PART 1 – RUNNING AWAY
3 YEARS AFTER PROLOGUE
"Use your bug, Aurora! The bug is the best!" My best friend Rainne shouted from the sidelines of the battle. "Bug is Best! Bug is Best!" She started up a chant. I couldn't help but smile. Rainne was crazy, and that was the best thing about her. Of course, I was crazy to.
"Alright, alright, I'll use the bug, just to please you!" I called with a smile. "Ponyta, return!" I said, recalling the Pokemon I was currently using. The trainer I was battling, his name was Barry, gritted his teeth. "Stop stalling the match!" He called angrily, "Bring out the Pokemon you want and let's finish this battle!"
"I wouldn't be so desperate to finish if I were you!" I yelled across the battlefield, "You only have one Pokemon and I still have three! Don't be so anxious for me to beat you!" I pulled out another Pokeball, this one bearing my trademark Pentacle sign, but painted in gold, instead of the usual purple. "Scyther! I call you!" Scyther flew out of his Pokeball with lightning speed. "Scyther!" It called, anxious to battle.
Surprise registered on the other trainer's face, but he quickly recovered. "Fearow," he called, "Use your drill peck attack!"
"Scyther, counter with slash!" I shouted, and Scyther used his razors to slash Fearow in the beak and on the face before it could hit him. "Quick, Scyther, follow through with Swords Dance!"
Fearow fell to the ground, badly wounded from Scyther's Slash and Swords Dance attacks. Barry ran forward, cradling his Fearow's head in his arms. "Oh, Fearow, are you okay?" I stepped forward slowly, pulling bandages and medication from my backpack. I knelt next to the Fearow. "Here,' I said, "Let me take a look at it." Barry glared at me, opened his mouth to say no, looked at his badly injured Fearow and then thought better of it. He must realize that I was skilled with Pokemon medicine and treatment, and would be able to patch Fearow up enough so that he could get it to the nearest Pokemon center in Viridian City. I poured one of Barry's Super Potions down Fearow's throat and then began to apply salve and bandages to its wounds.
"These wounds aren't life threatening now, but they could be if they get infected," I told Barry, handing him a bottle of medicine I had made myself. "Here, clean the wounds, apply this, and change the bandages twice a day. That's twice a day. If you forget, the wounds will get infected and you'll have to rush Fearow to a Pokemon Center, or it could die. Is that all clear? Any questions?" Barry shook his head, uncorking the medicine bottle and sniffing its contents.
"Whew! This stuff reeks!" He said, holding his nose.
"Yes, it does, if you inhale it right outta the bottle like that! Don't do that again! You'll kill your brain cells," I reprimanded him sharply, frustrated. "Take good care of that Fearow. If those wounds get infected…" I paused, trying to think of a suitable threat. "I'll have Rainne's Cubone beat you up!" Barry registered the proper surprise, as did Rainne. "I would beat him up myself!" Rainne called. I smiled at both of them. "Alright, Barry, pop quiz! What are you supposed to do to care for your Fearow?"
Barry sat up straight, as if I was a teacher. "I'm supposed to clean the wounds, apply this," He held up the bottle of medicine, "And change the bandages…twice a day," he finished, looking quite pleased with himself.
"Good," I said, "Make sure you don't forget! Remember what I said about Rainne's Cubone!" I started to turn away, then stopped and added, "By the way, Barry, you battled very well. Good match." Barry smiled at me. "Thank you, you didn't battle so bad yourself!" We both chuckled at this, "And…thank you for caring for Fearow," he added shyly.
"It was no problem," I replied, "You're welcome. Train hard, Barry. See ya around." With that, I turned to go. Scyther bowed, paying respect to Fearow, and then followed me.
Rainne caught up with me when Barry was far behind them. "Nice battle," she said, "You remain undefeated!" Rainne laughed.
But I was not smiling. I felt dead serious, and my eyes were fixed on the horizon. I had one hand on Scyther's back, and the other was clenched tightly into a fist. Rainne sighed. "Still gonna do it tonight?" She asked, a touch of her hope showing that she wanted the answer to be "No."
But I nodded. "Yes," I said, "I'm going to do it tonight."
Rainne's face fell. "Do you think you really, really have to? I'll miss you so much! Can't you just wait until you're 16 like you're Mom says?"
I turned to face my friend, and took her hands. I knew Rainne was as rebellious as me, probably more. She should be able to understand why I was going to do it. "Yes, Rainne, I have to. Mom let Sibeen leave to be a dancer when she was 13. I should have left at 12, like everyone else did! Do you realize that for the past year, Gary has been getting ahead of me? I've been determined to beat him since I was 9!"
"But you've already got 7 Pokemon, and you haven't even left here yet. How far ahead of you could Gary possibly be? I mean, he is a year older than you after all. It makes sense that he's ahead of you. Besides, figuratively, since you haven't left here and he has, and you've got Pokemon, and he didn't have any until after he left, then you're actually ahead of him!"
I was not convinced. That hardly made any sense to me, and I don't think it even made much sense to Rainne. She sighed, and then asked, "And what are your Pokemon again?" She knew that I loved to name off my Pokemon.
I smiled, "Their names are Scyther! Growlithe! Kadabra! Onix! Eevee! Seel! And Ponyta!"
"Well, see? That's a good selection of Pokemon, all of which you caught right around Pallet Town. You don't really need to leave. Just wait until you're 16, then you can go with your Mom's blessing."
I was startled, "Are you joking? I'm not gonna let my mom stop me from leaving this loser town! I'm not gonna let Gary achieve fame before I do! I'm 13 now! I can take care of myself!"
Rainne stared at me, hear best friend. "Well, we'll see each other again, won't we?"
I nodded vigorously. "Of course we will! We're both gonna be Pokemon Masters, right? We'll end up on the same path, even though our ways of getting to it are different."
Rainne nodded. "You're right. We're both gonna be Pokemon Masters and we will see each other again." She paused, "That reminds me, are you sure Scyther can carry you all the way to Pewter City?"
I tossed my long blonde hair proudly, a habit I'd acquired over the years. "Of course he will!" I announced, "He's 5 foot 6 inches tall, just as tall as me. He weighs quite a bit more than I do, and he's about three times as strong! He'll be able to do it, no sweat, no doubt!"
"I hope you're right," Rainne said, somewhat skeptically. "For your sake, I really hope that you're right."
* * *
I turned over in my bed. It was 12:57 AM. I planned to leave at 1:00 AM. Only 3 more minutes. Three more minutes at my home, with my mother. Then I'd probably never see either thing again.
Well, that might not be true, I thought, I might see Mom again, when I become a famous Pokemon Master. But do I really wanna see her again? Even when I'm rich and famous, and there's nothing she can do to stop me? Will I really want to see her? I frowned, thinking hard about what I had thought. I turned over and glared at my clock. 1:01 AM. I sat bolt upright in my bed. It was time to go.
I got out of bed, dressed, and grabbed my backpack, which I had already packed with clothes and food. I buckled my belt with my eight Pokeballs attached to it around my waist. You were only supposed to carry six Pokeballs, but since I was not a licensed trainer, the computer could not take my extra Pokeballs. I could carry as many Pokemon as I wanted, but I could not take them to a Pokemon Center, and I didn't get a Pokedex. That was the main reason I had learned to care for Pokemon and make my own Pokemon medicine. But I always played fair. I chose the three or six Pokemon I would use and didn't show the others, for obvious reasons.
I silently called Scyther out from his Pokeball. Scyther already knew what I planned to do, and he knew not to make a sound. I opened my window wide, and gestured for Scyther to fly outside. After he had done so, I took one last long look around my room. I wore several layers of clothes, not because it was cold, but because I couldn't fit very much stuff into my backpack and I needed as much as I could take. I wore all of my keepsake jewelry, and had managed to stuff everything that meant anything to me in my backpack. It really wasn't much, so I had had enough room for food. I also carried all of the money that I had saved up from birthdays, Christmas, and winning battles for three years. A tear fell slowly from my eye, looking around at the room I would never see again. "Goodbye Mom. I do love you." And with that, I, Aurora Aston, crawled out of my window and dropped to the ground, running away from home.
"Ready to go Scyther?" I asked, patting Scyther on the back. I had given him a Strength Elixir that I had made myself, using the ingredients I knew they used to make the stuff at the store. I couldn't buy Pokemon medicine, vitamins or anything at the PokeMart, for the same reason I couldn't take my Pokemon to the Pokemon Center. You had to show your license to get anything for Pokemon. And I didn't have one.
"Well, no sense in stalling," I whispered. I climbed slowly up on Scyther's back and wrapped my arms around his slender waist. "Lets fly, Scyther. Let's go on our Pokemon Quest."
Scyther flew for about an hour, carrying me. Once, I almost fell asleep and nearly fell off Scyther's back. I knew then that it was time to stop. Scyther's thoughts filtered into my mind, We are very close to Viridian City. I will land and you can ride Ponyta into town and find a hotel. I nodded. "Good idea, Scyther. Land right down there." I pointed to a small clearing in the otherwise dense Viridian Forest. Being psychic and telepathically linking myself to all of my Pokemon was a real virtue. I could communicate in battle without the opponent being able to anticipate my next move, and I could share in the feelings, emotions, and thoughts of my Pokemon.
Scyther wheeled through the sky, and then came to a smooth landing on the dirt. I hopped off his back. "You're tired, Scyther. Get into your Pokeball and rest," I said, bringing out his Pokeball. Scyther nodded, and allowed himself to be put into his Pokeball. I attached the ball to my belt, and then took another Pokeball. "Come on out, Ponyta. We need to ride." I said, opening Ponyta's Pokeball.
I climbed on Ponyta's back, and held onto her fiery mane. Ponyta trusted me totally, and the fire didn't even feel hot. "To Viridian City, Ponyta." I whispered, and we were off like a shot.
"Excuse me," I said to the man at the hotel counter. Ponyta had carried me to Viridian City in just a few minutes time, and now I was getting a room at the first hotel I found. "I need a single occupancy room for one day." I said. The man, who was obviously not very friendly, nodded without speaking and took the money I offered. He handed me my hotel room key and then turned his back. I stuck my tongue out at him and walked away. My room was on the 8th floor, so I took the elevator.
My room had a balcony, and the city was beautiful in the night, all lit up. I called out all of my Pokemon, and made beds for all of them around the room. Then, I fell into the bed, exhausted. It was 5 AM. I was in Viridian City, on my own. I had done it. I had finally run away. Now, the real adventure would begin.
To Be Continued…