"Welcome to the Jubilife Pokemon Center, how can I help you today?" Alice said, tiredness creeping into her voice. It was her first week working the front desk due to her mother wanting her to get a proper hands on experience. And so 14 year old Alice Joy sat at the front desk, with Molly, the intern sitting in the chair next to her. Doing direct customer service was a new experience for Alice, as most of her experience in the center involved treatment and the backrooms. However, it seems her mother now considered her old enough that she could be placed at the front desk. Alice didn't see the point, as most of her mother's work involved surgery and pokemon treatment, not customer service, and Alice was obviously going to follow in her footsteps, but her mother seemed determined to make sure Alice had front desk experience.
"It's the most recognized part of being a Joy," Her mother's words echoed in her head. "Every Joy worth their salt has done this."
It was a field she didn't have much experience in. Despite being drilled tirelessly on how a Joy should act, actually doing those actions was a new experience and Molly was happy to be in the teaching role for once. A lot of Molly's time spent in the center was either at the front desk, or in the back being bossed around by Alice, so the change in positions must have been cathartic for the young woman.
In the end, manning the front seemed to be a matter of either taking trainer's pokeballs to the healing machine or directing them to the appropriate medical room. There were rare times where there was an actual emergency, and a stretcher had to be called directly to the front, but that had only happened once in Alice's time at the front so far.
There were also the rare specific things that she hadn't quite completely remembered, like how to give out trainer licenses, or signing trainers up for the pokemon league. Not that it was difficult, simply long, with specific instructions even Molly had trouble remembering. After that, the only thing that gave her trouble was…
"Um, not to say you shouldn't force yourself to smile, Miss Alice, but you probably shouldn't look at customers like you want to murder them…"
Alice glared at Molly, making the young woman flinch, but she didn't look away. That was the one thing Alice still was bad at. For all the practice she had done with her mother, she couldn't smile if she felt miserable. Or if she tried, it would turn into some horrifying grimace.
"Then you talk to them. They always ignore me and talk to you anyway."
"I think your expression is the cause of that. Besides, I'll get in trouble if I don't let you handle customers."
"Yeah, because the other nurses keep snitching."
All too happy to suck up to Alice's mother, the staff of the Pokemon Center were all too happy to oblige when she had asked them to keep an eye on her child. Alice hadn't thought anything of it at first, but when her mother confronted her about her poor performance at the front, she knew someone had gone directly to her mother about it. And it wasn't Molly (if she did, Alice was sure Molly wouldn't be able to look at her straight in the face).
"I-I don't think what they're doing is that bad. They're just doing what they were told. Besides, it's just been a week. You'll get used to it."
Alice just sighed and lightly tapped the desk with her foot, looking around the center as she did so. During this time of day the center was rather slow, but there was still a good amount of people sitting, waiting for their pokemon to be healed or for an appointment. A boy sat with a bored expression on his face, mindlessly petting a Bidoof on his lap. An older woman leaned forward anxiously on one of the couches, her Kirlia trying to reassure her. A couple sat smiling as their child played with their Kricketot. While Alice was no stranger to being around pokemon, what would it be like to own one herself?
The doors to the Pokemon Center slid open, and Alice felt herself internally groan as Molly lightly nudged her.
"Hello, Welcome to-" Alice's words were cut off as a young man with a wild expression on his face slammed a pokeball onto the desk, making her jump.
"My Flareon! She's badly hurt! Please help her!"
"Ah, um…"
Alice was still reeling in surprise and fear from the desk slam, so Molly quickly took over.
"Alright sir, a doctor will be here shortly to assist you. Can you describe your pokemon's wounds to me? Or maybe how she got hurt?" Molly pressed the emergency button and gently pushed Alice out the way.
"We were out in the wild near Route 218, training for a gym battle. We found a wild Floatzel, and I thought it would be a good challenge, but it managed to bite her, and there was so much blood-"
The man broke down even further the more he spoke, sobs wracking his breath. Molly nodded sympathetically, and she gently took the pokeball, giving it to Alice. This was part of nursing she knew by heart. She was to give the pokeball to the closest available surgeon while briefing them about the situation. During this time, it would probably be Martha, a surgeon whose purple hair always caught her eye. Alice took the pokeball with a nod, and skunked back, letting Molly deal with the panicking man.
When Alice returned, the situation seemed to have calmed down slightly. The young man was still visibly stressed, pacing back and forth near the waiting area. The man's agitated state seemed to catch the attention of some of the other visitors, some looked on with concern, while others seemed a bit nervous. Molly was watching the man, worry painting her face.
"Should I call someone to keep an eye on him?" Alice asked.
Molly shook her head. "He's just worried about his pokemon. I've seen many other people do something similar. I just hope things go well."
Alice felt the man was one nudge away from falling apart, but simply nodded and sat back down.
Each minute seemed to slowly crawl by as they were waiting for the results. People entering the center gave odd looks at the man seemingly pacing at the corner of the room, and kept their distance. Molly seemed to get more nervous with each passing second, constantly glancing at the doors leading to the operation room.
"Do you think everything's alright?" Molly asked for what felt like the hundredth time.
"Asking isn't going to make things go faster." Alice grumbled.
"I know, I know, l just-"
Right on que, Martha walked through the back doors. She had a grim expression on her face. Alice felt her stomach drop as she motioned for Molly and Alice.
"Who is the owner of the Flareon?" She asked, almost whispering. Alice subtly pointed at the stressed young man. Martha sighed, and motioned for the two of them to follow as she slowly walked past the front desk and towards the troubled trainer.
Seeing them approach, the man stopped pacing and sped towards them.
"Is my Flareon alright?" He asked, his voice laden with anxiety.
Martha cleared her throat. " Hello sir. My name is Martha. I am part of the team that was in charge of your Flareon."
"Is she ok?!" The man asked again, his voice raising to the point it caused Alice to flinch.
Martha spoke the next words slowly. "I'm sorry. Your Flareon died during the operation. We-"
"No."
"...We tried our best to stabilize your pokemon. Unfortunately-"
"NO!" The man backed away as if the words were causing physical harm to him. "Stop it! That's not true. It can't be. It's not my fault!"
Martha stayed silent as the man rambled incoherently, tears starting to run down his face. Alice looked away uncomfortably. Seeing someone break down in front of her felt like she was seeing something she wasn't supposed to see, peering into someone's private room. She heard a stifled sob behind her, and she turned to see Molly with a hand to her mouth, tears running down her face.
Seeing her would probably make the man feel worse, so Alice was about to take Molly's hand and take her back to the desk, but an odd sound stopped her in her tracks. It sounded like a pokemon being released from their ball. Alice turned around.
Standing right behind the man, a Salamence stood towering above him. Its red wings flapped menacingly, and its angry yellow eyes were focused on the nurses in front of it.
All hell broke loose.
After Archibald's words, there was a lengthy, uncomfortable silence. Alice was taken aback by Archibald's flowery language, but was more taken aback by Jack's attitude. The girl's attitude had seemed to sour as soon as she saw Archibald, and had only gotten worse with each second.
With Jack saying anything, it lay on Alice to continue the conversation. "H-hi, I'm Alice, Jack's friend. And I'm guessing you're a coordinator?"
Archibald gave her a toothy grin. "Yes, I am! I've been a coordinator for ten years, give or take. If you don't mind me asking, how familiar are you with-"
"Sorry, we really have to get going." Jack finally spoke, cutting off Archibald's words. She took Alice's arm, and began lightly pulling her away. "I'd like to get through Ravaged Path before the sun sets. It was cool seeing you, Archibald but we really need to get going."
"I- I see!" The coordinator seemed confused by Jack's cold behavior. "Well, if you really must go, I cannot stop you-"
"Wait." Alice said. The way Jack had reacted to Archibald's words made an odd suspicion creep into her mind. "Archibald, I need to talk with Jack for a second. We'll be right back."
Jack's eyes widened in shock. "We will?" But Alice didn't give her a chance to argue, pulling her friend in the opposite direction they had been going and off to the side.
Once they got out of earshot, Alice turned to her friend. "What's going on with you?"
Jack blinked. "Huh?"
"Don't play dumb with me! I've never seen you act like that with someone before! Is Archibald someone dangerous?"
Jack sighed. "No, he's a decent guy, if not a bit dramatic."
"Then what's with the attitude?"
Jack didn't answer, looking away. That same sinking suspicion resurfaced in Alice's mind. She had to know.
"You didn't keep me from talking with Archibald to prevent me from getting any interest in coordination, did you?"
Jack didn't answer, but her ears burned a bright red. For a moment, Alice's mind went blank with disbelief. Of all people, the person she trusted the most had tried to pigeon hole her into a choice the same way her mother did. Alice felt something in herself erupt.
"Really?!" She yelled. "You too? I know you want me to become a trainer, but I expected better from you! I thought you'd support me in anything I wanted to do, like I did for you! Instead, you try to railroad me? Whether I take an interest in coordination or not is none of your business!" With each word Jack flinched, cowering away like a scolded puppy.
After the outburst, Alice breathed heavily, looking down at the ground. In the end, did she still want to become a trainer? It wasn't bad, and winning battles felt good, but she felt a lot of the excitement she had at the very beginning had faded. Should she try out Coordination? Would Rogue be willing to listen with Coordination instead of battling? In the end, what she wanted right now was to be anywhere Jack wasn't.
Based on Archibald's expression when she walked back, she guessed her anger was visible on her face.
"Is everything alright?" He asked, concern on his face as he looked back and forth between Alice and Jack in the distance.
"I'm fine." Alice said, a lot more venom in her voice than she intended. She took a breath, trying to cook down, and looked at Archibald with a focused expression. "We're going to Floaroma Town. Can you teach me about Pokemon Contests?"
Archibald ended up taking Alice to a small field near the Ravaged Path entrance so he could explain things in a comfortable setting. Out of the corner of her eye Alice saw Jack, but Alice ignored her friend, turning completely away from her and focusing on the enthusiastic coordinator.
Alice wasn't that familiar with Coordinators and contests. She had seen contests on TV, and while some of the things she had seen were breathtaking, she didn't really understand contests the way she understood being a trainer. Upon telling this to Archibald, he seemed to get more excited.
"Don't worry, don't worry. Coordination is not any more complex than being a trainer. Don't heed anyone who says otherwise." Archibald opened his hands dramatically. "Coordination is all about bringing out the appeal of your pokemon, whether that's how cool, or beautiful they are, and out-shining the opposition."
"Uh, ok? How do you do that? And how do you judge whether a pokemon is more appealing than others?"
"There are many ways, my young friend! It's about combining all these methods that make the best coordinator! From move combinations, poffins, and simply making sure your pokemon is in the best health it can be! As for choosing the best, even the best judges are biased in what they perceive to be more appealing. That is why there are always at least three judges per contest."
"But coordinators battle too right?" Alice remembered vaguely seeing battles taking place in contests. "Is that something that happens in all contests? Or does it vary?"
Archibald nodded. "Yes, almost all contests have a battle round, but they aren't normal battles mind you. You have to show off your pokemon's appeal while defeating the opponent, so if you try to brute force your way you'll just end up losing."
So there would be battling either way. At least there would be transferable skills between pokemon training and coordinating. Alice looked down in thought. While she had a basic understanding of the concept, she felt like she had to see a contest in action to make it click.
"If I wanted to participate, what do you think I should learn first?" Alice asked.
"Move combinations." Archibald answered swiftly. "They have both battle applications, and are essential in the first round."
"First round?"
Archibald chuckled. "Ah, yes, I should explain how contest rounds work." He stood up from the patch of grass. "Unfortunately, I do have to get to Floaroma Town in a timely manner. Do you mind if we continue this conversation as we walk?"
Alice nodded. "It's fine. It was probably time I started to get a move on too."
As Alice stood up, she heard a familiar loud pair of footsteps coming from behind. She felt her mood drop like a stone.
"So are we going?" Jack asked, nervousness cracking into her voice.
Archibald opened his mouth to speak, but Alice cut him off, still facing away from Jack. "Let's go, you're in a rush right?"
Archibald looked between the two of them, eyebrow raised, but nodded after a moment. "Alright. I do not know what has caused this tension between you two, but my business, it is not."
Alice let out a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted right now was more drama.
Ragged Path was quite the infamous place on Route 204. As it turned out, people didn't like having to travel through a steep cave when trying to get to their destination. While the cave had been excavated to make it so people could travel between Jubilife and Floaroma, it had its problems. Cars obviously couldn't make the trip, and it wasn't the safest for bikers either. Flying services were expensive, not seemingly worth the distance, and only the most privileged and lucky could afford teleportation.
The first idea people had was a bridge or elevated path up the cliff. Sinnoh already had a major bridge, the Cycling Road, so what would be the big deal investing in a smaller one? However, the construction of the Cycling Road hadn't been a spotless affair. The construction had been careless, and it had required the destruction of many pokemon habits in Route 206, and the bridge itself had quite the large protest against it despite its convenience. In the end, it was deemed a worthwhile sacrifice by the Sinnoh Pokemon League, and it remains a heavily used way of travel between Oreburgh and Eterna.
While there are many proposals to ease travel between Jubilife and Floaroma, despite promises to be more conscious of the environment, the scars of the Cycling Road still weigh heavily in people's minds, and people remain adamantly opposed to any sort of major construction.
Alice remembered constant protests in Jubilife when construction was proposed by the Jubilife mayor, and while she hadn't really cared at the time, with each step she took in the damp, muddy cave the more appealing an alternative became.
The echo of their footsteps seemed to bounce off of the cave walls, getting swallowed by darkness. Echoes of wild pokemon seemed to respond, whether through the beating of wings or a splash of water. Seeing that Alice didn't want anything to do with her at the moment, Jack took the lead, her Infernape lighting up their surroundings, with Alice and Archibald trailing a short way behind.
"So," Alice flinched at the echo of her own voice for a moment, as if it disturbed the environment around them. She continued in a lower voice. "...You were talking about contest rounds before?"
Archibald grinned. "Yes, I was! Now let's see…" Unlike Alice, Archibald made no attempt to quiet his voice, and she cringed as the man's voice reverberated throughout the cavern. "The two contest rounds! The amount may vary from region to region, but the general consensus is two."
Archibald spread out his hands dramatically. "The first stage is called the Performance Round. This is where you show off your beautiful move combinations to amaze the the judges-"
An echoing screech interrupted the man's words, making them both jump. The sound dug into Alice's ears, making her cower in pain as she covered her ears. Jack was at their side immediately, covering her ears while Plume stood at the ready.
"What the hell was that?" Alice muttered, barely hearing her own voice from her still ringing ears.
"It seems like the world is set upon interrupting me today." Archibald chuckled, but his hands slowly drifted towards the pokeballs on his belt.
"That didn't sound like a Zubat." Jack pondered, looking towards the deeper parts of the cave.
"Let's keep going then. The less time we spend here the better." Alice whispered urgently.
"Yes, I agree- wait! Do you hear that?" Archibald said, cupping a hand to his ear.
"No, my ears are still ringing." Alice grumbled. Just as she said that, an odd sound in the distance did catch her attention. It sounded vaguely familiar, but a lot louder and crowded. The memory was just on the tip of her tongue.
As the sound got closer, the realization hit all of them immediately. Jack cursed and threw a pokeball, Tornado the Noivern appearing with a screech. Archibald seemed to be of a similar mind, a Glaceon appearing with a flash of light from one of his pokeballs. Alice was about to reach for one of her own, but hesitated. Would any of her pokemon really help here? Before she could decide, she jumped in surprise as the two of them opened on their own, and Paragon and Rogue stood at the ready in front of her. It seems despite the Houndour's disobedience, like before he would be willing to protect her if she was in danger.
The sound was almost upon them now, the echoes of the cave making it pound in Alice's ears. "Group together!" Jack yelled, and the three humans and their pokemon huddled to brace against the coming storm. The sound Alice had recognized was the sound of Zubat wings, something she had heard earlier today in Paragon's battle. This, however, was a swarm.
All pokemon stood at the ready as the swarm approached. Jack's Noivern took to the air above them. Whatever the pokemon did seemed to work, as the storm immediately spit apart, Zubats letting out screeches of pain as they avoided the dragon. Alice had to bend her head as a couple flew dangerously close to her head. Rogue and Plume spat flames from the front, trying to redirect any Zubats who approached. Paragon stood on Alice's shoulder, letting out piercing cries at the swarm. From the back, Archibald's Glaceon fired off icy blue beams, stopping any of the flying bats from trying to dive in again.
As they continued to fight off the swarm, an odd shape caught her eye. It was hard to make out, as the swarm of Zubats were constantly attacking it. It looked like some kind of giant green plant bulb, and it was rolling rapidly on the ground, approaching them.
Is that a Budew? Alice thought, squinting as she tried to make out the mystery shape. It looked a lot different than any Budew she had ever seen. Suddenly, there was a familiar booming screech from above, the same one Alice and the others had heard earlier. She looked up to see Tornado snarling in the air as it faced off against a giant Golbat. Noivern were far from small, but this Golbat towered above the dragon in terms of height.
Despite the size difference, Tornado didn't seem to back down, letting out a blast of sound from its ears that threw the bat pokemon off balance. The Golbat let out an angry roar and dived at the Noivern, who dodged gracefully.
"I thought it was odd that Zubat was being this aggressive. The Golbat must be leading the storm." Jack said, her eyes glued to the battle. "Tornado, Dragon Pulse! Knock it out!"
Captivated by the scene above, Alice was jolted back into reality when a Zubat nearly grazed her ear, the dive bomb being thwarted by a timely Wing Attack from Paragon. The Zubat seemed to be attacking more often than before, and upon looking down Alice understood why.
Right in front of her and Rogue, a green-bulb pokemon glared at them. It's head resembled an onion, with a large oval head and three leaves growing out of the top. A dark green, scarf-like protrusion stuck out from its neck, and its body was even smaller than its head, with five rounded-stubs that couldn't be called limbs.
The stare-down only lasted for a moment, as a Zubat dived down, this time at the odd pokemon. It dodged, rolling away and sending a puff of powder that the Zubat frantically avoided. As it the roll made it get closer, Rogue let out a threatening growl, his eyes darting between the weird pokemon and the Zubats in the sky. In response to Rogue's threat, the odd pokemon puffed it's body to seem more threatening, seemingly not unafraid of both Rogue and the Zubats in the sky.
It looks cute, but it could be dangerous. I should check the pokedex. Alice thought, taking out the device.
The device pinged, identifying Zubat the first couple of tries before it finally scanned the green pokemon successfully.
"Petilil, the bulb pokemon." The dex announced. Looking at the data, Petilil was a grass type most commonly found in Unova. It could be found in Sinnoh in the past, but in modern times it was extremely rare. The Petilil in front of her seemed to be pretty young, and the pokemon seemed to be part of that odd type of pokemon where the species was exclusively one gender, in this case female. Other than that, it seemed to be a run of the mill grass type with no particularly dangerous attributes.
Giving a glance at the Petilil, Alice made a decision. She turned to Rogue. "Help out Petilil. Focus on the Zubat ls around her."
Rogue gave her an annoyed stare in response. Alice felt a fuse that she never knew had explode within her. "Really? You're going to be stubborn now!? Is this really the time? She felt Paragon cry and slap away another Zubat. To Alice's relief, Rogue gave a relenting grunt and gave a glare at the swarm hovering above the grass type. Hunching he let out a ball of flame, sending dozens of Zubats flying away, screeching in pain to the point Alice's ears began to hurt. Despite the fire/dark type's efforts, the swarm didn't seem to be letting up.
Suddenly, Alice felt the cave drop several degrees, the cold sending chills throughout her body. Turning around, Alice saw that Archibald's Glaceon had started summoning a massive ice storm to the swarm above. Tornado gave a painful squawk and dived down, huddling near Plume for warmth. There was a cacophony of cries as a good amount of Zubats passed out from the icy winds. The giant Golbat, its blue skin scorched from the blasts Tornado had inflicted on it, finally reached its limit. It's giant wings fluttered to a halt, and it fell ungracefully from the sky with a deep groan, towards…
"Shit." Alice and the others frantically scrambled out the way as the massive Golbat landed where they once stood, the Petilil barely making it as the body created an impact that cracked the ground underneath it.
Seeing their leader fall, the swarm scattered, the majority fleeing deeper into the cave to whatever crevices they called home.
Despite the threat being dealt with, Jack did not look pleased. Scowling, she glared at Archibald. "You could have given me a warning! What if Tornado had gotten seriously hurt?" The Noivern in question was huddled next to Plume, shaking melting ice off of its body.
Archibald smiled. "Your Noivern is a tough one. I knew it wouldn't fall to a simple Blizzard."
"That's not the point!"
As Jack continued to yell at Archibald, Alice turned her attention elsewhere. Now that the threat above was over, Petilil was now cautiously watching Alice and her pokemon, seemingly… angry(?) expression on its face. Unconsciously, Alice looked over the Petilil's body for injuries. The pokemon seemed to have bruises all over its body. Blue bumps common with grass types when obtaining these kinds of wounds, along with slight bleeding.
Without thinking, Alice took a step forward, her hand reaching behind for the first-aid kit in her bag. And that's when the Petilil attacked, launching itself towards her faster than she thought possible for the little bulb. Alice jumped back, letting out a yell in surprise but her pokemon were ready.
Paragon leapt from her shoulder to intercept, with the two colliding in mid-air, her Starly landing back into her with enough force that it sent Alice sprawling backwards. Rogue tried to bite the Petilil, embers burning in his mouth, but the grass-type managed to roll away at the last moment. Rogue snarled and tried to attack again, but the Petilil jumped away, using its light body to jump high into the air. Paragon opened his wings to fly after it.
"Stop!" Alice hissed, clutching onto one of the Starly's back feathers. "Don't go after it. Leave it alone for now. I don't want you separating from me." Paragon relaxed a bit, bit he still raised his wings threateningly at the Petilil in the air, daring it to come closer. Hearing the commotion, Plume bounded over, a shivering Tornado close behind. Giving the group one last glare, the Petilil floated away, using the leaves atop its head to steer itself away.
"My word! Are you alright?"
Jack and Archibald raced over, their faces painted with worry upon seeing Alice on the ground. Jack knelt down, her hands frozen in the air as if Alice were as brittle as ice. "Are you hurt? What happened?"
"I'm fine." Alice grumbled, Paragon hopping off of her stomach as she lifted herself off the ground.
"That was a Petilil, was it not?" Archibald looked up in the direction the Petilil had floated away. "I didn't think you could find Petilil in the wilds of Sinnoh, considering how picky they are about their environment. Then again, Floaroma Town would be an ideal area for them."
"But what was it doing down here?" Alice asked, waving at the cave around them. "Isn't a dark place like this the exact opposite of what grass-types like? Especially a picky pokemon like Petilil?"
Archibald frowned. "That is true. Alas, as much as I love a good mystery, we should get moving. I have had quite enough caves for today."
"One second." Jack said. Alice turned around to see the redhead looking over the fallen Golbat, rummaging in her pocket for something.
With the adrenaline of the threatening situation fading, Alice felt her irritation at her friend returning. "What now?"
Jack finally dug out what she was looking for: an empty pokeball. She tossed the ball at the passed out bat, and with a loud sound that seemed to resound throughout the cavern, the Golbat was captured.
Jack turned back to them. "I've never seen a Golbat this big. I've got a friend who would love to get their hands on this guy."
Alice gave an uninterested grunt in response, her thoughts flowing elsewhere. If she had been traveling on her own, what would've happened? Would she have been able to get away? Would she have died? Alice was beginning to realize how badly she had underestimated how dangerous being a trainer could be.
Hey there! It's been a while! As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you nelsyv for your comment. And I wish anyone reading a wonderful day.