Apsu

Ah, Jubilife City. A place with real streets. And streetlamps. The name itself has an exciting appeal. A portmanteau of "jubilant" and "life." This city has soul. This city has vim. This is city is, well, a city. A bustling metropolis. This is progress. This is the way of the future. My hometown might as well have been named after a twig on the branch of a stunted oak tree. Two dying leaves pushed together by the forces of nature cling to the end of the twig. A local plebian mistakes the changing color of the leaves as a sign of vibrancy and brilliance. All it really means is that winter will arrive, and woe betide the unprepared country folk, for winter is death. Twinleaf Town has vitality, but of the small, humble variety. Through experience and complacence, it survives the current cycles of the world around it. But it is fragile. This magnificent city is different. This city has girth. Oh Jubilife. We shall get to know each other.

There are some inconsequential residents on the street. One of them points me to the trainers school, where I can learn about pokemon. Truly marvelous. I cross the threshold into the institution of knowledge. A fellow trainer in the school points out the value in practical experience. He asks me for a battle. I accept.

Brahma only knows growl and this bide move. Oh well, bide could work. My opponent sends out Abra. This yellow imp has is possessed of a hidden power. No really, that's what the attack is called. It finishes off Brahma before his bide can do anything. Useless cricket. Let's try Sekhmet. Abra's hidden power is devastating to her as well. She manages to use leer and a single tackle before hidden power finishes her. Abra doesn't seem that hurt. I may have underestimated this trainer. Is he beyond my present ability? Hanuman is my last pokemon. He lands a scratch and finishes the Abra, ascending to the lofty heights of level 10. That was the only pokemon my foe had. He states that winning is hard if you don't have pokemon to choose between. Perhaps, but his one pokemon defeated two of mine before the third stopped it. And while he may not be invincible, I can already tell that Hanuman is something special. He's stronger than other pokemon I'm facing. But I'm seeing in this school that fire pokemon are weak to water.

I heal my companions at the Poke Center and return to the school. Another beginner trainer, this one younger than me, makes her challenge. I lead with Sekhmet this time. Another Abra? I should get one of these guys. Sekhmet uses leer, but that hidden power is, once again, quite strong. A second has her nearly finished, but her tackle cuts the Abra down some. I get an idea. I switch to Brahma. Hidden power only takes one hit for him, but it means I can freely switch in Hanuman, so he doesn't have to take a hit. Ember finishes the Abra with ease.

The first trainer I beat in the school congratulates me on my performance and presents me with a "technical machine." It appears to be a data storage device that can somehow make a pokemon learn a move. This one has that hidden power move. I am apprehensive about this. I try not to think about the fact that this machine automatically found its way to an appropriately labeled pocket in my backpack. I return to the Poke Center and converse with the other patrons while healing my pokemon. It seems that one can only carry six pokemon at a time for some reason. This is good to know. I must select my team meticulously. Brahma, unfortunately, might not be cut out for this. I might even miss the little guy, but at least he gets to be with me for now.

Suddenly I realize that I saw Slave's stupid striped shirt and weird hair somewhere in that school. I run back, finding him staring at the blackboard, which has instructional material on status changes. I greet Slave and give him the parcel. He is, of course, able to open it with ease. Inside are two town maps. He finds this odd. He only needs one. So he gives me the other. Triumphantly, he deciphers that Oreburgh City has a Pokemon Gym, so that's where he'll go next. But my map contains no such informaton. How peculiar. Maybe Slave got the good map.

I leave the school, and some crazy man runs up to me. He apparently noticed that I am a trainer and that I do not have something called a "Poketch." It's a watch. He invented it. And if I can find three clowns in Jubilife City and answer their questions, he will give me one. It's a promotional deal. Ah marketing, scourge of society. Still, I could use a timepiece or whatever. The clowns are, naturally, quite easy to find and their questions are easy enough, I suppose. My limited experience as a trainer gave me the knowledge I needed to answer them. Well, one was about holding items and I have yet to see that, but I did overhear some things about it from others.

I explore the streets, meet some more cityfolk, and find what looks like a tollhouse or something. I consider turning back, but talk with the men standing inside to see if I can find out anything of significance. One of them gives me an old fishing rod. He claims that it can catch pokemon. I must try this out. I exit through the far door. The sign says that this is Route 218. My map indicates that it leads to Canalave City. I think I will finish exploring Jubilife City before heading there. But first, let's see if I can catch something with this fishing rod.

At first, fishing isn't working. I try again and get a bite. It's a red fish called Magikarp. I have Sekhmet tackle it to weaken it. This doesn't seem to be a problem, because Magikarp doesn't do any damage. It uses a move called splash that does nothing at all. Have I just caught a completely useless pokemon? The pokedex indicates that Magikarp cannot swim against even weak currents. A fish that is incapable of swimming? I'm starting to think that this pokedex might be messing with me. I return to the Poke Center to heal my newly caught water pokemon.