The Call to Capture
The morning of the group's fourth day in Oldale Town was promising to be another sunny, dry day. It was going to be a beautiful day to be spending outside and yet Tyson was still struggling to drag himself out of bed. He expected it to be more of the same that they'd been doing since the afternoon of the first day. Mari had been coaching them on various fundamentals in training and raising Pokémon. It was seriously hard. Making a Pokémon move was nothing like making a beyblade move; a Pokémon didn't respond directly to his thoughts and feelings. Not to mention that running around after Torchic was really exhausting. That little bird was faster than he'd thought and was so headstrong. During training on Route 103, even a funny look from a wild Pokémon was enough to work him up.
Speaking of which, nobody had managed to catch one just yet. Wild Pokémon usually fled after taking a few hits or managed to slink off by unleashing a very startling kind of attack to distract their opponent. Some of them were even savvy enough to do quite crafty things like deflecting Pokéballs. Kai had made it seem easy when he caught that Poochyena, which only irked Tyson even more that his rival was already so advanced at such an early stage. Adding insult to injury was that Kai refused to help anyone in the catching department and preferred to ignore it altogether in favour of training the Pokémon he already had.
Depressing thoughts aside, Tyson was considering just rolling over and going back to sleep but a tempting aroma in the air forced him to stir. His nose was in total control, dragging his head away from his pillow until he finally relented and opened his eyes to find a juicy piece of bacon dangling right in front of him. His eyes bulged and his food-loving instincts kicked in before his brain could. He lunged for it like a fish leaping for the bait but it was quickly swiped out of his reach and he ended up landing face first on the floor. The familiar cackle he heard as he picked himself up made him grumble. He looked up to see none other than Hilary holding that delectable rasher right in front of his nose and looking absolutely beside herself with glee.
"Ha, ha. Very funny," Tyson muttered with a scowl. He reached for the bacon but Hilary quickly stuffed the whole rasher in her mouth and chewed it exaggeratedly. "Hey! No fair! If you're going to taunt me with it then you have to give it up afterwards!"
"Don't be such a whiny baby," Hilary retorted. She folded her arms but her irritated expression was ruined by the food in her cheeks. "There's more food downstairs. Hurry up and get ready, we have things to do."
Tyson groaned but got to his feet, combing his hair with his fingers and checking out the sky from the window. It was still a bit dark. He yawned. "Why did you wake me up so early? The sun isn't even up properly. Don't tell me you took it upon yourself to subject us to a gruelling and stupid training regime for this Pokémon rubbish."
"I did not! And stop pretending that you still think Pokémon are awful. I've been watching you; you practically adore Torchic."
Tyson blew at his fringe. He decided to ignore that comment and go about his morning routine instead. When he made it downstairs, looking presentable but still sleepy, the rest of the team was already at a booth with their breakfast, minus Mari. He searched the lobby and spotted her at a PC on the far end of the room. She seemed to be talking to someone through a video chat in a conversation that was going well judging by her bright smile. He considered going over to her out curiosity but held that thought when Max called him over to the table. To his delight, someone had already gone to the trouble of getting a tray for him, piled up with double servings of everything. Unfortunately he was stuck sitting next to Hilary who seemed to have nothing better to do than ruin his enjoyment of the meal by forcing him to eat like a human.
About halfway through his food, Tyson finally paused to chew and take a breath. "So, what gives?" he inquired. Everyone looked at him questioningly. "Why the early start?"
"Thought we should leave today." Tyson turned away from the table to see Mari coming over to join them but there was no more room to sit so she stood at the end. "We've been here a while, aren't you itching to move on? We can take it slow and do more training along Route 102. Might even be able to meet some more interesting Pokémon there too."
"Who were you talking to on the computer?" Tyson blurted out.
"Tyson!" Hilary hissed, pinching him painfully in the side. "It's rude to pry into other people's private conversations."
Mari giggled. "No, it's fine. That was just my big brother. He's a travelling Pokémon trainer too, so it's usually hard to get through to him but I managed to get lucky today and he's doing just fine."
The way she smiled when she said that made it seem like it was the best thing that could possibly happen ever. It was the first time any of them had ever seen her so cheerful. The other teens stared at her curiously, wondering what kind of person her brother was if he could bring that kind of reaction out of her. They decided he must be someone she looked up to at the very least.
"So, when you said 'take it slow' before," Daichi piped up, "does that mean we get to do more camping?"
"Yup," Mari replied. "Bit more than I was originally planning, so I'm going to go to the store and get a few extra supplies. Pack your things because we should leave as soon as we can. And make sure you see Nurse Joy before you go, she said she wanted to talk to you."
The group exchanged confused glances.
"About what?" Ray asked tentatively.
"Something important," Mari said flippantly. "Make sure you do it. I'll be back as soon as I can."
The rest of the group looked at each other apprehensively as Mari turned her back on them and skipped off to prepare for her shopping trip. They spent the rest of the meal speculating what the nurse could possibly want to see them about but they didn't have to ponder for long. By the time most of them had finished eating Nurse Joy approached their table. She looked fresh and friendly despite having probably been up for a few hours already.
"How are you?" she asked. "So I hear that you're leaving this morning. Are you excited?"
"Psyched!" Max replied. Tyson shot him a glare. "This is the first time I've done anything like this. I'm raring to get to that first gym in Petalburg City."
"Yeah, I guess it'll be okay," Tyson mumbled, rolling his eyes and leaning back in his seat.
"I'm actually pretty nervous," Hilary admitted. "You know, some of those Pokémon get pretty big eventually, like Charizard. Isn't it difficult to handle them?"
"Oh, I wouldn't worry," Joy giggled. "You'll be fine. Most beginner trainers are much younger than you. If they can manage it, you definitely can."
"How much younger than us are most beginners?" Tyson wondered aloud.
"Most children begin Pokémon training journeys at around the age of ten or eleven," Nurse Joy answered, oblivious to the group's shock despite them all having the same incredulous expression. "It's wonderful to meet them as they pass through from Littleroot Town. Easy to see who's a dewy-eyed beginner and who's a seasoned traveller. Meeting their Pokémon is fun too, unless it's in the emergency room."
"Ten? Seriously?!" Daichi exclaimed. "Even I'm older than that!"
"Don't their parents get worried about them?" Hilary asked. "Can they even look after themselves?"
"They always seem to be doing just fine whenever I see them," Joy said, looking confused at the reactions of Hilary and the bladers. "Sure their parents probably worry about them but it's something important for children to experience. Even I travelled with Pokémon when I was a child, before I figured out that what I really wanted to be was a nurse. Only really found that out through travelling with my Pokémon, seeing the world and meeting all sorts of different people and Pokémon."
"I agree but at ten years old?" Ray said. Nurse Joy still didn't seem to understand what the problem was, so Ray just continued, "Anyway, Mari told us that you wanted to see us for something."
"Yes, you all need to have a health check before I let you go."
"Fair enough," Max said, standing up and pushing his tray away. "I'll go first, I'm already finished."
"Wait…" Tyson butt in, giving Joy a nervous look. "Check-ups usually mean needles. Do we have to get injections?"
"That depends on your health," Nurse Joy answered slyly, leading Max away to a private room. Tyson stared after her looking terrified while Hilary, Ray and Kai all sighed pre-emptively for the inevitable hissy-fit he was going to throw when it was finally his turn.
The sun was up by the time Mari was returning from her shopping. To her surprise, the party was already waiting for her outside the Pokémon Centre. Fortunately, they all looked ready to leave except for Tyson and Daichi, who looked like they needed to lie down for a while. Daichi was wobbling and looking dumbstruck like he'd just had a traumatic experience and Tyson looked the same except that he was griping about something right in Hilary's ear and she aggressively yelled at him to shut up.
"Is everything alright?" Mari asked. She looked over the group, noticing a missing blond. "Where'd Max go?"
"He said he had one more thing to take care of before we left," Ray explained. "We're ready to go."
"No, no we're not ready!" Tyson interrupted. "Everything is not alright! I can't believe what I just had to go through. I need a few hours to process this whole traumatic event."
"We all went through the same 'traumatic event' and we're fine," Kai snapped at him.
"Why don't you understand?!" Tyson exclaimed. "What we just experienced goes beyond simple injections!"
"Nurse Joy wouldn't do anything to deliberately hurt you," Mari said, getting more and more concerned about how Tyson was taking it. "Just a health check-up, right? Sometimes you have to get an injection but that's standard."
"Is getting minor surgery standard?"
"Surgery?"
Ray sighed and explained: "Nurse Joy told all of us that we had to agree to get a contraceptive implant as a requirement of remaining affiliated with the Pokémon League."
"Oh… one of those," Mari muttered, screwing up her face in distaste. "Do me a favour and don't start telling me about the boy version of that, don't wanna know."
"Why don't you sound concerned or outraged?!" Tyson shouted.
"Surgery is standard for all League affiliated teenagers," Mari replied looking like she would rather be talking about something else. "Not a big deal. And you don't have to comply if you quit the League or turn seventeen, whatever comes first."
"Wait, so every trainer has to go through that?" Daichi asked.
"No, only the ones who receive Pokédexes from their Regional Professors. Seriously, who cares? All it means is that you have one less thing to worry about and we can stop even thinking about it right now."
"So only people who are taking the Gym Challenge are required to do this?" Ray said.
"No, you seem confused about this. The way it works is: the Gym Challenge is just a screening process to qualify for more major Pokémon League tournaments – series of entrance exams, if you will – but you don't have to be a trainer affiliated with the Pokémon League to undertake it. Being affiliated with the Pokémon League is essentially like being employed by them since they give you money for winning battles and special discounts at lots of places. They also make you follow ground rules and requirements to cover their butts in case something happens because once you're affiliated with them they're kind of responsible for you. Besides, contraceptive implants are nowhere near the worst thing that could possibly happen to you while you're travelling."
Max decided he'd probably walked up to the conversation at the wrong moment and hoped that if he just pretended he hadn't heard anything the topic would drop. "Hey guys! I'm back."
Mari jumped, having not noticed him coming up behind her.
"It took you long enough," Hilary griped. "Where were you?"
"I just had to say goodbye to some of the girls I met at the market," he replied, lifting the assortment of things he was carrying in his arms. "They were all really nice and insisted on giving me these things for the road."
"That's a lot of stuff," Ray noted. "How many girls were you meeting?"
Max laughed sheepishly and chose not to answer that while Mari was scrutinising the items he'd brought back: "Sticky cake, rice balls, Pecha berries, a scarf, a Paralyse Heal, a TM… a Water Stone?! Wow, you made some really good friends really quickly."
"You could say that…" Max replied, looking away to avoid making eye contact with anyone.
"You know what?" Tyson said, giving Max a look of intense disapproval. "Maybe you're right, Mari. Max probably needs the implant more than any of us."
"Are you still complaining about that?" Max huffed.
"Why aren't you?"
"Because it only took ten minutes and I walked out of there like it never happened! Just stop thinking about it."
"I really hate to interrupt," Hilary interjected, "but Kai's leaving us behind again." She pointed down the road to where Kai was walking away without even a backwards glance. Max quickly put his gifts away in his bag and the group finally moved off.
The road going west was very much the same of what they'd seen before on Route 101 and 103. It was flanked on both sides by untamed forest and tall grass but the path itself was clear, if a little bit winding. They lost all sight of Oldale Town within the first half hour. It felt as if the direction of the road was controlled by the forest and they had to make some detours around a few unclimbable ledges. Since they'd left early they managed to make fairly good time and at some point in the middle of the day they came across a large pond that was fed by a small stream trickling over some boulders in the forest. They stopped here for a break, quickly munching through the lunches they packed at the Pokémon Centre and then starting on the sticky cake – a dense dessert that had the texture of cake but chewing it felt like eating a toffee.
"How long will it take to reach Petalburg City?" Ray asked after getting his teeth unstuck for the umpteenth time.
"From memory, about two and a half days," Mari answered, "but we can stop here and now if you want. You still haven't got the three Pokémon required anyway."
"Why do we need three?" Tyson whined. "They're so hard to catch!"
"Course Pokémon in the wild are going to try evading capture," Mari said, lying on the grass with her hands behind her head. "Think of it as a test – challenging a Gym Leader requires you to be good enough to catch at least three Pokémon."
"An entrance exam to the entrance exam?" Ray quipped.
"More or less."
Daichi immediately jumped to his feet. "Then what are we waiting for here? I'm gonna be the first to catch one of those Zigzagoons!" He dashed off into the forest, cackling excitedly. "Smell you later!"
"Wait, you!" Mari exclaimed, sitting up quickly. "Don't run into the forest by yourself; you'll get lost again!"
She got up and chased him down. Tyson also stood with his hands balled into fists. A challenge had been issued and he was not one to back down. "Oh yeah? Not if I catch one first! Who's with me?"
He turned to the rest of the group. Kai turned away and released Magikarp into the pond. "Do what you want. I don't care."
"Aw, c'mon Kai," Max implored, "where's your sense of adventure."
"He can sit out if he wants to," Tyson said with a shrug. "Max, the two of us can go together."
"Actually, I want to catch my own Pokémon."
"Yeah, me too," Ray added.
"You guys are going to be careful being in the forest by yourselves, right?" Hilary said.
"Of course we are. You didn't even have to ask," Tyson replied.
"Well, have fun."
"Aren't you going to come?" Max asked, collecting all of the things he would need. "You're going to need three Pokémon for the Petalburg Gym too, so you might as well start catching early."
"I'll catch one when I'm ready. And I don't want to be part of your stupid boy game. Have fun being immature." She shooed them with a hand gesture. The three boys looked at each other. Tyson just shrugged and they all went their separate ways into the forest.
As soon as they were all gone it was very quiet. Kai took his shoes and socks off to wade up to his knees in pond water next to Magikarp. Hilary watched and furrowed her eyebrows when Kai suddenly started to squeeze his hands in the water and squirt it at Magikarp while telling her to use Water Gun. The Pokémon didn't seem fazed but sunk a little deeper in the water anyway. Togepi giggled and danced at the edge of the pond, thinking that that looked like a funny game.
"Kai, what are you doing?" Hilary asked.
"I'm trying to teach her Water Gun," he answered, not taking his eyes off the task for moment. Togepi leaned into the water and splashed some in Magikarp's direction but none of it reached.
"Why?"
"She only knows four attacks, so I'm expanding her move pool."
"Really… you can do that? Can Magikarp really learn Water Gun?" Hilary wondered, taking out her Pokédex and going straight into the Attackdex. "According to the Pokédex, Magikarp can't learn Water Gun."
"I know what the Pokédex says," Kai retorted. "I'm going to prove it wrong."
Kai had a way of silencing conversation and it became quiet again. Hilary released Ralts out of boredom and the two of them started to harmlessly play together. They found that they could make a game out of Ralts' ability to use Confusion to disturb the environment, doing anything from shaking leaves off the trees or even shaking them off the ground and into Hilary's hands. Togepi enjoyed running around among the fluttering leaves and Ralts could even create choppy ripples on the surface of the pond. Kai briefly stopped what he was doing to glare at them. The rippling was starting to get annoying and he thought that he was starting to make some headway with Magikarp when she managed to spit a mouthful of water back at him.
"Can you stop?" he said.
"Aw, but we're having fun. Right, Ralts?"
Ralts smiled and nodded. Togepi giggled and waved her arms about happily.
"Why don't you try teaching your Pokémon something worthwhile? Ralts only knows one attack-"
"Excuse me! She knows two."
"Growl doesn't count. I get the feeling that you're not serious about the Pokémon League."
Hilary sighed and crouched down at the edge of the pond. "I am, I just…"
"You're not actually interested in being a part of it," Kai deducted.
"But I am! I can be as good a fighter as you boys!" Hilary huffed. She crossed her arms. "I just don't want to be a part of this stupid Pokémon catching competition because I'm taking it more seriously. It's not just some game, you know."
Kai just stared at her stoically. He didn't say or do anything for a long while. Hilary stared back at him, trying to look as determined as she possibly could yet she couldn't help the feeling that behind the impassable wall of his blank face he was judging her. She wasn't sure what she was being judged for but tried to keep a strong front against Kai in the staring battle. Holding one's own in a staring match with Kai is a very difficult thing to do, though. The fact that he could stand so still and so quiet (she couldn't even see his chest moving as he breathed) was greatly unnerving. Just when she thought she was going to cave, he looked away and shrugged.
"As long as you're sure that you really want to do it," Kai muttered.
Hilary blinked, unsure of what to make of that comment. She puffed out her cheeks huffily. It sounded like he doubted her. A soft pat on the leg made her look down. Ralts looked up at her and it was one of those rare moments when Hilary could see her eyes. She was just as stoical as Kai and her deeply sympathetic eyes seemed to be reaching right into her trainer.
They'd all been wrapped up in their own world and didn't notice the curious little bug that had skated up to them from the reeds on the other side of the pond. It was silent as it moved gracefully towards the intriguing humans and their Pokémon, tilting its head from side to side as it tried to figure out what they were up to (a very funny sight, really, since its head was basically its entire body). Hilary caught sight of a little blue bulb hovering right behind Kai out of the corner of her eye.
"Oh! What's that?" she said, pointing to it.
Kai turned around quickly and prepared to face something head-on. He spotted the little blue bug Pokémon and baulked. "Magikarp, use Tackle!"
Magikarp sprang into action and charged into the bug with a full-bodied tackle, glad to finally be doing something that wasn't weird and confusing. The bug was thrown back but its spindly legs and light body kept it floating on the water's surface as it spun out.
"Why'd you do that?" Hilary chided. "That was really mean!"
"It snuck up on me."
"It didn't look like it was going to hurt you." She aimed her Pokédex camera at the little blue bug. "You could have at least tried to find out what it was before you decided to knock it around."
"Surskit, the pond skater Pokémon. From the tips of its feet, it secretes special oil that enables it to walk on water as if it were skating. It emits a sweet aroma from the tip of its head.They usually live on ponds, but after an evening shower, they may appear on puddles in towns."
"It sounds harmless," Hilary noted, putting her Pokédex away. "And it looks really cute! How could you attack it like that?"
"I don't like anything that sneaks up on me," Kai retorted tensely, looking anxious.
Surskit got back to its feet and glared at Kai angrily. It started to gather a little glowing blue ball in front of its face. Both Hilary and Kai's eyes widened but they had no idea what it was about to do. The ball suddenly popped and visible shockwaves burst forth, sucking water towards them like a mini-tidal wave. It missed Magikarp and hit Kai directly. He felt a shockwave first, then a torrent of water and a couple more waves. His ears popped and rang at the same time. It was so loud that it even affected his eyesight for a moment and left him disoriented so he wasn't anywhere near steady enough to brace himself against the undercurrent that the water displacement had caused. It sucked him under fast and hard. Hilary and Togepi screamed and Magikarp dived after him.
"Okay, maybe I was wrong about it being harmless," she said, glaring at the Surskit, "but I'm not going to let that slide. Ralts, use Growl!"
The adorable sound coming from Ralts seemed to put Surskit off but it prepared the same attack again. It let it fly but not only was the current weaker this time but the wave mostly dissipated as soon as it hit the shore. Ralts only felt as though she'd been hit by a brief gust.
"Huh. Looks like that attack isn't as strong on land," Hilary said. "Hit back with Confusion." Surskit wobbled and stumbled as the attack hit and scrambled its thoughts. It teetered from side to side. Hilary clicked her fingers as a bright idea came to her. "Of course! Ralts, aim your Confusion attack at the water again! Don't let it get back on its feet!"
The water under Surskit's feet rippled haphazardly. It couldn't retain its natural balance and toppled into the water, where it struggled to stay on the surface. To Hilary's relief, Magikarp resurfaced and dragged Kai up with her. He leaned on his Pokémon while he caught his breath. Ralts tapped Hilary on the leg and pointed at the flailing Surskit, saying something in that gentle coo she spoke with. Hilary blinked at her Pokémon and looked to the Surskit confusedly. She gasped.
"Right! This is an opportunity."
Kai looked up at her curiously as she dashed back to her bag and rummaged through the pockets. She picked out a Pokéball and threw it out onto the lake. It tapped Surskit and swallowed it before it sunk under. The ball bobbed in the water as the light flashed and when the flashing faded Hilary let out a loud whoop. Kai picked up her Pokéball before it sunk and stood up in the chest high water.
"I did it! I caught a new Pokémon! Alright! Go me! Woohoo!" Hilary cheered excitedly, jumping up and down and running in circles.
Kai tossed the Pokéball onto the shore and dragged himself out of the water to plonk down on the grass on his back. His ears were still ringing a little bit from that creature's attack. Togepi ran over to him and cuddled up to his face, sobbing as though it was asking if he was alright. Hilary picked up her Pokéball and released Surskit. It came out along with a puddle of water and shook itself out. It looked sad and dejected but then turned and saw Hilary looking down on it and its eyes were angry again.
"Now listen, you," Hilary scolded, putting one hand on her hip while the other waggled at Surskit. "I know Kai was being a jerk but you should cool it with those attacks. You could have drowned him."
Ralts voiced her agreement, mimicking Hilary's pose. Kai glared at both of them and shifted his eyes slightly to send and even darker glare towards Surskit. It caught him looking and flinched. The scary boy actually made it kind of nervous. It suddenly felt a gentle touch on its head and it shied away.
"Hey, hey," Hilary said gently. "It's okay, I'm not going to hold a grudge against you. Kai's fine, see? We can all be friends."
"Speak for yourself," Kai murmured. Hilary glowered at him.
Tyson sighed and put his hands behind his head. Torchic scampered beside him. The light was starting to get dim so he figured he had to turn around and go back but he still hadn't caught anything. He wondered if anyone else had had much luck. Thankfully he managed to successfully find his way back to the pond before it was too dark to set up camp. He halted abruptly and blinked. Torchic marched on before suddenly realising that his trainer had stopped and did an about-face. Tyson gawked at the scene before him. Torchic followed his gaze. Kai and Hilary were in the same place where they'd left them. Kai was working with his Poochyena and Magikarp. It looked like he'd successfully taught Poochyena something new but Magikarp was still pending in development. Hilary, however, was sitting beside Togepi and her Ralts while a little blue bug creature was spitting a fine spray of water into the air. Ralts and Togepi were enjoying the resulting shower.
"Hey!" Tyson called to them, running over to Hilary. She smiled at him but all he could do was gawk at the new Pokémon. "What is that and when did it get here?"
"This is Surskit. I caught him while you were out doing you stupid competition. By the way, how did that go?"
"Are you kidding me?! You managed to catch a Pokémon and you weren't even looking! I've been running around the forest for hours trying to find a Pokémon that will stand still long enough to get caught."
"You know it works better if you weaken them first," Kai told him.
"Yes, I know that. But some of those Pokémon are fast runners whenever there's a battle and some wily little acorn-bastards dropped a branch on my head when I tried to catch them."
Hilary burst into laughter just imagining Tyson getting hit by a falling branch. Tyson growled and started yelling at her to stop while the Pokémon just laughed at his anger. That was how Max, Ray, Daichi and Mari found them. They coincidentally made it back at the same time and the first thing they all noticed was the sudden appearance of Surskit.
"Aw, darn!" Daichi grumbled. "Tyson managed to catch one before me."
"Better luck next time," Mari said, patting him on the shoulder.
"Tyson didn't catch him!" Hilary corrected. "I did! I won the catching competition!"
"I thought you weren't participating," Max said, raising an eyebrow.
"From the looks of things, you're the only one who ended up with any results," Ray pointed out. "Unless anyone else had some luck."
Max and Tyson shook their heads while Daichi pouted and muttered: "Mari wouldn't even help me. She just followed me around like I was some dumb kid that needed babysitting."
Mari shrugged. "What's the point of catching Pokémon if you don't do it yourself? Good to see that someone got something out of today." Her tummy rumbled, making her giggle. "Think it's time for dinner now."
"I second that," Tyson and Daichi said in unison.
The rest of the evening was devoted to setting up camp for the night. Hilary spent the entire time giddy with delight and excited to have a new Pokémon follow her around the camp. The boys had to admit defeat this time but went to bed with the knowledge that tomorrow there would be more chances and more interesting Pokémon.
A/N: it appears I have kept you waiting. Sorry about that. I went away to the country for a bit and forgot to tell everyone but I'm back and I have a new chapter here and ready for you. It's mostly just a little micro-adventure and it would have been a bit shorter but I recently rediscovered a fanfic I read years ago which inspired me to add an extra scene to this chapter, extending it by a little over 500 words. I don't know how many of you have read any fanfics by BenRG but he wrote a fic titled Implant for Safety's Sake way back in 2001. It basically operates on the premise of "why Ash can't get Misty pregnant" (she was Ash's only female companion at the time the story was written). I actually didn't take much from it - I don't subscribe to the actual implant he describes in his story or to the ultra-hardline-borderline-facist way that the rules about it are enforced - but the issue is important to take into consideration.
So just to clarify, the entire point of all of this is to say that nobody in this fic will be getting teen-pregnant ever. That is literally the only reason why the scene was added and is important. Any other reason you may be able to think for why I might want to include it is just a figment of your imagination.
Also, yes, we are probably going to be going on micro-adventures like this every time someone catches a Pokémon but there is a good reason why. Since they're meant to be bonding with Pokémon as well as doing all of the other things, I want all of their first encounters with their Pokémon to be unique and somewhat meaningful. And as you can probably already tell, they're terrible at catching Pokémon so it's a big deal when they actually do manage to pull it off.
Please leave a review and I'll see you next week. ^_^