Virah looked up at the towering building she froze in front of. It had white walls with black edges and metal railings. The whole thing was simple in make, and the cheap paint was now visibly peeling off, revealing the cracked grey concrete underneath- it looked like a dying giant, its monolithic shape diseased and worn, and from where she stood, Virah felt that it was only a matter of time before this ancient behemoth falls over and dies.

This thing was- is an apartment complex- one meant to house orphans, or single mothers and fathers. Here was a neighborhood of the sullen, the forgotten, and the unfortunate.

People who, by way of life, choose to forget the outside world in favor of the sanctuary they built within the confines of their rooms.

No one here wanted to be the way they are, and Virah couldn't blame them for being reclusive; preferring to stay inside of their rooms rather than go outside, and the adults- as well as children with jobs like hers, unpaid and as simple as feeding Pokemon is, what she did was still a job, - only ever really did it when they needed to work, otherwise they'd stay here, preferring the embrace of the silent, empty walls of their room.

Virah stepped forward and into the familiar concrete ecosystem of the apartment complex; where flickering light bulbs populated the ceiling and Ratata crawled underneath the stone floor, digging through it and creating their own tunnel system- or so the exterminators said, personally, she's never seen a Ratata crawl out of some random hole.

One passed by her and she offered it a treat, the little purple thing ate the single pokefood with relish, its already fat cheeks bulging even more.

Then it noticed the pokeball hanging on Virah's hip and pointed, “Ratata?”

“No, it's not for you,” she rubbed the little guy's head and it went off, running to who knows where.

Virah made her way up several flights of stairs, one after the next, until she reached the 4th floor. Afterward more walking and when she reached the 17th door, she grabbed her keys and opened it, the lock clicking audibly from within.

“I'm homeee,” she drawled slowly, tone bored and hopeless. She sighed and stepped in, closing the door behind her and all the while shaking off her shoes. She proceeded to slip into her indoor slippers.

Virah popped her Weedle into her bedroom/living room and her very first Pokemon skipped inside, wandering from one spot to the next in search of something Virah didn't quite get. Then it stopped and raised itself, body turning straight and upright as it glared at the window…

Virah laughed, startling Nitro, “no, it's fine,” she rubbed her starter's head and opened the window, letting the Ratata from earlier come in, and he too got rubbed in the head, “meet Nitro, Nitro, this is uh, Ratata number…”

“Ratata!” The purple rodent squeaked, tone offended.

Virah's laughter only turned worse and she forced herself to stifle it or else she'd get noise complaints again, “sorry- sorry,” she shuddered, “I didn't mean to do that,”

The Ratata puffed his cheeks in an attempt to pout and Virah rubbed his head, “yeah, I'm sorry,” she lifted him and messed his hair, her scritches getting stronger and faster- she stopped when she felt a light kick to her stomach, “sorry~"

The Ratata went back to the floor and it glared at her, “Ratata!”

“Yeah, yeah, but you asked for it~" she grinned.

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Virah looked away from the little rodent and bent down near her electrical boiler, the pitcher-shaped thing was run down, and it had definitely seen better days but hey, even with its blinking lights, a rubber handle twisted from use, and a whistle that sounded more like the choaking sounds of a drowning Poliwhirl, the thing still worked and Virah would continue her abuse to it till its dying days.

Water went in, the boiler was plugged, and then an orange, flickering light came into existence and washed over her room.

“Dot. Dot. Dot. Said the light.” Virah walked away from it and sat on her bed, she looked at Nitro, she felt guilty enough that she thought she needed to explain herself, “I know it's not the ranch but-”

“Weedle!” Nitro shook his head, Ratata huffed and did the same.

“I know you both don't mind, and Mr Ratata might even be offended,” the rodent in question nodded once, with resolution. Gravitas.

Virah smiled lightly, “okay, okay, fine, welcome home! Nitro!”

Ratata gestured at the Weedle in question with both his arms, then he proudly declared something only the two Pokemon understood, “Ratata!”

Nitro, for all his worth, looked proud and straddled in a circle, head held high and eyes closed in pride.

Virah watched the scene unfold, a small smile tugging at her lips.

Then… nothing and she slumped in her bed, feeling relieved as her body sunk into the soft mattress.

She closed her eyes in contemplation, wondering what she should do next now that she had a starter Pokemon to call her own, and then- everything stopped when the choking, dying sounds of her boiler entered her ears.

She pushed herself up and stared at Nitro, “where's Ratata?”

Nitro pointed his horn towards the corner, where a purple rat carried- or tried to carry a cup of ramen towards the boiler.

“Now, now, you should stop that,” Virah stood up and made her way to the Ratata as fast as she could, she took the cup from its hands and sighed, “you know what happened last time,” she shook her head as the Ratata complained, “I had to buy a burn heal,”

That got the Ratata to stay quiet, “good,” she said when the rodent looked down in guilt, “I swear you're doing this on purpose- but even if you don't-” she picked him up and rubbed his head, “- who cares!"

A bit of playing with Ratata later, and she proceeded with her dinner.

Breakfast and lunch were given to her by the breeding center sure, but she was on her own during the hours after her shift, and packs of ramen usually filled her belly enough that she could function for the next day and she didn't look malnourished so alls well that ends well.

She finished her meal- and fed Ratata and Nitro, - and headed into bed.

That night, she dreamt of turning Nitro into a powerful Beedrill to overcome the odds, something about a stone and a dragon- then she woke up and that dream faded into mist, she had no memories of it and Virah didn't try to dig deeper to find it.

Instead, she greeted Sunday with a smile.

“Go-” her greeting was cut off by her own yawn, “-good morning Nitro,”

The Weedle in question didn't bother to greet her back let alone move away from her stomach and was more than content to stay there, asleep. Virah poked his cheek and got no reaction, “not a morning person huh?” She said as she lifted him, got up, and placed him back on the bed, and Nitro didn't so much as open his eyes during all of that, “I feel the same way,”

She yawned.

But life wouldn't wait for you just because you're asleep and so, Virah went on with her day; starting by grabbing a change of clothes, a bar of soap, a bottle of shampoo, and heading for the community bathroom at the bottom of the building.

Two- three people were already inside the female's only bathroom when Virah got in, their stalls locked and steaming from hot water that, in time, would disappear.

Virah didn't want to shower with cold water so she made her way to one of the stalls, twisted the shower's knob, and basked in the hot water pouring down her skin.

When she got out, Virah had already finished changing into her standard white shirt- they are very cheap, - covered up by her beloved dark-purple jacket- the only reason why she was willing to wear white shirts, - as well as her typical ripped jeans. Her light green boots were already on her feet, tapping away at the concrete floor as she made her way back to her room.

Virah opened the door to find Nitro glancing at her, now awake and a curious look on his face.

She waved, “heya~" and stepped in, making sure to close the door behind her.

“How was your sleep?” She asked as she prepared her breakfast- ramen since she didn't need to work during Sunday, - as well as Nitro's.

And speaking of the Weedle, the little guy answered with his typical, “Weedle!” energetically.

“Heh, of course it was nice,” Virah said smugly, “it's home, after all,”

After breakfast, Nitro got recalled back to his pokeball and Virah got out of her room with one hand stuck inside her pocket.

Her steps were quick and excited as she ran down the stairs, and her pace didn't change or slow down as she hastily walked into the streets.

Idly, she passed by a window and glanced at herself, she met her own toxic purple eyes and noted that her caustic green hair was slowly growing out of the preferred length she wanted her bob cuts to be, so she may need to visit a stylist soon.

Soon being… when she starts her journey, maybe?

Yeah. That.