The smell of salt water permeated the brisk morning air. The sounds of people going about their daily routines filled my ears. Wingull squawked and Pidgey chirped. The docks were full of more people than usual, as this would be the last time the SS Anne would go to Pallet Town for a while. New trainers abounded, surrounded by their family and friends, all coming to see them off. A long line had formed leading onto the gleaming white ship.
"Everyone and their grandma is out here today," I observed.
"It's a big day. Especially for you two." Seth jumped out of the way of a couple kids running around in the sand. "Gah! Unfortunately, you have to share the day." He glared at the tubers as they disappeared back into the crowd. Nobody likes tubers.
"Whatever. I'm just happy we finally get to leave!" As an afterthought, Taylor added, "Even if it is with Terran."
"I love you, too," I replied acidly.
"Try not to love each other this much while you're traveling," Dad warned.
"Not a problem."
"Consider it done." Typical sibling banter. Nothing malicious.
"Family!" a loud and obnoxious called out. Lucky for us, the Murdocks were the family in question.
"Hi, Blaire," Mom said as a tall, raven-haired girl attacked her with hugs. "How was Sinnoh?" she asked once her lungs worked again.
"It was great, Mom!" she answered, giving a bear hug to everyone.
"Great to see you, Blaire," I choked out between staggered breaths.
"I've missed you all so much!" she squealed. She turned to Seth. "Especially you, my little Gym-Leader-to-be!"
"Whoa, slow down, killer! Not yet."
"Well, you might as well be! You could take down anyone in Vermillion!" Seth, trying to be modest, shrugged. "And look at you two! About to take on the world!" She gave both Taylor and I another big, back-breaking hug. "I'm so proud of my little bubba and sissy!"
"Maybe you would be more proud if we could breathe," Taylor suggested.
"Oh, yeah, sorry." She took a meek step back. "So how have you guys been?"
"We've been great, thanks," Dad answered. "We've been missing you while you're out being a bigwig Pokemon researcher."
"Yeah, how is that going?" Mom asked. "We haven't heard from your or Professor Oak since he sent you to Sinnoh."
"Well." Blaire paused. Whenever Blaire paused like this, you knew her mature, scientific side was coming out. Most people wouldn't think she had one. Then again, the people at the lab probably don't know her spastic side, either. "I did a lot of observations on Dark- and Ice-type Pokemon, and I found that they exhibit the most near-human emotions of any other species, so I'm trying to convince Professor Rowan to make Sneasel a Starter Pokemon for Sinnoh because it's a prime candidate for…"
"That's great, honey," Mom interrupted, not wanting to get an entire seminar from her oldest daughter. "Thank you so much for taking your brother and sister to Pallet, though."
"No problem, Mom. It's my pleasure."
"Oh, speaking of problems, you better hurry up and get in line!" Dad looked at his watch. "Boarding ends in ten minutes!"
I checked my Poketch. "He's right, we have to go." I quickly said heartfelt goodbyes to Mom, Dad, and Seth, then quickly jumped into the line with Taylor and Blaire. I heard Mom choke back a couple sobs. Well, this is it, I thought, no turning back now!
The line moved quickly, which was a good thing because otherwise we would've been left behind. "Tickets please?" a large, burly man in a sailor suit asked.
"Here you go!" Blaire gave him the three pieces of paper. He looked them over for a second and gave us the stubs and the key to our cabin. "Thank you," she said happily. The man only grunted in return. She led us below deck into a maze of hallways, all lined with doors leading into the passengers' cabins.
"Hmm…we're in room 705, and that one is room 218…" Blaire was never good with figuring stuff like this out. It took her a good hour to find one movie in a store where everything was alphabetized. "Maybe we should go this way." Suddenly, one of the Pokeballs on her belt started vibrating. A bright beam of scarlet light shot out to the ground. The light quickly materialized into a Skitty.
"You brought Clara?" Taylor asked, bending down to pet the hyperactive Pokemon.
"Of course! She's my best friend! Aren't you, Clara? Yes you are!" The Skitty meowed happily, loving the attention and affection she was getting.
"You would think she would know how to stay inside her ball by now," I stated.
"She just doesn't like being all cramped up in there, right Clara? No, you don't!"
"I'll take the baby talk as my cue to leave…" I turned on my heel to go back up to the deck.
"Hey, we haven't found the room yet," Blaire called.
I waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about me. I can remember 705. I'm just worried about you guys."
"Fine, just be in the room before the ship starts sailing. You know how seasick you get." Oh, Blaire, if only your maternal instincts were in use all the time. Then maybe that Tauros wouldn't have been so mad in the first place.
"Don't worry," I repeated. "I'll be fine."
I walked up and through a couple staircases and hallways until I came to the top deck. I was greeted by a mass of people crowded around something. Curious, I made my way through the crowd and saw there was a battle going on. Awesome! Just what I need to get in the mood!
On one side was the sailor who was taking tickets going against a young girl, probably no older than me. She had shoulder length, chocolate brown hair, perfectly matching her eyes, but contrasting vibrantly with her fair skin. Both had a deep look of determination, neither wanting to lose. The sailor had sent his Krabby out, while the girl had her Growlithe ready to fight. It was a horrible matchup for the girl, but she must have had some kind of strategy to put a Fire-type against a Water-type.
"Krabby, use Bubble Beam!" the sailor commanded. Krabby complied, opening its claws as harsh streams of bubbles spewed out.
"That all you got?" the girl taunted. "Growlithe, jump to dodge, then use Fury Swipes!"
With a howl, Growlithe jumped high in the air, barely avoiding the attack. With its claws bared, it dove down on the Krabby, furiously scratching at it's hard shell with fervor. The Krabby cried in pain, making the sailor sweat a little.
"Come on, Krabby! Use Harden!" A silvery light engulfed Krabby as it's body became harder, forcing the Growlithe to jump off.
"Nice move," the girl complimented.
"Thank you," the man responded.
"But not good enough! Growlithe, Solar Beam!" Sunlight began collecting in Growlithe's open mouth, building up to a powerful amount of energy.
"Quick, Krabby, get out of the way!" Unfortunately, Krabby wasn't fast enough to avoid the powerful blast of concentrated white energy coming at it. After a powerful impact, the smoke cleared to reveal a fainted Krabby. The crowd, myself included, cheered for the girl.
"You did good, Krabby," the sailor said as he recalled his Pokemon.
"Great job, Growlithe!" the girl praised. The Growlithe barked in response before disappearing back into its ball. People began to disperse now that the battle was over. I stayed behind to congratulate the girl on her victory.
I tapped her on the shoulder from behind. "Hey, that was a great battle." She jumped and spun around, faster than lightning. "Whoa, I'm sorry, didn't mean to scare you," I apologized quickly.
Seeing it was only me, she relaxed and smiled nervously. "No, I'm sorry. I get kinda jumpy after a battle. My nerves are still on edge. Adrenaline's flowing, all that good stuff."
"I can tell," I joked. "Anyway, you did really good against that guy."
"Thanks! I didn't think that guy looked too tough, anyway." A little more than a trace of arrogance was in her voice. "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Julie."
"Nice to meet you, Julie. I'm Terran. You're not from Vermillion, are you? I haven't seen you around."
She shook her head. "Nope, I'm from Cerulean City. My mom's the Gym Leader there."
At that, I got interested. "No way? Your mom's Misty?"
"Yep!" she confirmed. "Most people find it intimidating, so I don't tell them until after I've beaten them."
Conceitedness aside, Julie seemed like a cool girl, and I had to empathize with her. "I know exactly how you feel," I said off-handedly, instantly regretting it.
"How? Is your family famous?"
The question took me off guard. I didn't want everyone to know I was bred of the elite. "Well, no, not really. I just said that because…because…"
"Because you don't want anybody to know you're a Murdock?" Her face twisted into a knowing and devilish grin.
"How did you―?"
"Mist―I mean, my mom―told me all about you. Your parents are Pokemon League Champions, your sister's a Contest star, and your brother's a Gym Leader."
"Well, he's not one yet…"
"Regardless," Julie interrupted, "you're pretty famous around these parts. You're just lucky no one knows your face."
"Well, then how do you know my face?"
"I did my research." She crossed her arms and winked. "I need to know my competition." The deafening horn sounded from the ship, signaling it was time to depart. "I guess I'll see you around, Terran Murdock." She retreated back into the cabins, leaving me dumbstruck on the decks.
The ship jerked forward and undulated with the waves of the ocean. I was already starting to feel a little queasy, but I didn't quite want to go find Taylor and Blaire yet. I would later realize that decision was one of the best in my life. I walked around the decks, trying to get used to the constant, uneven motion. This wasn't my greatest idea. Before I could even cross to the other side, I was rushing for the railing with vomit building up in my throat.
I made it not a second too short as I emptied my breakfast into the sea. I struggled to stand back up as dizziness overtook me. Maybe I should have listened to Blaire… I thought regretfully. Slowly I regained my balance and was able to stand. Unfortunately, I could only take a couple steps before falling down.
"Oof! Sorry, I didn't see you there," I quickly and blindly apologized to the person I had just ran into.
"No, it's my bad. Here, let me help you up." I looked up and my heart skipped a beat. Standing over me was one of the most beautiful people I had ever seen. He had perfect caramel, making his icy, steel blue eyes stand out even more. Short, thick, perfectly messy black hair topped his head, being the opposite color of his brilliantly white teeth.
"Th―thanks, man," I stuttered as I grabbed his hand and was helped up. He couldn't have been more than a few months older than me and Taylor, and was probably just starting his Pokemon Journey, too.
"No problem." His cheeks were slightly flushed in embarrassment. He flashed me a dazzling apologetic smile. I melted. Words couldn't begin to describe this guy's beauty. Everything about him―from the way the light bounced off his skin to the way the wind toussed his hair―was captivating. I wanted more. I wanted him. He waved his hand in front of my face.
"Um, are you all right?" I blinked a couple times, reluctantly coming back to reality.
"Oh yeah, sorry. I must've just…spaced out for a minute." It was a lame excuse, but he bought it.
"You must still be dizzy. I just saw you upchuck over the side of the boat."
"Yeah, that must be it." My lameness was overpowering.
"Maybe you should let me help you back to your room? You know, so you don't vomit all over yourself," he offered with playful malice.
"No, I'll be fine." No sooner had I said that last word, vomit began bubbling up again. The gorgeous boy barely had enough time to jump out of the way of my slimy projectile that now covered the deck. I wobbled up to my knees again.
"You sure about that?" Instead of being disgusted, he giggled and helped me stand up straight.
"I think I'll take you up on that now…"
That's chapter two! We already got some lovey-dovey-ness going on here, so we'll see what this plays out to. Well, I already know, but you guys don't. Remember to review and tell me what you think! :D