All right! This has been my favorite chapter to type up thus far, and you're going to see why pretty soon. By the title of this chapter, however, I do think you'll have a pretty good idea what's going to go down here.
In other news, I'm taking my learner's permit test tomorrow. In my state, you need to get 72% of the questions right (18 out of 25) in order to pass. Wish me luck!
Anyway, let's get on to the chapter.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 201X - 6:36 AM
GARDENIA, SINNOH
HIGH TEMPERATURE: 89 DEGREES
"But it can't be real!" Lucas exclaimed.
In the months to come, he would never find out whether or not he had really said it, or if it had only been a part of his dream. Perhaps he was just meant to not know that.
As he had made that assertion out loud, that his dream could not possibly be real, there were several factors that were telling him otherwise. Even if he wanted to believe that everything was wonderful, and that the factory wasn't really being bombed, he had to go with what the evidence suggested. The fact that it was a lucid dream was, for him, more than enough for him to believe that it was true.
Lucas sat bolt upright in bed. Luckily, he was in bed, and not getting thrown off his feet by an explosion. That was a relief, and it meant the world to him.
Morning sunlight was streaming through his window, and Lucas realized that he hadn't remembered to shut said blinds. It wasn't like it mattered, though; he'd slept long enough, he figured, that he didn't need to sleep any longer.
He got out of bed and decided not to brush his teeth. After all, he'd already packed his toiletries, and, besides, it wouldn't hurt too much to miss just one time. After running his hands through his hair, in order to give it a quasi-brush, he looked at himself in the mirror.
Yeah, I look good, he told himself. I think I look good enough to start out on a journey today.
As soon as he was dressed, he went downstairs, where he saw that his mother was cooking breakfast…
...and immediately there was a lump in his throat. This was going to be the last meal he ate with his mother for a long time, maybe ever. He knew that he was in no particular rush to leave; he could stay as long as he wanted within reason. Still, he was eager to get out on his own. The longer he waited, the harder it would be for him to leave.
"You all right, Lucas?" his mother asked as she saw him pick at his Kalos toast. "You're normally one who loves Kalos toast".
Lucas looked at his mother. "Yeah, but I'm just a little worried today, you know?"
"Is this about your journey?" Aubry asked her son. "You know, you don't have to do this if you don't want to".
Lucas wished that she would not have said that. He wished that she would have told him that he had to do it. Because then it would be so much easier to do just that, or to resist. No matter what decision he would have ultimately made, it would have been much easier to justify it.
Now, he was being told that he could have another option, just to stay here and keep going to school like normal.
No, he thought to himself. That's not an option. That's never been an option, and it will never be an option.
He didn't want to keep on leading the same old boring home life. Well, it wasn't necessarily boring; it was never boring if you were autistic. However, he wanted to do something on his own for a change. He figured that he needed it.
"I'm going" he told his mother. "Trust me, I'm really worried about it. I am. But I think that I'll be a better person from doing so".
"I like that" Aubry told her son. "Well...once you're finished eating, you can go. Although I will miss you. Call me every day, will you?"
Lucas nodded. As often as I can remember, he thought to himself. It was no secret in the Snow household that its youngest member could be rather absent-minded at times. He hoped that he wouldn't forget something as important as calling his mother, but he just wasn't too sure that he'd be able to remember that he needed to do that.
Of course, he wasn't going to tell his mother this. He didn't want to sound insensitive, not at all.
"I will" he said.
"Do you have your Pokeball with you?" Aubry asked Lucas. "The one with Orkun in it?"
Lucas looked around the table, as well as in his backpack. He realized that he didn't have the Riolu with him.
"Thanks for reminding me!" the young boy exclaimed. Jumping off from the table, leaving his Kalos toast unfinished, he bounded up the steps and back up to his room. In there, it was easy to find the Pokeball that held Orkun.
He made his way back downstairs, where his mother was waiting for him. "Did you get him?" she asked her son.
"Yep" he replied. "Man, that was nerve-wracking. For a moment, I wondered if I'd lost him for good. Thank Arceus that I didn't".
Even as Lucas was saying this, he couldn't help but think to himself, Well, that doesn't bode well for the future. It's going to be easy for me to forget something else, too. How long until I lose him again?
These were dark thoughts indeed, thoughts that did not go away with his next bite of Kalos toast. He didn't speak again until he was done eating, wondering the whole time if he'd be able to deal with going out on his own after all.
Once he had finished eating, Lucas said, "Well...I don't know how much longer I should stay here. I'm going to wake Jason up to say good-bye to him, though".
"Sounds like a good idea" Aubry replied. "He might be a little mad at you at first, just because you know how he feels about being woken up early. But, once he realizes why you're doing it, I really do think that he'll be fine with it".
"And Dad?" Lucas asked.
"He'll be fine with it as well, I think. He wants to see you one last time before you depart on your journey".
After the young boy nodded, he went up the stairs again, leaving Orkun's Pokeball on the kitchen table. He didn't know what he was going to say to his older brother; it was going to be a tough conversation indeed.
Jason's bedroom was on the third floor of the Snow household. It was just down the hallway from the guest bedroom, which, as the name suggested, was used whenever the family hosted a guest, which wasn't very often at all.
Lucas knocked on the door, and Jason came to answer it. The older boy looked very tired and stressed as he looked at his brother.
"Good morning" Lucas said.
"Morning" Jason replied. "You're going to leave today, aren't you?"
The younger brother didn't know how else to respond. "Yes, I am".
"I remember all the good times we had together" the older brother said. "Remember how we used to play video games with each other? That was pretty awesome".
"Yeah" Lucas replied. "But those days are long gone, I'm afraid".
"You'll come back sometimes, right? We will see you again within a month or two, right?"
Lucas felt as though, if he said something right now, it wouldn't be that huge of a commitment. "Sure" he replied, not knowing whether or not he had the intention to see the promise through. "I will write every day, too, through the e-mail service on my computer".
"Sounds good" Jason replied.
The two brothers shared one last hug, not knowing when they would see each other again. As Lucas headed down the stairs, he couldn't help but get a few tears in his eyes.
He was leaving his family, the only family he'd ever known, for a journey. He had never gone away to sleepaway camp, had never been to a slumber party even, so he didn't really know what it was like to stay away from home for a prolonged period of time. And yet, that was what he would now do.
Lucas walked into the master bedroom. His father was there, getting dressed.
"Good-bye, Dad. I'm leaving now".
Rodney Snow went over to hug his son. "You'll always have a home here with us, you get that? If you ever decide to come back, just do that. That said, I really hope you enjoy your journey".
"I think I will" Lucas replied. "I want to get to see the world. It would be awesome to become the champion of the Sinnoh League".
"Of course", Rodney said, "there's a long slog to get there. You'll need a lot more Pokemon than just the Riolu. In fact, you'll practically have to have an army".
Lucas snorted. "Yeah. Well, I'm about to head out. I'll write every single night".
"Remember to eat lots of healthy foods, get plenty of exercise, and don't forget to c-".
"I get it" the boy replied. "I know what you're going to say, but don't say it. You don't need to, trust me".
"Ah" Rodney replied. "Well, I'll see you around".
After one last good-bye hug, Lucas left the master bedroom and headed downstairs, where Aubry was making more Kalos toast for the other members of the Snow family.
"I'm going to miss you when you're gone" Aubry told her son.
"Me too" the boy replied, pulling his mother into a bear hug. He never wanted to let go.
As soon as Lucas walked out the back door, tears started forming in his eyes.
At first, Lucas was feeling quite lonely. He had nobody to share this journey with, and, what was more, his only Pokemon was in a Pokeball.
Of course, he soon realized that it didn't have to be this way, and released Orkun.
Man, it's hot out here. What time is it?, the Riolu asked.
Lucas pulled out his iPhone and glanced at it. "It's 7:41 AM. Yeah, a little early to be this hot, but...you know".
Well, you don't know everything, Orkun replied.
"What do you mean?" the human asked the Riolu. "Are you pulling a prank on me or something like that? I thought we were friends".
Don't friends pull pranks on each other all the time?, Orkun asked his master. As long as they're not HUGE pranks, like stealing things?
"Perhaps" Lucas replied.
The two of them walked down the street towards town. Lucas had allowed Orkun out of his Pokeball for two reasons.
One of those reasons was that he just needed some company as he walked along the avenue. After all, Lucas had just left his family. That was a hard decision to come to terms with, and something he desperately hoped he wouldn't live to regret.
The other reason was that he wanted the Riolu to be able to get some fresh air. He wanted Orkun to experience the town of Gardenia, rather than just be taken through it in a Pokeball.
"What do you think of this place?" Lucas asked his Pokemon. "Be honest, now".
I think it's wonderful, Orkun replied. I see why your family wanted to live here. But let's head to the bank first.
Lucas was quite surprised by that. It was as though the Riolu was able to read his mind; he'd been thinking that they were going to go to the bank first as well. They needed to withdraw some money; he knew that they'd need some resources in order to get through the first day.
"That's just what I was thinking" the boy replied. "Can you read minds?"
Er...maybe, Orkun said. Lucas decided that, from here on out, he was going to have to be very careful about what he thought whenever the Riolu was within his vicinity. He didn't need any embarrassing situations to take place where Orkun knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Anyway...we're here" he said, as they walked to the front of Bank of Sinnoh. "My mother showed me how to withdraw money from our account. We have $11,814 in there now. How much should I take out?"
Five hundred dollars, the Riolu replied.
Okay, this is getting creepy, Lucas thought. Are we really that much in lock-step with each other? Is that even the right term to use?
"I was just thinking the same amount" the boy replied, looking through the options at his disposal. After typing in the correct code and being told to select an amount to withdraw, he withdrew five hundred dollars from his account.
Nice, Orkun said. Great minds think alike, don't they?
"Yes" Lucas replied. "They sure do".
He didn't know what else there was to say, as he saw that the screen now told him that he had a balance of $11,314 in his account. Of course, he wasn't too interested in the exact amount anymore, not now that he had all of the money he thought he needed.
As they were walking out of the bank, Lucas looked at the nearby street signs. He knew downtown Gardenia like the back of his hand, since he'd lived here as long as he could remember. He was just making sure that he knew the way to Route 212, the way they were going to take to Hearthome City. That was what they had decided their first destination would be.
It didn't take too long to get out of Gardenia. Lucas led Orkun down the main street, past the church and the local elementary school, and past a certain woman's house.
"Down there? She's the speech-language pathologist I used to see, the woman who lives in that house".
The Riolu was clearly confused by such a big word. What's a speech-language pathologist?
"She helped me with my speech problems that I used to have when I was younger" Lucas told the Riolu. "They've been corrected now, but my voice still sounds a little weird, you know?"
Just then, a car zoomed by, and Lucas had to cover his ears. Much like his speech impediment, many of the sensory issues had been corrected over time. However, loud noises and bright lights still posed challenges for him. And the hot June morning was full of bright colors.
I suppose that you do seem a little different from other humans, Orkun replied as Lucas pressed the button at the crosswalk. I mean...you do seem to talk a little differently.
"Yeah, that's probably why. I have something called autism" he explained to his Riolu.
Explain that to me sometime, the Riolu replied.
"I will" Lucas said.
It was about half a mile from downtown Gardenia to the edge of Route 212. Motor vehicles did not travel on the routes; these were reserved for cyclists and Pokemon trainers. There was a separate highway system that covered all of Sinnoh, which Lucas and his family would drive on when they were going to visit other cities, such as Hearthome, Pastoria, and Sunyshore.
Nice, Orkun said, Route 212. I like this place.
When Lucas looked around, he couldn't help but agree. Route 212 was a dirt road roughly thirty feet wide, winding its way past forests, various community centers, and gardens of flowers. The June sun shone down on it, and it was a little dustier than Lucas would have liked. Still, it was a pretty awesome place to be.
"It's a long way to Hearthome City" Lucas told Orkun. "It's likely that we'll run into some other Pokemon along the way. And I'll try to catch one as well. My mother packed some Pokeballs in here as well".
She did?, the Riolu asked.
"Yeah" the boy replied. "Let's see...there are a lot of different types of Pokemon in Sinnoh. This area has a colder climate than that of Kanto or Johto, so...yeah. That being the case, most Pokemon here are more adaptable to chillier weather".
What are you, Pokepedia? Orkun queried.
"I suppose you could call me that, yes" Lucas said. "But I'm just very much into these things. It's part of my autism, you could say".
The Riolu was confused. There was that strange word again: Autism. What did it mean?
"I'll explain when we get to the Pokemon center" the young boy said before the Riolu could say anything. "For now, let's focus on catching any Pokemon that we find".
A mile into their walk, they found their first target. It was a small, fox-like Pokemon, with a series of orange tails on its back and large green eyes.
This confused Lucas. This type of Pokemon wasn't normally found in Sinnoh, was it? If not, what was it doing here? This made no sense, and the young boy was determined to get to the bottom of this.
He pulled out his PokeDex and listened to the description that the device gave.
"Vulpix, the Fox Pokemon. At the time of its birth, Vulpix has one white tail. The tail separates into six if this Pokemon receives plenty of love from its trainer. The six tails become magnificently curled".
"I'm going to try to catch her!" Lucas exclaimed. He could tell that it was going to be difficult; whenever this Vulpix was running around, she was certainly moving quickly. He could tell that it was a female, though; he knew this much.
The Vulpix started running away from him as soon as Lucas got close, and he knew that this wasn't going to be easy. Lucas wasn't the best at distance running, but he could do some sprints thanks to his very long legs, at least for his age. As long as this chase didn't last too long, he'd be able to do this.
With Orkun following his master as quickly as his little Riolu legs could carry him, Lucas threw his Pokeball in the direction of the Vulpix. It was fairly easy to catch her, much easier than he could ever have imagined.
She'd put up a fight, but Lucas had prevailed. It hadn't taken too long, either - he'd done it fairly easily.
A flash of red light appeared, sucking the Vulpix into the Pokeball Lucas had held out. This was a different one - his mother had packed him five other Pokeballs, in addition to the one that held Orkun. There were six Pokeballs in all; he'd been told that six was the maximum number of Pokemon a trainer could have at once.
What should I name her?, he thought to himself. Fortunately, it didn't take long for an idea to come to his head.
It sounded cool to him. "Vulpix, from here on out you are Vinaka. You got that?"
He knew that the newly christened Vinaka couldn't hear him say her new name, but he didn't care at the moment. Eventually, he'd let her out of her Pokeball, and then he'd explain to her everything that had happened.
Hopefully I can earn her trust, Lucas thought to himself.
Nice! You caught a Pokemon!, Orkun exclaimed.
"Yeah, it's pretty cool" the young boy replied in return. He couldn't wait to sit down at a cafe or someplace like that and be able to introduce the two of them to each other.
Maybe he wouldn't be so lonely on this journey after all.
Fun fact: "Vinaka" means "thank you" in Fijian. The Vulpix is named after the merged tribe of Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X. I've been a fan of that show for a while, but the final four twist completely ruined everything. Well, not EVERYTHING, but you know what I mean.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter.
Lucas: Orkun - Riolu: Foresight, Quick Attack, Endure, Counter (Level 7). Vinaka - Vulpix: Ember, Tail Whip (Level 5).