Chapter 4 – First Catch
Ice crystals filled the air, shimmering in the morning light. Jill wandered through the small town of Sandgem with the two boys at her side. All three were quiet, taking in the beauty as hoarfrost covered everything in sight. Winter was definitely just around the corner, but for the time being, this was beautiful. At the edge of town, Barry slowed up.
"Well I suppose this is it for the next little while" he said a little sad. Jill smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry Barry, we'll meet up soon enough!" The blonde smiled and gave his friend a hug. Lucas also received one as the group broke apart and headed on their separate ways. Barry ran off ahead, cutting through the woods rather than taking the more worn trail. Jill and Lucas opted for the trail, as they were more likely to meet other trainers this way and see a larger variety of Pokemon.
Before leaving, Lucas' father had given the three trainers five Pokeballs each to start their journey with. Jill was still pondering what type of Pokemon she wanted to have on her team. Her cousin of course had a variety. But her strongest partner was a powerful dragon, a type Jill was very interested in training for herself.
The young woman walked along the trail, Caladan by her side. The day was slowly getting warmer, enough that the young woman was only wearing her khaki pants which hugged her legs, a pair of broken in hiking boots and a teal flannel long sleeved shirt. It was so peaceful out with the songs of Starly filling the air. Walking along to the sounds of nature brought Jill a feeling of peace that she wasn't aware had even existed.
The woods did still have their fill of trainers and wild Pokemon encounters however. Caladan was more than up to the challenge, taking down opponent after opponent until he finally learned his first grass type move. Jill had pulled out her Pokedex to see what it had to say on the subject.
"Says here the attack is called absorb…" her thought out loud trailed off as she read the attack description, then looked down at Caladan. His face was contorted in concentration as little globules of green energy were sucked out of nearby plants and into the tiny leaf Pokemon. Patches of dead grass surrounded the two travellers.
"Apparently you've already got the hang of it too!" Jill said smiling. Cal let out his breath with a sigh.
"That's not all that easy to do!" he replied.
"Well it's still a handy move to have at your disposal during battle. It'll be a big plus too when we get to Orebourgh. The gym leader there is a rock type trainer."
"So this move will be powerful against them?" Caladan asked as they continued walking.
"Yes, you'll definitely be much more powerful than them. Grass types are strong against rock types" Jill answered.
"Wow, you must know a lot of things!" the small Pokemon exclaimed causing his trainer to laugh.
"I know a bit about battling yeah, but mostly that's cause I have a cousin who's very, very strong. That and my mom used to be a top coordinator, so she knows quite a bit as well."
It was close to a week into their journey from Sandgem town and the sun was starting to get low in the sky. Jill had very quickly gotten good at starting fires. That was one thing she'd learned how to do before leaving, but having to do so every night gave her enough practice she was sure that she start one in her sleep if need be. However, having a fire type would certainly make things much easier.
Caladan was pushing wood around and closer to his trainer so she could begin cooking the food she needed to survive. Caladan felt bad that he couldn't do much more to help Jill out. He was unable to set up the tent they slept in, cook any food (which wasn't helped by the fact that he didn't really need food) or start a fire. He was beginning to feel like she'd made a very poor choice.
"What's up Cal?" Jill asked out of nowhere. She wasn't sure how she knew that he was upset, but she was. Something about his downcast expression as he looked into the small flames Jill guessed.
"I'm just wondering if you made the right choice in picking me." The answer caught the young woman off guard.
"Now why would you think something like that?" Her face was shocked that Caladan would say something like that.
"Well I can't seem to help you with anything while we travel! You have to do all the work and…" Caladan stopped talked when Jill started laughing.
"Oh Cal you stop worrying about that this instant. I chose to do all this because I wanted to go on an adventure! And I picked you to be my partner because no matter what, you and I are going to become the strongest team in the region! I don't need your help all the time around camp at night. Just having you around for company is more than enough and far more than I could have ever asked for. I've dreamed about doing this for so long now..." Jill's emerald eyes were twinkling in the firelight, and Caladan stared up into them. He saw so much hope and happiness there, he felt something of pride and excitement build inside of himself.
"I just wish I could do more is all I guess" he mumbled but he felt warm from what she had said about him. Jill leaned over and picked up her starter.
"You're stuck with me buddy so stop worrying about it. If I need your help, I'll ask!" Jill leaned down and kissed the top of his head, which tasted earthy, but was smooth and cool to the touch. Smiling back, Caladan nipped his trainer's cheek affectionately. In the midst of all this, a shadow detached itself from the undergrowth surrounding the small clearing darting forward to steal the small morsels of food Jill was cooking. The small shape darted in and snatched a piece of meat that was cooking over the fire.
"Hey!" Jill yelled out. Caladan twisted around and dropped out of his trainers arms searching around for the source of the disturbance. All he could see was deep shadows in the low light. The sun was basically beyond the horizon and unfortunately the grass type didn't have very good night vision. However, he could feel something in the air, like a faint buzzing. Something wasn't quite right. Caladan looked up at Jill who was searching around for the culprit. She didn't seem to notice that something had caused her hair to go a bit haywire with static. The look was actually somewhat comical.
"Whoever's out there, show yourself!"
"And why should I do that?" came the taunting reply and accompanying snigger. Caladan and Jill both narrowed in on the voice.
"Because stealing someone else's food isn't a very nice thing to do!"
"Well you two chumps certainly weren't doing anything with it! So I decided to help you out. Sappy suckers" it said under its voice with glee.
"Can you tell where it is?" Jill said in a quiet tone to Caladan. The grass type nodded looking directly at where the voice seemed to be coming from. It was hard to tell exactly as he wasn't very good at sensing electricity. It seemed in this respect, neither was his trainer.
"That's not the point, but if you're not going to come out and apologize, then we'll just have to do this the hard way! Cal, use that new attack we've been practicing!" Caladan focused on the area where the voice was coming from and turned his leaves white. A resulting cry of shock was heard as the luminescent balls of energy were transferred into Caladan's leaves.
"Hey what's the big idea!" the voice said slowly walking out to face his attacker. Jill smiled as it stepped into the firelight exposing what he was.
"Shinx, the flash Pokemon. The extension and contraction of its muscles generates electricity. It glows when in trouble" the Pokedex said as Jill pointed it at the tiny Pokemon. Caladan backed off slightly as the indignant Pokemon stepped forward.
"You stole Jill's food!" Caladan accused.
"I thought you were her food leaf!" was the retort from the Shinx who was smiling mischievously.
"You what?" Cal said incredulously.
"Well she was right about to eat you wasn't she? So I figured I'd help myself. But you attacked me!"
"Cause I have a question I want to ask you." As the two Pokemon were battling wits, Jill had a brainwave.
"What?" the two asked at the same time looking at the human. The Shinx was wary, but Caladan was looking at his trainer as if she grown an extra set of arms.
"Cal here and I are travelling around, looking to become the strongest team in the region. I was wondering if you'd like to join our team." Caladan's mouth dropped open, and Shinx seemed taken aback.
"Go with you?" he asked. Jill nodded. Frowning the flash Pokemon looked down. "Why should I leave here? It's nice enough" he finally said.
"Because I feel like you want to explore the world, get into trouble, but most importantly, get stronger. Am I right?" Jill and the Shinx stared at one another for a few seconds while Caladan's head kept snapping back and forth between the two waiting.
"Well perhaps…" Jill smiled. "But I want some of that food!"
"Deal!" she replied tossing a Pokeball which she retrieved from her bag at the electric type. The red and white ball's centre button flashed for a few seconds before an audible click was heard. Caladan walked forward and tapped the button with his nose, releasing his new teammate. The tiny blue Pokemon shook his head as he re-materialized. Jill knelt down to get a better look at him.
The back half of the Shinx was a deep blue, almost black fur, while the front was a light blue. Amber coloured eyes stared up at their new trainer as she reached out to stroke him, feeling the course fur underneath her fingers. Built up static electricity gave tiny shocks as Jill ran her fingers down the length of the small Pokemon. Yellow fur coated the insides of the Shinx's ears and the star shaped tuff of fur at the end of his tail. Finally there were two yellow rings at the base of ear front paw.
"So do you have a name there little guy?"
"Name's Chase!" he said proudly.
"Nice to meet you Chase! I'm Jill and this here is Caladan!" Caladan walked forward and bowed slightly to his new friend. Chase seemed somewhat taken aback, so settled for lightly swiping at Caladan's leaves on his head.
"Nice to meet you there leaf. Now, can I have some more of that delicious food?"
Lights and sounds were one of the most constant things about Jubilife. City of Joy was the motto on the sign welcoming people to the metropolis. The city was located in a somewhat central location, so there were four main thoroughfares to enter and exit. Jill and her two partners came in from the south struck by the overwhelming nature of the large city. Masses moved around here with alarming quickness and ferocity. Both Chase and Caladan moved in closer to their trainer as she made her way deeper into the city.
The young woman was more used to the large city settings having travelled around with her mother to witness contests when she was very little. She once was even allowed to accompany her mother to Goldenrod to watch her aunt compete in a race. That city was something else, completely living up to its name in Jill's mind. Of course that was years ago. More recently they were still recovering from the Rocket siege and ransacking of the city.
"This place smells delicious!" Chase said in excitement. Caladan on the other had was putting on a brave face, but Jill could practically feel his apprehension. "Hurts the eyes though" her electric type said under his breath.
"It hurts your eyes?" Jill asked worried. It wouldn't be a good sign to start off her adventure by blinding the first Pokemon she ever caught.
"Just all the flashes. Makes it hard to see the shadows too." Jill frowned. Chase was saying some interesting things, stuff she was definitely going to have to research once they reached the Pokemon centre.
The red roofed building was only a few blocks away, allowing Jill and her meager team to get there fast enough to book a room for the night. It would feel amazing to take a shower to rid herself of the grim from the road and sleep in a nice soft bed. Little luxuries like this made it worthwhile to stop in cities every once in a while.
"Hello dear, how can we help you this evening?" the attendant said at the desk near the back of the lobby. Other people were milling about, chatting or reading or calling others on the video phones along one wall.
"I'd like to book a room for the evening please and I was wondering if I could get my Pokemon checked on?" The attendant smiled and began signing out a key to Jill and sending Caladan and Chase through the healing machines. Their Pokeballs were taken to the healing wing to have this done, while Jill handed over her trainer card to verify that she was indeed a travelling trainer. This meant she didn't have to pay for the rooms at Pokemon centres.
The young woman waited around in the lobby for her friends before heading to her room. Both Caladan and Chase were looking quite healthy and happy after their check-up, something which put Jill at ease. The room was in the living quarter's area, much like a hotel. Walking down the hallway, she stopped at room 13 and swiped the card key. The door opened silently and both her Pokemon bounded in.
"Sweet digs!" Chase yelled out happily jumping up on the bed and bouncing on it. Caladan looked longingly up at the electric type, knowing he couldn't jump that high. Jill was actually surprised with the flash Pokemon's athleticism. Bending down, Jill put Cal on the bed as well watching his grin widen to take up his entire face as he and Chase jumped on the bed. Something about seeing the two tiny Pokemon bouncing on the covers warmed her heart in an undefinable way. Setting down her bag, Jill began retrieving some supplies to help her clean herself up.
"Alright you two, I'm going to take a shower and wash up my clothes. Not too much Ponyta-ing around alright?" she said lightheartedly.
"Don't worry so much blue, me and leaves here won't mess anything up… too much." The little electric type grinned up at Jill causing her to laugh. He was certainly going to be a handful as opposed to her quieter starter. Caladan was still stomping around the bed imagining something in his head Jill was sure.
Just over an hour and a half later, all three were back in the room, stomachs full and completely clean. Jill was feeling human once more and the soft bed was already making her drowsy. However, she still had some research to do. Pulling out her Pokedex, Jill began flipping through the few pages she'd obtained already. Chase had grown fast in the past few days, working alongside Caladan. As she looked up his information again, she came across something interesting.
"Says here Chase that your species can see through walls… that must be why you have such great night vision. Your eyes are adapted for that kind of thing."
"I can see through walls! Sweet!" The Shinx quickly spun around and began staring intently at the wall, quickly becoming crestfallen when nothing happened. "Um…" Jill laughed as Caladan walked in front of Chase and waved his leaves in the electric type's nose. Sneezing, Chase batted the leaves away, Caladan laughing the entire time.
"Perhaps that only happens when you get stronger. But at least now we know what you're going to be capable of! Also, you'll have better control over your electricity as you grow." As if on cue, a spark leapt off the blue Pokemon hitting Caladan, who luckily seemed not to notice. Jill assumed that was why they were getting along so well. Chase's electricity didn't affect Cal, so the two were able to do whatever they wanted. After some more senseless conversation, Jill flicked off the lights and her two Pokemon curled up on either side of her neck. Hairs stood on end on Chase's side, while the earthy smell of Caladan soothed Jill right to sleep. Everything was right in the world.
Jillian's Pokemon:
Caladan (Turtwig) - level 7, ability: Overgrow, nature: Bashful
Chase (Shinx) - level 4, ability: Intimidate, nature: Impish
So the first Pokemon I happen across after receiving the Pokeballs is a Shinx. Pretty handy. Anyway, starting off a touch slow I know, but I want to make sure I get the characters right for you folks! Hope you don't mind.
NOTICE: I have changed the main protagonists name. My original characters are inspired by real people I know and because of this I've decided on a new name for our heroine. She is still the same character, however just a new name. This is the update for this chapter. Thank you.