Chapter 4: Chapter 004

Paula stared down at the pokeball in her hand while she walked down the hallway alongside the professor. He pat her once on the shoulder and she sighed, shrinking it down and slipping it into her bag. She’d managed to get changed at the very least between the recovery room and being escorted out by Mapel. She was back in her traveling shorts, pokeball tee, and long coat. Her high calf hiking boots were strapped up tight and she’d decided to keep the ranger corps messenger bag that had been given out to them. 

She adjusted the strap on her shoulder and looked in his direction. He met her gaze and offered an easy smile; “Not to worry, Paula. I’ve got a good feeling about you and my hunches are never wrong.”

She shoved her hands in her coat pockets, “Jubilee said that too,” She said. “Are you psychic or something? I heard there were people like that.”

He burst into laughter, “Oh no, nothing genetic. A practiced skill of sorts.”

She blinked and turned to him, “So there is a trick? Not just your gut.”

He raised a bushy eyebrow and nodded to the door they were approaching, “Go on now, we’ll talk again in the future, I’m sure.”

She gaped at him for a moment before shutting her mouth. There wasn’t any point in nagging him about it. Whatever his ‘eye for people’ was, she’d just have to figure it out some other way. That said, it did make her feel a little better that he was putting his faith in her based on something rather than first impressions. She scratched the back of her neck, “So I’ll get the rest of what I need before I leave?” She asked.

“That’s right, Jubilee is waiting through that door. Good luck to you, Trainer Paula. Roelle is a very special place,” He started to turn away and paused, clearing his throat and glancing back at her. “Ah, I suppose I didn’t say this to the others, I was a bit distracted with Malasigo but…” He parted his arms and gave the best welcoming gesture he could, though with his burly frame it made him look like he was challenging her to a wrestling match. 

“Welcome, Trainer, to the world of Pokemon!”

She stared at him, he stared back, she raised her hands to her lips and tried to look away. He cocked an embarrassed smile and scratched his nose. “Aha, too much?”

She nodded, laughing, and feeling the last of her anxiety fade, “I needed it though. Thank you professor.”

He put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest, “Then my work is done! Wa ha ha!”

She rubbed her head and turned away, the door sliding open ahead of her. When she looked back, he was already gone. She stepped out into the sunshine and hard winds of the external deck of the SS Baumsat. There, Jubilee was waiting with something in her hands. The buff woman grinned at her and held them up. The first was a update card for a rotom phone. She’d seen them before. The other looked like a watch of some kind.

“You ready, Paula?” She asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” Paula breathed, “What’s this?”

Jubilee held up the card, “Rotom phone please!”

Paula pulled out her phone and it spun into the air, floating between her and Jubilee. Jubilee held out the card and it vanished. There was a pause and the phone spun a few more times, making a strange chirping sound before it let out an excited tone. 

Rotom Voice Update installed! Pokedex app installed!

The voice was small, cute even, with a cheery nature to it. Paula stared gobsmacked at the phone as it danced around. Then the second thing it said caught up with her, “Oh! Of course! It wouldn’t make sense to not have a pokedex. So it’s on my phone?”

Jubilee nodded, “That’s right! Most of the hardware functions used by old pokedex systems were simple enough to integrate into rotom phone software. You all will be trial running some new features though. Make sure to read the manual or rather, listen to it.”

Ready to serve, Trainer Paula! The rotom phone cheered delightedly before zipping to her side.

Paula glanced at it uneasily, hearing a voice coming out of it was going to take some getting used to, “Thanks?”

Jubilee cleared her throat and held out her hand, “Now, I need to put this on your wrist.”

Paula obliged, “What is it?”

“This is Professor Mapel’s greatest invention, the mobile pokemon center!” Jubilee said, affixing the heavier than normal smart watch looking device to Paula’s wrist. “With this device we can track your vital signs as well as those of your registered pokemon. You can see your pokemon’s status in real time and know when its time to back out of a fight,” She explained, “Most importantly, we have satellites in set position over Roelle, ready to drop and recover temporary pokemon centers that are connected directly to the Baumsat. We can treat your pokemon from anywhere now!”

Paula gawked at the watch, “Th-that that’s awesome!” She blurted out, “Anywhere?”

“Well, except for inside buildings and underground. Try to be careful, obviously,” Jubilee amended with a laugh.

Paula nodded, made sense, “Still amazing though. We’re the first trainers to try these out?”

“If its successful, the Pokemon League will fund a worldwide distribution of mobile centers and the construction of facilities like the Baumsat for higher quality treatment,” Jubilee grinned, “Now go prove the old man right,” she paused, “Oh! Almost forgot, these are for you.”

She reached into a box that was sitting at her side and pulled out a smaller box, she opened it and revealed a set of five pokeballs, “To get you started.”

Paula could have wept, she’d been a little worried about spending after losing her savings to the metagross. She took them graciously and with rotoms help they were stored. Paula adjusted the strap on her bag one more time and cleared her throat, “Guess that’s it then.”

Jubilee shrugged, “Maybe not, you’ve got one more thing to face before you leave it looks like.”

“What?”

Jubilee pointed in the direction of the platform where a helicopter waited for her, between her and the helicopter was none other than Gregory. He stood in place, hands in his pockets. He’d changed back to his traveling gear as well. A puffed collar and thigh length coat with long pants and heavy looking boots. He had a headset on his head and was quietly tapping his foot, his eyes fixed on her. Paula swallowed. She knew what he wanted. “Right.”

“I’ll officiate,” Jubilee said with a wink and walked with Paula out to the platform. Paula slipped her hand into her bag and pulled out Malasigo’s pokeball, turning it over between her fingers. It looked like her new partner was going to see action sooner than she’d expected. 

Gregory pulled the headphones off and grinned at her, “I knew you weren’t out.”

“Yeah, something came up,” Paula said, holding up her pokeball. “I made a friend that wanted to come with me.”

He raised his eyebrows and whistled, “Oho, I figured it was something special.”

Paula came to a stop a good distance from him, Jubilee kept moving and stopped at the midpoint between them. Gregory barked out a laugh, “Looks like you figured out what I was waiting for! Good! That’s my rival for you!”

“You weren’t going to let me leave this ship without a battle,” Paula said with a grin, “Knew it the moment we met.”

“Damn right!” He laughed, “You better be ready, because you’re about to see what you missed out on in the water zone!”

Jubilee cut in, “This is an officially sanctioned pokemon battle between trainers Paula and Gregory! It will be a one versus one match until either side concedes to the opponent. Is that understood?”

Paula activated Malasigo’s ball, the sphere growing in her hand. She shifted her foot back. “Right!”

Gregory crouched a few times and stretched his arms before reaching for his headset and flipping the ear pieces around. He hit the volume, hard, and the sound of an electric guitar riffed out into the wind. He drew out his own pokeball and activated it, pointing it in her direction. “Ready!”

Jubilee took several steps back and raised her right arm, “Begin!”

Gregory went immediately into a pitcher pose, rearing back and hurling his pokeball. Paula put her back into her own throw, tossing it out to the ground ten feet ahead of her. The two balls landed simultaneously and in a flash of light their pokemon sprung out. Paula squinted through the light to try to get a sense of what she was up against and coudn’t help but stare. The dratini that appeared on the deck unraveled itself and reared its head back, its fierce eyes undermining its cute appearance.

Malasigo appeared next, the twins taking shape at the same time. Both of them holding hands and eyeing down their opponent for a moment before looking back at Paula. Paula returned the look and offered them the most confident smile she could manage, “Hope you guys are ready.”

Gregory slapped the side of his head, “Holy moly! What is that?”

“Malasigo!” Paula shouted to him.

She had no idea what moves it knew and Jubilee seemed to read her mind; “Your pokedex apps are fitted with a movedex! Please use it to identify moves as they are used if you are new to a particular pokemon!”

Paula and Gregory whipped out their phones and the battle finally began. Paula held out a hand, “Malasigo! Show me what you can do! Don’t hold back on my account!” 

Gregory pointed at Malasigo, “Dratini! Stare it down! Leer!”

The twins hesitated and that was all it took for the Dratini to dash forward and lift itself up high enough to stare down at them. It flashed them with its gaze and they took a step back as one, startled by its aggression. Paula frowned, she knew this was a bad idea bringing them into this. She had no idea how to command them. “Malasigo! You gotta fight back!”

Gregory didn’t wait, “Dratini! See what happens when you separate them! Wrap one up!”

The dratini dove, trying to put itself between malasigo’s two halves. Which turned out to be a mistake. The light side snarled and with a surprising amount of force pulled the dark half up into the air as if it was swinging around a bag. The dark half landed and raised a hand like it was posing while the light half bore down on the dratini. A flash of pink, rippling light erupted from its mouth and struck the dratini, sending it rolling away.

Move identified: Disarming Voice

“Got it,” Paula murmured, so they fought like a dancing duo? She could work with that. 

The dratini pulled itself up, looking startled but fine otherwise. That was one tough dragon, wasn’t the fairy type supposed to be effective against it? Gregory seemed to be thinking the same thing; “Dratini, fall back a bit and try to get around them!”

Paula glanced at the twins, “Malasigo! Don’t let it avoid you! Get in close!”

Malasigo didn’t hesitate this time, it darted forward, hand in hand, and charged towards the dratini. The dark side reared its fist back and in a blur of motion was at the dratini’s side, raising its fist as it glowed with an eerie black-red mist. It drove the blow down into the dratini’s face, sending the dragon reeling for a heartbeat before the Dratini returned the favor with a heavy tackle. 

Move identified: Pursuit

Disarming Voice and Pursuit, okay, she could work with that. Gregory whipped his arm to the right, “It’s fast! Don’t let the dark one use that move again! Twister!”

Paula had to think on her feet, “Sigo! Protect your twin!”

The white half wrenched its other half out of the way again, putting itself in the blast zone of the dragon-type move. The eerie twister erupted from the dratini’s bulbous mouth and struck, only to fizzle and fade. Malasigo stood, unfazed. “Good job!” Paula shouted, “Disarming voice!”

“Dratini fall back! Don’t let that hit you again!” Gregory responded.

Dratini tried to move out of the way, but the rippling pink shriek of sound ripped across its body and sent it flying. Even after two such hits, the dragon seemed to be wrenching itself into a position to land. It was Paula’s turn to follow through, “Pursuit!”

The twins pirouetted around one another, light and dark swapping places as dark darted forward, dragging its sibling along as it raised its shadowy fist. It struck, driving the fast moving attack into the dratini. The dratini hit the ground and struggled to move for a moment before collapsing onto the ground. Gregory held out his pokeball and the red line of light gathered up his dratini. He scratched the back of his head, “Looks like it’s my loss. That’s one heck of a partner you got there.”

Paula panted, her heart was pounding. That was a real pokemon battle? Not just watching one, but really being in the thick of it. She looked up at Malasigo who turned to face her. She sprung back to her feet, darted to them, and swept them up in her arms. “You guys are so tough! That was amazing!” She laughed, “Wow!” 

The two of them struggled a little and she let them go, they landed on their feet and looked up at her. Despite its initial disinterest, the light half seemed energized. She pat it on the head, “Good job protecting your twin, real good job.”

“Hey Paula,” Gregory’s voice came from nearby. She blinked and looked up at him, his hand outstretched. “I won’t lose next time.”

She grinned and clasped hands with him, “We’ll see. That dratini of yours has a fire in its belly.”

“Victory goes to Trainer Paula!” Jubilee shouted, startling both of them. They turned to look at her and she scratched her nose, “Don’t tell me you two forgot about me?”

Gregory rubbed the back of his head, “Might have gotten a bit swept up in the match.”

Jubilee huffed, “Trainers. Typical,” She shook her head and smiled, “One heck of a first match. Your pokemon listen pretty well too. You guys both come from trainer families, right? Guess that gives you a bit of an edge.”

Gregory frowned, “Blood’s got nothing to do with it,” He said evenly and shoved his hands into his pockets, “I’m going to prove it.”

Paula looked up at him, the scowl was a bit of a shock. He turned on his heel and marched towards the helicopter without a word. She glanced at Jubilee who shrugged apologetically and then down at the twins. She pulled out their pokeball, “You guys deserve a rest,” She said and drew them back into the ball. She brushed herself off and hopped to her feet before giving Jubilee one more look, “Thanks for everything, Jubilee!”

“Good luck to you kids! I’ll be watching!” 

Paula and Gregory climbed onto the helicopter and found that there were no other trainers waiting for them. She glanced over at the only other person in the seating area and spotted her ‘friend’ from when she’d first arrived. Though she’d never seen his face properly, that smirk beneath the helmet was all she needed. He tapped the side of his helmet and offered the pair of them a salute before getting to his feet and helping them into their straps. When they were finally secured he spoke into the microphone for all of them to hear; “Now departing the SS Baumsat, we’ll be arriving at Oracay Island via the Nagua City Port in about an hour, get comfortable!”

Paula leaned back in her seat while Gregory fiddled with his rotom phone next to her. She glanced over at it, noting the case. She squinted at it a little and tilted her head, the pattern familiar to her; “Is that a Morpeko Case?” She asked she pulled the headset on, the noise of the helicopter blades starting to drown out her voice.

Gregory smiled, “Sure is! Mom got it for me, a little reminder of home.”

She pulled out her own Rotom Phone and looked it over, her classmates back in Paldea had thought it was a little weird that she didn’t get her own case. Maybe now was a good time. She pulled up a site to shop on and stopped, how the heck was she supposed to get things delivered? Rotom storage only worked on items that were present, and using rotom storage for purchasing online was something people talked about but it had never been implemented. She sighed, it wasn’t a big deal. Maybe there’d be somewhere to shop in Nagua City.

Paula leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, trying not to think about the still sea beneath them filled with dangerous wild pokemon. The close encounter with the Metagross had reminded her of just how hostile they could be. She forced herself to relax, taking a few deep breaths while Gregory hummed noisily over the microphone. Before she even knew it, she’d slipped off into a light nap.

Paula woke with a start as a voice rattled her from sleep. “-in for a landing! Have a look out the window!” Came the ranger’s voice. She shook her head and twisted her body a little in her seat to peer out the window.

They were just minutes away from a lengthy stretch of coastline framed by the glassy waters of the sea. A large port stretched out over the water with factories and warehouses lining the raised platforms. Heavy-looking ships were docked here and there, their frames covered in dents and patches. Beyond the industry, a sizeable city stretched out across the coast with tall buildings gleaming over it. Nagua City was just like any trade hub, from the looks of it. Heavily populated and dense. But where it differed was the dense jungle that surrounded it on all sides. She could see some clear territory off to the right, what looked like farmland, but otherwise it felt like the entire city was practically choked by jungle.

“Nagua City, huh?” Gregory murmured.

“It’s huge,” Paula breathed, she glanced back at the ranger, “Is this the biggest city in Roelle?”

The ranger looked up, “Second biggest, the biggest is Mabitu City on Okre Island, that’s where the capital is. It’s also where the League is planning on setting up its headquarters.”

“Makes sense,” Paula said, looking back out the window and turned away as the helicopter banked a bit, the view fading as they made a straight shot for the port. Within moments, the helicopter was descending vertically. She rubbed her thumb into her palm, chewing on her lip. This was it, everything started here. She glanced over at Gregory who was tapping his foot rapidly. “So we’re the last two to get started, huh?”

Gregory nodded, “No worries,” He said, “Catching up shouldn’t be hard.”

“We going our own way after this?” She asked.

Gregory thought about it for a moment and nodded, “I think so,” He turned to her, “We’ll meet up again though, I want to see where you’re at now and then,” He said with a wild grin.

She crossed her arms and shrugged, “Malasigo and I will just take you to task again,” She said, “I’m not worried.”

He barked out a laugh, “Looking forward to it!”

The helicopter rattled once as it landed on the hard surface below. Paula looked down at the restraint and hit the button properly this time, releasing herself. She glanced over at the Ranger who shot her a cheery smile. “Good luck, Trainer Paula, it’s a crazy place out there. Pokemon here get big.”

She raised an eyebrow, “You remembered my name.”

You are reading story Pokemon: Roelle at novel35.com

He shrugged, “Let me know if you need to visit the Baumsat again. We make regular trips back and forth from here.”

Before she could get up, Gregory had already dislodged himself, darted to the door, and hopped onto the surface below. He threw his fists up in the air and whooped, shouting something incoherent over the sound of the helicopter. She rolled her eyes and took it a bit slower, pulling herself up and walking past the ranger. She paused as she was leaving and turned back to him, “Thanks, for uh…” She tugged on one of her red strands, “Back when I first arrived. Helped with the nerves.”

He smirked again and waved a dismissive hand, “Go on, git,” He teased. 

She smiled back at him and hopped off the helicopter, at long last putting her feet on the ground in Roelle. The smell of the sea washed over her, oil and rust came next. She looked up at one of the huge ships in the distance, cargo containers being loaded and offloaded by humongous cranes. Crews were working here and there, pokemon were assisting them. She spotted a pair of machoke standing in front of a dock worker who was giving them instructions. Overhead wingull circled before darting down towards something in the water.

She adjusted the strap on her messenger bag and turned to Gregory. He was looking at her with a twinkle in his eye and put his hands on his hips. “Guess this is it,” He said. “You better not disappoint, Paula.”

“Right back at you,” She quipped, “See you at the first gym.”

“Sounds like a plan,” He said and pulled out his rotom phone. He tapped a few buttons and a box appeared at his feet in a flash of light. He tapped the side and to her shock it expanded into a bicycle. She facepalmed as he mounted it and shot her a cocky salute, “Later!”

She sighed, why didn’t she think of that? She’d have to save up and buy one as soon as she could. For now, she had to come up with a plan. She started walking, pulling up her phone and opening up the navigation app. To her relief a proper map of Nagua City appeared. It was a network of streets and pathways between the major sections. There was a note indicating that the far side of the city lead to ‘Roelle Route 1’. The far eastern side of the city had an arrow indicating ‘Oracay Produce District’ and to the west was a veritable wall of trees that stretched out beyond the city and filled a good portion of the island called ‘Mura Jungle’.

She dug deeper into the city, there was only one Pokemon Center located there and it had open accommodations for trainers. That was good, she didn’t want to swing a hotel or do a lot of camping if she didn’t have to. That would also put a strain on what food was left inside of the shelter. Speaking of which, she pulled it out and turned it over, checking to see if it had recharged. She was relieved to see that it was ready for deployment, a tiny green light at the end of the pull tab shining steadily. 

She was about to put it away when a voice called out to her, “Hey! Watch it kid!” 

She stumbled and whipped her head around before stepping out of the way of a pair of machoke as they barreled their way past her. A dock worker rushed in her direction. He was covered head to toe in protective gear, his darker skin hidden behind goggles and a thick beard and moustache. He put his hands on his hips, “You alright? You shouldn’t be out here!”

She swallowed, “Uh, yeah, sorry, just got here.”

He frowned and tilted his head, then nodded, “Right, you outsiders are arriving today aren’t you? Well hurry up and get into town. You’re in the way.”

He gruffly pushed past her, going to follow the Machoke. She stood there for a moment and watched him go. She guessed it was possible that not everyone here in Roelle was happy about the changes that were coming but he didn’t have to be so rude. One hell of a way to welcome people. She turned back to her phone and quickly set the pokemon center as her destination before hoofing it. It’d take her nearly an hour by foot to get there and time was wasting.

Before long she had dodged and weaved her way through the docks, avoiding a few more close calls and trying not to think too hard about the angry shouts sent her way as she accidentally held up work. The place was packed, small vehicles crammed into the flood of people and goods and moving at a snails pace. There were workers physically carrying product on their shoulders while standing hip to door with cars and following the flow going either direction with no real lanes of traffic to be seen. It was chaos.

After nearly ten minutes of it she finally found herself at a wide avenue that seemed to stretch all the way down to the heart of the city. While the docks were crowded, the main avenue seemed to at least have more of what she considered to be a normal population. The sidewalks always had at least five or six people on them and small clusters formed now and then at corners, waiting to cross. Along either side of the road small stores were open with big signs and someone stationed out front, trying to lure in whomever passed by. Paula narrowly avoided being tempted into a phone shop when her stomach growled, giving her an excuse to slip away.

That pang of hunger, though, made the smell of fresh cooked breads and coffee all the more tantalizing as she made her way up the avenue and towards what looked like an open air cafe. She squinted at it from afar, trying to see if all the tables were taken but a crowd had formed outside of it, people stopping and gawking at something she couldn’t see. She waited for the traffic to slow at the intersection before hurrying across the street to get a better look. There, she stopped at a low fence surrounding the cafe and leaned over, peering at the exchange that was taking place.

A woman was sitting at one of the tables, she was terrifyingly pretty. Starlight white hair glittered with what had to be actual glitter in the sunlight. She was pale and wore an off-gray suit accompanied with a pink tie. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of enormous fashion sunglasses. She was sipping her coffee quietly while a man and a woman crowded her from the left. They both wore baggy cargo pants and high boots that reminded her of soldiers, both of them wore collared shirts lined with pockets. Beneath the shirts she could see t-shirts emblazoned with some kind of green and yellow logo. The girl leaned over the woman and gave her a hostile look.

“Huuuh? What you say? Were you listening? We told you to go home, outsider!” The girl snarled, shoving her hands into her pockets. She pulled out a pokeball, “Or do we need to encourage you?”

The woman didn’t so much as flinch, sipping again at her coffee, “I heard you, I’m afraid I don’t have any pokemon with me to entertain you. Could you lean back a bit, dearie? I can’t see the crossword,” She crooned, her voice smooth as butter. 

The girl stepped back, startled by the casual response, “W-huh? Oh-uh sorry!”

The guy rounded on his partner, “Don’t appologize!” He pulled out his own pokeball and growled, pushing his partner out of the way. “Doesn’t matter if you don’t have pokemon or not! We’ll see you out of here one way or another!”

Paula glanced at the crowd of onlookers, no one moved an inch, they all seemed either scared or curious about what was going to go down. She sighed and grabbed the rail for the fence and with a grunt, pulled herself over it and to the other side. She reached for Malasigo’s pokeball and activated it, “H-hey!” She shouted nervously, the eyes on her suddenly firing up her stage fright. She grit her teeth and powered through, “Back off! She’s got e-every right to be here as much as you!”

The two thugs looked up from the woman and scowled, the man spoke first, “Another outsider, huh? Looks like you’re new in town otherwise you’d have half a sense to back off and let us do what we do best.”

The girl stepped around the woman and brandished her own pokeball, “We’re Team Hearth! And we’re here protecting Roelle from strangers and outsiders like you! So what’s your deal huh? Why are you dirtying up our home with your presence?”

Paula swallowed and looked over at the crowd then back at them, she straightened up, “I’m Paula, a Trainer from the League.”

The woman at the table glanced her way, smiling at her from behind the pair of thugs. Paula didn’t notice, she felt a tension work its way up her leg. She glanced around at the other tables in the area and took a step backwards while the two thugs looked at one another. “Trainer? League?” The guy muttered and then whipped his head in her direction, “So they finally started importing you lot! Gonna have to report about that after we smash you!”

The woman cleared her throat, “Could you do that outside of the cafe? Rather impolite to the nice people keeping this place clean for everyone.”

Paula nodded, “Yeah, this isn’t the place for a battle.”

The two thugs frowned but nodded, they pushed their way out of the cafe and through the crowd. Paula, committed now, hopped the fence and stepped out into the street. She thumbed Malasigo’s pokeball while tapping her foot, waiting for the pair to- a flash of red light and sound drew her attention and an oddish came leaping out and into the air, spinning once and letting out its warbling cry. Paula gasped and quickly called out Malasigo, the twins appearing in their own flash of red light. From somewhere nearby she heard the guy shout; “Stun Spore!”

Paula hopped backwards, “Malasigo, stay out of the dust!” She shouted, gesturing to the sudden explosion of yellow particles that erupted from the Oddish’s mouth.

Malasigo obeyed, pirouetting to the left and out of the way of the cloud. Paula moved as well, avoiding it as best she could. The dust carried past her and she could feel her skin tingle a little as a few particles clung to her. She ignored it, “Disarming Voice!”

Malasigo darted towards the Oddish and stopped abruptly right in front of it. The tiny bulb with leaves looked up at Malasigo in surprise, as the twins stared down at it. A faint glow rippled off the pair and her pokedex shouted something from her pocket.

New move detected: Copycat. 

New move detected: Leer.

The Oddish shrank a little as the light colored twin opened its mouth and released a shriek of pink ripples of light, battering the plant and sending it tumbling head over heels backward. It landed in a heap, its eyes spinning while the two thugs burst from the crowd. The guy held out his pokeball with a snarl and recalled his pokemon while the girl threw out her pokeball. It landed and burst open, revealing what looked like a very small, tan colored purrloin. The tiny feline hissed angrily, bearing wicked looking teeth.

“Purrloin! Bite that thing!” The girl grunt shouted.

Paula rolled her jaw, “Malasigo! Leer!”

The dark one looked back at her confused just in time for the Purrloin to leap onto it’s arm and bite down. It let out a cry of pain, whipping its arm about and trying to dislodge the Purrloin. Paula blinked, what happened? She slapped her face, Leer had been a result of Copycat! She shook her head and gestured again, “Sigo, get that Purrloin off your sibling! Mala, Copycat! Try Stun Spore!”

This time, Malasigo responded to her command, the white half smacked the Purrloin with its tiny hand, swatting at it a few times until the Purrloin released its sibling. The dark half opened its mouth angrily and a cloud of gold dust crashed into the Purrloin, causing the little creature to stumble and collapse, its limbs twitching. Malasigo was about to go in for the final blow when Paula raised her voice, “Malasigo give it space!” She shouted then turned to the girl, “It’s over! Recall your pokemon and go away!”

The girl clicked her tongue and held out her pokeball, recalling the strange looking purrloin. She looked at her partner and they pointed in her direction, “This isn’t over, outsider. The boss is going to know that you jerks are here now and we’re coming for you.”

With that, the two of them ran away. Paula held out her pokeball, “Thanks Malasigo. I appreciate you holding back.”

The dark one saluted her while the light one clicked its tongue before vanishing into its own flash of red light. Paula returned the pokeball to its travel size and slipped it into her pocket. She needed to switch to a trainer belt when she had a moment, she thought, as the crowd erupted into conversation. A few of them clapped while some of them just walked away. It seemed like the people present had mixed opinions on how they wanted the showdown to go. Paula rubbed the back of her neck and nodded to a few of those clapping. Most of the applause ended save for one pair of hands that kept going as the people dispersed. The woman at the table was still sitting but her eyes were fixed on Paula.

“Bravo! Bravo dearie! A good match, two in a row, too! You have talent!” She crowed.

Paula walked over to the fence nearest the woman and stopped, feeling a bit better now that the crowd was gone, “You alright, ma’am?”

“Please! Call me Sonya!” The woman laughed, waving a dismissive hand, “What a show, very kind of you to intervene on my behalf.”

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Paula said uneasily.

“On the contrary! There are some mixed feelings here in Roelle about going international, and Team Hearth is made up of the strongest of those feelings. They would have certainly turned their pokemon on me without hesitation,” Sonya said, “You saved my bacon.”

Paula flushed and tugged at one of her red strands, “Right… so uh, what are you doing out here anyway? You don’t strike me as someone from the league. They’d be carrying pokemon too.”

Sonya laughed, “Oh no! Definitely not from the league! I’m a Pokemart representative,” She said, polishing off her coffee and getting to her feet. She extended a gloved hand, “Paula right, charmed to meet you.”

Paula shook her hand, “Y-yeah.”

Sonya put her hands on her hips, “Still, I have to find a way to show my appreciation,” She tapped her chin and before Paula could turn her down she raised a finger, “Aha! I’ve got it. I’ll give you this,” She turned to the table and opened up a small white suitcase, pulling out what looked like a rotom-upgrade card. “Here you go!”

She handed over the card, it looked thicker than some of the others. Must be a pretty big app. She looked up at Sonya who grinned at her and raised an eyebrow; “What is it?”

Sonya puffed out her chest, “That, dearie, is an update to the Rotom Storage! It allows you to make purchases online and have them deposited directly into the Rotom Storage network! You can buy anything and have it on hand immediately! Isn’t modern technology amazing?”

Paula gawked at it, “R-really? Wait, how? What?” She stammered, “I mean I’ve heard that it was possible but- how much does something like this cost?” 

Sonya waggled a finger, “I wouldn’t ask that kind of thing, dearie,” She teased, “Not good for the heart!” She laughed and tilted her glasses down, revealing a pair of vibrant pink eyes. She winked at Paula. “There’s a couple charges on that card, give it to a friend or maybe a boyfriend or girlfriend,” She let her voice drop playfully and then stood up straight. “The system is a prototype, only people connected to Pokemart International have access to it.”

Paula turned beet red and pulled out her phone, shyly tapping the card to her phone. There was a faint beep and the Rotom Phone announced that it’d accepted the upgrade with a delighted voice. She slipped the card back into her pocket and gave a polite bow to Sonya, “Th-thank you, ma- uh, Sonya.”

“Perish the thought! I want to see you trainers thrive here in Roelle! It’s good for business!” She crowed, “Now! I really should be off, I have a meeting to attend at one of the local businesses, don’t want to be late!”

And with that, the hurricane of a woman left Paula in the dust. Speechless, she dumbly looked down at her phone and pulled up the shopping app. A small symbol to the right indicated that anything purchased would be deposited directly into her rotom storage. She let out a breath through her nostrils, that would really, really help.

Heartened, and with a new tool at her disposal, she pulled her map back up and got her bearings. She still had a way to go before she got to the pokemon center and she wanted to claim a room before nightfall. She wasn’t sure how the other trainers did things but it was still showing vacancies, that meant that some of them at least had gone straight out to the wild pokemon areas instead of setting up ahead of time. Work smart, not hard, she thought to herself and slipped her phone back into her pocket.

The rest of her walk to the Pokemon center was largely uneventful. When she found the building it was tucked between two taller structures. The center itself had to be at least six or seven stories tall and looked more like a hotel than a small hospital. She slipped inside and found that among those present she was one of five who were wearing the mobile center watches. A few of them glanced her way and waved but otherwise kept to themselves. She approached the counter where a woman in a nurse’s uniform and stylized pink-streaked dark hair stood. She pulled out Malasigo’s pokeball and set it down on a tray.

“Hi! Welcome to the Nagua Pokemon Center!” The ‘Joy’ said.

“Hey, thanks,” Paula said, “I’d like to check in for at least one night too.”

“Trainer ID please!” The woman said, holding out her hand.

Paula handed over her ID and the woman scanned it on a panel before nodding, “Trainer Paula. We’ll get…” She paused and looked at her screen. “Malasigo right as rain in no time! Your room is 307, you can use your trainer ID as your key to the room.”

“Thanks,” Paula said, “Glad to see you guys here.”

“Of course! Pokemon Centers were the first League-related establishments set up when the process began. We are already ready in every major city in Roelle!” The woman said and bowed, “Enjoy your stay!”

Relieved, Paula took a moment to take in the common room. It was a large open space filled with tables and couches. The centerpiece of course was the reception and treatment desk, however, there was also a pokemart merchant on one side and a cafe and deli on the left. She approached the deli and held up her ID. The employee took it and swiped it once before giving her a selection of meals she could have for lunch as part of her stay. She selected a hearty sandwich and salad combo and snagged herself a bottle of water before making her way to a couch to eat.

She wondered what Malasigo ate as she bit down on the bready sandwich and sighed, thinking of home. It was the first time she’d thought of Paldea so longingly since she’d started this whole thing. Home. She wondered if the PCs here would let her call home.

She finished her meal and meandered over to the PC, logging in with a swipe of her ID and selecting the call function. She punched in her home number and waited, putting the headset on for a little privacy. There was a long pause as it rang and rang before finally it connected. The screen flashed and buzzed a few times before fizzling out and showing a ‘international call - poor signal, no visual’ warning. She sighed, “H-hello?”

Another long pause, “...Paula?”

That deep voice, hard and clipped, “Dad?”

“Hey,” He grunted. “Still alive?”

“Yeah,” Paula said, a smile warming her face. “Still kicking.”

“Good. Got your first partner?”

“It’s name is Malasigo. I’ll send you a picture when I can, it’s a new species.”

“Looking forward to it.”

“How’s mom?” Paula asked.

There was another long pause, “She’s in Cascarraffa.”

“Helping at the Gym again,” Paula nodded, “Sounds like her. She can’t sit still. Was surprised you answered.”

“Mm,” Was his only response for a few heartbeats and then he spoke up, “You eating okay?”

“Yeah, just had lunch. A sandwich,” She said.

“Good,” He paused again and she smiled, he was so bad at talking to people it was almost cute. Still, he was trying and that meant a lot to her. She tugged on one of her red strands and kicked her foot. Even if it was just silence, knowing he was there helped a lot. He’d always ascribed to the ‘action talks’ way of living. He cleared his throat, “Proud of you.”

She leaned forward and pressed her lips together, her chest tightening a little. She felt the warmth behind her eyes and rested her head on the screen. “Thanks. I’m gonna go. I’ll send pictures.”

“Good. Be safe Paula.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

She ended the call and let out a shuddering breath. She considered calling up the Cascarraffa Gym but knew her mom would be too busy to talk. Sighing, she set down the headset and wiped her eyes. She was kind of glad the camera wasn’t working, she didn’t want her dad to see her like that. She turned from the PC and spotted the nurse waving her over. The woman set the tray down on the counter and smiled, “Malasigo is good to go!” She paused, “Are you alright?”

Paula cleared her throat, “I’m fine, just called home.”

“International call, huh? Yeah the video connection isn’t working yet,” She said with a sigh, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” She said, shaking her head. She grabbed Malasigo’s pokeball and after swapping out her belt on the outfit app she clipped it. “Thank you for everything.”

“Come see us whenever you need!” The woman chirped and bowed.

Paula nodded and turned before making for the door, an expression of determination on her face. It was time to do some exploring, she needed to get stronger and she needed a team. She checked the map one more time and selected Route 1. 

“So it begins,” She muttered to herself, and pushed through the doors.

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