Signing the papers that practically secured my future was a quick affair. It has yet to set in, but I know what I'll do once it does. I'm going to shut myself in my room and try not to freak out for a few hours.
I let my eyes drift to the two Pokéballs sitting on the table. "They are yours. You can take them." I looked up at Lance who chuckled. "You know you're quite reserved for your age, most kids would have snatched the balls off the table the moment they were on it to meet their new partner. Given that you haven't only cements my choice to sponsor you. You've got some great impulse control, something any trainer of dragon type Pokémon needs."
I nod reaching over and picking up both Pokéballs and bring them in my lap. They were warm to the touch. And I examined them. How they felt how much they weighed. They looked and felt the same but the presence each ball gave off was different. I couldn't explain how if someone asked me, but I just know the one in my right hand was Dratini and the left hand was Eevee. Pokéballs were marvels of technology, and how they were made to do the things they do is awe inspiring. To think such technology is 200 per regular Pokéball.
I snapped from my musings by Lance clearing his throat getting me to look up from the two handheld portable Pokémon storage devices. He was standing now and had all the papers I signed likely tucked back in the suitcase he has held loosely in his hand. I really need to work on paying more attention and not zoning out when thinking.
Standing up I carefully set down both Pokéballs and offered my hand to him to shake. "Thank you, Lance, I will do my best to exceed your expectations." He reached out and shook my hand a unspoken 'I look forward to it' was passed between us as he handing me a card and left. It had a phone number on it. It was how I was to contact him to check in.
After he left I picked up both balls, dashed up to my room and locked myself inside. A few hour long freak out ensued before I could calm down enough to look at the two Pokéballs again that were sitting on my bed. These two might be my partners for the rest of my life.
I will greet them after my party and save them some cake. It may be a good way to bond with them. I hope they are fans of angel cake.
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After my party and telling Ms. Shelly I was heading to the woods near Celadon Gym. It was a common location for kids about to start their journey. Being near the city Gym is one of if not the safest place to interact with Pokémon due to the presence of the Gym Leaders Pokémon that have taken residence in those woods. All of them being Grass type and being able to integrate into the woods without harming the natural ecosystem is rather impressive.
Finding a spot to myself wasn't hard considering it was still a few days for the start of the League to kick off. I pulled the two balls from my belt and tossed them both a few feet away. The balls popped open in twin flashes of white light that started taking shape. The two now empty balls shot back to my hands and are replaced on the ball belt on my waist.
The first was a four legged brown fox shaped Pokemon with a bunch of white fluff around its neck. The second had a snake like shape being primarily blue with a white-ish colored underside on the left and right sides of its head are three-pointed fin like appendages and a white dot in the middle of its forehead.
The two of them released crys and looked at me curiously. I knelt down and gave the two a smile. As much of the Pokémon media as I absorbed in my previous life could never have prepared me for this. Having my own Pokémon, it gives the memories and dreams of my childhood even more value.
"Hi there, I'm Nathan your new trainer and I hope new friend." The two Pokémon looked at one another then to back to me. The brown eyes of Eevee and the purple eyes of Dratini gaze at me before I'm tackled to the ground by the two making happy cries.
"Voi!" "Tini!"
Being tackled to the ground by an excited dragon and an equally happy canine-like animal. The two of them added together weight wise is around 22 lbs. Dratini is about five and a half feet long and about 7 lbs, and Eevee is about a foot tall and nearly 15 lbs. Being slammed with 22 lbs. of weight is enough to knock over a full-grown adult. The result of me being on my back and being cuddled by the two of them was a forgone conclusion.
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It took a while to get our introductions and determination of gender out of the way. I don't know if Arceus is laughing at me or if Lance thought it would be funny to give me two female Pokémon as my starters. They seem to get along so far but I can already tell there might be some trouble in the future. Dragon type Pokémon get possessive and protective of their trainers, especially when they are of the opposite gender. From the books I've read they've been known to run off prospective life partners. I know I shouldn't worry about it now cause I'm ten but I was an adult once already. I wasn't exactly the best when it came to dating. As in I had never been on one, at all. The mystery of women still eludes me to this day. The only thing that stuck was to treat women respectfully unless they specifically and said not to a total of three times. My mother in my past life was odd. All of her advice was rather questionable. I'd have to ask Ms. Shelly what to do she will likely have much better advice.
I shake my head from the tangent it had drifted to and focused on reality again. Arceus I hated when that happened. I was near the Pokémon Center. This was about a half hour from the orphanage on foot. It was about a two-minute walk from the Gym. This Pokémon Center was one of four in the city.
Nurse Joy, the miracle workers of the Pokémon world and their partner Pokémon Chansey. The powerhouse family of nurses and doctors that by family tradition they eat a particular berry called a Pinkan berry that changes their hair color pink permanently when mixed with something else. Whatever it was it is a heavy secret and it's protected by law according to what I dug up in the library. The only way to tell the difference from one Joy to another when they are at work is by the hat they are wearing. The color of the cross is different per assigned city, or location and the shade of said color varies per center.
Shifting my eyes from the Pokémon Center to this section of towns Police station right next door. Another oddity of the Pokémon world is officer Jenny. The Jenny family have a similar tradition to the Joy family however their hair is actually natural, they all just style it the same. Usually, the head officer of each central Department is a Officer Jenny. They are an actual case of nearly a Pokémon's level of genetics. The only thing that I noticed is their eyes aren't the same color they wear contact lenses to stay uniform. The only variation there is happens to be their hats as well. Each symbol is different depicting what town they belong to. The officers however aren't exactly one-woman armies. There are other officers, detectives, and patrol units that are in no way related to the Jenny's.
Stuffing my hands in my pockets I head home, standing around staring at buildings while my mind is in a wandering mood is a recipe for disaster. I had a few days to think up a strategy on the gyms and how I planned to take them down. I had to use the money I would receive from Lance carefully and the sooner I smash down the doors to each Gym I'll have more funds to work with in the long run.
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The morning of April 1st, I had received my Pokédex from the Pidgeot Express around dinner time yesterday. My trainer ID card was in an envelope in the box with the Pokédex came in. This nifty card had my details on it. It gives me access to the money I'm given by Lance and any money I happen to get from battling. I need to be careful with it. Tucking the card into my pocket I headed off to the Pokémon Center to register for the Circuit. On my way I used the Dex to update my knowledge on Eevee and Dratini. A scan would tell me what I'm working with to determine if I will have any issues.
Scanning the first ball the device began to speak.
{Eevee the Evolution Pokémon. Due to the genetics of Eevee as a species being highly unstable it has afforded this species to grow and adapt to the environment in which they are in. This shows in the numerous evolutions this Pokémon is capable of. This Eevee is female, at a height of 1'1" and a weight of 14.7lbs. Her known moves are Tackle, Tail Whip, Growl, Covet, Yawn, and Sand Attack.}
Scanning the other ball my eyes widen minutely.
{Dratini the Dragon Pokémon. Dratini more commonly known as the 'Mirage Pokémon' due to the limited sightings. This was due to its solitary nature the species as a whole the only proof it existed in the old days was that it's shed skin was found and didn't match any known Pokémon at the time. This Dratini is female, 5'10" in length and 7.2lbs. Her known moves are Wrap, Leer, Twister, Dragon Breath, Thunder Wave, and Extreme Speed.}
Dear Arceus! Lance, did you give me a Dratini from the Dragon's Den?! These are a treasured asset to Blackthorn City each Dratini is valued far greater than all three of the Royal starter Pokémon put together. I thought there was a test to be worthy of them?
Smacking my cheeks to keep myself from jumping down a Buneary hole I will likely not be able to climb out of. I focus on the plan I made. First things first, I need a third Pokémon and here in Celadon is the place for it. However I'm going to need to go into a den of criminal activity to get my hands on it. Celadon Game Corner. It's reminiscent of a casino and while I don't condone children gambling I do approve of taking any advantage I can. If that means buying the coins and immediately going to the prize counter to turn them in for a Pokémon then that's what I'll do. Those familiar with this location, it holds a underground base for Team Rocket. However much practically buying a Pokémon from them bothers me I should do it. If not to get a Pokémon away from them but to bolster my ranks even just by a little bit.
Taking a look at prize board I pause looking at it. It's different, why is it different? The Pokémon have changed the amount they are worth have as well. I asked around about it and apparently it's for a single day every year rarer pokemon are put up as prizes to get the veteran players to turn in the coins they been hoarding. It happens on April 1st every year, to celebrate another year of being open. Letting my eyes drift back to the list I reevaluate my decision. The pokemon I was thinking about getting, Abra wasn't on the list anymore. The list is now Machop, Nidoran, or Geodude for one thousand coins, Jigglypuff for fifteen hundred coins, Clefairy for Three thousand, Scyther for five thousand, Eevee for seven thousand, Chansey for ten thousand, Dratini for forty thousand, and Porygon for one hundred thousand.
The other prizes were for TMs or Technical Machines. These were like tutoring aids that assisted Pokémon to learn new moves these were the truly expensive prizes because these TMs weren't your ordinary use it once and it's done. These were Silph Co. brand TMs. They have unlimited use. Those prizes weren't cheap either. Teleport or Safeguard TMs for twenty-five thousand, Flamethrower or Ice Beam TMs fifty thousand, Psychic TM seventy-five thousand, Hyper Beam or Giga Impact TMs five hundred thousand.
Looking at this subjectively I can see how Team Rocket gets funded considering that only 50 game coins cost 1000 Alliance coins. There is no refunds or exchanges from the game coins back to Alliance coins. However, I know what machine has the best odds in this whole place. Once again I do not condone child gambling but I have to get my hands on a Chansey. Finding one in the wild is nearly impossible and not to mention I don't have the luxury of time. If the time line goes as I think it will Lance will be set on dismantling Team Rocket's presence soon enough. When that happens the Game Corner is shut down and when it reopens it no longer gives out Pokémon as prizes nor will the prizes be as extravagant.
Recalling the knowledge I have of the game I approach the machine I recall being statistically better than the others and begin to play. I had dumped about 2000 AC into 100 GC or Game Coins on a Game Corner player card. I have 33 attempts at getting the jackpot at full wager, and hopefully that will change.
In under two hours I had went from 100GC to about 1500GC. I am close, so very close. This was the third time I was this close. I was determined to get it this time. The last slot was spinning and I had two Red sevens in the middle row, two blue sevens in the top row, with two animated Pikachu in the bottom row. On either side of the wheel it had little animated Pikachu's in Kimono's doing a kind of cute dance waving little hand held fans. Pressing the stop button the line slowed down and locked in place. I matched all three lines and the light on top of the machine began to flash. On the screen a Raichu appeared wearing a different kimono and opened up a comically small breifcase and it had gold bars in it. The whole place seemed to pause as the numbered sign holding the Grand Jackpot above the coin exchange began to decrease rapidly from where it was sitting at just above nine hundred thousand rapidly decreasing to zero. I looked at the small card in my hand the total on it changed fo 1494 to a grand total of 963,567 GC.
I speed walked to the prize counter not saying a word or locking eyes with anyone. Once I get to the counter is when all bets were off and the machine I had just won on was swarmed by people wanting to play on it. Thankfully I wasn't going to let myself get greedy and keep playing. I had already got way more than I had planned for and I need to cash it in and dash out as fast as possible. With quick mental math I reduce the amount of coins I have as low as I can. I pressed the buttons on the prize kiosk listing what I wanted. Hyper Beam TM 500,000 + Two Chansey 20,000 + Porygon 100,000 + Teleport TM 25,000 + Psychic TM 75,000 + Flamethrower TM 50,000 + Ice Beam TM 50,000 + five Eevee for 35,000 + Safeguard TM 25,000 + two Dratini 80,000 = 960,000 GC. 963,567 minus 960,000 equals 3,567 GC remaining.
Hitting the confirmation button and swiping the card I look at the person running the counter go pale in the face. Palming the card I made it look like I put it in my pocket before bending down to retie my shoe and putting it in my glove on the back of my right hand. I have to keep my wits about me. I technically just robbed Team Rocket and it was completely legal in their terf. I wasn't going to take any chances. Once I had the stuff in my hands I was booking it to the Pokémon Center and calling Lance. Someone came from the back with a box containing all ten Pokéballs, and a TM case in which I watched them load each of the six TM discs in it quickly and efficiently. A quick scan from my Pokédex and confirming the Pokémon are indeed what I requested. I made sure to register each one upon scanning them and putting any over my limit into my bag as they are locked. Two eevee, a Chansey and a Porygon are temporarily on the team. In the bag two Dratini, a Chansey, and three Eevee in locked Pokéballs.
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POV Rocket Grunt Jake:
I received an urgent call that some brat won way too much and cashed in as much as he could. Of course it's now my job to snatch back what he won and take back the point card he has if possible. That card has a lot of potential to get me a rare Pokémon or two and I don't have to use a crappy Rattata anymore.
It seems I wasn't the only grunt they called cause I could see Calvin already tailin' the kid. The brat is pretty plain lookin' with the brown hair. Wearin' a bright blue jacket, a white shirt, dark blue jeans, grey running shoes, and on his right hand an artistic glove that is black with his pointer and middle fingers beeing free of the glove. His belt is lined with six Pokéballs.
I caught up with Calvin and we glanced at one another. He and I have worked together a few times so it shouldn't be that hard to be on the same page. I don't know if the kid caught wind of us or something but he turned the corner and he looked right right at us. His eyes narrowed and he broke line of sight. Shit!
Calvin and I started running after him and when we turned the corner the kid was booking it down main street like he had a Houndoom on his ass. "Fuck, looks like we aren't getting this one." I look at Calvin and he nods in agreement. Grabbing his phone out and reporting. It wasn't going to be pretty if the kid got off scottfree with everything but what could they do he was headed straight for the police station. As much as the stuff the kid has is worth he ain't getting bailed out if he gets arrested. It would have been easier if there wasn't so many potential witnesses. One of the other teams will get him on the way out of Celadon. We got his description and he isn't going anywhere.