Poke on the Mind

Ding-Dong-Ding

A bell rang when Lan entered.

Lan was amazed when he scanned his surroundings. This normal-looking shop that didn't seem to be anything much on the outside was packed full. The shop's size seemed roughly double the size of the room he stayed in last night. It was very clean while having a spacious yet modern design. The walls were lined with new poke merchandise while the shelves housed many display cases. Towards the entrance, there was a large number of newspapers, magazines, and posters. While the back wall housed a hand-drawn map of the city and surroundings.

While Growlithe sniffed and started to walk around the shop exploring on his own Lan seemed to be impressed and could see very easily that the owner put a lot of time into the shop.

Lan walked up the front counter and rang the buzzer.

"Hoot Hoot" "Hoot Hoot" Hoot Hoot"

Lan jumped at the sudden noise the next second he heard footsteps and a yell.

"Coming"

An elderly man came out from behind a curtain and gave Lan a friendly smile.

" Welcome to Rovers how can I help you"

When Lan was about to respond a small pokemon jumped on the counter from out behind the man. It spun around three times on the sales counter. It looked like a small red fox with crimson fur that shone in addition to its tails.

Lan took out his Pokedex and immediately scanned the Pokemon

A mechanical voice read

...

Vulpix the Fox Pokemon

A fire type that while young, has six gorgeous tails. When it grows, several new tails are sprouted. It is often known to be picky with how it is groomed.

...

The old man looked questioningly at Lan while the former read the Pokemons information in the Pokedex. It was a while until Lan finished reading then he responded

"Um sorry, I haven't seen a pokemon like that before."

The man snickered "Ah it's okay this is just my Vulpix. She is a real sweety"

"Vulpix"

Vulpix raised its head and slightly tilted its head to look over at the Growlithe that had finished exploring and was coming over toward Lan's side. It closed its eyes haughtily then yawned and laid down its head seemingly uninterested.

"Sorry, she can be a handful sometimes. I swear she gets it from my wife"

"It is fine, I came here to see if you have any of the traveling supplies that I need. I didn't want to go to the large shops since they seem to be very busy today even early in the morning. I have a few things in mind that I need but I am a new trainer so I would appreciate any advice." Lan replied

"Ohhh so a new trainer are we. Ahh, it that really takes me back to when I started to travel. I can personally say that was a disaster. I will help you out to the best of my ability. So what are the type of things you were thinking of?"

"Um well, the only things I am in desperate need of right now is a belt and probably a backpack."

"Gotcha well so I assume you will be camping outside a lot when you travel?"

"Yes that is the plan, I much prefer to stay outside rather than in a hotel or at the Pokecenter. Nothing against them but they are kind of expensive and I cant always rely on them."

"Mmmm yeah I know. I missed getting rooms a couple of times and ended up having to camp quite a bit. You seem to have a good head on your shoulder compared to some spoiled brats that came in here yesterday buying the most expensive things without much thought behind their actions. Not that I mind, but they were in such a rush that they didn't even buy sleeping bags or tents. It is truly laughable some people who think that they can always find somewhere to accommodate them.

Well this my shop sells new and used gear. The new state of the art Leauge travel backpack starts around 2500poke, a brand new elite 4 belt costs 800 poke, potions start 250 poke while Pokeballs are 2 for 400 or 6 for 1000.

The backpack is about the size of the one you have there right now while the rest of the items are in the back. That is just the bare basics obviously not including the camping equipment and such.

Camping equipment prices will vary more based on quality so why don't we take it one step at a time and think about the things I just mentioned. My prices would be lower but the league raised taxes again. "

Lan was flabbergasted at the prices. He recognized that mainstream equipment in the larger stores might be even more expensive, but he just now realized how much the costs added up. Being a trainer actually costs a lot of money. He knew he only had around 5000 poke in his account. He wish he had gotten the tasks commission in addition to Growlithe.

Lan started adding up everything in his head he would have to spend over his 5000 if he wanted everything new. He also recognized he could not afford that at the moment because he still had to get for food for Growlithe.

The old man could see the 16-year-old going through the calculations in his head. He didn't know what it was about this boy but it reminded him of a friend that helped him out when he first started on his journey.

The Old man mumbled "Hmmm, let's see if we can do something like this. I will prepare all the things you will need for 3000 poke but in turn, you will need to do something for me."

After hearing what the owner said he was listening intently.

The man continued "My wife is a water pokemon trainer and hasn't raised any pokemon in years. Our anniversary is coming up so I want to get two Poliwag as gifts. If I go to the shops it will cost me a small fortune. So if you go and bring me these two pokemon within two days we call it good at 3000 Poke.

Lan thought for a moment and he knew he was getting a good deal.

He stuck out his hand and shook the owner's hand.

"My name is Lan Birch by the way" The man smiled and said "Call me Mr.R"

Quickly making a tally of what he needed to complete the task Lan said: " I will buy a belt, 6 Pokeballs, and two potions."

Mr. R replied "Okay, hold on a sec. Why don't I let you temporarily use the belt I was going to put with the package. I will also throw in a fishing rod since you don't seem to have one on you."

Lan stopped in the middle of trying to say something and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, I don't have one."

"Haha, kid, you don't have to be embarrassed it's okay to ask for help. The total would come to 1500 poke dollars. Let me go get the stuff."

Mr. R went the back and Lan could hear him rummaging through items in the back of the shop.

Lan then redirected his attention to the sleeping Vulpix. He started to slowly reach out his hand to pet it rubbing its head and scratching it behind its ears. The Vulpix started to push back against his hand seeming to enjoy being petted.

Mr. R came back and looked at Vulpix and smiled. He set the items on the counter and indicated to try on the belt.

Lan reached out to grab the belt. It was a good leather belt with 4 ball slots on each hip and a small leather pouch on the back right side. The pouch was a decent size and could hold around 2-3 items. One could tell it was an old belt because it had some wear marks from use, but it fit perfectly. Lan was extremely happy with it. He smiled and handed over his ID to Mr. R.

The man ran his card through the machine and passed it back to him.

Lan then placed all the items except for the Pokeballs and fishing rod into his current backpack. He then slotted Growlithes Pokeball along with the 6 new ones he just bought onto his belt. He placed one potion and the 3 other Pokeballs into the pouch.

He then calmly took the fishing rod and said to Mr. R "Thanks so much I will definitely keep my promise and be back tomorrow night."

Lan then ran out with Growlithe running behind him enthusiastically.

Mr.R then heard a trailing " By Vulpix Ill be back soon." from behind the closing door.

...