The building was very wide, almost two city-blocks, and about five stories tall. It looked like a large wooden cabin, like those found in the mountains. It seemed to be made from some sort of dark pine, with many windows spread throughout the upper floors. A large bouquet could be seen through the top window. The entrance had two statues, both of a Masquerain. Above the entrance, a large PokéLeague logo, which was just a Poké Ball, was proudly displayed. I guess I had found the gym.
I walked into the gym. The outside had a nice forest cabin vibe, but the inside was a bug's paradise. Little pools of water all over, large leafy trees of various kinds, bushes and trees of several types of berries, and, in one corner, a frozen tree. The frozen tree had a few white bugs, but the rest of the room had a wide variety of Bug Pokémon.
"Hello there!" a shrill voice came out from somewhere in the back. I looked around, trying to find the source. "Up here!" the voice rang out again.
I looked up into the trees. There was some movement, though I was having trouble finding the source of the words. Suddenly, a figure jumped out of a tree. The figure, a rather lanky man dressed in a leaf-patterned jumpsuit, crashed onto the floor. He momentarily slumped into the divot he created on the floor, though he quickly jumped up onto his feet.
"Whew, that was a rough landin'. Sorry about that," the man said in the same shrill voice. "It's been a while since our last challenge. Are ya' here to sign up for the Gym Challenge against Viola?"
"Uhhh, no. I just wanted to see what it looked like inside. This is a nice entrance for the Bug-type Gym," I said.
"Oh, thank you!" the man said. "Viola was adamant about having a natural space for the Pokémon here in the Gym. It helps that they give us some of their resources, like honey and wax, in exchange. That's how we're able to keep the Gym Challenge in top condition."
'Gym Challenge? Does he mean the puzzles and obstacles in place for each Gym?'
"Umm, what do you mean by Gym Challenge?" I asked.
The man smiled weirdly before saying, "Well, I can't tell you if you haven't scheduled a Gym Challenge. But I can say each Gym has its own challenge to ensure that only quality Trainers battle against the Gym Leaders.
"If you're not here to schedule or complete a Gym Challenge, I'll have to ask you to leave. The Pokémon don't like having their space disturbed for too long."
With that, I was promptly kicked out by the man and a Beedrill that zoomed out from a nearby tree. As soon as I got out, I reached up to pat Inkay and found him missing. "You've gotta be kidding me. Where the hell are you?"
I looked around the Gym entrance, hoping he hadn't snuck off inside. Inkay was excitedly looking at everything during our stroll.
I heard a familiar chirp from around the corner and walked over to see him in a stare-off with a dirty Furfrou. "Yo, Inkay! What are you doing?" I shouted out and surprised both Pokémon.
"Iiik?" he questioned while pointing at the Gym, completely ignoring my question.
"I was checking out the Gym. The Gym Leader is a Bug-type specialist, so we'll have to be careful if we decide to challenge her. What are you doing?"
Inkay glared back at the Furfrou before floating over to me. "In, Ink. Kay, Kin Inkay!" he exclaimed, though I wasn't quite sure what he meant.
"Ruf! Fro Furf Fruf!" the mangy dog barked out. The dog's eyes never left Inkay as he moved towards me. He let out a deep growl and crouched down, as if getting ready to pounce.
"Frumfrey, what are you doing?!" an older woman ran up to the dog, who now tried to make itself as small as possible. After inspecting his neck, I saw the Furfrou had a diamond-studded collar and a gold dog tag. I guess this was its owner.
"And just what are you doing attacking my little Frumfrey?" she turned to me with a glare.
"Umm, your Furfrou was ready to pounce on my Inkay here without any provocation."
"Well, he was probably just defending himself from some no-good thugs like you two," she declared before turning back to the dirty dog and cuddling with him. "Isn't that right, my little Frumfrey? You would never attack anyone."
In response, the damn dog whimpered out while giving us a sneaky smirk. Ah, so that's their relationship. "If Frumfrey here is such a good and obedient Pokémon, why was he out roaming on his own? Furthermore, why is he so dirty?" I asked.
The woman froze before looking all over her Pokémon. "Your coat!" she cried out. "How could it get so dirty and disgusting? It was beautiful this morning!"
She then turned to me with an evil look in her eyes. "You! You dirtied my poor, handsome Frumfrey! How dare you?!"
"Listen, lady," I said, "that mutt was dirty before I even got near it. And he was alone. Why was he alone if he's so precious to you?"
"Mutt?!" she shouted, with both her and Furfrou having stunned looks that swiftly changed to furious righteousness. "Frumfrey, Tackle!"
Oh, shit. "Inkay, Hypnosis!"
As the dog shot forward, Inkay mustered several rings of pink Psychic energy and slammed them into Frumfrey. He immediately fell asleep and crashed down, sliding under Inkay. I know there's something special about Furfrou, maybe a move or special ability, but I couldn't quite remember.
"Inkay, Peck at him now that he's slumped!" I said loudly, earning a horrified look from the woman. After four Pecks, which looked like they did next to nothing, the woman took out a Poké Ball and returned him.
"My poor Frumfrey. I'll make sure these crooks get what they deserve," she said. Before she could take a step toward us, however, an old man shouted out. As he slowly shuffled across the street toward us, the woman visibly shrank into herself.
'That's… odd.'
Once he was close enough, the old man swatted the woman across the back of her head. "Yer causin' trouble fer teh Trainers still, little one?" he said, giving her a glare that intimidated me as well. "Git back ter teh house, ye little rascal."
"But dad! They we-," the woman tried to 'explain' herself, but the man didn't give her an opportunity.
"I seh back ter teh house wit ye!" he yelled.
The old man and his… Adult brat, I guess? They were both gone quickly after that, leaving me confused. I looked over to Inkay and said, "What the fuck?"
Inkay shrugged his tentacles, all eight of them. "The fuck you mean you don't know? You were the one that dirty Furfrou was trying to scrap with."
"Ink."
"You cephalopodic shit, you probably got him dirty, didn't you?"
Inkay's response was a gargle-like chuckle, giving me my answer.
"Whatever, let's get back to the Center," I said, earning a chirp in response as Inkay returned to his post on my head. As we walked, I passed by the PokéMart. While most Centers had a shop that allowed Trainers to get the basics and essentials for their journeys, they wouldn't be able to find anything specific or of high quality unless they went to a Mart.
I checked my League Profile, which had all the information I needed at a glance. Number of badges, Pokémon I currently had on duty, my League ranking, my standing with the League, the money in my bank account, it was all there. I was very surprised to learn the system automatically created my bank account with my profile. I was even more shocked to see a deposit of 3,000$ as a 'New Trainer Bonus' from the League.
I currently had 5,460$ for myself, at least when I added the 900$ from the Team Flare grunt and the money I made from doing errands. I was extremely grateful that Nurse Joy was still comping my stay for the tests and all that. Which meant that, for now, I had some money to spend. I walked toward the Mart, which confused Inkay.
"Ik?"
"We're going to check out the store. Maybe I'll get us something nice," I said. I walked through the automatic doors to… What was essentially a convenience store. I mean, sure, they had all sorts of things like Technical Machines, which the signs specified could only be used once, and specialty Poké Balls like Sport Balls and Love Balls. The overall layout of the shop was just so… underwhelming and boring. It felt like I was walking into a gas station and trying to pick out what snack I wanted.
I browsed the aisles, mostly just looking around to see what was there. Walking by the Water-type section, Inkay perked up and cried out. He floated toward a large box with several contraptions in and out of it. It was basically a giant puzzle box.
"Inkay!" he chirped excitedly.
"You want one of those?" I asked, quickly receiving a nod in response. "Alright, let's see the price tag on that… 3,000$! Fucking Christ, that's half of everything I've got."
Inkay immediately deflated, taking a long look before slowly coming back to me. Ah, shit.
"But I guess I don't have any bills to pay. Fuck it, let's grab the thing."
"Inkay!" he shouted out, nuzzling into my head a little too forcefully. I reached up to rub his head, right between two of the luminescent spots. He leaned into it with a happy chirp before deciding it was enough and biting my finger.
"Ow, you little shit. You could at least say something before biting."
I grabbed one of the deconstructed puzzle boxes and continued to look around. Nurse Joy said I didn't need to worry about buying food for Inkay yet since I could get food from the canteen. That would probably change once I set off on my own. I probably also didn't have to worry about supplements and all that, mostly because I didn't have the money for it.
As I shopped around, I saw a section dedicated to Pokémon eggs. Seeing a live incubator, which was basically just a glass tube with mechanical ends, I was reminded that I still had an egg.
'Shit, how am I going to explain the egg? I haven't done anything that would even come close to a reasonable explanation.'
Seeing the incubator on sale for only 300$, I quickly took my phone out and did a quick PokéNet search. My sleuthing gave me the perfect explanation: some shops, including one here in Santalune City, sold eggs for an average of 1000$. The price depended on the egg's species. If the species was unknown, the eggs were often sold at a discounted price to ensure the shop didn't end up with an unwanted Pokémon.
The 900$ I looted from that grunt would definitely be used. I could just say I used the cash I hadn't deposited yet as payment. With that, I bought myself an incubator. I also bought a week's worth of baby Pokémon milk for 2000$, which left me with 160$. Fuck, that was a lot in one go. I tried to put it in my fanny pack, but the Incubator and package wouldn't go in. Well, guess it's time to see if Nurse Joy notices I have an egg.
I walked through the city in a jolly mood despite my now nearly empty bank account. I walked through the PokéCenter doors with Inkay on my head, a large package in my left hand, my right hand holding a convenient handle attached to the incubator, and a smile on my face.
"Well, looks like you finally made it back! I thought you got lo-," Nurse Joy started before looking at the incubator.
"I almost did get lost! But I'm glad I'm back. Hope you had a calm day," I said with a nod, walking slightly faster for the elevator.
"Now, hold on! Why do you have an inc-."
"No time to talk, Nurse Joy. I'm really tired from my walk and plan to take a nice, long nap," I said, practically rushing for the elevator. I pressed the button and hopped into the elevator as soon as the doors opened, pushing the 'Close Doors' button just as Nurse Joy hurried over.
"Marco! Where the hell did you -," she yelled out, a very annoyed and furious expression plastered on her face. Yeah, she noticed.
"Have a good evening, Nurse Joy," I waved with my right hand, which still held the incubator, as the doors closed.
"Inkay!" my floating squid cheerily peeped out with a wave. Nurse Joy's glare turned absolutely monstrous with that.
I'm in trouble.