7 Chapter 7: A Growing Headache
It was a four-hour walk to reach Pewter City. Aeron scanned every Pokémon he saw while Axew had fun running around the forest.
Aeron passed through the city gates of Pewter City and was greeted by the only city he had ever been to. However, surprisingly, it looked different now that he had entered it as a trainer than a regular person. He could see a lot of new trainers like him running around the streets—alone, like him, or in groups.
Each of these trainers had a Pokémon on them and hence got a trainer licence from the league, but they were still not eligible to get any free services from the Pokémon Centre.
Aeron looked at different Pokémon and made his way toward the Pokémon Centre.
It was a big building with a Pokeball symbol at the front. The number of trainers going in and out was immense. Although trainers might not get free services, it does not mean they would not use them. The rooms and food provided by Pokémon Centre were cheaper than any hotel in the city. But that was not the only thing the Pokémon Centre provided to the trainers.
As soon as Aeron entered the Pokémon Centre, he walked toward Nurse Joy, sitting at the reception desk with Chansey beside her.
[Chansey
Gender: Female
Type: Normal]
"Welcome to the Pokémon Centre." The pink-haired nurse wore a soft and kind smile on her face. "How can I help you?"
"I would like a place to stay." He raised his left hand toward Nurse Joy, and she scanned it before her computer screen showed all the information about Aeron.
[Aeron Duskborn
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Trainer License: F-class
Carry Limit: 3
Residence: Florian Town
Region: Kanto
Affiliation: None
Badges: 0
Ribbons: 0
Number of Pokémon: 1]
Nurse Joy was surprised that a ranker had appeared in her Pokémon Centre, but she did not let it show on her face. This was also not the first time she had seen a ranker. But it did bring a smile to her face knowing someone who represented Pewter City in the regional exam had come to the Pokémon Centre.
She looked at Aeron and nodded. "Your identity is verified." She passed a key card to him. It had a number written on it. "The number on it is your room number. You can use this key to lock or unlock it. To use the cafeteria, you need to scan your Pokedex. In case you need help, feel free to come to me."
"Thank you so much." Aeron took the key card from her and looked at the number. '297.'
"Anything else I can help you with?"
"My Pokémon has just passed the baby stage. He had been running around for the whole day. Can you give him a quick check-up?"
"Leave that to me." Nurse joy took the black Pokeball from Aeron and placed it in a tray before Chansey took them away. "Chansey will bring you your Pokémon once she is done taking care of it. You can pick it up after an hour from now from me."
Aeron thanked her once again before making his way toward the cafeteria. After a whole day in the forest, he hoped to eat something good.
'I should buy Pokémon food for Axe.' Since he was allowed to buy Pokémon food for free for the next five years, he would make sure he got the best for his Pokémon. 'And the little guy is a heavy eater. If not for the Pokémon centre giving out free food to rankers, I would have difficulty filling its blackhole-like stomach.'
Aeron walked into the cafeteria and was greeted by the sight of trainers sitting around, enjoying dinner.
'Maybe I should make friends?' He had not made friends so far and had an envious look. Shaking his head, Aeron bought his food and walked toward the empty seat in the corner of the cafeteria.
He loved spending time alone and was not much of a speaker. It was one of the main reasons he never tried to make friends with others in his age group. But Aeron was an excellent listener.
While eating his food, he ensured his ears were open to all the conversations around him.
"I heard Gym leader Flint is planning to pass his role to Brock?"
"I heard about it too."
'A new Gym Leader?' Aeron thought to himself until another conversation entered his ears.
"Did someone get kidnapped once again? Isn't it the tenth incident in the last two days?"
"All the kidnappings are taking place in the Viridian Forest."
"Who do you think is behind them?"
"Did the League say anything about it?"
'Kidnappings?' Aeron frowned. He had to cross the Viridian Forest to reach his next destination but learning that kidnappings were happening made him want to change his plans. 'I wouldn't be so unlucky…right?'
"I heard it is related to Team Rocket, but there has been no response from the League so far."
'Maybe I should wait a few days before I go to Viridian City?' Aeron made up his mind. He was sure that League would not overlook the kidnapping, and if his guess was correct, they should be forming a task force to handle this situation.
After that, Aeron did not learn anything interesting; therefore, he ate his food and walked toward the reception again. It was already past an hour, and just as he thought, Nurse Joy handed him his Pokeball as soon as he arrived.
"Your Pokémon was in perfect health, just a bit exhausted. Since he is newly born, please ensure you take good care of him."
"Yes, I will. Thank you so much."
Aeron no longer disturbed her since he could see she was busy. He scanned his fingerprints on the Pokeball and called out his starter.
"Axe, come out."
With a black flash of light, the Dragon Pokémon appeared before him. He looked refreshed, ready to play. Aeron bent down and picked him up, and Axew climbed on his left shoulder.
"Axe, Axew. Axew."
The Pokémon started talking. Though Aeron could not understand what he was trying to say, he enjoyed the company. With his partner back with him, Aeron walked toward the corner of the reception hall where many trainers had gathered.
Pokémon Centre was not just a place for healing your Pokémon or resting; it also acted as a 'Guild' under the League to hand out missions to trainers.
Since he could not travel to Viridian City due to the recent kidnappings, he decided to stay in Pewter City and accept missions. Not only would it earn him the money he needed as a trainer, but he could also earn League Points.
With how things were, League always needed help from other trainers. So, they would post missions within the Pokémon Centre for the trainers to accept. Of course, these missions were divided into grades, and one could only accept them accordingly.
Aeron, who had an F-class Trainer Licence, could only accept F-grade missions.
He looked at all the available missions, and most were either C-grade or D-grade.
'Let's see if I can get something on my level.'
[Mission #5 (F-grade): Collect Pecha Berries growing on the edge of Viridian Forest.]
[Requirement: At least 20 Pecha Berries and a maximum of 50.]
[Reward: One League Point and 10 Pokedollars for each berry handed]
Aeron looked at the mission with great interest. Usually, these missions would be the most popular since the work needed was less, and the rewards were great. However, although the mission was available, no one accepted it.
'Is it because of fear?' Aeron frowned. He could understand why no one was accepting this mission. Even though the berries could be found at the outer edge of Viridian Forest, no one wanted to risk going close to that place due to recent events. 'Should I?'
But should he take that risk? Aeron thought about it for a few minutes and then tapped his Pokedex.
He accepted the mission.
From what he had heard, the kidnappings occurred deep in the forest. There was no way Team Rocket would dare do it outside.
"Let's go, Axe," Aeron called out to his starter, running around the Mission Board, looking at everything with great interest. As Axew heard his trainer call out for him, he ran back and jumped back onto the left shoulder.
Aeron looked at the time and decided to go into his room. He also needed to call home so his parents would not be worried about him.
-0-
The black-haired trainer stood on the balcony of his room on the second floor, enjoying the night breeze. Axew had fallen asleep soon after they were done talking with Ethan and Sophia.
He closed his eyes, and he felt the wind on his face. His life was different now that he was on a journey to be a great trainer. He was now an official trainer who had started his Pokémon journey. He had a starter, and he had accepted his first mission.
Things were looking difficult since his only Pokémon could not fight. His plans to get the second Pokémon had all drowned since he could not go into the wild if Axew would not fight. He could not beat a Pokémon by himself, right?
'And this annoying headache!' Aeron rubbed his forehead in frustration as he had a growing headache for a few weeks.
At first, it was nothing much, but with each passing day, it just kept increasing, and slowly, it became unbearable.
'Let's sleep for now.' It was nearly midnight, and he had plans for tomorrow.
The first day of Aeron Duskborn's journey came to an end.
-------------------------End of Chapter-------------------------
Author's Note:
- Drop some Power Stones to support the book. I hope you like it so far.
- Peace!
