"Please come and see us again!"
Cassie waved happily to the young couple that were leaving the Snowpoint Creamery, earning a pair of polite waves and smiles from them as they pushed the door open and stepped back into the warm air of the city. Two weeks had passed since Cassie had arrived in Eterna City, and she'd been working at the shop for the entire time, often doing ten-hour days just to have something to do with her time. She enjoyed the job more than she expected, really. The people of the city were almost invariably polite and welcoming, and she truly enjoyed seeing people's reactions to the many frozen treats and other foods that the creamery served.
The shop, like almost every store she'd seen in the city so far, was accommodating to Pokemon as well. It was more common than not to see someone wandering in with a Pokemon at their heels, in their arms, or hovering around their heads, and she loved seeing all the different varieties of Pokemon that the city residents owned. Of course, she saw her share of traveling trainers as well, most of whom visited the store on recommendations from locals - she suspected the local Pokemon Centers had a lot to do with that.
Having more than one Center in the town was also something she hadn't expected. There was the Eterna City Pokemon Center, which she had discovered was the 'main' Center of the town and had larger capacity, more staff, and various other facilities befitting a major hospital. On the other side of town was the Crescent Avenue Pokemon Center, a smaller Center that catered mostly to travelers coming into the city from Route 206 to the south. However, it was located only a few blocks away from the Eterna City Gym, which she’d discovered was very deliberate placement. Gym battles sometimes caused more serious injuries than most, especially later in a challenge season when trainers were competing against higher-badge teams. She'd visited early one morning to see what it was like and found it to be a bit more like what she'd expected from the game depictions of Pokemon Centers, though it was still much larger and better-equipped than anything the games portrayed.
It was still early in the day - just after breakfast time, she noted with a quick glance at the clock on the wall - and the store was still rather empty. The couple that had just left had been the only customers for the last twenty minutes or so, which was pretty normal as she'd learned over the previous days. Often the real foot traffic didn't start happening until around noon, when most people were taking lunch breaks or working on afternoon training or Pokemon battles. With no one in the sitting area and no real cleaning to do just yet, she wandered back towards the kitchen, peeking her head in through the door. She was immediately assaulted by a variety of sweet-smelling pastries and other foodstuffs currently cooking, and she wished it was lunchtime already so that she could snack on one of the creamery's offerings herself. Free lunch for employees was the best benefit here, she thought to herself - money was great and all, but her stomach appreciated that job perk most of all.
"Everything good out there, Cassie?" she heard an older man call, her eyes snapping over to the white-haired man who was directing another of the kitchen staff. Joshua - or Josh as everyone called him - was the head chef for the restaurant, and had been working in the back for almost fifteen years now. The kitchen staff adored him, she'd quickly found, and it hadn't taken her long to warm up to him much like the rest.
"Yessir!" she said quickly, glancing behind her just to make sure no customers had come in before she stepped into the kitchen. "No one's inside right now - did you need anything?"
"All good back here," Josh said, shaking his head. He started to say something else only to stop when a yellow and cream Pokemon darted by his feet and over to Cassie, leaping up to put two front paws on her leg and barking happily at her. He chuckled a little at the small canine as the girl reached down with a grin and gave its head a few quick strokes and pats, only to reluctantly shoo it away a few moments later - it was still helping out in the kitchen, after all.
The adorable little puppy Pokemon was called Fidough, Cassie had learned, and was from a region called Paldea that she'd never heard of before. It was barely a foot tall and looked like nothing so much as a puppy-shaped mound of bread dough with bun-like ears, but the young Pokemon was apparently extremely useful for cooking because of the yeast in its breath. She'd been caught off-guard the first time she saw it, but the trio of small canines had quickly become a fixture in the restaurant and were almost always in the kitchen. That wasn't the only Pokemon helper that the Snowpoint Creamery had, though.
The tiny Fairy-types called Alcremie were the other omnipresent sights alongside the human workers, and there were a quartet of the small whipped-cream Pokemon that helped out with all the desserts that the shop baked and prepared. Cookies, ice cream, sweet breads...the variety of offerings for sale was only enhanced by the four different Pokemon siblings that lent their unique flavors to the dishes. Usually, two of them hung out up front at the ice cream counter, while the other two would stay around the kitchen to help with the baked goods, rotating around depending on which ones the kitchen needed at the time. Customers and employees alike loved the sight of the tiny Fairies, and lots of children would giggle and play around with the Pokemon while waiting for their treats to be served.
No matter how much a part of Cassie had wanted to take the shelter job, she really felt like she'd lucked out with getting the job here. After her first two days, Steven - the owner of the store - had approached her once he saw her in the same clothes at work both days. She'd reluctantly explained about how she'd woken up in the woods with basically nothing but the clothes on her back, and he'd been nice enough to go ahead and pay her early for those two days so that she could go get some more clothing and some basic items that she desperately needed. The Center provided a lot of basic toiletries and the like with the rooms trainers rented, similar to hotel rooms, but she was on her own for things like clothing. Thankfully, the few hundred credits she'd earned for the work so far were more than enough to get her a couple of basic outfits and - most importantly - a pair of nice flats along with a pair of tennis shoes so that she didn't have to walk everywhere in heels.
The ringing of the bell at the entrance snapped Cassie's attention back towards the storefront, and she automatically started to greet the incoming patrons before her eyes widened at just who the patrons were. An orange-haired girl in a midriff-baring tank top covered by a sort of forest green cloak stood there waving alongside a vibrantly-colored green Pokemon with a white-topped head resembling a rose, red and blue bouquet-esque arms also waving politely in her direction in greeting.
"Good morning!"
"G-Good morning! Welcome to the Snowpoint Creamery - please, take a seat!"
Cassie was a little caught off guard by the sudden appearance of someone who she'd expected to meet eventually, but certainly not like this. Eterna City's Gym Leader grinned, sadly shaking her head as she walked up to Cassie.
"I'd love to, but I'm actually just here to talk to Steven, if he's around?"
"Is that Leader Gardenia?" Josh called from inside the kitchen, heavy footsteps moving towards the kitchen entrance along with the pitter-patter of at least one of the Fidough trio.
"Yes, it is!" Cassie called back as the door swung open, finally over her momentary surprise. She'd done a lot of reading over the past few days, trying to learn about the city she was in as well as more about the Sinnoh region in general, and she'd naturally found herself gravitating a bit towards learning about the Eterna City Gym and its strongest trainer.
Gardenia Natane was relatively young compared to most of the Gym Leaders of Sinnoh, but that only spoke to her excellent skill with Grass-type Pokemon. At only twenty years old, she was the second-youngest Leader of the eight, with only Maylene Sumomo of Veilstone being younger. She had only taken over the gym a scant two years ago, inheriting it from her father as he retired from trainer life to go into business with his own flower and farm supply store in the city. Still, she had quickly risen to prominence as a well-loved and talented trainer to continue the gym's legacy, and many trainers attended lectures that she offered at the gym to learn more about raising and training Grass-type Pokemon. The classes were typically full of budding trainers about to set out on their journeys, though many traveling trainers would catch a class or two while waiting for their gym challenge during the busier parts of the season.
"Good to see you, Leader," Josh said as he stepped out from the kitchen, careful not to step on the puppy Pokemon trailing his heels as he brushed his hands clean of some flour. "Steven's out picking up some supplies at the moment - what can we do for you?"
"That's fine," she replied. "I just wanted to place an order for some treats for my class later this afternoon, if I could? I've got a full house, and I thought it would be nice for them to have something more than just normal refreshments."
The Roserade beside her said something in an amused tone before breaking into laughter, and Gardenia pouted over at her partner, folding her arms.
"Okay, maybe I wanted to grab something for myself too, but it was mainly for the class, I swear!"
Cassie found herself giggling alongside Gardenia's Pokemon. It wasn't hard to see why the young woman was so loved by Eterna's citizens.
"Seriously, though, can you whip up some things by three o'clock for me? I'd really appreciate it," Gardenia said, clasping her hands and causing Josh to chuckle as his Gym Leader turned back to him with pleading eyes.
"That won't be a problem," the burly man laughed as Cassie pulled a notepad from her uniform to take down the order. Josh pulled a small menu from one of the tables and handed it to the younger girl, who opened it up and started looking through it while Roserade stretched upwards to look it over alongside her trainer. A small vine snaked out from the flower to start pointing at different things on the menu alongside excited chatter from the Grass-type, and Gardenia went back and forth with her partner for a minute before finally handing the menu back.
"Okay, I think I've got it. I want..."
Cassie's pen moved quickly as she started taking down the quite large order, scribbling on her notepad as fast as she could to keep up with Gardenia's speedy talking. The young woman was definitely excitable when she got going, Cassie noted, and the pen worked furiously to keep up with the quick pace of her order. She read it all back to Gardenia once the Grass trainer had finished, and was pleased to see Gardenia nod happily and confirm she'd gotten it all right.
"Thank you so much, Josh!" Gardenia bubbled, looking like she almost wanted to hug the larger man. "I can't wait to see everyone's reaction!"
"It'll be a little tight, but we can manage it," Josh remarked with a smile. "Cassie, would you mind dropping it all off at the gym once we get it finished?"
"Sure!" she replied, barely able to contain her excitement. She'd had no reason to go to the gym without a Pokemon, but this would give her a chance to see it all up close and personal for the first time.
"You guys are the best!" the Gym Leader gushed, still grinning from ear to ear. "Just head to the lobby and the receptionist will show you in once you get there. I can't wait to sink my teeth into tho -"
She stopped as she caught the amused looks from everyone present, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Anyway, I'll see you soon! Let me know if you run into any trouble, okay?"
"Of course," Josh replied, waving as Gardenia and her Roserade made to leave. "Thanks for the business, Leader!"
"Anytime!" Gardenia called as she pushed open the door, letting another family in as she exited. Cassie smiled, immediately starting to greet the new guests as Josh headed back towards the kitchen. She could hear Josh calling for Nathan and Eri to start prepping for the order as the kitchen door swung shut. The day was about to get a whole lot busier, that was for sure.
Two-thirty rolled around a lot faster than Cassie expected, but the kitchen had been in overdrive ever since Gardenia's visit. Between the large order the Gym Leader had placed and the usual lunch rush, the restaurant had been incredibly busy for the past few hours. Steven had come back before long and immediately jumped into helping with Gardenia’s order, and they'd even called in another waitress to help Cassie out after a while so that she would be able to leave and deliver Gardenia's food on time without leaving them shorthanded.
The gym was all the way on the southeastern edge of the city, but Cassie had plenty of time to get there. Twenty minutes had proved more than enough time to travel the distance on the bicycle she was riding, even towing the small insulated trailer behind it that was used for larger deliveries around town. It was a little tricky adjusting to it as she'd never pulled anything behind a bicycle before, but she managed to get used to it in just a couple of minutes.
Up ahead, she could finally see the gym looming large in front of her. The games simply couldn't do it justice - the building was massive, a huge circular building as large as any sporting arena she'd ever seen back home with a positively enormous Poke Ball emblem shining brightly on the front for all to see. Vines and greenery draped themselves over the walls all the way from the roof nearly down to the ground, matching the vibrant green plains all around the structure, and small trees that looked similar to cypress dotted the area all around as far as she could see.
Off in the distance, she could see the outlines of Pokemon moving about, most of whom appeared to be Grass types. She spotted the distinctive palm tree-like shape of an Exeggutor alongside a Tropius, both of whom were lounging and enjoying the bright sunlight. Nearer to her, she could see a group of Bulbasaur running and chasing each other around near a small pond, being watched over by a Mightyena that sat quietly on its haunches. Another of the canines seemed to be patrolling the area, and it looked over at her for a few long seconds before returning to its walk.
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It must have been used to seeing people bringing deliveries like this, she reasoned as she got off the bicycle and started to walk towards the entrance to the gym. At the very least, it didn't see her as a threat.
Cold air conditioning hit her face as soon as the sliding glass doors opened, letting her into the lobby of the gym for the first time. Much like the outside, the inside was larger than she'd ever imagined from the miniscule details the game provided. A reception desk sat front and center in the spacious lobby, with several workers at computers sitting around the large U-shaped piece of furniture. Rows of chairs sat to one side of the lobby, reminding her a bit of an airport terminal waiting area, while a small refreshment area sat opposite it with a few vending machines and shelves of snacks. She could see a few doors leading off into other parts of the gym, though she could only read the sign above the nearest one stating "Cafeteria" in bold block letters.
Much of the lobby was lushly decorated with plants and paintings, with flowers all over the entrance area that smelled simply delightful. That was to be expected from the region’s Grass-type gym, of course, and Cassie found herself wondering what Celadon City’s gym might be like in comparison. She smiled as she took a look around, admiring the decor for a few seconds before one of the receptionists called out to her.
“Hello - are you here for a gym challenge, miss?”
She snapped back to attention quickly, shaking her head as she walked up to the desk. “No, ma’am...sorry, I’m here with a delivery for Leader Gardenia from Snowpoint Creamery,” she explained, causing the brunette woman to nod as she handed over the delivery ticket.
“Great - I can show you to the cafeteria if you need,” the receptionist said, standing up and stepping out from behind the counter to follow Cassie back towards the bike. “I haven’t seen you come here before. Are you new at the shop?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Cassie replied, unlocking and opening the trailer as she started to grab boxes of pastries and pies. “My name’s Cassie - I just started about two weeks ago.”
“I’m Annie,” the receptionist said, reaching in to help take some of the boxes as well. “You’ll probably be seeing a lot more of this place if you stay there for a while. Gardenia has a bit of a sweet tooth,” she added with a laugh.
“I love it there so far,” Cassie said, carefully shutting the trailer behind her as Annie started to head back inside. “Everyone here’s just so...nice.”
“Eterna’s not very big compared to a place like Hearthome, but it’s pretty close-knit. Pretty much the whole town came out to see Gardenia’s father when he finally retired a while back.”
“She seemed to be pretty close with Josh when she stopped in,” Cassie said as they walked back inside.
“Yeah, Josh has been there forever, it feels like. He still remembers seeing Gardenia running around his ankles in the shop when she was just a toddler.”
Cassie giggled as Annie held open the door under the cafeteria sign for her, letting it close once she was through before leading the way down the hallway. More photos lined the walls here, though these were more closely gym-related than the simple paintings of flowers in the lobby. Cassie only got glimpses as they walked, but she could see an older man with a Serperior and Vileplume by his side in one shot, as well as what was clearly Gardenia as a young girl playing happily with a Bellsprout, Oddish, and Turtwig in another one.
“How cute...”
Annie laughed as she heard Cassie murmuring behind her, glancing back at the younger girl. “Gardenia was adorable when she was little. She’s been around the gym almost since she was in diapers - I wasn’t working here back then, but there’s a few people here that remember her back when she was about two or three.”
They turned a corner to step down another hallway, then ducked into a set of double doors on their left almost immediately afterwards. The cafeteria for the gym wasn’t too busy, but there were a few scattered people enjoying meals and chatting around the large room, as well as a few more up at the counter as they waited on food themselves. Most of them appeared to be dressed in similar clothing to Annie in shades of green and tan, and Cassie could see a symbol emblazoned on the back of shirts and jackets that she assumed was some kind of sigil for the gym.
Annie led her over to a set of tables at the far side of the room with signs sitting on them, putting her set of boxes down on the closest one and taking Cassie’s own a moment later. “Thanks for getting here on time. Gardenia’s probably finishing up her class now, and I’m sure everyone’s dying for a good snack after her lecture.”
“You’re very welcome,” Cassie said with a grin. “Honestly, I was super excited to see what the gym looked like...I’ve only been in town a few weeks.”
“Oh?” Annie murmured, putting a hand on her hip. “You’re from out of town?”
Cassie just nodded, not really sure how to respond in a way that wouldn’t draw some kind of suspicion. Thankfully, she didn’t have to worry about continuing the conversation as the animated voices of Gardenia and a host of other people started to trail into the cafeteria through the doors.
“Annie, thanks for grabbing the food for us!” Gardenia called, almost running over to the table to check out the boxes of sweets. Cassie swore she could almost see the young woman drooling as she opened up the top box of one of the stacks, only to have Annie laugh and pull it away from her.
“No touching the pastries until everyone gets some!” she chided jokingly, starting to unstack and open the boxes so that she could spread them out on the table. Cassie started to help as well, ignoring with some difficulty the pouting face of the Gym Leader beside her, and before long there were nearly a dozen boxes’ worth of assorted sweets laid out on the table in front of them. The group that had come in behind Gardenia had encircled the table like a pack of Carvanha, and Cassie hastily got out of the way as everyone finally started to dig into the treats.
“Thanks for the help,” she said to Annie as she stepped around the table. The receptionist just waved it off with a smile.
“Anytime. Like I said, if you stay there for long, you’ll see a lot more of us.”
Gardenia stepped over to join Annie, nodding eagerly through a mouthful of something that looked like a brownie. She rummaged around in a pocket for a second before withdrawing something and reaching out a hand to Cassie, who took the offering out of reflex. It was a wad of what looked like neatly-folded bills, and she looked back up at Gardenia in confusion. Josh had said she’d already paid, right?
“For the service,” Gardenia explained as she finished her mouthful of pastry. “It’s yours - I already paid the store for everything.”
Cassie blinked, unfolding and looking at the bills for a few seconds. Three, five, seven, eight...
“T-Ten thousand?” she stammered, shocked at how much money the Gym Leader had casually handed her for a tip. “Leader Gardenia, I can’t -”
“Nope, nope!” Gardenia cut her off, wagging a finger in her direction. “I said keep it - I support all the stores that I can in the city, and you guys are no exception. Besides, this stuff is really good,” she added, shoving the rest of the chocolate dessert into her mouth with a grin.
Cassie mutely nodded, still a bit stunned at the amount of money Gardenia had handed her without a second thought. “I mean...if you’re sure...?”
Gardenia just nodded happily again. “And by the way, you’re more than welcome to sit in on one of the classes here sometime. There’s a schedule on the gym’s website if you want to find one that fits around your work hours.”
Now that was an offer Cassie found too good to pass up. She didn’t have a Pokemon of her own yet, but getting to learn directly from a Gym Leader sounded wonderful. “Of course! I’ll take a look as soon as I get off work!”
“That’s the spirit,” the orange-haired woman replied. “I don’t want to keep you any longer, though - tell Josh and the rest I said hi!”
Cassie just nodded excitedly, saying a quick goodbye to Annie as well before heading out of the cafeteria. She almost couldn’t believe her luck - ten thousand credits? She made a hundred thirty an hour working at the Creamery, so at that rate...
She sucked in a sharp breath as she realized that was nearly two weeks of her normal salary.
Up until now, she hadn’t thought much about keeping the small amount of cash she made on hand, but she made a mental note to ask someone at the shop for a recommendation for a good bank. With that amount of money, getting a bank account might be a good next step.
She waved to the rest of the receptionists as she left, stepping back out into the warm air and checking the trailer to make sure everything was secure before hopping back on the bike and heading back towards town. Two weeks ago, she’d had nothing to her name, and now she was starting to feel like she might finally have her feet under her. A part of her still really wanted to get a Pokemon of her own, but that could come later, once she had more of an idea of what she wanted to do.
Working at the Creamery was fun and a change of pace from her old life, but she longed to go on a journey of her own after being around Pokemon for even the short length of time she had been. The League Challenge season had only just begun, so if she started now she’d have more than enough time to go through the circuit...
She pushed the thoughts aside, resolving to think about it more later. There was still more work to be done, after all, but she couldn’t shake the smile on her face. Things just might work out after all.
Gardenia watched the young girl go with no small amount of amusement. Compared to the money she spent monthly to keep the gym running, ten thousand credits was the equivalent of pocket change. Still, she remembered what it was like to be a new trainer with bright eyes, small Pokemon, and whatever resources could be scrounged up on the road.
Except that the girl wasn’t a trainer...at least, not yet. It was plain to her that the girl would challenge the League, regardless of whether Cassie herself had considered it yet. She’d seen the same enthusiasm time and time again from children, teenagers, and adults. The same desire to be around Pokemon, the joy it brought them just from the mere presence. Someone like that was destined for the League circuit whether they knew it or not - it was only a matter of time, she knew. That was part of the reason why she’d suggested the girl take a look at the classes she offered, in fact. More knowledge could only help a budding trainer, after all.
Something was still a bit troubling, however.
Her face took on a thoughtful expression as she brought to mind what the Center employees had told her two weeks prior. A young woman had made her way into town from Eterna Forest, with no ID, Pokemon, or...well, anything else at all to her name. She didn’t appear in the Sinnoh League database at all, so she wasn’t a Sinnohan citizen as far as they could tell, but nor did she appear in any other regional database that they could see after some further checking. She had said that she had a run-in with some Ghosts near the Old Chateau, but something about the story didn’t quite sit right with the young Gym Leader.
Anyone local to Eterna City and most people from nearby areas knew about the Old Chateau and its resident population of Ghost-type Pokemon. It was one of the few areas in the entire region with a known population of the elusive Rotom species, as well as large populations of more common Ghosts such as Gastly and Shuppet. Despite reputations, those that lived near the decrepit building were mainly pranksters and were fairly used to seeing travelers on the road given the amount of people who passed through the forest. For one to mess with memories the way it was implied to have happened meant that she would have had to get uncomfortably close to their resting place or offend them in some way. Neither of those seemed to fit the more Gardenia thought about it.
If not that, then what, though? Gardenia hated to consider the possibility, but thoughts of the teal-haired thugs calling themselves Team Galactic crossed her mind despite everything. The League had been keeping an eye on them in recent weeks, fearing a threat arising similar to that of Kanto’s infamous Team Rocket, but so far their crimes had been minor in comparison. Petty theft, intimidation, simple assault...they seemed more like a street gang out to cause mayhem than an international crime syndicate and terrorist group. It seemed like a stretch given what Gardenia had seen of the girl’s demeanor, but she wouldn’t yet rule out the possibility without investigating it first. She’d just bring it up at the next League meeting, she told herself. Cynthia probably had enough on her plate with the opening of the Challenge season to worry about an unknown amnesiac right this minute - it could wait until Saturday.
“Fifteen minutes until your next challenger, Gardenia,” Annie called from near the door as she headed back towards the front, causing the Gym Leader to sigh. Season openings were always so stressful, she thought to herself as she headed back towards the battle arena to prepare.
Cassie sat at one of the computers in the Center lobby, a pair of headphones on as she listened with rapt attention to the recording of one of Gardenia’s past lectures. She’d all but flown back to work after her gym delivery, still in a bit of shock over the large tip Gardenia had left. When she tried to split it with the others, they refused, something which shocked her further until they explained a bit more. Apparently, the Gym Leader had a habit of doing such things for new employees and would often do it at various stores in the area whenever she had a chance.
She’d have to find a way to thank Gardenia properly somehow, she knew. Money was one of the things she’d stressed about immediately after being dropped in Sinnoh, but the sudden gift meant that it was one worry off her mind for the time being. That, in turn, left her much more relaxed and able to focus on the class she was watching regarding how to properly care for Grass-types as well as dangers to watch out for when handling them.
“Many Grass-type Pokemon also possess a Poison subtype, though the hazards of this aren’t always obvious. Most people are cautious of spikes, thorns, and other obviously harmful appendages or protrusions, but much of a Grass-type’s danger can often come from spores or other material that it is capable of producing. Consider the Bulbasaur line native to Kanto - the species possesses a Poison subtype but features no outward dangers that would make handling difficult. However, the spores and powders the line can produce are very potent, with Venusaur in particular able to incapacitate Pokemon as large as Tauros or Bouffalant with a comparatively small amount of Stun Spore...”
She’d only been watching for around fifteen minutes, but one thing was immediately evident to her. Pokemon biology was fascinating. She’d never really given it much thought before, drawn more to the creatures’ designs and abilities along with the personalities that the anime afforded those belonging to the main characters, but something about hearing the reality behind the fantasy was almost hypnotic in a way. Even Grass-types, something she expected to be simplistic and more grounded in real-life concepts than other types, had already drawn her in with its allure. She hardly dared think about how she might react to information about Dragons, Fairies, or Ghosts. Even just the taste of information she was getting felt like a drug, addictive and intoxicating, and she felt herself craving to just know more.
There had to be a library here, right? She’d have to look that up later.
While she listened, she pulled up another tab with a different page from the gym’s website, one showing the lecture schedule Gardenia had mentioned. Sadly, the next upcoming lecture was just over a week away. The start of the challenge season was rife with fresh trainers all looking to earn their first or second badges, and it looked like the lectures wouldn’t happen more than around once a week until the flood of challengers slowed a little. Still, that was fine with her. She was in no rush, and it would just give her more time to check out more of the archived lectures in the meantime.
The other thing that the lectures had caused her to start thinking about was a bit trickier. If she decided to go out and take on the gym challenge...how was she going to get a starter Pokemon? Not only that, what kind of starter Pokemon did she want to try for? A Grass-type was the obvious answer, given where she currently was, but Grass as a type didn’t really hold a major appeal for her. She liked the Grass-type starters from the games well enough, but nothing about them screamed ‘must-have’ to her.
She returned to the video she was playing with a yawn, deciding to put the idea away for now. She’d think about it for a little while before she tried to figure out how to make it happen. It would probably be a good idea for her to know a bit more about how to care for Pokemon before worrying about getting one of her own, she thought to herself. A quick click paused the video as she opened one final tab, navigating to Poketube from a list of suggested pages on the landing screen before starting to search for videos about general Pokemon care.
Hopefully she could get herself to stop browsing videos long enough to get a few hours of sleep, though. All the new information at her fingertips was like the world’s deepest rabbit hole, and she already felt herself falling deeper and deeper inside. Who knows - maybe she’d just decide to be a researcher instead, she thought as she pressed play on the first video that piqued her interest. There were so many paths she could take...it truly felt to her like the sky was the limit.