Fandom Pokémon: Ties That Bind

[GojiBean]

Route 1.

A calm, quiet, short route by comparison to many in the Kanto region. 20 miles was short, right? And along the way one could enjoy the beautiful blue skies, the sight of the majestic mountains to the West with Kanto's Pokemon League looming tall like a great overseer of all under its dominion. And to the East lay a smaller mountain range only bordering Route 1 and the edge of Pallet Town. Also on the Eastern side was a lightly forested section of the land known as Rey's Forest. According to a local legend, a massive Beedrill called it home and dominated a local Beedrill hive to become its leader. Nobody knew if this was true or not, however, as the forest received its name over 70 years ago. And Beedrill were known to live only 10-14 years at most. Surely that legendary bug wasn't still there... Right?

A shudder ran down Megumi's spine at the thought. She wasn't fond of bugs to begin with. Let alone ones with venom like Beedrill. And those two massive spear-like forelimbs it possessed were equally as intimidating as the thought of Venom. One good stab and it could gore a full grown man. And at only 5' 2" and 105 lbs, Megumi wasn't exactly built to withstand such a stab.

Pushing the thoughts of death and bugs from her mind she reached into her purse and retrieved a single Poké Ball, letting it roll around in her open palm as she walked. Inside was a gift from Professor Oak. Her first Pokémon for what she could only know was to be an incredibly long and arduous journey. Most received a Pokémon for the purpose of taking on a life with Pokémon, challenging the Gym Leaders, taking on the Pokémon Olympics, or other major competitions seeking fame and glory. But for Megumi, this Pokémon was her first step on a journey to find her mother who had mysteriously ceased communications only months into her own Pokémon journey almost fifteen years ago.

Inside the ball was a Ponyta. But not the Fire-type version found commonly in Kanto. This version had been imported at Professor Oak's request from the Galarian region just for Megumi. The Professor said he could sense a connection between this Ponyta and Megumi, and Megumi herself felt the same way upon seeing it released from its ball for the first time in the Professor's lab. The beautiful silver/white coat, the purple/teal mane and tail, the adorable horn on its head, and large, emotive eyes not only captured her heart the instant she saw them, but she sensed a kindred spirit in this poor creature as it shied away from her attempt to reach out to it and make contact.

Megumi knew all too well the fear of physical touch for... Her own reasons.

Putting the Poké Ball away for the time being, Megumi focused forward on the dirt road leading to Viridian City. She'd traveled around 18 or so miles of the 20 it was known to stretch, and she could see the city's silhouette on the horizon. Maybe an hour? An hour and a half? Ish?

Regardless, it wouldn't be long now. She could feel it. And with any luck when she arrived she'd be able to reach the Pokémon Marketplace to buy Ponyta some food. These marketplaces were special in that they weren't for every day consumers, but only to Pokémon Trainers registered with the Pokémon League, or organizations with ties to the Pokémon League such as the GPPF (Global Pokémon Police Force) which used Pokémon for their operations. These Marketplaces also did not take regular money, but instead processed Credits which were earned through Pokémon League registered jobs or by winning legal battles against other Pokémon Trainers. The battles of which would be recorded by the Pokédex carried by said trainers.

The winner of the bout would receive credits based on the number of Pokémon used during the bout. One on one bouts yielded 300 Credits for the winner, and 100 for the loser. Two on two battles yielded 600 Credits for the winner, and 200 for the loser. Three on three yielded 1,200 Credits for the winner, and 400 for the loser. Four on four yielded 1,800 for the winner, and 600 for the loser. Five on five yielded 2,400 for the winner, and 800 for the winner. And six on six yielded 3,000 for the winner, and 1,000 for the loser.

Megumi wasn't keen on battling. But eventually those 3,000 Credits would run dry. Maybe working a job somewhere would be more her speed? They didn't pay as much or as quickly as battling did by direct comparison, but they were safer and much more within her comfort zone.

As Viridian City grew in size in her vision, she took a deep breath and gave a tiny nod of her head.

"I'm on my way, mother."

 

[Pantheran]

LEO IKEDA

Viridian City

Leo was walking around Viridian city, on his daily patrol. His Mightyena, Poochie, was running after him, occasionally running to the side to sniff a bush and coming back when hearing Leo whistle. It was refreshing to be able to run alone with Poochie again after several months of group patrols with Team Rocket causing ruckus all around. However they seemed to have been more quiet lately, which wasn’t necessarily a good sign. Especially with the numbers of them seen around Kanto.

He had been Ranger for a little over a year, but Poochie he had met 8 years ago when he was 14. Back then his fellow companion had been just a small Poochyena cub, hence his name. Three years later the little, mischievous Poochyena had evolved into a strong, but still somewhat mischievous Mightyena. Leo let out a little chuckle as he watched how Poochie was serious about his work now, a scarf with Ranger logo tied around his neck. What a journey it had been to get to here. Leo whistled again. “Poochie, let’s go.” he waved his hand and started jogging towards Route 1. Poochie let out a determined "Woof!" and easily ran after his owner, or more so his partner.

 

[GojiBean]

A large arched sign reading 'VIRIDIAN CITY' greeted her eyes as she heaved a breath.

"Finally... I need a car."

Pokémon Trainers could rent cars, but it was outside Megumi's current budget. Typically to rent a car for one month cost almost 1,000 Credits. And even though Megumi was granted 3,000 to start her journey, that would go really fast when considering the food she'd buy for her Pokémon, the fees at the Pokémon Centers, food and supplies for herself, Potions and other items to help her Pokémon in bad situations, and other miscellaneous expenses.

Still, one thing to do on Megumi's list was to bring Hana to the Pokémon Health Spa to de stress. Ever since she picked up Hana from Professor Oak she'd noticed that Hana was incredibly high strung and in need of some time to relax.

"Does Viridian have a health spa?" She asked aloud.

Spotting several people wandering the streets, she tried to flag some of them down asking if there was a spa for Hana. Half of the people said they didn't know, and the other half told her to figure it out for herself because they were too busy.

Huffing forcefully and stomping her right foot, and instantly regretting the decision as a zing of pain shot through her calf, Megumi went to a nearby bench on the side of the road to sit and think about what to do and where to go for information. The Pokémon Center was probably a good place, but she didn't know where that was. This city was much larger than the map made it look. And even with a large circular red roof mimicking a Poké Ball top, the Pokémon Center was nowhere in sight.

 

[Pantheran]

LEO IKEDA

Viridian City

Leo kept jogging, greeting a few familiar faces along the way. Poochie was running in front of him happily, stopping to wait for his trainer every now and then. His tail was wagging as he was enjoying the fresh air. As they kept on with their patrol, all of sudden Poochie barked and ran off. “Hey! Poochie? Where you off to?” Leo tried to call his partner but ended up running after him. Sometimes the Mightyena had a mind of his own.

Poochie ran fast enjoying the wind on it’s fur as it finally stopped near a girl who was sitting on the bench. Panting, the Mightyena sat on the ground. It was over a meter tall when sitting but didn’t seem to be scared of people around. It’s fur was shiny and well taken care of. The huge wolf was clearly not wild pokemon as it was also wearing the Ranger scarf. After a while the young, black-haired man in his green Ranger outfit ran after the wolf. “Poochie. You know you can’t run off” Leo said firmly, scolding his partner a little bit. “People get scared.”

 

[GojiBean]

Megumi had just made the decision to just walk the main road in hopes it'd take her to the Center when she was suddenly approached by a large Mightyena which, thankfully, paused and sat down in front of her.

"Um... Hello?" She said nervously.

She hadn't encountered this kind of Pokémon before. She'd read about them and seen size comparisons to average sized adult humans in magazines. But seeing one up close was an entirely different experience.

It was then that a young man wearing a Pokémon Ranger's uniform approached and called the massive canine "Poochie" while admonishing it for running off because it could scare people. And Megumi, being a tiny bit scared, was proof of his point.

"Um... It's okay." She said softly.

 

[Pantheran]

Leo looked up from Poochie to the woman sitting on the bench hearing the slight nervousness on her tone. "Well sorry about that. He's not usually running away like this." He hold his hand over the collar. "He's friendly, despite his looks." Leo chuckled and pat Poochie on his head. The Mightyena let out a short bark and wagged it tail a little as it was sitting next to Leo.

"I'm Leo. One of the local Rangers around. I don't think I have seen you around. You new here miss?" he asked with a friendly smile as Poochie yawned, its sharp fangs showing clearly.