pokematlab

[pokematlab]

Day eleven of being a trained Pokémon: reminiscence

Hearing the Joltik recount her life reminded me of how I came to the lab. Several years ago I was living with a troop of my fellow species. While most of us are in a fairly specific isolated area of Unova, there has been recent push for expansion. We settled in the outskirts of the city the lab is in. At this time I was young and hadn't even evolved yet. The area was good to us, we lived there for years, and the rest remain in the area.

The lab's Pokémon biology department was authorized to perform a study on the fur of our species. Our fur has unique qualities which hadn't been studied extensively. They had several of us visit the lab, where they took samples of our fur and analyzed it. A couple of us stayed for a relatively long period of time to perform larger scale tests.

[pokematlab]

Who?

The couple I saw days ago. They looked so happy together.

[pokematlab]

I wish I had what they have.

[pokematlab]

Day ten of being a trained Pokémon: city

It was far too late to jump to another plant by the time she woke. The truck had left, likely hours ago. The only place she could leap would be to another bush in the trailer. The plants were unloaded at a bulk retailer in the suburbs of this city. Some of the load was presented on the sales floor, while the rest remained in the unloading bays. It wasn't long before her bush was placed in the back of a smaller truck and taken somewhere else. Roughly a dozen decorative berries where shipped to a shop in the city and put on public sale.

She managed to escape the shop by night, and attempted to find a suitable area of wilderness to return to her lifestyle pre-nursery. The city center was not ideal for this, any enclave of supposed nature was overly pedicured. Failing to find a natural environment, she transitioned to scavenging, finding remains of food discarded by people and trained Pokémon. It was not particularly difficult to find scraps, but it did take effort for her to learn how to hide from humans in an urban environment.

Over the years she learned how to infiltrate apartments, eventually finding the student's. She has a mental map of several reliable locations where discards are common. While the student does occasionally leave unfinished snacks in the bathroom, the Joltik said that she resorts to this apartment only when other sources are scarce.

[pokematlab]

Day ten of being a trained Pokémon: nursery

Late at night, when the others were asleep, I spoke with the Joltik. She is female, and is not originally from this part of Unova. She lived in a flower nursery in her early life. It was a massive open warehouse with thousands upon thousands of flowers and other plants grown all at once in huge batteries. Many of the plants being raised were decorative fruits, which is what originally pulled her to the location.

Workers would periodically load entire pallets of nursed plants into trucks, which would be shipped off to various retailers in Unova. She was diligent to stay away from mature plants for this reason. There was a time when she slipped up, however. It was late into the season, yet workers were loading pallets. She found it unusual, especially when she noticed the volume of flowers being shipped away. It was rare for a significant fraction to be loaded, as they would clone portions of stock for the next season, and would have off-season plants being grown in anticipation for later sale.

This harvest was almost total, for over a week, hour after hour, pallets were taken from the nursery and shipped off. The first several days seemed almost normal, but as time progressed, the work went on further into the night. Eventually she couldn't stay awake for the entire duration they were unloading. She fell asleep in a berry bush and was loaded into a trailer.

[pokematlab]

Day nine of being a trained Pokémon: return

I wasn't sleeping well, I'm sure one may be able to guess why. I remembered the Joltik that I had seen in the bathroom days ago. It was about the same time as when I had seen them, so I checked to see if they were there. Luckily, they were. I had been hoping for their return ever since they left.

I asked why they were here, they said that the student will leave half eaten snacks in the bathroom on occasion. I also asked if they had ever tried to stay. They responded by saying they had tried to visit during the day, which led to the student swatting them away. I offered to hide them from her, so they could remain, and said they could eat some of my food. The Joltik was apprehensive.

I told them to climb onto my arm, then showed them the bedding that I hadn't unpacked. It was a perfect hiding spot for the Joltik, dark and enclosed, shielded from view. They were still unsure, but ultimately agreed to stay.

[pokematlab]

Day nine of being a trained Pokémon: boredom

At this point I'm left to simply count the days as they pass, waiting for the time that the lab is ready to have me again. It's not entirely boring, at least. Reggie watches the TV frequently. Lately he's had a medical drama on, which wouldn't be notable if not for the fact that it has an Audino who can speak English as one of the minor characters. He does not appear frequently, but I'm content enough to watch until he does.

I also will scroll through Rotomblr with Flower occasionally. We haven't come across the Dewott he saw the first time we looked through Rotomblr. I'm sure he hopes we do.

[pokematlab]

Pokémon are not given the same treatment as humans, at least here. We aren't considered as intelligent, or as skilled. There are many safeguards against unsupervised Pokémon. I hear that several cities require Pokémon to be leashed when outdoors.

From what I understand, not all apartments have this sort of rule. If it makes it any better, human children are disallowed from playing in the halls. Pokémon not in Pokéballs are not allowed to be in the halls at all, however.

it depends on the model, configuration, settings, quality of the specific ball, and some qualities of the pokemon i don't fully know or understand

I'm so close to revealing what species I am for the slim chance that someone will tell me that I'm one who could escape Pokéballs.

[pokematlab]

Day eight of being a trained Pokémon: anticipation

My appetite had returned. I was eating in front of the window, hoping to see the Pokémon I had yesterday. I saw a few others, but not the pair with young. Flower came by and I asked if he checked with Reggie. He said he had, and that he didn't know how to escape a Pokéball either.

I was wondering when I would be taken back to the lab. This situation with the student was not permanent, it was temporary while the lab finished renovations. I had assumed it would only be a few days, evidently it was longer. Of course, when I eventually do return, I'll have to be recalled to my Pokéball. Maybe I could fake an injury and have the student carry me out of the apartment.

[pokematlab]

Day eight of being a trained Pokémon: collected

It was hard, but I managed to focus and collect myself. Early in the morning I asked Flower if he had ever escaped his Pokéball, or if he knew how. He said he didn't know, and I requested he ask Reggie as well. There isn't much information available online about Pokéball escape, other than some guides on how to prevent Pokémon from escaping.

Even the rare forums for Pokémon have scant information. Everyone there seems either content with their situation, or in positions to escape without involving a Pokéball. I should have assumed as much, honestly. If a Pokémon is using a forum, they are likely doing so in presence of an understanding human (as I am) or are plotting an escape while they are not looking.

[pokematlab]

The person you replied to? The one you basically told "I hope all your Pokémon friends are gone forever?"

The person said they couldn't find their Pokéballs, not that they couldn't find their Pokémon. If they lost Pokéballs with Pokémon inside, can't they escape and find the person? Unless you mean to tell me that it's impossible to escape a Pokéball, in which case I have several new fears.

I hope they didn't lose Pokémon, that's not what I meant by my post.

[pokematlab]

It's not ideal, but it's really the best I could ask for given the circumstances. I'm only here temporarily while the lab finishes renovations. If I tried to escape, the building's security would likely seize me since Pokémon are strictly forbidden from roaming the halls. I also can't fly or anything of the sort, so a window exit is not an option. I would be content to stay, the only issue is the Pokéball.

it depends on the model, configuration, settings, quality of the specific ball, and some qualities of the pokemon i don't fully know or understand

I'm so close to revealing what species I am for the slim chance that someone will tell me that I'm one who could escape Pokéballs.

[pokematlab]

If the Pokémon escaped please tell me the species, what the Pokémon was experienced in, the rough size and mass of the Pokémon, how old the Pokémon was, what type of Pokéball was used, and any other relevant information you can remember about the situation.

[pokematlab]

No, I'm a... Well I probably shouldn't say. I am not a Snivy though, I have as much on my profile description.

In your universe, in your universe. Sure, whatever region or universe or whatever you're in might have sensible Pokéball design, but what about mine? How would I even check without risking myself being trapped forever? I'm never going into a Pokéball ever again unless I am entirely, totally confident I could escape!

it depends on the model, configuration, settings, quality of the specific ball, and some qualities of the pokemon i don't fully know or understand

I'm so close to revealing what species I am for the slim chance that someone will tell me that I'm one who could escape Pokéballs.

[pokematlab]

Day seven of being a trained Pokémon: panic

Learning that Pokéballs were inescapable threw me into a panic. I tried to keep quiet, not to alarm the others. I wanted to scream and run, but I knew that I would be caught by some kind of security if I did so. I could barely sleep, only able to stare at the wall for hours.

When morning came and Flower left the couch to eat, I sat in front of the window, nibbling on a days old muffin while barely hungry. Two of my own species walked by, I watched them pass by below on the sidewalk with a human following behind. One had a smaller Pokémon in their arms, I think it was our prior evolution. I didn't know what to feel in that moment.

It was another walking day. Seeing Flower and Reggie recalled to their Pokéballs was frightening. Thoughts of being dropped when trapped inside never to be found again flashed across my mind. I couldn't shake them, they persisted like the ring of silence. I was stunned, staring mouth agape at the student as she turned to me, holding my Pokéball. She asked if I wanted to go with them, I ran behind a table.