Skitty and I walked for what seemed to be around half an hour before reaching the entrance of the quaint town. My eyes widened as I took in the gorgeous traditional Japanese architecture throughout, and I let myself stand there looking like an idiot for minutes until Skitty lightly tackled my leg.
"Oh, right. Thank you for leading me here, Skitty," I say as I reach down and pet the small Pokémon, "You can go back to your family now, I'm sure they're worried about you."
At first, Skitty is confused for some reason. Then, after it realizes something, its ears droop and it looks down at the ground, looking like I'd just ate its mother in front of it or something.
"W-what's wrong?"
It trudges over and "Mreow!"s before pressing a button on one of the Pokeballs on his belt, sucking itself into it without any sign of struggle. I just stare at the ball in shock, not even noticing it until now, before pressing the button myself and letting Skitty out.
"Did...did you just catch yourself?"
Skitty's response is to tilt its head to the side, making me sigh and reach down to pet it behind its ears.
"Did you want to be in your ball, or...?"
Skitty responded with a nod, so I obliged and returned it to its ball. As I looked back toward the town, my eyes widened as a girl with an extremely strange teal hair color paired with an even stranger style ran toward me. Her twin pigtails casually defied gravity as they pointed upward.
"Hey, you! Wait a sec!"
My eyes widened as I realized she was yelling at me, going shock still when she skidded to a stop right in front of me.
"Are you new in town? Are you a trainer? I can show you around if you want, I'll be a trainer soon too."
Her eyes shone with wonder as she looked at the sole Pokeball on my belt, which painfully reminded me of my situation.
"Uhhh...no. I'm not a trainer...yet? I want to be one...is there a place I can rest or something nearby? I'm...lost."
The girl's eyes widened as I finished my on the spot lie, almost immediately turning and sprinting the way she came, making me follow hurriedly.
We ran for what felt like five minutes before she suddenly stopped in front of a white building that stuck out like a sore thumb amid all of the similar looking houses surrounding it. I caught myself just before slamming into the girl, panting heavily and glaring at her back for making me run like that.
"Ok, just wait out here for a sec, I'm sure the professor will know what to do!"
She walked in as if she owned the place and left me outside, giving me time to think.
'Where is this?'
I didn't recognize this town at all, and I was a pretty big Pokémon fan. The girl looked familiar, but not enough to allow me to pinpoint which region I'm in.
I look down to the ball at my hip and sigh.
'Am I in Hoenn? No, Skitty appears in almost every region, I can't narrow my location down just with it.'
I continue to lose myself in a web of thoughts that can't currently be answered with the information at hand, trying to distract myself from the insanity that I'm beginning to think I have.
'I didn't take the time to look around much after the girl bolted, so I don't know the name of this town either. There was probably a sign or something.'
My thoughts were interrupted by the door opening again, the girl walking out with a smile and a tall, lanky man in a lab coat following behind her. His expression was curious as he stared at me through his glasses, making me look away nervously.
"This is Professor Elm! He said he should be able to help you...oh yeah. I forgot to ask for your name! I'm sorry, that was rude of me." Before I can give her my name, her eyes widen as if she suddenly realizes something and begins talking again. "Where are my manners today? I'm sorry, my name is Kris. What's yours?"
I stare for a second, taking in her appearance for a second time with a hitch of breath. "C-Connor."
"Kids, it's wonderful that you two are getting to know each other, but I'm a busy man. Connor, was it? You say you're lost?"
I look up at the tall man and nod slowly, trying to hide the surprise that I'm feeling.
"Alright. We'll get to the Pokémon center and check for any injuries you may have. Is there a Pokémon with you?"
I slowly nod in confirmation.
"Let's get a move on, then."
We set a calm pace as Kris and I walked shoulder to shoulder behind the professor. I took the time to try and dig up old memories, hoping to find as much information on the Johto region as I could.
'I'm in the Johto Region. That much is obvious.' I think as I look at the back of the professor's head. 'Johto...that's probably the region I know the least about. I remember Kris being a protagonist in the games...and the gym leader's names. I know nothing about the story, or other important characters like the Elite four. I don't even know who the evil team is.'
I decide to save these thoughts for a later time, and look around at the beautiful town I'm in. People and Pokémon alike walk the streets with way too much pep in their steps. I see a little kid who can't be older than five walking with his Growlithe, another child with a Ledyba playfully chasing him around a small park, and a pale old lady being led by a Misdreavus down the sidewalk with a single glance to my right. Resolutely, I look back to Professor Elm's perfectly ironed lab coat and never let my eyes shift off of his back.
We don't have to walk for much longer before we are at the Pokémon center, and I blink in astonishment as I see it. In the games, and even the anime on most occasions, the Pokémon center looks like an average sized building from the outside. This one almost looks like a miniature hotel. It has two stories, and the upper one is slightly larger than the lower one.
"Connor, are you alright? Do you know if you were hurt?"
I blink and my eyes come back to focus, making me notice that both the Professor and Kris were looking at me with worry.
"Uh, no, I'm not hurt. Just...lost."
The professor regards me with a hint of suspicion that I barely hold a gulp at before turning and opening the door to the Pokémon center.
"Sorry about that, Connor. He's a bit cranky after I made him get up with no Coffee."
Kris says, with an easy going smile as we walk into the center behind the Professor. I try to offer my own back, but I can tell it's awkward just from how it feels on my face.
"Nurse Joy, Connor here is a lost child in need of help. Please allow me to energize before we have the discussion." The man levels Kris with a glare, but there's no heat to it. Kris just rubs the back of her head sheepishly in return.
The professor's words snap me out of my funk as I see the pink haired woman smiling down at me.
"Oh my, how did you get lost dear? Tell me what happened?"
She shoots the professor a look so quick that I almost don't catch it before he and Kris walk out of the building.
"Uhh," My mind works a mile a minute trying to flesh out the shitty excuse for a story I gave Kris. "I-I was trying to catch a Pokémon with my friend Skitty, but another one came out of nowhere and made..." I looked down to the ball when I realized I still didn't know the small kitten's gender. "Her...run away. It started chasing her and the other Pokémon started chasing me, so we got separated and now I...I don't know where I am." My voice gets quiet and wavers near the end of it, the words too accurate for my current situation.
"Oh...I'm so sorry dear. We're in Newbark Town. Is your Skitty doing alright?"
I look down to the Pokeball and it wiggles a bit, as if nodding.
"Um...yes. I...used a potion on her."
The nurse beckoned me over as she sat at the computer, typing something in before beginning her questioning.
"What city are you from?"
Wow. First question and I already fail the test. I struggle to come up with something for what has to be a suspicious amount of time, but Nurse Joy's smile doesnt so much as twitch.
"Um...I don't know?"
My lips rise involuntarily with the terrible lie, an extremely obvious tell that even people who didn't know me could see through. Nurse Joy simply types something on the keyboard before moving on.
"Do you have a parent or guardian, and do you have their contacts?"
I shake my head no at both questions, afraid to open my mouth and reveal the fact that I'm going insane.
"Do...do you want to become a Pokémon trainer."
I look up and am shocked to see that the Nurse's smile has dropped into a frown for the first time since meeting her, and am shaken by it growing when I nod my head yes.
"There are a couple of options for you, Connor. I recommend going back to the lab and checking in with the Professor. There's always something needed to be done in that place, and you'll have free lodging. That girl, Kris, is taking one of the sponsored trainer spots for the lab, and getting in Elm's good graces can't hurt if you want to be a trainer. Alternatively, there are a few free rooms in the Center, but understand that it is not a permanent placement. Finally...I want you to be truthful with me, Connor."
I nodded nervously, too afraid to even try lying again.
"Did you run away from home?"
I was confused for a solid fifteen seconds before I realized that me obviously lying about where I'm from and stuttering when asked about my parents made me being a runaway the obvious conclusion.
"Yes...p-please don't make me go back. My dad is mean to me and my mom...he hit her so...s-so..."
The tears spilling from my eyes were not fake. I didn't know how people faked crying, but I wasn't one of the people who could do it. I'd always felt as if I'd abandoned my mom by running away back then, even if the police found me a day later. That's when my parents got a divorce.
"I ran, and ran, and...and took Skitty with me. She helped me through the forest and...I ended up here."
Nurse Joy's eyes were narrowed in anger as she typed up what had to be five full sentences before turning to me, nothing but sympathy in her gaze.
"Don't worry, I won't make you go back there. If you tell me your address, I can make sure your mother is safe. Can you help me with that?"
I look at the ground, trying to hide the rising of my lips.
"I don't know the address...I'm sorry."
The nurse frowned for a second before she spoke again.
"Can you tell me what city you're from no-" Before she could finish the words, I answered.
I cursed myself in my head as I interrupted the kind Nurse. "I'm sorry, I don't know anything like that...it was just the city. I don't know what the name is...and, can I register Skitty? Is there some kind of paperwork I have to do to become a trainer?"
Nurse Joy looked a bit startled, but gave up her line of questioning with a barely audible exasperated sigh.
"Yes. Sit on that couch over there while I register Skitty please," She held out her hand and I dropped the ball in it, making her turn and place it in a strange device before continuing. "If you're not going to state your address, your parent's contacts, or even a place of origin, I'm afraid I have to contact the League themselves in order for you to become a Pokémon trainer. In the meantime, go back to the Professor's lab and tell him Nurse Joy is getting your license for you."
I smiled widely as I thanked the Nurse, grabbed Skitty's newly registered Pokeball and walked out of the Pokémon center.
As I took in the beautiful sight of what I now knew was Newbark town, I sighed in relief.
"Thank go-Arceus that worked."
AN
Chapter 2!! Thanks for reading. I plan to pump out lots of chapters with all the free time I have right now. Bye y'all!