Okay, not sure if I fix the space problem (probably not), but hey at least I can still post.*shrugs* Well for those who are just joining us (or forgot what the heck happened last chapter) our young trainers were traveling around Route 103-104. After being attacked by a hoard of Wurmples and watching Ambra's first failed attempts at catching a Pokémon (poor little Lotad lol), I bet your what else in there in store for them? Well don't just sit here and wait for me to tell you- scroll down and READ!
Notes: I do not own anything except for my OCs. N.N. is brought to you in part by me and CocaColaVienna [http :/ cocacolavienna. deviantart. com / (w/o spaces) ]. Rated T for occasional bad language and violence.
After several more Trainer battles and Axel getting some experience, I had yet to catch any new Pokémon for my team. I mean I know I'm new at this- but no Trainer, noob or otherwise, could stink this bad. Five failed attempts later, I was ready to pull my hair out.
"THIS IS RIDICULOUS!" I shouted in frustration and collapsed to the ground as another potential team member ran off. Vera gave me that look again.
"Aren't ya givin' up a little too easily?"
"Sì, però [1] I don't know what else to do." Sighing, I covered my face with my arm. "I'm a failure as a Trainer..." It was quiet except for a faint whimpering sound in the background. Peeking from under my arm I spotted Axel standing over me with what I thought was a worried look. As soon as he saw me looking, he pounced on me, attempting to lick me all over.
"Axel! Get off me, get off-!" I was torn between shoving the dog off and trying not to hyperventilate from laughter. Eventually, I was able to free myself of him and his drool.
"Hmph, do you know how stupid you look?"
...Excuse me? I looked up to see disapproving eyes.
"Just 5 seconds ago you were ready to give up, and now you're acting like it's nothin'." She crouched down until we were almost eye level. "You can't be doing dis all the time. Training takes a lot of dedication and hard work. Even if you can't catch Pokémon even if your life depended on it." She then smirked. "It doesn't necessarily mean you're a bad Trainer. Just means you need practice."
I stared at her- half in admiration and half in disbelief. Turning away so she couldn't see my face, I considered what she said. She's got a point. Though I didn't think she actually cared... After all, I have been a bit of a piagnucolone[2] lately... I smiled back at her.
"You have a good point there, il mio amico [3], but I do not like that little comment you made. I believe you owe me an apology."
Vera scoffed incredulously, "Apology?" She laughed loudly and rolled her eyes. "Oh please, ya such a little Ärgernis." [4]
Ärgernis? "What's that supposed to mean?" 'Cause seriously I have no idea what she said. Is it bad...?
"Not telling you."
"Tell me!"
"Nope."
Okay, now this is annoying. "Can you at least tell me if it's good or bad?"
"No... I don't think I will."
Rayquaza, can I kill her? Please? I promise I'll make it quick...
Two hours. This has been going on for two hours.And no matter how many times I ask- Vera still won't tell me! I'm starting to think she said a swear word or something. But I also hope it's not because I really want to know.
"Can I get a hint?"
"Nu-uh."
"C'mon please tell me?"
"Hmmm..."
I crossed my fingers as she mulled it over. "Okay how about this: you tell me what 'eel mi amiko' means, and I'll tell you," she suggested, hoping for a compromise.
"It's Il mio amicoand fine." I'm surprised she didn't figure it out already. I mean I'm pretty sure anyone could've guessed what it meant and got it right. But then again, I don't know how good at Italian she is. "It means-"
My thoughts were interrupted by some sudden rustling in the grass nearby. Did I mention I have a short attention span? I leaned closer towards the grass patch, trying to see what it was without scaring it, while also missing whatever it was Vera was trying to say. Something about being careful?
"What the he-"
"Shhh!" I put a hand over her mouth and gestured towards two pink horns sticking out of the grass. "...I'm so going to catch that..." And I quietly ran off towards it.
"Remember what I taught you and don't do anythin' stupid..!"
Pfft, me? Do something stupid? That's ridiculous. Now where'd that thing go? I looked around until I heard a faint growling sound. I followed the source, getting louder as I got closer. When I found it, I had to admit I was a little disappointed. It was a small Pokémon, with a white body and green hair. WAS that green hair? I don't know. But I couldn't say it wasn't the same Pokémon- because it had the pink horns I saw before.
"Let's get 'em, Axel!" He popped out of his pokéball and barked, happy to be free again. "Use Tackle on it!" Without missing a beat, he charged towards it and did a fair amount of damage.
It Growls.
"Once more- Tackle!" Again, he tackles the little humanoid.
It Growls again. What. The. Heck. It was about this time that Vera found me. "Hey, did you catch-" She stopped mid-sentence and stared at the little thing.
"What is dat?"
I shrugged "Not sure, but I think something's wrong with it. It won't do anything but Growl."
"Huh. Maybe it doesn't know any moves yet. But it looks weak enough, so why don't you catch it and find out."
"Good idea!" I quickly dug a pokéball out of my pocket as the Pokémon slowly clambered up on its feet, looking dazed though determined to keep battling. I threw it towards it, hoping that he, or she, wouldn't struggle.
BAM!
"WHAT THE HELL AMBRA?" I facepalmed. I can't believe I just did that. And before you ask- NO, I didn't miss. I did much worse. The pokéball ended up hitting the poor thing in the face. Yeah, you heard me. In the face.
I hope I didn't kill it. Axel trotted over, examined the body, and then dragged it over to me while I got lecture of a lifetime.
"Ambra, are you stupid or just clumsy? How do ya knock out a Pokémon with a pokéball?"
"I-I-It was an accident!" I shouted, more embarrassed than upset. I took the humanoid or whatever it was from Axel and checked its pulse.
"Congrats, you're officially a murderer," Vera jeered. She definitely sounded more than irritated.
"It's not dead!" I was upset. "It's still breathing!"
Vera snorted. "Well, den whaddya waiting' for? Catch it already."
"Okay, okay! Just hold on a sec," I trusted the unconscious thing into her arms and went to look for the pokéball. After I found it, I ran back to Vera. Luckily, it didn't wake up yet. I made sure to tap it lightly on the side of its head that didn'thave a bump the size of Mt. Pyre on it.
The ball shook once, twice, three times; then settled and made a ping sound. Captured.
Vera and I dumbly stared at it for a good 50 seconds before I felt something smack me upside the head.
"YOU IDIOT!"
"Ow..." I rubbed the back of my head as Vera readjusted her hat.
"Well, serves ya right. And after all dat I taught you 'bout catchin' Pokémon- and you stillscrew up!"
I sighed and pulled out the pokéball with my new Pokémon in it. "I know I messed up..." What an understatement! "...but do you think you can stop lecturing me long enough to see if my Pokémon is ok?"
Said Pokémon popped out looking really mad. I can't blame him. I'd be pissed too if I were attacked, assaulted, and stuffed into a tiny ball all in the same day.
"Hey there little fella." It Growled at me and said some things in its language. "Sorry," I tilted my head, "can't understand you. But I'm really sorry for hitting you." I stuck out my hand. "My name's Ambra and I'm going to be your new trainer!"
"...Nice to meet you,"a soft voice responded. Where did that come from? I looked around me, then at Vera.
"Did you say that?"
She shook her head no.
"Then who did?"
"I did...,"the voice answered again.
Okay, this is getting kind of freaky. "Who said that? You better show yourself!" I heard something resembling a mix of a sigh and groan.
"Try looking down."
Look down? I did as the voice said, but the only thing I saw was the little Pokémon, looking back at me with crossed arms and a frown. Could it be...? I shook my head. That's impossible. There's no way-
"That 'thing' talked? Actually it is," the voice interrupted, somehow finishing my thought. "And I would appreciate it if you stop calling me an 'it', because I'm a male and frankly it's rude."
My jaw dropped. Not only did my new Pokémon talk- but boy, did he have an attitude!
"Considering what hell you just put me through, I think I have every right to have an attitude."
"HEY! First of all I apologized! And second of all, you shouldn't be talking to me like that!" I shouted. Loudly.
"What's going' on?"
Oh yea, I totally forgot Vera was there. Combine that with the fact that I'm arguing with a talking Pokémon who Vera apparently can't hear and that I look really nuts. Luckily, instead of messing with my head some more, it, or rather he, turned his attention to her.
"Oh hello, I didn't see you there..." he held a little hand out to her. "Nice to meet you."
Her face looked a little shocked, but it was a heck of a lot more composed than I probably looked. "Likewise. So you're a talking Pokémon huh? That's pretty cool."
"Thank you," he replied, a hint of a smile in his voice. They continued their conversation... which was about the time I remembered that:
1) I had to introduce him to Axel.
2) I have a pokédex.
I dug through my bag and pulled the slim device out. It took forever to turn on since this was my first use, but once it did I pointed it towards him. "Okay, let's see what in Groudon's name you are..."
I couldn't help but jump a little when a loud electronic voice rang out:
Ralts- The Feeling Pokémon. A Ralts has the power to sense the emotions of people and Pokémon with the horns on its head. It takes cover if it senses any hostility.
"Can you turn dat thing down? It's too loud." Vera complained.
I apologized and scrolled through the rest of the info. "It says here, Ralts that you're a Psychic type, and you only know Growl." Well, that would explain why he didn't attack back.
"Yes... that is true...," he admitted reluctantly. "And you're supposed to be my new trainer?"
"Uh-huh." Then I remembered a certain someone. "Oh hold on a sec," I dug through my pocket (note to self: Get better way of carrying pokéballs) and called out Axel. He examined the Ralts for a while, and if I didn't know any better, I'd swear he wanted to eat him. This sent shivers up my spine.
I was able to breathe again when all he did was lick him.
He made a disgusted sound and flinched. "Ughh! Don't slobber on me, you mutt!"
"Hey! Axel's no mutt!" I reached down and hugged him, "he's the sweetest pup I ever met." He proved this statement by showering me in wet kisses. "Heheh okay, okay, get off Casanova!" I shoved him off and picked the Ralts up. "So I guess all you need now is a name...unless you already have one?"
I actually hadn't thought of that until now. Do Pokémon have names?
"Not really, but there are some exceptions."
That answers my question. "So what should we name him?"
Vera shrugged, "I dunno, something Japanese?"
"That could work," if I knew any Japanese names. Or Japanese in general. We sat around trying to brainstorm some name ideas.
"How 'bout Hikaru?"
"Nah, that sounds too girly. What about Shin?"
"No. Kenji?"
"...I don't think so."
Well, this is going nowhere. We kept tossing around names while the Ralts and Axel had some sort of conversation. I thought it was kind of weird that he didn't talk to him tele... tele... what's the word? Oh yeah, telepathically. But I just shrugged it off. Maybe he could only read human minds. That's when it hit me.
"YUKI!" Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I got the name 'Yuki' from talking about 'telepathy'. Random, right? I picked the Psychic up and put him on my lap. "How do you feel about the name Yuki?
He nodded. "It's alright, I guess..."
Close enough. Hey- I just remembered something else. Turning to my friend/travel partner/rival (not sure which she is yet), I tried my best 'innocent voice.' "Hey Vera..."
She turned and gave me a questioning look.
"Aren't we forgetting someone?" It clicked in her mind and we exchanged conspiratorial smiles as she slowly pulled out a pokéball...
The next thing you know, we're back on the ground, laughing as poor Yuki is being chased around by Vye. Even Axel finds it kinda funny, though he almost looks like he feels bad. Keyword: 'Almost.'
"Ahhh! Keep her away from me!"he screamed telepathically and out loud, running behind my legs. She made a cooing sound and reached her vines behind me.
"I don't care if you want to be 'friends!' I DON'T WANT YOUR HUGS!" Yuki continued dodging her vines, occasionally mumbling something sort of like 'crazy carnivores' and 'not believing he's stuck with us', while Vera and my starter were still dying of laughter.
I couldn't help but smile a little at the crazy scene before me. I love it when people are happy... Then it hit me again. I'm pretty much stuck with these guys.
This is going to be one loooong journey
Ahh nothing like abusing your Pokemon a little before catching it, eh? Though you have to admit, don't you think (to them) it would suck having a mechanical ball being thrown at you by some crazy kid? Anyways- reviews are very much appreciated~
Translations:
[1] Si pero,- Yes, but (oh you guys should've known THAT)
[2] piagnucolone- crybaby
[3] Il mio amico- My friend
[4] Ärgernis- annoying/annoyance (not really sure)