Disclaimer: Pokemon does not belong to meee!
Authors note: Welcome to Another Side, Another Story! This is the sister story to Gems May be Precious, and takes place during the same timeline. As you may notice, the writing style is significantly different from that of the other story, and that's because it was written by my wonderful friend, Sesstria. By a timeline perspective, this would be taking place during chapter 3 of Gems may be Precious, and we hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1- Begginings
It was the sun shining in through the window, and not the alarm clock, that woke Taryn up, for the alarm clock was not set to go off for another half hour. But Taryn was too excited to wait. She got up and tidied her bed, glanced at the calendar she had on the wall. One date had been circled several times in red ink. She hurried over to her bathroom and took a shower.
"Today's the day." She thought as she dried her hair.
She brushed her teeth; pulled on the clothing she had set out the night before, and pulled her long wavy brown hair back into a ponytail.
"Today's the day." She polished her glasses and put them back on, her hazel eyes scrutinizing her reflection in the mirror for any flaws. Quickly she skipped down the stairs, she slipped into the kitchen, opened a can of Pokemon food, and filled the bowls of the family's pair of Zigzagoon. Zig open her eyes at the sound of her food bowl being filled, and, after waking Zag, the pair scampered off into another room.
"Zig? Za-ag? I've got your food ready." Taryn called.
At the sound of their names the two Pokemon ran back into the room, carry a brown paper parcel between them.
"Oh! Is this for me?"
"Zig!"
"Zag"
"Zigzagoon!!!"
Taryn tore open the brown paper and let the object inside fall out into her hand.
"Wow!! A Pokenav!" She cried. "This must be from Mom and Dad!"
Looking at the clock, Taryn decided to leave so that she would not be late. After grabbing the lunch she had made the previous night and tucking it into her backpack, she walked out the front door and into the nearby woods.
"Today's the day!" She proclaimed. Then, she took a step forward, and, looking into the lush green foliage above her, she screamed.
"SPINKARAK!!!!!!!"
Perched on a branch above her head was a Spinarak. Maybe it was startled by her screams of terror, or, maybe it was just very inquisitive, whatever the reason the Pokemon slipped off the branch and landed on Taryn's head with a soft thump.
Some people might not have been disturbed by a Pokemon falling on their heads. Some, Professors most likely, would be thrilled. Taryn, however, was not like some people.
"EEEEEEEEEKKKKKK!!!" Taryn screamed at the top of her lungs as she took off running through the forest. "GetItOff! GetitoffGetitoffGetitoffGetitoff!!" she cried as she ran pell-mell through the twisted maze of tress and vines. Leaping over protruding roots and dodging errant branches she continued her ear-splitting scream. She burst out of the other side of the forest into the bright sun; unable to stop she collided with a tall sandy haired boy.
THUMP!! The impact sent the two people sprawling. Taryn opened her eyes to find she was lying across the boy she had collided with. She sat back on her heels and he got up out of the dust.
"I'm so sorry I didn't mean to—EEK!" Taryn was cut off by the Spinarak sliding down off her head and onto her face.
"Swellow go!!" Came the shout. "Use Wing Attack now!!" A gust of wind and a rush of wings knocked the Spinarak off of Taryn's face. The Pokemon scuttled back off into the forest without the slightest bit of hesitation.
"Why are you such a freak?" The query came from the sandy haired boy now standing above Taryn. He was wearing a black shirt with sleeves that came partway down his arms, and a tan vest overtop. His pants were black and white and he wore black boots. He was also wearing a strange looking pair of gloves on his arms, and he had a pair of goggles pushed up onto his head causing his blonde hair to stick straight up.
"I-I-I it was a-a-a Spinarak." Taryn managed to stammer.
"So? It was just a Spinarak." The boy said disdainfully.
Taryn stood up and dusted off her long blue jacket. The boy was giving her an odd look, one that was a mix of puzzlement and general dislike.
"Why do you even wear that thing?" He sneered, pointing to her jacket, it was sleeveless, dark blue and came down past her knees, while the sky blue collar contrasted sharply with the black long sleeved shirt she was wearing underneath.
"Well, err, um…" Taryn struggled to explain " I've had this jacket for a long time, and"
"That much is obvious." The boy cut in.
"I don't know. I just like it, it keeps me warm." Taryn finished with a shrug.
"Whatever." The boy turned away, an expression of exasperated boredom plastered across his face. "If you're so scared of Pokemon, what are you doing out here?"
"I'm not scared of Pokemon!" Taryn exclaimed indignantly.
"Uh-huh." The boy sounded skeptic. "And I had to save you from the Spinarak because?"
"I hate Spinaraks." Taryn sounded almost apologetic. "I always have. It's because when I was really young, one attacked me. It was sleeping in my room and I mistook it for one of my other Pokemon dolls. So I picked it up, and it woke up. Then, it used String Shot and covered my face with webbing, I couldn't breathe or cry for help."
The boy's expression did not change.
"Luckily, Zag was also in my room, and he knows Cut, so he freed me. But I'll never forget what happened." Taryn finished.
"That still does not explain why you are here, which was my original question."
"Oh!" Realization hit Taryn. "I'm late!!! I was going to go and get my first Pokemon!! Now I won't make it on time!!" Taryn ran off in the direction of the Professor's Lab, steering clear of the forest and its Spinaraks.
The boy pushed his goggles down over his eyes, called for his Swellow, (which had been circling above the forest while he had been talking with Taryn), climbed on and flew off.
Taryn arrived, 15 minutes late, to the professor's house. Panting heavily she walked in to meet the professor.
"Oh, Taryn! Glad you came." Professor Sprucesmiled at Taryn and shook her hand. "I'm sorry, all the other Pokemon have been spoken for. We only have one left."
"Really?" Taryn panted. "I came all the way here, I'll take it!"
The Professor opened a cabinet and pulled out a Pokeball, this he handed to Taryn.
"We, here you go. Why not let your new partner out to greet you?" He said smiling.
Taryn threw the Pokeball; a red glow emerged and formed a small, stout blue Pokemon.
"Mudkip!!" It proudly proclaimed.
Taryn knelt down beside the Pokemon and reached out to pet its head.
"Hello there! I'm Taryn, I'll be your trainer now!"
The Pokemon looked right at her as she lovingly stoked its head, then, it spat out a great jet of cold water into her face.
Sputtering and wiping the water out of her eyes, Taryn felt something against her leg, looking beside her she noticed that the Mudkip was standing next to her, rubbing it's head against her shin.
"Mud-kip!" It declared joyously.
"Well Taryn, it looks like he gets along pretty well with you." The Professor was grinning, and leaning against the counter. "I have to go and get something for you. Wait right here I'll be back in a few minutes." He turned and walked out of one of the many doors in the lab.
Taryn stayed there, crouched on the floor playing with her new Mudkip, and she would have stayed until the Professor returned, except for…
"Well, well, well, look what the Delcatty dragged in." A voice drawled from the doorway.
Taryn turned at the sound of the voice, and Mudkip moved to stand protectively in front of his trainer. The boy that she had meet (and collided with) outside of the forest was standing in the doorway. He had his Swellow with him, and from the light glinting of his face Taryn surmised that the boy most likely the goggles that had been previously pushed up onto his head, were now over his eyes.
As the boy stepped out of the doorway, he pulled off his goggles and set them on a table, his spiky blonde hair fell down partway into his eyes causing him to need to brush it out.
"What are you doing here?" Taryn asked, surprised by the coldness of her question.
"Oh certainly not the same thing as you. I got my starter Pokemon last year. It's my Swellow here, if you were wondering." The boy answered calmly. "Now, same question to you."
"I'm here to start my Pokemon journey. I'm going to learn all that I can so I can become a researcher! And the best way to start is to get out there and explore the world of Pokemon!" Taryn declared.
"Cute." The smile that crept around the boy's face was one that was agonizingly patronizing. "But pathetic." He finished. "Mind you I have real dreams. I'm going to become a gym leader."
A short, slim girl with shoulder length brown hair and hazel eyes rimmed by glasses entered the room. She was wearing a deep blue dress with a sky colored collar and a black pattern of water Pokemon adorned the dress. She was clutching a notebook to her chest. She could not have been more than eight, and she seemed very nervous. Suddenly, a boy with red brown hair and bright sparkling eyes, who could not have been much older than eight as well, bounced over to Taryn.
"Hiya! My name's Dustin! You wanna come and play with me and Mad-Mad?" He asked.
Taryn nodded earnestly. "Yeah, sure I'll come."
She let the boy lead her over to a corner where another girl was standing, she looked slightly out of place because of the way she seemed to avoid everyone who came near her. She had long black hair tied back with a blue bandana. She looked to be about a year younger than Taryn and Dustin; which would have put her at about seven.
As Dustin approached, pulling Taryn along, the girl looked up and brightened visibly at the sight of Dustin.
"Hey Mad-Mad! I found another person for us to play with! Her name is… What's your name again?" Dustin turned toward Taryn and looked at her expectantly.
"Oh, umm, I'm Taryn." She replied.
"Great! Taryn, this is Madison. Or Mad-Mad as I call her." Dustin gestured toward the shy looking girl.
"H-Hi…" Madison managed to say at length.
A short while later the three children were laughing and playing together, when Dustin stood up and said.
"I've got an idea! Lets play a game of what we want to be when we grow up! OK, I want to be a Pokemon trainer!" Dustin grinned from ear to ear.
"Well, I-I want to be a-a Pokemon b-breeder." Madison said.
"Great! I'll play as a trainer, and you'll be a breeder!" Dustin was quickly assembling what appeared to be a very fun game.
"What about you Taryn? What do you want to be when you grow up?" Dustin stared inquisitively at Taryn.
"Me? Well, I…I… I want to be a Pokemon researcher!" Taryn answered, visions of her dream job filling her head.
"Pathetic."
Everyone turned at the sound of the voice. A tall blonde spiky haired boy was leaning against one of the tables nearby. He stood up and walked over to stand near Taryn. He seemed to tower over the small threesome; he was obviously older than either Taryn or Dustin, maybe around nine. But the way he carried himself he seemed to be much older.
"I mean really; a Pokemon researcher? Who ever heard of that as a future? Me, I've got real plans." The boy continued. "I'm going to be a gym leader."
Madison gave the boy a strange look. "Alan? You're here too?"
"Of course Madison. I've been going here for two years more than you have. I am your older cousin, remember?"
Alan... Alan... Alan. Alan Spruce.
"Alan? Alan Spruce?" Taryn voice was filled with disbelief. "You're here?" Suddenly Taryn's day seemed to have gotten a lot worse.
"Oh, Alan, you're back already?" The voice came from the Professor, who had just entered the room, a small red object in hand.
"You know Alan?" Taryn asked him, a puzzled expression adorned her face.
The Professor looked slightly put out. "Of course I do. He's my son."