As we made our way through the wilderness to our home at Verdanturf Town, Rosebud, Firefly, and I got a crash course in Pokémon training. We had forgotten to pick up Poké Balls in Slateport, so we couldn't catch anything. We did not have bikes either, so we were forced to use the grassy, winding path down below Cycling Road, as Kohl called it. If my knowledge of the world was correct, we had to pass under Cycling Road to Mauville, then head towards the setting sun until we got to our new hometown.
At least it was a scenic route.
Along one of the pathways, our noses filled with the scent of the ocean, Misdreavus floated along, simply enjoying the flight.
"Watch out!"
My Pokémon and I glanced behind us, then, shocked, dove out of the way of a green-and-yellow missile. I heard the rest of the party do various things to move out of the way, and jumped up.
"Hey! You!" I shouted. "What's the big idea?"
The target barked a few times, looking square into my eyes. I felt my little girl grip onto my leg, quavering in fear. I glanced down at her, then glared at the Pokémon.
You just messed with the wrong man.
"Misdreavus, this guy scared Firefly," I muttered.
"You should let us take care of it," Kohl said. "We're more experienced."
I nodded. "Maybe with live Pokémon, but I've got a couple things going for me: one, I've got about a decade's video game simulated training experience where I never allowed myself to use a single item once during my training, and two, that disk-head just frightened my daughter. Misdreavus, let's take this one down," I ordered.
She let loose a battle cry and floated towards the other Pokémon. I whipped out my Pokédex and smirked.
"Okay, Electrike, time to learn what a father's fury feels like," I mumbled. "Let's check you out."
The Pokédex clicked on, and spoke with a midrange, feminine voice and an electronic chorus effect: "Electrike; the Lightning Pokémon. It stores electricity in its long body hair It stimulates its leg muscles with these electric charges, which give its legs explosive acceleration performance."
I nodded. "Misdreavus, be wary of Electrike's speed."
Electrike began generating an electrical field, and leapt for Misdreavus. She deftly avoided the flash Tackle by simply dematerializing and appearing elsewhere.
"Psywave."
Misdreavus closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. An interesting sensation overtook me at that moment – a series of waves, not affecting my physical senses in any way, yet rippling through my mind, pulsed across my form. The sensation was not unlike standing in a softly rippling lake, except as if it was my soul feeling the ripple. It was definitely weird.
We're going to need to work on her focus. The area of effect was too broad.
Electrike immediately noticed the change and winced as the damage occurred. It could barely resist the mental offensive, but it did. It gave Misdreavus a wicked glare, then leapt for my Pokémon with bared jaws.
Firefly squealed, "Go, Daddy!"
"Misdreavus! Move!"
She wasn't fast enough as Electrike dug into her ether with his fangs. He swung her around a bit.
"Psybeam! Again!"
The same wave overwhelmed us as she was swung around in a squealing panic. Electrike was beginning to weaken, but so was Misdreavus. I wasn't sure exactly how long she could hold up. A flash of yellow followed, and the wave stopped.
Misdreavus flopped to the ground, defeated.
"No!" Firefly squealed.
"Drat." I gritted my teeth. "Misdreavus, return!" I commanded.
"Let me take a swing at it," Rosebud said. "Ponyta, go!"
Her Poké Ball flew towards her opponent. Halfway there, it exploded and shed a pile of light. It coalesced into horse form.
"Ponyta! Ember attack!" Rosebud cried.
Her Ponyta let loose a breath of solar fury. Electrike dodged the blast, allowing the lazer of fire to sear some grass before colliding with the earth. A surge of electricity exploded from Electrike, striking five different places and connecting solidly with Ponyta.
"Rose! Command it to Bide!" I instructed.
She did so. The horse braced herself against the charge.
Rosebud shrieked, "You can do it!" She turned to me briefly. "What did I just tell it to do?"
"You told it to take the hit in a way that it can deal double the damage it receives," I informed. "That Electrike's going to get one hell of a sting!"
I gritted my teeth. This was a strong Electrike. I thought we had an easy start with this one, but it appeared that I had made a mistake. I wasn't the only one surprised, though.
"Kohl, have you ever seen an Electrike this strong before?" Tyler asked.
His friend shook his head. "Prep your Pokémon – we may have to save these newcomers."
Ponyta struggled for just a couple seconds longer before Electrike broke the attack and analyzed the damage he caused. Rosebud's Pokémon shivered a little, but shook it off.
"Good job, Ponyta!" Rosebud declared.
I smiled and gave a cheer in response. Firefly began jumping in celebration.
"Wow," Kohl said.
"Now," my wife continued, her voice slipping into an accent reminiscent of one from Montana as she gave what would eventually become her guillotine call:
"Let's let 'er have it!"
Ponyta's eyes flashed red. Flames began licking the front of its muzzle. Its mane exploded in righteous fury and radiated intense heat all around. We watched the Electrike begin to sweat and back away. Soon, we were doing the same. Seconds later, Electrike leapt to our left as Ponyta reared up. An earth-shattering stomp, coupled with a blaze of fire like a searing laser, soon had Electrike begging for mercy as it frantically fled. Futility was what followed as its legendary speed failed and the searing fireworks overtook the hapless Pokémon. Soon Electrike wasn't moving.
Rosebud froze. I froze. The forest went silent as realization set in.
My wife just defeated her first Pokémon!
I admit, I was a little jealous. However, I realized I was not very familiar with Ghost-types, and I should have remembered that the Dark-type move Bite would have been super-effective against my Ghost-type Misdreavus. I also should have reacted faster to what was happening in front of me. I shoved my jealousy back into the little mouldy hole it oozed like pus from and simply celebrated her victory.
Suddenly, Kohl was holding out a Poké Ball to her!
"What's this for?" she asked.
"You can use that to capture the Pokémon you battled," Thirsty informed.
Rosebud thought about it for a second, then handed the ball to me.
"Say what?" I asked. "You beat it."
"Yeah, well, I'm not particularly interested in it," she said.
I looked over at the still-disabled Electrike. "Alright. If you say so."
I smirked. With a quick thank you, I launched the ball at the Pokémon.
"Let's do this!" I shouted.
The ball sailed through the air, lazily rolling between its red and white surfaces as it arced towards its target. It soon made contact with the green disc on Electrike's head and sucked up the Pokémon with a burst of white light.
I bit my lip as the Ball rattled with the struggles of the creature contained within. I had already failed at battling it. I really didn't want to lose it. My hand clenched into a fist, and my other hand began shaking. A little whimper and a push alerted me to my unconscious act. I looked down briefly and blushed – Firefly had a pained look within eyes identical to my own, as I squished her poor hand. I blushed and relaxed my grip, mouthing a sorry as I returned my attention to the Ball.
The Ball stopped.
And all was still.
Did I actually catch that?
"Go get your Pokémon," Tyler said somewhere in the background.
I released my daughter's hand and plodded up to the ball like a zombie. I stared at the ball for another split second before I picked it up off the ground. I brought it back to Rose and Fly.
"We caught this one together," I said. "This is the family's Pokémon."
Silence.
We looked back and forth at each other.
Firefly giggled.
Rosebud snickered.
I snorted.
And we all exploded in a forest-rattling cheer.
In the background, I caught a groan. "Come on! It's not that big a deal!"
Tyler was quick to shush him, though. "Let them have their moment, Kohl."
His thoughts be damned. I caught a Pokémon! I'm gonna celebrate! I gave a little dance as we continued to walk north. Of course, I extended it a little farther than I should have and got shouted down for it, but all I did at that point was laugh. I mean, why not? Go for the gold while you're fighting to qualify, right?
Rose and I let little Firefly carry the new Electrike as we walked. Amongst her sweet nothings to her "very first Pokémon," we listened and kept an eye out for anything else we might want. Neither Rose nor I were battle-ready now, so whenever we encountered a wild Pokémon, it was up to Kohl, Thirsty, or Tyler to take 'em down. As they commanded their Pokémon with relative ease, a knot formed in my stomach. I had the knowledge and simulation experience. I should've been the one to defeat it.
I sighed as we walked, dropping back of the group a half-step as Rose, Fly, Thirsty, Tyler, and Kohl talked on and away about what was going to happen. I pulled out my Pokémon and stared at it for a while, tracking foot and step with my peripheral vision as I got lost in my own head. I felt really bad that I had done so amateurishly with Misdreavus and really wanted to make it up to her. Just then, Ash's words to Joe from the episode "The School of Hard Knocks" popped into my head.
"Simulations don't mean anything if you don't actually battle."
Paraphrased, of course. After all, it had been almost a year since I had finished watching the first two seasons of the anime on Netflix and had begun waiting on the debut of Johto Journeys, so I couldn't be expected to remember the exact words of the third… Fourth? episode of the show. Regardless, even the paraphrase warranted a chuckle, cheering me up enough to kiss Misdreavus' Ball before putting it away. It was clear that I had a lot to learn, and I needed to rethink my position if I was going to have any hope of making it as a security guard at all.
It was that kind of challenge that brought forth a different feeling, a thrill of greater proportion than the sour disappointment and bitter jealousy I had experienced earlier. This had a spicy edge to it, combined with a sweetness I could only have acquired at select restaurants or made myself. It was the thrill of learning something new. Slowly, as we continued on, battling with wild Pokémon, the new overrode the old and I forgot my earlier woes. I even managed to beat a Magikarp.
Yeah, I know. Not very impressive, considering what my other party members were doing, but it was a milestone to me.
A few battles later, we looked into the distance and saw the glow of lights. The smell of the sea that had traveled with us like a shadow on a summer day bade farewell and was replaced by the scent of pine trees, with just a hint of ash.
"That's Mauville City," Tyler said.
"Where's Verdanturf?" Rose asked.
Tyler replied, "It's to the west of Mauville. We'll stop here tonight, then make the rest of the journey tomorrow morning."
Farther in the distance, at the edge of our visual depth, loomed the massive volcano that was Hoenn's chief, defining landmark.
Silent until now, Firefly hummed a question, then pointed. "What's that big, huge mountain over there?"
"Mount Chimney," Tyler grunted, "home to Pokémon Gym Leader Flannery and Lavaridge Town."
"My birthplace!" Kohl declared. "They've got wonderful hot springs there! I go back every chance I get."
"That town's got nothin' in it!" Tyler declared. "I don't like hot springs and I don't like volcanoes. Give me a good, old-fashioned hurricane any day of the week."
Kohl frowned. "Maybe if you'd just give 'em a try now and again, you'd think differently."
"Ain't nothing natural 'bout water that warm," Tyler demanded.
"Oh geez…" Thirsty hissed. "Here they go again…"
Kohl sighed. "Tyler, we've been through this. Even a sea man such as yourself would know how hot springs are heated. There's nothing more natural than volcano-heated hot springs! Geothermal heating is as natural as hurricanes."
"Bah," Tyler grunted, waving Kohl's assertion off. "Only natural water is cold water. Someone must've warmed it up for them."
Kohl stopped and glared. He waved his hands and stammered something incomprehensible before his resolve popped like a balloon and glided helplessly down to the ground, like his arms did to his sides.
"Okay, okay…" he groaned. "I get it. Just… just shut up before I get a migraine."
Tyler, satisfied he'd won this round, proudly stomped off ahead as Kohl fell back with us. He had cupped his head in his left hand and was massaging his temples. For some bizarre reason, as he did that, I swore he looked like a green-haired Egora-.
"That guy doesn't know much about anything," he hissed, interrupting my thought stream.
I shrugged. "If he's a sailor, he must know something about sailing."
Kohl nearly choked. "You… you can't be serious…"
I chuckled. Rose rolled her eyes.
"He probably knows a lot about the sea, too."
Everyone except me groaned. Several couple rounds of "Shut up!" and a couple good-natured chuckles filled the air. When they finally died down, we were quiet for another few minutes. We passed under Cycling Road, listening to the hoots and hollers from above. Kohl gave me some Revive to heal my Misdreavus with, just before a Poochyena hopped out of the bush.
This one, however, did not challenge us. Instead, it ran up to me and whimpered.
"Huh? This one's acting funny," I observed.
Kohl nodded. "This isn't normal. Usually a Poochyena will just up and attack on sight. What's got its fur in a bind?"
The Poochyena darted away.
Rose pulled ahead. "Wait! Pokemon! Come back!"
"Mommy! Wait!" Firefly shouted, chasing after her mother.
"Rose! Firefly! Hold up!" I shouted before continuing pursuit.
We went off the beaten trail, scouring the forest nearby for any sign of the little Poochyena. We were just about to give up when...
"Daddy! This way!" Firefly called out.
She pointed into a bush, guiding us into it. Unfortunately, the thicket was such that Rose had to stay where she was. Thirsty elected to stay behind. However, as Kohl and Tyler tried to join me and Firefly, the Poochyena stopped them. For some reason, it wanted me and Fly alone.
We wiggled into the grotto on hands and knees, passing ever deeper into the thick, bristly foliage. Another half-minute of this and we soon found ourselves in the presence of a small tribe of Pokemon, along them a Taillow, completely bruised senseless.
"Birdie!" Fly shrieked. "What happened to you?"
Fly and I were guided to this injured Pokemon by the Poochyena. If any Pokemon dared argue with our trajectory, he (or she, I was never sure which) quickly jumped in the way and made a case for our presence in the only way one of them can. I counted two Swellows, four Zigzagoons, three other Poochyena, three pairs of Plusle and Minun, and one each of Lotad, Wingull, and Gulpin as we approached. The Poochyena went to snuggle with two others, who, I guess, promptly scolded it for whatever reason. I smirked, but resumed my trek quick enough. I wasn't sure what they wanted me to do, but, within seconds of arriving, I picked up the Taillow gently and began looking it over anyway. The little bird shrieked loudly when I touched its left wing.
"Daddy! Don't hurt it!" Fly insisted.
"He's okay, Fly," I said. "But we're gonna have to take this guy to the Pokemon Center in Mauville City." I looked at the Poochyena. "I'm glad you caught me on the way there. But, before we go, why me?"
A shrug. I guess Poochy didn't have an answer.
"Is it because you thought I looked trustworthy?"
A nod. I smiled in reply. "Thank you."
I turned back to my patient. "Unfortunately, this means I'm going to have to Poke Ball this Taillow," I said. "That way, I can get it out of the thicket and to the Pokemon Center easier and with less damage."
A few Pokemon objected, but most simply nodded. Even the two Swellows were looking up at me in hope. They must have been desperate. The Taillow in my hand tried to push the Ball away. I could see its eyes light up in fear as it did, but it barely had the energy to brush the Ball's shell.
"Don't worry, Taillow. I'll bring you right back here."
Taillow nodded as I picked it up. We worked our way out of the clearing, led by the same Poochyenna. I thought I saw a small, round object bobbing up and down alongside us, but didn't have the time to process the new information in the rush. Seconds later, we broke free of the thicket and blasted off. Kohl, Tyler, Thirsty, and Rose shouted at us to catch up.
"Mommy, don't stop us right now! We're tryin' to save a birdie!" Fly shouted.
We entered Mauville and stopped to check up on the Taillow.
"How's she doing, Dad?" Fly asked.
I hummed. "Not good. We gotta find the Pokemon Center."
I heard some rapid footsteps. Tyler caught up with us. He saw Taillow in my arms and immediately understood what we were doing. I heard some shuffling before he ran off.
"This way," he said.
Fly and I chased after him. A minute of running brought us before the city Pokemon Center. We entered the facility.
"Nurse Joy! An emergency!" Tyler shouted. "A Pokemon was badly injured and requires your help."
The only ones who were there were Nurse Joy's assistant Pokemon, Wigglytuff, who promptly squawked its name and ran up with a stretcher.
"Where's Nurse Joy?" I asked.
A series of "Wigglytuff" sounds told me it didn't know.
Tyler rubbed his temples. "Just great… Well, can you help us?"
Wigglytuff nodded. It took Taillow into the back.
I frowned. "Something about that injury isn't right."
"What do you mean?" Fly asked.
"That Taillow's wing wasn't damaged in a Pokemon battle," I said.
"Oh no!" Fly said.
Tyler asked, "How do you know that?"
I couldn't explain it. I had seen many Pokemon battles on TV, and I understood that there could have been injuries they didn't show because "the children", but I had also seen the results of animal abuse, and this had all the feeling of it.
"It's wing was broken in a really weird way that I wouldn't associate with a battle. Also, there was no bruising anywhere else on its body." I said. "And I might be seeing things, but I think I recognize that Taillow's patterning from the Pokemon Center in Slateport when I was getting my Pokemon."
"Are you implying that an immigrant possibly abused it?" Tyler asked, shocked. "That's quite the accusation here."
"Poor Taillow!" Fly said.
"That's why I'm far from ready to formally file it as an accusation yet," I said. "I'm sure Pokemon abuse is a worse offence here than animal abuse is in my home country, but I don't have anything more than conjecture to base it off of." I turned to the rest of the party, who had finally caught up. "I want to be wrong about this."
"Wrong about what?" Rose asked.
"The Taillow Z brought into the Pokemon Center, he thinks it might have been abused," Tyler said. "But don't say anything. We need to figure this out first."
Whoa. Rosebud. Cool your jets. "If that's true, I'll feed him Ponyta's flame myself."
"The first step…" Thirsty said, "…should be to contact the various Officer Jennys of Mauville and get them in on this."
Kohl shook his head. "They won't listen without some kind of proof to go on. We need to find more evidence than one Taillow. They'd easily write that off as a Pokemon battle injury."
Tyler nodded. "Correct. But that'd be a lot of Trainers to go on if we just count the immigrants that came through today."
I folded my arms. "Well, let's get Taillow back to his home and ourselves settled into Verdanturf first. We'll meet together to discuss what to do later."
"But that'll be at least two days from now as it is," Rose said.
I shrugged my shoulders. "What choice do we have? We've got the movers already dropping stuff off at our new place, and we have absolutely no leads beyond a busted Taillow that may or may not trust humans ever again."
Rose sighed. "True. Damn, I wanna help!"
Tyler and Kohl looked at each other and smirked. "Tall ya what," Kohl said. "Thirsty'll take Rose and Firefly home to Verdanturf, help you guys get a head start on settling in."
Tyler nodded. "I'll go and see what info I can get from the Trainers who were manning the Pokemon tables at the Center, which ones had Taillow, and if there were any immigrants who seemed… off, a little bit."
"And Kohl and I'll stay here and check up on Taillow so I have a guide to get me home quicker." I finished. "Sounds like a plan."
Our stomachs all objected loudly. Rosebud smiled. "But I think we should get started on all that after dinner. We haven't eaten since we arrived, after all."
I nodded. "That would be a good idea."
Just as we sat down, the Wigglytuff returned with the healed Taillow. When it saw me, it bounded off the table, tried to fly, crashed, and cried in pain again. Wigglytuff appeared to scold the Taillow before the bird ran forward and leapt into my arms.
I said nothing as it nuzzled into me.