- Vagabond - Male Reader x Pokémon

Chapter 13: A Brave Warrior

[The Next Morning, Route 202]

[Y/N] got up that morning with one goal in mind. He wanted to catch his first Pokémon.

He already had three Pokémon, but that didn't stop his hunger to personally snag one himself. Part of the supplies he had been given included not only the starter's Poké Balls, but also five empty capsules for him to use on his journey. It wasn't a lot however it would suffice for now. As a trainer, building up a strong team was one of his first prerogatives, varied enough to combat any potential threat that he came across.

And, despite Piplup, Chimchar, and Turtwig being quite strong for any new trainer, there was something that none of them could do...

And that was fly.

No, rather his entire team was locked to the ground. The fire-type could scale trees and buildings well enough, but he needed something that could soar high above the competition, something that would be much harder to hit. [Y/N] came to the conclusion that, while maintaining a distant fight was easy in concept, if both Pokémon were landlocked then it didn't matter much either way. Piplup could fire as many beams as she wanted, but there wasn't any real way that she could totally avoid conflict.

A flying-type would make a good substitute, agile and mobile in the air, able to make quick, hard hitting attacks, and evade without receiving any punishment. Against a ground-type it still wouldn't have been very effective, and the same could've been said for electric- and ice-types. Just like every Pokémon they all had different strengths and weaknesses. Fortunately, flying-types didn't seem to be that rare, rather he had come across massive flocks of Starly all along the way since leaving Sandgem Town...

It was the early hours of the morning when he unzipped his tent door open, trudging out and greeting the rising sun, showering the land in its golden glow. He let out a yawn and stretched his arms, the desire to sleep slowly overpowering him, but he resisted its devious temptations. If he was going to be the best then he needed to train morning till evening, a break wasn't time he could afford to lose now. The fire pit sat, blackened and ashy, with the remnants of last night's meal strewn about. He tidied up the place, not wanting to leave it in a worse condition than when they'd arrived. Most importantly, nothing stirred from Cynthia's tent, she was still fast asleep, and probably down for another few hours.

He was slightly hesitant leaving her alone while she slept, what if something were to happen when he was away? However he quickly ignored the worry, knowing that Cynthia wouldn't give up without a fight, and with Gible at her side there weren't many who could overpower the duo.

Either way, it meant he could go about catching a Starly using only his wits, and his team. If he was lucky he'd be back before she even woke up, and with a new addition to his party. And, if he wasn't successful than there wouldn't be anyone else who know.

He pulled on his jacket and woke himself up properly, assembling all his items for travel in preparation for their departure. There was no excuse for being unprepared. And, with all that done, from his belt, the three used Pokémon Balls exploded with light revealing the starters, each of them just as tired as he was. [Y/N] put a finger to his mouth. "Don't speak too loudly until we leave." He warned them, earning a few weary nods.

"You all remember the promise, right? Training starts today." [Y/N] said, slinging his rucksack over his shoulder, both Piplup and Turtwig peeking out from its open top, Chimchar atop his shoulder. "We're going to be the strongest, never forget that." And the three of them wandered off into the forest, without a real direction, just simply meandering about, skulking past the enormous trees and heavy underbrush.

The ground was certainly filled with Pokémon. They spied a fair few different sorts, but nothing that filled [Y/N]'s requirements. No wings, no beaks, no feathers. Then he had an idea, pulling out the Pokédex. The device snapped open and he began sifting through the vault of information. "Char?" The small fire-type asked. "I'm cheating." He answered, trying to find Starly's entry in the database. "There might be some information that I can find to help us."