I'm so sorry everyone, I was sick for the past few days. I had a croup cough, which usually is only caught by infants and children under 3, but can still effect teenagers (3% to be exact, so I guess I was one of the lucky ones...), and is very uncomfortable. I'm much better now, so I'm getting to work on the story, and have an update: Matt is leaving. Ketchum Kid has grated my last nerve, so I'm taking Matt out. The place for an OC rival for Alex is now open, and there are some requirements:
Name
Personality
Appearance
Pokemon (Kanto only, they may evolve into Jhoto later, but no Jhoto preevoloutions, like Ketchum Kid had.)
You must be willing to let me change them to fit the story (such as giving them pokemon you did not list, and having them switch the team about.)
A way to contact you (Ketchum Kid refused to do this, but became a pain in the ass and demanded I answer every question, so it was a main reason Matt is leaving.)
Other than that, have fun with it, and come up with some unique OCs. I will pick the one I think will fit the story best, but the others might make and appearance anyway.
Disclaimer: Too tired...
Alex POV
I looked at the two behind me and smiled slightly. Raye had joined us on our journey before we left Vermilion, bringing our group number up to three. Her pokemon consisted of Seaking, Fearow, Vulpix, Shellder, and Beedrill. The last one was a bit of a problem, since my dad had made sure to make me terrified of the bee pokemon. Don't get me wrong, her Beedrill was very nice and liked to help, but I still couldn't stand being around it much. I'm willing to work on my phobia, but it will take a while for me to grow used to it. Charlotte had been more than happy to agree when Raye had asked if she could come with us, and I really didn't see a problem with it. It certainly made traveling more fun, especially after she got used to us and we found out she was actually quite the had more than once told us a story of something she deemed 'sweet', which ranged from couples she had seen on the streets, to shows she had seen on TV. One of her newest, and most favorite 'sweet' things was the fight she had seen between me and Gary.
"You two are so cute together!" I sighed as Raye ran up and grabbed my arm, a grin on her face as she looked at me.
"Honestly, I don't think 'cute' can be used to classify Oak..." Raye's eye twitched at my response, and her grin fell into a frown. She didn't understand; after that night where Gary apologized, I didn't know how to act around him. Should I treat him the same as before, or should I treat him differently? Did anything change between us at all, or is everything the same? It was just too confusing; he was just too confusing. I heaved a sigh, and shrugged Raye off as we continued down the path. Lowering my head, I avoided the confused look my fellow brunette shot me. A hand landed on my shoulder, and I looked back at Charlotte, who stared at me with a neutral look.
"What's with you? Normally, you'd go into a ten minute rant the moment Gary is mentioned." I shrugged my shoulders lightly, and turned away from Charlotte's stare. Maybe I should tell her about what happened, she might be able to help...or she could make it worse. Wincing slightly to myself, I abandoned the thought. Looks like I was in this on my own. Sighing once more, I reached down and shuffled through my bag, searching for my map. We should only be about an hour away from Celadon.
"I'm bored, will we be there soon?" Glancing back from my map, I saw Raye eyeing either side of the road disinterestedly. A bored Raye usually wasn't good, a fact I learned two days ago after Charlotte wouldn't let her flip through her guidebook...I will be scared for life. Turning back to the map, I carefully read it over, looking for a sign that would tell me where we were. According to the map, there was a sign about two miles out from the city, telling travelers how far they had to go.
"Charlotte, have we passed a sign recently?" Charlotte put her finger to her chin, and thought as she followed Alex and Raye.
"Yeah, there was one about a half an hour ago, it said we were getting close to Celadon." I nodded, and then folded her map back up and stuck it back in my bag. Zipping it closed, I looked at the two over my shoulder, a small smile on my face.
"We're about a mile out, we should be there soon." The two nodded, and I turned back forward. We continued on in silence, each of us not knowing what to say to lift the tension. None of my pokemon were out of their pokeballs, as they were all tired from the long treck we had the day before. In fact, the only pokemon out of their pokeball was Raye's Vulpix, which followed her master loyally as she walked forward. Soon, the general sounds of a city could be heard, and we quickened our pace eagerly. Coming around a bend, we were met with Celadon, but we stopped short and stared when we saw it. Like all other cities, it had people crawling along the streets, but this was different. Nearly everyone had on a kimono, and there were flowers and balloons everywhere. Glancing at the other two, I shot them a confused look, only to get the same look from them. Shrugging our shoulders, we walked forward slowly, and looked for someone to explain what was going on.
NormalPOV
Pushing their way through the crowed, the girls looked for some sort of information booth, or an Officer Jenny to explain things to them. Spotting a familiar blue uniform, they quickly shuffled their way over to the police officer, who was standing with a Growlithe at her feet. She was watching the crowed intently, keeping an eye out for anyone who broke the law or committed a crime.
" Excuse me, Officer Jenny?" Looking down in surprise, Jenny eyed the three pre-teens curiously.
"Is something wrong girls?" Shaking their heads, the girls smiled.
"No, we were wondering if you could explain what was going on." Officer Jenny stared at them for a moment, and then shook her head.
"You must not be from around here." The girls shook their heads, and waited patiently for Jenny to answer them.
"Well, every April, Celadon holds two festivals. One, is the Flower Festival, which comes every third Friday of April, and the other is the Pokemon Festival, which is April 23rd every year. This year, the festivals happened to fall on the same day, so they got combined into a two day festival. Today is the first day, and tomorrow the second." The girls stared at Officer Jenny in wonder, and then thanked her and turned away. Pushing their way through the crowed once more, they talked to each other eagerly.
"I think we should join in, they sound like fun!" Alex nodded along to Raye's idea. Charlotte meanwhile, shook her head in denial.
"No way, we need to get our gym badges and leave. Besides, I really don't like parties, and all this is is one big party. We need to train, and if we spend time at the festival, it will just take more time for us to get our badges." Turning to look to the left, Charlotte groaned as she saw the empty space her friends once occupied.
"They're so immature!" Looking around her, Charlotte chose a random direction and started to push her way through the crowed, searching for Raye and Alex, who had wandered off.
-_-_-_-Later-_-_-_-
"Oh, I like that one, it looks so nice on you." Alex twirled slightly as she stood in front of the mirror. After sneaking off from Charlotte, her and Raye had gone off to find some kimonos, wanting to dress properly for the festival. Raye had found a nice medium blue kimono with a wave pattern on it, and had bought it immediately. Now that she was dressed in it, she was helping Alex to search for a kimono. Just now, Alex had found one she liked and tried it on. It was mostly white, but it had red flowers decorating it, and a gold obi to hold it closed.
"I do too, I think I might get it." Raye nodded her head eagerly, her hair bouncing as her head moved. The two planned to get their hair put into buns, and had each gotten a pair of chopsticks to hold the buns up. Alex nodded in satisfaction, and went back into the changing room and changed back to her usual outfit, and hung the kimono on her arm. Walking to the front, she paid quickly, and the two walked out into the streets. People were walking along freely, their pokemon beside them as they went from one booth to another. Finding a hair shop, they quickly went in, Alex finding the bathroom to change, and Raye getting the needed service. Soon they walked out, their hair in intricate buns held up by white chopsticks for Raye, which matched her obi, and black for Alex.
"Where should we go now?" Alex shurgged her shoulders, and looked about her lazily.
"Nowhere, you two are so dead!" Whipping around, they came face to face with a fuming Charlotte, who was glaring at them evilly. Raye quickly dove behind Alex, and looked over her shoulder to watch the inevitable explosion from the eldest member of their group.
"Where the heck did you two go?! You know what, don't answer that, I see where you went." Charlotte pinched the bridge of her nose in agitation. Sometimes, these two were so hard to deal with. And she thought Alex was a nightmare when things like this happened, but with Raye around everything just got worse. The two watched her warily, ready to run if she got too angry, though how they could possibly get too far in reed wood sandals was beyond Charlotte.
"Couldn't you have warned me before you wandered off?" Glaring at them dully, she didn't get the desired effect, because they simply stared back with wide eyes. For a moment the three stared at each other, and then Charlotte sighed.
"I guess you're going to force me into this, huh?" Sly grins slowly spread across Alex and Raye's faces, and they nodded. Jumping forward, they each grabbed a hand and dragged Charlotte down the street and towards the store they had bought their kimonos in. Pushing her into the shop, they herded her into the dressing room, and Raye waited by the door as Alex went off in search of a suitable kimono. Flicking through the racks, Alex found three possibilities, and quickly brought them back to Charlotte. The first was a light yellow kimono, which had a couple of sun designs splashed across the fabric. This was quickly rejected, as it didn't look good with her hair. Next, a purple one with white lilies was also tossed, as it clashed with her hair as well. Finally, a black kimono with white crescent moons was decided upon, since it didn't look too bad on her.
"I will hate you two for a very long time after this." Raye and Alex giggled, but dragged Charlotte along the streets. Raye paid for her kimono, and had her hair half up in a bun, while the rest was let loose down her back. They were getting a lot of glances from people, both curious and amused. Charlotte pulled her hands away, but followed her companions as they continued down the street. Growlie had been let loose from her pokeball, and was sniffing the air curiously as she walked. Alex had decided to let Primeape stretch her legs, and the monkey was following her trainer energetically.
"Hey look, they have a fan stall!" Grabbing the other's hands, Raye dragged them over to a stall on the other side of the street. Fans of various colors and designs were spread out on a table, and Raye began searching them eagerly. Alex looked slightly curious, and looked some fans over with interest. Charlotte rolled her eyes, and turned away slightly to look out over the street. Many people were passing them by, and some were gathering in the park on the other side of the street. Pokemon were everywhere, though there were mainly grass types. Roving her eyes about, Charlotte froze as she saw a familiar brunette over in the park. His black eyes were staring in their direction, but when she followed their gaze, she realized they were centered on Alex. Turning to look at Gary, Charlotte frowned slightly. He had left Vermilion about two days before they had, since they were still getting some rest.
"Charlotte look, we found a fan for you!" Charlotte jumped as a paper fan was thrust into her face. Pulling back slightly, she looked it over curiously. The backround was black, like her kimono, and there were silver stars and moons decorating the folds. Turning to the others, Charlotte saw that Raye had a light blue fan with tear drops on it, and Alex was lightly holding a red fan with white flower buds. Smiling slightly, Charlotte closed the fan and stuck it into the grey obi of her kimono.
"Thanks." Raye and Alex smiled, and turned back to the stand to look at the fans some more. Turning her attention back to the park, Charlotte sighed when she realized Gary was gone. Looking at the other two, Charlotte smiled and shook her head as Alex held a lime green fan with bright pink flowers on it up. Raye giggled, and then took the fan and posed with it, while Alex clapped lightly, pretending to be a judge. Laughing loudly, they turned and motioned Charlotte over, who obeyed their wishes and walked over.
"You have to look at these fans, some of them have really silly designs." To emphasize her point, Raye held up her horribly colored fan, while Alex held up an orange and purple one.
"I think you two just find all the weird stuff." Both shot her an offended look, but then shrugged and nodded.
"Yeah, I guess so...well, Raye does at least." Raye gave a squeal of protest, and pouted at the abuse she was receiving.
"You guys are mean..." Alex and Charlotte grinned, and then stuck their tounges out at Raye.
"It's our job; there isn't anyone else around to insult you, so we'll take the difficult job onto our shoulders." Raye stuck her own tongue out, and then turned and stomped off down the road. Laughing to themselves, Alex and Charlotte tossed the oddly colored fans onto the table, and then followed their friend. The three walked for a while, looking for something to amuse themselves with. Something caught Alex's eye, and she walked over to a stall, leaving the other two. It took Charlotte and Raye a few minutes to realize she was gone, and then they back tracked to find her standing in front of a stall.
"Chocolate...why are you at a chocolate stall?" Alex turned around, and in her hand was a dark chocolate Wartortle. A bag was clutched in her other hand, filled with many different types of chocolate pokemon. Charlotte and Raye stared as Alex took a bite out of Wartortles head, their eyes twitching in irritation.
"What are you doing?" Alex glanced at them, and then down to her treat, and back up.
"Eating it's brains." Twitching their eyes again, Charlotte slapped a hand to her forehead.
"Why?" Alex chewed for a moment, and then took another bite out of Wartortle, eating it's arm this time.
"Because I like chocolate." Raye's frown dropped, and she giggled lightly. Charlotte smirked, a teasing look on her face.
"You wouldn't happen to be eating a Wartortle because a certain Oak owns one, would you?" Alex stopped chewing, and a smirk slowly spread on her face.
"Duh." Raye giggled again, and then darted up to the stall to get some chocolate of her own. Charlotte shook her head, but a smile was on her face. When Raye returned, the three set out again, stopping occasionally to look at stalls or watch street performers. Around noon, Alex ran into a familiar face, literally.
"Ouch! Oh, hi Alex." Alex sighed from her place on the ground, and glared dully at Matt. He was standing above her with a sheepish grin on his face, and rubbing the back of his neck. Sticking her hand out, Alex waited patiently until he pulled her up, and then smacked him upside the head.
"Are we always going to meet like that?" Matt's grin dropped, and a sad look came onto his face. Alex eyed him curiously, wondering just what was making him so sad.
"Actually no. I have to go back to Mauville..." Alex's eyes widened, and she looked at Matt with a stunned look.
"Why?" Matt smiled weakly, and sighed.
"My dad got hurt, so I have to go back to help my mom run the daycare. I won't be back I don't think, since my dad's injuries are pretty bad and will take a while to heal. Actually, I came here to find you and tell you I was leaving, and to say goodbye." Alex's face fell, and she nodded sadly. Holding her arms out, she hugged Matt lightly.
"Oh, okay. Well, bye Matt." Matt nodded, and hugged Alex briefly, before stepping away, a weak grin on his face.
"Bye Alex. Promise me you'll stop by sometime and say 'hi', alright?" Alex nodded, smiling lightly at her rival/friend. Charlotte and Raye had walked off, Charlotte waving bye to Matt as she went. Sighing, Matt grinned at Alex once more, before turning and walking off down the road, disappearing into the crowed. Alex's shoulders drooped lightly, and she shook her head in sadness. Matt was a good rival, and the fact that he had to give up his journey so early on was sad.
"So, he has to leave, huh?" Glancing to her left, Alex was slightly surprised to see it was Gary who had spoken. He had shown up from nowhere, and it was slightly unnerving that he seemed to know exactly where she was. Looking him over, she saw he was wearing a long purple yukata, the usual outfit for males during festivals.
"Yeah, his dad got injured." Gary nodded, a neutral look on his face. Turning his head slightly, he glanced at Alex out of the corner of his eye. He had to admit, she did look nice in a kimono. Looking forward once more, Gary mused over his fortune; he found Alex all by herself, having been left by her shadows to speak with her friend. Deciding he was going to push his luck a bit farther, he turned to his rival with a cocky grin.
"I was wondering, since this festival lasts until tomorrow, would you mind spending today with me?" Alex raised an eyebrow, and looked at Gary curiously.
"Are you asking me on a date Oak?" Gary smirked lightly, but did not look arrogant.
"More like a friendly outing, I think we could get a lot more out of being friendly rivals than trying to kill each other each time we meet." Alex blinked, but smiled lightly at Gary and motioned for him to lead the way. Primeape, who had wandered off to the park, followed her trainer and the egotistical one curiously. Gary walked forward, Alex beside him, and headed to a lake in the park. A show was happening at the lake soon, and there would be fireworks this evening. He really didn't know if Alex liked fireworks, but there was no time like the present to learn, now was there?
"Where did she go?" Raye and Charlotte had returned, only to find the spot Alex had been in empty. Turning to each other in confusion, they looked about in a panic, searching for their friend. Searching the area, Charlotte spotted a vendor who had a good view of the spot, and tapped Raye's arm. Looking at Charlotte curiously, Raye looked in the direction she was pointing, and saw the vendor. They nodded to each other, and then ran over to the stall.
"Excuse me?" The vendor looked up at them curiously. He was in his late 60's, and had a kind look about his face. His grey hair and beard, along with the wrinkles around his eyes reminded them of a grandfather, and the two hoped he could help.
"What can I do for you ladies?" Charlotte rustled through her bag, and found one of the pictures of Alex that was taken in Vermilion. Glancing at it, Charlotte handed it to the man, who looked it over curiously.
"Our friend was here a minute ago, but disappeared, have you seen her? She's wearing a white kimono with red flowers, and has her hair up in a bun." The man looked the picture over carefully, and then nodded and handed it back to the girls.
"Yes, I saw her, she left with a boy around her age." Charlotte and Raye shot each other confused glances, and turned back to the man.
"Could you describe him please?" Bringing his hand up to his chin, the man scratched it in thought.
"Well sure, he had reddish brown hair, dark eyes, was a bit taller than your friend, and they seemed to know each other." Glancing at each other, they nodded, turned back to the man and thanked him. Walking away from the stall, Charlotte returned Alex's picture to her bag.
"That sounds like Gary, I saw him earlier, so I wouldn't be surprised if he tracked her down. What I want to know is why she went with him, she said she hated him that one night..." Raye was looking off into the distance thoughtfully, ignoring Charlotte as she ranted. Turning back to her friend, she shrugged her shoulders.
"Maybe he wanted to apologize? We won't know until we find them." Charlotte nodded, and the two walked down the street, searching for the pair. Alex and Gary meanwhile, were at the lake, sitting on the shore as they waited for the show to start. Alex was picking at the grass silently, wondering just what she was doing here. She still had no idea how to act around Gary, and he wasn't making it any easier, since he hasn't said anything since asking her to accompany him.
"You're unusually quiet." Looking up, Alex saw Gary eyeing her curiously. She shrugged her shoulders, and went back to her fascinating game of killing grass. Trying to think of something that would occupy her, Alex pulled the bag of remaining chocolates out and offered it to Gary. Sticking his hand into the bag, Gary pulled out a white chocolate Seel, and smirked as he bit off it's tail. Alex had a mint chocolate Oddish in her hand, and was nibbling on the grass on it's head. Eating their chocolate in silence, the two shot glances at each other, but did not say anything. A moment later, a motor boat came out onto the lake, with a man standing up in a seat, a mike held in his hand. Watching the man, the two settled back to enjoy the show.
-_-_-_-Later-_-_-_-
Charlotte and Raye sighed in exasperation. They had been searching all over for Alex, and had yet to find the smaller brunette. Walking into the park tiredly, they glanced up as fireworks shot up over the lake. Apparently there had been a show here earlier, and a lot of people had gathered to see it. Raye scanned the crowed tiredly, and then froze as she recognized two figures sitting next to each other.
"You're kidding me." Looking at her curiously, Charlotte wondered what was bothering Raye. Turning to look at Charlotte, Raye pointed to the shore of the lake. Following the direction she was pointing in, Charlotte felt her eye twitch in irritation. There were Gary and Alex, sitting together, thier heads tilted back as they watched the fireworks. They seemed to be talking and laughing, and Alex didn't seem to be as upset as she was a couple days ago.
"They look like they're...getting along." Raye glanced out of the corner of her eye to see Charlotte with a stunned look on her face. Looking back to the two over by the lake, Raye smiled lightly, and then turned and grabbed Charlotte's arm and dragged her away.
"Leave them alone for now, they're having fun." Charlotte nodded numbly, and turned to follow Raye as she walked off.
There, I got chapter done in a day. Just so you know, Alex and Gary won't admit to their feelings for a long time now, so no I'm not putting them together already. They will be more friendly to each other from now on, of course they'll still fight like a married couple, it wouldn't be any fun otherwise. Anyway, I need an OC to replace Matt, so send in your designs please.
