Rated T for language, graphic content, limes, and all around kickass-ness
DISCLAIMER: I'm only putting this at the beginning of the chapter where there is something I own. I own Tiger and her past history, however I do not own the pokemon series nor do I own the pokemon or gym leaders the series contains. Thank you!
(Today begins the journey of a young woman, a dreamer, and her dreams, to capture Lugia, however, Team Rocket created a problem in her past and now, at 17, she begins the journey of a hero, and a vendetta.)
There are two kinds of people on the earth. There are those who are dreamers, and there are those that make dreams reality. I was a dreamer…until today. My name is Tiger Fleming of Viridian City Kanto region. Yes, my legal name is Tiger. As a young girl, I had an encounter with a strange pokemon; they call it today as "Lugia". The creature fascinated me as it rushed past me one evening as I was returning home from visiting my father in Route 2, between Viridian and the Viridian Forest. I was 12 when it happened. I dreamed of catching this pokemon someday. I ran home and immediately begged for my mother's permission to go off on a quest to find it. But, no, not now. Rockets were gathering all over the region for an unknown purpose and my mother was afraid. She never told me why until one day when they came to my home. I don't remember much, just my mother telling me to go to dads'. She put a necklace around my neck with a rusted key on it. So I ran, mom told me to never look back. So I didn't. I'm 17 now 5 years have past since the Rocket incident, and I'm about to leave for a pokemon journey to make my dream reality as I previously stated. You're probably asking why I'm leaving at 17 and not 10…well, almost 5 years ago I did. Then panic struck and Rocket's were taking children to recruit them in their force for some reason. The region stationed a law that no child was allowed to go on a pokemon journey until they were 16 years of age. Now it's my turn.
Dawn broke through my windowpane like an arrow. The bright light slowly awoke me from my sleep. I opened my eyes and looked around my bedroom. Today, I thought, today it begins. I stumbled out of bed and held my head up as I shuffled to the bathroom, I heard my father downstairs, and I knew he was making me food for the big day. I looked at myself in the mirror. I wasn't a stunning picture in the morning, I pulled my hair from my face and looked again, I had major work to do. A good 15 minutes later I emerged from upstairs. I stepped from the stairs, as my father looked me over with a smile, "My big girl and her big day." He smiled and I couldn't help but to return it.
I sat down at the table and my father sat at the opposite end watching me eat the food he'd prepared. "Daddy, I'm a little nervous." I confessed.
"Don't be," he grinned whole-heartedly, "you're gunna be fine. Why don't you give me you're little 'introduction for the day' like you used to when you were in school."
I laughed as I stood up and twirled around, "Ok so today for my big journey, I decided to wear my super baggy cargo shorts, my black sneakers, and my black tank top. For make up," I continued as I perked up, " I did a black liquid line with black pencil underneath, something simple and it brings out the green in my hazel eyes. And I'd never forget the key necklace mom gave me. Now my hair, it always perfect," I joked, "so I decided I'd let my gorgeous, brunette hair hang naturally at shoulder length." I twirled one last time before I sat down and happily shoveled omelet into my mouth.
"The new bangs and layers look good on you." My dad smiled again. "It gives a little definition of your natural highlights." He tried to conceal laughter.
"Daaad," I jokingly whined, "were you reading my Cosmo magazine again?"
We laughed, "After about 5 years I've learned to speak your language, Jungle Cat." My nickname.
I finished up and put my plate in the sink, I was about to grab my bag before my father blocked the way. I looked up at him; he's a tall man. He wrapped his arms around me and I did the same. "I'm gunna miss you Jungle Cat."
"Me too Papa Bear." He hugged me tighter; we never really spent much time together until I moved here. I never left for 5 years and we grew really close. He kissed my head and told me he was proud of me for being strong after all these years and then I left home with my backpack on my back. Today it begins.
My father's house is about 5 blocks from the Viridian City gym. The place was never open unlike most gyms in Kanto. About 50 years ago, people found new regions after Johto, there was the Hoehn and the Sinnoh regions and people began migrating to them to become Pokemon masters and Kanto was forgotten. 25 years ago is when the Viridian gym closed down
I walked by it. I saw a picture of it on the Internet in its heyday. It was elite in a way, it had large iron doors with guards in front, and it had white walls and a lavender roof. I look at it now, the iron doors are rusted with no guards, the purple roof faded and the walls were covered in roots trying to climb up the building. It was unkempt and ignored for 20 years. My father told me that people were trying to recruit volunteers to save it as a national landmark but they gave up after 5 years.
I walked into the center of the city to get to a tele-com or television communication to talk to Prof. Gary Oak grandson of the original Oak of the Ash Age. 30 years ago, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town became the first official pokemon master. Everyone calls that age the Ash age. So for title reasons, if you had a relationship to Ash, if Gary were introducing himself, he'd say that he's Prof. Gary Oak, grandson of Samuel Oak. My father was apart of the Ash Age, he never told me how I was related to Ash himself because he said it wasn't important. Anyways, I managed to find one and got in contact with the professor. His face appeared on the screen. "Hello, Tiger! Great day today."
"Yes, sir." I replied, "I'm ready to begin my journey."
The professor smiled and clicked some buttons and a pokedex dropped through a slot beneath the screen into a trey. "Here is your pokedex, and previously you told me you were doing research on your first pokemon or was I mistaken?"
"No professor, I was. I researched a lot and I decided to choose squirtle as my starter."
Gary nodded and clicked another button and a pokeball dropped into the trey. I picked it up and fastened it to my belt. "Thanks professor." I said while fastening.
"No problem. Just report back to me when you're caught 20 pokemon, I'll have to give you a reward."
"Sure thing, well I'd better go."
"Certainly, I'll talk to you soon." The screen went blank and I hung up. I looked around to see what I could do before I left for the Viridian Forest. I already had everything I needed from the pokemart, and I told my friends I was leaving. "Bingo" I said to myself as I spotted a bar. Odds are that I'd see Ulrich there. I grabbed my key on my neck for luck. It was the luck my mom passed on to me so I'd make it to dads' safely. I stepped into the bar, even though it was 8 in the morning, people were drinking; it was Ulrich's favorite place to be. I scanned the crowd and saw a skinny silhouette in the corner, Ulrich. I glided over there.
"Tiggy, baby!" he shouted to me and tried to stand up.
"Oh sit down." I said harshly. "I don't want to make a scene."
"Really, well you're talking to me so you're making it a scene." He grinned absent-mindedly.
"Are you drunk?" I asked in disgust.
"No, a little hung over but nothing a glass of vodka cant fix!" He shoved his left hand though is long dark hair. "You need something today?"
"Yeah," I said, my inner evil emerging. "I need you to hook me up. Things just aren't safe anymore."
"I knew you'd ask me that." He smiled and gave me something wrapped in a white cloth. I held it in my lap and uncovered it. A gun. "It's a nice one, brand new elite one. It's a .22 caliber. I have connections in every city so if you go to a pokemart, just say the password, 'barricade' and they'll give you the complete ammunition."
I looked around and inconspicuously placed the gun in my pants by my right hip. "Thanks, it's good to know I have an arsenal man."
"Well in times like today you can never be too careful. Especially since your incident."
"Yeah," I said as I dropped paper money on the table. "Thanks again and here's the payment."
"Keep in touch, Tiggy." He said while putting away the money in his pocket, "you know? You're not the nice, innocent girl everyone thinks are you?"
"Not exactly," I paused finding this funny, "I'm pretty bad." Ulrich chuckled.
"I know, by the way, let me know how things go if you meet a guy and things change, and maybe goals change for you."
"How do you mean?" I questioned.
"Like instead of vendetta against Rocket leaders you might want to just get an adventure, like you told your dad. Otherwise, everything you are is an act."
"I told you before, I used to be a dreamer for adventure. But more than anything I want revenge for killing my mother." I responded. A waitress came up and looked at me, knowing well enough I wasn't 21. I gave her a look signifying I was leaving. "Ulrich I got to go."
"Keep in touch, Tiger. And remember the code word." He said as I left the bar with cold steel in my belt. I'm ready now.