I awoke the following morning to a soft breeze and the sounds of nature. It was a pleasant experience that I was not accustomed to. I got up and stretched, looking around at our camp. Sienna was curled up in her own little sleeping bag next to mine. Ez was sprawled out across her bag with Elektra laying across her stomach. As I looked around, I noticed neither Marc nor Lee were there. I figured they probably were up early and were out doing some kind of morning routine. Since I was the first up, I figured I would make breakfast for everyone.

I grabbed my cooking gear and restarted our campfire. I looked through the supplies I had, trying to decide what I should make. I finally settled on curry, since I had a decent selection of ingredients to do so. The preparation went quick and I just about had it finished when I heard Ez begin to stir.

"Mmm…that smells good…what's for breakfast?" She said sleepily, not even opening her eyes.

I smirked as I responded. "We're having curry."

She smiled as she talked again. "Mmm, thanks dad I'm so hungry."

Unable to contain it, I immediately burst out laughing. Ez suddenly bolted upright, knocking poor Elektra right off of her.

"Hey wait what?!" She cried out, looking around in confusion. "Oh right, we're out of Route 101. Ugh, what was I saying?

It took me a minute to regain my composure and respond. "Well, you asked what was for breakfast and I said we were having curry, you then said thanks dad I'm really hungry.

Ez turned as red as her hair and pulled the sleeping bag over her face. "That is so not cool and so not funny and…". She paused for a moment, pulling the bag back down. "Hey, where is Elektra?"

"Oh, she rolled off of you when you sat up" I responded, pointing off to her side. Elektra was laying on her back completely sprawled out and still snoring away. "Aww, she even sleeps like you do" I joked, which resulted in a pillow being thrown at my face.

Marc and Lee returned just as this exchange occurred, which got a nice laugh from the pair. "Well, looks you guys are starting without us" Marc said.

"Nope, you guys are right on time" I said as I tossed Ez's pillow back to her. Everyone gathered around and I prepared a plate for everyone. Ez also let out her Sentret to join in for breakfast.

"Mmm, this is really good," Ez said. "I never knew you could make curry. You don't usually see curry outside of the Galar region."

"I'm not really sure, I just kind of knew I could and I had the ingredients for it." I shrugged as I responded, taking another bite. I turned to Marc and Lee. So, what were you guys up to this morning?"

"Well," Marc said after gulping down a big bite. "This morning we did our stretches and then did intermittent sprints."

"Sounds like a good cardio workout," I responded.

"Definitely," Marc said. "Keeping a jogging pace the whole time and then quick bursts is great for not only endurance but also bursts of speed when needed."

"That makes a lot of sense, I would love to join you guys one morning to see how I do." I said, finishing off my plate. "Maybe Ez would too?" I asked, looking over to her.

"Nah, I doubt it," Marc said. "That would require her to get up early." He laughed as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"So, I guess once we pack up we'll be heading to Oldale Town then?" I said as I gathered everyone's plates and utensils.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Ez said. "We should be able to make it before dark. That way, we could grab supplies before turning in for the night and we can head out first thing in the morning.

"This will be interesting, I never stayed at a Pokemon center before," I said as I finished packing up my stuff. Marc and Ez finished up their packing as well and we began to walk again.

"I have a few times when I was younger," Marc remarked. "When we would travel for my mom's Pokemon contests, we would stay in them from time to time. They all have a pretty similar layout in terms of basic function, just some are bigger and maybe have additional amenities.

"Yeah, like how Lavaridge has hot springs with theirs," Ez chimed. "Oh I can't wait, I could just soak for days." Ez stared off into the sky for a little before coming back to earth.

"That does sound really nice," Marc added. "A long soak in the hot springs after a hard workout would feel amazing. I could see us spending an extra day or so in Lavaridge."

So how long would it take to get to Lavaridge from Oldale?" I asked curiously.

"Well, it would be about a week on foot. From Oldale we would head north and then east on Route 103 to the Hoenn river. We would swim across that and continue to Route 110, then north to Mauville City. That will take about three days. Then we would head north on Route 111 and then west on Route 112, either taking the cable car or climbing Mt. Chimney via the Jagged Pass to reach Lavaridge."

"Yeah, that is quite a hike," I said, surprised it would take that long. "None of us have a Pokemon that can fly either, otherwise I bet we could get there in just a few hours."

"Depending on the pokemon, absolutely," Ez chipped in. Something like a Corviknight could make that trip in just an hour or two, while a Tropius or Altaria may take half a day or more. I definitely can't wait until we have Pokemon that we can ride around on."

"Agreed," Marc added. "Not only does that show a symbol of how our strength has grown, but it will unlock many places in the region that one may not simply be able to visit on foot. Paying to ride a boat to access a lot of areas can get expensive, but it is a necessity to gather all the gym badges required for the championships."

"Well, I'm sure we will make it there in no time," I said, hoping to keep up the spirits of the team. Marc and Ez nodded in agreement and we continued on our way.

…

The next few hours went by uneventfully. We saw a few wild Pokemon and the occasional trainer but decided to pace ourselves. Given that none of us jumped to go after any of the Pokemon we saw, it seemed that we all had an idea of what kind of team we wanted and did not plan to just catch everything we saw. We arrived in Oldale Town late in the afternoon.

Oldale town was definitely a bit smaller that Littleroot town, but being only a stop on the trainer's routes it made some sense. It felt like a small town in a rural area, with lots of small businesses and homes. The one building that stood out though was rather large, painted white with a red roof. It looked to stand about four stories tall and had a large pokeball in the front. The sign said "Oldale Town Pokemon Center."

"Wow, it's way bigger than I thought," I said as we headed towards the building.

"It is big, and this isn't even one of the big ones," Ez said. "The one in Littleroot town is actually bigger though we didn't have a reason to visit it."

"Shouldn't we head to the Pokemart first," I asked.

"Don't worry Alex, the Pokemarts have been incorporated into the Pokemon centers," said Marc. "Since the Pokemon league manages both and trainers usually need to get supplies before heading out, they found it more economical to just expand the centers to include the market as well."

"Ah, I see," I said, a little ashamed. I feel like I read that during my two weeks of studying but must have forgotten. It only took about ten minutes from the entrance of town to reach the center. As we entered, the doors slid apart and we were greeted by a relaxing sight.

The main lobby was wide open and well lit, with tile floors and red trim on the walls. The pokemart looked to be off to the side, with a blue awning over a door to a sectioned off area of the center. There were plenty of benches and chairs through the main area. A large counter with screens behind it was directly ahead, most like the medical portion of the building. Another counter off to the other side was wood trimmed and had stairs and elevators by it. We decided to go to the pokemart first.

A small chime rang as we entered the mart, its appearance very similar to a modern convenience store. The shelves were neatly stocked with a good assortment of products, many of which I didn't recognize. As I looked around, I realized this was essentially a convenience store that was marketed more towards Pokemon trainers. There was a wide variety of food and drinks, as well as basic supplies. There was a Pokemon specific section a few aisles down and had a great selection of items, many of which were currently out of our price range. We each grabbed some basic supplies, such as food, drinks, as well as some potions and poke balls. After checking out, we headed to the hospital.

As we approached the counter, there were quite a few nurses and pokemon both tending as well as helping people. A friendly woman greeted us as we approached. "Welcome to the Oldale Town Health Center, how can we help you today?"

I was unsure how to respond, but Ez quickly stepped up to answer.

"Oh, we just wanted to drop off our Pokemon for quick heals and check ups," Ez said as she handed the nurse her Trainer's license and pokeballs.

The nurses scanned her license, handing it back. "Of course, Ms. Moore, we'll gladly heal your Sentret and Yamper." She looked at Marc and I. "Will you guys also be dropping off?"

"Yes ma'am," Marc responded, handing his license and Lee's pokeball to her.

"Ok…Mr. Wayne, I will take your Machop." She then turned to me. "And you?"

"Umm, yes," I stuttered, handing her my license and Sienna's pokeball, which prompted a giggle from her.

"Mr. Pyrite I see. Don't worry, we'll take care of your Eevee." She said as she handed us all back our licenses. She placed our pokeballs on a tray and pressed a button causing them to disappear. She saw the surprised look on my face and smiled. "You have never been to a Pokemon center before have you?"

I shrugged as I responded "No, this is actually my first time in one."

""Ah, I had a feeling," the nurse said. "Well, I can tell you a few basic things. First, this is not only a Pokemon Center but also the town's hospital. We take care of all people and Pokemon. So if you are just needing a basic heal, something that a potion could treat in the field, then we are able to simply treat your pokemon with the equipment we have. Don't worry though, they will be ready shortly. Now, if the injury is more serious, we have rooms like a standard hospital to treat injuries like that. That applies to both Pokemon and people. Also, if you are staying for the night, you can retrieve your Pokemon right from your room. So let's say we were really busy and couldn't get your teams healed for a half an hour. You could go get your room and once your Pokemon are finished, we would send you a notification to the room and we could simply send your pokeballs to a machine in the room for you to have them back."

"Oh wow, that is a really well thought out system. It is amazing how far technology has come," I said, still a bit starstruck.

The nurse giggled a bit. "It definitely is. So, your Pokemon should be ready in about fifteen minutes. Were you planning to wait here, or are you getting a room for the night?"

Marc spoke up before I could respond. "We will be getting a room for the evening, so once we are up there we will do the remote retrieval."

"Very good," she said with a smile. "Thank you again for choosing the Oldale Town Pokemon Center, we hope to see you again." She waved as we headed to the other counter in the building.

The last counter was tended by a younger guy who smiled as we approached. "Welcome to the Oldale Center Inn, how can I help you?"

"We'd like to get a room for the evening for 3 trainers," I responded, handing my Pokemon license to him. Marc and Ez did the same as he took and scanned them.

"Understood. Well, our rooms generally have one, two, or four beds in them, but most also have a couch. Would a two bed with a couch be ok?" He asked.

"Yes, that will be sufficient," Marc responded, looking at Ez and I. "I will sleep on the couch tonight, no worries." We both smiled and nodded thanks as our licenses were handed back to us.

"Very good, you guys will be staying in Room 303. The scanner outside the room is set up for your licenses, so they will serve as your room keys. Given you have no prior history staying in a center, I assumed you were first time travelers and I wanted to make sure you knew how they would work."

"Thank you so much, we really appreciate it," I said as we headed towards the elevator. As we headed up, I looked over a small map of the center on the wall. The upper floors were split into two areas, one for the hospital and the other for the inn. The first two floors of rooms looked to be single rooms with a common kitchen for every group of 4 rooms. The third floor was all two bedroom units, which shared a kitchen. This floor also looked to extend over the main area of the Pokemon Center where we first walked through, with the rest of the level above the pokemart and medical desk being taken up by the hospital. The fourth floor looked to be all four unit rooms with individual kitchens. All units had their own three quarter bathroom with some common restrooms as well.

As we arrived on our floor, we departed the elevator and found our room. We entered to find a very simply designed room. White walls and red carpet felt appropriate for the whole area. It looked similar to an efficiency apartment. The floor plan was open with a television, couch, and some chairs. Towards the back of the room were a pair of beds with some dressers for storage. The bathroom was off to the side, small but very utilitarian. Marc dropped his stuff by the couch while Ez and I set ours by the beds. After getting settled in, we heard a ringing by the front door.

Marc walked up to a device that looked similar to the one the nurse used for our Pokemon but more compact. It had a tray with six pokeball sized cutouts, a keyboard with a scanner, and a computer screen. He pressed a button and the nurse popped up on the monitor.

"Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know your Pokemon are ready to go whenever you want to retrieve them," she said in a cheerful voice, ending the call once we acknowledged her. Marc held up his license to the scanner and after a moment Lee's pokeball was beamed into the tray. Ez walked up and did the same, me following suit.

"Ok, so it looks like we are pretty much set up for the night. Who's hungry?"," Ez said excitedly.

"Yeah, I could definitely eat," I added with Marc nodding in agreement. We made our way into the shared kitchen, finding we had it to ourselves for the evening. Since the center keeps the fridge and cabinets stocked with food, we were able to have a nice meal before turning into bed. It was definitely a unique experience, but I figured I better get used to it. "It's either a Pokemon center or outdoors from here on out," I thought to myself before falling asleep for the night.

Author's Notes:

Thank you to everyone who has read the story so far and followed it. I am sorry to all those who have waited for a new chapter for so long. I lost my drive to write for a while, so a Imm slowly getting back into it. I have gone through and revised all previous chapters to make some world building adjustments.

I will try to keep putting out chapters at a steady pace as I have a lot of ideas. Please leave comments on ideas, feedback, or even questions and Imll do by best to be interactive.