Chapter 1 - A Time to Remember
Kevin kicked idly at the dirt beneath his tattered shoes, feeling both tired and bored out of his mind from having to wake up so early. It was still dark outside, and the cloudy sky overhead didn't help matters. He regretted not saying bye to his mother, and to a certain extent, not making a quick breakfast for himself from whatever he could scrounge from their kitchen. Unfortunately, today was an important one for him, along with every other ten-year-old in his district, and that was why he was out standing by the curb, waiting for his bus to arrive under the gloomy morning sky.
Job assignments were scheduled for today, and reminding himself of that fact caused his fingers to clutch nervously around the worn report that was hanging from the rope around his neck. To think that this little piece of paper would decide his future was frightening, but in a way, it was also kind of relaxing. On one hand, his fate was being decided by Pokemon based solely on what the report said about his abilities, with no regard for what he actually wanted. On the other hand, it was a bit of a relief to know that they wouldn't ask such a thing from him.
He didn't know what he wanted anyway.
The screeching of the buses wheels tore him away from his thoughts, startling him from his dreary thoughts. He watched as an old gray bus pulled up to the curb, the words "Recruiting Lab" displayed on its side in a clashing bright yellow. The door's opened to reveal a burly Machamp bus driver, his eyes looking weary and tired. Kevin simply stared with wide eyed anxiety as the Pokemon squinted over at a list posted on his window.
"You Kevin?" the Machamp asked after a short pause, rubbing his eyes with his free pair of hands, the other pair maintaining a firm grip on the wheel.
It took a few seconds for Kevin to find his voice, eventually managing to squeak out a small "Yes."
The Machamp turned his head to face Kevin, a warm smile gracing his features. "Welcome aboard." he said, a hand motioning for the boy to come in. Kevin stepped onto the bus, feeling rather diminutive next to the muscular powerhouse that was the Machamp. He turned to take a seat before stopping in surprise at the sight of the empty bus, having expected it to be packed.
"Am I the only one on this bus?" asked Kevin, turning to face the Machamp with a confused expression.
"Well, for now." the driver replied. "You're my first stop. That's why we told you to be up and ready before dawn. We still have a long way to go, kid, so you might wanna go ahead and rest up in the back if you're still tired. I'd join you, but you know…someone's gotta drive this thing." he laughed, giving the boy a hard slap on the back. Kevin let out a pained grunt, as the Machamp's hand had felt like a brick on his small frame, but the Machamp was too busy laughing to notice.
Turning to look at the bus seats again, Kevin suddenly noticed a pair of feet extend from behind one of the seats near the back. It looked like whoever was there was lying down, possibly sleeping.
"If I'm your first stop...then who's that?" he said, pointing to the back.
The four-armed Pokemon turned back to Kevin, his expression baffled. He quickly shot his head around to look at where Kevin was pointing. The Machamp's eyes widened briefly for a moment before he sighed with irritation.
"Oh yeah, this one kid stopped me on my way out of the station. Jumped right in front of me! Nearly hit the little bastard. Said he didn't want to miss the recruitment, and then ran to the back before I could even ask him who he was." he said, shaking his head in annoyance. "Dang kids." he muttered, causing Kevin to visibly slump. The Machamp, noticing this, suddenly turned to the boy. "Not you kid, you're alright." the driver reassured, causing Kevin to perk up a bit. Then he lowered his voice. "Just give that idiot over there a quick knock for me, alright?" he said, lightly punching Kevin's arm playfully as he chuckled. Kevin withheld a pained grimace, as it had again been a harder punch than the Machamp realized, but he nonetheless shot a smile towards the driver before trekking towards the back, deciding to take the Machamp's earlier advice.
The buses wheels squealed as it began to move again, causing Kevin to lurch forward as he walked. The boy grabbed a seat for balance, almost falling down before continuing towards the pair of feet hanging from the edge. Finally reaching the back, he took the seat in front of the sleeping figure, then immediately turned to look over at the other kid. The kid in question was slightly bizarre in his appearance, his old black hooded jacket sharply contrasting with the quality of his blue jeans and white sneakers. Kevin found that he could not see the kid's face entirely, as half of it was obscured by the hood, leaving only his mouth visible. He looked towards the shoes again, looking slightly jealous as he wondered where the kid could have gotten them, as his own were falling apart.
"Hey, what's up?" said a cheerful voice, making Kevin jump at the unexpected sound. He looked back at the kid, who had apparently not been sleeping as Kevin had guessed and was now smirking up at him with a sly smile, his eyes still hidden beneath his hood. "So...you excited?"
Kevin grimaced, unnerved by this kid's calm demeanor. "Uh, not really. More nervous if anything."
"Speak for yourself. I, on the other hand, simply can't wait to get there." the kid said, sighing dreamily. "I've been counting the days, and it's finally time!"
""Having our lives decided for us?" Kevin asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, real exciting."
"No." the kid responded, taking in a breath before dreamily sighing with satisfaction. "Having the chance to finally get rid of 'em."
"What?" Kevin said, startled. "Get rid of who?"
There was a pause. Then the kid grinned beneath his hood as he answered.
"The Pokemon Ministry."
Kevin stared wide-eyed down at the kid, who was still laying on the seat as if what he just said wasn't a one-way ticket to the mines. "You…you're g-gonna get rid of…P-Pokemon Ministry?" he said after a moment, trying to convince himself that he had misheard the kid, and that he himself was the one now saying something crazy.
"Yup, I'm going to kill every last one of them." the kid replied, and Kevin could sense the seriousness in what he was saying despite the playful tone. Slowly and quietly, Kevin turned to sit in his seat, his heart beating hard in his chest, resolving not to talk to the kid for the rest of the bus ride.
Unfortunately, it appeared the kid had other plans. "Come on, don't tell me you don't want the same, right Kevin?" he asked, his voice still holding that now insufferable playful tone.
Kevin ignored him, but then his heart skipped a beat when he realized that the kid knew his name. When had he told him?
"Don't you want to get rid of the Pokemon Ministry?" the kid continued.
Kevin said nothing. Maybe this kid would take the hint and be quiet…eventually.
"Don't you want to be able to wake up and not worry about something else being in charge of your life? Don't you wanna take back control from those things?"
Kevin said nothing again, but he frowned at how this kid was talking about Pokemon, referring to them as "things" and threatening them. While he would be hard-pressed to say that he liked the fact that Pokemon controlled everything now, he would never go so far as to say that Pokemon were so bad as to not be living beings with feelings and thoughts of their own. He looked over at the Machamp, a Pokemon who had been much more pleasant to talk to than this human kid, and suddenly felt a small pang of anger.
"That Machamp would probably kill your mother right now if the Ministry asked him to." the kid said, almost as if he had just read Kevin's thoughts. "Don't let a few kind words and gestures make you forget about what his kind have done."
"Shut up." Kevin whispered, finally responding to the kid.
"You need to understand that he and the rest of them had pretty much the same thoughts about us when they took over."
"Shut up!" Kevin said. His hands were now gripping the seat so hard that they were turning white.
"Actually, I wonder how many people he killed during the war. Could be a chance that he was the one that killed your dad."
"I SAID SHUT UP!" Kevin cried.
Instantly, the Machamp slammed his feet on the brakes at Kevin's outburst. The bus's tires screeched, and the sudden stop made Kevin lurch forward in his seat, while the kid was surprisingly unaffected by the change in momentum, remaining in his seat comfortably. Kevin quickly adjusted himself, sitting quietly in an attempt to look as innocent as possible. The Machamp took the keys out of the ignition and got up from the driver's seat, walking towards the two kids. Kevin faced the floor, his heart thumping painfully in his chest as the Machamp's footsteps got louder. A shadow fell over him, and Kevin looked up nervously after a moment, his eyes meeting the sight of their driver's suspicious glare.
"Everything alright back here, Kevin?" the driver asked, his voice deep and blunt. His back pair of arms were hanging loosely over his shoulders, while the other pair was crossed over his chest. "This kid bothering you?"
Kevin struggled to think of a reply, but there was no need, for the kid answered for him from behind.
"Oh, everythings fine back here Mr..." the kid paused. "Mr...Mr…what's your name, again?" he asked, his tone smug. "Or are you that type of Pokemon that feels names are too good for you?"
Kevin's jaw dropped and the Machamp's eyes widened at the kid's words. The Pokemon clenched his hands into fists as he turned to look over at the kid, while Kevin looked down at the floor, preparing for the explosion.
"Name's Jerry, and I wasn't asking you." the newly named Machamp said calmly, taking Kevin by surprise. "Now sit up straight and take off that hood, I wanna get a good look at you." A few seconds ticked by, during which the only sound Kevin could hear was his own nervous breathing.
"Now." the Pokemon growled, causing Kevin to tense up.
There was a loud, exasperated sigh, then Kevin heard shuffling behind him as the kid followed the driver's instructions. He heard Jerry give a grunt of satisfaction.
"You have a report on you?" the Machamp asked the kid.
"Do you have red eyes?" the kid said, his voice dripping with so much sarcasm it actually made Kevin wince.
"You either quit with the lip, or I'll quit it for you." Jerry practically snarled. Silence filled the bus, and Kevin gulped.
The Machamp turned his angry expression towards Kevin, who looked up into the Pokemon's intimidating expression. In the back of his mind, he noted that this Machamp's eyes were a sky blue, not the typical Machamp shade of red as the kid had pointed out.
"Hey Kevin-" he began.
"Ididn'tdoanythingIswear!" Kevin said, his words coming out in a jumbled mess as his fear got the better of him. He looked up into the Pokemon's face, the Machamp looking taken aback at his outburst. Then noticing Kevin's fearful expression, he quickly relaxed his fists and uncrossed his arms, a reassuring look crossing his features.
"I was just gonna ask you if you could keep an eye on this little smart-ass." he asked, jabbing a finger back towards the kid, who remained silent. "You let me know if-" the Machamp paused, his blue eyes glancing back towards the kid.
"Don't give me your looks!" he suddenly roared, making Kevin jump in his seat. "That's my last warning! You do anything again, you're off this bus!"
"Sorry, didn't mean to yell in your ear." The Machamp said, turning back to Kevin, whose ears were still ringing. "Look, I just wanted to tell you, if there's a problem, let me know..." his eyes glanced over to the kid, "and I'll take care of it. Think you can do that for me?"
"Yeah...yeah, I can do that." Kevin said, nodding quickly.
"Thanks, and call me Jerry." said the Machamp warmly, reaching a hand towards Kevin. Kevin instinctively flinched, but then smiled and let out a small giggle as Jerry ruffled his hair. The Machamp smiled, and took a chance to shoot one last warning expression towards the kid while Kevin was distracted.
"Ok…thanks Jerry." Kevin said in a low, yet happy tone.
The Machamp nodded, then turned and made his way back to the driver's seat. As the bus started up again, Kevin relaxed and leaned his head against the window, his eyes suddenly remembering how tired he was as the adrenaline from the last few minutes wore off.
The kid remained silent.
...
"Alright, we're here!" Jerry announced, waking Kevin up from his nap. He looked around groggily, noticing that the bus was now packed with other kids, a few of them also waking up like him. He looked out the window, seeing that the clouds outside hadn't gone away, making Kevin feel like not much time had passed since he had fallen back asleep.
"Make sure you have your reports with you, you don't want to be without it when you go in." Jerry said, causing a few kids to double check their papers. "Form a line outside. Any windows you may have opened, close 'em now."
Everyone stood up and began making their way outside. Kevin yawned and lazily began following the line of kids exiting the bus, which took awhile as he was way in the back, when he was startled by the sound of a window shutting behind him. Turning around, he saw that no one was there. He was about to shrug his shoulders and forget about it when suddenly he realized something…the kid from earlier wasn't there. He stood there confused for a minute, simply staring at the backseat where that kid had been, until he looked out and saw the line of kids forming outside, along with a couple other Pokemon. He turned back around and quickly rushed out to join them, slowing down as he passed Jerry.
"Bye Jerry." Kevin said, stepping off the bus. "And uh, thanks for earlier."
Jerry looked up confusedly, as if not recognizing him, but quickly perked up and smiled back at him. "Oh yeah, have a good rest of the day kid."
Suddenly, his smile gave way to a frown.
"Uh...kid? Where's your report?" Jerry asked. It took Kevin a moment to realize the Pokemon was addressing him, and he looked back at the Pokemon confusedly.
"What do you mean? It's right here." Kevin answered, reaching for the report hanging around his neck...or rather, that had been hanging around his neck. The ten-year-old's eyes widened as his hands met nothing but shirt, and he rushed back onto the bus, hoping that maybe it was somewhere back where he had been sitting.
"You see it back there?" Jerry asked, after a few minutes of watching Kevin fruitlessly search for his report. He signaled for the waiting Swampert outside to go ahead and take the other kids in.
"No…" Kevin answered back hesistantly. He turned to face Jerry, looking both embarrassed and a little scared. "No, I don't see it anywhere back here."
Jerry looked out at the building, it's doors now closed. He let out a sigh as he turned to look out at the street ahead, starting up the bus again. "Well kid, you better head inside. You'll only make them even more upset if you're..." the Pokemon said, but then he stopped at what he saw in his rear view mirror. Kevin shaking quite visibly in the back, head faced slightly downwards, his eyes red with held back tears, although every second that ticked by showed his efforts becoming increasingly futile.
"Kid…you alright?" the Machamp asked, his voice sounding strangely soft and comforting. Kevin let out a loud sniff and shook his head, wiping his face with his sleeve.
"Hey…kid…it's just a report." Jerry said, turning to face the boy in his seat, a look of worry now crossing his features. "What are you getting so upset about?"
"It's not just a…I-I don't…my mom…the m-mines…dad…" Kevin said, his words punctuated by numerous choked sobs and sniffs as he headed further and further into a nervous breakdown. Jerry eyes widened, and he looked towards the building again, then back towards Kevin. After a few seconds, he turned off the bus, and unbuckled his seat belt. Taking a breath, he got up and began walking towards Kevin, who watched nervously as the Pokemon approached him, his expression unreadable. Jerry stopped right in front of Kevin, who looked down and closed his eyes, not sure what to expect, although he knew it was probably nothing good.
So it came as a bit of a shock to Kevin when Jerry placed a large, heavy hand on the ten-year-old's shoulder, and lifted the boy's chin up with another, until Kevin was looking up into the Machamp's reassuring expression.
"Kevin, it's alright. Relax." the Machamp said, his voice sounding warm and fatherly. "I'll take you home, and you'll be rescheduled for another day. Alright?" Kevin saw the genuine concern in the Machamp's eyes, and smiled as Jerry ruffled his hair again with a third hand.
"Feel better?" Jerry asked, his hands on Kevin's shoulders.
"Yeah….yeah I do." Kevin said, nodding as his sniffles and red eyes slowly began to clear up.
"Alright…have a seat while I turn this bus around." Jerry said, heading back towards the driver's seat. Kevin followed behind him, taking the frontmost seat nearest Jerry. The Machamp started up the bus, and as it pulled away, Kevin watched the Ministry building head farther away, until they turned a corner and it fell out of sight. A large weight in his chest fell away, and he let out a heavy breath.
"George?" Jerry said out loud all of a sudden. Kevin looked up to see who he was talking to, looking confused for a second before noticing a large receiver in the Machamp's hands. "Hey, George, my engine's breaking down." Loud, unintelligible static filled the room, and while Kevin knew that there was someone else talking on the other end, he wondered how Jerry managed to make sense of it. "Been fighting with it for awhile now…" Jerry replied, apparently answering a question, "…but it's about on it's last legs. Gonna go ahead and bring it back into the station for maintenance." More noise escaped the receiver. "Alright, yeah, that'll work. I'll have it taken care of by tomorrow." Jerry said before hanging up.
Both human and Pokemon sat quietly for a few moments, the ambient sounds of the bus filling the air lessening the awkwardness somewhat. "Hey, um, Jerry?" Kevin asked, trying to break the silence.
"Yeah?"
Kevin opened his mouth to ask the Pokemon something, but found the words getting stuck in his throat for some reason. He looked up into the rearview mirror, and saw the Machamp's wide blue eyes focusing on him. Closing his mouth, he looked down at the floor, feeling miserable.
"Relax Kevin."Jerry said. Then, seeing that Kevin still looked rather down, continued. "That was George, a friend of mine. He's gonna take over for me with picking up the kids when the Ministry's done with 'em. The engine problems…well, let's just pretend that I was outside fighting with it for an hour, ok? Oh, and uh, if it makes it any easier, go ahead and imagine me cursing like a sailor the entire time...cause I would have been."
Kevin let out a snort. Jerry smirked.
...
The rest of the drive went along smoothly, with no words being said as Jerry drove the bus through town. Kevin watched out the window, seeing the run down buildings and empty sidewalks of his neighborhood give way to a much more lively part filled with trees that had freshly-grown leaves on their branches.
Kevin stared in awe as the sight of small, broken down human houses slowly give way to the huge, imposing buildings within the Pokemon districts. He could see all types of Pokemon on the sidewalks, some carrying little bags full of currency for shopping and some of the younger ones wearing backpacks as they went off to school.
A loud blow of a whistle was heard, and Kevin was greeted to the funny sight of a Mankey in the middle of a street, wearing a police cap, and holding said whistle in his mouth. The Pokemon held his hands up to Jerry, who complied with his order to stop. After a Gardevoir and her Kirlia made it across the street, he motioned for Jerry to proceed, which the Machamp did.
As the bus slowly passed by the Mankey, Kevin took the opportunity to wave at the police pokemon innocently. The Mankey smiled at the sight and waved back, only to do a double-take. He stared at the smiling human, the stop whistle falling out of his mouth as he gaped. An action the Mankey regretted almost instantly, as the screeching of tires in the street snapped him out of his shock. A loud crash followed a couple seconds later.
"What was that?" Jerry called over his shoulder, keeping his eyes on the street.
"Nothing." answered Kevin quickly, sinking low into his seat, hoping that he wouldn't be seen in the window by other Pokemon.
The Machamp glanced at his rear-view mirror, frowning at how nervous the human was. Then he turned his gaze away from Kevin, and his confusion grew at the sight of the accident behind him, which had both a Zangoose and a Weavile getting out and throwing down, while the Mankey had somehow put himself in the middle of the fight, resulting in a tumbled heap of flailing arms and loud cursing.
Kevin would be eternally grateful that the Machamp would never connect that accident to him. He didn't know what the bus driver would think of him if he realized that his very presence in this city had already caused an accident to occur.
Then a thought popped into Kevin's head; just what did Jerry think of him? So far, the only thing the bus driver knew was that he was a human and that his report had been missing when they finally got to the recruitment building. So what was it that made Jerry want to help a kid like him?
The question permeated throughout Kevin's mind, while his body tensed itself in its seat, his legs pulling themselves up as his arms wrapped around them.
Jerry whistled a little tune as they turned a corner.
...
The bus tires squealed as the Machamp pulled it up into a parking lot.
"Ok Kev, we're getting off here." called Jerry, taking the keys out of the bus and getting out of his seat. He stood and waited for Kevin to meet him at the bus entrance, but to his surprise, the boy was nowhere to be seen.
"Kevin?" he called out, walking over to where he had last seen the boy sitting. As he expected, Kevin was still there, but what he didn't expect was to see the human breaking out in a cold sweat, nervously shuffling his hands together as his arms were wrapped around his knees.
"Whoa Kev! What's wrong with you? What's going on?" Jerry asked, concerned about why the boy looked as though he was ready to have a panic attack. He bent down on his knees and brought an arm down on the ten-year-old's shoulder. Kevin jerked when the Machamp touched him, then turned his head to look at Jerry, as if he had been jerked out of his thoughts.
"Jerry..." Kevin began quietly, his eyes not meeting the Machamp's. "...why are you helping me?"
The bus driver was taken aback, not expecting such a question to come from the human. He opened his mouth to answer, then paused and closed it again, sighing heavily in the process. He dropped his hand from the boy's shoulder, his gaze going down to the floor as the question weighed down on him heavily.
"You know Kevin..." Jerry replied simply, his stare towards the boy becoming solemn. "I...really don't know."
The boy visibly slumped in his chair at the answer. "Is it because I'm a-"
"But what I do know..." Jerry interrupted, "...is that it has nothing to do with what species we are." His hand went back to grasp the boy's shoulder firmly, shaking it a bit at the end of his sentence as if to punctuate. A small smile appeared on Jerry's face as he continued. "I saw you were in trouble. Whether you were human or not, I had to do what was right, and from what I've seen of you so far, you're a kid worth helping."
The back of Kevin's hand wiped the tears he realized had been running down his cheeks, a small smile appearing on his face at the Machamp's words.
...
"Jerry..." Kevin said nervously, pushing his body against the Machamp's arm, almost as if that would help him fade from sight from all the confused, surprised, and even disgusted looks being cast toward him. While he certainly didn't know much about Jerry yet, the latter had yet to complain about his clingy nature. The two were walking down the busy streets of the city, where Pokemon of all kinds were continuing with their daily business.
Now this normally wouldn't have mattered to Jerry, as he was used to spending most of his free time downtown, but the biggest difference here was that he wasn't alone. And in hindsight, bringing a human child to an area filled with nothing but Pokemon probably wasn't the best idea. Not that it wasn't a bad one, but this led to the awkward situation of Kevin being the only visible human within the district, a fact that was made more obvious by the wide girth most Pokemon were giving him, as well as the stares they were receiving.
"Is that a human?!" a voice squealed, and both Jerry and Kevin turned to see an Eevee and a Totodile looking up at the boy. Both of them were wearing custom-made backpacks, and the Eevee was wearing a sports cap.
"Uh...hi." Kevin said nervously, waving a hand at the two. Both of the tiny Pokemon stepped back, their mouths falling open in shock.
""Whoa...it can talk!" the Eevee yelled rather loudly, causing Kevin to blush as a few chuckles were heard from the crowd around them.
"See, I told you!" the Totodile said, and both Pokemon ran off towards a large group of Pokemon children across the street, pointing excitedly over at Kevin. The boy looked down towards the ground, not knowing what to think.
"Stay close Kev, we're almost there." he mumbled loud enough for the ten-year-old to hear, a little silly since the boy was already as close as he could get. Nonetheless, Kevin smiled a little at the Machamp's reassuring words...only to have it wiped off his face as a Serperior suddenly hissed at the two, feeling that Kevin had come way too close for comfort.
"Don't touch my scales!" yelled the serpent in a pompous, feminine voice. "I just got them polished today, and I don't need someone using their grubby, disgusting hands to-"
Jerry instantly swerved his head around, firmly pushing Kevin behind him as he faced the snake's slitted glare with one of his own. The Serperior flinched a bit at the unexpected change of scared human child to angry Pokemon.
"I believe you were saying something to me?" Jerry growled, curling a lip in anger while his front arms clenched themselves into fists.
The Serperior seemed to regain a bit of her composure as the shock of the moment wore off, and returned her glare towards the Machamp. She raised herself up to her full height, which was about up to Jerry's chest as the rest of her was needed to balance herself.
"As a matter of fact, I do!" she hissed, giving Kevin a disgusted look. "That...that human you have with you nearly touched me!" The tail tip of the Serperior raised up and pointed accusingly at the ten-year-old, who attempted to hide himself further from the accusatory glare.
"I'm sorry." whispered Kevin, looking down at his feet. He could feel the onrush of tears beginning to build up in his eyes.
"Hey! I was talking to you!" Jerry boomed, as if the snake Pokemon had not even called attention to the boy behind him.
"Were you even listening?! I said that there's a-"
The Serperior cut herself off when the Machamp suddenly thrust himself forward in a battle stance, towering over her and clenching his fists so hard that the veins in his muscles stood out. The snake's expression went from angry to terrified in a second. Sweat began running down her face, and considering that snakes didn't have sweat glands, that was saying something.
"Do you have a problem with me?" Jerry said, his voice barely recognizable beneath the loud growl rumbling within his chest. A few Pokemon stopped to watch the scene, not knowing which was more interesting; the beginnings of a battle or the fact that the Machamp had a human with him that he was apparently protecting.
The Serperior gulped once, then lowered her head to the ground in submission. "N-N-No?"she said hopefully, nearly ready to curl in upon herself in fear.
"Then we have nothing else to talk about." Jerry snapped, before relaxing his body down and stretching his arms. "Although, I believe you owe someone an apology." Jerry said next, reaching behind him and gently pushing a surprised Kevin towards the snake. The boy shuffled awkwardly in his position, not liking the attention from all the Pokemon that had gathered around them.
The Serperior gave a look of defiance, and opened her mouth to complain, but a stern glance from the Machamp quickly shot her down. She looked at Kevin, who stared back at her, his nervous expression mirroring her own.
"I-I apologize, h-h-human." she said quickly, the last word coming out like a bad taste in her mouth.
Jerry nodded in satisfaction, then turned away, almost like the whole thing had been nothing more than a distraction. "Come on Kevin, we're almost there."
Kevin stepped over to Jerry's side, smiling up at the Machamp. The Pokemon that had gathered around to watch began to disperse, some sighing with relief, while others whined in disappointment. Jerry and Kevin began walking away, but Kevin looked over his shoulder to check the Serperior. The snake had remained where Jerry had left her, and if Kevin looked close enough, he thought he could see her bottom lip quivering.
...
"We're here!" Jerry called enthusiastically, though it was mostly unneeded as Kevin had been less than a foot away behind him. Kevin raised his head, eyes widening in excitement at the sign in front of the store; a giant ice cream cone with a big scoop halfway in it.
"An ice-cream shop?!" Kevin asked, turning to smile at Jerry, who grinned back at him.
"Yup. One of the best places to go after a hard day at work." Jerry responded, crossing a pair of arms in thought. "Used to come here a lot more when I was younger."
He reached out and pulled the door open, a little jingling of bells sounding as they entered. Kevin looked around in excitement, the bright and colorful atmosphere lifting his mood immensely. Running up to the glass separating him from the ice cream, Kevin's nose pressed right up into it, every excited breath he took fogging up the glass.
"It all looks so good!" the boy said eagerly, looking back at Jerry, who smiled back. He turned his head again to look back at all the delectable flavors of ice cream...
...and was instead met with a giant pair of bright, blue eyes staring back at him from the bucket of vanilla ice cream.
"Hey Vanillish." Jerry said. Then he jumped as Kevin let out a scream.
...
It took Jerry several minutes to calm Kevin down from the scare the Vanillish had given him. The ice cream Pokemon had been surprisingly respectful to the boy, and even apologized for the whole thing. Heck, he even offered Kevin an ice cream on the house, which the boy delightfully accepted. It probably helped that both Jerry and the Vanillish knew one another closely, as Jerry came here all the time.
"Get one scoop of chocolate, Tim!" the Vanillish called out.
"Slow?" said the Slowpoke standing behind the counter, apparently the ice cream Pokemon's assistant. Kevin and Jerry both shot glances at one another, giving small little smirks at the sight of a Slowpoke attempting to scoop the ice cream.
"So, Vanillish, gotten a name you like yet?" Jerry asked, while Kevin watched Tim slowly grab a scoop of ice cream.
"Nah, I don't need no stinken name. It's not like there any more of my kind around for others to-" Vanillish replied, but then stopped as he turned to look over at his assistant. "Tim! Stop!" Vanillish cried, for the Slowpoke had lifted the scoop towards his mouth.
"Slooooow..." the Slowpoke said sadly, half-heartedly dumping the chocolate ice cream onto the cone in his other hand. He seemed to struggle with himself as he handed Kevin the cone, but eventually he relented. Almost instantly after getting the cone, Kevin put it to his lips and took a big bite before Jerry even had a chance to stop him. For a split-second, a look of contentment passed over Kevin's face, only for it to quickly be replaced by one of unexpected shock. The boy nearly doubled-over as the cold feeling of brain-freeze made its way to his head.
"Oh m-m-man!" Kevin said through chattering teeth, holding a hand to his chest as nearly the entire top of the ice cream he had just swallowed slowly went down his throat. His body shuddered from how cold it was, while Jerry patted his back and chuckled, amused.
"Why the heck did you eat all that ice cream in one go, Kev?" Jerry laughed. "Haven't you ever had ice cream before?"
Kevin's face became one of deep thought, although he would wince occasionally from the uncomfortable cold. "I actually don't remember, although I do think it was sometime before that Nidoking went nuts and started the revolution."
The second those words left Kevin's mouth, he instantly regretted them. The boy's eyes widened as the realization of what he just said crashed into him as hard as the expressions on each of the Pokemon's faces. Jerry, the Vanillish, and even Tim the Slowpoke (who had been in the middle of eating from the scoop of chocolate ice cream he had gotten) were looking at Kevin as though he had slapped them. Although considering the fact he had just called their revered leader crazy, he might as well have.
Jerry rubbed the back of his head uneasily. "Kevin, it's alri-"
"HOW DARE YOU HUMAN?!" Vanillish shouted, its normally innocent eyes now filled with rage. Jerry and Kevin both jumped at the ice cream Pokemon's sudden scream, while Tim fell off the counter at his partner's outburst, bringing the whole tub of chocolate ice cream down on top of him. "You dare insult our liberator?!"
Kevin's stood there trembling, unsure of what to say or do. Jerry looked over at his friend in disbelief. Vanillish didn't seem to care or notice, instead floating over the counter and giving the boy the iciest glare he could muster.
"You humans are all the same! Always thinking of yourselves rather than the poor Pokemon you used to capture in those dreaded Pokeballs!"
Kevin's lips trembled a bit. "I didn't mean to say that..."
Vanillish scoffed. "Yeah right. I bet you're just disappointed that our Revolution occurred before you had the chance to become one of those...trainers." The floating ice cream cone spat out the last word like it was a curse, and from the way Kevin flinched, it might as well have been.
"I didn't mean to-"
"GET OUT OF MY STORE!" Vanillish screamed in pure fury. Kevin's lip quivered, tears beginning to build at the corners of his eyes.
Jerry, who had been watching this whole exchange silently, recovered when he saw how hurt Kevin looked. "Kevin, you don't have to-" he began.
But before he could finish, the boy dashed out of the store with a speed that could rival that of a Blaziken, dropping the soggy, uneaten ice-cream cone on the floor. Loud sobs were audible as Kevin burst through the entrance door and ran off, disappearing from sight.
Jerry stood there for a moment, eyes wide and hand outstretched in a vain effort to stop the boy. He stared at the door, watching as it slowly closed. A small ringing was heard as the little bell on the doorframe used to signify arriving customers was rung.
"Slowpo?" Tim said confusedly, having just now freed himself from the overturned bucket of chocolate ice cream. Vanillish, who'd been glaring at the door, turned away with an audible *hmph!* and went to go survey the mess of half-melted ice cream all over the floor.
"Slowpoke, clean up this mess!" he yelled, clearly still in a bad mood. The pink sloth flinched at bit at his boss's angry tone, ceasing his licking of the chocolate on his arms, and instead trudged miserably over to the kitchen to gather cleaning implements.
"I gotta go in the back to let off some steam, Jerry. Go ahead and help yourself to whatever you like."
Silence.
"Jerry?"
Vanillish's eyes creased together as he frowned. Turning in mid-air, he looked to see what had become of the Machamp.
The last thing he saw was a fist flying towards his face.
...
Slowpoke came back from the kitchen holding some towels and a jug of cleaner in his paws. While he was sad that he didn't get to eat any of the ice cream, he was also sad that the human boy that had been in the store a moment ago had left.
Personally, Slowpoke liked humans, and with his latent psychic abilities, he could tell that the boy in particular had an aura of innocence and kindness surrounding his form, unlike most humans he'd seen these days. Whenever he happened to cross by the human towns, it always made him shudder to feel so much sadness, resentment, and despair permeating the area.
His ears drooped low as he thought about the Revolution. It had been an entire seven years since the whole thing had started, and yet there still lingered the feeling of a forced truce between humans and Pokemon. He understood that Emperor Mewtwo, Lord Kachu, and Lord Kat were trying their best, but all they were really doing was keeping up the illusion of peace and order. He wasn't too smart, he would admit, but even he couldn't be so easily fooled.
Now here he was, working as an ice cream vendor, a job that wasn't altogether unpleasant, but with his boss Vanillish in charge, it limited how much he could actually eat. And considering it was ice cream, it just made it hard. Although he still had much easier than most humans these days.
Walking up to the knocked over tub of ice cream, he froze at the sight of a particularly large and familiar cone of ice cream tipped over on the ground. It was vanilla, and Tim knew that he had only spilled a bucket of chocolate, so where had the vanilla come from? Tim quickly found the answer to his question as the ice cream suddenly let out a groan, and the cone lifted itself off the floor for a moment, revealing the badly smashed face of Vanillish. A large fist shaped mark was clear on his face, although Tim only managed to see it for a second before Vanillish passed out onto the ground.
Tim dropped the cleaning supplies to the floor, and walked over to the unconscious ice-cream Pokemon. Picking up the cone, he carried his boss over towards one of the empty buckets in the freezer. He shoved the Vanillish inside without a word, and closed a lid over it tightly. Then he smiled as he turned to look at the ice cream in the shop greedily.
It would be a shame to let it all go to waste.
Disclaimer: This is a sequel to A New Era, a fantastic story written by Organ Man. Permission was given by the author to write this. Reviews are welcome and appreciated.