Falling.
The world felt like it was still falling, and the young woman's stomach lurched uncomfortably as her blue eyes fluttered open, drearily letting sunlight creep into them as her mind jolted awake. The unsteady swaying of everything around her slowly lessened as she pulled herself into a sitting position, shivering in the cool morning air and trying to pull the black miniskirt she wore further down over her legs. Her thin pink t-shirt was equally no comfort against the biting air, and more shivers raced down her body as she tried to figure out what had happened.
She remembered walking down the streets of the city she was in - strangely, she couldn't remember what city or why she was there - and rounding a corner. She remembered tripping and starting to fall, bracing for an impact with hard ground, and then...nothing. She must've hit her head or something - she was dreaming, or in a coma, or something like that. From the looks of things, she was in a forest, and there was no such thing anywhere nearby where she had been before. Her mind was oddly certain of that despite not remembering much else, she realized. A shaking hand reached up to rub her head, fingers running through long blond hair as she slowly started to look around herself to see what she could see.
"...W-Where...?"
It didn't feel like a dream, though.
The morning air was crisp against her skin, the dim rays of early sunlight casting thin beams between the branches of the trees around her. She could smell the forest, the flowers and trees and earthy scents all around. She could almost taste the air on her tongue, strange as it was to think about, a sensation wholly different from the stale city atmosphere she somehow knew she was used to. The heels of her shoes sank gently into the soft soil as she slowly got to her feet, wobbling to gain her balance on shoes entirely unsuited for the embrace of Mother Nature as she grabbed the small purse she carried from the ground. She thought of throwing the shoes off and carrying them, if not for the idea of having one more thing to carry around for who knows how long as she tried to figure out where she was, not to mention the myriad of things that could hurt her feet in such environs.
"This is all just a dream..." she murmured, slowly and carefully starting to pick her way down what seemed to be a clear forest trail. "I'm gonna wake up any minute now on the sidewalk...probably with one heck of a headache..."
With no idea of where to go or what to do, moving seemed as good a plan as any. The trail that she was on seemed straightforward enough, clearly maintained as if it was in some kind of national park, and she thought she could see the outline of some kind of signpost up ahead in the dim light and bits of fading fog. Grass crunched lightly underfoot as she carefully made her way down the path, taking extra care not to trip and fall due to her unfortunate choice of footwear. As she got closer, she could clearly see that her guess had been right - it was definitely a signpost, dark wood standing upright against the browns and greens of the path. It only took her a minute to get close enough to read it, and she squinted as an errant sun ray reflected off the thin glass protecting the sign.
Sinnoh Route 205 - Eterna Forest
Eterna City: 2 Mi.
Floaroma Town - 16 Mi.
Arrows pointing east and south respectively accompanied the names printed on the sign, along with smaller print with what looked like emergency contact information and nature warnings. But...
'Sinnoh...?'
The name nagged at something in her, poking at her fuzzy mind like an angry insect, but it was the actual insect that climbed over the back of the sign to stare at her with large eyes that caused her mind to snap to attention more than anything.
After all, the sight of a foot-long caterpillar that looked as if it weighed at least a few pounds would be enough to give anyone a pause at least, and a fright at worst.
"Wur...?"
She choked back a scream of surprise, the sound coming out as more of a harsh squeak as she stumbled back and lost her fight against gravity, arms flailing for a moment before she sat down hard onto the trail with a wide-eyed stare locked on the creature in front of her. She knew what it was, and more than ever now she knew she was unconscious and dreaming back in the real world with certainty.
After all, Pokemon didn't exist.
She knew full well what the red and white caterpillar with yellow horns on its head and tail was. She'd played Pokemon since childhood, memorizing the colorful and exotic creatures with ease and developing a knowledge of the games she played that was downright encyclopedic on occasion. Her mind snapped into full clarity as adrenaline rushed through her, fight or flight instincts spooling up in full force despite the fact that everything she knew from home portrayed the average Pokemon as peaceful. Wurmple - the caterpillar now happily lazing on the sign, staring innocently at her - was a common Bug-type in practically every environment it was found in, and it certainly didn't seem too interested in hurting her at second glance.
'Yep...I've lost it...'
She didn't give voice to her thoughts, instead offering a small wave and a gentle - albeit a bit panicked - smile to the Wurmple as she started to head further down the path towards Eterna City. She was, despite herself, curious to see what kind of fabrication her subconscious would come up with even as she wondered how much her feet would hurt from walking two miles in heels.
That was a silly thought, she realized an instant later. This was all a dream - her feet wouldn't hurt, of course. Just another stray thought about the way things would work if she was in the world of the waking.
Her feet hurt.
Around forty-five minutes had passed since she started walking as best she could tell from what her phone told her, and she could just now see the edge of the forest as she moved, trudging along towards the tree line. Beyond it, she could see the lights of the city from afar, including where the forest path gave way to something more properly road-like and paved. She could faintly see movement off in the distance as vehicles passed down city streets, and she figured she was less than a mile away now. The pain in her legs and feet were an uncomfortable reminder of a reality that was pushing its way to the surface even now, no matter how much she pushed back and tried to bury the thoughts.
She was really and truly in the world of Pokemon.
She had no idea how such a thing might've happened, but there was only a small sliver of herself still trying to deny what was by the second becoming more and more clear. The numerous wild Pokemon she'd seen all around her on her way out of Eterna Forest, the warm rays of sunlight she could now feel on her chest, arms and legs...all of it was too real to be fake, too vivid to be any kind of dream, hallucination, or creation of a comatose mind.
Her groggy mind had cleared some time after she started walking, and now was in a whirl of emotions and thoughts as she traveled towards the city before her almost on autopilot. She had nothing to her name save what was in her purse - assorted knick knacks like makeup, her ID, and money that was certainly useless now. Nothing of any real long-term use, and certainly nothing that would help her out of the situation she now found herself in save maybe the license she held. Even beyond that, she still had a larger question she asked herself, a thought looming large over all others related to her current predicament.
Why?
Why bring her here, to the world of Pokemon? Even disregarding the 'who' of the entire situation - or, she considered, 'what' might also be appropriate - she had no idea at all why she had been brought here.
"They could've at least asked," she muttered to herself as she walked, grumbling to no one in particular. "It's not like I would've said no."
Her eyes darted around the landscape as she traveled, staring for a long moment at the landmark that had taken her breath away as she had exited the forest - namely, the mountain that was Mount Coronet. Calling it a "mountain" was a bit of a misnomer, however. Only the largest peak was Mount Coronet, but there was a veritable mountain range stretching off into the horizon as far as her eyes could see with peaks reaching up towards the clouds. Sometimes into them, really, particularly in the case of Coronet itself. She knew that the mountain range divided almost the entire region of Sinnoh more or less into two halves, of which she was on the western side.
Majestic didn't quite do it justice, and the sight of the mountains stretching on and on into the distance had left her longing for a camera until she remembered that yes, she had her smartphone with her. She'd snapped a few pictures of the distant mountains in the dawn before shutting the phone off and putting it away, figuring that she'd try and preserve the battery as long as possible. There was no telling if or when she'd be able to charge it again, she thought to herself.
The town was almost in reach now, and she glanced up to see the sign on her right stating "Welcome to Eterna City" in brilliant white lettering, with "History Living" underneath in smaller same-colored text along with an idyllic small city backdrop behind the words. She idly wondered if that was a city slogan or the like as she walked, finally taking her first steps into the city proper with a sigh of relief. Seeing civilization had never been sweeter, she thought wearily.
If it hadn't already become evident as to where she was, the first sights of the town up close would have given her no room to doubt at all. People walked the streets accompanied by Pokemon of all kinds - a significant amount of which were Grass-types, she noted as she walked. She passed a man and his Leafeon who gave her a quick hello, which she returned with a gentle smile and short wave even as she stepped clear of another pedestrian and his Tangela. A woman nearby was sweeping the sidewalk out front of a shop, keeping the broom just out of reach of a curious group of Pidgey that were occasionally pecking at it. A voice cut through the air somewhere off to her left as a shopkeeper invited people to try his newest breakfast offering, echoed by cries from the Buneary atop his shoulder.
The streets themselves were reminiscent of any other city she'd have seen back home, if a bit on the smaller side. Most of the shops and buildings she could see were two stories at most, though she could see some taller ones peeking above the roofs off in the distance. It wasn't the most urban environment she'd ever seen in her life, but it was no metropolis by a long shot. The architecture was a mix of more modern aesthetics along with the odd brick building here or there that looked a bit older than the surrounding structures, likely remnants of initial design that had persisted into the more modern era. It was as close to the archetypal "Main Street" vibe as it came, she thought with a smile.
All in all, despite the uncertainty and no small amount of fear that she felt...it was perfect. It was everything she'd ever wanted, in fact, no matter how scared and alone she felt right now.
The thought brought her mind back to reality, and she realized that she had no idea where she was going. Logically, the first place she thought to go was the local Pokemon Center, but that was easier said than done. Cities and towns in the games were generally small outside of major locations like Celadon, Goldenrod, and so on, but this...
Even Eterna City looked like it was home to thousands, she noted. The lack of cars was rather unusual, though. She'd only seen one or two since entering the city, and even those were larger vehicles that looked more suited for transporting cargo than people. What would a city like Hearthome look like, she thought absently. She wondered if it would be more of the same on a larger scale, or if there would actually be more vehicle traffic in the streets unlike what she was seeing here.
She was getting sidetracked again, she realized. She briefly considered stopping and asking one of the people around her for directions before she spotted the building she was looking for in the distance. Well, she wasn't sure that the building she was looking at was the Pokemon Center, but the brilliantly-colored red roof of the building sitting at the intersection a few blocks away was probably as good of an indication as she was going to get.
Three streets were crossed without incident thanks to the greatly-diminished car traffic in the city, and she found herself standing in front of the looming structure that proclaimed itself the Eterna City Pokemon Center. The building was much larger than she'd given it credit for at first, appearing to be two stories tall with a small parking lot beside it that was sparsely populated with only a few vehicles - likely those belonging to the Center's staff, she realized. Overall, the size reminded her of a small local hospital rather than the tiny single-story building that the games often depicted them as. The vivid red color was even more pronounced up close, contrasted by the neat white Poke Ball symbol inset directly at the center of the roof overhanging the front door. The majority of the building's front was glass framed by white-painted metal, letting her see inside easily as people wandered around the spacious lobby and spoke with workers at the desk. She also caught sight of a long bike rack near the corner of the building with a few bikes secured there, in between the side of the building and the parking lot beside it.
She hesitated for several seconds before she finally pulled one of the glass doors open, feeling a rush of cool air hit her all over again as she stepped inside the lobby of the building. The inside was nothing like she'd ever imagined, and she found herself stopping dead inside the doors, almost awestruck at the sight of the inside. She'd expected something akin to a hospital waiting room, but that couldn't have been further from the truth.
Much like the outside, rich red and white hues dominated the interior, lit with soft white lighting that gave everything a vibrant glow. The lobby area had a multitude of benches, chairs, and sofas for trainers to rest and wait on, with scattered tables among them on the far side of the room that gave a bit more space for people to use. Two escalators were featured in the lobby, one leading up to the second floor and one leading down to a basement level. Signs nearby informed her of temporary trainer lodging located on the basement floor, as well as a cafeteria and lounge area on the second floor. In front of her was a long counter staffed by several people in nurse's clothing, both men and women, with one of them wearing a different hat than the others - possibly the head nurse or whoever was in charge, she reasoned. She also spotted a row of vending machines along one wall, and she was quickly reminded of how dry her mouth was after an hour or two of exercise and no water.
She snapped out of her awe-induced paralysis after several long seconds of staring and slowly started to make her way up to the counter, unsure of what to even say. No real ID and no real story to speak of with regards as to how she got here made her mind and stomach tremble with nervous butterflies as she moved - or would that be Butterfree now, she thought, choking back a nervous laugh at the idea. She found that she didn't have to say anything at all, however, as the person she'd taken for the head nurse beat her to the punch.
"Miss, are you alright?"
For the first time, the young woman realized what she probably looked like as the nurse made her way around the counter towards her, absently telling one of the other nurses to take over for her for a few minutes as she moved. She nodded mutely to the nurse, not trusting her voice as the older woman led her towards one of the sofas in the room, politely yet firmly instructing her to sit while she got checked out. She obeyed, glad to be off her aching feet for the first time since she'd started to leave the forest, and the nurse grabbed a penlight from her pocket as she started to look her impromptu patient over. Apparently, the Pokemon Center nurses were just as skilled at taking care of people as they were Pokemon, the girl thought to herself.
"I'm Allison, the head nurse here - what's your name?"
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"...Cassie," the girl said after a moment, licking her lips to wet them again. Allison noticed the motion, quickly standing straight again before returning to the desk and retrieving something from underneath it with the gentle sound of a door shutting from beneath. She walked back over quickly and passed Cassie a bottle of water that the young woman eagerly took and opened, throwing back half the bottle in a few seconds before taking a deep breath. The cold drink felt amazing after so long without, and she finished a bit more of the bottle before capping it again and putting it down beside her as Allison flicked the penlight on.
"Can you tell me what happened to you, Cassie?" Allison said, carefully bringing the light up to check the girl's eyes one after another and ignoring the subtle flinch the action got.
"I...I don't really know," Cassie said honestly. She still had no idea what had actually happened, let alone how to begin explaining any of it. "I was...out for a walk, and went around a building. I remember feeling like I was falling, and just...woke up in the forest somewhere. I don't really remember anything in-between...I just woke up and tried to get out of there..."
Allison frowned as she checked the girl's pulse, silently counting in her head for a minute before she let go. She was a little shaky and her pulse was definitely higher than normal, but if she'd walked out of Eterna Forest that was to be expected. The gap in her memory wasn't good, though. She remembered a building, which wasn't much to go on, but Allison had a strange suspicion that she knew what the girl was talking about.
"You must've been near the Old Chateau."
The girl's eyes widened, and Allison knew she'd hit the mark. The Old Chateau, as Eterna locals knew it, was an old manor house out in the deeper parts of the forest. The trails that led there were all overgrown and usually covered by fog no matter the time of day, owing to the plentiful amount of Ghost-type Pokemon that made the manor and the surrounding grounds their home. The girl had likely been exploring around it and fallen victim to the harsh pranks of the Ghosts who called it home, she reasoned. She was lucky to make it out with no more than what looked like a few minor scratches and some memory loss; some of the Ghost-types played much more dangerous pranks on their victims.
"It's not safe to be out there all alone - did you at least have your Pokemon to help you?"
The girl's head drooped at that, and she slowly shook it side to side.
"I...I don't have any Pokemon."
Allison's eyes did widen at that - wandering around a Ghost-filled haunting ground with no Pokemon? The girl was either brave, foolhardy, or - more likely - both. Still, the girl looked shaken up enough, and she didn't want to press any further given her current condition.
"...You're lucky to have come out all right, you know that?" Allison said with a sigh. "Please, just be more careful in the future."
"...I'm sorry, miss Allison," Cassie said, looking back up at the nurse. "I won't be doing that again for sure."
The sigh of relief that Cassie breathed was ostensibly because of surviving what the nurse suspected was a close encounter, but in actuality it was more because the woman's assumption had given her a convenient out to avoid trying to figure out how to explain what had really happened to her. The memory issues being explained away as a side effect of interacting with Ghosts took a huge weight off her mind, and so long as she didn't slip up and give anything away from here on out, she wagered that she could manage without too much trouble.
Though...
Really, what could she do at this point? She had no ID, no Pokemon, nothing to her name, and - at least at first thought - no real idea of how she could make any money to solve any of those three problems. Never mind anything else that might come up as a result, she thought.
"Do you at least have your ID or trainer license with you?" Allison asked, immediately causing her to tense up again as she shook her head slowly.
"I...I've never had a trainer license," she said, a brief flash of excitement flooding her despite current circumstances. "How do I get one?"
If Allison noted her conspicuous ignoring of anything to do with ID in favor of focusing on the trainer license, she chose to ignore it - or, perhaps, she was used to people focusing more on the trainer lifestyle. Pokemon training was easily the most popular path with regards to being involved with the creatures themselves, after all, and she had gotten her fair share of children asking her questions about the process over the years. Mostly, it was those who either didn't have family or friends to help them out with the process and beginnings of a trainer journey, or those who didn't live near the regional Professor's hometown and as such often had a harder time acquiring a starter Pokemon.
"There's an office upstairs that can help out with getting a license in your name," Allison said, gesturing for the girl to follow her now that the nurse was sure she wouldn't faint or otherwise need any medical care. Cassie gingerly got up from the couch, ignoring the minor pain still in her feet to follow Allison towards the escalator leading up to the second floor.
The trip up was a short one, and Cassie eagerly looked around as they crested the top of the staircase. The escalator ended near the edge of a fairly large lounge area, tables and chairs spread widely across a significant chunk of the upstairs around the escalator itself. At the other end, she could see a counter with two people staffing it, along with more in the back with aprons and cooking utensils in hand, working hurriedly to prepare food for the groups of trainers seated within the lounge itself. She caught sight of a fair few Pokemon small enough to be out indoors sitting alongside their trainers - again, a significant number of which were Grass-type, owing to the city's Gym specialty. She spotted a Bellsprout, Gloom, Cherrim, Chikorita, and Turtwig as they passed by the lounge, her stomach rumbling angrily for a few seconds as the smells coming from behind the counter hit her nose.
"Feel free to get some food first if you want - I can come back up with you later to do the paperwork if you like," Allison said, causing Cassie to quickly shake her head.
"No, that's okay - I'd like to go ahead and get this out of the way first, I think," she replied, forcibly pushing aside the hunger pangs as best she could. She definitely wanted something to eat, but she figured she could wait a bit longer. The allure of getting an honest to goodness trainer's license was stronger than the gnawing of her belly for now.
They walked a bit further into the second floor, coming up to another area with a counter attached to a smaller room, as well as a few chairs lined up neatly just in front of it. A sign over the counter proclaimed "Trainer Services" in bold lettering, and Allison walked up to the counter to speak with the man behind it.
"Hey, Rick," she greeted, earning a smile and a quick wave from her coworker. "Got a young lady here looking for a trainer's license - think she lost her ID out in the forest near Old Chateau and she's never had a license before, so she's a little stuck on ID right now."
"Glad she's alright," the man replied, looking around Allison to spare a friendly smile for Cassie. "I can get an application thrown together for you - what's your name, ma'am? I can run you through the regional database real quick just to see if it'll help speed this up."
"Cassie - Cassandra Blair, sir," she replied, using her proper name instead after a moment. It wouldn't do in the future to not have her legal name on any official ID and paperwork, she figured. Rick typed it in on the computer in front of him and waited for a few seconds as it worked, glancing back up after a few more seconds when he got the results.
"Don't have anybody in the database with that name," he said after a moment. "What region are you from, Cassandra?"
"I..." She paused, frowning for a moment and shaking her head. "...I don't remember, sir."
"She had a run in with some Ghosts out there," Allison supplied. "Her memory's a bit fuzzy from what I could tell, but she's fine physically beyond a few scratches."
Rick just nodded - it seemed like this wasn't the first time he'd run across such a situation, odd though it sounded. "No worries. Just so we can get this processed, I'll go ahead and put down Sinnoh for your region of residence, and we'll just use Eterna City for the city. If we have to change it later, there's a form for that." He pointed off to the side of the counter, causing Cassie to turn and notice a scale that looked similar to ones she'd seen inside doctor's offices. "Can I get you to step on that scale for me?"
She did so without a fuss, slipping the heels off her feet before stepping up onto the metal plate and letting Allison take her height measurement at the same time. "Looks like...five foot seven, one forty one," Allison said, watching Rick put in the information as Cassie stepped down and put her shoes back on. "Step over here and we'll get a quick picture from you, Cassie."
The young woman obediently did as she was told, stepping over towards a spot just beyond where the scale was to the side of the small office. She stood in front of the white background attached to the wall as Allison stepped over to a mounted camera a few feet away, and did her best to smile when Allison signaled to her. One bright flash later, she blinked a few spots from her vision as both she and the nurse stepped back around the corner of the office.
"Is that it?" Cassie asked, looking over curiously towards where Rick was still typing.
"Just one more thing," he replied. "How old are you?"
"Twenty, sir."
"Then yes, that's pretty much it. You're well over the age of needing any kind of parental approval for a license, so all I need to do is submit all the info and print off the license for you."
Cassie blinked in surprise - somehow, she'd expected a much longer process complete with lots of forms to be filled out in triplicate. It definitely seemed like the Sinnoh region, maybe even the world as a whole, didn't hold the same feelings about governmental paperwork that her old world did. Was it just the nature of the world to be more...trusting? Thoughts for later, she told herself, much later when she had time to actually sit down and properly think about things. She took the time to take in more of the sights around her while Rick finalized everything, eyes wandering back to where the assorted trainers and their Pokemon were sitting at the lounge.
Food was definitely next up on the list, she thought as her stomach rumbled again in annoyance.
"Alright, just gotta get this printed out," she heard Rick say from behind her, the sounds of a printer whirring to life behind the desk a couple seconds later. The gentle clack of a plastic card hitting a solid surface signaled the printer finishing its task, and Rick picked up the cooled license before sitting it on the counter in front of him. "Take a look and make sure that info's right, please."
Trainer License
TL#: SL-308129
Blair, Cassandra
Sex: F | Hgt: 5'-07" | Wgt: 141 lb. | Eyes: BLU
Issued By: Sinnoh Pokemon League - Regional Trainer Authority
Cassie's eyes skimmed over the card as she gingerly picked it up, as if not quite believing it was real despite herself. "Everything looks right," she said after a few seconds of checking, giving both Rick and Allison a thankful smile. "Thanks for all the help - I don't know what I would've done without it."
"You're very welcome," Rick said, chuckling. "We get a lot of kids with problems like that - it's no trouble at all."
"I'm gonna get back down to the desk now," Allison said to Rick, who nodded. "I'll let you know if we need anything else."
"Sure thing, boss - I'll be right up here."
The nurse gave a short wave to her coworker as she turned to depart, and Cassie followed alongside her after a moment as they headed back towards the escalator. "I'll be down at the desk if you need anything, Cassie," Allison remarked, looking over at the girl beside her. "Now that you've got a license, go get something to eat - the Pokemon Center feeds trainers for free if they need it, though donations are welcome if you want. The basement downstairs has rooms for trainers if you need a place to stay, and you can stay for up to a week before we have to start charging you anything for it."
Cassie was a bit taken aback upon hearing Allison's explanation, though all of it was welcome information. The League probably had a lot to do with it - the Pokemon Centers were probably funded mostly, if not entirely by the League if she had to guess. Knowing that she would have food and shelter for at least a week was comforting, though she would have to find some way to earn some money...the sooner, the better.
"I really appreciate all this, but...is there anything I can do to try and make some money here? I don't want to just have all this for free..."
Allison gave a short chuckle as they started to descend the escalator. The girl certainly had the right spirit to be a trainer, even if she didn't have any Pokemon. "Actually, yes. There's a website available for traveling trainers or locals looking for some spending money. Most of the things that show up there are simple things like errands or foraging for berries and such, and you can easily sort it by city or town to narrow it down to just the place you're at - it does cover the entire region, though. If you want something long-term..."
She thought for a moment as they stepped off the bottom of the escalator, nodding politely at a passing couple that waved at her as they left the Center. "Best bet would be to check the newspaper for any help wanted ads, or just check around town yourself. We're only a little way into the season, so you'll probably have a lot of places looking for some temporary help to handle some of the early traffic from passing trainers."
'Season...?'
The mention of a season confused Cassie since it didn't seem like Allison was talking about seasons with regards to weather, and she made a note to do some quick searches on whatever the Internet equivalent was here to try and figure out what that was about. Still, she nodded with relief. Even having some kind of part-time job would go a long way towards helping out, and hopefully she could afford to pay the Center to rent a room long enough to figure out what to do next.
"I'll do that," she said with a smile. "I can't thank you enough, miss Allison."
"Just take care of yourself," Allison said. "I have to get back to the desk now, but I'll go ahead and put your name on a room here. Go get something to eat, and I'll talk to you some more before I leave for the day just to make sure you're okay."
Cassie nodded again, happily waving to the head nurse before turning back to the escalator to head back upstairs. Her growling stomach had been put off for too long, and she was admittedly eager to see what kind of food the Pokemon Center had. The smells as she passed by had certainly been appetizing, and the chance to get off her feet for a length of time would certainly be a welcome bonus.
A gentle clink came from in front of Cassie as she dropped the fork back onto the plate before her, thoroughly full and satisfied with her meal at last. She still couldn't quite believe that the delicious meal she'd just eaten had been free, but she was immensely glad for it. As best she could tell, it was a kind of beef stew full of various vegetables, and she'd gotten a salad alongside it that was filled with a number of berries - and not just any kind of berries, either.
Cassie was well aware of the various types of berries that were used as held items in the later Pokemon games, but she'd never even considered the idea that those same berries might not be just for Pokemon after all. She couldn't begin to try and identify any of the ones she'd eaten past one, the omnipresent and easily-discernible Oran, but the salad had been fantastic and made her feel much perkier than she had been when she walked into the Center earlier in the morning. She smiled again as she began to twist the top off of the drink she'd picked up, another item she'd expected to see - albeit not in such general use.
Moomoo Milk was widely loved in the Pokemon games it had appeared in, and after just one sip the reason why was immediately evident. It was some of the best milk she'd ever had, if she was being honest, and had a rich taste that was unlike any she'd ever had before. She downed most of the bottle far faster than she probably should have, only managing to save a little of the drink for the moment as she considered what she was going to do now.
Before she'd gotten to eat her meal, she'd been called back over to the desk that Rick was manning and given a few printed sheets to take a look at. The papers had turned out to be job listings that he'd printed out for her, probably at Allison's request. She'd taken a quick look over them while she was eating, but only now was she taking a deeper look at them. The first one in the stack was looked over and reluctantly discarded - she wasn't too sure she had the knowledge to work in an electronics store, given that she had no idea how anything in this world might work just yet. The second one was more interesting, though.
Rosewood Street Pokemon Shelter
We're looking for a loving person with interest in learning about caring for Pokemon of all kinds to join our team as a Pokemon Care Assistanthere at the Rosewood Shelter! No experience required, but backgrounds in Pokemon medicine or other medical skills are a plus. Interested parties should apply in person at 1308 Rosewood Street, Eterna City.
Qualifications:
- At least 16 years of age
- High School Diploma or Trainer's License
- Prior Pokemon nursing or medical experience preferred
- Ability to stand for long periods of time
- Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
The ad went on to list more information about the shelter's background and history, all of which Cassie looked over with interest. A part of her yearned to run and apply immediately in the hopes of seeing and learning more about Pokemon, but the rational part of her realized that it wouldn't be a good fit for her. She'd barely been in the world for a few hours and knew next to nothing about the realities of caring for Pokemon, regrettably enough. Still, she folded up the job listing and tucked it away in her purse for future reference. She was also somewhat surprised to learn that such shelters even existed in the first place, but after a moment's thought she realized that she would've been more surprised to find out there wasn't such a thing. Pokemon were just as ubiquitous here as regular animals were back in her own world, after all, and it made a sad kind of sense that they could also be orphaned, abandoned, or anything else that might befall a normal animal.
The next one on the list was much more mundane, but also of more interest to Cassie simply because of the simple requirements. It was a waitress job at a place called Snowpoint Creamery, which seemed to be some kind of ice cream shop or café. The job didn't require any real qualifications beyond being at least sixteen years old and being able to carry large trays of food, the latter of which was something Cassie was sure she'd have no trouble with. She smiled and started putting the rest of the papers away, keeping the food service ad in her hand as she headed back downstairs to use the computer in the lobby. She had an address, but no idea of where the place was, though she was sure either Allison could help her or some website could give her directions.
Only a few of the computers in the lobby were occupied, and she quickly made her way over to sit down in front of one and take a look at the desktop. It seemed pretty basic, with a few icons for various programs as well as one that seemed to be a web browser. Opening it up, she was greeted with a few different tabs - one for a news site, one presumably for the job board Allison had mentioned before, and another for something she amusingly realized was a search engine. The name 'Zoogle' sat front and center as she switched to the tab, greeted by a cheery Zigzagoon-inspired logo in shades of the Pokemon's various colors. She quickly typed in the address listed on the ad and pressed 'Enter,' immediately getting a result and map pin that she could reference, and a little more playing around with the map she'd been given let her get directions straight to the restaurant in question. A couple clicks later, she was grabbing pages from the printer nearby and heading for the door with a cheery wave to the pair at the front desk.
It wasn't exactly the start to a Pokemon journey that she'd expected, but at the very least it seemed like things were finally starting to look up.