Chapter 2- Partners
With the display of emotion over, we made our way through the city, moving between people and Pokémon alike, toward the gigantic that seemed to loom over the entire city to assert dominance. So it is that when we reach the Arena, Miss Opal is standing in front of it, seemingly waiting for us.
She leaned against her cane, her wiry frame hugged comfortably by a pink and blue dress that went all the to her angle leaving her flip-flops to make contact with the ground. She traded her purple shroud for a mantle of the same color that she wore over the dress and a pink hat covering her hair.
Next to her, standing at slightly less than 0.5m stood an Alcremy that was waving at us.
“You took your sweet time, old hag, “she said upon spotting us.
From my position, I could see one of Nana’s eyes twitch and a vein popping out.
“I wonder what you are talking about, Big. Sister. Opal!” Before I could ask questions, I felt a tug on the scruff of my neck and turned to see Pops shaking his head furiously.
“NONSENSE!! How could I be your older sister when I am only 17!?”
This time I didn’t need Pops to mention anything to bite my tongue. We watched from the sidelines as the two of them bickered until Alcremy decided to interfere with a loud “Alcre!”. We sent her a grateful look as this battlefield was not meant for men.
After a few more efforts from the Alcremy, we finally got moving into exploring the Arena. Miss Opal was an amazing host, offering us some cakes that were politely declined and some tea. Then she took us to an era similar to a Pokemon center where challengers could get their Pokémon checked out in case of emergency after the fight. As we walked, we arrived at another aisle separate from the reception area.
“This here is where we keep the eggs of Pokémons. Some are from trainers who left them here and others are from some of the wild Pokémon if they wish for us to check them. There are a lot of fairy types in these woods and while fickle, faes typically get along with humans. Although right now most of the eggs from wild Pokémon are in a smaller temporary center outside of town due to an overflow.”
This piqued my curiosity, and I could not help but ask “Why is there an overflow to this point? I mean, I assume you have quite the capacity judging by the size.”
“That...” Miss Opal's demeanor did a 180 at this point and a freezing chill entered her voice “This is because the rangers recently raided “breeders” and found them.
I noticed the quotation and my puzzlement must have been apparent because, after an explosive sigh containing all sorts of emotion, she continued.
“Look kid, normally I wouldn’t explain it to you but since you will soon start your journey it can’t hurt. Although it’s already been a few years since the Fairy type was formerly recognized as its own type rather than a special Psychic type, there are still a lot of people who are rushing to get their hands on it. Those pieces of trash who claimed to be breeders were noticed for over-breeding.
What they did was basically catching a lot of fairy types and Pokémons compatible to make them breed as much as possible.”
Anger returned to her voice, and she had to take a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. But even that was already enough to make my blood boil and it took conscious effort to not let the control slip.
“They even went as far as using special herbs with aphrodisiac effects for that and exploited Pokémon with the Flame Body ability to increase their profits. When the ranger tracked and raided, they seized the eggs. And since I am a fairy specialist, I was put in charge of them. The Pokemon center needs a buffer but is also used. Once they hatch, they will be released to the different communities of the species present in the wood. If not, they will be handed to the league for relocation.”
With that, she left her words hanging for a few seconds before changing the subject in the hope of improving the now-heavy mood.
“Anyway!” Miss Opal said in a forceful, joyous tone “Come, my residence is on the other side of the corridor.”
“You live in the Gym?” I asked.
“Why yes of course! A perk of being affiliated with the league. They build a rather charming not-quite manor behind the arenas for the gym leaders. Allows us to respond faster in case of emergency you see.”
“That’s smart!” I exclaimed. And it was. Another tidbit omitted by the anime.
My reaction got a chuckle out of everyone, and Miss Opal opened the way for us. The other side of the door left me in awe. The different eggs were arranged in two neat rows flanking the corridor and some Blissey were moving from egg to egg making sure everything was okay. The eggs themselves were deposited on some cushions and with clear glass cases. Some light and heat were emitted to keep the eggs healthy and at a constant temperature.
As we walked down the silent corridor, I was looking at the left row and having fun trying to guess which Pokémon would hatch out of them. It was childish and without foundation but fun nonetheless. As we were roughly halfway through, we all heard it.
*tock*
An audible noise in the otherwise silent passage. Then again and again. At that point, Miss Opal and one of the Blissey came to check on the egg. I moved out of the way since the egg was across from me.
Yet when I moved the egg switched from hitting it front of it to sideways… Toward. Bewildered was an understatement as I turned to look at Miss Opal who was studying me as well. Seconds passed before she told me to move back a bit, which I did.
About 10 steps out and the egg stopped.
Still looking at me, she motioned to get closer, and as I did the egg resumed knocking on the class, still following my general direction.
After a while, Miss Opal burst out into a loud, full-bellied laughter until tears threatened to spill at what point she was forced to stop. Sensing our puzzled looks, she gathered herself and explained herself.
“Well kid, you might not be pink enough to my liking, but it seemed like someone took a liking to you!”
“Huh?” was the collective reaction.
She sighed in an exasperated manner. “Look I said earlier, faes are fickle but you will hardly find a better character judge. It is not that rare for them to react if they find someone. Though I must admit it’s my first seeing an egg react”
“Well, Kiddo you sure are something! You know when we gave you the Pokeball we expected you to wait until we got back to Unova, or if you were impatient go in the surrounding wood to catch one. But for you to get an egg before an actual Pokémon”
“I must say I am quite surprised as well” Nana added to the commentary.
“Wait I can have the egg?” I asked, wondering why everyone acted like it was a done deal already.
Miss Opal simply shrugged “I told you they were going to be released anyway. If this one wants to go with you why not?”
I looked at the egg that was still lightly knocking against the glass, excitement building in my chest before I tried to calm down. Still, there was one question that burned me.
“Is it close hatching?”
“Impatient to meet the little one I see. Let’s have a look here …” After a few pokes on a tablet, we got the answer and looked at the number below the glass. “It seemed to be one of the last ones, but it should be halfway through the hatching phase. I cannot give you an estimate because we don’t know which species it is, but you should have about a month or two. That gives you the time to go back to Unova and start your travel.”
“Don’t worry sweety, I’ll teach you how to care for the egg during the time we have. For now, let’s leave it here so the Blissey and nurses can take care of it.”
“Thank you, Nana!” Although I reaaallyy wanted to take it with me I have to admit I have no idea how to take care of an egg let alone a Pokémonone.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Well then, let us move before the little one breaks the glass.”
*
And with that time passed us by in the blink of an eye. Perhaps due to the excitement, I did not really feel the time. During the first week, we spent time in Ballonlea touring and generally having fun and in the downtime, Nana taught me how to care for Pokémon eggs and answered my questions.
For instance, I asked her how they knew the temperature needed for the egg if we did not know what species would come out since I doubted a fire type and ice type would like the same temperature. As turns out the answer is actually a well-researched topic. The short of the answer resided within the shell of the egg and the nature of Pokémons. The shell ensured that the Pokémon inside of the egg was always at the right temperature the same way Pokémon learned to move by growing stronger. It was a set of directions and memories directly encoded into the DNA of the Pokémon.
That was only one of the interesting answers that I got out of Nana. After a week we had to travel again to visit Nana’s sister in Motostoke and we spent a week there as well. Nothing special happened there as we just toured the town much like in Ballonlea and visited interesting spots. I was given an incubator for the egg that was placed safely in the room and was out of sight only when we were outside. Even then, Jeanne decided to remain and take care of it. It seemed that as a fairy type herself, she felt a certain attachment to the egg. In case anything happened, she was just a teleport away. Incidentally, as soon as the egg was handed to me, it stopped knocking against whatever happened to be between me and it.
And with Motostoke being our final destination, we took the flight back to Unova with a month to spare before the beginning of the league circuit this year. We had to fill in some paperwork for the egg but with the stamp of approval of a gym leader, we faced no issues. All this while, I looked after the egg as much as possible while talking to it. It apparently helped the newborn to associate with whoever it was.
That was the end of my vacation as Pops put his teacher’s face on and made sure that I knew everything I would need for the travel. It felt like being back to the exam period cramming as much knowledge as could and memorizing it. Thanks to that I had no issues passing the theoretical assessment for the league. Some trainers get to skip it if they get sponsored by either a gym, the professor, or another recognized organization. I for my part missed the spot due to the holidays and so missed my opportunity to have one of the regional starters unless I found one but oh well.
Incidentally, the league year referred to the average shortest time needed to complete eight gyms and face the elite four then the champions. The gyms themselves were open all year round.
*
Today I decided to write lists while getting ready. Writing things down always helped me stay organized even back on Earth. With the assessment over, Pops agreed to let me have more free time. I was already at the desk in my room and after thinking for a while I had two lists.
Things I will need.
-A tent
-Cooking utensils
-Cooking supplies (wait for the last minute)
-Plates for me and potential Pokémon
- Clothes
-A hat (go ash style!)
- Mega bracelet
- Z band
- Pokeballs
-Potions
List of things to do:
-take care of the egg (X∞)
-spend time with Pops, Nana, Klint, Jeanne, and the others.
-Detèmine tan mwen nan {Figure out the time I am in.}
I took care to write the last item on the list in creole-which one my friend taught me- as I look at the reason I wrote it, Aspertia City bathed in the orange hue of the setting sun. if I remember correctly, it was only introduced in black and white 2, or two years after the event of the first game. Although that does not give me any time frame, seeing as an entire town does not pop out in just 2 years even in the world of Pokémon.
I was sure however that the events of the first game were behind us due to the gym leader being Cheren, one of the characters and rival from the first opus. This in itself was strange since there was no news of disturbances during the champion challenges, which was the ending of the first game, but I will leave that in the past. The question was more related to the event of the second game as I would need to test my knowledge to avoid getting caught up in a less favorable situation.
I don’t want to save the world! Leave it to Ash and his friend if they are here, I will be fine with traveling with Pokémon and having fun thank you very much! Anyway with that I had a list of everything, crossing the more unrealistic options.
That was when the alarm to clean the egg rang. I quickly stopped the grating sound and got up. I had to regularly clean the surface of the egg with a cloth soaked in hot water and then dry it thoroughly. Apparently, it helps prevent mold from growing and keeps it in good health.
Just as I finished drying the egg, it shook. No way! I definitely imagined that right? Then it shook again.
“You are joking…” By that point, my eyes were fixed on the egg unwilling to miss anything.
The egg, unaware of the thought going through my head continued to shake more and more violently. It was not long before the first crack appeared quickly followed by another and another after then, all the while the shaking intensified. Then, when there seemed to be more cracks than shells, a white light erupted in all directions. The light grew in intensity utile I had to cover my eyes with my arm, unable to bear watching it.
After a few seconds, the light seemed to die down, and lowered my arm to look at the egg… except the egg was gone and not even a fragment of the shell was left. In its stead stood a Pokémon, plushy-like in appearance. If I remember correctly it's Hatenna? Or is Hattrem? I will need to check later for now I cannot take my eyes off it.
It had a pink color as well as something similar to a hat protruding from its head at the end of which there was a blue blob-like protuberance. It also had what looked like hair curling below the hat, completely covering its eyes before forming what looked to be pseudo limbs that it used to balance itself. Upon closer inspection, I also noticed the tiny feet that were poking beneath its body.
While I was observing the newborn Pokémon, it also seemed to be observing me. At first, it was groggy as if it just woke up, and I mean, it literally just hatched. I could see it looking around the room before looking at me again, a strange thing since I could not see its eyes.
“Hatena!”
It exclaimed joyously and tried to jump toward me. I say try because it ended up tripping over its pseudo limb and falling face-first. Thankfully I was close by and before it could faceplant I quickly placed my hand. It was so small it could fit in even one of my hands. It looked up as I caught it and started running the length of my arm, seemingly already used to its body with pseudo limb bouncing behind It, before reaching my shoulder and snuggling against my cheek.
“Hello, little one!” I said between laughter caused by the tickling sensation. “you’re a real sweetheart you know that?”
“Haa!”. She exclaimed joy radiating from her entire being.
“Come, let's present you to the rest of the family!” I said as I moved downstairs, my little companion having moved to my head.
It’s like I am wearing a hat chuckling at the realization that a hat-wearing Pokémon sat on my head like a hat.
I have to struggle not to rush down the stairs to present the little one to Nana and Pops. I reached down the stairs and found them having tea while reading, sitting in front of one another. They looked up and their eyes became as wide as saucer locking on my shoulder.
“Guess who joined us?” I asked cheekily.
“Oh my lord, so cute!”
Nana was the first to react and tried to reach for the Hatenna perched on my shoulder, but it shied away from her and hid in the nape of my neck. At the same time, Jeanne and Klint seemed to have noticed the commotion and appeared from Arceus knows where.
“Oh my, quite the shy one I see. Did you already name it? What about the moves it knows?”
Always the battler, Pops asked the question and made me freeze before answering.
“Actually, it literally just hatched, and I came down straight,” I mumbled.
There was a stunned silence before they burst out laughing making my new partner flinch. My hand automatically found its way toward her head to reassure her, and it seemed to work for the most part.
“You mean to say that as soon as it hatched you came to present us yet did not even spend time with it?” Pops still struggled to control his laughter and mostly failed. Until an elbow from Jeanne reached him.
She slowly approached the Hatenna who seemed curious about the two Pokémons. She pokes out a bit more timidly still trying to adapt to the situation. In hindsight, I should have probably taken a bit more time to let her get used to me. I mean I even forgot to catch her for Arceus’s sake.
“Thank you, Jeanne.” Nana continued a bit sad that the little Pokémon hid from her but let Jeanne and Klint get close. “But George is right dear, even though it’s a little late why don’t you pull out your Pokedex.”
With that, I fished out of my pocket to retrieve my rottom phone. It was not the latest model given the crazy prices they sell for, but it was a top-of-the-line gift I received last year. By the way, this rottom phone was not actually a rottom like in the anime. Rather the company uses the name of the Pokémon and the Pokémon itself as the mascot. It was still a crazy piece of technology that seemed to break reality much like the bag, but it was not as annoying as in the anime. It also did not float.
Anyway, I pulled the black cased rottom phone out of my pocket, activated the Pokedex function, and pointed it as by the Hatenna prompting the mechanized voice to start playing.
Hatenna, the calm Pokemon: Psychic type
Via the protrusion on its head, it senses other creatures’ emotions. If you don’t have a calm disposition, it will never warm up to you. If this Pokémon senses a strong emotion, it will run away as fast as it can. Be careful not to expose it to strong emotions for too long, or it will end up exhausted.
“Huh, I always forget that Hatenna is not officially recorded as a fairy type.” I heard Nana mumble. “But now I realize that I might have come a little too strong, I am sorry little one.”
“Tenna!” The little Pokémon answers with a bit more energy this time.
“I think you should go back to your room for now kiddo. With what the dex said about their sensitivity to emotions it might be too much, especially for such a young Pokémon. Take this opportunity to think of a name for the little one.”
With that, it was back to the room. I conveniently did not mention that Hatenna was not really mine yet strictly speaking. Which was why the first thing I did when I reached the room was pull out the honor ball. I had already long imprinted it, meaning it was ready to be used. One press of the button saw it enlarged from its travel to the original size. It fit perfectly in my hand and just as I was about to press it against Hatenna I stopped. It did not feel right.
“Hey, girl. Say, do you want to be my partner?”
I decided to ask her before anything. Sure, she reacted to me as an egg but to me, it felt more like something instinctual rather than a pure display of will.
“Na?”
“I think it’s only right that you get to choose. To be honest with you I don’t know what my goal is.” I told her after putting her on my bed and sitting in front of her. “Being with a Pokémon had always been an impossible dream you know. Yeah, there was a time I thought it could be reality and I had all the fantasies of fighting and becoming stronger. But time made me realize it was impossible yet here I am now, my foot on the line and I don’t know what to do.”
As I continued to talk my head lowered even without me knowing. I don’t even know why I am telling her this. I repressed this thought all this time and now that I can begin the road ahead is blurred and I hesitate. It would not be right to force her to follow in my fumbling around.
Yet the next instant all of that is swept away by a wave of emotion. The barely newborn Pokémon in front of me sent me feelings. Affection and determination. A promise to stay by my side. The realization floored me before I resigned myself.
“I really don’t know why you chose me but let me borrow from someone else somewhere in the world. I choose you!” I know that this conversation will make me cringe later, but I will blame it on the fact that I am a teenager. Never mind the experiences of another life, this is just a detail.
“Tenna!” With a cheery voice, my new partner touched her pseudo limb to the button and along with a pop, she got sucked in the form of a beam of light.
With her accord, the ball did not even shake, and a *ding* resounded. Without wasting any time, I pulled her out once again.
“Welcome to the team girl! How about I give you a name?
“Hatenna! Tenna!” She jumped.
let’s see…I want a name that represents her, or what she is to me. I also want to avoid a cringe-worthy name, yet due to her being a newborn, I had no idea of her personality so naming her based on that is hard. Yet it fell into place when I thought of what I wanted.
“How about Nike? It's based on the goddess of victory. No matter what we do we will be the very best. Heh!” I asked. (AN: pronounced Nikey)
“Ha!”
“Since you seem to like it, welcome to the team Nike”.
As much as I tried, I could not stop myself from smiling. My own Pokémon!