---Author's Note---
Here's Chapter 11. If you've read this far, then you deserve a major thank you. I'm glad I'm writing something that entertains you enough to continue through the story.
Also, I've added the Chapter names to the Chapter menu thing. I couldn't get all of Chapter 9's name in, but it's ok...I hope =/. And I hope how you like how I explain Pokeballs lol.
Anyway, read and review! Give me your thoughts, concerns, and hate.
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Chapter XI: Off The Chest
An article from THE SAFFRON HERALD
The Magical Mechanics of PokeBalls...Or Are They Really Magical?
-An Interview With Silph's Executive Poké Ball Developer Finn Garland
by Terrance Booth
September 5th, 86th Cycle
Part 1
"Our factories pump out hundreds of thousands of PokeBalls and its variants every day. On the conveyor belts, PokeBalls are in their standard red and white color. They're later divided to different squads of our special sub factories, where the balls are augmented to different degrees of catching prowess. After that, they're shipped to the Pokemon stores all over the world.
There is a certain compound that Silph utilizes, but now Devon Corp excavates, named Dominicite, or as we prefer, Domini. Domini are excavated in various mines in all the regions and a few islands on the outskirts of the land, similar to how we find various Evolution stones.
We take Domini and simply make small lenses out of them just like our forerunners did. We stuff them into the mechanism that is the actual ball that's thrown and put in another mechanism that produces a light used to capture and call back the Pokemon. The light passes through the Domini lens, then the waves of the light are amplified to a different frequency.
This frequency is called the 'Catching Wave'. The Catching Wave is visible to the eye, taking a form that's close to visible light except, as some trainers describe it, jagged, twisted, and wild.
Every Pokemon emits a Natural Wave from their brain. The frequency of the waves are so astoundingly high to varying levels, that they cannot be heard, seen, or felt through normal means.
The standard Catching Wave has a lower frequency than Natrual Waves. When a Pokemon comes in contact with a Catching Wave, its Natural Wave's frequency is lowered. At this point, the Pokemon is 'sucked' into the PokeBall. This is due to the nature of Domini: they tug at Natural Waves similar to magnets. Because the Catching Wave is an amplification of both light and the Domini waves, the Domini's absorbing power is essentially shot outward to actually catch.
The body of a Pokemon is obviously connected to the brain, and the Natural Wave of a Pokemon will be emitted from the brain. The more stamina the Pokemon's body and mind has, the higher frequency its Natural Wave has. The body and the mind are linked to the waves, so when the waves are absorbed, so are the body and mind themselves. The body and mind are converted into waves that matches the Catching Wave. When the entire Pokemon is within the Pokeball, it now has the frequency of the Domini waves. Or rather, supposed to.
The Catching Wave lowers the Natural Wave's frequency by a small bit, however. So if a healthy, strong Pokemon comes in conflict with a Catching Wave, its Natural Wave is lowered and the Pokemon is sucked into the ball. But, because the Natural Wave is so high, there's the chance that the Natural Wave of the Pokemon still retain a higher frequency than the Domini Waves. When this happens, the Domini lenses inside the Pokeball vibrate so much from the Natural Wave that they are destroyed, rendering the PokeBall useless. The Natural Wave comes out of the PokeBall, along with the body and mind, and the three properties reform themselves into their natural configuration.
This is why Pokemon need to be weakened before being captured."
~*~*
The giant blue beetle glistened in the sunlight as it chucked June straight into a tree. Her body bounced off the trunk with a small thud and dropped into the grass face first. How serious was Chloe?
"Your Torchic needs to hustle more," she said, standing beside me with clenched fists, rooting silently. "She she can't just stand there waiting."
She was right. No arguing that. The Heracross waddled over to June, clenching and opening its small claws repeatedly, ready to pick up June and throw her again. She crawled herself to her feet and ran away from the four-foot upright bug.
"Or better yet, why don't you tell her to do something?" asked Chloe, pointing out the obvious with spite. She was still upset with me.
"I don't get why she's like this. She's really been into fighting other Pokémon. Especially when it comes to protecting me." I wasn't about to let her speak down about June.
"And there's your problem," said Chloe. Her voice had taken an irritatingly wise tone. "You're going to want to fix it if you're going to try and get seven more badges."
Chloe explained that it's ideal for a Pokémon be ready to fight whenever. June had a tendency to fight to defend me, but that had to be stopped. It was a sign of disobedience by her explanation.
"Even if she did help you with your first badge," taught Chloe, "you have to be consistent with your orders."
Rob left that detail out. "I don't get it." Now I was getting annoyed. "You don't even order your Heracross around," I pointed out. June stumbled over a twisted tree root. The Heracross hustled double time to her to snag and toss her again. I immediately returned her to her Poké Ball. June had gotten too much damage and the Heracross had made even shorter work of Shox earlier.
"That's because he's used to fighting. I raised him to fight. Going by a Pokémon's intuition and instincts is effective at times, but they have to be properly developed first. June was scared of my Heracross. She's young, so her first instinct would probably be to run away. If I sicked my Heracross on you, she probably would've fought back, however. June needs to be able to fight, no matter what's going on." She broke it down for me, and I absorbed every bit of it. Chloe was far more direct than Jim. Where Jim was calm and watchful, Chloe was aggressive and relentless. I'd been training with the both of them for a few days, and the Gym Leader couple really knew how to handle Pokémon.
"How can I fix it?" If she knew how I could get better, then she could talk down to me all she wanted.
"Just fight more. Fight wild Pokémon too. Keep fighting trainers, but fighting wild Pokémon will teach you lots of things like strategies to use with the environment, how certain Pokémon can fight effectively. Stuff like that. That's also the advantage of common Pokémon. You catch a Spearow and raise it, and by paying attention to what other wild Spearow do in the wild, you may learn a thing or two on how to train your own."
Chloe looked up at the evening sun through the canopy and checked her small wristwatch. "It's getting late. The Ilex Forest attracts the seediest people of Azalea around this time."
She returned her Heracross and led the way through the trees, continuing giving me advice on raising. Following behind her made me see that she looked good in a peculiar way. Her limbs were broad, but slightly defined. Her pink hair was in a ponytail to keep out of her eyes. When she'd turn around to look at me when she was making a big point, her brown eyes were fiercely dark. Her appearance suited her attitude: strong, yet caring. A part of me wondered if she had this attitude because of what she went through as a trainer. Watching her made me think about how I'd end up looking and acting like by the time I got my final badge. I asked myself if I would have that same attitude and flair of knowledge later in life.
When we reached the main trail, we came by an older man in an apron sitting on a stump. He was staring absently at the ground in front. He was the only person we had run into in the forest, making him out of place.
"Victor? What are you doing out here?" asked Chloe in friendly spirits. "You ok? You look like a Cubone."
The only movement from Victor was from the coarse breathing from his depressing frown. He looked to be about forty or fifty with his graying hair and slight wrinkles under his large grey eyes. When he finally blinked, I was taken back to when I saw Rob's Umbreon.
"When's that Champion gonna take care of the well?" he asked, sounding desperate. Chloe's aggressiveness kicked back in.
"When he does," she replied tersely. Perhaps townspeople asked her about the well all the time.
A small smile formed at the corners of Victor's old mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ask that like that. The creatures there are turning this town upside down. I've had a bunch of nightmares since they showed up."
"They're Psychic Pokémon. They're bound to touch our heads at one point or another," explained Chloe unsympathetically. "Why are you out here anyway? Your son's looking after the inn?"
He simply nodded, then looked back to the ground in insecurity. "I just finished praying to the forest god." He spoke with small defiance despite his morbid demeanor.
Chloe noticed and chuckled. "I couldn't care less what you believe in. You're definitely not the only one who's been to visit the shrine, so I've heard. Miss Billie Mae and some of her friends just started going by it. But they go in the early morning. You know how scum and such like to gather in the forest. You'd be safer back at the inn."
"You could say I felt the Holy Spirit," said Victor dryly. "I just had to leave the inn. It's been getting negative attention since the girl ran away. People's starting to say all kinds of things. Saying that trainers shouldn't stay there. Let alone young girls." His volume increased with anxiety. "People are saying that I mess with young girls. That I tried messing with a visiting trainer. That I made her ran away. The last female I ever touched is now in the Divine Land. My wife died seven years ago. Her ashes must want to blow away because of all this commotion. The police came by and questioned me and my son. I've never had any trouble with the police!"
He was talking about molesting some kid, but at the moment, I didn't get how severe the crime was. By the time it hit me, I would be far, far away from Azalea Town with more experiences under my belt. He had simply put the idea in my head that he messed around with some young girl. Being on the older side of thirteen, I simply saw the idea of this old guy with any girl as disgusting to picture.
"People will be people. Of course they'll say anything to keep gossiping. Just like accusing the Pokémon in the well for every problem the town is having now. You know that that's hypocritical," pointed out Chloe.
"Yeah, you persistent young'un, I do," said Victor, with much more zest. "Who's the boy with you?" he asked, finally acknowledging me.
"He's a trainer. I was out today teaching him a few things," said Chloe.
"That so?" He held a hand out to me. "Victor Niel."
I shook his hand and felt the calluses in his palm scratch my skin. "Ed Willow."
"Since you're a trainer, Ed, how about I give you some advice? I've never been a trainer, but I know how ya'll catch the animals and monsters in the wild. There's some infant Bush Cutters near the forest god's shrine. I've seen Young Chloe and Young Jim with the same kind of monster. Perhaps you'd want one too."
A Scyther? I could've left Chloe right now to head to the shrine, wherever it was in the forest.
"That'll be for another time," answered Chloe for me. "Right now, it's getting late. He's staying with my family and we're heading home. I suggest you head out too."
Victor smiled more warmly. Perhaps meeting up with him cheered him up. "Yeah, you're right. I'll stay here for a few more minutes. It's peaceful enough here for me to think to myself. You go on now."
The two of us left Victor by himself. The walk back to the house was silent. Chloe seemed upset and distraught, looking down at the ground the entire time and her hands in her pockets. I didn't have the courage to ask what was on her mind, and frankly, it was none of my business. Noctowl began to hoot from trees deep in the forest. Night had fallen.
Spaghetti was ready for us in the house, thanks to Jim. He and Chloe fed their children as they ate and I sat to myself simply watching. Neither kid would let their parents feed them without hassle. Liz grabbed the food from the fork in front of her and tied it around her fingers. Jonas was just covering his face with the sauce from the bowl.
The scene made me miss my family more than I've had so far in my journey. A family dinner just triggers nostalgia in me. Mom would make dinner. Dad, Gavin, and I would clean the table. While we were eating, Dad would always tell funny stories about people he met in the bank. Gavin would talk about high school, his grades both good and bad, girls he wanted to ask out, and future plans. Mom was sort of the mediator-slash-instigator. If either Dad or Gavin were crossing the line for a family dinner, she'd tell them to hush. Anything else, she'd interrogate the two of them. In the end, she would either get angry at Dad for talking too much about a woman he met at his job or start picking on Gavin because how shy he would get around girls.
I was the baby, so I had nothing to talk about. School was horrible and I didn't want to bring it up to my parents at all. They'd end up mentioning it though, all from teachers calling them to talk about how poor I did on the last few algebra tests among other assigments. My parents would try to avoid comparing me to Gavin, who'd be eating silently while I was in the spotlight. He was the complete opposite of me. I always waited for Mom or Dad to say something like "Why can't you study like Gavin?" or "Why don't you ask teachers for help like Gavin?" Mom never did it, but Dad ended up making the comparison before I left home. I guessed he wanted another Gavin. He did a good job hiding it, I convinced myself.
Would it be alright to call home? Were they even worried about me? I said I would write a letter, but I realized I never really had the time to sit down and do it. Through the doorway, a smooth white phone was mounted on the kitchen wall.
My parents did a 180 before I left. I wanted to ask why. I'd be lying if I said I remembered their voices perfectly too.
"Hey Jim. Chloe." I didn't know which one to ask. "Could I use your phone?"
"Sure, go on," answered Jim, cleaning up Liz's face with a napkin.
I excused myself from the table and went into the kitchen. My gut became heavy. I didn't know what to expect. Who'd pick up the phone? If it were Mom or Dad, what would they say? Would they be upset? If it was Gavin, would Mom and Dad demand to talk to me? What if they didn't? Would they be that disappointed in me?
I was divided. A part of me didn't want them to pick up. Another part wanted me to just hang up the phone and forget about calling. However, my conscience and curiosity made me dial.
First ring. I put my back against the side of the doorway back to the dining table. The fridge was to my left. On it were various colored magnet letters that spelled several nonsense words. The word MOM was on the top right.
Second ring. I pushed some letters around. I spelled JUNE, then SHOX.
Third ring. I found a D under JUNE. I pushed the E down and spelled ED. Then I pushed ED back up, spelling JUNED.
"Hello?"
I swallowed. Mom picked up the phone. I held the phone with two hands and slid down to the floor to sit.
"Oh God." I was shocked and I struggled to find words to say. My momma.
"Hello? Who is this?"
Then I found the only word that could come out of my mouth, the one word that told what was on my mind at the moment.
"Mom."
There was a sharp gasp on the other line. Then she went "Oh God" herself.
"Ed? Edward? Eddie? Oh my God. My baby. Jon! Ed's on the phone! Get the other phone!"
I prepared for reckoning.
A click and some shuffling sounded. "Ed?!"
Dad had gotten in on it. "Dad."
"Oh God you're alive!" He exclaimed, his voice slightly cracking. "We've been trying to get in touch with you ever since you left."
"Why did you leave us like that, Ed?" Mom's voice was cracking as well. "You didn't give us a chance to see you off. You didn't even wake us up that morning! Why Ed?!"
"Mary…" Dad sniffed, but he kept his voice stable. Both of them were confusing me. Here they were, actually caring now. The coldness seemed gone. I thought in silence.
"Ed? Ed!" called out Dad.
"I'm here," I finally murmured.
"Are you ok? Why come you're not talking? Where are you?" Dad started his questioning.
"Wherever you are, we'll come and get you," declared Mom. The sound of keys jangling came from her line. Come and get me? Now I was really thrown off course.
"I'm fine. I'm in Azalea Town staying with these two Gym Leaders and their kids."
Mom made a noise away from the phone that sounded like a scream or a sharp gasp.
"Azalea Town? How'd you get there?" asked Dad, hinting at being impressed.
"Walked," I answered with a swell of pride. "Went through Cherrygrove and Violet, following the highways."
Dad whistled. "Wow. I can't believe it, Ed. You're really doing it? You're really going for eight badges?"
"Are you hurt? Are you hungry? Do you have any money?" asked Mom.
"Yeah yeah, you need anything?" Dad asked in a worried tone.
They're concerned for me? Where the hell was this two and a half weeks ago? My confusion churned itself into a mix of anger and resentment. Then I let it out.
"No. I'm fine," I slithered. "I'm perfect. In fact, I think I'm better off now that I'm out the house. And Mom, you know you can't get me. I'm a trainer now. Where's your hope in me?"
"Ed? What are you talking about?" she asked innocently.
"You and Dad wanted me out of the house so much, you two caring now is actually pretty strange to me." I let it all out. My blunt honesty was stinging even to me. "Gavin was the only one who actually acted like a dang human. The both of you just hated me when that letter came to the house."
The two of them fell silent. Had my words gotten through to them? I wondered.
"We were angry. We're still angry." Dad was getting unsettled from me explaining his conduct to him. He was going back to the Dad who threw me around before I left home. "You became a disappointment in school, and now you're out there in the world all alone." His volume increased. Even if it was in response to my attitude, it was still upsetting. I had just insulted him. What did I expect?
"Jon, stop that. Don't yell at my son," ordered Mom solemnly. "You're getting offended."
"Your son? Don't start that. He's our son. Just as much as Gavin. He just screwed up his life, and even you agreed with me," retorted Dad.
Mom gasped. "I beg your pardon? You're going to just say that about Ed, who's living and breathing away from home? Ed still has his life. He can do anything he wants. How do you figure his life is screwed up?"
Dad gave a spitleful chuckle. "Barely. He's a trainer. Even if he did get all the required badges, how much time would it take him? He probably doesn't even have any at all. He sure won't have them all before summer's over. He gets all the badges and what'll he do then? Go back to school? He'll be behind everyone and it'll go against him if he's the oldest in his class. Also, he has history as a trainer. That there alienates him from more than half the jobs in Johto."
Those words stung my brain. I dropped the phone as if it burned me. The sound shocked the happy family at the dinner table.
"Ed, what are you doing?" asked Jim. He came into the kitchen. I didn't look up at him; it wasn't like he could do anything about the fact that my Dad was right. I had been going on avoiding thinking about the future. School? What would I do? I only had one badge, but going all around Johto would be time consuming. For the first time in my life, I felt unsure about my future. A chill found itself in my chest.
Jim knelt down. "Ed, you ok?" He picked up the phone. "Who's this?"
Everything happening outside of my head didn't matter to me. With just a few words, my Dad had shattered my sanity.
"My name is Jim Linus. I'm a Gym Leader of Azalea Town. And you're Ed's parents? …Uh-huh. ….Yeah he's ok, a bit surprised about something. He's been through a lot though. ….Personally it's none of my business. ….I'd appreciate it if you not take that tone with me. ….I'll ask him. …Well, in my opinion, he…. I see. …Alright." He held out the phone for me.
"You want to talk to them?" he asked. The fact that I had a choice surprised me. I took the phone and stared at it for a good minute, asking myself several questions. Did I have to talk to them? Did I need them? Did it really matter what they thought? My hand slowly gave the phone back to Jim. I regretted ever calling home.
Jim hung up the phone. "No offense, but your dad really should watch his mouth." Jim was slightly agitated, which was understandable. Dad was able to have that effect on people he didn't like.
As much as I agreed with him, words failed to come out of my mouth.
"So you were talking to his parents. What did he say?" asked Chloe from the table, letting Jonas play with her ponytail.
"Stupid shit about how trainers don't do anything. And he tried to tell me that." Jim looked up and snickered. He shrugged. "Fuck'im."
The both of them cleaned up the table while I still sat on the floor. I wasn't awestruck as much as I was contemplative. Really, what was I going to do even if I did get all eight badges? What if it took forever? Hell, what if the Champions decided to come up with more nonsense for trainers, like getting more badges? The prospect of getting sixteen badges made me sulk even lower.
"Alright Ed, get up. You can't stay on the floor forever," said Chloe, scrubbing dishes. "I'm guessing your rents gave you a hard time about being a trainer."
I had been on the floor for a good half an hour. Though I was still shocked and upset by how unsure my future was, I was still a nuisance. I stood up.
"Chloe, I'm sorry." Being by myself at least taught me to man up when I needed to. However, I kept my eyes at her feet. "And I'm also sorry for leaving the door open when I ran out that night. I should've closed it behind me."
A small smile appeared on the side of her face as she put up utensils. "I've been waiting for you to apologize like that. Everything's fine. I don't think you'll do it again. You're mature for your age."
I wished. If I had been mature, I wouldn't have been a trainer to begin with.
"You really shouldn't sulk like that," she advised, "Someone didn't die, hopefully."
I shook my head. "It's nothing like that. My dad pretty much told me that I had no hope." I sighed and snickered darkly.
"I'm not really good at hearing out other people's personal problems," admitted Chloe, putting dishes in cabinets. "But I do feel like you're trying to get my pity, whether you mean it or not. He said what he said. What are you gonna do about it?"
What was I going to do about it? Rob would say something like that.
"Prove him wrong…?" I spoke the first thing to come to my head. The thought of showing my dad that I could amount to something rushed energy back into me, cheering me up.
"What? Hell no. That takes too much work," she replied, knocking my self-esteem down. "You'll figure out something easier. Anyway, Jim's getting up early to train his Pokémon. You're joining him, right? I feel like Alfred might shut down the gym for a while soon with this Dialgarice stuff going on, so you're going to want to hurry up and get that badge."
She was right, and I also felt like I was overstaying my welcome in the house.
"You think I stand a chance?" The topic changed for the better.
"For the second badge? Sure. If you were fighting me and I was half asleep, I think you'd win." She casted an expectant eye at me. When I started laughing at her joke, she laughed with me. "But since you're fighting a champion full of himself, yeah, I think you have a decent shot. If you want a guaranteed win, then me and Jim could train you harder." She winked at me. "We can make it so that your next few badges will come easier."
We continued to talk until it was time to go to bed. Finally being on good terms with Chloe made me sleep peacefully and somewhat not think so much about what Dad said. However, I did think about Gavin. I didn't even get the chance to ask about him. I made another promise to myself to get in contact with him soon, perhaps after training.
I opened my eyes into the darkness of the living room when something occurred to me. Goldenrod City had a gym. The highway connecting the major areas in the center of Johto would lead straight there from Azalea. I'd be going to my birthplace soon if Goldenrod had the closest gym.
And where was Rob? I had been here for five days and he was still gone.
I feel back into the bed and yawned. Sleep had taken over me quickly, but I formed up a quick plan for my journey. First I'd train with Jim, and then take on Alfred. After that, I'd head to the closest Gym. If Rob wasn't in Azalea by the time I was done with the town, I hoped I ran into him again.
With the comfort of some of my future planned out, I drifted to sleep.
