A Typical Pokemon Journey
In this chapter, we're going to be meeting our last main protagonist...he's in fact going to be partnered with Chris, whether he likes it or not...he's also going to be very different from her, as you'll find out shortly.
Also, Jake is going to be up to no good...is he successfully going to capture Lucy? Or he is going to abort the mission? Let's find out...though in retrospect you're probably hoping for the latter...heh heh.
Chapter 3: Introductions
Lucy was very happy that she would finally get the opportunity to get her very own Pokemon license. She had been waiting for it for eleven years, and today was finally her big day.
Her mother was currently discussing it with the Pokemon licenser, who as it turns out wanted a small amount of Pokedollars in exchange for the license.
Suddenly, she noticed that there seemed to be a strange car approaching the license station. Curious, she decided to go outside to get a closer look.
Oddly enough, the driver seemed to be waiting for her.
"Hey there! How would you like to go for a ride with me?" inquired Jake.
Normally, Jake would not be old enough to drive a car...but since he was the shadier side of the law (and of course a Team Rocket member), Giovanni had entrusted him with one anyways.
"Aren't you a little young to be driving a car?" inquired Lucy.
"I know, I know...but think of all the places I can take you!" exclaimed the Rocket Grunt.
"Like...what?" inquired the preteen girl.
Curious, she noticed that the car was black and had a red R on it. She immediately got suspicious.
"Why does your car have a red R on it?" asked the preteen.
Suddenly, she noticed that her Clefairy was pulling her leg. Apparently, the fairy pokemon did not look forward to hitchhiking.
"Clefairy!" she exclaimed. She had a bad feeling about the guy that was trying to take her on a car ride.
"Sorry...but I don't think my Pokemon wants to go on a ride with you...and I've got to respect her wishes." said Lucy.
"Fine..." answered Jake, rather upset that his plan had been thwarted.
Lucy promptly reentered the Pokemon license station...just as her mother stepped out of the licenser's office.
"Did he say I could have one?" inquired Lucy.
"Yes...you're just gong to have to go through a few steps first...by the way, shouldn't you be keeping your Clefairy in your Pokeball?" inquired her mother.
"She told me that she didn't want to go in there..." said Lucy.
Her Clefairy promptly nodded.
"Well, she's going to have to stand outside...it says on that sign over there Pokemon aren't allowed inside the building." explained Lucy's mother.
Lucy looked around, and noticed that there was in fact a sign saying that Pokemon were not allowed inside the building, unless of course they were in a Pokeball.
"Oh, right...how could I have not noticed that? I feel silly..." answered Lucy.
Lucy's Clefairy nodded as she walked outside the building.
"Now then...let's get your license, shall we?" inquired Lucy's mother.
Lucy nodded as she stepped inside the licenser's office.
First, the future Pokemon trainer had to get her picture taken so that it could be displayed on her Pokemon license.
Second, she had to watch a video explaining what Pokemon were and what they could be used for...curiously enough, Professor Oak was in fact narrating the video.
Finally, she had to sign a contract detailing the rules she would have to follow if she wanted to keep the license, such as treating Pokemon with respect and not stealing Pokemon from other Pokemon trainers.
"So, let me get this straight...I'll have to follow the rules if I want to keep the Pokemon license?" inquired Lucy.
"Well, the punishment in question would depend on what rule you actually broke...since some of them are more serious than others...but yes, you should follow these if you want to keep your license." answered the licenser.
"OK then." answered the future Pokemon trainer as she signed the contract.
"Very good. Here is your license...just make sure to write your name so that everyone knows who you are." said the licenser as she handed Lucy her Pokemon license.
She promptly raised her hands in the air. She was now an official Pokemon trainer!
Also, according to the picture on her license, she was still a redhead just like her father...and she still looked cute.
"Looking good!" she thought.
Suffice to say, Lucy's mother was very happy for her.
"So my little angel...did you get your license?" inquired Lucy's mother.
"Yes, I did." answered Lucy. "Now I can finally become a Pokemon trainer!"
"Mm-hmm...but before you do, we need to head home. It's your birthday, don't you remember?" inquired Lucy's mother.
"Oh, right...heh heh heh." answered Lucy. She in fact had almost forgotten about that in all the excitement of becoming a Pokemon trainer.
Meanwhile...
Lucy's father was rather pleased for himself. Thanks to one of his bakers and a few members of his family, his daughter would certainly have a good birthday. He in fact had made sure that it was her favorite flavor...and that the presents were all things that she would enjoy.
Of course, the presents would not be as decent overall as the Pokemon license she had received. He had noted that he had allowed her to get a Pokemon license a year later than most Pokemon trainers...but considering how much work he had to put into becoming what he was today, he figured that it wouldn't hurt if she was a bit older before going to out to collect gym badges.
But there was just one problem with his daughter's birthday party...there was a really strange odor around the mansion lately. And to make matters worse, he wasn't exactly sure where it was coming from.
He had in one point noted that there seemed to be a strange purple goo dripping from his air vents, and wondered if he should have one of his staff members investigate it.
His Arcanine himself had it worse than he did...considering the legendary Pokemon's sense of smell was far stronger than his was. In fact, he had spent much of his day lying down and whimpering.
"It's OK, we're going to get this checked out soon, I promise." answered Lucy's father.
Unbeknowst to the two of them, the odor in question was from a spy...in this case, it was Jake's Grimer.
He in fact had gotten a lot of information in the short amount of time he had visited the house. Thanks to his hiding spot, none of the members were aware of his presence (though they were aware of his smell), and he had already figured out a lot of information about his Pokemon trainer's target.
For example, he knew the names of her parents (which were Linda and Barry, respectively), knew that she had a sweet tooth (which is why her father had set up a few sweets for her aside from her birthday cake), and above all else, loved virtually every Pokemon there was in existence, even Grimers like himself.
At this point, he decided that it was best to return to his master and give him the information he uncovered. For some strange reason, he always knew what he was trying to tell him...even though he could only say the name of his own race.
He promptly slithered into the mansion's plumbing system so that he could step outside and locate his master.
Now let's check on Chris...
Chris was rather happy that she finally had a Pokemon she could use to fight with other Pokemon trainers with, though it hadn't been her first choice in question.
"Finally...now I can go get some badges and enter the Pokemon league...shame that the tournament only occurs once a year...ah well." thought Chris.
Suddenly, another Pokemon trainer ran up to her. Curious, she stepped off her bike. She immediately noticed that he was dressed in a white labcoat, and was wearing glasses. Also, he was a blond, which she found to be a bit ironic considering that she was a brunette.
"Hey there nerd...are you looking for a Pokemon battle or something? Because I'm looking forward to one!" exclaimed Chris.
The Pokemon trainer in question frowned. People always seemed to call that...well either that or a geek. Or on some occasions a dork. Generally, people didn't seem to think much of him.
"What is your name, anyway?" inquired Chris.
"My name's Ned...Ned Kagome..." answered the dorky Pokemon trainer.
Chris promptly chuckled.
"Your name's Ned? That's nerd without an R...ha ha ha ha! Anyways, my name's Chris..." laughed the ungirly Pokemon trainer.
"Very funny...wait, isn't that a boy's name?" inquired Ned.
"My full name's actually Christine...but since I hated being called that...I decided to abbreviate it." answered Chris.
"Very funny...anyways, can you help me with something?" inquired Ned.
"Like...what?" asked Chris.
"I'm looking for my Eevee...he wandered off and now I can't seem to find him..." explained the nerdy Pokemon trainer.
"You really should take better care of him then." answered the tomboy.
Ned sighed.
"I know...but I'd really appreciate it if you helped me find him!" answered the nerd.
"Sheesh...I came here looking for Pokemon trainers to fight...and instead I found someone that can't keep track out of his own Pokemon." noted Chris.
Unbeknowst to the two Pokemon trainers, Ned's Eevee had spotted Chris' bike...and was wondering if he should try giving it a ride. It sure sounded like fun.
"Do you really have to keep telling me to keep looking after my own Pokemon?" inquired Ned.
"Can't you just keep him in a Pokeball? That's what I do with my new Jigglypuff." asked Chris.
"I tried that...but guess what? He found out how to get out of his own Pokeball on his own! I wonder how he does that..." said Ned.
"All the more reason you should have kept an eye on him then." noted the tomboy.
"Oh c'mon!" exclaimed the nerd.
Suddenly, they both noticed that Chris's bicycle appeared to be moving on its own.
"What the-" said Chris.
Curious, Ned noticed that his Eevee had snuck onto the bicycle while they were arguing with each other, and was trying to ride it himself.
"Uh-oh..." he thought.
Unfortunately, he in fact had no idea how to operate it, and it was going down a pretty deep slope.
Luckily, Ned's Eevee was smart enough to jump off the bicycle before it picked up too much momentum...unluckily for Chris, her bike kept on going and going...until it crashed into a nearby rock.
"My bike!" exclaimed Chris.
Sadly, her bike had been completely totaled by the crash...and she would not longer to be able to ride around on it to get where she needed to go.
An animesque anger mark promptly appeared on her head.
"Look...what you did!" screamed the unfortunate Pokemon trainer.
"Please forgive me! I didn't mean for this to happen, I swear!" apologized Ned.
"I hope you are sorry! Do you know how much bikes cost in Kanto?!" questioned Chris.
"A million dollars?" answered the nerd sheepishly.
"Uh-huh! I'm personally surprised people can actually afford them! Anyways, I'm not going to leave you alone until you get me another one!" screamed the female Pokemon trainer.
"You're going to hunt me down...even to the ends of the earth?" inquired Ned nervously.
Chris nodded.
Ned promptly began to drop to his knees and cry.
The tomboyish Pokemon trainer promptly facepalmed.
She then remembered what she was looking forward to doing, and she got an idea.
"I suppose it would help if you challenged me to a Pokemon battle..." said Chris.
"It would?" inquired Ned, who suddenly stopped crying.
"Mm-hmm..now hurry up and get your Eevee!" exclaimed Chris.
"Yes, ma'am!" nodded Ned.
Fortunately for Ned, since his Eevee had finally revealed himself, it was not hard for him to pick up the evolution Pokemon and bring him near Chris.
"There we go...now then...Jigglypuff, let's go faint some Pokemon!" exclaimed Chris as she hurled Jigglypuff's Pokeball.
Sure enough, her Jigglypuff was converted from energy back into matter.
"Jigglypuff!" cheered the balloon Pokemon.
"Aren't you going to say, I choose you?" inquired Ned.
"Isn't it obvious?" answered Chris.
"Well, I'm still going to say it. Eevee, I choose you!" exclaimed Ned.
"Your Eevee's already out of its Pokeball." answered the tomboy.
Ned sweatdropped.
"Anyways, let's get it on!" exclaimed Chris.
"Right..." answered the nerd.
Now let's head back to Lucy...
Though she could not wait to set forth on a Pokemon journey, Lucy enjoyed her birthday party very much. Her cake was delicious, her birthday presents were awesome, and best of all, both of her parents were there to wish her happy birthday.
Personally, Lucy's father was glad that the strange smell that was in the mansion earlier today had disappeared. He was starting to get worried about his Arcanine, seeing though he couldn't tolerate the smell, and he had also been considering sending someone to investigate.
Unfortunately, as it turned out, a few of his wife's flowers had wilted.
"What happened?" inquired Lucy's mother.
"We're sorry! We don't know what happened, ma'am!" answered the gardener.
"Did you give it water?" she asked.
"Yes we did...oddly enough there seems to be a bit of purple goo on it...I don't know how it got there, ma'am." answered the man.
"That is weird...just try to take better care of them in the near future." answered Lucy's mother.
The gardener nodded.
Fortunately, aside from the aforementioned herbicide, nothing went wrong in the household, and Lucy had a pretty good birthday.
"Today has been absolutely awesome...though I wonder who that strange guy in that car was..." she thought.
Meanwhile, outside the mansion...
Jake was simply not able to come up with an efficient plan to capture Lucy, even though his Grimer had returned to him and told him pretty much everything she had to know about it.
Knowing that Lucy had a sweet tooth, he had tried luring her out using a bag of candy and scattering it in a trail so that she'd end up in a pitfall...but unfortunately his Grimer had fallen for the trap instead.
"What were you thinking?!" inquired Jake.
"Grimer..." apologized Jake's Grimer.
As for the rest of his ideas, he ultimately decided that they would not be effective. Why did Lucy have to be so well-protected?
Eventually, he realized that if he was going to capture Lucy, he was going to have to be pragmatic.
"I didn't want to resort to this...but I suppose I have no choice..." said Jake as he pulled out a baseball bat and a bag.
Jake's Grimer promptly whimpered.
"Yes, I know...this is going to be messy." said the Team Rocket Grunt.
As it turned out, Lucy's parents were saying their goodbyes to Lucy. Hopefully she would do well in the Pokemon League.
"Goodbye!" exclaimed Lucy's mother.
"Have a nice trip!" cheered on Lucy's father.
"I will!" answered Lucy as she left the mansion along with her Clefairy.
Curiously enough, this reminded Lucy's father of the day she went out on a Pokemon journey...this was in fact how he had met his wife. They in fact had gone on on their Pokemon journey together...basically, they were a tag team.
Of course, since then, he had been working as one of the managers for Silph Co...after all, they did manufacture many different things for Pokemon use. He was personally surprised how fast he rose in the ranks...or was it just his imagination?
He personally wondered if Lucy would end up finding an adventuring companion to go with her as well.
However, as it turns out, Lucy's Clefairy had one thing to show her before she set forth on a Pokemon journey.
"Where are you taking me?" inquired Lucy.
"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy.
"What? You want to show me something?" inquired the Pokemon trainer.
Lucy's Clefairy nodded.
As it turned out, it was none other than her spaceship...which unfortunately was still in bad shape.
"What the-you have a spaceship? Are you a space alien or something?" inquired Lucy.
"Clefairy clefairy." said Lucy's Clefairy.
"What? You're from the moon? Funny...now that you said that part of me wants to go there as well." said the Pokemon trainer.
Lucy's Clefairy then explained to Lucy that due to her carelessness, the spaceship had unfortunately been damaged horribly, and that she would need some supplies so that it would be able to zoom into space again.
"Oh dear...so you want me to help you get back home?" inquired Lucy.
Lucy's Clefairy nodded, though admittedly many members of her race enjoyed living on Earth, and wondered if she should remain with Lucy.
She then remembered that Lucy was interested in heading into space, and decided to cut her a deal.
"Clefairy fairy." said Lucy's Clefairy.
"You're saying that if I help you repair your spaceship, you'll let me go on a ride with you?" inquired Lucy.
Lucy's Clefairy nodded.
"Sounds like a fair deal...so, when should we start?" asked the Pokemon trainer.
"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy.
"After we're done with the Indigo League Conference? That's awfully generous of you..." noted Lucy.
Lucy's Clefairy then explained that she in fact wasn't in a hurry to leave and that she in fact enjoyed being on Earth, and that she wanted to do Lucy a favor for accepting her as her starter Pokemon.
"Oh...well then...I guess we should get going then." said Lucy.
Lucy's Clefairy nodded.
Unbeknowst to Lucy, a certain Team Rocket Grunt was slowly creeping up on her.
"Alright...it's now or never..." he thought as he held the baseball bat.
However, the more he thought about it...the more guilty he felt about trying to hold her for ransom. Was being part of Team Rocket really worth it? All they ever did all day was try to make money...
His father had once told him that the world was very dark and cruel...but did he have to contribute to it being so dark and cruel? Now that he thought of it...was the world really as horrible as his father had said? Because his target seemed to enjoy living in it...judging from the fact that she usually had a smile on her face.
Eventually, he found himself unable to abduct Lucy, and he dropped the baseball bat on the floor.
"Oh, who am I kidding! I'm just not cut out for this! I guess I'm going to have to tell Giovanni that I'm just not that kind of person..." murmured Jake.
"Hey there!" exclaimed Lucy.
Jake nearly jumped out of his uniform in surprise.
"Um, hi?" inquired Jake.
"Didn't I see you driving a car earlier?" asked Lucy.
"Er, yeah...that was me..." answered the Team Rocket grunt.
"You really shouldn't drive a car without a license...it's dangerous, you know." answered the female Pokemon trainer.
"Er, yeah..." answered Jake nervously.
"Say, you wouldn't happen to be a Pokemon trainer, now would you? I heard that Pokemon trainers battle each other, all the time?" inquired Lucy.
"Er, yeah...I'm a Pokemon trainer." nodded the Team Rocket grunt. Why did he have to allow himself to be discovered?
"My name is Lucy...what's yours?" asked Lucy.
"Er, it's Jake..." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.
"Nice to meet you!" exclaimed Lucy, shaking his hand.
"Er, nice to meet you too." answered Jake.
Suddenly, his Grimer once again slithered out of his Pokeball. Apparently, he wanted to introduce himself to Lucy's starter Pokemon too.
Although Lucy's Clefairy got the feeling that Jake was hiding something from Lucy, she decided to shake hands with Jake's Grimer as well. However, as she found out, he was rather messy. She promptly went into her spaceship to get some napkins.
"So, have you participated in a Pokemon battle before? Because I haven't yet..." said Lucy.
"No, I haven't." answered Jake.
"Well then...you want to give it a try?" inquired Lucy.
"Sure...I guess...Grimer, you ready?" nodded Jake nervously.
Jake's Grimer nodded.
"Alright then...Clefairy, let's go!" exclaimed Lucy.
Lucy's Clefairy and Jake's Grimer both entered fighting positions.
"What am I getting myself into?" thought Jake as the battle commenced.
Guess what? It's cliffhanger time! Who do you think are going to win these two Pokemon battles? And what do you think of my last main character for this story?
Also, in case you haven't noticed, I decided to give each of the main characters different hair colors...I mentioned earlier that Lucy was a redhead, Ned was a blonde, and Chris was a brunette...though you shouldn't be assuming that I'll be using stereotypes for them...hair colors don't define a person, you know.
Anyways, can you guess what hair color Jake is?
Guess what? His hair is green! Heh heh heh. Yes, for some strange reason, Pokemon trainers can have green hair...and Jake is no exception...
Anyways, in the next chapter, we'll finally be having some Pokemon battles...sound good?