A true hero... in training (Pokemon Gym Leader's apprentice quest)

You sigh and shake your head. Spending the night there and for free sounds good, you don't have enough money but… You don't like when people pay for you like that… Even if Cynthia kind of paid for your pokemon supplies. But that's not the same… probably? Yeah, not the same. It's part of your training or something. You need those things to train.

"No, don't worry. I'll manage on my own. This place is safe after all." You smiled at her and she nodded, quickly walking away so Lily doesn't leave her behind.

You started to walk around the streets, musing on where to sleep tonight. You need to eat something and a place to sleep. With your money you have more than enough for that and in the next city you don't need to spend time in a hotel or something.

Even then… Maybe you shouldn't go around spending all your money? It's useful for a lot of things, and if you don't have money you can't bet on trainer battles, and that's tradition! Speaking of tradition… pokemon centers are free for trainers. You now have a license. You know that a pokemon center is not much more than a secure place to lay a sleeping bag, but it's a good way of meeting other trainers.

It's decided then. You will go there and maybe even make new trainer friends. It's not going to be as comfortable as the hotel, but you are kind of getting excited.

You quickly move through the streets of the city… town? No, resort. Lakeside resort? Yeah, that. A tourist trap. You quickly move through the streets of the tourist trap, looking for the only pokemon center here. It's not the biggest one but big enough for all trainers that pass through here.

You go inside and it feels… different from the rest of the resort. A lot of pokemon outside their pokeballs, some walking around, some playing, trainers talking with each other… You've never had a lot of reasons to go into a pokemon center. You went with your sister sometimes when she had to heal her pokemon, but she wasn't a fighter anymore so it wasn't often.

This is your first time inside one as a real trainer. You actually belong here for once.

You try to contain your excitement. This is actually amazing. You walk around for a bit just… drinking in the atmosphere of the place. The soft calming lights, the people, the counters with different services, the hallway leading into a cafeteria… Oh, right, food.

You walk there. It's not the first time you eat at a pokemon center. It works a lot like some hospitals. People can go there and just pay for food or…

You take out your trainer ID and scan it on a machine near the entrance of the cafeteria. A ticket with your name pops up. Every trainer can have a daily free meal. Not enough to survive only from pokemon centers but it helps a lot when you are traveling.

When you walk inside the cafeteria, you are amazed by how many people are there. The place is almost full of trainers and pokemon. They have a section where big pokemon can be released and eat there. Some people think that having a big pokemon is too expensive, but all pokemon eat free here… as long as you are a trainer.

You walk around looking for a place to sit. This is one of those self-serving places so you will need to get the food yourself… But you first need a table to sit. There are a lot of big tables shared by trainers of all kinds. Near the walls, smaller tables for groups of four. You are lucky enough to find one of those totally free. You release Maelstrom and Fang from their pokeballs. You first explain them the situation and where you are. Fang is happy when you mention food.

You instruct them that they should make sure that at least one of those seats is free. You sit Maelstrom there just to be sure. You can't just sit alone by yourself there and not let anyone else have a seat. Leaving a pokemon while you go to get food is also tradition. Probably. It makes sense.

Anyway. Time to go get some food.


…


Fang was sitting on the ground next to his master's chair. It was claimed as his territory and Fang had to keep it safe while he went to get food for the pack. This was an honorable mission and he would fulfill it without a doubt. He was told to not hurt anyone unless they hurt you first when in «civilization» and that would make things a bit more difficult… But he accepted this challenge.

He was a bit unnerved though. There were a lot of trainers and pokemon around. Everyone getting food. New trainers came looking for a bit of territory to eat there. The place was full so if someone wanted to get a seat it would have to be at their table.

And that's what happened. A girl approached the table and saw that one of the seats was kept safe by him. She decided to leave behind one of her pokemon and go get food. That's right. She wasn't going to get the seat HE was keeping safe.

He wanted to keep watch on the new pokemon at the table, but it unnerved him even more than the people around them. It… felt a bit like Maelstrom to be honest. They both were staring at each other. In silence.




The pink pokemon was just… there, staring at Maelstrom and doing nothing. Was it even breathing? Fang was not sure about that. It just… existed there. A bit like Maelstrom when he was resting. But Maelstrom at least had some sort of presence.

He decided to approach to inspect the pokemon. It didn't feel dangerous. It was almost like a pink rock. He seemed too soft and weak to be a strong fighter, but his tail was… cut in half? Almost half of his tail was gone. Was that a battle wound? Is this pokemon actually a warrior?

Fang had absolutely no idea but decided to keep an eye on him. Just in case.


…


When you come back you see something… weird. Maelstrom was on the table in front of a Slowpoke. Both staring at each other, as if they had some sort of connection. Slowpoke are psychic but you are not sure if they can talk like Lily does… Or even if Maelstrom would understand.

You look around. This pokemon's trainer was probably getting food, so you decided to just ignore it and sit down. Fang seems relieved to see you back and digs into his food quickly. You move Maelstrom next to Fang on the ground. He starts eating too. Maelstrom eats in a weird way when he isn't underwater. Flopping on his side next to his food bowl and sometimes catching a food pellet. You should take him to the lake in the morning. He seems happier in the water.

You are just about to start eating when a girl approaches. She is carrying a tray of food like yours but with… triple the food you have. You are not sure if a girl like her can eat so much. She looks younger than you. Not like those kids that start their travels when they are ten years old, but probably one or two years younger than you.





"Flash! I told you to stay on the ground." She said to her pokemon before sitting on the seat in front of you. She then tried to lift her pokemon before deciding that it was too heavy. "Well, you can stay there for now I guess." And that's when she realized you were there. "Oh, hello! Sorry for that. Flash sometimes does his own thing…"

You smile at her. The slowpoke was big but you still had your corner of the table so it wasn't a big deal. "Don't worry. I understand. Some pokemon just do that. Is he your first pokemon?" You asked. This was normal trainer conversation, right? You had no idea. This girl could be your first actual trainer friend. Maybe even a rival! Who knows.

She shakes her head and looks at the entrance to the cafeteria that leads to the rest of the pokemon center. "No, my starter is being treated right now. I had a fight today and I lost. I won't forget that guy! I'm sure he is in this resort and I will fight him again. I can't lose to any evildoer!" As she talked she started to rise until she was standing with one of her legs on top of her seat and pointing at… nothing in particular.

She was weird.

"Evildoer? Are you some kind of superhero or something?" You asked. You only heard superheroes use that words. And always on tv. For some reason she freezes when you say that and quickly sits down.

"Wha…? Pfff… Of course not. Not at all. Nope. Normal girl. Juuust me. Rose the normal trainer. I'm Rose by the way." She said talking quickly before starting to eat to keep her mouth busy. "Sho, what ahre yhou doing ahround here?" She asked, eating at the same time.

"Oh, well. I'm just passing by on my way to Veilstone. Cynthia…" And then it was your time to shut up. What did Cynthia say about saying you were her apprentice? Oh, right. Nothing. She said nothing. Should you talk about it? You should ask Violet first, but she isn't here! Plan B. " … Is my role model. You know. Champion and stuff. I'm going to get the badges and be the new champion. You know. Normal stuff. Totally normal trainer here. Nothing weird about it. Yep. Oh, and I'm Haru. Nice to meet you."

You both started to eat in silence. Was it too obvious that you were hiding something? You should talk about something else. Anything.

"So… about your Slowpoke… What happened to his tail?" You ask, realizing too late that maybe that was a bad topic of conversation? Maybe not? It's been a long time since you had to talk to a girl without actually having something to say.

"Oh! Yes. Flash has no tail. Well, at least not a whole tail. It usually grows back, but his was cut too short to recover." She pets her pokemon and gives him some food pellets. He just closes his mouth when the food is there and opens it back, the food gone. You are pretty sure he didn't swallow anything or at least it looked like that. The food just disappeared like a magic trick. "I'm from Azalea town in Johto. We have a lot of Slowpoke there. This one was involved with… some bad people. I helped rescue him!" She seems really happy. Something tells you that she really enjoyed whatever happened there.

"Aren't you a bit far from Johto?" You asked. Johto and Kanto weren't as far as other regions like Kalos, but still pretty far south.

She nodded. "Yes, but doesn't matter. I lived with my little sister and grandpa, and everything was so boring… Until I met my boss. She gave me my first pokemon. I convinced her and my grandpa to let me join her group. Now I travel with them!" Her smile grew as she talked about them. Her boss, the group… She was very proud of them but…

"Aren't you a normal trainer?" You ask. Yeah, she wasn't a normal trainer, that's for sure. What you don't know is what she is exactly.

When you ask her that, you can almost see smoke coming out of her ears. Her brain working at an amazing speed trying to think about something to say to get out of this situation without revealing anything.

"... Oh! Look at the time!" She said, looking at her wrist that had no watch. "I should get going. Yeah. I have to do… things. Girl things… Yeah! That! Girl things, so don't ask." She then starts to eat her food at a speed you can't even believe. How is she doing that?!

As soon as she finishes she stands up and runs away saying something about important stuff to do. When she is out of the cafeteria... you look at Flash.

The Slowpoke is just there, staring at nothing. You are used to that thanks to Maelstrom. "You should start chasing her, buddy. She is probably on the other side of Sinnoh by now." You tell the pokemon.

Flash stands up on his four legs and takes a step to the side. He then drops from the table with a heavy «Thud». You quickly look under the table to make sure he is okay, but he is fine. At least you think he is fine. He seems to think about his next action for a couple seconds until he stands up. He had now a plan. He was going to walk in the direction his trainer went.

Flash starts to walk away as you look at him. He is… well, slow. He is pretty slow. For each step he takes he seems to stop to think about what to do next. Step. Think. Step. Think. It's going to take all night for him to go outside the pokemon center. It's going to be impossible for him to find his trainer.

You sigh and look at your food. You should probably eat quickly and then help the pink pokemon. He doesn't seem able to take care of himself.

When you look back, he is gone. No trace of him. Your pokemon are distracted by their food, so they don't know where he went. He just… disappeared.

"Huh…"


…


Some time later you arrive to where trainers sleep. You had to register and they told you that the limit of stay is five days unless one of your pokemon needs a special treatment. This should be just a place where you rest before going back to the road after all. It surprised you how good this place was. They had showers, a room for entertainment with TVs and books… And then of course the place to sleep.

It was a big room. The biggest room in the building. It was full of cheap beds one besides the other. Like a homeless shelter… Well, not like one. This was an actual homeless shelter for trainers.

The place was almost full. You heard some conversations and it seems that a lot of trainers come here to spend time at the lake resort for free. That's… Not a good way of using a pokemon center. This isn't a free hotel so you can go play at the lake or spend your money at other places!

You sigh, feeling a bit guilty. You also are here because it's free, but you plan on keep traveling in the morning, even if the idea of spending a couple days relaxing here crossed your mind. But you are not like them.

You decide not to try to make more friends. You don't like the people you heard talking and scared the only person that seemed nice. You saw her when you came into the room. She was on the other side with her Slowpoke. She was trying to hide when she saw you, so you decided to leave her alone. She has her secrets after all.

At first, you felt excited about sleeping surrounded by other trainers and pokemon. It was like a big sleepover… with a bunch of strangers you don't talk to.

Yeah, it wasn't fun. The bed was so uncomfortable that Fang decided to sleep inside his pokeball. Only Maelstrom to protect you. And yes, you say protect you because some pokemon started a fight at some point in the night. Thanks to that and the people talking at FOUR IN THE MORNING not caring about the other people sleeping… It wasn't a good night.


…


You feel tired. Coffee was thankfully free for trainers so you had some and ate breakfast from your supplies. Your eyes are closing on their own. It's been a rough night.

When you are done with breakfast, you walk to the main lobby. There you sit in one of the sofas they have for people waiting for their pokemon to heal. You send a message to Violet asking about where they should meet. It's early, so maybe they are still sleeping in their private room. The private room with comfy, soft beds.

The life of a trainer is hard.

You are about to start playing with your Poketch's apps when a man enters the pokemon center quickly. A Burmy in his arms. He seems scared about something, nervous. He talks in a loud voice, so you can hear what he is saying. He tells the nurse about being attacked by two strangely dressed trainers near one of the warehouses at the edge of the resort.

"I KNEW IT!" You hear someone yell close by. Rose, the girl you met last night, was sitting not far from you. She stood up and ran away.

Something tells you that this girl is going to get in trouble soon. You look at your Poketch. Still early.

Maybe you should help?



[] Follow her. You are curious... and a bit worried.
[] You are too tired. Stay there and try to get some more sleep before Violet and Lily wake up.
[] Go to the lake and relax there. Forget about everyone for a while.