Route One was actually far more boring than I was going to give it credit for. After about three hours of walking, the most Artis and I had seen was a few Pidgey.
When I had looked through the Pokedex entry for the Pokemon, I had been impressed by the behemoths that the tiny pigeon would become, but I didn't feel like Pidgeot was the right one for me.
Eventually, we pulled off the main road and found a small circle of grass that would work as a campsite. Though the area was sparse and dry, trees were becoming much more prominent and the surrounding terrain was closer to a forest than a badland.
I had Artis help me set up the campsite. He took one end of the tarp into his teeth and rolled his blubbery little body across the clearing.
Aloud, I said, "You're so friggin' cute, buddy."
He barked in acknowledgment, clapping his flippers together.
Within twenty minutes we had a fully set up tarped area, a nice little fire, and an easy place to rest on our bedroll. Artis took over my inflatable pillow, and thus he became my pillow. I rested my head against his side and felt his warm fur against my face.
"This is the life…" I said, absentmindedly. "You would've made the flight over here so much more comfortable.
Artis mumbled in agreement, snuggling into my side.
I still couldn't believe it. Dad had gotten me one of my absolute favorite Pokemon as my starter, and he had a powerful lineage to boot. Professor Oak's mention that he could even be related to a champion's Milotic had my mind racing.
I know that breeders aren't necessarily confined to using the Pokemon in their area, but it made it a hell of a lot easier to source powerful specimens of each line in locations where they naturally flourished. It helped even more when powerful trainers of those regions captured said Pokemon and raised them, making them even more potent for their local breeders.
Whatever the case, my Spheal was born to be a champion's partner. I could feel it in my bones. Dad knew a lot of people, being a lead Ace Trainer and all. There was no way he would've settled for anything else.
I frowned.
That's exactly why I didn't want to stay in Hoenn.
As much as I loved Artis, and now that I had him no one could ever take him from me, I didn't just want to be handed it all. I wanted to earn it.
"Hey bud," I said, rolling over, "Wanna do some training before we hit the hay?"
Artis barked happily, spraying me with drool.
"That's the spit- I mean, the spirit!" I chuckled.
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Artis was a loud snorer after an afternoon of training. We'd only practiced his Rollout for maybe an hour, but that combined with the long day of travel had left him exhausted. Though he wasn't the reason I couldn't sleep, he definitely wasn't helping.
At least he's keeping all the wild Pokemon away. I thought, glancing through the files on the Pokedex that Professor Oak had given me. Though there's not anything really strong on this route, I could see a flock of Spearow being really annoying to deal with.
I had initially gone into this journey with the intention of learning as I went, but having access to an encyclopedia of Pokemon given to me by the Pokemon Professor was too cool not to glance through.
Pidgey and Spearow are both really cool, but I don't think that either would work for my team. Rattata is basically a lamer Zigzagoon, and Oddish is a cuter Shroomish. I sighed. Nothing is really catching my attention here. We might have to wait till later to find someone to balance out our team.
Having a water-type in this section of Kanto had accidentally set me up for success. According to the map, the upcoming Viridian Gym was a ground-type gym, and the Pewter one after that was rock-type. Both were extremely good match-ups for Artis, so I could afford to delay getting another team member until one caught my eye.
The rustling of grass gave me pause.
I sat up, closing the Pokedex. Artis' snores still sounded every few seconds, but I could still hear movement on the edges of camp. I reached down and patted Artis' side, trying to wake the Pokemon.
His snoring intensified.
Shit. He's out cold.
I returned Artis, and his snoring ceased as he disappeared in a flash of light.
The light had given me enough illumination to see a Pokemon walking away from my camp, deeper into the forest. I had only seen a vague outline, but it didn't register in my head as any of the Pokemon that I'd been studying. It was too short and spindly.
"Shit," I whispered under my breath. As I leaned down and began rolling up my tarp and bedroll, I kept whispering, "shit, shit, shit."
There was a Pokemon that I didn't recognize walking past me into a dark forest at night. If this wasn't the definition of a call to action for a trainer, I didn't know what was.
It was minutes before my camp was packed and ready to go. I pulled out my heavy flashlight and a hand warmer, and I walked into the darkness.
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"Walking into darkness" might have been a slight misnomer. It happened to be near a full moon, and outside of the cover of my camp, the ground was actually pretty visible. Hiking through the forest at night wasn't ever going to be easy, but between the moon and my flashlight I was able to make progress.
The Pokemon I was following made steady, but slow progress. Even with a several-minute head start, its tiny legs could only carry it so far and I was able to catch up fairly quickly.
It was maybe half a meter tall, and it walked on two spindly thin legs. Flashes of it as it moved in and out of the moonlight gave me a good idea that it was a grass type. Its body was green, and its arms took the form of tiny leaves. Its large head shone yellow; it was a big bulb-shaped flower.
The first ten minutes of following the Pokemon were just to try and wait it out, to see if it would pause its little walk so that I could scan it with my Pokedex. The next ten were purely out of sheer curiosity.
This little guy just isn't stopping! I thought, still keeping up with his pace. He's definitely going somewhere on purpose, but where could he be headed?
In total, we walked for a little over a half an hour before we encountered anything interesting. It was another Pokemon.
The tiny grass type was joined by a second one. Same bulbous head, the same tiny legs. It was slightly shorter, but definitely the same species. The two started walking in step with one another, both headed in the same direction.
The two grass types seemed reinvigorated and ran as hard as their little legs carried them. I actually had to start jogging to keep pace, and as we ran, I became aware of another noise in the distance. A loud and low rumbling, like hundreds of little trees slowly falling in the distance.
A heavy feeling pooled in my gut. I really hope that's not what I think it is.
I glanced back down at the two Pokemon, specifically the tiny thudding of their plant-like feet on the wooden roots below our feet. A sound hundreds of times quieter, but nearly identical, to what I could hear in the distance.
The two Pokemon hopped between bushes, underneath branches, and over hills. I was struggling to keep up now. Their small size made it a lot easier for them, and I had to untangle myself from more than one bundle of branches.
It wasn't long before I lost sight of them, but the rumbling led me in the direction that I was sure they were headed. Though I knew it was probably a terrible idea, my curiosity was far too high to leave now.
It wasn't until I finally crested another large hill that I finally saw it.
The treeline was broken in front of me, and there was a long path that was open to the sky. The path was maybe twenty yards across at its widest, and I could see the treeline resume itself on the other side. Across this wide-open space, there were fields of golden flowers that stretched as far as I could see to the east and to the west. The fields were moving. It took me seconds to confirm my fears. Each plant was a Pokemon, the same one that I had followed here. There were more Pokemon here than I had ever seen, each endless row easily twenty pokemon deep.
I stood there and stared for a long while. From my vantage point between the bushes, I could see hundreds, if not thousands, of Pokemon marching past me. Their tiny heads bobbed up and down as they walked, and their beady eyes rarely wandered from directly in front of them. They walked on two spindly legs that were tendrils made of leaves and vines.
I fumbled with a pouch on my waist, not taking my eyes off the massive movement of plant Pokemon. I flipped open the Pokedex and clicked the scan button. After a moment, the Pokedex returned an answer to my question.
"Bellsprout, the flower Pokemon," The small device vocalized. "This Pokemon is the pre-evolution to Weepinbell and is classified as a grass and poison type. Bellsprout is one of the few carnivorous lines of plant-type Pokemon, and is native to hot and humid climates."
Below a photo of a Bellsprout, there was a list of other facts about the strange little Pokemon. Apparently, it captured its food by growing its vines to extraordinary length and constricting it to death. They were quick fighters that could apply a myriad of status effects to their prey. Nowhere in the document, however, did it list that they would be traveling in a group large enough to overrun a small town.
The Bellsprout didn't move in exact lines, or in any particular order. They moved in groups of three and four, clumped together so tightly that you wouldn't notice the divisions if you weren't looking closely. They all headed west, driven by some unseen force.
A pair of bushes on the other side of the pathway began to rustle. The new motion caught my eye, and I saw a small hunched form creep forward. The intruding creature was short, about the same height as the Bellsprout, with shaggy beige fur and gnarled claws. It looked like a larger, mutated Rattata. This must have been its evolution, a Raticate. I had seen the name mentioned earlier, but this was my first time seeing the Pokemon.
The Pokemon crept forward. It must have thought that the Bellsprout would make an easy meal because it had no problem approaching the masses of plant Pokemon. The Raticate lowered its back haunches, crouching down low and gathering its strength for a large leap. Its jaws opened wide, and I could see its massive incisors begin to glow with white light.
The Raticate jumped forward, claws and fangs bared.
There was a blast of Plop! Plop! Plop! as a series of wet concussions blasted off within the span of a few seconds. The Raticate vanished in a cloud of purple, yellow, and green powder. The powder obscured everything, cutting off the Raticate, the other side of the forest, and the Bellsprout from my vision completely.
I didn't even see them move! I thought. That must have been Stun Spore, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, and who knows what else? I need to get somewhere safe.
I pulled myself back from the treeline. I had come here chasing a Bellsprout, but walking out into that mass exodus seemed like an easy way to die. I couldn't see how the Raticate was doing, but that amount of inhalants would have killed me. I hiked a little farther down the path before peeking back out.
The Raticate was splayed out at the edge of the path. Its eyes were glazed and facing opposite directions, and a pink foam leaked from the corners of its mouth. Most of the Bellsprout had continued past it, but several of the larger specimens had stopped to feed. The furry Pokemon had gray and green vines wrapped around the center of its body, and the Bellsprout had started to envelop the creature's limbs with their bell-shaped heads.
I turned away, and I felt the remains of my dinner coming back up. I shoved my hand against my mouth and kept everything down. This was part of Pokemon that dad talked about, what they didn't show you on TV. Wild Pokemon didn't have access to the nutrient-balanced and printed food that trained Pokemon did, and they had to eat.
I could've lived without that. I felt sick. That's a solid "no" on catching a Bellsprout.
I turned back towards the way that I had come but stopped short.
In my way, there were five little yellow heads. Five Bellsprout.
Shit.
I looked around, but they stood on the thin footpath I'd created and it was dense woods on either side.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
The Bellsprout drew closer, the largest of them beginning to grow thin tendrils of vines from their arms. They began to reach forward.
Nope! I yelled in my head. Nope, nope, nope, nope!
I put everything I had into two large steps forward, jumping as far as I could. The Bellsprout was maybe a meter at their tallest, and I felt like I could clear that.
I would've been right, too, had the largest one not wrapped my leg in a vine as I passed over it.
I hit the ground with a heavy thud. I was on the other side of the Pokemon, but I could feel the vine pressing further up my shins, reaching up toward my knee.
"Shit!" I yelled. "I'm not dying on day one!"
I kicked as hard as I could at the Pokemon, and it recoiled in pain.
With another kick off the ground, scrapping my hands and knees, I pushed myself away from the Pokemon. The other four Bellsprout pushed in, each beginning to grow their own vines.
I took off into the forest, heart thumping in my ears. My lungs burned as I started running, and I could feel small branches whipping past my face. I kept trying to build speed, but the woods were too thick. Every turn just meant another tree, every patch of clearing followed by a line of bushes.
As I ran I heard someone yell "Hey! You! You're going the wrong way!"
I stopped in my tracks, trying to find the source of the voice, but I couldn't find them. It sounded like it was back in the direction of the Bellsprout.
Speaking of, my lapse in the movement had shown that the Pokemon I had followed earlier must not actually have been running at their top speed, because they very quickly covered the ground between us.
The five Pokemon spread out around me, forming a half-circle.
A fluffy stuffed animal hit the ground in front of them.
A pink Pokedoll.
The stuffed Clefairy began to play music and vibrate, transfixing the wild Pokemon that had surrounded me.
At that moment, a person sprinted by, grabbing my elbow and pulling me along in their wake.
I wasn't exactly thrilled to stay as the Bellsprout ravenously started to grasp at the doll, so I sprinted after them.
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My savior was a young woman, probably older than me, wearing a long white lab coat and sprinting with the prowess of a decathlon champion. As we sprinted through the woods, she expertly weaved between bushes and underneath trees, stopping only once we had reached a slight clearing off of the massive Bellsprout migration.
"Can you climb?" She half-yelled between breaths.
My lungs were heaving, so it took a moment to choke out: "Yeah, a bit!"
"Good, grab this!" She snatched a rope, barely noticeable from the tree it was hanging from, and tossed the limp end back towards me.
I grasped the end, feeling it dig into my hands as it took my full weight, and pressed both my feet into the tree. It had been a while since Gym class, but I had never fallen out of shape.
A few moments later I was pulling myself up into a small wooden platform, maybe three meters across, that had been set up in the tree. It had no walls or ceiling, though the branches around it gave the illusion of one, and there were a few bags set off in a corner next to an open bedroll.
I shuffled away from the edge, giving the woman space to climb up behind me. When I offered my hand to help pull her up, she accepted.
"Thanks." She said between heavy breaths.
"No problem." I sighed, plopping down into the space. "That was a close one, I can't thank you enough for that.
She took a few moments to catch her breath. "You can thank me by not making me do it again." She said sharply, with more than a hint of annoyance. "What are you doing so far off route?"
Uh oh. I pulled out my PokeNav+ to check the map and my stomach grew cold. I had no idea I'd gotten so far off the path. I was easily a kilometer or two outside Route One.
Part of each region's League's responsibility was to mark out routes that were safe for trainers to pass through from town to town. The League tended to mark the areas outside of these routes as extremely dangerous for trainers without at least four badges. There were no legal repercussions for entering these zones, but the danger kept newer trainers on the established routes.
"Sorry, I had no idea I'd passed the Ranger markers," I admitted. "I was following one of the Bellsprout that had passed by my camp and I must've missed 'em."
"Well, you need to be better about that." She scolded, wiping the sweat from her brow. "The Rangers put those up for your safety, and trainers should never leave the routes without proper permission. You're lucky you ran into me, and not the Ursaring that's been around the last few nights."
She glanced up at me, realizing that I didn't recognize the name. She spread her arms to mimic a menacing creature. "Giant bear, big teeth."
She scooted across the platform and laid herself down, getting a better look at the massive amount of Pokemon moving below us. I moved into a similar position. Down below, there were hundreds of Bellsprout moving in lines, all feeding into a river of Pokemon. I could see every variation of green and yellow, the Pokemon themselves not being entirely uniform in their color.
It was like spring itself moving through a forest. The contrast between the dark woods and the bright Bellsprout was awe-inspiring.
"Wow," I said.
"Yeah," she replied. "Wow."
I glanced to the side, taking in her appearance full for the first time. She couldn't have been more than a couple of years older than me. Her face was kind and soft, and her expression was only intense in how obviously she admired the waves of marching Pokemon. A complete transformation from the annoyed person I'd been dealing with a few minutes prior, the woman's green eyes were alight with curiosity and wonder. Her hair was cut to shoulder length and draped over the back of her lab coat-
Lab coat.
"Wait," I realized, "You're Professor Oak's assistant?"
She started at my words and turned to face me, though she continued to glance down at the Bellsprout. "Yeah…" She said, uncertain. "Do I know you?"
"No, sorry, " I said "I just remembered that the Professor had said his aide was out-"
"Oh, you know Professor Oak?"
"Not really. I stopped by his lab earlier to pick up my Trainer Card. He mentioned you while I was there."
She sat up from her spot at the edge of the perch and glanced at me with the same curious eyes that she had previously had for the Bellsprout. I felt my cheeks heat up as I had her full, undivided, attention. And following that, they reddened more in the embarrassment that I couldn't keep my composure being in the same space as a pretty girl for more than five minutes.
It's not like that. I thought. I'm just not used to anybody this intense. It doesn't matter that I think she's pretty. At least, I don't think it does?
After a few more moments of studying me, realization flashed across her face. "You're that Hoenn guy!" She exclaimed, "I prepped your documents yesterday; Derek something, right?"
"Yeah, that's me," I said, "Derek Tracy."
She leaned forward and offered her hand out with a smile. "Daisy Oak," she said, "Nice to meet you, Derek Tracy."
I shook her hand, enjoying the moment before my eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. "You're his granddaughter?" I exclaimed.
Daisy chuckled. "Yeah, though I'm glad he introduced me as his aide first." She tucked her legs in and sat with her back against a branch. "It'd be unfortunate if that was the only thing I was known for."
We dipped into silence as my mind started racing with questions that I definitely shouldn't ask. I knew from experience that being related to somebody important sucked sometimes, especially when people would assume that nepotism would be involved.
Come to think of it, that's why I left Hoenn in the first place.
I took another minute to look at Daisy, really look at her, with the new lens that I had just acquired. She had returned to studying the migration below, propping up her PokeNav+ on a tripod to record the mass of Pokemon. Even with the hundreds of footsteps making a low rumble in the air, I could hear her humming to herself.
This girl likes Pokemon. I thought dumbly. Like really likes Pokemon. It makes sense that she'd take after her grandpa.
"So what's causing this migration?" I said, attempting small talk that I thought she'd find interesting.
As I'd hoped, her small smile broke into a grin as she looked up from her video. "That's what I'm here to find out," Daisy said. "It's normal for Bellsprout to seek out the Sprout Tower, but we've never seen them group to this quantity, especially not this early in spring."
"This could be a once-in-a-century event," she continued, "so I'm being careful to record all of my findings for posterity. I think that it could be caused by anomalously elevated environmental temperatures and increased humidity striking earlier than normal in this part of the world, so the Bellsprout line was compelled to undergo premature migratory behaviors. My findings have been inconclusive so far though, especially because I'm still waiting on ecological data from Pewter City before I can start drawing up a temperature map and cross-referencing it with the previous year's migration patterns."
I sat for a moment, slightly overwhelmed. This girl really likes Pokemon.
"So…" I stumbled, "What's Sprout Tower?"
Daisy looked stunned at the question, but continued to smile. "You understood everything else?" She asked, incredulous.
"Well, I followed everything you said?" I scratched the back of my head. "You were saying that because the planet's heating up, it's too hot for the Bellsprout and they keep panicking because they think it's summer?"
She looked legitimately impressed. "Huh," Daisy said. "Yeah, you could put it like that."
It was my turn to grin, and I couldn't help but feel self-satisfied. Take that Mr. Henson's biology class! I knew I didn't deserve that B!
Daisy pulled her PokeNav+ off the tripod and swiped for a moment before bringing up images of a tall wooden building. "This is the Sprout Tower." She said, moving to sit next to me. "It's a really old building in Johto that was built using a massive Bellsprout as its core, and ever since it's been where the Bellsprout migrate to in spring."
"That's really cool!" I said, not commenting on just how close Daisy was sitting. "I know almost nothing about either Johto or Kanto, so this is all a little intimidating."
"You came all the way here from Hoenn, and you didn't do a cursory search first?" She questioned.
"Well, that's kind of the whole point." When she waited for me to elaborate, I continued. "I love Hoenn a lot, but I've been there my whole life. I know everything about Hoenn. When it came to picking the region that I would compete in, I knew the exact route I would take if I tried to take on the Ever Grande Conference. I knew what my team would look like, I knew what Gyms I would challenge, and I even knew who would be my rivals. I didn't want that. I wanted an adventure."
And I would've had every advantage handed to me. I added silently. Mom and Dad would've made helped me have an easy route to the top.
"That's actually pretty admirable," she said. "You came in ill-prepared, but with good intentions."
"Yeah," I chuckled, "and I almost got eaten for it."
"Almost." Daisy emphasized. "Every trainer almost gets eaten at some point or another. No reason to linger on it. As long as you've learned your lesson, it's just a funny anecdote that you can tell people later about your adventure. Heck, even I have some embarrassing stories from my League challenge."
That got my attention. Daisy was the granddaughter of the Pokemon Professor, intelligent enough to be a research aide, and she had done a League challenge?
Legendaries almighty, I think I'm in love. She's so much cooler than me. I chuckled.
Daisy, obviously thinking I was laughing at her, frowned. "What? I was serious when I said everybody had embarrassing stories. Do you think I'm lying to make you feel better?"
"No!" My chuckles evolved to full laughter. "I just made myself laugh, it's nothing important."
"Sure…" She said suspiciously. "And the Victreebell chum doesn't want to share it with the class?"
"Nope!" I said, "though I could be convinced if someone would like to share one of those stories?"
"Huh, story for story?" When I nodded, she continued, "Well there was this one time when I was doing a contest in Saffron…"
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Daisy and I chatted into the early hours of the morning. She was just so interesting, with her love of Pokemon research, and had dozens of stories about her adventures. It turned out that I was right, she was nineteen to my sixteen. She'd done her League challenge a few years ago, though she'd decided a few months in that she preferred coordinating to training.
In fact, she let slip that she'd actually won last year's Spring Pokemon Contest as its grand champion. After that, she'd decided to retire from contests and focus on getting an 'actual career'. She now worked at her grandfather's lab to get experience in different fields of Pokemon study until she decided on her researcher specialization.
In return, I told her about growing up in Lilycove. I mostly kept Mom and Dad to myself, but I found myself talking honestly about feeling like my parents having too much of a hand in my journey. It was cathartic in a way, letting details slip here and there that I felt she could relate to, also having a pretty important family member.
It wasn't until the rumbling of the Bellsprout had faded and the migration faded that I realized the time. The sun peaked between the trees, and the buzzing of insects replaced the silence.
My alarm on my PokeNav+ went off, signaling that I should be waking up, and I felt sadness pool in my stomach as I silenced it.
"Does that mean you have to head out?" Daisy asked. Maybe I was projecting, but I thought I heard some disappointment in her voice.
"I probably should if I'm going to get to Viridian anytime soon." I sighed, and started to push myself into a standing position.
My legs were numb, and I immediately stumbled. Daisy grabbed my elbow and steadied me. She pulled herself up.
"You know, you've been up all night." She said, "If you want… …I could walk you back to the route?"
I could feel my cheeks flush. "Yeah, that would be nice. I'd like that."
Daisy smiled. "Good, give me just a minute to pack my things and we'll get going."
"Sure, sure," I said.
I took the opportunity to climb down, using the rope we'd used earlier. The forest felt too empty with the Bellsprout gone. After a few minutes, Daisy tossed a large canvas duffle down to me, and I steadied the rope as she climbed down.
We walked mostly in silence over the next few minutes, following the trails that had been trampled by the migration. The ground was smooth, and any obstacles had been cleared by the hundreds of Pokemon that had moved through the area. It made hiking far easier and quicker than it had been to get here.
I found myself not being very grateful for the quick journey.
After about twenty minutes, we found ourselves at the route marker, a sign left by the Rangers to warn trainers that they were leaving the approved route. It was bright yellow, and written in a dozen different languages.
"Damn," I sighed. "I should not have missed that."
Daisy laughed. "I really don't know how you passed it. It even glows in the dark." She glanced around. "So you're headed to Viridian?"
"Yeah, which is this way?" I asked, feeling bummed.
"Yes." She frowned. "And I'm headed back this way towards Pallet."
The silence hung heavy and awkward in the air.
"Then-"
"I guess-"
We spoke at the same time, and both started when we interrupted the other.
We laughed. "It's been fun," I said. "Thank you for the hike and the company."
"And then saving you from almost dying." Daisy corrected me, "And you're welcome."
"Yeah, thanks." I held out my hand. "See ya, Daisy."
She grasped it back and shook my hand. "Goodbye, Derek."
I released the handshake and turned away towards Viridian. I only made it a few steps before I heard her yell out for me.
"Wait!" Daisy called. When I turned, she was crossing the small gap between us. Her PokeNav+ was in her hand.
"What's up?"
She held out her PokeNav+ to me. "Give me your number."
I looked at her, then the PokeNav+, then down at my own. I laughed. "Sure. I'm an idiot for not thinking of it myself."
"I want to make something clear." Daisy declared, meeting my eyes. I felt my palms clam up at her straight-faced intensity. "I really enjoyed talking with you and would like to do so again. I'm going to be in Pewter City in three weeks to gather the ecological data that I told you about. Would you like to meet me there?"
I was stunned. Wow. She's the most straightforward person I've ever met. And then my brain caught up to what she was actually saying.
"Like, a date?" I said hesitantly.
"Yes."
My ability to form conscious thought evaporated. The singular gear in my head burst into flame from overworking.
It's official. Kanto is so much better than Hoenn.
"Y- yeah." I stuttered out. "I'd- I'd like that."
"Good," Daisy said, satisfied with my answer, "I'd like that too."
She waited for me to put in my number, and sent a quick text through so I'd have hers. Daisy nodded, finding everything satisfactory.
"I'll see you in a few weeks, Derek." She said.
"See you then, Daisy," I replied.
She turned away, massive canvas bag slung over her lab coat, and started walking towards Pallet Town. It wasn't more than a minute before she disappeared into the trees.
I honestly don't know if I stood there for one minute or five. My mind was racing.
I've never gone on a date before. What will I wear? I only brought athletic clothes for hiking and training. I don't have anything nice to wear.
An image of myself and Daisy at a fancy restaurant, her wearing a lab coat and myself in a hoodie, flashed through my mind.
I chuckled to myself, the absurdity of it was enough to shake me out of my thoughts. I had three whole weeks to figure out how that was going to go. And besides, she was only the granddaughter of the only important person I knew in Kanto, who happened to be an international touchstone for the entire Pokemon community.
My palms started sweating.
"No pressure…" I said to myself as I took off back down Route One.
No pressure, indeed.