Chapter 2 how it all begins
Just as i finish packing the door behind me opened, I turned around very slowly, trying very hard to seem innocent. "Lucy what are you doing?" My innocent face must not have looked very… innocent. What to tell your mother when she just walked in on you packing to run away?
"…I don't know." I was not very creative, especially under pressure.
"Looks to me like you're packing for some sort of trip," she said suspiciously
I winced. "…Well, I am almost twelve, you know. I should be gone, anyway."
"You don't have a Pokemon." damn you, logic!
"I'll have to find one."
"Where?"
"I'll buy one at the market."
There was a long-suffering sigh. I could return to packing; there was no successful verbal response to the mom sigh. After not winning with that, she walked over and sat on my bed, halting the packing process. "…With what money?" she asked quietly.
"Birthday money. Allowance." I did have a little money saved up… "…Can I have my birthday money early?" It would only be two days.
"How about your gift instead?" With that, my mother set a pokeball on the covers and made it all the way to the door before I pounced on it. I was I thankful, because it meant I didn't have to spend my last dribbles of cash on a Pokemon! but I was also suspicious. I knew what kind of Pokemon my mother had wanted for me. If she was so eager to get away, it only made me suspect her more.
Not wanting to get saddled with a bulbsuar or jigglypuff, and holding her still at the door in a one-armed hug, I tossed the pokeball to the floor.
The my mind came crashing to the ground as I recognized the creature. Dull blue, with a large fin on the top of its head, nestled between round, twitching ears… A bland, disinterested gaze, black-rimmed. Four blunt, stubby legs, holding up a dense mass of faded blue. The Pokemon turned its head to one side and regarded me with a lidded expression.
"…Really?"
"Yes, really. Your father and I think a mudkip would be a wonderful starter Pokemon. Its water -type, so you get your element of danger-which you seem to need.-
"…But… really?" I repeated, with more than a bit of desperation.
"Yes, really," she replied firmly.
And that was how I got my Mudkip.
;D;D
I set out soon after that. I was not exactly enthused with a Mudkip of all Pokemon, but I continually cheered myself up. After all, that had been my grand master plan, right? I was going to take an ordinary Pokemon well...it is a starter but who cares I was still going to make it extraordinary! I could still do this! I would still do this!
Every time I got enthusiastic or excited, however, (for it was much easier to encourage in battle by the name of 'atlas ', than 'Pedestal'; plus I could avoid many more weird looks this way)it would once again remind me that I had been foolish to place it in the spotlight. It atlas never was excited, and usually gave me a few bruises as it would use water gun on my feet out from under me with its head. It took a few weeks for me to figure out that this Pokemon's only sign of affection rare happy little "mu!", atlas obscura didn't do much of anything.
I had been expecting an awesome Pokemon that obeyed me perfectly, rejoiced at every battle won, resolved to get stronger with every one lost, and was my best friend. I couldn't see myself becoming best friends with atlas obscura, simply put. Mudkip were pretty boring Pokemon to begin with, and mine seemed doubly so.
A month has gone by and i learned a lot .
The first thing I learned was which foods rotten quickly and which would stay fresh. (I found myself eating a lot of ramen hey what can i say it's good like seriously.) atlas obscura picked out its favorite foods as well, usually by snatching bites of mine. One good thing about having my Mudkip: I never had to waste any water or time looking for some, Instant cooking water!
Another very important thing I learned was that shoes were not there to look good or to match with anything. They were there to keep your feet from murdering you in your sleep. A week in, atlas obscura accidentally soaked my tennis shoes beyond repair, which gave me the excuse to go buy some proper hiking boots. With arch support. I think it was the nicest thing Atlas had ever done for me, even if it was an accident. Even after a short week, I'm pretty sure I would have had to cut off my feet if I had to walk any further in those things.
It was the same with my clothes. They didn't have to look good(I was still in my school uniform for crying out loud!). I was more intent on keeping warm and dry after just a few days than impressing anyone.
The third thing I learned was that atlas obscura, as I had only one, didn't spend much time in its pokeball. atlas obscura liked to walk beside me as we traveled-even if it was slower than a sleeping Snorlax.
That brings me to my next point-and possibly the most important. atlas obscura did not like water(which is kind of weird since atlas is a water pokemon). He wouldn't swim, or bathe past licking itself or rolling in mud (which seemed to defeat the purpose, I know, but it kept atlas obscura happy), and whenever it rained, we would have to seek refuge under trees or in a cave. Actually, okay, this happened only twice, the fact that we found a handy cave. Most times, I just had to return atlas into its pokeball.
This, more than anything else, made me realize for the first time that my Mudkip was a water Pokemon according to my PokeDex, when mudkip evolved it would also be a part ground type. That meant that it was doubly weak against grass Pokemon.
I kept this in a far-off place in my mind, since, while it rained often (or maybe it's just bad luck), there weren't a lot of grass Pokemon in the area. The nearest river was miles away, and I never had to get any water from it or any ponds, thanks to the rain. We were set, it seemed. atlas obscura would contentedly train while soaking fire Pokemon and small rodents and birds, and I would praise him after each and every victory. Especially the trainer ones. We got lucky with those, too, since the trainers in the area seemed to be mostly fire- and rock-trainers.
Then, I made a mistake.
This mistake cost me half of my money, a large chunk of my pride, and atlas obscura's trust for a few days. But more importantly, it cost me my peace of mind.
And what kind of mistake was it you ask?
I found a trainer with a grass Pokemon.
