The first thing I did was run straight to Emma's house. The necklace bounced back and forth on my chest as I jogged down the road. I turned down her street and kept running down the sidewalk. The cracks below whizzed by, I was too excited to contain myself. I whooped and jumped in the air. Passersby looked at me strangely, but I didn't care, I was finally going on my adventure!
I almost ran straight by her house when I noticed the neatly trimmed lawn and hedges. Her mom always liked them designed after various pokemon, namely Bulbasaur, Chikorita, and other grass types. Her dad was really into grass types. He perished in his line of work, however, being a Pokemon Ranger is very dangerous. After all, you are scaling cliffs and flying rescue aircraft to save pokemon. She never told me how, but I never asked. If it was bad enough to the point where she doesn't want to talk about it, then I don't want to know.
I jumped up the short step that lie in front of her house. I knocked on the door and waited. Yet no one came. I knocked again… and got much the same response. I was about to ring the doorbell when I felt breathing on the back of my neck. Instinctively, I jumped forward, which unfortunately was where the door was. I slammed my head into the frame, and the rest of my body onto the door itself. I sighed.
"Why do you always feel the need to sneak up on me?" I asked Emma as she burst into laughter.
"You should have seen your face!" She nearly fell to the ground in mirth.
"You wouldn't be laughing if it was being done to you…" I muttered. Emma then regained her composure.
"I'm sorry, it was just too perfect to pass up! Anyway, what did you need?" She looked me up and down, and threw a wild guess at my appearance. "You going camping?"
"I guess you could say that I was doing something like that…" I chuckled.
"What's so funny?" She asked me with an inquisitive look on her face. I gave her a smile, "It's time! My parents are letting me go take the 8 Gym Challenge!" She looked about as happy as I was.
"Wow! That's awesome! It's about time. I was ready to give up and leave without you! Of course, I am coming along. Especially since I am more experienced in the field than you are." Her mom had given her multiple opportunities to leave before I had, mostly because her father had taught her many techniques on catching, training, and growing friendships with pokemon. I practically need her if I was to leave.
"Be sure to tell you mom and brother. They are probably going to want to hear that you left." She rolled her eyes at me.
"What are you my dad?" I cringed, but she didn't seem bothered by what she just said. "Alright, give me an hour or so to prepare. Lucas is going to want to hear all about this." Her brother was a bit nosey sometimes.
"Alright, want to meet at the Pokemon Center in Sandgem Town, I need to stop by there anyway." She nodded and entered her house. So, with that, I took off down the road, heading to Sandgem Town, where the Larvitar was hopefully awaiting my return.
After over half-an-hour of walking, I had finally reached the Pokemon Center in Sandgem. I looked at my watch, it was already 1 o'clock?! I probably missed the operation! I walked in and asked the nurse if I could check on Larvitar.
"Of course, come this way please." She opened a door to the back room and led me down the hall. We passed a few doors, then I saw a window to the operating room. I saw Larvitar was being worked on in there. He wasn't doing too well, I saw his heart monitor beeping, though, so I suppose he was fine, for the moment.
"Please, continue this way." The nurse looked at me with slight annoyance. I was confused, but I followed her anyway. She, after all, is the nurse, she must know where we are going. But when we reached a stairwell, I was even more puzzled.
"Um, excuse me? Why are we here? Shouldn't we be back there at the window?" I questioned. She gave me a look that indicated she wasn't very happy. She then replied, "This is the way we go for a special waiting room for surgery, and please don't ask any more questions, today has been hard for me and your Larvitar."
With that, I promptly shut up and let her lead me down one floor on the stairwell, into the basement. Which was, as it turns out, the supply room. I began to protest, "Hey, wait a minu-" I felt sharp pain on the side of my face. I fell to the ground. "Ow…" I felt cold concrete on my cheek, and on the other, burning pain. From my point of vision, I could see the nurse tied up in the corner, trying her best to scream. I put two and two together and...
I yelled out, but it was nothing but gibberish. The woman who I had originally thought was the nurse laughed.
"I injected you with a mild sedative, you won't be going anywhere or saying anything for a while." I couldn't think straight, all I could think about was sleep… I was so tired… The last thing I heard before I slipped into a world of dreams, was the nurse's voice screaming.
I woke up to loud banging sounds. I could faintly hear some talking, then shouting. As I slowly regained my senses, I very clearly heard "Sandgem police! Is anyone down here?" I began to feel my limbs again. Finally, I opened my eyes, and saw the nurse imposter standing around the corner from the stairwell door. I heard the police advancing down the stairwell. I noticed the imposter holding something in her hand. It was a silenced pistol.
I had to think about this rationally. She had a gun, I was tied up in the corner. But this was my one chance I had to escape from this crazy lady. The police weren't coming down that quickly, and I heard only one voice, so it must be a response team. The rope around my hands was sloppily tied, obviously she didn't get much time to do it, or she didn't have enough experience to tie a half-decent knot.
I decided what I needed to. I quickly untied the knot and let it fall to the ground. I then started on my legs. This was what boy scouts was for, eh? Once the leg knot was untied, I slowly stood up and kept low while I made my way over to the door. I saw the door open. Here goes nothing. I watched as the woman popped around the corner and pointed the gun at the policewoman. I leaped up and tackled the imposter to the ground. This did not work as well as I had hoped.
She pushed me off fairly quickly and swept her leg and tripped the police woman. I picked myself up and grabbed the gun. The woman was on me in a heartbeat. We struggled for the gun, which she yanked out of my grip. I reached for it as she pulled it away, but all I got was her sleeve. It ripped, revealing a silver uniform. What… Team Galactic? I fell onto my back as she shoved me with her arm. I rolled and lunged toward her, punching her in the face.
Now, under normal circumstances I would never punch a woman, but these weren't normal circumstances. It must have been a knockout, because the Team Galactic grunt crumpled. She hit the ground with a gut-wrenching thud. The policewoman nudged her with her foot. "She's out cold." I looked up. It was the same policewoman from earlier today! That made me think, then panic.
"What time is it?! What day is it?! Did Emma pass by? What happened to Larvitar?" The policewoman soothed her face and gave me a comforting gesture.
"Don't worry about it from what I can gather, you've only been out for a couple hours." At first this soothed me, but then I realized what that could mean. I blurted out, "What about Larvitar, is he okay?"
"That's actually the good news, he survived the operation and is on his way to making a full recovery. You will probably have to stay here for the night, because in the morning he will be well enough to be put in the healing machine. They couldn't do that before because that was only for minor injuries, like those sustained in battle. And one more thing, just call me Jennifer." She smiled and handed me my backpack and hat. "This was laying behind the counter, I figured you would want it."
"Ok, thanks… Jennifer. I really appreciate it. But how did you know that I was gone, and where to find me?"
She chuckled, "Well, when I found out you didn't show up for Larvitar's operation, I was suspicious. But what really made me wonder was when I noticed this girl standing in here for hours. She said she was looking for you, so I figured it was too weird not to investigate. I started here, checking every room until I reached the stairs, where I heard soft talking. Crazy person must've been talking to herself…"
"Well, thank you, I would probably be dead, or worse if you hadn't found me." I said. "Any time," she replied. I walked back up the stairwell, and as did so, I was shaking. I nearly died! Was I really ready for this journey, especially if I faced death every day with Team Galactic? I was shaking even harder when I walked out into the lobby. Unfortunately for me, Emma was standing there, and the darkness outside indicated that it was nighttime. She ran up to me.
"There you are! I was waiting for you! I was beginning to suspect that you had stood me up and left for your journey on your own!" But then she took a closer look at me. "Oh my god, what happened? Your cheek is all swollen…" I quickly brought my hand up to it to check. So it was.
"I really would rather not talk about it right now… I still too shaken up to understand it myself…" I could tell she felt sorry for me, but right now, I really do not need sympathy.
"Well," she said, "I rented us a couple hotel rooms down the street. It's the only hotel in town, you can't miss it. Here is your key." She handed me a shiny silver key with a tag reading '204.' "Now get some sleep, you look like you need it. Oh, and you might want to let Treecko out of his ball, he's probably tired of being cramped in there for so long."
Treecko! I got so caught up in what I was doing, I forgot all about him! Geez, he's gonna kill me for paying more attention to him than a pokemon I don't even know yet… "Okay. Thanks Emma, I will see you tomorrow. What are you going to do?"
"Me? Oh, I don't know, probably go shopping at the Pokemart for our big day tomorrow. But don't worry about me yet, I'll be fine. You better fill me in tomorrow though…"
I said okay as I left the Pokemon Center, shaken, sore, and nervous. What if Team Galactic finds out that I was involved, they're going to target me for sure… I let Treecko out of his ball for the first time in 24 hours. As expected, he was pretty angry at me. He turned away from me and crossed his arms.
"Look, I'm sorry okay? I know I've been a huge jerk, and I must seem like a huge piece of crap for leaving you in there like that," I began, "But there was so much that was going on, so much I need to tell you about, so can you at least let me explain before you get so pissed?" He turned his head to me, as if allowing me to elaborate. Treecko loved it when I told him my secrets. I had no idea why, but all I could hope was the he wasn't going around and telling them to all the other pokemon.
"Can we at least wait until we reach our hotel room?" He reluctantly nodded, and we walked together to the hotel. He ran around, swung on street lights, and in general looked like he was having a good time. I don't blame him, he's probably really happy to be out. We passed a few small businesses, not many of which were open. One that did catch my eye though was a gem shop. Maybe they will be able to price this necklace… I wouldn't sell it, but it could be helpful to know how much I am carrying around on me and adjust accordingly.
I walked into the store and was greeted by a bell and a short man running around in the shop. "Sorry, we are closing up right now, could you come back tomorrow?" I sighed and replied, "No, not really. I am leaving town tomorrow and I would like a quick appraisal on my necklace."
He turned to me. "I am sorry, but we do not have time for it." Then his eyes caught a glimpse of it. And his expression changed from annoyance to shock, with a hint of jealousy. Great. It must be extremely valuable for a reaction like that. He looked at me. "How did you obtain this?" I shrugged, pretending it was nothing, while Treecko looked up at me in suspicion.
"My parents found it on their honeymoon. I wasn't looking to sell, I just needed a value." I turned and walked away. "But since you're closed, I guess I'm just going to have to leave." I was nearly to the door when the shopkeeper shouted at me.
"W-Wait! I will analyze this for you… for free! Just please come back!" I looked back at him with an innocent look on my face.
"But I thought you were closing, is it really that important that I hold up your store a few minutes?" He nodded at me furiously. "Well, okay, but we should make this quick, it is late after all…" I looked down at Treecko. He was grinning, almost to the point of laughing. This was his style of barter, I could assume. I let him up onto my shoulder and we both observed as the man retrieved many tools and objects that I couldn't name.
"Okay, mister. Let me see the necklace." I uncomfortably handed it to him and he felt it in various places to make sure it was authentic. He put it under a giant microscope, that's all I could fathom it was. He looked up at me, and said "I believe that you have in your possession one of the 3 Sacred Stones of legend. I cannot verify if it is authentic, because it is obviously a legend after all. But, this gem looks very real, I cannot imagine someone could fabricate this."
I had never heard this legend before, maybe it was out of my time. "Excuse me for asking, but what are these Sacred Stones?" He was calm and supportive with my question.
"There is a legend that 3 Stones were passed down from the 3 lake guardians. The stone of Enlightenment from Uxie, the Stone of Soul from Mesprit, and the Stone of Passion from Azelf. The legend states that they all have varying effects alone, but that when they are combined, it will bring about the Creation Trio, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. I suspect that this is the Stone given from Azelf." He leaned forward, "Now, if I were you kid, I would just leave this gem with me, it would be safer that way."
I pulled away from him. "Hell no! I said I wasn't in here to sell." Treecko growled at him. He looked at me seriously.
"Sir, I mean that it is very dangerous to be carrying around a gem like that in public, people might begin to plot against you, or thieve it from you. Heed my warning; you are not safe for a moment while you have that necklace on."
I grabbed my necklace and walked out the door, calling back to him. "So be it." Treecko looked at me, he was pretty impressed. He didn't expect me to get so serious about that necklace, and to be honest, neither did I. By the time we finally approached the hotel, we were tired. So we walked immediately from the lobby to our room. I didn't really pay attention much to my surroundings and occasionally bumped into things.
When we reached our room, we were surprised by the quality of it. It contained a big flat-screen television and a very large bed. This must've been expensive… but I was too tired to care. I plopped down on the bed and covered up, Treecko did the same on the other side. It felt like sleep was dragging me away faster than I could catch up. I closed my eyes and was instantly fast asleep.
I had a particularly interesting dream that night. I was standing in darkness, or rather not standing, I couldn't feel my legs. I didn't really feel at all, but I could see, hear, and all my other senses. I looked around in confusion, Where am I…? Then I saw a blue light illuminate behind me, soon followed by a pink light to my forward-left. I waited for the next light, which came, but it was an almost unnoticeable silver light. The lights began to move around, staying away from each other. Almost as if they each had a territory to claim and uphold.
But then they all met in a single place. Where I was. They all converged on me quickly. I felt pain, which ironically was the first thing I felt in this weird space. I tried to scream, but nothing came out. It was beginning to become so painful I couldn't bear it. I felt like I was going to die, but then I heard a voice, and it all stopped. "Brian." The voice laughed maniacally.
I woke up in a cold sweat. I was breathing really hard, Man… what was that…? I looked over at the clock, it was still pretty early, about an hour before I usually wake up. But I knew I couldn't fall back asleep. So I decided to stay up with my thoughts. I went over to our mini-fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. Then I sat in the chair near the window. I thought about it.
What if what that man said was true? What would I do? I took a drink. I just have to keep the necklace hidden, I guess. I heard some stirring behind me, then I felt Treecko climb onto my shoulder. I laughed, "You always brighten the mood, Treecko!" Then I thought of something. "Hey, Treecko, would you prefer I call you that? Or would you want a nickname?" He nodded. "Um, okay… hm… well how about…"
We spent the hour trying to come up with a good nickname. I would shout one out occasionally, then he would approve or disapprove. Mostly disapprove, but we eventually decided on a name. "How about… Leif? After this story I had to read in school… it just seems like you. Because you know, you're fast and..." Obviously he liked it, because he nodded and smiled at me. "Great, now I have something to call you. I know I've only had you for a few months, but it just didn't feel right calling you by Treecko. You're special, ya' know?"
We got up and ate some cereal, well I ate cereal. Leif didn't like it so much, I figured that out when I first received him from Professor Rowan. I remember that day. My parents figured I was finally old enough to own a pokemon of my own. So on my 16th birthday, they let me go to the lab and take a test to see if I was ready. I heard that in other regions, the professors just give them away, or even just let people use them for favors! It all sounded a bit ridiculous to me. Anyway, I passed, so the professor let me choose a starter.
Unfortunately, he was out of the Sinnoh standard regulation starters at the moment, so he let me pick from the Hoenn starters instead. I remember picking Treecko, now Leif, and running home with him through the autumn leaves. What a birthday that was.
I left the bowl in the kitchen, then I realized I could've eaten a four-star breakfast right in my room. Oh well, I didn't want to be going around and wasting my money anyway... I stuffed the box of cereal back into my backpack and left my room. I was on my way to the forest so that Leif and I could get some early-morning practice in. As soon as I entered the lobby, I was bombarded with noise. This place is very active, even in the morning…
Leif and I left the hotel and walked through the back alley until we reached the forest. It was nice and calm here, it felt nice having the early morning air run through my hair. We walked through the trees until we encountered our first wild pokemon. We jumped the wild bidoof and started the battle. "Alright, Leif, use pound!"
He slammed his tail into the bidoof, which sent it back a few steps. I felt proud that Leif was doing so well. The bidoof growled, following up with a tackle. This wasn't an honorable trainer battle, where it was turn-based. "Leif, use an absorb, followed up by another pound!" He drew a root from the ground and absorbed the water from it, then thew a punch into the creature. It ran away, scared.
Yes! We won our first battle! I felt my pokedex vibrate, so I unzipped my backpack and sifted through my stuff to see what was up. I flipped it open and saw a little bar move from left to right, but stop about 2/3 of the way there. Then some text popped popped up stating that Leif had gained Experience Points. Great! He's that much closer to leveling up! Next, the pokedex showed me a picture of Bidoof, but none of the information was filled in. That's right, I have to catch it to get complete information…
I slipped the 'dex into my back pocket and continued along the path. Maybe I should catch one... But I don't have any pokeballs! I need to go back into town. So with that, Leif and I cut our training short and walked back into town the same way we came. I debated whether or not I should ask Emma for help, but decided against it. This was going to my triumph, without any assistance. I opened up my wallet.
"Only two-hundred Pokedollars!" I knew I was broke, but seriously? I thought I had more than this! Well, I had one shot. One pokeball to catch my companion. I walked into the Pokemart, purchased it, then walked back out into the forest with Leif. I had to make this were traveling around the forest to find a pokemon to catch, and we finally found one. It was a very rare pokemon for the Sinnoh region, it was a vulpix.
They made it over here in Sinnoh when a few wealthy people, who wanted to spend their riches on mansions in a brand new region, decided that they had to bring their foreign pets along too. This unbalanced the ecosystem when they started to release them, or they got away, and bred. People have been trying to move them back to Kanto for years now, so seeing a wild vulpix was a rare sight.
I initiated the battle right away. "Leif! Use pound!" He looked at me skeptically, after all, this was a fire type. But he moved quickly before the element of surprise was lost. When Leif was in the air, the vulpix just froze and stared at him, even as his tail came to hit it in the face. "Um... Leif, use growl." I hesitated on this. Why was the vulpix just standing there?
Leif let out a fierce growl, but then he was also confused. The vulpix didn't react, it just stood there longer. I decided it probably didn't want to fight. I just walked up to it, and it, still staring at Leif, opened its mouth. I touched it with my poke ball, and it went in without a fuss. It didn't even struggle in the ball, it just clicked immediately. Odd...
I flipped open my Pokedex and checked the information it had on vulpix. It was interesting, certainly. Then when I went to give it a nickname, I understood the possible cause for the strange behavior during battle. "Um... Leif? You might want to see this." He walked over casually, then when he saw the icon I was pointing at. Even he understood what it meant, and promptly blushed, his mouth agape. The vulpix was a female.