We had the day after Selection Day to ourselves. We were told to explore the trainer district and become acclimated with it. Aside from Bradley and I, the rest chose to remain in the Pokémon Centre barracks. They only left the barracks once to eat their free meal before returning to their beds. I waited for the computer room to be empty before using one computer to place a call to my family. Aunt Helena answered the call.
She broke down crying as soon as she saw my face on the screen. After a few minutes I was able to calm her down.
"Dexter," she said. "I'm so proud of you for what you did for Rosa."
"I did what I had to do." I told her. "Don't worry about me." Pause. "How's Rosa handling it?"
"Not very well. We took her to the park to try to get her mind off it." She said, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. "We're worried about you. He is just upset that you had to volunteer in her place. That you may not survive the Ordeal and that we won't be able to see you again."
"I'll survive," I said, "I have to."
"Is there anything that we can do for you?" she asked after. "Do you need us to send you some money or clothes or anything else you need?"
I was tempted to say yes for a moment. Then, I thought about Bradley and everything we talked about last night.
"No," I finally said. "I have to do this by my own. From now on, you'll just have to worry about Rosa. I'll be fine. I'll get through the Ordeal. Then, once I'm officially a trainer I'll be able to take missions to support myself." I paused for a moment. "Would it be alright for me to visit you guys once in a while?"
"Of course!" she said immediately. "Even if you do become an official trainer, you will always be welcomed home."
I was relieved to hear that. Stories have always been told about families who disowned their children after being chosen on Selection Day. Even if they didn't disown them, most families would prefer that their trainer children stay away from them.
"Thank you." I reply softly. "You took a load off my mind. I should go now. I'm supposed to wander the district and get a feel for everything here."
"Alright," she said. "Good luck, Dexter. No matter what happens, always remember that we love you."
"I love you too. Please tell them that I love them. Bye."
"Goodbye," she said. "Take care of yourself." She ended the call at her end. I stared at the screen for a moment before getting up. It was time to explore my new home.
I wandered around the buildings in the district for a while to see if I missed anything yesterday. So far, I haven't spotted anything new. The Gym and the magnet train station stood at either end of the group of buildings. Near the station, stood the Centre. In between these buildings were a handful of residential buildings. No shops, no food stores, and no clothing stores.
'I guess what we can't get from the Centre we'll have to go to one of the other districts to purchase," I thought. 'Good thing the magnet train is free for trainer use. I'll get tired of the Centre meals quickly. I'll be better off cooking my own meals.'
I decided to get a better look at the training grounds. They were obviously man-made sectioned environments stimulating the wilds. Some of the grounds were large and could be used by several trainers. Others were small and meant for single trainer use. There were areas which stimulated grasslands, marshlands, lakes, forests, rocky hills, mountains and even a couple of desert fields. I stayed away from the fields that had trainers working with their Pokémon. After a while of wandering, I came across Bradley in one of the larger training grounds that had a man-made lake going through it. He was staring out at the water.
"Hey," I said.
He turned to look at me. "Hey. Have you taken a look at all of the different fields they have here? The only thing missing is a saltwater beach to stimulate the ocean."
"Makes sense," I said. "Fiore is not near any beaches. It would be a waste of resources to maintain such a field."
"I guess so. How are you today?" he asked. "Any regrets about what happened yesterday?"
"No, no regrets," I answered. "I know I did the right thing." I paused. "I called my family this morning."
"And?" he asked, focusing on me.
"My aunt was understandably upset but proud of me for looking after my cousin. She said that I was welcome to visit any time after I became an official trainer."
"You're lucky," he said. "I overheard some trainers talking in this Centre this morning. Apparently, Albert, Caitlyn, and Emile, received messages early this morning. Their parents informed them that they were being disowned. They would get no support from their families. I've no idea about Vivian though."
"No wonder they're still hiding in the barracks. Yesterday, their whole world changed and today, they find out that their families have turned their back onto them." I thought about their situation for a moment. "That must be why they give the first day to ourselves. To deal with any fallout that comes with being chosen."
"I didn't think of that," he said. "You're probably right. Still, I feel sorry for them, especially Caitlyn and Vivian."
"Why?" I asked.
He looked at me as if I was stupid. "Come on. It's obvious Caitlyn was born in the upper class. Yesterday, she had everything and today she had nothing. That's a huge blow to her pride and self-esteem. I can't see her recovering from this. And Vivian...just look at her! She looks so fragile that I'm afraid she won't be able to survive out there."
"They may surprise you."
"I doubt it. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"
"I guess we will." After a moment, I asked him. "Have you heard from your family yet?"
"Not yet," he said. "My mother is probably still in shock that I actually volunteered for this. I'll wait until after my Ordeal and explain my reasons to her."
"If you're sure," I said doubtfully.
"I am," he responded. He looked around. "Come on. There's a lot of fields I haven't explored. I want to get through most of them today before I head back for our meal."
"Lead the way," I said pondering about the days to come.