The gatehouse to the city is ahead. Guise had assured me that they don't ask for papers, but I can't shake the fear I'll be found out.

I suppose I can try to find a different way in, but that may only end up drawing more suspicion to me. No - best to try my luck here in the hopes that Guise's information is correct. I have no reason to suspect it isn't, in any case.

The three of us make it to the gatehouse, entering inside. The building isn't large - a long room a dozen paces long, and even less so wide. White fluorescent lights reflect off of the scuffed tiles of the floor, giving the room a harsh ambiance.

To the side of the room is a wall-mounted TV screen showing a news-broadcast and a guard. I pay no attention to either, simply striding past them. We aren't stopped, and are let into the city without incident.

Thank goodness.

The gatehouse leads directly onto a long street. The streetlights have turned on, and there are a handful of pedestrians going about their business. It doesn't look all that different to the cities that I'm used to.

I turn to Guise. He's looking down the street with an absent interest. "Benny - do you know the way to the Pokemon Centre?"

"Not especially - but I'd suggest just following the signs." He points towards a street sign. One of the arrows was coloured orange, labelled 'Pokemon Centre' and pointed down towards a different street.

Absently, I note that Chitin is rather shocked by the whole experience - she's looking down the street towards the sports stadiums further into the city, an expression of awe plastered across her face. This is her first time in a city, isn't it?

"Alright, in that case, let's get a move on."

Following the signs through the city is uneventful. Most people simply ignore us. A few look down their noses at us, but nobody confronts us. I have a suspicion that the reason for the looks is my smell - not just from living out in the wilderness, either: while Glastig Uaine's treatment had been thorough, a bath had not been included. My costume had been cleaned, but the rest of me still smells absolutely rank from… well, everything that happened before.

Scion's power - the golden beams. The residue it left behind is… cloying. Like glitter. It doesn't even register to me anymore, but I probably smell acrid. Not to mention like dried blood.

I mean, there also is the whole 'being covered in the ashes of dead Capes thing'.

...I want a bath.

I push the thoughts down, distracting myself. Now isn't the time.

What I've seen so far of the city reminds me of parts of Chicago - posh nightclubs and cocktail bars dot the streets. We pass through a couple of well-lit squares occupied by couples out for an evening walk on our way. As we go southward, we start to see more chic clothing boutiques and expensive jewelry shops.

The city obviously has both a lively nightlife and an active fashion scene. Or maybe this is just the standard for this world? I don't know.

One thing that stands out at me is the lack of cars - sure, there's one or two parked here or there, but the streets are completely empty of anybody driving them. Is there some sort of driving curfew? Or maybe driving just isn't very popular in this world - is there some sort of Tinkertech alternative? Teleportation?

The walk to the Pokemon Centre takes about twenty minutes. The building is unique - freestanding, tall glass floor-to-ceiling frosted glass windows set into a steel frame topped off with an orange curved roof. Fluorescent lighting shine from within, giving the building a glow that makes it stand out against the grey concrete of the neighboring office buildings.

Here goes, then.

I steel myself, walking towards the sliding doors. Get in, trade the honey for Pokeballs, get out.

The doors part, allowing us entrance. Inside is a lobby. Against the wall to the right is a bank of computers, screens turned off. One person sat, talking on a video call. To the left is a few lounges - a number of people sat around, conversing animatedly. Against the far wall is a service desk with a Tinkertech machine behind - the place for free healing, maybe?

The person manning the desk, who is dressed as a nurse and has strange pink hair smiles at us. I turn away. Set into the front right corner of the lobby is another desk, various wares arrayed on shelves behind the counter. That must be what I'm after.

I walk up, giving my best PR smile to the clerk. Hopefully Guise manages to mirror it onto my disguise. "Hi - do you guys accept Vespiquen honey?"

The clerk is clearly tired - bags under his eyes, and a hunch to the shoulders. His apron is wrinkled, and his shirt is slightly untucked from his pants. Good - he probably doesn't particularly care for his job, and is less likely to give me trouble over the small stuff.

He wrinkles his nose, but does not say anything. Catching himself, he returns my smile, half hearted. "That we do, ma'am. How much are you looking to trade?"

I definitely smell, judging from that reaction.

Opening my bag and retrieving the jars to place on the counter, I respond "Four jars. How many Pokeballs will that get me?"

He pulls out a scale from under the counter, placing a jar onto it. He takes the weight, clearly not particularly caring for the accuracy of his reading. "I can give you one-fifty-p per jar. If you want Pokeballs, that'll be three base models for the four jars. No change. Will that be all, ma'am?"

"Can I take two and get the rest as cash?"

He nods and returns the scale and takes the jars, putting them behind the shelves. From the shelves, he picks out two miniaturized Pokeballs and places them onto the counter. He goes behind the shelf once again and returns with two coins.

"Two-hundred-p change. Have a good night, ma'am."

I take the balls and money, putting them into my bag. Thanking him, the three of us exit the center. That went far better than I had feared it would.

I address my teammates. They had simply stood back, watching wordlessly while I bought the balls.

"Let's head back to the road. We need to plan and talk."

Once we're out of the city, we take a left into the forest.

When I'm satisfied that we're out far enough, we start looking for a place to camp. The moon is bright tonight, and Guise apparently has very good night vision. Within an hour from the time that we had left the city, we are situated with a campfire against a large rock formation that jutted up towards the treetops.

We passed a drinking fountain on the way out of the city, so my bottles had been refilled. Dinner, however, is once again berries.

"Alright." I open my bag and retrieve the balls. I turn to Guise. "Anything I should know about these things before I use them?"

He shakes his head. "Other than you, I don't know a single human who hasn't used one. They're pretty much idiot proof. Look - I'll prove it to you."

He stands, walking over to one of the balls. He taps it with his claw and it enlarges. He pushes the button on the front, and the ball opens up. He's sucked inside in a flash of energy. The ball snaps shut, Guise nowhere to be seen. It begins to wobble, rocking back and forth on the ground.

It pings, the rocking ceasing. Is that… good? I move over to it, picking it up. How do you get him back out?

I mirror the stance I had seen the trainers use earlier, palm cupping the back of the ball, arm pointed outward to an empty spot.

Nothing happens.

Is there a button? Other than the one that Guise pressed, no. Said button is stiff, refusing to budge. Some other trigger, then?

I return to the stance, squeezing the ball lightly with my hand.

That does it - a beam of energy springs from the ball, materializing into the form of Guise. He smiles "See? What did I tell you? Idiot proof." He turns to Chitin. "Alright - your turn, Queenie."

Chitin harrumphs, but does not argue. She picks up her ball, enlarging it and pressing the button on the front. She dematerializes into energy, and the ball goes through a similar process.

"What's the deal with the rocking, anyway? Do you know?" The ball pings. I pick it up.

"Yeah - I saw a documentary about Pokeballs once. Most of it went above my head, but the way I understood it is that's when it's setting everything up. It's when the seal on the ball is weakest, so if you're trying to catch an uncooperative Pokemon they've got a chance to break out."

Catch uncooperative Pokemon? People do that? Well… I suppose a belligerent Pokemon could do quite a lot of damage to a city, so a Pokeball would be a rather effective containment measure.

I let Chitin out of her ball.

She materializes and immediately falters in the air before catching herself. "That…" She trails off. "I don't know what to say. That is the strangest thing I have ever experienced." She lands, shaking her head.

I frown. "It wasn't uncomfortable, was it?"

"No- no. I... I think I may just need to get used to it. It was very disorienting. Calling being inside it like a dream doesn't quite do it justice, but I really don't know how to better describe it."

I tap each of the balls. They return to their shrunken size - a handy feature, I think. I place them into the pockets of my costume. I turn back to Chitin. "If you say so. Anyway - we can plan our next steps over breakfast. For now, let's just get some sleep."