Test of Fate, Part One
Chapter Two- Friends and Enemies
Theo blinked as the amount of light dropped drastically. It had been bright and sunny outside just a moment ago, but the minute she went under the trees, the light seemed to disappear. Theo stood still on the dirt road with her eyes closed, waiting to adjust to the new darkness.
When her eyes were functioning normally, she started down the road again. The day was nice, and it hadn't rained in a while. The path was dry and hard-perfect for walking on. Theo studied the scenery around her.
Tall trees grew up on all sides of her, with brown trunks and long, straight branches cloaked in thick green leaves. Sunlight filtered down from above Theo, making patches of gold on the ground below. The road she was on was well kept, and the shrubs and grasses at the sides of it didn't ever lean over it.
If the rest of the roads are like this, Theo thought, I don't think it will be so hard to find a flag!
Theo stretched her arms upwards, then broke into a quick trot. Her spirits were lifting. Suddenly, this task didn't feel so hard. Theo felt sure that she would be able find a flag and get to the designated island.
She could almost feel her trainer's license in her wallet.
The noise from the Corral drifted away, as did the view of it. Theo rounded a corner on the nicely trimmed path.
The road split right there, one path going off to the left, and the other to the right. The left path went deeper into the forest, disappearing in the distance. Theo looked to the right, and saw the forest break farther on. She couldn't see what was past the trees, though.
"Hey. You. Stop right there!"
Theo froze. The voice had come from behind her.
There were sounds of branches being snapped and grass being crushed.
"Yo. Stupid. Are you going to turn around or not?"
Theo bristled. Her fists clenched. She turned around slowly.
It was a boy, who looked to be around Theo's age. He had shaggy brown hair and gray eyes the color of dirty snow. He was glaring down at Theo.
"Do you have a flag?"
Theo didn't respond for a second.
"Hey, are you deaf or something? Do…you…have…a…flag?!"
The boy's voice was harsh and slightly nasal. It made Theo's hair stand on end.
"No," she said quietly, "I don't."
"Oh. Jeez. It really wasn't that hard a question. Man." The boy turned away. "I guess I'll have to wait for some else, then."
"Why are you waiting here?" Theo asked suddenly. She didn't particularly like this guy, but planned to be polite.
Even if he wasn't.
The boy turned back to her.
"Well, taking a flag from someone is a lot easier than actually getting one yourself, y'know."
Theo swallowed.
"I thought the goal was to get one ourselves."
The boy shrugged.
"Yah, well, I will be getting one. I just won't look for it."
Theo liked him les and less by the minute.
Suddenly, the boy turned back to Theo. He looked her up and down, as if appraising her.
Theo resisted the urge to either run or smack him.
"I…" for a second, Theo lost her nerve. The boy sneered slightly. "Theo."
"Ah. Hmmmm. Is that like, a nickname or something?"
Theo shook her head.
"Oh." He sneered again. "My name's Aaron."
There was a pause.
"Y'know," Theo said quietly, "The Corral's right over there."
"Yes. I know."
Aaron rolled his eyes at Theo.
"Um, we're really close to it."
"Thank you. Do you always state the obvious like that?"
Theo bit her lip to keep from yelling.
"What I mean is, there's no way that anyone could get a flag this close to the Corral. We're too close to the starting place."
Aaron gave Theo another appraising look.
"Huh. Maybe you're not as dumb as you look. You're right. I'll have to wait farther down the road, I guess."
With that, Aaron turned on his heel, and walked down the left path.
Theo stood, dumbfounded. Then anger washed through her system. Her fists clenched. She mumbled some unrepeatable things under her breath.
There's no way I'm going anywhere near him again, Theo thought. Without a moment's hesitation, Theo marched down the right road.
The forest ended as suddenly as it had started, and Theo was standing in a large clearing. She was on top of a hill now, overlooking a meadow below. There were four large ponds in the valley, with clear blue water and Magikarp swimming around in the shallower parts. The sun sparkled on the water, and the grass looked especially green here. Theo decided that this would be a good place to sit and get organized in.
She walked down the hill and sauntered over to the first pond. The Magikarp that had been jumping neat the surface swam away quickly. Theo sat down. As she did, her backpack bumped against her belt, and her pokéballs rattled. Theo jumped in surprise. Aaron had made her forget completely about her new pokémon.
Theo took off her bag and her belt, and put the bag on the ground next to her. Then she unlatched the first pokéball. Theo stared at it for a second. It was made of plastic and metal, and felt smooth and sleek in her hand. She maximized it. With a shaky sigh, Theo stood up again, and pressed the release button.
There was the crackling sound of electricity, and the bottom of the pokeball fell open. A red beam of energy shot out, and took form on the ground. Theo jumped backwards in surprise.
The pokémon looked a little stunned at being released. It shook itself, and turned to look at its "trainer."
"Pika?"
Theo shook her head in surprise.
"A pikachu?" she said, astonished. The yellow pokémon scratched behind one ear with a paw.
Theo had worked with pikachu before. Slowly, she went down on her knees, and offered the pokémon her hand to sniff. The pikachu came over on all fours, and politely sniffed the human's hand. Looking gratified, it sat down and began to groom itself thoroughly. Theo smiled. One of the women at the adoption center had taught Theo to always offer her hand to a pikachu to sniff before trying to touch it. All pikachu disliked being touched by people they did not know, and were inclined to shock strangers.
"Hello," Theo said pleasantly. The pikachu looked up, and nodded.
"Kachu. Pikachu chu pichu."
Theo smiled at the female pokémon.
"I knew a pikachu at this place I worked once. They called it Nari. Would you mind if I called you that?"
The pikachu shook its head and went back to grooming itself.
Theo grinned.
"Okay then. I never liked trainers called their pokémon by their species name. It always seemed so impersonal."
Nari didn't say anything.
Theo reached for her belt, and pulled off the second Ball. She maximized it, and sent out whatever was in it.
The bulbasaur blinked in the sun, and looked around. As soon as it saw Theo, it ran over and rubbed its head against her knees. Theo reached down to pet it. It growled contentedly as she scratched behind its ear.
"Bulba…"
Theo giggled.
"You remind me of my friend Brooke at school. She was always hugging everyone."
The bulbasaur blinked up at its master. She purred.
Theo cocked her head slightly to one side, and studied Brooke's face. The dark green spots on her face were arranged in a very unique pattern: The spots seemed to form a slightly lopsided five pointed star. Theo brushed her fingers over it. Brooke closed her eyes.
"I always liked bulbasaur," Theo said, still petting her new pokémon, "Tyler really liked squirtle. When we had just started wanting to become trainers, we always said we would go get our pokémon together, and we would take the squirtle and the bulbasaur."
Nari looked over, and cocked her head slightly to one side.
"Kachu pika pika pika chu?"
Theo blinked.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand."
Nari looked a little sad, and just shook her head.
Theo sighed, and picked the next pokéball off her belt.
"I guess I should check who this is."
She maximized the ball and pressed the button. Electricity crackled, and the red beam shot out. Theo was beginning to get used to the way the ball seemed to jump in her hand.
The new pokémon was much bigger than the others. It must have been at least six feet tall. It smelled slightly of wood smoke and charcoal. It was big and furry, with long orangey red fur dashed with jagged black stripes. Pale yellow fur, almost cream colored grew from under its chin and chest, and from the backs of its legs. Its tail was long and the same color as the fur on the pokémon's chest. It carried the tail high, like a kind of banner.
It growled, and shook itself.
Theo swallowed. It took her a second to figure out what this creature was, but then she remembered.
"Arcanine…" Theo breathed.
The animal turned and looked at her. He sniffed the air heavily, then walked over to the small human girl. Theo couldn't help but be a little nervous. These animals were almost legendary, and were often hunted for their fur. She could see why. Shakily, Theo reached up and ran her hands through her pokémon's mane. The arcanine sighed happily. Theo relaxed.
"Do you have a name?" she asked. Somehow, she didn't think she could come up with a name for the wonderful animal.
It shook its shaggy head, and closed its eyes.
"Well, what about…Flarefire?"
The arcanine opened his eyes and turned his head. He licked the girl's hand.
Theo smiled. "Alright then." She stroked the hair over his eyes, and Flarefire growled happily.
Theo sent out the next two pokemon together. Their cries filled the once quiet air, and Theo and the other's flinched at the noise. The flapping of wings and the stomping of hooves cracked through the air, and Theo covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut.
Last time I ever do that! Theo thought to herself.
The noise died though, and Theo opened her eyes and stared out at the two large figures in front of her.
Something large and brown filled her vision. The animal tossed its head, and Theo jumped back so as to avoid being gored on its massive ivory horns. The bull snorted, and walked towards Theo. He bumped his head into her chest, knocking the wind out of the small girl.
"Ooof!" Theo grabbed one of the horns, trying to steady herself. "I think you're a bit big for that, Tauros."
The bull pokémon snorted. Theo ran a hand through the considerable amount of hair on the bull's back. She grinned.
"I think I have the perfect name for you." The pokémon stamped a hoof and tossed his head. "Do you now the myth of the Minotaur? Well, there is a king in it named Minos. How does that name sound?"
Minos turned and stamped his hooves in agreement. He let out a booming low, and leaned his weight against Theo. The girl barely had time to jump out of the way before getting crushed under the animal.
Suddenly, a black shadow fell over Theo and the pokémon crowding around her. The human looked up, and her mouth fell open. Something like a large bird or dinosaur was flying around above her, maybe sixty feet up in the air. It let out a piercing scream, and dove towards the ground. At the last second possible, it swept its wings out to the sides and caught air.
It landed gracefully on the ground.
Theo was a little afraid to approach the creature. She had never seen anything like it in her life. It had skin the color of granite, and bright red eyes. Its mouth was filled with sharp jagged teeth, and a pair of giant wings with hands at the midpoints took the place of arms. Its feet had three toes on them, each tipped with a long, hooked talon. The pokemon swished its tail behind it, and Theo saw the spade shaped end for a split second.
"What are you?" Theo said, letting her breath out. She had forgotten to breath. The creature looked Theo up and down, and blinked its fierce eyes.
"Aero…"
Now it was Theo's turn to blink.
"Aerodactyl? I thought you were extinct!"
The creature puffed up his chest and hissed a little.
"But, I guess if you're here, I must have been wrong!" Theo said quickly. The aerodactyl seemed a little bit appeased. Theo reached a hand forward and gently rubbed his beak. When the pokémon didn't bite her hand off, Theo relaxed a little.
"I think I'll call you Tyr, if that's okay." Theo added quickly. Somehow, she didn't want annoy this pokémon. Tyr swished his tail, and growled throatily. Theo took this for a yes.
The human looked at the pokémon in front of her.
A pikachu, a bulbasaur, an arcanine, an aerodactyl, and a tauros. Five pokémon.
Theo pulled the last pokéball off her belt. She gripped it for a second, then pressed the button. There was an explosion, and Theo fell back onto her butt. The other pokemon let out cries of protest and fear, and Theo covered her head with her arms five different forms ran over her. A giant roar sounded overhead, and the girl covered her ears. The sound was deafening. Then there was silence. Theo slowly raised her head.
The thing front of her was huge. It was big on a scale like nothing else. It towered above all of them, even Flarefire. The pokémon was large and blue, with yellow fins running all the way down its back. Theo looked up, and far above her saw the animal's face. It was long and scary, with horns on its head and a gaping mouth full of razor sharp teeth. The pokémon had no arms or legs, but it didn't need any. It was terrifying anyway.
The Gyarados loomed over Theo, staring down at her through blood red eyes. The girl swallowed, and a tiny squeak came out of her mouth.
Theo had never been scared of a pokémon in her life. Humans scared her; pokémon did not. But this one was different. The gyarados could swallow her whole if it wanted to. It was almost thirty feet in length, with a long, sinewy body made for gliding through water. It was the perfect predator.
Theo wasn't scared. She was terrified out of her mind.
"I…But…" Theo couldn't speak. The monster stared at her, and Theo heard the hiss of its breath. The human swallowed.
"I don't know what to name you." Her mind was blank. All she could do was stare at the animal's glowing pupils.
Something in the pokémon's eyes flashed. Then it turned and slid into the water without a sound. Theo suddenly realized she was shaking all over. She crossed her arms over her chest, and tried to collect herself. Somehow, the weather seemed to have gotten darker. Theo shuddered. The girl turned to look at the pokémon standing behind her. They were all staring at her. Theo sighed, and reached into her trampled bag. She pulled out the map she had put in there, and looked at it. When she heard scuffling behind her, she turned. All the pokémon, except for the gyarados were still standing in a line behind her. Theo sighed.
"You guys can play out here for a bit. I've got some work to do before I can do anything."
For a second, the pokemon just stood there, looking confused. Then they all split up and went about doing different things. Minos grazed. Tyr soared overhead. Nari was playing some sort of jumping game with Brooke. It involved Vine Whipping and Thundershocking, and Theo had troubled understanding the rules from watching. She wondered if there were rules.
Flarefire stood guard over them. He patrolled the area, following scents and tracing them back to their sources. The gyarados continued to swim in the lake. Theo didn't look at him, and he didn't look at Theo. Instead, the human girl busied herself with the map. The entire area of the Pokémon Game Reserve was huge, and she needed to find some sort of route through it. After half an hour or so of reading and studying, Theo found a course she liked. Now she had a new problem though: where was she going to get a flag? Basically everything was marked on the map, but the locations of the flags weren't. Theo had no idea of how to find one. She threw the map down and growled.
Brooke and Nari had stopped playing their game. The pikachu was napping now, and the bulbasaur was sniffing around in the dirt. Theo watched Brooke for a bit. She had read somewhere that the bulbasaur was an amazing pokémon and highly prized for its sense of smell, which could smell a pack of predators over five miles away. Theo sighed. She had always wanted a bulbasaur, and was very happy that now she had one of her very own.
Well, for now, of course. If Theo was unable to find a flag, she would lose all her new pokémon. Her new friends. Brooke had begun to dig trenches in the dirt with her blunt claws now. Theo watched her.
And an idea came.
She shot up like a rocket, and called out to Brooke. The pokémon abandoned whatever she had been doing, and scurried over to her master instead. Theo looked down at the pokémon.
"Brooke, I need your help." The pokémon stared up at Theo.
"Bulba?"
"Do you know the rules of the competition?"
The pokemon nodded.
"Okay, that's good. I need your help to get the flag."
The bulbasaur jumped around.
"Bulba! Bulbasaur saur!"
Theo grinned.
"Thank you." The human leaned down and picked up the map and her bag. "I need you to sniff out a trainer for me. Can you do that?" Brooke snorted derisively. "Okay then. We have to be quiet about it though, because I need to sneak up and grab the flag from them."
The pokémon nodded and began to sniff around. Theo picked up her stuff. She spent the next five minutes trying to sort out her pokéballs. It took a long time because she couldn't figure out which ball held who, and had to keep recalling and sending out her pokémon. Finally, Theo got each pokemon onto her belt in the right slots. Now only the gyarados and Brooke remained.
"I think I understand why trainers only send one pokémon out at a time," Theo said to no one in particular. Brooke's pokéball lay on the ground in front of her. Theo bent to pick it up.
Water exploded out from the lake. Theo screamed and was knocked over by one forceful splash. She looked up. The gyarados had reared up out of the lake, and it was looking straight down at Theo, eyes blazing. It pulled back its head suddenly, and opened it mouth. The gyarados inhaled, and shot a huge blast of water straight at the human. Theo screamed.
The jet went right over her head, and hit something behind her. It cried out as the Hydro Pump attack hit it. Theo turned when the spray had gone, and saw a raticate lying on the ground behind her. Its fangs were bared, and its claws were out. Theo knew it had been about to jump on her. Brooke came running up the road, and stopped short when she saw the fainted pokémon Theo was staring at.
The human turned and looked at the colossal monster in the lake.
"You…You just…" Theo couldn't finish. Before she had the chance though, the gyarados slithered up out of the water, and delicately touched his nose against the button on his pokéball. He disappeared in a beam of red light.
Theo stared at the harmless little red ball on the ground. She picked it up and minimized it. Then she turned to Brooke.
"Gyarados…That thing…He saved me just now."
"Bulbasaur," the pokémon said quietly.
Theo swallowed. "Yah. Okay. I'm okay." Theo wasn't entirely sure whether she said that to reassure Brooke or herself. She didn't have time to worry about it though, as her only pokémon out grabbed her by the cuff of her jeans and dragged her towards the road. Brooke let go of Theo there and started down the path, with the human girl, still shaky from her near death experience following close behind.
* * * *
Theo growled to herself and picked some burrs out of her hair. She had lost sight of Brooke again; the bulbasaur kept disappearing in the underbrush. They had been off the road of a mile or so now, and Theo was getting tired and angry. The pokémon had apparently picked up some sort of scent, and was following it wherever it seemed to go. Unfortunately, Theo had to follow her.
And this was proving difficult.
"Brooke, can you wait up? I can't find you!" Theo groaned and looked around. She couldn't see very far in front of her, and was beginning to feel a little panicky. She felt trapped in all the bushes. Everything felt closed in around her.
Suddenly, Theo felt something tug on her pant leg. She looked down, and found she was staring into the warm amber eyes of her pokémon. Brooke released Theo's jeans. The bulbasaur jerked her head to the side, and slunk away. Theo followed, trying to move as quietly as possible.
The thorns and brambles stopped suddenly as Theo reached a clearing. She was at the very top of some sort of slope, and looking down on a small meadow. A large pile of rocks stood in the middle of it, and a long flag pole with a flying red flag stood propped up in it. Theo almost whooped with joy, but kept herself silent when she saw a young boy standing nearby it. A geodude and a sandshrew stood in front of him. He was talking to them.
"…Remember you guys, attack anybody who comes near here. We have to protect the flag, or we'll lose. You two patrol the area, and I'll stand her and guard the flag itself." The boy smirked slightly.
"Geodude!"
"Sand!"
The two pokemon took off in opposite directions, and stood guard on either end of the meadow. Theo crept back into the brushwood on her hands and knees, trying very hard not to be detected. She swallowed, and watched the two pokémon patrol the area from above.
Theo felt something nudge her arm gently. The girl looked over, and saw a determined looking bulbasaur standing by her head.
"Bulba! Bulba saur saur!" The pokémon whispered fiercely. Theo put a finger to her lips, telling Brooke to be even quieter.
"I don't want to fight this kid," Theo said nervously, "I don't even know if that's allowed. We need to think of some other way to get the flag." The bulbasaur rolled her eyes and looked disappointed. Theo bit her lip. Then her eyes lit up. "Wait, I got it!"
Theo scrabbled around on the ground next to her, and picked up a large rock. Then, without standing up, she threw it into the area. It bounced off the stones propping the flag up, and clattered down the mound. The boy and his two pokémon shot up and ran right over to investigate. Brooke gave Theo an acidic look, which the girl could read all too clearly: And just what did that get us?!
"Quick," Theo cried, pointing, "While they're distracted! Use your Sleep Powder, Brooke!"
The bulbasaur jumped forward, and let out a huge cry. All turned to look. Brooke settled herself onto her front legs, and brought her large bulb up to bear.
"Bulba!"
There was a big SHPLOOF! sound, and a large cloud of glittery blue and silver dust filled the air. It floated down onto the hair and bodies of the three in the meadow. At first, they cried out and tried to wipe the stuff off their skin. Then, suddenly, their arms simply dropped to their sides, and their eyes all closed. The boy sat down and curled himself up on the forest floor, and his sandshrew coiled up next to him. The geodude sank to the ground at the boy's feet and began to snore. It looked very much like a large rock with arms. All three, pokémon and human alike were sound asleep in seconds. Theo turned and smiled at Brooke appreciatively.
"Wow. That was some Sleep Powder attack. I'm impressed." Theo put her hands on her hips and looked down at her pokémon, who was sitting proudly on her haunches.
"Bulba! Bulbasaur saur bulba basaur bulba!"
Theo smiled again.
"I think we should get that flag now. I'm not sure how long they're going to sleep for."
The two slid down the mud slope and ran through the meadow, careful to avoid disturbing the prone bodies. Theo carefully lifted the flag out of its place, and turned to Brooke.
"C'mon, let's get out of here. All I need is to find a safe place to spend the night, and by tomorrow morning, this flag'll be ours!"
The pokémon and human ran out of the meadow, leaving behind the boy and his pokemon.