Chapter One - Part Two

Ditch

She'd never been to a pokemon center before. Sam had been right, the bright red pokeball symbol and bold letters announcing P.C. on its front were impossible to miss. The glass doors slid themselves open smoothly as soon as she came near. Inside it was cool and noisy, a wide room with pale yellow floorboards and bright red walls hanging with colorful pictures of pokemon all over. Cozy couches and armchairs were available on either side of it, separated by an aisle leading up to the crisp white counter on the back, behind which bustling nurses in white uniforms smiled polite greetings and took pokeballs for treatment.

The lobby was packed full of trainers, lounging on couches with their noses buried in training magazines, huddled in clusters around the large pokevision screens, lining up for calls in the videophone booth, chattering brightly to other trainers in voices so loud everything became one big wall of noise. Pokemon were everywhere, of all kinds and types and sizes, as trainers proudly showed them off to their peers, comparing specimens and arranging battles.

Suddenly a munchlax's thundering burp broke across the din. Every single head turned - for a moment she could hear a pin drop. Then laughter surged loud and everywhere at once; even the nurses grinned. The munchlax's trainer sunk into his seat, his ears very red.

Feeling a little lost, Jane walked over to counter and waited, awkwardly. She couldn't tell where the line began or ended, and there were so many people crowded around the counter, she wasn't sure how to catch the eye of a nurse. Looking around, a red sign jumped out to her. It spelled out ''EMERGENCY HEALING'' in bold black letters, and as she moved towards it there wasn't any queue. Jane frowned, considering. Grubbin had a cracked shell, a deep wound on its side and fainted over a cereal bar that wasn't (to her best knowledge) toxic. It certainly would have been classed an emergency, had it been human, but maybe pokemon were different. Still, she thought she'd try.

''Excuse me,'' Jane leaned over the counter, drumming her fingers on it nervously.

A nurse looked up at her, eyes sharpening. Unlike the other nurses, she didn't smile. ''How may I help you?''

She held out the pokeball. ''I... Um. Grubbin was wounded, bleeding. Cracked shell. And it fainted. I'm not sure... It's wild caught. Today.''

The nurse simply nodded. ''You may wait in the lobby. I'll update you shortly,'' she said, taking the pokeball off her and vanishing behind the white door. Jane stared after her, waiting. And waiting. It felt like forever, and she was too restless to sit. She waited some more.

Time dragged like nails on a chalkboard. She looked at her dad's watch despondently. It'd been forty-two minutes. Waiting, there was nothing to do, except stare at the others in the lobby - but that was rude - and think about what life would be like after she set off.

The nurse came out quietly, serious and quick. Jane glanced away, her stomach twisting unpleasantly.

''Your grubbin is stable,'' the nurse said, like stable wasn't really a good thing, only bearable. ''She's expected to recover.''

''Um... okay,'' said Jane. Questions bubbled in her throat - why did Grubbin faint? was it my cereal bar? did she wake up? - but she didn't want to annoy the nurse. She only looked at her expectantly.

The nurse got out a chart and began listing things off, her lips turning down with every word. ''Around two months old. Severely underweight, undersized for her age, occipital shell fractures consistent with indents of trumbeak attacks, stomach germs, various lacerations, near fatal amounts of spinarak poison found in her system - fatal amounts, truly, for her weight. I'm... surprised she survived that.''

"Was it why she fainted?"

''Partly, yes, though head trauma and hunger played a hand.''

That sounded horrible, Jane thought. She'd learned in school about food chains; grubbin were prey favored by trumbeak and gumshoos. But she had never thought things could be so brutal. ''That's... Are forests really that harsh? Is that common?''

''Yes and no. Most don't leave the nest until they're mature enough to protect themselves,'' said the nurse. Jane frowned, thinking. Her confusion must have shown on her face, because the woman gave a sigh. ''Grubbin, especially young grubbin, are known to live near electric types for protection against bird predators. Charjabug mothers in particular are notouriously fierce and quick to shock any who approach their offspring. If your grubbin wandered the forest alone, unable to find food for herself, and constantly harassed by trumbeak, likely she lost her mother too young.''

A cold feeling sank into the pit of her stomach. Jane swallowed. For months after Dad had been gone, she half expected him to show up any day, to take her back from her mother's house. It hadn't really sunk in she'd never see him again until his face began to fade in her memories. Had Grubbin gone looking for her mother? It was hard to be forced to grow up; she couldn't imagine if she'd been alone in a forest, starving. ''When - how did Grubbin lose her?''

''Who knows? Either caught or killed,'' said the nurse dispassionately, ticking things off her chart. ''Any questions? She'll be ready to go in three or four hours, though I'd recommend keeping her from anything too strenuous for the next few days.''

''Um, I... what should I... are grubbin very fierce creatures? Should I keep her in her pokeball? Do you think she might get violent?''

The nurse raised her eyebrows. ''How long have you been a trainer for?''

Jane looked down, flushing. ''I start in six days. I'm turning ten.''

''I see. We could have her cleared for battle in six days, maybe. It's doable, but she'll need additional care. Bring her here every day at noon and ask for Genevieve Joy - that's me, by the way,'' she scribbled down on her chart. ''As for your concerns, grubbin are generally pacific creatures. They live in burrows on the ground, feeding mostly on tree sap and berries. However, their mandibles are quite developed and bite down if threatened or hungry.''

''Um, they aren't really strong, right?'' She glanced up hopefully.

''Strong enough to take off a few fingers, if you're not careful. And after they learn crunch - there's been reported cases of people who lost arms.''

Jane blanched. ''Ah... that's...''

''As her trainer, it's your responsibility to train her to bite and release things on command,'' continued Nurse Genevieve calmly, uncaring of her discomfort. ''Keeping her well fed and exercised is your best bet to curb any aggressive instincts.''

''How - how do I do that?''

The nurse gave her a long measuring look, then sighed. ''Twice a day, take her to a tree for feeding, supplement diet with berries. Light exercise is recommended. Leave her out the pokeball for no more than forty minutes at a time, preferrably in an open space so she can burrow and unburrow - if you encounter any wild pokemon, recall her, we don't want her getting into fights just yet. And don't forget to bring her for her daily checkups over the next week, we can address any difficulties you may have then.''

Overwhelmed, she could only nod. Nurse Genevieve made Jane recite the instructions back at her, to make sure she got everything. Then she vanished behind the white door again, and Jane was back to waiting.

She was so absorbed in thought she wouldn't have noticed someone come up after her, if not for the stench. The boy was covered in mud. His shirt was torn at the sleeve and his head dripped a trail of blood from his hairline to his cheek. Jane's eyes widened, and she couldn't look away quick enough that he caught her staring. His face was serious, but young, he couldn't have been more than three years older.

''Hey, are you in queue?''

''I - The nurse already saw me,'' she muttered, stepping away to let him through. ''You... are you alright?''

''Yeah, my garchomp's really banged up though. Think we punched bit above our weight. Good battle, though.''

''Oh... Will it be alright?''

''Yep,'' he said with complete, unmovable confidence. ''She's tough.''

''Were you, um, doing a trial?'' If the trials left you looking like that, she didn't know what awaited her. She'd thought captains were supposed to be humane with newbies.

He shook his head, to her relief. ''Nah, I was trying my hand at catching the tapu.''

''But that's stupid,'' said Jane, flushing when she realized she'd called him stupid to his face. ''The tapu is the god of the island, he's really strong.''

''I'm strong too,'' he said with a slow smile, unflappable, ''semi-finalist in the Sinnoh Conference, Simon Newell, yours truly.'' He gave a small bow.

Oh. ''But it's still,'' stupid, she didn't say, ''the tapu does lots of things for the island, you can't just take him from the people. If a foreigner -''

''Foreigner? You don't sound like a native yourself, you know.''

''Moved here two years ago. I know a bit about the culture. Trust me, you don't wanna go around saying you wanna catch the tapu. People'll be - just don't.''

He raised his hands placatingly. ''Alright, I guess.''

They went quiet for a while. Jane looked at him out of the corner of her eye. ''But you still wanna try?''

''Sure do,'' Simon said, smiling, ''just need more pokemon.''

She hovered nervously by the kitchen door, wringing her shirt. ''Mother,'' she ventured, ''could I please borrow your oven mitts?''

''Are you going to ruin them?''

A pause. ''...Yes,'' she said honestly.

Mother arched her eyebrows at her. ''You're not doing a very good job selling the deal, Jane.''

She shrugged, flushing.

''They're in the bottom left drawer.''

''Thanks,'' she said, snatching them quickly. They were very thick and too large for her hands, colored the most hideous shade of neon orange she'd ever seen. They were perfect.

The first time she let Grubbin out she did not know what to expect. It was in the yard, opposite to her, and she especially dragged several plant vases and chairs to act as a barrier between them. In hindsight, she'd been expecting too much. Grubbin merely scuttled around curiously for quite a while, without paying her much mind. She did not approach her until Fang came out, fast and snarling.

''I know, I'm scared of him too,'' she'd whispered to her, smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring way, as the little bug scuttled behind her legs to hide from the lycanroc. Jane took out her pokeball and recalled her quickly. It was made clear by the nurse anything bad that happened was her responsibility, and she didn't trust Fang, or Sam to contain him, as far as she could throw them. So she'd had to be selective and make sure to only let Grubbin out when it was safe, while still having her get enough exercise and -

She let her out again, in the city park, where they ran about looking for palm trees for the insect to feed on – and Grubbin was picky. There were trees she'd completely refuse to even touch, others it was nigh impossible to pry her off from. Jane tried to remember which ones she liked best. She'd bring a book with her and read as the bug played in the dirt, constantly interrupted to make sure she didn't go off too far and didn't bother any other people or their pokemon. Grubbin also had to be taken to the pokemon center once a day, where Nurse Genevieve would sternly appraise her, pronounce her much improved and lecture Jane on her many responsibilities as a trainer.

Owning a pokemon was a great deal of work, she'd found. She couldn't understand how the kids at school thought it was fun and exciting, like a toy. Nothing remotely exciting had happened yet, which she was thankful for, but it was nerve-wracking sometimes to wonder if she was doing things right, if Grubbin liked her well enough. She couldn't help herself from twitching nervously everytime the bug's jaws flexed, and she'd had this one nightmare where Grubbin was ten feet tall and wanted to eat her, though come morning the little insect was skittering around as tiny and harmless as ever. Still, the troubling notion stayed with her - if Grubbin bit anything or anyone, Nurse Genevieve had warned, she'd have to pay damages. Sam would be sending her little, if any, money after she left. Jane was expected to win battles to earn her keep, and as she had never battled and fully expected to lose horribly, she couldn't afford any damages.

Which brought her to this moment. She'd climbed more trees to pick berries these past three days than she had her whole life. Now she carried a sack heavy with them and, scouting out a secluded spot in the park, plopped it down beside herself as she sat cross-legged on the grass. ''Grubbin,'' she called.

''Bin?'' She unburrowed and tilted her head at Jane, as if to say we're going back already?

''We,'' Jane announced brightly, ''are going to play a game.''

''Gru,'' she said, waiting. ''Bin bin gru?''

Breathing in, Jane slid on the hideous orange oven mitts, flexing her hands clumsily to get used to the weight of them. Then, slowly, she stretched out one hand in front of Grubbin's face. ''Vice grip,'' she said, trying to not to flinch when the jaws latched on to her wrist. Opening the bag, she held a berry out on the other hand. ''Release.''

Grubbin blinked at her. Jane counted backwards to five and tried not to scream. She shook the berry a little to call her attention to it. ''R-release.''

Slowly, Grubbin loosened her hold, mouth clicking. Jane all but tossed her the persim berry, pressing a hand to her chest as she leaned back, relieved. The game went on in much the same way. She'd hold out a hand, command her to vice grip, and then get her to release in exchange for a berry.

She was met with indifferent results half the time, because often Grubbin would simply refuse to pincer her hand, rolling around as if bored. As she held out an oran berry in her right hand, dangling her left hand in front of her, Grubbin just nuzzled it. ''Are you not hungry anymore?'' Jane wondered. She tried for a while, to no avail. Frustrated, she tossed the berry back in the bag and decided to take a break.

After dozing off a little, she snatched a berry and held out her hand. Grubbin clamped down on it. Jane narrowed her eyes at the pokemon, who blinked innocently back at her. What had changed, that made her suddenly compliant? Was it her posture, her tone of voice? Hadn't she been firm enough? A pattern of sorts began to form, but she dismissed it. Grubbin couldn't possibly be doing it on purpose.

Fifteen minutes later, there were no persim berries left and the orans were getting her nowhere fast. Jane reeled as realization struck. Grubbin had been playing her - she'd broken down the rules of the game, understood what she could get from it, and shrewdly conditioned her compliance to the offer of her favorite berries.

Jane gaped at her. She'd always known pokemon were intelligent creatures with dangerous powers, but she'd never realized they could have - well - personality.

''I think,'' she said thoughtfully, ''I'll call you-'' She stilled. It seemed important for some reason. Permanent. She wouldn't be able to change it. Many good names crossed her mind, Nina, Hadley, Viola, Heather, Emilia, but she held out for the perfect one. Nothing seemed brilliant enough, and she gave up. ''Maribel. I had a doll called Maribel when I was little,'' she shrugged, uninspired.

Maribel burrowed playfully into the dirt, tittering a laugh.

Her tenth birthday dawned cold and gray. Mother helped her pack and saw her off at the door, looking her over with sad dry eyes. ''Stay on the route, Jane. Don't go off the trail. You have a map and a flare gun, so if anything happens-''

''I know,'' said Jane, nodding. She slid quietly out the door. When she looked back, it'd already closed after her.

With a sigh, she moved slowly, looking around at Hau'oli with new eyes - this early, everything was quiet and still, and very few people crossed her path. Only a lone magikarp salesman accosted her near the docks. Jane simply smiled, apologetic, without stopping to hear him. She said goodbye to the city in her head, nearing the exit. Like every new trainer, she was expected to move to Iki Town, which was the biggest training hub in Melemele Island, to get her feet wet on some battles. After she'd gotten some practice and levelled her pokemon enough, it would be time to challenge the Trial Captains, Ilima and Hau. Jane shook her head, refusing to think of her impending failure. The success rates for new trainers were not encouraging - one in three.

The route was quiet and green. She walked slowly, kicking pebbles here and there, as she kept an eye out for the north exit. That was the one that led to Iki Town, she knew. Hopefully there'd be a sign, but she kept her map in hand just in case. She was halfway through the dusty trail, frowning up at the grey clouds overhead, when she heard a voice.

''Alola,'' it called, ''is there anyone out there.''

Blinking, Jane froze. She stepped back, faltering.

''Alola!''

Looking around, she saw nobody. Only trees, and a lone ledyba buzzing by.

Tentatively, she called out. ''Alola?''

''What?''

''I said alola.''

''Who are you?''

Jane blinked. ''...Well, I should be asking you that.''

''Speak up!''

She floundered. ''Who are you? Come out. Show yourself!''

''Can't. Listen, I'm sort of stuck. Can't you come here?''

''Wh-what? Where are you?''

''In a ditch.''

A pause. ''Excuse me?''

''It's not a very nice ditch. Wouldn't recommend it.''

''But why are you there?''

''Oh, that's a story. See, this nasty little pikipek tried stealing my lunch. I jumped on the stupid thing and snatched it back - and I could totally take him - but then a whole bunch of them showed up, like, the whole family, and they gathered round me and I was like come at me, and they all started beating their wings and whoosh, and I fell down over here. I think I busted my ankle on the way down.''

''Do you need help?''

''Course not.''

Jane frowned. ''But you said you twisted your ankle?''

''That? Pfft. It's only a flesh wound. I got it all under control.''

''Alright,'' she said slowly, starting to move on.

''W-wait,'' cried the voice, sounding flustered, ''listen, can't you come here? I mean, not that I need to be rescued or anything, but just... you know, if you held out a branch or anything, I wouldn't mind. I mean, it's just being a decent person, right? Anybody would do it. You seem like a nice kid.''

''But you said you didn't...'' she mumbled, baffled.

The voice went on. ''Look, I got some money on me. What you want, ten bucks? How about five?''

Jane was too confused to speak.

''Damn, you drive a hard bargain. Twenty poké and a free coupon to - OW! OW! Shit.''

Panic fluttered in her stomach. Eyes wide, Jane looked around frantically, trying to discern which way the sound came from. ''Are you okay?''

''Just fine,'' yelled the voice, sounding anything but. ''I'm - Ouch! Damn little - ow. I CAN'T -'' It cut off suddenly, silenced.

Heart leaping up to her throat, Jane made the first mistake in what would be a series of unfortunate events.

She went off the trail, running.

NEXT UP: In which Jane gets into trouble.

A question for the readers - can you give me your worst (or best) case scenario for Jane running after the voice in the ditch? I've already got something planned out, but I'm really curious to see your guesses.

lola18375: It's not so much Fang's particularly savage (though as a midnight lycanroc, he kinda is), but also that Sam's been hunting with him (to kill) since he was a pup.

kazikamikaze24: thank you!

ayee: grubbin are actually bug types, but they evolve into electric, hehe.