Chapter 2
"The Hands That Thieve"
Entry #057
Just two more days and I'll finally begin my journey! My parents said they're throwing a party for my birthday tomorrow, but really, they just want to show me off to all of their 'friends'. It'll be a gruelling evening of having other rich kids thrown at me as suitors, their parents hoping I'll fall for one of them so that their family will marry into more money. Honestly, I would rather kiss a Muk than be anywhere near those pampered bourgeois wanna-be trainers!
Anyways, Daddy is still insisting I use one of the Pokemon he had bred for me, but I've told him a thousand times, I'm getting my starter Pokemon from Professor Reid just like everyone else. Even though that's what I want, I may have to pick one of my father's, that is, if the rumors about the starter shortage here are true. I guess I'll find out tomorrow morning, but for now, I'm going to get some sleep.
~ Maya
"A delay?" Lucas was wrought with aggravation as he received the bad news from the receptionist in Mistralton City.
"I'm sorry, sir, but due to the severe thunderstorms moving in from the northwest, all flights are delayed until further notice," the young woman responded. "If you leave a name and a number we can contact you as soon as we have an update on your flight."
Lucas looked back at Avey who was sitting on a couch in the waiting area attempting to read an old Char Man comic. Turning back to the receptionist, he grabbed a pen and a piece of notepaper and began to write down his contact information, "I don't have a Xtransceiver or anything, but I'll be at the Pokemon Center in town; dunno the number, but I'm sure you can find it."
"Oh sure, that won't be any trouble at all." As she took up the paper and noticed the name she started off. "You aren't relat-"
"Nope, just a coincidence." As he cut-in, he and Avey were almost out the door.
It wasn't a mistake for the airline to delay the flights. Lucas was caught in a violent downpour in the middle of Mistralton, he returned Avey to his Pokeball as he darted off towards the Pokemon Center. The dark expanse of clouds looming overhead blocked out all light from the sun, and as Lucas ran, the wind began picking up to speeds that were almost painful for him to work against. Not really seeing a choice in the matter, Lucas ducked into a small abandoned shack not far from the airport.
The inside of the shack was dank and too dark for Lucas to see. He fumbled about, feeling the wall for a light switch that would prove useless as the building had been devoid of electricity for years. Finally, realizing his situation, Lucas removed the emergency flashlight from his bag and started to look around the shack.
Shelves filled with expired and molded food lined the walls of the shack. Lucas walked down a small aisle between the two center shelves when he noticed movement in the back of the store. He readied his hand to release Avey from his Pokeball as he moved towards the figure crouched on the floor. Lucas was hesitant to shine the light on whatever it was, as he expected it to attack him, instead he only saw fear in the large blue eyes of a scared young boy.
Lucas managed to build a fire out of some of old wood and newspapers littered about the former mom and pop shop. The child with short brown hair, who couldn't be anymore than seven or eight years old, sat on the other side of the fire, staring blankly into it. He wore a plain yellow t-shirt and blue shorts, but no shoes. Lucas offered him his jacket for warmth, as well as his sleeping bag for the night. Lucas made several attempts to talk to the boy, but the child just sat and stared at the burning embers of the flame.
"What's your name? I'm Lucas." Lucas continued his attempts to get a response from the boy, when suddenly, he had a thought. "Hey, do you wanna see a Pokemon?" Lucas asked as he pulled his Pokeball from his belt and called Avey out.
Avey quickly took notice of his surroundings, and the young boy perked up at the sight of the small cub. As the two began to run around and play, the boy seemed like a completely different person. Lucas sat back with a smile on his face as he watched them play.
Meanwhile, in the New Bark Town mansion of the famous Pokemon breeders, the Day family, Maya Day stands in front of a full-bodied mirror as she prepares for her sixteenth birthday party, or as she puts it, a celebration for her parents' stuck up rich friends. Despite her feelings for the party, she still tries to look her best, not for her parents, but because she enjoys the process.
She took one last look as she smoothed out her leaf green dress, and tied back her shoulder length brunette hair, making sure every wavy curl was perfectly in place. Finally, she cloaked herself in a white shawl and pinned it across her chest with a pin that resembled her family's emblem, an outline of a green leaf.
The family butler, Joff, knocked and entered the room. He was middle aged, at least forty but no older than fifty, he wore a typical butler's uniform with coattails and all. His hair and physical traits strongly mirrored those of the butler of the popular comic book superhero Zubatman.
"Your madame mother requests your presence in the lobby, m'lady," Joff proclaimed very stoically.
"Oh no, are people showing up already?"
"Indeed, m'lady, the guests have arrived."
"Whatever happened to being fashionably late? I thought rich types loved those kinds of idiotic tropes."
"I couldn't say, m'lady."
"Uff, this whole affair is completely deplorable. All I wanted was a simple home-cooked meal for my birthday, but instead Daddy turns it into an opportunity to brag about me to his boring rich friends." Maya sighed as she picked up an empty Pokeball and made her way to the door. "If you see Munch, put him in his ball," said Maya as she placed the ball in Joff's hand.
"Certainly, m'lady." As Maya made her way down the hall, Joff stood in the doorway studying the Pokeball in his hand before turning out the light in Maya's room and shutting the door.
"So, I hear you got your Pokemon from Reid. Is that true?" A young dapper boy with slick black hair and dressed in a tux asked Maya as she boredly listened to him talk. "Hello, are you even listening to me?" He snapped as Maya stared into the distance.
"Oh, ummm...yeah, I stopped by his lab this morning to pick it up." Maya answered quickly.
"Why on Earth would you want one of those whelps when you could have a far superior Pokemon bred by your parents?" The boy asked sounding slightly humored, yet also disgusted.
"What do you mean "whelp"? A Pokemon's a Pokemon, it doesn't matter how it was bred." Upset by the boy's comment, Maya was about to burst into a rant about training Pokemon when Joff tapped her on the shoulder.
"M'lady, there is a situation in the kitchen that requires your attention."
Maya had assumed Joff was simply saving her from having to talk to the boy any longer and simply smiled and excused herself as she followed Joff to the kitchen.
"Thanks for saving me from that Joff. I don't know how much longer I could have stood having to talk to that spoiled little -"
Joff quickly interrupted, "Oh, I'm afraid that's not the case, m'lady. There truly is a something that needs attending to." Joff continued toward the kitchen pantry as Maya followed as quickly as she could in her heels. As she approached she saw a plump teal colored creature lying flat on it's back in a pile of empty containers that once held their food. It scratched the cream colored spot on its stomach as it lifted its head with its large pointed ears and stretched its cream colored bottom jaw with a long yawn.
"Oh no, Munch, I told you to stay out of the kitchen! How were you still even hungry after eating that cake earlier today?" Maya looked disappointed as she asked Joff for Munch's Pokeball. "Munch, return!"
"Laaax?" The Munchlax sighed as it fell onto its back, faded into a red light and was beamed back into it's capsule.
"I tried that several times myself, m'lady. He just swatted the light away and continued lying there."
"He really isn't what I pictured for being my first Pokemon, but it was all Professor Reid had. Part of me wishes I had just taken one of Daddy's Pokemon, but I promised myself I wouldn't allow my parents' wealth to give me any advantages over the other beginning trainers."
"I'm sure everything will work out quite alright, m'lady. I shall have this mess handled before your parents know. You should return to the party before you're missed." Joff motioned for some attendants to clean up Munch's mess.
"Thanks, Joff. I owe you!" Maya shot off at a brisk pace, but still taking the scenic route back to the party outside. She looked at Munch's Pokeball in her hand as she walked around the side of the house. Unexpectedly, she came upon a small group of kids she had seen around the party that night. They were somewhat crowded in a circle, passing around a joint and a bottle of liquor.
"Heeyy, birthday girl! Wanna join us," One of the boys asked snidely as the girls chuckled at her.
"No, thanks, I have to get back to the party." She awkwardly retorted as she continued walking. One of the girls, a snarky blonde with cleavage practically hanging out of her dress, grabbed Maya by the arm.
"Hey, you aren't going to tattle, are you birthday girl," The girl asked as she noticed the Pokeball in her hand. "Looking for a fight, or something?" Maya could smell the obnoxious mixture of marijuana and liquor on her breath, doing her best to ignore it.
"I had to deal with something, not that it should matter to you. If you'll excuse me, I have to go now." Maya pulled her arm away from the girl and continued back to the party.
"Whatever, freak." Maya clenched Munch's Pokeball and just kept walking.
Maya returned to the party after putting Munch's ball away and applying perfume to mask the scent of the pot from earlier. She stood next to her father on the stairway as he gave a speech, rambling through bad jokes that incited awkward laughter from the sprawling crowd of guests. Her father, Robert, was about six feet tall and a bit slim. He had greying brown hair and wore a tux and black rimmed glasses.
"...But, really, folks, let's get a little serious. When I was Maya's age, I was just leaving my father's Miltank farm to become a trainer. I had no guidance, no direction and back in those days, it was gruelling to be a new trainer out on your own. I struggled a lot in my first few months as a trainer, until I met Lillian." Robert gestured towards Maya's mother who was standing to her left. She looked a lot like Maya, slightly taller and more developed, but she didn't look a day over thirty, despite being in her mid forties.
"Meeting her, falling in love. It really made all of my previous suffering worth it. When Maya took her final exams just before the summer, it hit me. She would be alone. I couldn't bear the thought of my daughter having to go through what I went through, so I made some calls, particularly over to my friend Augustus in the Unova region. His god son, the son of former Empyreal Islands champion Logan Ahlberg, is coming to Johto tomorrow and he has agreed to travel with my daughter through our wonderful region!"
The crowd erupted with cheers and applause, as Maya looked on with a fake smile plastered over her face as she struggled to hide her anger and confusion.
It was after midnight and the storm had finally passed. Lucas was leaning against the shack outside as he gazed into the clear night sky, smoking the last of the pot Casey had smuggled into the Cherish Ball she gave him. Inside, Avey and the nameless boy were asleep next to the smoldering ashes of what was left of the fire.
After finishing his joint, Lucas went back into the shack and attempted to get some sleep. He laid awake for at least an hour, just staring at his Cherish Ball, before finally falling asleep.
Entry #059
I can't believe him! He went behind my back and got some big shot to come all the way to Johto to be my bodyguard?! Jerk isn't really a word I like to throw around, especially when I'm referring to Daddy, but, y'know, he is being a real ass!
Oh, and Munch somehow got out while Daddy wasn't shutting up and being dumb. He ate the cake...again! I am at the point now where I don't even want to leave, but all I want to do is leave! I don't know who cares, I'm tired, goodnight!
~ pissed and angry
Wait, no that was silly, I can't sign off like that.
~ Maya
The next morning, Lucas woke up and the boy was gone, but so was his Cherish Ball. Lucas cleaned up the mess he made making the fire and then waited about an hour, just in case the boy returned. He never did, not while Lucas was there. Feeling somewhat betrayed, Lucas woke Avey and the two set off to the Pokemon Center.
The roads were still pretty bad from the night before, most of the road having the viscosity comparable to that of a slushie. Lucas didn't care, knowing he would have to shower and do laundry when he got back to the Pokemon Center. Avey on the other hand, found it much more difficult to wade through the muck and quickly opted into returning to his Pokeball.
Lucas finally arrived at the Center, having kept his eyes out for the boy, but not having any sight of him. He knew Casey would be disappointed in him losing the ball; he also knew he couldn't avoid telling her.
"Lucas? Hey!" Natalie had answered the phone excitedly, not expecting a call from her brother for another day or two.
"Hey, Nat. Is Casey around?"
"Um, no, she went to the Gym with Auggie. Do you want me to tell her something for you?"
"No, that's fine, just let her know I'll call when I get to New Bark." Lucas was somewhat relieved, but only somewhat.
"Okay, well I'm in the middle of making my lunch, so..." Natalie trailed off as Lucas quickly responded.
"Oh, I need to find out what's going on with my flight, we'll talk in a few days, alright?"
"Okay...be safe."
"Always am." Lucas hung up and got his flight information that was left with the receptionist at the Center, then spent the rest of the day preparing for his flight. That evening, Lucas made his way to the Mistralton airport hoping he would see the boy from the night before, but he never did. However, the boy wasn't far behind...
