Disclaimer: I don't own anything [insert witty remark here]
Chapter 1: Beginnings
The peaceful path connecting New Bark Town and Cherrygrove had two new travelers this morning. Sixteen-year-old Gold and his cyndaquil ran down the path (known simply as Route 1), taking down any wild pokémon that decided to challenge them. The path was short and straightforward, and it wasn't long before they made their way to and through Cherrygrove.
As Gold walked through the tiny city headed north towards Route 30, he couldn't quite hold back a grin. This morning, he had finally been able to start his pokémon journey with Quin, the cyndaquil he had received today. He still felt a little dazed about the whole thing, though that didn't stop him from chattering to Quin about all the fun they would have while traveling, only clamming up when other people were within his sight.
After he had silently passed by another trainer along Route 30, Gold started up his rambling again. "So, anyway," he said, casting a glance around to check for any other people, "what we're doing now, Quin, isn't technically part of our journey. We're just running an errand for the professor right now, which is pretty much just picking up an egg from Mr. Pokémon's house. I've never met the guy, but I've heard that he sometimes makes these rare finds, and he thinks this egg might be special. So yeah, we just gotta take the egg back to New Bark, and then begin our journey," he finished, nodding importantly.
Quin, picking up on his trainer's excitement, responded with a high-pitched "Quil!" and snorted an ember into the air. He rather liked his new trainer, even if he could be a bit strange sometimes.
They didn't spend much time at Mr. Pokémon's house once they got there, though it was a very nice experience nonetheless. After he received the egg, Gold stood quietly while Mr. Pokémon introduced him to the famous Professor Oak, who was apparently an old friend of his. The professor was a kind man, and hadn't let Gold leave without a parting gift, which had turned out to be a brand-new Pokédex. Neither adult had said anything about Gold's lack of speech—Professor Elm must have told Mr. Pokémon about the teen's "quirk."
After that, Gold and Quin ran in the direction of home. As he was about to leave Cherrygrove, he saw someone else running towards him. Before Gold could move out of the way, the stranger ran straight into him, knocking both to the ground. Both got to their feet quickly. Gold gave the egg a quick check for signs of damage before looking up.
"Watch where you're going, idiot!" The other person, a red haired boy, glared at Gold and sent out a pokémon, which Gold recognized as Totodile from the lab. Elm must have given it to him. Gold, recognizing a challenge when he saw one, managed to whisper a hoarse "Just beat him quickly," to Quin, who quickly sprang forward and attacked ferociously. The battle was over in minutes.
"How could I lose to a weakling like you?!" The other boy stormed off, looking distressed, not noticing the card on the ground that has fallen from his pocket. Gold picked it up and looked at it curiously. So his name is Silver...
"Wait a minute, that's my card! Give it back!" Gold looked up, startled; he hadn't noticed him running back. Silver snatched his card from Gold's hand and stormed off.
Gold stood there for a few seconds before giving a mental shrug and walking back to New Bark town.
"Gold! Thank goodness you're safe!" Gold's mom hugged her confused son tightly as soon as he crossed the border. When she finally let him go, he noticed several cops gathered around Prof. Elm's lab. He ran to the Professor, who was talking to the cops, to figure out what had happened.
"The suspect always returns to the scene of the crime! You must have done it!" Gold open his mouth to protest, but as usual, nothing but air passed between his lips. He looked over to Elm for help.
"Officer, Gold didn't do it. He was running an errand for Elm," a girls voice suddenly piped up. Gold, recognizing his best friend's voice, relaxed slightly as she came to stand by his side.
"And who are you?" the officer demanded. The girl sighed.
"Crystal Tamashi," she replied. "I'm his neighbor. I came to receive my first pokémon as well." She looked over to Gold, who had started signing rapidly, and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Gold says that some ginger kid had the missing pokémon. Gold battled him and managed to get his name."
Gold suddenly dug out a pencil and a slip of paper from his pocket, wrote some information down, and handed it to the officer. "So... the kid's name is Silver," the cop muttered. "Well, thanks for the help. Stay aware, it's a dangerous world out there." Gold rolled his eyes and Crystal snickered.
"Gold, what did Mr. Pokemon give you?" Gold handed the pokémon egg to Elm, who inspected it. "Well, I guess I'll go some tests on it now. In the meantime, Gold, I suppose you'll be starting out on your journey for real this time." When Gold nodded, Elm smiled. "Good luck."
"Alright Quin, this is why we have been training. This marks our first step to the League Challenge. Our first gym. We can do it. We've trained for weeks." Quin nodded and hopped off of the boy's shoulder. The doors slid open and the two walked in.
Before taking two steps, a pidgey flew right in front of them, causing Gold to duck automatically. "Man! They need to have a flying zone! That bird about took my head off!" Quin growled in agreement. They walked onto a platform and it launched in the air, much to the surprise of the duo. It came to a stop near the roof of the gym where the trainers and the bird pokémon were battling. Gold and Quin were a bit shaken by their arrival, but stepped onto the beam in front of them. The nearest trainer noticed them.
"You! If you want to battle Falkner, you have to get through us!" The kid motioned to the trainers around him. Let's battle! Go, Pidgey!" The small bird flew in front of the boy. Gold motioned Quin to go forward, just managing to whisper out quick directions before the battle began.
"Pidgey, use—" Before he could finish, Quin shot a stream of flames from his mouth. The pidgey promptly fainted. "What the heck, man? I didn't even get a chance to attack!" The kid sulked and Gold moved on plowing through the trainers. It wasn't hard; these trainers obviously didn't have much experience.
"I see you have taken down the other trainers with ease. Perhaps this battle won't be a waste of my time!" Falkner was excited. He hadn't seen so much potential in a trainer for quite some time. Then he grinned. "Give it all you've got!"
Gold and Falkner both battled well. Quin took down pidgey and managed to burn pidgeotto, but fainted after a strong gust. Gold used his next pokémon, a sentret he'd named Sen. Gold knelt beside Sen and held up four fingers. He then pointed to the pidgeotto, pointed to his chest with two fingers, and stuck the other hand up and wiggled his fingers.
Falkner smirked at the boy. It was obvious he could finish this easily. When he sent out a sentret, Falkner noticed the kid making hand signs, but paid it no mind. He started to call out his attack, but the sentret suddenly shot forward, hitting pidgeotto with surprising force. This kid really is good. He knew quick attack would strike first, but it wasn't enough to knock out the bird. It took only a few minutes for pidgeotto to wear down the sentret to near fainting levels. But before he could order a finishing blow, Falkner saw his pokémon cringe in pain. He had forgotten about the burn! Pidgeotto fainted, the pain from the burn and the exhaustion from battle proving to be too much. Falkner returned his last pokémon and handed a badge to the celebrating trainer.
"You fought well. I was cocky and that was my downfall. You have real potential." Gold smiled and moved his hand from his mouth in a half circle down to his waist.
Thank you, he signed. Falkner's eyes lit up in recognition.
"Are you deaf?" he asked, signing and talking out loud at the same time. Gold stared at him in surprise for a moment, but quickly signed a reply.
Not deaf, just mute, he replied, then backtracked Well, not mute, but I can't really talk with people here. Falkner looked curious, but slightly confused, so Gold added, You know of selective mutism?
"Can't say I have," Falkner said, shaking his head. Gold just shrugged.
Most people haven't. But, I am glad to find a person knowing sign language! Most think I am strange.
Falkner looked sympathetic. "My father taught me sign language basics after facing a mute boy three years ago," he said. "He told me to expect all kinds of trainers to come to my gym. I know several languages, in fact. Bird pokémon value communication, so I make it my top priority. I wish you luck on your journey. It will be difficult."
I know. But, I want to be a great trainer. It helps sometimes. Gold grinned mischievously. I surprised those boys.
Falkner laughed. "In that case, I'll have to teach them to be more prepared for surprises. Anyway, you should continue to Azalea Town next. It's where the bug-type gym is, though you probably already know that." Gold nodded, then waved a goodbye as he stepped back onto the platform, trying not to freak out as it shot down to the floor. He ran out the door, made a quick stop at the local pokémon center, then started his way to Azalea Town.
"One gym down, seven more to go.
Extra!
Almost every trainer is surprised by the moving platform in Falkner's gym. Many people ask Falkner why he put such an unconventional feature in his gym. "The bird pokémon feel more relaxed up in the air. A trainer should as well." However this isn't the only reason.
The real reason he put it in is because he thinks it is hilarious watching the trainers flip out when on it the first time. "It cracks me up! I laugh almost every time. Just because I am a gym leader doesn't mean I don't have a sense of humor." So the true motive behind the gym design? Falkner is a troll.
A/N: Hey people! I am super excited to write this! I was inspired by Geekachu's story Soundless. You should go read it! It is amazing! Geekachu is actually my beta reader too! You rock :D I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. If anyone is wondering why it jumps around so much, it is because most of the parts I skipped are not important to the storyline. I wanted to get the important parts of the beginning out of the way so I could move on to the main storyline. Next chapter will also feature Crystal! (multi-pov fic). Thanks for reading!
Manga-neko signing out!
edit: I changed the sign language "speak" to reflect actual sign language. I will also include some signs by gestures. What Gold signed to Sen was 'B' 'Has fire/burn' Meaning, to go with plan B since Quil managed to burn the pidgeotto. I took some advice and had Gold teach his pokemon simple signs earlier.