Ok, hi everyone. This is my first ever story that I have the intention of continuing. It's based on the game of Pokemon Gold, so in places you will see direct quotes, characters, etc. Due to artistic license and storytelling purposes, there will also be some details changed. Some minor, some major.
My style is to describe a lot, so all entries will be long. Imagine it's a story. Just a normal story. Forget your disagreements about the length, just enjoy it.
Also, I think this story would suit 16+ ages as I may (will) have swearing, possibly some raunchy scenes later on. So if you suddenly come across them later on, don't you dare argue with me about not saying so beforehand. This is your warning.
Enjoy and comment. If you don't like something, suggest how I could improve it and not just state your opinion with no afterthoughts. Help make the world a more intelligent place. My thanks and everlasting gratitude.
Partners
Holly woke up to the sun shining brightly through the window. It was still early, but she was too excited to sleep a moment longer. She got up quickly and dressed, roughly pulling on light blue jeans and a black, baggy short-sleeved top. She tied her medium length brown back into a ponytail and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Hurrying back into her room, she picked up a rucksack that had been hooked on the corner of her bed and tipped it all over the sheets. The contents spilled everywhere, with pencils, books, rubbers and empty vials clattering out onto the bed.
She ran to her drawers and pulled out a darker pair of jeans, a couple of T shirts, a pleated, medium length brown skirt and a handful of pants and socks. She shoved them all roughly into the bag and contemplated the collection of items left on the bed. Carefully choosing two thick books and one thinner one, a couple of pencils and some rubbers, she emptied the bag much more hastily than before. Carefully placing the books in size order at the bottom of the waterproof sack, she filled in the spaces around them with small items of the clothing she'd chosen, and placed the larger items more carefully on the top. Looking thoughtfully at the scattered items still on the bed, she put two of the glass vials on top of the clothes. There was plenty of space left in the bag, and she knew she was going to need it.
Today was the day. It was her 12th birthday, and the bookish, quiet studious girl was finally ready to make her way in the world. Her mother had held her back for two years as she watching all her friends from school gradually leave on their own journeys, leaving just her behind. It still stung, being left behind, but she had spent the time studying as much about pokemon as she could, knowing one day she would be surrounded by them on every side. But that wasn't on her mind this particular morning. Today was the day that she left the small town behind.
Glancing round her familiar room, with the feathery bed, large wooden studying desk, laden bookshelf and computer, she sighed deeply. She would miss the room she'd grown up in, along with the small town she'd always known. She also knew that every trainer had to go through this though, so she raised her head, swung the backpack onto her shoulders and stopped one last time in front of the map next to her door. She lightly traced all the roads through Jhoto, squiggling her finger in a random pattern through the large green patch that was Ilex forest. She had a long way to go if she was to find a Growlithe, the pokemon she had wanted since she was just a tiny baby. She had always loved the fact that it could scare away things that made her afraid, and as she got older, she'd only wanted one even more.
Hoisting the rucksack higher onto her shoulders, she walked slowly down the stairs. As soon as she stepped foot in the kitchen, her mother rushed over looking even more flustered than usual. "Oh Holly! You're up early today! Professor Elm wants you to drop by his lab before you leave, he has something he needs to talk to you about. Oh, that reminds me as well! Your pokegear came last night, just in time for you to… For you…" Holly looked up to see her mothers eyes glistening over.
"Mum, I'll be fine. I'm older than the other trainers now! Everything is going to be okay; I've spent so much time learning about pokemon, I've got the advantage!" She took the pokegear out of her mother's hands and put it into the special pouch of her rucksack and the mobile phone from the gear into her pocket. She pulled her mother into a tight hug, whispering "I'll ring you with my first badge before you know it. You're going to be so proud of me mum, I promise."
"Oh honey," her mother cooed, pulling away, "I'm already so proud of you. Your father would be too, if only he could see how much you've achieved already. Now, you must be off. Early start, brighter day, as they say. Just… Just take care of yourself, and if you ever get into any trouble, don't you ever be afraid to ring me or the Jhoto police. They'll send someone to help as soon as they know. Now be off with you!" With that, Holly was bustled out of the house without another word. The door closed firmly behind her, and she could hear the muffled wailings of her mother on the other side, who had finally given in to the grief.
Holly gazed at the small settlement she had lived in all her life. She was going to miss it on her long journey… She was also going to miss the morning if she didn't get a move on! She ran down the path to the main street and along to the large gray building next to the heavy tree line. As she clambered up the short flight of steps to the glass double doors, a flash of red momentarily caught her attention. "Probably just a pokemon'" she thought excitedly. She hoped she could find out which one if it was still there when she came out again. She stumbled through the doors, past towers of heavily-laden bookshelves and an apprentice who eyed her warily. She waved to the Professor at the far end of the gigantic room and ran to meet him.
"Holly! There you are!" he said over the quiet whirring of machinery. "Are you ready to begin your journey?" he asked with a wide smile. "Most definitely, Professor," she replied defiantly. "Am I getting a Growlithe? I would love a Growlithe as my first ever pokemon! It's my absolute favourite out of everything!" she begged him, spreading her arms wide and smiled broadly at him. Her adrenaline was burning through every vessel.
Chuckling softly to himself, the Professor showed her to a long wooden table where 3 red and white pokeballs were set far apart, each set on a flat metal plate with a small blank screen facing the edge of the table.
"How about I let you choose which pokemon you want? Choose carefully, you will be with this pokemon for a very long time. You must be able to bond with this pokemon to grow strong together." He ushered her towards the pokeballs, where Holly stared puzzled at the small but intricate metal contraptions. She pointed at the far right ball.
"I want THAT one." The Professor smiled softly and rubbed his stubbly chin.
"How do you know what pokemon is in there?"
"Oh…" said Holly. "I thought it was a luck game." Laughing openly this time, the Professor shook his head.
"No, Holly. I think I have something that can help you choose better." He turned around and rummaged through some drawers next to a large metal machine with what looked like a flat bed on it. "Ah! Here it is!" he exclaimed, and handed to her a red device with a screen and some buttons on it. Holly held the item in her hands and stared at it with a puzzled expression. "It's a pokedex!" She stared at him even more blankly. Sighing, he shooed her towards the far-right pokeball and pushed the white button at the centre, enlarging the pokeball without releasing the pokemon inside. The screen at the front flickered and showed a black and white image of a sleeping pokemon with four small feet and a large leaf covering most of it's head. Holly squealed in delight.
"Oh Professor, I want this one!" and pointed at the ball once more. The man manoeuvred the pokedex towards the screen and pressed one of the buttons. The small red device emitted a high-pitched squeal which made Holly jump. The screen showed a picture of the pokemon awake! She could see its pale green colourings, and an info box came up afterwards that said:
Chikorita, the grass pokemon.
A sweet aroma gently wafts from the leaf on its head. It is docile and loves to soaks up the sun's rays.
"Oh, Professor, I don't want a grass pokemon. How will I ever catch a strong pokemon like Growlithe?" She looked up at the scientist dejectedly.
"Holly, you have to choose which pokemon you think will suit you. Your partner is very important if you're going to be a pokemon trainer! The bond between a pokemon and their master is essential to the growth of both trainer and the pokemon. A pokemon cannot be strong if their trainer is weak, and can only grow stronger with a bond formed from trusting and caring for each other. You're going to have to rely on your pokemon a lot, so choose wisely which one you aim to begin your journey with. Only with kindness will you form the bond to grow to be strong." He paused, seeing the girl lost deep in thought. "Come and find me when you've made your choice." He walked away from the confused girl.
Holly stared at the sleeping pokemon. Aesthetically, she liked the pokemon, but she knew the pokemon would grow and evolve into another form. She didn't know if she would like the other forms as much as this one. And though grass-types were brilliant in battle against water, ground and rock-types, they were terrible against other grass, poison, flying and bug pokemon and most importantly it was terrible against fire but was affected cruelly hard by it. She could never get Growlithe with this pokemon. She had to choose one of the others.
She turned to the next, pressing the middle button of the pokeball. The screen in front sputtered and flickered a little, but eventually showed a tiny curled reptile. It looked scaly and cold and a bit slimy. She didn't like the look of it, and this was only its baby form! She pointed the pokedex at the screen and another little mewl came from the device. The picture showed the reptile awake, and it looked even slimier than before. The info box came up with:
Totodile, the water pokemon.
It's well developed jaws are powerful and capable of crushing anything. Even its trainer must be careful.
A water pokemon would be amazing battling against fire, ground and rock pokemon, but awful against grass pokemon. She knew that she could easily overpower a Growlithe with this pokemon, but then she remembered what the professor had said about bonding with pokemon. Could she really love it if she had to be afraid of it all the time? Could she really bond with the pokemon of her dreams if it never forgave her for hurting it so badly just to capture it? She felt sad about this and decided to look at the last pokemon.
Standing in front of the final pokeball, she pressed it and watched the static clear on the little screen. The last baby pokemon had a long thin snout and it's back looked fuzzy. She raised the pokedex and the chirrup of the final pokemon sounded from the tiny imbedded speakers. A picture appeared that showed the creamy underside and dark blue-green of it's back, and the fuzziness that she had seen was shown to be flames licking at its back. The info box the came up afterwards said:
Cyndaquil, the fire pokemon.
It is timid and always curls itself up in a ball. If it attacks, it flares up it's back for protection.
She knew fire-types were awful against water and rock pokemon, but they were really good against grass and bug pokemon. She went and sat on the floor looking at the three little screens. She didn't want to miss her chance at catching Growlithe, but she didn't want it to hate her for hurting it badly while overpowering it. She knew she had to choose the one that best suited her personality as well, but she also knew people changed so much when they grew up. Sighing, she realised there was only one option.
She stood up and took one last look at all three tiny sleeping pokemon. Touching the top of one of the balls, she whispered to the creature inside 'I'm so sorry… But I have to catch Growlithe. I have to live my dream. Someday, someone will love you as much as I will love all my pokemon. I'm sorry I can't be that trainer." She removed her hand and walked towards the scientist busy working away at a desk. She coughed loudly behind him.
He turned around in his chair, and by her expression he could tell that she had chosen her pokemon. He smiled and nodded."So Holly", he asked. "Which pokemon did you choose?" He knew that deep down, a trainer will always choose a pokemon that suits their personality, even if it wasn't obvious at first. A friend had told him once of a woman who was stubborn, could never be verbally beaten down and never gave up. She chose a Rattata to start her journey. Eventually, she ended up shunning everyone and being a lonely old woman, surrounded by ghost pokemon. Her personality change had meant that her pokemon changed. It was the natural order of things. He was also anxious to see that Holly's choice said about her own personality.
"I choose you," she whispered, "Cyndaquil."