Chapter one – Egg
Today was the start of the beginning of my life. That is so cliché, but in this case I think it fits. Once a year trainers come to Pallet City to register for one of four competitions. The minimum requirements are turning sixteen that year, basic schooling, which just means that you have been in school up to that point, and a registration form that you fill out once you get there.
The day I turned sixteen I was so excited. That meant in four weeks, the closest time for registration, I could get out. My home life isn't horrible, but I never felt happy there. My father is an alcoholic. He's not abusive, just absent. My mom is amazing, but very stressed out and not happy with the current conditions. This leads to a very tense atmosphere. Best leave while the going is good.
On September 10th of that year I was finally able to compete in Pokemon. There are different kinds of journeys available. The most popular is the "Master Journey." It was made popular by Ash Ketchem reality show. The basic idea was to catch as many Pokemon as you can and win eight badges to be able to compete in the league. This is very popular because the only limitation you have is the maximum amount of Pokemon you are allowed to carry at a time. The second most popular, especially with the girls, is the contest shows. People travel to different contests competing for ribbons. It is half beauty pageant and half battling. As I said, very popular with the girls.
Now the third type is much like the "Master Journey" but much more challenging. In this journey you are limited to one or two types of Pokemon. For example ice and rock Pokemon. Or even just ice. This challenge, affectionately known as the "element challenge" is judged as the most extreme. People who take this one are looking for careers Pokemon battling and want to specialize. Typically these people become gym leaders and lifetime battlers. Personally this didn't appeal to me because you get a type based on your personality and characteristics, and that didn't seem very fun. Not only your Pokemon are judged, but you as a person are as well.
The last challenge is called the Egg Quest. Personally I think this is by far the most challenging. You start out with an egg and you have to raise it to a certain level before getting another egg and doing the same thing over. The idea with this one is you learn how to care for Pokemon at all stages of life and develop a much deeper bond than that of any of the others. However it can be harder to judge. How can you tell who raised a better Pokemon? Like people every Pokemon is different, so a Charzard one kid raised might not be as battle oriented as the other person's but might be a lot smarter. That's why there is just a pass/ fail system in place. If you seem to raise a happy healthy Pokemon then you pass for that individual Pokemon. This quest is much more subjective, so is not very popular.
Now when most people start these log journals they tell about their reasons for going. They usually seem to be along the lines of "I wanna see the world," or "I need to prove myself," or something of that nature. Now my reason is not so naive or childish. My reason is this: I need a job. The best way to move forward in this world is to apply for one of the quests from ages 16-20. Then depending on your results a whole network of jobs are available to you. For me, I'm aiming for pharmaceutical health care. Yeah, yeah, I hear your scoffing. It's not a glorious profession like an astronaut or Pokemon professor, but I think it is interesting. The base salary isn't bad either. My plan is to apply for the egg quest, raise some plant Pokemon that is commonly used for health care, and be done. Most people doing the egg quest have dozens that they raise as they travel, but one seems fine for me. I don't want fame or fortune, I want stability. Boring I know, you aren't the first to tell me so shut up already.
Anyways now I completed my intro to this stupid journal thing I will start with day one. This is the day I finally can get out of the house and start my independent life.
When I woke up it was still dark. I have an amazing internal alarm clock that never fails. If I tell myself to wake at 6:00am, then I wake up at 5:45am without any outside stimulus. As you can see my clock is perpetually fifteen minutes early, so I adjust. Today I set my internal alarm to 6:15 so at 6:00 I rolled out of bed.
"Why do they make the meeting time so damn early?" I am not a morning person.
I dragged my protesting body away from my nice warm, comfortable, temping…..okay okay, I need to get in the shower now or I'll go straight back to bed.
"Rhys, you up? It's a wonderful day, clear skies and warm weather." my mom was already up with breakfast waiting.
"Don't pep talk me so early. Didn't you sleep at all last night?" I muttered conversationally to her. Look at me and my people skills.
"I was on call, so I just came home from work. Your gratitude for breakfast is warming," my mom snarked back. I got my attitude from her. She was a midwife. Once or twice a week she was on call, which meant that she had to be prepared to go in to work at any time if someone was delivering.
"Dad up?" might as well get this out of the way quickly.
My mother's face closed down. "No he was up all night drinking, so he probably won't be up until four or five this evening. I'm so sorry Rhys, I told him you were leaving today, but he still did it. One of these days he's going to look back and see how much he's missed of your life." The tension in the room escalated, "Do you want me to kick him in the balls to get him up so you can say good bye?" Good old gentle mom.
"Nah, I'll call him some time later. I not bothered." For some reason this made my mom look even more sad. Okay emotional avoidance time, Plan A: "I love you mom, thanks for breakfast!" my voice came out a little desperate.
Her face warmed up, "I love you too sweetie, I'm so proud of you." She hugged me hard.
I hugged her back warmly, "Thanks." That was a close one. Whenever my mom talked too much about my father it always ended up with lots of tears and lots of apologies for his absent behavior.
Breakfast was very good. My mood improved. Luckily I had inherited my mom's cooking skills along with her attitude. I wouldn't go hungry if I had the essentials. However while I had inherited my mom's inner attributes, I had taken my dad's outer ones. I looked almost exactly like he did when he was my age, except for the eyes. I was about 5'8'' and 150lbs. I swam a lot so while I did have muscle, it wasn't obvious through my clothes. I suspected I would grow a few more inches as I hit 18, or at least I hoped. I had blondish brown hair, too light to be brown but too dark to be true blond. My one distinguishing feature that I was stupidly proud of was my eyes. They were a very, very, light hazel that seemed to almost look yellow in some lights. Wolf Boy was my elementary school nickname, one that I had loved.
After breakfast I packed up all my stuff that I had prepared the night before. It was an army duffel bag that my dad had from his air force days. It was massive and fit a sleeping bag, clothes, small pot and a mini saucepan, and other medical and food oriented supplies. However it was bloody heavy. I had also bought new hiking boots that didn't occur to me to break in until now. Smart move. The first week was going to kill me.
Then an idea popped into my head. Whoever said I had to WALK everywhere? That was the way movie star Ash Ketchem did it in his show and it became a trend, but that didn't mean I had to do it. Sometimes I amaze myself with my brilliance…
I hauled the bag onto my back in a much better mood. My mom was sitting by the door watching me silently with a sad expression on her face. "I am going to miss you so much Rhys. Make sure to call often and if you ever need any help I will drop everything and go." Her voice wavered slightly, but she suddenly put on a mocking expression, "And if you call crying for your mommy to pick you up I will and won't judge you for it." She really knew how to make a guy feel loved.
I grimaced at her, "I love you mom." Then I hugged her and opened the door. The lab was a five minute walk from home. Suddenly I was yanked from behind, with my center of gravity already compromised due to the heavy bag, I almost toppled over. I jerked my head around angrily, "What? You almost killed me!" My mom grabbed my face and gave me a big kiss.
"Did you really think you could leave without giving your mother a good bye kiss?"
"Obviously not. Go to bed mom, you haven't slept at all, it's making you weirder than normal." Mothers could be so embarrassing sometimes. She gave me a watery grin and gave me a gentle shove which sent me stumbling down the front stairs. God damn this stupid bag.
The walk was uneventful and I got there in good time. The crowd wasn't too bad yet – there were only four others waiting outside the lab. Most seemed to have brought their parents and family. I am glad I told mom not to come, I didn't want her to make some stupid comment that would humiliate me.
Minutes passed and more and more people arrived. The crowd swelled to 30 people plus their families. Finally Professor Oak III exited the lab. He stood on a podium and had a microphone in his hand.
"Hello everyone! Congratulations on entering one of the finest Pokemon expedition tournaments in the world. Trainers please file into the lab in an orderly fashion, parents and family please wait outside or the lab will be too crowded. When we get inside we will form four groups. I want the master questers and Pokemon contesters in the main waiting room where you will be briefed. The elemental trainers move off to the right and go to my office. I will arrive shortly to match you to your element. The egg breeders please move to the hatchery. The remaining trainers who haven't come to a decision go to Devin, my assistant's office. He will council you and help with your decision. Once you have been briefed, please come to the main waiting room where I will hand out Pokedexs and licenses. Please proceed to your desired room." He hopped off his stadium and beckoned us all in.
I nervously climbed the stairs trying not to glance around me to see what the other kids were doing or thinking. Yeah I like to try to play the cool guy. Most the time it doesn't work. Everyone was nervous when faced with this decision because it defines what you learn and achieve.
Upon entering I moved to the left following the sign that said HATCHERY in big pink letters. Pink? In a lab? That didn't seem very professional or scientific. I wasn't surprised that there were only five of us in the end. As I said before the Master quest is by far the most popular. Personally I think it is the easiest.
I entered through huge double door and looked around. The hatchery was enormous! There were computers and monitoring equipment everywhere with eggs in nests, eggs in water, eggs in steam filled boxes, and eggs in freezers plus dozens of other combination's. Chanseys' filled the room as well, some with eggs in their pouches too. A girl gasped in amazement, I felt like echoing her. I had never been inside the lab before and the size was impressive.
"Good morning, I'm Professor Gideon," the voice echoed around the room and made me jump. I am so cool.
"I am in charge of this lab's hatching and raising program." He was an elderly man who walked with a pronounced limp. His smile was so huge it looked painful. "It is good to see this year a few more brave contenders try out. This section always gets the fewest trainers because of the difficulties and responsibilities of raising a Pokemon from birth. But most people forget that when there are hardships there are rewards too."
Professor Gideon puffed himself up and looked like he was about to make a profound speech. I sighed, looks like we might be here a while. "An egg trained Pokemon is much more loyal and strong than a caught one. They tend to be smarter and can communicate with their trainer easier. Also, if raised correctly they will love you unconditionally and be your partner for life. Even the most dangerous Pokemon will risk his/her life for their trainer." He started pacing, "The relationship however has to be mutual. You must properly care and train your Pokemon to your best abilities and love it like it was your own child. It is a long and difficult process, for even an egg must be kept warm or cold according to the species. Some Pokemon don't eat certain foods or are just picky. You will be responsible for your Pokemon's health and survival. Luckily your Pokedex will help with most of it and there are certain learning centers in every city that you can go to for help." He grinned at us, "You will probably be wishing for patience half the time and laughing the other half."
Finally the old geezer seemed to take a breath. A girl in a yellow sundress raised her hand, "Do we get to choose our first egg or will we just be given one?" I looked up, that was a good question. If I got a Pokemon that wouldn't benefit me straight away I would end up having to raise two Pokemon not just the single as I planned.
Prof. Gideon looked at her kindly, "Unfortunately you don't get to choose your first one. You will be given an easy Pokemon to raise since it is your first time. This is one of the more unpopular reasons why so few trainers choose this section. We don't want to give a new trainer a difficult Pokemon as their first just to have that Pokemon suffer due to his or her inexperience. Even if you do have experience raising pokemon there are no exceptions," he glanced quickly at a boy who seemed about to speak. The boy deflated.
"Then what is our Pokemon?" I asked, this could make my journey way longer than I planned.
He grinned at me obviously excited, "I'm sure you will all love this one, it is a pretty rare Pokemon!" He hobbled over to a group of ten eggs in a corner of the room. "These are your new Pokemon!" Great, but what are they? This guy's enthusiasm was wearing on my nerves.
"Those are Bulbasaur eggs!" The boy who had experience with raising Pokemon cheered. Dweeb. But if he was right then I was saved. Bulbasaur's spores have many medicinal purposes. Raising a Bulbasaur would look good on a resume to any health care college. I sighed with relief.
"Bulbasaur is a great Pokemon!" the dweeby boy swung at me mistaking my sigh as one of disappointment. I held up my hands in surrender, "Dude chill, I was just relieved it wasn't a Rattata or something." That seemed to mollify him. He was a small guy who verged on girly. Obviously he developed a temper to compensate.
"Okay everyone before I hand out eggs I will explain the rules." Prof. Gideon took control of the situation to my relief. I don't like confrontations.
"Now you are only allowed to have one egg at a time. As soon as that egg hatches you are free to get another, but I wouldn't recommend that. I think you should devote your sole attention on one Pokemon at a time." He looked around at us seriously, "Also when you think that your Pokemon is ready you and your Pokemon will be tested. You can choose to be tested on fighting skills, brains, trust and accumulative. The goal is to have three Pokemon that can pass the accumulative portion with over 185 points. There is a total of 190 points. Doing that is the equivalent of getting into the league."
"Wait hold up. You need THREE Pokemon to pass? What if you just had one?" I panicked.
"Then it would be the same as someone in the master quest not making it to the league. Also three is MINIMUM. Most serious people have dozens of Pokemon they raise. Also keep in mind that not all Pokemon have the ability to pass all three. Even though the test is set by species some Pokemon don't fit into the norm, so might not pass a section of the exam. This is more common than you think it is; only extraordinary Pokemon can pass the accumulative with a 185. So don't blame yourself or the Pokemon, not all Pokemon can do it. The purpose of this quest is to recognize the potential in your Pokemon and yourself as a breeder."
This was just great. I would have to do three Pokemon minimum. So much for getting a head start and applying to school at the age of 17. I'm going to have to rethink my strategy.
"So we are supposed to wonder around with only eggs and baby Pokemon for protection?" the girl in a sundress asked nervously.
Gideon looked up quickly, "Of course! I almost forgot! You will be assigned to a group of elemental trainers or masters. Professor Oak III will select volunteers that don't mind traveling companions. You will be required to travel with them until it has been judged you can fend for yourself."
That made all five of us tense up. We were going to be charity cases. Great. I could hardly wait to be paired up with a total stranger who would be in charge of my safety AND more importantly where we travel to. I had obviously not my research thoroughly. This is a lesson learned.
Seeing our faces he tried to placate us, "It won't be for long and who knows you might make lifelong friendships." Yeah right the chances of that are about as high as me becoming the supreme dictator and Pokemon master.
"Anyways let's choose your Bulbasaur." He hurriedly changed the subject. We shuffled over to the group of eggs.
They all looked alike. Each had a leathery shell that was a pale brown. I would have thought that they would be green but apparently not. The guy with the temper quickly stepped up and ran his hand over each egg. What he was looking for, I had no idea, but apparently he found it in the seventh egg which he held up triumphantly. The rest of us looked at him blankly for a moment before remembering that we had to pick an egg too. I was third in line. When my turn came, instead of mimicking the first guy I grabbed the one farthest from me. It is what it is. I had no experience in judging good eggs from bad, so I went on luck, as fickle she might be.
When I pulled my egg close to my body I felt a strange sensation originating from my hands. It was a pulsing sensation like when you press your fingers against your throat and feel the blood pulse through you. I shuddered and almost dropped the egg. What the hell?
"Professor! There is something wrong with this egg, it's pulsing!" I couldn't keep the disgust from my voice.
Everyone looked at me, the Professor and the dweebie guy with a temper in astonishment and the other four with confusion. "You feel it? Does it feel like energy churning around in the egg?" Gideon scampered over to me. The words rushed out of his mouth so fast that he sprayed me with a fine shower of spit. Yummy.
I scrubbed my face against my shoulder angrily and answered his question with a bite, "Whatever. I thought it feels more like blood pulsing but sure, yeah. Can you make it stop? It feels like I'm holding a balloon of blood or something. It's nasty." I held out the egg towards him.
"Oh no, oh no, no, no." the professor was practically vibrating, "I can't fix it because it is perfectly natural. Every egg has that life energy, but only really sensitive people can pick up on it. I myself only feel a flutter if I concentrate. Have you ever been exposed to Pokemon eggs before?"
"No this is my first time touching one." This was turning weird. Sensitive? Sensitive to what exactly? Just before I voiced that question Prof. Gideon was talking again, "Really? That is unusual. Most people who are sensitive enough to feel life force are drawn to Pokemon from an early age, like Matt here." He gestured towards dweeb. "Matt found out he was sensitive when he was four and wondered over to the lab one day and we met." Gideon smiled affectionately at Matt. He turned back to me, "To have withstood the draw of Pokemon this long would mean incredible will power or a very stressful life. What is your name young man?"
"Rhys Fletcher." I was getting nervous. Was this just a gentle way of telling me I was even freakier than I thought? "Ummm…What does this mean? Am I going to have problems functioning in some way? I mean, is this a good thing or a bad one?" I stared down at the pulsing egg in my hands. The leathery shell felt cool, yet the pulsing felt warm and alive.
"My dear boy! If you can feel the life force as strongly as you described then this is extraordinarily good! Rhys, to be sensitive means that Pokemon will be drawn to you. They will want to interact with you and you will be able to feel what they want you to. You have the potential to become a leader in Pokemon relations and communications! It is remarkable to have two strong Sensors in one generation, let alone city!" Gideon was almost hysterical. Okay, now might be a good time to run from the insane egg man…
But before I could put that to action he grabbed my arm with a vice-like grip that belayed his age, "I believe you and Matt will be able to see things that most people will never be able to. I hope you travel far and put your discoveries to paper so we can experience them. I will make sure that you and Matt are put in separate groups and with people who will travel the whole world." He had a crafty gleam in his eye, "That way the likelihood of discovery increases!"
I struggled out of his grasp desperately, "I don't want to travel the globe, I want to be a doctor! Just because I have this mutant power doesn't mean my life is not my own! Give me a break!" I stomped towards the exit fuming. Shit! My day is getting crappier by the second and it wasn't even 9:00 yet! I glared down at my egg like it was all its fault. I should have just shut up and not mentioned it.
"Wait! Rhys! There are still some instructions regarding Pokemon care I have to give!" Professor cried desperately. I looked back to see him hobbling after me pathetically. Matt had a worried look on his face and was trying to help him one handedly as he carried his egg. The other four had shell shocked looks on their faces and were looking at me and Matt like we were freaks. My temper rose another degree, judging assholes.
"What? Hurry up I'm leaving."
"Pokeballs..." Gideon gasped, "Pokemon raised from eggs don't like pokeballs and only go in them in emergencies. So when you are raising Pokemon have some place you can let them stay when you are busy with the others. It is troublesome if you have twenty Pokemon following you around as you travel." This is getting gooder and gooder.
"What happens if you want to raise an Onix or something?" The only other boy besides me and Matt asked.
"Then be prepared to not visit many cities." Gideon glanced at him sadly, "This is the other reason why this quest type is not very popular. Even though there is no limit of Pokemon, there is still a limit to what the trainer can provide. An egg bred Pokemon requires much more attention that a wild one and can get depressed if separated for too long. Most breeders end up settling down and building a ranch of some sort to accommodate their Pokemon." Gideon glanced at me again, "I apologize for my excitement earlier. You don't have to travel the whole world to make discoveries, sometimes the most fascinating ones are in our own backyards. You don't have to see the world to become a Pokemon Professor. If you decide to come back to Pallet City, I will recommend you to Professor Oak III on your return." With that he turned and gestured us down the hall back the way we came.
I stood rooted to the spot in astonishment. That stupid old man completely ignored my point. I didn't aspire to be a Pokemon Professor. I shook my head, gotta cool down. He was just an eccentric old man who had no life beyond Pokemon; nothing I could say would shake him of his age induced fantasies. I sighed and started down the corridor towards the others. Onto the next adventure. I haven't dreaded groups this much since the fifth grade and Snotty Brandon thought we were best friends.
Thanks for reading this. I am working on chapter 2 now, but it might take a while cuz I'm busy. Also sorry this chapter was so boring, it will pick up pace soon.