(feel free to skip this, it's just an A/N for a couple paragraphs).
A/N: aight so, somebody was asking if i was doing alright(likely to the slowdown in updates and the hiatus in my other story). simply put, yeah, I'm doing fine. I got a job, where 90% of my time goes to. Heck, this woulda been done last night, but needed the sleep for morning shift.
anyways, the slowdown in chapters is mainly due time. I've got time, but I wanna start taking my time with these chapters(but still try and manage a chapter per week). if i go a week without an update, just know I'm reading over this story for typos and am spending time to fix them(I want something presentable, not a typo filled mess).
Anyways, you aren't here to read about my woes, you're here to read very mediocre fan-fiction.
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Despite having said their goodbyes to Professor Juniper, Cheren suggested that they all stop outside of the Pokemon Center that was conveniently next to the road leading out of Nuvema Town. Despite giving the children the essentials, such as three Potions, five Pokeballs, and even an Antidote those were the bare essentials. But as trainers, lab trainers no less, Cheren made a point that they should prepare a bit more. There were many trainers to battle, people to help, things you need to keep battling or to help those people. Regardless, Wade agreed with Cheren's idea, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, so prepare for what will go wrong as best as you can.
When Wade had entered the Pokemon Center, he figured it would look a bit like the games, which he was right. It wasn't the right game, but he was right. Instead of the big room, with the Pokemart off to the side along with a lounge area it looked more akin to Pokemon X and Y's Pokemon Center layout. With a lounge area off to the left of the counter, there was a door next to the healing machine(likely for pokemon that needed more extensive care). In said lounge area there was a flat screen, expensive looking T.V. The remote was very conveniently chained to the table to keep it from being stolen, and the T.V was currently turned off. The color scheme from the games seemed to match, with orange-red outlining where the nurse's desk was, blue outlining the different sections with the white, tiled floor. The Pokemart was even marked with blue paint in the corner.
What was also different from the layout was two things. One was the hotel that was free for trainers to stay in(Wade could guess the rooms weren't very good) upstairs. There was another flight of stairs which apparently leads up to a pokemon trading system where you can trade with friends, or complete strangers across the globe. It seemed like it even advertised Wonder Trading, which was basically gambling with your pet for a stranger's pet, which just sounded horrible. The Pokemart had its own little section like X and Y, with a bookcase sitting outside the entrance. There was even a gate to lock the Pokemart down at night. There was also a room to change clothes quickly if somebody didn't want to spend the night. What got Wade really excited was the set of vending machines in the lounge area.
Wade knew of countries like Japan, that were very big on vending machines and had a vending machine for just about everything. From pizza, to ramen, to hot meals. Hell, you could probably find a vending machine for cars. So when Wade sat down and had a look, he did a double take on what he saw. There were your typical snack and drink machines, but then it got a bit more exciting. These were all machines like vending machines Wade would've expected to see in Japan.
There were pizza machines, noodle and soup stations, hot meal stations and more. There was even a vending machine for 'gourmet' pokemon food. In an instant, he set Houndour on the chair he was sitting at, got up and went over to said vending machines. He watched with extreme interest as a vending machine was preparing some 'gourmet' pokemon which he had just paid for. A sealed bowl slid out of a compartment and Wade took it. It was a piping hot, decently sized bowl of food, which would probably be more akinned to a snack for a large, fully grown Charizard, but for Wade's Houndour it would be pretty filling.
Wade loved this weird world even more now as he watched another vending machine put together what was probably a microwaved, ketchup and cheese sauce burger that he'd ordered. Wade handed the bowl to Houndour after opening it and was surprised to say the least. From diced onions and seemingly seasoned meat, even a bit of cheese. It looked delicious. Houndour sure did seem to enjoy it when he started to dig in, and there was a surprisingly good portion of food for the price. 10 Unovan Pokedollars and a vending machine can get you pretty far apparently.
Sure, it was probably microwaved, but it was still impressive to Wade, despite everything. Cheren, White and Bianca were still inside the pokemart, as they were likely also looking for on the go meals(Wade already got a few yesterday, so he didn't need to do any shopping). So Wade figured he could eat whatever the hell he bought. Despite the weird name and fancy picture, the food he got out of the vending machine was essentially chicken flavored ramen without any broth instead of the burger he had ordered. He didn't really care as the novelty was still pretty amazing in Wade's mind.
It was still surprisingly good too, which was just a nice little bonus.
So Wade simply relaxed outside of the built in Pokemart, while eating his food, checking the forums, since it turned out that somebody other than Professor Juniper filmed his and Cheren's battle. It was then pretty quickly uploaded and caught the attention of a few people for two reasons. The first was Houndour, a pokemon not native to Unova, in Unova. The second was the part that made Wade chuckle.
People were kind of pissed off about the way Snivy was defeated. If it were a simple curb stomp, nobody would care, Houndour was a Fire Type and Snivy was a Grass Type. That would've been a plain, textbook example of type matchups. The few that commented had noticed Wade's very dirty tactic. As it turned out, putting your opponent to sleep, literally poisoning or burning your opponent, or paralyzing your opponent was fair game. What wasn't acceptable was pinning or physically trapping your opponent and mercilessly striking at them.
Wade wasn't a masochist by any definition of the word, but he was very tempted to comment about how morally correct it was to beat what was essentially a sleeping animal within an inch of its life. While also giving said pokemon a literal disease to help them train slightly better. Luckily, Wade's brain and general sleepiness told him no, and so he never responded. Luckily nobody got his name, so he didn't feel the need to worry about accidentally becoming a celebrity.
Wade wanted to live comfortably, not be harassed for an autograph each time he went shopping.
"Oh right, Feebas!" Wade got up, ordered the same thing he got for Houndour from the same vending machine, and went back to where Houndour was. He then let Feebas out, who gave a happy little wiggle once released from her pokeball. "Sorry about almost not feedin' ya, girl. I was kind of excited because I'm not used to that," Wade gestured towards the machines.
"I did get you something to eat, though," Wade opened the bowl and held it out for the fish. Feebas rubbed up against Wade like a cat and began to eat. Wade laughed when it turned out that his fish eats more than his dog. Not Houndour, but Molly. Wade was used to seeing dogs swallow food without chewing, so it was a tad bit strange when Houndour actually ate like a gentleman and took a moment to chew.
At least as well as somebody could chew without complete cheeks.
Feebas was a vacuum cleaner. The bowl was empty within ten seconds of being offered food. "Man, how do you wolf something down faster than the literal wolf pup next to you?" Wade chuckled as Houndour seemed really intent on getting what looked like a jalapeño out of his dish. Feebas giggled as she realized how unladylike she had just been and looked away with slight embarrassment. If fish could blush, she probably would be right now.
"Eh, at least you didn't take my hand off. Now c'mere, I want to pamper you a bit before I put you back in your Pokeball. Since you'll be spending a decent amount of time in it, think of my pampering as an apology. I dunno how cozy or horrible it is inside the pokeball, so this is the only way I know how to make up for it." Feebas nodded and plopped herself in Wade's lap.
"You could just ask to be let outside of your pokeball, y'know. Wade would definitely let you if you did," Houndour suggested as he licked his lips. The food Wade had gotten him was good, but nowhere near as good as the stuff Wade cooked himself. Perhaps it was just preference or Houndour's appreciation for the effort Wade went through to cook some food.
"Well, I don't mind being inside the pokeball. It gets kinda chilly and I doubt it'll get warmer as we head north. On top of that, the pokeball keeps my scales moist, they get itchy when dry." Feebas purred as Wade rubbed under one of her fins. "Besides, you can keep him company when I'm inside the Pokeball, and don't worry, I can hear what's going on outside. So if something happens, I can just let myself out and lend a fin. It is a choice to let ourselves be contained in a Pokeball, so why inconvenience Wade during his travels?" Feebas asked.
"Well, for starters, Wade probably wouldn't even mind having you float beside him, especially once you evolve. You'll be so damn pretty that he'll want to keep you out of the Pokeball at all times," Houndour said.
Feebas giggled. "Well, I would be quite beautiful, wouldn't I? Thought that would probably make Wade want to keep me secret for even longer. After all, A Milotic would catch some attention, and Wade doesn't strike me as the type to enjoy that kind of attention. Even if I will, according to you, be able to seduce Wade in such a manner. Like I'd even want to do that. Wade is a human, I am a fish, soon to be a giant eel, snake thing. A relationship like that would be disgusting, socially unexceptable for Wade, and wouldn't sit right with me."
"Yeah, it would be pretty bad, but it could be worse. Wade's at least not the type to try and date a fish," Houndour chuckled. "If he were, I'd have to torch him alive." Both Feebas and Houndour had a good laugh, which to their trainer, sounded very human-like. Wade remarked as such, so Houndour gave his best villain laugh and laughed even harder when he noticed a shiver run up Wade's spine.
Meanwhile, in the Pokemart, Cheren was leading his two friends through the surprisingly decent room. "Cheren, why are we taking so long? We have our stuff, so let's go," Bianca complained. "I thought today was the day the three of us became adults, but I didn't think we'd be spending longer than my dad does while grocery shopping," she groaned.
"Well, I mostly want to talk to you guys about Wade. The guy claims to be from a region called Wyoming, which doesn't exist, where pokemon are quite rare. Heck, he claims to have known Houndour for quite a while, long enough that his parents got mad when they found out about Houndour. Yet he was testing how hard Houndour's skull was, when you'd figure he'd know that by now. It just doesn't seem right about Wade," Cheren said. "So I brought you along so we can talk about him."
"Well, Wade could probably be ashamed about something from his past. Something so bad, or what he thinks is so bad, that he thinks that he's gotta lie about it," White reasoned.
"Then that's probably somehow worse. For all we know, Wade could be a murderer waiting to strike. Sure, we've got pokemon that can fight back if that's the case, but Wade's already got two. With a third coming around when Juniper gives the all clear," Cheren argued. "And I know he isn't above playing dirty, if my battle with him is something to go by. He only didn't play dirty against you, White, because he got called out for it," Cheren said.
"Well, he's not a league trainer, and he probably thinks he doesn't have to play by league rules. He at least started playing fairly against me and Oshawott, even if I still lost to him, so maybe he didn't know that some trainers train for sport," White argued. "Plus, isn't Wade supposed to be making sure we're safe? If so, then I don't think Wade's thinking about League Rules; he'll be thinking of ways to fight back. Stop being an Absol, Wade can't be that bad of a guy if Professor Juniper's dating him."
Cheren sighed, figuring that White nor Bianca would see his point.
"Actually, Cheren has a point. For somebody who claims to live in a region, where there isn't even a league, Wade seems to be a pretty decent battler. Apparently pokemon were so rare, that Wade never even had to think about moves, abilities, or typing. If I'm guessing correctly, Wade probably wouldn't have even known that Feebas can evolve into Milotic. Heck, he seems to know quite a few moves, what said moves do, and how to apply them… if just attacking is anything to go by." Bianca then grabbed a bag of chips off a shelf.
"We probably won't know how deep Wade's knowledge on that sort of stuff goes, since he probably won't be battling often. I'd say he isn't going to try hurting us, he seems to like White, and he is dating Professor Juniper, so he isn't a bad guy at least. We could get him to spar with us every now and then, he's got to be training his pokemon, and see later on that. Though Cheren, don't treat Wade like a villain, and we shouldn't press Wade on this. He's traveling with us, so he'll probably end up telling us anyway," Bianca finished.
Cheren and White blinked at their friend a couple times. "What?" Bianca asked.
"Well then, that was pretty insightful. I didn't think you could be that observant," Cheren nodded. "Though you're right, I won't push Wade on this unless it becomes a problem," he then led the trio over to checkout.
The three paused in front of Wade, who seemed to be really engrossed with a T.V show about a Zorua trying to fit in with a group of Vulpix, by disguising as a Vulpix. Cheren almost instantly recognized it as some drama that had concluded a year ago. They were also surprised to see Wade actually enjoying a warm tray of food, which they also recognized as a meal you could get out of a vending machine. Houndour was laying in the man's lap, dozing off, while Feebas was idly being scratched on her dorsal fin. Wade looked very relaxed.
"Hey Wade, we've got our supplies," White announced. Wade nodded, recalled Feebas, and began to tidy up the area he had been using. "You do know somebody will clean that up for you, right?" White asked.
"Well, I don't like leaving a mess. If my experience with working in retail and food service taught me anything, customers who leave a mess are the worst. Usually because they're assholes. Anyways, whenever you can, clean up after yourself, you'll make somebody else's life easier," Wade got up, Houndour in one arm, his bag hung in his elbow, with his trash in the other hand. "Hey Houndour, you mind walking for a bit until I can toss this stuff?" Houndour nodded and was promptly placed back on the ground, Wade found a trashcan on the way out, and recollected Houndour shortly afterwards.
"Y'know, you kids shoulda bought supplies yesterday. That way we coulda been halfway to Accumula town," Wade chuckled. Cheren, White, and Bianca remained silent. Truthfully, they already had enough supplies to last until they got to Accumula, but also knew the true reason for why they decided to go shopping. The group walked out of the Pokemon Center and began making their way towards the road that led out of town. There was a sign that Wade had noticed, but never took a moment to look at it until now. It had a census count, and apparently 238 people lived in Nuvema town.
"Alright, with that pitstop over and done with, let's head onwards. Next stop, Accumula!" Wade said in his best conductor voice and began to march forward with a map pulled out.
'God, I wish Route 1 was just a straight line, like in the games.'