If Jubilife City was a polished diamond of glass and light, Oreburgh City was a rough-cut chunk of coal—sturdy, industrial, and smelling of earth and effort.
As I stepped off the path and into the city limits, the first thing I noticed were the ventilation shafts. They poked out of the ground like giant concrete whistles, huffing out the stale, dusty air from the mines below and pulling in the fresh Sinnoh breeze. This was a city built on top of a labyrinth. Below my boots, thousands of miners and Pokémon were likely chipping away at the rich veins of coal that fueled the region.
It's a paradise for Rock-type lovers. In the distance, I could see the massive silhouette of the Oreburgh Mine, and I knew that deep in those tunnels, Onix were polishing their stony hides against the immense pressure of the earth, and Geodude were probably having "rolling matches" to see who was the toughest.
The journey from Jubilife had been surprisingly quick—only a day's trek through the rocky foothills. After checking into the local hotel, I headed straight for the Pokémon Center. My partners needed a tune-up before we even thought about stepping foot into a Gym.
"Excuse me, are you Julian from Sandgem Town?" the nurse behind the counter asked. She was looking at my trainer profile on her screen as I handed over my Poké Balls.
"That's me," I said, leaning against the counter. "Is there a problem with my registration?"
"Not at all! You actually have an urgent message waiting for you from Sandgem Town. Professor Rowan's lab requested that you call back the moment you arrived in Oreburgh."
"Rowan? Must be important," I muttered.
I walked over to the video phone booth. Honestly, the technology in this world is a mess. We have Poké Balls that can convert biological matter into digital data and store it in a pocket-sized sphere, yet if I want to talk to my boss, I have to stand in a booth like it's 1995. I really missed the idea of a Rotom Phone. Having a ghost in your pocket to handle your emails would have been much more convenient than these clunky wired screens.
I punched in the lab's frequency, and a few seconds later, the screen flickered to life. But it wasn't just Professor Rowan. Sitting beside him was a face that every researcher—and every kid with a TV—recognized instantly.
"Professor Oak?" I blinked, nearly dropping the receiver. "And Rowan? What's going on?"
"Julian! Good to see you," Rowan said, his stern face cracking into a rare, brief smile. "I heard about your performance at the Jubilife Contest. First place for a debut? You're making our laboratory look very good, young man."
"Oh, it was nothing," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "I mean, Floette and I have been training for a year. It would've been embarrassing if we didn't at least make the finals. Please don't tease me."
"It's not teasing," Samuel Oak chimed in, leaning forward with interest. "Most 'New Trainers' spend their first year figuring out which end of a Poké Ball is the front. You've managed to master a high-level Fairy-type evolution and win a Ribbon. That's exceptional. Tell me, have you caught any new partners on the road?"
"Not yet," I admitted. "Floette—who just evolved during the final, by the way—and Sylveon are still my only two. I've seen plenty of Pokémon on the routes, but... I don't know. None of them felt right."
I paused, my expression hardening a bit. "I'm not the kind of guy who catches everything that moves just to fill a Pokédex. If I catch a Pokémon, it's a lifelong commitment. They aren't tools or collection items; they're family. I've seen trainers catch a dozen 'mons and leave them in a backyard or a PC box for years. To me, that's not being a Trainer. That's being a hoarder."
I accidentally slammed my fist against the side of the booth, the metallic clang echoing through the quiet Pokémon Center.
Professor Oak watched me through the screen, his eyes softening with respect. "A bond-first approach. I like that. It's a philosophy that more trainers should adopt. In fact, that's exactly why I asked Rowan to set up this call."
I perked up. "Wait, you asked for this call?"
"Indeed," Oak said. "I've been following your research notes on Sylveon and the Fairy-type. Your insights into 'Affection-based Evolution' are groundbreaking. I'm currently working on a comprehensive study in the Kanto region, and I'd love to have you visit my lab in Pallet Town. We could discuss your findings face-to-face."
My heart skipped a beat. Kanto? Professor Oak's lab?
"I'd love to come!" I said, my excitement bubbling over. "I've wanted to visit Kanto since I was a kid! But... the Sinnoh League starts in October. I don't want to miss my window."
"It's only the end of April, Julian," Rowan reminded me. "You have plenty of time. If you're willing to go, Professor Oak has offered to cover all your travel and accommodation expenses. He even mentioned a 'special gift' for a promising young researcher-trainer."
"A gift?" I grinned. "Okay, you've sold me. I'm in."
"Excellent!" Oak beamed. "The fastest route would be to take the train from Oreburgh to Canalave City. From there, you can catch a high-speed ferry directly to the Kanto coast. It's a straight shot."
"Canalave..." I trailed off, my grin faltering. "Wait. Canalave City has the Steel-type Gym. Byron's Gym."
I felt a cold sweat break out on my forehead. Steel-types were the natural predators of Fairy-types. My team consisted of a Grass/Fairy-type (Floette) and a pure Fairy-type (Sylveon). Sending them against a Steel-type Gym this early was basically asking for a one-way trip to the Pokémon Center's intensive care unit.
"I'm going to get wrecked," I whispered to myself.
"Something wrong, Julian?" Rowan asked.
"Oh, nothing! Just... thinking about the 'scenic' route!" I laughed nervously. "I'll head to Canalave right after I finish my match with Roark here in Oreburgh. Thanks for the invite, Professors!"
I hung up the phone and stood there for a long moment, staring at my reflection in the dark screen. Then, I began to frantically scratch my head, messing up my neatly styled hair into a chaotic bird's nest.
"Canalave Gym... Byron... Bastiodon... Metal Burst... Steel Wing..." I muttered, pacing back and forth in the tiny booth. "My team is basically a salad and a ribbon. We're going to be shredded. Should I skip it? No, if I skip it, I have to come all the way back later... but if I go now, I'm just offering Byron a free win..."
I was so deep in my own head that I didn't notice the two Pokémon watching me from the bench outside the booth.
Floette, holding her blue flower like a tiny parasol, tilted her head in confusion. "Flo-ette? (Is he broken?)"
Sylveon, who was currently occupied with using one of her feelers to groom the fur on her front paw, looked up. She was a beautiful, elegant creature, and she knew it. She flicked her ribbon-like feeler toward me and sighed.
"Sylve-on... (I don't know. Humans get like this when they think too much. I think it's called 'man-opause' or something.)" ╮(￣▽￣)╭
"I heard that, Sylveon!" I shouted, poking my head out of the booth. "And for the record, it's just 'stress'! And don't look at me with those 'oh-poor-human' eyes! We have a Gym battle tomorrow against Rock-types, and then we have to go face a Steel-type Gym where everything resists us!"
Sylveon just blinked her big, blue eyes at me, looking completely unbothered. She walked over and wrapped a ribbon around my wrist, giving it a gentle, comforting squeeze.
"Yeah, yeah, you're right," I sighed, smoothing down my hair. "No use panicking today. We'll take down Roark tomorrow, get the Coal Badge, and then we'll figure out how to survive Canalave. Maybe I'll find a Fire-type or a Ground-type on the way."
I looked at my two partners. They were healthy, they were strong, and they were ready.
"Let's go back to the hotel," I said, picking up my gear. "Big day tomorrow. Oreburgh Gym, here we come."
As we walked out of the Pokémon Center and into the dusty streets of the Black Gold Market, I couldn't help but feel a thrill of anticipation. Kanto, Professor Oak, and a trip across the sea... my journey was getting a lot bigger than I had ever imagined.
But first, I had to deal with a man who lived for rocks and shovels.
"Roark," I whispered, looking toward the Gym at the edge of the city. "Hope you're ready for some magic."