Leaving Shoal Cave was a lot easier than entering it. Most Pokémon along the path had either fainted from Glalie or flat out ignored me. The only exception was the massive Sealeo who held up the Pokédoll and let loose a barking laugh. I made sure to quickly leave its room to hide my shame from Vulpix.

The Zubat and Golbat had mostly frozen over, though there were signs of the ice melting. They would probably be up and about within a few hours.

Glalie's original room was empty and no other Pokémon occupied it. I expected to see at least a Snorunt or two but it seemed like it lived alone.

We reached the initial sloped area that I had followed deeper into the cave and I knelt down next to Vulpix to hold out the Premier Ball I bought.

"Alright girl, this is a Pokéball. It's a way for me to carry you a lot easier. It might feel a bit strange, but think of it as your own personal space I can carry with me. Just hit the button in the center to activate it."

Vulpix stared and sniffed it a few times before booping the button with her nose. In a flash of red light, Vulpix was sucked inwards. A few shakes later the ball dinged, signifying that Vulpix was caught.

Before I could even release her myself, she reappeared outside the ball and snuggled into my leg. I pet her a bit before holding out the ball.

"My ride is beneath the cliff, so I won't be able to carry you down and climb at the same time. I know you want to stay out of your ball, but I need you to stay in just for a bit, okay?"

Vulpix frowned but nodded, and I recalled her with only a brief "’Pix!" of protest. Moving over to the edge where I hid the jet ski, I climbed down the rocky cliffside. The water level had lowered since I arrived, but considering I ran most of the time I was in the cave, I had time to spare before the tide retreated and the water level was too low to leave.

Vulpix released herself onto the seat of the jet ski with me as soon as I sat down.

"Oh? You want to ride the jet ski with me?"

"Vulpix!"

I laughed.

Vulpix crouched down and hugged the seat with all four legs. I carefully steered the vehicle out of the cave past the large protruding rocks and aimed it south towards Mossdeep.

"Alright, hold on tight!" I called out.

The jet ski zoomed forward, almost flying over the water. The only loud sounds from the vehicle were Vulpix's cries of excitement.

Much to our shared disappointment, we arrived at the jet ski rentals in almost no time at all. I was half tempted to go for a joy ride a bit longer over the open ocean, but I still hadn’t fully calmed down from the cave. I needed to give myself time to decompress and register for the Pokemon League.

After I returned the keys to the jet ski to the rental shop owner, I couldn’t help but to feel a sense of loss. I only had that jet ski for a few hours but I already felt a sense of extreme loss.

As if reading my thoughts, Vulpix put her paw on my leg to comfort me.

Once the key was filed away, the rental guy reminded me of an important detail I glossed over.

"Wow, you sure look like crap."

I ignored the rudeness of that comment and left his shop. I checked my reflection in the water off the docks and noticed that he was right, I did look like crap. My hair was a mess and my clothes were frosted over. My nose was no longer bleeding but I had dried blood streaks down my face. The dirt from squeezing against rocks in the tunnel made me look homeless with a crazed look in my shadowed eyes.

I took a bit to stop at the beach to clean both me and my clothes. My jacket was shot from both the damage and salt water, but I planned on getting a better set soon anyway.

I put my thankfully intact hat back on and noticed that Vulpix was panting next to me.

"Shoot, I'm so sorry. I know you want to be out but Hoenn’s humidity is going to be too much for you. Return for now, but don't worry. I already prepared a solution."

I quickly recalled Vulpix into her Premier Ball to save her from the heat.

Walking through Mossdeep definitely got me some strange looks with my soaked, ruined clothes and damp hair, but I was able to make my way to the Pokémart without anyone stopping me.

There, I released Vulpix and got her measured for a battle-ready item holding collar. Back in Olivine, I had put up a bounty for a specific item when my plan to catch Vulpix was first forming. It took 3000 Pokédollars and a month of waiting, but the item I asked for was eventually delivered to me. I took it out of my backpack, and fit it into her collar.

"This is a Never-Melt Ice. It's a rare form of ice crystal that only forms in the deepest areas of frozen caves. It's permanently cold and the freezing temperature it creates should help you manage the warmth of Hoenn. Do you feel any better?"

Vulpix yipped at me in confirmation, I smiled and patted her on the head. We walked out of the Pokémart and into the dense humidity of Mossdeep island. It was easy to see that she was much more comfortable now than before. She practically jumped around everywhere with wide eyes taking in the new sights of an unfamiliar city. With that Never-Melt Ice she would be fine in almost all weather unless she visited somewhere like a volcano, which was an unfortunately likely trip to happen in the future.

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With the Never-Melt Ice “equipped,” Vulpix was able to run around outside and still feel cool. She was exceptionally friendly and kept walking up to people and Pokémon to meet them and ask for attention. I wanted to dissuade her from bothering others but everyone was delighted to see a cute fox so eager for attention so I let her have her fun. This was most likely the first time she was outside of Shoal Cave, and I had no plans to be a killjoy. It significantly delayed our arrival to the Pokémon Center, but we made it there while it was still afternoon.

I walked into the Pokémon Center with Vulpix at my side. The interior of a Pokémon Center was reminiscent of the layout of the games, but much bigger. It was a large, tiled room with several couches and tables set up for sitting areas. Along the walls above the sitting areas were flat screen televisions displaying the news or streamed battles. Currently, the majority of them were playing the ongoing events of the Ever Grande Conference, which had just started when I arrived in the region. Past the left side of the far wall of the room, there was a wide hallway lined with video phones and computers for Trainers to use at their whim. In the center of the back wall, a nurse sat behind a counter, waiting for injured Pokémon to be checked in.

The nurse at the counter didn't have the classic hair loops of Nurse Joy, but her hair was dyed pink and her tag said "Joy."

I had actually looked this up on Marty's laptop back in Olivine when I was checking for similarities in this world. “Nurse Joy” was a title given to the head nurse of a Pokémon Center, and dying their hair pink was a tradition rather than a rule. The same was true for Officer Jenny in most League cities, as well as Don George in some strange club system in Unova. I didn't recognize the club system so I just assumed it was something unique to this world.

When I approached the counter, Nurse Joy's lips pressed into a tight line as she saw my disheveled state, but she was kind enough to not make a comment.

"Hello, I'd like to register as a trainer."

"I can do that, but you are aware that gyms won't open for another three months, right?"

"I am aware."

Nurse Joy opened a drawer and pulled out a set of paper forms. She laid them out on the counter for me to read.

"If that’s fine with you, I just need you to provide some information, if you already have an ID registered with the League that will speed up the process and I can get you approved today."

I quickly filled out the forms and handed them back over. My ID number had been already made as I had technically been a League employee when I worked for the Pokémart. The Center was almost empty and there wasn’t anyone waiting so I just filled out the forms right there on the main counter. No one objected.

Nurse Joy skimmed over them and started to enter the information listed on the form into a digital form on her thick desktop computer. In a world with mobile phone equivalents, artificial intelligence, and surprisingly detailed holograms, it was strange to see the head nurse of a League-funded Pokémon Center type on a bulky white keyboard connected to a thick, antiquated CRT monitor.

After a few minutes of typing she looked back to me. "Do you already have a starter Pokémon?"

I nodded. "Yes that would be Vulpix here. I just caught her, so could you give her a check up when you're done?"

She sucked in her lips when she heard my response. "Did you enter Shoal Cave without a Pokémon to catch her? I have half a mind to deny you your license if that's the case."

"I may not have had a Pokémon, but I wasn't alone." After all, that Glalie did chase me half the time I was there.

"Good. I don't want to see any more crazy risk taking trainers over what we already have."

I gulped at the implied threat over my action, and pushed down the idea she could tell I was lying. I mean, I obviously was but she didn’t outright deny me my Trainer license like she threatened.

Although it would be a good idea to avoid dumb moves like that in the future. I want to be a Pokémon Trainer, not a Pokémon’s meal.

I leaned down to pick up Vulpix while we waited. She relaxed in my arms and looked around at the technology behind the counter that she could now see.

Nurse Joy hit a key and I heard the whirring sound of a printer. She then turned to face me. When she saw Vulpix in my arms, she raised an eyebrow.

"You just caught her today? She seems oddly acclimated for a newly caught Pokémon."

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I patted her head and she leaned into my hand. "Yeah, just today. I think she's just normally like that? When I was walking here she wanted to approach everyone who walked by. I struggled just to keep her on track."

Nurse Joy looked like she wanted to say something when I mentioned Vulpix walking outside, but her eyes moved down to her collar and the Never-Melt Ice attached to it. She gave a soft nod in approval.

"Then leave Vulpix with me for now and I'll give her a check up. Do you need a room?"

"Yes please."

A Chansey walked out of the door leading to an examination room behind the counter. It pushed a cart with paper covering the top. I placed both Vulpix and her Premier Ball on top of the cart and the large pink Pokémon wheeled them away.

Nurse Joy handed me the freshly printed ID card that contained my personal information. The ID number was tied to the League bank account I set up in Olivine, so I did not need to memorize anything new.

After a quick but mournful goodbye with Vulpix, I entered the staircase to the right of the counter to go upstairs and clean myself up. The upstairs section of the Pokémon Center was essentially a hotel for traveling trainers. My room was the third room on the right so it was close to the staircase.

The room I was going to be staying in was a simple room with essentially the same layout that hotels in my old world seemed to prefer. It had a single bed and television, and a small table in the corner. A door next to the entrance divided off a combined bathroom and shower. It was cozy, but not large enough for a big Pokémon to fit inside.

I bet there’s larger rooms available for trainers to rest with the larger members of their team.

I took a moment to decompress in the warm waters of the shower and waited for my hands to finally stop shaking. I was confident I gave a friendly outward appearance but I still needed to recover after everything that happened in the cave. I hadn't noticed they never stopped shaking until I entered the shower, and could only hope Nurse Joy only thought I was cold from Vulpix and nothing else.

Since I didn't get an alert that Vulpix was ready yet, I took a moment to check my current gear.

My hat, journal, and Pokégear were still intact. I had taken special precautions to separate them before entering the cave to make sure they wouldn’t be damaged. The Pokégear was the exception, since a meteor could fall on it and there would barely be a scratch.

In the low quality backpack I brought from Olivine, I had my thermos, a spare change of clothes, some food for Vulpix, and the last Pokédoll leftover from the cave. I had also put my Trainer ID in the backpack, which reminded me that I only had 800 Pokédollars within my bank account.

On me, I wore a belt that used magnets for Pokéballs to clip to for easy access. I had used the magnetic properties of the belt to attach my thermos to it while I was in the cave.

I took a moment to consider the small amount of money I had left. It would be enough to survive on my own, but taking care of Vulpix was a much larger drain on my funds. A cheap burger might cost only a few Pokédollars, but Pokéballs were still 200 Pokédollars. The Premier ball I bought would have been 500 Pokédollars without my still intact employee discount, but I had wanted a Pokéball that would match Vulpix so I had been willing to splurge.

I needed money to take care of Vulpix properly, and to be strong enough to do so, we needed to train. With the extraordinary costs it took to properly take care of Pokémon, we had about a week before my funds ran out.

My Pokégear pinged and Nurse Joy alerted me that Vulpix's check up was finished. I went down to collect Vulpix and to see what we could do to start training.

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I didn't actually start training immediately, as I still needed to rest from my suicidal trip into Shoal Cave. I sat with Vulpix in the public seating area and talked to her. She nodded along enthusiastically to my words. She couldn’t respond correctly, and I didn’t know how much of what I said she actually understood, but I hoped to make friends with her rather than just treating her as something akin to co-workers on the same team.

When I ran out of things to say, we silently watched the television playing the Ever Grande Conference. I missed a battle Ash was in when I was in the cave, but got to appreciate a fun generalist versus Dark Type specialist matchup. The Dark Type specialist ended up winning, but he had been worn down to his last Pokémon.

After a few hours of relaxation, Vulpix and I entered the training grounds behind the Pokémon Center to take advantage of the field before the sunset. We only had about an hour until it was night to gather some preliminary data, but I wanted to see Vulpix's moves so I can figure out a regimen for the future.

I was at a disadvantage since I didn’t have a Pokédex like Professor-sponsored trainers. A Pokédex would have shown me specific details about Vulpix’s moves and abilities in real time. However, I still had access to similar technology since the PC in the Pokémon Center had a basic scanning function that at least let me know Vulpix’s moves and abilities.

“Let’s start off with your most basic move first. Tail Whip!”

Vulpix jumped back and spun to swing her tails near the ground ahead of her. Tail Whip stuck out to me as an interesting move since it was a non-damaging move in the game. Since stats didn’t really exist in this universe (Pokémon still technically had capabilities similar to stats, but there weren’t numbers assigned. What would a Speed stat of 50 even mean?), moves like Tail Whip were more of what I liked to refer to as “utility moves.”

Utility moves didn’t hurt opponents, rather they either put their opponent in a disadvantaged state or lowered their effectiveness in battle. For Tail Whip, Vulpix used her tails to physically trip and catch her opponent off-guard to make them easier to attack or escape from.

When Vulpix used Tail Whip, her tails didn't stretch outwards far enough to reach a Pokémon in front of her. Rather, she had to turn around completely to use the attack, which interrupted her line of sight and opened her up to a counter attack. From what I could tell, Tail Whip seemed best to use to trip up an opponent trying to close in on Vulpix and then create some distance, since her strengths lay in staying at range.

“Good job, Vulpix! Next move, Baby-Doll Eyes!”

Vulpix turned to look at me, crouched down, and then gave me the biggest puppy-dog eyes she could muster as they flashed pink. My heart almost broke under the cuteness.

Baby-Doll Eyes was another “utility move” that lowered the enemy’s attack. Baby-Doll Eyes was unlike Tail Whip since it actually channeled a form of Type energy into the move. The move worked when the Pokémon made eye contact with their opponent and used Fairy Type energy to charm them. Upon successful use of this move, opponents would experience a brief reluctance to fight which generally caused their attacks to stumble. More experienced opponents were able to continue the attack regardless, but the power of the affected attack tended to decrease.

“Great job, now finish off strong! Show me Powder Snow!”

Vulpix stood and inhaled a deep breath. She blew out as hard as she could and a gust of powdered flakes of dry snow and ice flew out from her mouth. If she had a target, the snow would have stuck to their body, and with enough snow from continued use, her target would eventually freeze over.

I could already see ways for Vulpix to improve the usage of her three moves. She turned completely around for Tail Whip, which meant she lost sight of her enemy. The move would be more usable if she was able to use it and maintain eye contact with her opponent.

For Baby-Doll Eyes, she used her entire body to act cute rather than just charming the enemy with her eyes. While she looked absolutely adorable while doing so, using Baby-Doll Eyes with her entire body would interrupt her own attack and make it hard to dodge or move at the same time.

Finally, Powder Snow was barely usable in battle since it had such a large charge up time. With enough practice, she would be able to use the move a lot more quickly.

Once we started training, her battle capabilities would improve massively, and that combined with exercise to improve her body would mean a strong foundation to build off of for future developments.

For now, I decided to head back inside to rest. Tomorrow, we would start training, which would begin with physical exercise.

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That night I picked up the video phone within the Pokémon Center to make a phone call.

As the number rang, Vulpix snuggled up against my chest while she sat in my lap. I petted her and she pressed her head into my hand.

I need to remember to get a grooming kit. She would appreciate that.

It was only a moment later when the screen flashed white and Marty appeared on the screen holding a phone of his own.

“Alex! My favorite ex-employee! I was wondering when you were going to call. You know how long I had to stay after work for you? Trubbish is still waiting for me at home.”

The Pokémart in Olivine had a video phone for long ranged orders. It wasn’t used often, but I made plans with Marty to occasionally call him when he got off work so we could keep in touch.

“It’s nice to see you too, Marty. Marty, this is Vulpix. Vulpix, this is Marty.”

“Vul!”

“Ah, nice to meet you Vulpix. Take care of Alex for me, will you? Make sure you two stay out of trouble, alright?”

She nodded as if accepting a difficult mission. Who does she think I am?

Then again we met when I went into Shoal Cave without a Pokémon...

“So Alex, how did you two meet? I wasn’t aware you could get a Vulpix like her in Hoenn. Did someone give you a gift? Or did you get in trouble? I just told you not to!”

I rubbed the back of my head and chuckled. “Well, funny story about getting in trouble...”

The look Marty gave me after I recounted my misadventures in Shoal Cave was one of pure exasperation. He lectured me like a mother would when I explained I had no Pokémon with me.

Vulpix spent the whole time agreeing with Marty and admonishing me for my actions by barking in agreement. I had only known her for less than a day and she had already betrayed me!

“Anyway Alex, stupid decisions aside, what are your plans now? You still have some time before the start of the Hoenn League, right?”

“Yup, the start of the League is still three months away. I plan on staying in Mossdeep for the next month or two before heading out to catch more Pokémon. I’m going to challenge Wattson in Mauville right when the season starts since there are Pokémon I want nearby.”

“That sounds like a plan, but are you sure about Mauville? It’s expensive to stay there, isn’t it?”

Marty wasn’t wrong. Normally, Pokémon Trainers could stay at Pokémon Centers for free with complimentary breakfast and dinner, but that was only during the League season. For the three months the League was on break, trainers had to pay a small fee for their rooms and meals. The fee wasn’t too large, but as someone without an income it was a slow drain on my available funds.

Mauville, in this world, was similar to Mauville in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. A large portion of the city lived within a city-sized Mall with multiple floors. As cool as it was, it did end up that renting rooms within Mauville was more expensive than other cities due to the quality and amount of amenities it provided. Since I wanted to stay there for a while, I would need to find a way to earn money in Mossdeep to pad my bank account before I arrived in Mauville.

“Yeah, it is pretty expensive. I’m hoping that there are some jobs posted in Mossdeep I can do with Vulpix’s help. I might be able to challenge some trainers and bet on the match but I’m not sure I want to risk my money yet.”

Marty nodded. “That makes sense. Well, I need to head off to take care of Trubbish. You know everyone's rooting for you, so you better do your best.”

I chuckled. “Is there any doubt?”

“Night Alex.”

“Good night, Marty.”

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I spent the next few days training with Vulpix. We focused on improving her performance of her moves while also working on our bodies.

Tail Whip was going well. Vulpix quickly learned how to use her tails to trip her enemy while keeping her eye on her enemy. If she only turned ninety degrees to side so that her body was perpendicular to her opponent’s, she could have her tails reach while still maintaining eye contact with them. I tried to impart the importance of keeping her eyes on her enemies. Turning around and doing flips in a battle looked cool, but they left too many openings in a real battle. She whined when I told her to stop doing so many flips, but when I explained the risks she understood.

Baby-Doll was a different story. Vulpix couldn’t shake the habit of using her entire body to look cute rather than just her eyes. We did get it so she could use the move while running or dodging, but her speed still slowed down when she shrunk her shoulders and lowered her head during the move.

For Powder Snow, I couldn’t think of a way to get Vulpix to start the Ice Type move faster. She had tied the start of the move to her breathing which meant no matter what we did there was a brief charge up time. We did make some progress to increase the strength of the move, but the difference was minor and still looked the same as when she first performed it for me on the day I caught her. Old Man Harvey’s journal implied that the best method to improve a move like Powder Snow would be to use it in battle. The high stress environment helped Pokémon grow faster and make connections they wouldn’t normally make. It was one of the reasons Pokémon tended to evolve during Gym Battles.

Luckily, there were portions in the journal that would be especially helpful in training Vulpix’s Ice Type moves. Old Man Harvey had trained a Weavile and spent time working on its Ice Type capabilities. It mostly covered physical attacks rather than special attacks, but he did include a section on teaching both Icy Wind and Ice Beam. Learning Icy Wind meant Vulpix would have a stronger attack, but Ice Beam was too advanced of a move to use at her level. It was unlikely for Vulpix to learn Ice Beam before she learned Aurora Beam. Developing her innate cryokinesis through learning Ice Type moves would be an effective method to train her.

When we weren’t practicing her moves, we worked on our bodies. Even the day I caught her, Vulpix could run laps around me. I wasn’t the most fit of trainers. I had lived a sedentary lifestyle in my old world, and living frugally while working at the Pokémart meant I spent most of my time sitting around and eating Ramen. When Marty noticed how awful I looked from my diet, he actually had to demand I eat fruits and vegetables. It wasn’t that I was avoiding eating healthy, it's just that ramen was so much cheaper!

But running laps and doing a basic workout would help me once I started traveling. I had a month or two to get in shape and a lot of traveling to do over the next year. I hoped that I would be able to run more than a block or two of distance without getting out of breath by the time the season started.

Vulpix liked to copy me when I was doing my simple workouts. She would often lay next to me and mimic my push ups in her own way of training. Her mocking yips motivated me to push myself when she realized she was able to continue far past the point of when I would collapse in exhaustion. She was a little fluff ball of pure energy that rarely got tired. I was worried I wasn’t pushing her hard enough, but she was enjoying and benefitting from our shared exercise routines so I figured it was enough.

When we weren’t training behind the Pokémon Center, I walked around Mossdeep with Vulpix. I didn’t want our time together to be solely dedicated to training, after all. There were a surprising number of places to see, like tours at the Space Center, and a Devon-Sponsored museum of rare minerals that was connected to someone’s house.

Vulpix didn’t stop acting extremely friendly during our walks around town. She would constantly approach people to sniff, and wouldn’t shy away when they asked to pet her.

That was one difference I noticed in this world. More people actually asked to pet your Pokémon before actually doing so. I remember in my old world that people tended to pet animals first without asking, but I suppose when the animals can bend reality to their whim it was best to ask first.

There was a small park on one side of town where people could bring their pets. Pets, not trained Pokémon. Many people would catch Pokémon as a companion to just live at home. Moves were forbidden to use in most situations, but some Pokémon would use them anyway to help around the house. For example, one elderly woman’s Wingull would use Water Gun to help her clean her dishes after dinner.

I talked to many of the locals who took their Pokémon to the park while Vulpix played with their Pokémon. I was thankful for my foresight in getting a Never-Melt Ice since it allowed Vulpix to play outside. Zigzagoon and Poochyena were the most popular pets around, but I did see a few other Pokémon like Sentret, Wingull, and Seedot. I learned a lot about how people lived their lives when they weren’t training Pokémon and it made me think of what I wanted to do when I ended my journey.

For most people, life as a Pokémon trainer only lasted a few months. Some trainers would last a few years but everyone eventually retired. Once someone finished their journey, they would retire with their teams to work within a town. It wasn’t common for Trainers to be strong enough to work as an Ace Trainer in the League's personal “military” force, or to work as a Ranger and maintain routes for travelers to use. It was even rarer for someone to work within as a Gym Trainer, since each Gym only hired roughly a dozen Gym Trainers at max.

Personally, as a Type specialist, I would want to apply for a job as a Gym Trainer anyway. It would be nice to take care of my team and still be able to battle after I retired, but my options were limited due to my choice in Type. As far as I could remember, the only options for Fairy Type were a fashion designer in Kalos and a crazy old lady in Galar.

If I could just get over my dislike of Dynamaxing, working under Bede after he takes over the Galarian Fairy Type Gym wouldn’t be that bad if he could get his arrogant personality in check.

Our training sessions were a daily occurrence without any changes in our schedule for three whole days. During the afternoon of our fourth day, someone interrupted our training.

From across the field where I was working with Vulpix’s Powder Snow, a voice shouted to get our attention.

“Hey you, you with the Vulpix! I’ve seen you around a lot but haven’t seen you battle. Let’s fight!”