Yo, neaucleareactor5 here with another story. Hope you enjoy it!
"So, how are you going to tell them?" My friend, Luke, asked. I scowled, furrowing my brows. This was the dilemma I had been going over for the past few weeks, ever since I had decided I wanted to travel to Kalos, instead of stay in Sinnoh.
"It's not my dad I'm worried about," I muttered, scratching my chin. We, along with the rest the group of outcasts I called friends, stood in front of an I-HOP in Canalave City. We had just gotten done with our graduation ceremony this morning, marking the end of our high school careers and the beginning of our lives. "It's my mom. She's going to flip when –no, if –I tell her." I said. Riley shook his head.
"You've got to tell your mom, man." He said. "It'd be wrong not to." I reluctantly sighed, nodding.
"Yeah, I know. It'd just be easier than actually telling her. Just send her a text from the airport; 'Hey mom, I'm leaving for Kalos! Maybe for the summer, maybe for the rest of my life! See you later!'" I mimed the action, hitting the send button. Chuckles rippled through the small group.
"You'd get on the plane, it'd take off, and then you'd happen to look out the window to see your mom, hanging onto the wing." Luke mimicked holding onto the wing, looking at me with wild eyes and a maniacal grin. "Come back home, Ryan. We've got something to talk about. HAHAHAHAHA!" He tried his best to imitate my mom's voice. I laughed.
"At that point I'd kill myself just to escape her." I said, shooting myself in the head with a finger gun. "But she'd probably chase me into the afterlife."
"All seriousness aside," Brett said, shaking his head. "The best thing to do would be to already be packed, in the car, and driving away as you yell your goodbyes. That way you can just drive into the harbor instead of waiting to land on an airplane." I laughed again, feeling the knot of nervousness in my gut unwind itself. These guys never failed to take the seriousness of any situation and turn it into a joke.
"Sure, sure. Except your dad has that Empoleon. He'd just lift the car up and drag your sorry ass back to the house. Then your mom would tie you up, duct tape your mouth, and get the bull whip." Luke said, cracking an imaginary bull whip. "'You're not going anywhere!' Crack! 'AAAAH! I'M SORRY!'"
"Are you kidding me? You've met his dad, right? He'd swim in there himself, let Ryan get half drowned, then drag him to shore and beat the crap out of him, all by himself! Not even for leaving, but for wrecking the car!" Riley said.
"I've got it! You promise to give your dad your car, and then you leave for Kalos!" Brett snapped his fingers, looking at me expectantly. I laughed.
"That's not a bad idea, but I want it in one piece when, and if, I come back." I said. "But I mean, I already told them that I'd be taking a year off instead of going straight to college, so…" I trailed off.
"When do you leave? You already bought the plane tickets, didn't you?" Luke asked.
"Tomorrow." I said. Luke sighed and put a hand on my shoulder.
"Let us have a moment of silence for our friend in the idiot zone." He said. I scowled, brushing off his hand. He cackled alongside everyone else. "Friggin' moron. You don't wait until the last second to tell your parents this! How long are you planning on staying in Kalos?!" I shrugged kicking at the ground and shoving my hands into my pockets. He was right, though. I should've told them sooner.
"Dunno." I said. "Maybe the summer. Maybe a year. Might try the Kalos league." Riley snorted.
"You said you didn't have any interest in doing the league run, even here in Sinnoh. What'd you get, four badges in five years?" Riley asked.
"Two." I corrected. "I beat Roark and Gardenia." The badges sat uselessly in my room, hidden underneath a bunch of crud and dulled into almost nonexistence. I had gotten them the year I started my journey around Sinnoh, back when I was twelve, but at the cost of the entire summer. Once summer was over my parents sent me back to school, only allowing me to journey during the summers. Next summer I had gotten distracted with some other things, as with every other summer since. I'd travelled the region entirely, but...
"Hey, I only got four before I called it quits." Riley said. "Besides, we all know that if Ryan really tried, he could go for Champ." I shrugged modestly.
"Not really." I grumbled. "Being champ sounds like a lot of work."
"And all you want to do is play." Luke said. I nodded.
"Yep. Pretty much." I said. Brett patted me on the shoulder, nodding. I'm sure he understood what I was getting at, but that wasn't him. The kid was a freaking genius. He'd been accepted into Goldenrod University, one of the most prestigious colleges in the world. Not only that, but he had a full ride, too. He was going on to be a lawyer or a doctor, and invent the cure to cancer or something. I was sure of it.
"That's great and all, but what are you really going to do with your life?" Luke asked. I shrugged. This guy had his life all planned out too, he was being shipped out to boot camp next week. He was joining the Sinnoh Army.
"Don't know, guess that's why I'm going to Kalos." I said.
"You need to figure it out man." Luke said. Riley nodded, checking his watch. Riley…come to think of it, I had no idea what Riley was going to do with his life. Probably become a hermit or something. His phone rang, and Riley checked it, his smile turning into a scowl.
"Well, man, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got to run. Little bro's planning on challenging Byron today. Plus I've got family in town. We need to hang out when and if you get back." Riley said, turning and walking into the parking lot. We muttered our agreements, our little group slowly breaking apart.
"Good luck. Don't wimp out." Luke said, giving me a bro-hug. "I'll see you around. Hopefully." Brett patted me on the back, nodded, and left without a word. That left me alone in the relatively empty parking lot of the International House of Pancakes.
"No use thinking about it." I grumbled, scratching my head of dirty blonde hair. I was eighteen, so legally, my parents didn't have control over me anymore. But I didn't want to leave on a sour note either. "Should've told them sooner." I grumbled, walking towards my car. This wasn't going to be fun.
The drive home was dull and long. We lived outside of Canalave by about thirty minutes, giving me plenty of time to sweat even more than I already had been. My rebuilt blue 1969 Mustang roared as I punched it in an attempt to calm my nerves. No such luck. I was already thinking about last time I asked to go out of region.
I was fourteen. I wanted to go to Johto. My mom flipped out, saying that I was too young and that I needed to wait until I was eighteen to go out of region. So instead my dad and I spent the summer on Mount Coronet, training and honing my survival skills, skills he had beaten into me from the age of seven. I shuddered, remembering the strong lecture my mom had given me when I had tried to just walk out the door. I was still scarred (metaphorically speaking).
"Gah." I muttered, pulling up in front of my house. This wasn't exactly the best plan in the world. No, it was probably closer to the worst plan in the world. How could I be stupid enough to wait until the last minute to tell them? Dad might, might understand, but Mom was going to flip. I banged my head on the steering wheel, feeling the black leather against my forehead. "Moron, moron, moron, moron." I muttered, banging my head on the steering wheel. I took a deep breath. No use in fretting over it now. I had to go in and just…tell them.
Starly twittered in the tall pine trees, and the rustling of a Bidoof could be heard in the bushes. Our house was decent sized, two stories of log cabin-esque home, with seven acres of land surrounding it. A small pond sat off to the size, where my dad's Empoleon rested in the noon sun. He had been quite the trainer when he was younger, travelling through Sinnoh, Johto, and Kanto, collecting all eight badges in each region. His other Pokémon were living at our cabin near Mount Coronet, where they could run free on the two hundred acres there.
I sucked in a deep breath, steeling my nerves and tasting the sweet air for the last time, as I was undoubtedly going to be murdered. I closed the door to my Mustang behind me, running a hand over its hood nostalgically.
"It's been good knowing you, friend. Don't let Dad drive you too hard." I said, turning and slowly walking up towards the front door. I gripped the handle, only to have the door opened for me. My dad's bearded face appeared, completely unsurprised to see me, and completely serious. Oh shit. Was my only thought. My dad was always smiling, unless something serious was going on. Very quickly, and almost imperceptibly, he winked at me.
"We need to talk." He said. My soul shattered at those four words, and I felt the urge to make a break for it. I was faster than Dad, so I might be able to get away…He put a hand on my shoulder, effectively stomping that delusion. "Let's go." He said, pushing me into the living room. It was dimly lit, with a couch sitting off to one side, facing the TV. The kitchen was to my left, where my mom was leaning against the bar. Her face was completely calm as well. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. What did I do in the past six months that could've pissed them off? Plan a trip to Kalos, maybe? And not tell them? Damn it, how did they find out?
"So." My dad said. "Do you have something to say to us?" He asked, eyebrow raised. I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
"I'm going to Kalos." I said flatly. Their expressions remained blank. "I've already bought tickets. Sorry for not telling you sooner, but…" I trailed off, and took a deep breath.
"When are you leaving?" Mom asked, eyes narrowed.
"Tomorrow." I said. Before either of them could respond, I continued. "Like I said, sorry for not telling you sooner, but I'm prepared to leave with or without your permission. Just thought you should know." I said, squaring my shoulders. I wondered if they would dig me a grave.
"When are you coming back?" Dad asked. I shrugged.
"Maybe the end of the summer. Maybe I'll spend the year there. Don't really know." I said honestly. The glanced at each other, nodded, and turned their gaze back to me. I inwardly winced. Here it comes.
"Ok." Mom said.
"Then I'll just- wait, did you say OK?!" I asked, incredulous. Dad laughed, and their serious expressions broke.
"Yes, we did. You can go to Kalos, we won't stop you." Dad said.
"But…but…but…" I stammered. Dad clapped me on the back.
"Did you really think we didn't know? Sorry, let me correct that. Did you really think I wouldn't know what you were planning? It was pretty obvious. You've been obsessed with everything Kalos for the past few months. That, and I can see what you buy with your credit card." He said. I stared at him blankly, and then groaned.
"Of course you can." I muttered, face palming. I had, of course, not thought of that when I bought the tickets.
"But seriously, you should have told us." Mom said, growing serious once again.
"Well…" I muttered. "It's not like you were very welcoming of the idea last time." I muttered.
"What are you talking about?" Mom asked. "I was perfectly reasonable with Johto." She said. Dad laughed.
"Are you joking? You nearly ripped his head off just for mentioning it." Dad said. I nodded, pointing at him.
"He's right. I still have nightmares about it." I said.
"I did not! I just didn't think it was a good idea for a fourteen-year-old to be travelling alone in an unknown region!" Mom countered.
"Yes, you made that very clear." I said. Dad nodded again, and I shook my head, still a little confused with the entire situation. "Ok, hold on. Why are you guys so calm about this?" I asked. Mom and Dad looked at each other, and then laughed.
"We've known for months, Ryan. When you first announced that you wanted to take a year off from school, it was a pretty easy deduction. It was either you wanted to go journeying in another region, or you wanted to just sit around the house and mope. I doubted it was the latter." Mom said. "Plus, you were just so interested in Kalos. It was pretty obsessive there for a while."
"And with the stuff your brother pulled in college, this is minor." Dad added. I thought about that one. He had a point. My brother had blown a full-ride scholarship to college not once, but twice, through excessive partying and crashing the first college's electrical system. Plus, I had paid for this myself. So it's not like my parents were losing any money.
"….fair point." I said. Dad grinned. "But still, this is kinda weird. You guys aren't mad at all?" I asked.
"I'm not." Dad said. "I think it'll be good for you."
"I am. I was going to try and stop you." Mom said with a sigh. "And I had great arguments, too. But your dad convinced me to wait until you told us. If you apologized, and actually told us, I would forgive you and let you go." Dad nodded.
"I would've let you go either way. It's good for a boy to go travelling. I have never regretted my years as a trainer." He said. "Just remember that you've always got a place to come back to, and be careful in the big cities. I expect you to come back and show me all your badges. And I expect eight." Dad said, glaring at me. "This will be our family's first mark on the Kalos region, and I want you to make it a big one." I grinned, nodding.
"Can do." I said. Mom stood up, brushing her brown hair off of her face.
"I've made a list of instructions for you to follow." She said bluntly. "And don't forget to pack plenty of clothes, and a tent, and a sleeping bag." I nodded, already itching to go. I had packed before graduation today, in preparation for the worst. So there was really no need for this.
"You're going to need your pokedex to enter the Kalos league. Don't forget that. And a knife. Can't forget a knife." Dad said.
"A knife, and his pokedex. Is that all you have to give him?" Mom questioned. Dad thought about it for a second, and then nodded.
"Yep. I travelled throughout Sinnoh with nothing but that and my Pokémon. You know that." Dad said. Mom huffed.
"He's not you. Honey, you take everything you need." Mom said. I nodded, taking a step to the side, heading for the stair. Mom noticed my anxiousness, and waved her hand. "Go pack. We'll talk later." She said. I grinned stupidly and sprinted up the stairs, slamming the door to my room. I leaned against it, letting out a long, slow breath. That had….well…far exceeded my expectations.
"Thank God." I said, closing my eyes in a moment of silent prayer. "Thank God for giving me amazing parents." After a moment I sat down, trying my hardest to calm my raging heart. I was going to Kalos, and my parents approved. And I was leaving tomorrow. I grinned, looking around my cluttered room. Posters and random sketches hung on the walls. There was everything from a motivational poster of Bruce Lee, a sketch of a Bidoof I had drawn, and many other things. More importantly was the flaming monkey hanging from the ceiling, staring down at me with a maniacal grin.
"No." I said, holding up a finger. "No, General. Stay. Don't do it. Don't-"
"MON-FERNO!" General yelled, leaping from the ceiling and landing on me. His feet landed on my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. His smiling face was level with my own, his flaming tail swishing behind him.
"I said….no….dammit." I groaned, knocking him away. General cackled, leaping back onto me as I stood up. I stumbled forwards and landed face first on the floor, the crazed monkey jumping around on my back. "I hate you." I mumbled, rolling over and snatching the monkey out of the air. He screeched as I started tickling him, kicking me in the gut repeatedly.
"How does it feel, huh?!" I asked, grabbing his feet and hanging him upside down. He just laughed and wrapped his arms around my waist, using his leg power and the sudden burst of flame to toss me onto the ground once more. "Ass." I said.
"Ryan! You and General quit breaking shit!" Dad yelled.
"Sorry!" I called back. General cackled and leapt back up to his perch on the ceiling, a set of two-by-fours screwed together to make a sort of hangout for him. He didn't leap on me again, though. He knew better than to piss off Dad. He was my only Pokémon, and my partner till the end. Growlithe had nothing on him when it came to loyalty. "Hey, you ready to go to Kalos?" I asked, rummaging through the backpack I had hidden under the bed. General screeched and nodded vigorously, hanging upside down from his perch. I grinned at him. I looked down at the contents I had packed. A few extra clothes. A sweatshirt. Sunglasses. Three knives and a knife sharpener. Matches for emergency situations. A water cleaning kit and bottle, along with a pot, and eating utensils. There was also an extra charging cable for my phone, three sketch pads, pencils, a wad of emergency cash, some Pokémon essentials, and some toiletries.
"Monferno." General said, jumping down onto my bed. I looked up at him and grinned.
"That's everything, don't you think?" I asked. He shook his head, pointing to my cluttered desk. I glanced over at it, remembering that I had to grab my laptop as well. "I don't know if that's necessary. I mean…hell, might as well take it. Plus an extra flash drive. Then I'm ready." I said. General nodded, and I crashed on the bed, smiling. I needed this for more than one reason.
Slowly my excited grin faded as I sat up, looking around my room until I found what I was looking for, a small lacquered box with a golden pin resting on top of it. I stood up and walked over to it, running my thumb over the copper clasp. I knew what was inside. I didn't need reminding. General climbed up the dresser to stare at me, his face carefully devoid of any emotion. On top of his head sat a faded red beret, which I swiftly snatched from his head with a grin.
"No, I'm not taking that." I said. General grinned back, leaping onto my shoulders as my dad opened the door to my room. I turned around to grin at him, meeting his serious face.
"You sure you want to do this, Ryan?" He asked. "Have you told-"
"Yes, I told Harry. He said he understands. He'll take care of it." I said. Dad nodded, smiling and walking up to me, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
"Then go for it. And don't let anything stop you. Not even yourself." He said pointedly. I nodded, accepting the only true advice he was going to give me, and he grinned. "Then stop moping in your room and get ready to take on the world!" He barked, pumping his fist into the air. I chuckled and nodded, patting him on the shoulder.
"Sure thing, Dad."
I ended up going through my backpack five more times that night, adding and taking away items as I thought of them. I didn't want to take too much, after all, but being under prepared was deadly. Eventually I settled for what I had decided on before, plus an extra knife, a blanket, and a book on Kalos vegetation.
The next day my parents took me to the airport in Jubilife City. We hitched a ride on the ferry out of town and got to the airport an hour before my flight left. The sendoff was longer than it should've been, and, after promising Mom that I'd call at least every week (we had to compromise, because I sure as hell wasn't going to call her every day), and that I'd let her know when I was coming home, and many other Mom things, I managed to free myself from them and sprint to the gate.
"Don't forget to call!" Mom yelled. I waved at her over my shoulder, walking away.
"If someone tries to stab you, stab them first!" Dad called. I laughed.
"Sure thing." I muttered.
"And don't stick your hand in a blender! He called again. I sighed, and Mom hit him. He gave her an innocent look that plainly said 'what?' "Fine, I'll give him some 'normal' advice. Remember to keep up your routine! Don't get lazy!" Dad called. I shook my head, not missing that he called it 'normal,' and not 'real' advice.
"We love you! Have fun!" Mom called. I waved at her.
"Love you too. I will." I promised, and ducked around the corner, into the hallway that led towards security. I sighed with relief at finally having escaped them. We had wasted a good fifteen minutes there. Security was a breeze, as the bag containing my dangerous weapons riding in the belly of the plane, and before long I was on the plane, in the air, and heading towards Kalos.
I stared out the window of the plane, watching Sinnoh pass by underneath us. The person sitting next to me was already asleep, headphones in and snoring. I sighed and pulled General's pokeball out of my pocket, staring at it silently.
"Here we go, bud. Off on another adventure." I looked out the window. "Here's to hoping."
Well, I hope that was a good introductory chapter. Ryan's off to Kalos with his one and only Pokémon, General the Monferno. Just so you guys know, the events of X and Y are seven to eight years in the past at this point.