Chapter 4: Shifting Out of Park

Five more days. Yang had built up a kind of routine at this point, though there was still plenty to get used to. Emotionally and physically.

Free moments were spent exercising, partly to keep the rest of her body in shape and partly to just get physically used to not having her right arm anymore. Occasionally she caught herself focusing on various different kinds of arm exercises to a point she'd have considered overdoing it, and while she'd mentally reprimanded herself for that, it didn't stop her from at one point asking the professor if he could see about getting a one-handed dumbbell.

For significant amounts of time between breakfast and lunch, then lunch and dinner, she "took care of" the three Pokémon in their habitat.

Well, okay, charmander needed a good deal of looking after. The guy seemed to love coming up with challenges for himself, from climbing trees to trying to see how many times he could flip in the air as he jumped from a rock. While there were plenty of ways he had fun that didn't involve testing his own limits, it was like he found the taste risky antics sweeter than garden variety playing. Energetic as all hell, but it was still pretty fun to look after him..even if he tended to absorb quite a bit of attention with his antics.

Of course squirtle got jealous of that attention by day one, but it wasn't until day three that it looked like it'd boil over to something serious. Specifically, during one of the usually playful wrestling bits with charmander he poked his red buddy in the eye and had an all-too-innocent expression on his snout that set off Yang's big sister instinct. While his cute looks kept her from punting him through the roof, her hair was glowing as she yelled at him. Of course the fear in his eyes cooled her down. She kept reprimanding him, but with a softer tone of voice as she knelt down and started petting him. Sure, he'd done something wrong, but it wasn't anything that caused permanent damage, and to be fair she really 'should' have given him more attention.

As for bulbasaur, well, he was the one who helped patch things up. The little problem solver thought of some things charmander could do that didn't require any real supervision, like using his vine to create a makeshift swing set. He never begged for attention or did anything that made staying close in case of trouble feel necessary. He just..liked watching everyone else, never made a fuss when he wanted something, he just went for it. If Yang happened to help when he couldn't grab whatever he wanted or reach a nice napping spot that caught just the right amount of sun, he didn't act insulted like some people Yang knew. He just smiled, appreciating that she went out of her way to help him when she didn't need to. And in turn, whenever he saw an opportunity, he helped her in what little ways he could..which mostly translated to catching anything she might drop or keeping an eye on whichever one of the other two Pokémon she wasn't hovering over.

Breakfast was spent in a one on one talk with the professor, and while more often than not it lead to her asking various questions about how this world worked, occasionally it turned into her explaining how things were in Remnant. She probably didn't learn anywhere near as much as he did in those exchanges, but one thing that definitely stuck out to her was that people didn't generally have auras. At the very least she was the only person he'd heard of to have one.

Lunch was typically a skull session between the professor and his two assistants, Integra and Victor. Integra was so shy outside of work related stuff Yang couldn't help wondering if she and that attention starved squirtle had swapped personalities or something. It was like she kept trying to hide inside her lab coat like it was a shell any time Yang tried to spark some kind of conversation or other with her, and while she was 'polite', she was so timid in her responses that it seemed to cut the legs out from under any real attempt to get some kind of back and forth.

The guy, though..Victor was a technophile that could put Ruby to shame. Anything that had any sort of technological link to it, he loved to talk about. Occasionally she told him what little she knew about programming and entered the password for her scroll so he could explore the various functions, trying to guess just how much memory and processing it had. If anything, the touchscreen was the most fascinating thing about it if his facial expressions and the little noises of giddiness were anything to judge by.

Dinner was basically just preheated stuff getting warmed up for the two assistants and Yang while Oak went to his kid and grandchildren. Just grab a plate, have your fill between whatever thoughts drove you to do whatever it was that grabbed you.

It was a very uncomplicated routine that gave her things to do. Still, it didn't really get her anywhere, both emotionally and physically. While intellectually she knew something had to change, she didn't know what specifically.

"..hence why there's a six Pokémon limit in all competitions, both combat related and otherwise."

Taking a moment to think about it, Yang shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it makes sense to give some kind of limit so a guy who's got a hell of a lot isn't going to win through sheer numbers. Still, I've got to wonder just what kind of person even gets that many. I'm having a hard enough time keeping an eye on three of them."

Nodding in understanding, the professor responded, "It depends on the trainer: the way they connect with their Pokémon and other people, the method they choose to expand their team. There is no 'right' way, just whatever feels best to the person at the moment it happens."

Putting on what Yang had dubbed his instructor face, Oak continued. "Some are in it for the battles alone. They look for whatever traits catch their eye and forcibly capture wild Pokémon, mostly interacting with others through tournaments and less formal competitions. While it can occasionally feel harsh, I've known many who take that approach. One of whom is a very good friend who has only ever been cruel to people who are cruel to friends and Pokémon."

He paused, smiling at some memories that Yang could almost see flashing in his eyes. The moment they faded he was back to his lecture. "Others help wounded or troubled Pokémon or live among them for a while. Getting to know them before asking if they want to join the trainer. And still others raise them as they hatch from eggs, treating them like their own flesh and blood as they raise them. The average trainer tends to gain around fourteen their whole life regardless of method, though there is the odd few who has over a hundred.."

Over a hundred?! Yang couldn't even count that high before getting distracted by something else! "Yikes, that's quite the army! How do you even 'feed' that many mouths?"

That got him chuckling. "With various hired hands and the occasional day care center. Personally I'd argue those kinds of arrangements hurt the personal connection between trainer and Pokémon but perhaps I'm too biased to the personal approach."

As the last of breakfast was finished and Yang mentally prepared herself for the next part of the routine, the professor snapped his fingers. "Ah, I almost forgot! Apparently, our usual mailman had a family emergency so anything that was due today is sitting in Viridian City."

Something about the way he said that made it feel like he didn't 'just' remember. Still, there wasn't any harm in playing along for a bit. "Well that's a shame. What's the emergency?"

It was at this point it became clear he was a horrible liar. "Oh, his wife is in labor. Wonderful news but he just has to be with her all day."

That..that was what he was going with? She couldn't even be bothered to start poking holes in that story. Especially the idea that mail was delivered by one irreplaceable man. Well okay, if he was going to play it that way then she was going to fake thinking it was the worst possible thing. "Look, you don't have to give me a story of some kind. If you want me gone then just say it straight."

He cringed at that. "What?! No, that's not why I..you 'are' coming back and there 'are' some things I'd like you to pick up! I just.."

There was just something about seeing him flustered that got her outright laughing. Sure, it was a little mean to make a joke like that but the way he was stumbling!

She didn't know how long she'd laughed but by the time she recovered he was giving a good natured glare. "Oh yes, make fun of the kind old man."

Shrugging, she shot back, "Serves you right for being so bad lying. So why do you want 'me' to go I don't know how far to I don't know where to pick up some mail? I haven't even figured out how to use a fork left handed yet!"

His stare became more concerned there. He didn't say a word, didn't shift his eyes from hers, but..yeesh, the guy was starting to make her feel guilty and that was kind of pissing her off. It was hard to say if it was the fact that this guy she'd known for just over a week was trying to act like her father or something else was making her feel a little angry.

Either way, she broke off the impromptu staring contest. "Well? What's the reason you want me to play mailman?"

It took him a moment to gather his thoughts, reevaluate how he was going to approach the heart of the matter. When he made his decision, he stood a little straighter than usual. "I would think of this as a trial run."

Okay, that wasn't what she was expecting. Gesturing for him to continue, his voice went back to lecture mode, though his face didn't shift to his usual instructor thing. "While I've never had anything anywhere near as traumatic happen to me as what happened to you, I have seen my fair share of people who have suffered loss and injury in massive degrees. Now, maybe it's just cultural bias or seeing different people with different problems find ways to grow instead of fester in their miseries. Either way, I can't help thinking that you starting a journey of your own, whatever the reason, might do you some good."

Starting to walk towards the building with the three Pokémon, the professor went on, Yang feeling no need to interrupt at this point. "Now, I am not a heartless man, even if your joke implied it. All you have to do is take one of the three Pokémon with you to the city, go talk to an old friend of mine that owns a store and pick up some things he's been holding onto for me, then come back. If you feel satisfied by that short trip, or worse, you feel it was too much for you, then I would be happy to let you stay here indefinitely. Still, there can't be any harm in trying, right?"

A few things itched at her mind at that. "Wait, didn't you say that you needed to take a test and have a license in order to take these critters around?"

He chuckled at that, his entire body relaxing back to its usual state. "While it's less formal than the typical test youths go through, the way you've interacted with the three starters has more than convinced me that you have the potential to be a wonderful trainer. In fact one of the things you'll be picking up will be your license as a trainer. I signed the paperwork formalizing it three days ago."

And that brought the second thing that itched at her to the forefront. "And I'm going to be taking 'one' of the three, breaking up the team, before getting on the road?"

He nodded at that, smiling in pleasure at her question. Almost like she had passed another 'informal' test. "Think of it less as breaking them apart, and more that we all have different paths in life. You'll see them again in the future. I'm sure of it."

Whatever he was sure of, that didn't change the fact that this was going to feel awkward. Granted, it wasn't going to be "huntress working with the Grimm" levels of wrongness, but still. Definitely something she didn't feel comfortable with.

She'd been thinking of the three like little kids, and while they all had different needs, and completely different body structures, they were still friends. Add in the fact that she had no idea if she'd ever see the island of Patch, kingdom of Vale, or anyone there, friends and family both, and this just..yeah.

So as the professor approached them first, saying something she couldn't hear. Probably something so the two she didn't pick didn't feel bad when they got left behind. She was too busy trying to make a decision she didn't expect to have to make this morning. Not that having several options would have made things any better.

While she kind of felt guilty just thinking it, unfortunately squirtle was not even in the running. He just felt that he absolutely had to be the center of attention, and it backfired on him. Sure, he'd improved a bit after the day she'd yelled at him, and he wasn't downright unpleasant to be around. He just made a bad first impression and hadn't really done enough to make her want to be with him more than the other two.

Now charmander, he had been fun to be with since day one. A little ball of energy that never ceased to put a smile on her face, he was 'definitely' her favorite to hang out with. Just one thing stopped her from picking him: the thought of one of his self-imposed challenges being 'way' too much for him to handle. That sort of thing was part of why part of her wanted Ruby to be on a different team from her back at initiation, because her instinct was to take whatever came her sister's way. On one hand sometimes that kind of protection was outright 'needed'. On the other, it probably stifled some areas of Ruby's growth as a person, and it was a little hard to tell sometimes..and since she had one less hand, she was nervous something might pop up that she just couldn't handle. So as fun as charmander might be to hang around with, part of her imagining Ruby just excitedly saying "Can we keep him", he just didn't feel right considering as a 'partner' of one kind or another.

Bulbasaur though, he alternately reminded her of Weiss and Blake. He didn't go out of his way to challenge himself, he just tried to come up with solutions when a problem happened to pop up. Quiet, not really giving a damn if he was the center of attention or not but always pleased whenever she gave him some attention, and somehow managing to be a constant presence in doing so. Just for the sake of fairness she tried to think of a negative in choosing this guy, and just couldn't think of any. If that wasn't a decision in itself, she didn't know what was.

Swallowing down the lump in her throat, she waited to see if the professor was going to do anything other than kneel down and talk to the Pokémon. When it didn't look like it would ever end, she made a noise as if to clear her throat, more just to get attention than anything else. As he and the three cute little guys shifted to stare at her, the nervousness felt like it got even worse. "Um, yeah..since this is my first time doing this, how 'do' we do it? Do you have to make a speech or something about how this is a major decision?"

He smiled reassuringly at that. "Take your time, there is no wrong answer."

She was sure there wasn't a wrong answer, just not if there was a wrong way to give an answer. "Oh it's not that I don't have an answer. It's just..tough to give it when I've got three expectant little faces staring at me. Rather not trip over myself before I've actually taken my first step in this little 'trial run' thing."

Oak's expression didn't change, though two of the three seemed to be a little confused. Squirtle's mouth slackened and he gave charmander a quick glance as if that felt like the most obvious choice. Bulbasaur scrunched his face as if trying to figure out why she was having trouble with this. Charmander just had this gleeful expression on his snout..oh god, that was making this even harder. "That's understandable. Still, take your time. There's no rush, no deadline that needs to be achieved. You can make your decision tomorrow if you'd prefer, or even next week if need be."

Great, just pile on the guilt now that she made her choice and try to say there's no pressure when it most definitely felt like there was 'plenty' of pressure. "Tempting, but..I get the feeling I'd never just out and say it if we kept pushing the date back. Hold on.."

She wasn't sure how long she stood there, or how long it took for her to suck in the breath she wanted to speak with. It was a long, drawn in breath, like she would take if she wanted to yell to someone who on top of a building and she was just laying down on the grass. The noise that came from her mouth was pretty quiet, though. "..bulbasaur."

That left squirtle looking downright slack-jawed and bulbasaur's eyes comically widened as if he was saying "what, me? Are you kidding?!". Charmander's expression didn't change, if anything he seemed to make a little cheer and start clapping, using his tail to nudge his stunned buddy forward. Wow, for some reason she thought he'd be disappointed by that. If the professor was caught off guard by that, he didn't show it. His grin just widened.

Well at least she didn't buy too much clothes..or had too many various belongings with her at all to put into the backpack Oak had provided. Sure, it wasn't like Viridian City was an obscene distance from Pallet Town, just a solid day or two of walking should get her there. Still. It was hard to say how much of her camping experience was going to mean anything in a world without Grimm and a life with just one arm. Hell, it was tough enough just going through the list of things she felt like she didn't want to lose track of. Partly because this wasn't a trip she was expecting to start this morning, and partly because some of the things she'd normally take with her were either back in Beacon or just plain wouldn't do her any good now. Bulbasaur was just standing near the foot of her bed,looking for anything she might need help with but not knowing how he could help as she grabbed stuff at random to put into sections of bag.

Clothes were easy enough to pick. A few different jeans, a few t-shirts, her new pajamas..it felt a bit off that the only clothes she had were the ones the left Beacon with. Of course she felt so different that she hadn't actually put a single piece of that ensemble on since the day she had more than one set of clothes to wear. Of course maybe it was the fact that she could somehow 'smell' her own long dried and cleaned off blood on them that made it tougher to think about wearing them. Was it even possible to smell your own blood over a week after something like that? Or was it just her mind messing with her?

Tent..well, that was going to be a pain to actually open up, but not having one was just asking for a rainy night. Sleeping bag? Check. Pocket knife? Kind of nice, firm construction with a few varying options including a can opener and a bottle opener. Not that she had any cans or bottles to open but it was nice to have the option. Ember Celica? Hm..no, she only had half of the pair and it's not like Dust worked around here. That was one of the first things she learned when doing the occasional odd thing with Victor..come to think of it, how did her scroll work if -

Her thoughts were cut off as Victor, the very tech maniac she was thinking of, decided to come in with a small little red and white ball. "Ah, good! You haven't left yet! I've got a little something for you to bring along."

Considering the only thing in his hands was a small ball, that was probably what he wanted to give. She just continued packing things away while giving it a quick glance, mentally sizing the thing up and deciding it wouldn't look out of place on a keychain. "What's that, a toy for the little guy to play with?"

He smiled for maybe a second before something hit him. "Something li..wait, did you say guy?"

Odd word for him to find odd. "Um, yeah. It's kind of a standard thing to say, isn't it?"

He blinked a moment, giving her a look as if saying 'huh, you really don't know', then actually saying, "It's kind of a male pronoun. Huh..I could have sworn that the professor told you that bulbasaur here is a girl."

Okay, so she'd just have to stop referring to bulbasaur in her head as a he. Not too much of a problem, and the little gu..girl did the closest thing to a shrug she could do on four legs. Probably because she didn't give a damn how she was referred to so long as it was clear she was the one being talked to or about. "Really? Huh. Is there some kind of visual hint of that other than just checking for genitals or something?"

At that he shrugged, "Well to be fair it's not something you can really see at a first glance, certainly not at such a young age and stage for this species. It's not until she's gotten to her final stage that you'll see any sexual dimorphism. But if you didn't know her gender, then I can't help wondering if you've given her a name yet."

Now she stopped and felt like a deer caught in the headlights. "Wait, I..have to name her?"

Again, he had an odd look in his eye. He was probably just as curious about why the professor didn't mention any of this to the girl who was completely unfamiliar with an absurd amount about the world she was in. "Yeah. It's one of those things all trainers do when they get a new Pokémon. They give their 'mon a name, it could be anything and I do mean absolutely anything. Hell, I named 'my' first Pokemon Dunglord."

Great, another big decision and she hadn't even finished packing. There was no way she was going to curse bulbasaur with a name like Dunglord, and she really didn't want to know why Victor would name anything with a pulse something so shitty. The jokey part of her wanted to give bulbasaur the name of "Light" since, well, "Light"bulbasaur might get a few chuckles. Didn't really feel right though, mostly because she didn't want a hell of a lot of confusion every time she wanted someone to turn on a light. Another part of her wanted to say Chloe for some reason. Fresh blooming..sounded nice, but it felt like it was missing something. Color. Sure, this was Remnant but..hm..

After a bit of thinking, a name popped into her head that felt like just the right fit. "Phyllis..short for chlorophyll..does that sound good?"

Taking a quick glance at bulbasaur, she did her approximation of a shrug again. Right, so no problems with calling her Phyllis there, and that's the most important source of critique in the name, all things considered.

Victor seemed reasonably pleased by that as well. "Definitely a nice name. Like the touch by borrowing part of a word important for photosynthesis, really nails it. Whew, well now that we've averted some potential embarrassment down the line, let's get back to why I originally came in: this my friend is a Pokéball.."

Omake

"Ah yes, that one's very energetic, Katsumi."

"Well I hope I can keep up with him. It'd be kind of awkward if he left me in the dust or something."

"I don't think you need to worry about that. Still, there's just one last thing before you get started..it's kind of embarrassing that I didn't ask earlier, really."

"What, was it supposed to be on the test for the license?"

"No no, just a personal curiosity..are you a boy, or a girl?"

"..you've known me for my entire life, hell you've known my 'mother' for longer than I've been alive! And you don't know what 'gender' I am?!"

"..well it is kind of a gender neutral name, and I wasn't there when your mother actually gave birth..I've got to admit I feel like an idiot for not asking sooner."

"Go with the feeling. I think my respect for you just got taken behind a bike shed and beaten down for whatever spare change was in its pockets."

Author's Note: Well, we're starting the journey along nicely now. Anyone else tempted to watch the Pokemon AMV titled The Story Is Just Beginning? Oh wait, that has some Charmander/Charmeleon scenes in it. Ouch.

There are a number of reasons I decided to give Yang Bulbasaur instead of Charmander. First and foremost, it felt a bit too on the nose for who she was pre-Festival. It's not that it's a 'horrible' fit, it's just that I'd prefer to pay a bit more attention to Yang's nurturing nature rather than her hot blooded ass-kicker persona. Not that we won't see her ever get heated in this story, just that I've read a few too many stories where that just feels too dominant a trait. Second, Pokémon are supposed to be like partners to their trainers, and notice how Yang and Ruby didn't have someone similar to them as partners, and they certainly didn't partner up with eachother. They had Weiss and Blake, who balanced them out. Of course the full team composition I've got in mind for Yang will be a pretty good reflection of who she is, and I'm looking forward to her building the team. Thirdly, I've got this brain canon that Red takes Charmander and Blue takes Squirtle, not helped by the anime Pokémon Origins. I didn't see why the characters taking their place shouldn't make the same choices.

Apologies to Dark Flower on Archive of Our Own, as much as I liked the name Chloe it just didn't feel 'right' for Yang. But don't worry, I've got an idea for a Pokémon named Ignis later on. Though I don't know quite 'how' long it'll take to get that far since Yang is only just getting on the road. And also apologies to fans of Squirtle for making the cute little blue turtle the least appealing option to Yang. I wanted to make all three of them feel equally appealing but the combination of me choosing Charmander every time I've ever played Red and some annoyance at the Michael Bay versions of the Ninja Turtles made him get the short end of the stick.

Hope this was fun, we'll see how long the next chapter takes.