Once Rarity changed to a human and was convinced to dress -She didn’t want to get into her travel-worn clothes, until I pointed out that she had to wear something or risk getting us thrown out- we went down to the main lobby, and inquired about showers and bathrooms. The Nurse pointedly mentions repeatedly that the showers are not unisex, and I have to stifle the urge to just shout that I’m not trying to do anything with Rarity.
“Trust me Joy, I don’t have that sort of interest in her or my other companion. If I did, things would be much different.”
“For one, he wouldn’t be allowed to be so uncouth all the time.” Rarity says, apparently a little ruffled by the very obvious and degrading viewpoint Joy was expressing. Man, I wish it was like in the games, and she only made vague comments about wanting my pokémon to get hurt.
After we each had our showers, we head up to our room and grab Twilight. I mention the mansion in the forest Amy told me about. “I think I’d like to check it out after we are all done here. What do you think? Wanna see a haunted house for real?”
The girls don’t look nearly as enthusiastic as I sound. “A h-haunted house?” Rarity stammers out, looking honestly horrified by the thought. “As in, with ghosts?”
Twilight gets ready to say something, probably along the lines of ‘ghosts aren’t real’, before holding for a moment. “Actually... I remember reading that there’s a ‘ghost’ type. They’re supposed to be really powerful, and one of the only types to be able to effectively fight off strong psychic types.”
“And Normal types and Fighting types.” I add. “But really, what’s the problem? You can face down a dragon, and you can’t handle a few undead spirits, coming to life from the spirits of dead people and pokémon? Afraid they’ll take your soul and make you one of th- ow!” My yelp is from Twilight striking me across the back of the head with a rolled-up magazine.
“Okay, okay, only a few ghost types can do that. Still though, most of them are considered not entirely alive.”
Both poneis shudder at this thought, though Twilight at least looks confident. “We’ll see if we pass by it. First, though, weren’t we going to the Primal reserve to try getting Rarity her Breeder’s certification?”
“After we get some food, a few sleeping bags, and some better equipment. And some coffee, unless you two can manage without it.”
Both of the ponies look more fear-stricken by the thought of no coffee than of the haunted mansion, and immediately begin poking at their éTechs to search for places to buy supplies. Heh, I’ve already made them more modern-savvy than myself.
“Next thing you know, you’ll get a driver’s license.” It’s at that moment I realize I haven’t seen a car around. I recall that not every region has them, but I feel sure we’d come across one eventually, or at least some motorcyclists.
As if to answer my unasked question, we turned a corner along the way, and saw a bike shop, with two signs marking ‘Sports Bike! 9,000,000
!’ and ‘All-Terrain Bike! 9,000,000!’ side-by-side, the two bikes looking equally snazzy but somewhat different. The sports bike has a gold-and-green Electrike pattern to it, while the ATB has a blue-and-white Jumpluff pattern. Nice designs on each, and they do look different enough.
Way out of our price range though, even if we wanted only one. We continue on and start looking for places to buy adventuring supplies. I do not want to sleep on the ground without a bag or something. I also have the feeling Rarity’s very tired of it as well.
Finally finding ourselves outside of a small shop made of wood, we look inside and see that the windows are completely blocked with camping supplies and their prices. We head inside, and see a nice, slightly elderly lady tending the counter.
“Hello, young’uns. You got damaged sleeping bags, or deciding to trade up to hammock-bags? I keep sayin’ they’re the wave of the future.” she gives a good-natured cackle.
“Actually, we’re lacking anything of the sort. Hammock-bags or just some normal sleeping-bags will do, though hammocks might be harder to set up, unless you’re in a forest.”
“Oh, I’ve got ya covered, kiddo. Leavanny, get out here! We got some customers to size.” the woman calls towards the back of the store, drawing curious and confused looks from my companions. Myself, however? Getting home-crafted warm-wear from a Leavanny is like getting dresses from Rarity: I may not like the style, but damn if they aren’t the best at what they do. The bug- and grass-type strides out from the back of the store, a pair of glasses perched comically on its ‘nose’. “They’re gettin’ hammock bags, with stands!”
I start to remind her I’d only wanted normal sleeping bags when the Leavanny leaps into motion, drawing a fabric ruler from... somewhere. I’m actually not sure where from, exactly, but the mantis-like pokémon begins measuring each of us in quick succession, and I can feel the wind brush my neck, shoulders, arms, legs and groin as the bladed arms skim by barely high enough not to cut me. within seconds, the Leavanny is cutting a series of numbers into a piece of bark and retreating back into the back room.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, and Twilight does the same. Rarity looks... A bit scary, to tell the truth. She turns just a little towards me, and whispers, “I must have one.” Oh ye gods, what have I created?
“Well, you need to get a Sewaddle, one of those teeny yellow crawly guys from the forest. They turn into Leavanny after a while.”
“Really? I’ll have to make an effort to add one to my team then. That... she was so graceful!” Rarity sounds star-struck, and from a pretty normal tailor-pokémon. Wait, how did she know the Leavanny is a girl in that time?
“Some pokémon are when they evolve.” And some are not, I think. “Heh, just wait until Tepig evolves. I guarantee a big change.”
Twilight looks keenly interested, and I look to the shop owner, just as the woman starts trying to pitch some more sales my way. I have the distinct feeling she doesn’t get many customers.
“Sorry ma’am, we really don’t need that much. But if you have some waterproof matches that might be useful.”
“Ooh, yes, I’ve got those. Get ‘em shipped in from Slateport every now and then. They’re pretty cheap for me, too, so they’re cheap for you. 25 for a box of a hunnerd an’ fifty.”
“Yeah, alright that’ll do. I guess we’ll pay for them when we pay for the hammocks too. How long until they’re-” I turn towards the door, just in time to see Leavanny step out, a set of beautifully made hammocks on the backs of her scythes. Ha, narrative causality! I’ve outwitted you this time!
The three of us get shown how to roll them up -wrap them with the rods in the middle and tuck the netting over it- and how to get the rods put together into a stand. The whole thing is very well-made, the rods being made of some kind of rolled metal, with white elastic banding in the middles like tent-poles so they can be folded yet sturdy.
I take my hammock-bag and the box of matches and hand her our second-to-last bit. “I have a feeling this will cover it. Sorry, but I don’t think we have enough in local currency at the moment.”
“Oh, that’s too much! I can’t take all this from you. Where did you even get a gold coin like that?”
“Just a little place you’ve never heard of. Well, if you really can’t, then...” I take the pouch of money I have and hand it to her. “We only got this as change, not sure how much is in there.”
“Well, that’ll be enough. I’ll send a letter along to the other shops in the guild. If you ever need to spend that coin, they’ll give ya a better deal than the League-sponsored ‘marts. Just look for the guild-symbol.” she gestures at a logo hanging on a sign over the counter. the logo looks something like a Torterra and a Pokéball mixed into one, with the top half of the pokéball being the Torterra’s shell, and the head replacing the button. There’s a bundle of boxes on the pokémon’s back.
“A Torterra will walk for weeks without complainin’ with a heavy load. They’re premier pack-pokémon. Great for merchants who want a berry bush or two while they’re travellin’.” She smiles proudly, and I get the impression she knows from experience.
“Yup. Thanks for the tip lady. And the hammocks.” We leave the shop with a wave and place our gear in our bags. Next on the list is food and healing items. “So once we get all our supplies, I need to head back to the Center and pick up Geodude, then we head for the reserve. Sound like a plan?” The girls nod, and we head for the PokéMart, and pick up some more supplies with my winnings earlier from Amy. It’s only barely enough for the basics, but we’ll want to save our money to get food. I do feel a bit safer knowing I have an Antidote and a Burn Heal on me though.
The next place we stop is a food place, and I see that they’ve got a Guild logo. After some quick chatter, I tentatively offer up the golden bit, leaving us with one left. however, the owner of the place calmly states he’ll open a tab for me, and takes down our trainer IDs, saying he’ll send them to the other guild locations to use the remainder of the value there.
After I enjoy the once-scarce food-group known as ‘meat’ with the other two just getting salads at my suggestion, we are satisfied. I figure they should try meat at some point, but that should be handled a bit more delicately and not making them order a burger on the spur of the moment.
A few travel-rations and a short walk to the Pokécenter later, we’re ready to head off, and we head down the road towards the Reserve. I kinda wonder what’s up with the so-called Primal Reserve? Most places in the pokémon world have some gimmick or another, but I can’t think of what it could be for someplace called ‘the Primal Reserve’ and populated solely by pokémon Breeders. Perhaps they’re rather violent, yet endangered species? Eh, we’ll soon see I guess.