Pokémon Wishing Stars: Prophecies Give us Choice

[Gaxatwirl]

Chapter 1: Being a Pokémon Trainer Meant a lot​

When mythical creatures roam the world alongside your average magic caster, the terminology of 'animal' just didn't work.

First the distinction came in the form of the way we communicated. Old smart people from the past would say 'language is a superior form of communication, allowing us to be able to contribute to each others' cause with greater effect'. Then you question why wars happen.

The second distinction then came in how we simply looked. If we looked weird enough, like a green goblin or some variation of beastfolk (y'know, doggy people, felines, etc), you were considered an animal. That was an outrageous division that we fortunately moved on from.

Then came the third. The third distinction came from if you are able to shrink. Literally. For some reason, certain types of monsters have the innate ability to turn really really small. They just shrink. Like, hello? Bones?

Yes, I'm talking about Pokémon. A discovery a long time ago by some guy who I can't be bothered to remember the name of created a shrinking mechanism that 'activated a Pokémon's innate ability'. We know these as pokéballs.

With that, the distinction was clear. In this world, if you couldn't shrink, you were simply 'Humanoid'. Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Lepricon… Your ability to cast magic, how tall you were and how pleasing or unpleasing to the eyes you were didn't matter as much. Don't get me wrong, if you are a goblin, you're gonna have a rough time.

Pokémon happen to battle with some variation of magic or, um, bug, so their attacks are called 'Moves'. It makes sense, because oddly enough, Pokémon are inherently magic. There's no difference between their body slams and thunder waves, magically speaking (except for strength and affect). We call someone punching somebody else in the face a 'Move', and an elf using a lightning bolt a 'Spell'.

I'm an elf, apparently. I got light-greyish skin, which isn't the weirdest the world has seen, but my ears aren't pointy. Just your round boring flaps. For my Pokémon journey, I got my black boots with soft grey wool poking out and a zip on the side. I'm adorned in my usual black dress, which should be dropping all the way to my knees, but I've grown out of it. I put on my black stockings for the colder days ahead.

I reach for my star hair clip when a little runt robs it from me. Hextor, a 14 year old dwarf in the orphanage who has an oddly light voice and a mole on each side above his eyes. He runs at an unreasonable speed, challenging dragon dancing Flygon to a race and threatening to win.

I don't give chase. It's annoying when my, frankly too long, blond hair smacks me in face, but fortunately, it's also a weapon. That's why I don't use any hair ties. But the clip. Its for my bangs. The ones that cover my left eye from doing her job. When Welios sees the clip, she'll snatch it from Hextor.

"Elcea, come quickly. The champion's speaking.", Fee calls out.

We have a small radio that plays the broadcast of Pokémon stuff. Usually. As Pokémon battles and Pokémon concerts are the main form of entertainment.

I come out of our bedroom and enter the living room, which also exists as every other room that should exist in a normal house. Our bedroom isn't playing that role anymore, since we moved all the blankets and pillows to sit comfortably and listen to the radio all day.

I sit down next to Fee on a thin pink pillow and grab my clip from Welios. Welios is like, the big sis. She's 2 years older than me, being 19, has a simple white sweater and long black pants. She knows how to cook better than anyone else, including the professor.

When the professor is too busy doing professor things, she has to be our guardian. Her mother used to be our caretaker, but she passed away not long ago. Her mother, being a Halfling, should've had at least another century and a half.

"Let's be quiet now.", Welios says, hushing the smaller kids and Fee. Despite all her hardships, she remains strong.

Then there's Fee. This nerd has equally nerdy blue bubbly glasses. His hair is all tucked under a grey beanie he refuses to remove, and no one here has succeeded in removing it. He also isn't around as often as the rest of us are.

He's currently wearing a puffer fish-like jersey and his blue satchel hangs by his side. He grins at the radio like a 5 year old when they're being praised by their father. I mean, he was that 5 year old, 10 years ago.

The announcer introduces the region's newest champion, who won the entire Pokémon tournament and proceeded to beat the elite 4 and previous champion, this year. At the age of 20. Dubbing our youngest champion yet. It was just 2 weeks ago that everything concluded, and we're close to the end of the year.

The champion, Xecial, speaks formally. Thanking his school for sponsoring his rise to the position and all the good heart-warming stuff the champion is meant to say.

After the formalities drop, Xecial says, "Now, let's get to the point." And I sense a strange presence coming from the radio. Malicious, almost. Or, intent? Either way, it was powerful, like someone was casting magic through the champion's voice.

My eyes happen to land on Fee, and his giddy fan boy energy fades into high alert. My instincts could always be wrong. As a professional at my life, I know that happens often. But Fee? When Fee says something is off, something is off.

"Let me first apologise for what I am about to do."

That can't be good.

"From this day forward…" The grinding of a chair being pushed back is shortly followed by what sounds like paper slamming onto a desk. The champion pauses for only a brief moment, but ages go by in my mind.

"The profession of Pokémon trainer is banned."

"WHAT?!"

The blankets fly into the air as the kids all deal with this confusion in their own ways. Welios is able to stop the orphanage from looking like it got raided by making everything float. She includes some kids in her spell casting, making Hextor, Hendrick and Oawam cool down in the air. With Fee's help, she is able to calm the children down.

The champion didn't stop there, though. To put things simply, everything about Pokémon was banned. Pokémon battles were the first to go. It's the whole essence of being a Pokémon trainer. Why the champion, who is the best Pokémon trainer, would make this decision, makes less than negative sense to me.

Pokémon breeding also got banned. Hardcore. Pokémon trainers being banned from breeding their Pokémon can make sense, but even the profession of Pokémon breeding got banned. The champion did elaborate that they had certain conditions that allowed some breeders to continue their work, but I don't know where food is supposed to come from. Guess we eating grass now.

The wildest one to me, however, is the fact that Pokémon concerts got banned. I don't see it. With Pokémon battling and breeding, there's a lot of room where something can go wrong. Over-breeding and inter-breeding would probably be a problem, and Pokémon battles put both the trainer and Pokémon at risk of getting seriously injured. Concerts are a different story. You dress up in a cute outfit with your equally cute rat or squirrel, then you sing, dance, or do a bit of both. Maybe some people dress up inapropriately?

Somehow, though, the champion would not stop to amaze, astound and dumbstruck everyone watching and/or listening.

"Thank you all for your patience and understanding. The Pokémon league will be working closer with the police force to ensure the safety of the citizens. That's all."

Patience and understanding?

Well, suddenly this maneuver makes more sense to me. Every year, from start to end, the Pokémon Gym challenge is held for all licensed Pokémon Trainers. You gain the ability to participate in the gym challenge if you are sponsored by a professor, school or staff within any of the 5 sectors making up the 'Union', the governing system.

The Pokémon champion becomes head of 2 of these 5 sectors, though I don't know politics. What I do know is that the Pokémon champion gains power. So, simply put, if no one can challenge the Pokémon champion to the title anymore, no one can steal that powerful position.

I have one problem with that thought. That being that every trainer is sponsored by someone or a whole company. It sounds like our champion went to a school, so they got sponsored there. Why would the school endorse any of this? Unless they are gaining power as well? What about the elite 4, or the gym leaders? Did they not have a say, or did they all agree?

"Elcea?", Fee calls, tugging at my dress. His voice tunes shyly, and he takes a big gulp of air, keeping his head to the ground. Fee is sensitive to the atmosphere of a room. It happens often when he's around. If we're arguing about stupid things, pretending to be in a Pokémon battle and other high tense situations, Fee gets emotionally tired.

"How do you feel?" I gently lead us outside.

He pouts. "Well, that sucked."

Not an answer, but that carries the point. That did suck. We were planning on becoming Pokémon trainers next year. A 16 year old can join the gym challenge (which also technically means a 16 year old can become the Pokémon champion). I would be 18, which is a bit late, but I made a promise.

"We should ask the Professor what he knows.", I suggest. One of the Pokémon Professors of the region happens to abide at this town. Quartz town. A green pasture with a couple of old-age homes. Even though it's a decently sized town, its rather boring. But, just before the Pokémon gym challenge begins, a couple of trainers come by from the south or north, hoping to get a 'starter Pokémon' and sponsorship.

"Yeah, you're right." Fee grabs my hand and charges down the road. We see old man Rabs the Harengon with his Bunnelby digging up the soil and our Orcish gardener Katsno planting oran berries. We breeze pass the blue roofed Pokémart and slow down as we pass the rows of Sudowoodo (each being high-fived by Fee) leading to the fencing of the Pokémon Research lab.

Then Fee's face turns pale. He takes a step back from the ajar wooden gate. The Professor does leave his gate open sometimes, accidentally. But the gate is opened like it was intended to be closed.

I grab my pokéball, and throw it low in the air, ready to catch it again. "It's fine." When the ball lands on my hand, I fling it as far as I can towards the lab. I push against the ground, running quickly and getting a spell ready for when I open the door.

But I'm not who opens the door.

"Yeetzel, Tackle attack!"

I'm barely able to protect myself from the charging Buizel by casting Protect. Traditionally a Pokémon move protecting the user from all harm.

"Treat, Pound 'em."

My Popplio, nicknamed Treat, emerges from the pokéball as it hits the ground, striking the Buizel on the head with both her flippers. I back away from the Buizel, looking up towards the green girl with wild blue hair.

She places a finger in front of her lips. "Quiet, the shows starting."

 

[Gaxatwirl]

Umm, your Author is a bit of an idiot (me) and I have 0 ideas how to navigate this site. Sooooooo, if something looks weirdly positioned or something like that, just know, I'm being stupid again.

 

[Gaxatwirl]

Her Buizel looks, well, like a Buizel. You know, a sea weasel? Orange in colour, with a yellowish scarf that looks like a floaty. All Buizel are twin-tailed, and I can't tell you why.

The girl. Yeah, the girl. Describing her feels like a sin. Here's why:
The girl is very likely a goblin, by her green skin, tethered fingers and huge ears, but she's also… cute.

I'm not gay, but I've heard a lot about goblins. Their eating habits, their territorial nature and their instinctive hate for working with other species makes them unappealing. This girl is not that? I mean, she looks like a mess. Her hair spirals everywhere despite also being tied up to two top buns. She has this clearly oversized puffy jersey that obscures her pants. Or skirt. Or, nothing?

"Wow, you actually listened.", the girl comments. She has sharper canines than most, but only 1 peeks out of her mouth normally. When she's wearing a satisfied smile aimed for the heart. I'm pretty sure she's a criminal.

I look around the lab. All things considered, it's not trashed. It's barely a mess. The backdoor leading to the professor's other Pokémon, rarer versions of the pokéball, and old versions of the pokédex is open wide, and standing at the door is a short grey-skinned boy. Which is a statement, considering I stand only at 120cm.

"What's going on here?", Fee asks, peeking through the main door.

The girl's face contorts, as if she is looking at someone committing a heinous crime. Which would be hypocritical.

"Eww, who's that?", The girl asks, looking down at Fee as if a Skwovet just entered the room with a mouthful of berries.

"E-Eww?" Fee clutches his chest for a moment, pulling his hat down to cover more of his face.

She's gone to me. "Battle. Now.", I request.

The girl turns her gaze back to me, sliding her feet across the tiled floor as she bobs her head from side to side. Occasionally, she glances away, looking out the window, walking her fingers on a desk, and stalling out until she's able to sit at a misplaced chair.

She turns it around, resting her head on her folded arms that sit on top of the head rest. She smiles mischievously, sharing that same creepiness you'd see in a Haunter or Misdreavus when they have a cruel prank to play on you.

She takes out her pokéball and returns Buizel. "Nah, I'd rather you fight Curls."

"Huh? Me?"

She tilts her head in suggestion that he comes out, and he does. A grey-skinned boy that has terribly dyed blue hair. He has this nervous expression, like he's constantly doing something wrong. Right now, he happens to be correct. He also has a strange outfit. It's a simple dark blue tunic, a black long sleeved shirt underneath, and grey pants with huge brown leathery boots, which is normal. What isn't is the fact that he has shoulder pads, knee pads, combat gloves and elbow pads, almost as if he does karate(?).

In short, he looks like a wimp. He holds a pokéball nervously, glancing from time to time at the goblin girl. "Pokémon battling is illegal.", he says.

The girl scoffs. "Oh, and robbing a lab isn't?"

I look at Fee, who has this baffled look wearing his eyes down. I'm with him. There must be other criminals in the lab, looting while we're wasting our time with these 2. That's probably where all of the Professor's lab assistance are. We weren't in view to see the huge garden paradise that the lab has, but I'm sure we can't hear the battling because they are there. Or, they are actively being quiet somehow.

Curls sends out a Caterpie. "Spotless, let's do our best." And I guess the green caterpillar is nicknamed Spotless. I mean, it's a good name. I approve.

"Treat, Pound!" I initiate battle quickly. Treat rushes in, a bit slower than I thought she'd be, but somehow still manages to slap the poor critter in the face. The Caterpie goes tumbling, hitting the boy's feet.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Spotless." He kneels down, rubbing the Caterpie's belly. Then I see watery light emerging from his hand. I cast Identify on him, and figure out that he's using a spell called Cure Wounds. Along with that, I can see that the boy is a very strong spell caster.

Spells are measured from level 0 to level 10, with most people being able to cast level 0 spells, and almost 90% of people can cast level 1 spells. From there, the proficiency of spell casting decreases drastically. I'd estimate only 5% of people can cast level 5 spells. Curls has access to level 5 spells. What?

My Identify spell is seemingly a level 1 spell, but it's much stronger than you'd think. Firstly, my Identify works differently from other 'Identify's. It gives a full in depth analysis of the stats of any given target. Usually Identify only works on objects, but I can affect creatures as well.

If used on a Pokémon, for example, I'll be able to see the Pokémon's speed, attack stats, defensive stats, health points, evasion, accuracy and level. I can even see the ability they have, the moves they can use, their nature and something weird called EVs and IVs. Hidden stats I never hear a trainer talk about.

If used on a Humanoid, I get some very interesting details. I get a simplified personality, which I'll just call their nature. I see the highest spell level they can cast, and their 4 most commonly used spells. I also see Pokémon stat-like behaviour, like health points, speed, etc. Most importantly, I see their level, which I've only seen be incredible low. It averages at level 7 or 8. Only some people, like the professor, have double digits on their level.

This kid is level 47.

"There, all healed up.", Naecurilu says. Oh yeah, I can also get their name from Identify. The girl called him Curls, but Identify disagrees. Buuuuut Curls is also an easier name. "Alright, let's try that again."

"Yeah, that's the spirit! Lemme join you." The girl, to whom I cast a quick Identify, sends out her Buizel again. By technicality, I'm in a double battle scenario right now. With only one Pokémon.

Fortunately, Treat is level 5, while both the Caterpie and Buizel are level 4. Water gun will be stronger on Caterpie thanks to STAB (a boost a Pokémon gets to their move when using a move aligned with their typing), but Buizel resists water moves.

"What? That's not fair.", Fee says, illustrating to us that he indeed can do math.

"It's fine.", I say, kneeling down to pet Treat. "Water gun Caterpie." Treat opens her mouth, firing a streamline water shot that flows as quick as a steep downstream river.

Curls commands Caterpie to dodge, but the little bug is unable to avoid the concentrated water blast, dragging Caterpie all the way to the back of the lab and slamming against the wall.

"Yeetzel, Tackle." With the same speed Buizel illustrated when I entered the lab, both Buizel's tails strike Treat, sending her toppling on the floor. That hit was with greater impact then they usually would've been able to do. The opponent landed a critical hit.

It does about a quarter of Treat's health. Just as Treat rebounds from the strike, Caterpie provides support by using string shot.

"Treat, Water Gun Caterpie."

"Tackle!"

Buizel moves first, slapping Treat with the blue part of their flipper. Treat pushes Buizel out of the way with a clearance swing of her head, turning to Caterpie with a charged Water Gun.

Caterpie wiggles in zigs and zags, rushing in for a tackle. "Now, Spotless!" Treat point blank strikes Caterpie just as they got close enough to use Tackle, being sent all the way back to the trainer's feet, unconscious.

Treat gets slammed by Buizel, flopping flat onto the ground. She lets out a bwark, rising back to action. "Spotless… Return." The pokéball opens up, and a red beam absorbs Caterpie back in. Naecurilu clutches his pokéball.

"Don't worry about it.", Akiu says. She looks back at Curls, giving him a thumbs up. "Yeetzel's been able to continuously hurt 'Treat' without getting damaged much. Thank you."

We both command our Pokémon to wail on the other, Treat and Yeetzel taking chances to hurt each other with Pound and Tackle respectively. And we just have to watch. It's strange. I'm not getting hurt, but it's painful to watch.

And yet, I'm also enjoying this. Like, watching your favourite challenger rise up against insurmountable odds. It's difficult to watch all the chances they can fall. All the places they will fail. And it's even harder to watch when they do. It's that bitter sting that might stop you entirely from watching. But when they succeed, you cheer with them as if you are there.

But this time, I am here. I'm right by her side. Treat's side. Watching it all unfold right in front of me. Being her number 1 fan. Pokémon battles always amazed me. I thought it was brutal, but fun. Watching in the Pokémon coliseum 6 years back made me realize how incredible battling can be. The strategy. The intensity. The thrill.

That's why I want to be a Pokémon Champion. "Treat, lets end this. Pound her to bits!"

 

[Gaxatwirl]

Treat claps her hands and cries triumphantly. "Bwark Bwark!" Which… is a sound that normal sea lions definitely make. And not something I should be questioning right now.

Fee pats my back as he walks forward. "We'll be passing through now." Says the guy who did nothing. To be fair, he couldn't do anything. He's suppose to get his Pokémon at the start of next year, but with the Pokémon ban, that might not even happen.

Wait, the ban. I just did something illegal. I'm not allowed to do Pokémon battles. I'm not even a trainer. Not that trainers can do battles either, but still. Well, there's bad people in front of me. It's fine, right?

"Criminals, stand down or risk punishment from an elite trainer."

Holy crap I shouldn't have even thought of anything. I raise both arms to the sky, slowly turning around to meet the gaze of my maker. Treat very criminally looks injured and is right by my side. No dodging this, no matter how many excuses I make.

"Dad. You're finally here.", Fee says. Huh. It's professor Zin, in his very typical white lab coat with a gold trimming to every single pocket a lab coat needs. He wears some comfy purple clothes underneath. And, as a scientist of some form, he needed the messy white hair look to avoid being called 'old man'. He went from having a serious voice to sighing like the old man he is.

"Fetrea? Elcea too? And who are those two?"

Fee hesitates for my moment, but I'm unsure why. Between his umms and uhhs, the adjusting of his beanie, and the minor flicker of light that bounces off his glasses upon movement, he seems to be unsure of how to describe these two… people.

"Baddies.", I say. "Especially the girl." In more than one way. I don't need to look at her to know she's giving me a killer's look. She had that one coming for insulting Fee.

The professor walks past each of us, patting Fee on the shoulder and giving the two criminals a real 'dad is disappointed' look. He has had to deal with many young trainers in the past, so he must've gotten used to the usual mischief. He goes through the back door, and a couple moments pass in silence.

"So, you two are Fe-tree and LC?", the girl asks.

Fee nods. Usually he would then go 'but you can call me Fee', but I guess he doesn't like criminals whom rob from his dad. Even if they are jokes.

"Um… I'm Curi, if you wanted to know."

"And Akiu."

A couple more moments of silence goes by. Akiu opens her mouth to speak, and then an explosion erupts. Followed by another one. The temperature suddenly spikes to an incredible degree, and then we hear the wailing of grunts. A fully dressed in black man with a black hat manages to run past us, but he falls asleep at the door entrance.

The professor and a huge green frog that has a mountain of a flower on their back comes from the door. The frog carrying about 20 or so of these criminals in the multiple vines sprouting out from the flower.

Giving a senior glare at our two baddies, Curls grabs Akiu's hand. The professor sighs, going to one of his cases and taking out a tray of pokéballs. He places them on the table Akiu ran her fingers across. A silver table with a green cloth over it. He drags the chair over and sits on it like a dignified man.

"You two look like children. How old are you?"

Akiu and Curi (Curls) look at each other. "15.", Akiu answers.

Professor Zin proceeds to make a generous offer. He tells them that Pokémon battling is very obviously not allowed (and shoots a quick glance at me), and he hasn't been able to discover why. He plans on continuing the investigation. He then tells them that he wants to know who helped plan this attack on the lab.

Apparently their crime team is called R-strike. It was supposed to have disbanded two years ago, but here they are. Professor Zin suspects that this is either an alias, or a better criminal organization helped them attack the lab. Additionally, from what the professor can tell, only older model pokédex and common capturing tools, like pokéballs, were taken. No Pokémon, no data, no valuables.

Then the offer. For 2 'starter Pokémon' (1 each), all he wants to know is who assisted them in the raid. Name. Title. Anything they know.

"I… don't know a thing.", Akiu says.

The professor shakes his head. "Well, now I know you know something."

"What? How? I just told you-"

"Stop speaking!", Curi commands. Curi's magical sense, or perhaps just pure intuition, is very strong. Akiu didn't notice a thing, and I wouldn't have either if Professor Zin himself hadn't told me about it.

You see, Professor has a very powerful spell that takes a while to prepare. It's called Zone of Truth. This 3rd​ level spell has two variations, and they each have their perks. The first variation damages everyone who lies in the zone except for the caster of the zone. The zone, if cast at level 4, also traps everyone in the zone. It's highly effective.

The 2nd​ variation is a powerful investigation tool. When someone in the field lies, you gain a truth based on what they lied about. When he asked for the leader, Akiu lied about 'knowing a thing'. It's fortunate she spoke so vaguely, because the Professor will only get information on a thing she knows about the organization. If she said 'I don't know who the leader is', it would've been over.

The downside of Zone of Truth is that it is a ritual spell. It takes about 10 minutes to prepare. That's why the professor was speaking so deliberately, but slowly. Unfortunately for him, Curi is smart, and Akiu is loyal. He's unlikely to get more information out of them, unless he cast it at level 4.

"Good observation, young boy. But you are unable to escape this field." The professor intertwines his fingers, placing his elbows on the table. The professor, old, senile, and rather kind, is actually a cunning individual who is able to map out plans quickly and intricately.

"I'm a very patient man. We can sit here all day."

Fee has that 'so cool' look that he usually gets when he's geeking out about Pokémon. Coming up with complex plans, satiating his curiosity and finding out more about others is what Fee is all about. That's why he wanted to be a Pokémon researcher.

Curls (or, I guess, Curi), on the other hand, seems to be thinking way too much. He's trying to control his breathing, but he's clearly panicking. He isn't in any danger here, unless their boss is that cruel to them. And that informed.

Only a minute passes, but his breathing turns heavy and he begins scratching his hair feverishly. Akiu tries to help him, but it doesn't seem as though she knows what to do. Even with this display, the professor doesn't react.

At about 2 minutes, I take Fee outside. Curi's aura is dangerously pressuring. Even I was starting to feel stressed out. Fee began sweating, and he could barely even move. The professor, though, didn't react.

I predict he tried casting Dispel Magic on Curi, but Curi wasn't using a spell. Something was just… happening. Like a cornered Pokémon, he was becoming desperate and just using a 'move'? Moves cannot be dispelled normally. They have to be blocked or locked somehow.

We go further away from the lab, and I grab water for Fee at Katsno's house, leaving him there to rest on the bed. I fit his hat on properly, and then walk back to the lab. Maybe 20 minutes have passed. That kid is having a mental breakdown. But why? Why is this so much to him?

I reach the door of the lab when I hear "Let Us Go".
I'm knocked down by some kind of force. It's difficult to breath, like all the air in the area has been taken out, and each gasp feels like an itch down to the throat, and a fire being lit in my chest. And as it gets harder and harder to breath, I keep taking more gasps of this poisonous air.

My vision begins blurring. I try to get back up, but moving hurts. I try to open my eyes, but its only shapes around me. My head begins throbbing faster than my pulse. My fingers go cold. Deathly cold. My breath. I see my breath turn white and freeze in the air.

I think I should close my eyes. I should… close my eyes.

Treat? On heaven and earth, is Treat in the lab? That's right. When the professor returned to the room and started casting Zone of Truth, Treat stayed by his side. I'm such an idiot. I should have returned her into the pokéball.

My hand lifts up and clutches at the dirt. I drag myself across the ground, trying to keep my mind off the pain. But…

"Bwark… bwark."

What?

"Bwark Bwark. B-waaark!"

Cheering? Is that… Treat? Why can't I open my eyes? Why can't I move?

I reach my hand up, as high as I can. I open my eyes. Blur. But, there's blue. Near me. Close to me. Close enough for me to touch. If I can just… stop suffocating. If I can just reach you. I'm sorry, Treat. I forgot about you. And here you are, still coming to me… As if I'm your trainer.

 

[Gaxatwirl]

Wide Guard. It's the 3rd​ spell that I learnt, based on the Pokémon move. I learnt it after realizing that protect won't work for my allies. Against spread moves, wide guard will protect everyone on my side.

In this case, it protected us from whatever effect was going on. Relief washes over me, and maybe quite literally as I feel water slowly dripping down from my head.

From being face flat on the ground, I look up (or rather, forward) to see the blue sea lion with that silly pinkish nose. If I wasn't so excited, I would have called you 'Clown'. You even have that circus disk around your neck.

"Bwark?"

"Yea, I'm good."

"Bwark. Bwark Bwark!"

What? She's suddenly pointing aggressively at the Sudowoodo. Maybe pass the Sudowoodo? I get up to my feet and pick up Treat. She climbs my head and points away from the lab, while sitting comfortably in my hair.

"Okay, okay. Let's go." I take a step forward, then my body gives up. Luckily, Treat didn't fall off and hit the ground. I force my legs to cooperate, and my noodle arms steel themselves for just this moment.

I get back up. And start walking again. Each step is gruelling. Not painful. I think I now know pain. It's just numb. And each step is met with a buzzing sensation that I don't know how to feel because of it. Part of me thinks it is irritating. Part of me is just confused.

I keep following the general direction that Treat points at. I'm sure she is trying to make me feel better by creating bubbles in my hair, but it's… actually helping. Never mind. Treat is the best Pokémon a girl can ask for.

Never mind the fact that halfway through walking across the town, I look like a zombie. If not for Treat, my hair would completely drape over my face, and I'm walking very zombie like. My right leg is doing much better than my left, so it looks like I'm just dragging my left leg.

For some reason, I like the idea, so when less people are around, I raise my arms to be straight (but droopy) in front of me, and drop my hands. Then, I start dragging my left leg with greater intention.

It… takes a lot of energy, and after a granny covered the eyes of her grandchild, I stopped immediately. I hope she doesn't realize that I'm Elcea. Just a random girl with a random Popplio walking around like idiots. I hope.

We reach the route that takes us closer to the centre, with two different paths, depending on where it is you want to go. Yes, indeed. Many trainers walking out or into one of the main places you can get Pokémon will be greeted by their first few routes. Of course, they had to call this route:

Route 8.

Oh? Sorry? Does that sound, perhaps, stupid to you? Perhaps, you are thinking, that there's a justifiable reason for this? Let me tell you the routes that follow this route if you only go up the region.

In order, from here, it is: route 8, route 7, route 6, route 5, route 11, route 12 and route 19.
If you go right from route 7, you get: route 14.
Go up from route 7, and you get: route 15 and route 2.
Go right from route 15, following the road up, and you'll get: route 10, route 16, route 17, route 18 and route 13.

Treat must be feeling my genuine bafflement at the routes, for she proceeds to push my bangs to cover my eyes. My hair almost becomes my worse enemy, but Treat undoes her trap.

I walk through the grass, taking the shortest path I believe to be in this route. I don't know who or what Treat is tracking, but what I do know is that a potion for her would've been really smart to purchase.

She's still injured from last time. And not to mention that atmospheric affect that just decided I should lay down and die. Who knows how that was affecting her. And I hadn't even asked how she's doing. She checked up on me. And I..? I called her a clown.

"Bwark bwark."

Okay, but can you blame me? Yes.

I lift my hand as far as I can, patting Treat on what I assume is her back. She seems to like it, as she 'bwarks' and claps. Her clapping alerts a Sentret of our presence, but the Sentret doesn't do anything except keep watch.

Glad. They have huge tails able to support their entire body. I guess that isn't fair, considering their tail is half of their body. They have these dark bunny-like ears, a frowning face with beady black eyes staring at you with only fear and mistrust, and a peachy donut mark on their bellies. Their little nubs we call limbs extend to have a pouch of skin. I'm sure that's to slow a potential fall.

Fee read an entry of a Sentret to me once, and I thought it must be sad being so scared of predators that you are always on watch. Apparently, if they are separated from their pack, they become unable to sleep. I wonder who was the Pokémon trainer or field researcher that found that one out.

The Sentret, however, has other Sentret in the area, so I can assume that the poor boy or girl isn't torturing themselves out of fear.

Then a Sentret starts screaming and slapping its tail aggressively on the ground. Numerous previously sleeping Sentret wake up and start to run away as a group. Ahead, though, there's a gathering of water that starts to rise to the height of the grass, washing away the Sentret.

Treat starts 'bwarking' (not barking) at the mysterious caster of the waves, so I step into 2nd​ gear and use my left leg to actually walk. Look, I'd love to tell my legs to do better and hunt this person, but, uh, I'm tired.

Treat hops off my head and rushes towards the culprit. Faster than I am walking. Okay, now we have a problem. How is this tiny fish moving faster than me on land? Ah, crap. Fine. I stomp my right leg on the ground multiple times to get rid of the numbness, but each stomp feels like it's making my leg worse.

I ignore it completely, stomping on my left leg on the ground multiple times, and start trampling across the grass to catch up to Treat. With each step, my body likes to react in 2 ways. 1: Vibrate like a massaging chair, making sure to really bring the feeling up all my nerves, or 2: Send a sharp direct pain as a warning sign that I am doing something really bad to my legs.

I ignore them both, eventually being able to catch up to Treat and the water caster. Akiu, the goblin with some pretty powerful water alignment. Akiu, from my Identify, is level 23. Powerful for a girl shorter and younger than me. She's carrying Curi, and seems to somehow be drenched wet.

"Bwark bwark!"

Treat is barking at her? Did she do something to the Professor, or is Treat barking at Curi? Curi is unconscious, but his face is contorting terribly, like he's having a terrible nightmare. His skin has gone rainbow colour siege mode. He's sweating constantly despite the cold, and is holding onto Akiu tightly with both hands. Still, he is unconscious.

I can tell because my Identify, apparently, can't analyse unconscious people? I never understood why. It. Just. Doesn't. But when they are unconscious, I get their species' name instead of their birth name.

But Curi's specie is unidentifiable. Every variation of what he is. All I have is that he is part human. The rest look like glitches, or static on a TV. This has only happened with one other person before.

"This dog.", Akiu says, looking up towards me. Her usual smile and her mischievous presence have both been replaced by a cosmic weight suppression of bad. Her eyes have darkened. She appears both drained and enlightened, like a researcher making a new discovery at the middle of the night.

"Where are you going?", I ask, though I regret my words instantly. It feels like I don't have the right to be talking to her right now. When Fee and I left the lab, it was due to the intense emotions just being near Curi was emanating. She was next to him the entire time.

"Kuia. Kuia will know how to fix this." She speaks in a hushed tone, like she was crying and yelling for hours. Like she lost her voice. "That damn professor… doesn't know who he just messed with."

She holds Curi tighter. "That professor. He grinned when he trapped us. Laughed when I made a mistake. Then he spoke as if he was invincible."

She takes a pause after every sentence to catch her breath. "Then. When Curi cried. He asked. 'What's wrong'?" She fights to keep her gaze on me. I don't know if her vision is blurring or if her eyes are simply heavier than normal.

"He. Didn't react. At all. When. He saw. Curi. Cry." She struggles to keep standing. Her legs shake almost as much as her arms. Treat stops 'bwark bwarking'. She seems to be feeling bad for the girl. I walk closer, but the girl steps back.

"He. Looked. At. Us. With. Nothing." She forces a grin, looking away from me for a moment. "Kind. Of. Like. You."

I hold my left arm. She coughs. A weak, wet cough. "Are. You. Gonna. Catch. Me?"

I shake my head. "Curi wasn't in danger.", I say. "And neither are you." I take a step closer, but she backs away equally.

"Do you know why Curi overreacted?"

Bad choice of words. At that moment, her eyes flair a poisonous blue. Her hair rises and splits unnaturally, removing the band that kept her two buns together. She gains a vengeful, invigorated life. "Don't. You Dare. Invalidate. His. Emotions."

She raises a hand below Curi, and fires off a water blast, but Treat counters with her own, giving me enough time to move out of the way. The way Akiu reads my face. And the Professors. She finds us to be expressionless. I've definitely seen the professor. At times, he can be colder than ice and sharper than the winter's breeze, but me? I'm always like this. I feel. I'm sure I do, but I can't…

She walks away. Not ever looking back.

"Bwark bwark."

"Yeah, that's what she said."

 

[Gaxatwirl]

Image to self-drawn Buizel
Type: Water

Level: 4

Ability: Swift Swim

Nature: Quiet

Stats: HP - 19/ Atk - 11/ Def - 8/ SpA - 11/ SpD - 8/ Spd - 9

EVs: ---

IVs: HP - 22/ Atk - 28/ Def - 24/ SpA - 8/ SpD - 20/ Spd - 2

Moves: Tackle Growl

 

[Gaxatwirl]

If the day ended there, it would've been a bitter taste in my mouth that would taunt me until I get to speak to her again.

But it didn't.

From the surrounding trees (about the height of Sudowoodo - 1.2m), a devious cry calls out with me as their target. A Murkrow soars down down from a branch, their beak turning from yellow to white.

Murkrow is like a dark blue bandit. Their fluff(?) or feathers(?) are positioned in such a way that the top of their heads are made to look like a 3 pointed hat. They have large yellow beaks, but what you should pay attention to is their red eyes.

They lock onto Treat. "Treat, watch out."

The bird uses Peck, launching Treat up into the air. She barely remains from being unconscious. I leap, catching her in my arms.

"Water gun!"

Treat sprays water at the bird, but its not as strong. The bird is knocked back by the water, and it looks to be enough to get them in 2 more hits, but Treat goes down in 1. I begin running away, but the Murkrow is far quicker than I.

Even if my legs were fine, Murkrow would be able to out-speed me easily. Their beak glows white again, and I ready myself to use Protect. Circling around me, I cast Protect to no avail multiple times, until Murkrow finds the perfect spot to strike me from.

Except, it's Treat that is struck. She falls unconscious in my arms. Returning her to the Poké ball, I focus my attention at Quartz town. I just need to run away from this bird enough to-

H-hey! That's my hair clip.

Murkrow snatches my hair clip from me, flying slowly away from me, looking back to taunt me. Does it know Taunt? No. It's just a natural piece of crap. I take a breath, and start running towards it. They seem to slow down even more, as if understanding this is as fast as I can go. But why? What is this trick?

"Elcea, wait."

Fee? Fee comes running at double my speed, and even though the crow has my hair clip, I stop. It's not important anyway, and I'm in no position to defend myself should more wild Pokémon come around and decide I'll be their dinner.

The Murkrow stops flying, watching the both of us with my hair clip tied down by their beak. Fee grabs my hands, then sprays a potion. You know, the purple bottle used on Pokémon? It works well for people too.

"Are you okay?", Fee asks. He looks satisfied treating me, wrapping the bandage around my arm, spraying my other arm, doing the same thing. He then points down, and I lift up my dress.

"N-not that high." He sprays another potion, then does the same thing. I keep looking at the Murkrow, who, by this point, has lost interest and briskly flies away. When Fee is finished, he surveys the area and locks onto the Murkrow.

"That thief has your hair clip?" I nod. He gives me a thumbs up and a confident smile, rushing ahead to the Murkrow. Suspiciously, his steps are silent, and then I realize he has Pass without a Trace active.

Pass without a Trace is a 1st​ level spell that essentially makes the user extra stealthy, and slightly obscured by a thin mist. It lasts for about 10 minutes, and for every 1 level higher, you are able to affect another person for the same duration.

The Murkrow still moves at the same pace, not realizing that they have become the prey. Fee pulls out a Poké ball from his pocket. That's smart. He plans on throwing the Poké ball at the bird to initiate the capture sequence. While the bird is in the ball, he surrounds the area of the bird, so when they come out. WHAM!

Fee throws the Poké ball at Murkrow, but the Poké ball doesn't capture the bird. It releases a Pokémon. Coming out of the Poké ball is a brown dog with pointed ears and a peach mane around their neck. They have a huge bulbous tail that reminds me of a painter's brush.

"Teeviy, use Covet."

"Ehvoe!" Eevee does a full spin in the air, smacking the Murkrow down to the floor with their tail. Before the hair clip drops to the floor, Eevee catches it with the tip of their tail, landing triumphantly on all fours. Fee rubs Eevee's mane, and they seem to really like it.

"Your Eevee is strong.", I say, placing my hand on Fee's shoulder. Eevee offers my hair clip, and though my hair is essentially a mop, I take it and plop it back into place. I give them a pat on the head, sitting down on the grass and getting comfortable.

"She's amazing."

"She? You can tell?"

Eevee barks at me. Looks as though I might have offended her. I couldn't even tell if Treat was male or female. I was told by the professor. I still couldn't see the way to identify the difference, but I believed him.

"The tip of her tail has a flower pattern.", he points out. "A male would have a spiky kind of design, like a spark." And then he begins ranting about the different pokédex entries he's read about Eevee. Most of them are about the same, talking about Eevee's genetic fluctuation being the cause to having so many different forms of Eevee.

He then tells me about Murkrow. That bird is attracted to shiny things, and takes kind in robbing travelers blind of their shiny jewellery. I wouldn't say the hair clip is particularly shiny, but the star on it has a silver shine that's always drawn my eyes. I guess the light reflecting property caught the attention of the Murkrow.

Also, Murkrow was trying to lead us into a forest. By moving slower, he (apparently) gave the impression we'd be able to catch up, and he was trying to get us lost in the woods. Fortunately, you can't lead someone into a trap if you don't know where they are there. If Murkrow started moving faster, Fee would have looked for a Meowth.

"Sorry. I just kept talking and talking." Fee takes out a pokédex from his pocket. An old model. It has a huge camera at the back to capture a picture of the Pokémon you encounter, and it actively records the activity of what they are doing. The older models don't connect to other pokédex, so every record in this one was created by 1 trainer, or trainers sharing the pokédex.

"Maybe you'd want to read up on them later?"

"Nah. Just be the nerd you are."

Fee nods, covering his mouth wryly. Eevee moves in-between Fee and I, and she does something unexpected.

She uses Growl.

Fee and I are both confused. We scan the area, looking to see if there's another Pokémon nearby, but it's just us. The sky turns orange as the sun decides to relax for the day. There's a part of me that just wanted the day to end, but now I don't.

"Guess Teeviy wants us to go home?"

She Growls at me again. Hmm. I grab Fee's hand.

"Boyo!"

Fee understands now. He quickly gets up, grabbing Teeviy. "Well, lets just get going."

I lift my butt off the ground and walk alongside Fee all the way back to Quartz town. The path is no different from and to Quartz town, but now feels more okay. I can almost not believe that everything today, well, happened today. But I'm forced to accept that when I see the professor.

The professor is not injured, by some miracle. Or perhaps he used a strong spell to heal himself. He has no scars, except maybe an emotional one. His eyes are badly sunken in, almost to the same extend Akiu was. He is paler than usual, but he continues to rummage around his lab like nothing happened.

I return Treat to the professor, so that he can heal her using the machine at the back. It's a more advanced version of the healing machines at Pokémon centres.

The lab looks the same, but it feels different. The tiles are dirtied by the many shoes that tarnished it today. There's a few books and notes lying around, recently done by the professor and even some of his lab assistants. The windows are shut and blocked by purple curtains, giving this room a 'mad scientist' tint.

But more importantly, everyone here is just panicked. Confused. Shocked. None of them could have seen this coming. Mere moments after they effectively lost their jobs, they get raided by an evil team, and have to do illegal acts to protect themselves. Furthermore, a child then does some kind of cataclysmic reality warping that surpasses the professor.

I wasn't worried about the professor, because he is level 63 and a fair bit older than us children. The strongest person I've ever seen. But whatever Curi did was not proportionate to his level. That must have easily been the strongest effect I've ever felt.

"Fetrea. Elcea.", the professor speaks. "I'll be going to the league to report this event. My aides will come with me. You aren't allowed to battle, but make sure to check this lab once in a while."

The professor upped the security, and at midnight, he'll activate it. It should be borderline impenetrable, but in the rare case that it is broken into, we call the police to head over.

"Yes, dad."

And with that, we head back to the orphanage. Fee gets to keep Teeviy, and Treat is handed to me at full health in her Poké ball. We are also told to keep our Pokémon in their Poké balls often, so as not to become a target of whatever is happening with the league.

Fee technically engaged in a Pokémon battle with the wild Murkrow, but that Murkrow started the entire encounter, so I don't think he did anything wrong there. Me? I participated in a Pokémon double battle, and very willingly at that. I also battled the Murkrow and lost to him. Professor Zin is letting me off easy, and isn't going to say anything about what I did.

After this, an entire week passed with nothing happening. No battles. No concerts. No news. The new cycle, or year, was to come tomorrow, but the mood was anything but festive.

 

[Gaxatwirl]

It doesn't matter when you were born, except for the year. When the year turns to the next at the eve of the solar eclipse, you age up. In less than 12 hours time, I'll be 18 years old.

The professor still hasn't returned, and we are still on some form of guard duty. It's the only thing Fee and I can do that carries some sense of purpose.

Welios left with the other kids to reach Diamond city, the centre of our region and where both the Pokémon coliseum and Pokémon concert are. She didn't want to go, considering there was no Pokémon activities going on, but after some convincing, she decided to enjoy the other events.

They left just yesterday, taking the bus. During the New year festival, Pokémon concerts are the main thing going on. Some gym leaders that are also good at making music show up and start making the concert a real vibe, even for people not usually fans of Pokémon concerts.

Then, there would be your usual festival stuff. The coliseum would be used to house the old Pokémon royal rumble that held prizes to be won, and you'd be able to purchase some food, play other mini-games, solve puzzles, and make friends.

All in all, while Pokémon were the foundation of the festival, the festival can still be enjoyed without Pokémon. I guess that's just something we are going to have to get used to.

Fee and I are seated with the Sudowoodo, staring blankly at the Pokémon Lab. If nothing is done about this Pokémon business soon, then the Lab won't be funded anymore, and everyone working with our professor will have to go into new jobs. Not sure what it is that they would do.

The sun hides between the clouds and the silver winds, but later, which may be very soon from now, the red moon will seat itself in front of the sun.

There's two moons. The blue moon's full moons separate our year into the different months. The Iris Moon month is the 1st. The red moon, which just suddenly appeared in the ancient past, unmoving in the sky, has a solar eclipse every 12 months. It, thus, marks the passing of each year.

"I hope the clouds part soon.", Fee says. Without the sunlight bathing us with warmth, we are left feeling the absence of it. The silver winds howl silently, meaning today isn't cold either. Just a strange neutral that feels haunting. Even through the clouds, the eclipse is rather visible, and some people are even saying that we should be wearing some form of shades.

"Elcea."

"Yeah?" I grab a berry a Sudowoodo was holding, but then he does some weird tap dance that seems to be in frustration. Upon returning the berry, he stops. The Sudowoodo have no reason to pose like trees, but they do. I thought the berry was gonna be left alone forever, but it seems he wants to eat it when we aren't around.

"You have something on your mind?" It was less a question and more an invitation. Besides the desire of this berry the Sudowoodo has: A yellowish orange berry shaped with four bumps and yellow leaves on top, many more thoughts infiltrate my mind.

"I have a lot."

"Like?"

I take a deep breath. "Anytime someone mentions how I look, it's something like, 'bland', 'empty', 'dull', or even 'soulless'.
The first time someone mentioned a reaction on my face, it was at the Pokémon coliseum. Nara said 'my eyes sparkled with excitement'. I thought that meant that being a Pokémon trainer was what I wanted. The thrill, the strategy, the spark… Pokémon battles had it all."

Fee scratches his head. "Your face is hard to read. Even in Pokémon battles." Fee is the one person who gets me. His sensitivity to the emotions of others made him sensitive to mines. He doesn't need to see me cry to know I'm sad, or see me smile to know I'm happy. He just knows.

"Unfortunate."

"Not to say you aren't reacting at all.", Fee stammers, waving his hands frantically. "I mean, I think I saw that you got tense in that fight against Akiu and Curi."

'I think'? How consoling. "Pokémon battles mean a lot to me.", I say, though I had a lot in mind to respond with. "But, maybe, more than that, if Treat is okay with not battling, I might be fine with it too."

I can't let go of the feeling that drives me. Battles seem like a lot of fun, and the Pokémon enjoy it too. In fact, that's probably the whole reason why battles became such a huge thing. People enjoyed watching and orchestrating, while Pokémon enjoyed performing.

But, I don't think I considered that. If my Pokémon didn't like battling, would I have forced them to participate in battles? Probably. But this ban gave me a chance to consider a lot. Battles aren't everything for a trainer. Their Pokémon are.

Treat bursts out of the Poké ball. She can do that? Hold on. She can just choose when to come out? I felt kind of bad that Pokémon were universally just kept in Poké balls, but if they can just come out, I suppose it isn't as bad as I thought. Do they have a sense for day and night in the Poké ball? Do they have space to move around? How much can they see?

"Bwark!" Right. The answer to all my questions.

On cue, Teeviy comes out of her Poké ball as well. She jumps towards Treat, who creates a cushion in the form of a bubble. The bubble begins rising up, with Teeviy seated on top. Fee starts panicking, so I pop the bubble and try catching her.

Problem: she doesn't like me. Instead of landing on my outstretched arms like a good girl, she lands on my head, hops onto my starry travelers backpack, and leaps towards Fee.

Treat creates 3 more bubbles, using each one as a footstool to gain height. Eventually, she was at eye level with Fee, and just slightly above the now held Teeviy. She growls at Teeviy, popping the bubble she's on.

Fortunately for her, I was ready to successfully catch someone today. Now Teeviy and Treat are growling at each other, and it fills me with a battle spirit. If Treat is getting mad, I wanna be mad with her.

Fee shakes his head. "We aren't allowed to have Pokémon battles." He turns his torso to face away from me, blocking Teeviy from seeing Treat. She, however, hops onto his shoulder, now growling with more energy than before.

I consider returning Treat to the Poké ball, but she can get out whenever she wants. I shouldn't entertain something so clearly wrong, but with the Sudowoodo backing away to give us space, and Treat reeling for a fight, I listen to my heart. Sorry, champion, but I can't let go of this opportunity.

Treat leaps out of my arms, and my hands pump into fists. "Fee, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle."

"What? I just said we can't do that." But deceptively, he looks around to see prying eyes. Looking towards Teeviy, he gives a reluctant sigh, similar to the sigh of an old man.

She leaps onto the field. Fee adjusts his beanie, looking at me for conformation. I know I shouldn't be endorsing the behaviour of our Pokémon, but it's not just about them. This is my purpose.

"Let's go.", I say.

Fee scratches his head. "I'm not a fan of Pokémon battles, but if it's for Teeviy… Just this once."

We return our Pokémon back in their Poké balls. This is to reset their attack stat, to make it a fair match. Pokémon moves are split into physical attacks (referred simply as attack) and special attacks. Moves like Covet and Pound are physical, while Water Gun is special. In every occurrence, I want to use Water Gun with Treat.

Still, sending them out is also a cool way to begin a battle. I toss my Poké ball in the air, catching it again before flinging it straight towards Fee. Bewildered, he freezes on the spot, but Treat emerges, completely breaking the momentum from the Poké ball.

"Bwark Bwark!"

Fee, probably realizing how unnecessarily flashy I am making my throws, simply drops the Poké ball onto the ground. It rolls for a bit before Teeviy charges forward.

"Bobo Boi!"

A Sudowoodo sprints to the centre of our Pokémon. They look to both sides, before raising a branch high in the sky. Seems we have a referee. Upon the descent of their branch, both Teeviy and Treat rush towards each other.

"Treat, use Water Gun."

"Teeviy, dodge and hit her with Covet."

If Water Gun didn't have a unprecedented start up time, Fee's command would've been too long, but he also made another mistake. From the start of the match, it was obvious Teeviy is faster than Treat. If he commanded Teeviy to go for Covet, she surely would have attacked first. Instead, now Teeviy is waiting for the chance to dodge.

"Focus on accuracy.", I command. Treat releases her Water Gun, which tracks Teeviy as she runs across the field. The Sudowoodo take some extra steps back, and Teeviy is washed up by the trail end of Water Gun. It isn't as strong, at least not enough to knock her opponent back, but it's still a solid hit.

"Teeviy, are you alright?"

"Ehvoe!"

"Nice. Covet the Popplio."

"Dodge her strike Treat.", I say.

Shaking off the water, she leaps into the air and swings her tail in the midst of her somersault. Treat jumps away, but when Teeviy lands, she charges in and bashes Treat by the head with her own. Treat flimsily flies through the air before striking the grass.

I didn't realize the strength in that Eevee before. Despite logically only being at level 5, her Covet easily seems stronger than Treat's Water Gun. I've never heard of Covet before, so I don't know the damage output. I'm also not supposed to use spells, like Identify, during a proper Pokémon battle.

"Nicely done.", Fee praises.

"Boyo!" Teeviy exclaims, looking back at her trainer. Her stance widens, and her tail wags more exuberantly.

Right. Even in battle, not everything is about efficiency. I should've praised Treat for listening to me, or check up on Treat when she gets hurt.

"Go for another Covet!"

I spent too long thinking. "Treat, keep distance and Water Gun."

Treat starts preparing a Water Gun, using her flippers to move back. Teeviy, unsure of when Treat will release her blast, approaches much the same way that Caterpie did, but faster.

"Release." Treat launches her attack, but Teeviy powers through the blast and manages to still hit Treat with her head before both sides get launched back.

Treat falls flat while Teeviy is able to recover from the attacks.

"Teeviy, now's our chance. Covet!"

"Come on Treat. Get up. We gotta win this fight."

Treat struggles to lift herself up as Teeviy runs as fast as she can. Readying herself for another bash, she keeps full speed while dropping her head to the ground. Just then, as she strikes Treat, a much stronger water blast fires from Treat's mouth, yet again sending them both back. Treat slides across the grass as Teeviy is launched into the air.

As Teeviy lands flat on her belly, the sky changes to be entirely red. The eerie red hue fades quickly, enveloping us in a world of darkness. I look up to the red moon, and see the pitch darkness stare back at me. Within that void of shadow, however, I feel a presence. Someone sinister. Someone powerful. Someone legendary.

 

[Gaxatwirl]

Another week passed since I lost to Fee in that Pokémon battle. Using Identify, I saw the unbelievable.

Teeviy had survived on 1 health, which left a purely bitter sensation. I hated the fact that I had lost yet again, but at least it wasn't to wild Murkrow.

Fee used the Pokédex he has to inform me about some things he found out about Eevee. I was wondering what the Adaptability ability was when I saw it with my Identify. Fortunately, his Pokédex recorded information on that.

Pokémon have an ability that usually helps them out if the condition of the ability is met. Adaptability is an absolutely broken ability that essentially gives Eevee another STAB for using normal type moves. I guess now I should also explain that Pokémon have types.

Types are like, the main thing about Pokémon that differs from us Humanoids. Their typing determines what they are weak to and strong against. Usually Pokémon with a specific type will specialize in moves with those types. Additionally, Pokémon can have 2 types, altering their weaknesses and strengths depending on the types.

Eevee is normal typing, while Treat is water typing. Those two types are neutral against each other, which means that when the types clash, they aren't weakened or strengthened.

That's what we call a type match-up. Unfortunately, the type match-ups don't all make intuitive sense, so Pokémon trainers hoping to be good battlers have to memorize the type match-up chart. It's exactly as it sounds. A chart that shows the type match-ups.

Lastly, I found out that Covet is a 60 base power physical attack. In comparison, Tackle, Pound and Water Gun are all 40 base power. Basically, the base power decides how inherently powerful the move is. This is where STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) multipliers are also added.

Treat having STAB on Water Gun made it's base power effectively 60, which is pretty good. Treat's Water Gun is stronger than her Pound when used by her.
Teeviy having STAB on Covet made it's base power effectively 90, which is already ridiculous. But she didn't stop there. Thanks to Adaptability, Covet's base power is at 120.

I still could've won the fight, all things considered. Fee was a bit less experienced than I was, and is less into battles than I am. I had a few advantages I failed to use and lost. But that Eevee is not to be messed with.

"Congrats on getting a job, Elcea!", Welios exclaims while serving us all soup. We still sit at the living room, despite the radio having less entertainment. People have gone from always talking about Pokémon to it being an estranged topic to bring up. Still, there's news, every once and again, talking about the Pokémon update.

Professor Zin has returned, and though he said that he didn't obtain much information, what he did gather was good enough for the time being. He was unable to speak more of that, due to some kind of contract or promise. None of the lab assistants left yet, but some have returned home for the time-being. Professor Zin is likely still paying them.

I take a gulp. "It's just part-time." It's a very small hope, but if I'm to be on a journey, I need some cash. It's also just good to be able to heal Treat with potions, since I don't yet have any healing spells. I'm also not supposed to be in this orphanage, but both the Professor and Welios suggested I stay.

"What's it about?", Noeyah asks, turning the knob on the radio from one static to the next. She passes by something that sounded audible, struggling to get back to it. "Wasn't it right here?" She rages.

Tym tilts the knob slightly to the right, and the static correctly shifts to audible words. Noeyah jumps onto him, knocking him onto the pillows laid across the floor.

"It's just investigative stuff at Celestite town.", I answer, but direct my eyes at Welios and Fee.

Tym and Noeyah are both 14 this year. Tym has this weird Rowlet-like hairstyle, but he looks pretty cute with it. Right now, he wears this purple robe (like a gown) and has comfy blue socks. In comparison to looking ready for the cold days, Noeyah has a short-sleeved orange tunic and blue shorts. The only saving grace is that she often has Fee's blue blankie.

"Ewww.", Hendrick feels the need to comment. "Tym and Noeyah are being lovey-dovey." However, he isn't completely wrong. While Tym is quite actively resisting, Noeyah is playfully puffing out his already puffy hair. Like a couple would.

Tym attempts to fight the allegations, but someone definitely doesn't make it easy for him. The best part about playing with Tym's hair is that it very easily changes shape, but always reverts back to being Rowlet-like. He can have a lot of cute, but temporary designs, so we don't need to hold back.

I'll hold back this time, though. "Your job helps people around discover what odd anomaly is going on, right?", Fee asks, scanning through his Pokédex.

"Yep. People often don't know when something's happening because of a Pokémon or because they weren't being careful."

And that's where I come in. An Investigator, though it was called Private Investigator. They changed their title because it was often associated with gamblers and gamers. Smart choice, since it isn't a trainer class either.

"So that's why you've been asking for my Pokédex."

I nod. "I do have basic knowledge of Pokémon, and I'd say I know more about competitive battling than most, but when it comes to which Pokémon would eat an electric cable, the Pokédex does a better job." Barely.

My Identify covers the rest. "It's pretty fun overall.", I say. "Some of my clients have already allowed me to watch on their TVs and play console games."

Welios pouts. "What? You get to play games on the job and get paid?"

Welios is a gardener for the Professor. She mostly plants berries that can be used for medicines, like oran berries, pecha berries and even sitrus berries. Sitrus are some of the berries that are hard to grow this time of the year. Somehow, the common berries can grow whenever. Probably what made them common.

"Sometimes it's a bit irritating when the client is vague about the problem. They may intuitively already understand that they had some fault in the matter."

"That sounds so cool.", Fee says, scrolling through his Pokédex. "Yes, a Pokémon like Joltik might eat wire, but because they aren't used often in battle, I can see why the battle experience wouldn't be as useful."

And then he fully starts geeking out. Which we both allow. He yaps enough to create an air bridge to the moon, talking about how he theorizes the investigative process from the pros go, how important it'd be to be able to identify different markings from different Pokémon and being able to tell when a spell was used.

"You should go with Elcea then.", Welios suggests.

Fee's eyes light in a film of sparkles and stardust. "Really?"

I shrug. "Sure. Pack your things."

"Pack?", they both question.

"What? You're not staying at the inn with me?"

"Elcea!" Welios face palms loud enough for smack to bounce off the walls. Tym points at me with a very accusatory face while Noeyah drops down to the ground, holding her stomach and struggling to contain her laughter.

"Uh, what happened to Fee?", Oawam asks. I look down and see Fee face planted on one of the pillows. His ears turn bright red. I take no responsibility for the way their minds work.

"I'd pay, obviously."

*Smack*

Now I'm confused. "What do you want me to say?"

It took a while for Noeyah to finally explain what was going on. Yet again, I take no responsibility for the way their minds work. And just because a boy and a girl might be in the same room doesn't mean anything is going to happen.

I pack my starry-night sky bag and wait for Fee at route 8. I don't say goodbye, except to Oawam. Oawam is cute and innocent. The rest of them are not. Even Fee betrayed me.

Speak of the Impidimp. "H-hey, Elcea."

You abhorrent child. "Let's go."

Fee expresses his concerns that I shouldn't be walking around so much. I've only gone to my job twice, and stayed overnight both times. My legs, though still tingling from time to time, are doing pretty good. I bet I can even run, if I wanted to.

"How was your first job experience?"

Wouldn't you like to know.

"Um, Elcea?"

I turn to face him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so accusatory. I know you aren't like that."

I scoff. "Nah. I am."

"Huh? Wait, Elcea! You can't stop your sentence there. What do you mean?"

We gain a fair bit of distance before Fee catches up to me. He keeps trying to bargain with me to say something. He offers a Pokémon battle, trivia on Pokémon and even the Pokédex. I do say 'something', but apparently I'm supposed to be a mind reader and know he didn't mean that.

Ahead of us, two men dressed in full blue suit, akin to the police attire, come towards us. Fee stops moving forward. His fingers tremble slightly. Something is wrong with these two.

"You two.", the gnome with curly blond hair addresses. "Do you have a Pokémon with you?"

Something bad will certainly happen if I was to tell them that I have Treat in my bag. "Are we supposed to?"

The dragonborn officer stomps forward, but his impatience is stopped by the gnome. "Yes. Such a route is dangerous without Pokémon."

Great. Do I get in trouble if I have a Pokémon, or do I get in trouble if I don't have a Pokémon? He worded his response in such a way that I have almost no way of knowing what it is that he wants. On the surface level, he may seem like an officer doing his duty, but then why is Fee getting such a strange sense from these people?

"The boy doesn't have a Pokémon. I do." Only way to play it safe.

The gnomish officer smiles. "I see. I will say, the champion has just made a new address. He said that people unaffiliated with the police or league cannot have Pokémon anymore."

He reaches out his hand slowly to me, maintaining his deceptively sweet smile. But even I can feel it, there's malice from the moment he touches me.

"I'm a part time Investigator, so I work sometimes with the police.", I say, going closer to Fee.

He winches. "Ah, I see. Well, you see, part time Investigators don't count. Unfortunately you'll still have to give me your Pokémon."

He steps closer. With each step, Fee takes one back, so I follow suit. 'Don't be afraid', he says. 'I'm just doing my job', he comments. But Fee isn't delusional, and I'm not giving away my Pokémon. I grab Fee's arm, and drawing a Poké ball from the side pocket of my bag, I run.

 

[Gaxatwirl]

Self drawn image of Caterpie
Type: Bug

Level: 4

Ability: Shield Dust

Nature: Quiet

Stats: HP - 18/ Atk - 7/ Def - 8/ SpA - 7/ SpD - 7/ Spd - 7

EVs: ---

IVs: HP - 31/ Atk - 13/ Def - 9/ SpA - 22/ SpD - 10/ Spd - 4

Moves: Tackle String Shot