It was an unusually lively day even for Jubilife which always had people around and about as a bustling metropolis brimming with industry and business. The streets were crowded with people as the big day had arrived and many of their children would venture out into the wider world and try to make something of themselves.

  Although most people in this world placed great importance on journeying, only Jubilife backed the occasion with such fanfare and celebration. Almost everywhere else, the new Trainers would just set off when the time was right or when they were provided a Starter either by the regional professor or their local institution with the most eventful part of the beginning being the battle with their rival or their first night without supervision.

  Due to Jubilife being a media hub and a major city without its own Gym, they made the event to highlight notable trainers. Not only were the new Trainers of Jubilife shown but also those from other regions that had arrived through the Global Terminal to compete in the Sinnoh League.

  Plenty of the extraregional competitors were showcased with greater priority than the newcomers although that was mainly due to the new Trainers having no track record with most having just received their Starter. Some Harrison had fought before like the kid with the Croconaw while others were far more notable and prominent.

  The most notable was Alina, the blonde coordinator from Alola with her Primarina which had already participated in several Contests. Then there was Cinammon, a lass who exclusively used cute and small Pokemon that were oddly strong. And then there were two that fit quite well into the rival archetype. A brooding kid who seemed to be filled with spite and another kid with a shit-eating grin that seemed intent on mischief. He immediately provoked the brooding boy who nearly exploded but held himself back as they were being recorded by the media.

  Rachel would have also been included in the group had she remained in Jubilife but the additional attention was not something she wanted.

  Harrison stood from afar alongside his parents as they watched the procession of new Trainers as they entered the Trainers’ School to receive their Pokedex and their Starter if eligible.

  On the line, he could see Gavin, Christine, and Logan alongside many of the other students that were his classmates at the Trainers’ School. Some of them waved at him and he just nodded back.

  As an Official Trainer who was already registered with his Pokedex already acquired and ineligible for a Starter, Harrison had no reason to participate. He would’ve even left already if not for the insistence by Christine and Gavin to wait for them.

  “If only you were on the line, it would’ve been a nice moment for a family picture”, Giselle commented on the side.

  “Knowing him, he would have applied to get it early and avoided it altogether”, Harold replied as he knew it wouldn’t have happened.

  Harrison just kept his mouth shut as that was what he would’ve done if Professor Rowan didn’t expedite his Trainer application. In fact, he already completed the process and was just waiting to be notified before his meeting with Rowan.

  Christine and Gavin then exited the building and promptly ran towards Harrison. They seemed to have a lot to discuss but before they could start, Harrison raised a hand to silence them.

  “We can talk about it on the journey. Now if you’re ready, we should leave before it gets late”, he stated calmly.

  The two thought for a moment and agreed, following Harrison as he left the bustling city center.

  When nearing the entrance of Route 203, Harrison then stopped and turned towards his parents.

  “I’ll be going then. To see what the wider world is like”, he said while filled with thoughts and expectations of how his journey could go. He still didn’t think he’d like being outside constantly and being a wandering nomad would probably take a toll but he was sure that it wouldn’t be something he’d regret. Surfing on Lapras and meeting Rachel gave him a personal perspective on how fun everything could be and that was before he even left home. There were so many places to explore and interesting people that he could meet.

  “Call often when able to. And be careful out there”, Giselle said as she pulled her son into a tight hug. She had far more to say but she decided they were unnecessary as he had been ready to leave for a very long time.

  “See the world for what it is. Meet as many Pokemon and people. And know that we’ll be waiting for when you return”, Harold said with a beaming smile while ruffling Harrison’s hair.

  “Lux Lux”

  To the side, Maestro was communicating with Alakazam telepathically while Nova was nuzzling Luxray. It seemed they too were saying goodbye.

  “We’ll be back after Oreburgh”, Harrison stated before turning around.

  He then left alongside Christine and Gavin who had been waiting patiently.

  The two then watched the three silhouettes of the young trainers as they left for Oreburgh.

  “You think he’ll go far?”, Giselle asked in a soft tone.

  “Yeah, he will. All I started with was Shinx and back then, he didn’t even listen to me”, Harold stated in a nostalgic tone.

  The three new Trainers then walked along the path which they’ve been through multiple times as residents of Jubilife. The only difference this time was that they now intended to pass through Oreburgh Gate.

  Harrison then asked since the two seemed quite eager to share, “What Starters did you pick?”

  “I chose Chimchar” “I chose Piplup”, the two stated simultaneously.

  “Did they give anything else?”

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  “The Pokedex, 5 Pokeballs, and a bunch of potions”, Gavin answered as they were less interesting compared to their Starters.

  “Same”, Christine stated as they walked along.

  “I guess they weren’t too strict considering you two already have Pokemon”, Harrison stated as Christine had a Bidoof which was more of a pet to her while Gavin had Seedot from their camping trip.

  “Yup, you should’ve tried your luck, Could’ve gotten your own Chimchar too”, Christine said while wanting to boast about her Chimchar.

  “Doubt it. We were still asked to show the Pokemon we had and Harrison has 4 Pokemon already. We probably only got through because our Pokemon didn’t seem so tough”, Gavin retorted.

  The League officials and research assistants had been the personnel distributing the Starters and Gavin remembered that they specifically asked to see his Seedot. They then took a while observing and analyzing the Pokemon likely because it wasn’t common in Sinnoh but also because they were noting the amount of training his Seedot had undergone. He then sat there anxiously as the officials discussed amongst themselves as they noticed it was trained but luckily hadn’t met the threshold that made him ineligible to receive a brand new Starter.

  “Really? They just gave me mine as soon as I showed them Bidoof”, she stated incredulously.

  After a considerable amount of time walking, the trio settled near a huge pond to have lunch.

  “Are we trying to reach Oreburgh in a single day?”, Gavin asked as they had walked continuously without pause. It wasn’t difficult or strenuous but the pace had been faster than hiking and was just slightly below jogging.

  “That’d be neat but I don’t want to sleep in a cave when we get lost”, Christine replied.

  “Oreburgh Gate is big but we’re only going through it. It’s supposed to be a straightforward path to the city as long as we don’t leave the main tunnel”, Harrison stated as he referenced all the information he had gleaned from guides and books on Sinnoh’s Geography.

  He then went into his pack and pulled out several freshly made sandwiches and provided two sandwiches with different flavors to the other two. As they calmly ate, Harrison watched across the lake as a pack of Starlys squabbled with a pack of Swablu. Both sides then dispersed when an Altaria joined the fray. It seemed both sides were being petty as otherwise, he assumed that the Altaria would’ve helped the Swablus.

  “Harrison is obviously out of the question. So, Gavin, are you up for it? Let’s see which Starter is better?”, she taunted after devouring her last portion of the sandwich.

  “Not a bad idea. But obviously Piplup is better”, Gavin responded and reached for his Pokeball.

  “You think? I had no idea you liked penguins so much”, she responded slightly confused.

  “I AM talking about the type advantage. Our Starters have no real training so they should be similar with only their Type making a difference”, he clarified, slightly annoyed.

  “I’ll referee then. Although I’m not expecting much”, Harrison said on the side.

  The two rookies then called forth their Starters and they emerged from their Pokeballs. The little monkey eyed the penguin and then started jeering. Responding to the Taunt, Piplup jumped right in and attempted to smack the monkey with her flippers.

  “At least, they’re willing to battle”, Gavin commented with a shrug.

  “Jump back and then Scratch, Chimchar!”, Christine ordered.

  Chimchar dodged Piplup’s hit and then laughed at the penguin which provoked it more.

  “Pip-piplup!”, the penguin protested right before using Water Gun.

  “Dodge!”, Christine commanded but the Chimchar didn’t listen.

  The monkey responded to the stream of water with its own belches of fire. For a moment, the Water Gun stopped but then unsurprisingly broke through and drenched the monkey.

  “Guess we won then. Piplup return”, Gavin stated but the penguin didn’t listen and launched another Water Gun.

  The monkey then quickly rolled and narrowly dodged the Water Gun before lunging forward and furiously scratching the penguin. The two then watched as their Starters bickered and fought recklessly without paying any attention to their Trainers.

  “I guess a fight was too soon”, Christine stated with a sigh.

  “Yeah…”, Gavin agreed.

  The two then attempted to return the Pokemon to their Pokeball but Chimchar dodged the red light while Piplup broke away every time the red beam landed. After several attempts, the two stopped and disappointment slightly set in as although they were the special Starters of their region, they seemed slightly lacking when compared to their actual Pokemon. Seedot bickered with him occasionally but the Pokemon listened when it needed to and could perform very well in critical situations. As for Bidoof, it wasn’t a strong battler but it always did its best.

  Harrison then stepped in and asked, “Should I help? The way those two are right now, they’re far worse than a wild Magikarp”

  Christine and Gavin initially wanted to refuse as they were about to call out their actual Pokemon for assistance but they then noticed that the two stopped fighting. Their attention was completely focused on Harrison and they were glaring intensely.

  “Pip-Pip-Plup!”, the penguin shouted, pointing its flipper at him.

  “Char!”, the monkey agreed and scowled.

  Harrison laughed and replied with, “It’s one thing if you didn’t listen and knew what to do but you’re a Fire type that doesn’t know to avoid Water. As for you flightless bird, you’re too easily triggered which will make you vulnerable to everything since you can’t think when you’re this impulsive”

  “Pipp-pplup!” “Charchar!”, the two retorted, unwillingly to relent.

  He smirked which just triggered the two Starters even more.

  “Then prove it”, he said to the two Starters and called out Magikarp.

  The penguin and monkey then just stared in disgust as the wide-eyed red fish splashed in place. A small water puddle forming and growing in size with each consecutive splash.

  “Feel free to try against an actual Trained Pokemon. You two can’t beat Magikarp the way you are now even if you team up”, Harrison taunted.

  Thoroughly provoked, the two then charged at the fish.

  Piplup attempted a Pound which failed when the fish countered with its fin.

  To the side, Chimchar let out an Ember which was effortlessly extinguished not even by Splash but by Magikarp smacking its body against the puddle it was making.

  “Chimchar!”, the monkey shouted to the penguin and Piplup shot a Water Gun to hold the fish in place.

  Magikarp then leapt into the air, evading the Water Gun, and slapped the penguin on its head with its tail, causing the Piplup to topple over as it fainted.

  Chimchar then rushed in from behind and tried to grab the fish but it slipped away from the monkey’s paws. Magikarp then tackled the monkey into its small puddle.

  “Karp”, the fish laughed.

  “I did not actually think that Magikarp would win”, Gavin said, slightly astonished.

  “If it was a wild Chimchar that had survived and battled then it could have but Starters are pampered and often lack both experience and skill”, Harrison stated as he fed Magikarp who immediately got over her recent victory as the two opponents were practically infants.