And Still, I Climb - A Pokemon Fanfiction

Stories

### Chapter 1: Chapter 1 The Land Of Truth

CHAPTER 1 - THE LAND OF TRUTH

Life was a lot easier when I wasn't worried about getting killed every minute—not that the God in my head would agree. Three months ago, Team Galactic had nearly ended the world. Now I was in Unova, five days away from the start of the League Circuit, and stuck in a strategy meeting instead of exploring Castelia City.

"...ready for launch soon in tandem with the start of the Circuit. Grace, are you paying attention?"

I blinked and looked away from the Castelia skyline outside the conference room window. Melody Summers, my sponsorship liaison, crossed her arms and tapped her elbow with a finger.

"Sorry, I think I'm a little tired 'cause of the jetlag still." I stood up a little straighter in my chair. "Can you repeat that?"

The tall, slender woman gave me a slight smile, shaking her head. "You know what, let's take a lunch break. What should we order?"

The new Poketch office occupied half of a floor in one of the smaller towers overlooking the Castelia Loop. It was easy to miss among the banks, law firms, and investment companies that dominated the district. A modest silver sign beside the elevator was the only indication that the region's newest technology company had set up shop there. Right now, most of the floor was open space.

Even if Melody had clearly envisioned future expansion, the management team was small right now, containing only ten people excluding me. Two marketers, three software engineers, and the rest of the staff filled a handful of roles that larger companies would have entire departments for—public relations, logistics, sales, and whatever happened to land on Melody's desk that morning.

My face stared back from a dozen promotional posters scattered throughout the room. A smiling Sinnoh Conference contender in her first year! I was giddy just thinking about spreading my name through the country and for people to hear about my story.

But for now… things were admittedly boring.

"I'm down for a traditional Sinnohan meal. I'm kind of homesick," Cameron, one of the marketers media managers, said.

"And have a worse version of what we'd get at home? No thanks," Melody chimed in. "Let's just do fast food."

"I mean I'm just saying. If I get the shits, we're fucked—"

Disgusted groans erupted from the rest of the room as Melody pulled out her phone looking for an alternative, and I saw an opportunity to finally get out of here for at least thirty minutes. Obviously, I had no choice but to take it.

"I mean… traffic is pretty bad right now, right? With the big protest and all." Apparently it had erupted first because of opposition to the establishment of a permanent city between Nimbasa and Castelia in the middle of the desert on route 4, which would displace many of the Pokemon there. "I can go and buy us something on foot, I really don't mind."

"She's right," someone said, looking at a delivery app on her laptop. "Plus, the delivery fees… Arceus."

Melody gave herself a few seconds to think; I noticed the gears turning in her head, trying to figure out every single way this could go wrong. "Come on, Mel. I'll be off on my own in six days anyway." I fluttered my eyes at her knowing she'd relent. "Pretty please."

"If you leave your Pokemon here so you don't get roped into some battle—" Melody noticed the way my gaze intensified and pinched the bridge of her nose. "...fine. Keep Jellicent. You'll need him to carry everything anyway. Don't get yourself involved in anything. You know the board wants you away from anything controversial." She paused, staring into my eyes. "Remember, you're the face, and we're foreigners. We don't want to cause a fuss."

"I'm the face," I repeated with a nod. "So what do you all want?"

I noted down everyone's order on my phone, and soon enough I was on the elevator down. The moment I made it outside and into the streets of Castelia, I struggled not to giddily run around in the first alleyway I saw—

Something wriggled on my skin.

"Aw, man. I know, I know." I stretched, then shielded my eyes from the sun. "Legendaries, I'll never get used to how hot it is here. Wanna cool me down a bit, Bud?" Under my shirt, the Jellicent wrapped around my body spread a pleasant chill across my chest and shoulders. "Thanks. And don't worry, we'll just take the slow way."

Technically, I hadn't really agreed to not take a detour. Oh, I'd make it to Bouffalant Burgers eventually—not that they actually ate Bouffalant. The ghost clicked at me, squeezing gently around my upper arm and saying that he had to admit he'd been curious about Unova.

"I know, right? I don't wanna be holed up in an office all the time." I began to walk in the store's general direction to the east, gently petting the metal bracelet around my arm.

They were asleep right now, but I'd never hear the end of it if I left them out. Still, Meltan needed their rest, so I decided to wait until we reached our destination before waking them.

Castelia buzzed around me. Streams of people flowed along the sidewalks beneath towering walls of glass and steel, disappearing into department stores, office buildings, and restaurants. Digital billboards flashed advertisements several stories high while the distant blare of car horns and chatter blended into a constant hum. Everything felt bigger than Sinnoh here.

I drew many eyes walking around. It wasn't every day that Castelians saw sixteen year olds with my amount of scarring with how safe the region was for trainers. It would have bothered me once upon a time, but I gave it no mind, instead opting to talk to my sole companion.

"I wonder what the history of this place is and why it grew so big?" I thought out loud. "Maybe we could get a book to read about it together."

The Jellicent pleasantly acquiesced, though saying he'd rather have a rundown of the entire region's history before getting into the details of specific cities. He was particular about historical knowledge, wanting to devour every little thing he could about an area. Hell, he knew everything about Sinnoh by now.

"I'll add it to the to-do list."

We went from street to street, and he struggled to keep me on track. It was difficult not getting distracted by all the new sights, smells and flashing lights. I knelt down near a group of city Patrat to offer them a small treat, but would have ended up involved in some Patrat gang drama had Buddy not kept me on track. A hungry Pidove landed on my shoulder and decided to be a traveling companion for the time being; I promised I'd give her a full meal when I got some food. According to her, Pidove could eat a surprising variety of foods, given that they were adapted to city life.

Occasionally I'd see trainers battling in open-air arenas with small audiences. That one made something itch deep inside of me. I hadn't battled since my loss at the Conference and the pull was getting stronger every day. Luckily the Circuit would start soon, and it wasn't like these trainers would give me any competition. Like in Sinnoh near the start of a Circuit, they were mostly newer trainers with little experience.

I turned a corner, and a huge digital ad for the Ranger Corp. Within it, a ranger stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking a dense forest, a Braviary soaring overhead while a Stoutland and Arcanine waited at her side. Words stretched across the screen in bold letters.

BE THE DIFFERENCE. PROTECT PEOPLE. JOIN THE RANGER CORPS TODAY.

Below it, a small group of protesters had gathered, but it was nowhere near the size I'd heard was on Oceanfront Road. Tens of thousands of people marching for a united cause.

But that was none of my current business. "The restaurant should be around this street somewhere…" Buddy spotted it, and a writhing tentacle slipped out of my sleeve, making the people around me flinch. Even the Pidove nearly took flight despite knowing he was there. "Sorry! So sorry, he's harmless!" I quickly yelled before whispering in my shirt. "Don't scare people, dude!"

He let out a long, cold sigh complaining about the fact that he was being blamed. I still felt like he'd enjoyed doing that and couldn't help but smile at him. He'd always had a knack to unsettling people, but genuinely scaring was a little recent. Personally, I thought he was always cute.

"Wake up, Mimi…" while we waited to cross the street, my fingers tapped along the gold-rimmed bracelet, which slowly shivered around my wrist. "Take a look around."

Months ago, I'd made a promise to the shapeshifted Meltan. We'd see the world together, gorge upon every new sight and story while they remained innocent and at peace. They couldn't contain their excitement—they returned to their original form, eye wobbling at the new sights.

With an awed, vibrating squeal, they climbed on top of my head and pointed toward a street performer surrounded by a crowd. A trio of dancing Lillipup balanced on colored balls while their trainers juggled Pokeballs. Then toward a train thundering past overhead on the city's monorail system, sending a gust of wind down the street. Then something else, and something else, and we'd never get anything done if I listened to their every whim.

"We'll have time to get into it all very soon. I'm just as excited as you are!" I picked them off my head, placing the metallic Pokemon on my shoulder opposite of Pidove. They held onto my hair, their eye bouncing around their golden rim as the city dazzled them. "For now, we have to buy food for the Poketch team, though."

Bouffalant Burger was known for having some of the best, well, burgers in the city according to reviews. It was a small-scale restaurant that relied on a loyal customer base to compete with the big chains that were entrenched in Castelia and beyond. The logo was honestly charming and kind of funny—a Bouffalant wearing a paper fast-food hat and a bright red apron, holding a burger nearly as big as its head.

Pidove requested to wait perched on said sign. She explained that being inside buildings made her anxious.

"Very Unova-like," I mumbled as I crossed into the establishment. "In Sinnoh they'd tell you no one would ever take you seriously and scrap this."

Buddy didn't reply, which wasn't cause for too much concern. He must have been focused on something else. It was quite busy given the activity around the city lately, with nearly every seat filled up and people and Pokemon chattering away over their food. I texted Melody I'd made it and that I was waiting in line, then decided to check around the Unovan trainer forums.

The culture here was… well, not that Sinnoh didn't have its fair share of drama and flaming, but it was a lot more cutthroat. People were competing, and it showed. There were far fewer cooperative threads or advice-giving to go around, even if it was still present to some extent. The biggest ones were guides to have the best chance at ever getting sponsored by the 'big five' companies. X Technologies, Avalon, Crescent Global, the Opelucid Group, and the Obel Energy Company.

A sponsorship from these companies, and you'd have all the resources you needed and more, or at least that was the story being sold. I'd been informed otherwise long ago by…

I wondered how she was doing. Well, I hoped with a slight smile.

"Next!"

I blinked. "Wait, you're the guy in the picture!" I recognized him from when Melody looked up the restaurant; he was the owner. A little chubby, his hair tied in a bun, very clear grey eyes and a gap in his front teeth. "You're the guy who owns the place! Uh, David Thune, right?"

His lips tugged upwards. "I work here nearly every day. Gotta show up for my people. What will it be for you today?"

I listed out our orders and hoped to Arceus I hadn't messed up any.

"You don't sound like you come from 'round here," he said. "Indigo?"

"Sinnoh, actually!" I beamed, leaning against the counter. "I'm joining the Circuit this year."

"Ah, I thought it must have been Kanto-Johto with…" he glanced at the left side of my face. "Not that I mean to be rude. It's a little strange seeing a kid that's been through so much." His eyes dropped back to the touchscreen as he entered my order. "I have a daughter your age, y'know?"

"Not rude at all, I'm used to it." I shrugged, drumming my fingers against the countertop. "If it makes you feel any better, it was totally worth it."

He frowned at that for some reason. "What's your name?"

"Grace Pastel!" I truly hope he wouldn't forget. What better feeling was there to be remembered across the world? "This is Mimi." I pointed to the Meltan on my shoulder with a thumb.

"That rings a bell. I think one of my daughters is a fan of yours—ah, let's not hold up the line." He waved to one of his employees. "Jensen! Cover for me for a few minutes." He then leaned forward and whispered, "Would you mind helping me with a favor? It has to do with my daughters."

"Err, I'm in a little bit of a rush, but I can hear you out while they get my food ready."

I might not be able to help, but I wanted to make my name echo across this country too, one good deed at a time. David led me to the back of the restaurant, a damp alley that smelled of cigarettes. The noise of Castelia dulled into a distant murmur between the towering brick walls.

He crossed his arms and hesitated, as if he didn't know how to begin. "This has to stay between us."

"For sure. I'm not one to spill a secret."

Satisfied, David rubbed the back of his neck. "My daughters are involved in the protest today, and I don't want them hanging out with the wrong crowds," he said, somewhat embarrassed. "They have Plasma members in the mix trying to recruit people, you know? I don't know how familiar you are with—"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Oh, I'm very familiar," I cut him off.

"I don't like talking politics," he said, "but I don't want them radicalized by those numbnuts. Since Cat is a fan of you because you're apparently close to Pokemon or something, I figured you might have some leeway and convince her to steer clear."

"And if I convince her, her sister will follow suit?"

"They're so close you'd think they're twins." He grinned fondly with clear love for his daughters. "They do everything together. I think there's no question. And if you want, in exchange, I'll give you a month's worth of meals on the house."

"Wait, for real?"

He nodded.

"You're on!"

David showed me a picture of his daughters, who did look very alike despite the fact that there was a three-year age gap between them. They were the spitting image of their father, with his silver eyes and hair. According to him, they'd be on Liberty Pier down Gym Street, which was luckily only fifteen minutes on foot from here. I told him to keep my order to be picked up when I swung back, hopefully with his daughters, and then went on my way, hoping to find Pidove waiting for me at the entrance.

She was, however, gone. Had I taken too long for her tastes? She didn't strike me as an impatient bird, and I had a lot of experience with impatient Pokemon.

"Huh. Hope she gets to eat something tasty soon, then," I said. "Maybe she didn't like your vibe." I giggled at Buddy, who remained ever so silent "Okay, what's got you so quiet?"

He let out a series of quiet clicks and explained that he feared we were being followed by someone. Mimi trembled on my shoulder and turned back into a necklace around my neck.

My eyes narrowed. "Are you sure?" He answered that he was positive, and that he suspected Pidove was a spy. "Explain."

The cadence in my step didn't change as he told me he'd planted a piece of himself on Pidove and that the flying type had flown back to someone else. The bird had been in the midst of telling him my position before he somehow noticed the minute part of him and sent Pidove on her way before he could track him down in detail.

A deep, disappointed sigh escaped my lungs, and my ears started to buzz as a familiar warmth spread across my body. It was like stepping into old shoes.

"What'd he look like?" I asked.