As I absently stroked Eevee's fur while sitting on a park bench, I contemplated what had just happened. Obviously Eevee had been lead to believe that I was potentially going to use her to satiate my own base urges... by any means necessary. Now Eevee was much too cute to contemplate being intimate with... but I had seen that espeon in the Fan Club's pokemon employee lounge area. I hadn't realized pokemon in the flesh could be so... attractive.
While shiny mega gardevoir was an easy given, I hadn't seriously considered my own proclivities on the matter of other species of pokemon. It almost made me feel ashamed, but this world was different, and realistically, pokemon were intelligent enough that they were essentially people themselves. It wasn't like my last life where true consent wouldn't be possible with... animals. The thought alone made me internally gag a little, which was a far cry from my current reaction to pokemon. I suppose Tobias' memories could be affecting me more than I had thought, but the idea wasn't abhorrent in the slightest to me.
Eevee decided that was a good moment to stretch out in my lap, then get up on all fours. She hopped off my lap onto the bench beside me, before turning herself towards me. "Eev, eevee, vee," she spoke up. She had a noticeable aura of determination about her, and I thought I felt some nebulous emotion from her for a split-second... must have been my imagination. I may be reasonably good at understanding pokemon, but I had no idea how to speak their language directly: time to play twenty questions; hopefully I can ask good ones again.
Keeping in mind the context of our current conversation, I asked my first question, "uh... you want to help me become a good pokemon trainer?" I tried. She gave a bit of a head tilt and held out a paw, twisting it from side to side. So, kind of close, but not quite there. "Hmm... you want to stay with me now, whatever I decide to do?" Eevee visibly perked up and gave an affirmative yip. Nice: the poke-whisperer strikes again.
"Well then Eevee, I'm glad we could come to an understanding. I was a little worried you wouldn't want anything to do with men after your earlier shock." Eevee got visibly bashful by my comment, but pushed herself through it to nod toward me.
"Alright, we just have to stop by the jewelry store, then we can finally start our journey for real!" Oh man I was excited... isn't it everybody's dream to go on a real pokemon adventure? Eevee gave a very questioning head tilt at my declaration... oh right. I coughed into my fist a bit awkwardly, "I had an idea to make some money; the first step is to buy out as much prism scale jewelry as possible. I'll tell you more later." She accepted this with a quick nod.
After a quick jaunt to a nearby jewelry store, - we were still in the rich area of Rustboro after all - Eevee and I entered the rather large shop. As expected, there was a sizable selection of prism scale jewelry for sale. Pieces that were mixed with other rare materials were of course more expensive, so I just bought the cheapest items they had on display.
After hitting up every jewelry store we could find, it was time to head out of town. I decided to go south towards the coast. I had an idea percolating in my brain, and it would pay off rather well in the future, I believe. And it was the starter area of the games; we were sure to find other newbie trainers we could practice battling against.
As we walked down the road out of Rustboro proper, Eevee and I took our time to take in the sights; it might be a few days until I was next in a city. I think going to Petalburg next makes sense. Then maybe to Dewford... we'll figure it out.
Coming to the edge of the city, I could see a fairly large lake in the distance; it was conveniently spanned by a large bridge. Ah, nostalgia... I remember coming upon that bridge while playing Ruby as a kid, loving every second of the amazing updated graphics from Crystal; one of my favorite Christmases for sure.
Shaking myself from thoughts of the past, we continued on our way toward the lake. Eevee was especially interested in all the new things to see; there were a lot more trees and grass than in the city. We even saw the occasional wild pokemon, but they all kept their distance from us. Oh well, I wasn't in any hurry; it was all about the journey, not the destination, after all.
XX
Eventually we found our way to the edge of the lake, not far from the bridge. There was a beach here, as well as a nice picnic and camping area. I could see a few trainers squaring off in designated battling areas; the pokeworld really was a different beast.
Deciding we had been on the road long enough, it was time for lunch. Honestly it was a little overdue, but I hadn't wanted to stop before reaching the lake. Pulling out my supplies from my bag of holding, - I will never get tired of this amazing piece of technology - I set out food for Eevee and myself. While we ate, I popped open that beginner's guide to cooking; I had never had such motivation for self-improvement before, but it felt really good. Just being in this world seemed to be good for me. It helped that I was skinnier than I had been for over fifteen years; really motivated not to fuck that up again.
After our meal, it was off to the battlegrounds. I felt a nervous anticipation take hold of me; I was really going to have my first-ever pokemon battle! Eevee, however, seemed cool as a cucumber. Damn she was hardcore. I tried to exude a confidence I most certainly did not feel; surely everyone could tell I was slowly becoming a nervous wreck?
As I got more and more into my own head, we came to the edge of the battling courts. A match between a young boy and girl was just wrapping up; the boy's zigzagoon tackled its way to victory over the girl's taillow. Dang, I forgot that most journeying trainers - especially in this area - were significantly younger than me; as if I needed more reasons to be self-conscious.
The girl groaned, but paid out the standard post-battle fee to her opponent. The standard fee wasn't much, but at higher levels, significantly more pokedallars were usually put on the line. She then became visibly excited when she noticed Eevee; she was a rare pokemon and a cutie, especially with her floral hairpiece.
"Oh my Arceus: SO cute!" she gushed as she ran over to pet Eevee. Eevee stiffened when the girl commented on her cuteness, but then relaxed into the petting... huh, I wonder what that was about?
The boy also walked over, interested in Eevee as well, though likely primarily for her rarity and battle potential. "That's not a pokemon you see every day; how many badges do you have?" he asked, unintentionally poking a hole in my pride.
I coughed, feeling extremely awkward again, "uh, none actually. I only got Eevee recently and haven't done the gym circuit before."
The girl perked up at hearing this, "oh, so you're a contest-goer then, huh?" Oof, these kids were not helping my self-confidence.
"Err... no; Eevee is my first pokemon." This drew weird looks from both the kids - turns out, most kids their age already had a pokemon; let alone an adult like me.
Deciding maybe it was best to get away from the 'weird old man,' the kids said goodbye and beat a hasty retreat. I slumped a bit... but then I did that anime slap thing to my cheeks; it's not my fault Tobias was a weirdo. If it had been up to me, I'd be a rich ace trainer by now.
My confidence finally going up for the first time since eating, I looked around for a trainer to challenge. I spotted another boy walking up to the courts - we locked eyes and my blood began pumping: now I understood the games so much better; there really was no choice but to battle in this moment.
*Eevee POV*
Eevee psyched herself up as she squared off against a wurmple. Even she knew wurmple had to be weak, being a first-evolution bug-type. She was gonna win this handily - for Tobias!
Eevee still wasn't quite sure about her thoughts on Tobias as a man; but as her partner in battling, she wanted to put in her all for him. She anticipated his first command, as both humans grew very quiet. "Tackle!" Tobias got out before the other boy. Eevee started moving before her mind even caught up to the order - it was like she instincitvely knew exactly what it meant and how to respond.
"Crap, Wurmple, string shot; quick!" the boy exclaimed, panic in his voice. But before the move could come out, Eevee was already upon the bug pokemon. With a loud thud, she slammed home; the wurmple was blown back towards the boy, visibly out for the count.
Everyone else paused, quiet once again taking over the battlefield. Then Tobias shouted, "hell yes! Good job Eevee!" Eevee couldn't help but swell with pride... yes this is what she had wanted. Whether or not she and Tobias ever... copulated... they would always be pokemon and trainer.
*Tobias POV*
The adrenaline in my veins was making me shake, I was so giddy. Holy crap, Eevee just one-shot that wurmple! The boy grumbled, as he made his way over, but gave me the standard payout. "I should have known that an eevee of all things would be too much for Wurmple." he sighed, deflating a bit.
"Hey, this is my first official battle, don't beat yourself up; I was so nervous, my stomach was twisting in to knots." I chuckled, much less self-conscious with my battle high. I felt like a million bucks... what a rush!
Eevee made her own way over, and I began to praise and pet her vigorously. She really came in clutch for our first battle. Damn, I couldn't believe she had moved so fast; pokemon really were more than any animal could be in my past life.
The boy looked at me oddly, like the others before him, "That's a pretty strong pokemon for your first battle... you must be some rich brat, eh?" That was weird, being called a brat by a literal kid, but I felt too good to let it get to me.
"Haha, something like that," I claimed, not feeling up to filling him in on my tragic backstory. Can't go around telling anyone with ears; I'd never get anywhere. "Safe travels; hopefully you find a more even match soon," I said wholeheartedly as we parted ways.
Tobias: 1, Others: 0; hell yeah!