Meeting the People.
They talked the whole flight. As they landed, Lance yawned and started packing his stuff back in his satchel.
"God, how long have we been talking?" Lance yawned, stretching, then grabbed Sabrina's bag and handed it to her, then grabbing his blue bag.
"The whole night. You look ragged Lance, maybe you should rest up before heading back to Parks' Gym." She suggested. They walked off the plane before continuing their conversation.
"Yah, probably grab some sleep at a Motel or hotel." Lance shrugged. Sabrina shook her head.
"How about my place? We have plenty of Spare bedrooms, and I'm certain my parents would love to meet you."Sabrina said, smiling. Lance rubbed his chin, thinking.
"I don't want to impose...."
"You wouldn't Impose at all! And besides, my Dad might be able to help you with your Power. He's had years more experience than me." Sabrina said, watching Lance carefully. Lance sighed and held up his hands.
"I give, I give. Lead the way Sabrina." Lance grinned. Sabrina laughed and led Lance to the Parking lot, trying to wave down a cab with little success. She sighed and looked at the ragged Lance.
"Ever hear of that Pokemon move Teleportation?"
"Yah, Psychic and some Electric Pokemon can do that move." Sabrina Smiled slyly.
"Well, Pokemon aren't the only one's. Well trained Psychic's can Teleport as well, depending on their power levels." Sabrina said, grinning crookedly. Lance nodded and looked at her.
"And I assume, you being the strongest one around, could Teleport all the way to Hawaii if you wanted?" Sabrina Thought a minute.
"That would be nice, but I can't teleport that far a distance. Usually within about a Mile, if I can picture the place in my mind." Sabrina explained.
"Ah, that would be quicker than a cab." Lance admitted. She nodded and closed her eye's, concentrating. Immediately, they were both consumed in white light, and before Lance could blink, he was in front of Saffron Gym. Lance stumbled a bit, dizzy from the teleportation. Sabrina smiled, looking at him.
"After you Teleport a couple times, You get used to the dizzines. Come on, we live a little ways." Sabrina smiled, walking down the sidewalk. Lance followed, still a bit disoriented
Lance scratched his head, looking at the three story house with the plain grass lawn. Sabrina smiled broadly.
"Here it is, home sweet home. Disappointed?" Sabrina placed her hands on her hip and looked at Lance.
"Actually, I'm surprised. I expected Wild Psychic Pokemon lined up at your door." Lance shrugged sheepishly. Sabrina smiled, letting out a small chuckle. She walked up to the door and knocked. Immediately she was greeted by a bearded man.
"Sabrina! You're home!" He hugged Sabrina tightly while Sabrina hugged him back, still smiling.
"I brought a friend Father." She motioned for Lance to come, so he walked up to Sabrina's father.
"And who is this kid dressed in an abnormal amount of black?" Sabrina's father looked at Lance, who shrugged.
"I'm Lance, from Parks' Gym. This is just what I wear for Gym Leaders and Trainers and special events. Although I keep the sunglasses on." Lance smiled, offering his hand. Sabrina's dad took his hand a shook it.
"Hmm, I sense something strange about you young man, why don't you come in?" He said, opening the door wider. Lance walked in and looked around, seeings a kitchen, a door that was obviously the Bathroom, and then he saw stairs going up to a higher level.
"Nice place Mr......"
"Call me Calvin. My wife's name is Susan." Lance looked at him, smiling.
"How about a last name? Just so I can remember?"
"Saphrin, You can call me Mr. Saphrin then."
"Saphrin? As in Saffron?"
"Close, but it's just coincidental." Sabrina smiled, pleased with how well Lance had hit it off with her father. She set her bag down and looked around, then stopped at a picture of her and her family.
"Haunter, come on." She sighed picking up the photo. Instantly the Ghost Pokemon appeared, smiling.
"Haun haunt haunt!(Sabrina, you're home!)" Haunter hugged Sabrina, who chuckled and hugged back. Haunter looked at Lance, who was staring.
"Haunt ter haunt haunt ter haunter?(Who's the cute kid ya brought home?)" Lance laughed before Sabrina could introduce him.
"The 'cute kid' is Lance. And you would be Haunter I take it." Lance smiled and held out his hand. Sabrina and her father were a bit amazed that he could understand Haunter, who also was a bit surprised, but he shook Lance's hand anyway.
"You can understand Haunter? I thought Only Sabrina could." Lance sighed and fingered his sunglasses a minute.
"It's part of a.........special gift." Lance said, blushing a little. Calvin looked at Lance curiously.
"I would love to hear it." Sabrina nudged her father.
"Lance is a bit tired Father, maybe after he's done resting up." Sabrina explained.
"How inconsiderate of me! Haunter, show him to the guest room, Sabrina your mother is currently Visiting someone in Celadon, so it's just you and me and Lance tonight." Lance's eyes widened in surprise.
"Tonight? I was kind of planning to head to Parks' Gym after resting up." Lance said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Absurd! Everyone who visits us must have some of my special Taco dinner! House rules. What's Parks' Gym?" Calvin asked. Lance sighed, rubbing his eyes.
"Long story, I'll explain later. I'm just really tired." Lance said sheepishly. Haunter floated to the foot of the stairs, then motioned for him to follow. Lance walked after Haunter carrying his bags. Calvin turned to Sabrina.
"Interesting choice in boyfriends Sabrina." Her eyes widened, and she lightly slapped the back of her fathers head.
"He's not my boyfriend Father! We just met last night! The Only reason I invited him is because we talked all the way from Pewter and I kept him up, and thought maybe you could help him with a problem." Sabrina scolded. Then she pulled out the hat Lance had given her from her bag. Calvin looked at it and raised an eyebrow.
"If you say so Sabrina. Go unpack your things, I'll whip us up some snacks." Sabrina nodded and headed upstairs.
"Haunt haunt haunt ter.(This is your room.)" Haunter opened a door, revealing a medium sized room with a bed, dresser, bathroom complete with shower, and a nice view outside via a window. Lance smiled and looked at Haunter.
"Ash Told me about you." Haunter looked at Lance.
"Haunt? ter haun haunt ter?(Ash? How is he these day's?)" Lance set his stuff on the ground and flopped onto the bed, sighing.
"He's engaged to Misty." Haunter laughed.
"Haunt haunt ter ter haunt.(Alway's knew he would end up marrying her.)" Haunter laughed. Lance nodded and smiled, rubbing his eye's.
"Yep. I'm going to rest up Haunter, can I get some privacy?" Lance asked. Haunter nodded and floated through the door. Lance unzipped his satchel and pulled out his cell phone, dialing up Parks' Gym.
"Hey Russ? Yeah this is Lance, I'm going to be a little late heading back to Parks' Gym.......Yeah some stuff came up, I'll call you when I hit the road....Take care Russ, Bye." Lance smiled and hung up, then looked towards the bathroom, deciding to take a shower.
"So, where did you meet this kid?" Calvin and Sabrina were munching on some leftover french fries from the fridge. Sabrina took a fry and chomped it in half.
"Well, technically about four years before I fought Ash. He beat me in a Gym Match by disrupting my Psychic link with Abra." Calvin's eyes perked up.
"Disrupting.......Is that even possible?"
"Supposedly not, I'll explain when he gets back down here. But I really got to know him at the Gym Leaders meeting. Right after he Beat Lt. Surge's Raichu in a One Hit K.O with some sort of giant slug-like Pokemon." Calvin nodded and grabbed a handful of fries.
"Then you two talked all night?"
"No that was on the plane. Actually it's pretty interesting, Apparently the Pokemon League has some dark secrets and to quote Lance, 'When they need their dirty work done, and when they need it contained, they Call their best kept secret, Parks' Gym.' or something like that, you can ask him when he gets down here. I get the feeling he loves saying that kind of stuff." Sabrina smiled and finished her fry. Calvin nodded and ate the handful of fry's before continuing.
"Sounds like a weird kid."
"Actually, he is pretty weird. Kind of mysterious though." Sabrina shrugged. Calvin nodded and finished the last fry.
"Hm, Well we'll just have to talk to him I guess. But I sense a strange...aura around him." Sabrina suppressed a smile, then turned when she heard laughing. She smiled when she saw it was Haunter.
"Of course, he understands Pokemon. Hi Haunter!" She said as Haunter floated over to them.
"Haunt haun haunter.(Hi Sabrina.)" The ghost pokemon looked at the empty plate and whined.
"Alright, I'll see what we have in the fridge." Calvin sighed, getting up. Haunter appeared behind him, looking past his shoulder as Calvin looked through the refridgerator.
"Will you stop looking over my shoulder?" Calvin growled. Haunter cackled in delight as Calvin handed him a plate wiht a slice of cake on it. Sabrina smiled, very amused at her Father and Ghost Pokemon.
"Alright, so exactly how do you expect him to stay for over a good 18 hours for dinner, when he'll probably sleep only about four?" Sabrina said, looking at her father. Calvin smiled and took the dish that had the fries on it.
"Leave that to me." Calvin smiled slyly. Sabrina sighed, then looked at her father agian.
"Any Gym battle's while I was gone?" Calvin shrugged.
"One or two, easily dispatched with Alakazam. You realize most Gym leaders have more than Two Pokemon." She groaned, her father had been harping on this for a while.
"Father, I do fine with just Alakazam. Haunter doesn't want to fight, so I won't make him."
"But still, it wouldn't hurt to capture a few more Pokemon. Maybe a Drowzee, or a Hypno."
"First off, Drowzee's are very hard to find, and they are really slow. Second, there really aren't that many Psychic Pokemon for me to catch." She pointed out. Calvin shrugged.
"Why just Psychic's? Why not an Eevee or a few water Pokemon, they're a few water Pokemon that are part Psychic as well." Sabrina sighed and held up a hand.
"I'm a Gym Leader, I have too many responsibilities to just up and go look for Pokemon."
"I could alway's cover for you like I did yesterday."
"Just drop it father. I don't want to." Calvin sighed and held his hands up in defeat.
"Fine, okay. But I still think it would be good for you to train other Pokemon besides Psychic." Sabrina shrugged in response and watched Haunter chow down on the piece of cake. She turned her head as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She smiled when she saw Lance, his overcoat draped across his arm, his hair drenched in water that was still dripping a little form under his hat.
"Ahhhh I love showers." Sabrina chuckled, shaking her head at Lance.
"I thought you were exhausted."
"I was, but I took about....two minutes of resting after my shower and I feel recharged." He smiled. She stared a minute before turning to her father.
"Well, if you want to ask him anything Father, he's here." Calvin stepped into Lance's view and smiled.
"Well, Lance, Sabrina has told me a little about you." Lance shrugged and walked to the dinner table, sitting quietly next to Haunter.
"What is this Parks' Gym she tells me about?" Lance smiled and puts his overcoat on his lap.
"Parks' Gym is actually a lot more than a gym. We do genetic Research, Cloning, Research and Development, Top Secret Pokemon League business, Lots of stuff. Whenever Pokemon League wants something covered up, captured, or contained, they call out Parks' Gym, their best kept secret." Sabrina smirked in amusement, while Calvin just shrugged.
"Fair enough. So exactly why are you becoming public?"
"Well, I actually kind of hate being stuck in the forest Valley we're based in, and Since Parks' Gym destroyed Team Rocket and Giovanni, Viridian City's been without a Gym leader for a while. So I managed to Sweet talk Pokemon league into letting me move Parks' Gym to Viridian City to become the official Gym there." Lance explained.
"Very interesting. Now, I've sensed some strange aura about you Lance, and this ability to understand Pokemon is quite fascinating. Can you tell me about this?" Lance hesitated, then looked at Calvin through his Sunglasses.
"A little more than that Mr. Saphrin." Lance looked him straight in the eye's, then took off his sunglasses. Calvin Flinched, staring into Lance's pure white eye's.
"Very......very.....interesting......Even the most powerful Psychic's don't have such a physical change as white eye's." Calvin said, trying not to be rude. Lance sighed and slipped his sunglasses back on.
"What type of things can you do?" Lance smiled and looked around.
"I think we better go to your Gym, cause this will get pretty destructive." Lance said, grabbing his Overcoat. Sabrina smiled and watched her father get up and grab a coat. She followed them out the door.
They talked the whole flight. As they landed, Lance yawned and started packing his stuff back in his satchel.
"God, how long have we been talking?" Lance yawned, stretching, then grabbed Sabrina's bag and handed it to her, then grabbing his blue bag.
"The whole night. You look ragged Lance, maybe you should rest up before heading back to Parks' Gym." She suggested. They walked off the plane before continuing their conversation.
"Yah, probably grab some sleep at a Motel or hotel." Lance shrugged. Sabrina shook her head.
"How about my place? We have plenty of Spare bedrooms, and I'm certain my parents would love to meet you."Sabrina said, smiling. Lance rubbed his chin, thinking.
"I don't want to impose...."
"You wouldn't Impose at all! And besides, my Dad might be able to help you with your Power. He's had years more experience than me." Sabrina said, watching Lance carefully. Lance sighed and held up his hands.
"I give, I give. Lead the way Sabrina." Lance grinned. Sabrina laughed and led Lance to the Parking lot, trying to wave down a cab with little success. She sighed and looked at the ragged Lance.
"Ever hear of that Pokemon move Teleportation?"
"Yah, Psychic and some Electric Pokemon can do that move." Sabrina Smiled slyly.
"Well, Pokemon aren't the only one's. Well trained Psychic's can Teleport as well, depending on their power levels." Sabrina said, grinning crookedly. Lance nodded and looked at her.
"And I assume, you being the strongest one around, could Teleport all the way to Hawaii if you wanted?" Sabrina Thought a minute.
"That would be nice, but I can't teleport that far a distance. Usually within about a Mile, if I can picture the place in my mind." Sabrina explained.
"Ah, that would be quicker than a cab." Lance admitted. She nodded and closed her eye's, concentrating. Immediately, they were both consumed in white light, and before Lance could blink, he was in front of Saffron Gym. Lance stumbled a bit, dizzy from the teleportation. Sabrina smiled, looking at him.
"After you Teleport a couple times, You get used to the dizzines. Come on, we live a little ways." Sabrina smiled, walking down the sidewalk. Lance followed, still a bit disoriented
Lance scratched his head, looking at the three story house with the plain grass lawn. Sabrina smiled broadly.
"Here it is, home sweet home. Disappointed?" Sabrina placed her hands on her hip and looked at Lance.
"Actually, I'm surprised. I expected Wild Psychic Pokemon lined up at your door." Lance shrugged sheepishly. Sabrina smiled, letting out a small chuckle. She walked up to the door and knocked. Immediately she was greeted by a bearded man.
"Sabrina! You're home!" He hugged Sabrina tightly while Sabrina hugged him back, still smiling.
"I brought a friend Father." She motioned for Lance to come, so he walked up to Sabrina's father.
"And who is this kid dressed in an abnormal amount of black?" Sabrina's father looked at Lance, who shrugged.
"I'm Lance, from Parks' Gym. This is just what I wear for Gym Leaders and Trainers and special events. Although I keep the sunglasses on." Lance smiled, offering his hand. Sabrina's dad took his hand a shook it.
"Hmm, I sense something strange about you young man, why don't you come in?" He said, opening the door wider. Lance walked in and looked around, seeings a kitchen, a door that was obviously the Bathroom, and then he saw stairs going up to a higher level.
"Nice place Mr......"
"Call me Calvin. My wife's name is Susan." Lance looked at him, smiling.
"How about a last name? Just so I can remember?"
"Saphrin, You can call me Mr. Saphrin then."
"Saphrin? As in Saffron?"
"Close, but it's just coincidental." Sabrina smiled, pleased with how well Lance had hit it off with her father. She set her bag down and looked around, then stopped at a picture of her and her family.
"Haunter, come on." She sighed picking up the photo. Instantly the Ghost Pokemon appeared, smiling.
"Haun haunt haunt!(Sabrina, you're home!)" Haunter hugged Sabrina, who chuckled and hugged back. Haunter looked at Lance, who was staring.
"Haunt ter haunt haunt ter haunter?(Who's the cute kid ya brought home?)" Lance laughed before Sabrina could introduce him.
"The 'cute kid' is Lance. And you would be Haunter I take it." Lance smiled and held out his hand. Sabrina and her father were a bit amazed that he could understand Haunter, who also was a bit surprised, but he shook Lance's hand anyway.
"You can understand Haunter? I thought Only Sabrina could." Lance sighed and fingered his sunglasses a minute.
"It's part of a.........special gift." Lance said, blushing a little. Calvin looked at Lance curiously.
"I would love to hear it." Sabrina nudged her father.
"Lance is a bit tired Father, maybe after he's done resting up." Sabrina explained.
"How inconsiderate of me! Haunter, show him to the guest room, Sabrina your mother is currently Visiting someone in Celadon, so it's just you and me and Lance tonight." Lance's eyes widened in surprise.
"Tonight? I was kind of planning to head to Parks' Gym after resting up." Lance said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Absurd! Everyone who visits us must have some of my special Taco dinner! House rules. What's Parks' Gym?" Calvin asked. Lance sighed, rubbing his eyes.
"Long story, I'll explain later. I'm just really tired." Lance said sheepishly. Haunter floated to the foot of the stairs, then motioned for him to follow. Lance walked after Haunter carrying his bags. Calvin turned to Sabrina.
"Interesting choice in boyfriends Sabrina." Her eyes widened, and she lightly slapped the back of her fathers head.
"He's not my boyfriend Father! We just met last night! The Only reason I invited him is because we talked all the way from Pewter and I kept him up, and thought maybe you could help him with a problem." Sabrina scolded. Then she pulled out the hat Lance had given her from her bag. Calvin looked at it and raised an eyebrow.
"If you say so Sabrina. Go unpack your things, I'll whip us up some snacks." Sabrina nodded and headed upstairs.
"Haunt haunt haunt ter.(This is your room.)" Haunter opened a door, revealing a medium sized room with a bed, dresser, bathroom complete with shower, and a nice view outside via a window. Lance smiled and looked at Haunter.
"Ash Told me about you." Haunter looked at Lance.
"Haunt? ter haun haunt ter?(Ash? How is he these day's?)" Lance set his stuff on the ground and flopped onto the bed, sighing.
"He's engaged to Misty." Haunter laughed.
"Haunt haunt ter ter haunt.(Alway's knew he would end up marrying her.)" Haunter laughed. Lance nodded and smiled, rubbing his eye's.
"Yep. I'm going to rest up Haunter, can I get some privacy?" Lance asked. Haunter nodded and floated through the door. Lance unzipped his satchel and pulled out his cell phone, dialing up Parks' Gym.
"Hey Russ? Yeah this is Lance, I'm going to be a little late heading back to Parks' Gym.......Yeah some stuff came up, I'll call you when I hit the road....Take care Russ, Bye." Lance smiled and hung up, then looked towards the bathroom, deciding to take a shower.
"So, where did you meet this kid?" Calvin and Sabrina were munching on some leftover french fries from the fridge. Sabrina took a fry and chomped it in half.
"Well, technically about four years before I fought Ash. He beat me in a Gym Match by disrupting my Psychic link with Abra." Calvin's eyes perked up.
"Disrupting.......Is that even possible?"
"Supposedly not, I'll explain when he gets back down here. But I really got to know him at the Gym Leaders meeting. Right after he Beat Lt. Surge's Raichu in a One Hit K.O with some sort of giant slug-like Pokemon." Calvin nodded and grabbed a handful of fries.
"Then you two talked all night?"
"No that was on the plane. Actually it's pretty interesting, Apparently the Pokemon League has some dark secrets and to quote Lance, 'When they need their dirty work done, and when they need it contained, they Call their best kept secret, Parks' Gym.' or something like that, you can ask him when he gets down here. I get the feeling he loves saying that kind of stuff." Sabrina smiled and finished her fry. Calvin nodded and ate the handful of fry's before continuing.
"Sounds like a weird kid."
"Actually, he is pretty weird. Kind of mysterious though." Sabrina shrugged. Calvin nodded and finished the last fry.
"Hm, Well we'll just have to talk to him I guess. But I sense a strange...aura around him." Sabrina suppressed a smile, then turned when she heard laughing. She smiled when she saw it was Haunter.
"Of course, he understands Pokemon. Hi Haunter!" She said as Haunter floated over to them.
"Haunt haun haunter.(Hi Sabrina.)" The ghost pokemon looked at the empty plate and whined.
"Alright, I'll see what we have in the fridge." Calvin sighed, getting up. Haunter appeared behind him, looking past his shoulder as Calvin looked through the refridgerator.
"Will you stop looking over my shoulder?" Calvin growled. Haunter cackled in delight as Calvin handed him a plate wiht a slice of cake on it. Sabrina smiled, very amused at her Father and Ghost Pokemon.
"Alright, so exactly how do you expect him to stay for over a good 18 hours for dinner, when he'll probably sleep only about four?" Sabrina said, looking at her father. Calvin smiled and took the dish that had the fries on it.
"Leave that to me." Calvin smiled slyly. Sabrina sighed, then looked at her father agian.
"Any Gym battle's while I was gone?" Calvin shrugged.
"One or two, easily dispatched with Alakazam. You realize most Gym leaders have more than Two Pokemon." She groaned, her father had been harping on this for a while.
"Father, I do fine with just Alakazam. Haunter doesn't want to fight, so I won't make him."
"But still, it wouldn't hurt to capture a few more Pokemon. Maybe a Drowzee, or a Hypno."
"First off, Drowzee's are very hard to find, and they are really slow. Second, there really aren't that many Psychic Pokemon for me to catch." She pointed out. Calvin shrugged.
"Why just Psychic's? Why not an Eevee or a few water Pokemon, they're a few water Pokemon that are part Psychic as well." Sabrina sighed and held up a hand.
"I'm a Gym Leader, I have too many responsibilities to just up and go look for Pokemon."
"I could alway's cover for you like I did yesterday."
"Just drop it father. I don't want to." Calvin sighed and held his hands up in defeat.
"Fine, okay. But I still think it would be good for you to train other Pokemon besides Psychic." Sabrina shrugged in response and watched Haunter chow down on the piece of cake. She turned her head as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She smiled when she saw Lance, his overcoat draped across his arm, his hair drenched in water that was still dripping a little form under his hat.
"Ahhhh I love showers." Sabrina chuckled, shaking her head at Lance.
"I thought you were exhausted."
"I was, but I took about....two minutes of resting after my shower and I feel recharged." He smiled. She stared a minute before turning to her father.
"Well, if you want to ask him anything Father, he's here." Calvin stepped into Lance's view and smiled.
"Well, Lance, Sabrina has told me a little about you." Lance shrugged and walked to the dinner table, sitting quietly next to Haunter.
"What is this Parks' Gym she tells me about?" Lance smiled and puts his overcoat on his lap.
"Parks' Gym is actually a lot more than a gym. We do genetic Research, Cloning, Research and Development, Top Secret Pokemon League business, Lots of stuff. Whenever Pokemon League wants something covered up, captured, or contained, they call out Parks' Gym, their best kept secret." Sabrina smirked in amusement, while Calvin just shrugged.
"Fair enough. So exactly why are you becoming public?"
"Well, I actually kind of hate being stuck in the forest Valley we're based in, and Since Parks' Gym destroyed Team Rocket and Giovanni, Viridian City's been without a Gym leader for a while. So I managed to Sweet talk Pokemon league into letting me move Parks' Gym to Viridian City to become the official Gym there." Lance explained.
"Very interesting. Now, I've sensed some strange aura about you Lance, and this ability to understand Pokemon is quite fascinating. Can you tell me about this?" Lance hesitated, then looked at Calvin through his Sunglasses.
"A little more than that Mr. Saphrin." Lance looked him straight in the eye's, then took off his sunglasses. Calvin Flinched, staring into Lance's pure white eye's.
"Very......very.....interesting......Even the most powerful Psychic's don't have such a physical change as white eye's." Calvin said, trying not to be rude. Lance sighed and slipped his sunglasses back on.
"What type of things can you do?" Lance smiled and looked around.
"I think we better go to your Gym, cause this will get pretty destructive." Lance said, grabbing his Overcoat. Sabrina smiled and watched her father get up and grab a coat. She followed them out the door.