Track 2 - Yonkers
"NxtstopNvmTwn," a voice gargled over the intercom.
A girl held onto her bag and her Rowlet tightly to her chest. She was running on fumes fueled by caffeine drinks and jetlag. She slowly stood up and tried to find her balance on the wobbly subway. She watched as the rapidly passing countryside view became a dark tunnel. The train came to a crawl and then a sudden stop, and the girl had to stomp her leg down to keep from falling on her face.
When the doors opened, no one else got off the train. She was the last passenger. She ended up in a large empty station, unsure if she was in the right place.
She expected dozens, maybe hundreds, of other trainers. But, it was just her.
She placed her Rowlet on her left shoulder, helping the Pokémon find balance before she properly put on her green backpack.
She stood out in the empty station. Its plain concrete walls contrasted her black shirt with purple flower print. She wore a purple hat to match; it had her favorite rap duo's signature hand gestures on the front. Her newly acquired green headphones hung from her neck, and she blasted music loud enough so that she could hear it even if it weren't on her head.
Her music was the only sound in the entire station, echoing off the walls.
She walked up the concrete steps and to the ticket gate. The attendant had their nose in their cell phone and had the girl wanted to hop the gate, the attendant wouldn't have noticed. She took the noble route though and touched her temporary train pass against the gate. The small doors lifted, and the girl walked through.
"Leinani?" a voice called from the side. "Leinani Koa?"
Leinani looked to the right, finding a girl her age. She turned down the volume on her Pokédex music app and tried to give the girl her attention. The song was just about to get to the good part, and she couldn't help it if she wanted to punch the girl in the face for cutting in at the most inopportune time.
"My name is Skylar Hayes. I'm currently a lab assistant for Professor Juniper," the girl said. She approached Leinani and held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you!"
"Likewise," Leinani said while shaking the girl's hand. She expected the girl's hand to feel weak, but she had a firm grip.
Her skin was lightly tanned, and she was dressed for summer. She wore a baseball cap with a white bear Pokémon embroidered on the front. She had on jean shorts that were cut off at the thigh, and a loose olive tank top. Under that was a black sports bra that Leinani could clearly see. Her eyes widened. Her mother would never let her dress like that. Leinani felt slightly embarrassed, and she tugged at her baggy Alolan shirt.
"Nuvema is a pretty small place! It'll only take a half hour to get to the lab!" Skylar exclaimed. She examined Leinani's Rowlet. The Pokémon had managed to fall asleep on her shoulder. "This is your Rowlet? I watched your Manalo Conference battle. This little guy can go!"
Leinani held up her hand. "Don't get too excited. First things first, she is a she. Secondly, her name is DJ. Thirdly, she's trying to sleep."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Which conference battle did you watch?"
"Your semi-final bout."
Leinani felt a sudden stabbing sensation in her spine. She had lost in the semi-finals.
"I'll show you my Pokémon later if you're interested," Skylar said.
Upon exiting Nuvema station, Leinani set her eyes on a massive empty street. Her image of Unova was completely different. She imagined that everywhere she looked, she'd find rowdy people having Pokémon battles or listening to music.
The main street of Nuvema Town was essentially lifeless with the exception of a few restaurants that specialized in hot dogs or pizza. And even those places lacked any patrons.
"Pretty quiet, eh?" Leinani said.
Skylar nodded and then descended the steps to the sidewalk. "Nuvema is the quietest place in Unova. Enjoy it while you can."
Leinani followed Skylar as they left the main street and continued onto smaller roads with even less going on. Skylar turned and looked back, seeing the beach. It was the end of summer, so she wondered if that was where everyone was. She couldn't hear anything though, so she was unsure.
Eventually, the two left the main area of Nuvema Town and started to work their way through the countryside. It was what Leinani had been looking at for roughly thirty minutes during her train ride. She enjoyed the lush jungles of Alola, but there was something about trees in Unova that she simply thought was boring.
They passed the train tracks. Leinani could see a small theme park and circus in the distance, but she couldn't tell if it was active. She was curious to go and check it out later, but she noticed that Skylar actively avoided looking at it.
"You recommend going anywhere while I'm here?" Leinani asked, trying to start a conversation.
"There's a hot dog place by the station. I should have taken you there. Are you hungry?" Skylar asked. She came to a stop and looked at Leinani nervously.
"Nah, I'm good right now. I'm just curious about what there is to do here," Leinani said.
Skylar shrugged. "I'm actually from Nimbasa City. You see my hat? It's the Nimbasa Cubchoo! I think Nuvema Town is so boring."
"So, it's not just me?"
"It's not just you."
They continued their boring journey into the countryside, ending up in a neighborhood. They passed by a small kindergarten and playground. Leinani was reminded of her little brother. He was ten years old, but any child, regardless of age, brought back memories.
Skylar stopped in front of a large house and then held her arms up in the air. She made sure to keep her announcement quiet, so as to not wake up Rowlet. "We're here!"
"This is a lab?" Leinani wondered. She looked at the large house. It appeared nothing out of the ordinary, and had she not had Skylar to guide her, she would have missed it.
"Juniper studies on the inside, but that backyard forest area is also a part of everything. It's where she keeps all of her students' Pokémon," Skylar said. She opened the gate, and two medium-sized canine Pokémon with poofy fur approached her. They were friendly toward Skylar, but they sniffed Leinani and then immediately retreated.
They climbed the small steps of the porch, and Skylar opened the screen door. The next door was heavy and old, and she had to use her entire body weight to push it open. Leinani followed her into the house, finding that the inside was drastically different from the outside.
Computers and technology that Leinani couldn't even comprehend were connected to the walls. The wires were neatly wrapped together and tied to the wall so that they wouldn't get in the way. There were dozens of bookshelves with hundreds of books organized in alphabetical order.
"Take off your shoes," Skylar said while taking off her shoes and putting them on a small shelf at the entrance. "Aunt Juni will throw a fit if you bring in any dirt."
Leinani followed suit. She looked around the house, noticing small Pokémon of different types eyeing her. Their presence had woken up Rowlet, who was now ready to go into defensive mode if asked to.
"Juniper, I'm home!" Skylar exclaimed. She waved for Leinani to follow her into the next room. "I got that trainer for you!"
"I'm in the dining room," a woman's voice called back. "You want pizza?"
"Yes!" Skylar answered. She turned to Leinani to ask if she wanted pizza, but all the girl could manage was a shrug.
The dining room was just as organized as the rest of the house. In the middle was a large wooden table with six matching chairs surrounding it. A woman with a beige shirt and green skirt with a lab coat over them stood near the table. She held paper plates in her hands, and when she saw the two girls, she handed them over.
"Nice to meet you!" the woman said. "I'm Aurea Juniper! Everyone calls me Professor Juniper."
"I'm Leinani Koa. My friends and family call me Leilei," Leinani responded.
"That's so cute. Can we call you that?" Juniper asked.
Leinani made sure to avoid eye contact. "Nah."
Juniper laughed. "Well then. Is this your Rowlet? I watched your battles. She's cute."
"Thanks."
Juniper got in closer and observed Rowlet. She looked at the leaf on her chest. Instead of the usual bowtie look that most Rowlet had, DJ's leaf was in the shape of a heart.
"So cute," Juniper said. "Let's eat!"
The three sat down at the table. Juniper opened the massive box of pizza, revealing slices larger than Leinani's head. Juniper and Skylar casually took them while Leinani feared for her life. She slowly grabbed a piece and watched as the grease dripped back into the box.
"So, Leinani, I understand you're here to battle the gyms. You're mentor got in contact with Professor Kukui who got into contact with me. I'm actually a friend of his wife! I think we can get you all set up here!" Professor Juniper said. "I don't know what the gyms are like in Alola, but here, we have more than ten."
Leinani's eyes widened. There were only six gyms in Alola that she had to face.
Juniper held her finger up. "But, you only have to earn eight badges!"
Leinani felt a sense of relief. She exhaled loudly and then looked down at her pizza, unsure of how to tackle the monstrosity.
"They're not easy though," Skylar added. "I couldn't get through all eight in time last year, and I had to skip out on the conference."
"I'll be fine," Leinani said before taking her first bite. "Oh, wow. This is good."
"The closest gym is in Striaton City. They specialize in three different types," Professor Juniper explained.
"Is that normal?" Leinani asked with a mouthful of pizza.
Skylar bobbed her head from side to side and rolled her eyes. "No, just annoying."
"I see. Well, I can take on any challenge, even the annoying ones," Leinani said. She wiped her fingers on a napkin in a losing effort to get the grease off. "I'm also here to listen to music. Unova is a great place for rap and hip hop."
Juniper cocked her head. "I've never heard that one before. I usually hear things like 'I'm gonna be the next champion!' but I've never met a trainer interested in Unova's music. The best place to go to for music will be Castelia City. If you follow the routes and cities there, then you'll end up on a path with two gyms! And, Castelia City is big enough to host two gyms!"
"That's good to know. I'll crush 'em," Leinani said while eyeing her Rowlet who couldn't stop staring at the pizza.
Juniper laughed to herself. "You know, you're interesting! I was told that you're not exactly the most conventional of trainers, and I can see it. You might blend in with some of the trainers from Unova. Everyone here tries to stand out."
"Everyone wants to be famous," Skylar added.
"Leilei, would you be interested in one of the starter Pokémon from Unova? They have a lot of potential, and if you raise them right, they'd be a great addition to your team," Juniper exclaimed.
Leinani folded her arms. "Nah. I think I'm fine. I don't want any handouts. I've got a year of experience, and I want to use that experience to catch my own Pokémon. Thanks for the offer though."
Juniper nodded with a smile. "Alright. Alright. But, I do need to register you into our system, and we ask that you download the Xtranseiver application onto your Pokédex. If we ever need to get in contact with you, it's the easiest way."
"Got it. That's easy enough," Leinani said.
When they finished their pizza, they cleaned up and then went to the back of Professor Juniper's laboratory. It no longer looked like a house, but it reminded Leinani of her experience at the Aether Foundation. There were shelves against the wall with what appeared to be hundreds of Poké Balls.
"You sure you don't want a new Pokémon?" Juniper asked once she noticed Leinani looking around.
"I'm fine," Leinani answered.
Skylar motioned to a metal table where a thick, cylindrical bag was placed. "Tomorrow, I'll be taking that bag all around Nuvema and Accumula Town. I get to hand out a Pokémon and a Pokédex to new trainers!"
"You're too young to be a lab assistant," Leinani muttered. She couldn't imagine herself doing the job.
Juniper pulled over a desk on wheels. She faced the camera toward Leinani and then started to type in some information.
"Name is Leinani Koa," Juniper mumbled while she typed away. "You're from Malie City, and how old are you, again?"
"I recently turned twelve," Leinani said.
"How many Pokémon have you brought with you to Unova? The Pokémon league is incredibly strict and wants to know that kind of information," Juniper explained. She pulled out a small tray that looked like something that would be found at a Pokémon Center. It had enough small curved indents for six Poké Balls.
"I've brought two."
"Can you place their Poké Balls here?"
Leinani grabbed her Rowlet's Poké Ball. She had barely ever used it since receiving her starter Pokémon. She placed it on the small tray and then hesitated before grabbing her next ball, a Beast Ball. She eyed Juniper and then put the ball on the tray.
"Starting scan," Juniper said.
Rowlet and Poipole's information came up on the screen. Juniper and Skylar both looked at the purple Ultra Beast, unsure of what to make of it.
"Rare Pokémon?" Skylar asked.
"Unbelievably rare," Leinani answered. As soon as the machine was done registering her Pokémon, she grabbed her Poké Balls and tucked them under her baggy shirt and onto her belt.
"The Alola region is so fascinating to me! One day, I'll go! I want to try to learn how to use Z-moves!" Skylar said excitedly.
Leinani cocked her head and then gave Skylar a sly grin. "Well, someday, I'll show you what one looks like up close!"
"I look forward to it!" Skylar said. She reached behind her, and Leinani prepared to begin battling. However, Skylar drew out a white Pokédex. She opened it, bringing up a QR code on the screen. "Let's exchange Xtranseiver info! If we ever get the chance, then I'd love a battle!"
Leinani sighed and then pulled out her own Pokédex. Her first battle in Unova would have to wait.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
And here is Leinani! She will be the other main character in this story. Braedon and Leinani won't meet for a very long time, but when they do, I'm excited to write about their interactions.
REVIEWS:
Who cares - "Honestly your a great author. There is just nothing original about this story." - I think you've reviewed it a little bit too early. There are going to be plenty of original ideas, and I think that this chapter shows that off.