The Johto Odyssey
by Galbinus
Hey ya! Galbinus from 2008 speaking here. Anyway, if you are a new reader, please continue doing so—and if you're an older reader coming back here out of boredom, perhaps, you might notice a little change after the whole Ilex Forest article, which is actually far more important than it appears to be.
Oops! Have I given too much away? (chuckle) Please do continue!
Chapter Two—New Rivals: Marina, Jimmy, and Silver
Ferry from Johto to Kanto—4:51; September 3, 2007
Maybelline Sapphire Maple awoke with a start, not quite knowing what it was that jerked her so swiftly from Dreamland to reality. Muttering darkly, she reluctantly opened her eyes, only to barely suppress a shriek as she saw her black-haired friend, donning his usual outfit, loom above herself. His dark red eyes seemed to sparkle with laughter, presumably at May's expression.
"Hey!" May grumbled, straightening up.
"Shhh," Brendan whispered, pressing a milky white finger to his thin lips. May grimaced, pushing herself off of her bed and found her furry slippers on the ground. Yawning silently, she found her red bandana and hastily tied it onto her head.
The black-haired Trainer motioned for her to follow him. Still muttering darkly, May followed her friend outside her door, careful to avoid waking her brother and cursing herself for forgetting to lock the door. Anyone could have gotten in…! She scolded herself, but still followed Brendan. She stepped through her doorway, and followed Brendan down the escalator and into the main room of the Pokemon Center, which was currently deserted.
As she stepped through the sliding doorway, a sudden gust of cold, autumn wind hit May's side. Shivering, she pulled her pajamas closer to herself. Brendan seemed to notice this, and selflessly took off his own vest and put it on May's back; thankfully he had been wearing a black shirt underneath.
"Thanks, Brendan," May said quietly. Brendan nodded and they proceeded down the deck.
The sun was just rising, and had cast its first rays on the wooden floor, illuminating it a soft orange-pink. Brendan led May down to the bow of the ferry. Nobody else was out yet, and for this May was glad, since she thought she might make a fool of herself with her bright red pajamas, and for some reason unknown to herself she simply wanted to be alone with Brendan.
May could see her own breath, and could also see Brendan's. They stood in silence, watching the magenta waves ripple with the slightest breeze and turn to fuchsia under brighter sunlight. She vaguely wondered why Brendan had brought her out to see all of this, but found his company comforting in itself. Then, she began wondering if Brendan had turned any different from the ten-year-old boy she remembered him last as—meticulous, studious, yet sometimes annoyingly sarcastic, and adorable. Shortly after that she made a mental note to slap herself after she had thought the last description.
After a couple of minutes, the sun had fully risen, but nobody was out yet. Brendan broke the silence and turned to May. "Um, May, can I ask you something?"
"Shoot." May said, leaning on the railing to look patiently at Brendan.
"Can… I mean, I was just thinking, er, can I travel with you and Max?" Brendan blurted, blushing. May looked at him quizzically, and considered his offer for approximately half a second.
"Sure, why not?" May answered happily, hugging her friend around the midriff. Brendan simply beamed at her, and the two passed the next half-hour by contentedly gazing at the sea, until people began streaming out of their rooms. They bade each other good-bye and headed back towards their respective rooms.
Unsurprisingly, May fell back on her bed and fell asleep again.
Ferry from Johto to Kanto—8:51; September 3, 2007
Brendan Ruby Birch peeled open his emerald backpack, removing various items that he would not need and rearranging those that he would need. All of his empty Pokeballs he kept in the front pocket of his bag. He had a spare sack of tissues, but since he could not foresee a situation in the future where he would require lots of tissue, he left that on his bedside table.
He made a note to buy more sandwich supplies at New Bark Town's newly built Pokemart, since he was rather low on those, although he still had a few spare peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches which he kept in the same pocket as his Pokeballs. May… at the thought of her, his stomach fluttered with a strange sensation but he ignored it and continued the organization of his backpack.
"Hmmm…" Brendan mused aloud, pulling out his yellow-cuffed black jacket, which had been lying crumpled and folded at the very bottom of the main chamber of his backpack. He smoothed it out and refolded it, then tucked it back inside his backpack, then followed suit for his spare pair of black, yellow-cuffed pants. His red glasses case he kept tucked by the side of his clothes.
The black-haired Trainer wondered whether or not he should design a new outfit for May… her current wardrobe, if his memory didn't fail him, was of Brendan's design. Again, his mind began wondering to a time eight years ago…
Flashback
"Brendan, c'mon, tell us, what do you have?" May's voice asked excitably. The seven-year-old girl's hair was pulled back in a casual ponytail, and her blue eyes sparkled with electricity.
"Yeah, Brendan, what did you get May and me?" Wally asked eagerly.
"Hold on, you two, I'm coming already!" Brendan's voice, annoyed, came from behind the door. A split second later, he had barged through the doorway, clutching in both hands some clothes. He himself, though, was simply wearing a T-shirt and jeans.
"Clothes? That's it?" May asked dishearteningly, folding her arms over her chest.
"Not just any old clothes…" Brendan said grandly. He pulled out several, different-sized short-sleeved collared red vests, a thin zipper running through each middle and a black circle print underneath the collars.
"Wow, is that for me?" May squealed happily; at Brendan's slow nod, she jumped up from her seat and grabbed the vest. She stretched it out in front of herself, incoherent words frothing from her mouth.
"Wait, but that's not all," Brendan said trepidatiously; he lifted several long, sleeveless white shirts up and handed it to May. "That's what you should wear under your vest," Brendan explained, indicating the different-sized white shirts; "And this is what you should wear on your legs." He gave May four pairs of sleek shorts, and the brown-haired girl accepted it.
"Thank you so much!" May beamed, hugging all of her clothes. Brendan smiled smugly and proceeded to Wally.
"Wally, here, this is your outfit," Brendan said, handing Wally different-sized long-sleeved white shirts, short-sleeved army green jackets, and long green pants a shade greener than Wally's hair color of yellow moss. The golden-green-haired boy carefully and breathlessly accepted his gift, as if afraid he might tear it apart simply by speaking.
"Thanks, Brendan!" Wally finally said, frail arms shaking with gratitude.
"No problem," Brendan said, a secretive smile on his face. Then, turning with a secretive smile towards May, he said, "Just wait 'till you see my outfit."
End Flashback
Seeing May wearing the largest version of the outfit he had designed for her made Brendan feel inexplicably warm inside. He had thought that over the years May would outgrow the somewhat childish uniform he had bestowed upon her so long ago, but she seemed to have insisted on wearing it throughout the years…
Of course, the systematic side of Brendan reminded himself, this could be for several reasons. Perhaps the clothes he made were really comfortable (Brendan snorted at this—he had only been eight when he had woven them all, and surely May grew in different ways that Brendan had predicted when he was small); or perhaps she simply did not have time to buy more clothes, which was by far more likely, albeit still rather far-fetched.
A part of Brendan wanted to know, but the other part didn't. The rest of him was wondering with amusement why he was fretting over something as small as this; and, succumbing to his third state of mind, Brendan pushed his Pokeblock case, sack of food including some leftover peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches he ate for the previous night's dinner, and Itemfinder inside the main chamber of his backpack. He decided he could stuff another item in the 'Key Item's part of his backpack, and so stiffly forced his fold-up Mach Bike inside.
The secondary main chamber of his backpack was solely dedicated to healing items. Several pink hyper potions were lined up neatly inside, and the rest was stuffed with light-yellow tablets—"Revives"—and in a small corner of his chamber he had stowed two bright-yellow spray-type Full Heals.
He cupped all of his berries into his right hand, having transformed most of them into Pokeblocks which were currently residing peacefully in his Pokeblock case. Using his teeth, Brendan flipped open a side pocket of his bag, and dumped all of his berries in there.
The other side pocket—the right one—was significantly larger than the left side, and here he kept all of his TM's and HM's in his TM and HM case. These discs were rare to come by, and occasionally he would use them to instantaneously teach his Pokemon a move. Brendan's TM and HM case, thankfully, was not very large, and in the other half of this side pocket he could stow all of his Pokemon's Hold Items.
Brendan then finished reorganizing his backpack. The one bottle of water he had, he would keep in his hands most of the time, and when he couldn't, he would strap it on his bottle green leather Pokeball belt—handily, he had added a contraption where he could keep miscellaneous objects, and here a water bottle would fit perfectly.
Stretching, Brendan slung on his backpack and strapped on his green Pokeball belt, where six gleaming Pokeballs had been clipped on. He pushed open his door, sidestepped a crying child and wondered where the kid's parents disappeared off to, and headed down the escalator. There were about perhaps a dozen people already in the Pokemon Center—several of them were lining up to heal their Pokemon, and a somewhat fatigued-looking Nurse Joy was accepting all of their Pokeballs. Marina and Jimmy were in this line as well, and thankfully they were not arguing—Brendan did not feel like acting as a mediator.
He wondered where May had gone to; she was most likely still sleeping. Max, though, Brendan had utterly no idea. Shrugging, he took a place in the line behind Jimmy, who groggily addressed Brendan with a 'hello'. Brendan nodded in greeting, deciding that he might as well cure his Aggron of its Paralysis status. Stupid Pikachu's 'Static' ability, he thought darkly to himself.
After a while, in which Brendan entertained himself by replaying several memorable moments of him and May in their childhood—though exactly why he did so, Brendan was not quite sure himself—and when his turn came, Brendan pushed all six of his Pokeballs into the kindly pink-haired nurse behind the counter. During the few short seconds that the nurse took to heal his Pokemon, he fiddled with his Trainer Identification Card and Contest Pass, the two of which were protruding a little too much from the small card-holder on his backpack's strap.
The nurse then finished and pushed all of Brendan's Pokeballs back to him with a cheery, "Thank you!" before attending to the next Trainer. Hurriedly, he clipped his Pokeballs back onto his belt and looked around, still unable to spot May.
As if on cue, the brown-haired Coordinator burst down the escalator, looking around wildly. "Did I miss breakfast?" She asked frantically, after spotting Brendan as he seated himself comfortably on a sofa.
He paused for a moment before bracing himself for the explosion and answering, "Yes."
May's jaw dropped open in despair—before she could let out the anguish wail that was certain to come, Brendan hurriedly amended, "But you can have a peanut-butter-jelly sandwich."
"Oh, can I?" May asked, sapphire eyes glazing with excitement. A smile tugged at Brendan's pale lips as he watched May collapse on the floor, practically begging Brendan now, "Please? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?"
The black-haired Trainer let out a quiet chuckle at May's childish and adorable antics; he was glad to see that at least one thing did not change over the years, and Brendan found himself wondering—hoping—if other aspects of May's personality had changed. "Hmm… I don't know, May…" He trailed off suggestively.
"Please?" The brown-haired Coordinator's voice was almost pleading now. Succumbing to May's 'puppy-eyes', Brendan pulled out a neatly-wrapped sandwich from the main chamber of his bag and tossed it to May, who caught it and immediately straightened up.
Then, she opened her mouth as if to take a large bite out of the sandwich, but Brendan quickly snatched the sandwich out of her hands. Before she could exclaim in indignation, Brendan removed the plastic-wrap covering and handed the sandwich back to her.
"Oh, thanks," May said, somewhat dully as she realized how she was prepared to eat the sandwich, wrap and all. Then, with renewed vigor, she swiftly devoured the sandwich in a matter of seconds. Seemingly satisfied, she plopped herself on the seat next to Brendan.
"Say, May, where did Max go?" Brendan asked with vague interest, eying a new wrangle between Jimmy and Marina half-heartedly.
"I think he went outside. Whatever. I don't care. If he gets lost the better," May said, voice dripping with contempt. Brendan almost shuddered at the maliciousness of May's voice, but thought better of it, as he reminded himself just how annoying younger siblings could be.
Before Brendan could ask May another question though, perhaps one pertaining to the ever-looming uncertainty of just where they were going to go after they left the ferry, Marina actually burst into tears. Deciding that he may as well show some compassion for the cerulean-haired girl, who was looking rather pathetic, Brendan shuffled over to Jimmy and Marina. He noticed May follow him, but redirected his attention to the present problem.
"What's wrong?" Brendan asked Marina in his calmest, most soothing voice, alighting his right gloved hand on the blue-haired girl's trembling features. He thought he spotted jealousy flicker over May's otherwise blissfully happy feature, but thinking that uncharacteristic of the bubbly Coordinator, brushed away the thought.
"Jimmy—he—he—" Marina sobbed, the end of her sentence transforming into a raucous wail. Turning patronizingly toward the base-ball cap wearing boy, a frown formed on Brendan's face as he saw the boy's expression turn into one of defiance. "He called my Jigglypuff UGLY!"
There was dead silence after that, in the entire room. For everyone knew that NOBODY called a girl's Jigglypuff ugly.
"Well, she called my Typhlosion weak," Jimmy snapped back. Brendan felt torn between the desire to laugh and the desire to cry.
With all the patience of a kindergarten teacher explaining algebra to toddlers, Brendan said in a slow voice, "How old are you two, anyway?"
"Uh, I'm fifteen, and Marina is also fifteen," Jimmy supplied apprehensively, answering for Marina as she continued to sob into her fists.
"I see. Would you say then that this is an appropriate way for fifteen-year-olds to behave?" Brendan asked through tight lips. He thought he heard a faint giggle from May.
"I guess not." Jimmy said apologetically with just the faintest trace of a scowl on his grimace. Turning towards his blue-haired traveling companion, he murmured what appeared to be a 'sorry', because Marina stopped crying a few moments later. In fact, the cerulean-haired girl even managed to smile at Brendan.
Sighing as the matter was resolved, Brendan turned wearily towards May, who exclaimed unexpectedly, "Wow! Brendan, that was really great!"
"Was it?" Brendan asked weakly, rubbing his hand against his temples.
"Yeah, I guess… hey, look, it's the next issue of Contest Freak!" May said to herself distractedly, plucking a purple-covered magazine from the stand next to her sofa. Brendan glanced at his emerald wrist-watch. 9:01. Taking out the ferry ticket from the small card-holder on his backpack strap, he checked the exit time—9:30.
Deciding that there was still a generous amount of time left, he tucked the ferry ticket back inside the card-holder and learned over to the magazine stand, plucking out a random one. He found himself staring at an a well-shot photo of the Battle Frontier; a smirk graced his angular face as he remembered Scott, the vociferous albeit slightly plump, advocate for the Battle Frontier battling facility, who had pestered Brendan repeatedly over the years to challenge the Battle Frontier after he had read an article about Brendan's achievements in the "Battle Zone" magazine.
Shaking away the sunglasses-wearing man's image from his mind, Brendan glanced at the magazine he was holding in his own hand to notice that it was titled "Traveling—Johto." Shrugging as he vaguely wondered what the Battle Frontier was doing in Johto, he flipped open to a random page.
Ilex Forest—A Mystery Unraveled
A Johto Rougher Article
By Mimi S.
Ilex Forest—a mysterious relic of the modernized region's past. Located in southern Johto, directly west of Azalea Town, this forest's trees are clustered so closely together that it is almost impossible to see one's way without employing occasionally groping.
The trees that grow here are largely deciduous owing to southern Johto's warm and humid climate, although in the northern areas of this forest, which is approximately 65 square miles, coniferous trees, mostly evergreens, grow. Many different species of Pokemon thrive in Ilex Forest, consisting mainly of common bug Pokemon such as Weedle and Caterpie. Hoothoot live in this forest as well, although they are admittedly uncommon owing to their reluctance to leave their homes in the trees.
A large, half-mile square lake with two three-meter wide tributaries feeding into it. According to folklore, a Suicune once purified the water not too long ago, although there is a questionable amount of evidence. However, it is worthy to note that the water is unusually pure and has been deemed safe for human consumption by the Johto Science Team; still, it is advisable to pack one's own water in a canteen before entering Ilex Forest.
An interesting legend still circulates this day among the villages that surround Ilex Forest; it is the legend of the Forest Guardian, otherwise known as Celebi. There have indeed been several eyewitness accounts of the legendary grass-and-psychic typed Pokemon, which resembles a green pixie and has bug-like antennae on its light-green face and is able to float in the air of its own accord (most likely owing to its psychic abilities), although none of the sources are exceptionally reliable.
Perhaps the most famous eyewitness account of this alleged Celebi was one reported by Diana Hemmingway, the current Keeper of Keys for the main gate to the forest, although there are several side entrances, though the majority of these side entrances are often blocked by clumps of bushes and therefore it is not advisable to go in. Ms. Hemmingway, aged twenty-five, claims that in the spring of 2002, Celebi, who is thought to have the ability of time travel, tele-trasnported a boy of age fifteen or so to the entrance-exit of Ilex Forest.
Ms. Hemmingway then goes on to claim that she—as well as several others consisting of a Kanto boy by the name of Ash Ketchum, Cerulean City's current gym leader, Misty Waterflower, Pewter City's ex-gym leader Brock Slate, the time-traveling Johto-native Sammy Oak, who shares the same name as Kanto's current Professor Oak (though Professor Oak declines comment on this matter), and Ms. Hemmingway's grandmother—becomes a part of a story that, despite being five years old, is still a fresh gossiping topic for the inhabitants of the small villages outside of Ilex Forest, tells of a Dark Ball Master's attempt to capture Celebi.
In Ms. Hemmingway's story, Suicune, who later purifies the lake water in an attempt to save a severely injured Celebi according to this story, ends up being a crucial player in the keeping of the welfare of the forest, which had been serious threatened by the Dark Ball Master, who had managed to obtain control over Celebi by use of a Dark Ball (a forbidden item Rank B, listed in the Pokemon League's Official Rules). Evidently, though, Mr. Ketchum and Mr. Oak manage to find a way to snap Celebi out of its 'hypnotic'-state, and they manage to save the entire Ilex Forest.
Although this entire story is rather ludicrous, there still remains the unnatural purity of the lake water as evidence, though since then none other confirmed sightings of Suicune or Celebi have occurred.
All in all, Johto's Ilex Forest is a good place for Bug-typed Pokemon fanatics to capture more Bug-typed Pokemon. Its lake is also worth a visit. Various Pokemon tourist groups offer tours to Ilex Forest and the surrounding mountains, although one may attempt to go by themselves. However, it is advised to bring a strong flying-typed Pokemon for fast escape. I personally can recommend Salamence, one of which I had on my team, for their sharp wings can easily tear through the forest canopy in severe cases of escape. (F)
Finishing the column, Brendan found himself frowning slightly, though he couldn't quite remember why… it was comparable to him having a dream and then waking up knowing that he did indeed have the dream and then forget the content of the dream. He brushed the thought away from his mind and pushed the magazine back onto its stand, then picked it back up and reread it, taking note of some well-shot photographs adorning the right of the article. The forest appeared very dark. In another photo, he noticed a very circular lake, and the interesting effect the sunlight had on it as it bounced off the silvery surface of the water.
After his second read, he pushed the magazine back into the stand for the final time. Glancing at his watch, he noted that it was 9:20.
As if on cue, the intercom system buzzed into life and the wheezing voice of an aged man began speaking in a forcibly formal manner, "Good morning, ladies, gentlemen, and Pokemon. We are approaching New Bark Town Port, which is about a mile away from New Bark Town itself, and will arrive in ten minutes. Current temperature is a cool eighteen degrees Celsius and current weather is sunny, without a single cloud in the sky. Please report to port, which is the left side of the ship, as quickly as possible, and don't forget any personal belongings. The S.S. Tidal is not responsible for any personal loss."
As soon as the message ended, there was a wild stampede towards the sliding red door of the Pokemon Center. He then looked to May, about to ask her if they should go look for Max, but at that precise moment the azure-haired boy had wriggled his way through the throng and began crying obnoxiously, "Sister, where are we to go?"
May shot her brother a death glare, lightly-tanned face flushing scarlet as several exiting passengers shot her patronizing stares. Then, turning towards Brendan, she cleared her throat. "Ah-hem. I do believe we should get going?"
"Yes," Brendan replied in a mockingly formal voice, causing May to roll her eyes playfully. The black-haired Trainer found himself marveling at the cuteness of her exasperated expression, but he was jerked out of his reverie by an impatient Max tugging at his emerald backpack.
"Hey, Brendan, shouldn't we get going? Look, even Marina and Jimmy are leaving," Max said anxiously, pointing at the aforementioned. Indeed, the usually-bickering two were exiting through the red sliding doors.
"Yes," Brendan said redundantly, stretching quickly and heading towards the door, making sure that May and Max were following him. He squinted his eyes as he stepped outside; the captain had not been lying—it was really sunny.
The black-haired Trainer heard an amazed gasp from May, who rushed out from behind him and practically flung herself at the starboard side of the ship. Brendan, intrigued, followed her while Max snuck back inside the Pokemon Center. As he looked out to the sea, he found out what was interesting May—herds of various water-typed Pokemon were leaping in and out of the surface of the sea, parallel to the movement of the ship, which was slowly decreasing in speed as they neared.
Giggling, May pointed a gloved finger towards an odd, golden Luvdisc, its yellow sheen conspicuous among its fellow Luvdisc's pink, "Hey! Look at that weird-colored Luvdisc!"
Brendan noticed the Pokemon, and realized that its coloring was exceptionally rare. Subconsciously, his right hand drifted towards his backpack and pulled out an empty Pokeball. Then, without really thinking, he hurled it at the Luvdisc, who, with a confused "Diisc!" was sucked inside the capsule in a beam of red light.
He felt May's perturbed sapphire stare on his face, but he didn't look, busy murmuring under his breath, "Come on come on come on come on!"
However, after a few moments, the Luvdisc burst out of the Pokeball. Heavily disappointed, Brendan felt all of his hopes of capturing the golden fish disperse. Unexpectedly, though, Marina suddenly appeared by his side. Perplexed, he turned towards the cerulean-haired girl, who giggled as his eyes met her own, a curious shade of sea-green, but before he could ask a question she had opened a Pokeball of her own by clicking on the button in the middle.
A Croconaw burst out of the spherical instrument, bubbling into existence in the water. Brendan then saw Jimmy appear by Marina's side, an uncharacteristic scowl on his face as Marina continued giggling. "Wani-Wani, find that golden Luvdisc!"
The Big Jaw Pokemon gave a curt nod and a grumbling "Alleee," before submerging under the water. After half a minute passed, Brendan began wondering if Marina's Croconaw would still be able to find the Luvdisc—from personal experience he knew that Luvdisc were slippery and disgustingly evasive—but Wani-Wani soon emerged with a quiet splash. Clamped within the Croconaw's two jaws was the golden Luvdisc, who was squirming uncomfortably.
"Perfect, Wani-Wani!" Marina beamed, reaching for an empty Pokeball in her backpack, throwing it into the air directly above her head for some strange reason and then shuffling backwards. Brendan wondered why she had not thrown it directly at the struggling Luvdisc, but the reason soon became clear as Marina kicked the Pokeball with unerring accuracy.
The Pokeball careened through the air at a velocious speed and practically slammed into the Luvdisc's side. The black-haired Trainer thought he saw the golden Luvdisc wince painfully at the impact, but was soon sucked into the Pokeball, which landed in the sea and began bobbing up and down as the Luvdisc struggled to break free.
Brendan held his breath as the Pokeball rocked violently back and forth, and then finally slowed to a stop. Marina's Croconaw then obediently tossed the still Pokeball back towards Marina, who caught it deftly with her right and. With a cheerful wink and a happy, "Good job, Wani-Wani!" she returned her Croconaw and, smiling, pushed the Pokeball into Brendan's hands.
"Take it." Marina said, suppressing a giggle. Brendan, suppressing a frown of his own, plastered on an uncertain smile and took the Pokeball somewhat shakily, impressed by Marina's Pokeball-throwing skills.
"Wow… thanks." Brendan said, hoping he didn't sound as unconfident as he was feeling. Marina waved him off, the giggle she had been trying to suppress escaping out of her throat; it was then that Brendan noticed how Jimmy and May wore identical uncharacteristically nasty sneers, but when they seemed to realize that Brendan was looking at them, resumed awfully fake happy expressions.
Brendan had initially wanted to capture the Luvdisc for May—but deciding that he would offend Marina by offering her gift to the brown-haired Coordinator, he simply smiled weakly back at Marina's wide grin; then feeling that he should say something to express his gratitude in a better way, he said, "Uh… so… uh… Do you want to come with us to New Bark Town?"
The words blurted out of his mouth before he could contain himself. Brendan then made a mental note to buy more coffee at the next Pokemart, as he had clearly not been thinking straight when he gave the suggestion. He noticed with a great fear out of the corner of his left eye that May was giving him an appalled glare, and then noticed with even greater fear a 'I'm-going-to-kill-you-as-soon-as-nobody-is-looking' look Jimmy was shooting at him.
However, Marina simply beamed at him and exclaimed, "Yeah! That would be great! I'd love to travel with you guys for a while! I'm sure Jimmy wouldn't mind coming along as well…"
Before Brendan could say anything, though, May, whose face had been a reckonable shade of red, spotted Max, who was sneaking out of the Pokemon Center with a questionable bulge underneath his shirt. Face accusing, May asked in an unnecessarily harsh voice, as if she were dishing upon her younger brother some osrt of pent-up distress, "What are you doing, Max?"
"Shh!" Max hushed significantly, glasses glazing over; he looked around himself as if a murderous Nurse Joy might suddenly appear out of thin air and start throttling him. "I'm smuggling some magazines out!"
Almost instantaneously, May's suspicious expression turned into one of interest. "Did you get 'Contest Freak' and 'Coordinator Weekly'?"
"Yeah. I also got 'NeoBattling,' 'Trainers Today', 'The Breeding Magazine', several issues of 'Traveling: Johto', and 'Celebrities Now'—"
The young boy was interrupted by an excited squeal from Marina, who began asking at a fervent speed, "Oh em gee! Was, like, Lance on the cover?"
"Uh… that redheaded Dragon-specializing Elite Four?" Max asked, looking bewildered.
"Yeah! That's the one! Him and his gorgeous cape…" Marina trailed off in a lustrous sigh, which caused Jimmy to relinquish his glare on Brendan and raise a bemused eyebrow.
"Uh, I think…" Max said uncertainly, glancing at his sister as if for directions. May distracted the entire group, though, by pointing at the left side of the ship, where the ferry was slowing to a stop. A man on the dock had extended a long, sturdy wooden plank, and the passengers were filing off the ship.
"I guess we should go then, huh?" Brendan said at last when nobody else said anything. May and Jimmy nodded reluctantly; Marina snapped out of her reverie and breathed a breathless "Yeah!"; Max looked fearfully over his shoulder, undoubtedly on the lookout for a furious Nurse Joy.
Brendan began striding towards the slowly dissipating crowd in front of the plank, feeling somewhat self-conscious as he took the lead for the five-personed group but a little more confident when they all began following him, though, admittedly, at differing speeds: Jimmy skulked in the back, drifting behind a dreamy Marina, while May had appeared possessively by Brendan's side—Max sandwiched himself between the group, as if by hovering in the middle he would escape the watchful eyes of the ship's guards.
The black-haired Trainer shuffled down the plank, everybody following suit—fortunately for Max, the guards really had not seen him smuggling the magazines underneath his green T-shirt. The group proceeded to walk. It was not until they were out of sight of the entire port and treading on the dirt path that lead to New Bark Town that Marina began bursting into conversation with May.
"Hi, May! You said yesterday that you were a Pokemon Coordinator."
After a few seconds, May grudgingly ground out, "Yes."
"That's cool! I'm a Coordinator too!"
"… I thought you said you were a Pokemon idol."
"That, too! But I've actually attended some Pokemon Contests, as well… in fact, I won ten in total!"
May now glanced at Marina as if she was actually a human being. "You did?"
"Yep! I won all of the Contests I attended, actually."
With palpable intrigue now, May turned to eye Marina. "That's… impressive."
"Thanks!" Marina beamed. "I do train my Pokemon really hard. Say, what Pokemon do you have on your Team now?"
"Blaziken, Munchlax, Squirtle, and Eevee," May answered, counting off the Pokemon on her fingers as she did the previous day. "And you?" She asked, sounding as if she were asking the question only to sound polite. Brendan suppressed a snort of amusement and led the group down a turn in the road.
"Let's see… Misdreavous,"—at this point, Marina flashed Jimmy an angry glare—"Jigglypuff, Croconaw, and, yup, that's about it. Jimmy here has Typhlosion and… er… Beedrill. I think that's it."
"Oh."
The group continued to walk in silence. Brendan strongly resisted the urge to start a conversation, as he was unsure that May would appreciate his sentiment. Though she had warmed up considerably to Marina, for some reason, the black-haired Trainer did not think that May liked the cerulean-haired Coordinator completely. Finally, curiosity overcoming fear of his own morality, Brendan asked Jimmy, "Are you really going to challenge the Pokemon League?"
Jimmy's voice was rather quiet as he was at the end of the group, but he still answered, "Yes."
"That's… er… cool. I am going to, too, I think."
"Oh?" There was definite interest in Jimmy's voice now, not dissimilar to May's when she had talked with Marina a few minutes ago. "And what Pokemon do you have?" He asked aggressively.
Brendan, displeased by Jimmy's churlish question, resolved to ignore the boy until he reworded his inquiry in a politer way. Seconds trickled away, and yet Jimmy had not said anything. Evidently, though, the baseball-capped Trainer was getting somewhat irritated by the lack of conversation and so said in an even ruder voice, "Well?"
Wondering what it was that was fuelling Jimmy's horrible attitude, Brendan retorted snappily, "None of your business."
Looking severely offended, Jimmy hissed, "Well, Marina told you my Team lineup, so it would only be polite of you to tell me yours."
"Excuse me?" Brendan asked in an infuriatingly calm and sarcastic voice. "I do believe Marina was addressing May at the time."
A string of stringent insults left Jimmy's mouth, motivating Marina to utter an exasperated, "Jimmy!" Brendan simply looked smugly at Jimmy's angry expression, though the black-haired Trainer noticed with some apprehension that Jimmy's face was growing a menacing shade of purple.
They spent the better part of five minutes exchanging nasty sneers, though Brendan gave up in the first minute, owing to the fact that he was leading the group and he had no wish of dirtying his hand-sown clothes by tripping into a mud hole he could have easily avoided. The black-haired Trainer, however, suspected that Jimmy was still continuing in this activity, and once or twice Brendan caught Jimmy making inappropriate hand gestures with his right hand.
Finally, the unnamed Route came to an end. A sign was dangling from a crooked tree that read, "New Bark Town—The Town Where the Winds of a New Beginning Blow." Cocking an eyebrow at the odd slogan of the town, Brendan began taking a step forward, but was butted out of the way by a vociferous Jimmy, who hurled his way through the thicket of trees that separated the Route from New Bark Town. Brendan, glowering, reluctantly followed, and the rest of the group proceeded after him.
The town was small and altogether rather sanitary, though it had the look of a town recently renovated. The pungent reek of fresh paint wafted over from the walls of many houses, which were made of white brick and covered with rectangular light-green shingles. The overall feel of the small town, which could not have harbored more than several dozen houses in total, was not dissimilar from Littleroot Town. Feeling an unexpected pang of homesick, Brendan averted his gaze from the houses and looked at the lone Pokemon Center erected in the center of the small town. Perfect! I need to heal my Pokemon—
"Who's that?" Jimmy, from in front of Brendan, asked in a harsh voice. The baseball-capped Trainer was pointing in front of himself, where a flaming red-haired teenager garbed in a black jacket, purple jeans, a dark gray backpack, a crimson PokeBelt, and stout black boots sulked. Brendan's stomach lurched with recognition, though he couldn't quite place who the redhead was… Perhaps in some crime show? The redhead certainly did emanate a dark demeanor that was complemented only too well by his lean and gangly physique.
"I don't know—I haven't seen him around New Bark Town before, that's for sure… then again, the last time I came back to this place was about a year ago…" Marina mused aloud, tilting her head to one side. Then, giggling slightly, Brendan heard her whisper to May, "That redhead's cute, isn't he?"
"A bit too creepy for my liking," May whispered back. Shuddering, she added, "He looks really mean, too."
Jimmy, after hearing Marina remark how 'cute' the redhead was, resumed a somewhat miffed expression and began muttering incoherently under his breath. Before Brendan or anyone else, for that matter, could restrain the baseball-capped boy, Jimmy had lunged forwards in the direction of the mean-looking redhead and demanded angrily, "Hey! Who are you? And what are you doing in New Bark Town?"
There was a lengthy delay. The redhead, who had previously been staring off into space, furrowed his brows agitatedly and turned edgily towards Jimmy, scarlet eyes glinting maliciously and with annoyance. A section of his red bangs fell into his left eye. "Silver."
"That's your name?" Jimmy asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. He was obviously contemplating the same question that was running through Brendan's mind: A mineral for a name? However, Brendan quickly reminded himself that his own middle name, Ruby, was a gemstone, and that he would die very quickly is someone found out it was such.
Silver paused for a few seconds before answering in a deadly quiet and deep voice, "Yes."
"You haven't answered my other questions yet!"
"Says who I have to?" Silver sneered, narrowing his eyes into slits. His right hand twitched towards the direction of his PokeBelt.
"Says… says I!"
Silver's hand stopped twitching, and he merely smirked distastefully, eying Jimmy the way one might eye a slug on a piece of lettuce in a salad. "You're not worth my time." The redhead then stalked away, shooting one last glare at Jimmy before disappearing behind a curve in the street.
"Hmph! I don't like him." Jimmy said immediately after Silver disappeared.
"I'm sure you don't." Marina commented dryly. Turning towards May, Brendan, and Max, who was busy reading 'NeoBattling', she said, "I guess we should part now. Jimmy needs to find his mother, and I'm sure you're going to the next Contest Hall, which is in Cherrygrove City, or the next Gym, which is in Violet City. Follow Route 29, which is due west, and you should get to Cherrygrove, and if you want to go to Violet City, go north on Route 30 and then west on Route 31."
"Thanks," Brendan said in what he hoped was a gracious way. Marina beamed at him and grabbed Jimmy's hand, waving at Brendan, May, and Max before they, too, disappeared around a bend in the road. Looking towards May and Max, Brendan asked, "Should we spend the night here, then?" while indicating the Pokemon Center.
"Sure, sure," May said cheerily, noticeably happier after Marina and Jimmy had left; Brendan wondered why. Max grunted his approval, nose buried in his magazine, and together the three headed towards the Pokemon Center.
Pokémon © Satoshi Tajiri
Story © Galbinus
OCs © Their respective owners
Do not take without permission
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