I slept surprisingly well last night, after a quick shower to clean off the wild Pokemon’s blood. It reeked, I was surprised I hadn’t noticed until I got back home, and that no one had even reacted to the smell when I brought it into the center.
I wonder how the lil guy is doing right now, I think as I made myself some scrambled Chansey eggs, pouring just a bit of MooMoo Milk in as well to add some substance. Thank Arceus the ones in the clinic like me, I think, as I chow down on my breakfast while watching some more battles. Soon enough I looked over at my clock, and saw it was already nine in the morning.
I sneered at the evil clock- I usually left much earlier than that. I quickly took a hot morning shower, put on some casual wear, and then headed out the door.
The bike ride from my government-provided abode to the Center was slightly eventful; some people were throwing a welcome party for an Alolan family on my normal route. I saw that they had two kids, one that was a boy around my age, and another was also a boy that was probably still in kindergarten. I had waved to them on the way past them, but didn’t check if they noticed. It gave me something to idly muse about as I put my bike into the bike storage at the Center.
The Center had a few people in it, one had a Spinda napping on him with a burn on an ear, another had a Roselia sitting on her shoulder, and some others had their Pokemon out as well. The morning shift Joy was currently at the desk, with Chansey off somewhere else. “Hey Joy, where’s your other half?” I ask, leaning against her desk. She glowered at me. “She is currently dealing with your mess. The Wimpod you brought in last night has been zooming all over the place since she woke up!” Oh, that’s what kind of Pokemon it- she is, huh.
I quickly apologized and thanked her and walked over to the area for wild Pokemon, seeing some stuff knocked over in the hallway, and heard some Pokemon sounds as well as yelling in the room. It was sheer chaos inside. There were two very unhappy nurses and a mildly amused Chansey inside, currently all looking into a corner where I saw Wimpod, who looked utterly terrified until she spotted me, and screeched joyfully and then deftly zipped past the nurse on the left and leapt into my arms.
When the nurses turned towards me I saw they had bags under their eyes. The utter absurdity of this caused me to laugh, and the Wimpod burrowed into my grasp further, staring daggers at the nurses and Chansey as it did so. “Hahaha, hey Tammy. Hi Michael. What happened?”
“Your Pokemon happened!” Michael said, tiredly. “The second she woke up Chansey said something and she freaked the fuck out, started running everywhere like a damn Skitty that crawled into a plastic bag. Knocked everything over and hid under the exam bed.” I looked down at Wimpod, she did look kind of exhausted from running around.
“Well now that you’re here either catch her or go release her at the beach or something, she’s fully healed now.” He said, shooing me away with his clipboard.
Before I knew it Chansey was walking me back outside, Wimpod comfortably in my arms. When we stepped back outside Chansey handed me a Pokedex and a Pokeball she had grabbed from her pouch with a note on it, which read; ‘Good luck! We’re rooting for you!’ in flowing font. I smiled and thanked Chansey, who then headed back inside quickly to help the Joy at the front.
“So!” I say, causing Wimpod to jump a bit, but then settled down when I whispered a “sorry’. “So…” I continued, letting Wimpod down onto the ground, who then looked up at me with curious eyes. “You heard Michael. We can continue in two directions- I catch you, or you go your own way.”
Wimpod looked up at me, her left eye raising slightly higher than her right. “Oh, you’re wild, right. Well, If I ‘catch’ you, with this Pokeball,” I extend the Pokeball in my right hand towards Wimpod, “you’ll officially be my Pokemon, and we’ll start to train together, and get into lots of battles with other trainers to get stronger. The battles are safe, you don’t need to worry about getting eaten, the other trainer gets into a lot of trouble if they kill another trainer’s Pokemon.
“Um, let’s see…” I trail off, trying to think of more reasons to come with me. “Ah, you’ll also never need to worry about being hungry, I can always buy food for you, and later I can get some vitamins that enhance your strength…” I stop talking, to let her mull over the offer. “If you want to join me, you just gotta touch the Pokeball and let it ca-” I didn’t get to finish talking before she zipped forward towards the ball, letting the characteristic red glow consume her.
It wiggled once…
Then a second time…
And then a third…
Click!
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The inside of the Pokeball was strange, yet comforting, it looked just like the deep where Wimpod’s swarm used to reside. She could see glimpses of shadows off to her periphery, but instead of instinctually fleeing away from them, she felt calm. Odd, she thought.
Everything has become strange since meeting the Humans. I have both been the safest I’ve ever felt and the most terrified because of them. She explored the artificial landscape for a bit, until she felt it. The Pull. It was as if she knew the Human who now ‘owned’ her was calling her.
And she answered. The transition from inside to outside wasn’t as jarring as she had expected, it was simply a matter of being one place and then another, like when she would swim through a door belonging to a shipwreck down in the deep blue.
“Was the inside nice?” The human asked. She nodded. “Oh! I forgot that I never introduced myself.” She laughed again, the sound made Wimpod feel warm inside, like when she had that sandwich last night. “I’m Camelia, but everyone just calls me Cammy. By the way, would you like to read your Pokedex entry with me? Here, this is what we know about your species.” The human pulled out a red rectangular device with one of those screens on it. It brought up an image of a normal Wimpod, and started to play audio in a voice she did not recognize.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“Wimpod -The Turn-Tail Pokemon. This Pokemon is cowardly by instinct and wary of noise and sudden noises. However its curiosity will often win, and cause it to approach people or Pokemon that are standing still. It will often spit a poisonous liquid when it feels it’s life is in danger. The stench of this fluid warns others that danger is nearby. Wimpod sometimes accompanies its evolved form, Golisopod. Wimpod can and will eat and store anything, including garbage from the sea. This habit makes them highly valued by Alolan cleaners.”
“Huh, you’re an Alolan species? You’re pretty far from home, miss.” Wimpod looked up at Cammy, and saw that she was joking. “Alright, let’s see what moves you know, huh?”
Cammy played with the Pokedex some more, and then started reading out what moves Wimpod knew.
“Ah, you don’t know a lot of moves, huh? You know Defense Curl, a decent defensive move. You also have Sand Attack, not bad, I can see some really good uses for that one. Ah, you have Struggle Bug, I don’t see that one too much, gonna need to see that one in action… And lastly you know Tackle, that might be our main attack if Struggle Bug isn’t that good. Aaand let’s see your Ability…” Wimpod din’t know what Cammy saw, but she started laughing, drawing some looks from other humans that were walking past
“Sorry, sorry. The description for your Ability is just too funny. It’s called Wimp Out. Lemme read it for you.” Cammy then began to speak in an odd voice. “Wimpod has evolved to be able to know exactly when they are about to lose, and will flee, gaining a massive boost to speed and agility.”
Cammy reached over and rubbed Wimpod’s carapace, which she decided was very nice, and leaned into it. “Aw, don’t feel bad, you’re very brave in my eyes… Alrighty, I think we should go get registered as a Trainer-Pokemon duo, okay? Hope you like bike rides, cuz it’s gonna take a bit to walk all the way to the nearest League office.’ Wimpod didn't quite understand what that meant but gave a light warble in assent.
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It turned out the Wimpod did like bike rides, and made lots of cute sounds when we went down hill or hit bumps. She reminded me of myself, back when Dad was around and gave me rides home from kindergarten on his motorcycle. Miss you guys, I thought. My mood was brought down for a moment, until Wimpod made an alarmed noise, and I quickly hit the front wheel’s brakes, but it was barely too late. I slowly collided with someone that was just turning a corner.
It was the Alolan kid that had just moved in today! “Oh fuck,” I say, running over to check up on him, who was standing back up. “I’m so, so sorry. I was distracted, and wasn’t paying attention.”
He laughed. He laughed. “I heard you guys were different with your greetings, but I didn’t think it was this different!” He said between laughs. “Ah it’s fine, my Goomy’s a whole lot rougher when we’re playing.” He patted his shirt to dust it off, and I just noticed he had his belt slung over his shoulder like a bandolier. It only had a single Pokeball attached, and it apparently had a damn Dragon in it. “I’m Koa, by the way, just moved here last week.”
My mind finally did a proper reboot from the whole Dragon part. “I, uh, I’m Cammy, and this is Wimpod,” I say, letting Wimpod take a good look at Koa.
“Ooh! You caught a shiny one, huh? Alola, lil buddy! So, how’d you catch ‘em?” Koa asked, scratching Wimpod’s ‘chin’ gently. I thought about it for a moment, and decided to tell him. “I caught her after the nurses I brought her to for healing shoved her in my arms and told me to get her away from the Center for a while.” He laughed again heartily. I wasn’t used to such, for lack of a better word, full, laughter, and jumped lightly. “Hmm, how’d you catch a Goomy? Aren’t they a Pseudo and stupid rare?” I ask, picking my bike back up and starting to walk in the direction of the League headquarters, with Koa following suit.
“Haha, he was given to me by his mother as a parting gift for my family. Pops says she wanted her kid to explore the world, and thought I was good enough. And yup! Apparently the line of Goodra my town cares for is the only one in all Alola! So, where’re ya goin, Cammy?”
“I am going to get little miss Speedy here and I registered as a Trainer at the League building. What are you doing?" I ask, tossing the metaphorical ball back to Koa. “Haha, talk about a coincidence, I was trying to find that too, get registered and stuff as well.”
We continued to make light conversation, the awkwardness of our meeting quickly evaporating as we spent the next half hour walking to the League HQ talking about random stuff from our respective places.
Apparently his community was currently dealing with some gang called ‘Team Skull’ messing with people. I cringed at that silly name, and he laughed, explaining what they were; a group of misfits that didn’t like Alola’s version of Gyms, Trial’s he called them. I responded by telling him Sinnoh doesn’t have any groups like that.
He was interested in the topic of professors as well, and he mentioned the Alolan Professor was some guy named Kukui, and was obsessed with moves, meanwhile Sinnoh’s Professor Rowan was more interested in the evolution of Pokemon than moves. At some point Wimpod got bored that I had stopped riding the bike and asked to be put back in her Pokeball. “Huh, Goomy hates being in his ball.” Koa said when he saw that. “Isn’t he in his ball right now though?” I ask, confused.
“Yeah, but that’s because he’ll dry up real easy if he’s not basically in the water. Lucky your Gym guy is a Water typer, huh?” I chuckled. “That it is, and hey, we do have a beach for him and Wimpod to play in, if anything.” He groaned. “Yeah, I checked it out earlier and it’s kinda sad, honest. The beaches back home blow yours outta the water.” Our conversation slowly died off, leaving us walking in a relaxed silence.
“Hey Koa, we’re here now.” I say, pointing at the large building with the typical Pokeball symbol. The inside was very clean, with a few people waiting and some League guards watching for any dangers.
I stepped up to an empty counter first, with Koa next to me. The receptionist - Amy, her nameplate read - was a nice young woman, likely in her mid-20’s. “Hello, what do you two need?” She asked, politely waiting. She must’ve said that a million times, I think. “We’re here to get registered as Trainers,” I say, handing her my ID. Thankfully Koa knew he needed to bring his ID as well as he handed his over. “Mmm-hmmm, and what Pokemon do you each own?” Amy asked, not looking up from her monitor.
Koa spoke first, “I gotta Goomy.”
“And I have a Wimpod.”
Amy raised her eyebrow at our statements, which was understandable, as ours are both not often seen in Sinnoh, not even on the National Pokedex for Sinnoh. “Aaalrighty, you are both registered, as well as your Pokemon. As a quick reminder, you cannot have more than six Pokemon until you have obtained your sixth badge, or are given special exemptions by the League. In addition, you will both be given a sum of 15,000 Pokedollars as mandated by the Sinnohan government, and will gain an additional sum of 10,000 for every Gym you clear. Good luck with your journeys, I hope you both are able to attend the Lily Conference next year!”
Koa looked sort of stunned by the speech. “Dang, you gotta say that for every Trainer!?” Amy laughed. “Yeah, kinda required to,” she said, shrugging. “The last part was my own little addition though. I can tell you both have that spark in you, so I want to wish you both good luck. Alright, that’s it from me for that, do you two have any questions?” I didn’t, but Koa did actually, and asked about Professor Rowan, and if he could meet him.
“Uhm, probably not? We don’t have the most jurisdiction over Professors, and he’s always busy. You’d have to visit Sandgem to talk to him. Anything else?” We didn’t have anything to ask, so we said our goodbyes and stepped outside.
“So!” Koa said suddenly, making me jump. “Do you want to have a battle with me?”