David got up early the next morning.

The memories and knowledge of where he was hit him in the same way but the metal ball in his tent made it easier to pull together. Uncooperative though Pidgey was, she was his now.

Speaking of the bird, he left his tent and released her. A bright flash which he forgot to look away from left a curled up Pidgey on the ground and blind spots in his vision.

Pidgey was even smaller in her sleeping position with her talons, wings and head tucked in. She blearily tilted her head towards him and let out a low squawk. It was a stark contrast to the last time he released her when Pidgey was alert and waiting.

“Breakfast?” David asked, holding out an Oran berry.

Pidgey blinked then shuffled around and settled back into her sleep.

David’s shoulders sank and the hand holding the Oran berry dropped. His other hand with the pokeball came up and he recalled Pidgey.

“So much for the early bird gets the worm.”

 

-.-

 

David packed up quickly and set off. Today was the day he would cross the first goal off his list. Technically he’d already half completed the first goal, and the extra weight in his bag proved that he had completed the second but there was no substitute for the real thing. A shower was a small step on the way home but he needed the comfort.

He was amused to see that there was a message on this side of the cartoon Abra sign too. ‘Your arrival has been foretold’. It was easier to see now when the sun was low in the sky, still rising but not shining in his eyes.

Aside from some very early joggers and a cleaning crew - both a mix of Pokemon and people, David had a clear path to the Pokecenter.

The security guard let him by with barely a glance. There was more traffic around the Pokecenter than anywhere else in the city, but people were quiet and the atmosphere was subdued. It was the same inside the building which was great as David was curious about how close the inside of the building was to the games. 

A large counter against the far wall dominated the entrance room. A red plus sign glowed above the counter and even David could realize that it was the healing section. To the left of the entrance was a large waiting area with plenty of seating. His target was to his right. Another smaller counter could be found there with doors on either side of it.

There was no queue in front of the healing counter this morning, but he had to wait at the facilities counter. Thankfully the person ahead finished up quickly and went through a door to the right of the counter.

“Hello, trainer’s license please,” The receptionist called as David approached.

David passed his license over to the receptionist, a little hesitant to let it leave his hands. The receptionist took it and tapped away at a blocky machine in front of them.

David wasn’t terribly surprised to see that no one in the building looked like the iconic Pokemon nurses. They all wore a uniform but it was red and white not pink.

“Hmm, you haven’t used any of your accommodation allowance this month, but we’re all booked up at the moment. Tournament, you know.” The receptionist passed his license back.

“I just need a shower.” David half pleaded. Surely they had somewhere he could use.

“Ah, Door on your left then,” The receptionist said and held a key on a fob out to David.

”Use this key to open the door with the same number on it. Lock it behind you when you leave. Failure to return the key will result in denial of all Pokecenter facilities until you pay the fine. Including healing.” They gave him a stern look before loosening their grip on the fob.

David practically yanked it out of their hands and rushed to the door. A shower!

 

-.-

 

Half a warm hour later David wiped the fog off a mirror and gave himself a check up. He looked tired. The shower had not quite melted off some of the weary lines from his face that had built up over the past two days. He ran a hand through his wet hair. He was lucky it had been cut a week ago. His blond hair was short at the back and sides and that would give him some time before he needed a haircut.

His beard was another story. Wispy patches were growing longer and in another day they would be in the awkward ‘he needs to shave’ stage. He was starting to give up hope on his beard. It grew so quickly yet unevenly. Adding a razor to his shopping list, he dressed and left for the market.

 

Along the way he was disturbed by a light shaking from his bag. It took a second to realize where the movement was coming from, but when he did he slipped his bag off of his shoulders. The wobbling pokeball was awkward to grip as he pulled it out.

Pidgey seemed to sense the movement and the ball shook a little more.

David looked around at the growing foot traffic on the street. This could go badly. Beth had warned him about releasing Pidgey in the city.

David brought the ball to his mouth and spoke softly. “One second. Just wait a little longer.” He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination but the shaking seemed to settle a bit.

To his relief a small open park area was down the road. He ran in and found a quiet spot before pressing the button on the ball.

Pidgey was wide awake now though she was still in a roosting position. When she took in the area around them, that changed. She let out a high pitch shrill sound and began hopping to rotate around.

When she finished her routine David walked forward. Pidgey had stopped hopping but her head was darting back and forth, tracking any movement in the strange location.

“Hello again.” David spoke in a soothing tone to the twitchy bird with big talons. As Pidgey focused on him he held out an Oran berry. “You’re hungry now are you?”

The bird relaxed and David placed the berry down. Pidgey hopped up to it and dug in.

When she was done she hopped back and settled down into her roosting position. Then she started chirping. Thankfully this was something she had done the night before after dinner.

Back then he’d grown worried that he had poisoned the Pokemon. Then frustrated when she wouldn't stop.

When he got around to recalling her, it had a last ditch effort to quiet her down. When he sent her back out a few seconds later out of guilt, Pidgey looked around for a few seconds before starting to chirp again.

Now David knew what it meant and recalled her quickly. He picked up the remaining half of the Oran berry and winced as his stomach grumbled. He hadn’t eaten yet either.

“Ugh. Waste not want not I guess.”

 

-.-

 

The market was starting to fill up when David arrived. It was about the same time that he’d met the older merchant the day before and he knew his way through the stalls now.

“Good morning,” David called as he approached. The elderly stall owner was busy unloading but they looked up at his call.

“I’ve another rare berry if you’re interested?” David held out the green fuzzy berry to the seller as he turned.

“Morning. Hmm. A Rabuta huh. And in fairly good condition too.” The merchant eyed up David before looking back at the berry. “Is that all?”

“I’ve another Oran too?” David hedged. The merchant tapped the edge of his stall for a second.

“Well I’ll take both but as I’ve said I’ll be getting stock of the regular berries soon. You’ll need to find more interesting berries than a single Rabuta if you want to keep this up.”

“I know but - I got my first Pokemon yesterday,” David said in a bit of a rush. He wasn’t sure why he was telling this to a random stall owner, but as he did a light weight was lifted. It felt good to tell someone about it.

“Oh.” The merchant looked at him surprised. ”Well? What did you get?”

“A Pidgey!” David started to tell him about how Pidgey had acted the day before. Including how she traded for the Figy berry.

“Well that is an interesting first day if I ever heard it.” The merchant had stopped unpacking as he listened to David. “I never had a Pidgey, I’m more of a Meowth man myself but the Figy choice is interesting. Keep track of which berries she picks will you? I might have some tips.”

David nodded, any help would be great.

“Now, let’s get to business before it gets too busy here. You’re lucky your Pidgey didn’t choose the Rabuta. It’s about as rare as that Touga. Which sold well. I can give you 60P for that one. 75P for both it and the Oran.”

“Deal.” David didn’t hesitate at all. It was 20P more than what he had gotten yesterday for the same amount of berries. The Touga must have sold fast. The extra money was vitally important. After meeting his Pidgey, and the wild ‘encounters’ they’d had yesterday, one thing was clear. Neither he nor Pidgey were ready for a battle. All they would be doing was throwing what little money they had away.

The merchant counted out and passed over the money.

“Now, If I’m going to be seeing you more often we might as well be on a first name basis. I’m Benny.” The elderly merchant held out a calloused hand.

“David.” He shook the offered hand and added a fifth name to his list of people in this world.

After saying goodbye to Benny he left the market. Knowledge was waiting.

 

-.-

 

There was no one waiting outside the small library building, but David was blocked by a turnstile on his way in. The buffest librarian he had ever seen sat watching in a booth beside the turnstile.

“License?” The librarian fixed their glass and practically whispered.

David handed his license over.

The librarian examined it and then David again before actually whispering this time.

“First door on the left.”

David looked at him awkwardly until the librarian pushed something and the turnstile clicked.

David pushed through and entered the room.

The room was small. Closet small. David stared dismayed at the single, small wardrobe sized shelf he had access to. He sighed.

“Better than nothing I guess.”

 

---

 

Merry Christmas all!