Trundling through the edge of the forest, slight joy fills my eyes as I view the not-so-distant Shalour City. Of course, most of my tasks are paused while the Gym Leader is prancing around in the trees behind me, but that's beside the point.
Civilization!
A warm, cooked meal that isn't freeze-dried.
A bed!
Not being alone with my thoughts!
Getting away from that bastard rodent that's been annoying me for the last hour because my pokémon may have inadvertently demolished their home.
Woohoo!
Speaking of… Out of the corner of my field of view, I spy something fast dart right towards me from the treetop. I flick the pokéball I've been carrying upwards and finally catch that little asshole.
Now, to visit the pokémon center and relax.
———————————————————————————————————————
"Listen, I'm sorry about this whole situation, too. I'm just as unhappy about it as you are," I glibly reply as my focus is on more important matters. "If you really want to leave, you can do so. I'll reset the pokéball, and we can go our separate ways."
"Tai!" The tiny swallow, Taillow, puffs up their chest in response. No, I didn't catch the evil Rattata plaguing me for an hour; I caught an entirely random bird by accident.
"So what?" I shout, losing my last shred of patience with this bird. "I catch you, my bad! I offer to let you go back to the forest, which I should say is within eyesight of this place! But you don't want to? Why?!" I'm getting looks now, but I honestly don't care. I've never been one to care about my appearance—go ask Grant.
This bird gives me an evil eye while standing over the scone I bought them. Ugh, after dropping off my pokémon at the center, including the egg to find out which egg group it might be in, I stopped at the café next door to deal with some pressing matters.
For example, my continued schooling in case this whole trainer shindig doesn't work out. My also rapidly dwindling financials that I've been budgeting out between five, now possibly, six pokémon and myself are steadily heading to an uncomfortable point. Now, this damn ungrateful bird that staring at me like I stole its lunch or something.
…Oh. Oops.
Sometimes a problem that may seem difficult from one position simply needs a change in perspective to see the easy solution. When one has a brain that overthinks like mine, finding that alternate view can be…challenging.
"That rat was your lunch…and I stole that from you." A nod. Well, don't I feel like crap, partially. Dang bird was just hangry. "I'll order something with meat in it for you when the waiter comes back around."
"Low," the bird responds in what I can only assume is gratitude. It…sits down and perches itself in the metal lattice of the table.
I exhale through my nose and roll my eyes. "Am I to assume that, as long as you are fed, you're fine with coming with me?"
"Low." Hnng, push away bird to save money? Potential asset?
"This is a two-way street, mind you. If I'm going to pay for your food, I expect you to pull your weight." Or else you might become food for Robin.
"Low." The guilt of stealing a bird's lunch is slowly being dwarfed by the more rational and less sympathetic parts of my brain that say I can't afford to use another pokémon; especially one that has almost no chance of being helpful in the upcoming battle against Korrina.
So, before I can make the completely wise decision to chuck that bird's respective pokéball deep into the forest, I turn back to my online classes, silently judging the course.
"Taillow?" The bird hops up, staring at the professor on my laptop's screen, pointing at a chalkboard filled with various equations that he has almost little idea of what they contain.
"Interested in my math class? Yeah, well, that makes one of us."
"Tail?" The bird twists their neck at me, giving me the impression that I think I have an ego that's too big for my own good. I did have that, but I dropped it somewhere in the forest after my impromptu battle with Korrina.
"Don't give me that. If you look at almost all fields of mathematics and science, it doesn't makes sense. It feels like our alphabet system is missing a lot of the symbols and notation needed for some of the well-known equations. Those same equations that 'professors' claimed to have seen in a dream with little proof, but that their colleagues accepted with ease because they worked in all applied cases. Even the names don't make sense. Like who is Euler?"
The bird goes silent at my mini rant. "Yeah, and it's a miracle that we've made it this far as a society. Problem is, I feel like that sometimes, too. Like this knowledge dripped in through the cracks of existence into my head. I feel like I could explain all of these with ease, but the words are trapped on my tongue. The reality we know sometimes feels like a mash of differing ones."
If I could make and publish definitive proofs for all of those hashed equations and theories, I could probably use that to get an honorary doctorate, at least.
"Enough about the generalized education system, which is a rant I am saving for one specific, idiotic individual that is the direct subject of my ire. Let's check on my pokémon and your teammates."
"Tai…" The bird faintly whispers as I pack up my stuff. I have no idea why I've only been monologuing for… hold on let me check the time—about 40 minutes. That's pretty good and Professor Sycamore could attest to that.
I begin walking on my heels to decrease the bounce in my step as the Taillow nests into my hair. I'll have to check their gender…and slog through the process of choosing a name. I should probably just buy a name book at this point.
Ugh…
I walk up to the one-of-many Nurse Joy employees. I wonder if they replicate asexually or something. I once asked Professor Sycamore about it and he said, 'Don't worry about it,' which is not what you say to make someone not worry about something.
"Hi, I'm here to check on my pokémon and egg?" I ask as I mindlessly scan my Trainer ID.
"Yes, I have them right here," she says in her classic cookie-cutter response as she pulls up my pokéballs on a tray from underneath the table. The door behind her slides open as the Wigglytuff waddles out with my egg. "We were able to find that at least one egg group is Amorphous. But there could be another."
Amorphous…so about sixty-ish pokémon.
"Thank you, Nurse," I respond, foolishly thinking that's where it ends.
"We also found that the pokémon inside is still growing, so the egg might expand to help with its volume." I peer at the egg on the table, already pretty big. It's about a foot and a half already, or 46 centimeters.
It's going to grow more than that? Could it be a Grimer or something?
I heft the egg off the counter, not wanting to cause any panic with eight metal Octillery arms sprouting in an enclosed area near confidential information and private pokémon. "Thank you…Nurse Joy. I'll keep that…in mind."
I can't remember where, but I someone once said that Computer Science majors and Math majors usually switch because they find the opposite field more inviting. I'm still in CS, but I find myself relaxing in places scribbling in a notebook with equations I want to solve by hand. Some have answers already, but I enjoy the challenge of finding how that answer came to be.
Oh, and uh, yeah, no Rattata. My friend told me that, other than FEAR, that pokemon sucks. Plus, due to conflicting plans I have for this story, the rat must go.
Thanks for reading!
"You got to Shalour City already? You sure do work fast," the professor remarks with a smirk.
"I skipped over a cave. Might head back if the Gym Leader takes too long. Just do some spelunking for fun. Might find some neat rocks. Who knows?" As I talk to the professor on my phone, I swing another crate down towards the shopkeeper.
Sycamore chuckles in response. "Well, you might make a new discovery! Who knows what secrets are buried in the ground?"
"It's called Reflection Cave, so I'd assume mirrors."
Another chuckle. "Well, I do appreciate this social call, but I have to meet with Diantha pretty soon. In fact, in about half an hour!"
I smile wryly in response. Professor Sycamore has been looking forward to studying the Champion's Gardevoir to understand any more secrets of Mega Evolution. "I just wanted to make sure you are okay. I understand that the attack on the lab shook you slightly." I hop across the buildings to the next street over.
His frown dissipates. "I've looked into that Team Rocket as you requested. Most of the data on them is redacted, even for me. What I could find is that their operatives are ordered to retreat after a failure. They never attempt the same heist twice."
I think back on my multiple encounters with Team Rocket. "I think these guys are more tenacious than you think."
"I'll keep an open mind. I brought Garchomp with me, just in case." Then, as if we never talked about the possibility of an attack on his life, his smile comes back. "But hey! Enough about me, what's going on with you? It looks like you're zooming through the sky!"
I look at all except two of my arms, each carrying a crate of milk and constricting more around themselves. "Yeah, I'm picking up odd jobs to make up for my financial deficits. I've been delivering Moomoo Milk around the city from the distribution center. Apparently, it's from Dendemille Town."
He frowns and rubs his chin. "I don't recall Dendemille having any Miltank farms."
"Neither did I, but I'm not really going to question several crates of milk."
———————————————————————————————————————
I stalk through the aisle, looking through all the canned foods. A pair of homemade earbuds are blasting Serena's newest video through my ears. Nobody can prove that I set up multiple alerts if she's active at all online.
…I may have a problem.
"Huh. Dried spelon berries. Those could add a kick to my meals." I put the salt-rich can of berries in my basket as I continue shopping. A slight guilt grows inside me as I listen to Serena's voice list off her ingredients to her sweet and delicious poképuffs.
I could try baking. I did work a shift at the Lumiose Galette stand like twice. It could only be in cities though, as I don't want to lug around a portable oven. Maybe if I could condense my stuff somehow, then maybe? It's just wishful thinking.
After making a round trip to the seasonings to grab shakers of salt and pepper, I stand in front of the meats, absolutely lost on what came from what.
"Excuse me," I gently wave the attendant down. A Bisharp wearing a bloodied apron approaches the counter.
"Bi?" It asks in a deep, almost ethereal voice.
"Which meats are beef?" It points to the far end where the sign labeled, 'Grade-A Miltank!' I nod. "Thank you."
I dig through, not literally, the piles of beef cuts. It's a good thing Miltank are so active on farms, or we might not have as tender of cuts as this. We'd likely have to just grind it up.
I eventually find some nice cuts that I'll be able to dehydrate in my inn's oven. Plus, they're cheap!
As I get ready to leave with my many non-perishables and goods, my eye catches on a series of cookbooks. Some describe the lonely meals of cooking for one, others describe the joys of cooking for a family, and others for baking and making for your significant other.
I can skip a meal…probably.
———————————————————————————————————————
I come back to my room after dropping over my freezer items in the inn's kitchen, after I asked politely. It's amazing how little room you actually have once you have six pokémon, even if they're all relatively tiny.
Most are just lounging around. Robin made a pillow fort on the floor, most likely with Hazel's help judging by the vines, and is currently curled around the egg. The Ferroseed in question is sitting on the windowsill, sunbathing…or photosynthesizing. It's hard to tell sometimes.
Elspeth has made herself comfortable on the AC unit, consequently making the room colder by a few degrees, not that she's noticed. Primrose, despite not explicitly requiring water to live—just hydration, has filled the bathtub and is having the time of her life in there. Cecillia is…doing something with the plant in the corner. I don't know if she's noticed it's plastic yet.
Alexandra and, surprisingly, the Taillow are sitting on my bed with my laptop open. Even though she got most of the language down at a surprising rate, it looks like she's still touching up on the more…nuanced aspects of this language.
After haphazardly shoving the rest of my purchases into the mini fridge provided, I sat down on the bed. Alex, knowing my intentions, pauses the video and closes my laptop. The Taillow then flies off, perching on the TV.
"Hey, Alex, Alexandra. I, umm, do you remember Ash? Back from the aquarium?" I ask, not really sure how much of the following conversation will be lost in translation. She tilts her head a bit then nods.
"Yeah, did you notice that that blockhead always had his Pikachu out? Never put him in a ball once?" Another nod. "Well, I've been looking into the League's rulebook, and I've noticed a slight clause. When we enter a battle, we're not required to have all of our pokémon in their balls. It's nice because some are large, and it has an element of surprise for the opponent."
She tilts her head further, not understanding where I'm going with this. "Now, technically, we have a slight advantage. The pokéballs we use do not have the set limit of six to a person, and the rules never enforce that since the balls are supposed to do it anyway. That means, in an official setting, I could have a pokémon, for example, on my shoulder, and still use six others in battle. It's a legal battle!" Other than the patent law that I've violated.
I reach into my pocket and pull out a small plastic box. Setting it in front of her, I open it gently to reveal a small circuit board and speaker, of sorts. "I've been working on this for a while, by which I mean about a week. It's a device that can output sound waves at select frequencies. I've been planning on installing it in my arms for because, as a human, we have select frequencies above which we cannot hear. However, as a Noibat, you can hear about 20 times higher than us and distinguish specific frequencies."
She stares intently at the box. Maybe she understands where I'm going with this? "My idea was, using a little thing called a Fourier Series, I could encode specific commands as frequencies with varying decibels and lengths, you could then shout out the command as a pokémon. Only the pokémon on the field could understand you as humans don't really speak your language. For the most part, you would likely be the last to battle as a result."
She stares at the little circuit, and a seed of doubt grows within me that she understood absolutely none of that. Maybe I should have called Professor Sycamore again and run the spiel by him? Work out the wording? Or even Courtney? She seemed the intellectual type.
Noibat hops over to the circuit and picks it up with her wings, shoving it into my face. "Noi! Noi!" She looks…enthusiastic? Yeah, that's what I'm reading. Might have to explain it to her again later, but she seems on board for now.
As I stand up, she opens the laptop back up again, and, just out of the corner of my eye, I see her type in 'Fourier Series.'
…Yeah, she's going to have some reading to do on that.
Could it be? The author who posts between a week and a month has yet another chapter? Does this mean that we're getting nothing for another month?
I sure hope not.
Did the author forget about a cave that he had plans for and doesn't want to retcon chapters, so he's simply rearranging his plans?
Perhaps.
Are we going to get a chapter that has action (or romance) soon instead of errands and soliloquies?
I'll flip a coin and see what happens.
Thanks for reading!
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