Every day holds the potential for something special.

I certainly hoped that was the case for today.

I woke up, and for the first time in a long while I wasn't sore all over. The difference made by sleeping in a bed instead of on the ground is immense. The one thing that stayed the same from yesterday morning was the bright, solitary beam of sunlight shining directly into my eyes. I could've sworn I had properly closed the blinds on the window before I eventually went to bed, but that was evidently not the case. No matter. Hotel blackout shades never work like they should, anyway. I looked over to the other bed, and Kira was missing. Again. Okay, so two things remained the same.

I sat up and hopped out of bed. I was already dressed, having slept in my traveling clothes. That's what happens when you don't own any other clothes, and I highly doubt the Pokémon Center would just let me steal their bathrobes. I poked around on the bedside table, but the keys were missing. I checked my pockets, and the component was still there. My sense of paranoia is becoming increasingly less healthy, isn't it? Although, it has only been a couple of days. I don't need to trust her with my life just because she led me to a glorified vet clinic.

As if on cue, I heard someone fumbling with the keyhole on the door, quickly followed by the signature clunk of a lock turning over. I looked over right as the door flew open, banging loudly against the wall and giving way to Kira standing triumphantly in the hallway. If there's something I definitely can't trust her with, it's doors. I've only seen her open two, and both times she's been excessively loud about it. Of course, she had to leave the room through there first, so maybe she just enjoys being dramatic.

"Where were you this time?" I asked. "Off stealing berries again?"

"Funny," she said, dryly, not finding it funny. "I was tracking down one of these." Kira held up a sheet of paper. I couldn't see it very well from where I was standing, but I could see some lines and stuff on it. Noticing this, Kira finally walked into the room. "This is a map to the nearby town. It lies northeast of here, and if we leave now, we could get there by lunch."

"You sound a bit too excited about this little village. I know you still want to restock your supplies, but what's so special about this place?" I asked. There's plenty of small towns in Orre. If Kira was just excited about the prospect of its small-town charm, I can assure you that I was way over that.

"I'm surprised that you're not excited. You've been trying to get there for a while," she replied, vaguely. I just stared at her, blankly. I figured she'd tell me anyway. "Oh, you don't know which town it is?" she asked.

"Of course I don't," I said. "You're the one with the map and the Pokétch. I have no idea where we are, let alone where we've come from or where we're going."

Kira seemed to accept this and nodded. "Okay. You're right. I should've remembered that you have no way of knowing these things. In any case, you're going to laugh when I tell you where we're going."

"Where?"

"Just a small little place called Arbour," she said, grinning. She was right, too. I did laugh, not because it was funny, but because it was just so perfect. My entire journey was completely derailed by this Nova conspiracy, but in the end, I was still going right back to my planned route.

"Incredible," I said, after I was done laughing. "Absolutely phenomenal." I flopped back down onto my bed.

"I knew you'd take the news well," said Kira. "In any case, it's more or less on the way to Olivine City, so it won't take that much longer to get there. After Arbour, Olivine should only be another couple of days out. From there, I might be able to secure us a vehicle. There's a Nova outpost near the old lighthouse there. Otherwise, it could take upwards of a month to get to Saffron City. Now, let's get going." She rolled up the map and threw it at me. I caught it with one hand.

"At least you're not the type who folds maps," I said, trying my best to twirl it like a baton (but failing). "Rolling really is better for storage."

I stuffed the map in my other pocket, encountering no resistance. Empty. My other pocket still had the component, as I had found earlier, but that still meant I was missing something crucial: Kira's gun. Shit. I forgot I still had that thing, or rather, that I didn't. I scrambled around, checking every possible hiding spot on my body that wasn't, uh, naturally given.

"What's wrong?" Kira asked drily. "Looking for this?" She held up her gun, taking care not to aim it at anything in particular. I instinctively stepped back, slowly holding my hands up in surrender. So much for trust. "Relax," she said, lowering her weapon. "You dropped it like a dumbass on our first day. You probably could've used one of these." She indicated her holster on her belt as she slipped her gun back into it. "I was never going to use it on you, you know."

"Oh, well you're a sparkling beacon of humanity, not shooting me the second my back was turned. I bet your bosses will give you a medal when you return to Saffron!" I said, forcefully. I was still reeling from the notion that I could've been betrayed at literally any point. She said she wasn't ever going to, but how do I know that's the truth? I don't really know how to feel about this. Right now, though, I'm just pissed. Paranoia's a bitch.

"Look, I can understand how you feel right now," Kira tried to assure me. "Technically, I did break our little arms agreement. I should've given it back to you when I found it. But frankly, I don't trust you with it. Not to use against me, but just with using it in any capacity. If you can't even keep track of it, what makes you think you can use it without shooting yourself in the foot first? No, I'm holding onto it from now on. But if it makes you feel better, I can walk in front of you. That way, our relationship changes from a hostage and a guard to a noble paladin and a defenseless villager."

"You're hilarious," I said sarcastically. "Fine. But you're definitely carrying the sack today for this little stunt. Let's get out of here before they call the police or something. I doubt the Pokémon Center allows firearms on their property, and we weren't exactly being quiet about this."

"For once, you and I agree. Let's split," she replied, already grabbing her bag. "Don't forget your ball." I swiped it from the bedside table and followed Kira out of the room.

Though confusing at night, the Pokémon Center seemed a little easier to navigate with natural sunlight streaming through the occasional window. I still stand by what I said about last night, though. Some of these corridors still seem impossible. Kira and I managed to find our way to the front desk, where the same nurse was still working. I could tell it was the same one because of the tired expression on her face. She didn't seem alarmed to see us, so if she had heard our little argument, she really didn't care. That much was good. We were getting the side-eye from a few of the other guests, though. Good thing we weren't coming back tonight.

"Good morning, you two," Nurse Joy greeted us. "Did you have a good stay last night?"

"As a matter of fact, we did," I responded, curtly. "It's been so long since I've had a whole bed to myself." The nurse's expression did not change, but I thought I saw her professional smile turn a little mischievous. "Here's your key back," I said, placing said key back on the counter. Nurse Joy immediately grabbed it and shoved it back under the desk, almost robotically. Working all night must have put her on autopilot. That's rough.

"Thank you for choosing to stay with us here at the Pokémon Center," the nurse began with the monotone of someone who's had to repeat the same thing thousands of times. "We hope to see you again!"

"You probably won't," interjected Kira. She waggled her fingers at the nurse in a sort of wave. "Bye!"

"It's so nice of her to taunt us from behind a thin veil of professionalism," I said to Kira as we walked out of the Pokémon Center. "It really makes the place feel like home."

"Well, if you were stuck working a dead-end job in a Pokémon Center that sat in the middle of nowhere with little to no support staff, you'd probably try to bait shady travelers as well," she replied.

"For fun?" I asked.

"That, or perhaps a secret desire to end up on the front page of the evening news."

"Dark," I said, "but understandable."


We continued walking along the shady path for a while. It must have rained a little again last night, because the ground was all soggy and the air had a nice and cool wetness to it. Johto really was kind of beautiful once you got to know it, especially when you weren't forced to squat in abandoned buildings or caves every night. Unfortunately, this rain appeared to have also caused most of the Pokémon in the area to hide, because I wasn't seeing a single one. Then again, I've barely seen any Pokémon around. Hopefully the farther away we get from Orre, the more Pokémon I'll finally end up seeing.

"Are you sure we're heading the right way?" I finally asked after a couple hours. "I don't see any signs of civilization anywhere."

"You wouldn't," Kira replied. "Arbour was pretty badly hit during the Software Wars, so by now the entire town is more or less located entirely in the old town center. What would have normally a bustling suburb where we're standing is now thick wilderness." She gestured around. "Actually, if you look closely, you can see bits and pieces of manufactured debris scattered about."

I did take a closer look, and I stumbled over a foreign object jutting out of the soil while attempting to do so. It wasn't a root this time. Instead, I found myself looking at a 19-year-old rusty Rotom bike…at least what was left of it. The years had not been kind. Regardless, this pile of scrap was likely responsible for numerous deaths. I wasn't about to start poking around for bones to confirm this, though. "How did you know this used to be a residential area?" I asked.

"The damn GPS on my Pokétch is 20 years out of date," she complained. "I need to file a report to that division of the Pokétch company later, but right now I'll just take your map instead." I handed it over and she began to compare it to her Pokétch. "Okay, so I'm just a little bit off. The roads appear to have changed. It's fine, though. We're still only a kilometer away from the actual town." She rolled the map back up and handed it to me. "Lead on."

"Hey, wait," I demanded. "What ever happened to 'Paladin and Villager' and not following me with a gun?"

"Oh, good Arceus," she muttered. "I'm glad you at least remembered. Keep up, then." Kira continued on her path, and I continued to follow her.

Perhaps another 20 minutes later, we successfully arrived in Arbour. Thank Arceus. Surprisingly, despite all of the trouble it took me to get here, the whole thing felt…pretty lackluster, honestly. It felt exactly like another small town in Orre, just with trees. Lots of trees. I suppose that explains the name.

"Alright, now we're in actual civilization. I'll try to contact Nova operatives in Saffron for an extra Pokén line," Kira said. "Meanwhile, you wander around and try to find a market or something."

"Contact Nova? Couldn't you have done that when we were still at the Pokémon Center?" I asked. Kira blinked at me. "Alright, I'll go look. Can I at least borrow your Mightyena in case I find a Pokémon?"

"I doubt you will this morning. I haven't seen one at all around here, and if you had I'm going to assume you would've made squealing noises like a Grumpig," she said. I grunted. "But fine, I'll humor you. Here you go." She delicately handed me her Pokémon. "I'll want that back," she warned. I nodded and she wandered off, presumably to find a communications center of some sort.

Meanwhile, I set off on my own journey of sorts. I looked for the market, sure, but I also kept my eyes peeled for any stray Rattata or Spinarak that was out for a morning stroll. Hey, gotta start somewhere. I certainly found the market first. I went along, browsing the tables for materials that we'd need, when a sweet old lady asked me if I needed some help finding what I was looking for.

"No thanks," I said, "I've found what I need. Can I have this pallet of water bottles please?"

"The whole thing?" the lady asked me, her eyes widening a bit. "Sure, but can you pay for it?"

"I can," Kira said, appearing from seemingly nowhere. She placed 5,000 Pokén on the table and started grabbing water bottles from the pallet, placing them into her sack. The old lady rolled her eyes a bit and started mumbling something about teenagers while tallying up the price. "You move too slowly," Kira told me.

"Again, you're the one with the map," I said defensively. "But I am glad you're here. I forgot that I'm dirt poor and that I needed to pay for things, so as much as I hate to say it, thank you."

"You're welcome. However, I will also admit that I made a mistake in not giving you any money to buy anything with," she conceded. "In any case, I've got more funding now. I managed to track down a pay phone, of all things. I'm surprised it still worked. Anyway, I'm going to buy some non-perishable food somewhere. Any luck on finding a Pokémon?"

"Not yet," I sighed. "I'm gonna keep trying, though. I'll catch one by the end of today. Hell, I'll bet all my 21,000 Pokén on it!"

"No need," Kira said coolly. "There's one right over there." About 30 feet from us was a little Weedle, happily munching on a downed leaf. Great. Ah well, beggars can't be choosers. Kira walked off in search of some canned goods, and I calmly stalked over to the unsuspecting Weedle.

Suddenly, a huge Pokémon came flying in from the tree line and pounced on the Weedle. As it landed, I could make out a long skinny body, four insectoid wings, and big green bulbous eyes. A Bug-type. It was surprisingly big as well. The poor Weedle was getting ripped to shreds right before my very eyes, and dear Arceus, that's a horrible thing to watch. I suppose that's just nature, though.

"Go, Mightyena!" I cried, throwing the Pokéball I had on my belt at the winged beast. It landed squarely in the dirt, and nothing happened. Shit. I think I threw the empty one. I grabbed the other Pokéball on my belt and threw it. This time, the ball popped open in midair and out popped a very determined Mightyena. Kira trained him well for this sort of thing, it would seem.

The Pokémon didn't seem to react to my novice scrambling, instead continuing to feed on the now-lifeless Weedle. This actually worked out in my favor. I would be able to take some time to figure out what moves Kira's Mightyena could and could not use. I remembered Kira saying something about fangs, but the significance of that escaped me. "Let's see," I mused aloud to Mightyena and no one else in particular, "you're a Dark-type, which means that you primarily use Dark-type moves. Your personality leads me to believe that you have a more vicious moveset, so maybe…Snarl?" Mightyena snarled at me. "You know what I meant! Use the move on that Pokémon there!"

Mightyena begrudgingly turned around and snarled at the new Pokémon, unleashing a loud shockwave of anger and bitterness, almost like…an enraged rant? I don't know, that just seemed like the right word for it. The shockwave passed over the new Pokémon, seemingly raking across the creature's exoskeleton and causing physical pain. The Pokémon discarded its meal like yesterday's lunch and turned to face us.

Now the real battle was on.

The Pokémon immediately split itself into roughly 16 copies, throwing me off. What in the Great Distortion is that move? Pokémon can't clone themselves like that, so maybe…Double Team? These copies seem to outnumber the concept of "double." The Pokémon (plural form now?) began charging up an attack, and Mightyena looked back at me expectantly. I was gonna have to be smart about this. Once, in an old battle video I watched, a similar move was countered by attacking all of the copies in one fell swoop. Snarl is a shockwave-based move, so I guess I'll use that. "Mightyena, use Snarl again! Drop those clones like the bugs they are!"

Seeming to appreciate my new attitude, Mightyena whipped back around and unleashed another Snarl, sending another dark wave of energy at the clones. They were all obliterated by the wave, but the true Pokémon had dodged it and fired off an almost-invisible beam of energy. Mightyena deftly dodged the wave, but upon striking the ground the wave released an immense amount of sound energy, the boom reverberating across the tree line and sending nearby objects flying. I was almost knocked off of my feet myself, but as Mightyena was much closer to the epicenter, it wasn't so lucky. It was sent flying almost 15 feet into the wall of a neighboring building. At this point in the fight, nearby pedestrians and onlookers fled the scene, fearing that they may be injured during this brutal fight. Now I understand why the Galar Pokémon League uses shielding technology to protect fans in their stadiums.

Surprisingly, Mightyena quickly scrambled back to its feet, simply shaking off an injury that would normally break a man's spine in twain. Pokémon are way tougher than most people give them credit for. It got up just in time, too, as the bug Pokémon sped directly towards Mightyena at speeds I could barely register.

"Mightyena! Dodge and use Bite!" I commanded, taking a gamble with his currently unknown moveset. Luckily, I guessed right, and Mightyena executed my order with extreme precision. Once again, credit where credit is due to whatever regimen Kira puts her Pokémon through. Mightyena grabbed the bug Pokémon by its long tail with his teeth and began smashing it against the wall. In a desperate attempt to escape, the Pokémon cast another wave of sound energy directly at the wall, causing a noticeable crater where it hit and sending both Pokémon flying away from the source. Mightyena shakily stood back up and the other Pokémon quickly buzzed up to a height outside of biting range. I was pondering if another Snarl would knock it back down when the Pokémon emitted a loud, high pitched screech. It gave me a headache to listen to, but it had an even more adverse effect on Mightyena. He began growling at random inanimate objects, and looked about ready to chase his own tail. I had a feeling that this could be the infamous confusion effect at work.

Before I could deliver more commands, the bug Pokémon began quickly divebombing Mightyena, hitting him over and over again at speeds so high it began to blur. This was looking bad. I quickly cycled through all of the information I had been given about Mightyena by Kira. He was extremely loyal…she had met him when they were both very young…rescued Kira from wild Spearow…that's it! The fang she referred to was Thunder Fang! How very stupid I am, but I can mull over that later. Right now, I need to make sure that Kira's best friend isn't brutally murdered in the streets of Arbour. "Mightyena! Follow my voice and shake off the confusion! You need to use Thunder Fang! NOW!" I called at him.

With a red glint in his eyes, Mightyena sidestepped one of the bug Pokémon's attacks. As it swung around for another pass, bright yellow sparks began to fly from Mightyena's mouth. The Pokémon sped in for a decisive final strike, but Mightyena saw this coming from a great distance. In a movement so quick that my eyes failed to register it, Mightyena slammed his teeth down directly on top of the opposing Pokémon's midsection and tossed it over in my direction. The Pokémon landed squarely at my feet, sparking a little every couple of seconds. It was still twitching, meaning that Mightyena didn't go too far and kill it. I retrieved my empty Pokéball from the ground and gently tapped it against the Pokémon. A beam of ruby red light shot out of the ball, completely enveloping the weakened creature and absorbing it into whatever apparatus lies in every ball. The ball shook once. Twice. Three times. Then the ball emitted a musical chime and lay still. I had finally caught my first Pokémon.

This event was not underwhelming, for once. I will freely admit that I spent a long time jumping up in the air, shouting victoriously. I had been waiting for this moment for years, and now it was finally upon me. No fancy words to use for this either, it was just really great. It was made even better by the knowledge that I had done this all by myself. Sure, I had Kira's Mightyena for support, but I was still thrown in the thick of it and did well. That was worthy of some celebration, too. Kira finally walked over and watched me hoot and holler for a while.

"You're pretty happy for someone who only caught a little Weedle, she said. "Is it really that bad in Orre?"

"Did you not see any of that?" I asked her. "A little Weedle wouldn't cause destruction like this."

"I suppose you're right," she conceded, looking around the battlefield. "Where is that little bugger anyway?" I gestured over to where the unfortunate Weedle lay. She looked at it and slowly nodded. "Okay, so did you go a little overboard? You're pretty sadistic to be so proud of squishing a bug," she taunted.

I was about to argue when Kira's Mightyena limped over. "Oh-h-h, are you okay?" she asked, bending down and roughly stroking Mightyena's fur. "That must've been a real tough battle." Kira looked back up at me. "Even with a novice trainer such as yourself in command of Mightyena, he still would've been able to deal with most Pokémon. What did you fight?"

"Glad you finally asked," I said, rather smugly. I was still riding the high of catching a Pokémon. I held up my ball and pressed the release. As it turned out, the Pokémon was even bigger than I had remembered in the thick of battle. I deployed it too close to me, and one of its wings almost phased through my foot. I guess I had Weedle on the mind or something, because there is a considerable size difference between that cute little bug and the 4-foot-long monstrosity that currently laid at my feet.

Even Kira was surprised. She and Mightyena jumped back a little bit; they clearly didn't anticipate a Bug-type Pokémon the size of a preteen child to materialize before them, either. After the moment had passed, Kira was back to her unshakable demeanor. "What you've got right there is a Yanma," she declared. "Not a bad find, either. Those are pretty rare around here. They're generally pretty placid, but I guess he didn't like you interrupting his meal." She bent down again to inspect him. "He's in pretty bad shape, though. Sparking, too. What did you use on him?"

"Thunder Fang. I figured that this…Yanma…would be a Flying-type, and I remembered that electricity is pretty good against those," I said, proudly. "This guy is really strong, too. I never would've anticipated its sound-based attacks."

"I'm glad that you remembered what I told you," Kira said, "but you should be more careful when catching Pokémon. The city is a rare place to fight Pokémon, but you should still take lots of care during the battle, even against your opponent." She sighed. "It's alright. I don't blame you. You're still new at this." She took off her bag and began fishing around in it.

"What're you doing?" I asked. "I hope you're not thinking about catching it yourself."

"No," she said, "I'm trying to help it." Kira produced a golden spray bottle from her bag. "Here we go. This is a Super Potion. Since we're really far from the next Pokémon Center, these will come in handy quite often." She squirted a medicinal mist directly in Yanma's face. It writhed around for a second, but eventually it buzzed up to around our face level and started chittering happily. Kira laughed. "You'd better be glad that you didn't paralyze it, too. Luckily, it seems that the electric sparks were just residual." Mightyena started whining at her, so she bent down and applied the potion to him as well.

"I have to give a name to this little guy," I said. "Well, 'little.'" Yanma buzzed around for a minute until he landed on my head, sending me sprawling on the ground. Damn thing was heavier than he looked.

"You should call him Facehugger!" Kira called at me as I picked myself up, still tending to her Mightyena. Very funny, but a nickname should probably align with a Pokémon's personality, I guess. Yanma seems to have a very hit-and-run type of attack style, dedicated to luring opponents into false strategies…or maybe I'm thinking about it too much. Regardless, I think I have the perfect name.

"Yanma," I declared, "henceforth, you shall be known as…Flytrap." Yanma…er, Flytrap, continued chittering happily, buzzing around in little figure-eights.

"Flytrap?" Kira questioned, appearing by my side suddenly. "Really? That name seems better suited for a Grass-type."

"Don't judge me," I said defensively. "Also, specifically for Grass-types? Naming your Carnivine 'Flytrap' is about as creative as naming your Pikachu 'Mouse' or 'Rat.'" I thought for a second. "'Mouserat' sounds like a good band name, though."

"How the hell do you know what a Carnivine is, but not a Mightyena?" Kira asked me, ignoring my brilliant band idea.

"Apparently, there was a huge infestation of Carnivine in Orre before the Software Wars," I explained. "They didn't spread very far though, obviously."

Kira shook her head. "Whatever the case, let's get a move on. I've got the supplies we need to get to Olivine, and we should head out while we still have time to find a shelter for tonight." She recalled her Mightyena (after I gave her Pokéball back), then paused. "Aren't you gonna call back your Yanma?"

"It's Flytrap," I corrected, "and no. I need to bond with my new friend some." As I said this, Flytrap began orbiting my head. Uncomfortable, but not as bad as carrying Kira's sack. Kira shook her head at us again and marched onward, and I followed after her with my new partner in tow.

I was now officially a Pokémon trainer.


PokéDex Entry #193: Yanma, the Clear Wing Pokémon (Alias: Flytrap)

Type: Dual Bug/Flying

Ability: Speed Boost (Raises Speed stat every turn)

Height: 3ft 11in / 1.2m

Weight: 83.8lbs / 38kg

Known Moves: Quick Attack, Double Team, Sonic Boom, Supersonic