Pokémon Slate Gray

Season 2 - Episode 09: Wake-Up Call

Once the hilarity of their situation wore off, Slate and April picked themselves up off the floor and headed into the Pokémon center in search of some water, a place to rest their tired legs, and a healing cycle for their weary Pokémon. Sitting on the crowded Center's sofas, they chatted with others and learned that Melissa had defeated her opponent's Sercuit in just two moves.

It turned out the contest winner was the same Howie that Slate had fought just over a month ago. Moreover, Howie had apparently traded his contest-winning Larvex for cash. The transaction had supposedly included a weak Chumster to make it official in the eyes of the Pokémon League, but to Slate, it sounded an awful lot like Pokémon selling, which was against League rules, at least in Kanto.

Slate dwelled on this that evening. The dislikable boy who had once bragged about his family's wealth had won the Bug-Catching Contest's pricey Hyper Ball and Hyper Potion prizes—which was irksome enough in itself—then essentially sold the Pokémon that helped him win them. The thought of it just rubbed Slate the wrong way, which made him further regret his loss to Howie.

When the time came for Slate and April to turn in, they learned that they wouldn't be the only Trainers camping out that night. Due to the Center being full, others had started pitching tents on the battlefield. They found a spot near the edge of the practice space and fished their capsule tents out of their tightly packed bags.

"I forgot to ask you about that," said Slate airily, catching a glimpse of the metallic container in April's bag.

"About what?" April queried.

"Your egg. The professor told me you got one too, and you've had it a while now. Do you think it's close to hatching?"

"I don't know. I think I felt it move once."

"You know the Pokémon your mom used to raise, right? Do you really not know which is inside?"

April shook her head, "The eggs were almost identical. I know what I hope it is, but I don't want to say. Just in case. I'm sure I'll be happy either way."

Slate nodded in agreement as he activated his capsule tent for the first time. It was a yellow hand-held device that resembled a Poke Ball but shaped like a cube. It popped open and a red one-man tent unfurled from within and erected itself before him.

"Cool!" he remarked, marveling at how the same fabric used in his Trainer Gear could be squashed into such tight spaces but made to take form when a mild electric current passed through it.

"What about you?" April asked as her green tent popped up unaided. "I know you don't know the Nuteran starters, but they have Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle in Kanto, right? Did you have a favorite back home?"

Slate smiled and stared off into the distance as he considered this old question for the umpteenth time in his life. "Nah! I liked them all. I think I was leaning toward Squirtle since my brother chose Charmander. I never did settle on one, though. Not knowing what's inside our eggs is probably a good thing."

"I agree. Any of the Nuteran starters would make a good partner to start a journey with. Though, I think I consider Rodenki to be my real starter," said April, releasing the said Pokemon from its ball, who shivered adorably before jumping into April's tent.

"I guess I think the same about Cryote. And Eevee too," said Slate. Then, as his memory was triggered by the talk of starting their journeys, he pulled out his Rotom Phone and pulled up his Pokédex records. "There's something else I meant to ask you. Do you know what Pokémon this is?"

Slate held out his device, so April could look. The girl squinted at the blurry image on-screen. "That's a Pokémon?" she asked with a dubious expression.