- Vagabond - Male Reader x Pokémon

Chapter 17: Send In the Clowns

[Y/N] remembered Rowan's face in his mind. It wasn't simply about being the greatest. He was given a mission, and he made a promise, to save Sinnoh from the ills plaguing it. That hadn't changed, and he was still just as committed to that, just as he was the day of the laboratory raid. It was his world view that had shifted...

To become the greatest, he would need to first get to grips with his own position first. He couldn't shift his problems onto Cynthia, or Rowan, or anyone else, that was the important thing. Being the greatest wasn't simply a role, it had to be a mentality. He couldn't become the greatest without believing in it first. And, as he was right now, the greatest wasn't what he saw in himself, the worst maybe.

There was still a mountain he had to conquer in his mind, a battle that needed to be won to prove that he wasn't some useless kid who got picked for no reason. A mistaken choice. Wasted potential. To be the best he had to cast all those ideas away for good. It wasn't an easy task by any margin...

He kicked a can forward without intending too and the metal rattled against the ground, skipping away from him. It stole his attention away, and brought him back to the real world. And, it was in that moment when he realised how long he had been gone for. It was pitch black, the moon hanging high in the sky looking down upon him. Besides streetlamps there weren't many lights about. Only a few scattered cars drove past, while storefronts were closed up with metal grates covering the entrances. The once packed streets were completely empty, and devoid of life.

The worst part was that [Y/N] had no actual clue as to where he was. He looked left, then right, up and down, but nothing looked familiar to him. He tried to think about how long he had been out for, an hour, maybe more? It must have been getting late in the night, perhaps even the early morning at that point. He shook his head, but he didn't feel groggy yet, rather he felt alert and ready, sleep still evading him...

It was only in that moment that he caught a weird sight from out the corner of his peripheral vision, a large brightly coloured figure disappearing down the side of an alley across from him. [Y/N] rubbed his eyes and squinted but by the time he looked back the stranger was gone. Considering he hadn't seen anyone for a good few minutes, it felt strange to him.

And then, as he thought about it more, the costume struck some memory in his head, reminding him of their investigation earlier that day. Clowns giving out counterfeit Pokétch devices. They couldn't find any though, almost as if they had vanished, but what if they were just waiting out the investigation, ready to move once night descended upon Jubilife?

A part of him shouted to ignore it and move on, find a way back towards the Pokémon Centre now, before he got himself even more lost. Another part of him told him to investigate further. Who knows? He might find nothing, but what if the President's story had been truthful all along? And Cynthia had been so disappointed to have found nothing. Perhaps he could make up for leaving her so abruptly this one last time...

It was the least he could've done.

And so, he looked across the empty street, crossing with a newfound motivation to his step, until he found himself by the alley the clown had disappeared down into. It was a dark twisting pathway which appeared to stretch on forever, but he couldn't back out now. However, that didn't mean he would go in alone, that was stupid. [Y/N] quickly equipped the small capsules and unleashed his full team, holding a finger over his mouth. "We're sneaking so don't be too loud." Turtwig nodded, while the rest saluted with their small limbs. "Good." He nodded back, and without any delay, they began the journey into Jubilife City's underworld...

High up above him, unbeknownst to him, another one of those small green bird's stared down at him, perched atop the tall terraced buildings. It didn't move to look at anyone else but the trainer, glued to his person. And, as he disappeared in between the mess of buildings, the small green bird hopped forward following afterwards.