Jack's Jumpchain Journal: Pocket Monster Dimension

Entry 3: Elaine

"Ralts – Female – Lv. 5. Type: Psychic/Fairy No. 280. The Feeling Pokémon. Height: 0.40m. Weight: 6.6kg. Ralts senses the emotions of people using the horns on its head. This Pokémon rarely appears before people. But when it does, it draws closer if it senses that the person has a positive disposition. If its trainer is in a cheerful mood, this Pokémon grows cheerful and joyous in the same way. If its horns capture the warm feelings of people or Pokémon, its body warms up slightly. It takes cover if it senses any hostility. Capture is required for more information on this specific Pokémon."

I had decided to not capture the Ralts yet, they – no, she – just had a big scare and asking her such a massive question could have been too much for the little thing to handle all of a sudden. So, I began our walk to Twinleaf Town where we could possibly rest, recuperate, and maybe get to know each other. I would have preferred Sandgem Town, but from what I remember from the games, there's tall grass in the way, meaning we could run the risk of encountering wild Pokémon. I was walking instead of riding my bicycle, so I could read some information on my Pokédex without the risk of crashing.

The Pokédex was able to provide more information than it would in the games, which was just a sentence or two. It made me wonder how much information about Pokémon there was in this new world. Back home, everything about this world had been analysed to the finest detail, several times over.

From the information the Pokédex had, I was able to figure out a few things. First that the Ralts that was standing in my bag was a girl, so she couldn't become a Gallade, as that was exclusive to male Ralts. Second, the fact that Ralts was a fairy type meant that the sixth-generation type chart was in effect and that possibly Mega Evolution existed. Third, this Pokédex had seven hundred and twenty Pokémon registered, which meant Pokémon from Alola existed and that possibly Z-Moves also existed. Then lastly, that this Pokédex could possibly give me information such as moves and stats when a Pokémon is caught, like in the menus of your Pokémon in the games, though that was just a theory. A game theo – nope. That was bad and should ashamed of yourself.

Though, there was one thing missing from my understanding of this interpretation of the Pokémon World. How do battles work? Are they turn-based, like the games? Are they more fluid and improvised like the anime? Is it a hybrid of sorts? Will my knowledge of game mechanics even be useful in a battle? Gah... Hopefully, I can watch a battle at some point to figure it out. Either way, I should get to Twinleaf, I'm still bloody cold and wet, I can get a dry place to rest there.

As I walked, my shoes squelched against the dirt road. It was hard to walk with the soaked uniform being far heavier than usual. The bag wasn't as bad in comparison, years of heavy backpack hauling as a student seemed to have some benefits. I strongly smelt of saltwater, it reminded me of my times at the beaches near my grandmother's place. Yet despite the prompts for misery, I don't think I would have been happier anywhere else than right there, the first minutes of being with a real Pokémon.

The Ralts in my bag was half outside of it, leaning against my left shoulder. She was bunching up my thick jumper and squeezing it, trying to wring out the water from the looks of it. Luckily, she was physically unharmed from the Starly attack, though it must have been frightening.

"Aww..." I exclaimed as I watched the Ralts bunching up some of the woollen material and twisting it. "You don't have to do that but thank you."

I pet her head, she cooed in response, "Vaa." Her hair felt more like a plastic helmet than actual hair, yet you could still feel a pleasant warmth underneath. She seemed to push against my hand, sort of like she was rubbing back. I made a mental note that it seemed that Pokémon made more animalistic cries, similar to the games over saying their own name like in the anime as a form of rudimentary language.