Hello guys and bienvenidos to the next update! Going to a little bit of a quicker turnaround with this update and hopefully the next since I'll have a bit of a vacation coming up and will resume writing when I return.
I'll be shifting focus to this story more for a while as I had just concluded the base story of my Pokemon Moon novelization; A Hui Hou Kākou which has clocked in 92 chapters from the beginning of Elio "Sun" Northstar's journey to when he finally ascends to the throne of Koa as Alola's very first champion. As I've explained in the beginning chapter, A Life You Will Remember does take place in the same universe albeit about a decade later. AHHK is still not fully finished and I'm expecting about 5-6 more chapters to go before I can finally stamp the "complete" status and close the books on it. Do check it out if you can!
Still quite a bit to cover here, so let's get to it. Enjoy the chapter everyone!
Ladders were just as much of a task to climb as large flights of stairs. Jules was first after Nemona, followed by Rian as she made her way up, grabbing rung after rung enough that she had no idea if it was spinning and leaving her in place.
Don't look down.
Her arms and legs ached as if her body knew it was farther away from solid ground and it took more effort to cling to the side since she realized a slip and fall would end up like Rian earlier in the day.
I have no desire to test out the Rotophone's capabilities to save me from a fall that high up.
Finally the daylight filtered through the doorway beyond the platform at the top, additional railings were installed on the side to help someone climb as well as prevent accidental slips. Jules grabbed one and pulled herself onto the top floor, a large sturdy concrete circular disk that was even bigger standing on it than when they would see it all the time from the ground.
"Over here!" Nemona was leaning against the railing, looking northward.
Passing the peligro warning signs, the twins joined her on either side, almost too short to comfortably lean against the rail like Nemona was doing. A flock of fletchling scattered as they approached, chirping as they flew away.
The wind was much more fierce up there compared to the ground level. For a moment, it had taken them by surprise as they finally found out how high up they were. Situated on a narrow cliff that jutted out to sea, they could view almost the entirety of their home of Cabo Poco and the neighboring town of Los Platos. And in the background, the sun sparkled off the deep sapphire blue of the ocean that stretched beyond what the eye could see.
"Wow." Jules was breathless, both from the trek up and the sight. "It's amazing. Beautiful."
Rian didn't say anything, but he marveled at the sight just the same. He squinted, trying to pick out their house from the neighborhoods. Nemona pointed out her own manor in the affluent central part just west of downtown.
There's the precinct. He spotted their father's workplace at the end of Cabo Poco's main street. A thought went across his mind imagining him preoccupied with mundane paperwork the entire day after dropping their mother off.
Jules snapped a picture of the view with her new phone. "I'm gonna send that to mom and dad. We're already seeing some crazy cool stuff!"
"But there's another reason I brought the two of you up here." Nemona's voice softened. "I went right at this spot, on the top of Luz Sur when I found out that my very own pokemon adventure was about to begin. I took a look down where I pointed out my house in Cabo Poco and then back over there," she gestured out towards the vast expanse of Paldea. Rian and Jules saw large cliffs, rolling hills, grasslands, treelines and grand valleys all ahead. They were already excited to see what new things awaited them, what new pokemon they could see.
"I knew there was so much to explore, but there's some bit of calmness, some serenity from everything that has happened up here that you can't get down there."
She sighed. "It really felt like it was yesterday that I set out on my own journey. Now it's both of your turns. Over in that direction is our destination; Mesagoza where we still begin our school year. Everywhere as far as you can see! Mountains, grasslands, rivers, woods! You can even see some of the Diablo Badlands from here!"
The twins followed Nemona pointing to the east where there was the beginning of a rusty orange hue and large craggy rock outcroppings. The variety of terrain they could just see from atop the observation deck of the Luz Sur was incredible.
"It's gonna be so hala and great to have you two in the same class!"
"Agreed! I'm looking forward to it!" Jules said.
Rian had to agree, though there was one other thing on his mind. "But all that schoolwork,"
"Oof yeah, sometimes I forget that we're still technically in school and it's a lot of it." Nemona gave a defeated sigh. "There's no way around it either, but hey, you work hard so you can play hard!"
Rian and Jules nodded, understanding where she was going. Yeah, I guess that is a good way to look at it.
"We're gonna learn so much and get to battle so, so, so, SO much!" The upperclasswoman was practically brimming with excitement. "And you know what's all over in those natural areas that I told you about? Tons and tons of pokemon! Consider this me officially telling you, welcome to Paldea!"
"Well, actually more of Paldea than what we've seen as kids…right?" Rian smirked at her. He was already getting excited about the idea of getting to battle a lot more. Nemona paused for a second before she and Jules burst out in laughter. His composure and smile couldn't be kept in long and he ended up joining them.
"Oh man." She wiped a few tears from her eyes. "That was really funny, Rian! You're a really funny guy! I forgot that you said you and your sister have lived here pretty much your whole lives!"
And it's already shaping up to be eventful. We have our first pokemon and a weird robot dragon that was more or less given to us by some jerk. Maybe Jules and I haven't seen all of Paldea, but there's no better time!
A few more minutes to marvel the view and the trio were heading back down the ladder in a tedious one by one process. Jules felt relief as soon as her shoes touched down on the solid concrete floor.
Heights like that aren't something I'm super comfortable with.
"So what's the plan?" Rian asked as he finally slid down the final rungs and joined her and Nemona at the front of Luz Sur.
"You can kinda see it's a bit of a hike to get all the way over there from here. We'll make it into Los Platos by evening. I'll get us reservations at a hostel and we'll be off for Mesagoza in the morning. We'll get you settled into your dorms just in time for the opening assembly and the first days of class!"
"And maybe catch a pokemon for real this time!" Jules made a fist. Oh yeah, she was definitely eager now.
"Yes! I love it! Come on, vamos!" Nemona led the way. "Off we go!"
And thus, their journey began. Nemona in the front with the twins close behind. They kept a reasonable pace, not exactly dawdling, but also taking the time to soak in the grand feeling of adventure. The longer they walked down the path towards Los Platos, the less civilization could be seen and soon enough, they couldn't hear any sounds of cars. Said sounds were replaced by the cries of pokemon, both visible and not.
Conversation was lively. Rian and Jules told Nemona all about how life was in their quaint home at Cabo Poco. Their mother, while currently on active duty for the Armada, favored gardening in her spare time whenever she was home and had an expansive one in their front yard which she used to frequently grow vegetables and fruits they used to cook. On the weeks she was ashore on leave, Gabby would take the excess harvest during the summers and fall to the downtown market. Nemona wasn't a gamer, but she listened to Rian talking about how much he loved his console and playing online with friends and other people around the world. His fascination with the PalMoto Racing League almost made Jules roll her eyes. Her brother really got excited talking when it was about something he was super passionate about. Of course he'd talk about his favorite racer, Maximiliano Págan.
It wasn't for another hour when they finally came across someone else on the path, a young boy that looked to be a year or two younger than the twins.
"Hey there!" The kid wore a pair of brown suspenders and a yellow shirt with a hat. "You guys look like students at Uva! How about a quick battle?"
Nemona looked like she was about to jump on his offer when she stopped herself, looking towards the twins. "I feel like this is more your time than anything! As much as I'd like to take you up, I feel like it's the new trainers' turn to try!"
Jules won one match with that haircut, so it's only fair now it's my turn to try and win.
Rian agreed to the challenge and they established an area off the main path where they could properly battle. Nemona acted as an officiant, holding her arms up and calling for them to send out their pokemon.
Baron's ball was thrown, still a little awkwardly though it had did the job as intended. The quaxly brushed his coif and bristled for a battle.
"Check out my new and awesome pokemon!' The boy threw out his own pokemon, a small tarontoula. "You ready for an awesome battle!"
Rian nodded and Nemona excitedly signaled for the battle to begin.
"Let's start this off buddy, use tackle!" As the other trainer's bug rapidly scuttled across the ground to close the gap, Rian froze.
Wait. Phone to see moves! He fumbled with the device, nearly having it slip out of his grasp before it floated at eye level to his left, allowing both a glance at the information on-screen as well as a clear view of the battlefield. Baron cried out as the tarontoula's threw its entire body into his.
"Okay, um…use pound!"
The tarontoula was still in the middle of his retreat when Baron went after him, his small webbed feet quickly running across the ground. It gave out its own cry of pain when Baron brought his wings down. His opponent lashed out with another tackle and when he stumbled away, had launched a thin sticky thread of webbing that instantly adhered to Baron's side.
Nonono! This is not how I was expecting to be able to battle! "Water gun!"
The younger kid was a bit slow to react when Baron's stream of high pressure water severed the connection and blasted the tarontoula into the grass. It rolled on top of its woven silky sphere and fainted.
"Tarontoula is unable to battle! Baron is the winner!"
"Yes!" Jules jumped up by Nemona's side. "Good job big bro!"
Huh…I won. I won my first battle. Rian sighed with relief as Baron walked back, jumping up and down with excitement and proudly puffing his chest out. I wasn't in control of the entire match. How come this whole thing of being a trainer is going so smoothly for Jules while I'm having nothing but problems?
"Aww man," the boy gave a bit of a pout. "Darn, I lost!"
For a moment, Rian felt a pang of sympathy. He wasn't the greatest trainer he could be and still couldn't give his opponent much of a proper fight.
Still. A win is a win.
"Good battle." He managed to stride up and extend his hand out. The boy looked confused before enthusiastically shaking hands. "You fought really well."
"It wasn't enough to win." The kid sighed. His spirits were dampened for just a moment before perking up again. "But you're pretty good with that quaxly! I bet you're gonna be a super strong trainer! If you battle as good against others like you did with me, you'll get there super fast!"
That is true, there's going to be plenty of other trainers to challenge and battle on our journey.
"But we don't always know if you're wanting to battle. That's why we usually ask both sides."
"Makes sense." Jules said from next to him. "You never know who's in a hurry when you stop someone walking."
"There was some boy who ran really fast down the path towards Los Platos." The boy said. "I tried to see if he was wanting to battle too, but he was gone before I could even finish talking. He had long hair and wore an Uva Academy uniform too, is he also a student?"
Nemona stepped forward. "I think so. Don't worry, we'll keep that in mind."
Jules sighed as the trio had bid the youngster farewell and kept walking down the trail. From when they had last seen him, the only person she could see fitting the description was Arven. After abruptly putting the care of this "Miraidon" in hers and Rian's hands, he had vanished and couldn't care less about them.
I have no idea what his deal is, but something tells me we're going to be finding out very soon. Jerk.
It was another half hour of walking when they reached the outskirts of the town of Los Platos. Along the way, the sun was shifting to the afternoon and the twins found their stomachs starting to growl relentlessly. Because Rian's serranito had been gleefully devoured by the gigantic cyber dragon that was now with them, Jules gave him half of hers and they both ate while trudging along. There was hardly room to complain and they each would have preferred half of a sandwich compared to nothing at all. The chocolate was semi melted in the wrapper, so the twins ate their bars peeling bit by bit back to prevent it from getting on their hands.
Not long after and they reached a creek that flowed downstream under a sturdy wooden bridge. As they crossed over, Rian and Jules could see more hoppip and fletchling flying lazily overhead. However upon closer inspection, there were several new pokemon species they hadn't seen before. Many of them frolicked around the banks of the creek, oblivious to the humans' presence.
"Check it out." Rian flipped his RotoPhone and opened the PokeDex app, centering it on a small blue creature with a long black and large rounded blue tail.
Scanning…match found. Azurill. Polka dot pokemon. Normal and fairy type. Its tail bounces like a rubber ball and it flings that tail around to fight opponents bigger than itself. As he registered the new species in the 'Dex, two more undocumented entries were added next to azurill's dossier. Hmm. Maybe to show that it can evolve twice?
He aimed it again at a large golden yellow pokemon with a cream colored wide bill that was floating absentmindedly in the river. Scanning…match found. Psyduck. Duck pokemon. Water type. If its constant chronic headache peaks, it may exhibit odd powers. It seems unable to recall such an episode.
Passing through the creek, they made it to the other side where more familiar pokemon species were around. Pawmi, lechonk, fletchling, scatterbug. Jules saw a group of wooper sensing their approach by a pond that was close to the creek. They perked their brownish heads up before quickly diving into the mud to perfectly camouflage and hide. She sighed in disappointment. Wooper was a pokemon she had seen many times and thought about catching one for herself.
Scanning…match found. Wooper. Paldean subspecies. Mud fish pokemon. Poison and ground type. After losing a territorial struggle, wooper began living on land. The pokemon changed over time, developing a poisonous film to protect its body.
"There's so many pokemon around here." Rian said as he walked next to her. "How hard can catching one be?"
He decided to take a look off the path and wandered into the grass. Fletchlings chirped at sensing his presence and took off into the sky. Jules could see him as he slowly crept down a slope that surrounded the pond. At first, she thought he was going after one of the wooper, but his eyes were fixated on something on the far end.
Then she saw it. A bowl-shaped haircut that was minty green with a pair of horns on the center of its crown. As it walked on concealed legs, it shifted and stiffened.
She was about to say something when Rian held a finger up. Nemona came up next to her, ready to talk again when she saw what he was trying to do.
"A ralts." She saw it across the pond. She doubted it remained oblivious to the human trying to sneak up from behind, but the young chico was doing the right thing in keeping a low profile. "They're very powerful pokemon. Or at least if you train one right…they can become very powerful."
Jules knew. Some of the posters of champions in Rian's room had said trainers in possession of a gardevoir or its male exclusive gallade. Brendan Maple of Hoenn was commonly believed to have trained the strongest gardevoir ever known. Gwen was rarely used in any of Brendan's battles, but on the occasion she did step on; she had never lost a match.
Scanning…match found. Ralts. Emotion pokemon. Psychic and fairy type. It is highly attuned to the emotions of people and pokemon nearby. The horns on its head provide a strong power allowing it to actively sense this.
Finally the ralts had sensed the human's presence enough to make it turn around and tense. Knowing his jig was up, Rian tossed out Baron's poke ball and the quaxly bristled while taking up a position that put himself between his trainer and the wild pokemon. The ralts must've sensed that the battle was inevitable.
"Okay, water gun!" As Baron jumped forward and blasted the emotion pokemon back with a fine spray, he reached into his pack and found an empty poke ball. His fingers brushed the arming button and prepared to throw it.
Just don't mess this up.
The ralts dodged a second water gun before it let out a shrill cry and sent a pulse of pinkish energy that struck Baron and nearly caused him to lose his balance.
"Disarming voice." Jules quietly said from where she was standing next to Nemona. She had read it while scanning the pokemon with her Dex app. "It's a move that is guaranteed to hit its target."
Baron took a second to refocus and rushed forward again. Instead of using pound, his wings went wide and he slammed them both into the ralts' side, sending it flying into the grass. A notification on his RotoPhone indicated that Rian's pokemon had learned wing attack.
Another move is always useful. "Wing attack again!"
The duckling pokemon dove forward as the ralts was picking itself up. Rian was expecting it to hit when he didn't hear anything. Instead, the small green and white pokemon had suddenly split itself into several identical copies that surrounded Baron.
The boy swore under his breath, holding his tongue out of habit in case his parents were around. Baron looked confused on how to proceed as he glanced back at his trainer for guidance.
What am I supposed to do? I gotta make a move! "Uh, water gun as many of them as you can!"
Baron quacked softly and spat another fine stream of water out of his bill. Three of the copes were hit and instantly dissolved, leaving two of them left. They were both decently close together and he was ready to make his first catch by pitching the ball in between them. His hope was that the ball would lock onto the real one's signature.
Okay…ready and- Baron was hit by another disarming voice, but quickly recovered and ran forward with his wings spread out for another wing attack.
"Baron no!" The cry was halfway out of Rian's mouth when the ralts stood still and the left copy winked out. The real one had been on the right and it illuminated itself in a flash of blue before vanishing.
"W-what?!" Both the quaxly and his trainer were stunned, with Rian just starting to pitch forward and grabbed the ball in time before it would basically find no pokemon at all. He clicked the button again to disarm it and looked back to where the ralts had been before it disappeared.
Baron spotted it first leaning on a branch in a tree that was definitely out of their reach. The ralts shook its head and let loose another disarming voice that homed in. Baron had tried to dodge, but the bright pink and red soundwave automatically adjusted its course to damage and fling him backwards.
"Baron wait! We need to catch it!" Rian said. His pokemon nodded in agreement, but he saw that it jumped and flipped through the air to shoot another water gun. Another flash of light and the ralts was gone. The water hitting nothing but thin air.
"No! Argh!" He hissed in frustration. "Mierda, I was this close!"
He rounded on his pokemon, both angry that a potential catch had gotten away as well as maybe looking around to see if it lingered somewhere out of his sight.
"Come on! I was this close to getting another pokemon!" Baron cocked his head quizzically and proudly puffed his chest out again. "What was that all about?"
"Rian," Jules whispered. Nemona said nothing next to her, but did pity the boy's situation. She may have been a bad thrower of poke balls, but she would've caught at least something at this point in her own journey.
"Maybe it was just chalked up to bad luck." The older girl started, getting up and walking over. Out on the grass, Rian was still tense and shaking his head while Baron jumped up and down in front, trying to get his attention.
"I'm sorry about that Rian." Nemona said quietly. Honestly, she wasn't sure what to really say to help ease his frustrations.
I can't tell him I easily caught another pokemon this early on in my journey…that'll just make him feel worse.
"It's not your fault Nemona." Rian ignored his pokemon's dancing behind him and faced her. "I…I guess I'm not ready yet to catch a pokemon if this one keeps going the way it does. Miraidon doesn't count."
"I thought I taught you all the basics of how to catch a pokemon. It shouldn't be this difficult."
Rian studied her as she closed her eyes, deep in thought. Great. Way to feel like you're already a failure if a champion can't even teach you something so basic.
"I won't give up." He finally said after a few moments of thinking. "It's like when I lost my first battle and then won my second. I can only improve."
But I really don't know if this was the right choice. I don't know if Baron was the pokemon I should've taken. Maybe he's better suited to Nemona. Something to think about.
"That's the spirit!" Nemona's smile returned and Rian didn't feel as bad for losing sight of the ralts. "To be fair, you can see that I'm not the greatest at throwing poke balls, even though I'm a Champion ranked trainer. So at least you have something I don't! No tengas miedo! I have faith in you!"
Nemona's encouragement didn't completely dry up his downed hopes. He did have to admit hearing she had her own struggles, some of them apparent now. Her less than stellar throwing skills did make Rian feel as if maybe his own different shortcomings weren't just an anomaly for him exclusively.
"Gracias Nemona. For what it's worth, I'm really glad you're here to show us how things are done. You're right, I'll get the hang of things!"
"Faster than you know." The older girl flashed him a supportive grin and put an arm around his shoulder that caused him to look away and hide his blush. "I bet you and your sister are gonna catch some great pokemon!"
Another hour of walking and the sun was starting to shift in the evening when they had made it to Los Platos. A small town that was slightly larger than Cabo Poco, it sat at the proverbial foot of Mesagoza just shy of thirty kilometers south. A fair number of residents lived here and took the commute to the larger city either by road or by the established Mesagoza Metro station that connected it to the huge metropolis. There was plenty of space in the fields and surrounding hills to grow and already some housing projects were already being set up in anticipation for an influx of people looking for a more affordable cost of living that was outside the city. Because it was situated at the bottom of multiple steep slopes, buildings were rarely more than three stories tall. In fact, at the city's west end was the tallest structure; a control tower of the only airport servicing the town and that of Cabo Poco. Also noticeably visible with a tall post with a large poke ball icon was a building that was rather close to them.
Rian and Jules followed Nemona on the trail which gave way to a concrete sidewalk as she led them to that building. Looking at it closer and larger, they saw that it had a large disc-like roof raised up and out to block out the sun overhead. As soon as they stepped into the shade, they felt a cool rush of relief that was aided by mounted fans under the eaves that wafted a gentle cooling wind from above.
"Oye you two! Over here!" In their marveling and taking in the sights of Los Platos' calm atmosphere, the twins had miraculously missed Nemona bounding off towards the side of the building, taking up one of the tables that sat on the concrete foundation pad it had been built upon. "So this here is a Centro Pokémon! Or just Pokemon Center, for everyone else that speaks Basic! This is gonna be your best friend and resource while you're out there exploring all of Paldea!"
Rian and Jules spoke both dialects of Paldean as well as Basic. They had also seen centro pokemon many times when they visited other places, but kept out of them. Most of the time, non-pokemon trainers seldom had business that involved visiting.
Now that we are trainers. Jules thought to herself as she took it all in. Up above were several screens that scrolled various advertisements across for both local and big businesses as well as a multitude of entertainment arts that included music and movies.
We'll be seeing these a lot more. They're almost as common as restaurants and shopping places.
Nemona leaned against the table as she explained things further. "You can come here to take care of a lot of things when it comes to the care of your pokemon! I'd do more explaining, but I think I should best leave the essentials to the pros here."
There wasn't a lot of activity as they approached the front counter. One trainer took her three poke balls from the woman at the middle manning and headed back into town. The staff member had paused from her work and glanced up at the three of them approaching.
"Bienvenidos a la centro pokemon!" She greeted them with a cheery smile, flawlessly switching to Basic. "Welcome to the pokemon center! How may we be of service to you today?"
Jules stepped forward, holding out Basil's poke ball. "You guys take care of tired pokemon right?"
"Si, very much so." The woman asked for her trainer license and showed her a spot where she could scan it. "We document every transaction from the standard healing of a pokemon to something that might require more extensive care to make sure that each centro pokemon in Paldea is operating to the same high standard."
"La Liga oversees all of them like most of the other Pokemon Leagues in other regions." Nemona explained further. The nurse had finished healing Basil in just a few seconds, handing Jules her poke ball back on a tray. "Healing your pokemon is and always has been completely free of charge. It's their main and most important service."
"How do you know if a pokemon needs extra care?" Rian asked. He had followed Jules' actions, presenting his trainers license and handing her Baron's poke ball.
"We run a quick diagnostic which tells us the best course of action." The nurse explained to him, while sliding the ball into an enclosed tube that pulsed with blue lighting. Rian saw an icon of a quaxly above the space where the ball had been set and a digital health bar quickly crept up from the yellow and orange status back to a full green. "Most pokemon that faint from battle or have status conditions can be cured and fully restored in a matter of seconds. It's when bones get broken or wounds getting infected that might prompt those. If it does happen to be something serious, we'll administer the proper aid and advise you on the proper measures to make sure your pokemon makes the quickest recovery it can."
Ah okay. That makes sense. Rian nodded his thanks, taking Baron's ball back and slipping it onto his belt. A few seconds later when Nemona had her own pokemon restored at the center, they thanked the nurse and moved down the counter to a man wearing a blue polo in a similar logo to the nursing services.
"So this here is the Mercada Pokémon. Or again, Poké Mart for the Basic speakers. You can buy all sorts of useful items like potions, poke balls and other things!"
"Hola! Bienvenidos a Mercada Pokémon! Welcome to the Poké Mart! We accept payments in both pokeuros and LPs! With the current exchange rate; one LP is worth one pokeuro!"
Nemona stepped forward. "Well actually, I'm going to buy something while I'm here. Can I please get a dozen ultra balls?"
"Of course!" Rian and Jules watched the clerk ring up her purchase. Nemona had opted this time to pay in cash before pocketing them. Ultra balls looked similar to regular poke balls except for a gold and black design on the top half of the clamshell. His eyes nearly bulged in surprise when he saw the overall cost.
More than ninety six hundred pokeuros?! These things cost so much more than what I see here for a regular poke ball! Diving that number by a dozen and based on how much he saw on the pricing, a single ultra ball cost as much as four of its standard counterpart. Additionally they could see several vending machines on the far end that offered a variety of different food and drinks that trainers or anyone paying could help themselves. Rian saw that it was a pretty good selection and variety. He'd have to check it out later.
"And last, but not least is the TM Machine!" Nemona said, showing them the third section of the centro pokemon services counter. "Technical machines can help teach your pokemon to use new moves! But you remember how I said they're a one-time use thing?"
Rian and Jules nodded.
"Oh yeah, so it used to be that way. They were incredibly rare and expensive, but the companies that make them have found a way to make certain ones you can use as many times as you want. Here in Paldea, they're all one use…but this machine here lets you make as many TMs as you'd like! Each new TM you pick up saves the pattern and you can make it at the machine using both pokemon materials and LP!"
"I've heard you mention LP quite a bit now." Jules said. She let Basil out of his ball and he immediately jumped into her arms. "But what exactly is it?"
Nemona smirked and laughed. "Sorry, I get caught up in showing you everything around that I never even mentioned! LP is basically a new virtual currency that Leagues around the world are trying to circulate. Since trainers may be visiting foreign regions that aren't of their home, sometimes it can be a little hard to get your hands on other currencies like Pokepounds or Pokedollars! The idea is that having one that's universal to trainers nearly everywhere will make it less stressful. Just keep in mind that the same items in another region…say Galar, aren't going to have exactly the same prices as you find them here. As a matter of fact, I think Galar is more expensive."
She brought out her RotoPhone. "Here! I'll go ahead and give you both some LP!"
The twins did the same and their screens flashed as they received an LP transfer from Nemona that numbered five thousand. It was enough for several of the expensive items that they could see were immediately available.
"So always remember this…had enough of an adventure? Get to a pokemon center!" She laughed slightly. "It doesn't really work when you try to say it in Paldean though."
"I can tell. A for effort though." Rian told her. Nemona blinked at him before she burst out in laughter. It wasn't long before they did too.
"Cômico! You're really funny, Rian!" Her compliment didn't go unnoticed by the young boy, who had to once again turn away to hide his blush. It was the second time she told that to him today.
Not only is she super pretty, loves to battle…basically my type of girl…but she's laughing at some jokes that I made and super easy to get along with! I'm either getting lucky or I'm in for it when her boyfriend finds out.
"My brother tries his best." Jules sighed. Basil squeaked for her attention and she calmly stroked the top of his head.
"Now while you have him out, I should also tell you about Let's Go! Compared to times from earlier, you can now have your pokemon walk alongside you and battle wild pokemon in auto-battles! They're determined by both how strong your pokemon along with how strong the wild pokemon happen to be! Auto battles don't let you catch pokemon though, so make sure you step in and take control if it's something you want!"
"Sounds easy enough." Rian threw out Baron and the quaxly waddled up, jumping up and down in excitement after being fully healed.
Though the display was adorable, he couldn't help but frown in disappointment at his own dissatisfaction of Baron being rather stubborn and hotheaded when it came to trying to battle and catch his own pokemon.
What kind of a trainer am I if I can't even handle a single quaxly? Looking at Jules and Nemona as they waved a farewell to the centro pokemon staff and headed down the street, he couldn't help but feel a growing sentiment of envy at how his younger sister and her own starter pokemon had immediately hit it off.
Baron trailed the girls and stopped, turning around to glance at his trainer when he noticed wasn't following.
Rian snapped out of his thoughts and quickly ran towards them in order to catch up.
The evening was beginning to set in when Nemona led them to the other end of the street where she checked in for three guests. She explained to them the place was an albergue or a hostel. They were smaller lodging that had communal dining and dormitory type sleeping arrangements. Paldea was very popular for traveling and albergue offered a less expensive, no-frills place to sleep for a night or few. The man at the front desk gave them room and bed assignments in the dorms that were exclusive for the younger students that attended Uva Academy.
"And most of them here in Paldea let Uva students stay free for one night. Longer stays, you can get a discount if you book online or show your student ID."
In the common area was a well-kept kitchen and big table. Rian and Jules could see a coffee maker and empty platters that Nemona explained this particular place would provide fruit and pastries in the morning for breakfast.
They had been lucky enough that no other students were staying in the shared dorms, so Rian had the boys' section to himself and both Jules and Nemona would be the only ones occupying it for tonight. Small pokemon were allowed as long as they did not make a large mess and battling while inside the building was prohibited.
Baron kept dancing around as Rian stowed his backpack in his locker, setting aside sleepwear. Luckily, this albergue provided biodegradable disposable toothbrushes, toothpaste and a cotton towel so that he was able to use the bathroom to clean himself up before going to sleep. His stomach growled and he had been so absorbed in trying to understand all the new things he was learning on how to be a trainer.
Shower first. We've got a couple hours of daylight left.
A few minutes later, he put on the spare set of clothes that he brought and met Jules in the common room. Aside from an older couple that were beginning to head out, the albergue was fairly empty. The staff members running the place said now that school was going back in session; visitations dropped drastically. Come the summertime and the place would be packed with people.
Like him, Jules had long finished her shower and left her braid undone. Her chocolate brown hair flowed out down to her shoulders. Anyone else looking for her would likely have passed over, but Rian had known his sister for far too long and immediately could see it despite the differences.
"Hey."
"Hey," she smiled and waved from the other side of the table. "I was thinking of going to get a bite to eat and maybe actually try my own hand at catching a pokemon for real this time."
"Yeah sounds great. Nemona around?"
Jules' lips curled up in a smirk. "She's in the shower currently and was saying she had something with the school to do once she was done. Why? Care to stare some more?"
"What?"
"Oh come on." The teasing smirk widened. "I can clearly see it all over you. You have a massive crush."
Rian made to deny it, but couldn't find the words which only served to Jules that she was right on the money.
"Okay, maybe I do find her really pretty and she loves to battle! What more is there to say or do sis? If she's already a champion class trainer and the student council president, then there's no way she'd ever give me the time of day!"
"What are you talking about? All this talk of being out of someone's league is all stuff people say to scare you! If you really like Nemona, you should try to get to know her a little better."
"And when her boyfriend finds out?"
"Oh," Jules face fell, she hadn't thought of it the same way he had. "Yeah, I guess that's kind of important."
"I'm not going to do anything to come between anyone because of my own jealousy. No way Nemona is single with how popular she apparently is at this Academy."
"And this is my free pass to get you back at all the times you've teased me." Jules led the way out the door with Basil at her heels. Rian and Baron followed close behind as they made their way further into town. Clearly she was enjoying teasing him back about his obvious crush on their new friend.
Rian sighed and rolled his eyes, but couldn't help smile at the display. "Keep dreaming about finding that prince fo yours sis. That's all I'll say on that."
Dinner was a light affair. They had found a small bar where they quickly downed a couple of tapas and water before heading back towards the albergue. But instead of returning to where they were going to spend the night, the twins moved towards the taller treeline and wilderness that was a kilometer to the west. Night was beginning to fall, so they opted to stay just at the edge of the nearest road where there was a little bit of activity from a few pokemon that inhabited the brush.
"Wow. It's crazy how you can just walk a little further inland and see so many new different types of pokemon."
"Yeah." Jules felt almost overwhelmed by the amount of different species and options she could have as potential partners. It's okay. You don't have to have an entirely full party here. She saw more movement in the trees, finally able to make out small rounded pokemon that had a pink and white body. Four green sepals in a calyx were on top of its head.
Never seen that one before. She raised her phone and the Dex app automatically scanned it to provide some information.
Bounsweet. Fruit pokemon. Grass type. Its sweat is sweet, like syrup made from boiled-down fruit. Because of this, Bounsweet was highly valued in the past, when sweeteners were scarce.
Jules shook her head. Though they were cute pokemon, she felt the need to diversify different typings on the team she carried to help cover their weaknesses. It was actually a bit of a shame since most of the pokemon living here seemed like they would be easy catches.
It didn't help that though appealing, none of them really stood out as a pokemon she had to catch. Passing them over was hardly a big of a deal.
Rian saw his sister get a bit dejected and tried to think of something to cheer her up. It didn't help matters that they were already exhausted from traveling all the way from Cabo Poco in the morning and his near-death episode where they met Miraidon.
"Hey, we can always try tomorrow if nothing really catches your eye." He told her. "We did just become trainers today and we have all the time we want to plan and look out for something."
Jules was about to agree when she saw that Basil had tensed on the ground next to her. There was something in the brush that he had detected moving towards them. Rian noticed Baron had as well.
A threat? Should we go and get Nemona?
A tiny yellow and pale white head poked out of the taller blades of grass and bristled at the sight of Basil. The sprigatito hissed softly, ready to defend his trainer.
The pokemon came into view, it was a small puppy on four stubby short legs. It blinked at them with dark beady eyes and shook its rounded head. For some reason, the feeling of missing out on catching a pokemon had went away as soon as Jules set her eyes on this one.
"Rian, look at it! It's so cute!"
He followed her gaze to the source of the commotion and laughed lightly, seeing the puppy and Basil get ready to square off. "Isn't that a fidough? Their ears look like the pastries we see in bakeries."
"It is." Jules brought out her RotoPhone to scan it and prepared for battle. I'm gonna catch this one.
Fidough. Puppy pokemon. Fairy type. This pokemon is smooth and slightly moist to the touch. This pokemon's breath contains a yeast that induces fermentation and is extremely useful for cooking.
The wild fidough didn't wait around for either of them to get ready before it suddenly ran forward to slam into Basil in a tackle.
"Basil!" Jules cried out. She quickly got her phone out to keep in front as the grass cat scrambled to his feet and hissed a little more urgently at his foe.
Okay, don't worry about catching just yet. Let's weaken it a little first.
"Alright Basil, use leafage!" At her command, he had twirled around to fling a flurry of leaves that battered it from all sides. The fidough yelped, using its backwards tumble to jump onto its feet and run at him again for a tackle.
Jules called for another leafage, but she was a little too slow and Basil cried out when the fidough struck him again. It had interrupted his attack and she could tell that the second tackle was starting to wear him down.
"Use bite! Get in close!"
The fidough was just breaking away when Basil had gotten back up on his feet and chased the puppy down. He growled and sunk his teeth down into the first part he could find, it's midsection. The fidough yelped even louder, its small limbs flailing as it was tossed away. Jules' heart raced as it tried to limply stand and continue the battler.
This could be my chance!
"Jules now!" Rian said, watching the action from next to her. She immediately took out a poke ball, making sure the capture matrix was armed before throwing it towards the downed pokemon. The ball had a little bit of a spin, but stopped as it neared and locked onto the fidough's signature. They watched as it opened and sucked the target in with a flash of light.
She held her breath as it bounced on the ground and began to bobble. Three shakes and a snap to indicate a successful capture.
One.
Two.
Three. And then they heard an audible click and the poke ball settled. She let out that breath she was holding. Her very first pokemon catch.
"Wow." Rian said as she walked over and proudly held it up for him to see. "Look at that…your first capture. Congrats sis."
"Thank you!" She brought up her RotoPhone and examined the summary of her newest member of the party. Since Rian hadn't caught anything yet, he stood next to her to see how it worked scrolling through the statuses of her new team.
This fidough is female and has the ability own tempo.
"Are you going to nickname her?"
"Yeah. I gotta think of something first." Jules felt as happy as could be. For what it was worth, Rian felt similar and proud of his sister, even if it was as if she was effortlessly accomplishing the things he thought he would've picked up by now.
"Let's head on back to the albergue. I'll think of something on the way."
"Oh there you guys are!" Nemona waved from her spot in the kitchen. She was just finishing to wash a plate and flatware in the sink before placing it on a metal drying rack. "I'm sorry that I got caught up in school stuff. Life can get real crazy sometimes when you're Student Council Presidente!"
"It's okay." Jules smiled, showing that she didn't want her to feel bad. Rian said nothing, having to do a double take.
Stop staring.
Nemona must've showered while they were out. Her hair was undone out of the ponytail he had seen earlier and it glistened in the light from a dampness. It was enough to force him to look away.
Wow. She's even prettier like that. Just stop…it's already established in my mind that.
"And we actually caught a pokemon! Or…well I did at least!" Jules held her new fidough's ball up. "Here, I'll show you!"
She let it out and the small puppy looked around in curiosity before settling its dark beady eyes on Jules and scampering towards her. Both Nemona and Rian laughed lightly at the affectionate display that was far from the fierce behavior they had seen while it was in the wild.
"Aww it's a fidough!" Nemona knelt down and gave it a gentle pat on the head. Basil then walked in front of Jules, its own expression a bit sullen that his trainer was giving the other pokemon attention. "They're a really good beginner pokemon and fairy is a great type to have!"
"Well good!" Jules said. "I've been hoping that my first catch was a good one and she's really really playful!"
Rian watched the display, finally getting a chance to pet her newest pokemon. The fidough was eating it up, hardly standing still for one of the three to be able to give her pats and head scratches.
"Sis, didn't you say you were gonna nickname her?"
"Oh yeah." Her face contorted in thinking and she cupped her chin with her hands. "A good name? Now that I've actually had time and given it some thought, vacía."
Her eyes brightened and she knelt down as the fidough had enough of Rian and went back to her trainer.
"How about Daniela? Dani for short!" They couldn't really tell if the fidough liked the name or not, but she had walked next to Jules' feet and nuzzled her ankles.
"Congrats again sis." Rian said a little quieter than he had liked. Jules had been even more delighted when Basil walked over, giving the other pokemon a sniff. "Dani's a great name and I bet it's going to be a great pokemon. I can already tell Mom is gonna love her."
His sister was still smiling as Basil and Dani played by chasing one another around her legs. "Thank you. That really means a lot. And I bet! If we're here catching pokemon, I'm pretty sure we're gonna have to do something about them running around in the house when we go back."
Yeah. We will.
She stifled a yawn, "As much as this day has been huge for me, I think I'm going to turn in for the night. I'm guessing we'll be off to Mesagoza tomorrow?"
Nemona nodded. "Yup. Bright and early! They'll have some breakfast for us that we can take before hiking up the hill! We're almost there!"
"Okay. That sounds good. You two sleep well." Jules bade them goodnight and headed down the hallway, both Basil and Dani following close behind.
Rian and Nemona watched her go and stayed quiet for a few seconds until she broke the silence.
"You know, you're a really awesome big brother. For you two being new trainers to meeting me just today, you've come along so far! I knew you two were going to be very strong!"
"Yeah." His own reply was less than enthusiastic. "Maybe."
I couldn't even catch a pokemon and Jules did it first. She's cruising through this trainer stuff and I'm still trying to walk so to speak.
"What's wrong?" Nemona asked. "I know you're tired too, but you look like something's bothering you."
She had been right about that. His first battle lost, his failed attempt to capture a ralts that afternoon and the fact that his quaxly seemed to be rambunctious all on its own and he was having a hard time convincing himself this was the right pokemon for him.
He'd heard of some trainers often having personality clashes with their starter pokemon before. Some being bad enough that their trainers ended up bringing them back to the professor or whoever had bestowed it to them. Though it was focused so that the pokemon would be at a young age to increase the likelihood of bonding with a newly minted trainer, the occasion did happen.
And if he was going to become a champion like the ones he idolized; it felt like Baron's own preference to take things relaxed and jump around to dance just didn't feel like what Rian was looking for in his first pokemon. It wasn't that he hated Baron. If it was just to be a trainer, he'd make a great pokemon partner.
But if Baron wasn't willing to help his trainer out, to continue to do things his own way…he wasn't sure on what to do.
He didn't even know if this was the right thing either.
"Nemona, I've been meaning to ask you something."
Her features softened and Rian fought the blush on his face as she pushed aside a stray lock of hair that covered her ear.
"We can also trade pokemon with other students right?" When she nodded in affirmative, he sucked in a breath. This is it. Here goes nothing.
"Then…I'd like to make a trade offer. Baron for Saeta."
So! Taking a little bit of a different direction with this one! I've always been intrigued by the whole concept of a trainer being dissatisfied with their starter pokemon that might not quite mesh with them right away. I've always kind of wondered how a young trainer would respond to something like this where a starter pokemon doesn't turn out to be as agreeable as expected. I find it to be an interesting contrast to Jules who clearly gets along with Basil extremely well and caught herself a new pokemon of her own!
Logged 'Dex Entries: Azurill, Psyduck, Bounsweet & Fidough
Spanish Translations
No tengas miedo! - Fear not!
Albergue - Hostel/Inn
Vacīa - Empty/Nothing
Portuguese Translations
Cômico! - You are funny!
Stay tuned for the next update! As always, thank you for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.
Brav