Day 1–2:00 PM; Sunny

After my first battle with Shinku, we both headed back home to pack for the journey. It was gonna be a long trip, so we might need a lot of things for it.

When we got back to our house, everything was still locked tight. Guess Mom hadn't got back home from work yet. Must have been a late shift or something...

Regardless, we made our way inside and I headed for the kitchen to start packing. "I take it this is where you live?" asked Shinku. "I expected more…well, liveliness, since this is a rather big day for you."

"Well, Mom always works late, so I kind of expected this." I replied. "She must have gotten extra busy again."

She gave me a curious look, and asked "What does she do, exactly? Must be quite an important job if she missed out on a day like today."

"Well, I know she works really high up in management, but that's all I really know." I told her. "Still, she's had this job ever since we first moved here, so I've grown accustomed to it. Even still, she's been more busy than usual lately, so she's been working late more often these days."

"I suppose that's fair, or at least somewhat so," she replied. "Still, one question is nagging at me; where exactly is your Dad?"

I paused for a second and replied "…I never really met Dad. When I asked Mom about is, she told me he died when I was really young, so I never got to know him."

She seemed shocked by this, and said "I…I'm sorry, I had no idea…"

"Its fine, you couldn't have known." I replied back. "I usually don't think about it much anyway, so don't worry about it." I sat my bag on the table and said "Your free to explore the house, since I'll be here just packing things, and we won't be back here for a while."

"I must admit, I am interested in seeing what kind of place Master lives in…" she replied absentmindedly as she walked off to explore.

"Remember to stay out of Mom's room!" I told her as she walked off. I'm not sure if she was paying any attention to me, but I hope so. In the meantime, it was a good time to pack.

You know, it had been a really long time since I thought about dad. It's true I never really met him, but I do wonder what kind of person he was. Mom always said he was really kind, and always put others over himself, regardless if it would end up hurting him later.

After packing everything I think we needed, I heard Shinku walking down the steps to the kitchen. "You know," she told me, "for only you and your mother living here, this is quite a large house."

"Mom always said she liked the extra space. Dunno why though." I told her. "Perfect timing actually, you can help me check what we need for our trip." I handed her a yellow sticky note with a checklist of all the materials we needed.

Shinku took the time to climb up onto the table where my bag was currently sitting. I never took her for being so athletic, but that goes to show much I don't know about Puppets. "Well, are you ready?" She asked me.

"Ok, let's see…Food."

"Check."

"Water."

"Check."

"Extra clothes?"

"Check."

"Money?"

"Check."

"Then I think that's everything." I told her. "Thanks, Shinku; that helped a lot."

"Always glad to be of service, Master." she said with a smile on her face. "Shall we head out now? From the map I saw in your room, the closest town to here is Viridian City. It also said there was a Gym there, but it said that one was the eighth one, strangely…"

"Well, it's a good place to start, regardless." I replied. "It's also the only town we can really get to through Route 1, so we really don't have many options."

With that, I put on the newly filled bag, and we headed out. There was no sign of Ren; she probably got a head start on us. With our only path ahead of us being north through Route 1, we made our way through the tall grass towards Viridian.

Not 5 steps into the grass, we we're jumped by a wild cTokiko, and my heart skipped a beat when its fist nearly collided with Shinku's face, only to be stopped dead in its tracks by her shields.

"You really need to relax, master." She replied. "Nothing here really poses a threat after our fight with your friend Ren. And if one gets a lucky blow in, we still have that potion in reserve." As she said this, she pushed the cTokiko back using the shield and knocked it out with a quick Pound. "Now then, shall we continue?"

I'd imagine I had a slack jawed look on my face after that. Perhaps part of me didn't expect my partner to be so much more experienced than I was at this. Regardless, I shook off the shock at this and we continued down Route 1. Along the way, Shinku and I had a couple of other fights with some of the random Puppets, which she was able to take down rather handily. We did have to use that potion, though, and the repeated battles we're starting to take their toll on her.

Within the hour, we had reached our first destination on our journey: Viridian City. Compared to Pallet, things we're more bustling than our little town in the middle of nowhere. There was a lot more buildings scattered about, and the area had a more industrial feel to it.

"First, we need to get you the Center for some treatment," I told Shinku. "Those fights took a lot out of you, and I'm worried about you."

She was starting to limp a bit, and her dress was torn in places. "I'm fine," she replied. "Most of this is just exterior wounds anyway; they'll heal on their own."

"As the trainer, it's my job to make sure you're alright," I told her. "We already used the only healing item we had earlier, so we're going to at least get you checked up before we move on."

She grunted a bit to herself, and replied "Very well. You are the trainer here."

With that, we made our way to the Center, which was conveniently located close to the entrance to the city. Walking inside, the building had a yellow tile all throughout the inside. Standing behind a counter in the back of the Center was a Pink haired woman in a Nurse's outfit.

"Hello, and welcome to the Puppet Center!" she greeted us with a smile. "Would you like us to heal your puppets for you?"

Reluctantly, Shinku let me pick her up and put her onto the counter. "She needs some treatment from all the training," I told the nurse.

"Just the one?" She asked. "Did you just recently start your journey?"

"Yeah, I just got here from Pallet Town," I replied.

"Excellent!" She said. "In that case, let me give you a rundown of what the Centers do. You see, for any and all trainers, Puppet Centers offer free healing of all your partners, as well as free rooms for trainers who need a place to stay. Along with that, all trainers are free to use the PC in the back for storing Puppets as well."

"Wow, all of that is free?" I asked? "If that's the case, how do you afford to stay open like this?"

"Oh, that's an easy one," she replied. "The Centers and the Marts are both part of the same system, so part of its profits flow into here. I'd personally recommend stopping there before leaving for the next town." As she was saying this, she placed Shinku on a special machine behind her.

"Oh, by the way," I asked her, "the map said that this city had a gym. What can you tell us about that?"

After she set the machine up behind her, she paused for a minute, and said "Well, the leader for that particular gym went missing years ago, and no one's seen him since. I heard he was an incredibly powerful trainer, though, and was considered the final Gym Leader when he was still around."

"Well, there goes that idea," I replied.

"The nearest town with a gym is Pewter, and you can get there by heading north through Viridian Forest," she responded. A chime on the machine went off behind her, and she turned and picked up Shinku and placed her back on the counter. "There, now your partner is fully healed. We hope to see you again!"

I looked at Shinku and asked "Well, how do you feel?"

"I'll admit, I do feel refreshed," she replied. "Although I'm not quite sure how that machine fixed my dress…"

"That's a trade secret, dear," the nurse replied with a wink. "Good luck on your journey, you two."

With that, we left the Center. I looked at Shinku and said "Perhaps that nurse was on to something. We're gonna need to stock up on supplies before we head out again."

"Well, what do we need?" she asked back.

"Definitely some Potions and Antidotes," I told her. "Some Orbs would be good to, as we probably will want to gather some more members to our team."

"The map of town at the center said the Market wasn't far from here," Shinku said. "If anything, getting some supplies wouldn't hurt."

After a little bit of searching around town, we came across a building with a Blue roof in the same manner the Center had a Red one, with the sign "PUPPET MART" written on it.

When we went inside, we were greeted with the rows upon rows of items all placed on racks that took up most of the space in the building. Everything from Potions to Orbs was present in them.

We walked up to the counter, and there was a clerk standing there, seemingly taking inventory and loading a large crate around. "Excuse me", I asked, "can we get some help over here?"

He noticed us, and put the crate down on the counter. "Oh, sorry about that, miss. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I just became a trainer a while ago, and need supplies…" I told him.

Before I could finish, he cut me off and said "Wait a minute…does that mean you came from Pallet town?"

I eyed him curiously, and responded "Yes…what about it?"

"Oh, this is perfect!" He said. "Does that mean you know Professor Oak? If so, can I get you to do a favor for me?"

I asked, "What kind of favor?"

As I said this, the shopkeeper brought out a small package and placed it on the counter. "I need THIS," he said as he motioned to it, still out of breath from lifting it, "delivered to Professor Oak. My delivery boy has been sick for the week, and no one's been able to cross the tall grass to get to there and deliver it. It would save me a lot of time and effort, and if you do, I can give you a discount on anything you like when you come back. So, what do you say?"

On the one hand, I'd have to walk all the way back to Pallet through the tall grass. On the other, having a discount at the shop would probably be a big boon for me this early on, and I'm sure the Professor would appreciate his package if it means that much to him.

With that thought, I said "Sure, I'll take it to the Professor. I already know the route, so that's fine, I guess."

"Oh, thank you so much!" The Shopkeeper replied, obviously overjoyed. As he handed me the package, he said "When you get back, I'll give you a 50 percent discount on anything in the shop."

I slipped the package into my backpack, waved goodbye to the shopkeeper, and headed back to Pallet. As we were walking out, Shinku said "You know, you really shouldn't let others push you around like that. Because of this, we're going right back the way we came."

"Well," I told her, "we are getting a good deal out of this. And Pallet isn't all that far from here, so it's not a huge setback."

She seemed to consider this for a second, and said "Even still, you agreed to that far too quickly." She went a bit ahead and said "Well, since you've dragged us into this, we might as well finish it, yes?"

As we made our way down Route 1, and fought some wild puppets along the way, right when we got to around the halfway point, I noticed Shinku visibly tense up. "Something wrong, Shinku?" I asked.

She shushed me and said "Be quiet for a moment. We are not alone out here…"

"My my, aren't you a clever little doll." I heard as the voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. "I hadn't expected you to detect me that easily, but I should have known better from one of Oak's puppets."

"Where is that voice coming from?" I asked Shinku. That voice seemed familiar somehow…

"Dear, I'm everywhere." I heard the voice reply. "But I suppose speaking like this is rather rude, now that I think about it. Give me a moment to make myself more…presentable, shall we say."

Right after saying that, one of the 'gaps' from earlier seemed to appear right in front of me, and out walked the woman I saw talking with the Professor earlier. If I wasn't focused on the fact that I wanted answers from this woman, my mind would have had difficulty processing the acts that were happening in front of my face. But right now, I was determined to get facts.

After she had walked all the way out of the…gap in the air behind her, she brushed off her dress and said "You know, I was going to wait to have this discussion until you had started your journey proper, but your little friend is more perceptive than I anticipated…", glaring at Shinku as she finished.

"You're that woman that Professor Oak was talking to, Yukari, right?" I asked her.

"Yes, and there's a reason that we had that meeting out in a field full of wild puppets that most people wouldn't be able to eavesdrop with ease, and yet you were able to anyway," she replied as she looked almost…pouty. "I take it you want answers from what you heard now, and was not going to take no for an answer, either."

I wasn't prepared for that kind of reaction. It was almost as if she knew me personally. It was a tad unsettling. I must have shown it in my face too, as Yukari had a smug look on her face while I was processing this. I never was very good at hiding my emotions like that.

"Well, since you're so curious, let's make a game out of this," she says as she turns her back to me and started to walk away, with that same smug expression. Turning around suddenly, she said "I could just tell you everything now, but where would the fun be in that? So let's make it a bet."

She leaned down and got really close to my face and continued "You're already planning on taking the league challenge, correct? Then we can work from that. All I need to do is add a…restriction to the journey." She leaned back and seemed to ponder this for a couple seconds, before an idea seemed to come to her. "I've got it…a catching restriction. So the bet will be this: You're only allowed to catch one puppet you see per route, until the very end of your journey. If you do all of this and succeed, I'll tell you everything. Who I am, what my connection is, what I know about you, and what your future will bring."

Naturally suspicious, I asked "And what if I refuse?"

"Well, for one you'd be killing my enthusiasm," she said with a fake sad look on her face. Seeing how it wasn't working, she dropped the act and said "Ok, to be fair, the only thing you'd be losing is your own information. Turn me down, and you'll never know why I'm here in the first place, where I came from, and more importantly…" she paused as she came close to my ear and whispered, "why your parents are never home."

There are not a whole lot of things that would get me riled up, but things like that would do it easily. "You…what do you know about my parents!?" I stammered out, unsure about things now.

"Oho, now I've got your attention. If that was all it would have taken, I would have mentioned them a while ago." That same smug expression came back as well. "So do we have a deal? You follow my rules till the end of things and then you get the full story."

I felt a slight tugging at my dress and look down to see Shinku looking at me with a worried expression on her face. "I don't fully trust this woman's words, and I can tell she's gotten a bit under your skin. I'd greatly recommend taking a moment to calm down and think this through rationally, Master."

She had a point. Right at this moment, my mind was racing with thoughts of who this woman was, and why she was doing all this, just for information. It was at that point that it really hit me:

The quickest way to get the answers to all this is to take the deal.

I looked back at Shinku and said "Trust me; I know this is probably not a very smart decision, but…this is offering way too many questions, and I need those answers. I hope you'll forgive me for this."

Shinku gave me an almost relieved look, shrugged and said "To be honest, from the time I've known you, I'm not surprised you took the deal. I would have been more worried if you didn't, actually, as it would have made me think I didn't know you at all. And as your partner, I'll do everything I can to help you."

"So it's a deal then?" Yukari interjected. "Excellent, this should be quite fun for both you and I. I'll be keeping my eye on you, so you'd better follow the deal or the bets off. Also, since you don't have any orbs yet, I won't count this route before then, so feel free to catch something here when you come back with actual catching materials." She pointed south, I turned around to look, and she said "Now run along, I'm sure the good professor needs his package delivered. Good luck with your travels~" she said in a playful voice.

"You'd better hold up your end of the bar-"I turned around mid sentence to find she was gone. Simply vanished into thin air, as if she was never there at all.

Shinku looked up at me and said "While I respect your decision, Master, I have a very bad feeling about this."

"Me too, Shinku. Me too." I replied. This meeting had left me with many questions, even more so than when I had first seen her talking with the professor. Suddenly the stakes of this journey had been raised, and things just got more serious. My mind still spinning from all of these new thoughts, we both turned around and started to head back to Pallet.

-Chapter 2 END