Faller, Noun: Someone Experiencing Interesting Times - Chapter 6

“You should go out and explore Lilycove, Mr. Lee.” The nurse on duty had told him after a very late breakfast on his part. Regigigas wasn’t the only one with one hell of a Slow Start. She’d handed him a rather hefty chunk of change with instructions to spend it on necessary items for himself and Mawile and had sent him on his merry way.

Given how Neil hadn’t really had any plans for the day other than looking up care tips and dietary needs for his partner, he had obliged after a bit of questioning. Namely if they had a Gym or Battle Club - they didn’t - or a Contest Hall.

With the way Mawile was chirping happily at his side as they walked, no guesses as to what was on the menu for today. Her steel teeth ground on themselves with the sound of sharpening knives, she was so excited. Cute.

Thankfully, it didn’t take much to orient himself even with his dire need for a smartphone that could hook up to this world’s infrastructure. He could read the Pokemon World’s fucked up script just fine and there was plenty of signage at every street corner, which came as no surprise to him because this place reeked of a tourist city like his hometown.

Lilycove City was fairly sizable. Not anywhere as big as Barcelona unless you discounted its technically independent buds of Sabadell and Badalona, but still pretty hefty. Somewhere in the neighborhood of Vinaròs. It was serviced entirely by a well-connected and dense network of buses, though there was absolutely no sign of any other public transport. No rental bicycles, no monorail, no subway, no nothing. Everything was that kind of extra wide paved road that was meant first and foremost for pedestrians, with no real curb step separating vehicles and foot traffic because there was just so little of the former. Nevermind how a lot of the sidestreets were too tight for anything but a tuk-tuk to get through.

The building in Lilycove seemed to consist almost entirely of the more modern faire, concrete and metal multi-story buildings and skyscrapers. By the lack of rust and assorted horrors of the sea breeze, he had to assume they hadn’t done half-measures in protecting the stuff against the weather. Material tech and civil engineering must be something else in a world where people cohabited with everything from sentient sewage to multiton metal lizards to rats who actually wanted to get zapped by the wires they gnawed on.

More outlandish, though, were the tourists. Not the cameras and constant chatter, that remained identical, but rather how they were just… consistently pleasant? Zero entitlement, no bluster, just people acting as guests should. It was more unnerving than happy retail workers, after having lived for two decades in fucking Barcelona.

Well, okay, he saw the odd argument and screaming sunburnt walrus. But both of those were swiftly resolved by writ of Pokemon battle, either right then and there or being led off by the ACE Trainers like he’d seen yesterday.

Mind-boggling revelations from an alien world or not, he had places to be and wasn’t in the business of letting people watching get in the way of his schedule. 

The Contest Hall was, in one word, grand. An odd mixture between modern architecture and a medieval European castle, with glass windows lining the building in such a way that they split it into three distinct floors. 

The first ‘floor’ was painted in a soft lavender. In addition, there were a series of pink ribbons that crawled up the building, beginning on the bottom layer. The second was done up in soft pink, where the ribbons continued their path towards the final floor and were joined by an odd heart or two. The final floor was an earthy yellow, where the apex of the ribbons painted onto the building sat, accompanied by four hearts. Hanging high above the entrance was a larger version of the ribbon that the contest hall granted during the contests they hosted; a classic bow primarily in blue with white dots, outlined in a lime green. At the center, a golden crest sat, a stylized crown atop a shield. 

A fascinated noise somewhere between a chirp and a squeak emanated from Mawile as she beheld the majesty of the building standing before her. Moments later, she turned towards Neil. She chirped, firmly. Something between an insistent demand that they went inside and a plea for them to do the exact same. He was still getting the hang of understanding her exact desires, but he could get the jist of it. Tone covered for a hell of a lot of sins, especially with her voice.

Possibly her Aura too, given it was supposed to be some weird wavelength thing, but he wasn’t going to pretend half-remembered Bulbapedia articles applied here.

“No, obviously we’re going to turn right around and go get some junk food instead.” Neil replied sardonically even as he started walking towards the big glass doors front and center of the building. He wasn’t entirely sure that Mawile wouldn’t just pick him up with her jaws and Seismic Toss his ass into the venue if he got too cute about it.

This time, the environment that greeted him was not one he expected. Despite the grand external appearance, the inside of Lilycove’s contest hall could almost be called utilitarian. Of course, there was still plenty of dazzle and show: ribbons hung from the ceiling, posters of presumably famous performers and contest trainers hung along the walls, alongside posters of various famous plays and movies. Yet, it was significantly more sedate than one might expect from the exterior. Two different lounges were placed at each side of the lobby, comfortable chairs and various modes of entertainment. These lounges included at least three different televisions dedicated to different things, several tables, and various little nooks and crannies for Pokemon of various forms. Each lounge was also color-coded to some degree. To the left, cool blue, green and purple. To the right, warm red, yellow and orange.

Both were currently playing host to several people and their Pokemon. Not that there seemed to be any discernible difference between the two groups. They simply seemed to be separate social groups, at most.

Pushing all of that to the back of his mind, Neil fixed his attention on the subject of his interest: the ticketing booth and concession stand. Those were front and center - they were the reason that most people visited the Contest Hall, after all. A quick glance at the screens displaying the times for shows and performances told him they were in luck; there was a play scheduled in about fifteen minutes. One run by a local high school, it seemed.

The tickets were on the cheap side as you’d expect for an amateur show, and there was even a disclaimer that half the proceeds would go towards a charity he did not recognize but could guess the purpose of: “The Jirachi Foundation”

“Two tickets for Ruinous Journey, please.” Neil asked after walking up to the booth proper, Mawile having found her way to his shoulder once again. He was starting to get why Ash kept Pikachu around like this, the weight was nice. Although it may just be him, the electrical rats didn’t exactly have steel bones and fur and scales.

“That’ll be 10,000 Yen.” The man at the counter answered professionally, nodding towards Neil and Mawile. Forking over the cash, Neil accepted the ticket from the man and went on his merry way, Mawile leaving a parting chirp that sounded between a mix of gratitude and smugness. He wasn’t sure why she was so smug, but if she wished to be smug she was more than welcome to.

Grabbing a drink, along with some popcorn, sweets, and a few Pokeblocks -the latter of the three at Mawile’s insistence- Neil quickly made his way into the theatre and found his seat, settling in for the brief wait before the performance began…

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The production was pretty good, not blowing Neil’s socks off, but it wasn’t like he had come here expecting a Cirque du Soleil production. It was plenty magical no matter what because special effects were in-house in a way that was impossible back home thanks to Pokemon, nevermind the charm of watching a production he had never seen nor heard of but could compare to those from home. In addition, the special effects that didn’t rely on Pokemon were also solid and he’d bet decent money that there was a Zorua either hiding somewhere on stage or even under it producing some of the stuff that the playwright had come up with. Some of those ‘effects’ had been a bit too spot-on to just be conventional machinery.

Funny magic foxes or not, though, it had been a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Mawile had had the time of her life - all thirty-six hours of it - given how she was currently chattering away in his ear. He obviously didn’t understand a word of her gushing, but that didn’t mean he didn’t listen attentively and nod in all the right places. Way easier to navigate than a tuned out family dinner conversation, that. 

They’d definitely be at least dabbling a bit in Contests. He didn’t really have any ambition there or with the Gym Circuit. Sure, getting crowned Champion or whatever the Contest equivalent would be cool, but there just… wasn’t any real point to it for him?

He had a long, comfortable life guaranteed. Fame and wealth would just be gravy, but so long as he found something stimulating enough that agreed with his Pokemon, he was set. Whether it was going into serious competitive circuits or becoming a fisherman battling Water types trying to get in the way of the day’s haul.

Ponders of the future aside, he was now at loose ends with the rest of his day. He supposed he could double back to the Pokemon Center and start asking for how to sign up for having his eyes, intestines and a few other things sorted out. But it was probably better to wait until all his paperwork was put in place before he poked his nose into anything of the sort. Utopic as this place may be, he doubted the government and healthcare had gotten any less anally retentive about keeping records. Entirely sensible, but inconvenient.

Which meant he instead just dropped a “Sup, any good spots to visit at this time of day?” like a hand grenade among a group of trainers vibing quietly in the lounge. 

“Sure! What kind of places are you looking to go to?” A girl with shoulder length white hair and electric blue eyes answered with surprising promptness. An Eevee dozing at her feet showed some signs of life as its ears twitched, likely responding to their partner’s voice.

Briefly, Neil took a moment to take her appearance in properly, the striking colors of her hair drawing his attention. She looked fairly young, but for the life of him he couldn’t really place her age. Small, too. Potentially abnormally so, but he couldn’t fully tell with her seated. Beyond her physical appearance, she was wearing some pretty daring clothing. A pair of black short-shorts combined with a black crop top, a navy blue fanny pack tied around her waist.

“Just for starters, I’ve got some money to burn and a painfully anemic wardrobe, so a clothes shop that won’t gouge my wallet for a couple of gag shirts would be a good start.” Neil explained after a moment’s thought. He’d also have to see if Mawile wanted to get some accessories, with her scales and fur being metallic she had a lot of options assuming they were magnet-friendly. Should also get some care products for all that stuff, at minimum a decent comb rated for steel fur and a brush that’d play nice with her crocodilian scales and teeth.

“You’ll want Lilycove’s Department Store for that!” Another trainer called before the girl that had answered first could, drawing a small pout from her. “Best variety, even though if you know Lilycove well enough you’d be able to find better deals in the market district.”

“I don’t, but poking around the markets may be a good time. What say you, partner?” Neil asked as he turned to his starter.

Before Mawile could respond, the first girl spoke up again, “Uh, if you’d like a guide, I’d be happy to direct you. I’m only really killing time here today.”

Mawile chirped in agreement, even as another trainer seated in the lounge spoke up.

“You mean hiding from your folks.” Sympathy laced the blonde boy’s androgynous voice, shocking considering he looked like he’d stepped out of a recruitment poster for linebackers.

“...No comment.” The girl continued without missing a singular beat, the Eevee at her feet opening one eye as it looked towards the person who had just spoken. 

“I’m good with that, lead on.” Neil said with a smile as he bulldozed right past whatever family drama was at play here. That earned him a smile from the girl as she gently gave her Eevee a nudge with her black (and wasn’t the girl fond of that color) sneakers, the small fox giving off a yawn as they stood, indigo eyes blinking as they looked up towards their training with a inquisitive trill.

“We’re playing tour guide, Eevee.” His new guide spoke softly. From her side, the fox-cat thing simply nodded, looking towards Neil and Mawile briefly before they shrugged and rose to their feet, leaping upwards into the waiting arms of the white-haired lass. With her partner cradled in her arms, the tiny girl turned towards the Faller with a smile, “M’ Raiko. If you’d prefer a more Unovan name, I also go by Luna. You are?”

“Neil Lee.” The brown haired man said with a smile as he picked up his own starter, letting the beaked dino sit in the crook of his arm. “And the pocket princess here is Mawile. Still workshopping a nickname with her.”

“Eevee here hasn’t accepted any of my suggestions yet either.” Raiko commiserated, giving the fox a fond look tinged with exasperation. “Now, if you’ll follow me, I can lead ya to the market district. Anything in particular you’re looking for, Neil? I can’t tell if you’re a trainer or not, so I dunno if you want to get the higher quality stuff that’ll be slightly more expensive or not.”

“Wet behind the ears Faller, so I need a bit of everything, really.” He explained as they moved away from the lounge, not really feeling like broadcasting his situation to a whole crowd. “Popped up with this here outfit, a phone that is only really good for music now, and little else.”

“Paperwork in progress?” Raiko clarified, receiving a nod as she hummed in consideration, leading Neil out of the Contest Hall. For a few minutes, they walked quietly through the streets of Lilycove City, the sun slowly beginning to set as they did so. Finally she spoke up, “Right, I’ll assume that someone gave you money and sent you out into the city, so if you could follow me? I’d be happy to assist you with stuff you can’t purchase but need as well.” She paused, “Before you ask, it’s something I’d be compensated for anyway once the paperwork goes through, so it doesn’t bother me much. I’m paying forward some kindness I received a bit ago as well so I won’t hear any protest.” She finished firmly, fixing a hard gaze on Neil.

“Peace, peace. I’m not the sort who gets his panties in a twist over handouts.” The Faller chuckled, raising the hand not busy holding Mawile up in surrender.

“Good!” Raiko chirped happily, her expression softening to the much more cheerful one she had been wearing earlier. “In that case, follow me. It’s about a fifteen minute walk to the markets where we can find some of the good stuff for cheaper than in the department store.”