Author's Note: Hi hi. This is my first fanfic that I deemed good enough for "publishing", if you could call it that. Constructive criticism that I can understand would be greatly appreciated, and reviews.. would be really nice too. I'd like to know if there are some other people who care about this, you know? ..But anyway, this story is especially cool to me because I didn't kill myself with self-criticism, and I'm going to be adamant about continuing it. Okay? Okay. Don't pay too much attention to the bit before the actual first chapter, since it doesn't come into play until later in the story. The pronouns are all funky on purpose.
One last thing.. you might notice the peculiar amount of sneezing or almost sneezing in this fanfic. It's part of the theme. And, well.. there you go.
Well, uh, here's hoping I did this right..
(Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Er wait, no one on here could possibly own it. Otherwise it wouldn't be fanfiction! ..Well, just in case, I'm putting the disclaimer here for the first chapter only.)
Edit: Let's see if it works better after spacing it out a bit..
--??: Oh!--
..And all of a sudden, she sneezed. She knew what that might mean.. Oh boy. That meant she was going to have to go over there and help with whatever happens. Eventually, they're going to find out what happened, whether something comes of it or not. Last time this happened, it almost ended really bad..
She had to decide whether this was a good idea or not. She could just watch what unfolds, then see what she can do. More of an adventure for them, and she doesn't have to go anywhere until later. She would have to monitor them closely, but it'll be worth the experience. Besides, they'll be able to fix everything if it really does get that bad, right? They did last time. No worries.. It sounded like a plan to her.
--Chapter 1: Leavin' Home--
Today, he felt ready to get going. After preparing (and procrastinating) for a good two weeks, Miles was just about ready to get out of his house. Finally.
He had been buying things for days for the journey ahead, and somehow some of the stuff went missing. He wasn't too worried with it, though, as the future seemed promising enough to work itself out anyway. Not only can he go out on a nearly aimless adventure without any supervision, he can also get away from that eerie Abra that his mother had gotten a while ago. That thing might as well be tinted red with the evil thoughts that he was suspicious ran through its mind.
He really just never liked it in the first place. As soon as the Abra was in the vicinity of the stuff he'd been buying, they started disappearing along with the Abra. There's something wrong with that thing.. It's like it's been keeping an eye on him ever since it got there.. without any eyes.
And ever since the time he woke up in the middle of the night.. he's been wanting to get away while he still can.
--
"Uh.. Mom? I'm gonna get going now." Abra seemed to be staring right through Miles, although he couldn't really tell. They stared at each other for a little, but Miles gave up thinking it was either asleep or about to snap at him.
"Did you get everything?" his mom asked, not looking up from the book she was apparently reading. She didn't really look focused on reading the book, but she was gazing right at it in what seemed to be concentration.
"Yeah.." Miles sighed, looking away from Abra. "Food, Pokemon trainer stuff, and my old blue hat." Miles messed with his hat and gulped, getting ready to rush out the door. He could've sworn that Abra just moved forward a little. He turned away to pretend he hadn't seen it.
"Sounds like everything to me," his mom said while laughing a little. Then she looked up at him. "That hat reminds me of the times when you were little. Do you remember anything from back then?" She looked at him as if she was waiting for a specific answer.
"..There's this one thing that sticks out in my mind," Miles mumbled.
"The one day that everyone sneezed on you?" She almost jumped the gun on his answer. "I thought it was pretty funny, myself." She looked up blankly, probably to recollect her memories of that day.
"You guys got me sick! And it was really.." Miles cringed as he turned and noticed Abra was missing from his usual spot. He looked around quickly, and was nervous about what might happen. "Okaygottagobye!" He ran out the door as fast as he could; that Abra could've been ready to strike, for all he knew. Luckily for him, Abra doesn't leave the house.
He started thinking his mom wasn't really all that interested in what he was saying. Asking about the past and not looking away from her book when asking about relevant things? She was obviously thinking of other things. ..He was pretty sure his mom would've made him take Abra with him if he didn't get out of there.. That's probably why it vanished...
But now the future was all he had to worry about. Now he was able to do what he wanted to do!
--
Miles was a pretty typical guy who, very typically, decided to be a Pokemon trainer. Catching Pokemon, battling, and the like. Unlike most others, however, he didn't really feel like getting all the badges and Pokemon. He just wanted a select few of his favorites to battle with, and that's all.
Just the other day, he had seen a Pikachu in Viridian forest. Lacking anything to catch it with, he reluctantly had to let it go. After that fateful moment, he resolved to get ready quick so he could get that Pikachu before something happened to it. He knew what one it would be anyway; he remembered the peculiarity of one of its ears going up and down on its own accord. It was odd, yet interesting to him. His first mission was to get that Pikachu.
..But how would he be able to do that? He had no Pokemon with him to weaken it with. He didn't have a bunch of money for Pokeballs to throw around hopelessly. He didn't have that many with him to begin with. He had to think for a few minutes, pacing around quicker and quicker as he came closer to the solution.
"Aha! I got it," Miles said to himself, "I can go and capture a Pokemon to help me get the Pikachu. But.. what one should I get?" He thought carefully, trying to think of other Pokemon in the vicinity that would have a chance against it. "Pikachu is a speedy one, so I need to slow it down somehow."
Continuing to think, he walked into Viridian forest half-consciously. The dense forest blocked out much of the sunlight, causing rays of light to partially illuminate the area. The dark green grass was several inches high, hiding several smaller Pokemon from plain sight. All that could be heard was a few Pokemon scurrying around, avoiding or going after trainers. It was a very serene place when there aren't too many people around.
Miles snapped out of his deep thought and remembered what he was trying to get done. He itched at his leg, which he just noticed was really starting to annoy him and at the same time, something in the grass started moving about. He knew this was his chance to strike. Quietly, he slipped out a Pokeball.. and threw it quickly without warning. The Pokemon was too startled to counter and was phased into the ball.
Then, the ball started rolling; once, twice, three times.. and then the satisfactory clicking noise. "Yes! I got it!.. Whatever it is." He rolled the Pokeball around for a little. "Maybe I should see what it is I got," Miles said to himself again, letting the Pokemon out. A red light shot out of the Pokeball and turned toward the ground. Then it started materializing into the shape of.. a Caterpie.
A Caterpie traditionally had tackle and string shot, a move used to slow the opponent with loads of string wrapped around it. It was a survival mechanism of theirs, used by trainers to their advantage. Miles had already been a few years behind in starting to be a Pokemon trainer, so he read up on them for a while. He knew how valuable the move could be for fighting against the Pikachu, so he wholeheartedly accepted Caterpie into his team and apologized for startling it.
--
In the midst of all this thinking to himself, he didn't notice until after apologizing to Caterpie that it was getting dark out. Since it was already dark in the forest during the day, he thought it must be impossible to navigate through at night. The trees would block most light sources, and the dark green grass would be very difficult to even see. This would make getting Pikachu even harder than before, so he had to decide: Would he surprise it at night, or fight normally during the day?
On one hand, he would have the element of surprise on his side if he found it at night. On the other hand, he wouldn't be able to see very well and could mess up easily. If he attacked at day, there wouldn't be as much darkness to stop him, but the Pikachu could also easily escape or even avoid him completely. He didn't really know it well enough to accurately predict what would happen. "What to do, what to do.."
AN: I know, I couldn't get the story to flow right at a certain point. ..Forgive me. I couldn't think of a way to fix it.
