Pokemon: The Dawn of Twilight

Chapters

Life Threatening Introductions! A Dangerous Start to A Journey!
Start Anew! New Region, New Faces, New Dangers!
It's Dangerous to go Alone! Choose Your Pokémon!
Go for Grass! Loss is Nature's Greatest Motivator!
Hectic Hospital Problems! Second Pokémon Acquired!
Diane in Distress! Battle the Shadowed Man!

Life Threatening Introductions! A Dangerous Start to A Journey!

A guard decorated in a captain's uniform and golden armor steps forth and places a VHS tape in a VCR, the TV lights up, displaying a map of a region you aren't familiar with at all.

"The world of Pokémon, an interesting place to be if you desire adventure, action, mysteries, and so on and so forth. If you're seeing this video tape, it means that you, my lucky viewer, have ancestral family ties to Eqtrot, and your curiosity is itching to discover the ancient past.

Oh! But where are my manners, you can't even see me at this current moment in time! Allow me to adjust this blasted camcorder... without turning it off this time."

The camera seems to shake as someone, likely the source of the deep feminine voice, trying desperately to adjust the recording device to their liking. Eventually, the device is simply turned to the right, showing off a woman in her early-to-mid thirties. Despite the long flowing navy blue hair, a few silver-ish white streaks could be seen amongst the long luscious navy locks. She wore a labcoat, one that seemed to be completely colored black, and adorned with various stars and a large crescent moon that holds the collar together.

The woman clears her throat and puts on a friendly smile, adjusting her labcoat as she looks towards the camera.

"Greetings, my name is Nocturna, I'm the Pokémon professor of the Eqtrot region. I was also one of the princesses who ruled over the kingdom of the region me and my sister called our home, but you don't have to harp on that for long. As much as I loved being a princess, doing all I could for my subjects with my royal decrees and such, being a Pokémon researcher was my true calling, especially with what my research brings to the ever expanding field of scientific study.

I study the symbiotic relationships of certain Pokémon, how such creatures interact and become like entirely brand-new species, if they trusted each other enough. We have Pokémon species like Slowpoke and Shellder, who require each other's own physical presence to evolve into a Slowbro or Slowking, but then you have Pokémon who have defied science for the longest time, like Diglett and Dugtrio, as well as their Alolan cousins, and their Paldean counterparts.

It fascinates me to know end, and I wish to know what makes these Pokémon tick, maybe even see if I can find something that helps relate to a side project I'm working on.

But, that's nothing for you to concern yourself with. Fact of the matter is, if you're seeing this video, you are essentially being recruited to aide me in my efforts. There is tons of stuff to do in Eqtrot, so that way, you can always keep yourself busy when I don't have any work for you. You will be paid and compensated fairly for your efforts, but be warned, should you shirk your responsibilities, you will be PUNISHED!!"

The entire TV seemed to shutter and quake when the professor raised her voice. You shuddered a bit yourself, but then the professor quickly takes a few deep breaths and clears her throat, realizing she let her emotions get the better of her.

"Sorry about that, but I am still serious that consequences will be enacted if you don't do your job. I can excuse the first three times you shirk your responsibilities, Eqtrot is a beautiful place, after all, but after those three times, I will not be as lenient with your tardiness and less than subpar performance.

As soon as you can, fill out the paper that the guard hands to you. Fill out your name, age, gender, pronouns, whatever you feel would be important for me to know about you. I hope my outburst didn't deter you, it's rare that I ever pull out the "Canterlot Voice" as Solesta likes to refer to as such."

The video ends and the guard steps up to you, putting a pre-printed piece of paper in front of you. It looked like a resume, but it was printed on a tough, but clearly aged piece of parchment, almost resembling a piece of an ancient scroll.

You pull out a black pen and get to writing down the designated information.

NAME:
Russell

GENDER:
Male

NATIVE REGION:
Orre

AGE:
18

HAVE YOU EVER RAISED A POKéMON BEFORE?
No

HAVE YOU LEFT YOUR HOME REGION BEFORE?
No

WHICH POKéMON TYPE WOULD YOU SPECIALIZE IN?
Doesn't matter which type, as long as the battle isn't disappointing.

ARE YOU TECH SAAVY?
I know my way around machines, but I'm not a mechanic.

WHAT WAS YOUR MOST RECENT NIGHTMARE?
... Familial Abandonment

WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL GOAL WHEN YOU COME TO THE EQTROT REGION?
To be the very best in my own right.

JUST TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE PAYING ATTENTION, WHAT IS THE PROFESSOR'S NAME?
Nocturna

WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE REGION THE PROFESSOR COMES FROM?
Eqtrot

ONCE YOU'VE FILLED OUT THE FORM, HAND THE PAPER BACK TO THE GUARD, AND FOLLOW HIM TO THE CHARIOT.

You rub your eyes due to an unexplained strain in your vision, but you shake it off and hand the paper back to the guard. You get up and follow the guard, leaving the room. It was a simple day, but this has completely changed things for you.

Now it's up to you, to figure out if that's for the best, or the worst to come.

The guard steps outside, gesturing to a rather high-tech chariot being pulled by two strange horse Pokémon you've never seen before. You sling your bag over your shoulder, and hop into the chariot, with the guard following behind you.

As the door closes, the horse Pokémon let out a whinny as they take off, pulling the chariot through a large brick tunnel. You look out the side, noticing train tracks to your left, and you're left wondering why you didn't just take the train.

The guard simply sits on the opposite end of the chariot, looking back to the front of the chariot, wondering if things are going off without a hitch. Before you can utter a single word, the chariot starts to buckle and shake for a moment. The two horse Pokémon start to panic, and the chariot comes to an unscheduled stop.

The guard is clearly irritated. "Darn it, there better not be a nest of Rattata again. Stay here, I'll go look and see what's wasting our time." The guard instructed.

The guard quickly pulls out a Poke Ball and readies it like a weapon. The guard steps out of the chariot, looking into the shadows for any sign of a threat. Before the guard can even react, something pulls him into the shadows, causing him to drop his Poke Ball in a panic.

You're not sure what to do in this situation, but you know for sure that this is a dangerous situation, and staying could mean the end of your life. You quickly hop out of the chariot and snatch the Poke Ball off the ground, pocketing it into your bag as you run to the other side of the train tracks.

As you climb onto the solid concrete platform, you can hear what sounds like a Pokémon crying out in agony, but at the same time, it's also wailing out in anger. Within the shifting shadows, you see a pair of glowing red eyes amidst the darkness, but they don't seem fixated on you, in particular.

Whether you did it out of instinct, self-preservation, or sheer terror, you immediately ran past the unknown attacker, hearing its guttural cry as it tries to follow your trail.

You jump, roll, dodge and slide around tons of obstacles, constantly trying to keep the unknown beast from getting its grasp on you, but the creature seems to just phase through the obstacles with little consideration. It was gaining on you, trying to tear the bag away from you, but you pulled out a repel and sprayed it into the beast's eyes, causing it to roar out in pain, making it withdraw back into the shadows.

As you smile at your subsequent victory, you don't have enough time to notice that the tunnel is not entirely finished on one side. You suddenly lose your footing and fall off the ledge, descending into a river and hitting your head on a very blunt rock at the bottom.

You're knocked unconscious, left to float down the river as the beast from the shadows looks down upon you, angered and clearly riled up that someone got away from it. It retreats back into the unfinished tunnel, while your unconscious body floats along the river to a nearby town.

Start Anew! New Region, New Faces, New Dangers!

You start to wake up. You're not exactly sure how long you were out, but you remember that your head is hurting like never before. You try to recollect what happened before going unconscious, but all you remember is a VHS tape, a piece of paper, a guard, a chariot, then running from some strange shadow monster in a tunnel. after that, it's all a blur. What was that thing? Was it a Pokémon? Some kind of Ultra Beast? Was it one of those Paradox Pokémon you heard so much about from news bulletins about Paldea? Just what exactly happened in that tunnel?

You weren't exactly sure what to think, but you were met by what looked like a nurse, though she seemed to be rather abrasive.

"Good, you're awake, means you won't have to be tossed with the rest of the dead schmucks we found floatin' in the river." The woman remarked coldly.

Your eyes open wide, a sense of fear and concern pulse through your body like a rush of adrenaline, and the nurse seems to smirk at your reaction, letting a chuckle escape her lips.

"It's always the newbies that're so easy to scare. Relax kid, I'm only joking, hardly anyone in Ponville Town can relate to a nurse's dark sense of humor. Anyway, you seem to have suffered a serious blow to the head when the mayor and her bodyguards fished your carcass out of the water, some nasty injury ya ended up gettin', you're lucky to be alive," You could barely believe what the nurse was saying, but it would explain the aching and pulsing sensation in your head right now. "Any chance you wanna explain yourself to me on what happened?" The nurse questioned.

You tell the nurse what you remember. The video tape, the paper the guard gave you, the chariot, the sudden stop, and it all accumulates to when you were running from the unknown beast. As you tell the nurse that you fell from a great height, your memory is shot from there on out, drowning in an unforgettable amount of blurriness and droned out motion.

The nurse looks puzzled, until she finally registers what must've happened. "Oh shoot... hey, try not to panic when I tell ya this, but that wasn't your average Pokémon. I'll have to contact Professor Nocturna, or Princess Solesta for that matter, just to tell them the bad news about one of their guards, and about another incident with the nasty thing. Didja happen to pick up anything that belonged to them, so we could identify the guard easier?" The nurse asked.

You look over at your bag and pull out a Poke Ball that once belonged to the guard, and you hand it to the nurse. The nurse quickly puts on a couple latex gloves and handles the device carefully, examining it carefully as she notices the royal stamp of approval on the bottom of it. Her expression immediately went from puzzled, to major shock.

"Oh boy, looks like Kenjins isn't making it to retirement... I always told him he'd get himself killed running into situations like this without thinking, but he never listened..." The nurse looked somber, almost melancholic that she lost what sounded like a close friend. You open your mouth to try and apologize, but the nurse places the Poke Ball on her desk and gives you a patient, yet crestfallen smile. "Don't you say a word, it wasn't your fault. Kenjins was always like that, it's just that he actually got killed this time, and it's hittin' me like a Warlax... tell ya what, why don't you take your bag and leave my intensive care unit to figure out this nonsense. It'll give ya plenty of time to explore Ponville Town, too! I'll send one of the doctors to come collect ya once we've gotten this all sorted, ya hear? And to help show you can trust me, I'm Nurse Redheart, nice to meet ya." Nurse Redheart introduced.

You could tell by miss Redheart's expression that she was in a world of emotional pain, and figured it'd be best to grab your bag and get out of the hospital as soon as possible.

You go through the various hallways and stairways, noticing tons of people and Pokémon within the vicinity, even noticing what looked like a woman-shaped figure made out of cloth, rags and was covered in stitches, like a patchwork project come to life. It looks down and stares you down with its glowing purple eye, only to simply pat your head gently and form the stitching on its head into a smile before moving on to one of the rooms.

This was not what you thought this place would be like, but it was certainly a miracle that this place had a modern day hospital, lest you end up stuck with something sucking on your wounds. You shudder in disgust at the thought, and leave out the front entrance.

As you walk out of the cold clinical hospital, you're met by a warm sunny glow on your skin, and an unexpectedly large town to explore. You follow the path and make your way through a small route, where you notice a couple of the local youth training their Pokémon. One of the Pokémon looked like a variation of the iconic Kanto mouse, Pikachu, only it seemed to be different. It was still yellow, but it also looked more green and amphibious, and its ears seemed to become almost fin-like. The other Pokémon seemed to be an entirely new Pokémon you haven't heard of before. It looked like some kind of floating ball of bird feathers, with one singular blue eye.

All of these new exciting variations of familiar Pokémon, and brand-new species to boot, and here you are without a single PokéDex to identify any of them. Knowing you'd likely end up dead without a PokéDex and Pokémon of your own, you decide to explore Ponville Town for a little while, in hopes of finding a Pokémon laboratory, and by proxy, find the professor you saw on the tape.

As you walk through the bustling streets of Ponville Town, you start to pick up on how this town functions. Some areas and shops in town are very old, one could actually describe them as ancient, but they're still in business. Meanwhile, there are some more recognizable modern day shops and buildings that make sense. There's a Pokémon center, which looks like a smaller version of that hospital, but for the first time in a while, you also see a separate building right next door to it. A Poke Mart. This region clearly doesn't seem to have the two buildings come in one convenient package like the rest of the world does.

You look around even more, noticing what looks like a wooden trailer. You aren't entirely sure what to make of the structure, but soon enough you pick up on the sound of someone in distress.

"A-Aah!! H-Help!!" A gruff and masculine voice rang out in terror.

You quickly follow the sounds of distress until you're met by a small crowd of skunk Pokémon. The one in danger seems to look like a grown man with huge rippling muscles, and blonde hair in a crew cut style, yet he seemed terrified.

"Y-You there!! Help me, man!! These Mintimusk won't leave me be!!" The man cried out.

You explain to the man that you don't know how to help, especially without a Pokémon of your own, but before the situation can get too out of hand, a blast of some kind of yellow-ish green fluid spews out and blasts the odd Pokémon away.

You look over to where the attack came from, and then you're met by a tan-skinned blonde girl dressed in overalls, a flannel, and a stetson planted on top of her head. She held a Poke Ball in her hand, and right beside her was some kind of red apple bat Pokémon by her side.

"Phew! Good thing ah got here as soon as ah could! Saw this 'ere stranger runnin', and plum done almost assumed he was causing a racket. But, I guess it's a good thing I was wrong, otherwise Appampire would've hosed ya down." The farm girl remarked.

You feel relieved that you weren't on the receiving end of that Pokémon's attack, and the huge strong man seemed just as thankful to have been saved.

"Yeah!!! Thanks Jackson, I guess I got too in over my head this time. I owe you one, big time!" The man thanked.

As the man ran off towards the Pokemon center, the girl steps over to you, eyeing you up, as if she's trying to find a reason to be wary of your presence. After a good twenty-six minutes of being looked at by this "Jackson" girl, she finally backs off and smiles.

"Yeah, you're alright. Just had tah make sure you weren't one ah them troublemaker-types. Allow me to properly introduce myself," the girl takes her stetson off and holds her hand out for a handshake. "Howdy partner! My name's Jackson, if ya couldn't already tell when Bulk gave me a bit of thanks for savin' his keister, heheh. You already saw my Pokémon Appampire, but don't you fret, she don't bite." Jackson introduced.

You nod and shake her hand, introducing yourself briefly. You feel another twinge of pain in your head, and you rub your injury carefully. Though Jackson seems to find it rather funny, which puts a confused look on your face.

"Heheheh... whoo! Sorry partner, I just can't imagine someone like you runnin' around with a big ol' knot on yer head, and tryin' tah help someone out of trouble in the same span of time. I reckon ya just came from the hospital, correct?" Jackson asked.

You nod your head yes, which seems to make Jackson grin from ear-to-ear. "Well shucks, ain't that a blazing kick to the rear! Didja also get stuck with Redheart, too? She might be a bit abrasive, but trust me, though she is still a nurse, she's got the capability to be a great doctor. Though, don't go tellin' her I told ya that. It's a sensitive subject for 'er," a small set of rhythmic beeps echo out from a watch on Jackson's wrist, and she suddenly gets in a panic. "Well wrangle me in like a horde of mad Tauros! All this chitchat has got me runnin' late! Sorry partner, but I gotta skedaddle! Good luck with whatever you're doing, and once ya get a Pokémon, find me at my family's farm! I'll give ya a proper battle!!" Jackson exclaimed, running down the road with her Appampire flying right behind her.

You aren't entirely sure what your opinion is about this town, but something about it makes you feel a sense of nostalgia, one that's been renewed by a sudden dose of vigor.

You look towards the Pokémon center and decide to try and get directions from someone inside. As you walk into the building, you stop at the front doors and look around behind you. You're not sure why, but you feel like someone... or something is watching you from afar.

As you venture into the Pokemon center, you can see that Bulk guy trying to talk with one of the nurse joys on-duty. You can also see someone else doing maintenance on a PC, though they seem too intimidating upon first glance. You decide to walk up to the counter, where Bulk pockets a Poke Ball and walks out of the building.

You look at the nurse joy, only to be genuinely surprised when you see a man behind the counter. The man was clean-shaven, had his dark blue hair tied back in a ponytail, and wore a cleric-styled robe with the signature colors of the nurse joy uniform, with some obvious changes like long black sleeves and a black hood. His piercing blue eyes brought a warm sense of welcome, as well as an air of mystery and intrigue.

"Greetings, traveler! Welcome to the Pokémon Center. My my, you're quite the brand-new face in town, and judging by your surprise, you weren't expecting to see someone like me behind the counter. That's fair, so allow me to properly introduce myself. I'm John, I'm filling in for my sisters when they come back from medical school. Don't you worry, I'm just as capable of healing your Pokémon, and answering any questions you might have." John introduced.

The man behind the counter clearly seems to be trustworthy, though the addition of black to a medical uniform is rather surprising, not like you're one to judge, you're still wearing the clothes you wore, and they've been soaking in river water.

The fact that he's willing to answer any question, however, is what has you relieved. You kindly ask the man if he knows where a Pokémon laboratory is in this town, and the man gives you a wry smile. "Ahh, so Nocturna's got another assistant to crack the whip at, hm? Well, I can tell you that it's on the outskirts of town, to the west of the train station," John looks at your puzzled expression, and gives you a more patient smile. "Ahh, I see. You're still new to town, that's fine, just look for the train tracks, and head west till you see a large castle-like structure. That's Nocturna's lab, it's a bit hard to miss once ya see it." John explained with a chuckle.

You nod your head and thank the man behind the counter, and you leave the building as soon as you entered.

As you exit the Pokémon center, you know exactly where you need to go, and that's to a set of train tracks. You continue to look around for a train station, hoping to avoid as much contact as possible, but you try to keep John's words in mind. The lab is a castle-like structure, and it's located on the outskirts of this town to the west. You also try to keep the train station in mind, just in case the man's words were a bit more literal than just simple hyperbole.

Eventually, you do make it to what looks like a train station, and you start following the tracks west. Before you know it, you notice a path that seems man made, and it leads into a large forested area. You notice that the path is blocked by a large thick chain, with a wooden board glued to the front of it, with a message written on it.

[PRIVATE PROPERTY - DO NOT ENTER]

At first, you figured these directions were a bust, but then you see a castle like structure towering above the tree line in the distance. Though the sign said to not enter, you knew you had to get to the lab. You throw all caution to the wind, and hop over the chain, and get a running start into the Everfree Forest.

It's Dangerous to go Alone! Choose Your Pokémon!

You walk around the forest, avoiding the tall grass and any shady clearings as possible. Soon enough, you find yourself observing a couple bee Pokémon you haven't seen before, shocker, I know. You're unsure as to what these creatures are, but it's clear to you that staying away from them is the best option for now, at least until you have a Pokémon of your own to defend yourself with.

You venture on a paved path that seems to lead to a fork in the road. You look up and try to see the lab from where you are, but it seems the leaves and branches have gotten thicker and bushier than you previously thought possible. You'll have to make a risky choice and hope it's the right one, but just as you try making a choice, you suddenly hear what sounds like a howl in the distance. You assume it's some kind of canine Pokémon, but something about the howl sounded different.

It almost sounded like something was whistling into the howl itself, like wind passing through a wooden instrument. You start to pick up on a strong smell, the smell of timber wood. You immediately deduce that this is one of the forest's native species of Pokémon, but you don't have any Pokémon to defend yourself with.

As you close your eyes and brace for the worst, you feel a soft, yet firm hand grasp onto your arm and pull you onto the right path, in the literal sense. A hand covers your mouth, and your eyes snap open. You follow the arm and see who it belongs to. A woman with navy hair, streaks of silver and white, and wears a black labcoat adorned with stars.

Before you can attempt to say anything through her hand, she puts a finger to her lips, almost like she's telling you to be quiet. The sound of trees being disturbed and uprooted from the ground was the least of your problems.

From beyond the hiding place the professor pulled you into, you could see the Pokémon that let out that whistling howl. It was a large wolf-shaped creature, its skin looked to be sculpted and widdled from timber wood, all while large thorn-like nails protrude from the ends of its feet. Its eyes glowed yellow with an aggressive and primal fervor, but before it could try and track whatever it was picking up, the beast sniffed the air, growled and immediately went back the way it came.

The professor immediately pulls you up to your feet and pulls you down the path by your ear. "You have a lot of explaining to do, young man. You couldn't heed the warnings on the sign, could you!? The fact that you don't look like anyone in Ponville Town tells me all I need to know. You're that boy from the Orre region who was supposed to be my new assistant, and now I have to deal with my brand-new assistant nearly getting himself mauled to death by a Fibrewulf!" Professor Nocturna was clearly not in the best mood at the moment, and she definitely didn't seem this agitated on the tape, from what you can recall. "Relocate your lab, she said. We can finally find another use for our old castle and save on resources, she said. You'll be fine, she said. Why did I listen to my idiot sister again?! Oh, that's right, she funds my research, the same research that has basically become utter garbage!" Nocturna growled, mumbling to herself.

You take notice of where she's pulling you, and before she can say another word, she notices your attention being grabbed by the sight of her lab. "Yes, it's a nice place, but look at the location it's in! All of these renovations are useless when the lab is in the midst of the Everfree Forest, but did my sister care? No!" Nocturna griped, pulling you into the lab.

The inside of the lab was grand and large, consisting of computers, solar panels, as well as various guards and scientists in lab coats. You weren't even listening to Nocturna's continued rant about her sister anymore, you were just enamored by how high-tech and high-maintenance this place was. Once an abandoned and dilapidated castle that had such rich history, was now refurbished and renovated into a Pokémon laboratory fit for royalty. It almost felt disgraceful to step into such a building, much less be dragged in by the professor who owns it.

Nocturna dragged you over to a table covered in a star-patterned cloth, with three Poke Balls present on the table. "You, wait here. Don't leave this spot and especially don't touch those Poke Balls! Not without my say so. I need to get my blood pressure medication, I'm way too high strung right now." Nocturna instructed firmly.

The professor leaves up a set of stairs, and goes to find her medication, leaving you on your own to wait on her return. So many questions are going through your head. Why was she so high strung? Why was she taking her aggression out on you? Was she that mad you didn't show up on time, or was there another reason at play?

It was hard to tell with the professor, she looked like she was running herself ragged, when exposed to some proper light. She had bags under her eyes, unlike how she looked in the VHS tape, basically glowing with youthful vigor, now she's basically acting aggressive.

Before you could ponder on possible theories for her behavioral change, you saw her coming back, and she seemed a bit calmer than before, though she still looked like a bit of a wreck. Her hair was frizzy and unkempt, she was clearly deprived of a few good hours of sleep, but she seemed to be in a much better mood, all of a sudden.

"Phew... good thing I found my medication, otherwise I'd probably go mad by this point if I didn't have them... You there, young man, forgive me for my abhorrent and aggressive display, for it was not my intention to act in such a manner towards you, I was merely agitated that my last assistant basically walked out on me two days prior to your arrival," You nod your head, and the professor pointed to where your head was injured amidst the fall. "I hope your head injury has healed nicely, I would've met you at the hospital for an escort to take you to my lab, but by the time I was informed of your arrival, you had already found your way to the emergency route. I was thankful that the emergency route was made to be short and simple, but apparently not surveyed enough if a Fibrewulf could come out of the brush like that. That's on me, clearly my survey staff doesn't know what I pay them for." The professor explained, glaring over at a group of scientists who smile awkwardly and shudder at her presence.

You ask the professor if she's the same Nocturna from the vhs tape you saw, and she nods her head in approval, giving a warm smile.

"Why indeed I am, I must once again apologize for my outburst, I wasn't trying to direct my anger towards you, your head injury is a very sufficient reason for you running late, as well as not knowing where my lab was, that could also be because of it, I'm guessing," The professor walks over to a bookshelf and takes a couple books off the shelves and pockets them in her coat. "In any case, you should know that it's rather commendable to brave the Everfree Forest on your own, not many of my assistants can do what you did, and you did it all without a Pokémon of your own to protect yourself with. I commend your bravery in trying to seek out my lab, but I must ask, what happened to the guard who was supposed to escort you here?" The professor asked.

You explain to the professor what happened to the best of your ability, and her face goes a bit pale at the thought. You ask the professor if she's alright, but she immediately shakes off the feeling and tries to hide her emotions. "N-No, I'm fine! I'm just... shocked that you made it out of such a situation on your own. It was brave of you to grab the guard's Poke Ball, and you said it's in Nurse Redheart's hands at the moment?" You nod your head yes, and Nocturna seems to relax a fair bit. "Oh, good. I'll have to stop by the hospital and pick up the Pokemon Kenjins had with him, have his family decide if they wish to release it, or take it into their care. That poor creature, it probably doesn't even know its master is likely..."

The professor seems to space out for a moment, a look of melancholy and momentary grief pains her face, and she wipes a small tear from her eyes. "I'm fine, just remembered why I became a researcher..." The professor takes a deep breath and collects her thoughts. "Anywhom, I believe I'll give you some time, around maybe a week, maybe a month and a half to try and adjust to life in the lab, as well as to make yourself known to those in Ponville Town before I give you your first paid assignment... though it would be rather time consuming to send you back on your own, and the Everfree Forest's plentiful species of Pokemon can be rather... excitable, to say the least." The professor informed, now aware of the other problem she had with her lab being in this kind of environment.

The professor thought for a moment, and then her eyes shifted to the three Poke Balls on the table. She lets out a sigh, and smiles patiently. "Oh well, if it has to be done, then so be it. I shall provide you with one of the Eqtrot region's starter Pokémon. I'm well aware that calling them "starters" has been changed to labeling them as "partner" Pokémon, but to start out with such a unique and almost one-of-a-kind species, only to label it as your partner, it baffles me to see others in their ignorance," the professor took another breath and relaxed for a moment. "My apologies, some researchers nowadays have no respect for proper classifications, as you could probably guess, I'm a stickler for such details. But, enough chitchat, let me introduce you to the Eqtrot's STARTER Pokémon." The professor declared.

Nocturna wasted no time in grabbing the three Poke Balls and tossing them into the air, one by one, the starter Pokémon of the Eqtrot region were revealed in blinding flashes of light.

The first creature was a small white bunny creature with green leaf-like tips at the ends of its ears, as well as some needle-like spines poking out of its cheeks and a small orange nose. It had a brown bushy tail, which contrasted with its entirely white furry body, as did the green needle-like spines that sprouted from the bushy tail as well.

The second creature was a small round black bird that had a striking resemblance to both a baby chick, and a bomb. It had a small bronze nozzle on its head, with a small plume of fire burning out of it. It had small beady black eyes, and a big ol' beak. it had small nub-like flippers, and its body seemed to be made of a very sturdy bundle of charred feathers.

The third creature was a small blue baby gator with a vacant and thoughtless look on its face, as well as a wide smile. It opened its mouth to reveal that it had no teeth, it was all just gums. Aside from that, the creature had a tough tan-colored underbelly, as well as a small silver-colored spine growing out of the back of its head. Its back was covered in a small silver-ish chitin, but at the end of the creature's tail was a small brown rock.

The three Pokémon sat on the table, and at first, they seemed rather calm and eager, but then their personalities showed themselves in an abrupt fashion. The bunny scowled at you, crossing its little arms as it turns its back on you, while the small black bird flaps its flippers eagerly, and looks at you as if it's trying to study you. The small blue gator simply let its orange eyes go wall-eyed as it looks at you with the most thoughtless, but most adorable smile as it waddles its way towards you, only to then simply fall off the table without a care in the world.

You look at the professor, then back at the three starter Pokémon, and you are already trying to figure out your choice.

"Well, let me introduce you to them. The grass type starter is Shrubunny. As you can see, despite its small stature, and its cute and cuddly appearance, Shrubunny are known to be as abrasive and prickly as the needle-like spines that grow from their face, and as deceiving as the rocks that stick out of its tail." Shrubunny sticks its tongue out in a bratty manner and continues to ignore you.

The professor continues on with explaining. "The fire type starter is Bombirdi. Its resemblance to a bomb is no coincidence, I assure you, but there's no reason to be alarmed. Bombirdi are actually seekers of knowledge, they're always eager to learn more about the world and everything in it, but sometimes that eagerness can be a bit much for its body. The more excited it becomes, the brighter the flame on its head burns, and since it's already where a burning wick would be, let's just say it's gonna be brighter than a thousand exploding suns." Bombirdi looks at you with a look of intrigue and excitement, making you smile nervously.

The professor picks up the docile and affectionate gator Pokémon and sets it back on the table, booping its snout gently as it stands still. "And finally, the water type starter is Gumgew. Very little is known about this species, but we are constantly studying it to learn more about its habits. Despite it being a water type, all Gumgew seem to always have a rock on the end of its tail for reasons we have yet to confirm. As you already witnessed, this Pokémon is rather affectionate, as well as thoughtless. Most times when we get close to it, it will snap its toothless maw at us, often trying to bite us. We initially thought it was being hostile, but we've since confirmed it was its unique way of showing affection. Some researchers have said that Gumgew is like a metaphor for philosophy, but this remains undetermined. Me personally, I think they've finally lost their marbles." The professor explained.

Nocturna backs away from the table, leaving the three Pokémon to finally look at you, wondering which one of them is the one you'll pick.

"Well, three Pokémon with their own quirks and faults, but any of them could qualify as the starter Pokémon that speaks to you. So tell me, young man, which Pokémon do you choose as your starter? Shrubunny, Bombirdi, or Gumgew?" Nocturna asked.

It wasn't that hard of a choice, but at the same time, you made your choice rather meticulously. You were cautious, you were careful, but at the end of the day, this was gonna be the first Pokémon you raise and care for, till the day you die.

But, you came this far, and by this point, the choice was clear from the start...

Author's Note

This is where I'll leave it for now, just so I can add to some tension.

Also, yeah, I decided to do a story on this. It's not exactly one-to-one of the idea I had in store, but that's simply because of how the direction of the story changed when I decided to make a whole new character.

I'll explain it later when the story gets to a certain point.

Go for Grass! Loss is Nature's Greatest Motivator!

You reach your hand out and smile at Shrubunny. Sure, this Pokémon was being a bit of a brat, but that wasn't gonna stop you from trying to befriend it, and get it to understand. At first, Shrubunny seems hesitant to let you touch it, but after a good minute and a half of trying, the bunny seems to become more receptive, nuzzling into the palm of your hand as you gently pet its head.

Professor Nocturna seems rather surprised by your choice. "Shrubunny, hm? Gotta admit, would not have been my first pick. Bombirdi or Gumgew, maybe, but Shrubunny are rather stubborn little hares. Are you sure you want to pick Shrubunny, the grass type Pokémon?" You waste no time at grabbing Shrubunny's Poke Ball, and offering it to the Pokémon itself. Shrubunny let a mischievous grin form on its face, and it eagerly went inside of its Poke Ball, locking in your choice. "Well, can't say I'm not surprised, because I am. I was half-expecting you to be put off by the little brat, but I suppose you've got a good head on your shoulders, you'll probably be fine. In any case, congrats on picking your starter, but let's see if your Pokémon can withstand the power of my own, just so I can educate you properly on Pokémon Battles." the professor stated.

Before you knew what happened, Bombirdi and Gumgew fled to the top of the staircase, all while the professor stands adjacent to you, staring you down with a determined smile. "It's been a while since I've had a battle, so don't worry. You're new, so I'll use my weakest Pokémon against you, but don't expect it to be that easy." The professor cautioned.

You ready Shrubunny's Poke Ball as several research assistants move the table away. You and the professor lock eyes as she readies a Poke Ball of her own. The professor shows off two more poke balls in her off hand, while she sends out her first Pokémon, revealing one of those Mintimusk that was harassing someone in town earlier.

You send in Shrubunny, who seems rather eager to fight. You could tell that for a first battle, this was going to be rough. The professor was gonna use three Pokemon, while you only had your starter. Nevertheless, you decide to try and brave the difficult challenge, hoping that with a proper strategy, you can come out on top.

You're not exactly sure what type Mintimusk is, but you're hoping that Mintimusk isn't poison type.

The professor smirks and laughs. "Already feeling uneasy, and we haven't even attacked yet! Alright, I suppose I can help you understand, and that's without words! Let actions do the talking, like so! Mintimusk, hit 'em with a Tail Slap!" The professor commanded.

The opposing Mintimusk rushed forward to try and swat Shrubunny with its tail, but the grass type was able to hop over it, dodging the attack. You tell Shrubunny to use Pound, if it knew the move. It didn't seem to know it, and was immediately smacked by a Tail Slap, causing the grass type to skid across the floor.

Shrubunny picks itself up, clearly irate at being hit by the move. Shrubunny grits its teeth and swiftly charges forward, scratching the Mintimusk angrily. A couple scratches manage to land, but otherwise, Mintimusk seemed to be hurting pretty bad after that attack. Yet, Mintimusk was still willing to fight.

Nocturna laughed. "Seems like your Shrubunny is more of a solo-fighter. You'll have to work hard to rein that one in, not that it'll matter soon. Mintimusk, stun him with your Smokescreen!" Nocturna commanded.

The Mintimusk shot a thick ball of smoke from its nose, enveloping the field in a cloud of black smoke. You could feel your lungs struggling to get some fresh air, despite the fragrant mint-scented smell the smoke was filling your nostrils with. Shrubunny seemed to be getting the worst of it, coughing and sputtering, all while Mintimusk lurked in the cloud, hiding in plain sight.

You tell Shrubunny to stay on its guard and get out of the smoke. Despite having a coughing fit, the bunny blocks its face with its arms and ears, and runs towards where your voice came from. Shrubunny finds its way out of the smoke, and the entire cloud dissipates, but Shrubunny can't seem to open its eyes.

Shrubunny turned to where Mintimusk was, all while trying to open its eyes safely, with little to no avail. "If this is all you can do with a Pokémon at your side, then you're really starting to disappoint me. Don't get me wrong, you've lasted pretty well, for how short that time frame was. You're putting up a fight, sure, more than my last assistant did. However, this is where our little pow-wow ends, consider this my way of teaching you how battles aren't always fair, even to newcomers. Mintimusk, finish it off with a Mint Bomb!" Professor commanded.

It was becoming abundantly clear to you, that the professor was not being fair. If these were her weakest Pokémon, you'll have to get stronger to beat her in a much fairer fight. She beat you with just one Pokémon, you shudder to imagine what the other two are capable of.

The Mintimusk lets a potent mint-green smell exude out of its nose, eventually forming into a bright mint-scented ball of gas. It tosses the gas ball into the air, and swats it towards Shrubunny. However, before the ball of gas can hit your Pokémon, you jump in front of your starter and take the hit head-on.

The impact of the attack left you a bit winded, but you manage to take a knee and try to relax. Aside from your chest feeling sore, and also spontaneously smelling minty fresh, you went out of your way to protect your Pokémon from an unfair matchup, if it was even deemed "fair" to begin with. You smile at Shrubunny and put them back in their Poke Ball, only to slump to the ground and feel very tired.

Professor Nocturna returns her Pokémon to its ball as well, and quickly comes over to you as the smokescreen dissipates. The professor helps you back onto your feet, looking down at you with an intrigued expression. "You intervened and protected your Pokémon from harm's way. Can't say that's a legal move in Pokémon battling, but it already proved to me that you're a pretty hardy individual. Despite not having any experience with raising or having a Pokémon of your own before coming to Eqtrot, you risked your safety in a battle that was not in your favor, yet you still provided a decent show of your potential." Nocturna remarked, seeming almost proud of your sacrifice.

You give her a skeptical look, and she laughs heartily. "Yes, I'm well aware that you didn't stand a chance, that was the point. If you continued to keep fighting, eventually, you would've widdled me down and won, letting your Pokémon grow stronger, all while proving your strength and potential as a trainer. Even when you lost, you still proved your strength and potential, willing to risk your safety for that of the Pokémon you command. Shrubunny is quite the stubborn little one, it often gets fussy when it doesn't get its way, but I imagine your sacrifice will change its tune, in due time." Nocturna explained.

You look at Shrubunny's Poke Ball for a moment, and the professor walks over to an old, ancient chest that sat in-between the joining corners of some bookshelves. She unlocks it and pulls out a couple items, then walks back over to you. "Now, while you did lose, I'm a more humble and generous kind of winner. So, I've decided to give you a few tools to help aid you in increasing the strength of your Pokémon, and strengthening your bond with them. These are also going to be your beginner's tools for the tasks you'll help me with. Might as well give them to you now, so you can familiarize yourself with how they function." The professor stated.

You find yourself holding a handheld device in your left hand, and five small empty Poke Balls in your right. The handheld device looks to be purple, colored with light grays and patterned with dark gray buttons. "This here is your PokéDex. From what I learned from my various travels, their handheld digital encyclopedias that can register and record all forms of data about the Pokémon you've seen or encountered. I spent the last twelve years perfecting the final model. Most PokéDexes you see others have in their possession are finalized versions as well, but they weren't exactly made by the scientific minds of Eqtrot. They were all made by licensed big brand companies, like Silph Co., the Aether foundation, or those cheapskates at Macro Cosmos," you could tell by how the professor struggled to say those names that she clearly had a negative opinion on them. She noticed your expression and lightened up a bit, regaining her composure. "The PokéDex I'm bestowing unto you is special, because I personally constructed, programmed and built it. This was made all on my own, going off of the ancient info inside recently recovered Eqtrot scrolls. Each scroll had information that tied back to this region's native Pokémon species of olde, but some of these species still live on in the modern day, so I wrote down and re-translated the ancient texts the best I could." Nocturna explained.

You power up the machine, and notice a huge list full of empty dex entries, all except for Shrubunny's entry, and Mintimusk's half-completed entry. "That's the thing about Pokémon, young sir. A PokéDex can't completely register a Pokémon's info unless you catch it. In this case, since Shrubunny is in your care, as you are its trainer now, the complete entry is completely accessible to you. Mintimusk's, on the other hand, well, you've already seen it in our battle, so you can use the Dex to find its habitat. Good thing I gave you those Poke Balls, too, you'll need those to catch wild Pokémon, otherwise, what else are ya gonna use them for, decoration?" Nocturna explained.

You turn your PokéDex off and put it in your pocket, along with the five empty Poke Balls you've received. Before the professor can say anything else, the front doors to the lab swing open in a violent manner, startling the staff and alerting the guards. Two worried individuals rush inside, making their way towards the professor.

One looked like a guard, but seemed a bit younger, yet some how bigger than the rest, and had a few medals, ribbons and badges fastened to his chest piece, like he was a war hero, or at the very least, a youthful, but still well respected veteran.

The other looked like a woman, dressed in what looked like very casual clothing, though her shoes looked to be adorned in various small jewels. Even by having her hair tied up in a pony tail, you could just barely tell that this new girl just exudes a royal and prestigious aura.

"Princess Nocturna! We need your help, it's an emergency!" The woman cried out in panic.

Nocturna straightened herself up and cleared her throat, though she seemed a bit disinterested. "Carmilla, and mister Andrew as well? Must be quite the problem. What seems to be the issue this time?" The professor looks at you with a knowing smile. "Why don't you make your way back to Ponville Town and try to get stronger for a bit. Don't worry about me, sometimes being a princess is a "royal pain", as it were." Nocturna responded nonchalantly.

You take this opportunity to walk around the two frantic individuals and walk to the wide-open front doors. You're not sure why, but you feel as if that situation is going to rebound back towards you in due time, so you decide to do a bit of looking around and explore a bit of the Everfree Forest.

As you step out of the lab, you're immediately met by the sight of Jackson, who's wielding a rather large woodcutter's axe as she whistles and walks through the woods. You walk over, and she seems to take an important note of you being in this particular location. "Well I'll be, here I thought ya ran fer the hills! Ya vanished like a ghost-type, partner! Everyone was tellin' me how ya supposedly went to this 'ere forest, but I know no one's dumb enough to go in here, especially without a Pokémon," as Jackson says that, Shrubunny manages to muster enough strength to let itself out of its Poke Ball, only to collapse in your arms, likely still exhausted and sore from that last battle. Jackson was rather surprised, as well as impressed, but she was more-so concerned about your Pokemon's condition. "Looks like the poor feller needs healing. Ah know I got a Sitrus Berry or two in my pocket, just gimme a moment. I am rather surprised, though, ah wasn't aware that you were tryin' to make yer way to the professor all on your lonesome. Mind if ah ask what you're reckoning with, from one trainer to another?" Jackson asked, pulling out a Sitrus Berry for Shrubunny.

You sit Shrubunny down on the ground and give it the berry with no hesitation, and the lagomorphic grass-type eats it in a frenzy. Jackson smiled and laughed at the small Pokémon's voracious appetite and turns to look at you. "Quite the hungry little one, ain't it? Y'know, ah had a friend that chose Shrubunny a long time ago, but we haven't exactly been on speaking terms.. I guess seein' you with one reminded me ah better days, back when I wasn't bustin' my behind on the farm, to provide fer my family, havin' fun with friends..." As Shrubunny finishes eating the berry, it hops up and seems eager for another chance at beating the professor's team. You watch as it tries running back to the lab, eager for a rematch, but then you gently hold it in place by gently grabbing its ears, watching it flutter its feet against the ground and kick up dust in your direction. Jackson smiled, watching as the grass type tried to escape with little to no avail. "Her Shrubunny was just as stubborn as can be, also rather temperamental. Though you don't seem to be as much of a pushover as she was, so I think you'll do fine raisin' this little varmint." Jackson remarks with a smile.

You nod and decide to explain your situation, even the stuff she had no business in knowing, you just felt like it needed to get off your chest. As you explain everything, Jackson's expression becomes more curious with every word you say. By the time you finish your explanation, Jackson seems reassured by what you told her. "Partner, it takes a lot of strength to be that honest with someone ya just met, especially if yer trustin' me with that kind of knowledge. I may not be book smart, but ah know these parts like the back of a Stallfalo's hoof. Whether it's the town's layout or the routes that trainers and wandering traders like to brave, I'm familiar with every part of these specific lands in Eqtrot. I may not be familiar with whatever Pokémon that must've attacked ya, but I'm sure if ya tell Princess Solesta about it, she'll know what to do," You nod in agreement, smiling slightly that someone understands your situation a bit better. "Is there anything else ya wanna tell me?" Jackson asked.

You thought about the situation for a moment, and suddenly the realization hits you like a speeding locomotive. You've never tried to catch a Pokémon before. You pull out one of the empty Poke Balls the professor gave you, and you ask Jackson if she could teach your the basics on catching and battling Pokémon, which actually manages to confuse and surprise the farm girl.

She looks at you skeptically, as she does feel quite dumbfounded. "Yo-you're jokin', right? How in tarnation do ya not know how to catch or battle with Pokémon?! Where in tarnation do ya come from!?" You tell her the name of the region you came here from, and suddenly, the pieces start putting themselves together, and Jackson now feels a bit silly. "Orre, huh? Well shucks, well don't I feel a bit ditzy... had I've known that, I woulda picked mah words more carefully. Look, ah can bet that yer not a bad guy, yer certainly not with them "Team Snagem" sons ah guns that were makin' shadow Pokémon, or whatever stupid plan it is that they had, that's fer sure, otherwise Appampire would've chewed ya up like ah piece of jerky the moment it got close to ya," Jackson thought about the whole situation for a moment, and finally came to a decision. "Alright, I'll help ya learn the basics of bein' a Pokémon trainer. Yer lucky ah got ancestors who battle as good as they tend to their farms, which is pretty darn good, I'll tell ya what. We'll start at the crack of dawn, and I'll teach ya the basics of battle. For now, however, I need to go collect a few Timber Sticks before the sun goes down, can't use the wood stove, wood furnace, or the fireplace if we ain't got wood," Jackson swung the axe over her shoulder and started to walk away, until she stopped and looked back at you. "Hey, before I up and forget, seems like Nurse Redheart is throwin' a mighty fit that ya up and vanished. She and her doctor friends can't seem to find ya, let alone seem aware that you're in the Everfree. Ya better get back to the hospital, it seems important if Redheart's freakin' out." Jackson explained.

As Jackson walks away, Shrubunny hops onto your shoulder, and points to the lab. You give your starter a look and it eventually backs down. You decide to go back the way you came, but then you notice something in a tall patch of grass. With unnecessary encouragement from Shrubunny, who seemed pretty eager for a fight, and your own curiosity piquing your interest, you move to the patch of grass and encounter a semi-familiar Pokémon. While you never owned one, you did see someone from Unova move to Orre and have one as a housepet, and this one has seemingly adapted to the Eqtrot region's environment.

A small black feline with gray-ish green eyes stares through the brush, stanced up like its ready to pounce. You notice that it has its claws unsheathed, so it's clearly ready to battle. You look at Shrubunny, and they seem eager to fight. You watch as your starter hops off your shoulder, and stances itself up to fight, and you ready an empty Poke Ball and your new PokéDex, just in case.

The feline Pokémon lunges out of the grass, and Shrubunny charges at it, readying itself for a proper first fight, and you get ready to fend for yourself in this instigated battle.

Author's Note

Current Team

SHRUBUNNY ♂
Lv. 5

This Pokémon has a Hardy nature, and is a bit quick tempered.

Ability:
Overgrow

Moves:
Scratch
Razor Leaf

You obtained a PokéDex!

You obtained x10 Poke Balls!

Your current status with Jackson just reached the Mutual Acquaintance rank.

Your current status with Professor Nocturna just reached the Coworkers rank.

The Journey begins Now.

Hectic Hospital Problems! Second Pokémon Acquired!

You watch as Shrubunny and the cat Pokémon continue to scratch at each other, each one trying to take the other down. You turn your PokéDex back on, watching silently as the machine tries identifying the creature, and manages to get a result. The Pokémon your Shrubunny was brawling with was a Purrloin, or rather, a regional variant of the devious feline that once came from the Unova region.

Now, regional variants aren't that much of a surprise to you, it's only now in recent times that the Orre region's native Pokémon species have been making the attempt to change and blend in more with the region itself, along with its culture, even becoming something new as time passed. However, even then, after the whole disaster with shadow Pokémon and Team Snagem was settled, being an honest and fair trainer didn't even feel right. Heck, being a Pokémon thief sound like, and was even worse for those who had any Snagem Machines in their possession.

You snap back to reality for a moment, noticing that Shrubunny is constantly hopping around the Purrloin, constantly avoiding its attacks, and simultaneously agitating it. You tell Shrubunny to rush in and use Scratch, something it gladly does with a mischievous grin on its face. The scratch barely grazes the Purrloin's face, but Purrloin didn't seem affected, and if it was, it was clearly not showing any signs of being weakened.

You look at the empty Poke Ball in your hand, and you make the attempt to catch the Purrloin. Unfortunately for you, the Purrloin uses its tail to smack the Poke Ball back at you. You manage to catch it, but you do end up staggering back a bit from the sudden rebound. You're starting to get frustrated yourself and tell Shrubunny to use another attack, if it has one.

The bunny seems to get the message, and immediately starts flinging its ears toward the Purrloin. The tips of its ears start glowing green, and a small flurry of razor sharp leaves are flung from its ears, pelting and doing some proper damage to the Purrloin itself. You sigh in relief, knowing that this won't be your second loss in one day, but the Purrloin manages to get itself back up. It's clearly hurt, but it's not surrendering, or trying to run away.

The two Pokémon glared at each other for a moment before they charged at each other. Shrubunny readied another Scratch attack, while the Purrloin readied a Scratch attack of its own. As the two Pokémon collided, they both seemed to strike each other and pushed past one another. Shrubunny winced and took a knee, all while Purrloin was clearly getting winded.

Without hesitation, you decide to try throwing a Poke Ball again. You were quick on the draw and managed to smack the Purrloin on the back of its head, startling it as the Pokémon was put into the ball. The Poke Ball fell to the ground and started wiggling, all while the button glowed red. You aren't exactly sure if this is how it works, but as you approach the wiggling Poke Ball, it suddenly stops moving.

You flinch, but for a moment, there was a bright flash, and the wild Purrloin ends up escaping, breaking the Poke Ball in the process. Purrloin hisses, scowling at you in particular, it was clearly not happy at such an underhanded tactic, and it jumps into the brush, fleeing into the depths of the forest, leaving you and Shrubunny thoroughly beat, and equally embarrassed about taking another loss.

You put Shrubunny back in its Poke Ball and make your way down the route, not making the attempt to interact or encounter any of the forest's wild Pokémon, for Shrubunny's own safety. You exit the emergency path and decide to head back to Ponville town, hoping to heal your starter and maybe find your way to wherever Jackson said for you to meet her.

You enter the Pokémon center, giving your Shrubunny to John as he uses the healing machine to restore your Pokémon's strength. Soon enough, John hands you your Pokémon back and gives you a comforting smile. "Thank you for waiting! Your Shrubunny has been fully healed and restored to full strength. Congratulations on finding Nocturna's lab, by the way, she can be a bit intense but that's because she's passionate about her work. Don't worry, once she starts cracking the whip, metaphorically speaking, you'll find that she's actually rather approachable. We hope to see you again!" John expresses, bowing his head.

You pocket Shrubunny's Poke Ball and walk towards the sliding doors to your left, entering the neighboring Poke Mart. You can hear the low hum of an air conditioner blowing, keeping the interior of the store cool for the customers, but at the same time, you aren't gonna notice it for long, you won't spend too much time here, for now.

You walk up to the store clerk and you attempt to look at some items they have for sale. Some range from typical Poke Mart supplies. Poke Balls, Potions, status related items, but there were a couple new items you weren't familiar with. One was a new brand of Poke Ball that seemed to be carved entirely out of wood. It looked a little bit like a regular Poke Ball, but aside from being carved completely out of wood and the strong scent emanating from it, the button in the middle of it was green, like the first leaf you'd see in the summer.

The clerk notices you taking an interest in the Timber Ball and asks if you're willing to buy it. You notice that for a Poke Ball, it's a bit more expensive than your typical standard Poke Ball, about two times the price, to be exact. You check your wallet, and despite being soaked all to high hell, your money has had enough time to dry out and still be useable, in a sense, but you decide to hold off on getting some special Poke Ball until you've got your first paycheck, and that was likely a month or so away. You still had eight regular Poke Balls left, anyway, so you put the ball back and shake your head no towards the clerk.

The clerk smiles and hands you the ball, only asking for a hundred yen in exchange, which was rather generous of them, but you wonder if there's a catch to accepting such a deal. "Listen pal, you're new here and you clearly don't know what's what here just yet, so think of this as an equivalent exchange and investment. I give you this ball for a discount price, and I'll spend that money on new items we can bring to the shops, not only will it increase your chances of finding something you can afford, but it'll also attract new customers, and business will boom! Whaddya say, wanna take up my offer?" the clerk offered.

You look at the man with a skeptical look, the way he twirls his red and white-colored moustache with a greedy glint in his eye makes you think he might be a swindler, but you cautiously decide to go along with whatever cockamamie scam the clerk was trying to play. You give the man a hundred yen and take the Timber Ball, all while he pockets the change and works the register. "Come back soon, we might have new items in stock!" The clerk called out in a cheery tone.

You roll your eyes and walk to the front door, examining the Timber Ball in your hands. It feels like a very dense piece of wood, it almost felt like you were holding a rock of some sort that was chiseled with exact detail to make it resemble the texture of a rare type of wood, but the next time you run into a Pokémon, you'll put the ball to the test if regular Poke Balls continue to fail ya.

As you walk out of the Poke Mart, you notice a new face that was quite literally all up in your face. She had big poofy and curly pink hair that cascaded halfway down her back, fair skin, bright blue eyes, blue and yellow confetti sticking out of her hair, as well as a Poke Ball in each of her hands. She smiled from ear to ear, and jumped back as she aimed one of her Poke Balls in your direction. "I knew it! I knew there was a new person in town! Usually I'd go through with the whole introductions thing, but I've been pretty busy preparing myself for our encounter. You know how it is, typical trainer stuff," You aren't sure who this is, but she's clearly aware of who you are. "Oh! Silly me, allow me to introduce myself proper. My name's Diane, but everyone calls me Pinkie! I heard from nurse Redheart that you apparently got washed up in town, floatin' down the river like it's none of your business! Naturally, I wanted to make sure I was properly prepared to meet you, but considering the current state of how you're holding up now, There's no way I can battle you like this, especially when you only have one Pokémon!" Diane explained, introducing herself.

You feel like your brain just melted for a moment, but something about this girl kept your attention, despite your brain feeling like a pile of sad meat. Diane can clearly see the distress on your face, and smiles sheepishly. "I guess this was a bit forward of me, huh... whoops! I guess this explains why Redheart wanted me to escort you back to the hospital, something about some "important information" that she couldn't tell me, which I find to be a load of phooey! Come on, buddy ol' pal, let's getcha back to Redheart and move this story forward!" Diane stated.

Before you can even process what happens next, Diane grabs your hand and pulls you in the direction of Ponville Town's hospital, the first place you woke up after the attack. You sincerely hope that whatever happens next is calm, but you feel as if you're not gonna be that lucky.

When you and Diane finally return to Ponville General Hospital, you can see there's quite the fuss going on near the front entrance. Tons of guards are present, and it becomes rather obvious that Nurse Redheart has ended up getting injured, clutching the Poke Ball that you left in her care as she was put onto a stretcher by that same feminine patchwork Pokémon, who now seemed pretty stressed out.

You and Diane rush to her side, and Redheart immediately gives you the Poke Ball back. "T-Take it! I don't want to see that thing again for as long as I live!! It c-came out of nowhere! The rest of the patients, they're st-still inside, t-t-tormented by that-- t-that monster!!" Nurse Redheart cried out in a panic, stuttering as the guards wheeled her into some kind of medical chariot.

One of the guards approaches you, and you can tell he's pretty scared, but judging by how red his eyes were, he also took some time to shed some tears for his fallen friend. "I assume you're the one Redheart told us about, the boy who was found floating unconscious in the river?" You nod your head, and the guard holds his hand out. "I was told by her of your story, and if what she said is true... I need my colleague's Poke Ball back. I know its Kenjins' Pokémon you took, we worked together for years, became bonafide soldiers around your age... It already kills me to know he's not with us anymore, and I'd like to know that his Pokémon is taken care of, or at least sent back to his family after being discharged." The guard informed, wiping his eyes.

You hand over Kenjins' Poke Ball to the guard, and a solemn smile forms on his face. "Thanks a bunch, kid, you're gonna make a lot of people happy by letting this happen... I'll try to put in an extra good word about you in my daily report, I owe ya one, big time," The guard looked over at his colleagues and whistled towards them, drawing their attention. "Kenjins' Poke Ball has been acquired, we got what we came for!" The guard called out.

"I don't think so! The patients trapped inside still need to be saved from that... that... t-t-that thing! Someone needs to go in there and save them!" One of the doctors exclaimed.

The guards tried to diffuse the situation, but then Diane pulls you aside. "Seems like things are getting pretty nasty, but we can't let innocent people and Pokémon be stuck in there with whatever's roaming around. Come on, let's go inside and see if we can't battle this brutish beast together." Diane suggested.

You look at the one single Pokémon you have, and you shake your head no, which Diane gives you a patient, yet determined smile in response. "I know you're probably still new to the whole 'Being a Pokémon Trainer' deal, but I need someone to watch my back. I promise, I'll take care of the battles, and you just worry about scaring away the monsters that are tormenting the patients." Diane reassured.

You're very hesitant on if you should listen to this girl, but at the same time, you can't help but wonder if these people are in danger because of you. You're hesitant, but you nod your head yes. Diane smiles and pulls you to the front doors, readying a Poke Ball in her free hand.

You both enter the hospital, and despite the lights being on, it's very hard to see the interior. The inside of the building was full of some kind of smog, and while it didn't necessarily feel harmful to you, it was still pretty creepy. "Man, this could get ugly. Listen, if we get split up, I'll leave a trail of confetti for you to follow back to me, don't worry. Now, let's go find these patients and help them out!" Diane stated cheerfully.

Diane let her Pokémon out, revealing a Gumgew of her own, only green with a marble white rock on the end of its tail. "Come on, Gummy, let's rock this joint!" Diane excitedly shouts.

The water starter waddles forward, with Diane following after it. You look around and push through the smog, following the trail of confetti as you attempt to keep your wits about you. All the while, a small white hooded creature with glowing baby blue eyes looks up at you curiously, only to let out a childish booing sound, and then floats along to follow you.

You can't help but feel like something doesn't want you here, but that doesn't matter if innocent people are suffering. You try to put on a brave face and continue to push forward, hoping to catch up with Diane. As you walk forward, following the trail of confetti that Diane left behind, you turn around and finally notice the small white-hooded Pokémon that's been following your trail.

It looks like it's about to tear up and start crying, but you instinctively kneel down and hold out your hand in a friendly gesture. The unknown Pokémon, despite not having a visible mouth, seems to calm down and cheer up a bit, seeming elated that someone has decided to be friendly towards it. Curiosity takes hold of you, and you instinctively pull out your PokéDex and let it identify the hooded Pokémon.

The Pokémon in question was identified as a Buhuud, and you think back previously to your encounter with that Purrloin.

As you cringe at the recent memory, an idea comes to mind. You hold out an empty Poke Ball to Buhuud, offering a spot on your team to the small ghostly Pokémon that seems to have warmed up to your presence.

The Buhuud gleefully baps the Poke Ball's button with its large round white cloth-like nubby appendage, and immediately lets itself be captured. As the Poke Ball waddles and makes a clicking sound to confirm the catch as successful, you start to feel a little less lonely with a second Pokémon now in your party, and curiously enough, the smog seems to thin out a little bit.

You pocket your new ghostly Pokémon companion's ball and continue to follow Diane's confetti path, hoping to find the hyperactive scatterbrained girl before whatever's making the smog does.

Author's Note

You obtained a Buhuud!

BUHUUD
Lv. 3

This Pokémon has a Quiet nature, and is highly curious.

Ability:
Haunting Helper

Desc.: Converts normal type moves into Ghost type moves, and the moves that hit have a slight chance of landing a critical hit.

Moves:
Headbutt
Lick
Baby-Doll Eyes
Leer

This chapter was a bit shorter than I wanted it to be, but I am proud of introducing another couple new Pokémon in this story, one's a regional variant, and the other's a whole new Pokémon entirely.

I also introduced Pinkie's counterpart, so that also works out in my favor.

Feel free to let me know down in the comments what you think of this so far, I'm very eager to hear what you have to say.

Diane in Distress! Battle the Shadowed Man!

You continue walking down the smog cloud-ridden halls of the hospital, occasionally encountering a few ghost type Pokémon you're actually familiar with. Gastly, Misdreavus, Duskull, you encounter a couple more Buhuud as well, Shuppet too, and on occasion, you also encounter a small lean shadowy fox-shaped creature that flees from you before you can even make the attempt to battle it.

You also notice a few open doors you can walk into. Some of them have the same Ghost Pokemon you've seen before, others have people who're in dire need of directions to the lobby, and they kindly give you a couple items as thanks. Nothing special is acquired, just a couple potions, a poke ball or two, maybe a revive, the very basic gifts. One of these rooms, however, you encounter the shadow fox again, and it runs through you, phasing through your body as it darts off in an unknown direction. You're about to go after it, until you see an item on the ground from where it stood.

You were familiar with this item, it was a Reaper Cloth, but you had very little idea on what this was doing in a hospital in the first place. You decide to pocket it in your bag and leave the room, making your way back to the confetti trail, continuing your search.

After several minutes, you've followed the confetti trail intently up a flight of stairs to the next floor, occasionally encountering more ghost Pokémon you've already encountered before, even seeing a couple new Pokemon like Phantump and Mimikyu, but aside from these encounters, you keep following the trail of confetti. The sooner you find Diane, the sooner you can get out of this nightmare of a hospital.

You follow the confetti trail to the end of the hall, only to notice that you've been led to one of the patients' doors. You slowly open the door, only to notice Diane trying to pull her Gumgew free from a tendril made of bones and ectoplasm, all while the sound of rattling bones echo out. You quickly rush over to Diane's side and help force the tendril to let her Pokémon go, only for the tendril to immediately relinquish its hold on the water type as you rush forward.

Before you can even make the attempt to fight it off, it quickly withdrawals itself into the ground, leaving no sign of forced entry, almost appearing as a physical ghostly apparition. You look back at Diane, who wipes a bead of sweat from her brow and smiles brightly. "Hey buddy! Thanks for the assistance! I wouldn't've been able to get Gummy out of that nasty ghost tendril's hold on my own. Gummy tried to hurt it with its moves, but it just wouldn't affect it, for some reason," You shrug your shoulders and nod your head, only to shift your gaze and look at her Gumgew closely, noticing that it didn't seem to be harmed, as far as you knew. Diane giggled and petted her Gumgew with care before setting it on top of her head. "Really, I appreciate the help, and thanks for taking an interest in Gummy, but he's tougher than he looks. It's gonna take a lot more than some spooky tentacle to spook the shorts off of Diane Pie!" Diane stated.

You explain to Diane that you were able to help a couple people escape the hospital while you lagged behind, and you also show her the Buhuud you let join your team. Diane is fairly impressed, though she's more enamored by the Buhuud that clung to your leg, seeming nervous of Diane's hyperactiveness. Almost as fast as she was ogling the ghost type you caught, she looked up at you with a nasty sneer, glaring at you irately. "Why didn't you tell me sooner that you had another Pokémon this whole time!? And such a cutie, to boot!~ Were ya holdin' out on me to get out of a battle!?" You try to explain to Diane that you just caught it a moment or so ago, but before Diane can try to say something, a cacophony of warped twisted sounds cry out. You both ready your poke balls as a dark lumbering shadow begins to creep out from where you came from. "Uh-oh... Well, that's my bad, I must've been too loud. Get ready, pal, this could get messy!" Diane exclaimed.

As the shadow lurks closer to the door, the Buhuud you caught gets in front of you and shines a blinding blue spotlight from its hood. You hear a couple yelps
cry out in terror, and the sound of someone falling to the floor. The spotlight fades away and Buhuud starts to get scared, retreating back into its poke ball for safety.

You and Diane walk out of the room and look to where you both came from, only to see two young boys sitting up on the floor, rubbing the back of their heads to ease the momentary feeling of pain. The first boy was rather round, short, had buck teeth and messy orange hair, with a black t-shirt with a strange skull graphic on the front. The second boy was a bit thinner, mildly taller, had green hair in a bowl-cut style, and wore a long-sleeved green cardigan.

The shorter boy rubbed his head, groaning in pain. "Ow!! T-That smarts! I'm starting to think ghost types are tougher than I thought." The boy said frantically.

The taller boy shook his head, seeming dazed by the fall. "Tell me about it, man. But, I did say we should've gotten stronger before going in... these ghost Pokémon are throwing us around like skipping stones." The other boy remarked.

You were confused as to who these boys were, but Diane was less than thrilled. "Shells!? Shears?! What are you two doing in here!?" Diane exclaimed angrily, causing the boys' eyes to widen as they quickly got back up on their feet.

"W-We were tryin' to help get rid ah the problem in the hospital, m-ma'am!" Shells stuttered, terrified of the anger in Diane's tone.

Shears dusted off his shirt and quickly nodded his head. "Y-Yeah! We heard there was trouble at the hospital, so we wanted to prove that we were ready to train Pokémon of our own!" Shears explained defensively.

You could see that Diane was not happy in the slightest, and knew what she had to do. "Okay, clearly you two haven't learned your lessons yet about diving head first into trouble. Come along, you two, I'm escorting you out of here and taking you both back to your mothers, clearly a new punishment needs to be concocted," Diane walked up to both of the boys and grabbed them both by their ears, causing them to wince. Diane looks back at you with a cheery smile and winks in your direction. "Hey, I hate to spring this on ya, but I can trust ya to deal with this whole situation on your own, right pal? Ya made it this far, and your Pokémon seem to be a bit stronger with all of these ghost types lookin' for a challenge. Don't worry, as soon as I've gotten these two escorted home, I'll try to be back before your first major battle, just head up another floor, I'll bet that's where the cause of all this is right now," Diane walked towards the flight of stairs, pulling Shears and Shells by their ears as they whined. "Get the lead out and get to moving, you two! Be lucky it wasn't a Gengar that found ya!" Diane exclaimed furiously.

As the three of them went down the flight of stairs, you were once again alone. You look down at your Poke Balls, wondering if you should capture any of the other ghost types you've encountered so far, but it's not like you have a lot of diversity for your team, and not for a lack of trying. You tried to catch that Purrloin earlier, but that didn't work out in your favor, but then again, having two Pokémon is better than having none at all.

On the one hand, you're technically not alone, but on the other hand, you know your Pokémon are not prepared enough for whatever's waiting for you on the next floor, but you have to do this. If somehow this is all your fault, you owe it to these people to fix this. You ready Shrubunny's Poke Ball, and walk through the halls, filled with a newfound sense of strength, and ready yourself for a real battle. This won't turn out like the battle back in the lab, this won't be like your battle with the Purrloin.

This may be a worse situation for you, considering your Pokémon haven't had that much battle experience until now, but you have to try... Besides, you ain't got anything better to do, might as well fight whatever eldritch creature is causing all the smog and ghosts to appear, and if you survive, the bragging rights you'll have are gonna be legendary.

You let Shrubunny and Buhuud out of their poke balls and let them wander around with you, encountering a few more ghost Pokémon, helping a couple more trapped people out of the building and finding a couple more items before finally making your way to the next staircase.

As you ascend the steps to the next floor, you and your Pokémon can feel an immense spiritual pressure the moment you step to the next floor. The cloud of smog seems to have gotten thicker, but among the smog clouds, you can see the visible outline of a dark shadowy figure. They were tall, and despite their physical appearance being so covered in shadows, you could tell that they were a grown man... the only issue was that was the only thing you could tell. Everything else about them was a bundle of questions, and you had no answers for any of them.

The shadowed man had its gaze fixated on you, and seemed to suddenly summon a Poke Ball shaped object with just a snap of their fingers, and aimed it at you, clearly demanding for a battle to begin. You hesitate, but the shadow man seems to immediately pick up on it, and gestures his free hand to the clouds of smog, almost signaling that battling him is the only way to get rid of the smog, and likely by vice versa, the ghost Pokémon that are wandering the halls.

You take a deep breath and steady your nerves, readying your starter Pokémon's ball and ready yourself for the fight to begin. You can't tell, but the shadowed man is grinning from ear to ear as it readies its own Poke Ball.

XXX⏺⏺⏺

??? wants to fight!

The first Pokémon the shadowed man sent out was a Gastly. You let your Shrubunny hop into battle, all while the smog gets thicker. You watch as Shrubunny slowly tire out the Gastly with its constant hopping around, as well as using its Razor Leaf attack in tandem. After a few minutes of watching this happen, you start to notice that your starter's grass type attack isn't affecting the Gastly all that much, which confuses you greatly.

Shrubunny is a bit confused as to how the Gastly is still standing, barely even damaged by its onslaught, but Gastly simply tries to land a Lick on your Pokémon. Shrubunny dodges the attack and manages to try and Headbutt it. You expect the attack to fail and see Shrubunny pass through the Gastly, but Gastly suddenly feels the attack land, and it seems to be quite the devastating blow, terrifying the ghost type as it tries to use Bite in retaliation.

Shrubunny barely manages to hop out of the way, with one of its ears getting nicked by the ghost type's attack. Shrubunny flinches from the pain for a moment, but couldn't move in time as it gets licked by the Gastly, doing a rather surprising amount of damage, yet Shrubunny is still standing, but is barely hanging on.

Thinking carefully, you swap Shrubunny out for your Buhuud, and you decide to hit it hard as Buhuud Headbutts it, doing more than enough damage to knock it out. The shadowed man calls Gastly back to its Poke Ball, clearly a bit ticked, but at the same time, it seems genuinely excited.

Without a moment of hesitation, the second Pokémon the shadowed man sends out is a Phantump. You try your best to command your Buhuud to fight, but the Pokémon is clearly on the verge of another breakdown, retreating into its Poke Ball, leaving your starter to take on the ghoulish ghost and grass type.

You manage to squeak by in this battle using the potions you found in the hospital rooms, but it becomes rather obvious to you that the type effectiveness has been switched around. You brace yourself for any sudden surprises as your Shrubunny continues to fight the Phantump. With a couple more headbutts, Phantump is finally defeated and is recalled by the shadowed man.

The shadowed man starts to get agitated, and yet, it also seems to be getting more and more excited. The third and final Pokémon it sends out is a Duskull, though it's obvious that so far, this fight is rather hard to follow for you. You might be a newly appointed trainer, but even you knew that normal types typically aren't capable of doing any damage to ghost types, as well as vice versa, something wasn't right here.

As you use a couple potions to heal your Buhuud, the Duskull proves to be far more difficult to handle. You're not sure why, but you could tell there was clearly something this shadowed figure wanted out of this fight. Your Pokémon are hurting quite a fair bit, but you do eventually manage to take down the surprisingly resilient Duskull.

With the battle just barely won, you look around, expecting the smog to fade away and disappear, but it would seem that the shadowed figure wasn't done with you yet. Without any hesitation, it threw out one last Pokémon, revealing unto you, an unfair and unheard of opponent of obvious strength.

It looked like a melted mass of colors and textures, like it was covered in a shroud of violet static and broken scarlet pixels. The unfathomably uncomfortable collection of red eyes staring at you from the static was almost stomach churning, like looking at this unregistered atrocity against all that is natural was making you terminally sick to your stomach. You didn't think this would be how you go, cheated out of a fair victory and exterminated by some unknown freak of nature.

You couldn't move, and neither could your Pokémon. You were too scared, fear had left you paralyzed; this was the end for you, and the creature intended to take you out, all while the shadowed man seemed pleased with himself. Before the creature could attack, however, the entire floor was suddenly lit up like Christmas morning. The horrid abomination disappeared as the lights seemed to ward it off, and the shadowed man seemed to have disappeared as well.

You feel the terror and fear relinquish its tight vice grip on you and fall to your knees, trying to get your breath. Your Pokémon return to their Poke Balls as Diane, Redheart and Jackson come onto the scene, trying to get you back onto your feet. "Whoa there, partner! Let us help ya up, you look paler than a Glastrier in a blizzard, and your Pokémon look pretty beat; What in tarnation happened up here?" Jackson asked.

Redheart seemed to scowl at the question. "You'd have to ask the royal guard, and see how they react. All they cared about was Kenjin's Pokémon, and basically tried to leave the moment they got it, all while good people were still trapped inside," Redheart looked to you and her scowl seemed to lessen. "Words can't describe how thankful I am that you saved these people, as well as my job. As a token of appreciation, I'll let you take a free souvenir of whatever you choose from our gift shop." Redheart thanked, bowing her head.

Diane smiled and laughed. "Ya see, buddy? You were able to beat that shadow man no problem! Didn't need my help at all!~" You give Diane an unamused expression and tell her what happened after you beat him, which surprised the three women greatly. "WHAAAT!? He had another Pokémon on him, and tried to take you out with it!?! What a low-down dirty cheater!!" Diane roared out in a fury, stamping her foot on the ground as steam started to literally pour out of her ears.

Jackson sighed and looked around the floor for a moment, as if she were looking for any sign of your opponent. "If'n he was here, he's long gone now, like a Fossil Pokémon before it became a... well, a fossil," You look over to where he was standing, noticing some kind of glimmering object catching the light of the hospital bulbs. You walk over and examine it, seeing that it was some kind of stone-like object. It felt like it could crumble in your hands, yet it felt hard like a rock. What threw you off the most was the fact that it smelled incredibly sweet, as well as having a pattern of some kind of fairy insignia. You aren't sure what this is, but you decide to pocket it in your bag for later. "Well, regardless of who and or what that slick shifty son of a Salandit was doin' here, it's stopped in its tracks like a train carryin' precious cargo." Jackson commented.

You nod your head and follow the three women down the stairs, glad that the smog was now cleared from the hospital, and also for the proper bit of battle experience. You let a small smile form on your face, all the while a couple sparkles begin to spark and shimmer around your hands, but only for a moment.

As the hospital returns to its usual working hours, and every person and Pokémon admitted to the place has been accounted for, along with its workers, Redheart heals your Pokémon back to full strength, and you, Diane and Jackson walk out of the front door, satisfied and relieved that the hectic issues are over. "Can't say I'm not impressed, partner. You stood yer ground like a Kangaskhan protectin' its youth, and it nearly got ya killed in the process," Jackson stopped moving and faced both you and Diane, crossing her arms as she seemed a bit irate, and in dire need for answers. "I'm hopin' one of ya can give me an explanation as to what exactly was happenin' here, so start talkin'." Jackson stated.

Diane took a deep breath and started to speak. "I wanted to introduce myself to our friend here and have a battle to welcome him to Ponville Town, but he only had one Pokémon, and it wasn't very strong. Earlier today, Redheart tasked me to bring him back to the hospital to settle a sudden infestation of ghost Pokémon, and I figured it'd be a good way for him to get stronger, which I was right about, by the way," Diane stops and takes another deep breath as she continues talking. "By the time we got back to the hospital, we saw that the royal guard was there, and only seemed to care about their friend's Poke Ball and seemed real eager to leave things as they were, so me and our good buddy ol' pal right here decided to bust some ghosts and save the people and Pokémon trapped inside!" Diane took one more deep breath of air, and resumed talking again. "Also, Shears and Shells were trying to get into more trouble by sneaking into the place without Pokémon of their own, so I had to let him take care of his first boss battle while I escorted those two trouble makers home." Diane explained with a smile.

Jackson's mouth hung open agape, a look of sheer confusion on her face as she tried to let the information sink into her brain. Jackson took her hat off and scratched her head as she shook her head. A small smirk forms on her lips and a chuckle escapes her. "Ah guess somethings never change, huh, Pinkie?" Diane smiled and brought Jackson into a tight hug. You smile, but you notice a familiar face approaching from behind them. Diane lets Jackson go, and the both of them turn around, only to be surprised, knowing they were face-to-face with Professor Nocturna. "P-Professor Nocturna! I see ya finally decided to step out of your lab again. Is there anything we can help ya with?" Jackson asked.

Nocturna sighed. "I just heard about the situation at the hospital and came to help as soon as possible... but judging by how you three are just now leaving, I'll assume I was a bit too late to assist. If only miss Carmilla and mister Andrew didn't take up so much of my time with such a pointless waste of my time, would've been here much sooner," Nocturna looks at you and smiles. "My assistant, you seem to have gotten yourself wrapped up in a bit of excitement today, didn't you? Anything to report?" Nocturna asked.

You explain to the professor what happened since you left her lab with Shrubunny. The fight with a wild Purrloin, meeting Diane, the royal guards, the battle with the shadow man, and you introduce the professor to your newly captured Buhuud, who now clings to your leg out of fear when it's not battling. Nocturna writes down everything you say, though you notice she seems to pause at the mention of the royal guards and the shadow man. Aside from that, Prof. Nocturna seems rather pleased and satisfied with the report.

Nocturna clears her throat. "Seems to me that you still have a lot to learn about Pokémon battling, as well as how to catch them. You've grown a bit stronger, I can appreciate that, but you have a lot left to learn. Hmm... it seems a bit too soon, since you'll be starting your job as my assistant in a month and a half from now, but I believe you'd benefit with getting some experience as a trainer first before becoming my research assistant," Nocturna reached into her labcoat pocket and held up a small red jewelry box, the Poke Ball insignia was on the top of the lid, shining and glinting in the light of the sunset. The professor walks up to you and hooks it up to one of the belt notches on your pants. "This is the official Eqtrot region Badge case. Pokémon trainers who undergo the gym challenge are required to have these on hand to store the badges they have earned by beating Gym Leaders. Ponville Town has two gyms, one is unofficial and is more so used for training specific attributes and helping your Pokémon learn new moves, while the other has various gym trainers who will test you to see if you're ready to face their leader." Nocturna explained.

Jackson nodded her head, placing her stetson back on her head. "If it's any consolation, I'd recommend gettin' a bit stronger before challengin' the gym. You got plenty stronger already, but you should get a couple more Pokémon on yer team. Trust me, what I'm tellin' you is the honest truth." Jackson stated with a chuckle.

Diane giggled as she pulled a Poke Ball out of her hair and aimed it at you. "Yeah, and speaking of getting stronger, I'm still owed a battle!" Your eyes widen as Diane sends out her Gumgew, but then Diane suddenly gets a swift smack to the back of the head by Jackson. "Oww!!! What was that for, Jackie!?" Diane cried out.

Jackson glared at the girl and pointed towards Nocturna. "We're in the middle of talkin' with the professor, ya know! Ya clearly got ruder when we all split like the original dragon, land sakes, Diane!" Jackson reprimanded.

You raise an eyebrow at Jackson, curious by what she meant, but Diane shyly put the Poke Ball back in her hair and bowed her head at the professor. "S-Sorry! I-I was just... really excited, t-that's all!" Diane apologized.

Nocturna smiled and rested a hand on Diane's head. "Apologies aren't necessary, I'm quite curious to see how my new soon-to-be research assistant can hold himself up in a battle, now that he has experience. Diane, if you're that eager for a battle, am I right to assume his Pokémon have been healed up?" Diane looked up and nodded her head. Nocturna smiled and cleared her throat. "Then it's settled. Before he challenges either gym, lets see him take on a trainer or two that can fight fair. Diane, you'll fight him first, then miss Jackson can fight him after, give him some proper coaching on how to battle." Nocturna explained.

You just got out of a very dangerous fight, and now you're about to face two more battles. You sigh and ready a Poke Ball, all while Diane grins widely and sends out her Gumgew.

Author's Note

Current Team

SHRUBUNNY ♂
Lv. 10

This Pokémon has a Hardy nature, and is a bit quick tempered.

Ability:
Overgrow

Moves:
Scratch
Razor Leaf
Needle Brush
Headbutt

BUHUUD
Lv. 9

This Pokémon has a Quiet nature, and is highly curious.

Ability:
Haunting Helper

Moves:
Headbutt
Lick
Baby-Doll Eyes
Hypnosis

+6,300$

You obtained x1 Reaper Cloth!

You obtained x1 Sweet Rock!

You obtained a Badge Case!

Your current status with Jackson just reached the Good Acquaintance rank.

Your current status with Diane just reached the Strangers rank.

Your current status with Professor Nocturna remains unchanged.

Really wanted to show-off how strange things can get in this chapter. If anyone has any questions, direct them to the comment section and I'll try to answer them to the best of my abilities without giving out spoilers.