*~*The Felicities and Fallacies of Pokémon Training*~*
Chapter First: First Impressions
Written by the Duke of Briarcliffe
*~*
Author's Note: First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this fanfiction. Your opinions matter greatly to me and it really helps the story—that is why it is called it constructive criticism. Well, here's the first chapter. I hope that you enjoy it.
*~*
"Oh, My Oberon! What visions I have seen! Methinks I was enamored of an ass!" —William Shakespeare, Titania from A Midsummer's Night Dream.
*~*
Nobody in this parable was ever in love with a donkey, of that you can be assured. But, there is one ass in this story and I believe that you might know his name. He may not be one at this very instant, but he may prove to be one later. Let's just call it a bit of foreshadowing.
His eardrums must have been inverted for four minutes before Duncan remembered to take one more chew of his wintergreen gum. Having lost its flavor, he grew disinterested and pristinely took the wad of gum from his mouth before delicately placing it in the aluminum wrapper, and nicely placing it into the waste compartment in the armrest.
There had to be only fifteen minutes left of the private flight. To the right of Duncan was the window. Clouds looking as puffy as a cotton ball hanging errant in between a woman's thumb and forefinger just as she decided which nail to dab first. The sky was a light shade of blue. If he leaned closer, he could see the serpentine river meandering its way through the landscape, carving gentle v-shaped valleys. To his left, across the narrow aisle was his friend Madison sitting a plush seat, bobbing his head to some random tune.
Madison was of the same age as Duncan. Rusty would be the best adjective to describe the color of his hair that was usually pulled back with a pair of titanium-framed sunglasses. Large, turquoise eyes brought emotion his face; they glinted when he was angry, faded when he was down, and twinkled when he was smiling or happy. He and Duncan were about the same height, both near 6'1", and had almost the same body structure—the difference being that Madison was a bit more streamlined and a tad lankier.
He pulled off the headphones and turned to his friend and said, "this is so cool! I can't believe that we're going to be roomies. It's going to be like, Party Central."
Duncan grinned and added a nondescript "yeah."
Madison raised his brow; "What's up with you?"
"Nothing; nothing at all," he replied with a false grin. "I'm just too excited to say much right now is all. Don't mind me." Adding a false grin as He turned his head away from him and pretended to read a magazine—Maxim, of course. It completely slipped from my mind! How am I suppose to capture a pokémon? He pondered for a moment. Well, I could ask Madison to let me borrow one of his...nah, that's out of the question. I'm supposed to stay on top of things.
"You know," Madison began, putting his headphones back on. "If you're gonna pretend to read, it would be really smart if you would turn it the right way."
"I am reading, you cad," he haughtily piped as he looked at the magazine. "I am perfectly aware that my magazine is the—" It was upside-down after all. His cheeks began to tingle.
"My point exactly," Madison smugly replied. "Duncan—buddy—I know you much too well. There's no use in even trying to those tricks of yours."
"I don't know what your talking about Madison Waterflower."
"It's Ketchum, actually. One would think that his best friend would know that he goes by Ketchum and not Waterflower by, let's see, four years," he said as if he were talking to someone else.
"I did that on purpose; I know how mad it makes you," Duncan remarked with a laugh.
"Dude, don't do that. Waterflower sounds so...girly. Now your name," he said, tilting his head, a grin on his face. "A honeycomb comes to mind."
"But my name has meaning to it. It's the name of one of our estates."
He rolled his eyes. "I must've forgotten. How stupid of me."
"I'd say," Duncan added.
"Hush up, Honeycomb."
"After you, Waterflower."
A loud, snooty, butler-ish voice boomed over the speakers. "Young Sirs, we are now landing in the Celadon Airport. A chauffeur will escort you to the Ninetales Regents Hotel in a black limousine shortly after we land. Please hold on, there will be some friction." Could a British accent be so impeccably...British?
"Young Sirs," Madison cajoled as he fastened his belt into the silver buckle. An annoyed voice boomed once more saying, "I heard that." He simply shrugged his shoulders.
This is it.
*~*
This was his first time ever being there in Celadon. Its size was overwhelming. In a blissful stupor, he gazed relentlessly at the skyline from the oversized windows.
The view from outside the Regents Hotel was incredible. Lustrous skyscrapers jutted from the earth, reaching towards the heavens. A flock of Pidgey dotted the horizon as they flew to their destination. The blue sky made the city feel serene. Shiny cars sped along highways and some waited at the red stoplights. People crowded the sidewalks; it was crunch time and people were hungry. Off in the distance would could see a dark building that Duncan recognized as the Radio Tower.
"This is freaking amazing!" Madison beamed as he too became entranced with the city. They were both quite enamored of it.
"Yeah," he agreed dazedly. And I thought that Lavender Hills was the most enchanting place in the world.
They unpacked a bit and took showers for refreshment before venturing out in the city. Duncan had always known that they key in making a good impression is to look good, so he wear a crisp white shirt with khakis and his favorite pair of Hushpuppies.
Steam made the bathroom hazy as well as muggy. Condensation clung to the mirror too. Yet somehow, he managed to shave off the fresh stubble from the night before in the foggy bathroom. Clad in only a fluffy towel, courtesy of the Regents, he examined his physique.
How could anyone not like me? He loved the definition of his broad shoulders and muscled chest and powerful tendons. Turning around, he saw how well-cut his back was and, rotating another 180 degrees, kissed his bulging bicep. If this isn't perfection, then I don't know what is.
In case you haven't picked up on it by now, he's one of those people who are attractive and know that they are. What's the term? Ah, yes; I know. Conceited.
The only reason why he worked out was to try and impress the ladies. After all, if he was only did in flings, he had to be as visually appealing as the girl did. Also, although I am contradicting the former sentence, it built up his self-esteem and his confidence, as if he could possibly need any more.
With the flat of his thumb, he slicked off the excess water from his strong jaw line. Then, he dabbed his thick, obsidian hair with another towel. His clear violet eyes were automatically still as he applied his clarifying contacts; he suffered from astigmatism. With a sigh, he breezed out of the bathroom and began to dress upon entering his bedroom.
Fully clothed, he bumped into Madison in the sitting room. "Where are you going looking all preppy?" he asked.
"I'm going to go look around the city."
Madison just stared at him. "And? That requires dressing up?"
"You call this dressing up?" he asked disbelievingly. He smoothed the front of his shirt. "I think not."
Madison looked down at his own rugged blue jeans with a frayed hem and his red shirt with "Do You See What I See?" emblazoned on the chest area in bold white letters. "I'm blending in with the crowd. You know, being normal?"
Duncan frowned slightly. "I'm also looking for an apartment for us. I know that I'm well off but we can't stay here forever."
"Cut it," he said sharply.
"Cut what?" Duncan asked, confused.
"With the rich boy bullshit. That was high school. This is now. Nobody cares."
"Whatever," Duncan grumbled as he walked out of the door. "I'll see you this evening." He's just jealous. But that assumption soon went down the drain; why should he be jealous of Duncan?
Warm air greeted him once again yet not in the same way. He coughed from the drastic change in humidity. His shirt felt clingy and he felt unclean in spite of his recent shower. He dismissed what his friend had uttered no sooner had he left the wide doors of the hotel entrance.
The giants made him feel inferior. The people were no better; they just shoved him out of their way as he aimlessly ambled down the streets. There's a rule, or at least there should be one, that states that one person does not get in the way of a person in a rush, especially if it involves food. The consequences are not desirable.
He felt alone in this pulsing wave of human bodies.
Gradually, he reached a small building with the trademark P on the top. He wandered in there, his head hanging low. It had affected him much more than he'd once thought. Finding his way to the desk, he suddenly realized what his true purpose in coming here was.
"Do you know where I can find any wild Chikorita?"
The cheery Nurse Joy replied. "Yes! Carefully search the grass areas of both Johto and Kanto!"
Gee, that helped a lot. "I mean, are there any around here—near Celadon?"
"Yes."
What a ditz. In a slow voice he asked, "could you tell me where in Celadon?"
"Yes."
"Well?"
"Hey!" she chimed, changing the subject. "Are you a pokémon trainer? If so, are you registered? You don't look familiar...I will have to check your pokédex."
He pulled it out. He'd been given one a long time ago when he was in Pokémon Tech.
"I see," she murmered as she slowly punched in the keys of a large red machine behind the desk. On the screen was his picture as a skinny kid with glasses that made his violet eyes look like a tarsiers. "Duncan Beechcombe...hey! I've heard of you! Your family is like, incredibly rich!"
"Yeah," he said with a grin. Pride. Man, those ass-like qualities are coming into play. Pride has two meanings and there's a time and a place for both of them—well there shouldn't be one for the bad pride. "I know. But that's beside the point. Could you please tell me where I can find one?"
"Oh, that's easy. Why didn't you ask me before?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I did."
She shook her head. "No, I believe not."
"I did," he repeated, his eyes intense.
"I will not sit here and argue with a trainer. I don't care if you're the richest guy on the planet either," she firmly responded.
He groaned inwardly. She was wasting his time.
"You won't get anywhere with that attitude Mr. I Accuse Nurse Joy of Lying! If you just have to know, just go up the street until you get to Celadon Park. They're abundant there."
Exasperated, he muttered a quick "thank-you" before hurrying to the nearest department store. He had a plan.
*~*
A small green pokémon with a lush green leaf atop its head wandered over to the pile of Pokémon Chow that had been randomly left there. She sniffed it cautiously and, after declaring that it didn't smell dangerous, ate a crunchy morsel.
"Chickori!" she exclaimed, savoring the wonderful taste. Suddenly ravenous, she dove her head into the pile and chowed down, her violet eyes shining brightly, expressing her joy at finding this unexpected bounty.
The food was placed directly in the sun, making it a desirable location. Feeling drowsy, she succombed to the effects of a full stomach and lied down. Her tan body rose and fell as she took deep breaths. The leaf craned towards the sunlight, giving her energy as she sunbathed.
Soon enough she fell into a blissful slumber...
Meanwhile, the young man hiding in the security of a large boulder, chuckled at his wit and cleverness. He'd done it once again. His strategic mind never failed him. With a silent cheer of "yes!" he pulled out a shiny silver and white pokéball and threw it at the snoozing Chikorita.
She mumbled a sleep, "Chika?" as the ball hit her on her side. Too drunk with sleep, she didn't put forth any effort in retaliating. She was disoriented anyways. "Finally! I have a pokémon!"he cheered, upon hearing the distinct chime of a captured pokémon in its pokéball. He stroked the metallic ball with his thumb. It gleamed in the bright sunlight. It was almost too easy. "Those sleeping pills I bought really came in handy." Retrieving the ball, he strolled out of the park, a proud grin on his, and an unusual elasticity in his step...
He was feeling so good that he just had to walk back to the Pokémon Center and thank that ditzy Nurse Joy. The information she'd given him was so valuable. It had to be some of the most important information he'd ever received in his life. It would change his life.
Everything is working out. This is so much easier than I predicted it to be; I'll be a Gym Leader in no time.
Hmmm...not quite.
*~*
Concluding Statements: I guess that it's evident that I'll be writing short chapter. I guess that there's more suspense that way? I don't know. You tell me? So...did you enjoy it? I hope so. There'll be more on Duncan, Madison, and the poor Chikorita in the busy city of Celadon, in the next chapter. Remember to review—The Duke of Briarcliffe