Chapter 3: Confirmation
Hotel Z, Lumiose City
Tropius
As I felt sunlight fall on my leaves, I stretched my body, getting ready for another day. I wonder what mama made for breakfast? It smells a bit weird. Did Amaura help with it again?
I opened my eyes, only to find that I wasn’t in my room. I was in a room with lots of plants around, and green walls.
Hotel Z.
It wasn’t a dream, then! I’m really in the human world!
“Morning, Tropius!” I heard a voice call out near the desk. I craned my neck over to look, and saw Taunie approaching me.
“Hiya, Taunie!” I said. I hoped it was still ok for me to use her name.
“Rough time last night, huh?” Taunie said, sitting on one of the chairs. “You wind up in a completely different world, right in the middle of a Battle Zone! Talk about bad luck…”
“What are Battle Zones, anyways?” I asked, tilting my head.
“They’re part of the Z-A Royale,” Taunie said. “Anyone who steps inside can be challenged to battles on the spot!”
“What’s the Z-A Royale?” I asked. I’m probably going to have a lot of questions for her.
“It’s a big tournament that’s taking Lumiose by storm! I’m in it too, actually!” Taunie said. “You start at Rank Z, and you have to work your way up! Anyone who makes it to Rank A gets a wish!”
“A wish?!” I asked, fanning my wings out in surprise.
“Yeah! Anything Quasartico Inc can provide is on the table!” Taunie said, smiling.
A wish…
I already had my biggest wish granted, since I’m in the human world now, but I still wanted my second biggest wish.
To be able to use my special name freely in public.
I wasn’t the best battler, but I could learn! I’m already pretty good at the move Leaf Storm!
“You excited about something? Your tail’s wagging,” Taunie said.
“How do I join the Z-A Royale?” I asked.
“Well, uh…” Taunie’s expression turned sheepish. “I’m…not sure you’d be able to join. It’s for Pokemon trainers only.”
“What are Pokemon trainers?” I asked. “Could I become one?”
“Pokemon trainers are humans that command Pokemon in battle! Think of them as like…a coach for Pokemon!” Taunie said. “I don’t think there’s ever been a trainer who
is a Pokemon, though.”
“But…but I want to be a trainer! I want to have a wish!” I exclaimed.
“Well—” Taunie began, but before she could say anything, I heard a new voice call from near the elevator.
“Ugh, who’s yelling?” the voice said. Looking over, I saw another human, wearing a much baggier torso-scarf than the other humans. She was rubbing her eyes. “Could you turn it down, like, two notches? Maybe three?”
“Hey, Lida!” Taunie said, waving at the new arrival. “Check out our new guest!”
Lida looked over at me, and her eyes widened. “No way, you caught a Tropius?”
“Nope! She’s here on her own!” Taunie said. “I ran into her in a battle zone last night, and I brought her here.”
“Hiya!” I said, raising a wing. “Nice to meet you!”
Lida took a step back. “Did the Tropius just talk?!”
“Lots of humans are surprised by that…” I said, lowering the wing I raised.
“I was really surprised, too. She even wants to be a trainer!” Taunie said. “Imagine having her with us on Team MZ!”
“Is there any reason she can’t be?" Lida said, putting a finger to her chin. “I didn’t see anything on the Z-A Royale website saying Pokemon
couldn’t compete.”
I perked up a bit at that. Maybe I could join after all!
“No way, you read the whole terms and conditions?” Taunie asked. “Even I didn’t do that!”
“You really should get in the habit of doing that, Taunie,” Lida said, shaking her head. “But it just says that the trainer has to have at least one Pokemon prior to signing up.”
“Maybe the weird Porygon can help me!” I said, standing up. “Where’s AZ?”
“I am right here,” I heard AZ say, as he walked out of the doorway near the desk. He took out the ‘pokeball’ from last night. “I heard you have need of this Porygon?”
“Yep!” I said. “I wanna be a trainer!”
“Then I entrust this Porygon to you. Perhaps you will be able to assist it, more than I could,” AZ said, handing the pokeball towards me. I sprouted a vine to take it.
“Thank you!” I said, wagging my tail as I put the pokeball in my bag. I made sure to put it with my spare scarves so it’s extra comfy!
“Taunie, Lida, why don’t you accompany our guest to the Pokemon Research Lab so she can be registered as a trainer?” AZ said.
“Huh? Oh, sure!” Taunie said, standing up. “Let’s go, Lida!”
“Alright!” Lida said, walking towards the front door of Hotel Z and opening it. “Follow me, Tropius!”
I curled my wings up once more to fit through the door, and when I stepped outside…
…wow.
Lumiose was a beautiful city.
Now that it was bright out, I could see everything clearly. From the archways around the hotel, to the full-glass windows, to the intricate pattern on the ground, it was all so new and wonderful.
I stared in awe at everything for a few seconds. Human cities were so much cooler than I ever could have imagined. And this was just a tiny part of it! I couldn’t wait to see more!
“What’s the holdup?” Lida asked. “Something the matter?”
“Humans live like this?” I said, stepping forwards. “It’s…”
“A bit cramped, I know, but it’s worth it, I promise!” Taunie said.
“No, it’s wonderful!” I said, fluttering my hindwings. “It’s super cool and amazing!”
“Oh! I’m glad you’ve taken a liking to it so quickly!” Taunie said. “Now let’s get you to the lab!”
The three of us started walking forwards, until Taunie came to a stop near some large rocks in the middle of the path, and sighed.
“This is the second time this week…” Lida groaned, before looking at me. “Know any fighting-type moves?”
“Nope, but I can fly over them!” I said, stancing myself to start flying.
“That’s great, but we’re definitely not getting any guests while these are here…” Taunie said, shaking her head. “Lida, let’s take the detour route for now. I’ll meet you on the other side, Tropius!”
With that, Taunie and Lida headed down a side path, and with a flap of my wings, I left the ground, soaring above the nearby buildings.
Wow, Lumiose City was
massive.
I wanted to see all of it!
I started flying through the city skies, looking down at everything as I soared.
I flew above a building surrounded by scaffolding. I flew across an open area where many humans seemed to be training. I flew by an imposing-looking stone building with a purple insignia. I flew near a fancy-looking building with lots of flags near it. I flew above some sort of strange carriage with seats by it. I flew near a tall tower covered in glowing lights.
And in the center of the town was a truly massive building, reaching up towards the clouds. It was far taller than any building I’d ever seen before. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it, it was magical to look at.
Was this one of the sky-scraping towers?
It was beautiful.
With my little tour over, I flew back down towards the other side of the rocks, where Taunie and Urbain were now waiting. As I landed near them, Lida asked, “What took you so long? I thought someone had caught you!”
“I was flying around!” I said, wagging my tail. “There’s so much super cool stuff here! Like the sky-scraping tower at the center!”
“You mean Prism Tower?” Taunie said, smiling. “It’s pretty cool, huh? But it’s currently closed to the public.”
“Why?” I asked, tilting my head.
“I heard it’s part of the urban redevelopment project,” Lida said, shaking her head. “Dunno what they’re doing with it, though.”
“We should get going before we draw a crowd,” Taunie said, running down the street towards a green Holo-Gate. “Come on!”
I trotted after her, stopping at the gate. There was a symbol on it, one that I never saw before…but somehow, I could read it. It was a one.
Could I read human language now? That’s super cool!
“Here we are, Wild Zone 1!” Taunie said, beckoning me and Lida inside the gate. “The quickest way to the lab is through here.”
“You never told me what Wild Zones are,” I said, tilting my head as I entered alongside the two humans. “What are they?”
“Quasartico says they’re a way for people and Pokemon to live in harmony,” Lida said, looking down. “Not a lot of people seem happy with them, though.”
I looked around, seeing a few other Pokemon scattered around. A few Scatterbugs, a flock of Mareep, a Bunnelby, a Fletchling…
“Hiya everyone!” I said, raising a wing in greeting.
“What are you?” the Bunnelby asked, looking at me with inquisitive eyes. “I’ve never seen your species before. Are you from another Wild Zone?”
“I’m a Tropius!” I said, raising my neck. “I’m from another world!”
“Another…world?” The Fletchling asked, tilting their head. “I don’t know what that means…”
“Are you talking to the wild Pokemon?” Lida asked.
“Yep!” I said, looking back at her. “Is that weird?”
“To be honest…a little bit,” Taunie said, scratching the back of her head. “Not in a bad way, just…not used to it.”
As we traveled through the Wild Zone, I realized just how small it was, compared to the rest of Lumiose. It was only maybe twenty neck-lengths front the gate we came from to the other side.
So many Pokemon, confined to such a small space…it didn’t seem right.
But soon enough, we made it through the other side, exiting the Wild Zone right next to a fancy-looking building.
“Right this way!” Taunie said, walking towards the fancy building. Lida and I followed her inside.
There were more humans inside, each looking busy with something. There was also another one of those “elevator” things, but it looked super small, I definitely couldn’t fit inside. Thankfully, there were some stairs beside it, though the steps also looked a bit small for my feet.
“Hello, both of you!” a human by the front desk said. “I presume you’re here about the pokedex registration prize? I see you’ve caught yourself a rather rare Pokemon, too!”
“Nope!” Lida said, crossing her arms. “We need to show this Tropius to Mable!”
“Could you let us up the stairs?” Taunie asked.
“I suppose, though you should make a habit of balling your Pokemon while they’re indoors, especially large ones. It’s only polite,” the front desk human said, stepping aside.
“Yeesh,” Taunie said, scratching the back of her head as she turned towards me. “Sorry about that. Mable should be on the third floor.”
I nodded in response, worried that if I spoke, the people here would get upset.
“I’ll wait for you both down here,” Lida said. “Good luck!”
With that, Taunie and I proceeded up the stairs. It was a bit tricky to balance on such small steps, but eventually I made it up to the second floor, then the third.
As soon as I got up there, though, I heard someone yell, “That shortsighted NITWIT!”
I craned my neck to look over the small wall at the source of the voice, and saw another human, glaring at some sort of device on a desk. She had long blue head-fur, and matching blue glasses.
“That stupid mayor’s poured even MORE money into this ridiculous urban redevelopment plan?!” she yelled. “Sure, more Pokemon, great! But you can’t just throw ‘em in a wild zone and call it a day!”
She seemed super angry about the Wild Zones. Was she worried about how small they were, too?
“Sheesh, she seems grumpy, Taunie grumbled.
“No, you’ve got to have scientists STUDY and SURVEY these things to make sure they’re safe!” the human continued yelling. “But who can keep up with the work when they keep adding new wild zones every time I turn around?”
“That sounds super bad…” I said.
The human looked looked up at me. “Oh, a Tropius? Where’s your trainer?”
I raised a forewing, and said, “Hiya! I’m here to be a trainer!”
The human’s eyes widened, and she nearly fell backwards in her chair. “Either I’ve finally lost it, or this Tropius just spoke to me…” she muttered.
“Lots of humans have been saying stuff like that…” I said, lowering my forewing.
“You’re not hearing things,” Taunie said, stepping out from behind me. “Meet the newest trainer in Lumiose: This Tropius!”
“You’re joking,” the blue-furred human said. “I’ve been up to my neck in making sure the wild zones don’t become Pokemon graveyards, and you toss perhaps the most significant scientific discovery in YEARS right into my lap.”
“I’m super confused…” I said, lowering my neck.
“Mind telling us about it, Mable?” Taunie asked.
“There are very few Pokemon able to mimic human speech, and even fewer that can hold a conversation,” Mable said, tapping on the device on her desk. “Rotoms in specific devices, and a select few psychic-types. Tropius are nowhere
near that list. How did you teach one how to talk?!”
“I’ve…always been able to?” I said, tilting my head. “All Pokemon where I’m from can talk.”
“Elaborate,” Mable said, furiously tapping away at the device.
“She says she’s from another world,” Taunie said, scratching behind her head.
“Yep! I’m from the Pokemon world! And now I’m here in the human world!” I said, with a flutter of my hindwings.
“Great. Great! Just great,” Mable said with another sigh. “I’m going to have my hands full with this for ages. Thanks for that.”
“I’m sorry…” I said, stepping back.
“Not your fault I already have a potential ecological crisis to deal with,” Mable said, looking back up at me. “Any other time, I’d be over the moon about this.”
“Does this mean I can’t become a trainer?” I asked.
“Right, that,” Mable said, looking at her device again. “You’ll need a Pokemon first, and I don’t want to deal with the headache of if you can register yourself as your own Pokemon.”
“I think I have one!” I said, sprouting a vine, and taking the pokeball out of my bag. “This weird round Porygon!”
“You’re almost adorable,” Mable said, grabbing the pokeball out of my vine and placing it in front of her device. “Registered to…a Pokemon shelter in Ferrum? Where did you get this?!”
“A weird voice showed it to me before I woke up in this world!” I said, raising my neck. “They said that it’s my ‘starter’.”
Mable stared at me.
“That’s weird,” Taunie said, after several seconds of silence.
“I’m just going to put a pin in that for now,” Mable said, tapping at her device again. “I’ll ask if the shelter would be willing to relinquish it to you. Should be simple, since it’s a shelter Pokemon.”
“Thank you!” I said, wagging my tail.
“In return, I’d like you to do some research for me. Nothing too complex, just some fieldwork,” Mable said. “Where’s your phone?”
“What’s a phone?” I asked.
“Of course you don’t have one. Why would it be so simple?” Mable said with another sigh. “I’ll lend you a spare, and get it set up for you.”
“Thank you! You’re super nice!” I said, fluttering my hindwings as my tail wagged faster.
Mable seemed to flinch at that. Did I say something wrong?
“Just get those research tasks done,” Mable said, taking out a rectangular device from beneath her desk. “I’m counting on you.”
Gilded Gaggle of Goofs
#vent
Tapestry: I have an update on HTML’s disappearance.
Delino: Im guessing by the channel its nothing good
Tapestry: It’s moreso bittersweet.
Sad Snom: What happened?
MonDegreen: Is HTML ok???
Tapestry: Their pokeball was found in Lumiose, and they seem to be in perfect health.
Sad Snom: That does not sound too bad.
Delino: Yea, thats great
Ta Writeer: whats the bitter part
Tapestry: Apparently a new trainer wants to adopt them as their first Pokemon.
MonDegreen: Oh…
Sad Snom: At least they will be getting a proper home at last.
Tapestry: I know, but they’ve been at the shelter for as long as I’ve worked here.
Tapestry: It’s selfish, but I’m gonna miss them.
MonDegreen: Me too…I’ll miss seeing your updates about them…
Ta Writeer: hopefully the trainer is a good one
Delino: Hopefully
Tapestry: I hope so too.
