Hey guys, ComicfireSymphon here. Nothing special to say here. Do italics show up when I publish the story onto the site? If not, this chapter won't have the same impact. Or maybe it will, I'm not a mind reader. And the end felt a bit rushed to me, but I couldn't think of any other way to write it. Anyways, enjoy!
Chapter 7: Atonement
The bright Johto sun shone low in the sky. All the stars in the sky had vanished and the clouds were still tinted a lovely shade of purple. Underneath the sky and sun laid the region of Johto, with all of its inhabitants either out and about or stirring from their slumber, ready to begin their day.
Ethan trudged slowly along the dirt road leading from Cherrygrove City. His head pounded every time one of his feet impacted the ground. He aimed his head so he could see straight ahead. Through his tired eyes, the dirt path seemed to stretch on endlessly.
"I'm going to pass out…" Ethan thought. He turned his head to the side to see a large tree close by. He felt his body become heavier, he needed to get under it. He dragged his unwilling legs forward. Step by agonizing step, he inched closer to the shade and shelter of the tree. As soon as his right foot touched the lush grass, his eyes shut and he hit the ground with a thud, out cold…
Locke sat in the highest branches of the same tree Ethan had passed out under. His long, blood-red hair hung behind him, embracing the girth of the branch, with one lock of it hanging in front of his eyes. His mouth was twisted into a grisly smile. It would take no effort at all to steal the Pokeball from Ethan's belt. He held out his arms and allowed himself to fall backwards off of the branch. His outstretched arms caught the branch underneath of him, and he began to quickly and silently climb down the branches. He felt the familiar buzz in his ear before he heard…
"What are you doing?"
Locke sighed quietly as he procured a stable foothold. He pressed his right hand to his right ear, pressing the button on his wireless transceiver, allowing him to talk to the person on the other side.
"Ethan could… no, will get in my way too often. If I take his Pokemon, he can't do anything but go home." Locke explained. A rush of harsh static made him wince in pain.
"You're already skating on thin ice with what you did to his Drowzee. You're a member of the Color Guard, Silver. Don't forget we're a force for good, not evil."
Locke groaned, he would never manage to persuade her.
"Alright then Green, what do you suppose I do about him then?" Locke asked.
"Let him be. Test him every now and then. But one more mishap and you will see the true ferocity of the Color Guard." Blue told him.
"Fine. I'm disconnecting." Locke said, removing his hand from the speaker.
"Keep using the name I've given you. No one needs to know that we're still active. Not yet at least. Disconnecting." Blue said before another rush of static tore through Locke's head. Locke groaned again, Green was a slave driver.
"But I owe her my life for saving me." Locke thought, continuing his decent down the tree. The pine needles combed through his hair, leaving bits of dirt and small twigs behind. After a few seconds of this, he dropped to the ground next to Ethan with a small thud.
He angled his head down to get a better look at Ethan. Locke felt something inside of him. Was it… guilt? Locke laughed dryly to himself, he wasn't going soft. Or was he? Green's words struck him… he had done something terrible. He reached down to Ethan's belt. His eyes shot open and his heart skipped a beat, there was only one Pokeball there.
"What have I done…" Locke thought.
"I killed it."
"Drowzee is dead…"
Locke fell backwards, the pain of guilt shooting through his body. He felt the stinging sensation of tears forming behind his eyes. The tears came out quickly afterwards. He scrambled to his feet and ran away from Ethan as fast as he could, the dirt underneath of him flying up as his foot stirred it up.
"It's dead…"
He felt his foot connect with a root.
"I killed it…"
His body began falling as he tripped on the root.
"What have I done…"
His body hit the ground hard.
"Why…"
His eyesight began to fade to black.
"No…"
The bright midday sunlight shone full force. Ethan squinted his closed eyes and squirmed slightly. He sat up quickly as his eyes snapped open. His pupils shrunk as the sunlight filtered into them.
"Oh man, how long was I out?" Ethan thought to himself, quickly standing up. He gave himself a quick checkup. His hands flew to his belt. Cyndaquil's Pokeball was still there. He smiled as he made sure his hat was still in place. It was.
"Perfect. Now I can get to Mr. Pokemon's house." Ethan thought, excited once more. He stepped out of the shade and onto the dirt path. The bright sunlight warmed his body. Ethan raised his arms high and stretched out his muscles. He felt a small movement on his hip. He looked down to see Cyndaquil's Pokeball shaking slightly, it wanted to enjoy the sunlight too. Ethan smiled broadly as he grabbed the Pokeball. Firmly grasping it, he raised it up and pressed the button, releasing the red light that would form Cyndaquil.
The red light took the shape of Cyndaquil. Within a few seconds, Cyndaquil was standing before him, happy as could be.
"That's a nice looking Cyndaquil you've got there." Someone said from behind him. Ethan jumped slightly in shock and turned around quickly to see someone standing a few feet away from him. He was roughly the same height as Ethan, but looked a few years older. His hair reached his shoulders and was pitch-black. He wore a dark blue T-shirt and scruffy blue jeans. In other words, just another human. Ethan relaxed a bit.
"Thanks." He outstretched his hand. "I'm Ethan."
The stranger came up to him and grasped his hand, giving a firm handshake. "My name is Broderick. Nice to meet you." Broderick said. Broderick gave the Cyndaquil another look. Cyndaquil looked back at him. It walked behind Ethan's leg and hid, exposing his face to look at Broderick some more. Broderick laughed.
"It's like a child!" He laughed. Ethan smiled too, his laughter was infectious. They both laughed for a few seconds. Broderick regained his composure.
"So, where are you headed?" He asked.
"I'm supposed to be heading to someone's house. He said he had something for me." Ethan told him.
"Would you mind terribly if I came with you? I've been looking for a traveling companion." Broderick asked. Ethan's eyes opened widely at this. He didn't even know this guy and he wanted to come with him? But he couldn't really complain, he seemed nice enough.
"Sure, that would be great!" Ethan said, happy to have another companion. Broderick smiled and reached down to his belt, grasping the Pokeball hanging from it. He held it skyward and pressed the button on the front of it, releasing red light into the air. Ethan stared at it as it began to materialize. Wings formed and a body soon after. Within moments, the Pokemon appeared, a Hoothoot.
"This is my Pokemon, a Hoothoot." Broderick explained as the Hoothoot landed on his head, standing only using one leg. It had a completely spherical body, with two legs and two wings. Its eyes were red with black pupils, normal for a Hoothoot. Its down was brown. Ethan's hand shot down to his pocket, and he removed the Pokedex from it. Opening it up and aiming it at Hoothoot, his pressed the SCAN button, revealing its secrets.
"Hoothoot, the Owl Pokemon. It stands on one leg as it perches in trees. Level 4." The electronic voice of the Pokedex recited before Ethan closed it again. Broderick stared at the Pokedex.
"Never seen anything like that before. Mind telling me what it is?" Broderick asked. Ethan held it out.
"It's a Pokedex. It's kind of like a high-tech encyclopedia, but I have to scan a Pokemon before I can get all the data about it. Professor Oak gave it to me to fill out. Helps with research, I guess." Ethan explained. Broderick nodded, understanding everything he was told.
"Very nice. But we've been standing around too long, shouldn't we be going to your friend's house to pick up… whatever he wanted to give you?" Broderick asked.
"Oh yeah!" Ethan exclaimed, turning around and walking down the dirt road quickly. Broderick laughed silently and tagged behind Ethan.
The dirt road gave way to lush grass before long, they were close to Mr. Pokemon's house. Ethan walked forward, before Broderick's and clasped around his wrist, holding him back.
"Hey, what giv-" Ethan started before Broderick's other hand clasped over his mouth. Ethan began struggling.
"Look right ahead." Broderick whispered into Ethan's ear. Ethan stopped squirming and looked ahead. His eyes shot open widely as he took in what he saw. Only a few meters ahead was a Pokemon, but none like Ethan had ever seen, or even heard of.
It stood on four legs. Each leg had a silver shackle around it. Its fur was a rich red and its mane stretched from it's neck all the way to its tail, billowing like a cloud. It had two spiky wing-like appendages on its back, and another spiky appendage hanging from above its mouth. It stared at them before it let loose a frightening roar that shook the trees beside them. Ethan and Broderick both dropped to ground, completely in awe of the beast that stood before them. It gave them one last look before running away at top speed, stripping the trees it barreled past of leaves and bark.
Ethan tried to stand up, but his legs couldn't summon the strength. Broderick quickly stood up and offered his hand to Ethan, helping him up. As they both stood, a dizzy spell tore through Ethan, nearly knocking him down again before Broderick caught him.
"What the hell was that?" Ethan asked without energy.
"I have no idea. It was a Pokemon, that much is clear. But it was nothing I've ever seen." Broderick whispered before realization struck. "Wait a minute, you could've scanned it!" He yelled at Ethan.
"You were restraining my hand! Doesn't matter anyways, it ran away too fast." Ethan yelled back. Broderick slammed his hand to his forehead.
"I'm sorry for yelling, man. Just… that Pokemon was like something out of a storybook! Imagine if we could catch that thing! We could be unstoppable!" Broderick said, becoming excited at the thought. Ethan stared back at him.
"Did you see how fast it ran? Our Pokemon would never be able to even touch it! How would we catch it?" Ethan responded. Broderick's smile melted away.
"Damn, you're right. Anyways… let's just get to your friend's place." Broderick said, offering his hand to Ethan once more. Ethan grabbed it and stood up with Broderick's help. Brushing the dirt off of him, he began walking through the grass, Broderick closely behind. Ethan looked around him, that Pokemon's roar sent the wild Pokemon into shock. Sentrets lay paralyzed with fear in the grass. Pidgeys dropped from their nest in the trees onto unconscious Rattatas. Ethan shook his head in amazement, that Pokemon was something else.
About a minute later, he stood in front of Mr. Pokemon's door. He raised his fist to it and knocked four times. He waited for Mr. Pokemon to open it. Broderick arrived next to him a few seconds afterwards. As Broderick took his place next to Ethan, Mr. Pokemon opened his door, looking just as shaken as the two of them.
"Did you two hear that roar earlier?" He asked them.
"We didn't just hear it, we were right next to the Pokemon that made it." Ethan told him.
Mr. Pokemon stared at him in disbelief. "What kind of Pokemon could make such a noise?"
Ethan shook his head. "It wasn't anything we had ever seen before." He said. Mr. Pokemon sighed. He then noticed Broderick.
"Oh, hello there. Who are you, may I ask?" Mr. Pokemon asked Broderick.
"Oh hey there, I'm Broderick. I met Ethan on the way here and became his traveling companion. Nice to meet you." Broderick told him, stretching his hand out. Mr. Pokemon grasped it and gave it a firm shake before letting go.
"Well, come in you two. I have something to give to Ethan." Mr. Pokemon said, walking inside. Ethan and Broderick gave each other a quick look before walking inside. The lights were out, and there was no music playing like last time. Mr. Pokemon walked over to a cabinet in the back and opened it quickly, removing something. He quickly closed the cabinet and shuffled over to Ethan and Broderick, holding something covered in what appeared to be a curtain.
"Listen to me." Mr. Pokemon said, removing the curtain to reveal the object. It was another Pokemon Egg, but this one was different. The pattern on the egg was a different one than the egg earlier.
"This egg was discovered in Mt. Silver, the mountain range dividing Kanto and Johto. We don't know what Pokemon made it, because we don't know what Pokemon live in Mt. Silver." Mr. Pokemon explained. Ethan looked at the egg. It had a yellow tint to it, with black markings scattered across it.
"Here's your mission, Ethan. Keep this egg and watch over it until it hatches. When it does hatch, give Professor Elm a call and report what Pokemon it was." Mr. Pokemon told Ethan, handing him the egg. Ethan held out his arms and took the egg. It was very light and smooth. But something worried Ethan.
"Where am I supposed to keep it?" He asked.
"You can keep it in your backpack. From what we've seen, Pokemon Eggs are extremely durable. Without significant trauma, it will not break." Mr. Pokemon told him. Broderick placed his hands around the egg.
"Allow me to carry it while we travel together. I want to prove my trustworthiness." Broderick said, excited to be holding the egg. Ethan gave Mr. Pokemon a questioning look. Mr. Pokemon shrugged.
"I see no reason why he shouldn't. But be very careful. That is the last egg we've been able to find. Do not lose track of it." He instructed Broderick. Broderick smiled and nodded.
"I'll do my best." He said.
"Alright then. Now Ethan, while Professor Oak may have said your quest is only to fill out the Pokedex, I have an idea that may prove more lucrative." Mr. Pokemon said. Ethan looked at him.
"The Kanto/Johto Pokemon League is opening its doors to challengers once more. If you can obtain all eight badges from Gyms in Johto, you're eligible to compete. If you do this, you'll be exposed to more Pokemon as you fight more trainers. It may prove beneficial to your quest and your Pokemon." Mr. Pokemon explained.
Ethan let the idea roll through his head for a while. It made sense, and he could see new areas and challenge stronger foes. Maybe even finding Locke and making him pay for what happened to Drowzee.
"Sounds great! How do I start?" Ethan asked.
Mr. Pokemon smiled. "The first thing you should do is go to Violet City, Northwest of here. You can apply at the Pokemon Center there, and fight the first Gym Leader." He told Ethan.
Ethan felt a dull burning sensation through his chest, one of pure excitement and anticipation. Every trainer dreamed of becoming a master, and he knew just how he could do it. And there were only a few Gym Leaders standing in his way. He grasped Cyndaquil's Pokeball and gave it a good squeeze. This was it. This was the path of life he wanted to take.
