By the time we got across the fields around Jubilife, the area a lot larger compared to the fields around Twinleaf- and Sandgem-Town, it was almost entirely dark. There was enough light from the moon and stars above to follow the path, but I was glad that I hadn’t miscalculated, setting up camp in the dark would be unpleasant.

A group of farmers was making their way into the city when we got to the gate, a bored-looking guard keeping an eye on things, but when we walked up, she suddenly turned aware and awake, carefully studying us.

“Excuse me, are you League-Trainers?” she asked, as we wanted to walk past, as we had been able to in Sandgem.

“Yes? Why, is there something wrong?” Claire asked in reply, instantly turning wary. One of the duties any League-Trainer had was to assist law-enforcement; another was to help out in emergencies. If they needed Trainers, something might be going horribly wrong somewhere, though given the guard’s previous, bored demeanour, I somewhat doubted that.

“Would you mind showing me your League-Cards?” she ignored Claire’s question, maintaining a polite smile, but it was obvious that she wasn’t really asking.

“There you go.” Claire simply pulled out the case, proudly showing off the recently acquired badge. The guard actually took the case, studying the papers inside closely, looking at the badge and at Claire, before turning to me.

“Are you a League-Trainer, too?” she asked and when I nodded, she requested my own Card. I wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but the guard seemed tense. Handing it over, she inspected it, looking me over closely, and just as I was getting tense, the tension suddenly seemed to drain from her body.

“Thank you, for your cooperation:” she told us, now all smiles. “Welcome to Jubilife City.”

“What was that about?” Clarie asked, apparently as confused as I was.

“Oh, nothing, just a routine check.” the guard assured us, before waving us through. “Move along, please. There’s going to be a few more farmers coming in, please don’t block the gate.”

“If you could direct us towards the Pokémon-Centre?” I asked, as I was walking past.

“Oh, it’s down the street, third road on the left. You can’t miss it.” she quickly replied, looking almost a little relieved.

“What was that about?” Claire asked me, once we were out of earshot and following the directions given.

“I have no idea.” I shook my head, “And I’m not sure I want to know. There’s something fishy, we might want to move on, quickly.” I suggested, feeling a little out of sorts. Claire let out a low sigh, but nodded in agreement. Or maybe resignation, either was possible.

Finding the Pokémon-Centre, as the guard had promised, was easy. Brightly coloured, with a red roof and white walls, a round, glowing sign above the door, it was deliberately built to look like a Pokéball. A little over the top, in my eyes, but if that was what the people wanted, who was I to tell them otherwise. I was just passing through.

Inside, there were far more people than I had ever seen in a Centre. People of all ages, ranging from children to grey-haired elders, most of them sitting around low tables, some with a beverage, talking amongst themselves. There were obvious groups, mostly segregated by age, but one group appeared to be of mixed ages, the youngest of them our age, but what made them stand out was their relatively uniform clothing. While the colours were different, they all wore sturdy, fabric pants, solid boots and shirts, with little difference in style. Exactly the type of clothes Claire and I were wearing. The rest of the people had much more varied clothing, with everything represented from shorts and shirt to a woman in business-attire.

Ignoring the hubbub, and the looks we were getting, Claire and I walked up to the counter waiting until the attendant had time for us.

“Good Evening, we’d like to have our Pokémon checked, fill in a Route-report and get a room for the night.” I told her, immediately after she greeted us. I was simply too tired for conversation. A momentary, genuine smile flashed across her face, before it turned professionally polite again.

“Certainly, your League-Cards please?” she asked and without verbally replying, Clarie and I presented the cases again. The attendant checked them, carefully reading the documents contained, similar to the guard earlier and peering into our faces.

“All in order.” she muttered, her shoulders relaxing just a little, as she handed them back.

“Let’s start with the simple part, the form. There you go.” She handed over a sheet of paper and pen. It was the same type of form we had filled out before, only with a different letter-head.

“Do you mind rooming together? As you can see, it’s a little full at the moment.” Claire gave her a nod, while I simply shrugged. In the wild, Claire and I had to remain together, in constant, close proximity, I didn’t need to be with her all the time in town. But if there were only limited rooms, it wasn’t as if there was anything Claire and I hadn’t seen from the other. Far too little privacy in the wild.

“Great, there you go. Dormitories are over there, Room Number five.” she added, handing a pair of keys over.

“Now, your Pokémon?” she asked, getting handed our Pokéballs, in exchange for the usual chits.

“Thanks.” I told her, barely managing to suppress a yawn. Claire, leaning against me a little, likely just as sleepy as I. “Where’d you go for dinner?” I asked the attendant, hoping that she’d have a good recommendation.

“What sort of food are you looking for? There’s a good Kantonese Restaurant a couple blocks away and if you head over towards the city-centre, there’s one that serves Galarian Cuisine.” she asked, a bit of mischief twinkling in her eyes. Or maybe it was my imagination.

“Don’t care, just something that we haven't carried for days.” I replied brusquely , barely managing to keep myself from growling in tune with my stomach.

“If you direct your eyes over there?” she asked, now truly sounding amused, as she pointed to a large portal-arch nearby. Looking through, we were looking into a simple eatery, located right next door. It reminded me of the cafeteria in the League, with a similar, minimalistic decor.

“Oh.” I muttered, blushing a little at not seeing it. “Apologies and thank you.”

“Think nothing of it.” she laughed, waving off my apology.

“Good night, and Welcome to Jubilife-City.” she wished us, as Claire and I walked off.

The food in the mess was palatable. Not great, not even really good, but also not atrocious. Granted, as hungry and exhausted as I was, I might have started to nibble on the leaves on Twiggy’s head in search of salad, but that was neither here nor there. In this case, the important part was, we had the simple meal of fried noodles with vegetables within a minute and the usual tea didn’t take much longer.

After eating in silence, neither of us really wanted to move. The temptation to let my eyes simply fall closed and rest a little was strong but with pure willpower, I managed to stand.

“Let’s get to our room.” I told Claire, pulling her up. She was just as exhausted as I was and to keep from stumbling and falling, we kept our arms linked as we walked back through the Centre and towards the room we had been given.

“Do you want the first shower?” Claire asked, after we entered. Looking at the room, I briefly wondered if there was some sort of template for the League-sleeping quarters. The layout was essentially the same as it had been in Sandgem Town, the furniture in a slightly different style but I couldn’t have pointed out the exact differences.

After having a quick, hot shower, I had to shake Claire awake, she had fallen asleep fully dressed on her bed, and sent her to the shower herself. Luckily, she didn’t take any longer than I had and once she was done, I could relax, knowing that she wouldn’t fall asleep in the shower and drown or something.

Later, I couldn’t have said what happened first, my head hitting the pillow, or my body falling asleep. Either way, we had arrived in Jubilife City. It would be interesting to see what the biggest city in Sinnoh had to offer.