Chapter Text

People ask me why I didn’t stay in Johto.

Or why I didn’t at least start in Saffron City. After all, they said, it has one of the best trainer schools in Kanto. We sill have friends there! You can come back and visit us easier!

I don’t think they understood that if I was going to do this, I was going to do this right.

If I was going to become a trainer, to try and become the best and make sure the best sticks around, I would have to go to the best place to start as a trainer possible. I’d have to go to the definitive Pokemon Professor.

So that’s how I ended up in the Pokemon Trainer Academy in Pallet Town.

Seth dropped his pen as the lights clicked off. Sighing, he scooted the simple chair out from behind the desk and ran a hand through his messy black hair. “Oh come on, again?” he muttered. Shuffling over to the light switch, he gave it a flick. Then another one. And a third one.

Nothing. Not even a hum.

Sticking his hands in his pockets, he slouched his way to the front door of the small dorm. A few of the other teenagers were grumbling as he passed their doors. This was the third time today the power had seemingly gone out to a section of the dorms, and so far no one had done a thing.

He grumbled as he pulled open the door. There had to be something outside that was causing it. Maybe he could find out if there was a line down or… Well, he wasn’t sure what he could do, but he could at least look. It was better than doing nothing again.

His eyes narrowed slightly as the bright sunlight hit him. He raised a hand to shade his eyes and almost gagged. There was a thick smell of ozone the second he walked outside.

Yeah, something was wrong.

Shaking his head, he pushed onwards. Was a line snapped? That would cause the smell. Or…

Jumping off the porch, he heard splinters cracking under his feet.

“What?” he muttered. There was a hole the wood porch. “What made you…” he asked. Dropping to his hands and knees, he carefully moved the broken wood out of the way and started to look underneath the porch. There was something moving under there but he couldn’t tell what.

He pushed himself back up and knocked the grass off of his cargo pants before he ran inside to grab a flashlight. Running back out, he clicked it on and peered under the porch.

“Pika!”

“Woah!” Seth backed up instinctively. A wild pikachu was sitting there, a tangle of wires in front of it. It peered back at him, dropping the wire from it’s hands.

“Were… were you eating the electricity out of the wires?” Seth muttered aloud. He had heard of that happening, but back in Goldenrod, he’d never actually seen it happen. He would have to make a note of this.

The pikachu made a sound that did not sound friendly. Quickly, Seth realized he had the flashlight glaring into it’s eyes. “Oh! Oh sorry little guy…” Seth turned the light off with an embarrassed laugh. That seemed to please the pikachu, at least a little. It still looked like he was peering down at him however.

“I can’t just leave you under here… hm…” He couldn’t grab the electric mouse. That’s how you get hurt. Especially if the pokemon was trying to snack on live electricity.

Seth’s eyes widened. Grinning, he unscrewed the top of the flashlight and pulled out the batteries and held them out for the pikachu. “Come here little guy…”

The pikachu peered at him for a few moments before nodding. Scooting close to Seth, the pokemon quickly grabbed one of the batteries and smelled it. Seemingly satisfied, it started to nom on it, making a satisfied noise.

“There’s more where that is out here little guy!” Seth said, pushing himself out from under the porch. The pikachu tilted its head, curious. Seth held out the other battery.

The pokemon stared at it, before running out from under the porch and grabbing it as well. It looked up at Seth and seemed to grin at him. It’s ears twitched, before it dropped the batteries and started to make a break for the nearby tall grass.

“Hey wait!”

Behind him, he heard the clank of the maintenance man and his cart. Sighing, Seth jumped back on the porch. Better if he didn’t have to explain this one.