This will be the first time I've written a Pokèmon fic, but Shadow and I decided we'd both do one for this contest on a forum. We have to use these terms somewhere in the story:
Was (s)he going crazy or...
Flaming apple
Do you know the definition of...
What are you getting at?
Tempest
What is that?! (Exclamation point optional)
Soccer ball
Try to see if you can find 'em. ;P
"I'm leaving!" Lily called over her shoulder into her nearly empty apartment. Her voice echoed softly in the front room, followed soon after by her loud sigh. Her brother could at least see her off; this was going to be her last day here in Jubilife, after all. "I'm leaving!" she repeated more loudly.
"I heard you the first time," was the grumbled response that came from the couch. Lily's brother, Dylan, heaved himself into a sitting position. His black hair was in a tangled mess, reminding Lily of some kind of bird's nest. He sent a glare her way before asking, "What do you want?"
"Today's my last day here in this town, and you aren't even going to say goodbye?" Lily huffed, crossing her arms.
"You're just going to the store down the street," Dylan whined.
"I'm going to the store for the last time while living here," Lily pointed out. "Do you know the definition of caring?" However, she knew the answer before he even said it.
"What are you getting at?" he asked, lying back down on the couch. "If there's nothing else, then let me get back to my nap."
Lily sighed in exasperation again, and turned to leave. "I'll be back in time for dinner!" she called over her shoulder, then closed the door behind her without waiting for his reply.
A strong wind suddenly blew Lily's short, dark red hair into her face, whipping it into her crystal blue eyes. She pulled it out of her face and practically jumped down the stairs of her apartment to start running down the street to the nearby store. Dark clouds were starting to gather overhead, promising a storm.
Light rain was already beginning to fall as Lily opened the door to the small store. Shelves lined the walls of the store and filled the center of the room, large signs hanging above each aisle to show where items were and whether there were any sales going on.
"Oh, hey Lily!" the clerk called from behind the counter. He was tall, with dark hair and light green eyes that sparkled in the dim store light; he was one of Lily's oldest friends.
"Good morning Cole," Lily greeted cheerfully, stopping by the counter to talk to him.
"I heard you're leaving tomorrow to travel Sinnoh," Cole commented wistfully.
"You want to come?" Lily teased, leaning her elbows against the counter.
"You know I have to watch the store for my parents while they're away," Cole sighed regretfully.
"I'm sure you'll be able to leave when they get back," Lily assured him, grabbing a shopping basket off a pile at her feet. "For now I have to get ready for my trip, so I'll be in the back if you need me." She waved over her shoulder to him as she walked down the space between the aisles, looking down each row. Soccer balls, tennis balls, basketballs…Lily stopped and looked down the aisle, a sudden idea coming to her.
She went to the very end of the row and picked out five red rubber balls and put them in the basket, grinning to herself. She continued down the aisle, but stopped when she saw something shine out of the corner of her eye. What is that? she wondered, going over to get a better look at it.
It was a case for contest ribbons, right next to a case for gym badges. Lily bit her lip as she examined them, because after all, she should get one. The thing was, she didn't really know whether she wanted to compete in contests or gym battles. They both sounded like a lot of fun, and a lot of work, too, but more and more lately Lily had been considerably undecided.
Sighing, Lily went to find the other things she needed to buy, deciding to come back later when she was sure she knew what she wanted to do. An hour later, she was back at the front counter, watching as Cole rang up everything that had been on her list to buy, except, of course, a case.
"Here," Cole said, handing four bags to Lily, who then took them from him. "Good luck on your travels."
"Thanks, Cole," Lily replied, smiling happily as she left the store. The rain had stopped falling a little while ago, but the sky was still overcast with dark clouds. She took her time walking home, contemplating the decision she had to make. Contests showed off the beauty and cuteness of Pokèmon and required thinking one step ahead to make your battle look the best it could. However, gym battles required tactical moves, combinations, and strength more than anything else. Both ideas appealed to her, and she just couldn't decide which to do.
"I'm home!" Lily called as she stepped into her apartment. She closed the door behind her and slipped her shoes off into the cubby near the doorway before walking into the kitchen that was separated from the living room by only a counter. A tempest of delicious smells hit her nose as she stood in front of the counter, Dylan on the other side, cooking.
"What's for dinner?" Lily asked, setting down her bags on the counter and starting to put away some of the food that was in them.
"Spaghetti," her brother answered, stirring a steaming pot on the stove. "Did you get parmesan cheese?"
"I did," Lily answered proudly, showing him said container of cheese. "Do you want me to put it in the frig?"
"Nah, keep it out; we'll be eating soon," Dylan replied, turning back to his pot. When Lily had put away all of the groceries, she threw away the three empty bags and headed to her bedroom. It was a plain room, but Lily loved it all the same. She had a bulletin board full of newspaper clippings about battles and trainers from which she had collected over the years hanging above her desk. A Pokèdex sat atop her desk, right next to a few empty Pokèballs and a flashlight, all of which sat upon a map decorated and marked in red pen.
Lily pulled a dark red backpack out of the last shopping bag and carefully packed the Pokèdex, Pokèballs, flashlight, map, and remaining items she had bought earlier in it. Then she went to her closet and added a few pairs of clothes, her favorite sleeping bag, a journal, and two pens to the backpack, along with all of her money. When she took out the five rubber balls from the shopping bag, she put them in her back pocket.
Just as Lily finished packing, Dylan called for her to come to the kitchen for dinner. "My last dinner while living here," Lily commented as she took her seat at the table in the living room, her brother seated across from her.
"Yeah," Dylan agreed, starting to eat already.
"How was work at the Pokèmon Center?" Lily asked conversationally, twisting the spaghetti noodles around her fork.
"It was really good," Dylan answered, perking up at the mention of his work. Lily smiled at his happiness; her brother loved helping Pokèmon with his colleagues at the Pokèmon Center nearby, and probably always would. "Someone with an injured Abra came in today, but it was okay in the end."
"Well, that's good," Lily replied. "Anything new?"
"Not really," Dylan said, shrugging.
They ate in silence for a little while, then Lily spoke up. "Hey, are you going to miss me?"
"Of course," Dylan answered, his tone surprised. "Who else will go do the shopping and cleaning around here?"
"Oh, ha ha, very funny," Lily replied dryly. "I'm serious, though; you haven't been saying much today."
"There hasn't been much to say," Dylan retorted. "Do you want me to cry and hug you?"
Lily wrinkled her nose, getting his point. "That would just be weird," she admitted, setting her fork down on her empty plate.
"Oh, that's right, I have a present for you," Dylan suddenly said, standing up and leaving the room. He came back a few minutes later, carefully holding a clear, cylinder case with a brown and white striped egg sitting on a cushion inside of it. He set it down in front of Lily, watching as her eyes widened in disbelief.
"What is this?" she asked, gently touching the side of the cylinder. Was she going crazy or was her brother actually giving this to her?
"It's a Pokèmon egg, obviously," Dylan answered, rolling his eyes, but he was smiling at her surprise. "If you don't want it, I could always take it back…"
"No way!" Lily cried, hugging the cylinder. "This is so great! Thank you, Dylan!"
"Well, it's settled then," Dylan declared. "You are fourteen now; it's about time you had your first Pokèmon egg to look after."
"Thank you, Dylan," Lily repeated, and let go of the egg's case to embrace her brother in a tight hug.
"Hey, hey, there's no need for that," Dylan protested. Since he was three years older than Lily, he was much taller and stronger, and could've easily removed her from him. However, he waited until Lily was done before he returned to his seat. "Anyways…have you decided what you're going to do yet?"
Lily immediately knew what he meant. She bit her lip as she glanced at the egg. "I think I'm going to ask my Pokèmon," she finally answered, standing up. "I'll be back soon." She gently picked up the case with her Pokèmon egg in it and left the apartment, hearing her brother call to be careful from behind her.
Outside, it was still cloudy as Lily unchained her bike from its usual post at the bike rack and set her Pokèmon egg in the basket that sat between her two handlebars. Kicking off the ground, she rode quickly through the relatively empty streets and sidewalks until she left Jubilife and entered the forest to the north of it. She didn't slow down her speed until she reached a small clearing about twenty feet across, hemmed in by tall trees and flowering undergrowth.
Lily carefully set her bike against a tree and once more picked up her Pokèmon egg, then went to stand on the edge of the clearing. Holding the egg's case in one hand, she rummaged in her back pocket with the other until she brought out a small Pokèball. Grinning, she pressed the small button on the Pokèball and threw it in the air as it grew into the size of her fist.
"Come on out, Vulpix!" Lily called proudly, watching as a laser beam of red light shot out of the Pokèball and formed an indefinite shape that became her faithful partner and teammate, Vulpix.
"Vuuulpix!" Vulpix greeted enthusiastically, standing up and turning to face Lily, shaking herself in the process and causing her tails shake softly like a leaf on the breeze. The Pokèmon cocked her head curiously towards the egg held in Lily's hand.
"This was a gift from Dylan," Lily explained. "The Pokèmon that hatches will be your new teammate, so help us out, okay?" Vulpix nodded and gave a small sort of bark.
"Okay Vulpix, I had an awesome idea when I was in the store earlier," Lily started again. "It's going to improve your aim and speed with Flamethrower, or at least, that's what I'm hoping. Willing to try it?" Vulpix gave another bark of assent, a signal for Lily to go on. She reached back into her pocket and drew out the five rubber balls, having to set down the Pokèmon egg case to hold all of them. "It's simple, really. I'm going to throw all five balls at once, and you have to hit all of them with your Flamethrower before they hit the ground. They'll be going in different directions though, so it'll be harder to get them all. Oh, and Vulpix? Try not to set the forest on fire."
Vulpix growled, as if offended that Lily would even think of such a thing. Grinning, Lily waited until her friend had turned around before asking, "Ready?" and receiving a small breath of impatient flame in return. Lily held the balls up, two in her left hand and three in her right, and launched them high into the air. "Now, Vulpix, Flamethrower!"
Vulpix looked up at the rapidly descending balls and blew a flaming spiral of fire at the first one, wasting no time in moving on to the second and third, but missing the fourth, and coming too late for the fifth. Lily couldn't help but think the falling balls that Vulpix had hit looked vaguely like flaming apples as they landed on the grass.
"Nice work, Vulpix!" Lily congratulated. "That was great for a first try."
"Vulpix, Vuul," Vulpix replied, her tone disappointed.
Lily kicked the sizzling balls, recoiling at the heat. However, the balls looked mostly intact, not counting the many burn marks on the three that had been hit with the attack. Lily had felt so exhilarated as she watched Vulpix attack, even if it was only rubber balls that were getting hit. She could just imagine how much damage that attack would cause in a battle, and it was so beautiful, too.
Lily sighed. Thinking about training had brought her back to the decision she had to make. She sat down on the ground with a sigh and looked to where Vulpix was also sitting, licking her paw and wiping it over her ear. "What do you think, Vulpix?" she asked. "You have as much a say in this as me. Gym battles or contests?"
Vulpix gave Lily a look that clearly read that she wouldn't decide for her. "Guess it's up to me, huh?" Lily muttered to no one in particular, and laid on her back in the grass, staring up at the ever darkening sky. Think, Lily, she told herself. It's now or never; which do you want?
Screwing her eyes shut, Lily tried to imagine herself in a gym battle. The ardent thrill of Pokèmon battling was more than alluring to her, and she loved to make strategies that would overwhelm her opponent. As for contests, the beauty of Pokèmon was clearly displayed by moves, and also by battles. But could she really see herself doing that? Sure, it was fun to watch contests, but would she actually enjoy being in one? The ribbons, move combinations, and fancy dresses…
Lily nearly burst out laughing at the thought. She couldn't imagine herself wearing a dress even if her life depended on it. The more she thought about it, the more she started leaning towards gym battles over contests. Glancing at the Pokèmon egg her brother had given her, she started to wonder what her new Pokèmon would want to participate in.
Shaking her head, Lily stood up and started collecting the fallen rubber balls, which had become moderately cooler. "Come on, Vulpix, we should probably get going," Lily called to her Pokèmon. She had already placed the Pokèmon egg back in its position in the front basket of the bike and was waiting for Vulpix.
Vulpix bounded over and gracefully leaped into the basket next to the Pokèmon egg's case, settling down as Lily pedaled back into Jubilife. The wind whipped her hair back behind her, making her feel almost as if she was flying. She rode past her house and down to the store she had been in earlier.
After chaining her bike to the rack, Lily walked into the store with her Pokèmon egg cradled in her arms and Vulpix walking at her feet. Cole wasn't behind the front counter, but from the sounds coming from the back room, Lily could guess where he was. She slipped towards the back of the store and went to the aisle she had been on earlier that day.
The cases for gym badges and contest ribbons were in the same exact place they had been in that afternoon, and Lily guessed no one had even touched them since she had last seen them. Taking a deep breath, she shot out her hand and picked up a shining black case that held gym badges.
"Okay, no going back now," Lily murmured, to Vulpix as much as herself.
Gah, sorry it took so long to get this up! I've actually been working on it for quite awhile, but I only now finished it. T-T
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Please review. C: