Part Dos: If you sent in an OC that I liked, it will most likely appear in Chapter 3 or 4.
"You know... not picking a starter is probably a decision that's going to haunt me for awhile."
This thought was ringing in Chance's mind as he stared at the vast forest ahead of him. There was so much activity going on in the forest, it seemed as if the trees themselves were moving, and dancing in the light summer breeze.
He had left the research lab only an hour before. The misty fog had disappeared and the sun was shining brightly in Sunnystem, its rays like a beacon of hope to the young kids starting their journies that morning. Chance had gone to the Research Lab very early on purpose. He wasn't a big fan of kids. The walk down the gravel path was definitely an awkward experience for everyone around him. There were a few looks of sadness, discontent in seeing someone leave the little town. However, the majority of looks were loathing. The Stem Forest was a relatively short walk, and Chance had no need to stock up on supplies. The Professor's black backpack contained everything he needed. He unzipped the bag and took note of the supplies again. Five standard Pokeballs, two ham sandwiches, compliments of the Professor's wife, according to the note, and a couple Potions. Quickly, he grabbed an empty Pokeball and put it in his left coat pocket.
"Off to catch more for the Boss, Chance?" a passerby sneered, mockingly.
Chance took no note of the comment, and disregarded the man, and then proceeded to continue to stare at the towering forest. It would take him hours to get through, but he should make it to the next city over, Rorek, before nightfall.
"Now, I only have one problem." he thought, his hand in his pocket, playing with the empty Pokeball, "how am I going to catch a Pokemon? And what will I catch, for that matter?"
He sighed, hating himself for being so stubborn and arrogant, and continued his long journey through the forest.
The trees were way more enormous up close. It seemed as though just one of the trees could harbor dozens of lives. All across the lower canopy, bug Pokemon could be seen, sucking nectar off of the trees. There was a nest of Kakuna on one end of the tree, and there must have been at least a dozen hanging there from their silk vines, patiently waiting for their life to start anew.
"Resurrection." he thought, smirking while looking at the Kakuna, "me too, guys, me too."
Pulling out his Pokdex, he tried to get a feed on the Kakuna, but they were too far up for the Pokedex to accurately identify the Pokemon. On the opposite end of the canopy, there were Metapod and Silcoon nests mere feet away from each other. It seemed as though clans of Bug Pokemon were sharing the top level of this forest. Although a Beedrill sting was nothing to scoff at, it just wasn't Chance's choice as a starting Pokemon. He continued on his way through the shrubbery, stopping every few meters to look around and eye his surroundings, making sure to take note of all the Pokemon. There were a few Rattata. All of the Pokemon in the forest were surprisingly docile. There hadn't been any territory feuds and Chance hadn't received any ominous glares for stepping around a clan's land. Things seemed to be sailing relatively smoothly until...
"HEY! I remember you!" the shrill voice rang throughout the whole forest, and flocks of bird Pokemon flew away from their roosts.
Turning around, Chance saw a a young girl, maybe 14 or 15 years old with a look of anger on her face, who seemingly came out of nowhere. She looked like she had been in the forest for quite awhile. Her pink boots had mud all over them from trekking the forest's terrain, and her blonde hair was thrown all about. Although Chance didn't recall ever seeing the girl before, she did seem vaguely familiar, and she definitely knew who he was.
"Are you just going to stand there, or what? Why is Team Galactic's best Commander in this forest?"
Wide-eyed, Chance just stared at the girl. She had a determined look on her face.
"Team Galactic Commander Pluto, right?" she continued, obviously quite annoyed by the fact that Chance shrugged off her observation.
"That was my name once. I threw it away." Chance explained, after a second of silence.
"You think quitting changes all of the things you did? That's hilarious." the girl scoffed.
"I know it doesn't change any of the things I've done. I feel the only way I can repair the damage I've dealt is to start over."
The serious and bold statement threw off the girl. She looked as though she was having an internal battle, wondering if it was safe to trust Chance's words. Chance remained very sincere, not taking his eyes off the girl, with a look that was equally as determined as her's.
"Okay," she said, finally making up her mind, "you might have changed, sure. But you could be lying. I'll be traveling with you until we make it out of this forest. If you really have changed, then I won't need to call the police when we make it to Rorek. Take it or leave it."
"So, this is how the Professor felt when I told him I wasn't taking a starter. I have to take this girl. The police will jump at the chance to catch 'Pluto' of Team Galactic."
"Fine. But if you slow me down, I'm leaving you." Chance started off on the same path that he had been walking before, as the girl scurried to catch up.
"So, why did you leave?" the girl inquired.
"It's none of your business." Chance stated blankly, eyes forward on the path.
"Fine. Whatever." the girl mumbled, "I'm Jill, by the way."
"I don't really care." Chance thought, before sighing and returning the greeting.
"Chance."
After a few more minutes of relatively awkward silence, a rustling was heard in a bush. Chance took note of it and walked toward the bush to hear a low growl.
"Dourrr."
"Someone's upset." Chance muttered as he took another step forward.
In a split second a black canine figure jumped out of the bush, lunging toward Chance at a high speed. Instinctively Chance threw up his hands to thwart the attacker, but it wasn't enough. The attacker, which was actually a black dog, gripped onto Chance's wrist with razor sharp teeth, and squeezed down with amazing force. Wincing in pain, Chance called to Jill.
"Are you just going to stand there, or what?"
"Oh, sorry!" Jill called, quickly fumbling through her pocket before pulling out the familiar red and white Pokeball.
"Eevee, go! Use Tackle!"
The ball opened and in a beam of red light, an Eevee appeared, battle ready. It jumped at the dog and hit it full force in the side, causing it to lose its hold on Chance's wrist, who, in turn, pulled away and jumped to his feet, then scurried back to where Jill was. At this point, there was a stand-still. The black dog was eying Chance, Jill and her Eevee from a few yards away. Chance's wrist was bleeding from the attack He shook it off and, taking the opportunity, took out his Pokedex. After being lined up with the dog, the Pokedex instantaneously gave an encyclopedic definition of the Pokemon.
Houndour, the fire dog Pokemon. It conveys its feelings using different cries. It works in a pack to cleverly take down prey.
"..Hunts in packs?"
Chance looked around. There didn't appear to be anymore of the Houndour, and now would be an opportune time to strike at full force.
"I wonder why this one hunts alone then." he thought.
Chance started to closely examine the Houndour. It's fur was jet black, except for the muzzle and it's underside, which was a smooth brown. It would have looked almost exactly like a normal dog, but it appeared to bones on its body. A skull, rubs, and bands around it's ankles.
"Oh, wow.. look at THAT!" Jill suddenly spurted out, surprised by something, "it's got a huge gash on its shoulder! Did you do that, Pluto? What's your problem, anyway?"
Chance looked at her incredulously.
"One: I didn't do that. Two: My name isn't Pluto." then, turning to the Houndour, he saw the injury that it had on its left shoulder. It looked like it had been torn up pretty bad, it must have hurt for the Pokemon to walk.
"That would explain why it's alone. It must have gotten into an argument with it's pack or something." Chance pondered, "The thing is pretty stubborn. I like it."
"Hey," Chance started, looking to the Houndour, who looked surprised by the nonchalant greeting, "come with me. I'll get your shoulder fixed up."
In an almost instant act of defiance, the Houndour barked angrily.
Chance laughed.
"I don't think you have much of a choice, friend. How long will you last out here. A day? Two days, tops."
The Houndour snarled and lunged at Chance again, wincing in pain as it lifted off, but this time, Chance was ready for it. He sidestepped the Houndour (as Jill jumped into a nearby bush to hide, Eevee following in suit), reaching in his coat pocket and taking out the Pokeball. With a simple squeeze, it reverted to the standard size and Chance tossed it at the Houndour. In a burst of white light, the ball opened and sucked in the Houndour.
One shake... two shake...three shake...
A red light in the center of the ball signified that the Houndour had been captured.
"Successss." Chance said triumphantly. Hearing Chance, Jill slowly came out of her hiding spot in shock.
"Wow.. it was so weak, you actually managed to catch it without battling."
"Yep." Chance smiled.
"But... why didn't you just call out one of your Pokemon when it bit you in the first place?"
"Don't have any. Well, didn't, anyway." he stated.
"...How are you a trainer if you don't have a starter Pokemon?"
"Lost it." Chance said in a jokingly.
Jill quit talking, giving up. Chance put the ball back into it's miniature state, then took off his backpack and opened the large pocket, pulling out two ham sandwiches and some bandages for his wrist, which was still bleeding from Houndour's bite. Jill seemed ready to eat and relax, as she took out her Eevee's Pokeball and returned it. Until she saw Chance about to hit the button to let Houndour out of the Pokeball.
"What are you doing? That thing is pissed, don't let it out!"
"What? He's mine. I'm letting him out to eat."
"I thought the second sandwich was for me! And don't let him out! He'll eat US."
Too late.
For the record, Jill is not an OC. I'm going to introduce the first one in Chapter 3. Hope you enjoyed it, leave a review with constructive criticism!