Grand hall. Local hour: 11:09

  Stepping inside, the bright lights blinded him momentarily before his eyes could adapt to the place. Inside, the hall felt like a castle, bigger inside than the outside gave away. Modernized black walls protected the place, half filling with products and items that looked for the express attention and caring of Pokemon. On the left side, placed behind a counter, stood a classical Pokemon health center with a classical Nurse Joy. It had multiple individuals of apparently many professions and classes waiting in the hall, sitting on the sofa, watching the public TV, or just chatting and having a neat time. In the back of the building, was a giant counter with multiple receptionists standing by, waiting to help people out or give suggestions on what to do, give guidelines, or simply information to newcomers. Behind them, a powerful giant supercomputer attached to a bunch of servers, seemingly connected to the multiple PCs at hand that the people working there use with ease. A couple of staircases gave access to the floor above and below each side of the supercomputer.

  Victoria guided Ephiron towards the counter, not giving him a chance to move around, as it seemed that she felt impatient to be a trainer too, and Ame commented they had to register together. Ame waited for them in the small frame that gave them access behind the counter. Ame finished using the computer, distracting herself from the sudden investigation, she saw both newcomers arrive and approach her. Vic was very excited, while Ephiron felt being a mixed bag of excitement, fear, and confusion. The man just suffered imminent death, twice in half an hour.

  “Oh, you’re already here, good. There’s no sign of any suspect yet, but I’ve got several officers out searching the area.” Ame explained while finishing folding some paperwork.

  “Suspect? In the station bombing?” Victoria asked back, with a confused expression.

  “That’s right. If anyone responsible for the incident is in this area, we’ll find them. But until then, we’ll probably have to restrict travel between the wards.” She sighed as she opened the counter for them “Anyway, new trainers don’t need to worry about all that; it’ll be taken care of. Let’s finish your registrations. The main event is picking a starter.”

  “You said three times that I don’t need to worry about…I almost died here!” Ephiron expression added dread to his mixed bags, barely showing it on his face

  “Ephiron can go ahead of me; I don’t mind,” Victoria stated as she let pass for him to go first.

  Ephiron tried to raise his hand and shake his head, not minding mind going second but was ignored as he didn’t speak a single word. Ame just giggled as she signaled him to follow him. “Right this way then.” Ephiron sighed and followed with a bit of concern. Each step filled him with more determination but…he had many doubts.

  “Will I be able to take care of them? Would they follow my commands?… Would I be a bad trainer?… They like to fight…They….will want? One thing is holding a console and giving them orders from there but another is wanting them to suffer and fight for me…I am scared of my life, but is it more worth mine than theirs?…” His thoughts clouded his mind until he arrived on the upper floor where he walked in front of the league manager and she blocked the way back down.

  “These Pokemon are all set aside for new Trainers to choose from. The tables go from top to bottom in order of Grass, Fire, and Water, and the Pokemon are arranged from left to right in the order they were discovered. Go ahead. Take a look!”

  Her explanations were on the nose, due to this floor having only one room. There were three large tables with seven Poke-balls in a precise split between each one. Each table had a framework of green, orange, and blue colors, indicating the obvious type of each one of the Pokemon sets. He wandered around the room curiously, seeing each display and each Pokemon. They had a Pokemon from the first seven generations, or as they call it “when they were discovered.” He noticed a computer that could pick for the trainer, but he ignored it, focusing on what the tables held, and looked at each one. They stopped in the middle of the middle table.

  In front of him, Chimchar was on display, still residing inside his Pokeball. The Pokeball trembled as Ephiron could hear screaming at him. And his heart skipped a heartbeat, feeling the Pokemon inside. Ephiron felt breathless, holding the Pokeball and looking at it. He took his sweet moment as the manager asked, “So, you want Chimchar, the Chimp Pokemon?”

  Ephiron contemplated the Pokemon. Part of him screamed to take Torchic, as it was the superior choice with their evolution having the [Speed Boost] ability, making them go faster every turn. But he knew that wasn’t the correct choice. He made up his mind already. He has chosen his partner for the very first moment he knew he resided now in this world. He knew. He could feel it in his heart, in his mind, in his guts, in his soul, and every single cell of his body. Somehow…his partner came with him.

  “They are my partner, until the end,” Ephiron said with a nod, getting increasingly happy as he placed the Poke-ball on his chest and looked at Ame before she could even say anything, he commented. “Her nickname will be “Partner”.”

  He took a moment to throw the Pokeball out to the sky, as it was a violent yet magnificent flaming light, the summoned Pokemon went out with a roar on her chest, screaming her characteristic name, making Ephiron tear up a bit in happiness.

  “CHIMCHAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!” As she landed with her back facing him and thumbing up for the trainer. They knew they were together in this world. They knew, that no matter what, as long as they were together, nothing would ever break them apart again. Then both went to each other and fist bump, Ephiron half kneeling to them and patting their head as Ame crossed her arms and happily looked at them bonding together.

  Then Ephiron noticed something curious, out of the Pokeball, a hologram displayed the characteristics of his first partner.

  “Huh…Strange. The date must be bugged or something. I can check it out or-“ Ephiron cut her off with a head shake and a smile. She understood that was inconsequential, so she out shrugged and began descending as she stated “Settled? All right. Let’s not keep Victoria waiting.” As Ephiron followed, he gestured the little chimp to follow them, only for the tiny monkey to jump, and mount Ephiron’s back, as he held to his shoulder and hung off him, making him chuckle as they descended the stairs back down. His fears and dread washed away as they saw each other.

  As Ephiron descended from the counter, Victoria half asked, “Which one did…Oh! Okay haha. Don’t worry; I won’t pick just to beat you; that’s silly. I already know which one I want anyway. Wait here for me, okay Ephiron?”

  As Victoria and Ame went upstairs, Ephiron watched both of them disappear from their eyes. Both companions turned to each other, and both smiled at each other, “Awesome!” both thought. But then a new voice interrupted that wholesome encounter. A male voice somehow a bit feminine commented to the both of them in a relaxed yet flirting tone, “Heyyyy, you’re cute.”

  Ephiron and his partner turned to them, tho his partner found this a bit confusing, tilting his head, Ephiron blushed a bit hearing that, as his expression showed utter surprise and confusion. The man who interrupted had short purple hair, with a mane that covered half his face. From what Ephiron could see from his face, he had a purple-gray eyeliner in the visible eye in his slightly smug face. He wore a fish net as an interior shirt followed by a purple tones plaid t-shirt. He had pendants and a collar that ended up in a silver crucifix theme. Dark fingernails, darker tone purple jeans, and long heel boots with many, many buckles.

  “What? Haha, no, I didn’t said anything!” He looked around for a moment, half distracted as he commented “Hey, was Ame just here?” Ephiron took a moment to signal the top floor, shyly looking there before turning to Cain. “Ohhhhh, so she’s with someone else. ‘Kay~. My name’s Cain, how about yours?”

  “O-oh! I am Ephiron, and this is my partner.” Ephiron held Chimchar upwards as this one clapped her feet together happily.

  “Ephiron…Pretty name.” The trainer blushed slightly more as Cain continued. “You got your first Pokemon. Are you gonna challenge the League? I was just coming here to resi-…er…” He felt a bit uncomfortable before rephrasing the next, caught by surprise by Ephiron and their partner. “To start over.” Cain rectified (He completed in time the quick time event) “Figured I’d try taking on this League instead.”

  Ephiron smiled to Cain as he continued. “Soooo, Ephiron… whaddya say to a battle? If it’s your first time, I’ll be gentle~”

  “WAITWHAT?!” Ephiron looked at him and his partner as Cain threw out his Pokemon. He was set aback, he knew what to do, just he didn’t expect things to go so fast. He trembled a bit as he held his Pokeball. However, his Chimchar giggled as he jumped off.

  A battle has started!

  Ephiron vs Cain

  Pretty Boy Cain would like to battle!

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Turn 1

  Cain threw his Pokeball, as a Nidoran came out, roaring to battle.

  Ephiron’s partner jumped off, dancing side to side, excited for a great matchup.

  “Sweetie, tackle them!” As Cain commanded them, Ephiron stood there nervously. He barely knew how to react. Better said. He knew what to do, but this felt so embarrassing to him, order them around as it felt like a giant’s kid fantasy for them.

  He looked at his Chimchar, and she looked back. His partner gave them a reassuring nod as he breathed in and nodded. “Scratch, partner!”

  And so, both attacked each other! Both seem injured but nothing that they couldn’t take off.

  Chimchar HP: ~75%

  Nidorin HP: ~75%

  Turn 2

  Cain ordered them to tackle as Ephiron took time to think and shook his head. This time Chimchar went from a [Leer], reducing Nidorin’s defense in exchange for taking a hit from them.

  Chimchar HP: ~50%

  Nidorin HP: ~75% (67% of its Defense stats)

  Turn 3

  Now both Pokemon attacked each other. Ephiron was worried, it barely made a difference [Leer] them, or a perceptible one. He could see through his Pokeball the stats and how his partner was doing but still worried. Looking at his companion it seemed that he was reaching its limit already.

  Chimchar HP: ~25%

  Nidorin: ~38%

  Turn 4

  But in a twist of events, his partner being faster than their Nidorin, it scratched them first and knocked them out against Cain’s legs, as the Chimp danced around in a victorious pose.

  Ephiron sighed in relief, his mistake was rectified in time and by a lucky strike of events.

  The Pokeball made the classical level-up sound, as he checked his stats.

  Partner won 82 experience points, leveling her up to level six. (I will update the stats at the end of the chapter)

  Ephiron defeated Pretty Boy Cain!

  “Cute AND talented~,” He said with a smirk and flirt taken by surprise once again.

  Ephiron got $70 for winning!

  End of combat!

  As Cain clicked his Pokeball to make Nidorin return and giggle, cheerfully expressing excitement to the couple “Very nice! C’mon, let’s get your Pokemon healed up!” As he grabbed Ephiron’s hand and took him to the center inside of the same building, Ephiron pats the head of the chimp, congratulating her before returning them inside the Pokeball.

  After a quick heal and the classic, a bit concerning catchphrase of “Hope to see you again!”, Ame and Victoria came down after the trainee chose her new partner, Victoria sighed in relief, exclaiming “There you are!”

  Cain stepped aside behind Ephiron to stick his tongue and commented, “Sorry~ I kinda stole Ephiron.”

  Ame quickly checked her notes as she expressed a bit sad, “Oh, Cain…Right, I forgot you were coming by.”

  “It’s okayyyyy. While you were gone, I met Ephiron and had some fun.” Cain smugly smiled as his tone whispered into Ephiron’s ears. This one turned to him in a more confused tone, his face deeply blushing. Then, he turned to both girls, shaking his head, his respiration trembling in embarrassment.

  “ “Had some fun”? So that’s the kind of person Ephiron is…” Her face showed a crude judgment and disappointment, but before her expression could come to a close, Cain quickly corrected her.

  “Nah, we just had a battle.” He smirked as he showed his Pokemon out of combat.

  “Oh! That does sound fun!” Her emotions quickly changed, and she realized her mistake before bringing out her new companion. I want to try out my new Pokemon, too! Ephiron, are you up for one more?” Ephiron calmed himself down as he nodded towards Victoria. He felt his Pokemon trusted him making the decisions, so he threw his ball up before grabbing it mid-air, ready for a quick throw down.

  Meanwhile, Ame commented to Cain as the other two set up the quick match-up, “Cain, I’ll get you registered as a challenger while they do that. Come with me.”

  “Ooh, yes, Master~” He began following her with his rizz up.

  “Master?”

  “Nothing~” He quickly rectified as he cheerfully followed her.

  “Uh…huh. Come.” Ame said in a straight face as they left Victoria and Ephiron alone for their quick battle. Victoria rolled her eyes as Ephiron shily waved to them.

  Once both were out of the picture, Ephiron and Vic stepped aside, a bit away from the counter as she explained, “Then let’s begin. My sensei said that learning to work and train with Pokemon would be an invaluable step on my journey of personal growth. Ephiron, let’s take these first steps together!”

  Ephiron vs Victoria

  Apprentice Victoria would like to battle!

  However, since Ephiron’s Chimchar had leveled up and Victoria had just chosen their recent Litten; there was one level difference. It wouldn’t matter much at high levels, but at such low levels, the clear winner of this matchup was Ephiron.

  (Let me know if you want to know these full battles, even if the winner is clear-cut. It helps me grow as a writer!)

  Partner won 84 experience points, leveling her up to level seven. (I will update the stats at the end of the chapter)

  Ephiron defeated Apprentice Victoria!

  Ephiron got $70 for winning!

  “Oh, it’s over already?” She commented surprised at the outcome, picking up her Litten as she returned it to her Pokeball. “You’re no ordinary trainer, are you…” She commented between her teeth as Ephiron tilted his head in confusion, not understanding why she said that. But before Ephy could ask away, Caine peeks from the corner to pick them up.

  “Heyy, Ame is waiting for you guys when you’re done! I’m all set, so I’m gonna hit the road. See ya~” As cain waved back to them in their stylish way of shaking his fingers before opening the door and quickly leaving the facility.

  “Oh? Was there more to do? Let’s see.” Victoria went ahead, and Ephiron followed after, rather curious himself. Everyone so far left him with a good impression and most had their quirks and characteristics. Once they both arrived at the main bar, they could see that a set was prepared for each of them. Victoria quickly commented, “Sorry if we kept you waiting!”

  “No worries. I already took care of the documentation while you two were finishing. So, then all that’s left is to give you these: Firstly, a Pokedex. You know the drill here.” Ephiron nodded, fascinated to see a Gen 5th Pokedex in his hand brand new and perfectly functional, as he placed the information he gathered on his Pokeball. Now all his functions could be quickly checked up from there.

  “Secondly, a Pokegear. This device allows you to check the map, listen to music, and use other functions. And Finally, some running shoes. As much as I hate it, is better to have good shoes to walk around, even if I hate that Silph Co. Is promoting these…As much as I hate advertising, these are convenient. And unlike other places…Nobody cares if you run inside places.” He moved the set for both of them to quickly check them up and place them in whatever places they thought convenient for them.

  “Music?! On the outside?! Let’s go!! My introverted brain thanks you!” Ephiron thought, a big smile drawn on his face as he quickly put it in his pocket before checking it up in private.

  Ame quickly clapped her hands and faintly smiled at them, “With that, you’re all set! I’ve got more damage control to run, so I’m afraid I have to leave you be now.”

  Victoria moved her hand, diminishing any leftover thought Ame had for both of them “We will be fine! Thanks for the help!”

  Ame finished her introduction to this journey, “Good luck out there. And maybe send a tip to your local officer if you happen to see anyone who looks like they might want to blow up a train station.” Ephiron raised his hand, and op- “Julia doesn’t count.” Ephiron didn’t do anything there. “Until next time!” As she went downstairs in a hurry.

  Then Vic turned to the guy as she “All right, I’ll get going and check in with Kiki.” Ephy’s expression changed to a confused one, tilting his head sideways a bit. “Oh, who’s Kiki? She’s my teacher!” By his reaction, she could tell he was surprised. She crossed her arms and with a smirk, she remarked..“I’m an apprentice at Aphophyll Academy across the lake from the city. If you’re ever in the area, I’m sure they’d love you to drop by. Anyway, here! These might help you get started.” As she handed him five Pokeballs, his face glowed up in excitement. “I know a lot of people say that Pokemon are rare in the city…But you can find them still. Sometimes they like to stay hidden, but just look around a bit! I am sure you’ll manage. I’ll see ya around!”

  As she left, Ephiron took everything and pocketed it inside his new inventory, before checking the map. Yep, the lake was huge and dirty, but on the other side, a place called “Aphophyll Academy” was marked on the map. But the city…The city took up half of the map! If not a third of it at least! He took his Pokemon out, his partner Chimchar and let it walk around again. He registered in his Pokedex to see any more useful information. Nothing out of the ordinary.

  Ephiron sat down in one of the chairs around as he quickly caught the attention of his companion a couple of things. “Okay…You…you are my…partner?” The Chimchar nodded. “No no…I mean, my partner that….In Earth…you know, Earth?” They nodded again. “So…You were the one who cheated death in that tournament?!” They jumped around, affirming his doubts as they gave him a quick hug. “…Does that mean, you knew I was gonna die?”

  The Chimchar negated. He shrugged and with gestures tried to explain that she only felt alive back there.

  Ephiron laid back as he looked at the hall before nodding. “Okay. I may be in danger again, I need you to be on your feet…Not… just, be alert okay fellah? And not eating from the ground. Just fresh food, understood?”

  The Chimchar quickly nodded as they grabbed into his trainer’s shoulder. He gathered up his thoughts after meaning such new people and companions in such a short time. He checked his hour.

  11: 27.

  Barely twenty minutes of that interaction. He scratched his head a bit before Chimchar began scratching himself out of curiosity, making his trainer giggle in reaction. “I have so many questions…How are you and me together here for example…Why is this happening…How is this happening…But it doesn’t feel like a dream…maybe is a coma?… But coma patients are not this…alert or reactive usually…I don’t know why, but I feel I shouldn’t worry about those things. Like…no one is waiting for me to come back…That’s a strange feeling, right partner?”

  But his partner didn’t answer to it, busy to scratch that head of his out of curiosity. He sighed in relief as he quickly checked around for anything useful or important.

  The League was composed of the classical four Elite members and the Champion. But the difference to other regions, this league had eighteen gyms. It wouldn’t be surprising that each gym was thematically around each type. “Julia is the Electric type one…But if there’s no cave nearby or …well, many Pokemon around as they said…Maybe I won’t have the type advantage here…Darnit….Where I will sleep?… I mean maybe I can sneak here at night or something.”

  He bought ten Pokeballs in the closest store. He guessed out of habit in any game to buy Poke-balls in sets of 10’s; for that sweet Premier ball. For the other people waiting around, he gathered that this place was an oasis before the toxic waste polluted the lake. They don’t know where this pollution came but somebody said that inside the suburbs was a pool with some of the fish water-type Pokemon. Ephiron nodded and thanked him for this sweet information. The rest of the people didn’t seem too friendly and most were talking in whispers. Heck, a scammer was trying to sell him a Pokemon for $500. But he knew this trick from before. A magikarp. But his mind wasn’t in that rodeo for now.

  Before stepping out of the door, he looked at his Chimp and said. “Bud. I have your back, now and always. Let’s top this region, together!”

  “Chiiiiiim!” As the fist bumps with intensity, before opening the door…To a new journey together, once again.

  Updated stats:

  It has some quality of life changes.

  Rejuvcap: Hard lvl limit, will be explained later.

  Fieldapp: This is just to show the different characteristics of the field.

  Weathermod: Don't worry about this one, doesn't affect nothing at all.

  Antidote: No poisoning damage outside of battle.

  Mintyfresh: Adjust some natures....This is aviable later, this is just if i REALLLYYY nee dit.

  Unrealtime: Don't worry about this one, doesn't affect nothing at all.