For the rest of the week, Dawn and I spend what time we have together with her explaining to me how the business side of Pokémon training works. Apparently independent trainers do exist, but the lack of a sponsor's support means one has to rely on themselves for both their finances and their Pokémon licenses. Suffice it to say, independent trainers that haven't gone broke or quit quickly are very few. And most of those come from rich backgrounds.

Steven Stone is apparently the most famous among these trainers.

As for actually sponsored trainers, even they face some restrictions, although none that relate to their sponsor specifically. The amount of Pokémon one can have is theoretically limitless, but in practice not all Pokémon are on the table from the get-go. The League puts restrictions that are lifted as trainers acquire badges, such as what Pokémon are safe for a trainer to have, what are safe to evolve and which caves, forests or whatnot with their own exclusive Pokémon can be visited.

From the sound of it, I theoretically only need the sponsor to keep Annette around and have a salary. In practice, I doubt any sponsor would keep sustaining me if I do jackshit as a trainer.

The day before the meeting with the notary however, Dawn takes us back to that park for, as she put it, "something different". I'm not really sure what she means until she pulls out a Poké Ball.

"Alright, Pip, come out," she says as she throws the ball. The Pokémon that comes out is a black and blue penguin, about as tall as me, with a weird trident-crown thing for a face and blue metallic ornaments on its wings and chest.

"Poleon," the penguin says as it stands tall and proud, looking at Annette and me with scrutinizing eyes the color of the sea.

"An Empoleon?" I ask, blinking at the sight of it.

"Yup," Dawn replies as she pats it on the shoulder and it folds its…arms? Wings? "Guys, meet Pip. My first Pokémon."

Annette waves at it, "Ra."

"Uhm…hi," I dully reply.

The Empoleon acknowledges us both with a nod of its head.

After that, I turn back to its trainer. "Ok, so…what do you want to do today?"

"While we've gone over the details of what being a trainer entails, there is one thing we have yet to touch upon," she turns to Annette. "The moves she knows."

…shit. Moves are the basis of Pokémon battling. Why didn't I think about that before?

"The best way to learn what they are, is to have her show them to us. So," she turns to her Empoleon, who nods at her and she nods back. "we're going to have her use them on him."

"W-what?" I ask, dumbfounded. "Won't he get hurt?"

"Don't worry," she replies confidently. "He went toe to toe against Titania and won. He can take whatever Annette can do."

"Em," the overgrown penguin adds solemnly.

But whatever her point was with that statement, it only manages to confuse me more. "Who is Titania?"

The penguin widens one of its eyes. Dawn arches an eyebrow. "You don't know?"

"I have seen Titania being used as the name of plenty of characters. You'll have to give me something more specific."

"She's Cynthia's Garchomp."

Those words make me widen my eyes and turn to the Empoleon, who keeps his head literally held high. And rightfully so, that Garchomp was bred by the Devil himself.

"Mara?" Annette asks, giving glances to Dawn, me and the Empoleon.

"Long story short," I tell her, "Garchomp are dragons native to Sinnoh. They are big, they are tough and they are mean. And this one is freakishly powerful."

Annette doesn't say anything to that and just looks at me, waiting.

"You know what a dragon is, right?"

She shakes her head. Oh, great.

"Have you ever seen a Krookodile? You know," I raise my hands and clench my fingers in a way that mimics claws, frown and twist my mouth in the best evil smirk I can make "big bipedal reptile, elongated snout, red with black patterns?" Annette nods and I take the chance to drop the imitation. "Well, Garchomps are similar, but more dangerous."

At that, Annette's mouth opens into an O-like shape and she turns to stare at Pip in awe, while the Empoleon doesn't drop his proud stance.

"Alright," Dawn ultimately intervenes. "If that is all, we can proceed." She turns to Annette, "Now, what moves do you know?"

Annette gives Dawn a quick glance. Then she looks Pip in the eyes, who gives her a nod of his head. Then she turns to me, and the only thing I can do is shrug. I don't know how any of this works in a real setting.

Annette turns back to the Empoleon after that and points her arms at him. A faint aura surrounds the penguin and a few faint green lights then flow from him to Annette.

I watch confusedly as after Annette lowers her arms both Pokémon look perfectly the same as before.

"What just happened?"

"Annette used Absorb," Dawn explains. "It's a grass move that drains energy from the opponent to heal the user."

Uh-huh? "And did it work?"

The bluenette looks at me like I've grown a second head. "Of course it worked. What made you think otherwise?"

"The fact that Pip seemed unaffected by it?"

"Oh," she gives a quick glance to her Pokémon. "That's because regular Absorb is a weak move in and of itself. And Pip is used to being hit by more powerful moves."

This metal penguin is starting to worry me.

Annette shows off the rest of her moves. Firstly, she raises her arms to the sun and briefly glows, perfectly performing a Synthesis.

After that, she approaches the Empoleon and first lets out a salvo of lime lights from her arm and then hits him with one of her ears while the spikes on it glow cyan. The penguin shrugs off both the Pin Missile and the Peck like they are nothing.

And finally, the flowers at the top of her ears release a powder that dissolves almost as soon as it comes in contact with the air. However, after the powder dissolves, I can smell a new scent in the air. One that makes me feel compelled to approach Annette. Just…approach her.

"What the hell…?"

"Ah, that's Sweet Scent," Dawn comments. "It's a move meant to attract other Pokémon and make them approach the user."

I quirk an eyebrow. "And what good is that in a battle?"

Or rather, how the hell does making the target come to you translate to reduced evasion?

"That depends on the trainer and the strategy they want to apply to it. That is, if you want to use the move in the first place."

Really useful answer there.

In any case, that's the last of Annette's moves. Absorb, Synthesis, Pin Missile, Peck and Sweet Scent. Because of course without videogame limitations a Pokémon can use more than four moves.

"Alright," Dawn comments in the end. "So besides Grass, she can use Bug and Flying moves." She turns to me. "For the time being, it's best if her training focuses on perfecting her control over these moves. Otherwise she will have a harder time learning more complex ones. Is that clear?"

I almost tell her "you're the experienced trainer", but I bite my tongue before I do and instead just nod.

The rest of the day is spent with Annette practicing her moves on Dawn's Empoleon. She arrives at the end of it fatigued and huffing, while her selected training dummy looks bored but otherwise unaffected by her attacks.

We've got a loooong way to go.

I'll be the first to admit, I wasn't sure what to expect from the driving test. An entirely different world could have meant unrecognizable car controls or different driving regulations. Instead, I soon find out that everything is exactly the same, minus the Pokémon on the streets.

And man, did that make this test piss easy.

After parking in front of city hall, I get out of the car and leave the driving seat to the examiner, who quickly leaves.

Dawn and Mrs. Black approach me while I watch the car I just drove go away. "So, how did it go?" Mrs. Black asks me.

I can't suppress a smile as I hold up the new card I've been given. "Perfectly."

Dawn reacts with a smile and a small nod. The notary is more vocal. "Excellent. And with these," she picks more cards from her pocket and gives them to me. A surge of pride comes over me when I see what they are, "you are now officially registered as a citizen of Castelia. Congratulations."

"Thank you," I reply while putting away my new documents. "So is that all?"

"In theory, yes," Mrs. Black replies as she folds her hands. "In practice, there is still the matter about your sponsorship as a trainer."

Oh right, that.

I fold my arms before addressing her. "I would like to accept. But on one condition." I take the nod she gives me as my cue to continue. "Who would I be sponsored by? I would rather not have some mysterious nameless person be my sponsor."

The chuckle she lets out is not the answer I was expecting. "That's easy to answer. Your sponsor would be Nature Today."

Uh…"Who or what?"

"A documentary famous worldwide," Dawn chimes in. "It tackles various topics surrounding Pokémon and the environment. The most famous Pokémon professors, like Professor Rowan or Oak, have all had collaborations with them at one point or another."

Huh. Interesting, I suppose. But what does that have to do with me?

I turn back to the notary "And they would sponsor me, why exactly?"

"I unfortunately don't know all of the details. All I can tell you is that they're looking for trainers who use Pokémon that don't evolve, as a way to sponsor a study in collaboration with a pair of new Pokémon professors. If you'd like, I can set up a meeting with Mr. Black—a member of the board—so you can discuss the finer details."

I don't immediately register what the guy's name is. But when I do, I have to blink in confusion. "Mr. Black?"

She smiles and tilts her head. "My husband."

Whelp, it was nice knowing you, jaw. Hope you're happy living with the floor.

To the surprise of both me and Dawn, this Mr. Black was available to meet us the day after. 'Ecstatic' his wife said. Either he hasn't been looking for long or he's desperate enough to sponsor the first noob he comes across. If it's the latter, this should be a simple matter.

Either way, Dawn and I rented a car and followed the road going north, which leads straight for Nimbasa. Passing through the highway over Route 4 another time is unsurprisingly less interesting than the first time, especially considering I'm the one doing the driving.

Nimbasa, however, is another matter. It doesn't have the hugely tall skyscrapers that characterized Castelia, but the buildings that greet us upon entering are more focused on being stylish, with crystal windows covering them from top to bottom and decorated roofs. The buildings are also less crammed next to each other, as there's more space between them.

"It's beautiful," Dawn comments as we drive through the streets. Honestly, I can't disagree, but we have other matters to attend to.

"Where do we go from here?" I ask her, causing her to go back and check her phone's map.

"Okay, so apparently there are three districts of the city," she says after a bit. "We are currently in the Central District. It's mostly the residences of the locals and the majority of the shops. The Pokémon Centers and hotels are all here."

"So it's basically the 'mundane' district."

"If we want to be cynical, yes," Dawn replies, her eyes rolling at my observation. "Anyway, to the east we have the Green District."

"Green District?"

Dawn nods. "Known like this because of the large park that makes for most of it. The Rondez-View Ferris Wheel is its most prominent attraction. And outside of it, there is the local Gym."

Guess I know where I'll have to go to challenge Elesa.

"And lastly, we have the Entertainment District to the north, where all of the other major attractions are." She raises her head and looks at me. "Nature Today's station is on the edges of this last one."

"Got it," I say as I take the road going north. And following the directions Dawn gives me, it isn't long before we come across this one building with green windows and a noticeably large antenna.

"There it is," Dawn says as she points at it. "Nature Today."

They really want to be on the nose about the 'nature' part of the name, don't they?

Anyway, after parking the car, we enter the building, go to the reception and say we have an appointment with Mister Black. We are then told he's waiting for us in his office, at the top floor of the building.

After taking the elevator, finding said office is pretty easy with the guy's name in full display on one door, and so we simply knock.

"Enter," a man's voice answers from inside.

We do so. And upon entering, we are greeted by a man in an elegant blue suit, with brown eyes and hair combed backward, its spiky ends looking like a crest on the back of his neck. I assume this is Mr. Black.

"Ah, Mister Beccaria and Miss Hikari," he warmly greets us before gesturing to the chairs on the other side of his desk. "Please, take a seat."

We do that and then he clasps his hands together. "So, how has your stay in Unova been? Have you enjoyed yourselves?"

"It has been...interesting," I admit. "This world is quite different from mine. Even with some aspects that are surprisingly similar."

Mr. Black nods. "I see. I hope my wife's assistance and Miss Hikari's guidance were helpful in getting settled in." He turns to Dawn before I can come up with a reply. "And what about you, Miss Hikari? Have you ever been to Unova before?"

Dawn gives off an embarrassed smile and rubs her hair. "A friend of mine has told me about it before, but this is the first true time I've been here in person. I've honestly been impressed by how large Castelia and Nimbasa are. Are all of your cities so large?"

Mr Black chuckles nervously. "I'm afraid you've seen the two largest cities in all of Unova already. We have other large cities, but I'm afraid they're no larger than Jubilife or Hearthome."

"Ah, that's a shame. But still, what other cities-?"

I hate to be that kind of ass, but someone here has to.

"Ahem," I interrupt, drawing the attention of both. "We are here to talk business. Not tourism."

Dawn pouts at me. Mr. Black, on the other hand, clears his throat. "Yes, of course."

I lean forward. "So, the first thing I want to know is what the details of this sponsorship are. And don't skip anything."

The smirk this guy gives me instantly triggers a bunch of alarms. "As you wish. Are you familiar with regional variants?"

I blink at his question. "Regional variants?"

"Yes, regional variants. Pokémon that, growing in different environments, have developed different types than their original forms."

"You mean like the Ice-type Ninetales of Alola or the Dark-type Zigzagoons of Galar?"

"Precisely."

Oookay...what do Alolan-slash-Galarian-slash-what not forms have to do with wanting a trainer that only uses one-stage mons?

"One interesting thing about regional variants is that they sometimes unlock new evolutions for Pokémon. There are these two Pokémon Professors that are studying this phenomenon, and they wanted to collaborate with Nature Today to bring their studies to the public."

I furrow my brow. "And these two Professors are reliable, right?" Last thing I want is giving attention to a pair of nutjobs believing in bogus science.

"They are new faces in their field," he confesses. "But they have solid credentials. One is the daughter of Professor David Birch, and the other is a former assistant of Professor Frank Rowan."

Wait, what?

"Excuse me," Dawn chimes in, her brow furrowed. "Are these two Professor May Birch and Professor Lucas Kouki?"

What?!

Mr. Black looks puzzled by Dawn's question. "Yes. Do you know them, Miss Hikari?"

Dawn nods. "They were friends of mine years ago."

Wait, 'were'? Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good.

"I see. In that case, can you vouch for them?"

"Of course," Dawn readily replies.

Mr. Black turns back to me, looking pleased by Dawn's words. "I hope that assuages your doubts?"

"...alright," I concede. Far be it for me to contradict Dawn on people she knows better than me. "But still, what does it have to do with me?"

Mr. Black folds his hands and his expression becomes solemn all of a sudden. "There is one aspect about the non-evolving Pokémon that is sadly becoming a reality in these times. Do you know what that is?"

Uuuuuh…"They are generally not used that much in competitive battling?"

"Worse," he sighs. "Much worse than that. Half of them are on the brink of extinction."

I need a double-take to register what he just said. "Extinction?"

He nods. "Yes. And part of Professor Birch and Professor Kouki's research is focused on how some regional variants are related to that. Take for example Galarian Farfetch'ds and Corsolas. One is a bird that is slowly disappearing from the world, except in Galar, where they had to become Fighting-types to survive. And not only did they do that, they are thriving there."

I let down a gulp. I'd never thought of that edgelord and its bleached evolution like that.

"And then, there's the Corsolas. A species of Pokémon that is as old as they can get. But as the climate in the Galarian seas changed, they could not survive in it. And unlike Farfetch'd, they failed to adapt. At least, as fully living Pokémon. And if the seas' warming spreads even outside Galar, who is to say that becoming ghosts is not the future of all Corsolas across the world?"

…

"So," he continues after a brief pause, "For this promotion we are going to need a trainer that relies on non-evolving Pokémon. Someone who uses only them and can thus raise awareness towards these species at risk." He raises an eyebrow. "Are you the one we're looking for?"

Okay, focus. This is the important stuff. "When you say 'relies on non-evolving Pokémon' do you mean something like I'll have to use only that kind of Pokémon?"

He nods, "That's the idea, yes. I know this isn't an ideal condition for building a team, but it's the condition we require to successfully draw interest. What do you say?"

Hmmm…'not ideal' is an understatement. Most of the one-stage Pokémon were weak in the games, and that has to translate into the actual thing. Still, I'm not really interested in actually winning any kind of tournament. But is he?

"Do you want me to make it to the Elite Four, by chance?"

"That...well, it wouldn't be unappreciated, but all I'm asking of you as a trainer is to win as many badges as you can. The more badges, the more the attention your team of non-evolving Pokémon will draw, and the more the ratings for our reports. Sounds good?"

"Give me a second," I reply before leaning closer to Dawn, who leans closer as well. "What do you make of this?" I whisper in her ear.

"What he's asking is a tall request, truth to be told," she whispers back. "Although, if you were expecting the freedom Professor Rowan gave me, that is more the exception than the rule. At least he is reasonable with how far he wants you to make it into the League. Usually you can expect this kind of leniency only from type-specialists. Besides, if you're only interested in the pay, this offer seems made for you."

Touche with that last one.

Well, I guess this is goodbye to Galvantula, Chandelure, Mienshao and a bunch of other gen five Pokémon I like.

I turn back to Mr. Black. "I think it's doable, then." The guy smiles at hearing that. "But only once we've discussed compensation."

"Certainly."

[Dawn]

After answering Beccaria's question, the negotiation between him and Mr. Black doesn't last much longer. And I only have to help again when he asks me if the number of zeros in the salary he's being offered are a good sum or not.

On the one hand, competitive Pokémon battling should not be an instrument for easy money. A sense of competition, fame, seeing the world, becoming closer to Pokémon, those should be the reasons to take on something like this. The world has already seen what happens with people interested in Pokémon only for the money thanks to Team Rocket. And those people only lead to more devious groups with their own self-serving agenda. Like Team Aqua and Magma.

Or Team Galactic. I have to suppress a shudder at that thought.

But on the other, I can see how getting money and obtaining a way to legally keep a Pokémon in one stroke can be enticing. And Beccaria seems to genuinely care about Annette. I have to hope that love will keep him on the right path.

"And I believe that is all," Mr. Black concludes. "Any more questions?"

Beccaria shakes his head. "No, thank you," he replies, the pleased smile on his face matching Mr. Black's.

"Good," the journalist's smile suddenly drops to give way to a more neutral expression. "Before you go, though, could I have a word with your supervisor? In private?"

His sudden request takes me by surprise. And when Beccaria turns to me, a confused expression now on his face, all I can do is shrug.

"Very well," I tell Mr. Black before addressing Beccaria again. "Can you wait for me outside? I'll try to be quick."

He purses his lips and furrows his brow, but nods in affirmation nonetheless. I don't think I want to know whatever is going through that paranoid head of his right now.

"So, what is it, Mr. Black?"

The older man leans forward and narrows his gaze at me. "How long are you supposed to stay by Mister Beccaria's side?"

Uh-oh.

"It...depends," I say hesitantly. "I may have another assignment soon. Depending on what news I have about it in the near future, it could be either not much longer or several months."

I don't like being so vague, but I'm not supposed to share the details of the Kyurem situation with civilians.

Mr. Black nods solemnly. "I see. And how long do you think it will be before you have news?"

The last report I received said Kyurem was still inside the Giant Chasm and the International Police was laying in wait for Team Plasma's move. But when that will happen, we don't know.

"I hope soon," I sigh.

"Well, in the case you will still be around, I have a request for you. One of a personal nature."

I...did not see that coming. "What is it?"

"My son Nate - he will reach the age to become a trainer soon. He was eager to begin his own Gym challenge, but with all that has happened last year with Team Plasma, I'm not feeling safe letting him go out there on his own."

I frown. "Team Plasma has fallen." At least, as far as he knows. "Why are you not feeling safe?"

"Team Plasma may have fallen," he concedes with a sigh. "But they weren't the first criminal group to ever pop up and cause trouble on the scale they have. If there is a lesson to be learned from that, it's that it's not safe out there."

I wish I could reassure him that he's worrying too much. But after all I've witnessed Team Galactic do, how can I?

"If he were to do his Gym challenge alongside Mister Beccaria, would you be able to look after him?"

In all honesty, if Beccaria and I end up chasing after Team Plasma, this Nate will find himself around the least safe places he could ask for. But how do I explain that without getting into classified details?

"To be honest, I don't think that's such a good idea." Mr. Black's face instantly falls. "I'm not sure my superiors would approve of me dragging your son into this. Or taking a side-job like this."

"You don't necessarily have to think of it as a side-job. More like 'looking after the liaison between a trainer and his sponsor'."

I arch an eyebrow. "Is that how you intend to justify your son's presence?"

He nods. "With an official reason for him to stick around Mister Beccaria, it should be easy to keep an eye on him."

Okay, if he already has a plan to get him involved either way, it changes things. I really will need to keep him safe.

"In that case, I'll let you know what my superiors tell me for that assignment," I say, to which his smile returns. "But what should I tell Mister Beccaria?"

"Nothing for now. I'll give him the news of his liaison when the occasion presents itself."

That doesn't sound like a wise course of action. Least of all with how mistrustful Beccaria is. Still, what Mr. Black doesn't know won't hurt him.

"Very well," I lie to him. "I'll keep it in mind."

Mr. Black nods. "Much obliged."

And chapter. We learn what moves Annette is able to perform and get a look at the inner working of Pokémon trainers sponsorship. And also get some mentions of some characters.

Once more, thank you to Softandhappy and Geolight164 for betareading. You can find us at the Fanfiction Treehouse discord server at: 9XG3U7a

See you next time!