Really bigC94...REALLY...3 WEEKS! -_- I am sorry for my long absence, but I was having a bit of a Daft Punk moment; Write it, Cut it, Paste it, Save it, Load it, Check it, Rewrite it (if you don't get the reference, look up Technologic by Daft Punk. It's one of my favorite Daft Punk songs). I was having trouble figuring out where I wanted to go thus far with the story. I had an idea of what I wanted to happen, but couldn't figure out how to make it happen. But don't fear, for I have figured out what shall occur over the next several chapters. Now, enough of my problems...let's get back to the show!
Ash and Manuel followed Professor Cypress up a long, winding staircase that led to the fourth floor. Brock had opted not to come with them.
"I don't plan on challenging the APC, so I don't have any reason to get registered. Also, I already brought a couple of Pokemon with me so I don't really need to get a starter Pokemon. I think I'll just get the tour over with so that by the time you guys are finished we can hit the road running," Brock had explained. However, Ash knew that he really wanted some alone time with Nurse Joy, so they let him be.
When they reached the fourth floor Professor Cypress whipped out an I.D. card which was attached to the end of a lanyard around her neck. She swiped the card across a scanner on the door which then blinked green and the door slid open. When they entered the research floor Ash was astonished. He had never seen so many things going on in one place. There were scientists and research aides running around all over the place and shouting out instructions.
"This is definitely the largest Pokemon Lab I have ever seen!" exclaimed Pikachu with awe.
"You can say that again!" Ash replied. Professor Cypress noticed the looks on Ash and Manuel's faces and grinned.
"Surprised are you? The Cypress Research Center is the largest Pokemon research facility in the world. It is also home to some of the world's brightest minds," she said with a wink, "Now, let's get you registered." She led them to a large computer screen in the far corner of the room, isolated from the rest of the chaos. The screen took up the entire wall and towered over Ash and Manuel.
"That's a really big computer!" exclaimed Manuel. Professor Cypress smiled.
"Do you like it? We call him Ivan. Ivan runs all the tests in the lab and stores all the information on every Pokemon in every region we know," explained Professor Cypress as she pushed a button on a large keyboard. The screen lit up and displayed a map of the Acirema Region along with all kinds of data slowly panning across the screen.
"Good Afternoon, Veronica. How may I be of service?" asked a surprisingly human sounding voice with a British accent.
"Pull up standard registration sequence," said Professor Cypress.
"Right away," said Ivan. Ash noticed that the large map of Acirema was littered with hundreds upon thousands of tiny red dots.
"Professor Cypress, why are there so many red dots on the map?" asked Ash. He didn't think it was any of his business since research and science weren't his cup of tea, but his curiosity got the better of him. Luckily, Manuel spoke up as well.
"Yeah," Manuel piped in, "I noticed those too, ese. What are those? There's so many of them." Professor Cypress smiled.
"You see, once a Trainer registers with the Acirema Pokemon League we can track their whereabouts right here on this map. Observe." She then proceeded to tap one of the red dots located on an area of the map labeled Route 10 which was between Mal and a small town called Magnoville. The dot expanded, and then a large and very detailed trainer card appeared on the screen along with a head shot of the trainer. The trainer appeared to be of Asian descent and had messy, unkempt hair which stuck out of the sides of a research sombriolet. Ash figured he couldn't be any older than 15 or 16 judging his young facial features and lack of facial hair. The trainer had a smug look on his face and a bug catching net casually hung over his shoulder. Because it was just a headshot, Ash couldn't tell what he was wearing, but judging from the shoulders it appeared to be a white wife beater like Manuel's.
"Norris Soto. Age: 15. 5'0'', 90 lbs. Hometown: Goldpond Town. Tendencies: Bug Type. Current Number of Pokemon on hand: 4. Number of Gym Badges obtained: 2. Number of Ribbons obtained: 1. To access secure information such as Trainer ID number or current earnings, please enter pass code," Ivan recited. Ash and Manuel were taken aback by the amount of information they had on the kid. They shot each other a look of awe and then returned to Professor Cypress.
"Don't you think that this is…I don't know…kind of an invasion of privacy?" asked Manuel. Professor Cypress shook her head.
"Not in the least. You see, once you register for the Acirema Pokemon League you are not just any old Pokemon Trainer…you are, in a sense, an employee of the APL," Professor Cypress explained. Manuel now went from concerned to interested, while Ash was quite confused.
"Really? How so?" asked Manuel. Professor Cypress smiled and continued.
"Acirema is unlike any other region in the Pokemon Universe. As a result, there is much unknown about the land in which we call home. Unfortunately, there aren't enough Pokemon Researchers and Professors to go all around Acirema and collect data…so we send trainers instead. Of course, the main objective for most trainers is to gain all eight badges and win the APC or to win five contests and then the Acirema Grand Festival. However, because of this handy device, we as researchers can gain valuable information about Acirema and trainers can still go about their journey however they please." Professor Cypress then pulled out a handheld device that looked similar to a touchscreen smartphone. It was a rather large for a smartphone though; it was larger than a phone but smaller than a tablet, yet still managed to fit in her hand comfortably. This particular device was black and only had two buttons. One was a small power button on the back of the slim device towards the top. The other was a circular button shaped like a Pokeball on the bottom front of the device. Professor Cypress turned the device on and the screen lit up. On the screen, a large Pokeball appeared for about five seconds before the home screen of the device appeared.
"This is called a Poketab. It is a handheld smartphone/tablet developed by the company Pokelectronix. Pokelectronix makes just about every electronic device distributed in Acirema, including Ivan over here," said Professor Cypress as she tapped the large computer, "They also mass produce the Pokeballs and Items for this region. The Poketab has lots of features that are useful to trainers including a Region Map, a clock, a phone, etc. Anything else that you need can be purchased in the App Store for free. It's most useful feature, or at least I think so, is the Pokedex." She then pressed the Pokeball shaped button at the bottom of the device. The words Pokedex appeared on the screen and then shifted to the top of the screen.
"Point device at desired Pokemon," the Poketab instructed. Unlike Ivan, the Poketab had the typical robotic sounding female voice.
"The Pokedex on the Poketab tells you information on every Pokemon in its database, much like every other region's Pokedex. However, a key feature is it's DNA collection feature. If a trainer happens to stumble upon a Pokemon that no one has ever seen before and is not in the database, the hair, fur, or saliva of the Pokemon is scanned and then its data is sent right here to Ivan. Then, we analyze the DNA and instruct the trainer to attempt to catch the Pokemon. If the Pokemon is caught successfully, we instruct the trainer to send us the Pokemon for further analysis. If the Pokemon is not caught, we send a skilled Pokemon Researcher to get the unknown Pokemon for us," Professor Cypress continued.
"But what if you are on a mountain or in the middle of a forest and can't send the Pokemon right away?" asked Ash. Professor Cypress brought the Poketab back to its homepage and tapped an app entitled "Trade". The app loaded for a couple of seconds and then displayed a large circle which took up almost the entire screen.
"Place Pokeball on marked area. Then, name the Trainer to initiate the trade. If you are sending a Pokemon to the Cypress Research Center, repeat the phrase "Send to the Cypress Research Center" and then name a Pokemon from your PC storage," the Poketab instructed.
"With this app, you can trade Pokemon amongst your friends, or send a Pokemon here and replace it with a Pokemon in your PC. If you do not have a Pokemon in your PC, we simply send you a replacement Pokeball. Also, any trainer that catches an unidentified Pokemon will have $10,000 forwarded to their account as a thank you, of sorts, for contributing to our research," explained Professor Cypress.
"Wow, this thing is really high tech!" exclaimed Manuel. Professor Cypress nodded.
"That it is. Pokelectronix is one of the wealthiest companies in the world, much more so than the Silph Co. or Devon Corporation. In fact, they are so wealthy that they offer unlimited text and talk to any region free of charge!" exclaimed Professor Cypress.
"Wait…so you mean I can call my mom anytime?" asked Ash.
"Anytime!" Professor Cypress replied with a laugh. "Now, it's time to get you two registered so you can get one of these. Place your hand on the pad here," she pointed to a hand-shaped pad on the giant keyboard. Ash placed his hand on the pad and a green light flashed across his hand. "That should be good," Professor Cypress said as Ash took off his hand. After a few seconds, a headshot of Ash appeared on the screen as well as his personal information.
"Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, Kanto is now registered with the Acirema Pokemon League. Congratulations!" said Ivan with as much enthusiasm as a British computer voice could. Manuel then placed his hand on the pad. The pad flashed, and then his personal information appeared on the screen while Ash's disappeared.
"Emmanuel Ortiz from Mal, Acirema is now registered with the Acirema Pokemon League. Congratulations!" Ivan repeated. Ash couldn't help but chuckle at the computer's vain attempt at excitement. She handed Ash and Manuel their own black Poketabs.
"I also forgot to tell you that the Poketab also has a Contest Pass loaded on it so if you would like to take on contests instead of Gyms you can do that as well. Now, time for the fun part!" exclaimed Professor Cypress with a sing-songy tone. She led the two to a different corner of the room. This area was lined with shelves containing lots of Pokeballs.
"Why are there so many Pokeballs here?" asked Manuel.
"Remember how I told you that Acirema is unlike any other region?" Ash and Manuel nodded their heads. "Well this is where it gets interesting.
"One of the many mysteries of Acirema is the fact that Pokemon found in the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, AND Sinnoh regions can be found in Acirema as well. In fact, there are very few Pokemon indigenous solely to Acirema. As of today, there are about 11 Pokemon found exclusively in Acirema and nowhere else. All the rest of the Pokemon found in Acirema can also be found in every other region. So, because of this anomaly, we offer the three starters from the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh regions in addition to two starters exclusive to the Acirema region."
"Wow, that's awesome!" Manuel exclaimed. But Ash, once again, was confused.
"Wait...you said two starters...so that means only two types?" asked Ash. Professor Cypress nodded.
"Once again, one of the anomalies of Acirema. Only two out of those 11 Pokemon that are found exclusively in Acirema are Water types. And neither of the two have three evolutions. So, we don't offer a water starter. If you would like a water starter, you will have to choose a Squirtle, Totidile, Mudkip or Piplup," explained Professor Cypress.
"Well I guess it's a good thing I already have my mind made up," said Manuel.
"Really?" Ash asked.
"Yep, it's always been a dream of mine to travel to the other regions like you did, but I never got the chance. I've always wanted a Charizard…and now I can get one!" Manuel said. Professor Cypress smiled.
"Well I guess we know what Pokemon you will be starting with!" she pulled a Pokeball off the bottom of the shelf and handed it to Manuel. "Call it out," she suggested.
"Allright! Go, Charmander!" Manuel shouted with joy as he threw the Pokeball into the air. The Pokeball opened and a bright red light flew out. The light took the form of Charmander as the Pokeball flew back into Manuel's hands.
"Char, Charmander!" exclaimed the small lizard Pokemon as it stuck an impressive pose.
"Awesome!" Manuel pulled out his Poketab and pushed the Pokeball button.
"Charmander, the Lizard Pokémon. A constant flame burns on the end of its tail. If this flame was to be extinguished, Charmander would no longer live," said the Poketab.
"Hey little bro, you're way too cute lookin' to grow into a fearsome Charizard. But I guess all Pokemon start like that huh?" said Manuel as he petted Charmander's head.
"Char, Char, Charmander!" replied Charmander as it leaned into his hand, clearly enjoying the petting.
"I guess you should meet your partner then. Go, Teddiursa!" Manuel pulled another Pokeball off his belt and tossed it in the air. The red light shone once again and Teddiursa appeared.
"Teddiursa!" exclaimed the small bear Pokemon. It turned to Ash and Pikachu and was surprised as it had never seen them before. It then turned to Charmander and was even more surprised. "Teddiurrrrssssaaaaa!" the bear Pokemon wailed as it ran and hid behind Manuel's leg.
"Aww, no need to be afraid Teddiursa, these are my new friends," Manuel tried to comfort his Pokemon but Teddiursa would have none of it. Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder and approached Charmander.
"Pika, Pika, Pikaaaa, Pikachuuu," Pikachu said to Charmander.
"Char, Charmander, Char," Charmander nodded. Pikachu and Charmander approached Teddiursa slowly.
"Teddiurrrrsssssaaaa!" Teddiursa cried out in fear. It then ran out from behind Manuel's leg and its claws began to glow. However, Pikachu and Charmander did not notice and were ambushed by a Fury Swipes attack. Pikachu and Charmander were not hurt, but fell over and sweatdropped.
"This is what I get for trying to make friends…" Pikachu said sarcastically. Ash laughed while Manuel scolded Teddiursa.
"Come on Teddiursa, that's no way to treat new friends!" Manuel said firmly. Teddiursa dropped its head in shame and walked up to Pikachu and Charmander.
"Teddi, Teddiursa, Teddi," said Teddiursa to the two Pokemon. Pikachu nodded.
"Pika, Pika, Piiiika, Pikachu, Pika Pi," said Pikachu with a smile as she shook Pikachu's hand. However, Charmander would have none of it and turned his head with a "hmph!".
"Hey Pikachu, what'd Teddiursa say?" asked Ash.
"He said that he was sorry if he hurt us, it's just that Manuel is all he knows and strangers are scary. I told him that I'd probably do the same thing in his position, but Charmander doesn't seem to want to accept the apology…jackass," Pikachu shot a look at Charmander on that last word but Charmander kept its arms crossed and head turned away from Teddiursa.
"Wow, Charmander doesn't seem to like your Teddiursa. That could become a problem later, Pokemon are supposed to work as a team and feuding Pokemon is never a good thing," Ash said to Manuel.
"I know man. I don't blame him too much cause Teddiursa did attack him. But Charmander didn't even acknowledge the apology. This is gonna be tough," Manuel sighed.
"You never told me you had other Pokemon, do you have any more?" asked Ash who was intrigued. However, Manuel shook his head.
"Nope, Teddiursa's the only one I've got, ese. I was 9 years old when I met Teddiursa. I used to always sneak out into the woods when I was bored, looking for an adventure. I would pretend that I was a hot shot trainer traveling the Kanto region with a team full of badass Pokemon like Charizard. On one of these little 'expeditions' I stumbled upon Teddiursa all alone trying to jump high enough to reach a beehive full of honey. It was the funniest, yet saddest thing to watch. I went back home and brought some fresh honey and berries back with me which made Teddiursa really happy. Over the next couple of months I made friends with Teddiursa and we went on my imaginary adventures together. I finally decided that I wanted to keep Teddiursa with me so, on my tenth birthday, I used some of my birthday money to buy a Pokeball and Teddiursa willingly let me catch him. However, the very next week my dad was accidentally shot and killed so I had to stay home and work in the bike shop to take care of mi hermano, Emilio, and mi madre. Since I was working the bike shop, I didn't get to go on my journey to Kanto like I had planned. That's when I got really frustrated and joined the Dons," Manuel lowered his head. Ash and Pikachu were disheartened; they truly felt sorry for Manuel. He was so excited as a kid to get to go on his journey to Kanto, but fate has a cruel sense of humor. Manuel lifted his head and smiled.
"But now I'll finally get my chance!" he beamed. Ash and Pikachu smiled.
"That's the spirit! We're gonna tear up the Acirema Pokemon Championship!" Ash shouted.
"I can't wait to kick some ass!" Pikachu exclaimed.
"Yeah, I can't wait!" Manuel replied. He turned to his two Pokemon. "All right guys, I think that's enough meet-and-greet for now. I'll call you guys back out later when we start training." He returned Teddiursa and Charmander to their Pokeballs and turned to Ash. "Which Pokemon are you gonna get?" Ash pondered for a while.
"Hmm, well, I've all ready owned so many of the other region's starters. I've had all three Kanto starters, all three Johto starters, a Treecko, a Turtwig, a Chimchar, and all three Unova starters. So, I think I'll choose one of the two Acirema starters," Ash concluded. Professor Cypress nodded and took two Pokeballs off the top shelf.
"Lavader, Cratus, come on out!" shouted Professor Cypress. She threw the Pokeballs in the air and out of one shined a red light while out of the other a smoky black light appeared. When the light dissipated, two very different Pokemon showed up. The Pokemon that came out of the black light was an eel or snake like, its body reminded Ash of a smaller Ekans. However, it had a sharp dorsal fin on its back which was weird. It also had a large, suction like mouth similar to a lamprey or the Pokemon Eelektross. Its mouth was lined with rows and rows of razor sharp teeth that could rotate. It had four large slits going down it's eel-like body which opened and closed as it breathed. It had two snake-like eyes on opposite sides of its head like an Eelektross, and it didn't seem to ever blink. Its skin was black and very shiny and had four indents in spots where forearms and hindlegs might be. It was very menacing due to its lamprey-like mouth lined with razor sharp teeth and it also smelled like sulfur. The other Pokemon was a lot less intimidating. It was a small, green, rat-like Pokemon with a brown underbelly. It had two sharp overgrown incisors sticking out the front of its mouth and two smaller molars inside its mouth under the incisors. Its eyes were brown which matched the brown underbelly and its paws were brown as well. It had fairly sharp claws for a small rat Pokemon. Its most notable feature, however, was a barrel cactus which it carried on its back, much like the way Bulbasaur carry a plant on their back. Except this plant was round and prickly and, since the Pokemon was green, Ash assumed the thorns lining the barrel cactus were poisonous. There was a large purple flower in the middle of the barrel cactus on its back which was nice to look at, but Ash didn't discount the possibility that the flower could be poisonous as well. Both Pokemon had a fierce look in their eyes, but Ash noticed that the black eel-like Pokemon had a particularly disturbing look.
"Now, I must warn you before you decide which Pokemon you pick. Cratus evolves into Varkti and then Saguaradillo which is a large and powerful Armadillo-like Pokemon with the shell of a cactus. Lavader evolves into Monitora and then Komodon which is a pseudo-legendary Fire/Dragon type and is rumored to be extremely powerful. Many trainers jump at the chance to get a psudo-legendary, so they chose Lavader. However, Lavader is the harder of the two to train and raise. In fact, there are only seven known trainers with Monitora in Acirema and there are currently no trainers with a Komodon. The last trainer with a Komodon died in 1977 and the Komodon died along with him," Professor Cypress warned.
"Wow, only seven trainers could get it to evolve into its second stage and no one has evolved Lavader to its final stage in 36 years! Why?" asked Ash. He glanced at the Lavader; it looked menacing, but it couldn't be that hard to train…could it? Professor Cypress saw the look on his face and knew what he was thinking.
"Oh yes, it is extremely difficult to train. It is also one of those many mysteries of Acirema. According to legend, when Arceus created man there were no Lavader or Monitora, only Komodon. Komodon ran rampant across the earth and were extremely mischievous. They fought against the first humans and caused them all kinds of trouble. This angered Arceus to no end, so Arceus exiled all Komodon to the depths of the Earth's core. Arceus also stripped Komodon of their ability to fly and walk, thus reducing them to their current state of Lavader. It is rumored that Lavader are plentiful in the core of the Earth and swim through lava and earth. Their skin is made of Obsidian so they are able to do this without melting. Arceus also prevented them from reaching the surface and whenever one does it shrivels and dies. The only way a Lavader could roam the surface without dying was if it committed to a life of servitude to humans; which is to say, to be caught and raised and fought in battles. The closest Lavader ever get to the surface is in volcanoes or beds of molten lava on the surface. If one was to swim out of the molten lava without being caught, it would shrivel up and die. Early humans used to take the dorsal fins off of the dead bodies of Lavader and use them for arrows or medical tools since their body and fin is made of Obsidian which is very sharp. Lavader supposedly can only evolve into Monitora with Arceus' permission. This could be possible as there are some trainers that have had level 60-80 Lavader that never evolved. Like I said, there are currently only seven trainers with Monitora and each Lavader evolved at a different level ranging from 25-50. According to the legend, it depends on how much faith Arceus has in the trainer to be able to control Monitora and how much trust Lavader has developed with its trainer. The Komodon that died 36 years ago was reported to have evolved at level 55 and belong to a man named Shamus White. Shamus was a very powerful and respected trainer in Acirema. He handily defeated every Gym Leader, won the APC and beat the Elite Four to become the Champion. He became the Champion in 1943 and went undefeated in Pokemon battles from 1943 until his death in 1977. His Komodon was said to be the most powerful pseudo-legendary anyone had ever seen and easily destroyed its opponents. In Acirema's recorded history, there have only been 3 trainers to have raised a Komodon and neither of the three lived alongside the other.
"When I describe the power of Komodon to beginning trainers, they jump at the chance and pick Lavader. However, most trainers, realizing how hard it is to raise a Lavader, release the Lavader. Because Lavader is so hard to raise, we have a policy here at the Cypress Research Center which allows a trainer who chose Lavader as their starter to be able to pick a new starter if they decide to release Lavader. That's how frustrating it is to raise one of these Pokemon. As of late, a lot of trainers have just chosen Cratus as its final evolution is extremely powerful in its own right, although not as powerful as Komodon, and is much easier to raise. Cratus also have known levels of evolution, unlike Lavader. Cratus evolve into Varkti at level 20 and Saguaradillo at level 38. So, knowing all this, which one will you chose?"
Manuel looked at Ash earnestly; it was a very tough choice. Manuel was glad that he had a childhood fantasy of Charizard because he wouldn't be able to decide. The thought of a powerful pseudo-legendary was tantalizing to any trainer. A Pokemon that could sweep through another trainer's Pokemon without even so much as a scratch. However, there was no guarantee that you could even get it to evolve into its second form, much less its final form! On the other hand, you could take the easy route and raise a Cratus, whose evolved form was still powerful, but not nearly as powerful or as exciting as a pseudo-legendary. Ash looked back and forth between the two Pokemon before him. He stood in silence for what seemed like eternity before he finally made a choice.
"I want Lavader."
"Really?" asked Professor Cypress. She had heard those three words so often, only to have the same optimistic trainer call her a month later requesting a new starter. But there was something different about this Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Other trainers who chose Lavader had a look of lust in their eyes. Lust for power, for instant victory, for the fame that owning a Komodon would bring them. However, Ash had a different look in his eyes…a look of determination to control the beast and a look of confidence in his ability to do so. It was a look that she had seen many times in pictures of Shamus and his Komodon. Maybe, just maybe, Ash Ketchum could tame this unruly beast.
"Definitely," Ash nodded, "I've done so many crazy things over the years, why not add attempting to raise one of the rarest Pokemon in existence to the list? Eh, Pikachu?" Pikachu, who had been staring at the ugly Pokemon the entire time, hopped up onto Ash's shoulder.
"I don't see why not. Just as long as that ugly thing stays away from me! It really is quite repulsive, look at that mouth full of sharp teeth. And then it smells like sulfur…ugh," Pikachu shuddered which prompted a chuckle from Ash. Then, Ash balled his fist in front of his face.
"All right…let's do this!" He took the Pokeball from Professor Cypress and returned the Lavader.
"Good luck, ese, you're gonna need it," Manuel patted Ash on the shoulder.
"Who's gonna need luck?" The two turned to see Brock walk up.
"You and Nurse Joy finished so soon?" Manuel smirked. Brock, however, was not fond of this joke.
"We were conducting official business, not messing around!" he exclaimed.
"Is that what they call it these days, 'conducting official business'? In my day we called it banging, screwing, bumping uglies…" Manuel was cut off by Brock.
"ALLRIGHT!" he shouted. Professor Cypress blushed slightly. "I'm well aware of the terminologies for intercourse!" Professor Cypress coughed.
"Well, since you're here, would you like to choose a starter Pokemon?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Not really, I don't have any reason to register with the APL and I don't have a desire to battle that much anymore either. I have two Pokemon with me if I have to, but I'm fine with just officiating Ash and Manuel's battles," Brock answered.
"Who'd you bring?" asked Ash. Brock pulled two Pokeballs from his belt and threw them in the air. When the light cleared, Croagunk and Chansey stood before them.
" Croagunk."
"Chansey!"
"Awesome, I've never seen a Croagunk before!" Manuel pulled out his Poketab.
"Croagunk, the Toxic Mouth Pokemon. It's inflatable cheeks are filled with poisonous sacs. It jabs opponents with its toxic fingers," said the Pokedex.
"That's why I came up here! I need one of those Poketabs," Brock told Professor Cypress. She nodded.
"Right away!" She pulled a Poketab off of a shelf and handed it to Brock. "Since you didn't register, Its not going to know who you are. But don't worry! All you have to do is scan your eye or palm and you'll be good to go!"
"Thanks, that's good to hear," Brock turned to his Pokemon, "all right guys, time to return." Brock pulled out his Pokeballs and returned his Pokemon.
"You three also get five Pokeballs and $5,000 has been automatically sent to your account. Whenever you buy something, just use your trainer card as a debit card. You can check your balance on the Poketab," Professor Cypress handed the three trainers five Pokeballs each.
"Thanks!" said Manuel.
"Yeah, Thank you," Ash repeated.
"So, where are you three headed?" asked Professor Cypress.
"We're headed to the closest gym!" exclaimed Ash quickly, once again envisioning all the battles that would soon take place.
"Which is in Goldpond Town," Manuel finished.
"Well that's wonderful! Could you give this package to Professor Singleton in Magnoville?" Professor Cypress pulled a small package off the shelf.
"Aww man! I didn't want to have to go all over the place!" Ash frowned.
"Don't worry, you pass through Magnoville on your way to Goldpond so you won't miss anything," Professor Cypress smiled.
"Will do!" Manuel took the package and handed it to Ash, who placed it in his backpack.
"All right…I wish you three well. Good luck on your journey and may Arceus be your guide. I have to leave soon for the ferry to Pallet Town," said Professor Cypress.
"Oh man, we forgot all about that! I hope we didn't take up too much of your time," Manuel said.
"Don't worry, I still have a decent amount of time; I'll be fine. Now, you three should get on with your journey!" said Professor Cypress.
"Yeah!" the three shouted. Professor Cypress turned to Ash.
"Oh, and Ash…I believe in you…"
BAM! There you go, Chapter 3! Its been a long time coming, but its finally done. Also, to make up for the wait, its longer than the previous two. In fact, its almost longer than the previous two combined! Sorry if you don't like reading long chapters...but I had a lot of information about Acirema I had to squeeze in this chapter. Now, regarding the two starters Lavader & Cratus...I'm terribly sorry if their descriptions weren't detailed enough for you to envision them in your head. I'm working on finding a deviant-artist to make some drawings of Lavader and Cratus as well as their evolutions. Whenever (if ever) I get the drawings, I will post a link to them in a chapter as well as on my Profile. If you happen to be an artist or know an artist, leave me a PM with your email address so that we can work this thing out. It would be awesome to have some drawings to go with the story...and a sick looking Komodon would be pretty awesome too. Our heroes have chosen their starter Pokemon are ready to begin their journey. Manuel chose the faithful, but stubborn Charmander; while Ash chose the mysterious and unknown Lavader. With their partners by their side, they are finally ready to make their way to Goldpond Town. But what kinds of obstacles will they meet on their way there? Only one way to find out...stay tuned for the next exciting installment of Adventures in Acirema!
