DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKÉMON

|LOST AND FOUND

An hour after he'd sent Team Rocket running, Cross was sitting in the lobby of the Pokémon Center. The past hour had been an eventful one. Only a few minutes after Jessie and James had fled, Officer Jenny had arrived, driving her motorcycle straight through the front doors and skidding to a stop in the lobby.

She had called everyone to the lobby to take their statements and Cross couldn't help but stare at the amount of fan service on display. Misty came out into the lobby in her tiny cut-off booty shorts, and there was no way she was the same age as her character in the anime. She was about the same height as Ash, a few inches shorter than himself and she had curves that made her look more similar to the Misty from the Electric Tales of Pikachu manga. (Uncensored version, of course!)

With her, Nurse Joy in her skimpy uniform, and Officer Jenny in the smallest pencil skirt he'd ever seen, it was hard to concentrate. Cross blamed it on hormones. Puberty sucked the first time around, now he was back smack dab in the middle of it!

After giving his statement, he had handed Charmander and Pidgey over to a grateful Nurse Jover who had promised that once power was restored they'd be well taken care of.

Since then he'd been sitting in the lobby using his pokédex to do some research. The first thing he looked up was how old a trainer had to be to compete in the Indigo League Gym Circuit.

And it wasn't ten, which was what he had expected after seeing Ash and Misty.

In this new world of Pokémon, he found himself in, compulsory education ended once you turned 16. Students were free to continue attending school if they wish, but once they turned 16 they are legally considered adults.

Basically, as of the April following your 16th birthday, they were able to gain a Pokémon License and are permitted to carry six poké balls to capture pokémon. Of course, there's more to being a legal adult than the right to own pokémon.

All adult rights were granted.

Over 16s simply didn't qualify as minors.

It was going to be a bit of a culture shock to Cross, but he could compartmentalize it by comparing it to traveling to a different country in what he was dubbing the "Old World."

When you travel outside of the country you were living in, that country's laws didn't follow you. And if you didn't do your research you could get in serious trouble in another country that had its own laws.

And that wasn't the only thing he'd learned. Another important thing being: that just like in the games he could win and lose money during battles, but only if each trainer agreed to a League match.

Using the pokédex, an item all trainers were required by law to carry, two trainers would accept a League Sanctioned Battle (LSB for short), and the amount of money would be decided depending on the age, experience level, and rank of the defeated trainer.

Of course, not all battles had to be for money, but only LSB wins and losses would be shown on your trainer profile. Everything else was considered to be an exhibition.

I'll definitely need money if I want to win the Indigo League, Cross thought as he leaned back in his chair. A quick search was all it took to find out he had about eleven months to collect eight gym badges if he wanted to qualify to compete in the Indigo Plateau Conference.

Eleven months was more than enough for that, but once he qualified he'd be battling trainers who'd probably had years to train their Pokémon. Battle experience and natural growth weren't something he had to worry about in the games, but now it was going to be a big problem.

Cross thought about the Charicific Valley in Johoto and how Ash's powerhouse of a Charizard had been nothing but a runt.

If he wanted to shock the world and place 1st as a rookie trainer, then he needed a plan and money.

Money for what?

Technical Machines!

They were also a thing despite not being in the main anime and apparently, they worked by "downloading" the knowledge of a Pokémon onto a disc that could then be "uploaded" to another Pokémon. The technology to do that was amazing, but it wasn't without a cost. When a TM was created, the Pokémon being used forgot the move that was "downloaded" from their brain.

Which is probably why they cost so much! Cross sighed as he closed his pokédex. Even the cheapest TM cost several thousand Pokémon Dollars and while he didn't plan to go crazy, it would be nice to have the money to buy them if he needed.

He wasn't so ignorant as to think that he could win the Indigo League by loading all pokémon he caught with TMs, but they would help bridge the gap between him and any older more experienced trainers he came up against.

Cross slumped in his chair, his eyes heavy with fatigue. He had been through the gauntlet today, but as much as he wanted to find a room and follow Misty and Ash's example by passing out, he needed to wait until Nurse Joy came back. There were some questions that he wanted to ask her and the answers were going to affect what he did moving forward.

As if summoned by his thoughts, Nurse Joy appeared back in the lobby. With a soft smile, she approached him, her apron ruffled from today's excitement. "Your Charmander and Pidgey will be healed soon," she said, then in a soothing voice, she added, "It's getting late. Are you planning on staying the night?"

"Definitely," Cross replied with a grateful nod. The thought of trudging through the Viridian Forest in his current state was unthinkable. He needed rest, both for himself and his pokémon. And he didn't have any kind of camping gear whatsoever.

Which was what he wanted to talk to Nurse Joy about.

"I'm going to be brutally honest, I didn't put much thought into planning or packing for my pokémon journey," he said, looking up at the pink-haired pokémon nurse. "And if I want to make it through the Viridian Forest, I'm going to need more than what I have."

It rankled him, having to pretend that he was in the situation he was in because of his own hubris, but those were the cards he were dealt.

Nurse Joy didn't seem surprised. She took a moment to sit beside Cross. "A lot of young trainers just starting out find themselves in your position," she said and there was a tinge of bitterness in her words. "The league has never made wilderness survival a requirement to become a pokémon trainer and that's a big reason why so many young trainers fail. They're not prepared physically or mentally."

"The physical and mental part I can handle. Money is the problem for me," Cross wasn't worried about the physical and mental strain of traveling. He'd grown up in a small rural community a hundred miles from the nearest city. He was more at home in the woods than he was in the city.

"Well, battling is the most common way for trainers to make money," Nurse Joy said, "but there are other paths too."

Cross's curiosity was piqued. "Other ways?"

Nurse Joy nodded. "Sometimes trainers spend weeks in the cities or towns they pass through, working part-time jobs to save up money for the essentials they'll need to continue traveling. Like food for themselves and their pokémon, or poké balls if they plan on capturing more pokémon."

Cross considered the idea. He didn't want to be trapped in Viridian City for a week, but he also knew that without the right supplies, he could die. "I'll keep that in mind," he said, determined to make his pokémon team stronger.

A yawn escaped his lips, reminding him of his fatigue. Nurse Joy chuckled softly. "You look like you could use some rest," she said kindly. "Before you retire for the night, why don't you take a look through our lost and found? You never know what you might find."

The idea intrigued him. If he could find even just a few things he could use in the lost and found it would at least save him some money.

Nurse Joy's pink hair bounced with every step as she led Cross to a room tucked away at the back of the bustling Pokémon Center. The scent of antiseptic filled the air, making the whole place feel sterile.

As the door slid open, Cross's eyes widened in surprise. When she had said the lost and found, he had been expecting a couple of crates. The room Nurse Joy led him to was filled with rows of towering shelves, each one crammed with boxes and plastic containers of all shapes and sizes. It was as though he had stumbled into a camping section at a Walmart!

"This is the lost and found?" he asked, unable to contain his surprise.

Nurse Joy's smile was gentle yet filled with sadness as she nodded in response. "It is," she said. "Trainers often leave behind their belongings when they give up on their pokémon journeys or forget them in the excitement of a new adventure. We hold onto them for 30 days, if the original owner doesn't contact the center about missing items we put them in here and eventually everything is either recycled or re-sold.

Cross's eyes gleamed as he scanned the shelves again. "Can I take anything?" he asked, barely able to believe his luck.

Nurse Joy's smile widened. "You helped save my Pokémon Center from Team Rocket. Letting you choose whatever you like from the lost and found is the least I can do."

Cross's Pokemon Team!

Charmander: Scratch, Bite, Growl

Pidgey: Tackle, Gust, Quick Attack