Man's Best Friend (A Pokemon GO Story)

Chapter 11: The Trio

"Let's go say hi." Pan giggled. The two of them got up and walked towards Jason's car.

Jason got out of the car, removing his jacket and fixing his sunglasses. He looked up from at Carlos and Pan and smiled.

"Hey you two. Good to see you made it before me." He chuckled. Aspen, Noah, and Ellie jumped out of the driver's door one at a time.

"Woah! You've been doing some roaming, haven't ya? How'd you get two Vulpixes?" Carlos asked as Pan petted them both.

"They're brother and sister. They were a package deal. Aspen and I found them while walking the trail." Jason explained.

"They're so cute! I love these scarves!" Pan giggled, picking up Ellie.

"Yeah haha I picked them out to help me tell them apart. The blue one is Noah and the pink one there is Ellie." Jason introduced.

"Pix-ee!" Both Noah and Ellie exclaimed. Aspen hopped onto Jason's shoulder. Jason smiled and petted him.

"That's awesome dude. Unfortunately, they don't let Pokemon roam free in the hotel." Carlos said.

"That's fine," Jason said, returning all three Pokemon to their Pokeballs. "What now?" Jason asked.

"I'll get you to your room, and then we gotta go sign up for the tournament." Carlos said, leading him inside.

"So, three Pokemon now? That's like, what, a record?" Carlos joked a bit as they entered the elevator.

"Whatever, Carlos. They're good Pokemon...right?"

"Heheh yes, they are. If you train them well. All three of your Pokemon are similar in size and mobility, so you can just pass on what you taught Aspen to the others." Carlos explained. Jason nodded.

"Sounds simple enough. I'm still using Aspen for the tournament though." Jason said. The doors open, and Carlos led Jason through the hall.

"Of course, but it's good that you have more, just in case."

"Just in case?" Jason asked.

"Well, yeah. If Aspen is unable to continue for whatever reason, the rulebooks allow you to make one substitution and one substitution only.

"Of course, that's only when the Pokemon you entered with is unable to continue but wasn't officially defeated. Like, if it sustains an injury of some kind." Carlos explained.

"I'd rather not plan for that." Jason said, dismissing the idea of Aspen getting hurt.

"I'm just saying. It's something to keep in mind," Carlos said. He stopped and opened up a room with a keycard. "This is where we'll be staying. Feel free to take the couch." Carlos chuckled.

Jason entered the room and looked around. The room had two beds as well as a couch bed, which Jason had apparently already been designated to.

"So we're splitting the cost three ways?" Jason asked. Carlos nodded.

"Yep. I know your load needs to be as light as possible, so I figured if we all shared one room it'd be easier. Since we all have different beds, it shouldn't be a problem." Carlos explained.

"Sure. So, let's go sign up." Jason said with a nod.

***

Jason, Pan, and Carlos all walked to the venue for their next tournament: an outdoor stadium called Lightning Bolt Field. Jason whistled.

"Woowww. That's a big stadium." Jason said. Carlos and Pan chuckled, nodding in agreement.

"You're in the big leagues now, kid! Haha you better shape up!" Carlos teased him with a laugh. Jason chuckled.