TWINLEAF TOWN, 07:27

Claus groaned as he woke up, blinking the haze of sleep from his eyes. It was some ungodly time of the morning, the sun having only recently cleared the horizon. The discomfort lingered. After all, even the most hardy of morning people had to take a moment to shake off the drowsiness, and Claus was no different.

But Claus was one of those hardy morning people, so it didn't take him long to get up and march himself to the shower.

After getting ready for the day, Claus pushed open the door to the living room. Other residents were conspicuously absent, which wouldn't normally be what one would expect for the household of a seventeen-year-old boy. But it was a scene that he was used to seeing, and he knew that there would be a note for him from his parents in the same location as it always was.

Without looking, he flicked his wrist to his right, and the note flew right to his hand. Claus smiled as he pulled the metal clip off the paper. He was getting better at that with practice. He might have been a little disappointed at first about the Steel affinity, hoping for one of the more versatile ones like Psychic, but it was turning out to make his life a lot easier, and he'd really warmed up to it in the month or so that he'd had it so far.

Claus read the note as he slid two slices of bread into a small toaster:

I'll be back a bit late today, maybe about 20:00. Don't miss me too much. -Mom

Claus smiled. That was his mother. Short and to the point. There was actually more than there usually was this time; normally, he'd be lucky to get anything more than a "nothing new" or "the usual."

He moved to put the note back where it was originally, but something unusual caught his eye. The back of the paper was covered with some markings… oh, that was handwriting. Certainly not the precise strokes of his mother's, but if he squinted and looked just that right way… yeah, those were words. And Claus only knew one person whose handwriting was that terrible and who also regularly accessed his house, whether he signed the note or not.

Bro, sorry for climbing through your window but I got a sick idea, meet me when you wake up as soon as you can. And don't give me any of that garbage that you slept in or whatever, cause we both know that you wake up at ass o'clock like Tapu Koko himself so I better see you within an hour. I'll be at the Smeargle tree.

Claus blinked, confused. Since when did Barry, of all people, wake up before him? The rest of it seemed fairly routine, though. This wasn't even the first time Barry had crawled through the window like some damn Raticate, and he did know Claus's morning routine well enough. And, of course, he was definitely cavalier enough to use the phrase "ass o'clock" in the same breath as the name of a literal deity.

Oh well. He wasn't sure what he would've done otherwise, and considering that school was out, there was about a ninety percent chance that he would've ended up at Barry's doorstep at some point anyways. He had little else to do until he started his gym challenge about a week from now.

Slapping together the slices of toast with some butter in between, Claus held the sandwich between his teeth as he strapped on his shoes and stepped out of the house.

The walk to the place Barry had named was relatively uneventful, especially since he was up so early on a weekend. Twinleaf was just rousing itself, only a few fellow early risers moving about the small town. Claus nodded to Arabelle as he walked briskly past, the friendly old woman a routine sight for those who had lived in Twinleaf. The lady saw him and smiled, waving cheerfully back.

It was only about five minutes of walking until Claus saw the Smeargle tree. In truth, it looked absolutely no different from any other tree on the Route, but it was permanently ingrained into his memory. There was an unfortunate incident a few years back, where Mr. Butler had lost his Flaaffy, and the whole town was searching for it. Claus and Barry had went off in one direction, and then they'd seen Mr. Butler's Flaaffy up in a tree, of all things, with a whole crowd of Smeargle just laying flat on their backs on the ground beneath her, staring up at the poor Flaaffy with eerily blank expressions.

Childhood memories aside, the tree had become a landmark to the people of the town who were present at the time, and Claus had no trouble finding it. Barry stood next to it, bouncing up and down in anticipation. Claus finished off the last bite of his toast and swallowed as he stepped next to Barry and smacked him on the head.

Barry winced. "What? You're the one who's late. I should be hitting you, not the other way around."

Claus shook his head. "Look, I started out here the instant my bread had popped out of the toaster. I don't run everywhere like you do." He glanced sideways at Barry. "Speaking of which, what's the deal? I didn't expect you to be awake before noon."

Barry's eyes lit up here, his previous indignance fading away instantly. "Okay, look, I had a great idea yesterday, and I just had to wake up early today, because it was such a good idea that I needed to do it as soon as possible," he said, waving his hands enthusiastically as he spoke. "So, you know how our gym challenges are starting soon, right?"

Claus squinted. That was more or less the direction he'd imagined the conversation taking so far, but this was where he was no longer sure. "Yeah?"

"Well," Barry said, "do you really want to have the same old boring Fletchling or Poochyena that everyone else is gonna catch? Or do you want something more unique and flashy and cool?"

Claus was totally lost here. "Barry. Have you seen a Mightyena? Or a Talonflame? If those aren't badass, then I don't know what is."

Barry waved off the statement. "Okay, okay, bad example, you got me. But you get what I'm trying to say. My point is that I know a way that we can get a cooler starter, and it's practically foolproof!" He grinned conspiratorially, a stark contrast to the nonplussed stare that he was getting in response from Claus. "So, Professor Rowan came back from Kanto yesterday, and I was thinking we could go to his lab and ask him for a Pokemon!" When Claus's expression shifted from confused to incredulous, he insisted, "Look, it'll work! How far is Sandgem anyways? It's practically next door! We literally go there for the Pokemart!"

This much was true, but it wasn't that simple, unfortunately. "That was when the road was open. It's closed for repairs right now, and it has been for a few days. You know that. The only way now is through Route 201."

Barry's grin grew even wider. "So, we go through Route 201!"

Claus had been waiting for the twist to the plan that would make it completely idiotic, and sure enough, there it was. "Dude, are you stupid? Neither of us have any Pokemon, obviously. And what," he paused here and waved his hand at Barry, launching the paperclip from the note from earlier at Barry, who flinched. "Do you expect that to drive off a Luxray or something? We'll get torn apart."

Barry nodded. "You're right. We alone are in no shape to take on the wild." Here, he reached into his backpack, and Claus suppressed a sigh. What, had he swiped a Repel from his dad, or something? As if that would work.

Claus's eyes widened when Barry's hand came back out, holding…

"Barry," Claus muttered frantically. "What the hell? Where did you get that?"

Barry was undeterred by Claus's alarm. "Relax, man. She's my dad's." He pushed the button on the Ultra Ball, and a flash of light revealed a Meowstic, who blinked up at the two of them with a bored expression. "See? With Lucy protecting us, we'll make it to Sandgem no problem!"

Claus revised his opinion of Barry's plan. It wasn't recklessly self-endangering, sure. But it was illegal, which was pretty bad too. "Man, are you out of your mind? Put her back!" Claus glanced apologetically at the Meowstic, who was staring at them, unimpressed. "What if someone sees? Neither of us have our Trainer cards yet!"

Barry rolled his eyes. "Good grief! You worry like an old lady. Have you ever heard of anyone actually asking to see someone's Trainer card? We look old enough that nobody's gonna ask any questions. Plus, everyone's starting their gym challenge soon. Seriously, nobody will think twice about it."

Claus had to admit, Barry was making good points. "Well, yeah… I guess you're right." He shrugged. His initial resistance to the plan was beginning to fade. "As far as your ideas go, it's not the worst."

Barry smiled. "I knew you'd get it! It's a foolproof plan, I'm telling you!" He gestured at the expanse of Route 201 in front of them. "Well, then? What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Claus shook off the rest of his apprehension. Lucy was trained by Barry's father, who was a powerful trainer in his own right, having served in Sinnoh's military for several years and now running the region's biggest Battle Frontier. She would definitely suffice to protect the two of them from any Pokemon that got too curious on the way to Sandgem. Route 201 was definitely untamed wilderness and no walk in the park, but it was no Mount Coronet, either.

"Yeah," said Claus, nodding. "Yeah, that's a good idea. It's really not even that far. We can make it to Sandgem in like, half an hour if we're lucky."

Barry nodded, even as he began walking along the path. "Yeah! It shouldn't be a problem at all." He grinned as Claus followed after him. "We'll get our Pokemon and be back before lunchtime!"

The conversation turned to more mundane matters as the two of them walked and Claus's nerves relaxed slowly. It really was safe. He'd gone with others previously, too, when the road was closed at other times (which was surprisingly often; you'd think the League would have enough Rock and Ground affinities to lay a decent road.) This was hardly any different.

A lull in the conversation came up, and the three of them walked in silence for some time. Claus opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted when Lucy's head whipped to the side.

Claus held his breath as the grass nearby rustled. After a moment, it parted, and red eyes peered through it.

Next to him, Barry whimpered quietly.

A Jellicent's usual habitat was the sea. They were good swimmers, and usually hung out in the water, where they had easy access to their natural element.

But it wasn't uncommon to see them venturing onto land, especially close to seaside settlements such as Sandgem.

Claus backed away as the Jellicent's massive head emerged from the grass, followed by its tentacles trailing after, floating through the air. Its red eyes surveyed the two of them, and Claus suddenly had a recollection of the tales that he'd heard of ships wandering into Jellicent's territory, but returning without any crew members on board.

Barry's voice shook as he commanded, "Lucy, Psychic!"

Lucy was, surprisingly, unruffled as she faced the seven foot sea monster. The Jellicent stared down at the Meowstic, and Lucy, completely disregarding Barry's advice, held her paws out in front of her. Swirling shadows built up between them, coalescing into a ball. After a second, the attack rocketed forward and struck the Jellicent, exploding into darkness and causing the Jellicent to flinch backwards.

"Yeah," said Barry. "Shadow Ball works fine too."

The Jellicent seemed to be utterly outmatched by Lucy. As terrifying as they could be, this one was likely younger than most, and even a strong wild Pokemon would have trouble taking on Lucy with all of her experience. It began to raise its tentacles, and the Jellicent started to light up green with the glow of a grass-type draining move, but Lucy lunged forward with black coating her fur and rammed the Jellicent head-on. The Sucker Punch left the Jellicent severely weakened, and it turned and drifted away, willing to cut its losses before Lucy knocked it out.

Claus let out a breath that he didn't know he'd been holding. Barry had gone to his knees and was petting Lucy, commending her, while the feline just rolled her eyes. Claus smiled.

"Man, I am so glad we brought Lucy," he said, and Barry nodded fervently. "We would've been toast. Can you believe I actually thought-"

The sound of a clearing throat from behind them interrupted Claus, and the two of them turned around to see a large man who was taller than either of them approaching, with hair bleached with age and an impressive bushy mustache.

Claus thought this man looked familiar, but Barry connected the dots before he could. "Ah, you're Professor Rowan! We were looking for you, actually! And wow, I really like your mustache!"

Rowan's lip twitched beneath his mustache. "Well, thank you." He lifted what looked like a red box with a screen, and Claus felt a sinking feeling. The Professor pointed the Pokedex at Lucy, saying, "Now, forgive my manners, but I have not had the opportunity to scan many Pokemon that are as experienced in battle as your Meowstic here." His eyebrow rose as he looked at the results of the scan, and Barry seemed to finally realize the problem just as Rowan continued.

"And…" He looked back at the two of them, and his stare was appraising in a way that it wasn't before. "I must say, Colonel Palmer Goodman did not look so young the last time I saw him."

NOTES

Here's our MC Claus! (Cry if you get the reference)

Claus's habit of waking up way too early is inspired by me. ngl, a lot of Claus is inspired by me. For instance, so is the steel affinity. Steel is probably my favorite Pokemon type, except maybe grass. Maybe bug, or rock. (Claus can also be indecisive.)

I love Barry so much and he hasn't even shown his lovable stupid face

Claus and Barry smack each other all the time dw about it

The gym challenge is not necessarily as organized as it is in Galar. For one, not everyone does the challenge in the same order, and the matches aren't massive spectacles the same way Galar's are (though there are still spectators). It's taken generally right after people's high school senior year concludes, so most of Sinnoh more or less starts at the same time. People follow the gym challenge, but the amount of people who follow it increases a lot more as it progresses and the challengers get stronger and take on higher level gyms.

BASICALLY my point is that the Enforcer from the prologue is not bad because of not being able to take on a Vanillish, lol. (Or Vanilluxe, if that's what I said.) He's just starting his gym challenge, and his team (sans, you know, ZYGARDE, which isn't really on his team) is nowhere near powerful or numerous enough to fight and win vs an evolved Pokemon.

Mightyena is cool as heck change my mind. Also, yeah, the regional populations of Pokemon are not gonna be as exclusive as they are in the games, especially not for species such as Fletchling, lol. Now, something like a Sigilyph, you might be more hard-pressed to find them outside places that they're found in game, cause they're generally rare.

Barry out here taking Palmer's Pokemon lol

And tbh it's not a terrible plan. The only issues are that it's technically illegal and that Lucy is, y'know, not their Pokemon

Jellicent is huge? Like what the heck? Also water Pokemon can exist outside the water. Why? Because I said so. (Jellicent is one of the more reasonable ones, considering that it's a ghost and they tend to levitate, but when I say water Pokemon I mean ALL water Pokemon.)

Rowan: hi kids, you look about gym challenge age, nice Meowstic you got there who definitely should not be so well trained yet, hope you don't mind if I call you out on your BS