PokeWild

David was starting to get used to these morning breakfasts.

Sure they were a little dysfunctional. Oliver tried to speak to him as little as possible, and Michael was obsessed with Pidgey. Navigating the mess of reporting to your boss while trying to dissuade said boss' grandchild away from following you around all day was not something David had anticipated when taking the job.

Still, Michael was starting to talk to David beyond asking about Pidgey. Oliver was grudgingly learning to accept his presence. Yes, the man was using David as an example or excuse to teach Michael, but that gave David the opportunity to learn without seeming strange. Most importantly of all, the food was goooood.

Oliver could cook.

Celadon was described as the bread basket of Kanto and after ten days of meals here, David wouldn’t be surprised if it was also the culinary center. Take today’s meal for example – at first glance it seemed to be a desert, mixed berry puree swirled through a thick cream with golden crumbs scattered throughout. But the thick cream was bitter and closer to a savory yogurt and the golden crumbs were some sort of puffy grain. The berry sauce was just strong enough to leave a sweet aftertaste. It was incredible.

Oliver’s skills did not stop there. David had been served baking on par with the delicious stick-like pastries that Sarah had brought to training. Yesterday they had juicy and rich sausages that left his mouth drooling.

No meal was the same, but every meal included one ingredient. A bright pink berry with flamingo spots. Pecha berries. The berries that grew all over Nature's scent farm. The quantity of which had doubled in the meals since Michael arrived.

“David!”

He glanced up from his bowl, that had far too little remaining, to see Michael waving a hand in front of his own. The kid had devoured the creation with the same speed he did all the food.

David blinked tired eyes. The mornings seemed to be getting earlier. “Yeah?”

“Did you get it?” Michael asked excitedly.

“Get it?” David said slowly.

“The Pokeball!”

“Oh. No.” David grimaced. “I need to save up a bit more.”

“Awwh.”

David shrugged at the devastated child. It was funny to see that Michael seemed more upset about it than he was.

Oliver smirked at the head of the table but thankfully decided not to comment. Not that it would have done the man any good. Michael would happily spend the day badgering Oliver to pay David more if he thought it would benefit him or get him more time with Pidgey.

Thankfully, Michael’s moods were mercurial. He only spent a minute scowling down at his bowl and scrapping the last traces of the sweet puree out before speaking again. “What will you catch? When you get it.”

David bit his lip and let a spoonful of the delicious breakfast fall back into the bowl. “I don’t know.”

The question had plagued him all night.

He had no doubt that catching a Pokemon would be more difficult than it was in the games. For one, Pokemon were dangerous here. Both to him and Pidgey.

Two, Pidgey stayed in her ball because she wanted to or he asked. She was well capable of leaving it whenever she wanted. David fully expected the same to be true for any wild Pokemon.

Three, Pokemon were rarer than in the games. Instead of an unlimited supply of Pokemon residing in a patch of grass five footsteps across, you would be lucky to find ten in a square kilometer. Pokemon could hide if they didn’t want to be found.

What this led him to believe was that any Pokemon he caught was going to have to be a Pokemon who wanted to be caught.

This made catching a Pokemon more difficult but it didn’t limit what he could catch. That came down to his feelings or practicality.

Rattata was out. Meowth too. The two Pokemon unnerved him too much. Pidgey was out too. Catching another of the same kind of Pokemon would be foolish.

You'd think with the hundreds of other Pokemon David would be spoiled for choice. Instead, he had trouble coming up with one good option from those he'd encountered so far.

On the trip to Celadon he’d come across two great possible additions to his team. Bellsprout and Growlithe.

The Bellsprout had approached him and initiated some kind of ritual battle with Pidgey. It was at least somewhat interested in growing stronger and comfortable enough around people. After a week of watching Tulia's Bellsprout battle, he knew that the Pokemon had potential. A Grass-Poison type would be a great addition to his team.

David had less contact time with the Growlithe but… it was a Growlithe. They were on the rarer side for Pokemon and he had first hand experience of their strength. From his memory, a Growlithe’s evolution was even stronger.

However, both Pokemon had issues. A Bellsprout required a lot of equipment to care for. Their acid was a serious concern. Tulia wore thick clothes and carried a bucket around to deal with any spills for a reason. Growlithe set their environments on fire for fun and these Growlithe were guarded by a monster of a Pokemon. He knew there was something tricky about their evolution too, even if he couldn’t remember what.

And in the end, both Pokemon were days of travel away from Celadon and not in a good direction. Even if David was able to evade the ‘Rangers’ that Noah had warned him of and enter the badge restricted zone, he might not be able to find either Pokemon again. He could follow the same road back but he had no idea where he joined it. Even if he was able to find them, David didn’t have a week to spare to travel. As of today he was down to 50 days to earn two badges.

Was it worth the risk when he could return empty-handed?

David sighed. After a whole night of thinking through options, he still had no answer. Catching a Pokemon was more permanent in this world.

“I don’t know. Maybe something with Ground type? Pidgey’s weak to Rock, Electric and Ice. Ground would cover Rock and Electric.”

Terry’s Sandshrew was impressive and Pidgey got along with him.

Michael ooh-ed and blinked his eyes rapidly, clearly starting to run through the Pokemon he knew with that type.

“Fool!” Oliver slapped a hand against the table and joined the conversation. “A Ground type would ruin your foundation. You would end up a mess and your Pokemon would be no better for it.”

“But he could get a Rhyhorn from Fuchsia. They are strong enough it wouldn’t matter!” Michael said, waving his hands up.

Oliver scoffed. “Strength comes from cultivation! All eggs are equal. It is expertise! nurture! dedication! that yields the strongest Pokemon. END all be all. You cannot grow anything without the right foundation.”

Michael crossed his arms and scowled. This wasn’t the first time he’d heard this. “What about Oak?” He asked defiantly. “He did it.”

“Don’t talk to me about Oak!” Oliver snapped, jumping from his chair and sending it falling back. The movement startled both David and Michael. Oliver directed a furious glare at the other end of the table. “Oak is a proof of the rule rather than an exception.”

“Oliver,” David warned, indicating across the table with a nod.

The air was thick as he spoke and left a sour taste in his mouth.

Oliver turned his glare on David, eyes darkening, but that fury died as he followed the nod. Regret crumbled the hard lines on Oliver's face and his shoulders slumped as he saw how Michael was shying back.

“Sorry. Michael, sorry.” Oliver reached back and righted his chair before sitting down. Only when Michael looked at him again did he speak and he was gentle this time. “Not even Oak recommends his path to anyone. It has caused him many issues and great pain. You know of him now, but it took decades for him to reach that point. Before then...”

The pause lingered after Oliver trailed off. Michael adjusted himself in his seat. Still looking at his grandfather shyly.

“So you’re saying I should get another Flying type?” David asked, eager to return the conversation to some sense of normality.

“A Pokemon that can fly or with a Normal typing if you’re so inclined.” Oliver placed a hand on the table and spread out his fingers. When he spoke again he was looking David directly in the eye. ”Being a trainer changes you. There is a reason why things are done this way.”

Michael regained his confidence and tried to get Oliver to go into more detail, but the man wouldn’t budge. It didn’t matter to David. He had some idea what Oliver was talking about. The stronger trainers he had met had... oddities. From small behavioral quirks to something more. Something inhuman. Something powerful, something monstrous.

Training Leer with Pidgey had led him to reevaluate some of his time in the world. He'd felt similar sensations before. The Dojo in particular was memorable.

David left after giving a promise to pick Michael up later with lots to think about.

-.-

He spent the rest of the day distracted.

The training group noticed but gave him space. David gave the training matches his full attention when Pidgey and he were up and that was what mattered.

The evening patrol was the same. David may have missed some minor signs of Pokemon, but there were no gaps in the fence or obvious nests. He played catch with Pidgey and Michael after a quick tour around the grove. As usual, David spotted Oliver trailing them.

Pidgey was a little disgruntled with the game of catch – Michael was a much more active participant than David today, but gave her all to the training as usual. When the two Laurels left for the night, they started into Leer practice before moving onto Flying type energy training.

David went about it by rote at this point. Find an undisturbed patch of ground. Plant the target stick. Move behind a tree. Call the order to Pidgey. Inspect the target. Feedback for Pidgey. Repeat.

David had begun to skip ahead a few steps as the cycle continued. For the latest attempt, he'd already found the next target stick and was walking to an empty area before he even cast a glance to the previous target spot. When he did look over to try to give Pidgey some rough feedback, he had to do a double take.

David dropped the new stick and walked over. The old target had been cut to pieces, but that was nothing new. David’s attention was on the ground around the stick. Curved lines carved across the dirt, leaving dark lines in the grass and disturbing the roots of nearby trees. He stepped across the disturbed area, leaving one foot behind. From there he rotated around the area.

The widest point of damage was about a meter.

David’s eyes widened and he quickly scanned the rest of the clearing. It wasn’t the first time they’d practiced the new Move and there were other scarred patches but… The ground surrounding the latest target area was clean.

“Pidgey!”

About ten meters away from him, Pidgey perked up. She ruffled her tired wings one more time before drawing them close.

“You did it!”

Pidgey tilted her head and let out a low squawk.

“Look.” David pointed down.

With a graceful flap of her wings that barely disturbed the surrounding grass, Pidgey took to the air. She glided across to him and inspected the damage zone.

David reached down and rubbed her crest. “Incredible job Pidgey. I think we can start using this in matches.”

Pidgey puffed up and began to chirp loudly.

David laughed with joy along with her. It had been... had it been a full week since they started practicing this Move? It had, but it was finally ready to be used in a battle. Pidgey hadn’t perfected the Move yet by any measure but she could control it.

Now he just needed to come up with a name for it. ‘Now’ and ‘Wings’ wouldn’t cut it during a battle.

-.-

David tried to focus while cooking dinner, but his attention was as difficult to maintain as it had been earlier in the day. Pidgey's advancement would change everything in their battles. He needed to come up with new strategies.

But he also needed to think more about future Pokemon and-

“This isn’t what I’d cook back home if I was camping, you know.” David didn’t know where the thought came from, but he blurted it out as soon as it arrived.

Pidgey looked up at him from her berry. Her powerful eyes tracking his every movement.

“I’d cook pasta. It’s this dough-like food made from wheat and eggs.” David glanced at Pidgey and hummed. He held up the grain Oliver had given him for dinner. ”Wheat is a grain, kind of like this.”

Pidgey picked up her berry and hopped closer to him.

David smiled and gave her a pat. “You eat it with tomatoes mostly. Tomatoes are a type of fruit kind of like…”