It didn't take long for Damien and his newfound partner to reach the town on the horizon.

It also didn't take long for Damien to recognise the town he had arrived at. Nestled in the middle of a ring of trees and underbrush was a small, yet bustling town. The road Damien was walking down slowly began ascending a fairly large hill where the town sat. Looking at it now, Damien wasn't surprised he could spot it from so far away. The houses and various buildings stood far above the treeline as the people here had made good use of the large hill - providing themselves with a fantastic view of the distant coast and the tremendous spanning forest. Though it was easily more alive and dense than it had been in the games, it was still easily recognisable as Accumula town.

Damien had almost immediately spotted and recognised the open, park-like area where Team Plasma had made their first appearance in the games. Thankfully, it seemed Damien was either ahead of their schedule or had just missed them. Regardless, he was thankful to avoid any interactions with the team - especially Ghetsis. Rather, crowds of people loitered around, seemingly content to just enjoy the day out. Of course, the occasional person was rushing to and fro but for the most part, the people of the town seemed oddly relaxed. Damien could spot several Pokémon alongside their human partners - ranging from a small Poochyena sitting on a man's lap to a rather large Liepard brushing up against their owner's leg. He could even spot a small Trubbish that had hidden behind one of the public trash cans, though rather poorly. It was odd to see a sentient bag of trash just casually walking around and with such an expressive face at that. Perhaps it was due to the Pokémon being rather animalistic up until now that Damien had gotten so accustomed so quickly. However, seeing that little Trubbish, it had clicked once more that he was a stranger in a strange land.

Elgyem had grown strangely quiet since they had arrived at the town. Damien assumed it was due to the sheer number of people.

'I doubt he's used to this many people being around. From what I remember, the tower where they usually hung out in the games was completely isolated. Probably doesn't help that he's a Psychic-Type. I can only imagine what he can hear amongst all these people.' Damien crouched down next to Elgyem, placing a hand on his head.

It was oddly cool to the touch.

"You alright little guy? I'd offer to put you in a Pokéball if I had one."

Elgyem shook its head in response before pressing on ahead with newfound certainty.

"Wait up!" Damien quickly stood back up, taking a few long strides before falling back in sync with Elgyem. "Not sure where you're going, but I think it'd be best if we head to the Pokécenter and try to establish ourselves."

Elgyem stopped in his tracks, craning his head to look up at Damien.

"I doubt we'll get very far without some sort of identification and cash. From my... experience. Our best bet would probably be battling little kids and bullying them into giving us their money." 'Cause apparently, that's completely acceptable and legal in this world.'

Elgyem gave a curt hum in response.

"However, I think what might be better is some sort of tournament. Based on what I saw earlier you're clearly experienced with battling, and honestly, I don't think I have the skills or knowledge to try and make money some other way... without resorting to crime." Damien spoke, falling into a whisper towards the end.

"So, first let's head to the Pokécenter and try to get some sort of license. Shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

The doors to the Pokécenter slid open with a small whoosh, and a wave of refreshing cold air blasted the pair on their way into the building.

Compared to the plaza outside, the number of people had decreased drastically. Immediately, Damien spotted an oddly familiar, and completely ridiculous pink head of hair poking out from below the front desk.

'How could I forget such a detail? Ridiculously coloured hair is a staple of the series, and yet I'm still shocked.' Damien sighed.

He coughed lightly to himself to try and clear his throat, before walking up to the desk. Elgyem followed suit, his small stone-like feet clinking against the tiles of the center.

Arriving at the desk, the resident Nurse Joy was still on the floor. Damien could now see that she had dropped a small stack of papers and was hurriedly trying to gather them together.

Damien gave a small cough, hoping to catch her attention.

The pink-haired woman jumped slightly, looking up at Damien with a startled impression. "Ah! I'm so sorry!" She quickly stood up, almost jumping into the air from the momentum alone.

"I was so distracted, my sincerest apologies!" The nurse began to bow profusely, almost aggressively.

"No worries. Do you need any help?" Damien asked, feeling somewhat bad for the poor woman.

"No, no, no, no, no, no! Don't worry about that! How can I help you? Are you here to heal your Pokémon?" She gave a small, clearly practised smile.

"Umm. I was hoping to acquire some sort of ID. Me and my partner here were hoping to do some battling, but I imagine I need some sort of permission."

The nurse tilted her head to the side, giving Damien a quizzical look. "Are you perhaps new to Pokémon training?"

'Hm. I wonder how she knew.' Damien gave a small, forced smile. "You could say that..."

"Well, not a problem! I can tell that you're old enough to legally begin Pokémon training, so all I'll need is some personal details to print out a Trainer's License. However, you'll need to take a Battle Capacity Test if you wish to take part in the professional side of battling such as with the Gym Challenge or your everyday tournaments.'

'Battle Capacity Test? Don't remember anything like that from the show... Oh well, sure it shouldn't be too bad.'

"Sure. No problem. What do you need to know?"

The nurse gave a polite smile, before taking a good look at Damien, literally looking him up and down.

"Perhaps it would be best if we sorted out those injuries of yours? Perhaps you've got a concussion...?" She said, worry coating her words.

As if a switch had been flicked, Damien suddenly felt a flurry of stings and sharp pains assault him. He had no idea what happened but he'd forgotten entirely about all his scratches and cuts. One could only assume that the adrenaline mixed with the whole absurdity of his situation had completely messed with his brain.

"I think that might be a good idea..." He said, now wincing.

XX Twenty Minutes Later XX

"Right! Well with that out of the way, we can begin with the questionnaire!" The nurse said with a smile befitting the name Joy.

Damien gave a small smile in response. His body had been almost plastered with bandages, and the heaps of disinfectants used made him feel oddly sticky.

"Sure thing."

"Well, first of all, your name and home region."

"Sure, my name is Damien Harte: spelt H-A-R-T-E. Annoying, I know. My home region is uhh..." Damien pondered for a moment. "Galar. Good ol' Galar."

'I'd probably get a funny look if I said I was from Sinnoh with a British accent like this.'

"I see. Damien Harte from the Galar region. You sure have travelled a long way!" Nurse Joy said with a larger-than-life smile.

"Now then, I notice you have an Elgyem of all things! I must say it's quite a rare sight." She said, looking down at the little creature beside Damien's leg. "Do you have any other Pokémon on you? They'll need to be registered onto your license for legal reasons and, so the League can run more efficiently when you enter into official tournaments. If you just hand over the Pokéballs holding them, I'll be able to register them in no time."

"Uh. I've only got the one Pokémon actually, and he doesn't have a Pokéball. Will that be a problem?"

Nurse Joy's smile widened slightly, but it seemed pretty clear that Damien's response irked them.

"That's alright. It'll just make the process slightly longer. I'll have them manually entered into the database."

Vrr. Elgyem gave out a non-descript hum.

Nurse Joy turned to the monitor in front of her and no doubt began to enter the details Damien had provided. An awkward silence ensued as Damien simply watched the nurse continue to type away at the computer.

"So... When will I be able to take this 'Battle Capacity Test'?" He asked in an attempt to break the silence.

Nurse Joy looked up from the monitor for a moment. "If you'd like, I can arrange it for tomorrow morning. There should be a League Official at the next town over who can come down to hold the test for you. It'll just be a simple 1-on-1 battle to see your capability as a trainer as well as a small questionnaire to see if you have the knowledge and responsibility to be looking after a full team of Pokémon."

"I see. Sounds good to me. I assume I just need to come back here tomorrow then?"

"Certainly. If you'd like, I can arrange a room for you just for tonight. I assume you don't have anywhere to stay?" She asked with a smile.

'Hm. She sure is insightful. Do I look homeless?' Damien had a look at himself properly for the first time since the forest, only now realising he was completely covered in dirt and mud - even his hands weren't left out.

'Guess that answers that.'

A small series of hums resounded from Elgyem, that sounded vaguely like laughter.

"Yes, I'm sure it's amusing to you. How kind of you." Damien sighed, giving Elgyem a look of disappointment like a father would their child.

After a short wait, Nurse Joy informed Damien that his Trainer's License was all ready to go but would be postponed for printing until the Battle Capacity Test had been completed.

Following that, she took him through a door leading into the back of the building to a small room where he would be able to stay for the night. Unsurprisingly, the quality wasn't anything great, but it was certainly better than sleeping outside. A simple single bed with a plain white duvet; a small bedstand near the head of the bed; a small closet right near the door. There was also a window behind the bed which was currently open, presumably to air out the room. Though, a smell that seemed to be present in every hospital ever had stuck around rather persistently. Still, not bad.

Damien turned to Nurse Joy, flashing a

smile. "Looks great! I'll do my best to keep it nice and tidy."

She gave a small bow. "That's alright. Please let me know if you need anything else. I'll come find you in the morning once the League Official arrives." With that, she gave a small nod to both him and Elgyem before walking briskly back towards the front desk.

Damien made his way into the room, not having much else to do tonight. Once Elgyem had entered, he shut the door and turned the lock. He doubted anyone would disturb him here but better to be safe than sorry. He walked over to the bed, seating himself at the foot of it before collapsing backwards onto the soft bedding. It hadn't been that long since he arrived here, but it was the first time in a while he had been able to relax. It wasn't every day you got into a train crash, walked through a forest full of strange creatures and then got attacked by said creatures. It was definitely a new experience, and definitely tiring.

He raised his head as best he could from the bed, peering over at Elgyem who had, at some point, gotten himself on top of the small table beside the bed. He was staring back at Damien. He had told himself that the worries he had could be dealt with at a later stage, but right now it was hard not to think about everything that had happened whilst he was in this small, quiet room. He forced himself up, adjusting himself to sit fully on the bed with his back against the wall. Of course, he took his shoes off before doing so. He wasn't a monster.

"So. Elgyem. You heard everything Nurse Joy said, right? About the 'Battle Capacity Test' and all that jazz?" He asked, attempting to start some sort of conversation with his newfound partner.

The little 'green' man nodded his head. Honestly, he wasn't green. Damien understood the little... pun? Was it a pun? Regardless, he was clearly blue. Not green. Or Maybe like a weird grey?

Damien shook his head, putting away the pointless thoughts.

Vrr-vruum.

"Hm? Oh right. I forgot you can hear me talking to myself. Sorry buddy, you'll just have to get used to that." He said with a small smile.

Elgyem gave a small hum in response, almost dismissively.

"So anyway, what I actually wanted to discuss was the fact that we'll probably be battling together tomorrow. I'm sure you know this already but I've never actually done anything like that. Not outside of the games of cou- Wait. Have you seen all my memories?" Damien asked, with a hint of worry in his voice.

Elgyem's eyes flashed purple for a moment. A series of images flashed in Damien's mind. Big thumbs up. A familiar pair of hands fiddling with a Game Boy Colour. Damien in the shower... Damien posing half-naked in front of his bedroom mirror... That one time his voice broke whilst talking to his crush...

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I get it!" Damien shouted, covering his ears and kicking the air in protest somehow hoping that would somehow stop the powerful psychic creature from invading his brain. Of course, it didn't work.

Another series of vibrating hums resounded from Elgyem, clearly enjoying toying with Damien. Damien1 eventually composed himself, sitting back up on the now crumpled bedsheets. With a small cough, he cleared his throat and did away with his embarrassment.

"So then, you know all about where I'm from, right? You've seen the games and all that jazz, the stuff with Pokémon like you?" He asked.

Elgyem nodded his head.

"That doesn't bother you? Knowing you're like a fictional thing from where I'm from?"

Elgyem shook his head. He projected an image of an old man in a bright red sweater shrugging his shoulders. The image was oddly familiar to Damien, but he couldn't pinpoint it. Though he was certain it was probably some sort of meme from his world.

"Very funny. So is that gonna be your deal now? Messing around using my memories? I'm sure you'll have endless fun with all that. At this point, you probably know my memories better than I do." Damien said with a sigh, dropping his head in defeat.

An image of a large green tick flashed in Damien's head.

"Right. Well, ignoring the horror of that concept, we should probably discuss the plan of action going forward. Especially when it comes to the battle tomorrow. Agreed?"

Elgyem gave a hum of approval.

One hour later. Despite the difficulty the pair found in properly communicating at times, they had managed to produce a checklist of goals to focus on so they could actually make something of themselves.

Damien & Elgyem's List of Goals To Help Them Not Die (Again)

- Get Money! (Tournaments? Beating up kids? Odd jobs?)

- Get Supplies! (Need money first! Camp equipment?)

- Train?

- Meet People/Make Connections (Self-explanatory)

- Gather a Team!

- Stay informed and get on the internet

To be honest. It was a pretty sparse list despite how long it took them to make it. Damien honestly didn't know what he'd need, as the games didn't bother with the survival side of things. The anime had given him some idea of what he might need, but even then it didn't focus on what kind of things Elgyem might require along the way. After that, he'd have to do some research into every Pokémon he acquired along the way. He knew some Pokémon would be impossible for him to capture and properly look after, such as Snorlax, most aquatic Pokémon, and anything bigger than himself. Realistically, his options were limited at the moment. Hopefully, that would change shortly. Damien slid his phone back into his pocket. Its screen may have been cracked but it was still functional for now and the notes app on it served its purpose. He'd probably have to resort to good ol' pen and paper soon though once it runs out of juice.

"Now then little guy, we should probably discuss our plan of attack for tomorrow. I've only seen a little bit of what you can do but I'm pretty much in the dark regarding your actual capability." Damien said. It was pretty unlikely they'd get very far unless they were on the same page, and it'd probably look weird if Elgyem just battled on his own - even if he did seem fully capable of doing so.

"So. I don't have a Pokédex, so I don't know what 'moves' you know. Any way we can figure that out?" He asked, expecting that Elgyem no doubt had a solution.

Elgyem sat himself up from the edge of the table he was on, hopping onto the bed beside him. He waddled over to where Damien was sitting and placed a hand on his forehead. Elgyem's eyes glowed purple for a moment before a wave of information rushed into Damien's head. It probably only took a fraction of a second before the information had been forcefully downloaded into his brain. Not only did it transfer knowledge of Elgyem's current capabilities, but he was also provided with firsthand visual memories of Elgyem utilising his abilities, as well as the 'semantics' behind each move: how long it took to do, how much energy it took out of Elgyem, etc. The information was so thorough that, if Damien had the actual power that Elgyem did, he could probably perform the moves himself.

Oddly enough, following whatever logic the world of Pokémon followed, he even knew the names of the moves Elgyem had. Somehow it seemed even Elgyem recognised his abilities had official titles granted to them and would likely be able to follow your usual battle instructions. Regardless, it would make this whole process much easier. Damien snapped out of his thought, not realising that a string of drool had begun to fall from his mouth.

"Well... That was certainly one solution." He said as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"So let's see what we're working with." Damien closed his eyes and went over the information provided once more. "We've got Confusion, Imprison, Hypnosis, Light Screen and... Teleport? You can teleport?" He asked with some surprise.

Elgyem simply nodded.

"Could you have teleported us to town this whole time?"

Elgyem shook his head.

"Hm. Well, I'm both disappointed and relieved. At least you didn't make us walk for no reason. Still, I think I should be impressed by what you've got here. I'm not exactly an expert on this kind of thing but from what I can tell it's a strong start. Although, your use of 'Imprison' is certainly different from what I remember in the games." He said, cupping his chin in thought.

It looked sort of like a transparent cube purple cube. From what he saw, it had actual tangibility and was quite literally used to imprison things. Far different from the description in the games. Arguably, it was more useful in this form.

"Alright well, it's hard to prepare for an enemy we're unaware of, but let's do our best to strategize why don't we? Maybe we can get some actual practice in tomorrow morning." Damien said with a smile, picking up Elgyem and placing him between his legs.

Elgyem looked up at him and gave a small hum and nod.

Damien lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. It was much later into the night now. The moon had already risen far into the sky and was intent on shining as much light as possible through the window next to him, the cheap, thin curtains doing little to block out the light. He had spent some time discussing things with Elgyem, attempting to form a sort of strategy of attack. There wasn't any set plan they could even come up with when they didn't know what they were facing, but they could at least get themselves on the same page. They both agreed it would be best if Elgyem followed his lead, to show that Damien was, in fact, a trainer and knew how to instruct a Pokémon. He had told Elgyem he would take full responsibility if they ended up losing, much to Elgyem's approval.

However, now the time to sleep had come. Damien's day had been, quite frankly, hectic. He wasn't sure what to think of the whole thing. It was entirely possible he'd just go to sleep and suddenly wake up on the train. Maybe he was already late to his first real day of university. Maybe he was about to be woken up by some train conductor yelling at him to get off the train. Maybe... Maybe he was knocked out cold on the side of a train track. Not dead, just, unconscious. Yet despite that feeling, he was fairly certain that the current situation - where he was right now - was absolutely real. Every bandage and sting he felt reminded him of such. He was honestly quite tired. Yet despite that, he just couldn't sleep. It'd probably be stranger if he could just close his eyes and just pass out.

He died.

He died, yet here was alive. It didn't make sense. None of this made sense. Unfortunately, he couldn't just sit around and wallow in self-pity and sadness. He actually had to get up tomorrow and do something about it. He couldn't even enjoy every kid's dream without worry. Instead, he had to go forward thinking about his family, his friends, and his future that likely will never come to be. Would going through some kind of Pokémon Master-esque adventure erase all these feelings? Probably not. He had already told himself earlier that if he was gonna do all this, he'd at least do it full force without holding back.

To take a phrase from a certain old man, if you're gonna do something - do it with a Don!

a small smile formed on Damien's lips. He was really tired.

Morning eventually arrived. Bright sunlight had replaced the somewhat soothing moonlight that pierced through the room's window. Even if Damien had wanted to go back to sleep, it likely would have been impossible. Nurse Joy arrived not long after he had woken up, dropping off a new set of clothes. His old ones had unfortunately been torn to near shreds. She then directed him to a small washroom down the corridor where he could get himself a much-needed shower. He had gone to sleep last night without even thinking of properly cleaning himself up. Pretty awful, and definitely not his usual way of doing things.

It seemed Elgyem had already been awake for some time and had managed to find a book titled 'A Comprehensive Guide to Pokémon Medical Care'. Certainly an interesting choice for a morning read, but somehow it seemed fitting for the small psychic Pokémon. Leaving Elgyem to his own devices, Damien made his way to the shower room before he wasted any more precious time before the League Official arrived.

It wasn't long before Damien returned to the room with a new spring in his step. Having thoroughly washed himself, he not only felt better but definitely smelt better. Although, it didn't feel great having to run from the washroom with just a towel on. It's fortunate that the only employees here seemed to be Nurse Joy and a team of Chanseys. He leant down to the pile of clothes that the nurse had left for him, picking up the pieces one by one to see what he'd been given. Honestly, he wasn't sure where she had gotten the clothes from or how he knew his measurements, but he didn't really care too much. Maybe she'd gotten a rough idea whilst she was bandaging him up? Regardless, he was pleased with the choices she made. He slipped his legs into a pair of black cargo trousers with plenty of pockets that tapered at the ankle. Next was a simple but well-fitted white tank top. Damien was fortunate that his body was at least somewhat built, or at least his fat percentage was low enough to where he looked somewhat athletic. He'd definitely have to work on that, but at least he looked good. Fortunately, his off-brand Converse had survived the day before and with a quick clean up was ready to go. All in all, it was a pretty simple outfit but paired with his accessories he reckon he'd catch a few glances from the locals. If he was gonna be a trainer then he'd no doubt be on camera, and that meant he had to dress to impress!

After finally putting a stop to looking at himself in the mirror, he left the room with Elgyem in tow - who, much to his disappointment, had to leave the book behind.

The pair reached the front desk once more, speaking to Nurse Joy briefly. She helpfully informed them that the official would be here in two to three hours, as they were currently running late due to an 'unforeseen issue' on Route 2. With a quick thank you and polite wave goodbye, the pair left the Pokécenter. It was vital that they used this precious time to get some practice in before the big fight. Before all of that though, they needed some supplies... which meant getting some money. Thankfully, Nurse Joy had provided breakfast for the two, though the quality wasn't anything to write home about. Without many options, Damien figured it would be best to simply ask around and see if anyone needed help.

Fortunately, it didn't take long. Elgyem's psychic abilities seemed to be more than enough for a quick sales pitch to your everyday worker. It seemed not everyone around here had a Machoke or some other muscular Pokémon to do their heavy lifting. Thankfully, they had run into an elderly couple who had just begun moving into a new house for their retirement and they were more than happy to pay a few bucks to save themselves dislocating their hip. The newly founded 'D&E Moving CompanyTM' managed to score a whole $50. What a generous old man. Probably. Actually, he wasn't exactly sure how much that could buy him. In the games, Pokéballs were 200 Pokédollars. So then, presumably, he just earned enough to buy 1/4 of a Pokéball. Damien was suddenly a lot less excited about his hard-earned cash.

Elgyem produced a flat hum.

"Sorry, your hard-earned cash. Good job buddy." Damien bent over and patted Elgyem on the head, to which he responded with a likely disapproving hum.

"Well, we've got a whole $50. Let's see what we can get with that, huh?" He said, stuffing the notes into one of his many pockets.

The pair eventually found a rather small store that sold the kind of gear they were looking for. The town was definitely new but still had plenty to provide for your average new trainer. Looking around at the stock, Damien quickly came to realise that compared to your normal pokéball everything else seemed pretty cheap. Either that or specialised pokémon technology was a severe outlier. Damien managed to acquire a decently sized olive-coloured backpack; a sleeping bag; a small pot with a foldable handle paired with foldable cutlery; a portable stove; some tinned food; and a few other necessities one might need when camping or hiking. All in all, it had only cost Damien all of his money! It had actually cost slightly more than what he had on him, but the owner kindly gave him a discount once he offered to have Elgyem move a few heavy boxes down from a set of shelves. Damien's curiosity had gotten the better of him and he risked sounding like an idiot when he asked if they sold any bags with more space than was obvious from looking at it. Surprisingly, the owner knew exactly what he was talking about but politely informed Damien that they had none in stock, and even if they did it was far, far out of his price range.

With his pride shattered and his pockets empty of any sweet sweet cash, Damien left the store with Elgyem following just behind. The two of them wasted no time in returning down the dirt path they had previously travelled, intending to find somewhere in the forest they could train in. The supplies they had at the moment were probably a bit overkill for how far they were going, but it was better to get it out of the way now so that they could set off once Damien had acquired a license.

They probably only had a couple of hours until the official arrived.

"Alright, Elgyem, Imprison!" Damien shouted, throwing a small rock into the air roughly in Elgyem's direction.

The alien-like Pokémon's eyes shined bright purple, as he drew his hands together in the direction of the rock. Shortly after, a small transparent purple cube materialized out of thin air. Unfortunately, the cube narrowly missed the rock, allowing it to sail harmlessly back down to the ground.

"No worries, no worries. It was way closer that time!" Damien said with a smile.

They had only been here for about half an hour but with the plans made the night before, they were able to start practising almost immediately. They both agreed that Elgyem was already quite competent with Confusion as shown through his beatdown of that poor Vigoroth. Hypnosis was at a fairly satisfactory level and it was quite difficult to practice with it anyway without a test subject, and Damien wasn't really up for trying out for the position. As such, they had agreed it would be best to try to improve Elgyem's use of Imprision - specifically on moving targets. From what information Elgyem had provided Damien, he almost never used it. Damien would have liked to practice Light Screen as well but he wasn't exactly capable of producing flames or a shadow ball. It did have some defence against physical attacks, but it was only really capable of stopping a small rock before breaking. Getting Elgyem to learn Reflect is definitely something they'll need to add to the list. With most of Elgyem's moves already being good to go or unpracticable, that only left Imprison and Teleport. With what resources they had, the training Elgyem was put through essentially entailed switching between Imprison and Teleport - with Damien either throwing a rock in his general direction or right at his head. He'd either need to try and trap the moving rock or react quickly enough to Teleport out of the way. Damien honestly wasn't sure how Imprison would hold up against anything other than a rather large stone, but he was fairly confident Elgyem would make it work. He was pretty happy with their training regimen for the time being. Elgyem definitely wasn't the fastest Pokémon, so nailing his evasive manoeuvres through Teleport was definitely a top priority and especially making sure he could use it over and over again without running out of steam.

For the time being, he'd probably only manage a little more than five consecutively. In the end, it'd entirely depend on how much energy he depleted utilising his other moves. The dream scenario would be Elgyem one-hit KO'ing the opponent, but that seemed unlikely.

"Alright Elgyem, let's keep this up for another hour at least, okay?" Damien said with a grunt as he threw another rock, this time directly at Elgyem's head.

XX One Hour Later XX

The two of them had finished their training for the time being, giving themselves half an hour to rest and recuperate before making a short walk back into town. They made a quick beeline towards the Pokémon Center, entering through the sliding doors once more. He walked up to the front desk where Nurse Joy was sitting, making himself known to the distracted woman. After a brief conversation, the nurse led the pair back down a familiar hallway and out through a door at the other side of the building. It opened up onto a dirt path which took only a few seconds to travel before it broke into a small, thin staircase leading down the side of the hill the town had built itself on. From the top of the staircase, Damien could see a large, familiar battle arena painted with white lines down at the bottom as well as a tall, suited man waiting to the side.

After making his way down, Nurse Joy brought him over and introduced the man as James Salt. He was a tall, tanned and fairly handsome man with long dark hair that had been neatly slicked back. He wore a brown pinstripe suit with matching slacks, with a clean white shirt underneath, though he had opted to forego a tie and instead left the shirt unbuttoned at the top to reveal a decent portion of his chest. His shoes were noticeably polished, allowing the brown leather to shine brightly in the sunlight.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Salt. I'm Damien." He said, presenting his hand.

"Indeed. Nice to meet you as well, Mr. Harte. Though, I insist you simply call me James." James said, flashing a practised smile oozing with charisma.

"Then I insist you call me Damien in return." Damien responded, flashing a small smile of his own in return. It would probably be best to act as friendly as possible with the man responsible for his future career.

"Ha! Not a problem at all Damien." James said, looking down at his watch. "Well, seeing as I'm already late, for which I do sincerely apologize, I believe it would be best if we get straight to business. Wouldn't you agree?" He said, his previously friendly face turning into a look of sheer determination and excitement.

Author's Notes!

End of Chapter 2. Hooray. This one was slightly longer than the first chapter as I wanted to try and get to the fun bit of the story as fast as possible (Though hopefully, it didn't feel rushed.)

Anyways. I'd like to thank everyone who's already given my story a follow or a favourite despite there only being 1 chapter. Also, a thank you to the one person who left a review. I'd really appreciate it if people would take a minute to leave a review - even if it's just a simple 'I like it'. This is my first time doing any sort of writing project like this and I'd love to hear what people think, whether it be positive or negative. Obviously, try and keep the criticism constructive, but feel free to tell me if it's awful if you really need to. Don't worry if you don't wanna, it is what it is. Also, is 5k a good length for a chapter? I really don't know. If someone could let me know if that's too short or too long I'd love to know. Otherwise, I'll probably just keep it at that sort of amount going forward.

With that out of the way, for those interested in how often I'll update this, I'd probably estimate a chapter every few days. I'm really not the most consistent person but I'm far more likely to work on this now that I've seen that at least some people are interested. I wasn't even expecting to see any sort of response at all so at this point I feel I owe it to people to keep it going.

I have a fair few things planned out, but some of this I'm just making up as I go along (Perhaps you could tell when I started talking about money and the economy.) If something is annoying or boring I'll probably just wave it off. I'm here to write about pokemon battles and adventuring and talking to cool characters, not the socioeconomic state of Unova. Sorry if that's a problem for anyone.

But I digress. Damien and Elgyem have started practising! They've got supplies and no money! Things are looking up, sort of, and Damien has suppressed the depressing thoughts for the time being - just like any responsible citizen. Hooray!

Next Chapter - Battling with Mr. Salt (Who is he? Spoilers: just a dude I made up)

See you soon! :)