Chapter no.7

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"My primary Pokémon squad is made up of the Pokémon that have shed the most blood alongside me."

-Cynthia Maxwell, winner of the 7th International Pokémon League Championship, the 25th Sinnoh Pokémon League Championship, and the 29th Kanto Pokémon League's runner-up spot...

When I opened my eyes, there were little flecks of sunlight dancing around my face. June, who was beginning to stir from her sleep, found herself being held closely by me. I got to my feet and checked the time on my phone. It was a few minutes after nine o'clock in the morning. I reasoned that going to Violet City would be the most prudent action for me to take at this point. According to my reasoning, since Violet City has a gym, there must be a large number of people working out there. I could give my best effort towards obtaining some money.

June eventually made her way onto my lap. I gently ran my thumb through her feathers while placing my hand on top of her head. I made up my mind that I was going to challenge myself to become a Pokémon Ranger by competing in three different gyms and earning their respective badges. It was impossible for me to wander around the world by myself, so I had no choice but to learn to be completely independent. It was enough to get on my nerves to consider going for all three badges. I would have to visit at least three different cities, and I had no idea if the month of June would be sufficient.

I stood up and stuffed my belongings into the bag I was carrying. Since I had made the decision to allow June to remain outside of her Poké Ball, I carried her on my shoulder. She maintained a respectful posture while I returned the key to my room to the innkeeper. I inquired with her about whether or not the girl named Alice had already left. She stated that she had left the premises two hours earlier. After hearing that, I couldn't help but feel a little downtrodden. I figured that she would be a good person to tag along with, and it appeared that she was a fairly powerful trainer as well.

After I had checked out of the inn, I couldn't help but reflect on her. She most certainly possessed the means to defend herself, what with her Squirtle and whichever other Pokémon she had at her disposal. It was smart for her to bring along more than one Pokémon with her. I made up my mind to go back to the market that I had seen yesterday on my way home. The former proprietor was wearing an apron while cleaning the front of the shop with a broom. I greeted him and said good morning.

"Good morning, everyone! It's also a very nice one, if I may say so myself, isn't it?

June did the same thing that I did and looked around the room. It was a sunny morning when I woke up. Women and mothers in Cherrygrove were seen hanging clothes outside, and other residents were seen tending to their own homes and businesses.

I responded with, "Yes, this is really nice." I brought up the fact that I was the young person who, the day before, inquired about the location of the inn.

"Oh you! Yeah I remember. "How can I be of assistance to you?"

I asked him for a total of four Poké Balls as well as directions to the city of Violet. He instructed me to follow him inside, where he had stacked baskets of food against the walls and had arranged various items on shelves in the centre of the floor. There was a section titled "POKÉMON CURABLES," which you can see here. I accompanied him to the front of the store and waited there. He went behind the counter and brought out an open tin box containing a variety of small, red, and white Poké Balls.

He asked the question in a casual manner, "Can I please see your identification?"

Me and June were looking at the yellow spray bottles labelled "Paralyz-Heal!" The bottles featured a white face of a Seel grinning beneath large green capital letters, with its red tongue protruding from beneath its fangs. I confronted the proprietor of the shop. I let him know that I wasn't quite able to understand what he was saying.

"Your trainer ID."

I stared at him in complete bewilderment. His demeanour changed from one of cheerfulness to one of irritation, but he did not utter a single word. I was walking along when all of a sudden I recalled that I was carrying my Pokédex in the pocket of my back coat. After I had been officially recognised as a trainer, Gavin presented it to me. I reached into my pocket and extracted it, then handed it to him.

As he looked at it, the crease between his eyebrows deepened. "I have no idea how to make those things work," the speaker said.

I expressed my regret and informed him that I was a novice fitness instructor. He didn't address it at all, which made me feel even more uncomfortable than I already was. I accessed my Poké Dex and then navigated to the Left direction using the directional pad. The screen went from one screen to another while a beeping sound served as a confirmation. There was a screen that displayed a long list that was completely blank, with the name Torchic appearing at the top. Below the name were blanks and numbers. On the following screen, Torchic was displayed in the upper left-hand corner, and there were five other blank spots with names below it. The screen that appeared after caught me off guard. It was the photograph of me that Gavin had taken in his laboratory. My name, along with a series of numbers and letters that began with 'ID:', was written underneath my mugshot.

ID: R3C141M

I showed the image on the Poké Dex to the proprietor of the store. He looked at the numbers, gave a slight nod, and then asked me how many Poké Balls I wanted before informing me that each ball would cost $25. I was rummaging around in the side pocket of my bag when I pulled out a one hundred dollar bill. 250 dollars left.

I received four Poké Balls from his hand. I put three of them in my bag, and then I press the button in the middle of one of them to see how it works. It grew larger in the palm of my hand. I made it smaller and stuffed it in the bag with the other items.

After expressing my gratitude, I questioned the proprietor of the store about the best way to get to Violet City. He took me outside and showed me the front of the store, where he pointed out a dirt path that cut through the surrounding trees and identified it as Route 30. He also told me that it would turn into Route 31, but I should continue to follow it. I thanked him and continued on my way, and once June and I had left the town, she began tweeting in a jubilant manner.

Both sides of the dirt path that comprised Route 30 were lined with trees. I could hear the birds chirping, and in the distance, I could see Sentret and Furret chasing each other through the trees. Zigzagoon would make their way across the path on a regular basis, usually with their young following closely behind the mother. I had placed June on the ground next to me so that she could walk with me.

I made sure to avoid any of the Pokémon I came across along the way by exercising extreme caution. I had June's Poké Ball in one hand so that I could quickly call her back, and I had empty Poké Balls in my side pockets so that I could have them ready for when I want to capture a Pokémon. I was prepared to quickly pull out my Poké Dex whenever a Pokémon appeared nearby.

The most significant obstacle was that I was unable to figure out how to make June attack. It was an amusing but pointless sight. I would come to a stop and yell at June to chase away a Pidgey that was foraging for food on the ground, but June would just look up at me and chirp. I was able to find a list of the attacks that a Torchic is already familiar with and has the potential to learn using the Poké Dex. The attacks known as "Flamethrower" and "Fire Blast" were the ones that got my blood pumping the most. My adrenaline was pumped up by the thought of June exhaling flames. I was watching those championship battles on television, and I remembered seeing a number of Pokémon that could breathe fire. They looked like gigantic dragons breathing fire over their opponents, burning them to a crisp.

When that happened, I had to force myself to stop thinking so much. I was getting too giddy. Even though I hadn't done much as a legitimate Pokémon Trainer yet, I was starting to enjoy the opportunities that were available to me. A portion of me wanted to pause what I was doing and think about what I was becoming, as well as whether or not I could accept being made to be a Pokémon Trainer against my will.

Instead, I told myself that I would think about all of that later, and that for the time being, I would just focus on being happy with the few possessions that I did have at my disposal. The answer came just a few metres ahead of me on the path in the form of the most peculiar bird I had ever seen up to that point in time.

The bright sunlight made the bird appear to be glowing. The sheen of steel was captured in the feathers of this creature. Its wings were folded to either side of its body, creating the appearance of a long, thin blade on either of its sides. Despite the fact that it was peacefully eating from the ground alongside the Starly and Spearow, it was a colossus in comparison to them. Its claws dug into the ground and pulled chunks of earth out of the ground, which it then flung away. The beast would lower its head into the hole and pick at the food that was exposed with its head that was shaped like a knife. It appeared from a distance that the bird was the same height as I am, which was very intimidating.