Author's Note: This is my first Fic. I'm not expecting glory or fame from this. Nor am I expecting you to leap at my feet and praise me for writing it. What I AM expecting is to have fun while writing it and to make at least one of you enjoy it. (No torture will be involved)
A Renewed State of Mind
By:Espeonage
Chapter One: The Makings of Mental Capacity
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He didn't need any assistance waking that day. The same as many of the days before, his sleep was riddled with nightmares and scattered dreams of his past, and he wanted nothing more than to forget the last few years of his life.
He kicked off his covers, reached for his slippers, and we see, for the first time, his appearance. A tall boy, the age of fifteen, lean, not lanky, with a clear complexion. His deep blue eyes are half hidden behind his unruly blond hair. Nothing out of the ordinary distinguishes him except a streak of silver covering a portion of hair on the right side of his head.
Rubbing his eyes, he stood up, now wearing his slippers, and trudged wearily towards the bathroom. He took a look in the mirror, chuckled silently to himself and reached for his toothbrush. After brushing for what seemed like an hour, he went back to his room, knowing that anything he did to his hair would just make it look worse than it already was, and threw on an Adidias t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of sneakers, and walked down the stairs.
His mother, Alicia, was already in the kitchen, apparently cooking. He could the smell eggs frying in the pan and knew it must still be fairly early. Walking into the hall and looking at the wall clock, he saw that he was right. 6:57. He never slept like he used to anymore. While pondering why his mom was up this early cooking on a Saturday, he went into the kitchen. She sprang right into conversation.
"Oh good morning, Sweetie!"
Cheerful mornings were always her thing.
"Mmph.."
"So talkative aren't we, Sean? I see your skills as a morning person haven't improved."
"So what if I'm tired? I must have woken up six times during the night.."
She took the dejected look on his face as any mother would. She immediately swelled up with concern and worry.
"What's wrong, did somebody do something at school to upset you?"
"Mom, you really need to quit asking me that. And besides, school's been out since Tuesday."
"Right.."
She was a very pretty woman in her early thirties. Blond hair, like him, but she had brown eyes. He obviously got his blue eyes from his father. She was fairly tall, a whopping 5'4", and she, again like him, was thin. He loved her mother dearly, but she wasn't always very quick on the uptake. And, of course he couldn't tell her exactly WHY he had woken up.
"I'm gonna get goin', Mom," he stated."I think I'm gonna take a walk or something.."
"Oh, ok, Dear. But be careful."
"Mom, I've lived here all my life. There's nothing I haven't seen or done."
It was a crisp summer morning. You know the kind. These temperate regions always begin the day fairly cool and calm. Sean knew the way things went around here. Cool mornings, ninety degrees by noon.
Summers bring earlier mornings, but the sun was still just coming over the hillside about a mile away from his house. He and his mother lived alone in an old two-story farm house. Resting his arms behind his head, he looked up at the sky. Slowly changing from the deep dark blues and blacks of nighttime to the pinks and oranges of sunrise.
A few Spearow flew overhead. Not an uncommon sight. Pokemon never seemed to draw Sean's attention like it did so many of the other kids. He was either uninterested or just indifferent to the fact that such remarkable creatures lived on this planet. He'd sit down at a friend's house and watch a battle or two with them and their dad, but he never seemed to get wrapped up in it. He understood the rules, regulations and all that stuff, but truly understanding Pokemon? Let's just say he really couldn't care less.
He kicked a stone slowly down the dirt road and looked toward the treeline, some hundred yards off. Not yet mixed with the sun's light, the forest appeared gloomy and somewhat intimidating. Sean knew better, his life having revolved around the forest and it's secrets from ages six to twelve. Small children are always into exploring. Naturally, he knew everything there was to know about it.
The road travelled on through the forest for about three miles, coming out on the otherside to a fairly large town. Kingston was an up and coming town, not too far from any other of the major cities you can see on any map of the surrounding area, and it was pretty well populized. It even had it's own Pokemon Gym.
A friend of Sean's had gone off to train there when he was twelve. He said he wanted to be the Gym Leader there some day. He was none too enthusiastic about it, but Sean kind of shrugged it off. It was Pokemon, but at least his friend wouldn't have to move away to be there.
Sean relaxed his arms, placing them at his sides and continued to walk along the road. He glanced at familiar landmarks as he passed. There were the rocks and trees he climbed on during his earlier years. He recalled old friends who crawled around behind the rocks and swung from the branches of the trees. He sighed deeply and remembered the days his father would come back and play with him and his friends.
In case you were wondering, his father wasn't dead. He was, in fact, a Pokemon Trainer. Pokemon travels always take commitment and time. Lots and LOTS of time. His father made it home maybe three weeks out of the year. But when he came back, Sean felt like the happiest boy in the world. It was suddenly as if he never left. He told Sean and his mother about his travels. Sean was never interested at all in the topic, but being near his father and spending time with him completed his life.
Sean didn't have or need a destination for his walk. He didn't plan on stopping or coming home until he was completely positive he had worked out the troubles that went through his head and satisfied his mind enough that it would let him sleep at night. The only problem was, he had no idea what it was that was doing it.
He closed in on the forest. It was now thirty-five yards away. He felt drawn to it. He continued to walk, still totally wrapped in his mind, uncontiously stepping over roots and dead branches he'd known to step over since his first visit this close to the woods.
He stopped as he entered the low treecover. Looking up into the gloom, visions of his nightmares flashed before his eyes, he was still not sure what they meant. Stepping further into the forest seemed to bring about a new side of him. He looked around in wonderment for a moment then took off in a full sprint down the dirt road.
Jumping mud puddles and trees, his legs carried him to some unknown place. He continued to push himself at flight speed until he had found what he was looking for. For five full minutes he ran at that speed. Finally, when he could no longer take the strain on his legs, he stopped. Clutching a stitch in his side, he looked around to see where he was. He had no recollection of this place. No familiar branch, no familiar log, no nothing. He was surrounded on all sides by forest. It was so thick at this point he couldn't see more than thirty feet from him in any direction.
He continued onward still being slightly out of breath. A ray of sunshine in front of him caught his eye. Apparently the sun had risen above the woods and was shining through a little ways in front of him. He walked a few more feet. He couldn't see what it was. There was a small ravine. He took a few more steps. It dropped twenty feet down and had a small brook running along the bottom. It was a muddy, root-filled stream and there seemed to be movement at the bottom. Bubbles rose to the surface of the water.
Sean began his descent. He climbed catiously down the ravine's side, using the saplings for support and rocks for footholds. He reached the water's edge and began to scan for the bubbles he had seen.
Then, to his left, the surface surged as bubbles appeared. He ran downstream until he reached the place where the bubbles had surfaced. He waited. The bubbles appeared a few feet to his left again. Whatever it was was moving. He continued to follow. The stream steadily widened out and the forest thinned. Sun shined through the trees and Sean suddenly recognized the area. The bubbles continued to stream upward, but whatever was beneath the water's surface was no longer moving.
The bubbles ceased and Sean waited. Minutes passed and he began to wonder if it had moved off. He turned around and began to walk slowly back up the ravine's side, now much less steep.
Anticipation left him and he began to think about his dreams again, but a shrill sound rang in his ear. He turned around and the sound of ragin water could be heard again. He ran back towards the stream at breakneck speed. Hurling himself down the ravine again, he saw the source of the noise. A blue Pokemon. Sitting a foot out of te water. It had red jewel-like features on its head and long tentacles. A Tentacool. He was about to turn around, thinking he had wasted his time when something caught his eye. One of the Tentacool's tentacles seemed oddly large. He looked at it closely and realized it was wrapped around something, and whatever it was was making that God-awful noise. He got as close as he could to the water. The Tentacool appeared to be squeezing as hard as it could. The shrills were dying down, and so was whatever it was holding.
Sean looked around on the shore for anything he could use to hit the Tentacool with. Nothing. He looked into the water. It seemed shallow enough. He took a step. His foot sunk deep into the muck. He wrenched his foot out. It had nearly claimed his shoe. The sounds were growing even less. Looking around again, he noticed a branch and near it was a rock. A rather large rock. He picked both of them up and ran back along the shore to get a good shot at the Tentacool. He took aim and heaved the rock at it. The rock smacked it in the back of its head.
"Bingo," he thought."Dead on."
The Tentacool dropped its prey and turned on Sean. It puny little under-eyes were on fire with anger. Using its long tentacles as legs, it crawled through the muck towards Sean. Having no idea what to do he frantically perused the shore again. The Tentacool was closing in and Sean was panicking. He barely knew what this thing was, let alone how to stop it, and it was streaming headlong towards him.
The Tentacool fired something from under its body with amazing accuracy and smacked Sean right on the leg. It burned through his jeans immediately. He gasped and grabbed a sharp rock that was nearby and cut the pants off from the knee down. He looked back up as the Tentacool shot off another one. This one he jumped away from. It was still closing in. A scrambled to his feet. He tasted blood. He touched his lip. It had been bitten in the fall. It wasn't bleeding too freely, he'd be fine. Sean looked around again. At last, success. A thick tree branch was leaning against the wall of the ravine. He grabbed it and turned himself around.
The Tentacool was on him. It was much less coordinated as it walked on land, so it dropped down to rest on its belly and raised its tentacles threateningly in the air. Sean moved back a few steps and looked around behind him. He tightened his grip on the log.
"Tentacoool...," it hissed.
Sean swallowed hard and stared back at it. He took another step back and the Tentacool picked itself up and took another step forward. Sean took another step. Tentacool did the same. A third time he did this. Tentacool followed. The Tentacool didn't seem to want to let him go. Maybe he could use this to his advantage. He surveyed his surroundings a final time. A large tree trunk stood erect behind him, some ten feet tall and fifteen feet from him. The sand and dirt he stood on seemed to be firm enough and the ground was littered with small stones. Nothing big enough to hurt himself on.
He cationed himself. Reassuring his plan, he took one final step backwards. The Tentacool did as well. It tilted its weight onto one tentacle and Sean steadied himself, taking a deep breath. He pivoted on his left foot and threw his weight into his run. For the third time today, he was sprinting. This time for his life. He turned his head to his side. Sure enough, it was following. He slowed so it could catch up. As it gained, he reached the tree trunk. He leapt into the air and kicked off the tree. He had propelled himself into the air, right over the Tentacool. Confused, the Tentacool turned around. Now Sean was on it. He took back the limb and smacked the Tentacool in the side of the head with it. The Tentacool careened back into the water and disappeared.
"Yes!," he shouted.
The Tentacool floated to the water's surface then took off upstream, away from Sean. Very pleased with himself, he chucked the limb into the stream and was about to climb back up the side when he noticed a small blue lump on the far shore. It was the Tentacool's prey. It was twitching in immense pain. He took a few steps from the water's edge then ran toward the stream and hurtled himself over the water. He ran toward the little ball of blue and looked down at it. It had curled itself into a defensive position and was whimpering.
"A Pokemon," he stated."What am I supposed to do with this thing?"
Looking down at it, he realized it was a Pokemon he hadn't seen before. It had a blue body, and a light blue underside. Orange tufts in a half-star shape came from each of its cheeks.
After realizing Sean wasn't going to hurt it, it stood up. It's legs were tiny. And its tail resembled a fin. Also, on top of its head was a fin-type projection. It stared up at him and blinked. It had small egg-shaped eyes.
"Mudkip," it stated blankly.
Sean looked down in dismay. He had no idea what to do. It appeared to be in a lot of pain. He turned to jump back over the stream and it collapsed. Exhaustion had caught up with it. Its breathing was irregular. Sean didn't care for Pokemon at all, but he wasn't one to let a creature sit in the forest and die. He picked it up and climbed back up the side of the ravine.
The journey home was a slow one. The Pokemon became increasingly worse as time went on. His breathing became harsher and his skin became dry.
The edge of the forest was in sight and Sean clutched the Pokemon closer to his body and ran the rest of the way there. He reached the front door and flinged it open.
"Mom! Come quick!," he yelled up the stairs.
She was down the steps in no time.
"What is it? Oh! Is that a Pokemon?"
"Yes! And its hurt! What do we do?"
"Um..It looks likea Water-type. Should we put it in the bathtub?"
"I don't know! How am I supposed to know this stuff?!"
"I'll fill it. Bring it upstairs."
They both ran up the steps and she filled the bathtub halfway. He set the injured Pokemon in it and stood back.
"Now what?"
"I dunno..It's not like I'm exactly in to this you know."
"Well, what happened to it for God's sake?!"
"I ran into the woods and found this stream. It got attacked by this one Pokemon...I've seen it before, I just can't remember what it is. I hit it with a rock and it attacked me. It got me with some acid stuff on my pants, then I hit it with a stick and it ran away. I grabbed this one and ran it home."
"Oh, you poor dear..."
She was reffering to the Pokemon. She placed a hand on its forehead and it shivered into her touch.
"The best thing we could do is take it to a Pokemon Center."
"Kingston, then?"
"Yes. I'll get the car. Wrap it in a damp towel and meet me outside."
Sean did as he was told and once again picked up the little Pokemon. The towel helped, but its little body was still shivering and its breathing was still staggered.
His mom was waiting outide, keys in the ignition and engine running. She waited for him to get into the car and pulled out of the drive onto the dirt road. Sean petted the little Pokemon on its head. He didn't like it, but it was kind of cute wrapped up like a baby.
His mom drove through the forest speedily and they arrived in Kingston about ten minutes later. Pulling into town, they made a left on the first street, passed the Gym, and arrived at the Pokemon Center. It was extremely crowded. Sean opened the door and ran towards the Center. He sprinted towards the front desk, nearly knocking some of the Trainers over as he did so.
"Nurse! Nurse!"
"Yes?," Joy asked.
"This Pokemon! I found him in the woods! He's in really bad shape!" he panted.
"Oh my! Let me take a look at it!"
She removed the towel and observed a small laceration where the tentacle had dug into the little Pokemon's skin.
"Chansey, I need a stretcher for a small Water-type STAT!"
The Chansey were extremely fast workers being as big as they were. They hooked it to an IV and drove it into a back room.
"We'll be with you shortly. There's a good chance it might not make it..Talk to my sister while we look at it. Tell her what happened and maybe we'll have a better chance of saving it."
The other Joy appeared. She was clad in the same white nurse's outfit. A white hat with a red cross on it adorned her head and her pink hair was looped up behind her head.
"Alright..What is your name, Dear?"
"Sean."
"Ok, Sean. I need to know what happened. Tell me exactly, leaving nothing out."
Sean began his story. Telling her of the run through the woods to the stream, the jellyfish that he'd seen, but wasn't sure what it was, and his finding of the little blue Pokemon.
"Oh dear...A Tentacool..It was using Wrap on it then?"
"That seemed to be what it was," he had no idea what she had just said.
"I'm going to check on the Pokemon with my sister. Wait here."
She went into the back room with her sister, and Sean's mom entered, having parked the car. She was breathing so hard it appeared she parked it some five blocks away and had run back. Sean stared at her and made her sit down in the corner. He sat down with her.
"You ok?," he asked laughingly.
"Yeah..," she sighed,"It was a long run."
"I gave them the Pokemon and they're taking care of it in the back room."
Sean placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. His mind flashed back to the vision of the day so far and he realized it was still very early. Again he looked at the clock, and again he was right. Only 9:30. He shrugged it off.
Closing his eyes again, his ears opened up to the Center. Sounds of Pokemon and their Trainers playing filled his ears. He opened his eyes. Looking around,he saw many different Pokemon. Most of which he'd seen, a few he had no clue about, and even less he knew the names of.It seemed a shame to him that the whole world was wrapped up in this thing and he had no idea what their purpose was. Even his own mother knew more about Pokemon than him. That was like a slap in the face.
His mind flashed back to his father. He remembered that whenever he came home he always had Pokemon with him. He never actually paid attention to them, but when his father wasn't talking to him or sleeping, he was with his Pokemon. He remembered in particular a large bird with three heads. It was brown, but he knew nothing else about it. Maybe he remembered it most vividly because it was his father's most recent catch? He couldn't remember. God, he missed his father.
Nurse Joy appeared from the back room and walked up to Sean. She didn't seem to have a concerned look on her face, which was a good sign.
"Dear, your Pokemon will be fine. He had a cut along his abdomen, but we stitched it up and he'll be as good as new in a couple days. The stitches will fall out on their own, so you don't have to worry about braving the forest again, hm?," she giggled.
"Thanks, Nurse Joy. He's a resilient little guy, isn't he?"
"Yes, very. Is he yours?"
"Well, no. I had just found him in the forest, remember?"
"Oh, right. Well, you really should keep him. Are you a Trainer?"
"No, I've never really been interested. But I'm considering," he threw in, looking around.
Half of the room was listening. Stony glances were being thrown at him by all the Trainers and his mother was shifting nervously in her seat. They were relieved when the other Nurse Joy brought the Pokemon out from the back room, as it drew attention from them for a moment.
"Son, do you know what you've got here?," she asked.
How could he?He barely even knew it was a Pokemon until he had gotten close enough to it.
"No...What?," he replied, feeling stupid.
"It's a Mudkip. And they're not normally found in these parts. In fact, I've only seen one in a book. And the cool thing about them is the fact that they're a dual-type Pokemon. It's part Water and part Ground," she threw in a wink for effect.
He didn't know what he was supposed to say to that. Now that everyone was listening, most eyes were on him, others on Mudkip.
"Cool," he stated blankly.
She handed him the Pokemon and he and his mom walked out of the Center, Sean reddening by the second. He heard catcalls from inside the Center as he trudged out. His temper was running shorter as they reached the car. Apparently a Trainer had followed them. He and his Bulbasaur were jeering at them as they pulled off.
His mom drove slower home than he did on the way through the first time. Mudkip wasn't breathing hard and his bandage seemed to be helping soothe his pain a bit. Sean looked down at it with concern showing through his ignorance, and he patted the young Pokemon's head with a reassuring touch. His mom smiled as she looked over at him. She enjoyed seeing him have fun with a Pokemon for once. It killed her that he didn't like them as a child.
They pulled back into the driveway and Sean carried Mudkip up to his room, still stroking its blue head. Mudkip was awake now, and it was thoroughly enjoying the attention Sean was giving it. It looked up at him, opened its mouth a little ways and tilted his head innocently.
"You're not so bad, ya know that?," Sean told Mudkip.
"Kip?"
"You're actually kinda...cute," he smiled at Mudkip and pet him again.
They spent the rest of the day with his mom. The field across the street from their house was huge. Mudkip walked around slowly, and enjoyed the flowers and trees while Sean and his mother watched him and talked some fifty feet away.
"You know, Sean, I had Pokemon at one time."
The news was totally new to him.
"Really? Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"Well...To tell you the truth, I was scared you would dislike me or something. Your father being away all the time made me want to plese you in every way possible. But I guess little Mudkip has finally broken your barriers, eh?," she smiled at him.
The thought had occured to him. Mudkip really had lessened his hold on his former thoughts of Pokemon. Several yards away Mudkip hiccupped and shot a jet of mud at a nearby rock. He then turned and strolled back to Sean who immediately picked it up and held it.
"It really feels good to know you've grown out of that, Sean. When you started to dislike Pokemon around the age of four I had to let my Pokemon go with your father. I felt it best that way..I do miss my old friends..."
"Mom, I had no idea..."
"Don't worry about it, Dear," she sighed and stood up."I think I'll go start dinner or...or something..."
He watched her walk away. He looked back at Mudkip who was dripping mud slowly from his lower lip and watching a fly zoom around his head. He smiled again and patted Mudkip who's attention immediately flicked back to Sean.
"Maybe you guys really aren't that bad after all," he said to himself more than to Mudkip."It really wouldn't be that bad to train Pokemon.."
His mind again flashed to his father. He could see him off somewhere in a distant land fighting a battle with his three-headed wonder bird. He wished he could be there with him. Mudkip licked his face. He looked down at him. A thought popped into his head. Everyone had been mentioning it today, but this is the first time he actually considered what they were saying. He had said it himself: "It really wouldn't be that bad to train Pokemon.." He looked at Mudkip, thought of his father, and made up his mind. He would travel the world, earning badges, and catch up with his dad. They would train together. And if all went bad, he could always come back, right?
He ran back to the house as the sun went down, his plan set, his Pokemon in hand, and his goal in front of him. He had decided to find his father. He had decided to let Pokemon into his life. And he had to decided to become a Pokemon Trainer.
Tomorrow was a new day and Sean knew that he had to start then. He had to learn. Ignorance isn't a good thing in the World of Pokemon, and that's one of the few things that Sean knew.
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Closing Note: Just as you all start to get into it, he ends it. How inconsiderate of me. I had a lot of fun writing this first chapter. And sorry some parts of it were so boring. But you have to get the boring stuff out of the way if you want the goods, right? Expect lots and lots of chapters for this story. I should probably update weekly, but if I don't, wait longer. If you enjoyed this story, please review. Hell, if you hated it, please review. I'm in to any and all suggestions from you guys.
Final Note: A friend of mine tells me this is 11 pages to print. Print with caution.
A Renewed State of Mind
By:Espeonage
Chapter One: The Makings of Mental Capacity
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He didn't need any assistance waking that day. The same as many of the days before, his sleep was riddled with nightmares and scattered dreams of his past, and he wanted nothing more than to forget the last few years of his life.
He kicked off his covers, reached for his slippers, and we see, for the first time, his appearance. A tall boy, the age of fifteen, lean, not lanky, with a clear complexion. His deep blue eyes are half hidden behind his unruly blond hair. Nothing out of the ordinary distinguishes him except a streak of silver covering a portion of hair on the right side of his head.
Rubbing his eyes, he stood up, now wearing his slippers, and trudged wearily towards the bathroom. He took a look in the mirror, chuckled silently to himself and reached for his toothbrush. After brushing for what seemed like an hour, he went back to his room, knowing that anything he did to his hair would just make it look worse than it already was, and threw on an Adidias t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of sneakers, and walked down the stairs.
His mother, Alicia, was already in the kitchen, apparently cooking. He could the smell eggs frying in the pan and knew it must still be fairly early. Walking into the hall and looking at the wall clock, he saw that he was right. 6:57. He never slept like he used to anymore. While pondering why his mom was up this early cooking on a Saturday, he went into the kitchen. She sprang right into conversation.
"Oh good morning, Sweetie!"
Cheerful mornings were always her thing.
"Mmph.."
"So talkative aren't we, Sean? I see your skills as a morning person haven't improved."
"So what if I'm tired? I must have woken up six times during the night.."
She took the dejected look on his face as any mother would. She immediately swelled up with concern and worry.
"What's wrong, did somebody do something at school to upset you?"
"Mom, you really need to quit asking me that. And besides, school's been out since Tuesday."
"Right.."
She was a very pretty woman in her early thirties. Blond hair, like him, but she had brown eyes. He obviously got his blue eyes from his father. She was fairly tall, a whopping 5'4", and she, again like him, was thin. He loved her mother dearly, but she wasn't always very quick on the uptake. And, of course he couldn't tell her exactly WHY he had woken up.
"I'm gonna get goin', Mom," he stated."I think I'm gonna take a walk or something.."
"Oh, ok, Dear. But be careful."
"Mom, I've lived here all my life. There's nothing I haven't seen or done."
It was a crisp summer morning. You know the kind. These temperate regions always begin the day fairly cool and calm. Sean knew the way things went around here. Cool mornings, ninety degrees by noon.
Summers bring earlier mornings, but the sun was still just coming over the hillside about a mile away from his house. He and his mother lived alone in an old two-story farm house. Resting his arms behind his head, he looked up at the sky. Slowly changing from the deep dark blues and blacks of nighttime to the pinks and oranges of sunrise.
A few Spearow flew overhead. Not an uncommon sight. Pokemon never seemed to draw Sean's attention like it did so many of the other kids. He was either uninterested or just indifferent to the fact that such remarkable creatures lived on this planet. He'd sit down at a friend's house and watch a battle or two with them and their dad, but he never seemed to get wrapped up in it. He understood the rules, regulations and all that stuff, but truly understanding Pokemon? Let's just say he really couldn't care less.
He kicked a stone slowly down the dirt road and looked toward the treeline, some hundred yards off. Not yet mixed with the sun's light, the forest appeared gloomy and somewhat intimidating. Sean knew better, his life having revolved around the forest and it's secrets from ages six to twelve. Small children are always into exploring. Naturally, he knew everything there was to know about it.
The road travelled on through the forest for about three miles, coming out on the otherside to a fairly large town. Kingston was an up and coming town, not too far from any other of the major cities you can see on any map of the surrounding area, and it was pretty well populized. It even had it's own Pokemon Gym.
A friend of Sean's had gone off to train there when he was twelve. He said he wanted to be the Gym Leader there some day. He was none too enthusiastic about it, but Sean kind of shrugged it off. It was Pokemon, but at least his friend wouldn't have to move away to be there.
Sean relaxed his arms, placing them at his sides and continued to walk along the road. He glanced at familiar landmarks as he passed. There were the rocks and trees he climbed on during his earlier years. He recalled old friends who crawled around behind the rocks and swung from the branches of the trees. He sighed deeply and remembered the days his father would come back and play with him and his friends.
In case you were wondering, his father wasn't dead. He was, in fact, a Pokemon Trainer. Pokemon travels always take commitment and time. Lots and LOTS of time. His father made it home maybe three weeks out of the year. But when he came back, Sean felt like the happiest boy in the world. It was suddenly as if he never left. He told Sean and his mother about his travels. Sean was never interested at all in the topic, but being near his father and spending time with him completed his life.
Sean didn't have or need a destination for his walk. He didn't plan on stopping or coming home until he was completely positive he had worked out the troubles that went through his head and satisfied his mind enough that it would let him sleep at night. The only problem was, he had no idea what it was that was doing it.
He closed in on the forest. It was now thirty-five yards away. He felt drawn to it. He continued to walk, still totally wrapped in his mind, uncontiously stepping over roots and dead branches he'd known to step over since his first visit this close to the woods.
He stopped as he entered the low treecover. Looking up into the gloom, visions of his nightmares flashed before his eyes, he was still not sure what they meant. Stepping further into the forest seemed to bring about a new side of him. He looked around in wonderment for a moment then took off in a full sprint down the dirt road.
Jumping mud puddles and trees, his legs carried him to some unknown place. He continued to push himself at flight speed until he had found what he was looking for. For five full minutes he ran at that speed. Finally, when he could no longer take the strain on his legs, he stopped. Clutching a stitch in his side, he looked around to see where he was. He had no recollection of this place. No familiar branch, no familiar log, no nothing. He was surrounded on all sides by forest. It was so thick at this point he couldn't see more than thirty feet from him in any direction.
He continued onward still being slightly out of breath. A ray of sunshine in front of him caught his eye. Apparently the sun had risen above the woods and was shining through a little ways in front of him. He walked a few more feet. He couldn't see what it was. There was a small ravine. He took a few more steps. It dropped twenty feet down and had a small brook running along the bottom. It was a muddy, root-filled stream and there seemed to be movement at the bottom. Bubbles rose to the surface of the water.
Sean began his descent. He climbed catiously down the ravine's side, using the saplings for support and rocks for footholds. He reached the water's edge and began to scan for the bubbles he had seen.
Then, to his left, the surface surged as bubbles appeared. He ran downstream until he reached the place where the bubbles had surfaced. He waited. The bubbles appeared a few feet to his left again. Whatever it was was moving. He continued to follow. The stream steadily widened out and the forest thinned. Sun shined through the trees and Sean suddenly recognized the area. The bubbles continued to stream upward, but whatever was beneath the water's surface was no longer moving.
The bubbles ceased and Sean waited. Minutes passed and he began to wonder if it had moved off. He turned around and began to walk slowly back up the ravine's side, now much less steep.
Anticipation left him and he began to think about his dreams again, but a shrill sound rang in his ear. He turned around and the sound of ragin water could be heard again. He ran back towards the stream at breakneck speed. Hurling himself down the ravine again, he saw the source of the noise. A blue Pokemon. Sitting a foot out of te water. It had red jewel-like features on its head and long tentacles. A Tentacool. He was about to turn around, thinking he had wasted his time when something caught his eye. One of the Tentacool's tentacles seemed oddly large. He looked at it closely and realized it was wrapped around something, and whatever it was was making that God-awful noise. He got as close as he could to the water. The Tentacool appeared to be squeezing as hard as it could. The shrills were dying down, and so was whatever it was holding.
Sean looked around on the shore for anything he could use to hit the Tentacool with. Nothing. He looked into the water. It seemed shallow enough. He took a step. His foot sunk deep into the muck. He wrenched his foot out. It had nearly claimed his shoe. The sounds were growing even less. Looking around again, he noticed a branch and near it was a rock. A rather large rock. He picked both of them up and ran back along the shore to get a good shot at the Tentacool. He took aim and heaved the rock at it. The rock smacked it in the back of its head.
"Bingo," he thought."Dead on."
The Tentacool dropped its prey and turned on Sean. It puny little under-eyes were on fire with anger. Using its long tentacles as legs, it crawled through the muck towards Sean. Having no idea what to do he frantically perused the shore again. The Tentacool was closing in and Sean was panicking. He barely knew what this thing was, let alone how to stop it, and it was streaming headlong towards him.
The Tentacool fired something from under its body with amazing accuracy and smacked Sean right on the leg. It burned through his jeans immediately. He gasped and grabbed a sharp rock that was nearby and cut the pants off from the knee down. He looked back up as the Tentacool shot off another one. This one he jumped away from. It was still closing in. A scrambled to his feet. He tasted blood. He touched his lip. It had been bitten in the fall. It wasn't bleeding too freely, he'd be fine. Sean looked around again. At last, success. A thick tree branch was leaning against the wall of the ravine. He grabbed it and turned himself around.
The Tentacool was on him. It was much less coordinated as it walked on land, so it dropped down to rest on its belly and raised its tentacles threateningly in the air. Sean moved back a few steps and looked around behind him. He tightened his grip on the log.
"Tentacoool...," it hissed.
Sean swallowed hard and stared back at it. He took another step back and the Tentacool picked itself up and took another step forward. Sean took another step. Tentacool did the same. A third time he did this. Tentacool followed. The Tentacool didn't seem to want to let him go. Maybe he could use this to his advantage. He surveyed his surroundings a final time. A large tree trunk stood erect behind him, some ten feet tall and fifteen feet from him. The sand and dirt he stood on seemed to be firm enough and the ground was littered with small stones. Nothing big enough to hurt himself on.
He cationed himself. Reassuring his plan, he took one final step backwards. The Tentacool did as well. It tilted its weight onto one tentacle and Sean steadied himself, taking a deep breath. He pivoted on his left foot and threw his weight into his run. For the third time today, he was sprinting. This time for his life. He turned his head to his side. Sure enough, it was following. He slowed so it could catch up. As it gained, he reached the tree trunk. He leapt into the air and kicked off the tree. He had propelled himself into the air, right over the Tentacool. Confused, the Tentacool turned around. Now Sean was on it. He took back the limb and smacked the Tentacool in the side of the head with it. The Tentacool careened back into the water and disappeared.
"Yes!," he shouted.
The Tentacool floated to the water's surface then took off upstream, away from Sean. Very pleased with himself, he chucked the limb into the stream and was about to climb back up the side when he noticed a small blue lump on the far shore. It was the Tentacool's prey. It was twitching in immense pain. He took a few steps from the water's edge then ran toward the stream and hurtled himself over the water. He ran toward the little ball of blue and looked down at it. It had curled itself into a defensive position and was whimpering.
"A Pokemon," he stated."What am I supposed to do with this thing?"
Looking down at it, he realized it was a Pokemon he hadn't seen before. It had a blue body, and a light blue underside. Orange tufts in a half-star shape came from each of its cheeks.
After realizing Sean wasn't going to hurt it, it stood up. It's legs were tiny. And its tail resembled a fin. Also, on top of its head was a fin-type projection. It stared up at him and blinked. It had small egg-shaped eyes.
"Mudkip," it stated blankly.
Sean looked down in dismay. He had no idea what to do. It appeared to be in a lot of pain. He turned to jump back over the stream and it collapsed. Exhaustion had caught up with it. Its breathing was irregular. Sean didn't care for Pokemon at all, but he wasn't one to let a creature sit in the forest and die. He picked it up and climbed back up the side of the ravine.
The journey home was a slow one. The Pokemon became increasingly worse as time went on. His breathing became harsher and his skin became dry.
The edge of the forest was in sight and Sean clutched the Pokemon closer to his body and ran the rest of the way there. He reached the front door and flinged it open.
"Mom! Come quick!," he yelled up the stairs.
She was down the steps in no time.
"What is it? Oh! Is that a Pokemon?"
"Yes! And its hurt! What do we do?"
"Um..It looks likea Water-type. Should we put it in the bathtub?"
"I don't know! How am I supposed to know this stuff?!"
"I'll fill it. Bring it upstairs."
They both ran up the steps and she filled the bathtub halfway. He set the injured Pokemon in it and stood back.
"Now what?"
"I dunno..It's not like I'm exactly in to this you know."
"Well, what happened to it for God's sake?!"
"I ran into the woods and found this stream. It got attacked by this one Pokemon...I've seen it before, I just can't remember what it is. I hit it with a rock and it attacked me. It got me with some acid stuff on my pants, then I hit it with a stick and it ran away. I grabbed this one and ran it home."
"Oh, you poor dear..."
She was reffering to the Pokemon. She placed a hand on its forehead and it shivered into her touch.
"The best thing we could do is take it to a Pokemon Center."
"Kingston, then?"
"Yes. I'll get the car. Wrap it in a damp towel and meet me outside."
Sean did as he was told and once again picked up the little Pokemon. The towel helped, but its little body was still shivering and its breathing was still staggered.
His mom was waiting outide, keys in the ignition and engine running. She waited for him to get into the car and pulled out of the drive onto the dirt road. Sean petted the little Pokemon on its head. He didn't like it, but it was kind of cute wrapped up like a baby.
His mom drove through the forest speedily and they arrived in Kingston about ten minutes later. Pulling into town, they made a left on the first street, passed the Gym, and arrived at the Pokemon Center. It was extremely crowded. Sean opened the door and ran towards the Center. He sprinted towards the front desk, nearly knocking some of the Trainers over as he did so.
"Nurse! Nurse!"
"Yes?," Joy asked.
"This Pokemon! I found him in the woods! He's in really bad shape!" he panted.
"Oh my! Let me take a look at it!"
She removed the towel and observed a small laceration where the tentacle had dug into the little Pokemon's skin.
"Chansey, I need a stretcher for a small Water-type STAT!"
The Chansey were extremely fast workers being as big as they were. They hooked it to an IV and drove it into a back room.
"We'll be with you shortly. There's a good chance it might not make it..Talk to my sister while we look at it. Tell her what happened and maybe we'll have a better chance of saving it."
The other Joy appeared. She was clad in the same white nurse's outfit. A white hat with a red cross on it adorned her head and her pink hair was looped up behind her head.
"Alright..What is your name, Dear?"
"Sean."
"Ok, Sean. I need to know what happened. Tell me exactly, leaving nothing out."
Sean began his story. Telling her of the run through the woods to the stream, the jellyfish that he'd seen, but wasn't sure what it was, and his finding of the little blue Pokemon.
"Oh dear...A Tentacool..It was using Wrap on it then?"
"That seemed to be what it was," he had no idea what she had just said.
"I'm going to check on the Pokemon with my sister. Wait here."
She went into the back room with her sister, and Sean's mom entered, having parked the car. She was breathing so hard it appeared she parked it some five blocks away and had run back. Sean stared at her and made her sit down in the corner. He sat down with her.
"You ok?," he asked laughingly.
"Yeah..," she sighed,"It was a long run."
"I gave them the Pokemon and they're taking care of it in the back room."
Sean placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. His mind flashed back to the vision of the day so far and he realized it was still very early. Again he looked at the clock, and again he was right. Only 9:30. He shrugged it off.
Closing his eyes again, his ears opened up to the Center. Sounds of Pokemon and their Trainers playing filled his ears. He opened his eyes. Looking around,he saw many different Pokemon. Most of which he'd seen, a few he had no clue about, and even less he knew the names of.It seemed a shame to him that the whole world was wrapped up in this thing and he had no idea what their purpose was. Even his own mother knew more about Pokemon than him. That was like a slap in the face.
His mind flashed back to his father. He remembered that whenever he came home he always had Pokemon with him. He never actually paid attention to them, but when his father wasn't talking to him or sleeping, he was with his Pokemon. He remembered in particular a large bird with three heads. It was brown, but he knew nothing else about it. Maybe he remembered it most vividly because it was his father's most recent catch? He couldn't remember. God, he missed his father.
Nurse Joy appeared from the back room and walked up to Sean. She didn't seem to have a concerned look on her face, which was a good sign.
"Dear, your Pokemon will be fine. He had a cut along his abdomen, but we stitched it up and he'll be as good as new in a couple days. The stitches will fall out on their own, so you don't have to worry about braving the forest again, hm?," she giggled.
"Thanks, Nurse Joy. He's a resilient little guy, isn't he?"
"Yes, very. Is he yours?"
"Well, no. I had just found him in the forest, remember?"
"Oh, right. Well, you really should keep him. Are you a Trainer?"
"No, I've never really been interested. But I'm considering," he threw in, looking around.
Half of the room was listening. Stony glances were being thrown at him by all the Trainers and his mother was shifting nervously in her seat. They were relieved when the other Nurse Joy brought the Pokemon out from the back room, as it drew attention from them for a moment.
"Son, do you know what you've got here?," she asked.
How could he?He barely even knew it was a Pokemon until he had gotten close enough to it.
"No...What?," he replied, feeling stupid.
"It's a Mudkip. And they're not normally found in these parts. In fact, I've only seen one in a book. And the cool thing about them is the fact that they're a dual-type Pokemon. It's part Water and part Ground," she threw in a wink for effect.
He didn't know what he was supposed to say to that. Now that everyone was listening, most eyes were on him, others on Mudkip.
"Cool," he stated blankly.
She handed him the Pokemon and he and his mom walked out of the Center, Sean reddening by the second. He heard catcalls from inside the Center as he trudged out. His temper was running shorter as they reached the car. Apparently a Trainer had followed them. He and his Bulbasaur were jeering at them as they pulled off.
His mom drove slower home than he did on the way through the first time. Mudkip wasn't breathing hard and his bandage seemed to be helping soothe his pain a bit. Sean looked down at it with concern showing through his ignorance, and he patted the young Pokemon's head with a reassuring touch. His mom smiled as she looked over at him. She enjoyed seeing him have fun with a Pokemon for once. It killed her that he didn't like them as a child.
They pulled back into the driveway and Sean carried Mudkip up to his room, still stroking its blue head. Mudkip was awake now, and it was thoroughly enjoying the attention Sean was giving it. It looked up at him, opened its mouth a little ways and tilted his head innocently.
"You're not so bad, ya know that?," Sean told Mudkip.
"Kip?"
"You're actually kinda...cute," he smiled at Mudkip and pet him again.
They spent the rest of the day with his mom. The field across the street from their house was huge. Mudkip walked around slowly, and enjoyed the flowers and trees while Sean and his mother watched him and talked some fifty feet away.
"You know, Sean, I had Pokemon at one time."
The news was totally new to him.
"Really? Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"Well...To tell you the truth, I was scared you would dislike me or something. Your father being away all the time made me want to plese you in every way possible. But I guess little Mudkip has finally broken your barriers, eh?," she smiled at him.
The thought had occured to him. Mudkip really had lessened his hold on his former thoughts of Pokemon. Several yards away Mudkip hiccupped and shot a jet of mud at a nearby rock. He then turned and strolled back to Sean who immediately picked it up and held it.
"It really feels good to know you've grown out of that, Sean. When you started to dislike Pokemon around the age of four I had to let my Pokemon go with your father. I felt it best that way..I do miss my old friends..."
"Mom, I had no idea..."
"Don't worry about it, Dear," she sighed and stood up."I think I'll go start dinner or...or something..."
He watched her walk away. He looked back at Mudkip who was dripping mud slowly from his lower lip and watching a fly zoom around his head. He smiled again and patted Mudkip who's attention immediately flicked back to Sean.
"Maybe you guys really aren't that bad after all," he said to himself more than to Mudkip."It really wouldn't be that bad to train Pokemon.."
His mind again flashed to his father. He could see him off somewhere in a distant land fighting a battle with his three-headed wonder bird. He wished he could be there with him. Mudkip licked his face. He looked down at him. A thought popped into his head. Everyone had been mentioning it today, but this is the first time he actually considered what they were saying. He had said it himself: "It really wouldn't be that bad to train Pokemon.." He looked at Mudkip, thought of his father, and made up his mind. He would travel the world, earning badges, and catch up with his dad. They would train together. And if all went bad, he could always come back, right?
He ran back to the house as the sun went down, his plan set, his Pokemon in hand, and his goal in front of him. He had decided to find his father. He had decided to let Pokemon into his life. And he had to decided to become a Pokemon Trainer.
Tomorrow was a new day and Sean knew that he had to start then. He had to learn. Ignorance isn't a good thing in the World of Pokemon, and that's one of the few things that Sean knew.
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Closing Note: Just as you all start to get into it, he ends it. How inconsiderate of me. I had a lot of fun writing this first chapter. And sorry some parts of it were so boring. But you have to get the boring stuff out of the way if you want the goods, right? Expect lots and lots of chapters for this story. I should probably update weekly, but if I don't, wait longer. If you enjoyed this story, please review. Hell, if you hated it, please review. I'm in to any and all suggestions from you guys.
Final Note: A friend of mine tells me this is 11 pages to print. Print with caution.