Today ended up being more than overwhelming. My life is crazy enough as it is; adding this Trainer business screwed it up even more.

But as scary as getting attacked by my ex-girlfriend’s pet spirit bear and nearly getting my butt handed to me by some thieving giant, I wasn’t ready to give up.

I’d become attached to Pando in the hour I’d gotten to know it. Sure, it’s lazy, destroyed my property, and brought more people into my life than I cared for, but it was still my Bearmon. I’d caught it, fair and square. No one was going to steal Pando from me and I was going to make sure of it.

I needed to get my hands on a Bearbase and some sort of manual that clued me in what I’m actually supposed to be doing as a Trainer. To do that, I needed the Honey Mart.

Pushing myself off the wall, I hurriedly walked over to the door and pushed it open. My expectations for the store weren’t much, but I’d expected it to be more than just racks of stuff lining the walls and a cash register. The lights, just as bright as the hallway, flickered ominously as I wandered deeper into the tiny shop.

Entirely alone, I tried not to feel as if I was in some crappy horror movie as I examined the signs hanging from the ceiling.

The browsing part of the shop was split into two parts: Trainer items and Bearmon items. On the Bearmon side, boxes of vials, pill bottles, and bags of food lined the shelves. The Trainer side held globes, tools, and various accessories.

After a moment of careful consideration, I headed to the Trainer’s side for the devices. Thinking I might find the promised Bearbase, I browsed through the many objects displayed.

Vizzo Watch; 40 Monies Flashlight; 10 Monies Rope; 30 Monies Personal Bearbase for Ronald Jackson; 20 Monies ‘How to be a Bearmon Trainer’ manual; 5 Monies

I picked up my Bearbase, examining the DS-like device. Wrapped in a locked, plastic case, I couldn’t yet open it. I figured I had to buy it before I could get the key.

Before I did that, though, I should probably see how much ‘Monies’ I actually had. 45. Enough to buy the Bearbase and something extra, if nothing else was too expensive. The manual only cost 5 Monies, so I picked that up, too. I eyed a globe, thinking I should buy a new one in case I ran into a wild Bearmon - I hadn’t, yet, but I assumed I would in the future - but the price was outrageous! 100 Monies?

“Sorry, Pando,” I muttered, walking over to the cash register. “You’re not getting a friend anytime soon.”

No one was manning the register, so I tapped the bell on the counter. When no one came from the backroom - I could see the entrance from my side of the counter - I tapped it again. I rang the bell three more times before I heard a crash coming from the door - although it was more like a curtain with a sign hanging in front of it - labeled ‘EMPLOYEE’S ONLY’.

Out of sheer spite, I tapped the bell again, eliciting an, “Alright, alright!” from whoever was back there. The curtain swung open and a grumpy midget came stomping out in a ridiculous yellow and black clerk uniform. The swaying sign narrowly missed the top of her disheveled bun, just about clipping the metal pin that kept it all together. The pin went flying, unleashing the woman’s mane of curly red hair.

Sighing as if this was an everyday occurrence - probably was from the easy way she handled her hairdo coming undone - she knelt down, scoured for the pin that had fallen a few feet away from her, and retrieved it. Pin in hand, she pushed her hair back into a bun, did some weird hand movements, and then her hairdo was reset.

Satisfied, the midget hopped onto an unseen step in front of the counter and looked up at me. “What can I do for you?” she asked, not entirely unkindly.

Holding up the Bearbase and the manual, I told her I wanted to buy them. Humming softly, she took the device from my hand, scanned the sticker on the case, and asked for my ID number. I gave it to her, she typed it in and ripped out the receipt that the machine next to the register printed out. Popping open a drawer, she pulled out a key, unlocked the Bearbase, and gave both it and the receipt to me.

“Have a nice day,” she said through a forced smile. “We hope to see you at the Honey Mart again!”

Thanking her, I left the Honey Mart and the Trainer Hub entirely. Entering the lobby, I saw Megan sitting slumped over the reception desk. She muttered something along the lines of, “Come again soon” as I exited the library.

I’m finally on the right track to becoming a proper Trainer! I had a Bearbase and a manual; nothing could go wrong as long as I had the time to sit down and go over the-

“Hey! Are you Ronald Jackson?!”

I spoke too soon…

I turned around to find a little Asian girl standing in the middle of the street, clenching a globe in her tiny fist. She couldn’t have been older than ten; what was she doing on a college campus? Especially this part of a college campus?

I looked around to see if a responsible adult was gonna do something. Oh, wait. I’m a responsible adult.

Putting on my best ‘I’m-not-gonna-hurt-you’ smile, I cautiously walked toward her. “Hey, there uh, kid. Did you lose your parents or something? I don’t think you’re supposed to be here.”

“We’re visiting my brother,” she answered cheerfully before her pink face resumed scowling. “Enough questions! I wanna duel!”

[Trainer Emily Haruno has challenged you to a duel! Will you accept the challenge?

Yes | No ]

“Listen, Emily, I’m not sure it’s a good idea to be running around challenging random people to duels.”

I gestured to the sparse passerby, noting one woman who was staring at me rather accusingly. “They might get the wrong idea, especially about me, you know? Some sketchy black guy getting into a fight with a little girl doesn’t look good for me. You wouldn’t want me to go to jail, would you?”

She hesitated, turmoil shown clearly on her face. Then she frowned and crossed her arms. “You’re just saying that because you don’t wanna lose! Duel me, you coward!”

I’m being insulted by a ten-year-old girl…I really shouldn’t even be doing this. I’ve got stuff to do.

Shaking my head, I pressed no. “Sorry, kid. Thinkin’ I’m gonna educate myself before I get into any more duels.”

Emily gaped at me. “Y-you just refused a duel!”

I shrugged and continued walking. She stuttered a little while longer before chasing after me. “You can’t do that! No one refuses a duel!”

“They wouldn’t add the option of refusing the duel then, bucko,” I called over my shoulder.

“That’s...fight me, you pansy! Real men accept duels!”

How does she even know what a pansy is?

“Real men don’t fight little girls.”

“Argh! Stop being a coward!”

She’s persistent. And annoying. I’m tempted to give in, but I’ve learned my lesson on getting into fights while I’m not prepared. I rejected her once again, picking up my pace.

Hopefully, she would just get tired of trying to convince me and go back to her parents. I wanted to go over my Bearbase, not scuffle with some little kid Trainer.

“Your Bearmon’s got 420 BST!” she screeched. “It’s probably strong and I wanna beat it!”

“I’m never going to have kids after this,” I mumbled, plugging my ears to block out her whining. She kept droning on and on, following me through the various campus buildings until we reached my dorm complex.

“Emily,” I said, turning to face her, “I have plans. Those plans do not involve you and I am not changing them to do so. I don’t wanna duel, so you can scurry on back to your brother’s dorm and leave me alone.”

Her face lit up in with a cheeky smile. “This is my brother’s dorm. And now that I know where you live, I’m not gonna stop bothering you until you duel me!”

A strained voice called from inside the building, “エミリー、かわいそうな男の邪魔をするのをやめてください。”

“Ah, but Mom-”

“Bye,” I said cheerfully, speedwalking toward the stairs and past her exhausted mother.

“Hey! Wait, you-ugh! Mom, I was so close to-”

Her mother cut her off, snapping off rapid Japanese. Thoroughly cowed, the girl quieted down. Grateful for parental interference, I dashed up the stairs and into my dorm.