Again, I own neither Pokemon nor The Gamer. This was purely for my own entertainment. It will mostly follow the game.
Chapter 2: Off We Go
I huffed in irritation as my HUD reappeared without permission.
[Quest Update!]
Off We Go!
Part 1: Complete! +50 EXP
Hidden objective 1/3: meet a pokémon!: +10 EXP
Hidden objective 2/3: meet three or more neighbors! +30 EXP
Hidden objective 3/3: NA
Part 2: Make it to lunch! Everyone is meeting at noon in the town of Aquacorde. You don't want to be late!
Completion: +50 EXP, first pick of [Kalos Starter Pokémon], +500 Reputation to all Relationships, +1 to LUK
Failure: +10 EXP, random pokémon from Kalos Region, -500 Reputation to all Relationships, -1 to LUK
Accept?
[Y] [N]
Again, there was no option but to accept the quest and I couldn't help but wince at the failure penalties. Being on time for your trainer journey was clearly a Very Big Deal. I spared a thought for the anime when Ash had been late on his first day. Somehow all the crappy things that happened to him those first few episodes seemed to make a lot more sense and it was not something I wanted for myself. I pulled up my HUD to check the time.
10:26
I had just over an hour to walk to Aquacorde and find the café. I peered down the road but the large trees prevented me from seeing too far. At level 1, with only 5 ED, I probably wasn't going to make it very far doing more than a brisk walk, but I literally had no idea how far it was to my destination. The Map feature was still greyed out and the clock was ticking.
I looked back at the Quest window that was still up. I could not afford those consequences. I had to risk it. I dismissed the HUD and took a deep breath.
I hated jogging.
I hated it back in the regular world, because having a large chest meant sports bras were a joke unless you paid a fortune for one. I hated it then because it wasn't safe to go out where I lived, or anywhere for that matter since I was a woman. And I hated it now, because I was wearing the wrong bra, because I had no idea where I was going, and because after only five measly minutes the travesty of game that had become my life gave me another stupid pop-up window.
Vigorous Activity! -1 ED
And it showed my Endurance bar go down by 20 percent.
I clenched my jaw and ignored the annoyingly bright HUD. I was too focused on running to uncross my arms. I would be on time; I refused to accept any other outcome. I moved my phone from my jeans to my bra for safe keeping and just kept going. After another five minutes, the alert repeated itself. Still trying to ignore the blue glass panes perpetually hovering in front of my head, I started to sweat from running so long, not used to it at all. When I finally reached zero percent, I had to stop. My eyes stung as sweat dripped through my lashes and hot needles jabbed into my lungs as I struggled to breathe. But looking around, I was still very much surrounded by woods. The trees had thinned and while I could see a little further than before, I still couldn't see Aquacorde.
I knew better than to stop, as that would only lead to seized muscles, so I walked slowly for several minutes trying to give my body time to rest. But when the forest didn't clear and my Endurance bar didn't refill I had to make a difficult decision. Should I start jogging again, and risk injury, or walk and hope my ED refilled?
I really and truly did not want to deal with the consequences of being late.
A deep breath confirmed the pain in my chest was tolerable, so I wiped my forehead clear and folded my arms back over my chest. Taking off again, I was now subjected to a different alert after five minutes.
Excessive Activity! -10 HP
I nearly tripped when the pain hit. As soon as the window came up it was like my feet were on fire. The second alert at ten minutes made it spread to my knees. I stopped at fifteen minutes, stumbling on numb legs with a painful stitch in my side. I didn't have much more HP to spare. And while I hadn't triggered the 10 percent chance of an actual injury, as painful as it was I knew I needed to slow down immediately or I would. That would be a very stupid way to die, particularly this early in a Game.
The other good thing about stopping, besides staying alive, was that as I was gasping for breath on my knees, I could see that the thick trees had given way to bushy undergrowth and I could finally make out the walls of Aquacorde when I looked up. The city gate was just over a kilometer away and I could just see an open plaza just inside that, like in Vaniville.
It took me almost ten minutes to walk the rest of the distance into town. I rubbed my side as I checked the time again. I had just over half an hour to find whatever café Serena and Shauna were supposed to be at and Aquacorde was shaping up to be much bigger than Vaniville. Stone buildings rose up on either side of the road, most two or three stories high, with bright blue tile roofs flashing in the midday sun. Numerous alleys darted between buildings and the main path into the city came to an end at a wide road running crossways after only a block. Businesses and apartment buildings ran in either direction down the thoroughfare, and the main plaza, with its two levels and grand steps sat just beyond.
"Hey, Gryffin! This way! Over here!"
I nearly wept at the sound of Shauna's cheerful yelling, so glad that I didn't have to waste time searching for them. Rounding a corner, I could finally see a raised portion of a massive plaza filled with patio tables. Shauna was on top of hers, with a trio of teens trying desperately to pull her off, waving so I could see her above the crowd. I could have kissed her for that. Everyone at the table blushed when I told her so, and I collapsed into a chair, waving away the HUD alerts for later as I chuckled under my breath at them.
"We were just talking about you!" Shauna gushed as she hopped off the table and into her seat.
"I'm glad you made it to the meeting place," Serena added primly. "Here, let me introduce you. Everyone, this is Gryffin." She made a sweeping gesture from me to the two boys at the table, one blond and the other a ginger.
"Wow! Shauna's description was spot on," said the larger blond teen, "You really are a girl!"
Tired as I was, I could feel my right eyebrow scrunch as the left one climbed to my hairline. I did my best not to frown.
"This is Tierno," Serena said quickly, giving her fellow blond a pointed look. "He's got some serious dance moves and this," she held a hand out to the red head, "is Trevor. He never misses a single question on his tests, but he's a little shy."
"All right! Nice to meetcha!" Tierno stood up so he could reach out his hand. Blinking at the sudden volume directed at me, I shook it as firmly as I could. "You know, it would feel like we're a closer crew if we call each other by nicknames!"
"That would be very nice," I said before he could go any further, "But maybe after drinks?" I looked at everyone hopefully. "It was a little further from Vaniville than I was expecting. And after the move…"
"You must be tired!" Shauna realized suddenly. "Oh, no! We should have thought about that!" She jumped up to chase down a waiter from across the plaza.
"Did you move far?" Trevor asked quietly.
"Pewter City," I offered the background information I'd read earlier in my Status. He seemed like a very gentle person, and I gave him a tired smile. "In Kanto." He hummed softly in response but didn't say anything more.
"What's it like over there?" Tierno asked. "Is it really different from Kalos?"
I blinked in surprise as everyone quickly murmured their own curiosity. Even Shauna, who'd just arrived back with a menu, leaned over the table with her chin in her hands.
"Uh, well." I had no memories of being Gryffin before today, and my own memories of the Kanto region from the games was spotty. "It's much drier," I finally responded, and decided to wing it. "There are really high mountains like Mt. Moon to the north and Viridian Forest is to the south, but that's full of bugs." I didn't have to fake that shudder. "…And it's plainer, I guess. The city's more … utilitarian in design. Everything's very grey."
Everyone seemed to accept that answer, nodding as Shauna opened the café menu for everyone to look at.
"You should get a Sitrus Berry Lemonade, Gryffin," she suggested.
"Those are good!" Tierno added. "The café here makes them fresh."
"I'll take your word for it," I said, and rolled my shoulders. "I definitely need it."
"It'll be our treat, then."
Everyone spent a few minutes deciding their orders and somehow the waiter managed to get to us before Shauna was able to chase him down again. I let the small talk wash over me until my drink arrived, and they were right, it was very good. Cold and sweet, the delicious drink even came with a stat boost.
+20 HP restored, +2 VIT for 30 minutes
My HUD reappeared briefly to show my HP turning from yellow to green as it refilled to 40/50 and the ED bar stretched a little to become 2/7. I could only hope the two points would remain after the thirty minutes was up.
"So," Tierno tried again, "Nicknames?"
"Yeah, ok," I shrugged. I wasn't really important to me but it made everyone smile happily. They all murmured ideas to themselves as I gulped more lemonade, appreciating the zesty flavor almost as much as I had the stat recovery.
"G-Meister?" Tierno tried first, and I frowned around my straw as I took a sharp sip.
"No way!" Shauna cut in. "She's totally a L'il G!"
I swear I was not expecting to share a pained look with Serena, but there you go. +5 to our relationship for shared pain. We both stared pointedly at the oblivious Shauna.
"What do you think, Trevor?" the brunette rounded on the shorter boy.
"Wha, what? You want me to nickname someone I just met?! Shauna, you shouldn't put people on the spot like this," Trevor scolded before sighing. "How about something low-key, like Big … G?"
I barked out at a laugh at the unintended rhyme as Trevor blushed and rubbed his head. Serena smiled, but I think Shauna and Tierno were too distracted by coming up with nicknames to really notice anything beyond their own mutterings.
"Why don't you decide what we should call you," Serena offered, giving her friends an exasperated head shake.
Now I was the one on the spot. I hummed into my lemonade to buy some time but I really didn't know what to tell her. Kalos was based on France, but I didn't know any 'friendly' French nicknames. The only nickname I had so far was from my mother Grace, but 'Little Cabbage' was really just for kids. Moms could get away with it, new friends not so much. But Kanto and Johto were supposed to be much more Japanese, so maybe. . .
"You could just do Gryffin-chan?" I finally offered. "It's what my friends back in Pewter called me." At the blank looks on their faces I had to launch into a brief description of Japanese, sorry Kanjougo, honorifics, and why calling me G-chan, when Tierno innocently suggested it, was not going to be something I would ever answer to, but eventually Shauna's face lit up.
"Gryffin-chan! Chan! It fits you perfectly!" she cheered. "I'm sure we're gonna be great friends so I'll call you that too! Hey!" She turned to Tierno. "Can we see the pokémon now? I wanna meet my new partner soon."
"I know right?" Tierno gushed, "It was such a cool feeling when Trevs and I met our pokémon! Hope you feel the same way we did!"
He pulled out a black brief case that clicked open to reveal three red and white pokéballs. He offered it to Serena and Shauna and I leaned in eagerly.
Suddenly shy, Serena pulled back and looked at us both. "Oh, mon dieu, ah… Gryffin-chan, why don't you pick first?" she finally offered.
"Yeah!" Shauna nodded along immediately, "'Cuz you're new and just got here!"
"Thank you?" I blushed and reached tentatively for the ball with a teeny red piece of tape on it. It held one of my absolute favorite starters. "I hope it's no trouble."
Congratulations! You have received a fenniken!
I clicked the ball open and a rush of light spilled into my lap. Whatever Shauna and Serena said or did completely blurred out after that; I honestly didn't care any more.
Big vermillion eyes blinked up at me and I nearly melted at the cuteness. I skritched huge golden ears and rubbed a soft ivory tummy all while cooing nonsense baby talk. I had a fenniken, and it was the cutest thing in the universe! Giant whiskers and teeny paws were stroked. I cuddled the teeny fox and hummed a happy little sigh. My shoulders relaxed a bit as the pokémon's strong warmth spread through my body, and I happily gave in to his purring overtures to snuggle closer. I laughed as he rolled onto his back and captured my hand in his paws, pulling it in close for more belly rubs.
"Whatcha gonna call him?" Trevor asked shyly. I looked up to see the boy smiling gently at me. I grinned back. I knew the perfect name for such a cheeky, intelligent creature.
"Loxley," I stated, before turning to the adorable bundle of fluff in my lap. "A clever name for a clever fox. Do you like the name, Loxley?"
My new fenniken yipped happily and bobbed up to lick my chin before turning back over to snag my hand again.
"Loxley it is!" I chuckled and picked him up again to cuddle him to my chest. The fox happily nuzzled into my neck.
"My partner is Chestnut!" Shauna chimed in. I looked up to see her lift a huge chespin in the air. "And we go together great! The two of us are just waaaaaaay too cute!" The chipmunk pokémon squeaked in delight at the girl. "What about you, Serena?"
"I'm not really one for nicknames," Serena demurred. She was gently rubbing her froakie on the head as it sat on the table beside her. "Perhaps something will come later. It's nice to meet you Froakie. Because of you, I can become a real trainer." The little blue frog croaked in response, the white bubble sack on its back vibrating gently. "Thank you."
I smiled at them both, still rubbing Loxley's ears gently.
"Um, pardon me," Trevor murmured, "but I have something for you from the professor as well. It should help you understand pokémon on a much deeper level." He handed everyone a sleek 20 cm tablet with a red casing. I fiddled with the touchscreen as the others all gushed over the new accessory. It was a very nice piece of technology, especially in comparison to the chalkboard signs and hand punch registers in the surrounding café area. I probably would have been more impressed if I hadn't spent the whole day fighting with my own personal Heads Up Display via the Game.
"Um, so you see," he continued, "the Pokédex I just gave you is actually a high-tech device that automatically records the pokémon you encounter! The reason you get one is because the professor wants us to go on a journey with our pokémon and complete the Pokédex. To put it another way, it's an important mission from the professor. I'm sure of it!"
"Oh, lighten up, Trevs!" Tierno laughed as he put his Pokédex away. "You're way too serious sometimes." He pushed something towards me over the tabletop. "Um, Gryffin-chan, please take this with you, too. It's a letter from the Professor. He said he should give it to your mom."
"I'll be sure to do that," I told him. I picked up the heavy envelope; it was made of soft, high-quality paper. It seemed a little fancy for a simple letter. There was even a delicate silver seal on the front. I assumed it was about the pokémon journey I was about to undertake, which was clearly very important, but I was already dreading the return trip to Vaniville.
Loxley yipped softly and nuzzled into the hand with the letter in it. I quickly stuffed it into my bag so I could continue petting my new pokémon.
"All right!" Tierno stood up. "Then we're done with our errand for the professor. I guess Trevs and I will go look for pokémon. Let's go, Trevs."
Trevor nodded and stood to join Tierno. He reached over for a moment, to show me how to use the pokeball. As expected from the anime, the latch button was also a sensor control. You pressed and held it to shrink or enlarge the pokeball. You pressed once to open or recall, depending on whether your pokémon was in the ball or not. And you pressed twice to prime a ball for return after a toss; it was mostly used for capturing pokémon, though it could be used for releasing a pokémon in its ball as well. It was pretty interesting, and definitely something I wouldn't have figured out on my own for a while. I thanked Trevor profusely, causing him to blush. Then the two boys quickly ran off, dashing down the steps from the plaza and disappearing under the blue roof tiles so common in Aquacorde.
Serena stood up as well, having watched Trevor's explanation with a keen eye herself. "In Kalos, teens are chosen to carry a Pokédex and go on an adventure," she offered. The delivery was much kinder than our exchange back in Vaniville.
I nodded in understanding. "It's similar in Kanto as well," I replied. "But usually people have to go to see the professor themselves." I pulled my letter back out, holding it above my new fox's curious snuffling. "I should probably give this to my mom before I do anything else."
"You should," Serena agreed. She walked down the steps to the plaza below before ducking into a building on the left. I couldn't remember if that was the store or the Pokémon Center… weren't the buildings combined already in this game?
"I guess we'll see them later, won't we Loxley?" I smiled down at my new pokémon; lifting him as I stood. "But first, back …'home', okay?" He yipped as I activated his pokéball to recall him, disappearing in a blob of light. The pokéball felt thrummed warm in my hand, like I could still feel Loxely purring. I held the button to shrink it down and tucked it into my bra with a soft smile and headed back south to Vaniville.
XYXYXY
I stopped outside of the main gates of Aquacorde and tucked myself off to the side so I could pull up the game screens again.
[Quest Update!]
Off We Go!
Part 2: Complete! +50 EXP! [Starter Pokémon] acquired! +1 to LUK, +500 to all Relationships!
Congratulations! You have new [Relationships] available!
Grace Gabena (mother): Loved 3500/5000
Patrick Higashi (father): Cherished 7000/10000
Serena LaPointe: Neutral 455/500
Shauna Rayne: Friendly 400/1000
Tierno ?: Friendly 350/1000
Trevor ?: Friendly 350/1000
Relationships with Pokémon are listed in their status in [Team]
Loxley (lvl 5): Friendly (500/2500)
Hidden Objective 1/3: Arrive more than ten minutes early (+10 EXP per ten minutes): +20 EXP
Hidden Objective 2/3: Agree to a nickname!: +50 EXP, +100 to all Relationships
Hidden Objective 3/3: Nickname your pokémon!: +50 EXP +250 to Relationship with the pokémon
A loud happy jingle chimed through the air.
Congratulations! You have leveled up!
Gryffin Gabena lvl 2, 10/275 EXP to next level, €3000
You have (5) points to distribute!
You can pick (1) Perk!
[Perks] added to [Status]!
My eyes glazed a little at all the new information; the screens popped up too fast to really read and I had to scroll through them several times to catch everything. I'd managed to level up, which was great, and I was kind of expecting the points, but…
Why was my relationship with my mother only being listed now? It was empty when I checked it this morning. And … my father's relationship with me was higher? Then why was I with my mother? I was going to have to find out what happened during the divorce; a talk with my mother was probably necessary. I would also need to contact my father sooner then I'd planned. If not tonight, then definitely tomorrow. I had just become a pokémon trainer, and that's the best icebreaker in the world.
And I stopped, blinked rapidly for a moment, and let myself realize what I had just done. I had referred to Grace Gabena and Patrick Higashi as my parents, without any air quotes, addendums, or whatever. It felt… wrong, and yet right at the same time. I hadn't been in Kalos a whole day yet but already I was … comfortable with my new role. I wanted so badly to be angry about all of this while.
[Gamer's Mind] activated!
I gave the game screen my most baleful glare. Because I had suspected the abilities from reading fanfic but hadn't read about Gamer's Mind and Gamer's Body in [Skills] before…
[Gamer's Mind] added to [Skills]!
[Gamer's Body] added to [Skills]!
I swiped the new popups away with a sneer; it felt like whoever was in charge of this farce was mocking me. I refocused on [Relationships] because several other things were still bothering me there.
Specifically, my relationship with Serena. Somehow, while I had managed to make friends with everyone else, the blond girl was still at neutral. I flitted through the math, minus 50 points for calling her out when we met, but plus five during lunch for shared embarrassment, and then another 600 for the quest. I could only surmise that my relationship with Serena had somehow started in the unfriendly range, but for the life of me I couldn't think of why that would be. Serena didn't seem like an unfriendly person, maybe a little bit stuck up, but still nice.
I shrugged to myself; there wasn't anything I could do about it right now. And in all likelihood the reasons didn't have anything to do with me at all. Maybe she was just stressed out about becoming a trainer. Maybe she didn't want any more competition. Who knew? Certainly not me.
I moved on to [Status] and frowned again.
"How are points awarded?" I asked the air, hoping the Game would actually explain. "And how are level gains figured out?"
(5) Attribute Points are awarded per level through level 10. (6) Attribute Points are awarded per level from level 11 through level 20. (7) Attribute Points are awarded per level from level 21 through level 30…
Do you need further clarification? [Y/N]
I tapped the [N]. "And the experience points for leveling up?"
(10%) additional EXP per level are required through level 5. Levels 6 through 10 require an additional (15%) EXP per level. Levels 11 through 15 require an additional (20%) EXP per level….
Do you need further clarification? [Y/N]
I tapped the [N] again, muttering. So a 10 level scale for AP given but a 5 level scale for extra EXP needed. I guess I wouldn't be playing in God Mod for a while. Hopefully there were other ways to earn AP. I had a few ideas, but for now I would need to consider my distribution carefully.
I pulled up [Perks] first. I wanted to know what I could do with those before I started tossing my points around. Only three were listed.
[Firestarter] Fire pokémon are more likely to appear! +10% EXP gains for all fire pokémon. -10% MP usage for all fire type moves.
[Irresistible Fluff] Cute pokémon are more likely to appear! +10% effectiveness to cute type moves, +10% [REL] gains with female characters when cute pokémon are on your team
[Magic Fingers] You've got the magic touch. +5% to DEX per level, +5% to CSM per level , +5% to [REL] gains during physical contact
I snorted at the last one, bending over to laugh raucously. They clearly all had to do with my new fennekin, but I hadn't thought merely petting Loxley would get me a special perk. My inability to resist the adorable fluff had, in fact, gained me an amazing option. Still snickering I picked [Magic Fingers]. I had no interest in contests, if they were even a thing here in Kalos, and I leaned far more towards guys when I bothered being attracted to anyone at all. Firestarter was useful, but it could come later.
Congratulations! A new skill has been added! You can now use [Magic Fingers] lvl MAX. This is a passive skill.
All things considered, it looked like an amazing ability to have. I was a naturally introverted person, and had a tendency to be more analytical than emotional. Charisma probably wouldn't come naturally for me so anything to boost it without wasting my attribute points was good. And extra Dexterity was always a good thing. Plus, the perk looked like a gold mine in the making. Five percent wasn't much now, but at higher levels, once I got the stats up enough, it might very well manage itself. Pleased, I turned back to my stats.
Gryffin Gabena lvl 2, 10/275 EXP to next level, €3000
HP: 65
MP: 8
ED: 5
STR: 4
DEF: 4
VIT: 6
DEX: 3
INT: 6
WIS: 5
CSM: 2
LUK: 3
Points to distribute: 5
I stared in surprise, because even without my points my stats had changed. I flipped through the HUD windows again before finding the alert history. Apparently all that damage from jogging had earned me an extra point in VIT after the fact, and leveling up had raised both HP and MP a little as well. And receiving the pokedex got me the bumps in INT and WIS. Strength, Defense, and Vitality had to correspond in some whacky equation to HP and ED, while Intelligence and Wisdom clearly affected my MP. I chewed my bottom lip for several minutes as I considered the options.
Eventually I dumped 2 each into STR and DEF and the last point went to luck. I figured my new perk would take care of CSM and DEX, which would also be helped by throwing pokéballs. But as a new trainer, LUK would be crucial to finding decent pokémon and getting good matchups.
Once I confirmed my choices, my stats were as followed.
Gryffin lvl 2, 10/275 EXP to next level, €3000
HP: 70
MP: 8
ED: 6
STR: 6
DEF: 6
VIT: 6
DEX: 3
INT: 6
WIS: 5
CSM: 2
LUK: 4
Satisfied for the moment, though still a bit miffed about starting at level 1, I closed the game windows. Before I could leave the city wall, however, a near deafening shout echoed over the cobblestones from behind me.
"Hey Gryffin-chan, wait up!"
For those of you who have left reviews so far, thank you. I really appreciate them.
To Vilgax: Hope you liked it :)
To Krowe Carter: Thank you! Please send recommendations, I am always up for new music.
To Gigamush: I am, admittedly, planning to abuse tropes in this story. Lots of them. But also, I pretty much live with my headphones on. Music is an emotional outlet and I really would be a wreck if I lost my playlists. This isn't going to be a song fic, but it's important to me personally, so it's going to get mentioned from time to time.