Chapter 2: Baby Steps
『Location: Postwick, Galar』
Eight years later…
Many years have passed since the joyous day of officially becoming a Pokémon trainer.
What have you accomplished during this you wonder? Absolutely nothing! Ok that was a lie, you managed to successfully evolve Feebas after grueling research and lots and lots of love poured into caring for him; totally worth it.
So, what are you doing in Postwick? Just looking around for adventure.
“We are geniuses for coming down to Postwick! Wyndon is pretty dry for adventure, don’t you think?”
Milotic nods in agreement.
At the moment, the two of you just arrived in Postwick town. The ride was pretty boring but at least the scenery was amazing. You made mental notes to visit other towns and cities to admire with Milotic.
You pull out the newly enhanced Pokédex—courtesy from Chairman Rose—and pull up the map to see where to start.
“Hmmm,” you click around the screen while Milotic watches your movements intently. “Aha, here!” You zoom onto a big lake area and turn the screen to show Milotic, “There’s this big lake not too far from the station! We can take a quick look to see the Pokémon then,” you shrink the map and use your index finger to point downwards, “then we shall head into town right after. Thoughts?”
Milotic chirps in agreement. “Tic!”
You stuff the Pokédex into your jacket. “Then let’s go!” You say as you run out of the station, Milotic follows your lead.
“Oh my goodness this is such a pretty lake!”
You take many photos of the beautiful blue lake and also snap some info of Pokémon nearby. Milotic swims into the lake and plays around with the resident water Pokémon.
Of course you couldn’t let this opportunity slip by so you took as many pictures of Milotic together with Pokémon. The photo session was cut short by an unknown female joining you…
“Liking the view~?”
“Huh?” You turn to face the unknown woman.
She smiles brightly and extends her left arm to greet you. “Hello, my name is Sonia. And you?”
You reach out to shake her hand gently and reply back, “My name is Y/n, nice to meet you.” You point towards Milotic in the distance, “And that shiny Milotic is my partner!”
“Oh my! I’ve never seen a shiny Milotic before. This is such a rare occasion!” She pulls out her own Pokédex and takes a handful of pictures.
After Sonia finishes taking pictures, she stuffs her dex away inside her mini purse. She turns around to face you once more and she reaches towards her hair to twirl a strand with her index finger. “So, what’s your reason for being here?”
“Pardon?” Your cheeks were dusted pink due to the sudden realization. “Is this lake…owned by someone?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m so sorry! There weren’t any signs about trespassing or ownership so I assumed it was open to the public and—”
Sonia giggles which promptly ends your rambling. Confusion was evident in your face, “What’s so funny…?”
She catches her breath and exhales happily. “Sorry, you just reminded me of someone but it’s ok!” She points ahead towards a lovely cottage in the distance, “That’s my grandmother’s lab right up ahead. She doesn’t really mind people coming and going to see the lake, as long as they don’t disturb or harm the Pokémon and environment.”
You breathe a sigh of relief and Milotic finally notices a new figure next to you. It swims out of the lake and positions itself behind you, carefully observing Sonia.
You reach up to caress it’s chin. “It’s alright Milotic, she’s a friend!”
Milotic leans against your touch and hums happily, acknowledging your words and letting his guard down just a little.
Sonia plays with her hair again. “I’ll be heading over to the cottage and I’ll be there pretty much all day. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to swing by~!” She says with a wink and leaves you and Milotic to continue with your excursions.
Who's That Pokémon?
The people in town were lovely. They greeted you and Milotic kindly and the children admired Milotic with curiosity and admiration. They asked to pet him which you and Milotic allowed and even gave them a mini educational session regarding the care behind Milotic and Feebas.
They were depressed when you had to leave for more exploration but you left behind some encouraging words so they wouldn’t feel too sad.
At the moment you were making your way towards Slumbering Wealds, the town's forest. However, you were warned to not go there due to the heavy mist that surrounded it but it’ll be alright, right?
You stop a few steps before entering the forest and look down the Pokédex for confirmation. “Looks like this is the place. Ready to go in for a quick look?”
Milotic seemed a bit on edge, you knew that he wasn't keen on letting you go but he knows it’s a losing battle trying to pull you away from ‘adventure’. Regardless, it placed its tail in front of you in an attempt to stop you.
“Hmmm, that’s a no? But it can’t be tha—”
“Woolo?! Where are you?!”
You both turn to the direction of the distressed call.
There were two boys and a girl with worried looks, looking around desperately for something or rather a Pokémon.
You locked eyes with one of the boys and his face relaxes once he sees you. He rushes to you quickly with hope in his eyes.
“Excuse me, have you seen a Woolo around here? It has a colorful bracelet on his right hoof!”
You look back to Milotic then back to the boy and shake your head. “We have seen many Woolo but none with a bracelet. I’m sorry.”
His face fell slightly but quickly washed it away with a strained smile, “Thank you nonetheless!” He looks behind you to see Slumbering Wealds and an idea strikes him.
He turns around to call out to his friends. “Gloria! Victor! I think Woolo could be in the forest!”
His two friends hear his call and run towards him in worry. After reaching them the boy, Victor,is clearly out of breath whereas the girl, Gloria, seems to be unbothered and shakes her head disappointedly towards Victor.
“You really have to work out more, ya know? Just look…,” she points toward your figure, “You’re embarrassing yourself in front of a pretty girl. You’ll never find a partner at this rate, or ever at all!”
Victor catches his breath but of course, he wouldn’t let himself be humiliated. “Shut…it…Gloria…!” He hisses in between breaths.
She crosses her arms and with a smug smile she continues, “You know I’m right, just admit it!”
Before Victor could bark another comment, their friend awkwardly steps in between them. “You guys…not in front of strangers…”
Victor turns away in defeat whereas Gloria snickers, clearly taking this as a sign of victory. Their friend sighs in defeat and walks over to you timidly.
He rubs the nape of his neck, “Sorry about that…and thank you again for your help.”
You shake your head dismissively, “I didn’t really provide any information so I didn’t do much. However…” you look back to the forest behind you and Milotic already knew the plan that was going through your mind. It placed its head on top of yours, telling you to stop thinking what you were thinking but you didn’t listen and pointed towards the forest, “I can definitely accompany you guys as some sort of bodyguard! Milotic and I—”
Milotic adds extra force and growls in disagreement. “It’ll be fine Milotic!” You reassured, “Besides, I’m a very responsible adult!” Milotic huffs as if to say you weren’t.
Gloria notices the unusual color scheme of Milotic and steps forward, “Hey…your Milotic looks different than the Milotic shown on the dex…”
“Oh!” You gesture towards its head that still lays on yours, “Milotic is a shiny! That’s why the color scheme is unique, it’s very rare to find one so I consider myself lucky!” You gently reach out to scratch its cheek, He is a pretty boy and the world shall marvel at his beauty!”
Victor pulls out his dex to hear about Milotic’s dex entry.
Pokédex: “Milotic: The serpentine Pokémon; a water type. Milotic live at the bottom of large lakes.
When this Pokémon's body glows a vivid pink, it releases a pulsing wave of energy that brings soothing calm to restless spirits.”
“Seems like Milotic is a very gentle Pokemon. How’d you two meet?”
“At Macros Corps.” You answered truthfully. “Chairman Rose decided to host an event for all of his employees' children and grant them a Pokémon. Funny enough, Feebas wasn’t part of the selection, I just wandered off somewhere and found him!”
Gloria chimes in. “That’s so cool!”
You took a few steps ahead toward Slumbering Wealds. “I can continue with the storytelling while we go find that special Woolo, shall we?”
“Oh right, I didn’t even introduce myself properly!” The boy exclaims.
The other two panic as well. “Oh my goodness you are so right Hop!” Gloria stretches out her hand for a handshake, “My name is Gloria!”
You reach out to reciprocate the greeting. “Nice to meet you, Gloria, my name is Y/n.”
She smiles cheekily and points to the brown-haired boy behind her. “That one is Victor and the boy next to him is Hop! Hop is Woolo’s trainer and we have been searching pretty much all day.”
“Well it’s a pleasure to meet you three. Now then, shall we get going?”
“This fog is so heavy, I can’t see a thing!” Gloria whines.
“Are you sure Woolo would be here? We can turn back now and leave.” Victor suggested.
Hop seemed to understand their concern but remained firm. “You guys can go back, I’ll head in a bit further.”
The duo understood his sentiment and quietly followed him. As you all continued further into the woods, the rustling of grass nearby caught your attention.
You turned to the direction of the noise and took a few steps closer to inspect. Milotic peered from behind, ready to strike if necessary
A small green top with a red horn pops out of the grass which took you by surprise but then curiosity. You pull out your dex as the Pokémon stumbled out of the patch of grass clumsily.
Pokédex: “Ralts, the feeling Pokémon; a psychic and fairy type. Ralts senses the emotions of people using the horns on its head. This Pokémon rarely appears before people. But when it does, it draws closer if it senses that the person has a positive disposition.”
“Aw, aren’t you cute?”
Gloria peaks from behind and joins you in gushing over its cuteness, “It really is cute! Hey…,” She places down her bag and searches for an item. After a quick search she pulls out a poké ball and asks you, “Would you mind if I catch it?”
You shake your head, “Not at all, make it quick, we must continue our search.”
She nods and you move to the side with Hop and Victor to see the event.
Gloria exhales deeply, then fixates onto her poké ball, probably encouraging herself mentally. Ralts looks around curiously then catches sight of Gloria’s figure.
“Alright, let’s do this Sobble!”
She throws her poké ball and out comes a Sobble. It immediately takes on a defensive stance and Ralts is immediately startled by the sudden turn of events.
“Quick use Pound!” Gloria commands expeditiously.
Sobble launches forward without missing a beat. Ralts quickly catches on and dodges Sobbles attack.
Gloria thrusts her right arm forward. “Use Pound repeatedly!”
Sobble once again throws itself forward and repeatedly uses Pound but to no avail. Ralts kept avoiding all of its attack with ease.
After a few more Pounds later, Sobble hops back in exhaustion. As it tries to catch its breath, Ralts takes the opportunity to fight back with confusion. Confusion hits and sends Sobble flying back, landing in front of Gloria.
She quickly kneels down to cradle the poor Sobble and this gives Ralts the perfect chance to escape. Gloria quickly sees its attempt to flee but she pulls out another ball and clicks it to enlarge it. “Oh no you don’t!” She chucks the ball towards Ralts but it uses its psychic ability to throw the ball back to Gloria’s face.
Whack
Gloria is hit hard and she stumbles onto the ground while holding onto Sobble. Ralts snickers at her demise before leaving the battle scene.
She groans in pain and the three of you could only look away, pretending you saw nothing for her sake. She sits up and places her Sobble onto her shoulder as she stands up and dusts away any dirt from her.
“That Ralts sure has some manners huh?” She huffs in frustration.
The atmosphere becomes awkward and she couldn’t help but to look at all three of you to see what’s up with the silence. Seeing how you three were looking in different directions rather than her made her a bit upset.
She places her hands onto her hips and pouts, “Don’t you guys dare pity me! So what if I failed? It’s the effort that counts right?”
“That’s right Gloria! At least you tried!” Hop cheers in reassurance.
“Thank you—”
A howl interrupts Gloria. It was very loud and disturbing, something you would find in a horror movie. All Pokémon within the vicinity begin to flee, their steps could be heard nearby.
Everyone turns to face Hop. He was equally startled and began looking around frantically. Victor reaches out to grab his arm, “Ok I think it’s settled that Woolo isn’t here. We should leave—”
“But we can’t be sure until we go further!” He protests.
Gloria grabs his other arm, “I have to agree with Victor here. We also have someone with us and we can’t risk having someone else in danger!”
Hop resists momentarily but comes to the realization that it’s better to be safe than sorry. The fog thickens even more and that was enough for him to retreat.
“Alright…we have to go back. The fog is getting thicker.”
Another howl came through, but to everyone’s misfortune, it was close by. Too close for comfort. All four of you come together and have your backs against each other, trying to find out the direction of the howl.
The grass in front of Victor rustles softly, catching everyone’s attention. Hop and Victor pull out their Pokéballs while Milotic and Sobble jump in front of the group protectively.
Two big Pokémon emerge, one with an odd-blocky mane while the other one has ribbon-like mane. They stare you all down silently, despite having the number advantage, something about the Pokémon was completely on a different level.
You pull out your dex to scan the Pokémon.
Pokédex: “Error. Error.”
“What the heck does it mean ‘error’!?” Hop shrieks.
You ignore his question and snap a quick picture of the two Pokémon. Milotic huffs, watching carefully at the opposing Pokémon, seemingly making sure whether or not they were a threat.
“Should we just make a run for it?” Victor suggested.
“We can’t see through this thick fog you idiot! From which direction did we come from anyway…” Gloria hisses.
“Then our best bet,” you took a step forward. “Is to battle our way out. Milotic use Hydro Pump!”
Milotic unleashes a powerful water attack against the two unknown Pokémon. However…
“Did the attack just go through them!?” Gloria screeches.
Victor throws out his Pokéball immediately, “Grookey use Branch Poke!”
Grookey immediately comes forward and throws it stick but it also goes through the two Pokémon. Grookey hops backward and tilts it head in confusion. It begins to smash its stick onto the ground in frustration.
Hop proceeds to also throw his Pokéball, sending out a Scorbunny. “All together now!” Hop commands.
“Sobble use Watergun!”
“Branch Poke once more Grookey!”
“Scorbunny, Ember let’s go!”
“One more Hydro Pump!”
All Pokémon use their instructed move towards the Pokémon. Despite everyone’s efforts, the attacks mysteriously go through the Pokémon as if it was a secret technique.
Both Pokémon howl once more. It seems like their howls somehow had an effect on the fog, causing it to grow even more thicker than it already was. It was now much more difficult to see and the only thing that could be heard was their last and final howl that had a strange lulling effect, bringing you down to the ground and blacking out…
A splash of cold water brings you out of your comatose state. You lurch forward and cough away the water that managed to get inside your face. You shake away the uncomfortable feeling and rub your face with your hands and open your eyes slowly whilst blinking to get a clearer vision of your surroundings. “Don’t tell me I died this early in life…”
“I wish I did…” You hear from beside you. Turning to the source, it was a grumpy looking Gloria.
A weary chuckle grabs your attention next and it was…
“Champion Leon!?” You shout in surprise. “What are you doing here??”
“Well you see…,” he shifts his gaze to your Milotic who was currently looming over an unconscious Hop and Victor along with Sobble. He looks back to you, “Call it, an older brother's intuition.”
“Is that so…?”
Milotic and Sobble proceed to splash Hop and Victor with their water abilities which wakes them up just like it did for you and Gloria. They wake up with a start and cough vigorously as they scan their surroundings.
Another weak chuckle can be heard from Leon as he watches the scene unravel. From a distance, a roar could be heard. A strong gust of wind follows after the roar and low and behold, a flash of fiery red can be seen flying about before landing cautiously next to Leon.
“Is that your Chari—!”
“Leon!? What are you doing here?!” Hop coughed out in surprise. He glances toward the Pokémon next to him and beams in joy. “Charizard!” He gets off of the ground and tackles Charizard into a hug. “It’s been sooo long!”
Charizard leans down to accept Hops hug. As Hop attempts to give Charizard a bear hug, he feels something small and fluffy headbutt into him. Hop turns his head to the direction as Charizard follows his actions with curiosity.
A fluffy ball is on its back after head butting into Hop and struggles to get on its hooves.
“Wooloo!” Hop shouts in relief. He crouches down to his Pokémons level and gently rolls it over to stability. After Wooloo feels the security of the ground, in true friendship fashion, the two immediately go in for a big hug of relief.
“I’m so glad you’re safe Wooloo! I was so worried, and you had me, Gloria, Victor, and even a stranger running around like deranged psyducks!” Hop stands up and effortlessly lifts up Wooloo and turns it around to face you. “Now, I think it’s only fair you apologize to Ms. Y/n for all the trouble you have caused.”
“What about us!?” Gloria and Victor shout in unison.
“It’s a given that we give up our lives in the conquest of finding Wooloo. What’s not a given is dragging a stranger into our plans.” Hop says as a matter-of-fact.
“Now Hop…,” Leon interjects, crossing his arms with a concerned look. “I’m glad you love Wooloo so much that you’re willing to put your life down for its well being but…I think you should tone it down just a little.”
Wooloo and Hop look at each other, having a telepathic conversation only they knew. They nod before looking back at Leon with a smile. “You got it big bro!”
“That’s all that it took!?” The brunette duo screeched in disbelief.
A smile tugs at your lips witnessing the trios unique bond of…friendship. It reminded you of Bede’s and your relationship. Was it great? Bede was very hot headed and had a sharp tongue but you were immune to it.
His behavior made it difficult to make friends and by some miracle, (which even he acknowledges) you somehow tolerated his behavior. Well, considering that the both of you are in Chairman Rose’s good graces and one of his favorites, it was inevitable to be stuck at the hip.
The loud banter of the trio anchored you back to reality. A gentle tug from your sleeve shifted your gaze to the culprit behind, Milotic. You reach out to let his head after that whole ordeal with unknown Pokémon…
Oh, right.
You hastily reach to search in your pockets. Leon, catching your hasty actions, walks over to see the issue. “Everything alright?”
“Yea, yea, just…” Your fingers meet the hard object but the texture feels strange. “No, no, no, no, no please it’s my insurance—”
A crumpled Pokédex now lays in your shaken hands. The trio stop their banter after catching sight of your fear stricken face and join Leon to see the situation.
“It’s over…my precious insurance…” you mumbled quietly; bystanders would think you’ve gone insane witnessing you mourning the loss of your Pokédex.
“Can’t you just…get another Pokédex?” Victor says.
He will regret even saying anything.
“Another Pokédex? Huh, you know, you’re not wrong…it’s just that, there’s only one teen, tiny, problem.” You say with an eerie smile. You shove the broken Pokédex to Victor's face. “I don’t think the picture I took of those unknown Pokémon…can be recovered!”
Leon, the ever so wise and kind Champion, steps in to intervene. “Let’s not do anything rash now. We could…hmmm…” He reaches out to his hair to smooth out any imaginary hair that is sticking out. “We could ask Chairman Rose for his assistance if that data is really important to you?”
The idea of a solution was exactly what you needed at this moment. There was just one problem…
“Imposing something trivial as data retrieval onto Chairman Rose is a bad idea Champion—”
Leon cuts you off with a hearty chuckle. “Oh nonsense, Rose wouldn’t mind helping out one of his star pupils.”
“Star pupil?” Hop asks curiously.
‘Oh no.’
“Yeah, you see—”
Leon immediately seals his lips shut once he caught not only yours but Milotics deathly gaze. Without missing a beat, the two of you shake your heads no furiously and you throw in a motion of swiping your neck with your thumb, a warning of what’s to come if he doesn’t shut up.
“You see…” Leon starts again. “Turns out I am mistaken! I m-mistook your friend for Rose’s star pupil! Silly me…!”
“But…” Gloria turns to face you and Milotic; the two of you look back in innocence. “Didn’t you mention something about meeting Milotic at Macros Corp?”
“Yup!”
“So that means…” Victor chimes in.
Hmmm, when the truth comes back to bite you when trying to start a lie. In all honesty, you didn’t see this coming—even the narrator couldn’t have foreseen this—now what do you do in a situation like this? Fake it till you make it is what they say.
“You must know Rose’s star pupils right!?” Hop jumps in with fervor.
Or entertain someone else’s assumption. Saves you the trouble of fumbling out many lies.
“Well no—, I’m not well acquainted with the people at Macros Corp and not very outstanding enough to catch the Chairman Rose’s attention. I’m just a simple city girl with a cute and shiny Pokémon!”
The trio nod, accepting your words as truth. Leon and Charizard watched the interaction and could only shake their head and sigh.
Despite losing precious evidence that could flip all of the Pokémon Professor's world upside down, making new friends in the tranquil fields of Postwick was truly the best reward. Best decision you have made up to date, minus the broken Pokédex incident.
But we can’t end this chapter just because you made friends right? Like, cool beans, new friends who don’t know your true affiliations to Macros Corps! But they can’t save you from the impending wrath known as: ‘Parents’.
But…this narrator will leave you in suspense.
It’s Charizard!
『(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ In the meantime ♥』
“Sir, are you sure about this?”
Rose chuckles softly while admiring the view of Wyndon from the top floor of Macros Corp. He tightens his tie then reaches out to firmly tug onto his crème colored blazer, an attempt to fix his already perfect attire. “I’m sure of it, Oleana. What’s there to be worried about?”
Oleana glanced over her clipboard, it had a few papers containing details about a lengthy project that would soon begin. Her eyes narrow while going over the lists of names who would be involved, while also names who could be a threat.
“It’s just that…of all the people you would involve, why her?”
Rose nods his head, an acknowledgment to her concerns. He shifts away from the view and looks at his secretary. “Well, what can I do? She has a very promising future.”
He begins to walk to the elevator, Oleana following him in tow. As they enter, Oleana clicks the 7th floor button then steps back to be behind the Chairman. The elevator ride was…quiet; well, when is it not? But the silence could easily be cut through with a slash by any Pokémon.
“Chairman…” Oleana speaks softly, looking ahead at her boss. “What exactly about her makes you think she’s ready?”
Ding
The elevator opens and the two walk out. Oleana waits patiently for his answer, she knows probing any further would sour his mood for the day.
As they arrive at Rose's office, he walks over to his desk while Oleana closes his door shut then waits for further instruction. Rose plucks a picture frame that was sitting on his desk, a subtle reminder as to what drove him up to this point.
A soft smile adorns his face as he looks down onto the frame. He places it down but faces it towards Oleana before walking towards the big window view behind his desk with his arms crossed behind his pack.
Oleana catches the image, it was Rose as a young child alongside another young man, presumably a relative or friend.
“You see, Oleana,” Rose finally speaks up. “You may not understand this now but she is willing to help Galar, no matter how impossible the task. And because of that…,”
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
“It will be one of our greatest exploits.”
[And The Journey Continues 🇬🇧…]
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