Neo

       Neo hopped out of his bed with a bit more energy than usual. He hadn’t been on a journey in a few months, and even if he wasn’t going to be taking on any gyms, he still was really excited for it. He grabbed his old blue backpack form his closet and headed out to the Poke Mart.

       He didn’t have any expectations for what Clover would be bringing, so he stocked up on potions and full heals, as well as a few Poke Balls for himself. Once his bag was filled up, he paid and walked over to the Pokemon Center where he saw Clover waiting with a full bag.

       “It looks like you prepared well, I’m impressed,” he said, taking the granola bar. “Before we go, I need to stop inside and pick which Pokemon I want to take with me, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure, no big deal to me!” 

As they walked into the Pokemon Center, Clover couldn’t help but notice one thing. “You seem like you have a little bit more pep in your step this morning, Neo-san,” she said teasingly. “Did you sleep well?” 

She didn’t know how long her and Neo were going to be on this journey together, but she was already enjoying it. She felt as if he was almost warming up to her, too… 

Once they were at the Pokemon boxes, Clover tried her best not to look over Neo’s shoulder, though she was curious. “Professor Elm told me about these… So, you can only have a few Pokemon with you at a time?” she asked. 

       Neo walked hurriedly over to the Pokemon PC in the corner, which was luckily free at the moment. His Pokemon were actually at his parents house most of the time, and he just had to message them which ones to send.

       “I’m just excited to be on the road again is all,” he said as he used the computer. “When you’re in town all the time it can be boring, especially after 12 years out and about.”

       After a moment, he put two Poke Balls on the machine, and the were gone in a flash. A few seconds after, two new ones appeared and he grabbed them. “Yep, you can only have six with you according to the official Pokemon league regulations. If you weren’t a trainer, you could carry as many as you want though.”

       He led Clover outside of the Pokemon Center and tossed the two new Poke Balls. “Come on out you two and meet Clover,” he called out. A Mightyena and Kecleon appeared on the road. “These were two of the Pokemon I used when I took on the Hoenn league. I thought it would be fun to bring them along.”

Clover could tell a bit that Neo was still reeling from losing his gym earlier this morning. She couldn’t imagine something like that happening to her, so it must have crushed Neo so much more, especially since he’s so dedicated to his Pokemon. She wanted to tell him it was going to be okay and reach out and touch his hand, but she didn’t fully grasp their boundaries as acquaintances yet. 

“Well, no matter how old or experienced we get, we never stop learning,” she said. “I’m sure your Pokemon understand if you don’t know everything just yet. You’ll get your gym back soon, and who knows, maybe along the way of getting it back, you’ll figure out things you never knew about yourself and your Pokemon.” 

She didn’t realize through all this talking that she still had a bunch of her food left, and it was getting late, so she started eating a bit faster. She had already imposed on Neo enough. She saw through the window that across the street was the hotel he’d been talking about. 

They hurried up and finished their food before walking out, heading to the entrance of the hotel. 

“Well, thanks for hanging out with me, again,” she said, standing outside with Neo. “Do you wanna meet me here tomorrow?” 

       As the two left the restaurant, Neo started to lead her to the Pokemon Center, which had free boarding for trainers to sleep overnight.

       “Yeah, I can meet you at the Pokemon Center in the morning,” he said. “Violet City is a couple days walk from here, so we just need to stock up on food and supplies, especially since we’re going to be heading into Dark Cave.”

       Neo waved goodbye and headed back to his home in town, excited to be going on a little adventure once again.

Clover gasped. Maybe his accomplishments were standard for other Pokemon trainers of his caliber, but she was impressed. She hadn’t met anyone like Neo before, and so he had set her expectations high for what other trainers they would encounter. 

“So you’re basically a Pokemon expert, Neo-san,” she said. “That’s really impressive. I can’t even win one battle against you, you must be one of the best.” 

“Chiko!” Chikorita said. 

“I know, maybe you and I will be almost as good as Neo one day,” she said, patting her starter’s head. She then looked over at Neo with a smile. “You said you’ve been doing this ever since you were 10 years old, right? Do you think you’re ever going to stop?” 

       Neo wouldn’t call himself an expert on Pokemon, but probably on dark types. There was too much to know about Pokemon for one person to be an expert, except probably for Professor Oak.

       “I have a lot of experience and know a lot, but there’s so much more to learn,” he said. “Like, learning how to run a gym. I can’t do that yet.”

       Neo could never see himself doing anything but being a Pokemon trainer. He’s been on the road for over half of his life, and it would be hard to just stop. “I don’t think I’ll stop being a trainer, but one day I think I will stop battling. My Pokemon are my friends and we enjoy training too much to ever stop.”

“Well, thanks,” Clover said, shooting Neo a smile across the table. She didn’t feel like telling him just yet that she was no longer pursuing a career in music. She wasn’t even sure you could call what she was doing just a couple weeks ago before getting Chikorita “following your dream.” 

All she knew now was that she was glad to be out of there, and doing something she’d always wanted to do. 

Listening to Neo’s response, she added, “Well, I think you’re really unique. I can tell you’ve had Sableye and Houndoom for a long time now. They’re really loyal to you. Was it hard training them?”

       Neo had always been so dedicated to his training. Most trainers would go into a battle and think their skill was going to help them win, but not Neo. He didn’t want to leave anything up to chance. If his Pokemon were stronger, then it meant he was all that more likely to win.

       “I can’t say it was hard because training with them has always been so fun for me,” he said, setting down his burger. “That’s when I get to spend the most time with my Pokemon. I only have four with me right now, but I have more than 20 from all of my different journeys. I’ve become the champion in four different regions, ya know.”

She absentmindedly swirled her straw in her Miltank Mint Chocolate Milkshake as she listened to Neo’s story. He seemed so mysterious, and hearing he hadn’t taken a starter Pokemon like any other trainer just solidified it. She was surprised, though, that he was so keen on sharing stuff about himself so far. 

“Well, I just… never got a chance to, I guess,” she chuckled. “I had pretty strict parents growing up, and they just wanted me to pick on one thing and focus on it. We couldn’t afford much so I really wasn’t able to try new things. So, I chose music, and poured all of my effort into that.”

She shrugged her shoulders and gave him a smile. “Why didn’t you take a starter?” 

       “Music is actually really cool though,” he said before ripping off another chunk of his burger. Even if she was doing something else, most people who wanted to become trainers at least had a Pokemon or two by their side, but this girl just had the one she got from the professor a week ago. “There are some Pokemon that use sound you might like.”

       “I didn’t take a starter because... I don’t know,” he said, thinking. “I specialize in dark Pokemon now, but during my journeys I didn’t. I just kind of liked Sableye and wanted to use it. Everyone else was using the same three, and I wanted to be different.”

She went completely dead-faced whenever Neo called her out for not having camping equipment. It was true, sure, but how did he know?! She laughed nervously, starting to rethink that creepy Sableye of his.

“Okay,” she said. “Off to Cherrygrove we go!”  

~

At the restaurant, Kingler’s Catch, Clover ordered a simple curry and rice for dinner and made sure to share some with Chikorita. As she ate across from Neo, she began to get more curious about him. 

“So, when did you become a Pokemon Trainer?”

       Neo took a bite out of his Tauros burger, his favorite food. This was the usual place that he ate dinner, but never with anyone else. When he had said table for two, the host looked at him with confusion.

       “I’ve been a trainer for quite a while, more than 10 years,” he said, thinking back. “I started not long after I turned 10 back in the Hoenn region. I didn’t take a starter Pokemon from the professor like most trainers, though. My dad took me to catch my Sableye and then sent me off on my journey.”

Clover was ready to turn around and head the opposite direction from Neo, until he said something. She parted her lips and tilted her head at him, then gasped when she heard his offer. 

“Really?~” she asked. Then, she realized she might have sounded too eager. “Imean,youreallydon’thaveto,Iknowyou’reabusytrainerandallthattryingtogetyourgymbackandthelastthingIwannadoisdistractyousoum–” 

“Chiko!” Clover stopped and looked down at her starter Pokemon, who gave her an angry face in return. 

“Right,” she sighed. “Sorry. What I meant to say was, I’d really like that… if you don’t mind. We could grab something to eat first?~”

       Neo chuckled at her Chikorita. He was really beginning to grow fond of the little Pokemon.

       “Yeah, we should probably go eat,” he said as his stomach rumbled. “We could check out a restaurant over by the Pokemon Center in Cherrygrove. That’s where you’re going to have to spend the night, especially since it doesn’t look like you have any equipment necessary for camping.”

       “Houndoom, you can stop running now,” Neo called out before turning back to Clover. “I completely forgot he was doing that.”

“Oh!” Honestly, Clovever didn’t even realize the sun was setting in the horizon. She had been having so much fun exploring the beach with Neo that she had lost track of time. She looked over at Chikorita, who was yawning as she laid in a patch of grass nearby. 

“Well, I honestly don’t know where I’m heading off to next,” she said. “But I think I do remember Professor Elm mentioning something about a Violet City. So I think I’m going to keep going from here on out.”

She adjusted her backpack straps to keep her backpack from falling off of her shoulders, then smiled sweetly at Neo. “I really appreciate you hanging out with me today, and even helping me find my first Pokemon to catch. I know you maybe don’t like me, but… still. It was really nice of you to put up with me.” 

Her expression dropped a bit to a warm smile, and she tilted her head up at him. “See you around, okay?” 

       Though Neo had been pretty annoyed by Clover before, he really did enjoy having another trainer with him. He had never travelled with anyone before, but he was enjoying having some company.

       “Actually,” Neo started, looking down, “on the way to Violet City, there’s the Dark Cave. I was thinking about heading there to see what kinds of dark-type Pokemon were there, so maybe I could show you the way to Violet City. Especially since you’re just getting started. It might be best to have someone with you who’s done it before. If you want.”

She shuddered in anticipation as she watched the Pokeball shake, shake, and shake. It felt like it was never going to catch! The seconds it took for her to catch Trapinch felt like hours. But finally, the Pokeball clicked, and her Rotom Phone announced, “Trapinch has been added to your Pokedex!” 

Clover shouted in glee, spinning around, her green hair creating a halo around her head as she celebrated. She grinned as she slapped Neo’s hand in a high-five. 

“Yeah, it was! I was so scared it wasn’t gonna catch,” she said. “What else can we find around here? Didn’t you want to try and catch something, too?”

       Neo looked around once again, not seeing anything. “Nah, there isn’t much more here to catch,” he said. “I was thinking, though, that if to have my own gym I need to not have such strong Pokemon, maybe I could catch something soon.”

       He looked up and saw that the sun was beginning to set. “It looks like we might have to call it a day soon anyway,” he said. “I was probably just going to head home, but where are you going? You’re a new trainer, and I didn’t know if maybe you’d be heading towards Violet City.”

The Trapinch responded well to Neo’s pets, but wore a determined expression as soon as he suggested catching it. Clover thought about what Neo was going to do earlier with the Quagsire; battle it before attempting to catch it. 

“Oh, looks like he wants to battle me first,” Clover said, happily taking on the challenge. She liked the Trapinch’s spunk, and it seemed like it had taken a liking to her, too. All that was left was to battle it and catch it. 

“Alright, Chikorita! I choose you!” 

Chikorita jumped forward and readied to battle Trapinch. “Use Razor Leaf~!”

Chikorita revved up her leaf, powering up her move before shooting leaf blades at the opposing Pokémon. Trapinch was slow to dodge it, unfortunately, and got struck by the Razor Leaf; it spun around dizzily. 

“Go, Pokeball!” Clover exclaimed, throwing her first Pokeball at the Trapinch.

       There was nothing Neo liked watching more than a Pokemon battle, even if it was between a rookie and a little Trapinch. Her Chikorita might not have been the strongest, but it fought really hard and must’ve taken a real liking to its trainer.

       After Clover threw a Poke Ball, Neo watched it as it shook on the sand. Sometimes Pokemon were caught quickly, but this time the ball shook about six or seven times before it finally made the magical clicking sound.

       “Nice catch,” he said, putting his hand up for a high-five. “Was this the first time you’ve caught a Pokemon? I haven’t seen you use any others.”

A Trapinch didn’t sound like a ghost type or anything, so Clover happily looked over her shoulder and laughed. “Oh!” 

She turned around and looked down at it; it was an orange, maybe bug-type looking Pokémon that looked like it had buttons for eyes. 

“He’s really cute, Neo-san,” she said, bending forward to get a closer look at it. She pulled out her Rotom Phone and pulled up the Pokedex entry for Trapinch.

“Trapinch, the Ant Pit Pokemon~. It lives in arid deserts, and it can go a week without water. Instead of actively hunting prey, it digs into the sand to build its bowl- or cone-shaped nests, where it waits for prey to stumble inside and become trapped.”

Clover yelped. “Wait, it was gonna eat me?”

       Neo laughed at her. “I don’t think it was going to, but I’m pretty sure it was going to try,” he said, leaning down to pet the Pokemon. Even if he cared mostly about training, Neo couldn’t say Trapinch wasn’t an adorable Pokemon.

Clover felt her legs sinking into the sand hole the more she struggled, so she eventually stopped, wincing when she saw Neo’s shadow looming over her. She reached for his arm and let him hoist her up. She stood up and brushed her knees off, chuckling nervously. 

Chikorita even huffed, a little bit upset. 

“Oh, Chikorita, don’t worry about me,” she reassured, patting the grass-type Pokémon on her head. “I just got excited, that’s all.” 

With a blush, she looked over her shoulder at Neo. “Right. Thanks,” she said. 

“Trap~ Trapinch~!” 

Clover yelped, feeling something bite down on the ruffles of her sock. “Wh– Neo, what is that?!” she asked, panicked, not wanting to look behind her. 

       Neo jumped when he heard the sound coming from the sand trap. He grabbed a Poke Ball from his backpack and readied it to throw, but when he looked down it was only a little Trapinch.

Clover knew Neo was a little bit impatient with her. She had a feeling he didn’t consider them as friends, either, and so she felt a bit like a pest who got in the way of his training. But, still– it was more important to her to keep the Wooper and Quagsire safe, and it looked as if she was successful. 

She bit her lip and looked around, walking closer to Neo as they were now leaving the Wooper and Quagsire alone. “Well, we could get closer to the water and see what kinds of Pokémon are there,” she said. 

In the distance, she saw a hill, and was curious as to what would be over by it. “How about over there?” she asked. Without a second thought, she ran over to it, climbing it. Unbeknownst to her, the hill was a sand trap! She gasped in surprise, stumbled, and fell in with a thud. 

“Oh no!” 

       Neo looked over to the sandy hill. The beach was nice because the sandy areas were home to different Pokemon than you’d find in the very grassy Johto region, and it helped Neo with his training seeing a variety.

       Clover began walkin towards the hill before Neo, and before he could even start moving she had been consumed by a sand trap on the hill.  Neo had to stifle a laugh to make sure she was okay. 

       “Don’t be too excited,” he called out as he rushed over. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out. “Are you okay? You really can’t rush into everything so fast, or you’re going to be falling a lot more.”

Clover jogged over to stand in between Neo and his Pokémon and the Quagsire and Wooper. “I didn’t think that,” she said, bringing a fist up to her chest. “I just meant, don’t hurt the Quagsire, either!” 

She looked over her shoulder and then back at Neo. 

“I think the Quagsire is a parent,” she said, almost pouting as she looked at the gym leader. “If you catch it or hurt it, you might leave this little Wooper without a caregiver.” 

       Neo sighed. he never really thought about the wild Pokemon he battled. Usually he picked ones that were alone, like this Quagsire was a moment ago, but he never thought about a situation like this.

       “I guess that makes sense,” he said, kicking at the sand. “I’ll just have to find something else to battle then.” He looked around the beach, but there weren’t any Pokemon in sight.

       “Besides that Wooper, have you seen anything you’d want to train?”

A few Woopers were playing in a sandy patch of grass, immediately catching Clover’s attention with their cute ears. She giggled cheerfully and hopped over to get closer to them, Chikorita not being shy either about saying hello. She crouched and watched the Woopers jumping together. 

“Hello! You guys are so cute,” she cooed. 

For all of Clover’s life, she never really had the mindset of a trainer, someone who caught Pokémon and battled with them. She just admired them from afar and adored them for their cuteness. She reached a gentle hand out to pat a Wooper on the head, but gasped and jumped back a little bit whenever the Wooper began hopping the opposite way. 

Her lips parted as she watched the Wooper hop to a Quagsire’s side, who was probably its mother. She saw that Neo looked as if he was about to battle it and got up, yelling, “Hey, stop it!” 

       Neo rolled his eyes as Clover came over. He didn’t think she’d actually get in the way of his trainig, even if he knew she would be a little bit of a distraction. He looked over at the Wooper that stood next to Quagsire.

       “Sableye, hold up, don’t do anything,” he said as Sableye turned around and walked back toward him. “And Clover, I brought you to watch me train, not to stop me from doing anything. Sableye wouldn’t have hurt the Wooper.”

“F’real?” Clover beamed. “Okay! I’d like that.” 

She honestly was expecting to get a hard no from the gym leader, but she was pleasantly surprised that he said yes anyway. Or, at least, she was going to take it as a yes– even if all he said was that he could watch her battle. Maybe he would start helping her train or even start pointing out some Pokémon she could catch without even realizing it. 

Eventually, they arrived at the beach, and Chikorita stayed by Clover’s feet as she followed beside Neo. She didn’t go to the beach a lot, but whenever she did, she always found herself wondering why she didn’t spend more time here, under the sun. Her office job stole away most of her days, that’s why. But that was over now! 

“Wow, look at all of these Pokémon~!”

       Neo paid little attention to Clover when they arrived. His only goal today was to train hard. Sure, he wanted to show off a little, but this was mostly for himself and his Pokemon.

       As Clover was distracted by the Pokemon, Neo tossed a couple of his Poke Balls, letting out his Houndoom and Sableye. “Okay Houndoom, you go for a run,” he said, directing the Pokemon who promptly began to run. “Now Sableye, let’s do soem battling.”

       He scanned the area, and saw a Quagsire playing in the sand by the water. “Sableye, approach it,” he said as the two ran over to it. He was about to battle when his attention was taken away by Clover yelling.