Chapter Text
Starting on a new journey is a task that has many responsibilities attached to its very commencement. There are many preparations to be made with every disaster in mind, with horrors beyond each turn and accidents waiting to happen, failure waiting to weigh you down. Many Trainers have said that a journey isn’t something to take lightly— it has the power to change your life, for better or worse, and it’s usually not the former.
But for Mairin?
Well, she wasn’t bothered about a thing! Adventures are fun, and a journey is just one big adventure, right?
Of course, she had to start it first to get anywhere, but still.
The first thing she did to start her journey was run over to Sycamore’s Pokémon Lab, that’s in Lumiose City if you couldn’t tell, and get her Starter. You can’t start a Pokémon journey without that, and besides she really, really wanted to get her own Pokémon now for a long time! Ever since she knew that was a thing!
And the Starters looked so cool in person! There was a Froakie that looked really shy, and a Fennekin that couldn’t sit still, and even a Chespin that was trying to look as tall as possible. They looked so happy as they watched her walk into the room, and it was so much cuteness in one room that she just grabbed all of them and gave them a big hug simultaneously.
Safe to say, she now knew what three elements getting slammed into one attack felt like.
Bad thing is that Professor Sycamore then went to tell her that she could only pick one, which was a bit of a bummer but probably smart, knowing him, even if it made her choice a bit harder. She hummed as she got down to her knees and thought, laughing once in a while when one of the Pokémon came near her in curiosity. “Choosing is hard!” she said, petting the curious Froakie, and the Professor shook his head with a small smile.
“Choosing wouldn’t be choosing if it wasn’t,” he said, and she gave him a confused look before turning back to the Pokémon in front of her.
The thing is, Starters are Pokémon that you can choose to start off your journey, and you usually get it from the Professor, though she had heard stories of Pokémon Centres and other responsible adults having to give it to new Trainers. Mairin has been dreaming of this day for ages now, ever since she was old enough to know what being a Pokémon Trainer is, and once she turned ten she bolted over here to really get started.
But she can’t start if she doesn’t make a choice, and this one is shaping up to be the hardest one she could make.
So, obviously, she spent the day at the lab to get herself acquainted with her possible new buddy.
“You’re certainly dedicated,” the Professor laughed after she pronounced her foolproof plan, complete with a secret visit to all the other Pokémon within the laboratory. Of course, she didn’t hold an ounce of doubt within her with her over the top proclamation, and left with a generous offer of help from a newbie that wanted to know more about the Pokémon partners, he gracefully obliged her request.
And that’s how she got first-hand experience in working at the Pokémon garden, laughing as the curious critters sniffed, poked and even landed on her extremities. The Starters from before were present, obviously, but they too were occupied with their own activities. Mairin furrowed her brow and came to a conclusion— she would have to grab their attention just like they’ve done it with her. Maybe then she could find the right one.
First off was the Froakie, of course. She’s heard the stories of the incident at Prism Tower, having pestered one of the people who actually encountered said situation. The Professor thankfully took her questioning in good faith as he told her about the tale of a Trainer from Kanto helping his Garchomp from some unscrupulous villains, a fussy Froakie beside him, and jumping off the national monument at the heart of Lumiose City to save his own Pikachu right afterwards. It was a pretty cool story to hear, especially when she could pet said Garchomp on the head (he was so nice!).
That kind of trust… she hoped that she could get that with her own Starter. Maybe even she could get her own team of Pokémon and they’ll all trust each other and see everything together and have the best journey ever— minus the falling down part, hopefully.
Speaking of Froakie, she couldn’t find a single sign of him anywhere. Mairin turned herself around, eyes scanning the area, as Garchomp nudged her with his head. Professor Sycamore noticed the action and kindly offered her the job of feeding the Pokémon back in the garden— already, as if it was such a normal job to give to a beginning Trainer— and then added that all the feed is in the cupboard closest to the outside doors, trusting that the Pseudo-Legendary could guide her there.
“Think of this as a… prelude to what your journey may bring,” the Professor said at the end, a twinkle in his eyes. She matched his energy with a large smile of her own as she walked off in the wrong direction, quickly getting a fin tapping her shoulder and a bemused Garchomp pointing the other way.
(A journey is full of responsibilities as well as fun. To her mind, the two were mutually exclusive, but still, Pokémon were always fun. How hard could feeding them be?)
As it was, very hard. Even with the help of Garchomp, they barely made any progress before the massive bag ripped beneath the Dragon’s claws and all the feed spilled upon the ground. One of the laboratory assistants, the one with long blue hair and glasses, ran over with a broom and a small part of scolding to both parties, listening to Mairin’s foolproof plan and giving a sigh at it all. Still, the assistant let her carry out the plan after helping her carry another bag and fill the bowls on the trolley, somehow solving an issue that barely existed in Mairin’s mind before being solved just as quickly.
So, with the trolley equipped and her heart soaring, she entered the Pokémon garden and gave it her all.
(Even though she still couldn’t find that Froakie, after all that time. Maybe they sensed that she wasn’t really willing to jump off buildings to save it? There does need to be a lot going on in order to get her climbing up somewhere that high within a time limit, after all.)
Next Pokémon of interest was the full of energy Fennekin that she managed to catch sight of while scouring the area. With Fennekin she tried to give it a healthy amount of pellets, making sure to really fill the bowl up to the top for true enjoyment, but a skittish Helioptile ran across her path and… all her hard work was eaten up by every other Pokémon. She giggled as a hungry Psyduck smooched the middle of her face in order to suck the pellet resting precariously upon the bridge of her nose, looking around it in order to ascertain the Fire-Type’s reaction.
They didn’t even glance at her once, too busy zooming around the grounds and tagging every other Pokémon in sight.
She blew out air from her mouth in a pout, lightly pushing up the brim of her hat before an Azuril jumped over her and hopped into the horizon. She tried to get up but slipped on the grass beneath her, almost faceplanting just as quickly—
But there were some vines that held the underside of her arms, gently propping her up until she got the hint and slowly put her feet on the ground, making sure that she was steady before feeling the vines retreat from her body.
Turning around, Mairin’s eyes met the Chespin from before, watching the Grass-Type as he went to pick up the bowl she dropped and flip it to a proper position before chirping happily.
(People always did say that partners were reflections, that they were the other half of you, that you could feel the connection the second you lay eyes on them, that this is the one.
It wasn’t really any of that for her, and yet, somehow it was all of it as well.)
There really was no other choice after that, was it?
“I want to choose you, new partner!” she exclaimed, snatching the Chespin into her hands and earning a surprised yelp from the Pokémon. Its spines stiffened up, before it looked into her eyes and softened them again. “Chespin-che?”
“Wonderful choice,” the Professor told her when she ran up to him with her new partner in hand. “Now, do you know how to use the Pokédex?”
And needless to say, her journey was off!
…Okay, there’s more to a journey than just a Pokémon and a Pokédex. Once Mairin exited the building with her new friend walking beside her, she paused. She wanted to explore, sure, but where would she start?
“Pin?” Her Pokémon asked, looking up at her with his head twisted (it pays to check out the Pokédex: from gender to preferred flavours, it really can bring up Pokémon information in a pinch!).
Mairin shook her head, before picking him up once more. “Okay, where do you think we should go? There’s that side, which leads to Santalune City, and there’s this side, which goes out to Camphier Town. There’s also exits to Coumarine, Laverre and Dendemille, but maybe we can go to those later.”
The Starter thought to himself, looking at each side before giving her a confused look. She laughed. “No, I have no idea where anywhere is or what we’ll see, but that’s part of the journey, right? We’ll find out when we get there. Just pick with your heart! It’s both of our adventures after all.”
“Che…” He closed his eyes, before pointing to the left. She cheered as she spun him around, and her partner let out a happy but woozy chirp in reply.
“Yay, to Camphier it is! I heard there are castles over there, so I think it would be even more cool to see, don’t you think?” She winked at him and he looked away with an embarrassed scratch of his cheek.
Mairin walked a few steps forward, letting Chespin sit on her shoulder before… “Hey, I just realised that you don’t have a name yet!” She turned to face him, looking at his face and trying to think of something that would work. Something that reflected him, that was true to his form, that also carried a piece of her as well. “How about… Chespie?”
“Ches!”
She beamed, putting out a hand to him and shaking his paw as they walked on forward. “Nice to meet you, Chespie! My name is Mairin, and I have a feeling that we’re both going to be great friends!”
Going out of Lumiose City was a lot to deal with, in Mairin’s case.
There were so many Trainers out here, all wanting to be battled! Whether it was up in the air or on the ground, kids or veterans, she constantly found herself mobbed by people who caught sight of her Pokémon and jumped to conclusions quicker than she could fall flat on her own two feet (a regular occurrence, trust her). Where did they get the time, she never got to ask.
Well… she did get to ask one of them, or rather, one of them stumbled into her way out in the subrural routes surrounding the city to the west. A young girl collided into her, hard helmet smacking into her own forehead before both of them fell to the ground.
“Oww,” the other girl said, rubbing her helmet before looking up at the person she crashed into. Chespie chittered worriedly as he tried to help Mairin up, who was trying to recover from the hit on the head. The girl blushed before jumping back to her feet, blabbing worriedly as she thrusted a hand towards her. “Oh em gee I am sooo sorry! I didn’t see you there, promise! Are you okay?”
Mairin groaned as she allowed herself to be propped up by her partner. “Ah, no worries. I’m used to falling down, anyways…” She squinted forward and noticed the twisting paths behind the girl. “Wait, what’s up with the road ahead?”
The stranger waved her left hand dismissively, quickly losing her blushing expression and panicked tone. “Oh, that? It’s just the greatest skating battleground ever.” She gave Mairin a cool look. “Are you here for the battle?”
Chespie blanched and then turned to his Trainer, who got up to her feet (albeit woozily) and gave the girl a confident smile. “I have no idea what that means, but I’m game for a battle now. Can’t be that hard now that I have my own Pokémon, right?”
“Wait, did you just get your own Pokémon? A new Trainer, today?” The girl crouched down and poked at Chespie, who scuttled away to hide behind Mairin’s legs. The girl tilted her head appreciatively before going up and stuck her hand out once more, now a bit more normal about it. “In any case, my name’s Maya, and I’m a rollerblading champ of the ring! What’s yours, newbie?”
“Name’s Mairin, and I’m happy to have met you! Or, erm, bump into you.” She took the hand offered and shook hard, Maya quickly matching her energy until they were almost swinging each other's arms up and down with all their might. Chespie followed the movement curiously, eyes bouncing with every swing until he got dizzy and chirped in confusion. Mairin gave a laugh at that and slowed down, soon detaching her hand and using it to scratch the back of her neck, waiting for something else to happen.
Maya noticed the movement and spun on her heels, the skates she wore making the action smooth and polished. “Wondering how we do battles around here? Because it’s far from a normal bout, you know.” She started to move forward and beckoned Mairin to follow, the Chespin curiously prodding after her. “You see, normally two Trainers would set their Pokémon against each other on a stationary field, trading moves for moves until one of them faints. But here? It’s not just the Pokémon that are moving, but the Trainers too!”
“That sounds interesting…” Mairin admitted, following after the girl. Chespie tapped her shoulder with a vine and then pointed at her feet, giving her a dubious look. She winced then looked up at Maya, piping up, “Um, does that mean that we’re going to battle too? Because I’m not really the greatest at moving gracefully.”
The rollerblader sent her a look, before stopping at a small rink. There were some people already milling around, their own Pokémon beside them, and off in the corner two of them were already in the midst of their own battle. Maya watched the proceedings, glancing at Mairin before saying, “It’s not about getting it perfect. All kind of movements are okay, you know? The point of it is to flow, is to connect, is to work beside your Pokémon. But hey, it’s fine if you don’t wanna! We can do a standard one for you, newbie.” A wink that somehow made said newbie blush.
Mairin shook her head and slapped her cheeks, putting on her best game face as Chespie tiredly chirped underneath her. “Then let’s do this.”
“You’re excited, aren’t you?” Maya remarked as she threw out her Pokémon, a tiny bird with a fierce cry. The self-proclaimed rollerblading champ of the ring rolled her neck and then sent a fierce smile of her own, eyes resting on the Chespin at her opponent’s feet. “I’m assuming you don’t have any other Pokémon, right? Because if you did, switching out would be a good option.”
“It’s always going to be me and Chespie one-hundred percent!” Mairin retorted as she fixed up her stance, trying to match the pro in front of her. “We’ll show you who’s going to be switching out! Now, use Vine Whip!”
…A few minutes later did not change matters much. Well, at least on Maya’s side. The skater chuckled as she sprayed the pecked-up Grass-Type with a Potion, nudging the Trainer with her leg as the latter pouted besides her on the bench they were both sitting at. “C’mon. Pokémon battles are difficult for everyone at the start. At least you both tried your best.”
Mairin kept a careful eye on Chespie as she grumbled through her tight lips. “…Still isn’t fair to beat us up like that.”
Maya shrugged. “Would you rather me do nothing at all? Even forgetting the Type matchup, you and your partner are still green at this.” She patted Chespie and brought the Pokémon up on the bench beside them, plopping him on her own lap. Softening her voice, she said, “No matter what though, this is all experience. And that’s priceless, whether you win or lose.”
Chespie chirped as his small paws reached out towards Mairin, and she uncrossed her arms to take him out of Maya’s grip. Patting the Starter, she thought to herself, remembering how that Fletchling flipped about in the air and dove down with such cutthroat grace. “I guess you’re right.” She then looked up determinedly, proudly proclaiming, “Well just train ourselves up for our next one, then! And we won’t lose half as easily as we did today!”
The rollerblader laughed, sending her a big smile. “You do that, newbie, and the whole world will be your skatepark, I just know it! Now, let me make it up to you.”
Mairin cocked her head at her curiously as Chespie purred under her scritching. “What do you mean?”
Maya shot her a smirk as she jumped out of her seat and started to skate around them, laugh bright and brave and everything or almost everything Mairin wanted to be. “Hmm, how does a personal showing of what these rollerblades can do?”
And that’s how a whole morning was full of wheeling around and ramps and flips, slips and laughing and a sour battle sweetened by ice cream and Pokémon moves. Full of possibilities, just like a Pokémon journey always could be.
“This is a perfect place to set up camp! C’mon, Chespie, let’s go!”
It was a wonderful night, first of all being a night full of warmer than usual air and also being her first full day of their adventure, and every first day of a journey deserves a nice camp out. That’s how Mairin was dragging out a sleeping bag underneath the amazing big (dark) blue sky, enjoying herself to the fullest as her Starter was chirping instantly at her. “Che? Pin-pin? Che-pin?”
“What… do you mean…?” Mairin was huffing and puffing as she kept trying to straighten the roll into a manageable straight line worthy of sleeping inside. After all, she was not cinnamon-roll shaped, and her back would not be able to survive the horrors her sleeping bag seemed to insist on. Once again jumping across it in an effort to prevent it from rolling up again, she found herself face-to-face with Chespie. She chuckled, not unnervously. “Probably not the best camping out you’ve seen, huh?”
“Pin?” Oh, that’s right. He’s a Starter. For all she knew, the lab was all he knew. She puffed up her chest, trying to instil confidence in the small critter as she tried to complete her quest in making the sleeping bag manageable for the two of them, her tongue sticking out as she concentrated all her focus on the opposing end.
Apparently, that’s not what Chespin wanted. The Pokémon made a motion with both of his paws touching each other in a slanted angle. A triangle? What kind of triangle would he find here? He then pointed upwards and Mairin followed his gaze, noticing the starry sky above them.
Shelter? A house? Maybe even a tent? It was a tent, wasn’t it? Mairin pushed her quickly-slipping cap up her head, trying to give Chespie a determined look. “Hey, don’t worry! The night sky is plenty beautiful enough without having that kind of stuffy covering over our heads. I know that you’re used to having a roof over your head, but trust me, the outdoors aren’t that bad.” She would know. She’s camped out a bunch of times before!
…In her backyard. But nobody needed to know that. “C’mon, don’t you trust me?” She gave him her best approximation of Baby-Doll Eyes, and after some time the Pokémon sighed and relented. Yes! Another one down for Mairin, best novice the world has ever seen.
Now, to do something about the sleeping bag.
After some ill-advised tackling, a quick change of clothes, and some pre-bedtime routines, the two of them (well, mostly her) were all ready to hit the hay. Mairin covered up a yawn as she finally retreated into the comforting confines of the now-straightened sleeping bag, leaving a little room for Chespie to hop in. Instead, the Grass-Type opted to jump on top of her— and after some giggles and tossing about— curled himself over the bag, right where her chest was.
She gave him a sleepy smile, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. “Suit yourself,” she slurred, already halfway to sleep as she pulled out a hand to pat him slowly, dragging her fingers over his soft spines and velvety shell before getting sucked into sleep.
A big, wonderful, amazing sleep…
Scuttling sounds.
Even louder sounds, reminiscent of balloons rubbing against each other under a thunderstorm.
An even (somehow) louder burp.
Mairin burst into wakefulness, or rather dragged herself out of sleep as she sat up and scratched at her hair. Her half-awake state was quickly shook off once she realised the weightlessness on her chest, a warm presence that has disappeared into the night with barely a sign. “Chespie?” she called out, voice small in the vastness of the night. She worked up her voice once more before calling out, as loud as she could, “Chespie! Can you hear me?”
A very distant squeak to the left of her.
The new Trainer swiftly wiggled her way out of the sleeping bag, not even bothering to pack it up properly as she slung her bag over one shoulder and ran with the misshappened roll under the other, calling out her partner's name and listening for the echoing cry. Even when she slipped or crashed she just got up, not minding the dirt or the scratches as her ears picked up every single reply she could get.
Some steps forward. Stopping in place so she could ascertain where the sound was coming from, then rinse and repeat. Maybe even a little retracing, because she wasn’t the best at directions right now (and especially in the dark).
It’s strange, but somehow, she could almost feel a bit more responsible with each leg of this journey. Feel a bit more grounded, if that was possible. A bit more worried too. Of course, it wasn’t like there was a sure, definite sign that Chespie was in any danger— maybe he likes to take midnight strolls?— but still.
Mairin persevered though. Even though she was a little cold with all that warm air around them, cold and tired.
It was dark, but with the help of a flashlight that she thankfully packed, she finally managed to locate her beloved partner through the sound he was making in an effort for their eventual reunion. She shone the light over to where Chespie hopefully was situated, free of harm and possibly sleepwalking and -talking.
And she did find her green friend!
…Being within a group of other green Pokémon.
“Chespie?” she said hesitantly, bending down to squat once realising that the amorphous blobs weren’t doing anything threatening (beyond, well, the situation at hand). She poked at one of them, feeling the gelatious skin bounce and wobble beneath her finger. What kind of Pokémon…
Oh, right, the Pokédex! She plopped her bag next to the strange group, pulling out the device from one of the inner pockets and placing it in front of her subject in question. The loading screen appeared before the clear section of the Dex opened up, displaying the Pokémon and all of its details.
“Gulpin, the Stomach Pokémon. Gulpin is able to swallow items of its own size whole, as its stomach comprises most of its body. Its unique stomach acid allows it to digest almost anything.”
“Huh,” Mairin murmured as she then watched the Pokédex close back to its previous compact self before packing it away, watching the Gulpin squish and surround Chespie harmlessly. Despite the late hour and all that worry (and missed sleep), she couldn’t help but smile. “Looks like you went off on your own adventure without me.”
“Che?” Chespin pulled his head out from the group, giving her an indignant glare (evidently not sleepwalking or -talking, or at least not now). She patted his head in consolation, noting his drooping spines and letting out a sigh before wrapping her two hands on the underside of her Starter’s arms. Slamming her feet to the ground, she then started to tug as hard as she could, the sticky hold of the gathering of Gulpin taking more effort than she initially expected.
But then again, gravity was always on Mairin’s side, and with most of her body leaning downwards towards the other side of this tug of war, it was inevitable that Chespie would follow along with it. With one more faithful tug she then flipped over in a mix of shock and delight, victory being the cool air as the two rolled over once before lying down splayed on the grass below.
The Gulpin didn’t really chase after them or anything. Beyond being a little sticky, Chespie was fine too. A lesson in keeping a tent or a late night adventure, it couldn’t be decided, but still. Everything was going to be alright. Everything was alright, and apart from some bruised egos and bottoms, the two of them were okay.
Living. Breathing. Occupying the same space.
A curious snuffle on her once-again weight-full chest. She grunted, still a little winded from the work, but after taking a few seconds replied with, “Don’t look at me in surprise, you’re the one who wanted to get away.”
“Pin, che.” Of course he would say that. And of course she would laugh in response, and the sky was glittering with stars so piercingly bright, right above their heads. So easy to see. Close enough to touch.
What other stars would they see, if they travelled far enough? What other victories, strengths, moments would they share?
Hopefully a lot. Hopefully side by side, just as they are now, the whole world bared before their very eyes.
Night turned over to day, and just as quickly Mairin bounded to her feet, freshly dressed (probably needing a shower) and ready to seize the day. Chespie was ready in his own way, taking the time to scrub his body clean after the Gulpin incident and then shaking himself dry before giving her a chirp of confirmation.
And so, the entirety of Kalos awaited them!
To be exact, Cyllage City and its high cliffs and sunny seas, alongside the promise of the Gym nestled within. She’s heard about the Gym Challenge before and wanted to check it out, investigating it for her own purposes, but it wasn’t like she was in a rush or anything. It was well into this year as it was, and she’ll need a team if she was going to make it anywhere big if she felt like sticking it out. For now, she was content with travelling around and hopefully getting to a settlement anytime soon.
(How long was too long on a road? Just asking for a friend.)
Luckily, the question wasn’t left unanswered for too long, as the pair stumbled upon a Berry field. That has to mean that someone was around, right? There’s no way this many Berries in one place was natural.
“Do you think they’ll mind if we eat them?” Mairin whispered, looking down at the Chespin dutifully plodding next to her. Chespie balked, spines rising to attention, before making a show of looking at both sides.
The Trainer waved her arms around. “We’ve been wandering for ages and haven’t seen a single person here! No house or building or anything. Don’t you think that if someone owned it, they would’ve put a sign or some cameras or something? Maybe even a scarekrow.” She then shook her head and folded her arms. “Fine. We’ll get up to that tree over there, and if we don’t see anybody, I say we eat.” It wasn’t because she was hungry or anything, but you don’t just get fresh Berries every day.
Evidently, even Chespie started to flag underneath the long distance. Mairin held a smug face at the concession he eventually gave, trying to look dignified and informed even as she jumped at the time-out the Pokémon signaled and pumped her hands up with a small cheer. Okay, sure, it was still obvious, but let her have this! There’s nothing wrong with winning, right?
“How about we eat these ones?” Mairin said, picking one Berry off a bush and giving it to Chespie. Even though she was a winner (in their battle of wills), she didn’t want to give him nothing. Gee, if it wasn’t for him, they wouldn’t have even found this place anyways. So of course she would give the first treat to him. Win or lose, the Gym or some random field, friends were always friends.
And friends share. Yep, even their bountiful spoils.
Chespie lowered his spines, looking suspicious as he held the piece of fruit, before closing his eyes and biting into it. A shudder ran through his body and he opened his mouth to spit out the flavour, pawing at his tongue.
The Trainer stuck her own one at him. “Come on, it can’t have been that bad!” She bit into one herself, trying to stand proudly as the taste hit her tastebuds and… oh, no, it did taste terrible! Her eyes popped open and watered as she stiffened before spitting it out, throwing the berry away and wiping her hands off afterwards. “Okay, Chespie, you win that round. None of those spiky green Berries for us, okay?”
“Ches-pin!” The Starter nodded, before suddenly looking alert. A small Pokémon came out of the bushes, rubbing its head with one hand as the other held up its sagging skin. Mairin gasped as saw the green Berry she threw away inside its pouch made up of skin, before covering her mouth once the Pokémon noticed her.
“Hey, little… Just wait a second—“ The Trainer pulled out her Pokédex slowly out of her pocket, wincing as the Pokémon’s expression darkened. It made a shrill call as she tried to activate the device, and Chespie tugged on her pant leg as she fumbled with the on button. “Chespie, I’m trying to scan the Pokémon! Can you wait like this guy is…”
Her voice trailed off as a bunch more of the Pokémon came out from the bushes, all of them glaring at Mairin. She chuckled weakly as the Pokédex dinged in front of her. “Scraggy, the Shedding Pokémon.”
Well, that was nice to know.
Mairin found herself stumbling through the undergrowth in a desperate attempt to flee the scene as a horde of Scraggy chased her down, Chespie quickly following her footsteps. “I’m sorry about the Berry!” she yelled out behind her, Chespie responding back to them in kind. She put her hands out to show that they were empty of anything (the device now back in her pocket) as they continued running ahead, before ducking her head at a Focus Blast. “If you knew what it tasted like, I’m sure you would understand!”
The Scraggy leered at her (wasn’t Leer a move?) as they ran faster, heads primed for a headbutt. She gulped and looked ahead, noting a tree in front of her. There was only one thing for it.
She jumped upwards, managing to hug the trunk, and quickly scuttled up to the third branch. Her Starter released his vines and caught onto the same branch, pulling himself upwards and sitting next to her, little chest heaving in exertion.
Then Chespie gave her a tired glare. “Chespin.”
“How was I supposed to know that there were Pokémon behind the one bush I threw the Berry behind, huh?” Mairin threw out her arms in exasperation, before having to cling to the trunk once more as the tree shook. “Look, we both messed up here, okay?”
“Che?!”
“Yes, both of us. I shouldn’t have to say what you did wrong.” She crossed her arms for a quick second before hugging the trunk once more for safety. Another hit shook the tree again, and she started to chew her lip in thought. Maybe… “Chespie, can you hit them with Pin Missile from up here?”
Chespie stood up, using his vines to secure him as he hung downwards, stiffened his spines and bent his head downwards. He shot out the attack, swinging around the branch at the recoil before landing in his original space, and some of the Scraggy lingering at the base of the tree fled as they tried to avoid being hit by the attack.
Mairin cheered, throwing one hand up. “Yes! That was amazing, Chespie! Wanna try that again?”
The Starter nodded, looking a little apprehensive as he pulled off the same move again, scaring off more Scraggy as it landed. On the third attempt, the Chespin looked positively sick and Mairin looked a little worried, ready to call it off, before the tree shook the hardest it ever did. “Are you sure you’re able to handle it? I don’t want you to push yourself too hard…”
“Pin, pin.” Chespie readied his spines again and they flashed a different colour, causing the Trainer to cock her head as Chespie went down to swing one more time. But instead of glowing balls of light or needles or whatever Pin Missile was, two streams of purple came out instead, turning into mist on the way down.
The Scraggy that were left panicked at the sight of the new move, running away while pulling up their shed skin over their heads. Chespin landed back onto the branch, stumbling around before falling onto Mairin’s awaiting hands.
“Hey, thanks a lot, buddy.” She smiled, and pulled out her Pokédex to scan him. Thankfully he didn’t sustain much damage (most of it was from the run itself), and her eyes widened as she read out the new move. “Chespie, you learned Toxic! Wow, and it’s a Poison Type move! We’re really on a roll with this training stuff.”
Chespie waved a paw at her, pointing to the tree they were in. “Yeah, yeah, but if it wasn’t for those Berries—it has to be them, right—we would’ve never been in this moment! I’m so happy I could—“
She leaned backwards too far, and ended up almost slipping off the tree. Chespie automatically released his vines to wrap around the branch they vacated and gently lowered them downwards, plopping his Trainer down onto solid ground. Mairin petted his head as the vines went back down and retracted, hugging him gently. “Thanks a lot, Chespie; you’re a real lifesaver for sure! …But you should probably rest now, especially since you’ve done so much today. How are you feeling?”
The Pokémon raised a paw upwards, before suddenly tilting his head down over her hands and vomiting onto the grass below.
Okay, so sneaking up on an Abra was probably a bad idea. A terrible one. One that could be a disaster if done even the slightest bit wrong.
But when has probable bad ideas ever stopped this Trainer before?
“Ches…” her Starter warned, crawling up beside her with a wary face. Mairin shushed him, before peeking out behind the grass.
There it was. Floating in midair, snoring to itself.
It’s been two days now since she had started her journey, and she still hadn’t caught a Pokémon yet! It’s not like she wasn’t even trying either, with the failed Litleo and Magikarp (a Magikarp!), but there was something about this encounter that was actually glowing with hope and good signs for the future.
“You know, if we catch this guy, we could just Teleport to wherever we want, and then we’ll never get lost ever again. Just imagine, instant Cyllage City teleportation! Makes up for the detours, huh?” She went on to verbally butter up Chespie as much as she could as she quickly dropped to the ground below, wiggling towards the Psychic-Type in small increments. The Grass-Type besides her raised an eyebrow at that but followed along, his movements a lot more smoother than hers was.
Mairin shook her head and refocused on her next catch. She managed to get five extra Pokéballs from the Pokemon Lab back in Lumiose, but with this little one clearly asleep, it’ll take only one throw to get the newest member of her team. “Watch the expert at work,” she whispered underneath her breath, before lobbing the Ball towards the Abra.
It plopped into its cupped hands.
Chespie made a small squeak that sounded like laughter. Mairin gave him a look before mimed with her arms in a wiggling gesture after ascertaining that the Pokémon was still asleep, which got the Starter to nod afterwards and reach out with his vines.
Good news? He got a pretty good grip on that Pokéball (after taking his sweet time to reach it).
Bad news? By the way the body jerked and a low growling sound filled the air between them, it seemed like Abra was awake now.
Mairin gulped, rising out of the grass in a slow movement in order to calm down the ticked off Pokémon. It did not calm down matters. She followed it up by talking, taking one foot forward. “Hey there, Ray. We’re just going to take back that one Pokéball that we accidentally threw in your direction, then we’re just going to…” She made a wild movement with her arms, taking another step. The Abra hissed, body bending and curling around the object, and Mairin stopped.
Man, this was going to be difficult, wasn’t it? As she racked her mind about what to do about the standoff, Chespie had apparently decided that now was the time to snatch the Pokéball back. And the thing is, see, the Abra that Mairin really wanted to call Ray was still holding onto it, so when the Pokéball came back so did the Pokémon.
For once, things were going too fast. There was a squeak and a hissing sound and she was pretty sure she stubbed her toe on a rock and was falling and then—
—There was a ledge and wait, no, it was a rooftop and some lady was screaming as some guy slammed the breaks on his car which was still out on the driveway—
—And then it was a party and no personal space, by the way, with bright lights and thumping sounds—
—Before that shifted to some grasslands and a frightened herd of Girafarig—
Locations flashed so quickly that it was hard to keep track of after that. All Mairin knew was that the world was shifting beneath her, sky and sea and ground and sea again, and the Abra was in front of her, angry and still holding the Pokéball, and Chespie was yelping in the mysterious void as the bonded pair held on to each other and by extension, their resident teleporter.
Ground, sky, air.
She had to make a choice at some point, right?
Sea, sand, foam.
With a wince and a muttered breath, the Trainer tapped her partner's side, giving a meaningful look at the vine twined between the source and himself. The Grass Type gave her a worried whine but relented, slowly slipping away from the Pokéball, until only one loopful remained.
Chespie gave her a warning chirp.
Mairin nodded, even though she wasn’t as sure herself.
The moment something green flashed underneath them Chespie had let go of his hold, both of them falling down, down, down to the earth itself. She instinctively swam to where her Starter was and held him close, the wind whistling past their ears as the ground rush led towards them.
And then a branch snagged her suspenders, saving her and Chespie from their untimely demise. Before Mairin could say anything her hat floated downwards, resting over her eyes, and she bunched up her cheeks in annoyance before Chespie started to laugh.
“It’s not funny,” she grumbled, but the Pokémon just laughed harder. What is wrong with—
The branch creaked, then tilted downwards, causing the girl to scramble at thin air before the inevitable crack came.
And the ground hurt. A lot.
“Ow…” Rubbing her sore behind as Chespie landed safely on the ground, apparently having briefly gained a Psychic premonition beforehand in order to perfect his rolling techniques, Mairin glared upwards at the tree and shook a fist at it. “And to think I had almost thanked you for saving my life!”
The tree did not answer. Obviously. Forcing her wobbly legs to stand up, she shook out her arms and stretched all of her limbs. Her hands were still cramping from the force they exerted through the whole holding-on-for-dear-life experience, and adrenaline still rushed through her system thanks to said experience.
She needed something to get all her energy out. Something good, something worthwhile.
“Wait!” she yelled, startling her Starter. Walking in place the idea started to crystalise in her head, clear and exciting. “We’re in a new place, right? So that means that there are new things all around us! New Pokémon, new friends, new stuff to do…”
Chespie gave her a warning sound, tugging on her pant leg, but Mairin was too fired up now. Adventure was close by! It was right here with the very ground that they were on! Maybe Ray the Abra really did help them out in their own, twisted, unfathomable way.
Dusting herself off she flashed Chespie with a big smile, picking him up and spinning them both around in place. “C’mon, I know you like it too! Just trust me, alright?”
The Chespin chirped a dizzy reply, but one that sounded a lot more open-minded than before, a bit more happier and less worried too. And that’s good! That’s just what she needed to get good and going!
…So, yeah, now they were lost. But in a fun way! And between her and the great big world beyond, it was probably for the best— getting an authentic taste for the great outdoors on their own, really getting into the journey aspect of a Pokémon journey, and finding things out their own way, just like always.
Walking in the bush, greenery stretching into infinity, Mairin and Chespie were walking together, side by side. The air was fresh. The grass was there. Everything was perfect or at least almost so, which is just as good for a new Trainer, and they were heading towards somewhere good. Hopefully. In any case today was a new day of many to come, and that means that they will never be short of good times as long as they keep pursuing the horizon together.
But, of course, if something new were to happen nearby…
Most people would think that following an explosion is a bad idea, but then again, most people don’t want adventure as much as they say they do.
Mairin saw the blast, felt the sheer amount of air being displaced from whatever that happened. She held onto her hat and shielded her head as she dug in her shoes into the ground, trying to stay in place, Chespie beside her doing the same.
But underneath her hand, there was a reckless smile.
Another place to scout, another mystery calling to her.