First story :D Any kind of review is appreciated, let me know what you think, please. Don't hold anything back: comments, critiques, doubts, complaints, questions, suggestions, anything!
Also feel free to skip the prologue xP I like my Hesse reflection thingies, but I guess they are irrelevant :V
When people set their minds on something, they can do many wonderful things. Living through painful experiences and overcoming them, following their dreams of a better future. Life is cruel, yet these people never lose hope. Growing up in miserable situations and experiencing a wide array of unfavorable emotions, they stride from their peers and become known among others for achieving their lifetime goals, becoming the successful people and transcending into the posterity. However, not everyone becomes that kind of person, in fact, most people give up. Sometimes they trap themselves in a bubble of negation, where they refuse to see reality as it really is. Sometimes will power shatters, making them fall upon vice, despair, apathy, conformity or even madness and eventually, suicide, murder and other vile crimes. Sometimes, though, circumstances are looking on the worst possible scenarios, and if they can't keep up the hope of fulfilling their dreams, eventually, one day they would die; eventually time passes and no one will remember what they did. No one will ever know who they were. It will just be one more meaningless name, added to the endless amount of people who have deceased without anything to be remembered for.
A common example of the earlier thought is when a mother raises a child. They have to sacrifice a lot, if not most of their time; they live through hardships of their own and the hardships of their children as well, they have to keep up a good relationship with their partner… well, preferably, for an emotional well-being for the child. In this case the successful would be the families who fully raise their siblings to the stable, healthy and capable men and women of tomorrow's society. On the other hand we would have many different scenarios: children given to adoption, to prostitution (it is more rare but it happens), mental instability which leads to a couple more different scenarios, or rather simpler but drearier, death of any member of the family.
The following story is about a family of the first class, one that faces incredible hardships, being abandoned by the family pillar being the first one: a drug-addict man who delved in questionable business. After that the family had no income and was in a tense situation. But they didn't give up, and found a way. On Hoenn, a region quite far from their place, a friend of the mother's named Norman offered her a job at his friend's working place. He also offered her an apartment where she and her son could live. All was looking up. The road to Hoenn was harsh and illegal, but surely they would arrive.
Everything was going to go well… at least, it was...
RULES:
1. Only first Pokemon that appear in each area are to be caught. If it faints or flees, shame on you.
2. If it faints, it dies, okay?
3. All Pokemon have names. (duh)
4. No Items. (Exception: Herbs, 'cause drugs.)
5. If your team faints, you fucked big time. Start over for the sake of this story. If you have advanced far in the game then game over. (Far being post Lilycove)
6. No catching Legendaries.
7. No Running Away.
8. When you have 6 Pokemon with you, you can't catch any more. PC is to be used as a graveyard only. (And that only because I forget what I catch)
9. If you catch a duplicate of a Pokemon that has already died, you can switch it with the one that died. (Why bother grinding it when you can get the other one?)
Day 1
Littleroot
4 PM
Kimmy was in the back of the truck. From their city they had to hire a smuggler to cross to Hoenn. There was no other way they could enter; being that the region needs a passport and a Visa, both too costly for the family's current situation.
Mom was sitting on the co-driver's seat. Kimmy shuddered. I don't know about you, but if I were a woman I wouldn't be sitting on a truck driver's co-pilot seat. Unless I was really desperate (Actually, I wouldn't be sitting on a truck driver's co-pilot seat, period). Anyways, Kimmy didn't want to imagine what was going on in the front of the trailer. 'So it has come to this, huh. We're so fucked up we had to resort to this…' were some of Kimmy's thoughts in the long trip through the highways. 'I need to relax. This new life in Hoenn… It's going to be great. No more misery, I'll be able to get three meals a day, and I'll make new, hopefully good friends…'
Suddenly, the truck stopped moving. Shortly afterwards, the back door opened. Kimmy flinched. Outside stood a middle-aged woman with brown hair, thin eyes, flat nose, high cheekbones, thin lips and deep chin. She was wearing a violet blouse and gray pants. She looked a bit troubled, but she put a strong face for his son.
"We're here, honey!" said the woman to her son. Hearing his mother's voice was all Kimmy needed to relax. He stood up and jumped out of the truck, impatient to see the new land of Hoenn, his expectations of the place being really high.
However, a wave of disappointment traveled through his face as he got hit by the cold reality on his face like a bucket filled with icy water.
He looked around to disprove what he was seeing, but to no avail. This neighborhood only had two houses and a building. Both the houses looked very small, smaller than an apartment. The building, however, was huge, but it was very plain, a prism of cement with about three floors, a few windows and a single iron door. Wasteland surrounded the neighborhood, with height elevations here and there, and few dry trees spread out throughout the place. Beyond the big building, far beyond, there seemed to be sand, probably from a beach, Kimmy thought. The small concrete houses were facing the building's back, separated approximately by fifteen meters. Behind the houses extended a paved road, leading who knows where. 'What a sad place', was Kimmy's impression.
"…Mom, is this really where we're gonna live?" As he was saying it, the truck was leaving the neighborhood… well, if you could call three buildings in the middle of nowhere that.
"It's…" She hesitated. "…it's our only choice, dear." Kimmy's mom could almost feel her son's disappointment. She couldn't blame him for being mature enough to understand the situation they were going through. She couldn't blame him either for wanting a more decent lifestyle. She really wished they could live a normal life. But, for now, that was impossible, and Kimmy could see that.
A few minutes passed while the family observed their surroundings. Then they entered their new house, the one on the left.
Inside was a small table with four small chairs on its sides. In front of the table was a TV. Behind the TV and against the wall were a sink, a counter, a cupboard and a shelf for food. Near the entrance was a single plant, withered from absence of water for a very long time. Parallel from the entrance were stairs to the bedroom. Upstairs there was a desk with a computer and an empty notebook, lying open on the desk, and a chair. Behind was a single bed, and to the left of the bed was a TV with a Nintendo Gamecube console. Before Kimmy got too excited, his mom reminded him that there was no electricity yet. All of this furniture probably belonged to Uncle Norman, as Kimmy affectionately called him.
"Kimmy, I'm going to do a few errands related to my new job, and I'm going to enroll you on the local school, so you can start tomorrow. You should meet the neighbors while I'm gone." Kimmy's mom told her son before giving him an affectionate hug. "This is only temporary, dear. It will only get better. I swear."
She was wrong.
And so Kimmy walked to the next house with a feeling of discomfort you'd get from being in a miserable situation, where you and all the people around you are dirt poor. He didn't know how to approach the door, but after a few hesitations, he did it. He knocked on the door. A middle-aged woman with golden hair opened. Her face had a tinge of hostility and alertness to everything Kimmy did. This confused the new boy.
"Hello, my name is Kimmy, uh… I'm your new neighbor," he said politely yet nervously, pointing to his house at the end of the phrase. The woman examined Kimmy from head to toe, landing a menacing glare in his eyes. But at last, her face switched to a more friendly expression.
"Oh! Come in. Welcome to Hoenn!" Her voice sounded relieved, like she was expecting Kimmy to have acted differently. The new boy stepped forward into the house, noticing it was exactly the same as his, if only mirrored to the right. 'Weird', he thought.
"I heard we were gonna have new neighbors," the woman said as she sat on one of the chairs. She stopped and frowned at the floor in deep thought. With a bit more nervousness, she added: "You're no vandal, right? Y'know, do you… graffiti on everything and carry knives and…" She stopped, waiting for Kimmy's response. The boy cocked his head in a bewildered expression.
"I've…never done any of those things in my life." Kimmy explained, still perplexed. "Why?" The woman relaxed again. He seemed to be telling the truth. "Just asking," she answered after letting out a discreet sigh. 'Why would she think I'm a thug? I don't even remotely look like one,' thought Kimmy with curiosity.
"Well, it doesn't matter. My name is Sara Birch. I live here with my husband, the famous scientist Samuel Birch, and with my daughter May. I'm assuming your mother is gonna work for him," she introduced herself, slowing down after she said "assuming".
"You have a daughter?" Kimmy inquired, to which Sara nodded. "Y'know, I don't know anyone yet, and I was wondering if I could meet her?" Sara nodded in affirmation.
"Yeah, that's fine. I think she would appreciate it. She is about your age, you know," responded the woman, looking distantly into the wall. "Our daughter is upstairs, I think." And with that, Kimmy headed upstairs.
Exactly like the first floor, the second floor was the same as Kimmy's room. In front of the computer was a girl in her teenage, wearing a red blouse. She was staring at the screen, probably reading, was Kimmy's impression. She didn't seem to notice him. He leaned back, observing the girl, and after a few seconds he cleared his throat to call her attention. The girl flinched and let out a short cry of surprise after looking at the source of the sound.
"Oh! Who… who are you?" She stammered as she gave a quick gaze to Kimmy, and then with a red flush on her face, nervously looked at anything but him. The new boy got uncomfortable by the girl's behavior and that made it harder for him to speak. Eventually though, he began:
"Hey, I apologize, umm... I'm your new neighbor," began Kimmy. He analyzed the girl. She had a tone of embarrassment on her face, but there was another thing, which really bewildered Kimmy: there was also hostility, just like he saw it in her mother's face. 'What the hell... This can't be coincidence? Is there something wrong with new people in Hoenn or something?' Kimmy wondered. But he stopped and left that subject for a different occasion and he focused on the task at hand, which was introducing himself to the teen.
"My name is Kimmy, and, well, I'm new to the region, and, uh, I kinda don't know anyone yet, so I decided to go meet my neighbors. Sorry for the intrusion," and he lent out a hand towards the brown-haired girl, who stood up from the chair and returned the salute.
"Um… hi!" She stopped suddenly, like she regretted the way she said it, but seeing Kimmy made no unfavorable reaction, she continued. "Uh, so you're, uh, Kimmy, huh? You just… moved in, right?" She was very uneasy: she was looking everywhere but towards Kimmy, showing a variety of nervous twitches, like scratching her arm, biting her nails and running a hand through her own hair. The new boy tried to make eye contact with her but she looked away.
"Yeah…I heard… that we would, uh, be having new neighbors… Dad told me…" She paused with a nervous smirk. Then after a very awkward silence, she continued. "Um, I'm, er… I'm May. Glad to meet you!" As quickly as she said the last sentence, she added: "Uh, well, I have to go help my dad, so, uh, see you another time!" And she walked past Kimmy a little too fast, almost as if she were avoiding him, down the stairs, and out of the house. Kimmy sighed as he began to meditate in the empty room.
'Well crap, I don't think I made a very good impression on her, huh. She's very shy, which can make a friendship very hard…It sounds like she has some daddy issues as well.' He smirked at his failure. 'Well, worth the try, I guess… So far nothing's going as planned…' And with that defeat on his back, he left the house after biding adieu to Mrs. Birch.
9 PM
Kimmy's mom arrived home after doing many kinds of errands, tired out. She briefed her son on the situation: Tomorrow he would start assisting to the local high school at Oldale, a neighborhood nearby. She told Kimmy he had to take a bus route Legendary to arrive there, as well as where to take the bus and where to go down and some information about the town. It was not a very good school but it was the closest one: if they had chosen a better school Kimmy would have to make an hour-long trip at the least, plus the inscription fee was very cheap.
Kimmy and her mom slept together on the individual bed. It was by no means comfortable, but at least they had a place to sleep, and to Kimmy, that was all that mattered.
Just a little heads-up, this story starts out quite slowly on the first days, but just bear with me, it gets more interesting (I swear :D)
Don't forget to review: it is my first story after all, I must know if there is something wrong with it so I can fix this chapter and the latter ones (I have a buffer going)
Peace!