Chapter 3 – Lessons

Last night I had forgotten to set an alarm on the clock that came with the room. Because of this, me and Axew didn’t get out of bed until a nurse knocked on our door since we were going to miss breakfast. Luckily, we managed to make it in time to get some bacon, eggs and toast for me and the diced berry mix for Axew. The food came with the room thankfully as I still had not received any money from the fund I was told about.

We found a place to sit in the cafeteria and began eating our meals. Axew seemed to enjoy his berry mix, while I tried really hard not to think about where the eggs or bacon came from as I ate them. It tasted so good that it felt like it was the first time I had eaten bacon and eggs. This caused me to pause and frown as I tried to recall some memories that weren't there.

Oh. I’ve forgotten foods I enjoyed.

My morning slightly soured from this revelation, but I tried not to show it on my face as I finished my breakfast.

After finishing our breakfast, we went and waited in the lobby of the PokeCenter, as the driver had told us that someone would be back today at roughly 9 to give us some items we’ll need and help sign us up for our classes. We had only waited 10 minutes before a woman in a post outfit carrying a box came inside and approached us.

“Excuse me, are you Charlie? I’m Liz and I’ve got a package for you.”

Realising this was the person, I hurriedly stood up from the chair I was in.

“Sorry about that, yes I’m Charlie.”

“Wonderful. Ah, and this little guy must be Axew.” she said, acknowledging the small Pokemon at her feet staring up at her.

In response, Axew smiled and hugged her legs.

“Do you think we could go to your room? I need to talk to you.”

I picked up Axew as he continuously tried to hug her so that she wouldn’t trip on him.

“Sure Liz, follow me”

When we entered the room, Liz put the box she was carrying down and opened it. Inside was a backpack, a blue digital watch, a wallet, and several bags of berry pellets. Reaching down, she grabbed the wallet.

“OK then, lets get the explanations out of the way. So, all this is yours and is payed for by the fund. In the wallet has a debit card connected to a bank account that the League has setup for you in one of their banks. Since you have no savings, the League has given you a 2000P deposit. You will also receive 200P at the end of every week in there as an allowance, but this will be cut-off by the start of the next League season.”

How generous of the League. Wait, hang on, isn’t that only enough to buy a single Pokeball?!

Liz handed the wallet to me and grabbed the digital watch from the box.

“Next, this Xtransceiver comes pre-loaded with several League support numbers, including Brent’s as he is currently your supervisor. Make sure to call him if anything happens to you. Your data plan is also paid for by the League and will be downgraded to the free plan at the start of the next League season as well, unless you personally pay for a new one.”

“Hold on,” I say, interrupting Liz for a moment.

“You mean there’s free data plans?”

She nodded and smiled.

“Yes, the International Pokemon League mandated that every region must have one around a decade ago as a matter of public safety, since back then many poorer trainers were injured or killed in remote parts of routes because they were unable to afford a plan.”

Wow, that's completely different to the majority of governments back on Earth! They actually put lives before profit.

“Anyway, the backpack uses Pokeball tech to be bigger on the inside, but it’s only a mid-grade storage device. It will be most useful when you start to travel the region as it can hold all your camping equipment and food.”

She paused to catch her breath from all the long-winded explanations. Axew took this opportunity to chew on the box, before stopping and spitting out the bits of cardboard in his mouth.

“Finally, there is the berry pellets, which follow the food prescription the Nurse Joy at the camp gave you. The bags have the number of the supplier, so if you need to order more or want a different mix then give them a call.”

With that Liz had finished her explanations on my new supplies. Before she left she did show me where that there were computers I could use for free in the PokeCenter. She also gave me the web address to the low level trainer school program and a code to sign up using the fund. Though, for the dragon training program she said that someone from Opelucid city would be sent to teach me in person, so I didn’t have to worry about doing two courses online. Me and Axew both thanked her as she left to do another delivery for someone else.

Left to ourselves for the rest of the day, we had an early lunch at the cafeteria before I put Axew in his Pokeball to nap so I could do some research on the computers in peace. I had signed myself up for 2 hours on it, as you had to reserve a spot ahead of time to use them. Luckily, it wasn't too busy today so there were some slots I could enter immediately.

The first thing that I checked was if the Pokedex was a thing. Turns out each region had their version completed at different times from the others but they all contribute their findings to an official Pokedex app on smart devices, like Pokegear’s, Xtransceiver’s and Holo Casters to name a few. The app itself is a subscription service, but the League was nice enough to make your region of origin’s Pokedex free, albeit with more limited functions.

After that, I spent time wandering the Pokemon internet, finding forums and wikis full of information for training, video streaming sites for both official and unofficial League battles, online markets similar to Amazon and eBay, and social media networks that Trainers and regular citizens use. I even learnt that the bacon and eggs I ate for breakfast came from domesticated animals and not Pokemon. I dug a bit deeper found that normal animals, while rare in the wild (ignoring bugs), do exist in this world, although a link between them and Pokemon had yet to be found.

As fun as it was reading up on random topics, I needed to sign up for my course. Entering the web address that Liz had given me, I found the site was owned by the Aspertia City Gym. According to the site the Gym was part of a school campus that taught from preschool to high school called Aspertia Academy, whose principal was also the current Gym Leader, Cheren. The Academy also offered courses to people of all ages for independent study, which was what I was doing, but they were all online. From the looks of things, they were similar to an online university course.

Wish I could remember what it was I was studying at my old uni.

Navigating the homepage, I found the sign up page where I could enter my code. After entering it, my course came up. It was called Beginner Trainer Basics, and according to it’s description it was part of a series of courses. The later courses in the series taught more advanced concepts and were at a discount for students who completed prior courses. Since this course was supposed to take two months to complete I probably wouldn’t have time to attempt the next one since I would be travelling.

“Maybe I can buy a laptop to study on the move,” I thought, entering my details to create an account. I did get side tracked as I needed an email but the League came and saved me once again by providing something like Gmail, with the only noticeable difference being that you use your League number to sign up so that the League can contact you.

With my details entered, I had officially entered the course. I would be able to log onto a ‘classroom’ section of the Aspertia Academy website where I would be able to access assignments, weekly tests, exams, recorded lectures and textbooks.

Before I left the computer I made sure to check my email and link it to my new Xtransceiver. There was one email from Aspertia Academy, but it was only a list of things I should do before the course starts, like go shopping for exercise books and pens for note taking. Seeing how empty my inbox was, I subscribed to a few free newsletters I found online earlier, with one from the publisher of the magazine I read earlier. This way, I would have something to read when I’m bored or want to catch up on the news.

Seeing that my 2 hours were up, I left the computer lab and let Axew out of his Pokeball once I was back at my room. The lazy Pokemon had spent almost the entire time napping and was still asleep when I let him out, so I had to give him a small shake to wake him up. Axew was a bit grumpy when he woke up, but when I let him know that we were going to explore the city on a short shopping trip a bit he perked up.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Outside the PokeCenter was a busy street full of people rushing about. It was probably lunch for most of them, which made me thankful that I had lunch earlier given how busy the cafeteria in the PokeCenter had been when we passed it.

We spent a good amount of time wandering the city, and found many interesting places like a fountain built with white stone, depicting some Swanna and Ducklett’s flying around and spraying water out of their mouths. The shops we visited also had the supplies I needed for my classes, which I put in my bag for when we got back to the PokeCenter. Turns out that the currency here is valued similarly to a dollar, and not yen like in the games. Because of that, trainer supplies are super expensive, but regular stuff like food and clothes are pretty cheap.

After our short shopping trip we reached a park that was full of people and their Pokemon. When we went in, we learnt that the park was for people to bring their Pokemon to play with other Pokemon, sort of like a dog park. Axew was excited by this, and the moment I gave him permission to go play he took off like a rocket towards the nearest group of Pokemon.

As for me, I went to a small Café in the park that was for the Pokemon’s owners to relax and talk to each other while keeping an eye on their Pokemon. When I was ordering something to drink I was unsure of which drink to buy. I couldn’t remember if I liked coffee but I did remember that it was supposed to be really bitter, so I crossed it off the list. I did see that there was some sort of Pecha berry tea, which interested me enough to order a takeaway cup. Once I was served, I went and watched Axew play.

He was currently having lots of fun playing what looked like tag with a Spinda, Taillow and Bunnelby. The Taillow didn’t seem to fly out of reach and kept low on the ground, so I guess that was it’s way of playing fair. It was still much faster than the others though.

Seeing Axew playing with its new friends made me realise that I don’t really have any friends here other than Axew, which made me feel rather gloomy. This feeling was amplified even more when I tried but failed to remember if I had friends back on Earth. Stopping myself from digging deeper into my memories, or rather lack of, I distracted myself by completely focusing on Axews game of tag.

Currently, the Pokemon who was ‘it’ was Axew, who was trying to catch the Spinda. The Spinda kept stumbling around like it was doing a drunk dance, which made it hard for Axew to catch it. In fact, Axew seemed to get dizzy from watching Spinda and by pure chance bumped into it as they both did a strange dizzy dance. Realising that it had caught Spinda, Axew stumbled away smiling but still dizzy.

Happy to see that Axew having fun, I took the first sip of my tea.

“Hey, which one’s yours?” a voice behind me said, making me jump.

Startled, I almost spat my tea out and turned around.

It was a pink-haired girl that looked about 20 who was wearing a white shirt over a blue long sleeved undershirt. Her white sunhat had a pink ribbon tied around it that was the same colour as her bag.

She looked a bit startled as well from my reaction.

“O-oh did I startle you?” she said nervously.

Having recovered from my small shock, I said “It’s alright, no harm done.”

“And mine’s the Axew,” I added on, remembering her question.

“I-I see. Mine’s the Spinda. When I saw an Axew playing with it I got curious about who brought a Dragon Type to play in the park,” she said, sounding a bit apologetic for startling me.

That’s right, aren’t Dragon Type trainers supposed to be a rarity? No wonder so many people stared at us while I was shopping.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, I’m Charlie,” I said, wiping the spilled tea from my face and hands.

“I’m Yancy. Say, how did you get an Axew anyway? I thought they were meant to be super rare in the wild?” she said, rubbing the head of her Spinda which had tottered over to us, bringing Axew as well.

Sighing, I said “It’s a long story, but I was given Axew by its groups... Guardian? Leader? I’m not really sure what they were but they chose me as Axew’s trainer since he was a runt.”

“Wait really? So you’re one of the ‘special case’ Dragon trainers?” she said, looking surprised as she stopped rubbing Spinda’s head.

“‘Special case’ sums up my whole situation pretty well. So, what about your Spinda? Where did you get them?” I replied, trying to change the topic.

“My work requires me to travel to all sorts of regions and I get lots of time off between jobs, so I spend some time exploring the regions I go to. Spinda was a friend I made in Hoenn who ended up coming back home with me,” she said, smiling as she recalled some memories.

“Wow, your work lets you travel to so many cool places! What is it you do then?” I asked, wondering if I could get a cheaper ticket to other regions later on.

“Oh I’m uh… just an assistant for a TV celebrity. I just do their hair and makeup, but the manager sends the entire crew whenever she has to travel, so I get to tag along.” she replied shyly, not giving me any more details.

Just when I was about to change the topic again her Xtransceiver went off. After Yancy checked it, she said that something had come up at work and she needed to work today. Saying our goodbyes, we exchanged numbers since Spinda and Axew wanted to meet up again and seemed sad to see each other go. After that, she took her Spinda and speed walked out of the park. After they were gone I did a quick look around for anyone else trying to sneak up on me before I drank my tea. It was nice and sweet, but had a hint of bitterness.

Since it was getting late, me and Axew left soon after, stopping only for Axew to say goodbye to the Bunnelby and Taillow he had been playing tag with. It took us an hour to find our way back to the PokeCenter we lived at, and when we got back dinner was still awhile off. So, we went back to our room and watched random shows on TV until it was time to eat.

After dinner I checked my emails and found that the League had sent me something. Opening it on my Xtransceiver, I found that it was a letter from the Dragon Expert who was supposed to come train me. According to the letter, they would arrive in 2 weeks and would run the program for a month at minimum, and if my results were below what was expected then I would be forced to re-run it until I passed. They cited it as a safety reason and I could see where they were getting at considering the damage angry Dragon Types I had seen online could cause.

After reading my other emails, me and Axew watched some more League matches on the League channel before going to bed. I remembered to set an alarm this time.

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2 weeks had passed, with the Aspertia Academy sending me work to complete every day. Turns out moves and abilities work very differently than in the games. Pokemon having to develop their abilities with training to us them in battle, and more than one ability can be developed. According to the textbook I was sent, high level trainers teams have all their abilities developed to a battle ready standard. Moves are similar, with a Pokemon being able to know more than four moves. However, they can only learn as many moves as they have time to practice, so a Pokemon can’t effectively learn and use every move their species has.

Evolution is slightly different too. The textbook said that the most common form of evolution was ‘Maturity Evolution’. To explain this, it said that all Pokemon battle to expel energy that they naturally accumulate in their bodies, which is what moves and abilities are. When energy is expelled, the remnants slightly strengthen the body of the Pokemon, allowing it to hold more energy and therefore use more moves and abilities in a fight. This continues until a certain threshold is met, where a Pokemon’s body has become strong enough to hold enough energy to undergo evolution.

Something in the evolution lecture that interested me was that the moves used by a Pokemon have small affects on their evolution. An example the lecturer gave were two Rattata who focused on different move types. One focused exclusively on bite attacks like Crunch and Hyper Fang while the other focused on moves that use its entire body, like Tackle and Take Down. When both evolved, the bite-focused Raticate had stronger, larger and sharper teeth, while the body-focused Raticate was larger and stronger that an average Raticate.

The lecturer had said that this phenomenon was present in all Pokemon that evolved, and was termed ‘Hyper-Adaption’, as it was theorised that this mechanic was what led to regional variants emerging after roughly a century of living in a new environment. Unfortunately, this topic wasn’t expected to be touched after that lecture until the exam as anything deeper was considered an advanced subject for higher courses. I would have liked to hear about the other types of evolution.

In these 2 weeks I had also visited an Ultra Travel Induced amnesia (shortened to U.T. amnesia) expert recommended by Brent. After extensive questioning and a few brain scans they figured out what type of memories I was lacking. Apparently, the ‘entities’, as the expert called them, in Ultra Wormholes all have different preferences for memory types and how much they want to consume, sort of like how some people like sweet food while others like sour food. The one that had eaten my memories had a taste for my personal life and relationships, which explained why I couldn’t remember much about myself and my family. The expert said that there might be smaller memories it ate by mistake that were unrelated to my personal life but they would be uncommon.

After my session, I had been given a psychologist’s contact business card in case I had trouble dealing with my amnesia or felt depressed from it. The 3 days after that I had spent in my room, constantly thinking about who I was and who I am. Axew had seen something was wrong and sat besides me most of the time, giving me a reminder to eat and do my classes, which I was thankful for. It was after the third day that I decided that moping around I my room wouldn’t solve anything, so I spent all my free time the next day outside with Axew, exploring the city. It seemed to help distract me from my worries, so we both decided to explore the city every second day.

Today though I had to put off exploring the city, and my course work was on hold until the evening as the Dragon Expert was supposed to arrive today. I was already at the famous Mistralton airport waiting for their plane to land.

I had done some small research on the Dragon Expert and found their League profile. Apparently they were supposed to have been born and raised in Galar but moved to Opelucid roughly a decade ago to study Unovian dragons in their native habitat, as the Haxorus line was rather popular in Galar. I had also managed to find a picture of them. He was a 2 meter tall red haired giant with a matching beard and moustache. He was also covered in blue tattoos depicting different Dragon Type Pokemon, so he should be easy to spot in a crowd.

Their plane landed soon after, and they were one of the last passengers to get off. Seeing them stand above the crowd I went over to introduce myself.

“Hi, you must be Evan. I’m Charlie, your new student.”

He peered down at me and gave a hearty laugh that attracted a few stares, as we were still in the middle of an airport.

“Nice tae mak yer acquaintance laddie! Ur ye ready tae learn howfur tae train dragon types? fur this is aff tae be a munth o' hell fur ye 'n' yer wee mukker doon thare!”

(Translation:"Nice to meet you boy! Are you ready to learn how to train Dragon Types? Because this is going to be a month of hell for you and your small friend down there!")

Oh God he’s Scottish.