Chapter 6: Resolve
Berries. An item held by Pokemon to be used in battle or outside. Depending on the berry, they can cure status effects, heal Pokemon, and even dampen super-effective moves.
Not to mention they can all vary in taste as well.
The recipe I cooked would have required real-world ingredients but thanks to the RotomNav, or Rav, it was modified to suit my taste and my team's.
And apparently, I can send dishes to my soul for my team to eat. How do I know this? Nancy brought a couple of plates of food and went back in my soul with said food. The whole experience was jarring, to say the least.
Welp, it looks like I don't have to send out all of my team just to eat together. Even though they are all small enough to fit in this room.
"That... was... delicious," I said in bliss. The combination of berries made a hearty meal. "Thank you, Rav. You saved me from starvation."
My watch beeped with Rav's face on the screen. {It was no problem. Always be here to help. If you need some, you can always ask.}
I nodded. "Well, now that I have you here. Can you check where I am? Where we are? I wanna know the city we're in."
{Copy that. One moment.} A couple of seconds later, Rav projected me a map of the area I was in and it was massive. {You are in Brooklyn, New York. In the United States of America. Updating geography... Geography updated.}
New York? I'm in one of the most famous spots in America. That's so freaking cool! I always wanted to go to America but couldn't because of money and the numerous shootings. But with my Pokemon and Plates by my side, I think I can handle a couple of goons with guns.
Unless I meet that white-haired woman of a thief.
{Today is January 12, 2008. Updating time setting... The time setting has been updated.} Rav informed me of the date, which I didn't care for, and nodded at his information.
"Thank you, Rav. Now, that problem is solved time for the next."
Money.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Pokedallars are weird. They are the same price as the Japanese Yen yet can be accepted as it. That is not the reason they are weird though, Japan makes a lot of weird things anyway.
It's the fact that it is an acceptable currency here in the US. But they aren't being priced that high.
I was careful in my numerous playthroughs to not overspend my money, using it only to buy the essentials and the like, for saving until the end game. In the end, I ended up racking over the limit of ₽999,999 multiple times but that number is hard saved forever.
And yet...
"Thank you for choosing our bank. Here is your converted money, sir." The receptionist gave me a couple of bills and sent me on my way.
Once I was away from the counter, I checked my amount to receive about six thousand dollars plus in total.
I must have given off a dark feeling when someone tapped my shoulder. "Hey, buddy. You ok?"
I slowly turned to him and he saw my small amount of bills in my hands. He must have known what he meant as he gave a sympathetic look. "Apologies. It will get better." He then went on his way while I wallowed on this conversion.
Of course, it is like this. If the Pokedollars are the same as the Japanese Yen, then the conversion rate would also apply to them. What was I thinking about getting rich using Yen? I was delusionally thinking I was a millionaire, who could spend as much as he wanted in the land of the free.
I was wrong, so dead wrong...
This amount of money has to be spent wisely unless I want to live off the limited supply of berries I have. Because of my nature as a trainer, I was a massive kleptomaniac and that means buying in bulk and never using them at all. It was for ease of mind.
"Looks like I'll have to find a job. And that means job hunting." I let my mind wander on what the future will look like now. "Hmm... perhaps I can use this opportunity to scour the city for some job listings. Maybe some people can let someone like me get a job."
I mean, the documents that I have in my inventory are all legit so any job would be fine and legal. But I don't want to work for some big company like a slave. I'll have to narrow it down to simple jobs.
With my mind set, I headed out of the bank I was in and set off for my employment. I will not let my partner and team starve because of their lazy trainer.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
And so I got my first job as a night guard. In a cool museum in a rich part of Brooklyn. Rav came in clutch when scouring the nearby web for any job listings when this one fell to my lap.
Pay is good, hours are nice and I have the whole place to myself. It is a little dark here but my Pokemon always makes me calm.
Now I'm heading home after the interview with the place's manager. The sun had already dipped under the horizon and the moon came out to play. The noise from the city had quieted down so I was left with some ambiance it provided instead.
When I took in the cold nightly breath of the city and made sure I did nit slowly and not choke to death, I could feel my body brimming with energy. It felt alive. I felt alive.
With each breath like this, I would thank ROB for giving me this opportunity. This chance of a lifetime was a lucky draw for a disabled and depressed person and I was glad I won.
"Thank you..." A thankless word came out for no one but him.
A quick stretch of limbs and I was feeling drowsy already. I wanna go home and prepare myself for tomorrow night.
Unfortunately, this night couldn't stay quiet.
"Hmm?" I heard a struggle coming from one of the alleyways. That tug was telling me someone was harassing another one, with emotions of anger and lust. "This power is unnatural. What else did ROB give me?"
I didn't have time to ponder as a shrill cry for help emerged from the alley.
"Help! Someone help me!" It was muffled by a deep grunt, likely covering her mouth.
I stood there unmoving since I was stuck between two choices.
1: Help her out. My inner good instincts are telling me that I have to help her from the bad man. I could use my powers or my Pokemon to deal with the threat easily.
2: Leave her alone. This problem was not my own. I am not a saint and saving one life can snowball into an effect a lot of superheroes have to deal with that I know of.
Politics.
One of my brothers was a hardcore superhero fan. He'd bring comics with him for us to read in the hospital to pass the time or away from the screens. And each of those issues would have the heroes dealing with the politics of the modern world.
How the media and politicians would use every crumb of evidence to denounce and ostracize heroes all for the sake of power. Not physical but political power to further their agendas and make a hero a slave to them or the country.
I couldn't take that kind of life, preferring the naivety of heroes and monsters. Pokemon was that naivety taken to the extreme with all battles left to Pokemon.
But now that I'm here, with a situation on my hand that can be both beneficial and cumbersome to my future in this world. The choice I make will have intense ramifications for my future self. It will get harder or easier is anyone guess at this point.
I clenched my fist in anger. What is the correct choice? What is the situation? What do you want me to do? 2 days ago I was dying on a deathbed with no life and now I have to choose to save someone I never met and hope for the best?!
I got out of my stupor when I heard a crash and some curses from the alleyway. The woman, I presume, was about to run out of her attacker when he tackled her to the street near me. The woman was bruised and had her dress cut in numerous locations while the man was dirty and looked like a hobo.
He was about to get his way with the woman uncaring of the place he was gonna do it in. While the woman was crying in anger at the situation.
That scene made me realize something.
I am not a hero or a saint. I won't save people left and right because I value my life more than theirs. But if I want to live a new life, meet new people, and become a better version of myself?
Then... I have to live without regrets. I don't want to see another person like me, filled with regrets and unable to do anything about it.
I will become better.
With my resolve hardened, I briskly walked towards the duo. My fist clenched about what I was about to do. There is no going back from this and my peaceful life could be nothing but a dream.
That's true but one dream can be traded for another life.
So I ran, towards the man and equipped my Blank Plate. My appearance didn't change but I did feel more powerful. Like before, all the moves have been loaded into my brain and it is up to my actions to what move is similar to what I am doing.
The man noticed me too late as I was within striking distance of him. And I uttered one word that would change my life in this new world. "[Tackle]."
The white aura flowed to my front body as I made contact with the hobo head-on. I made sure not to put too much force into it to not kill him but enough to simply knock him out. The man made contact with the floor and lay there groaning in pain.
I let out a breath I was holding. That did it. I just beat a man and saved a woman from being raped. In the comics, I guess you could say that this is the hero's first work becoming one.
I took a look at the woman on the floor. She was looking pretty battered and had tears streaking down her face but was otherwise fine.
"Are you alright, ma'am?" I asked in a gentle tone. This experience can leave someone traumatized harshly. I wanted to make sure she was safe right now.
The almost victim of rape shook out of her stupor and glanced at me. "Huh? Oh, y-yes. I'm f-fine."
I gave a nod and gave the woman some space to stand for herself. She almost did when she fell and I had to catch her in her arms lest she get another bruise.
"Ah! Ooh..."
"You alright? Can you move?" I asked and set the woman down gently.
"No. That bastard twisted my ankle when he tackled me. Well, you tackled him a lot harder so thanks for that." She explained and sighed. "Sorry but can you call an ambulance? I don't think I can walk in this state."
"Is that wise, ma'am? I've heard that getting a ride in an ambulance costs a lot of money." America wasn't skimping out on more cash, especially Healthcare with charges racking up to 6 figures all for a simple injury. If she called an ambulance for a broken ankle then it's gonna cost a whole lot more.
[{Author's note: This is not me hating on America, I'm sure there are some lovely people there. But come on, tell me this is not false with the amount of posts you guys made on the internet.}]
"Better broke than dead." She said with a scoff.
"Allow me to do something instead." The woman gave me a confused look while I placed my hands on her broken ankle, assuming that the ankle looked blue and that it flopped on the floor.
"[Recover]." This move allows the user to bring back half of their original health. But in this case, I'm redirecting the energy to the woman's ankle. If this can recover lost health then a broken ankle can heal itself easily.
I can see the leg fixing itself under the move and after a few seconds, it was looking better than before.
"There, how about now?" I asked the woman who stared at her foot in shock. She didn't register my words until a moment later.
"Huh? You healed my ankle?" I nodded and the woman had a feel for it.
She slowly got up from the floor, shakingly putting pressure on her foot and instead of falling, the woman stood up fully. It looked like she never broke her ankle in the first place.
"Wow. Thank you for this. First, you saved me from getting raped now you healed me. Thank you."
My work here is done. As I prepared to leave, the woman called out to me.
"Wait. How can I repay you?"
I just shook my head. "I didn't do it for the money. I did it because I wanted to." And to live a life with no regrets.
I switched the Blank Plate to the Mind Plate. My appearance changed since this time I wasn't in a hurry. My hair changed color to a light purple that was slightly waving and my poncho had a deep purple outline to it.
"Safe travels, ma'am. [Teleport]."