Route 116 runs west from Rustboro city. From the low plains in the east, close enough to the coast to sell the surf, it rises gently to meet the highlands of northern Hoenn. The further along from Rustboro you travel, the denser the foliage and wilder the land becomes, tree canopies begin to crowd as grass reaches upwards to the sky. Until suddenly, this verdant falls away to reveal the grit and gravel that makes up the sloping hills at the end of the route.
As an official route of the region, it is regularly patrolled and monitored to ensure that any particularly unruly wild Pokémon, migrating Tauros or the odd Lairon or Aggron that come down from the hills, are carefully guided away from the area. These efforts serve to protect the balance of the ecosystem, and the safety of the people on the route, people and Pokémon alike. These operations are typically taken care of by the Hoenn Ranger Corps, although trainers are often called upon to assist in these efforts.
In his season prior to ascending to Champion Rank, Steven Stone had been called on to assist with gently persuading (beating the tar out of) a pack of Aggron that had begun to wander too close to Ever Grande from their typical habitat in Victory Road. Needless to say, the image of a young Steven Stone and his Metagross forcing a pack of 400 kg behemoths into a tactical retreat did wonders for the nerves of his opponents in that year's tournament.
All this is explained to Basil, in the form of a bombardment of information, from the young trainers around him. Having been suddenly pulled aside by the excited students, Basil did his best to keep all the information straight as he nervously palmed the empty Pokéball in his hand.
Catching a Pokémon was a pretty big deal. Looking after yourself in a strange new world was one thing, if you failed the only one paying the price would be yourself. But having a Pokémon, a partner, meant that you weren’t just responsible for yourself. If you screwed it up, someone else, someone who trusted you would pay the price. The idea of catching a Pokémon was exciting, sure, and more than that it was necessary, but Basil found his palms getting clammy anyway.
The plan he had been given was simple. He would walk around the area with some of the students, those not occupied with their own battles or Pokémon, until they found a wild Pokémon looking to battle. One of the students would send out their Pokémon, who would then follow Basil’s orders during the battle. Weaken it with light attacks, until its health fell to red (which would be harder to tell due to the lack of floating HP bars), throw a ball and catch Pokémon.
Nice and simple. Which makes it easy to adjust when things start going wrong.
Basil had found himself walking through the knee high grass with a handful of the students, who had their Pokémon withdrawn in their balls.
“Wild Pokémon typically won’t want to challenge you to a battle if they feel out-numbered or out-powered” One of the students, a girl with freckles and glasses called Alice, explained “That’s why we keep or Pokémon away during observations and out when we’re trying to stay safe!”
15 minutes of wandering had taken them on a large loop around the rest of the class. A few times they had encountered a wild Pokémon in the patches of tall grass. Once a Tailow swooped by suddenly earning a few shrieks before taking back off and another encounter of a Whismur popping out of the grass only to run off at the sight of their little group. The disappointing results and time spent walking had helped settle Basil’s nerves at the very least.
Lulled into a sense of complacency as he was, it was the excited shrieks of the schoolchildren that first alerted him to a new Pokémon. Of course, the second thing that tipped him off was the fact that said Pokémon was charging right up to him in a serpentine pattern.
Screeching to a halt, the wild Zigzagoon stopped a few meters away from the party. Making eye contact with Basil, its hackles raised and hair standing on end, it lets out a few more commanding barks before falling silent, its gaze never moving off Basil.
So caught in the sudden staring contest between them, Basil is startled as one of the students presses their Pokéball into their hands. The other students silently take a few steps back, giving thumbs up and other gestures of support as they do so.
Turning to face the patiently waiting Zigzagoon, Basil can’t help but recognise it as the Zigzagoon from only a few days ago. The zig-zagged fur, beady eyes and tone of its bark all seemed identical to any other Zigzagoon in the region. Despite all this, there was not a doubt in his mind that this was his erstwhile companion from Petalburg Woods.
Gripping the loaned Pokéball and rearing his arm back into a rehearsed throwing pose, Basil feels his lips begin to twitch. Zigzagoon opposite him visibly riles up, almost bouncing on its paws like a boxer waiting for the first round. Letting his grin split across his face, Basil whips the ball forward with a shout.
“Let’s Go!”
Bursting forward in a red light, a Ralts emerged from the Pokéball letting out a small roar, before turning to face down the Zigzagoon.
Wasting no time, Zigzagoon took off on a collision course with Ralts, dashing back and forth while closing the distance.
“Shi- I mean, Ralts use a Growl!”
Thankfully, the loaned Ralts had clearly been briefed on the situation, as it wasted no time in responding to Basil's command. As Zigzagoon finished closing the distance, right before impact, Ralts let out an improbable deep rumbling noise. Caught by surprise, Zigzagoon flinches just a bit right before connecting with a tackle. This resulted in the blow being only a glancing hit, which Ralts took steadfastly as Zigzagoon carried on past it, beginning to turn around for another pass.
“Alright! Try and keep at range and use Confusion.”
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A pink and purple telekinetic force ripples forth, converging on the Zigzagoon still regaining its bearings. Crashing together on top of Zigzagoon, the tiny raccoon gives out a sharp yip of pain. Shaking itself off, Zigzagoon charges back towards Ralts, flanks heaving with exertion as it reels from the impact of the Confusion.
If the miming of the students on the other side of the battle field was any indication, throwing their arms in an exaggerated pitching motion, that should be enough damage to go for the capture.
Rearing back once again, Basil pitches the empty Pokéball, only to find that his nerves had one final betrayal for him. The ball slips from his hands mid throw, falling to the ground below. Taking this opportunity, Zigzagoon rapidly closes in on Ralts, grass being kicked up in its wake.
“Oh cra- crud.” Basil fumbles for a moment, stuck pivoting his head between the ball on the ground and the furry missile on an impact course with Ralts. “Ralts! Double Team!” Giving a shout to Ralts, Basil turns away from the battle and dives for the ball on the ground.
Distantly, part of his mind is aware that this is probably an overdramatic move. Unfortunately, the rest of his body had already firmly impacted the ground, his hand snapping out around the ball. Scrambling back to his feet just in time to see the last of Ralts’s doubles disappear thanks to a tackle from, Basil rears back once more. Firmly keeping a hold of the ball this time, Basil throws with a full body motion, nearly falling over himself in the process. This time, the Pokéball flies true, colliding with the charging Zigzagoon and falling to the ground again.
Once. It wobbles.
Twice. It wobbles again.
Then faintly, so quiet Basil isn’t sure he imagined it, a click sounds as it falls still.
Walking over to the Pokéball, Basil picks it up off the ground and raises it to his face. After taking a long look, he points the ball in front of him and releases the latch. A bright red beam of light materializes into Zigzagoon.
“Zig Zag!”
Sitting on its haunches, Zigzagoon stares up at Basil with wide eyes and a tongue lolling out of its jaws. Any traces of animosity or frustration from the battle are gone, although its labored breathing certainly indicated it still felt the damage from the fight.
Kneeling down, Basil maintains eye contact with Zigzagoon.
“Hey again buddy. Didn’t think I’d run into you here. I want you to know - I mean you can - you’re not stuck with me, with this. If you really want I’ll let you go, right here and now. And even if you change your mind or, or like decide this isn’t what you wanted I get it - Oof!”
Basil’s heartfelt and slightly stuttering speech had been interrupted. After all, it's difficult to talk when a weird fuzzy dog is alternating between licking your face and looking through your pockets for loose muesli.
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After that there was a lot of returning; Ralts to their trainer, Zigzagoon to the ball, the students to their classroom and Basil to the Pokécenter.
“Well I’m happy to give him a clear bill of health” Nurse Martha declared “We’ve given him the immunisations he’ll need and there are no signs of any long term damage. Congratulations again on your first Pokémon!”
Standing at the counter of the Rustboro Pokécenter, Basil gratefully received the news. Zigzagoon had quickly made himself at home, and was currently engaged in a conversation of barks and yips with the center’s Chansey.
After walking the class back to the school, Roxanne had given him her congratulations, and permission to take the rest of the day off to deal with his new, and first, party member. The rest of the school day was largely relegated to non-Pokémon subjects, which Basil was looking forward to actually being able to contribute to in his TA role. After all, Pokémon handling was a complete mystery to him, but he could still muster up enough memory to stumble through maths or language classes.
“Thanks, Martha,” Basil responded, watching Zigzagoon from the corner of his eye. “I need to get this little guy set up, and my boss was kind enough to give me some advance pay. Can I bother you for directions?”
“You’re going to want the PokéMart, it’s just down the street and take a left onto Basalt St. You should make sure to pick out food…”
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Quickly enough, Basil found himself falling into a rhythm.
Basil would wake at the Pokémon Center and have a quick breakfast of whatever was in the communal kitchen. A walk to the Trainers School and a meeting with Roxanne prior to classes starting. Roxanne would leave part way through the day to manage the Gym and prepare for the coming season, leaving Basil to assist the other teachers at the school.
During Pokémon classes Basil did his best to soak up the basics of Pokémon related skills, from nutrition to grooming the Rustboro School was nothing if not thorough in it’s curriculum. During the more mundane subjects, Basil was relieved to find he was qualified to assist in the teaching side of things. This largely consisted of working through examples with the students and running the occasional errand for the other teachers.
Once school let out, and after occasionally being dragged into a battle by the now-dismissed students. Basil and Zigzagoon would wander over to the library to continue scanning through the books and computers. Zigzagoon would tend to curl up either at Basil’s feet or on his lap while Basil would scroll through news sites and government websites, with the occasional break to play Pokémon themed tetris-like game he had found, in an effort to confirm the accuracy of his meta-knowledge.
Later in the evenings, typically after the computer had timed out during a run that was going to beat his high score, the pair would set off to an open field on the outskirts of town that was set aside for Pokémon training.
Typically Basil would run Zigzagoon through the few moves he knew; Tackle, Growl, Sand Attack and Tail Whip. Basil would call out attacks and commands in a rapid sequence, with Zigzagoon following as quickly and accurately as possible. This was a training plan that had been recommended by Sarah, one of the students, as a great way of both mastering the basics and building trust between Pokémon and Trainer.
If a Pokémon didn’t fully trust the commands of its trainer, at worst it would disobey entirely and at best it would hesitate. Either way, this lack of trust would easily allow an opponent to gain the advantage in the flow of battle, so building this trust was essential. Especially if Basil wanted any chance of getting any Gym Badges.
Gym Badges, Roxanne had explained one day as the two watched over a practical Pokémon class, were most typically used to enter a region’s tournament at the end of the season provided you had the full set. In addition to this, they acted as a form of qualification, proving that the trainer had passed the test set by the Gym and could be entrusted with greater responsibility. Having even a handful would allow Basil access to better paying jobs, which would in turn allow him to build up a steady income and carve out a place for himself in this new world.
Thankfully, Zigzagoon was more than eager to assist in this endeavor. All it took was a brief explanation of how this plan would ensure a steady supply of food and security, a need that truly was universal if Zigzagoon’s excited yips were any indication, and the two had an accord.
After training for the evening had finished, the two would walk back to the PokéCenter, occasionally picking up takeout to share with Nurse Martha and Chansey, before calling it a day and crashing on the slightly uncomfortable mattress in the PokéCenter room.
Only a few days remained before the start of the season. The Gym’s would open their doors to all challengers, the PokéCenters and routes would fill with trainers as the weather turned warmer, and Basil would need to put his money where his mouth was if he wanted to keep putting food into it.
“G’night Boss”
“Ziiig…”
Despite this, Basil slept soundly with a soft grin and with a bristly ball of fur nestled into his side.