Chapter 2: First Look at Kanto
Wowee, this story has barely been up here for all of two days, and I already have three followers, three favorites, and two reviews! A big thanks to Niki Bogwater, Sasuke Trollchiha, brightclaw237 (who both followed and favorited), Advanced 99, and Gem Rose.
And I suppose I'll respond to reviews. One of my friends does that on here, and it works out for them pretty well.
Niki Bogwater: Once again, thanks so much for following this story. Gladion is awesome, isn't he? He's honestly the first "villain" in the main series Pokémon games that I've really taken a liking to. I mean, Plumeria's not too bad, Guzma looks like an evil drugged up version of Doc from Back to the Future, but Gladion...boy oh boy, do I love his character. And thanks a lot for the words of encouragement!
Guest: Thanks so much for the words of encouragement!
Disclaimer: This is on , is it not? And if it is on , and not in an official Pokémon game, do you really think that I own this stuff?
It took the ship the entirety of three days to get from the tropical Alolan region to the much colder Kanto. Lillie and Gladion both were shivering a little in their lighter clothing, though the latter was doing a much better job of hiding it. Celeste alone did not seem bothered by the cool air, though in truth she herself was feeling the tiniest of chills. After living away from the region for a few years she had started to loose her resistance to the colder climate.
The boat docked in Vermillion city, and it only took the trio a few moments to get their stuff. Then it was off to the bus terminal, where they caught a ride to Pallet Town. Sampson had come to visit them right before they left, saying that his cousin Samuel wished to speak to them once they arrived.
"While we're waiting to get to Pallet Town, perhaps the two of you should open up your gifts from the professor." Lillie suggested.
"Zzzt! Oh, what izz it? My circuitzz are tingling in excitement!" Sparky cheered. Sparky was the name of the Rotom that lived in Celeste's Pokedex. He was a happy go lucky Electric and Ghost type Pokemon that had been the girl's constant companion on her journey throughout the Alola region, and had grown quite attached to the trainer.
"Relax, Sparky." Celeste humored the Pokemon with one of her rare smiles. "We'll open them."
As Lillie and Sparky watched, Gladion and Celeste carefully opened their gifts. The former had been gifted with a Pokedex of his own, though no Rotom inhabited it, and the latter had received what appeared to be at first glance a stack of cds.
"Why'd the old man give you some music?" Gladion wondered idly.
"They aren't music discs, love." Celeste replied coolly as she carefully slid them into her bag. "They're HMs."
"What are HMs?" Lillie inquired as she gazed out the window, her precious Pokemon eggs in her arms.
"You both know how there are TMs, or Technical Machines, correct?" Celeste asked, receiving affirmative nods in response. "Well, HMs, also called Hidden Machines, are extremely rare TMs. They hold moves like Fly, Strength, Rock Smash, Surf, Dive, Waterfall, Whirlpool, Cut, Flash, Defog, and Rock Climb. Certain HMs can only be found in certain regions."
"But why not just call them TMs?" Lillie was still confused. "What's so special about these particular ones?"
"Alola is the only region with the Poke Rider system." Her friend answered after she took a drink from her water bottle. "People use Pokemon that know HM moves to help them progress through the region. For example, we are familiar with Machamp assisting us to push huge boulders out of the way. In other regions, trainers clear those obstacles with the help of a Pokemon that knows Strength."
"Oh, I see." The idea didn't make complete sense to Lillie, but the girl decided that perhaps seeing a demonstration would help her comprehend the notion of HMs and special moves to help trainers progress through their environment. There would be time later to worry about that later.
"Hey look!" Celeste's exclamation drew brother and sister from their thoughts, and the two glanced up at the girl. She was looking out the window, a small smile on her face. "You can see Mount Moon in the distance."
Lillie instantly turned to observe the view, and while Gladion was a bit more subtle about it, he too allowed his gaze to shift outside. The mountain rose over the horizon, the rugged brown rocks spearing the clouds that surrounded its peak.
"It's beautiful." Lillie murmured.
"Yeah, I guess." Gladion returned with an air of indifference, causing Lillie to adopt a horrified expression on her face.
"Gladion, that's not nice." She exclaimed. "Celeste's just trying to point out some interesting portions of the region."
"Don't worry, Lillie." Celeste laughed, a kind laugh to show that she wasn't upset or offended. "The almighty edge-lord can't bear to show an interest in anything. It might tarnish his reputation, and that certainly would be a tragedy. Imagine, the brooding teenager actually enjoying something as innocent as looking out the window. Now that would be one for the papers. I can see it now: 'Ex-Team Skull Enforcer is capable of showing interest in things.' The media would eat that up."
She coupled this declaration with a quick peck on her boyfriend's cheek, showing with her actions that her words were spoken only in jest. Gladion rolled his eyes at her joke but allowed a small smile to flit across his face. True, he did have that reputation of being an uncaring little punk back home in Alola, a reputation that he didn't mind and did nothing to dispel; but unfortunately his girlfriend could read him like an open book. In truth he was rather impressed by the rugged mountain, so different from the ones that formed the islands of the region that he called home. It was easily as tall as Wela Volcano, and posed its own set of dangers with pitch black caves and rock falls. Yes, the mountain was quite imposing, interesting, impressive, and his girlfriend could easily tell that it's mere appearance had instilled those very thoughts into his mind.
A slight gasp from Lillie drew his attention, and he glanced over at his sister in concern. He need not have worried. Lillie was fine, but a startled look was on her face.
"What Pokemon is that?" She asked, pointing towards what appeared to be a chunky floating rock. A pair of eyes blinked curiously at the bus, and it held some berries in its rugged, stoney hands. Shrugging, Gladion pulled out his Pokedex and scanned it.
"Geodude, the Rock Pokemon. Most people may not notice, but a closer look should reveal that there are many Geodude around them. It uses its arms to steadily climb steep mountain paths, and swings is fists around if angered." A cheery, robotic voice provided the answer that the girl sought.
"It looks so different from the ones that live in the Alola region." Lillie said, waving at the rock type as it chomped down on its meal. To her delight, it noticed her and waved back.
"To anyone who lives outside of Alola, this is what Geodude normally look like." Celeste explained as the bus turned the corner and the Pokemon vanished from view. "You two both have a rather unique perspective, because while trainers that grow up in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, or Kalos are used to seeing Geodude's normal form, you two are used to seeing its Alola form."
"It will be interesting to see what the normal forms of other Pokemon that have Alola forms look like." Gladion acknowledged, admitting his interest in the area. Sure, intellectually the rather smart trainer knew that to the rest of the world the Alola form Pokemon were a new variant of the same old familiar Pokemon that they had known and loved for ages, but all the books in the world weren't enough to explain away just how different they actually were. It was one thing to read about them; it was something else to actually meet these Pokemon.
"Zzzt! Man, there'zzz nothing like dexin' in the morning, wouldn't ya say, Celeste?" Sparky said. "So, zzzt, how long'zzz it going to be until we get to Pallet Town?"
"Easy Sparky, no need to blow your circuits." His partner replied. "As for when we'll get to Pallet Town, I'm guessing it won't be for a while. The bus is taking a detour around the Viridian Forest, and that's going to add some time onto the trip. I'd say we'll probably get there this evening."
Oh goodie, chapter two is up and running. I suppose it goes without saying that next chapter they'll meet Professor Oak himself, and then the time for them to start running around the region on foot will be upon them. So, do you guys like this chapter, or is there anything you wish to see me do differently? Let me know in a review, please! I bet it'll help me write!