Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Another Lonely Day
Chapter One
The Beast Inside
The beast blocked my path. The moment my eyes met the creature's, I felt my emotions begin to twist together. My body started to react to the demon of its own accord. I tried to control myself, but it could not be helped. The more I tried to keep my emotions in check, to push this demon aside as if it was some minor inconvenience, the more it seemed to take hold of my very soul. It forced me to do things I wish I did not. It jumbled my words together when I tried to speak, creating a string of unintelligible garble.
When I told others about this beast that stalks me, they told me this creature is normal; that everyone has it inside of them, yet these people do not act any differently around others like I do. They led me to a place of relaxation where groups gather to talk. They told me to look at what they referred to as, "couples". As I viewed the eye of these "couples", I find what the people were telling me. The "couples" are being held captive of the beast, being forced to stare into each other's eyes in a never-ending loop of emotions.
At that very moment, I saw the beast for what it really is. I tore away the mask of fear that blinded me, revealing the monster that stood before me is no mere stranger. I realized that the beast truly does exist inside of us all. It was always there, clawing at our minds, trying to take control from us. I did not wish to give myself over to this demon that stands before me; yet what choice do I have? It has already proven to be capable of forcing me into various circumstances that would kill the social life of most. The beast beckoned me to come forth and throw myself at its feet: promising me eternal happiness. I wondered if I could ever be free of the beast's grip. I wondered to myself if this beast is what love truly is.
He felt the blood rushing to his head, gravity taking him to meet his hard, dirt bed. The pokemon stared forwards, below himself. The wind rushing by flapped his white scarf in his ear. He wondered how he got himself caught up in his latest predicament. Mom always said I leaped before I looked, but I don't think this is what she had in mind.
The pokemon looked up the cliff-face for a few seconds and stared at the group of three pokemon who had been chasing him before; their forms became more and more indistinguishable the more he fell. Remembering the epic chase that had just happened before making what he considered the dumbest, and probably last, decision of his life, a smile came to his face. Guess I've done worse and made it out alright. He looked back down to see the ground was feet from his body. At the rate he was falling, the pokemon would be killed for sure, but it didn't matter. He knew it wasn't the end: not just yet.
That's when he spotted his saving grace. A look of determination overtook his expression as his eyes darted to a lone stick jutting out from the cliff-side. The pokemon focused on one of his many green buds embedded in his banana-cream neck. The bud grew out to form a long, green vine. It was like an arm as he reached out for the stick that was soon to pass him by. The creature's vine hooked onto the stick, forcing him to come to an abrupt stop. He felt the vine pull at his neck with a slight tearing sensation. Grimacing, yet thankful that the stick managed to stop his fall, he looked up at the now-tiny creatures.
"You give up?" the pokemon called out with a smile.
"Dang it, Ricky!" one of the creatures call out from above, his voice barely reaching him. "That isn't yours!"
"If that's all," the pokemon, Ricky, said as he looked downwards towards the dirt. The ground was about five feet below him. Cutting it close, Ricky. His vine let go of the branch and let him fall to the ground. The pokemon checked himself to make sure he wasn't too roughed up from before his "leap of faith".
He looked at his quadrupedal body. He had some scratches on his stubby legs and plump body: nothing too serious. Blood from a little gash he had sustained from a random branch slowly made its way down his tail, collecting at the tip, and dripped into the grass. The bag slung over his neck seemed heavy; his cargo was still inside.
The pokemon found a small puddle of water next to where he was standing; it was perfect to check his head. Ricky walked towards the water and stared down into it. He looked at his green buds that surrounded his neck. They looked fine. Then, he looked at himself. His long neck ended at his round head. His big, red irises glinted in the shine of the puddle. He ignored the scar present above his right eye and went right to the leaf jutting out of his head. Even after nearly two years of living with it, the hole in the leaf still bothered him; nevertheless, he pushed the thought out of his head.
"It's over, Ricky." a commanding voice told the bayleef sternly.
Busted! The bayleef grimaced for a few seconds, put on a fake smile, and turned around. He found himself face-to-face with the one pokemon in all of Twinroot Town who he actually respected: if only a little. It wasn't because he was a cop or anything, but because this cop had single-handedly stopped more of his "escapades" than any other cop. In truth, Ricky hated the guy as much as he hated oran berries, which was a lot, but he couldn't help but respect this pokemon who stood before him.
The pokemon was a quadrupedal canine that reached a little over six feet, a little less than half of Ricky. The pokemon had an orange coat of fur with black stripes all over his body. Tufts of light-orange fur came off of the pokemon's back ankles. Its underbelly also had the orange tufts that ended at the muzzle. It had a mane of light-orange hair as well accompanied by a long, light-orange tail.
"Hey, Chief." Ricky said to the arcanine, making it sound as if they were friends to somehow manipulate him. "How's it going?"
"Ricky," Chief said sternly, scowling at Ricky. "Let's not pretend that we're friends having a nice conversation. You're stealing from pokemon. Again."
"So?" Ricky asked with a friendly shrug. Chief's scowl got even worse. Ricky, realizing that things were only going to get better, removed the bag from his neck while rolling his eyes. "Alright." he said half-heartedly as he tossed the bag to Chief. The arcanine still stared at Ricky as if he didn't even see the bag. Ricky raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Why do you insist on doing these kinds of things?" Chief asked the bayleef. Ricky, realizing where this was going, would have walked away if not for the fear of what Chief might do if he did. "How many times is this now? Ten?"
"Eleven." Ricky corrected. He sounded bored out of his mind. And here it comes again... Always with the talk...
"You need to get your life together, kid. Your future isn't looking too bright right now. Understand?"
"Fine..." Ricky said. "Can I leave now?"
Chief shook his head as if disappointed. "This is your last chance, kid. Stop stealing or I will drag you into the city myself and have you prosecuted."
"Yes, sir." Ricky said, ignoring what Chief had told him. Swinging his head to the side in order to drape his scarf over his back, Ricky began walking off back towards his home.
"I'm not kidding!" Chief shouted to the bayleef. "Give me one more reason to and I will do it!"
Ricky rolled his eyes. Same-old, same-old. He continued walking off into the forest ahead, making his way back home.
After about an hour of walking, Ricky reached his home. The sun had already set, allowing Ricky to look up at the stars that streaked across the sky for a few seconds before his eyes drifted back on his home.
It was a nice home. The massive, old oak tree in front of him had been carved out, creating his house. Other than the door and occasional box window carved into the side, the exterior of the house was the bark of the tree. He glanced upwards at the second story, his room. Most pokemon would envy Ricky. They've told him since primary school that he had the coolest house in all of Twinroot Town. He always shrugged the comment off. It may be cool upon first-glance, but eventually, it feels just like everything else in this town.
Ricky walked up to the red door. His vine extended, twisted the handle, and opened the door to reveal the interior. It was very dull. The downstairs was, to most, nice. There was the spiral staircase in the middle of the room that led up into the bedrooms. There was the space on the right side of the room where the pantry and three counters stood. The left side was used for relaxation. Ricky looked over at the pillows laid out across the floor for pokemon to rest on. They were lined up neatly at a low-standing table. His mother was at the table, sitting like she usually did.
Ricky's mother was like him, except her skin was green. The leaf on her head had vanished when she evolved; though it was replaced with a pair of yellow antenna. Instead of buds surrounding his mother's neck like him, she had a mane of flower petals.
When his meganium mother first started sitting at that table, it freaked Ricky out; not because of the sitting, but because of how she acted when she did so. He would try to get her attention with whatever he could think of. He banged the floor, he shook his mom, he did whatever he could. She was like a statue. It became a routine. His mother would come home from work and sit at the table, staring blankly at the wall. Today, it didn't bother him. Ricky figured it must have been something random she learned at a yoga class or something. This would be the "I can't even" position. He knew she would be normal in the morning like she always was, so he usually let her do her own thing. It seemed like he could always count on his mother to sit at a table and stare off into the nothingness before her.
"Hi, mom." Ricky said, wondering if he'd get her attention tonight, or if he'd just go off to bed like he normally did. Ricky's mother didn't answer. She didn't even bat an eye. Ricky didn't mind. It was normally like that. "Good-night, mom." he finished as he turned towards the stairs present in the middle of the room. She still didn't bat an eye.
He ascended the stairs into the hallway above. His room was on the left while his mother's was on the right. They didn't have doors for privacy, but Ricky didn't care. He never stayed inside for long.
Ricky entered his room. He rolled his eyes at the neat and tidy desk. That could only mean one thing: his mother. Alright. Where is it? Ricky walked across the wooden floor-boards towards the desk on the opposite side of the room past his circular bed of straw. He opened one of the drawers on the desk. On top of the stack of random items sat a booklet with a quill on the side. He sighed in relief that he didn't have to scour the entire house to find his book.
Ricky took the book out of the drawer and shut it. He stared at the book's leather cover. It wasn't anything fancy with a jewel or something; he never liked that kind of thing anyway. Something too fancy felt as though that was the reason it existed. He hated anything that looked as though it wouldn't serve a purpose other than to "look pretty". Maybe that was why he never liked girls. All that spiffing up just to be topped off with a bow for that girly charm. He rolled his eyes just thinking of the thought.
The bayleef opened the book, revealing its contents. He flipped the pages until he landed on the first empty one. When he found what he was looking for, Ricky grabbed the bottle of ink and pulled it close. He dipped the tip of his vine in the ink and began writing.
Morning arrived quickly. He felt the sun peering through his window, casting its light on his face. He opened his eyes and sat up on his bristly bed. Yawning loudly, Ricky rolled off the bed. He stood up slowly and walked over to the desk. He pulled his scarf off of the desk with his vines and wrapped it around his neck. He tied it off at the back in a knot and let the rest hang off his neck. He then turned towards the door and exited the room.
Ricky descended the stairs to find his mother was up. She was using her vines to grab different objects from around the kitchen as if she had multiple arms; a skill Ricky has failed to master.
"Hello, bud." Ricky's mom greeted sweetly. Ricky walked towards the table and dropped down groggily onto a pillow. Ricky's mother came over to him within seconds and set a tray before him filled with berries of all sorts: except, of course, the blue ones. "Just like you like it."
"Thanks." Ricky said as if half-asleep, anticipating the dull day ahead of him.
"Officer Carlyle came in this morning." Ricky didn't pay any attention to the comment. Officer Carlyle was living proof that some pokemon never outgrew the compulsion to tattle on whoever they hated. As far as he was concerned, Carlyle was a snake in the grass who waited for his opponent to make a mistake just so he could attack.
"I didn't do anything, mom." Ricky said, still sounding bored out of his mind. He held a yellow berry in a vine and bit down on it.
Ricky's mother walked around the table and sat down on the opposite end. She had her own berries that she began to eat. "He said you took some supplies from Jerry's farm." she said between bites.
"It was just the bag, mom." Ricky said. "Mr. G. overreacted."
Ricky's mother shrugged it off as she always did. She continued to eat her breakfast. "So, what do you have planned for today?"
"Die." Ricky said sarcastically. "Life has lost the wonderful touch you always talk about."
"I'm telling you, you need-"
"Mom." Ricky interrupted.
Ricky's mother shrugged. "It would change everything."
"Would it get Carlyle off my back?" Ricky asked. "Or would it make Chief chase after someone else for once?"
"It might."
"I'll pass." Ricky said as he stuffed the half-eaten berry in his face.
"Hey," Ricky's mother said. "Don't skip school today."
"Like I have a choice." Ricky rolled his eyes. "Carlyle's probably waiting for me outside: the creep."
The "knock"s echoed into the house. Energized, Ricky quickly stuffed three berries in his mouth and swallowed. Ricky's mother looked at him with a raised eyebrow. The bayleef didn't pay her any attention. He walked over to the door and opened it with a vine.
There, in the doorway, stood one of Ricky's favorite people in the entire world. His name was Leonardo Jacobs, but Ricky called him L. J. for short. The bipedal pokemon stood in the doorway, his aqua fur shining as if he'd just hopped into a lake. He had navy-blue fur around his waist that looked to Ricky like some sort of short skirt, but he never mentioned it. A set of two shells sat on the navy-blue fur. L. J. had called them "scald pops" or something. He could never remember. The pokemon's white whiskers looked as though they had been grown out. His black, triangular ears stuck out from the top of his blue, round head. He waved one of his paws at the bayleef, his black hand contrasting the blue in his fur. The pokemon looked up at Ricky with a light smile.
"Hey, L. J." Ricky said to the dewott as if he had saved him from a fate worse than death: boredom.
"Hi, Ricky." L. J. greeted.
Ricky looked back in the house before calling, "I'm leaving."
"Look before you leap, bud." Ricky's mom called out.
Ricky rolled his eyes as he turned to the dewott standing on his porch. He motioned his head to signal L. J. to step out of the way. L. J. walked a little away before the bayleef walked next to him, leaving the door to his home wide-open. Ricky and L. J. began walking down the dirt path set for them.
L. J. looked around at the town as if he was wondering what it had in store for him today. Ricky, however, could describe the place with his eyes closed. There were all the houses that were either carved out from a tree or a hill. There were some that were built from the wood in the Shrouded Forest outside of town. Flowers of multiple colors grew in each lawn they passed. Trees that were kept for scenic purposes were also in different lawns, giving the place a nature-like feel to it; as if you were walking through the most organized forest you could ever imagine.
"How can you not enjoy this?" L. J. asked.
"It's all fake." Ricky sighed. "Every last thing is unnatural." L. J. was about to say something before Ricky cut him off with, "Don't say that the trees or the flowers are growing naturally, because it isn't true. Pokemon hire gardeners to plant the trees and flowers and keep them pretty and alive. If they weren't here, things would die and then there might be something natural. Until then, it's all fake."
"Suit yourself." L. J. shrugged. "I thought it looked nice."
Ricky decided to take a look at some of the yards. The moment he did, he saw kids a little younger than him were saying their "Goodbye"s to their parents before leaving for school. Ricky found that each and every parent who he met eyes with gave him a scowl as if saying, "What does that thing want from me now".
"You look bad." L. J. noted. Ricky looked at his friend who was seeing the different scratches and scrapes on his body. Ricky smiled at him. L. J, seeing the smile, looked at Ricky with horror. "You didn't-"
"I did." Ricky acknowledged with a smile.
"Do you have it?"
Ricky shook his head. "Chief found me."
"Again?" L. J. asked. "That's the second time this month."
"Yeah." Ricky said. "At least I know where it is."
"Which is?"
"It's probably being kept at the station."
L. J. grimaced. "That doesn't help."
"It's fine." Ricky assured.
"Fine?" L. J. questioned with a raised eyebrow. "How is it fine? Chief isn't going to let you anywhere near it, now."
"I know." Ricky said with a smile. "Last night, I came up with a plan."
"Ricky," L. J. complained. "Not again."
"It'll be fine!" Ricky assured. "Trust me!"
"That's just it." L. J. said. "The only thing I trust is that you'll get into something you shouldn't."
"I'll explain after school." Ricky said. L. J. looked at Ricky with a grimace. "You look like you're dying."
"I'm friends with you." L. J. said. "Need I say more?"
"Eh." Ricky shrugged. The two walked in silence, Ricky continuing to get glares from parents that pass him by. A group of kids ran ahead of him and L. J. The bayleef recognized them as the Jackson siblings: one a plusle and the other a minun. He watched as the plusle chased his brother, both being entertained by such a small race. It made Ricky smile.
"So..." L. J. said, trying to break the silence. "Did you hear about the new transfer student?"
"Nope." Ricky said.
"Do you care?"
Ricky paused for effect, acting as though he had to think about the question before saying, "Nope."
"I heard she's from the city." L. J. said.
"She?" Ricky questioned. "As in a girl?"
"Yeah." L. J. said.
"And how did you find that out?"
"It's hard not to find out." L. J. said. "Everyone's talking about her, even the adults for some reason."
"Is she that important?" Ricky asked. He thought about what kind of pokemon she would have to be in order to attract that kind of attention in their small, quaint town. "Is it a bad kind of talk or a good kind?"
"Dunno." L. J. said with a shrug.
"Whatever." Ricky said. "It's not like it matters. Her dad probably died in a freak explorer accident or something and they're coming to Twinroot to 'forget their troubling life'." He said the last part in a mocking tone.
"Is that a bad thing?" L. J. asked, not realizing his implications.
"If you like a deadbeat town." Ricky said, sacrificing a razz on L. J. to keep the conversation flowing.
"She's probably not that bad." L. J. said. "I bet she's nice."
"I bet she's fake." Ricky said. L. J. looked at him with confusion. Ricky, in response to his friend's look, said, "She'll have all this makeup to make herself look pretty so you ignore her bad attitude. Then, you'll become friends; that is, up until she dumps you in a river when she's realized you can't give her what she wants."
"No one does that." L. J. said.
"Really?" Ricky asked. "You and I know it's true. It's happened to both of us."
L. J. stopped his cheery attitude and stood in his tracks. He looked down as if hurt by what Ricky had said.
Ricky, realizing he had said too much, looked at L. J. and said, "I'm sorry. That was taking it too far."
"No, it's alright." L. J. sighed. "You're right, after all." he looked up and ahead of him. "Let's talk about something else." The two started walking again.
Ricky thought about what to say. One thing came to mind. "Let's run away from Twinroot."
L. J. eyed Ricky curiously. "Again with this?"
"I'm serious this time!" Ricky urged. The group had arrived at the school, so Ricky stopped to face L. J. "This place is so boring! You know that!"
"No," L. J. said. "I know that you know that, but I don't know that." the dewott took a look around. "I mean, it's peaceful here!"
Ricky sighed. "You would think so."
"I would." L. J. said, not letting Ricky compromise his beliefs.
"Ricky!" a cheery, familiarly-annoying voice called out. Ricky grimaced.
"Again?" he asked himself quietly. The bayleef turned around, not even bothering to remove the annoyed frown, and faced the pokemon.
It was a bipedal pokemon with flat feet. It had a round body with a small nub for a tail. Its flat bill stuck out of its head like a diving board. It had big, white eyes with small, black pupils. Its hands were held behind it as if it was holding something it didn't want the bayleef to see. Ricky knew that under normal circumstances, this pokemon's species had yellow feathers as smooth as skin. However, seeing as this pokemon's feathers were blue, this was not a normal circumstance. She had a sparkly, pink bow in her three strands of hair that stuck out of the top. What's worse, the pokemon had blush on its cheeks and lipstick on the end of her bill, making her look more feminine than ever.
Instantly, he knew the pokemon standing before him. The pokemon's name was Katie Daniels; a psyduck Ricky thought was so annoying, he would risk everything by throwing himself upon a bed of nails rather than talk to her. Katie was one of the reasons Ricky was glad he was a guy. She was also the reason he hated every girl he had ever met. Katie had the idea that Ricky was the most rebellious teenager in town, which was probably true. The problem is that his rebellious tendencies somehow made him cool. She seemed to drool all over him whenever he was around her: even in public. He wondered why a pokemon with a constant migraine couldn't realize when she was being a headache.
The worst part was her makeup. It's all fake! Ricky wanted to shout at the psyduck to leave him alone. He wanted to shout, "I'm not interested in fakers!" He'd done it before plenty of times. Heck, he'd do it right now if he thought it would get Katie to leave him alone. Sadly, he had done it to Katie, but she didn't seem remotely hurt. In fact, she seemed to take it as a compliment. Even when he told her that her being fake meant that she was unnaturally pretty, beautiful in a deceiving way, she didn't seem to care. In fact, she took it as a compliment. Ricky had given up long ago at trying to shake Katie. Now, he only put up with her nonsense so she would leave faster.
"What is it?" Ricky asked flatly.
"Just wanted to give you a gift." Katie said sweetly. She tilted her head to the side and winked in an attempt to make herself look cute. Ricky didn't respond. He just stared at her, wishing she would leave. Katie removed her paws from her back, revealing a small, red box that was tied shut with a white bow. "Hope you like it."
Ricky looked over at L. J. to get his opinion on the matter. The dewott's face was as red as an apple. He bit his lower lip as if focusing. The bayleef raised an eyebrow at L. J. in an attempt at asking his opinion. L. J. didn't seem to be paying any attention to him. His eyes were fixed on the psyduck. Ricky, realizing his friend was going to be of no help, turned back to Katie.
"What is it?" the bayleef sighed, sounding bored with the conversation.
"Open it and find out!" Katie said.
Ricky thought about his options. I would rather throw whatever's in that box into the mud... He thought about the gift. Then again, I wonder what's in there. It's probably something stupid, like a ring. Or a bracelet. He rolled his eyes at the very thought. He stared at the psyduck. She continued to smile at him, presenting the box. If I don't accept it, she'll probably bug me for the rest of the day...
"Alright..." the bayleef said, rolling his eyes at the whole situation. He took hold of the gift with his vine and brought it close. He grabbed a loose end of the bow and pulled. The bow came undone, letting its owner open the box. Reluctantly, Ricky opened the box.
He found himself staring at a small, green stone with a leaf-like-pattern engraved into the top.
"A leaf stone?" L. J. exclaimed excitedly.
"How thoughtful." Ricky said halfheartedly.
"I know you can't evolve with it," Katie said joyfully. "But I found it in the forest yesterday and thought of you! I thought it would make a good gift, regardless of the fact that you can't use it! Hope you like it!"
"I'm swelling with emotions." Ricky said. "I don't know if I can contain my excitement."
L. J. gave Ricky a raised eyebrow. Ricky didn't mind. He just wanted Katie to leave him alone.
"I'm glad you like it!" Katie exclaimed. She put her hands behind her once again and said, "I've got to go. Gladys is waiting for me inside."
Katie spread her arms and began walking towards Ricky as if she was going to hug him. Ricky grimaced. A vine extended from his neck and wrapped around Katie. As much as he hated Katie, he didn't want to hurt her. All he wanted was for her to leave. Ricky lifted Katie into the air above his head and set her down in front of the school.
Before he let her go, the bayleef said sternly, "No, Daniels." He called Katie by her last name. He didn't want the girl to get any more ideas about them because he used her first name.
"Fine..." Katie said sadly. "Guess we're not there, yet."
"We're not anywhere!" Ricky exclaimed, becoming very frustrated with the psyduck.
"You don't mean that." Katie said as she winked at her victim. Ricky grimaced and urged her with his vine so she would start walking away. "Bye, Ricky!" she said as she began walking on her own into the school.
Ricky waited for any sign of the psyduck appearing to bother him once more. After waiting a few seconds, he sighed, deciding the psyduck wasn't coming back. He retracted his vine and turned to face L. J. He was staring at the door with big eyes, a tightened lip, and blush all over his face.
"Her?" he asked, half-way between freaked out and uncomfortable.
"W-what?" L. J. asked, coming out of his trance. "No!" he protested. "She's nice and all-"
"Creepy." Ricky corrected. "She's creepy."
L. J. ignored the interruption and continued. "But it's not like that! You know how I get around pokemon I don't know!"
"Say 'the Code'." Ricky said.
L. J, without hesitation, stood up straight. He looked Ricky in the eyes and said, "Friends are real, girls are fake. A relationship is a dire mistake." He continued to look Ricky in the eyes, waiting for him to finish the code.
Ricky stood up straight, raising his head as high as he could, and said, "Love must die and friends must live. For the sake of our friendship, never forgive."
The two dropped their posture, satisfied with their reciting. L. J. was still blushing, but his cheeks were starting to regain their blue pigment. He looked at his friend's vine that still held the present. Ricky, remembering his friend's hobby, tossed the present up into the air towards L. J. The dewott watched the box ascend into the air. When it came back down, he caught it.
"Keep it." Ricky said with a smile. "I usually throw away anything from Katie, anyway."
"Cool!" L. J. said as he tore the lid from the box and stared inside at the rock. He began running his finger along the engravings. He looked up at his friend and said, "Thanks!"
"No problem." Ricky smiled. "I know how much you care about your collection." He came up next to L. J. and sighed. "Into the fray?" he asked, motioning towards the building ahead.
"Yep." L. J. agreed, still looking at his new treasure.
The two pokemon walked towards the building. Ricky felt his heart beginning to sink as the outside world began fading away, leaving only his personal favorite place on the planet to hate: school.
Ricky was bored out of his mind. Luckily for him, the teacher was late to class. Unluckily, that meant he would be in school even longer than he normally was. The bayleef was sitting at one of the many filled-tables lined in a five-by-five block. His table was along the wall with the windows. Normal pokemon would love it. It meant they could stare out at whatever was happening outside of the school when they were bored. It provided a source of entertainment. For Ricky, it served as a constant reminder of what he wouldn't be doing for the next few hours. What he would be doing was learning about "types" and "status conditions" and "IVs" and "EVs" and whatever other nonsense these teachers would try to teach him. Ricky had heard of the schools where they teach you a little information and take you out into a "mystery dungeon" to use what you've learned. A common misconception... he thought. This place made you sit through hours and hours of lectures on the little things just to cram all of the information in your head. And then, they didn't even let you out of the town without "adult supervision". As far as Ricky was concerned, school was a teenager's daycare; it was only there to make sure they were watched.
He looked around the room. Everyone there was a familiar face. Most pokemon he didn't even consider. However, to his dismay, Katie Daniels was sitting right behind him, giving her the perfect opportunity to spy on him. He would change seats to get away from her, but the principal made sure he couldn't.
A few months ago, Ricky, with L. J. as his accomplice, ditched class. During their "mischief", the bayleef managed to set fire to three acres of the forest: accidentally of course. He and L. J. killed the flames before they caused too much damage, but he was still in a lot of trouble. L. J. didn't do anything wrong, so he was marked as "under the influence of a teenage hoodlum", whatever that means. As a result, the principal cracked down on the bayleef. He wasn't allowed to do anything or get any favors from the school's faculty. He also thought it was a good idea to separate him from L. J. while they were in class to, "avoid future incidents". Ha. Like that would stop me.
Ricky looked out of his prison window. Kids were playing on makeshift seesaws made of buckets and wooden planks. Strangely, he wanted to join them. Anything to remove himself from this poor excuse for education.
"Alright, class!" a voice called out to the front. Ricky didn't even bat an eye in the voice's direction. He already knew it was their granbull teacher, Ms. Wickerbottom. Her name has become a legend for the younger kids in primary school as the pinnacle of comedy. You could whisper her name and a child would begin howling with laughter. "Sorry I'm late! I know you're all ready to learn by now."
"Hooray..." a charmeleon said halfheartedly. Some students began to giggle. Ricky smiled as well, not from the comment; but because Wickerbottom took her job so seriously, anyone caught wise-cracking in class would get the infamous "knuckle-breaker", a ruler named for the red words imprinted on its flat-side.
"Charlie." Wickerbottom said with a false-sweetness in her voice that threatened certain pain.
Ricky looked back at the charmeleon's pale face. Charlie began to rub his knuckles as he bit his lower lip. "Sorry, ma'am." he said.
"That's better." Wickerbottom said as she sat down at her desk. It wasn't very cluttered. There was a mug on the edge of her table that said, "World's Most B. A. Teacher". Kids made, what Ricky considered the lamest, rumors about Ms. Wickerbottom's mug. The rumor stated that the knuckle-breaker was so bad, the kids bled. Ms. Wickerbottom would catch the blood in her cup and drink from it to hide the evidence. The only trace of the blood would be in the carved letters on her ruler. It was obviously fake, seeing as the most pokemon would get from the punishment was a red mark, but some kids seemed to actually believe in the rumor, as seen by Charlie. The "knuckle-breaker" ruler was set up on the ground as it leaned on the table for support. Ricky figured Wickerbottom put it there to remind kids to behave, though it never convinced him.
Wickerbottom cleared her throat. "As I was saying, you're all ready to learn by now. But, before we start, I want to introduce the class to our new transfer student. Please give a warm welcome to Ms. Veronica Ferris."
Ricky didn't pay any attention to the new transfer student. If she was getting as much attention as L. J. said she was, he didn't want to give her anymore. The bayleef turned towards the window and peered outside while the class started clapping for the new-girl.
"Hi!" a voice Ricky didn't recognize called out from the front of the class. Based on the fact that their town was so small and Ricky had encountered just about everyone there, it was safe to assume that the voice belonged to the new-girl. "It's nice to meet you all."
Ricky heard a guy whistle out-loud as if what he saw was pretty. Great... Another pretty-girl to deal with... Bet she's all looks and has such a 'nice personality'. The bayleef continued to stare out at the woods on the side of the school's grounds. How he longed to run out there and disappear into the forest.
The bayleef heard footsteps coming down his aisle. He knew it wasn't Wickerbottom based solely on the lack of "thud"s coming from the steps. Since everyone else was sitting down, the bayleef assumed it was the new-girl. He heard the sounds of feet halt next to his desk. It's her, isn't it?
"Hi!" Veronica's voice called out to Ricky. He mouthed the words, "Why me?" before thinking to himself. She's acting too nice. No one simply walks up to another pokemon and introduces themselves. She's playing some kind of game, I just know it. "I'm Veronica!"
The bayleef didn't turn away from the window. He just continued to stare out at the forest. He watched a white, bird fly over the trees. He wished he could be as free as it right now.
"Richard," Wickerbottom said as if warning him. Ricky rolled his eyes and looked at the teacher. "Don't be so rude!"
"I'm Ricky." the bayleef said, still staring out the window. Ricky sat there for a few seconds. All he heard was the breaths of his fellow classmates and feet thudding on the floor. He then heard a "smack" on his desk. The bayleef felt his heart skip a beat, but his body didn't jump. He faced forwards to see the "knuckle-breaker" on his desk, leding into the pink paw of his granbull teacher. She scowled deeply at her student, waiting for him to say something.
"What?" the bayleef asked.
"It's fine, Ms. W." Veronica said, sounding annoyed with what Ricky assumed was him. "If he doesn't want to at least greet me-"
"It's not about greeting you." Wickerbottom interrupted. "It's about common courtesy and being polite; it's a skill Richard seems to have misplaced." Wickerbottom took her ruler off of the desk and held it at her side. "Well?"
Ricky rolled his eyes, a scowl of annoyance on his face. He turned to Veronica and extended his paw. "I-" he stopped, staring at his new classmate with an open jaw.
His head perked up, letting his paw fall to the desktop. He was at a loss for words. He wanted to tell Veronica his name, but he found he couldn't. Tunnel-vision blocked out all of his surroundings as he was transfixed on the girl before him.
Veronica was a bipedal pokemon with majestic, shiny, blue scales. She had eyes that were as different as the land and the sky. Her left eye was as green as a vast horizon of trees, showing a wild spark in her eyes as if she wanted to run forever. Her right eye showed the navy-blue of the sea on a dark night, sparkling like a star's light reflecting its splendor off of the waves. Valery's scales were periwinkle, a color that reminded the bayleef of a shallow lake filled with wonders to see below its soft and pleasant exterior. The round shell covering the pokemon's body was like a clamperl: hard, yet pretty on the outside, and beautiful to see what lied within its hard exterior. The pokemon's tail flowed out like a white, fluffy cloud that invited the bayleef to get close to its owner. He stared into her face. It looked smooth and beautiful like a polished sapphire. She had ears like angelic wings sprouting from the top of her head. Veronica also had two teeth protruding from her upper lip as if she was about to tear into the bayleef.
A feeling Ricky couldn't explain had surged into his heart, something he had never felt before. It made him feel wonderful: as if energized and overjoyed at the same time. He felt content just staring into Veronica's multi-colored eyes.
He wanted to introduce himself; he wanted to start over from the long pause that occurred earlier. He felt his mouth still hanging open as if in awe, though it could also be taken as a drawn-out stare meant to be rebellious. Then, a surge of pain ran up his paw that lied on the desk, snapping him out of his transfixed gaze.
"Ah!" he exclaimed, shaking his paw in an attempt at numbing the pain. He stared at the red stripe that went across his skin.
"Richard!" Wickerbottom snapped from his desk.
"Really, It's fine." Veronica insisted. Ricky looked over at the wartortle. She was scowling at the bayleef from the corner of her eye. "If he has to be forced into greeting me, I don't want anything to do with him."
Ricky continued to stare at Veronica, the feeling growing in his chest the longer he looked at her. Then, he realized her expression. She's mad... at me? Ricky stared ahead as if wondering what he did. Wait a minute... The bayleef felt like whacking himself in the skull. What in the world are you doing?! he scolded. She's a girl! It's all fake!
Another "smack" noise came from his paw. Ricky winced in pain. He faced Wickerbottom who was still standing at his desk with a ruler.
"See me after class." Wickerbottom said. She turned over towards L. J.'s desk, both their eyes meeting, and said, "You, too."
"Wh-what?" L. J. exclaimed in shock, jumping from his seat in frustration. "What did I do?"
Even if L. J. didn't know why he was being called after class, which he did, Ricky knew as well. She doesn't want anything, that's what. She's just making you stay here to get me to stay... He looked at his teacher and rolled his eyes. Well played... He slumped back down onto his desk, his now-red paw supporting his head.
With one final scowl of disapproval, Wickerbottom turned away and walked back to the front of the classroom. Ricky looked over at Veronica. The wartortle sat in the empty desk next to his. The feeling was back in his stomach. Stop! He scolded internally, forcing himself to look, again, out the window. After a few seconds, the bayleef found his head began drifting towards the front of the classroom, then back to the wartortle. He watched her with wide-eyes, the inexplicable feeling in his chest growing.
Wickerbottom had obviously begun today's lesson. Veronica had a pink folder set out in front of her. She had a brown quill in hand and a bottle of black ink at the end of the table. She dipped her quill into the ink and began writing. Ricky, once again, found himself being weird. Knock it off, Ricky! He shouted internally. The bayleef forced himself to peer outside the window. He watched the forest for anything to distract him from looking at Valery. After a few more seconds, he found himself rotating his head again, trying to catch a glimpse of the wartortle. When he realized what he was doing, the bayleef opened his mouth wide and bit down on his paw. He felt a jolt of pain go into his head. He also heard a sharp inhalation from behind, presumably Katie. He didn't care, though. He just wanted to keep his eyes from drifting towards the wartortle. Just keep it together. You can last until class ends... right?
Hours went by. Ricky found himself struggling with his vision and the new student. His body seemed to want him to look at her, while he panicked when he did. After a while, he managed to get his head under control, but it didn't help for long. Ricky seemed to occasionally fall into some sort of daydream. His mind seemed to have the idea that if he wasn't going to see Veronica physically, he'd see her mentally. This became even more of an issue than his earlier problem. He would drift off and look at her in his mind. It started to freak the bayleef out. He didn't understand what was happening.
A chimecho's bell rang across the hall, signaling the end of school. Ricky didn't bother trying to leave. He knew that L. J. would be held prisoner for the next half-hour or so, making it impossible for them to hang out. The bayleef tried to keep his eyes off of Veronica. He tried staring out the window again. Hold out. But he couldn't help it. He found his head turn of its own volition. He looked at Veronica as she placed her supplies into a bag Ricky hadn't noticed. The warm feeling was back. The bayleef didn't know how, but it soothed him. He watched as she shouldered the cloth- bag and broke from her desk. Her eyes set on Ricky for a second. She gave him a scowl as she moved behind the other pokemon.
"Don't worry, Ricky." Katie told him. Ricky didn't meet her eyes. "It shouldn't be that bad."
"Yeah..." Ricky said halfheartedly, bored with the situation. Just hold out. You'll be out of this place in a few minutes.
Katie gave Ricky a wink and exited the classroom with the rest of the class. All that was left was him, L. J, and Wickerbottom.
"Ricky." Wickerbottom called, trying to sound normal. That seemed to make her sound even worse.
The bayleef stood up and walked over to the teacher's desk, the "Knuckle-breaker" laid out across the top. The granbull had her hand on it as if in anticipation of Ricky doing something wrong. The bayleef rolled his eyes at the pokemon,
"Yes, Ms. Wickerbottom?" Ricky asked as if he was bored.
"I wanted to tell you that this isn't helping your image." the teacher told him.
"You don't say." Ricky said sarcastically.
"That's not helping, either."
"Sorry, ma'am." Ricky said.
"You need to get yourself into shape. How do you expect to get a girlfriend with that kind of attitude?"
"I don't want a girlfriend!" Ricky exclaimed.
"Don't take that tone with me." Wickerbottom warned, scowling at Ricky. "Just listen.
"You're in trouble with the officers, you're in trouble with the parents, and you're in trouble with the school. The only pokemon in town you've managed to make a good impression on are the students."
"Your point is?" Ricky asked.
Wickerbottom sighed with an annoyed look on her face. "You've already lost all respect from the adults in Twinroot. Right now, you need to focus on building better relationships instead of destroying what little of them you have left. Do you understand?"
"Be nicer." Ricky said, rolling his eyes. "Got it."
"Alright." Wickerbottom said. "Now, I want you to write an apology letter to Veronica."
Ricky's eyes widened. He looked at Wickerbottom with a raised eyebrow and a nervous glint in his eyes. "Wh-what?" he asked.
"Write Veronica an apology letter." Wickerbottom repeated. She looked at the dumbfounded look on Ricky's face and scowled. "Dang it, Richard. You'd think I'm having you killed with a face like that! All I want is for you to apologize in a letter!"
"I..." Ricky tried to protest. The words seemed to cling to the roof of his mouth, making him unable to talk.
"If you don't," Wickerbottom said. "Then you and L. J. have to write "I will be nice" one-hundred times on paper for the next week. Understand?"
"B-but..." Ricky said, still trying to protest, but still unable to come up with anything.
"I'll make sure he gets it done, ma'am." L. J. announced with a scowl at Ricky.
"Good." Wickerbottom agreed. "In that case, you two are free to leave."
Ricky was shocked. The bayleef didn't want to write an apology letter. Heck, he had a hard time writing. This was going to be next to impossible.
L. J. walked up behind the bayleef and began pushing on his shoulders, leading him out of the room. "Thanks!" L. J. called out of common courtesy; though Ricky was positive that his friend wanted to whack Wickerbottom. Then again, that might have been him. L. J. wouldn't intentionally threaten anyone, let alone hurt them.
As the group of two walked down the school hall, L. J. leaned next to the bayleef's head, and said, "We're talking as soon as we get to the 'Hollow'."
"About?" Ricky asked.
"You." L. J. stated. Ricky wasn't particularly worried by that notion. He'd done so many things before that it was a common occurrence that L. J. talked to him about it. He's probably going to talk to me about Wickerbottom's threat.
The two pokemon exited the school and made their way towards the forest.
The two had arrived at the edge of the forest five minutes ago. Since then, they had weaved through the cluster of trees, walking over the dead leaves that covered the ground. They'd been coming out this place for two years, now. L. J. had made carvings in the trees telling them where to go, but the two never used them. It felt like second-nature.
The smell of pine trees lingered in the air. Usually, it made Ricky feel better; it made him excited to be out of that prison. Now, it barely helped. His head was swimming with different ideas he had forced there previously to stop thinking about Veronica. It's creepy! Knock it off!
"Alright." L. J. said. He stopped walking, which, in turn, stopped Ricky's advancement.
The bayleef looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What?"
"We don't need to be at the Hollow for me to talk to you, just far enough away from the public." he walked up to Ricky. The bayleef looked concerned. L. J. lifted his paw into the air and swung at Ricky.
Ricky felt the force of his friend's open-paw collide with his face. He swung to the side, a red mark pulsing with a stinging pain. Ricky looked at L. J. with confusion, trying to find anger. For some reason, he couldn't.
"Why'd you do that?" Ricky shouted at his friend out of confusion rather than anger.
"That settles it." L. J. said. "You're hopeless."
Ricky raised his eyebrow even higher than before. "What?" he asked, taken aback.
"You like her." L. J. said. He sounded bummed.
"Wh-what?" Ricky stuttered. "N-no! She just got to the school! How am I supposed to have-"
"There." L. J. pointed out. "I didn't say it was Veronica, did I?" Ricky held up his right paw to protest, but he found the words sticking in the back of his throat. "What about, 'Friends are real, girls are fake'?"
"They are fake!" Ricky shouted.
"Then why were you looking at Veronica through the whole class?" L. J. questioned.
"I was bored!" Ricky lied. L. J. sat there for a few seconds with a raised eyebrow. Ricky realized what he had said, attempting to recover with, "That sounded better in my head."
"You're hopeless!" L. J. announced.
"Stop!" Ricky stated. The dewott looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I know it was creepy, but it isn't what you think. I'm done with it." L. J. didn't look convinced. "Done." the bayleef repeated.
L. J. sighed. "Fine," he said. "But you need to be. We have too many things to do, anyway."
"I know." Ricky said.
The two stood there in silence. Ricky was staring at L. J. in an attempt at telling if he was still mad. The dewott broke the silence with, "So... you said you have a plan?"
"Plan?" Ricky asked, beginning to remember his idea. "Right! The plan!" The bayleef smiled, remembering his plan for the day ahead. "We need to go to my house so I can show you."
"Alright." L. J. said with a smile. Apparently, he was over the previous situation, and so was Ricky. He wanted to be done with Veronica. She probably did something to make me stare at her, like some sort of boy-attracting perfume. Yeah. That's probably it.
L. J. and Ricky began walking away from the woods and towards the bayleef's house where his plan waited to be released into the world like a pack of wild pokemon.
(Author's Notes)
Hey guys! MasterKnight2142 here! So, this is a very long "Author's Notes" section with a lot of information. Sometimes it feels like brain dumping. So, sorry for the brain dump, but there's a lot of info. I needed to address. The length of these WILL NOT BE THIS BAD AGAIN! But, if you're going to be skipping the "Author's Notes" section, the most important thing I can say is going to be the paragraph below the (Q&A) thing, so read that. Other than that paragraph, there's the ones about "Grab" and "When will This Be updated". You'd understand if you read it. Anyways, thanks for reading!
(Shout-Outs)
Shout-Out to "The Protoss Disco-Ball" and "Djsoresupon3" for help with proof-reading the chapter! These guys are awesome writers with some great characters; I suggest you check them and their stories out!
(What about Ganderosa?)
As you can see, I'm starting a new story with a different feel to it. Why is that? I wanted to grow! I've never (ever) tried this genre before, so I'm giving it a shot! "But what does this mean for Shadows of Ganderosa" you might ask (Shadows of Ganderosa, for those that don't know, is my second story I'm currently writing (Also, "Hi" to those who came from Ganderosa!)). Nothing! This is a side-project I'll be working on in my spare time (Spare-time being any time school did take up, but isn't anymore for obvious reasons). It shouldn't interfere with Ganderosa's chapters being posted what so ever. If, for some reason, it does interfere with Dillan's grand adventure, then I'll cast Ricky into the deep end and focus my attention on Shadows of Ganderosa. However, I hope this story goes smoothly. I'm committed to making them both work.
(Ricky sucks!)
I wanted to say sorry if Ricky's point of view offended anyone who read this story. I wanted to make it clear that I do not believe in his sexist beliefs or attitudes.
(Grab)
Really quickly. This is going to be the only chapter that will be missing this, but I'm going to let you all assume that whenever Ricky "grabs" something, it is with his vines. It feels too tedious to continually add "He grabbed the book with his vine". Plus, I wouldn't say that you, as a human, "grabbed the book with your hand", because it's unneeded. It makes me want to say, "Duh". I'll remind you guys every chapter that he uses vines at the start by telling you in the story (just in case you forget), but from that sentence on in the chapter, unless stated otherwise, Ricky is using his vines to grab things. Grab+Ricky=Vines.
(When will this be updated)
This part is a grey area as it is. I wanted to write this story to stretch myself and see if I could pull off a "Romance" story. Originally, I was going to make it a one-shot, but decided I would continue if I was good enough and/or learning. That's why this is a grey area. I'll post the first three chapters over the course of the next six weeks (won't interfere with Ganderosa) or so. That way you guys can get a feel for the story. Now, here's the deal. At the end of Chapter Three, I'll be opening a poll. This poll will determine whether the story LIVES OR DIES. If you guys like the story enough to ask me to keep it around, then you can vote to keep it! Otherwise, Ricky's shenanigans end there. Not sure if you guys care all that much, but that's the fact of the matter.
(Q&A)
I wanted to do this with "Shadows of Ganderosa", but it never happened. I just never integrated it into the "Author's Notes" section of the story; however, this time I want to respond to your reviews right here. That's right! I'm answering questions, comments, and giving shout-outs to those who follow/favorite the story right in this section! So, I hope you like the shenanigans Ricky and L. J. are going to get into; I don't plan on ending this story anytime soon!
(Thanks!)
Thanks for reading! If for some reason you don't like the chapter, (Humor was poor, characters were bland, etc.) tell me why (you have to point to a section in the chapter to make your claim relevant, otherwise I won't acknowledge your comment in the Q&A section, etc.)! I will take any criticism as long as it makes sense. If it doesn't, I'll call you out (Maybe… Depends on my mood)
(Thanks… again!)
If you have any comments or questions, I will be answering them, so don't put anything you wouldn't like addressed in the "review" section!
Thanks again for reading! I'll see you guys in the next chapter!