Occupied by the Hiker’s lecture, they did not notice as a blonde kid ran straight through the cave with the speed of a Dragonite. Without anybody to wait for, the impatient boy went from destination to destination like a heat-seeking torpedo.

  Deep within the Oreburgh Gym, a loud voice could be heard.

  “You’re late for the challenge! I’m fining you 100 million!”

  “How can I be late when you didn’t even register for the Gym Challenge?”, a tired voice responded back, slightly irritated at his latest Challenger.

  Back at Oreburgh Gate, the Hiker concluded his lecture which Harrison was actively taking notes on. He wasn’t the type to take notes and preferred to absorb information through understanding but he took a different approach when it came to things that could endanger his life.

  One such thing was caves which he likely wouldn’t get used to nor would he want to get used to. Expertise in this type of environment would be important though as there were many caves in this world. But more importantly, Sinnoh was home to Mount Coronet which was one of the few places where one could contact the Gods and would likely be one of his many required destinations.

  “That was very informative”, Harrison said to the Hiker as they were about to depart.

  “Haha! Usually kids get tired of me rambling after the first minute but you guys listened the whole way”, the Hiker stated with a hearty laugh.

  “I don’t really like caves so I’ll need all the help I can get”, Christine stated with a slight grimace.

  “Luckily, Sinnoh doesn’t have many caves but we have to deal with Mount Coronet which might actually be worse”, Gavin said while sighing.

  The Hiker then scratched his head.

  “I’m not sure why you three are so scared of caves. They’re fun, cool, and a whole new world to explore. But ... I guess it is better to be cautious than reckless. Anyways, everyone after likely won’t be as receptive so to show my gratitude… If you tell them Grant at Oreburgh Gate sent you, they’ll let you go deeper into the mines. I usually wouldn’t recommend it but you kids seem capable enough”

  The group then waved goodbye to Grant as they headed towards the City.

  Exiting the cave, the city came into full view.

  There were two defining features that made up the shape of Oreburgh. The rows of standardized apartment buildings which occupied a meager portion of Coronet’s side and the massive mining complex in full operation adjacent to the City.

  Even looking directly up from this distance, Mount Coronet’s summit was thoroughly covered by the clouds. But even if there were none, he would not have glimpsed Spear Pillar from so far down below.

  “It truly is a mining city”, Harrison stated as he observed the streets lined with boulders and prominent industrial vents that popped out of the ground in regular intervals. The vents were large enough to exchange massive volumes of air but were covered in grilles to ensure the only things that got in and out were air and noxious fumes.

  Despite their distance, they could feel the slight rumble of heavy duty machinery and the faintest scent of coal in the mostly fresh air. The air quality was probably far worse than every other city in this world but still leagues better than those cities filled to the brim with cars and parking lots. In a world filled with rideable Pokemon that could surf and even fly, cars would never be able to compete. There was also the love of journeying which was inherent to this world’s culture. Travelling in a car diminished one’s sense of adventure and reinforced the mindset of getting to the destination rather than experiencing the world.

  Trains and planes were different though as not everybody had powerful Pokemon on hand and the non-Trainers still needed a form of transportation for society to function.

  “A whole new city! Let’s go explore!”, Christine exclaimed but neither Harrison nor Gavin shared her enthusiasm.

  “I’ve had enough of the underground for one day. Besides, it’s getting dark”, Gavin stated as he pointed out the orange glow of the evening sky.

  “What? Why would we explore underground? Let’s check out what they have in the City”, she responded.

  “I’d suggest doing the important stuff first like getting a room at the Pokemon Center. Everything else can wait till tomorrow when we’re a bit more settled in”, Harrison said to the two.

  They then walked a considerable distance with Christine expressing regret as they passed by the commercial district with all the shops and restaurants which were inferior to Jubilife in terms of quality and quantity but that didn’t mean it had nothing to offer. One of the restaurants had clear windows which let people look in as their Chef Machamp skillfully crushed entire slabs of rock salt into powder fit for seasoning. With four arms, the bodybuilder dexterously held the plate in one hand, seasoned with another, decorated using garnishes with the third, and started preparing the next dish with the fourth.

  Harrison noticed there were way more Fighting and Rock types in Oreburgh which wasn’t too surprising. Not all of the Pokemon roaming in the city belonged to a Trainer but it was clear that those wild Pokemon meant no harm and just wanted to enjoy a bit of the city. One of them was even an Onix taller than 3 stories which he instinctively distanced himself from as a puny human that didn’t even meet 2 meters.

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  He then made a detour at the Oreburgh Gym. Both the Pokemon Center and the Gym were closer to the mining complex out of necessity and practicality with mining incidents requiring medical care and Gym Leader Roark being the Mine’s safety supervisor.

  Entering the building which seemed more like a bunker entrance carved out of a large boulder, Harrison went straight towards reception.

  “Welcome to Oreburgh Gym!”, the lady manning reception shouted.

  “We’d like to register for the Gym Challenge”, he said to the Worker in front. If not for her blue mining helmet and her miner attire with a red and yellow vest, she’d look more like a model with her long strands of curly blonde hair which likely could have led to possible safety hazards in the mine.

  Harrison then handed over his Trainer Card.

  Looking over the details, she said, “Your name is Harrison and this will be your first badge?”

  He nodded and she continued, “Then our earliest reservation for Gym Leader Roark is in 6 days”

  Harrison just sighed as that was longer than he wanted but it was within range of what he expected.

  She responded in an apologetic tone, “The start of the Gym Circuit is very busy especially for the traditional first Gym. We actually had some time today but a troublesome challenger rushed straight in to the Gym without registering and caused a bit of a fuss… and then Gym Leader Roark had to head back to the mines”

  Back to the mines, Harrison thought.

  “...Was the challenger an impatient blonde kid?”, he asked.

  The Worker paused slightly surprised.

  “Yeah, the kid rushed straight past the desk and demanded a first badge level challenge which he barely won. Are you acquainted with him?”, she responded.

  “...No, I’ve just heard of his shenanigans”, Harrison stated.

  As expected, he thought. Likely a bit too much to handle for the Gym Leader which was why Barry got the badge while Roark went to the mines to cool off. Not an ideal place for relaxation but it was probably different for those who loved Rock types and practically lived in the mines.

  “What if I want a greater challenge?”, Harrison then asked.

  “Are you sure? This will be your first Official Gym Battle and asking for a greater challenge when starting out this recently isn’t recommended”, she stated, attempting to dissuade him.

  “The Gym Leader can start with the level of the regular challenge and use it to gauge my skills then”, Harrison offered.

  She hesitated for a bit but seeing that Harrison did not budge even after a few more attempts at dissuasion, she stated, “We’ll be expecting you in 3 days then”

  The group then left for the Pokemon Center after everybody had been registered. Christine and Gavin had to wait 5 days for their challenge as unsurprisingly, they still needed training but at the very least, they were bumped up in priority due to having a Starter.

  “You’ve arrived at the perfect time”, Nurse Joy said when they asked for a room.

  “All the early Trainers have just left with the Coal Badge and you guys are ahead of all the newcomers. Any later and every room would be completely booked usually by tomorrow morning. Everybody else would then have to make do without their own room or camping”

  “That’s a relief then”, Harrison stated. He did have the funds for a hotel and could have easily gone to one instead but he chose the Pokemon Center for convenience but mainly because he wanted to experience life as a Trainer. Almost every Trainer utilized the Pokemon Center and it would’ve been odd to go to a hotel when he was supposed to be on his journey. He wasn’t against hotels but the very first day of his journey shouldn’t be in one.

  “Is it just you three or do you have more party members?”, Nurse Joy asked.

  In the background, he could see two Chanseys running around the Pokemon Center. One seemed to be moving supplies while the other was caring for a wounded Machop.

  “It’s just us three”, Harrison stated as he motioned towards Christine and Gavin who then registered on the kiosk with their Trainer Cards.

  “Would you like one room with bunk beds or two rooms? We have more available since you’re early”, Nurse Joy continued, clearly referring to Christine who was the only girl in the current party.

  Both Harrison and Gavin both looked at Christine and waited, letting her make the decision.

  “One room is fine”, Christine stated.

  “You sure?”, Gavin asked, wanting to affirm.

  “Of course! I’m here on a journey. Just give me some privacy when I need it”, she stated.

  “If you’re certain, I’ll reserve it but we do still have space if you change your mind”, Nurse Joy stated.

  The three then headed to their new room for their stay in Oreburgh. The room was quite spacious with 2 bunk beds and enough room to accommodate at least 4 adults which meant it was plenty for them as they weren’t the spoiled type and they weren’t adults yet in terms of size and height.

  Their room had a desk with a Notice which clearly stated in a bold and eye-catching font, “Please keep LARGE Pokemon in their Pokeballs during your stay”. Also attached to the room was their own bathroom which had a shower stall but not a bathtub. This meant lacking accommodations for water types and bath lovers but that was to be expected as a Pokemon Center was functional first and foremost. This didn’t mean that they couldn’t care for large water Pokemon as they did have pools for them in the medical portion of the facility but definitely not the dormitory/lodging sector. Even then, providing for a Wailord was probably an unreasonable request.

  “Top Bunk!”, Christine and Gavin both shouted at the same time.

  Harrison shrugged and said with a sigh, “Good thing then that there’s two of them”

  He then began to look around the room which had a window overlooking the city as it was on one of the higher floors. From the window, he could see some of the mine workers having a drink as their shift ended. They were quite sooty so the restaurant had them remain outside as they dined.

  He then looked at the rest of the city and could see some people also at their windows. One seemed to be at their desk working on their laptop, a Rookidee at a perch, a window filled with the lights from a television as the person watched what was probably a horror movie in the dark, a woman smoking at her window beside her Glameow, and many many more.

  It was an entire functioning city filled with people he would likely never meet and places he couldn’t fully explore. But it was alive, filled with people and more importantly, Pokemon.

  He then looked back at the two who joined him on his journey.

  “Let’s go eat. I’m starving”, Gavin stated.

  “I want to check out the restaurant with that Machamp as a chef”, Christine then suggested.