"Right. It's definitely possible to break out of one of these, and easier if the pokémon hasn't been worn out by a battle first, so you shouldn't try to capture a pokémon you haven't either talked with, battled, or both."

"Do pokemon, uh, like, being battled and captured? I was under the impression this was more of a voluntary-partnership kind of thing."

"Complicated. As best we can tell, pokémon know roughly where human routes through the wilderness are, and the ones that spend time on and around the routes overwhelmingly tend to be the ones that either are curious about humans or want a fight for whatever reason. The ones that lurk the routes almost always understand some human languages, and usually engage trainers if they're interested. I can't speak for everyone, but I plan to talk to any potential capture first, and let them go if they're not interested."

Then she shakes her head. "Sometimes there isn't a choice. Sometimes there's a disaster, and someone — human or pokémon — could get hurt or die if you don't battle and capture a rampaging pokémon. The polite thing to do there is offer to let it go after, but sometimes that can't happen, and sometimes it could but the trainer doesn't want to."

She sighs.

"I'm lucky. I can guarantee I'll be understood by anything but a dark type."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Sad that it sometimes happens that the pokemon doesn't have a choice. Or the human. If only the world were a little more fair." 

Sable nods and sighs. "Yeah. I wish it was."

Maya hugs Sable firmly, and nudges her toward Audrey a bit as well.

Hug?

Sable blushes, but hugs Audrey gratefully. "Thanks. Gets me down sometimes."

"Totally understandable. I get down on myself sometimes too. But try to see the bigger picture, yeah?"

"Yeah. You're right. And we do what we can about it, too. But anyway, pokéballs. The great balls and ultra balls clamp down harder, and they're harder to escape from, but they should only be used in special circumstances, so there are badge restrictions on buying those. Some of these other pokéball types have other specialized uses, but for what we need the basic ball will be fine."

Sable grabs a hand basket and sets a pokéball in. "So how many d'you want to get? Six is the soft max on how many pokémon you can keep on your person, though there are exceptions. Partly that's because around four to six is when the cost of feeding your team overtakes the stipend and you have to be doing something else to supplement your income, like the battle circuit or contests or ranger work. Every ten balls you get a premier ball — basically just an all-white basic ball with red trim, they're easier to decorate with decals — and having spares is good in case you need to participate in a disaster response event or something. I've got ten on me, and I'm not really worried about premier balls since the purple decals I use are bold enough to go over the red just fine."

"Maybe a half-dozen? I expect any additions to my team to be voluntary, and we'll have a chance to shop again later, right?" 

"Definitely," Sable confirms as she sets five more pokéballs into the basket. "I expect the same, honestly, I'm just trying to be prepared in case something goes wrong. If I do have to force a capture, and I can't just offer to release it, I'll send it to a wildlife preserve or something, or to one of the Professors. Somewhere I know it'll be treated well."

"Yeah. These don't seem too expensive for - some kind of mass-capture technology? I have no idea how they work, they seem to small to fit a pokemon in."

"Basically pokémon can turn into an energy form, where their whole physical form is stored as just their type energy, and that's what gets stored in the ball. They can see out around it, too, keep an eye on you while they're in the ball. Some very protective pokémon will release themselves when you're in trouble."

"Huh. That's super cool. I wonder what Type Energy even... is. Do you have, like, Pokemon Professors?" 

"We do! They all specialize in different aspects of studying pokémon, from evolution to moves to so much more. The Professors are so cool."

Sable swings around onto a different aisle and grabs Audrey a few more things: a couple potions and antidotes, and a repel. Then she leads the way toward the cashier.

"Antidotes and potions, huh? Your world's medicine seems a little advanced past mine's. Or maybe I'm just being confused by the names."

"Our medicine is pretty advanced, but potions and antidotes are mostly only usable on pokémon, because they're so integrated with their Type Energy."

"Ah, I see." A pity. 

Sable walks Audrey through how to pay with her nav, then heads back outside. "Wanna grab lunch in town before heading east?"

"Yeah, sure! That sounds like a great plan."

"Okay! Lemme show you our favorite ramen place. They make it Rustboro-style, it's so great."

Maya cheers this idea. "Tsa! Ralts tsaral!"

{Oh yes please, love. Mr. Takahashi's ramen is excellent.}

She reaches up and takes Sable and Audrey's hands and leads the way/

Audrey grins, and follows!

Down a few side-streets they go, until they reach a small shop labeled "Takahashi Ramen". It's a small place, just a few tables, and a row of stools at the counter, but the smell filling the building is rich and savory. A kindly-looking older man greets the trio as they enter. "Back again, Miss Sable and Miss Maya, and with a friend?"