Single post in Life of a trainer

Chapter 13 – The day-care After the magnet train had opened it’s doors in Goldenrod City, Andy stepped out and looked around. The tall buildings and many people here made it obvious that this was a big city, like Saffron City was. He walked over the clean pavement in the crowd of people, actually enjoying the walking in the busy street for a moment. He had walked a lot through forests, so this was a welcome change to him. At a crossing, he chose a less crowded road to follow and at the next crossing he did the same. The building were getting smaller as he continued to follow his chosen direction and less cars were driving on the road. It was clear he had left the busy city centre and had moved to the residential area, with an occasional shop or cafeteria. The people on the streets barely noticed him, a common feat for people living in a large city, as Andy already knew. He wasn’t bothered by it, if he needed someone to talk to, who would just walk up to someone, or bring out one of his Pokémon. Casually strolling over the pavement, Andy noticed an old lady leaving a small grocery store, holding two brown paper bags in her arms. Andy fastened his pace and walked up to the lady. “Good day, madam. Maybe I could help you with those?” The old lady, whose grey hair was tight in a bun on the back of her head, looked up to the taller Andy and smiled. “That is friendly of you, young man. If you could take one of these bags, that would surely help me.” “No problem!” Andy said as he took one of the paper bags out of her hands. “Do you live far?” “Oh, just about twenty minutes of walking I suppose, I live just outside the city with my husband.” Andy nodded to that, to show he was okay with that. “I’m Andy, by the way.” “Nice to meet you, Andy. I’m Sophia.” The two walked for a moment in silence as Andy watched some children playing on the sidewalk. A Chansey came running towards the children, letting out worried sounds and gestured towards the house. He concluded the Chansey must belong to the parents and had gotten the job to look after the children. “What is a young man like yourself doing in Goldenrod City?” the old lady asked and Andy shifted his attention back to her. “I’m travelling the world as a Pokémon trainer to learn about Pokémon and there wasn’t much left to discover in my hometown.” “Where are you from?” “Rhando Island, Mesperit City.” “We’ve been there on vacation years ago,” the old woman sighed with a happy smile. “It’s a beautiful island.” Andy wholeheartedly agreed and the two talked about the island. Andy hardly noticed how they left the city and only came across a couple of lone houses, until they reached the old lady’s house. She opened the porch for Andy and invited him in for a cup of coffee, to thank him for the trouble. Andy gladly accepted that and followed the old lady over the white pebbles that served as a path from the porch to the front door. Even though he didn’t see any, he heard the sounds of Pokémon. He decided to ask later, as he liked the prospect of coffee. “George?” the old lady asked as she entered the house. “I brought a guest.” “Really now?” An old man came from another room and observed Andy for a few moment, before coming closer and holding out his hand. “I’m George.” Andy took his hand and shook it. “Andy, nice to meet you.” “I promised him coffee,” Sophia said. “Will you make some?” “Of course,” George said and he gestured to the bag Andy was holding. “You can give the groceries to me, lad. I’ll put them away. The living room is behind that door, make yourself comfortable.” Andy nodded, handed the old man the bag and went into the living room. The living room was small, but cosy. There was a brown leather couch and two comfortable leather chairs. A small table was in between the couch and chairs and had a white table-cloth over it. On the floor was a thick carpet and on the window-sill were several potted plants, a few larger potted plants stood in a corner of the living room. In the other corner was a small television set. Andy took place on the couch and a few minutes later, the old couple entered the living room. George held the door open for Sophia, who held a platter with a coffeepot, three cups with a floral pattern on it, a small jar of milk and a small bowl filled with white sugar. She placed the platter in the middle of the small table and poured coffee in the three cups. “Milk and sugar?” Sophia asked Andy. “No thank you,” Andy responded politely. “I drink my coffee black.” He reached out to take the cup from the old lady “Sophia here told me you’re a trainer,” George said. “From Rhando island.” “That’s true.” Andy held the cup lightly between his fingers and blew on the hot liquid inside, it was nice to sit down for a moment and just enjoy a cup of coffee. “We are visited often by trainers,” the old man continued. “We run a day-care here.” “Ah,” Andy said, as he lowered the cup. “So that’s where those noises came from, I thought I heard Pokémon. Do you keep a lot of them here?” George shook his head to that question. “Not too much, we want to properly take care of the Pokémon here. Would you like to see them?” “Of course!” Andy immediately said, and he was about to put down his cup as well. Sophia shook her head with a small smile on her lips. “Come now boys, drink your coffee first. The Pokémon will still be there when we’ve finished it.” A grinning Andy brought his cup to his mouth to take a sip. He was glad he had come across the day-care lady in Goldenrod City, he hadn’t visited a day-care yet and it had been on his to-do list. After they had talked about his travel so far and the island he came from, while enjoying freshly brewed coffee and home-made cookies, George invited Andy to come along and took him to the backyard, where several Pokémon were walking around. There was a Mareep grazing some grass, two Skitty’s who were playing together, a Donphan was sleeping in a corner, a Vulpix was cleaning her fur and Parasect curiously walked towards them. “Would you mind if I let my Pokémon rest there?” Andy asked and George made an inviting gesture to the field. “Be my guest. There is plenty of food and good companion for them.” Andy quickly dug up his Pokéballs and called his Butterfree and Primeape. “Why don’t you two rest a bit here, you can eat and get to know some other Pokémon. I’ll be inside the house.” The two Pokémon nodded and turned to the Parasect that had already asked them a question in their Pokémon language. Andy watched it for a moment, before following the old man back into the house. “Can I help out in the day-care?” Andy bluntly asked, feeling he could learn much more here then on his travel. George looked at him for a moment, before nodding. “We could use a pair of young arms. But wouldn’t you rather continue your travel?” Andy made a dismissing motion with his hand. “The world will still be there to travel in after a few days, I can learn a whole lot more here. If you’ll just feed me and my Pokémon and offer a place to sleep, I will work for free.” The old man started to laugh. “You’re straightforward. I like that. Agreed, you and your Pokémon can stay here and help out for as long as you like.” A grinning Andy held out his hand and George shook it to seal the agreement. Andy was really glad he had come across the day-care lady now. This was certainly going to be a great experience.