Chapter 2: Ch. 2 A New Trainer
As I walked, I noticed a distinct lack of people. I wasn't really sure what it should be like, but I would have at least expected some people out here. Maybe a Trainer or two, though I guess it would make sense for there to be a certain period of time where Trainers weren't super active. Traveling for months on end can be difficult, even to the most adventurous of souls.
My head began to throb once again, getting to the point that it almost felt like it was being crushed. That was soon interrupted by the idea of death as I heard some bushes rustling nearby. I could feel my heart start beating faster as my attention honed itself on the bush. I watched intently, waiting for something to come out. It felt like an eternity full of anxiety until it all washed away as a little floating flower emerged. The orange flower moved around for a bit before I realized there was a tiny creature holding on.
Flabébé, damn that's a cute one. That can't be what's giving me these headaches, is it?
The moment my thoughts focused on it, the Pokémon flinched. It froze for half a moment and fled, practically teleporting away.
I don't think it actually learns the move, though. Wait, I could've scanned it. Nice going, dumbass.
With that flood of anxiety and wave of relief, I decided to focus on getting to Santalune City. Again. I don't remember ever being this distracted before, though that didn't say much since I could hardly remember anything. And the pressure appeared once more.
Great.
As I walked, the sun began to set rather quickly. Night began to settle in quickly as well. The sunset only lasted about 15 minutes, which I just instinctively knew was wrong. I guess that would be something I had to look up when I had a chance. The phone said… 14:38? What the fuck? 14? What kind of time system is this? Didn't 14 hours mean 2 p.m.? Why is it so dark then?
I looked around in bewilderment and could see the sky brighten artificially. That could only mean I was getting close to town. It quickly led to the pressure that had been building over the last few hours dissipating. That alone made me stop questioning the time.
Sure enough, I soon saw a rather tall wooden wall embroidered with flowers and artsy creations of different Pokémon. Most of them seemed to be Bug-types. As I got to an opening in the wall, a young woman in a black outfit with a red vest and hat called me over.
"Excuse me, are you a traveling Trainer?" she asked, her voice firm and sure.
"Uh, not exactly," I answered. Before she could respond, I continued. "I actually have a report for an Officer Jenny. I was nearly killed earlier today by two Team Flare grunts as they fought two Pyroar and their pride."
The woman's eyes widened before taking out a similar phone to the one I had. She quickly dialed a number and called for an Officer Jenny. After hanging up, the woman turned back to me. "Where did this happen?"
"Uh, I'm not quite sure," I answered, "but I'm pretty sure it was somewhere around here." As I talked, I pulled out the phone and opened the Map app. I quickly pointed out the rough location of where I had come from, the app making it easier by detailing where I made it to the official Route and using that to guess how far into the forest I had been. The woman nodded and once again called a number, informing them that she was going to investigate an incident before releasing an absolute unit of an Arcanine, the fire dog's muscles rippling with every tiny movement.
"Thank you for informing me," she said. "Officer Jenny will be here soon. I'm going to investigate now."
As soon as she finished, the Arcanine shot forward. Within seconds it was out of sight, showing just how fast the Fire-type was going. I stared dumbly in the direction she left. I wasn't sure how long I just stood there, my mind blank in wonder of the Kantonian dog, but at some point I was interrupted by a rather concerned voice.
"Are you alright there?"
I jumped in surprise as soon as they spoke, turning to see a middle-aged woman with long cerulean hair bundled into a spiky bun. While most of her hair was hidden underneath a blue cap with a golden badge in the middle of its front, two long and curly bangs hung down to frame her rather small face. Her amber eyes shone with a mix of concern and amusement, though the amusement seemed to fade out the longer I took to respond.
"Yes, sorry. Actually, no! Well, I'm okay physically but," I started to blurt before taking a few deep breaths to control myself. "I'm the one who reported the Team Flare grunts in Santalune Forest."
Officer Jenny's face grew serious instantly, though before she could say anything I continued with my explanation. "The ranger I told this to went out to investigate already. Can we go sit somewhere while I give my report? I'm exhausted from my encounter with Team Flare," I told her, which earned me a nod in confirmation.
"That's fine. We can go to the station for the report. We've got free coffee," she said. She then began to walk through the entrance, waving me down to follow her.
"Is it good coffee?" I asked, more so to avoid an awkward silence than any real interest in the coffee. It was actually something I wasn't a huge fan of.
"It's free," she replied with a smile. "We don't have the funds to drink anything more high quality than whatever the officers and building staff bring in."
"Oh, really? What's a common one brought in?" I asked, falling into step beside her.
"Hmm, that would probably be coffee beans imported from Johto or Sinnoh," she said after a few moments of thought. "I prefer Alolan or Paldean coffee myself, so I'll bring in a few bags whenever I find a good sale. What about you? Any preference?"
"Not really," I answered immediately, "I'm not much of a coffee drinker. I prefer a nice iced Chai with honey."
"You really don't drink coffee?" she asked.
"I don't. Is that surprising?" I answered with a question of my own.
"You look like coffee flows through your veins in lieu of blood," she said with a slight chuckle. I wasn't quite sure what to make of that, which fed into Officer Jenny's amusement.
"To be honest, that's probably because of what happened earlier," I said, causing her to nod seriously.
"It's a good thing we're almost at the station, then," she said while pointing down the street we just turned onto. Looking over, I saw a wide single story building, the same badge on Officer Jenny's hat found above the entrance to the station. Right next to it was a parking lot filled with mopeds with a side seat, vans, and… Harnesses?
That's for Flying-type Pokémon, right?
"Yup, for Flying-type Pokémon. It makes getting to certain parts of the forest easier," she said.
"Oh, I didn't realize I asked that out loud," I said, hoping it wouldn't become a common trait.
"Come on, let's go inside and get your report processed. I'll make sure you have some chai to calm your nerves," she said with a soft smile. So far, Officer Jenny was everything I'd expected her to be. Calm, confident, serious but friendly. What an officer should be like, especially in the Pokémon world. Though exactly why I thought that escaped me.
We walked through the building, a simple gray waiting room being the first thing to greet me. Winding through desks of secretaries and officers, we eventually made it to the back. Here, the hall split left and right, with lots of rough noise and yelling coming from the right side. Officer Jenny went left and brought me past several black tinted windows, most likely interrogation rooms. We eventually stopped by an unassuming door at the end of the hallway, one which Officer Jenny had to unlock before we walked in.
"Sorry, my office is all the way in the back. I normally don't use it because it's to just fill out a report at one of the front desks," she told me as she beckoned me to sit on one of three wooden chairs in front of her metallic desk. She sat on a leather armchair before continuing.
"This room is mostly used for confidential or sensitive topics, such as Team Flare. Now, what do you have to report?"
"Well," I started, "I was in the middle of Santalune Forest when two Team Flare grunts walked by. They were talking about some Ranger that didn't have anything on him. When they noticed me, they said they would let me go if I gave them everything I had. They seemed to be on some sort of timer, but two Pyroar and their pride attacked before anything could happen."
Officer Jenny was paying rapt attention to me, studying my face as I talked. She scribbled a few notes on a notepad that she got out of nowhere before talking. "We've only seen remnants of Team Flare after Calem and Serena helped to bring them down, but we take every sighting or incident involving them seriously," she said. "Now, my question is why were you in Santalune Forest?"
"Uh," my mind went blank for a second. I was expecting the question, but I still didn't have a proper answer. I guess I'll find out how friendly the people in this world are. I'm sure this isn't the first time someone has dealt with amnesia. "Well, to be honest, I have no idea. I can't really remember much of anything."
Officer Jenny's eyebrows furrowed, creases appearing on her otherwise perfectly smooth skin. "You don't remember?"
"No, ma'am. The only things I can remember are related to Pokémon."
"That's very concerning," she muttered to herself and grabbed a laptop from underneath the desk. She typed a few things in before asking, "What's your name?"
"I don't know."
"... Right, undiagnosed amnesia," she said. "Ok, do you mind if I take a picture of you? I can look for you in the League database by searching for a matching image."
"Go right ahead," I answered. It would have been suspicious to deny that request, though finding that I'm not in any database would also be reason for concern. "How can you be sure I'll be in the database?"
"The League has been around for a rather long time. Since being established, it has incorporated the people of any region or hidden villages that it has come into contact with," she explained. "While the League leaves villages alone for the most part, it does try to keep a record of their population. This helps the League keep track of its population. They say it helps them respond to crime and keep the regions safe.
"Though, if you ask me, it's not doing that good of a job," she said.
"Really? You'd think that such… careful… tracking of people would mean it has everything in tight control," I said. I was not expecting the League to be so… Orwellian.
Orwellian? What the hell is that?
"You'd think, but so far they have been unable to catch several criminal organizations before their evil plans began," she answered. "I mean, the League didn't stop Team Flare, Teams Magma and Aqua, the Aether Foundation, or any crime syndicate. The closest they got to being involved was in Unova when the Gym Leaders there went after Team Plasma.
"Sorry, I'm supposed to be finding you in the database and working on the report, not gossiping about my own opinions. It shouldn't take mu-."
*DING*
"Oh, there it goes. It found a profile," she said, much to my surprise.
"Let's see. Marco Pérez, Paldean citizen, 25 years of age, no known relatives, started your Pokémon journey… Today?" she said, looking as confused as I felt. She looked at me as if in search of an answer, but I was just as confused.
How the hell do I have a profile here?
"I… I don't know. Like I said, I have no recollection of anything before the forest. I woke up just as I fell onto the ground," I told her.
"Well, that's a mystery we're going to have to figure out," she said. "For now, it would be best if you went to see Nurse Joy. Her clan are the leading experts on all things medicine, so she'll have a much better idea about how to help you regain your memories. If anything comes up, I'll be giving you a visit.
"You've already come into contact with Team Flare and wild Pokémon, without a single Pokémon to protect. Stay out of trouble and hopefully you'll figure out what happened to you quickly."
I nodded in response. I was already planning on not dying soon, so her telling me to stay out of trouble was something I could easily follow. Though, I had the nagging feeling that I wouldn't be able to do that if I wanted to find out what happened to me.
"Before you leave, let's finish your report," she said in a tone that gave no room for anything other than compliance.
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