Last time, on Tony's Journey…
After Professor Juniper tricked her into cleaning her laboratory, Anna Maruko earned her new Starter Pokemon, choosing the take the Grass-type Snivy. Meanwhile, Tony and Skyla arrived in Old Nimbasa Town, both deeply conflicted by the possible attraction for one another they are beginning to feel…
What will happen next? Find out now!
Nimbasa City! Entertainment center of the entirety of Unova!
Well… it used to be, anyways.
Once the streets of this fair city had been crawling with hundreds of thousands of people and Pokemon, enjoying the sights and the plethora of entertainment. Now, the streets were nearly barren. The once prosperous shops were nearly empty, what customers they did attract not staying to browse. The neon lights that dotted each building were switched off, left dark and morose. Those were the lucky ones; some buildings were long-gone, replaced with piles of scorched timber and bricks.
The Team Plasma invasion had taken quite a toll on the unfortunate city.
Tony and Skyla walked down the eerily quiet streets, not passing a single Nimbasa citizen as they went down the road. Nimbasa City was full of memories for the two friends, both good and bad. The N1 Pokemon Tournament had been held here. In response, Team Plasma had launched a terrorist attack that led to millions of yen in property damage, as well as psychological scarring and forced Pokemon Liberations for those unfortunate trainers who got in their ways.
Tony looked over his shoulder, almost as if he expected a squad of Plasma Grunts to be trailing behind them. Of course, there was no one he could see – although was even more depressing. I guess they haven't gotten over what happened yet… he thought, shaking his head.
"Hey!" Skyla's voice brought Tony out of his brooding. "We'll be at the Nimbasa Gym really soon. Do you have a strategy in mind?"
Tony nodded. "Well, I was planning on using Rock Candy because she knows how to use Dig. I was also thinking of using Clover – I mean, if she doesn't try to bite me or something. She has a resistance…"
Skyla snorted. "It's going to take more than that to beat Elesa," she warned. "She's smarter than you'd think a model would be, especially when it comes to Pokemon."
"I figured as much," Tony conceded. "She is a Gym Leader, after all… Any tips?"
"Hah!" Skyla laughed. "I can't make things easy for you," she said, elbowing him gently in the rib. "You figured out the first four Pokemon Gyms all on your own, so you can win this battle on your own."
"I guess so," Tony said with a shrug. In the long run, Elesa was just another Gym Leader on the list. He'd beaten seven Gym Leader so far; he could handle one more. Probably.
Still… Skyla said that he would win…
Tony turned away so that Skyla didn't see his red cheeks.
Mercifully, any further conversation between the two was cut off by the distant whine of a police siren from behind them. As the two whirled about to see what was the matter, memories of that horrible invasion replaying in their minds, a man in a dark trench-coat, fedora, and sunglasses rudely pushed past them. He ran down the sidewalk and quickly made a beeline into an alleyway, vanishing from view almost instantly. The moment he was gone a police motorcycle drove past the two teens, its driver either in pursuit of another criminal or ignorant to the man who had hidden in the alley. Before either Tony or Skyla could say a word, the motorcycle was off into the distance.
Both teens instantly looked to the alley suspiciously. There was no way that that guy wasn't avoiding arrest. Skyla looked to Tony and nodded once. He returned the nod. They both slowly crept over to the alley…
The man poked his head out of the alley just in time to see Tony and Skyla approaching him. He tried to fall back but Skyla was faster, quickly grabbing him by the collar and yanking him out.
The man growled. "L-let me go!" he snapped, easily yanking away from Skyla. He stumbled back, only to bump right into Tony, tripping over his own two feet and falling on top of the blond. The two males fell to the concrete in a heap.
The taller male swore. "Watch it!" he snapped. His hat had fallen off, and his sunglasses were crooked. A familiar head of unkempt pink hair and a monotone glare quickly allowed both Tony and Skyla to recognize the fellow.
"Joseph?" Skyla asked.
"Joseph Joy?"
Joseph scowled. "Oh, it's you two again…" he muttered, standing up and not bothering to help Tony off the concrete.
One of the more colorful characters that Tony and Skyla had met in their travels, Joseph Joy was a part of the Joy Family. The Joys hailed from a long, long line of female Pokemon nurses and doctors, providing excellent care for trainers and their companions worldwide.
And then there was Joseph. Joseph's mother had expected her first and only child to be a girl, one who would carry on the proud family tradition with a cheery smile. What she got instead was a boy, a boy who she was bent on raising into a nurse, even if he would be the only male Nurse Joy in the history of mankind.
Naturally, Joseph did not have what it took to be a Nurse Joy. He was smart, yes, he knew his medical science, of course, and he could even fix the healing machines employed at most Pokemon Centers, even the older models. Unfortunately, he just didn't want to be the world's only male Nurse Joy – namely because he was regularly picked on for it. Even Tony and Skyla had little ability to control their laughter the first time they had come across the older teen. Despite his girlish hair color, however, they quickly learned that Joseph was a brilliant young man and a trainer to be reckoned with. Joseph had competed in the N1, losing in the second round to Skyla in a close match, had fought valiantly against Team Plasma when they had invaded, and even held his own against the Plasma Knight Lady Numera, albeit briefly. While he wasn't exactly Tony or Skyla's friend, they did respect him. Joseph respected them, too, but he'd never admit it.
Joseph didn't look to happy to see either of them. "What do you want?" he asked monotonously.
"To know why you were running, for starters," Tony replied as Skyla helped him off the pavement.
"None of your business."
"Well, then," Skyla said, "I guess we'll just have to assume the worst and call Officer Jenny."
Joseph rolled his eyes and sighed. "I don't want to go home," he said simply, as if that explained everything.
"What do you mean?" Tony asked.
"The local Officer Jenny is a friend of my mom's…" Joseph gritted his teeth. "She sent her after me. Wants to bring me home and force me back to my sweatshop."
While a Pokemon Center could hardly be considered a "sweatshop," Tony did sympathize. "Oh. Sorry."
"Wait a minute," Skyla said. "Why are you so afraid of being caught? You have a Pokemon License and you're of legal age. Your mom has no legal control of you now."
"I know that," Joseph grunted. "Mom has a good lawyer, though. If there is a trial, it'll take forever, and I don't know about you two but attending a courtroom weekly is going to be a pain in the rear, and I'd really rather not waste any of my time."
"Oh," the other teens said in unison, nodding.
Joseph replaced his hat. "What are you doing back here?" he asked. "Haven't seen either of you in a while."
"My aunt wanted me to go back to Nuvema Town," Tony explained, "just for a little while so the police could round up the leftovers Plasmas."
"I've been staying with my friend Elesa," Skyla added, "training so that if another Plasma attack happens we'll be ready."
"What about you?" Tony asked. "Have you been in Nimbasa this whole time, too?"
Joseph nodded. "Yeah."
"Where've you been staying?" Skyla asked, knowing that Joseph probably wouldn't try to stay at a Pokemon Center; most Nurse Joys knew each other – heck, most Nurse Joys were actually related – so staying there would assuredly get him caught.
Joseph turned away. "Follow me," he said, walking off.
Tony and Skyla looked to each other. "Follow you where?" Tony asked.
"Oliver's place."
"Oh…" Both teens nodded eagerly and quickly followed after Joseph, keeping their eyes open for the police all the while.
One month ago, this had been an old, ugly, and yet somehow charming little building – until Team Plasma had attacked, that is.
The building had been a daycare center for Pokemon, owned by a wonderful elderly man by the name of Oliver. Unfortunately, daycare centers went against Team Plasma theology. During the attack on Nimbasa, a group had surrounded the center and torched it to the ground.
Tony shivered as he remembered that day. Not only had the daycare center been immolated, but his Pokemon had been inside when it had. Had Rock Candy not arrived to dig them out and save the day, the unfortunate Bug-types would have died in the smoke and flame.
However, the mood brightened when they saw that there was no carnage from the fire – in fact, a new Pokemon Daycare Center was standing peacefully in the spot of the old one. The old center had had an overgrown yard, untrimmed and wild. The walls had been covered in aged, peeling paint. The metal roof had been rusty and fragile. Now, however, the lawn was neatly mowed, the walls were covered in a fresh coat of white, and the roof was covered in brand new red shingles.
Tony gave an impressed whistle. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "I can't believe this was just a pile of rubble a month ago."
"I can't believe it got fixed so fast," Skyla agreed.
Joseph shrugged. "Some big-shot tycoon took pity on us," he said simply. "Gave Oliver some funds to rebuild."
Speaking of Oliver, the rotund old man stepped outside his home and business at that very moment. He was just like Tony and Skyla remembered him: tanned skin, short, rotund, bald-as-a-bean and with a cheery smile on his face. He was wearing a jade shirt and a tan, paint-stained pair of jeans. He opened his mouth to great Joseph when he noticed Tony and Skyla again. A delighted smile crossed his face. "Mr. Miller! Ms. Fuuro! You're back!"
"Hello!" Tony and Skyla greeted happily.
"Ran into them on the way back from the grocery market," Joseph said, pulling a plastic bag from his jacket and handing it to Oliver. "Here's your meds."
"Joseph's staying with you?" Skyla asked, walking up to the old man.
"Yes, he is," Oliver answered cheerily. He looked the two teens up and down. "Oh, look at you two! You've grown so much since the last time I saw you!"
"B-but that was only a month ago," Tony replied.
"It felt longer," Oliver said. "Well? What are you standing around out here for? Come in, come in! Joseph, put the kettle on."
"Yeah, sure," Joseph replied, stepping inside the house.
"Come in, come in," Oliver repeated, leading Tony and Skyla. "I have a feeling we have a lot to talk about!"
Tony and Skyla smiled and nodded, following Oliver inside of his house. Both of them were unaware that they were being watched.
A tall man in a dark trench-coat (evidently a popular fashion item this year) gnashed his teeth as he watched Tony, Skyla, and Oliver vanish inside the daycare center.
Mystico yanked off his hat and threw it to the ground. "Darn it all!" he snapped. "Why do I keep running into that brat?!" He angrily smashed his foot down onto the hat. "And that pink guy totally stole my outfit…"
Author's Note:
I wonder when we'll learn that trench-coats aren't all that inconspicuous.
The day has finally arrived… Pokemon X and Pokemon Y are now out! XD Can't wait to
Three new Mega Pokemon to boot! Mega Tyranitar, Mega Gengar, and Mega Aggron, as well as Mega freaking Pinsir, Mega Heracross, Mega... Jeez, this is awesome...
Reader Question Time! Which Mega Evolution is your favorite so far? Mine has to be Mega Pinsir! Answer after you review!
Tony's Party:
1: Lucky, female Butterfree
Ability: Compound eyes
2: Sunny, female Larvesta
Ability: Flame Body
3: Lancelot, male Karrablast
Ability: Swarm
4: Strike, male Scolipede
Ability: Poison Point
5: Clover, female Swadloon
Ability: Leaf Guard
6: Rock Candy, female Dwebble
Ability: Sturdy