Pewter City I - Gotta Call…

Ranger Holly guided Slate to her favorite Pokémon Center in Pewter City. According to her, Pokémon Center Beta served the best scones in the morning and everyone should try them at some point. She then departed, wishing him good luck on his Gym Challenge.

Slate wouldn't know about the scones. After checking in and depositing Scyther for a checkup he went straight to the shower then bed. Twelve glorious hours later he woke up marginally more human but completely missing breakfast. He would have to settle for lunch.

He didn't care. The Pokémon Center's food, while bland to most Trainers, was warm, filling, and something he didn't have to cook himself. It was also familiar enough to remind him of home which reminded him that he should probably call Maggie on one of the videophones that were made available to Trainers.

But as he finished his meal Slate knew he had to address something else first. So he made his way to the front desk and smiled at the Nurse Joy who stood there.

"Welcome to our Pokémon Center. How may we be of assistance today?" she asked with a pleasant smile.

"Hello. I need to pick up my Scyther," Slate said, handing over his Trainer ID. She took it and ran it through the computer. "Also, where is your lost and found located?"

She pointed to an unmarked door off to the side. "It's down the hall and to the left of the picture of Doctor Joy. Do you require assistance in finding it?"

Slate declined and a moment later the computer beeped, confirming Slate's ownership of Scyther. A Chansey appeared a moment later, holding a tray designed for Poké Balls upon which a single Poké Ball sat. She presented it to Slate with a chirp and he took back Scyther with a smile and a thank you.

He placed it on his belt before turning back to Nurse Joy. "Would it be possible to print out my Scyther's file?" he asked.

Nurse Joy nodded. "Of course. Let me get that for you." A moment passed before she handed Slate a single page with small writing on it.

"Thank you, have a nice day!" Slate said. That earned him a smile and a small bow.

"Thank you! We hope to see you again!"

As Slate walked to the lost and found, he chuckled at Nurse Joy's parting line. Many new Trainers took it personally when told the Nurse Joys hoped to see them again, thinking that the Nurse Joy was hoping for their Pokémon to get hurt. It often had to be explained to those new Trainers that the Nurse Joys were hoping that the Trainers would seek medical attention when something went wrong, and not choose to 'tough it out', in some misguided attempt to be tough.

He turned his attention to the piece of paper with Scyther's information. Scyther was female and several years old, meaning she was barely out of adolescence for her species. They confirmed her Type as Bug/Flying but with residual Fighting-Type Pokéenergy. A note at the bottom explained this hinted at her Egg Move being Counter or Quick Guard. Of the two, Counter was far more likely as Quick Guard required an expensive and complicated Breeding program to achieve that was unlikely to occur naturally in the wild.

Still, knowing one of her possible moves would help Slate immensely. He'd also have to work on the Pokémon Center's computers later on to see what moves Scyther was known for, to see if his Scyther could develop any of them. It would be a slow process of trial and error but one well worth it.

Slate found the lost and found and quickly entered it. Every Pokémon Center had one and it was always filled with items lost over the years by various Trainers. While the newer, and most likely to be reclaimed, items were near the door, deeper into the room the likelihood of the item being reclaimed dramatically fell. Most Trainers quickly reclaimed their lost items or simply replaced them, as their supplies would be needed immediately.

So Slate made his way to the back of the room and began to go through bins. He found an old backpack that was stained with what he believed to be blood, but it only had one small tear in the back that he could repair. He quickly began to add to it various clothes that were roughly his size, and a dented mess kit that functioned well enough although he would have to clean off the remnants of burnt food.

Unfortunately Slate would have to purchase a new flashlight. None of the ones he found were serviceable and most were so old that their circuits were corroded by time or damage. He'd be able to get a new one at a Poké Mart, as well as more food supplies, Repels, and new Poké Balls. As soon as he made some money.

There was a reason why all Pokémon Centers were free for Trainers to use. Upon being granted a Trainer's License, all new Trainers signed for a loan in order to pay for their Journey and supplies. Most of this loan went to the funding and staffing of Pokémon Centers but a respectable sum was available to Trainers to pay for expenses on their travels, such as purchasing Trainer food, camping supplies, and Poké Balls.

However, Trainers had to be crafty with how they spent this money as the sum had to last them until the end of their Journey. Each Gym Leader they beat would reduce their total debt, as well as granting them a small cash reward to use immediately. However, most Trainers still took up to four years to pay off the entire loan, unless they were fortunate enough to place highly in the annual Regional Pokémon Tournament.

Or worked for Bounties.

Each Pokémon Center served as a way station for traveling Trainers. Because of this, the cities and towns that sprung up around them would post jobs on their bulletin boards, searching for various goods or services to be completed for a cash sum. Many Trainers used this to supplement their income, doing such things such as capturing troublesome Pokémon, clearing out brush, or guarding Caravans transporting goods.

Slate had plotted out his expenses for the next few years with Maggie. She helped him set it up with his bank to deposit a sum from his savings to his active account every time he visited a new Pokémon Center. This way he would be encouraged to move from city to city to keep the funds active. This was a common practice among Trainers, especially as Caravans could be used between cities to also make money.

While he intended to Journey through Kanto and Johto to find his missing Starter, Slate would be on the lookout for other sources of income to fund his ambition to become a Generalist Master. A single Mastery was not a cheap investment, let alone the method Slate had chosen for his Generalist Mastery. He needed every cent he could get his hands on.

Distracted by his thoughts and plans, Slate didn't notice the approaching Trainers until one shoulder checked him in passing, causing him to stumble. The three Trainers laughed.

"Watch where you're going!"

"Yeah, watch it!"

The two boys must have been brothers, with their similar faces, hair, and clothes. They wore expensive Trainer Gear, so clean and crisp it looked brand new. The girl with them wore similar but more worn gear but wore a large variety of evolutionary stones as jewelry. It was an absurd and pointless display of wealth.

"Sorry," Slate said, stepping clearly to the side. Arguing with them would be a waste of time. He turned to walk away.

"Hey, don't turn your back on me!" the younger brother shouted. "Show respect to your betters!"

Slate didn't bother turning around or replying. Picking a fight with someone like that would only end poorly. That didn't prevent him from hearing their final comment before he was out of hearing distance.

"Forget about him, Lincoln. Dad got me that new Pokémon I wanted and Patty and I have a date."

"I wouldn't date you if you were the last Trainer on the planet, Brad."

Brad. Patty. Lincoln. Names to faces, such a shame their personalities weren't nearly as affluent as they appeared to be. Slate tried to put them from his mind as he made his way to the row of video phones that were available for Trainers to use. He logged onto his Trainer account and saw a bunch of messages that had been left by Maggie. He sent her a quick request for connection before browsing them.

Most of them were updates on the activities of the Pokémon Center. They had far more Ice-Type related injuries the past few weeks as a blizzard suddenly formed over the Silver Mt. Range. They also had to chase away dozens of unqualified Trainers hoping to catch one of the Pokémon that called Mt. Silver home. Even for those few qualified Trainers, those who had earned eight Gym Badges, it was a dangerous terrain to traverse and few chose to do so.

Apparently three of the Pikachus attached to the Pokémon Center waged a war on the canteen for ketchup. Doctor Mel's Ekans joined in and somehow ate an entire carton of eggs during the distraction. And the Wild Pidgey that lived in a crawl space under the floor had been seen building a larger nest. They were unsure if it was because of an upcoming evolution or because it found a mate and Maggie wanted to know if Slate wanted to join in the betting pool.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

More personal messages from Maggie, ranging from calm and collected to increasingly frantic the longer Slate went without responding. The final message in the queue was from two days ago, and it was from Bethany wishing Slate well and asking him to get in touch with the center as soon as humanly possible.

Frowning with worry, Slate sent another connection request, this time directly to the Pokémon Center. It rang once before it was picked up.

"Mt. Silver Pokémon Center Echo, this is Nurse Joy. How may we be of assistance today."

"Hey, Beth. It's me, Slate."

There are many conspiracies about Officer Jennys and Nurse Joys. How they all have the same name, face, and job. How they're failed clones or Pokémon that are masquerading as humans. As fun as these theories are to contemplate, the reality is much simpler: They are not names but titles.

Both are named after the very first Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy, although the profession had changed over the years. Nurse Joy, originally Healer Joy, was the first human to befriend a Pokémon, enabling the tribal bands of humans to link up and create the first settlements. Her sister Officer Jenny, originally Sentinel Jenny, was the first human to train and fight alongside a Pokémon in the defense of their settlement. Their story, and methods, slowly moved across the world, allowing Regions all over the world to form.

In the modern era, Nurse Joy is a proud title, and one due respect as they are the men and women who help keep the connection between humanity and Pokémon healthy and alive. Many of them also dye their hair pink as a tribute to the first Nurse Joy, who was said to make pink dye and rub it into her hair to make her more noticeable to Pokémon. Because of the vibrancy of this color, and Officer Jenny's turquoise hair, many made and still make the mistake of thinking they were all related.

"Slate! Where have you been? Maggie's been worried sick, we had to force her to take a few days off for her health," Beth the Nurse Joy said. Slate frowned.

"Is she okay? The messages didn't say."

Beth gave a small shrug before turning to look at someone off screen. "Cam. Hey, Cam! Go knock on Maggie's door and tell her Slate's on the phone. And that he's not injured."

"Well, actually I had a pretty nasty slice on my leg from a Scyther," Slate began to say only to cut himself off by Beth giving him a look. "Yup, totally fine. Hey, who's Cam?"

She looked back at Slate. "Cam is the new Trainee Joy we had to take on since we can't use you for free labor anymore. When you're done with your Journey you should come back! It'll be great."

Slate smirked. "Pass. I have big plans and I need to find my Starter regardless."

A loud bang cut off anything Beth was going to say. Through the call Slate could hear rapid banging and the sound of bare flesh hitting the Pokémon Center's tile floor. Beth looked to the side before her eyes went wide and she flailed wildly as if to ward someone off.

A blur of pink hair slammed into Beth, sending her sliding away with a shriek of surprise before she crashed into something off camera. But Slate only could look at the woman who replaced her.

Maggie was a tall woman with long fingers and a sharp mind. When Slate was delivered to the Pokémon Center by Rangers, Maggie, then a Trainee Joy, was the one to take care of him the first few days, slowly breaking down the barriers between them. She was the one who taught him to read, write, and speak. Slate didn't know who his birth mother was, or why he was abandoned, but as far as he was concerned Maggie, now a full fledged Nurse Joy, was his.

"Hey, mom," Slate said with a smile. "I'm not dead."

Maggie had bags underneath her eyes, her hair was a fluffy pink mess that was out of control, and her clothes were the ones Slate knew she wore when she was sad. Yet that did nothing to detract from the razor sharp glare she fixed on him.

"Slate! I'm happy you're alive! I'm furious it took you so long to respond! But I'm happy you're safe! But I'm angry I can't smack you upside your big head!"

Slate couldn't help the smile that graced his face. "I've missed you too. How are you?"

Maggie rolled her eyes at him, and grabbed a chair from off screen, dragging it over. "Out of my mind since you've been out of contact. What happened? I expected to hear from you over a week ago."

And it was then Slate remembered what he did. He almost flinched but managed to control the reaction. Judging by Maggie's narrowing eyes, not well enough. "Promise to not be mad?"

"I'm already mad."

"Please?"

"No."

"I'll run away."

"You're on your Journey, you already ran away."

Slate was surprised to hear a surprisingly bitter tone in Maggie's voice. "Mom…"

She waved him off. "No, I'm sorry. This is what everyone does when they become an adult, you're no different. This is just much more of a struggle than I anticipated."

Slate nodded but decided to move past it. "Well there's good news! I caught my first Pokémon!"

Before Maggie could open her mouth to say anything, Beth shoved her way back into frame. "Wait! I need to witness this for the pool!"

"Pool?" Slate asked with a smile. Beth nodded.

"The betting pool. Everyone has thoughts on what you'd catch first. Some surprisingly good odds too."

"Oh? And if no one guesses correctly, do I get the pot?" Slate asked with a mercenary gleam in his eye.

Beth frowned but it was Maggie who replied. "I think that's only fair, don't you, Beth?"

"No skin off my back but you'll have to convince Dave."

"Dave fears me, that's fine."

Slate smiled. Dave made the mistake of using Maggie's coffee mug once during a particularly long night. That Dave still shuddered whenever he saw a cabbage amused everyone even if they questioned how Maggie had made it explode like that. Slate tried to school his expression before Maggie and Beth turned back to him but judging by Maggie's rolling eyes he failed.

"So what is it?" Maggie asked. Slate pretended to think about it.

"I could tell you. Or you could list off the Pokémon in the pool one by one and I could confirm or deny if it matches the one I caught," Slate said with a grin. Both women protested.

"That's my offer," Slate told them. "Otherwise you'll have to steal a copy of my records to find out yourself."

Beth tried to push Maggie out of the way. "How about you tell me what you caught and I change my bet before we tell everyone else?" Beth asked. Maggie shoved her away and clicked a few things on the terminal before her before looking at Slate.

"There aren't that many Pokémon in the pool anyway. The largest amount is toward a member of the Abra line, although there have been some naysayers saying it should be split in between its individual members."

Slate hummed, nodding along. "I did run into an Abra while in the forest. It stole some food from me before vanishing without a trace. It was a bit weird to be honest."

Maggie smirked at him. "Everyone thinks the same about you."

"Hey!"

"Moving on, the next largest amount is toward an Aipom. The main driving force behind that one is Stu in maintenance. He still complains to me about finding you trying to dismantle the water pump. And the solar panels. And the healing station. And the-"

"-Yes! I tried to take apart everything, I know. No it wasn't an Aipom. Why would one even be in Viridian Forest anyway?" Slate asked, shaking his head.

Maggie shrugged. "I think I can safely remove the Magikarp, Feebas, and Goldeen from the list as well. I've only ever seen you chase after the latter and only with a knife and chopsticks."

Slate nodded. "If they didn't want to be eaten they shouldn't taste so good."

"Right. Oh, here's one that is actually possible. A Cubone!"

"Wow!" Slate sat there with his eyes wide and his mouth agape. "I can't believe it."

Beth shoved her way on screen. "You caught a Cubone? I knew it! I told everyone and I knew it! Ha, take that suckers!" she shouted in glee. She began to dance poorly.

Slate shook his head. "No, I can't believe how wrong it is," he explained.

Beth froze in her victory dance, her arms comically frozen above her head. "You didn't catch a Cubone?"

"Nope."

"Are you certain?"

"Yup."

"You're a little bastard, I hope you know that."

"Well, I am an orphan so the jury is out on whether or not my parents were married. Maggie sure isn't."

"Hey!" Maggie's look of outrage made Slate cackle in delight.

"So is that it? That's all?" he asked.

Maggie's eyes flickered over to the list and back again. "A few people thought you'd find your Starter but judging by the distinct lack of your reaction I think that's a negative."

Slate nodded. "What was your guess?" he asked his caretaker. It took her a moment to respond.

"I bet that you'd find a Pokémon just like you," she said with a soft smile. Slate matched it with one of his own but that only grew at her next words. "Although it is a toss up between whether it's a curious miscreant or a survivor."

"Mom wins," Slate said.

"What?" Beth shoved her way forward again. "How does she win? She didn't name a Pokémon!"

"She didn't. But she did describe it perfectly. Mom, say hi to Scyther."

Slate released Scyther in a blaze of red light. The Pokémon looked around her new surroundings with interest as she had never been inside a building before. She leaned closer to the video phone and sniffed it before tapping the screen with one long scythe.

"You caught a Scyther," Beth said, her voice utterly flat. Slate nodded but it seemed like Beth didn't even notice. "What kind of lunatic Rookie catches a Scyther without losing a limb?"

"Technically not a Rookie yet. And I didn't lose a limb but she did cut up my leg before I caught her," Slate explained. Scyther shuffled beside him but did not seem overly apologetic about the fact.

Maggie pinched her eyes shut, rubbing the skin between them in small, even circles. "You literally found a Pokémon with knives for hands. Why am I not surprised?"

"Yup! She's a little weird though. Whenever I release her from her Poké Ball she sort of just stands behind me, watching the world around her. I get she's never been out of the forest but on the way to the Pokémon Center she flew into a street light. Twice. It was the same street light and it did not survive the second encounter."

Maggie snorted. "So it committed destruction of property then?"

That made Slate pause. "Huh. My new Pokémon is a criminal. Neat."

"Technically it makes you a criminal as you are her Trainer."

"I wasn't lawfully her Trainer until I registered as such at the Pokémon Center," Slate countered. Maggie paused at that.

"I suppose that's true. I guess you could claim you caught a Wild Pokémon that was terrorizing a settlement. They might even give you a bounty for it."

Slate perked up at the thought of earning more money. "Really?"

"No."

The pair laughed and caught up on everything they'd been up to the past two weeks. Beth joined in with the odd comment or joke as their conversation stretched into the evening. It was only Scyther's gentle snores on a nearby chair that Slate ended the call and turned to his final task for the day.

After all, in order to properly train Scyther he needed to know more about her species. Fortunately, hundreds of Trainers all over the world had shared their thoughts, theories, and methods online. Slate flexed his fingers before getting to work.

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Time Tracker:

Days passed in Chapter: 2

Total Days: 23

Trainer Card:

Name: Slate

Occupation: Trainer

Ambitions:

To find his long lost Starter

To become a Generalist Master, a Master of all Types

Badges: None

Trophies: None

Carry Limit: 1/1

Key items: Walking Stick

Pokémon: 1

Name: Scyther (F)

Type: Bug/Flying

Potential Moves: ?

Core Moves: Rest