A Brilliant Diamond Story

Chapter 2: Stone Age Rampage

Nightmares, as it turns out! Just about everyone in the city was blabbing on about the Poketch. Poketch...Pokemon...watch. That...That didn't...you know what, moving on. Everyone I spoke to, "Do you have a Poketch? You should get a Poketch! What's a Trainer without his Poketch! Get one! Get one right now!" I felt like I was The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals (look it up), like this Poketch was actually some kind of mind-control device that had taken over the city. And then, the actual President of the company caught me in the street, and you'll never guess what he said. "How do you not have a Poketch? Well, lucky for you, I run the ad campaign for the Poketchs, and we can get you one right away!"

Fine, fine, if it got everyone off my back. What did I have to do, Oh Insistent and Insane President?

"Find three clowns!"

...Pardon?

Yes, I had to hunt down three clowns through the entirety of the city, and answer their questions. This entire city was now radiating a terrifying aura as I hunted the streets for clowns like I was a defunct Batman and solve their questions that were easier than counting to five on your fingers. Whatever. I was happy to finally just have my "Poketch" and get these people off my back. So, I went to the Trainer School, beat up some kindergarteners for the training, and just ran from that town as fast as I could.

Except not so fast! Barry was waiting for me on the path, and he wanted to throw the hands, or the balls, or what have you. So, I sent out Beav, and he "beav" the crap out of his team easier than the kindergartners back in the school. So, dumping his unconscious body in a trash can, we set out for Oreburgh City, catching Zippy the Shinx and a Geodude I named The Boulder along the way...only not for long, because while we were grinding XP, The Boulder was one-shot by a Machop before I could switch him out of the fight.

The team's first death. It hurt unexpectedly, to lose someone so quickly. They really amped up the health bar speeds, huh? Here and gone before I could even blink. I buried him in the cave where I found him. I'm sorry, Boulder. But we'll lay Oreburgh to waste for you.

Thankfully, the Oreburgh Mine gave me Click the Zubat, who knew Absorb rather than Leech Life. Oh, the Pokemon and Trainers in that mine knew the wrath of an angry Trainer that day. We cut down the population of that hole in the ground far enough to get the environmentalists on my back, but it didn't matter. I made sure the team leveled up enough to take on the gym, with Flock and Zippy evolving into Staravia and Luxio respectively in the process. After that, I decided that it was time, and we went to face our first Gym Leader, Roarke.

Gym #1: Roarke

Type: Rock

I had been slightly nervous going into this Gym, being our first one after all, but Leaf beat this place like it owed him money. His Razor Leaf cut through every Pokemon in the Gym like a lawnmower from Hell, and let me tell you, the throttle was tied down.

Roarke's Gym trainers were fodder, and his Pokemon hardly stood a chance. His Geodude was one-shot, cut clean in half by Leaf's grass-filled rampage. His Onix held on longer, since it had Sturdy, and he healed it, but that didn't stop Leaf; he just didn't care. And finally, his Cranidos, whom I had heard was a monster in its own right. This thing put up a fight, but in the end, it was no match for Leaf and his leaves.

We had just carved our way through Oreburgh, and the first Gym badge was ours.

After that, it was a quick trip north, to Route 207, where I got about five steps in before I found out I needed a bike to keep going that way.

Fine, then, not that way, then.

So, now we were going back through Jubilife, sprinting through that definitely-cursed place and trying not to make eye contact with anybody before we pressed on further, Beav evolving into Bibarel and Leaf evolving into Grotle along the way, until we arrived in Floaroma Town.

Now, Floaroma Town has something brand new for these remakes, apparently. There's an old couple in the corner of the town, and apparently, if you talk to the old man while your Switch has saved data for Pokemon Sword or Shield on its memory card, he gives you something special.

"What does he give you?" I hear you ask. "I just got this game, I wanna know what he gives you!"

I certainly didn't know. Hell, I didn't even know he gave you anything until I talked to him, and he handed me Jirachi.

Yes.

Jirachi.

The legendary Pokemon, Jirachi.

I almost choked on my drink when I saw. That was...certainly a surprise. So, I named it Wish, and into the box it went for now, like the Pokemon Doom Slayer: may it never know rest, and may I never need it, because that is a dangerous weapon to hand someone.

But with that, I saddled up again, and continued, finding the Valley Windworks.

And that's where I met Team Galactic.