Author's Note:

A shout-out to one joycewu333 for the Review! Yes, t'was foreshadowed with Marza getting a Second Generation Pokémon that she would be arriving in Johto! And "good work" you say? Well, I shall try!

… I have more or less turn out of stuff to say here besides shout-outs. Either way, read onwards!

Disclaimer:

Pokémon and any other referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective owners and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.


Of Children, Men, and Monsters

Chapter Twenty: First Steps on the Road


Cue music – Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal Version soundtrack – Route 29

After stepping out of the door, Marza couldn't help but notice the chilling gust of wind that accompanied her departure from the building.

'It's almost as if the world is trying really, really hard to get across the whole "winds of change" themein which case, yes, universe, I get it.'

The wind, almost as if prompted, died down at the end of that thought. Marza barely held back her scoff at this potential coincidence, and, after a bit of squirming from the Pokémon, placed her back on the ground.

"Well, if you want to hop back on, feel free to ask, Oscura."

She nodded, and finally, the two headed to the town's exit, intent on accomplishing the task that the professor had given to them.

Upon leaving the town via the threshold just after the welcoming sign, someone crashed into Marza – quite literally, at that. Both were sent flying to the ground, and after regaining her bearings, the lass looked at the perpetrator of this act.

It turned out to just be Lyra.

Marza was thoroughly unsurprised by this revelation.

"I assume that this was an accident, Lyra?" said the sapphire-eyed lass, incapable of keeping a touch of irritance out of her voice.

"Oh! Um, sorry again, Marza! It's just that Marill and I've finally gotten permission to leave New Bark Town and go on our journey, so we just kind of starting sprinting out of town as fast as possible… Not really watching where I was going… And somehow not seeing you in my say…"

The young woman exhaled before saying in response: "Well, again, your apology is accepted. But, ah… You said that Marill came with you. Where is she…?"

And just as that was said, she came into sight, clearly panting in exertion from her previous running. She glared up at her Trainer, as if demanding some rather hefty retribution for leaving her behind.

"I know that I've been saying this a lot lately, but still: Sorry, Marill!"

After an additional moment of being puffed up, the Pokémon deflated with a sigh, shaking her head – or, rather, her entire body – at her trainer's general clumsiness. Lyra herself sighed in relief at their collective forgiveness.

"Thanks, guys. I know that I'm more than a little bit of a klutz…"

"Yes, you certainly are. You may want to work on that, in fact."

Yet another sigh, this one dejected.

"I know…"

Marza nodded, and next said, "That little fiasco aside, though. Is there anything that you wished to talk to me about? Because if the answer is no, I have places to be. It's starting to get late, you know."

For indeed, the sunset was just beginning to make itself apparent, the trees becoming lit in an orange glow as the light reached them.

"Well… I figured that you're a new trainer… So I thought, "Does she know how Poké Balls work? Does she know what to do if a Pokémon or trainer comes up to her, looking for a fight?" And then I decided to come looking for you in case you didn't, however unlikely those thoughts are."

Marza felt a touch of appreciation sneak into her heart.

'She's really quite nice, isn't she? It's almost adorable, what with her combination of that and her clumsinessWell, may as well take her up on her offer…'

"That would be appreciated, thank you."

Lyra just about jumped for joy at this before piping down and taking a deep, calming intake of air.

"Alrighty, then! Well, first thing's first: we've gotta get a bit further out to find some wild Pokémon. Then I can show you what to do when you encounter one or a Trainer. C'mon!"

Marza nodded, following after Lyra, Oscura and Marill tagging along with them as they progressed further along Route 29.

T'was another half-hour before Lyra halted in her tracks, stopping just before a group of patches of relatively tall grass.

"Most wild Pokémon will jump out at you if you approach or are in the tall grass, as well as trees, rocks, and the like. Trust me when I say that Pokémon can be hiding in many places, Marza, so always, always be prepared for both surprises and fights at any time!"

Another nod of understanding from the lass.

"Now, if I can just find a Pokémon so I can show you the juicy bits and thrills of travelling…"

And then, some prompt rustles from a grass patch to the left.

"A-hah! Found one! C'mon, Marill!"

She came forth as requested; Marza watched in trepidation as the noise became louder and louder, until…

A bird came out. Marza was fairly certain that it was a bird, at least; it had comparatively large, cartoon-y eyes, a plumage Marza hadn't yet seen on any bird back on Earth, and was definitely on the small side, but it still looked like a bird of some sort.

Remembering the device that she had received not an hour earlier, Marza took out her Pokédex from a pocket. After apparently scanning the area for a brief moment, it displayed:

"Pokédex Number Sixteen: Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. Typing: Normal-Flying. Ability: Keen Eye. It rapidly flaps its wings in the grass, stirring up a dust cloud that drives insect prey out into the open."

"Pokédex Number One Hundred Eighty-Three: Marill, the Aqua Mouse Pokémon. Typing: Water-Fairy. Ability: Huge Power. Marill's oil-filled tail acts much like a life preserver. If you just see its tail bobbing on the water's surface, it's a sure indicator that this Pokémon is diving beneath the water to feed on aquatic plants."

"Pokédex Number Two Hundred Forty-Six: Larvitar, the Rock Skin Pokémon. Typing: Rock-Ground. Ability: Sand Veil. It feeds on soil. After it has eaten a large mountain, it will fall asleep so it can grow."

Marza's brows rose at the dubious description in Larvatar's description, as well as the Abilities sections.

'A large mountain? I don't think so... And what are these "Abilities" supposed to be?'

She was taken away from her thoughts when Lyra announced, "A Pidgey? This ought to be easy, then!"

It appeared to take offense to this statement (and understandably so), giving out a loud squawk before flying head-first at Lyra's partner!

"Defend yourself with a Water Gun, Marill!"

The Water-Type spouted a stream of water that, judging by the bird-like Pokémon's squawk of pain, was of a surprisingly high velocity. It spent a moment or two attempting to get the water out of its eyes ('Is that stuff salty?'), flinging sand and dirt around in random directions, during which Lyra again called, "Now, Tackle it!"

With a(n adorable) battle cry, Marill charged forth, dodging the bursts of sand and giving it a fierce full-body blow, sending both of them toppling to the ground. Marill leaped off of the poor avian, said Pokémon evidently unconscious after just a few attacks. The victor huffed haughtily at her win, puffing up slightly in pride.

"Good job, Marill! That's basically how most Pokémon battles go; both Pokémon keep attacking each other until one goes down. And if it's a wild Pokémon – which is to say, one that is not in the possession of a Trainer – is defeated, then you can catch it, like so…!"

Lyra grabbed a small sphere – red on the top, white on the bottom, with a black line around it's radius as well as a button on this line – and, after taking a bit of time to aim her shot, she chucked the ball with vigor.

It bopped against the Pidgey's head with a strange noise, and, to Marza's bewilderment, enveloped the Pokémon in a transparent red light before opening up, transforming the Pokémon into light of the same appearance before absorbing it and closing itself automatically, dropping to the ground with a small "clank".

Lyra appeared rather caught up in the moment, gazing nervously at the dual-colored ball as it shook once…

Twice…

Thrice…

Click!

"Gotcha! I caught the Pidgey!" She literally jumped for joy, giving herself a thumbs up in celebration.

"And that, Marza, is how battling and the capturing of Pokémon generally goes! You've gotta weaken the Pokémon before trying to catch it; otherwise, it'll probably just break out of the Poké ball! Any questions? Again?"

"… Mechanics of the Poké Ball itself aside, I do not believe so, except for this one: Are you entirely sure that capturing the Pokémon is simply alright with it?"

Lyra put a hand to her chin and tapped it a couple of times, humming thoughtfully at the inquiry.

"Well… That's actually a pretty deep question, isn't it? Most Pokémon tend to come out and approach us looking for a fight, right? Most Pokémon have realized by this point that, either way, win or lose, they'll got stronger. If they win? More strength. If they lose? They'll probably be captured and trained by their new Trainers, getting stronger that way. It's a win-win, you see! But, if people come looking for Pokémon who don't want to be captured…"

A shrug.

"Well, that's one of the things that the authorities are meant to fix, aren't they? Helping unwilling Pokémon get away from their unwanted Trainers."

Marza let out a hum of her own at this answer.

"Speaking of releasing Pokémon, you can do so by holding down the button on the Poké Ball for ten straight seconds. You could just let the Pokémon out of the ball, but that would prevent others from catching that same Pokémon. Poké Balls use this complicated marking mechanisms which makes it so that for one Pokémon is already registered to one, they can't be caught by another, which helps prevent stealing."

She demonstrated the process, holding the button on the sphere for the alloted time. After this, the Pidgey broke out in a burst of blue light. After a brief glance to Lyra, it flew off, twittering to itself momentarily before leaving both earshot and sight.

"… I suppose that that is a system that would work, at least for the most part."

Lyra nodded emphatically. "Yup! Anyways, it's starting to get dark out, so we should hurry on to Cherrygrove!"

And away she went without any warning, heading in the direction of the now-setting sun, virtually sprinting off and leaving Marza in the metaphorical dust. The lass didn't even get the chance to tell her to slow down; she couldn't hope to keep up with her seemingly impossible amount of energy, and before Marza knew it, the other girl was out of sight, as was her Marill partner after the Aqua Mouse gave an exasperated sigh.

Marza exhaled, herself, saying to Oscura, "Well, looks as if we're by ourselves for the rest of this little trip, huh?"

The female Pokémon nodded in affirmation, taking a few steps closer and giving Marza a few pats on the leg. Marza gave Oscura a few pats of her own before setting out…

Or, at least, she would have were it not for the loud, childish "Hold it!" that rang out.

Out came a young lad from behind a nearby tree, wearing blue pants and an equally blue cap as well as a yellow shirt, the Poké Ball in his hand raised high into the air as if to appear intimidating.

"I'm Joey, and since our eyes have met, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"