I place Bronze down and continue walking with him padding along beside me. A Pidgey springs out of the grass, hopping towards us with frightening speed.
"Bronze, use Tackle!"
Bronze obediently tackles the Pidgey, holding it's wings down to launch a series of punches. When he finally gets up, the Pidgey lies there, unconscious.
"Darn, Bronze. You're scary." I say, nuzzling him under the chin.
"Yeah, guess I am." he murmurs.
"You talk?!"
"Yes. You're the first one to hear me, but yes, I do! Is that okay?"
"OKAY?" I laugh, "It's awesome!"
"Well, all Pokemon talk. You just can't hear them, most of the time. A lot of gifted trainers can hear Pokemon. It's probably a genetic thing."
"How come I couldn't hear them before, then?"
"Maybe it's a time-based thing? You just turned twelve, right?"
"Maybe." I contemplate. "Let's get the freaking package so we can start out on our journey."
"Sounds good to me." Bronze says with a smile. I direct him as he pounds Pidgeys, retaliates against Ratatas, and smashes Sentrets.
He turns on another Sentret with a devilish grin and hits it with a blast of tiny embers.
"Oooh, Ember. Good job, buddy."
Bronze smiles, tired.
"We should get you healed, shouldn't we?" Then, I remember I don't have a Trainer ID yet. "Stupid Professor Elm."
"It's okay, I'll be fine." Bronze reassures me.
We get into Cherrygrove and some old man comes up to me, wheezing. "Hello, youngster, need a quick look around?"
"No, I'll be..." But he's got my arm and he's off.
"This here is a Pokemon Center, this is a Poke Mart."
Oh my gosh I know all of this please shut up right now. Please. I think to myself as I try to tune him out while prying my arm from his grip of steel.
Bronze watches in amusement. Help me, I mouth.
The man finally stops at a obscure, tiny house. "Here, these are for you. Shoes." He takes the shoes of his feet and gives them to me.
"Thank you... I guess." He's already long gone.
I sell the shoes for enough to buy a Potion to heal Bronze. Thank Arceus the people at the Poke Mart don't ask any questions.
I also manage to scrounge up some extra money to buy the two of us lunch at a nice cafe overlooking the lake nearby.
With that, I head out of Cherrygrove. Bronze continues burning wildlife, almost setting a tree on fire.
I hold him comfortably in my arms when we get to the house. I knock on the door, and no one answers. It seems like it might be empty until I hear laughing.
"WHO THE HECK IS IT?"
"I'm here for the package?"
"OH YOU DID IT! HA!"
"I TOLD YOU I'D DO IT, YOU SON OF A NINETAILS!"
Two men scramble to answer the door. They both hold a can of beer in one hand. I back away slowly. "Oh. I'm very, very sorry. Have this." says one, who I recognize as Professor Oak. He hands me an egg. "It's a very special egg."
They both burst out laughing again.
I stuff it in my bag, and run away confused.
"Old men are scary." Bronze says as I run, cradling him in my arms.
"Yes, yes they are. Now let's make it on back to New Bark. If we run, we'll make it there before sundown."
