"Show me my skill points."
[Already? You just got a skill]
"Well I want another! It's my skill points!" Ajax said to Unknowns in his system.
The Unknowns thought for a second, some of them even suggesting to close the system for a day or two to humble Ajax a little. Nevertheless they couldn't do it since there were some rules they had to follow themselves.
[Talk to us like that again and we are putting a penalty. We are your helpers not slaves]
[Agreed. Take away his skill points]
[Take them. Take them]
[... -1 white skill point]
...
Ajax was left speechless.
"That's unfair! I worked hard for those!" He scoffed, demanding that the point be returned but unknowns just ignored until he finally yields.
"I am suing you."
[To whom? *Smug face emoji* There is no court for systems.]
"B-but!... *He surrenders* Please?"
Ding
[+1 skill white point.. that wasn't so hard was it?]
Ajax's tense body finally relaxs. The window for the skill tree once more projecting itself into his head while he slowly approached the entrance to the town.
To the side he could see a cliff. It was the same two story tall cliff where Alder should have jumped down from to greet Nate and Rosa when they arrived.
Meanwhile within his mind, he calculated his skill points and found that white was still the one with highest value of 5 which he invested into the speed skill Without any hesitation at all.
[Wind's blessing acquired]
"Much better. Atleast I have a backup plan for running now." He mutters.
Then with a step past the gates, he was officially in Floccesy town. This meant he had to atleast visit the pokemon center and heal Snivy a little while shopped for some supplies he forgot to buy because of the C-gear accident.
So he ventured on, walking his way down the streets until he arrived at the pokemon center and entered to find the counter empty.
'Lucky me.' he thought, striding forward while he glanced around to find the pokemon that was also present without any problem to say the least.
He handed Snivy's pokeball over the counter, trading a subtle nod with Nurse while he traced back his steps and returned to mart where the shopkeeper kept waving at him.
"Are you a new trainer as well? Care to shop for a few potions or maybe --
"Four potion, six pokeballs. Also give me two repels." Ajax interrupted and handed over the money in instant.
He already knew most of things that he could buy with his current clearance from his trainer ID. So he wasted no time and paid it all in full at once.
The shopkeeper pocketed the money, giving Ajax a subtle side eye while he handed him the items with smile.
But just as Ajax began to move away, he smiled. His smile wasn't because he was happy but because he just found out something that would come to use in time.
"What a amateur." Ajax mocked in whispers before continuing." Did this Plasma grunts think I was some rich brat with no brain to spare?"
It was a sneaky feeling, a feeling that turned to suspicions and then to a guarantee when Ajax glanced at the poorly hidden Plasma badge in the shop keeper's pocket.
This world wasn't a game, it was a reality for Ajax and that meant things that were beyond the scope of game's boundaries.
Right everywhere he looked, he could only see shadows of Team plasma. Even behind the nurse who was now hidden behind a veil of doubt that kept looming in Ajax's eyes.
This was no longer a normal pokemon center. It was outpost for team plasma and their mission was probably to monitor Alder in chase he decided to return to main stage.
'I may not be the smartest or cunning. But anybody with some idea of basic story won't let their guard down in area like these.' Ajax doubled down on his suspicions.
However as much as Ajax wanted to just destroy team plasma and enjoy some peaceful journey,but the idea was nothing more than a pipe dream in a world where every region has some big gang ruling in the shadows.
Even now He was sure all he would do is get beat up big time if tried to fight them right now.
He needed help and for that he would first have to convince a old man to come back to action and get back his C-gear for atleast a insurance for once the fight begans because he was not going to survive raiding a plasma base with just a snivy and some potions.
From the corner of his eyes he saw the Nurse coming back with Snivy's pokeball. Yet there was something just there in plain sight that most trainers ignore.
'A tracker.'
It was indeed a tracker or probably a signal of sort to help the other grunts track him down like the pokemon which is probably being captured in the forest behind the ranch.
Ajax thanked the nurse with hollow words, his guts telling to move on faster before he could catch a break for the moment.
His hands teared up the tracker from the pokeball just as he left the poke center. then he throw it on the road to make it appear it wasn't just placed correctly instead of being noticed and ripped open.
He opened the ball and let snivy out, recieving a judging gaze from his partner after he did so but he was relieved it was still his snivy and not a ditto.
"Sni?"
"I know you don't like playing around but.."
Ajax lifted Snivy and whispered while he put her on his shoulders and began walking away from the pokemon center.
"Act like a spoiled pokemon. We are being followed." Was what he said.
Snivy understood, probably thanks to its intelligence being higher compared to other starters. It's posture changed to one of a spoiled brat while it feigned acting spoiled to deceive whatever person Ajax was talking about.
--
Just like this a hour passed by, Ajax acted as if he was spoiling his snivy while he ignored those greedy eyes in the alley until he reached the place Alder was supposedly staying according to the games.
The grunts didn't try to follow him, it appeared to Ajax that causing Alder to move was the last thing the grunts wanted to do.
So while the grunts took a detour, Ajax ran and quickly passed towards route 20 before they had the chance to follow him.
...
For a few minutes Ajax ran non-stop, even activating the wind's blessing skill to throw off the grunts before he entered the bushes and took a rest.
Snivy was looking at him with worry, probably wishing that she could fight it out with the grunts but Ajax refused before his partner could even ask that of him
"We are outnumbered." He said.
His head turned as he watched the grunts walk pass them, three of them with a Bisharp following one of them.
"See that? Fighting them head-on is a death sentence."
Snivy nodded, understanding that Ajax knew about the people following them but her words weren't something Ajax could correctly understand.
"Snivy Sni."
"I have no idea what you are talking about. But I guess you want to ask about those people."
Snivy nods.
"Fine. But first we need to reach the ranch." Ajax made his stance clear. There will be no fighting until he had some guarantee at the minimum.
This wasn't a game with a save and load function. A defeat against the grunts meant losing both his partner and maybe his life.
Purr
A voice snapped Ajax back, making him turn his head to see a purrloin glaring at him and snivy from the side.
It lunged on them both, scratching towards their faces which anger Snivy into a furious state that wasn't going to recide on it own.
"Meow?--
A subtle meow was all the noise the purrloin made before a bulky fist made of vine whips grabbed it by the tail. The next instant the little purple cat was planted upside down into the ground like a plant.
"Panting Sni!"
The voice of snivy seemed like a battle cry. a rather unique expression he didn't expect on Snivy even through he has only been with her for less 2 days.
He thought his snivy was a tactical planner but who she preferred beating up things with brute force, it's not like it mattered to his that much if his partner was little but battle-hungry, instead he thought it was good.
"I get what you mean but the ranch comes first."
"Sni?"
"Listen to me! I am older than you!"
"Sni Sni! Snivy sni!?"
And just like that the duo began arguing before they left for the ranch. A half buried fainted Purrloin just plainly left as a symbol of their acts.