Episode 2: Journey to Nuvema Town (Part 1)

"Alright, ready to go?" Warren asked Niko as he slung a bag around his shoulder. It was an unusually large bag, at least from Niko's perspective, and it amazed him that Warren was able to carry it all.

"Yeah, I guess so." Niko said, motioning to his bag, which was a little smaller than Warren's, and roughly the size of the travelling bag he took with him in previous years. He turned to poliwag, who was through the roof in excitement at getting the opportunity to travel. Snivy, on the other hand, seemed excited, but hardly expressed it. It seemed more stoic than anything, with the occasional smile at the thought of returning home.

"Well, let's get going then! Sydney wants to see us off, though." Warren opened the door and led the way out, with poliwag at his side and Niko and snivy behind. "That's fine with you, right?"

"Of course it is. I have no issue with Sydney at all. Plus, it kinda makes sense, right? She's your girlfriend." Niko replied as they took the elevator down to the ground floor. "Also…you got days off of work, right?"

"Mhmm! You?"

Niko nodded as well. It felt weird not going to work at this point. After working five or six days a week, it was certainly a different feeling—not having to work. Granted, this was Niko's first real job, and so it was bound to feel weird regardless.

It didn't take long for them to meet up with Sydney, who was waiting outside their apartment, ready to walk them off to the eastern edge of Castelia City. Along the way, they talked more about the logistics of their journey. Niko—who had little experience in estimating travel times, since that used to be JJ's job—figured that it would take a day or so to get to Nacrene City. The only major obstacle in front of them was the Pinwheel Forest, which Sydney warned them to take caution in.

After, they would head to Striaton City, which would take about a day or two from Nacrene City. From there they would move south to Accumula Town, and then finally Nuvema Town. All in all, the trip to Nuvema would take about four or five days. Fortunately for them, there were ships that ferry people from the small Nuvema Town to Castelia City once a week.

"So, what kind of pokémon do you think you'll see out there?" Sydney asked.

"I have no idea. I'm not really familiar with the kinds of pokémon found around here." Niko shrugged. "I just don't want to get into any kind of conflict, though."

"But you have snivy."

"Well, yes." Niko looked down at the grass type. "However, I don't know how strong snivy actually is. Until I know that, I'd rather not fight."

"Hey, Niko…" Sydney asked as they began to approach Skyarrow Bridge, which connected Castelia City to Pinwheel Forest. "Have you ever wanted to be a pokémon trainer?"

"…no." Niko said hesitantly. He didn't like lying to people, but in this case he preferred it to telling the truth. Especially when it was a truth that even he didn't want to engage with. "Not really."

Sydney and Warren both looked at one another as they stopped at the end of the city limits. "Well, I'm sure you'd make a great trainer if you did."

"What are you basing that on?" Niko asked in a defensive tone. "I've never really battled before. Why would I be a great trainer?"

"Because…you're helping out this pokémon." Sydney said, pointing to snivy.

"Well, that was Warren's idea." Niko argued.

"But you agreed." Sydney said with a wink. "Anyways, you two need to get going." She pecked Warren on the cheek before leaning over and hugging Niko, and later poliwag. "Please be safe, you two. Don't get into any trouble, alright?"

"Can't promise that." Warren said with a wink of his own. When it was clear Sydney didn't appreciate this, he quickly apologized with a smile and looked to poliwag. "Ready?" The tadpole nodded, and they were off.

"Bye guys!" Sydney said with a wave. Warren and Niko returned the wave before beginning their trek onto Skyarrow Bridge, and into the land of Unova.

The bridge was massive, to say the least. It took over an hour for the small group to make it all the way across, and by that point Warren was already exhausted. The two took a rest break at the edge of Pinwheel Forest, where they all sat down for several minutes before getting back up and continuing on.

For Niko, the Pinwheel Forest was nothing new. He'd been through denser forests—like the Ilex Forest in Johto and the Eterna Forest in Sinnoh. Therefore, he wasn't too daunted by the prospect of adventuring through it, despite his phobia for bug types. Warren, interestingly enough, was simply excited about walking through. If there was one thing Niko knew about Warren, it was that he loved forests and trees, for whatever reason. Niko enjoyed watching him and poliwag getting excited at the tall, thick trees surrounding them, and generally let them lead the way while he and snivy fell back and watched them.

"They're pretty close, you know." Niko said to snivy as they walked side by side. "If you didn't already catch that. It's odd, you wouldn't expect a water type like poliwag to enjoy forests as much." He laughed. "I guess poliwag wished he was a grass type, instead of a water type."

Snivy laughed as well, in a lighter tone than Niko had expected, which led him to believe that his companion was female.

"Oh, you're a girl snivy?" Niko asked with surprise. Snivy looked up and nodded. "Noted."

They continued on for another couple of hours until Warren and poliwag needed another break, which worked out nicely, considering Niko himself was hungry. The four of them sat down on the top of a hollow log and ate lunch, watching the world move around them.

"This is incredible, Niko." Warren said in amazement. "Have you ever walked through a forest like this?"

"Nope." Niko quickly replied.

"So you really haven't seen much of the world, have you?" Warren asked. Niko shook his head. "Wow. I mean, neither have I. But from the sounds of it, I've probably seen more than you. N-not that I'm bragging or anything."

Niko smiled. "I got what you meant. Don't worry." He looked up at the trees above. "It would be nice, though. To see more of the world. And other pokémon." He shook his head again. "But I don't think that's in the cards for me, at least beyond this."

"Why not?"

"Well, I have to work now. And figure out what I want to do with my life. I can't afford to travel unless I completely uproot everything here, which I prefer not to do, you know? I mean…would you do that?"

"If Sydney was alright with me going off, then yeah. Oh, and if I had someone to sublet the apartment. That's kind of important."

Niko nodded. Just then, he heard a rustling to his right. Spinning his head, he saw something scuttling on the ground with a gray bird following closely behind it. The scuttling creature ran into the log they were sitting on, which forced Niko to jump off of the log.

"What's up?" Warren asked, completely unaware.

"There's…a bug…in there…" Niko said.

"And…?" Warren asked with confusion.

"I-I don't like bugs. Also, that bird was chasing it, I think." Niko said, pointing to the angry bird.

"Oh! That's a tranquill!" Warren said, also pointing at the bird. "Guess it got hungry…"

"But it was about to eat another pokémon!" Niko protested. It was weird—he didn't like bugs, but he also didn't want to see them as prey.

"Yeah. Let's see if it's okay." Warren said, approaching one of the ends of the logs and peeking inside. "Hello? Oh…hey there little guy. Come over here, you'll be safe." Just then the bird shot across the log and pecked Warren's shoulder, knocking him over. "Woah! What's the big idea?" He shouted, picking up the tiny bug from the log and turning to poliwag.

The bird—which was primarily gray with light gray and black markings. It had yellow eyes and a yellow beak. Otherwise, it looked like any ordinary bird. It also looked angry, and dove towards Warren, poliwag, and the bug.

"Poliwag, use water gun!" Warren commanded, backing away with the bug in his arms. The tadpole pokémon jumped forward and excitedly shot a jet of water from the center of his body, hitting the bird square in the face and forcing it off course, causing it to crash into the ground. "Now, hypnosis!"

Black and white rings emitted from poliwag's body and collided with the tranquill, instantly putting it to sleep. Warren turned to Niko with a mix of excitement and concern.

"Let's get going, away from this bird." Niko nodded, and quickly packed up their stuff before running off with Warren, poliwag, and snivy. They continued moving for some time before Warren began panting again from exhaustion. "Alright…let's…stop…" He said, sitting down on the ground at the base of a tree. He put the bug down on the ground. "You're alright, yeah?"

The bug nodded eagerly, scuttling up close to Warren and poliwag. Then, it ran off towards a bush. "Guess it's off now…" Niko said as he watched the bug move. Even though he didn't particularly enjoy bugs, he did find the little thing adorable. It was a tiny caterpillar-like pokémon with a broad, bitten leaf enfolding its head like a hood. Its head was orange-yellow with beady black eyes and a crescent-shaped orange snout with two tiny, sharp teeth protruding from it.

Moments later, the bug returned with a berry in two tiny stub that were presumably its front legs. It held the berry up to Warren. "It wants to thank you, Warren." Niko said with a laugh.

"Guess so." Warren said, picking up the berry. "Thank you…err…"

"Waddle!" The bug said. "See! See!"

"That's right! You're a sewaddle!" Warren said. "Well, my name is Warren, and this is my poliwag that helped you out." He said, motioning to the tadpole pokémon. Sewaddle walked over and attempted to hug poliwag, who seemed happy to return the gesture—despite having no arms. "And that's Niko and his snivy over there."

Sewaddle turned to Niko and smiled cheerfully. "It's not my snivy, though." Niko said, correcting his roommate.

"Right, sorry. Anyways, sewaddle, we're on a journey to take snivy back to her home. Would you like to join us?" Sewaddle nodded happily, leaping up and into Warren's arms. "Alright then! Niko, we've got a new friend!"

Niko nodded, happy that Warren found another friend. "But you should probably catch it."

"I…I don't have any pokéballs, though." Warren said. "But we can get some in Nacrene City, right?" Niko nodded, and the group continued on towards their next destination.

They reached Nacrene City late into the evening, stopping by the Pokémon Center to rest for the night. It was a familiar sight for Niko, one that kept him up later than he had preferred to be. He turned to watch snivy laying on the ground, and then Warren, poliwag, and sewaddle in the bed next to him.

Warren's got a knack for making friends, it seems. Niko thought. He'd make a good trainer, I think.

The next morning, Niko got up early and walked out into the lobby to have something to eat. For a moment, he expected to see JJ or Brittany walk out and join him in their booth. When they didn't come, and the realization hit Niko, he lightly banged his fist on the table, looking around to see if anyone else noticed his anguish. Fortunately, none that he could see.

Until he looked down and saw snivy standing there looking up at him. "Oh, hey snivy. Sleep well?" Niko asked in a cordial tone. She nodded, and leapt up onto the opposite end of the booth, sitting on the table since she was so short. While Niko sat there, eating breakfast, she continued to eye him without speech, which unsettled Niko.

"You want something?" Niko asked, looking up at the Grass Snake pokémon. Snivy shook her head in response. "Well, are you hungry?" Snivy shook her head again. "Then maybe don't stare at me. It's a little weird."

Niko knew this was harsher than it came out, but snivy didn't seem to care. Instead, she sat there on the table, looking around at the Pokémon Center.

"You've never been in one of these, have you?" Snivy shook her head. "Well, this is where trainers go to heal their pokémon if they're hurt. It's also a place that trainers can stay if they're on a journey. I've been to sever—I mean, I've heard of people doing that. It's kind of like a motel, if you've ever heard of those. Oh, and they've got a practice battlefield for trainers and pokémon to practice battling. Those are very useful…not that I'd know."

Niko cautiously looked up to snivy to see if she caught his verbal slips. Snivy blinked a few times, presumably indicating that she didn't catch them.

Minutes later, Warren and his pokémon walked out into the lobby, sitting down across Niko in their booth. "Morning!"

"Morning," Niko said. "Sleep well?"

"Yep! Looks like sewaddle and poliwag did as well. So, you want to check out the city a big before we head off?"

Niko shrugged. "Sure, I guess. We got to Nacrene City quicker than expected, so I don't mind walking around a bit. Plus, you need to go buy a pokéball for that sewaddle."

After breakfast the small group got dressed into travelling clothes and walked out into the city. Nacrene City was an odd-looking place from Niko's perspective. Each building—with a few exceptions—were all made of warehouses. As they walked through the city, Niko noticed how creative the residents got when it came to creating their homes out of these warehouses. There were even small duplex apartment made out of warehouses.

Once they made it to the pokémart, Warren immediately went to buy a pokéball, while Niko walked around, snivy at his ankles. He ended up getting some carrot juice for snivy, and a lemonade for himself, ultimately meeting back up with Warren and his pokémon at the end.

"Alright, sewaddle!" Warren said, placing the Sewing pokémon on the ground. "I'm now your trainer, I guess." He kneeled down and placed the pokéball on sewaddle's forehead. The Sewing pokémon turned a bright red color and went into the pokéball, which began wiggling around in Warren's hand until it eventually clicked, indicating that the capture was successful. He stood up and looked at Niko. "Well, I caught a sewaddle!"

"Nice job, Warren." Niko said. "Hey, I heard this place has a museum. Want to go check it out?"

"Sure!" Warren said happily. "Let's go, poliwag!"

"Poli!" Poliwag said cheerfully.

The Nacrene Museum was nothing short of astounding to Niko. He and Warren had to pay a small fee to enter, but Niko felt it was well worth it. He walked around with snivy, eying the different fossils and other artifacts unique to Unova. Easily the most prominent display was a skeleton of a Dragon-type pokémon in the center of the main room. Niko also recognized an armaldo skeleton, which reminded him of Melinda, his first love interest back in Hoenn. I wonder how she's doing these days…Niko thought. It then occurred to him that his adventures in Hoenn were only a year and a half ago, which forced him to pause and stare at the skeleton for longer than he intended to.

"Right, sorry. Let's keep going, snivy." Niko said, and the Grass Snake followed. "Is there anything here that you find interesting?"

Snivy looked around, trying to jump up to see the exhibits. Niko eventually picked her up and show her the artifacts and other miscellaneous items that the pokémon wouldn't have ordinarily been able to see. Niko also noticed a shiny stone sitting in a display case, which reminded him of JJ and Lauren's dual evolution back in the Resort Area. Wincing a little, he quickened his pace to look at something else.

"So…what did you think of it, Niko?" Warren asked, with sewaddle in his arms and poliwag at his side.

"It was cool to see. Couple odd exhibits, but otherwise I enjoyed it. What about you?"

"I enjoyed it, and it seemed like the pokémon did too. Snivy, did you like it?" The Grass Snake nodded, looking happy for the first time in a while. Warren smiled. "Well, maybe we should get going, then. Do you think we have enough supplies to get to Striaton City?"

"Maybe, but we should grab some stuff just in case. It's a couple days, right?" Warren nodded. "Okay, let's go grab some supplies then, and leave around midday. Sound good?"

"Sounds good to me!" Warren added. Sewaddle and poliwag cheered as well, both ready to continue their journey with their trainer. Snivy, even though she wasn't Niko's, felt the same as well.