“W-why me?” I asked as Juniper led me to a more private room. “I’m sure any of the other trainers here could do it!”

  “While you won’t be required to do it, my fellow Professor would like to at least thank you for retrieving that parcel from the thief, and then bringing it here.” She replied.

  “Not to overstep, but what’s even in it?”

  The Professor thought for a few moments, “I can say that it is a very important tool that if it fell into the wrong hands, it would be catastrophic beyond measure. Personally I wish we didn’t live in a world that necessitates such a thing, but certain factions have left us with no choice.”

  After letting that sink in for a moment, she continued. “For now the more important thing is getting you settled in here until you’re ready to leave for the gym circuit.”

  She looked at me with a teasing smile, “unless you want to stay here as a junior assistant? It’s very rewarding work! Why, the head of the Asperita Pokemon Lab was once one of my sponsored trainers!”

  “Um, sorry Professor,” I cringed, “but I think that I want to explore the region first before I consider working in a lab.”

  “Easy there Psyche,” Juniper said softly, “I’m only teasing you a bit. If you want to take on the gym circuit, that’s perfectly fine! All I want is for you to be able to grow alongside your Pokemon!”

  “Emolga!”

  Juniper reached a hand out and scritched Oxide behind the ears,“Plus I doubt we would be able to keep this little one all cooped up here in Nuvema.”

  Unfortunately for Oxide’s scritch induced bliss, we had reached a doorway that opened up after the Professor swiped a card, and led into a small workshop where Colress was very interested in something out of view from the door.

  [I must say Assistant Colress,] a voice echoed through a speaker, [we simply must collaborate again when the situation isn’t so dire!]

  “Please call me Colress.” The man smiled, “and yes we absolutely should work together again-oh good morning Professor!” He looked over at me, “and good morning to you as well Ms. Psyche.”

  [Psyche? Is that the trainer who brought it to your lab?]

  “Yes she is,” Juniper responded, “Professor Krane, would you like to talk to her later or some other time?”

  [Oh no, now is more than perfectly okay!]

  Juniper gestured to a work table that was cleared off except for a few faded grease stains, “Psyche go ahead and sit down and I’ll bring the tablet over.”

  I sat down while Oxide jumped down into my lap, and soon enough a tablet was placed in front of me with a video chat open.

  “Um, hello!”

  The man on the other side had shaggy dark brown hair, rectangular glasses, and was giving me a sheepish smile.

  [Hello Ms. Psyche, while I’m sure you want to get to business, I also wish to apologize for last night. It was incredibly unbecoming of me as a person of my stature to lose my temper like that, let alone cause a trainer to have a panic attack. For that I am sorry.]

  “It’s okay, it’s not like you knew I was there, and I can’t imagine how stressed about a lost package would make you.”

  He nodded, [Indeed, the development and subsequent shipment of what’s in that parcel has been fraught with issues and delays. Colress is actually finishing up a few things on it for me since we were so behind over here.]

  [And that is what brings us to you. You see, other than a few people at both labs, another young trainer and you, no one knows about what is in that parcel. If it wasn’t for the fact that specific circumstances required it, everyone involved in making it would likely be arrested.]

  He noticed me pale at that, and quickly raised his hands, [Oh not that you would be arrested if it was illegal! Any league official worth their salt wouldn’t prosecute a trainer for something like that!]

  “Krane,” Juniper lightly chastised, “you’re sidetracking yourself.”

  [Ah yes,] he chuckled, [I wanted to ask you to transport the package to Accumula town within the next two weeks, a pair of associates will be there investigating something for me. They’ll know what to do with it.]

  “Uh sure I guess?” I answered, “I’ll definitely be able to make that time frame work. I mainly just hope I don’t run into another one of those guys with the really weird Pokemon.”

  The levity drained from Professor Krane’s face in a heartbeat, [Weird Pokemon?]

  “Yeah like they just felt… wrong.” I explained, “like they felt as if they were being smothered somehow?”

  He looked away from the camera, [Tell them to get chambers sent over asap. One for each major city.]

  He looked a lot more grim as he turned back, [While Juniper is rewarding you with one of her sponsorships, I think you should get something from me as well. It isn’t much, but there is a rather famous band playing in Accumula a week from now. I can provide you with tickets for that, or just flat cash, if you’d prefer that instead?]

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  I face palmed with a groan, “I can’t believe I forgot about Roxie’s pre-season concert.” Looking up at a now confused Professor I answered, “I’ll take two tickets if that isn’t too much to ask?”

  [Of course not!] he insisted. [If anything I feel like it isn’t enough!] He looked as if he wanted to say more, but a loud crash came through the call and he winced. [Sorry to cut this short, but I appear to be needed elsewhere, I hope to talk to you all again soon!]

  He cut the call almost instantly.

  Juniper snorted, “In all the years I’ve known him, Krane has never once changed.”

  She then patted me on the shoulder, “You’re free to leave Psyche. I don’t know if you had plans or not, but I do advise you get yourself and your Pokedex registered today.” She winked, “Better to get that sort of thing dealt with as soon as possible after all.”

  I nodded in agreement as I gently picked Oxide up out of my lap where she had fallen asleep and cradled her in my arms. “Thank you for everything Professor, I know my family background means I don’t actually like need all of this stuff-“

  She held up a hand to stop me, “No Psyche, you earned this. You attacked a criminal trainer to defend wild Pokemon from being poached, and then ensured that an incredibly valuable item was returned to who it belongs to.” She gave me a sad look, “Don’t undersell yourself. You’re a good kid, and I can’t wait to see what you accomplish this year and onwards.”

  ***

  I was still turning the Professor’s words over in my head when I realized one crucial error.

  While I had my phone and ‘dex with me, my backpack was still in my room.

  Inside the dorms.

  Which I didn’t have access to the main door for.

  I muttered a few curses under my breath. Of course I lock myself out on the first day. I guess I have to go find someone who is willing to let me in?

  I turned to go towards the cafeteria only to bump into Iolani, who instantly had to save me from what would’ve been a nasty fall.

  “Hey stranger,” she said with an easy smile while setting a thoroughly red me back on my feet. “You need something from the dorms?”

  “Uhm y-yeah,” I stammered, “I was going to head to a Pokemon Center and get registered for stuff, but I left my backpack in my room.”

  She tilted her head, “You got your phone and your ‘dex?”

  I nodded.

  “Then you have everything you need!” she exclaimed. “Come on, I'll show you to the nearest one!” She looked down at me with those Baby-Doll Eyes again, “After you’re done can we have a battle? It wouldn’t have stakes or anything at all, just for fun!”

  I grinned as a trickle of excitement began flowing through my chest. “Sure! I haven’t battled before outside of practice against wild Pokemon though so you might have to go easy on me!”

  Iolani only laughed as we walked towards the main doors, “No promises!”

  ***

  While a small and peaceful port town, Numeva was quite busy during the day. Shop owners doing various tasks in and around their stores, children taking advantage of the vacation they got away from school, the various wild Pokemon unafraid of being around humans like Pidove.

  It all came together into a vibrant feeling that felt like snuggling into a nice warm blanket on a cold winter night as the wind howled outside the window.

  It felt safe.

  The closest Pokemon Center was actually just a block away, clearly built to support the lab incase of emergencies, or the group of trainers living there during the off-season.

  This Center in particular was a bit smaller than the rest of them, since most trainers who would be in this town were either sponsored by the Professor or lived here not to mention the fact that for the average trainer Nuvema wasn’t a hotspot for travel. The centers could get away with smaller dorm wings and hospitals for trainers.

  The main reason to be in the town if you weren’t a lab sponsored trainer from another town or city was the Nuvema Archipelago just to the north. It offered fantastic conditions for training for those strong enough to go out there safely. Those trainers who wanted to take advantage of the area didn’t really have to fight over rooms in town-

  “Psyche? You’re zoning out a bit there.”

  I blinked up at Iolani, “Uhhh, I was just thinking about the town is all?”

  She ruffled my hair, “Nothin to worry about girlie, just getting your attention before we go inside.”

  I batted her hand away and started walking towards the Center’s front doors.

  Entering the building, I began humming a light tune that always went through my head in a Pokemon Center. Iolani caught up to me by the time I got to the front counter.

  “Hello!” The nurse greeted us with a smile, “How can we help you today?”

  “I’m here to check on my Pokemon’s health, including a preliminary check in for my recently caught Emolga.” I explained while placing Oxide herself and Ionia’s poke ball on the counter, “and to register for the upcoming circuit please.”

  Iolani shook her head, “I don’t need anything right now.”

  The nurse handed me a tablet, “Fill out your information on this, and feel free to ask for help if you have questions.” She scanned the poke ball under something not super different from what you would see in a store and frowned, “Do you have your Emolga’s poke ball as well, or are they wild?”

  Blushing, I hastily handed over the requested poke ball, “Sorry. Oxide prefers staying outside of it so I forgot.”

  “Not a problem,” she replied while scanning Oxide, “I’ll make sure your file is updated with that information.” Her voice took on an edge of authority, “but if she is seriously harmed, make sure you return her regardless to avoid exacerbating any injuries.”

  “Yes ma’am I promise I will!”

  “Good!” she said while transferring my Pokemon to a cart and let an Audino roll it into the back, “Just going by the scan, I can say they both seem healthy, but Oxide will most likely take a bit longer since this is her first time with a center.”

  I nodded then went to sit down in a nearby chair while filling out the registration forms. Iolani sat down next to me with visible effort not to peek at my information.

  “It always boggles my mind that the ‘Nurse Joy’ thing doesn’t happen over here.”

  I looked over at her, “No, it’s just an old Kantonian tradition I think? And even then it’s just the lead doctor on shift or something like that.”

  Iolani shook her head, “Over in Alola the teachers made it sound like all medical staff at the Centers had to do it. It wasn’t a thing there either, but it was excused with a ‘we would rather not antagonize our nurses by enforcing an extreme uniform’ or something.”

  I shrugged, “I mean growing up I thought the uniform was pretty, but that might be more so the fact that it’s basically a dress.”

  She let out a chuckle, “Fair, those kinds of dresses aren’t really my thing, too many frills.”

  We began discussing the pros and cons of various dress styles Iolani pulled up on her phone. Only stopping when I was finished with the tablet and took it back up, got my picture taken, and then got my PokeDex registered alongside it. Soon after that, a cheerful Oxide, and a single canvas ball were brought back out to me.

  A quick confirmation that both were completely healthy later, and Iolani was vibrating next to me as she just barely stopped herself from shouting.

  “Psyche, I challenge you to a Pokemon battle.”

  Psyche's got a quest! Surely nothing important can be gained from this quest beyond concert tickets right?

  Boilerplate time!

  As always, a big thank you to for help editing!

  Pokemon seen this chapter:

  Audino

  Current Team:

  Ionia (Hatenna)

  Trained Abilities: Anticipation

  Moves: Teleport, Confusion, Play Nice, Life Dew, Disarming Voice

  Oxide (Emolga)

  Trained Abilities: TBD

  Moves: Nuzzle, Tail Whip, Double Team, Quick Attack

  Do you want more words written by me?

  A Spark of Sylvan Flame A story about a trans farmgirl facing off against plant aliens, with items bought from an AI chip in her head!

  Thanks for reading! :D

  -DeliriousSprite