First Pokemon fic in ages. :) I'm going to be leaving soon for vacation but am almost done with Chapter 2; if you guys want me to continue then I will; it'd be great if I could get feedback from people! I like to hear what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.
I'm accepting characters for supporting roles - see note at bottom for details.
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Challenge One, Part One: noesis
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"There's... no going back"
You're searching for warmth that you have forgotten so long ago
You only keep walking through the unending darkness
The dancing blue flame shudders and trembles
"Who... can stop me?" you ask again and again
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"Hey, guys, what're you watching now?" As I entered inside the first building just inside Lavaridge's limits, I pulled off my goggles, resting them atop my head, where they normally sat. (I'd just moved here but already the dust and sand were irritating my eyes so much I had to invested in a rather nice pair of goggles.) "Is it that game show again, or are the contests on?" I looked at my watch. No, it couldn't be the contests. They didn't come on until seven, and it was only four twenty-five.
"No, it's the Pokemon League Challenge—you know, all those kids who compete for the title of Champion?" Yin turned around from where she was seated on the couch, twisting her torso and draping one arm across the back. "Wanna join us?" Her short, dark brown hair bounced slightly as she moved, her own goggles sliding down the back of her head, landing on the couch beside her, though she took no notice, continuing to stare up at me with her blue eyes.
I shook sand out of my hair, running my hand through the silvery-blue tresses to make sure there wasn't anything left; I didn't mind it all that much while I was in it but hated leaving it in. "Why not? I don't have anything better to do."
Slipping out of my shoes, I sat down on a rather plush armchair, folding my legs up under me so I was more comfortable. "What League and who's winning?" I asked, as I had come in on the middle of the action.
"I'm not really sure; this is only the second battle I've seen. I came in on the middle, too." She pointed to the boy on the right of the screen, and it soon switched to a close-up of his face to help us identify him. "I think that's Wocky, there, but I could be wrong."
"Maki, you mean?" Sterling gave Yin an amused look before turning back to the TV set. "It's Maki versus Saba. They're both newbies to this whole thing; if they don't knock each other out, I'll be surprised. And they'd be eliminated fairly soon, anyway."
I raised an eyebrow. "Newbies? That doesn't seem like a nice name to call someone," I said. Sterling wasn't always the most eloquent when it came to words…or to describing people, for that matter. He was blunt; almost too blunt, to a point…though the redhead never did fail to amuse us with his rather cynical outlook on life, which provided some humor once in a while for the rest of us.
"Well, it's actually a commonly-used term to describe people who are really new at this. Look—" he pointed to the TV "—Maki just used Water Gun against Saba's Charmeleon; Saba's other Pokemon, Finneon, is going to absorb it, though. Just watch." He was right—as usual—and Maki's Seadra's attack was redirected toward Finneon, who absorbed the attack without any effect.
"Wow, Sterling; why aren't you on there?" I teased. He'd always been such a Pokemon geek—none of us knew whether it was interest, intuition, or some other form of knowledge that we were unable to figure out.
Sterling snorted. "As if. I wouldn't be caught dead on there."
I laughed. "You're right; only kids do that nowadays."
"Say that again."
I turned slightly, twisting in my seat to see who it was. I moaned silently inside my head when I saw who it was: Coral. Coral, and Sera.
"I said, 'you're right; only kids do that nowadays'," I said flatly, not really knowing where this was going.
"You'd be wrong about that, you know," Coral said, smirking. I never liked Coral—always thinking that she was better than us. She was, technically, but that's because she tried too hard and did things that we wouldn't have thought of doing. So, therefore, she was better at us in things we didn't even do, which was enough to grant her bragging rights, apparently. Her, and her trusty sidekick, Sera, who was never far from Coral's side. Sera—I always felt sorry for the boy, with a girl's name, though spelled differently—we never could figure out. He seemed to be loyal as anything to Coral, yet looked upon her actions with distain, and never said anything. I wasn't too sure what their relationship was, but I figured it wasn't my problem and never would be.
"What now, Coral?" Yin said without turning from the TV set. "Did you go and get a badge or something?"
"Yeah, and she's going to be challenging the Pokemon League soon so she can get on TV, I'll bet," Sterling said in a mocking voice, smirking. He and Yin really did make a perfect team.
"It's not like she'd be able to beat those ten-year-olds," I said in the most nonchalant voice I could, trying to control the laughter rising in my throat.
"It's not like you'd be able to do any better, Ranger," Coral said, turning slightly pink. Sera stayed silent—as usual—though nodding all the while as Coral spoke.
"Who says Rangers can't battle?" I said, looking up at her with a curious yet uncaring expression written in my eyes. (At least, I hoped I looked like that…)
"I do. You don't battle—you just capture them for use in the area and then release them. You aren't powerful enough to actually battle."
"Would you like to make a bet on that?" I asked, my interest only slightly piqued. I kept my arms crossed across my chest and turned my attention back to the TV set, though I glanced at Yin and Sterling briefly before doing so. Both had annoyed looks on their faces, clearly wanting to leave, but I wasn't done yet.
"As a matter of fact, I would." Coral held up her new Pokenav—the one she had been showing off to everyone in town (and across the continent, I'll bet), one with GPS, maps, voice recognition; everything you could imaginable inside one little device. It was actually pretty nice, and I wouldn't have minded getting one myself, but they were pretty expensive…the ones that were dust-compatible, I remembered in my mind in annoyance. I did need one…
"You're on," I said. "A race to the Pokemon League, is it?" I stood up to leave, but Coral held up a finger to stop me.
"You're getting ahead of yourself, Kita. You need to remember that a bet has two sides of it. When I win, I want…" she looked me over. "You almost have nothing that I want. I'll take your hair ornament….thing."
I immediately grabbed it, pulling it up to my chest, my hair following, trapped. I was fairly confident I could make it to the League, but didn't know if I was willing to risk my ornament to get that far. "Isn't there something else," I asked nervously. It was one-of-a-kind, passed down in my family; I couldn't lose that!
Coral smirked. "Looks like I hit a nerve, Kita. I'm taking it when I win. No questions asked."
"You mean, if you win, Bori." Yin finally spoke again, siding with me, of course. "You're not guaranteed to win, you know."
"I know, but I've already got a head start, Aji," Coral shot back. Yin bit back her anger: I could see it in her eyes. She already had trouble controlling her anger; she didn't need Coral to make things worse.
"It doesn't matter; I'll win even with your head start," I said, surprised at the level of confidence in my voice. "I'll beat you in the League no matter what!"
I pulled my goggles back down over my eyes. "Who do you think I am? I'm not going to run from this fight!"
"…You've been watching too much TV again, haven't you, Adine?" Sterling said, amusement present in his voice. I turned slightly pink, found out by the one person I thought wouldn't get it.
"Whatever," I said, waving his comment off. "I'm leaving in the morning, then, and taking you down, Bori!"
Coral smirked. "As if. You're never going to beat me." She turned to leave, Sera trailing behind her. "See you in the morning, Kita. We'll leave together." I watched her exit the building and allow a gust of sand to enter, scattering about the room.
Before she got out the door completely, though, she paused, allowing for more sand to enter. "Oh, and it's in Sinnoh. Just so you know."
"S-Sinnoh?!" I repeated, stammering slightly That was miles away from here!" I had to find out how to get there—fast! I clenched my fists and ran out after her, though in a different direction, toward home, ignoring the cries of my friends to wait for them. I needed to pack—now. I knew that I would have to leave pretty early in the morning to catch a train to the coast, where I would take a ferry to Sinnoh. It wasn't that far away, but it was still farther than I wanted to go. Why couldn't we have stayed in Hoenn, where we lived? (Well, temporarily, at least, for me…)
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Side note: If you want me to include your Pokemon trainer OC, then I will. I'm always looking for other characters I can use to broaden my story; it gives it more variety. I will prominently use characters submitted as trainers Adine fights along the way, unless you want me to work you in otherwise. 3 No requests for being gym leaders or champions or anything, please.
Format:
Name: Adine Kita
Gender: Female
Role: Protagonist (You'd put what kind of trainer/role you want here)
Age: 19
Hair color: Light blue, with a silvery sheen to it
Eyes: Crimson
Normal appearance: Likes to wear a purple leotard under light blue jeans; a belt around her waist has her Styler attached to it (in case of emergency, and it serves as her phone in most cases); shoes are typically absent since she grew up in Summer Town where she went barefoot; in Lavaridge town, however, she has to adjust and wear boots to keep out the dust; occasionally wears a black jacket/trenchcoat mix that goes over her outfit--used for cold weather, usually.
Personality: Carefree, usually, but rises to the challenge when presented with the opportunity. Somewhat unsure of her own strength, and not to confident in herself. Has a bit of a temper that can rise when her friends are in danger or she is insulted too much. Shy around people she doesn't know very well sometimes, though not always. It occurs only sometimes and she doesn't know why it does.
Talents: Thinking of ways to solve complex puzzles and getting out of things.
Hometown: Summer Town (Fiore Region), temporarily in Lavaridge for visiting reasons
Where you meet: (For you - where you want to meet Adine, if applicable)
Team: Six Pokemon, max. No exceptions, not even for ones traveling outside Pokeballs, but you don't need six; you can have three, five, or two. List them so I know how your battle style works. (Adine's is listed in the next chapter.)
Theme song: Anymotion by Lee Hyori (just for fun! You don't have to do this if you don't want to; I just think it helps get a little better grasp on the character sometimes.)