Chapter-9
The next couple of weeks passed without any major incident and the summer vacations had officially begun. Soul's attitude was now much better; he was nicer to other People and Pokémon, well as nice as Soul can be anyway.
"Would you keep up, you're really slowing us down you know. Hey Sage, why does she always tag along anyway?"- Soul mocks Heart and then enquires with me, *sigh* his relationship with Heart hasn't really improved much.
"Oh and exactly who are you to be throwing questions like that around, you are a newbie in our group at best. If I am to be honest even calling you an outsider is not outrageous and you dare throw questions at your seniors like that. Like I thought you are just a ruffian."-Heart calls from behind us. Their relationship can even be said to have gotten worse.
We were currently exploring in the forest and decided to have a small race to the meeting spot in a clearing up ahead and Heart was having a hard time catching up to us. In our group since I was cultivating Aura my physique was the best among us and my Innate Skill also provided a small boost, Soul was very experienced in this sort of thing, sort of like a mini parkour ninja as he built up the skill during his shoplifting days (purely considering skill and grace he was the best of us) and needless to say his Skill played a big role. It was just that Heart although being a lot more fit as compared to other kids her age couldn't quite keep up with us despite her Skill granting her a significant bonus as well.
"Heart, don't take this the wrong way or anything but I've always told you that you need to exercise more, see even Soul is doing better than you, if you improve a bit I'm sure you can best him."- I try to encourage her. She usually used to fool around a lot before and neglect her own training, I mean sure she was fit but she never really saw the need to go the extra mile and explore. Given her ability [Passion] she was sure to improve by leaps and bounds if she tried to.
"*Humpf* Just you wait, not just that red haired monkey thief I'll even beat you."- Heart retorts while puffing her cheeks as we make it to the clearing.
"Hahaha."- I laugh. Heart throws a fierce glare at me and I hastily flatter her and try to calm her, but deep down I know that she can pull off what she said earlier. She would usually while away time by fooling around and lazing about a lot, not to mention her habit of excessive snacking on junk foods but she finally seemed to be ready to shed that image of hers just to beat us. I wasn't sure if I should be happy for her new approach or dread the day she'd leave us in her dust.
"Quit fooling around you two, we have to gather more wood today since we'll be at camp the following week."-Soul begins to lecture us, he's come a long way since we first met as he now displays a really earnest attitude to help around the house as well as greatly improved his relations with Pokémon and People; well at least those close to the family. Heart's change in attitude was also largely influenced by him as she didn't really care to compete with me too much before but couldn't bear to lose to him now. Soul's attitude even rubbed off on me a bit as I don't really want to be left behind.
Well with Heart and Poki's help Charlie, Charlotte, Soul and I set off gathering wood and would have continued keeping our terrifying pace till late in the afternoon as well if Dad hadn't chased us away telling us to head home early in order to pack and prepare for camp as we'd set of tomorrow morning. We were about to race back but looking at Heart's face that looked on the verge of tearing up I suggested that we slowly walk back so we end up having a lengthy discussion about the upcoming camp along the way.
The venue for the Pokémon Summer camp is Greenfield, acclaimed as the most scenic location in all of Johto due to its marvellous landscape of small hills covered in meadows and a river system running through the entire place. Location wise it is located between Azalea Town and Goldenrod City but somewhat outside the Ilex Forest, to its south west to be precise. The shortest route between Azalea and Goldenrod is no doubt through the Ilex Forest as it is an almost straight path running northwest-southeast and can be traversed in a day of travel by car, but due to the dangers of wild Pokémon some choose to travel through Greenfield and curve around the Ilex Forest although it adds an extra of two days to the travel. The camp is held by Professor Elm's lab and sponsored by the Hale family who own a mansion at Greenfield and Mr. Pokémon from Cherrygrove City. Young boys and girls from all over the region who aspire to be a great Pokémon Master make it a point to participate in the camp at least once so we were extremely excited.
After packing we head to bed for the night early but Soul and I hardly got any sleep as we were way too excited, we still managed to get up early and full of vigour. After freshening up we head to the bus-stop by the Pokémon Center where the bus carrying the kids to camp will make a stop at 9:00 am. Heart was already waiting for us by the time we arrived and much to Mom's great displeasure Kurt was there as well. We endured a few moments of awkward silence occasionally making small talk with some of our other friends from school also heading to camp before the bus arrived; it was packed with other kids who had boarded before us. The three of us quickly got on board and stored away our luggage in the overhead cabinet with the help of an attendant before finding our seats. As we looked out the window to wave goodbye to our families we saw a strange scene; Mom and Kurt were trying to outdo each other in bidding us farewell. It was funny and embarrassing looking at how they tried to wave faster and scream goodbye louder than each other as the parents of our classmates from school stared at the ongoing show, sometimes I just wish that they'd act their age.
It was a long journey to the camp with a few more stops along the way to pick up more kids. The bus was packed within two hours and the journey was made enjoyable by all the new kids we got to meet. Thankfully the management had scheduled appropriate rest stops along the way or else the kids on board would find it unbearable, the pit stop we had in the afternoon for lunch was truly amazing as we had entered the Greenfield region and true to its reputation it was simply beautiful. Many kids even forgot that we were rushing to reach camp by sun down as they started to spread out through the meadows to play, thankfully the attendants rallied everyone together and restored order before any mishaps occurred. After a hearty meal my exhaustion from last night's lack of sleep finally kicked in and I fell asleep not too long after taking my seat. By the time I was roused from my slumber the sun was about to set and I could see almost all the other kids slowly rousing themselves from dreamland (looks like I wasn't the only one who had a good nap after lunch). Not long after, an attendant stood at the front of the aisle and informed us that we'd arrive at the camp venue in less than half an hour and true to his words I could see the cabins and other buildings off in the distance through the window on my left.
When we all got down from the bus with our luggage we were asked to line up in front of the office building to mark our attendance; as we stood in line and waited an attendant started going over the rules and guidelines for everyone's benefit and we also received some basic information about the layout of the camp. When it was finally my turn at the counter I got a pamphlet with the itinerary for the week's events printed on one side with the map of the campus on the other, I was also given a copy of the keys for my dorm. Kids were divided four to a dorm room and ten rooms to a cabin, with boys and girls separated into separate cabin; there were eight cabins in all so that meant a total capacity of 320 kids. I know that that number wasn't all that big and there couldn't only be that many kids in the entire Johto region who wished to attend the camp so I was curious, I later found out that the camp would be held in batches over the entire summer vacations, each time accommodating kids from different towns and cities of the region. When everyone had marked their attendance we were told to disperse to our rooms and freshen up for dinner. They also told us to rest early as tomorrow camp would officially begin.
Sharing the room with me was of course Soul since we were next to each other in the line as well as a short blonde kid with spiky hair and plump guy with curly black hair, they introduced themselves Damian Grey from Goldenrod City and Blake Barton from Violet city respectively. We introduced ourselves as well and started to get into a conversation about all the activities listed in the itinerary and which one we were looking forward to the most, the conversation lasted all the way from our dorm as we settled down, to the cafeteria where dinner would be served.
We met up with Heart and her dorm mates Jill Jones of Violet city, Mary Thompson and Clair Foster from Goldenrod city at the cafeteria and we all gathered at one table with food laden trays. Mary seemed to be quite the gullible type and seemed to swallow any information given to her without raising any questions as she listened to Jill who apparently liked to gossip a lot, Clair was quiet and aloof only responding if spoken to. As we were all getting to know each other better I got side tracked by what Jill was saying-"You know I saw on the notice board at the main office that three lucky people would get a reservation for the Johto starters."
"Are you serious?"- I ask Jill. It has to be understood that back in the Pokémon game of my world you could only get starters from Professors in the lab or through special events and they weren't available in the wild, but here you could get them from both places the only problem was that their quantities were few so they couldn't be given to everyone who aspired to be a trainer. Based on statistics only one in every hundred trainers would receive the region starter Pokémon from the lab, the rest would request a family member or the local Pokémon Center for their first Pokémon, they would then catch a basic un-evolved Pokémon from the nearby locality for the new trainer. Just from this it could be seen that a lot of kids preferred to receive their starters from the lab as 7 out of 10 times wild Pokémon caught locally were much weaker in the initial phases and one would have to put in more effort to succeed as a trainer, in addition to this there were additional benefits as the Pokedex would be provided free of cost along with a bonus starter pack of Medicines and assorted Items for beginners. There was also the intangible but still present advantage of being acquainted with the Professors so you could get personal advice and news on certain exclusive events occurring in the region occasionally. So all in all everyone aspired to obtain those few rare spots to get the region starters from the lab, it looked like camp would be very interesting.
After dinner I decided to go to the main office to check out the notice board and see for myself if the rumours about being able to get starters were true. Soul and Heart followed me into the office and there it was on the notice board; a bright poster announcing a raffle based on ones camp registration numbers with the three winners being able to get the starters when they come of age.
"I really hope to win and get a super cute Chikorita for myself."- Heart exclaims with a dreamy look in her eyes.
"*snort* Looks like someone's already made their choice on their starter. Here's some advice kid; don't count your Pidgy before they hatch."- Soul mocks her.
"Who do you think you are to lecture me? Besides you're the one amongst the three of us who needs the most help, let me tell you this even if I don't get a starter and you do I'd still be able to wipe the floor with you in a battle."-Heart retorts harshly, Soul always felt bad because he would often lose to us when we had mock battles but it wasn't his fault as he was new to this, anyway it sort of became a sore spot for him no matter how much I consoled him that he was making massive progress (which was true).
"That's enough you two, Soul could you not tease Heart for a few minutes at a stretch and Heart you don't need to be so mean seeing as you were no better when you first started battling. *sigh* Anyway what would your choice for a starter be Soul."- I try to douse the kindle that was about to explode into a raging inferno any moment.
"... I'd pick Cyndaquil so that I could thoroughly roast my opponents."- Soul responds after some time while taking a quick glance at Heart's reaction.
"Whatever, which one would you pick Sage?"- Heart chose to ignore his reply and asked me what my choice would be.
"Well... I always liked Totodile, like how it looks so playful and mischievous. It has so much energy I'm sure I'd be a good partner."- I answer back. I was surprised we all had different preferences.
As we head back in the direction of our dorms I start to wonder what my own journey would be like while I watch Soul and Heart continue to bicker in front of me. I wonder if it'd be just me and my Pokémon or if I'd have other human companions to enjoy the road with, it would be nice to have some human companions as well. Suddenly it becomes clear to me, I don't know why I was hesitating in the first place, they are my best friends after all so I decide to ask if they'd like to journey with me.
"Heart..Soul, if you guys have some more time and you're not in a rush come with me for a while."- I tell them as I lead them to towards the small forested area behind the cafeteria.
"What's up?"- They both question me to which I just tell them to come with me. I mean since its the first day so its quite lax and there's still some time before we should get to bed, I can still see some kids exploring the campus here and there.
We find a small quiet clearing and I check to see if there's anyone else around. Once I make sure that we won't be disturbed I turn towards Heart and Soul and say-"Well I wanted to show you guys something so..."-I start to circulate my Aura as per the Aura Realm Cultivation technique and soon a sparkling leaf green mist is released from my body and slowly starts to flutter around me in a set rhythm.
"..."- I can see two jaws open so wide that ten Poke Balls can be stuffed in them.
"I... um well there are still a lot you guys don't know about me and if we're going to be journeying together I'd rather not hide my abilities."- I reply hesitatingly. I really hated keeping secrets from them I mean Heart was my best friend and Soul was my little brother, suffice to say I considered them close and I was willing to teach them the Aura Realm Cultivation technique. It wasn't like I'd been keeping it from them and hogging it for myself so far but to enable one to start learning this technique required Purified Aura to be infused into them and my own Aura didn't meet the criteria up until very recently and training was not very fast as I had no one to guide me properly. None the less I planned to guide Heart and Soul to the best of my abilities and help them avoid some pitfalls along their cultivation, with my experience in cultivating so far as well as my Innate Skill's ability boosting my psyche; I was well equipped for the task.
"You..you.."- Both of them were left stammering for a while and when they eventually calmed down I told them how I came to be able to be in possession of Aura in the first place, about what I found in the Ruins and how I planned to teach it to them as well. They were very excited by what I said so I soon had them seated with their legs crossed on the ground with my palms on each of their backs, I slowly guided my Aura into them while explaining the cultivation method; I continued to help them circulate the Aura for a few cycles until they got a hang of it and were capable of doing it on their own. Little did I know that my actions today would result in the birth of Jotho's three legendary trainers.