pokemon] (1) [+]
And here we go. First Pokemon acquired. Expect this to push Grey to leave his miserable little vacation in the woods and reenter civilization. Now if only he had any idea where he was. I'm sure he'll figure it out.
Eevee is one of my favorite Pokemon, hands down. And I can't help but think it's the perfect starter, able to go in so many directions based on the trainer. I already have the eventual evolution planned out, but I do wonder which way you think Grey will go? What evolution would you aim for in his shoes?
Thanks for reading.