Route 02 - Minoku Region
"Got it!" Jermaine smirked, clutching the Poke Ball until it ceased rumbling.
Bret frowned, "You said you were gonna let me catch the next one."
"Did I?" Jermaine said and turned around, tossing the ball over his shoulder. "You can have that one then."
The ball caught Bret off guard, bouncing out of his hands twice before he caught it.
"R-really?" He asked, with Jermaine shrugging in response. Bret clutched the ball tight, then turned to his side, "What do you think Muldoon?"
Bret's Treecko crossed its arms, looking at the Poke Ball cautiously, but then nodded approvingly.
"Come on!" Jermaine's voice echoed down the trail, snapping Bret back into reality and into a light jog to catch up to his older brother.
"Sorry, I got distracted."
"Gee, that's new." Jermaine laughed, rolling his eyes and pushing Bret slightly.
Catching his balance, Bret hopped back up next to his brother, "So...how far do you think it is to the next town?"
Jermaine half-frowned and glanced at his watch, "Fu-..." He began, quickly glancing at Bret and then to his watch, "-bout an hour, at least."
They sighed in unison and kept walking.
The Chiming Temple – Evergreen City
A tired man's gaze follows a flock of Spearow over the trees, leading him to the eyes of an approaching woman. By any standards, she is beautiful; brilliant green eyes, complimented by light brown skin and dark brown hair. He opens his mouth to speak, but a single finger silences him. A bell begins to chime as her fingers dig into his golden hair, pulling him close and breathing heavily. Not a word is spoken as the sun dips below the horizon, blanketing the temple in darkness.
Kalmia City
It was an hour into nightfall by the time Jermaine and Bret had reached Kalmia City. Unable to decide if they were more tired or hungry, they quickly located the nearest Pokemon Center and promptly passed out on the waiting area sofas. As quickly as sleep had come, the morning arrived and the duo found themselves wishing they had eaten the night before. After obtaining their Pokemon from the nurse, they agreed it would be best to find something to eat before taking on the gym.
Bret grimaced at the sight of mushrooms on his plate, poking them gently with his fork, as if not to make them too angry. He ate his chicken slowly, his eyes focused intently on the mushrooms. Jermaine held his plate in one hand, fork in the other, turned away from Bret to keep himself from laughing and choking on his food.
"Jermaine," Bret sighed, "Do you think I can really take on this gym already?"
Jermaine chuckled and put his plate down, "Did you already forget what I give you for Treecko?"
"Tree?" Hearing its name, the Pokemon popped its head up over the table.
"Remember?" He tapped the side of his head. "Remember?"
"Oh...oh! The technical machine!" Bret shook his head, "I'm sorry."
Jermaine rubbed his face, "Just call it a TM, Bret." He shook his head now. "You'll do great."
"I don't really understand though," Bret began, "Why is the gym steel-type if the town is known for oil? Wouldn't fire-types make more sense?"
"Now that," Jermaine smiled, "Is the smartest thing you've said all day."
Bret's face went red, shuffling his fork and knife on the plate and quickly stuffing a piece of chicken in his mouth. Unfortunately it wasn't chicken, though Bret may not have realized that until he saw his brother's face.
Moments later, after some ear piercing screaming from Bret, the two found themselves outside. The restaurant's head chef happened to be cooking today; he also happened to be very strong and quite fond of mushrooms.
"Screw your stinking restaurant!" Jermaine screamed, shaking his fist at the door. "Feckin' money hungry-" He went on to grumble a number of curses under his breath.
Bret smiled; he knew that Jermaine wasn't actually angry and that he'd go back to acting normal any second now. For some reason he always took things to umpteenth level, but Bret never thought anything of it. He just smiled and shook his head; maybe it was the reactions, or the attention, but either way…
"Let's go kid."
The gym of Kalmia stood solitarily, confined to a block of its own with a background of constantly moving oil rigs. An archway of connected cogs marked the entrance, partly rusted, though you couldn't tell if it was paint or actual rust. Jermaine chuckled as he led Bret through the entrance, a feeling of déjà vu setting in…
"Oh." A voice echoed across the room, "I was wondering if I would have any challengers today."
Jermaine scoffed, "One, actually." He pulled open his jacket, showing two rows of four pins attached, but pointed to the cog shaped one.
"Oh…" The voice sounded disappointed.
The lights suddenly flashed and illuminated the room. The room was circular and seemed to be made completely out of metal, save for the entrance floor and a path leading to where the man was sitting. The man stood up after Bret's gaze landed back on him and he spoke, "My name is Gray. Are you prepared to battle?"
Jermaine nudged Bret forward, "Yeah!" He shouted a bit too loudly.
Gray smiled, the light glinting off his glasses, "Let's get started then."