Standard disclaimer:
I do not own Pokémon. Pokémon belongs to Nintendo and Game Freak. I do not profit from this fanfic in any way.
-Chapter 1: Of Lessons Learnt
Two weeks later, Paul's romantic ideas about his pokémon journey were quickly evaporating. He was still stuck inside Petalburg Woods, after a quick detour to Route 102 to capture himself a Ralts. Although most Petalburgers, including himself, had journeyed through Petalburg Woods at one point in their lives, he had most certainly never walked all the way to Rustboro through the wood path.
Hoenn had an elaborate transport system set up for the populace. The Hoenn Road System enabled people with cars to get around through the region with little hassle. Hoenn Rail fulfilled a similar function for people to get along using trains. And then there was the Route system... a bunch of paths designated for trainers, hikers, and anyone with an interest in gambolling around in the wild. The Route system had a set 'level threshold' intended to gauge the difficulty level of the route and the strength of the wild pokémon that frequented it. Rangers constantly patrolled the routes. After all, the purpose of a pokémon journey was not to get yourself killed.
The final way of getting around was the true wilderness. Only seasoned veterans who could either avoid the wild pokémon or strong trainers who could battle them ventured into the wilderness. It was likely that no one would help you if you got yourself in trouble there.
Paul had decided to trod along using the route system instead of the train system. Not only was it cheaper (in fact, if you did well in battles, it was even profitable), but it let your pokémon get strong faster, and it was considered the 'true' way of exploring Hoenn in a pokémon journey.
Mudkip looked at Paul inquisitively. Paul was sure Mudkip was quickly growing disillusioned with his trainer. The two weeks, after all, had been abysmal, with Paul quickly running out of money from lost battles. They were also quickly running out of antidotes and potions, and supplies in general. Paul, however, was convinced that they had long gone past the point of no return, and therefore, there was no turning back. And it's not like he was completely ignorant. He had taken orienteering and geography back at his training lessons in Petalburg High. He was sure they were on the right track. Well, almost sure. He certainly couldn't afford to run out of supplies. It would be downright humiliating to ask a ranger for help on how to get out.
Paul returned Mudkip. He couldn't stand his 'you don't know shit' look anymore, and he sighed as the red beam of light whisked the creature away. He should've taken the bloody train. Better yet, he shouldn't have gone on this stupid journey. His three pokémon didn't remotely like him, never mind respect him. He was sick of eating boiled rice breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He was dirty. Putting up the tent was a hassle. His feet hurt from all the walking. The pokémon were ungrateful to him. He was cold at night. He was bruised and scraped all over. And he was hungry for a real meal. Some nice fish & chips, followed by some minestrone soup? Lovely. Boiled rice, however, was all he had. He could add some beans to add flavour and sustenance to his 'meal', but even with that it would not be remotely appetising. However, he was hungry, so he plopped down on a nearby clearing and got to work on setting up camp for the night.
A few hours later, Paul had set up camp and was awaiting his holy concoction of beans and rice. He hadn't taken his pokémon out yet, as he wasn't in the mood to deal with their 'yet another day of pokéfood and sleeping in the cold' attitude, and he was generally in a foul mood due to his own fantastic dinner prospects. Immersed in his dark thoughts, he did not notice a certain teenager approach his camp and sit down close by.
"Hello, there. You're all right?" asked the blond haired boy.
Paul looked up. Great, some trainer looking for a battle. Or food. Not that the food was any good, but he absolutely hated being used. This guy would probably have his battle and/or food and leave him there to rot.
"I'm not looking for a battle mate, sorry", Paul replied, rather curtly.
The boy didn't look remotely taken aback. "Well, I wasn't looking for a battle either," he said, "but if you're looking to be left alone, that's fine too". The boy sniggered. "It just looks like you're in need of help, mate, sorry to break it to you. That food looks awful and you look really lost. But I'll be on my way!".
Paul groaned. He had a choice. He could stay quiet, with his pride intact, while potentially condemning himself to even more suffering. Or, he could admit defeat, swallow his ego, and ask this guy for help. He sighed.
"Alright, fine, I admit it. I need help".
The boy smiled. "That wasn't so hard, was it? I'm Dan."
"I'm Paul. What brings you to Petalburg Woods?"
"It's OBVIOUS, isn't it? Pokémon journey! Adventure! Glamour! Girls! And, of course, meeting new friends!" Dan said, winking. "After all, it's not EVERY DAY that you become a Pokémon trainer, right? I'm from Oldale. Small, smelly, boring place it is. But it's got a soul, y'know? You ever been there?"
"Only once," Paul replied, "went along with my father to see some pokémon festival, or something. It seemed like a nice place. Coming from Petalburg, I'm not sure if a place like Oldale could be boring. More of nature to explore, I guess?" he said, grimacing. "Being surrounded by skyscrapers and smelly people on the metro isn't quite as glamourous as you would expect. If we wanted to see nature, we had to hop into a car before we could see something remotely natural".
"Huh, I hadn't thought about that before. Anyways, sorry to state the obvious mate, but that soup thing you've got going on there looks absolutely awful!" Dan said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. He had the most odd tendency to do the tiniest hops as he spoke, almost like he would soon blast off to Mars or something from the excitement. "Have you thought of... y'know... carrying soup cans instead of just rice and beans? It makes the journey a whole lot easier!"
"Soup cans? And how the hell am I supposed to carry more than three day's supplies of cans in my backpack, may I ask?"
"Ummm, item capsules." Dan said, tilting his head in confusion.
"Item capsules. Right. What's that?". Paul felt just about ready to find the nearest stream and drown himself in it. Not only did he not know what an item capsule was, but there was no need to eat rice and/or beans every single day! That was probably why his pokémon hated him. He was clueless.
"You... seriously don't know?" Dan burst out laughing. "I thought you city people were cultured, ha! Here I stumble upon young, innocent Paul, from Petalburg, who is cooking what seems to approximate rice-and-beans, all the while wearing a 'fuck this' expression on his face, me thinking he's just trying to tough it out or do the journey traditional-style, and what do I find out?" Dan seemed to be getting redder and redder from contained laughter. He looked just about ready to explode. "Sophisticated-City-Kid Paul doesn't know about item capsules!" Dan collapsed on the floor, laughing.
"My... parents... they were never the outdoors type. They got their Pokémon, sure, just like everyone else, and trained them, but they kept to the city. They wouldn't know a thing about going on a journey. How come this isn't taught at school? This is elemental!" Paul's food was burning as he spoke. "School really is useless!"
"They don't teach you because item capsules are expensive. The objective of training lessons is to teach you to survive in the wild, not to teach you to be comfortable in the wild. And, well, as sad as it may seem, you were surviving. If you call that surviving. Not that you look like an honour student, if I may say so. Even I could've concocted something better out of beans and rice. But, did you honestly think that someone hadn't figured out a way to transport stuff just as easily as pokémon? It's the same science, y'know!"
"I guess I just had better stuff to do that to ponder that age-old question of how to transport two week's worth of soup cans across Petalburg Woods." Paul replied sarcastically.
"Well, no worries, because I've got plenty of soup cans! And other goodies! All in three, beautiful item capsules! And you can have some, too!"
Paul smiled at this. It was his first real smile in a while, too. The prospect of a nice, proper meal was truly exciting. He could almost jump from joy! He tried to keep his cool, however. "Alright, that would be nice mate, cheers.", he said, while tending to his (burnt) 'stew'.
"That's settled then!" Dan said, throwing his backpack into the ground and pulling out an item capsule. He threw the capsule like a pokéball, and Paul watched as a neatly stacked pile of minestrone soup cans materialised from the light that emerged. "Hey, is it alright if I set up camp with you for tonight?" Paul nodded. The more the merrier. Dan then proceeded to throw a second item capsule containing a semi-assembled tent, sleeping bag, and gas stove. He pinned the tent down to the ground and proceeded to light the gas stove. He poured two cans of minestrone soup into a pot, and stirred the contents merrily. That was the last straw. The moment he got to Rustboro, Paul was ditching his large, heavy pack into his PC's item storage and he would carrying his stuff in as many item capsules as would fit into a backpack.
As the sun went down, and the local taillow's cawing was replaced by the sounds of the night, the pair ate their soups in silence. In Dan's case, he was simply wolfing down can after can of minestrone, and in Paul's case, he was simply deep in thought. Maybe it was time for some training? Unless he and his pokémon got stronger, he'd keep losing battles.
Paul threw his three pokéballs into the air. "Alright, Taillow, Ralts, Mudkip! Time to work!". His three pokémon emerged from the light, tilting their heads in confusion. "Guys," Paul said, pacing. "Let's face it. We suck. Big time." Mudkip tilted his head upwards, dismissing the idea. Paul quickly got the message. "Nope, yes, we all suck, no matter what you think. I've sucked as a trainer, you've sucked in battle. That last battle against that bug catcher, you fainted in two moves." Paul stopped pacing and looked at Mudkip directly in the eyes. "If you call that strength, then that bug catcher was invincible. And we all know that in reality bug catchers are losers. Which, unfortunately, makes us bigger losers!"
Dan was watching amusedly, his minestrone soup forgotten. He could see what Paul was trying to accomplish. He wasn't sure if it would work, though. Paul seemed to have a lot to learn. With a sigh, Dan got up. "You want to get stronger, huh? That's why you weren't looking for a battle, hah! Because you'd get creamed!" A smirk slowly developed in Dan's face. "I know, let's battle! I'm pretty sure if I took things seriously, I'd beat you to the ground in a flash, but for once I'm going to be GENTLE with you, city kid!" Dan whipped out a pokéball, which released a confused looking Aipom. "Show me your moves!"
"Errr... all right." Paul wasn't sure what this guy's plan was, or why he was so friendly with a complete stranger like himself. Did it come from living in a small town like Oldale? Or was Dan simply insane? "Mudkip, you're up. Use tackle." Mudkip gave Paul an accusing glare before running off to tackle Aipom. Aipom simply jumped off out of the way, taunting Mudkip. Mudkip tried again. Aipom dodged a second time, and punched Mudkip with its tail during the rebound. It was a strong punch. Mudkip didn't get up.
"Your issue is that you and your pokémon are trying to battle head on, without any regard for the implications or consequences." Dan said, as Paul returned Mudkip. "Unexperienced wild pokémon may not be a problem with this kind of strategy. Trained ones, on the other hand, won't fall for it that easily". Aipom was helping itself to Dan's minestrone soup. The rice and beans lay forgotten. "You want to battle with strategy, Paul. A battle is not a thing of absolutes, it's a complex show that constantly changes, and you and your pokémon need to adapt to the situation at hand. Not everything is black and white."
"Right. So, I should do what? I called an attack and Mudkip tried it. Why didn't it hit?" Paul asked. He would have to revive Mudkip and heal him later when he hit the sack.
"You look at things in black and white. You expected Aipom to magically stay put while Mudkip was running towards it." Dan concluded.
Right. That made sense. He'd meditate upon those words tomorrow.
"Right now, however, I'm heading off to bed. I'll see you in the morning." Dan said, heading for his tent and itemballing the minestrone can pile.
Huh, this Dan guy sure was odd, but, then again, he seemed good natured. Paul headed for his tent, intending to revive Mudkip and rest. And digest the delicious minestrone soup. He had to get some of those capsules in Rustboro.
What do you think? I hope it's not too bad, hehe. :) Please, rate and review!