Bianca looked behind Hannah. “Oh! It seems we have company.”
Hannah turned around, and saw her mother and Hugh's little sister walking towards them.
“Hello, Hannah! I came out because I needed to give you something,” Hannah's mother said, before she noticed Bianca. “Oh! Hello! You must be Bianca! It's nice to meet you!”
“Nice to meet you as well,” Bianca replied, smiling for what seemed to be the millionth time now. “Your daughter here is doing quite well for herself. She and her newly acquired Snivy are getting along well. Someone also thought she was worthy of a...um...Genesect, and there was a little incident with that, but it ended well, so no worries!”
Hannah's mother nodded in approval. “Snivy? Good choice! Though....” She frowned and looked confused. “I can't say I've ever heard of this 'Genesect' before.”
Hannah smiled sheepishly again. “It's a long story, Mom.”
“You're still in one piece, though. It must not be too bad, then. In fact, you're looking quite good!”
“Thanks. So, what was the thing you wanted to give me?
“Oh! Right. Here!” Hannah's mother took out a pair of shoes. “These are for you! They're Running Shoes!”
“Thanks! I was wondering when these were going to arrive,” Hannah replied. She took the shoes and sat down next to the Pokemon Center door to put them on.
“I'll read the instructions while you're doing that,” Hannah's mother said, then pulled out a sheet of paper. “'Hold down the B Button to run faster than normal. Put on the running shoes and race around to your heart's content!'” She scratched her head. “Did these even need instructions?”
Hannah shrugged as she got up. “Ease of use for the player, I guess.”
Hugh's sister then pulled out a pair of plastic devices and gave them to Hannah. “Um.... These are from me!”
“Not certain if I'll use these, but thanks anyway.”
“Two town maps?” Bianca asked. “One's useful enough on it's own.”
“I want you to give the other one to my big brother!” Hugh's sister replied with a confident nod.
“I'll make sure to give it to him when I next see him.”
Hannah's mother nodded. “Now you two don't have to worry about getting lost. With that map, you'll know all about what the Unova region is like!”
Hannah put one of the maps into her bag, then opened up the other one. Sure enough, the display that greeted her was a view of the entire region, represented by circular dots connected by yellow lines. When she tapped one of the lines or circles, a few lines of text naming the place and describing it popped up on screen.
“This thing could use a 'you are here' sign....” she commented, before closing it and putting it back in her bag. “Anyway, I'm all set to go now. I think.”
“First off, you can hand your old shoes over.” Hannah's mother said, holding her arm out to take Hannah's original footwear over.
“Aww! Just watching you guys makes me happy!” Bianca commented. “But if you're ready, then you can follow me to Route 19. I think we've put off the catching lesson long enough.” With that, she walked off.
After she had gone, Hannah's mother smiled. “I guess it's time for you to head off on your journey, then. I'm sure you, Snivy, and...Genesect, was it?...will have a wonderful time seeing all the different Pokemon and people with your own eyes!”
“Their names are actually Telan and Norton, respectively, but I suppose that's besides the point.” Hannah responded, then shrugged and smirked. “This is goodbye for now, isn't it?”
“You aren't leaving without giving me a hug, are you?”
The daughter and her mother shared a moment of affection. “Take care, Mom.”
“You too, darling.”
After the moment was over, Hannah headed off in the direction of the Route 19 gatehouse.
Upon entering the gatehouse, Hannah took a moment to stop at the electronic billboard for weather information and other news. Of particular note was something about a “Pokemon World Tournament” being held in Driftveil City.
Not certain if I want to be a part of that, she thought. Maybe when I've gotten the hang of this “Trainer” thing....
“Hey! Hannah! You can't go without....”
“I'm just looking at the billboard,” Hannah said to the gatehouse attendant.
The attendant looked at a screen of some sort before responding. “You're clear to go, anyway. You've got Snivy! And some weird metal bug that I don't recognize....” She cleared her throat. “And as per my job instructions, I have a going away gift for you.”
Hannah walked over to the counter, and was promptly handed a bottle of medicine.
“This potion will help you tend to your Pokemon out in the field. But don't rely too much on it – Pokemon Centers are still the best places to heal injured Pokemon.”
“Alright, thanks.” Hannah said, before glancing out onto Route 19.
Well, I shouldn't keep Bianca waiting....
Hannah took a look around upon taking her first steps onto Route 19. The forest surrounding Aspertia didn't look much different up close than from the overlook, with the obvious exceptions of clarity and size. The path through the woods was mostly clear, with the exception of a large patch of tall grass.
Bianca stood on the path just outside the gatehouse. When she noticed Hannah, she motioned towards the patch of tall grass.
“That grass is where wild Pokemon can be found!” she said, before glancing towards it herself. “This brings back memories, from when my friends and I took our first steps onto Route 1, and Juniper gave us the same lesson I'm about to give you. Funny how things come full circle sometimes,”
She turned back towards Hannah. “Right! I suppose you know how the Pokedex works, right?”
Hannah nodded. “You don't need to tell me, since you've been kinda wordy about it ever since you first met me....”
“One additional tidbit about it: catching Pokemon adds a more detailed description about them to the Pokedex!” Bianca then turned towards the grass again. “With that said, I think it's time to show you how to catch a Pokemon.” She wandered out into the grass. “Starting...NOW!”
Battle! Catching Tutorial
The first thing Bianca ran into was a purple-and-tan cat that apparently was called a Purrloin. To combat it, Bianca sent out a fluffy puppy that was called a Lillipup.
“First off, you need to weaken the Pokemon first! Lillipup, use Tackle!”
Bianca's Lillipup bounded forwards and charged into the Purrloin. The Purrloin responded by emitting a cute-sounding growl. While this was going on, Bianca rummaged through her bag before pulling out a Poke Ball.
“Then, you throw a Poke Ball at it, like this!”
Bianca then chucked the Poke Ball at the Purrloin. It opened in mid-air, pulling the Purrloin into it, before snapping shut. It wiggled three times, and then clicked, apparently locking itself. Bianca then strode over, picked up the Poke Ball, and then walked back over to Hannah.
“And there you have it!” she triumphantly stated.
“It's that easy?” Hannah asked.
“Well...generally. You need to weaken the Pokemon before you start throwing balls, because otherwise the Pokemon is more likely to break out of the ball. Your own Pokemon will suffice for this. If you can, put the Pokemon to sleep or paralyze it before catching it, since that'll increase your chances even further!”
“And if I knock it out...?”
Bianca frowned. “That...doesn't work, for some reason. I think the Poke Ball's inner workings don't recognize fainted Pokemon or something.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I think you have everything you need to assemble a team, now! You were planning on delivering that map to your friend, right?”
Hannah nodded.
“Well, if you head straight this way....” Bianca said, pointing. “You'll arrive at Floccesy Town! Now, I don't know if that's where your friend actually is, but it's worth checking there, right?”
She then adjusted her hat. “Anyway, I think it's time that I head off now. You can handle yourself from here, right?”
“I think I can. Depends what else is around this area.”
“Like I said, this route has cute, fluffy Pokemon on it. None of them will bring harm to you, and they just might help you recover from the Genesect-induced shock you inflicted upon yourself earlier.” She then turned and headed back into the gatehouse. “Bye now! Meet lots of Pokemon and catch lots of them, okay?”
“Alright. Later!” Hannah replied, waving. When Bianca was out of sight, she rummaged through her bag, looking for Telan's Poke Ball. The first thing she uncovered was the red ball that held Genesect.
“No, Norton, you're not coming out.” she said to it. “I really don't want to know what's going to happen if I let you run free.” She then found Telan's more ordinary looking Poke Ball, took it out, and opened it up.
Telan the Snivy materialized on the ground before her, before whistling and stretching.
“Alright, Telan, I believe we're on our own now.” Hannah said to him. “Are you ready?”
Telan looked at her, then stuck out a leafy limb and whistled in confirmation.
Hannah nodded and smiled. “Then what are we waiting for? Let's have at it!”
With that, trainer and Pokemon strode into the tall grass.
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