Pokemon- First Journeys
by MacrossGreen
Author's Note: This fic will be based on Leaf Green, but about two years afterwards. Ash and Gary (Red and Blue in the old games, respectively) are here, but I doubt that they'll make an appearance. I'll use the attitudes of the different trainers (and Gym Leaders) that are found in the anime, and I may as well tell ya now- the main character here isn't going to be the same as the one in the anime. Ash is decent, Gary's an asshole, so I thought I'd come up with my own character. Brock and Misty are gym leaders, and Misty, though she might have sisters, will not be the alternate gym leader. She's the real gym leader in the games, she's the real one here, too. I'll warn you about this- it's a bit more adult in this fic than most might think, for a pokemon fanfic. There'll be cursing and possible sexual innuendo (light if any), so this isn't entirely for the youngsters.
Since this fic takes place 2 years after the events of Leaf Green, there will likely be some Johto pokemon leaking over to Kanto, like Hoothoot and Murkrow. Maybe some of the bugs too, Sentret, maybe. Because Scyther are only available in Johto in the National Park and in Kanto in the Safari Zone, and because the Safari Zone was closed in G/S/C, I'll make them appear somewhere. The gym leaders are the same as they are in G/S/C- Koga replaced by his daughter Janine, and the others still the same. I've also done conversion rates for the monetary system of the game into U.S. Dollars. The conversion rate is (on average) 80 "Poke" Dollars to every 1 U.S. Dollar, rounded to the nearest quarter.
The day was going by slowly. The number of trainers passing through Fuchsia was steadily declining ever since the day that the Safari Zone announced that it would be moving and its doors closed within the next week. The gym had suffered as a result, the Gym leader having changed lately from the stealthy Koga to his daughter Janine. Both were ninjas, but many trainers didn't care for the invisible wall maze or the trainers who had begun to dress just like Janine did. The work at the Pokemon Center decreased along with the decrease of passing trainers. No Gym meetings were held in this small town- it was used, basically, as a place to arrive from Cinnabar Island or to see the few rare pokemon still left in the world. The small Pokemon zoo was already closed down, only the paths leading to the PokeMart and Safari Zone still open, the pokemon themselves taken away by their owner.
At the Pokemon Center, a young man cleaned up the surgery room, mopping up water from the floor as he whistled. He had brown hair, somewhat red in places, and wasn't very tall. He could almost pass as the average pokemon trainer, if it wasn't for several things- he was 17, for one thing. For another, he didn't have any pokemon right now. As much as he would want one, there hadn't been any chances for him to get a pokemon from the local professor's lab since the time when he was 10 years old. He'd fallen sick that week, and remained sick for a week and a half before he got better. He'd missed his opportunity, and ever since, had not been able to get another. His few trips to the Safari zone had ended in a bust- often, he'd been attacked or the pokemon ran away. One time, some Team Rocket people had tried to get some pokemon, and that had ended his trip real quick (at least he'd received a refund that time). He'd come close to catching a Pinsir before, but his friend he had gone with ended up catching it instead- most of the time, things ended up like that.
He got a job at the Pokemon Center to get used to pokemon, but as time went on, he began to take down information in general about pokemon. Types, attacks, size, strengths and weaknesses. He'd help with cleaning up around the center, as well as keeping things working. He was pretty good with computers, and had wired up the entire center, save for the trading machine. Strange how that was almost never used anymore. He learned and worked, while still going to school. He watched over the emergency 'center at night, since Nurse Joy closed the center late at night as part of the imposed curfew for trainers who stayed overnight.
Today was different, though. Arik finished up the mopping, and smiled as he headed to the supply closet to get rid of the mop water in the drain there. Today was his last planned trip to the Safari Zone, by himself this time. His friends had become trainers or had other things to do, but basically couldn't come. There weren't any trainers around the center who wanted to go, since they had gone before coming here when they first arrived in town. So, as he pulled his silvery-blue light jacket on (a cheap little thing, really) and slipped his arms through the straps of his backpack, he pulled out his wallet to check on his finances. His parents had moved away a few months back, but because he was still in school, hadn't made him move with them, instead helping by meeting half his rent payment for a small apartment not too far from the pokemon center.
He had enough, he saw, and smiled a bit as he put the wallet away. The sound of an exclaimed "Chansey, Chanseeey!" came from the entrance of the pokemon center, and Nurse Joy's voice called out to some trainer, he suspected, who had just wandered in. With a stretch, Arik walked down the hallway, after closing the door to the closet, stopping for a moment to look into the intensive care unit to see the pokemon in there. The only one in the unit was a Sandslash, who seemed to look a little purple along it's sides and the points of its hide. "Toxic got that one." he murmered, and he shrugged slightly. It was recovering nicely, though it would take a day or so before the effects of that strong Poison attack would fully wear off. He'd seen many cases like that one here- after all, Fuchsia City was the site of the Kanto Region's Poison Gym and Soul Badge.
Walking on, he found himself out in the lobby where a young teenager was talking with Nurse Joy. From the look on the pink-haired woman's face, either the boy was talking about something nasty or was giving her compliment that she liked (possibly both?). He chuckled softly and waved over to Joy, who glanced at Arik and waved back before returning her gaze to the trainer at her counter. Arik patted Chansey's head as he passed by where it was washing the window, and Chansey turned and waved with one of it's stubby arms as he walked out the sliding doors and into... well, the sky was overcast but there wasn't any rain falling yet. He smiled, his steps quickening until his legs started to pick up some speed, going from a walk to a jog as he headed down the sidewalk that he would take before getting to the street that would wind up all the way at the Safari Zone.
Too bad that his jogging to the corner, even as he slowed down to take it, caused him to impact someone in blue. The crash knocked both of them down, and Arik groaned as his ass it the pavement. A cry from the other (feminine!) was followed by a scrape and a thud, along with another cry as she landed as well. When Arik opened his eyes, he could see Officer Jenny (one of them) there, her legs akimbo and a pokeball on the ground beside her, as well as some folder or something. "Ow... Um, sorry, officer. Are you alright?" he asked Jenny with concern in his voice. They'd met on several occasions, but Jenny never bothered giving him the time of day normally. She hung out with Joy all the time though, so she at least knew his name.
"Yeah, I'm alright... you better watch where you're going though, or I might have to take you in." she told him as she moved to stand. Arik stood first, and held out a hand to hel her up. She didn't take his hand, and instead stood on her own, kneeling beside her things to gather them up. "Oh great, now I'm going to be late. Thanks a lot, kid." she exclaimed, and then she was off, pokeball back on her belt and folder in hand. Her greenish-hair bounced as she ran down the street, turning the corner before disappearing from sight completely.
"Geez, sorry, officer Jenny." he replied, and he couldn't help but to sigh, and then breathe deeply- she was an attractive woman, after all, and his eyes had strayed on her perhaps a tad bit too long before he remembered his task today. She never seemed to cut anyone any slack unless they were also an officer or a pokemon.
"Safari Zone, come on, stay on track." he told himself, both mentally and vocally. With a chuckle and a dismissing of how enticing watching Jenny run had been, he turned the corner himself and headed north towards the Safari Zone. Many people passed by, some with smaller pokemon at their sides or riding on their shoulders- mostly unevolved flying types, like Pidgey. The town was quite into poison pokemon, so there were plenty or Ekans and Koffing about. They were rare, but some even had Nidoran pokemon with them. The Nidorans were one of his favorite pokemon, to tell the truth- easy to handle but rather tough, no matter what evolutionary phase they are at. The town had a policy on Grimer and Muks, though- Pokeballs only, unless in a battle. It was an unwritten rule, but definitely one that needed to be followed. Those pokemon could stink up several blocks of homes for weeks before the stench would dissipate.
It took him about 20 minutes to walk down the street to the Safari Zone, where a large sign proclaimed that this next weekend would be the last open days of the once-popular tourist attraction. Prices were slashed lower than he had thought they would be, and Arik grinned as he saw that the 45 minute session was going at the rate he had expected (and known) the 30 minute session to normally go at. There weren't many tourists or trainers about- a perfect opportunity, he hoped, as he headed in the wide open doors. Inside were some tourists, and they occupied the time of most everyone working there. Fortunately for Arik, a red-headed man managed to slip away to greet him.
"Hello, my name is Tyson. Are you looking to get into the Safari Zone today? We have a special going on this last week, half-off for each timed session that's listed on the board." he said, smiling warmly in greeting to Arik. The man wasn't very tall and was a little overweight perhaps, but he wasn't as big as, say, Hikers tend to be. Arik nodded and pulled his wallet out to get the money for the man, who was waiting there. Arik pulled out $33 dollars (three-10 dollar bills and three-1 dollar bills) and handed them to him.
"Yeah, I think now's as good a time to go and try my luck again. Ya know, every other time I come here, I've never caught a thing?" he says, laughing a little bit before shaking his head. Tyson took the money, smiling still, and pulled out a stopwatch, setting it for 45 minutes. Then, he handed it to Arik, describing the functions of the stopwatch and the layout of the Safari Zone areas before going over the rules.
"Don't start this until you're past those doors. You'll get 45 minutes to catch as many pokemon as you want, but be careful of the pokemon. We've had rumors that someone from Johto came here a while ago and now there are some strange pokemon in the depths of the Safari Zone, so watch out for them. And, you get 30 Park Balls..." and with that, Tyson walked over to a counter and then behind it, pulling out a sack of the capture devices for Arik, tossing the tied bag over to him. Arik caught it and grinned. "No using Pokemon inside the 'Zone, of course. That sack has a small bag of bait, so feel free to use that to entice the pokemon. You can throw rocks too, but I wouldn't suggest doing that. They tend to attack if you attack them."
Arik took that information to heart- he'd known better about throwing rocks ever since he threw one at a Rhyhorn here. And that, he learned, was a good way to get run over! Fortunately, one of Arik's friends had pulled him out of the way and they ran like crazy out of the area. "No kidding... having an angry Rhyhorn on my ass is not the way I'd want to spend my time here. Again, that is." he said, laughing, which also got Tyson and a few others who were around to laugh as well. Tyson waved him on out, and with a nod and smile, Arik headed on out from the guard house and into the Safari Zone, clicking on the stopwatch to start counting down the time. Forty-five minutes and counting down.
It took only a few minutes for Arik to reach an area away from the guardhouse, so he couldn't see it anymore. In the time in the guardhouse he had spent, the clouds had darkened, and he could tell it would rain any time now- since that was happening, things around the 'Zone would change. Rhyhorns would be hiding in their caves, the Chansey would be hidden away in the furthest reaches of the place. Grass and Water types would come out from hiding more easily, he knew, and it was pretty likely that he would be able to use the rain to his advantage. He started walking down a hill towards the lake, and he smiled- a bunch of Tauros in the distance, some Kangaskhan heading to the trees. He didn't see any Bug-types; must be in the trees already, he thought to himself. A cry from his left, towards the lake, got his attention- it was a familiar one, he knew, from trainers who had passed by the pokemon center. Not many used it because of the weakness to Psychic and Ground attacks, even if it was simply a Poison type.
A rather small, male Nidoran was headed in his direction, running towards the trees- must not like rain too much, he thought, even as he grinned and opened the sack of pokeballs he had set on his belt. He pulled out a Park Ball and enlarged it with a touch, throwing it at the Nidoran immediately. The Nidoran let out a cry of surprise as it felt the impact, half-blinded from the rain which had just started to really pour from the skies now. The ball leapt back up as the two halves opened, a red beam of light enveloping the small pokemon and drawing it into the pokeball. The two halves converged and connected again as the ball fell to the ground and landed before it rocked back and forth quickly. Once quickly, the second time, not so fast, and then a third time a violent rocking before it finally settled down. The indicator button lit red once and then slowly died away, leaving the indicator black and the ball in one place.
Arik let out a jubilant "YES!" as he threw he walked over to the ball, rain falling fairly hard right now. The plains area was now getting a thorough soaking, and the ground was turning to mud as he stooped down to pick up the pokeball. A roar came from a ways across the lake, and Arik stood back up, collapsing the slightly muddy pokeball in his hand and slipping it into an empty pocket as he looked in that direction. He couldn't see very well, but he could see some pokemon in the distance seeming to struggle against something- mud, maybe? He headed in that direction now, going slowly as he walked so as not to slip in the growing mud at his feet. His jacket was soaked, and the temperature had dropped pretty badly since he had arrived, and now he was shivering a bit as his hands moved to zip up the jacket and button it up, so that his shirt wouldn't get completely soaked... yet.
By the time Arik got very close, the rain was starting to let up- he had about 5 minutes left before his time was up. The struggling pokemon had ended up being further away than he had thought it would be, and when he got closer, there was a startled cry- a Tauros, if he heard the cry right. Then the thudding of hooves was audible... but actually, it was a soft, 'plooshing' sound from all four hooves as the large pokemon sped away quickly. With a sigh, Arik came up to where the struggle had been and he shrugged slightly, finding nothing else there. "Damn... well, hell, guess I should head back to the guardhouse." he says to himself, and then he moved to turn around. Then, he paused, smelling something in the air that he wasn't unfamiliar with. He had to deal with that particular scent quite often at times.
It was a pokemon's blood he smelled, and when he heard a pained, soft cry, Arik looked back towards where it had come from. He didn't recognize the cry, nor the pokemon he found there, badly cut along it's long torso and bleeding pretty bad. "Oh shit... come on little guy, time to get to a pokemon center. Don't fight the pokeball now, and trust me, I'll get you some real medical help, okay?" he said to the long blue pokemon he was now kneeling beside. His pants were covered in mud now, and he drew a Park Ball out and touched the indicator to the pokemon's head. The pokemon gave a soft cry before being drawn into the pokeball- the indicator flashed red and then faded to black immediately afterwards. It didn't even rock, and the pokemon was safely inside. He didn't know how bad the extent of it's wounds were, but Arik didn't care.
He got to his feet fast and ran, not walked, to the guardhouse. "I need a ride to the Pokemon City right now! I have a pokemon that was attacked by a Tauros, and it's bleeding really bad!" he said to the staff, after a quick gaze around told him that Tyson wasn't around this time. A woman who was standing near the door looked at him, and seeing the state Arik was in, waved him over to her and he went, dropping the extra pokeballs off on the counter along with the stopwatch as he hurried to her.
"I'll drive. Follow me." she said, and he followed the blonde woman from inside the guardhouse and to the car that she led him to. It was only a moment before the doors were unlocked, they were inside, and the car was off with both buckled up. Two minutes later they screeched into the driveway of the pokemon center he worked at, and he was up and out of the seat, unbuckling quick before opening the car door and running to the sliding doors, yelling back a thanks. Then, as he stepped inside, he looked around quickly. The Chansey made a noise of surprise, not used to seeing Arik back after leaving for the day already. "Nurse Joy, this pokemon I got is bleeding like crazy!" he said to her as he found her at, where else, the counter. She stood up and Arik pulled out the Safari Ball with the blue pokemon in it, handing it to her. "I don't know what kind of pokemon it is, actually... never seen it before. It was attacked by a Tauros, please help it, Joy." he says quickly, and she just nodded, a stern look on her face as she took the pokeball and motioned for Chansey to follow her.
Nurse Joy's voice called back to him. "I'll do what I can! Cover for me, okay?" was her response, and she disappeared behind the double doors of the surgery room with the Chansey. The doors were locked and the red sign up above with the needle on it glowed as she got to work. With a sigh, Arik went behind the counter and pulled out his other pokeball. He'd have to update his trainer status to active, get a new ID, and get himself a Pokedex from someplace. However, first thing's first, he thought, as he worried about that blue pokemon he had found mangled. He took his pokeball out and expanded it, feeling the weight in his hand that signified that it did indeed have a pokemon inside of it. He walked over to the healing device and set the pokeball into it, pushing the tray into the wall mounted apparatus to let it do it's thing.
"Well, Nidoran... after you get healed, we'll have some proper introductions, okay buddy?" he said to the pokemon, who was now being healed even inside the pokeball. He walked back to the computer behind the counter and pulled up the internet. Broadband's a wonderful thing, he thought to himself, even as he grinned and pulled up the Pokemon Trainer's initial profile login. He logged in, using his password after a few failed tries- not having to update since the age of 10 made it a nearly forgotten word, after all. He wound up fixing everything to make it up-to-date, and he sighed softly as he waited for some news from Nurse Joy, or at least that little...
A musical tone came from the healing apparatus, signifying that the pokemon inside was finished being healed. With a small smile, he walked back to the tray that emerged from the wall, and he took the pokeball from it. "I'll have to come up with a name for you, I think... But for now, come on out, Nidoran." he says, pointing the indicator away from him and towards the floor in front of him. The red beam shot out of the ball, and the male Nidoran appeared, sitting on its haunches as he smiled softly. "Well, little guy, you're my first pokemon ever." he said to the Nidoran, who just started nibbling at it's rear left leg, ignoring Arik almost completely right now. "How would you like to have a name, hm? What about... I think I'll call you Tsai." he says to the Nidoran, who finally looked back up to its new trainer.
"Niiii!" was it's cry, and it launched itself at Arik, jumping into the air only to come down onto his chest. He was knocked down from the blow, something like a tackle attack, but then Tsai began to rub it's head against Arik's chest, causing the new pokemon trainer to smile. "Hmm... Well, I guess you like me, huh? I hope you like the other pokemon I found... I hope it gets better, too." he says, reaching up to scratch behind the Nidoran's ear. The response was immediate- his eyes closed and a soothing sound came from its throat as it leaned into Arik's hand. Arik was still pretty worried about that blue pokemon, even as he idly scratched Tsai's ear. "Hmm... I wonder how Nurse Joy is doing?" he asked aloud.
Two hours later, the light above the door with the needle sign turned off, going black from being lit up red. Nurse Joy came out from the surgery room and to the counter, where Arik and his new Nidoran were taking a nap. No one had come into the pokemon center in all this time, and they'd gotten pretty tired. A nudge on the shoulder woke Arik, and the sound of a Chansey coming out woke up Tsai. "Huh... wha... Nurse Joy? How is the pokemon?" he asked, sleepy but quickly waking up as he remembered why he had come back here in the first place.
"Well, I did all I could. It lost a lot of blood, so we'll have to wait for the night to see how it recovers." she said, her sweet voice sounding very tired and stressed. "It is extremely weak right now. I can't believe that it survived an attack from a Tauros, considering how young it is." she commented as Arik walked out from behind the counter, taking a moment to pick up his new Nidoran before coming in front of her and smiling softly. She looked to the Nidoran and smiled sweetly, kneeling slightly as she reached over to scratch behind Tsai's ear, just like Arik had done earlier.
"Nurse Joy, thanks for your help... this little Nidoran here is Tsai. I found him before I got the pokemon you just helped." he smiled still, one hand holding the little Nidoran up while his other moved to cross over it's chest lightly, helping to prop the Nidoran up as it strained to lean against Joy's hand. The Chansey came over and started talking with Tsai, and both Joy and Arik laughed lightly at this. "I should ask you about two things, Joy..." he started, and she looked back up at Arik even as he stepped back and set Tsai on the floor so he and Chansey could continue talking.
"What is it, Arik? I'll help if I can, you know that." she said, and smiled warmly to him. The way she smiled at him at times made him wonder if she liked him as more than just a friend, but he wasn't about to pursue her yet- relationships at work could lead to bad things, after all. She tilted her head, her pink curls falling to the side somewhat as she smiled so nicely that her eyes seemed to shut as she gave him an almost cheesy grin.
"Well, um..." and he trailed off for a second, his face a little red as a result of how she was smiling at him- almost flirting with him, it seemed. "I need to get a Pokedex, actually." he says to her quickly, though slowly enough for her to understand him easily enough. She laughed softly and nodded at that. He tried to straighten up a bit, to relax and to stop blushing as he looked to the floor where his Nidoran was. The Chansey left, and the Nidoran rubbed against his legs, causing him to shiver a little as he felt Tsai's spikes rub against his pant leg and the leg within.
"Well, I can call up Professor Oak and ask if he could send a Pokedex down here. I'm sure he'd love to know that you found the pokemon that was injured, too." she said, smiling sweetly again. Arik was surprised at her words, and he blinked as if to express that. She understood his surprise and confusion, and could appreciate it, as she continued. "You brought in a Dratini, Arik. First one I've seen myself, ever." and she patted his shoulder a few times before giving a squeeze. "But that can wait. You go get a shower, now. I'll keep Tsai company until you're done, okay?" she says, reaching up to Arik's shoulders to guide him around to the hallway where pokemon trainers usually bunk up to sleep. There were bathrooms as well, for men and women, down that way, including shower stalls.
Arik chuckled softly and followed the pink haired woman's words as she pushed him that way. "Tsai, stay with Nurse Joy for a little while, okay? I'll be back in a little bit." he called back, and a high pitched "Niiidor!" was the response, causing Nurse Joy to giggle even as he walked down the hallway and to the restroom to take himself a shower. Soon, the slam of a door could be heard, and that was all that was heard from Arik for a good 10 minutes.
Nurse Joy was busy giving Tsai a check-up at the counter when Arik came back out, short brown hair wet but combed back and with shorts on instead of his muddy pants. His shirt was the same though, and his jacket was hanging on the back of a chair in one of the Trainers' bunk rooms. A sigh pre-empted his arrival, and Tsai gave a shrill cry to him as if to greet Arik's coming back. "How're things with my little buddy there, hm?" he asked Nurse Joy, who just looked up at him and smiled.
"So far so good, Arik. It's your other new friend I'm more worried about right now. After I'm done with Tsai here, I'm going to give Professor Oak a call. Outside of anyone in Johto, I think he's the most knowledgable around here about Dragon pokemon." she said, and Arik nodded. He knew about Professor Oak- who didn't? Even people who didn't care too much about Pokemon knew about the man. He is world famous, after all. And to talk with the man himself, the famous professor who makes his home in Pallet Town? Well, who wouldn't want that paticular honor?
"Well, that's fine with me... Can I go see it?" he asked, and she nodded. "That Dratini is a girl, Arik." she said, patting tsai's back lightly before nodding to it, motioning to have it go back over to his new trainer. Tsai rubbed against Nurse Joy's chest for a second, causing her to giggle a little before it jumped off the counter and ran after Arik. "Well, come on Tsai, let's go see our other friend, and hope she'll get better tonight." he said, and as Tsai came alongside Arik, he let out a "Niii!" in response.
"I think that your doing that is always gonna make me smile, Tsai." He told the little Nidoran, and then he just laughed softly, quieting down as they came to the doors of the intensive care unit. Beside the Toxic-poisoned Sandslash was his Dratini, who seemed to be shivering as it quivered in place on top of the thick sheets. He went to the door and smiled softly as he opened it. "Come on in, Tsai, but be quiet, okay? These two need to get their rest." he says, whispering to him. Tsai simply nodded, and in they went. Arik walked over to the bed that the Dratini was in, and he could tell that it was still in a lot of pain. Bandages were wrapped all over her body, and most of them were still bloodstained. With a sigh, Arik went over to the water basin and got himself a bowl filled with water. He went to get a towel, and brought it back to the bowl, putting the small thing into it to get it wet. Then he walked back to the table with the bowl, only to find that his Nidoran was curled up beside the Dratini, causing Arik to smile.
A flash of pink went by at about eye-height, past the window, and he looked over to see Joy smiling and giving him a thumbs-up. He smiled back as he took the towel out of the water and twisted it, forcing as much of the water out as he could but leaving the towel damp, and he rubbed it onto the portions of the Dratini's body that weren't covered with bandages. Her breathing was labored, but now that her body was becoming a little moist again, the Dratini's breathing became less strained. "Hey, Tsai? Can you use this towel to keep her wet for a little while?" he asked the Nidoran. He looked up to Arik and nodded, taking the towel in his mouth and lowered it into the bowl beore moving it along the same places that Arik had. "Thank, Tsai, we'll get you something to eat soon. I bet you're pretty hungry, huh?"
With that, Arik smiled and lightly trailed his fingers along the Dratini's now damp, small muzzle before walking quietly back to the door. He left while being very careful not to make any noise, and he looked over to Joy. "Come one, Arik. Let's go call Professor Oak." she said softly, smiling in a way he'd never actually seen her smile like before. He must have had a look of confusion on his face as a result, because she just started giggling before she took him by the shoulders and turned him around again, but this time walking behind him, pushing him back to the counter. He had the thought in his head that she was flirting with him. Trouble is, he'd never seen her flirt, but she'd been this pushy and friendly with others before.
"Oh, alright. You do the talking though, I'm not really good at introducing myself to people I don't know, after all, on the phone." he said, looking over his shoulder at her before reaching back to tickle her side a little. A giggle broke into laughter, and he grinned as she slapped his hand away from her playfully. Yep, he thought to himself. She's must be flirting, instead of just the usual fun that they'd have when things were really quiet. He smiled and walked along in front of her until they got to the counter, and then let her go ahead of him. "Well now, go ahead, Joy." he says to her, smiling softly before putting a hand on her shoulder and giving her a soft squeeze. That just made her smile at him before dialing up Professor Oak's number.
Ring.... Ring.... "Ah, hello? Ah, Nurse Joy! And which town might you be calling from?" came a voice that belonged to the face that soon appeared on the screen. An elderly man with a white lab coat and gray hair showed up on the screen, smiling as he looked into the camera phone that would obviously show him both Nurse Joy and Arik, standing behind her. Nurse Joy smiled and nodded at his recognizing her (but then again, she looks exactly like all the other Nurse Joys, so of course he would ask which town she was calling from).
"I'm calling from Fuchsia City, Professor. I just had a rather unusual encounter with a pokemon, and I thought you might be interested in hearing about it from the trainer who caught her." she told him, and then moved aside so that Arik could duck down a bit and smile into the camera, somewhat embarassed by being put on the spot. It took him a minute to actually gather up the nerve to say anything, but fortunately, Oak was very patient. Obviously, he had dealt with this sorta thing pretty often.
"Ah... hello, professor. I, ah, caught a Dratini in the Safari Zone today. I didn't even know it was one until I got to the pokemon center. It's in the ICU ward right now." he says to the old man, who suddenly got a surprised expression on his face. Arik could tell from Professor Oak's reaction that he hadn't heard of anyone finding one there before. He could only wonder how often he'd actually dealt with dragon-type pokemon, but there really wasn't any way to tell until he said something again.
"A Dratini in the Safari Zone? That's amazing! It's too bad that the Zone is being closed up, but if what you say is true, then that would make it the perfect reserve for those pokemon." he said, smiling again though obviously wanting to see the Dratini. "Is there any way to see this Dratini, Nurse Joy? And could you tell me how it got so badly hurt?" he asked, and Nurse Joy nodded, reaching to the keyboard to switch Professor Oak to that feed. Arik answered his question, however.
"She was attacked by a Tauros when it was raining, professor. When I got over there to see what had happened, she was bleeding pretty badly." he told him. "She didn't struggle at all when I caught her, but that wasn't really important at the time, since she was bleeding so bad. I just needed to get her back here so Nurse Joy could help her." Arik concluded, and he smiled to Nurse Joy, thanking her again for her help with the Dratini.
"Why is there a small Nidoran beside the Dratini... and why is he wiping a towel on her?" was the voice of Professor Oak, who had by now put up two windows- one showing him Nurse Joy and Arik, the other showing the Dratini and Tsai. Arik and Joy both laughed softly and smiled at the same time into the web camera. Professor Oak chuckled softly as he watched that as well as the two pokemon. "This is the first time I've ever seen a Nidoran caring for another pokemon like that, it's rather amazing. Is there any way to have those two transferred over to my lab for a little while so I could do a little research with them?" he asked them, a small smile on his face.
"Well, I asked Tsai- that's my Nidoran I caught in the Safari Zone as well. I asked him to keep the Dratini a little wet, and he seemed to know just what to do to help with that. The Dratini seems to prefer keeping moist, because it was shaking earlier when I went in there before we started wiping water on her. It settled down, so I'm guessing that Dratini might stay near, or even under, water, wherever exactly they live. And to tell the truth, those are my first two pokemon, so I suppose I could delay going out and about for a little while, if you really want to go ahead and study them, then I guess that can be arranged." Arik replies. Joy slipped away from the conversation, smiling to Arik as she walked back out from the counter and down the hallway towards the ICU.
"That would be wonderful! But please, take good care of your Dratini. I wouldn't want to take her attention from you until after she's recovered from her trauma. A Tauros attacked her, you said? Well, I can't say I'm surprised, some Tauros can be very dangerous." was the professor's response. "Still, I hope you can spare her sometime after she has recovered, because I would love to work with a Dratini. It's been years since I've had the chance to make any observations about dragon pokemon. Oh... ah, what did you say your name was young man?" As the professor talked, Arik took a seat in the chair that Joy had vacated, and looked back up to the web camera as he heard the question be asked.
Arik just nodded and smiled at that information. "My name is Arik, professor. I'll be happy to send her your way sometime, Professor, after she's completely recovered. Thing is, though... ah... without a pokedex registration, I'm not really allowed to transfer pokemon, am I?" Arik asks, and Oak has to watch him for a minute without saying anything. The look on Oak's face said it all- 'How old is this kid?' Finally, Professor Oak smiled again and nodded in agreement.
"That is certainly true. But according to this, you already have a pokedex from... several years ago? No, no... I suppose I'll have to try sending you one soon. You haven't been an active trainer until today, from what it says on your profile, so the old one would be expired. Could you tell me why, Arik?" the professor asked. Obviously, the old man had lots of questions for the one trainer he had just met who had caught, of all things, a dragon-type pokemon.
"Well, basically, I was sick for a few weeks when it came to be my turn to choose a pokemon at the research lab nearby. My spot was picked up by another trainer, and I was stuck going to the Safari Zone to try and catch pokemon, but I'd never had any luck until today. The pokedex I had was destroyed when I through a rock at a Rhyhorn and... well, it charged me, and you know how Rhyhorn are. I dropped my pokedex on accident when I was pulled out of the way of danger. I've been working at this Pokemon Center for a few years, too, so I've learned a few things about pokemon. I'm just glad I found the Dratini when I did and get her back here in time." he said, falling a little quiet as a worried look came across his face for an instant. This didn't escape Oak's notice, who just smiled a bit as he could tell that the trainer obviously cared for the pokemon.
"I see. Well, it looks like you'll have your hands full, working with two pokemon to begin with, and one being a Dragon to boot. I'd better get going Arik, but you can expect a Pokedex to arrive at the pokemon center in a day or two. Ta!" and with that, Professor Oak's image disappeared from the screen. Arik leaned back into the chair with a sigh, slumping into the rest as he looked up towards the ceiling, only to get startled and knocked down as his legs seemed to jump up in surprise. "Nurse Joy!" he exclaimed, finding her looking down at him with a look of amusement on her face before she broke out laughing at his antics. He groaned as he hit the floor, raising one hand up to rub at the back of his head before he slipped to the side and back to his knees, and then to his feet as he lifted the chair back up onto it's legs again.
"Yep! I just gave dinner to Chansey and Tsai, and I even got some food that your Dratini can eat when it's feeling better. You had a good idea, keeping it's skin wet. Tsai's doing a really good job, but he's really young. Tell ya what. I'll order a pizza, and you can stay here tonight to watch over the Dratini. The Sandslash's trainer will be back tomorrow- its trainer is out with family or on a date or something. Keep an eye on that one too, okay? By the time the pizza's here, I'll have to close down the center for the night." she says, smiling as she slips into the cushioned chair that he'd been sitting in and pulled up the phone again, cutting the feed to the ICU, which was showing the hungry pokemon in the ICU getting fed.
"Sounds like a plan... I'm kinda tired though, so there's no way I can really stay awake all night, you know." was Arik's reply, and he chuckled softly as he shut up, listening to Nurse Joy order some pepperoni pizza for the two of them. This was going to be a long night, he realized- the sun had already gone down and it was getting close to 10 o'clock. In two years and more of working here at night, there had only been three times when there had been an emergency call, and tonight doesn't look to be one of 'em.
A scooter came up the driveway and right on up to the doors. Two little beeps came from it, and after a moment, the motor from the scooter couldn't be heard as it was turned off. "Sounds like a lawnmower!" Arik muttered, sitting at the counter as Joy had gone off to get a nap before the pizza arrived. The pizza delivery person who walked in through the opening that the sliding door had made when it opened was an attractive young woman that he thought was familiar. "Hello! One large pepperoni pizza?" she called out, smiling attractively as she walked up to the counter. "It's 10 dollars even." she said, even as Arik stood up and pulled out his wallet. This was gonna leave him broke, he thought, as he pulled out a ten dollar bill and handed it over, putting his wallet away as she took the money and then handed the pizza over to him.
"Yeah, that'd be for us... Nurse Joy will be out here in a minute or so." he told her, smiling as he set the pizza down on the counter. The brunette before him tilted her head, looking to be thinking about something. He watched her, a feeling in the back of his mind nagging at him that he knew her somehow. "Hey... have we met before? Are you a trainer maybe?" he asked her. She didn't seem to be too old, probably around his age. He saw a single pokeball hooked to a strap along her Pizza Hut jacket, which made him think that he probably had seen her before while he was working at the pokemon center. She just smiled slightly, a mischievious look in her eyes before she closed the little pizza warmer up that she had carried the pizza in here in.
"Yeah, I'm a trainer, but I was low on money so I got a job in town. I can't wait to get outta here though, but not until I beat Janine!" she said, and he grinned slightly. So, she was a gym hopeful, but with only a single pokemon (that he could see)? "That Soul Badge... hardly anyone here in Kanto bothers to get it because the gym leader here is so tough to defeat. I want to get that badge before I leave again." she said, perhaps more to herself than to Arik. She had skillfully evaded the part of his question that hinted that he wanted to learn her name, he thought, and he nods slightly to her in response.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I'll be going on my own journey pretty soon, too. I finally got myself a pair of pokemon to start training." he replied, smiling as he heard footsteps lead towards the lobby and he turned to see Nurse Joy walking out, her curls undone and fairly long pink hair hanging down over her shoulders and behind her back. Her hair actually reached her mid-back, and her clothes looked a little disheveled as she yawned, one hand reaching up to cover her mouth. "Good timing, Nurse Joy. Dinner's here." he said, chuckling softly even as he heard a soft giggle from the delivery girl. He glanced back over to her, and saw that she was watching him before she noticed that she had been seen watching him.
"Well, I better be going. I'll bring in my pokemon later on for a check up, okay?" she told them, smiling to the two before he headed towards the door. Out she went and down went the metal shutters as Joy pushed the 'Close' button. Arik chuckled softly as he saw how Joy looked, and winked at her as he walked down to the hallway leading to the ICU.
"I'll be right back, Joy. Just want to see how they're doing in there." he said, referring to, of course, his pokemon. Nurse Joy nodded, and went over to the box of pizza to pull out a slice to begin her eating as he disappeared down the hallway.
Arik came to the door to the ICU and then went inside. He smiled a little, seeing that his little Tsai was asleep, and that the Dratini was resting comfortably. He walked close to the bed with the Dratini and Tsai in it, smiling softly as he reached to the Dratini's bandages, lightly sliding his fingertips along them to see how bad the wounds were for himself. He could feel the warmth from the pokemon coming from beneath the bandages, and his fingers came away reddened and a little sticky from the contact. "I hope you get better... I really want to meet you, little one, and I want you to meet me, and Nurse Joy, and Professor Oak." he whispered to her, his clean hand lifting up to cup the pokemon's muzzle gently, making sure not to stifle the pokemon's breathing with his hand. The pokemon seemed to sniff at his hand, but he couldn't be sure since it didn't do anything else. The Dratini's eyes remained closed as it rested there, and Arik left the pokemon's bed, stopping in a rest room to wash his hands before walking back out to the lobby to get some pizza for himself.
When he arrived, he smiled as he saw Nurse Joy at work on the computer again. She looked up at Arik and he saw her hand move the mouse pointer up and she clicked, even as she stood up to get another slice of pizza. By the time he got over there, he could see that that was the third slice to be taken away, and he looked at her warily with a smile. "Now, now... better watch that cute figure of yours, nurse. I have to admit though, I like your hair down instead of up and in curls all the time." he teases her, grabbing a slice of pizza from the box to eat as well now. Though, he did mean the part about her hair. She looked good like this, very much so.
As a response to that, Joy blushed and looked down before moving back to the chair and getting back to work, one-handed, on the computer as she continued to eat her pizza. Arik thought he heard her say something like 'Thank You', but he hadn't heard her clearly, and he didn't want to embarass her any more than he already seemed to have. The next few minutes were spent in the silence associated with eating food, as they both concentrated on different things- Joy with her computer, Arik with eating his fill of the pizza. Afterwards, a printer came online, buzzing away as Joy printed something off the computer. It was working on several pages it sounded like, and Arik soon left the counter area, the awkward silence finally driving him away.
His steps brought him back to the ICU, rather than to one of the bunk rooms that Trainers used while passing through. He stepped into the room again, and this time Tsai was awake and sitting up beside the Dratini. The Nidoran watched him as he came over, and Arik reached over to rub Tsai's back lightly as he smiled. "Thanks, Tsai. Good work keeping our friend comfortable." he told him, and he could tell that Tsai would have responded if it wasn't for the fact that the Dratini between them was still resting. "I wish there was something more we could do for you, Dratini... well, I guess we can come up with a name for you, huh? Hm..." and he trailed off, wondering just what he would name her. He walked over to one of the chairs along the wall, smiling a little as he sat down, considering different names to give the Dratini.
Arik fell asleep quickly afterwards, his arms crossed over his chest as his head rested down, his chin on his chest as he began to snore softly. Tsai made a soft noise when he realized his trainer was dead to the world, and then settled down as well into a deep sleep. Neither would wake until the next day.
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Well, that's it for Chapter One. Wow. I made a crappy rough draft and that in itself was 12kb large when I finished with what would've been the first chapter. Then I go ahead and re-write the entire beginning, and I write what could actually be about 3 chapters or so. Comments would be appreciated, but please, leave any flames regarding differences between the games and the anime out. I explained about those at the beginning, after all. Now, these two are pretty much my favorite pokemon in the games (at least, Nidoran evolves into my favorite pokemon outside of Pidgeot and Espeon). If anyone has suggestions, feel free to e-mail me at
Author's Note: This fic will be based on Leaf Green, but about two years afterwards. Ash and Gary (Red and Blue in the old games, respectively) are here, but I doubt that they'll make an appearance. I'll use the attitudes of the different trainers (and Gym Leaders) that are found in the anime, and I may as well tell ya now- the main character here isn't going to be the same as the one in the anime. Ash is decent, Gary's an asshole, so I thought I'd come up with my own character. Brock and Misty are gym leaders, and Misty, though she might have sisters, will not be the alternate gym leader. She's the real gym leader in the games, she's the real one here, too. I'll warn you about this- it's a bit more adult in this fic than most might think, for a pokemon fanfic. There'll be cursing and possible sexual innuendo (light if any), so this isn't entirely for the youngsters.
Since this fic takes place 2 years after the events of Leaf Green, there will likely be some Johto pokemon leaking over to Kanto, like Hoothoot and Murkrow. Maybe some of the bugs too, Sentret, maybe. Because Scyther are only available in Johto in the National Park and in Kanto in the Safari Zone, and because the Safari Zone was closed in G/S/C, I'll make them appear somewhere. The gym leaders are the same as they are in G/S/C- Koga replaced by his daughter Janine, and the others still the same. I've also done conversion rates for the monetary system of the game into U.S. Dollars. The conversion rate is (on average) 80 "Poke" Dollars to every 1 U.S. Dollar, rounded to the nearest quarter.
The day was going by slowly. The number of trainers passing through Fuchsia was steadily declining ever since the day that the Safari Zone announced that it would be moving and its doors closed within the next week. The gym had suffered as a result, the Gym leader having changed lately from the stealthy Koga to his daughter Janine. Both were ninjas, but many trainers didn't care for the invisible wall maze or the trainers who had begun to dress just like Janine did. The work at the Pokemon Center decreased along with the decrease of passing trainers. No Gym meetings were held in this small town- it was used, basically, as a place to arrive from Cinnabar Island or to see the few rare pokemon still left in the world. The small Pokemon zoo was already closed down, only the paths leading to the PokeMart and Safari Zone still open, the pokemon themselves taken away by their owner.
At the Pokemon Center, a young man cleaned up the surgery room, mopping up water from the floor as he whistled. He had brown hair, somewhat red in places, and wasn't very tall. He could almost pass as the average pokemon trainer, if it wasn't for several things- he was 17, for one thing. For another, he didn't have any pokemon right now. As much as he would want one, there hadn't been any chances for him to get a pokemon from the local professor's lab since the time when he was 10 years old. He'd fallen sick that week, and remained sick for a week and a half before he got better. He'd missed his opportunity, and ever since, had not been able to get another. His few trips to the Safari zone had ended in a bust- often, he'd been attacked or the pokemon ran away. One time, some Team Rocket people had tried to get some pokemon, and that had ended his trip real quick (at least he'd received a refund that time). He'd come close to catching a Pinsir before, but his friend he had gone with ended up catching it instead- most of the time, things ended up like that.
He got a job at the Pokemon Center to get used to pokemon, but as time went on, he began to take down information in general about pokemon. Types, attacks, size, strengths and weaknesses. He'd help with cleaning up around the center, as well as keeping things working. He was pretty good with computers, and had wired up the entire center, save for the trading machine. Strange how that was almost never used anymore. He learned and worked, while still going to school. He watched over the emergency 'center at night, since Nurse Joy closed the center late at night as part of the imposed curfew for trainers who stayed overnight.
Today was different, though. Arik finished up the mopping, and smiled as he headed to the supply closet to get rid of the mop water in the drain there. Today was his last planned trip to the Safari Zone, by himself this time. His friends had become trainers or had other things to do, but basically couldn't come. There weren't any trainers around the center who wanted to go, since they had gone before coming here when they first arrived in town. So, as he pulled his silvery-blue light jacket on (a cheap little thing, really) and slipped his arms through the straps of his backpack, he pulled out his wallet to check on his finances. His parents had moved away a few months back, but because he was still in school, hadn't made him move with them, instead helping by meeting half his rent payment for a small apartment not too far from the pokemon center.
He had enough, he saw, and smiled a bit as he put the wallet away. The sound of an exclaimed "Chansey, Chanseeey!" came from the entrance of the pokemon center, and Nurse Joy's voice called out to some trainer, he suspected, who had just wandered in. With a stretch, Arik walked down the hallway, after closing the door to the closet, stopping for a moment to look into the intensive care unit to see the pokemon in there. The only one in the unit was a Sandslash, who seemed to look a little purple along it's sides and the points of its hide. "Toxic got that one." he murmered, and he shrugged slightly. It was recovering nicely, though it would take a day or so before the effects of that strong Poison attack would fully wear off. He'd seen many cases like that one here- after all, Fuchsia City was the site of the Kanto Region's Poison Gym and Soul Badge.
Walking on, he found himself out in the lobby where a young teenager was talking with Nurse Joy. From the look on the pink-haired woman's face, either the boy was talking about something nasty or was giving her compliment that she liked (possibly both?). He chuckled softly and waved over to Joy, who glanced at Arik and waved back before returning her gaze to the trainer at her counter. Arik patted Chansey's head as he passed by where it was washing the window, and Chansey turned and waved with one of it's stubby arms as he walked out the sliding doors and into... well, the sky was overcast but there wasn't any rain falling yet. He smiled, his steps quickening until his legs started to pick up some speed, going from a walk to a jog as he headed down the sidewalk that he would take before getting to the street that would wind up all the way at the Safari Zone.
Too bad that his jogging to the corner, even as he slowed down to take it, caused him to impact someone in blue. The crash knocked both of them down, and Arik groaned as his ass it the pavement. A cry from the other (feminine!) was followed by a scrape and a thud, along with another cry as she landed as well. When Arik opened his eyes, he could see Officer Jenny (one of them) there, her legs akimbo and a pokeball on the ground beside her, as well as some folder or something. "Ow... Um, sorry, officer. Are you alright?" he asked Jenny with concern in his voice. They'd met on several occasions, but Jenny never bothered giving him the time of day normally. She hung out with Joy all the time though, so she at least knew his name.
"Yeah, I'm alright... you better watch where you're going though, or I might have to take you in." she told him as she moved to stand. Arik stood first, and held out a hand to hel her up. She didn't take his hand, and instead stood on her own, kneeling beside her things to gather them up. "Oh great, now I'm going to be late. Thanks a lot, kid." she exclaimed, and then she was off, pokeball back on her belt and folder in hand. Her greenish-hair bounced as she ran down the street, turning the corner before disappearing from sight completely.
"Geez, sorry, officer Jenny." he replied, and he couldn't help but to sigh, and then breathe deeply- she was an attractive woman, after all, and his eyes had strayed on her perhaps a tad bit too long before he remembered his task today. She never seemed to cut anyone any slack unless they were also an officer or a pokemon.
"Safari Zone, come on, stay on track." he told himself, both mentally and vocally. With a chuckle and a dismissing of how enticing watching Jenny run had been, he turned the corner himself and headed north towards the Safari Zone. Many people passed by, some with smaller pokemon at their sides or riding on their shoulders- mostly unevolved flying types, like Pidgey. The town was quite into poison pokemon, so there were plenty or Ekans and Koffing about. They were rare, but some even had Nidoran pokemon with them. The Nidorans were one of his favorite pokemon, to tell the truth- easy to handle but rather tough, no matter what evolutionary phase they are at. The town had a policy on Grimer and Muks, though- Pokeballs only, unless in a battle. It was an unwritten rule, but definitely one that needed to be followed. Those pokemon could stink up several blocks of homes for weeks before the stench would dissipate.
It took him about 20 minutes to walk down the street to the Safari Zone, where a large sign proclaimed that this next weekend would be the last open days of the once-popular tourist attraction. Prices were slashed lower than he had thought they would be, and Arik grinned as he saw that the 45 minute session was going at the rate he had expected (and known) the 30 minute session to normally go at. There weren't many tourists or trainers about- a perfect opportunity, he hoped, as he headed in the wide open doors. Inside were some tourists, and they occupied the time of most everyone working there. Fortunately for Arik, a red-headed man managed to slip away to greet him.
"Hello, my name is Tyson. Are you looking to get into the Safari Zone today? We have a special going on this last week, half-off for each timed session that's listed on the board." he said, smiling warmly in greeting to Arik. The man wasn't very tall and was a little overweight perhaps, but he wasn't as big as, say, Hikers tend to be. Arik nodded and pulled his wallet out to get the money for the man, who was waiting there. Arik pulled out $33 dollars (three-10 dollar bills and three-1 dollar bills) and handed them to him.
"Yeah, I think now's as good a time to go and try my luck again. Ya know, every other time I come here, I've never caught a thing?" he says, laughing a little bit before shaking his head. Tyson took the money, smiling still, and pulled out a stopwatch, setting it for 45 minutes. Then, he handed it to Arik, describing the functions of the stopwatch and the layout of the Safari Zone areas before going over the rules.
"Don't start this until you're past those doors. You'll get 45 minutes to catch as many pokemon as you want, but be careful of the pokemon. We've had rumors that someone from Johto came here a while ago and now there are some strange pokemon in the depths of the Safari Zone, so watch out for them. And, you get 30 Park Balls..." and with that, Tyson walked over to a counter and then behind it, pulling out a sack of the capture devices for Arik, tossing the tied bag over to him. Arik caught it and grinned. "No using Pokemon inside the 'Zone, of course. That sack has a small bag of bait, so feel free to use that to entice the pokemon. You can throw rocks too, but I wouldn't suggest doing that. They tend to attack if you attack them."
Arik took that information to heart- he'd known better about throwing rocks ever since he threw one at a Rhyhorn here. And that, he learned, was a good way to get run over! Fortunately, one of Arik's friends had pulled him out of the way and they ran like crazy out of the area. "No kidding... having an angry Rhyhorn on my ass is not the way I'd want to spend my time here. Again, that is." he said, laughing, which also got Tyson and a few others who were around to laugh as well. Tyson waved him on out, and with a nod and smile, Arik headed on out from the guard house and into the Safari Zone, clicking on the stopwatch to start counting down the time. Forty-five minutes and counting down.
It took only a few minutes for Arik to reach an area away from the guardhouse, so he couldn't see it anymore. In the time in the guardhouse he had spent, the clouds had darkened, and he could tell it would rain any time now- since that was happening, things around the 'Zone would change. Rhyhorns would be hiding in their caves, the Chansey would be hidden away in the furthest reaches of the place. Grass and Water types would come out from hiding more easily, he knew, and it was pretty likely that he would be able to use the rain to his advantage. He started walking down a hill towards the lake, and he smiled- a bunch of Tauros in the distance, some Kangaskhan heading to the trees. He didn't see any Bug-types; must be in the trees already, he thought to himself. A cry from his left, towards the lake, got his attention- it was a familiar one, he knew, from trainers who had passed by the pokemon center. Not many used it because of the weakness to Psychic and Ground attacks, even if it was simply a Poison type.
A rather small, male Nidoran was headed in his direction, running towards the trees- must not like rain too much, he thought, even as he grinned and opened the sack of pokeballs he had set on his belt. He pulled out a Park Ball and enlarged it with a touch, throwing it at the Nidoran immediately. The Nidoran let out a cry of surprise as it felt the impact, half-blinded from the rain which had just started to really pour from the skies now. The ball leapt back up as the two halves opened, a red beam of light enveloping the small pokemon and drawing it into the pokeball. The two halves converged and connected again as the ball fell to the ground and landed before it rocked back and forth quickly. Once quickly, the second time, not so fast, and then a third time a violent rocking before it finally settled down. The indicator button lit red once and then slowly died away, leaving the indicator black and the ball in one place.
Arik let out a jubilant "YES!" as he threw he walked over to the ball, rain falling fairly hard right now. The plains area was now getting a thorough soaking, and the ground was turning to mud as he stooped down to pick up the pokeball. A roar came from a ways across the lake, and Arik stood back up, collapsing the slightly muddy pokeball in his hand and slipping it into an empty pocket as he looked in that direction. He couldn't see very well, but he could see some pokemon in the distance seeming to struggle against something- mud, maybe? He headed in that direction now, going slowly as he walked so as not to slip in the growing mud at his feet. His jacket was soaked, and the temperature had dropped pretty badly since he had arrived, and now he was shivering a bit as his hands moved to zip up the jacket and button it up, so that his shirt wouldn't get completely soaked... yet.
By the time Arik got very close, the rain was starting to let up- he had about 5 minutes left before his time was up. The struggling pokemon had ended up being further away than he had thought it would be, and when he got closer, there was a startled cry- a Tauros, if he heard the cry right. Then the thudding of hooves was audible... but actually, it was a soft, 'plooshing' sound from all four hooves as the large pokemon sped away quickly. With a sigh, Arik came up to where the struggle had been and he shrugged slightly, finding nothing else there. "Damn... well, hell, guess I should head back to the guardhouse." he says to himself, and then he moved to turn around. Then, he paused, smelling something in the air that he wasn't unfamiliar with. He had to deal with that particular scent quite often at times.
It was a pokemon's blood he smelled, and when he heard a pained, soft cry, Arik looked back towards where it had come from. He didn't recognize the cry, nor the pokemon he found there, badly cut along it's long torso and bleeding pretty bad. "Oh shit... come on little guy, time to get to a pokemon center. Don't fight the pokeball now, and trust me, I'll get you some real medical help, okay?" he said to the long blue pokemon he was now kneeling beside. His pants were covered in mud now, and he drew a Park Ball out and touched the indicator to the pokemon's head. The pokemon gave a soft cry before being drawn into the pokeball- the indicator flashed red and then faded to black immediately afterwards. It didn't even rock, and the pokemon was safely inside. He didn't know how bad the extent of it's wounds were, but Arik didn't care.
He got to his feet fast and ran, not walked, to the guardhouse. "I need a ride to the Pokemon City right now! I have a pokemon that was attacked by a Tauros, and it's bleeding really bad!" he said to the staff, after a quick gaze around told him that Tyson wasn't around this time. A woman who was standing near the door looked at him, and seeing the state Arik was in, waved him over to her and he went, dropping the extra pokeballs off on the counter along with the stopwatch as he hurried to her.
"I'll drive. Follow me." she said, and he followed the blonde woman from inside the guardhouse and to the car that she led him to. It was only a moment before the doors were unlocked, they were inside, and the car was off with both buckled up. Two minutes later they screeched into the driveway of the pokemon center he worked at, and he was up and out of the seat, unbuckling quick before opening the car door and running to the sliding doors, yelling back a thanks. Then, as he stepped inside, he looked around quickly. The Chansey made a noise of surprise, not used to seeing Arik back after leaving for the day already. "Nurse Joy, this pokemon I got is bleeding like crazy!" he said to her as he found her at, where else, the counter. She stood up and Arik pulled out the Safari Ball with the blue pokemon in it, handing it to her. "I don't know what kind of pokemon it is, actually... never seen it before. It was attacked by a Tauros, please help it, Joy." he says quickly, and she just nodded, a stern look on her face as she took the pokeball and motioned for Chansey to follow her.
Nurse Joy's voice called back to him. "I'll do what I can! Cover for me, okay?" was her response, and she disappeared behind the double doors of the surgery room with the Chansey. The doors were locked and the red sign up above with the needle on it glowed as she got to work. With a sigh, Arik went behind the counter and pulled out his other pokeball. He'd have to update his trainer status to active, get a new ID, and get himself a Pokedex from someplace. However, first thing's first, he thought, as he worried about that blue pokemon he had found mangled. He took his pokeball out and expanded it, feeling the weight in his hand that signified that it did indeed have a pokemon inside of it. He walked over to the healing device and set the pokeball into it, pushing the tray into the wall mounted apparatus to let it do it's thing.
"Well, Nidoran... after you get healed, we'll have some proper introductions, okay buddy?" he said to the pokemon, who was now being healed even inside the pokeball. He walked back to the computer behind the counter and pulled up the internet. Broadband's a wonderful thing, he thought to himself, even as he grinned and pulled up the Pokemon Trainer's initial profile login. He logged in, using his password after a few failed tries- not having to update since the age of 10 made it a nearly forgotten word, after all. He wound up fixing everything to make it up-to-date, and he sighed softly as he waited for some news from Nurse Joy, or at least that little...
A musical tone came from the healing apparatus, signifying that the pokemon inside was finished being healed. With a small smile, he walked back to the tray that emerged from the wall, and he took the pokeball from it. "I'll have to come up with a name for you, I think... But for now, come on out, Nidoran." he says, pointing the indicator away from him and towards the floor in front of him. The red beam shot out of the ball, and the male Nidoran appeared, sitting on its haunches as he smiled softly. "Well, little guy, you're my first pokemon ever." he said to the Nidoran, who just started nibbling at it's rear left leg, ignoring Arik almost completely right now. "How would you like to have a name, hm? What about... I think I'll call you Tsai." he says to the Nidoran, who finally looked back up to its new trainer.
"Niiii!" was it's cry, and it launched itself at Arik, jumping into the air only to come down onto his chest. He was knocked down from the blow, something like a tackle attack, but then Tsai began to rub it's head against Arik's chest, causing the new pokemon trainer to smile. "Hmm... Well, I guess you like me, huh? I hope you like the other pokemon I found... I hope it gets better, too." he says, reaching up to scratch behind the Nidoran's ear. The response was immediate- his eyes closed and a soothing sound came from its throat as it leaned into Arik's hand. Arik was still pretty worried about that blue pokemon, even as he idly scratched Tsai's ear. "Hmm... I wonder how Nurse Joy is doing?" he asked aloud.
Two hours later, the light above the door with the needle sign turned off, going black from being lit up red. Nurse Joy came out from the surgery room and to the counter, where Arik and his new Nidoran were taking a nap. No one had come into the pokemon center in all this time, and they'd gotten pretty tired. A nudge on the shoulder woke Arik, and the sound of a Chansey coming out woke up Tsai. "Huh... wha... Nurse Joy? How is the pokemon?" he asked, sleepy but quickly waking up as he remembered why he had come back here in the first place.
"Well, I did all I could. It lost a lot of blood, so we'll have to wait for the night to see how it recovers." she said, her sweet voice sounding very tired and stressed. "It is extremely weak right now. I can't believe that it survived an attack from a Tauros, considering how young it is." she commented as Arik walked out from behind the counter, taking a moment to pick up his new Nidoran before coming in front of her and smiling softly. She looked to the Nidoran and smiled sweetly, kneeling slightly as she reached over to scratch behind Tsai's ear, just like Arik had done earlier.
"Nurse Joy, thanks for your help... this little Nidoran here is Tsai. I found him before I got the pokemon you just helped." he smiled still, one hand holding the little Nidoran up while his other moved to cross over it's chest lightly, helping to prop the Nidoran up as it strained to lean against Joy's hand. The Chansey came over and started talking with Tsai, and both Joy and Arik laughed lightly at this. "I should ask you about two things, Joy..." he started, and she looked back up at Arik even as he stepped back and set Tsai on the floor so he and Chansey could continue talking.
"What is it, Arik? I'll help if I can, you know that." she said, and smiled warmly to him. The way she smiled at him at times made him wonder if she liked him as more than just a friend, but he wasn't about to pursue her yet- relationships at work could lead to bad things, after all. She tilted her head, her pink curls falling to the side somewhat as she smiled so nicely that her eyes seemed to shut as she gave him an almost cheesy grin.
"Well, um..." and he trailed off for a second, his face a little red as a result of how she was smiling at him- almost flirting with him, it seemed. "I need to get a Pokedex, actually." he says to her quickly, though slowly enough for her to understand him easily enough. She laughed softly and nodded at that. He tried to straighten up a bit, to relax and to stop blushing as he looked to the floor where his Nidoran was. The Chansey left, and the Nidoran rubbed against his legs, causing him to shiver a little as he felt Tsai's spikes rub against his pant leg and the leg within.
"Well, I can call up Professor Oak and ask if he could send a Pokedex down here. I'm sure he'd love to know that you found the pokemon that was injured, too." she said, smiling sweetly again. Arik was surprised at her words, and he blinked as if to express that. She understood his surprise and confusion, and could appreciate it, as she continued. "You brought in a Dratini, Arik. First one I've seen myself, ever." and she patted his shoulder a few times before giving a squeeze. "But that can wait. You go get a shower, now. I'll keep Tsai company until you're done, okay?" she says, reaching up to Arik's shoulders to guide him around to the hallway where pokemon trainers usually bunk up to sleep. There were bathrooms as well, for men and women, down that way, including shower stalls.
Arik chuckled softly and followed the pink haired woman's words as she pushed him that way. "Tsai, stay with Nurse Joy for a little while, okay? I'll be back in a little bit." he called back, and a high pitched "Niiidor!" was the response, causing Nurse Joy to giggle even as he walked down the hallway and to the restroom to take himself a shower. Soon, the slam of a door could be heard, and that was all that was heard from Arik for a good 10 minutes.
Nurse Joy was busy giving Tsai a check-up at the counter when Arik came back out, short brown hair wet but combed back and with shorts on instead of his muddy pants. His shirt was the same though, and his jacket was hanging on the back of a chair in one of the Trainers' bunk rooms. A sigh pre-empted his arrival, and Tsai gave a shrill cry to him as if to greet Arik's coming back. "How're things with my little buddy there, hm?" he asked Nurse Joy, who just looked up at him and smiled.
"So far so good, Arik. It's your other new friend I'm more worried about right now. After I'm done with Tsai here, I'm going to give Professor Oak a call. Outside of anyone in Johto, I think he's the most knowledgable around here about Dragon pokemon." she said, and Arik nodded. He knew about Professor Oak- who didn't? Even people who didn't care too much about Pokemon knew about the man. He is world famous, after all. And to talk with the man himself, the famous professor who makes his home in Pallet Town? Well, who wouldn't want that paticular honor?
"Well, that's fine with me... Can I go see it?" he asked, and she nodded. "That Dratini is a girl, Arik." she said, patting tsai's back lightly before nodding to it, motioning to have it go back over to his new trainer. Tsai rubbed against Nurse Joy's chest for a second, causing her to giggle a little before it jumped off the counter and ran after Arik. "Well, come on Tsai, let's go see our other friend, and hope she'll get better tonight." he said, and as Tsai came alongside Arik, he let out a "Niii!" in response.
"I think that your doing that is always gonna make me smile, Tsai." He told the little Nidoran, and then he just laughed softly, quieting down as they came to the doors of the intensive care unit. Beside the Toxic-poisoned Sandslash was his Dratini, who seemed to be shivering as it quivered in place on top of the thick sheets. He went to the door and smiled softly as he opened it. "Come on in, Tsai, but be quiet, okay? These two need to get their rest." he says, whispering to him. Tsai simply nodded, and in they went. Arik walked over to the bed that the Dratini was in, and he could tell that it was still in a lot of pain. Bandages were wrapped all over her body, and most of them were still bloodstained. With a sigh, Arik went over to the water basin and got himself a bowl filled with water. He went to get a towel, and brought it back to the bowl, putting the small thing into it to get it wet. Then he walked back to the table with the bowl, only to find that his Nidoran was curled up beside the Dratini, causing Arik to smile.
A flash of pink went by at about eye-height, past the window, and he looked over to see Joy smiling and giving him a thumbs-up. He smiled back as he took the towel out of the water and twisted it, forcing as much of the water out as he could but leaving the towel damp, and he rubbed it onto the portions of the Dratini's body that weren't covered with bandages. Her breathing was labored, but now that her body was becoming a little moist again, the Dratini's breathing became less strained. "Hey, Tsai? Can you use this towel to keep her wet for a little while?" he asked the Nidoran. He looked up to Arik and nodded, taking the towel in his mouth and lowered it into the bowl beore moving it along the same places that Arik had. "Thank, Tsai, we'll get you something to eat soon. I bet you're pretty hungry, huh?"
With that, Arik smiled and lightly trailed his fingers along the Dratini's now damp, small muzzle before walking quietly back to the door. He left while being very careful not to make any noise, and he looked over to Joy. "Come one, Arik. Let's go call Professor Oak." she said softly, smiling in a way he'd never actually seen her smile like before. He must have had a look of confusion on his face as a result, because she just started giggling before she took him by the shoulders and turned him around again, but this time walking behind him, pushing him back to the counter. He had the thought in his head that she was flirting with him. Trouble is, he'd never seen her flirt, but she'd been this pushy and friendly with others before.
"Oh, alright. You do the talking though, I'm not really good at introducing myself to people I don't know, after all, on the phone." he said, looking over his shoulder at her before reaching back to tickle her side a little. A giggle broke into laughter, and he grinned as she slapped his hand away from her playfully. Yep, he thought to himself. She's must be flirting, instead of just the usual fun that they'd have when things were really quiet. He smiled and walked along in front of her until they got to the counter, and then let her go ahead of him. "Well now, go ahead, Joy." he says to her, smiling softly before putting a hand on her shoulder and giving her a soft squeeze. That just made her smile at him before dialing up Professor Oak's number.
Ring.... Ring.... "Ah, hello? Ah, Nurse Joy! And which town might you be calling from?" came a voice that belonged to the face that soon appeared on the screen. An elderly man with a white lab coat and gray hair showed up on the screen, smiling as he looked into the camera phone that would obviously show him both Nurse Joy and Arik, standing behind her. Nurse Joy smiled and nodded at his recognizing her (but then again, she looks exactly like all the other Nurse Joys, so of course he would ask which town she was calling from).
"I'm calling from Fuchsia City, Professor. I just had a rather unusual encounter with a pokemon, and I thought you might be interested in hearing about it from the trainer who caught her." she told him, and then moved aside so that Arik could duck down a bit and smile into the camera, somewhat embarassed by being put on the spot. It took him a minute to actually gather up the nerve to say anything, but fortunately, Oak was very patient. Obviously, he had dealt with this sorta thing pretty often.
"Ah... hello, professor. I, ah, caught a Dratini in the Safari Zone today. I didn't even know it was one until I got to the pokemon center. It's in the ICU ward right now." he says to the old man, who suddenly got a surprised expression on his face. Arik could tell from Professor Oak's reaction that he hadn't heard of anyone finding one there before. He could only wonder how often he'd actually dealt with dragon-type pokemon, but there really wasn't any way to tell until he said something again.
"A Dratini in the Safari Zone? That's amazing! It's too bad that the Zone is being closed up, but if what you say is true, then that would make it the perfect reserve for those pokemon." he said, smiling again though obviously wanting to see the Dratini. "Is there any way to see this Dratini, Nurse Joy? And could you tell me how it got so badly hurt?" he asked, and Nurse Joy nodded, reaching to the keyboard to switch Professor Oak to that feed. Arik answered his question, however.
"She was attacked by a Tauros when it was raining, professor. When I got over there to see what had happened, she was bleeding pretty badly." he told him. "She didn't struggle at all when I caught her, but that wasn't really important at the time, since she was bleeding so bad. I just needed to get her back here so Nurse Joy could help her." Arik concluded, and he smiled to Nurse Joy, thanking her again for her help with the Dratini.
"Why is there a small Nidoran beside the Dratini... and why is he wiping a towel on her?" was the voice of Professor Oak, who had by now put up two windows- one showing him Nurse Joy and Arik, the other showing the Dratini and Tsai. Arik and Joy both laughed softly and smiled at the same time into the web camera. Professor Oak chuckled softly as he watched that as well as the two pokemon. "This is the first time I've ever seen a Nidoran caring for another pokemon like that, it's rather amazing. Is there any way to have those two transferred over to my lab for a little while so I could do a little research with them?" he asked them, a small smile on his face.
"Well, I asked Tsai- that's my Nidoran I caught in the Safari Zone as well. I asked him to keep the Dratini a little wet, and he seemed to know just what to do to help with that. The Dratini seems to prefer keeping moist, because it was shaking earlier when I went in there before we started wiping water on her. It settled down, so I'm guessing that Dratini might stay near, or even under, water, wherever exactly they live. And to tell the truth, those are my first two pokemon, so I suppose I could delay going out and about for a little while, if you really want to go ahead and study them, then I guess that can be arranged." Arik replies. Joy slipped away from the conversation, smiling to Arik as she walked back out from the counter and down the hallway towards the ICU.
"That would be wonderful! But please, take good care of your Dratini. I wouldn't want to take her attention from you until after she's recovered from her trauma. A Tauros attacked her, you said? Well, I can't say I'm surprised, some Tauros can be very dangerous." was the professor's response. "Still, I hope you can spare her sometime after she has recovered, because I would love to work with a Dratini. It's been years since I've had the chance to make any observations about dragon pokemon. Oh... ah, what did you say your name was young man?" As the professor talked, Arik took a seat in the chair that Joy had vacated, and looked back up to the web camera as he heard the question be asked.
Arik just nodded and smiled at that information. "My name is Arik, professor. I'll be happy to send her your way sometime, Professor, after she's completely recovered. Thing is, though... ah... without a pokedex registration, I'm not really allowed to transfer pokemon, am I?" Arik asks, and Oak has to watch him for a minute without saying anything. The look on Oak's face said it all- 'How old is this kid?' Finally, Professor Oak smiled again and nodded in agreement.
"That is certainly true. But according to this, you already have a pokedex from... several years ago? No, no... I suppose I'll have to try sending you one soon. You haven't been an active trainer until today, from what it says on your profile, so the old one would be expired. Could you tell me why, Arik?" the professor asked. Obviously, the old man had lots of questions for the one trainer he had just met who had caught, of all things, a dragon-type pokemon.
"Well, basically, I was sick for a few weeks when it came to be my turn to choose a pokemon at the research lab nearby. My spot was picked up by another trainer, and I was stuck going to the Safari Zone to try and catch pokemon, but I'd never had any luck until today. The pokedex I had was destroyed when I through a rock at a Rhyhorn and... well, it charged me, and you know how Rhyhorn are. I dropped my pokedex on accident when I was pulled out of the way of danger. I've been working at this Pokemon Center for a few years, too, so I've learned a few things about pokemon. I'm just glad I found the Dratini when I did and get her back here in time." he said, falling a little quiet as a worried look came across his face for an instant. This didn't escape Oak's notice, who just smiled a bit as he could tell that the trainer obviously cared for the pokemon.
"I see. Well, it looks like you'll have your hands full, working with two pokemon to begin with, and one being a Dragon to boot. I'd better get going Arik, but you can expect a Pokedex to arrive at the pokemon center in a day or two. Ta!" and with that, Professor Oak's image disappeared from the screen. Arik leaned back into the chair with a sigh, slumping into the rest as he looked up towards the ceiling, only to get startled and knocked down as his legs seemed to jump up in surprise. "Nurse Joy!" he exclaimed, finding her looking down at him with a look of amusement on her face before she broke out laughing at his antics. He groaned as he hit the floor, raising one hand up to rub at the back of his head before he slipped to the side and back to his knees, and then to his feet as he lifted the chair back up onto it's legs again.
"Yep! I just gave dinner to Chansey and Tsai, and I even got some food that your Dratini can eat when it's feeling better. You had a good idea, keeping it's skin wet. Tsai's doing a really good job, but he's really young. Tell ya what. I'll order a pizza, and you can stay here tonight to watch over the Dratini. The Sandslash's trainer will be back tomorrow- its trainer is out with family or on a date or something. Keep an eye on that one too, okay? By the time the pizza's here, I'll have to close down the center for the night." she says, smiling as she slips into the cushioned chair that he'd been sitting in and pulled up the phone again, cutting the feed to the ICU, which was showing the hungry pokemon in the ICU getting fed.
"Sounds like a plan... I'm kinda tired though, so there's no way I can really stay awake all night, you know." was Arik's reply, and he chuckled softly as he shut up, listening to Nurse Joy order some pepperoni pizza for the two of them. This was going to be a long night, he realized- the sun had already gone down and it was getting close to 10 o'clock. In two years and more of working here at night, there had only been three times when there had been an emergency call, and tonight doesn't look to be one of 'em.
A scooter came up the driveway and right on up to the doors. Two little beeps came from it, and after a moment, the motor from the scooter couldn't be heard as it was turned off. "Sounds like a lawnmower!" Arik muttered, sitting at the counter as Joy had gone off to get a nap before the pizza arrived. The pizza delivery person who walked in through the opening that the sliding door had made when it opened was an attractive young woman that he thought was familiar. "Hello! One large pepperoni pizza?" she called out, smiling attractively as she walked up to the counter. "It's 10 dollars even." she said, even as Arik stood up and pulled out his wallet. This was gonna leave him broke, he thought, as he pulled out a ten dollar bill and handed it over, putting his wallet away as she took the money and then handed the pizza over to him.
"Yeah, that'd be for us... Nurse Joy will be out here in a minute or so." he told her, smiling as he set the pizza down on the counter. The brunette before him tilted her head, looking to be thinking about something. He watched her, a feeling in the back of his mind nagging at him that he knew her somehow. "Hey... have we met before? Are you a trainer maybe?" he asked her. She didn't seem to be too old, probably around his age. He saw a single pokeball hooked to a strap along her Pizza Hut jacket, which made him think that he probably had seen her before while he was working at the pokemon center. She just smiled slightly, a mischievious look in her eyes before she closed the little pizza warmer up that she had carried the pizza in here in.
"Yeah, I'm a trainer, but I was low on money so I got a job in town. I can't wait to get outta here though, but not until I beat Janine!" she said, and he grinned slightly. So, she was a gym hopeful, but with only a single pokemon (that he could see)? "That Soul Badge... hardly anyone here in Kanto bothers to get it because the gym leader here is so tough to defeat. I want to get that badge before I leave again." she said, perhaps more to herself than to Arik. She had skillfully evaded the part of his question that hinted that he wanted to learn her name, he thought, and he nods slightly to her in response.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I'll be going on my own journey pretty soon, too. I finally got myself a pair of pokemon to start training." he replied, smiling as he heard footsteps lead towards the lobby and he turned to see Nurse Joy walking out, her curls undone and fairly long pink hair hanging down over her shoulders and behind her back. Her hair actually reached her mid-back, and her clothes looked a little disheveled as she yawned, one hand reaching up to cover her mouth. "Good timing, Nurse Joy. Dinner's here." he said, chuckling softly even as he heard a soft giggle from the delivery girl. He glanced back over to her, and saw that she was watching him before she noticed that she had been seen watching him.
"Well, I better be going. I'll bring in my pokemon later on for a check up, okay?" she told them, smiling to the two before he headed towards the door. Out she went and down went the metal shutters as Joy pushed the 'Close' button. Arik chuckled softly as he saw how Joy looked, and winked at her as he walked down to the hallway leading to the ICU.
"I'll be right back, Joy. Just want to see how they're doing in there." he said, referring to, of course, his pokemon. Nurse Joy nodded, and went over to the box of pizza to pull out a slice to begin her eating as he disappeared down the hallway.
Arik came to the door to the ICU and then went inside. He smiled a little, seeing that his little Tsai was asleep, and that the Dratini was resting comfortably. He walked close to the bed with the Dratini and Tsai in it, smiling softly as he reached to the Dratini's bandages, lightly sliding his fingertips along them to see how bad the wounds were for himself. He could feel the warmth from the pokemon coming from beneath the bandages, and his fingers came away reddened and a little sticky from the contact. "I hope you get better... I really want to meet you, little one, and I want you to meet me, and Nurse Joy, and Professor Oak." he whispered to her, his clean hand lifting up to cup the pokemon's muzzle gently, making sure not to stifle the pokemon's breathing with his hand. The pokemon seemed to sniff at his hand, but he couldn't be sure since it didn't do anything else. The Dratini's eyes remained closed as it rested there, and Arik left the pokemon's bed, stopping in a rest room to wash his hands before walking back out to the lobby to get some pizza for himself.
When he arrived, he smiled as he saw Nurse Joy at work on the computer again. She looked up at Arik and he saw her hand move the mouse pointer up and she clicked, even as she stood up to get another slice of pizza. By the time he got over there, he could see that that was the third slice to be taken away, and he looked at her warily with a smile. "Now, now... better watch that cute figure of yours, nurse. I have to admit though, I like your hair down instead of up and in curls all the time." he teases her, grabbing a slice of pizza from the box to eat as well now. Though, he did mean the part about her hair. She looked good like this, very much so.
As a response to that, Joy blushed and looked down before moving back to the chair and getting back to work, one-handed, on the computer as she continued to eat her pizza. Arik thought he heard her say something like 'Thank You', but he hadn't heard her clearly, and he didn't want to embarass her any more than he already seemed to have. The next few minutes were spent in the silence associated with eating food, as they both concentrated on different things- Joy with her computer, Arik with eating his fill of the pizza. Afterwards, a printer came online, buzzing away as Joy printed something off the computer. It was working on several pages it sounded like, and Arik soon left the counter area, the awkward silence finally driving him away.
His steps brought him back to the ICU, rather than to one of the bunk rooms that Trainers used while passing through. He stepped into the room again, and this time Tsai was awake and sitting up beside the Dratini. The Nidoran watched him as he came over, and Arik reached over to rub Tsai's back lightly as he smiled. "Thanks, Tsai. Good work keeping our friend comfortable." he told him, and he could tell that Tsai would have responded if it wasn't for the fact that the Dratini between them was still resting. "I wish there was something more we could do for you, Dratini... well, I guess we can come up with a name for you, huh? Hm..." and he trailed off, wondering just what he would name her. He walked over to one of the chairs along the wall, smiling a little as he sat down, considering different names to give the Dratini.
Arik fell asleep quickly afterwards, his arms crossed over his chest as his head rested down, his chin on his chest as he began to snore softly. Tsai made a soft noise when he realized his trainer was dead to the world, and then settled down as well into a deep sleep. Neither would wake until the next day.
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Well, that's it for Chapter One. Wow. I made a crappy rough draft and that in itself was 12kb large when I finished with what would've been the first chapter. Then I go ahead and re-write the entire beginning, and I write what could actually be about 3 chapters or so. Comments would be appreciated, but please, leave any flames regarding differences between the games and the anime out. I explained about those at the beginning, after all. Now, these two are pretty much my favorite pokemon in the games (at least, Nidoran evolves into my favorite pokemon outside of Pidgeot and Espeon). If anyone has suggestions, feel free to e-mail me at