"What in the Dark Dimension are you doing out this late in this weather!?" Malcolm turned around, seeing a man dressed in scrubs. His tone was a combination of concern and condemnation. Malcolm assumed it was probably more for his pokémon than himself. "Did you loose your trainer card or something?"

Might be best to be vague here...


"S-s-s-sorry... It was so c-c-c-cold, and my Abra..."

Malcolm let his voice trail off, trying to give off the guise that he was much weaker than he was. He subtlety hunched over, trying to make himself appear smaller. He made his chattering more excessive and shivering more wild.

Fingers crossed for someone else to be just as good natured as Nurse Alice...

Faye puts her phone back into her bag and walks down the path back to town then she starts to run as she is worry about her Pokémon. She continue to run to the Pokémon Center hitting the glass of the sliding door as people glance at her to see if she is okay.

“I am fine, I need a doctor for my Pokémon.”

Faye enters the Pokémon Center and walks to the front desk. She waits for someone as she ignores the conversations about the new gym, festival, and rumors about a Pokémon contest. She does not care how sweaty she is, she only wants her Pokémon to be okay.

Click Clack! Click Clack! Click Clack!
The rhythmic knocking of the train as it rolled down the line gave filler between the songs shuffling through Bryan's playlist. Head pressed against the train's window, his eyes were closed. He had spent most of the trip from New Haven half asleep; riding passenger always made him feel drowsy. Eyes still closed, he reached to his lap, and patted Ev, his Eevee, also sleeping lightly, upon the head. Ev responded with a gentle sound like a cat's pur.

The next song on Bryan's playlist made its entrance. His eyes opened as the verse began. Peering from the window out to the scene of New York City unfolding before him, he softly spoke along to a few choice lyrics. "I just want to feel OK." A rustling on his lap alerted Bryan to Ev's waking. The Pokemon looked up to Bryan as if knowing what was on his mind.

"Remember the last time we were in the city, Ev?" he asked, removing one of his ear buds, and holding near Ev's ear. "When we saw her at GovBall?"

"Eevee!" Ev responded in calm bliss.

"Now arriving at Harlem-125th Street."

The PA announcement called the station as the train came to a halt. "Almost there Ev. Next stop is us." Ev made another purring sort of noise, and hoped to the seat next to Bryan. Both watched as a young woman and her Pikachu entered their car.

"Eeev!" Ev turned and looked wistfully at Bryan.

"What are you thinking Ev? You want to be an electric type someday?"

"Eeeveee!" Ev nodded.

Chuckling, Bryan laid back in his seat. Note to self: pick up a Thunderstone in the city.

@jeroukoo

The male nurse sighed with pity as Malcolm shivered. "Well, let's get you taken care of, okay." He said as he motioned for Malcolm to follow him to the front desk. "What's your name?" The man said, as he logged into a computer. "I'll look up your information. We can get you set up with a room, and I'll have your replacement trainer card ready for you in the morning." When Malcolm didn't respond right away, the man looked up from his computer with a confused look on his face.

---

@Alisdragon911

A kind nurse with a southern accent took Faye's Pokeballs. "You should get something to eat at the cafeteria while we tend to your Pokemon. It'll only take ten minutes or so."

The cafeteria was semi-busy with trainers getting food. Some of them had their Pokemon out, eating with them, Pokemon that Faye had never seen in person before. She couldn't help but be amazed. Maybe someone here could give her a few pointers.

In the back of the cafeteria, a young brown haired girl, around Faye's age, sat quietly as she ate lunch alone. She seemed nice enough.

---

@Wayward

It was evening in New York City, and while the inside of the train was warm enough, outside was a cold 38°F. Bryan would have to visit a Pokemon Center before it got too late. It wasn't supposed to drop bellow freezing or snow, but still, there's never any need to be cold and miserable when there are Pokemon Centers waiting to take care of you for free.

"Oh, uh..." Malcolm didn't realize they could look up trainer cards on the PC.

Shit, well maybe I'll just freeze tonight anyway...

Malcolm returned Split to her ball and scratched his head.

"It's ah... Striker. Should be under Striker..." It pained Malcolm to say that. It would have probably brought up his father's trainer information. And wanted nothing to do with him. Malcolm half thought about just leaving the center, considering the trip over a little vacation from the cold.

Faye is glad that a nice nurse is taking care of her Pokémon as she swipe her trainers card to get in line to put a slice of pizza and a bottle of water. She walks over to the brown hair girl she saw ealierand sits next to her.

“Hi, I thought you may want some company.”

Faye hopes to get a few tips from her as everyone can tell she is a new trainer as . takes a bite of her pizza. She takes a sip of water wondering if the brown hair girl wanted her to stay or go away.

"Oh, uh..." Malcolm didn't realize they could look up trainer cards on the PC.

Shit, well maybe I'll just freeze tonight anyway...

Malcolm returned Split to her ball and scratched his head.

"It's ah... Striker. Should be under Striker..." It pained Malcolm to say that. It would have probably brought up his father's trainer information. And wanted nothing to do with him. Malcolm half thought about just leaving the center, considering the trip over a little vacation from the cold.

The nurse arched an eyebrow as he typed his last name into the computer. "Okay, and your first name? And date of birth?" Of course there would be more than one Pokemon trainer with the last name Striker in the world.

Faye is glad that a nice nurse is taking care of her Pokémon as she swipe her trainers card to get in line to put a slice of pizza and a bottle of water. She walks over to the brown hair girl she saw ealierand sits next to her.

“Hi, I thought you may want some company.”

Faye hopes to get a few tips from her as everyone can tell she is a new trainer as . takes a bite of her pizza. She takes a sip of water wondering if the brown hair girl wanted her to stay or go away.

The brown haired girl gave Faye a polite smile, "Sure, my name is Samantha. What's yours?" She then took another bite of her sandwich.

"Now arriving at: Grand Central."

The PA announcement chimed as the train began to slow into the station. "This our stop, Ev." With the train still in motion, Bryan stood up, taking a moment to reassure his stance. Once balanced, he pulled his backpack from the overhead rack. The train came to its complete stop as he finished securing his gear to his person. He made a single, final sweep of his belongings, taking special care to make sure that his belt with his PokeBalls, particularly the two housing his Pidgey and Scraggy, were on his person. Confirming that everything and everyone was accounted for, he walked to the opening doors, and out onto the platform.

Swiftly proceeding from the platform, Ev following closely, he walked along the upward escalator, emerging into Grand Central Terminal. Both his and Ev's heads immediately drifted about, taking in the interior architecture; both Pokemon and trainer were wide-eyed. "Never gets old," Bryan mused softly enough that only Ev could hear. Despite it being Grand Central, there didn't seem to be too large of a crowd in the station. "Mostly looks like other trainers tonight," Bryan commented, peering about, partially hoping to catch another glimpse of the young woman with the Pikachu.

He stopped a short distance from the information kiosk at the center of the station. "First thing's first," he said to Ev. "We should find ourselves a Pokemon Center. There should be one near here. Surprised there isn't one in the station itself, actually." He stepped up to the Kiosk. Once settled in and taken care of, Bryan would figure out the next move. While navigating NYC wasn't his forte, he knew, at least, what there was at least one Pokemon Gym in each of the five Boroughs, and he'd have to hit those up eventually; that was, after all, his reason for traveling to NYC. Challenge the New York City Pokemon Conference, and prove your mettle today! he mused, quoting a commercial he had heard on the radio not long ago. He chuckled as he approached the clerk at the kiosk. "Excuse me," I'm a Pokemon trainer. I'm looking for info on Pokemon Centers, Marts, and gyms, if you can help."

“Hi my name Faye, it is nice to meet you. Are you excite about taking on the new Gym Leader pr take part in the festival?”

Faye looks at Samantha to see if she is wearing Pokémon badges or Ribbions. Faye is thinking Samantha could be into ghost, some people have seen spirits of people and Pokémon from past. Faye continues to eat her pizza as she watches the diffrent Pokémon that we’re eating with their trainers.

Ah, shit...


"Malcolm is the first name." He sighed. He figured he might as well tell the truth and see where that got him. "April 6th, 1982."

He drifted away from the nurse and towards the door, ready for him to kick him out.


I got to head somewhere warmer tomorrow...

@Wayward

The man behind the counter had to hold back from rolling his eyes. He spoke in a monotone voice. "There are Poke stores all around us. You should check your handy Pokedex to find them all, but if you want my opinion, go to the "Poke Central on Madison Avenue". It's close the Pokemon Lab. They can heal your Pokemon at the lab, just as well as any Poke Center could. As for gyms, the closest one is obviously the Manhattan Gym, but you can't face that one before the others. You'll have to go to the other four boroughs first."

Just as the man finished answering Bryan's question, another person came running up to the desk. "Excuse me! I'm a new Pokemon trainer, and I just got into the area. Can you help me?"

The man behind the counter dropped his head in defeat. After a moment of silence, he looked back up and started his speech again. "There are Poke stores all around us...."

---

@Alisdragon911

The girl named Samantha shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure. I'm not really the competitive type. I think I'm going to be a breeder instead. I just like spending time with my Pokemon and raising them to be big and strong... But maybe I'll give the gym a chance, just to test how well I've bred my own Pokemon so far."

---

@jeroukoo

Malcolm was surprised at what the nurse said next, "Gotcha, Malcolm Striker, from Annapolis, Maryland. You sure are a long way from home. I'll have a room ready for you right away, but um... would you mind if I retook your picture? Your license expired almost... nine years ago??? That can't be right..."

The nurse then turned the computer around, to show a picture of Malcolm at age 17. He recognized the picture, it was from his high school yearbook. His father must have signed him up to be a trainer without telling him, all those years ago.

“Do you have any tips for new trainers and what kind of Pokémon do you breed?” Faye is thinking stick to the Pokémon contest before taking on the Gym. She may want to stop by the PokeMart to see if they sell Tms. She looks at the time to see how late it is, she may want to get a room for the night.

"Dammit!" Bryan cursed under his breath as he walked away from the desk towards a nearby PokeStore that he hadn't noticed on arrival. "Not the friendliest of sorts, huh, Ev?"

"Eeeevee." Ev nodded in agreement.

"I mean, yeah, it was kinda stupid of me to not see the stores in the station; but he didn't have get so testy about it. Ugh. Probably gets asked about things a thousand or more times a day I reckon."

The pair stepped into a small Pokemon shop just inside of the station entrance from 42nd Street. Their first sight in the shop was that of a rack filled with various fliers and pamphlets relaying information about the various Pokemon related attractions, events, and activities, taking place within the city. "Look's like we'll have plenty of reading material while we relax later," Bryan mused as he took a single copy of several pamphlets.

Setting foot outside of the station on East 42nd street, Bryan pulled out his PokeDex; it was the first time since he had gotten it that he had really paid much heed to it. "That guy at the desk did say that we could use our PokeDex to find spots in the city. Maybe we can..." he searched through the device's multitude of functions, and soon enough, he found a program similar to Uber or Lyft, through which he could call for a ride via the Pokemon Association. "Hmmm... nearest Pokemon Center is at... He said Madison Avenue... so that'd be Mount Sinai Hospital? Roughly." He punched in for the address and awaited his ride's arrival.

"That son of a bitch..." Malcolm gritted his teeth. "Behind my goddamn back..."

Malcolm turned his back away from the male nurse, making his way to the door.

"Yeah you're right," Malcolm said, voice seething in rage. "That is a mistake. Sorry for bothering ya."

Malcolm made his way to the cold, but his burning temper kept him hot. He didn't know where he wanted to go, but he just walked until he found some reason to stop.

@Alisdragon911

Samantha smiled at Faye's enthusiasm. "I've only been a trainer for a few weeks. I don't know if I'm qualified to give anyone advice, but if I had to say something... maybe... your Pokedex. That thing can do almost anything. You can call for rides, answer help wanted adds, and ask it questions about pretty much anything. There's even a feature where you can name your Pokedex. I named mine Izzy. Once it has a name, you can say "Hey such and such", and it will listen to anything you have to say.

"And I haven't decided what my favorite kind of Pokemon to breed are yet. I only have five Pokemon so far... Hey, you wanna have a friendly battle? How many Pokemon do you have?"

---

@Wayward

The car that arrived for Bryan was plain looking enough. It was solid white, but with the Pokemon Association's Logo on the hood of the car and on the roof. The man driving the car, stopped on the sidewalk right in front of Bryan and rolled down his window. "You Bryan, right!? I'm your ride! Hop in!"

Twenty minutes passed without much excitement or talking between the driver and Bryan. Traffic was horrible, but somehow the driver didn't seem bothered. He was a stone wall of no emotion.

The whole trip took 40 minutes, (only twenty minutes quicker than it would have been to walk). "This is you." The driver said over his shoulder. The courteous, obligatory smile on his face was fading fast.

---

@jeroukoo

Malcolm was literally freezing to death. His stubbornness was the only thing keeping him moving. He hardly even noticed the car pull up behind him, until the blue lights flashed, and a spotlight was on him.

"Sir." The officer spoke out of his rolled down window. "You can't be out here in this weather. You'll die." Very carefully the officer got out of his car, and another officer got out of the passenger side. "Let me take you to the station. You can stay in holding till the sun comes up." The officer was careful not to approach to quickly or seem aggressive. His body was shaking in the cold, despite many layers.

That bastard... Going behind my back.. Malcolm thought to himself as he walked the streets of Casper, his rage fueling each step he took. He was too busy muttering to himself to notice the blue lights flashing behind him.

"Sir. You can't be out here in this weather. You'll die."

"Huh?" Malcolm turned towards the police officer. "Say what?"

"Let me take you to the station. You can stay in holding till the sun comes up."

"Oh no," Malcolm politely began, not wanting to anger the officer. "Thanks but I'm-"

But as Malcolm finished his sentence, the sensation of the freezing cold elements hit him all at once. The anger that was keeping him warm had melted at the police officer's kindness. He began shaking wildly, and grabbed the sides of his shoulders.

"E-e-e-xactly, yeah... Thank you..." Malcolm made his way to the cop car.

To Faye that is very interesting and helpful, she pulls out her Pokédex and names it Savannah. She listen to Samantha and smiles, she puts her Pokédex back into her bag. She is happy that someone challenge her to a Pokémon battle, this will give her some condfence in herself to keep battling with her Pokémon.

“I only have two Pokémon but I accept your Challange.”

Bryan's ride arrived within a few minutes of him requesting it. A plain, white, four-door decorated with the Pokemon Association's seal came to a stop at the curbside in front of him. The driver, all business, quickly beckoned Bryan into the vehicle. Complying, Bryan sat himself and buckled up in the back. For the duration of the drive, which took an oddly long time, based on Bryan's previous experience with riding through the city, was uneventful save for the traffic. The driver wasn't the talkative type, which suited Bryan, as he wasn't typically one to make conversation with people when they were focused on their work. The only activity over the course of the forty minutes that followed was Ev wandering about the back seat watching the people and other Pokemon along the streets as the car made its way through the city. Bryan spent the time doing the same, as well as observing Ev's reactions; Ev always proved a comfort to him, even in his worst of times.

If anything bad happens to you...

The car came to a stop outside of the hospital. The driver turned to Bryan. "This is you," the driver said.

Bryan noticed that the courteous smile that the man had been holding to was waning. Not keen on agitating his ride, Bryan began to unload from the car. Grabbing his backpack from the floor next to him, and calling for Ev he made his exit. "Thank you," he said to the driver as he exited the vehicle, discretely leaving leaving a ten dollar bill on the center console next to the driver once his back was turned again; he wasn't sure if it was typical to leave a tip for IPA drivers, but hoped that it would at least be taken as a good gesture of appreciation.

A minute later, Bryan was approaching the hospital's reception desk. "Good evening," he said to the receptionist. He presented his Trainer ID, setting on top of the desk. "Do you have any rooms available for a trainer and Pokemon?"

@jeroukoo

The ride to police station was quiet, peaceful almost. When they made it to the station, the cops took Malcolm's belongings (including his Pokeballs) and checked them in at the front desk. They also gave him a pat down to be sure he wasn't carrying any weapons or hidden Pokeballs and had to have him take off his shoes (to everyone's dismay).

There wasn't a bed to sleep on in the holding room; it was just a wide open room with nothing in it but a bench that was attached to the wall and ran its entire length. There was no privacy either, as the doors and front wall were steel bars painted white, and the lights left no shadowy corner. In one of these well lit corners, a sleeping man with a rising and falling beer-belly would be Malcolm's temporary roommate.

Still, at least he wasn't out in the cold...

---

@Alisdragon911

"That's okay." Samantha answered back. "I spent the last few days camping by a river. I caught two Pokemon while I was out there. This will be their first battle." She then stood up from the table with her now empty tray. "Come on, there's a little park outside around the corner. I saw some people battling out there earlier. We better hurry, it's going to be to dark to see soon."

A few minutes later, the two trainers were outside. They stood across from each other on a grass field. "Come on out Clauncher!" Emerging from her Pokeball, the little Clauncher looked around, slightly confused, before realizing what was going on and snapping her claws together in anticipation. "She's not used to traveling by Pokeball yet. Anyways, who are you gonna use first?" Samantha smiled, wide and friendly.

---

@Wayward

"Why yes we do." The kind lady behind the desk answered. She then took Bryan's trainer card for a quick scan. After scanning it, she came out from behind the counter and motioned for Bryan to follow. "Right this way." The lady then led Bryan to the nearest elevator, where she stopped and gave him general directions on how to get to his room. "Check out is at 1pm, unless your staying another night with us. Of course, like all Poke Centers, we have a two night maximum. Breakfast will start at 7am and stop at noon. And... yeah... That's pretty much it. Any questions?"

Bryan's room was on the tenth floor. It was small but cozy, and it had everything he needed. By all accounts, it was like any economy hotel room, including a shower, a TV, and a full size bed. It would be enough for him and his Pokemon.