Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, I own nothing but my ideas and characters.
Well, I know someone's reading this, since it's gotten plenty of hits, but you, gentle readers, seem to be missing the little review button at the bottom of the page. I had planned to update based on reviews, but that obviously won't work. Also, I've been busy with school, work, blah, blah, blah excuses. Here you go, chappie 2.
Part 1: The Top of the Mountain
Chapter 2:
"Wow, mom, it's so cool!" 6-year old Danny hugged his new Pineco, his tiny body quivering with excitement. The Pineco didn't look incredibly comfortable, but knew that it would at least be loved.
"It's all yours, honey, your father caught it a while ago and we've been saving it for your birthday." His mother beamed at him, looking as happy as he did. Danny's father put his hand on his son's head and tousled his hair.
"Let's go out later and I'll teach you how to battle, kiddo." Danny's father had taken the gym challenge when he was younger, and while he was no League Champion, he'd won his share of badges. He was a construction worker, using his pokemon to make his work easier.
"I want to play with him now, daddy!" Danny squealed. "Please please please!"
"Ah, I never could resist those eyes…tell you what, you take a head start, I'll meet you there in a few minutes, okay?" Danny's father gave in without much of a fight, as he had wanted to spend time with his son anyway.
Danny ran out into the streets of Celestic town and started up the path to his "secret place." It wasn't much of a secret; it was just a bluff overlooking the town. Despite this, Danny and his father had spent many an afternoon sitting up there and watching life go by, and he loved it more than any other place.
Danny's father watched him go with a smile. "Well, I'll be grabbing my pokemon and then following him. We'll be back by dinner, don't worry," he winked at his wife. He started up the path, humming his favorite tune. Everything looked peaceful, but he could hear a sound…the sound of a young boy crying. "Danny?!" He broke into a run.
Danny was kneeling by the edge of the bluff, tears flowing down his cheeks, his voice piercing through the cool air. "P…P…P-Pineco…he fell…you gotta help him daddy, you gotta!"
His father peered over the edge of the cliff. The Pineco had caught onto a branch, but it didn't look like it could hold on for long. Its eyes were wide with fear, and it glanced pleadingly at Danny's father.
"Don't worry, Danny, everything is going to be okay." With a hard look on his face, Danny's father climbed over the side of the cliff. He'd never been rock-climbing, but he climbed around in scaffolds all day for his job; how much harder could this be? He made his way down to the Pineco, and grabbed it with one hand. He slowly began to make his way up, making sure he had a firm grip.
"Daddy, you saved him! You did it!" Danny wiped his face on his sleeve as joy radiated from his face. His father was almost back up.
"Now Danny, you need to be more careful," he grunted. "You can't play so close to the edge." He reached up and grabbed the next rock. He heard a noise. The rock slipped free of the wall. A look of surprise spread across his young face as he slipped through the air.
"Daddy?…Daddy?….Daaaadddyyyyyy!!"
Danny woke up in a cold sweat. "That dream again…" he murmured, getting up. "Where…?" He looked around. Trees surrounded him, and a chill mountain breeze caressed his face. "Oh, right…camping…"
The sun was peeking over the horizon, and the second day of their trip was about to begin.
Terry's Kabutops hacked through fallen branches as the group made their way through the woods. "Now, what kinda pokemon did the two of you want?" He glanced at Frank and Danny, who were walking side-by-side at the back of the group.
"Make it something that can fly." Danny's bitter voice answered first.
"A flyer? Yeah, I think I can handle that. How about you, Frank? Any requests?"
"Well…no, not really." Frank pushed his glasses up his nose and scratched his head. "I've always liked Geodudes, if you could manage one of those."
"Can do. Well then, we should find a cave." He gave a hand signal to his Kabutops, which changed directions towards the mountain. The morning sun beat down on the adventurers, the temperature having increased exponentially since that morning. Danny wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed. He looked at the ground as they trudged on. Suddenly, Danny bumped into Kevin, who had apparently stopped walking.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Kevin put a finger to his lips and pointed at Terry's Kabutops. It was sniffing around the area, moving its head back and forth. Without warning it sliced through the bushes to the side, and an odd-looking purple thing fell out. It looked like a combination between a bat and a scorpion. Terry pushed a ball into Danny's hand.
"Go on, catch it." He nodded at the bat-thing. "It's called a Gligar, and it can fly."
Danny frowned at the bat-thing. It certainly wasn't what he had in mind, but…if it could fly, he wouldn't have to worry about a repeat of that incident.
"All right then, I guess I'll take it." He tossed the ball at the bat-thing, and a beam of red light sucked it in. Danny walked over and picked up his new partner.
"Here, heal it up." Terry tossed him a couple of small spray bottles, which Danny managed to catch. "They're potions, " he added, responding to Danny's questioning look. Danny released the Gligar and used a potion to heal its cut. It opened its eyes and blinked at Danny.
"Looks like we'll be together from now on." Danny looked as reluctant about it as the Gligar did. They stared at each other for a few seconds, as if sizing each other up. At last, the Gligar let out a grunt, accepting its fate. Danny held out the pokeball, and the Gligar returned to the inside of it.
Jake stepped forward. "Yo, wait up a minute. We gotta battle, it's like…your initiation as a trainer or something."
"……" Danny frowned in response and glanced at the ball in his hand. He'd never battled before, though he'd watched his friends do so a number of times. He shrugged in resignation. "All right, let's get this over with." He tossed the ball, and Gligar emerged yet again. It gave him a look of inquiry, as if to say 'What now?'
Jake thought for a second, and then grabbed a ball from his belt. His choice appeared to be a bulky Machop, which flexed its large biceps upon emerging. Kevin, Frank and Terry stood off to the side, eagerly awaiting the spectacle.
"Statistically, Danny has a very low chance of winning," Frank commented, rubbing his chin. "Jake has a trained pokemon, battle experience and more pokemon knowledge in general. Danny has…well…fighting spirit?" He grinned sheepishly at Danny, who flipped him the finger in response.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he muttered sarcastically.
Jake had an air of assurance about him. He was in his element. "Okay, Machop, start it off with a low kick!" Machop lunged forward and swung its leg at Gligar.
"Gligar, hover a bit higher!" Gligar pulled up just in time as Machop's kick shot by below it. Machop landed with its legs bent. It pushed off the ground in a leap towards Gligar.
"Hit it with a karate chop!" Jake barked another order as Machop raised its hand.
"Gligar, hit it with…an attack! Attack it!" Danny yelled out in the seconds before impact. Gligar didn't have the time to figure out what this odd order meant, as it was chopped in the face almost immediately. Gligar swayed, trying to regain its balance, but Machop pressed the attack with another well-aimed chop. Gligar couldn't take anymore, and fell to the ground, too worn-out to continue.
"Well, that was fairly easy," Jake smirked. Machop gave a mock bow before returning to its ball. "Why didn't you issue a command, though? There's no 'attack' attack."
"Based on my observations, I'm going to make the inference that Danny doesn't know any of Gligar's attacks. Am I right?" Frank, as usual, had figured out the problem before anyone else.
"Hmm…it wasn't really a fair fight then…" Terry mused, glancing between Jake and Danny.
"Of course I didn't know any of this guy's attacks, I only met him five minutes ago!" Danny used another potion to heal Gligar, and then returned him to his ball. He stuck the ball in his jacket pocket, and then walked up to Jake and stuck his hand out. "I didn't complain or anything, so it was still a fair fight."
Jake grinned and shook his hand. "No it wasn't, but we'll have another battle once you know what you're doing." The two of them walked over to the others, and the group continued on its way.
About an hour later, they came upon a clearing in the forest. Nestled between several large rocks was the entrance to a cave. "Alright, this should be alright." Terry pointed at the cave. "It doesn't look too big, but we should find a Geodude or two in there for Frank." He swapped his Kabutops for Blastoise, and the turtle led them into the dark hole.
"Everyone have a flashlight?" Kevin inquired, switching on his own. His companions murmured their assent, as they produced flashlights from various pockets and bags. The group headed down the now illuminated tunnel, keeping an eye out for large rocks. Every now and then, Terry would kick some of the weirder-looking ones, but to no avail. Their search proved fruitless until Frank tripped over something and fell.
"Dude! Geodude!" yelled the rock, angrily. Terry nodded at his Blastoise, which popped its cannons out and fired off a jet of water at the Geodude. It stopped moving immediately, and Terry pressed a ball into Frank's hand.
"Go for it." He gestured at the fallen Geodude. Frank tossed the ball over, and the Geodude was pulled in. Similarly to Danny's Gligar, it was too weak to struggle, and within second it had been caught.
"All right, now that we've all got pokemon, it's time for some training!" Jake looked eagerly at Terry, ready to begin.
"Well…we should actually get started on that tomorrow, it's getting kind of late. Let's make camp in that clearing outside." Ignoring Jake's cries of protest, Terry led the way back to the entrance of the cave, and unpacked the tents in the clearing.
Lying in his sleeping bag, Danny had to admit; it had been a very interesting day. But the real fun…that would start tomorrow.
End of Chapter 2
Author's Notes: Hmm, I really don't feel I did a good job on that death scene. Gotta work on that. Glad I'm done with getting them pokemon, now I can do something interesting. Anyway, questions, comments, anything, please review. Expect the next chapter sometime in the next two weeks.