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.