"Ok, I guess we could hit the next town over like everyone else or go straight to the forest." Karkat pondered allowed as he walked the path.
It was a question he'd been pondering since he left his town. By now all the trainers had scattered to different parts of the path so everyone was pretty much keeping to themselves. He was about half way there himself. What was he going to do? He had to decide soon.
"Well let's look at it logically. It'd be dark soon and ghost Pokémon are said to live in the Viridian forest and come out at night. Looks like I'll be stopping in town."
Karkat concluded to himself.
"I hope I get to the next town soon though. What was it called, Pallet town maybe? Sounds right."
He'd started to absentmindedly toss up and then catching the pokéball containing his Eevee as he walked.
"I wonder if there are any Pokémon around I could catch that don't only know normal type moves before I hit the forest." Karkat wondered as normal type moves don't work on ghost Pokémon.
Karkat then ran into a sign, falling on his ass, and dropping the pokéball.
"Fucking hell!"
Eevee came out of its pokéball. Karkat grabbed the ball and got back up. Eevee was laughing at him.
"Damn it Eevee! Get the fuck back in your ball."
Eevee dodged Karkat's every attempt. After a frustrating 10 minutes he gave up.
"God Fuck it! Fine. Just don't stray."
"Ree."
Karkat kicked the sign.
"Ow! Fuck damn it! That shit ass post is made of metal!" He cursed.
Eevee just sat and watched in an amused manner. When Karkat calmed down he actually read the sign. It said Pallet town was 1.5 miles straight ahead. So they were going in the right direction.
"Come on Eevee, let's go. I can already hear Hoothoot waking up in the forest."
"Reet."
So Eevee followed Karkat the rest of the way. At first Karkat worried it might run off but it showed no desired to leave him. Eevee never trailed more than three feet in any direction from him. It was smart. When they got to Pallet it was near sunset. He was greeted with a banner and people greeting him. Apparently the people of Pallet were expecting the new trainers and welcomed them. They gave out berries and Pokétreats then directed to the Pokémon center. Karkat had arrived around the same time some others did. They were not the first nor the last of the trainers. Eevee wasn't looking to please with the crowd so Karkat picked it up and carried it to the Pokémon center, not even bothering with the pokéball. He went up to the desk. A woman greeted him.
"Hello I'm Nurse Joy. Are you one of the new trainers?"
"Yeah."
"What's your name?"
"Karkat Vantas."
"Well Karkat, we still have space available if you would like to stay for the night. I would recommend it. Everyone should have a good rest before going to the forest."
"Ok."
"Wonderful, why don't you put your things on your bed then you can walk around a bit if you'd like. Chancy, please show our guest to an available space."
A pink Pokémon with a nurse's cap appeared.
"Chancy."
Karkat followed the Pokémon and it brought him to a bed to stay in. It also gave him a flyer with information on it. He hung out there for a while and gave Eevee a few treats, finally getting Eevee back in its pokéball. He examined the flyer. It said some of the town's people were cooking dinner and breakfast for the new trainers and their Pokémon in the event hall then there were directions. Come to think of it he was kind of hungry. So Karkat went to this event hall and got some food. The ladies handed out food, he thanked them. Another Chancy handed a small bowl of Pokémon food to him for Eevee. After letting Eevee out to eat, he dug in. Man was it good, way better than Kankri's cooking. He realized again how much he was missing since his mom died. He barely remembers her but that doesn't stop him from missing her. Eevee stuffed its face too, returning to its pokéball upon finishing. After Karkat left he felt like he was forgetting something. In the center Nurse Joy called him over.
"A message was left for you."
"And?"
"It's from Kankri Vantas, he said he was your brother and wanted you to give him a call."
"Oh right, Ok." So that's what he was forgetting.
"The phones are right over there and if you'd like I can make sure your Pokémon is in top shape for the forest tomorrow while you make your call."
Karkat nodded and gave his pokéball to Nurse Joy before going over to the video phones. He dialed home and Kankri answered, still in his lab coat.
"Hello." Karkat greeted.
"Hello Karkat. To begin with, I'd like to start out with stating that I feel triggered that you disregarded your agreement to call me."
"Sorry I fucking forgot."
"Well I suppose you were tired and hungry so I do suppose it's understandable. Did you make it there fine?"
"Yes."
"Did you get food and a place to stay?"
"Yes."
"How's Eevee?"
"Fine."
"That's good. I would like you to talk to Professor Oak, in the morning of course, before hitting the forest. I've talked to him about letting you barrow a Pokémon to help you through the forest. Of course you'd have to send it back when you reach the next town. I don't want any ghost Pokémon attacking."
Karkat tried not to roll his eyes.
"I don't need help."
"Do it."
"I'm perfectly capable on my own."
"You are so stubborn. Just do it."
"Fine."
Kankri nodded.
"Be careful in the forest and catch some Pokémon if you can. Call me when you reach the next town."
"Yeah, yeah, ok."
The call ended and Karkat ran his fingers through his snow white hair in exasperation. The sooner his Journey starts the better. He goes and retrieves his Eevee. Then just went to go to sleep.
In the morning he got breakfast and so did Eevee. The trainers were slowly filing out of the town a little at a time. They went in different directions. Karkat went into the Viridian forest. He decided to follow the path. The forest was seemingly peaceful. Metapod and Kakuna were on some of the trees and a timid group of Oddish were in the bushes. After walking for a while, thinking about what he wanted to do on his journey. Then a Rattata appeared. It wasn't pleased to see the albino boy. Before he could even react Eevee escaped its ball.
"Reet!"
Battle time.
Rattata used scratch. Eevee dodged.
"Eevee, use tackle."
Eevee used tackle on the Rattata. The Pokémon hissed and used bite, getting Eevee's tail. Eevee yelped and used tail whip in an attempt to fling the foe off. It eventually worked well enough to dislodge it which caused it to hit a tree. It was a K.O. Rattata was unable to battle but Karkat was uninterested in capturing it. That was ok. Kankri said that once a Pokémon is unable to battle if you don't capture it will flee on its own to take care of its self. Eevee examined its tail but it turned out to be nothing to worry about. Karkat couldn't tell if Eevee was strong or just stubborn to give in.
Eevee walked with Karkat instead of returning to its pokéball. A few wild Pokémon popped out and Eevee jumped in to fight each time. The battle's went fine, added to by Eevee's stubborn a persistence, but though it would obey Karkat frequently it would still ignore him and do what it want's instead. After about the third battle Karkat managed to get it back in its ball. It should be fine with a little rest.
"You little stubborn fuck ass." Karkat said to the pokéball.
He hadn't caught any more Pokémon despite the several confrontations with wild Pokémon that had already occurred. That's the thing. He grew up being raise by Kankri who works at the breeding center so he spent a lot of time there and learned a lot about the Pokémon it bread and studied. What he wanted was for the first Pokémon he caught to be one not found in the breeding center. So none of the Rattata, Oddish, Pidgey, Caterpie, and etc. he's seen so far. At sunset he stopped in a clearing. His stomach grumbled, he hadn't eaten since breakfast. He picked a spot and sat on the ground to debate. He could either try to continue through the forest at night or camp until morning. He chose to camp.
He'll just make a fire to keep the ghost Pokémon away. He's heard that's normally supposed to work or at least decrease your chances of running into one. He tried to make a fire but failed the first time but was soon successful. Now that they bit was taken care of Karkat began rooting through his bag. He pulled out a sandwich. Can't go on a journey without food. He gave some poké-food to Eevee. As he ate the sky started darkening soon after while the fire burned. Karkat thought a moment. Before now he hadn't really thought past the getting out of Kankri's rule and leaving home part. Now that he was here, what was he going to do? Wandering aimlessly didn't suit him. He needed goals. So he thought for quite a while before officially decided what he was going to do on his Pokémon adventure. He'd go to and beat the gyms then maybe even go to the Poké-league. He wanted to prove to everyone he could be good at something that others won't have a way for them to debunk it.
"Reet!"
Eevee snapped Karkat out of his thoughts. He looked around, it was dusk. Eevee's ears twitched but Karkat still saw nothing. That changed when his pack started to float. He hopped up.
"Eevee, help me try to get my pack back."
Eevee sat and refused. Suddenly Beedrill appeared. They moved in a circle around the camp. Eevee yelled at them.
"Reet! Reet!"
Karkat wasn't sure where these bugs came from. The back pack was being tossed over his head back and forth like a game of monkey in the middle made harder because Karkat wasn't exactly the tallest person. The Beedrill were doing a sort of dance, spinning around the circle or in place going in and out. That's not normal Beedrill behavior if you ask Karkat. Luckily for Karkat unplanned help arrived.
"Cage break the illusion."
"Hoothoot"
The Beedrill disappeared to be replace with two Ghastly and the bag was reviled to be being tossed by a Haunter and Gengar. Ghost Pokémon. The source of the help came into view. It was a boy with buck teeth, wispy black hair and, glasses. He had a slimmer symbol on his shirt and looked like a dork. He had a Hoothoot with him.
"Use confusion to ward them away!"
"Hoo!"
Confusion hit the ghost Pokémon and they quickly retreated and Karkat grabbed his bag. He had never seen a Hoothoot before and pulled out his pokédex.
Hoothoot the Owl Pokémon. Hoothoot begins to hoot at the same time every day. Some trainers use them in place of clocks.
The boy caught up.
"Thanks for that." Karkat said.
"No problem! Those ghost Pokémon can sure cause trouble but they don't mean any real harm. My name's John by the way. John Egbert"
"Hoo!"
"Oh and this is my Hoothoot Cage."
"I'm Karkat Vantas. And that fickle brat of a Pokémon is my Eevee."
"Nice to meet you. Can we camp with you?"
"I guess, just stay on the other side."
Karkat pointed directly across from him on the other side of the fire.
"Ok!"
John made himself at home on that side.
"Is Hoothoot you're first Pokémon?"
Karkat said after a moment of watching John petting Cage.
"No, I may have named him after the greatest actor ever, Nicolaus Cage, but he's not my first."
John pulled out another pokéball.
"This is my first Pokémon."
A Pidgeotto came out of the ball.
"It's evolved already?"
Karkat didn't expect that.
John laughed as his Pidgeotto started cooing and nuzzling him.
"Yeah, this is Breeze. When I was three I rescued him after he fell out of his mama's nest and broke his wing when he was still a piggy. He wouldn't leave me afterward. He evolved before I left home."
Sappy story asides Karkat was a tad jealous. Both of John's Pokémon loved him. Eevee didn't seem to care for Karkat very much. Eevee was eating its food with had its back to everyone to purposely ignore us. Karkat didn't know what's deal was. It seemed pretty eager to go with him.
~Time skip~
Morning.
With Cage around there were no more ghost Pokémon that bothered them. After talking to John more Karkat found out he was right. John was a dork. John only had two Pokémon but that was still one more thank Karkat. Another thing our main character noticed was John was cheerful, very optimistic and, kind of dense. It somehow seemed to make him immune to Karkat's grumpy personality and short temper.
Since it would take a few more days to get out of the woods Karkat agreed to getting through it with John so the ghost Pokémon will leave him and Eevee alone. It was half way through the day and John kept trying to strike up conversation occasionally resorting rambling when Karkat would quit responding.
"So where are you going to once we're out of the woods?" John asked with a cheerful smile.
"First, New Pewter City."
"Really?"
"Well, I figure that's the best way to start to get to Newberry town. I'm going to challenge the gym leader there."
Karkat foolishly thought John would drop it.
"That's awesome Karkat! I'm going that way to Newberry town too. We should travel there together too! We're going the same way so we'll be running into each other anyway."
Karkat wanted to face palm but he had a point. Plus, John was personable, a useful personality trait Karkat was not equipped with.
"I guess," Karkat agreed after a moment of weighing his pros and cons, "but I'm the leader."
"Ok!"
John grinned at him and Karkat rolled his eyes. Eevee was in its pokéball. Breeze was either flying or waiting for them in a tree, leading them safely out of the forest. Wild Pokémon didn't really bother either the boys. Or at least until Eevee decided to escape its ball again.
"You going to be less of a brat today?" Karkat asked it.
Eevee stuck its nose in the air.
"Reet."
Karkat groaned.
"You're a brat."
John frowned but didn't say anything. Not long later a Nidoran popped out and Eevee charged.
"Damn it Eevee! Don't attack every fucking thing you see!" Karkat shouted, pulling at his white hair in exasperation.
Eevee ignored him and tackled Nidoran .
"Whoa! You're Eevee just jumped in."
"Wow really? I hadn't noticed."
"There's no need to be rude Karkat."
The Nidoran tumbled back but hopped right back up and shook its-self off. It looked pissed. Eevee was waiting to fight back. Karkat rolled his eyes. He'd rather just get out of this forest but a battle couldn't hurt. Plus, a win might put Eevee in a better mood. Karkat stepped up.
"Eevee use quick attack before Nidoran can retaliate!"
"Reet!"
Nidoran was knock back again before it saw what was coming.
"Nido!"
It scraped the ground with its foot before charging at Eevee. It reaction time may not have been the best but it was fast.
"Dodge!"
Eevee moved just in time but Nidoran made a turn and ran straight into Eevee, knocking the Pokémon over.
"Ree!"
"Tackled it while it's recovering!"
Eevee got up and used tackle on Nidoran who was stopped to catch its breath.
"Finish it with quick attack."
"Reet!"
Eevee used quick attack on Nidoran . The wild Pokémon was knocked back into a tree. It tried to get up but fell. Karkat and Eevee had won. Eevee looked proud of its-self. Karkat turned to see John looking at him with sparkly eye.
"What?"
"You and Eevee make a good team! At least when you're working together. It's like you're in sync or something!"
Karkat raised an eyebrow and gave John a look.
"I have no fucking idea what you're talking about."
"Well are you going to at least catch the Nidoran ?"
"No why would I-"
Karkat started as he turn back to Eevee but stopped.
"Where is it?"
The Nidoran wasn't there anymore. Odd, maybe it just scampered off to rest up. Karkat turned back to John. Breeze was by him, probably got tired of waiting on them. It was looking around like it heard something and John looked a tad confused too.
"What's wrong Egbert?"
"Do you hear something?"
"No…"
Karkat paused to listen.
"Wait a minute."
He did hear something. It was like a low growl like noise. Suddenly Breeze started freaking out and flapping it's wings.
"Pigot! Pigot! Pigot!"
"Karkat we have a problem."
John was pointing behind Karkat. Karat looked to see Eevee bristling at a group of Nidorino, at least five of them, in the bushes. They didn't look very pleased.
"Oh shit!"
That Nidoran must have told its buddies they'd picked on it.
"John we have to run. We'll go on my say so."
"But they'll catch us wait I have an idea."
John turns to breeze who was trying to put himself between John and the Nidorino.
"Breeze,"
"Pigot!"
"When Karkat says run use gust on the Nidorino then follow us from above. Got that?"
"Pigot."
Karkat nodded and grabbed Eevee. The Nidorino began moving.
"Run!"
With Eevee safely in his arms Karkat and John hightailed it out of there.