CHAPTER 3

I placed my hand over my forehead, shielding my eyes from the harsh summer sunlight as I stepped out of the gate to route 202. Route 202 was one of the shortest routes in the Sinnoh region, but I wasn’t going to underestimate it. I retied my laces as tight as I could and released Togepi from her ball. She chirped happily at me before observing the unfamiliar surroundings.

“Come on Grace,” I said, slapping my cheeks. “You can do this. You’re a tough girl.”

I stepped onto the road. It would continue for a few hours until nature overwhelmed it and I would only have grass to walk on. There were trainers all around me, some of them battling, and some of them just hanging out with their Pokemon. I expected the population to lower the deeper I got into the route. Togepi pulled at my jeans and chirped sadly.

“Sorry, princess. You’ve got to walk for now. We’re building your endurance.”

“Toge…”

Her sadness tugged at my heartstrings, but I managed to ignore her for now. The next hours were uneventful. It was almost anticlimactic how peaceful it was. I hadn’t even gotten attacked by a wild Pokemon yet, although I had seen a bunch. I wasn’t exactly expecting this to be like hiking to the top of Mount Coronet, but I couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed.

Was there something wrong with me?

Eventually, though, the vegetation began to slowly overtake the dirt road. Route 202 wasn’t exactly a forest, but it wasn’t exactly some grassy plain either. It was something in between. I decided to take a slight break below a tree, shielding myself from sunlight. I was actually more tired than Togepi was. It’d take a while to get myself into shape.

Into shape for what? I asked myself. I’m still not signing up for the League Circuit!

“Whew. That was a workout, huh?” I asked my Togepi.

“Prrri!” She answered.

“Want some water? I’ve got—”

“Yo. You want to battle?” I heard a voice toward my left.

My head whirled toward the voice. It was a kid my age— probably training for the Circuit. There was a small Shinx at his side.

“Ah— Uh— I mean—”

“Arceus, why are you so nervous? We’re all in the same boat, right? We battle, we both get better. So you’re in or what?” He asked.

“Um, yeah!” I managed to get out. “My name’s Grace, by the way, haha,” I laughed nervously.

“I’m Patrick. One on one?”

“Sounds good. I only have one Pokemon anyway,” I said.

I stood up and Patrick went around fifty feet away from me. His Shinx roared— which was more like a cub pretending to roar than an actual roar— and steeled itself.

“Alright Togepi, remember our training,” I said as confidently as I could. I hoped she wasn’t noticing my shaking legs or hands. Sweat was accumulating dangerously fast on my palms and my armpits. I took a few deep breaths.

“Alright! I’ll throw this rock, and when it hits the ground, we can start!” My opponent said.

He threw a rock into the air. Time seemed to slow the closer it got to the ground. I ran through dozens of scenarios in my mind, imagining the worst.

“Shinx, hit ‘em with Tackle! Then Bite!”

Patrick’s Shinx roared again and dashed toward Togepi. He was faster than her, so dodging wasn’t an option.

“Togepi, wait… keep waiting… Growl!” I screamed.

Togepi chirped louder than I’d ever heard her, and Shinx flinched right before hitting her. It didn’t stop it from biting her, but her shell was shielding her from most of the damage.

“Uh, Togepi, use Sweet Kiss! Get it away from you!” I yelled out.

Togepi puckered her lips, and a pink heart escaped from her mouth, hitting the Shinx directly in the face. It stopped its attack and looked around confusedly.

“Shinx! Snap out of it! Focus on my voice!”

Oh no, you don’t, I thought. “Togepi, use pound!”

Togepi’s arm turned white, and she hit the Shinx directly in the nose. It screeched in pain and snapped out of its confusion.

“Focus, Shinx! Use Charged Tackle!”

The Shinx began to charge up electricity into its body.

“Don’t let it finish its attack! Togepi, rollout!”

Patrick’s eyes widened. “Shinx, stop charging! Dodge!”

Togepi’s rollout was too fast and struck Shinx’s hind legs. The Pokemon went flying toward his trainer.

“Keep going, Togepi! Keep using rollout!”

She followed Shinx closely, hitting it again right after it fell to the ground. Shortly after that, Patrick returned Shinx to his Pokeball.

“I forfeit,” He said, after clicking his tongue. “Damn it.”

“What? Why? The battle wasn’t over,” I said.

He approached me and reached for his backpack. I flinched, but he placed a few hundred pokedollars in my hand.

“I don’t want Shinx to be too beaten up and have to go all the way back to the Pokemon Center in Jubilife. I could tell the fight was going to end badly after you hit me with Sweet Kiss. Good battle,” He said, holding out his hand toward me.

I shook his hand and stayed there like I had been hit by Astonish. I had… won? I had won my first battle?

“Good luck. Maybe I’ll see you again on the Circuit, Grace,” Patrick said before leaving.

I could only muster a nod. When he left, I grabbed Togepi into a happy hug. That had been the most fun I’d had in years. The rush, the adrenaline, the tension, the feeling of victory.

“The training bug,” My dad’s voice echoed in my head.

I was going to have to find some new trainers to fight on the way to Sandgem!

——

“Bidoof, shake it off! Use Headbutt!” My opponent screamed in frustration.

“Togepi, use rollout! Keep going if he’s still standing!”

Togepi chirped in acquiescence and folded into a ball rolling toward the confused Bidoof. She hit it square in the face, and then again as it tumbled down a hill. The Bidoof fainted.

“Grrr, using Sweet Kiss is cheating!” The girl said. “How are you even supposed to counter that?!”

Not knowing what to say, I stayed silent as the bliss of victory washed over my body. She handed me a hundred Pokedollars and left with her unconscious Bidoof in her arms. I crouched and called for Togepi, who walked back to me. She was limping slightly, which made me quickly look for a potion in panic. This was the third trainer she beat, including Patrick, and she had gotten hit multiple times.

“I’m sorry, princess,” I said as I sprayed her leg with the potion. “No more battling for now, I promise. I got a little too carried away.”

Seeing her limp like that… it almost made me grab her into my arms and run back to a Center, but dad had already warned me not to be too impulsive about this. After a few sprays, she seemed to be back to normal, but I couldn’t afford to use too many potions. I wasn’t even near halfway to Sandgem yet, where I'd be able to restock.

I began carrying Togepi in my arms to give her a little break. We continued on our way, and soon enough, the road ended completely. I opened my Poketch and looked at the map application that I had downloaded yesterday. I could either go through these woods or go around toward the left. The woods would be a bit faster… but I decided on staying safe. What if I stepped on some unsuspecting Wurmple and angered an entire colony? Dustox were really dangerous and usually took care of their young, while Beautifly were more solitary until breeding season. Either way, I wasn’t about to be poisoned by some bug— antidotes only worked on Pokemon.

I carefully stepped around the woods, gladly taking the two-hour detour. However, as I jumped down a ledge and walked down the gentle slopes of route 202, I came across a Scyther and a Dustox fighting right outside of the woods.

I froze. A Scyther, here? They were one of the most powerful bug Pokemon around! My head frantically turned, searching for a place to hide. If they noticed me, Dustox would possibly run, glad that I gave it the opportunity to escape being eaten, but Scyther? I looked down at my Pokemon and saw that she was just as scared as I was.

I swallowed. It’d be furious that I caused its meal to escape, and all of that anger would probably be refocused on me. And there was no way I was risking Togepi. The ledge was too high for me to climb back with Togepi still in my arms, and returning her to her ball would make too much noise. There was no other choice.

I stepped into the woods.

——

Walking through some unmaintained woods wasn’t like I thought it would have been. It was seen as one of the most common trainer experiences, yet no one explained to you how grueling it would be.

Or maybe they did, and I just hadn’t looked hard enough.

The ground wasn’t an even thing. It was a mess of fallen leaves, branches, ferns, and more than everything, it was slippery. I had fallen three times in an hour. After the first fall, I’d gotten Togepi back in her ball to be able to better catch myself. It didn’t help. I was bleeding from the back of my forearm after a fallen branch tore through the skin. The good news was that it wasn’t hurting much and that I hadn’t seen the Scyther. The bad news was that the sun was setting soon and that I’d probably have to sleep in this hellhole.

“Shit, I should have just gone right away without battling anyone. Maybe then I’d have avoided the Scyther,” I whispered to myself. “Need to find some kind of clearing.”

The sun's rays turned orange-red and then disappeared completely. It was nighttime now, and all I had for light was my Poketch. The device came with a charger, but it also charged with solar energy. Unfortunately, I now had neither, so I was on a time limit.

“Hissss,” I heard through the underbrush. I flinched, and then shined my light toward the sound. An Ekkans launched itself at me, and I fell on my back. I swore, ignoring the pain as it bit into my arm. I clicked on my Pokeball and saw a flash of red, then white as Togepi chirped in anger, hitting the snake with Pound.

I scrambled backward and grabbed my little axe, waiting for the Ekkans to strike at me again. For a few seconds, there was a complete silence, only interrupted by the bustling wildlife in these woods. Then Ekkans attacked me again, and I swung the axe wildly in front of me with my eyes closed. I heard it hiss in pain as it finally decided I wasn’t worth the risk and fled.

“Damn it!” I hissed, looking at my arm. I looked around for my Poketch and found it on the ground after a few seconds, covered in mud. I shone it at my arm and sighed in relief. It looked like it hadn’t penetrated the skin anywhere to inject its venom. I leaned against a tree and sighed. All that fun from earlier had disappeared now.

“Toge,” Togepi said quietly, touching my leg. She was barely visible with how high the underbrush was.

“I’m okay. We just have to find a spot to sleep in,” I lied as I returned her. I wiped my hands on the back of my jeans and kept going.

I hate woods, I hate woods, I hate woods, I screamed in my head. Thirty minutes later, I found a mini clearing, and by clearing, I meant a spot where it would be possible to lay flat on the ground. Unfortunately, it was still muddy, so my sleeping bag would get really dirty, but it was what it was. Luckily, it was still summer, so lighting a fire wasn’t necessary. Sinnoh winters were known for their brutality.

I snuggled up in the sleeping bag and slept, waking up every few minutes to a Pokemon cry. Tomorrow was going to suck.