Chapter 3: The Journey Begins
The next day went by in a blur. Mum took me out to the store and we got various kinds of camping supplies, a tent, some nonperishable foods, a large water bottle, a large backpack to carry it all, and whatever else she'd thought I might need. Afterwards, we went home, and with the help of King, finally got the boxes around my room unpacked. It was odd, I'd almost forgotten my room had carpet. The day after, I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I picked it up, answered and tried my best to sound wide awake.
"Hello, this is Anna." I said.
"Hi! I got your number from the professor, you wanna meet Cheren and I by the entrance to Route One later?" Bianca's voice asked, sounding far too excited for so early in the morning. What I really wanted was to curl up and get back to sleep, eight in the morning was far too early, but I answered her in the affirmative regardless. She gave me a time to meet, and we chatted together for a bit. She was fun to talk with, she laughed at my jokes if nothing else. We were interrupted by a deep voice calling. for her in the background. She sighed.
"Hold on." She said. I heard the sound of the phone getting set down and a door opening.
"You are not going." The voice said, angry.
"Dad, we've talked about this, I'm not changing my mind. I'm going out with my friends, and my pokemon, and I'm not going to let you stop me. I need this, can't you see?" Bianca replied, her voice tight with emotion. I felt bad for listening in, but I wasn't able to stop myself. My curiosity was getting the better of me.
"We haven't talked, you talked at me! For Arceus' sake Bianca, think about this! You're just going to leave your family behind? For what? So you can live out some ridiculous trainer fantasy? You have responsibilities! qYou have a life here! I'm not going to let you throw that away and just run off with that neighbor kid and some girl you don't even know!"
"Dad please! I need this! You expect me to be your perfect child and just stay cooped up in this house all my life? I need to get out at some point, see what the world has to offer!" I could hear sobbing in Bianca's voice now, she apparently wasn't taking this conversation very well.
"What you need is to think! Do you have any idea how dangerous it can be for a girl your age out there? I don't want you getting hurt because you were too stupid to listen to me! There are horrible people out there, who'd do horrible things to you, there are dangerous wild pokemon, there's so much out there I know you're not able to handle!"
"Dad please, listen to me! I ca-"
"No Bianca, you listen to me. I know it's never been something you're good at, but can you please be rational for once? I know you're not ready for the world out there. You need to stay home, focus on your safety, what's really important here. I'm not having my daughter go run off and risk getting herself killed to live out some stupid adventure fantasy!"
"Dad, please! I've got my own pokemon, I'll be-"
"No, no, no, a thousand times no! Young lady, you're going to stay here! You're not running off to the wilderness even if you had Arceus itself in that pokeball of yours, and that's final!" Her dad was screaming now, so loud I had to move the phone away from my ear to avoid damaging my hearing. I heard a door slam and sounds of sobbing coming from the phone.
"Um, Bianca?" I said awkwardly. Comforting people hasn't ever been my strong suit.
"Yeah sorry. I'm okay. How much of that did you hear?" I heard her say between sobs.
"Enough to know you're definitely not okay."
"I'm going to be fine, trust me. My dad's just... Not my favorite person right now."
"Yeah he sounds like an... Actually, nevermind. But just, know I'm here for you okay? I know we don't know each other that well yet, but I want to be able to help you."
"Yeah... Thanks Anna. I have to finish getting ready, see you at the entrance to Route One later?"
"Yeah. See you there." I hung up the phone and noticed King staring at me in my peripheral vision. I turned to face him and he gave me a look of superiority.
Your social skills astound me. I could almost hear him say, his 'voice' dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh sod off." I said, taking him into my arms. He scrambled up my arm until he got on my left shoulder and sat there holding his head high. Together, we spent the morning getting ready for our journey. I packed my new backpack with everything, and went downstairs, petting Potato, and giving Mum a hug before I head off to meet Cheren and Bianca at the entrance to Route One.
I rode Anna's shoulder as she walked out of our house, her mother tearfully saying goodbye and their annoying pet Yamper jumping up against her leg. I ignored them, and thought of the journey ahead. Anna walked carrying me for some time in silence. She took several wrong turns on the way, a fact I tried to point out to her several times, but her listening skills were any better than most humans, as far as I knew she'd only understood me a few times. After consulting a map on her phone, she finally began going in the right direction.
"So King, are you ready for this?" she asked. I knew she wouldn't understand but I responded anyway.
"Always." I said, smirking. She looked at my face and chuckled.
"Well, that makes one of us." She said, giving me a pat on the head, which no, I didn't secretly like. I'm a dignified creature named for a monarch, and kings do not enjoy headpats.
I kept my face expressionless as we continued down the sidewalk, which was really just a dirt path in a town as small as this one. I'd seen ones made of a kind of grey or black stone on the professor's television before, but those seemed to be only for places with far more humans than this settlement had. After more walking, Anna spoke again.
"You know, this day isn't how I'd imagined it." She said, either to me or to herself, it was hard to tell with the redhead sometimes.
"This is what I've always wanted. My own partner, a whole region to explore, a gym challenge to conquer, I should be excited, I should be... Happier." She continued. I turned to face her, turning my head, listening intently.
"I just... I don't think I can enjoy it without..." She stopped talking and I noticed her eyes getting wet, a sign I'd come to learn from humans meant they were sad. I wasn't sure what to do, so I thought for a moment. Then, I extended a vine and pat her on the head with it the same way she'd done for me.
"Well, you've got me at least." I said, not caring if she understood. She chuckled softly at the touch of the vine on her curly red hair, and turned to look at me, wiping her eyes.
"Well, you do have a soft spot then." She said, reaching into her pack and drawing a bag of treats. Taking one of the small brown pellets out, she offered it to me, and I took in a vine, nodding my thanks.
"Sorry, I was just kind of thinking out loud. You don't want to listen to me ramble, I'm sure." She said, another sad look coming onto her face.
"Well I-" I started, but was cut off by a voice from nearby.
"Anna, over here!" Bianca called. Anna went over to her and saw Cheren there too on his phone. The group exchanged pleasantries and I munched on my treat thoughtfully as they talked and walked onto Route One together. I took a deep breath of the fresh forest air, the Spring breeze warming my skin. This journey was going to be fun.
"And it's as simple as that! Remember to treat anything you catch with respect and care." Aunt Aurea finished her demonstration of catching a Patrat. She reached into her bag and drew out a handful of pokeballs. She gave it to Cheren, drew out another which she gave to Bianca, and finally a handful of five pokeballs for me. I thanked her and put them into my backpack.
"Thank you very much professor." Bianca said, a wide smile on her face, looking at her eager face, I almost thought the argument with her father hadn't happened. Aunt Aurea told us we were heading to Accumula Town, just north through Route One, and that the walk shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. She nodded to Cheren and Bianca, and gave me a hug before going ahead.
"Oh I've got an idea!" Said Bianca, turning to us.
"What is it?" Asked Cheren.
"We have a little competition, see who can catch the most pokemon before we get to Accumula Town." She said. I looked to Cheren who smirked deviously.
"You're on." He said, and before we could say anything else he ran ahead to get started. Bianca and I looked on at the boy.
"Well someone's excited." I said.
"Guess so." Bianca replied. She made eye contact briefly before blushing slightly and looking down at her feet.
"Sorry you had to hear that earlier." She said.
"It's alright. Umm… you wanna talk about it?"
"Sure." We started walking down the path together, Shellby walking alongside Bianca keeping up remarkably well for such a small creature.
"My dad is just… worried about me I guess. He thinks that it's not safe out there for girls our age. But, I mean, people our age go on journeys with pokemon all the time right? Younger even in places like Alola and Kanto. And how am I ever going to learn to protect myself from the dangers of the world if I'm just locked up in a box my whole life!" She was almost yelling now, and her voice was getting shaky.
"So sorry Dad for taking a risk in life! Sorry for doing the one thing everyone in the region looks forward to in their teens! Sorry for wanting my own life!" She screamed, tears flowing freely down her cheeks now She took several deep breaths before sitting on the ground and starting to sob. Shellby tried to hug her with her little arms. I put a hand on Bianca's shoulder, but she pulled me into a hug without warning. I felt my face turn red but I awkwardly hugged back.
"I wish he'd understand… I wish he knew how much I need this…" She said, sobbing.
"I… I wish I knew what to say. I'm sorry Bianca." I said. Trying to connect with people always felt awkward for me, I had no idea what Bianca needed right now. Sometimes, it felt like everyone in the world spoke a different language, one that I never learned. She let the hug drag on for a few more seconds before pulling away, wiping tears from her face.
"It's okay. Thank you, just getting it off my chest helped, I think. Now come on, we can't let Cheren beat us." She said, trying to put on a smile. I was happy for the topic to change, and smiled back.
"Hell yeah." I said, and I saw King and Shellby both with determined looks in their eyes. Then Bianca and I ran into the first leg of our journey.