Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon Platinum.
Okay, so I had an earlier version of this novelization and it didn't really go as well as I would have liked (meaning inspiration was getting to be really slow), so I decided to tweak things a little. Some of the team members have been switched around (same with nicknames), but there's been a big plot thing that I've wanted to write for Lucas since I started it...that's going to be in this novelization sooner or later.
Without further ado, enjoy!
"...'Pokemon are always by our side. I hope you will understand the meaning of those words.' That was the comment left by Professor Rowan, who had recently come back to Sinnoh from Kanto. And that concludes our special, 'Let's Ask Professor Rowan!' Brought to you by Jubilife TV! See you next week!"
Lucas Adams blinked as the end credits rolled. A million questions entered his mind as he plopped on the beanbag chair nearby. The most prominent being this; why did Barry want him to see this? What was that hyper idiot up to now?
He soon got his answer as a blonde-haired boy barged into his bedroom. He grinned enthusiastically at the blue-haired boy (who looked like he had a heart attack at his sudden arrival).
"Hi, Lucas! I found ya!" he bellowed.
"Barry," Lucas said, sighing. "I keep telling you not to do that. I could have been watching a horror movie - don't you remember what happened last time? The Blink incident?"
"Calm down, Luke!" the blonde - Barry - said in response. "How was I supposed to know that you would shriek like a little girl and pass out?"
Lucas blushed out of embarrassment at this comment as Barry continued, "And that was only one time! And it wasn't even a horror movie, that was just an episode of that show you like!"
"It was still pretty scary, Barry. You said so yourself when I made you watch it," Lucas argued.
Barry nodded (as if handing that argument to Lucas) as he continued, "Anyways, did you see the show just now? What am I saying? Of course you did! Professor Rowan's that super-important guy who studies Pokemon, right?"
Lucas nodded, unsure of where the hyperactive blonde was going with this.
"So?"
"Sooo~...He must have a lot of Pokemon right? I'm thinking that if we asked nicely, he'd give us a Pokemon or two!" Barry proclaimed, as if he had just come up with an ingenius idea.
Lucas thought about this for a minute. It was true that Professors usually give potential Trainers their first Pokemon, but would Professor Rowan? After all, he did look pretty intimidating on TV; almost like he could carry out an elaborate murder plan if you so much as breathed in his direction.
"I don't think..." he started when Barry ran over to his brand new computer.
"Wow! This is the computer you told me about, isn't it? The one your reeeally rich aunt gave you?" he exclaimed, examining the computer.
"Barry, please don't break that," Lucas said. "That computer is expensive."
Barry looked at Lucas, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. His face then brightened.
"Hey! Meet me at my house! If you're late, it'll be ten million PokeBucks!" he exclaimed, running out.
Lucas sighed, smiling as he got his favorite jacket and scarf from his closet. Barry could be unbelievably impulsive - how in all that is holy and sacred did he have this much energy? - but it made for a life that was never, ever boring. Things would be all...quiet and uneventful in Twinleaf without him. And as calm as Lucas was, he hated boredom. That's why he had a strange attraction to horror movies; he hated how they would scare the crap out of him, but he liked the fact that they weren't boring.
Putting on his jacket and adjusting his hat, Lucas went down the stairs.
Walking towards Barry's house was always a risky business. Lucas always had to be careful that the door wouldn't suddenly open in front of him. And if that happened...
THUD!
"OOF!"
...The result would be Lucas sprawled on the ground and Barry reeling at the door frame, wondering, "What the hell hit me?" When he noticed Lucas, Barry grinned. "Luke, what are you doing down there? You sure fall down a lot."
Lucas gave him an incredulous look. How could Barry not know that he's the one knocking people down? Barry grinned, holding up a backpack.
"Okay, I got everything I need! Come on!" he exclaimed, pulling his friend up and dragging him towards Route 201. "Awright! Let's go the the Lab!"
Lucas momentarily panicked as he was pushed closer towards the tall grass. His father had told him time and time again to never go into the tall grass without a Pokemon of his own.
"Barry," he said. "Don't you think you're being a little reckless?"
Barry looked at him in confusion as Lucas continued, "We're not supposed to go into the tall grass since we don't have a Pokemon." Barry actually seemed to think about what his friend had said, and then said, "Don't worry, don't worry! It doesn't matter. All we have to do is just dash to Sandgem Town. We'll run so fast that those Pokemon won't get to us!"
Lucas looked at Barry incredulously as the blonde got into a position to run. "Now, on your marks...Get set..."
"Hold it!"
Barry and Lucas froze as an older man approached them, a stern look on his face. "You don't seem to have any Pokemon between you," he demanded, "so what is the meaning of this?"
That's Professor Rowan, isn't it? Lucas thought, slightly awestruck. And from Barry's facial expression, he was thinking the same thing.
Professor Rowan examined the two boys. The blond boy mentioned getting Pokemon...so that's what they were up to. What to do now? Their lives would change if they got to meet a Pokemon. Should he...?
"Tell me something," Rowan addressed the boys. "You two love Pokemon, don't you?"
The two boys instantly nodded, with Barry saying, "Of course we do!"
"I'll ask again: do you love Pokemon?" Rowan asked again, only a little more slowly. Barry nodded enthusiastically, shouting, "You can ask us a thousand times, and we'll answer the same thing a thousand times! We love Pokemon! Right, Lucas?" Lucas nodded in agreement.
Rowan shook his head, saying, "A pair of young boys rushing into the tall grass without Pokemon of their own...? I wonder what people like that would do with Pokemon?"
Barry bit his lip at this. "Look," he said, almost regretfully. "Forget about me, but at least give one to my friend here! This whole thing was my idea, anyways!"
Lucas shifted his feet, looking at the ground. "Um...actually, sir...I don't want a Pokemon if it means Barry won't get one. We're best friends," he murmured.
The older man examined the two boys: one loud and obnoxious, the other quiet and polite, both of them foolhardy enough to go into the grass without Pokemon! Such recklessness would bar them from having Pokemon...but in both of them seemed to be some determination to protect their loved ones, and that was encouraged in a Trainer.
So be it.
"How big of you. Both of you," he said. "Very well, then! I will entrust you with Pokemon of your own. Please accept my apologies for putting you through that."
Lucas and Barry gaped at the old man. After all that, they thought they would fail in their unofficial mission. But for Rowan to turn everything around and...!
Before Barry could cheer (and possibly glomp Lucas), the older man said, "However, you must promise me not to recklessly put your lives in danger again."
Both boys nodded and chorused, "We promise!" Rowan smiled at their enthusiasm. He looked around, almost in confusion.
"That's strange," he said to himself. "I could have sworn she was right behind me..."
"Professor Rowan!"
The three blinked as a girl, around Lucas' and Barry's age, jogged into the scene. Her pink coat and boots seemed to stand out in the general greenery of Route 201 as she carried a brown briefcase.
"You left your briefcase at the lake!" she huffed. "Honestly, Professor! You should know not to do these kinds of things! What if a wild Pokemon or a thief got to it?"
"Now now, Dawn," Rowan said, taking the briefcase from Dawn's hands. "Thank you for retrieving the briefcase. You're right on time, actually. I was about to entrust these two boys with their own Pokemon."
Dawn looked about ready to have a heart attack as she looked at the two boys, and then at the Professor.
"Excuse me?" she shrieked. "P-Professor, these Pokemon aren't exactly the easiest to replace! Are you sure you want to...?"
"Dawn," Rowan interjected sternly. "We live side by side with Pokemon. Therefore, there comes a time in everyone's life..."
"When they should meet Pokemon," Dawn finished, obviously having heard this before. "And they should explore the world together side by side."
"That's right," Rowan said, nodding. "And the time for these two boys is right now. The place, right here."
"Professor, you're amazing!" Barry exclaimed, his eyes sparkling. "I mean, I'm so happy I can't keep a straight face!" It was true: Barry had the biggest grin any of them had ever seen. Rowan opened his briefcase, taking out two PokeBalls. One of them had a leaf insignia and the other had a fire insignia.
"Now, pick a Pokemon, if you please," he said, holding them out for the boys. Barry examined the two PokeBalls.
"Hey, aren't there usually three types of Pokemon to pick from?" he asked. "What gives?"
"Dawn has the Water-type Pokemon with her," Rowan explained. Dawn nodded, taking a PokeBall from her belt and tossing it. Out came a small blue penguin with a yellow beak and yellow feet. It chirped its name: "Piplup!"
The boys nodded in understanding as Barry turned toward Lucas.
"Luke, I'll let you pick first," he said. Noticing Lucas' raised eyebrow, he cleared his throat, saying, "Hey, I gotta show a little class here, right?" At this he glanced pointedly at Dawn.
Of course, Lucas thought, rolling his eyes. He examined the two PokeBalls. Obviously one of them had a Grass type while the other had a Fire type. Lucas could never see himself ever being able to handle a Fire Pokemon. He could barely catch up with Barry at times.
Lucas picked up the leaf-engraved PokeBall and released the Pokemon inside. The Pokemon that came out was a small light-green turtle with a shell that seemed to be made of the earth. A small seedling could be seen on the Pokemon's head. It looked up at Lucas, tilting its head to the side.
"Ah, you've chosen Turtwig," Rowan said. "A good, solid Pokemon. And Chimchar goes to you." As he said this, he handed the flame PokeBall to Barry. Still grinning, Barry released the Pokemon inside. An orange monkey-like Pokemon appeared from the PokeBall. Its flame tail flickered as it noticed Barry and climbed up his back, sat on his shoulders and picked through the blond hair.
"H-hey! Chimchar!" Barry protested. "That feels weird! Cut it out!"
"Don't squirm so much. That's how Chimchar gets to know somebody," Rowan said, amused at the fire monkey's antics. Meanwhile, Turtwig looked up at Lucas curiously. Lucas squatted, smiling at the Grass type.
"Hello, Turtwig," he said, holding his hand out. "My name's Lucas, and it appears I'm going to be your Trainer."
Turtwig's eyes sparkled as if Christmas had come early. And for the little Grass-type, it might as well have. Finally, a Trainer! Turtwig was so happy that he couldn't help glomping his Trainer. Lucas fell to the ground in his shock as Turtwig proceeded to chomp lightly on Lucas' head (his hat having fallen off in his shock).
"Ow! Turtwig! I'm happy, too!" Lucas exclaimed, laughing. "Now get off, you're heavy!"
Rowan smiled at the two Trainers as they met their Pokemon. Turtwig and Chimchar seemed to warm up to their Trainers instantly, and for that he was glad.
"Listen," he said, grabbing the two boy's attention. "These Pokemon are very young, and so they are not familiar with the world they live in. In that respect they are just like you. I hope you do well together as fellow newcomers of the world. If you have any questions, come see me in my lab. I assume you know where that is?"
The two boys nodded as the Professor walked off. Returning Piplup, Dawn ran after Rowan, nearly pushing between the two boys in doing so.
"Sorry!" she shouted. "Professor, wait for meeeee!"
As they watched the two run off, Barry commented, "Well, whaddo ya know? Professor Rowan's really nice! I mean, on TV he looks kinda scary."
"I guess," Lucas said, remembering the program he had seen no more than two hours ago. After about a minute of silence, Barry gave out a shout.
"Luke! We both have Pokemon now!" he exclaimed, grinning a rather devious grin. "Know what that means?"
Lucas grinned back, nodding. Years ago, they swore to each other that the first Pokemon fight they would have would be each other.
"Oh man, I've always wanted to say this..." Barry said excitedly. "Lucas! I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!" As he said this, Chimchar jumped in front of Barry, ready to battle. Turtwig walked up to the fighting zone as well.
"Turtwig, you can do it!" Lucas encouraged. "Tackle!"
"Scratch, Chimchar!"
When the fire monkey collapsed, swirls replacing its eyes, Barry looked on incredulously.
"What? We really lost?!" he exclaimed, picking Chimchar up. Turtwig, feeling proud of itself, ran up to Lucas and chirped its name happily.
"Good job, Turtwig," Lucas praised. Barry grinned.
"Let's get home!" he exclaimed. "My Pokemon needs some rest. We need rest, too."
Lucas nodded as they walked home. Barry then said, "Hey, hey! Why don't we nickname our Pokemon?"
"Huh?" Lucas asked, looking at Barry curiously. Barry continued, "We could name them after video game characters, or something awesome like that! So what are you gonna name Turtwig?"
"Hmmm..." Lucas hummed, glancing down at his Turtwig. Based on what he had seen of the Grass-type, it was calm, but ready for a fight if need be. Maybe Turtwig had a Calm nature or something?
"I'll think about it later," Lucas said. "What are you going to name Chimchar?"
"Ven, of course! After that video game we played a while ago! Hear that, little buddy?" he asked the barely conscious Chimchar. Having heard that, Chimchar nodded weakly, smiling.
"Good! See ya tomorrow, Luke!" Barry said, going into his house. Lucas smiled and walked back to his own house.
"I see. So that's what happened..."
Needless to say, Lucas' father (whom we shall call Fred) was pretty surprised when his son walked into the house, dirt on his clothes and a Turtwig by his feet. When his clothes were cleaned and the Pokemon rested, he demanded that Lucas explain everything.
"It's a good thing the Professor showed up when he did," Fred said when Lucas was finished. "I don't want to think about what would happen if any wild Pokemon got to you."
Lucas glanced down at the Turtwig, who was happily munching on some kale that his father got that morning. Lucas watched with interest; he never had a liking for kale, but Turtwig seemed to enjoy it a lot. He blinked at this.
"Hey, Turtwig," he said. "You seem to like kale a lot. In fact, it's all you've eaten since you got here. Would it be alright if I started calling you Kale?"
Turtwig paused to think about this. He nodded, rushing towards Lucas and nuzzling him. Lucas laughed.
Fred smiled at this, saying, "You seem happy with the little guy. You should go to Sandgem Town and thank Professor Rowan. Oh, I almost forgot about something. Wait right here, okay?"
He exited the room, and about five minutes later came back with a shoebox in his hands. Fred handed Lucas the shoebox, adding, "I knew you were going to get a Pokemon someday, so I planned ahead a bit."
Lucas opened it and saw a brand new pair of Running Shoes. "They're really nifty for an adventure!" Fred said as Lucas switched shoes. When he tested their fitness, he said, "Thanks a lot Dad! I'm going to go to Sandgem Town. It shouldn't take to long."
With that, he dashed out the door.
When Lucas stepped into Route 201, he was immediately greeted by Barry.
"Hey, Luke! I just had an idea!" he exclaimed. "I was going to thank Professor Rowan, but then I had a thought. You know the lake we always played at when we were little? You know how they say there's a legendary Pokemon living in the lakebed?"
Lucas nodded. How could he not know all of that? That was Lucas' favorite childhood story; whenever he had a nightmare (which was quite frequently as a child) his father would always tell him stories about the Spirit of Emotion, Mesprit.
"Don't tell me," Lucas said, almost amused.
"You guessed it! We're going to catch that Pokemon!" Barry exclaimed, grinning. "That'll make Professor Rowan and Dawn happy, right? So let's go! You and me, we got nothing to fear!"
As he said this, he pushed Lucas towards the lake. Lucas said, "Barry...Are you sure about this? What if it was just a story?"
"Trust me, that Pokemon is here," Barry said. "You should know too. We saw it that one time, remember?"
"Barry, that was a trick of the eye," Lucas replied, sighing. "I don't think..."
"Hey, who's that?" Barry asked as they entered the lake. Up ahead was a rather strangely dressed man with blue hair. He looked out to the lake, not seeing the two boys coming.
"The flowing time, the twisting space..." he murmured. "All of this will someday be mine. Cyrus is my name. Remember that, Pokemon of the lakebed. Sleep while you can."
At this, he walked to exit the lakefront. "Please allow me to pass. Step aside," he demanded as he passed the two boys. For a brief moment, Lucas locked eyes with the strange man. He reminded him of an antagonist for one of his movies; every part of Lucas wanted to just drop everything and run, but he was rooted to the spot.
When Cyrus left, Barry commented, "Who the hell was that? What a nut!"
"Yeah," Lucas said, nodding in agreement. Barry grinned again, saying, "Okay! Now let's go catch that Pokemon!"
Then they heard a light, almost musical cry. The two boys looked around frantically, with Lucas barely catching a glimpse of magenta and light blue...
"Did you hear that?" Barry exclaimed. "That was the Pokemon's cry! I know it was! Now let's..."
Barry then realized something. Something drastically important if you want to catch a Pokemon.
"Luke!" he howled. "We don't have any PokeBalls! You know...P-O-K-accent-E-capital-B-A-L-L-S! We can't take a Pokemon with us, let alone catch one without them!"
Lucas wanted to laugh at the sight of Barry flopping around like a Magikarp. When the blond calmed down, he said, "Hey, you think the Professor would give us some PokeBalls? He said if we needed anything to come to the Lab...It's settled, then! We'll go right now! I'll race ya!"
Barry dashed off. Lucas started after him, but stopped to look back at the lake.
That wasn't a hallucination...was it?
Mesprit had been watching the two boys since they obtained their Pokemon. Originally, it was a little concerned about what that man Cyrus was planning...but that worry alleviated when it saw the two boys.
The hyper blonde had flopped around like a Magikarp when he realized they had no PokeBalls: Azelf, the Spirit of Willpower, would like this one.
The Professor's assistant, whom Mespirit had seen picking up a briefcase, seemed to have quite a lot of knowledge about Pokemon. The Spirit of Knowledge, Uxie, would definitely like her.
As for the boy...
Mesprit definitely liked him. As the Spirit of Emotion, it was interested (and a little concerned) by how he always seemed cool and collected when he was a nervous wreck on the inside. And it had also seen the way he treated his Turtwig. It was cute, really.
Mesprit smiled. It looked like everything would be all right.
Please review! :D