The sun was shining, Starly were chirping, and I was miserable. My Pokemon had been released (a Starly, by the way), and it promptly ran off. That was my first lesson. Pokemon are wild, and it takes extensive taming and training until they won't run away. Most will listen to your battle commands right off the bat, but that says nothing about their behavior outside of battle.
On the brighter side, one of my brothers had slipped a Great Ball into my pocket before I had left. Was it against the law to attack a Pokemon to capture it? A Bidoof wandered by, and I clenched my hand. Was it worth it? The Bidoof stepped on a large rock and tripped with an audible crack. Two Starly flapped over and began squabbling over it. Just then, a screech rang out and the Starly scattered as a Pidgeot swooped down and the trainer got off.
"Was that your Bidoof?" she asked. Her clothes were Pikachu-yellow. League Official. My gaze strayed to her belt, and I saw a full team of six, and a Breeder's bag with about five other Pokeballs in it.
"No ma'am."
"Do you have a Pokemon with you?"
"No ma'am. This is my first day, and the Starly was a gift," I answered. To the best of my knowledge, traveling without a Pokemon wasn't illegal, but it was more of a law of common sense that a legal issue. On the first routes, weak-leveled Pokemon were common, but occasionally an Onix or Steelix would escape the League's detection, and rampage. It always would end in at least one casualty.
"It ran away?" she said. One delicate brow rose.
I lowered my gaze and twiddled my thumbs, "Yes, m'am."
"Do you have any idea on just how dangerous travelling alone can be? We can't protect against everything, you know. Do you even have a pokeball?" I took my Great Ball out from my pocket, "Good. Do you know how to catch a Pokemon?"
"Yes, m'am," I said, shifting around. I had seen my brothers practice several times before.
The Official pushed a pokeball into my hands, "This is a Pokemon that my starter bred while in the Daycare in Unova. Solosis are more than capable of taking care of themselves. And don't even think about abusing it. They are psychic types and know the difference between right and wrong."
What? She was just giving me a Pokemon? "M'am, are you really-"
"Shush. I already have several other Pokemon in the Solosis chain, and one less will not hurt me. Go on, open it," she said. I stared at her. What just happened? I rolled the pokeball around in my hands, debating if I dared to release it well, if it tried to escape, she could get it, right? I clicked the button.
The green blob reappeared in a flash of light, "Sol!"
"Solosis, this is your new trainer, just like you wanted," the woman said. A burst of happiness swirled in my head, and I jumped. That wasn't my feelings. I stared at the blob. The blob narrowed its eyes, and I glared back at it. Was the blob (this time, the glare was accompanied by a dull headache)- okay, the Solosis- an empath Pokemon? Well, the Official did say that it was a Psychic-type.
"He's a bit of a handful, which is why he doesn't fit with the rest of my team. With a bit of work, he should warm up to you. Well, have fun on your training experience," the League Official hopped back onto her Pigeot and they soared away. The Solosis floated into my hands. What just happened? Was I just handed a Pokemon? We stared at each other.
"Jimmy? Tommy? Bobby?" Do Solosis do anything other than glare? "Alex? Ash? Stewie?" The two of us were walking along Route 1- well, I was walking and the Solosis was floating- and trying to come up with a name for him.
"Trainer!" I turned around. A boy in an orange top and blue shorts ran up to me. A youngster. "Trainer! Battle me! I need to level up my Bidoof!"
"Pardon me?" The youngster was taller than me by almost a head, and I had to look up to meet his eyes. He was younger than me, too.
"You know, battle? You are a trainer, aren't you?"
"Yeah, but is this really the best place?" I could feel my cheeks turning red in embarrassment.
The Youngster laughed, and then paused. "You aren't kidding?" I scuffed the dirt and watched my Solosis out of the corner of my eye, "Uh, wow. You're just a rookie, aren't you?" He tossed a Pokeball on the ground and a scruffy-looking Bidoof popped out. My Solosis floated over, interested in a stronger opponent.
"Wait, he's not ready to fight yet!" Sadly, my words were in vain. My Solosis had released the pinkish beam, and the Bidoof was trying to tackle him.
"Rocky, use Tackle!" My opponent said, waving an arm out to emphasise his command.
Was I supposed to do that? While my Solosis was attacking wild Pokemon, I had been leaving it to train on its own, but it was clear by the Bidoof's more accurate attacks that commands must have done something. I decided to give it a try, "Uh, use your beam!" When my Solosis made no move to comply, I added a please and it finally obeyed. I could almost taste the reluctance. The Bidoof barely paused as it tackled my Solosis again, and again. It was having a bit of trouble floating. The Bidoof tackled it one last time, and it dropped to the ground, releasing one last beam at the Bidoof. It staggered and fell over and the Youngster recalled it.
The Youngster scowled at me, and fished a wad of bills from his pack. I numbly walked over and took it, picking up my Solosis along the way. The youngster stalked past me and I watched him leave. He turned a corner and he was gone. My Solosis turned to look at me and I stared down at it. At its exhausted glare, I laughed. I went to go get something to eat from my pack and paused. I didn't pack any food. My laughter came to an abrupt halt.
End of Chapter Two
Hello! I finally updated! A big thank-you to RamenKnight for their review. I hope that you continue finding this fun! If anyone reading this has any comments, tips, questions or corrections, feel free to say it!