Pokemon: Tactician’s Triumph

Letting out a shuddering breath, Caelan approached the counter where Linda was waiting. She stood with a professional smile that eased his nerves a tad.

"Hello again Caelan. I'll just get straight to the point. Congratulations–you passed the Trainer Exam."

Caelan gave a small nod, his expression remaining calm but with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. "Thank you," he said simply, accepting the results.

"It's clear you've put in a lot of effort. Most kids who try the exam directly take at least a few tries before nearly acing it like you did." Linda's smile widened slightly. "This is an important step forward, you know."

'Believe me, I know.' Caelan gave a brief, appreciative nod in response. "I'll keep that in mind. Is there anything I should know about being an official trainer now?"

Linda nodded, clearly pleased with his response. "As an official trainer, you'll have access to several valuable resources."

She continued, "First, you'll have access to the F-Grade Trainer Association Archive. It's a comprehensive database where you'll be able to find detailed information on how to teach F-Grade Pokémon moves like Absorb or Mud Slap. To access this information, you'll need to earn contribution points."

Caelan opened his mouth to ask about the contribution points, but Linda cut him off with a knowing look. "Wondering how to get those points?" She saw his nod and continued, "While higher-ups can grant you some, most people earn them through the mission board."

Linda's expression remained encouraging. "The mission board is straightforward. People commission the association with problems that can only be solved by trainers, and you complete the job. Upon completion, you'll gain practical experience, along with money and contribution points."

"Finally," she added, "you'll receive an official trainer account on BattleNET. If you're not familiar, it's a forum website moderated by the association that tracks trainers and their Pokémon. It's a great place to connect with other trainers, share strategies, and stay updated on the latest developments."

With that, she exaggeratedly began to pant, as if she'd just spoken for hours on end. Caelan smirked, jokingly giving her a small golf clap.

Linda chuckled, catching her breath. "Thanks for that. I was starting to feel like I was giving a lecture."

A moment later, Caelan's smirk faded into a thoughtful line as he absorbed the information. "Thank you for the comprehensive explanation, Linda. I'll make sure to utilize these resources as efficiently as possible."

Linda huffed. "You're welcome. Though if you're really thankful, I'd appreciate it if you weren't so needlessly formal. I'm not the boss of you, kid, I'm just a receptionist."

"I-" Caelan blinked at the unexpected comment. He hadn't realized he was speaking so formally. "That's just how I talk, I guess."

She raised an eyebrow. "You 'guess'?"

"Yeah," Caelan looked down, his identity being a bit of a sore spot. "I'm fairly certain this is just how I talk."

"Hm," Linda rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress a small smile. "Well, whatever. Not like you're hurting anybody by talking like a robot. Come on, follow me."

Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked away from the front desk. Caelan followed, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Wait, where are we going?" he called after her.

She glanced back with an amused eyebrow raised. "Where else? You need to take a picture for your license."

"Oh, right." Caelan nodded, glancing down at his ragged attire. He sighed inwardly. 'I was so wrapped up in becoming a Pokémon trainer I forgot to take care of myself. One of the so-called best trainers in history wearing what amounts to garbage.'

But his thoughts quickly shifted. 'As if it matters. I'm just the trainer. My Pokémon will be the real stars.'

---

Walking through the streets with a Pokémon on his shoulder just felt right. The second he left the association building, Rattata had popped out of her Pokéball and settled herself comfortably on his shoulder.

Glancing down at his new license card, his mood soared as he smirked. The card displayed his new name, Caelan Voss, along with his Trainer ID number, membership rank, birthdate, and his face.

It wasn't the most flattering picture—his silver hair covered half of his tanned face. Luckily, his hair wasn't long enough to reach his back yet, but he had to put it into a ponytail so it wouldn't hang at shoulder length.

Flipping the card around his fingers and watching the light reflect off of it, he thought, 'With this little thing, we'll never have to scavenge for food again.'

Even though he had less than fifty bucks left after becoming a trainer, he could earn much more by doing missions later. The higher his rank in the association, the more dangerous the missions would become, and thus the more money he'd get.

He'd checked the mission board before leaving and noticed that a Youngster-Tier mission often involved gathering herbs favored by wild Pokémon or clearing out a small infestation of Pokémon in the city. The latter was rarer but typically more lucrative.

But seeing as how both usually had a payout of more than fifty Pokédollars per mission, he didn't feel bad about deciding to splurge the rest of his money on food. 'Later,' he thought. 'At the moment, I need to head to the Pokémon Center.'

As he was walking, he watched as Rattata narrowed her eyes or tilted her head at anything that got too close. Sometimes she'd stare at a trainer with a particularly large Pokémon beside them, not taking her eyes off them for a second.

She clearly wasn't interested in being social at all, tensing up when another Pokémon got too close.

Even if the reason she was so protective was sad, her seriously scouting the safe part of the city was still cute.

He couldn't help but reach up and scratch under her chin as they walked through the automatic doors of the Pokémon Center. She tried to hide it, but the way her tail was wagging like a dog meant she definitely enjoyed the attention.

Caelan had no idea what she was thinking, but he got the feeling she was embarrassed for some reason.

The interior of the Pokémon Center was identical to what he remembered from the games, though significantly larger. For such a small building, the inside reminded him of a mall—though maybe it just looked like that because he wasn't used to thinking of the Pokémon Center as a three-floor building.

Caelan ignored most of this in favor of focusing on the woman behind the counter. 

The classic loops weren't in her hair, replaced instead by long flowing hair that reached her back. Her piercing blue eyes were slightly distorted by the red circle glasses, but there was no distorting her appearance.

There was no denying it—it was Nurse Joy, busily typing away at her computer.

When he approached, she took a second to tear her eyes away from the monitor to greet him with a warm smile. "Sorry about that. It's been a busy morning," she began. "Welcome to the Pokémon Center. How can I help you?"

Linda had explained one more thing to him after they took his picture. If he wanted to participate in gym battles, he couldn't just become a trainer and show up; he had to register for the league season.

Every year, the major regions held something called the Champion's Festival. During this festival, a tournament gathered everyone who earned eight gym badges during the league season. The winner of the tournament would get a huge haul of prizes, including millions of Pokédollars. They'd also get the chance to challenge one of the Elite Four for their spot, but he wasn't too interested in that. Meanwhile, any of the Elite Four could challenge the Champion at this time to take his or her spot.

It was more similar to the anime than the games, which he actually liked. He didn't want responsibility over the region, but he did want power and recognition for his feats.

"No problem. I was just wondering if I could register for the league season."

She blinked. "It's a few weeks into the season already, but I don't see why not. May I please see your Trainer License?"

He nodded, handing over the license to her. Caelan watched as her smile quickly became a frown, but she schooled it back into a thin line when she handed it back. 'Wonder what that's about? Is it because I'm a Youngster Trainer?' he wondered.

She clicked a few things on her keyboard before squinting at her monitor with a frown. "Eager, huh?" he heard her mutter under her breath as she clicked her glasses.

Caelan didn't say anything, a bit weirded out by how her mood changed on a dime.

After a bit more clicking, she spoke up. "This is your only Pokémon, correct?" He nodded as she gestured to Rattata. "May I please see her Pokéball?"

"Sure…" He reluctantly reached into his pocket and handed it to her.

She stared at it for a bit with a disappointed look in her eyes, then sighed heavily. "One moment, please."

Instead of going anywhere, she reached down behind the desk somewhere he couldn't see, bringing out a behemoth of a machine. It had nodes and dials all over it that he didn't understand, but there were two spots on the top—one that perfectly fit his Pokéball when Nurse Joy placed it there.

The other spot held what looked like a brand new Pokéball.

He watched as she tweaked the dials before clicking a button on the side. The machine hummed, glass covering the two Pokéballs she placed in it. Lightning crackled inside, flickering between the glass and the Pokéballs before redirecting back to the machine itself.

Slowly, the machine began to die down, humming a low rumble before settling into silence.

When it did, Nurse Joy pressed a button, and the glass opened up. "There, your Rattata's new Pokéball," she said, gesturing to the pristine ball with a small smile. "The Pokéball you had was faulty and would've malfunctioned soon. This one will be far more comfortable and is already registered with the league."

Caelan hesitated before reaching for the ball. "Oh, uh, thanks—"

The moment his skin touched the ball, he flinched. A sensation he was quite used to suddenly vanished, shocking him to his core.

Rattata clearly felt it too. She went from calmly observing to tensed up in a second, every muscle in her body locking up. They both looked at each other, then at the ball, confused.

Something between them was now missing.

He'd taken it for granted, but it was gone now, even if he didn't know exactly what that feeling was.

Then it hit him.

He stared at Rattata for a solid minute, concentrating. Nurse Joy said something to him, but he wasn't listening. He couldn't find it, no matter how hard he tried.

"I—" He swallowed, trying not to panic. He turned, taking the new Pokéball and his license with him. "I have to go."

The connection between him and Rattata was gone.