Akari led Rei to a small hut with a straw ceiling, which was full of wood and what he guessed were crafting materials. The young girl walked in front of a small bench sitting on the ground.
"You can use the workbench at the craftworks anytime you need to make an item in the village" She explained, pointing at the object. "I'll supply what you need to make your first Poké-Balls once you are ready to begin. Call it my way of saying congratulations for joining us! Just spend the money the captain gave you on clothes, or whatever you think it's best"
Not wasting this... money on clothes I can get with a simple illusion. None of them would probably fit me anyway.
Rei walked to the workbench and kneeled down. "So, are you ready?"
The boy nodded. "Alright then! Let's start simple. Since you already have some Poké-Balls the professor gave you, try making just one ball. You'll need..." She rumaged through her satchel. "These!" She took out two things. One was a brown colored fruit-like object, an apricorn. The other one was a similarly colored stone. Rei didn't know what that was.
"For each Poké-Ball, you'll need one apricorn and one tumblestone. Here, take them"
Rei grabbed the two ingredients. "Alright, so the first step is to grab the tools in the workbench. You'll have to empty the inside of the apricorn, so do it however you like, though I recommend using a knife and a spoon. Be careful not to break it!"
"That seems like a tough task to do!" Cyndaquil exclaimed.
"Not break it? Yeah, that's impossible for me..." Shinx sighed.
"I'm sure he can do it! And even if he doesn't, he'll learn eventually" Eevee finished, giving Rei an encouraging pat.
"Have you ever tried to hollow an apricorn?" The electric type asked the normal type.
"Back where we come from, there aren't many apricorn trees. We've only seen very few of them so we kept them as good luck charms. At least until someone lost his own in the snow"
Zoroark sighed under his illusion.
"Don't worry about it, Rei! No one has gotten it perfectly the first time!" Akari replied to his sigh, not knowing the actual reason.
Putting his eyes back at the workbench, Rei grabbed one of the sharp tools and made a small hole in one side of the apricorn. "That's it! Now just use the spoon to remove the inside and hollow it!" Akari exclaimed.
"That one over there" Eevee explained, pointing to what looked like a really small bowl at the end of a handle. Rei picked it up and inserted in the hole he had carved before.
This is just like carving ice... I've done this a thousand times with my own claws, so why does this feel more difficult?
Slowly but surely, Rei took the meaty, and dare he say appetizing, interior of the apricorn. His Pokémon partners looked at it with drooling mouths. Rei couldn't help but accept that it was true that the smell was good.
"I think your Pokémon want some of the apricorn" Akari chuckled.
"I've never eaten an actual apricorn! I always had to wait until they were spoiled to open them! It smells so good..." Shinx said.
"Same here! Oh, I can only imagine how good it will taste after I toast it..." Cyndaquil added.
Eevee simply cleared her throat. "Yeah, it smells delicious, but there's a small problem" She paused. The two Pokémon on Rei's shoulder looked at her. "There's just one apricorn for the three of us"
Sensing the incoming fight, Rei took the apricorn's inside and split it in three pieces. Everyone got a really small amount, but they got something at least.
"You don't want anything, Poké-human?" Cyndaquil offered him.
"Don't you think it's a bit weird to eat an apricorn in front of another human?" Eevee sighed, munching her piece.
"Yeah, I've never seen any humans eating apricorns" Shinx agreed, eating his part in one bite. "Delicious..." He sighed.
Akari chuckled. "They look like they liked it! According to the professor, Pokémon usually wait until the apricorn spoils to be able to break the hard skin they have, and that makes it not taste as good as it should! But let's not entertain ourselves any further. The next step is to crack the hollow apricorn in half"
Rei nodded. "Good. I suggest you use the knife and you cut very carefully. This is the only apricorn I have on me at the moment"
Guessing that the knife was the small sharp tool, Rei picked it and started cutting the apricorn. It wasn't a straight cut by any means, but it would work for now. He ended with two, not very symmetrical, apricorn pieces.
"Not bad for your first ever craft! Alright, now you need to use the tumblestone as a hinge to connect the two halves"
Rei looked at Akari and raised a brow. "That sounds difficult, doesn't it? I was just like you when I first crafted a Poké-Ball. The tumblestone needs to be grinded and mixed with water to make some sort of paste that you later pour into these molds" She picked two metal piece with different forms. Both resembled the hinge and the lock-like metal piece of the front of the Poké-Balls Rei already had. "Just grab this mortar and pestle"
Rei grabbed the weird looking bowl and stick. "Just put the tumblestone inside and use the pestle to break it apart until it's dust"
Just breaking a stone? Crafting looks so easy so far.
Rei grabbed the pestle and started grinding. It was hard at first, but the tumblestone eventually started breaking into smaller and easier to break pieces, until there was almost no resistance and finally, until only brown dust remained inside the mortar. "Perfect! Now just mix it with water! There should be a bucket full of it around here..."
"Found it!" Shinx yelled, walking to a wooden bucket full of water with a cup next to it.
"Seems like having your Pokémon partners out of their balls has some perks..." The girl mumbled. "Anyway, half a cup of water should be enough for this" She added, walking to the water and filling the cup. "This water is collected from the rain, so we don't have to worry about a source. Come on, the last steps are the easiest ones!"
Rei poured the water inside the mortar, filling it. He then picked the spoon again and started mixing. "Now keep going until a paste is formed"
Rei kept mixing for a few minutes until the brown colored water slowly turned more and more solid. Finally, a paste was formed inside the mortar.
Woah... Humans are really incredible! I never would have thought of something like this!
"Very well, Rei! Normally, something like this shouldn't happen when you mix a stone's powder with water, but for some reason, tumblestone just does this! It's very handy" She explained, picking another tool from the workbench. "Now, you have to use this spatula to pour the mix into the molds. Since this is your first time, I'll help you, but remember that you may also need to craft in the wild! There's a workbench in every camp out there in the region, so you'll have everything you need. And even if you are not in a camp, I'll give you something later that will help you at it! Some things you may have to search for alternatives, though"
Akari picked one of the molds and put it on the workbench, pinning it firmly. Alright, now use some of the paste to fill the mold, but be careful not to spill it out! If the paste is sticking to the mortar, just use the spatula to push it down. Come on, try it!"
With some difficulty (and with a few complaints coming from Eevee due to the movement that ended up causing her to slid down to the ground), Rei managed to squeeze the paste into the molds. It was just barely enough for the two pieces.
"Now we just need to let it dry! It won't take too long though. When the paste is not being manipulated, it dries pretty quickly. It also turns into a more metallic color, no matter the tumblestone type"
"There's more types?!" Eevee yelled Rei's exact thoughts.
Akari chuckled once again. "Yes, I know. Incredible isn't it? There's the black tumblestone and the sky tumblestone, apart from the brown colored one that we just call tumblestone. I'll show you another time" She told the normal type, to which she nodded enthusiastically.
Rei looked at the molds again and he saw that the paste was now solid. The pieces were ready now. "Now, very carefully, remove the pieces from the molds"
Once that was done, Akari picked the hinge piece. "This is the hinge. You should paste it wherever you want the back part to be, since as you can see..." She folded the piece. It wasn't because the material was soft, it was because the two pieces weren't completely connected to each other, and they could change their rotation. "This is a completely hand-crafted hinge! And a pretty good one for being your first one! Have you done this before?"
Rei shook his head. "Well, you certainly seem to have a talent for this too! Let's see how these last steps go! Now, you can see how both of the pieces have some sort of rail in them. You need to insert the two apricorn halves inside them" She left the hinge piece and grabbed the lock. "I suggest you start with this one. Choose what you want to be the front part, and insert the piece there" She explained, giving the piece to Rei.
Following the instructions, Rei inserted the lock in one of the apricorn's halves and did the same with the hinge. He then finished the craft with inserting the last half in the other side of the hinge.
It was done.
"Perfect! That's a pretty good try for your first time!" Akari commended. "I'm sure you've noticed that the Poké-Balls you've been given don't look at all like the one you just crafted"
The boy looked down to his newly crafted artifact. True to Akari's words, the Poké-Ball he just made looked just like an apricorn would, but with the two metallic pieces putting together the halves, in contrast to the ones he was given that looked more polished, and were painted red and white. "Well, that's simply because the makers of those Poké-Balls polish and paint the apricorn before starting to craft them, but this one you made is perfectly valid too!"
The three Pokémon that accompanied Rei took a look at the Poké-Ball. "That doesn't look like a Poké-Ball at all" Shinx said.
"Yeah, it's just an apricorn with some metal pieces" Cyndaquil added.
"Are you really sure it will work?" Eevee asked.
By the face Rei made, she was sure that meant 'no'. Akari seemed to pick up on what it was said, and gave a reassuring smile. "You are reluctant, aren't you? Don't worry. The apricorn won't do anything by itself, but the tumblestone paste gives it some sort of weird properties, so it should work perfectly. The Pokémon inside may be a bit more uncomfortable than in polished Poké-Balls, but I'm sure it won't make too much of a difference"
Rei still looked with uncertainity at the hand crafted device. He decided he would just store it in case it was really necessary.
Suddenly, someone interrupted. "Oho! That's some fine craftsmanship!" The two turned around and their eyes met with the professor, who stood as jolly as ever. "Hard to believe this was your first time stepping up to the workbench, my boy!" Laventon walked a bit closer to the duo. "You'll recall, of course, that Pokémon possess the odd power to shrink themselves down. With the Poké-Balls we craft and the odd properties of the tumblestone, we can make use of that power to catch them! All so that more Pokémon species can be duly recorded in a Pokédex"
"Wait, Pokémon have the power to shrink themselves?" Cyndaquil exclaimed after hearing the professor's explanation.
"Well... there has to be an explanation for how we can go inside Poké-Balls and humans can't, right?" Eevee answered, confused.
"Yeah, but a power to shrink ourselves? And you're telling me it's only used when we get caught? That's so lame!" Shinx whinned.
Rei simply frowned. So that's how Poké-Balls really work... I get why everyone is so afraid of them now.
"And on that note..." The professor continued, showing something to Rei. It was a book with a blue cover that read 'Pokédex'. The pages were kept together by a string to one side. "Here you go! I prepared this volume just for you! I hope it aids you well in your aim to seek out all there is to see in this region!"
Rei opened the book. There were photos of what he assumed were every Pokémon in the region, but the pages were blank except for a few step-like instructions for him to complete. He supposed his task was to fill the pages with information asked about the Pokémon that appeared in the portrait.
"You'll have to be very observant and cautious to fill the pages of the Pokédex, since the Pokémon don't act the same way around humans than when they are left alone, so you'll need to be left unseen to fill all of the data you will be asked to get" Akari explained. "The same goes for me, of course. I've also got Pokémon to research, as a Survey Corps member"
"I'd be all too happy to explain more about the research tasks I could use your assistance with. Come join me at the Fieldlands camp whenever you are ready, my good Rei!" Laventon finished, before walking away.
"I'll go behind him. I'll be waiting for you, Rei!" Akari exclaimed, before running away.
Rei sighed. "This was something" He added.
"Well, you know how to craft Poké-Balls now, right?" Eevee smiled.
"I'm definitely gonna just buy them"
"Please! I can't sit around for hours just watching you craft!" Shinx whinned.
"The apricorn was delicious, though"
"If you help me with whatever they assign me with, maybe I can get you guys more. I'm starting to get curious as to how they taste..."
"Of course!" All three yelled in unison.
Rei chuckled. He decided that since he didn't have anything else to do (and he was ecstatic to start working and finally seeing something new), he decided he was ready enough and he and his Pokémon partners started making their way to the Fieldlands.
When he passed in front of the Galaxy Team hall, however, someone suddenly shouted at him. "Hey, excuse me! I couldn't help but overhear..." Rei turned to the source of the voice. It was the guard that stood next to the entrance. "If you're going to the Fieldlands camp, mind taking care of a request for me?"
Rei raised a brow, but nodded shortly after. If he was going to leave here for however long this took, best to get along with as many humans as possible. "Thank you. So there's this Pokémon called Wurmple. Have you heard of it?" Rei shook his head.
"You haven't?" Cyndaquil exclaimed.
"They are all over the Fieldlands!" Shinx exclaimed.
"There were none back where we come from" Eevee sighed.
"Well, they are a bug type Pokémon, red and white with two small stingers on their rear" The guard explained.
Rei thought that was a very vague explanation, but knowing that both Shinx and Cyndaquil knew how Wurmple looked, he decided to nod. "Well, you see, I was having a chat with professor Laventon, and he told me that after a Pokémon gains a certain amount of experience through battling and the like, it will sometimes change its appearence and become stronger. He said it was a phenomenom called Evolution"
News flash. Rei thought, rolling his eyes. Did humans seriously not know these basic things about Pokémon?
"And so, I decided I want to raise a Wurmple myself and have it evolve. You're part of the Survey Corps, aren't you? If you catch a Wurmple, could you let me have it? There will be a reward for you, I promise. Just get me a Wurmple if you can!"
Rei nodded and walked away, waving at the guard. This was his first request, but it somehow felt... wrong. He didn't know exactly how, but the sheer fact that he had to catch a Pokémon just because someone had asked for it was something that didn't get off his mind. Just because a human wanted to, he had to take a Pokémon away from his or her home.
"Something on your mind?" Eevee asked, breaking the trance Rei didn't even know he was in.
"No, it's just... I don't want to take someone out of their home just because a human wants to have a partner"
"You are thinking about that again, aren't you?" She sighed.
"Aren't you even a bit worried?"
"I'm not saying that. It's just that... if you want to really blend in here, you are going to have to push those thoughts aside, even if it hurts you"
Rei looked up, thoughtful. "Is it really necessary?"
"Well, I don't see why you are so upset about it" Cyndaquil interrupted.
"Yeah. Humans just walk around the region, and if they decide they want you on your team, there's not much you can do about it. If you are lucky, you can run away from them, but that's usually for really agile Pokémon" Shinx added shrugging it off, as if it were nothing.
"That's the problem! Are you even listening to yourself?! You are acting like if humans doing whatever they want was the rule! I don't care about what humans do with their own lives, but why can they take whatever Pokémon they want with them while I can't?"
Eevee looked like she was about to say something, but she chose to stay quiet. "It's how it's always been, Ocko. No way around it"
"Yeah, but why does it-?!" Rei stopped himself when he took in what the electric type had said. "What did you just call me?"
"Well, fire boy here has a nickname for you, so I thought I'd give you one too! My father once told me he always adressed his dad like that, and that it meant something like 'boss'. Do you like it?" He asked beaming with positivity, his tail even wagging slightly.
"Uhh... I guess? If it makes you feel better, you can call me that, but I don't want you to think of me as your boss. Anyway, back to the point. Why can humans do whatever they want with us Pokémon?"
"Does he get angry like this often?" Cyndaquil whispered to Eevee, seemingly forgetting he was riding on Rei's shoulder.
"Zoroark are one of the most feared Pokémon in the region. Humans say they are one of the most aggressive species there is for their illusions and apparent hatred for everyone. I think I once heard one if them call them 'An enbodiment of death itself'" She whispered back.
"You know I can hear you, right?"
"Yeah, we know. The point is, he was always taught to avoid and hate humans at all costs, and his dad was probably going to teach him how to attack them if they got too close once he evolved. Apparently, he decided to commit some weird stupidity instead of becoming the next Alpha of the pack, which brings us to the present, where he is forced to act exactly the way he was told it was wrong just to blend in"
The two Pokémon not from the Icelands widened their eyes immediately. "Your dad's an Alpha?!" Cyndaquil exclaimed.
"Woah! That explains why you are this strong! I bet my whole den's supplies that your dad is even stronger! When are you taking us to see him? I'm itching for a battle against him!" Shinx yelled full of enthusiasm.
"Hopefully never. Or at least when you stand a chance against him"
"Wha- Whyyy?" The electric type whinned.
"It's... complicated" Eevee summarized.
"I ran away" Rei said.
"Yeah, that too" The normal type sighed.
"Oh... Sorry, Ocko"
"It's okay" The disguised Zoroark sighed.
I can't run away from this forever, can I? I'm sure it will come back to haunt me when I least expect it... And I'll have to explain everything to everyone! How would my mother even react? Or my packmates?
"Hey Poké-human, we are almost at the entrance"
Rei snapped out of his thoughts and looked around. True to Cyndaquil's words, the exit towards the outside was just a few steps ahead. Better not talk with them while inside someone's earshot.
"Hey, excuse me"
Rei sighed. Another human asking for something, he guessed. He choose to keep his frustrations behind his illusion and he turned to look at the source of the voice.
As expected, it was a human. This one, however, wore a pensive look on his face as he looked at Rei. "Aren'tcha with the Survey Corps?"
The boy nodded. "Well, you see. Lately, I've been thinking about how Shinx's ears look, and I am not brave enough to too get close to one in the wild to check, so I was wondering if you could-" He then took notice of Shinx on the boy's shoulder. "Oh, that's a Shinx you have there! Would you mind if I took a moment to look at its ears?"
Rei put a confused look on his face. What type of request was that? He turned to look at Shinx, silently asking for consent. "I don't like how this guys sounds, but I guess I wouldn't mind if it's just looking. Do I have permission to bite if he gets too close?"
Rei gave a last look to the human, and he silently nodded after. Doing the same, Shinx jumped down to the ground, and the human kneeled down. "That's it!" Everyone recoiled back slightly. "It's ears have that cross pattern on them, kinda like a star!"
He stood up and turned to Rei. "Can't tell you what a relief this is. Felt like I had a bone stuck in my throat, only the throat is my brain and the bone is a thought! Thanks for helping me getting it out!" As he said this, he took three purple bottles and handed them to Rei. "Here you go! Three potions for you! Thanks again!"
Once that was settled Rei picked Shinx up and resumed his walk back to the gate. "I don't want to come across that guy again. He's weird" The electric type stated, not moving from within Rei's arms.
"Yeah, I don't like him either"
With that, Rei told the guard about his next objective and he walked outside the village, ready to begin with his first actual field mission. Hopefully, nothing would go wrong.
Once Rei arrived, he saw Akari and the professor talking to each other. They waved at him once they noticed him. "Right, now that Rei is here, let's get to it, shall we?"
The boy walked next to the two humans, ready for whatever it was he had to do, though, he already had a guess. "In order to complete this Pokédex of ours, there are a great many research tasks I'll need your help to carry out, my boy. For that, there are a few questions for each page of the Pokédex, which you will need to answer with uttermost precision. We can start, for example, with Cyndaquil's page. Open it, if you may"
Rei picked the blue book and opened it until he found the page with a Cyndaquil photo in it. "As you know already, to fill the pages of the Pokédex, you'll just need to follow the steps in the pages. As you can see in Cyndaquil's page, there is a question that says 'How many times have you catched this Pokémon?' followed by some numbers in boxes. Can you see them?"
Rei looked at the paper. He had never seen human writting before, but it looked very similar to Unown, and he had seen them. Those Pokémon were really weird.
He nodded. "Very well! Now, grab this pencil and then make a cross on top of the box with the '1', if you may, as you've already caught a Cyndaquil"
Rei shared a quick glance with the Pokémon in his shoulder and then grabbed the pencil Laventon gave him, crossing the box. "Jolly good! And with that, your first research task is completed! I suggest you do the same with the Pokémon you've already caught too, like Bidoof, Starly, Shinx and Eevee, as well as marking any more boxes with tasks you've already done without noticing"
Rei once again nodded and searched for all the Pokémon's pages, marking the box just like with Cyndaquil. He also checked the first box of the task that stated 'Times you've seen it use Ember:'. There wasn't a '2' box, so he scribbled his own number next to the actual boxes. Pretty good for not being a human.
"So your Cyndaquil has used Ember twice, hmm? That's really good! That's your second task completed for Cyndaquil! I'm sure you've noticed there are a lot of those boxes, have you?"
Rei took a look again. He saw that there were at least ten boxes in each. He widened his eyes, and the professor chuckled. "Don't you give that look, my boy! You don't need to fill all of those tasks! Ten boxes checked or so added to any extra information that you put will help me make my deductions once you come to have your Pokédex evaluated!"
Rei sighed in relief. "Be aware though!" Akari interrupted. "No matter how many research tasks you complete for a specific Pokémon, the professor won't be able to verify anything until you catch the Pokémon you studied at least once. In other words, they won't count at all! Trust me, I made the same mistake the first time..."
"Exactly! Do so, and you'll gain research points and other rewards for your work!"
The disguised Zoroark nodded once again. Alright, so catch a Pokémon at least once and then complete enough tasks to check ten boxes... Seems easy enough, right? Definitely sounds easier than having to read this text! Why does it look so different to Unown?
Akari turned to Rei, looking serious. "Just one last piece of advice. If you see a wild Pokémon's attack coming your way, dodge like your life depends on it! Here, watch closely and remember what I do so you can do it later"
The girl then walked a bit away from the group. She looked at Rei and then threw herself forward, landing on the ground and doing a flip forward.
Rei nodded in awe. Pretty impressive...
She turned to Rei and smiled. "That beautiful, flowing bit of gymnastics is what we call a dodge! If you're light on your feet, you can dodge out of the way of wild Pokémon's attacks. That way, hopefully you can avoid a beating and blacking out in the wilderness"
She then looked away, clearly embarassed. "The Security Corps had to collect me when... I got the business end of some Shinx's Thunder Shock"
Rei looked at the electric type on his shoulder, raising a brow. "Hm? Do you think I'm the only Shinx around here? I don't even know Thunder Shock yet!" He defended himself.
"Don't you worry, Rei! I've got lots of experience to draw on, and I'll teach you plenty!" She turned around. "Now, follow me onwards and I'll tell you some tips!" She exclaimed, running away downhill.
Rei watched her go, all the while thinking about the situation he was in. He was... actually doing it. He had joined the humans, just like nothing. No one even suspected a thing.
That was unnerving for Zoroark, in a way.
Everything's going too good... Something bad has to happen. It can't be this easy!
His thoughts were interrupted by Laventon placing a hand on the free space on one of his shoulders. "Rei, is anything wrong?"
He simply shook his head. "Alright, then. You should follow Akari before she goes too far ahead. The Fieldlands are very big, you know?"
The boy nodded and followed Akari. She was waiting for him not too far ahead. "Now, let me share some Survey Corps wisdom!" She exclaimed once Rei had arrived. "You might have noticed that you have a research task that had to do with how many Pokémon of a type you've caught"
Rei grabbed his Pokédex and opened it on the page with the Bidoof photo, showing it to Akari. "Yes! But catching one isn't enough. As you can see inside the boxes, you need two, then four, then more and more!" She turned around. "Alright, so there should be enough Bidoof to complete another two marks for its page. I'll head forward and I'll be waiting for you to do that, understood?"
Rei nodded. "Good luck" Was the last thing Akari said.
Rei breathed deep. "It's alright, Rei. Remember that even if they don't want to come with you, you can release them later" He mumbled to himself. "You'll have to do it eventually, so it's better if you start psyching yourself up for it as soon as possible..."
"Does he do this often?" Cyndaquil asked Eevee.
"This is the first time I've seen him like this..." She replied.
"It's the first time he's going to catch someone for the Pokédex, so I guess it requieres preparation, maybe?" Shinx guessed.
"Alright, I think I'm good to go" Rei finally cut through the conversation.
"Come on, Rei! I'm sure you can do this!"
"Thanks for the support, Eevee"
"That's what best friends are for, right?"
"Yeah..."
The four looked around for the Bidoof Akari said there were here. Soon enough, Shinx found them talking among themselves while they munched on some grass.
"...Just like I said, Alpha is so twisted in the head! Sometimes I really wonder if she should really be in charge" One of them said.
"Better not let her hear you!" The other one replied, giggling.
"Yeah, but- Oh, hey. We have company"
The two Bidoof looked at Rei, as if they weren't expecting him to be there. "Hello, human! It's weird to see one of your kind carrying Pokémon outside their balls, much less on their heads!"
"Dear, we've already talked about this. Humans can't understand you, no matter what you say"
"Well..." Eevee began.
"Let's say this human is special..." Cyndaquil finished.
"Special? How?"
"In a way I can't explain to you" Rei told them, picking up two Poké-Balls. "Sorry in advance. Promise to release you later"
"What?" Both exclaimed before two Poké-Balls got thrown their way. Two succesful captures. Rei grabbed his Pokédex and checked two more boxes.
"Time to go with Akari"
They found the girl waiting near a guard. She turned to look at them once they got close, smiling slightly. "I think you've got it. As a reminder, don't forget to write everything you find out about a Pokémon, even if it's something you think it's useless. Now, time to catch some Starly!"
She looked to her left, where one single Starly was jumping around and looking for something, presumably food if Rei guessed right. "One of your tasks is to catch a Starly without being spotted, right? You may think it doesn't matter catching a Pokémon that usually flees from humans with or without being seen, but it actually does a lot according to the professor! Now, to do that, try hiding inside that tall grass over there. And be extra cautious where you step on now. Not everytime you'll manage to do what you did last time"
With a last nod, Akari walked forward and Rei got inside the tall grass once again. He saw there were three Starly roaming around and he also knew they would flee the moment they saw him, so he started thinking on a plan.
He thought about using his illusions to get closer and catch all three, but Akari was very close, and he didn't want to risk it. He instead grabbed one of the Poké-Balls from his satchel and waited for the perfect moment to strike.
Just as he thought there wasn't going to be a perfect moment, one of the Starly separated from the group and walked closer to him. He aimed at the Pokémon as he heard her come closer.
"Why do I fell like I'm being watched...?"
Before she turned around, Rei threw the Poké-Ball at her, catching her by complete surprise. The Poké-Ball signaled a succesful capture. "Let me handle that" With a inhuman agility (not that he was human anyway), Shinx ran towards the Poké-Ball hidden inside the grass and tossed it to Rei, who caught it in the air.
"Woah! You look like you've done this before!" Cyndaquil exclaimed.
"I've been living here my entire life, so I know how to move around tall grass. Thank my pops for that, Ocko"
Rei didn't pay too much attention to the conversation, since the two Starly wasted no time in walking next to where her partner was a few seconds ago. "Huh? Where did she go?!" One exclaimed.
"Did she fly away without us?"
"That's not something she would do..."
"What if something happened to her?"
"Don't be silly! She's probably just wandered too far away. Let's find her"
Rei took another two Poké-Balls and aimed.
"Hey, what's that?"
"A human! Look out!"
Too late. The Poké-Balls were already flying, and they hit their two targets. One of the balls emitted a puff of smoke as always, but Rei noticed the other one was shaking more than regular. Shrugging it off, he went to grab the Poké-Balls from the ground.
"Poké-human, I think you should be careful with-"
Without any warning the shaking Poké-Ball suddenly opened, setting free one of the Starly. He quickly looked around and spotted Rei. "I knew it! You caught them both! I gotta get out of here, quick!" He stammered, preparing to fly away.
"Hey, wait up!" Rei exclaimed, grabbing another Poké-Ball and throwing it. He didn't hit the Pokémon this time, and he saw how he flew away.
"Aw, man!"
"Don't worry, Poké-human! The Poké-Balls don't work all the time! Something like this was bound to happen sometime!" Cyndaquil tried to confort him.
Rei sighed again. "I guess you are right... Now, time to check some boxes..."
Rei grabbed his Pokédex and checked some boxes on both the Bidoof and Starly pages. He decided to scribble something on the bottom part of the latter's entry, however. 'They really don't like humans'
"Your writting is horrible" Eevee commented.
"Yeah, I'm writting in a language I didn't know existed with a tool not designed to be used by someone with three claws. Of course it's gonna be horrible!"
"Fair enough"
"Ocko, let's go with the girl now!" Shinx got on a crouching position. "Let's make it a race!" He yelled before bolting away.
Rei simply sighed in defeat. "I think he's got a lot of energy..."
"Well, I do too! See you later!" Eevee exclaimed, jumping from Rei's head onto the ground and following Shinx.
Rei stood in shock. Never would he have thought that Eevee would be one to do such thing. But considering it had been a long day for her, he could understand her need to free some energy.
"Wanna follow them?" Rei asked Cyndaquil.
"Yeah! See you there!" He too ran away.
Rei chuckled and ran behind them. Akari was not too far away, but she was enjoying herself while petting both Eevee and Shinx. Cyndaquil was patiently waiting his turn next to the two. "Who are good Pokémon?" She cooed.
The two Pokémon really looked like they were enjoying themselves. "I don't know why Rei's dad is so scared of humans! I see no problem with them!" Eevee stated.
"Thank Arceus my ability is not Static!" Shinx added.
"Hurry up!" Cyndaquil yelled impatiently.
Akari looked up to Rei and she widened her eyes when she saw him, immediately stopping what she was doing and reddening slightly. "I-It's not what it looks like!"
"Aw... is it over?" Shinx whinned, standing back straight.
"I wanted more!" Eevee cried.
"What?! No fair! I didn't even get any pets!" Cyndaquil groaned, crossing his arms.
Rei was all the while chuckling as he saw Akari's red face. "What are you laughing at?" She asked, only worsening her state.
Rei turned from slight chuckling to a full laughter attack as he thought about the situation Akari was just a few seconds ago.
So much for being so scared of Pokémon! Humans really are something weird!
Eventually, he managed to calm himself down and look at the girl in the eyes. He raised a brow, silently telling Akari to explain herself. "It's just that... Your Shinx came running towards me and I thought it was a wild Pokémon about to attack me, so I prepared to fight until it stopped moving in front of me yelling something to your Eevee. I just... really love Pokémon, okay? Even if they are scary..." She then looked away, embarassed. "The time that Shinx attacked me was because I got too close trying to pet it"
After another chuckle, Akari shook her head. "Alright, let's continue! Around here, you can find a Pokémon named Buizel. It's got an aggressive disposition" She turned around and pointed to an orange Pokémon with something yellow on the neck and a tail that divided in two.
That's a Buizel? I imagined them a bit more scary...
"That means it'll try to hit you with its moves, just like Shinx. You'll need to battle it to catch it, unless you manage to get close to it without getting noticed. Though, since one of your research tasks include seeing it use a certain move, I suggest you don't do that. That's right, some tasks requiere battling!"
She took a step forward. "Now I'll go on ahead. You take care of some of Buizel's research tasks, then come talk to me"
Once Akari was out of sight, Rei couldn't help but sigh. "Alright, what move do I gotta see them use? And how exactly does me seeing how a move is used help with research?" He asked, mostly to himself, as he picked the Pokédex.
"I don't know, Rei, but you should do what they say anyway. If they ask you to watch a 'Buizel' use a move, it must mean it's for something, right?" Eevee replied.
"I guess you are right..." He sighed, opening the book by Buizel's page. "We gotta see them use Water Gun. Oh, and also describe how the Pokémon uses it. I get it now. Cyndaquil, I'm sorry to say that you aren't fighting this one"
"I saw that coming" He sighed.
"Does that mean it's my turn to battle now?" Shinx blurted in excitement.
"I guess... Maybe you can learn an electric type attack. I'm surprised you don't know Thunder Shock yet"
"Ohh, I'm so pumped up!" He exclaimed, running away towards the Buizel.
"Hey, wait up!" Rei exclaimed, running after him. His two friends followed after him.
"Buizel!"
"Hmm?" The water type hummed, turning his head towards the electric type.
"I've come here to battle you!"
"Shinx! Don't do that again!"
Buizel jumped in surprise when the boy came running behind the electric type, but he quickly gained a battle stance. "A human? Finally I can test my new move! Let's fight now!" He yelled.
"Yes! Time to train!" Shinx replied, preparing to fight too.
"Alright, Shinx! Quick Attack!"
Shinx dashed forward, but Buizel jumped high in the air and then took a deep breath. It was followed by a stream of water coming from the Pokémon's mouth, which soaked Shinx completely.
"Agh!" Was everything he managed to exclaim before he was blown back.
"Tshck! This new move's gonna make my life so much easier!"
Shaking the water out of his fur, Shinx once again tried a Quick Attack. Buizel was about to repeat the same thing, but this time he didn't follow a straight line, so the water type's attack was a miss. Shinx's attack connected, so he leapt back with the remaining momentum.
"Shinx, do you really not know how to use any electric attacks? I thought you learnt Thunder Shock at a really young age!" Cyndaquil asked the electric type.
"It's harder than it looks, okay?" He replied, dodging another Water Gun.
"Something tells me we shouldn't press it too much" Rei told the fire type. "Shinx, use Quick Attack again! And don't let him hit you again!"
"Okay!" The electric type once again dashed forward, zig zagging as he made his way towards the water type. As it turns out, Water Gun was not the only move he knew.
Buizel sprung towards the other Pokémon with his own Quick Attack, stopping the electric type halfway through his attack, followed by spraying him with water once again.
Rei winced at the sight. "Shinx, you're gonna need something stronger than that to win!" He yelled.
"Ugh, I know, I know! " He groaned. Shinx looked like he was only keeping up thanks to his ability's effects, but Rei wasn't sure how long that was going to last.
"Shinx, we need a Thunder Shock! And quick!" Eevee voiced Rei's thoughts.
"I-I can't do it!"
"Thunder Shock is supposed to be one of the easiest moves an electric type Pokémon learns according to the professor! You are supposed to be taught by your parents! How's it possible you don't know it yet?" Cyndaquil asked.
"CUS MY PARENTS NEVER BOTHERED TO HELP ME WITH IT, OKAY?!"
That caused all of them to stop, even the Buizel. Shinx turned his head around, letting a small tear be seen from his eyes.
"I-I was the youngest Shinx in my pack, and I was always the outcast. The weird one. No one talked to me, and whenever I worked the courage to talk to someone, they just brushed me off" He paused. "When I reached the age to start training, I went with my dad and my packmates to learn how to use Thunder Shock. I was so excited, and I thought it was gonna be so easy! But the vague explanations my dad gave me... I couldn't manage to make it work, no matter how hard I tried. Everyone had it completely mastered by the second day of training, while I didn't even know how to store the electricity"
More tears. "I-I don't know how's life with your packs, but in mine there is a simple rule. If you don't know how to fight, you are a goner. Dad gave me one more day to try to have it perfectly trained" He looked away, pausing for a long while.
"I wasn't alone in the Fieldlands because I wanted to... It hadn't been too long since that happened but still, if I hadn't found you... If you hadn't found me..." He didn't want to finish that sentence. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't have been able to before he broke into tears.
Rei smiled and walked towards him, picking him up in his arms. "It's okay. I kinda know how you feel. I've had some problems with my dad too, but I never would have thought you've been through something like that. That must have been awful for you, but don't worry anymore, okay? I don't care whether you know a stupid move or not. I care about the effort you make to try. I don't care whether you learn Thunder Shock today, tomorrow, or next month, because I know you can do it. The most important thing is to never give up. But don't worry about anything like that for now. Just let it all out. We're here for you"
Anything Shinx could be holding back were let out as his sobs intensified. This lasted for a few minutes, in which everyone stood in silence, even the Buizel who was battling before. Shinx seemed to mutter something from time to time. "Why did no one like me...?"
After he had calmed down, Rei let him on the ground again. The electric type quickly stood in a battle position once again. "What are you doing?" Cyndaquil asked him.
"Ocko here just told me that I shouldn't give up, right? I'm not giving up until this battle is over" He simply said. "And I'm using a Thunder Shock, even if it's the last thing I do"
"Hmm, I like that confidence" The water type in front of him chuckled.
"You ready?" Rei asked.
"I'M READY!" Shinx roared
"Alright! Go for a Quick Attack to get closer!"
With a strength and speed he had never seen before, Shinx ran towards the Buizel, as if his life depended on it. The water type didn't expect it at all, and he could only endure as the combined force of Shinx's determination and Rivalry's boost knocked him backwards.
"That's it! Do it again!"
Shinx jumped back and ran making a circular motion around the water type, occasionally breaking it to tackle him. Buizel was finding it very hard to keep up, only shooting one Water Gun at him, which was nothing but a miss.
"Woah, where did this come from!" Eevee asked Rei.
"No idea, but it's so cool! Shinx, are you alright?"
"Better than ever!"
"Alright, now it's time to try it!"
Shinx stopped dead in his tracks. "Use Thunder Shock!"
The electric type visibly winced, but quickly shook his head. "If I don't try, I'll never be able to do it..." He muttered.
"Do you know how to do it?" The normal type asked.
"Yes! I think..."
Shinx closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His body was covered in electricity not too long after, but it quickly faded away, making the Pokémon sigh from exhaustion. "I-I can't do it!"
"Of course you can!"
"We believe in you!"
"Just do what comes naturally to you! Push whatever your dad told you away!"
Shinx sighed in anticipation. "O-Okay. I'm not going to fail you guys!"
Shinx's body once again was covered in electricity. "Enough chatter! Time to end this!" Buizel interrupted, lunging at the electric type with a Quick Attack.
"I'm not..." He closed his eyes. "...a useless..." Buizel jumped on the air, ready to hit the Shinx as the electricity on his body began sparkling brighter. "...BASTARD!" A big bolt of electricity was fired from the Shinx's position, hitting the Buizel straight in the air.
His attack was stopped in an instant, as he plummeted downwards, hitting the ground. Swirls could be seen in his eyes.
Everyone stood silent, the only sound being the one of a Poké-Ball being thrown and a succesful capture being signaled.
Rei walked forward and picked the Poké-Ball, giving a happy smile to Shinx. "That was a weird Quick Attack, don't you think?" He told him.
"I... I did it..."
"Yep, you used your first Thunder Shock. Congratulations bud. Now, time to write some-" Rei couldn't finish his sentence before the electric type threw himself on him, pushing him to the floor and breaking his illusion.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" He said, nuzzling the Zoroark while his tail quickly wagged. "You don't understand how important this is to me! Y-You know how long I've been trying to get this? Ocko, I... I can't thank you enough!" He cried.
"Of course, buddy. That's what friends are for, right?"
"You guys are the closest thing to a family I ever had..."
The two spent some more time like that, until Shinx finally let go of him and jumped onto the ground. Taking advantage of the fact no one else was around, Zoroark decided to stay like that for some time, so he straightened himself to a sitting position. He was starting to get sore from his illusion, after all.
"I'm glad you consider us as your family"
Shinx looked up to the ghost type. "Hey, Ocko?"
"Yeah?
"Remember when I told you what 'Ocko' meant?"
"Yeah?"
His face reddened a bit. "I lied"
"What does that mean?"
"I... think I'm not ready to talk about it yet"
"Okay then"
"Umm, Rei, shouldn't you be under your illusion?" Eevee cut.
"Why not rest for a bit?" He sighed, going back to laying on the grass. "Illusions are expensive to mantain, and I doubt there's gonna be a lot of humans running around here" He simply stated.
"You know what? You are grown enough to know what you are doing" She replied, walking next to him, and laying down next to him, cuddling close to the Zoroark. "Who am I to tell you what to do? Aren't you my trainer, after all?"
"I don't want those words coming from your mouth again, okay?" He laughed.
"Oh, guess you're my dad now!"
Both of the Pokémon laughed. Zoroark felt good, just relaxing. It felt so surreal to do. He had never layed on actual warm grass, since there was only snow and ice back at the Icelands. This one of the moments he was happy he had left. The fact his best friend was close to him made it even better. He couldn't imagine his life without meeting Eevee.
Soon after, Shinx and Cyndaquil joined them. "I'm so glad I decided to come with you" Eevee said.
"I'm glad you chose to come with me" Zoroark replied.
Cyndaquil and Shinx both shared a glance and whispered something to each other, nodding their heads after with a confident smirk. Zoroark wondered what they had talked about, but he decided to leave it for another time. The four stood there for what felt like hours, until some footsteps were heard coming their way. Zoroark reacted quickly and reapplied his illusion.
Turns out it wasn't a human at all. "Excuse me, human? Are you alright?" It was a Wurmple.
"Wha-? Yeah, I'm alright. Just chilling here"
She audibly sighed. "Thank Arceus. I saw someone laying on the floor and I thought-" The bug type suddenly widened her eyes. "Wait, did you understand me?"
Rei facepalmed. "Ugh... I have to stop doing this..."
"Do what? How did you understand me?"
"Alright, quick summary, he's a Pokémon, so he can understand you" Eevee said.
"What? He's a Pokémon? But how?"
"No more explanations, sorry"
"Oh, okay"
Silence for a few minutes followed. "So..." Shinx began. "Anything that brings you here, or...?"
"Oh, I was just taking a stroll. I'm not doing anything at the moment"
"Oh, okay" Shinx looked around. "Umm... wanna talk about something?"
"Sure!" The Wurmple replied with a wide smile.
As the two Pokémon started conversing, Cyndaquil whispered something to Rei. "Hey Poké-human, didn't that guard ask you for a Wurmple?"
"Yeah, but I'm not taking this one"
"Hmm?"
"She doesn't look at all like she wants to get caught, and I'm definitely not forcing her to come with me. I'm sure there are more Wurmple to find"
"Oh, got it"
The three of them watched as Shinx and Wurmple engaged in a conversation about berries and fighting. Truly some contrasting topics. Eevee Cyndaquil and Rei started speaking about their own things too.
A bit after, Wurmple walked up to Rei. "Hey, umm, Rei was it?"
"Yeah"
"Okay. Your friend here has told me about what you're doing and... he also told me that a human asked to raise a Wurmple by themselves"
Rei's face turned into a stern one. "Yeah, he did, but there's more Wurmple out there, and I'm sure there's at least one that doesn't mind being caught, so you don't need to worry about it"
"That's the thing"
Rei looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you know how there are some Starly over here? Well, their evolved forms are really scary and they seem to like to hunt my kind. I'm a bit tired of having to sleep underground in a hole every night, so I think I wouldn't mind... going with a human"
Rei raised a brow and looked at Shinx. "What? I never asked for her to come. She just asked me about it!" He replied.
The boy nodded and looked back at Wurmple. "You know where you are getting into, right?"
She nodded. "As I said, anything is probably better than fearing for my life everyday, so I'll go for it. What's the worst that could happen?"
"See? Come on, Ocko! Please, can she come with us to the village?"
"What did you call him?"
"Oh, it's a nickname I gave him! Do-Do you like it?"
"Yes! It's so cute! I love it" She smiled.
"Oh! T-Thanks!" He nervously chuckled, looking away.
Eevee walked next to the Shinx and whispered something in his ear. "Love is so cute, isn't it?"
"S-Shut up!" He yelled, his face turning red. "Don't get me started with you! "
The normal type widened her eyes, but quickly went back to a face with a cocky grin. "I have no idea of what you're talking about" Despite her face, Rei could hear how she sounded nervous.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Why, yeah! Of course I'm alright! Why wouldn't I be? It's not like anything is roaming my mind at all! Hehe..." She exaggeratedly stammered.
"Umm, is she okay?" Wurmple asked.
"Hopefully she is" Rei answered, taking a Poké-Ball out of his bag. "Are you ready? We should start finding Akari before she starts worrying"
"Oh, so we are doing this already?" Wurmple suddenly exclaimed.
"Didn't you say you wanted to come with us? We need to get you in a Poké-Ball for that"
"Yeah, I know, but it's like... too soon! I don't know if I'm ready..." She replied, nervously
"Hey Wurmple, you've got nothing to worry about! Getting caught doesn't hurt or anything! Trust me, I've already tried it!" Shinx told the bug type with a wide smile.
A smile that spread to Wurmple's face shortly after. "O-Okay! I trust you, Shinx!" She then looked at Rei. "Alright human! Throw it!"
Doing as she asked, Rei let the Poké-Ball fall on top of her, which absorbed the Pokémon and fell to the ground after.
It was a succesful capture.
Rei picked the ball and then smirked at Shinx. "Huh, weird how she just met us but she trusts you so much"
The electric type's face reddened again. "S-Shut up!"
Everyone bursted into laughter. "This first day has been full of emotions" Cyndaquil sighed.
"I know, right?" Shinx replied, a dumb smile present in his face. "Can you let her out already?"
"As you please, Romeo" Rei teased, bowing down...
...which earned a Thunder Shock from Shinx. It wasn't something he couldn't endure, but it still hurt.
"Totally deserved!" Eevee chuckled.
"I'm only allowing it because you've just learned the move" Rei laughed, tossing the Poké-Ball up.
Wurmple emerged from it, looking around. "Huh. It wasn't that bad..."
"See, told you!"
"Alright, come on! Let's find Akari"
"Wait, aren't you going to carry us on a Poké-Ball?" Wurmple questioned.
"Nope! We are free to run around!" Shinx exclaimed, his tail wagging excitedly. "Come on, follow me! I'll show you where we have to go!" He yelled, running away.
"Wha- Wait!" The bug type stammered, running behind him.
Rei chuckled.
"I think they became good friends, don't you think?" Cyndaquil asked.
"Truly something amazing to behold. Shinx went from crying to potentially finding love. It's been a great start, isn't that right, Eevee?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah"
Rei raised a brow at her. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah. Just in need of running around. I'll follow those two to make sure they don't get into trouble!" She yelled, bolting away.
Rei tilted his head a bit as he watched her go. "What's wrong with her?" He asked Cyndaquil.
He couldn't help but wonder what was going on with her friend at the moment. Ever since Wurmple had shown up, she was acting very weirdly.
"I don't know. Girl things, I guess" The fire type shrugged. "Now come on, let's follow them" He finished, running away.
The disguised Zoroark frowned. Cyndaquil was definitely hiding something. But for now, he decided to find his friends while writting his latest findings in the Pokédex.
Water Gun... One Buizel and one Wurmple caught... Oh, and also Shinx's Thunder Shock. Arceus, this is harder than I-
"EWWWW! A WURMPLE!" A loud screech was heard ahead. A screech that sounded like none other than Akari.
Rei closed the Pokédex and sprinted to the cry's location, where he found all four Pokémon near the girl, who was... clinging from a tree branch.
Shinx was trying his best to confort the new member of the group. "What did I do?" She sobbed. "I just wanted to say hi..."
"I know, I know. Some humans are just weird" He sighed, patting the bug type.
Rei looked at the cowering human with a confused look. Her face seemed to brighten when she saw him. "Rei! Oh, thank Almighty Sinnoh you are here! Please, I don't know if that Wurmple is one of your partners, but please, take it away from me! I can't stand bug Pokémon at all!"
"I thought members of the Survey Corps were supposed to be ready for everything" Eevee chuckled.
Resisting the urge to laugh himself, he walked next to his friends and picked the bug type, leaving her on his shoulders. That seemed to calm Akari enough for her to finally climb down the tree.
She didn't seem to be very keen on talking about it. "So that Wurmple is actually one of your partners..." The girl simply sighed.
"Sorry that you had to see me like that... I have a very big fear of bug type Pokémon, and I can't seem to find the reason why..."
She then turned to the crying Wurmple. "Sorry if I hurt you?" She told her, keeping her distance.
She looked at her for a bit before nodding. "Okay"
Akari sighed. "Well, now that we have this dealt with, I wanted to congratulate you! You seem to be doing quite well for yourself! And so, here you have a reward for keeping up with me!" The girl grabbed a small case from her satchel and gave it to . "Your own crafting kit! It contains every necessary tool to craft in the wild! Even when there is no crafting bench nearby! It may be a bit harder, however"
She again took something from her satchel. Another piece of paper, like the one Cyllene had given him before. "Here's a recipe for potions too!"
Rei put away both of the items and nodded. "With a crafting kit, you can craft items anywhere using any materials you have in your satchel! So long as you have an apricorn and a tumblestone in your satchel, you'll be able to make a Poké-Ball anytime. Or with an Oran berry and a medicinal leek you can make a potion, so do heal your Pokémon. It also has this little rope so that you can hang it somewhere and easily access it whenever you need"
Rei nodded once again. Of course he was gonna heal his Pokémon! And maybe even himself if he ever found the need to.
"Now, let's discuss about your research. How is it going? I'm sure you've made a lot of progress ever since the professor gave you your own Pokédex! Would you mind letting me see it?"
Rei gave Akari his Pokédex and she opened it. She hummed from time to time as she turned the pages, which relieved Rei greatly. At least he was doing what they had asked him well.
Akari gave Rei his Pokédex back. "That's very good progress! Be sure to report to professor Laventon once you think you've got enough research tasks completed! I've got some tasks to complete myself, so I'll leave you be for now. When you think you've done enough for the day, go back to the Fieldlands Camp and rest there for a while. Good luck, Rei!"
The boy waved goodbye to Akari as she ran away. Rei sighed. "What do we do now? Have we done enough for today?" He asked his friends.
"Well, we've listened to a lot of explanation, have had a battle, caught a few Pokémon and Shinx now has a new friend, so I think we've done a lot. I say we could try battling another Buizel so that Shinx can train his new move?" Eevee suggested.
"YEAH! Wurmple, I'm gonna show you my real power"
The bug type chuckled. "I'm sure you are powerful!"
Shinx slightly blushed, looking away. "W-Well, I'm not that powerful..."
"Don't say that! I'm sure you are! Come on, I wanna see how you deal with Buizel!"
"Hehe, alright! Let's find one! See you later, Ocko!"
"Wait, don't-"
But it was too late. Shinx was once again running away, towards the shore, where he was supposed to find some foes to battle, closely followed by a chuckling Wurmple.
Rei sighed for Arceus knows how many times today. "Those two are a dangerous couple"
"Yes, they are" Eevee laughed.
"Come on, let's follow them before they anger a whole pack of Buizel" Cyndaquil sighed.
And with that, they made their way back to their runaway friends. Rei couldn't help but notice that Eevee was keeping close while trying her best to avoid eye contact with him.
This was not like her at all, but Rei just shrugged. He was just going to play along with it for now. If it was something bad, he would ask her about it later.
By the time they were done, Rei had caught two more Buizel, and Shinx had used his newly trained Thunder Shock on them, making them fall immediately. Wurmple was, of course, very impressed.
They arrived at the Fieldlands camp not too long after.
The professor was talking to one of the guards, but he turned towards them once he saw Rei and his partners arrive. "Hello there, Rei!"
He then looked at his crafting kit. "Oho! If it isn't a crafting kit! You must have listened attentively to Akari's teaching. Excellent work, my boy!"
The professor warmly smiled. "This seems a good time to explain to you about survey reports and the rewards they offer"
"Ohh, rewards?" Cyndaquil asked.
"As you know, catching Pokémon and completing research tasks is crucial to completing the Pokédex, so that's why the Survey Corps reward their members with money! Of course, the amount will depend on the amount of Pokémon and research tasks completed, and other factors, such as bringing a Pokémon to me for the first time will give you some more money than usual"
Rei nodded, having understood it all. "Jolly! On that note, let me check the research tasks you've completed thus far"
Rei gave the Pokédex and the caught Pokémon to the professor. He spent some time looking around the pages of the blue book, nodding all the while.
Rei was nervous, but he wasn't going to let that get him down. If Akari had congratulated him for his work, surely the professor wouldn't be too much different, right?
"Most illuminating! I'll update our Pokédex with this new data! Pretty impressive for your first day, my boy!"
He gave the Pokédex back to Rei. "In fact, I do think you've made great progress on these research tasks, Rei. I believe you're ready to move up the ranks!" He smiled.
"Wait, does that mean..." Eevee started.
"Once Akari comes back, we'll have a quick snack and then we will head back to the village and report the good news to Captain Cyllene. It's time you earned yourself a star!"
Rei widened his eyes. He had already forgotten he was told he had no rank, and he honestly didn't care too much, but that meant he was doing a good job. And the more the humans trusted him, the more he could do without having someone on his back constantly.
"Hey, congrats human! Rei, was it?" Wurmple told him.
"Yeah! That's my trainer!" Shinx pouted.
"Well, let's wait for Akari, shall we? While we wait, would you mind letting me the Pokémon you caught? It will be just move analysis, don't worry. I can also give you your reward for this report while we wait"
Rei nodded. He had to think of a way to tell the professor he wanted him to release them once he was done. He decided to leave that for later.
"Alpha, we're back"
"How did the expedition go?"
"There's no trace of him anywhere in the Icelands. We've looked everywhere, even in the forest, but he's gone"
Alpha stomped on the ground, making the squad of ghost types flinch. "THAT UNGRATEFUL BASTARD! AFTER EVERYTHING WE'VE DONE FOR HIM!"
"Honey, you shouldn't talk like that about or son" Zoroark's mom told him.
The huge Zoroark sighed. "You are right, but I cannot just keep looking for him forever. Why did he run away in the first place?"
"Well, you know how Pokémon sometimes become a bit more childish just after they evolve? Well, you have been pretty strict with him lately"
"Do you mean he has ran away because I have been strict? I was just doing what is best for him!"
"Are you sure? I recall you two had a pretty big discussion a few days before he left"
Alpha was taken aback. It couldn't be that his own descendant had left because he thought he was too strict, could it?
Whatever it was, however, Alpha was determined to bring him back.
"Search again. If he is hiding somewhere, we will find him"
By the time Akari had decided to appear, the professor told Rei he had enough information to consider his first page of the Pokédex, Bidoof's, as completed. He had also agreed to release all the Pokémon once he had finished studying them after a lot of gestures coming from Rei.
They quickly ate a sandwich that was brought as supplies and then starting making their way back to the village. According to the professor, it was almost time for the evening, and they supposedly would make it back half an hour before the sunset.
On the way back, Rei's Pokémon were so tired that they all rode on the poor boy, who was the one that was actually exhausted. As before, Eevee was on his head, Cyndaquil on his left shoulder, and Shinx on the right one. The latter, however, had made some room for Wurmple, who was sitting next to him.
Akari wasted no time on congratulating him. "Very well done, Rei! You've completed your first ever Pokédex page! And in your first day too! Feeling good?"
Rei slowly bobbed his head up and down, earning a concerned look from Akari. "You look exhausted. Are you sure you should be carrying the extra weight of your Pokémon when you can put them in a Poké-Ball?"
"She's right, you know?" Eevee agreed.
Rei simply shook his head. It was true he was tired, but he had been through worse when he had been attacked in the Icelands back when he was still a Zorua, so this was nothing.
Thinking back to it, he silently chuckled. Almost died there... Thank Arceus my sis was there to save me.
Rei shook his head. "You are a weird one" Akari chuckled.
Rei spent most of the trip back to the village trying to put a foot after the other one and keeping his illusion up, so he almost didn't realize they had already arrived to the town.
The trio made their way towards the Galaxy Team hall, Shinx getting visibly sadder every step Rei took. "Guess we'll have to say goodbye soon..." He told Wurmple.
"Aww, don't be sad! We'll see each other everytime you come around here!"
"Yeah, but it's not the same..."
Once the three humans had arrived in front of the gate, the guard that had asked Rei for a Wurmple wasn't there anymore. Shinx audibly sighed.
"The guard standing there has finished his workday for today, so he has retired to his quarters. He should be there once again for tomorrow, if his request is what you are worried about" Explained Akari.
Rei nodded. Shinx could hardly contain his excitement. "Welp, guess I'll have to stay with you today. Hope you don't mind?" Wurmple asked.
"Of course not! You can stay with us today, tomorrow, or even forever!" Shinx blurted.
"I think he's happy..." Eevee chuckled.
"How could you tell?" Cyndaquil jokingly replied.
"Come on Rei! We'll be waiting for you at the Wallflower, alright? Good luck!" Akari waved him goodbye as they walked away.
Rei gulped and got inside the building. He would never say it out loud, but Cyllene was a bit scary. And her Abra... He was sure she was still floating on that very same corner. It was very unnerving.
Just a few steps after, he saw the captain sitting among a big pile of paperwork looking at something. She looked at him when he entered. "Welcome back, Rei" She simply stated.
Without giving him a chance to reply, she talked once again. "I suppose you haven't come back with empty hands. If you have progress to report, I will judge its worthyness. Show me your Pokédex"
Nodding, Rei gave his book to her and she picked it up, opening it and carefully and looking through the pages.
"Hmm... A lot of research tasks completed, pretty good. And your first full Pokédex page..." She mumbled.
After what felt like hours of waiting, Cyllene suddenly closed the Pokédex, making Rei and his partners jump. Oh, Arceus. What is she going to say? Akari and the professor are something, but Cyllene is a complete new challenge! Will it be enough?
His thoughts were interrupted when she stood up and walked towards him, giving him the Pokédex back. "Hm. You have made progress. It seems you have earned yourself a star"
She grabbed a small star shaped sticker. "With this, you have officially attained the rank of First Star in the Galaxy Expedition Team" She proceeded to stamp the sticker on his Pokédex.
"Now that you are a First Star member, you are allowed to use a new type of Poké-Balls, the Heavy Ball, as well as making the rewards you earn from reports bigger. Also, more powerful Pokémon will obey your orders in battle" She picked a few small pieces of paper. "Take these as well. They are further recipes you'll need for crafting" She added, giving them to him.
They were recipes for crafting Heavy Balls and Revives. Wait, revives? What's that?
"That a stranger like you should fall from the sky and yet flourish among us like this is a testament to your native talent and hard work. Most people prefer it when things are simple enough to be judged by face value alone. And proving your worth by moving up through our ranks is something anyone can understand. Keep at it, and even if you did fall from the sky, the town may be more willing to accept you"
Rei nodded in understanding. "Working your way through the ranks will also be a help if you wish to make a life for yourself here. A higher rank will grant you access to more types of Poké-Balls and greater rewards"
The boy smiled and nodded. That was good! As long as they trusted him enough, he didn't mind whatever he had to go through or how long it would take. He wanted to see the entire region, and that obviously wouldn't be done in the span of a few days.
At least that's what logic told him.
"For today, at least, you've earned yourself a good meal at the Wallflower and a good night's rest"
Everyone's eyes lit up at the mention of food. Everyone's except Wurmple's, who hadn't yet tried the food that humans made. Shaking his head, Rei waved goodbye to the captain and exited the hall.
The sun was already setting when he got outside, but without getting too distracted by that need for sleep, he made his way towards where the professor and Akari were talking. They turned to look at him once they realized he was there.
"Hello there, my boy!"
"Hello, Rei!"
He waved at them and sat beside them. The waiter, Beni if Rei remembered correctly, wasted no time in serving them the food. Everyone's mouths watered when they saw the food.
Obviously understanding that the professor and Akari had things to tell him, he decided to leave eating his own food for later, so he grabbed a few pieces of them and gave them to his Pokémon partners.
They ate it without any complaint.
"So Rei, my boy! I believe a jolly good congratulations is in order! Well done on earning your First Star rank!" The professor exclaimed.
Akari then smiled at him. "Potato mochi tastes so much better when you have something to be happy about! Still, we'll be very busy from now on between our Survey Corps duties and requests from folks here, like the one that Beauregard gave you"
Akari took a big bite of her food. "The people of Jublife aren't too familiar with Pokémon, you see... So if problems arise, the Survey Corps gets called to help"
"Indeed so!" Laventon interrupted. "Some people will ask you for help when you talk with them, while other requests will need to be claimed from the blackboard in my lab"
The professor turned to the girl sitting next to him, who was stuffing her mouth full of food. "Speaking of which, weren't you approached with a request recently, Akari?" What's it all about?" He asked her.
The girl winced. "About that... I was hoping Rei could handle it for me. I was told it would requiere a bit of skill with battling Pokémon, so..."
"Ah, yes. That request came from Mai of the Diamond Clan, if I recall correctly?"
Laventon turned towards Rei. "The people of the Diamond Clan have lived here in Hisui since before the Galaxy Team arrived. If we could establish good relations, I'm sure there's much we might learn from them, including more about the local Pokémon..." He explained to him, before eating some of his food. "But we can discuss all that tomorrow! For today, we should eat up and get some rest. You definitely look like you need it!"
Taking this as his cue to begin, Rei grabbed some of his food and began eating. Casual chatting filled the air as everyone ate their food peacefully.
Once they had finished, Rei waved goodbye to the two humans and headed to his quarters. He could swear he saw Akari giving him weird looks, but he chose to ignore it, if it had even been real and not product of his exhausted mind.
Once inside, he made sure that the door was locked and dropped his illusion, throwing the hat and scarf away and throwing himself on his bed.
"Ugh... I've been trained to endure the hard climate of the Icelands, but I can hardly move after a day of just walking around and doing human work..." Zoroark whinned.
"Well, that's because you've never been trained for this kind of thing!" Shinx replied.
"Yeah, and being under an illusion for the whole day must be tiring" Eevee agreed.
"Everything hurts... Tomorrow's gonna be so hard"
"Hey, don't worry, Poké-human! You can always eat an Oran or drink a potion, remember?" Cyndaquil told him, laying down next to him.
"Guess you're right, but is still going to be hard to keep this up for who knows how long. I've already screwed up a lot of times and I can swear Akari is starting to get suspicious of me. Hopefully I'll get used to it someday and it won't be that hard"
"Well, for now, let's got to sleep. You look really tired" Eevee chuckled, curling into a ball next to him.
Shinx did something similar, but Zoroark noticed how he and Wurmple kept close to each other the whole time. He smiled at that.
They really make a cute couple.
The room felt silent after that. Zoroark started to close his eyes. The first official day as a human has passed, and Arceus, was it hard... How can Akari do this everyday?
His thoughts were interrupted when Cyndaquil spoke again. "Hey Poké-human, do you mind telling us about how you and Eevee got here?"
"Yeah, I wanna know too!" Shinx added.
"Do you mind if I listen to the story too? It's okay if it's a no..." Wurmple said.
"Nah" Eevee reassured. "I'm sure it'll be fine, right?"
"Yeah, I don't see why not"
Zoroark paused as he grinned. A bit of storytelling wouldn't hurt, right? "Alright, so how much do you know about the Icelands?"
End of Chapter 4
Sorry for taking this long to update. I forgot how hard it was to write from scratch. I also edited some parts of the past chapters (specially chapter 1).
I really wanted to do a Halloween special for this or my other story, but I didn't have enough time. Maybe for Christmas?
Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to leave a review! They make my day.