Chapter 1
The sun burned with horridly grand intensity as Caesar Cade Cyprus awoke that morning in Pallet town. A boy with sandy brown hair, he was an irregularly tall lad who spoke with propriety and held himself with dignity as an aid to the town's young Professor Samuel Oak. It was summer, a blistering and scorching summer, and the two fields to the left and right of a section of the small town has been closed off from the rest of the town. All of Pallet Town, in fact, was deterred from entering the fields and the Pokémon they contained in the long grass were generally kept inside. Cyprus had been told why it was so the previous morning by the Professor.
"The Squirtle will want somewhere cool to keep them from drying up, so it's better to keep them to the lake in the center of the field. On the other hand, Charmander will be quite happy with the heat, but also just a bit too powerful; we don't want them going into town to start a fire, which will much easier in this heat. Bulbasaur is fine, as they'll be using today to have a feast of chlorophyll. Pikachu though… they are always wild cards, and seem to be able to get over the blocks anyway; it's hard to say what mischief they might cause today." Oak, a strapping young man in his thirties had explained to his even younger aides. Cyprus was amongst the most youthful in attendance in that air conditioning blasted laboratory, having recently celebrated his twelfth birthday the day before the speech. Being in Professor Oak's lab was always a treat to such an apt child, but today, he felt like he was finally ready for the world, as though a single celebratory day had been a threshold he'd gaited over triumphantly. He felt like he could take on the entire world of Pokém-
"Oof!" Cyprus was socked in the gut mid-thought by a Geodude he was porting from one table to another. The rock monster had been kept inside a Pokéball, but in his carelessness as he daydreamed, he had literally dropped the ball; disturbing the Geodude. Instantaneously, he was brought to his knees, cradling his damaged abdominal wall before all the other aides took notice and came rushing to his aid.
It wasn't until sometime afterwards that he found himself in a bed… his bed. He was startled and tried to sit up, but found it impossible on the parts his stomach was bound in bandages and hurt like he'd never felt before. He lied back down, feeling the need to throw up but lacking the capacity. He looked about his room, which was atypical of a boy his age with a few notable similarities to the typical. Books upon books on Pokémon scattered the floor as did records as well as books about foreign lands. It was a room that belonged in a Victorian Age home, but with a very modern twist amongst its spiraled prints in the black wallpaper and the fiery orange and red shag carpet. A single window with a cushioned seat directly in front of it, cut out in the wall, brought radiant summer glow into the somewhat gothic atmosphere. The entire Cyprus household was much like this, with mixes of old and new in every nook and cranny. His bed was much like the carpet, with fiery-color sheets and a large fluffy pillow made to look like a fire stone was where he was nestled and tucked in without any memory of setting himself in.
The remembrance of the Geodude incident came to him in a dull phantom pain that prompted in him a slight moan of stiff pain. There was no less than five seconds an elapse of time that Cyprus moaned to the point when his mother came bursting into his room in an all-out frenzy.
"What is it? What's happened?" Lilly Cyprus asked all at once. Cyprus had inherited her propriety and hair color, hers flowing a little bit down beyond her dainty shoulders. She was rather tall, like his father as well, and possessed a healthy supple frame and youthful beauty. She personally had a tendency to wear back floral dresses, much like the same one she wore that day, but possessed qualities that produced the opposite of a ridiculous appearance; simply put: her attire matched her demeanor and outward appearance, which was a lovely gothic establishment, much like the house itself. "What's wrong with my baby?" Her determination to protect in the face of a non-serious matter was all at once understandable, admirable, and at least a little humorous.
"I'm fine." Caesar put emphasis on the last word to make it sound less like the lie it was. A mother, of course, can usually tell the difference, and Misses Cyprus was no exception. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at her son with a discerning look, her green eyes ablaze.
"Is that so? Well, you're certainly not well enough to go to Cinnabar Island, I can tell you that." She crossed her arms.
"Cinnabar? …What are you talking about, Mom?" Formally, she was "Mum", informally, she was "Mom".
She motorboated her lips with an exhausted expression before speaking. "Professor Oak wants you to go to Cinnabar Island. Don't ask me why! Given the state you're in now, I was sort of confused- no offense, dear-" She quickly added. "But he said he'd meant to ask you today; he's been impressed with the way you handle Pokémon that… err… how did he put it? "Have been generally compliant"?" She sighed. "I think Wild Pokémon will not be as compliant and such on Cinnabar, why, those are all Fire-types there!" 'Uh oh', Caesar thought, as he saw the tears welling up in his mother's eyes. 'UH O-' was a following thought as she dashed to cradle his head to her heart. "Does he expect me to send my poor baby to be cooked alive!?" She cried dramatically; this was Misses Cyprus.
"MOOOOOOOOM!" Coddled to near affection suffocation, Cyprus pulled away. "Professor Oak has been talking to us about Cinnabar forever." It had really been two months, but that is arguably eternity to a young boy of twelve. "This is finally my chance; my chance to prove to everyone I'm more than capable to survive in the world on my own."
The word "Survive" to Misses Cyprus produced the same result as though someone had come to her door and said "An Arcanine has eaten your son; terribly sorry about that." Of course, she could not stand for apathetic apparitions appertaining to Arcanine with ardent Arcanines acquiescing an adolescent appetizer, and so she banished them away with a definitive "No!" And she latched onto Caesar once more with a loving head-lock/hug death grip. If one were to ask Caesar Cyprus on the level of pain, he would have agreed his life was more in danger at that moment than it probably would have ever been on Cinnabar. "I forbid you to be eaten alive!"
"I'll be fine!"
"You'll be fine, yes, because you aren't going!"
"I am!"
"Don't take that tone with me, young man!" At this point, Caesar tried to get away again, but found the attempt futile.
"Pardon me." Sounded a new voice, startling the struggling pair. It was Professor Oak himself, with sandy brown hair, thick eyebrows above his clear brown eyes, and possessing a youthful, handsome appearance, only then aged 30. He was resplendent in his white lab coat, closed, and looked serious, but spoke in a gentile fashion. "I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but I'm afraid I simply must stress that there is simply no one else for the job." He looked at them both directly with a piercing seriousness.
"What do you mean? …" Misses Cyprus seemed to realize something was amiss at first glance, but almost instantaneously became territorial the moment after. "Wait a moment… How did you get in?"
Oak was alarmed, and knocked down seriously in serious points as he grimaced and scratched the back of his head. "Oh! Well, I uh… erm… well Ahem! Your husband let me in." He called back beyond the door way towards the stairs behind him. "Thank you, Cade."
"Not a problem, Professor." Called Cade Cyprus, Caesar's father, from downstairs. The credence of the support of the story eased Misses Cyprus' nerves.
"I still don't see why you need my Caesar to go to a place as…" she stifled a tear for pride's sake, "…as far away as Cinnabar Island."
"It's quite simple, Lilly." Professor Oak resumed with his more serious and straight-forward manner. "Caesar possesses a profound ability to be able to easily communicate with Pokémon." The news was heavier on everyone else than Professor Oak cared to or could notice. "He may not realize the entirety of all Pokémon natures, nor does he always use it when he should or could, but he most certainly possesses a gift. It's true though that anyone can talk to Pokémon, as this is the basis of Pokémon training. There is something different in the circumstances, however. While most trainers can only communicate with Pokémon they have earned trust from, Cyprus can usually get through to some of my most stubborn wild specimens… err…" He drew back again, with chagrin. "Sparing of course the Geodude… terribly sorry about that."
"It's alright, Professor." Caesar bit back the pain rumbling in his abdominal wall to lie to someone he respected, merely to save their pride; this was Caesar Cyprus.
"All the same, I want you to rest up before you go anywhere."
"Right, S-"
"And who says he's going anywhere?" Blurted Lilly in tears, while Cyprus managed just barely enough to keep his mother from enwrapping him again.
Professor Oak merely took the arguments in stride and beckoned to Lilly Cyprus calmly. "We can discuss it over some Ramen I brought over."
Lilly Cyprus was, of course, a regular gourmand and a proficient chef; which was odd considering her trim figure. It was a well-known and vastly-envied fact that Cypruses were all fairly slender; save for the men of the family who were thin, but with mesomorph frames. It was equally well known how Misses Cyprus had a very deep love for legitimate Ramen. It was very obvious she was considering her next move carefully.
"Oh… alright. I'm going to consider the possibility. You can expect I'll talk to your father first, Caesar Cade Cyprus."
"Well, you see, I already talked to Cade. He couldn't be more enthused about the idea, truth be told. I don't think he could be any-" Professor Oak stated compliantly, but was interrupted downstairs by a deep voice booming to an unseen listener.
"Hello? Pendleton? It's Cade! My boy, … yes… you remember Caesar, don't you? Well he's going to be working on his own! My boy! Personally entrusted by Professor Samuel Oak… Yes, the same one… Uh-huh… Alright, well no, I didn't know it's 3 AM where you are… Oh!... Terribly sorry… I'll hang up now… yes, good evening, Pendleton…. Hello? Marci… Yes! Hello it's Cade! I have wonderful news about Caesar!" The stream went on and on in an ecstatic fashion as Cade made call after call.
"Hmmph!" Lilly crossed her arms. "Do I even get a say in this?"
"Of course!" Professor Oak said contentedly. "You're say is final in the matter. I would like to point out however: Everyone else is on board. Right, Caesar?"
"Yes, sir."
Misses Cyprus sighed exasperatedly. "Fine." The word shot out her quietly, but with the punch and effort of a cannonshot. "But you, young man, have to rest. You aren't going until I say you can go." And she continued to coddle him, stroking Caesar's hair and fussing over him.
"Fine." Caesar's version of the word was much like his mother's, but with a slight bit more groaning tossed in.
Professor Oak chuckled lightly before a beep emanated from his coat pocket. "Oh dear." He reached into his pocket to retrieve a small red pager. "I'm afraid I have to go. Lilly, the Ramen we agreed upon is downstairs. I'd love to stay for some, but there's an issue with that Geodude again. It was Elm this time and it would appear he had an adverse reaction to its Mud Sport move and is being rushed as we speak to-" He was looking at the pager dumbfounded until he met Misses Cyprus' panicked face. She again had Caesar clutched to her side, though she seemed to be waiting for Professor Oak's next words more than anything. Upon seeing the frenzied look in her eyes, Professor Oak made a last minute salutation and dashed right out before Misses Cyprus erupted into a volcano of tears.
"Thatcouldhavebeenmybaby!Thankgoodnessyou'reokay!A reyousureyouwanttogotoCinnabarstill?"
Caesar Cade Cyprus sighed heavily while he was crushed with love. His adventure had already started.
