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Pokemon Journey: Sinnoh
By Lejindarybunny
Summary: Fender didn’t know what he was going to do with his life, but he’d never had an ambition to be a trainer. But now, thanks to his impulsive friend Fender is off on a journey to research and train Pokemon for Prof. Rowan. Will he grow close to his Pokemon and learn their secrets? A novelization of Pearl.
A/N: This story grew out of the idea I had to keep an in-character journal as I played Pokemon Pearl for the first time.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Pokemon or any of the characters or places therein. Fender and Anlinn are sort of mine. They are based on the main characters in the game Pokemon Pearl.
First Entry
Dear Journal,
Thank you, Anlinn! (That’s sarcasm by the way.) It has been probably the longest two days of my life, but I have no doubt that they’ll soon be matched by even longer days. Why? Because I’ve been drafted as a Pokemon researcher, that’s why! Yesterday Anlinn decided that it was a good day to go down to the lake and see if we could spot a red Gyrados. He’s such a spaz. I thought it was harmless, because well, even if it’s not just a myth, there certainly isn’t one in Verity Lake. Maybe in Johto like the documentary said…
But anyway, so I went down to the lake with him, to satisfy his curiosity and we bumped into this old man and a girl (His niece or something? I don’t remember, even though I think she’s following me (more on that later)) who were hanging out by the lake. They left when they saw us. Maybe Anlinn’s incredible bed-head hairdo scared them away, or maybe they just didn’t like that we were eavesdropping. Anyway, they left in a big hurry, and the old man forgot his briefcase. Of course Anlinn thinks we should investigate. I knew it was a bad idea after the Magikarp Incident last year.
But he went and opened the case anyway. I was a little nervous since we were in the grass and all, but I didn’t want Anlinn to call me a wuss, so I didn’t say anything. This was a mistake, since we were attacked by wild Pokemon. Murphey’s law I guess.
They were just Starly, and not very powerful ones; we could have run away or beaten them off with our jackets or something, but guess who knocked open Prof. Rowan’s case? (He’s the old guy as we later found out) Anlinn! And of course it had a bunch of Pokeballs in it!
What else was there to do? We both grabbed one. I felt kinda like it was stealing, but we were just going to use them to get rid of the Starly and then return them. Supposedly. :(
The Chimchar that came out of the ball I picked drove the attacking Starly off pretty easily. I told it to attack, but I’m not sure exactly how much my frantic yelling and arm waving added to the battle. But, that’s what I’ve seen the trainers on TV do, so, I guess it was proper. I didn’t know any of Chimchar’s moves though.
That girl, (Her name’s Dawn) came back for the Prof’s briefcase, and saw that we’d taken the Pokemon. I couldn’t tell if she was angry or not. I tried to hand her the ball that the Chimchar was in, but An just LOOKed at me, and she didn’t take it anyway. I really didn’t now what to do. I’d never even had a pet Pokemon before, and battling with one is a lot of responsibility.
Anlinn didn’t show it, but I think he was as exhausted as I was, because otherwise he’d have made us spend the whole night looking for that stupid Gyrados.
As it was we went back home. I have the awful feeling last night was the last time I’ll sleep in my own bed for quite a while. I don’t know how I managed to sleep, either; I just kept staring at the pokeball on my dresser.
This morning mom said that Anlinn went to see a man about a Pokemon. (Prof. Rowan, mom explained, he didn’t ‘t actually have to use the men’s room) . That was the old guy who’s Pokemon we took. I guess An’s mom impressed upon him the need to apologize for stealing, and mom expected me to do the same thing. She made that face at me like I hadn’t eaten all my vegetables,
She did give me a new pair of shoes though, for my hike to Sandgem town. There were more Pokemon on the way there, and the second time I was attacked I guess curiosity got the better of me. I let the Chimchar out to fight. It’s actually pretty cool to watch, I’d never seen a Pokemon battle up close before, and it seemed like he was obeying my orders, even if I wasn’t sure what orders to give it. He gives you that innocent look, but I think behind it he’s one bad Pokemon.
Here’s where the whole thing gets weird. When I got to Rowan’s lab, he didn’t grab the pokeball back and lecture me and An about the evils of theft. He GAVE us the Pokemon we took. He said they looked happy. How could he tell? I never took mine out of his pokeball.
That isn’t all he gave us either. Nope, in return for the Pokemon he said we had to do research for him. To travel all over the region and collect Pokemon data. I guess we didn’t get away scot-free. I almost handed him back the pokeball there and then.
But… I didn’t. I guess for a minute I was really possessed of the feeling of a new beginning, like they talk about on TV. The start of an adventure. And that Pokemon with the silly look on his face. (not to mention the silly look on Annlin’s face)./ I guess it’s like you feed a Poochyena for two days and you get used to it. But I am going to have to have to work hard to keep Djin (my Chimchar. That’s weird to write, he really is mine now I guess.) Harder than I ever worked before.
Dawn showed me around Sandgem. It’s bigger than Twinleaf, but still not very big. I think Dawn saw I was a little lost today and has taken it upon herself to be my ‘big sister’. I promised myself I would not to be rude to her, but she’s barely older than me.
I stopped back home to tell mom what was going on, obviously. It was weird, I thought she’d cry and tell me not to go, but she seemed more prepared for it than I was. I never thought I was going to use my trainer’s leave from school, but mom seems to have known I’d wind up doing it all along. Maybe she just expected Anlinn to drag me into something like this eventually. She gave me this journal, and I intend to write in it whenever I get the chance. Anlin’s mom stopped by before I left and gave me something to take to him. Mom gave me a bunch of sandwiches. “I hope your Pokemon likes peanut-butter!” she said. Oh mom.
For the rest of the day I went out and trained Djin against the wild Pokemon. I bought a few pokeballs in town with my allowance, so I even caught a few new Pokemon. I never realized how they were all over. I am taking seriously my role as a researcher for Rowan, and so I am trying to capture as many different kinds as possible and study them. At first I thought there were only Starly and Bidoof in the area, I caught one of each really fast (I guess watching the trainers paid off because as I discovered catching Pokemon, at least weak ones, isn’t that hard). But after a few hours I ran into a bunch of others. I got a Shinx and a Budew and a Psyduck. Well, I didn’t catch the Psyduck until about an hour ago, up in the mouth of this impassable cave, but anyway.
When I got back through Sandgem about the middle of the day, Dawn was there again, and she did not give me a chance to show her the Pokemon I’d caught (just Bidoof and Starly then) before she launched in on this whole lecture about how to catch Pokemon. She did give me some pokeballs though, so it wasn’t a total waste of time.
The Pokemon Trainer School in Jubilife kind of WAS a waste of time though. I did meet Anlinn there and gave him his stuff before he spazzed out and ran off again. And I fought these other two trainers there. They were my first really battle. I’d avoided other trainers up til then.
Boy, was it tough! They both had Abra’s that kept using the same move over and over. I think it was the only move they knew, but it was killer. They both almost knocked out Djin, who deal most of the damage and I had my Starly Vega (named for the star) finish them off. I was surprised by how exciting it was. Then they gave me a TM. I thought about using it immediately on one of my Pokemon, but decided I’d wait. It’s still in my backpack.
The only interesting thing in Jubilife City besides that was I got a free Poketch. It’s okay I guess, but I don’t have any apps for it yet.
I battled with a bunch of trainers, including Anlinn, who’s got as much of a handle on this as I do. The others trainers I’ve met, I don’t know, they just all seem to suck. Its my first day as a Pokemon trainer, and the only people who’ve given me a run for my money were the Abra trainers at the school. Presumably these trainers are more experienced than me, but there’s no other way I can put it, they just, S U C K. Maybe they’re just hobbyists but still, you’d think they’d have more skill than a rank novice.
Did I somehow just manage to capture better Pokemon than they have? I don’t know.
I wanted to go through cave north of Jubilife to see where it went, but the path was blocked. I got really lucky and caught a Psyduck there, like I said. Her name is Ducky. I think I’m running out of good nicknames already. I hung around in the cave for a few more minutes, hoping there were more interesting pokemon in that little space at the entrance, but no luck. Just Zubat. (caught one anyway).
So, I headed to Oreburgh, which is a weird name for a city, I think. I heard there was a Pokemon Gym there, and it’s really the only way I can go, anyway, to find more Pokemon. I caught a Kricketot on my way there, just outside the city. It looks like a little bug in a suit jacket. One thing I want to find out in my research is why some Pokemon have characteristics like that. Did we model things on what we saw in nature like Pokemon? Or did the Pokemon evolve deliberately to look that way somehow? Or maybe it’s just an illusion, like seeing a face in tree bark.
I got to Oreburgh about an hour and a half ago. I met this guy on the way in who called me a noob and showed me where the Gym is. He hinted that when I have a badge more powerful trainers will agree to fight me, so maybe that’s why I haven’t had my ass handed to me yet. All the good trainers avoid beating up newbies for politeness sake. It’s comforting to know I’m not some freakish Pokemon whiz kid.
Anway, Anlinn was at the gym, but the gym leader wasn’t. An said he’d taken off to do something in the local mine. (Guess that’s why it’s called Oreburgh). Anlinn said I should go to the mine and ask the leader to battle. Well, I took one look at the mine, and I realized how late it was, and how much my feet hurt from walking. Plus, most of my new Pokemon were pretty tired out from fighting. I headed to the Pokemon center instead, which is where I am now.
Final thoughts for tonight: why do all the Nurse Joys look the same? I’ll admit it’s comfortingly familiar, since it makes the Pokemon centers all the same. No matter what town I’m in, there’s a center, and the center looks just like the last one. But it is a bit weird.
As I write this I’m laying on one of the bunks set aside for trainers. My Pokemon have been healed and refreshed, and they’re sitting in their balls in my backpack. It’s weird, I already feel kind of attached to all of them, and I’ve only had Ducky for two hours.
They say on TV that a trainer’s Pokemon become his best friends. I always thought this was an exaggeration, but maybe not. What is it about Pokemon that makes it so easy for them to form a bond with a human? Is it a special power they have, or is it part of the training process? I thought this morning that I would only be catching them to research them, but I’m starting to think the only way to really understand them is to become a serious trainer. I never meant to even join the Pokemon League. Yesterday morning it was something someone else did. Now I kind of want to see how far I can go.
-Fender Marco
2/18 21:30
Oreburgh Pokemon Center
Fender shoved the journal back into his backpack, along with his hat and lay back on the bunk, smoothing his dark hair out on the white pillow. The bunk below him was occupied by a quiet girl who was playing with her Poketch the last time he’d looked. He wasn’t sure where Anlinn was, if he was still in Oreburgh or if he’d set out for the next town this late at night. It couldn’t be that much more dangerous than traveling during the day, but still Fender hoped that he was downstairs making himself a nuisance at the Pokemon Center cafe.
Fender’s first night in a Pokemon Center. He hadn’t written it in his journal but it was his first night away from home at all. He’d spent the night at Anlinn’s house a few times, but that was not the same as being in a strange town, miles away from his own bedroom. It made Fender both excited and a little nervous at the same time. Surely nothing bad ever happened at a Pokecenter?
As he thought this, all the lights in the room winked out. He made a small noise, and gripped his backpack.
“First night?” the girl on the lower bunk asked. She didn’t wait for a reply. “Don’t worry, it’s just lights out time. If you still want to stay up you have to go down stairs.”
“Oh.” He felt silly for his reaction. Like a little kid.
“You should probably get some sleep though,” she continued. “Have you faced Roark yet?”
He shook his head, but realized she couldn’t see him. “No. He wasn’t there when I got to the gym.”
“Yeah, he does that sometimes. He’ll probably be back in the morning. He’s not a bad guy, but he won’t go easy on you, so you shouldn’t challenge him until you’re ready.”
“I think I’m ready,” he said, thinking of all the Pokémon he’d caught. “What kind of Pokemon does Roark have?” Fender hoped the girl would be able to tell him. He hadn’t even known the gym leader’s name before.
“Rock Pokemon. His Cranidos is the one you have to watch out for. If you started with a grass or water type you shouldn’t have much trouble.”
“No,” he said. “Fire type. A Chimchar. I caught a Psyduck earlier, but my pokedex says she doesn’t know any water type moves yet.”
“Oh, Psyduck are cute! I’m impressed that you already caught such a cool pokemon. Most of the trainers I’ve seen around here only have Bidoof and Starly.”
“Yeah,” Fender agreed. “Starly’s not too bad.” He didn’t add how he felt about Bidoof. He’d stopped trying to train it after an hour and stuck it in his box. He hadn’t mentioned that in his journal either, in case it meant he was a bad trainer. He’d just been so frustrated. Maybe he’d take it out tomorrow. After fighting Roark.
“My name’s Trina, by the way. What’s yours?”
“Fender.”
“Can I see your Chimchar? I haven’t seen one yet.”
Fender frowned. They’d been talking in the dark so that his eyes had mostly adjusted, but still. “Won’t we have to go downstairs for you to see him?”
“I don’t think so. He’s a fire type, right? Most of them have their own little light source.” Trina seemed amused by this.
“His tail,” Fender replied thoughtfully. He was already grateful to the girl for talking to him, it made the place less lonely and creepy, and now she’d given him an excuse to take out Djin. He had wanted to before, but was afraid in might be impolite if she was trying to sleep.
He reached in his bag, hoping that in the dark he picked the right pokeball, and climbed down the ladder of the bunk bed.
“Come on out, Djin,” he said, pressing the button.
There was a jolt of red light, and he was rewarded with the appearance of his Pokémon, framed in its own little orange light. Now he could see Trina, sitting on her bunk. She was a little taller than him, and had long brown hair.
“Char!” Djin chattered, looking around the room.
“It’s okay Djin, we’re in a Pokemon Center.” Fender wasn’t sure how much the Pokemon could understand him, but after all they took commands in battle. Besides, his voice was supposed to comfort it, anyway, or so he had read.
The Chimchar waddled over to the bed, and squawked at Trina, opening its mouth wide.
“It’s cute!” Trina exclaimed. She reached out to pet it, but held back. “Will he burn me?”
Fender shook his head. “He’s warm, but not hot. He learned ember today, though,” he said, with a little pride.
She reached over and pet Djin who made a happy face and a chattering noise. Fender was just watching when the Pokemon grabbed his wrist and swung it gently. Fender still almost toppled over.
“Whoa!”
Trina giggled. “He definitely likes you. That means you’re a good trainer.”
Fender blushed and hoped she didn’t see it in the dim light. “Thanks.
Hey, what Pokemon did you start out with?”
“A Mudkip. I won’t bring him out though, because he evolved into
Swampert a while ago, and he’s not very good around strangers.”
“Oh.” Fender was impressed, both with how powerful her Pokemon was, and the news that she must have been from the Hoenn region to get a Mudkip. “You must be a really great trainer by now, huh?”
“I’m not bad,” she said modestly, “I’ll never be champion material.”
Fender wasn’t sure what to saw. His Chimchar had started petting his arm.
“Well, I think it’s probably time to go to bed,” Trina said. “I have to get up and head to Jubilife City early tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Fender agreed. He held up his ball to return Djin.
“You can leave him out if you want,” Trina said. “Most fire types dim when they’re asleep, he’ll be a good nightlight.”
“If you want me to,” he said, wondering if she was patronizing him.
“Sure.”
He shrugged, and climbed up the ladder. Djin followed him up with ease, and without needing to be told. When Fender lay down, the Chimchar sat heavily on his stomach and fixed his eyes on the trainer.
“Chim!”
Fender rubbed its head. “Time to sleep now. You can play more in the moring.”
“Chimchar!” The Pokemon jumped once, landing heavily again on Fender’s stomach, and then curled up and closed it’s eyes.
“Guess you do understand me, little guy.”
Fender closed his eyes, and tried to sleep.
To be Continued…
By Lejindarybunny
Summary: Fender didn’t know what he was going to do with his life, but he’d never had an ambition to be a trainer. But now, thanks to his impulsive friend Fender is off on a journey to research and train Pokemon for Prof. Rowan. Will he grow close to his Pokemon and learn their secrets? A novelization of Pearl.
A/N: This story grew out of the idea I had to keep an in-character journal as I played Pokemon Pearl for the first time.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Pokemon or any of the characters or places therein. Fender and Anlinn are sort of mine. They are based on the main characters in the game Pokemon Pearl.
First Entry
Dear Journal,
Thank you, Anlinn! (That’s sarcasm by the way.) It has been probably the longest two days of my life, but I have no doubt that they’ll soon be matched by even longer days. Why? Because I’ve been drafted as a Pokemon researcher, that’s why! Yesterday Anlinn decided that it was a good day to go down to the lake and see if we could spot a red Gyrados. He’s such a spaz. I thought it was harmless, because well, even if it’s not just a myth, there certainly isn’t one in Verity Lake. Maybe in Johto like the documentary said…
But anyway, so I went down to the lake with him, to satisfy his curiosity and we bumped into this old man and a girl (His niece or something? I don’t remember, even though I think she’s following me (more on that later)) who were hanging out by the lake. They left when they saw us. Maybe Anlinn’s incredible bed-head hairdo scared them away, or maybe they just didn’t like that we were eavesdropping. Anyway, they left in a big hurry, and the old man forgot his briefcase. Of course Anlinn thinks we should investigate. I knew it was a bad idea after the Magikarp Incident last year.
But he went and opened the case anyway. I was a little nervous since we were in the grass and all, but I didn’t want Anlinn to call me a wuss, so I didn’t say anything. This was a mistake, since we were attacked by wild Pokemon. Murphey’s law I guess.
They were just Starly, and not very powerful ones; we could have run away or beaten them off with our jackets or something, but guess who knocked open Prof. Rowan’s case? (He’s the old guy as we later found out) Anlinn! And of course it had a bunch of Pokeballs in it!
What else was there to do? We both grabbed one. I felt kinda like it was stealing, but we were just going to use them to get rid of the Starly and then return them. Supposedly. :(
The Chimchar that came out of the ball I picked drove the attacking Starly off pretty easily. I told it to attack, but I’m not sure exactly how much my frantic yelling and arm waving added to the battle. But, that’s what I’ve seen the trainers on TV do, so, I guess it was proper. I didn’t know any of Chimchar’s moves though.
That girl, (Her name’s Dawn) came back for the Prof’s briefcase, and saw that we’d taken the Pokemon. I couldn’t tell if she was angry or not. I tried to hand her the ball that the Chimchar was in, but An just LOOKed at me, and she didn’t take it anyway. I really didn’t now what to do. I’d never even had a pet Pokemon before, and battling with one is a lot of responsibility.
Anlinn didn’t show it, but I think he was as exhausted as I was, because otherwise he’d have made us spend the whole night looking for that stupid Gyrados.
As it was we went back home. I have the awful feeling last night was the last time I’ll sleep in my own bed for quite a while. I don’t know how I managed to sleep, either; I just kept staring at the pokeball on my dresser.
This morning mom said that Anlinn went to see a man about a Pokemon. (Prof. Rowan, mom explained, he didn’t ‘t actually have to use the men’s room) . That was the old guy who’s Pokemon we took. I guess An’s mom impressed upon him the need to apologize for stealing, and mom expected me to do the same thing. She made that face at me like I hadn’t eaten all my vegetables,
She did give me a new pair of shoes though, for my hike to Sandgem town. There were more Pokemon on the way there, and the second time I was attacked I guess curiosity got the better of me. I let the Chimchar out to fight. It’s actually pretty cool to watch, I’d never seen a Pokemon battle up close before, and it seemed like he was obeying my orders, even if I wasn’t sure what orders to give it. He gives you that innocent look, but I think behind it he’s one bad Pokemon.
Here’s where the whole thing gets weird. When I got to Rowan’s lab, he didn’t grab the pokeball back and lecture me and An about the evils of theft. He GAVE us the Pokemon we took. He said they looked happy. How could he tell? I never took mine out of his pokeball.
That isn’t all he gave us either. Nope, in return for the Pokemon he said we had to do research for him. To travel all over the region and collect Pokemon data. I guess we didn’t get away scot-free. I almost handed him back the pokeball there and then.
But… I didn’t. I guess for a minute I was really possessed of the feeling of a new beginning, like they talk about on TV. The start of an adventure. And that Pokemon with the silly look on his face. (not to mention the silly look on Annlin’s face)./ I guess it’s like you feed a Poochyena for two days and you get used to it. But I am going to have to have to work hard to keep Djin (my Chimchar. That’s weird to write, he really is mine now I guess.) Harder than I ever worked before.
Dawn showed me around Sandgem. It’s bigger than Twinleaf, but still not very big. I think Dawn saw I was a little lost today and has taken it upon herself to be my ‘big sister’. I promised myself I would not to be rude to her, but she’s barely older than me.
I stopped back home to tell mom what was going on, obviously. It was weird, I thought she’d cry and tell me not to go, but she seemed more prepared for it than I was. I never thought I was going to use my trainer’s leave from school, but mom seems to have known I’d wind up doing it all along. Maybe she just expected Anlinn to drag me into something like this eventually. She gave me this journal, and I intend to write in it whenever I get the chance. Anlin’s mom stopped by before I left and gave me something to take to him. Mom gave me a bunch of sandwiches. “I hope your Pokemon likes peanut-butter!” she said. Oh mom.
For the rest of the day I went out and trained Djin against the wild Pokemon. I bought a few pokeballs in town with my allowance, so I even caught a few new Pokemon. I never realized how they were all over. I am taking seriously my role as a researcher for Rowan, and so I am trying to capture as many different kinds as possible and study them. At first I thought there were only Starly and Bidoof in the area, I caught one of each really fast (I guess watching the trainers paid off because as I discovered catching Pokemon, at least weak ones, isn’t that hard). But after a few hours I ran into a bunch of others. I got a Shinx and a Budew and a Psyduck. Well, I didn’t catch the Psyduck until about an hour ago, up in the mouth of this impassable cave, but anyway.
When I got back through Sandgem about the middle of the day, Dawn was there again, and she did not give me a chance to show her the Pokemon I’d caught (just Bidoof and Starly then) before she launched in on this whole lecture about how to catch Pokemon. She did give me some pokeballs though, so it wasn’t a total waste of time.
The Pokemon Trainer School in Jubilife kind of WAS a waste of time though. I did meet Anlinn there and gave him his stuff before he spazzed out and ran off again. And I fought these other two trainers there. They were my first really battle. I’d avoided other trainers up til then.
Boy, was it tough! They both had Abra’s that kept using the same move over and over. I think it was the only move they knew, but it was killer. They both almost knocked out Djin, who deal most of the damage and I had my Starly Vega (named for the star) finish them off. I was surprised by how exciting it was. Then they gave me a TM. I thought about using it immediately on one of my Pokemon, but decided I’d wait. It’s still in my backpack.
The only interesting thing in Jubilife City besides that was I got a free Poketch. It’s okay I guess, but I don’t have any apps for it yet.
I battled with a bunch of trainers, including Anlinn, who’s got as much of a handle on this as I do. The others trainers I’ve met, I don’t know, they just all seem to suck. Its my first day as a Pokemon trainer, and the only people who’ve given me a run for my money were the Abra trainers at the school. Presumably these trainers are more experienced than me, but there’s no other way I can put it, they just, S U C K. Maybe they’re just hobbyists but still, you’d think they’d have more skill than a rank novice.
Did I somehow just manage to capture better Pokemon than they have? I don’t know.
I wanted to go through cave north of Jubilife to see where it went, but the path was blocked. I got really lucky and caught a Psyduck there, like I said. Her name is Ducky. I think I’m running out of good nicknames already. I hung around in the cave for a few more minutes, hoping there were more interesting pokemon in that little space at the entrance, but no luck. Just Zubat. (caught one anyway).
So, I headed to Oreburgh, which is a weird name for a city, I think. I heard there was a Pokemon Gym there, and it’s really the only way I can go, anyway, to find more Pokemon. I caught a Kricketot on my way there, just outside the city. It looks like a little bug in a suit jacket. One thing I want to find out in my research is why some Pokemon have characteristics like that. Did we model things on what we saw in nature like Pokemon? Or did the Pokemon evolve deliberately to look that way somehow? Or maybe it’s just an illusion, like seeing a face in tree bark.
I got to Oreburgh about an hour and a half ago. I met this guy on the way in who called me a noob and showed me where the Gym is. He hinted that when I have a badge more powerful trainers will agree to fight me, so maybe that’s why I haven’t had my ass handed to me yet. All the good trainers avoid beating up newbies for politeness sake. It’s comforting to know I’m not some freakish Pokemon whiz kid.
Anway, Anlinn was at the gym, but the gym leader wasn’t. An said he’d taken off to do something in the local mine. (Guess that’s why it’s called Oreburgh). Anlinn said I should go to the mine and ask the leader to battle. Well, I took one look at the mine, and I realized how late it was, and how much my feet hurt from walking. Plus, most of my new Pokemon were pretty tired out from fighting. I headed to the Pokemon center instead, which is where I am now.
Final thoughts for tonight: why do all the Nurse Joys look the same? I’ll admit it’s comfortingly familiar, since it makes the Pokemon centers all the same. No matter what town I’m in, there’s a center, and the center looks just like the last one. But it is a bit weird.
As I write this I’m laying on one of the bunks set aside for trainers. My Pokemon have been healed and refreshed, and they’re sitting in their balls in my backpack. It’s weird, I already feel kind of attached to all of them, and I’ve only had Ducky for two hours.
They say on TV that a trainer’s Pokemon become his best friends. I always thought this was an exaggeration, but maybe not. What is it about Pokemon that makes it so easy for them to form a bond with a human? Is it a special power they have, or is it part of the training process? I thought this morning that I would only be catching them to research them, but I’m starting to think the only way to really understand them is to become a serious trainer. I never meant to even join the Pokemon League. Yesterday morning it was something someone else did. Now I kind of want to see how far I can go.
-Fender Marco
2/18 21:30
Oreburgh Pokemon Center
Fender shoved the journal back into his backpack, along with his hat and lay back on the bunk, smoothing his dark hair out on the white pillow. The bunk below him was occupied by a quiet girl who was playing with her Poketch the last time he’d looked. He wasn’t sure where Anlinn was, if he was still in Oreburgh or if he’d set out for the next town this late at night. It couldn’t be that much more dangerous than traveling during the day, but still Fender hoped that he was downstairs making himself a nuisance at the Pokemon Center cafe.
Fender’s first night in a Pokemon Center. He hadn’t written it in his journal but it was his first night away from home at all. He’d spent the night at Anlinn’s house a few times, but that was not the same as being in a strange town, miles away from his own bedroom. It made Fender both excited and a little nervous at the same time. Surely nothing bad ever happened at a Pokecenter?
As he thought this, all the lights in the room winked out. He made a small noise, and gripped his backpack.
“First night?” the girl on the lower bunk asked. She didn’t wait for a reply. “Don’t worry, it’s just lights out time. If you still want to stay up you have to go down stairs.”
“Oh.” He felt silly for his reaction. Like a little kid.
“You should probably get some sleep though,” she continued. “Have you faced Roark yet?”
He shook his head, but realized she couldn’t see him. “No. He wasn’t there when I got to the gym.”
“Yeah, he does that sometimes. He’ll probably be back in the morning. He’s not a bad guy, but he won’t go easy on you, so you shouldn’t challenge him until you’re ready.”
“I think I’m ready,” he said, thinking of all the Pokémon he’d caught. “What kind of Pokemon does Roark have?” Fender hoped the girl would be able to tell him. He hadn’t even known the gym leader’s name before.
“Rock Pokemon. His Cranidos is the one you have to watch out for. If you started with a grass or water type you shouldn’t have much trouble.”
“No,” he said. “Fire type. A Chimchar. I caught a Psyduck earlier, but my pokedex says she doesn’t know any water type moves yet.”
“Oh, Psyduck are cute! I’m impressed that you already caught such a cool pokemon. Most of the trainers I’ve seen around here only have Bidoof and Starly.”
“Yeah,” Fender agreed. “Starly’s not too bad.” He didn’t add how he felt about Bidoof. He’d stopped trying to train it after an hour and stuck it in his box. He hadn’t mentioned that in his journal either, in case it meant he was a bad trainer. He’d just been so frustrated. Maybe he’d take it out tomorrow. After fighting Roark.
“My name’s Trina, by the way. What’s yours?”
“Fender.”
“Can I see your Chimchar? I haven’t seen one yet.”
Fender frowned. They’d been talking in the dark so that his eyes had mostly adjusted, but still. “Won’t we have to go downstairs for you to see him?”
“I don’t think so. He’s a fire type, right? Most of them have their own little light source.” Trina seemed amused by this.
“His tail,” Fender replied thoughtfully. He was already grateful to the girl for talking to him, it made the place less lonely and creepy, and now she’d given him an excuse to take out Djin. He had wanted to before, but was afraid in might be impolite if she was trying to sleep.
He reached in his bag, hoping that in the dark he picked the right pokeball, and climbed down the ladder of the bunk bed.
“Come on out, Djin,” he said, pressing the button.
There was a jolt of red light, and he was rewarded with the appearance of his Pokémon, framed in its own little orange light. Now he could see Trina, sitting on her bunk. She was a little taller than him, and had long brown hair.
“Char!” Djin chattered, looking around the room.
“It’s okay Djin, we’re in a Pokemon Center.” Fender wasn’t sure how much the Pokemon could understand him, but after all they took commands in battle. Besides, his voice was supposed to comfort it, anyway, or so he had read.
The Chimchar waddled over to the bed, and squawked at Trina, opening its mouth wide.
“It’s cute!” Trina exclaimed. She reached out to pet it, but held back. “Will he burn me?”
Fender shook his head. “He’s warm, but not hot. He learned ember today, though,” he said, with a little pride.
She reached over and pet Djin who made a happy face and a chattering noise. Fender was just watching when the Pokemon grabbed his wrist and swung it gently. Fender still almost toppled over.
“Whoa!”
Trina giggled. “He definitely likes you. That means you’re a good trainer.”
Fender blushed and hoped she didn’t see it in the dim light. “Thanks.
Hey, what Pokemon did you start out with?”
“A Mudkip. I won’t bring him out though, because he evolved into
Swampert a while ago, and he’s not very good around strangers.”
“Oh.” Fender was impressed, both with how powerful her Pokemon was, and the news that she must have been from the Hoenn region to get a Mudkip. “You must be a really great trainer by now, huh?”
“I’m not bad,” she said modestly, “I’ll never be champion material.”
Fender wasn’t sure what to saw. His Chimchar had started petting his arm.
“Well, I think it’s probably time to go to bed,” Trina said. “I have to get up and head to Jubilife City early tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Fender agreed. He held up his ball to return Djin.
“You can leave him out if you want,” Trina said. “Most fire types dim when they’re asleep, he’ll be a good nightlight.”
“If you want me to,” he said, wondering if she was patronizing him.
“Sure.”
He shrugged, and climbed up the ladder. Djin followed him up with ease, and without needing to be told. When Fender lay down, the Chimchar sat heavily on his stomach and fixed his eyes on the trainer.
“Chim!”
Fender rubbed its head. “Time to sleep now. You can play more in the moring.”
“Chimchar!” The Pokemon jumped once, landing heavily again on Fender’s stomach, and then curled up and closed it’s eyes.
“Guess you do understand me, little guy.”
Fender closed his eyes, and tried to sleep.
To be Continued…
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