Grady Kendrick, Goldenrod City Gym sponsored trainer and all around cool guy, pictured his journey very differently to how it’s actually turning out.
Oh sure, it’s still amazing! Of course it is! He gets to spend all day with his team, he gets to be out from under Whitney’s sharp eyes and he gets to do pokémon battles! Really, as far as all the ‘normal’ aspects of being a trainer go, his journey is everything it was supposed to be.
Already, he’s won the new Hive Badge from Azalea Town, which he won from a Gym Leader that’s only two years older than him! Super cool. And that’s before mentioning Falkner, whom he’ll be battling soon, for the Zephyr Badge. That guy is the epitome of cool, between his effortless good looks, strong teams and unpredictable approach to Gym battles.
He’s been meeting lots of cool trainers, he gets to spend a lot of time with his pokémon and he even gets to choose when and what he eats! Really, in a lot of ways, it’s more than he could have ever expected his journey to be.
Especially spending time with his team, which he obviously got to do back in Goldenrod, has been even better now that he doesn’t have to keep them in their balls so often. Though admittedly there have been one or two mishaps between Chinchou’s penchant for zapping first and thinking second on the one hand and Bob - his Voltorb - having a tendency to use Screech just for fun on the other.
Still, they’ve made it through those minor issues without too much trouble, with Eevee always there as a comforting presence. The one thing his team unfortunately can’t do is really talk back and so, even though their company is great and Eevee in particular is great at cuddling up with him and listening to him ramble about anything he feels like…
Journeying is still a lot lonelier than he was expecting.
He always pictured himself traveling with either Selene and Eva, or with Donnie and Grace. Sure, he wasn’t as close with them as they were with each other, but they’d all been friends! After all, they spent loads of time together as Whitney’s sponsored trainers and they’d all been super interested when he was the first of the group to catch his second pokémon.
Okay, admittedly he’d always be the one to reach out to the others to hang out, or train together, or to take their pokémon along to the groomers, or anything else, really. But when he’d started inquiring about the others’ travel plans only to find out that the two duos would be going their separate ways, he figured neither wanted to invite him along on the spot to avoid any hard feelings with the other pair he wouldn’t be accompanying.
He wasn’t actually expecting that neither duo would invite him along!
In the final days before they got to set out, he’d tried to angle their conversations to the subject, but either none of them had picked up on it or they’d deliberately ignored his attempts. The result was the same either way, as it left him to journey alone.
Obviously, he couldn’t just travel the same route as either of the duos. The risk of constantly running into them only to be reminded that they didn’t want to travel with him was way too great. So he’d set out for Azalea Town.
And sure, he was on his own. But at least he’d been meeting a lot of cool other trainers!
Not all of them were nice, of course, but that was to be expected. He’s still met a lot of people whom he might still travel alongside for a while at least. It’s just a matter of running into someone with the same destination.
Because that’s the other part of his loneliness. He’s shared a meal here or there, or a camping spot for the night. But everyone he’s gotten along with so far is going the wrong way!
Steve, Michael, Ran and Josie, Eugina, even the group of Thomas, Jean and Emma! All of them great trainers roughly his own age whom he’d have been happy to travel with for a while. But none of them have been traveling the same way!
Sure he’s gathered some contact information and he’s just gathering up the courage to get back in touch with them, but if he does message them, only to find out that they don’t actually want to keep in touch with him… That’d hurt even worse than his friends from Goldenrod not inviting him along.
So maybe he shouldn’t message them, even if he’s got their contact information? After all, out of these parts, all roads lead to Goldenrod, so maybe he can just wait to see if he runs into any of them there?
That seems reasonable.
Mind made up, he puts thoughts of potential traveling companions out of mind and gently wakes up his dozing team. If they’re going to battle Falkner in a few days, then they’ve still got a lot of training to do, after all.
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“Just keep doing what you’re doing. I think you’ll be alright, kid.” Falkner finishes his kind words, leaving Grady almost sad to have defeated him on his first try. With how smart and strong and effortlessly cool he is, he’s sure that Falkner’s got a lot more to teach him yet. Even if his chosen flying-types are at a major disadvantage to Grady’s own electric-types.
“Thanks, I’ll do my best!” Grady replies enthusiastically, before leaving the Gym whilst waving to the enthusiastic crowd, his showing apparently having been good enough to receive quite the strong applause.
He actually skips out of the Gym and towards the pokécenter, already enthusiastically typing away on his pokégear to update the homefront on his victory over Falkner. He is distracted by shouting behind him, however.
“Excuse me! Grady Kendrick!” Somebody shouts behind him, forcing him to awkwardly abort his stride mid-skip.
Turning around to face whoever’s calling him, he’s left facing another young, clearly sponsored, trainer with three pokéballs on his belt, who jogs towards him enthusiastically.
It’s a short and slight guy, one he’s actually got an inch or two on, for a change. He’s got a light honey-toned complexion, with black hair that’s been combed to the side. Sharp brown eyes are fixated on the pokéballs at Grady’s belt, whilst his heavy walking shoes throw up tiny clouds of dust with every impact.
Instinctively self-conscious due to the other boy’s neat outfit, consisting of a button-up shirt and khaki chinos, Grady hurriedly tries to straighten his own t-shirt, even as he responds to the other boy’s words.
“Yes?” He asks, curious about just what the other trainer could possibly want with him.
“I’m Vichai,” the other trainer introduces himself, “Vichai Narin, one of Professor Elm’s sponsored trainers. I’d like to talk to you about that Eevee of yours and ask you some questions for my research for the professor, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure thing!” Grady agrees enthusiastically, always happy to help and even happier to show off Eevee’s awesomeness.
“Excellent, though I’m sure you’d like to turn that Voltorb of yours in at the pokécenter first, shall we?” Vichai asks, gesturing with one hand for them to continue walking towards Grady’s destination.
As Vichai actually seems mildly concerned for Bob, Grady hurriedly reassures him, even as the pair of trainers starts walking, “Oh I’m not worried about Bob. Self-Destruct was scary the first few times, but he knows how far he can push himself without seriously harming himself. He’ll still need some care of course, but really, that was a pretty minor blast, all things considered.”
“If you say so,” Vichai responds, somewhat hesitantly, before perking up, as he turns the conversation to the topic he’s clearly interested in discussing, “So that Eevee of yours, I only got a brief look at it of course, but have you given any thought as to its eventual evolution?”
“I have,” Grady confirms happily, starting to ramble in his excitement, “Eevee will eventually be evolving into a Jolteon, if everything goes according to plan. You’ve already seen Bob, if you watched my battle against Falkner, and I’ve also got a Chinchou, and because electric-types are really cool and they fit me really well it just makes sense and I’ve already discussed it with Eevee herself and she’s also enthusiastic about it so really it’s just a matter of time and getting a Thunder Stone!”
“Oh, I see. You’ve discussed this with her? Can I ask, did you suggest that you’d like her to turn into a Jolteon, or how did that conversation go, exactly?” Vichai asks, examining Grady critically, a note of tension in his voice.
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“Uh…” Grady hesitates, unsure about the other boy’s response and, in truth, about how exactly his conversation with Eevee went, all that time ago.
“I see.” Vichai replies somewhat coldly, before perking up slightly, “How about this, I am doing a comparative study on split evolutions for the professor. Stuff like the difference between a Slowpoke evolving into a Slowbro and a Slowking. Though that particular example is extremely situational, one of the overarching things we’re considering is the impact the pokémon’s personality has on its eventual evolution.”
Vichai pauses his explanation then, as they enter the pokécenter and Grady takes a few moments to hand in Bob’s pokéball to the nurse. Only when they’ve left the line, does Vichai speak up once more, “To put it simply, I’m curious about your Eevee’s future evolution and the role you play in that choice. Which is why I’d like to set up a small experiment with your Eevee, in a controlled and neutral environment without you being able to influence her, to see if she still shows a preference for an evolution into Jolteon at that point. Is that something you’d be willing to contribute to?”
Grady doesn’t respond immediately, instead actually properly considering the other trainer’s words. Not out of any reticence or wariness, but Vichai talked pretty fast there and there were some very big words in there.
“So you want to check to see if Eevee would be happier to evolve into another form than Jolteon?” He asks, just to make sure he’s properly understood the gist of Vichai’s explanation.
“That is correct, yes.” Vichai nods in agreement, finally drawing a smile from Grady.
“Sure thing! Can we do it now, or do you need to set anything up, or what did you have in mind?” He asks unsuspectingly, only to be caught off guard by the eager glint that enters Vichai’s eyes.
“I’ll need an hour or so. Give me your contact details and I’ll let you know where we can meet up.” Vichai tells him enthusiastically, only staying around long enough to take down Grady’s number before he’s sprinting out the door.
“Well… Alright then.” Grady shrugs, before turning his attention back to his pokégear.
He’s still got most of his family to message about his winning of the Hive Badge, after all.
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“So all you’ve discussed with your Eevee is that you’ll be letting her out in a new place and that she should just do what feels natural to her, correct?” Vichai asks, glancing at Grady from the corner of his eye as he carefully shifts the plastic box holding a Fire Stone by an inch or so.
They’re outside of the City, in an open field, where Vichai has set up five plastic boxes, each holding a different item at equal distances from each other and a central point. On his signal, Grady is supposed to release Eevee right in the middle of the boxes, which seems simple enough, but Vichai is still double-checking all the distances involved with a tape measure he apparently just carries with him.
“Yes,” Grady confirms easily, even as he looks curiously at the two boxes not holding evolution stones, “I just told her that we’d be testing something and that she should ignore me and do what feels good to her.”
“Excellent, excellent,” Vichai mutters enthusiastically, before finally rising up out of his crouch and jogging over towards Grady once more, “Now, keep in mind, the Black Glasses and the Twisted Spoon are obviously less powerful than the Stones, so any interest whatsoever in them is especially significant.”
“Sure thing,” Grady agrees, ignoring the increasing strength of the cold feeling that’s been settling into his gut ever since he first laid eyes on Vichai’s ‘experiment’, “I’ll let her out on your signal.”
“Splendid. Now, keep in mind, you can observe, but if you speak or in any way communicate with your Eevee, that will completely invalidate the experiment.” Vichai tells him sharply, drawing another nod from Grady, before finally, he receives the signal to release Eevee.
He does so almost reluctantly, anxiety fully setting in the moment his starter appears in the middle of the five boxes.
She shakes her fur out for a moment, before taking a look around. Immediately, Vichai takes a step forwards and to the side, moving to stand in front of Grady and largely blocking him from his starter’s view.
It isn’t particularly pleasant, but Grady is willing to let Vichai do his experiment, as long as his starter doesn’t seem uncomfortable.
“Hello Eevee!” Vichai calls out, drawing her attention before swiftly continuing, “You’re surrounded by some powerful items! I’d like for you to pick the one you like the best. Just do whatever feels right to you! Is that something you can do?”
Eevee nods sedately, before finally turning her attention fully to the boxes surrounding her.
Grady watches anxiously, even as Vichai pulls out a notepad and a pen and starts taking notes at a furious pace.
As for Eevee, she looks around at the different boxes, before finally trotting lightly towards the box holding the Water Stone.
Grady’s teeth clench together tightly, the thought that he’s manipulated Eevee into accepting a future evolution that she doesn’t actually want making him nauseous. At the same time, Vichai is clearly delighted, his frantic note-taking now accompanied by a hushed, unintelligible mumbling.
Eevee only approaches the Water Stone box for a moment, however, before seemingly growing bored with it. Instead, she wanders over to the next box, which holds the Black Glasses. Grady isn’t sure how he feels about that, as Umbreon are notorious for having the largest change in their personalities out of all the Eeveelutions.
But again Eevee only briefly examines the Black Glasses, before continuing on to the next box. The one holding the Thunder Stone.
Both trainers hold their breaths, though probably for different reasons, as Eevee approaches the plastic box holding the Thunder Stone.
Unlike with the previous boxes, this time, she actually nudges up against it, knocking the box over. Rather than continuing on, she continues to play with the box, batting it about with increasing energy and seemingly energized by the proximity of the Thunder Stone.
After half a minute of this, when he realizes that Eevee’s increasing energy might actually lead to a damaged box and a premature evolution from a Thunder Stone he doesn’t actually own, Grady speaks up softly, “So, is the experiment done?”
Despite the near-whisper he’s spoken in, Grady’s words still seem to startle Vichai, the other boy jumping a foot in the air, before whirling about to face him.
“Right! Of course! My apologies, but this is some very interesting stuff. I wonder whether her initial interest in the other items hints at an original preference which has been subsumed by the trainer-bond. I wonder how she might respond if we were to adapt the experiment. Perhaps we could repeat it without the Thunder Stone, to see how she responds to that…” Vichai ponders, before trailing off.
After a moment, Vichai’s attention snaps back to Grady, his sharp eyes carrying an unpleasant intensity as they meet Grady’s own,“Say, would you by any chance be interested in traveling together? Your Eevee could do wonders for my work for Professor Elm.”
Ordinarily, he’d have been ecstatic to finally receive an offer to travel together. But Vichai’s offer doesn’t sit well with him for a simple reason. Because Vichai isn’t actually interested in him, something easily noticed by the way they haven’t actually discussed anything personal whatsoever yet.
Plus, though Eevee was willing to go along with this experiment and Grady himself feels comforted now to have proper confirmation that she really does want to evolve into a Jolteon, he isn’t comfortable with Vichai treating her like a walking experiment. Which is why, despite his desire to have a traveling companion, he refuses the offer.
“Sorry, I’ll have to pass,” Grady replies, “I don’t think we’d be a good fit.”
Vichai’s expression pinches together for a moment, before he lets out a begrudging huff, “I suppose not. Very well, thanks for your time, at least. Good luck on the circuit.”
“Well, we don’t have to say goodbye just yet,” Grady offers, “There’s a few hours of daylight left, why don’t we have a battle before going our separate ways?”
“That…” Vichai starts to say severely, pausing for a long moment, before his stern expression finally melts into a smile, “Sounds like fun. I accept your challenge.”
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That evening, with Eevee and Chinchou now also in the nurse’s care, following a spirited battle with Vichai’s Chikorita and Poliwag, Grady settles in front of the pokécenter’s computer. His interactions with Vichai, despite not being anything near a basis for traveling together, have at least reminded him of his desire to check up on what the other trainers he’s encountered thus far have been up to.
Thus, he starts digging through their trainer profile pages. Steve and Michael, both of whom he’d met in Azalea Town, have already won the Plain Badge. So by the time he makes it to Goldenrod, they’ll probably be long gone, which is disappointing.
Ran and Josie, however, a pair he met in Union Cave, are more promising. Neither one has won the Hive Badge just yet, according to their trainer profile pages, which means he might well make it to Goldenrod City in time to run into them. Assuming they’re due to challenge and beat Bugsy some time soon, of course. Then again, it’s not as if he’s going to be making it out of Goldenrod anytime soon, once he heads home. Not when doing so means having to beat Whitney first.
Putting that ominous thought out of mind, he looks into Eugina, who like Ran and Josie still hasn’t won her Hive Badge yet. So that’s another familiar face he might end up running into in Goldenrod. She was nice too! Not particularly talkative, but she’d actually taken off her headphones fully to listen to him, rather than just lifting them up briefly.
He’s actually considering sending her, as well as Ran and Josie, a message to see if they’re interested in meeting up in Goldenrod after all, even as he looks up the group of Thomas, Jean and Emma. However, when he opens Thomas’ profile page, his cautious optimism, inflating like a balloon, gets popped instantaneously.
Because they’d told him that they couldn’t travel together because they were headed to Azalea Town, rather than Violet City, back when he met them at the Union-32 Rest Stop. Something he now realizes to have been a lie, as Thomas shows off the Hive Badge, as well as a more recent, failed challenge for the Zephyr Badge. Which means he - and following a quick search, the other two as well - are currently in Violet City, like Grady himself.
Which means they just didn’t want to travel with him, rather than being headed the other way.
Shit.
He angrily wipes at his stinging eyes, even as he completely dismisses any thoughts of messaging any of the other cool trainers he’s met so far.
If people don’t like him, or only like him for his pokémon, then that’s just the way it is. He’ll save the others the trouble of lying to him. Instead, he’ll just continue to travel on his own for now.
Who knows, there’s always next time, right?
Maybe if he runs into one of the others in Goldenrod, he can make a better second impression?
Yeah, that’ll work!
Mind made up, he logs off from the computer, before getting distracted by his growling stomach.
Right! Dinner! He forgot about that, in the day’s excitement.
Oh well, he’s sure Violet City must have some kind of late night fast food option…