Failure to Communicate: Chapter 2

Green. Green and blue. I love these colors. I love spring and summer. I love green grass, green leaves, blue skies, and blue water. I love the welcome heat of the sun pouring down on me. Spring is a new start for the world, and for me.

Around the time the Ijō began showing up, the league changed the rule for trainers to qualify. Now, one has to either be fifteen years old or have the written recommendation of a league certified professor to begin a journey proper. My fifteenth birthday was three days ago. Professor Rowan stopped by with three gifts: a Pokédex, a Pokémon of my choosing between Piplup, Turtwig, and Chimchar, and a Pokétch with a special function: phone capabilities. He asked me to keep that part secret from others for a while. I don’t know why he wants to keep it secret but he’s the professor so I’m sure he has his reasons.

I stand at the edge of Lake Verity taking in the mid-day scenery one more time. I won’t be coming back for a while. I set my duffle bag down to double check and make sure I’m not forgetting anything. Camping supplies, potions, Pokéballs, umbrella, winter clothes for when I head up to Snowpoint, extra cash, food for my Pokémon, and myself. Okay. I have all the supplies I’ll need for now. Time to-

“Soool…” I hear a noise from the forest behind me and quite a bit of rustling. I turn and see a sun shaped Pokémon, a Solrock. “Rooooock.” I pull out my Pokédex.

“Solrock. The Meteorite Pokémon. Status: Pure. Its source of power is sunlight. It is said to be able to read emotions, and gives off intense heat while rotating its body.”
“I thought they were native to Hoenn.” I press a button on the ‘Dex.

“While mostly native to Hoenn’s Meteor Falls, it has been found at the lakes around the Sinnoh region.”

Okay then. First wild Pokémon battle is against a Hoenn Pokémon. Alright, I’m game. I pull out my Pokéball. “GO, TWIGGY!”

“Turtwig!” Okay, think fast. Its type is… SHOOT! I forget! Okay, I remember it’s at least part rock type. Twiggy doesn’t have any offensive grass moves yet, so all he can use is Tackle. Even if he did, it might be part fire type, judging by that entry, so I should watch out for Ember.

“Twiggy! Tackle!”

“TURTWIG!” Twiggy rams into the Solrock as hard as he can, but it doesn’t seem to do much. Yup, part rock. It could also be part psychic. Could be a problem if it knows any psychic moves. Just keep a close watch on the battle. You can do this.

“Twiggy! Tackle again!”

“TWIG!” Again, doesn’t have much effect, but I’m not giving up yet. Having a Solrock on my team would be awesome.

“Sooooool…” The Solrock starts spinning and charges at Twiggy.

“Twiggy, use Withdraw!” Twiggy quickly retreats into his shell. It’s a bit weak, but the Solrock IS generating some heat to try to boost its attack power a bit. BAM! The Solrock’s hit connects, and it retreats a bit. Twiggy comes back out, but it seems the tackle did a number on him. The battle area is sunny, so this should do the trick. “Twiggy! Synthesis!”

“Turtwig!” Twiggy starts glowing yellow as he draws in the power of sunlight to heal himself. Of course, the Pokédex says that sunlight is what’s powering the Solrock too. If I can get it into the shade, that might help a little. I look around. There’s a fair-sized section of shadow on the left. Turtwig finishes glowing. “Twig.”

“Twiggy! Draw it into the shade over there!”

“Twig!” Twiggy strafes and charges straight at the Solrock and grasps its bottom spike, trying to pull it as hard as he can. The Solrock is resisting, but Twiggy’s making progress. Soon the Solrock is in the shade.

“Tackle!”

“TWIG!” One more blow knocks the Solrock into a tree. Let’s give it a shot. I pull out an empty Pokéball.

“Pokéball, go!” I chuck it at the Solrock as hard as I can, and the ball hits the target. A red glow envelops the Solrock as it’s brought into the ball. Whirwhirwhirwhirwhir. The button blinks red for a few seconds…and stops! “YES! WE CAUGHT IT!” Twiggy grabs the ball and brings it over. I rub his head. “Good job, Twiggy!”

He drops the ball. “Turtwig!”

I pick it up. A Solrock. The first one I actually caught. I’m a trainer. I need to do my best to BE the best. The VERY best. “Come on, Twiggy. Time to start our journey.”

“Turtwig!”

“I’m surprised you’re still here. I figured you’d have been gone three days ago.” A familiar voice says to me. I look over at the entrance path and see an old “friend” who calls himself Boxer. He has spiky black hair, and a scar across his face from an ill-advised encounter with a Starly. “I would have. I still have a few more days, though, and then I’m out of here forever. No looking back.”

“I was just taking in the lakeside scenery one more time.”

“Sure.” He says.

“So what’s up? You gonna miss your girlfriend once she leaves?” I say, teasing him.

“You’re not my girlfriend.” He says grumpily.

“What happened to us, Nate?” I ask.

“Boxer.”

“Why do you want to be called that? It’s a name you'd give one of the Hitmons. We used to be friends, but you’ve turned into a real jerk.” He says nothing. “Is it the Starly thing? Or what happened with your dad?”

“Got a message from Professor Rowan. He told me to tell you to stop by his lab once you get to Sandgem.”

“Thanks for the message.” I walk by and pause to put my hand on his shoulder. “Look, I know I’ve said this a million times already but, you can talk to me. Just call a Pokémon Center… This isn’t goodbye. I’m sure we’ll see each other on the road. Come on, Twiggy.”

“Turtwig!”

As I walk across the route to Sandgem, I hold Solrock’s ball in my hand, trying to think of a good nickname for it. Twiggy’s waddling along happily, riding high on his first victory. The path there is surprisingly uneventful, given the usual amount of Bidoof and Bibarel in the area, but whatever. By the time I reach Sandgem, I decide to call it “Nova” like a supernova. I locate the lab and enter. Such advanced tech all over the place. I wonder where he made the modifications to my Pokétch.

“Faye! Good, you’re here.” One of the Professor’s assistants comes up to me.
“Where’s Professor Rowan?”

“He went over to Jubilife, but he left this for you.” He hands me a Pokéball. “He said you’ll understand once you open it up.”

I take it, open it up, and out comes…

“Beldum.” A Beldum? I pull out the Pokédex.

“Beldum. The Iron Ball Pokémon. Status: Pure. Beldum use electromagnetic waves to communicate with each other and to levitate.”

“Beldum.” It floats up to me, holding a letter in its claws.

“Thanks.”

It reads as follows:
“Dear Faye,
My name is Melissa. I am a trainer from the Hoenn region, and a friend of Professor Rowan. I wish to give you this Beldum, that I have named Wes, as a token of trust. Whether or not you believe me is up to you, but I hope you do. Take care of Wes and good luck on your journey.”

The Hoenn region? I thought they’d gone off the map. And what’s all this stuff about trust?

“Beldum.”