EPISODE 16: Exploration!*

It was my first time to meet Vizion and his friend, Copper yesterday. At first, I thought Vizion was somehow similar to Xavier but I was proven wrong. A stealth agent always specializes in psychology aside from the common spy mechanisms which of course, every single one of them must know.

They study the way of man's thinking and motives. They know how to separate the innocents from the liars just by staring and finding those guilty eyes. As a combat agent, I am more in the self-defensive side like how I pinned Copper's head unto the table. As for the neuro category, they're usually the clever ones, fast in calculations, and are extremely brilliant when it comes to physics, other fields of science, and math.

Another day has arrived at Hoenn and still, I am given a day-off. I nor my partner Zeal was assigned with a mission which gives me an opportunity to explore the region. I want to discover things by actually seeing it with my own eyes rather than watching from the television. So, I asked a favor from Xeryll and I'm glad she allowed herself to drop me in Petalburg.

Petalburg is a small city, somewhat a town but is considered a city. This will be the very first city I will be visiting in Hoenn. I cannot wait but to see what's in store. As for the egg, I decided to bring it with me in case it hatches all of a sudden. I am not wasting any opportunity to miss the egg hatch. Who knows, maybe it will hatch today?

Upon arriving, I am immediately greeted by the array of trees shrouding the city. Petalburg is not called "The city where people mingle with nature" for nothing. The winds are cool but not as cool as the winds of Johto. Unlike my motherland and its sister, Hoenn is more of an island with a few mountains. There are notable ones at least like a volcano called Mt.Chimney and the desert. I've never been to a desert before and it would be great to actually explore it.

The first reason why I came to the city in the first place is to restock my items since I'm lacking my Pokemon's essential and now is the perfect time to restock. I drastically lost a lot of max potions after my battle against Melchior. We do not have a Pokemon Center, since we live on an island far away and, no Nurse Joys would want to work for an organization whom they think are evil.

There was also an idea to have our own nurses but I wonder how's that doing in the email of our executives. In the Pokemon Mart, I bought five of each kind of potions, five max revives, and three full restores. Now that my business here is done, I can finally enjoy the scenery of the city.

It is a roller-coaster of fun and adventure to try out new things Hoenn has to offer. Things, that neither Kanto nor Johto has. While I was strolling, I encountered a few Pokemon I have not seen before. One of them, I accidentally stumbled upon. I was rushing too fast in one of the city's streets when suddenly a Pokemon teleported right in front of me. I was shocked, and did not have the time to react and turn back before bumping straight to the Pokemon.

"S-sorry." I apologize to the Pokemon. It even helped me get right back to my feet while smiling pleasantly.

<Gallade! Gall!> The Pokemon happily pats my hair.

Out of curiosity, I decided to scan the Pokemon, and here is what the Pokedex states, [ Gallade. The blade Pokemon. A psychic and fighting type and the final evolved form of Ralts. A master of courtesy and swordsmanship, it fights using extending swords on its elbows. True to its honorable-warrior image, it uses the blades on its elbows only in defense of something or someone.]

"Wait, the final evolved form of Ralts? But I thought it was a Gardevoir?"

[Female Ralts automatically evolve into a Gardevoir wherein males, once exposed to a dawn stone evolves into a Gallade.] The Pokedex answers.

"Gallade! There you are! Do you know how long I've been trying to look for you?!" A man whom I assume is his trainer appears all of a sudden while gasping for air desperately.

"S-sorry. Did my Gallade cause any trouble?" The young man asks.

"No. It's fine. Actually, it was me who accidentally bumped into him." I reply back while patting Gallade's head.

"Oh. My name is Logan by the way. Sigh, we were busy trying to take out a Pokemon Gym within the city. We lost so Gallade went on a rant and decided to teleport out of nowhere. Luckily you bumped into him. If not, I'd have a harder time trying to look for him."

"And I'm Luna Evergreen."

"Luna Evergreen? Huh, pretty sure I heard that name in Johto before."

After hearing his words, I immediately knew he was trying to recall a probably "wanted" poster by the Pokemon International Police. Those were during my first days as an Elite Operative of the Johto Branch when the detective was desperate to arrest me.

"No of course not. I'm from Kanto."

"Kanto? That's far from Hoenn. What are you doing here?"

"A-a, um... a vacation to catch Pokemon!" this was the only excuse I could think of.

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm from Johto but we moved here a month ago. I'm on my way to becoming Hoenn's next Pokemon Master. Once I win against the Pokemon League, I will have the chance to battle the champion, Steven Stone. I wish to take his place one day.

Anyway, enough of that. So, you said you were on a vacation to catch Pokemon right?"

"R... right."

"So that means you must be an expert in Pokemon Catching? You see, I'm trying to find this Pokemon for my name. With it, I'll surely knock Norman's Pokemon right away! Do you know where I can find it?" Logan inquires, showing me the image of the Pokemon he is looking for through the Pokedex.

I clearly had no idea what he was talking about and I regretted my decision for coming up with a vacation as an excuse. According to the Pokedex, the name of the species is Electrike which is obviously an electric type.

Electrike is a green, canine Pokémon with yellow markings. It has a large head crest with angular, lightning-like markings on the side. Its snout has a yellow blaze, and four fangs are discernible when its mouth is open. It has a yellow stripe down its back. Each of its four legs has a spike, with the ones on its hind legs being longer. It has yellow crescent-shaped paw pads on its front feet, while the pads on its hind feet are circular. It has a small, pointed, yellow-tipped tail.

"S-sure," I respond, thinking about where on this region would a green tiger roam. The best place I could think of is the forest beside the city so I directed Logan there, hoping a miracle Electrike would randomly appear. The forest is known as Petalburg Woods.

It is a very dense forest. The tall trees cast an eternal shadow over the ground, but it is still possible to see. According to the Pokedex, the forest is abundant with wild-Pokemon and perhaps an Electrike could be one of them. We searched for an hour, having no luck at all and I was getting worried that he'd conclude I was lying to him all along.

"I guess there are no Electrikes here. Oh well, at least we searched. Thanks anyway." says, Logan with disappointment.

We then heard a rustle from the grass. A Pokemon appears, and as luck would have it, it was the rare Electrike. Logan spared no chance for letting it run loose. He immediately challenged the Pokemon while I stood straight, watching the match between him and Electrike.

"Gallade! We need a new addition to our team. Use Psycho-cut!" with determination, Logan commands as Gallade salutes and follows.

The blades on his hand glows with a pink pigment as it slashes the Pokemon gravely. I was in awe. Just by looking at the attack, I knew Logan and Gallade have a strong bond but it bothers me to think that their bond is no match against a gym leader. Seeing Logan battle, it reminds me of Red and Ethan, the trainers who've become champions.