Booth wakes up slowly. His vision is blurry, but it gets clearer after a second.
An unfamiliar place surrounds him. A thick blanket of brown covers the ground, while green covers him from above. A forest.
'I'm completely lost. What's going on?'
As if to answer his thoughts he hears a low growl somewhere behind a nearby hill. Although not completely recovered, he finds the strength to jump to his feet and check.
A wild Morgrem fiercely stabs at an opposing Wooper. The Wooper is knocked down and clearly stops moving.
"Huh? A Morgrem…"
Booth speaks aloud. After realizing his situation, he quickly shuts his mouth.
"Grrrr."
The Morgrem looks up. It freezes as if considering something before grabbing a few things off the ground and bolting away.
Booth just stares at the fleeing pokemon and turns his eyes to the fallen Wooper.
"… No matter how I think about it, that looks like a Wooper. It looks a little more sad than usual, but still incredibly impressive seeing it in real life.
…Well at least it feels like real life. It doesn't feel like I'm dreaming right now."
After a few minutes of contemplation, Booth makes a plan. He first walks down the hill and gathers the items the pokemon seem to have been fighting over.
'It looks like a mushroom and a shard of some kind. I'm not sure what they are, but they seem strangely familiar. Hopefully they are worth something.'
Booth wanders around the woods for a while, and spots a highway. He picks a random direction and walks steadily.
---
The sun has gone down, but Booth manages to find a city in just a few hours. All sorts of Pokemon related attractions and stores greet him as he enters. Although he was feeling tired a while ago, the new sights revitalize him instantly.
Thinking back to his current situation, Booth looks for a place that can serve his needs.
'I have too many questions, but those will have to wait. To get started I'd like to sell what I have on hand, then find somewhere to sleep.'
Booth considers his options before entering a place marked as a trainer center. Booth explains his situation as a traveler and mentions the items he wants to sell.
"A couple rare items. You can exchange them all for 1400 credits."
"Sure."
'I have no idea how much that is, but I figure it's a decent sum from how he said it was rare.'
After receiving his credits, Booth thanks the clerk and asks a few questions about the city. He gets a rough idea of the city and moves on to his last question.
"I spent everything I had to go exploring, so these credits are all I have. Do you think I could find somewhere to stay with this nearby?"
The clerk is silent for a second before making a suggestion.
"Well, the trainer center can provide lodging for travelers, but only if they're tiered trainers."
"Hmm… What's a tiered trainer?"
The clerk's eyes seem to brighten and a wide smile paints his face, "You aren't familiar with tiered trainers?"
"Not really. Can you tell me about it?"
"Sure, allow me to explain!" The clerk is happy to oblige and begins his long winded explanation.
"As you know a normal trainer catches pokemon and raises them however they see fit. Through this method a pokemon gradually gains experience and levels up."
Booth understands so far and nods along with the explanation.
"A Tiered trainer on the other hand, relies on their own knowledge and experience to bring out a Pokemon's abilities with a special device. I guess you can say they temporarily bring their Pokemon to a higher level."
Booth nods again, but looks a little overwhelmed. The clerk sees Booth's look and then says, "It's a bit confusing, but I promise you it's more amazing than it sounds"
"No, I definitely think it's interesting."
Getting a positive answer, the clerk makes Booth an offer.
"Really! Do you think you'd be interested in becoming a tiered trainer? I can help you out if you want! My cousin and I have made a new team and we are looking for members."
"I'm interested and I'd gladly take you up on your offer, but I don't have a pokemon right now."
The clerk waves off Booth's concerns and replies.
"Haha, I figured that much from what you said so far. So if you're serious about trying it out. I can even give you a place to stay at the team's apartment."
Booth can hardly find a reason to refuse. The offer solves his immediate problems and the clerk seems like a cool guy too.
"Hmm… I'm Booth. I'd like to join your team."
"Haha, good! I'm Ben, welcome to the team Booth!"
---
Booth wakes up early the next day and heads to the trainer center again with Ben.
The trainer center is the local hub for tiered trainers to gather, train, and stock up on supplies. New trainers can find the common items they need sold at the center. Additionally many trainers choose to sell some of their trainer related items here. Currently both Booth and Ben are talking inside the trainer center. Ben roughly explains his team and the benefits of joining.
"So you're saying if I agree to join your team for the next month, you'll help me get a pokemon and pay for my starting expenses?" Booth asks.
"Yes! And don't worry, my cousin and I will also help teach you how to battle!"
"Ben, I really appreciate this, I'll make sure to return the favor."
"Don't worry about it. Let's get you started."
The tiered trainer works thanks to a device known as the Integrator. The device takes a DNA sample from a trainer and another from the trainer's pokemon. The device is necessary for a connection between the trainer and Pokemon, without it the trainer cannot connect.
The common Integrator looks circular and is about 5 inches long. It has two upward facing holes on either side to receive either the trainer's or the Pokemon's DNA. When the samples are given, lights above the holes will light up to indicate a good or bad sample. Lastly a switch slides up to activate the Integrator.
Ben takes out his phone and makes a post to buy an Integrator. The basic Integrator is quite pricey, about 1200 credits new. So its often easier to buy an old Integrator off someone who's getting an upgrade. In a few minutes Ben found an Integrator at a reasonable price and reserved a time to pick it up.
"The trainer will stop by in about an hour, in the meantime we should pick up a pokemon for you. The Tiered Trainer Center has an area where you can pick up a pokemon donated for new tiered trainers before the pokemon are released into the wild." says Ben.
"Are there many of them?" Booth asks.
"Of course, trainers find it difficult to keep up with too many pokemon. The cost of training and feeding Pokemon isn't too bad, but for most its an unnecessary expense to raise pokemon you won't use anymore."
"Ah, that makes sense. Does the trainer center charge for the pokemon."
"Not much, in the first place most pokemon adapt better to having a new trainer than the being released into the wild."
Booth and Ben head over to the office to choose a new pokemon. On the way, Ben mentions to Booth, "By the way what kind of pokemon are you looking for?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well the main thing to decide is if you want a pokemon that walks, floats, or flies. Next is whether the pokemon walks on two legs, four legs, or even those that crawl and fly."
"Walks, floats…? Hold on a second, why does this even matter?" Booth stutters.
"Didn't I mention how the Integrator works? I mean its in the name."
"Could you explain it for me?"
"Haha, my bad! Simply put with the use of the Integrator a trainer directly experiences the senses of a pokemon and can directly command your pokemon with the Integrator. As for whether your pokemon has two legs or four its really just up to preference." Ben replies.
"So you're saying an Integrator lets you control your pokemon!"
"Yes and no. At our tier you can only command your pokemon. The higher tiered trainers are able to control every part of the pokemon. Why this is I'm not really sure either. Otherwise, I wouldn't be still be at tier 1."
"That's awesome!" Booth says enthusiastically, "You should have said this sooner. Let's not wait then, I need a pokemon."
"That's the spirit. Don't worry too much about your choice, you can always switch pokemon later."
The two arrive at the office and request to pick out a pokemon. The fee for a pokemon is 25 credits. The 20 credits go to the cost of the poke ball and the last 5 go to the trainer center. Ben hands over the credits for the fee and the employee gets everything ready. The whole process is quick and takes under a minute. Ben and Booth then follow the employee outside to choose a pokemon.
The pokemon are kept in a comfortable enclosure outside with a net to keep flying pokemon in. There is a pond to the right and many trees all around to provide shade. As a temporary shelter for the pokemon, it is sufficient.
Booth observes the enclosure and is astonished seeing so many different pokemon in one place. 'pansear, dwebble, buizel, aipom, fletchling- wow! I expected to see something like this, but it really is a thrill to see all these pokemon.'
"But what should I choose?" Booth mumbles.