Foolish Games
Part 1: The Mind and the Eye
Hello one and all! I wrote chapters 1&2 during summer vacation, actually (FOREVER ago) but that was in my notebook (yes, I usually write by hand) so it takes me a bit since I'm actually writing it twice. Once I get my old laptop up and running, however, I hope to update twice as fast. Anyways, my characters so far (Umi, Jas, Sae, Nao, Yenke, etc.) are, as I said, MINE. No taking without permission! And also, there're a few of my own created Pokemon in this chapter, but as not to spoil the surprise, I'll name them later, and once again, they are MINE. So is Tando, Gaeto, Chrodo, Armado, Agedo and Aeria, the regions. Uh, yeah, I think that's about it. :) This is meant to be a long-running series, hence the Part 1. Also, there's sorta two plots running at once- on with the Legends, on with Umi Aisaki etc. The competition is just the setting, the real plot doesn't start after a few chapters, but that doesn't mean those chapters aren't good for the reading. Anyways, on with the show! Please R&R!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, but as soon as Satoshi... uh, never mind.
Chapter 2: A Step Forward
The sun's annoying glare jerked me out of my seemingly endless underwater dream. I swore under my breath, the sun was almost DIRECTLY over me. Almost noon.
I heaved myself off the ground and groggily glanced around, only to be puzzled by the fact that everyone else was asleep except the bustling villagers. Then I remembered. Of course, the time difference! It was probably around seven back in Gaeto. Then, something else came to me. I hadn't put Marcel back in her Pokeball.
I looked around frantically, sure she had run away, but then saw here lying on Beeyah's crimson-crested wing, which was odd, because you'd think sleeping on a metal wing would be uncomfortable, not to mention for Beeyah, who was weak against the Mareep. Why didn't she leave, though, if she hated me so much? On the other side of the hut, the village was wide awake and some children were poking Nao with a tree branch.
However, Mr. Tasuki was the first to get up, and a morning afro and purple PJs are not a pretty sight in the morning. I lied back down and tried to get a little more shut-eye, awaiting the beginning of the competition.
~*~*~*~*~
He sat alone on the crystalline grounds, surrounded by walls of stalactites and stalagmites, like a tremendous natural prison. It looked like ice, but he knew better. It was sand, pressurized and scarred by famous past battles until it took the ice-like form it had today. But he remembered, the billions of years ago, he remembered when it was first 'made', if that's what you could say happened. It felt like an oven, but id didn't bother him anymore. Oven, hah, someone oughta go visit Loa's place, or even the fire bird Shindell's. No, he was not one to whine, though some said he did. The moment anyone even thinks to question The Mind and the Eye, they are accused of treasonry and speaking against their superiors, and, of course, there was always the 'they-were-created-stronger-than-us-so-they-were-meant-to-rule-us' speech. He was sick and tired of those two bastards trying taking it upon themselves to decide what was right and wrong, and they even had the nerve to try to control us! Disgusting, foul creatures..
Suddenly, he felt a surge of power run through him, and instantly knew what was happening.
"Heh!... rgh... so once again, I am to be controlled to do your bidding... what now? Has Mistress 'Eye' seen something, oh great Mind?" Raeborn called seemingly to no one, through clenched teeth. A voice spoke from inside of his head, a strong and powerful voice.
'I am so sick of your incessant whining. How I would love to kill you and rip the Seventh Gem right out of you with my bare hands... it would make things so easy... but I hold strong, and only for your sister.. it's a pity she has such a horrid family.. oh, and let's not forget my dear son, a.k.a., your SAVIOR. You owe him a great many thanks.'
"Oh Mewtwo, you have such a colorful imagination... The moment I get the chance, I'm setting Doomsday and Apocalypse after you.. Mistress 'Eye' has many things to do, to oversee.. she can't keep watch on me ALL the time.."
'Be careful, someday someone might cut that evil tongue of yours out.. Well, I come here only to give you a surprise, and to show you another little talent I've learned.. I hope you enjoy it. Goodbye, Raeborn.'
"Wait!! Why is it you're not killing me? You know I would just be reborn again, just a matter of time.. why are you holding ba-!!" a huge surge of light and pain in which he never could have imagined surged through him, it felt as if his mind had shattered.
'You just wait..' Raeborn could not understand the words, though they spoke so clearly to him, through the midst of his pain.
'You'll find out. And then you will wish you were never......
Raeborn'
~*~*~*~*~
It was far from quiet, the sounds of the nearby wildlife were almost deafening. How could anybody sleep through it?? I could hardly keep myself from shaking everybody until they fell apart, the anticipation for the contest was so strong.
The sand was glistening and the trees wavering softly again, like it had the day before. Partly the reason Tando has almost no weather is because there are no Dananta around. Dananta are the weather Pokemon, they not only predict it, they create alot of it. Half of the storms, hail storms, lightning storms, twisters and hurricanes are a Dananta's doing. You'd think they were legendary because of that extraordinary power, but Danantas are actually quite popular. Almost everyone wanted one, also for their neo-style looks, and that they're newly discovered. The reason? They're almost constantly surrounded by some sort of natural force at its extreme. Some said that it was surrounded by a particular element because of its mood, others because of its own preference. God, I wish I had one. But still, I'd give up a million Dananta just to have One Daydrom. I don't know what it is about them, they're so elegant and useful. My dream team would have to include a Daydrom and Dananta. And, I guess, Ampharos, I though, glancing at Marcel. This competition isn't really for us to get to be better trainers or anything, it's just for publicity. Frankly, I just want to get started on my journey. Probably won't even make it to the end of the competition, with this weird group. Ah, finally, someone's up!
Nao rolled on his other side bedraggledly, rubbing where the children had poked him, and managed to get himself into a sitting position. "Ugh, what time is it?"
"I dunno.. about 8, 8:30..."
"Doesn't look like it. You just wake up, too?" He questioned, looking at my messed-up hair, and I leapt for my brush.
"Yeah, yeah. Wanna wake the others up?"
"Anything for you, my sweet." I threw my brush at him.
~*~*~*~*~
"Okay, okay, settle down!" cried Mr. Tasuki, waving his hand as if he were trying to teach a Growlithe to sit. We sat in the back, too depressed about our journey's interruption to be too excited.
"Today we will set you off on your way. Also, spokesmen from our school have just phoned us some new rules that have been made. *ahem*. Ok, the first new rule is that a group cannot ask for assistance in catching any Pokemon, beating any person in a battle, or anything else that would count as assistance for 'Race for the Legends'." Boy, these people really haven't planned things out very well, have they?
"And in the battles with the people stationed around the islands, which we have named Patrions, you may only use a total of six Pokemon in the battle, example: since you're in groups of five then, say, four people use one Pokemon each and the fifth person gets to use two of his/her Pokemon, a total of six Pokemon. Or, two people could choose to battle, three Pokemon each. There are infinite possibilities. This does not count, however, when fighting a wild Pokemon or your Legend. Those are the added rules. Contact me at (312) 882-1522 if you wish to hear the rules again. Any questions in the, uh, three minutes before the competition officially starts? A girl in the front row raised her hand as if she had been waiting for hour.
"Mr. Tasuki, what if nobody catches their Legend?"
"There is no time limit on this contest. We're estimating it to last about eight months."
"What if you get killed by your Legend?" asked a boy to my right.
"-_- our team has come up with an elite band of people, and the last four Patrions you will fight are stronger than the Legends. The last two own Legends themselves, though not the originals. Trust me. You will be FINE."
"What if you want to quit?"
"Well, you all agreed to do this, so you can't technically quit, but we can't do anything to stop you from refusing to complete the contest. We probably wouldn't even know if you did. I encourage you not to, the school's reputation is on your shoulders, but if you really want to you can. Any more questions?"
Silence
"Ok! I suppose I'll see you all in about eight months, then! I'm sure you'll all do great, and I'll be sure to tell my future students all about you! It's time to start!"
"Wait- we're starting here? In this village?" I asked, bewildered.
"Well, I strongly recommend you leave this village to complete the contest-" a few chuckles- "But yes, technically you've been competing for-" He looked again at his non-existent watch- "Uh, well, you've been competing. Well, I have to get back to the school, sorry kids. Goodbye, chao, adios, and so on! Good luck, too!" He released a large Xatu and they flew up above the trees and finally, out of sight. We all stood a bit dumbfounded for a few seconds, and suddenly everyone acted insane, knocking over chairs, trying to be the first to leave the village, and we were left standing in the midst of the upturned chairs. Luckily, some people had dropped loose change in the rush.
"Uh, so!" Said Sae cheerfully, trying to ignore my scuttling on the ground, picking up nickels. "We'd better get going!"
"Should we split up now?" asked Jas.
"What's the rush?" said Nao.
"I think we just saw the rush." Jas scowled.
"Yeah, I guess we should." Yenke sighed
We all shook hands, said our condolences to poor Sae, and headed in opposite directions. Just me and Jas now.
"You know, I was thinking..." I said.
"Oh?"
"I don't think either of us wants to fight Doomsday or Apocalypse, right?"
"Right.."
"And we both want to start our journey, right?"
"I'm not quitting the contest."
"No, no!" I said, waving my arms. I am NOT a coward. "I was just saying, while we're looking for the Patrions on this Island, we could also fight the Gym Leaders as we go along! And, you know, take the trainers road while we're at it! It'd be fun! And with all the experience, we'll get really strong for the competition!"
"Hey, yeah! That's perfect! But what if we find the two guys before we get all the badges in Tando?"
"We just leave them to collect later, and start getting the badges in the next region!"
"That's a wonderful idea!"
"And there's no rules against it! What city are we headed for, anyways?" To my surprise, she pulled out an expensive looking Pokedex, one just like mine except mine's white, hers is purple. How does someone 'poor' get such a good Pokedex? She saw my look.
"The school helped us buy this, since I was chosen for the contest.
"Ah.."
"Okay, we're headed for... the ocean..."
"Oh. What say we go North then-"
"Oh, wait, there's a city on the beach. Ascend City." she pushed a button, and the Pokedex chirped:
"Ascend City... South Tando... only about fifty years ago this area was completely submerged in the ocean, but due to a violent volcanic eruption, the land burst out of the sea, hence it's name. Ascend City is in the middle of a cliff, the sea and the Chirrup Jungle... A Gym City... Ascend City's Gym specialty: ground. Current leader: Stefan Diganic. Reward: The Dune Badge."
We both paled.
"G-ground??" Jas said in a shaky voice, "GROUND?? Great, BOTH our Pokemon are bad against ground!" She halfheartedly kicked a sand dune.
"Don't worry, don't worry! We'll catch a Pokemon that's strong against ground!" To my relief, she sighed and released Rudolph. Suppose I'd better release Marcel.
"Oh of course!" Jas suddenly cried, pausing Marcel from her scorning. "How obvious! Hah, we're right next to the ocean AND the jungle! Water and grass! They're both good against ground!"
"Oh yeah!! This'll be a cinch!
~*~*~*~*~
Ascend City is a big city on a little cliff. There's only a small strip of land to get into it without going through the jungle or swimming over, but we still got our feet wet. We wanted to wait 'till we went into the jungle, there's supposed to be strong Pokemon in it and, after all, we'd have to go in it anyways to get to the next city. The city itself is bustling and sunny, the blocky white houses seemed cheery. Most of the crowds in the street were skateboarders, but there were a few pedestrians, bikers and rollerbladers. Everything seemed well. Except, of course, for two insane girls wading knee-deep in the ocean, trying Poliwag and Goldeen calls to lure some water Pokemon out, ANY Pokemon instead of the plentiful Magikarp. Yes, me and Jas getting payback from our stupid 'It'll be a cinch!' comment.
"Maybe we'd better go try the jungle..." I suggested as I suffered another water shock from Marcel, angry and sopping wet.
"No way! The Pokemon are too strong in there! Besides, Rudolph's gone up a level already from the Magikarp. Only one more 'till he evolves!"
"-_-; I don't think that's something to be cheering about, Jas...." at this, she leaped two feet out of the water with a loud yelp.
"0_0 are you okay?" She thrashed her foot around, spraying everyone with water and other unpleasant things in the water, and from her ankle dangled a large Krabby.
"No way!! You caught something!"
"Caught, my arse!!!! Or better yet, FOOT!!!!! Rudolph, help!!"
The little bug flung itself at the Krabby's hard shell, doing minimal damage. Marcel watched interestedly, occasionally throwing me a dirty glance. She hadn't said anything since the night before. Usually, Mareep were thought of as TOO trusting, but this one seemed the complete opposite.
"Ow!" cried Jas as the Krabby flew over us to shore. We exchanged glances, and raced back to where the Krabby landed. I pulled out my Pokedex and pointed it at the crimson Crab.
"Krabby... water-type... the river crab... these Pokemon are extremely aggressive, especially towards their own kind. Tando Krabby are much bigger and more plentiful, and can also be clearly identified by their bright red color, versus the orange of foreign Krabby. They only live in the shallow water areas, and love to dig. Trainer temperament: very stubborn at first, but they grow to be protective and loving. They have no trouble in battle, as they are very violent and competitive. Diet: raw Magikarp, Goldeen and Seaking meat, and kelp. Use apples as treats." Jas registered the Krabby as well, and got to her first.
"Rudolph, poison sting!"
"Marcel, thundershock!" Luckily, she was excited enough by the battle to obey. Or maybe NOT luckily... the result was a very shocked Weedle and an almost fainted and poisoned Krabby. I put my hand on my Pokeball, then faltered. Jas needs a Pokemon to back up Rudolph. That little Weedle can't win a battle itself. Fine, but this is the ONLY favor I'm doing her. She's on her own after this. Jas gave me an extremely grateful look, and threw a Pokeball. It landed right on, and stopped a few inches over it to suck the Krabby's energy up. A few shakes and...... CAUGHT!
"YAHAAA!!" Jas screamed, and held up her Pokeball. Oh yeah, I never registered Marcel. The Pokedex spoke calmly in the midst of Jas's ecstatic screaming.
"Marcel... Mareep... electric-type... the wool Pokemon... these Pokemon are mostly found in the mountains or plains. Usually, Mareep fleece is thought of as yellow, but colors range from yellow to sky-blue to gray, making a very good raw material for clothing. They are very friendly with other Pokemon, but also one of the strongest electric-types once fully evolved... Trainer temperament: They range from blissful to optimistic to rebellious, and are all very playful. Mareep aren't good at hand-to-hand combat, so projectile and electric attacks are best until further evolutions... Mareep eat Bluegrass, dandelions, fruit (especially peaches), and enjoy herbal teas." Marcel scowled and cried:
"They are SO stereotypical! A little herbal tea wouldn't hurt, though... and some peaches...." Her eyes bulged. "Do you have any peaches??"
I rolled my eyes and waited for Jas to finish with her whooping.
"Ah, I feel so much better! About Rudolph and my new Krabby! In fact.... poor Rudolph, I think I'll change his name." Rudolph let out a little sigh of relief, and we started walking away from the beach.
"Hmmm... lessee.... wild... that's it! Wild! Your new names' Wild!" He waggled his tail gleefully and barked "Wee!" I listened silently to her rambling, as not to spoil her good mood.
"And my Krabby... Her name'll be... let's see, ocean.. blue... azul... azul sounds like a rock, right? You know, Ruby, Opal.... ooh, Opal's a nice name.. gotta keep that it mi- oh, Ruby! That's great! You know, since she's red instead of orange? Perfect! Gotta heal her before we let her out, though... oh, I can't wait! Then I had another good idea.
"Jas, you go to the center, we'll meet up there, okay? I gotta do something."
"Oh, sure!" we were in the city by then, and we temporarily parted ways, Marcel still silent behind me. "Okay, market, market... aha!" It was a little corner-street market, nice, but covered in loiterers, mostly my age, and even a few foreign-looking trainers. I pushed my way in, though, and grabbed about fifteen big, juicy-
"PEACHES!!" Marcel cried manically, hopping up on her back legs. I grabbed a few other things, too: some energizing herbal tea, a big canteen, a little necklace with a big beautiful glossy black-and-gold pendant. No, it isn't REALLY bribery. I kind of enjoy buying things for Marcel, I thought as I grabbed a box of electric type 'Watt Taste!' Pokemon Chow. I can spend all I want, anyway, 'cos of my dad's will......
I forced my way outside after paying, and sat on a short wall with all the other teens.
"Ummmmm, peach!" Marcel cooed as she munched her way through one. She looked beautiful with the necklace on. I finally sighed in relief, deciding that after a while she'd get to like me.
"Oh, the Center." I picked up my Mareep, when suddenly a battle started in front of me.
"Go, Ferver!"
"Go, Strudel!"
A big Spinarak and an Ekans blocked my way, looking menacingly at each other, and the small crowd formed a circle around them and their trainers, a 13-year-old-ish boy and girl. A rush of adrenaline went through me.
"Anyone want to fight me one-on-one?" I guess everyone else was excited by the battle, because cries of 'ME' exploded from around me. Then, before I knew it, the entire street was being filled with amateur Pokemon, and a tall dark blue haired boy with very pale green eyes appeared.
"It's a pleasure, Umi Aisaki. My name's Daven." I nodded, a little irritated by the fact that he knew who I was. "Go, Stir!" he cried, and a beautiful little Mistik appeared before me. My eyes bulged.
"Wh-where did you get that??"
"They sometimes fly over from Aeria, near the eastern shores." He said, shrugging. "Cute little buggers, aren't they?" The Mistik cackled happily, and its glossy coat gleamed somewhere between midnight blue and cream on the color scale. He had big deer-like ears and a long tail that resembled a cat's, with a black tip, which also decorated the end of its ears, eyes paws and wings, which were like a butterfree's, only crescent-moon shaped, and such a pale yellowish color that they were transparent. It also had a strange marking on its forehead that resembled a character from the Legend Language, but it's most recognizable feature was the black diamond on it's chest. I whipped out my Pokedex as Marcel queerly got into place, swallowing what I sincerely hoped wasn't a peach pit.
"Stir... Mistik... the Moon-cycle Pokemon... Flying/Light.... Mistik are very friendly and mischievous by nature, and often wander away from the only place they are born, Aeria. Their wing's shape changes with the moon, example: if would be a full moon that night, a Mistik's wings would be perfect circles. During new moons, its wings will disappear completely, and it won't be able to fly. Trainer: Davin Memora." Huh, it doesn't tell nearly as much when it's another person's Pokemon... Jas is going to love this! I looked around to see if anyone else had noticed the rare Pokemon, but then I realized a lot of the trainers weren't just average. I spotted a Tanefi, Tando's beginning fire-type, who looked like a mix between a Vulpix and an Eevee. It had a sweet face, with big spiky ears and a little fire-like mohawk between them, it's fluffy body was a delicate crimson with a thick black line running down its belly, and a big poofy tail. It's paws, however, were blazing and covered n flames. Irritated by the offending Geodude, a spike of fur blazed and rose, like an angry cat, except for the blaze.
Also, there was the Tando beginner that I would kill to get, the grass-type Silower. It was much more regal-looking that Tanefi, it was on its hind legs with it's paws in a fighting-position, and it's huge flat tail, about the same size as the rest of his body, was flapping in excitement. It had a seed-shaped face with a big, thorn-shaped spike on the back of its skull, and below that two large, long red petals swept down the length of its body, curling outwards at the end, away from its back, caressing its slender form. It's tail swept out in front of it as a good barrier, it was thick and ended in three long claw-like points. It had no fur, rather it's skin was smooth and glossy, like a Seviper's.
I looked for Pendoma, the water-type final starter of Tando, but it was nowhere to be seen.
I swallowed in pure nervousness, ready for my first trainer battle. Marcel was ready.
"Stir, Night Shade!" a blast of pulsing dark energy crashed from Stir's slight figure and directed itself towards Marcel, knocking her on her back. Embarrassed, she quickly righted herself.
"Stupid little animal!!" she cried.
"Marcel, Thundershock!" I cried, and Stir was brought out of the air with ease. Flying-types are no match for MY electric-type! Before the Mistik could pick itself up, Marcel let another bolt of electricity through it, and then tacked Stir against the ground. He managed to scrape her across the face, leaving a large gash, before suffering her body-slam, and the Mistik was down for the count. Daven looked majorly pissed-off, and I'm only saying that because furious would have been an understatement.
"I've fought NINE times before this, and I haven't lost a single time!! There's no WAY I'm admitting defeat to a stupid pansy like you!!" H reached angrily towards Marcel, but a static shock jerked him back. H then lashed out with his foot, knocking Marcel on her back once again. I felt a surge of fury, stomped up and hit him hard in the face. I was NOT one to slap when it came to hurting my friends.
"How DARE YOU HURT MY MAREEP!!" I screamed, and went to punch him again, but his hand clasped around my wrist, his other one clutching his nose.
"That's it. you've gone too far and messed with the wrong person." his calmness was scaring me. "You just wait. I have ways of getting payback from people." he threw me down by my wrist and disappeared. To my dismay, nobody had noticed our little 'scuffle' in the midst of all the Pokemon battles.
"That bastard!!" I cried out and, clutching a fainted Marcel, ran to the Pokemon Center.
~*~*~*~*~
I told a Nurse Jay (the 'do region's version of Nurse Joy, looks exactly like her but with dark purple hair. what happened, though I didn't need to, an injured Pokemon was an injured Pokemon and questions were rarely asked, and a warning was sent to the police about Davin Memora. Me and Jas met up in the waiting room, Ruby scuttling behind. I told her what happened, and she was...... very sympathetic.
"You really hit him? Right on! I always wanted to hit a bad guy! AND you got to see a Mistik! What a day!"
"-_- so what happened to Wild?" I said, trying to change the subject. Jas smiled sadly.
"He's even less wild than before..." she gently tossed her Pokeball on the hard tile floor, and a small Kakuna appeared.
"Oh....." well, at least it's a Pokedex opportunity.
"Wild.... Kakuna.... male.... poison-type.... the cocoon Pokemon.... Kakuna are almost completely immobile, but ones that were trained to evolved still maintain their Weedle attacks, and learn harden when they evolve. Kakuna grow rapidly, and can tell they're about to evolve when they turn dark yellow and their cocoon begins to peel... Trainer Temperament: Kakuna do not talk, or move except in battle... Kakuna do not eat, but they absorb water through their shell two times a day." I laughed out loud when Jas brought out a wet sponge out of a Tupperware container to rub Wild with. But then I remembered Marcel's condition and started making some cold herbal tea to put in the microwave for later. I saw a few interesting (though injured) Pokemon go by, like a Larvitar an a Haunter (some poor Chanseys had to use a Squirtle to gently push it to the emergency room with its water, as the ghost-type kept falling through the stretchers). But the waiting really got to me.
"Here, read this." Jas said, handing me the Ascend City's newspaper, the 'Beach Daily'. Then I saw something that caught my interest.
'Yesterday', the newspaper read, 'far into sea, the Tando-Azul Island Ferry had quite an experience, or so they say. Reports of a "HUGE daggone shell!!!!" came from all over the ship, even from respected townspeople such as the Mayor's wife. The Ferry turned around immediately after the sightings and arrived at about midnight last night. From the reports we have discerned the object as a smooth long glossy shell-like creature, that in some places turned pink and blue, but is mostly cream and covered in algae, with a sort of twist on the top. There has been no tangible evidence of the creature's existence, only a photograph of the 'shell' (shown above), and although it is hard to discern it's color, it is thought by most to be a sighting of the Legendary creature Nautilus.' I immediately did a double-take on the photographs and recognized the shape at once. It WAS Nautilus. The article continued. 'but whether it is a fake or not is up to you. Turn to page C3 for an exclusive interview with one of the witnesses.' I didn't bother to look at the interview, but just stared at the picture. It was just as I had dreamed, though the picture was a bit fuzzy.
Suddenly, a tap on my shoulder jerked me out of my thoughts.
"What??" I asked irritably, and was immediately sorry when I saw that it was a healthy-looking, scarless Marcel.
"Marcel! You're okay!!" Me and Jas said, jumping up.
"Of course I'm okay." she said stuffily with a grin. I lifted her up in relief, forgetting the Nautilus sighting.
"I'm so glad!" I cried, and for once she seemed genuinely glad to see me. Then she scowled.
"Are most humans like that piece of filth?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry about that... he got away... don't worry, though, we'll find him! Anyway, let's go.. oh, I've made you some tea!" I said brightly, holding out the cup. "It's cold, though." she touched the cup with a paw and gave it a small electric jolt.
"Now it's not!" She said happily, and I let her drink it.
"This is so great!" Jas said excitedly, "Now you have a rival!"
we stared. "Why's that great? Sucks to me."
"Oh, you know, all the famous champions had rivals! Red and Blue, Gold and Silver, Ruby and Sapphire, Lance and Agatha, Ash and Gary, Purple and Pink-"
"Wait- Agatha? Agatha was a champion?"
"The shortest-lived champion ever. You see, long story short, right before Lance got to the end of Victory Road, she tricked him into going the wrong way, and while he was lost, Agatha beat the Elite 4 and stuff- it was called the Elite 4 back then- and when Lance found out he came in and made a big show of beating her."
"Wow, you're good... wait- I've heard of the others but.... PURPLE AND PINK??"
"You've never heard of them?? Well, I guess it's been a while.. Purple's, like, 100 now, he lives in Viridian City in Kanto now with his granddaughter. He goes wild on coffee every once in a while and sets his Pokemon loose on people- he's, like, invincible now, he's been training ever since he was beaten by White... you know, he's the one who found out about Missingno and M. They say that M&M, no pun intended, recognize his life force, and that if you get really close to him and then REALLY fast get to where M&M live, they'll come out! Somewhere in Cinnabar or the Seafoam Islands, I think... I know it's an island..."
"Oh, please, spare me your weird superstition. Honestly, wired old men..." I said, waving her off. ".... but who's White- oh, never mind!! I don't' care!! All these stupid color names! Honestly, who would name their child Purple or Pink??"
"Well, you see, the very first Pokemon Champ was a girl by the name of Violet, and then there was Aqua after her. It sorta became a trend with parents who wanted their kids to become champs. Looks like it worked, huh?"
"-_-; let's get out of here." I muttered. Marcel was still busy slurping up her tea when we left the center. We wandered around aimlessly, talking about random people and Pokemon when we ended up in front of the Jungle.
"Oh, I love these kinds of things! See, we subconsciously walked over here to catch a grass-type! It's our destiny!"
"-_-;; actually, I decided to head here about half an hour ago." I said humorlessly.
"^_^;; Right." at that, Marcel suddenly let a stream of lightning, aimed into the branches of a big tropical tree, and a cry of pain emanated from it. A few Pidgeys flew frantically out into the open, but a prize dropped out from it, a bit crisp. I whipped my Pokedex out again.
"Celeifa... grass/flying... the flower bird Pokemon... Celeifa are found only in the jungles of Tando, as with many rare grass Pokemon. Their wonderful smell attracts many Victreebel, and occasionally they will fight to protect them, but this only occurs in the deep jungle areas."
A small cloud of sand had erupted where it fell, but it didn't faze the Celeifa, who was about ten inches high, like a big hummingbird. His chest was covered in small round petal-like feathers, and his sharp beak was curved down over them. In contrast, its relatively big wings were fluffy and green, and on its head was a small crown of pointed crimson thorns. I suspected, though, the good smell was coming from its tail, which was a long yellow frond, covered in small, puckery yellow Honeysuckle flowers. I couldn't miss this opportunity.
"Marcel, try to bring it down so it can't run -er- fly!" I cried, and Jas brought Ruby close for backup. Marcel hurled herself at the Celeifa, who was indeed getting ready to flee. She missed by an inch, but let out a stream of electricity, faltering the Celeifa once again, giving Marcel a chance to force it back to ground with a tail club.
"Fury swipes!" I cried, desperate to get the rare Pokemon in one of my Pokeballs. Marcel had managed to hold him down by his tail, and was now pummeling the bird in a boxing-like manner. The Celeifa cried out in pain and anger, and immediately a vine shot up from the ground, wrapping itself around Marcel's legs.
"Huh?" I muttered, and my Pokedex chirped:
"Plantasm... A grass-type move... this attack is often a last resort move, because once a Pokemon uses it, the Pokemon cannot use any attack for an hour. It is an extremely unpredictable move. It is first learned when a Pokemon is in extreme danger, like if a grass Pokemon fell off a cliff and used the attack, a tree might suddenly appear to break its fall."
"Wonderful.." I said sarcastically, watching poor Marcel struggle, trying to keep Celeifa on the ground.
"Ruby, cut those vines!" My excitement came back to me in a rush as Ruby scuttled over and cut Marcel's binds.
"Now! Take Down!" Celeifa was on the verge of escaping through the forest's canopy, when Marcel did an acrobatic tree-jump and pummeled him to the ground, a perfect opening for my Pokeball. I tossed my only Fast Ball, and started to silently pray...
One twitch....two.....three............caught!!
"OH yeah!!" I cried, flinging myself onto the ball, but Jas gave me a sly grin.
"Now we're even!"
"Huh?..." then I remembered letting Jas catch Ruby.
"Oh! Yeah!" I said, and thanked her for her help.
"Boy, I didn't realize we'd gone so far in the forest..." she said a bit shakily, and I realized what she meant.
"We.... we're lost!!" I fell on my knees, "How could I have not noticed going this far?"
"Stay cool!! You have a flying-type, remember?" said Marcel, weakened from the fight.
"Oh, right ^_^;;" I gave her a potion, and brought out Celeifa so I could give her one, too.
"So, Celeifa, I'm your trainer... My name's Umi, this is Jas. Uh, do you want a nickname?" She gave a hoarse cheep. "Oh, right, you don't have a translator. Sorry. I'll take that as a yes, then." I gave her a potion, too. "Listen.. could you fly up and sort of point which way the city is?" she scowled. "Great... another Marcel" The Celeifa looked at Marcel, scowled harder and flew up above the trees.
"Have you thought about which region you want to go to next?" asked Jas cheekily.
"Thinking a bit too ahead, aren't you?" I replied, cocking an eyebrow.
"Well, we should have everything planned out! I suggest Kanto, anyway."
"Kanto? Who Kanto?"
"I'm curious! You know, Ash, Gary, Red, Blue, Yellow and Green were born there."
"Ah, yes, the stupid name squad."
"Well, it was a long time ago! Maybe color-names were popular then!"
"Whatever you say. And, excuse me, it WAS only fourteen years ago."
"Only?? That's our entire lives you're talking about there, Umi! Besides, it's more than fourteen years- that's only when Red won the name of Pokemon Champion! Which means he was born, like, 15 years before that and, if I'm not mistaken, I believe people are named at around the time they're born!" At that moment Celeifa, still scowling, plummeted back down through the trees and pointed with a fluffy wing a bit to our left.
"A bit to our left we go!" I said cheerfully, pointing in the direction, and started to walk.
"Um...... Umi?.."
"Hm?"
She pointed down in the sand, where I noticed our jumbled footsteps in the sand. They were coming from the opposite direction Celeifa had pointed. We stared daggers at him.
"..........Celi, Celi-eif." She said sheepishly.
"Damn bird...." Mumbled Marcel, and off we went in the opposite direction.
~*~*~*~*~
Part 1: The Mind and the Eye
Hello one and all! I wrote chapters 1&2 during summer vacation, actually (FOREVER ago) but that was in my notebook (yes, I usually write by hand) so it takes me a bit since I'm actually writing it twice. Once I get my old laptop up and running, however, I hope to update twice as fast. Anyways, my characters so far (Umi, Jas, Sae, Nao, Yenke, etc.) are, as I said, MINE. No taking without permission! And also, there're a few of my own created Pokemon in this chapter, but as not to spoil the surprise, I'll name them later, and once again, they are MINE. So is Tando, Gaeto, Chrodo, Armado, Agedo and Aeria, the regions. Uh, yeah, I think that's about it. :) This is meant to be a long-running series, hence the Part 1. Also, there's sorta two plots running at once- on with the Legends, on with Umi Aisaki etc. The competition is just the setting, the real plot doesn't start after a few chapters, but that doesn't mean those chapters aren't good for the reading. Anyways, on with the show! Please R&R!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, but as soon as Satoshi... uh, never mind.
Chapter 2: A Step Forward
The sun's annoying glare jerked me out of my seemingly endless underwater dream. I swore under my breath, the sun was almost DIRECTLY over me. Almost noon.
I heaved myself off the ground and groggily glanced around, only to be puzzled by the fact that everyone else was asleep except the bustling villagers. Then I remembered. Of course, the time difference! It was probably around seven back in Gaeto. Then, something else came to me. I hadn't put Marcel back in her Pokeball.
I looked around frantically, sure she had run away, but then saw here lying on Beeyah's crimson-crested wing, which was odd, because you'd think sleeping on a metal wing would be uncomfortable, not to mention for Beeyah, who was weak against the Mareep. Why didn't she leave, though, if she hated me so much? On the other side of the hut, the village was wide awake and some children were poking Nao with a tree branch.
However, Mr. Tasuki was the first to get up, and a morning afro and purple PJs are not a pretty sight in the morning. I lied back down and tried to get a little more shut-eye, awaiting the beginning of the competition.
~*~*~*~*~
He sat alone on the crystalline grounds, surrounded by walls of stalactites and stalagmites, like a tremendous natural prison. It looked like ice, but he knew better. It was sand, pressurized and scarred by famous past battles until it took the ice-like form it had today. But he remembered, the billions of years ago, he remembered when it was first 'made', if that's what you could say happened. It felt like an oven, but id didn't bother him anymore. Oven, hah, someone oughta go visit Loa's place, or even the fire bird Shindell's. No, he was not one to whine, though some said he did. The moment anyone even thinks to question The Mind and the Eye, they are accused of treasonry and speaking against their superiors, and, of course, there was always the 'they-were-created-stronger-than-us-so-they-were-meant-to-rule-us' speech. He was sick and tired of those two bastards trying taking it upon themselves to decide what was right and wrong, and they even had the nerve to try to control us! Disgusting, foul creatures..
Suddenly, he felt a surge of power run through him, and instantly knew what was happening.
"Heh!... rgh... so once again, I am to be controlled to do your bidding... what now? Has Mistress 'Eye' seen something, oh great Mind?" Raeborn called seemingly to no one, through clenched teeth. A voice spoke from inside of his head, a strong and powerful voice.
'I am so sick of your incessant whining. How I would love to kill you and rip the Seventh Gem right out of you with my bare hands... it would make things so easy... but I hold strong, and only for your sister.. it's a pity she has such a horrid family.. oh, and let's not forget my dear son, a.k.a., your SAVIOR. You owe him a great many thanks.'
"Oh Mewtwo, you have such a colorful imagination... The moment I get the chance, I'm setting Doomsday and Apocalypse after you.. Mistress 'Eye' has many things to do, to oversee.. she can't keep watch on me ALL the time.."
'Be careful, someday someone might cut that evil tongue of yours out.. Well, I come here only to give you a surprise, and to show you another little talent I've learned.. I hope you enjoy it. Goodbye, Raeborn.'
"Wait!! Why is it you're not killing me? You know I would just be reborn again, just a matter of time.. why are you holding ba-!!" a huge surge of light and pain in which he never could have imagined surged through him, it felt as if his mind had shattered.
'You just wait..' Raeborn could not understand the words, though they spoke so clearly to him, through the midst of his pain.
'You'll find out. And then you will wish you were never......
Raeborn'
~*~*~*~*~
It was far from quiet, the sounds of the nearby wildlife were almost deafening. How could anybody sleep through it?? I could hardly keep myself from shaking everybody until they fell apart, the anticipation for the contest was so strong.
The sand was glistening and the trees wavering softly again, like it had the day before. Partly the reason Tando has almost no weather is because there are no Dananta around. Dananta are the weather Pokemon, they not only predict it, they create alot of it. Half of the storms, hail storms, lightning storms, twisters and hurricanes are a Dananta's doing. You'd think they were legendary because of that extraordinary power, but Danantas are actually quite popular. Almost everyone wanted one, also for their neo-style looks, and that they're newly discovered. The reason? They're almost constantly surrounded by some sort of natural force at its extreme. Some said that it was surrounded by a particular element because of its mood, others because of its own preference. God, I wish I had one. But still, I'd give up a million Dananta just to have One Daydrom. I don't know what it is about them, they're so elegant and useful. My dream team would have to include a Daydrom and Dananta. And, I guess, Ampharos, I though, glancing at Marcel. This competition isn't really for us to get to be better trainers or anything, it's just for publicity. Frankly, I just want to get started on my journey. Probably won't even make it to the end of the competition, with this weird group. Ah, finally, someone's up!
Nao rolled on his other side bedraggledly, rubbing where the children had poked him, and managed to get himself into a sitting position. "Ugh, what time is it?"
"I dunno.. about 8, 8:30..."
"Doesn't look like it. You just wake up, too?" He questioned, looking at my messed-up hair, and I leapt for my brush.
"Yeah, yeah. Wanna wake the others up?"
"Anything for you, my sweet." I threw my brush at him.
~*~*~*~*~
"Okay, okay, settle down!" cried Mr. Tasuki, waving his hand as if he were trying to teach a Growlithe to sit. We sat in the back, too depressed about our journey's interruption to be too excited.
"Today we will set you off on your way. Also, spokesmen from our school have just phoned us some new rules that have been made. *ahem*. Ok, the first new rule is that a group cannot ask for assistance in catching any Pokemon, beating any person in a battle, or anything else that would count as assistance for 'Race for the Legends'." Boy, these people really haven't planned things out very well, have they?
"And in the battles with the people stationed around the islands, which we have named Patrions, you may only use a total of six Pokemon in the battle, example: since you're in groups of five then, say, four people use one Pokemon each and the fifth person gets to use two of his/her Pokemon, a total of six Pokemon. Or, two people could choose to battle, three Pokemon each. There are infinite possibilities. This does not count, however, when fighting a wild Pokemon or your Legend. Those are the added rules. Contact me at (312) 882-1522 if you wish to hear the rules again. Any questions in the, uh, three minutes before the competition officially starts? A girl in the front row raised her hand as if she had been waiting for hour.
"Mr. Tasuki, what if nobody catches their Legend?"
"There is no time limit on this contest. We're estimating it to last about eight months."
"What if you get killed by your Legend?" asked a boy to my right.
"-_- our team has come up with an elite band of people, and the last four Patrions you will fight are stronger than the Legends. The last two own Legends themselves, though not the originals. Trust me. You will be FINE."
"What if you want to quit?"
"Well, you all agreed to do this, so you can't technically quit, but we can't do anything to stop you from refusing to complete the contest. We probably wouldn't even know if you did. I encourage you not to, the school's reputation is on your shoulders, but if you really want to you can. Any more questions?"
Silence
"Ok! I suppose I'll see you all in about eight months, then! I'm sure you'll all do great, and I'll be sure to tell my future students all about you! It's time to start!"
"Wait- we're starting here? In this village?" I asked, bewildered.
"Well, I strongly recommend you leave this village to complete the contest-" a few chuckles- "But yes, technically you've been competing for-" He looked again at his non-existent watch- "Uh, well, you've been competing. Well, I have to get back to the school, sorry kids. Goodbye, chao, adios, and so on! Good luck, too!" He released a large Xatu and they flew up above the trees and finally, out of sight. We all stood a bit dumbfounded for a few seconds, and suddenly everyone acted insane, knocking over chairs, trying to be the first to leave the village, and we were left standing in the midst of the upturned chairs. Luckily, some people had dropped loose change in the rush.
"Uh, so!" Said Sae cheerfully, trying to ignore my scuttling on the ground, picking up nickels. "We'd better get going!"
"Should we split up now?" asked Jas.
"What's the rush?" said Nao.
"I think we just saw the rush." Jas scowled.
"Yeah, I guess we should." Yenke sighed
We all shook hands, said our condolences to poor Sae, and headed in opposite directions. Just me and Jas now.
"You know, I was thinking..." I said.
"Oh?"
"I don't think either of us wants to fight Doomsday or Apocalypse, right?"
"Right.."
"And we both want to start our journey, right?"
"I'm not quitting the contest."
"No, no!" I said, waving my arms. I am NOT a coward. "I was just saying, while we're looking for the Patrions on this Island, we could also fight the Gym Leaders as we go along! And, you know, take the trainers road while we're at it! It'd be fun! And with all the experience, we'll get really strong for the competition!"
"Hey, yeah! That's perfect! But what if we find the two guys before we get all the badges in Tando?"
"We just leave them to collect later, and start getting the badges in the next region!"
"That's a wonderful idea!"
"And there's no rules against it! What city are we headed for, anyways?" To my surprise, she pulled out an expensive looking Pokedex, one just like mine except mine's white, hers is purple. How does someone 'poor' get such a good Pokedex? She saw my look.
"The school helped us buy this, since I was chosen for the contest.
"Ah.."
"Okay, we're headed for... the ocean..."
"Oh. What say we go North then-"
"Oh, wait, there's a city on the beach. Ascend City." she pushed a button, and the Pokedex chirped:
"Ascend City... South Tando... only about fifty years ago this area was completely submerged in the ocean, but due to a violent volcanic eruption, the land burst out of the sea, hence it's name. Ascend City is in the middle of a cliff, the sea and the Chirrup Jungle... A Gym City... Ascend City's Gym specialty: ground. Current leader: Stefan Diganic. Reward: The Dune Badge."
We both paled.
"G-ground??" Jas said in a shaky voice, "GROUND?? Great, BOTH our Pokemon are bad against ground!" She halfheartedly kicked a sand dune.
"Don't worry, don't worry! We'll catch a Pokemon that's strong against ground!" To my relief, she sighed and released Rudolph. Suppose I'd better release Marcel.
"Oh of course!" Jas suddenly cried, pausing Marcel from her scorning. "How obvious! Hah, we're right next to the ocean AND the jungle! Water and grass! They're both good against ground!"
"Oh yeah!! This'll be a cinch!
~*~*~*~*~
Ascend City is a big city on a little cliff. There's only a small strip of land to get into it without going through the jungle or swimming over, but we still got our feet wet. We wanted to wait 'till we went into the jungle, there's supposed to be strong Pokemon in it and, after all, we'd have to go in it anyways to get to the next city. The city itself is bustling and sunny, the blocky white houses seemed cheery. Most of the crowds in the street were skateboarders, but there were a few pedestrians, bikers and rollerbladers. Everything seemed well. Except, of course, for two insane girls wading knee-deep in the ocean, trying Poliwag and Goldeen calls to lure some water Pokemon out, ANY Pokemon instead of the plentiful Magikarp. Yes, me and Jas getting payback from our stupid 'It'll be a cinch!' comment.
"Maybe we'd better go try the jungle..." I suggested as I suffered another water shock from Marcel, angry and sopping wet.
"No way! The Pokemon are too strong in there! Besides, Rudolph's gone up a level already from the Magikarp. Only one more 'till he evolves!"
"-_-; I don't think that's something to be cheering about, Jas...." at this, she leaped two feet out of the water with a loud yelp.
"0_0 are you okay?" She thrashed her foot around, spraying everyone with water and other unpleasant things in the water, and from her ankle dangled a large Krabby.
"No way!! You caught something!"
"Caught, my arse!!!! Or better yet, FOOT!!!!! Rudolph, help!!"
The little bug flung itself at the Krabby's hard shell, doing minimal damage. Marcel watched interestedly, occasionally throwing me a dirty glance. She hadn't said anything since the night before. Usually, Mareep were thought of as TOO trusting, but this one seemed the complete opposite.
"Ow!" cried Jas as the Krabby flew over us to shore. We exchanged glances, and raced back to where the Krabby landed. I pulled out my Pokedex and pointed it at the crimson Crab.
"Krabby... water-type... the river crab... these Pokemon are extremely aggressive, especially towards their own kind. Tando Krabby are much bigger and more plentiful, and can also be clearly identified by their bright red color, versus the orange of foreign Krabby. They only live in the shallow water areas, and love to dig. Trainer temperament: very stubborn at first, but they grow to be protective and loving. They have no trouble in battle, as they are very violent and competitive. Diet: raw Magikarp, Goldeen and Seaking meat, and kelp. Use apples as treats." Jas registered the Krabby as well, and got to her first.
"Rudolph, poison sting!"
"Marcel, thundershock!" Luckily, she was excited enough by the battle to obey. Or maybe NOT luckily... the result was a very shocked Weedle and an almost fainted and poisoned Krabby. I put my hand on my Pokeball, then faltered. Jas needs a Pokemon to back up Rudolph. That little Weedle can't win a battle itself. Fine, but this is the ONLY favor I'm doing her. She's on her own after this. Jas gave me an extremely grateful look, and threw a Pokeball. It landed right on, and stopped a few inches over it to suck the Krabby's energy up. A few shakes and...... CAUGHT!
"YAHAAA!!" Jas screamed, and held up her Pokeball. Oh yeah, I never registered Marcel. The Pokedex spoke calmly in the midst of Jas's ecstatic screaming.
"Marcel... Mareep... electric-type... the wool Pokemon... these Pokemon are mostly found in the mountains or plains. Usually, Mareep fleece is thought of as yellow, but colors range from yellow to sky-blue to gray, making a very good raw material for clothing. They are very friendly with other Pokemon, but also one of the strongest electric-types once fully evolved... Trainer temperament: They range from blissful to optimistic to rebellious, and are all very playful. Mareep aren't good at hand-to-hand combat, so projectile and electric attacks are best until further evolutions... Mareep eat Bluegrass, dandelions, fruit (especially peaches), and enjoy herbal teas." Marcel scowled and cried:
"They are SO stereotypical! A little herbal tea wouldn't hurt, though... and some peaches...." Her eyes bulged. "Do you have any peaches??"
I rolled my eyes and waited for Jas to finish with her whooping.
"Ah, I feel so much better! About Rudolph and my new Krabby! In fact.... poor Rudolph, I think I'll change his name." Rudolph let out a little sigh of relief, and we started walking away from the beach.
"Hmmm... lessee.... wild... that's it! Wild! Your new names' Wild!" He waggled his tail gleefully and barked "Wee!" I listened silently to her rambling, as not to spoil her good mood.
"And my Krabby... Her name'll be... let's see, ocean.. blue... azul... azul sounds like a rock, right? You know, Ruby, Opal.... ooh, Opal's a nice name.. gotta keep that it mi- oh, Ruby! That's great! You know, since she's red instead of orange? Perfect! Gotta heal her before we let her out, though... oh, I can't wait! Then I had another good idea.
"Jas, you go to the center, we'll meet up there, okay? I gotta do something."
"Oh, sure!" we were in the city by then, and we temporarily parted ways, Marcel still silent behind me. "Okay, market, market... aha!" It was a little corner-street market, nice, but covered in loiterers, mostly my age, and even a few foreign-looking trainers. I pushed my way in, though, and grabbed about fifteen big, juicy-
"PEACHES!!" Marcel cried manically, hopping up on her back legs. I grabbed a few other things, too: some energizing herbal tea, a big canteen, a little necklace with a big beautiful glossy black-and-gold pendant. No, it isn't REALLY bribery. I kind of enjoy buying things for Marcel, I thought as I grabbed a box of electric type 'Watt Taste!' Pokemon Chow. I can spend all I want, anyway, 'cos of my dad's will......
I forced my way outside after paying, and sat on a short wall with all the other teens.
"Ummmmm, peach!" Marcel cooed as she munched her way through one. She looked beautiful with the necklace on. I finally sighed in relief, deciding that after a while she'd get to like me.
"Oh, the Center." I picked up my Mareep, when suddenly a battle started in front of me.
"Go, Ferver!"
"Go, Strudel!"
A big Spinarak and an Ekans blocked my way, looking menacingly at each other, and the small crowd formed a circle around them and their trainers, a 13-year-old-ish boy and girl. A rush of adrenaline went through me.
"Anyone want to fight me one-on-one?" I guess everyone else was excited by the battle, because cries of 'ME' exploded from around me. Then, before I knew it, the entire street was being filled with amateur Pokemon, and a tall dark blue haired boy with very pale green eyes appeared.
"It's a pleasure, Umi Aisaki. My name's Daven." I nodded, a little irritated by the fact that he knew who I was. "Go, Stir!" he cried, and a beautiful little Mistik appeared before me. My eyes bulged.
"Wh-where did you get that??"
"They sometimes fly over from Aeria, near the eastern shores." He said, shrugging. "Cute little buggers, aren't they?" The Mistik cackled happily, and its glossy coat gleamed somewhere between midnight blue and cream on the color scale. He had big deer-like ears and a long tail that resembled a cat's, with a black tip, which also decorated the end of its ears, eyes paws and wings, which were like a butterfree's, only crescent-moon shaped, and such a pale yellowish color that they were transparent. It also had a strange marking on its forehead that resembled a character from the Legend Language, but it's most recognizable feature was the black diamond on it's chest. I whipped out my Pokedex as Marcel queerly got into place, swallowing what I sincerely hoped wasn't a peach pit.
"Stir... Mistik... the Moon-cycle Pokemon... Flying/Light.... Mistik are very friendly and mischievous by nature, and often wander away from the only place they are born, Aeria. Their wing's shape changes with the moon, example: if would be a full moon that night, a Mistik's wings would be perfect circles. During new moons, its wings will disappear completely, and it won't be able to fly. Trainer: Davin Memora." Huh, it doesn't tell nearly as much when it's another person's Pokemon... Jas is going to love this! I looked around to see if anyone else had noticed the rare Pokemon, but then I realized a lot of the trainers weren't just average. I spotted a Tanefi, Tando's beginning fire-type, who looked like a mix between a Vulpix and an Eevee. It had a sweet face, with big spiky ears and a little fire-like mohawk between them, it's fluffy body was a delicate crimson with a thick black line running down its belly, and a big poofy tail. It's paws, however, were blazing and covered n flames. Irritated by the offending Geodude, a spike of fur blazed and rose, like an angry cat, except for the blaze.
Also, there was the Tando beginner that I would kill to get, the grass-type Silower. It was much more regal-looking that Tanefi, it was on its hind legs with it's paws in a fighting-position, and it's huge flat tail, about the same size as the rest of his body, was flapping in excitement. It had a seed-shaped face with a big, thorn-shaped spike on the back of its skull, and below that two large, long red petals swept down the length of its body, curling outwards at the end, away from its back, caressing its slender form. It's tail swept out in front of it as a good barrier, it was thick and ended in three long claw-like points. It had no fur, rather it's skin was smooth and glossy, like a Seviper's.
I looked for Pendoma, the water-type final starter of Tando, but it was nowhere to be seen.
I swallowed in pure nervousness, ready for my first trainer battle. Marcel was ready.
"Stir, Night Shade!" a blast of pulsing dark energy crashed from Stir's slight figure and directed itself towards Marcel, knocking her on her back. Embarrassed, she quickly righted herself.
"Stupid little animal!!" she cried.
"Marcel, Thundershock!" I cried, and Stir was brought out of the air with ease. Flying-types are no match for MY electric-type! Before the Mistik could pick itself up, Marcel let another bolt of electricity through it, and then tacked Stir against the ground. He managed to scrape her across the face, leaving a large gash, before suffering her body-slam, and the Mistik was down for the count. Daven looked majorly pissed-off, and I'm only saying that because furious would have been an understatement.
"I've fought NINE times before this, and I haven't lost a single time!! There's no WAY I'm admitting defeat to a stupid pansy like you!!" H reached angrily towards Marcel, but a static shock jerked him back. H then lashed out with his foot, knocking Marcel on her back once again. I felt a surge of fury, stomped up and hit him hard in the face. I was NOT one to slap when it came to hurting my friends.
"How DARE YOU HURT MY MAREEP!!" I screamed, and went to punch him again, but his hand clasped around my wrist, his other one clutching his nose.
"That's it. you've gone too far and messed with the wrong person." his calmness was scaring me. "You just wait. I have ways of getting payback from people." he threw me down by my wrist and disappeared. To my dismay, nobody had noticed our little 'scuffle' in the midst of all the Pokemon battles.
"That bastard!!" I cried out and, clutching a fainted Marcel, ran to the Pokemon Center.
~*~*~*~*~
I told a Nurse Jay (the 'do region's version of Nurse Joy, looks exactly like her but with dark purple hair. what happened, though I didn't need to, an injured Pokemon was an injured Pokemon and questions were rarely asked, and a warning was sent to the police about Davin Memora. Me and Jas met up in the waiting room, Ruby scuttling behind. I told her what happened, and she was...... very sympathetic.
"You really hit him? Right on! I always wanted to hit a bad guy! AND you got to see a Mistik! What a day!"
"-_- so what happened to Wild?" I said, trying to change the subject. Jas smiled sadly.
"He's even less wild than before..." she gently tossed her Pokeball on the hard tile floor, and a small Kakuna appeared.
"Oh....." well, at least it's a Pokedex opportunity.
"Wild.... Kakuna.... male.... poison-type.... the cocoon Pokemon.... Kakuna are almost completely immobile, but ones that were trained to evolved still maintain their Weedle attacks, and learn harden when they evolve. Kakuna grow rapidly, and can tell they're about to evolve when they turn dark yellow and their cocoon begins to peel... Trainer Temperament: Kakuna do not talk, or move except in battle... Kakuna do not eat, but they absorb water through their shell two times a day." I laughed out loud when Jas brought out a wet sponge out of a Tupperware container to rub Wild with. But then I remembered Marcel's condition and started making some cold herbal tea to put in the microwave for later. I saw a few interesting (though injured) Pokemon go by, like a Larvitar an a Haunter (some poor Chanseys had to use a Squirtle to gently push it to the emergency room with its water, as the ghost-type kept falling through the stretchers). But the waiting really got to me.
"Here, read this." Jas said, handing me the Ascend City's newspaper, the 'Beach Daily'. Then I saw something that caught my interest.
'Yesterday', the newspaper read, 'far into sea, the Tando-Azul Island Ferry had quite an experience, or so they say. Reports of a "HUGE daggone shell!!!!" came from all over the ship, even from respected townspeople such as the Mayor's wife. The Ferry turned around immediately after the sightings and arrived at about midnight last night. From the reports we have discerned the object as a smooth long glossy shell-like creature, that in some places turned pink and blue, but is mostly cream and covered in algae, with a sort of twist on the top. There has been no tangible evidence of the creature's existence, only a photograph of the 'shell' (shown above), and although it is hard to discern it's color, it is thought by most to be a sighting of the Legendary creature Nautilus.' I immediately did a double-take on the photographs and recognized the shape at once. It WAS Nautilus. The article continued. 'but whether it is a fake or not is up to you. Turn to page C3 for an exclusive interview with one of the witnesses.' I didn't bother to look at the interview, but just stared at the picture. It was just as I had dreamed, though the picture was a bit fuzzy.
Suddenly, a tap on my shoulder jerked me out of my thoughts.
"What??" I asked irritably, and was immediately sorry when I saw that it was a healthy-looking, scarless Marcel.
"Marcel! You're okay!!" Me and Jas said, jumping up.
"Of course I'm okay." she said stuffily with a grin. I lifted her up in relief, forgetting the Nautilus sighting.
"I'm so glad!" I cried, and for once she seemed genuinely glad to see me. Then she scowled.
"Are most humans like that piece of filth?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry about that... he got away... don't worry, though, we'll find him! Anyway, let's go.. oh, I've made you some tea!" I said brightly, holding out the cup. "It's cold, though." she touched the cup with a paw and gave it a small electric jolt.
"Now it's not!" She said happily, and I let her drink it.
"This is so great!" Jas said excitedly, "Now you have a rival!"
we stared. "Why's that great? Sucks to me."
"Oh, you know, all the famous champions had rivals! Red and Blue, Gold and Silver, Ruby and Sapphire, Lance and Agatha, Ash and Gary, Purple and Pink-"
"Wait- Agatha? Agatha was a champion?"
"The shortest-lived champion ever. You see, long story short, right before Lance got to the end of Victory Road, she tricked him into going the wrong way, and while he was lost, Agatha beat the Elite 4 and stuff- it was called the Elite 4 back then- and when Lance found out he came in and made a big show of beating her."
"Wow, you're good... wait- I've heard of the others but.... PURPLE AND PINK??"
"You've never heard of them?? Well, I guess it's been a while.. Purple's, like, 100 now, he lives in Viridian City in Kanto now with his granddaughter. He goes wild on coffee every once in a while and sets his Pokemon loose on people- he's, like, invincible now, he's been training ever since he was beaten by White... you know, he's the one who found out about Missingno and M. They say that M&M, no pun intended, recognize his life force, and that if you get really close to him and then REALLY fast get to where M&M live, they'll come out! Somewhere in Cinnabar or the Seafoam Islands, I think... I know it's an island..."
"Oh, please, spare me your weird superstition. Honestly, wired old men..." I said, waving her off. ".... but who's White- oh, never mind!! I don't' care!! All these stupid color names! Honestly, who would name their child Purple or Pink??"
"Well, you see, the very first Pokemon Champ was a girl by the name of Violet, and then there was Aqua after her. It sorta became a trend with parents who wanted their kids to become champs. Looks like it worked, huh?"
"-_-; let's get out of here." I muttered. Marcel was still busy slurping up her tea when we left the center. We wandered around aimlessly, talking about random people and Pokemon when we ended up in front of the Jungle.
"Oh, I love these kinds of things! See, we subconsciously walked over here to catch a grass-type! It's our destiny!"
"-_-;; actually, I decided to head here about half an hour ago." I said humorlessly.
"^_^;; Right." at that, Marcel suddenly let a stream of lightning, aimed into the branches of a big tropical tree, and a cry of pain emanated from it. A few Pidgeys flew frantically out into the open, but a prize dropped out from it, a bit crisp. I whipped my Pokedex out again.
"Celeifa... grass/flying... the flower bird Pokemon... Celeifa are found only in the jungles of Tando, as with many rare grass Pokemon. Their wonderful smell attracts many Victreebel, and occasionally they will fight to protect them, but this only occurs in the deep jungle areas."
A small cloud of sand had erupted where it fell, but it didn't faze the Celeifa, who was about ten inches high, like a big hummingbird. His chest was covered in small round petal-like feathers, and his sharp beak was curved down over them. In contrast, its relatively big wings were fluffy and green, and on its head was a small crown of pointed crimson thorns. I suspected, though, the good smell was coming from its tail, which was a long yellow frond, covered in small, puckery yellow Honeysuckle flowers. I couldn't miss this opportunity.
"Marcel, try to bring it down so it can't run -er- fly!" I cried, and Jas brought Ruby close for backup. Marcel hurled herself at the Celeifa, who was indeed getting ready to flee. She missed by an inch, but let out a stream of electricity, faltering the Celeifa once again, giving Marcel a chance to force it back to ground with a tail club.
"Fury swipes!" I cried, desperate to get the rare Pokemon in one of my Pokeballs. Marcel had managed to hold him down by his tail, and was now pummeling the bird in a boxing-like manner. The Celeifa cried out in pain and anger, and immediately a vine shot up from the ground, wrapping itself around Marcel's legs.
"Huh?" I muttered, and my Pokedex chirped:
"Plantasm... A grass-type move... this attack is often a last resort move, because once a Pokemon uses it, the Pokemon cannot use any attack for an hour. It is an extremely unpredictable move. It is first learned when a Pokemon is in extreme danger, like if a grass Pokemon fell off a cliff and used the attack, a tree might suddenly appear to break its fall."
"Wonderful.." I said sarcastically, watching poor Marcel struggle, trying to keep Celeifa on the ground.
"Ruby, cut those vines!" My excitement came back to me in a rush as Ruby scuttled over and cut Marcel's binds.
"Now! Take Down!" Celeifa was on the verge of escaping through the forest's canopy, when Marcel did an acrobatic tree-jump and pummeled him to the ground, a perfect opening for my Pokeball. I tossed my only Fast Ball, and started to silently pray...
One twitch....two.....three............caught!!
"OH yeah!!" I cried, flinging myself onto the ball, but Jas gave me a sly grin.
"Now we're even!"
"Huh?..." then I remembered letting Jas catch Ruby.
"Oh! Yeah!" I said, and thanked her for her help.
"Boy, I didn't realize we'd gone so far in the forest..." she said a bit shakily, and I realized what she meant.
"We.... we're lost!!" I fell on my knees, "How could I have not noticed going this far?"
"Stay cool!! You have a flying-type, remember?" said Marcel, weakened from the fight.
"Oh, right ^_^;;" I gave her a potion, and brought out Celeifa so I could give her one, too.
"So, Celeifa, I'm your trainer... My name's Umi, this is Jas. Uh, do you want a nickname?" She gave a hoarse cheep. "Oh, right, you don't have a translator. Sorry. I'll take that as a yes, then." I gave her a potion, too. "Listen.. could you fly up and sort of point which way the city is?" she scowled. "Great... another Marcel" The Celeifa looked at Marcel, scowled harder and flew up above the trees.
"Have you thought about which region you want to go to next?" asked Jas cheekily.
"Thinking a bit too ahead, aren't you?" I replied, cocking an eyebrow.
"Well, we should have everything planned out! I suggest Kanto, anyway."
"Kanto? Who Kanto?"
"I'm curious! You know, Ash, Gary, Red, Blue, Yellow and Green were born there."
"Ah, yes, the stupid name squad."
"Well, it was a long time ago! Maybe color-names were popular then!"
"Whatever you say. And, excuse me, it WAS only fourteen years ago."
"Only?? That's our entire lives you're talking about there, Umi! Besides, it's more than fourteen years- that's only when Red won the name of Pokemon Champion! Which means he was born, like, 15 years before that and, if I'm not mistaken, I believe people are named at around the time they're born!" At that moment Celeifa, still scowling, plummeted back down through the trees and pointed with a fluffy wing a bit to our left.
"A bit to our left we go!" I said cheerfully, pointing in the direction, and started to walk.
"Um...... Umi?.."
"Hm?"
She pointed down in the sand, where I noticed our jumbled footsteps in the sand. They were coming from the opposite direction Celeifa had pointed. We stared daggers at him.
"..........Celi, Celi-eif." She said sheepishly.
"Damn bird...." Mumbled Marcel, and off we went in the opposite direction.
~*~*~*~*~