Though Silas hardly needed to rest, Ellis had long decided to make his first stop in Oldale Town the Pokemon Center. It wasn't as if he hadn't been in one before, but he felt it only proper to go and introduce himself as one of the new pokedex holders to the Nurse Joy of Oldale, no matter how sick of meeting new trainers she must've been. But Ellis soon found this was not the case—she was bubbling and sweet, as many Nurse Joys were, and she seemed perfectly enthused to see Ellis as the sign to anticipate new trainers.

"So the next batch of pokedex holders are setting out already, are they?" She chattered away cheerfully, handing the tray with Silas' pokeball on it to a nearby chansey after Ellis had gotten through the formalities of who he was and where he was from, "Looks like things will be getting busy around here! Will you be okay with only one pokemon? Most trainers usually have at least one more by the time they get here you know."

Ellis smiled and gave a non-committal shrug. "Well, I'd wanted to pick up another pokemon, but Route 101 was shorter than I thought it was." Speaking of shorter, he looked around, noting how much smaller, and humbler this Pokemon Center was compared to the one in Sootopolis. It was more home-y in a warm sense—while the one he knew as his neighborhood center was prettier, in a shell-white design that he thought didn't necessarily beat out the warm woods of the Oldale Pokemon Center. Because even for someone as detached as him, he felt that this pokemon center held a far greater significance than the one he'd grown up with in his neighborhood. It was the place where everyone started- and it would be forever remembered as the first center he visited after becoming an official pokedex holder. Making a small face at his own uncharacteristic sentimentality, he banished the thought in order to exchange more pleasantries with Nurse Joy, who was now eagerly anticipating the new flock of trainers due to descend upon her any second today. Her helpers were bustling about to ready all that was needed to receive them, and she herself seemed to be composing a mental list of things she needed to do as well. "Well I'm always glad to welcome new trainers, but- I'd actually been planning on going out to Route 103 today. I wish Professor Birch would tell me when he's giving out pokedexes so I can expect you guys, but he's always so unorganized…."

"Brilliant minds always are, or so they say." Ellis offered unhelpfully, before politely inquiring after her business on Route 103- more for the sake of doing his duty of continuing the conversation than any real interest in why a nurse might want to leave her center.

"Well I saw a taillow the other day— and one of its wings was sticking out at an odd angle. By the time I looked again though it had disappeared into the grass." She began, putting a hand on her cheek as she worried over the poor suffering creature, "I thought it was just my imagination, but some of the youngsters who stopped by yesterday told me they saw it too. It doesn't seem too keen on letting anyone get close to it though, so I'm worried that it's injury might be worse than it looks…"

Ellis raised his brows, sensing that this was the part where he was supposed to offer his services, but he hesitated, thinking that someone like Barc would fit this mission far better than him. Silas had about all the stealth of a raging Tropius, and the tracking skills of Spindel—while surely a growlithe like Barc's was born to hunt down injured taillows, and his hero of a trainer fit to bring it back to Nurse Joy in full triumphant glory. He was having a hard time imagining himself doing any such noble act.

At Ellis' prolonged silence, she probed helpfully, "… It'd be a huge help if someone could bring it back here—I'd be able to fix it up in no time, but getting to it is the hard part."

Offering a smile now that she had practically steered the conversation in such a way where refusal would be strange, and indeed, rude, Ellis shifted his bag on his shoulder and gestured to Silas' pokeball, "… Well if you're alright with a newbie like me, I'm not in a hurry. I can try to look for it when you've finished up with my bagon— and of course tell any other trainers I spot along the way to bring the taillow here if they see it?"

She offered a characteristically charming Nurse Joy smile, perhaps one that would've struck a chord in many boys' innocent hearts as she clapped her hands together, "Oh that would be wonderful! The youngsters are always running off into the grass, they can tell you if they've spotted anything! Oh- oh well look, has it been that long already? I think your bagon is ready, if you are!"

And so thus, after stopping by a Pokemart to the same end as Luna who had done so before him, Ellis found himself whisked away to Route 103. He conversed with some of the fisherman, wiggling his way out of the over enthusiastic battle crazed challenges with excuses of being on official Pokemon Center business, but promising to return after he was done with the job in order to meet them as a trainer. He listened to the nonsensical advice of some youngsters who had seen it—though they could offer more description on what its injury was like than where to find it. Starting to grow anxious as to whether he would find any sign of this taillow by lunchtime, Ellis sighed as he glanced through thickets and grass. What a… grandiose beginning to his adventure this was turning out to be. He supposed an average joe like him shouldn't have expected anything dramatic to start off with, though.

"Hey you're the guy looking for the taillow, right?"

Startled, Ellis looked around to see a youngster with a red, white and black baseball cap and red shorts with his feet planted firmly in the ground and his fists on his hips. Looking awfully haughty for someone who couldn't be taller than 5', Ellis put on a friendly smile—the one reserved for kids who were hard to deal with. "That's me." He confirmed, standing up and brushing his dirty hands off—"Were you looking for me?"

"Yeah!" He replied, undaunted by their sudden height difference—"I saw it just an hour or two ago- It's in its usual hiding spot. I'll show you where it is—if you'll battle me and my Ratta!" He shoved a pokeball in the air, challenging Ellis with a confident grin.

…. Well, he hadn't said that Ellis had to win to get the information, right? And they'd be headed right back to the pokemon center anyway, so he didn't see any risks in entertaining the boy for a few minutes. And despite all these precautionary thoughts running through his mind, he really, truly doubted that he could lose to a snot-nosed brat and his rattata. It'd be more of a blow to Silas' pride than his own, if he did.

"Well…. Okay, sure." Ellis stepped out onto the path again so they'd have more room to work with- and less chance of being interrupted by a wild pokemon, "Is one versus one okay? I only just started my own adventure this morning so I don't have much experience. I'm Ellis, by the way."

"That's okay, I'll show you how it's done!" He looked extra excited at the prospect of being the more seasoned adventurer between the two of them, though anyone else could've plainly seen that Ellis was just pulling his leg and buttering him up. "I'm Joey, nice to meet you—and this is my best friend, Ratta!" Out popped a rattata, who looked more like a home bred pet than a battling pokemon to the older trainer. But whistling his false admiration, Ellis let out his own pokemon- and Silas, letting out a huge yawn after a nice rest at the pokemon center, didn't look much more than a lap warmer either. Some battle this was shaping up to be, or so Ellis thought wryly as he waited patiently for Joey to show him the ropes.

"So you want to get in the first edge," Joey blathered on, "Don't let the other trainer take the tide of the battle or you'll never catch up! Ratta, tackle!" Silas flipped and stumbled onto his backside as he was struck head on by the rattata's sharp tackle. Snarling at Ratta, Silas hopped back to his feet, snapping his jaws as Ellis pointed to their opponent- not wanting to risk losing out to the rattata's speed if they went for a directed attack like bite or tackle, he commanded calmly, "Dragon Breath." Sucking in a huge breath, the tiny bagon released a strong gust of wind, blowing back the tiny purple pokemon and making it's fur stand on end as it tried to shake off the tingling numbness.

"Ratta are you okay?! – Dang mister, that was cool!" Joey exclaimed, "But you need to read up on your pokemon— Rattata's have guts, and you just made mine even stronger! Go on Ratta, show 'em what you're made of! Use Bite!"

Without missing a beat, Ellis gripped his fists as he hoped to intercept the pearly white chompers with his bagon's rock hard helm. This was their opportunity to close the gap between the rattata's superior speed, since it was coming straight at him now, intent on landing a blow instead of bouncing back out of reach right after. "Silas, Headbutt!"

With a blunt noise, sharp front teeth hit Silas' head and snout was smashed in as the bagon's head was thrust forward—but what should've bounced right off of Silas' helm left a nice mark as Silas tottered back, dizzy as it's stubby arms cradled it's head. Ellis let out a small 'tch' as he remembered that Joey had literally just gone on about his rattata's guts ability. But that couldn't make up for the sheer difference in the two pokemon's endurance and stamina, and Ellis called for another Dragon Breath before the rattata could get back in range. "Bag!" Silas answered, steeling his feet on the ground and inhaling deeply to blast the rattata away for a second, and final time. As Joey recalled his rattata, he seemed content with the loss as long as he could continue crowing to Ellis about the battle, criticizing this move and giving advice here and there on what he should've done. "Thanks for the battle mister! I'll show you where that taillow is now, but you know, you really shouldn't ignore a pokemon's ability! That could've really cost you if bagons weren't strong pokemon to start with!"

Silas' chest puffed with pride at this, but Ellis beamed him back into his pokeball before the blue pokemon could swagger about in its victory any longer.

"Really?" Ellis smiled, inviting Joey to keep chattering away as they walked towards where the taillow was supposed to be. It felt like an eternity of being lectured on pokemon battle basics by a Brendan wannabe, but as long as he didn't listen too closely, it didn't annoy him much. It was true, after all, that he'd forgotten about guts having the potential to make rattata's attacks just as strong as Silas'.

"Look, there it is- See, I told you it was here!"

Ellis peered through the branches, seeing Joey squatting beside a rather languid and unhappy looking taillow with an uncomfortably bent right wing, feathers sticking out at odd angles. The injured pokemon shot a wary look at Ellis, and squirmed in it's attempts to get away from Joey. Stepping over and gently—though rather unceremoniously—picking up the taillow, Joey jumped to his feet in alarm as the pokemon resisted fiercely, pecking at both trainers and flapping it's good wing in an attempt to get Ellis to let go. "Woah!" The both of them exclaimed as feathers flew and Silas popped out of his pokeball to join the commotion.

"Silas!" Ellis scolded, but the bagon focused it's eyes on the taillow instead, calling out its own name in its pokemon language and waving stubby arms. Responding only in screeches, it was a solid five minutes of chaos before the taillow lost it's energy enough to listen to Silas—and Ratta, after the latter was dosed with a few sprays of potion. The little pokemon pow wow took an eternity, and both Ellis and Joey's stomachs began to rumble as unhappily as the sour look on the bird's face as the sun past its peak and began to inch closer towards the horizon.

Waddling back to his trainer, Silas put his small hands on Ellis' knee. "Bag!" Raising his brows as the bagon jerked it's head towards the taillow, who now wore a begrudgingly grumpy glare, Ellis took that as a sign that it was ready to be taken back to the pokemon center, and approached. "Bagon!" Silas jumped to his feet and blocked Ellis' path, slowly pushing his arms through the air to indicate that his trainer should take it slowly. Agreeing to this condition, Ellis patted Silas on the head and held his hands out for the taillow to jump into by itself. It was a struggle of wriggling and lopsided hopping, but the bird finally settled itself in Ellis' cupped hands, and he looked over to Joey in thanks. "I'd better get this guy back to Nurse Joy. Are you coming?"

"Nah!" Joey exclaimed, "Only halfway- ma'll be real mad cause I'm late for lunch. She's got some berries Ratta can eat, it'll be fine!" He dashed off with a wave as soon as they were back on the path, promising to be a better trainer and have more tips to give next time they met. Letting Silas walk beside him on the way back to Oldale as a reward for the small pokemon's efforts in winning over the puff of feathers in his hands, Ellis was at least glad that there weren't any ledges to jump off of—and that nobody else saw it fit to challenge a trainer with an injured pokemon in his hands. The walk was longer than he would've liked though, as he endeavored not to jostle the oddly bent wing—and the taillow would nip at his hands whenever he did. By the time he stood in front of Nurse Joy again, the marks of his efforts were clear—leaves and brambles in his fluffy hair after rustling about all day, scraped, pecked, and dirt smeared hands—and a bagon that needed rest yet again.

"Oh thank you!" Nurse Joy exclaimed at seeing the taillow, and was for a long moment so preoccupied with diagnosis and arranging what was necessary to fix the wing that Ellis stood awkwardly in the lobby with Silas, debating whether the wait would be long enough to warrant sitting down. Of course, as soon as he decided he might as well sit, she bustled back into the room and he was swept off by a Chansey who picked leaves and branches from his hair and another who popped Silas on top of its nurse cap and bounced away to the healing machines. "I actually have something that might be useful for you—not right now, but if you want, an old seasoned trainer gave this to me a few months ago as payment for a complicated operation. I don't have much use for it, but you might?" She held out a clear orb with a blue and red swirl on the inside. Ellis recognized what it was before she even explained—any self-respecting trainer with a bagon could recognize a salemencite when they saw it. "Or maybe you could see if that taillow wants to come with you, when it's all better?"

Ellis gave her a grimace, "I think I'd better take the salamencite." He held up his hands, pecked and scratched by sharp talons, as the only reasoning he needed for his decision.​

He would've been completely content to spend the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing. A pokemon battle, a grouchy taillow, getting his pokedex and as far as Ellis was concerned, that was more than enough accomplished for one day. But it didn't seem to the be the standard to call it a day so early- and Nurse Joy and her chansey's expectations had swept Ellis out the door as he failed to protest against their encouragements to try catching a wild pokemon on Route 103 before the sun went down. It wasn't as if he didn't want to catch pokemon-- but did it have to be today? Did it have to be right now? Ellis' shoulders wilted a little as the glass doors of the Pokemon Center slid shut in his face, the waving Pokemon Center residents sending him off with good lucks and well wishes.

Heaving a sigh, he shifted his bag on his shoulder and resigned himself to his fate, attaching Silas' newly returned pokeball back onto his belt. Treading the now familiar path back to Route 103, he wondered how he would dodge the fishermen he'd promised battles to earlier now that he lacked an excuse. But before he could think of a new one, Ellis noticed a stranger with a tousled brown bob and a houndour at the crossroads, coming to a stop to listen while she seemed to debate whether to go left or right. As she exchanged words with her pokemon, he finally saw it fit to pipe up, feeling it would be rude to just walk right past her without any acknowledgement whatsoever- "Um- that way is Route 103. It's a dead end- and that way is 102.... If that's what you were wondering." He added sheepishly, belatedly realizing that she might've already known that and was simply trying to choose between the two. "Er- sorry, you probably already knew that..."​

Avoiding battling random strangers was exactly Ellis' train of thought, as he felt it would be easier to get out of battle with the excuse that he couldn't make someone else wait. And here Linnet was, the perfect opportunity to gesture towards her and say nope- no can do to the enthusiastic youngsters.

But in the meantime, he had to invite her to come along. "Ah, yeah I- it's written on the sign isn't it." He laughed and scratched his head, mussing his hair even more in embarrassment, "Sorry I surprised you. But uh, yeah there's more to see on Route 103- is what I heard. So I'm headed there to try and catch something before the day's over. ...Frightful was it?" He glanced down at the Houndour curiously, intrigued over such an... ominous nickname. He didn't dwell on it however, turning his eyes back up and introducing himself properly to the both of them. "Oh- I'm Ellis. Nice to meet you." He held his hand out to shake, "Yeah- new trainer. Got my pokedex this morning. There are a ton of us who set out earlier hanging around here so it wouldn't be weird to run into one or two of the other newbies." Smiling kindly he gestured over towards Route 103, taking a few steps in that direction as he extended his invitation. "If you're headed towards 103, lets go together?"

As they made their way, Ellis inquired politely- "So, I'm guessing you're a trainer too- what with Frightful and all?" It didn't look like a battle-scarred miniature terror, but it certainly didn't look like a contest pokemon either. "Just started, or just... here for the exciting sights?" He joked, noting that there was really nothing of interest around Oldale and Littleroot as far as a Sootopolis native like him was concerned.​