- Vagabond - Male Reader x Pokémon

Chapter 5: Ember

Before him had to be hundreds of the red and white balls. What was their purpose exactly, he wasn't sure. He could make a pretty good guess though. "So, these hold the Pokémon?" [Y/N] asked, lightly tapping the top of the nearest ball. It was sleek, but sturdy, definitely well made in its craftsmanship. They weren't massive, just about able to sit comfortably in the middle of his palm. "You know it. These are some of the most recent iterations, they are everywhere..." Mina turned towards him, holding the Toxicroak's Poké ball in one hand. "When a wild Pokémon is weakened in combat, a trainer can hurl one of these at it. If the Pokémon doesn't resist then the capsule will seal, containing them within."

"Isn't that a little..." He tried to phrase his words in a way as to not offend the researcher. "Inhumane?" Mina chuckled, moving past him towards the lengthy rows. "Don't worry. The insides of a Poké ball aren't so bad. It's meant to imitate a safe, friendly environment for them to relax in while they are tired or out of combat." [Y/N] still didn't really find her explanation all that comforting. "Some people just have their Pokémon walk about with them all the time though, if that's more your style. It just depends on how well they are trained, and if they listen to their trainers."

He looked at the small trio playing about on the floor. They had found some assorted piece of cloth, and were vehemently fighting for dominance. Turtwig on one end held his own, the fabric clamped tightly within its jaws. On the other end Piplup and Chimchar were pulling with all their might, but they were slowly losing ground to their grass counterpart. Their antics were fun to watch, but the thought of locking them inside tiny cages felt wrong. Maybe it was just a problem he felt, that this wider society believed wasn't such a massive issue. If he were to have his own Pokémon then there wasn't any way he would keep them contained for extended periods of time.

Though, he stopped himself at that last thought. If he were to have his own Pokémon... Where had that come from? Yeah, admittedly they were all pretty adorable, but he wasn't intending on taking one for himself. He barely had any idea as to who he himself even was, never mind raising a wild animal. It would be kind of cool to have his own little penguin, monkey, or even a turtle... His thoughts were starting to fight against one another.

"Pip?" Asked the small water type, standing at the base of his shoes. It looked up at him with wide eyes, its head slightly askew, tilted towards one side. It was a funny look, and it quickly pulled him out of his thoughts. "Pip." [Y/N] repeated aloud, picking up the small penguin, to its excitement. "It's strange." Mina said. He turned towards her. "Strange?" She nodded, finished with her duties. "There are so many people who mistreat Pokémon. It's gotten really bad in the last year especially, with organised gangs and such..."

She gave him a small smirk. "It's nice to see someone who didn't even know what a Pokémon was a few hours ago treat them with respect." [Y/N] earned a red tint to his face, slightly embarrassed by the older woman's comment. "Well.. You know..." He didn't have much time to finish his comment, the very building around them shaking. Turtwig and Chimchar looked around frantically, latching onto his legs for protection. Piplup didn't look much better, hiding in between his arms. He himself looked around frantically, concern plastering his face. Were earthquakes a common occurrence in this place, just another hazard he would have to live with?

Yet, Mina didn't look as fazed, leaving the room without much of a response. "What was that?!" [Y/N] asked the researcher nervously. She giggled. "That's probably just Cynthia training with her Gible. Dragon types are notoriously powerful, even for first stage evolutions. You should go watch, but be careful. They don't have much control when they're young..." Memories of the small shark dragon gnawing at the bottom of his leg flooded back into his mind. That demon thing could shake an entire building?! He struck a deadpan expression, realising how dead he could have been because Cynthia refused to put her little pet on a leash