Saturday morning couldn’t have come soon enough for Cassie’s taste. With the large amount of money she’d been given by Gardenia, she’d asked the staff before leaving work for some suggestions of a bank to set up an account at, and they’d been more than happy to share their own opinions on the matter. After a bit of discussion, comparisons, and some thought later that evening after finishing her Pokemon care video binge, she’d come to a decision and walked into the First Eterna Bank at almost eight A.M. on the dot to set up an account. Just as she’d expected, there were many different types of accounts, everything from child-focused first time accounts to business accounts, trainer accounts, and more. She’d settled on one of the trainer-specific accounts thanks to her trainer’s license and hopes of a journey at some point, and had dumped the majority of the money she had on hand into it for the time being. All in all, she had nearly twenty thousand in the account between Gardenia’s generous tip and her paycheck from the day before, and she was itching to check out another place in town for the first time.
Namely, the Poke Mart.
There were many stores in town dedicated to Pokemon raising and training, but the generic ‘Poke Mart’ label she was familiar with from the games turned out to be a series of League-owned and operated stores similar to the Pokemon Centers themselves, she’d discovered. Just like the Pokemon Centers, they were heavily subsidized financially by the League in order to make sure that trainers had a consistent source of affordable and quality supplies for themselves and their teams. They held a wide range of supplies for both trainers and non-trainers alike, though, and seemed to be something akin to a small department store. Her first steps into one took her into a store that almost seemed overwhelming at first glance.
Well over three dozen aisles spanned the width of the blue-roofed building, with aisles dedicated to supplies for different types of Pokemon, books and other literature for research, toys and training tools, and everything else she could possibly think of to help out trainers of all skill levels and anyone else who had a Pokemon companion. Several aisles were for nothing but food like any supermarket, featuring fresh ingredients and pre-mixed food for varying types and species along with other related things like dietary supplements or flavor enhancers. She also noticed an entire aisle dedicated to berries and related supplies, though the price tags on most of them were rather...large, to say the least.
The more common things she’d expected to see almost immediately were in fact one of the last things she saw - namely, Poke Balls. The front of the store held cabinets filled with trays of Poke Balls of all types, from the basic red-and-white balls to more impressive offerings like Ultra Balls or Dive Balls. She spotted a few other familiar items like Potions and Repels in the cabinets as well, but decided to look at those later. Her curiosity was piqued by the sheer variety of things in the store, and she quietly grabbed a cart as she resolved to try and not spend too much money today.
Her legs were starting to ache by the time she checked out and started heading back to her room at the Pokemon Center, but she couldn’t quite wipe the grin off her face despite it all. She’d bought a few things that she found interesting, mostly books and other literature regarding general Pokemon raising, nutrition, history, and so on. However, the little rectangular device in a vibrant shade of red that sat in its packaging within one of her bags was the real prize she hadn’t expected to find - a Pokedex.
Pokedexes, as she’d discovered upon talking to the clerk, came in a variety of models. The ones handed out by regional professors were the most advanced and limited in supply, featuring cutting-edge technology and a variety of tools and software specialized for Pokemon research and data recording to assist with their ongoing quest to learn more about the creatures inhabiting the world. However, generic models featuring basic Pokemon information about biology, raising, dangers, and such were readily available in larger stores - though not without a hefty price tag, Cassie had found. It may have been the equivalent of a basic calculator to the scientific calculator that a professor’s Pokedex was, but the tool was still useful and practically essential for most trainers, especially those aiming for high ranks in the League circuit. Spending nearly sixty-five hundred credits on one seemed a large expense, but a necessary one if she ever set out on her own.
Unbidden, her mind wandered back to just what Pokemon she might like as her starter. She didn’t really gravitate much to any one type while playing the games, though as far as Sinnoh was concerned, she leaned more towards Piplup or Turtwig when it came to their traditional regional starters. Her odds of getting one of those felt slim given that she likely wouldn’t be meeting with any professors anytime soon, though. A part of her was starting to gravitate towards one of the adorable Fidough like the ones at the shop, but she didn’t know how she might get a chance to capture one. Maybe she could ask Josh or Steven if they knew -
She stopped dead in her tracks as a thought hit her out of the blue. There was a Pokemon shelter in town, she realized all of a sudden, and she already knew where it was. Her pace quickened as she started walking again, making her way the last few blocks back to the Center at a fairly hurried pace. She didn’t even head for her room, so caught up in her thoughts was she. Instead, she quickly headed over towards the part of the first floor with computers for use, dropping her bags at the base of a chair as she sat down and navigated back to the job board she remembered seeing when she first arrived. It took her a few minutes to browse through the listings, but she finally spotted the one she was after - Rick had given her a printout for the listing when she’d first arrived in town. It had closed since then, but all she really needed was the name and address anyway.
“Rosewood Street Pokemon Shelter...” she muttered to herself, quickly copying the address and switching over to Zoogle Maps to grab directions. Within just a few moments, she had a printed set of directions in hand along with her bags once again, and she hurried for the escalator leading to the rented rooms so that she could drop her things. She wasn’t sure if she would actually adopt a Pokemon or not, but it wouldn’t hurt her to go take a look no matter what.
It turned out after following the directions for a few minutes that the shelter was located within just a mile or two from the edge of the gym’s land on the same side of town. The Rosewood Shelter was a tall, single-story brick building with a small parking lot out front along with a gazebo and picnic area off to the side. Rich green shutters framed simple windows set into the building’s front, and she could see a large expanse of gently rolling hills in the distance leading towards the gym. It seemed like the shelter’s footprint actually bordered the gym’s own, something which didn’t surprise Cassie the more she thought about it. In all likelihood, the Gym Leader probably worked closely with the shelter to help care for any lost or abandoned Pokemon that made their way into the hands of the workers here.
Her anxiety spiked a bit as she approached the front entrance, but she tamped it back down after a few seconds. She wasn’t committing to anything, she told herself. Just a quick look to see what the place was like, get some info, that sort of thing. Nothing to be worried about.
She grabbed the brass-colored handle and pulled open one of the doors before she could lose her nerve, stepping inside the lobby and letting the door shut behind her as the receptionist greeted her. She offered a slight wave and smile as she walked towards the desk, glancing around the room as she moved. It wasn’t anything fancy, just the usual office lobby setting that she was used to seeing. Pictures of Pokemon and trainers lined the walls, though, taking up much of the free space on the white interior with everything from what looked like families and their pets to accomplished League trainers in stadiums.
“Welcome to Rosewood - can I help you, miss?”
“Ah, I...saw your ad on the job board a few weeks ago, and I’ve been thinking about getting a Pokemon to journey with, so...” she stammered, earning a smile from the attendant. There wasn’t any judgment in the expression; they probably saw lots of newbie trainers looking to raise a Pokemon, after all.
“You wanted to see if there was a Pokemon that would be right for you to raise,” the woman finished, causing Cassie to nod. “Of course - give me just a moment.” She grabbed a walkie-talkie from below the desk, raising it and pressing the button. “Charlie, can you come up front, please? There’s a young woman who wants to be shown around.”
“Be there in a minute,” the radio crackled, shutting off a moment later.
“Do you have any particular Pokemon or type in mind?” the receptionist asked as she put the radio away again. Cassie shook her head.
“I’ve...never had a Pokemon before, so I don’t really know where to start,” she said hesitantly. The part of her that had been resisting the idea of raising her own Pokemon was slowly starting to dwindle despite the rational part of her mind telling her that she still had no idea what she was doing. “I went to the Pokemart and bought some books to read, but that’s all I’ve done so far.”
“Believe it or not, that’s more than a lot of new trainers do,” the woman replied. “Not that most people don’t take good care of Pokemon without doing things like that, mind.”
“How many trainers do you see here?”
“Quite a few, actually,” the woman said, though her voice held a tinge of sadness. “More than I would like sometimes.”
The door off to the right side of the room popped open before either could say anything else, letting a man with shaggy dark hair into the lobby. He was dressed in a dark-colored shirt and forest green overalls with thick boots, all of which were dirty and damp from sweat.
“Sorry, Jane - the Poochyena were giving me the run around for a minute there,” he replied, brushing a bit of sweat from his cheek as he walked up towards Cassie. “You must be the girl Jane wants me to show around. I’m Charlie - nice to meet you, miss...?”
“Cassie, sir.”
“Cassie. I’d shake your hand, but, well...” He waved his dirty hands with a laugh, gesturing for her to follow him back the way he’d entered from. “Come on, I’ll give you the tour. I’m guessing you’re looking to adopt?”
“Maybe,” Cassie replied, looking around as she walked. “I haven’t really decided yet.”
“Of course,” Charlie said, stopping and turning to face Cassie again. “Lot of people just come to take a look around, so don’t feel bad if you don’t take a Pokemon home with you.”
He gestured towards the windowed room they had stopped near, letting Cassie look inside to see several workers playing in the large room with an assortment of small Pokemon. She caught a glimpse of a tiny Ralts before it Teleported to the other side of the room, chased by a Meowth on all fours as fast as it could go. Another worker was happily playing tug of war with a Rockruff, laughing as it snarled playfully and shook the rope from side to side as it tried to pull it out of the worker’s hands. A Jigglypuff rolled around the room with a Mime Jr. standing on top of it like a circus act, stubby arms waving wildly as it tried to not fall off despite the Fairy-type’s quick movement.
“We’ve got a couple playrooms like this for the smaller Pokemon,” Charlie explained as Cassie laughed, watching the impromptu balancing act finally fall apart as the Jigglypuff sent its partner tumbling away. “Mostly, we’ll take them outside for proper exercise, but some of the shyer Pokemon would rather be indoors most of the time.”
“How many Pokemon do you have here?” Cassie asked. Charlie scrunched up his face for a moment as he thought, eyes tracking up towards the ceiling.
“Maybe two hundred or so?” he finally guessed with a shrug. “Jane’d know the exact number, probably. Leader Gardenia’s nice enough to let us use some of her land if we get a bit too full, but a lot of the Pokemon here don’t stay around very long, really.”
“You have that many adoptions?”
“Oh yeah. Between traveling trainers looking to expand their teams and people looking for Pokemon to keep them company at home, I’d be surprised if most Pokemon stay here more than two or three months, honestly. And Gardenia picks up some of the Grass-types to train for her gym on occasion, too.”
Cassie inwardly raised her opinion of the place several notches. It definitely didn’t seem the same as animal shelters back home where animals might stay for months, even years.
“There’s not much to see in here besides the playrooms, really. There’s a few medical rooms just in case someone gets a bit scraped up and some staff amenities, but most of the Pokemon are outside,” Charlie explained, turning and starting to walk again. “Some of them have to stay outside since they’re just too big to be indoors without a Poke Ball. We had an Onix for a little while not too long ago - now that was something to see. I still remember trying to feed him...”
He pushed the doors open, holding one behind him for Cassie as he stepped outside. “And if we get a Pokemon we can’t care for well, like an Ice-type, a lot of the time we either ask the local Centers for help, or see if there’s a facility we can transfer them over to that can better fit their needs. Everyone’s really accommodating when it comes to making sure the Pokemon are comfortable.”
Cassie stepped outside into something straight out of a dream.
Pokemon were everywhere in the outside section of the shelter. From the trees to the ground, she could see the creatures running, flying, and swimming everywhere she looked. A couple of Starly that she almost mistook for wild swooped in to start playing with a group of Taillow, wings beating furiously as the two groups of Flying-types started showing off and trying to outdo one another with aerial maneuvers. She spotted a Cyndaquil and Torchic playing off to one side, each of them having fun spitting tiny Embers at some logs that were set up like targets, with a Totodile watching nearby and spitting water at any spot that started to smolder too much.
A blur of yellow and orange moved past her that she belatedly identified as a Helioptile before it took up residence on a fallen tree, soaking up sunlight in its scales happily. A Salandit joined it seconds later, hissing in greeting before seeking its own spot atop the foliage. She gazed around in wonder, almost forgetting Charlie was even there as she kept spotting more and more Pokemon. Metapod, Espurr, Goldeen, even a lumbering Rhyhorn...there were too many to count. She couldn’t even begin to see the full extent of everything around, even though she’d easily seen two or three dozen different species at just a brief look.
“Took your breath away, huh?” Charlie laughed, bringing Cassie back to reality. “A lot of people have that reaction. Seeing Pokemon in the wild is one thing, but you usually only see a few at a time at most. Here, there’s a lot more to see at once.”
“Yeah...I’ve never seen so many in one place before,” she breathed, still trying to get used to the sights. One curious Houndour toddled up to her and Charlie - seemingly still just a puppy from its size - and sniffed around her legs for a moment before barking happily, stubby tail wagging furiously. She instinctively reached down to pet it before she stopped, looking up at Charlie.
“Can I...?”
“Sure - he won’t bite.”
She knelt down and started to pet the Houndour, marveling at the warm fur under her fingers. A brief touch let her see that the bony plate on its head was small but firm, and she gently started to scratch behind its ears as it flopped over to one side, basking in the attention.
“He loves the attention, as you can see,” Charlie said, also kneeling down and stretching out a hand to stroke the pup’s belly. “Sucker for belly rubs, too.” The Houndour whined as if to voice a complaint, but gave up the fight almost instantly under all the petting, instead just lazily rolling over onto its back and surrendering to the pair of humans and their soothing touches.
Cassie found herself almost regretting that she hadn’t applied to work here after all. Imagine getting to work with so many Pokemon every day, she thought to herself. A loud bark shook her out of her thoughts as the Houndour she was petting flipped back to its feet at the sound, barking back at what turned out to be another of its kind alongside a goat-like Pokemon with a leafy green mane of fur around its neck - Skiddo, she recognized after a few seconds. The burly Grass-type seemed to be watching over the pair of Fire-type dogs, and the wayward pup toddled back over to the duo quickly before they all ran off towards another part of the field.
“You must love getting to work with so many different types of Pokemon,” Cassie said as she stood back up, brushing some dirt from her legs.
“It’s great,” Charlie agreed with a nod. “Never a dull moment around here, either - you wouldn’t know it, but some of these little guys love to cause mischief. That pup we were just petting? Bad habit of nipping at ankles sometimes. He doesn’t hurt anyone, but he did it to one of Gardenia’s Bayleef the other day and...well, she tossed him in the lake.”
Cassie couldn’t help but laugh at the mental image, and Charlie chuckled as he motioned for her to follow him further out into the field. She kept her eyes wandering as they walked, wishing she had the Pokedex she’d bought with her to test out. The more she looked, though, the more she thought about something until she finally couldn’t resist the urge to ask any longer.
“What’s with all the Fire-type Pokemon? Seems like there’s more of them than anything else here...”
For the first time, she saw Charlie’s ever-present smile waver.
“Yeah, there are. A lot of trainers come here pretty early on in the season to get a badge, and most of them bring Fire and Flying-types along because...you know, Grass gym. It’s a good strategy, but...”
Cassie watched as Charlie trailed off, wondering why he would be so glum about the simple thought of trainers failing to pass the gym’s challenge...then it hit her all at once. She felt her mouth go dry as she connected the dots, and she couldn’t quite keep the look of horror entirely off her face.
“They don’t...”
Charlie nodded slowly.
“Yeah. Most trainers aren’t like that, but...there’s always a few every season. They think type advantage is everything, and when it doesn’t work...”
“They leave them here,” Cassie finished softly, stopping in her tracks. She couldn’t imagine the type of person that could just...abandon their partner like that. And for what? Because they couldn’t beat a Pokemon they had a type advantage over? Losing one fight didn’t make them useless, and it almost made her physically ill to even think of the idea of doing something like that. “I’m sorry...I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“I brought it up. It’s not your fault,” Charlie replied, shaking his head. “We do the best we can, and things aren’t all doom and gloom around here. Nothing to be upset about.”
She nodded slowly, trying to put the thoughts out of her mind despite their desire to linger. A hand rose as she pointed off towards a small lake nearby, where she could see a few blue avian Pokemon swimming and splashing around near the bank.
“Are those Ducklett?”
“Sure are. We’ve got a flock of them that hang around here, but they're not actually ours - just a group of wilds. They’re pretty friendly, though, and...”
Gardenia strode into the meeting room at the Sinnoh Pokemon League Headquarters, waving exuberantly to the other Gym Leaders who were already there as she strolled in before glancing at the clock on the wall. It read “8:51 AM” in clear black digital print, not too long before the nine A.M. start time. The few other Leaders who had already arrived were sitting around the conference table, chatting quietly among themselves while they waited for the meeting to start. Two of the Elite Four members were also already present, Gardenia noticed.
It was impossible to miss the large, poofy red hair of Sinnoh’s resident Fire Specialist and Elite Four member Flint Oba. The man stood out in a crowd like no one else Gardenia knew, both for his outgoing attitude and overall appearance - the bright yellow shirt he was wearing today only added to that. Gardenia herself had joked on more than one occasion that Flint was just like a lit match in every sense of the word, ready to set something aflame.
Flanking Flint and talking much more quietly was his longtime friend and Gym Leader of Sunyshore City, Volkner Denzi. A man who fiercely loved technology, he’d designed a large portion of the major features of his city, including the automated walkways around the city and its famous Sunyshore Tower. He’d grown a bit dispassionate about battling ever since becoming a Gym Leader, though, which was a shame given that he was very talented at it. One had to be in order to be the Leader of the city which most often handed out a trainer’s last badge before the conference.
“Long time no see!” she chirped happily as she flounced into a seat beside a young man with lime-green hair. “How’s things, Aaron?”
Aaron Ryou was another of the Elite Four of Sinnoh, and was a leading authority in all things related to Bug-type Pokemon. He had once been a Gym Leader not long ago, but managed to prove his skill enough to work his way up into the coveted ranks of Sinnoh’s strongest trainers. He was so well known for his knowledge of Bug-types that he’d been featured in several publications around the world for studies he’d performed as well as training advice, the most recent of which was Poke Chic just a few months back.
“We just saw each other last week,” Aaron chuckled. “Everything’s fine with me - how about you?”
“All fine here,” she replied happily. “Thanks for letting me borrow those Combee to help with the new field, by the way!”
“Anytime,” Aaron said. “They were certainly happy to help from what I saw.”
“‘Denia!”
Gardenia suddenly found herself accosted by a dark-haired girl with pigtails who had run up to her seat, and she was pulled into a hug before she realized what was happening.
“Candice!” she squealed, squirming in her seat so that she could return the hug. “You’re not teaching today?”
Candice Suzuna was the Gym Leader for Snowpoint City, Sinnoh’s northernmost inhabited town, but you would never guess that the town was snow-laden year round from the girl’s attire. Her white dress shirt and brown miniskirt were more suited to a much warmer temperature, with the only concessions to her town’s climate being the teal and white legwarmers she wore along with the teal jacket tied around her waist. Candice was - as her hometown’s name implied - an Ice Specialist as well as one of the teachers in the town’s Trainer Academy, and often held classes on the weekends so as not to interfere too much with her Gym Leader duties.
“Nah, just have a later class today,” Candice replied with a grin. “It’s still too early in the season for things to be that busy just yet.”
“Lucky you...first few weeks are always the worst,” Gardenia sighed. Being from Eterna, Gardenia usually fielded many more challenges than Candice due to being a common destination early on in the circuit. Not many trainers chose to take on Snowpoint's gym early on due to the often treacherous conditions along Routes 216 and 217, so Candice’s early matches were primarily locals of the city itself who were starting their first League Challenges. A lot more of her time early on was dedicated to training and teaching over everything else.
Gardenia was jealous sometimes, until she remembered just how cold Snowpoint could be. Even in the summer months, the weather was considerably cooler than anywhere else in the region, and winters could be downright brutal for the unaccustomed.
“So, who are we waiting on? Besides Cynthia, I mean,” Candice asked, looking around. “I know Wake and Fantina can’t make it - is it just Maylene and the rest of the Four?”
Gardenia took another look around for a moment before nodding. She could see Roark and Byron nearby, chatting animatedly about something or other that Byron had found in the mines recently - maybe a new fossil, she thought. If Wake and Fantina would be absent, then that just left Bertha, Lucian, and Cynthia herself.
“Guessing those two have shows today?” Gardenia asked, leaning over to rest an elbow on the table and rest her chin in one hand. Candice nodded.
“Pretty sure Fantina’s practicing now - the show is at 1, I think?”
Gardenia smiled, making a mental note to try and catch some of the show when she got back to the gym. Fantina was the Ghost Specialist who led the gym in Hearthome City as well as an accomplished Top Coordinator. In actuality, Fantina was just her stage name, inspired by her love of Ghost-types for both battle and contest performances alike, but everyone in the League generally referred to her as such as a show of endearment. Pokemon Contests were quite popular in Sinnoh, and a lot of that even now was owed to Fantina’s awe-inspiring performances with her phantasmal partners.
Their other absent colleague, Wake Alston - or Crasher Wake, as he was more commonly known - was the Gym Leader of the near-coastal Pastoria City, though he was much more well known by those who weren’t native to Sinnoh for his storied exploits in the professional wrestling scene. His booming voice and jovial nature made him a fan-favorite face among viewers - figuratively speaking, as he wore his signature mask basically all the time. He regularly held house shows at the gym itself on the weekends so as not to interfere too much with his duties as Leader. Likely, he was working with his crew to get things set up for an evening show even now.
Both had had their doubters when they first rose to their positions regarding whether or not they could balance their entertainment careers with the demanding nature of a Gym Leader position, but both had quickly silenced any complaints within their first Circuit. Indeed, their gyms had risen in prestige ever since they took over; Fantina in particular was noted to be a turning point with regards to difficulty for the average Conference seeker.
Gardenia was just about to comment on how much she wanted to see Fantina perform when the door across from her opened again, letting two more people into the room. The immaculate crimson-colored suit of the man who had entered marked him easily as the Psychic Specialist of the Elite Four, Lucian Goyou. Lavender-colored hair stretched to his shoulders, contrasting against his darkly-shaded suit, and he pushed his glasses up on his nose again as he laughed, apparently in response to something his companion had said as they entered.
The blond woman accompanying Lucian seemed to command attention merely by walking into the room despite her jovial attitude. Black heeled boots tapped softly on the carpeted floor as she headed towards the front of the room, the long black fur-lined coat she wore waving as she moved. Lucian took a seat opposite Flint with a quiet hello to his fellow Elite as they neared the front, leaving the woman to stand at the fore of the table with a clear air of authority and a bright smile on her face.
This was Cynthia Shirona, the current Champion of the Sinnoh League.
Some trainers, even long before rising to prominent positions within their respective regions, had garnered such fearsome reputations that they drew attention wherever they went and commanded respect simply by the utterance of their names. Lance Wataru, the noted Dragon Master of Blackthorn City and current Champion of the Indigo League was likely the most well-known among these. Steven Stone, the current Champion of the Ever Grande League was another, a terrifying master of the Steel-type and son of the head of the acclaimed Devon Corporation in Hoenn.
Cynthia had quickly become an addition to that esteemed list of trainers.
She had no specialization among Pokemon types like Lance or Steven, but was widely considered one of the best - if not the best - Generalist-style trainer in the world. Not many had earned the right to challenge her since she took the title of Champion some years prior, but those that had managed it found themselves dealing with a dizzying array of types and strategies backed by overwhelming force. Her Ace and famed starter, a towering Garchomp she’d raised from a young Gible, was every bit as powerful as any of Lance’s juggernaut Dragons by all accounts, and the rest of her team was no less imposing.
“Good morning, everyone,” Cynthia said brightly, looking around the table and receiving a chorus of greetings from her associates. “I think this is everyone for today. Wake and Fantina informed me that they both have shows today, and Bertha won’t be joining us due to a prior commitment.”
Bertha Kikuno was the last of the Elite Four and the eldest of any of the Elites or Leaders by far, a Ground Specialist who had held her position for well over a decade now. Rumors swirled every so often that she would retire from battling soon, even though Bertha herself swore she’d still be around for at least another decade yet. All of the Gym Leaders and her fellow Elite Four were quite fond of the grandmotherly woman, and most of them agreed that it would be a shame if she actually did decide to retire at any point in the near future.
“Hope she gets some rest,” Flint said with a shake of his head. “She looks like she hasn’t been sleeping well for a week now.” A few silent nods went around the table; it seemed he wasn’t the only one who had noticed.
“She assured me that she’s fine, but I said much the same to her yesterday,” Cynthia agreed. “But on to other things - how is the opening of the Circuit going for everyone?”
The room fell into a series of explanations at the Champion’s question, with each of the Leaders present talking about what had happened in their respective Gyms since the Circuit began a few weeks ago. It was still early on, so there wasn’t much of note to talk about - a few notable trainers returning from the previous seasons with fresh teams and strategies, minor issues arising with equipment and staffing that needed to be sorted out, things of that sort. Most notably, however, was the emergence of the group calling themselves ‘Team Galactic.’
As much trouble as they had been in the last few weeks, at least the majority of it was minor. Theft was the predominant offense, it seemed, but the local police in each city they’d appeared in had been more than enough to handle any offenses. The latest area to start seeing issues with Galactic members was apparently Jubilife City, and Cynthia made a mental note upon hearing that to reach out to the city police and League officials there to see if they needed any extra assistance.
“There was one other thing, Cynthia.”
“What would that be?” the Champion asked, looking over at the Eterna City Leader. Gardenia shifted in her seat to get more comfortable, leaning forward in the leather chair.
“A few weeks ago, we had an arrival to one of the Pokemon Centers that was a bit...unusual. A girl by the name of Cassandra Blair came in with no Pokemon with her, and she’d apparently been out at the Old Chateau beforehand. Allison said she had some memory issues, but for the most part she only had a few cuts and scrapes.”
“Some of the local Ghosts?” Cynthia questioned, folding her arms as her face shifted into a slight frown. She knew the penchant that the wild Ghosts who inhabited the place had for playing pranks, though most of them weren’t out to harm any passersby unless they intruded too much.
“Maybe,” Gardenia said, shrugging a little. “The weird thing is that, well, she didn’t show up in the League database...not for Sinnoh, or any of the others, either.”
Cynthia raised a slim eyebrow. “No ID?”
“Nothing. She wound up getting a trainer’s license at the Center after she got cleaned up, and she’s still renting a room there to the best of my knowledge.” Gardenia sighed, leaning back in the chair again and tapping a finger on her chin. “Something about it feels odd, but I can’t put my finger on it. I thought she might be one of those Galactic members that’ve been giving us problems lately, but...she doesn’t seem like the type. It’s just weird that she’s not in any of the databases. Probably nothing, but...”
“Could it be a simple system error?” Lucian chimed in with a quizzical look, clasping his hands in front of him. “Our databases have had errors before. Porygon are wonderful at what they do, but not infallible.”
“Maybe,” Gardenia conceded. “I figured I’d bring it up, even though it’s probably nothing to worry too much about.” Cynthia nodded, glancing between Gardenia and Lucian.
“I agree - it’s likely nothing to concern yourself with, but keep an eye on her if you feel like you need to.” She cast a gaze around the table again, seeing that it seemed like everyone had brought all the major issues to her attention already. “Anything else from anyone?”
A chorus of negatives met her question, the answer she’d expected, and she nodded in agreement. “We’ll call it here, then. Let me know if something comes up, but otherwise, I’ll see you all Monday evening for practice.”
Almost everyone rose from their chairs as Cynthia adjourned the meeting, only Flint and Volkner remaining and continuing to talk as the rest began to file out of the room after saying their goodbyes. Gardenia was, not for the first time, very glad that all of the current Gym Leaders and Elite Four members were friendly with each other and generally enjoyed each others’ company. There had been some bad blood in the past from what she knew, long before she ever took up the mantle of Gym Leader, but everything these days ran smoothly and without much fuss. As she walked down the hall towards the designated teleport zone to have one of the League’s Psychic-types send her back to Eterna, she couldn’t help but frown somewhat.
Why, all of a sudden, didn’t it feel like it would stay that way?
Cassie’s legs were starting to hurt from all the walking she had been doing, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face. There was just too much to see. She’d seen dozens upon dozens of Pokemon in the outdoor area, almost like a miniature Safari Zone, but none of them had really clicked for her as far as being a partner Pokemon. The Houndour she’d seen almost as soon as they’d gone outside would have been wonderful, but they were a bit too young for her to feel comfortable asking them to battle no matter how much she loved the tiny devil dogs.
She’d seen a few others that had interested her, but ultimately discarded each of the ideas after some thought. Popplio, Oddish, Blitzle, even a Silicobra, but none of them felt right . She’d almost given up on the idea for good when she noticed something lying under the shade of a nearby tree that she hadn’t seen in all the walking up until now.
“Is that a Growlithe?”
She pointed over at the orange and black shape curled up under the tree, earning a nod from Charlie.
“Yeah - he’s one of the newer ones. I think he just got here a week or two ago, actually.”
She wandered over towards the lazing canine, who perked up a bit as he noticed them walking over but didn’t make any motion to stand. “He’s a little shy,” Charlie explained, pulling a little treat from a pouch at his waist and crouching to offer it up to the pup. The Growlithe sniffed at the air for a moment before stretching and standing up, padding over to Charlie and sniffing again before chomping into the treat. Charlie looked over at Cassie, tossing his head lightly first towards the Gym and mouthing “bad experience” at her, then nodding towards the Pokemon at their feet. Cassie winced, realizing what he was trying to say without the Pokemon hearing him, then nodded.
Gingerly, she knelt down and reached out to stroke a hand along the Fire-type’s fur. He was rather warm as expected, but the thick orange fur with black stripes reminded her more of a tiger than any kind of dog breed. The cream-colored patch of fur on his chest was deep enough to bury her hand in as she continued to pet the Pokemon, who had finished the treat and was now looking straight at her with a curious expression, though the short tail he sported was slowly starting to wag behind him.
“Seems to like you,” Charlie commented with a grin.
“Yeah...kind of reminds me of my dog,” Cassie said absently, withdrawing her hand again.
“Family pet?”
She nodded. “Bigger than him, but not by much.” If she had to guess, the Growlithe probably weighed thirty or forty pounds, which wasn’t much smaller than her own dog...
Wait. Her dog?
The thought almost stopped her in her tracks. She didn’t remember much of anything from before she was dropped in the forest, but she distinctly remembered having a dog, a big dog at that. Try as she might, though, she couldn’t remember what it looked like, a nickname, or anything more than that hazy thought.
‘Am I just imagining it?’ she wondered.
“Cassie?”
She jumped, startled out of her sudden deep thought by the sound of Charlie’s voice. The Growlithe in front of her tensed for a moment, flinching back before relaxing again as he realized she wasn’t going to jump at him or anything.
“Sorry, I...got lost in thought for a sec there,” she said, brushing the thought away for the time being. She’d have to think more about it later, see if she remembered anything else from...wherever she was before here. She took another look at the puppy in front of her, eyes wandering back over to Charlie after a few seconds as the Pokemon lay back down on the grass. “How old is he?”
“Little over a year,” Charlie answered. “He’s full grown, just a little under an average weight. Plenty healthy, though.”
Cassie nodded quietly, turning back to the Fire-type again. Things started to click into place in her mind, namely why she’d been so attracted at first to the Houndour. It only made sense if she had a dog before, she realized. A part of her felt right looking at the Growlithe, something that no other Pokemon in the shelter had made her feel like, and she made an impulsive decision all at once with a grin.
“Do you want to come with me?”
The Fire-type cocked his head as if not really understanding what she was asking at first, then slowly got up from the grass again to pad towards her. Charlie grinned and stood up, backing away a bit as the canine Pokemon started to circle her, sniffing occasionally as he wandered as if examining her with more than just his eyes. Growlithe slowly made its way all around her before sitting down on its haunches right in front of her, looking straight at her like the Pokemon could see into her heart.
Cassie didn’t flinch, instead just holding the warm smile on her face as she looked back into the canine’s eyes. Long seconds passed where neither human nor Pokemon moved until the Growlithe finally let out a single sharp bark, breaking the sudden silence and almost causing Cassie to jump again at the noise. Off to the side, Charlie let out a chuckle at the sight.
“Pretty sure that was a yes,” he said with amusement, shaking his head. “You’re the first person he’s really perked up around since he’s been here, you know that?”
Cassie was surprised to hear it, but another bark from the Fire-type seemed to confirm what Charlie was saying in the next instant. The canine shook himself a bit and gazed off towards the distant, barely visible outline of the Eterna Gym for a few seconds before stepping to Cassie’s side as she stood up again.
It was almost as if he was saying, “I’ll be back.”
“Come on,” Charlie said, gesturing for Cassie to follow him back towards the building. “We’ll get you all the paperwork and his Poke Ball so you two can get out of here. It’d be a shame to waste such a beautiful day, don’t you think?”
Cassie looked up at the sky, seeing the bright sun above like a beacon, then back at the Growlithe - her Growlithe.
Charlie was absolutely right. It really was a beautiful day.