Tales of

Sinnoh

Nestor was taking advantage of the fact that - for once - Cleo was staying in her ball. His back was already sore enough form all her attempts of grumpigbacking him. At least now he could enjoy some much needed ‘me-time’, even though this was not the most charming place.

The first pokémon he saw did not look like one of the wild pokémon that were supposed to roam around here. That is not what a growlithe normally looks like, right? No, if his memory didn’t betray him, they were more a golden brown than yellow. This one was special, probably one of those shinies he’d read about, but this was the first time he saw one in real life.
A young woman was following her from a distance. “Is she yours?” he asked while looking at the pokémon. Slowly - because he didn’t want to startle the growlithe - he went through his knees until he was closer to her. With a small smile on his lips, he looked at her, keeping his hands to himself because he didn’t know how she would respond and he preferred to keep all his fingers.

Joyfull barks echoed through the halls. It was funny to see how happy the pokémon looked even though she didn’t know him. “Hey buddy,” Nestor said to her when he was down on his knee. The way the girl ran towards them told him that the pokémon was not supposed to go this far away.

The pokémon didn’t seem to mind what was happening behind her, instead, she was giving him a confused look. She didn’t even react when the girl reached them and apologized for her pokémon’s behavior. “I don’t mind,” he smiled slightly as he looked at the special pokémon. Carefully he raised his hand to let her sniff it before he would pet her. “You are lucky to have a pokémon like her by your side.” Not only because she was shiny, but she also seemed kind, unlike his own Gligar. He still carried the bruises on his back from the little incident.  
Finally, he looked up at the girl who was panting. “Are you alright?” he asked concerned with a slight tilt of his head and pushed himself up again.

A soft frown appeared on his face when the pokémon started licking his hand. “Thanks for that,” he said, not all too pleased but he also didn’t mind. Nestor wiped off the drool using his sleeve because he had nothing else he could use.
The girl explained that her pokémon ran off and he nodded slightly as he recognized the struggle. “Pokémon do that sometimes,” he sighed deeply. Cleo would’ve done the same, but not because she wanted to greet people. The only reason the Gligar would fly away was to bully him. For some reason, his pokémon was always trying to make his life difficult.
The pokémon ran back to their owner, her words bringing a smile to his lips. "I doubt even a leash would work,” he joked. Pokémon like that one only found a way to get what they want. “At least she seems to be a very friendly pokémon.” Nestor could only dream to have a pokémon like hers.

He watched as the pokémon returned to her pokéball. She didn’t have to do that as he didn’t mind to have a happy pokémon around for a change, but he understood why. If they heard something else and ran away again, she might not be this lucky a second time. “Sadly enough, yes,” he sighed deeply, bringing a hand through his hair. He remembered every moment that Cleo had confronted a stranger for no reason, and she was not wagging her tail. “Only she growls at people, and me.” Nestor could feel the slightly pink undertone creep to his cheeks. Someone already told him he still had a long way to go if he ever wanted to become champion, the words did sting a little.  

Without him even noticing he’d averted his eyes while the memories went through his head. Was it his fault Cleo didn’t listen? Had he done something that caused her behavior? After all, he was her first trainer so if anything had happened to her, he would be at fault. Another sigh rolled over his lips while he was staring at nothing. Only when he heard the girl’s voice, was he pulled back to reality.
“Huh?” His eyes focussed on her again as he tried to recall her question. “Oh uhm, nothing special really, just passing through, seeing if there are any interesting pokémon living here.” This was only the start of his journey and he still had no idea where he should go first. There was still a gym nearby he had to defeat, but that was not an option for now. “You?” he then asked her.