“The Pokemon Center is the same no matter where you are!” Bianca said as they approached the large, red-and-white building decorated with Poke Ball symbols. She turned to Hannah and nodded. “Let's go inside!”
Once inside, Hannah could see a counter that was a straight line from the door, along with another counter to the right and stairs leading up in the back. She figured Bianca would explain most of this, though granted she thought herself perfectly capable of finding out who did what on her own.
Sure enough, the first thing Bianca offered to do was show her around. The first thing they did was approach the central counter.
“The Pokemon Center heals Pokemon for free!” Bianca said, motioning to the counter. “You should bring your Pokemon here anytime they are weak.”
Hannah walked up, pulled out Telan's Poke Ball, and handed it to the attendant.
“Just one second!” the attendant said, turning around and placing Telan's Poke Ball on a hexagonal rack. There was a low hum, and the Poke Ball glowed for a few seconds. Once it had cooled down, the attendant took it off and handed it back to Hannah. “There you go!”
“Next, I'll explain the PC!” Bianca said as Hannah put Telan's Poke Ball away. She lead Hannah to a square-shaped machine with a screen.
“This square thing is the PC! Any trainer is free to use it!”
“Doesn't PC stand for 'Personal Computer'?” Hannah asked. “If anyone can use it, why is it still called that?”
Bianca shrugged. “There isn't a better name for it, I guess? Anyway, you can deposit and withdraw Pokemon from it!”
Hannah raised an eyebrow. “Two questions: one, how is this supposed to be safe? Two, is it even ethical to turn Pokemon into data?”
“It's quite secure, actually. The data accessed depends on the trainer. And don't worry about the Pokemon. I assure you that no harm comes to Pokemon placed within the PC system!” Bianca nodded. “It's just as well, too. The Pokemon League only allows trainers to carry six Pokemon around at once, so you're going to need to use this at some point.”
“The next thing is over here!” She motioned to the counters by the door. Hannah gave the PC one final suspicious glance before following her lead.
On her way across, Hannah caught sight of a delivery man looking at her. Why is he looking at me like that? I didn't order anything...well, not to my knowledge.
“This is the Poke Mart! Here, you can buy and sell many different items! You can also buy extra Poke Balls here, if you happen to run out.”
Hannah nodded at the attendants there, then turned to Bianca. “So, is that everything I need to know about this place?”
“It should be, unless you want to know how to use the GTS and other such utilities...but, I don't think you're ready for those yet.” Bianca responded. “And there are more important things to go over, anyway. Like how to catch Pokemon!”
She handed Hannah five empty Poke Balls. “To become a proper trainer, you'll need a full team of six Pokemon! Follow me, and I'll show you how to get more!”
With that, Bianca walked out of the Pokemon Center. Hannah made a move to follow her, but the delivery man was still there, and still looking at her.
This is going to bother me if I don't ask him what he wants, Hannah thought before walking up to him. “Excuse me. Do you happen to have something for me?”
“If you happen to be Hannah, then yes, I do.” The delivery man replied, pulling out an entirely red Poke Ball. “I was told to look for a female trainer who was just learning the ropes, and you seem to fit the bill.”
“You've found her. Who felt the need to give me something? I haven't even been a trainer for that long.”
“You're asking the wrong guy,” the delivery man said as he gave Hannah the Poke Ball. “I was just told to give this 'Mystery Gift' to a trainer named Hannah.”
Hannah looked confused, then looked down at the Poke Ball. “At least it's something I can make use of. It's an odd color, but I think this Poke Ball might come in handy.”
“Oh, the gift isn't the Poke Ball. It's what's inside it.”
Hannah's eyes widened. “Wait...there's a Pokemon in there? I'm getting another Pokemon already?”
The delivery man nodded. “Not just any Pokemon, either. It's a special one that you won't find anywhere in the wild. They called it a 'Genesect.'”
“Genesect?” Hannah gave the ball a nervous glance. “I don't know if I like the sound of that.”
The delivery man tilted his hat. “Give 'im a go. Maybe he won't be as bad as he sounds. At any rate, I'm off. I have a feeling this isn't the last time we'll be doing business.”
“Thank you!” Hannah said as he left, then went back to observing the Poke Ball. She lifted it up so it was level with her eyes – back when Bianca offered her the choice of three Pokemon, she could see the outlines of the things within the Poke Balls, so maybe she could do that here without opening it. However, the ball was much too dark to see anything.
“Genesect, huh?” she repeated. “I'm not sure if I should let you out of that ball, or not.”
There had to be a way to open the ball without letting Genesect completely out. Maybe if she didn't throw the ball, she wouldn't wind up releasing the Pokemon. Gingerly, she pushed the button in the center and carefully pried the two halves apart.
It didn't work – the Poke Ball released its contents, and the being within materialized on the floor in front of her. Unfortunately for Hannah, it also happened to be the scariest thing she had ever set eyes on up to this point.
Genesect was a gigantic, metal insect with a sleek design. Its red eyes had two hollow pupils each, and between them was a toothy grin. The worst part about the whole thing was the cannon attached to its back. It wasn't just a large, mechanical bug – it was an armed, large, mechanical bug.
She couldn't help it. She screamed. Genesect responded by making an electronic, whirring noise and making a body motion that strongly suggested it was chuckling. Great – it was both scary looking, and enjoyed the fact it was scary looking.
Calm down, Hannah. Find a way to put Genesect back into its Poke Ball....
The door to the Pokemon Center opened again, and Bianca came running back in. “Hannah! Are you okay? I heard you scream and....” Bianca's jaw dropped upon looking at Genesect. “What on... What sort of Pokemon is that?”
“I don't know! The delivery man gave it to me and didn't offer much of explanation other than the fact that it's called 'Genesect!'” Hannah replied, visibly shaken. “Provided it doesn't go bonkers, I think I'm all right.”
Bianca stared at Genesect for a few seconds, then looked back at Hannah and shook her head. “I don't think it's going to hurt you. Just put it back in the Poke Ball it came in, and everything will be okay.” Hannah picked up the Poke Ball from the spot where she had dropped it, then looked Genesect in the eye. “Okay, we just met, so I don't know if you think I'm worth listening to,” she said to it. “If I am, could you go back inside your Poke Ball, please? If nothing else?”
Genesect looked at the ball, then at Hannah, then back at the ball. It made another whirring noise that sounded like confirmation, and then it complied.
Hannah breathed a heavy sigh of relief once the scary bug thing was no longer standing in front of her. She put the ball into her bag, then turned to Bianca. “We're good. I think.”
Bianca sighed as well. “Next time, if you're not sure what a Pokemon looks like...leave it in the ball and check your Pokedex, okay? Especially if the Pokemon in question was as outlandish as Genesect was. You'll turn heads if you do.”
Hannah raised an eyebrow at that last statement, and then took a look around to find that every single other person in the Pokemon Center was staring at her. She blushed and smiled sheepishly. “Heh.”
“Now that debacle is taken care of, I think what you need is a nice dose of something fluffy and cute, and it just so happens that the wild Pokemon outside meet that description.” Bianca said, with a reassuring smile. “Come on – I think it's time I taught you how to catch one.”
With that, the two hastily existed the Pokemon Center at last. Hannah paused outside and looked down at her bag, where Genesect sat. She didn't feel at all comfortable with it around, but she apparently owned it now.
“I don't know if I can name this Genesect or not,” she said, “but regardless I am now going to refer to him as 'Norton.'”
“Norton?” Bianca replied. “That's a nice name. Don't know if it fits or not, but it's a nice name. Now, are you ready to catch some Pokemon?”
Hannah nodded. “I'm ready. Let's go.”
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