As we travelled in along the walking path toward the foot-traffic only area, my restless circling over Mable's head at least ensured I was keeping an eye out for any Pokémon that might be around. It wasn't that there weren't any Pokémon around for me to copy, but the first few I spotted were all duplicates that I had seen that were native to the local area. Fletchling and Pidgey perched on rooftops and windowsills, overlooking the area. I was worried that they might act up with me flying around, but they seemed to completely ignore me. I suppose no flocks had lain claim to the city as a territory... or they learned not to mess with Pokémon that were visibly accompanying a human, possibly.

As we turned into the center area, the general appeal and aesthetics shot up rapidly. I could see why they wanted to design an area that didn't allow vehicles: this place was gorgeous. The walkway was a wide, bricked pathway that seemed to have two 'lanes' of motion, with folk generally staying to the right-hand side as they moved forward. The dividing area in the middle of the two paths was a series of alternations between grassy expanses with a smattering of park benches and great, shade-providing trees or violently blooming flowerbeds with an explosion of flowers of every conceivable color.

Almost all the buildings that faced this area were made of brick and unpainted, but I could see a few tell-tale signature designs in the distance. There was the white walls and the red roof with a Pokéball emblem in the middle, which was obviously the Pokémon Center. Right next door to it was a similar designed building, even down to sharing a very similar yet distinct depiction of a Pokéball on their sign, but the color of choice was blue. That was likely the Pokémart that Mable said was our next stop!

My eyes glanced over the familiar features, before they strayed across the street to the largest structure in the area by far. The structure was painted a vibrant green, and even the brickwork on the outside was a duller, darker green. With large, full-wall arches of windows and decorative columns placed periodically around it, it definitely stood out. Alongside the hedge wall that ringed the perimeter of the structure, the sign read "Santalune City Gym". Oh man. If we have time, we have to go in and take a look! Just to watch some battles! The gym challenges are a public affair, aren't they? How many forms would I get if we got in there!?

I swooped low to get Mable's attention, and landed in front of her. With an excited chirping in my Pidgey form, I enthusiastically nodded my head toward the Gym's building, then glanced back up at her. I wasn't sure that a bird was the best way to give pleading, puppy-eyed staring... but I tried my darnedest! Mable laughed and smiled, knowing exactly what I was so worked up about. "Maybe later! Come on, let's finish the important errands first! We don't even know if there's anyone battling at the moment!" She stepped aside, strolling around me and continuing forward, and I sighed before I took to the air to follow after her. She was right, but... I want to copy a gym leader's Pokémon!

When we passed by one of the flower beds, I noticed that a pair of crimson flowers seemed to be twisting and turning energetically. I flew closer to investigate, and then a grass-type Pokémon that looked like she was wearing a skirt of leaves meandered out of the flowers that were almost as tall as it was, holding a Wailmer-shaped watering can. "Good afternoon!" She chirped up to me in a chipper mood, before trailing off into a series of random, upbeat humming sounds. It was a Bellossom.

"You too!" I replied in kind, mentally marking down another form. Score a grass-type form that doesn't feel out of place on land! Sure, Lotad was technically a grass type option, but after feeling so encumbered and awkward on land, it wasn't going to be my first choice. The plant Pokémon wandered over toward a public water fountain and began to refill her watering pail, before roaming back into the patch of flowers all over again.

After that, we were in front of the Pokémart, and I landed on the ground and awkwardly bird-hopped my way across the ground after Mable as the sliding glass doors separated ahead of us to let us in. While the day outside wasn't particularly hot, the blast of amped-up air conditioning took me off guard. I shook my head, supposing that someone in here must really hate the heat. I thought most public stores liked to skimp on things like air conditioning to save costs?

Mable walked right up to the main counter, where I saw that trainer-related supplies seemed to be locked in a display case on the wall behind it. It made sense, forget the Pokéballs and potions on display, I saw the disc-like technical machines arrayed in a broad swathe along one dedicated section. Those things alone had to be worth a fortune! The cashier shifted their attention over from one of those miniature television sets, one with a screen maybe twelve inches across, and gave the typical customer service "Hi, how can I help you?" in the most monotone, bored-sounding fashion. I empathized with the young man in my soul. Been there, done that. Just stay off the phone, brother, that television should be a much safer distraction.

"Hi there. Just need a regular Pokéball, please." Mable reached into her pocket and produced a card again, setting it on the countertop as the cashier turned around and unlocked one of the lowest, closest cabinets with practiced ease.

"Sure thing, ma'am. That'll be two-hundred. Oh, got it." They placed a simple plastic box containing the pristine, glistening red-and-white sphere on the counter and exchanged it for the card, swiping it through the reader and passing it back. "Do you need a bag?"

Mable shook her head, and glanced down at me with a smile. "No, I don't think so, thank you. We're going to be using this one right away." She opened the packaging and then crouched down slightly, holding the Pokéball out to me. "Unless someone's changed their mind and gotten nervous at the last minute." Her voice was reassuring, as if she wouldn't judge me for being anxious or nervous now that the actual moment was here. I nodded my head, and then leaned forward to bump myself against the Pokéball as Mable held it out toward me. It popped open, and that flash of red light returned.

There I was, back in that darkness and floaty sensation I had back when I was an egg. It didn't feel as secure, though, and it felt like something was analyzing me, adjusting to me. With an experimental flex of effort, I probed the area around me, and it started to yield slightly. Hurriedly, I stopped pressing at the boundaries, as the last thing I wanted to do was break out of the Pokéball and make Mable have to buy another one! That must have been the sensation of how Pokémon could struggle against the capturing and break free before the process of catching completed.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

After a short moment, everything suddenly felt much more stable, for the brief moment I was able to sense it. Then there was another flash of light, and the world reformed itself around me in a disorienting blur. Or was I the one reassembling myself, which is why the world looked so strange for a few seconds? I shook my head, deciding not to think about the physics of Pokéballs.

"Oh, well. Let me get rid of that packaging for you, then. Trubbish!" The employee called out, and a squat, green-colored Pokémon that looked like a trash bag rounded the corner of one of the aisles, holding a hand broom and a dustpan in its odd, lumpy little hands. Ick. Not exactly a form I'm super thrilled to add to my collection, but it was better to have it than not. Trubbish was literally a trash bag Pokémon, and I wasn't sure there were many less-pleasant Pokémon I could find to copy. Maybe a Grimer would come close.

"What is it?" 'Trub?'

"Here, have a snack." The employee held out the leftover packaging of the Pokéball, and the Trubbish had little issue in snacking on it. I guess if I was ever really, and I mean really desperate and hungry, I could turn into a Trubbish and eat whatever scraps I could find... but honestly, I think I'd rather turn into a Geodude and eat rocks before I resort to eating actual, literal garbage.

I struggled not to make a face, turning my attention back to Mable. I fluttered upward toward her, and she opened her arms to catch me in a hug, which I relaxed into. "There you go, now you're a proper member of the team. I'm glad you didn't change your mind." She remarked, running her hand through the feathers atop my head. We walked outside. "How about we get a little snack as a celebration? After all, it's not quite time for your appointment at the Pokémon Center just yet. I know a place around here that sells poffins..." Mable trailed off, grinning at me. When I responded with an earnest nod, she laughed softly at me. "I knew that'd get your attention, you little glutton. Come on."

Mable continued to casually carry me along in her arms as we walked, and while I could have shifted back to normal now that I was registered to the Pokéball in Mable's possession, I wasn't feeling the strain of holding this form yet, so I figured that I might as well stay as I was. Plus, it would still draw less attention to me.

We approached what looked like a little bakery mixed with a café, which must have been the place that Mable was talking about. On the way over though, I heard noises coming from a modest alleyway between buildings. It was squeaking, and it was a whole lot of squeaking. It actually sounded fairly intense, so I fluttered my wings in Mable's grasp, nosing in the direction of the ruckus.

"What's going on, Ditto? Hm? Oh, I hear it too, now. Well, if you want to go look, we can." Mable shifted her strolling to walk closer to the opening between buildings, and once we arrived, it was much easier to see what was going on. A chubby little yellow Pokémon mouse with red cheeks and black, antenna-like whiskers was surrounded by the purple-furred figures of several other bigger, rat-like Pokémon. A Dedenne, and a small group of Rattata.

I could hear the Rattata speaking over one another, their voices all higher-pitched and slightly comical as they acted with typical street-thug demeanor. "Hand it over!" "Yeah, give it up, pipsqueak!" "We just want the food, who cares about you. Drop it and scram!" "Or do you wanna make things difficult?"

They had formed a semicircle around the Dedenne and trapped them against a wall, while they seemed to be holding a half-eaten pastry of some kind. The mouse was shaking its head, hiding the morsel of food behind their back as tiny sparks popped and jolted off their whiskers in warning. "No way! They gave it to me, go get your own, you stupid jerks! You want the food so badly? Hmph!" The electric mouse pulled the pastry back around in front of them, and promptly mashed as much of it into their mouth at once as they could manage, cheeks bulging out like a hamster.

"Why you little!" "Stop 'em!" "Get 'em!" The Rattata all hissed angrily, and seemed like they were about to make a move. I struggled out of Mable's grasp and flapped forward, placing myself right in between the groups without a second thought.

"Ditto! Careful!" Mable called out in worry with my decision as I took action, but she also seemed to be wearing a concerned expression for the Dedenne. After all, it would be too cruel to just up and let the Dedenne get beat up and outnumbered by some scummy rat-thieves, right?

"Knock it off!" I called out, puffing myself up and fanning my wings out. It didn't have much effect beyond giving the Rattata momentary pause before they sneered and continued slowly stalking forward.

"Get outta' here, birdie." "This ain't your business, scram!" "Yeah, go back to the rooftops, feather-brain."

Alright, you little jerks. So you don't think I'm scary? Well then... I let the energy of transformation shift across my body, which grew larger while maintaining the same general shape and form. My height more than tripled, and a long series of crest-feathers grew from the top of my head, trailing behind me in a sweeping motion. The fun thing about the white glow of transformation was that it looked an awful lot like the light of evolution, so I could act as if I evolved from Pidgey into Pidgeotto on the spot.

"And if I don't go, what are you little jerks going to do about it?" I demanded with a narrow-eyed glare, impersonating my memory of when Pidgeotto had shown up after my first spar with Pidgey. That was a terrifying glare I wasn't ever going to forget. It seemed to have the intended effect, as the group of Rattata had their tails curl in toward their legs as one, wide-eyed and trembling.

"Uh..." "Well..." There was a pause where they froze up, possibly evaluating their chances, but one of them shouted "Run away!" and it turned the group around almost as one, scampering desperately down the alleyway despite me not chasing them.

I sighed in relief, glad that a little bluffing could resolve the situation. I twisted around and peeked at the Dedenne, who looked almost as scared as the Rattata, so I hurriedly stopped glaring. "Are you alright? I just saw them ganging up on you like that, so I jumped in."

The little electric mouse relaxed a bit, and struggled to swallow the overstuffed mouthful of pastry they had taken in defiance. "F-fank you." They mumbled hurriedly, even before they finished swallowing.

I glanced between them and Mable, who was looking on with an exasperated expression. She seemed to realize that now that I had interfered, I was going to continue to do so. "Do you have a trainer or anything? Probably not, right?" When they shook their head, I shuffled in place and nudged my head toward Mable. "Well, my trainer has a pasture outside of town a ways, it's like a little Pokémon sanctuary. I can probably get her to bring you along, if you want." It felt a little weird, calling Mable my trainer, but she was, so I was trying to get used to it.

When they nodded, I gestured for the Dedenne to follow after me, and two pairs of puppy-dog eyes aimed up at Mable. She sighed, "I suppose I've already taken in one troublemaking stray, what's one more?" She muttered in a resigned way, but she was still smiling as she said it.