"Miso ramen again…" a young man around the age of nineteen sighed. "Man, I've been on the road for eight years and all I've had for the most part is ramen…This region really needs to be more diverse…"
In a bored manner, the pokemon master wannabe sat and began to consume the usual breakfast/lunch/dinner. Clad in mostly black, he attracted little attention. Black pants, dark fingerless gloves, and an ebony jacket with an orange square design over the shoulders made up the most part of his attire. A black cap with an orange X sat on his head, light chestnut-colored hair poking out from underneath. His eyes, a piercing green, were lazily staring at the meniscus of his glass.
Perhaps, though, he should have been more attentive and he wouldn't find himself in the mess he would soon be in.
He was suddenly startled by a large thump to his right and turned to find a woman about an inch shorter than him looming over. Pretty as she was with her big, icy eyes and waist length hair in a blue bandana that in the style of Cinderella, she seemed to be contemplating something. Her intense stare was becoming quite uncomfortable for the trainer.
"You," she started. "You look like a guy that needs a break."
"Oh, um…" he didn't really know what to say to that, even if it was true.
She placed her hands on his shoulders and smiled. "I'm Hazuki! And I'm going to give you a break from your long journey, free of charge!"
Oh, he had a very bad feeling about this. No good can come from people telling a random stranger of niceties. It surely means that one is in for a scam.
"Listen, there's an inn here in town and I plan on staying there, so I don't really need your help," he replied and turned to go back to his miso ramen, trying to look as if there was nothing else he would rather be eating.
Hazuki cocked her head and smiled. "You know, the place where I live has a few girls coming around it every now and then. All of them are real tens, if you know what I mean."
He nearly choked. "W-what?!"
The girl laughed and asked, "What's your name?"
"Eiri," he muttered, thoroughly annoyed now.
"Well, Eiri! What harm could come from you just coming to see my deal?" she continued jovially.
"I have a feeling a lot, actually."
Hazuki sighed and tugged at her blue t-shirt that matched her faded jeans and fingerless gloves. She chewed the inside of her lip while Eiri turned back to his food once more.
Violently he was wrenched from his seat and dragged down the dirt road.
"Don't let yourself get lured into a false sense of security!" Hazuki chirped as she carelessly sped the two towards the northern outskirts of town.
When his painful ride had come to a sudden stop, Eriri managed to look at his new surroundings. While he was in pain, he couldn't help but notice the wildlife around him. Pokemon crept from every corner of his eyes. Some seemed to be working, like the Butterfree gathering nectar from patches of flowers and handing it off to the Beedrill to make honey, while others like Illumise and Skitty looked like they were just playing tag.
"Hazuki," a girl's voice called. "Where have you been? You didn't milk the Miltank like I asked."
This one was shorter than Hazuki and had long blond hair that curled just at her mid-back. Her emerald eyes were fixated upon the smiling Hazuki. He took note that the girls were dressed similarly, only the blond was wearing a red bandana and t-shirt. Instead of faded blue jeans, she had picked overalls in the same style. Her hands were carrying a tray of what appeared to be bottles of Miltank milk, and Eiri noted that she didn't wear the fingerless gloves Hazuki did. She was pretty too, just like Hazuki.
"That's because I was finding a replacement worker for the day!"
"Replacement?" the newcomer cocked an eyebrow and looked Eiri up and down. "He seems a little…Worn out…"
"He'll be fine, Akina!" Hazuki reassured her and slapped Eiri on the back, causing him to take a small step forward. "You'll see!"
Akina sighed. "Well…If you say so…"
"Thanks! Love ya! Bye!"
And she was gone.
Leaving him with a total stranger.
Alone.
Still without a clue as to what was going on.
Great.
She smiled at him, though. "Don't worry. Hazuki has just left you here to work her shift on my farm today. It's not a big deal. Happens often. I'll yell at her for it later, but for now we should get to work."
"What?" Eiri questioned, more rhetorically than anything. "You've got to be kidding me! I'm not working her shift!"
A dangerous gleam came to Akina's eyes. Eiri shrunk just a bit beneath her gaze as she calmly yet threateningly said, "You are going to work because I can't do this alone and there isn't anyone else here."
He was about to nod and give in when she had a change of heart, apparently.
"Oh! I'm sorry, that's terribly rude of me! I normally say that to Hazu when she's about to run off! For you, I will gladly offer a reward. How do dinner and a free night stay at the inn sound?"
Well, he had nothing better to do to kill time and this would save him some cash. All he had to do was work on a farm, right? And how hard could that be when there were pokemon working everywhere?
Very hard, apparently.
The pokemon, for starters, did not like him. When he tried to collect honey, the Bedrill attacked him.
"Just ask the Butterfree with the red bandana to talk to the Bedrill with the blue bandana. He'll set them straight," Akina had instructed as if it were nothing to be concerned about.
That was the second annoyance. Akina seemed to think everything was self-explanatory and didn't understand the trouble he was having.
The third pain was in the jobs themselves. It was hot today, and working alongside the Oddish in the fields was back-breaking work. Then he had to collect water from the well, which would have been a nice break had he not fallen in from being pushed by a passing Mareep. It took Akira, a Wartortle, a Pikachu, and a Growlithe just to pull him back up. Once out, Akina noticed her Abra was awake from its 18-hour nap.
"We could have just used Abra to get you out, but he was sleeping, and he needs his sleep if he wants to become a Kadabra," Akina explained to an exhausted Eiri.
'When does it end?' he wondered as he threw some more fodder into a Miltank's feedbox.
"Mil!" the pokemon cried in return before coming over to the exasperated trainer and eating appreciatively.
Eiri couldn't help but smile just a bit and pet the creature, giving himself a brief moment to relax and enjoy the quiet of the barn.
"Milly's a good girl, isn't she?" a voice from right beside him whispered.
"Gah! Where did you come from?!" Eiri reared back in surprise.
This new girl giggled at him. "Silly! I come from Earth!"
"Riiiiiiiight…" he muttered sarcastically and drank in her appearance.
She was cute in a childish way. Her short, black hair framed her face while a black, cat-eared hat sat atop her head. A black, corset-top dress went down to her shins and a long, lilac colored shirt fit loosely underneath it. Her shoes were dark lace-up boots that missed meeting her same-colored dress by just an inch. An ebony choker was wrapped around her neck while a Caterpie was clutched to her chest. The girl was smiling not just with her mouth, but with her eyes as well, in such a manner that radiated friendliness. She hadn't stopped smiling up at him (for she only came to a few inches past his elbows) for the past several seconds he used to analyze her.
"You're new here, aren't you?" she asked, grinning all the while.
Unsure of what to say to her, he mumbled, "Um…Yeah…I'm Eiri…"
"Eiri? What a funny name!"
He glared at her, a short temper getting the best of him. "You think it's a funny?!"
She laughed again. "I'm just saying it sounds like 'eerie'! All spooky and Haunter-like! I like Haunters, though! I think they're funny! Ha! Just like your name! Eiri! Eiri Eiri Eiri Eiri! Hahaahaha! Lalalala! Eiri-kun, Eiri-kun, Eiri-kun!"
The girl wouldn't stop singing his name on her own, so he finally stopped her by asking, "Well, what's your name?"
She paused and stopped smiling for just a moment, turning to face him. The smile reappeared almost instantly, however. She pointed to herself and said, "Really? You wanna know my name?"
"Mitsu!"
Both Eiri and the girl turned to the barn's entrance, the latter giving a happy cry of, "Akina-chan!"
The blond entered the barn with some more fodder and placed it down in a corner, her eyes never leaving the pair. "I hope you're not bothering Eiri too much."
The girl, Mitsu, laughed and placed her arms behind her head, her Caterpie coming to rest on her shoulder. "Nah! We're just having fun!"
Akina smiled and gave Caterpie a small rub between his feelers. "Caterpie is growing stronger every time I see him. You must be taking good care of him."
"Of course!" she chirped. "Caterpie and I are best friends! We both keep getting stronger together!"
"Lovely," Akina said. "Are you here, by chance, to partake in a little extra training? Or is this playtime again?"
"I'm just here to see all of the cute pokemon!"
"Of course. That's the only reason you come here!" Akina smiled and threw out a few pokeballs. "Lets let 'em play, okay?"
"Yeah!" Mitsu cheered and dug out her own pokeballs. "C'mon out, everyone! Akina's going to play with us!"
Eiri watched as the flashes of light subsided and ten new pokemon appeared. He whipped out his pokedex immediately, pointing towards the ones that he didn't know.
"Leafeon: Just like a plant, it uses photosynthesis. As a result, it is always enveloped in clean air. It scatters leaves and makes vines grow out of the ground to attack," his pokedex spit up in its robotic voice. "Glaceon: As a protective technique, it can completely freeze its fur to make its hairs stand like needles. It shoots an icy beam from its mouth. It also attacks with hunks of ice."
'Two new evolutions of Eevee…They're really rare…Not to mention that Vaporeon she sent out…'
Both Glaceon and Leafeon yipped happily and ran circles around Mitsu, who laughed in return.
"I haven't seen you two in forever! Has Akina been letting you out enough?"
'So…They belong to Akina…'
"Of course!" mentioned blond waved her hand. "They're too dramatic. Everyone gets plenty of time out of their pokeballs. I only had them in there because I plan on seeing someone today."
A sly look crossed Mitsu's face. "Oh…? Someone like Oak-san…?"
Leafeon, Vaporeon, and Glaceon padded over together to inspect Eiri with innocent curiosity. Akina's Growlithe looked at him with disinterest and her Wartortle was, surprisingly, greeting Mitsu's Torchic happily. Mitsu's Caterpie remained in her arms, but her other pokemon, a Murkrow, Haunter, Eevee, and Luvdisc, mingled with each other.
Akina's face turned a distinct shade of pink. "W-we're only meeting up to share Eon trainer tips! That's it!"
"Neh, neh, Akina-chan! Your face is going all red!"
"Not as red as yours when Tracey Sketchit drew that picture of you and your Caterpie!"
Eiri raised an eyebrow at the scene. Both girls were flustered and staring each other down before huffing and turning away from each other.
"Espeon?" a soft meow called. The pink pokemon appeared at the entrance of the barn and Akina's eyes instantly lit up. "Peon!"
"Espeon! There you are!" Akina help open her arms which the cat-like creature jumped into. "I missed you! Did you have fun with Gary and Umbreon?"
"Esp!" it cried, clearly a "yes".
"Oh, Espeon!" Mitsu cooed, turning back around to give her a pet. "Long time no see!"
Just then, Growlithe made his way over to Eiri, who blinked in surprise. Foolishly, he stuck out his hand for Growlithe to sniff.
"GYAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!! GET HIM OFF! GET HIM OFF!" Eiri shouted and flailed his hand about, Growlithe never letting go.
"Growlithe! Let him go! He's a friend!" Akina commanded, grabbing the puppy pokemon who immediately let go once it heard her. "I'm so sorry about that! Growlithe!"
Mitsu inspected his hand without touching it and diagnosed, "It looks pretty bad. Maybe we should take him to Gary? He might know what to do. After all, he has an Arcanine, right?"
"What?! No! I can't let Gary know that I can't control my own pokemon! " Akina grit her teeth and sucked in air while pulling at her bandana in frustration.
"So you do like him!" Eiri smiled despite his wound.
"I can make Growlithe bite you again, you know!"
"Grow!" the pokemon agreed.
Eiri laughed nervously. "Look! Let's just go to this guy and see what he says, okay? It was my fault, after all. I should have known better."
Akina sighed and mumbled a "follow me" before turning and stalking out of the barn. Mitsu instantly smiled and did a she was told with her care-free disposition. Eiri only sweatdropped a bit before listening and falling into step with them, the released pokemon darting to play in the fields except for Caterpie and Espeon.
Soon the trio found themselves in front of an inn, ridiculously named "The Inner Inn". It was large and had an old-fashioned, western air about it. The bottom level was obviously a restaurant and bar sort of thing, while the other level had many tiny windows, leading one to believe it was there that the guests slept. It appeared to be quite the hot spot with bicycles and motor vehicles strewn neatly in front of it.
"You know, entering this place might be more dangerous for him than just having us handle the bite…" Akina said, sweatdropping for an unknown reason.
Mitsu replied to that with a confused look. "But we know Mei-chan. So she won't challenge him, right?"
"You obviously don't know Mei as well as I do…" Akina sighed as she threw open the door and stepped inside, music and chatter greeting them. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and she shouted, "DUCK!"
Mitsu and Eiri obeyed her command just in time to miss the flying pokemon breeder known as Brock.
"BROCK! I ALREADY TOLD YOU I'M NEVER GOING OUT WITH YOU!"
Three people stood in the doorway, two concerned about the well-being of their companion. Ash Ketchum, a well-known pokemon trainer, and Misty of Cerulean City, the tomboyish water trainer, rushed past Eiri, Mitsu, and Akina to tend to an unconscious Brock.
The woman who had abused him stood with her hands planted on her hips, a glare adorning her features. Chestnut-colored hair framed her face while she wore light purple boots and a tank top with a darker purple skirt and vest. Despite the fact that she was only a few inches taller than Mitsu, she remained an intimidating figure. Blue eyes changed from their former glare to rest on the new group in front of her. She smirked.
"Well, hey, it's Akina and Mitsu!"
Akina sighed, but smiled slightly while Mitsu giggled and ran up to give her a hug.
"Eiri, meet the inn keeper."
"I'm Mei! And I challenge you to a battle!"