Hello readers! You may recognize this story. I had previously published it under the title 'Pokemon: Offspring of Ambition'. After removing it, I decided to republish it after editing the whole thing to make it more consistent and realistic. If you have read my previous incarnation of this story, then I hope you enjoyed the new prologue. Now, without further ado, I give you:
Part One: Rocky Begins
Chapter One: The Deal
"Today's the day. I'm going to do it." Thirteen year old Rocky said to his best friend, Classico, as he sat down next to him on the crowded high school cafeteria table. He ran his fingers through his mane of spiky brown hair as he grinned smugly.
Classico groaned with annoyance. "No don't tell me… We've been through this a thousand times before. It's a bad idea!"
Classico was about to reply but then two upperclassmen got in a Pokemon battle There were bright flashes of red light as they released their Pokemon.
"Go Beedrill!" Said one as he sent out a dangerous looking bee Pokemon.
"Go Nidorino!" Said the other as he sent out a purple rhinoceros like Pokemon.
"Nidorino- Horn Attack!" The Pokemon charged at Beedrill but the yellow and black Pokemon was faster. A loud buzzing noise filled the cafeteria as it hovered out of range causing Nidorino's attack to miss. Instead he crashed into the cinderblock wall with a loud crack. The Beedrill took advantage of this and launched its Twin Missile attack. Two poisonous spikes shot through the air and impacted the discombobulated Nidorino. The purple Pokemon dropped to the ground.
"What? No! You must have cheated 'cause my Nidoran has an outstanding defense and could not be taken down by one move." The not-so-proud owner of the defeated Nidoran ranted.
"Well, then you must be a complete fool to not see it. Twin Missile is a bug attack and super-effective against poison Pokemon of which your weak Nidorino is." The victor of the battle replied smugly.
"Weak!?" The loser screamed, outraged, as he swung his punch at his opponent. The jock caught the punch and then pushed the owner of the Nidorino to the ground with one hand.
"You're as weak as your Pokemon." He sneered. Almost everyone in the cafeteria laughed as the defeated and humiliated boy got up and ran off.
The winner of the battle was one of the most popular kids in the school. His name is Arby Jones. He was tall, buffed up, captain of the school football team, and as far as he was concerned, God.
He had about twenty different girlfriends at a single time, some of them smart enough to do his homework for them so he got good grades. His parents were board executives for some corporation so he was rich and had plenty of Pokemon to show off as well as plenty of skill. As much as Rocky hated the stuck-up, he was even more jealous of him. For Rocky most of his time in school daydreaming through the classes about obtaining a Pokemon of his own and then fighting his way to the top. To Rocky, a Pokemon was the means to achieve an escape from his status as poor high school loser. And on that day, Rocky intended to use all the money he's saved up for the last few years to buy a Pokemon.
"That twit! He thinks he could break the school rules and get away with it. No unauthorized Pokemon battling- is that rules really that hard to follow?" Classico ranted.
"Apparently that arrogant snob does think he can get away with it and he's one-hundred percent correct. But just wait until I get a Pokemon and start battling. I'll show him that he can't get away with treating everyone like dirt!" Rocky vowed.
Classico rolled his eyes and was about to tell Rocky to ignore arrogant snobs like Arby until someone asked, "Say what shrimp?"
They didn't even notice Arby accompanied by his usual harem of girlfriends standing right in front of them.
"Erm… I was saying that watching you battle is a real inspiration to get a Pokemon of my own and start training and…um… you make everyone look like dirt with you awesome skill." Rocky replied, trying to avoid trouble.
Arby appeared to buy it. He grinned and asked, "And how does a little slum dog like you plan to acquire a Pokemon?"
Classico interjected. "Rocky, he is right. With more and more crimes and terrorism being perpetrated with the use of Pokemon the government has very strict policies for adoption of Pokemon."
"Who asked you, nerd? I'll bet a dead light bulb has more ambition than you." Arby sneered as his girlfriends laughed. Classico scowled but said nothing.
"Cassico has a point but I hope I don't give the impression that I particularly care about the laws. Legal or illegal, I want to get a Pokemon." Rocky told Arby as he stood up to face him.
Arby grin spread even wider. "I like that attitude. And I can help you."
"Seriously? Okay, let's talk business." Rock replied, now very excited.
Classico jumped up and warned, "You're breaking the law-" But was cut off as Arby took a step closer to Rocky and pushed Classico away.
"Hold up, bro. What I got ain't cheap. But what do you have in mind." Arby asked.
"I spent a while thinking about it and I want a Growlithe; that is, if it's included in your product selection. They're strong, loyal, and dependable- exactly what I want in a Pokemon." Rocky replied, realizing that his dreams were coming true.
"I do happen to have a Growlithe for sale. Normally I'd sell it for ten thousand Poke but since I'm in a good mood today, I'll give you a fifty percent discount." Arby offered.
"Sound's good. I've been saving up. When can we make the exchange?" Rocky, agreed, trying to keep his cool.
"Whenever I can see the money." Arby told him as he took a very beat up looking Pokeball out of one of his girlfriend's backpacks. "This Growlithe is yours to keep." He held the old Pokeball in front of Rocky's face.
Rocky took a wad of cash tied together with a rubber band out of a secret pocket sewed into the inside of his navy blue hoodie.
"Here you go. Five thousand poke." Rocky handed the stack of bills to Arby, then snatched the Pokeball.
"Pleasure doing business with you." Rocky gave a slight bow before storing the Pokeball in his backpack.
"No. The pleasure is mine…." Arby replied ominously before strutting away.
"You freaking idiot!" Classico yelled.
"What's your problem. I think you're just jealous that he didn't make an offer to you." Rocky told Classico.
To his surprise, Classico gave a cold laugh. "No. Actually, next week is my birthday and that is when I receive my first Pokemon- Legally!"
"I don't have parents that actually give a rats ass about me or have there sh*t together enough to legally buy me a Pokemon. A guys gotta do what a guys gotta do." Rocky defended himself, shrugging as he held his hands out to the side.
"You're a horrible business man. For all you know, Arby just ripped you off. I think that you should report this to Pokemon Police as illegal Pokemon trafficking." Classico suggested.
"I'm sick of always going by the rules. Nobody gets anywhere by going by the laws and rules set in place by an oppressive society. Those at the top make rules that keep them at the top and people like me at the bottom. But no longer will I bow to the proxy whims and standards of others." Rocky made quite a dramatic speech.
"Then you are no better than Team Rocket, corrupt politicians, selfish and greedy corporations, and other crime syndicates that make this world so corrupt. Next week, after I turn fourteen, I am leaving school and entering the Pokemon Police academy. My obligation is to stop people like you from making the world any worse." Classico spat as the two members of the ending friendship stomped off in opposite directions to their classes.
The day seemed to fly by for Rocky. He spent day dreaming about his Growlithe and how he would start training it. Arby made the wrong move by selling me this Growlithe. 'Cause he is at the top of my hit list. Rocky thought deviously.
Rocky finally tore out of the front doors to the school. Then he sprinted home. He lived in the old apartment building about a mile from the school. When he got there, he ran up the twisty stairs because the elevator didn't work.
After that he tore like hell down the hall way until he reached the apartment door. Then he unlocked the door and closed it after entering the tiny apartment. The apartment had a kitchen, a dining/sitting room, a bathroom, and two bedrooms. One bedroom was for his stepfather and his mother and the other was occupied by Rocky and his little brother, Ted.
Nobody was home at the moment since Rocky's step father was at work and his mother was picking up Ted from daycare so she wouldn't be home for another half hour.
Out the window, a bolt of lightening flashed. The sky was dark with heavy clouds. Rocky admired the storm from the window that overlooked the street below and leveled with the building across from it. The town looked terrible with trash littered everywhere, hobos wondering the streets, and beat up old cars parked everywhere. Not to mention the disgusting smell of city pollution.
"Time to touch fame." Rocky announced to himself as he took out the beat up Pokeball. He had learned to use Pokeballs from years of watching tournaments on TV.
He pressed down on the lock. The Pokeball expanded from the sized of a ping-pong ball to the size of a base ball. Then he dropped the Pokeball and it opened up. A blinded red light shot out and formed a shape. Then it began to materialize.
Rocky didn't seem to register what he was seeing. Because he was not seeing what he wanted to see. He didn't see a Growlithe. The Pokemon that he bought with the money he saved up over the course of about a year, was not the Pokemon that he paid for. It wasn't even healthy. The thing was nearly dead, obviously surviving off of the life support systems of the Pokeball. There were cuts and bruises and missing patches of fur covering its tiny body. And apparently it wasn't ready to be released from the life support systems just yet. Its breathing slowed.
Rocky just couldn't believe, he just couldn't accept, that the Pokemon he worked so hard for was not a Growlithe. He just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that life had cheated and deceived him so badly. Not only was it not a Growlithe but it was dying. And yet Rocky felt no hatred for the dying Pokemon that didn't even appear to be full grown.
Out of anguish, Rocky let out a moan and dropped to his knees. Then he just stared into the eyes of the dying… Sentret.
