As Easy as Hard as it Gets
Hey, this is my first story I've properly written, I have zero experience doing any of this. My only real experience with doing this is writing essays so any criticism is welcome.
Should probably say the line: Pokémon is property of Gamefreak and Nintendo i do not claim Pokémon as my own
Chapter 1 The Wanderer
"Have a good night though!"
"Yeah, you too..." *boop boop boop*
'Well, that could have gone better...'
"*sigh* ah well can't be helped now."
The young man scrunched up his face trying his best to wipe the memory from his mind, his parents had called and well... they were less than happy.
"They're the ones who forced me to take this shit course, 'oh study anything you want' yeah i can really feel the freedom when you railroaded me into every math course possible ha!" he wipes a hand down his face " I should've just stuck to cooking... shit" His mental argument over the boy focuses on a more pressing issue.
Looking over at the laptop next to him, he saw the time 8:12 'Yeah I can make it if I haul ass I need some milk bad, i think i have enough extra to get a little snack too yeah... maybe tonight won't be all bad' Finished his mental justifications he pulls on his jacket and shoes and makes his way out into the world.
"Will that be all for today?" The old man behind the counter said while shifting his glasses, this boy was new.
A greasy unwashed pale face, lazy brown eye with prominent bags, and unkept brown hair in good need of a wash and an unassuming bland jacket just slightly off due to the unknown text all wrapped around a slightly smaller than average stature. The boy wouldn't stand out in a crowd but there ain't that many crowds around here, so he might as well be a sore thumb.
"Hm? Yeah, that's all…"
All the lad picked up was a few rations, hardly enough for himself much less a Pokémon so obviously not a trainer.
"You heading somewhere kid?" The kid stays silent for a minute before taking out a map.
"I'm heading here" he says while pointing at Lumiose city.
"Lumiose eh?" Says the old man stroking his chin "You're a few days off you sure this'll be enough?" He says while gesturing towards the boy's stash of food.
"I'll make it work" says the boy in the most unsure voice he could possibly muster, prompting the old man to slip another ration pack into the pile while the boy was digging through his wallet.
"Whatever you say lad, just be careful. the road ain't safe, especially for youngsters like you with no Pokémon." Causing the boy to freeze up a bit before pulling out the cash owed.
After putting away all his rations into a ragged backpack the boy made his way towards the door.
"Hey boy what's your name? I'd like to keep an eye out if ya go missing."
He turns back the face the old man and says "Alex Sturges" the old man merely nods acknowledgment before turning to order the counter behind him. Alex, in turn, opens the shop door and steps out into the world, back on the road again.
'I can't believe it's been almost a month already' was the first thought on Alex's mind after exiting the small shop. The old man's words had reminded him of how many days he'd been on the road, the people in the last town had told him he was a week and a half from Lumiose then the town before that, two weeks, between the constant need to find odd jobs to maintain a bare minimum amount of food and the shock of actually seeing Pokémon…
Oh, how he'll remember that moment for the rest of his days. Waking up in the middle of the woods, a far cry from the dingy apartment he fell asleep in, finding himself on the outside of a small farmers village. Nearly had a heart attack from seeing a Ampharos advertising for... something still couldn't read the language yet... problems for later me 'I swear to god- er arcus? or- whatever point being I'm pretty lucky considering the situation I'm in, as far as I've seen that kid friendly BS wasn't just for that E10 rating so I should be decently safe as long as I don't put myself directly in the line of fire… god forbid I ended up in one of those gritty Pokémon universes where everything wants to kill ya every Pokémon i've seen so far has been eating nothing but berries' The droning of various Pokémon names called his attention for a second, looking over he saw a pair of Zigzagoon chasing each others' tails, the raccoon Pokémon look up at Alex and tilt their heads "Zig?"
They briefly tense up upon seeing the human interloper before taking off deeper into the forest.
'Still hard to believe these little guys are sentient… ah well no bother I'll sort everything out once I get to the city, make some money talk to professor sycamore… assuming he's even in charge since year 3499 means NOTHING to me' mused the young adult while continuing on his way. 'Yeah, this'll all work out in the end…'
Smoothing out the creases in his adidas jacket he presses on, hopeful to make good time before the sun goes down. He could carry on through the night, but he was still too scared. Who knows what kinda Pokémon come out at night, there were no more level limits or anything so even the starter routes could be a meat grinder if you weren't careful that's assuming that Pokémon even take mortal damage in battle... again more questions for later, so far the only people he's met were older people who've settled down, their adventures, much less their battle days had long since passed them by.
'I mean any things better than studying, right? Wonder if I'll get to see a Pokémon battle soon'.
Hey again! No clue what to put here but I'm gonna try my best, been reading through Pokémon fics for a few years thought I'd throw my hat into the ring and give it a try.