This story will be a spin-off backstory as to how and when Frita and Jethro first met. We will return to the present and merge the events in both stories after this.
Until then, enjoy!
Jethro stepped out of the water plane and into the light, putting up a hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight. He was standing at the edges of a bustling port, happy boatmen on every corner. One of them greeted him in a happy manner, and he casually waved back and smiled. The marina was made of stone, the top of it not quite cobbled, with even stones placed at regular intervals that gave the impression as such. His boots clacked on the stones pleasingly and the sky was bright. The marina was surprisingly large for the small amount of coastline it occupied, and a fairly tall skyline stretched before him. He wondered how it was he would find where he needed to go in a town so big, yet crammed into such a tiny space. Bit of a maze, he thought. Hopefully I can find the Pokémon Center without getting too lost. He made his way down the steps and turned towards the city, gazing at the intricate architecture. He could see several Pokémon scurry about the street, some of which he had never seen before.
"The Mara Region," he said to himself. "Haven't been here more than five minutes and I'm already impressed!" He made his way to the street and looked around. It was a while before he spotted a sign indicating where the Pokémon Center was located. Underneath the main sign, there were two smaller icons; a bed and some silverware. Jethro raised his eyebrows in surprise. "It has a restaurant and a hotel in it? Man, I'm more impressed by the minute," he said, and followed the arrow on the sign. He walked down the surprisingly wide street, and couldn't help turning in circles to look at everything around him. A couple women on the street giggled, and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. I sure hope they don't know who I am, he thought. Otherwise this might get pretty awkward if it got out.
The street had a slow feel to it, despite the size of the city, and there were several shops and stores on each side. He paused to look in one of the windows and smiled as he saw several small plushes and a series of strange devices. He entered the store to look at them closer, picking one up and pushing a button on it. It was square, with four buttons on the top, and two smaller ones toward the bottom. It had a strap attached to one corner and was red in color. As he was wondering what it was, he noticed a horizontal pale blue light on the wall. As he moved his hand, the light moved with it, and he realized it was coming from the device. Oh, that's interesting, he thought, almost saying it out loud. As he turned, the light fell across what he at first thought was another plush, and the device beeped as the light moved up and down across the Pokémon.
"Tick, the Clock Pokémon. Electric Type. They are a common sight in much of the Mara Region. They have an internal alarm that can be set by winding the gear in their backs. Their ears ring loudly when the alarm goes off. Ability: Lightning Rod. Weight: 8 Lbs. Height: 1' 00". As the device started speaking, two rods shot out of the front of it to reveal a digital screen with all the information and a picture across it. Jethro looked at the device in confusion, and then looked up. The 'plush' he had scanned had tilted its head to look at him with a puzzled face. Jethro yelped and nearly dropped the Pokédex, fumbling it before finally catching it, his hand going through the projected screen, turning it off, and putting it back hurriedly. He looked around the store with a sheepish smile on his face. Some of the people in the store smiled as they shook their heads and returned to their business. The shopkeeper giggled lightly, her cheeks turning pink. Jethro could tell his own cheeks did the same, and looked back at the Pokémon known as Tick.
It was a bronze color, and slightly shiny with brass colored ears shaped like bells. Its face was flat, and its round, white eyes didn't blink. It had a little triangle shaped nose and stubby arms and legs. Now that he was actually paying attention, he could hear a faint ticking coming from the small Pokémon. It began to walk toward him, rhythmically tilting back and forth with each step it took, giving it a bit of a strange gait that looked like it bounced once on each leg before taking another step. It looked up at him and made a strange noise. "Tick-tick. Tick-tick." It was a high pitched voice, and Jethro couldn't quite understand what it was saying at first. It was sort of like translating a new accent. After a second he realized it was repeating itself. He concentrated and eventually realized it was saying "Funny human. Funny human." He gave it a slightly irritated look, and then shook his head and chuckled. He knelt down and patted its head.
"Well, I am a tourist here," he said to it. "You should've seen me in Unova. Made the headlines of the paper, and… well, it wasn't all that flattering, but hey, it's laughable now." He looked at the shopkeeper, who was now gazing at him in confusion and awe. He nodded slowly, keeping his head up longer. "And then there's that little tidbit," he muttered, smiling at the shopkeeper. The Pokémon bounced up and down for a minute, its bells ringing a little bit. "Tick-tick! Tick! Tick-ti-tick!" It was still taking some time to get used to the way Pokémon spoke around here.
"Beg your pardon?" he asked.
"You can understand me! You understand my talk!" Tick said. Jethro chuckled.
"It's taking some time for me to get the hang of it, but yes, I understand you," he said, scratching the adorable little teddy bear-looking Pokémon underneath its chin.
"Tick Tick! Tick - my back!" It flailed its stubby arms toward its back. Jethro's eyebrows knit, as he had only understood a part of what the Pokémon said. It repeated itself and flailed again. "Tick Tick! gear on my back!" it said. Jethro paused for a moment, and then understood, looking at its backside.
"You want me to wind the gear on your back?" he asked, remembering what the Pokédex had said. He reached back and twisted the gear slowly. "How many times?" he asked the little Pokémon.
"Five!" it cheered. Jethro raised his eyebrows; he seemed to be getting the hang of the lingo. He did as he was asked, twisting the gear five times. When he was done, the Pokémon straightened a little and the ticking inside it was louder and a little more even. "Thank you!" its voice wasn't nearly as high as it was before. "I thought I was going to wind out and stop up! It's been weeks since anyone wound my gears!" Jethro straightened up, shifting his weight to the balls of his other foot.
"Weeks? Wow, that's… apparently not good, how often do you need to be wound up?" he asked.
"I can go for just under a month before I start slowing down and then if I don't get wound I can't move. It gets a little hard to breathe too," it explained.
"Bit of a biological flaw, if you ask me," Jethro said to himself, putting a hand to his chin. The Pokémon looked at him in confusion.
"Biological? What does that mean?" it asked.
"That means a naturally evolved flaw or trait. That's just in my opinion, anyway," he said, waving a hand. "But I'm guessing that's why you're here in this shop?" He looked to the shopkeeper, who was still staring at the two of them.
"Oh." The Pokémon said. "That makes sense. Tick isn't natural. Tick is like Porygon." Jethro looked back down at the little creature in astonishment.
"You mean you were man-made?" he asked, awestruck. Tick nodded. "I hatched from an egg, but yes, Tick is man-made. Tick can breed like other Pokémon now, but Tick stayed the same as when it was made."
"Huh. Never thought of that, I'm sorry," he said. He stood still for a second, thinking. "Excuse me for a moment, please," he said, standing up and walking over to the shopkeeper. "Have you made it a habit to wind this little guy up on a regular basis?" he asked her.
"No, I usually just wind it up when I think about it," she replied, slowly starting to come back to the real world from her trance. "Uh, but the other shopkeeper winds him up more than I do," she added. "He's been sick for the past few days, though." Jethro took one of the pens from the small cup next to the register.
"Do you have a piece of paper I can use, or a small calendar?" She nodded, and procured a small pocket calendar from underneath the counter. She handed it to Jethro, and he looked at the Poketch on his wrist.
"Alright, so here's what you'll need to do," he said, scribbling a few notes on specific dates on each month, "that little guy needs to be wound up at least once a month. If not, he winds down and freezes up, which can get a little scary, if you can imagine." He turned the calendar back to the storekeeper and set the pen back in the little cup. "Make sure you keep a good habit of keeping up with it, and if you or the other storekeeper isn't around, please leave a note for someone else to do it, alright?" The storekeeper nodded and looked at the calendar.
"I'll be sure to do this from now on," she beamed as she moved her auburn hair behind her ear. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" she asked, looking Jethro right in the eyes. He guffawed and looked down, shaking his head.
"I'm flattered, miss, but I'm taken," he said. He looked back up to see that her smile had faded a little. "Oh, don't worry, though. I'm pretty sure the guy over there checking the plushes out would be glad to accept such an offer," he winked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was a handsome young man near the plush toys, looking in their direction. His face turned bright red as the storekeeper made eye contact with him, and she blushed again, this time a deeper red than before. Jethro smiled and walked away, stopping to shake Tick's little paw.
"It was nice meeting you, little one," he said.
"It was nice meeting you, too, and thank you very much!" it said happily. Jethro got up and walked over to the young man, still frozen in place. He placed a hand on his shoulder, managing to make eye contact with him.
"Good luck," Jethro grinned, winking.
Tick followed him to the door, its step much quicker now, and waved as he left. "Goodbye!" it called. Jethro waved back at it, beaming widely.
"Awww! How sweet!" Elly said, nudging Jethro on the shoulder. He scratched his nose and blushed a little.
"Yeah, once in a while, I like to play Cupid," he said. "Makes my day a little brighter. Anyway!"
Jethro arrived at the front of the Pokémon Center. It was massive! The building had at least 7 floors, if not more. There were balconies on the front that overlooked the street, and the whole building was wrapped with a large, red, glowing awning with a Poké Ball on the front. There was an outdoor seating area on the left side of the building. Several of the tables had umbrellas attached to them. As Jethro looked closer, he realized they weren't sun umbrellas, but instead heavy duty ones made for rain. Oh, now that's an interesting twist, he thought. The weather here must be rather moody. He looked at the sky, seeing very few clouds for the time being. There were two names printed on separate windows at the front of the building on the first floor. One said Hotel Tides in dark blue and the other said Cafe Horsea in gold with a small stylized picture of the Pokémon in the middle. Rather fitting, given the city's location, Jethro thought to himself. He entered the building, the doors being the old fashioned type that one actually had to open by hand, and walked up to the counter. He started in surprise as an unusually young woman greeted him. She was dressed in a pink hoodie with white circles with red crosses on the arms. She had a little white tennis skirt trimmed in red and a pair of white and red active shoes on.
"Welcome to the Oceanna Pokémon Center! How may I help you?" she greeted him.
"Hello, I was wondering if I could get my Pokédex upgraded to include the Pokémon of this Region?" he asked, bringing out the custom computer from his pocket. Joy extended a hand so she could examine the device. "Oh, one moment," he said, and pressed the black button. The panels folded outward and upon each other, and he then opened a small compartment on the side of the computer next to the button, unwinding a cord from within. "There," Jethro said, handing Joy the custom-made Pokédex. She plugged it into a computer behind her desk and clicked several things before sitting back, her eyes scanning the screen. Jethro noticed a pair of big white headphones around her neck, and on one side there was a microphone attached to it. There was a ding and she unplugged the device.
"There!" She handed him the device back, smiling. "All set. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Yes, actually, would you happen to know the special of the day?" he asked, motioning to the doors leading to the cafe outside. "I've just arrived after a long flight, and I'm pretty interested in sampling the local cuisine."
Eloquence yawned, stretching her arms.
"Please tell me we're getting to the good part," she said sleepily.
"Hey, you were the one who wanted a bedtime story," Jethro pointed out.
"Fair enough," Elly countered, rolling her wrist. "Continue."
Jethro looked at the menu thoroughly, impressed with the variety of delicacies they offered. There were even a few treats from other Regions here! That didn't come as much of a surprise, as this was one of the most tourist-attracting cities, it seemed. A waiter came to his table and bowed slightly. Jethro looked up and smiled, nodding back.
"It is a pleasure to serve you, Mr. Striker," the waiter said, standing up and smiling politely. Jethro chuckled and hung his head.
"Nurse Joy?" he assumed.
"Correct, sir," the waiter responded.
"Of course," Jethro said, and closed the menu. He ordered what appeared to be a Region specialty called the Kingdra Grande Plate, and turned back to the waiter, handing him the menu. "And just a glass of water, please, nothing too fancy." The waiter bowed again and walked off. Jethro sat back and let out a deep sigh, admiring the oceanic view. He could see a few Wingull circling the docks, reminding him of home. This is definitely somewhere that Felicia and I are coming back to when we get the chance, he thought, smiling to himself. He brought out his Poké Nav and flipped it open. He sent her a text informing her that he made it safely and was making plans to visit in the future with her, ending the text with a winking face and sending it. He then took a picture of the view and saved it to his camera roll, then stowed the device away in its pocket. He looked out to sea again. I somewhat envy this 'Grand Champion', he thought. I could get used to a view like this. He looked down a little to the crowded city and inhaled through his teeth. Can't quite get used to city life, though. A waitress returned with a glass of water and placed it on the table.
"Thank you very much," Jethro said with a smile. The waitress smiled and turned, walking away somewhat hurriedly. Jethro smirked as he took a sip of the crisp, cold drink. It's a good thing Felicia isn't here now, or else she just might go off on these poor girls! Jethro mused to himself. He sucked on an ice cube for a moment before crushing it and swallowing it.
Not long after that, the Kingdra Grande Plate was served, surrounded by green leafy vegetables and covered in a light orange sauce. It was very delicious, and Jethro's taste buds sang with every bite. The cooks here had exquisite skill! After he was finished, he swept the crumbs into his hands and then dumped them onto the plate. After the waitress collected the plates, barely making eye contact and blushing the entire time, the waiter that took his order came back and Jethro paid the bill with an extra tip.
"It was an honor to serve you today, sir," he said. "Is there anything else we can do for you?"
"Actually," Jethro said, putting his wallet away, "I was wondering if you could tell me where I could find the Grand Champion? I was told to meet them, but I wasn't told as to where that would be."
The waiter looked a little startled. "I...I'm not sure. I suppose the Mara Pokémon League would be the best place to start."
Jethro nodded. "And where might that be?" he asked.
The man gave him a bit of a pitied look. "I'm afraid it's all the way on the other side of the region, sir." Jethro's eyes widened and he sighed. Just my luck. Oh well, it might be nice to see more of the region while I'm here at least. He thanked the waiter and the man retreated. However, he returned a few minutes later with a laminated map of the region and a small transparency marker. "Please, feel free to use this to decide on how to get across the region if you don't plan on taking a boat or plane." It had been completely unexpected, and Jethro was finding he was increasingly impressed with the region the more time he spent here. As he was marking up the map, there was a sudden thud and he looked up to see someone occupying the other side of the two-person table. She had wavy red, nearly orange, hair that flared around her head like fire and bright green eyes. She was wearing a red t-shirt and a dark red coat. She sat forward, smiling at him, with her head in her hand.
"Um...can I help you?" he asked, slowly.
She cracked a grin and her eyes lit up. "I heard you were looking for the Grand Champion." Who is this woman? She's quite the eavesdropper whoever she is. But she might be able to help me.
"Do you know who they are?" he asked, blinking at her.
"Yup." Well, that was short and to the point.
"I was told to look for them at the Mara Pokemon League," Jethro explained.
The woman nodded. "That would probably be the best place to look, yeah." She looked down at the map in front of him. "Not taking a plane or boat?"
He shook his head. "I've never been here before. Figured I might as well see what I can while I've got the chance." Her eyes narrowed and he wondered what she could be thinking. Probably that I'm just a clueless tourist, which isn't entirely wrong, but…
"If you want, I can help you plan your trip," the lady offered.
Jethro smiled at her. "Yeah, that would be great, thanks!" She took the marker and drew two paths, one solid and one dotted. "If you wanna get there quick, take this one across the lake." She said, pointing to the solid line. It went up through Sparkplug, across a lake called the Lake of Sorrows, and west to a city called Shadyhollow before dipping down to Victory Bridge and Champion Island. "Or, if you wanna do a little sightseeing, you can take this one." The dotted path led straight, through the Crossroads, around to a village called Morobanundai, down to a city called Ciudad de Muerte, up to Clamara Town, and finally taking the same route through Shadyhollow as the first one. Jethro considered his options, pondering if he should do a little sightseeing or get to the League as soon as possible. After a moment, he decided to take the shorter route.
"I suppose I'll check out Sparkplug City and this 'Lake of Sorrows'," he said, pointing to the solid line the lady had drawn. "I don't want to keep the Grand Champion waiting for too long." He took out his PokéNav and took a photo of the map for reference. He then wiped the marker off of the laminated surface and looked up to the young lady. "Thanks again for your help, Miss…?"
The woman smiled. "You can just call me Fri." [pronounced 'free']
"Fri," Jethro echoed, narrowing his eyes. "Interesting name for an interesting person."
Fri smiled mischievously and nodded her head at him. "I'm flattered." She spun on her heel, "So, shall we go?"
Jethro sat up, eyes wide. "Um… 'we'?" he asked, shocked at this sudden offer of a travelling companion.
"Pretty as this Region is," she said, turning on him darkly. "You won't last 5 minutes outside this city." Jethro defensively furrowed his brow slightly, and then his expression softened, turning from anger to understanding.
"I see your point," he said, getting up from his seat. "I don't know a thing about this Region. Plus, I'd probably take half a day just to find my way out of this town!" He looked back to Fri, his expression stern. "However, I think it's rather unfair to say that I'm totally helpless," he said, patting his sheathed sword.
Fri smirked. "You mean that toothpick?" Jethro looked at her in bewilderment.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, this toothpick is unlike any other," he countered. "Managed to pick an entire meal out of a Sharpedo's mouth once." He shook his head. "I mostly use it for defense, anyways. However, my friends are more than capable of handling themselves in a battle," he added, motioning to the Pokéballs hanging on his backpack strap.
Fri eyed him for a moment, shrugging. "Still, you'll never find where you need to go without someone like me."
Jethro nodded and glanced off to one side. "I won't argue with you there," he said. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, sorry. I'm Jethro Striker," he said, holding out a hand and smiling. "I greatly appreciate your kindness."
Frita shook his hand and smiled. "No problem. We should really get going, though." She looked up tentatively at the sky.
Jethro glanced up as well. "The weather's about to change its mind, isn't it?" he asked.
"Mph." She looked down, then turned and began to walk away. "Maybe."
Jethro followed her into the Center. Curious, this one, he thought. Wonder if she's from around these parts. Examining her fiery hairdo, he guessed it wasn't likely she was from this city in particular.
Fri walked at a fairly quick pace, turning down several streets in a row and walking with complete and utter confidence. Jethro did his best to keep up, but now and then he was certain they'd get separated. He managed to keep within five feet of her the entire walk, however, and they eventually made it to the outskirts of the city. Jethro glanced back in amusement.
"I'll have to come back here some time and take some more pictures," he mused. Fri continued to walk, calling to him over her shoulder as she did so.
"We need to move away from the coast. The scenery is pretty dense from here on out so stay close. You'll get lost in the blink of an eye if you don't." Jethro jogged to catch up to her.
"This Region's that dangerous?" he asked, somewhat skeptical.
"Only after dark, if you don't know any better, which you don't," Fri said solemnly.
Jethro breathed out of his nose a little. "I understand that I'm new here, but please don't think of me as a total idiot," he said. "I've been through three entire Regions thus far, and I've had my fair share of adventures and danger. I do, however, understand that you mean well, and that you're guiding me for my own safety, but if it's all the same to you, please try not to be so… degrading? No, that's a bit much," he said, waving a hand. "Sorry, I just don't like feeling underestimated so much. But, if you insist that this place is that dangerous after dusk, I will do my absolute best to follow your lead."
Frita scoffed. "I've been to nearly every Region. It has nothing to do with you, and I'm not underestimating you. It's not so much that it's dangerous because of what's here, it's because of how the land is and how it intertwines. Life is free here. Until you understand this place better, you can't be expected to travel it alone, especially outside of places like Oceanna, no matter who you are."
Jethro nodded and looked forward. "I can respect that," he said. "Thank you again for offering to guide me."