Disclaimer: Pokémon and characters pertaining to the series are Copyright Nintendo.
Hello, and welcome to the new fic. This is probably the only author's note I'm going to leave on this story to spare you from my ranting. Anyway, I wrote this because I needed to write something that was more interesting than the last story I wrote for Pokémon. Anyway, here it is.
Read and enjoy.
Viridian City was a well-sustained, environmentally friendly metropolis. Pidgey chirped peacefully from rooftops during the day as Meowth roamed the streets by night. Trees and parks helped keep balance between the urban and rural elements of the city. The Gym, by far, was the largest building there, and probably the most well-known. That was where she left him.
Edward stood in front of the Gym, looking up at the massive dome-shaped roof. His mother had teleported him here the day after their argument so he could 'learn to be a real trainer.' He was given a backpack, a change of clothes, and sleeping bag. He had a small supply of food, fifty dollars, and a trainer card.
'This is a total waste of time,' the psychic thought as he listened to techno music on his CD Player. ''Go become a real trainer', what a joke.'
But even then, the words his mother had last said to him burned inside his mind: 'If you can beat me once you get to Saffron, the Gym is yours.' And Edward wanted to lead the Gym. It was his dream.
His only Pokémon, Abra, sat on his shoulders, listening to the music from the other earpiece. Sabrina had given him Abra when he turned ten, and even after four years of partial training he still hadn't evolved. But he could do anything Edward could, and more. His telekinetic abilities weren't strong enough to form actual attacks like confusion, but he could fight well enough. But… Viridian City Gym was supposed to be the most difficult of all the Gyms.
'I can't wait until this is over,' he grumbled, returning his Pokémon before walking in.
The instant he stepped through those doors, he could hear the sound of battling. Pokémon like Rhydon and Sandslash trained vigorously with their masters. A Machoke was beating a punching bag mercilessly, tearing it to shreds with powerful kicks and punches. Two Tauros rammed into each other, their horns locking as each aggressively tried to force the other into submission. Just the sight of such strong Pokémon easily intimidated Edward.
Sabrina's son just stood in the doorway, too nervous to even reach for the pokéball in his pocket.
'There's no way I can manage to get to the leader. These guys could easily get to me first.'
He was about to turn around when someone spoke.
"Hey, kid. What are you doing here?"
A tall, muscular man wearing boxing gloves walked over to the boy. A Primape stalked behind him; he must have been boxing with it.
The man spoke, "Do you need some help?"
Edward spoke quietly, "I... I don't want any help."
"Really? You aren't lost or anything?"
'What does he think I am, a five year old?'
"I want to..." He paused, wondering why he was so nervous. "I-I want to challenge the Gym Leader."
The Primape trainer laughed heartily. "Why didn't you just say so? I'll be your first opponent, just to loosen you up."
Reluctantly, Edward reached into his pocket and retrieved the only pokéball he had in his possession. The spherical capsule was tossed onto the floor, summoning his Abra in a bright flash of light. The creature's tail happily swung back and forth in anticipation of a fight.
The man's cheery expression slowly grew stern. Even the Primape seemed disappointed.
He folded his arms across his chest. "Is this your only Pokémon?"
Edward nervously nodded.
"You might want to reconsider challenging us first," the man advised.
'That's what I told Mom,' Edward thought miserably.
The trainer continued talking, "Your Pokémon would lose in a battle against any one of ours here. And that is absolutely nothing compared to what Leader Blue's Pokémon are capable of. Why don't you go to Pewter City and challenge the Gym there first?"
With that, the psychic boy turned around and went back through the doors. He left the Gym behind as he quickly walked, then ran, until the building was out of sight. His legs moved as he fled across the pavement, trying to forget the disappointing words that had been so truly spoken. Without even stopping at the Pokémart, he ran until he was at the edge of Viridian Forest.
Taking a deep breath of the cool air, Edward let his aching muscles relax. Slowly, the realization of why he was there in the first place came back to him. Wide branches loomed over his head as he stared into the darkness of the forest of Viridian.
'I have to go in there? But there are bugs in there!' he thought with a small cringe.
Edward hated bug Pokémon. To him they were extremely creepy and disturbing. He didn't like the way they crawled around and bit people. But it didn't look like he had much of a choice.
Collecting his courage, Edward walked into the forest, cursing his luck for having to undertake this journey at all.
'This should be easy. It'll probably take me… an hour to get to Pewter. Maybe less.'
Not much later, he became lost. And that, was the least of his problems.
Someone was following him.
Yeah, I know. It was a bit short. Longer chapters will be promised in the future.
More to come later.