Striation City's Killer

Chapter 2

I'm just in the middle of Routine 2. It's a weekend, and Cress always insists on sleeping in on Saturday and Sunday and as a result the restaurant opens later to compensate for that. I admit, I did sleep in an hour or two myself so I have to get this done quickly... I've bought the produce, and I'm just looking for a trainer for today's meat and stuff.

My eyes are drawn to two kids, one of which being around the age of 13, male and talking with a girl who appears slightly older, and with a slightly darker skin colour. 14, maybe... The male has a Pikachu perched on his shoulder, and the other has an Axew who seems to be half-buried in the girl's thick blanket of violet coloured hair. They're definitely trainers... And how on earth did that boy get that Pikachu?! It doesn't matter, they're probably suitable targets.

I walk up to them, who both stop their conversation and stare at me. As I walk over, I've already formulated something to say.

"That Axew you've got there... It's in peak condition! Stunning! Where did you learn to nurture your Pokemon's appearance, aroma and health in such a flavourful fashion?"

The girl smiles, almost slightly uncomfortably.

"You see, I'm from the village of dragons..." She replies, looking down at the ground.

Village of dragons? That's an obscure village somewhere in Unova that insists on cutting itself off from society to preserve their obsolete society and traditions. I'd describe them as Amish if I had to describe them. They refuse to use any kind of technology, they believe it's from Giratina.

I turn to the boy.

"Where are you from, then? Are you siblings?" I ask him.

"No, actually. I'm Ash! I come from Pallet Town!"

Yet again, another perfect target. Why do I have such a scarily good talent at picking targets? I shouldn't be this proud, but, ha. I probably need a way to introduce myself now – the Pikachu!

"A Pikachu? It's a Pikachu!"

I lift it off the boy's shoulders and hold it, putting on a rather convincing fascination act. In all honesty, the GTS makes them incredibly easy to obtain.

"First time I've seen one up close!"

The boy doesn't do anything. I just put on the act of being fascinated as always, petting it and hugging it as always.

"Hello there!"

The Pikachu seems somewhat uncomfortable. I just hand it back to the boy.

"Those are really hard to find in Unova, you know." I say. "Oh, how rude, I haven't introduced myself."

And here we go.

"My name is Cilan. I'm an A class Pokemon Connoisseur!"

"A Pokemon Connoisseur?" The boy asks, looking curious.

The girl snorts to herself.

"How can you not know about Pokemon Connoisseurs? They're everywhere!" The girl says.

"Hey, he's from Kanto, remember." I find myself defending the boy for some reason.

"What a kid..." She mumbles, glancing sideways at the boy.

"The job of a Connoisseur is to evaluate the compatibility between a trainer and their Pokemon, you see." I say. Maybe this should draw them in... "Do you maybe want an evaluation?"

"No thanks!" The boy replies in a cheery tone.

First time in a month... This is going to be a bit harder than I thought. Darn.