Heart of Steel [Pokémon Fanfiction]

06| Accidental Rivalry

Petalburg City was much smaller than Rustboro. If it weren't for the amount of people, I would have mistaken the city for a town. Instead of huge stone buildings that seemed to scrape the sky with their height, the buildings in Petalburg were no more than four stories high, all made from a mixture of cobblestone and wood. And in place of the asphalt roads crowded with crosswalks and quick-moving cars, there were wide stone pathways with strolling people and the occasional biker. Although it was a dramatic change from Rustboro, it was a nice one.

The first place I stopped at was Petalburg's Pokémon Center. Meteor had to be healed after battling those strangers' Pokémon. Luckily, it wasn't very far from Route 104's entrance and I found it within minutes.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center, how may I help you?" the nurse asked, her actions mirroring the nurse in Rustboro's. Her voice even had a similar cadence.

"Could you heal my Beldum, please?" I handed Meteor's Poké Ball to her. As I did so, I noticed a set of finger-shaped dark bruises ringing my wrist. I quickly glanced at my other wrist and saw more bruises, though they weren't as pronounced. The nurse saw them as well and looked concerned.

"What happened?" she asked. Before I could respond, she grabbed my arm, making sure to not to touch the bruises. "It looks like someone was holding you quite hard. Tell me what happened."

Unlike what happened with the nurse in Rustboro, I couldn't get away with lying again. I gave her a shortened version of the events that took place in the forest, this time mentioning the collars.

"Shady businesspeople controlling puppet-like Pokémon?" She let go of my arm and looked at me with disbelief. I didn't blame her, my story sounded pretty fantastical, laughable even.

"That was what happened, I'm telling you the truth," I said, giving her the most earnest look I could. After a moment, she nodded.

"I'll contact the local police and give them your story. It'll be anonymous, so they won't try to find you, okay?" She handed Meteor's ball off to a Blissey. "It'll take a minute or two for your Pokémon to heal, so you'll have to wait."

"Okay, thank you." I stepped away from the counter, a group of young Trainers taking my place a second later. As I watched them hand off their Poké Balls I realized that they were no older than the kid I had encountered earlier. I suddenly felt a little self-conscious. All of these Trainers were younger than me. It made sense, though. In Hoenn, kids had to be at least twelve before they could start their journeys. I had "started" later, and as a result I was older than them but with just as much experience.

Not for long, I thought, glancing at the badge pinned to my shirt. After all, wasn't a Trainer's strength measured by their badges? Even with what just happened, I could still prove I was strong.

"Excuse me." The nurse waved me over. I shoved my way past the kids and over to the counter again. "Thank you for your patience, and here is your Pokémon. We hope to see you again!" She handed Meteor's ball to me and went back to tending to the other Pokémon. I thanked her, though she most likely didn't hear me, and left the Center.