David had a surprise waiting for him in the morning. When he opened the tent, the familiar zip was echoed by a warble.

The sound sent his heart racing. Another Pokemon. Combat. He grabbed for the ball hanging around his neck and shoved his way out the narrow opening.

His speed only further frightened the two Caterpie beating a fast retreat towards the nearest tree.

David scanned the area quickly before taking a big breath. His chest was beating like a speaker at full blast and all traces of morning and sleep were gone. He took one last look at the Caterpie before they disappeared into the canopy. The patterns on their carapace made them hard to track as they reached the leaves above.

He took one more breath and started to laugh.

 

-.-

 

David saw no more Pokemon on his walk to Celadon.

He wasn’t sure if that was the time - Pidgey had yet to stir, or the smell. A pungent odor was carried to him by the wind and grew stronger as he got closer.

His first thought was a Repel.

Celadon lacked Saffron’s barrier woods, and the grassland ahead was divided up into fields. Acres and acres of land devoted to growing some kind of grain. Grain that was in the open, exposed and visible to any hungry creature. Pokemon had to be a concern for farmers, and it wasn’t like a scarecrow would do much good.

The thought of a Persian jumping at the sight of a straw figure did bring a smile to his face though.

However, this smell wasn’t like the herbs he’d crushed previously. It was more... sour. And the amount of Repel needed to cover an entire city or even its perimeter would be astronomical.

He was left wishing for nose plugs as he walked.

 

-.-

 

There was no sign to welcome him when he reached the fields, but there was a road which he was just as happy to see. Exposed dirt worn clear by frequent passage with small clumps of grass in the center. It wasn't much, but it was an honest road.

But not a very city-like one which concerned him.

Celadon had definitely been described as a city. The road, houses and farms he was passing and that he could see ahead were decidedly rural. Every house shared common traits: dark cream walls with a rough texture visible even from the road, pale green roof tiles and wide patios with a large table in the center. It was all very uniform.

Was this a satellite town instead of Celadon city proper?

The sun was just starting to rise behind him, but the locals were already setting out plates and food on these outdoor tables. David drew plenty of looks and double takes, but no one stopped to question him as he passed. After a few minutes they bothered him enough that he increased his pace. He resolved to ask for directions to Celadon at the other end of the town.

An hour later he no longer needed to ask for directions. This was definitely no town.

The fields didn’t stop. The crops changed but the fields continued. They had gone from grains to leafy vegetables and ahead they changed again to plantations of some kind. The houses grew in age, but the style remained unchanged.

The road also hadn’t changed much, but he was no longer walking on it alone. A steady trickle of people and the occasional cart had joined the road as he passed each set of houses. Those with carts were older but everyone else was his age or younger. People seemed happy and excited. The younger children in particular were buzzing. They sprinted back and forth between the forming groups of travelers.

Normally David would have guessed that this number of children in one place this early in the morning could only mean one thing - school. He hadn’t seen any evidence of schools in Saffron but there had to be some kind of general education in this world. People were literate and there were the Standard Trainer Assessment Tests. Standardized tests screamed large education system. But the children were too excited for that. Unless this world had solved the impossible problem of making all education interesting.

‘Although...’ He felt for the pokeball around his neck. Maybe this world had an advantage over his own. Could throwing Pokemon into the mix be the secret?

Blinking, he imagined Pidgey teaching a class full of children.

'Pidgey has sixteen Touga berries. She eats nine. How many does she have left?'

No, Math was unlikely to have changed. Other subjects however...

Biology with bring your Pokemon to school days. Type science with Move demonstrations. Physical education where you practice running from Pokemon...

Maybe it was a factor of more motivation. Or it was easier to learn with the subject matter right beside you. ‘How to wing it!’ was a lot easier to work through with Pidgey beside him compared to the Grass and Bug guide, ‘Beleaf in them’.

Even drier subjects like nutrition could be more interesting if it wasn’t you being told what to eat. How to balance your Pokemon's preference for Spicy berries with their need for multiple kinds of minerals. Calculating how many Oran berries your Pokemon could have in a...

David’s mind stuttered as he looked at the plantation ahead. Endless blue dots against row after row of pale yellowy green. Yesterday the sight of one bush would have made him happy but now looking at a field full of them he was met with a sinking feeling.

“First time?”

“Huh?” David turned to face the brawny man. He hadn’t really noticed he’d stopped moving.

“Seeing the berry plantations.” The man clarified with a smile. He nodded his head at the plantation, sending his curly dirty blond hair bouncing. “They always stump visitors. Especially when you get to the more colorful areas. Celadon isn’t called the rainbow city for nothing.”

David took another look at the rows of bushes before him. It was beautiful in a way. The dotted blue stood out like stars in the night sky. The pale yellowy green leaves were also nice to watch as they rippled in the wind.

“That easy to tell?” He replied.

“Well, the timing helped.” The man said with a chuckle. “Lots of people come for the season start festival.”

A festival. Well there goes his perfect education system theory.

“What kind of festival is it? I’m David by the way.”

“Joe. Technically it’s to welcome the first harvest of the year but these days it's pretty much a going away party.” Joe paused and examined David. "If you aren’t here for the festival you must be here to challenge the gym."

David nodded and examined Joe back. They were about the same age and height, but Joe was a lot stouter. He was no stranger to the outdoors with his tan either.

“And yourself? Are you just here for the festival or are you challenging the gym too?”

“Just the festival. I earned my rainbow badge last year.” Joe looked away from the plantation at the road. "Nice meeting you and I hope you enjoy the sights."

So badges were carried over year after year. Or they were permanent awards? Did that apply to the trainer’s license too? This could be a great chance to get some information.

“Are you heading into the city? I could use some directions.” David took another look around. "To tell you the truth, I’m not entirely sure where I am."

 

-.-

 

“So, where are you from?” Joe asked as they left the Oran plantation behind him.

David considered his response. He wasn’t going to say another world and his knowledge of the world was limited to a small number of places. Less if he needed to be able to answer any questions about those locations. Vague was probably best.

“Near Saffron.”

Joe sighed and pursed his lips.

David frowned back at him. Rude. He wasn’t from Saffron, didn’t even like the city, and he still felt offended on its behalf. You didn’t scoff at someone else’s hometown. Plus, awful though Saffron was, it was also technically the place where he first entered this world.

Joe looked puzzled at his expression before he realized. “Oh, it’s not the city. It’s the gym. I’ll need to challenge it this year if I want the full six, but it’s-” He eyed David again. “-got a reputation.”

David hummed in agreement and nodded. After Eloise’s history lesson he could definitely understand that. “I’m not looking forward to it either.”

“Any tips?” Joe asked, relaxing and sighing again. “It’ll be my first stop this year, and I’m leaving in a month.”

David looked at him in surprise. “You aren’t setting out today?”

Joe shook his head and shrugged. “I need to help bring in the harvest. It’s practically a month of training for me and my Pokemon anyway.”

David looked back at the rows of berry bushes around them. He hadn’t considered how people would do their ‘journeys’ or that they, unlike him, had lives outside this season. It made little sense for people to leave home instantly and not come back until the season was over. Especially if you didn’t have a deadline. There was no reason why people couldn’t spend half the season traveling and the other half working and training. It would also make it easier to pay for it all.

“Avoid fighting and poison types?”

Joe wilted a little. “Bit late for that, I'm afraid. Grass-Poison is the most common typing you’ll find in Celadon. How do you think we grow all this?”

David shrugged back at him. He hadn’t known all this existed until today. “Then how does most of Celadon get the badge?”

“They don’t.” Joe groaned. “Four badges are all you need for most of the advanced licenses. People avoid Saffron and Cinnabar. Cinnabar I have an answer for but Saffron is tricky. I even went to Lavender last year, but I couldn’t even get that gamble.”

David frowned. Lavender was the Ghost town. Gengar was an incredible Pokemon, but it was also a Poison type. There was also the ‘hesitance’ that people seemed to have around the type.

Still the Psychic type wasn’t that strong. Bite, the Dark type move was a great counter and most Pokemon seemed able to learn it.

“What about a Dark type?”

Joe shuddered. “Even if I had time to go to Johto, I wouldn’t. Ghost types are bad enough. People with Dark types are still booed and boycotted.”

David bit his lip. Did Kanto not have any Dark types?

The stadium in Celadon hadn’t been impressed with the Johtoan Azumarill. Was this more of that or something different?

“Then Bug type?” He asked. Most Bug Pokemon were either incredibly weak or rare in the game but this world followed different rules. He hadn’t been impressed with Caterpie as a Pokemon, Fuzzy aside, but he had considered the Pokemon for its eventual evolution to Butterfree.

Joe looked physically pained but grudgingly nodded.

“That... might work.” He rubbed his face and sighed deeply. “Arceus knows I have enough experience with the pests.”

David snorted at Joe's near comical expression. “Is the thought really that bad?”

“People will never let me live it down.” Joe groaned and launched into a story about a strange Paras infestation his family farm had when he was a kid.

 

-.-

 

“Next!”

David hadn’t believed it when Joe had warned him, but this was ridiculous. The queue had only grown in the half hour he’d been waiting. It’d been to the door when he arrived. He couldn’t see the end of it now.

“Next!”

Surely all these people didn’t have Pokemon in need of healing. The sun was still rising!

David looked around again. There weren’t many with bags either. Most of the crowd had to be local.

“Next!”

David looked back ahead and started as he realized the queue in front of him had disappeared. He scanned the desk until he found the free spot.

“Hello. League admin office for registration. Celadon gym for scheduling. Council offices for festival business.”

David blinked at them. The gym part was helpful but unprompted.

“Sorry.” The receptionist rubbed their eyes and said. “It’s been a long day.”

David glanced out the door at the long queue behind him and the rising sun.

“People camped out front. They’ve been coming in since midnight.” The receptionist’s bottom jaw quivered. “Every year it’s the same.”

They took a big breath and relaxed their shoulders. “How can I help?”

“I was hoping to get a room for tonight and use the facilities?” David shifted the bag on this back. “I get a few free nights a month, yeah?”

The receptionist nodded their head and turned to a clunky computer behind them. “You do. Hand over your Trainer’s license please.”

David slipped his bag over his shoulders only to stop. Beth had given him his trainer’s license and registered him into the system. Beth the Team Rocket member. He didn’t understand any of her actions, but he knew that. Beth who had access to this system and might be able to track him.

"We still have space." The receptionist looked up to say. "Locals have restricted access to accommodation at the start of season." He followed up with “Doesn’t stop them from asking.” under his breath.

David winced and hefted his backpack back up onto his back. He needed to think. “I’m actually good. I’ll camp out.”

The receptionist looked up at him in surprise and gave him a quick look up and down.

David stood awkwardly as their confusion turned into a frustrated frown.

“Anything else I can help you with?” They asked, tone sharp.

“No.” David answered and winced. “Sorry for wasting your time.”

The receptionist rubbed their eyes again and nodded at them. They indicated to the side before calling out “Next!” again.

David locked his hands behind his head as he walked out of the building and took in the crowd that snaked down the street. That was forty minutes he’d never get back.

“Fuck.”

What did he do now? Where did he go? He’d need to use the Pokecenter eventually. Pidgey couldn’t battle without it. He sniffed the air. There weren’t many rivers around either. No woods to find berries in either.

Pidgey’s ball began to shake.